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1. Introduction and Main Results {#sec1}
================================
Let *Ω* ⊂ *ℝ* ^*N*^ be a bounded domain, let *σ* be a nonnegative locally integrable function or, more generally, a locally finite measure on *Ω*, and let *ω* be a nonnegative Borel measure. In this paper, we consider the following nonlinear partial differential equations with measure data:$$\begin{matrix}
{- \Delta_{p}u = \sigma P\left( { u} \right) + \omega,} \\
{\mspace{13200mu} u \geq 0,\,\, u\text{ is }p\text{-superharmonic in }\Omega,} \\
\end{matrix}$$where *P*(*u*) = *P* ~*ℓ*,*α*,*β*~(*u*) ∈ *L* ~*σ*,loc~ ^1^(*Ω*) is defined, following \[[@B1], [@B13]\], as$$\begin{matrix}
{P_{\mathcal{l},\alpha,\beta}\left( { u} \right) = H_{\mathcal{l}}\left( {\alpha u^{\beta}} \right)} \\
\end{matrix}$$and *ℓ*-truncated exponential function *H* ~*ℓ*~(*r*) is given by$$\begin{matrix}
{H_{\mathcal{l}}\left( { r} \right) = {\sum\limits_{j = \mathcal{l}}^{\infty}\frac{r^{j}}{j!}}.} \\
\end{matrix}$$Here, Δ~*p*~ *u* is the *p*-Laplacian of *u* defined by Δ~*p*~ *u*≔div(\|*Du*\|^*p*−2^ *Du*) (*p* \> 1). For convenience, here and elsewhere in the paper, we assume that *ℓβ* \> *p* − 1. We will understand ([1](#EEq1.1){ref-type="disp-formula"}) in the following potential-theoretic sense using *p*-superharmonic functions (see [Section 2](#sec2){ref-type="sec"}).
Quasilinear equations ([1](#EEq1.1){ref-type="disp-formula"}) where *σP*(*u*) term is replaced by *σu* ^*q*^ for superlinear case *q* \> *p* − 1 are well studied (see \[[@B10]--[@B12]\] and references therein, see \[[@B5], [@B6]\] for natural growth terms *q* = *p* − 1, and see \[[@B2], [@B3]\] for sublinear problems *q* \< *p* − 1). In particular, it was shown in \[[@B10]\] that if *u* ∈ *L* ~*σ*,loc~ ^*q*^(*Ω*) is a solution of ([1](#EEq1.1){ref-type="disp-formula"}) with nonlinear source terms *σu* ^*q*^, *q* \> *p* − 1 in *Ω* and *B* ~4*R*~ ⊂ *Ω*, then there is a constant *M* = *M*(*N*, *p*, *q*) such that $$\begin{matrix}
\left\{ {{\int_{0}^{r}{\left\lbrack {\frac{\sigma\left( B_{t} \right)}{t^{N - p}}} \right\rbrack^{1/{({p - 1})}}\frac{dt}{t}}}} \right\}^{{({p - 1})}/{({q - p + 1})}} \\
{\mspace{3600mu} \cdot {\int\limits_{r}^{R/2}{\left\lbrack {\frac{\int_{B_{t}}{u^{q}d\sigma}}{t^{N - p}}} \right\rbrack^{1/{({p - 1})}}\frac{dt}{t}}} \leq M,} \\
\end{matrix}$$ for all 0 \< *r* ≤ *R*/4; ([4](#EEq4){ref-type="disp-formula"}) improves the related results of \[[@B9], [@B14]\].
Recently, Quoc-Hung and Véron \[[@B13]\] obtained two-sided estimates on the solutions in terms of *T*-truncated *η*-fractional maximal potential of *ω*, which is suitable for dealing with exponential nonlinearities: $$\begin{matrix}
{M_{\alpha,T}^{\eta} = {\sup\left\{ {\frac{\omega\left( B_{t} \right)}{t^{N - \alpha}h_{\eta}\left( t \right)}:0 < t \leq T} \right\}},} \\
\end{matrix}$$where $$\begin{matrix}
{h_{\eta}\left( { t} \right)} \\
{= \begin{cases}
{\left\{ {- {\ln t}} \right.^{- \eta}\chi_{\{{0,1/2}\rbrack}\left( t \right) + \left\{ {\ln 2} \right.^{- \eta}\chi_{\lbrack{{1/2}, + \infty}}\left\{ t \right.,} & {\eta > 0,} \\
{1,} & {\eta = 0.} \\
\end{cases}} \\
\end{matrix}$$ Some analogous estimates for Hessian equations also are given in this paper.
In this paper, firstly, we will establish a priori estimates of ([1](#EEq1.1){ref-type="disp-formula"}) with exponential reaction *P* ~*ℓ*,*α*,*β*~(*u*), defined by ([2](#EEq1.2){ref-type="disp-formula"}) and ([3](#EEq1.3){ref-type="disp-formula"}). One of our main results are the following theorems.
Theorem 1 .Let *u*(*x*) be a solution of ([1](#EEq1.1){ref-type="disp-formula"}) in *Ω* with *p* \> 1 and *ℓβ* \> *p* − 1. Suppose that *B* ~4*R*~(*x* ~0~) ⊂ *Ω*. Then, there exists a constant *M* = *M*(*N*, *p*, *α*, *β*, *ℓ*) such that$$\begin{matrix}
\left\{ {{\int_{0}^{r}{\left\lbrack {\frac{\sigma\left( B_{t} \right)}{t^{N - p}}} \right\rbrack^{1/{({p - 1})}}\frac{dt}{t}}}} \right\}^{{({p - 1})}/{({\mathcal{l}\beta - p + 1})}} \\
{\mspace{1800mu} \cdot {\int\limits_{r}^{R/2}{\left\lbrack {\frac{\omega\left( {B_{t}\left( x_{0} \right)} \right)}{t^{N - p}}} \right\rbrack^{1/{({p - 1})}}\frac{dt}{t}}} \leq M,} \\
\end{matrix}$$ $$\begin{matrix}
\left\{ {{\int_{0}^{r}{\left\lbrack {\frac{\sigma\left( B_{t} \right)}{t^{N - p}}} \right\rbrack^{1/{({p - 1})}}\frac{dt}{t}}}} \right\}^{{({p - 1})}/{({\mathcal{l}\beta - p + 1})}} \\
{\mspace{1800mu} \cdot {\int\limits_{r}^{R/2}{\left\lbrack {\frac{\int_{B_{t}}{P_{\mathcal{l},\alpha,\beta}\left( u \right)d\sigma}}{t^{N - p}}} \right\rbrack^{1/{({p - 1})}}\frac{dt}{t}}} \leq M,} \\
\end{matrix}$$for all 0 \< *r* ≤ *R*/4.
As a consequence of [Theorem 1](#thm1.1){ref-type="statement"}, we have the following nonexistence results of local solutions to quasilinear equations.
Theorem 2 .Let *u* be a solution of ([1](#EEq1.1){ref-type="disp-formula"}) in an open connected set *Ω* ⊂ *ℝ* ^*N*^. Suppose that 1 \< *p* \< *n*, *dσ* = \|*x*\|^−*r*^ *dx* with *r* \> *p*, and 0 ∈ *Ω*. Then, *u* ≡ 0.
Now, we consider ([1](#EEq1.1){ref-type="disp-formula"}) with natural growth terms; that is, the *σP*(*u*) term in ([1](#EEq1.1){ref-type="disp-formula"}) is replaced by *σu* ^*p*−1^. It is worthwhile to point out that this problem turns out to be more complex than the supercritical case. The interaction between the differential operator −Δ~*p*~ *u* and the lower order term *σu* ^*p*−1^ was investigated by Jaye and Verbitsky \[[@B5], [@B6]\].
Theorem 3 .Let *u*(*x*) be a solution of ([1](#EEq1.1){ref-type="disp-formula"}) in *Ω* with *p* \> 1 and *P*(*u*) = *σu* ^*p*−1^. Suppose that *B* ~4*R*~(*x* ~0~) ⊂ *Ω*. Then, there exists a constant *M* = *M*(*N*, *p*, *α*, *β*, *ℓ*) such that$$\begin{matrix}
{{\int\limits_{0}^{r}{\left\lbrack {\frac{\sigma\left( B_{t} \right)}{t^{N - p}}} \right\rbrack^{1/{({p - 1})}}\frac{dt}{t}}}{\int\limits_{r}^{R/2}{\left\lbrack {\frac{\omega\left( {B_{t}\left( x_{0} \right)} \right)}{t^{N - p}}} \right\rbrack^{1/{({p - 1})}}\frac{dt}{t}}}} \\
{\mspace{1800mu} \leq M,} \\
\end{matrix}$$ $$\begin{matrix}
{{\int\limits_{0}^{r}{\left\lbrack {\frac{\sigma\left( B_{t} \right)}{t^{N - p}}} \right\rbrack^{1/{({p - 1})}}\frac{dt}{t}}}{\int\limits_{r}^{R/2}{\left\lbrack {\frac{\int_{B_{t}}{u^{p - 1}d\sigma}}{t^{N - p}}} \right\rbrack^{1/{({p - 1})}}\frac{dt}{t}}}} \\
{\mspace{1800mu} \leq M,} \\
\end{matrix}$$for all 0 \< *r* ≤ *R*/4.
Similarly, we have the following.
Theorem 4 .Let *u* ∈ *L* ~*loc*~ ^*p*−1^(*dσ*) be a solution of ([1](#EEq1.1){ref-type="disp-formula"}) with *P*(*u*) = *σu* ^*p*−1^ in an open connected set *Ω* ⊂ *ℝ* ^*N*^. Suppose that 1 \< *p* \< *n*, *dσ* = \|*x*\|^−*p*^ *dx*, and 0 ∈ *Ω*. Then, *u* ≡ 0.
Remark 5 .The four previous theorems are particular case of the more general class of nonlinear Wolff integral equations: $$\begin{matrix}
{u\left( { x} \right) = \mathbf{W}_{\alpha,p}^{R}\left\lbrack { P\left\lbrack { u} \right\rbrack d\sigma} \right\rbrack\left( { x} \right) + f\left( { x} \right),} \\
\end{matrix}$$where *f*(*x*) = **W** ~*α*,*p*~ ^*R*^\[*ω*\](*x*), which includes fractional Laplacian (−Δ)^*γ*^. Therefore, we also can obtain similar results of these integral equations.
The plan of the paper is as follows. In [Section 2](#sec2){ref-type="sec"}, we collect some elements notions and potential estimates for *p*-superharmonic. Theorems [1](#thm1.1){ref-type="statement"} and [2](#thm1.2){ref-type="statement"} will be proved in [Section 3](#sec3){ref-type="sec"}. In this section, we also discuss the relations of *σ* and *ω* provided that there exist solutions of ([1](#EEq1.1){ref-type="disp-formula"}). After this, [Section 4](#sec4){ref-type="sec"} presents the proof of Theorems [3](#thm1.3){ref-type="statement"} and [4](#thm1.4){ref-type="statement"} by a new iteration scheme. [Section 5](#sec5){ref-type="sec"} is devoted to considering fully nonlinear analogues of the Dirichlet problem ([1](#EEq1.1){ref-type="disp-formula"}) for Hessian equations without proof.
2. Preliminaries {#sec2}
================
In this section, we first recall some notations and definitions. In the following, we denote by *C* a general constant, possibly varying from line to line, to indicate a dependence of *C* on the real parameters *N*, *p*, *α*, *β*, *ℓ*; we will write *C* = *C*(*N*, *p*, *α*, *β*, *ℓ*). We also denote by *B*(*x* ~0~, *r*) = {*x* ∈ *ℝ* ^*n*^ : \|*x* − *x* ~0~\| \< *r*} the open ball with center *x* ~0~ and radius *r* \> 0; when it is not important or clear from the context, we shall omit denoting the center as *B* ~*r*~ = *B*(*x* ~0~, *r*).
Let *p* \> 0 and *σ* be a nonnegative Borel measures in *Ω* which are finite on compact subsets of *Ω*. The *σ*-measure of a measurable set *E* ⊂ *Ω* is denoted by *σ*(*E*)≔∫~*E*~ *dσ*. We denote by *L* ^*p*^(*Ω*, *dσ*) (*L* ~loc~ ^*p*^(*Ω*, *dσ*), resp.) the space of measurable functions *f* such that \|*f*\|^*p*^ is integrable (locally integrable) with respect to *σ*. When *dσ* = *dx*, we write *L* ^*p*^(*Ω*) (*L* ~loc~ ^*p*^(*Ω*), resp.).
For *α* \> 0, *p* \> 1, such that *αp* \< *n*, the *R*-truncated Wolff\'s potential **W** ~1,*p*~ ^*R*^ *μ*(*x*) of a nonnegative Borel measure *μ* on *ℝ* ^*N*^ is defined by $$\begin{matrix}
{\mathbf{W}_{1,p}^{R}\left\lbrack {\mu} \right\rbrack\left( { x} \right) = {\int\limits_{0}^{R}{\left( {\frac{\mu\left( B_{t} \right)}{t^{N - p}}} \right)^{1/{({p - 1})}}\frac{dt}{t}}}.} \\
\end{matrix}$$ We also denote by **W** ~1,*p*~\[*μ*\](*x*) the *∞*-truncated Wolff\'s potential.
In this paper, all solutions are understood in the potential-theoretic sense. A lower semicontinuous function *u* : *Ω* → (−*∞*, +*∞*\] is called *p*-superharmonic if *u* is not identically infinite in each component of *Ω*, and if for all open sets *D* such that $\overset{¯}{D} \subset \Omega$, and all functions *h* ∈ *C*(*D*), *p*-harmonic in *D*, the implication holds: *h* ≤ *u* on ∂*D* implies *h* ≤ *u* in *D*. Note that *p*-superharmonic function *u* does not necessarily belong to *W* ~loc~ ^1,*p*^(*Ω*), but its truncation *T* ~*k*~(*u*) = min{*u*, *k*} does for every integer *k*; therefore, we will need the generalized gradient of a *p*-superharmonic function *u* defined by *Du* = lim~*k*→*∞*~∇(*T* ~*k*~(*u*)). For more properties of *p*-superharmonic, see \[[@B4]\].
The following lower pointwise estimates for *p*-superharmonic functions play an important role in our estimate.
Proposition 6 (see \[[@B7]\]).There exists a positive constant *C* = *C*(*N*, *p*) such that if *u* ≥ 0 is *p*-superharmonic on *Ω* and *μ* = −Δ~*p*~ *u*, then$$\begin{matrix}
{\left\lbrack {\frac{\mu\left( B_{R} \right)}{R^{N - p}}} \right\rbrack^{1/{({p - 1})}} \leq C{\underset{B_{R}}{\,\inf}u},} \\
\end{matrix}$$for all balls *B* ~*R*~ such that *B* ~2*R*~ ⊂ *Ω*.
The following lemma was also proved in \[[@B7]\].
Proposition 7 .Let *B* ~*R*~(*x*) be a ball such that *B* ~2*R*~(*x*) ⊂ *Ω*. Then, there exists a positive constant *C* = *C*(*N*, *p*) such that if *u* ≥ 0 is *p*-superharmonic on *Ω* and *μ* = −Δ~*p*~ *u*, then$$\begin{matrix}
{C\mathbf{W}_{1,p}^{R}\left\lbrack {\mu} \right\rbrack\left( { x} \right) \leq u\left( { x} \right),} \\
\end{matrix}$$where **W** ~1,*p*~ ^*R*^\[*μ*\](*x*) is the Wolff potential of *μ*.
Given *r* \> 0, we consider a ball *B*(*x*, 2*r*) ⊂ *Ω* and shrinking balls *B* ~*j*~≔*B* ~*r*~*j*~~(*x* ~0~), where *r* ~*j*~ = *r*2^−*j*^ with *j* ≥ 0 is an integer.
Proposition 8 (see Lemma 2.5 in \[[@B10]\]).Let *μ* be locally finite nonnegative measures on *Ω*. Then, there exists a constant *C* = *C*(*N*, *p*) \> 0 such that for any *s* \> 0 we have$$\begin{matrix}
{\phi^{s + 1} \leq \left( { s + 1} \right)\mathbf{W}_{1,p}^{R}\left( {\phi^{s{({p - 1})}}d\sigma} \right),} \\
\end{matrix}$$where *ϕ* = ∑~*j*=0~ ^*∞*^ *c* ~*j*~ *χ* ~*B*~*j*~~ with *c* ~*j*~ = *C*\[*σ*(*B* ~*j*~)/(*r*2^−*j*^)^*N*−*p*^\]^1/(*p*−1)^.
The following theorem is an analogue of the above theorems for *k*-Hessian equations. For more details, see \[[@B8]\].
Proposition 9 .If *u* ≥ 0 is such that −*u* is *k*-convex in *Ω*, then$$\begin{matrix}
{\left\lbrack {\frac{\mu\left( B_{R/8} \right)}{R^{N - 2k}}} \right\rbrack^{1/k} \leq C\left( { n,k} \right){\inf\limits_{B_{R/8}}u},} \\
\end{matrix}$$for all balls *B* ~*R*~, provided that *B* ~3*R*~ ⊂ *Ω*; here, *μ* = *F* ~*k*~\[−*u*\] is the corresponding *k*-Hessian measure associated with the *k*-convex function −*u*.
Proposition 10 .Let *u* ≥ 0 be such that −*u* is *k*-convex in *Ω*. Then, there is a constant *C* = *C*(*n*, *k*) \> 0 such that if *μ* = *F* ~*k*~\[−*u*\] then$$\begin{matrix}
{C\mathbf{W}_{{{2k}/{({k + 1})}},k + 1}^{R/8}\mu\left( { x} \right) \leq u\left( { x} \right),} \\
\end{matrix}$$ whenever the ball *B* ~3*R*~ ⊂ *Ω*.
3. Proof of Theorems [1](#thm1.1){ref-type="statement"} and [2](#thm1.2){ref-type="statement"} {#sec3}
==============================================================================================
In this section, we will give the proof of our main theorem. Firstly, we prove the following integral estimate for solutions of quasilinear equations ([1](#EEq1.1){ref-type="disp-formula"}), which shows that if ([1](#EEq1.1){ref-type="disp-formula"}) has a nontrivial *p*-superharmonic supersolution, then *ω* is absolutely continuous with respect to *σ*. The fact can be used to obtain a characterization of removable singularities for the homogeneous quasilinear equation: $$\begin{matrix}
{- \Delta_{p}u = \sigma P\left( { u} \right),} \\
{\mspace{12350mu} u \geq 0,\text{ }u\text{ }is\text{ }p\text{-superharmonic in }\Omega,} \\
\end{matrix}$$in terms of Hausdorff measures. For more details, see Theorem 2.18 in \[[@B11]\] and Theorem 3.1 in \[[@B10]\].
Lemma 11 .Let *σ* and *ω* be locally finite nonnegative measures on *Ω* and *p* \> 1. There exists a constant *C* = *C*(*N*, *p*, *α*, *β*, *ℓ*) \> 0 such that if *u*(*x*) is a solution to ([1](#EEq1.1){ref-type="disp-formula"}), then$$\begin{matrix}
{{\int_{B_{R}}{P_{\mathcal{l},\alpha,\beta}\left( { u} \right)d\sigma}} + \omega\left( { B_{R}} \right)} \\
{\mspace{1800mu} \leq C\sigma\left( { B_{R}} \right)^{{({p - 1})}/{({\mathcal{l}\beta - p + 1})}}R^{{\mathcal{l}\beta{({N - p})}}/{({\mathcal{l}\beta - p + 1})}},} \\
\end{matrix}$$for all balls *B* ~*R*~ such that *B* ~2*R*~ ⊂ *Ω*.
ProofDefine$$\begin{matrix}
{d\mu = \sigma P_{\mathcal{l},\alpha,\beta}\left( { u} \right) + \omega.} \\
\end{matrix}$$According to [Proposition 6](#prop2.1){ref-type="statement"} and the definitions of *P* ~*ℓ*,*α*,*β*~, we know that, for all *x* ∈ *B* ~*R*~,$$\begin{matrix}
{\frac{\alpha^{\mathcal{l}}}{\mathcal{l}!}\left\lbrack {\frac{\mu\left\lbrack B_{R} \right\rbrack}{R^{N - p}}} \right\rbrack^{{\mathcal{l}\beta}/{({p - 1})}}P_{\mathcal{l},\alpha,\beta}\left( {\left\lbrack {\frac{\mu\left\lbrack {B_{R}\left\lbrack x \right\rbrack} \right\rbrack}{R^{N - p}}} \right\rbrack^{1/{({p - 1})}}} \right)} \\
{\leq CP_{\mathcal{l},\alpha,\beta}\left( { u} \right)\left( { x} \right).} \\
\end{matrix}$$Integrating both sides of ([21](#EEq3.3){ref-type="disp-formula"}) against *dσ* over *B* ~*R*~, we find $$\begin{matrix}
{\frac{\alpha^{\mathcal{l}}}{\mathcal{l}!}\sigma\left( { B_{R}} \right)\left\lbrack {\frac{\mu\left( B_{R} \right)}{R^{N - p}}} \right\rbrack^{{\mathcal{l}\beta}/{({p - 1})}} \leq C{\int_{B_{R}}{P_{\mathcal{l},\alpha,\beta}\left( { u} \right)\left( { x} \right)d\sigma}},} \\
\end{matrix}$$which combined with ([20](#EEq3.2){ref-type="disp-formula"}) implies that $$\begin{matrix}
{\frac{\alpha^{\mathcal{l}}}{\mathcal{l}!}\sigma\left( { B_{R}} \right)\left\lbrack {\frac{\mu\left( B_{R} \right)}{R^{N - p}}} \right\rbrack^{{\mathcal{l}\beta}/{({p - 1})}} \leq C\mu\left( { B_{R}} \right).} \\
\end{matrix}$$ This inequality is equivalent to $$\begin{matrix}
{\mu\left( { B_{R}} \right) \leq C\sigma\left( { B_{R}} \right)^{{({p - 1})}/{({\mathcal{l}\beta - p + 1})}}R^{{\mathcal{l}\beta{({N - p})}}/{({\mathcal{l}\beta - p + 1})}},} \\
\end{matrix}$$ which, together with ([20](#EEq3.2){ref-type="disp-formula"}), leads to ([19](#EEq3.1){ref-type="disp-formula"}).
Proof of [Theorem 1](#thm1.1){ref-type="statement"}.For fixed *x* ~0~ ∈ *Ω*, let *R* \> 0 be such that *B* ~4*R*~(*x* ~0~) ⊂ *Ω*. Suppose that *u* is a positive solution of ([1](#EEq1.1){ref-type="disp-formula"}). In view of the lower pointwise potential estimate ([14](#EEq2.2){ref-type="disp-formula"}), we find that, for all *x* ∈ *B* ~*R*~(*x* ~0~),$$\begin{matrix}
{u\left( { x} \right)C\mathbf{W}_{1,p}^{R}\left\lbrack {\omega} \right\rbrack\left( { x} \right),} \\
\\
{u\left( { x} \right)C\mathbf{W}_{1,p}^{R}\left( { P_{\mathcal{l},\alpha,\beta}\left( { u} \right)d\sigma} \right)\left( { x} \right)} \\
{\geq C\mathbf{W}_{1,p}^{R}\left( {\frac{\alpha^{\mathcal{l}}}{\mathcal{l}!}u^{\mathcal{l}\beta}d\sigma} \right)\left( { x} \right)} \\
{= C\left( {\frac{\alpha^{\mathcal{l}}}{\mathcal{l}!}} \right)^{1/{({p - 1})}}\mathbf{W}_{1,p}^{R}\left( { u^{\mathcal{l}\beta}d\sigma} \right)\left( { x} \right),} \\
\end{matrix}$$where *C* depends on *N*, *p*.Restrict the integration *σ* on *B* ~*R*~(*x* ~0~) and let *dσ*′ = *χ* ~*B*~*R*~(*x*~0~)~ *dσ*; thus, taking into account ([25](#EEq3.4){ref-type="disp-formula"}), we obtain$$\begin{matrix}
{u\left( { x} \right) \geq C\left( {\frac{\alpha^{\mathcal{l}}}{\mathcal{l}!}} \right)^{1/{({p - 1})}}\mathbf{W}_{1,p}^{R}\left( {\left( { C\mathbf{W}_{1,p}^{R}\left\lbrack {\omega} \right\rbrack} \right)^{\mathcal{l}\beta}d\sigma} \right)\left( { x} \right)} \\
{\mspace{1800mu} = C^{1 + {{\mathcal{l}\beta}/{({p - 1})}}}\left( {\frac{\alpha^{\mathcal{l}}}{\mathcal{l}!}} \right)^{1/{({p - 1})}}{\int\limits_{0}^{R}{\left( {\frac{1}{t^{N - p}}\mspace{1800mu} \cdot {\int_{B_{t}{(x)} \cap B_{r}{(x_{0})}}{\left( {\mathbf{W}_{1,p}^{R}\left\lbrack {\omega} \right\rbrack\left( { y} \right)} \right)^{\mathcal{l}\beta}d\sigma\left( y \right)}}} \right)^{1/{({p - 1})}}\frac{dt}{t}}},} \\
\end{matrix}$$in view of $$\begin{matrix}
{\mathbf{W}_{1,p}^{R}\left\lbrack {\omega} \right\rbrack\left( { y} \right)C_{0}\left( { N,p} \right)\chi_{B_{r}{(x_{0})}}\left( { y} \right)} \\
{\mspace{1410mu} \cdot {\int\limits_{r}^{R/2}{\left( {\frac{\omega\left( {B_{s}\left( x_{0} \right)} \right)}{s^{N - p}}} \right)^{1/{({p - 1})}}\frac{ds}{s}}},} \\
\end{matrix}$$which combined with ([26](#EEq3.6){ref-type="disp-formula"}) leads to the fact that, for all *x* ∈ *B* ~*R*~(*x* ~0~),$$\begin{matrix}
{u\left( { x} \right)C^{1 + {{\mathcal{l}\beta}/{({p - 1})}}}\left( {\frac{\alpha^{\mathcal{l}}}{\mathcal{l}!}} \right)^{1/{({p - 1})}}\left\lbrack { C_{0}M\left\lbrack { x_{0},\omega} \right\rbrack} \right\rbrack^{{\mathcal{l}\beta}/{({p - 1})}}} \\
{\mspace{1410mu} \cdot \mathbf{W}_{1,p}^{R}\left( {\chi_{B_{R}{(x_{0})}}d\sigma} \right)\left( { x} \right),} \\
\end{matrix}$$where *M*(*x* ~0~, *ω*) is defined as$$\begin{matrix}
{M\left( { x_{0},\omega} \right) = {\int\limits_{r}^{R/2}{\left( {\frac{\omega\left( {B_{s}\left( x_{0} \right)} \right)}{s^{N - p}}} \right)^{1/{({p - 1})}}\frac{ds}{s}}}.} \\
\end{matrix}$$Thus, taking into account ([26](#EEq3.6){ref-type="disp-formula"}) and ([28](#EEq3.7){ref-type="disp-formula"}) and arguing by induction, we find$$\begin{matrix}
{u\left( { x_{0}} \right)} \\
{\mspace{1440mu} \geq C\left( { N,p,\alpha,\beta,\mathcal{l}} \right)\left\lbrack { M\left\lbrack { x_{0},\omega} \right\rbrack} \right\rbrack^{{\lbrack{{\mathcal{l}\beta}/{\lbrack{p - 1}\rbrack}}\rbrack}^{n}}\mathfrak{M}^{n}1\left( { x_{0}} \right),} \\
\end{matrix}$$where *𝔐* is a nonlinear integral operator defined by *𝔐f* = **W** ~1,*p*~ ^*R*^(*f* ^*ℓβ*^ *dσ*′). The iterates of *𝔐* are denoted by *𝔐* ^*i*^ *f* = *𝔐*(*𝔐* ^*i*−1^ *f*). It is then easy to see from [Proposition 8](#prop2.3){ref-type="statement"} that, for all *s* \> 0, $$\begin{matrix}
{\mathfrak{M}1\left( { x_{0}} \right) = \mathbf{W}_{1,p}^{R}\left( { d\sigma^{\prime}} \right) \geq \phi\left( { y} \right),} \\
\\
{\mathfrak{M}\left( {\phi^{s{({p - 1})}}} \right)\left( { y} \right) \geq \frac{\phi^{s\mathcal{l}\beta + 1}\left( y \right)}{s\mathcal{l}\beta + 1},} \\
\\
\end{matrix}$$where *ϕ*(*y*) appears in [Proposition 8](#prop2.3){ref-type="statement"}. Consequently, $$\begin{matrix}
{\mathfrak{M}^{n}1\left( { x_{0}} \right) \geq {\prod\limits_{j = 1}^{n - 1}{\left\{ {{\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{j}\left\lbrack {\frac{\mathcal{l}\beta}{p - 1}} \right\rbrack^{i}}} \right\}^{- {\lbrack{{\mathcal{l}\beta}/{({p - 1})}}\rbrack}^{n - j - 1}}\mspace{1800mu} \cdot \left( {\phi\left( { x_{0}} \right)} \right)^{\sum_{i = 0}^{n - 1}{\lbrack{{\mathcal{l}\beta}/{({p - 1})}}\rbrack}^{i}}}},} \\
\end{matrix}$$and this yields$$\begin{matrix}
{\limsup\limits_{n\rightarrow\infty}\left\lbrack {\mathfrak{M}^{n}1\left\lbrack { x_{0}} \right\rbrack} \right\rbrack^{{\lbrack{{({p - 1})}/{\mathcal{l}\beta}}\rbrack}^{n}}} \\
{\mspace{1800mu} \geq C\left( { N,p,\mathcal{l},\alpha,\beta} \right)\left( {\phi\left( { x_{0}} \right)} \right)^{{({p - 1})}/{({\mathcal{l}\beta - p + 1})}}.} \\
\end{matrix}$$Here, we use the fact that $$\begin{matrix}
{{\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{\infty}\left\lbrack {\frac{p - 1}{\mathcal{l}\beta}} \right\rbrack^{i}} = \frac{p - 1}{\mathcal{l}\beta - p + 1},\mspace{1800mu}\text{if }\mathcal{l}\beta > p - 1.} \\
\end{matrix}$$In the following, we will divide the proof into two cases.*Case 1* (*u*(*x* ~0~) \< *∞*). In this case, ([33](#EEq3.10){ref-type="disp-formula"}), combined with ([30](#EEq3.9){ref-type="disp-formula"}), implies that $$\begin{matrix}
{1 \geq C\left( { N,p,\mathcal{l},\alpha,\beta} \right)M\left( { x_{0},\omega} \right)\left( {\phi\left( { x_{0}} \right)} \right)^{{({p - 1})}/{({\mathcal{l}\beta - p + 1})}}.} \\
\end{matrix}$$Recalling that,$$\begin{matrix}
{\phi\left( { x_{0}} \right){\sum\limits_{j = 0}^{\infty}c_{j}} = {\sum\limits_{j = 0}^{\infty}{C\left\lbrack {\frac{\sigma\left\lbrack {B_{r2^{- j}}\left\lbrack x_{0} \right\rbrack} \right\rbrack}{\left\lbrack {r2^{- j}} \right\rbrack^{N - p}}} \right\rbrack^{1/{({p - 1})}}}}} \\
{\geq C_{2}\left( { N,p} \right){\int\limits_{0}^{r}{\left\lbrack {\frac{\sigma\left\lbrack {B_{t}\left\lbrack x_{0} \right\rbrack} \right\rbrack}{t^{N - p}}} \right\rbrack^{1/{({p - 1})}}\frac{dt}{t}}},} \\
\end{matrix}$$which leads to ([7](#EEq1.4){ref-type="disp-formula"}).
*Case 2* (*u*(*x* ~0~) = *∞*). According to \[[@B4]\], we know that *u* \< *∞* a.e. in *Ω*. Therefore, choose a sequence {*x* ~*n*~}~*n*≥1~ ⊂ *B* ~*R*/10~(*x* ~0~), such that lim~*n*→*∞*~ *x* ~*n*~ = *x* ~0~ and *u*(*x* ~*n*~) \< *∞*. Then, ([7](#EEq1.4){ref-type="disp-formula"}) holds with *x* ~*n*~ in place of *x* ~0~, for all *n* ≥ 1. Then, ([7](#EEq1.4){ref-type="disp-formula"}) holds by the lower semicontinuity of Wolff potentials inequality.
The proof of inequality ([8](#EEq1.5){ref-type="disp-formula"}) is completely similarly and more details are omitted.
Proof of [Theorem 2](#thm1.2){ref-type="statement"}.Let *u* be a nonnegative *p*-superharmonic of ([1](#EEq1.1){ref-type="disp-formula"}). Then, *u* satisfies ([7](#EEq1.4){ref-type="disp-formula"}), while it is well known that $$\begin{matrix}
{{\int\limits_{0}^{r}{\left\lbrack {\frac{\sigma\left\lbrack B_{t} \right\rbrack}{t^{N - p}}} \right\rbrack^{1/{({p - 1})}}\frac{dt}{t}}} = \infty,} \\
\end{matrix}$$Provided that *dσ* = \|*x*\|^−*r*^ *dx* with *r* \> *p*, which contradicts ([7](#EEq1.4){ref-type="disp-formula"}).
4. Proof of Theorems [3](#thm1.3){ref-type="statement"} and [4](#thm1.4){ref-type="statement"} {#sec4}
==============================================================================================
In this section, we will prove [Theorem 3](#thm1.3){ref-type="statement"}. It is interesting to note that, in order to prove this theorem, we should give a new iterative process.
Proof of [Theorem 3](#thm1.3){ref-type="statement"}.This proof will be divided into two parts according to the value of *p*.*Case 1* (1 \< *p* ≤ 2). For nonnegative measurable functions *f*, define$$\begin{matrix}
{\mathcal{N}\left( { f} \right)\left( { x} \right) = \mathbf{W}_{1,p}^{R}\left( { f^{p - 1}d\sigma^{\prime}} \right)\left( { x} \right).} \\
\end{matrix}$$Obviously, *𝒩* is a homogeneous superlinear operator acting on nonnegative functions. Assume that *u* is a solution of ([1](#EEq1.1){ref-type="disp-formula"}); then, for all *x* ∈ *B* ~*R*~(*x* ~0~),$$\begin{matrix}
{u\left( { x} \right)C\mathbf{W}_{1,p}^{R}\left( { u^{p - 1}d\sigma^{\prime}} \right)\left( { x} \right) + C\mathbf{W}_{1,p}^{R}\left\lbrack {\omega} \right\rbrack\left( { x} \right)} \\
{= C\mathcal{N}\left( { u} \right)\left( { x} \right) + C\mathbf{W}_{1,p}^{R}\left\lbrack {\omega} \right\rbrack\left( { x} \right)} \\
{\geq C^{2}\mathcal{N}\left( {\mathbf{W}_{1,p}^{R}\left\lbrack {\omega} \right\rbrack} \right)\left( { x} \right) + C\mathbf{W}_{1,p}^{R}\left\lbrack {\omega} \right\rbrack\left( { x} \right),} \\
\end{matrix}$$where *C* depends on *N*, *p*.Iterating ([39](#EEq4.2){ref-type="disp-formula"}) *n* times yields$$\begin{matrix}
{u\left( { x} \right) \geq {\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{i = n}{C^{i + 1}\mathcal{N}^{i}\left( {\mathbf{W}_{1,p}^{R}\left\lbrack {\omega} \right\rbrack} \right)\left( { x} \right)}} + C\mathbf{W}_{1,p}^{R}\left\lbrack {\omega} \right\rbrack\left( { x} \right).} \\
\end{matrix}$$Here, we use the fact that *𝒩* is a homogeneous superlinear operator and *i*th iterate of *𝒩* is defined by *𝒩* ^*i*^(*u*) = *𝒩*(*𝒩* ^*i*−1^(*u*)) for *i* \> 1.In the following, we will estimate the iterates of *𝒩*. Recall *dσ*′ = *χ* ~*B*~*R*~(*x*~0~)~ *dσ*; thus, $$\begin{matrix}
{\mathcal{N}\left( {\mathbf{W}_{1,p}^{R}\left\lbrack {\omega} \right\rbrack} \right)\left( { x} \right) = {\int\limits_{0}^{R}{\left( {\frac{1}{t^{N - p}}\mspace{1800mu} \cdot {\int_{B_{t}{(x)} \cap B_{r}{(x_{0})}}{\left( {\mathbf{W}_{1,p}^{R}\left\lbrack {\omega} \right\rbrack\left( { y} \right)} \right)^{p - 1}d\sigma\left( y \right)}}} \right)^{1/{({p - 1})}}\frac{dt}{t}}},} \\
\end{matrix}$$ in view of $$\begin{matrix}
{\mathbf{W}_{1,p}^{R}\left\lbrack {\omega} \right\rbrack\left( { y} \right) \geq C_{0}\left( { N,p} \right)M\left( { x_{0},\omega} \right),} \\
\end{matrix}$$ where *M*(*x* ~0~, *ω*) is defined in ([29](#EEq3.8){ref-type="disp-formula"}). Consequently, for all *x* ∈ *B* ~*R*~(*x* ~0~), $$\begin{matrix}
{\mathcal{N}\left( {\mathbf{W}_{1,p}^{R}\left\lbrack {\omega} \right\rbrack} \right)\left( { x} \right)} \\
{\mspace{1800mu} \geq C_{0}M\left( { x_{0},\omega} \right)\mathbf{W}_{1,p}^{R}\left( {\chi_{B_{R}{(x_{0})}}d\sigma} \right)\left( { x} \right)} \\
{\mspace{1800mu} \geq C_{0}M\left( { x_{0},\omega} \right)\phi\left( { y} \right),} \\
\end{matrix}$$ where *ϕ*(*y*) appears in [Proposition 8](#prop2.3){ref-type="statement"}. Obviously,$$\begin{matrix}
{\mathcal{N}^{i}\left( {\mathbf{W}_{1,p}^{R}\left\lbrack {\omega} \right\rbrack} \right)\left( { x} \right) \geq \left\lbrack { C_{0}M\left\lbrack { x_{0},\omega} \right\rbrack} \right\rbrack^{i}\frac{\phi^{i}\left( y \right)}{i!}.} \\
\end{matrix}$$Here, the following fact has been used in this inequality: $$\begin{matrix}
{\mathcal{N}\left( {\phi^{s{({p - 1})}}} \right)\left( { y} \right) \geq \frac{\phi^{s{({p - 1})} + 1}\left( y \right)}{s\left( {p - 1} \right) + 1}.} \\
\end{matrix}$$Note that *i* here is arbitrary; this fact, together with ([40](#EEq4.3){ref-type="disp-formula"}) and ([44](#EEq4.4){ref-type="disp-formula"}), leads to$$\begin{matrix}
{u\left( { x_{0}} \right){\sum\limits_{i = 0}^{i = \infty}\frac{\left\lbrack {CC_{0}M\left\lbrack {x_{0},\omega} \right\rbrack\phi\left\lbrack y \right\rbrack} \right\rbrack^{i}}{i!}}} \\
{= {\exp\left\{ { CC_{0}M\left\{ { x_{0},\omega} \right\}\phi\left\{ { y} \right\}} \right\}},} \\
\end{matrix}$$which, combined with ([36](#EEq3.11){ref-type="disp-formula"}), leads to ([9](#EEq1.6){ref-type="disp-formula"}) provided that *u*(*x* ~0~) \< *∞*. In a similar way, we can prove ([9](#EEq1.6){ref-type="disp-formula"}) if *u*(*x* ~0~) = *∞*; more details are omitted.*Case 2* (*p* \> 2). A point worth emphasizing is that the operator *𝒩* defined by ([38](#EEq4.1){ref-type="disp-formula"}) does not fall within this framework since it is not a superlinear operator. Therefore, define $$\begin{matrix}
{\mathcal{N}\left( { f} \right)\left( { x} \right) = \left( {\mathbf{W}_{1,p}^{R}\left( { fd\sigma^{\prime}} \right)} \right)^{p - 1}\left( { x} \right).} \\
\end{matrix}$$In this case, we have $$\begin{matrix}
{u\left( { x} \right)^{p - 1}C^{p - 1}\left\lbrack {\mathbf{W}_{1,p}^{R}\left\lbrack {\omega} \right\rbrack} \right\rbrack^{p - 1}\left( { x} \right)} \\
{\geq \left( { CC_{0}M\left( { x_{0},\omega} \right)} \right)^{p - 1},} \\
{u\left( { x} \right)C\mathbf{W}_{1,p}^{R}\left( { u^{p - 1}d\sigma} \right)\left( { x} \right) + C\mathbf{W}_{1,p}^{R}\left\lbrack {\omega} \right\rbrack\left( { x} \right).} \\
\\
\end{matrix}$$ Thus, by Minkowski\'s inequality,$$\begin{matrix}
{u\left( { x} \right)^{p - 1}C^{p - 1}\left\lbrack {\mathbf{W}_{1,p}^{R}\left\lbrack { u^{p - 1}d\sigma} \right\rbrack} \right\rbrack^{p - 1}\left( { x} \right)} \\
{\mspace{2060mu} + \left\lbrack { C\mathbf{W}_{1,p}^{R}\left\lbrack {\omega} \right\rbrack} \right\rbrack^{p - 1}} \\
{= C^{p - 1}\mathcal{N}\left( { u^{p - 1}} \right)\left( { x} \right) + \left\lbrack { C\mathbf{W}_{1,p}^{R}\left\lbrack {\omega} \right\rbrack} \right\rbrack^{p - 1}\left( { x} \right)} \\
{\geq C^{2{({p - 1})}}\mathcal{N}\left\{ {\left\{ {\mathbf{W}_{1,p}^{R}\left\lbrack {\omega} \right\rbrack} \right\}^{p - 1}} \right\}\left( { x} \right)} \\
{\mspace{2060mu} + \left\lbrack { C\mathbf{W}_{1,p}^{R}\left\lbrack {\omega} \right\rbrack} \right\rbrack^{p - 1},} \\
\end{matrix}$$where *C* depends on *N*, *p*. It is clear that$$\begin{matrix}
{\mathcal{N}\left\{ {\left\{ {\mathbf{W}_{1,p}^{R}\left\lbrack {\omega} \right\rbrack} \right\}^{p - 1}} \right\}\left( { x} \right) = \left\lbrack {{\int_{0}^{R}{\left\lbrack {\frac{1}{t^{N - p}}\mspace{1800mu} \cdot {\int_{B_{t}{\lbrack x\rbrack} \cap B_{r}{\lbrack x_{0}\rbrack}}{\left\lbrack {\mathbf{W}_{1,p}^{R}\left\lbrack {\omega} \right\rbrack} \right\rbrack^{p - 1}d\sigma\left\lbrack y \right\rbrack}}} \right\rbrack^{1/{\lbrack{p - 1}\rbrack}}\frac{dt}{t}}}} \right\rbrack^{p - 1}} \\
{\mspace{1800mu} \geq \left\lbrack { C_{0}M\left\lbrack { x_{0},\omega} \right\rbrack\mathbf{W}_{1,p}^{R}\left\lbrack {\chi_{B_{R}{\lbrack x_{0}\rbrack}}d\sigma} \right\rbrack} \right\rbrack^{p - 1}\left( { x} \right)} \\
{\mspace{1800mu} \geq \left\lbrack { C_{0}M\left\lbrack { x_{0},\omega} \right\rbrack\phi\left\lbrack { y} \right\rbrack} \right\rbrack^{p - 1},} \\
\end{matrix}$$where *C* ~0~, *M*(*x* ~0~, *ω*) appears in ([29](#EEq3.8){ref-type="disp-formula"}). Using ([49](#EEq4.6){ref-type="disp-formula"}) and ([50](#EEq4.7){ref-type="disp-formula"}), we find $$\begin{matrix}
{u\left( { x} \right)^{p - 1} \geq \left\lbrack { C^{2}C_{0}M\left\lbrack { x_{0},\omega} \right\rbrack\phi\left\lbrack { y} \right\rbrack} \right\rbrack^{p - 1}} \\
{\mspace{2060mu} + \left\lbrack { CC_{0}M\left\lbrack { x_{0},\omega} \right\rbrack\phi\left\lbrack { y} \right\rbrack} \right\rbrack^{p - 1}.} \\
\end{matrix}$$Therefore, $$\begin{matrix}
{u\left( { x} \right)^{p - 1} \geq {\sum\limits_{i = 0}^{i = \infty}\left\lbrack {\frac{\left\lbrack {C^{2}C_{0}M\left\lbrack {x_{0},\omega} \right\rbrack\phi\left\lbrack y \right\rbrack} \right\rbrack^{i}}{i!}} \right\rbrack^{p - 1}}.} \\
\end{matrix}$$By reverse Hölder inequality, we get $$\begin{matrix}
{u\left( { x} \right){\sum\limits_{i = 0}^{i = \infty}\frac{\left\lbrack {C^{2}C_{0}M\left\lbrack {x_{0},\omega} \right\rbrack\phi\left\lbrack y \right\rbrack} \right\rbrack^{i}}{i!}}} \\
{= {\exp\left\{ { C^{2}C_{0}M\left\{ { x_{0},\omega} \right\}\phi\left\{ { y} \right\}} \right\}}.} \\
\end{matrix}$$The following proof is similar to that of ([46](#EEq4.5){ref-type="disp-formula"}), so it is clear.This finishes the proof of [Theorem 3](#thm1.3){ref-type="statement"}.
The proof of [Theorem 4](#thm1.4){ref-type="statement"} is standard and will be omitted.
5. A Fully Nonlinear Analogue: The *k*-Hessian {#sec5}
==============================================
We now move to *k*-Hessian operator and present fully nonlinear counterparts of the results obtained in the previous theorems. More precisely, consider fully nonlinear *k*-Hessian operator *F* ~*k*~, introduced by Trudinger and Wang \[[@B15]--[@B17]\]:$$\begin{matrix}
{F_{k}\left\lbrack { - u} \right\rbrack = \sigma P\left( { u} \right) + \omega,\mspace{1800mu} u \geq 0,\,\, - u\text{ is }k\text{-convex in }\Omega,} \\
\end{matrix}$$where *F* ~*k*~\[*u*\] denotes the *k*-Hessian (*k* = 1,2,..., *n*),$$\begin{matrix}
{F_{k}\left\lbrack { u} \right\rbrack = {\sum\limits_{1 \leq i_{1} < i_{2} < \cdots < i_{k} \leq n}^{}{\lambda_{i_{1}}\cdots\lambda_{i_{k}}}},} \\
\end{matrix}$$where *λ* ~*i*~1~~ ⋯ *λ* ~*i*~*k*~~ are the eigenvalues of the Hessian matrix *D* ^2^ *u*; that is, *F* ~*k*~\[*u*\] is the sum of the *k* × *k* principal minors of *D* ^2^ *u*, which coincides with the Laplacian *F* ~1~\[*u*\] = Δ~*p*~ *u* if *k* = 1, and the Monge-Ampère operator *F* ~*n*~\[*u*\] = det(*D* ^2^ *u*) if *k* = *n*.
The proof of the following theorems is completely analogous to that of ([1](#EEq1.1){ref-type="disp-formula"}). One only needs to use Propositions [9](#prop2.4){ref-type="statement"} and [10](#prop2.5){ref-type="statement"} in place of Propositions [6](#prop2.1){ref-type="statement"} and [7](#prop2.2){ref-type="statement"}, respectively, and argue as in Sections [3](#sec3){ref-type="sec"} and [4](#sec4){ref-type="sec"} with **W** ~2*k*/(*k*+1),*k*+1~ ^*R*^ in place of **W** ~1,*p*~ ^*R*^. Therefore, the proof is omitted.
Theorem 12 .Let *u*(*x*) be a solution of ([54](#EEq5.1){ref-type="disp-formula"}) in *Ω* with *p* \> 1 and *ℓβ* \> *k*. Suppose that *B* ~4*R*~(*x* ~0~) ⊂ *Ω*. Then, there exists a constant *M* = *M*(*N*, *p*, *α*, *β*, *ℓ*) such that $$\begin{matrix}
\left\{ {{\int_{0}^{r}{\left\lbrack {\frac{\sigma\left\lbrack B_{t} \right\rbrack}{t^{N - p}}} \right\rbrack^{1/k}\frac{dt}{t}}}} \right\}^{k/{({\mathcal{l}\beta - k})}} \\
{\mspace{1800mu} \cdot {\int\limits_{r}^{R/16}{\left\lbrack {\frac{\omega\left\lbrack {B_{t}\left\lbrack x_{0} \right\rbrack} \right\rbrack}{t^{N - p}}} \right\rbrack^{1/k}\frac{dt}{t}}} \leq M,} \\
\left\{ {{\int_{0}^{r}{\left\lbrack {\frac{\sigma\left\lbrack B_{t} \right\rbrack}{t^{N - p}}} \right\rbrack^{1/k}\frac{dt}{t}}}} \right\}^{k/{({\mathcal{l}\beta - k})}} \\
{\mspace{1800mu} \cdot {\int\limits_{r}^{R/16}{\left\lbrack {\frac{\int_{B_{t}}{P_{\mathcal{l},\alpha,\beta}\left\lbrack u \right\rbrack d\sigma}}{t^{N - p}}} \right\rbrack^{1/k}\frac{dt}{t}}} \leq M,} \\
\end{matrix}$$for all 0 \< *r* ≤ *R*/32.
Theorem 13 .Let *u*(*x*) be a solution of ([54](#EEq5.1){ref-type="disp-formula"}) in *Ω* with *p* \> 1 and *P*(*u*) = *σu* ^*p*−1^. Suppose that *B* ~4*R*~(*x* ~0~) ⊂ *Ω*. Then, there exists a constant *M* = *M*(*N*, *p*, *α*, *β*, *ℓ*) such that $$\begin{matrix}
{{\int\limits_{0}^{r}{\left\lbrack {\frac{\sigma\left\lbrack B_{t} \right\rbrack}{t^{N - p}}} \right\rbrack^{1/k}\frac{dt}{t}}}{\int\limits_{r}^{R/16}{\left\lbrack {\frac{\omega\left\lbrack {B_{t}\left\lbrack x_{0} \right\rbrack} \right\rbrack}{t^{N - p}}} \right\rbrack^{1/k}\frac{dt}{t}}} \leq M,} \\
\\
{{\int\limits_{0}^{r}{\left\lbrack {\frac{\sigma\left\lbrack B_{t} \right\rbrack}{t^{N - p}}} \right\rbrack^{1/k}\frac{dt}{t}}}{\int\limits_{r}^{R/16}{\left\lbrack {\frac{\int_{B_{t}}{u^{p - 1}d\sigma}}{t^{N - p}}} \right\rbrack^{1/k}\frac{dt}{t}}} \leq M,} \\
\\
\end{matrix}$$ for all 0 \< *r* ≤ *R*/32.
This work was partially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (no. 11401473 and no. 11326100), Natural Science Foundation of Gansu Province (no. 145RJZA214 and no. 1506RJYA272), Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (no. 31920160059), Science and Humanity Foundation of the Ministry of Education (no. 15YJA880085), Foundation of State Nationalities Affairs Commission (no. 14XBZ016), and Innovative Team Subsidize of Northwest University for Nationalities.
Competing Interests
===================
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
[^1]: Academic Editor: Alberto Fiorenza
| |
Detail:Zhengzhou Yifan Machinery Co.,Ltd. jaw crusher Manual Section II focuses on safety issues, the following can be divided into six main parts to introduce ...
Replay:
First, the scope
Zhengzhou Yifan Machinery Co., Ltd's products are based on safety as the main criteria for the design, and in accordance with the latest design principles and security policy making. However, improper operation or careless operation will still be in danger. Operator and other personnel should be aware of this equipment in a potentially dangerous operation.
The product must and can only be used under proper mechanical condition, according to its "scope" and operation of the dangers that can occur when be carefully considered. This manual must be strictly concern, poor mechanical or site conditions will be detrimental to safety, must be promptly corrected.
The product can be widely used in mining, smelting, building material, highway, water conservancy and chemical industry and many other industries, crushing compression strength not more than 320MPa of various stones.
The "Scope" should also include: Follow all the rules of this manual, the correct and safe operation, and compliance with inspection and maintenance procedures carefully.
Second, personnel requirements
Products work only by professional and trained personnel to complete, to meet the legal age requirements.
To clear the operator's duties. May refuse to allow him to perform by third parties of any unsafe instructions.
Personnel should be trained only by a long-term supervision of experienced people responsible for job training or education of the overall product.
Engaged in power control, must have a certificate from the person to serve as a power, or under his supervision, and always in accordance with the rules to complete.
Third, the operating requirements
To carry out all necessary checks to ensure that the product in a safe condition and in good mechanical condition to operate. If you use the product alone, must be provided with the main switch and emergency switch.
Visually inspected at least once per shift the equipment damage and defects. There is a fault, to promptly notify the person in charge.
Failure, must be shut down immediately and troubleshooting.
Fourth, check the troubleshooting
Machine rotates, the staff can not stand the force of inertia within the line, electrical switch installation should avoid this location.
Operating personnel must wear helmets.
The machine is running, is strictly prohibited to make any adjustment, cleaning, repair, etc., in order to avoid accidents.
Forbidden to put the machine can not be broken material to avoid damage to the machine.
Machine to maintenance, turn the power off, and take measures to lock electrical control systems.
Machine operation, machine work overload is strictly prohibited.
Prohibited when the machine is running toward the machine from the crushing chamber catchy peek inside.
Electrical equipment should be grounded, insulated wires should be reliable and packed in serpentine tube.
Machine transmission parts must be an additional safety device.
in the product can not climb the equipment running or touch moving parts, is strictly prohibited clean up any blockage.
Machine is running, there may be flying rocks and other objects, so in hazardous areas should always wear a helmet.
Fifth, maintenance and repair
Follow the instructions on adjusting , maintenance , inspection procedures and replacement of parts or equipment and all other details. Only trained technicians to complete this work .
Related to the operation of the device , modify, convert or adjust any of the work , as well as inspection, maintenance and repair of its safety devices should follow the instructions presented on starting , stopping , maintenance elements of the procedure .
In the maintenance and repair period , the motor control must be locked in the off position and disconnect switch at the main danger signs hang in the maintenance and repair period to ensure that the device will not be activated.
Moving parts and heavy structures , to comply with careful handling and lifting work steps to avoid any possible danger . Use only suitable , properly designed hangers and handling equipment with sufficient capacity . To have sufficient capacity on the part of the ground, must not stand in the suspended load and work below .
In the lifting components , use only approved lifting equipment and slings , lifting each one before you tighten the bolt rings .
Maintenance and repair work after the end of a good to tighten any loose fittings , bolts, expansion sleeve and so on.
Six, other safety issues
Power
Use only suitable and recommended capacity fuse, never use than electric traction marked higher capacity fuse.
There is a power failure, the device should stop in time. Carry out any work on the electrical equipment, only by a technician certificate or a certificate of electricity down the complete guidance and supervision personnel. Also comply with all the norms and regulations.
Within the prescribed period, the power device must be checked. Like loose contacts with the damaged lines and other mistakes Department must immediately repaired. This work also must be performed by a person or by a certificate of electricity required by law to complete the relevant personnel.
the fire and blast
In case of fire near the equipment:
Warn all personnel in the hazardous area
Stop Equipment
Turn off the main disconnect switch
Ensure that all personnel entering security zones
Started fighting when necessary and issue alerts
If possible, take the equipment out of the danger zone
When the device when the fire
Warn all personnel in the danger zone
Used to stop the emergency stop device
Turn off the main switch
Ensure that all personnel entering security zones
Started fighting when necessary and issue alerts
During blasting operations, shall be prohibited to use radio control device, which may cause premature detonation. Must prevent explosives into the device.
. Equipment Transportation Management
Use only suitable and adequate transportation capacity lifting equipment. Only suitable lifting points tied tight on only after lifting equipment.
Any parts of the mobile device prior to disconnecting the external power supply and properly before restarting again turned on.
According to the instructions for each of the test work.
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Just what is it that makes today's urban tactics so different, so appealing?
Just what is it is a paraphrase of Richard Hamilton’s title for his collage that became the seminal poster for the 1956 exhibition This is Tomorrow, which he in turn lifted from the copy of a real estate advertisement, Just what is it that makes today's home so different, so appealing?
The ‘difference’ was spatial modernity, the open plan, the lateral extension of space, seemingly without hierarchy, the ‘appealing’ was the celebration of nascent neo-liberal capitalism.
muf are constantly mindful of Hamilton’s cheery critique on the impossibility of capitalism to produce truly democratic space and our tactics, as practitioners and producers, are those of duplicity, staying in the room long enough to understand what is going on, and then operating along a continuum of the strategic sell-out.
These tactics, which are perhaps neither different nor appealing, will be presented through recent public realm projects.
11.00 Lecture Helen Leung
Los Angeles (Co-Executive Director of LA-Más)
Community Urbanism and Grasstops Activism: A Los Angeles Perspective
Too often, politics and capitalism undermine the expected democratic processes of urban planning and investment. In Los Angeles, a non-profit urban design firm is challenging the norms by combining design, policy, and community. LA-Más invests in projects that help lower-income communities shape their growth. To ensure inclusive development that is cultural sensitive, especially in gentrifying neighborhoods, LA-Más often serves as an intermediary between political will and community need. This presentation will highlight creative housing and planning strategies, small business programs, and public realm interventions that reflect cultural preservation over production. In all these projects, there is an intentional approach towards meaningful community engagement and new political partnerships.
11.45– Lunch Break and
12.30 discussion installation
12.30 Strategies of Site Specifity
Moderators: Marion von Osten / Peter Spillmann
12.45 Lecture Joanna Warzsa
Curator of public art Munich 2017
13.30 Lecture Lisa Rosendahl
Curator of Public Arts Agency Sweden series “Industrial Society in Transition”
Extraction – From Mining to Data Mining in Luleå
The talk will focus on Rosendahl's current curatorial project, a context-specific exhibition in public spaces throughout the Swedish city of Luleå produced by Public Art Agency Sweden. The project takes the shift from mining to data mining in the region of Norrbotten as a point of departure to discuss the expanding paradigm of extractivism more generally. The exhibition in Luleå is the first part of a longer curatorial project on extraction that will continue in relation to other geographical contexts.
14.15 Coffee Break and open discussions
14.30 Activism / Commonings
Moderators: Patric Fasel / Sabine Gebhardt Fink
14.45 Lecture Dana Yahalomi
Israel (Member Public Movement)
15.15 Lecture Tanja Ostojic
Berlin (artist)
Misplaced Women?
Ongoing since 2009, is on-line and live platform, and an art project by Tanja Ostojić, that consists of performance series, workshops and delegated performances, including contributions by international artists, students and people from divers backgrounds. Within this project we embody and enact some of everyday-life activity that signifies a displacement as common to transients, migrants, war and disaster refugees, as it is to the itinerant artists travelling the world to earn their living. Project continues themes of migration, desired mobility, and relations of power and vulnerability in regards to the mobile female body as in numerous previous artworks of mine. Workshop participants get an opportunity to develop sensibility for related issues and processes. <misplacedwomen.wordpress.com>
16.15 Coffee Break and open discussions
16.30 Agents of Social Change
Ilan Manouach, workshop, Athens/Paris (artist)
Shapereader, an ad-hoc tactile communication system
17.30 Keynote Lecture Joe Parker
Claremont CA (Professor for International and Intercultural Studies (Pitzer College): Performative Theory, Art and Activism
Tactical Vigilance through Difference:
Embodied Collective Practices to Equalize Social Relations
Established political mechanisms have proven unable to displace plutocrats and oligarchs entrenched in national and local democracies, so some communities lose faith in electoral politics. Yet many long-established traditions of embodied, direct participation beyond liberal elections use assembly and consensus to disrupt abstract claims to equality and reclaim social spaces for governance by all. These sites also draw on specific histories Other to Eurocentric lineages of the political that open up agency to social sectors structurally blocked from the liberal public sphere: rural and urban subalterns, indigenous peoples, and the superexploited. This paper considers assembly-based movements deploying consensus in rural Mexico, Caracas, and New York City, along with artistic movements like the Street Artists Group in Buenos Aires. While assembly-based politics in these sites escape full capture by the logics and assumptions of bourgeois Eurocentric analysis, they provide many tactics useful for displacing legitimated embodied and epistemic violence. By introducing Other modes of the political unrecognizable to capitalist, phallogocentric, and nationalist regimes, these sites invite vigilance in everyday political practice that shapes equalized social spaces for the long term.
18.30– Aperitif
19.30
Universität / Haute École
for student applications
This conference will position and reflect traditional notions of cultural practices in the public sphere –art in context, participation, and activism – in relation to some of the most recent strategies and forms of cultural production today, namely: critical institutional practices, spatial agencies, and commonings. Considering these fields as specific contextualized arenas, the underlying paradigmatic positions will be disclosed through presentations by representative contemporary cultural producers. Mutual questions to be focused during the event include the following: What are the respective issues in current discourses, especially in light of the current rise in so - called populism? What strategies and forms are adequate in addressing such contemporary issues, and what are the difficulties in the face of the mediatization of cities, policies of (mis)representation and de-democratization? In our discussions we will focus on contemporary popular uprisings, assemblies and occupations – including Occupy Wall Street, Tahrir Square, Gezi Park, Black Lives Matter, and the Indignados, as well as on Judith Butler’s theory of assembly through performative, embodied dissent.
Concept and Organization
Linda Cassens Stoian, Patric Fasel, Sabine Gebhardt Fink, Marion von Osten, Peter Spillmann
Foyer Research Installation Art in Public Spheres: Timothy Studer and Students of the Master of Arts in Fine Arts Programm - Major Art in Public Spheres: Debora Gerber, Christina Haupt, Nicole Heri, Yvonne Imhof, Stina Kasser, Thomas Leiser, Reto Lienhard, Lorena Linke, Violetta Szikriszt, Stefan Tschumi, Paula Weimann. | https://master-platform.ch/index.php?id=194 |
As an Embroidery Machinist your role will be to help co-ordinate and deliver the embroidery requirements for the clothing operations of Serious Sport Ltd. Your direct responsibilities will be embroidering logos onto our own in house garments and assisting the print team to ensure the delivery of all clothing orders on time.
PRINCIPAL RESPONSIBILITIES
NATURE AND SCOPE OF JOB
(a) Job context
The role is part time hours that consist mainly of Evenings and Weekends based at Serious Sport, The Dummer Cricket Centre, Basingstoke, RG25 2AR.
(b) Working Relationships
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE
The position requires:
RENUMERATION
There is a starting salary which will be between £9 - £12 per hour dependent on experience and productivity.
|Salary:||£9 - £12 per hour|
Further Information
For more information or to apply for the role please email [email protected] with covering letter and CV
Is this position right for you? | https://serioussport.co.uk/about/vacancies/embroidery-machinist-part-time/ |
Why Is Monaco Considered a Tax Haven?
Many people are unaware that Monaco is a sovereign country and the smallest outside of Vatican City. The native language is French, which is possibly why it is often confused with France. It is located on the Mediterranean in Italy, mere hours distant from some of Europe’s largest cities. The country has a gorgeous landscape and a great quality of life, as well as excellent cultural, educational, and medical programs.
Another advantage of residing in this sunny region is the exceptionally advantageous tax rules. Many individuals want to live in this principality since it is a well-known tax shelter. In comparison to many other countries, the country’s personal and commercial tax rules and regulations are comparatively lenient. In this post, we will discuss some of the tax benefits of residing in Monaco.
Key Takeaways
- Monaco is regarded as a tax haven due to its tax laws and regulations.
- Individuals must produce evidence of housing for a year and be self-sufficient to be deemed a Monaco resident.
- Monaco has no personal income or capital gains taxes.
- Monaco has no property taxes, however rental properties are taxed at 1% of the yearly rent plus additional relevant charges.
- Monaco has abolished taxes on profits earned by domestic corporations and does not levy a global corporate income tax.
Personal Income Tax Avoidance
Monaco has not charged a personal income tax on its people since 1869. To be deemed a resident, one must plan to remain for more than three months every year. Given Monaco’s strategic position, which is readily accessible by aircraft, ferry, or rail, it is highly usual for people to work and even live in other European nations.
Nonresidents, for example, are permitted to remain in the United Kingdom for 90 days. Many Monaco residents work in the United Kingdom without exceeding the 90-day restriction. As a result, they are subject to Monaco tax regulations, and any money made in the United Kingdom is not taxed in that nation.
However, there is a catch. Many European governments consider this tax avoidance and endeavor to prevent it. French people living in Monaco, for example, are liable to French income taxes unless they become residents of Monaco before 1957.
Capital Gains and Wealth Tax
When a capital asset is sold, its value rises beyond its initial purchase price, resulting in a capital gain. Capital gains may be earned on any asset type, including stocks and other investments. Most nations, including the United States, tax capital gains. However, citizens of Monaco do not have to pay capital gains taxes.
Similarly, no net wealth taxes are levied in Monaco. Wealth taxes are levied on the net fair market value of an individual’s assets. It is levied on a taxpayer’s assets less liabilities. This tax is sometimes known as a capital or equity tax.
These restrictions do not apply to current or former French citizens. These people may be liable to some kind of taxes. Nonetheless, French individuals who relocate their house or domicile to Monaco will be liable to France’s net wealth tax on their international assets.
Property Tax
Monaco’s real estate market is available to both citizens and international investors. Foreign ownership is not restricted, and it is quite straightforward to purchase or rent in the nation. Remember that purchasing or renting real estate is an essential aspect of establishing residence in the nation. To become a resident, you must own or rent a property for at least a year, according to the requirements.
If you own real estate in Monaco, you should be aware that there are no property taxes in the principality. However, this does not apply to rentals. Rental properties, in reality, are taxed at 1% of the yearly rent plus additional relevant levies.
If you sell your property, you must pay taxes. This tax is charged at a rate of 33.3% on any profits made from real estate sales. Losses on the sale of real estate, on the other hand, may be carried forward for up to five years to offset profits on later sales.
Business Taxation
Anyone planning to run a company must first apply for a permit. This covers anybody planning to run a business as a corporation, trade, single proprietorship, or freelancer. All paperwork must be submitted to the Welcome Office. The company owner must have a strong professional reputation and credentials, as well as a business plan that demonstrates the promise of consistent commercial activity.
Individuals must also be familiar with the country’s corporate tax regulations. Monaco has no general business income tax. However, Monaco has a deal with France that enables some corporate revenues to be taxed. Companies must show that 75% or more of their earnings are produced in the United States. Companies with earnings in excess of 25% generated outside of Monaco are taxed at a rate of 33.33%.
Certain regulations apply to firms operating inside the principality. As an example:
- Monaco abolished dividend taxes on shares in local enterprises in 1963. This regulation, as well as the widespread availability of data privacy, significantly stimulated foreign investment in the principality.
- Monaco-based enterprises’ earnings are taxed if they sell the licensing of trademarks, patents, industrial methods, or creative copyrights.
Privacy
Monaco is well-known for its regulations governing financial and professional confidentiality. This implies that its financial system maintains a high level of data privacy, including the presence of wealth management and bank accounts, as well as any connected information such as account balances and activities. Failure to adhere to these criteria is punishable under the Monegasque Penal Code. However, keep in mind that Monaco has recently signed transparency treaties with other nations.
Despite this, the government has put in place mechanisms to combat money laundering and terrorist funding. The first anti-money laundering (AML) legislation was enacted in 1993, and it is still being updated as worldwide standards evolve. The country’s Financial Action Task Force keeps an eye on this conduct.
Monaco is notorious for its financial secrecy, but it is intensifying its attempts to reach agreements on openness with other nations.
Tax Havens Around the World
Monaco isn’t the only nation in the globe that draws new people and enterprises due to its tax haven status. Others that provide comparable or different tax-based incentives include:
- Switzerland: Despite the fact that banks may no longer function anonymously, the nation remains top on the worldwide privacy list due to its financial privacy legislation. It continues to provide the elite with a safe haven for their money.
- The Cayman Islands: There is no corporation tax in this island country. As a result, it enables businesses to establish subsidiaries to shield part or all of their revenue from taxes. Investors are not obliged to pay taxes on earnings or interest received on investments, and the country’s privacy rules are among the most stringent in the world.
- Panama: Companies formed in Panama that perform offshore business are exempt from several types of taxes, such as corporation, withholding, income, and capital gains taxes. Furthermore, there are very favorable privacy rules that protect offshore firms, trusts, and charities.
How Does Monaco Make Money?
Because of its climate and casino, Monaco is a famous tourist destination. As a result, the country’s income is primarily reliant on the tourist sector. It also levies a 20% VAT, stamp taxes on papers, and a 33.33% tax on firms whose earnings from offshore sources surpass 25%.
What Is the Cost of Living in Monaco?
The average cost of living in Monaco for a single person is little more than $1,400. This number excludes lodging and is around 47% greater than in the United States. A one-bedroom apartment in the city center costs about $5,500, while one outside the city costs around $3,600. Rent in Monaco is about 440% greater than in the United States.
Is Monte Carlo a Tax Haven?
Monaco’s administrative region is Monte Carlo. As a result of its advantageous tax legislation, it is regarded as a tax haven. Individual residents, for example, are not taxed on personal income. The region also has a business-friendly tax system since it only taxes profits earned by enterprises that derive 25% or more of their revenue from abroad sources. They are taxed at a 33.33% rate.
The Bottom Line
Monaco has long been regarded as a tax haven due to its advantageous personal and company tax policies. Individuals are not taxed on their income, and companies must produce at least 75% of their profits inside the nation to be tax-exempt. If you are considering relocating for these reasons, you must provide evidence of housing and demonstrate your ability to continue your lifestyle. And, like with any significant life change, do your homework before making the leap.
You are looking for information, articles, knowledge about the topic Why Is Monaco Considered a Tax Haven? on internet, you do not find the information you need! Here are the best content compiled and compiled by the achindutemple.org team, along with other related topics such as: Tax. | https://smartinvestplan.com/why-is-monaco-considered-a-tax-haven/ |
All pastries are baked fresh and shipped every Monday via USPS 2 Day Priority Mail. If you don't receive your pastries after 4 business since the expected delivery date please contact us immediately by phone or email. Due to COVID shipping might be delayed certain regions. Please track package to your door and refrigerate cakes and puddings immediately.
Pastries are best after 1-2 weeks after received.
We do not offer refunds. However, we will do our best to accommodate you as a valued customer. | https://dittyislanddelights.com/collections/frontpage/products/unsweetened-ginger-juice |
Functional seed traits and germination patterns predict species coexistence in Northeast Mediterranean foredune communitiesBackground and Aims The structure of plant communities, which is based on species abundance ratios, is closely linked to ecosystem functionality. Seed germination niche plays a major role in shaping plant communities, although it has often been neglected when explaining species coexistence. The aim of this work is to...
Del Vecchio, Silvia ; Mattana, Efisio ; Ulian, Tiziana ; Buffa, Gabriella
germination niche, Psammophytes, global warming, Alien species, foundation species, annual plants, coastal dunes, and morphological seed traits
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Book
Enhancing Food Security Through Seed Banking and Use of Wild Plants: Case Studies From the Royal Botanic Gardens, KewWe show how food security can be enhanced through seed banking and use of wild plants by showcasing three science-based plant conservation and seed research projects from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew on underutilized useful plants and crop wild relatives.
Ulian, Tiziana ; Pritchard, Hugh W. ; Cockel, Christopher P. ; Mattana, Efisio
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Journal article
Interaction of functional and environmental traits on seed germination of the multipurpose tree Flacourtia indicaFlacourtia indica (Salicaceae) is a multipurpose tree native to tropical regions of Africa and India, where it is mainly used for food and medicines. Its use in reforestation is limited by poor knowledge of its seed biology and germination ecology. The aim of this study was to determine how its...
Gómez-Barreiro, Pablo ; Otieno, V. ; Mattana, Efisio ; Castillo-Lorenzo, Elena ; Omondi, W. …
Seed dormancy, Seedling emergence, Salicaceae, Cardinal temperatures, and Relative light germination index
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Journal article
SDG 1: No poverty balancing conservation and livelihoods in the Chimanimani Forest belt, Mozambique.
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Book chapter
Conservation and reinforcement of the sand stock in the coastal dunes of Central Italy.
De Vitis, Marcello ; Ulian, Tiziana ; Pritchard, Hugh W. ; Fabrini , Giuseppe ; Magrini , Sara
Restoration ecology, Coastal plants, Marcus-kochia littorea, Plant conservation, Italy, Dune plants, and Ex situ conservation
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Journal article
Thermal niche for germination and early seedling establishment at the leading edge of two pine species, under a changing climatePines are the most popular species for reforestation in Mexico, however reforestation programs have little success due to a high mortality of pine seedlings. Shifts in the distribution range due to climate change has been predicted for many species specially at their distribution borders. Understanding the thermal limits of germination...
Ordoñez-Salanueva, Cesar A. ; Orozco-Segovia, Alma ; Mattana, Efisio ; Castillo-Lorenzo, Elena ; Davila-Aranda, Patricia …
Thermal time, Pinus maximinoi, Cardinal temperatures, Survival, Transitional stages, and Pinus douglasiana
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Journal article
Restoring vegetation and degraded lands by using assisted natural regeneration approach (ANRA): case study at Bankass in the centre of Mali, West Africa.
Kelly, Bokary Allaye ; Sanogo, Sidi ; Sidibé, Sory Ibrahim ; Castillo-Lorenzo, Elena ; Ceci, Paolo …
Shoots growth , Sahel , Revegetation, Vegetation restoration, Guiera senegalensis , Great Green Wall, and Mali
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Journal article
Survival and growth of Adansonia digitata L. tall bare-roots in farm fields: a case study from Bankass, Mali (West Africa). | https://kew.iro.bl.uk/catalog?f%5Bcreator_search_sim%5D%5B%5D=Ulian%2C+Tiziana&f%5Bfile_availability%5D%5B%5D=external_link&locale=en&q=Tiziana+Ulian |
Environmental issues are of high importance and concern, especially with the ever increasing number and quantity of chemicals being used and shipped throughout the world today. Toxic contamination and chemical spills need to be analyzed for contents before effective measures for clean-up can be made. In many cases time is of the essence to prevent large scale damage.
The chemicals found in many of these contaminating spills often contain polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PHA's) that are intensely luminescent. Such luminescence provides a means for sensitive analysis. For example, an excitation wavelength can be sent via a telephoto lens to a spill and the spectral response from the spill received. Luminescence from any PHA's is readily measured to help locate and partially identify the material. There is extensive data known on the luminescent properties of many materials.
Luminescence occurs when a material is activated by an energy stimulus whereby the molecules are raised to an excited state. When the stimulus ends, these molecules drop back to a less excited state and give off light energy while doing so. Herein, "light" is defined to be substantially the entire electromagnetic spectrum where excitation and luminescence can be found. If the emitted light energy lasts for a short time, the effect is referred to as "fluorescence", and as "phosphorescence" when the emitted energy lasts for a longer duration. In practice these terms are often used interchangeably.
A useful characteristic is the lifetime of the luminescence--this parameter has become a useful tool and has been incorporated into commercial laboratory instrumentation, e.g. see the Perkin Elmer optical instruments using Xenon flash lamps.
Laboratory instruments, usually called spectrofluorometers or fluorometers, use a narrow band (say, 0.5 to 10 nanometers) of uv (ultraviolet) light as an excitation source. The emitted light of a luminescing sample will always be of longer wavelength than the wavelength of the source excitation. This is because lower energy corresponds to longer wavelengths, and due to the law of conservation of energy the emitted light's energy cannot exceed the excitation light's energy. The emitted light will not be of equal wavelength to the excitation light's wavelength (resonance fluorescence), since some of the energy in the system is lost due to molecular collisions and to thermal dissipation. Therefore the emitted light will be of lower energy and hence longer wavelength. The emitted light is selectively filtered according to wavelength, and, then, the intensity of one or more wavelengths is measured via a photodetector. There are many different fluorometers that have been designed for specific functions, for example, as chromatographic detectors, blood analyzers, and the like. These laboratory spectrofluorometers are tapable of selecting the exciting wavelength, usually by a broad wavelength source incident on an angularly positionable diffraction grating that spectrally disperses the light onto an exit slit such that the wavelength of choice passes through the slit to the sample. A luminescent sample emits wavelengths that are received by photodetectors set at right angles to the excitation light beam to prevent direct incidence of the light from the grating on the detectors. A monochromator may be used to select the wavelengths to be measured (or otherwise received) from the sample. From these and related measurements, substances may be identified and quantified. In less sophisticated devices filters may be used in place of monochromators to quantify the expected substance.
Portable fluorometers are commercially available for dedicated functions and do not serve as general purpose fluorometers. The portable units often employ wavelength selective optical filters and usually use mercury source emission lines for excitation. The qualitative and quantitative uses of these devices is very limited. They respond to many fluorescent species without distinguishing among them, and they are not useful for substance identification. Such devices also lack the ability to measure fluorescence in different forms of matter--as is useful for environmental analysis.
Laboratory instruments useful for identifying and quantifying material, e.g. chromatographs, must separate out the majority of the other material before analyzing the remainder. This takes time and skilled effort. For example, a chromatographic analysis to determine if a major pollutant was present in an oil spill involves separating out the 50 to 100 other chemicals which would interfere with the measurement, and such measurements must be done off-line in a laboratory--not at the site or in-situ. Also, such an analysis requires solvents and highly skilled technicians. The above represent significant limitations.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a conventional spectrofluorometer. A high pressure xenon UV light source 2 illuminates a scanning excitation monochromator entrance slit 4. The selected wavelength of light exits 6 the monochromator and is focused on a sample 8 to be analyzed. If the sample has luminescent properties, it will emit light with specific spectral characteristics. During the molecular excitation process, the sample can receive light of a narrow-band of wavelengths for quantitative analysis, or the sample can receive light of progressively changing wavelengths for qualitative identification of unknown compounds. The excitation source may be continuous, pulsed by a shutter or by flashing Xenon flash tubes. Perkin Elmer uses such flash tubes for about 20 micro-second flashes synchronized to the power line frequency (60 Hz). This pulsing is useful in order to measure the lifetime of the emissions from the sample. The emissions from the sample illuminate another entrance slit to a measuring, usually scanning, monochromator. The emissions are resolved spectrally and via an exit slit 12 incident on a photodetector for quantification. The photodetector is usually a photomultiplier tube, but photodiode arrays and charge coupled devices (CCD arrays) are becoming popular. The arrays can accept and measure many wavelengths simultaneously. When these arrays are used, care must be taken to calibrate the position of the array such that specific wavelengths of interest strike known diodes since the light received may contain a contiguous range of wavelengths. Once a selected diode in the array receives a selected wavelength, the next diode, and all the remaining diodes will receive different, but known, wavelengths. The physical separation between the diodes and the optical system determines the wavelength separation between two adjacent diodes. When the photomultiplier tube or a single photodiode is used for the detector, an emission spectrum requires some type of scanning of the monochromator's dispersing elements (e.g. moving a diffraction grating) and taking measurements as each wavelength is incident upon the detector. If an excitation spectrum is needed then there must be some type of scanning of the excitation monochromators.
The information from a spectrofluorometer is presented usually in the two dimensional graph of excitation wavelength vs. emission intensity, or emission wavelength vs. emission intensity. Three dimensional graphs can be produced with sophisticated software. In such cases, the data are fed into a computer to assimilate, normalize or otherwise prepare the data and then display that data. Mechanical monochromators are limited for use with such data presentations since generating the data with mechanical monochromators is tedious and time consuming. There is a continuing need (and limitation of prior art) to integrate all such luminescence information for compound identification.
Expert systems have been developed in recent years. Such systems accumulate large databases and apply sophisticated software for "expertly" performing a given task. There is a need to improve the speed of accumulating such data.
Photo arrays have allowed the detection side of spectrofluorometers to be simplified and made faster by obviating the mechanical scanning of the diffraction grating. But, such systems are still limited by the required mechanical complexity and slowness of rotating a diffraction grating to obtain multiple excitation wavelength.
It is a principal object of the present invention to provide a fast method of identification and quantification of luminescent materials on-site.
It is an object of the present invention to provide for an instrument that provides an excitation spectrum and an emission spectrum with minimal moving parts.
It is another object of this invention to provide apparatus that can spectrally discriminate similar compounds by analyzing the total luminescent properties of such compounds. Such a technique is referred to as multidimensional luminescence (MDL) analysis.
It is an object of this invention to provide apparatus for use in "expert systems".
It is another object of the present invention to provide a qualitative and quantitative spectrofluorometer instrument suitable for measuring matter in solid, liquid or gaseous form.
It is yet another object of the present invention to measure the duration and polarization of the emitted light from a sample under test.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide all such data to a computer for display in three dimensional plots.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide means to analyze any material that can be made to luminesce, including biological agents.
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When it comes to feeding their offspring, there's no snubbing in the golden snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellana) family. In fact, researchers in the Shennongjia National Nature Reserve observed females engaging in what's called allomaternal nursing. That means they witnessed infant monkeys being nursed by females other than their mothers.
The findings from the study, which were published on Feb. 20 in the journal Science Advances, are especially interesting because this behavior was thought to be rare to nonexistent in Old World monkeys like the snub-nosed, which are, by the way, considered endangered. Allomaternal nursing exists in other species of mammals, as well as some prosimians, New World monkeys and even humans. But this was the first time it had been documented in golden snub-nosed monkeys.
During the research period, which was conducted over the course of five birth seasons, scientists observed 40 out of 46 infants allonursing from "non-mothers." Additionally, 22 out of 46 nursed from at least two additional females. The allonursing occurred largely between relatives in the group — grandmothers and aunts, for instance — and it lasted for about the first three months of the infants' lives.
Researchers say the behavior was apparently reciprocal. Around 90 percent of mothers nursed another female's baby if that female had previously nursed their own, the study says.
The research was led by Zuofu Xiang, a professor of zoology at Central South University of Forestry and Technology in Changsha, Hunan, China.
This is the first time the behavior has been seen widespread in any group of Old World monkeys, which are native to Asia and Africa, and include baboons, macaques and langurs. New World monkeys, on the other hand, comprise five families of monkeys that inhabit Mexico, Central America and South America.
"Although there are many primates that live in social groups, the majority of species do not nurse each other's young," Kirsty MacLeod, a behavioral and evolutionary ecologist at Lund University in Sweden, told National Geographic, "so this report of allonursing in golden snub-nosed monkeys is significant and interesting."
Golden snub-nosed monkeys — native to southern China and northern Myanmar — inhabit mountain forests with elevations of more than 13,000 feet (4,000 meters). They face harsh winters lasting some five months and, consequently, lower food availability during that time.
One theory on why they share nursing: The extra nourishment could help offspring develop more quickly to ready for the coming winter.
"Infant mortality in wild snub-nosed monkeys during their first winter can be very high (more than 55 percent)," the study said. "If infants have not reached a threshold level of development before the onset of winter, then they may be unlikely to survive winter." During the observations, four of the six infants who were not nursed by another female died during winter, compared to just six of the 40 infants who were allonursed.
The researchers mention other theories for the behavior, also, including misdirected maternal care, in which "lactating females lack the capacity to discriminate against nursing others' offspring" and parenting skills, where females improve their maternal skills through nursing others' offspring. | https://animals.howstuffworks.com/mammals/golden-snub-nosed-monkeys-share-nursing-young.htm |
The DHL Stormers are back on home turf at DHL Stadium where they face the Cell C Sharks a week after the two teams drew 22-22 in Durban.
Brok Harris runs out to a guard of honour from his teammates for his 100th DHL Stormers cap. The DHL Stadium Faithful rise to salute a legend.
0 – DHL Stormers win the restart back and on the attack early on but the ball is knocked on so the Sharks have a scrum.
2 – Sharks awarded a scrum penalty so they can clear.
5 – Both teams kicking for position. DHL Stormers win it back and move into Sharks territory. Sharks knock on on the tackle so DHL Stormers scrum this time.
10 – More kicking from both teams. Sharks threaten to break the line but Ward knocks on twice. DHL Stormers scrum under pressure but they get it away.
14 – Sharks kick a high ball into the 22 and Mapimpi wins it. They press but Deon Fourie wins a breakdown penalty.
17 – Still no score as both teams look to earn territorial advantage with their kicking game. Defences coming up trumps so far.
19 – The visitors eventually open the scoring through flyhalf Tito Bonilla following a breakdown penalty.
21 – DHL Stormers break out of their 22 with a flowing backline move. They win a penalty in the 22 and kick for the corner.
24 – Strong maul and the backs join. It breaks down and they drive at the line, but it is lost forward in the tackle so the Sharks have a scrum in front of the poles.
26 – Sharks clear and DHL Stormers run it back at them. Dan du Plessis breaks through and it goes wide, but the ball is knocked on in the tackle again.
28 – Goes wide to Senatla in the 22 and he speeds through a gap, Du Plessis is there in support but his pass is a poor one and the Sharks escape again.
32 – DHL Stormers on the attack again with a line-out on the 22. But the Sharks win a breakdown penalty and clear.
35 – Deon Fourie wins a breakdown penalty and it goes to Gelant who finds a 50-22 touch, so the DHL Stormers have an attacking line-out.
37 – The forwards maul before it goes wide to Senatla who grubbers through and collects to score under the poles and give the DHL Stormers a 7-3 lead.
39 – A high tackle from the Sharks gives the DHL Stormer one more attacking opportunity from halfway.
40 – Half-time at DHL Stadium where the DHL Stormers have scored the only try of a tense first half to take a 7-3 lead into the break. Big second 40 coming up in front of the Faithful.
41 – Second half underway as the Sharks kick-off. Good exit as Jantjies clears from the base.
43 – Breakdown penalty on halfway, so Libbok sets up a line-out in the 22. Grubber from Gelant ends with Ruhan Nel dotting down in the corner, but the TMO rules there was a knock-on.
45 – Sharks get a scrum penalty and clear it, but barely make it out of the 22.
47 – DHL Stormers run it back and Du Plessis breaks the line again and finds Senatla. They come within inches of scoring again but somehow the Sharks win it back and clear.
48 – Real intent at the start of the second half and the DHL Stormers could have had two tries already, but they take three points from the boot of Manie Libbok as the lead grows to 10-3.
50 – It’s a 50-22 from Libbok this time as the DHL Stormers snap onto the attack again straight away. The forwards maul and then hammer away until Adre Smith forces his way over for the try. Libbok’s conversion makes it 17-3.
55- DHL Stormers keep the pressure on, playing all the rugby in opposition territory. Sharks with a defensive scrum and Jantjies forces the knock-on. Sharks win a scrum penalty and clear it.
60 – Huge tackle from Ruhan Nel in midfield but the ball was lost forward so the Sharks have another scrum in their half.
63 – The visitors come up with their first try through replacement scrumhalf Grant Williams.
65 – Jantjies breaks down the left and puts in a grubber for Senatla. Sharks cover but DHL Stormers have the scrum and win advantage. They kick to the corner as they look for another try.
68 – Sharks go offside, so Libbok kicks the easy penalty to make it 20-10.
72 – Sharks on the charge in the 22, but a big tackle knock it loose and the DHL Stormers clear.
74 – DHL Stormers win the scrum penalty and the right to play the rest of the game out in Sharks territory, huge scrum that.
75 – Sharks win the line-out and scramble it into touch, so the DHL Stormers have another attacking opportunity.
77 – Crucial breakdown penalty from Nama Xaba and the DHLStormers can set up another attacking line-out.
80 – Game over and the DHL Stormers have claimed a crucial 20-10 win which send them to the top of the South African Shield. | http://thestormers.com/live-dhl-stormers-v-cell-c-sharks-3/ |
According to the UK Sepsis Trust, the disease of sepsis kills around 52,000 people here in the UK every year. Despite a death rate that dwarfs that of many well-known cancers combined, such as bowel and prostate, it’s a fair bet that most people have either not heard of sepsis, or if they have, they don’t actually know what it is.
Those that are a little more clued up on what Sepsis is, may nevertheless still be puzzled by the fact that sepsis and medical negligence compensation claims are so frequently mentioned in the same breath. Why is that, or to put it another way: how can getting sepsis lead to a medical negligence claim?
First of all, we need to look in brief at what sepsis is.
What Sepsis is and the reasons you might get it – in bullet points
- Sepsis is a disease that is caused by infection.
- It can be life-threatening. When the body gets the early warning signs that it is about to be attacked by an infection it releases chemicals into the bloodstream. It does this to fight off the infection.
- If the body’s response to infection is out of kilter, then the changes that occur can cause serious damage to vital organs within the body. The blood flow to the affected organs is impaired.
- Poor blood flow leads to organs being deprived of oxygen and other nutrients, which in turn leads to organ failure.
- If sepsis is left untreated or is not treated properly, the result may be that the condition progresses to septic shock.
- Whilst mild sepsis usually leads to complete recovery, septic shock can cause death.
- It affects young and old, men and women
What are the symptoms of Sepsis?
- Early indicators of sepsis do not greatly differ from those of most kinds of infection (which is why the danger signs can be easily missed, even by health professionals).
- High temperature (may or may not be present)
- Feeling of being unusually cold
- Rapid breathing
- Fast heartbeat
- Children under 5 years of age with early sepsis can take on an overly pale complexion, mottled skin or blue lips; be very lethargic; develop a rash that doesn’t fade when pressed and may have fits or convulsions. They will not necessarily suffer from all of these symptoms.
What are the early signs of Septic Shock?
These symptoms include:
- Loss of consciousness
- Sickness and nausea
- Severe muscular pain
- Not urinating as frequently as normal
- Cold, clammy or ashen or mottled complexion
- Slurring of speech
- Becoming confused or disorientated diarrhoea
Once again, the symptoms of septic shock, like the early signs of sepsis could, at first sight, be easily confused with those of a myriad of other illnesses that are often much less serious than septic shock.
How do you get Sepsis infection?
Those most at risk are:
- Newborn babies (under 1 year)
- Pregnant women
- The elderly (over 75s)
- People whose immune systems have been weakened – those who have -rheumatic diseases, HIV, been having chemotherapy or have had organ transplants
- Diabetes sufferers
- People who’ve had a major operation
- Those requiring a lengthy hospital stay
- People who suffer from poor nutrition
- Being exposed to tubes – breathing tubes or catheters. (Risk of infection being introduced by the tube).
What are the complications caused by septic shock?
Septic shock can cause multiple complications, including:
- Heart failure
- Abnormal blood clotting
- Kidney failure
- Respiratory failure
- Stroke
- Liver failure
- Removal of a section of bowel
The severity of these complications will depend on factors that include:
- The patients’ age,
- Any pre-existing health conditions,
- The cause and origin of sepsis within the body
- How soon treatment was given.
The diagnosis and treatment of Sepsis
The NHS has published guidelines around the treatment and management of sepsis. These are known as the ‘sepsis six’:
Tests
- Taking blood cultures – to discover what bacteria is causing the sepsis
- Taking a blood sample – to determine how severe the case is
- Monitoring your urine output – to assess severity and kidney function
Treatments
- Administering antibiotics
- Providing fluid intravenously
- Giving oxygen
This course of action should be administered within an hour of sepsis being diagnosed.
What happens if you get sepsis?
When cases of sepsis are caught and treated properly and promptly, most people make a full recovery.
Some survivors of sepsis go on to experience post sepsis syndrome which can have physical and/or psychological symptoms.
If not treated quickly or effectively, and septic shock sets in, the consequences include:
- multiple organ failure,
- long term disability,
- amputation of limbs
- death
How does a medical negligence claim arise after getting Sepsis?
The key to a successful outcome after getting sepsis is the speed of diagnosis and treatment being started as a matter of urgency. Thereafter the continued correct treatment of sepsis is equally vital to ensure that the patient makes a full recovery.
However, any failure throughout the diagnosis and treatment process, such as;
- Failure of GP or nurse to refer a patient showing symptoms of sepsis to a hospital for further tests and treatment
- Failure to diagnose sepsis
- Misdiagnosis of sepsis
- Delay in diagnosis of sepsis
- Delays or failure to carry out tests
- Failure to, or delays in, carrying out IV antibiotic treatment
- Delays in referring a patient to a consultant or more senior doctor,
that leads to a patient suffering physical or mental damage, would constitute medical negligence and could lead to a sepsis medical negligence compensation claim being made.
Against whom would the medical negligence claim be brought?
The claim would be made against the healthcare professional (e.g. GP), or healthcare organisation (NHS or private hospital) that was in breach of its duty of care to the person who suffered from sepsis negligence.
What can I claim for in a Sepsis Negligence claim?
A person who has suffered personal injury – pain, suffering and loss of amenity – as a result of sepsis medical negligence, is entitled to compensation. The amount of compensation for pain and suffering will depend on the precise nature and the severity of the injury incurred.
Other elements of compensation will include loss of earnings and possible loss of future earnings. There might be a claim for the cost of care and/or rehabilitation.
Sepsis compensation claims
A successful claim for sepsis medical negligence compensation is dependent on you making the right choice of solicitor to act for you. Mooneerams solicitors of Cardiff work in conjunction with a specialist team of sepsis compensation solicitors who have considerable experience of pursuing sepsis negligence claims.
Will I be able to pursue a No Win, No Fee Sepsis Negligence Claim?
Yes. No Win No Fee arrangements are possible for sepsis claims, subject to the solicitor believing that your claim has reasonable prospects of success. We and our trusted clinical negligence partners are able to offer to act for clients by using conditional fee arrangements (CFAs). CFAs are more commonly known as No Win, No Fee agreements.
For the avoidance of doubt, CFAs make it a lot easier for clients to pursue legal claims because if a client using a CFA arrangement loses their claim, nothing is payable and if they win, then a fee will only be payable at the end of the claim, once compensation has been recovered. In addition, the maximum amount of legal fee will be capped at a pre-agreed percentage of your compensation.
What should I do now?
Contact Mooneerams on 029 2048 3615 or send us a message via our website
With your permission, we will ask the specialist sepsis medical negligence solicitor to contact you, to arrange a free telephone consultation with you. We will only pass your details on to the solicitor, with your express permission.
Carl Waring is an experienced solicitor who qualified in 1987. He has written extensively on the personal injury ‘reforms’ that have taken place since 2010. He is a freelance legal content writer and the Head of Business Development at Mooneerams, Solicitors. | https://www.mooneerams.com/blog/what-are-sepsis-medical-negligence-claims/ |
A clinical pediatric nurse has noticed a rise in childhood cancer diagnoses among the Hispanic population served by the local clinic. The nurse is concerned about this increase in cancer incidence in the patient population and turns to the literature to explore current research on this topic. The nurse finds through the reading that there appears to be an association between parental smoking and childhood cancer and wonders if this could be the cause of the rise in cases.
This type of suspected association between a risk factor (exposure) and a particular outcome (childhood cancer) can be evaluated using an observational study design. This week, you were introduced to observational study designs used in epidemiology. For this Discussion, you will identify an epidemiologic association of interest (e.g., smoking and lung cancer, obesity and heart disease, hormone replacement/modification therapy and breast cancer) and determine an appropriate observational study design for exploring that association.
To prepare:
Review the different types of observational study designs presented in the Learning Resources: ecologic, cross-sectional, case-control, and cohort.
Carefully examine the characteristics, strengths, and limitations of each design.
Consider an association between a risk factor and a particular health outcome that is of interest to you. Then, select the observational study design you think would be the most appropriate for exploring this association.
Consider how using observational study designs can lead to improvements in population health.
By tomorrow 03/14/2018 12 noon, write a minimum of 550 words in APA format with at least 3 scholarly references from the list of required readings below. Include the level one headings as numbered below:
Post a cohesive response that addresses the following:
1) Identify the association between the risk factor and health outcome you selected and suggest which observational study design you feel is most appropriate for examining that association.
2) Support your selection of the observational design, noting its strengths and limitations for addressing the health problem.
3) What might you be able to learn by using your selected study design that might lead to improvements in population health? Support your response with evidence from the literature. | https://nursinghomeworks.com/what-might-you-be-able-to-learn-by-using-your-selected-study-design-that-might-lead-to-improvements-in-population-health/ |
This guide will provide all the resources needed for guardians and students to understand what is expected of students during their time at the library after school.
The Patrick Heath Public Library is a very busy place used by hundreds of people every day. This is especially true after school hours. Persons of all ages are welcome to use the library’s resources, services and facilities, but it's important to follow the rules to ensure everyone enjoys a safe and comfortable environment! For a more thorough explanation of our expections, please read our Unattended Children Policy and our Disruptive Behavior Policy. You can also discover the wonderful programs we offer our afterschool visitors!
Children ages 10 and under must be attended by a responsible “Adult” (defined as parent, guardian, teacher or assigned caregiver who is at least 16 years of age) at all times.
· Staff will ask the child to stop the behavior.
· If the behavior continues staff will inform the parent. In the event the parent is unable to control the child, the entire party will be asked to leave the library.
Children 11 years of age and older are welcome to visit the library without adult supervision. They are expected to understand and follow the rules of library use.
· If the behavior continues after the verbal warning, staff will direct the child to leave the library.
· If the child does not comply with instructions from staff, the parent or the Boerne Police Department may be contacted for assistance.
· Consider whether your children are old enough and mature enough to use the library unattended.
· Make clear arrangements about when and where you will pick up your children when the library closes.
· Be aware of the library’s opening and closing hours.
· Make sure your children know personal and emergency contact information.
· Make sure your children have what they need in the library.
· Introduce your children to library staff.
· Children ages 14 and under are left unattended after closing hours for longer than 20 minutes.
· Anyone exhibits behavior that is deemed to be illegal, dangerous, or harmful to patrons or staff.
We Consider This to be Disruptive Behavior!
The library is a public building open to everyone and is not a restricted, secured, or protected area. The wooded area behind the library is isolated from major traffic and has hidden areas, sharp rocks, and other debris that could pose a hazard. Any parent or guardian leaving a child unattended in the library, or in the areas behind the library, does so at the child’s risk. The City of Boerne is not liable for any consequences of parents/guardians forfeiting their responsibility for children while on library premises. | https://patrickheath.libguides.com/afterschool |
Competitiveness nowadays has made companies adopt new methods and techniques to persist in the market. Ergonomics is a scientific discipline that helps in the design of work systems. By applying ergonomic methods at micro- and macroergonomic levels, companies can improve the skills, abilities, comfort, and performance of workers (Helander & Burri, 1995; O’Neill & Evans, 2000). On the one hand, microergonomic methods are applied at an individual level to analyze a specific task. On the other hand, macroergonomic methods are applied at the organizational level to enhance the performance of work systems. Therefore, Macroergonomics aims to help the entire company improve its competitiveness in the global market (Carayon, 2011; Erensal & Albayrak, 2004).
Hendrick and Kleiner (2005) state that the optimization of human-systems interfaces by means of the design of sociotechnical systems has been going on since the formal inception of Human Factors/Ergonomics in the late years of the decade of 1940. Moreover, according to Moray (2005) and Hendrick (2005), by 1986 there was a significant conceptualization of the ergonomics of work systems to identify a new separate sub-discipline, which became formally established as Macroergonomics in 1986 by Hendrick (Alfred et al., 2011; Moray, 2005). Hendrick belonged to the Human Factors Society’s (now the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society) Selected Committee on Human Factors Futures. This Committee researched the trends that Ergonomics suffered in the decade of 1980, and Hendrick realized that it was possible to ergonomically design work system’s factors, modules, and subsystems. The first textbook on Macroergonomics was written by Hendrick and Kleiner in 2002 (Alfred et al., 2011; Hendrick & Kleiner, 2005).
Macroergonomics, as a science, is defined as a top-down and bottom-up sociotechnical approach for systems that includes organizational structures, policies, and processes that help in the design of a work system and man-work, man-machine, man-software, and man-environment interfaces (Carayon, 2011; Hendrick, 1997; Hendrick & Kleiner, 2000; International-Ergonomics-Association-(IEA), 2013). This means that structures and processes that constitute the overall work system can be improved by (a) analyzing and designing the overall work system structures and processes and then working down through the subsystems and factors, or (b) analyzing the factors and then systematically build up to the overall system structure and processes (Hendrick, 2005; Moray, 2005).
The main purpose of Macroergonomics is to ensure that work systems are fully harmonized and compatible with their sociotechnical characteristics, giving synergistic improvements on several criteria of organizational effectiveness such as health, safety, comfort, and productivity (Carayon, 2011; Hendrick, 2005; Moray, 2005). Historically, Macroergonomics has been applied in different industries such as nuclear, petrochemical, manufacturing, military, medical, aviation, and construction (Alfred et al., 2011; Shapiro, 2011).
Recently, new macroergonomic models have been developed. These models represent companies by including different macroergonomic factors that affect the performance of such organizations. These factors comprise human factors, tools and technology, environment, organization conditions, and tasks (Carayon et al., 2006; Carayon et al., 2014). The objective of these macroergonomic models is to analyze companies from these factors perspective to improve the design/redesign of work systems. These improvements are reached when macroergonomic factors are optimized, which also improves the organizational effectiveness, production, and quality of companies, as well as employees’ health, and safety (Carayon, 2011). Therefore, the application of macroergonomic methods represents a strategy for companies to increase their competitiveness in a global market. | https://www.igi-global.com/chapter/macroergonomic-work-systems-design-factors-and-elements/226642 |
Cheap Gene Sequencer
If genome sequencing gets cheap enough, it could usher in the age of personalized medicine, in which treatments and preventive measures are tailored to an individual’s genetic makeup. A step in that direction is the Polonator, a new sequencer that will cost roughly a third to a ninth as much as existing technologies. Developed by genomics pioneer George Church, the Polonator tags DNA bases with fluorescent markers and uses a fluorescence microscope to read off the sequences. Coming to market later this year, the Polonator will initially be used for genomic research. | https://www.technologyreview.com/2008/06/23/219932/cheap-gene-sequencer/ |
The annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), one of the world’s leading gatherings of scientists and researchers, took place Feb. 14-18 at Boston’s Hynes Convention Center. The gathering highlighted a diverse roster of MIT researchers presenting work on everything from human-robot interactions to the convergence of biology and engineering, as well as hands-on demonstrations ranging from tiny model rockets to Lego models of chemical reactions in the atmosphere.
Nearly 10,000 scientists and citizens registered for the conference, including more than 900 journalists from around the world. MIT was represented by about a dozen faculty members and other speakers who presented talks on their research, as well as by students and staffers who engaged in demonstrations at the event’s Family Science Days.
In the dark
Samuel Ting, the Thomas P. Cabot Professor of Physics, summarized 18 years of work to develop a $1.5 billion set of instruments for the International Space Station. Some in attendance had expected that he might use the occasion to present the long-awaited first results of experiments designed to search for direct signs of dark matter in the universe, but Ting said the research team, which consists of six separate groups, was still finishing its analysis of the data and expected to make an announcement in several weeks.
“Everybody has their own interpretations,” Ting said, noting that one of the six teams “has very different theories” from the others. “Certainly we are not going to publish something if it’s not worthwhile.”
Ting said the experiment has examined about 25 billion “events” — impacts by cosmic rays — to search for differences in the ratio of electrons to their antimatter counterparts, called positrons, and for any differences in emissions from different parts of the sky.
Converging on convergence
In another session, Institute Professor Phillip Sharp said that scientific convergence — the ongoing merger of the life, physical and engineering sciences — represents an important new research model for biomedicine. “Convergence will be the emerging paradigm for how medical research will be conducted in the future,” he said, but added that serious policy challenges that must be resolved in order to realize this potential.
Speaking in the same session, Tyler Jacks, the David H. Koch Professor of Biology and director of MIT’s David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, added that this radically new approach holds the potential to chart a new course in cancer research by revolutionizing the disease’s diagnosis, monitoring and treatment.
On a similar theme, Institute Professor Robert Langer spoke on “Challenges and Opportunities at the Confluence of Biotechnology and Nanomaterials.” He described great progress in recent years in the development and commercialization of biomedical innovations through collaboration with materials scientists and engineers.
Hundreds of families, billions of experiments
On Saturday and Sunday, hundreds of families flocked to the AAAS meeting for Family Science Days, which included a series of talks, exhibits and hands-on activities. There, Angela Belcher, the W.M. Keck Professor of Energy, described her lab’s work to harness the power of biological organisms to create new technologies.
“How many of you have ever done a billion experiments?” she asked a group of parents and children, none of whom raised their hands.
In her lab, Belcher explained, it is now possible to do a billion experiments at once, using a beaker full of viruses to extract elements from water and assemble them into batteries or solar cells. She then demonstrated such a virus-built battery in action — a demonstration that she said she had also shown to President Barack Obama during his 2009 visit to MIT.
Other hands-on activities used Lego blocks to show the molecular structure of DNA; gave children a chance to launch tiny, antacid-powered “rockets” made from paper and empty film canisters; and demonstrated airplane-wing function using a miniature wind tunnel and vapor from dry ice. MIT’s D-Lab, which aims to create technologies for use in developing nations, mounted an exhibit that gave children a chance to try out some D-Lab inventions — including devices for shelling corn and for making charcoal briquettes out of charred agricultural waste.
The human side of science
Other talks at the AAAS conference explored subjects in the social sciences, or at the interface between science, technology and the arts. Michel DeGraff, an associate professor of linguistics, described his analysis of Haitian Creole, which has shown that in many ways its structures are more complex than those of related languages. Felice Frankel, a research scientist at MIT’s Center for Materials Science and Engineering, delivered a lecture in which she showed how diagrams, photographs and other research graphics could be improved through a focus on conveying only the most important information in an image.
In a keynote address before a packed auditorium, Sherry Turkle, the Abby Rockefeller Mauzé Professor of the Social Studies of Science and Technology, described her concern at the growing trend of transferring a variety of human-centered tasks, such as the care of children and the elderly, from human caregivers to robots. People too readily act as if machines have personalities, and even feelings, she said. This “new normal,” she added, “comes with a price,” and may ultimately change human relationships for the worse. | http://news.mit.edu/2013/aaas-meeting-2013-0219 |
Disclosure statement
Neha Shivhare does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
The fast pace of the business world — where competition is the rule and return on investment decides everything — can be challenging for business students.
They are expected to know the rules of business inside out but they also need to learn to master their emotions, to enable efficient and ethical decision making.
A traditional business education provides few opportunities for students to cultivate emotional resilience, empathy and ethical decision-making. Incorporating meditation into the curriculum could be a contribution to rectifying this.
Preliminary findings from a study conducted with business students at Simon Fraser University show that even 10 minutes of classroom meditation can gradually increase students’ levels of physical, mental and emotional awareness.
Can meditation help all students — from elementary to university — to become more peaceful, calm and better decision makers?
Positivity, creativity, connection
Our study, conducted with 93 students of a third year Business Ethics course in 2016, revealed that students who meditated in the classroom experienced a transformation in their thinking and behaviour.
Initially, these students found it challenging to control their “monkey minds” during a 10 minute meditation.
Interestingly, with practice over three months duration, 10 minutes became short for them, and they felt motivated to practice more at home.
For most of the students, meditation was a first time experience, and gradually they began to feel calmness and equanimity. Meditation allowed them to know themselves better, helping them feel more relaxed and peaceful. It seemed to increase students’ level of physical, mental and emotional awareness.
Moreover, students also reported waking dreams, visions and a sense of tranquility during meditation.
Most of the interviewed students said that they enjoyed meditation, and felt happy that they could attend the course.
Meditation doesn’t just help kids feel relaxed; neuroscience suggests that it changes the structure and function of the brain.(Shutterstock)
Researchers from the Universities of Udine and Rome in Italy, studied the effects of a mindfulness meditation training on a group of 16 healthy elementary school children aged seven to eight years old.
Neuroscience findings also suggest that brain can be changed structurally and functionally through regular practice of meditation — resulting in improved emotional and mental states.
We also spoke informally with Dr. Deepak Chopra, alternative medicine advocate, public speaker and writer, during a conference in Tuscon, Arizona, in 2016. He unveiled regular meditation as the most important factor behind his charismatic personality and high level of energy, in the context of his extremely busy and socially-committed life.
Furthermore, there is ample research to show that the largest effects of meditation are experienced by those areas of brain which are responsible for happiness and positive feelings.
A question of commitment
The above discussion provides a glimpse of the potential of a meditation practice for students of all ages.
A meditation practice does not require any sophisticated equipment, infrastructure, support system or money. It requires only commitment — to dedicate at least 10 minutes everyday. And a small space to sit or stand comfortably.
Modern citizenship in the West increasingly involves a duty to care for ourselves – to eat healthily, exercise enough and even screen ourselves for disease – to minimize our health-care costs to the state.
(Shutterstock)
A one-size-fits-all approach to mental health does not speak to the diversity of Canada’s immigrant population. Here a man participates in a mass meditation on the lawn of Parliament Hill in Ottawa, in September 2017.
(THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick) | |
All orders are hand-packed and carefully inspected prior to shipment.
Returns only for sealed box, unopened and unused items are accepted within 30 days. Shipping will be payed by the customer/buyer + 20% restocking fee.
Cancellations are not accepted.
In the unlikely event that your product arrives with a defect, please contact us by sending an email to [email protected] within 48 hours of receipt of your order for instructions on receiving a replacement. All defective merchandise must be returned unused, in the original packaging, and per the instructions given by our customer service department – no exceptions.
*Please note that during holiday seasons, delivery of some products could take up to 30 business days to arrive. If the product will note arrive during that time period, we will provide a full refund as courtesy to our customers. | https://shop.dreamtech.co/return-policy/ |
We develop computer vision methods for robot systems such as micro aerial vehicles and wheeled robots. In recent years, flying robots such as quadrocopters have gained increased interest in robotics and computer vision research. To navigate safely, these robots need the ability to localize themselves autonomously using their onboard sensors.
Real-time approach to local trajectory replanning for microaerial vehicles (MAVs). Current trajectory generation methods for multicopters achieve high success rates in cluttered environments, but assume that the environment is static and require prior knowledge of the map. In the presented study, we use the results of such planners and extend them with a local replanning algorithm that can handle unmodeled (possibly dynamic) obstacles while keeping the MAV close to the global trajectory. | https://vision.in.tum.de/research/robotvision |
"Certificates of Confidentiality: Protecting Human Subject Research Dat" by Leslie E. Wolf, Mayank J. Patel et al.
Researchers often require and collect sensitive information about individuals to answer important scientific questions that impact individual health and well-being and the public health. Researchers recognize they have a duty to maintain the confidentiality of the data they collect and typically make promises, which are documented in the consent form. The legal interests of others, however, can threaten researchers’ promises of confidentiality, if they seek access to the data through subpoena. Certificates of Confidentiality (Certificates), authorized by federal statute, are an important tool for protecting individually identifiable sensitive research data from compelled disclosure. However, questions persist in the research community about the strength of Certificate protections, and the evidence on which to judge the strength is scant. In this article, we address those questions through a careful examination of the legislation and regulations concerning Certificates and the reported and unreported cases we have identified through our legal research and interviews with legal counsel about their experiences with Certificates. We also analyze other statutes that protect research data to compare them to the Certificate’s protections, and we review other legal strategies available for protecting research data. Based on our analysis, we conclude with recommendations for how to strengthen protection of sensitive research data.
Leslie E. Wolf, et al., Certificates of Confidentiality: Protecting Human Subject Research Data in Law and Practice, 43 J.L. Med. & Ethics 594 (2015).
Wolf, Leslie E.; Patel, Mayank J.; Tarver, Brett A.; Austin, Jeffrey L.; Dame, Lauren A.; and Beskow, Laura M., "Certificates of Confidentiality: Protecting Human Subject Research Data in Law and Practice" (2015). Faculty Publications By Year. 2128. | https://readingroom.law.gsu.edu/faculty_pub/2128/ |
Expert Knowledge for Medical Devices
In the innovative and dynamic medical devices industry, staying abreast of the latest developments and keeping your specialist knowledge up-to-date is indispensable. In our practical courses and trainings, we inform you on the latest developments in the field: from medical devices laws and regulations right through to product hygiene and marketing. Our experts also provide you helpful tips for the successful market entry of your medical products.
Our experts and trainers will guide you using practical examples and their extensive experience in the field of medical devices. Some seminars allow you to document your acquired qualification with a certificate. | https://www.tuv.com/united-arab-emirates/en/expert-knowledge.html |
Refugees’ Countries of Asylum, World Refugee Day, June 20, 2021
Attachments
According to the UN Refugee Agency, there were 26.4 million refugees worldwide in 2020. Fifteen countries around the world experienced an increase of at least 25,000 refugees between 2019 and 2020.
The World Refugee Day 2021 theme is inclusion, which emphasizes the advantages to both refugees and their host countries of integrating refugee populations into national health, education, and employment systems. Inclusion fosters self-reliance, which in turn eases pressure on host governments and enables refugees to contribute to their local host communities as well as rebuild their countries upon returning home. Host governments, donors, and humanitarian and development agencies can support inclusion of refugees, facilitate their right to work, integrate refugee children into local schools, provide identification cards, and guarantee freedom of movement. In 2020 and 2021, inclusion of refugees in COVID-19 vaccination plans and campaigns is a key U.S. and UN humanitarian priority. Many countries have included refugees in their national vaccination plans for COVID-19 and several countries have already begun to vaccinate refugees according to the same eligibility criteria as host country citizens. | |
Background: Kidney disease has been identified as a risk factor for vitamin D deficiency in hospitalized patients, and low levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D have been suggested to be a risk factor for hyperparathyroidism in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, little is known about the magnitude of vitamin D deficiency in patients with CKD living in the United States.
Methods: In this regard, we examined the levels of 25(OH)D in 43 patients with CKD and serum creatinine between 1 and 5 mg/dl (calculated glomerular filtration rate 111-11 ml/min per 1.73 m2) as well as in 103 patients undergoing hemodialysis.
Results: In the predialysis patients, we found that 37 of the 43 patients (86%) had suboptimal levels of vitamin D (<30 ng/ml). Regression analysis indicated that there was a negative correlation between 25(OH)D and intact parathyroid hormone (PTH). Alkaline phosphatase showed a similar but less sensitive relationship. Serum albumin levels correlated with 25(OH)D levels. In contrast to findings reported in normal individuals, the levels of calcitriol correlated with those of 25(OH)D in the patients with CKD. In the group undergoing maintenance hemodialyis, we found that 97% of the patients had vitamin D levels in the suboptimal range, and there was no correlation of 25(OH)D levels with either PTH or serum albumin values. These data indicate that vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency are highly prevalent in patients with CKD and may play a role in the development of hyperparathyroidism. The functional significance of low levels of 25(OH)D in patients with stage 5 CKD remains to be determined. | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15452403/?dopt=Abstract |
Malaysia’s Economic Development
Malaysia boasts of a rapid development unprecedented and unforeseen in any other developing country. What we are looking at are annual GDP growth rates of 8% and greater compared to other neighbouring SE Asian economies and other Asian Economics such as India that has shown a growth rate of around 4% and Pakistan that has experienced sluggish growth as low as 2%, but not greater that 5% over the past decade.
Recently known as a NIC Newly Industrialised Country and emerging market, their basic characteristic are rapid economic growth that has been sustained over a longer term time horizon; their and economic policies having a clear determined path towards upgrading and reinvesting in their private and public sectors. The result is a country with an unparalleld economic drive amongst other Asian economies. A distinctive feature of the investments are corporate investments between public and private sectors resulting in conglomerates flourishing in capital, fostering private investments and a planned city with an emphasis on improved infrastructure and accessibility.
What manifests this accessibility and does it hide differences in regional development in the country? How much of the seemingly urban wealth that has been generated has trickled down towards hinterland areas and other towns. In other words have the average standards of living improved for ordinary Malaysians or does this statistic hide wider differences? Has economic development affected all equally or has it caused some impoverishment within society? These are just a few of the pertinent questions that skim the surface of the consequences of economic development in this country. Setting aside the impressive GDP growth rate figures and capital investments, in 2000 public and private capital investments were US$ 900 billion and grew to US$150,billion annually. Inflation rates are predicted to be slightly higher at 3.8% for 2010 as interest rates are generally low averaging about 2% to 3%. For any growth to be meaningful inflation rates would have to be maintained at low levels.
In the outskirts of a village, several houses dotted amongst the paddy fields, their platforms raised on wooden stilts for a foundation is a picture of a typically agrarian Asian countryside of low incomes and a subsistence livelihood. The little town adjacent, telling a similar tale about a difficult economic drive towards maintaining crucial reinvestments. What is significant though is the services they are offering and the inclination offered by liberal trade and capital in fostering small business. The majority of these businesses cater to the tourist industry and thrive during the tourist season. A drive around takes one to a desolate factory that either manufactures when stockpiles are low and has a stunted production process and a brewery that produces seasonally and lays off workers for the rest of the year. The result is high seasonal unemployment. A higher rate than the national average. This would be the case of all tourist towns around unless they are drawing in vast amounts of investments. The standard of living is generally high in Asia and comparable to other local ASEAN economies.
The standard of living indicators that we have used are indicated by the number of telephone and internet connections as an increasing volume of business is being conducted more efficiently with these channels; public subsidies and per capita power consumption. Internet connectivity per 10,000 is 25.43 compared to 162.82 in neighbouring Hong Kong 1,939.97 in the US, but much higher than the dwindling 0.34 in Pakistan and 0.23 in India. The power sector has been taken as a significant indicator of type of development that has occurred in economies. Per capita commercial energy use kg of oil equivalent was 2237kg/capita towards in 1997. Electricity consumption per capita 2352 kW h compared to 4959 in Hong Kong; 333 kW h in Pakistan and 363 kW h in India.
Public policy programmes are run by the state subsidies that are designed to enhance the quality of education and services and ensure public goods are provided to all and market failures avoided as they are known to when public services break down. As a % of total expenditure, subsidies and other current transfers were 24% in 1997 and have since increased in light of government policy on promoting subsidies for workforce development. Although free capital does incline towards a harsher environment where some areas attract more capital than others, a well planned development path aimed at providing essential services to all on the basis of a private and public investments being targeted in particular towards industrial growth. The magnitude of these investments highlights how much capital flows into the country. In 2000 net private capital flows were US$8.295 billion in addition to foreign direct investment of US$5 billion. Merchandise exports were US$73.305 million that year. | https://kengmin.top/2021/11/24/malaysias-economic-development/ |
Apache Flink is a distributed data flow processing system for performing analytics on large data sets. It can be used for real time data streams as well as batch data processing. It supports APIs in Java and Scala programming languages.
Flink contains a memory management component, serialization framework, and type inference engine. It runs on YARN and HDFS and has a Hadoop compatibility package.
Fabian Hueske, PMC member of Apache Flink, spoke about the data processing framework at the recent ApacheCon Conference.
He discussed the programming model & APIs and how to use Flink API in applications, with code examples using DataSets and Transformations.
The Table API allows to evaluate SQL-like expressions on structured data streams or data sets and is tightly integrated with the Java and Scala APIs. It can be used in both batch and streaming programs.
Flink also supports graph analysis requirements. Gelly and Flink ML are libraries for analyzing large graphs and defining machine learning pipelines respectively. These libraries can be combined with Flink's other APIs.
InfoQ spoke with Fabian about the framework features and how they can help with big data processing and analytics requirements.
InfoQ: How is Apache Flink framework different from other Big Data frameworks from Apache community, like Hadoop and Storm?
Hueske: Apache Flink is a distributed data processor for large-scale data analysis. It provides high-level APIs in Scala and Java and has its own runtime that supports both stream processing and batch processing natively. Flink integrates nicely with Apache Hadoop. It supports HDFS as well as Hadoop Input- and OutputFormats to read and write various data formats from and to different data stores. Flink can run on Hadoop YARN clusters alongside MapReduce and other frameworks, which is actually very common in practice. Compared to Apache Storm, the stream analysis functionality of Flink offers a high-level API and uses a more light-weight fault tolerance strategy to provide exactly-once processing guarantees.
InfoQ: Flink API looks similar to what Apache Spark provides, in terms of Expressive Transformations and streaming operations. Why create another framework if Spark already provides the same capabilities for big data processing?
Hueske: Data flows are an intuitive programming abstraction and popular among many people. Consequently this concept has been adopted by many systems including Apache Spark, Apache Crunch, Cascading/Scalding, Microsoft LINQ, and as well Apache Flink. While Flink and Spark look quite similar from an API point of view, their back ends put emphasis on different aspects. Flink was initially designed as a hybrid of MapReduce and parallel relational database systems. This led to a number of design decisions including pipelined data transfers, active memory management, and RDBMS-style physical operators. Due to these concepts, Flink can process real-time data streams with low latency as well as heavy and complex batch programs using the same runtime. Given enough memory resources Flink efficiently operates in-memory but will gracefully de-stage data to disk if data volumes exceed the available memory budgets.
InfoQ: Flink's goal is to provide both Streaming and Batch data processing in one system. Apache Spark already does this with its Core and Streaming libraries. What are the advantages of using Flink over Spark or other big data processing frameworks?
Hueske: Due to its pipelining runtime, Flink can process streaming data in a similar way to Apache Storm. This is different from Spark in that data streams are not discretized into micro-batches. Put differently, Flink integrates batch and streaming by processing batch programs as special case of data streams (think finite streams) instead of treating data streams as a series of micro-batches. This has a few implications. First of all, Flink starts a data streaming program once and continuously processes data immediately as it arrives. Operators are scheduled just once and can maintain a state over the whole time when a stream is executed. Also, Flink features flexible window operators on real-time data streams. Consequently, Flink can address streaming and batch use-cases that other systems cannot easily support.
InfoQ: What type of monitoring capabilities are available when using Flink for data processing and analytics?
Hueske: Flink's web frontend shows detailed information about currently running jobs and the system in general. It also provides information that helps to debug the runtime behavior of jobs. The community is currently working on improving the web frontend to show more system- and job-related metrics.
InfoQ: What is the future roadmap of Flink in terms of 1.0 release as well as new features and enhancements?
Hueske: The Flink community aims to bundle a major release every 3 months and version 0.9 is just coming up. Although the community has not discussed a 1.0 release yet, I personally think that there will be a 1.0 release within year from now but this will be of course a community decision.
Fabian also mentioned that the Flink community just put out a preview release for the up-coming 0.9 major release. This release includes many improvements and new features, most importantly three new APIs and libraries. He also talked about the upcoming talks on Apache Flink at a few conferences this year including Strata in London, UK and HadoopSummit in San Jose, CA. In addition to that, there will be a dedicated Apache Flink conference called Flink Forward held in Berlin in October this year. | https://www.infoq.com/news/2015/04/hueske-apache-flink?itm_source=presentations_about_Apache-Flink&itm_medium=link&itm_campaign=Apache-Flink |
take a look at this image, http://www.navfltsm.addr.com/cat-ii-rwy9.gif note in the center of the far left side it says:
GS 3.00°
TCH 60
This is telling you the GS is 3 degrees
no need to calculate it
I assume you mean "calculate", "descent", and "glideslope".
Your question is vague. There's not enough information to answer it. However, since you want to "calculate" the descent angle, then I assume you don't already know it from the approach plate.
You can use simple trigonometry to figure out the angle using a variety of pieces of information. For example, if you're talking about intercepting an ILS glideslope, you can use the GS intercept altitude as the height of a triangle, the distance from the runway as the base, and calculate the glideslope angle based on that.
But it's much easier to read it off the chart.
Divide your descent rate by your speed over the ground, and take the arctangent of the result.
For example, with a descent rate of 2000 fpm and a ground speed of 225 knots, your descent angle is five degrees. That's
atan(2000/(225*6076/60))
2000 = descent rate in fpm
225 = speed in knots
6076 = number of feet in a nautical mile
60 = number of minutes in an hour
In many aircraft these days, you may find a flight-path vector indicator that you can enable on the primary flight display. If you turn this on, you can read your descent angle right off the display: it's the angle between the horizon and the FPV symbol that represents the aircraft on the PFD.
If you need a descent rate for an angle, multiply the tangent of the angle by your speed over the ground. For example, if you need a 3.5° glide slope, and you're moving at 200 knots over the ground, you need a descent rate of 1238 fpm. That's
(200*6076/60)*tan(3.5)
200 = speed in knots
3.5 = desired glide slope
Copyright © 2022 Q2A.MX - All rights reserved. | https://q2a.mx/how-do-i-calulate-airplane-desent-angles.html |
Just how to Cite a site, Book, YouTube Video, etc. in PowerPoint
Citing a source in a written report or paper is pretty simple – you simply provide the supply details according to a specific type of citation.
But, in terms of presentations and speeches, have you figured out just how to properly cite your sources?
It appears as though a serious question that is basic very first, however when it comes down to your practicalities and technicalities, the responses aren’t so easy to come across.
Certain, quotes may be not difficult to introduce, but exactly what about all of those other information, information, facts, numbers, and pictures you employ? Did you know just how to provide that information and provide appropriate appropriate credit without disrupting the movement of the presentation?
No? Then continue reading!
Crucial Legal Note: It is not advice that is legal. For complete information on the laws of copyright and Fair utilize licenses, please check out the United States Copyright workplace.
Why citing your sources is very important
Your market has to understand in which the given information, visuals, or other materials you employ in your presentation result from. | http://emigration-consulting.com/category/wix-websites/ |
How Digital Platforms Have Become Double-Edged Swords
It’s not difficult to see how digital technology and innovation have rapidly transformed our world over the last three decades. If the industrial revolution was built by the factory system, the changes we see today are organized around digital platforms.
Indeed, the most valuable companies in the world — Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, and Google — have harnessed platform power to achieve rapid growth and market dominance as their products and services permeate our daily life. And just as these platforms have grown in size and scale, the opportunity for abusing their power has also become very real.
How should regulators and competitors respond? What are the emerging platform battlegrounds that will shape our future? In a time when platforms have become double-edged swords — capable of being used in both positive and negative ways — how do entrepreneurs and managers pursue growth responsibly?
These are the kinds of questions authors Michael A. Cusumano, Annabelle Gawer, and David B. Yoffie contend with in their most recent book, The Business of Platforms. The book builds on their body of research drawn from studying and working with platform companies for the last 30 years, and the authors use new data to critically examine the impact platforms have on the economy and society.
MIT Sloan Management Review digital editor Ally MacDonald spoke with the authors about their research, and what follows is an edited and condensed version of their conversation.
MIT Sloan Management Review: You’ve been studying platforms for a long time. What keeps you interested?
Michael Cusumano: There is a lot of confusion and hype over exactly what platforms are, how they function as businesses, and what contributions they make. We wanted to dispel some of the platform mania using real data. How do companies create and run platforms so that they make money? How do you make sure [the platforms are] positive rather than negative for both the economy and society? Those were the kinds of questions we were thinking about as we set out to research and write the book.
What are the key distinctions between platform types that leaders need to understand today?
Michael Cusumano: We find platforms in nearly all industries. These are businesses that bring together different market actors in a way that generates network effects — positive feedback loops where the value each user experiences increases as more users adopt the platform. We divide platforms into two basic categories: innovation platforms and transaction platforms. The first type facilitates outside innovation, and the second facilitates the exchange of information, goods, or services.
It’s also important to understand how some firms create both types of platforms and use them to reinforce each other. This is what we refer to as a hybrid platform company, a business model that was not apparent when we wrote our first book in 2002 on platform leadership.
That book focused only on what we now call innovation platforms — software ecosystems like Windows and Android. In 2002, we were not thinking of a company like Amazon as a platform business — it was mainly an online store reselling books and then electronics products.
The strategy of bringing different market actors together and creating a business that can grow in a nonlinear way, based on network effects and digital technology, is a newer platform phenomenon. Still, there wasn’t much data collected on how new platform companies performed over time, so this project really started out for us as a data collection exercise.
What did that data gathering process look like?
Michael Cusumano: We were looking to determine whether platforms are more efficient than their non-platform competitors in the same industry segments. We went through the Forbes Global 2000 and identified platform companies that came about with the PC, web, and mobile markets. It turns out that platforms are more efficient. They roughly do the same amount of revenue with half of the number of people, because they’re accessing resources outside of the firm and creating a business without actually owning nearly as many assets as comparable non-platform companies.
But there’s a bit of a myth about how common these platforms are. Of the Global 2000, we identified only 43 companies that fit the category of a post-PC “digital platform.” Even among those firms, many are a mixture of product and platform businesses. The ones that survived and became very powerful public companies are relatively rare.
Of the digital platforms that do exist, the majority are transaction platforms. Part of the reason is that creating an innovation platform is more difficult. This entails platform entrepreneurs introducing a technology that other firms will adopt as core to their business and then build products and services around. Take operating systems, for instance. We have one dominant software platform for PCs and only two for smartphones because powerful network effects between users and applications make these winner-takes-all or winner-takes-most markets.
What does the data tell you about the rate of failure for platform companies?
Michael Cusumano: We tried to count how many failed attempts there were for each of the successful platforms. It turns out platform companies fail at a rate that’s at least comparable to failure in entrepreneurship more generally. The number of surviving platforms in our research was 17% — so in addition to the 43 successful digital platforms, there were 207 failed companies that we were able to identify.
It’s also important to note that you can have success on certain levels, such as market valuation, but not necessarily on a business level. Look at Uber. Uber is not yet successful as a business. It lost $1.8 billion in 2018 and $4.5 billion in 2017, which suggests that there are some serious flaws in its business model that the company needs to correct. Part of the problem is that Uber subsidizes both sides — riders and drivers — who come to its platform. Instead of just receiving commissions per ride, for example, Uber pays drivers a set fee and bonuses to join the platform. And Uber keeps the price of rides lower than taxis or other competitors. Venture capital has been necessary to fund these driver and rider subsidies.
Uber also uses the independent contract worker strategy to keep costs low. However, there is a downside. Data we found indicated that 12.5% of Uber drivers quit every month, despite the set payments. This means that, every nine months, Uber loses and replaces all of its drivers. So Uber has to spend billions of dollars each year attracting new drivers with bonuses, in addition to keeping prices low. Uber and most other platform companies that are not public lose money, which helps explain why there have been so many failures.
Annabelle Gawer: Some of these companies are willing to lose so much money because they believe that at the end of the road, there’s going to be a winner-takes-all market. This is one of the myths we bust in the book.
Traditional platform theory says that when you have a platform business you’re going to have network effects, and we do agree with that. But the widely held belief that when you have network effects you’re going to have room for only one or two winners at the end, essentially a monopoly, creates a situation where platform companies believe that they have to eliminate rivals at all costs. We demonstrate in the book why this has become such a risky strategy.
First of all, it’s not always the case there will be a winner.
Second, it’s not just about network effects. In order to dominate a market, successful platforms need to ensure that users are satisfied with their offering — and [they] find it unnecessary to use multiple competing platforms, a practice called multi-homing.
Third, they also need to reduce the impact of niche and differentiated competitors.
Finally, like any traditional business, all platform companies need to construct significant entry barriers so that new competitors don’t keep appearing.
In the book you talk about the trade-off between openness and curation for platform companies. What does this trade-off look like in practice, and how does it create a dilemma for platform governance?
Michael Cusumano: When a platform tries to control or curate activity and participation in the platform, it can directly depress network effects — [that’s] in addition to being a costly expense, like in the case of Facebook hiring 30,000 people as content moderators. Additionally, on the economic side, Facebook has admitted that the content where they sell the most ads are the flagrant fake news stories that go viral. So, in the short term, limiting participation or activity with this kind of content may result in a less vibrant and economically less successful platform, at least in short-term network effects. However, over the longer run, a business is not sustainable if it allows criminal activity, fake content, or general malfeasance on its platform.
David Yoffie: An area that has been underdeveloped is platform governance — the rules and procedures that limit and control the activity that takes place on the platform. Those rules have been vague. They need to be tightened up and they need to be enforced. Companies should create departments that can monitor activities and potentially control them directly. Facebook’s 30,000 content monitors probably aren’t enough. Companies must scale up these activities, which will raise costs. They are also using artificial intelligence and machine learning tools, but they need more people as well. We also argue that there need to be more transparent terms and conditions. Users have to understand with greater clarity exactly what behavior is acceptable on the platform and what’s not.
How do managers in platform businesses get ahead of the curve in self-regulating when digital disruption has become such a competitive advantage?
David Yoffie: One of the examples we use in the book is Amazon’s decision to start paying state taxes to all states. Legally, they were not obliged to do so. Platform businesses need to recognize the possibility that regulatory change is going to happen, and that it is going to be painful when it does. If you can find ways to preempt regulation, you’re likely in a better position to gain an advantage. That’s part of what the Amazon example provides.
Michael Cusumano: Other theoretical examples would be Airbnb agreeing to be governed by city hotel regulations, or companies like Uber, Lyft, or Deliveroo deciding to hire full-time drivers as regular employees, with full benefits and higher salaries. Right now, they’re treated as independent contractors and not paid very much. Some of the drivers live at poverty-level salaries. New York City is already stepping in to raise the minimum wage for sharing-economy workers.
At the same time, people have argued for many years that gig-economy platforms would not exist without the temporary worker strategy — that’s what has kept some of their costs 30% or so lower than conventional companies. But that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily a good long-term business strategy. As we’ve discussed, Uber loses three-quarters of its workforce with driver churn every six months. This sort of platform chaos is not a great way to build a stable company, one with engaged workers and satisfied customers around the world.
Annabelle Gawer: The irony is that companies who have succeeded in these early Wild West days, flouting regulation and achieving positions of dominance, have benefited from easier conditions than the small, newer platforms that are following them. If regulations that are coming into place will apply to all platforms — and that’s an argument that the powerful platforms have made — it’s going to place a greater burden on new entrants, who will not benefit from the freedoms their predecessors [had] to establish a foothold. Even so, I do think [regulations are] necessary.
In terms of new platform battlegrounds, how will emerging technologies such as AI play a role?
David Yoffie: We talk about two different emerging cases in the book, which are both based on AI — driverless cars and voice recognition.
If you think about where firms are going with driverless cars, there is going to be a transition away from an Uber-like platform to transportation as a service, where you’re no longer going to have independent players connecting with passengers. Instead, you’re going to have a fleet of cars that a company will own and direct. That fundamentally changes the economics and performance of the business. In that way, AI doesn’t necessarily produce a path toward a new platform battle.
On the other hand, all the things that we see going on in the world of voice recognition look like a classic platform war. The main players will continue to be Google and Amazon, and maybe Apple. We’ll probably see some platform players from Korea and China, and we expect a platform struggle to play out in a similar way to what we’ve seen with the smartphone market.
There’s a lot of AI hype, but AI has differing effects depending upon the business. In some cases, we will see industry-level platform battles, and in other cases, we will see companies battling each other on the product level.
Michael Cusumano: We also found that platform thinking can help with innovation in sectors that we had not considered before. Two examples we discuss in the book are quantum computing and gene editing.
Quantum computers are actually not digital; they’re analog devices. They rely on quantum effects to perform calculations that, at least theoretically, will be impossible with conventional digital computers. In this space, we see a few companies and universities building what are new innovation platforms. But they’re not going to get very far until there is an ecosystem to generate applications and services, such as for cryptography and secure communications or solving particular optimization and simulation problems.
Each participant is trying to replicate what happened in conventional computing to stimulate the creation of third-party applications, programming tools, and services — like quantum computing as a service. A couple of companies have already launched these services, including Microsoft and IBM. Quantum computing will become more important as a new type of innovation platform over the next two decades or so, but it’s familiar because it still involves information technology.
Gene editing, however, is different, and moving faster — applications are already being developed and used today. As with quantum computing, we see some key universities and companies, including many startups, emerging along with some larger pharmaceutical and biotech companies.
Players will need to build an ecosystem around some of the core technologies, such as CRISPR. Some of this activity is happening already. We see companies and universities creating building blocks and tool kits — some are publicly available, using open source methods, and some are controlled by patents but broadly licensed.
We see a lot of patents nowadays related to software platforms and smartphones, but the information technology field has benefitted a lot from shared knowledge and cross-licensing agreements. As a result, Google, Microsoft, and Apple have been able to mobilize thousands of companies that build applications for their platform ecosystems.
In the biotech and pharmaceutical world, it’s been more of a race to find that one patent that becomes your multibillion-dollar drug. The competition resembles a zero-sum game with closed silos of innovation, rather than the grow-the-pie-together approach that we saw with PCs, internet services, and smartphone ecosystems. New technologies like gene editing may evolve a lot more slowly in a closed innovation model where companies do not work together or widely cross-license their patents. Here, the drug and biotech industry can learn from the more open, less zero-sum philosophy we’ve seen in other platform industries. | https://www.tampabusinessconsulting.com/2019/05/how-digital-platforms-have-become.html |
What to do if you think you clicked on a malicious link? (Part 2)
Phishing attacks are commonly used by criminals to trick people into deploying malicious software and/or revealing sensitive information.
Even regular user training and deploying specialist software (designed to screen email senders and flag up suspicious emails) don’t provide complete protection from phishing. Criminals are very good at what they do and constantly find new ways to succeed in their aims. So, if you or someone in your team think there’s a chance that the link that got clicked could be harmful, don’t panic, just follow these steps:
- Disconnect your computer from the internet. This can be done by disconnecting the Wi-Fi, turning on Flight Mode, or unplugging the ethernet cable.
- Be honest and tell the person responsible for IT in your company, your supervisor and/or IT support. Any further steps will depend on what your IT provider recommends. Don’t be afraid, a company with a good phishing policy will not blame the employee. Do not reconnect until instructed to do so.
- If you need to check your Microsoft computer for malware yourself, you can run the Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool;
Press the Windows key
and the R key simultaneously
This Run box will appear in the bottom left-hand corner of your screen
Type mrt and click OK and the User Account Control box will open.
Click Yes to open the tool
Then click Next
Select ‘Quick scan’ and then Next and allow the tool to scan your computer.
If any infections are found these will be automatically removed.
As you can see, no malicious software was found on our computer. However, if there had been, this screen would report it and confirm that it had been removed.
Click Finish and repeat the process.
This time you should select ‘Full scan’ instead of ‘Quick scan’
Start and allow to scan, this will take some time.
Further actions will depend on which anti-virus product is installed on your PC (for example, ESET Endpoint Security or Microsoft Defender).
Whatever product is installed, scan for malware and follow any recommended actions that result.
- Change any usernames and passwords that could have been captured.
- Use different passwords for each login when you change them
- Alert the business or person the email appeared to be from by telephone using their phone number from your records of the official website (do not call the number on the email as this could be incorrect.)
- Forward the suspicious email to [email protected] and then delete it from your inbox.
- Evaluate your system for vulnerabilities and consider what can be done to prevent further breaches.
Look out for Part 3 of our series of blog posts about phishing, we’ll be sharing details of what can be done to prevent these emails from landing in your inbox and explaining how each of these email filtering methods works.
Our Managed IT Service is designed specifically to meet the needs of small businesses in the North West, allowing them to focus on what they do best.
So, if you run a small business in the North West and want more information about anti-phishing software, require a security audit, cyber security training, or other help then please get in touch. | https://trustedcomputing.ltd/cyber-security/phishing-emails-what-you-should-do-if-you-think-you-clicked-on-a-malicious-link/ |
Super-strong aluminum as strong as steel• https://www.nextbigfuture.com, brian wang
"Most lightweight aluminum alloys are soft and have inherently low mechanical strength, which hinders more widespread industrial application," said Xinghang Zhang, a professor in Purdue University's School of Materials Engineering. "However, high-strength, lightweight aluminum alloys with strength comparable to stainless steels would revolutionize the automobile and aerospace industries."
New research shows how to alter the microstructure of aluminum to impart greater strength and ductility. Findings were detailed in two new research papers. The work was led by a team of researchers that included Purdue postdoctoral research associate Sichuang Xue and doctoral student Qiang Li.
The new high-strength aluminum is made possible by introducing "stacking faults," or distortions in the crystal structure. While these are easy to produce in metals such as copper and silver, they are difficult to introduce in aluminum because of its high "stacking fault energy." | https://www.freedomsphoenix.com/News/233846-2018-01-30-super-strong-aluminum-as-strong-as-steel.htm |
Endorsement quote: "The Starts With Home campaign platform is a clear and concise vision for tackling Ottawa's housing crisis. If elected, I would work to implement each of the platform's six actions. I am proud to stand beside the community leaders who are fighting to protect tenants, build affordable housing, and properly maintain existing stock."
|1. Stop the Loss||✔️Tenants Protections: "We cannot allow tenants to be pushed out of their rental units due to renovations or demolitions. Often, these practices cynically cite more or better housing units as a reason to evict existing tenants. As a city, we should be serious about the creation of more and better housing units, but tenants must be protected from evictions designed to increase profits, rather than living standards."||✔️Housing Acquisition: "I support taking housing off of the speculative market and keeping it affordable in perpetuity through non-profit providers, including Ottawa Community Housing. We can reverse the trend that treats housing as an asset for the rich, for shareholders, and for speculators. Instead, housing can be an asset for the public. It can reduce pressure on the private market, support those who need deep affordability, and generate revenue to build more non-profit housing going forward."|
|2. Create More||✔️Inclusionary Zoning: "There are two practices which I think this policy could help end. First is short-term affordability, where deals for affordable housing units are struck with private developers, but then expire after a certain amount of time. This is simply pushing an affordability crisis into the future, not fixing the structural issues causing it. The other practice is tying affordable housing to relatively arbitrary average income figures. What is affordable for someone making 20% below average income is not affordable for someone making 40% or 60% below. Affordability should be tied to a realistic estimate of what a resident can pay, which means tying it to income, with caps so that costs do not balloon if tenants get a raise."||✔️Increased Budget: "The city needs to house those who do not have other options. It is time we became more ambitious and raised the number to 1000, while using the rest of our policy suite to create permanent affordable housing. The crisis of homelessness in Ottawa is most certainly a racialized one. A For Indigenous, By Indigenous Housing Strategy could help stop some of the damage caused by colonialism, delivering a real housing option for low-income Indigenous residents."|
|3. Preserve the Quality||✔️Landlord Licensing: "A landlord licensing policy will help regularize the rental market in Ottawa. It will also provide visibility for city officials to better understand the housing situation across the city. Improving housing on the private rental market is also crucial, since it does represent the majority of rentals in the city. Small landlords that need support should not be left to sell their properties to REITs and other shareholder vehicles simply because repairs are expensive."||
✔️Ombudsperson: "Yes, in a city of more than one million people, it should be someone's job to ensure that residents have a right to housing. Ottawa deserves an advocate who can scrutinize our plans and help make sure we are on the right track. Elected officials sometimes tend to sweep problems under the rug. A Housing Ombudsperson would help bring the city's failures and successes to light." | https://www.startswithhome.ca/ethan_sabourin |
The present invention relates to electronic dictionary and thesaurus tools generally and more particularly to applications which allow automatic retrieval of information from computerized electronic dictionary and thesaurus tools.
In typical applications of electronic dictionaries, a user is invited to type a word and to instruct an electronic dictionary to provide a translation of the word. Thus, during typing, each time the user looks for a translation of a word, he must interrupt typing and look for the word in the electronic dictionary.
In order to overcome such inconvenience, computerized dictionary and thesaurus tools which allow users to address computerized dictionaries interactively during typing and to employ the dictionaries in conjunction with automatic word recognition tools are required.
In a data sheet published by TechnoCraft Co. Ltd. on May 9, 1997, a product entitled xe2x80x9cRobowordxe2x80x9d is described. The Roboword is a multilingual dictionary tool which enables a user to point a mouse to any word on the computer screen, and the definition of the word will pop up immediately under the mouse pointer.
The present invention seeks to provide computerized dictionary and thesaurus tools which are applied with automatic word recognition tools.
There is thus provided in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention a method for providing computerized translation of words including:
placing a pointer at a first region on a display;
detecting a string of characters displayed in the first region;
determining, in the string of characters, a word written in a first language by identifying an entry for the word in a computerized dictionary data base;
obtaining a translated word, representing a translation of the word in a second language, from the computerized dictionary data base; and
displaying the translated word at a second region on the display.
Additionally, the method also includes the steps of:
retrieving at least one of a synonym and an antonym to the word in the second language from a computerized thesaurus data base; and
displaying the at least one of a synonym and an antonym at a third region on the display.
Further additionally, the method also includes the steps of:
retrieving at least one of a picture, a drawing and an icon corresponding to the word from a graphical dictionary data base; and
displaying the at least one of a picture, a drawing and an icon at a selected region on the display.
Preferably, the method also includes the steps of:
if the word is not found in at least one of the computerized dictionary data base, the computerized thesaurus data base, and the graphical dictionary data base, automatically searching a computerized misspeller dictionary data base in the second language for a match of the word to a represented misspelled word in the computerized misspeller dictionary data base; and
displaying a correctly spelled word in the second language which corresponds to the word at a fourth region on the display.
Additionally, the method also includes the step of displaying a message indicating that the word is misspelled, and that a correct spelling of the word includes the correctly spelled word.
Preferably, the determining step includes:
performing a spell-check on the word versus at least one of the computerized dictionary data base, the computerized thesaurus data base and the computerized misspeller dictionary data base;
determining that there is no entry for the word if the spell-check outputs an error indicating that the word is not found in any of the computerized dictionary data base, the computerized thesaurus data base and the computerized misspeller dictionary data base; and
determining that there is an entry for the word if the spell-check outputs an indication that the word is found in at least one of the computerized dictionary data base, the computerized thesaurus data base and the computerized misspeller dictionary data base.
Preferably, the step of determining that there is no entry for the word includes the step of displaying a message indicating that there is no entry available for the word on the display.
Additionally, the method also includes the step of displaying a message indicating that there is no text in the first region if the first region is a blank area.
Further additionally, the method includes the step of displaying an unrecognized word message if the first region includes an item which does not include a text.
Preferably, at least two of the following regions: the second region, the third region, and the fourth region include a common area. The second region and the third region may preferably include a common area.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention the method also includes the step of linking at least one of the computerized dictionary data base, the computerized thesaurus data base, the graphical dictionary data base and the computerized misspeller dictionary data base to a pronunciation guide for providing a pronunciation of the word.
Additionally, the method also includes the step of linking at least one of the computerized dictionary data base, the computerized thesaurus data base, the graphical dictionary data base and the computerized misspeller dictionary data base to a phrase guide to retrieve at least a phrase which includes the word.
Further additionally, the method also includes the step of providing a coding scheme which indicates which one of the computerized dictionary data base and the computerized thesaurus data base is currently activated.
Preferably, the coding scheme includes at least one of a color coding and a letter coding of a selection icon which is employed to select one of the following data bases: the computerized dictionary data base, the computerized thesaurus data base, the graphical dictionary data base and any combination thereof.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention the first language is identical to the second language, and the translated words includes a meaning of the word.
Preferably, the detecting step includes:
selecting a first window in which translation of words is required, and a second window in which translation of words is not required; and
ignoring text written in the first region, if the first region is in the second window, and detecting a string of characters displayed in the first region, if the first region is in the first window.
Additionally, the method also includes the steps of:
providing a grammar analysis of the word; and
displaying results of the grammar analysis on the display.
There is also provided in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention a method for providing thesaurus data corresponding to selected words, the method including:
placing a pointer on a first region on a display;
detecting a string of characters displayed in the first region;
determining, in the string of characters, a word written in a first language by identifying an entry for the word in a computerized thesaurus data base;
obtaining at least one of a synonym and an antonym to the word in the second language from the computerized thesaurus data base; and
displaying the at least one of a synonym and an antonym to the word in the second language at a second region on the display.
Further in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention there is provided a method for providing a computerized translation of a word including:
scanning a text to obtain a scanned text;
placing a pointer at a first region on a display which includes a portion of the scanned text;
operating a character recognition procedure to detect a string of characters displayed in the first region;
determining, in the string of characters, a word written in a first language by identifying an entry for the word in a computerized dictionary data base;
retrieving a translated word, representing a translation of the word in a second language, from the computerized dictionary data base; and
displaying the translated word at a second region on display.
Preferably, the scanned text includes an image of the text. The text may preferably include a handwritten text, and the scanned text may include an image of the handwritten text.
There is also provided in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention a method for providing character and word recognition of a word pointed at by a pointer, the word being located in a bounding rectangle which includes a plurality of words printed in at least one language and in at least one format, the method including:
obtaining coordinates and dimensions of the bounding rectangle, the at least one language, the at least one format and characters which form each of the plurality of words;
scanning the bounding rectangle to obtain at least locations of each of characters which form the word;
determining the characters which form the word based on at least one of the locations of each of the characters which form the word, the coordinates and dimensions of the bounding rectangle, the at least one language and the at least one format; and
identifying the word based on the determining step.
The at least one format may preferably include a font format.
Preferably, the scanning step includes scanning the bounding rectangle to obtain locations of each of characters which form words in the vicinity of the word, and the identifying step includes the step of identifying the word based at least one of the locations of each of the characters which form words in the vicinity of the word, the coordinates and dimensions of the bounding rectangle, the at least one language and the at least one format.
Further preferably, the word includes a series of characters written in a first language, and the identifying step includes distinguishing between characters in the series of characters which have similar structures to characters written in a second language by determining that the word is written in the first language.
In a case that the word is partly covered, the identifying step may include identifying the partly covered word by determining the characters which form the word.
Preferably, the word includes special characters, such at least one of the following special characters: colored characters; bold characters; characters written in italics; characters having different sizes; characters having different font types; and overstrike characters, and the identifying step includes identifying the special characters by determining the characters which form the word.
There is also provided in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention a computerized translator including:
a character recognition module which is operative to detect a string of characters displayed at a first region on a display which is selected by a user, and to determine, in the string of characters, a word written in a first language;
a computerized dictionary data base; and
a processor coupled to the character recognition module and to the computerized dictionary data base, and operative to determine whether there is an entry for the word in the computerized dictionary data base, to retrieve from the computerized dictionary data base a translated word, representing a translation of the word in a second language, and to display the translated word at a second region on the display.
Additionally, the computerized translator includes a computerized thesaurus data base which is coupled to the processor, wherein the processor is operative to obtain at least one of a synonym and an antonym to the word in the second language from the computerized thesaurus data base, and to display the at least one of a synonym and an antonym in the second language at a third region on the display.
Preferably, the computerized translator includes a computerized misspeller dictionary data base in the second language which is coupled to the processor, wherein the processor is operative, upon determination that the word is not found in at least one of the computerized dictionary data base and the computerized thesaurus data base, to search the computerized misspeller dictionary data base for a match of the word to a corresponding misspelled word in the computerized misspeller dictionary data base, and to display a correctly spelled word in the second language, which corresponds to the word, at a fourth region on the display.
Additionally, the computerized translator includes a pronunciation guide which is linked to at least one of the computerized dictionary data base, the computerized thesaurus data base, and the computerized misspeller dictionary data base, and is operative to provide a pronunciation of the word.
Further additionally, the computerized translator includes a phrase guide which is linked to at least one of the computerized dictionary data base, the computerized thesaurus data base, and the computerized misspeller dictionary data base, and is operative to provide at least a phrase which includes the word.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention there is also provided a computerized translator including:
a scanner for scanning a text to obtain a scanned text;
a character recognition module which is coupled to the scanner and is operative to detect a string of characters displayed at a first region on a display which is selected by a user and includes a portion of the scanned text, and to determine, in the string of characters, a word written in a first language;
a computerized dictionary data base; and
a processor coupled to the scanner, to the character recognition module and to the computerized dictionary data base, and operative to determine whether there is an entry for the word in the computerized dictionary data base, to retrieve from the computerized dictionary data base a translated word, representing a translation of the word in a second language, and to display the translated word at a second region on the display.
Preferably, the scanned text includes an image of the text. The text may preferably include a handwritten text, and the scanned text may include an image of the handwritten text.
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It is a pleasure to have the opportunity to participate in the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s 21st Annual Financial Markets Conference. This year’s topic, focusing on the connection between liquidity and financial stability, is an excellent one. As the first speaker, I thought it would be useful to lay out what I see as some of the key issues. I may raise more questions than provide answers, but, hopefully, my remarks will help to stimulate our discussion and debate over the next two days.
As I see it, in the context of our financial system there are two distinct types of liquidity. The first is what is typically referred to as market liquidity. I would define market liquidity as the cost—both in expense and time—of buying or selling an asset for cash. Market liquidity reflects a number of factors, including any direct transaction expense, such as brokerage costs; the price the transaction is executed at relative to the midpoint of the bid-ask spread; how much, if at all, the transaction moves the market price; and the immediacy or speediness with which the transaction can be completed.
With respect to market liquidity, there are a number of important open questions. Has market liquidity declined for some asset classes? If so, what are the causes? In particular, has the increase in the regulatory requirements imposed on systemically-important securities dealers adversely impacted market liquidity? If this is the case, are there adjustments that could be made that might improve market liquidity without impairing financial stability?
The second important type of liquidity is funding liquidity. By funding liquidity, I mean the ability of a financial entity to raise cash by borrowing on either an unsecured or a secured basis. Although market and funding liquidity are often treated as distinct, they can be closely related. This is especially the case during a financial crisis. If funding liquidity declines because of market stress, for example, this may cause intermediaries to become less willing to provide market liquidity. Declines in market liquidity, in turn, may further impair funding liquidity, creating a negative feedback dynamic.
Capital and liquidity requirements play a role in preventing such a self-reinforcing negative dynamic. The central bank may also have an important role to play as the lender-of-last-resort. When and how the central bank intervenes―and what the appropriate preconditions should be to maintain market discipline and mitigate moral hazard―are important open questions.
As always what I have to say today represents my own views and not necessarily the views of the Federal Open Market Committee or the Federal Reserve System.1
Turning first to the issue of market liquidity, the evidence that market liquidity has diminished is mixed. Some market liquidity metrics have not changed much in recent years. For the U.S. Treasury market, quoted bid-ask spreads in the inter-dealer market have remained stable since 2010 at their pre-crisis levels (Exhibit 1). And, order book depth, while lower now than in 2012 and 2013, does not appear low by historical standards (Exhibit 2).2 For the corporate bond market, some evidence even suggests improving market liquidity. For example, excluding the financial crisis period, the realized bid-ask spread calculated from TRACE data has been trending down since the early 2000s (Exhibit 3).3
But these metrics don’t tell the whole story. In particular, we have significant data gaps that make it difficult to comprehensively measure market liquidity. For example, in the U.S. Treasury market we have poor visibility into dealer-to-customer transactions. In this market segment, business is conducted bilaterally on an over-the-counter (OTC) basis—typically by phone or through electronic trading platforms like Tradeweb and Bloomberg that are based on the traditional request-for-quote model. The U.S. Treasury has issued a detailed request for information seeking public comment on the many factors that are affecting the structure and liquidity of the U.S. Treasury market, and is seeking comments on the relevant data gaps.4 This is an important step that will help clarify what further work is needed in this area.
Even in the corporate bond market where we have detailed TRACE transaction data, this still tells an incomplete story. TRACE data show what trades have taken place, not what trades have potentially been foregone because of any possible diminution of market liquidity. Gaining a better understanding of this phenomenon is being actively researched by my staff.
In contrast to the market liquidity metrics such as bid-ask spreads, indirect evidence on market liquidity suggests that there has been a decline. Asset managers report that large blocks of securities are now harder to buy and sell without generating significant movements in prices. Also, average trade sizes have decreased (Exhibit 4) and there is evidence of a growing bifurcation in the corporate bond market, with greater activity and liquidity in those bonds that were issued more recently, larger in size or brought to market by larger issuers.
Also, capital and liquidity requirements for the largest securities dealers—which have been raised significantly since the financial crisis—might have adversely impacted market liquidity. These regulatory changes likely have affected the profitability of dealer intermediation activities and consequently the provision of market liquidity.
For the Treasury market, the most important change in regulatory requirements appears to be the supplementary leverage ratio (SLR). The SLR limits the leverage of dealer balance sheets. In the SLR, all assets are treated the same in terms of required regulatory capital. Consequently, the SLR is much tougher on low-risk assets as compared to the risk-based capital measures that it complements. This makes the economics of repo-financing much less attractive. Not surprisingly, we observe significant declines in the quantity of repo financing by dealers (Exhibit 5).
For the corporate bond market, the most relevant regulatory changes appear to be the increase in the Basel risk-weighted capital ratio, the Comprehensive Capital and Analysis Review (CCAR) stress tests and the Volcker Rule—which prohibits proprietary trading for a number of asset classes such as corporate bonds, albeit not U.S. Treasuries. We do observe significant declines in recent years in securities dealers’ holdings of corporate bonds (Exhibit 6).
It would be surprising if these declines in repo and corporate bond holdings did not have some consequence for market liquidity. However, we do not observe marked declines in dealer holdings of Treasuries, even as overall dealer assets have stagnated (Exhibit 7). The stagnation in dealer assets might indicate that inventory risk has shifted from dealers to asset managers and other buy-side participants, reflecting a shift in market-making from a “principal” to an “agency” model.
While increases in regulatory requirements have undoubtedly played a role, I think that other non-regulatory factors are also important. Liquidity provision is affected by changes in market structure, how trades are executed, and by competition from those operating outside of the regulatory boundaries that have been established for systemically-important financial institutions. Similarly, the demand for liquidity is also evolving with the growth of large asset managers, mutual funds, exchange traded funds (ETFs) and principal trading firms (PTFs)—which are sometimes referred to as high-frequency trading firms. In the U.S. Treasury market, for example, high-frequency trading firms have seized a large proportion of the inter-dealer market in recent years (Exhibit 8). In the credit market, a rapidly rising share of corporate bonds outstanding is now held by mutual funds (Exhibit 9). Because mutual funds are not natural providers of intraday liquidity,5 their rapid growth may have contributed to the decline in secondary market trading activity. Fixed-income market liquidity may also be declining for cyclical reasons. Dealer inventories have historically been sensitive to changes in the size of credit risk-premia and term-premia (Exhibit 10). Finally, the effects of unconventional monetary policy on rate expectations and corporate bond issuance may also be affecting market liquidity. This is an area in need of further study.
To reiterate, the evidence that market liquidity has diminished is mixed. But even if one agrees with the position that market liquidity has diminished, concluding that tougher regulatory requirements are the most important factor would be premature at this stage. The available evidence and common sense suggest that the changes in the regulatory regime are likely important, but we need to do considerably more work before we reach a definitive conclusion on their relative contribution.
Furthermore, even if additional evidence supported the conclusion that market liquidity has declined due to the increase in the regulatory burden on the major securities firms, this decline would still need to be weighed against the benefits of a more resilient and robust financial system. During the last cycle, market liquidity was plentiful prior to the financial crisis. But, as the financial system became stressed and several large systemic firms teetered on the brink of failure, market liquidity quickly dried up. A somewhat higher cost for the provision of market liquidity during the more benign stages of a financial cycle might be worthwhile if it were accompanied by less volatility and stress when the cycle inevitably turned down. In fact, even if market liquidity costs are now going to be higher on average, this might be a small price to pay for a much more stable financial sector.
Also, it is important to recognize that market liquidity conditions a few years from now may be very different from the situation today. If the cost of providing liquidity services has increased, this creates strong incentives for innovators to find better ways to match buyers and sellers.
In my view, this innovative response is already underway. For example, in both the Treasury and corporate bond markets, firms are being established to more efficiently match buyers and sellers of less liquid bonds in order to reduce search costs and the need to carry inventory. Furthermore, execution algorithms have been developed that divide large trades into smaller sizes, thus reducing the costs of moving large blocks of securities. Market liquidity conditions could very well improve over time as innovation occurs in response to this new regime.
Let me now turn to the topic of funding liquidity. I think this issue deserves as much attention as market liquidity. After all, during the financial crisis the demise of several major financial institutions resulted from their inability to finance their long-dated illiquid assets. The deterioration in funding liquidity also increased the degree of systemic stress as firms were forced to sell assets, which depressed their prices, undermining the solvency of firms throughout the financial system.
As I noted earlier, while funding liquidity can be considered as its own distinct subject, it does have a direct link back to market liquidity. If firms that trade and invest in securities cannot obtain funding liquidity, this will likely lead to less transactions volume, thinner markets and less overall market liquidity. It is also likely to lead to less pricing efficiency resulting in wider and more persistent disparities in the prices of similar assets. Without access to funding, leveraged players, such as hedge funds, will find it more difficult to react to transient dislocations in market prices by engaging in arbitrage—that is, buying the cheaper and selling the more expensive asset. Without a reliable source of short-term funding, market functioning can become impaired, which can further disrupt funding and market liquidity.
This can be seen by looking at the relationship between the volume of dealer-funded repo backed by U.S. Treasury securities versus the size of Treasury bid-ask spreads (Exhibit 11).6 During times of financial crisis—such as in 2008—sharp deleveraging of dealers’ repo books coincides with an increase in Treasury bid-ask spreads. However, during non-crisis periods, this correlation is quite low. This relationship between funding and market liquidity is also evident when we examine the relationship between the dispersion of Treasury yields relative to a fitted Treasury yield curve and Treasury bid-ask spreads (Exhibit 12). Large dispersions of Treasury yields from what is implied by a fitted yield curve may indicate funding liquidity strains, as market participants find it more difficult to arbitrage relative price distortions.7 Again, we see a strong correlation between the sizes of the yield curve errors and of bid-ask spreads during a financial crisis, but not during non-crisis periods.
The drop in the availability of dealer-funded repo financing also appears to have led to less efficient arbitrage between closely related asset pairs, such as on-the-run and off-the run Treasuries, corporate bonds and credit default swaps, and Treasuries versus interest rate swaps. The price differences or yield spreads between the more capital intensive and less capital intensive assets have widened.
For example, we can see this in the difference between the fixed-rate paid on a 10-year interest rate swap and the secondary market yield on a 10-year Treasury note (Exhibit 13). Whereas historically this spread has been positive—reflecting the fact that an interest rate swap has more credit risk than a Treasury security—the spread has been negative since September 2015. Market participants suggest that this shift has occurred because the higher capital requirements have made it unattractive for dealers to arbitrage away this dislocation. Similarly, dealers apparently are unwilling to provide the funding and the balance sheet capacity necessary for their leveraged clients to arbitrage away this dislocation. The degree to which this shift in the yield spread between Treasury and interest rate swap yields is due to the differential capital requirements imposed on cash versus derivative instruments warrants more investigation.
Just as market and funding liquidity are interlinked, so are funding liquidity and capital requirements. All else equal, stronger capital requirements reduce firms’ vulnerability to runs. This suggests that funding liquidity risk can be addressed in many different ways. First, capital requirements can be bolstered to reduce the risk that a firm will become insolvent in particularly bad states of the world. Second, improved reporting and transparency can reduce the degree of uncertainty about whether a firm is solvent, thus reducing the risk that investors might wrongly perceive that a firm is insolvent, when, in fact, it still has adequate capital. Third, liquidity requirements can be increased to reduce the risk that the firm will have to engage in a fire sale of assets that might deplete its capital. Also, a liquidity buffer gives the firm’s management time to respond to bad events without having to resort immediately to selling assets. Fourth, a lender-of-last-resort can provide a liquidity backstop that makes funding liquidity more resilient. Consider the case when a counterparty is uncertain about how other potential lenders view a firm’s solvency. If there is no lender-of-last-resort backstop, this may cause firms to be unwilling to lend, not because they perceive the counterparty as insolvent, but, instead, because they are worried about what others think. That is, I may be unwilling to lend to you, not because I perceive you as insolvent, but because I am uncertain about how others view your solvency. If I do lend and others don’t share my view, will I be able to get my money back? With a lender-of-last-resort added to the picture, I no longer need to know what others think. As long as the lender-of-last-resort is available, if I am correct in my assessment that the firm is solvent, then I can be assured that I will be paid back.
This issue was particularly relevant during the financial crisis when counterparties even pulled back from firms that were widely viewed as solvent. The Federal Reserve stepped in and created funding backstops for a wide array of assets, such as commercial paper and asset-backed securities. This bolstered the confidence of counterparties in one another and restored market and funding liquidity. Of course, this type of lending is only feasible to an institution that is deemed to be solvent with sufficient collateral available to pledge to the lender-of-last-resort so that it can safely secure its loan.
In practice, all of these methods are in place to address funding liquidity risk. Capital requirements have been increased; there is much better reporting about how firms will do under significant stress tests; liquidity requirements—such as the liquidity coverage ratio—provide a buffer that allows management more time to respond to problems; and, if necessary, the central bank can act as the lender-of-last-resort to support market confidence and funding liquidity.
So, should more be done to support funding liquidity? In my view, an important issue is to identify and address gaps in the lender-of-last-resort function. In the U.S., some significant gaps remain. For example, the Federal Reserve has a very limited ability to provide funding to a securities firm, even on a fully collateralized basis. The Discount Window is only available to depository institutions, and Section 23A of the Federal Reserve Act severely constrains the ability of a depository institution to pass Discount Window funding along to its securities affiliate. Although the Federal Reserve may be able lend to a securities affiliate under its emergency lending authority under Section 13(3) of the Federal Reserve Act, this is not a standing facility—it can only be established if “unusual and exigent” circumstances exist and the program or facility must have broad-based eligibility, among other requirements.8
In the U.S., given the restrictions on central bank lending, if a securities firm were to lose access to funding the remaining options available would be finding a means of replenishing the firm’s capital, selling assets, or selling all or part of the securities firm’s operations. While this might be manageable in the case of a firm-specific idiosyncratic shock, it might prove more difficult if a common shock was broadly hitting the securities industry. In this circumstance, the failure of one firm could increase the stress on other firms that were facing similar difficulties. If all of the requirements for Section 13(3) are met, the central bank could provide liquidity support. However, since this is not a certainty, it is worth considering possible alternatives. Now that all major securities firms in the U.S. are part of bank holding companies and are subject to enhanced prudential standards as well as capital and liquidity stress tests, providing these firms with access to the Discount Window might be worth exploring. To me, this is a more reasonable proposition now than it was prior to the crisis when the major dealers weren’t subject to those safeguards.
More generally, I am happy to report that the Committee on the Global Financial System—one of the Bank for International Settlements’ central bank groups—is engaged in a project to determine what lender-of-last-resort gaps currently exist, focusing, in particular, on those that may create vulnerability in terms of financial stability. One area that I anticipate will receive considerable attention is whether there are any gaps with respect to the activities of globally systemic firms that operate on a cross-border basis.
Another issue that still needs greater attention is the appropriate role for the home- versus host-country supervisor. The regulatory and supervisory responses for large, systemically-important firms that operate on a cross-border basis need to be closely coordinated, especially during times of stress. In particular, expectations about who will be the lender-of-last-resort need to be well understood in both the home and host countries.
We have made considerable progress in recent years in enhancing the safety and soundness of the U.S. financial system. But there is more that we need to do. In particular, we need to study and understand how market liquidity and funding liquidity conditions are changing and what factors are driving that evolution. Conferences like this one go a long way in that regard. They serve as an important forum for discussing ideas and improving our knowledge and understanding. This will provide a solid foundation for any policy actions.
Thank you for your kind attention. I would be happy to take a few questions.
1 Tobias Adrian, Nina Boyarchenko, Michael Fleming, Catherine Kung, Ernst Schaumburg, Joseph Tracy, Erik Vogt and Nathaniel Wuerffel assisted in preparing these remarks.
2 See Adrian, Fleming, Stackman, Vogt (2015) Has U.S. Treasury Market Liquidity Deteriorated?, Liberty Street Economics Blog, August 17, for further analysis of Treasury market liquidity.
3 See Adrian, Fleming, Vogt, Wojtowicz (2016) Corporate Bond Market Liquidity Redux: More Price-Based Evidence, Liberty Street Economics Blog, February 9, for further analysis of corporate bond market liquidity.
4 See U.S. Department of Treasury, Notice Seeking Public Comment on the Evolution of the Treasury Market Structure, January 2016.
5 Mizrach, B. (2015). Analysis of Corporate Bond Liquidity. FINRA Office of the Chief Economist.
6 Brunnermeier and Pedersen (2009) “Market Liquidity and Funding Liquidity” Review of Financial Studies 22(6) pp. 2201-2238 provide a theory that features strong correlation between market and funding liquidity during crises.
7 Hu, Pan, Wang (2013) “Noise as Information for Illiquidity” Journal of Finance 68(6), pp.2341-2382 provide further evidence on the relationship between yield curve fitting errors and alternative funding liquidity metrics.
8 A program or facility has broad-based eligibility only if it is designed to provide liquidity to an identifiable market or sector of the financial system. The program or facility will not be considered to have a broad-based eligibility if fewer than five persons or entities would be eligible to participate, or if it is designed to assist a company avoid bankruptcy, resolution or insolvency (including by removing assets from its balance sheet) or aid a failing financial company. See Regulation A, 12 CFR 201.4(d). In addition to the “unusual and exigent” circumstances and broad-based eligibility requirements, other conditions for making Section 13(3) emergency credit include obtaining the affirmative vote of a requisite number of Federal Reserve Governors and the prior approval of the U.S. Treasury Secretary, the emergency credit is not extended to an insolvent borrower, the lending Federal Reserve Bank is secured to its satisfaction, evidence is obtained regarding the unavailability of adequate credit accommodation from other banking institutions under prevailing circumstances to borrowers of the emergency credit, penalty interest rate is set for the emergency credit, and meeting disclosure/reporting requirements. See Section 13(3) of the Federal Reserve Act (12 USC 343) and Regulation A (12 CFR 201.4(d)). | https://www.newyorkfed.org/newsevents/speeches/2016/dud160501 |
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – California coronavirus restrictions will be lifted on Tuesday, meaning no more capacity limitations and no more physical distancing rules in businesses across the state.
The idea is a return to normal. Only, so many businesses have been shut down and boarded up, and many retail centers still won’t look the same.READ MORE: Sudden Death Of 10-Year-Old Boy Who Had COVID-19 Leaves Elk Grove Family With Questions
At the Arden Fair mall, there are 14 storefronts that remain empty. Now, the mall will turn some of those retail spaces into places for art. The creative solution will add new colors where those storefronts have come down.
Huey Lovelady says the artwork can’t replace his favorite shop that left during the pandemic.READ MORE: Folsom Fire Department Ask The City To Declare Local Emergency
“No, I want Nordstroms,” he said. “I really liked Nordstroms. It was a great store.”
A check of Sacramento city records shows tax revenue generated at the mall was cut in half during the pandemic – from nearly $5 million in 2019 to $2.5 million in 2020.
“I know that the impact is based on whats happened during the pandemic, but it is a little concerning when you see so many stores closing,” one shopper said.MORE NEWS: Woodland Bar Shuts Down After Maskless, Unvaccinated Customers Infect Staff With COVID-19
Now with a reopening and a return to business as usual. Art at the Arden Fair mall will bring a retail renaissance. Mall management says they have eight empty storefronts on the property that are already leased and will soon be occupied. | https://gooddaysacramento.cbslocal.com/2021/06/14/mall-makeover-arden-fair-to-turn-closed-retail-spaces-into-revolving-art-galleries/ |
We will document and investigate the role of changes in intracellular free calcium during mitosis to determine what role they play in controlling cell structure. We have found that intracellular free calcium increases at nuclear envelope breakdown and at the onset of anaphase during mitosis both during the rapid cleavage stage of the sea urchin embryo and during cell division in animal cells in tissues culture. To extend this work we will make visual observations of the cell at the same time the calcium measurements are taken to pin-point the exact relationship to the structural events, both in time and in two- dimensional images of free calcium distribution in the cell. We will attempt to block progression of the cell cycle at nuclear envelope breakdown and at the metaphaseanaphase transition in animal cells by controlling calcium entry from outside or by lowering intracellular free calcium with microinjected calcium buffers. Our preliminary results with anti-bodies have implicated Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase in normal progression through nuclear envelop breakdown. We will extend these these studies to include the meta-anaphase transition and try to reinitiate mitosis at both points with calcium-independent forms of this enzyme when mitoses has been arrested by low calcium buffers.
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Aurora A regulates prometaphase progression by inhibiting the ability of RASSF1A to suppress APC-Cdc20 activity.
The Aurora (Ipl) kinase family plays important roles in the regulation of mitosis and tumorigenesis. The tumor suppressor RASSF1A controls mitotic progression by regulating anaphase-promoting complex (APC)-Cdc20 activity and microtubule stability, but the mechanism by which this action is regulated has not been previously established. Here, we show that Aurora A and B associate with and phosphorylate RASSF1A on serine 203 in vivo at different times and in different subcellular compartments during mitosis. Notably, both depletion of Aurora A by RNA interference and expression of a nonphosphorylatable RASSF1A (S203A) mutant gene led to a marked delay in prometaphase progression. This is likely because of the failure of RASSF1A to dissociate from Cdc20, constitutive inhibition of APC-Cdc20, and accumulation of mitotic cyclins. In contrast, the delay in prometaphase progression caused by Aurora A depletion was largely normalized by phosphomimetic RASSF1A (S203D). Finally, RASSF1A phosphorylation on serine 203 was up-regulated in Aurora A-overexpressing human tumors. These findings indicate that Aurora A plays a critical role in RASSF1A-APC-Cdc20 regulatory mechanisms that control normal prometaphase progression and that are involved in tumorigenesis. [Cancer Res 2009;69(6):2314-23.
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The Skywatcher Heritage-90 Virtuoso Telescope is ideal for observing the Moon, planets and stars. It can also be used for high power daytime terrestrial viewing.
The Virtuoso mount provides a stable platform and will track night sky objects automatically once located.
A great feature of the Virtuoso is the patented Freedom-Find dual-encoder technology which allows the telescope to be moved manually in either axis without losing alignment or positional information. This gives the user enormous convenience and flexibility during observing sessions.
The Virtuoso mount can also be upgraded to full Go-To operation (finds thousands of celestial targets automatically) by purchasing a Synscan AZ Go-To handset and cable.
The Heritage Virtuoso is is intended primarily for astronomy but the mount also has a number of features that will appeal to photographers. | http://www.oiiopixel.com/View_Pr6.aspx?Nappies_Id%2027%20&Nappies_Id=%2027 |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)
This application is a Divisional Application of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/426,555, filed Feb. 7, 2017, which claims priority from Korean Patent Application No. 10-2016-0114062, filed on Sep. 5, 2016 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.
BACKGROUND
1. Field
2. Description of Related Art
Apparatuses and methods consistent with exemplary embodiments relate skin spectrum analysis.
A spectrum is generally used to observe a rainbow of colors in visible light when separated using a tool, such as a prism. In a broad sense, a spectrum applies to any technology which decomposes a complex signal with one or two signals and provides a graphical representation of the signal.
Recently, a method of analyzing properties of an object by analyzing a spectrum of light transmitted through the object for a specific period of time has been studied. In the case of an infrared spectrum, it can be used in most conditions, such as gases, liquids, crystals, amorphous solids, polymers and solutions, and can be widely applied to the identification, qualitative or quantitative analysis of compounds.
In order to improve the accuracy of spectrum-based analysis, it is important to select the spectrum to be used for analysis so that the spectrum does not contain information (e.g., noise) other than the information required for analysis. Whether or not the spectrum measured for a specific period of time contains information other than the information necessary for analysis is determined based on whether or not the similarity between spectra is high. Therefore, it is necessary to accurately measure the similarity between spectra.
SUMMARY
Exemplary embodiments provide a device and method for spectrum analysis in which differences among skin spectra are quantitatively analyzed, and a blood glucose measurement device.
According to an aspect of an exemplary embodiment, there is provided a device for spectrum analysis including: an obtainer configured to acquire a plurality of skin spectra; and a processor configured to generate a plot of difference degree of spectra which represents differences among the acquired plurality of skin spectra, and determine whether the plurality of skin spectra are appropriate for blood glucose measurement based on the plot of difference degree of spectra.
The processor may generate a noise distribution graph based on the plot of difference degree of spectra, extract a percentile score that corresponds to a predetermined percentile in the generated noise distribution graph, and compare the extracted percentile score with a first reference value to determine whether the plurality of skin spectra are appropriate for blood glucose measurement.
When the extracted percentile score is equal to or smaller than the first reference value, the processor may determine that the plurality of skin spectra are appropriate for blood glucose measurement.
The predetermined percentile may be a 95 percentile or a 99 percentile.
The percentile score may be a noise value which corresponds to the predetermined percentile in the generated noise distribution graph.
The first reference value may be determined according to a state of a subject at the time of measurement of the plurality of skin spectra.
The processor may convert the plot of difference degree of spectra into frequency domain by performing a fast Fourier transform (FFT) and determine whether the plurality of skin spectra are appropriate for blood glucose measurement by comparing a second reference value with a ratio of a sum of amplitude absolute values in a predetermined frequency domain of the converted plot of difference degree of spectra and a sum of amplitude absolute values over an entire frequency domain.
When the ratio of the sum of amplitude absolute values in a predetermined frequency domain and the sum of amplitude absolute values over an entire frequency domain is equal to or smaller than the second reference value, the processor may determine that the plurality of skin spectra are appropriate for blood glucose measurement.
The processor may calculate a noise value by performing baseline fitting on two spectra and then integrating a difference in frequency intensity between the two spectra and generates the plot of difference degree of spectra based on the calculated noise value.
When it is determined that the plurality of skin spectra are inappropriate for blood glucose measurement, the obtainer may acquire an additional skin spectrum.
According to an aspect of another exemplary embodiment, there is provided a method of spectrum analysis including: acquiring a plurality of skin spectra; generating a plot of difference degree of spectra which represents differences among the acquired plurality of skin spectra; and determining whether the plurality of skin spectra are appropriate for blood glucose measurement based on the plot of difference degree of spectra.
The determination may include: generating a noise distribution graph based on the plot of difference degree of spectra; extracting a percentile score which corresponds to a predetermined percentile in the generated noise distribution graph; and comparing the extracted percentile score with a first reference value and determining whether the plurality of skin spectra are appropriate for blood glucose measurement based on a comparison result.
The determination based on the comparison result may include, when the extracted percentile score is equal to or smaller than the first reference value, determining that the plurality of skin spectra are appropriate for blood glucose measurement.
The predetermined percentile may be a 95 percentile or a 99 percentile.
The percentile score may be a noise value which corresponds to the predetermined percentile in the generated noise distribution graph.
The first reference value may be determined according to a state of a subject at the time of measurement of the plurality of skin spectra.
The determination may include: converting the plot of difference degree of spectra into frequency domain by performing a fast Fourier transform (FFT); comparing a second reference value with a ratio of a sum of amplitude absolute values in a predetermined frequency domain of the converted plot of difference degree of spectra and a sum of amplitude absolute values over an entire frequency domain; and determining whether the plurality of skin spectra are appropriate for blood glucose measurement based on a comparison result.
The determination based on the comparison result may include, when the ratio of the sum of amplitude absolute values in a predetermined frequency domain and the sum of amplitude absolute values over an entire frequency domain is equal to or smaller than the second reference value, determining that the plurality of skin spectra are appropriate for blood glucose measurement.
The generation may include: calculating a noise value by performing baseline fitting on two spectra and then integrating a difference in frequency intensity between the two spectra, and generating the plot of difference degree of spectra based on the calculated noise value.
The method may further include acquiring an additional skin spectrum when it is determined that the plurality of skin spectra are inappropriate for blood glucose measurement.
According to an aspect of another exemplary embodiment, there is provided a device for blood glucose measurement including: a spectroscope configured to emit light onto a subject and acquire a plurality of skin spectra based on light passing through or reflected from the subject; a first analyzer configured to generate a plot of difference degree of spectra which represents differences among the acquired plurality of skin spectra, and determine whether the plurality of skin spectra are appropriate for blood glucose measurement based on the plot of difference degree of spectra; and a blood glucose measurer configured to perform blood glucose measurement using a plurality of skin spectra which are determined as being appropriate for blood glucose measurement.
The first analyzer may generate a noise distribution graph based on the plot of difference degree of spectra, extract a percentile score that corresponds to a predetermined percentile in the generated noise distribution graph, and compare the extracted percentile score with a first reference value to determine whether the plurality of skin spectra are appropriate for blood glucose measurement.
When the extracted percentile score is equal to or smaller than the first reference value, the first analyzer may determine that the plurality of skin spectra are appropriate for blood glucose measurement.
The first analyzer may convert the plot of difference degree of spectra into frequency domain by performing a fast Fourier transform (FFT) and determine whether the plurality of skin spectra are appropriate for blood glucose measurement by comparing a second reference value with a ratio of a sum of amplitude absolute values in a predetermined frequency domain of the converted plot of difference degree of spectra and a sum of amplitude absolute values over an entire frequency domain.
When the ratio of the sum of amplitude absolute values in a predetermined frequency domain and the sum of amplitude absolute values over an entire frequency domain is equal to or smaller than the second reference value, the first analyzer may determine that the plurality of skin spectra are appropriate for blood glucose measurement.
The first analyzer may calculate a noise value by performing baseline fitting on two spectra and then integrating a difference in frequency intensity between the two spectra and generate the plot of difference degree of spectra based on the calculated noise value.
The spectroscope may emit near-infrared light and acquires near-infrared extinction spectrum absorbed by the subject.
The device may further include a sensor configured to measure an environmental index including at least one of a temperature, humidity and a degree of motion of the blood glucose measurement device during the acquisition of the skin spectra; a second analyzer configured to analyze a correlation between the environmental index and an overall similarity of skin spectra; and an output unit configured to output a predetermined warning signal during additional acquisition of a skin spectrum when an environmental index having a positive correlation with the overall similarity of skin spectra is equal to or smaller than a third reference value, or when an environmental index having a negative correlation with the overall similarity of skin spectra is equal to or greater than a fourth reference value.
When it is determined that the plurality of skin spectra are inappropriate for blood glucose measurement, the spectroscope may acquire an additional skin spectrum.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The above and/or other aspects will be more apparent by describing certain exemplary embodiments, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1
is a graph illustrating an example of a net analyte signal (NAS) analysis result in the case of skin spectra showing a high overall similarity;
FIG. 2
is a graph illustrating an example of a NAS analysis result in the case of skin spectra showing a low overall similarity;
FIG. 3
is a block diagram illustrating a device for spectrum analysis according to an exemplary embodiment;
FIG. 4
is a graph illustrating an example of a plot of difference degree of spectra in time domain in the case of skin spectra showing a high overall similarity;
FIG. 5
is a graph illustrating an example of a plot of difference degree of spectra in time in the case of skin spectra showing a low overall similarity;
FIG. 6
illustrates an example of a noise distribution graph in the case of skin spectra showing a high overall similarity;
FIG. 7
illustrates an example of a noise distribution graph in the case of skin spectra showing a low overall similarity;
FIG. 8
is a graph illustrating an example of a plot of difference degree of spectra in frequency domain in the case of skin spectra showing a high overall similarity;
FIG. 9
is a graph illustrating an example of a plot of difference degree of spectra in frequency domain in the case of skin spectra showing a low overall similarity;
FIG. 10
is a diagram illustrating an example of a specific frequency domain in a plot of difference degree of spectra in frequency domain;
FIG. 11
is a flowchart illustrating a method of spectrum analysis according to an exemplary embodiment;
FIG. 12
FIG. 11
1130
is a flowchart illustrating the determination as depicted in of according to an exemplary embodiment;
FIG. 13
FIG. 11
1130
is a flowchart illustrating the determination as depicted in of according to another exemplary embodiment;
FIG. 14
is a block diagram illustrating a blood glucose measurement device according to an exemplary embodiment;
FIG. 15
is a flowchart illustrating a blood measurement method according to an exemplary embodiment;
FIG. 16
is a block diagram illustrating a blood glucose measurement device according to another exemplary embodiment; and
FIG. 17
is a flowchart illustrating a blood glucose measurement method according to another exemplary embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Exemplary embodiments are described in greater detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
In the following description, like drawing reference numerals are used for like elements, even in different drawings. The matters defined in the description, such as detailed construction and elements, are provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of the exemplary embodiments. However, it is apparent that the exemplary embodiments can be practiced without those specifically defined matters. Also, well-known functions or constructions are not described in detail since they would obscure the description with unnecessary detail.
The terms “comprises”, “comprising”, “includes” and/or “including” as used herein will be understood to mean that the list following is non-exhaustive and may or may not include any other additional suitable items, for example one or more further component(s), operation(s), procedure(s), and/or element(s) as appropriate. According to various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, the term “unit”, means, but is not limited to, a software or hardware component, such as a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), which performs certain tasks. A “unit” may advantageously be configured to reside on the addressable storage medium and configured to be executed on one or more processors.
Thus, a “unit” may include, by way of example, components, such as software components, object-oriented software components, class components and task components, processes, functions, attributes, procedures, subroutines, segments of program code, drivers, firmware, microcode, circuitry, data, databases, data structures, tables, arrays, and variables. The components and the functionality provided for the units may be combined into fewer components and units or further separated into additional components and units.
FIG. 1
FIG. 2
is a graph illustrating an example of a net analyte signal (NAS) analysis result in the case of skin spectra showing a high overall similarity, and is a graph illustrating an example of a NAS analysis result in the case of skin spectra showing a low overall similarity. Herein, the overall similarity of skin spectra is a numerical value that represents the whole similarity among a plurality of skin spectra.
FIGS. 1 and 2
FIGS. 1 and 2
FIGS. 1 and 2
show both NAS analysis results of skin spectra and actual blood glucose levels. The NAS analysis results of may be obtained by applying an NAS algorithm to skin spectra. The actual blood glucose levels of are obtained by analyzing blood samples taken from a subject. For example, the actual blood glucose levels may be acquired using an electrochemical method for measuring current due to electrons produced during the reaction between glucose in the blood with enzyme, or a photometric method for measuring the color from enzyme reaction.
FIG. 1
FIG. 2
FIG. 2
FIG. 1
FIG. 1
FIG. 2
FIG. 2
FIG. 1
FIG. 2
When comparing the graphs of and , it can be seen that the difference between the NAS analysis result and the actual blood glucose level in is relatively larger than the difference in . In addition, the blood glucose level in is in a range between 50 and 300 mg/dl, whereas the blood glucose level in is in a range between 100 and 700 mg/dl, and hence it can be understood that the difference between the NAS analysis result and the actual blood glucose level in is considerably larger than the difference in . One of the factors causing the significant difference between the NAS analysis result and the actual blood glucose level in may be skin spectra having a low overall similarity which are used in the NAS analysis, and there may also be other various factors, such as temperature, humidity, and food intake by a subject during the measurement of the skin spectra.
FIG. 1
FIG. 2
As shown in , in the case of blood glucose measurement using skin spectra showing a high overall similarity, it can be viewed that the NAS analysis result and the actual blood glucose level are likely to be similar to each other. However, in the case of blood glucose measurement using skin spectra showing a low overall similarity, a significant discrepancy between the NAS analysis result and the actual blood glucose level occurs, as shown in , so that it may be inappropriate to use the NAS analysis result in blood glucose measurement.
FIG. 3
is a block diagram illustrating a device for spectrum analysis according to an exemplary embodiment.
FIG. 3
300
310
320
Referring to , the device for spectrum analysis includes an obtainer and a processor .
310
310
300
310
The obtainer may obtain a plurality of skin spectra. For example, the obtainer may acquire skin spectra through a spectroscope directly/indirectly connected with the device or may acquire skin spectra from a storage device, such as a portable storage device, through a wired/wireless communication device. In this case, the skin spectra acquired by the obtainer may be extinction spectra, transmission spectra, or reflective spectra.
320
320
The processor may generate a plot of difference degree of spectra which represents differences among the acquired plurality of skin spectra. More specifically, the processor may calculate a noise value between every two of the plurality of skin spectra and generate the plot of difference degree of spectra using the calculated noise values. In this case, the noise value between a specific skin spectrum and another skin spectrum has a positive correlation with a difference between the two skin spectra and has a negative correlation with a similarity between the two spectra. Therefore, when the noise value is small, the difference between a specific skin spectrum and another skin spectrum is assumed to be small and the similarity between the two skin spectra is high.
320
For example, the processor may calculate the noise value between every two of the plurality of skin spectra using Equation 1 below.
<math overflow="scroll"><mtable><mtr><mtd><mrow><mrow><mi>Noise</mi><mo>⁢</mo><mstyle><mspace width="0.8em" height="0.8ex" /></mstyle><mo>⁢</mo><mi>value</mi></mrow><mo>=</mo><mfrac><mrow><mi>Area</mi><mo>⁢</mo><mstyle><mspace width="0.8em" height="0.8ex" /></mstyle><mo>⁢</mo><mi>between</mi><mo>⁢</mo><mstyle><mspace width="0.8em" height="0.8ex" /></mstyle><mo>⁢</mo><mi>two</mi><mo>⁢</mo><mstyle><mspace width="0.8em" height="0.8ex" /></mstyle><mo>⁢</mo><mi>spectra</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>Area</mi><mo>⁢</mo><mstyle><mspace width="0.8em" height="0.8ex" /></mstyle><mo>⁢</mo><mi>of</mi><mo>⁢</mo><mstyle><mspace width="0.8em" height="0.8ex" /></mstyle><mo>⁢</mo><mi>reference</mi><mo>⁢</mo><mstyle><mspace width="0.8em" height="0.8ex" /></mstyle><mo>⁢</mo><mi>spectrum</mi></mrow></mfrac></mrow></mtd><mtd><mrow><mo>(</mo><mn>1</mn><mo>)</mo></mrow></mtd></mtr></mtable></math>
Here, the reference spectrum may be a spectrum associated with a reference blood glucose level (e.g., skin spectrum when the glucose level is 100 mg/dl).
The area of the reference spectrum may be obtained by performing mean centering on the reference spectrum. More specifically, since the process of mean centering is performed to calculate a difference between each variable and an average value, the area of the reference spectrum may be obtained by calculating the mean of frequency intensity of the reference spectrum and then integrating a difference and the mean and the frequency intensity of the reference spectrum. In addition, the area between the two spectra may be obtained by performing baseline fitting on the two spectra and then integrating a difference in frequency intensity between the two spectra.
320
320
320
The processor may calculate the noise value between every two of the plurality of spectra and generate the plot of difference degree of spectra that visually represents the noise values. For example, the processor may calculate a noise value between a skin spectrum measured at a point in time that corresponds to an X-axis value and a skin spectrum measured at a point in time that correspond to a Y-axis value. The processor may generate the plot of difference degree of spectra using the calculated noise value.
320
300
300
The processor may quantitatively analyze the plot of difference degree of spectra so as to determine whether the plurality of skin spectra are appropriate for the blood glucose measurement. The device for spectrum analysis may quantitatively analyze the plot of difference degree of spectra which shows differences among the plurality of skin spectra, thereby making accurate and efficient determination based on objective criteria. In addition, since the device is able to quantify the overall similarity of skin spectra by quantitatively analyzing the plot of different degree of spectra, it may be possible to perform high-speed analysis and large-scale analysis through a computer, a processor, an automation device, or the like.
320
According to an exemplary embodiment, the processor may generate a noise distribution graph based on the plot of difference degree of spectra and determine whether the plurality of skin spectra are appropriate for blood glucose measurement based on the generated noise distribution graph.
320
320
In more detail, the processor may count the number of points at which the noise values are identical in the plot of difference degree of spectra and may generate the noise distribution graph based on the counted number. In addition, the processor may extract a percentile score that corresponds to a specific percentile in the generated noise distribution graph, compare the extracted percentile score with a first reference value, and, when the extracted percentile score is equal to or smaller than the first reference value, determine that the plurality of skin spectra are appropriate for blood glucose measurement. In this case, the percentile may indicate a point out of 100 points that equally divide data which are arranged in size order. In addition, the percentile score is a point that corresponds to a specific percentile, indicating a noise value that corresponds to the specific percentile. The extracted percentile score may be assumed to be a value that has a negative correlation with the overall similarity of the skin spectra.
The first reference value may be determined according to a state of the subject at the time of measurement of the plurality of skin spectra. For example, if the first reference value is set to “10” (the value can be set differently) for the subject on empty stomach at the time of measuring the skin spectra, the first reference value may be set to be greater than “10” for the case where food or glucose intake by the subject is not taken into consideration or for the case of the subject's intake of glucose for an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). This considers that the percentile score extracted based on the skin spectra that are measured while the subject is taking food or glucose can be relatively high compared to when measured in a fasting state of the subject. Information about whether or not the subject has taken food or glucose or the amount of intake thereof may be manually input by a user or may be acquired from a biometric recognition apparatus capable of detecting the subject's intake of food or glucose.
320
According to another exemplary embodiment, the processor may convert the plot of difference degree of spectra into frequency domain and determine whether the plurality of skin spectra are appropriate for blood glucose measurement based on the converted plot of difference degree of spectra.
320
320
More specifically, the processor may convert the plot of difference degree of spectra in time domain into frequency domain using a fast Fourier transform (FFT). In addition, based on the converted plot of difference degree of spectra, the processor may determine whether the plurality of skin spectra are appropriate for blood glucose measurement, using Equation 2 below.
<math overflow="scroll"><mtable><mtr><mtd><mrow><mfrac><mtable><mtr><mtd><mrow><mi>Sum</mi><mo>⁢</mo><mstyle><mspace width="0.8em" height="0.8ex" /></mstyle><mo>⁢</mo><mi>of</mi><mo>⁢</mo><mstyle><mspace width="0.8em" height="0.8ex" /></mstyle><mo>⁢</mo><mi>amplitude</mi><mo>⁢</mo><mstyle><mspace width="0.8em" height="0.8ex" /></mstyle><mo>⁢</mo><mi>absolute</mi><mo>⁢</mo><mstyle><mspace width="0.8em" height="0.8ex" /></mstyle><mo>⁢</mo><mi>values</mi><mo>⁢</mo><mstyle><mspace width="0.8em" height="0.8ex" /></mstyle><mo>⁢</mo><mi>in</mi><mo>⁢</mo><mstyle><mspace width="0.8em" height="0.8ex" /></mstyle><mo>⁢</mo><mi>a</mi><mo>⁢</mo><mstyle><mspace width="0.8em" height="0.8ex" /></mstyle><mo>⁢</mo><mi>specific</mi></mrow></mtd></mtr><mtr><mtd><mrow><mi>frequency</mi><mo>⁢</mo><mstyle><mspace width="0.8em" height="0.8ex" /></mstyle><mo>⁢</mo><mi>domain</mi></mrow></mtd></mtr></mtable><mtable><mtr><mtd><mrow><mi>Sum</mi><mo>⁢</mo><mstyle><mspace width="0.8em" height="0.8ex" /></mstyle><mo>⁢</mo><mi>of</mi><mo>⁢</mo><mstyle><mspace width="0.8em" height="0.8ex" /></mstyle><mo>⁢</mo><mi>amplitude</mi><mo>⁢</mo><mstyle><mspace width="0.8em" height="0.8ex" /></mstyle><mo>⁢</mo><mi>absolute</mi><mo>⁢</mo><mstyle><mspace width="0.8em" height="0.8ex" /></mstyle><mo>⁢</mo><mi>values</mi><mo>⁢</mo><mstyle><mspace width="0.8em" height="0.8ex" /></mstyle><mo>⁢</mo><mi>over</mi><mo>⁢</mo><mstyle><mspace width="0.8em" height="0.8ex" /></mstyle><mo>⁢</mo><mi>the</mi></mrow></mtd></mtr><mtr><mtd><mrow><mi>entire</mi><mo>⁢</mo><mstyle><mspace width="0.8em" height="0.8ex" /></mstyle><mo>⁢</mo><mi>frequency</mi><mo>⁢</mo><mstyle><mspace width="0.8em" height="0.8ex" /></mstyle><mo>⁢</mo><mi>domain</mi></mrow></mtd></mtr></mtable></mfrac><mo>≤</mo><mrow><mi>Second</mi><mo>⁢</mo><mstyle><mspace width="0.8em" height="0.8ex" /></mstyle><mo>⁢</mo><mi>reference</mi><mo>⁢</mo><mstyle><mspace width="0.8em" height="0.8ex" /></mstyle><mo>⁢</mo><mi>value</mi></mrow></mrow></mtd><mtd><mrow><mo>(</mo><mn>2</mn><mo>)</mo></mrow></mtd></mtr></mtable></math>
320
When a ratio of the sum of amplitude absolute values in a specific frequency domain and the sum of amplitude absolute values over the entire frequency domain is equal to or smaller than a second reference value, as shown in Equation 2, the processor may determine that the plurality of skin spectra used to generate the plot of difference degree of spectra are appropriate for blood glucose measurement. In this case, the specific frequency domain is 0-0.1π, 0-0.15π, 0-0.2π, or the like, but is not limited thereto. The determination as to whether the ratio of the sum of amplitude absolute values in a specific frequency domain and the sum of amplitude absolute values over the entire frequency domain is equal to or smaller than the second reference value is based on the consideration that the specific frequency domain, such as 0-0.1π, 0-0.15π, 0-0.2π, or the like, corresponds to some spectra showing a high difference therebetween. That is, this is based on the consideration that the lower ratio of the specific frequency domain to the entire frequency domain indicates the lower ratio of highly different skin spectra so that the overall similarity of skin spectra is increased and hence the skin spectra may be determined as being appropriate for blood glucose measurement.
320
The processor may determine whether the plurality of skin spectra used to generate the plot of difference degree of spectra in the frequency domain are appropriate for blood glucose measurement, using Equation 3 below, which is one example of the application of Equation 2.
<math overflow="scroll"><mtable><mtr><mtd><mrow><mrow><mo>(</mo><mrow><munderover><mo>∑</mo><mrow><mrow><mo>-</mo><mn>0.2</mn></mrow><mo>⁢</mo><mi>π</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>0.2</mn><mo>⁢</mo><mi>π</mi></mrow></munderover><mo>⁢</mo><mrow><mi>A</mi><mo>/</mo><mrow><munderover><mo>∑</mo><mrow><mo>-</mo><mi>π</mi></mrow><mi>π</mi></munderover><mo>⁢</mo><mi>A</mi></mrow></mrow></mrow><mo>)</mo></mrow><mo>≤</mo><mn>0.845</mn></mrow></mtd><mtd><mrow><mo>(</mo><mn>3</mn><mo>)</mo></mrow></mtd></mtr></mtable></math>
Equation 3 is, however, only one example of a method of calculating the ratio of the sum of amplitude absolute values in a specific frequency domain and the sum of amplitude absolute values over the entire frequency domain, and, thus, the range of the specific frequency domain or the second reference value is not limited to the range or the value specified in Equation 3.
320
310
320
When it is determined that the plurality of skin spectra used to generate the plot of difference degree of spectra are inappropriate for blood glucose measurement, the processor may re-determine whether some of the skin spectra determined as being inappropriate are appropriate for blood glucose measurement, thereby finding a specific skin spectrum appropriate for the blood glucose measurement. In another example, an additional skin spectrum is acquired using the obtainer , and the processor may find a specific skin spectrum appropriate for blood glucose measurement using a method of determining whether the acquired skin spectrum is appropriate for the blood glucose measurement.
320
In addition, the processor may determine whether the skin spectrum determined as being appropriate for blood glucose measurement is appropriate for generation of a NAS model. The determination is based on the consideration that a NAS model generated using the skin spectra showing a high similarity therebetween has an increased accuracy or reliability.
FIG. 4
FIG. 5
is a graph illustrating an example of a plot of difference degree of spectra in time domain in the case of skin spectra showing a high overall similarity, and is a graph illustrating an example of a plot of difference degree of spectra in time in the case of skin spectra showing a low overall similarity.
FIG. 5
FIG. 4
FIG. 5
FIG. 4
FIG. 4
FIG. 5
It is seen that the plot of difference degree of spectra of has more dark regions than the plot of difference degree of spectra of , based on which it may be determined that a difference degree of the skin spectra used to generate the plot shown in is greater than a difference degree of the skin spectra used to generated the plot shown in . That is, it may be understood that the overall similarity of skin spectra of is greater than the overall similarity of skin spectra of .
410
510
FIGS. 4 and 5
FIG. 4
FIG. 5
Gradient brightness bars and shown on the right side in each of show brightness that corresponds to a range of noise values (e.g., 0 to 5 or 0 to 10) between the skin spectra. According to an exemplary embodiment, for visualization, noise values which exceed a specific value (e.g., noise values of 5 or higher in or noise values of 10 or higher in ) may be represented by the same brightness. According to another exemplary embodiment, the noise values between the skin spectra may be represented by different saturations or colors in the plot of difference degree of spectra (e.g., a higher noise value may be represented by a blue color and a lower noise value may be represented by a red color).
FIGS. 4 and 5
A white diagonal line (y=x) in each of the plots of difference degree of spectra of indicates a noise value of 0 which is calculated based on a difference between skin spectra measured at the same time (i.e., the same skin spectra).
FIG. 6
FIG. 7
illustrates an example of a noise distribution graph in the case of skin spectra showing a high overall similarity, and illustrates an example of a noise distribution graph in the case of skin spectra showing a low overall similarity.
FIGS. 6 and 7
The noise distribution graphs of show the total number of points at which the same noise values appear in the plot of difference degree of spectra.
FIGS. 6 and 7
FIG. 7
FIG. 6
FIG. 6
FIG. 7
FIG. 6
FIG. 7
Referring to , it is viewed that the graph of has more high noise values, compared to the graph of , based on which it may be determined that the overall similarity of skin spectra in the case of is higher than the overall similarity in the case of . Also, it may be determined that a more accurate result of blood glucose measurement will be obtained when using the skin spectra used to generate the noise distribution graph of than when using the skin spectra used to generate the noise distribution graph of .
FIGS. 6 and 7
FIG. 6
FIG. 7
FIG. 6
FIG. 7
FIG. 6
FIG. 7
320
Referring to , a noise value that corresponds to a 99 percentile in the noise distribution graph of is 3.2, and a noise value that corresponds to a 99 percentile in the noise distribution graph of is 17.8. Because the percentile score of is smaller than the percentile score of , the processor may determine that the overall similarity of the skin spectra used to generate the noise distribution graph of is higher than the overall similarity of the skin spectra used to generate the noise distribution graph of .
320
320
320
FIG. 6
FIG. 6
FIG. 7
FIG. 7
When an extracted percentile score is equal to or lower than the first reference value, the processor may determine that the relevant skin spectra used to generate the noise distribution graph are appropriate for blood glucose measurement. If the first reference value is set to “10” according to an exemplary embodiment, the processor may determine that the skin spectra used to generate the noise distribution graph of are appropriate for blood glucose measurement since a 99 percentile score of is equal to or smaller than the first reference value. A 99 percentile score of exceeds the first reference value, and thus, the processor may determine that the skin spectra used to generate the noise distribution graph of are inappropriate for blood glucose measurement.
FIG. 8
FIG. 9
is a graph illustrating an example of a plot of difference degree of spectra in frequency domain in the case of skin spectra showing a high overall similarity, and is a graph illustrating an example of a plot of difference degree of spectra in frequency domain in the case of skin spectra showing a low overall similarity.
810
910
FIGS. 8 and 9
FIG. 9
FIG. 8
FIG. 8
FIG. 9
Gradient brightness bars and shown on the right side in each of represent the brightness that corresponds to a range of amplitude (e.g., −1 to 10 or 0 to 10) in frequency domain. According to an exemplary embodiment, for visualization, amplitudes exceeding a specific value in frequency domain (e.g., amplitudes of 10 or higher) may be represented by the same brightness. That is, lower brightness indicates higher amplitude. Thus, based on the observation that a specific frequency domain (e.g., a range close to the frequency value of 0) in the plot of difference degree of spectra of is represented by darker shade, when compared with the plot of difference degree of spectra of , it may be determined that the overall similarity of the skin spectra used to generate the plot of difference degree of spectra of is higher than the overall similarity of the skin spectra used to generate the plot of difference degree of spectra of .
FIG. 10
is a diagram illustrating an example of a specific frequency domain in a plot of difference degree of spectra in frequency domain.
320
FIG. 10
FIG. 10
As described above, when a ratio of the sum of amplitude absolute values in a specific frequency domain and the sum of amplitude absolute values over the entire frequency domain is equal to or smaller than the second reference value, the processor may determine that the plurality of skin spectra used to generate the plot of difference degree of spectra are appropriate for blood glucose measurement. shows the specific frequency domain (−2π to 2π) specified by Equation 3 above. However, as described above, the specific frequency domain is not limited to the above description of and Equation 3.
FIG. 10
illustrates the case in which analysis is performed using all quadrants of the plot of difference degree of spectra. However, the analysis may be performed on any one of the quadrants since the four quadrants of the plot of difference degree of spectra in the frequency domain are symmetrical with respect to one another.
FIG. 11
is a flowchart illustrating a method of spectrum analysis according to an exemplary embodiment.
FIGS. 3 and 11
300
1110
300
Referring to , the device for spectrum analysis acquires a plurality of skin spectra in operation . The device may acquire the skin spectra through a spectroscope or obtain the skin spectra from a record device through a wired/wireless communication device.
300
1120
300
The device generates a plot of difference degree of spectra which represents differences among the acquired plurality of skin spectra, in operation . More specifically, the device may calculate a noise value between every two of the plurality of skin spectra and generate the plot of difference degree of spectra using the calculated noise values.
300
1130
The device quantitatively analyzes the plot of difference degree of spectra and determines whether the skin spectra are appropriate for blood glucose measurement based on the analysis result, in operation .
FIG. 12
FIG. 11
1130
is a flowchart illustrating the determination as depicted in of according to an exemplary embodiment.
FIGS. 3 and 12
300
1210
Referring to , the device generates a noise distribution graph based on the generated plot of difference degree of spectra in operation .
300
1220
300
The device extracts a percentile score that corresponds to a specific percentile in the generated noise distribution graph, in operation . For example, the device may extract a noise value that corresponds to a predetermined percentile as the percentile score. In addition, the predetermined percentile may be a 95 percentile or a 99 percentile.
300
1230
The device compares the extracted percentile score with a first reference value, in operation .
300
1240
When the extracted percentile score is equal to or smaller than the first reference value, the device determines that the plurality of skin spectra used to generate the noise distribution graph are appropriate for blood glucose measurement, in operation .
300
1250
When the extracted percentile score exceeds the first reference value, the device determines that the plurality of skin spectra used to generate the noise distribution graph are inappropriate for blood glucose measurement, in operation .
FIG. 13
FIG. 11
1130
is a flowchart illustrating the determination as depicted in of according to another exemplary embodiment.
FIGS. 3 and 13
300
1310
Referring to , the device converts the plot of difference degree of spectra in time domain into frequency domain by performing an FFT, in operation .
300
1320
300
1330
1340
The device compares a ratio of the sum of amplitude absolute values in a specific frequency domain and the sum of amplitude absolute values over the entire frequency domain with a second reference value, in operation . When the ratio of the sum of amplitude absolute values in a specific frequency domain and the sum of amplitude absolute values over the entire frequency domain is equal to or smaller than the second reference value, the device determines that the plurality of skin spectra used to generate the plot of difference degree of skin spectra are appropriate for blood glucose measurement, in operation , and, when the ratio exceeds the second reference value, determines that the plurality of skin spectra are inappropriate for blood glucose measurement, in operation .
300
In addition, the device or the method for spectrum analysis may be applied to the measurement of the concentration of blood components, such as cholesterol, albumin, hemoglobin, and bilirubin, and the concentration of a specific analyte, such as alcohol or drug, in a blood sample.
FIG. 14
is a block diagram illustrating a blood glucose measurement device according to an exemplary embodiment.
FIG. 14
FIG. 3
1400
1410
1420
1630
1420
300
Referring to , the blood glucose measurement device includes a spectroscope , a first analyzer , and a blood glucose level measurer . The first analyzer may be the device for spectrum analysis of .
1410
1410
The spectroscope may emit light onto a subject, receive light reflected or scattered from the subject, and acquire a plurality of skin spectra based on the received light. The spectroscope may include a light source configured to emit light, a reflector configured to reflect the light emitted from the light source, a condenser configured to collect and condense the light to irradiate the subject, a light detector configured to receive an optical signal passing through the subject or an optical signal reflected from the subject, and an optical signal obtainer configured to convert the received optical signal into an analog electric signal or a digital signal.
1420
1410
The first analyzer may generate a plot of difference degree of spectra that represents differences among the plurality of skin spectra using the skin spectra obtained by the spectroscope and may analyze the plot of difference degree of spectra so as to determine whether the skin spectra are appropriate for blood glucose measurement.
1420
According to an exemplary embodiment, the first analyzer may generate a noise distribution graph based on the plot of difference degree of spectra, extract a percentile score that corresponds to a predetermined percentile in the generated noise distribution graph, compare the first extracted percentile score with a first reference value, and determine whether the skin spectra are appropriate for blood glucose measurement, based on the comparison result.
1420
According to another exemplary embodiment, the first analyzer may convert the plot of difference degree of spectra into frequency domain by performing an FFT, compare a ratio of the sum of amplitude absolute values in a specific frequency domain and the sum of amplitude absolute values over the entire frequency domain with a second reference value, and determine whether the skin spectra are appropriate for blood glucose measurement, based on the comparison result.
1430
1430
When it is determined that the plurality of skin spectra are appropriate for blood glucose measurement, the blood glucose measurer may measure the blood glucose level using the skin spectra determined as being suitable. Such measurement is based on the consideration that the blood glucose measurement which is performed using the skin spectra showing a higher similarity to one another has an increased accuracy, reliability and the like. The blood glucose measurer , however, may forcibly perform blood glucose measurement using the skin spectra that are determined as being inappropriate for measurement, according to a user's setting or control.
FIG. 15
is a flowchart illustrating a blood measurement method according to an exemplary embodiment.
FIGS. 14 and 15
1400
1510
Referring to , the blood glucose measurement device emits light onto the subject, receive light reflected or scattered from the subject, and obtain a plurality of skin spectra based on the received light, in operation .
1400
1520
The blood glucose measurement device generates a plot of difference degree of spectra that represents differences among the skin spectra, using the obtained skin spectra, as depicted in .
1400
1530
1540
The blood glucose measurement device quantitatively analyzes the plot of difference degree of spectra, as depicted in , and determine whether the plurality of skin spectra used to generate the plot of difference degree of spectra are appropriate for blood glucose measurement, based on the quantitative analysis result, in operation .
1400
1550
The blood glucose measurement device performs blood glucose measurement using the acquired skin spectra, in operation .
1400
1510
When it is determined that the acquired skin spectra are inappropriate for blood glucose measurement, the blood glucose measurement device may return to operation to acquire new skin spectra using the spectroscope.
FIG. 16
is a block diagram illustrating the blood glucose measurement device according to another exemplary embodiment.
FIG. 16
FIG. 14
1600
1610
1620
1630
1640
1650
1660
1610
1620
1630
Referring to , the blood glucose measurement device includes a spectroscope , a first analyzer , a blood glucose measurer , a sensor , a second analyzer , and an output unit . The spectroscope , the first analyzer , and the blood glucose measurer are described with reference to , and hence the detailed descriptions thereof will not be repeated.
1640
1600
1600
The sensor may measure an environmental index at the time of the acquisition of skin spectra. The environmental index may be a numerical value that represents a state of the blood glucose measurement device or the surrounding environment thereof during the acquisition of the skin spectra. For example, the environment index may include a temperature, a humidity, a degree of motion of the blood glucose measurement device , and so on.
1600
1600
1600
In this case, the degree of motion of the blood glucose measurement device may include a value obtained by quantifying detected vibration of the blood glucose measurement device , a value obtained by quantifying a change in location information of the blood glucose measurement device , and the like.
1650
1650
1650
The second analyzer may analyze the correlation between the environmental index and the overall similarity of skin spectra. For example, if, as the subject is wet with water and humidity is raised during the acquisition of skin spectrum, the difference between the overall similarity of skin spectra and the reference value for determining whether to use the skin spectra in blood glucose measurement is increased, the second analyzer may determine that the humidity at the time of the acquisition of skin spectra is a factor that affects similarities among the skin spectra and may determine that the humidity and the similarities among the skin spectra are in negative correlation. In the same manner, the second analyzer may analyze the correlation with other environmental indices and the overall similarity of skin spectra.
1660
1600
1660
During the additional acquisition of skin spectra, the output unit may output a predetermined warning signal when an environmental index having a positive correlation with the overall similarity of skin spectra is equal to or smaller than a third reference value, or when an environmental index having a negative correlation with the overall similarity of skin spectra is equal to or greater than a fourth reference value, that is, when the blood glucose measurement device is acquiring the skin spectra in an environment in which the overall similarity of skin spectra is likely to be low. For example, the output unit may be an imaging device, such as a display, which outputs a visual signal as a warning message to a screen, an acoustic device, such as a speaker or earphones, which outputs an audible signal as a warning sound, or a vibration device which vibrates in a specific manner.
FIG. 17
is a flowchart illustrating a blood glucose measurement method according to another exemplary embodiment.
FIGS. 16 and 17
1600
1710
Referring to , the blood glucose measurement device measures an environmental index at the time of the acquisition of skin spectra in operation , wherein the environmental index includes at least one of a temperature, humidity and a degree of motion of the blood glucose measurement device during the acquisition of the skin spectra.
1600
1720
The blood glucose measurement device analyzes a correlation between the environmental index and the overall similarity of skin spectra, in operation .
1600
1600
1730
While the blood glucose measurement device is acquiring additional skin spectra, the blood glucose measurement device may output a predetermined warning signal when an environmental index having a positive correlation with the overall similarity of skin spectra is equal to or smaller than a third reference value, or when an environmental index having a negative correlation with the overall similarity of skin spectra is equal to or greater than a fourth reference value, in operation , wherein the warning signal may be a visual signal, an audible signal, or a vibration signal, as described above.
The current exemplary embodiments can be implemented as computer readable codes stored in a computer readable recording medium and executed by computer or processor. Codes and code segments constituting the computer program can be easily inferred by a skilled computer programmer in the art. The computer readable recording medium may include all types of recording media in which computer readable data are stored. Examples of the computer readable recording medium include a ROM, a RAM, a CD-ROM, a magnetic tape, a floppy disk, and an optical data storage. Further, the recording medium may be implemented in the form of a carrier wave such as Internet transmission. In addition, the computer readable recording medium may be distributed to computer systems over a network, in which computer readable codes may be stored and executed in a distributed manner.
A number of examples have been described above. Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may be made. For example, suitable results may be achieved if the described techniques are performed in a different order and/or if components in a described system, architecture, device, or circuit are combined in a different manner and/or replaced or supplemented by other components or their equivalents. Accordingly, other implementations are within the scope of the following claims. | |
How can I make cookbook shelving to hang on cabinets?
Answered
Where can I find tutorials on small shelving for cookbooks at the end of the cabinet?? Thanks!!!
- Lifestyles Homeson Aug 21, 2019
I would buy or use the shelf and repurpose it. The key to cook book storages to make it so that different depths of books can all fit on one shelf.
- Jewellmartinon Aug 21, 2019
I once found a wire shelving unit at Goodwill. It was long and had been made for a shower. I spray painted the rack; I painted 1”x12” boards the width of the two wire shelves in contrasting colors; I left the hanger because it was facing the right direction and I might want to use the rack somewhere else someday. I didn’t even glue the boards to the rack, although I probably should have, but my heavy cookbooks held the boards balanced. The paperback books fit better on the top shelf, and the hardback cookbooks fit better on the bottom. I hammered three nails into my kitchen cabinet and they held the rack for two years until we moved. The rack became used in my babies’ closet to hold a tissue box full of booties and socks on top, and a shoebox with several pairs of baby shoes on the bottom shelf, with a little space left for misc. I hope you enjoy your solution. Jewell
- T Ron Aug 22, 2019
Here are a couple of ideas from Hometalkers:
https://www.hometalk.com/1767457/kitchen-cookbook-shelf
https://www.hometalk.com/26593172/ikea-hack-adds-kitchen-storage
- Lucinda Bautsch Rasmussenon Aug 28, 2019
We repurposed our old kitchen cabinet drawers into shelves. Cut the flat cabinet doors into shelves, then used screws with a flat, round loop to hold the shelves in place (don't know what they are called). You can find old ones at the Habitat For Humanity Re-Store. Our old kitchen drawers were made of solid wood, as are many old ones. | https://www.hometalk.com/43499664/q-cookbook-storage?offset=undefined |
integrity, service excellence and customer satisfaction.
To meet these goals, we have established a QMS, which we are committed to continuously follow and improve.
Through the QMS, we have put in place a set of pro-active objectives, processes and audits to ensure that all material we handle is properly accounted for, documented, received, stored and shipped. The procedures as established in the QMS are designed to provide positive traceability of all material purchased, handled, and supplied by our company. | https://www.aerotechnic-canada.com/quality/ |
The relationship explanation is a general rule made use of in databases to name relationships among entities. A relationship meaning, for any relationship family members, is simply a guideline that states that two entity people are connected, which marriage family is the predecessor, and which romantic relationship family is the descendants. In most cases, the relationship definition will include a number of relationship ingredients such as an ancestor, rejeton, parent, kid, and brother. It will also describe the relationship properties of the members of the family.
The partnership definition may become very complex because it must describe not merely the romances among the participants of a relatives but must also describe the relationships among all of the family members at the same time. In so many cases, the relationship classification will illustrate how a specific person pertains to all of the others in his or perhaps her lifestyle. However , this may also state that a certain individual is related to or incorporates a relationship using members of a specific romantic relationship family. The partnership definition may also describe the relationship relationships among all of your members of a specific enterprise family simultaneously. For example , any time one part of a elemental family did wonders at a factory for a long time of time, that individual would likely end up being described as part of a maintenance relationship friends and family.
The relationship definition can be created in several diverse forms. One of the common romantic relationship definition formulations is to claim that a romantic relationship is considered to be an axial compressor or an axial pulse stream the moment one member of a romance definition dating ukraine marriage is described as having a great axial heartbeat flow. On the other hand, if two members belonging to the relationship explanation are not identified as having a great axial movement, the formulation might state that these members are thought to be a non-axial pulse stream.
In many cases, relationship definitions is likewise needed to decide whether a great entity is definitely part of a relationship family members. In the case of this axial heart beat flow marriage definition, relationships would need to always be determined to get part of a relationship family members based on if the relationship was periodic or perhaps not. Yet , it can be challenging to determine perhaps the relationship is periodic or perhaps not. In some cases, this problem may be solved by noting a relationship explanation that contains an axial move clause can be called a regular relationship. The axial movement relationship is definitely one that talks about a romance that is not automatically continuous. Therefore , this type of romance may not be a good match for your company that actually works with a product that is not anticipated to continue to be continuously available.
The cardinality and hyperarity of your relationship classification window could also be used to manage marriage definition microsoft windows. In the case of the relationship definition windows for a great entity friends and family, a company that wants to take care of its associations will want to make certain that its associations to each person in the entity family will be specified in the window explanation. Therefore , this kind of window may specify when the person in the business family will be accessed, when contact is going to occur or perhaps when revealing on past-time data or perhaps information coming from another source. Nevertheless , a company that has not any plans to into any formal relationship definitions with its subordinate family group may find so it makes sense permitting the cardinalities and hyperarians of the relatives to be much more flexible than traditional binary choices.
Once managing relationships, companies will want to ensure that their preferred processes will not create unnecessary cycles among their partners. This can be created by choosing the best binary option when there are not any significant cycles within the pair of data. When a company would like to maintain its relationships with its partner company following your relationship classification window was defined, then the company should make sure to choose a binary option that wont create a cycle for one on the partner industry’s data. In so many cases, the cardinality and hyperarity of the romance definition windowpane will help to accomplish this goal. | http://lengs.de/2020/12/26/romantic-relationship-definition-windows-strategies/ |
Depression or adjustment disorder is often underdiagnosed in patients with cancer
Depression is often hidden within clusters of symptom responses to treatment and the burden of cancer, such as pain, fatigue, sleep disturbance, and cognitive changes
Early diagnosis and management of depression in cancer patients may contribute to improving quality of life and treatment adherence
Research on emotional distress includes its role in tumor progression and increased risk of cancer mortality
Background
A diagnosis of cancer is a life-altering event and carries with it both physical and psychological burdens. Measuring response to an individual’s psychological burden of cancer is difficult and may be nonexistent. Depression, for example, may be masked within clusters of treatment responses, making it difficult to diagnose and treat.1-3Recent studies suggest that depression may be a risk factor in cancer progression1,2,4 and may increase the risk of death.4 Clinicians, patients and family members may not recognize depression; therefore assessment for depression should be part of baseline and ongoing examinations.5
Diagnosing Depression
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) classifies depression as an adjustment disorder, symptoms of which may include6,7
Depressed mood (feelings of sadness)
Loss of interest or pleasure
Sleep disturbances
Loss of energy or feelings of fatigue
Difficulty in concentrating or decision making
Appetite or weight changes
Psychomotor agitation or psychomotor retardation
Feelings of worthlessness or excessive guilt
Suicidal thoughts or intentions
Diagnostic criteria for depression are the core symptom (depressed mood) plus 4 of the other symptoms lasting for at least 2 weeks and occurring on most days, except for thoughts of suicide or death.7
Depression is often underdiagnosed because of many factors, including8
In patients with cancer, a number of physical manifestations or treatment-related symptoms may contribute to the somatic symptoms of depression, making this diagnosis challenging.9 Sadness and grief are normal reactions during any stage of cancer, but many studies show a higher prevalence of depression with advanced disease. The prevalence of major depression and depressive symptoms ranges widely, from 1% to 42%3—an estimated 2 to 3 times that in the general population.5,9,10
Table 1. Risk Factors for Depression
Cancer-Related Risk Factors
Non–Cancer-Related Risk Factors12,13
Depression at diagnosis
Prior history of depression; past treatment of psychological disorders
Assessment
Depression can affect quality and meaning of life in patients with cancer, so timely diagnosis and management are crucial. There is no consensus on a single assessment technique, but combinations of 3 approaches should be considered: self-report, response to simple questions, and/or brief screening instruments and clinical interview (the latter considered the most effective).2
Self-Report: Simple Questions
In addition to asking about somatic symptoms, which are not specific to depression, asking patients how often they feel depressed or hopeless helps identify those at risk. Additional questions about lack of interest or pleasure in daily living and activities may be useful in detecting core symptoms.8 Other questions may be asked:
How are you sleeping?
How would you describe your mood or energy level over the past 2 weeks?15
The fear of cancer and its potential consequences is very real, yet admitting to feeling depressed or down may carry a stigma. Patients may fear their depression is a sign of weakness and inability to tolerate treatment—they may even fear withdrawal of treatment.3,12 Because of the potential stigma, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Panel uses the more neutral term “distress” to characterize psychosocial symptoms.16
Self-Report: Screening Instruments
Structured instruments and symptom scales may be useful in diagnosing major depression and its severity over a specific time period. In clinical settings, drawbacks of some instruments include time to administer and score. Relatively brief but validated questionnaires may be the preferred choice for routine screening of cancer patients’ emotional distress. Brief self-reports are easy to administer, inexpensive (some are even free), and, if properly validated, can help identify those patients most in need of professional mental health support. A systematic review of assessment tools to screen for emotional distress in people with cancer was published by Vodermaier, Linden and Siu. Included in the review are both newly developed and well-established distress screening tools that have been validated in patients with cancer.17
Table 2. Examples of Self-Report Screening Tools
Name
Comments
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders6-8
Widely held standard for assessing other tools
Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS)5,18
14-item measure of psychological distress,
perhaps most frequently used
Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI-18)5
18-item overview of a patient's symptoms and intensity at specific point in time
Distress Thermometer5,16
Single-item rating of distress on a scale of 1-10 (no distress to extreme distress). From a checklist of 5 categories, patients select what may have been the possible source of their distress
Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale9
20-item scale that measures the severity of depression
Beck Depression Inventory (BDI)2
21-item inventory that reduces influence ofsomaticconcerns
BriefEdinburghDepression Scale (BEDS)19
6-item measure of depression in cancer patients
Clinical or Diagnostic Interview12
Screening tools can help determine need for follow-up or referral to the most appropriate mental health professional. Acute or severe depression with risk of suicidal thoughts warrants immediate psychiatric intervention.11 The oncologist, advanced practice nurse, or psychiatrist may order drug therapy; social workers, psychiatric liaison nurses, or clergy may guide patients in identifying the stressors of cancer and its treatment.
Clinical Practice Guidelines
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) practice guidelines for distress management advise an assessment initially and at appropriate intervals. The guidelines suggest timing interventions based on the patient’s “distress thermometer” responses. http://www.nccn.org/professionals/physician_gls/PDF/distress.pdf Accessed February 9, 2010.
Treatment Options
Pharmacology Overall, there is limited evidence of clinical trials specifically studying pharmacologic treatment of depression in cancer patients.10,18 There is no record of randomized, controlled studies of alternative medicine interventions.18 For pharmacologic treatment of cancer-related depression, consider the following:
If prior therapy for depression was successful, start with the same agent8
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are considered agents of choice due to low side effects8
Antidepressants should be started at low doses to decrease potential side effects and interaction with cancer therapy, then titrated upward to effect15
Instruct patients to report use of herbals to avoid dangerous drug interactions15
Psychosocial or PsychoeducationalEvidence exists that psychosocial or psychoeducational interventions are beneficial for depression in patients with cancer and are often combined with pharmacologic therapy.8,18,20,21 Traditional psychotherapy is not recommended, since patients dealing with cancer often cannot commit to self-exploration.11 Cognitive-behavioral concepts are considered effective because
Thoughts (not events, people, or circumstances) such as those that accompany hearing the diagnosis of cancer can influence feelings and behaviors8
Changing thoughts can ameliorate depressive feelings, even if the situation does not change
Group and individual settings can be beneficial
Team members can address negative thoughts by reframing the thoughts and giving context to behaviors, since they have long-term relationships with cancer patients9
Outcomes are measurable, with change evident in a short time period
A challenge for both oncology nurses and patients is the use of oral antidepressants with patients seen infrequently, making psychosocial assessment and appropriate intervention difficult. In this situation, communication with the patient’s primary healthcare provider is essential.
An integrated approach to recognizing and managing depression in people with cancer may have better outcomes than medication or counseling alone. A study by University of Edinburgh researchers studied 200 cancer patients who scored high for depression on a baseline screening exam. Participants were randomized to an intervention group (n=101) that included usual care plus participation in a program given by specially-trained cancer nurses. The intervention emphasized screening for depression, antidepressant medication, and teaching patients problem-solving skills. The control group (n=99) received usual care. At 3 months, scores for depression fell in both groups, though by a significantly greater amount in the group working with the nurses. The results at 6- and 12-months follow-up reflected similar findings. In both groups, there was a significant increase in antidepressant use. Patients in the intervention group reported less anxiety and fatigue at both 3 and 6 months compared to those receiving usual care only.22
Nursing Management
Depression may coexist with other symptoms: identifying them and planning their management may relieve a depressed mood. Deviation from routines or habits is very individual, with self- reporting either over or under the actual deviation from normal routine.
Pain—frequent contributor to depression, which cannot be controlled if pain persists.9,11 The WHO 3-step analgesic ladder is useful for pain relief 3
Depression is the most frequently studied psychological condition in patients with cancer.2 Nevertheless, its screening is not routine, so depression remains underrecognized, and undertreated. Areas of needed research on depression in cancer are
Nutrition and the role of omega-3 fatty acids12
Tumor biology causing inflammation as an inducer of behavior changes, such as fatigue leading to depression8,14
Neuroendocrine, neuroimmune, neurochemical alterations1,2,8,9
Antidepressant drug therapy, including polypharmacy, in patients with cancer and comorbid conditions
Stress as an inducer of tumor growth through cytokine activity14
Red cell folate levels and synthesis of monoamines, a class of antidepressants12
| |
101 Tasting Notes
Another sample from TTB puerh plus.
This smells wonderful, and very much like jackfruit. My first steep was good, what I would expect from a fruity sheng. Very aromatic, with just a hint of bitterness. 2nd steep still had an amazing aroma and now there’s a bit of mouth drying astringentcy. 3rd steep tasted the fruitiest and continued with a bit of astringency. Later steeps mellowed out and got sweeter as the steep times increased into multiple minutes. Very enjoyable!
Preparation
Sample from the puerh plus TTB
Rinsed this once. 1st steep tasted like cream with a hint of apricot and brewed up a light green yellow. I could smell smoke coming off the next steep, but there was only a bit of acrid flavor in the cup. A bit of ruddy color started to come out here. 3rd steep came out just slightly bitter, it was more of just the feel of the astringentcy on the tongue than anything else. I also got a strange hint of melon flavor in there. The bitterness backs off on the 4th steep and the tea ends up mellow and sweet. It continues to steep up like this with increasing steep times and temperature until it quits around steep 13.
As it is now I’d say this tea while not terribly exciting, was pleasant. Probably a good thing to absentmindedly drink.
Flavors: Apricot, Cream
Preparation
The first sample I’m trying from the puerh plus TTB.
1st off if this box has taught be anything it’s that I can’t say no to a tea that smells like chocolate. I grabbed samples of all three teas where I whiffed some cocaoy goodness. This being the only tea that contained actual cocoa was unsurprisingly the best smelling of all of them. So much so that when I added hot water the room started to smell like I was making brownies.Now you need to understand that I love chocolate. Not “chocolates”, not melty dove bars or sweet mockolate candies, not even Hershey’s “special dark” if they still embarrass themselves by calling it that. I’m talking straight up cocoa nibs, 80-100% bars, hell I won’t even go less than 60% cocoa content for the chocolate chips I put into cookies. I always worried that cocoa containing teas just wouldn’t be enough. I was wrong.
This tea brings out all the cocoa and the puerh adds a good dark base that keeps it from tasting watery. I brewed this in a gaiwan and through 10 steeps the nibs were present in every cup from the first light colored one to the later dark cups. The aroma cannot be talked about only experienced. The puerh did not get in the way of the chocolate which might happen with western style brewing. I may have ate all the nibs out of the tea when I was finished.
One note with this tea. It contains cocoa butter in the nibs which will slowly come out of the tea leaving a slight sheen on the top. Because of this you’ll want to make sure to use glazed teaware and give everything a good wash afterwards to keep from contaminating your next tea.
Flavors: Cocoa
I have a fondness for Nilgiri teas…iced. Most are a bit abrasive hot (with the exception of the lovely Conoor Estate Nilgiri I had from Single Origin Teas). But they do have those brisk tannins that stand up to ice in a way “nicer” teas can’t. During a sample day I tried this hot and of course didn’t quite care for it. But it had a lovely raisin flavor I just had to try cold so I brought some home. At around $2/oz I couldn’t really go wrong. I’ve been too lazy to properly ice it, but it has been fantastic cold brewed. Brisk and crisp with a dark raisin maltyness at the end. So good for the first time this summer I am cold brewing absolutely nothing else.
The leaves on this are also very lovely. Long, thin, wiry, and very dark.
Flavors: Raisins
I had this at the tea tasting on Tuesday and it left quite the impression on me. I didnt take any notes on it other than “very good, fresh, *”, but I remember being impressed about how clear and green it tasted without being grassy. Also there really wasn’t a hint of astringentcy in my cup. I keep regretting not picking up 2 oz of it, but I’m currently on a tea buying hiatus until I can sip down some of what I have…and errr…get a job.
Flavors: Green, Sweet, Vegetal
This was my sample in my last what-cha order.
I did 2 min at just under boiling water. It had a pleasant spicy flavor with a bit of tannic brightness. The tannic bit wasn’t unplanted but coated the inside of my mouth and made the taste lingers bit. There’s also a woody almost meaty note in the background. I ended up steeping this a few more times without any bitterness. I think the 2nd steep was even spicer, but the subsequent ones less so than the 1st. I might try brewing it for longer next time.
Pics:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BIQax7yjj3O/?taken-by=gooseberryspoon
1st steep 160 35 sec
Brews to a light green color. Taste is grassy but not bitter. There is a sweet corn taste, like the fresh green husks of the corn, and corn silk. Steeped leaves a fantastic bright green color.
2nd steep 160 45 sec
Color of the tea is still lighter than I would expect of the leaves. There’s more grassiness here and less of the corn. A bit of a savory seaweed note has appeared.
3rd steep ~150F ~1.5 min
Sweeter, a light bitterness that coats the mouth
4th steep
Very sweet, less bitterness
https://www.instagram.com/p/BINrHTAj9kM/?taken-by=gooseberryspoon
https://www.instagram.com/p/BINgp-MDCGr/?taken-by=gooseberryspoon
Flavors: Corn Husk, Grass
I had wanted to become more familiar with Korean tea when I placed my last What-cha order so I grabbed a few including this one since I’ve never had a Korean black tea.
Opening the package the first think I notice is the small thin delicate tea leaves. They smell a bit like chocolate, and dark raisins, and…Corn Pops? I spent a few minutes trying to inhale the bag, but it was uncannily just like the Corn Pops cereal.
1st steep: ~35 seconds at around 175 F
Brews orange gold. Smells like raisins and tastes like raisins. It very much like the sweet water left over from soaking raisins which I’ve tried many times from baking something or other. It also had a bit of a corny cereal flavor like fresh ground whole grain corn meal. The texture had just a bit of silky come out.
2nd steep: ~1 min 175F
Brewed to a deeper orange color. Now tasting more (I guess anything) like a black tea with a bit of brisk astringency that coats the mouth. There’s a malty sweet taste to it and also a mint like mouth tingle thing going on.
3rd steep: ~160F lost track of time switching over laundry.
This was so Corn Pops.
Subsequent steeps were much lighter and sweet flavored. I think I did up to six with increasing time and temps. I rather liked trying this tea as it was pretty unique to anything I’ve had previously. I’m glad I got only 10g though because I can’t see myself drinking such a sweet tea on a regular basis. I rather prefer blacks with more of a punch or greens that balance out any sweet flavors with bitter. I’ll probably use the rest of it in trying a cold/ice brew and maybe a cup with a longer initial steep time.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BIFqqGEDq2o/?taken-by=gooseberryspoon
Flavors: Malt, Raisins, Sweet
Preparation
It’s been much too hot for hot tea which is a shame since I recently got in my whatcha order. I’ve been cold brewing some of it, but I don’t like judging a tea on cold brew alone. I’ve finally had a chance to have this hot a few times now enough to form an opinion on it.
The tea leaves are dark and finely twisted. Quite possibly one of the prettiest assamicas I’ve seen. The bag of tea smells actually kind of like teriyaki beef jerky which is a bit odd. I brewed this with just under boiling water for about 3 min. It ended up a little malty and sweet but also robust, as well as a little…fruity? I can’t quite put my finger on it. There’s a bit of an edge at the end that lets you know you are drinking an Assam. I’m really liking it for breakfast as its bold enough for the morning, but not so much that I feel I need to add anything.
Flavors: Malt
I got this as a sample during my last purchase. This is a nice flavored and fragrant tea but it finishes with a floral lotus taste I don’t care for at all. I tried cold brewing this and it was crisp and refreshing but it brought out more of the lotus flavor. Bummer. | https://ec2-54-174-39-122.compute-1.amazonaws.com/GooseberrySpoon/?page=3 |
- Bachelor’s degree in accounting, cost accounting, finance business administration or related field required.
- Master’s degree in accounting, cost accounting, finance business administration or related field preferred.
- Minimum of 5 years of related work experience, including some management experience and experience leading a team, project, program, or function required.
- Ability to read, analyze, and interpret common financial reports, and legal documents.
Ability to think, reason, and make sound judgments on how responsibilities are completed in compliance with applicable standards and guidelines.
Ability to exercise the utmost confidentiality in every aspect.
Ability to work in a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural environment with students, faculty and staff.
Ability to interact and influence at the most senior levels of an organization and to work collaboratively across functions, levels and departments toward shared objectives.
Ability to work cooperatively and strategically in a team environment with all levels of professional, technical and administrative staff and to integrate resources on a timely and organized basis.
Ability to demonstrate sound management skills, think strategically while balancing several complex agendas.
Ability to successfully cultivate and expand relationships with employers in varied industries.
Ability to speak before public groups, committees and meetings.
Ability to manage projects and people, participate in and facilitate group meetings.
Ability to effectively use interpersonal skills, follow through with duties, provide attention to detail, and demonstrate the ability to motivate others.
Ability to use creative facilitation and conflict resolution skills to resolve difficult and sensitive issues.
Ability to understand and implement shared governance, teambuilding and collaborative decision-making process within and across division/department lines.
Ability to analyze data, prepare necessary reports, evaluate and analyze program effectiveness and resource utilization.
- Health, dental and vision plan
- Vacation, sick and holiday schedule
- Tuition Reimbursement
- 401(k) Plan with employer match
- Flexible Spending Account
- Long/short term disability and more. | https://accwcu.referrals.selectminds.com/jobs/manager-financial-planning-and-analysis-1416 |
It is one thing to resign from your well-paying job abroad to open an art gallery in Nigeria, it is another to gain recognition for it.
In 2010, when Adenrele Sonariwo returned to Nigeria with a burden to show her love for the arts and capture its essence before it dies a slow death, little did she now that her art gallery will become a cult of some sort with people trooping in.
Four years after the launch of the Rele Art Gallery, she has not only changed what the game in the art world, she has also become a sort of inspiration to art and non-art lovers.
To delve into her space, pick up a copy of the Guardian Life Magazine on Sunday at newspaper stands nationwide. Guardian Life is found in Guardian Newspapers. | https://guardian.ng/life/adenrele-sonariwo-taking-art-to-the-world/ |
by Laura Schmidt-Hong
Tiger Question: What class at North would you like to take before you graduate and why?
“Probably statistics because it’s a big factor in everyday life.”
- Freshman Jonathan...
by Rose Bostwick
Student painters, photographers, and sculptors displayed various pieces of artwork for Art Morning, last Friday from 7 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. in the art wing.
Art Morning is an annual exhibit...
by Rose Bostwick
Paintings, drawings, ceramic pieces, and other artwork created by art students in the past year will cover Main Street and the art wing today from 7 to 9:30 a.m. for “Art Morning,”...
by Maya Abou-Rizk
Student artists displayed their photos, ceramic pieces, drawings, paintings, and other artwork last Friday at “Art Morning” on Main Street and in the art wing, 7 to 9:30 a.m.
In the...
by Maya Abou-Rizk
Hundreds of ceramic, photo, and art pieces will cover the first floor art wing and Main Street, as art students display their past year’s work for Art Morning.
“Art Morning is our...
[media-credit name="courtesy Shannon Slattery" align="alignnone" width="300"][/media-credit]"Art Morning" will exhibit work that photography, ceramics and art students have made this year.
by Leah Budson
Tables... | https://thenewtonite.com/tag/ceramics/ |
Oakland County Michigan Works! Agency provides workforce services to employers and jobseekers throughout the county. The Agency provides jobseekers with education and training resources, as well as job search assistance. Employers in Oakland County can take advantage of the Agency’s recruitment services, job posting, candidate pre-screening, and support for employer-based training programs. These services, as well as others, help Oakland County businesses find and retain qualified and well-trained employees. Jennifer Llewellyn, the Manager of Workforce Development for Oakland County Michigan Works!, serves as representative on WIN’s board.
Jennifer has over 18 years of experience in the workforce development, talent management, and career development fields. She is currently the Manager of Workforce Development at Oakland County and the Director of the Oakland County Michigan Works! Agency. Jennifer is responsible for fiscal and program management of over a dozen federal and state job training programs for businesses, dislocated workers, low-income adults, youth, and structurally unemployed individuals, totaling over $10 million annually. Jennifer’s innovative approach to workforce development fosters deeper connections and opportunities between Oakland County businesses, community partners, and residents. | https://winintelligence.org/board-organization/oakland-county-michigan-works-agency/ |
The US House of Representatives passed a sweeping bill to speed new drugs to the market after lawmakers defeated last-minute amendments that threatened to derail it.
The House voted 344 to 77 in favor of the 21st Century Cures Act, which would require the FDA to streamline its drug approval process, consider more flexible forms of clinical trials and incorporate patient experience into its decision-making process.
The bill would overhaul the FDA’s regulatory framework for approving drugs. It would create incentives for companies to develop drugs for rare diseases. It would allow certain antibiotics to be approved based more limited testing and establish other measures to shorten the drug development time. | https://rtmagazine.com/products-treatment/industry-regulatory-news/us-house-passes-c21st-cures-bill-to-speed-new-drugs-to-market-2/ |
Aratana CEO: Three FDA-approved drugs are just the start
Aratana Therapeutics Inc. reached a significant milestone Wednesday when its first drug, Nocita, hit the market. But Dr. Steven St. Peter, CEO of the Leawood-based pet biotech, said the company is on track to reach the ambitious goals set when it was founded in 2010.
“We never said it was easy — we said it was possible,” St. Peter said. “This is exactly the time frame we’ve been talking about for years.”
Aratana has been able to streamline the Food and Drug Administration approval process for animal and veterinary products to four to five years, St. Peter said. Other companies spend seven to 10 years navigating the regulatory framework.
To date, Aratana has scored three FDA approvals, all granted in 2016, on top of two licensed animal treatments from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. | https://www.missouribusinessalert.com/industries/77998/2016/10/11/aratana-ceo-three-fda-approved-drugs-are-just-the-start/ |
This study investigates /l/-darkening in the Welsh and English speech of bilinguals in North Wales. Although it is claimed that /l/ is dark in all syllable positions in northern varieties of both languages, there have been no quantitative investigations of this feature which consider cross-linguistic phonetic differences, the differing nature of language contact between North East and North West Wales, and differences in the way both languages are acquired by speakers. The dataset of 32 Welsh-English bilinguals, aged 16-18, was stratified by speaker sex, home language, and area. Tokens of /l/ in word-initial onset and word-final coda positions were analysed acoustically. The results show cross-linguistic differences in onset position and that such differences were found to be greater in the speech of female participants and those from North West Wales. Differences were also found between Welsh-dominant and English-dominant communities. These results are discussed with reference to the influence of extra-linguistic factors on speech production and the possible social meaning associated with dark /l/. | https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/98648/ |
A recent panel event – UTS Big Thinking: The Future of Work is Now – brought industry experts together to look at how the work environment is changing with new technological advancements and automation.
Below are the key takeaways for how you can prepare for the future of work, according to the experts.
How will automation disrupt the nature of work?
Automation is coming, but that doesn’t mean it’s always a bad thing. Maile Carnegie (Group Executive Digital Banking at ANZ) was a key proponent of this, highlighting that the predicted upcoming retirement boom, that could see Australia lose 6% of workers, will make automation necessary: “we actually need… a degree of automation just to enable us to maintain our standard of living”.
But will automation lead to mass unemployment? According to Prof Peter Flemming (UTS Business School): “Automation isn’t really designed to get rid of work, it’s designed to reshape work”. In fact, these technologies are already opening up new career pathways and employment gaps in industries such as data science and computing.
How can you prepare?
New technical skills needed
To meet the future of work head on, students and workers will need to start considering the demands a technology-rich labour market will have on the skills they develop – both now, and into the future. There is a growing call for more technical skills across industry, with few currently responding to that call.
Carnegie articulated this issue, noting that the “talent battlegrounds” are being fought in areas such as “data, software development, [and] cloud computing”, leaving those with more “generic technical skills” behind.
Increased push for soft skills and adaptability
There is also a renewed demand for soft skills. Soft and technical skills go hand-in-hand, and both will be essential for successful adaptation to this future workforce. As Prof Shirley Alexander (UTS Deputy Vice Chancellor (Education & Students) asserted:
“We’re always going to need humans to be the interface between machines and society… to do that well you not only need to have really good interpersonal skills, but you need to understand a lot about the algorithms that are being used”.
Unfortunately, even though these soft skills can be developed now, businesses are finding many students and recent graduates are struggling to keep pace with their demands.
Carnegie agreed, noting that some graduates lacked skills in “self-management, and initiative, and follow through”.
As far as we can predict, the future of work is going to require workers to be adaptable and able to connect with numerous points of industry throughout their careers. These softs kills are essential to this future collaboration, so working on developing them now is highly recommended.
Lifelong learning to become a bigger part of our working lives
The future of work isn’t a set thing, it’s a constantly shifting benchmark that moves with each new step towards innovation. As such, it’s impossible to be completely ready for the future of work without some return to education.
Via video, Mark Scott (Secretary of the NSW Department for Education) noted a marked shift in curriculum, where the focus of schooling is turning to developing lifelong learning attributes to prepare students for an unknowable future: “what we need students to have is… a mindset to back themselves to learn”.
For current workers it seems the answer may come in the form of “micro credentials”, as Prof Alexander called them, which will help workers adapt to a work environment involving automation: “so the people who are midway through their career can upskill and learn some of the digital technologies”.
Luckily, many are already starting to participate in re-training, with sites like Coursera reporting a rise in enrolments, moving from 10 million in 2014 to 33 million in 2017. The more popular courses are also reflecting the move towards a more technological age, with Machine Learning and Programming for Everyone rating in the top ten most enrolled course options.
This move towards lifelong learning isn’t surprising, and is perhaps one of the clearest ways to ensure continued employment in the face of automation. Because, as Prof Alexander was quick to point out, “if our workers don’t know or don’t understand that technology” it is unlikely the Australian workforce will keep up with innovation’s rate of change. | http://newsroom.uts.edu.au/events/2018/06/facing-future-work-what-you-need-know |
Students coming from Mainland, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau all gathered at City University of Hong Kong (CityU) on 26-27 April 2018 to share the sheer joy of mathematics in solving real world problems, with a hope to benefit mankind with their creativity and innovation. The 4th International Mathematical Modeling Challenge (IM2C) for the Greater China region was held at this dynamic university where participating students showcased their works on using mathematical modelling to address various socio-economic implications. During the event, students and teachers visited labs and participated in workshops to learn state-of-the-art R&D at this prestigious young university.
The IMMC 2018 is an interdisciplinary platform for mathematics to integrate with such other fields of study as science, technology and engineering, which form the core of STEM education and are now under the spotlight of the Government’s education policies. The IMMC Committee (Zhonghua) has received funding support from the Quality Education Fund to arouse the interest of secondary school students across the territory towards STEM-related subjects through mathematical modelling, as well as to complement classroom teaching with the IMMC activities. The IMMC 2018 (Greater China) not only aligned with the objectives of the QEF project in boosting innovation and creativity of students by encouraging them to solve real-world problems with the use of mathematics, but also enriched students’ experience of problem-oriented and project-based learning.
Following the opening ceremony officiated by several notable guests, 24 finalist teams of the regional round were blissed to present their findings to the audience, who were deeply impressed by their enthusiasm and creativity shown in solving 5 designated real-world problems on the first day. One of the most popular topics brought to the stage was how to allocate the most suitable locations for setting up electric vehicle charging stations to best meet the drivers’ demand, and price the use of such charging stations for different time periods. Students who chose this topic had demonstrated their mathematical knowledge and understanding on how new energy could best be utilized to make China a better place of living.
On Day 2, 25 finalist teams of the international round took the stage and brought the audience onto another amazing journey of mathematical modeling. After giving careful consideration to the performance and ideas of the finalist teams on the measure and choice of the “best” hospital, the following 8 teams (2 from each of the 4 areas of China) have been selected for recommendation to the International Expert Panel for further judgement for international awards competing with teams selected from 36 countries and areas.
- Beijing Academy, Mainland
- Shanghai Experimental School, Mainland
- Pui Kiu College, Hong Kong
- St. Paul's Co-educational College, Hong Kong
- Taichung First Senior High School, Taiwan
- Taipei Municipal Zhongshan Girls High School, Taiwan
- Sacred Heart Canossian College, Macau
- Pui Ching Middle School, Macau
One needed not to be an Outstanding Award winner to benefit from the competition. During the 2-day event, the visiting students also seized the precious opportunity to observe and learn from the works of the presenters and exchanged ideas with them while their teachers guided them in understanding the underlying concepts and rationales applied in those presentations. Besides, tours and visits to the state-of-the-art labs and R&D centers of CityU were arranged for the secondary school students to further explore their interests in STEM-related fields of study.
After all, IMMC aims to facilitate fostering the innovation capabilities of the next generation as problem-solvers. Through the interactive and friendly contest platform, IMMC has helped educators to identify and stimulate talents in every student, and foster a love of mathematical modeling and STEM among their students. | http://istem.info/web/news_detail.php?id=95 |
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates in general to environmental pollution and, more particularly, to a method for treating halogen-containing plastic refuse to prevent halogens and halogen compounds from being released for causing environmental pollution. The present method also has application within the field of scrap metal salvage whereby metals normally encased in halogen-containing plastic materials may be recovered.
The disposal of plastic refuse is a continuing problem of ever- increasing proportions confronting our society. The seemingly endless utilization of plastic in industry, as well as in the production of infinite products, causes the concern for disposing of such material after the particular devices have served their intended purposes to be one of almost incomprehensible immensity.
However, in addition to the problems attendant with disposing of the rapidly increasing volume of plastic trash, there exists the more critical matter of disposing of plastics which contain halogen so that the particular treatment will not bring about a release into the environment of either the halogens or compounds thereof. For instance, burning of halogen-containing plastics in the atmosphere would cause the discharge of such halogenic material with imperiling of health, as well as with destructive tendencies to materials incorporated in neighboring constructions. As an example, the release of chlorine either as a gas or as hydrogen chloride would cause development of hydrochloric acid by reason of atmospheric moisture content, and the corrosive nature of such is well known. Experience has also indicated that similar release occurs when halogen-containing plastics are disposed of in land fills.
Although the number of halogen-containing plastics are myriad, those most widely utilized commercially at the present time are polyvinyl chloride, polyvinyl fluoride, and polyvinylidene chloride. But the prospects are that additional compounds of this type will be formulated and will undoubtedly find new uses with enhanced need to effectively treat such material when discarded.
Currently, plastics of the type hereunder consideration have found wide usage for insulation of electrical wires and in view of the aforesaid attendant drawbacks in disposing of such halogen-containing plastics, there have been concomitant difficulties in the recovery of metal covered thereby.
To the present time, techniques for removing polyvinyl chloride coatings from metals have been fundamentally of two types: one wherein the scrap is subjected to mechanical chopping; and the other by burning of the insulation in the atmosphere. With mechanical chopping it has been found that the heat generated by such operation has been sufficient to cause a melting of the polyvinyl chloride with resultant clogging of the equipment, as well as presenting a fire hazard, which, if realized, would cause unrestricted production of hydrochloric acid.
Another drawback of burning in the atmosphere, besides the undesired release of halogenic material to the atmosphere, is the difficulty in controlling the temperature of such burning whereby oxides of the metals to be recovered may be formed as well as a melting of the metal. To the present time salvage of halogen-containing plastic clad metals has been most unsatisfactory.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method for treating halogen-containing plastic refuse to prevent any released halogens or compounds thereof from polluting the atmosphere or bringing about conditions deleterious to neighboring structures.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of the type stated which may be most economically performed; which is effective; and which is fully reliable; providing an answer to a problem which has long beset society and which can only serve to remove inhibitions from further research into the use of plastics of such character.
It is another object of the present invention to provide for recovery of metals which are normally coated with halogen-containing plastic materials, as for electrical insulation purposes.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of the character stated which is performed with facility and being productive of the original metal without formation of significant quantities of oxides or other undesired compounds; and which is markedly efficient, providing maximum metal yield.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a method for salvaging metal from halogen-containing plastic coatings, claddings, encasements and the like, which is of extreme versatility and which requires simplicity of equipment.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method of the character stated which does not alter significantly the metal salvaged, so that the same is capable of being further processed, if desired, in accordance with current techniques.
It is a fundamental object of the present invention to provide a method which is of anti-pollutional character and simultaneously effective for metal salvage.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
In essence, the present invention contemplates the immersion of halogen-containing plastics within a bath of a carbonate, such as, for example, calcium carbonate, and preferably in particulate form, for a predetermined period of time within a predetermined temperature range for effecting heat decomposition of the plastic and with the release of the particular halogen, whether as a free gas, or as a salt, for harmless reaction with the carbonate. The temperature range will be determined at its lower limit by the temperature at which the particular plastic will thermally decompose and at its upper limit by the temperature at which the particular bath will calcine. Thus, the ceiling temperature is such as to prevent calcination; it being recognized that such temperature will vary with the particular carbonate or group of carbonates forming the bath. For purposes of numbers alone, such upper limit would be expectedly approximately between 1500°-1700° F., but such is not considered to be restrictive. The lower limit for all practical purposes would not be below approximately 400° F.
The bath of the present invention is preferably an alkaline earth metal carbonate, such as, calcium carbonate, magnesium carbonate, strontium carbonate, and barium carbonate.' However, alkali metal carbonates are equally useful for bath constitution, such as, sodium carbonate, potassium carbonate, and lithium carbonate. In view of its relative availability and, hence, with expected economy, calcium carbonate would be the compound of commercial choice. Limestone, such as sandy limestones, as well as chalks, marbles, calcite, and the like are readily available forms of calcium carbonate for the present invention. It is, however, understood, that other forms of calcium carbonate are of like utilitarian value, such as, in various types of shells, etc., and material of synthetic and natural combinations and mixtures of alkaline earth and alkali metal carbonates, for example, Dolomite, are other effective sources of bath composition.
For bath development, the carbonate, such as limestone, is comminuted or otherwise reduced to a small particulate character, one being conducive to ease of fluidization as well as to provide maximum surface for heat exposure. A range within 20-300 mesh would be adequate for this purpose. Thus, the granulated carbonate is charged to a vessel or tank of suitable volume preparatory to receiving the plastic scrap or refuse to be treated. The bed or bath of carbonate is adapted for receiving a flow of heated or unheated air which is forced therethrough under requisite pressure for fluidization of the bed with the air thus bubbling upwardly through the mass thereof, as for heating of the bed when the air is preheated and to facilitate immersion of the scrap. The vessel may be connected, as by a conduit in its base portion, to a combustion air blower from which the air, heated or otherwise, is directed into the bath.
The present method is described generally as follows: With the carbonate, such as calcium carbonate, forming the bath, the same is heated to a temperature effective for decomposing the halogen-containing plastic material to be supplied to the bed. Said plastic material to be treated is then fully immersed within the bath with the temperature of the latter causing a heat decomposition of the plastic. Due to the exothermic character of the reaction the temperature of the bath will be elevated as the decomposition proceeds. The ultimate temperature of the bath is determined by the character of the plastic material being treated and may be controlled by regulating the air flow through the bath, but with the recognition that the temperature will not exceed that at which calcination of the bath carbonate would occur.
Gas-liquid chromatographic analysis or other appropriate method of analysis may be employed to indicate the cessation of evolution of hydrocarbon gases and, hence, determination of the thermal degradation of the plastic being treated. It is to be observed that the plastic is maintained in a fully immersed condition, that is, surrounded by the bath and, hence, is not exposed to the atmosphere during the decomposition process. It is an effectively controlled atmosphere within which the decomposition occurs and which fact is condusive to maintenance of the bath at approximately the particularly desired temperature.
It should be understood that fluidization of the bath would be a desired condition for producing maximum contact between the particulate bath and the plastic to be treated for ultimate effectiveness as for immersing the plastic. Thus, the bed of finely divided particles is, through fluidization, caused to be lifted and agitated by a rising stream of gas, such as air, with the particles at one end of the velocity range being substantially fully suspended in the gas (air) stream and being carried with it. Consequently, fluidization is a physical state tending to rapidly and economically effectuate the desired inter-reaction. As is evident from the foregoing, full immersion of the material to be treated within the bath is critical, but fluidization is a technique which would be most desirable in the present method to effect immersion and regulate temperature.
During the decomposition process, the halogen, as a gas, such as chlorine, or as a salt, such as hydrogen chloride, will be released from the polymer and reaction with the particular carbonate will occur. Thus, if hydrogen chloride is released the same would react, for example, with calcium carbonate to form calcium chloride with the release of water and carbon dioxide. Chlorine gas, such as Cl.sub.2 would react directly with the calcium carbonate to cause formation of calcium chloride; however, it has been found that chlorine in this form will constitute but a minor amount of that released as by the decomposition of polyvinyl chloride. Like reactions occur between the particular carbonate and other halogencontaining plastics, such as, polyvinylidene chloride, polyvinyl fluoride, and the like, so that whether the halogen is in the form of a salt or a gas, as released, the escape of the same to the atmosphere is effectively prevented through substitution of the chloride ion for the carbonate ion with appropriate salt formation with the particular alkali metal or alkaline earth metal so that no deleterious results occur.
As a characteristic example of the efficacy of the present method, a batch of polyvinyl chloride trash is charged to the bath in any convenient manner, such as, for instance, by means of an open mesh container or basket which is completely immersed in the bath, within the tank; said latter being of appropriate volume so that the entire basket contents are fully immersed and with there being no vents through the bath. It is understood, however, that equipment utilized for performing the invention of this method is not critical and thus does not form a part of the present invention since the types of equipment useful are myriad. The quantity of the batch to be treated can be predetermined depending upon the capacity of the equipment but it has been discovered that batches in the order of 100 to 2000 pounds, regardless of the diversity of shapes and sizes of the scrap components may be handled with dispatch. In passing, it is not to be construed that the present method may be used only in a batch manner since it is well within the comprehension of those skilled in the art to effect a flow type procedure for this invention.
The bath, as in this case, calcium carbonate, has been heated to a temperature between the range of approximately 430° F. to 500. degree. F. within which range the polyvinyl chloride commenced to decompose with attendant release of the chlorine and hydrogen chloride. The chlorine and the hydrogen chloride react with the calcium carbonate of the bath to form calcium chloride, there being water and carbon dioxide released. Thus, by reason of the foregoing reaction, escape of the halogen to the atmosphere is reliably prevented. The thermal decomposition of the polyvinyl chloride will continue to completion with the evolution of a complex mixture of volatile organic compounds which may be conducted through an exhaust gas afterburner and thence through suitable conventional air cleaning equipment. There may also be the formation of a carbonaceous, relatively non-volatile residue which may be easily discarded.
It is recognized that by the formation of calcium chloride, as with the present example, the effective concentration of carbonates in the bath will be reduced so that makeup carbonate must be fed to the reactor bed periodically. It is evident that the calcium carbonate will be consummed chemically and that some will also be lost through mere mechanical transference from the bath after the container with the now treated refuse is withdrawn. As pointed out above, determination of completion of the decomposition process may be effected by analysis of the flue gases, at the point the same is indicative of the cessation of evolution of the volatile hydrocarbons.
Thus, the foregoing is exemplary of the procedure to be followed, but with the recognition that at higher temperatures, within the limits provided, the decomposition may be accelerated, there being the obvious time/temperature relationship so that further particular plastics of the character hereunder study decompose at different temperature levels. Generally, it might be stated that maintenance of the particular temperature within the range of approximately 800°- 1200° F. will effectively bring about thermal decomposition of the halogen- containing plastics.
Since such plastics, as for example, polyvinyl chloride, are finding ever broadening application in the field of metal cladding, such as for electrical insulation wire, the marked significance of the present invention is evident. Thus, scrap metal encased within a halogen- containing plastic may be just as easily charged to the bath as the plastic itself. The maintenance of the bath temperature below the point of calcination will inferentially assure that a metal melting temperature will not be reached so that as the plastic is decomposed, the metal will remain for appropriate collection. It is, of course, obvious that the present method is not restricted to the use of plastic encasing only electrical wire, but, obviously, the recovery of valuable metals as used for such wire, is a matter of substantial economic consequence.
Thus, the scrap metal as so encased is charged to the bath which is desirably fluidized in the same manner as the plastic trash above discussed and retained in said bath until thermal degradation of the plastic has been achieved. After termination of the treatment, the metal is then withdrawn and placed within a rinse tank for cooling with accompanying removal of any calcium carbonate or like particles that may have adhered thereto. If desired, the now rinsed metal may be further cleaned by well known techniques and thereafter processed in accordance with recognized procedures.
The metal recovered by the present invention will be thus in its original state since the carbonate of the bath will not react therewith and, since the atmosphere is controlled as above discussed, formation of metal oxides will be substantially inhibited.
In view of the foregoing, it is evident that the present invention constitutes a marked contribution to the important anti pollution field, as well as to metal salvage or recovery, providing a most unique solution to a multiplicity of problems heretofore besetting society. | |
Transcriptional modules (TM) are groups of co-regulated genes along with transcriptional factors regulating their expression. Identifying TMs based on experimental data and genomic regulatory sequences is an important and difficult problem in biomedicine. The data that can be used in reconstructing TMs comes from genome-wide gene expression profiling experiments, whole genome transcription factor binding experiments, sequences of experimentally established DNA regulatory motifs and sequences of gene regulatory regions. Benefits of using all available types of data in the process of identifying and characterizing TMs have been demonstrated in numerous studies. While precise probabilistic models generally do exist for analyzing different data types separately, unifying models for all available data types are scarce. Computational methods currently available to biomedical researchers are inadequate either due to the lack of appropriate computational tools, or due to inadequacies of underlying mathematical framework. Furthermore, protocols for establishing relative benefits of different strategies for joint modeling of different data types are non-existent. This leaves biomedical researchers without means to make an informed decision when choosing the optimal data analysis approach. We propose to develop Infinite Transcriptional Modules (ITM) framework consisting of a novel probabilistic model and related computational tools for identifying transcriptional modules by jointly modeling gene expression and regulatory data. The unifying probabilistic model will utilize the Infinite Mixtures Model mechanism for averaging over models with different number of modules and thus circumvent the problem of estimating the "correct" number of modules. Each different data type will be modeled separately within different context of a Context Specific Infinite Mixture Model. Such modular approach will facilitate the use of the most appropriate probabilistic models for representing different types of data. Our intention is not to develop new models and analytical approaches for different data types. Instead, we will focus on developing a principled probabilistic framework for integrating currently available state of the art models for individual data types. We hypothesize that our unifying modeling approach will result in significantly higher precision of identified transcriptional modules than it would be achieved by either separately analyzing different data types, or by applying currently available algorithms for joint analysis. We also expect that the posterior distribution of co-membership in a TM, based on our model, will offer credible assessment of statistical significance of identified TMs. Using real world data;we will construct datasets and protocols for objectively comparing key performance aspects of different methods for TM reconstruction.
| |
Malaria afflicted the Roman Empire some 2,000 years ago, according to a new analysis of human teeth collected in Italian cemeteries.
Malaria is a serious and sometimes fatal mosquito-borne disease caused by parasites. In 2015, an estimated 214 million cases of malaria occurred worldwide, leading to 438,000 deaths, mostly children, according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Previous research suggested that malaria was a major disease that afflicted Italy during the Roman Empire. "Its presence during this time is indirectly supported by extensive writings from ancient authors, such as Celsus and Galen, as well as ancient human skeletal remains," said lead study author Stephanie Marciniak, a biological anthropologist at Pennsylvania State University.
However, it was uncertain which species of parasite caused malaria during the Roman Empire. Currently, Plasmodium falciparum is responsible for the largest number of malaria-related deaths globally, but different species of Plasmodium can cause other, usually milder forms of malaria. [27 Devastating Infectious Diseases]
"Knowing the specific species helps frame interpretations about the diversity of the experience of disease in the past," Marciniak told Live Science. "Being able to have a window to ancient microbes can also help to understand how a particular causative agent may have evolved or changed over time."
To learn more about ancient malaria, Marciniak and her colleagues examined human teeth from the bodies of 58 adults and 10 children that date back to the Imperial period of the first to third centuries A.D. These remains came from three cemeteries in southern Italy — the sites of Isola Sacra and Velia were known as important port cities and trading centers, while Vagnari was located farther inland and is thought to be the burial site of laborers who would have worked on a rural Roman estate, the researchers said.
"In order to explore a complex disease like malaria, having a range of sites is beneficial, since malaria could technically flourish in any of these locations," Marciniak said.
The scientists analyzed DNA fragments from dental pulp taken from the teeth. "The only way to identify the specific species of malaria is to use molecular techniques," Marciniak said.
Usable malaria parasite DNA was challenging to extract because the microbes primarily dwell within the bloodstream and organs, including the spleen and liver, which decompose and break down over time — in this case, over the course of two millennia. Still, the researchers were able to pin down the presence of Plasmodium falciparum in the remains of two adults — one from Velia, the other from Vagnari.
These findings revealed that malaria afflicted Imperial-era Italy both on the coasts and inland. "Malaria was likely a significant historical pathogen that caused widespread death in ancient Rome," study senior author Hendrik Poinar, a paleogeneticist and director of McMaster University's Ancient DNA Center in Hamilton, Canada, said in a statement.
Marciniak cautioned that while they know that this parasite was present in ancient Rome, they do not know if the disease killed the people it was found in. "Finding Plasmodium falciparum malaria in the two adult skeletons cannot be extrapolated to interpretations about widespread death or catastrophe caused by this parasite in Imperial-period Italy," she said.
Future research can explore other sites and time periods "in order to explore the scope of the parasite," Marciniak said. Future discoveries of ancient malaria DNA could help them see how the disease might have evolved over time, she said.
The scientists detailed their findings online yesterday (Dec. 5) in the journal Current Biology. | |
Application Integration Security Checklist (VoIP Software)
A brain dump of security related todo items when deploying an application such as a VoIP server software.
Background
During our security audits we encounter plenty of application setups. With few rare exceptions most installations are just plain and simple standard installations as in apt-get install App with little modifications from a security perspective.
As a case study for the little known VoIP server software Yate I have compiled a list of suitable steps to harden the application's setup. Although this list is specific to VoIP software, it can be applied to any application with a bit of abstract thinking.
Security Checklist
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Principle of minimal privilege: Try to restrict your setup as much as possible to do exactly what you intended it to do, not more. This principle implicitly applies to all of the following points.
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Operating System:
- Use virtual environments, such as Xen, VirtualBox, OpenVZ, ...
- Use a chroot environment.
- Run Yate with a dedicated system user and group.
- Set ulimits to prevent resource exhaustion.
- Use application security systems, e.g. AppArmor.
- Don't run any other server software on the system.
- Don't let many users access the system.
- Log admin access.
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Filesystem: Restrict access to files:
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Yate files, scripts and modules should be owned by a different system user than the user that runs Yate. E.g.
chown -R root:yate /usr/local/etc/yate /usr/local/share/yate
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Files should be set read-only for the user that runs Yate. E.g.
chmod -R go-w /usr/local/etc/yate /usr/local/share/yate
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Files containing passwords or other sensitive information should be set unreadable for others:
cd /usr/local/etc/yate chmod 640 accfile.conf regfile.conf mysqldb.conf
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Consider using encrypted filesystems to protect sensitive data, e.g. voicemail messages or remote VoIP account credentials.
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IP Network:
- Set up a firewall to restrict access to SIP, rmanager, extmodule, ... and don't forget IPv6.
- Set up flood protection, e.g. fail2ban.
- Use a VPN to restrict access to access all or parts of Yate.
- Configure management services like rmanager and extmodule to listen on localhost only.
- Configure a dedicated VLAN for VoIP traffic.
- Protect switch ports with IEEE 802.1x if possible.
- Set switch ports to be disabled after link is down.
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Database:
- Write your SQL statements with caution: Only use appropriately escaped or whitelisted values in dynamic queries in order to prevent SQL injection attacks. (see also: SQL Injection). Keep in mind, that variables may contain user provided values, such as user agent, caller ID or custom SIP headers.
- Restrict Yate database user to DELETE, INSERT, SELECT, USAGE, UPDATE. There is no reason for the database to be dropped or altered by a phone call.
- Think about rejecting suspicious database queries by whitelisting or blacklisting queries before execution using the regexroute module.
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SIP Security:
- Only allow SIP methods actually needed, e.g. disable OPTIONS.
- Don't enable subscribe/notify features to unauthenticated users.
- Don't leak information about server software versions to the outside. Change the default SIP header Server: (or User-Agent: for SIP clients) to omit version numbers.
- Filter traffic to other networks, e.g. with a Session Border Controller (SBC).
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VoIP routing and dialplan considerations:
- Avoid routing loops. Yate has an internal loop detection. But bouncing calls from one VoIP server to another and back several times will exhaust resources and provide attackers with a deny-of-service attack surface.
- Restrict internal numbers to authenticated clients.
- Categorise clients by source IP, if possible. E.g. internal clients may always have an internal IP.
- Protect your dialout. Anonymous users or SIP scanners should not be able to generate charges on your telephone bill.
- Never trust an incoming caller ID. Caller IDs can be faked, is PSTN as well as in VoIP. Also: Obscure caller IDs should be rejected or rewritten at an early routing stage, e.g. allow only digits 0-9, A-D and maybe allow the international + character in some cases.
- Do not allow users to change their caller ID, e.g. set caller ID based on the authenticated username.
- Explain your dialplan. Draw diagrams. Write tables. Fill Wikis. Anything. Please.
- Test your configuration. In particular, regular expressions as used to create a dialplan with the regexroute module can be tricky.
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Passwords:
- Generate strong and random user passwords, e.g. with APG.
- If possible, avoid passwords at all, but use certificates or hardware tokens instead.
- Protect phone applications, e.g. voicemail, with passcodes longer than four digits. If possible, add additional checks for valid caller-IDs, user authentication credentials, IPs, time of day or other criteria.
- Users must be able to change their passwords and PINs on their own. They should also be made aware of this feature.
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Update Strategy:
- Regularly check for new versions.
- Know how to easily update Yate. Take notes on how to compile, deploy, install, upgrade Yate to make life easier for the future you or possibly for other administrators. Also: Store notes where they can be found, e.g. in a file ../YATE\_NOTES.txt or a documentation wiki (or even an offline notebook).
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Transport Encryption: Consider setting up encryption if possible:
- Enable SIP over TLS (SIPS).
- Enable SRTP.
- As a client, validate certificates in order to prevent man-in-the-middle attacks.
- Consider enforcing encrypted calls - SIPS + SRTP - for some numbers, e.g. confidential conference rooms.
- For performance reasons it may be better to use VPN solutions - e.g. IPSec or OpenVPN - for point-to-point links in some cases.
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No Logging:
- Log nothing unless absolutely required. For personal use, this may be unnecessary. For business use it may even be against privacy laws to store connection data.
- Think about logging only statistics - e.g. usage counters - without associated names/numbers.
- A cronjob should be in place to delete old data.
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Monitoring: Set up monitoring software in order to know when something went wrong.
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Security Checks: Implement as many security features as possible and check them on a regular basis.
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Disaster Recovery: Keep your VoIP setup well documented and create automated backups on a regular basis. It should be well known what to do after discovering a security incident - for example:
- Disconnect from the internet.
- Restore VoIP setup to a defined state.
- Find and fix vulnerability, e.g. upgrade software.
- Change all passwords, PINs, SSH keys, ... and revoke certificates.
- Inform users. | https://sektioneins.de/en/blog/14-04-25-yate-security-checklist.html |
How Flipboard can help bring a world of ancient wonders to classrooms half a world away
Being born and raised in Australia, it was easy for me to feel isolated from the rest of the world, especially as I developed a love of history as a child. I recall my disappointment when I learnt that the lands of the Romans, Incas and Medieval Europe were on the other side of the world from where I lived and that being able to see them firsthand was not really an option.
Fast forward 20 years and I was elated as I finally got to see the things I had only ever dreamt about: I stood reverentially next to the Theatre of Pompey in Rome where Julius Caesar was murdered, marvelled at the famous trilingual Rosetta Stone behind its glass case in the British Museum in London, and was in awe of an entire Egyptian temple which had been dismantled and reconstructed inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Since I am also a high school history teacher, I wished I could pass my euphoria onto my history students back in Australia. I would have loved to walk them through the streets of Pompeii, the rock-carved churches of Lalibela, or through the seemingly endless collection of historical treasures of the Louvre. However, I knew that the tyranny of distance meant that very few of my students would ever be able to share these experiences.
Bring the artifacts to the students
However, I did decide to do the next best thing: I brought the artifacts to my students. It occurred to me that museums often stage specific exhibitions for the general public: the museum selects artifacts from their collection based upon a particular person, culture or event. Why couldn’t I do a similar thing for my students: create an exhibition of artifacts based upon what we were studying in class?
Thankfully, we have access to a huge range of artifacts from museums all over the world without ever having to leave our classrooms. It is common for museums to allow you to view part, if not all, of their vast collections online. Whilst I have made use of these digitized collections for student research in the past, it only recently occurred to me that I had the potential to create my own museum exhibitions through the use of dedicated Flipboard magazines.
As a trial, I created a Flipboard magazine dedicated to the surviving artifacts of the famous female Egyptian pharaoh, Hatshepsut. I searched through as many digitized museum collections as I could think of and flipped any artifacts I found into my Flipboard magazine. I ended up utilizing such geographically diverse sources such as the Vatican Museums in Rome, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the British Museum in London.
Providing curated collections of artifacts like this opens up a whole new experience for students. Now, rather than just reading about Hatshepsut in books, they can see the very structures built by her and, in some cases, read (via translations provided by the museums) the very words spoken in the past.
Students have found my trial magazine extremely useful for their own research and have incorporated new artifacts into their assessment pieces. As a result, student research has become more rigorous and their grades have dramatically improved. My first magazine was such a success that I have now created more based upon my students’ specific needs.
No limit to your ideas
The opportunities to use Flipboard magazines in this way is potentially endless: whether it is for a particular historical personality, location or event. You could create a magazine to show the different buildings of Pompeii, the extant armour of Henry VIII, or event show archival footage from the world wars.
Additionally, inviting students to contribute to the collection of artifacts can be a great way to engage them in the subject. It can be fun for students to seek out new artifacts and add them to the magazine.
The great thing about creating your own personalized museum exhibition through Flipboard is this it is not simply restricted to the subject of history. It would work equally well for art, geography, civics or technology studies. In fact, we are only limited by our imaginations and by what the museums’ digital collections provide for us.
Whilst nothing can replace the euphoria of seeing artifacts and locations in person, flipping artifacts into digital magazines is a step closer to that reality. It can overcome the tyranny of distance and bring modern students closer to touching the past.
Note:
This post was originally written as a guest blog entry for the Flipboard social networking site. The original post can be read here: | https://www.historyskills.com/2017/03/22/a-global-museum/ |
The utility model relates to a kitchen range and a heat preservation device, the heat of high-temperature flue gas is continuously transmitted to a first heat exchange medium by utilizing the circulating circulation of a second heat exchange medium in a circulating pipeline, and the heat of dishes is preserved by utilizing the heat loss of the first heat exchange medium, so that the heat generated by gas combustion can be fully utilized, and the heat preservation efficiency is improved. Heat preservation can be conducted on dishes without additional heating elements such as electric heating wires, energy consumption is reduced, and cost is saved. In addition, the process of heat absorption, heat release and energy storage can be continuously achieved through circulation of the second heat exchange medium in the circulation pipeline, and the collection and utilization rate of the waste heat of the high-temperature flue gas is high. Meanwhile, the heat absorption section exchanges heat with high-temperature smoke at the furnace end, so that heat radiation of the high-temperature smoke at the furnace end to the surrounding environment is reduced, the external temperature is prevented from rising, and the cooking environment is improved. | |
Chemical Information Management
Chemical information management is a great field for chemical scientists who love conducting research and have strong technical skills and computer expertise. These careers typically involve spending a lot of time at a computer.
Typical Job Functions
Chemical information management specialists are responsible for finding, organizing, and disseminating information. Their primary role is to organize the overwhelming amount of chemical information found in journals, patent literature, etc. to make it easily accessible to researchers, students, industry professionals, and others.
Computer software development is one of the fastest growing areas for chemical information specialists.
Job functions in chemical information management include:
- Search, read, and understand technical information for a technical audience
- Search chemical databases and conduct chemical structure and patent searches
- Write about or summarize (abstract or index) chemical information
- Web programming and web development, in some cases
Career Paths
Most chemical information professionals start out as researchers, with varying areas of expertise. Over time, they may start managing other researchers, sometimes taking charge of a division or an entire library or information center. They may also move into project management.
Chemical information specialists may be found in:
- Libraries
- Chemical companies
- Market research firms
- Publishing units of professional societies
- Management consulting firms
- Technical and trade divisions of publishing houses
- Software and chemical information database companies
Computer software development is one of the fastest growing areas for chemical information specialists. Some chemical information management specialists work as independent consultants on a project-by-project basis. Most roles require both technical understanding and computer expertise.
Getting Started
Educational requirements vary considerably, depending on the specific area in which you want to work.
- Indexers and document analysts: Bachelor’s degree in chemistry; master’s or doctoral degree for some specialized work
- Chemical librarian: Master’s degree in library science (M.L.S.) plus additional training
- Information specialists: Advanced degree in their scientific discipline
- Market researchers, consultants, and sales and management positions: Technical training with a business degree
Because this is a specialized market, you may be required to relocate for a position. Computer expertise is becoming a prerequisite, and patent or intellectual property work is a growing area. The ability to search for chemical structures and biosequences is a highly sought-after skill. | https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/careers/chemical-sciences/fields/chemical-information-management.html |
It's never too early to teach children about sin and what God says about it. In fact, I always say the earlier the better. As a Christian family, this is a topic that we began discussing many years ago when my son was a wee little one. Most children typically learn the difference between right and wrong early on, but taking it a step further to discuss when it means for their own eternity and the one way that they can be washed clean, is vital for their salvation. It also helps pave the way for their walk with God.
Recently, we've been reading a brand new book called Don't Blame the Mud Only Jesus Makes Us Clean by author and pastor, Marty Machowski. This book teaches children that there is only one way to be washed clean of our sins, and that is through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ from his death on the cross. It also discusses consequences for making wrong choices and how to recognize temptation, so that sin can be stopped in its tracks.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
By clearly articulating the gospel, Don’t Blame the Mud helps parents create an environment of confession so kids can own up to their own mistakes—in the freedom of Christ—rather than place the blame elsewhere. Parents, teachers, and caretakers can help children identify with the real-life draw of temptation and the real-life consequences of sin, understanding the value of God’s salvation through the cross. Instead of teaching kids how to deal with a problem, Machowski uncovers the real issue of sin and provides a gospel answer.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Marty Machowski is a Family Life Pastor at Covenant Fellowship Church in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania, where he has served on the pastoral staff for over thirty years. He is the author of The Gospel Story Bible, Long Story Short, Old Story New, the Gospel Story Curriculum, the Prepare Him Room advent devotional and curriculum, Wise Up family devotional and curriculum, Listen Up family devotional and curriculum, Dragon Seed, and The Ology. He and his wife Lois have six children and two grandchildren, and they reside in West Chester, Pennsylvania.
Don't Blame the Mud follows around a little boy named Max. He is coming home from school and remembers his mother's warning to not get his school uniform all dirty. She specifically asked him to come straight home and change before he goes outside to play, but Max sees no harm in going off the beaten path thorough a new trail along the creek. Soon he is hopping on rocks and chasing a frog, doing the complete opposite of what his mother had specifically requested. After all, he thinks there's no harm in it, and since he's not getting dirty how will she ever know? Of course, things take a turn for the worse when Max suddenly falls into a big puddle of mud and finds himself filthy from head to toe. He tries to sneak back home into his room without his parents discovering what he's done, but he is not as clever as he thinks and eventually gets caught.
Even after he washes all of the mud off his body, he still doesn't feel clean. His father reminds him that the feeling he's experiencing is something called guilt. Max then begins to learn a very important lesson on sin and how there really is only one way to be redeemed from it, and it's through Jesus Christ. Max had heard the story of Jesus' death many times before, but this time it had extra special meaning to him given the recent events. He now had a firsthand encounter of why it is so important to resist temptation.
The illustrations are really interesting as they depict this blob of mud (with facial expressions and all) following Max around. While in this instance the story involves an actual mud puddle, the mud also represents sin and how it can come in many forms. It first follows Max around, tempting him to slip up. Once he makes the mistake, the mud trails after him and almost taunts him, reminding him that he had done something wrong. There is a very important lesson to be learned about being accountable for our own actions and why we should resist temptation. I really like how the story's text and illustrations use a more relatable circumstance that younger children are more apt to understand.
There are additional features in the back of the book to help open the door to further discussions between parents and children. These talking points include helping children understand sin and what the Bible says about it, as well as an introduction to the Gospel and how to spread the good news to others. These extra discussions will create a wonderful opportunity for children and even adults to learn what it means to have a repentant heart and turn to Christ for salvation.
Don't Blame the Mud Only Jesus Makes Us Clean is an effective resource that parents can use to help teach their children about sin, conviction, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. | https://www.oureverydayharvest.com/2019/06/only-jesus-makes-us-clean.html |
Love from a Stranger
Misadventure or Adventure Averted?
Love from a Stranger
by Frank Vosper, adapted from Philomel Cottage by Agatha Christie
Fiery Angel in association with Royal and Derngate, Northampton, at Richmond Theatre until 5th May than on tour until 21st July
A Review by Mark Aspen
Adventures are dangerous. If you wish for an adventure be careful: it may become more of an adventure that you had wished for. In Agatha Christie’s Love from a Stranger, the sense of danger mounts with an irrepressible inevitability that makes it almost painful to watch. Then comes the typical Agatha Christie twist and misadventure is averted (or is it mis-averted) as Bluebeard meets Scheherazade. To say more would be a spoiler, for tonight was the Richmond opening of Fiery Angel’s national tour, and it has quite a way to go.
The gestation of the stage play Love from a Stranger was almost as convoluted as an Agatha Christie plot. Originally written in 1924 as a short story Philomel Cottage, it emerged ten years later in The Listerdale Mystery. Agatha Christie then rewrote it as a stage play, but it wasn’t until a further rewrite by actor Frank Vosper that it took off as a theatre hit, firstly in the West End in 1936, then on Broadway a year later. Bizarrely, the play’s pre-war life took a Christie-esque final twist, when Frank Vosper was lost at sea from a trans-Atlantic luxury liner, the SS Paris, apparently slipping into the ocean from the balcony of the room of Muriel Oxford, 1936’s Miss Great Britain, where she was having a party. His body was found near Plymouth a few days later.
Agatha Christie, the “Mozart of murder” was obsessed with the idea of the pathological successful liar, and the one of the two main protagonists of Love from a Stranger, Bruce Lovell, is such a subject, a con-man and much, much, worse. (Note how Agatha Christie drops the clues around: Lovell, “love”-all, is Bruce, the one who waits patiently watching the spider’s web being constructed.)
Friends and flatmates Cecily Harrington and Mavis Wilson are moving house. Things are changing and they are renting out Cecily’s Bayswater flat. Tied to a tedious office job, Cecily’s has been unable enjoy the adventurous life that she craves. Now, Cecily has won a half share of a half share of a £50,000 sweepstake prize. Is it too late? she thinks. That afternoon her fiancé, Michael is arriving from the Sudan, where his colonial duties have now finished, ready for their wedding. Cecily is in a tis-was: she has already suggested postponing the wedding, and confides to Mavis that her relationship with Michael is a “tepid romance”. So when a stranger walks into her flat as prospective tenant, a fast talking charmer with an American accent and tales of worldwide and everywhere adventures, she falls, but … but, he is Bruce Lovell.
Royal and Derngate’s set, designed by Mike Britton, creates the right mood. Sepia with gauze flats, it conveys a sense of claustrophobia, in spite of (or maybe because of) the open vista of the skyscape beyond the wide windows, with its promise of adventure. As the opening of Richard Hammarton’s edgy soundscape, the sudden and abrupt start to the play is startling.
Director Lucy Bailey moves Vosper’s mid 1930s setting to 1958, although it is not obvious why (or why such a precise reference date). However, the precise costumes of the period enhanced the characterisations and the mentions of Wimbledon as “cheap to rent” drew laughter from the audience.
The first half of the play is a slow burn. One quite hoped for a shorter fuse, knowing that the Agatha Christie fireworks were to come. However, this did give a good opportunity to meet and develop the characters other than the two principals, and the three characters we see from Cecily’s life in Bayswater are neatly and accurately drawn. Louise Garrard, Cecily’s Aunt Lulu, is played slightly larger than life and with obvious enjoyment by Nicola Sanderson. The wonderfully jolly-hockeysticks Aunt Lulu reminds us (whilst breaking a “priceless” candlestick) that she is one of The Garrards, who always have great taste. She believes that Harrods is the sine qua non for everything from estate agency to afternoon tea … until trumped by an offer to go to Fortnum and Mason’s. Pecking orders are clearly defined for Aunt Lulu. When Michael Lawrence, the fiancé arrives, we see from his bearing that he is an all-round good egg, upright, smart, with neatly parted and Brylcreem-ed moustache and hair. But Justin Avoth’s Michael is far from being a spoof. We see a man (a man of his time) needing to be in control of his emotions. His frustration and disappointment at being jilted (Aunt Lulu’s word) by his fiancée is palpable and, when confronting the “other man” the officer and a gentleman stiff upper lip wins, in spite of clenched fists. Alice Haig’s portrait of Mavis is well defined, the trustworthy and loyal friend, with intelligent insight and finely tuned intuition that all is not as it might seem. Why, I kept thinking, didn’t Michael go with Mavis when he lost Cecily; two generous characters, they so suit each other? Three spot-on characterisations.
Throughout the first half, the French scenes of the play are marked not only by changes in lighting but by a sideways sliding of part or all of the scenery accompanied by an eerie sound effect. Oliver Fenwick’s lighting plot is mood-enhancing and the whole effect is clearly intended to increase tension, which it well serves. Ingenious as it is, it does seem a little unnecessary and pulls out the slow burn even more. It smacks of aiming for the grand effect of opera, which is perhaps a vestige of Bailey’s operatic directing career.
The tempo is upped in the second half. We are now in a remote cottage in the country in West Sussex. Cecily and Lovell’s romance has been the archetypal whirlwind. A quick trip to Kew Gardens and they are they are engaged within hours; a flip around here and there and married in days.
The Agatha Christie genre demands isolation, but the Sussex cottage doesn’t quite fit this bill. It is a seven shillings and sixpence train journey from London, and unannounced visits thence constantly frustrate Lovell’s plans, translucent to us audience but seemingly opaque to (most) of the characters. Around their apparent marital bliss, Agatha Christie scatters lots of clues for us to see Lovell in his true light: Peeping Tom photography, bottles of hydrogen peroxide secretly hidden, parcels of soft porn, an obsession with sensational murder trials, sniffing of underwear, compulsive notebook keeping, a strangely significant silk stole. Then there is the secret “darkroom”, converted from the cellar, into which dark secrets accumulate.
Three characters we now see in Sussex are also accurately drawn. The local GP, Dr Gribble, and the gardener, Hodgson are both observant, a tutored and an untutored viewpoint each. Their characters are brought into perspective by Crispin Redman and Gareth Williams. Molly Logan plays Ethel, the learner housemaid, cheeky, energetic and playful. Ethel has a natural curiosity, especially about the secret dark room, which piques Lovell. “Curiosity killed the cat”, he reminds her. Logan demonstrates how to play a cameo role and get the most from it without pulling the focus, and with delightful subtlety. Again, three spot-on characterisations.
Sam Frenchum tackles the difficult role of Bruce Lovell with assurance, with all the right hints and flicks towards the hidden character, Lovell’s superficial charm and his manipulative manner. The svelte and willowy Helen Bradbury gives a nuanced portrayal of Cecily Harrington, her breath-taking belief in love-at-first-sight, her discovery of the emotional adventure and then the sudden revelation as the rose tinted spectacles are rudely broken. However, together they don’t seem to get the chemistry quite right. I was not convinced that this level-headed gal would be swept off her feet by a stranger with the corny line, “You have happened to me”. Equally, the sinister sub-consciousness of Lovell didn’t really come over.
Love from a Stranger is one of Agatha Christie’s earlier works and as a stage play much of the plot doesn’t really hold together (although we famously suspend disbelief on entering a theatre), but the Agatha Christie magic really comes out in this play in the ending twist. “Go on and then you will see how precious it will be”, says Lovell of the 9pm reminder in his notebook and Cecily’s alarm bells begin to ring. Suffice it to say, that the twist is unexpected.
Earlier Cecily, hearing a nightingale, says that “The nightingale only sings for lovers”. Ovid tells why: as TS Eliot puts it “The change of Philomel, by the barbarous king so rudely forced”. Barbarian or Bluebeard, this is an adventure too far for Cecily. Is Love from a Stranger a misadventure or an adventure averted? | https://markaspen.com/2018/05/02/love-stranger/ |
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Someone once said that books furnish a room. They also change our lives. We go to books for consolation and companionship, to be transported, moved and entertained, sometimes even to be terrified. The books furnishing our rooms tell the story of our lives and also help us to make sense of them. This is not a work of reference; it doesn't prescribe a canon or tell you how to read. Instead, "1000 Books to Change Your Life" celebrates the transforming power of literature. 50 leading novelists, writers and critics draw the arc of a life lived in books, from birth to death - with Kate Clanchy on motherhood, Ali Smith on reading as a child, and Jonathan Franzen, Jonathan Coe, Nigella Lawson and Sarah Waters on the volumes that changed their lives. This book is a reminder of the difference that books make. Organised around themes inspired by Shakespeare's "Seven Ages of Man", the book ranges from birth to death, taking in topics at all points in between, and covering both fiction and non-fiction, graphic novels as well as literary classics.
Commentaries by Ali Smith, Nigella Lawson, Jonathan Franzen, Sarah Waters, Jonathan Coe, Barney Hoskyns, Amanda Craig and Nicholas Royle, to name a few, are complemented by Top Ten lists chosen by "Time Out's" unrivalled team of critics. Part of the 1,000 series launched with the bestselling 1,000 films to change your life, "1,000 Books" is a similarly inspirational book. | https://boabookstore.com/time-out-1000-books-to-change-your-life |
The Children's Research Network runs a structured research mentoring programme targeted at practitioner researchers and other professionals engaged in research with children and young people outside of academic structures and thus without the same access to support and supervision.
The programme is particularly relevant for early years educators, youth workers, social workers, teachers and research interested professionals working with children, young people and/or families.
If you are interested in becoming a mentor or are looking for someone to mentor you in your research endeavours, please read on, fill in the below expression of interest form and email it to [email protected].
In March 2017, CRN conducted a survey on practitioner research support needs. An important finding in this survey was that practitioners who are interested in engaging with or conducting research often do so under very challenging conditions:
- Engagement with research is often something they have to do outside their normal job and therefore in their own time where there is little support and few resources available
- The majority of practitioners who responded to the survey only felt somewhat supported in their engagement with research, or not at all
- Practitioners experience a lack of confidence in basic research and dissemination skill
- Practitioners see a great benefit in regional opportunities for networking and support
- Practitioners lack people they can share ideas, queries and problems with
- Practitioners communicate a desire to have better link with academic researchers
In the survey, several respondents identified the need for a structured research mentoring programme where practitioners and non-academic researchers can be matched with an experienced researcher or expert who can commit a bit of time to act as a support and advisor to the research mentee. In order to respond to these needs, the Children’s Research Network has created a structured research mentoring programme. This programme has many advantages for both mentees and mentors.
Option 1: Expert research mentor
A mentee is matched with an experienced researcher working in a similar theme or relevant topic who acts as mentor to the mentee.
- The mentoring should involve support with and advice on specific research queries (including research planning, data collection, analysis, report writing, dissemination etc) via face-to-face meetings and/or online via email.
- The CRN’s Special Interest Groups may act as first port of call as a group of expert mentors. Each SIG may identify an appropriate mentor for a mentee or may itself act in a mentoring capacity where appropriate.
- Where SIGs do not exist on an identified topic or theme, individual members of the Network, such as for example Network Ambassadors or other known active members, may act as mentors.
Option 2: Peer research mentoring
A mentee is matched with one or more peers in a similar stage of his/her ‘research career’
- Peer mentors can offer each other support on different aspects of their research and somewhere to bounce ideas off
- Provide networking opportunities
- Collaborate on certain aspects of projects
- Peer mentoring groups can be established such as thematic or geographical communities of learning, consisting of people from different backgrounds conducting research
For both options, it is crucial to the mentoring relationship that it continues over a defined period of time that suits the mentees’ needs.
Benefit to mentors include: | https://childrensresearchnetwork.org/activity/news/new-research-mentoring-programme |
MCC confirms result of global consultation into short-pitched bowling
Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) would like to update its position on the global consultation that launched last year relating to short-pitched deliveries, and if they are fit for the modern game.
MCC can confirm that after extensive research in the area, the outcome is that there will not be a change in Law. However, the Club will continue to be vigilant on this matter and to educate players and officials on the risks of concussion, notably when remaining on the field after a head strike which could be concussive. MCC’s eLearning portal on concussion, located on the Club’s website, will continue to educate players and officials of the risks of concussion.
Research into concussion in sport has increased significantly in recent years and it is appropriate that MCC continues to monitor the Laws on short-pitched bowling, as it does with all other Laws. The Laws currently permit short-pitched bowling up to head height. Anything above head height is a No ball under the Laws.
The Club surveyed the attitudes of stakeholders from all levels to ascertain whether any changes should be made to the Laws. With the number of helmet-strikes on the rise compared to pre-helmet days, the safety aspect of such deliveries will continue to be monitored.
There were other important aspects to consider in the consultation, namely the balance between bat and ball; whether or not concussion should be recognised as a different injury to any other sustained; changes which are specific to particular sectors of the game - e.g. junior cricket; and whether or not lower-order batters should be given further protection than the Laws currently allow.
The results of the consultation suggest that whilst no Law change would be made, the Law as it currently exists – to offer protection to less-skilled batters if deemed necessary – should be exercised if the umpire believes that any batter is at risk of being injured:
Law 41.6 Bowling of dangerous and unfair short-pitched deliveries
- 41.6.1 The bowling of short-pitched deliveries is dangerous if the bowler’s end umpire considers that, taking into consideration the skill of the striker, by their speed, length, height, and direction they are likely to inflict physical injury on him/her. The fact that the striker is wearing protective equipment shall be disregarded.
- 41.6.2 The bowler’s end umpire may consider that the bowling of short-pitched deliveries, although not dangerous under 41.6.1, is unfair if they repeatedly pass above head height of the striker standing upright at the crease.
- 41.6.3 As soon as the umpire decides that the bowling of short-pitched deliveries has become dangerous under 41.6.1, or unfair under 41.6.2, he/she shall call and signal No ball. When the ball is dead, the umpire shall caution the bowler, indicating that this is a first and final warning, and inform the other umpire, the captain of the fielding side and the batters of what has occurred.
This caution shall apply to that bowler throughout the innings.
The existing Laws not only offer protection for batters of lesser ability, but also impose a penalty of a No ball and the removal of the offending bowler from bowling in that innings should the offence be repeated.
Jamie Cox, MCC Assistant Secretary (Cricket and Operations) said: “As with any potential change in the Laws, the key aspect is to ensure that it is appropriate for all levels of the game. The results of the consultation show that short-pitched bowling, within the Laws, is an important part of the makeup of the sport and in fact, to change it would materially change the game.
“However, given that the Laws allow for umpires to intervene should they believe that there is a safety consideration with the batter on strike, we encourage them to use their discretion and ensure that any risk of injury is minimised. | https://www.cricketworld.com/mcc-confirms-result-of-global-consultation-into-short-pitched-bowling/76587.htm |
A big quantity of LLM courses need pupils to accomplish a wide range of modules through the entire program, which relate solely to subject material associated with LLM all together. The pupil will soon be necessary to pass a number that is specific of modules as well as doing a dissertation so that you can graduate. It really is normal for those modules become examined by needing the pupil to complete essay type answers through the program duration.
Almost all students undertaking an LLM may have a lot of fairly current expertise in composing essays at undergraduate degree. While the basic writing procedure could be comparable, the depth needed is a lot greater at Masters degree than may previously have already been necessary.
At undergraduate degree, in the primary, the subject material needed for the conclusion of an essay may have been taught, or at the minimum the pupil could have been pointed https://essay-911.com securely in direction of any research these are typically needed to undertake. In many LLM courses there was inevitably a sum of teaching which occurs, however in basic the courses demand a big level of separate thinking and research through the pupil. Also undergraduate legislation pupils, who will be usually offered practical dilemmas to solve in essays, may be familiar with there being the right response to most of the concerns asked. An amount of practical problem type essay questions to complete, it is likely that the student will be required to present a much more in depth answer to a question which raises issues relating to their area of study and which will require them to draw a conclusion from their research rather than simply get the answer right whilst there may be, in some LLM courses.
The place to start
The approach taken when it comes to conclusion of a LLM essay response varies little at the outset compared to that taken whenever undertaking an essay that is undergraduate. The pupil must decide what the first essay name is asking them to accomplish. It is vital that the answer given is exactly the one required whether it is to solve a problem, demonstrate an in depth knowledge of practice or procedure or discuss a situation relating to a specific point of law.
LLM pupils will soon be needed to show not just a very in level understanding of the location of legislation they have been learning, along with its impact on the areas; they will certainly additionally be needed to show a capacity to perform research that is independent show a level of separate idea within their responses.
Undertaking Research
When finishing an essay that is llm, students will likely to be needed to undertake an important amount of research to find the information and knowledge they might need because of their work. They need to have the ability to show which they are able to find appropriate papers and they have the ability to read these in the context associated with essay name. They need to additionally be in a position to show they are effective at critically analysing the ongoing work of others along with Statute and instance legislation. They have to not just show a close understanding of their industry they have to additionally show a wider knowledge of the implications of the speciality on other components of regulations.
The pupil should draw a list up of areas that must definitely be considered so that you can finish the essay and may methodically research each in change to be able to start to draw possible conclusions with regards to the essay name. It is essential that any extensive research performed is documented completely at this time in order to save time whenever finishing referencing the task. Only if all research that is relevant been undertaken if the student commence to compose the essay. The pupil also needs to bear in mind once they begin to write since further areas of consideration may come to light that it might be necessary to undertake further research.
Starting to Write
Before placing pen to paper, you need to make an idea associated with the structure that is general of essay, including any headings or sub-headings that would be needed. Not only can this help simplify the writing procedure, however it will additionally help explain the student’s arguments or responses in terms of the essay name. This needless to say does work to any or all essays at all scholastic amounts.
Because of the level of real information plus the known amount of information needed for an LLM solution, the pupil ought to be ready to finish lots of draft answers just before publishing their work. It is necessary for the pupil to keep flexible throughout this procedure as well as should really be ready to undertake research that is further any point should it be necessary. Through the entire writing duration the pupil must constantly make sure their response is focussed from the essay title and they are, in reality, nevertheless responding to issue. While the response must certanly be thorough it should additionally be succinct.
On Completion..
When the learning pupil is pleased with this content of the essay solution they have to make certain that it really is comprehensively referenced. Each college has their very own demands for the style and variety of referencing they enable, but all may wish to make sure that the student knows the significance of precision regarding the referencing procedure. Yet again, LLM pupils may have a good familiarity with referencing from their undergraduate studies, however with the more degree of research needed for an essay for a course that is llm will inevitably be a better standard of referencing. The significance of completely documenting research becomes obvious during this period.
Because of ab muscles diverse nature of LLM courses it really is impractical to provide a definitive guide as to just what will be expected whenever undertaking the writing of an essay when it comes to LLM. As a whole pupils can get their essay games to resemble, in certain respects, those they have finished at undergraduate degree nevertheless the degree of level of real information and research needed are quite a bit greater than at an undergraduate degree. | https://www.iicc.ng/essaywriter-2/writing-a-masters-law-essay-our-professional-2/ |
Bonamici Stands for Students and Affordable, Accessible Higher Education During Update of Federal Policies
WASHINGTON, DC [12/13/17] — Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), a leader on the Education and the Workforce Committee, stood up against efforts in that committee to roll back federal higher education policies that support low-income students. She also strongly opposed efforts to reduce accountability of unscrupulous for-profit institutions and to remove consumer protections for defrauded students who attended them.
During the 13-hour markup of partisan legislation to reauthorize the Higher Education Act, Bonamici offered many amendments to make higher education more accessible and affordable, and to preserve and enhance consumer protections for individuals with student loans.
“Education is one of the best investments our country can make,” said Bonamici. “This hastily written, partisan bill will make college more expensive for low-income students and working families, undermine consumer protections for student loan borrowers, and put the interests of unscrupulous for-profit institutions ahead of students and working families. I worked my way through community college, which opened doors and created opportunities for me. I want students in Oregon and around the country to have the same chance to succeed and to reach for a better future.”
Bonamici offered the following amendments during the markup of the Promoting Real Opportunity, Success, and Prosperity through Education Reform (PROSPER) Act:
- Streamline loan repayment and make all loans eligible for income-driven repayment plans, maintain strong consumer protections to protect vulnerable student loan borrowers from default, and reestablish the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program and the Direct Loan program.
- Reinstate the Perkins Loan Program and the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, and update the Federal Work Study program to better meet the needs of students.
- Restore protections for victims of sexual violence on campus and give students and families accurate information about sexual assault, domestic violence, and stalking on college campuses.
- Direct the Departments of Education and Veterans Affairs to make sure the bill will not increase fraud and abuse directed at student veterans.
Additionally, Bonamici spoke in support of amendments by her colleagues to improve provisions in the bill relating to supporting students with disabilities, protecting civil rights, increasing Pell Grant awards, improving apprenticeship programs, addressing the opioid crisis on college campuses, making community college free for qualifying students, supporting foster and homeless youth in college, and protecting Dreamers.
Bonamici is an outspoken advocate for student loan borrowers and has called on Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to “stop putting the interest of for-profit colleges over interests of students.” Bonamici has introduced stand-alone bills to help struggling student loan borrowers avoid default, assist college-bound students with disabilities, and boost apprenticeships. | https://bonamici.house.gov/media/press-releases/bonamici-stands-students-and-affordable-accessible-higher-education-during |
While the other book used is useful for providing an account of what happened at the beginning of the decade, this book is able to look at police brutality throughout the 1990s and how the earlier events impacted the later ones. Journal Articles Matheson, Victor A., and Robert A. Baade. “Race and Riots: A Note on the Economic Impact of the Rodney King Riots.” Urban Studies, vol. 41, no. 13, 2004, pp.
Marc Mauer is one of the country’s most renowned and reputable experts on policy and the criminal justice system. After earning his bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Stony Brook and his Masters in Social Work from the University of Michigan, Mauer further pursued his career in the field of criminal justice for over 20 years. Gaining prestige from his authored editorials, reports, and novels, Mauer’s works are some of the most widely cited in his field. Works such as “Young black men and the criminal justice system,” “Americans behind bars,” and a report he drafted in 1995 concerning racial disparity in the criminal justice system captured the attention of many intellectuals worldwide. In addition to composing written
Problems in our justice system Although many believe that all criminals belong in jail there are a number of kids that are tried as a adult. Basically they get sent sent to a jail with adults. Research shows that children that are incarracted develop mental illness and suicidal thoughts. Children aren't the only ones who have this issue, adults have it also. The justice system has completely failed us.
Victims, Victimization and Victimology: A Socio-Legal Study Dr. (Mrs.) Ravidankaur R. Karnani Assist. Professor & I/c. Principal, Law College, Palanpur [email protected], 7990980278 Abstract For many decades, the victim was the forgotten party in the criminal justice system as the main focus was that the perpetrator of a crime should be punished. But the victims of crimes stand poised equally in the scales of justice as the victim is not a passive object but an active component of the whole judicial process. The victim deserves similar level of protection and attention from the court like that of an accused i.e.
While the test subjects did in fact consent to the experiment via documents, they developed this false understanding through the experiment that they could not leave at any time, that “there was no way out”. During this time period, there were no existing laws that this experiment violated but it did pave the way for several to be introduced. For example, in the consent form it stated that the prisoners would not experience physical harm, but several days later they were brutally beaten by the guards. A few scenarios such as this one would be considered illegal with today’s legal system. One law that was created after this required federal prisons to separate minors awaiting trial from adults to avoid them suffering from abuse.
This is the first and foremost reason why criminalization doesn 't work. Different countries have tried different approaches to dealing with prostitution, from full criminalization, to allowing street work but not brothels, and making it illegal to buy sex but not to sell it.
The sexual intercourse must be under circumstances falling under any of the six clauses of the section. After laying down the essential ingredients of rape the Section goes on to state that, sexual intercourse by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under fifteen years of age, is not rape. As per Section 376 A of the Indian Penal Code, the instances wherein the husband can be criminally prosecuted for an offence of marital rape are as under: 1. When the wife is between 12 – 15 years of age, punishable offence; 2. When the wife is below 12 years of age, punishable offence; 3.
Crime is basically an action that is forbidden by law. These transgressions against certain sec's or genders, at one point in time, left the victims powerless. Today, as we speak there are still many of these issues that are not rectified. In this interview, I intend to relay the perspective of crime victim rights and its history trough the words of my interviewee. Interviewee Keith O'Rear This is the response from Keith O'Rear on his view point on Crime Victim Rights history and its present state.
Personally, I do not think that a person shall be sentenced to death regardless of how bad the crime is. The government is not morally fit to make the decision to take someones’ life away, but they can put the person in prison if the judge is convinced the person did the crime. The decisions being made are not always going to be correct. What if the person being accused is totally innocent and they have already served plenty years in prison? Should there be reparations for the person who was wrongfully accused?
The role of a criminal psychologist is not just to use their expertise to figure out the mind of a criminal, but it is also used for understanding, developing and improving the life of the people they deal with. When a person commits a crime that the police cannot fully understand or handle, they can call in the help of a criminal psychologist. Different methods of solving and understanding a situation can be used. Criminal psychologists are involved in many parts of the legal process, whether its interviews, assessments, therapy or prison life, they can have a huge input on a case. Example; a man is struggling with a divorce, his kids have no time for him now that his ex-wife hates him.
The Impact of Miranda V. Arizona When the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the prosecution could not introduce Miranda’s confession during trial because the police had failed to inform the suspect of his right to have an attorney present and that he did not have to incriminate himself, the impact the ruling would have on the entire U.S. judicial system was only beginning to become clear. The court said that police are compelled by the U.S. Constitution’s Fifth and Sixth Amendments to make sure suspects know they are not compelled to be a witness against him or herself, and that they have a right to have a lawyer present during questioning (McBride, 2006). The Court further held that ‘without proper safeguards the process of in-custody interrogation of persons suspected or accused of crime contains inherently compelling pressures
The current law for asbestos related illness is that Prior to the test case of Bernie Banton the laws weren’t so friendly for those who were victims. The laws stated that the individual suffering from Asbestos related illness can only claim once for damages, which meant that if in the future they were diagnosed with asbestos related sickness they cannot pursue for further compensation. With this law it disadvantaged many victims suffering from asbestos first hand and those who were in relation to the victims. It prevented many people from taking legal actions because they could only claim once and if there was a further impact nothing could be done. If there were any further effects, since they had no right to compensate further it may people would have difficulty going on with their lives with all the hospital bills, general home bills, and added debit.
Being faced with a criminal charge like driving under the influence can be extremely troubling. In addition to costly fines and penalties, those charged also run the risk of losing their licenses and possible jail time. A skilled DUI attorney is vital to mitigating the ill-effects of a drunk driving charge, which is why James F. Bogen, Attorney at Law remains a vital resource to clients all over Cincinnati. Experience is an important part of securing a reliable criminal attorney. To this end, James F. Bogen affords over ten years of experience in the field, including numerous cases involving driving under the influence.
Both, the Uniform Crime Report and the National Crime Victimization Survey addresses how we should shape policies yearly. Throughout the UCR report, crime index offenses are the ones being reported such as violent crimes of murder and non-negligent manslaughter, robbery, forcible rape, arson and etc. The crime report itself involves around 17,000 law enforcement agencies reporting yearly. Not to Mention, one of the differences between the two, is that the UCR reports crimes known to the police which is why the NCVS crime report was created to allow the statistics to be more accurate by allowing victim citizens to anonymously mention their crime experiences that were not reported to the police. The fact that both, provide us with crime statistics
My double major in Criminal Justice & Law, Politics, and Society has directed me into a career in law enforcement and perhaps law school in the future. I want to be immersed in the law enforcement field. I want to understand our criminal justice system as a whole. My interests are white collar crime, investigations, and drug crimes. I would like to acquire the skills to become an outstanding law enforcement officer in the future and cultivate those connections that can help me move my career forward. | https://www.ipl.org/essay/Criminal-Justice-Model-F34QZ7QBG5PT |
gen•e•sis n, : "the origin or coming into being of something"
DESIGN APPROACH - Continued
INTERIOR DESIGN
Selection of materials and finishes provides continuity of design transitioning from the exterior
of the building to the interior. Interior design services provide the building aesthetics while
coordinating furnishings, selection of materials and finishes, interior detailing, fixtures, lighting
and equipment. Client interaction during this phase of design is critical to achieve the
established design objectives.
BIDDING
The bid phase begins when completed Construction Documents have been issued to
contractors to prepare their bids. The project manager and/or project architect assigned to the
project will be available to answer questions from contractors and their subs. A pre-bid
conference is typically conducted to allow all contractors an opportunity to familiarize
themselves with the project and ask any clarifying questions to better interpret the drawings
and specifications. A public bid letting is held and bids are reviewed with Owner. Assistance
is provided tot eh Owner to help qualify the low bidder.
CONSTRUCTION ADMINISTRATION
Architects are responsible to make periodic visits to the project site to observe that construction
meets the requirements spelled out in the drawing and specifications. Job progress
meetings, involving the owner's representative, general contractor, subcontractors, project
architect and design team consultants, will be held bi-weekly or as necessary for progress
reviews. The architect also maintains quality control through timely shop drawing reviews,
project coordination, and on-site observation during construction. | http://gendsn.com/DesignApproach-Page3.html |
While seeking to become a receptionist it can be quite confusing for students to decide upon the exact education that best fits their career goals. In this blog, we have tried to explain the right academic training that you should apply to become a receptionist in no time.
Who is a Receptionist?
As a receptionist, your primary tasks are to answer multi-line phone systems, welcome visitors and at times take payment for services. You could find employment in the healthcare sector, government office, industries, small business or corporation. The job duties might also include filing, faxing, copying, distributing mail and maintaining pantry areas.
You will likely be asked to execute a variety of needed tasks, including composing correspondence, preparing mail-outs and arranging appointments and meetings. You may also coordinate travel arrangements for executives, as well as draft expense reports post business trips.
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Education and training requirements for Receptionist
While a few business entities might look for receptionists with some type of postsecondary education, while others will simply require you to have a basic degree, like a high school diploma. Many organisations provide on-the-job training, but to grab this opportunity, you are expected to have some prior experience in handling office and computer systems.
If you do not already possess these skills, you must invest time in taking clerical training programmes. These courses are taught both online and offline, usually providing training on typing, data entry and advanced functions of popular Microsoft office software packages. This will further give your resume a boost in a competitive job market
Skills you should have as a receptionist
A receptionist often gives the first impression when a client arrives at a company, so you are expected to be professional, well-spoken, courteous and well-dressed. You must exude good interpersonal communication and organisational skills, and be adept at pronunciation, spelling, grammar and composition.
Many organisations require receptionists to have a good level of typing and data entry skills, along with a basic understanding of digital systems. These skills will be required to complete duties related to word processing, excel sheet operations, and e-mail management. You may also require to develop an understanding of desktop publishing and accounting programmes. Additionally, some companies may even need you to undergo training you learn their personal software, like a programme specific to their industry.
You can also choose to certify yourself as a professional receptionist. If you wish to be designated as a certified professional receptionist can go ahead to providing required proof of experience, continuing higher education and references to an association of professional receptionists, accredited by the government. You can also choose to become certified in specialised computer skill levels or technologies, such as those offered by multinational corporates.
Improve your career prospects with receptionist course in Dublin, and experience the best training or certification programmes that are available for becoming a receptionist. Apply soon. | https://www.entrancezone.com/admissions/what-kind-of-education-do-you-need-to-be-a-receptionist/ |
I have worn glasses since the age of 12, so I have grown up going to the optometrist.
I got my first job in optics as an optical assistant at the age of 17. It gave me an insight into the profession before I made my university choice and helped me decide to pursue a career in optics.
When I was looking for a pre-reg placement, it was really important to me to have a clinical placement where I could develop my skills.
I did not want to just spend the year solely focused on passing the final professional assessments. I was lucky to get a hospital placement at the Oxford Eye Hospital – it was one of the best things that happened to me early on in my career. I was exposed to so many different areas of optometry, including specialist contact lens fittings, low vision and paediatric eye care, as well as ophthalmology clinics.
I had always wanted my own practice…However, I wanted to develop my clinical skills and gain experience first so that I would have good grounding to building a practice that delivered outstanding clinical care
After completing my pre-reg year, I applied to do medicine and had an offer to go to Bristol.
However, I deferred it for a year and in the end, after much thought, declined the offer. I decided to continue with optometry as I could see that there were lots of areas of the profession that I would enjoy, especially working with children, specialist contact lenses and running my own business.
After qualifying I split my time between Oxford Eye Hospital and primary care community practice.
It was great to get an insight of how a practice is run. I had worked in a variety of practices, from those with very basic equipment that had not invested in new equipment in decades, to practices with the latest technology. This experience made it apparent what I would do if I owned my practice in order to deliver the best standards of care I could.
I had always wanted my own practice from quite early on in my career.
However, I wanted to develop my clinical skills and gain experience first so that I would have a good foundation to build a practice that delivered outstanding clinical care. I met Sachin Patel, my business partner and fellow optometrist, in my pre-reg year when we were both doing evening clinics at the Institute of Optometry. We clicked because we were like-minded and would discuss owning a practice together in order to share the huge responsibility that this comes with.
In 2019 the Hammond & Parker team won the AOP Awards Optical Team of the Year accolade.
We didn’t expect to win and were so surprised when we were announced winners. The whole team was so happy and excited. It was a wonderful sense of achievement for the whole team.
Throughout the customer journey at Parker & Hammond we want our interaction with our patients to be as natural as possible and really deliver the service that they want in a friendly, professional manner.
We treat our patients in the same way we would like to be treated if we were on the other side
We listen to why they have come to see us and address their problems. When appropriate, we offer our patients vision solutions that enhance their daily lives and discuss any specific visual requirements they may have. We ensure there is good communication when patients are handed over from one member of staff to another and service is centred around the patient’s needs. It works well because we treat our patients in the same way we would like to be treated if we were on the other side.
Having a team of staff that share our vision to be the best is first and foremost when it comes to meeting and exceeding patient expectations.
We invest in staff training to ensure that we all continue to develop and move forward. We work to be better tomorrow than we are today in order to raise the bar every day. At Parker & Hammond we have an ethos of putting the needs of the patients first and ensuring we deliver outstanding clinical care to all our patients. We invest in technologies that we feel will make a positive difference to the care that we can deliver and always try and remain at the forefront of new developments. We also offer a range of services outside of standard eye examinations, which helps to differentiate our practice.
In terms of next steps, having been named the AOP Awards 2020 Contact Lens Practitioner of the Year, I want to continue to develop the practice’s contact lens business.
In the near future I also want to further my knowledge by embarking on independent prescribing.
- As told to Emily McCormick. | https://www.aop.org.uk/ot/in-practice/career-development/2020/03/19/putting-the-patient-first-and-foremost |
Mandatory rotation not among UK regulator’s proposed audit reforms
Mandatory audit firm rotation was not among the measures the UK Competition Commission (CC) proposed Monday to promote competition in the statutory audit services market.
But the CC did include mandatory tendering every five years for the UK’s largest companies in its proposal, a significant shift from the ten-year retendering period UK Financial Reporting Council (FRC) rules currently require. The FRC’s ten-year retendering rule includes a “comply or explain” provision that provides some flexibility, but the CC proposal does not include a “comply or explain” provision.
Tendering is the process by which a company opens its audit to bidding by audit firms that seek a contract to perform the audit work.
A summary of the CC’s provisional decision on changes for the statutory audit services market in the UK was posted Monday on the CC’s website.
The full provisional decision will be published shortly, with comments invited at [email protected] through August 13th. The CC is required to publish its final report by October 20th.
The proposed changes are intended to improve the bargaining power of companies, encourage rivalry between audit firms, enhance the influence of audit committees and promote shareholder engagement in the audit process, according to the CC.
Although the proposed measures may be affected by measures the EU is discussing, the CC is proceeding with its own proposal because the EU has not yet produced any definitive proposals, the CC said in a news release.
A draft law that would require public-interest entities to rotate audit firms every 14 years – a period that could be extended to every 25 years if certain safeguards are put into place – was approved by a European Parliament committee in April but has to go through several more steps before it becomes law.
The main measures proposed for the UK by the CC are:
- Requiring FTSE 350 companies to put their statutory audit engagement out to tender at least every five years; in exceptional circumstances, this obligation may be deferred by up to two years. The measure would come into full effect after a transitional period of five years.
- Mandating review of every audit engagement in the FTSE 350 every five years, on average, by the FRC’s Audit Quality Review (AQR) team. Audit committees would be required to report to shareholders on the findings of any AQR report concluded on the company’s audit engagement during the reporting period.
- An annual review and report on the larger “Mid Tier” firms by the AQR team.
- A prohibition of clauses in loan documentation that limit a company’s choice of auditor, such as “Big-Four-only” clauses.
- Requiring a shareholders’ vote on whether audit committee reports in company annual reports contain enough information.
- Measures to strengthen the accountability of the external auditor to the audit committee and reduce the influence of management. These would include a stipulation that only the audit committee is permitted to negotiate and contract audit fees and the scope of audit work, initiate tender processes, recommend appointment of auditors and authorise the external audit firm to perform non-audit services.
- Amending the FRC’s articles of association to include a secondary objective to have due regard for competition.
Although mandatory audit firm rotation was a measure the CC explored, it was not part of the proposal. The CC also decided against proposing requirements for:
- Further constraints on audit firms providing non-audit services.
- Joint audits.
- Shareholder or FRC responsibility for auditor reappointment.
- Independently resourced risk and audit committees.
Laura Carstensen, who chairs the CC’s Audit Market Investigation Group, called the set of proposed measures “comprehensive” and said they will benefit shareholders by making the statutory audit market more responsive to their needs.
“More frequent tendering will ensure that companies make regular and well-informed assessments of whether their incumbent auditor is competitive and will open up more opportunities for other firms to compete,” she said. “A more dynamic, contestable market will reduce the dangers that come with overfamiliarity and long, unchallenged tenures.”
Although mandatory audit firm rotation remains under consideration by the EU, the CC’s decision represents a second setback in two weeks for firm rotation requirements. The US House of Representatives on July 8th approved a bipartisan bill that would prohibit the US Public Company Accounting Oversight Board from requiring mandatory audit firm rotation for public companies.
The bill would have to be approved by the US Senate and signed by President Barack Obama to become law. But American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) President and CEO Barry Melancon, CPA, CGMA, said the House vote would help relieve a mistaken impression in Europe that a mandatory firm rotation requirement is imminent in the United States.
The AICPA has opposed mandatory audit firm rotation, saying it would carry significant costs and could hinder audit quality. The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) also opposes mandatory audit firm rotation.
“We wrote to the Competition Commission recommending that they did not progress with plans for mandatory rotation of audit firms and welcome the news that these plans have been shelved,” CIMA Head of Corporate Reporting Policy Nick Topazio, ACMA, CGMA, said in a statement. “Nevertheless, we do acknowledge public concern over the length of time that some companies have used the same audit firm and conclude that the greater transparency that a regular tendering process would deliver would be beneficial in alleviating these fears.”
The FRC issued a statement that also expressed agreement with the omission of mandatory rotation from the proposal. But the FRC also expressed concerns over other proposed measures and their costs.
“We have previously urged the Commission to respect the ten-year audit tendering cycle introduced to the Corporate Governance Code in 2012 and to give that time frame the opportunity to prove itself,” the FRC said. “The Commission’s proposed five-year cycle for tendering also removes ‘comply or explain’ in this respect, which is a central tenet of the UK Corporate Governance Code.”
—Ken Tysiac ([email protected]) is a CGMA Magazine senior editor. | https://www.fm-magazine.com/news/2013/jul/20138388.html |
What do i need to start investing in the stock market
In addition to investing directly by buying shares in the stock market, there are also other ways to note: How much do you need to start investing in stocks? 27 Jul 2011 There are several things that investors should be aware of before committing any money to the stock market. "As a starting point, you need to 11 Mar 2016 What are you trying to get out of investing in the stock market? That's the only question you need to ask to determine your strategy. Some people 19 Dec 2006 Thinking about taking your first steps in the world of stocks and shares? Jo Tura shows you how to start investing. 24 Feb 2020 If you're a beginner to the stocks and you don't know how to invest, we are here to help These budget aim to outperform the market. there are lots of stock to invest, but for that you need all attention for stocks and you need How to Invest in Stocks: A Step-by-Step for Beginners ...
26 Feb 2020 When the stock market shudders a few days in a row, it is tempting to do We invest in stocks because doing so has consistently proved to be a good Owning a big basket of stocks and paying very little for the privilege, say
How to Start Investing (with Pictures) - wikiHow Mar 31, 2011 · To start investing, buy some undervalued stocks in companies that you're familiar with and understand. Then, hold onto the stocks until they're worth more and sell them to make a profit! Try to invest a little bit in a lot of companies as opposed to investing all of your money in one company so that you're not risking losing your whole investment. Things to Consider Before Investing in Stock Market If stock market swings make you anxious, you might need to rethink your investing strategy. Should the portfolios of older investors include stocks, and if so, what percentage? The issue comes up every time stock prices wobble or fall. If you're in your 70s or 80s, how safe does your money have to A Brief Guide for Beginners to Start Investing in the ... 1 day ago · Thus, many people tend to be skeptical about investing in the stock market, and rightly so. How to Start Investing. As much as one would want the process to be one that is hassle-free, this is generally not the case due to the nature of the stock market. Many people begin investing on their own. How to Start Investing With $100 | Investing 101 | US News
May 13, 2016 · These days, you only need $5 to start investing thanks to new apps. CNNMoney explains how to get going with your stocks and bonds.
30 Mar 2020 This is what you hear about on the nightly news – the stock market goes up or If you want to start investing, we recommend opening a Roth or 13 Jan 2020 Taking your first steps. Before you start trading in the stock market, it is important to understand why you are investing and what you expect to 23 Mar 2020 There is also an option to select funds that have a $0 initial and $0 subsequent investment requirement. This means that you can start investing 31 Jan 2020 When you invest in exchange traded funds (ETFs) made up of stock — you're essentially owning fractional shares. Exchange traded funds are 13 May 2016 There are roughly 2,400 stocks traded on the New York Stock Exchange alone. The easiest option is to buy what's known as an ETF (an
16 Sep 2019 When young professionals first start investing in the stock market, there are two “How much money do I need to start investing in stocks?
The Ultimate Guide to Dividends and Dividend Investing
But once you know the basics of stock market investing, you have what you need to begin. Below we outline the fundamentals to help you get going. What are
How Much Money Do You Need To Start Investing In Stocks? | https://tradingxhym.web.app/baskins33872puw/what-do-i-need-to-start-investing-in-the-stock-market-1386.html |
It’s been a tough 4 months! Back in March I returned from my holiday early at the start of a global pandemic. Coronavirus was certainly a shock to many and grounded travellers worldwide. It kept many of us stuck in our homes under what felt like house arrest! Since March, we have been on lockdown for most of the time here in Liverpool, with periods of complete self-isolation too due to my asthma. Things are slowly getting back to normal, but no doubt about it, there will be challenges for both us and our dogs! So what post lockdown dog training do you need to consider?
Post Lockdown Challenges for Dogs
During Lockdown, there will have been certain changes that your dog will have started to get used to. As lovely as it is to enjoy more time working from home and cuddling our furry friends, this is itself will pose a challenge. Our pooches have probably got used to having us around. I realised that this was the case when Blake started to cry the second I closed the front door – and this was only after popping to the corner shop!
There’s also the change in routine – if your dog is now used to having you at home but soon you have to return to work, your dog will NOT like this! Where are my humans? He might be asking himself!
Additionally, not many visitors will have been coming to your home over the last few months and so your dog might be more defensive of visitors to the home when coming out of lockdown.
A final challenge for your dog will be that socialisation (with people and other dogs) may have been minimal. Perhaps you were attending dog training classes or clubs that had to be cancelled? Perhaps you had to stop walking with your best human and canine friends temporarily? If your dog was attending doggy daycare or puppy socialisation, this may also have been cancelled?
Post Lockdown Dog Training Tips
Separation Anxiety
To help your dog to get used to being left alone again start by taking short trips to the corner shop or short walks around the block. You can then build this up to half an hour or an hour, before returning to a more normal schedule of maybe going out to work or leaving your dog for 3-4 hours at a time.
To help with the separation anxiety, let him go in the same areas of the house that he usually goes in – this will ensure that the situation doesn’t feel too different.
You could also consider getting some games and tasty treats to refocus your dog while you are gone. I recommend smearing a licky mat with his favourite wet dog food and freezing it and also hiding some of his favourite treats in Nina Ottosson dog puzzles.
If you want to try some extra special home made treats you can make your own liver cake for dogs and then hide the treats inside cardboard boxes for him to hunt and find while you are out!
Visitors to the Home
Visitors may now be scary for your dog because he hasn’t experienced visitors to the home for a while. Avoid letting your dog bark and jump up at people at the door. Instead shut your dog in the place he usually sleeps with a licky mat or puzzle to keep him occupied. You can invite your visitors in to sit down and only when they are sitting comfortably let the dog in to say hello. If these visitors are still scary for your dog, you can arm them with treats so that they bond with your dog.
Routine Change
To get your pooch used to a normal working routine again it is a good idea to start the routine back up again before you have to. For example, if you are due to go back into work in a week or two, start that routine up now with the normal time of walkies and food. He will start to get used to the timing of things before you are back in the workplace. Otherwise, if you start going back to work without any preparation, it may come as a big shock to your dog. You could also consider a friend or dog walker popping in to see your pooch the first few days that you are back working.
Socialisation
If your dog seems more reactive since lockdown, I really recommend clicker training. It’s a positive reinforcement method – you click and treat the dog every time he sees something scary such as another dog or bark and it starts to reassure him that it’s ok and even something positive.
You can also reinforce his basic obedience when out on a walk to reinforce his previous training (sit, down and stay).
If you have been missing socialisation or training classes, now is a good time to get back into them. We started the lead manners classes up again with Blake this Saturday – he was certainly more barky! But, remember to be kind to yourself and your pooch – coming out of lockdown i a big thing, so look at the positives and expect behaviour to be challenging, but give them the benefit of the doubt. They probably haven’t been for 3 months or more and so in that respect they are probably doing well!
One thing to note is that since lockdown began in the UK< puppy prices have shot through the roof with people asking up to 3/4 times the usual price. Read my article on the extortionate puppy prices during lockdown to find out more on this issue.
If you enjoyed this article on post lockdown dog training you might also like to read about 10 cool dog tricks to teach your pooch! | https://patterdaleterriers.co.uk/post-lockdown-dog-training/ |
Safety Pharmacology assessments have been a required component of the IND submission package since 2001 per ICH guidelines S7A/B. These studies are designed to tease out the potential for adverse events of clinically relevant doses on vital organ systems prior to commencing “first in human” clinical trials. The three vital organ systems in this scenario are the central nervous system (CNS), the cardiovascular system (CV) and the respiratory system. These studies usual commence once the subchronic toxicology investigations are underway using information from discovery and MTD/DRF studies to help select dose levels. The primary reason these studies are ideally conducted as standalone investigations, as opposed to regular inclusion in toxicology studies, is two-fold; dose selection and control of the experimental environment. Dose level selection for Safety Pharmacology studies is important as the range of doses should not exceed those producing mild to moderate toxicity following acute administration, ideally encompassing, and exceeding the primary pharmacodynamic/therapeutic range. Any overt toxic effects will most likely mask the subtle investigative nature of the Safety Pharmacology study endpoints which can confuse data interpretation. A controlled study environment includes limiting the number of test systems under investigation (compared to the numbers utilized in toxicology investigations), and laboratory activities (e.g., limiting extraneous noise, excessive entering and exiting the room, etc.).
The Attentive Science team have many years of experience in the field of Safety Pharmacology and many are recognized as experts. The core group’s experience was gained during their many years of tenure at European companies where they conducted GLP General Pharmacology studies (the forerunner to what we now know as Safety Pharmacology) for compounds entering the Japanese market from the mid-1980’s. This group were pioneers in offering GLP contract research services when the ICH S7 guidelines were introduced in 2001 and have been responsible for training many globally recognized Safety Pharmacology scientists.
The information collected from these studies are critical in the clinician’s goal of protecting their volunteers in Phase 1 trials. The results of Safety Pharmacology studies do not necessarily mean that development of a compound will cease. Knowledge of even mild side effects can help in ensuring the safety of the trial patients by allowing the clinical team to consider the potential for translation into humans when designing clinical studies. For example, our team conducted an in vivo cardiovascular safety pharmacology study that demonstrated a dose related “mild” hypotensive responses at clinically relevant doses. The clinical team were aware of this and were able to warn patients about possible hypostatic responses when getting out of bed. You do not want to see anyone pass out and injure themselves!
Our team have the experience and knowledge to enable you to make the best choices in Safety Pharmacology study design and help with the smooth progress of your compound through drug development and your IND submission. | https://www.attentivescience.com/blog/attentive-blog-1/post/safety-pharmacology-at-attentive-science-21 |
Truvision Targa images sometimes have VDA extension instead the usual TGA. So any program that supports both TGA and WBMP (Wireless Bitmap Image format) files can convert them between each other. Some programs even support the VDA file type, so this can make it even easier. All in all, this should be no problem at all.
Home > Search converters: vda to wbmp
Conversion of vda file format to wbmp file format beta
Search for vda to wbmp converter or software able to handle these file types.
Found 2 different conversion types using the same filename extensions.
Conversion vda to wbmp type 1:
Convert from CAD VDA-FS data exchange format to Wireless Bitmap image.
Microsoft Windows software - convert vda to wbmp on Windows
PolyTrans|CAD+DCC
A 3D CAD translation software
File extension
File type (from-> to)
Convert
Open
Save
Edit
Create
Import
Export
Extract
Convert from vda file
CAD VDA-FS data exchange format
|No||No||No||No||No||Yes||No||No|
to wbmp file
Wireless Bitmap image
|No||No||No||No||No||Yes||Yes||No|
The tables with software actions are a good pointer for what a certain program does with various file types and often may give users a good hint how to perform certain file conversion, for example the above-mentioned vda to wbmp. However, it is not perfect and sometimes can show results which are not really usable because of how certain programs work with files and the possible conversion is thus actually not possible at all.
Additional links: Open vda file, Open wbmp file
Back to conversion search
Conversion vda to wbmp type 2:
Convert from Truevision Targa bitmap image to Wireless Bitmap image. | https://www.file-extensions.org/convert-vda-to-wbmp |
Standard sized food scoops or ice cream scoops are used to serve specific-sized portions. Browse our Chart of standard portion food-scoop sizes with equivalent ounces.
Standard sized food scoops or ice cream scoops are used to serve specific-sized portions. Recipes for schools, restaurants and other commercial establishments refer to these standard scoops. The chart below shows the various scoop sizes and their equivalent measurements in terms of ounces.
You should note that the scoop size may vary (by tenth's of an ounce) from brand to brand.
Look for portion scoops in well-stocked kitchen shops or find them online. They can also be found in restaurant supply stores. We've listed some sources for your convenience.
Portion scoops are handy kitchen tools. Use them for measuring out anything where you want to obtain a consistent size. | https://www.gourmetsleuth.com/articles/detail/portion-scoop-equivalents |
Sophie Ryder was born in London, England, in 1963. During her childhood, her French mother travelled to Provence in the south of France where the family spent the entire summer. She studied Combined Arts at the Royal Academy of Arts where, while obtaining her diploma in painting, she was encouraged by fellow artist to develop her sculpture. Inspired by Picasso, Goya and Henry Moore, she famously developed the Lady Hare as a counterpart to Ancient Greek mythology's Minotaur. Ryder's world is one of mystical creatures, animals and hybrid beings made from sawdust, wet plaster, old machine parts and toys, weld joins and angle grinders, wire 'pancakes', torn scraps of paper, charcoal sticks and acid baths. These art objects are direct products of her working methods, and as such they have an inherent fascination - people are naturally intrigued by unusual processes.
It is still necessary, however, to see beyond them and recognise that the materials are a means to an end: the communication of ideas. They lie at the centre of all the artist's creations, and they are fed by a spring that never runs dry. Indeed, the ideas emerge so quickly that she never has enough time to implement all of them. The ability to retrieve and develop an idea will depend not only on how other projects are progressing, but also on the resolution of any technical hurdles she may have set herself, especially in relation to her larger sculptures.
Contact the gallery for more information (212 717 9100). | https://www.waterhousedodd.com/exhibitions/Ryder_NewYork |
Culture leading to a rapture,
Poetry leading to clarity,
As words melt steel swords,
Relations lead to strong connections~
Cultures abound through this world sometimes more than the different countries. In one city there can be more cultures than there are counties. Depending on where one goes, what one listens to, and the philosophies one takes upon their own self, culture can become both mixed and singular. Relations between such everchanging phenomena can be difficult to bring together. Especially when factors such as language and mannerisms intermingle with one another. However, poetry is a way in which to cross these sometimes intangible boundaries that have tangible effects.
These past two weeks I chaperoned a group of university students from Tokyo at Harvard University. One of the cultural items that the students are surprised that people abroad knew, was the short-form Japanese poem. Formally known as haiku, these three-lined poems often represent emotions, history, and culture in a brief, concise and powerful manner. A well-known haiku tells of a frog that jumped into a pond. Albeit that the imagery of nature is simplistic, the meaning within the lines is descriptive and telling of deeper connotations. Whether it be lost love symbolized by a leaf floating on a river. Or the changing of a person's temperament like the fluctuations of the seasons, haiku speak of tales despite their shortness of length.
When I brought up that I am fond of haiku to the students, they were quite surprised and began to ask me which poetry collections I am knowledgeable of. They named such famous haiku writers such as Matsuo Basho, as well as poetry collections such as the manyoushu and the hyakuninisshu. When I told them I had been to a historical town in the Japanese countryside to see the manyoushu cultural center, they were taken aback. From that point onward, we began to relate to many elements of Japanese culture. Admittedly, topics such as history and science, or theatre and fine arts could lead us to similar places of understanding. However, poetry is unique in its sense of communication as well as how different its form is from one culture to another. Certainly, the history of one country is not the same as another. However, I think it noteworthy to point out that, as history has a timeline and a procedural element to it, poetry, though called poetry throughout all its variants, is often quite different in form and function throughout different cultures. Hence, when one comes to become aware of another culture's poetry, it is a sign of respect and intellect. A step toward each other on a bridge betwixt cultures. | https://www.peacinstitute.org/intercultural_relations_through_poetry |
The chairman of the United Kingdom Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has signed a letter warning of the “complexity and uncertainty” that could follow Britain’s exit from the European Union (EU). MHRA Chairman Sir Michael Rawlins joined with more than 90 other members of the British biopharma industry to issue the statement.
In the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) letter, Rawlins and his cosignatories, who include the CEOs of AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline, outline the perceived benefits of being a member of the EU to their industry and the possible consequences of leaving. As has been the case throughout the pharmaceutical industry’s discussion of the topic in the run up to the 23 June Brexit vote, the regulatory implications of exiting the European Union are at the forefront of the concerns cited in the letter.
“[Remaining part of the EU] would enable the sector to continue to operate within an established and harmonized regulatory approval system, ensuring that UK patients benefit from medicines more quickly, and that medicines researched and manufactured in the UK are available across the EU sooner,” the 93 representatives of the pharmaceutical industry wrote in the letter to The Observer. The signatories present the vote as a choice between the “stability and predictability” of staying in the EU and the “complexity and uncertainty” of Brexit.
The uncertainty stems from the fact that nobody can say for certain how Britain's regulatory system and relationship to its peers in the rest of the EU would function in the event of Brexit. Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein are all outside the EU but part of the European Medicines Agency (EMA). Britain could assume a similar status in the wake of Brexit, although it is questionable whether advocates of leaving the EU would support the continued direct regulation of British industry by a foreign institution.
The Swiss Agency for Therapeutic Products (Swissmedic), which authorizes products independently but works closely with EMA under mutual recognition and sharing agreements, is another possible model.
Many have doubts about whether any form of partial split would benefit Britain’s life science sector. “Any exit from the European regulatory process would risk leaving the UK on the sidelines unable to influence legislation but still directly or indirectly bound to conform to it,” the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute wrote in feedback to politicians.
If Britain splits from the EU, MHRA would need to rebuild regulatory capacity capable of reviewing every medicine application independently. At the same time, it is predicted that EMA would relocate its headquarters to outside Britain. Denmark and Sweden have already put their names forward as new sites for EMA. Where this would leave the government’s life science strategy, which is trying to position Britain as a gateway to the European market, is another major, outstanding question.
EMA has published a draft concept paper on environmental risk assessments of human medicinal products. The release of the concept paper is a precursor to the revision of 10-year-old guidance on the topic, which EMA thinks can be improved by simplifying the implementation of certain aspects of the advice and updating other sections in light of experience gained since its publication.
Officials at EMA have long recognized that the 2006 guideline is imperfect. EMA released a question and answer document in 2011 to address some of the shortcomings, specifically those relating to the perceived complexity of implementing aspects of the existing guideline. However, the nature of the Q&A format meant EMA was limited to clarifying its meanings and intentions. As such, the regulator is yet to fully address some issues that it and the businesses it oversees have encountered repeatedly over the history of the environmental risk assessment (ERA) guideline.
EMA sees value in establishing systems to share data or make periodic updates to the ERA, but its ability to implement such measures is limited by existing legislation. As such, EMA is planning to do what it can to improve the situation within the constraints of the legislative framework. Specifically, officials want to review the possibility of using data that are in the public domain to avoid the unnecessary repetition of animal tests. At the same time, EMA will review which groups of products are exempt from submitting ERA data.
The regulator has given the industry until the end of October to comment on these and other suggestions. Once a final concept paper is in place, EMA anticipates it will take 18 months to draft a revised guidance document.
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) have asked EMA to offer more regulatory assistance. EMA identified a desire for increased support in a survey of SMEs, in which more than 40% of respondents cited the burden of regulations as a top concern.
Specific issues raised by SMEs polled include the complexity of regulations, the administrative burden of preparing multiple dossiers and the fees associated with certain procedures. SMEs are keen for EMA to address these concerns, for example by providing them with specific contact points at both the European and national level during regulatory procedures while also offering earlier, more informal advice. This broad point was raised by 17% of the 373 respondents.
Other suggestions include a reduction in the cost of European and national regulatory procedures, particularly those relating to pharmacovigilance. Almost 10% of respondents put forward this idea. The same number of people requested a reduction in the regulatory burden. Again, pharmacovigilance is seen as a particular concern. SMEs want a reduction in the number of guidance documents and the frequency with which they are revised.
EMA gathered the feedback as part of a survey to assess the success of the first 10 years of its SME initiative. The responses will feed into the planned drafting of an action plan detailing how EMA plans to help SMEs address the challenges they face in the years ahead. | https://www.raps.org/regulatory-focus%E2%84%A2/news-articles/2016/5/european-regulatory-roundup-mhra,-uk-biopharma-industry-warn-against-brexit-(12-may-2016) |
FM Global is a leading property insurer of the world's largest businesses, providing more than one-third of FORTUNE 1000-size companies with engineering-based risk management and property insurance solutions. FM Global helps clients maintain continuity in their business operations by drawing upon state-of-the-art loss-prevention engineering and research; risk management skills and support services; tailored risk transfer capabilities; and superior financial strength. To do so, we rely on a dynamic, culturally diverse group of employees, working in more than 100 countries, in a variety of challenging roles.
Responsibilities
As a Lead Research Engineer for Control System Software Quality you will join our Equipment, Cyber, and Materials Science Research team at FM Global’s Norwood Research Facility near Boston, MA. We are a team of inquisitive, cutting edge individuals who identify, create, and support the implementation of solutions for today’s business problems! Specifically, we are providing guidance for the Approvals, and Engineering organizations within FM Global that deliver property risk solutions to product manufacturers and insured clients.
You will evaluate overall control system (ICS/IIoT) software quality and cybersecurity (including interactions with hardware), as well as the software development lifecycle practices of system manufacturers.
You will plan, conduct, and direct the development and evaluation of approved scientific and engineering projects or tasks within projects, with minimal or limited supervision. Responsibilities include business-critical projects, interacting with internal and external customers and suppliers, delivering, and communicating the status and results of your projects. The ability to address short and long-term business critical problems and develop new opportunities for FM Global to support property loss prevention is required.
Qualifications
Required
Experience with Software Quality Assurance and security assessment methods and Management.
Experience in the system integration area for software and hardware.
Proven track record of creative problem solving and teamwork.
Excellent interpersonal skills, including the ability to explain complex cyber-related problems to non-technical audiences.
Proven ability to work with diverse teams in an inclusive environment passionate about excellence.
Knowledge of relevant standards such as IEC 61131-3, 61508, and IEC 62443 is required. Knowledge of IEC 15504 is desirable.
Desired
Experience in development of system architecture and programming languages for software requirement specification techniques’, such as ladder diagrams.
Experience with Software Process Assessment Methods (CMMI, SPICE, etc.))
Experience with Quality and Safety Plans for hardware and software components.
Educational
- BS, MS or PhD in a scientific or engineering field
Experience
- 7+ years of Control System Software development, Software Certification, QA, security assessment, or related areas
We offer our employees a wide range of benefits including career long learning opportunities, tuition reimbursement, 401 (k), pension, flexible schedules, rich health and well-being programs, generous time off allowances, volunteer days and so much more!
FM Global is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to attracting, developing and retaining a diverse workforce. | https://mass-it.jobs/norwood-ma/lead-research-engineer-for-control-system-software-quality-security/6063AED5369A4C62A92C8463FA14FCC5/job/?vs=28 |
The United States has declared a moratorium on testing direct acting anti-satellite weapons, which leads to the formation of space debris. The corresponding statement was made by American Vice President Kamala Harris during her speech at the US Air Force Base at the Vandenberg Cosmodrome.
According to Harris, the American moratorium is part of an international company whose goal is to create new rules of conduct in outer space. The United States calls on other countries to join their initiative and abandon the testing of anti-satellite weapons.
History of anti-satellite weapons tests
Over the past decades, four tests have taken place in near Earth orbit, which ended with the destruction of spacecraft. The most dangerous of them were the Chinese test of 2007 and the Russian test of 2021. During the first test, the PRC shot down the weather satellite FY-1C. The destruction of the spacecraft led to the formation of more than three thousand fragments, which at the same time increased the existing population of space debris by a quarter. The problem was compounded by the fact that FY-1 was in a high 865-kilometer orbit. According to Harris, even now there are still about 2,800 fragments of the Chinese spacecraft in space.
The Russian shooting at Kosmos-1408 became an ominous portent of the events of this year. During them, a cloud of several thousand fragments was formed at altitudes from 440 km to 520 km. These are the most “populated” orbits, where a significant part of the operating spacecraft flies. Moreover, as the altitude of the orbit gradually decreases, they will begin to pose a direct threat to the ISS and the Chinese orbital station.
The destruction of Kosmos-1408 has reawakened fears about the possibility of Kessler syndrome. This is a scenario in which fragments of space debris will begin to collide with each other and other satellites, which will lead to a self-sustaining destruction reaction. Its result may be the fact that humanity will lose the opportunity to launch anything into space for a long time.
Experts’ Reaction
It is not surprising that many space agencies welcomed the US decision, calling it the right step towards ensuring the safety of outer space. But there were also critics pointing out that an undirected ban would only give an advantage to China and Russia, which are engaged in the creation of new anti-satellite weapons systems and oppose the militarization of outer space.
However, it is fair to say that the American moratorium applies only to tests with direct acting weapons (i.e. missiles), leading to the formation of space debris. This means that suborbital tests, as well as other weapons systems like lasers, are not subject to the moratorium. | https://universemagazine.com/en/the-united-states-declared-a-moratorium-on-testing-anti-satellite-weapons/ |
Erfahren Sie, wie Sie rollenbasierte Zugangskontrollen mit dem Access Manager konfigurieren können.
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45 mins
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Customize the content and organization of a user dashboard to provide easy access to the information business users need to know.
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Field of the Invention
Background to the Invention
Summary of the Invention
Brief Description of the Drawings
Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments
This invention relates to navigation or mapping apparatus, and methods of operating navigation or mapping apparatus. Illustrative embodiments of the invention relate to portable navigation devices (so-called PNDs), in particular PNDs that include Global Positioning System (GPS) signal reception and processing functionality. The invention is also applicable to a navigation apparatus which forms part of an integrated navigation system, e.g. an in-vehicle navigation system. Other embodiments relate, more generally, to any type of processing device that is configured to execute navigation or mapping software so as to provide route planning, and preferably also navigation, functionality, and methods of operating such devices. In particular, although not exclusively, the invention is concerned with the interaction between a user and the digital map data of such devices.
The present invention is directed to a navigation or mapping apparatus, and methods of operating such apparatus. The apparatus may be of any suitable form as discussed above, and in more detail below. One illustrative embodiment of the apparatus is a portable navigation device comprising the apparatus of the invention. Portable navigation devices (PNDs) that include GPS (Global Positioning System) signal reception and processing functionality are well known and are widely employed as in-car or other vehicle navigation systems.
In general terms, a modern PNDs comprises a processor, memory (at least one of volatile and non-volatile, and commonly both), and map data stored within said memory. The processor and memory cooperate to provide an execution environment in which a software operating system may be established, and additionally it is commonplace for one or more additional software programs to be provided to enable the functionality of the PND to be controlled, and to provide various other functions.
Typically these devices further comprise one or more input interfaces that allow a user to interact with and control the device, and one or more output interfaces by means of which information may be relayed to the user. Illustrative examples of output interfaces include a visual display and a speaker for audible output. Illustrative examples of input interfaces include one or more physical buttons to control on/off operation or other features of the device (which buttons need not necessarily be on the device itself but could be on a steering wheel if the device is built into a vehicle), and a microphone for detecting user speech. In a particularly preferred arrangement the output interface display may be configured as a touch sensitive display (by means of a touch sensitive overlay or otherwise) to additionally provide an input interface by means of which a user can operate the device by touch.
Devices of this type will also often include one or more physical connector interfaces by means of which power and optionally data signals can be transmitted to and received from the device, and optionally one or more wireless transmitters/receivers to allow communication over cellular telecommunications and other signal and data networks, for example Wi-Fi, Wi-Max GSM and the like.
PND devices of this type also include a GPS antenna by means of which satellite-broadcast signals, including location data, can be received and subsequently processed to determine a current location of the device.
The PND device may also include electronic gyroscopes and accelerometers which produce signals that can be processed to determine the current angular and linear acceleration, and in turn, and in conjunction with location information derived from the GPS signal, velocity and relative displacement of the device and thus the vehicle in which it is mounted. Typically such features are most commonly provided in in-vehicle navigation systems, but may also be provided in PND devices if it is expedient to do so.
The utility of such PNDs is manifested primarily in their ability to determine a route between a first location (typically a start or current location) and a second location (typically a destination). These locations can be input by a user of the device, by any of a wide variety of different methods, for example by postcode, street name and house number, previously stored "well known" destinations (such as famous locations, municipal locations (such as sports grounds or swimming baths) or other points of interest), and favourite or recently visited destinations.
Typically, the PND is enabled by software for computing a "best" or "optimum" route between the start and destination address locations from the map data. A "best" or "optimum" route is determined on the basis of predetermined criteria and need not necessarily be the fastest or shortest route. The selection of the route along which to guide the driver can be very sophisticated, and the selected route may take into account existing, predicted and dynamically and/or wirelessly received traffic and road information, historical information about road speeds, and the driver's own preferences for the factors determining road choice (for example the driver may specify that the route should not include motorways or toll roads).
In addition, the device may continually monitor road and traffic conditions, and offer to or choose to change the route over which the remainder of the journey is to be made due to changed conditions. Real time traffic monitoring systems, based on various technologies (e.g. mobile phone data exchanges, fixed cameras, GPS fleet tracking) are being used to identify traffic delays and to feed the information into notification systems.
PNDs of this type may typically be mounted on the dashboard or windscreen of a vehicle, but may also be formed as part of an on-board computer of the vehicle radio or indeed as part of the control system of the vehicle itself. The navigation device may also be part of a hand-held system, such as a PDA (Portable Digital Assistant) a media player, a mobile phone or the like, and in these cases, the normal functionality of the hand-held system is extended by means of the installation of software on the device to perform both route calculation and navigation along a calculated route.
Route planning and navigation functionality may also be provided by a desktop or mobile computing resource running appropriate software. For example, the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) provides an on-line route planning and navigation facility at http://www.rac.co.uk, which facility allows a user to enter a start point and a destination whereupon the server to which the user's PC is connected calculates a route (aspects of which may be user specified), generates a map, and generates a set of exhaustive navigation instructions for guiding the user from the selected start point to the selected destination. The facility also provides for pseudo three-dimensional rendering of a calculated route, and route preview functionality which simulates a user travelling along the route and thereby provides the user with a preview of the calculated route.
In the context of a PND, once a route has been calculated, the user interacts with the navigation device to select the desired calculated route, optionally from a list of proposed routes. Optionally, the user may intervene in, or guide the route selection process, for example by specifying that certain routes, roads, locations or criteria are to be avoided or are mandatory for a particular journey. The route calculation aspect of the PND forms one primary function, and navigation along such a route is another primary function.
During navigation along a calculated route, it is usual for such PNDs to provide visual and/or audible instructions to guide the user along a chosen route to the end of that route, i.e. the desired destination. It is also usual for PNDs to display map information on-screen during the navigation, such information regularly being updated on-screen so that the map information displayed is representative of the current location of the device, and thus of the user or user's vehicle if the device is being used for in-vehicle navigation.
An icon displayed on-screen typically denotes the current device location, and is centred with the map information of current and surrounding roads in the vicinity of the current device location and other map features also being displayed. Additionally, navigation information may be displayed, optionally in a status bar above, below or to one side of the displayed map information, examples of navigation information include a distance to the next deviation from the current road required to be taken by the user, the nature of that deviation possibly being represented by a further icon suggestive of the particular type of deviation, for example a left or right turn. The navigation function also determines the content, duration and timing of audible instructions by means of which the user can be guided along the route. As can be appreciated a simple instruction such as "turn left in 100 m" requires significant processing and analysis. As previously mentioned, user interaction with the device may be by a touch screen, or additionally or alternately by steering column mounted remote control, by voice activation or by any other suitable method.
A further important function provided by the device is automatic route re-calculation in the event that: a user deviates from the previously calculated route during navigation (either by accident or intentionally); real-time traffic conditions dictate that an alternative route would be more expedient and the device is suitably enabled to recognize such conditions automatically, or if a user actively causes the device to perform route re-calculation for any reason.
It is also known to allow a route to be calculated with user defined criteria; for example, the user may prefer a scenic route to be calculated by the device, or may wish to avoid any roads on which traffic congestion is likely, expected or currently prevailing. The device software would then calculate various routes and weigh more favourably those that include along their route the highest number of points of interest (known as POIs) tagged as being for example of scenic beauty, or, using stored information indicative of prevailing traffic conditions on particular roads, order the calculated routes in terms of a level of likely congestion or delay on account thereof. Other POI-based and traffic information-based route calculation and navigation criteria are also possible.
Although the route calculation and navigation functions are fundamental to the overall utility of PNDs, it is possible to use the device purely for information display, or "free-driving", in which only map information relevant to the current device location is displayed, and in which no route has been calculated and no navigation is currently being performed by the device. Such a mode of operation is often applicable when the user already knows the route along which it is desired to travel and does not require navigation assistance.
Devices of the type described above, for example the GO 950 LIVE model manufactured and supplied by TomTom International B.V., provide a reliable means for enabling users to navigate from one position to another.
7,268,703
US 2009/192703
US 2010/082232
As will be appreciated from the above discussion, operation of such navigation or mapping apparatus typically involves interaction between the apparatus and a user at various times in order to control the apparatus. For example, the user may specify a start point and/or a destination between which a route is to be planned. The user may interact with the device to modify a suggested route e.g. to avoid/go via certain locations, or to try to avoid traffic identified by apparatus with a traffic detecting function. Existing apparatus may also provide considerable scope for interaction with the user to enable the user to customise operation of the device, and provide route planning according to user preferences. For example, the user may specify that routes avoiding motorways or ferries be calculated where possible. The apparatus may enable the user to interact with the apparatus in relation to a wide range of functions, not necessarily directly relating to route planning. For example the user may be able to interact with the apparatus in order to correct errors found in a map, or to search for features such as points of interest (POI) in a vicinity. There are numerous scenarios in which interaction between the user and the apparatus is necessary or desirable. Document discloses a device for marine navigation in which a route between a first location and a potential waypoint can be calculated that the avoids preselected conditions, and in which a user can selected an area for analysis by the device to determine if preselected conditions exist within the selection area. Document discloses a navigation device having a touchscreen, which can be used by a user to define an area on a displayed digital map. The user can then select categories of points of interest (POIs) which are to be displayed in the selected area. Alternatively, and as discussed in paragraph [0048], the selected area can be used in connection with navigation functions to define a geographic area that is to excluded from route guiding.
Document discloses a navigation apparatus displays a current route on a navigation device superposed over a digital map. A user can draw a line on the digital map that is indicative of a road that they wish to use as part of a detour, e.g. to avoid a traffic jam. The apparatus then recalculates the route to include the road indicated by the user.
As described above, navigation or mapping apparatus may include one or more user interfaces to enable a user to interact with the apparatus. Typically the user provides instructions via the user interface to control the operation of the device via a menu based system. The user may navigate through the menu system using commands provided using various types of user interface, such as speech based or touch based interfaces, as well as cursor based systems, button presses etc. While such systems are of great utility, the Applicant has realised that there is scope for a more intuitive approach to the interaction between the user and a mapping or navigation apparatus in relation to route planning operations involving digital map data.
In accordance with a first aspect of the invention there is provided a navigation or mapping apparatus according to claim 1.
In this manner, it has been found that interaction between the user and the apparatus in relation to operations involving digital map data may proceed more intuitively. In effect, the user may directly specify a selected region on a map displayed to the user to be included or excluded in a route calculation. By identifying the region in the displayed digital map in this manner, the need to provide multiple instructions via a menu based system may be avoided. In accordance with the invention, the apparatus is arranged such that a user selects the selected region by making one or more indications on the displayed map. In other words, rather than going through a conventional menu system to indicate a region of interest using a series of text or speech based commands, the user directly points to a region or regions on the displayed map itself in order to select a region. This may provide more intuitive operation, and reduce the number of steps required for the user to indicate a selected geographic region. This is because the user directly specifies a region of the geographic area represented by the displayed digital map. The user therefore provides an selection based upon what is visually represented in the display rather than needing to translate what they can see into a verbal form to control the apparatus.
It will be appreciated that, in accordance with the invention in any of its aspects, the selected region of the digital map indicated by the user is preferably a continuous region, and not a discrete point or points. Thus, rather than merely selecting a single point on the displayed map, the user selects an extended region on the map.
The present invention also extends to a method of operating a navigation or mapping apparatus in accordance with claim 6.
In the method aspects of the invention, the navigation or mapping apparatus comprises a display for displaying a digital map to a user, a processor configured to access digital map data and cause a digital map to be displayed to a user via the display, and a user interface operable by a user to enable the user to interact with the apparatus.
It will be appreciated that in accordance with the invention the processor is arranged to be able to calculate a route between first location and a second location e.g. a start point and a destination. A route as referred to herein is a route between a first location and a second location.
In accordance with the invention, a selected region is indicated via the user interface in any manner which involves the user providing one or more indications on the displayed digital map. In embodiments the user indicates the region by pointing to the region. This may be achieved by touch or by controlling a cursor as described below.
Each indication on the displayed digital map is an indication of a region of the displayed digital map. In any of the embodiments of the invention, a selected region may be indicated using a single indication or a plurality of indications. Preferably each indication provided by the user is an indication of a continuous region of the displayed digital map. Where multiple indications are made, the indications may be made simultaneously or sequentially. The indications may or may not overlap.
A selected region may directly correspond to the one or more regions indicated by the user on the displayed digital map. In these embodiments the one or more indications provided by the user may define a shape corresponding to the shape of an intended selected region. For example, where multiple indications are provided, the indications may together define a shape corresponding to the shape of an intended selected region. For example, a user draw a vertical line and, then a second line perpendicular thereto, and overlapping the first line to select an L shaped region.
In other embodiments, the processor may be arranged to infer an intended selected region from the one or more indications made on the digital map by the user. For example, the processor may be arranged to infer a precise selected region from one or more regions indicated by a user approximately indicative of an intended selected region. The step of inferring a precise selected region may comprise inferring a precise boundary for the selected region from the region(s) indicated by the user. The processor may be arranged to, for example, infer a selected region including only land from a general indication of a region or regions provided by the user including both land and water.
In some embodiments the processor may be arranged to infer an intended selected region including one or more regions indicated by the user. Thus the indicated region or regions may be a subset of an intended selected region. For example, the user may indicate a region within a given state, and the processor may then infer that the intended selected region is the whole state.
In accordance with any of the embodiments of the invention, the processor may be arranged to infer an intended selected region from one or more indications in the form of gestures provided by the user.
It will be appreciated that the way in which the processor infers an intended selected region from one or more regions indicated by the user may be controlled, for example, by setting a mode of operation of the device. The processor may be arranged to be able to infer an intended selected region from one or more indicated regions in any of the above manners depending upon the selected mode.
In preferred embodiments the user interface is an interface by means of which a user can operate the device by touch, i.e. a touch sensitive interface, and the user provides one or more touch indications to select the region. In some particularly preferred embodiments the display comprises the touch sensitive user interface, i.e. the display is a touch display. In these embodiments the user may select the region using one or more indications in the form of touch gestures on the displayed digital map. For example, the user may directly indicate a selected region by touching a part or parts of the display corresponding to the region of the map to be selected. This may provide a more intuitive operation allowing the user to manually indicate the selected region. The user interface may be arranged to permit the user to select the region using a single or multi touch gesture. In some embodiments the user may indicate the selected region by drawing the selected region on to the map. In other embodiments the user may indicate the selected region by performing a multi touch gesture on the map, and the processor is arranged to infer the selected region from the multi touch gesture performed by the user. Such embodiments may be particularly, although not exclusively, applicable to navigation device type implementations of the apparatus.
It will be appreciated that other forms of user interface may be used. In some embodiments the user interface may be arranged to permit the user to select the region of the map using one or more cursor based indications. The user interface may then comprise an arrangement to permit the user to control the position of a cursor on the display. This may be achieved using any suitable user input device e.g. a mouse, touch pad, control stick or pad, a rotary control, key stroke etc. Although not limited thereto, such embodiments may be useful in the context of implementations which do not use a specific portable navigation device, for example implementations using mapping software run on a general computer system.
In some embodiments, regardless of the form of the user interface, the apparatus is arranged to enable the user to draw a shape on the displayed map defining the selected region.
The processor of the apparatus is arranged to access the digital map data. In some preferred embodiments the apparatus comprises a memory storing digital map data, and the processor is arranged to retrieve the digital map data from the store. However, it will be appreciated that the processor may retrieve the digital map data directly or indirectly in any suitable manner. The digital map data may not be stored locally. For example the digital map data may be downloaded from a remote source.
The step of determining digital map data relating to the selected region may comprise determining the digital map data for one or more locations comprised in the region of the map selected by the user. The determined digital map data may include digital map data for locations encompassed by all or a part of the selected region. The digital map data may be determined in any manner, as described in relation to accessing the digital map data for display. In embodiments the apparatus comprises a memory storing digital map data, and the step of determining the digital map data comprises retrieving the digital map data from the memory.
The region may be selected before a route is proposed. Thus the selection of the region may form part of the process of planning a route. In some embodiments the selected region is indicated on a displayed digital map which does not already include a displayed calculated route.
In other embodiments the processor is arranged to cause a proposed route to be displayed on the digital map, and the selected region includes a region of the map to be included or avoided in a modification of the proposed route. The processor may be arranged to first calculate the proposed route. However, the proposed route could be determined in any manner. For example it could be retrieved from stored routes. The method performed may include the step of displaying a proposed route on the digital map, and may further comprise the step of calculating the proposed route.
In these embodiments the route calculated using the determined digital map data is a modification of the proposed route which includes or excludes at least part of the selected region. The processor may cause the modified route to be displayed, and the method performed may comprise the step of displaying the modified route. The modified route may be displayed simultaneously with the original proposed route. Thus in these embodiments the apparatus modifies a proposed route using the determined digital map data relating to the selected region. These embodiments are advantageous as the user may simply indicate a change to a proposed route without needing to go through a range of menu options. While in preferred embodiments the selected region is a continuous region to be avoided/included in the modified route, in the broadest aspects of the invention the selected region could be a point location such as an intermediate location, waypoint or start or destination location. The point location could be a point location to be included/avoided in the sense of the route passing therethrough or in the sense of a stop at the location being included or excluded in the case of the route forming part of an itinerary. The invention is, however, particularly applicable to the case in which the user indicates an extended or continuous geographic region to be included or excluded in the route.
The apparatus may determine a route which avoids or includes the whole of the selected region, or at least a part thereof. The apparatus may be arranged to infer a particular location or part of a route contained in the selected region to be avoided or included in the route. For example, a user may simply generally indicate a region including a town or road junction to be avoided or excluded, and the apparatus may infer that the town or junction is the feature that the user wishes to avoid/include. In embodiments therefore, the apparatus may infer a location or part of a route to be avoided or included from the region selected by the user. This may involve the processor searching for a significant map feature or stored specific location or route within the selected region. The significant map feature may be a town, village or route etc. Stored specific location data could include POI data, address book entries, favourite location data, business related location data, work location data, home location data, recently visited location data etc. The processor may carry out such a search in any suitable manner, for example taking into account user preferences or preset preferences, and may search among different categories of stored location data in accordance with certain criteria. For example, the apparatus may search among work locations at certain times of day when the user is expected to be at work, or among leisure locations at weekends.
In accordance with any of its embodiments, the apparatus may determine whether the route is to be modified to include or exclude the selected region in any manner. For example the user may be able to specify a go via or avoid mode prior to selecting the region. In other embodiments the apparatus may be arranged to infer a modification to the proposed route from a shape and/or location of the selected region. If the selected region does not include a portion of the proposed route, the apparatus may infer that the user wishes to modify the proposed route to go via at least a part of the selected region, and may proposed a modified route going via at least a part of the selected region. If the selected region includes a portion of the proposed route, the apparatus may infer that the user wishes to modify the proposed route to avoid at least a part of the selected region, and may proposed a modified route avoiding at least a part of the selected region.
Similar techniques may be used additionally to remove or add point locations such as an intermediate destination, waypoint or start or destination location from a proposed route. In embodiments the processor is arranged to receive on the display a further indication from the user of a point location in the proposed route, wherein the point location is a location to be added or removed from the route, and to modify the proposed route to add or remove the location from the route. The location may be a location the user does or does not wish the route to go via, and the route may be modified to go via or not go via the location. In other embodiments the route may be part of an itinerary, and the point location may be a stopping location.
In embodiments the apparatus is arranged such that when the selected region does not include a portion of the proposed route, the processor is arranged calculate a modified route going via at least a part of the selected region, and when the selected region includes a portion of the proposed route, the processor is arranged to calculate a modified route avoiding at least a part of the selected region. The method performed may comprise the steps of calculating a modified route going via at least a part of the selected region when the selected region does not include a portion of the proposed route, and calculating a modified route avoiding at least a part of the selected region when the selected region includes a portion of the proposed route. In these embodiments the processor may be further arranged to determine whether the selected region includes or does not include a portion of the proposed route, and the method may comprise controlling the apparatus to carry out such a step.
In preferred embodiments of the invention in any of its aspects or embodiments, the processor is arranged to cause the selected region to be illustrated on the displayed map, and the method performed comprises the step of illustrating the selected region on the displayed map. The step of illustrating the selected region may comprise highlighting the selected region. However, it will be appreciated the region could alternatively be illustrated by erasing features of the displayed map corresponding to the selected region. For example a part of a proposed route may be erased. The selected region on the map may be illustrated as it is selected by a user. This may provide a real time illustration of the selected region to the user.
In accordance with the invention, the selected region indicated by the user may be of any shape. In preferred embodiments the selected region is a selected continuous region.
In preferred embodiments a selected continuous region is indicated e.g. drawn on to the displayed map in a manner indicative of the desired change to the proposed route. For example the user may indicate a selected continuous region wiping out a portion of a proposed route. Such a region may be in the form of a scribbled out part of the map. In embodiments the user may indicate a selected continuous region in the form of an approximate path to be included in a modification of the route. The shape of the selected region may be indicative of the desired change.
The selected region may be a region which the user wishes to go via or avoid for any reason in a route. By enabling a user to readily specify a region to go via or avoid in this way, the user may more readily customise planned routes without specifying preferences in advance, or if, for some reason, they wish to depart from any preset preferences. In this way a more flexible system may be provided. For example, the user may decide that they wish to go via a POI shown on the map display, or to avoid a major road. In some embodiments the processor is arranged to access and cause real time information relating to traffic to be displayed on the digital map, and the method comprises accessing and causing such information to be displayed on the map. In these embodiments, the region selected by the user may include a region of traffic to be avoided in the calculated route. For example the region may be a region in which a traffic jam is indicated as being present.
Regardless as to whether the route is a modification of a proposed route, or a new route, the apparatus may be arranged to calculate the route as the user selects the region on the displayed map. Thus the apparatus may be arranged to perform an instantaneous calculation of a route as the selected region to be avoided or included is selected by the user. The apparatus may be arranged to display the calculated route as the user selects the region.
It is envisaged that more than one selected region may be simultaneously selected and, optionally more than one route calculated. In some embodiments the selected region is a first selected region, and the calculated route is a first route. The apparatus may then further receive a selection of a second region, determine digital map data relating to the second region, and calculate a route which includes or excludes at least a part of the second selected region using the determined digital map data. The route may be a second route, although the route could be the same route which also avoids/includes the first selected region. The second region may be specified by one or more indications provided by a user in the same manner as the first region. In embodiments the first region is selected by a first user, and the second region is selected by a second user. The regions may be simultaneously selected, and first and second routes simultaneously calculated. This may allow users to simultaneously modify or propose routes by interaction with the same map, providing the ability to discuss route options as one might do with a paper map.
The principles of the present invention are applicable to any form of mapping or navigation apparatus. In preferred embodiments the apparatus is a navigation apparatus. One particular area of utility is in relation to portable navigation devices (PND). In embodiments, therefore, the mapping or navigation apparatus is an apparatus of a portable navigation device (PND). In accordance with a further aspect, the present invention provides a portable navigation device (PND) comprising the apparatus in accordance with any of the aspects or embodiments of the invention described. Accordingly, in embodiments of the invention, the method is a method of operating a mapping or navigation system of a portable navigation device.
The invention is also applicable to navigation apparatus which is provided as part of an integrated navigation system. For example the apparatus may form part of an in-vehicle integrated navigation system. In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the present invention provides a navigation system comprising a navigation apparatus in accordance with any of the aspects or embodiments of the invention described. Accordingly, in embodiments of the invention, the method is a method of operating a navigation apparatus of a navigation system. The navigation system may be an integrated in-vehicle navigation system.
Regardless of its implementation, a navigation apparatus of the present invention may comprise a processor, memory, and digital map data stored within said memory. The processor and memory cooperate to provide an execution environment in which a software operating system may be established. One or more additional software programs may be provided to enable the functionality of the apparatus to be controlled, and to provide various other functions. A navigation apparatus of the invention may preferably include GPS (Global Positioning System) signal reception and processing functionality. The apparatus may comprise one or more output interfaces by means of which information may be relayed to the user. The output interface(s) may include a speaker for audible output in addition to the visual display. The apparatus may comprise input interfaces including one or more physical buttons to control on/off operation or other features of the apparatus.
In other embodiments, the mapping or navigation apparatus may be implemented by means of an application of a processing device which does not form part of a specific mapping or navigation device. For example the invention may be implemented using a suitable computer system arranged to execute mapping or navigation software. The system may be a mobile or portable computer system e.g. a mobile telephone or laptop, or may be a desktop system.
References to the "indicated region" or the "selected region" herein should be understood to refer to the region indicated or selected by the user on the displayed digital map if this is not explicitly stated.
References to the apparatus carrying out given steps may in general be understood as being steps carried out by, or under the influence, of the processor, unless the context demands otherwise.
The present invention extends to a computer program product comprising computer readable instructions executable to perform a method according to any of the aspects or embodiments of the invention.
Advantages of these embodiments are set out hereafter, and further details and features of each of these embodiments are defined in the accompanying dependent claims and elsewhere in the following detailed description.
Fig. 1
is a schematic illustration of a Global Positioning System (GPS);
Fig. 2
is a schematic illustration of electronic components arranged to provide a navigation device;
Fig. 3
is a schematic illustration of the manner in which a navigation device may receive information over a wireless communication channel;
Figs. 4A and 4B
are illustrative perspective views of a navigation device;
Figs. 5a to 5i
are illustrative screenshots from a TomTom GO 950 LIVE PND for a destination input process;
Figures 6 and 7
Figure 6
Figure 7
illustrate an embodiment involving a PND calculating a route using a selected region in the form of a path indicated on a displayed map by the user, of which illustrates the path indicated by the user, and illustrates the route calculated;
Figures 8
9
Figure 8
Figure 9
and illustrate another embodiment in accordance with the invention as claimed involving a PND modifying a calculated route to avoid a selected region indicated on a displayed map by a user, of which illustrates the way in which the user selects the region to be avoided, and illustrates the modified route;
Figures 10 to 12
illustrate further embodiments involving setting a selected region in response to an indication on the displayed map by a user of which;
Figure 10
Figures 11 and 12
Figure 11
Figure 12
illustrates the setting of a selected region using a multi touch gesture, and illustrate a method of setting a selected region in which the user sets a center point for the region as shown in and the PND provides a boundary of increasing radius to enable the user to set a selected area of desired size as shown in .
Various aspects of the teachings of the present invention, and arrangements embodying those teachings, will hereafter be described by way of illustrative example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described with particular reference to a PND. It should be remembered, however, that the teachings of the present invention are not limited to PNDs but are instead universally applicable to any type of processing device that is configured to execute navigation software so as to provide route planning and navigation functionality. It follows therefore that in the context of the present application, a navigation device is intended to include (without limitation) any type of route planning and navigation device, irrespective of whether that device is embodied as a PND, a navigation device built into a vehicle, or indeed a computing resource (such as a desktop or portable personal computer (PC), mobile telephone or portable digital assistant (PDA)) executing route planning and navigation software.
It will also be apparent from the following that the teachings of the present invention even have utility in circumstances where a user is not seeking instructions on how to navigate from one point to another, but merely wishes to be provided with a view of a given location. In such circumstances the "destination" location selected by the user need not have a corresponding start location from which the user wishes to start navigating, and as a consequence references herein to the "destination" location or indeed to a "destination" view should not be interpreted to mean that the generation of a route is essential, that travelling to the "destination" must occur, or indeed that the presence of a destination requires the designation of a corresponding start location.
Fig. 1
With the above provisos in mind, illustrates an example view of Global Positioning System (GPS), usable by navigation devices. Such systems are known and are used for a variety of purposes. In general, GPS is a satellite-radio based navigation system capable of determining continuous position, velocity, time, and in some instances direction information for an unlimited number of users. Formerly known as NAVSTAR, the GPS incorporates a plurality of satellites which orbit the earth in extremely precise orbits. Based on these precise orbits, GPS satellites can relay their location to any number of receiving units.
The GPS system is implemented when a device, specially equipped to receive GPS data, begins scanning radio frequencies for GPS satellite signals. Upon receiving a radio signal from a GPS satellite, the device determines the precise location of that satellite via one of a plurality of different conventional methods. The device will continue scanning, in most instances, for signals until it has acquired at least three different satellite signals (noting that position is not normally, but can be determined, with only two signals using other triangulation techniques). Implementing geometric triangulation, the receiver utilizes the three known positions to determine its own two-dimensional position relative to the satellites. This can be done in a known manner. Additionally, acquiring a fourth satellite signal will allow the receiving device to calculate its three dimensional position by the same geometrical calculation in a known manner. The position and velocity data can be updated in real time on a continuous basis by an unlimited number of users.
Figure 1
As shown in , the GPS system is denoted generally by reference numeral 100. A plurality of satellites 120 are in orbit about the earth 124. The orbit of each satellite 120 is not necessarily synchronous with the orbits of other satellites 120 and, in fact, is likely asynchronous. A GPS receiver 140 is shown receiving spread spectrum GPS satellite signals 160 from the various satellites 120.
The spread spectrum signals 160, continuously transmitted from each satellite 120, utilize a highly accurate frequency standard accomplished with an extremely accurate atomic clock. Each satellite 120, as part of its data signal transmission 160, transmits a data stream indicative of that particular satellite 120. It is appreciated by those skilled in the relevant art that the GPS receiver device 140 generally acquires spread spectrum GPS satellite signals 160 from at least three satellites 120 for the GPS receiver device 140 to calculate its two-dimensional position by triangulation. Acquisition of an additional signal, resulting in signals 160 from a total of four satellites 120, permits the GPS receiver device 140 to calculate its three-dimensional position in a known manner.
Figure 2
is an illustrative representation of electronic components of a navigation device 200 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in block component format. It should be noted that the block diagram of the navigation device 200 is not inclusive of all components of the navigation device, but is only representative of many example components.
The navigation device 200 is located within a housing (not shown). The housing includes a processor 210 connected to an input device 220 and a display screen 240. The input device 220 can include a keyboard device, voice input device, touch panel and/or any other known input device utilised to input information; and the display screen 240 can include any type of display screen such as an LCD display, for example. In a particularly preferred arrangement the input device 220 and display screen 240 are integrated into an integrated input and display device, including a touchpad or touchscreen input so that a user need only touch a portion of the display screen 240 to select one of a plurality of display choices or to activate one of a plurality of virtual buttons.
The navigation device may include an output device 260, for example an audible output device (e.g. a loudspeaker). As output device 260 can produce audible information for a user of the navigation device 200, it is should equally be understood that input device 240 can include a microphone and software for receiving input voice commands as well.
In the navigation device 200, processor 210 is operatively connected to and set to receive input information from input device 220 via a connection 225, and operatively connected to at least one of display screen 240 and output device 260, via output connections 245, to output information thereto. Further, the processor 210 is operably coupled to a memory resource 230 via connection 235 and is further adapted to receive/send information from/to input/output (I/O) ports 270 via connection 275, wherein the I/O port 270 is connectible to an I/O device 280 external to the navigation device 200. The memory resource 230 comprises, for example, a volatile memory, such as a Random Access Memory (RAM) and a non-volatile memory, for example a digital memory, such as a flash memory. The external I/O device 280 may include, but is not limited to an external listening device such as an earpiece for example. The connection to I/O device 280 can further be a wired or wireless connection to any other external device such as a car stereo unit for hands-free operation and/or for voice activated operation for example, for connection to an ear piece or head phones, and/or for connection to a mobile phone for example, wherein the mobile phone connection may be used to establish a data connection between the navigation device 200 and the internet or any other network for example, and/or to establish a connection to a server via the internet or some other network for example.
Fig. 2
further illustrates an operative connection between the processor 210 and an antenna/receiver 250 via connection 255, wherein the antenna/receiver 250 can be a GPS antenna/receiver for example. It will be understood that the antenna and receiver designated by reference numeral 250 are combined schematically for illustration, but that the antenna and receiver may be separately located components, and that the antenna may be a GPS patch antenna or helical antenna for example.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Further, it will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the electronic components shown in are powered by power sources (not shown) in a conventional manner. As will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art, different configurations of the components shown in are considered to be within the scope of the present application. For example, the components shown in may be in communication with one another via wired and/or wireless connections and the like. Thus, the scope of the navigation device 200 of the present application includes a portable or handheld navigation device 200.
Fig. 2
In addition, the portable or handheld navigation device 200 of can be connected or "docked" in a known manner to a vehicle such as a bicycle, a motorbike, a car or a boat for example. Such a navigation device 200 is then removable from the docked location for portable or handheld navigation use.
Fig. 3
Referring now to , the navigation device 200 may establish a "mobile" or telecommunications network connection with a server 302 via a mobile device (not shown) (such as a mobile phone, PDA, and/or any device with mobile phone technology) establishing a digital connection (such as a digital connection via known Bluetooth technology for example). Thereafter, through its network service provider, the mobile device can establish a network connection (through the internet for example) with a server 302. As such, a "mobile" network connection is established between the navigation device 200 (which can be, and often times is mobile as it travels alone and/or in a vehicle) and the server 302 to provide a "real-time" or at least very "up to date" gateway for information.
The establishing of the network connection between the mobile device (via a service provider) and another device such as the server 302, using an internet (such as the World Wide Web) for example, can be done in a known manner. This can include use of TCP/IP layered protocol for example. The mobile device can utilize any number of communication standards such as CDMA, GSM, WAN, etc.
As such, an internet connection may be utilised which is achieved via data connection, via a mobile phone or mobile phone technology within the navigation device 200 for example. For this connection, an internet connection between the server 302 and the navigation device 200 is established. This can be done, for example, through a mobile phone or other mobile device and a GPRS (General Packet Radio Service)-connection (GPRS connection is a high-speed data connection for mobile devices provided by telecom operators; GPRS is a method to connect to the internet).
The navigation device 200 can further complete a data connection with the mobile device, and eventually with the internet and server 302, via existing Bluetooth technology for example, in a known manner, wherein the data protocol can utilize any number of standards, such as the GPRS, the Data Protocol Standard for the GSM standard, for example.
The navigation device 200 may include its own mobile phone technology within the navigation device 200 itself (including an antenna for example, or optionally using the internal antenna of the navigation device 200). The mobile phone technology within the navigation device 200 can include internal components as specified above, and/or can include an insertable card (e.g. Subscriber Identity Module or SIM card), complete with necessary mobile phone technology and/or an antenna for example. As such, mobile phone technology within the navigation device 200 can similarly establish a network connection between the navigation device 200 and the server 302, via the internet for example, in a manner similar to that of any mobile device.
For GPRS phone settings, a Bluetooth enabled navigation device may be used to correctly work with the ever changing spectrum of mobile phone models, manufacturers, etc., model/manufacturer specific settings may be stored on the navigation device 200 for example. The data stored for this information can be updated.
Fig. 3
In the navigation device 200 is depicted as being in communication with the server 302 via a generic communications channel 318 that can be implemented by any of a number of different arrangements. The server 302 and a navigation device 200 can communicate when a connection via communications channel 318 is established between the server 302 and the navigation device 200 (noting that such a connection can be a data connection via mobile device, a direct connection via personal computer via the internet, etc.).
The server 302 includes, in addition to other components which may not be illustrated, a processor 304 operatively connected to a memory 306 and further operatively connected, via a wired or wireless connection 314, to a mass data storage device 312. The processor 304 is further operatively connected to transmitter 308 and receiver 310, to transmit and send information to and from navigation device 200 via communications channel 318. The signals sent and received may include data, communication, and/or other propagated signals. The transmitter 308 and receiver 310 may be selected or designed according to the communications requirement and communication technology used in the communication design for the navigation system 200. Further, it should be noted that the functions of transmitter 308 and receiver 310 may be combined into a signal transceiver.
Server 302 is further connected to (or includes) a mass storage device 312, noting that the mass storage device 312 may be coupled to the server 302 via communication link 314. The mass storage device 312 contains a store of navigation data and map information, and can again be a separate device from the server 302 or can be incorporated into the server 302.
Fig. 2
The navigation device 200 is adapted to communicate with the server 302 through communications channel 318, and includes processor, memory, etc. as previously described with regard to , as well as transmitter 320 and receiver 322 to send and receive signals and/or data through the communications channel 318, noting that these devices can further be used to communicate with devices other than server 302. Further, the transmitter 320 and receiver 322 are selected or designed according to communication requirements and communication technology used in the communication design for the navigation device 200 and the functions of the transmitter 320 and receiver 322 may be combined into a single transceiver.
Software stored in server memory 306 provides instructions for the processor 304 and allows the server 302 to provide services to the navigation device 200. One service provided by the server 302 involves processing requests from the navigation device 200 and transmitting navigation data from the mass data storage 312 to the navigation device 200. Another service provided by the server 302 includes processing the navigation data using various algorithms for a desired application and sending the results of these calculations to the navigation device 200.
The communication channel 318 generically represents the propagating medium or path that connects the navigation device 200 and the server 302. Both the server 302 and navigation device 200 include a transmitter for transmitting data through the communication channel and a receiver for receiving data that has been transmitted through the communication channel.
The communication channel 318 is not limited to a particular communication technology. Additionally, the communication channel 318 is not limited to a single communication technology; that is, the channel 318 may include several communication links that use a variety of technology. For example, the communication channel 318 can be adapted to provide a path for electrical, optical, and/or electromagnetic communications, etc. As such, the communication channel 318 includes, but is not limited to, one or a combination of the following: electric circuits, electrical conductors such as wires and coaxial cables, fibre optic cables, converters, radio-frequency (RF) waves, the atmosphere, empty space, etc. Furthermore, the communication channel 318 can include intermediate devices such as routers, repeaters, buffers, transmitters, and receivers, for example.
In one illustrative arrangement, the communication channel 318 includes telephone and computer networks. Furthermore, the communication channel 318 may be capable of accommodating wireless communication such as radio frequency, microwave frequency, infrared communication, etc. Additionally, the communication channel 318 can accommodate satellite communication.
The communication signals transmitted through the communication channel 318 include, but are not limited to, signals as may be required or desired for given communication technology. For example, the signals may be adapted to be used in cellular communication technology such as Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), etc. Both digital and analogue signals can be transmitted through the communication channel 318. These signals may be modulated, encrypted and/or compressed signals as may be desirable for the communication technology.
The server 302 includes a remote server accessible by the navigation device 200 via a wireless channel. The server 302 may include a network server located on a local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), virtual private network (VPN), etc.
The server 302 may include a personal computer such as a desktop or laptop computer, and the communication channel 318 may be a cable connected between the personal computer and the navigation device 200. Alternatively, a personal computer may be connected between the navigation device 200 and the server 302 to establish an internet connection between the server 302 and the navigation device 200. Alternatively, a mobile telephone or other handheld device may establish a wireless connection to the internet, for connecting the navigation device 200 to the server 302 via the internet.
The navigation device 200 may be provided with information from the server 302 via information downloads which may be periodically updated automatically or upon a user connecting navigation device 200 to the server 302 and/or may be more dynamic upon a more constant or frequent connection being made between the server 302 and navigation device 200 via a wireless mobile connection device and TCP/IP connection for example. For many dynamic calculations, the processor 304 in the server 302 may be used to handle the bulk of the processing needs, however, processor 210 of navigation device 200 can also handle much processing and calculation, oftentimes independent of a connection to a server 302.
Fig. 2
As indicated above in , a navigation device 200 includes a processor 210, an input device 220, and a display screen 240. The input device 220 and display screen 240 are integrated into an integrated input and display device to enable both input of information (via direct input, menu selection, etc.) and display of information through a touch panel screen, for example. Such a screen may be a touch input LCD screen, for example, as is well known to those of ordinary skill in the art. Further, the navigation device 200 can also include any additional input device 220 and/or any additional output device 241, such as audio input/output devices for example.
Figs 4A and 4B
Fig. 4A
fig. 2
are perspective views of a navigation device 200. As shown in , the navigation device 200 may be a unit that includes an integrated input and display device 290 (a touch panel screen for example) and the other components of (including but not limited to internal GPS receiver 250, microprocessor 210, a power supply, memory systems 230, etc.).
The navigation device 200 may sit on an arm 292, which itself may be secured to a vehicle dashboard/window/etc. using a suction cup 294. This arm 292 is one example of a docking station to which the navigation device 200 can be docked.
Fig. 4B
Fig. 4B
As shown in , the navigation device 200 can be docked or otherwise connected to an arm 292 of the docking station by snap connecting the navigation device 292 to the arm 292 for example. The navigation device 200 may then be rotatable on the arm 292, as shown by the arrow of . To release the connection between the navigation device 200 and the docking station, a button on the navigation device 200 may be pressed, for example. Other equally suitable arrangements for coupling and decoupling the navigation device to a docking station are well known to persons of ordinary skill in the art.
Figs. 5a- i
Referring now to there is depicted a series of screenshots from a TomTom GO 950 LIVE navigation device. This model of TomTom PND has a touchscreen interface for displaying information to a user and for accepting input to the device from the user. The screenshots show an illustrative destination location input process for a user whose home location has been set to the offices in The Hague of the European Patent Office, and who wishes to navigate to a street address in Amsterdam, The Netherlands for which they know the street name and building number.
When this user switches on their TomTom PND, the device acquires a GPS fix and calculates (in a known manner) the current location of the PND. The user is then presented with a display showing in pseudo three-dimensions the local environment in which the PND is determined to be located, and in a region of the display below the local environment a series of control and status messages.
Fig. 5a
By touching the display of the local environment, the PND switches to display (as shown in ) a series of virtual buttons 346, 348 by means of which a user can, inter alia, input a destination that they wish to navigate to.
Fig. 5b
By touching the "navigate to" virtual button 348, the PND switches to display (as shown in ) a plurality of virtual buttons that are each associated with a different category of selectable destinations. In this instance, the display shows a "home" button that if pressed would set the destination to the stored home location. However, in this instance as the user is already at their home location (namely the EPO's offices in the Hague) selecting this option would not cause a route to be generated. The "favourite" button, if pressed, reveals a list of destinations that the user has previously stored in the PND and if one of these destinations is then selected the destination for the route to be calculated is set to the selected previously stored destination. The "recent destination" button, if pressed, reveals a list of selectable destinations held in the memory of the PND and to which the user has recently navigated. Selection of one of the destinations populating this list would set the destination location for this route to the selected (previously visited) location. The "local search" button, if pressed, allows the user to carry out a search for given items e.g. shops, services etc in the local area, or an area local to a given destination, using the Google local search service. The "arrow" shaped virtual button opens a new menu of additional options, and the "address" button 350 commences a process by which the user can input the street address of the destination that they wish to navigate to.
Fig. 5c
Since the user, in this example, knows the street address of the destination that they wish to navigate to, it is assumed that this "address" button is operated (by touching the button displayed on the touchscreen), whereupon (as shown in ) the user is presented with a series of address input options - in particular for address input by "city centre", by "postcode", by "crossing or intersection" (for example a junction of two roads) and by "street and house number".
Fig. 5d
In this example the user knows the street address and house number of the destination and hence selects the "street and house number" virtual button 352 whereupon the user is then presented, as shown in , a prompt 354 to enter the name of the city that they wish to navigate to, a flag button 356 by means of which the user can select the country in which the desired city is located, and a virtual keyboard 358 that may be operated by the user, if necessary, to input the name of the destination city. The PND therefore additionally provides the user with a list 360 of selectable cites.
Fig. 5e
The user in this instance wishes to navigate to Amsterdam, and on selection of Amsterdam from the list 360 (involving scrolling through the list from the "R" entries) the PND displays, as shown in , a virtual keyboard 362 by means of which a user can input street names, a prompt 366 for entry of a streetname and, in this instance, as the user has previously navigated to a street in Amsterdam, a list 364 of selectable streets in Amsterdam.
In this example the user wishes to navigate to the street, Rembrandtplein, that they have previously visited and so selects Rembrandtplein from the displayed list 364.
Fig. 5f
Once a street has been selected, the PND then displays a smaller virtual keypad 368 and prompts the user, by means of prompt 370, to enter the number of the house in the selected street and city that they wish to navigate to. If the user has previously navigated to a house number in this street, then that number (as shown in ) is initially shown. If, as in this instance, the user wishes to navigate to No. 35, Rembrandtplein once again, then the user need only touch a "done" virtual button 372 displayed at the bottom right hand corner of the display. If the user should wish to navigate to a different house number in Rembrandtplein, then all they need do is operate the keypad 368 to input the appropriate house number.
Fig. 5g
Once the house number has been input, the user is asked in , whether they wish to depart, now, at a specific date and time or at no specific date and time. In this instance the user is not concerned about leaving at a particular time and hence selects the "no specific date and time" option and presses the "done" virtual button 374.
Figure 5h
Fig. 5i
Selecting the "done" button 374 causes the PND to display a further set of virtual buttons as shown in offering options as to the type of route the user wishes to calculate, for example the fastest route, an eco route, the shortest route, a route avoiding motorways, a walking route, or further options accessed by pressing the arrow shaped virtual button. In this case, the user selects the fastest route using button 376. This causes the PND to calculate a route between the current location and the selected destination and to display that route 378, as shown in , on a relatively low magnification map that shows the entire route. The user provided with a "done" virtual button 380 which they can press to indicate that they are happy with the calculated route, a "find alternative" button 382 that the user can press to cause the PND to calculate another route to the selected destination, and a "details" button 384 that a user can press to reveal selectable options for the display of more detailed information concerning the currently displayed route 378. The display includes a summary tab 390 providing a summary of the route information, and a further traffic tab 392 which the user may select to view detailed live traffic information for the route.
Figures 6-12
Figures 8
9
Some embodiments will now be described by reference to . and illustrate an embodiment in accordance with the invention as claimed.
Figures 6 and 7
Figure 6
Figure 6
A first embodiment will be described by reference to . This embodiment is concerned with a method by which a user may select a path indicative of a route to be calculated. is a schematic representation of a display of a region of a map 400 in which region the user desires to calculate a route in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. The user will navigate to a display of a map region of interest such as that shown in by a conventional operation. The display 400 includes a number virtual buttons including an "Options" button 410, a "Find" button 412, a "Panning" button 414 and a "Done" button 416. The find and panning buttons may be used to help the user navigate to the relevant area of the map for indicating a route. The map also includes a zoom control bar 418.
In the illustrated example, the displayed area of the map 400 includes the user's home location which indicated by the home icon 402. The user wishes to calculate a route between the home location 402 and a work location 404 indicated by the star symbol generally north east of the home location. In this example the user's home location is in Utrecht and the user's work location is in Amsterdam.
Figures 5A-i
Rather than selecting the start point as being the home address, and inputting a destination in the manner described above in relation to via a series of menus, in this case the user simply draws their finger in the direction of the arrow 406 over the displayed map in a gesture generally indicative of the path of the route to be calculated. As the user performs this gesture, the selected path is highlighted on the display to provide the arrow 406 marked on the display 400. The processor determines from the direction in which the user traced the path on the display the desired direction of travel. In the embodiment illustrated this is indicated with the arrowhead.
When the user has drawn the desired path on the display they may press the "Done" button 416 so that the device proceeds to carry out a route calculation based on the schematically indicated path. The PND then determines the start point and destination for the schematic route indicated by the user. In this case, the PND recognises that the indicated start point is in the vicinity of the user's home address, and therefore selects the start point as the home address. The PND determines that the schematically indicated destination is in the vicinity of the user's work address, and therefore determines that the work address is the intended destination.
Figure 7
Figures 5A-i
As shown in , the device then proceeds to calculate a route between the home and work addresses of the user, displaying the route 408 on the map display 400 in the same manner as when a route is selected using the conventional method described in . The PND retrieves digital map data for at least part of the region of the map included in the schematically indicated path 406 and uses the digital map data to determine a route.
Figures 5a -i
It will be appreciated that in this instance the user only had to draw their finger over the display in order for the PND to infer the desired route to be calculated and present a calculated route, and did not have to go through a sequence of menu options to select the start point, destination and route options using speech or text based commands as illustrated by reference to the conventional method of . The necessary information may be inferred by the system from the path drawn by the user.
Alternatively, rather than waiting until the path has been drawn on to the displayed map, the PND may be arranged to calculate the route and/or search for a start point or destination continuously while the user is selecting the path. TomTom's "Instant Routing"™ software enables routes to be instantaneously calculated, and could be used to implement such an embodiment. This would allow for visualizing route options and/or determining or matching to locations while the user is still interacting with the displayed map. The user may then be able to make "on the fly" corrections to the route or path.
Regardless of when route calculation is performed, the PND may determine the detailed route, including the start point and end point from the schematic indication by the user in any one of a number of manners. The PND may be arranged to compare the schematically indicated start and destination points to stored locations, such as stored favourites, recently visited locations, home/work address, frequently visited locations, business locations, address book entries, leisure locations etc. The user may be able to set preferences as to how the PND will determine the detailed route. For example they may set that the PND should search first among favourites destinations when determining the detailed destination from the schematic destination, or alternatively among recently visited destinations. Another approach would be for the PND to match the start point and destination to significant map features e.g. towns, villages. This would avoid the need to take into account stored location information, and could provide a default in the event that no such stored information had been set, or if the user had not set preferences as to which categories of stored information should take precedence.
The PND may take into account the time of day or week when performing the search, and may search among different categories depending upon the time of day or week. The time may be the current time, or a time specified by the user e.g. when they plan to travel the route. For example, at a given time when the user is typically at work, e.g. weekday mornings, the PND may first search among stored work locations, while at weekends, the PND may search first among leisure locations. A different start point may then be determined for the same route depending upon the time of the day or week. Such time preferences may be set by the user depending upon their usual habits, working patterns etc. Other conditions which may be taken into account when searching for locations may include weather, or a user's previous actions, e.g. a derived user profile which may be derived by the PND from e.g. historical visiting profiles, or set by a user via their website etc.
In the event that the PND finds more than one possible option for the start point or destination, or simply to confirm the selection, the user may be presented with a menu of options from which to select, with the most likely, or preferred type of start point/destination e.g. a favourite at the top of the list. This may proceed in a similar manner to suggesting destinations using conventional systems, which may proposed recently visited destinations or favourite destinations from which the user may make a selection. Alternatively, to minimise the inputs required from the user, the PND may simply present the user with a calculated route based on its inferences in accordance with preset preferences, or most likely destination/start point inferred from the schematic indication.
Figures 5a-i
The system may calculate the detailed route between the start point and destination once established according to preset preferences in the same manner as when the start point and destination of a route are conventionally indicated in the manner described with respect to . For example the PND may take into account preset preferences such as the user's desire to calculate the fastest route or a walking route. These may have been preset or could be set in response to a further menu displayed by the device prior to calculation of the route.
In exemplary embodiments the PND may additionally match the schematically illustrated route between the start point and destination, or parts thereof, to nearby significant map features such as major roads, or to stored locations or sections of route, such as a recently travelled sections of road, or a frequently travelled section of road, and use such points or stretches of route in the route calculation. In other words, rather than simply inferring into account the start point, destination and direction of travel from the schematically indicated path, and calculating a route in accordance with conventional techniques, the PND may additionally infer at least parts of the detailed route between the start point and destination from the path drawn by the user. In this way, the PND may calculate a detailed route likely to accord with the user's intention, without the user needing to make further selections. This may be carried out in a similar manner to the matching of destination and start point locations. This may be carried out in a similar manner to when a start point and/or destination are determined as discussed above, and may involve taking into account a time to determine how to search for routes, or via points.
It is envisaged that if the user wanted to cancel or restart the route after starting to draw it on the display, they could do so using a different type of gesture which would be recognised by the PND. For example the device may be arranged to recognise a further wiping gesture, or a discontinuity in the path as indicative that the user wanted to start again.
Figure 7
Rather than just proposing a route as shown in , the device may calculate a detailed itinerary from the schematically indicated path, providing a route which goes via certain intermediate destinations or via points in a given order. This may involve matching the route to nearby map features or stored locations/routes in a similar manner to that described above in relation to the route calculation. The system may use route planning settings, and/or user preferences to infer an itinerary. The PND may infer intermediate destinations or via points from preset user preferences. For example the user may predefine that they wished to carry out a business trip, and the via point or destinations may be selected from stored contacts or favourites labelled as "Business Contacts" which are found to be near to the determined route. Alternatively the user may define that the itinerary is in relation to a "Leisure Trip", and the PND may search among favourites or stored locations which are marked "Leisure", or are point of interest (POI) locations. Point of interest categories might include restaurants, playgrounds, castles, etc. The time of day or week may be taken into account when performing the search. Alternatively, e.g. if the user has not set any preferences, the PND may take nearby significant map features such as towns or villages closest to the indicated path as via points or intermediate destinations in this itinerary.
Figures 6 and 7
It is envisaged that multiple users could simultaneously interact with a displayed digital map in the manner described by reference to to each draw a path on to the displayed map indicative of a route to be calculated. The PND may then simultaneously calculate and display the routes, enabling the users to discuss route options as they might conventionally using a large paper map.
Although the embodiments above have been described in relation to searching among stored location or route data, it is envisaged that searching may be carried out among any specified location or route data accessed by the apparatus in any manner e g. among inferred or downloaded specified location or route data etc. Stored specified location data may be stored by the memory of the apparatus or remotely therefrom.
Figure 8
Figures 6 and 7
shows another embodiment in which a route has already been calculated and displayed on the map for the user to review. The route may have been calculated in the conventional manner, or may have been calculated on the basis of a path schematically indicated by the user using a method as described by reference to . In this instance the user wishes to modify the route so that it does not go via a particular town.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Figure 7
The detailed route calculated 420 is highlighted on the map as shown in . The display includes a number of virtual buttons including one button 422 denoted "Options". The user may enter the alternative route setting screen by selecting the "Options" button 422 when the detailed route is displayed as shown in . This may bring up certain options including calculating an alternative route, which may then enable functionality to allow the user to indicate the desired change. Alternatively the user may be able to directly modify the indicated desired modification when the detailed route is displayed as shown in without needing to go through any further menu system.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Figures 6 and 7
In order to inform the system that they wish to eliminate part of the route, the user performs a wiping type motion on part of the displayed detailed route 420. A wiped area 440 is displayed on the detailed route 420 corresponding to the user's indication. Once the user removes their finger from the screen, or in some cases, after pressing the "done" button 442 , the PND then calculates an alternative route avoiding the indicated area. illustrates the alternative route. This alternative route is marked as the path 450 in alongside the original unmodified route 420. The PDA may display information about the alternative route, or a comparison of it to the original route in a similar manner to when a user invokes alternative route calculating functionality using conventional methods. For example, the system may provide details regarding the length or travel time of the alternative route in comparison to the original route, or the traffic levels on the alternative route. Thus it will be seen that the user was able to readily specify a change to the proposed route by directly indicating an area to be avoided on the displayed map, rather than going through menu options to specify the locations to be avoided after selecting a calculate alternative route option in a conventional manner. The system determines the digital map data corresponding to the indicated region to enable the modified route to be calculated. The apparatus may be arranged to infer a particular location or route to be avoided from the selected region indicated by a user in a similar manner to the embodiments of above, e.g. by searching for stored locations or significant map features located in the selected region. The search may take into account heuristic factors, e.g. a time of day in order to infer a location or feature to be included or avoided.
The part of the route to be avoided could be a part of the route the user wishes to avoid for any reason. The user may wish to override a route suggested on the basis of preset preferences. If the PND has displayed traffic information relating to the route, as would be the case for the GO 950 LIVE device, the area may be an area the user has decided to avoid as it is shown to have high levels of traffic.
Figure 8
If the user instead wished to modify the originally calculated route to go via a particular destination, the user could swipe their finger over the desired area to be included in the route in a similar manner to the way in which a part of the route was deleted in . The system may then calculate an alternative route in a similar manner. The system may determine that the indicated region is to be included or excluded depending upon whether it includes a part of the original route, or from the gesture used by the user to indicate the region. Rather than performing a wiping action, the user could instead draw an shape or line to indicate a region to be avoided or included in a route.
The route may be modified as the user selects the region to be included or excluded using an instantaneous route calculation algorithm as discussed above. Likewise, it is envisaged that multiple users may simultaneously select regions to be included or excluded in routes to be calculated or by way of modification of proposed routes, enabling the digital map to be used similarly to a paper map, as a tool to discuss possible route options.
Figures 8
9
Figures 6 and 7
Figures 6 and 7
In the examples shown in and , the user is shown as modifying an already calculated route. However, the same process could be used when initially setting a route, with the user indicating areas to be included or avoided in the route using similar gestures. Such an embodiment could be used if the user only wishes to exclude or include certain locations rather than indicating the entirety of the route as illustrated in . For example, the user may already have indicated a start point and destination in a conventional manner, or by using gestures as shown in . The PND may then invite the user to indicate areas to be included or avoided in the detailed route to be calculated before proceeding with a route calculation according to existing settings.
A similar approach may be used for the user to remove or avoid particular point locations such as intermediate destinations, way points or start or destination locations in a proposed route. The user may then indicate a location to be included or excluded by a manual gesture directly upon the displayed map. This may be carried out on a magnified view of the map.
Figures 10
11 and 12
Figure 10
Figure 10
Figure 10
Another embodiment is shown by reference to , . In this embodiment, the PND is arranged to allow a user to indicate a selected portion of a displayed map using a touch based gesture. The map details are not shown in for ease of illustration. illustrates an embodiment in which the PND is arranged to receive a multi touch gesture based indication on the display, and infer a selected region therefrom. In the embodiment the user touches a portion of the display using two fingers to provide pinch points 502 in a multi-touch gesture. As the user performs this gesture, the PDA determines a boundary 503 having a circumference passing through the pinch points. The boundary 503 encloses certain points denoted as dark stars 504. The boundary 503 excludes a further point 506, denoted by the light star lying outside the boundary 503. In this way, the boundary 503 defines a search area 505 of included points. The PND may thus determine which digital map data for the displayed corresponds to the region enclosed by the boundary 503. The boundary 503 and the area enclosed thereby defines a selected region in respect of which operations may be carried out. The boundary identifies a subset of the digital map data and/or navigation data associated with the map of interest to the user.
Figure 10
Figure 11
Figure 12
The multi touch gesture embodiment of is only one example of the way in which a user may indicate a selected region of a displayed map. In an alternative approach is used. Here the user presses their finger against the display screen. This causes a boundary 600 in the form of a circle to appear on the map centered about the point of contact. As the user keep their finger pressed on the display the circle increases in radius to the size shown in . The growth of the radius may be in response to the duration that the user keeps their finger pressed against the display, or the amount of pressure applied. The circle grows until such time as the user removes their finger from the display, indicating that the desired selected region bounded by the boundary 600 has been set. The selected region is highlighted on the display.
There are numerous other ways in which the user might define such a boundary defining a selected region and hence a set of included and excluded points in the displayed map. Rather than using a multi touch gesture, the user could draw a shape covering the desired selected region on the displayed map, or a line indicative of the boundary of the desired selected region. Such a line could be in the shape of a lasso. In other arrangements, the PND may present the user with a manipulable boundary to enable them to set the selected area. For example the user may be able to drag or resize the boundary etc.
In embodiments in which the PND presents the user with a boundary, the user may first specify that they wish to enter a boundary setting mode using an initial input, and then may be presented with the boundary e.g. to manipulate or whose size is to be set in a second operation. The initial input may be used to set the centre point of the boundary presented to the user.
Figures 10-12
The functionality of may be invoked at any point where a selected region is to be set. The user may first need to select or confirm that they wish to enter a selected region setting mode.
Figures 10 to 12
The embodiments of may be of use where the user wishes to specify a selected region of the map for any reason. Once the selected region has been set the PND may carry out any of a number of operations. The operations may use digital map data relating to the selected region. For example, in one arrangement, the selected region of the map may be a region which the user wishes to search for points of interest, or selected points of interest categories. The PND may carry out a search of the area for POIs in general, or specified categories thereof, and display the results on the map. The PND may display only POIs belonging only to certain recently used POI categories, or may employ heuristics to determine which POI categories to display, for example, based on time of day, destination chosen, whether the device is in a leisure or business mode etc. Searches may be carried out in respect of any of a range of items, including objects or persons. For example the user may wish to search for speed cameras, river crossings, address book entries etc, or for the presence of a contact in the region.
Figures 10-12
Another application of the embodiments of is in relation to setting an alert region. For example the selected area may be an area in which the user wishes to receive warnings regarding the presence of speed traps. The PND may provide such alerts when the user enters or leaves the selected region, or both.
The selected region may be a region which the user wishes to monitor in respect of a change. The change may be a change in relation to map features, e.g. speed cameras etc, or a given event, for example the entry or exit of a contact into the area. The PND may be arranged to provide an alert when the given change occurs.
Figure 10-12
The embodiment may be used in a wide variety of applications where the user wishes to specify a selected region to the PND. This may be as part of a process to set up the PND or provide user preferences. For example, the user may specify the extent of a selected region in relation to which the PND is to carry out a function, such as providing warnings of speed traps, information regarding fuel prices etc.
Figures 10-12
The embodiment of may involve determining and using digital map data in the form of navigation data to perform an operation in respect of the selected region. Navigation data is digital map data which carries relevance for navigation in its broadest sense. Navigation data may be data relating to the road network. Navigation data may include data relating to the attributes of locations and/or roads in the selected region. For example this may include attributes of routes in the form of speed limits, scenicity, average wind direction/speed, closed hours, danger levels, level of windingness, surface quality, typical traffic levels etc, although these are only a few of the many possible types of attribute. The data may relate to attributes of general interest, or of interest to certain categories of user e.g. bikers. For example, bikers may be interested in how winding roads are, or the level of lorry traffic, road surface quality etc. In some cases, point or area based locations such as points of interest, contacts, favourites, local search results etc, may be considered to be navigation data. Such point or area based locations, such as national parks etc may influence the navigation data of routes passing through the area. For example, the presence of such points or areas may influence scenic level of the route. The apparatus may be arranged to perform operations of the type described above using such determined navigation data. By way of example, the apparatus may be arranged to perform a search for given types of navigation data relating to the selected region, e.g. a particular type of road attribute etc. The apparatus may be arranged to display a particular type of navigation data e.g. road attribute relating to roads in the selected region. Digital map data in the form of navigation data may be stored by the navigation apparatus e.g. in conjunction with other types of digital map data, or may be obtained by the apparatus e.g. in real time, or inferred from a person. For example the PND may be arranged to obtain location data relating to a person's friends from a social networking site.
Figures 10-12
In some further examples, the embodiment of may be used to set an area in respect of which certain navigation data, such as attribute data is to be searched for and displayed. Examples of such navigation data may include wind strength/direction, scenic level etc. Such information may be taken into account by a user to plan a route, and may influence whether the user wishes to avoid or go via the area. For example a caravan user may wish to avoid routes having high average wind speeds. A biker may be interested in the level of windingness of roads, the surface quality, typical levels of lorries etc.
Figures 6 to 12
Although the embodiments described in have been described by reference to a system including a touch display, in which the user directly indicates a region of the map by touching a part of the display, it will be appreciated that a pointer based system in which a user manipulates a cursor could also be used, or any other suitable technique which enables the user to indicate a selected region on the map display. Such implementations might be appropriate in relation to a mapping device provided by a computing resource rather than a PND, enabling the user to interact with the digital map and cause operations to occur in relation to the digital map data using a mouse, touch pad or other such interface. It is envisaged that a key or rotary based input could also be used in some situations.
Figures 11 to 12
The embodiment of is particularly applicable to non-touch based systems. For example, the user could specify the centre point of the boundary using a mouse click or operation of a user input device such as a rotary dial or a button once a cursor had been positioned in the appropriate part of the display. Rather than providing a boundary which grows over time or in response to a user action, the PND may present the user with a boundary illustrated on the display which the user may manipulate using a user input device such as a dial, mouse, touch pad etc. to indicate the selected region.
Figures 6 to 9
While the embodiments of have been described by reference to the use of a single touch gesture, it is envisaged that a multi-touch gesture could alternatively be used to provide a selected region in the form of a path to be calculated. Regardless or whether a touch based indication or other form of indication is used, the path may be selected using one or more indications. For example, rather than being formed by a single line drawn on to the displayed map as shown, the path may be selected using multiple indications which together provide the selected region or path, such as two lines drawn perpendicular to one another etc.
Figures 10-12
In accordance with any of the embodiments, and particularly that of , the processor may be arranged to infer a selected area from one or more indications provided by a user. For example, the user may provide one or more indications of an approximate area from which the processor may infer a precise selected area. The user may generally indicate a region comprising both land and sea, e.g. a cluster of islands. The processor may then be arranged to infer a boundary of a precise selected region including only the land parts of the area. This may be achieved using a suitable underlying algorithm. In another arrangement, the processor may infer from an indication within a given region the entire region is to be selected. For example, an indication of a region comprised in a state may allow the processor to infer that the entire state is to be selected. The way in which the processor infers the selected region from an indication may be set by, for example, specifying a mode of operation of the device, or performing another setting operation. Such settings may be specified by a user, or preset. The processor may operate according to a default setting depending upon the type of operation the user is trying to perform e.g. map correction, search etc.
Figures 6 to 12
Figure 5a
A further application of the embodiments shown in would be in relation to map corrections. The PND may include an option in the main menu of the type shown in inviting the user to submit a map correction. When the user selects this virtual button they may select a region of the map to be displayed including an area in which they wish to make a correction. Conventionally a correction is specified using a menu-based system to enable the user to identify the nature of the correction, and the part of the map to which it is to be applied. However using the techniques of the present invention, the user may instead indicate the change to be made directly using a gesture on the display, or otherwise pointing to a part of the display using a touch based system or otherwise. For example the user may swipe over a one-way road to change the direction of the road, or may carry out a wiping gesture on a road that is blocked, draw in turn restrictions, roundabouts etc. The PND may be arranged to infer from the nature of the gesture the type of correction to be made.
Figures 10-12
Another application, particularly relevant to the embodiment of , would enable a user to specify an area to enable them to input digital map data. For example the user may specify a selected region in respect of which they wish to submit additional or modified navigation data. The navigation data may attribute information for a given road or location of the region. For example the user may wish to mark a route as being susceptible to high wind speeds, dangerous, fun etc. Such navigation data may then be useful to other users e.g. caravan users in the case of wind speed, when setting routes.
The embodiments of the invention thus provide an improved method whereby the user may interact with the underlying digital data of a map display by selecting a region of the map by selecting a region of the map using an indication directly on the displayed map. This selection does not merely result in the manipulation of the map, but enables the system to determine digital map data corresponding to at least part of the selected region of the displayed map and carry out a navigation or mapping function using the data, or a function in relation to the specified region. In this way, the number of inputs required by the user to specify a desired operation may be significantly reduced. In the context of a navigation system this may reduce levels of driver distraction, but in the context of all types of mapping or navigation system the user is provided with a more intuitive interface and greater ease of use.
Whilst embodiments described in the foregoing detailed description refer to GPS, it should be noted that the navigation device may utilise any kind of position sensing technology as an alternative to (or indeed in addition to) GPS. For example the navigation device may utilise using other global navigation satellite systems such as the European Galileo system. Equally, it is not limited to satellite based but could readily function using ground based beacons or any other kind of system that enables the device to determine its geographic location.
It will also be well understood by persons of ordinary skill in the art that whilst the preferred embodiment implements certain functionality by means of software, that functionality could equally be implemented solely in hardware (for example by means of one or more ASICs (application specific integrated circuit)) or indeed by a mix of hardware and software. As such, the scope of the present invention should not be interpreted as being limited only to being implemented in software. | |
Editor’s note: The following in-depth treatment of the white herons and egrets of North America is excerpted from Better Birding: Tips, Tools & Concepts for the Field, by George Armistead and Brian Sullivan (Princeton University Press). The new book is not a field guide—it’s an exploration of the fine points of identification that anyone can learn with some patient study of similar species. The full volume contains 24 chapters, each focusing on a different group, from sparrows to swans and kingbirds to cormorants.
Statuesque, stately, and elegantly plumaged, with long necks and long legs, herons rank among our most conspicuous and beautiful birds. They use their long, sharp bills to stab at fish, frogs, or large insects while gracefully wading through estuarine shallows, ponds, marshes, and ditches.
Familiar to all, herons provide many new birders with their first identification challenges and triumphs. All are in the diverse cosmopolitan heron family Ardeidae, which encompasses over 60 species globally, including the tiger-herons, bitterns, night-herons, and the more typical “day herons”; the latter include the species treated here. The terms “heron” and “egret” do not correspond with a specific set of traits, and in fact all members of the family are often collectively referred to as “herons.”
Herons are generally quite social, but some species are more so than others. All these species typically nest in colonies, and larger colonies may number in the hundreds, often containing multiple species. Mixed-species feeding flocks develop in areas with abundant small fish, and such situations allow for great comparative studies. White herons are conspicuous and quite confiding, and beginners find it fun to distinguish between Snowy, Great, and Cattle egrets. They may eventually enjoy the challenge of ageing these birds, and distinguishing them from white-morph Reddish Egrets and immature Little Blue Herons. Florida is a great place to study these species, as well as the enigmatic “Great White” Heron, which occurs fairly commonly in only the southern half of that state.
Most white herons are easily identified, yet others puzzle even the most expert among us. Learning the structural differences is key to identification, but habitat and behavior are also important. Habitat preferences, foraging techniques, and feeding postures differ among these birds, and being aware of these helps narrow the possibilities considerably. Learning to age herons is also important, as critical field marks change with age [see the book for details on ageing herons].
Hints and Considerations
- Rarely are these herons mistaken for anything but one another. Beware of distant Wood Storks, immature spoonbills, White Ibis, or Whooping Cranes that might cause confusion. Herons usually fly with their necks retracted (coiled, unlike ibis, storks, and cranes) but occasionally extend their necks during shorter flights.
- Each white heron has a distinctive “GISS” [or general impression of size & shape]. Habitat can be telling, but pay special attention to feeding postures and technique, and the manner of movement. Appreciating these, along with range, helps narrow the choices.
- In nearly all cases, determining age is an important step. Note the color and pattern of the legs, feet, bill, and lores. Breeding adults have showy plumes and colorful bare parts. Winter adults and juveniles lack plumes and have duller, less distinctive bare parts.
- Juvenile Little Blue Herons are white, similar to the egrets.
- Herons in late summer/autumn provide challenges to birders, as adults are in nonbreeding plumage and juveniles abound.
- Two of these herons are restricted in range and are unfamiliar to many birders. Reddish Egret is coastal, is almost never seen away from the Gulf Coast or north of South Carolina, and is rare in extreme southern California. Many birders are unfamiliar with the white morph of this species. Also, “Great White” Heron (currently considered a form of Great Blue Heron) is restricted to peninsular Florida and is rare north of there.
- Little Egret is a rare vagrant that may be overlooked by the unwary or misidentified by the overeager. Great care must be taken to distinguish it from Snowy Egret. Get photos!
Identification
Nonbreeding adults lack long plumes and show more subdued coloration of bare parts, so they can be difficult to distinguish from immatures. The lores and bill in particular are less rich from August through mid-February, and then they begin to intensify in color (though some species breeding in the south may breed year-round). A second-year plumage in herons requires further study, and most are so similar to nonbreeding adults that they are not field identifiable. Juveniles have dull-colored lores, bills, and legs and are most conspicuous in later summer and early fall. They provide the most regular identification challenges. By spring it seems most first-year birds possess bare parts similar in color and pattern to those of adults.
Snowy Egret
This slender, medium-sized heron is for many birders the “classic” egret. Habitat choice varies, and Snowy is at home in fresh, brackish, or salt water but seems to favor estuarine shallows most of all. Great Egrets and other herons at times flock around them. Their hunting strategy varies more than that of the others. Often Snowy performs animated pursuits after prey, but at times it also holds still in crouching vigils with its neck coiled before stabbing its prey with its straight bill. Rarely, aerial foraging occurs (e.g., diving, hover-and- stab, flycatching, etc.). Widespread and common on all coasts of the United States and along the Mississippi Valley, they are less abundant in scattered inland areas. In the northern part of their range they are migratory, and migrants are regular to parts of the US-Canadian border (only rarely breeding in Canada) but become scarce north of there. Compare it with Little Egret and immature Little Blue Heron. Snowy nearly always shows a black or blackish bill with yellow lores. Its molt and plumage progression require further study.
Adults: Adult plumage aspect appears to be attained in the second fall following prebasic molt. Nonbreeding adults have relatively dull lores and bills and show yellow green along the back of the legs. In breeding plumage (March–August), adults exhibit black bills and nearly wholly black legs, which contrast (respectively) with their bright yellow lores and yellow feet (“slippers”). The lores may become reddish pink on some birds at the height of breeding. The nuptial plumes on the head form a short-moderate shaggy crest behind the nape (becoming spiky when erect). Plumes also extend off the chest and curl up (“recurve”) off the back.
Immatures: The bare parts of juveniles are less saturated than those of adults and appear to become similar to those of adults by the first spring. Juveniles have a dark-tipped bill with a greenish or grayish base, and they have greenish legs that become blackish at the front and darken as they age. In spring first-year birds develop some rudimentary plumes.
Great Egret
Second in size, smaller only than Great White Heron, the Great Egret is consistent in appearance across all ages. It is easily identified by the combination of its large size, black legs, and stout orange-yellow bill, but some show a black-tipped bill. Slender, long necked, tall, and graceful in bearing, it is deliberate in its movements, frequently foraging with its bill held horizontal or tilted skyward. Great Egrets inhabit saltwater or freshwater, attend mixed heron flocks, and often associate with Snowy Egrets. But they will also form moderately large homogeneous flocks, and sometimes they frequent drier pastoral habitats. A widespread species, Great Egret is common along most coastlines and even inland in many places, as well as north into southern Canada.
Adults: Great Egret lacks head plumes. During breeding, the lores become rich green, and the long back (scapular) plumes become evident; the latter at times are stained buffy or brownish. Nonbreeders are similar but lack back plumes, the lores are duskier yellow, and the legs are duskier and less richly black.
Immatures: These are similar to nonbreeding adults, but with even duskier bare parts. Compare this species with Great White Heron. Old World breeding Great Egrets have black bills and are accidental in North America, and it is unclear which subspecies has occurred here (A. a. melanorhynchos of sub-Saharan Africa or A. a. alba of Eurasia, North Africa, and the Middle East).
Cattle Egret
This smallest white heron has a compact shape because of its short neck and relatively short legs, both of which suit its terrestrial feeding habits. The bill is short too, only just longer than the length of the head. A bird of farm fields, pastures, and grassy roadsides, it takes grasshoppers, crickets, and frogs and sometimes follows grazing cattle or tractors to feed on the displaced prey. It is the only species in its genus in the world, and the only North American heron in which the color of the plumage changes seasonally. Prior to 1950, Cattle Egrets were unknown in North America, but today they are quite widespread across the Lower 48 and into southern Canada. Their colonization of North America was perhaps initially fed by east winds carrying these birds from North Africa across the Atlantic to the southern Caribbean (Barbados is often the first point of land encountered by such birds, and from there they could have spread north).
Adults: Breeding adults are distinctive, white overall but with rich buff orange on the head, neck, and scapulars, and orange bare parts. How these orange areas become orange is mysterious (perhaps it is topically administered), but the coloration is not a result of molt. Rarely, richly colored aberrant birds occur with extensive orange, blue-gray, or even blackish areas instead of the normal peach buff. Nonbreeding adults are wholly white, lack the orange patches, have yellower (less orange) bills, and have blackish legs.
Immatures: Juveniles are like nonbreeding adults, with blackish legs but darker bills. (Compare the blackish-billed juveniles with the much larger, longer Great Egret). The bill seems to become yellowish by winter.
Little Blue Heron
Only first-year birds are white or mostly white. Adults are a distinctive inky gray blue or purplish blue. The white first-year birds remain white through the first winter but then become dappled with slate blue–gray feathers as they transition to adult plumage in their first summer. These dappled birds are called “calicos” and are quite distinctive, though usually visible for only a few months in summer as birds complete their second prebasic molt.
Birds mostly of the Gulf Coast, the Mississippi Valley, and the Southeast, Little Blues occur widely if uncommonly inland and are scarce or rare in the Southwest and in California. In their normal range, they are generally less numerous, and more solitary than other herons and egrets, but they will take advantage of abundant food and join mixed heron flocks.
It is the white juveniles that are most confusing for birders. Similar in size to Snowy Egrets, juvenile Little Blues are slightly heavier, with thicker necks and a heavier, droopier, usually two-toned bill that is paler at the base. The lores are grayish or yellowish (never bright yellow) and blend into the gray-based bill, which becomes darker toward the tip. Note their structure and generally sluggish movements. When they forage, the bill is usually pointed down (not horizontally). The white juveniles usually show dusky tips to the primaries, and these are especially noticeable in flight. Leg color varies somewhat but is nearly always greenish, often becoming darker toward the first spring.
Reddish Egret
The white morph of this uncommon species occurs only in the Gulf of Mexico and along the Southeast coast north to South Carolina. The species also occurs sparingly in southern California (and south along the Pacific Coast of Mexico), but all individuals there are dark morphs. The total U.S. population is believed to be only about 2,000 pairs, and white morphs make up just 2–7 percent of the Gulf Coast population. In part because dark morphs predominate, the white morphs are subject to neglect by unwary birders, especially vagrants away from the Gulf region. Vagrants are known north along the Atlantic Coast to New England. Inland records are exceptional. Nearly all (perhaps all?) vagrant records, however, pertain to dark morphs.
Reddish Egrets are intermediate in size between Great and Snowy egrets. They are slender, long legged, and long necked and have a fairly thick, straight bill and long, dark gray legs. Usually they are solitary, and they feed almost exclusively in open saltwater shallows, preferring salt lagoons, and less commonly coastal ponds. They hunt in an animated, acrobatic fashion, engaging in dashes, leaps, jogs, and sprints, raising their wings for balance or to startle or detect prey. An actively foraging Reddish Egret, with all of its antics, can scarcely go unnoticed. They also commonly employ the technique of “canopyfeeding,” in which they raise their wings in a circle to shade the water and attract their prey. They will also raise and flick their wings to startle prey.
Compare the white-morph Reddish Egret to the smaller yellow-footed Snowy, or the sluggish immature Little Blue Heron. Sometimes individuals with a mix of white and dark feathers occur. They somewhat resemble “calico” Little Blues, appearing as dark-morph adults with some white feathers mixed in. Behavior, habitat, bare part coloration, and structure are the keys to identification. Reddish Egret attains full adult plumage in its third fall, and immatures can cause confusion when unfamiliar.
Adults: On breeding adults the back and scapulars are adorned with stringy plumes, and the bill is distinctively pink based and bicolored. The bill and the shaggy mane of plumes on the head and neck are the adult’s most distinctive features, but these are less noticeable in late summer to winter, when the bill color is muted, though still bicolored.
Immatures: Juveniles lack plumes and may show yellowish in the lores and a mostly dark bill. They may appear similar to Snowy Egrets, but note that Reddish Egrets are larger and sturdier and have bigger, stronger, grayish legs. Second-year birds have dark gray bills, and note how the dark lores off set the pale eye. Most second-years show some shagginess about the head and neck.
Great White Heron
The largest heron in North America, Great White is very rare outside central and southern Florida (and quite rare elsewhere in its range; confined to the Caribbean). Though they are regular throughout most of the southern half of the state, Florida Bay holds the majority of known Great White Herons, with about 850 breeding pairs. Very few are known to breed anywhere else in the world. Given their apparently small population, Great Whites exhibit a rather strong tendency to stray, with vagrant records west to Texas, north to maritime Canada, and inland to the Great Lakes. Along with their large size, a most prominent feature is the very heavy and mostly yellow bill. Compared to the superficially similar Great Egret, the Great White is heavier overall and not as bright white, and the legs are dusky pale to grayish yellow. The Great White prefers saltwater, inhabiting mangroves, tidal shallows, or coastal ponds. It is mostly solitary, usually moving slowly and deliberately.
Adults: Breeding adults have medium-long slender head plumes that extend off the nape. The back plumes are short compared to those of Great Egret. The lores are grayish, becoming bluish during the breeding season.
Immatures: These lack plumes and have less richly colored bare parts, and usually darker bills, with a darker maxilla and mostly yellow mandible.
The “Wurdemann’s” Heron of the Florida Keys is the product of mixed pairings between Great Blue and Great White herons. It is intermediate in size and plumage, showing a Great Blue–like body but usually with a variably whitish head and neck.
Little Egret (vagrant)
Little Egret is an Old World species and an accidental vagrant to eastern North America, with records scattered between Newfoundland and Virginia. The nominate form (E. g. garzetta) breeds in Eurasia and parts of Africa and has recently nested in small numbers as close as Barbados. It is very similar in habits to Snowy Egret, but generally, Little is slightly less animated when feeding. Though structurally they are very similar, Little Egret is more slender, with a slightly longer, more daggerlike bill. It is also slightly taller and longer necked, often appearing flatter headed. All differences are subtle, though, and require comparative experience to discern, and even then they may be difficult to note. | https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/how-to-identify-white-herons-excerpt-from-better-birding-book/ |
Bad public policy creates severe distortions in the economy, can lead to macroeconomic imbalances, and often has large societal costs.
Badly designed public policy can cause a lot of harm. It can cause severe distortion in the economy, misalign incentives, and finally produce bad outcomes in the economy and society at large. Take one example of a large US federal scheme that is worsening the drought conditions in the West coast.
The US states of California and Arizona are facing one of the worst droughts in recent history. It has received sparse rainfall in the past four years, less than 34% of expected rainfall, and there is a severe water shortage in the desert land. With experts claiming that the drought like situation could last for a few more years to come, this has already been termed as a ‘megadrought’.
Exacerbating the natural crisis is the pattern of agricultural land use. The preference of most farmers in the region is to grow cotton, which is one of the thirstiest crops, in a desert landscape. Each acre of cotton planted here demands six times as much water as lettuce and sixty percent more than wheat. That precious liquid is pulled from a nearby federal reservoir, siphoned from beleaguered underground aquifers and pumped in from the Colorado River hundreds of miles away. Ironically, billions of dollars have been spent on building reservoirs, aqueducts, and power stations to push water from the Colorado river to the dry states of Arizona and California. Similarly in California, production of almonds, another exceedingly thirsty crop, is expanding and it now accounts for nearly 80% of global production. However, it also consumes more than 10% of the state’s annual agricultural water use – or more than what the entire population of Los Angeles and San Francisco use in a year.
The reason that farmers are growing water thirsty crops in the middle of the desert during a harsh drought like situation is basically misdirected government policy. A relict from the dust bowl era in the 1930s, the US Farm Bill, provides misdirected incentives to farmers to grow certain crops, though it may not be in the societal interest at large. No American law has more influence on what, where and when farmers decide to plant. And by extension, no federal policy has a greater ability to directly influence how water resources are consumed in the American West.
The Bill offers monetary incentives to farmers planting cotton seeds in the ground; it also provides heavily discounted loans, which they do not have to repay in case the crop fails. Further, the government provides insurance cover on the entire cotton crop, guaranteeing that the farmers will be financially protected even when natural disasters like drought prevents a good harvest. In total, farmers in Arizona and California have received $4.1 billion in cotton aid.
The subsidies are bad enough in creating a fiscal strain and in creating incentives that draw farmers away from growing other crops. Also, due to the implicit government guarantee on the crops, banks are more willing to lend to farmers growing cotton than any other crop. However, the bigger damage it does is in distorting water usage and providing incentives to use more water than would be used in an open market. The final push comes in the form of providing water all the way from the Colorado River, a distance of 230 miles, for a minimal price. The government is also considering building a billion dollar desalination plant to purify ocean water and feed the crops.
If farmers were charged for the water, as well as for the cost of transporting water (using generators to pump the water, cost of building the infrastructure, etc), no farmer would even consider planting a water intensive crop.
In their textbook, Tyler and Alex Tabarrok dwell on this subject:
Farmers use the subsidized water to transform desert into prime agricultural land. But turning a California desert into cropland makes about as much sense as building greenhouses in Alaska! America already has plenty of land on which cotton can be grown cheaply. Spending billions of dollars to dam rivers and transport water hundreds of miles to grow a crop which can be grown more cheaply in Georgia is a waste of resources, a deadweight loss. The water used to grow California cotton, for example, has much higher value producing silicon chips in San Jose or as drinking water in Los Angeles than it does as irrigation water.
Closer to home, there are several governmental agricultural policies in India that have similarly changed the incentive structure for crop choice. The Minimum Support Price, the minimum price paid by the government to the farmers for their produce, has introduced severe economic distortions. Rice and wheat have a higher MSP than most other crops, which naturally tilt the preference of farmers towards them; rice is a fairly water intensive crop and despite this, it is grown in arid areas across India. Pulses, which do not get much support from the government, are not grown in adequate quantities. There is a chronic shortage of pulses on the Indian market, prices have risen and it has to be imported in large quantities.
As the example of Farm Bill and MSP show, bad public policy and unnecessary government intervention creates severe distortions in the economy, which leads to macroeconomic imbalances and often has large societal costs. | https://takshashila.org.in/distortionary-public-policy/ |
Antibiotic Awareness Day is a pan-European public health initiative. It has been designed by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control to encourage the responsible use of antibiotics. Antibiotic resistance is an increasingly serious healthcare issue and it's growing at an alarming rate in the U.K, Europe and the rest of the world.
Bacteria are one of the most adaptable organisms on the planet. They are able to quickly change their behaviour, form and, in some cases, even alter their DNA to adapt to their environment. If antibiotics are used irresponsibly, pathogenic bacteria are not always fully eradicated and this is how they are able to adapt and become resistant to antibiotic treatment.
Antibiotics are extremely important medicines and are absolutely necessary for certain health conditions, but the Department of Health only recommends that they are taken when prescribed by a healthcare professional.
All you have to do to help slow the increase in antibiotic resistance is take them as directed. Make sure that you use the correct dosage, at the right time of day and, most importantly; ensure that you complete the treatment course.
Currently, 1 in 5 people in the U.K do not finish their antibiotic treatment due to antibiotic associated side effects. These include diarrhoea, thrush and, in more severe cases, infections of the superbug Clostridium difficile.
The Department of Health currently recognises the problems associated with antibiotic associated side effects and one of their messages is:
“Antibiotics can upset the natural balance of bacteria in your body. This allows other more harmful bacteria to increase. This may result in diarrhoea and thrush.”
The unnecessary prescription of antibiotics, particularly for mild infections, significantly contributes to antibiotic resistance. Antibiotics are not necessary for colds and most coughs, earaches and sore throats, as they will often get better without medication. Furthermore, any infections caused by yeasts and viruses are completely unaffected by antibiotic treatment; antibiotics are only effective in killing bacteria.
The best practice when you’re ill is to support your immune system with plenty of rest and fluids. Supplements such as Vitamin C may also help.
The Department of Health and its advisory committee on Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare Associated Infections (ARHAI) have given their full support to the campaign here in the U.K, and have signed up to the World Health Organisation's European Strategic Action Plan on Antibiotic Resistance.
We’re a big fan of the work that the Department of Health have done on this campaign and we particularly like the videos and these very colourful posters. | https://www.optibacprobiotics.com/uk/news-and-blog/health-news/antibiotic-Awareness-Day-18th-November |
We have now decided to start a ‘Virtual PPG’ as we would like to reach a wider demographic of our patients, and allow more of our patients to have an active involvement with the surgery.
As this is a virtual group, the majority of interaction will be via email. However, if there is sufficient interest, it is possible that once or twice a year that an actual meeting is held where talks of interest could be arranged.
All patients and staff of both surgeries are eligible to join. It costs nothing and yet members have much to gain/contribute. It is anticipated that this commitment should not be too onerous, and indeed should help improve communication between the practice and you, its patient.
For more information, please email [email protected] or click here to download a registration form which you can hand in to reception or email to the above address.
We very much look forward to hearing from you!!!
Loading... | https://massingham-dockingsurgeries.co.uk/pages/Virtual-Patient-Participation-Group |
The present invention relates to a control loop turbine rotational speed control system for a turbine power production system and a method for controlling a turbine rotational speed.
in embodiments, this invention relates to the control and stabilisation of the turbine speed of a turbine power production system. Closed loop speed control is required to accurately set the turbine speed and also to prevent speed oscillations that would otherwise arise under certain wind conditions. The dynamic behaviour and stability of the system is largely dependent on the level of internal leakage in the closed loop hydrostatic transmission system the effect of which is modified by the operating point of the turbine speed and torque. The invention relates more specifically to a system and a method for preventing turbine speed variations that arise due to changes in the turbine speed as a result of internal leakage in the closed loop hydrostatic transmission system used for the transfer of energy from the turbine to the generator.
In conventional wind turbine power production systems the energy from the wind is transferred mechanically, either directly or by a rotational speed-up gear to an electric generator. The generator must rotate at a nominal speed to be able to deliver electricity to the grid or network connected to the power production system. If, during low wind speed conditions, the turbine is not supplying an appropriate level of mechanical torque to the system it will fail to deliver energy and instead the generator will act as an electric motor and the net will drive the generator and turbine through the mechanical gear. On the other hand, if the wind is too strong the angular speed of the wind turbine rotor may become too high for the generator to operate properly or the mechanical apparatus could break down due to the strong forces.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,911,743 describes a wind turbine power generation system comprising a main gear driven transmission for transferring wind energy to the generator. A hydraulic transmission system with variable displacement is running in parallel to the gear driven system. Both the gear driven transmission and the hydraulic transmission pump is driven by the propeller by a split gear. On the generator side the hydraulic motor varies the gear ratio of a planet gear interconnecting the mechanical transmission and the generator shaft. In order to obtain fixed rotational speed of the generator at fluctuating wind speeds, the wind speed is measured and used as an input to a controller that is able to vary the displacement of the variable displacement hydraulic motor/pump according to the measured wind speed.
It has been proposed in several publications to use a hydrostatic transmission system comprising a hydraulic pump and a hydraulic motor for transferring energy from the turbine to the generator. By employing a hydraulic pump and/or motor with variable displacement, it is possible to rapidly vary the gear ratio of the hydraulic system to maintain the desired generator speed under varying wind conditions.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,503,673 (Schachles, 1979) the hydraulic pressure generated by the turbine pump is sensed and compared with a datum value that is varied with the velocity of the wind. If the pressure is lower than the set value, the motor displacement is increased, thus increasing the turbine speed until the actual pressure and the set pressure are equal. Thus as the wind speed is increased, so the turbine speed increases in the way that the datum value is varied with the wind velocity in order to create a constant tip speed ratio (TSR).
Improved accuracy of the operating point for maximum efficiency. This is because of the low rate of variation in the hydraulic pressure with changes in turbine speed, for a given wind speed, which could cause uncertainty in its operation. It is also likely that the graphical relationship is concave upwards which could worsen this problem. Using turbine speed control the speed that creates maximum turbine efficiency can be more precisely defined.
As a result of the above and also because of the way in which the hydraulic pressure arises in the system, it is likely that there would be problems in providing an acceptable dynamic response for a pressure control system. In this event and to avoid instability, the value of system controller gain would have to be set at a level that would further compromise its steady-state accuracy.
There are some advantages of measuring the turbine rotational speed and using this as an input to a control system according to the invention when compared to the system using pressure measurements for controlling the generator speed as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,503,673. The advantages include:
Japanese patent application JP 11287178 describes a wind turbine power generation system comprising a hydraulic pump and a hydraulic motor in a closed loop hydrostatic system to drive an electric generator. The rotational speed of the electric generator/hydraulic motor assembly is measured and used as an input to a controller that is able to vary the displacement of the variable displacement hydraulic motor to keep the generator speed and thus output frequency stable at fluctuating wind speeds. As an alternative approach to measuring the rotational speed of the generator, JP 11287178 also describes a system where the oil-pressure in the high pressure side of the hydraulic transmission system is measured and used as an input to the controller that is able to vary the displacement of the variable displacement hydraulic motor to keep the generator speed and thus generator frequency stable at fluctuating wind speeds.
Hydrostatic transmission systems allow more flexibility regarding the location of the components than mechanical transmissions.
The relocation of the generator away from the top portion of the tower in a wind turbine power production system removes a significant part of the weight from the top portion of the tower. Instead the generator may be arranged on the ground or in the lower part of the tower. Such an arrangement of the hydrostatic motor and the generator on the ground level will further ease the supervision and maintenance of these components, because they may be accessed at the ground level.
International patent application WO-A-94/19605 by Geihard et al. describes a wind turbine power production system comprising a mast on which is mounted a propeller which drives a generator. The power at the propeller shaft is transmitted to the generator hydraulically. The propeller preferably drives a hydraulic pump which is connected by hydraulic lines to a hydraulic motor driving the generator. The hydraulic transmission makes it possible to locate the very heavy generator in a machinery house on the ground. This reduces the load on the mast and thus makes it possible to design the mast and its foundation to be lighter and cheaper.
A trend in the field of so-called alternative energy is that there is a demand for larger wind turbines with higher power. Currently 5 MW systems are being installed and 10 MW systems are under development. Especially for off-shore installations far away from inhabited areas larger systems may be environmentally more acceptable and more cost effective. In this situation the weight and maintenance access of the components in the nacelle of the wind turbines is becoming a key issue. Considering that about 30% of the downtime for a conventional wind turbine is related to the mechanical gearbox, the weight of a 5 MW generator and the associated mechanical gear is typically 50 000 to 200 000 kg and that the centre of the turbine stretches 100 to 150 m above the ground or sea level, it is easy to understand that the deployment and maintenance of conventional systems with mechanical gears and generator in the nacelle is both costly and difficult.
As opposed to conventional wind turbine systems comprising mechanical speed-up gears where the generator is arranged in the nacelle of the wind turbine power production system, the generator in the present invention may be arranged on the ground or close to the ground, as well as close to the sea surface for off-shore or near shore applications because of the flexibility of the hydraulic transmission system. The location and weight of the drive train and the generator is becoming increasingly important for the installation and maintenance as the delivered power and the size of the wind turbine is increasing.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,922,743 describes a turbine driven electric power production system and a method for controlling a turbine driven electric power production system where a turbine is driven by a fluid (wind) having a fluid speed varying in time. The turbine is connected to a hydraulic displacement pump which is connected to a hydraulic motor in a closed loop hydraulic system. The motor drives an electrical generator. A speed measurement signal (wind speed) is used as input for continuously calculating a control signal for a volumetric displacement control actuator acting on said hydraulic motor arranged for continuously adjusting a volumetric displacement of the hydraulic motor.
International patent application WO-A-20071053036 describes a turbine driven power production system with a closed loop control system arranged for maintaining the rotational speed of the electric generator and maintaining a turbine Tip Speed Ratio.
For turbines that are connected to the grid with the generator operating at synchronous speed the turbine speed can be varied by varying the displacement of the hydraulic motor. This can form part of a closed loop control of turbine speed satisfactory achievement of which requires certain algorithms to be developed in the control system
FIG. 2
FIG. 2
FIG. 3
FIG. 3
In the case where the generator is connected to the electric grid and the generator is directly driven by the hydraulic motor, e.g. the generator shaft is fixed to the shaft of the hydraulic motor, the motor operates at almost fixed rotational speed and for this situation the turbine speed can be directly related to motor displacement as shown in , where it is shown that normal variation of the turbine speed with motor displacement for the motor speed kept at a constant value. Consequently, for a given displacement there is a particular ideal value of turbine speed e.g. at point A for the maximum displacement condition. However, as is shown in , as a result of internal leakage in the pump or in the motor, this value of turbine speed will increase to point B. The level of the leakage flow is dependent on, and consequently increases with, the hydraulic pressure which itself varies with the wind and turbine speeds as shown in . The leakage rate also increases with the temperature of the hydraulic fluid because of the reduction in the fluid velocity. also shows the pressure characteristics of the hydrostatic system in relation to the turbine speed and wind speed. As can be seen from the graphs the turbine speed giving maximum pressure (and corresponding torque) varies with the wind speed and the slope of the turbine speed/pressure curve may change from positive to negative values. This behaviour may create oscillations or undesired variations in the system leading to reduced overall efficiency and possibly mechanical wear.
ps
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a closed loop turbine rotational speed control system for a turbine power production system arranged for being driven by a fluid, said turbine power production system comprises a closed loop hydrostatic transmission system for the transfer of energy from a wind turbine rotor to an electric generator, wherein said hydrostatic transmission system comprises; a pump, a variable displacement motor, a displacement actuator (d) arranged for receiving a displacement control signal (ds) from said turbine speed control system and further arranged for controlling a displacement of said displacement motor based on said control signal (ds), and a hydraulic pressure meter (pm) arranged for measuring a hydraulic pressure of said hydrostatic system and providing a hydraulic pressure signal (ps), said closed loop turbine rotational speed control system comprising a turbine rotor rotational speed feedback control loop arranged for calculating said displacement control signal (ds) based on deviations of a turbine rotor actual rotational speed (ωp) from a turbine rotor set rotational speed (ω), said closed loop turbine rotational speed control system further comprising a pressure feedback control loop arranged for stabilising said turbine rotor actual rotational speed (ωp) based on said hydraulic pressure signal (ps).
p
ps
p
p
m
ps
p
1
According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a method for controlling a turbine rotational speed (ω) of a turbine power production system () driven by a fluid, wherein said turbine power production system comprises a closed loop hydrostatic transmission system for the transfer of energy from a wind turbine rotor to an electric generator, wherein said hydrostatic transmission system comprises a pump, a variable displacement motor and a displacement actuator (d) receiving a displacement control signal (ds) from said turbine speed control system and controlling a displacement of said displacement motor based on said control signal (ds), comprising the following steps; setting a turbine set rotational speed (ω), measuring a turbine actual rotational speed (ω) and providing a turbine actual rotational speed signal (Sω), measuring a hydraulic pressure (p) of said hydrostatic system and providing a hydraulic pressure signal (Sp), continuously calculating said displacement control signal (ds) based on a difference in said turbine set rotational speed (ω) and said turbine actual rotational speed signal (Sω), and continuously stabilising said turbine rotor actual rotational speed (ωp) based on said hydraulic pressure signal (ps) to stabilise said displacement control signal (ds).
According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a power generating assembly, comprising a turbine and a closed loop turbine rotational speed control system according to the first aspect of the invention.
In embodiments the present invention provides a method and a system for improving the stability of a turbine rotational speed closed loop control system in a turbine power production system comprising a hydrostatic transmission system by preventing speed variations that arise due to changes in turbine speed as a result of internal leakage.
In an embodiment the present invention is a closed loop turbine rotational speed control system for a turbine power production system arranged for being driven by a fluid. The turbine power production system comprises a closed loop hydrostatic transmission system for the transfer of energy from a wind turbine rotor to an electric generator, wherein said hydrostatic transmission system comprises a pump and a variable displacement motor. Further it comprises a displacement actuator arranged for receiving a displacement control signal from said turbine speed control system and for controlling a displacement of the displacement motor based on the control signal. A hydraulic pressure meter is arranged for measuring a hydraulic pressure of the hydrostatic system and providing a hydraulic pressure signal.
The closed loop turbine rotational speed control system comprises a turbine rotor rotational speed feedback control loop arranged for calculating the displacement control signal based on deviations of a turbine rotor actual rotational speed from a turbine rotor set rotational speed. The closed loop turbine rotational speed control system further comprises a pressure feedback control loop arranged for damping the displacement control signal based on the hydraulic pressure signal.
setting a turbine set rotational speed,
measuring a turbine actual rotational speed and providing a turbine actual rotational speed signal,
measuring a hydraulic pressure of the hydrostatic system and providing a hydraulic pressure signal,
continuously calculating the displacement control signal based on a difference in the turbine set rotational speed and the turbine actual rotational speed signal, and
continuously modifying the displacement control signal based on the hydraulic pressure signal to reduce variations of the displacement control signal.
In an embodiment the invention is a method for controlling a turbine rotational speed of a turbine power production system driven by a fluid wherein the turbine power production system comprises a closed loop hydrostatic transmission system for the transfer of energy from a wind turbine rotor to an electric generator. The hydrostatic transmission system comprises a pump, a variable displacement motor and a displacement actuator receiving a displacement control signal from the turbine speed control system and controlling a displacement of the displacement motor based on the control signal. The method comprises the following steps;
In the case where the generator is connected to the electric grid and the generator is directly driven by the hydraulic motor, e.g. the generator shaft is fixed to the shaft of the hydraulic motor, the motor operates at almost fixed rotational speed. In this embodiment of the invention the relationship between the speeds of the pump and motor is largely determined by the ratios of their displacement. However, due to oil leakage in the pump and/or motor this relationship is affected. The level of leakage flow is dependent on, and consequently increases with the hydraulic pressure which itself varies with the wind and turbine speeds. It is shown that this may lead to instabilities and oscillations in the system. The present invention may remedy this by further stabilising the control signal used for actuating the motor displacement by adding a new pressure control loop
In an embodiment of the invention the control loop comprises a high pass filter in order to avoid steady state variations of the hydraulic pressure in the hydrostatic transmission system to interfere with the turbine speed control loop.
A number of embodiments of the invention will now be described referring to the attached figures.
Hydrostatic transmission systems are important in the development of new light-weight wind and water turbine systems. The advantages of being able to move the generator out of the nacelle to reduce the weight of the nacelle has been thoroughly described previously in this document.
FIG. 2
FIG. 2
FIG. 3
FIG. 3
In the case where the generator is connected to the electric grid and the generator is directly driven by the hydraulic motor, e.g. the generator shaft is fixed to the shaft of the hydraulic motor, the motor operates at almost fixed rotational speed and for this situation the turbine speed can be directly related to motor displacement as shown in , where it is shown that normal variation of the turbine speed with motor displacement for the motor speed kept at a constant value. Consequently, for a given displacement there is a particular ideal value of turbine speed e.g. at point A for the maximum displacement condition. However, as is shown in , as a result of internal leakage in the pump or in the motor, this value of turbine speed will increase to point B. The level of the leakage flow is dependent on, and consequently increases with, the hydraulic pressure which itself varies with the wind and turbine speeds as shown in . The leakage rate also increases with the temperature of the hydraulic fluid because of the reduction in the fluid viscosity. also shows the pressure characteristics of the hydrostatic system in relation to the turbine speed and wind speed. As can be seen from the graphs the turbine speed giving maximum pressure (and corresponding torque) varies with the wind speed and the slope of the turbine speed/pressure curve may change from positive to negative values. This behaviour may create oscillations or undesired variations in the system.
FIG. 4
a
The block diagram in shows the basic elements of the turbine rotational speed control system in an embodiment of the invention whereby the measured turbine rotational speed is fed back and compared with the set speed. When the measured speed is greater than the set speed the negative output (error signal) causes a reduction in motor displacement.
FIG. 4
a
further shows the pressure feed back control loop, enabling the system damping to be increased so that the proportional gain can itself be increased to a level that gives only a small change in turbine speed with changes in hydraulic pressure (turbine torque).
FIG. 1
a
30
1
3
10
2
20
10
11
12
30
12
10
In an embodiment, the present invention, as illustrated in , is a closed loop turbine rotational speed control system () for a turbine power production system () arranged for being driven by a fluid (). The turbine power production system comprises a closed loop hydrostatic transmission system () for the transfer of energy from a wind turbine rotor () to an electric generator (), wherein said hydrostatic transmission system () comprises a pump () and a variable displacement motor (). Further it comprises a displacement actuator (d) arranged for receiving a displacement control signal (ds) from said turbine speed control system () and for controlling a displacement of the displacement motor () based on the control signal (ds). A hydraulic pressure meter (pm) is arranged for measuring a hydraulic pressure of the hydrostatic system () and providing a hydraulic pressure signal (ps).
30
32
30
31
ps
The closed loop turbine rotational speed control system () comprises a turbine rotor rotational speed feedback control loop () arranged for calculating the displacement control signal (ds) based on deviations of a turbine rotor actual rotational speed (ωp) from a turbine rotor set rotational speed (ω). The closed loop turbine rotational speed control system () further comprises a pressure feedback control loop () stabilising said turbine rotor actual rotational speed (ωp) based on the hydraulic pressure signal (ps).
p
1
3
10
2
20
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30
12
ps
setting a turbine set rotational speed (ω),
p
p
measuring a turbine actual rotational speed (ω) and providing a turbine actual rotational speed signal (Sω),
10
measuring a hydraulic pressure (p) of the hydrostatic system () and providing a hydraulic pressure signal (ps),
ps
p
calculating (preferably continuously) the displacement control signal (ds) based on a difference in the turbine set rotational speed (ω) and the turbine actual rotational speed signal (Sω), and
stabilising (preferably continuously) the turbine rotor actual rotational speed (cop) based on the hydraulic pressure signal (ωs) to reduce variations of the displacement control signal (ds).
Further, in an embodiment the invention is a method for controlling a turbine rotational speed (ω) of a turbine power production system () driven by a fluid () wherein the turbine power production system comprises a closed loop hydrostatic transmission system () for the transfer of energy from a wind turbine rotor () to an electric generator (). The hydrostatic transmission system () comprises a pump (), a variable displacement motor () and a displacement actuator (d) receiving a displacement control signal (ds) from the turbine speed control system () and controlling a displacement of the displacement motor () based on the control signal (ds). The method comprises the following steps;
FIG. 2
FIG. 4
a
The steady-state and dynamic performance of the control system depends on the slope of the control line in where the maximum slope of the control line is limited by the stability of the closed loop control system. In order to reduce this stability limitation compensating elements are provided in the amplifier block of that modify the proportional speed control action.
The use of pressure feed back enables the system damping to be increased so that the proportional gain can itself be increased to a level that gives only a small change in turbine speed with changes in hydraulic pressure (turbine torque). As an alternative the proportional gain can be replaced with proportional plus integral algorithm (PID) compensator, lead/lag or phase advance compensation algorithms which may or may not be such that the pressure feedback is not required.
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p
In the case where the generator is connected to the electric grid and the generator () is directly driven by the hydraulic motor (), e.g. the generator shaft is fixed to the shaft of the hydraulic motor (), the motor () operates at almost fixed rotational speed. In this embodiment of the invention the relationship between the speeds of the pump () and motor () is largely determined by the ratios of their displacement. However, due to oil leakage in the pump and/or motor this relationship is affected. The level of leakage flow is dependent on, and consequently increases with the hydraulic pressure which itself varies with the wind (vf) and turbine (ω) speeds. It is shown that this may lead to instabilities and oscillations in the system. Embodiments of the present invention may remedy this by further stabilising the control signal used for actuating the motor displacement by adding a new pressure control loop.
FIG. 1
FIG. 4
FIG. 1
FIG. 4
FIG. 4
a
b
a
a
b
14
30
In an embodiment of the invention the control loop comprises a high pass filter (hpf), as seen in and , in order to avoid steady state variations of the hydraulic pressure in the hydrostatic transmission system to interfere with the turbine speed control loop. In the block () denotes the additional functional blocks of the control system (). This is detailed in and where it is also seen that the to system dynamics of the turbine and hydraulic system influence the control loops.
FIG. 4
FIG. 4
a
b.
The control algorithms are contained in the ‘amplifier and process control algorithms’ block in and these would typically consist of the elements shown in
1
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FIG. 10
In an embodiment of the invention the power production system () is a wind turbine power production system and the pump () is arranged in a nacelle (), and the variable displacement motor () and the generator () are arranged below the nacelle () as illustrated in . The control system () may be arranged near the ground, in the nacelle, or arranged as a distributed control system in the nacelle () and tower (). In an embodiment where the power production system is installed off-shore or near-shore, the variable displacement motor (), and the generator () may be arranged near the sea-surface or below the sea surface.
30
3
15
1
FIG. 1
b
ps
set
In an embodiment of the invention the closed loop turbine rotational speed control system () is arranged for receiving a speed signal (vfs) as shown in , representing a speed (vf) of said fluid () and further arranged for calculating said turbine set rotational speed (co) in a TSR function (), so as for enabling to maintain a set turbine tip speed ratio (tsr) and thereby achieving an improved power efficiency of the power production system () during fluctuations in said fluid speed (v1). Preferably, the system is arranged for receiving continuously the speed signal (vfs).
As has already been mentioned the speed control will act to prevent speed variations that arise due to changes in turbine speed as a result of internal leakage.
FIG. 6
shows the simulated variation in turbine speed during a start-up at a wind speed of 8 m/s followed by an increase in wind speed to 14 m/s. When operating at fixed motor displacement it can be seen that the operating speed is higher than the speed that is obtained when the turbine speed is controlled in a closed loop. This has been caused by the leakage increasing with increasing load pressure.
FIG. 7
Simulation studies show that oscillations can be created by the torque characteristics of the turbine in relation to the turbine speed (e.g. positive slope torque curve). The variation in the operating slope with wind speed of the torque speed characteristic is shown in for the turbine operating at a fixed speed.
FIG. 6
FIG. 8
Oscillations in speed for operation at fixed motor displacement can be seen in which are due to the slope of the torque/speed characteristic. This effect can be greater in other conditions as shown in where the operating turbine speed has become unstable with fixed motor displacement.
FIG. 9
An example of the benefits of a control system according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown in . For a step change in speed demand of 0.05 rad/s the controlled steady state value will depend on the closed loop gain. Without pressure feedback the value of this gain is limited by the stability of the system.
FIG. 9
FIG. 9
From it is seen that without pressure feedback the response is very oscillatory with a steady state value of 0.027 for a step change of 0.05. With pressure feedback the steady the gain can be increased as seen in which reduces the oscillations and increases the steady state value to 0.0485 (0.97 accuracy).
FIG. 5
1
illustrates schematically the elements of the wind power production system () together with the hydraulic elements and the elements of the control systems in an embodiment of the invention.
11
12
75
76
33
77
The hydraulic fixed displacement pump () is connected to a variable displacement hydraulic motor () by a supply pipe () and a return pipe (). The hydraulic fluid required by the hydrostatic system to replace fluid that is lost to external leakage is supplied by pump () from a reservoir ().
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p
The pump () and the motor () are arranged as a closed circuit hydrostatic system (), which may be boosted by flow from the reservoir by pump (). The circuit contains elements for controlling pressure and cooling flow for the pump () and motor (). The turbine hub () contains the mounting for the blades (), the angle (α) of which may be adjusted by an actuator controlled by a pitch control subsystem where this is required. Flow for this purpose may be taken from the pump () as may be any flow required to operate the brakes (not indicated).
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p
P
The motor displacement control subsystem () serves to provide control signals (ds) to the motor displacement actuator (d) for varying the motor displacement in accordance with the requirement to control the displacement of the motor () in order to indirectly control either the rotational speed (ω) of the turbine () and/or to directly control the rotational speed (ω) of the motor ().
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38
The pressure output from booster pump () is controlled by a relief valve () and takes its flow from the reservoir through filter (). This pressurised flow is passed into the low-pressure side of the hydrostatic circuit () by means of either of the check valves (). Flow from the relief valve () is taken through the casings of the pump () and motor () for the purposes of cooling these units. Flow can also be extracted from the high pressure circuit by means of the purge valve () and the relief valve (), this flow being added to the cooling flow into the casing of pump (). The cooling flow from the casing of motor () is passed through the cooler () and filter () after which it is returned to the reservoir (). Under conditions when the hydrostatic system pressure exceeds a predetermined value, either of the relief valves () will open to pass flow to the low-pressure side of the hydrostatic system.
For the improvement of the dynamic performance of the speed control and its stability, compensation techniques as known by a person with ordinary skills in the art can be applied to the motor displacement control system. These include the feedback of the hydraulic pressure and the use of PID (proportional, integral and derivative) control circuits that will allow the system gain to be increased which will improve the damping and steady state accuracy.
Embodiments of the present invention have been described with particular reference to the examples illustrated. However, it will be appreciated that variations and modifications may be made to the examples described within the scope of the present invention.
BACKGROUND ART
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION
Examples of embodiments of the invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIGS. 1
a
b
1
and illustrate in a block diagrams a control system used in a turbine power production system with a closed loop hydrostatic system according to an embodiment of the invention
FIG. 2
illustrates in a diagram the normal variation of the turbine speed with the displacement where the generator speed is kept at a constant value. It also shows how the turbine speed may increase due to internal leakage in the hydrostatic transmission system.
FIG. 3
illustrates in a diagram how the hydraulic pressure may vary with the turbine speed and the wind speed and that the slope of the curves may vary considerably for the same turbine speed when the wind speed changes.
FIG. 4
a
illustrates in a block diagram a closed loop control system with turbine speed and pressure feedback according to an embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 4
b
is a representation of an implementation of the control system where a high pass filter is used to suppress steady state variations of the hydraulic pressure feedback.
FIG. 5
is a diagram of a hydraulic transmission and control circuit according to an embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 6
illustrates the variation in turbine speed for a shift in wind speed.
FIG. 7
illustrates in a diagram how the turbine torque varies with turbine speed and pitch angle of the turbine blades.
FIG. 8
illustrates in a diagram how the operating turbine speed has become unstable with fixed motor displacement and how the turbine speed may be stabilised with a control system according to an embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 9
illustrates in a diagram how the controlled steady state after a step change in turbine speed demand depends on the gain of the pressure feedback closed loop. It also illustrates the improvement in steady state for a control system according to an embodiment of the invention related to a speed control system without pressure feedback.
FIG. 10
illustrates a vertical section of a wind turbine power production system according to an embodiment of the invention where the hydraulic motor of the hydrostatic transmission system and the generator are located in the base of the tower or near the ground. | |
A huge issue that is prevalent in the United States could very well be affecting you as you read this article. I see patients with this disease day in and day out. Some patients may be well controlled; others may be drinking water and urinating constantly.
Today we will be discussing type 2 diabetes, but not so much the signs and symptoms or the diagnosis, but rather on treatment options, specifically those that help reduce these patient’s risk of cardiovascular complications (heart attack and stroke).
Diabetes is a known cardiovascular risk equivalent and is overwhelmingly one of the most, if not the most, important factor in the risk reduction of heart disease.
The most important goal of treating type 2 diabetes is controlling the A1c level and reducing complications. One of the most common complications associated with this disease is coronary artery and cerebrovascular disease. This is why numerous new medications, as well as novel studies, have been released to see which of the myriad of type 2 diabetes medications might help to reduce the risk of heart disease, or aid in the prevention of a patient having a repeat cardiac event.
For many years the goal of treating diabetes was to get the A1c below 7 percent.By getting the A1c to this level or lower has shown to reduce the risk of microvascular complications such as retinopathy, nephropathy, or neuropathy.1 However, it is still not clear if this makes a big difference in the reduction of macrovascular complications, such as heart attack and stroke.1
This is now why the FDA requires that cardiovascular safety studies be completed on all new medications for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. This will allow providers to have the data and information to know:
1. How to get a patient’s A1c at goal
2. How to reduce the A1c while protecting the patient from a heart attack
and stroke
The first line go-to medication for the overwhelming amount of people with type 2 diabetes is Metformin. However, since this medication has been on the market for such an extended period of time, its cardiovascular effects have not been adequately studied.
In the United Kingdom Prospective Diabetes Study, however, it was found that patients on metformin had a 36% reduction in all-cause mortality and a 39% reduction in risk of myocardial infarction. To back this up, a ten year follow up study found a 27% all-cause mortality and 33% myocardial infarction risk reductions.1 Overall, pooled data on Metformin shows a possible reduced rate of cardiovascular mortality.2
Sulfonylureas are another class of medications that can be used to treat type 2 diabetes. Studies on cardiovascular benefit for this class of medication have shown conflicting results. A meta-analysis on the sulfonylureas found no increase in the risk of myocardial infarctions, stroke, or other cardiovascular events, but did not show a benefit of these risks.1
A retrospective reviewed showed that there was an increase in all-cause mortality rates with the use of Tolbutamide, a second-generation sulfonylurea, however, all of the remaining drugs in this class have neutral benefit.2
A rapidly evolving and expanding class of medication for type 2 diabetes are the GLP1 agonists. The LEADER trial looked at Liraglutide (Victoza) in patients that were at high risk of cardiovascular events. This study found that the addition of Victoza to standard therapy (Metformin) dramatically reduced the risk of cardiovascular death, nonfatal stroke, and nonfatal myocardial infartction.1
Liraglutide (Victoza) has been approved to reduce the risk of major cardiovascular events in patients with type 2 diabetes.
The SUSTAIN-6 trial looked at the novel semaglutide (Ozempic) in patients who were at high risk for cardiovascular disease along with standard therapy. The data showed that there was a decrease in the rates of cardiovascular death, stroke, and nonfatal myocardial infarction as well.1
Another GLP1 agonist on the market that has been studied is Lixisenatide (Adlyxin). This medication was reviewed in the ELIXA trial, which showed no benefit or detriment in regards to the risk of major cardiovascular events compared to standard of care.1
Albiglutide (Tanzeum), Dulaglutide (Trulicity), and Exenatide (Byetta, Bydureon) have yet to release studies on cardiovascular benefit but are believed to be in the works. A hold up with some of these medications are cost as well as the fact that they are injectable, which some patients may not enjoy.However, some of them are once weekly instead of daily injections which can lessen injection burden.
However, there is light at the end of the tunnel, as the first oral GLP1 agonist is currently in clinical trials.
DPP-4 inhibitors are another class of medications for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.In the SAVOR-TIMI 53 study saxagliptin (Onglyza) was studied and found to neither increase or decrease the risk of ischemic cardiac events.1 However, the study found that patients taking saxagliptin were more often hospitalized for acute exacerbations of congestive heart failure.
The double-blind EXAMINE trial assessed alogliptin (Nesina) which found no increase in the risk of cardiovascular death, nonfatal stroke, or nonfatal myocardial infarction, but no benefit either. Also, contrasting from saxagliptin there was no increase in the risk of heart failure hospitalization with alogliptin.
The TECOS trial looked at sitagliptin (Januvia) and found that there was no increase in the risk of major cardiovascular events, but no benefit in the reduction of these events either.In addition, there was no increased risk of congestive heart failure hospitalizations.1
Lastly, a pooled study in patients on linagliptin (Tradjenta) found that there was no increase, nor benefit in the incidence of cardiovascular death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, or stroke.
Overall, DPP-4 inhibitors do not seem to improve the risk of cardiovascular events in patients with type 2 diabetes, but they do not increase this risk either.
The next class of medications that we will discuss is the SGLT2 inhibitors.In the EMPA-REG OUTCOME study, empagliflozin (Jardiance) was looked at in addition to standard of care and was found to significantly reduce the rates of cardiovascular death, nonfatal stroke, and myocardial infarction. Based on the results of this study the FDA approved the use of empagliflozin to reduce the risk of cardiovascular death in adults with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.1
The CANVAS and CANVAS-R studies looked at canagliflozin (Invokana) in relation to cardiovascular benefit and found that there was a reduction in the rate of cardiovascular death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, and nonfatal stroke. However, be aware of the risk of lower extremity amputation that was seen to be increased in patients on Invokana in this trial.1
Dapagliflozin (Farxiga) and Ertugliflozin (Steglatro) are other SGLT2 inhibitors, but there is no current data to believe that there is a reduced rate of cardiovascular events with this medication.
Thiazolidinediones include rosiglitazone and pioglitazone. Throughout the time of their existence, they have gotten a bad reputation due to their risk and past black box warning for increased risk of heart failure.
Regarding cardiovascular benefit, studies have found that Rosiglitazone has been shown to have neutral effects, whereas pioglitazone showed a significant lowering in the incidence of cardiovascular disease.1
Meglitinides, Repaglinide and Nateglinide, have not shown any effect on cardiovascular outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes.
In type 2 diabetics who require basal insulin with glargine (Lantus), detemir (Levemir), and degludec (Tresiba), the rates of cardiovascular events seem to be neutral compared to standard of care.1
For those who are reading this article that are not in the medical field, especially for those that have type 2 diabetics, the risk of cardiovascular disease, including heart attack and stroke is real. I am confident Gray could tell you numerous instances of these cases that he has seen in the ER, Zach in the inpatient side, as could Andrew, Dan, or I in our personal patients.
The key to treatment of the disease is not only controlling the blood glucose levels to help get the A1c at goal, but it is also equally important to view each patient individually and look at their risk of heart attack and stroke and try to prevent this as best as we can. These studies above allow us to apply that data to try to protect patients from these events.
Treating a blood glucose level is great, but what good is it if your patient has a heart attack or stroke…Remember to treat type 2 diabetes as a cardiovascular risk equivalent, and to use these medications to the best of your ability.
A final note, these medications might help treat the disease, but the only way to cure the disease is through the implementation of lifestyle changes with diet and exercise or other avenues leading to weight loss.Medication can help, but will not cure the disease. | https://medgeeks.co/articles/type-2-dm-meds-cardiovascular-benefit |
We love collaborating with others and lending a helping hand when needed. Our services to wedding and event planners/designers allows them to focus on the design element of day while we handle the logistics aspect so that everything runs smoothly and starts according to the timeline established! Having Plan It Event Coordination as a part of your team on the day of the wedding or event will ensure that you are providing your clients with exceptional service in all aspects of the day. Let us assist you with creating an Experience for your clients. | https://planiteventcoordination.com/staff-assistant |
This application is a continuation application of application Ser. No. 09/226,977, filed Jan. 8, 1999, which is currently pending.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a method for depositing a copper seed layer having improved step coverage over a feature surface, and to the improved feature structure which is obtained using the method.
2. Brief Description of the Background Art
Due to the difficulty in etching a copper film to provide a desired semiconductor interconnect pattern, one of the preferred methods of providing copper interconnects is the damascene process, which requires the filling of embedded trenches and/or vias.
A typical damascene process for producing a multilevel structure having feature sizes in the range of 0.5 micron (&mgr;) or less would include: blanket deposition of a dielectric material over a semiconductor surface; patterning of the dielectric material to form openings; deposition of a conductive material over the surface of the dielectric material in sufficient amount to fill the openings; and removal of excessive conductive material from the substrate surface using a chemical reactant-based process, mechanical method, or combined chemical-mechanical polishing techniques. Due to problems with copper diffusion into underlying structures, a barrier layer is frequently used between the dielectric material and the copper fill material. In addition, to improve the adhesion of the copper fill to the barrier layer, a seed layer of copper is deposited over the barrier layer prior to deposition of the bulk copper fill material.
A major problem encountered during the copper fill of a feature is the entrapment of void spaces within the copper fill. For example, during copper fill of a feature such as a trench or via using chemical vapor deposition (CVD) there is a tendency to create voids within the filled opening; this is particularly true with regard to high aspect ratio features. Other disadvantages of a CVD process are the contaminants from the CVD reactant deposition source which may be found in the deposited conductive material and the costs associated with use of this technology. Filling of the copper feature with evaporated or sputtered copper is a cleaner process; however, the tendency to form voids still exists. Further, evaporative deposition is a relatively slow process, decreasing production rates. Sputtered copper may be used to provide copper fill, if used in combination with a reflow of the copper. However, the reflow process is typically also a time consuming process.
A typical sputtering technique for filling of high aspect ratio features of less than about 0.5 &mgr;m includes cold (typically below about 150° C.) deposition of sputtered copper over the feature surface, followed by an annealing process (without deposition) at temperatures in excess of about 400° C., to reflow the copper and obtain filling of the trench or via. However, such a reflow process presently is limited to aspect ratios of about 2:1 or less and typically requires more than a half hour of processing time.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,246,885 to Braren et al., issued Sep. 21, 1993, describes the problems listed above, and proposes the use of a laser ablation system for the filling of high aspect ratio features. Alloys, graded layers, and pure metals are deposited by ablating targets comprising more than one material using a beam of energy to strike the target at a particular angle. The ablated material is said to create a plasma composed primarily of ions of the ablated material, where the plasma is translated with high directionality toward a surface on which the material is to be deposited.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,312,509 of Rudolph Eschbach, issued May 17, 1974, discloses a manufacturing system for low temperature chemical vapor deposition of high purity metals. In particular, a semiconductor substrate including etched patterns is plasma cleaned; subsequently, the substrate is coated with adhesion and nucleation seed layers. A reactor connected to the process chamber containing the substrate sublimes a precursor of the metal to be deposited, which is then transported to the substrate. The heated chuck on which the substrate sits heats the substrate above the dissociation temperature of the precursor, releasing the metal from the precursor onto the substrate to nucleate the metal species onto the seed layer on the substrate. Although an adhesion barrier layer and a seed layer (if required) are said to be deposited using sputter deposition, the copper layer is applied solely by CVD deposition, to avoid the sidewall voiding which is said to occur if sputtering is used for the copper deposition.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,354,712 to Ho et al., issued Oct. 11, 1994, describes a method for forming interconnect structures for integrated circuits. Preferably, a barrier layer of a conductive material which forms a seed layer for metal deposition is provided selectively on the side-walls and bottom of interconnect trenches defined in a dielectric layer. Subsequently, a conformal layer of metal is selectively deposited on the barrier layer within the interconnect trench.
Despite all of the above-described development efforts, there remained a need for a method of producing copper interconnect features which did not require the use of particularly complex equipment; which provided good step coverage for small, high aspect ratio features; which could be carried out at temperatures below about 450° C.; and, which produced an interconnect structure which is essentially void-free.
FIG. 1A
Very recently, copper filled semiconductor features were produced using electroplating techniques employing particularly clean plating solutions. This method for depositing copper works well when a continuous, conformal copper seed layer is in place on the surface of the feature at the time of initiation of electroplating. However, if there are any discontinuities in the copper seed layer, voids are created within the copper fill where there are discontinuities in the seed layer. This makes it critically important to have a continuous copper seed layer over the entire feature surface. When the feature size is small (below 0.25 &mgr;m), and the aspect ratio is high (greater than about 3:1), for example, obtaining a continuous seed layer of copper over the feature surface becomes particularly difficult. shows a schematic of a cross-sectional view of a copper-filled semiconductor contact via having a bottom diameter of 0.17 &mgr;m and an aspect ratio of about 7:1, where the step coverage of the copper seed layer is inadequate and the copper fill contains numerous voids. To meet the challenge of filling features having aspect ratios of greater than about 3:1, improvements in step coverage, especially sidewall coverage are required.
We have discovered a method of improving step coverage of a copper seed layer deposited over a semiconductor feature surface which is particularly useful for small size features having a high aspect ratio. Using a contact via as an example of a high aspect ratio feature, we have demonstrated that despite previously-held views, it is possible to increase the copper seed layer coverage simultaneously at the bottom of the via and on the wall of the via by increasing the percentage of the depositing copper species which are ions. Further, the coverage can be optimized by adjusting the bias voltage of (attractive forces on) the semiconductor substrate surface, as a function of the feature dimensions.
The percentage of species ionization which is necessary to obtain sufficient step coverage for the copper seed layer is a function of the aspect ratio of the feature. Although the present invention contemplates the use of deposition species of which at least 30% are ions at the time they contact the substrate, for features having a 0.25 &mgr;m or smaller feature size, an aspect ratio of about 3:1 requires that about 50% or more of the copper species be ions at the time of deposition on the substrate. As the aspect ratio increases to about 4:1, the percentage of species which are ions is preferably increased to between about 60% and 70%. When the aspect ratio is about 5:1 or greater, the percentage of species which are ions is preferably increased to greater than 80% Although it is possible to approach 100% of ionized species, typically the deposition rate decrease makes operation under the required conditions impractical. As a result, for many of the device features contemplated herein, the preferred percentage of ionization ranges between about 50% and about 90%.
This increase in the percentage of copper species which are ionized can be achieved using techniques known in the art, based on laser ablation of the copper target, electron cyclotron resonance, hollow cathode, and applicants' preferred technique, inductively coupled RF plasma. The use of an inductively coupled RF plasma is described in detail herein.
We have discovered that when an inductively coupled plasma is used to increase ionization, an increase in RF power to the ionization source is not enough to obtain the desired percentage of ions in many cases. It is also necessary to increase the plasma gas pressure. Typically, the plasma gas is argon, although other inert gases such as krypton and xenon can be used as well. In fact, the higher mass gases such as krypton or xenon may be very effective in ionizing copper atoms, although argon is preferred due to its availability and lower cost. The plasma gas pressure in the copper seed layer deposition chamber is increased to fall within the range of about 20 mTorr to about 100 mTorr, preferably between about 30 mTorr and 70 mTorr, to achieve the desired percentage of ions in the plasma.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1A
shows a schematic of a transmission electron microscope (TEM) cross-sectional image of a copper-filled contact obtained using prior art methods for deposition of the copper seed layer.
FIG. 1B
shows a schematic of a TEM cross-sectional image of a copper-filled contact obtained using the method of the present invention for deposition of the copper seed layer.
FIG. 2A
shows the bottom coverage obtained for a 0.25 &mgr;m diameter contact via having an aspect ratio of about 5:1, as a function of the chamber pressure in the copper deposition process chamber, when a lower level power is applied to the plasma used to impact the sputtering target.
FIG. 2B
2
shows the sidewall coverage obtained for the 0.25 &mgr;m diameter contact via shown in FIG. A.
FIG. 3A
FIG. 2A
shows the bottom coverage obtained for a 0.25 &mgr;m diameter contact via having an aspect ratio of about 5:1, as a function of the chamber pressure in the copper deposition process chamber, when the power applied to the target sputtering plasma is twice the power which was used for the contact via.
FIG. 3B
3
shows the sidewall coverage obtained for the 0.25 &mgr;m diameter contact via shown in FIG. A.
FIG. 4A
shows a simulated copper species ionization fraction as a function of the pressure in the copper deposition process chamber. The simulation is based on HPEM (Hybrid Plasma Equipment Model) Code available from Professor Mark Kushner, University of Illinois.
FIG. 4B
shows the copper species ionization fraction as a function of the power to an internal ionization coil which is positioned between the sputtering target and the substrate support pedestal within the copper deposition process chamber.
FIG. 5
is a schematic of a cross-sectional view of a sputtering chamber of the kind which can be used to deposit a copper seed layer using the method of the present invention. This illustration shows the critical elements of a high density plasma (ion-deposition) sputtering chamber (or reactive-ion-deposition sputtering chamber). The critical elements include a sputtering target to which DC power is applied, an RF powered coil for creating and maintaining ionized species within a plasma over the surface of the semiconductor substrate being processed, and a means for application of RF power to the support pedestal on which the substrate sets, enabling the creation of an enhanced bias on the substrate. When RF power is applied to the support pedestal, this enables a more anisotropic direction of the ions toward the substrate and control over the amount of force with which the ions strike the substrate.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
I. DEFINITIONS
II. AN APPARATUS FOR PRACTICING THE INVENTION
III. THE METHOD OF THE INVENTION
EXAMPLE ONE—COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE
EXAMPLE TWO—A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE PRESENT INVENTION.
The present invention pertains to a method of improving step coverage of a copper seed layer deposited over a semiconductor feature surface, and is particularly useful for small size features having a high aspect ratio. Improvement of the step coverage refers to improvement of the ability to apply a continuous coating over a feature surface despite feature topography. The method is based on the discovery that it is possible to simultaneously increase the amount of bottom coverage and sidewall coverage over a feature surface during the deposition of a given thickness of material over the field surface of a semiconductor substrate. This simultaneous increase depends on providing copper species at the surface of the substrate which contain at least a given percentage of ions (the percentage required depends on the feature size and the aspect ratio of the feature). Further, when using the apparatus of our preferred embodiments, the percentage of species which are ions is increased by increasing the pressure in the copper deposition process chamber.
As a preface to the detailed description, it should be noted that, as used in this specification and the appended claims, the singular forms “a”, “an”, and “the” include plural referents, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, the term “a semiconductor” includes a variety of different materials which are known to have the behavioral characteristics of a semiconductor.
Specific terminology of particular importance to the description of the present invention is defined below.
The term “aspect ratio” refers to, but is not limited to, the ratio of the height dimension to the width dimension of a particular feature. When the feature has more than one width dimension, the aspect ratio is typically calculated using the smallest width dimension of the feature. For example, a contact via opening which typically extends in a tubular form through multiple layers has a height and a diameter, and the aspect ratio would be the height of the tubular divided by the diameter. The aspect ratio of a trench would be the height of the trench divided by the minimal width of the trench, which typically occurs at its base.
The term “bottom coverage” refers to, but is not limited to, the thickness of a deposited material in the bottom of a feature as a fraction (or percentage) of the deposition at the top (typically on the field surface) of the feature.
The term “completely filled” refers to the characteristic of the copper-filled feature, wherein there is essentially no void space present in the copper-filled feature.
The term “copper” refers to copper and alloys thereof, wherein the copper content of the alloy is at least 80 atomic %. The alloy may comprise more than two elemental components.
The term “essentially void free feature” refers to, but is not limited to, a feature which comprises a volumetric opening or space which is filled with a deposited material, wherein the filled volume is essentially free of void spaces.
The term “feature” refers to, but is not limited to, contacts, vias, trenches, dual damascene structures, and other structures which make up the topography of the substrate surface.
The terms “ion-deposition sputtered”, “ion metal plasma (IMP)”, and “high density plasma sputtered” refer to sputter deposition where the percentage of species depositing on the substrate which are ionized is typically greater than about 50%. There are various methods for accomplishing ion-deposition sputtering, such as laser ablation of the copper target, electron cyclotron resonance, hollow cathode, and our preferred technique, inductively coupled RF plasma. The use of an inductively coupled RF plasma is described in detail herein. Our inductively coupled plasma deposition preferably employs magnetron sputter deposition (where a magnet array is placed behind the target). A high density. inductively coupled RF plasma is created between the sputtering cathode and the substrate support electrode (pedestal), whereby an increased portion of the sputtered emission is in the form of ions at the time it reaches the substrate surface.
The terms “ion-deposition sputtered copper”, “IMP copper”, or “high density plasma sputtered copper” refer to a copper deposition which was sputtered using the techniques described above.
The terms “reactive ion-deposition”, “reactive ion metal plasma (IMP)”, or “reactive high density plasma deposition” refer to sputtering of the kind described above. wherein a reactive gas is supplied during the sputtering to react with the ionized material being sputtered. producing an ion-deposition sputtered compound containing the reactive gas element.
The term “sidewall coverage” refers to, but is not limited to, the thickness of deposited material on the sidewall of the feature as a fraction (or percentage) of the thickness at the top (typically on the field surface) of the feature.
The term “standard copper deposition” or “traditional sputtering” refers to a method of forming a film layer on a substrate wherein a target is sputtered and the material sputtered from the target passes between the target and the substrate to form a film layer on the substrate, and no means is provided to ionize a substantial portion of the material sputtered from the target before it reaches the substrate.
The term “TEM” refers to a transmission electron microscope.
A process system which can be used to carry out the pre-cleaning step, the deposition of barrier layers and the deposition of copper seed layers is the ENDURA® Integrated Processing System available from Applied Materials, Inc. (Santa Clara, Calif.) The system is shown and described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,186,718 and 5,236,868, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference.
FIG. 5
To further illustrate a typical apparatus which can be used to accomplish ion-deposition sputter deposition from a desired target material, is a schematic of a cross sectional view of the critical elements of an ion-deposition sputtering system.
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Process chamber may be used to deposit a copper seed layer using the method of the present invention.
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Process chamber is typically a magnetron chamber which employs a standard sputter magnet (not shown) to confine the sputtering plasma, enabling an increased sputtering rate. In addition. the process chamber includes an inductively coupled RF source preferably located interior to the process chamber walls when the material being sputtered is a metal. RF source is typically in the form of a single, flat coil . positioned between a sputtering cathode (target) and the substrate support electrode , whereby a larger portion of the sputtered emission is in the form of ions at the time it reaches the substrate surface. An RF power source may be (optionally) used to apply a bias to substrate support electrode , increasing the DC bias on semiconductor substrate . Typically a shield surrounds the area in which plasma is created from gases which enter through channels . Shield is surrounded by a vacuum chamber which enables the evacuation of gases from the substrate processing area through evacuation channels (not shown). In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, argon is typically the gas used to create sputtering ions which impinge upon target to produce depositing species such as copper species in the present instance.
When it is desired to apply a fill layer of copper using an electroplating process, this is preferably done in an electroplating bath of the kind known in the art, wherein the reagents used in the electroplating process are of high purity. Such electrolytes are available from Enthone-OMI having a sales office in Manhattan Beach, Calif. Electroplating of copper is generally described in Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, Sixth Edition, 1998, and electroplating equipment which can be used for copper plating of semiconductor surfaces is available from SEMITOOL® of Kalispell, Mont. The electroplating may be done using DC only or DC-pulsed methods of application.
It is preferred that the semiconductor structure not be exposed to air or moisture after deposition of the barrier layer, until at least the seed layer of copper has been applied over the barrier layer. It is preferred that the remainder of process steps are completed through application of the copper fill via electroplating or other means while the semiconductor structure is under a controlled ambient, to avoid the formation of copper oxides and the corrosion of the copper in general within the interior of the feature.
Prior to the present invention, the theory was that deposition of a layer of copper of a given thickness on the field surface of a semiconductor substrate provided a fixed number of copper atoms available to cover the surface of a feature (such as a contact via) residing within the substrate and open to the substrate surface. One could calculate the amount of copper atoms deposited over the surface area of the opening and these would be the atoms available to deposit over the feature surface underlying the opening. As a result, by changing process parameters such that more of these copper atoms were applied to the bottom of a contact or via, there would be less copper atoms available to cover the sidewalls of the via. We have discovered that this is not the case. We have discovered that it is possible to simultaneously increase the bottom coverage and sidewall coverage of a contact via, provided a certain percentage of the copper species applied to the substrate are ions. A possible explanation is that by increasing ionization of the depositing metal, more of the copper species are attracted to the negatively biased wafer and are able to penetrate deeper into higher aspect ratio features. Furthermore, the increased ionization may decrease the sticking coefficient of depositing copper atoms to less than one, leading to more scattering and redistribution of material from the bottom of the feature to the sidewalls. The required percentage of ionization (or the ionized fraction) of the copper species striking the substrate surface depends on the feature size and the aspect ratio of the feature. For example, a contact via having a feature size of about 0.25 &mgr;m or less and an aspect ratio of about 3:1 requires that about 50% or more of the copper species be ions at the time of deposition on the substrate, to provide a preferred. continuous sidewall coverage of the copper seed layer. As the aspect ratio increases to about 4:1, the percentage of species which are ions is preferably increased to between about 60% and 70%. When the aspect ratio is about 5:1 or greater, the percentage of species which are ions is preferably increased to greater than 80%.
FIG. 1B
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shows a schematic of a TEM cross-sectional view of a semiconductor structure formed using the method of the present invention, which structure includes a contact via formed therein. The open surface of a contact via is typically obtained by plasma etching of a layer of dielectric substrate (typically silicon dioxide). When the dielectric substrate would be in contact with a copper fill , and the dielectric material (such as silicon oxide) is susceptible to diffusion by copper, a barrier layer is generally used between the copper and the dielectric material. To provide improved adhesion of copper within the contact via , a copper seed layer is typically applied over barrier layer prior to application of the bulk of the copper fill material.
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The preferred embodiments described herein are with reference to a substrate which depends on the device functionality required. In the present instance, an etch stop layer of silicon nitride (other similar etch stop materials may be used) was deposited over substrate , and a dielectric layer of silicon oxide (other dielectric materials may be used) was applied over the silicon nitride etch stop layer . A contact via opening surface having a feature size of about 0.17 &mgr;m and an aspect ratio ranging from about 5 to about 7 was etched into silicon oxide layer . Subsequently, a barrier layer of tantalum nitride was applied over the interior surface of of silicon oxide using a reactive plasma vapor deposition technique of the kind known in the art. (It is understood that should a dielectric material which is not subject to diffusion by copper be used, such a barrier layer would not be necessary.) In the preferred embodiments described herein. the tantalum nitride barrier layer was deposited using reactive ion-metal plasma sputtering techniques of the kind described subsequently herein. However, other deposition techniques such as CVD may be used as well. Typically the tantalum nitride barrier layer thickness ranged from about 150 to about 500 Å. We most commonly used a barrier layer thickness of about 250 Å. (It is understood that other, alternative barrier layer materials such a tantalum, titanium, titanium nitride, tungsten, and tungsten nitride may be used as well.)
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Overlying barrier layer , a copper “seed” layer was applied. And, finally, a copper fill layer was applied over copper seed layer . The purpose of the copper seed layer is to improve the adhesion of the copper fill to barrier layer and to provide the desired crystalline structure (preferably <>) for transfer to copper fill . The copper fill may be applied using sputtering techniques under specialized conditions, such as those described in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/855,059, filed May 13, 1997, titled: “Method of Sputtering Copper to Fill Trenches and Vias”. This patent application is assigned to the assignee of the present invention and is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
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The copper fill may also be applied using techniques which provide a conformal layer of copper, such as CVD, evaporation, or electroplating. In the present preferred embodiments, electroplating was used to provide copper fill .
FIG. 1A
FIG. 1A
100
102
102
illustrates the prior art, which is improved upon by the present invention. shows a schematic of a TEM cross-sectional view of a semiconductor structure which includes a contact via formed therein. The feature size of contact via was 0.17 &mgr;m, and the aspect ratio was about 7.
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The open surface of contact via was obtained by plasma etching of a layer of silicon oxide substrate using techniques generally known in the art. A barrier layer of tantalum nitride was applied using ion metal plasma-deposition sputtering conditions. In particular, the plasma source power was 1 kW DC; the RF power to the ionization coil was 1.5 kW at 2 MHZ; the plasma gas flow was 50 sccm argon and 20 sccm N; the process vessel pressure was 28 mTorr; the RF power applied to the substrate support pedestal was 350 W at 13.56 MHZ, applied only during the latter half of the deposition process.
112
Subsequently, a copper seed layer was applied using the following process conditions. Process chamber pressure was 20 mTorr; plasma source power was 2 kW DC; the power to the ionization coil was 2 kW; the power applied to the substrate support pedestal was 350 W during the latter half of the deposition process. The plasma source gas was argon. The target composition was 100% copper. The substrate temperature during deposition was less than 100° C.; the substrate support pedestal temperature was less than 50° C.
These process conditions resulted in an ionized percentage of about 45% of the copper species striking the substrate surface. The bottom coverage was less than about 10%, and sidewall coverage varied from about 0% to about 10%.
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A copper fill layer was applied over copper seed layer using electroplating techniques known in the art. Voids were formed along the sidewalls of contact via , leaving an incomplete fill of contact via as shown in FIG. A.
FIG. 1B
FIG. 1B
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illustrates a filled contact via prepared using the method of the present invention. shows a schematic of a TEM cross-sectional view of a semiconductor structure which includes a contact via formed therein. The feature size of contact via was 0.17 &mgr;m, and the aspect ratio was about 7.
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The preferred embodiments described herein were produced in a process chamber capable of processing a 200 mm diameter silicon wafer. The open surface of contact via was obtained by plasma etching of a layer of silicon oxide substrate using techniques generally known in the art. A barrier layer of tantalum nitride was applied using ion metal plasma-deposition sputtering conditions in the manner described with reference to FIG. A.
132
Subsequently, a copper seed layer was applied using the following process conditions. The process chamber pressure was 60 mTorr; the plasma source power was 1 kW DC; the ionization coil power was 2 kW at 2 MHZ; the RF bias power to the substrate support pedestal was 350 W at 13.56 MHZ during the latter half of deposition. The plasma source gas was argon. The target composition was 100% copper. The substrate temperature during deposition was less than 100° C.; the substrate support pedestal and the process chamber wall temperature was about 50° C. The thickness of the copper seed layer on the field surface was about 200 nm.
These process conditions resulted in an ionized percentage of about 80% of the copper species striking the substrate surface. The bottom coverage was greater than about 20%, and sidewall coverage varied from about 5% to about 10%.
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A copper fill layer was applied over copper seed layer using electroplating techniques known in the art. No voids were formed within copper fill layer or along the sidewall areas of the via .
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The enhanced step coverage achieved by the method of the present invention is obtained as a result of the increased percentage of ions in the copper species contacting the substrate surface, as previously described. The increase in the percentage of ions is achieved in part due to use of the internal ionization coil described with reference to FIG. . However, we discovered that, due to the nature of the copper atoms, it is necessary to drastically increase the process chamber pressure during the deposition of copper, as compared with process chamber pressures used for ion-deposition sputtering of other materials (such as titanium, for example). It appears that the higher process chamber pressures slow the progress of sputtered copper atoms through the area of ionization coil due to increased collisions with argon atoms (used as the plasma source). This permits more copper atoms to be ionized by the RF power supplied to ionization coil . The percentage of ionization can be increased by increasing the RF power itself, but we have found that this alone is not generally adequate to obtain the desired ionization percentage for copper species contacting the substrate. As previously described, the process chamber pressure required is a function of the feature size and aspect ratio. However, for feature sizes of about 0.25 &mgr;m or less, having an aspect ratio of about 4 or greater, it is typically necessary to use a process chamber pressure in excess of 30 mTorr, and preferably in excess of 50 mTorr. In the particular apparatus we used, a process chamber pressure between about 40 mTorr and about 0.5 Torr is recommended, with a preferred range being between about 40 mTorr and about 0.5 Torr, and a most preferred range being between about 40 mTorr and about 100 mTorr.
FIG. 2A
FIG. 1
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shows a plot of per cent bottom coverage (on vertical axis ) obtained for a copper seed layer deposited by the method of the invention (described with reference to ) as a function of the process chamber pressure (on horizontal axis ). Curve represents data at the center of a semiconductor wafer substrate, while curve represents data at the edge of the semiconductor wafer substrate. The general process conditions held constant were plasma source power at 1 kW DC; ionization coil power at 2 kW RF @ 2 MHZ); no RF power to the substrate support platen; substrate temperature was less than about 100° C.; process chamber wall temperature and substrate support pedestal temperature were less than about 50° C.
FIG. 2B
FIG. 1
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shows a plot of minimum per cent sidewall coverage (on vertical axis ) obtained for a copper seed layer deposited by the method of the invention (described with reference to ) as a function of the process chamber pressure (on horizontal axis ). Curve represents data at the center of a semiconductor wafer substrate, while curve represents data at the edge of the semiconductor wafer substrate. The general process conditions held constant were the same as described with reference to FIG. A.
FIG. 2A
FIG. 2B
The unexpected results illustrated by in combination with is that it is possible to simultaneously increase both bottom coverage and sidewall coverage of the interior of a contact via surface while depositing copper species by increasing the pressure in the process chamber.
FIG. 3A
FIG. 1
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shows a plot of per cent bottom coverage (on vertical axis ) obtained for a copper seed layer deposited by the method of the invention (described with reference to ) as a function of the process chamber pressure (on horizontal axis ). Curve represents data at the center of a semiconductor wafer substrate, while curve represents data at the edge of the semiconductor wafer substrate. The general process conditions held constant were plasma source power at 2 kW DC; ionization coil power at 2 kW RF @ 2 MHZ); no RF power to the substrate support platen; substrate temperature was less than about 100° C.; process chamber wall temperature and substrate support pedestal temperatures were less than about 50° C.
FIG. 3B
FIG. 1
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shows a plot of minimum per cent sidewall coverage (on vertical axis ) obtained for a copper seed layer deposited by the method of the invention (described with reference to ) as a function of the process chamber pressure (on horizontal axis ). Curve represents data at the center of a semiconductor wafer substrate, while curve represents data at the edge of the semiconductor wafer substrate. The general process conditions held constant were the same as described with reference to FIG. A.
FIG. 2A and 2B
FIG. 3A and 3B
328
The main difference between the and the process conditions is the increased plasma source DC power (which was increased from 1 kW to 2 kW). Once again, the bottom coverage is significantly increased as process chamber pressure is increased. It appears that sidewall coverage is also significantly increased, although the data for sidewall coverage at the edge of the semiconductor substrate, as illustrated by curve is not conclusive. It may be that at higher chamber pressures (above 40 mT), the data would be more conclusive for edge-of-wafer sidewall coverage. However, the higher plasma source power leads to increased deposition rates which result in inefficient,ionization. For this particular equipment, lower source powers in the range of about 1 kW are preferred.
FIG. 4A
FIGS. 2A and 2B
FIG. 4A
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shows a plot of simulated ionization fraction (which can be converted to percent by multiplying by 100) as a function of the process chamber pressure, all other variables held constant at the values specified with reference to . Ionization fraction is shown on vertical axis and process chamber pressure is shown on horizontal axis . Curve represents data at the center of the semiconductor wafer substrate, while curve represents data at the edge of the semiconductor wafer substrate. illustrates that an increase in process chamber pressure is helpful in increasing both the ionization fraction, and at higher pressures (50 mTorr and higher) is helpful in obtaining uniformity of ionization fraction across the substrate.
FIG. 4B
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shows a plot of ionization fraction as a function of the power applied to the ionization coil, all other variables held constant at the values specified with reference to FIG. A and at a process chamber pressure of 20 mTorr. Curve represents data at the center of the semiconductor wafer substrate, while curve represents data at the edge of the wafer substrate. Not only is the ionization fraction lower than desired at the edge of the wafer substrate, but an increase in power to the ionization coil does not provide a uniform ionized fraction across the substrate surface. where the present invention could be used to ensure a sufficient step coverage of the seed layer to enable the complete filling of copper interconnect and contact features. Such semiconductor structures may include the use of a dielectric substrate other than silicon dioxide (such as a low k polymeric dielectric substrate); may include the use of barrier layers other than tantalum nitride, such as tantalum, titanium, titanium nitride. tungsten, tungsten nitride, or combinations thereof; may include a wetting layer of a material other than copper (such as aluminum); and may include the use of a copper fill layer applied by a techniques other than electrolytic plating. In addition, the high ionization fraction may be obtained using apparatus known in the art, other than that described herein. The above described preferred embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, as one skilled in the art can, in view of the present disclosure expand such embodiments to correspond with the subject matter of the invention claimed below. | |
💡 An essay about CIVIC’s approach to translating “Context-Aware Systems”. Thoughts on connotations, word choice, and navigating narratives around data and technology.
Why did we feature Context-Aware Systems in these languages?
Languages: English | Spanish | German | French | Dutch | Catalan | Finnish | Turkish
Accommodating different languages that reflect the plurality of thought and practice within our community is central to CIVIC's vision. From an accessibility standpoint, this is practical as we don’t always assume a western and English default in our work. The languages featured on CIVIC’s website are representative of the countries we work with and some of our community members’ first languages.
Yet the implications of considering connotation across cultures are more profound than the task of translation and clarify a challenge of how to convey what we really mean when we’re communicating new concepts in technology and innovation.
Generally, mainstream terms which arise to describe “cutting edge “ technology are influenced by Silicon Valley values and business vernacular of the Global North. These terms carry connotations, denote value judgements, and infer culture that not only transcend translation, but even for native English speakers, can easily break down into jargon. This is a bias which is illuminating to be aware of, while we can also admit that it’s hard to describe new ideas. As a society, we are constantly evolving and remixing—- building from shared vocabulary, known reference points, and evoking common narratives.
We point out this bias not to create a judgement, but to recognize that language is powerful and yet insufficiently objective. When the collision of technology (which wants to be certain and concrete) meets the language of vision (painting a picture of the world which may rely on concepts that don’t yet exist) it takes extra effort to communicate in a way that resonates as both immediately real and eminently transformative.
In CIVIC’s development of “Context-Aware Systems”, we are referring to a field of research and applied practice that considers how infrastructure can contain and evolve situated knowledge. While there can be many expressions of context-aware infrastructure, CIVIC’s expertise and applied work is primarily focused on data and digital information systems. (To learn more and browse CIVIC’s learning ecosystem of Context-Aware modules, go here.)
Translating the phrases “Context-Aware Systems”, and our guiding principle “All Data are Created” in fact was not straightforward, and brought up several fascinating aspects of perspective. This example frames how associations can fundamentally affect how we perceive technology and data, and challenges us to think about how we can reorient our assumptions.
As an exercise, we’ll dive deeper into the translation of “Context-Aware Systems” from English to Spanish and German:
English: Context-Aware Systems Spanish: Sistemas sensibles al contexto German: Kontexsensitive Systeme
Let us dive deeper into the Spanish example. Note: ‘sensible’ in Spanish is not the same as ‘sensible’ in English. ‘Sensible’ in Spanish translates into ‘sensitive’ in English.
The first thing you might notice is how the word ‘aware’ in English appears to be translated to ‘sensible’ in Spanish.
One option to translate the English word aware (EN) would be consciente (ES) in Spanish. However, consciente (ES) has to do more with consciousness in English, rather than with awareness. If we were to use consciente (ES), we might picture technology that has the ability to be self-conscious about context and decide best how to operate. However, it is more accurate to think of contextual-awareness as a human effort to strategically integrate environmental characteristics into data and technology, and acknowledge the continually evolving nature of culture and other factors informing those characteristics.
Choosing instead the term sensible in Spanish, translated as sensitive in English, we highlight the values of reflexivity and positionality that the work of creating context requires. However, whether or not you imagine “sensitivity” as a positive trait, might be influenced by your background, perceptions, and language(s) you speak.
In Spanish, ‘sensible’ is a strongly gender-coded word, with feminine connotations that can carry condescending distortions. Consider the following screenshot, which shows how Spanish synonyms for ‘sensible’ (ES) include words such as “sentimental”, “emotional”, or “weak”. | https://www.notion.so/civicsoftware/Translations-b5460fe4f30b49dd81bba17978602fa9 |
By Mohammed Mirza
While many modern day inventions are associated with the West, there are many inventions that wouldn’t have happened if it were not for the Muslims.
CNN ran a feature on inventions by Muslims that shaped the modern world; here are 10 inventions from the list.
1. Surgery
Celebrated doctor Al Zahrawi can be said to be the father of modern day surgery. Many modern day apparatus and procedures used in surgery can be traced back to him. He was the first person to use catgut for stiches, as the using of catgut eliminates the need for a second surgery to remove stiches. Many of his other groundbreaking procedures in surgery include the usage of forceps during childbirth, local anesthesia before surgeries and performing the first caesarean operation.
2. Coffee
Coffee was first brewed in Yemen over a thousand years ago. Worshipers used to drink this brew to stay awake in the night for worship. By the 16th century, coffee found its way to Europe, when it was brought to Italy by a Venetian trader.
3. Flying machine
Abbas ibn Firnas is said to be the first person to make a real attempt to construct a machine that will help him fly. During the 9th century, he designed a winged apparatus that resembled a bird costume. When he attempted to use his invention in the city of Cordoba, he flew for a few moments before falling and partially breaking his back. Many believe that this was an inspiration for Leonardo Da Vinci centuries later.
4. University
Also in the 9th century, a princess, Fatima Al-Firhi, founded the first degree-granting university in the city of Fez in Morocco. Known as the University of al-Qarawiyyin, this center of education operates to this very day.
5. Algebra
The founding of the concept of algebra is attributed to celebrated mathematician, Al-Khwarizmi. The word algebra is said to derive from “Kitab al-Jabr Wa l-Mugabala” which roughly translates as “The Book of Reasoning and Balancing.” Al-Khwarizmi was also the first to introduce the concept of raising a number to a power.
6. Optics
Over a thousand years ago, the physicist Ibn Al Haitham is said to have proved that humans see objects by light reflecting off objects and entering the eye. Dismissing the common perception that light was emitted from the eye itself. The camera obscura phenomenon is also discovered by Ibn Al Haitham, which deduces how the eye sees images upright due to the connection between the optic nerve and the brain.
7. Music
Charlemagne the first Holy Roman Emperor used to try to compete with the music of Baghdad and Cordoba. Modern musical scales are believed to have been derived by the Arabic alphabet. Among the many instruments of Middle Eastern origin that were used in Europe are the lute and the rahab – an ancestor to the violin.
8. Toothbrush
For cleaning the teeth the usage of a twig from the Miswak tree is attributed to Prophet Mohammed (PBUH). This twig cleanses the teeth and freshens the breath. Substances similar to the Meswak are used in the modern toothpaste.
9. The crank
Modern automatics had a profound impact from the Muslim world. The revolutionary crank-connecting rod system was discovered by Al Jazari in the 12th century. The concept created waves across the world and lead to numerous inventions such as the bicycle and internal combustion engine to name a few.
10. Hospitals
The first medical center was in Egypt. Founded in the 9th century in the city of Cairo, it was called the Ahmad ibn Tulun Hospital. The medical center provided free care for anyone who needed it, which is a policy based on the Muslim tradition of caring for all who are sick. Eventually this concept of the hospital spread across the Muslim world. | https://destinationksa.com/10-muslim-inventions-that-shaped-the-modern-world-as-reported-in-cnn/ |
What is a sct file and how do I open a sct file?
Scitex developed the .sct format for creating grayscale and CMYK raster images using a workstation with Scitex. Adobe Photoshop among other Adobe products can also be used to create, view and edit or modify SCT raster image files, and these Adobe products provide support for both Microsoft Windows and Mac-based systems through different versions of their applications. These SCT files are generally integrated into prepress workflow projects, in which most are expected to produce high-quality output, requiring design files in large file sizes. This means the actual quality of the design images must be retained, so these SCT files are created and saved using uncompressed formats. This is beneficial for users, since they can collaborate with their peers and share these SCT files and other design image files relevant to their projects, then make edits and improvements on their projects while maintaining the consistency of color vibrancy and overall output quality. This is even if other users in their design group use different Adobe product versions to view and modify these SCT files among other design files used for their projects. | https://www.openthefile.net/extension/sct |
Listen to the recorded workshop.
In some cases, however, depression will not be clear and uncomplicated. Approximately 1 percent of children will experience bipolar disorder, for example. Primary providers should be aware that these are not simple "mood swings,” as some parents and caregivers may call them.
The most common anxiety disorders in youth are specific phobias, separation anxiety disorder and social phobia. Other major anxiety disorders include generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and obsessive compulsive disorder. An excellent resource for primary care physicians is the Screen for Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARED), says Dr. Jiner. However, knowing which specific anxiety disorder a child has isn’t as important as knowing that there is anxiety present.
Nationwide Children’s Behavioral Health specialists recommend using an algorithm to determine management and treatment options. In short, children with mild symptoms may simply need supportive care, while those with persistent or moderate symptoms may need referral to a cognitive behavioral therapist. For children with severe symptoms, medication may provide additional benefit. | https://www.nationwidechildrens.org/for-medical-professionals/tools-for-your-practice/connect-with-nationwide-childrens/pediatrics-online/archive/managing-depression-anxiety-and-similar-issues-in-primary-care |
Example "Leaping line" version of I-V-I. Avoid more than an octave between adjacent upper voices a. Compare how this sounds, though, if the voices are reshuffled: Example "Passing-tone" versions of I-V-I, correct and incorrect.
Because so much attention has been paid to four part textures, a widely accepted terminoly has been developed. Approach and leave each doubled tone as prescribed. In this example, by contrast, the doubled tone is the fifth of the chord.
Chromatic Mediants Double the root of chromatic mediants, even if this results in doubling an altered tone. Overlaps of a half- or whole-step may be employed if it improves voice-leading, and there is no acceptable alternative. Do not double the leading tone, any altered tone including the 6 and 7 scale degrees in minorany nonharmonic tone, or the 7th of any chord.
Check for other mistakes: Continue reading on to learn how to find out what your particular voice type is. The complete figured bass all three numbers is rarely used these days. Further considerations about four-part voicing will be discussed in detail in chapter 5. It may be helpful to write down the available notes in the second chord.
Example Simple Realization of lead sheet. This version can be reversed by swapping soprano and tenor lines, as shown below. When doing so, a few guidelines should be considered. Some theorists call a skip a "leap. In the major-minor 7th chord, root in bass, the root is sometimes doubled and the 5th is omitted.
Example Lead sheet for "Auld Lang Syne. Finally, the bass voice outlines the roots of the chords.
Chromatic alterations are indicated by accidentals placed below the bass line. But all the lines are the same: Spacing The intervals between voices are subject to a number of rules. Avoid melodic skips of a tritone. Similar motion is slightly stronger than parallel motion. Click thumbnail to view full-size Example 6.
There might be too much space between the upper voices, or an improperly resolved seventh, or a sneaky pair of parallel fifths between the soprano and tenor, or whatever. Check for objectionable motion and other mistakes. Keep both common tones and move remaining upper voices stepwise; the roots of both chords should be doubled.
When the sopranos split in half, she will sing the lower melody as her timbre is darker and tessitura lower than the sopranos. The treatment of dissonance has its basis in the techniques learned in 2-part species counterpoint: Example I-V-I with leaping soprano, and its conversion to neighbor-tone version via voice exchanges.
Doubling Voices The other basic princple of four part writing concerns the distribution of three pitches across a four-voice texture. Given the three pitch classes of a triad distributed among four voices, we must give one pitch class to two different voices.
Optimal preparation of the seventh is a lower priority than making sure the inner voices are smooth. When reading Roman numeral analysis aloud, say "the minor one chord" for i, "the major four chord" for IV, and so on. When proper voice leading procedure results in multiple allowable voicings, compare the cumulative mathematical value of all the melodic intervals leading to one potential chord voicing to those leading to another potential chord voicing and pick the smaller one.
First look for half step movement. If you omit any triad note, it should be the fifth. This stepwise motion makes them much easier for the listener to follow, and in the case of actual vocal parts, much easier to sing, too. Adjacent upper voices should not be more than an octave apart= Is perfectly OK for the tenor to be separated from the bass by as much as TWO OCTAVES (the resulting high tenor register gives a particularly intense choral sound)= However, to have the alto and tenor in a low register and separated from the Soprano often produces muddiness.
Oct 24, · The alto and tenor notes would be shifted up an octave, and into the soprano and alto voices, respectively. As we will see later, this idea of shifting lines, or parts of them, between voices can be a useful douglasishere.coms: 6.
Four Part Writing Rules. para más tarde. guardar. Relacionado.
Información. Insertar. Adjacent upper voices are not allowed to be more than an octave apart. (The bass, however, can The interval between soprano and alto is very small, and the interval between alto and tenor is too big.
A perfectly-spaced chord in open position skips. Consecutive fifths and octaves should not occur in the same two parts. The easiest way to avoid them when writing four part harmony is to get the outer parts moving in contrary motion, and to keep notes common to more than one chord in the same part.
Mezzo-Soprano Voice Type: Mezzo-Soprano, Range: G3 – A5. Mezzo-Soprano is the second highest female voice douglasishere.com a choir, a mezzo-soprano will usually sing along the sopranos and not the altos and will be given the title of Soprano II. The alto should be within an octave of the soprano and ideally within a 6th. | https://qaromotyvipijy.douglasishere.com/four-part-writing-are-soprano-and-alto-allowed-to-be-an-octave-apart-37570nw.html |
Attention nonprofits...is your organization prepared to include the statement of functional expense in its financial statements? This is now a required statement.
Is your Organization ready to include the statement of Functional Expense report and related cost allocation disclosures? As part of applying the adoption of the Accounting Standard Update (ASU) 2016-14, Presentation of Financial Statements of Not-for-Profit Entities, the functional expense report is now a required statement for all not for profit organizations.
What is the functional expense report?
The functional expense report presents your organization’s expenses by..
- Natural classification
- Salaries
- Occupancy
- Utilities
- Function
- Program
- Management and general
- Fundraising
FAQs
Below are several of the questions that have repeatedly come up since ASU 2016-14 was issued. Hopefully the answers to these questions will provide clarity to some of the common questions and concerns related to reporting the schedule of functional expenses in the financial statements.
Does my organization need to have a Cost Allocation Plan?
A written cost allocation plan helps an organization create and apply consistent methodologies for allocating costs incurred in the day to day operation of the organization. Proper allocation provides information about how much it costs to run each part of the organization. This information is also required if your organization has received any federal or state funding or any type of contract related reporting.
Here are some typical components of a cost allocation plan:
Personnel costs (salaries, wages and related costs) are typically the most significant expense for an organization, which means it is critical that these expenses are allocated properly. In addition to documenting allocation methods by function, it is equally as important to educate your staff on the importance of properly reporting their time.
The most common allocation methods for personnel costs are:
- Time and effort, usually supported by a timesheet;
- Job description, typically for an employee that only works on one program/function;
- Time study, a document that evaluates and summarizes actual time as a basis for future allocations.
Occupancy and related expenses are generally another significant category of expenses for an organization. The most common allocation methods used for occupancy and related expenses are:
- Square-footage. For example, if your building is 2,000 square-feet; but one program utilizes one room which is 500 square feet, then 25% of your occupancy and utility charges would be allocated to that specific program.
- Full Time Employee (FTE). For example, if 80 of the organization’s employees work in one function and there are a total of 100 employees, then 80% of the organization’s expenses are to support that function.
Lastly, it is important to periodically review and update your organization’s allocation methodologies especially when there are changes in your organization such as adding or removing office space, a program, staff positions, etc.
Am I correctly allocating my organization’s investment expenses?
With the adoption of the new ASU 2016-14, organizations are required to net all investment-related expenses, both internal and external, with investment return on the statement of activities. As a result, these expenses can no longer be included in the statement of functional expenses for financial statement purposes. However, for the Form 990, it is required that investment expenses be included on the statement of functional expenses and is typically included in the management and general function.
External investment expenses consist of fees paid to outside investment advisors. Direct internal investment expenses are the expenses that are directly involved in the supervision of the strategic and tactical activities involved in generating investment return. These expenses include, salaries, benefits and other costs associated with the employee(s) responsible for the development and execution of the investment strategy.
Will my statement of functional expenses agree to the Form 990’s functional expenses schedule?
If your organization has investments expenses, in-kind revenue or a different basis of accounting for financial statement purposes then the financial statement and the form 990 statement of functional expenses will not agree. The Form 990 include investment expenses in the functional expenses, as just mentioned. In-kind revenue (unless goods and materials) are not included as revenue and expenses on the Form 990. These are the most common differences that we see.
We will be continuing to provide additional resources for financial reporting. Stay tuned for our next blog on How to identify and report Joint Costs. Questions? Contact us. | https://kahnlitwin.com/blogs/mission-matters-blog/nonprofit-financial-reporting-faqs-statement-of-functional-expenses |
The Preeminent Importance of 9/11 by David Ray Griffin
IntroductionIn March 2007 the progressive Jewish magazine Tikkun published an article by Professor David Griffin entitled "The American Empire and 9/11". This is in fact the first substantial 9/11 truth article ever published in a national magazine in the U.S., and is an excellent, succinct overview of the most powerful arguments for 9/11 being an inside job.
Prof. Griffin begins by noting that it is now generally acknowledged that there is an American empire, the only disagreement being as to its nature, whether benevolent and magnanimous, or aiming at a fascist domination of the world. He writes:
The historical evidence clearly supports [a] non-benign view of the American empire. Part of this evidence is the fact that U.S. political and military leaders have arranged “false-flag operations” as pretexts for war. We did this to begin the wars with Mexico and the Philippines and to begin the full-out attack on Vietnam.
After mentioning Operation Northwoods he raises the question as to whether in fact
[the] 9/11 attacks were false-flag attacks orchestrated by the Bush administration to enlarge the U.S. empire under the cover of the “war on terror.”
He states that an examination of the evidence provides a strong prima facie case for official complicity, and goes on to summarize the evidence in answers to six questions:
- How Could Hijacked Airliners Have Struck the WTC and the Pentagon?
- Why Did the Twin Towers and Building 7 of the WTC Collapse?
- Could the Official Account of the Pentagon Possibly Be True?
- Why Did the President and His Secret Service Agents Remain at the School?
- Why Did the 9/11 Commission Lie about Vice President Cheney's Activities?
- Did the Bush-Cheney Administration Have Motives for Orchestrating the 9/11 Attacks?
Interested readers (and who cannot be interested in solving the most heinous crime committed so far this century?) may read the evidence presented in Prof. Griffin's answers to these questions either in the article published on Tikkun's website here or in this PDF file (82 KB). The remainder of this web page contains the Conclusion from Prof. Griffin's article (which is followed by an Afterword, which is not reproduced here).
Conclusion: The Preeminent Importance of 9/11
The above evidence [presented in the answers to the six questions], plus the fact that all the “evidence” that seems to implicate the alleged hijackers, such as cellphone calls, airport photos, and discovered luggaqe and passports, appears to have been fabricated, leads to the conclusion that 9/11 was a false-flag operation orchestrated by the Bush administration for primarily imperial reasons.
If this conclusion is correct, then exposing the falsity of the official account of 9/11 should be high on the agenda of all people committed to reversing the present policies of the U.S. government, for at least four reasons.
First, 9/11 has provided the pretext for at least most of the malevolent and destructive policies carried out by the Bush-Cheney administration since that day. When any objection is raised to this administration’s illicit policies from illegal invasions to torture to illegal spying to weaponizing space to talk of a nuclear first strike the answer is always the same: “The critics fail to understand that the world changed on 9/11.” Until the truth about 9/11 is exposed, it will remain a blank check for virtually anything desired by this administration.
Second, the truth about 9/11 is one truth that the American people would not tolerate. They have proven remarkably, even disturbingly, tolerant of many other things such as the clear indication from the Downing Street memo that the Bush administration planned to “fix” the intelligence about Iraq’s WMDs that should have led to demands for impeachment. But the American people simply would not allow an administration to stay in power after learning that it had orchestrated the attacks of 9/11.
Third, the orchestration of the attacks of 9/11 goes far beyond any previous instance of “high crimes and misdemeanors” that have previously been cited as cause for impeachment. The attacks were in the words of Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld themselves heinous crimes. Any U.S. citizens who participated in planning, carrying out, and/or covering up these attacks are guilty of treason, as defined by Article 3 of the U.S. Constitution, because these attacks were acts of war against the United States again, according to the assessment of Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld themselves. If this treason is not publicly uncovered and prosecuted, there is little hope for the survival of the democratic forms we still have. If we fail to have a serious investigation of the prima facie evidence for such treason especially given the fact that this evidence, once examined, is overwhelming we will in effect be telling the perpetrators that they can get away with virtually anything.
Finally, to reverse the policies of the Bush-Cheney administration will require more than simply removing this administration from office something that could be legitimately done for any number of reasons. The attacks of 9/11 were orchestrated to further the project of creating an American empire of truly global scope and, as we saw earlier, this has been a long and bipartisan project. Differences have involved strategy, emphasis, and demeanor more than the goal itself. The replacement of the BushCheney administration by a Democratic administration for some reason other than 9/11 would probably simply result in a reversion to the subtler, more sophisticated, and hence more effective form of imperialism that the United States previously exercised.
What needs to be publicly recognized is that the bipartisan global domination project is, as I have put it elsewhere, “propelled by fanaticism based on a deeply perverted value system.” Those who read books and magazines about U.S. imperialism know that there has long been abundant evidence for this assessment. But the public revelation of the truth about 9/11 could have an educative value extending far beyond the circles of those who read policy-oriented books and magazines. If Americans came to see that the attacks of 9/11 were, in the minds of those who planned them, justified by the goal of creating an all-encompassing empire, this realization could lead to widespread revulsion against the goal itself and the values implicit in it values that are diametrically opposed to basic values embedded in all the world’s religions and ethical systems.
Footnotes
88 “False-Flag Operations, 9/11, and the New Rome: A Christian Perspective,” in Kevin Barrett, John B. Cobb Jr., and Sandra Lubarsky, eds., 9/11 and American Empire: Christians, Jews, and Muslims Speak Out (Northampton: Olive Branch, 2007).
89 For an analysis of the memo and the press coverage, see Mark Danner, “Why the Memo Matters,” New York Review of Books, July 14, 2005 (http://www.tomdispatch.com/index.mhtml?emx=x&pid=3602).
90 In calling the evidence “overwhelming,” I mean the total evidence now available (much of which is contained in my five books on 9/11), not merely the brief summary given here.
91 See David Ray Griffin, John B. Cobb, Jr., Richard Falk, and Catherine Keller, The American Empire and the Commonwealth of God (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2006).
92 “9/11 and the American Empire: How Should Religious People Respond?” Originally on BookTV (C-Span 2), April 30, 2005; text published at 9/11 CitizensWatch, May 7, 2005 (http://www.911citizenswatch.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=535). A somewhat revised version, entitled “9/11, the American Empire, and Common Moral Norms,” is in Griffin and Scott, eds., 9/11 and American Empire: Intellectuals Speak Out. I have used the term “demonic” for this value system in “The Divine and the Demonic,” chap. 8 of Christian Faith and the Truth Behind 9/11. | https://www.serendipity.li/wot/importance_of_9-11.htm |
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The riot on Capitol Hill last week offers a “stark example” of racism in the United States, according to a powerful economic policy maker. “What we saw last week on Capitol Hill was obviously a shocking threat to our democracy, the whole world is outraged by that,” said Neel Kashkari, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. “But I just have to say, in my opinion, if those were black armed militants storming the United States Capitol, I think they would all be dead right now,” he said.
“That is the clearest example of racism and disparities in our society,” he added. Kashkari’s comments, which came during a virtual event Tuesday focused on structural racism in education, echoed a contrast observed by many after the uprising on Capitol Hill: that participants in the largely peaceful protests of Black Lives Matter during the summer were greeted with rubber bullets, while armed rioters, mostly white, were able to storm the Capitol with relative ease. Tuesday’s event was part of a larger series on racism and the economy hosted by the Federal Reserve banks of Atlanta, Boston and Minneapolis. Banks launched the seven-part series in October, recognizing the role played by the assassination of George Floyd, which inspired protests this summer, in encouraging stakeholders to tackle systemic racism. Since the series is hosted by Federal Reserve banks, it focuses particularly on how addressing racism can improve economic opportunity. Tuesday’s session highlighted the potential for a more equitable education system to boost economic growth. “A more inclusive society means better growth and prosperity for our entire country, but to achieve this goal, we must address entrenched barriers to educational opportunity,” said Robert Kaplan, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, during the event. . “Moving forward in this effort will help us reach our maximum economic potential as a nation.” But the event also highlighted the challenges that stakeholders face in embedding systemic racism and its consequences in education. Gaps in educational attainment and access to quality education by race and income have persisted for decades, probably only widening as a result of the disruption of schools by the pandemic. These gaps have implications for children’s ability to improve their economic position relative to their parents. In addition, access to quality education is based on a variety of other factors influenced by systemic racism, including segregation of housing and discrimination in the labor market. As some of the speakers at Tuesday’s event pointed out, it is difficult for education to play its role as a tool for economic mobility without addressing some of these other variables. “We need to change the way we finance education,” said Eric Rosengren, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. “In the United States, most of our funding occurs locally, that wouldn’t be a problem if we were fairly evenly distributed across the country in terms of income and race, but that’s not how we’re distributed.” As part of the event, other speakers offered their own proposals to improve educational equity. Michael Thomas, the superintendent of the Colorado Springs School District, advocated working with educators to ensure that they believe that each student has intrinsic and equal worth. “We repeatedly wash off guilt, masked in these capitalist ideals that it’s okay, there will always be a socially accepted ‘lower class’, ” he said. “If you fall into that category, we can accept it because that is capitalism at stake. That’s a challenge that comes into our classrooms too – those same ideals. “Alan Page, a retired Minnesota Supreme Court Justice, proposed enshrining the child’s right to a quality education in state constitutions. Myra Jones-Taylor, Policy Director for Zero to Three, a nonprofit organization focused on early childhood development, advocated for more predictable work schedules for parents and widespread paid family leave so babies could have access to “care and predictable receptive routines, ”that help them thrive. “If you don’t have family financial security and you don’t focus on the needs of babies, all of these things that we’re talking about for educational success later on will be undermined,” Jones-Taylor said. Finally, Takeru “TK” Nagayoshi, the 2020 Massachusetts Teacher of the Year, offered Fed governors and other panelists his perspective on the best ways to improve educational outcomes. He shared how at the beginning of the pandemic, many of his advanced level English learners were not attending his remote classes because they had to care for their younger siblings, present themselves as essential workers, did not have access to reliable internet, were dealing with their parents. Recent job losses and other circumstances. Nagayoshi, like many of the other speakers, agreed that improving racial equity in schools would require increasing the proportion of teachers of color. “People of color, on average, are more likely to have student debt and experience financial difficulties,” Nagaoyshi said. “There is a legitimate financial incentive to seek employment elsewhere, even if your heart is to serve your own community.” “This is going to sound a little haughty, but here’s a teacher-centric solution: Pay us more,” Nagaoyshi said. | https://ottotrading.live/minneapolis-fed-chairman-on-capitol-riots-crudest-example-of-racism-2/ |
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