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Jeremiah is a PhD candidate at Goldsmiths, University of London. His current research, entitled Identity, Improvisation and Influence: the Stylistic Development and Enduring Legacy of Django Reinhardt focuses on the Manouche jazz guitarist and aims to develop a clearer picture of his stylistic development. Drawing on his background of musicology and cultural heritage studies Jeremiah’s work examines Reinhardt via a critical engagement of his socio-cultural milieux, and within the frame of his geo-historical context. This research pays particular attention to the intersections of genres and the diverse interactions between musicians and styles at a global level.
Research interests include, jazz; swing; bebop; improvisation; noise music. | http://www.continentaldriftconference.co.uk/2016/05/07/jeremiah-spillane/ |
A team of amateur codebreakers has reportedly cracked the Zodiac Killer’s most infamous cipher, solving a mystery that’s had law enforcement stumped for more than 50 years.
The Zodiac Killer is the moniker of the as-yet-unknown American serial killer who authorities believe murdered at least five people in California in the late ‘60s (and who may or may not be Texas Sen. Ted Cruz). The alleged killer claims to have murdered 37 victims in a series of cryptic letters sent to Bay Area media outlets at the time. This week, a three-person team based out of Australia, Belgium, and the U.S. reportedly deciphered one such coded message that had remained unsolved for decades known as the “340 Cipher” (so named for containing 340 characters), which was sent to the San Francisco Chronicle in 1969.
David Oranchak, one of the codebreakers who helped unravel the hidden message, told the Chronicle on Friday that the text reads, in part:
I hope you are having lots of fun in trying to catch me. That wasn’t me on the TV show which brings up a point about me. I am not afraid of the gas chamber because it will send me to paradice [sic] all the sooner because I now have enough slaves to work for me.”
Oranchak started the YouTube series “Let’s Crack Zodiac” to document his codebreaking efforts alongside his colleagues, Sam Blake and Jarl Van Eycke. In a video posted Friday, he breaks down how the team finally cracked the cipher, which involved running over 650,000 simulations to pin down the correct reading direction of the characters. You can check it out below:
The team forwarded their results to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which “confirmed the solution,” Oranchak told the outlet. The FBI corroborated this in a statement on Friday but said it would refrain from further comment “due to the ongoing nature of the investigation, and out of respect for the victims and their families.”
Scores of sleuths have come forward claiming to have solved the cipher in the past, but this is the first solution with the FBI’s seal of approval. Several context clues in the deciphered text also point to this being the real deal. As SFGate points out, a few weeks before the Chronicle received the “340 Cipher,” a local TV station fielded a call from a man claiming to be the Zodiac Killer, which the message seems to reference. The text also has “paradice” misspelled, a likely intentional error that appeared in most of the Zodiac Killer’s letters to media outlets.
Sadly, the decoded message doesn’t appear to provide any clues about the identity of the person behind the murders, meaning the unhinged conspiracy theory about a certain Texas senator lives to see another day.
“The message doesn’t really say a whole lot,” Oranchak told the Chronicle. “It’s more of the same attention-seeking junk from Zodiac.”
You can read the decoded message in full below: | https://gizmodo.com/zodiac-killers-cipher-cracked-by-amateur-codebreakers-m-1845867780 |
5.1.1 The geotechnical investigation shall fulfil the requirements of EN 1997-1 and EN 1997-2.
NOTE Indications are given in EN 1997-2:2007, Annex B on the depth and the contents of geotechnical investigations.
5.1.2 The geotechnical investigation report shall be available in time, to allow for reliable design and execution of the special geotechnical works.
5.1.3 The geotechnical investigation shall be checked to see whether it is sufficient for the design and execution of the special geotechnical works.
5.1.4 If the geotechnical investigations are not sufficient, a supplementary investigation shall be conducted.
5.2 Special aspects of soil nailing
5.2.1 The interaction between the nail and the ground shall be considered. The site investigation shall establish (or confirm) the nature and the mechanical characteristics of the ground in order to assess the soil nail interface properties directly or by comparable experience.
5.2.2 Stability of the face during construction shall be considered, with special respect to geotechnical, hydro-geological and hydrological conditions (see 9.3.4).
5.2.3 Excavation tests should be performed to evaluate the stability during construction, if bulk excavation is to take place.
5.2.4 If necessary on account of site conditions, specific instrumentation (inclinometers, piezometers, etc.) should be installed.
5.2.5 An assessment of the aggressiveness of ground and groundwater shall be established in order to define the durability requirements of the soil nail material with respect to design life, see Annex B. | https://geotechnicaldesign.info/en14490-2010/g5-1.html |
I've often heard the argument that having 3 spatial dimensions is very special. Such arguments are invariably based on certain assumptions that do not appear to be justifiable at all, at least to me. There is a summary of arguments on Wikipedia.
For example, a common argument for why >3 dimensions is too many is that the gravitational law cannot result in stable orbital motion. A common argument for <3 dimensions being too few is that one cannot have a gastrointestinal tract, or more generally, a hole that doesn't split an organism into two.
Am I being overly skeptical in thinking that while the force of gravity may not be able to hold objects in stable orbits, there most certainly exist sets of physical laws in higher dimensions which result in formation of stable structures at all scales? It may be utterly different to our universe, but who said a 4D universe must be the same as ours with one extra dimension?
Similarly, isn't it very easy to conceive of a 2D universe in which organisms can feed despite not having any holes, or not falling apart despite having them? For example, being held together by attractive forces, or allowing certain fundamental objects of a universe to interpenetrate, and thus enter a region of the body in which they become utilized. Or, conceive of a universe so incomprehensibly different to ours that feeding is unnecessary, and self-aware structures form through completely different processes.
While I realise that this is sort of a metaphysical question, is 3+1 dimensions really widely acknowledged to be particularly privileged by respected physicists? | https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/10651/is-31-spacetime-as-privileged-as-is-claimed |
The Restaurant Steward is responsible for providing support to the Main Dining Rooms, Buffet and Crew Mess during service and ensuring cleanliness of these areas at the completion of service. Responsible for beverage and table maintenance in an assigned station of the Buffet as directed by management.
• Turning over tables and promoting beverage service in the Buffet, in order to assist with the achievement of departmental guest satisfaction targets and food and beverage revenues.
• Responsible for safeguarding all equipment and materials required for operation, by adhering to proper handling procedures.
• Turning of tables and capitalizing on beverage service in the Buffet.
• Escorts guests and/or resets tables as assigned.
• Assist Waiters and Assistant Waiters with stocking, cleaning and maintaining waiter stations throughout service.
• Ensures that the restaurants are properly cleaned at the end of each meal period, according to the cleaning schedules; cleaning responsibility must equal or exceed the Company’s established public health standards.
• Set up mess rooms with all food, beverage product, condiments, sign stands, utensils, china, glassware and silverware prior to each service.
• Cleans and sanitizes food line, beverage dispensing machines, and restocks all of the china, glassware and silverware at the end of each service.
• Complies with sequence of service for beverage to ensure timeliness of service to guests in assigned station.
• Perform side work such as silverware roll-ups, emptying trash, and stocking/cleaning beverage station.
• Performs other jobs as assigned, to include but not limited to manning non-cooking buffet action stations (i.e. carving station, dessert station).
• Performs other related duties as assigned or as directed. The omission of specific duties does not preclude the supervisor from assigning duties that are logically related to the position.
• Must be familiar with the Safety and Environmental Protection Policy and the SEMS, and carry out the policies and procedures appropriate for his/her position.
QUALIFICATIONS / REQUIREMENTS
• Minimum of one year previous restaurant experience in land-based or shipboard operation is required.
• Minimum of one year previous experience selling and serving wine and other beverage products is required.
• Intermediate to Advanced level English verbal and writing skills, including the proper use of English grammar is required.
ATTRIBUTES
• Passionate about hospitality and customer service driven
• Must have a professional appearance and good hygiene
• Respect for all co-workers and guests
• Pride in your work by creating positive energy, excitement and fun
• Able to work 7 days a week
• Demonstrate positive behaviors; smiling, being polite and courteous
• Able to develop a camaraderie with team members
• Ability to live in close quarters, share limited space with other cabin-mates
EDUCATION
• High school diploma or foreign equivalency is required.
• Courses and or training in safety, environmental, public health and sanitation regulations and procedures are required. | https://www.greattampajobs.com/job/6521652/restaurant-steward-for-ncl-pride-of-america-cruise-ship/ |
The Chairperson, Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), Rivers State chapter, Susan Serekara-Nwikhana has called on journalists in Rivers State to conduct themselves properly and adhere to professional and ethical standards ahead of the forthcoming NUJ state Congress.
NAWOJ in a press statement signed by Ngozi Anosike Acting Secretary, NAWOJ, Rivers State noted with dismay the ethnic colouration and other unprofessional indulgences exhibited by members towards the forthcoming NUJ state election.
“It is not in our conduct and profession to act in a manner that looks suspicious.
“We are the mirror of the world, the mouth piece and the channel for information, and so we are looked upon in everything we do.
“Our conducts should picture that “I carefully observed some of us and the ways and manners we carry out our duties and I must say it is unethical”.
ALSO READ House Of Reps Approves Card Readers For Conducting Elections
“And so I urged you all to turn a new leaf and be professional in your reportage and carrying out your duties especially during and after the forthcoming NUJ state election.”
Comrade Susan who stated that NUJ as an elitist body was expected to set the pace for due process in the conduct of its internal affairs, most especially, towards the forthcoming NUJ state elections, further called on stakeholders in the elections to exercise restraint and caution in order to avoid tendencies that could truncate the forthcoming NUJ state election as well as bring the Union to public disrepute.
“We call on the stakeholders to also comport themselves and exercise restraint to avoid tendencies that may truncate the forthcoming NUJ election in Rivers State to avoid bringing the union to public disrepute.”
The statement urged all members of NUJ in Rivers State to be objective in their choices of candidates and avoid been use as tool to disrupt the election in other to move the Union forward. | https://nigerdeltaconnect.com/nawoj-sues-for-peace-caution-stakeholders-on-nuj-forthcoming-election/ |
Description:
Pre-requisites: Course -3
Outcomes:
After completion of the two courses, you will
- Learn the 2nd half of Juz 1
- Be able to continue reading the Qur’an with this style until Juz 28. For Juz 29 and 30, you need special effort due to its challenging vocabulary.
- Learn additional Sarf as well as basic Nahw rules
Unique features:
- The simple explanation of the verses.
- Guidelines on how to interact with the Qur’an using AEPP formula, i.e., Ask, Evaluate, Plan and Propagate.
- State of the art language learning methods to learn the vocabulary such as “Pointers and Phrases.”
- Nahw rules will also be taught using Nahw-based-TPI (Total Physical Interaction), a simple yet powerful technique that makes learning easy and fun.
These courses cover the necessary and basic grammar. For an in-depth study of Grammar and Qur’anic Arabic, please refer to more advanced Arabic grammar books and Scholars. | https://store.understandquran.com/product/understand-quran-course-5-adults-english/?v=8f52e9298b6e |
Queen is a British rock band from London, England, formed in 1971 by Brian May, Roger Taylor , John Deacon and Freddie Mercury. They are the second best-selling band of all time, having sold 166.9 million certified records, with sales estimates over 300 million records worldwide. It consisted of Freddie Mercury (lead vocals, piano), Brian May (vocals, lead guitar), John Deacon (bass guitar) and Roger Taylor (vocals, percussion).
Queen were originally known as "Smile" a band which consisted of May, Taylor and Tim Staffell. When Freddie Mercury joined and Staffell later left, Mercury convinced Taylor and May to keep going and change the name of the band to "Queen". John Deacon later joined the line-up.
In 1975, the band released Bohemian Rhapsody, their first single, which spent nine consecutive weeks on the number-one spot on the charts. It was performed in a ballad style, much like Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven; a style which would later be used in songs by Guns N' Roses (November Rain) and Lynyrd Skynyrd (Free Bird), amongst others.
Following the tragic death of Freddie Mercury in 1991 and John Deacon's departure in 1997, the band consists of Brian May and Roger Taylor. They declined being apart of the Queen tribute act, Queen + Paul Rodgers (led by Paul Rodgers of Free and Bad Company), May, Taylor and Deacon all fully support them.
Contents
Label(s)
Genre(s)
RIYL
Template:Empty section
Band Members
- John Deacon (1951–present)
- Brian May (1947–present)
- Freddie Mercury (1946–1991)
- Roger Taylor (1949–present)
History
Brian May and Roger Taylor were originally in a band named Smile. When one of the members, Tim Staffel, left, May and Taylor continued with the band. The difference was that they changed the name to Queen and had Freddie Mercury as a vocalist. In 1971, John Deacon joined as their bassist.
They first entered the charts in 1974 with Seven Seas of Rhye. That was followed up with Killer Queen, which made it to #2 on the charts in the UK. Their greatest success was Bohemian Rhapsody which spent nine weeks at the number one spot on the UK's charts. Over the years, Queen continued to produce more hits such as We Will Rock You, We Are The Champions, Another One Bites the Dust, and Radio Ga Ga.
In 1991, Freddie Mercury died of complications from AIDS. Shortly after Wayne's World was released, the band enjoyed a resurgence of popularity due to their part in the film. In 1995, they released Made in Heaven, an album of recordings Freddie Mercury made before he died. After that, the band became relatively inactive. John Deacon retired from music while Taylor and May went on to form Queen + Paul Rodgers. | https://music.fandom.com/wiki/Queen_(band) |
Hello Sylvain,
Few days ago I started with purchases in Odoo 8 but just as a user, I found that there are lots of leaks (obviously maybe just for my case, or even maybe I don't understand how works all the purchase process in Odoo) what I'm trying to do is:
- Buy several products from various suppliers.
- Add costs to the purchase for EXW Icoterms (where the product cost doesn't include transport, customs and others fees)
- Add others fees to the purchase after the purchase arrived. (Solved with analytic accounts)
- Get the total cost of the purchase (total = product cost + transport + customs + other landed fees). Solved it with analytic accounts and various purchases for each new fee.
- Compute the cost for each product in base of total spent. Here is where I'm stuck:
-- Compute product cost in base of an analytic account is not possible (?)
-- Set a custom portion of the extra cost to some product is not possible (E.g.: bought 3 products which come in the same container and I want to assign 20% of extra costs to the first product, 15% to the second and 65% to the third one)
I really would want to test your module because it could help me to understand "how" I should start with the programmatic part in Odoo for purchases.
Regards
Alejandro.
<blockquote cite="mid:CAKwtNa0MMXv4fSM9DwoJWTfn06wr0FYbwxnw-_bXKemcRWzAwQ@mail.gmail.com" type="cite">
On 12/09/14 07:24, Sylvain LE GAL wrote:
--> your stock; (1)-> It allows to compute what you have to buy. (quantity) depending of some parameters:->The module displays all the product linked to this supplier (with price);Purchaser decides to realize a new purchase order to a defined supplier.Concept:Hi all,
In my company, we recently developped modules that realize something that we called "computed purchase order".
I would like to share this bunch of modules in OCA if possible.
- Are there some people interested by this feature ?
- In wich repository / repositories can I realize the PR ?
- I'm willing to change some part of my code to make my modules compatible with existing OCA modules;
Video demo: available here.
--> your average consumption of your product; (you have product you don't sell a lot and other you sell a lot);
--> An objective:----> Objective of carriage; "franco de port" in french (not sure about the translation). IE: Some times the supplier only accepts to ship products if you buy 500 $ or 500kg of products)
----> Objective of number of days. (Some times, a supplier realizes a shippling each month only, so you have to be sure to have enought stock during the next 30 days); In this way, you can manage supplier hollidays;
After the compute of what the purchaser has to buy, the user can change manualy quantities, prices and convert to a "normal" purchase order.
If informations have changed, a wizard is available to update informations of all the products for that customer in one time (price / name and code of the supplier, etc.);
Note:
1/ The algorithm can be base on:
-> available stock; (=qty_available);
-> including "pending" stock; (=virtual_available);
-> including "draft" stock; new concept: (virtual_available + draft incoming qty - draft outgoing qty);
2/ Of course that module will not be usefull for all purchaser. It depend of how the purchaser realize the purchase order. But for my customers (little shop managers) it is very suitable.
3/ If somebody are interested to review that modules, please contact me.
Thanks & Regards. | https://www.odoo.com/groups/community-59/community-9139866 |
INTRODUCTION {#sec1}
============
Rabies virus, a neurotropic lyssavirus which causes an invariably fatal encephalitis, affects more than 150 countries and territories \[[@ref1]\]. Each year over 59 000 people die of rabies worldwide; which represents 160 deaths per day \[[@ref2]\]. Rabies virus has differentiated into numerous variants, each associated with specific mammalian hosts. However, the viral variant associated with dogs is responsible for 99% of human rabies deaths worldwide. Many countries have recently made strides to eliminate the canine variant, and in 1983, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) launched a regional programme against rabies which has markedly reduced the incidence of human and canine rabies deaths in the Western Hemisphere \[[@ref3]\]. Through the success of initiatives like those of PAHO, there are now only four countries in the Western Hemisphere that persistently record human deaths due to canine rabies virus: Haiti, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, and Bolivia.
In the Republic of Haiti, a Caribbean island nation of 10·5 million people, canine rabies virus variant remains a serious public health problem. An estimated 130 human deaths from rabies occur in the country each year \[[@ref2]\]. Unfortunately, due to limitations in healthcare provider recognition, surveillance, and diagnostic capacity, only a fraction of these deaths are recognized \[[@ref4]\]. The majority of recognized human rabies deaths and animal bite events have been reported from the West Department, which includes the capital city, Port-au-Prince. Almost all of these human deaths and bite events are due to domestic dogs; however, few successful preventive measures have been implemented due to lack of resources \[[@ref4]\]. Haiti has an estimated 7 50 000 dogs according to a 2007 census, yet between 2009 and 2010, an average of only 2 14 627 dogs were vaccinated (annual vaccination rate of 28·6%).
A foundational component of a successful rabies programme is the formation of a well-educated population in regards to rabies risks and control of this disease \[[@ref5]\]. Currently, no published studies have described the knowledge, attitudes and practices of rabies prevention in community members and healthcare professionals (HCPs) in Haiti. The Haitian Ministry of Health (MSPP) and US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) conducted a community survey to better understand the risk of rabies exposure in Haiti, post-bite healthcare-seeking behaviours, and barriers to appropriate care.
METHODS {#sec2}
=======
A knowledge, attitudes, and practices survey was conducted in January--May 2013 (see Supplementary Appendix). Surveys were conducted in two populations within the commune of Pétionville: community members and HCPs. Pétionville had 359 956 inhabitants according to the National Institute of Statistics and Information (IHSI)'s 2012 estimates and is an urban community within the capital city Port-au-Prince. The Pétionville population has an above-average socioeconomic status \[[@ref6]\]. Prior to conducting the survey, investigators held an orientation session for interviewers on the use of the questionnaire and consent form. Each questionnaire consisted of 47 (HCP) and 41 (community member) questions which were divided into five sections: Socio-demographic, Rabies knowledge, Attitudes towards animal bites, and Bite treatment practices. Surveys were conducted in Creole, Haiti\'s official language. Respondents were read questions, but were not provided answers from which to choose. Open-ended questions allowed for multiple responses.
Community members {#sec2-1}
-----------------
For the community survey a confidence level of 95% (1·96), a margin of error of 5% (0·05), a population-level knowledge of rabies estimated at 50% (because the proportion with knowledge of rabies was not known) (0·5) and design effect (1·5) were chosen to calculate the desired sample size: 576 participants. The sample size was increased by 20% to account for persons not eligible to participate due to age, absence from home or refusal to participate. A total sample size of 720 participants was determined necessary to detect statistically significant differences in responses.
A two-stage cluster sampling method was used utilized. Pétionville is administratively subdivided into 313 enumeration areas (EAs) by IHSI. Thirty (10%) EAs were randomly selected using the population proportionate-to-size method \[[@ref7]\]. The quotient of 720 participants and 30 EAs was used to determine that 24 households were required from each cluster. In the 30 selected EAs, surveyors created an exhaustive list of all households using the continuous path of travel methodology to ensure that all households were included in the sample \[[@ref7]\]. A random number generator was then used to randomly select 24 households from the list within the cluster. Each interviewer used a Global Positioning System unit to verify the boundaries of the cluster and to ensure that the correct houses were surveyed. Heads of households were requested for the interview; however, any willing participants aged ⩾18 years were eligible (one person interviewed per household).
HCPs {#sec2-2}
----
For the survey of HCPs, we accessed a health facility registry for Pétionville, maintained by MSPP, to identify institutions eligible for the survey. Eligible health centres had either emergency outpatient, internal medicine or paediatric services. Forty-eight eligible facilities were identified. Health facilities were visited by interviewers on two consecutive days to recruit participants. Convenience sampling was conducted at all selected health facilities, with any doctor or nurse providing consent eligible for entry.
Data collection and analysis {#sec2-3}
----------------------------
Two databases were created in Epi-Info v. 3.5.3 (CDC, USA) for data analysis with respect to the two study populations. Univariate analysis of frequency, rates, and means were calculated. Lifetime animal bite incidence was calculated as the number of primary bites that community participants reported receiving divided by the number of people surveyed. The annual bite incidence for the study population was determined by dividing the number of primary bites by the life-years represented in the study, which was calculated for each stratified age group. Respondents' exact age was not collected, rather they were classified in an age group, and life-years were calculated as the product of the median age within each age group and the number of participants within the respective group.
Ethical considerations {#sec2-4}
----------------------
All study participants were aged ⩾18 years and signed a consent form. The study was approved by the Haiti Ethics Committee of the Haitian Ministry of Health (FWA 00016848) and the US CDC deemed the activity as non-research.
RESULTS {#sec3}
=======
Community members {#sec3-1}
-----------------
Of 720 individuals selected, 550 agreed to participate (response rate 76·3%). The average age of respondents was 35 (range 18--90) years ([Table 1](#tab01){ref-type="table"}). There were more female respondents (56·5%) than males, and most respondents (71·5%) had at least secondary school education. Overall, 24% of respondents were unemployed, 22% were merchants, 13·8% were students, and the remaining reported other forms of employment. The annual median household income of the study population was 4274 USD, compared to a national median of 1800 USD. Pet ownership was documented for 229 respondents (41·6%), for which 453 pets were recorded. Dogs were more commonly owned (*n* = 239) than cats (*n* = 214). Of the 239 owned dogs, 91 (38·1%) had reportedly been vaccinated against rabies. Table 1.Demographics of community members participating in a rabies knowledge, attitudes, and practices survey, Pétionville, Haiti, 2013Community members (*N* = 550)Healthcare professionals (*N* = 160)Haiti National Statistics\**N*%*N*%Median age, years (range)35 (18--90)−Median age, years (range)37 (23--72)−22·5 yearsMedian annual household income (range)4274 USD (1200--14 400)−----1800 USDSexMale23943·5Male1514·250·1%Female31156·5Female9185·849·9%EducationIlliterate509·1----22% of Haitians have a secondary degree or higherPrimary school10218·5----Secondary school31857·8----University7513·6----No response50·9----OccupationUnemployed13224·0Nurse7267·9−Professor203·6Doctor -- social services32·8Student7613·8Doctor -- general practice1817·0Merchant12322·4Doctor -- specialist1312·3Other employment19936·2----Households owning petsYes22941·6Yes5148·1-Number of dogs239−Number of dogs51Rabies vaccinated9138·1†Rabies vaccinated1325·5†Number cats214−Number cats0No32158·4No5551·9[^1][^2]
The majority, 85% (468), of respondents correctly reported that the primary rabies reservoir in Haiti was dogs ([Table 2](#tab02){ref-type="table"}). Only 29·6% (163) reported cats as a vehicle of transmission, and only 1·5% were aware that bats or mongooses can also transmit rabies virus. Most respondents (75·6%) reported bites as a method of rabies virus transmission. One in five respondents reported that they were not aware of how rabies was transmitted. Regarding the prevention of disease, 71·6% (394) of respondents answered that rabies was a preventable disease through post-bite vaccination, and 79·5% (437) reported that vaccination of dogs and cats was an important strategy to reduce the transmission of rabies in humans. Nine out of ten respondents did not know where to go to receive rabies vaccination following an animal bite. Over half of respondents (54·7%) thought that rabies could be treated, even after symptom onset. Table 2.Knowledge of rabies transmission and prevention of community members and healthcare professionals, Pétionville, Haiti, 2013Rabies knowledgeCommunity members (*N* = 550)Healthcare professionals (*N* = 106)*n*%*n*%What animals can transmit rabies?\*Dog46885·110498·1Cats16329·67570·8Other (bats, mongoose)81·54542·5In what ways can rabies be transmitted to people?\*Bite from an animal41675·67873·6Contact with saliva on open wounds101·82119·8Consumption of raw meat from rabid animals30·51413·2Don\'t know/No answer provided11020·054·7Can post-bite vaccination prevent a person from developing rabies?Yes39471·69185·8No11320·51514·2Don\'t know437·800Do you know where to go to receive rabies vaccination if bitten by a suspected rabid animal?Yes488·7----No50291·3----Can a person with rabies be cured after symptom onset?Yes30154·75249·1No8715·84239·6Don\'t know16229·51211·3Is vaccination of pets important for preventing human disease?Yes43779·510498·1No519·321·9Don\'t know6211·300Can a person with rabies transmit the disease to other people?Yes----4845·3No----4845·3Don\'t know----109·4Should anyone with a bite from a suspected rabid animal be considered for rabies vaccination?Yes----9185·8No----1514·2Does your institution have a protocol to guide in the treatment of bite victims?Yes----1312·3No----9387·7Do you know where to obtain rabies vaccine for a bite victim?Yes----2422·6No----8277·4[^3]
Overall 46% of respondents indicated that if they were bitten by a suspected rabid animal, they would kill the animal, and only 13% reported that they would take the offending animal to a veterinarian ([Table 3](#tab03){ref-type="table"}). Very few respondents (8%) indicated that they would monitor the biting animal for signs of rabies. However, of the 172 persons (31·3% of total) who reported having had an animal bite in their lifetime, 80% said they did nothing with the offending animal, 16·3% said they killed the animal, and 8·7% said they observed the animal for 14 days. When asked what they would do if they were bitten by an animal suspected of having rabies, 90·7% said they would seek care at a clinic or hospital, 6% said they would wash the wound with soap and water, and 4·1% indicated they would do nothing or they did not know what they would do. No one reported that they would seek care from a traditional healer. Of the 172 bite victims captured in this survey, only 36·6% sought treatment at a clinic or hospital, and 8·1% washed the wound with soap and water. Over 36% of bite victims stated that they did nothing to treat the wound, and 3·5% of bite victims sought help from a traditional healer. Only 31·4% of bite victims said that they initiated the rabies vaccination series. Table 3.Attitudes and practices towards bite events of community members, Pétionville, Haiti, 2013Attitudes towards bites from suspected rabid animals (*N* = 550)Practices of persons bitten by a suspected rabid animal\
(*N* = 172)*n*%*n*%What would you do if bitten by a suspected rabid animal?\*What did you do after being bitten by the suspected rabid animal?\*Nothing30·5Nothing6336·6Wash the wound with soap and water336·0Washed the wound with soap and water148·1Seek help in a clinic or hospital49990·7Sought help in a clinic or hospital6336·6Self-administer antibiotics30·5Self-administered antibiotics10·6Visit a traditional healer00·0Visited a traditional healer63·5Don\'t know/Declined to answer203·6Don\'t know/Declined to answer2514·5What would you do with an animal that had bitten you or a family member?\*What did you do with the animal that had bitten you?\*Nothing5510·0Nothing13880·2Observe the animal for 14 days for signs of illness448·0Observed the animal for 14 days for signs of illness158·7Determine the rabies vaccination status of the animal417·5Determined the rabies vaccination status of the animal21·2Kill the animal25646·5Killed the animal2816·3Take the animal to a veterinarian for rabies assessment7313·3Took the animal to a veterinarian for rabies assessment31·7Don\'t know/Declined to answer8114·7----Did you receive rabies vaccination after the bite?Yes5431·4No11064·0Don\'t know84·7[^4]
A total of 19 114 life-years are represented in this survey, of which 172 people indicated that they had experienced at least one animal bite (minimum annual bite incidence rate of 0·9%) ([Table 4](#tab04){ref-type="table"}). The highest annual bite rate was seen in the 18--29 years age group (1·3 bites/100 life-years). The lowest bite rate was observed in persons aged ⩾60 years (0·13 bites/100 life-years). Dogs were the most frequently reported offending animal, responsible for 93·6% of bite events ([Table 5](#tab05){ref-type="table"}). Of those interviewed, 16·9% indicated that they had been bitten by an animal inside their home, 49·4% by an animal at a neighbor\'s house and 33·7% reported experiencing a bite while on the street. The most common bite sites were lower extremities (84%), followed by upper limbs (11·6%). Table 4.Annual and lifetime dog-bite incidence in community members, Pétionville, Haiti 2013Community respondents (*N*)Life-years\*Primary bites reported (*N*)Lifetime bite rate†Annual bite incidence rate (bites/100 life-years)‡§Age group, years18--2926662518030·0%1·2830--391214174·54335·5%1·0340--496629372740·9%0·9250--595027201836·0%0·66⩾60473031·548·5%0·13SexMale23983658133·9%0·97Female31110 8859129·3%0·84Total55019 11417231·3%0·90[^5][^6][^7][^8] Table 5.Characteristics of persons bitten by suspected rabid animal, Pétionville, Haiti, 2013*n*%Survey respondents ever bitten by a suspected rabid animal172 of 55031·3Average number of bites (range)1·1 (1--3)What animal was responsible for the bite?\*Dog16193·6Cat2010·8Age group (years)18--298046·530--394325·040--492715·750--591810·5⩾6042·3SexMen8147·1Women9152·9Where were you when bitten by the animal?\*My home2916·9Neighbour\'s home8549·4On the street5833·7On what part of your body were you bitten?\*Lower limb14584·3Upper limb2011·6Chest63·5Face21·2[^9]
HCPs {#sec3-2}
----
A total of 165 HCPs were approached for this survey, of which 106 consented (response rate 64·2%). The average age was 37 (range 23--72) years, and females represented 85·8% of respondents. Nurses comprised 67·9% of respondents and doctors 32·1% ([Table 1](#tab01){ref-type="table"}).
Just over 98% of HCPs correctly identified dogs as the main transmitter of rabies virus in Haiti ([Table 1](#tab01){ref-type="table"}). Cats were recognized as a risk for transmission by 70·8% of HCPs, and bats and mongooses by 42·5%. Bites were reported as a method of transmission by 73·6% of HCPs and direct contact the animal\'s saliva with mucous membranes or unhealed wounds was reported by 19·8%. Only 4·7% of HCPs were unaware of how rabies is transmitted.
Only 14·2% of HCPs reported having been trained regarding rabies prevention and bite management ([Table 6](#tab06){ref-type="table"}). The majority (87·7%) of HCPs reported that their institutions did not have a protocol for the treatment of bite victims or rabies vaccination and 77·4% were not aware of where to obtain rabies vaccine for bite victims ([Table 2](#tab02){ref-type="table"}). When asked if people bitten by a suspected rabid animal should receive post-exposure prophylaxis, 85·8% responded 'yes'. However, when asked what care they would recommend for a person with a suspected rabies exposure nearly 40% (39·6%) of HCPs responded that they did not know. Wound washing was mentioned as a post-bite treatment option by 36% of HCPs and tetanus toxoid injection by 17·9%. Rabies vaccination was only mentioned as a post-bite action by 2·8% of HCPs ([Tables 2](#tab02){ref-type="table"} and [6](#tab06){ref-type="table"}). Table 6.Practices of healthcare professionals when treating bite wound victims, Pétionville, Haiti, April 2013Survey questions*n*%Have you ever received training on rabies control and prevention?Yes1514·2No/Unknown9185·8Do you need to alert local authorities when you treat a bite victim?Yes10195·3No/Unknown54·7Do you discuss rabies with patients seeking treatment for an animal bite?Never3936·8Sometimes5350·0Often98·5Almost always54·7What treatment do you recommend to patients bitten by an animal suspected of having rabies?\*None00Immediately wash the wound with soap and water3634·0Administer a tetanus vaccine1917·9Administer antibiotic treatment65·7Provide rabies post-exposure prophylaxis32·8Don\'t know/Declined to answer4239·6What do you recommend to patients bitten by unfamiliar animals when your institution does not have rabies vaccine in supply?\*Nothing10·9Tell the patient to return home10·9Refer the patient to another centre where vaccine is available6359·4Call another institution to see if the vaccine is available1110·4Alert the health authorities in the region1312·3Don\'t know2119·8What do you recommend bite victims do with the animal which has bitten them?\*Observe the animal for at least 14 days7368·9Check if the animal has been vaccinated against rabies1413·2Kill the biting animal21·9Take the animal to the veterinarian for a health assessment6460·4Don\'t know76·6When should a person be given rabies vaccine?\*If the animal was confirmed to have rabies3432·1If the biting animal cannot be located or was unfamiliar to the bite victim1917·9If the biting animal died or was killed shortly after the bite2119·8If saliva made contact with broken skin or a mucous membrane (i.e. a bite)1514·2Don\'t know3936·8[^10]
DISCUSSION {#sec4}
==========
This is the first assessment of rabies knowledge, attitudes, and practices in community members and medical professionals in Haiti. The study was conducted with three objectives: (i) to improve understanding of rabies exposure risks in Haiti, (ii) describe post-bite healthcare-seeking behaviours, and (iii) describe barriers to appropriate treatment. The timing of this study is unique, in that it describes these risks and behaviours prior to the development of national bite treatment and rabies vaccination guidelines. Based on the results of this study, recommendations were drafted in 2014 and HCP training began in early 2016. Findings presented here address the study objectives as well as serve as a baseline for future studies by which the impact of the national guidelines can be measured.
Rabies exposure risk {#sec4-1}
--------------------
Rabies is a zoonotic disease, and in Haiti it is primarily spread through the bite of an infected dog \[[@ref8]\]. Therefore, two conditions must be satisfied for a rabies exposure to occur: a rabid dog and a bite event. The probabilities of these two events occurring is the basis for many probabilistic rabies burden models \[[@ref2]\]. A 2015 surveillance publication reported that the rate of rabies in biting dogs was 7%; however, at the time of this report the community bite rate was not known \[[@ref9]\]. This survey reports an annual bite rate of 0·9% (a comparable figure to what has been reported in other developing countries) \[[@ref10]--[@ref13]\]. The annual bite rate was highest in the 18--29 years age group and declined with each following age group ([Table 4](#tab04){ref-type="table"}). Bite incidence data for persons aged \<18 years was not collected; however, the trend observed here is consistent with WHO published literature which equates a higher bite risk in younger age groups \[[@ref14]\]. One in three bites occurred on the street; these exposures likely represent a higher rabies risk due to higher rates of rabies transmission in free-roaming dogs \[[@ref9], [@ref15]\].
The bite rate reported here is over three times lower than a bite rate reported by Schildecker *et al*. in 2016 in which dog owners attending a Haitian vaccination clinic were assessed (3·1% bite rate for dog owners) \[[@ref16]\]. There are several likely explanations for the lower bite rate in the present study. First, this is a general community survey, whereas the previous study \[[@ref16]\] focused only on dog owners, who may have more frequent contact with dogs and therefore increased risk for a bite event. Second, this survey asked for all bite events in the respondent\'s lifetime, which is prone to recall bias and may underestimate the true bite rate. Last, the bite rate is likely to be higher in children aged \<18 years, which was not addressed in this study. The findings reported here, when considering Schildecker *et al*.'s findings, support the view that the dog bite rate in Haiti is not static and likely dependent upon dog ownership and the community in which an individual resides. The bite rate reported here is likely an underestimate, but potentially less biased than the population assessed by Schildecker *et al*. \[[@ref16]\]. Therefore, utilizing the generalized community bite rate provided by this study is probably most appropriate for probabilistic modelling of rabies burden. However, more complex burden efforts should take into consideration that the risk for bites may be higher in certain populations.
Healthcare-seeking behaviours {#sec4-2}
-----------------------------
Rabies is a preventable disease when appropriate post-bite care is provided. Therefore, even in the face of a high risk for rabies exposure in Haiti, disease can be mitigated through appropriate healthcare-seeking behaviour and wound treatment. Unfortunately, findings from this study paint a bleak picture of healthcare-seeking behaviour in dog-bite victims. While nine out of ten individuals surveyed reported that they would seek medical care if they were bitten by an animal, in practice, fewer than four in ten people sought medical care after being bitten. Pétionville is one of the wealthiest communities within Haiti and, as expected, our study population had a household income over three times the national average \[[@ref6]\]. Presumably, higher income families and communities have increased access to healthcare. Therefore, post-bite healthcare-seeking behaviours are likely to be even lower in many parts of Haiti, and figures presented here represent a 'best-case scenario'.
Knowledge of rabies did not appear to be the primary reason for the observed low healthcare-seeking behaviours. Most respondents (85·1%) knew that rabies is transmitted by dogs, via a bite (75·1%), and that rabies is preventable by vaccination (71·6%). But there were several educational deficits noted; few people recognized that washing the wound with soap and water can reduce the risk of rabies and only 15·8% of persons knew that rabies is fatal after symptom onset. These represent potential areas to engage communities through educational campaigns. However, healthcare outreach can be particularly difficult in developing world settings, where literacy and education levels are frequently encountered barriers \[[@ref10], [@ref17], [@ref18]\]. In Haiti only 61% of the population is literate, compared to 92% in other Latin American countries, and only 10% of Haitians have access to the internet \[[@ref6], [@ref19]\]. Educational campaigns that utilize printed materials in combination with verbal engagement (i.e. radio) in lieu of more technologically advanced communication mediums may be more successful in reaching community members in Haiti. Integration of rabies prevention and control messaging into school curriculums may also be a successful strategy, as literacy rates may be higher in primary- and secondary-school children.
While healthcare-seeking behaviours were low, data suggests that when a person sought medical care they were very likely to receive rabies vaccination; 54 of 63 bite victims that sought medical care self-reported that they received rabies vaccination. However, other data from this study conflict with this self-reported vaccination rate. For example, only 23% of HCPs even knew where to obtain rabies vaccine and only 2·8% listed rabies vaccination as a standard component of post-bite care. Survey methodology utilized open-ended questions which can prevent the respondent from falsely identifying information that is revealed by the interviewer. Unfortunately, this design limits our ability to state that HCPs would not have provided rabies vaccine to the hypothetical bite victim. When asked directly if rabies vaccine should be provided for persons bitten by a suspected rabid dog, nine of ten HCPs answered affirmatively. In this respect, the HCP inconsistency regarding rabies vaccination is likely due to survey design.
Given the apparent difficulty in locating rabies vaccine in Haiti and questionable provider response rate for administering the vaccine, it is difficult to imagine that rabies vaccine administration is as high as the self-reported rate identified here. It may be likely that persons who sought medical care were unaware of what they had received; a probable scenario, as tetanus and antibiotics were much more frequently reported by HCPs as standards of bite treatment compared to rabies vaccine. Anecdotally, it is common for bite victims in Haiti to be unaware of what they were treated with; often confusing a one-time tetanus shot with the rabies vaccine. Furthermore, this study did not assess how many doses nor the dosing schedule that the bite victims adhered to, both are critical to prevent development of rabies. A more robust method for describing rabies vaccination practices and adherence is warranted, such as a prospective healthcare-based study and a systematic evaluation of the rabies vaccine distribution system.
Perhaps the most pronounced barrier to rabies prevention identified in this study pertained to HCP training; fewer than 15% of HCPs reported that they had received training regarding rabies prevention. At the time of this survey in 2013 Haiti had no national recommendations for the treatment of bite wounds nor recommendations for the prescription of rabies vaccination. Probably a reflection of this lack of recommendations and training, 50% of HCPs thought that rabies was treatable after symptom onset and 40% stated that they did not know what care they should provide to a bite victim. In 2014 preliminary findings from this study were shared with MSPP, and in response, PAHO assisted in the development of a healthcare provider education programme on rabies. As of 2016, this training programme had been implemented in selected areas, but had not yet been nationally disseminated. The impact of these guidelines should be measured in the future and compared to the findings from this study.
Haiti has a fragmented healthcare delivery system, and this impacts the distribution and availability of rabies vaccine. Human rabies vaccine is typically donated by international governments to MSPP, which distributes the vaccine to only 16 health centres, out of more than 116 sentinel hospitals \[[@ref4]\]. These 16 health centres often report being out of stock of the vaccine, and national shortages have occurred over the past 5 years. Vaccine can be procured from some private pharmacies at a cost of 25 USD per dose, the equivalent of 2 months wages for a complete five-dose course for the average Haitian family. Even with improvements in bite treatment training, shortages of vaccines and deficiencies in vaccine distribution may still prohibit appropriate vaccination of bite victims. Therefore, evaluation of existing vaccine distribution channels and enhancing rabies vaccine distribution should be considered.
Rabies prevention and animal vaccination {#sec4-3}
----------------------------------------
Many survey respondents recognized the importance of canine rabies vaccination in disease control. However, in practice, only 35·9% of community respondents' dogs were vaccinated against rabies (an even lower vaccination rate was observed in dogs owned by HCPs). This represents a gap in knowledge and practice of animal rabies vaccination, and several factors may be responsible. Haiti has very limited veterinary capacity with fewer than 50 veterinarians for the entire country\'s 10·5 million people; therefore, access to routine animal care, including rabies vaccination, is unlikely for many pet owners. After the 2010 earthquake, access to medical supplies, including rabies vaccines for animals, declined sharply. Currently, for most Haitians, animal rabies vaccine is only available during government mass vaccination campaigns. When these campaigns are not held, animal rabies vaccine may be almost impossible to procure. Furthermore, the average Haitian survives on less than 3 USD per day; therefore, despite awareness of the benefits of rabies vaccination, payment for veterinary services may not be feasible \[[@ref6]\]. The average income of our study population was three times the Haitian national average, so cost of vaccine may not have driven the low vaccination rates in this community, rather access to the vaccines may be an important factor. Increasing the frequency and accessibility of dog rabies vaccination programmes, in a manner which considers the high poverty levels in Haiti, is probably needed to see increases in dog vaccination coverage.
This study has several limitations. First, it was focused in one commune within the capital city, Port-au-Prince, and therefore may not be representative of all Haitian communities. Pétionville is one of the wealthier communes in Haiti, therefore access to education and health services may be better compared to the majority of Haitians. In that respect, the results from this survey may represent a 'best-case scenario'. In addition, the survey of HCPs was a convenience sample, and therefore the HCPs interviewed may not be representative of all HCPs in Pétionville.
In conclusion, this study identified that in community members and HCPs in a community at a relatively high socioeconomic level for Haiti, large disconnects exist between rabies knowledge and practices. As a promising sign, after results of this survey were reported to MSPP, national bite treatment guidelines were developed and a healthcare provider education programme was implemented in select communities. These training programmes for HCPs should be evaluated and, if effective, expanded. Difficulties in access to both human and animal rabies vaccination was evident for this study population, and efforts should be made to make these vaccines more accessible within the country. With the high rate of rabies exposure in Haiti, an educated healthcare workforce and population will be necessary to ensure appropriate treatment for persons exposed to rabid animals.
The views presented in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the opinions of their affiliated institutions.
Supplementary material {#sec5}
======================
For supplementary material accompanying this paper visit http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0950268816003125.
######
click here to view supplementary material
None.
[^1]: \* Source: *World Fact Book* \[[@ref6]\].
[^2]: † Percentage calculated as the quotient of rabies-vaccinated dogs and the total number of dogs owned by the survey respondents.
[^3]: \* Multiple responses allowed, totals may not add up to 100%.
[^4]: \* Multiple responses allowed, totals may not add up to 100%.
[^5]: \* Life-years were calculated as the product of the community respondents and the median of the age range.
[^6]: † Lifetime bite rate was calculated as the quotient of the number of primary bites and the number of community respondents.
[^7]: ‡ Annual bite incidence rate was calculated as the quotient of the primary bites and the life-years represented by the study participants. The incidence rate is given as the number of bite events/100 life-years.
[^8]: § Because only primary bite events are represented in this table the lifetime bite rate and annual bite incidence rate represent a conservatively low estimate.
[^9]: \* Multiple responses allowed, totals may not add up to 100%.
[^10]: \* Multiple responses allowed, totals may not add up to 100%.
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1. What’s your story? Where are you from?
I live in the small town of Yoshkar-Ola, Russia. When I was a kid, I studied in an art school and dreamed about making my own cartoons so I drew a lot. All I wanted to do was fill the walls of my room with my drawings, but, I knew that my mom wouldn’t allow me to do so because “it would ruin the wallpaper” so I hung them on the inside of my wardrobe instead. It became my own private art gallery. Then, in high school, for one reason or another, I decided that art was not something I could make a living from so I chose instead to follow my parents advice and become an engineer. After getting my degree in architecture, I started working for a local construction company and man, was it boring! Months of hard tedious work bent over blueprints and calculating loads on foundation made me want to start drawing again, no matter what it took. After a period of struggle and hesitation, I quit my engineering job and started doing digital illustration. Now I’m an illustrator at an IT company and I teach design at a local university. Design and illustration is what I love the most in my life and what I want to keep doing forever.
Я живу в городе Йошкар-Ола, Россия. Училась в художественной школе и мечтала стать мультипликатором. Мама запрещала мне оклеивать стены рисунками, чтобы не испортить обои, поэтому я заклеила ими все поверхности снаружи и изнутри платяного шкафа. Это был мой маленький творческий мир). В старшей школе я решила, что творчество не может быть серьезной профессией и выбрала инженерное дело. Учеба давалась мне легко, и я даже подумывала с головой погрузиться в проектирование и пойти по стопам родителей. После университета я устроилась инженером-проектировщиком в строительную компанию. День за днем проходили размеренно и как-то походили один на другой. Мне было скучно, и в тот момент я снова вспомнила про любовь к рисованию. Эта любовь и привела меня к дизайну и цифровой иллюстрации. Сейчас я работаю дизайнером-иллюстратором в IT-компании и преподаю курсы по основам дизайна в институте. Мне нравится работать на границе дизайна и иллюстрации, теперь я по-настоящему ощущаю себя на своем месте.
2. Tell us about your aesthetic.
In my illustrations, I always try to show the ordinary stuff around us from a different angle. I want my audience to be inspired and explore a new perspective. Stories and details are what matter the most to me. It’s got to be captivating and if the person is “down for the ride”, then their journey starts right here.
Своими иллюстрациями я стараюсь показать окружающие нас предметы, явления и ситуации с другой стороны. Мне хочется дарить людям вдохновение, мотивировать их смотреть на вещи под другим углом. Для меня большое значение имеет сюжет и детали. Иллюстрация — это маленькое путешествие, она должна притягивать взгляд, приглашать человека отправиться в очередное приключение. В этом моя эстетика.
3. What is your favorite medium and why?
When it’s digital, I draw using Sketches on my iPad Pro. For paper, I use liners and watercolors. In my spare time, I experiment with making collages out of old magazines’ sheets and turning ugly scribbles and paint blots into characters.
В основном я рисую на iPad Pro в приложении sketches. В свободное время стараюсь больше экспериментировать, пробовать что-то новое: собирать коллажи из найденных “сокровищ” и старых журналов, превращать пятна и каракули в персонажей. Люблю делать зарисовки линерами и акварелью.
4. What is your artistic process like?
Every project starts with an idea. They can come to me at any time – in the shower, on a walk, even when I sleep. Back in the day, I thought that I was really good at remembering my ideas but, for some reason, just when it was about time to put them into practice, they always flew out of my head. Nowadays, I try to scribble down my ideas. I write them down on paper, on my phone, take pics and sketch a lot. When I need to come up with a story for an illustration really fast, I try to put my work to a system so that my inspiration won’t matter that much. Mind maps are cool – they let you free up “brain space” and give you a feeling that you’re in control of the creative process. When everything falls into place in my head, I start off with doing small sketches to figure out the composition and experiment with the angles. Then I take the best one, draw it on the iPad and fill it up with color and details.
Любой процесс начинается с идеи. Ко мне часто приходят идеи, пока я в душе, сплю или гуляю, просто смотрю по сторонам. Раньше я пыталась их просто запомнить, но когда садилась за работу, в голове не оставалось ни одной. Сейчас я стараюсь зафиксировать интересные мысли: записываю в блокнот или заметки на телефоне, фотографирую, зарисовываю. Когда сюжет нужно придумать быстро и нет времени на раздумья, я стараюсь выстраивать работу системно, чтобы не зависеть от вдохновения. Использую карты ассоциаций: они помогают выгрузить из головы все мысли, ничего не упустив. Собираю референсы по цвету и форме. Когда картинка в голове сложилась в единую историю, рисую небольшие наброски, чтобы проверить композицию и поэкспериментировать с ракурсами. Самый удачный отрисовываю на планшете, наполняю цветом и деталями.
5. Who and/or what inspires your work?
Inspiration surrounds us but it’s hard to follow where it leads. A source of inspiration can be anything. It might be some stuff that was in front of your eyes every day for a year and you simply didn’t notice it. Every day I take the same route to my work – buildings on one side of the road and trees on the opposite. One day, casually passing by the same trees, I noticed that the their trunks looked like ballet dancers’ legs and the leaves distantly resembled ballet dresses so that’s how the idea for the illustration below was born. I also find my inspiration in the works of other artists – this is a major driving force that always keeps me wanting to create. My favourite ones being Aino-Maija Metsola, Andy Kehoe, Shaun Tan and Isabelle Arsenault.
Вдохновение вокруг нас. Этот процесс сложно отследить. Вдохновить может предмет, который ты видел каждый день, но совершенно не обращал внимания. Каждое утро и вечер я прохожу по одной и той же улице: с одной стороны дома, а с другой вереница деревьев. Несколько дней назад я случайно заметила, что деревья похожи на ноги балерин, а листья — на балетные пачки. Так появилась эта иллюстрация. Все свои находки я фотографирую, сохраняю в закрытый секретный инстаграм и пишу короткие заметки, чтобы не забыть 🙂 А еще меня вдохновляют работы других художников и иллюстраторов, сразу хочется творить и не стоять на месте. Мои любимые иллюстраторы: Aino-Maija Metsola, Andy Kehoe, Shaun Tan, Isabelle Arsenault.
6. What role does art play in your life? How does it change the way you view the world?
Art has simplified many things in my life, in a good way. When I draw, it makes all my troubles go away and it’s like I’m under an unbreakable dome, completely invincible.
I used to only draw for myself before but now I want to share my work with other people and that’s also an important source of excitement in my life.
Благодаря рисованию я стала проще смотреть на многие вещи. Когда я рисую, то забываю обо всех проблемах и невзгодах, как будто вокруг меня возникает непроницаемый купол. Раньше я рисовала только для себя, а теперь мне хочется делиться творчеством.
7. Where did you study?
I graduated from the University of construction and architecture with an architectural engineering degree.
Я закончила Институт строительства и архитектуры по специальности инженер-проектировщик.
8. Where do you see yourself in five years?
In 5 years, I’ll be working on big projects with a team of talented like-minded people Illustrating books for publishers from all around the world. Another goal of mine would be to start an online course on illustration to help other people express themselves through this medium.
Очень много тружусь и участвую в крупных творческих проектах в команде талантливых людей, иллюстрирую книги и сотрудничаю с издательствами разных стран. Веду серию онлайн-курсов по иллюстрации и помогаю другим людям найти свой путь в темном лесу иллюстрации.
9. What about in ten?
In 10 years I see myself as a loving wife and a mother of two boys. I still want to be the same crazy, energetic person who’s adventurous and travels with her family a lot.
I’ll be working on illustrations for my own book, tutoring and loving myself, and the world around me.
Через 10 лет я представляю себя женой, мамой двоих мальчишек. Я все такая же энергичная, сумасшедшая, постоянно придумываю приключения для всей семьи и много путешествую. Работаю над иллюстрациями для авторской истории, преподаю, люблю себя и весь мир вокруг.
10. What do you hope to achieve with your art?
I want to show that both ideas and meaning are the most important things in art. Art for art’s sake doesn’t mean much to me. Every illustration I create, I want it to be a stop-motion picture of a story so that every single person seeing it can make up a beginning and an end to it.
Хочу показать первостепенность идеи и смысла. Для меня картинка ради картинки несет мало ценности. Каждую иллюстрацию я стараюсь превратить в стоп-кадр небольшой истории, чтобы человек мог сам придумать к ней начало и конец.
11. Now, tell us a little more about you as a person: what is your favourite food?
I’m an omnivore and don’t really care about what I eat. Though I really love okroshka (traditional russian cold soup made with kvass)
Я очень неприхотлива в еде, ем все. Но больше всего люблю окрошку (традиционное блюдо национальной русской кухни, холодный суп)
12. Favourite book?
For my favourite one, I’d say that’s “Jane, the Fox, and Me” by Isabelle Arsenault and Fanny Britt. It was the book that kickstarted my passion for illustration and it’s almost like my talisman. From fiction, I like “One Hundred Years of Solitude” by Gabriel García Márquez a lot. I basically enjoy challenging myself by grabbing a controversial book and forming my own opinion about it. Also, lately I’ve been reading a lot of professional literature: books about management, planning, design and such with the most recent one read being Ed Catmull’s “Creativity, Inc.”
В последнее время я читаю книги по работе: о менеджменте, планировании, дизайне и др. Из последнего Эд Кэтмелл “Корпорация гениев. Как управлять командой творческих людей”. Но у меня есть книга-талисман. Это была первая книга, с которой началась моя любовь к иллюстрации. Изабель Арсено “Джейн, Лиса и я”. А из художественной литературы очень нравится Габриэль Гарсиа Маркес “100 лет одиночества”. Люблю бросать себе вызов и браться за непростые книги, к которым неоднозначно относятся другие люди, а потом составлять собственное мнение.
13. Favourite genre of music?
Music that I like can be of different genres: indie, rock, punk, jazz, classical, whatever.
People around me that get to see how I’m drawing cute fluffy creatures are sometimes astonished hearing black metal blasting through my headphones. Also, there’s a little tradition I started recently – it’s called “song of the day.” I associate every day of my life with a certain song and when I hear it, I instantly remember the day in all ts emotions and colors. Today’s “Song of the Day”: Two Door Cinema Club — What You Know.
Мне нравятся разные виды музыки: инди, рок, панк, джаз, классика. Иногда друзья удивляются, когда видят, что я рисую милые пушистые картинки под металл. А еще у меня есть маленькая традиция, которую я называю “песня дня”. Теперь каждый день ассоциируется с определенной композицией, и когда я слышу ее вновь, сразу вспоминаю эмоции и настроение того дня. Песня сегодняшнего дня Two Door Cinema Club — What You Know
14. What are your hobbies?
In my spare time I mostly read books, draw whatever I feel like drawing and hang out with my friends. When the winter is cold, I bake cakes and knit stuff. Like to travel a lot – even on short trips, I’d imagine there’s a great adventure waiting ahead and be excited.
В свободное время я в основном читаю книги, рисую и провожу время с друзьями. В холодную пору люблю печь тортики и вязать. А еще мне нравится путешествовать. Я большой фанат любых поездок, представляю, что это маленькое путешествие навстречу приключениям.
15. If you weren’t an artist, what would you be?
Architect/fashion designer.
Архитектор, дизайнер одежды. | https://ballpitmag.com/portfolio/nastyniksen/ |
Submitted by ETC Staff on
The key technologies of the past half-century—transistors, semiconductors, and genetic engineering—have all been about down— reducing size, materials and costs while increasing power. We are about to take a much bigger step down. Our capacity to manipulate matter is moving from genes to atoms. While civil society and governments focus on genetic modification, an impressive array of industrial enterprises is targeting a scientific revolution that could modify matter and transform every aspect of work and life. This report introduces a set of tools and techniques we call Atomtechnologies, which includes nanoparticles, nano biotechnology, nanofabrication and molecular manufacture. It also describes the coming convergence of biotechnology, information technologies, | http://www.etcgroup.org/content/big-down |
What’s your latest self-care routine and how has that been bringing you joy?
“My latest self care routine has been carving out at least 2 hours each day for myself. This allows me time to devote intentional & uninterrupted time to things that bring me joy. Whether it’s cooking while listening to music, reading, photographing a new recipe, getting lost in a good & timely devotional, or learning a new skill. I no longer want leave those joyful moments to happenstance; these moments deserve my full attention and intention. Waking up knowing that each day I’m going to invite joy into my day is rewarding and fulfilling for me”.
Thank you Jaylynn for stopping by our girl chat! You can check out her website and follow her on Instagram. | https://flourishheights.com/jaylynns-self-care-routine/ |
Speaking at an awareness event on the highway project to support Lake Victoria social and economic activities in Dar es Salaam, the Tanzania Meteorological Authority (TMA) Acting Director General Dr Ladislaus Chang’a said the impact of increased severe weather events on the lake affects the economy of people living within the Lake Victoria basin.
“Extreme events such as severe convection and strong winds have impacted the availability of fish catch and increased marine accidents. These have in turn affected human livelihoods. These impacts are of great concern to the national economy,” he said.
The project brings together partners including the national meteorological services of Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda, in collaboration with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) along with the United States National Center for Atmospheric Research, managed by the World Meteorological Organisation and funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID).
Dr Chang’a noted that there have been high and rising temperatures within the lake, and high humidity which if left as it is, in the next 20 years marine life will be endangered.
Despite the fact that climate information products and services are readily available, climate products generation, transmissions and sharing are still a challenge in the Lake Victoria basin, he stated.
“These effects arose from inadequate early warning systems, limited integration between producers and users to develop innovative, accurate and tailor-made Early Warning Services (EWS),” he said.
This would have been realized through co-production of those services but there were limited avenues for improved communication, creating ineffective use of Early Warning Services (EWS) products by relevant stakeholders, he asserted.
The objective of the project is to analyze happenings around the lake to minimize harm and potential disasters to social and marine life, he said.
The successful implementation of the highway project will enhance provision of accurate, reliable and timely weather and climate related products, he said.
Information on such products will be available in a cost-effective and sustainable manner to minimize loss of life and damage to property along the Lake Victoria Basin.
Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes, home to 28 species of freshwater snails and many others. The abundance of aquatic life is just a part of the dependency hierarchy on the lake, as more than 30 million people in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda rely on the water body. | https://ippmedia.com/en/news/lake-victoria-climate-change-fish-supply-scenario-daunting |
Brief on the Contextual Processing Protocol Project
Until the development of the Contextual Processing Protocol, several barriers existed that prevented a coordinated utilization of widespread natural products in Nigeria. These include: paucity in research funding; dependence on imported varieties; lack of interest for local production of commodities; poor policy framework for local content; and lack of collaboration between research and industry. The project has therefore been designed not only to deploy the research findings for processing these natural products, but also to overcome the aforementioned challenges. For instance, partnerships with various Governments Agencies to improve ease of obtaining relevant certifications and registrations. Partnerships have also been developed with manufacturers and marketers of the expected finished products. This can help shorten the route to market.
The project has also been designed to harness products from each of the six geopolitical regions in Nigeria. Given the varied nature of Nigeria’s climate and topography, findings from this pilot project can be scaled up and applied in other settings where these products are also found.
The Contextual Processing Protocol project is a short to medium term stimulus intervention program developed by NIPRD based on existing research on natural resources with phytomedicinal potential. The design of the project is aimed at operationalizing research findings while synergizing various institutional and private sector partnerships that can improve the effective and efficient delivery of the project aims and objectives. The deployment of the project can stimulate rapid employment generation; increase the economic activity of local youths and women; boost revenue generation in the country and improve the health and well-being of Nigerians in general. This project is feasible due to the availability of already validated and tested protocols and highly skilled manpower ready to be deployed to the field with minimal setup time. | https://www.niprd.gov.ng/contextual-processing-protocol/ |
Vietnam’s Mekong Delta ships out $783M in seafood
Seafood exports by Vietnam’s Mekong Delta provinces are picking up after a lull caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Ca Mau, one of the largest shrimp producing provinces, struggled earlier this year, but exports have been improving recently due to authorities’ support and businesses’ own efforts.
Shrimp exports in the first 10 months of this year were worth over $783 million, six per cent higher year-on-year.
Shrimp export by Bac Lieu province topped $600 million, a five per cent increase.
Huynh Thanh Tan, director of the Ca Mau Seafood Processing and Service JSC, said prices of raw shrimp were down for a long time due to the pandemic, and farmers cut back on production. Recent rains and rising tides also hit shrimp farming, he said.
Shrimp prices are recovering as more businesses are buying, and as a result farmers are resuming farming.
Supply is expected to recover by the start of next year. | https://opendevelopmentmekong.net/news/vietnams-mekong-delta-ships-out-783m-in-seafood/ |
Tucson Water is the second largest water utility in Arizona, serving over 730,000 customers over a 390 square mile service area. Tucson Water is recognized internationally as a leader in water conservation, sustainability, and service. Our team are proud stewards of our community’s most precious natural resource, working to embody the utility’s motto of “Pride in Service”.
The Business and Organizational Support Services (B.O.S.S.) Division provides a variety of services necessary to the business operations of the utility including financial management, forecasting, rate development, as well as organizational development services.
The Digital Utility Analyst Team supports department initiatives related to the utility becoming a digital utility where there are elements of implementation training, process mapping, technology framework, and business intelligence.
The division is looking for an energetic individual with interest in analysis and business intelligence development initiatives to join our team. This is an exciting time to join the B.O.S.S. team, as the Department is embarking on a digital transformation to replace several core systems which will require data migration, conversation, and work to build decision support model for the future.
Potential for hybrid telecommuting where a portion of the work may be completed virtually based on specific work tasks. Successful candidates will enjoy the opportunity to work from home while abiding by the Department’s specific policies and the terms and guidelines set forth in the City of Tucson’s Telecommuting Administrative Directive 2.01-19 to include:
• Must have a minimum of 50 Mbps to connect to the internet.
• Shall designate and maintain a dedicated workspace that is quiet, clean, and safe, with adequate lighting and ventilation.
This is a non-permanent position. It is designed and intended to provide entry level work experience for students who meet the minimum qualifications.
As a BOSS intern you will be able to work on a variety of assignments related to analysis of data, scripting/coding assignments (if applicable), process mapping, as well as researching and compiling information for the technology projects.
Collaborate with Digital Utility Analyst team members on learning water system or customer data sets.
Prepare data sets for reporting, perform quality checks, and work with the various project teams.
Generate training-related reports as needed for projects.
This description is not intended to limit or in any way modify the right of management to assign, direct and control the work of employees under supervision. The listing of duties and responsibilities shall not be held to exclude other duties not mentioned that are of similar kind or level of difficulty. They are intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by individuals assigned to this position.
Minimum Education Level & Type: 6 months post High School
Minimum Experience Qualifications: No Experience
Must have junior or senior standing and be enrolled in a four-year degree program or be enrolled in the last semester of a two-year degree program, or be enrolled in a graduate program, or be enrolled in college-level coursework and have special, measurable technical skills.
Must have a letter of recommendation from an instructor at the educational institute in which they are currently enrolled.
Must have a current cumulative GPA of at least 2.5. Students may submit copy of last grade report with cumulative GPA.
Must be able to work a minimum of 20 hours per week during regular business hours and up to 40 hours a week during the summer and school breaks.
Must maintain the required hours for full-time student status and be in good academic standing.
• Scheduling of work hours and assignments should be made taking into consideration that Student Interns are students first and employees second.
Pursuing a master’s degree in Business Administration, Public Administration, Management Information Systems, or a closely related discipline with an expected graduation date of May 2023 or later.
Experience either through coursework or employment related to Management Information Systems or Analysis.
Possess functional knowledge of Microsoft Office products.
Be able to work independently as well as in a team environment.
To be considered for this internship opportunity, submit your cover letter, your resume detailing your current enrollment as an active college or university student currently participating in a program of studies including business administration or public administration and a copy of your current transcripts via email to:
Valerie Bencomo, HR Technician
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 520-837-2136
Subject line must read: Business Administration Internship-DUA
After a review of cover letters and resumes, qualified applicants will be invited to participate in a panel interview the week of February 20, 2023.
To ensure accurate payroll information for tax purposes, the successful candidate will need to provide their original Social Security Card or original letter from the Social Security Administration with their social security number prior to beginning work with the City of Tucson.
The City of Tucson hires lawful workers only - US citizens or nationals and non-citizens with valid work authorization - without discrimination. Federal immigration laws require all employers to verify both the identity and employment eligibility of all persons hired to work in the United States. In its efforts to meet the law's requirements, the City of Tucson participates in the E-Verify program established by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Social Security Administration (SSA) to aid employers in verifying the eligibility of workers.
Retired City of Tucson employees receiving benefits from the Tucson Supplemental Retirement System who are considering reemployment with the City should be aware that pursuant to Section 22-37(g) of the Tucson City Code, retirement benefits shall be suspended during the period of reemployment with the City of Tucson unless you have been separated at least twelve consecutive months before returning to work AND you return to a non-permanent employment classification. Creditable service does not accrue during any reemployment period. | https://www.jobapscloud.com/Tucson/sup/bulpreview.asp?R1=2301&R2=2010&R3=003 |
A UK multicentre retrospective cohort study comparing hysterectomy and uterine artery embolisation for the treatment of symptomatic uterine fibroids (HOPEFUL study): main results on medium-term safety and efficacy.
Dutton S., Hirst A., McPherson K., Nicholson T., Maresh M.
OBJECTIVES: Comparison of medium-term safety and efficacy of hysterectomy and uterine artery embolisation (UAE) for symptomatic uterine fibroids. DESIGN: Multicentre retrospective cohort. SETTING: 18 UK NHS hospital trusts. PARTICIPANTS: Four hundred and fifty nine women who had hysterectomy within a national audit during 12 months from October 1994 (VALUE study) (average follow up of 8.6 years) and 649 women receiving UAE from 1996 to 2002 (average follow up of 4.6 years). METHODS: Clinical data from existing hospital records and patient completed postal questionnaires. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Complication rates, side effects of embolisation, satisfaction with treatment, relief from symptoms and requirement for further fibroid treatment. RESULTS: Fewer complications were experienced by women receiving UAE (19 versus 26% hysterectomy, P = 0.001), the adjusted odds ratio for UAE versus hysterectomy was 0.48 (95% CI 0.26-0.89). One-third of women undergoing UAE experienced anticipated general side effects associated with the procedure. More women in the hysterectomy cohort reported relief from fibroid symptoms (95 versus 85%, P < 0.0001) and feeling better (96 versus 84%, P < 0.0001), but only 85% would recommend the treatment to a friend compared with 91% in the UAE arm (P = 0.007). There was a 23% (95% CI 19-27%) chance of requiring further treatment for fibroids after UAE. Twenty-seven women who had had UAE reported 37 pregnancies after treatment resulting in 19 live births. CONCLUSIONS: UAE results in fewer complications than hysterectomy. Side effects after embolisation should be anticipated, and almost one-quarter of women having UAE were likely to require further treatment for fibroid symptoms. Both treatments appear to be safe and effective over the medium term, and the choice of treatment may be a matter of personal preference for each individual woman. | https://www.ndorms.ox.ac.uk/publications/266879 |
---
abstract: |
A saturating set consisting eigenfunctions of Stokes operator in general 3D Cylinders is proposed. The explicit saturating set leads to the approximate controllability for Navier–Stokes equations in $\rm 3D$ cylinders under Lions boundary conditions.
[MSC2010:]{} 93B05, 35Q30, 93C20.
[Keywords:]{} Navier–Stokes equations; approximate controllability; saturating set
author:
- Duy Phan
title: 'An explicit saturating set leads to approximate controllability for Navier–Stokes equations in [3D]{} Cylinders under Lions boundary conditions.'
---
[^1]
Introduction
============
We consider the incompressible 3D Navier–Stokes equation in $(0,\,T)\times\Omega$, under Lions boundary conditions,
\[sys-u-flat\] $$\begin{aligned}
{\partial}_t u+\langle u\cdot\nabla\rangle u-\nu\Delta u+\nabla p+h&=0, &{\mathop{\rm div}\nolimits}u &=0,\label{sys-u-flat-eq}\\
\left.\begin{pmatrix} u\cdot{\mathbf n}\\ {\mathop{\rm curl}\nolimits}u-(({\mathop{\rm curl}\nolimits}u)\cdot{\mathbf n}){\mathbf n}\end{pmatrix}\right|_{{\partial}\Omega}&=\begin{pmatrix}0\\0\end{pmatrix}, &u(0,\,x)&=u_0(x),\end{aligned}$$
where $\Omega\subset{{\mathbb R}}^3$ is an arbitrary three-dimensional cylinder $$\Omega = (0,L_1) \times (0,L_2) \times \left( \frac{2L_3}{2 \pi} \mathbb{S}^1 \right),$$ whose boundary is denoted by ${\partial}{\Omega} \coloneqq \Bigl(\bigl(\{0,L_1\} \times (0,L_2)\bigr))\cup\bigl((0,L_1) \times \{0,L_2\}\bigr)\Bigr) \times
\left(\frac{{2L_3}}{2 \pi} \mathbb{S}^1 \right)$. As usual $u=(u_1,u_2,u_3)$ and $p$, defined for $( t,x_1,x_2,x_3)\in I\times\Omega$, are respectively the unknown velocity field and pressure of the fluid, $\nu>0$ is the viscosity, the operators $\nabla$ and $\Delta$ are respectively the well known gradient and Laplacian in the space variables $(x_1,x_2,x_3)$, $\langle u\cdot\nabla\rangle v$ stands for $(u\cdot\nabla v_1,u\cdot\nabla v_2,u\cdot\nabla v_3)$, ${\mathop{\rm div}\nolimits}u\coloneqq \sum_{i=1}^3 {\partial}_{x_i}u_i$, the vector ${\mathbf n}$ stands for the outward unit normal vector to ${\partial}\Omega$, and $h$ is a fixed function.
Notice that this is equivalent to take appropriate mixed Lions–periodic boundary conditions in the infinite channel $\mathrm R_{\mathrm C} = (0,L_1) \times (0,L_2) \times {{\mathbb R}}$: $$\begin{aligned}
\begin{pmatrix}u\cdot{\mathbf n}\\
{\mathop{\rm curl}\nolimits}u-({\mathbf n}\cdot{\mathop{\rm curl}\nolimits}u){\mathbf n}\end{pmatrix}&=0,
\quad\mbox{on}\quad\Bigl(\bigl(\{0,L_1\} \times (0,L_2)\bigr))\cup\bigl((0,L_1) \times \{0,L_2\}\bigr)\Bigr) \times{{\mathbb R}},\\
u(x_1,x_2,x_3)&=u(x_1,x_2,x_3+2L_3),\quad (x_1,x_2,x_3)\in\mathrm R_{\mathrm C}.\end{aligned}$$
This case can be seen as the case where the fluid is contained in a long (infinite) 3D channel with Lions boundary conditions, and with the periodicity assumption on the long (infinite) direction. Lions boundary conditions are a particular case of Navier boundary conditions. For works and motivations concerning Lions and Navier boundary conditions (in both 2D and 3D cases) we refer to [@XiaoXin07; @XiaoXin13; @PhanRod17; @ChemetovCiprianoGavrilyuk10; @Kelliher06; @IlyinTiti06] and references therein.
Further $A$ maps $V$ onto $V'$, and the operator $A^{-1}\in{{\mathcal L}}(H)$ is compact. The spaces $H$, $V$, and ${{\mathrm D}}(A)$ will depend on the boundary conditions the fluid will be subjected to. We assume that the inclusion $V\subseteq H$ is dense, continuous, and compact. The eigenvalues of $A$, repeated accordingly with their multiplicity, form an increasing sequence $(\underline\lambda_k)_{k\in{{\mathbb N}}_0}$, $$0<\underline\lambda_1\le\underline\lambda_2\le\underline\lambda_3\le\underline\lambda_4\le\dots,$$ with $\underline\lambda_k$ going to $+\infty$ with $k$.
We can rewrite system as an evolutionary system $$\dot u+A u+B(u,u)+h=\eta,\quad u(0)=u_0,$$
Saturating sets and approximate controllability {#sS:saturH}
-----------------------------------------------
In the pioneering work [@AgraSary05] the authors introduced a method which led to the controllability of finite-dimensional Galerkin approximations of the $\mathrm{2D}$ and $\mathrm{3D}$ Navier–Stokes system, and to the approximate controllability of the $\mathrm{2D}$ Navier–Stokes system, by means of low modes/degenerate forcing.
Hereafter $U\subseteq H$ will stand for a linear subspace of $H$, and we denote $${{\mathcal B}}(a,b)\coloneqq B(a,b)+B(b,a), \qquad \text{for} \quad (a,~b) \in U \times U.$$
\[D:FF-l\] Let ${{\mathcal C}}=\{W_k\mid k\in\{1,\,2,\,\dots,\,M\}\}$ and let $E$ be a finite-dimensional space so that ${{\mathcal C}}\subset E\subset U$. The finite-dimensional subspace ${{\mathcal F}}_{\tt L}(E)\subset U$ is given by $${{\mathcal F}}_{\tt L}(E)\coloneqq E+{\mathop{\rm span}\nolimits}\{{{\mathcal B}}(a,b)\mid a\in{{\mathcal C}},\,b\in E,\,\mbox{ and } (B(a,a),B(b,b))\in H\times H\}\textstyle\bigcap U.$$
\[D:satur-l\] A given finite subset ${{\mathcal C}}=\{W_k\mid k\in\{1,\,2,\,\dots,\,M\}\}
\subset U$ is said $({\tt L},U)$-saturating if for the following sequence of subspaces ${{\mathcal G}}^j\subset U$, defined recursively by $$\begin{aligned}
{{\mathcal G}}^0&\coloneqq{\mathop{\rm span}\nolimits}{{\mathcal C}},\qquad {{\mathcal G}}^{j+1}\coloneqq{{\mathcal F}}_{\tt L}({{\mathcal G}}^{j}),\end{aligned}$$ we have that the union $\mathop{\bigcup}\limits_{j\in{{\mathbb N}}}{{\mathcal G}}^j$ is dense in $H$.
In [@AgraSary06 section 4] the authors present an explicit saturating set for the $\mathrm{2D}$ Navier–Stokes system. We would like to refer also to the works [@Romito04; @HairerMatt06; @EMat01], where the notion of saturating set was used to derive ergodicity for the Navier–Stokes system under degenerate stochastic forcing (compare the sequence of subsets ${{\mathcal Z}}_n$ in [@HairerMatt06 section 4] with the sequence of subsets ${{\mathcal K}}^n$ in [@AgraSary05 section 8]).
In the pioneering work [@AgraSary05] the set $U$ in is taken to be ${{\mathrm D}}(A)$, the same is done in [@AgraSary06; @Rod-Sev05; @Rod06; @Shirikyan06]. Later, in [@Rod-Thesis08; @Rod-wmctf07; @PhanRod-ecc15], $U$ is taken as $V$ in order to deal either with Navier-type boundary conditions or with internal controls supported in a small subset.
In [@Shirikyan06], the method introduced in [@AgraSary05] is developed in the case where the well-posedness of the Cauchy problem is not known. Though the author focuses on no-slip boundary conditions, i.e. $u{\left.\kern-2\nulldelimiterspace\right|_}{{\partial}\Omega}=0$, the results also hold for other boundary conditions. The author considers the case of periodic boundary conditions, and presents an explicit saturating set ${{\mathcal C}}$ (for the case of $(1,1,1)$-periodic vectors) whose $64$ elements are eigenfunctions of the Stokes operator (i.e., the Laplacian). For a general period $q=(q_1,q_2,q_3)\in({{\mathbb R}}_0)^3$ the existence of a saturating set is also proven [@Shirikyan06 section 2.3, Theorem 2.5], though the form of the saturating set is less explicit.
In [@PhanRod18JDCS], the approximate controllability also follows from the existence of a $({\tt L},{{\mathrm D}}(A))$-saturating set. For any given length triplet $L=(L_1,L_2,L_3)$ of a [3D]{} rectangle, we present an explicit $({\tt L},{{\mathrm D}}(A))$-saturating set ${{\mathcal C}}_{\rm R}$ for the $\mathrm{3D}$ rectangle $\Omega=(0,L_1)\times(0,L_2)\times(0,L_3)$ (which will be recalled below). The elements of ${{\mathcal C}}_{\rm R}$ are $81$ eigenfunctions of the Stokes operator, under Lions boundary conditions.
In various works of this topic, to tackle different types of boundary conditions as well as domains, some different definitions of saturating set has been proposed. Here we follow the definition of saturating set as in the previous work (see [@PhanRod18JDCS]) since it leads to some advantages in computation.
For further results concerning the controllability and approximate controllability of Navier–Stokes (and also other) systems by a control with low finite-dimensional range (independent of the viscosity coefficient) in several domains (including the $\mathrm{2D}$ Sphere and Hemisphere) we refer the reader to [@Nersisyan10; @Nersisyan11; @Nersesyan10; @Shirikyan08; @Shirikyan_Evian07; @Shirikyan07; @Sarychev12; @AgraSary06; @AgraSary08; @AgrKukSarShir07]. We also mention Problem VII raised by A. Agrachev in [@Agrachev13_arx] where the author inquires about the achievable controllability properties for controls taking values in a saturating set whose elements are localized/supported in a small subset $\omega\subset\Omega$. The existence of such saturating sets is an open question (except for $\mathrm{1D}$ Burgers in [@PhanRod-ecc15]). The controllability properties implied by such saturating set is an open question. There are some negative results, as for example in the case we consider the $\mathrm{1D}$ Burgers equations in $\Omega=(0,1)$ and take controls in $L^2(\omega,{{\mathbb R}})$, $w\subset\Omega$, the approximate controllability fails to hold. Instead, to drive the system from one state $u_0=u(0)$ at time $t=0$ to another one $u_T=u(T)$ at time $t=T$, we may need $T$ to be big enough. Though we do not consider localized controls here, we refer the reader to the related results in [@FerGue07; @Shirikyan17] and references therein.\
The main contribution
---------------------
The main contribution is that we present a saturating set in [3D]{} cylinder consisting finite number of eigenfunctions of Stoke operator (see Theorem \[T:satur3Dcyl\] hereafter). The saturating set has 354 elements (or a simple version with 259 elements in corollary \[cor-sat-cyl\]). In some particular cases, it may exist a saturating set with less elements. However, we want to notice that our goal is not to find a saturating set with minimal number of elements. In all cases, we emphasize that the existence of a $({\tt L},{{\mathrm D}}(A))$-saturating set is independent of the viscosity coefficient $\nu$. In particular, the linear space ${{\mathcal G}}^1$, where the control $\eta$ takes its value, does not change with $\nu$.
To construct a saturating set, we firstly introduce a system of eigenfunctions in section \[subsec:eigfun\]. In this case, we have two types of eigenfunctions $ Y^{j(k),k}$ and $ Z^{j(k),k}$. The form of $ Y^{j(k),k}$ are analogous to the one in 3D Rectangles. However the apperance of another type of eigenfunctions $Z^{j(k),k}$ leads to some difficulties. The construction of all eigenfunctions $ Z^{j(k),k}$ is based on the expression of $\left( Z^{j(k),k} \cdot \nabla \right) Y^{j(m),m} + \left( Y^{j(m),m} \cdot \nabla \right) Z^{j(k),k}$. To construct these eigenfunctions $ Z^{j(k),k}$, Lemma \[lemma-lin-indp\_Z\] (an analogous version of Lemma 3.1 in [@PhanRod18JDCS]) is not enough to prove the linear independence. Therefore another Lemma \[lemma-lin-indp2\] is introduced and used mostly in the proof. Only Lemma \[lemma-lin-indp2\] can be used to prove the linear independence in some cases (for example in Step \[Step352\]). Besides we notice that the procedure can be applied analogously in two first directions because we consider Lions boundary conditions in the directions (see the proofs in the Sections \[subsec-proof.genR12\] and \[subsec-proof.genR3\]). However, the third direction must be addressed separately because we consider the periodicity assumption in the third direction. These are some reasons to convince that the proof in the case of ${\rm 3D}$ cylinder is inspired from the case of ${\rm 3D}$ rectangle but it cannot follow line by line.
The rest of the paper is organized as follows. In section \[sec-pre\], we recall some results of the approximate controllability for 3D Navier-Stokes equations under Lions boundary conditions. A saturating set in the case of three-dimensional Rectangle will be revisited in section \[sec: Recall3DRect\]. In section \[sec: Sat3DCyl\], we construct a $({\tt L},{{\mathrm D}}(A))$-saturating set in the case of three-dimensional cylinder.
Preliminaries {#sec-pre}
=============
The evolutionary system {#sS:evol}
-----------------------
We can rewrite system as an evolutionary system $$\label{sys_u}
\dot u+A u+B(u,u)+h=\eta,\quad u(0)=u_0,$$ in the subspace $H\coloneqq\{u\in L^2(\Omega,\,{{\mathbb R}}^3)\mid{\mathop{\rm div}\nolimits}u=0\mbox{ and }(u\cdot{\mathbf n}){\left.\kern-2\nulldelimiterspace\right|_}{{\partial}\Omega}=0\}$ of divergence free vector fields which are tangent to the boundary. We may suppose that $h$ and $\eta$ take their values in $H$ (otherwise we just take their orthogonal projections onto $H$). We consider $H$, endowed with the norm inherited from $L^2(\Omega,\,{{\mathbb R}}^3)$, as a pivot space, that is, $H=H'$. Further we set the spaces $$\begin{aligned}
V&\coloneqq\{u\in H^1(\Omega,\,{{\mathbb R}}^3\mid u\in H\},\\
{{\mathrm D}}(A)&\coloneqq\{u\in H^2(\Omega,\,{{\mathbb R}}^3)\mid u\in H, \quad{\mathop{\rm curl}\nolimits}u-(({\mathop{\rm curl}\nolimits}u)\cdot{\mathbf n}){\mathbf n}{\left.\kern-2\nulldelimiterspace\right|_}{{\partial}\Omega}=0\}\end{aligned}$$
Above, for $u,v,w\in V$, $$\begin{aligned}
A&\colon V\to V',&\langle A u,v\rangle_{V',V}&\coloneqq \nu({\mathop{\rm curl}\nolimits}u,{\mathop{\rm curl}\nolimits}v)_{L^2(\Omega,\,{{\mathbb R}}^3)},\label{LStokes}\\
B&\colon V\times V\to V',&\langle B(u,v),w\rangle_{V',V}&\coloneqq -\int_\Omega(\langle u\cdot\nabla\rangle w)\cdot v\,{\mathrm d}\Omega.\label{Bop}\end{aligned}$$
It turns out that ${{\mathrm D}}(A)=\{u\in H\mid Au\in H\}$ is the domain of $A$. We will refer to $A$ as the Stokes operator, under Lions boundary conditions. Further, we have the continuous, dense, and compact inclusions ${{\mathrm D}}(A)\xhookrightarrow{\rm d,c}V\xhookrightarrow{\rm d,c}H$.
The notation $S\xhookrightarrow{} R$ above means that the inclusion $S \subseteq R$ is continuous. The letter “$\rm d$” (respectively “$\rm c$”) means that, in addition, the inclusion is also dense (respectively compact).
Denoting by $\Pi$ the orthogonal projection in $L^2(\Omega,\,{{\mathbb R}}^3)$ onto $H$, for $u,v\in{{\mathrm D}}(A)$ we may write $Au\coloneqq\Pi(\nu\Delta u)$, and $B(u,\,v)\coloneqq\Pi(\langle u\cdot\nabla\rangle v)$.
It is clear that the Stokes operator is well defined, mapping $V$ into $V'$. We also see that the bilinear operator maps $V\times V$ into $V'$, due to the estimate $$\begin{aligned}
B(u,v),w\rangle_{V',V}&\le {\rm C}_1{|u|_{L^6(\Omega,{{\mathbb R}}^3)}}{|\nabla w|_{L^2(\Omega,{{\mathbb R}}^9)}}{|v|_{L^3(\Omega,{{\mathbb R}}^3)}}\\
&\le {\rm C}_2{|u|_{H^1(\Omega,{{\mathbb R}}^3)}}
{|w|_{H^1(\Omega,{{\mathbb R}}^3)}}{|v|_{H^1(\Omega,{{\mathbb R}}^3)}}.\end{aligned}$$ For further estimations on the bilinear operator we refer to [@Temam95 section 2.3].
Approximate controllability
---------------------------
Hereafter $u_0\in V$, $h\in L^2_{\rm loc}({{\mathbb R}}_0,H)$, and $E\subset{{\mathrm D}}(A)$ is a finite-dimensional subspace. Let us consider the system $$\label{sys_u_E}
\dot u+A u+B(u,u)+h=\eta,\quad u(0)=u_0,$$ where the control $\eta$ takes its values in $E$.
For simplicity we will denote $$I_T\coloneqq(0,T),\quad\mbox{and}\quad \overline{I_T}\coloneqq [0,T],\qquad T>0.$$
Let $T$ be a positive constant. System is said to be $E$-approximately controllable in time $T$ if for any ${\varepsilon}> 0$ and any pair $(u_0,\hat u)\in V\times {{\mathrm D}}(A)$, there exists a control function $\eta\in L^\infty(I_T, E)$ and a corresponding solution $u\in C(\overline{I_T},V)\bigcap L^2(I_T, {{\mathrm D}}(A))$, such that ${|u(T)-\hat u|_{V}} <{\varepsilon}$.
We recall the Main Theorem in [@PhanRod18JDCS] which shows the approximate controllability of 3D Navier-Stokes system from the existence of a $({\tt L},{{\mathrm D}}(A))$-saturating set.
Let $(u_0,\hat u)\in V\times V$, $\varepsilon>0$, and $T > 0$. If ${{\mathcal C}}$ is a $({\tt L},{{\mathrm D}}(A))$-saturating set, then we can find a control $\eta\in L^\infty((0,T),{{\mathcal G}}^1)$ so that the solution of system satisfies ${|u(T)-\hat u|_{V}}<\varepsilon$.
In [@Shirikyan06], the author introduced a definition of $(\rm B, D(A))$ saturating set and proved that the existence of a $(\rm B, D(A))$ saturating set implies the approximate controllability of the 3D Navier-Stokes systems, at time $T>0$. In [@PhanRod18JDCS] and this work, we are using another definition of saturating set, so-called $(\rm L, D(A))$ saturating set. The main advantage to use this definition is in the computation below.
An explicit saturating set in 3D Rectangles {#sec: Recall3DRect}
-------------------------------------------
In this section, we recall a $({\tt L},{{\mathrm D}}(A))$-saturating set containing a finite number of suitable eigenfunctions of the Stokes operator $A$ in the $\mathrm{3D}$ rectangle $$R=(0,L_1) \times (0,L_2) \times(0,L_3)$$ under Lions boundary conditions, see , where $L_1$, $L_2$, and $L_3$ are positive real numbers.
For a given $k \in {{\mathbb N}}^3$, let $\#_0(k)$ stand for the number of vanishing components of $k$. A complete system of eigenfunctions $\left\{ Y_{k} \right\} $ is given by
\[FamilyEig3DRect\] $$\label{FamilyEig3DRect.Y}
Y^{j\left(k\right),k}_{\rm R} \coloneqq \begin{pmatrix}
w_1^{{j\left(k\right),k}} \sin \left( \frac{k_1 \pi x_1}{L_1} \right) \cos \left( \frac{k_2 \pi x_2}{L_2} \right) \cos \left( \frac{ k_3 \pi x_3}{L_3} \right)\\
w_2^{{j\left(k\right),k}} \cos \left( \frac{k_1 \pi x_1}{L_1} \right) \sin \left( \frac{k_2 \pi x_2}{L_2} \right) \cos \left( \frac{k_3 \pi x_3}{L_3} \right)\\
w_3^{{j\left(k\right),k}} \cos \left( \frac{k_1 \pi x_1}{L_1} \right) \cos \left( \frac{k_2 \pi x_2}{L_2} \right) \sin \left( \frac{k_3 \pi x_3}{L_3} \right)
\end{pmatrix},\quad \#_0(k)\le1,$$ with $$\{ w ^{j(k),k}\mid j(k)\in\{1,2-\#_0(k)\}\}\subset\{k\}^{\perp_{[L]}}_0$$ a linearly independent and orthogonal family and where $$\begin{aligned}
\{k\}^{\perp_{[L]}}_0&\coloneqq\{z\in{{\mathbb R}}^3\setminus\{(0,0,0)\}\mid \left( z,\, k \right)_{[L]} =0,
\mbox{ and }z_i=0\mbox{ if }k_i=0\}, \\
(z,\,k)_{[L]} &\coloneqq \frac{ z_1 k_1}{L_1} + \frac{ z_2 k_2}{L_2} + \frac{z_3 k_3}{L_3}.\end{aligned}$$
Notice that $2 - \#_0(k)$ is the dimension of the subspace $\{ k \}^{\perp_{[L]}}_0$ and that the orthogonality of the family $\{ w ^{j(k),k}\mid j(k)\in\{1,2-\#_0(k)\}\}$ implies that the family in is also orthogonal.
We recall the result in [@PhanRod18JDCS Theorem 3.1]
\[T:satur3Drect\] The set $~{{\mathcal C}}_{\rm R} \coloneqq\left\{ Y^{j(n),n}_{\rm R} \left|\begin{array}{l}n\in{{\mathbb N}}^3,\quad 0 \le n_i \le 3,\\ \#_0(n) \le 1,\quad j(n) \in \{ 1, 2-\#_0(n) \}\end{array} \right. \right\}$ is $({\tt L},{{\mathrm D}}(A))$-saturating.
A saturating set in the 3D-cylinder case {#sec: Sat3DCyl}
========================================
A system of eigenfunctions {#subsec:eigfun}
--------------------------
We start by observing that the vector functions
\[FamilyEig3DCyl\] $$\begin{aligned}
\label{FamilyEig3DCylT1}
Y^{j\left(k\right),k} &= \begin{pmatrix}
w_1^{{j\left(k\right),k}} \sin \left( \frac{k_1 \pi x_1}{L_1} \right) \cos \left( \frac{k_2 \pi x_2}{L_2} \right) \cos \left( \frac{k_3 \pi x_3}{L_3} \right)\\
w_2^{{j\left(k\right),k}} \cos \left( \frac{k_1 \pi x_1}{L_1} \right) \sin \left( \frac{k_2 \pi x_2}{L_2} \right) \cos \left( \frac{k_3 \pi x_3}{L_3} \right)\\
w_3^{{j\left(k\right),k}} \cos \left( \frac{k_1 \pi x_1}{L_1} \right) \cos \left( \frac{k_2 \pi x_2}{L_2} \right) \sin \left( \frac{k_3 \pi x_3}{L_3} \right)
\end{pmatrix},
\end{aligned}$$ with $\#_0(k)\le1$, and also the functions $$\begin{aligned}
\label{FamilyEig3DCylT2}
Z^{j\left(k\right),k} &= \begin{pmatrix}
w_1^{{j\left(k\right),k}} \sin \left( \frac{k_1 \pi x_1}{L_1} \right) \cos \left( \frac{k_2 \pi x_2}{L_2} \right) \sin \left( \frac{k_3 \pi x_3}{L_3} \right)\\
w_2^{{j\left(k\right),k}} \cos \left( \frac{k_1 \pi x_1}{L_1} \right) \sin \left( \frac{k_2 \pi x_2}{L_2} \right) \sin \left( \frac{k_3 \pi x_3}{L_3} \right)\\
-w_3^{{j\left(k\right),k}} \cos \left( \frac{k_1 \pi x_1}{L_1} \right) \cos \left( \frac{k_2 \pi x_2}{L_2} \right) \cos \left( \frac{k_3 \pi x_3}{L_3} \right)
\end{pmatrix},\end{aligned}$$ either with $\#_0(k)\le1$ or with $\#_0(k)=2$ and $k_3=0$.
Furthermore we assume that the vectors $w ^{j(k),k}$ are chosen satisfying
- if $\#_0(k)= 2$ and $k_3=0$, then $w ^{j(k),k}=w ^{1,k}=(0,0,w ^{1,k}_3)$, with $w ^{1,k}_3\ne0$,
- if $\#_0(k)\le 1$, then $$\{ w ^{j(k),k}\mid j(k)\in\{1,2-\#_0(k)\}\}\subset\{k\}^{\perp_{[L]}}_0,\\$$ is a linearly independent and orthogonal family, and where $$\begin{aligned}
\{k\}^{\perp_{[L]}}_0&\coloneqq\{z\in{{\mathbb R}}^3\setminus\{(0,0,0)\}\mid \left( z,\, k \right)_{[L]} =0,
\mbox{ and }z_i=0\mbox{ if }k_i=0\}, \\
(z,\,k)_{[L]} &\coloneqq \frac{ z_1 k_1}{L_1} + \frac{ z_2 k_2}{L_2} + \frac{z_3 k_3}{L_3}.\end{aligned}$$
are eigenfunctions of the shifted Stokes operator $A$ in $\mathrm C$ under Lions boundary conditions. Indeed, it is clear that they are eigenfuntions of the usual Laplacian operator. So it remains to check that they are divergence, satisfy the boundary conditions.
Notice that the functions in are similar to those in , though the domain $\Omega$ is different, namely $x\in \mathrm R=(0,L_1) \times (0,L_2) \times(0,L_3)$ in , and $x\in\Omega \sim(0,L_1) \times (0,L_2) \times(0,2L_3)$ in .
The divergence free condition follows from the way the vectors $w^{j(k),k}$ are chosen in . It is also clear that $u\cdot{\mathbf n}$ vanishes at the boundary ${\partial}\mathrm C$. Finally, we can see that the ${\mathop{\rm curl}\nolimits}$ is normal to the boundary, from the expressions $$\begin{aligned}
{\mathop{\rm curl}\nolimits}Y ^{j(k),k}
&= -\pi\begin{pmatrix}\left(\textstyle\frac{k_2}{L_2} w ^{j(k),k}_3-\textstyle\frac{k_3}{L_3} w ^{j(k),k}_2\right)
\cos(\textstyle\frac{k_1\pi x_1}{L_1})\sin(\textstyle\frac{k_2\pi x_2}{L_2})\sin(\textstyle\frac{k_3\pi x_3}{L_3})\\
\left(\textstyle\frac{k_3}{L_3} w ^{j(k),k}_1-\textstyle\frac{k_1}{L_1} w ^{j(k),k}_3\right)
\sin(\textstyle\frac{k_1\pi x_1}{L_1})\cos(\textstyle\frac{k_2\pi x_2}{L_2})\sin(\textstyle\frac{k_3\pi x_3}{L_3})\\
\left(\textstyle\frac{k_1}{L_1} w ^{j(k),k}_2-\textstyle\frac{k_2}{L_2} w ^{j(k),k}_1\right)
\sin(\textstyle\frac{k_1\pi x_1}{L_1})\sin(\textstyle\frac{k_2\pi x_2}{L_2})\cos(\textstyle\frac{k_3\pi x_3}{L_3})
\end{pmatrix},\\
{\mathop{\rm curl}\nolimits}Z^{j(k),k} &= \pi \begin{pmatrix}
\left( \frac{k_2}{L_2} w_3^{{j\left(k\right),k}} - \frac{k_3}{L_3} w_2^{{j\left(k\right),k}} \right) \cos \left( \frac{k_1 \pi x_1}{L_1} \right) \sin \left( \frac{k_2 \pi x_2}{L_2} \right) \cos \left( \frac{k_3 \pi x_3}{L_3} \right) \\
\left( \frac{k_3}{L_3} w_1^{{j\left(k\right),k}} - \frac{k_1}{L_1} w_3^{{j\left(k\right),k}} \right) \sin \left( \frac{k_1 \pi x_1}{L_1} \right) \cos \left( \frac{k_2 \pi x_2}{L_2} \right) \cos \left( \frac{k_3 \pi x_3}{L_3} \right) \\
\left( \frac{k_2}{L_2} w_1^{{j\left(k\right),k}} - \frac{k_1}{L_1} w_2^{{j\left(k\right),k}} \right) \sin \left( \frac{k_1 \pi x_1}{L_1} \right) \sin \left( \frac{k_2 \pi x_2}{L_2} \right) \sin \left( \frac{k_3 \pi x_3}{L_3} \right)
\end{pmatrix},\end{aligned}$$ which we can derive by direct computations. For example, at the lateral boundary $x_1=L_1$, that is, for $x\in \{L_1\} \times (0,L_2)\times\frac{2L_3}{2 \pi} \mathbb{S}^1$, we have ${\mathbf n}=(1,0,0)$ and $$\begin{aligned}
{\mathop{\rm curl}\nolimits}Y ^{j(k),k}
&= -\pi\begin{pmatrix}\left(\textstyle\frac{k_2}{L_2} w ^{j(k),k}_3-\textstyle\frac{k_3}{L_3} w ^{j(k),k}_2\right)
\sin(\textstyle\frac{k_2\pi x_2}{L_2})\sin(\textstyle\frac{k_3\pi x_3}{L_3})\\
0\\
0
\end{pmatrix},\\
{\mathop{\rm curl}\nolimits}Z^{j(k),k} &= \pi \begin{pmatrix}
\left( \frac{k_2}{L_2} w_3^{{j\left(k\right),k}} - \frac{k_3}{L_3} w_2^{{j\left(k\right),k}} \right) \sin \left( \frac{k_2 \pi x_2}{L_2} \right) \cos \left( \frac{k_3 \pi x_3}{L_3} \right) \\
0 \\
0
\end{pmatrix},\end{aligned}$$ which show that ${\mathop{\rm curl}\nolimits}Y ^{j(k),k}$ and ${\mathop{\rm curl}\nolimits}Z^{j(k),k}$ have the same direction as the normal vector ${\mathbf n}$.
The system of eigenfunctions $$\begin{aligned}
\{ Y^{j(k), k},~ Z^{j(k),k} \mid k\in {{\mathbb N}}^3\mbox{ and }\#_0(k) \le 1 \}~\bigcup \{Z^{1,k} \mid
k \in {{\mathbb N}}^3,~\#_0(k)=2,\mbox{ and }k_3=0\}\end{aligned}$$ is complete.
Recalling that, for $r>0$, $$\{\sin(\textstyle\frac{k\pi x_1}{r})\mid k\in{{\mathbb N}}_0\}\quad\mbox{and}\quad\{\cos(\textstyle\frac{k\pi x_1}{r})\mid k\in{{\mathbb N}}\}$$ are two complete systems in $L^2((0,r),{{\mathbb R}})$. And $$\{\sin(\textstyle\frac{k\pi x_1}{r})\mid k\in{{\mathbb N}}_0\}\bigcup\{\cos(\textstyle\frac{k\pi x_1}{r})\mid k\in{{\mathbb N}}\}$$ is a complete system in $L^2((0,2r),{{\mathbb R}})$. Then the proof can be done by following the arguments in [@PhanRod17 Section 6.6]. We skip the details.
Now we can present the saturating set.
\[T:satur3Dcyl\] The set of eigenfuntions $$\begin{aligned}
{{\mathcal C}}\coloneqq &\left\{ Y^{j(n),n} \mid~n\in{{\mathbb N}}^3,~\#_0(n)\le1,~n_i\le 4,~j(n) \in \{ 1, 2-\#_0(n) \}\right\} \\
&\cup \left\{ Z^{j(n),n} \mid~n \in {{\mathbb N}}^3,~\#_0(n)=2,~n_3=0 \right\} \\
&\cup \left\{ Z^{j(n),n} \mid~n\in{{\mathbb N}}^3,~\#_0(n)\le1,~n_i\le {4},~j(n) \in \{ 1, 2-\#_0(n) \}\right\}\end{aligned}$$ is $({\tt L},{{\mathrm D}}(A))$-saturating.
The proof will be presented in Section \[sec: ProofSat3DCyl\]. Next, we will introduce some tools which are fruitful in the proof below.
The expression for $(Y^k \cdot \nabla) Z^m + (Z^m \cdot \nabla) Y^k $.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Here we will present the expression for the coordinates of $\left( Z^{j(k),k} \cdot \nabla \right) Y^{j(m),m} + \left( Y^{j(m),m} \cdot \nabla \right) Y^{j(k),k}$ for given eigenfunctions as in . In order to shorten the following expressions and simplify the writing, we will write $$Y^{k}=Y^{j\left(k\right),k},\quad Y^{m}=Y^{j\left(m\right),m},\quad w ^{k}=w ^{j(k),k},\quad \mbox{and}\quad w ^{m}=w ^{j(m),m}$$ by omitting the indexes $j(k),j(m)$. We will also denote $$\textstyle {\rm C}_i(k_i)\coloneqq \cos \left( \frac{k_i \pi x_i}{L_i} \right)\quad\mbox{and}\quad {\rm S}_i(k_i)\coloneqq \sin \left( \frac{k_i \pi x_i}{L_i} \right),\qquad i\in \{1,2,3\}.$$
Proceeding as in the case of the rectangle, we obtain the same expressions for $(Y^k \cdot \nabla) Y^m$, and for the coordinates of $(Y^k \cdot \nabla) Y^m + (Y^m \cdot \nabla) Y^k $ as in [@PhanRod18JDCS Section 3.1]. By the same argument, we can obtain $$\begin{aligned}
\left( Y^k \cdot \nabla \right) Z^m &= \left( \begin{matrix}
Y^k \cdot w^m_1 \left( \ \begin{matrix}
\frac{m_1\pi}{L_1} {\rm C}_1(m_1) {\rm C}_2(m_2) {\rm S}_3(m_3) \\
-\frac{m_2\pi}{L_2} {\rm S}_1(m_1) {\rm S}_2(m_2) {\rm S}_3(m_3) \\
\frac{m_3\pi}{L_3} {\rm S}_1(m_1) {\rm C}_2(m_2) {\rm C}_3(m_3)
\end{matrix} \right) \\
Y^k \cdot w^m_2 \left( \ \begin{matrix}
-\frac{m_1\pi}{L_1} {\rm S}_1(m_1) {\rm S}_2(m_2) {\rm S}_3(m_3) \\
\frac{m_2\pi}{L_2} {\rm C}_1(m_1) {\rm C}_2(m_2) {\rm S}_3(m_3) \\
\frac{m_3\pi}{L_3} {\rm C}_1(m_1) {\rm S}_2(m_2) {\rm C}_3(m_3)
\end{matrix} \right)\\
Y^k \cdot w^m_3 \left( \ \begin{matrix}
\frac{m_1\pi}{L_1} {\rm S}_1(m_1) {\rm C}_2(m_2) {\rm C}_3(m_3) \\
\frac{m_2\pi}{L_2} {\rm C}_1(m_1) {\rm S}_2(m_2) {\rm C}_3(m_3) \\
\frac{m_3\pi}{L_3}{\rm C}_1(m_1) {\rm C}_2(m_2) {\rm S}_3(m_3)
\end{matrix} \right)
\end{matrix}
\right), \\
\left( Z^m \cdot \nabla \right) Y^k &= \left( \begin{matrix}
Z^m \cdot w^k_1 \left( \ \begin{matrix}
\frac{k_1\pi}{L_1} {\rm C}_1(k_1) {\rm C}_2(k_2) {\rm C}_3(k_3) \\
-\frac{k_2\pi}{L_2} {\rm S}_1(k_1) {\rm S}_2(k_2) {\rm C}_3(k_3) \\
-\frac{k_3\pi}{L_3} {\rm S}_1(k_1) {\rm C}_2(k_2) {\rm S}_3(k_3)
\end{matrix} \right) \\
Z^m \cdot w^k_2 \left( \ \begin{matrix}
-\frac{k_1\pi}{L_1} {\rm S}_1(k_1) {\rm S}_2(k_2) {\rm C}_3(k_3) \\
\frac{k_2\pi}{L_2} {\rm C}_1(k_1) {\rm C}_2(k_2) {\rm C}_3(k_3) \\
-\frac{k_3\pi}{L_3} {\rm C}_1(k_1) {\rm S}_2(k_2) {\rm S}_3(k_3)
\end{matrix} \right)\\
Z^m \cdot w^k_3 \left( \ \begin{matrix}
-\frac{k_1\pi}{L_1} {\rm S}_1(k_1) {\rm C}_2(k_2) {\rm S}_3(k_3) \\
-\frac{k_2\pi}{L_2} {\rm C}_1(k_1) {\rm S}_2(k_2) {\rm S}_3(k_3) \\
\frac{k_3\pi}{L_3} {\rm C}_1(k_1) {\rm C}_2(k_2) {\rm C}_3(k_3)
\end{matrix} \right)
\end{matrix}
\right),\end{aligned}$$ and, with $\beta^{\star_1\star_2\star_3}_{w^{k},m}$ and $\beta^{\star_1\star_2\star_3}_{w^{m},k}$ with $\star_1, \star_2, \star_3 \in \{+,~- \} $ defined as below $$\begin{aligned}
\label{BetaStar}
\beta^{\star_1\star_2\star_3}_{w^{k},m} \coloneqq \frac{\pi}{8} \textstyle\left( \star_1~\frac{w_1^{k} m_1}{L_1} \star_2~\frac{w_2^{k} m_2}{L_2} \star_3~\frac{w_3^{k}m_3 }{L_3}\right),
\qquad\mbox{for}\quad {(\star_1, \star_2, \star_3) \in \{+,- \}^3.} \end{aligned}$$ For example, we have $$\begin{aligned}
\beta^{+++}_{w^{k},m} \coloneqq \frac{\pi}{8} \textstyle\left( +\frac{w_1^{k} m_1}{L_1} + \frac{w_2^{k} m_2}{L_2} + \frac{w_3^{k}m_3 }{L_3}\right), \quad \beta^{-+-}_{w^{k},m} \coloneqq \frac{\pi}{8} \textstyle\left( -\frac{w_1^{k} m_1}{L_1} + \frac{w_2^{k} m_2}{L_2} - \frac{w_3^{k}m_3 }{L_3}\right). \end{aligned}$$ By straightforward computation, we can find the expression for the coordinates of $\left( Y^k \cdot \nabla \right) Z^m + \left( Z^m \cdot \nabla \right) Y^k$ as follows
\[CoorYZ\_Cyl\] $$\begin{gathered}
\begin{split} \label{1stCoorMix}
&\left( \left( Y^k \cdot \nabla \right) Z^m + \left( Z^m \cdot \nabla \right) Y^k \right)_1\\
&\hspace{4em}= \left(w_1^{m}\beta^{+++}_{w^k,m} + w_1^{k} \beta^{+++}_{w^m,k} \right)
{\rm S}_1 (k_1 + m_1) {\rm C}_2(k_2 + m_2) {\rm S}_3 (k_3 + m_3) \\
&\hspace{5em}+ \left( -w_1^{m}\beta^{+++}_{w^k,m} + w_1^{k} \beta^{+++}_{w^m,k}\right)
\end{split}\end{gathered}$$ $$\begin{gathered}
\begin{split} \label{2ndCoorMix}
&\left( \left( Y^k \cdot \nabla \right) Z^m + \left( Z^m \cdot \nabla \right) Y^k \right)_2\\
&\hspace{4em}= \left(w_2^{m}\beta^{+++}_{w^k,m} + w_2^{k} \beta^{+++}_{w^m,k} \right)
{\rm C}_1 (k_1 + m_1) {\rm S}_2(k_2 + m_2) {\rm S}_3 (k_3 + m_3) \\
&\hspace{5em}+ \left( -w_2^{m}\beta^{+++}_{w^k,m} + w_2^{k} \beta^{+++}_{w^m,k}\right)
\end{split}\end{gathered}$$ $$\begin{gathered}
\begin{split} \label{3rdCoorMix}
&\left( \left( Y^k \cdot \nabla \right) Z^m + \left( Z^m \cdot \nabla \right) Y^k \right)_3\\
&\hspace{4em}= \left(-w_3^{m}\beta^{+++}_{w^k,m} - w_3^{k} \beta^{+++}_{w^m,k} \right)
{\rm C}_1 (k_1 + m_1) {\rm C}_2(k_2 + m_2) {\rm C}_3 (k_3 + m_3) \\
&\hspace{5em}+ \left( w_3^{m}\beta^{+++}_{w^k,m} - w_3^{k} \beta^{+++}_{w^m,k}\right)
\end{split}\end{gathered}$$
We do not present the coordinates of the vector $\left( Z^k \cdot \nabla \right) Z^m + \left( Z^m \cdot \nabla \right) Z^k$ because we will not need them in the construction of $Z^{j(n),n}$. The vectors generate functions of the type $Y^{j(n),n}$.
Two fruitful lemmas
-------------------
Next we introduce two fruitful lemmas which play the main role in the proof below. These lemmas help us to avoid explicit and complicated computations of operator ${{\mathcal B}}(a,b)$ as some works before in 2D cases (see [@Rod-Sev05; @PhanRod-ecc15; @Rod06; @Rod-Thesis08]).
\[lemma-lin-indp\_Z\] Let us be given $\alpha, \gamma, \in {{\mathbb R}}^3$ and $k \in {{\mathbb N}}_0^3$. Then $${\mathop{\rm span}\nolimits}\{ \Pi {{\mathcal Z}}_\alpha^k, \Pi {{\mathcal Z}}_\gamma^k\} ={\mathop{\rm span}\nolimits}Z^{\{1,2\},k}$$ if, and only if, the family $\{\alpha,\gamma,k\}$ is linearly independent.
In Lemma \[lemma-lin-indp\_Z\], we denote $$\begin{aligned}
{{\mathcal Z}}^n\coloneqq\begin{pmatrix}
z_1 \sin \left( \frac{k_1 \pi x_1}{L_1} \right) \cos \left( \frac{k_2 \pi x_2}{L_2} \right) \sin \left( \frac{k_3 \pi x_3}{L_3} \right)\\
z_2 \cos \left( \frac{k_1 \pi x_1}{L_1} \right) \sin \left( \frac{k_2 \pi x_2}{L_2} \right) \sin \left( \frac{k_3 \pi x_3}{L_3} \right)\\
z_3 \cos \left( \frac{k_1 \pi x_1}{L_1} \right) \cos \left( \frac{k_2 \pi x_2}{L_2} \right) \cos \left( \frac{k_3 \pi x_3}{L_3} \right),
\end{pmatrix}\end{aligned}$$ for given $z\in{{\mathbb R}}^3$ and $n\in{{\mathbb N}}^3$. The proof is analogous to the Lemma 3.1 in [@PhanRod18JDCS]. We will also need the following relaxed version.
\[lemma-lin-indp2\] Let us be given $\alpha, \gamma, \delta \in {{\mathbb R}}^3$ and $k \in {{\mathbb N}}_0^3$. Then $${\mathop{\rm span}\nolimits}\{ \Pi {{\mathcal Z}}_\alpha^k, \Pi {{\mathcal Z}}_\gamma^k, \Pi {{\mathcal Z}}_\delta^k\} ={\mathop{\rm span}\nolimits}Z^{\{1,2\},k}$$ if, and only if, at least one of the families $\{\alpha,\gamma,k\}$, $\{\alpha,\delta,k\}$, and $\{\gamma,\delta,k\}$ is linearly independent.
Notice that the inclusion ${\mathop{\rm span}\nolimits}\{ \Pi {{\mathcal Z}}_\alpha^k, \Pi {{\mathcal Z}}_\gamma^k, \Pi {{\mathcal Z}}_\delta^k\} \subseteq{\mathop{\rm span}\nolimits}Z^{\{1,2\},k}$ holds true for all $\alpha, \gamma, \delta \in {{\mathbb R}}^3$. Then, the reverse inclusion holds if, and only if, we can set two vectors in $\{ \Pi {{\mathcal Z}}_\alpha^k, \Pi {{\mathcal Z}}_\gamma^k, \Pi {{\mathcal Z}}_\delta^k\}$ which are linearly independent. The Lemma follows straightforwardly from Lemma \[lemma-lin-indp\_Z\].
Proof of Theorem \[T:satur3Dcyl\] {#sec: ProofSat3DCyl}
---------------------------------
Firstly, let us recall the index subsets ${{\mathcal S}}^q_{\mathrm R},\,{{\mathcal R}}^q_m,\,{{\mathcal L}}^q_{m_1,m_2}$ defined in the proof of rectangle case (see [@PhanRod18JDCS Section 3.4]) $$\label{setsSC_R}
\begin{split}
{{\mathcal S}}^q_{\rm R} &\coloneqq \left\{ n\in{{\mathbb N}}^3 \mid 0 \le n_i \le q,~ \#_0(n) \le 1 \right\},\\
{{\mathcal C}}^q_{\rm R} &\coloneqq \left\{ Y^{j(n),n} \mid~n \in {{\mathcal S}}^q_{\rm R},~ j(n) \in \{ 1, 2-\#_0(n) \} \right\},\qquad q\in{{\mathbb N}},\quad q\ge 4 ,\\
{{\mathcal R}}^q_m &\coloneqq \left\{ n \in {{\mathcal S}}^q_{\rm R} \mid n_m = q,~0 \le n_i \le q-1~\mbox{for }i \neq m \right\},\\
{{\mathcal L}}^q_{m_1,m_2} & \coloneqq \left\{ n \in {{\mathcal S}}^q_{\rm R} \mid ~n_{m_1} = q= n_{m_2},~m_1\ne m_2,~0 \le n_i \le q-1,~i \notin \{m_1,m_2\} \right\}.
\end{split}$$
Next, we define some new sets $$\label{setsSC_C}
\begin{array}{rcl}
{{\mathcal S}}^q_{\rm C} &\coloneqq& {{\mathcal S}}^q_{\rm R} \cup \{ (n_1,0,0), (0,n_2,0) \mid 0 < n_1 \le q,~0 < n_2 \le q \},\qquad q\ge4,\quad q\in{{\mathbb N}},\\
{{\mathcal C}}^q_{\rm C} &\coloneqq& \left\{ Y^{j(n),n},\, Z^{j(n),n} \mid~n \in {{\mathcal S}}^q_{\rm R},~ j(n) \in \{ 1, 2-\#_0(n) \} \right\}\\
& &\bigcup \left\{ Z^{j(n),n} \mid~n \in {{\mathcal S}}^q_{\rm C} \setminus {{\mathcal S}}^q_{\rm R},~ j(n) =1 \right\}.
\end{array}\hspace*{-1em}$$ Notice that $$\label{subset-sq-3Dcyl}
\begin{split}
{{\mathcal S}}^{q+1}_{\rm C} = &{{\mathcal S}}^{q}_{\rm C} \bigcup \left( {{\mathcal R}}^{q+1}_1\cup{{\mathcal R}}^{q+1}_2\cup{{\mathcal R}}^{q+1}_3 \right) \bigcup \{ (q+1, 0, 0),\, (0,q+1, 0) \}\\
&\bigcup \left( {{\mathcal L}}^{q+1}_{1,2} \cup {{\mathcal L}}^{q+1}_{2,3} \cup {{\mathcal L}}^{q+1}_{3,1} \right) \bigcup \{ (q+1, q+1, q+1) \}.
\end{split}$$
We can see that Theorem \[T:satur3Dcyl\] is a corollary of the following inclusions $$\label{Sat_Inc_C}
{{\mathcal C}}^q_{\rm C}\subseteq {{\mathcal G}}^{q-1},\qquad \mbox{for all}\quad q\in{{\mathbb N}},\quad q\ge4.$$ Let us decompose ${{\mathcal C}}^q_{\rm C}={{\mathcal C}}^q_{Y\rm C}\cup{{\mathcal C}}^q_{Z\rm C}$ with
\[splitCYZ\] $$\begin{aligned}
{{\mathcal C}}^q_{Y\rm C}&\coloneqq\left\{ Y^{j(n),n} \mid~n \in {{\mathcal S}}^q_{\rm R},~ j(n) \in \{ 1, 2-\#_0(n) \} \right\}\\
{{\mathcal C}}^q_{Z\rm C}&\coloneqq \left\{ Z^{j(n),n} \mid~n \in {{\mathcal S}}^q_{\rm R},~ j(n) \in \{ 1, 2-\#_0(n) \} \right\}{\textstyle\bigcup} \left\{ Z^{1,n} \mid
~n \in {{\mathcal S}}^q_{\rm C}\setminus {{\mathcal S}}^q_{\rm R} \right\}.
\end{aligned}$$
Inspiring from the proof of Theorem \[T:satur3Drect\], we get $$\label{Sat_Inc_CY}
{{\mathcal C}}^q_{Y\rm C}\subseteq {{\mathcal G}}^{q-1},\qquad \mbox{for all}\quad q\in{{\mathbb N}},\quad q\ge4.$$ So it remains to prove that $$\label{Sat_Inc_CZ}
{{\mathcal C}}^q_{Z\rm C}\subseteq {{\mathcal G}}^{q-1},\qquad \mbox{for all}\quad q\in{{\mathbb N}},\quad q\ge4,$$ which we will prove by induction.\
**Base step** By definition we have that ${{\mathcal C}}={{\mathcal C}}^4_{\rm C}\supset{{\mathcal C}}^4_{Z\rm C}$ and ${\mathop{\rm span}\nolimits}{{\mathcal C}}={{\mathcal G}}^0$. Therefore $$\mbox{Inclusion~\eqref{Sat_Inc_CZ} holds for }q=4. \label{BaseIndStep_C}$$ **Induction Step** The induction hypothesis is
$$\label{IH.C}
\mbox{ ${{\mathcal C}}^4_{Z\rm C}\subseteq {{\mathcal G}}^{0}$ and the inclusion ${{\mathcal C}}^q_{Z\rm C}\subseteq {{\mathcal G}}^{q-1}$ holds true for a given $q\in{{\mathbb N}}$, $q\ge4$}.\tag{{\bf IH.C}-eq.\theequation}$$
We want to prove that ${{\mathcal C}}^{q+1}_{Z\rm C}\subseteq {{\mathcal G}}^{q}$.
Based on this decomposition , we introduce five Lemmas below. We will prove these lemmas in following Sections \[subsec-proof.genR3\], \[subsec-proof.genR12\], \[subsec-proof.gen00\], \[subsec-proof.genL\], \[subsec-proof.genq+1\].
\[lem-genR3\] $Z^{j(n),n} \in {{\mathcal G}}^q$ for all $ n \in {{\mathcal R}}^{q+1}_3$.
\[lem-genR12\] $Z^{j(n),n} \in {{\mathcal G}}^q$ for all $ n \in\left( {{\mathcal R}}^{q+1}_1\cup{{\mathcal R}}^{q+1}_2 \right)$.
\[lem-gen00\] $Z^{j(n),n} \in {{\mathcal G}}^q$ for all $ n \in \{ (q+1, 0, 0),\, (0,q+1, 0) \}$.
\[lem-genL\] $Z^{j(n),n} \in {{\mathcal G}}^q$ for all $ n \in \left( {{\mathcal L}}^{q+1}_{1,2} \cup {{\mathcal L}}^{q+1}_{2,3} \cup {{\mathcal L}}^{q+1}_{3,1} \right)$.
\[lem-genq+1\] $Z^{\{1,2\},(q+1,q+1,q+1)} \subset {{\mathcal G}}^q$.
Following all results in Lemma \[lem-genR3\], \[lem-genR12\], \[lem-gen00\], \[lem-genL\], and \[lem-genq+1\], we can conclude that ${{\mathcal C}}^{q+1}_{Z\rm C}\subseteq {{\mathcal G}}^{q}$. By induction hypothesis and , we can conclude that the inclusion hold true, which implies the statement of Theorem \[T:satur3Dcyl\].
### Proof of Lemma \[lem-genR3\] {#subsec-proof.genR3}
We divide this proof into three steps
1. $\bullet$ Step [[3.5.]{}]{}:\[Step351\][ Generating $Z^{1,n}$, $n = (0,l, q+1)$ or $n = (l,0, q+1)$, with $1 \le l \leq q$.]{}
2. $\bullet$ Step [[3.5.]{}]{}:\[Step352\][ Generating $Z^{\{1,2\},n}$, $n = (1,l, q+1)$ or $n = (l,1, q+1)$, $ 1 \le l\le q$.]{}
3. $\bullet$ Step [[3.5.]{}]{}:\[Step353\][ Generating $Z^{\{1,2\},n}$ with $n = (n_1,n_2, q+1)$ where $2 \le n_1 \le q $ and $2 \le n_2 \le q$.]{}
**Step \[Step351\]: Generating $Z^{1,n}$, $n = (0,l, q+1)$ or $n = (l,0, q+1)$, with $1 \le l \le q$.**
[*The case $n=(0,l,q+1)$.*]{} We may follow the result in 2D Cylinder addressed in [@PhanRod-ecc15]. Indeed from we find that for $k$ and $m$ such that $k_1=m_1=0$, $$Y^k=\begin{pmatrix}
0\\\widehat Y^k
\end{pmatrix}\qquad\mbox{and}\qquad Z^k=\begin{pmatrix}
0\\\widehat Z^k
\end{pmatrix}$$ where for suitable constants $C_1$ and $C_2$ $$\widehat Y^k=C_1\begin{pmatrix}
\frac{-k_3\pi}{L_3}\sin(\frac{k_2\pi x_2}{L_2})\cos(\frac{k_3\pi x_3}{L_3})\\ \frac{k_2\pi}{L_2}\cos(\frac{k_2\pi x_2}{L_2})\sin(\frac{k_3\pi x_3}{L_3})
\end{pmatrix}\qquad\mbox{and}\qquad \widehat Z^k=C_1\begin{pmatrix}
\frac{k_3\pi}{L_3}\sin(\frac{k_2\pi x_2}{L_2})\sin(\frac{k_3\pi x_3}{L_3})\\ \frac{k_2\pi}{L_2}\cos(\frac{k_2\pi x_2}{L_2})\cos(\frac{k_3\pi x_3}{L_3})
\end{pmatrix},$$ where the functions $\widehat Y^k$ and $\widehat Z^k$ are eigenfuntions of the Stokes operator in ${\rm C}_2=(0,L_2)\times \frac{L_3}{\pi}\mathbb{S}^1$ under Lions boundary conditions. Using an argument that is similar to the one used to derive ${\mathop{\rm span}\nolimits}\{Y^n\mid n\in{{\mathcal S}}^{q+1}_{\rm R}, \#_0(n)=1\}\subset {{\mathcal G}}^{q}$ as in [@PhanRod18JDCS Section 3.4], we can derive that $${{\mathcal B}}(Y^k)Z^k=\begin{pmatrix}
0\\\Pi_2\left( \left( \widehat Y^k \cdot \nabla_2 \right) \widehat Z^m + \left( \widehat Z^m \cdot \nabla_2 \right) \widehat Y^k \right)
\end{pmatrix}$$ with $\Pi_2$ being the orthogonal projection onto $H_2=\{u\in L^2({\rm C}_2,T{\rm C}_2)\mid u\cdot{\mathbf n}=0, {\mathop{\rm div}\nolimits}_2 u=0\}$ and $\nabla_2$ and ${\mathop{\rm div}\nolimits}_2$ being the gradient and divergence operators in ${\rm C}_2\sim(0,L_2)\times(0,2L_3)$.
Therefore from [@PhanRod-ecc15 proof of Theorem 4.1] we know that
\[step351.res\] $$\begin{aligned}
&\{Z^{1,n}\mid n=(0,l,q+1), 0<l\le q\}\subset{{\mathcal G}}^{q}.
\intertext{ and a similar argument gives us}
&\{Z^{1,n}\mid n=(l,0,q+1), 0<l\le q\}\subset{{\mathcal G}}^{q}.\end{aligned}$$
**Step \[Step352\]: Generating $Z^{\{1,2\},n}$, $n = (1,l, q+1)$ or $n = (l,1, q+1)$, $1 \le l\le q$.**
[*The case $n = (1,1,q+1)$*]{}. Firstly, we choose $$\begin{aligned}
k &=(1,0,q),& m &=(0,1,1),\\ w^k &= (L_1q,0,-L_3),& w^m &= (0,L_2,-L_3).\end{aligned}$$ From , this choice gives us $$\begin{aligned}
\left( Y^k \cdot \nabla \right) Z^m + \left( Z^m \cdot \nabla \right) Y^k = {{\mathcal Z}}^{(1,1,q+1)}_{z_{\alpha^1}} + {{\mathcal Z}}^{(1,1,q-1)}_{z_{\alpha^2}}, \end{aligned}$$ for suitable $z_{\alpha^1}, z_{\alpha^2} \in {{\mathbb R}}^3$. By the induction hypothesis , we have $Z^{\{1,2 \},(1,1,q-1)} \in {{\mathcal G}}^{q-1}\subset {{\mathcal G}}^{q} $. It is equivalent that ${{\mathcal Z}}^{(1,1,q-1)}_{z_{\alpha^2}} \in {{\mathcal G}}^{q}$. Next, from $$\begin{aligned}
\beta_{w^k,m}^{\star_1\star_2+} = -\frac{\pi}{8},\quad\beta_{w^k,m}^{\star_1\star_2-} = \frac{\pi}{8},\quad\beta_{w^m,k}^{\star_1\star_2+} = -\frac{\pi}{8}q,
\quad\mbox{and}\quad\beta_{w^m,k}^{\star_1\star_2-} = \frac{\pi}{8}q,\end{aligned}$$ with $\{\star_1,\star_2\}\subseteq \{+,-\}$, following the expressions in , we find $$\begin{aligned}
z_{\alpha^1}
&= \begin{pmatrix}
0 + {L_1}q\left( \beta_{w^m,k}^{+++} - \beta_{w^m,k}^{++-} + \beta_{w^m,k}^{+-+} - \beta_{w^m,k}^{+--} \right) \\
{L_2} \left( \beta_{w^k,m}^{+++} + \beta_{w^k,m}^{++-} {\mathop{\rm sign}\nolimits}(0-1) - \beta_{w^k,m}^{+-+} {\mathop{\rm sign}\nolimits}(0-1) -\beta_{w^k,m}^{+--} \right) + 0 \\
-{L_3} \left(- \beta_{w^k,m}^{+++} - \beta_{w^k,m}^{+-+} + \beta_{w^k,m}^{+--}
+ \beta_{w^k,m}^{++-} \right) - {L_3} \left( -\beta_{w^m,k}^{+++} - \beta_{w^m,k}^{+-+} + \beta_{w^m,k}^{+--} + \beta_{w^m,k}^{++-} \right)
\end{pmatrix} \\&= -\frac{\pi}{2}
\begin{pmatrix}
L_1q^2 \\
{ L_2} \\
L_3(q+1)
\end{pmatrix},\end{aligned}$$ and we can conclude that $\Pi {{\mathcal Z}}^{(1,1,q+1)}_{z_{\alpha^1}} \in {{\mathcal G}}^{q}$.
Secondly, we choose $$\begin{aligned}
k &=(0,1,q),& m &=(1,0,1),\\ w^k &= (0,L_2q, -L_3),& w^m &= (L_1,0,-L_3)\end{aligned}$$ which again gives us $\left( Y^k \cdot \nabla \right) Z^m + \left( Z^m \cdot \nabla \right) Y^k = {{\mathcal Z}}^{(1,1,q+1)}_{z_{\gamma^1}} + {{\mathcal Z}}^{(1,1,q-1)}_{z_{\gamma^2}}$ with $$\begin{aligned}
z_{\gamma^1} = -\frac{\pi}{2}\begin{pmatrix}
L_1 \\
L_2q^2 \\
L_3 (q+1) \\
\end{pmatrix}.\end{aligned}$$ Again, we get that $\Pi{{\mathcal Z}}^{(1,1,q+1)}_{z_{\gamma^1}} \in {{\mathcal G}}^q$.
We observe that $$\begin{aligned}
\det(n~z_{\alpha^1}~z_{\gamma^1})
&= \frac{\pi^2}{4} (q+1)
\det \begin{pmatrix}
1 & L_1 q^2 & L_1\\
1 & L_2 & L_2q^2\\
1 & L_3 & L_3
\end{pmatrix} \\
&= \frac{\pi^2}{4} (q+1)^2 (q-1) \left( L_1L_2 q^2 + L_1L_2 - L_2L_3 - L_1L_3 \right),\end{aligned}$$ and that, since $q\ge4$, $$\det(n~z_{\alpha^1}~z_{\gamma^1}) = 0 \quad \Longleftrightarrow\quad q^2 = \frac{L_2L_3+L_1L_3-L_1L_2}{L_1L_2}.$$ Thus from Lemma \[lemma-lin-indp\_Z\] we conclude that $ \Pi {{\mathcal Z}}^{(1,1,q+1)}_{z_{\alpha^1}}$ and $\Pi {{\mathcal Z}}^{(1,1,q+1)}_{z_{\gamma^1}}$ are not necessarily linearly independent. So, next we want to use Lemma \[lemma-lin-indp2\]. For that, we choose the third quadruple $$\begin{aligned}
k &=(1,0,q-1),& m &=(0,1,2),\\ w^k &= (L_1(q-1),0,-L_3),& w^m &= (0,2L_2,-L_3),\end{aligned}$$ which gives us $$\begin{aligned}
\left( Y^k \cdot \nabla \right) Z^m + \left( Y^m \cdot \nabla \right) Z^k = {{\mathcal Z}}^{(1,1,q+1)}_{z_{\delta^1}} + {{\mathcal Z}}^{(1,1,q-3)}_{z_{\delta^2}}, \end{aligned}$$ for suitable $z_{\delta^1}, z_{\delta^2} \in {{\mathbb R}}^3$. Since by $Z^{\{1,2\},(1,1,q-3)} \in {{\mathcal G}}^{q-1} \subset {{\mathcal G}}^{q}$, we can conclude that $\Pi {{\mathcal Z}}^{(1,1,q+1)}_{z_{\delta^1}} \in {{\mathcal G}}^{q}$. We can also find $$\begin{aligned}
&~z_{\delta^1}= -\frac{\pi}{2}
\begin{pmatrix}
L_1(q-1)^2 \\
4 L_2 \\
L_3(q+1)
\end{pmatrix}.\end{aligned}$$ Now, we compute $$\begin{aligned}
&\frac{4}{\pi^2(q+1)}\det(n~z_{\alpha^1}~z_{\delta^1}) = \det \begin{pmatrix}
1 & L_1 q^2 & L_1 (q-1)^2\\
1 & L_2 & 4L_2\\
1 & L_3 & L_3
\end{pmatrix} \\
&\qquad= 3L_1L_2 q^2 + 2 (L_1L_2 - L_1L_3) q + L_1L_3 - L_1L_2 - 3L_2L_3 \\
&\frac{4}{\pi^2(q+1)}\det(n~z_{\gamma^1}~z_{\delta^1}) = \det \begin{pmatrix}
1 & L_1 & L_1 (q-1)^2\\
1 & L_2 q^2 & 4L_2\\
1 & L_3 & L_3
\end{pmatrix} \\
&\qquad= -L_1L_2 q^4 + 2L_1L_2 q^3 + (L_2L_3+ L_1L_3 - L_1L_2) q^2 -2L_1L_3q + 4L_1L_2 - 4L_2L_3. \end{aligned}$$ From which we conclude that $\det(n~z_{\alpha^1}~z_{\gamma^1}) = \det(n~z_{\alpha^1}~z_{\delta^1})= \det(n~z_{\gamma^1}~z_{\delta^1}) = 0$ if, and only if,
$$\begin{aligned}
L_1L_2 q^2 + L_1L_2 - L_2L_3 - L_1L_3 &= 0 \label{step12-eq1} \\
L_2 ( L_3- L_1) (q-2) &= 0 \label{step12-eq2}\\
L_1 (L_2-L_3) (q-2) &= 0. \label{step12-eq3} \end{aligned}$$
Since $q \ge 4$ and $L_1,\,L_2,\,L_3 >0$, from \[step12-eq2\] and \[step12-eq3\], it arrives that $L_1 = L_2 = L_3$. In this case, from \[step12-eq1\] we arrive to the contradiction $q = 1$. Hence, at least one of the families $\{n,z_{\alpha^1},z_{\gamma^1}\}$, $\{n,z_{\alpha^1},z_{\delta^1}\}$, or $\{n,z_{\gamma^1},z_{\delta^1}\}$ is linearly independent. From Lemma \[lemma-lin-indp2\] we can conclude that $$\begin{aligned}
\label{res-step21-3Dcyl}
Z^{\{1,2\},(1,1,q+1)} \in {{\mathcal G}}^{q}.\end{aligned}$$
\
Assume that
$$\label{IH-C1l}
Z^{j(k),k} \subset {{\mathcal G}}^{q} \quad \text{with} \quad k = (1,l-2,q+1).\tag{{\bf IH-C1l}-eq.\theequation}$$
We will prove that $Z^{\{1,2 \},(1,l, q+1)}$.
Firstly, we choose $$\begin{aligned}
k &=(1,l-1,q),& m &=(0,1,1),\\ w^k &= (0,L_2q,L_3(1-l)),& w^m &= (0,L_2,-L_3),\end{aligned}$$ This choice gives us $$\begin{aligned}
\left( Y^k \cdot \nabla \right) Z^m + \left( Z^m \cdot \nabla \right) Y^k = {{\mathcal Z}}^{(1,l,q+1)}_{z_{\alpha^1}} + {{\mathcal Z}}^{(1,l-2,q+1)}_{z_{\alpha^2}} + {{\mathcal Z}}^{(1,l,q-1)}_{z_{\alpha^3}} + {{\mathcal Z}}^{(1,l-2,q-1)}_{z_{\alpha^4}}.\end{aligned}$$ From and , we have that ${{\mathcal Z}}^{(1,l-2,q+1)}_{z_{\alpha^2}}$, ${{\mathcal Z}}^{(1,l,q-1)}_{z_{\alpha^3}}$, and ${{\mathcal Z}}^{(1,l-2,q-1)}_{z_{\alpha^4}}$ belong in ${{\mathcal G}}^{q}$. Therefore, we can conclude that $\Pi{{\mathcal Z}}^{(1,l,q+1)}_{z_{\alpha^1}} \in {{\mathcal G}}^{q}$.\
Next, from $$\begin{aligned}
\beta_{w^k,m}^{+++} =\beta_{w^k,m}^{-++} = \frac{\pi (q-l +1)}{8}\quad\mbox{and}\quad\beta_{w^m,k}^{+++} =\beta_{w^m,k}^{-++} = \frac{\pi(l-q-1)}{8},\end{aligned}$$ we obtain $$\begin{aligned}
z_{\alpha^1}
&= \begin{pmatrix}
0 \\
L_2 \left( \beta_{w^k,m}^{+++} + \beta_{w^k,m}^{-++} \right) + L_2q \left( \beta_{w^m,k}^{+++} + \beta_{w^m,k}^{-++} \right) \\
-L_3\left( -\beta_{w^k,m}^{+++} - \beta_{w^k,m}^{-++} \right) + L_3(1-l) \left( -\beta_{w^m,k}^{+++} - \beta_{w^m,k}^{-++} \right)
\end{pmatrix}\\
&= -\frac{\pi}{4}
\begin{pmatrix}
0 \\
L_2(q-l+1)(q-1)\\
L_3 (q-l+1)(l-2)
\end{pmatrix}.\end{aligned}$$
Secondly we choose $$\begin{aligned}
k &=(1,l-1,q),& m &=(1,1,1),\\ w^k &= (L_1q,0,-L_3),& w^m &= (0,L_2,-L_3),\end{aligned}$$ which allow us to obtain $\Pi{{\mathcal Z}}^{(1,l,q+1)}_{z_{\gamma^1}} \in {{\mathcal G}}^{q}$, and from $$\beta_{w^k,m}^{+++} = \beta_{w^k,m}^{-++} = -\frac{\pi}{8}\quad\mbox{and}\quad\beta_{w^m,k}^{+++} = \beta_{w^m,k}^{-++} = \frac{\pi}{8} (l-q-1),$$ we can find $$\begin{aligned}
z_{\gamma^1}= -\frac{\pi}{4}
\begin{pmatrix}
L_1 q(q-l+1) \\
L_2 \\
L_3(q-l+2)
\end{pmatrix}.\end{aligned}$$
Thirdly, we choose $$\begin{aligned}
k &=(1,l-1,q),& m &=(1,1,1),\\ w^k &= (0,L_2q,L_3(1-l)),& w^m &= (L_1,-L_2,0),\end{aligned}$$ which gives us that $\Pi{{\mathcal Z}}^{(1,l,q+1)}_{z_{\delta^1}} \in {{\mathcal G}}^{q}$, with $$\begin{aligned}
z_{\delta^1}= -\frac{\pi}{4}
\begin{pmatrix}
- L_1 (q-l+1) \\
L_2 (ql-l+1) \\
L_3(l-1)^2
\end{pmatrix}.\end{aligned}$$
Next we compute $$\begin{aligned}
\det(n~z_{\alpha^1}~z_{\gamma^1}) &= -\frac{\pi^2}{16} q (q-l+1)^2 \left( L_1L_2 q^2 - L_1L_2 - L_2L_3 - L_1L_3 l(l-2)\right), \\
\det(n~z_{\alpha^1}~z_{\delta^1}) &=\frac{\pi^2}{16} (q-l+1)^2 \left( L_1L_2 q^2 + L_2L_3 - L_1L_2-L_1L_3 l(l-2)\right) , \end{aligned}$$ and observe that $\det(n~z_{\alpha^1}~z_{\gamma^1})=\det(n~z_{\alpha^1}~z_{\delta^1})=0$ if, and only if, $$\begin{aligned}
L_1L_2 q^2 - L_1L_2 - L_2L_3 - L_1L_3 l(l-2) = L_1L_2 q^2 + L_2L_3 - L_1L_2-L_1L_3 l(l-2) = 0,\end{aligned}$$ because $2 \le l \le q$, which implies $2 L_2L_3 = 0$. This contradicts the fact that $L_1,\,L_2,\,L_3 >0$. Therefore one of the families $\{n,z_{\alpha^1},z_{\gamma^1}\}$ or $\{n,z_{\alpha^1},z_{\delta^1}\}$ is linearly independent and, by Lemma \[lemma-lin-indp2\], it follows that $Z^{\{1,2\},(1,l,q+1)} \in {{\mathcal G}}^{q}$.
By induction, using , , and the induction hypothesis it follows that
\[step352.res\] $$\begin{aligned}
Z^{(1,l,q+1)} \in {{\mathcal G}}^{q}, \qquad\mbox{for all}\quad 0\le l\le q\\
\intertext{and proceeding similarly we can also derive that}
Z^{(l,1,q+1)} \in {{\mathcal G}}^{q},\qquad\mbox{for all}\quad 0\le l\le q.\end{aligned}$$
**Step \[Step353\]: Generating the family $Z^{\{1,2\},n}$ with $n = (n_1,n_2, q+1)$ where $2 \le n_1 \le q $ and $2 \le n_2 \le q$**.
Firstly, we introduce an induction hypothesis. Assume that
$$\begin{aligned}
\label{IH-Cn1n2}
&Z^{j(\kappa),\kappa} \in {{\mathcal G}}^{q},\tag{{\bf IH-Cn1n2}-eq.\theequation}\\
&\mbox{for}\quad \kappa\in\{(n_1-2,n_2-2,q+1),(n_1-2,n_2,q+1),(n_1,n_2-2,q+1)\}.\notag
$$
We will prove that $Z^{\{1,2\},(n_1,n_2,q+1)} \in {{\mathcal G}}^q$.
By choosing $$\begin{aligned}
k &=(n_1-1,n_2-1,q),& m &=(1,1,1),\\ w^k &= (0,L_2q,L_3(1-n_2)),& w^m &= (0,L_2,-L_3),\end{aligned}$$ we obtain $$\begin{aligned}
\left( Y^k \cdot \nabla \right) Z^m + \left( Z^m \cdot \nabla \right) Y^k = {{\mathcal Z}}^{(n_1,n_2,q+1)}_{z_{\alpha^1}} + {\sum_{i=2}^8{{{\mathcal Z}}^{\kappa^i}_{z_{\alpha^i}}},}\end{aligned}$$ with $\kappa^i \in \{(n_1-2,n_2-2,q-1), (n_1,n_2-2,q-1), (n_1-2,n_2,q-1),(n_1,n_2,q-1) (n_1-2,n_2-2,q+1), (n_1,n_2-2,q+1), (n_1-2,n_2,q+1) \}$. Using the inductive hypothesis , we find that $
Z^{j(\kappa), \kappa} \in {{\mathcal G}}^{q},
$ for $\kappa \in \{ (n_1-2,n_2-2,q-1), (n_1,n_2-2,q-1), (n_1-2,n_2,q-1),(n_1,n_2,q-1) \}$. From the inductive hypothesis we also have $
Z^{j(\kappa), \kappa} \in {{\mathcal G}}^{q},
$ for $\kappa \in \{ (n_1-2,n_2-2,q+1), (n_1,n_2-2,q+1), (n_1-2,n_2,q+1) \}$. Thus, we can conclude that $\Pi {{\mathcal Z}}^{(n_1,n_2,q+1)}_{z_{\alpha^1}} \in {{\mathcal G}}^{q}$.
Next, from $$\beta_{w^k,m}^{+++} = \frac{\pi}{8} (q-n_2+1)\quad\mbox{and}\quad\beta_{w^m,k}^{+++} = \frac{\pi}{8} (n_2-q-1),$$ we obtain $$\begin{aligned}
z_{\alpha^1} = -\frac{\pi}{8}
\begin{pmatrix}
0 \\
L_2(q-n_2+1)(q-1) \\
L_3(q-n_2+1)(n_2-2)
\end{pmatrix}.\end{aligned}$$ A second choice is $$\begin{aligned}
k &=(n_1-1,n_2-1,q),& m &=(1,1,1),\\ w^k &= (L_1q,0,L_3(1-n_1)),& w^m &= (0,L_2,-L_3),\end{aligned}$$ which gives us $\Pi {{\mathcal Z}}^{(n_1,n_2,q+1)}_{z_{\gamma^1}} \in {{\mathcal G}}^{q}$. From $$\beta_{w^k,m}^{+++} = \frac{1}{8} \left( q-n_1 +1 \right),\quad\mbox{and}\quad\beta_{w^m,k}^{+++} = \frac{1}{8} (n_2 - q-1),$$ we obtain $$\begin{aligned}
z_{\gamma^1}= \frac{\pi}{8}
\begin{pmatrix}
-L_1q(q-n_2+1) \\
L_2(q-n_1+1) \\
L_3(1-n_1)(q-n_2+1) + L_3(q-n_1+1)
\end{pmatrix}.\end{aligned}$$ Another choice is $$\begin{aligned}
k &=(n_1,n_2-1,q),& m &=(0,1,1),\\ w^k &= (L_1(n_2-1),-L_2n_1,0),& w^m &= (0,L_2,-L_3),\end{aligned}$$ which gives us $\Pi {{\mathcal Z}}^{(n_1,n_2,q+1)}_{z_{\delta^1}} \in {{\mathcal G}}^{q}$, with $$\begin{aligned}
z_{\delta^1}= \frac{\pi}{8}
\begin{pmatrix}
-L_1(q-n_2+1)(n_2-1) \\
L_2n_1 (q-n_2) \\
-L_3n_1
\end{pmatrix}.\end{aligned}$$
Next, from $2 \le n_1,\,n_2 \le q$ and $$\begin{aligned}
&-\frac{64}{\pi^2(q-n_2+1)}\det(n~z_{\alpha^1}~z_{\gamma^1})\\
&\qquad= \det \begin{pmatrix}
n_1 & 0 & -L_1(q-n_2+1)(n_2-1)\\
n_2 & L_2(q-1)&L_2(q-n_1+1) \\
q+1 & L_3(n_2-2) &L_3(1-n_1)(q-n_2+1) + L_3(q-n_1+1)
\end{pmatrix} \\
&\qquad= q(q-n_2+1) \left( L_1L_2 q^2 - L_1L_2 - L_2L_3n_1 (n_1 - 2) - L_1L_3n_2 (n_2 - 2) \right), \\
&-\frac{64}{\pi^2(q-n_2+1)}\det(n~z_{\alpha^1}~z_{\delta^1}) = \det \begin{pmatrix}
n_1 & 0 & -L_1q(q-n_2+1)\\
n_2 & L_2(q-1)&L_2n_1 (q-n_2) \\
q+1 & L_3(n_2-2) & -L_3n_1
\end{pmatrix} \\
&\qquad= (n_2 -1) (q-n_2 +1) \left( L_1L_2 q^2 - L_1L_2 - L_2L_3n_1^2 - L_1L_3n_2 (n_2 - 2) \right),\end{aligned}$$ we have that $\det(n~z_{\alpha^1}~z_{\gamma^1})=\det(n~z_{\alpha^1}~z_{\delta^1})=0 $ only if $2L_2L_3 n_1 = 0$. This contradicts the fact that $L_2$, $L_3$, and $n_1$ are positive. Thus, one of the families $\{n,z_{\alpha^1},z_{\gamma^1}\}$ or $\{n,z_{\alpha^1},z_{\delta^1}\}$ is linearly independent. By Lemma \[lemma-lin-indp2\] it follows that $Z^{\{1,2\},(n_1,n_2,q+1)}\in{{\mathcal G}}^{q}$.
Using , , , and the induction hypothesis , we conclude that $Z^{j(n),n} $ with $n = (n_1,n_2,q+1)$. Finally, we obtain $$\begin{aligned}
\label{lem35.res}
Z^{j(n),n} \in {{\mathcal G}}^{q} \quad \text{for all~} n \in {{\mathcal R}}^{q+1}_3.\end{aligned}$$
### Proof of Lemma \[lem-genR12\] {#subsec-proof.genR12}
First of all, notice that the cases $n \in {{{\mathcal R}}^{q+1}_1} $ and $n \in {{{\mathcal R}}^{q+1}_2}$ are analogous. On the other hand, since we consider the periodicity assumption in the third direction and Lions boundary conditions in the first two directions, these cases must be addressed separately from the case $n \in {{{\mathcal R}}^{q+1}_3}$ treated in section \[subsec-proof.genR3\]. Let us take $n \in {{{\mathcal R}}^{q+1}_1}$. Again we divide this proof into three main steps
1. $\bullet$ Step [[3.6.]{}]{}:\[Step361\] Generating $Z^{1,n}$ with $n = (q+1,l,0)$ or $n = (q+1,0,l)$, $1 \le l\le q$.
2. $\bullet$ Step [[3.6.]{}]{}:\[Step362\] Generating the familiy $Z^{\{1,2\},n}$ with $n = (q+1,l,1)$ or $n = (q+1,l,1)$, $1 \le l \le q$.
3. $\bullet$ Step [[3.6.]{}]{}:\[Step363\] Generating the family $Z^{\{1,2\},n}$ with $n = (q+1,n_1,n_2)$, $2 \le n_1,n_2 \le q $.
**Step \[Step361\]: Generating $Z^{1,n}$ with $n = (q+1,l,0)$ or $n = (q+1,0,l)$.**
[*The case $n = (q+1,l,0)$*]{}. We choose $$\begin{aligned}
k &=(q,l,0),& m &=(1,0,0),\\ w^k &= (L_1 l,-L_2 q, 0),& w^m &= (0,0,1),\end{aligned}$$ which gives us $\Pi {{\mathcal Z}}^{(q+1,l,0)}_{z_{\gamma^1}} \in {{\mathcal G}}^{q}$. From $
\beta_{w^k,m}^{+\star_1\star_2} = \frac{\pi}{8}l,\quad\beta_{w^m,k} = 0,
$ with $\{\star_1,\star_2\}\subseteq \{+,-\}$, we get $$\begin{aligned}
z_{\gamma^1} = \frac{\pi}{2} \begin{pmatrix}
0 \\ 0 \\ l
\end{pmatrix}. \end{aligned}$$ Observe that ${{\mathcal Z}}^{1,(q+1,l,0)}_{z_{\gamma^1}}=\frac{\pi}{2} l\begin{pmatrix}
0\\0\\\cos(\frac{(q+1)\pi x_1}{L_1})\cos(\frac{l \pi x_2}{L_2})
\end{pmatrix}$, it means that for a suitable constant $\zeta \neq 0$, $Z^{1,(q+1,l,0)} = \zeta {{\mathcal Z}}^{1,(q+1,l,0)}_{z_{\gamma^1}} $. Hence, we conclude that $$\label{step361.res1}
Z^{1,(q+1,l,0)}\in{{\mathcal G}}^{q},\quad\mbox{for all}\quad 1\le l\le q.$$
To generate $Z^{1,n}$ with $n = (q+1,0,l)$, we can use the result for the 2D cylinder in [@PhanRod-ecc15]. Notice that, for some constant $\zeta\ne0$, $$Z^{1,(q+1,0,l)} = \zeta\begin{pmatrix}
\frac{l \pi }{L_3}\sin \left( \frac{(q+1) \pi x_1}{L_1} \right) \sin \left( \frac{l \pi x_3}{L_3} \right)\\
0\\
\frac{(q+1) \pi }{L_1} \cos \left( \frac{(q+1) \pi x_1}{L_1} \right) \cos \left( \frac{l \pi x_3}{L_3} \right),
\end{pmatrix}$$ which is an eigenfunction of the Stokes operator in the 2D cylinder $(0,L_1)\times\frac{L_2}{\pi}\mathbb{S}^1$, under Lions boundary conditions. It follows, from [@PhanRod-ecc15 Theorem 4.1], that $$\label{step361.res2}
Z^{1,(q+1,0,l)}\in{{\mathcal G}}^{q},\quad\mbox{for all}\quad 1\le l\le q.$$
**Step \[Step362\] Generate the family $Z^{\{1,2\},n}$ with $n = (q+1,l,1)$ or $n = (q+1,l,1)$.**
[*The case $n = (q+1,1,1)$* ]{}. We firstly choose $$\begin{aligned}
k &=(q,0,1),& m &=(1,1,0),\\ w^k &= (L_1,0,-L_3q),& w^m &= (L_1,-L_2,0),\end{aligned}$$ Then, by changing the roles of $k$ and $m$ in from , we obtain $$\begin{aligned}
\left( Z^k \cdot \nabla \right) Y^m + \left( Y^m \cdot \nabla \right) Z^k = {{\mathcal Z}}^{(q+1,1,1)}_{z_{\alpha^1}} + {{\mathcal Z}}^{(q-1,1,1)}_{z_{\alpha^2}}, \end{aligned}$$ for suitable $z_{\alpha^1}, z_{\alpha^2} \in {{\mathbb R}}^3$. By , we have $Z^{\{1,2 \},(q-1,1,1)} \in {{\mathcal G}}^{q}$. Therefore we derive that $\Pi{{\mathcal Z}}^{(q+1,1,1)}_{z_{\alpha^1}}\in{{\mathcal G}}^{q}$, and we can also find $$\begin{aligned}
z_{\alpha^1}= \frac{\pi}{2}
\begin{pmatrix}
L_1 (q+1)\\
- L_2\\
L_3q^2
\end{pmatrix}.\end{aligned}$$
Secondly, we compute $\left( Z^m \cdot \nabla \right) Y^k + \left( Y^k \cdot \nabla \right) Z^m$ with the choice $$\begin{aligned}
k &=(q,1,1),& m &=(1,0,0),\\ w^k &= (0,L_2,-L_3),& w^m &= (0,0,L_3),\end{aligned}$$ Analogously, we obtain that $\Pi {{\mathcal Z}}^{(q+1,1,1)}_{z^{\gamma^1}} \in {{\mathcal G}}^{q}$, with $$\begin{aligned}
z_{\gamma^1}= \frac{\pi}{2}
\begin{pmatrix}
0 \\
L_2 \\
L_3
\end{pmatrix}.\end{aligned}$$
Thirdly, we compute $\left( Z^m \cdot \nabla \right) Y^k + \left( Y^k \cdot \nabla \right) Z^m$ with $$\begin{aligned}
k &=(q,1,1),& m &=(1,0,0),\\ w^k &= (L_1,0,-L_3q),& w^m &= (0,0,L_3),\end{aligned}$$ which gives us $\Pi {{\mathcal Z}}^{(q+1,1,1)}_{z^{\delta^1}} \in {{\mathcal G}}^{q}$, with $$\begin{aligned}
z_{\delta^1}= \frac{\pi}{2}
\begin{pmatrix}
L_1 \\
0 \\
L_3(q-1)
\end{pmatrix}.\end{aligned}$$
Now, observe that $\det(n~z_{\alpha^1}~z_{\gamma^1}) = \det(n~z_{\gamma^1}~z_{\delta^1})=0$ if, and only if, $$\begin{aligned}
L_2L_3 q^2 +L_1L_3+ L_2L_3-L_1L_2 = L_2L_3 q^2 -L_2L_3+L_1L_3-L_1L_2 = 0,\end{aligned}$$ which implies the contradiction $2L_2L_3 = 0$, because $L_2,L_3 >0$. Therefore, by Lemma \[lemma-lin-indp2\], $$\label{step362.res1}
Z^{\{1,2\},(q+1,1,1)} \in {{\mathcal G}}^{q}.$$
. Let us introduce the induction hypothesis
$$\label{IH-Cq1l}
Z^{j(k),k} \in {{\mathcal G}}^{q} ,\quad\mbox{if}\quad k=(q+1,1,l-2),\quad\mbox{for given }2\le l\le q.\tag{{\bf IH-Cq1l}-eq.\theequation}
$$
We prove that $ Z^{j(k),k} \in {{\mathcal G}}^{q}$ with $k=(q+1,1,l)$.
To generate $n = (q+1,1,l)$, firstly we compute $\left( Z^m \cdot \nabla \right) Y^k + \left( Y^k \cdot \nabla \right) Z^m$ with the choice $$\begin{aligned}
k &=(q,1,l),& m &=(1,0,0),\\ w^k &= (0,L_2l,-L_3),& w^m &= (0,0,L_3),\end{aligned}$$ which allow us to conclude that $\Pi {{\mathcal Z}}^{(q+1,1,l)}_{z^{\alpha^1}} \in {{\mathcal G}}^{q}$ with $$\begin{aligned}
z_{\alpha^1}= \frac{\pi}{2}
\begin{pmatrix}
0 \\
L_2 l^2 \\
L_3 l
\end{pmatrix}.\end{aligned}$$ Secondly, we compute $\left( Z^m \cdot \nabla \right) Y^k + \left( Y^k \cdot \nabla \right) Z^m$ with $$\begin{aligned}
k &=(q,1,l),& m &=(1,0,0),\\ w^k &= (L_1l,0,-L_3q),& w^m &= (0,0,L_3),\end{aligned}$$ which gives us $\Pi {{\mathcal Z}}^{(q+1,1,l)}_{z^{\gamma^1}} \in {{\mathcal G}}^{q}$, with $$\begin{aligned}
z_{\gamma^1}= \frac{\pi}{2}
\begin{pmatrix}
L_1 l^2 \\
0 \\
L_3 l (q-1)
\end{pmatrix}.\end{aligned}$$ Thirdly we compute $\left( Z^k \cdot \nabla \right) Y^m + \left( Y^m \cdot \nabla \right) Z^k$ with $$\begin{aligned}
k &=(q,0,l),& m &=(1,1,0),\\ w^k &= (L_1l,0,-L_3q),& w^m &= (L_1,-L_2,0),\end{aligned}$$ which gives us $\Pi {{\mathcal Z}}^{(q+1,1,l)}_{z^{\delta^1}} \in {{\mathcal G}}^{q}$, with $$\begin{aligned}
z_{\delta^1}= \frac{\pi}{2}
\begin{pmatrix}
L_1 l (q+1) \\
- L_2l \\
L_3 q^2
\end{pmatrix}.\end{aligned}$$ Next we observe that $\det(n~z_{\alpha^1}~z_{\gamma^1}) = \det(n~z_{\alpha^1}~z_{\delta^1}) =0 $ if, and only if, $$\begin{aligned}
l^3 (L_2L_3 q^2 - L_2L_3 + L_1L_3 - L_1L_2 l^2) = l^2 (q+1) (L_2L_3 q ^2 + L_2L_3 + L_1L_3 - L_1L_2l) = 0 \end{aligned}$$ which leads to the contradiction $0=2L_1L_2l(l-1) + 2 L_2L_3 \ge 2L_2(L_1 + L_3) > 0$, since $2 \le l \le q$. Then from Lemma \[lemma-lin-indp2\] we conclude that $
{{\mathcal Z}}^{(q+1,1,l)}_{z^{\delta^1}} \in {{\mathcal G}}^{q}.
$ By induction, using , , and the induction hypothesis , it follows that $$\label{step362.res2}
{{\mathcal Z}}^{(q+1,1,l)}_{z^{\delta^1}} \in {{\mathcal G}}^{q},\quad\mbox{for all}\quad 1\le l\le q.$$
Let us introduce the induction hypothesis
$$\label{IH-Cql1}
Z^{j(k),k} \in {{\mathcal G}}^{q} ,\quad\mbox{ưith}\quad k=(q+1,1,l-2),\quad l\ge2.\tag{{\bf IH-Cql1}-eq.\theequation}
$$
We prove that $ Z^{j(k),k} \in {{\mathcal G}}^{q}$ with $ k=(q+1,1,l)$.
To generate $n = (q+1,l,1)$, firstly we choose $$\begin{aligned}
k &=(q,l,1),& m &=(1,0,0),\\ w^k &= (0,L_2,-L_3 l),& w^m &= (0,0,L_3),\end{aligned}$$ which allow us to conclude that $\Pi {{\mathcal Z}}^{(q+1,1,l)}_{z^{\alpha^1}} \in {{\mathcal G}}^{q}$ with $$\begin{aligned}
z_{\alpha^1}= \frac{\pi}{2}
\begin{pmatrix}
0 \\
L_2 \\
L_3 l
\end{pmatrix}.\end{aligned}$$ Secondly, we compute $\left( Z^m \cdot \nabla \right) Y^k + \left( Y^k \cdot \nabla \right) Z^m$ with $$\begin{aligned}
k &=(q,l,1),& m &=(1,0,0),\\ w^k &= (L_1,0,-L_3q),& w^m &= (0,0,L_3),\end{aligned}$$ which gives us $\Pi {{\mathcal Z}}^{(q+1,1,l)}_{z^{\gamma^1}} \in {{\mathcal G}}^{q}$, with $$\begin{aligned}
z_{\gamma^1}= \frac{\pi}{2}
\begin{pmatrix}
L_1 \\
0 \\
L_3 l (q-1)
\end{pmatrix}.\end{aligned}$$ Thirdly we compute $\left( Z^k \cdot \nabla \right) Y^m + \left( Y^m \cdot \nabla \right) Z^k$ with $$\begin{aligned}
k &=(q,l,0),& m &=(1,0,1),\\ w^k &= (L_1 l,-L_2 q, 0),& w^m &= (L_1,0, -L_3),\end{aligned}$$ which gives us $\Pi {{\mathcal Z}}^{(q+1,l,1)}_{z^{\delta^1}} \in {{\mathcal G}}^{q}$, with $$\begin{aligned}
z_{\delta^1}= \frac{\pi}{2}
\begin{pmatrix}
L_1 l (q+1) \\
- L_2 q^2 \\
L_3 l
\end{pmatrix}.\end{aligned}$$ Next we observe that $\det(n~z_{\alpha^1}~z_{\gamma^1}) = \det(n~z_{\alpha^1}~z_{\delta^1}) =0 $ if, and only if, $$\begin{aligned}
L_2 L_3 l q (q-1) + L_1 (L_3 l^2 - L_2) = L_2 L_3 q (q^2 + 1) + L_1 (L_3 l^2 - L_2) (q+1) = 0 \end{aligned}$$ which leads to the contradiction $0= (l-1) (q^2 -1) - 2 \ge q^2-3 > 0$, since $2 \le l \le q$. Then from Lemma \[lemma-lin-indp2\] we conclude that $
{{\mathcal Z}}^{(q+1,l,1)}_{z^{\delta^1}} \in {{\mathcal G}}^{q}.
$ By induction, using , , and the induction hypothesis , it follows that $$\begin{aligned}
\label{step362.res3}
Z^{\{1,2 \}(q+1,l,1)} \in {{\mathcal G}}^{q} \quad \mbox{for all~} 1 \le l \le q.\end{aligned}$$
**Step \[Step363\] Generating the family $Z^{j(n),n}$ with $n = (q+1,n_1,n_2)$, $2 \le n_1,n_2 \le q $.**
Let us introduce the inductive hypothesis
$$\begin{aligned}
&Z^{j(\kappa),\kappa} \in {{\mathcal G}}^{q},\tag{{\bf IH-Cqn1n2}-eq.\theequation}\label{IH-Cylqn1n2}\\
&\mbox{for}\quad \kappa\in \{ (q+1,n_1-2,n_2-2), (q+1,n_1,n_2-2), (q+1,n_1-2,n_2) \}.\notag\end{aligned}$$
We will prove that $Z^{j(\kappa),\kappa} \in {{\mathcal G}}^{q}$ with $\kappa = (q+1,n_1,n_2)$.
To generate $n = (q+1, n_1,n_2)$, firstly we compute $\left( Z^m \cdot \nabla \right) Y^k + \left( Y^k \cdot \nabla \right) Z^m$ with $$\begin{aligned}
k &=(q,n_1,n_2),& m &=(1,0,0),\\ w^k &= (0,L_2n_2,-L_3n_1),& w^m &= (0,0,L_3),\end{aligned}$$ which leads to $\Pi {{\mathcal Z}}^{(q+1,n_1,n_2)}_{z_{\alpha^1}} \in {{\mathcal G}}^{q}$, with $$\begin{aligned}
z_{\alpha^1}= \frac{\pi}{2}
\begin{pmatrix}
0 \\
L_2 n_2^2 \\
L_3 n_1 n_2
\end{pmatrix}.\end{aligned}$$ Secondly we compute $\left( Z^m \cdot \nabla \right) Y^k + \left( Y^k \cdot \nabla \right) Z^m$ with $$\begin{aligned}
k &=(q,n_1,n_2),& m &=(1,0,0),\\ w^k &= (L_1 n_2,0,-L_3q),& w^m &= (0,0,L_3),\end{aligned}$$ which leads us to $\Pi {{\mathcal Z}}^{(q+1,n_1,n_2)}_{z_{\gamma^1}} \in {{\mathcal G}}^{q}$ where $$\begin{aligned}
z_{\gamma^1}= \frac{\pi}{2}
\begin{pmatrix}
L_1 n_2^2 \\
0 \\
L_3 n_2 (q-1)
\end{pmatrix}.\end{aligned}$$ Thirdly we compute $\left( Z^k \cdot \nabla \right) Y^m + \left( Y^m \cdot \nabla \right) Z^k$ with $$\begin{aligned}
k &=(q,n_1-1,n_2),& m &=(1,1,0),\\ w^k &= (L_1(n_1-1),-L_2q,0),& w^m &= (L_1,-L_2,0),\end{aligned}$$ which gives us $\Pi {{\mathcal Z}}^{(q+1,n_1,n_2)}_{z_{\delta^1}} \in {{\mathcal G}}^{q}$ with $$\begin{aligned}
z_{\delta^1}= \frac{\pi}{4}
\begin{pmatrix}
L_1 (q-n_1+1)(n_1-2) \\
L_2 (q-n_1+1)(2-q) \\
0
\end{pmatrix}.\end{aligned}$$ Now $\det(n~z_{\alpha^1}~z_{\gamma^1}) = \det(n~z_{\alpha^1}~z_{\delta^1}) =0 $ if, and only if,
$$\begin{aligned}
n_2^3 (L_2L_3 q^2 - L_2L_3 + L_1L_3 n_1^2 - L_1L_2 n_2^2) &= 0 \label{step23-eq1} \\
(q-n_1 + 1) n_2 ( L_2L_3 n_1 (q+1) (q-2) + (n_1 -2) (L_1L_3 n_1^2 - L_1L_2 n_2^2) )&= 0 \label{step23-eq2}\end{aligned}$$
Since $0<2 \le n_2,n_1\le q$, from \[step23-eq1\], we have $L_1L_3 n_1^2 - L_1L_2 n_2^2 = L_2L_3 (1-q^2)$. Then, after substitution into \[step23-eq2\] and since $n_2(q-n_1 + 1)\ge n_2>0$, we arrive to the contradiction $0=L_2L_3 (q+1) (2q -n_1 -2) >L_2L_3 (q+1) (q-2)>0$, because $q\ge4$ and $L_2,L_3>0$. Therefore by Lemma \[lemma-lin-indp2\] it follows that $Z^{(q+1,n_1,n_2)}_{z_{\delta^1}} \in {{\mathcal G}}^{q}$.
By induction, using , , , , and the induction hypothesis , we obtain
\[lem36.res\] $$\begin{aligned}
Z^{j(n),n} \in {{\mathcal G}}^{q} \quad \text{for all~} n \in {{\mathcal R}}^{q+1}_1,
\intertext{and a similar argument gives us}
Z^{j(n),n} \in {{\mathcal G}}^{q} \quad \text{for all~} n \in {{\mathcal R}}^{q+1}_2.\end{aligned}$$
### Proof of Lemma \[lem-gen00\] {#subsec-proof.gen00}
To generate $n = (q+1,0,0)$, we choose $$\begin{aligned}
k &=(q, 0,1),& m &=(1,0,1),\\ w^k &= (L_1, 0, -L_3q),& w^m &= (L_1,0,-L_3),\end{aligned}$$ which gives us $$\begin{aligned}
\left( Y^k \cdot \nabla \right) Z^m + \left( Z^m \cdot \nabla \right) Y^k
= {{\mathcal Z}}^{(q+1,0,0)}_{z_{\alpha^1}} + {{\mathcal Z}}^{(q+1,0,2)}_{z_{\alpha^2}} + {{\mathcal Z}}^{(q-1,0,0)}_{z_{\alpha^3}} + {{\mathcal Z}}^{(q-1,0,2)}_{z_{\alpha^3}}.\end{aligned}$$ From and , we can conclude that $\Pi {{\mathcal Z}}^{(q+1,0,0)}_{z_{\alpha^1}} \in {{\mathcal G}}^{q}$ where $$\begin{aligned}
z_{\alpha^1}= -\frac{\pi }{4}
\begin{pmatrix}
0 \\
0 \\
L_3 (q-1)^2 \\
\end{pmatrix}.\end{aligned}$$ Now, since $L_3 (q-1)^2\ne0$ we have that $Z^{1,(q+1,0,0)} =\zeta {{\mathcal Z}}^{(q+1,0,0)}_{z_{\alpha^1}}$. Therefore
\[lem37.res\] $$\begin{aligned}
&Z^{1,(q+1,0,0)} \in {{\mathcal G}}^{q},
\intertext{and a similar argument gives us}
&Z^{1,(0,q+1,0)} \in {{\mathcal G}}^{q}.\end{aligned}$$
### Proof of Lemma \[lem-genL\] {#subsec-proof.genL}
Due to two different types of boundary conditions, we divide the proof into two steps
1. $\bullet$ Step [[3.8.]{}]{}:\[Step381\] Generating $Z^{j(n),n}$ with $n \in {{\mathcal L}}^{q+1}_{2,3}\bigcup {{\mathcal L}}^{q+1}_{3,1}$.
2. $\bullet$ Step [[3.8.]{}]{}:\[Step382\] Generating $Z^{j(n),n}$ with $n \in {{\mathcal L}}^{q+1}_{1,2}$.
**Step \[Step381\]: Generating $Z^{j(n),n}$ with $n \in {{\mathcal L}}^{q+1}_{2,3}\bigcup {{\mathcal L}}^{q+1}_{3,1}$.**
To generate $n = (l,\,q+1,\,q+1)$, with $1 \le l \le q$. We start computing $\left( Y^k \cdot \nabla \right) Z^m + \left( Z^m \cdot \nabla \right) Y^k$ with $$\begin{aligned}
k &=(l, q-1,q),& m &=(0,2,1),\\ w^k &= (0, L_2q, L_3(1-q)),& w^m &= (0,L_2,-2L_3),\end{aligned}$$ and obtain that $\Pi {{\mathcal Z}}^{(l,q+1,q+1)}_{z_{\alpha^1}} \in {{\mathcal G}}^{q}$ with $$\begin{aligned}
z_{\alpha^1} = -\frac{\pi}{4} \begin{pmatrix}
0 \\ L_2 (q^2-1) \\ L_3(q+1) (q-3)
\end{pmatrix}.\end{aligned}$$ Next we compute $\left( Y^k \cdot \nabla \right) Z^m + \left( Z^m \cdot \nabla \right) Y^k$ $$\begin{aligned}
k &=(l, q,q),& m &=(0,1,1),\\ w^k &= (L_1q, -L_2l, 0),& w^m &= (0,L_2,-L_3),\end{aligned}$$ and obtain $\Pi{{\mathcal Z}}^{(l,q+1,q+1)}_{z_{\gamma^1}}\in {{\mathcal G}}^{q}$ with $$\begin{aligned}
z_{\gamma^1} = -\frac{\pi}{4} \begin{pmatrix}
0 \\ L_2l \\ L_3l
\end{pmatrix}.\end{aligned}$$ Since $$\begin{aligned}
\frac{16}{\pi^2} \det(n~z_{\alpha^1}~z_{\gamma^1})=
\det \begin{pmatrix}
l & 0 & 0 \\
q+1 & L_2(q^2-1) & L_2l \\
q+1 & L_3(q+1)(q-3) & L_3l
\end{pmatrix} = 2 L_2L_3 l^2 (q+1) > 0,\end{aligned}$$ from Lemma \[lemma-lin-indp\_Z\] we obtain that
\[step381.res1\] $$\begin{aligned}
Z^{\{1,2\}, (l,q+1,q+1)}\in {{\mathcal G}}^{q},\quad\mbox{for}\quad1 \le l \le q,
\intertext{and a similar argument gives us}
Z^{\{1,2\}, (q+1,l,q+1)}\in {{\mathcal G}}^{q},\quad\mbox{for}\quad1 \le l \le q,\end{aligned}$$
[*The case $n= (0,q+1,q+1)$*]{}. We can use again [@PhanRod-ecc15 Theorem 4.1] to conclude that
\[step381.res2\] $$\begin{aligned}
&Z^{1,(0,q+1,q+1)} \in {{\mathcal G}}^{q},
\intertext{and a similarly}
&Z^{1,(q+1,0,q+1)} \in {{\mathcal G}}^{q}.\end{aligned}$$
**Step \[Step382\]: Generating $Z^{j(n),n}$ with $n \in {{\mathcal L}}^{q+1}_{1,2}$.**
To generate $n = (q+1, q+1, l)$ with $1 \le l \le q$, we first compute $\left( Y^m \cdot \nabla \right) Z^k + \left( Z^k \cdot \nabla \right) Y^m$ with $$\begin{aligned}
k &=(q, q,l),& m &=(1,1,0),\\ w^k &= (L_1l, 0, -L_3q),& w^m &= (L_1,-L_2,0),\end{aligned}$$ which gives us $\Pi {{\mathcal Z}}^{(q+1,q+1,l)}_{z_{\alpha^1}} \in {{\mathcal G}}^{q}$, with $$\begin{aligned}
z_{\alpha^1} = \frac{\pi}{4} \begin{pmatrix}
L_1l \\ - L_2l \\ 0
\end{pmatrix}. \end{aligned}$$ Next, we choose compute $\left( Y^m \cdot \nabla \right) Z^k + \left( Z^k \cdot \nabla \right) Y^m$ with $$\begin{aligned}
k &=(q, q-1,l),& m &=(1,2,0),\\ w^k &= (L_1(q-1), -L_2q, 0),& w^m &= (2L_1,-L_2,0),\end{aligned}$$ which gives us $\Pi {{\mathcal Z}}^{(q+1,q+1,l)}_{z_{\gamma^1}} \in {{\mathcal G}}^{q}$, with $$\begin{aligned}
z_{\gamma^1} = \frac{\pi}{4} \begin{pmatrix}
L_1(q+1)(q-3) \\ -L_2 (q^2-1) \\ 0
\end{pmatrix}. \end{aligned}$$ From $$\begin{aligned}
\frac{16}{\pi^2} \ [n~z_{\alpha^1}~z_{\gamma^1}]=
\det \begin{pmatrix}
q+1 &L_1l & L_1(q+1)(q-3) \\
q+1 & -L_2l & -L_2 (q^2-1) \\
l & 0 & 0
\end{pmatrix} = \frac{32}{\pi^2}L_1L_2 l^2 (q+1) > 0,\end{aligned}$$ and Lemma \[lemma-lin-indp\_Z\] we obtain that $$\label{step382.res1}
Z^{\{1,2\}, (q+1,q+1,l)}\in {{\mathcal G}}^{q}, \quad\mbox{for}\quad 1 \le l \le q.$$
To generate $n = (q+1,q+1,0)$ we choose $$\begin{aligned}
k &=(q, q-1,1),& m &=(1,2,1),\\ w^k &= (L_1, 0, -L_3q),& w^m &= (L_1,0,-L_3),\end{aligned}$$ which gives us $$\left( Y^k \cdot \nabla \right) Z^m + \left( Z^m \cdot \nabla \right) Y^k={{\mathcal Z}}^{(q+1,q+1,0)}_{z_{\alpha^1}}+{{\mathcal Z}}^{(q+1,q+1,2)}_{z_{\alpha^2}}+\sum_{i=3}^8{{\mathcal Z}}^{k^i}_{z_{\alpha^i}}$$ with $k^i\in\{(q+1,q-3,0),(q+1,q-3,2),(q-1,q+1,0),(q-1,q+1,2),(q-1,q-3,0),(q-1,q-3,2)\}$. Recalling that $q\ge4$, from and it follows that $\sum_{i=3}^8\Pi{{\mathcal Z}}^{k^i}_{z_{\alpha^i}}\in {{\mathcal G}}^{q}$ and, from we have that $\Pi{{\mathcal Z}}^{(q+1,q+1,2)}_{z_{\alpha^2}}\in{{\mathcal G}}^{q}$. Therefore we obtain $\Pi {{\mathcal Z}}^{(q+1,q+1,0)}_{z_{\alpha^1}} \in {{\mathcal G}}^{q}$, and we can find $$\begin{aligned}
z_{\alpha^1} = \frac{\pi}{8} \begin{pmatrix}
-L_1(q+1) \\ 0 \\ (q+1)(-L_3q+L_3)
\end{pmatrix}. \end{aligned}$$ Observe that ${{\mathcal Z}}^{1,(q+1,q+1,0)}_{z_{\alpha^1}}=-\frac{\pi}{8}(q^2-1)L_3\begin{pmatrix}
0\\0\\\cos(\frac{(q+1)\pi x_1}{L_1})\cos(\frac{(q+1)\pi x_2}{L_2})
\end{pmatrix}$, that is, for a suitable constant $\zeta\ne0$, we have $Z^{1,(q+1,q+1,0)}=\zeta{{\mathcal Z}}^{1,(q+1,q+1,0)}_{z_{\alpha^1}}$. In particular $\Pi{{\mathcal Z}}^{1,(q+1,q+1,0)}_{z_{\alpha^1}}={{\mathcal Z}}^{1,(q+1,q+1,0)}_{z_{\alpha^1}}$ and it follows $$\begin{aligned}
\label{step382.res2}
Z^{1,(q+1,q+1,0)} \in {{\mathcal G}}^{q}.\end{aligned}$$
To sum up, from , , , and , it follows that $$\begin{aligned}
\label{lem38.res}
Z^{j(n),n} \in {{\mathcal G}}^{q},\quad\mbox{for all}\quad n\in{{\mathcal L}}^{q+1}_{1,2}{\textstyle\bigcup}{{\mathcal L}}^{q+1}_{2,3}{\textstyle\bigcup}{{\mathcal L}}^{q+1}_{3,1}.\end{aligned}$$
### Proof of Lemma \[lem-genq+1\] {#subsec-proof.genq+1}
Firstly, we compute $\left( Y^k \cdot \nabla \right) Z^m + \left( Z^m \cdot \nabla \right) Y^k$ $$\begin{aligned}
k &=(q,q-1,q),& m &=(1,2,1),\\ w^k &= (L_1,0,-L_3),& w^m &= (2L_3,-L_2,0),\end{aligned}$$ which gives us $\Pi {{\mathcal Z}}^{(q+1,q+1,q+1)}_{z_{\alpha^1}}\in {{\mathcal G}}^{q}$ where $$\begin{aligned}
z_{\alpha^1} = \frac{\pi}{8}
\begin{pmatrix}
2 L_1 (q+1)\\
- L_2(q+1) \\
0
\end{pmatrix}. \end{aligned}$$ Secondly, we compute $\left( Y^m \cdot \nabla \right) Z^k + \left( Z^k \cdot \nabla \right) Y^m$ $$\begin{aligned}
k &=(q,q-1,q),& m &=(1,2,1),\\ w^k &= (L_1,0,-L_3),& w^m &= (2L_3,-L_2,0),\end{aligned}$$ which gives us $\Pi {{\mathcal Z}}^{(q+1,q+1,q+1)}_{z_{\gamma^1}}\in {{\mathcal G}}^{q}$, with $$\begin{aligned}
z_{\gamma^1} = \frac{\pi}{8}
\begin{pmatrix}
- L_1 (q+1)(q-3)\\
L_2(q^2-1) \\
0
\end{pmatrix}. \end{aligned}$$ Since $$\begin{aligned}
\frac{64}{\pi^2(q+1)^3} \det(n~z_{\alpha^1}~z_{\gamma^1}) =
\det \begin{pmatrix}
1 & 2L_1 & -L_1 (q-3) \\
1 & -L_2 & L_2 (q-1) \\
1 & 0 & 0
\end{pmatrix} = L_1L_2(q+1) > 0, \end{aligned}$$ by Lemma \[lemma-lin-indp\_Z\], we find $$\begin{aligned}
\label{lem39.res}
Z^{\{1,2\}, (q+1,q+1,q+1)}\in {{\mathcal G}}^{q}.\end{aligned}$$
Final remarks
=============
Following the approximate controllability by degenerate low modes forcing proven in [@PhanRod18JDCS; @Shirikyan06], we present an explicit ${(\rm L, D}(A))$-saturating set in a general 3D Cylinder. This case is as an extended result in the work of 2D Cylinder (see [@PhanRod-ecc15]). However we just get the control $\eta \in L^\infty((0,T), {{\mathcal G}}^1)$ instead of $L^\infty((0,T), {{\mathcal G}}^0)$ in 2D Cylinder case. The reason is that we do not have the equality $B(Y^k, Y^k) = 0$ for all $k$ as in 2D Cylinder case (see more details in [@PhanRod18JDCS Theorem 3.2]).
We underline that the presented saturating set is (by definition) independent of the viscosity coefficient $\nu$. That is, approximate controllability holds by means of controls taking values in ${{\mathcal G}}^1 = {\rm span} {{\mathcal C}}+ {\rm span} {{\mathcal B}}({{\mathcal C}}, {\rm span} {{\mathcal C}}) = {\rm span}\left({{\mathcal C}}\cup {{\mathcal B}}({{\mathcal C}}, {{\mathcal C}}) \right)$, for any $\nu > 0$. It is plausible that a ${(\rm L, D}(A))$-saturating set with less elements does exists. One of them is introduced in next corollary.
\[cor-sat-cyl\] The set of eigenfuntions $$\begin{aligned}
{{\mathcal C}}\coloneqq &\left\{ Y^{j(n),n} \mid~n\in{{\mathbb N}}^3,~\#_0(n)\le1,~n_i\le 3,~j(n) \in \{ 1, 2-\#_0(n) \}\right\} \\
&\cup \left\{ Z^{j(n),n} \mid~n \in {{\mathbb N}}^3,~\#_0(n)=2,~n_3=0 \right\} \\
&\cup \left\{ Z^{j(n),n} \mid~n\in{{\mathbb N}}^3,~\#_0(n)\le1,~n_i\le {4},~j(n) \in \{ 1, 2-\#_0(n) \}\right\}\end{aligned}$$ is saturating.
Its proof is obtained obviously form Theorems \[T:satur3Dcyl\] and \[T:satur3Drect\].
As mentioned in the beginning of this work, it is not our goal to find a saturating set with minimal number of elements.
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[^1]: The author would like to thank Sérgio Rodrigues for his fruitful discussions to improve this work.
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Exposure to trauma during childhood has been shown to have severe long-term consequences. It has been shown that art therapy promotes the reduction of trauma symptoms in children, as it allows them to easily engage in the process of therapy through non-verbal treatment. Involving the caregiver in the treatment process of children was shown to hold significant benefits for children, especially in a setting of parent-child art therapy interventions. In this capstone thesis, I present a case study in which I explored the impact of art therapy interventions performed in a parent-child dyad on the well-being of a child who has experienced trauma. The interventions were performed in family sessions over the course of two weeks in a virtual in-home therapy setting. The case study presents significant benefits of the creative interventions on the child’s experienced symptoms, as well as on the parent-child relationship. These preliminary results show a growing need for additional studies on the topic of dyadic art therapy with children who have experienced trauma, in order to improve outcomes in the child’s treatment as well as to strengthen the family relationships and the parent’s ability to support their child.
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Small retail businesses are essential for the growth of the South African economy. Though many of these business entities need more assets to seize business opportunities, previous research studies suggest that their overall access to finance through banks and other finance providers seems to be limited. In general, small retail businesses are usually managed by entrepreneurs who lack financial knowledge, but banks, when deciding on credit applications, rely heavily on financial information, which is provided by these entrepreneurs. Notwithstanding the aforementioned, this study aimed to explore barriers that limit access to finance for South African small retailers, from the perspectives of finance providers (banking institutions) and finance seekers (small retailers). Additionally, measures were highlighted to show how those hurdles could be overcome. Qualitative research was conducted, whereby data were collected via semi-structured interviews with management personnel at banks and other financial institutions, as well as independent experts and small retail business owners and managers. The findings show that many financing opportunities are available to small retail businesses, but access to these opportunities is limited mainly owing to, inter alia, strict bank regulations and factors that are inherent to small retail business owners.
- Keywords
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JEL Classification (Paper profile tab)G21, L26, L81, L84, M41
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References45
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Tables3
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Figures0
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- Table 1. Literature review on finance accessibility for SA SMEs
- Table 2. Outline of the views of finance providers and seekers
- Table 3. Suggestions for stakeholders to overcome barriers to access to finance
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Chagas disease was once entirely confined to the Region of the Americas – principally Latin America, but it has spread to other continents.
It is named for Carlos Chagas, the Brazilian doctor who first identified the disease in 1909
Source: Cedars-Sinai
Advertisement
For the last two to three months of his life the man starved due to his meagre grasshopper diet, but the study reveals an early example of hospice care.
Either his family or members of his immediate community had taken the care to pluck off the grasshoppers' legs before giving them to him as he was nursed through the pain.
'So they were giving him mostly the fluid-rich body – the squishable part of the grasshopper,' said Karl Reinhard, professor in the School of Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
'In addition to being high in protein, it was pretty high in moisture, so it would have been easier for him to eat in the early stages of his megacolon experience.'
The death of the now mummified Texan man, who researchers call the 'Skiles mummy', could have been anywhere between 1,000 and 1,400 years ago, researchers believe.
Using scanning electron microscopy, the team also found evidence of plant remains that may have contributed to the formation of his 'megacolon'.
They scanned phytoliths – minuscule structures in plant tissue that remain even after the rest of the plant decays – taken from his remains.
Phytoliths are so robust that they normally survive the human intestinal tract and persist after the decay of the plant, but these ones were damaged.
'The phytoliths were split open, crushed, and that means there was incredible pressure that was exerted on a microscopic level in this guy’s intestinal system, which highlights even more the pathology that was exhibited here,' Professor Reinhard said.
'I think this is unique in the annals of pathology – this level of intestinal blockage and the pressure that’s associated with it.'
The Skiles mummy is one of three mummification case studies recently re-analysed by the University of Nebraska team.
The Texan man had Chagas disease, which is caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. It is named for Carlos Chagas, the Brazilian doctor who first identified the disease in 1909
All three house microscopic evidence of what could be considered early hospice care, due to traces of distinctive foods that the individuals would have been too ill or too young to procure themselves.
Though the contents of the mummies’ intestines were first analysed about 30 years ago, advances in microscopy and other techniques have necessitated further analysis.
Professor Reinhard specialises in pollen, which proved useful when re-analysing the intestinal contents of one of the other case studies – a partially mummified boy, buried between 500 and 1,000 years ago, in Arizona’s Ventana Cave.
Pollen and phytoliths taken from the remains of the child showed he was consuming the flowers of the saguaro cactus, which was considered sacred by the Hohokam people who once resided in Arizona.
Fruit from the iconic saguaro cactus long sustained residents of the area, including the Hohokam people who buried the boy.
Microscopy of minuscule plant remnants, pollen and animal remains, including a mammal hair (center), extracted from the intestinal tract of a mummy found in Arizona’s Ventana Cave
The boy had consumed as many as 230 of the cactus' flowers in the weeks before he died at the age of five or six years.
The mummified remains of another, even younger child, buried roughly 750 years ago in southern Utah, further show the lengths to which a community would go for the sake of tending to an ailing loved one, according to the team.
Intestinal contents of this child revealed evidence of a nutritious species of ricegrass, Achnatherum hymenoides.
The Pueblo people who resided in the region typically ate a varied diet of animals and plants, as well as A. hymenoides seeds.
The fact that the team only found evidence of A. hymenoides from the remains suggests that, much like the Skiles mummy, the child was on a regimented diet during an illness.
A close-up of a saguaro cactus, considered sacred by the Hohokam people who once resided in Arizona
Gathering the ricegrass was a thankless task – an hour of harvesting would yield just 400 calories worth of the grain – but it may have been the community’s best hope of nourishing the ill child in early summer when other edible plants were scarce.
'We’ve never seen that specific concentration of one kind of food,' said Reinhard.
'This type of food is abundant when there’s no other kind of food available, but it takes a lot of effort to get it prepared for an individual.
'We can look at the experimental archaeology that shows us how difficult it is to collect those seeds.
'Then we can interpret that there were a lot of people helping this child survive.'
The three case studies will be detailed further in a chapter of a forthcoming book 'The Handbook of Mummy Studies', to be published next year.
THE ANCIENT HOHOKAM CULTURE
Ancient Hohokam petroglyphs on the Hieroglyphic Trail in Gold Canyon - Superstition Mountains, east of Phoenix, Arizona, US
Hohokam was a society in the North American Southwest in what is now part of Arizona, US, and Mexico.
Early archaeologists proposed that Hohokam culture developed in Mexico and moved into what is now Arizona.
They are thought to have first emerged around AD 300 before eventually disappearing around AD 1450.
The Hohokam people are known to be farmers who relied upon irrigation canals to water their crops.
In the arid desert environment of the Salt and Gila River Valleys, the homeland of the Hohokam, there was not enough rainfall to grow crops. To meet their needs, the Hohokam engineered the largest and most sophisticated irrigation system in the Americas.
The canals were perfectly laid out on the landscape to achieve a downhill drop (or gradient) of 1 to 2 feet per mile. Many of the canals were massive in size.
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Medium has brought some interesting ideas to the idea of reading as user experience. Among them: estimated reading time.
A developer or designer using Jekyll who wants to add a Medium-style reading time estimate to a blog template will likely find that accomplishing this a simple matter of getting Jekyll to do some math and output the result – sorta.
For sheer simplicity, I prefer to assign the calculation to a variable – in this case
readCalc – using Jekyll’s
assign function. First the word count of the post.
Average reading speed is around 180 to 220 words per minute. The lower end of that stat, 180, will be our divisor.
For purposes of display, a nice neat number with no decimals is better, so rounding our result is the next step in the equation.
At this point, just plugging the number into the correct bit of text in your Jekyll template might suffice. However, it’s also important to sand the bottom of the drawers where no one will see. Numbers below nine are typically written out. Any
readCalc value of less than one minute needs to be handled.
This is done with a series of
if and
elsif statements that
assign a string value to a variable
readTime. In cases where
redCalc is less than a minute:
The rest of values are assigned via
elsif.
Be sure to close the
if statement. The full code block looks like this:
The final result is displayed in the template by plugging in the value of
readTime with this bit: | https://www.davidputney.com/2016/07/how-medium-style-read-time-estimate.html |
Questo prodotto usufruisce delle SPEDIZIONI GRATIS
selezionando l'opzione Corriere Veloce in fase di ordine.
Pagabile anche con App18 Bonus Cultura e Carta Docenti
Preface
Contributors
Abbreviations
1 Politics and Development in a Transboundary Watershed: The Case of the Lower Mekong Basin; Stina Hansson, Sofie Hellberg & Joakim Öjendal
1.1 Introduction
1.2 The politics of IWRM
1.3 Development in a transboundary context
1.4 Transboundary water governance
1.5 The Mekong Basin as a transboundary system
1.6 The contributions to this volume
2 Politics or Development: Sharing of International Rivers in the South; Ashok Swain
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Rivers of Conflict to Rivers of Cooperation?
2.3 Yet to Move Beyond Selfish National Interests
3 Politics and Development of the Mekong River Basin: Transboundary Dilemmas and Participatory Ambitions; Joakim Öjendal & Kurt Mørck Jensen
3.1 The Basin’s Economic Geography
3.2 Attempts at Water Governance in the Mekong Region
3.3 Geopolitics and the IWRM Approach to Basin Development - Conclusion
4 The Potential of MRC to Pursue IWRM in the Mekong: Trade-offs and Public Participation; Rachel Cooper
4.1 The Development Context
4.2 The Role of the MRC
4.3 Trade-offs in the Mekong
4.4 Public Participation
4.5 Conclusion
5 Domestic Water Policy Implications on International Transboundary Water Development: A Case Study of Thailand; Naho Mirumachi
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Water Management Paradigms and Hydraulic Control
5.3 The Thai Hydraulic Mission and Inclusive Water Resource Management
5.4 Impact of Domestic Water Policies on Multilateral Water Resources Development
5.5 Discussion and Conclusion
6 Mekong at the Crossroads: Alternative Paths of Water Development and Impact Assessment; Marko Keskinen, Matti Kummu, Mira Käkönen & Olli Varis
6.1 Introduction: the Changing Mekong
6.2 Water Development in the Mekong
6.3 Estimating the impacts
6.4 Hydrological Models as a Tool for Impact Assessment
6.5 An Array of Impacts, Radical Consequences
6.6 Multiple Crossroads: Water Development in a Transboundary Setting
6.6 Conclusions: Way Forward
7 Negotiating Flows in the Mekong; Kate Lazarus, David J.H. Blake, John Dore, Worawan Sukraroek & David S. Hall
7.1 Introduction
7.2 E-flows and Integrated Water Resources Management
7.3 Water for Development and Ecosystems
7.4 Integrating and Negotiating
7.5 E-flows in the Mekong Region
7.6 Multi-stakeholder Translations in the Mekong Region: Building Capacity and a Constituency
7.7 Rapid E-flows Assessment in the Huong River Basin, Vietnam
7.8 E-flows and the Integrated Basin Flow Management Process in the Mekong River Basin
7.9 An Interdisciplinary Approach to E-flows in the Nam Songkhram River Basin, Thailand
7.10 Conclusions
8 IWRM as a Participatory Governance Framework for the Mekong River Basin?; Philip Hirsch
8.1 Introduction
8.2 Participation, FWRM and IWRM
8.3 Governing Through Participation from Above...
8.4 ... And Governance Through Participation from Below
8.5 Conclusions: Beyond the Technical in Participatory River Basin Governance
9 The Dragon Upstream: China’s Role in Lancang-Mekong Development; Darrin Magee
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Overview of the Lancang Cascade
9.3 Chinese Perspectives on Lancang River Development
9.4 China’s Approach to Lancang-Mekong Transboundary Relations
9.5 Hydropower Decision-Making in China
9.6 Conclusion: Conflict and Commonality in Development Priorities
10 Politics vs Development in a Transboundary River Basin – The Case of the Mekong Basin; Joakim Öjendal, Stina Hansson & Sofie Hellberg
10.1 Findings and Reflections
10.2 Political Imperatives and the Eternal Call for Holism
Index
Water - and its governance - is becoming a global concern partly because it is turning into a goods in short supply, with devastating effects on literally billions of people, but also because it is the "carrier" of global warming; whether through irregular weather patterns or through flooding, water is how global warming will be 'felt'. The lion's share of the globally available fresh water resources is to be found in transboundary systems. In spite of its significance, the generated knowledge on how to deal with transboundary waters is weak and leaves policy makers with seemingly unavoidable, trade-off dilemmas and prioritizations, often with detrimental effects. In order to disentangle this predicament this volume works with one case: the Lower Mekong Basin and covers state-of-the-art academic and practitioners' knowledge and hence appeals to a wide audience. The topic this volume addresses is situated in the nexus of an IR- (International Relations) approach focussing on transboundary politics and its inclination to remain within the sphere of state sovereignty and national interest on the one hand, and Development studies, with its imperatives on participation, planning, and intervention, on the other. The dilemma, we argue, of better understanding transboundary water management lies in how to understand how these two rationalities can be simultaneously nurtured.
Audience: This book will be relevant to scholars, as it provides cutting-edge research, and students, since it covers the primary debates in the field, interested in resource management, regional politics, and development issues in the area. It also addresses the global debate on transboundary water management and presents an in-depth case of one of the globally most sophisticated attempts at pursuing sustainable river basin management. Finally, practitioners and policymakers would benefit greatly because all contributions have explicit policy relevance, launching suggestion on improvements in water management.
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BACKGROUND
In known systems, such as ground reference antennas used in Local Area Augmentation Systems (LAAS) and Ground Based Augmentation Systems (GBAS), generally the feed network board is kept outside of the antenna in its own independent box. The feed network then connects to each antenna element through RF cables of a specific length to maintain the same phase delay to each antenna element.
Some current implementations of LAAS/GBAS antenna arrays include several parasitic elements. This increases the cost and complexity of such designs. Feed networks for such antenna arrays are difficult to produce and most feed networks require complex driving boards and numerous phase stable cables to maintain acceptable phase stability. Some current feed networks use microstrip lines and striplines, but issues common to both approaches persist. These issues include the need for enough space in the feed networks to isolate strong and weak signals; coupling the feed network to actual feed lines; and the need for complex assembly processes.
US2005/0110699A1
US Patent Application Publication No. describes a compact dual polarized three-sector base station antenna with adjustable beam tilt in each sector. It describes mechanical means for adjusting the phase of the signal to each dipole pair. The current application describes electrical means of adjusting the phase signal, using phase delay units within the power distribution network.
WO2007/069809A1
International Patent Publication No. describes a one-column antenna for controlling horizontal beam width. This is achieved by independent rotation of three reflectors each adjacent to one of three radiators, arranged vertically with respect to each other.
US 5,534,882 A
US Patent Application Publication No. discloses a linear antenna array comprising an integrated stripline feed network.
US 5,285,212 A
US Patent Application Publication No. discloses another linear antenna array comprising an integrated stripline feed network.
SUMMARY
The present invention is defined by the appended claims.
The invention provides a linear antenna array comprising an integrated stripline, a power distribution network coupled to the linear antenna array; a feed signal input/output component coupled to the power distribution network; wherein the input/output component receives a feed signal and splits the feed signal for distributing to a plurality of antenna elements of the linear antenna array through the power distribution network. The integrated stripline feed network is configured to be integrated into a support body of the linear antenna array, wherein, the support body structurally supports the linear antenna array.
DRAWINGS
Figure 1A
is a high-level functional block diagram of a feed network and an antenna array according to one embodiment;
Figure 1B
is a schematic diagram of a feed network according to one embodiment;
Figure 2A
is a diagram illustrating a 3-bay model with circular radiating elements according to one embodiment;
Figure 2B
is a diagram illustrating a perspective view of the 3-bay model with circular radiating elements with an integrated stripline according to one embodiment;
Figure 3
is an exemplary flow chart illustrating an exemplary method of feeding a signal through an integrated stripline feed network to a linear antenna array.
Understanding that the drawings depict only exemplary embodiments and do not limit the scope of the invention, the exemplary embodiments will be described. with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings, in which:
In accordance with common practice, the various described features are not drawn to scale but are drawn to emphasize specific features relevant to the exemplary embodiments.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific illustrative embodiments. However, it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that logical, mechanical, and electrical changes within the scope of the appended claims may be made. Furthermore, the method presented in the drawing figures and the specification is not to be construed as limiting the order in which the individual steps may be performed. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense of the invention, which is defined by the appended claims.
The embodiments described herein relate to apparatus and methodology for feeding a linear antenna array with an integrated stripline feed network. Integrated, in this context, means configured to integrate inside the antenna structure. The integrated stripline feed network provides a stable feed phase while integrated into the antenna structure through electrical and mechanical connections. Integrating the stripline feed network allows the feed network to couple to the linear antenna array without the need for matched length coaxial cables. This significantly decreases the size requirements of a feed network implementation, allowing the feed network to be integrated into the linear antenna array itself. In some embodiments, electrical connections can be made with shorter lengths of coaxial cable from the feed network to the antenna element. The claimed subject matter is described with reference to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like elements throughout.
Figure 1A
illustrates a high-level functional block diagram of a linear antenna array and integrated stripline feed network system 100 according to one embodiment. The system 100 includes an integrated strip line feed network 110 that feeds an antenna array 200. The feed network 110 includes a feed input/output component 150 that receives the feed signal and initially splits the signal through power distribution units, such as a standard 2-way power divider like the Wilkinson Power Divider, into three output channels. One of the three channels in this example is directly connected to output channel 155-6 of the feed network 110, which provides the most powerful feed signal from the feed input/output component 150. This output channel directly feeds the center antenna element 135 of antenna array 200 in this example. The remaining two output channels feed the left and right side of the antenna array through a power distribution network 160.
Figure 1B
illustrates the circuitry of one embodiment of a feed network 110. The feed network includes a feed input/output component 150, and a power distribution network 160.
With standard directional couplers, the coupled port has a 90 degree phase difference when compared to the through port. A standard directional coupler can be implemented in stripline using coupled quarter wave striplines. The input signal does not undergo a phase change at the through port directly connected to the input port. The coupled port provides a signal that has a 90 degree advanced phase from the through port. The unused port is an isolated port. Standard directional couplers are used for power distribution that is unbalanced (e.g. less than -10dB for the weaker channel).
Phase delay units are used in some channels to counteract a phase advance caused by a short feed line compared to the other channels. Phase delay units should be able to be used repeatedly with low insertion loss and a low VSWR.
0
In this embodiment, the feed input/output component 150 includes two 2-way power dividers 101 and 102 to create three output channels. With the 2-way power dividers 101 and 102, the output of both ports of the respective power divider typically have approximately the same phase. In a Wilkinson power divider, the input is coupled to two parallel uncoupled quarter wave transmission lines. The output of each quarter wave line is terminated with a load equal to two times the system impedance. The input and output impedances are equal. The line impedance of the system is equal to the system impedance times the square root of two (√2Z). Power dividers are used for power distribution that is balanced or only slightly unbalanced (e.g. 0dB to -10dB for the weaker channel).
Power divider 101 splits an input signal into two output channels. One output from power divider 101 is coupled to the second power divider 102 and the other output is coupled directly to the center antenna element 135, such that the signal to antenna element 135 has the strongest energy distribution. The output channel coupled to the center antenna element 135 has a line length "L" that is pre-selected so that a feed phase that is consistent with the other feed channels is maintained. Power divider 102 further divides the output received from the power divider 101 into two more signal channels, one for a left side power distribution network, defined by the network providing a signal for the antenna elements to the left of the center antenna element 135, and one for a right side power distribution network, defined by the network providing a signal to the antenna elements to the right of the center antenna element 135. The output channel for the left side power distribution network is coupled to a power divider 103. The two outputs from power divider 103 are coupled to a directional coupler 111 and phase delay unit 121. Phase delay units, such as phase delay unit 121, are used in some channels to counteract a phase advance caused by a short feed line compared to the other channels. Phase delay units should be able to be used repeatedly with low insertion loss and a low VSWR.
Directional coupler 111 can be implemented with a conventional directional coupler. Conventional directional couplers include a coupled port and a through port. With directional couplers, the coupled port has a 90 degree phase difference when compared to the through port. A standard directional coupler can be implemented in stripline using coupled quarter wave striplines. The input signal does not undergo a phase change at the through port directly connected to the input port. The coupled port provides a signal that has a 90 degree advanced phase from the through port. The unused port is an isolated port. Standard directional couplers are typically used for power distribution that is unbalanced (e.g. less than -10dB for the weaker channel).
The through port of directional coupler 111 is connected to power divider 107 and the coupled output is connected to phase delay unit 123. The outputs of power divider 107 feed antenna elements 130 and 131. The signal from the coupled port of directional coupler 111 is connected to phase delay unit 123 which adjusts the phase so that it has a phase difference of +90 degrees relative to the signal at antenna elements 130 and 131. In this embodiment, the phase delay unit 123 adjusts the phase for variations in line length of the signal path to antenna elements 130 and 131, and antenna element 132. To adjust for the +90 degree phase advance of antenna element 132, antenna element 132 is spatially rotated counterclockwise, in relation to the direction of signal propagation, by 90 degrees. Phase delay unit 121 is used to adjust the phase of the signal going to antenna elements 133 and 134 so that they are in phase with the feed signal at antenna elements 130, 131, and 132. Then the signal is split by power divider 105, which then feeds the signal to antenna elements 133 and 134. The length of lines L1 and L2 from the outputs of power divider 107 are approximately equal in this example to aid in maintaining the signals to antenna elements 133 and 134 in phase, i.e. L1=L2. The length of lines L3 and L4 from the outputs of power divider 105 are also approximately equal to each other in order to aid in maintaining the signals output from power divider 105 in phase with each other, i.e. L3=L4.
The circuit described above is mirrored for the right side power distribution network. The output channel of power divider 102 for the right side power distribution network is coupled to power divider 104. One of the two outputs from power divider 104 is coupled to a directional coupler 112 and the other output is coupled to phase delay unit 122. The through port of directional coupler 112 is connected to power divider 108 and the output of the coupled port is connected to phase delay unit 124. The outputs of power divider 108 feed antenna elements 139 and 140, respectively. The signal from the coupled port of directional coupler 112 is connected to phase delay unit 124 which adjusts the phase so that it has a phase difference of +90 degrees relative to the signal at antenna elements 139 and 140. To adjust for this phase advance of 90 degrees antenna element 138 is spatially rotated counterclockwise, in relation to the direction of signal propagation, by 90 degrees.
Phase delay unit 122 is used to adjust the phase of the signal going to antenna elements 136 and 137 so that they are in phase with the feed signal at antenna elements 138, 139, and 140. Then the signal output by phase delay unit 122 is split by power divider 106, which then feeds the signal to antenna elements 136 and 137. The length of lines L1 and L2 from the outputs of power divider 108 are equal in this embodiment to aid in maintaining the signals from power divider 108 in phase, i.e. L1=L2. The length of lines L3 and L4 from the outputs of power divider 106 are also equal so that the signals from the output power divider 106 are in phase with each other, i.e. L3=L4. A person having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the signals are considered in phase if the difference between the relative phases of the signals is within a predetermined tolerance level depending on the application.
This feed network can be implemented in approximately 2-3 layers of stripline in a multilayered printed circuit board (PCB). The strong and weak signals can be isolated from each other by separating the output channels to the antenna elements in different layers. In one embodiment, the output channel associated with the center antenna element is placed on one layer, while antenna elements 133, 134, 136, 137 with a lower power signal are placed on a different layer of the multilayered PCB. Antenna elements 130, 131, 132, 138, 139, and 140 are placed on another layer of the multilayer PCB.
This multilayered stripline feed network can be mechanically supported such that each antenna element can be more easily soldered or connected and assembled within the support body 205 of the linear antenna array. In some embodiments, multilayered stripline feed network is mechanically supported by being soldered to the support body itself.
Figure 2A
illustrates one exemplary embodiment of an antenna array 200 using a 3-bay model. Each of a plurality of circular radiating elements 220 is fed through bays 210. The feed network is integrated into the support body 205, from where the feed signal is fed to bays 210. This allows for a compact, novel, low cost feed system for a linear antenna array.
Figure 2B
illustrates a perspective view of one embodiment of an exemplary antenna array with integrated strip line feed lines 230. The strip line feed lines 230 go through the center of support body 205. The feed lines 230 couple to an integrated feed network implemented on a multilayered stripline PCB 235 at each bay 210, upon which radiating elements 220 are mounted. The PCBs 235 are orthogonal relative to the plane of the stripline feed lines 230. A person having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the feed lines can connect to the PCBs at each bay through a variety of means for electrically coupling such feed signals. One such example is through the use of coaxial cables. The PCBs 235 can be mechanically supported within the antenna structure through a variety of means. In one embodiment, the PCBs 235 can be supported by soldering to the antenna structure itself.
In some embodiments, the antenna elements 220 are mounted directly on the multilayered PCBs 235, perpendicular to the plane of the PCB. This can be accomplished by mounting the antenna elements, which have slots in them, onto tabs on the PCB 235. Then, the connection can be soldered to create both an electrical and mechanical connection. Other means for mounting the antenna elements to the PCBs 235 can be implemented, such as having a slot in the PCB 235, as opposed to the antenna element 220. In yet another embodiment, the antenna elements 220 are mounted and spaced equally on four sides of the support body, all along one axis as provided by the support body.
Figure 3
is an exemplary flow chart illustrating one embodiment of a method of operating a linear antenna array with an integrated stripline feed network 300. At block 301, a first signal is received by a feed input/output component and split into a second and third signal. At block 303, the second signal is sent directly to a central antenna element, such as the central antenna element discussed above. Then, further splitting of the third signal depends on the number of antenna elements needing a feed signal. If the number of antenna elements is odd, then the third signal is split into a fourth and fifth signal, which are sent to a power distribution network. At block 305, the fourth and fifth signals can be further split into more signals, depending on the how many antenna elements are to be fed a signal. The signals are then output to each of a plurality of output channels. The phase delays introduced to the signals by the varying signal paths are adjusted within the feed network so that the phase delay output at each output channel is approximately matched. At block 307, the feed signals are sent to the antenna elements. At block 309, antenna elements that receive a signal with a phase delay or advancement introduced by the various feed network components are spatially rotated to adjust for the phase delay or advancement.
It is manifestly intended that this invention be limited only by the claims. | |
Muscle antigens Smooth muscle
Sera from patients with chronic active hepatitis contain antibodies to smooth muscle antigens that are detectable by IIF and bind smooth muscle of all organs. The major antigen of the smooth muscle is actin. The antibodies belong mainly to the IgG class, but they can also be found in the IgM class. The test is performed on unfixed cryostat sections of rodent stomach as substrate. Smooth muscle antibodies arc found in 40-70% of patients with active chronic hepatitis, with lower titers found in 50% of patients with primary biliary cirrhosis, and 28% of patients with cryptogenic cirrhosis. These antibodies are also found at low titer in patients with acute viral hepatitis, infectious mononucleosis, asthma, yellow fever and malignant tumors (carcinomas of the ovary, malignant melanoma). They have been found in less than 2% of the normal population.
Cardiac muscle
The presence of antibodies to cardiac striated muscle in patients with cardiomyopathy may help to distinguish autoimmune myocarditis from other forms of myocarditis (e.g. viral). This finding, in turn, may influence therapy. These antibodies are most readily detected by IIF with sections of rat heart as tissue substrate and bind to fibrillary antigens as well as to sarcolemma or subsarcolemma antigens. The most severe cases of myocarditis or dilated cardiomyopathy have been associated with high titers of IgG antibodies specific for cardiac and not skeletal striated muscle. Many normal individuals may have low titers of antistriated muscle antibodies, but they are generally of the IgM class and react with both skeletal and cardiac striated muscle.
Endomysial
Autoantibodies to endomysial membranes, the outside lining of smooth muscle bundles, are found in patients with dermatitis herpetiformis and with celiac disease, and are primarily IgA. The major test is IIF using the lower part of monkey esophagus as tissue substrate. It appears to be a more specific and sensitive marker of celiac disease than testing for reticulin autoantibodies. In a few patients with celiac disease that have an IgA immunodeficiency, the antibody to endomysial antigens were found to be IgG. Isotype-specific anti-immunoglobulins conjugated to FITC are used as specific reagents to determine the relevant autoantibodies. | https://www.barnardhealth.us/immune-response/muscle-antigens-smooth-muscle.html |
Managing Your Depression After the Holiday Season
The holiday season is time of joy and cheer. The air is buzzing with excitement and love from Thanksgiving through to New Year’s Eve. But now the time with family, the holiday cheer, and the spark of hope that comes with New Year’s Eve is all over. Suddenly all that’s waiting in the near future are a few dull, wet and grey months.
For some the holidays aren’t all that they’re cracked up to be, but for others, like myself, it’s in the downtime after the holidays when I can feel myself slipping. So now what?
Recognizing Your State
I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, “The first step to solving any problem is recognizing there is one.” This is true for those that suffer with depression as well.
Being aware of your mental state and knowing the symptoms to look for can help to identify what’s really going on. Ignoring the feelings or expecting them to go away on their own doesn’t work and can only exacerbate the problem.
If you have been diagnosed for a while, you likely know how your depression manifests itself so you know which behaviors to watch for. It may help to ask your friends and loved ones to notify you if they notice certain patterns — sometimes you can’t see the big picture when you’re in the middle of it.
Could It Be Seasonal Affective Disorder?
If you only experience these depressive episodes during the fall and winter months you may have seasonal affective disorder (SAD). SAD is a type of depression that coincides with the changes of the season; typically beginning in the fall and winter months and ending around spring. It more commonly affects women, but a great deal of men can be affected as well.
It’s normal for people to be a bit down during the winter months because of a decrease in sunlight and the cold temperatures that keep us seeking warmth at home, but if you feel any of the following symptoms for extended periods of time or can’t find the motivation or energy to do the daily tasks or engage in hobbies you enjoy it may be time to see your doctor.
Common symptoms of SAD are:
- Irritability
- Fatigue or low energy
- Changes in sleep patterns — typically sleeping more than usual
- Changes in appetite — typically more hungry or experiencing cravings for comfort food such as complex carbs and sweets
- Weight gain
- Decreased libido
Ways to Fight Depression After the Holidays
Whether it’s SAD or you’re experiencing a depressive episode, there are ways to combat the negative feelings and physical effects of depression. It may take one or more methods of treatment before you find yourself feeling healthy and happy again, but it’s important to find activities and coping methods that work for you.
Ways to Fight Depression After the Holidays
Atmosphere
It may seem trivial in the grand scheme of things, but I find that creating the right atmosphere helps. The months following the holidays and going into early spring are known for being drab and cold so I find having warm-toned lights in your favorite room of the house can help to create a nicer, more inviting atmosphere.
If you love your Christmas lights and aren’t ready to take them down just yet, then don’t! Find a way to make your space as uplifting as you can. This may encourage you to work at daily tasks or projects inside the house.
Light Therapy Boxes
Light therapy boxes are aimed more towards those who suffer from SAD but can work for anyone experiencing feelings of depression — especially in the darker winter months. A light box mimics natural, outdoor light and can help your body regulate the chemicals that could be affecting your depression:
Melatonin: a hormone within the body that plays a large role in sleep patterns and your biological clock – also known as circadian rhythm.
Serotonin: a brain chemical that affects mood.
By using a light therapy box for a minimum of 30 minutes a day, your body will be exposed to enough extra light to increase the above mentioned chemicals to promote mood stabilization. When purchasing a light therapy box, be sure to find one that’s intended for use by those with depression or SAD.
Exercise
Often times when you’re depressed you feel less motivated or fatigued, which could lead to an extended amount of time in bed or on the couch. The best way to improve your energy levels and break the habit is to force yourself to exercise.
Even if it’s just 15 minutes of movement several times a day, it will boost your endorphins and serotonin levels which will help to stabilize your mood.
Exercise doesn’t have to be weight lifting or going for a run if that’s not going to keep you motivated. Find a movement activity you enjoy so you’re more likely to do it often.
I find yoga helps because it can be relaxing as well as challenging depending on the style. Swimming, dancing, Pilates, and even going for a walk are great ways to get out of the house and continue to be active.
Healthy Diet
As previously mentioned, one of the symptoms of depression as well as SAD is a change in appetite or cravings for carb-heavy foods. Consuming high levels of sugars and complex carbs can negatively affect your blood sugar, which will in turn affect your mood.
Ways to Fight Depression After the Holidays
The best way to beat this symptom is by maintaining a healthy diet full of whole foods such as fruits, vegetables, nuts and grains. This will help to fuel your body with the nutrients and energy that it needs. There are some delicious and healthy modifications too so you can feel like you’re indulging without straying too far from the path.
Medication and Therapy
If you feel your usual methods of coping or the previously suggested methods won’t be enough, talk to your doctor about possibly getting set up with medication or a therapist. There are many types of antidepressants available so it may take some time to find one that works and get adjusted to it — it’s not a quick fix but could provide a great deal of support long term.
If you’re not interested in medication, haven’t found one that helps, or are looking for something in addition to other depression treatments, therapy has many benefits. Similar to medication, there are a few different types of therapy available.
Some types of therapy include:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has proven to be very effective for the treatment of depression and its symptoms. CBT focuses on the negative thoughts and feelings and works toward retraining your brains way of thinking. With the help of a CBT therapist you can find ways of recognizing negative thought patterns and replace them with a healthier way of thinking.
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy is likely what you immediately think of when someone mentions therapy. It’s a series of one on one sessions with a trained therapist who will help you to identify and breakdown the causes of your depression so that you may learn to overcome them. You’ll learn ways of coping and problem solving techniques so that you can regain a positive mentality.
Group Therapy
Group therapy may often get lumped in with psychotherapy, but it’s a bit different for the obvious reason that instead of being one-on-one with your chosen therapist you would be in a supportive group environment. One of the benefits of this type of therapy is you get to meet like-minded people who are experiencing similar emotions as you. It’s a great way to possibly make new friends, learn from others’ experiences, and gain some outside perspective.
With any form of treatment or therapy it’s important to find a method that works for you. This may require some trial and error that can be frustrating but sooner or later you’ll find something that you enjoy.
So the hype and buzz of the holiday season are over, and you feel yourself dreading the months to come or start to recognize some depressive habits. There are ways of keeping active, positive and healthy in the months to come.
For many people, multiple forms of treatment are needed to regain their motivation and stabilize their mood. It can be frustrating searching for the right method but you’re on the right track if you find something that enjoy and feel that you can be consistent with. | https://depression.newlifeoutlook.com/post-holiday-depression/?all=1 |
The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, in partnership with a tribal Early Head Start and behavioral health program, is implementing a study to assess the relationship between major environmental stressors and hair cortisol for American Indian children and their caregivers, as well as the role of parent-child relationships in buffering children from the effects of these stressors on development. The aims of the project are to: (1) examine the nature, extent and developmental course of environmental stressors among American Indian children between the ages of 10 and 36 months; (2) assess hair cortisol as a marker of toxic stress; and (3) adapt two promising interventions for strengthening the parent-child relationship for mobile (e.g. text messaging, social media) delivery and piloting. The study has been approved by the tribal Institutional Review Board; it also employs a Community Advisory Board consisting of Early Head Start parents, teachers, and staff, as well as representatives from other tribal community programs serving young children and families. The study will yield information about stress and its effects among American Indian children and their caregivers, establish a mobile (mHealth) parenting intervention that increases the reach of critical parenting interventions within this tribal context, and inform efforts for serving broader populations of tribal children and families.
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- g. the gap in wages between premier league players and division 2 players has widened over the last 2 decades, as the premiership’s revenue has increased greatly.
Wage Differentials Between Particular Groups
Skilled and Unskilled Workers:
- Skilled workers are paid more than unskilled workers, as demand for skilled workers is higher, and their supply is less
- MRP for skilled workers is high, as the skills possessed will often lead to higher output per worker
- It is more difficult to substituted skilled labour with capital and unemployed workers than it is for unskilled
- Skilled workers have a high level of human capital
- Human capital is the skills, knowledge and experience that workers possess
Male and Female Workers:
- Men are paid more than women, despite equal pay legislation
- This could be due to women working more part-time than men
- When hourly pay-rates are examined, men still earn more; but this gap is narrowing
- On average, the MRP of women is lower than that of men
- One reason was because in the past, men were better educated than women. However, that is not the case anymore, with more women than men studying at university.
- This could be due to the fact that women are disproportionately concentrated in low-paid occupations, like car work, or cleaning
- Also, some women lose out on promotions, due to leaving the labour market for things like raising children
- Discrimination does still occur to some extent, with some employers undervaluing the services of female workers.
Part-time and Full-time Workers:
- Part-time workers on average receive lower hourly earnings than full-time
- One reason for this could be due to the supply of people wanting to work part-time is high relative to demand, as part-time work is convenient for students, and people bringing up children.
- The productivity of part-time workers tends to be lower, as they’re less likely to receive training
- A smaller proportion of part-time workers belong to trade unions, and a higher proportion are women.
Ethnic Minorities: | http://astareconomics.com/ocr/wage-differentials/ |
HRH The Prince of Wales and WaterAid to host major Water and Climate Summit
HRH The Prince of Wales and WaterAid will host a major water and climate summit in London this spring. HRH, who is WaterAid’s President, will join leaders from government, business and multilateral institutions to debate and drive action on the urgent and overlooked issue of how the climate crisis is affecting the water that people need to survive in a warming world.
The Water and Climate summit will form part of HRH’s year of action on people and planet that was announced as part of his keynote address at Davos.
Having clean water close to home is one of the first lines of defence against climate change. However, 2 billion people currently lack access to a reliable source of clean water and their lives are already being pushed to the brink.
The day-long summit will be the first of its kind, and will see key figures from politics, business, media and civil society coming together to agree how to address the impact of the climate crisis on access to water, sanitation and hygiene. A key focus of the summit will be establishing clean water and sanitation as the top priority for COP 26’s adaptation discussions, which takes place in Glasgow this November.
No other impact of climate change will be as immediate or widespread as the impact it has on water. Climate change increases the unpredictability of weather patterns and extreme weather events: how much, how often, and how intensively it rains, and the frequency and severity of extreme events. Floods disrupt sanitation services leading to diseases, longer droughts mean women have to walk even further to collect water, and rising seas pollute water supplies making it too salty to drink.
A recent report published from the Global Commission on Adaptation predicted that the number of people who lack sufficient water at least one month per year will soar from 3.6bn today to more than 5bn by 2050 - that’s over half of the predicted population by this date.
Tim Wainwright, WaterAid’s CEO, said: “For the millions of people who lack access to clean water, the climate crisis is today’s reality, not an abstract future. There’s no better investment than getting a reliable water supply and decent toilets to everyone, but currently this is a long way down the list of priorities for governments and climate funders. We’re bringing together the people who have the power to change this to work on urgent and decisive actions to protect people from the impacts of the climate crisis.”
The water and climate summit will take place on 10 March 2020 in central London. Journalists interested in attending should email Emily Pritchard [email protected] for further details.
For more information, please contact:
Emily Pritchard, Global News Manager, [email protected] ;
+44 (0)207 793 2244 or Fiona Callister, Global Head of Media, [email protected]
Or call our after-hours press line on +44 (0)7887 521 552 or email [email protected]
WaterAid
WaterAid is working to make clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene normal for everyone, everywhere within a generation. The international not-for-profit organisation works in 28 countries to change the lives of the poorest and most marginalised people. Since 1981, WaterAid has reached 26.4 million people with clean water and 26.3 million people with decent toilets. For more information, visit www.wateraid.org/uk, follow @WaterAid or @WaterAidPress on Twitter, or find WaterAid UK on Facebook at www.facebook.com/wateraid. | https://www.wateraid.org/uk/media/hrh-the-prince-of-wales-and-wateraid-to-host-major-water-and-climate-summit |
The European Court of Justice has recently considered two cases involving employers who dismissed Muslim employees for refusing to remove their headscarves in the workplace. So what do you need to know and how can you ensure your policies are fair?
In Bougnaoui v Micropole, Ms Bougnaoui was employed in a customer facing role in a French company. After a client complained that Ms Bougnaoui had worn her headscarf during a visit, her employer requested that she refrained from doing so. Ms Bougnaoui refused and was subsequently dismissed.
Direct discrimination occurs where someone is treated less favourably on the grounds of a protected characteristic, such as religion or belief. It includes less favourable treatment arising from the manifestation of religious belief (in this case, wearing a headscarf).
Direct discrimination can only be justified if there is a "genuine and determining" occupational requirement.
The ECJ noted that this rarely applies and does so only when it is objectively dictated by the nature of the activities in question.
For example, a women's refuge could refuse to employ a man on the basis that being female is a requirement arising from the nature of the work.
This could not be said of Ms Bougnaoui. Her work could be done by a woman manifesting her Islamic faith, albeit the client preferred that it wasn't. The removal of her headscarf therefore could not be justified as an occupational requirement.
But it won't always be direct discrimination!
In a judgment published the same day, the ECJ found that a Belgian company, G4S, had not directly discriminated against a Muslim employee by dismissing her when she refused to stop wearing her headscarf to work.
G4S had an established dress code prohibiting employees from wearing anything that reflected their political, philosophical or religious beliefs. As such, there was no direct discrimination or less favourable treatment. The dress code applied equally to all employees.
Indirect discrimination occurs where a provision, criterion or practice is applied to all employees but places people of a particular protected group at a disadvantage.
Indirect discrimination can be justified where the employer has a legitimate aim and the means taken to achieve that aim are appropriate and necessary.
However, the dress code would only be necessary to achieving that aim if it applied solely to those in customer facing roles.
The ECJ suggested that G4S should have considered moving the employee to a non-customer facing role before considering dismissal.
So is a prohibition on headscarves permissible, if the employer has a dress code prohibiting any physical manifestations of belief?
Not necessarily. These cases originated in Belgium and France.
Both of these jurisdictions have a history of secularism (i.e. separation of state and religious institutions), but the same cannot be said of the UK.
A case involving a UK employer or in UK courts might not find that presenting a neutral image to customers is actually a legitimate aim.
The ECJ's decision in the G4S case sits at odds with its ruling on Eweida v British Airways, where a Christian claimant was prohibited from wearing a cross.
In Eweida, the ECJ considered that BA's desire to project a particular corporate image was a legitimate aim, but one that had to be balanced against the societal importance of pluralism, diversity and the individual importance of being able to manifest one's faith.
there was a lack of evidence that other employees wearing clothing manifesting their religious beliefs adversely affected BA's corporate image.
Employers relying on 'corporate image' as their legitimate aim may only apply their dress code to those in customer facing roles, and should consider moving those wishing to manifest their faith to non-customer facing roles.
Even then, such a dress code policy would carry the risk of discrimination claims, as well as having the potential to impact employee satisfaction and morale.
For more information regarding implementing a dress code at work, please speak to a member of our team. | https://www.tltsolicitors.com/insights-and-events/insight/dress-codes-and-religious-belief---what-employers-need-to-know/ |
Resolution Reaffirms Women’s Fundamental Right to Reproductive Health Care
Legislation Assemblyman Andrew Zwicker, Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto and Assemblywomen Valerie Vainieri Huttle, Pamela Lampitt and Elizabeth Muoio sponsored to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Planned Parenthood’s founding gained approval Thursday in the General Assembly.
Since its founding in Brooklyn, New York in 1916, Planned Parenthood has grown to more than 600 health care centers across the country. The organization, founded upon the notion that women should have the information and health care needed to live strong, healthy lives, provides high-quality, affordable reproductive and preventative health care services to women regardless of their marital or economic status, race, ethnicity or sexual orientation and acts as a safety net for the medically underserved.
Sponsors of the resolution (AR-182) noted the importance of honoring an organization that provides care for one in five women in the United States, particularly in the face of threats to defund Planned Parenthood and limit access to vital health care services.
“We will not rest until access to health care is a reality for all people,” said Zwicker (D-Hunterdon/Mercer/Middlesex/Somerset). “We must build equity into a health care system that has left many communities behind. In the world we want, all people have full control of their own bodies and can determine their own destinies. Planned Parenthood is determined to fight for this vision, now and always.”
“Planned Parenthood is essential to our communities,” said Speaker Prieto (Bergen/Hudson). “In New Jersey, thousands of people are served by Planned Parenthood every year, which makes clear how vital these services are to the health and well-being of all New Jerseyans.”
“The dogmatic ideological attacks on Planned Parenthood are really attacks on the health and wellness of economically disadvantaged women who rely on this organization for life-saving care,” said Vainieri Huttle (D-Bergen), chair of the Assembly Human Services Committee. “Honoring Planned Parenthood is about commemorating its century of service, but more importantly, it’s about standing with women everywhere.”
“For 100 years, access to family planning and other reproductive health care services has improved and transformed the lives of women, men and young people in the United States and around the world, and that’s largely because of Planned Parenthood,” Lampitt (D-Camden/Burlington), chair of the Assembly Women and Children Committee. “This organization has played a major role in empowering women, and we have a responsibility to ensure that it continues doing so for years to come.”
“Planned Parenthood provides care regardless of a person’s gender, sexual orientation or socio-economic background. That’s how the provision of health care should be,” said Muoio (D-Mercer/Hunterdon). “This organization is dedicated to a healthy New Jersey, and so it is in our best interest as a state to commemorate it and commit to ensuring its longevity.”
New Jersey Planned Parenthood health centers conducted 98,000 tests and treatments for sexually transmitted infections, including HIV tests, and 30,000 pap smears and breast cancer screenings in 2015. Each year, the centers offer education and outreach programs providing sexuality and family planning education to more than 37,000 women, men and young people throughout the state.
The Assembly passed the measure 48-18-4. | https://www.assemblydems.com/zwicker-prieto-vainieri-huttle-lampitt-muoio-measure-to-commemorate-th-anniversary-of-planned-parenthood-clears-general-assembly/ |
A funerary garden dating back nearly 4,000 years has been unearthed in Luxor, on the west bank of the Nile river. This is where the ancient Egyptian city of Thebes would have stood and may shed light both on the funerary rites and gardening practices of its inhabitants.
The credit for this discovery goes to the Spanish archaeological mission working at the Draa Abul Naga necropolis. Led by Dr Jose Galan, from the Spanish National Research Council in Madrid, the team has been working at the site for the past sixteen years.
It was standing next to the entrance to one of the tombs and appears to be quite small, measuring three metres by two metres. Divided in smaller squares, it would have contained a variety of plants. Two elevated spots for a small tree or a bush were also identified in the middle of the garden.
However, the archaeologists' most impressive discovery was perhaps that of the root and the trunk of a small 4,000 years old tree – which helped them date the garden. They also found a bowl containing dates and other fruits which may have been a funerary offering (though it is not clear when it would have been left in the garden).
View photos
Ancient Egypt
The archaeologists had previously noted representations of small gardens painted on the walls of some of New Kingdom tombs. Thus, the discovery that such a garden would have existed in ancient Thebes provides evidence of an aspect of ancient Egyptian rites and religion that had previously only been known through iconography.
The Spanish mission also discovered a small mud-brick chapel in the vicinity of the garden, which harboured three stelae from the 13th Dynasty (c.1800 BCE). One of these stelae mentioned the names of four Egyptian gods – Montu, Ptah, Sokar and Osiris.
"These discoveries underscore the relevance of the central area of Dra Abu el Naga as a sacred place for the performance of a variety of cultic activities during the Middle Kingdom," Galan concluded. | |
Anti-Malware , Audit , Awareness & TrainingToday's Threat Landscape: Reduce Risk & Prevent Data Breaches
In 2016, organizations experienced the greatest number of data breaches. A checkbox approach to security does little to help ensure protected data remains secure. Organizations must create a practical action plan to accomplish many goals, such as ensuring endpoints are secure, minimizing the risk of breaches, and reducing stakeholder liability. In this session, Christopher Strand, Sr. Director, Compliance and Governance Programs, Carbon Black, will describe in detail how organizations can build an effective measurement of security controls to construct a realistic cybersecurity scorecard representing their true security posture - as well as their regulatory compliance.
Learn the following by attending this webinar:
- IT security & audit measurement;
- Cybersecurity risk measure common recipe, citing industry examples;
- Recommended measures to focus on critical security controls. | http://www.bankinfosecurity.com/webinars/todays-threat-landscape-reduce-risk-prevent-data-breaches-w-1177 |
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James McCrae, Michael Glueck, Tovi Grossman, Azam Khan, Karan Singh
ACM International Working Conference on Advanced Visual Interfaces
2010
Exploring the Design Space of Multiscale 3D Orientation (4:25 min.)
Video title (x:xx min.)
Recently, research in 3D computer graphics and interaction has started to move beyond the narrow domain of single object authoring and inspection, and has begun to consider complex multiscale objects and environments. This generalization of problem scope calls for more general solutions, which are more akin to information visualization techniques than traditional computer graphics approaches.We consider the general problem of the users understanding of their position and orientation within a multiscale 3D scene and propose a classification of the design space. To ground this theoretical discussion, we present initial explorations into grouping techniques, visualizations, and interactions to facilitate multiscale 3D orientation.
While advances in computing have empowered users to design and interact with objects in virtual three-dimensional space, little effort has been made to improve or facilitate interaction with the viewpoint. Once we begin to consider this problem, we find that it effectively spans a huge problem domain with many special cases. It touches on many of the fundamental difficulties in 3D interaction: being inside an object vs. being outside, how close is the viewpoint to the object, what is the user looking at and/or is interested in, egocentric vs. exocentric thinking, parallel vs. perspective viewing projections, multiscale and level-of-detail issues, what kind of data is being examined (abstract, incomplete, photoreal, engineering, CAD, entertainment, medical, simulation, etc.), and what is the user task (authoring, inspecting, etc.). Additional technical issues include correct handling of the clipping planes and floating-point precision problems. To help understand and address some of these issues, we have an ongoing research program to improve the state-of-the-art in 3D navigation.
Designing user interfaces for interacting with 3D data involves a number of factors that are not found in traditional 2D interfaces. In this project, we explore subtle yet critical aspects of 3D control and feedback. A number of research outcomes have been integrated into several Autodesk products and we continue to explore this complex area.
This project investigates the properties and qualities of multiscale datasets in an effort to gain critical insights needed, in user experience and understanding, to make progress in increasingly complex contexts. | https://www.autodesk.com/research/publications/exploring-the-design-space |
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
TECHNICAL FIELD
BACKGROUND
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
This application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/164,169, filed Mar. 27, 2009, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates generally to biomolecule sequencing. More particularly, in certain embodiments, the invention relates to methods of biomolecule sequencing involving creating binding signature clusters for the biomolecule, and selecting potential successor binding signature from other binding signature clusters.
Identifying the composition and sequence of various biomolecules, such as human DNA, with accuracy and specificity is of great interest. Sequencing technology, however, is time consuming and expensive to develop and implement. For example, sequencing the DNA of a single individual for the Human Genome Project required over $3 billion of funding.
It is estimated that each person's DNA varies from one another by approximately 1 base in 1000. Knowledge of such genetic variations among human populations may allow the scientific community to identify genetic trends that are related to various medical predispositions, conditions, or diseases, and may lead to the realization of truly personalized medicine where treatments are customized for a given individual based on that individual's DNA. A reduction in the time and cost of DNA sequencing is needed to develop such knowledge and to tailor medical diagnostics and treatments based on the genetic makeup of individual patients.
Hybridization Assisted Nanopore Sequencing (HANS) is a nanopore-based method for sequencing genomic lengths of DNA and other biomolecules. The method relies on detecting the position of hybridization of probes on specific portions of the biomolecule to be sequenced or characterized.
In this method, two reservoirs of solution are separated by a nanometer-sized hole, or nanopore, that serves as a fluidic constriction of known dimensions. The application of a constant DC voltage between the two reservoirs results in a baseline ionic current that is measured. If an analyte is introduced into a reservoir, it may pass through the fluidic channel and change the observed current, due to a difference in conductivity between the electrolyte solution and analyte. The magnitude of the change in current depends on the volume of electrolyte displaced by the analyte while it is in the fluidic channel. The duration of the current change is related to the amount of time that the analyte takes to pass through the nanopore constriction. The current signals are used in determining the position of the probes on the biomolecule by use of computer algorithms. Aligning the probe positions allows for sequencing the biomolecule. Efficient algorithms are needed for sequencing.
In a first aspect, embodiments of the invention include a method for sequencing a biomolecule, such as a single or double-stranded DNA molecule, RNA molecule or other similar biomolecules. The method includes the steps of creating a biomolecule fragment from the biomolecule and binding probes to the biomolecule fragment. The sites at which the probe bound to the fragment are identified. Binding signatures are created, where each binding signature represents a series of distances between binding sites within the fragment. The binding signatures are grouped into clusters based, for example, on measured distances (e.g., the number of base pairs) between the binding sites in each binding signature and/or a degree of match between the binding sites attributed to the binding signatures. For each binding signature in a selected cluster, a potential successor binding signature is identified from other signature clusters. The process is repeated the successor signature represents a terminal signature, resulting in a sequence of signatures representing at least a portion of the biomolecule.
In some embodiments, the method also includes measuring the distances between the binding sites within the fragment by, in one example, measuring electrical signals emitted by the fragment as the fragment passes through a nanopore. The measurement may also include assigning an error to each measured distance between binding sites. The signatures may be collected and ordered based on one or more characteristics of the signatures, such as the total length of the signatures. The probes may include 6-mer probes, 7-mer probes, 8-mer probes and 9-mer probes.
In another aspect, embodiments of the invention include a system for sequencing a biomolecule. The system includes an identifying module that identifies a plurality of binding sites along a fragment of the biomolecule at which probes are bound thereto, and a signature-creating module that creates a collection of binding signatures for the fragment. Each binding signature represents a series of distances between binding sites within the fragment. The system also includes a grouping module that groups the binding signatures into signature clusters based, for example, on distances between the binding sites in each binding signature and a selecting module that selects, for each binding signature in a first cluster, a potential successor binding signature from other signature clusters. A sequencing module identifies one of the potential successor binding signatures as a successor binding signature, and determines the sequence of at least a portion of the biomolecule based at least in part on a series of identified successor binding signatures.
In another aspect, embodiments of the invention include an article of manufacture having a computer-readable medium with computer-readable instructions embodied thereon for performing the methods and implementing the systems described in the preceding paragraphs. In particular, the functionality of a method of the present invention may be embedded on a computer-readable medium, such as, but not limited to, a floppy disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magnetic tape, a PROM, an EPROM, CD-ROM, or DVD-ROM or downloaded from a server. The functionality of the techniques may be embedded on the computer-readable medium in any number of computer-readable instructions, or languages such as, for example, FORTRAN, PASCAL, C, C++, Java, C#, Tcl, BASIC and assembly language. Further, the computer-readable instructions may, for example, be written in a script, macro, or functionally embedded in commercially available software (such as, e.g., EXCEL or VISUAL BASIC).
In yet another aspect, embodiments of the invention include an apparatus for sequencing a biomolecule. The apparatus includes a memory for storing code that defines a set of instructions, and a processor for executing the set of instructions to perform the following steps. A plurality of binding sites along a fragment of the biomolecule at which a plurality of uniform probes are bound are identified. A collection of binding signatures for the fragment is created, each binding signature representing a series of distances between binding sites within the fragment. The binding signatures are grouped into a plurality of signature clusters based at least in part on distances between the binding sites in each binding signature. For each binding signature in a first cluster, a potential successor binding signature from signature clusters other than the first signature cluster is selected. One of the potential successor binding signatures as a successor binding signature is identified. The sequence of at least a portion of the biomolecule is determined based at least in part on a series of identified successor binding signatures.
As used in this description and the accompanying claims, the following terms shall have the meanings given, unless the context indicates otherwise:
A “target” means a biomolecule, for example, having sequence information that is to be determined using embodiments of the present invention. The target may be a biomolecule such as deoxyribonucleic acid, a ribonucleic acid, proteins, or polypeptides. The target may be single- or double-stranded.
A “probe” means any molecule or assembly of molecules capable of sequence-specific covalent or non-covalent binding to a target molecule.
A “tag” means a moiety that is attached to a probe in order to make the probe more visible to a detector. These tags may be proteins, double-stranded DNA, single-stranded DNA or other molecules. Another useful tag may be a dendrimer. Tags have either a larger volume than the probe or a different charge so that they slow translocation of the biomolecule through the nanopore.
In connection with a target bound to one or more probes, a “ternary complex” means a complex formed from three or more biomolecules. For example, a complex of two complementary strands of DNA (i.e., double-stranded DNA or dsDNA) with a third probe strand is a ternary complex. Higher order complexes also include ternary complexes; for example, a complex of double-stranded target DNA with two probe molecules bound to the same stretch of sequence, with two probe molecules bound to each other and in turn to a stretch of sequence, with two identical probe molecules bound to different subsequences, or with a probe molecule and a protein bound to a stretch of sequence are quaternary complexes that also include a ternary complex.
A “local ternary complex” means a ternary complex that is localized to a particular stretch of biopolymer. For example, multiple local ternary complexes may exist when probe molecules bind to a target molecule in multiple locations separated by stretches of bases to which the probe is not bound (i.e., uncomplexed regions).
A “polyamide” refers to the class of DNA binding polyamides originally developed by the Dervan laboratory at the California Institute of Technology. Polyamides are molecules containing heterocycle ring structures that can be combined in a modular fashion to recognize DNA sequences by binding in the minor groove of duplex DNA. Typical heterocycle ring structures in this class include, but are not limited to, N-methylimidazole, N-methylpyrrole, 3-hydroxy-N-methylpyrrole, N-methylpyrazole, 3-methylthiophene, benzimidazole, hydroxybenzimidazole, and imidazopyridine. The rings may be connected via carboxamide linkages, by the amino acid β-alanine, or directly joined by single bonds. Other ring structures and linkages can be envisaged by practitioners familiar with the art.
The polyamides may include spacers that are not sequence specific and that allow the curvature of the polyamide to stay in register with the curvature of double-stranded DNA (“gapped polyamides”). The spacer may be used as a gap when the polyamide is used as a probe for sequence determination. Gapped probes are more efficient at reconstructing sequence information than a non-gapped probe.
In connection with a target and a probe, a “probe map” means a data set containing information related to the sites along a target sequence at which a probe preferentially binds. The data set may include absolute positional information referenced to a known sequence, relative information related to distances between binding sites, or both. The data set may be stored in computer media.
A “spectrum map” means a collection of probe maps determined for a target sequence.
A “probe recognition site” refers to a target sequence, structure, or conformation that is preferentially recognized by the probe in the presence of other target sequences, structures, or conformations. The probe may interact with the recognition site through non-covalent, covalent, or mixtures of covalent and non-covalent interactions.
In connection with a probe map or a spectrum map, “dynamically weighted spectrum” means the collection of probes under consideration for the extension of a growing sequence with weights as to the likelihood that they should be chosen next. These weights may be based on a parameter related to the measured positions of the probes. The dynamically weighted spectrum may or may not include sequence information. For example, in the case of six-mers, if the growing sequence ends in ATACG, the dynamically weighted spectrum may include only the probes ATACGA, ATACGC, ATACGG, and ATACGT with weights based on their (relative) positions. Alternatively, the dynamically weighted spectrum may be thought of as a collection of probes, independent of sequence, whose probability of being next in the sequence is based on their measured distances from the current growing end of the strand. (In this case, sequence-specific information may be incorporated subsequently.)
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In one embodiment, the process of sequencing a biomolecule such as DNA using one or more probes may performed as follows. Referring to , a DNA molecule is schematically depicted and is structured in two strands , positioned in anti-parallel relation to one another. Each of the two opposing strands , may be sequentially formed from repeating groups of nucleotides where each nucleotide consists of a phosphate group, 2-deoxyribose sugar and one of four nitrogen-containing bases. The nitrogen-containing bases include cytosine (C), adenine (A), guanine (G) and thymine (T). DNA strands are read in a particular direction, from the top (called the 5′ or “five prime” end) to the bottom (called the 3′ or “three prime” end). Similarly, RNA molecules , as schematically depicted in , are polynucleotide chains, which differ from those of DNA by having ribose sugar instead of deoxyribose and uracil bases (U) instead of thymine bases (T).
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Traditionally, in determining the particular arrangement of the bases and thereby the sequences of the molecules, a process called hybridization may be utilized. The hybridization process is the coming together, or binding, of two genetic sequences with one another. This process is predictable because the bases in the molecules do not share an equal affinity for one another. T (or U) bases favor binding with A bases while C bases favor binding with G bases. Binding is mediated via hydrogen bonds that exist between the opposing base pairs. For example, A binds to T (or U) base using two hydrogen bonds, while C binds to G using three hydrogen bonds.
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A hybridizing oligonucleotide, i.e., a probe may be used to determine and identify the sequence of bases in the molecule of interest. illustrates a probe that is a short DNA sequence having a known composition. Probes may be of any length depending on the number of bases that they include. For example, a probe that includes six bases is referred to as a six-mer wherein each of the six bases in the probe may be any one of the known four natural base types A, T(U), C or G and alternately may include non-natural bases.
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In this regard, the total number of unique probes in a library is dependent upon the number of bases contained within each probe and the number of different types of bases in the probes. If only the four natural bases are used in probe , the total number of probes in the library is determined by the formula 4(four raised to the n power) where n is equal to the total number of bases in each probe . Formulas for other arrangements or types of bases are well known in the art. Accordingly, the size of the probe library can be expressed as 4n-mer probes . For the purpose of illustration, in the context of a six-mer probe, the total number of possible unique, identifiable probe combinations includes 4(four raised to the sixth power) or 4096 unique six-mer probes . The inclusion of non-natural bases allows for the creation of probes that have spaces or wildcards therein in a manner that expands the versatility of the library, while reducing the number of probes that may be needed to reach the final sequence result. Probes that include universal bases organized into patterns with natural bases may also be used, for example those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,071,324, 7,034,143, and 6,689,563, incorporated in their entireties by reference herein.
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The process of hybridization using probes , as depicted in , may begin by denaturing the biomolecule strand. Denaturing is accomplished usually through the application of heat or chemicals, such that the hydrogen bonds between adjacent portions of the biomolecule are broken. For example, the hydrogen bonds between the two halves of the original double-stranded DNA may be broken, leaving two single strands of DNA whose bases are now available for hydrogen bonding. After the biomolecule has been denatured, a single-stranded probe may be introduced to the biomolecule to locate portions of the biomolecule that have a base sequence that correlates to the sequence that is found in the probe . In order to hybridize the biomolecule with the probe , the denatured biomolecule and a plurality of the probes having a known sequence are both introduced into a solution. The solution may be an ionic solution, such as a salt-containing solution. The mixture may be agitated to facilitate binding of the probes to the biomolecule strand along portions thereof that have a matched complementary sequence. Hybridization of the biomolecule using the probe may be accomplished before the biomolecule is introduced into a nanopore sequencing apparatus or after the denatured biomolecule has been placed into the cis chamber of the apparatus described below. In this case, after the denatured biomolecule has been added to the cis chamber, buffer solution containing probes with a known sequence is also added to the cis chamber and allowed to hybridize with the biomolecule before the hybridized biomolecule is translocated.
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Once the biomolecule strand and probes have been hybridized, the strand is introduced to one of the chambers of a nanopore sequencing arrangement . While the hybridization may be accomplished before placing the biomolecule strand into the chamber, it is also possible for the hybridization to be carried out in one of these chambers as well.
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An embodiment of a nanopore sequencing arrangement is graphically depicted in . For the purpose of illustration, relatively short biomolecule strands with only two probes are depicted. Long stranded biomolecule may be translocated through the nanopore to determine the location of the probes attached thereto. The sequencing arrangement includes a nanopore formed in a thin wall or membrane . For example, the nanopore may be formed in a solid-state material. Further, the nanopore may have a diameter that allows the passage of double-stranded DNA and is between approximately 1 nm and 100 nm, such as between 2.3 nm and 100 nm, such as between 2.3 nm and 50 nm, e.g., 30 nm. Translocation of RecA coated DNA through a nanopore may be accomplished with pores that have diameters larger than 8 nm. The nanopore is positioned between two fluid chambers, a cis chamber and a trans chamber , each of which is filled with a fluid. The cis chamber and the trans chamber are in fluid communication with one another via the nanopore located in the membrane . A voltage is applied across the nanopore . This potential difference between the chambers , on opposing sides of the nanopore results in a measurable ionic current flow across the nanopore . In one embodiment, an electrode may be installed into each of the cis and trans chambers to apply an electrical potential and measure the flow of ion current across the nanopore . In an embodiment, the electrode in the cis chamber is a cathode, and the electrode in the trans chamber is an anode.
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The hybridized biomolecule strand with the probes attached thereto is then introduced into the cis chamber in which the cathode is located. The biomolecule is then driven or translocated through the nanopore as a result of the applied voltage. As the molecule passes through the nanopore , the monitored current varies by a detectable and measurable amount. The electrodes detect and record this variation in current as a function of time. As shown in , these variations in current are the result of the relative diameter of the molecule that is passing through the nanopore at any given time. For example, the portions of the biomolecule that have probes bound thereto are twice the diameter as compared to the portions of the biomolecule that have not been hybridized and therefore lack probes . This relative increase in volume of the biomolecule passing through the nanopore causes a temporary interruption or decrease in the current flow therethrough, resulting in a measurable current variation as is depicted in the waveform at the bottom of the figure. As the portions of the biomolecule that include probes pass through the nanopore , the current is partially interrupted forming a relative trough in the recorded current during passage of the bound portion . Similarly, as the unhybridized portions of the biomolecule pass, the current remains relatively high forming a peak in the measured current. The electrodes installed in the cis and trans chambers detect and reflect these variations in the monitored current. Further, the measurements of the current variations are measured and recorded as a function of time. As a result, the periodic interruptions or variations in current indicate where, as a function of relative or absolute position, the known probe sequence has attached to the biomolecule .
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The measurements obtained and recorded, as well as the time scale, may be input into a computer algorithm that maps the binding locations of the known probe sequences along the length of the biomolecule . Once the probe locations are known, since the probe length and composition is known, the sequence of the biomolecule along the portions to which the probes were attached can be determined. This process can then be repeated using a different known probe . Further, the process can be repeated until every probe within the library of n-mer probes has been hybridized with the biomolecule strand of interest. It can be seen in that by repeating the process with different known probes ′, ″ and 12″′, the gaps in the portions of the biomolecule are gradually filled in with each subsequent hybridization and sequencing step until eventually the entire sequence of the biomolecule of interest is known.
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Each subsequent hybridization and sequencing of the biomolecule may be accomplished in a variety of ways. For example, a plurality of nanopore assemblies, each sequencing copies of the same biomolecule of interest using different known probes, may be utilized simultaneously in a parallel fashion. Similarly, the same biomolecule may be repetitively hybridized and sequenced by passing it through a series of interconnected chambers. Finally, any combination of the above two processes may also be employed.
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Detection of variations in electrical potential between the cis and trans chambers as the hybridized biomolecule of interest passes through the nanopore may be accomplished in many different ways. For example, the variation in current flow as described above may be measured and recorded. Optionally, the change in capacitance as measured on the nanopore membrane itself may be detected and recorded as the biomolecule passes through the nanopore. Finally, the quantum phenomenon known as electron tunneling may be measured, whereby electrons travel in a perpendicular fashion relative to the path of travel taken by the biomolecule. In essence, as the biomolecule passes through the nanopore , the probe locations bridge the nanopore , thereby allowing electrons to propagate across the nanopore in a measurable event. As the electrons propagate across the nanopore, the event is measured and recorded to determine the relative probe binding locations. The particular method by which the electrical variations are measured is not important, only that fluctuation in electrical properties is measured as they are impacted by the passing of the biomolecule through the nanopore.
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The way in which the electrical potential varies, as a function of time, may depend on whether a single-stranded (un-hybridized) or double-stranded (hybridized) region of the biomolecule is passing through the nanopore and may be complicated. In the simplest scenario, the double-stranded region may suppress the current in comparison to the single-stranded region , which may suppress the current in comparison to when no biomolecule is translocating. However, for small nanopore dimensions or low salt concentrations, the current may be augmented with the translocation of double-stranded portions . In this case, the points of increased current may be used as an indicator of where the probes are positioned along the biomolecule .
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The recorded changes in electrical potential across the nanopore as a factor of time may then processed using a computer and compiled using the sequences of the known probes to reconstruct the entire sequence of the biomolecule strand of interest.
In one embodiment, the biomolecule to be sequenced may be double-stranded DNA. The sequencing method may include forming local ternary complexes along the length of the double-stranded target molecule using one or more probes and obtaining information about the location of the probe(s) using a detector. These methods may be implemented with nanopore (including micropore) detection systems. Double-stranded DNA, in contrast to single stranded DNA, does not have a tendency to fold into secondary structures, may be easier to manipulate prior to the introduction into a nanopore channel, has a consistent transmission speed through nanopore channels, and has a longer persistence length. In addition, higher affinity probe molecules with greater sequence selectivity may be used with double-stranded DNA, than with single-stranded DNA.
Illustrative embodiments described herein relate to detecting and analyzing probe maps to gather sequence information. More particularly, illustrative embodiments described herein relate to creating and detecting specific ternary complexes along double-stranded biopolymer target molecules to gather sequence information. For simplicity, the embodiments described below use DNA as a target, but other biopolymers such as RNA may also be sequenced. In an embodiment, probes that are selective for one or more sequences may be hybridized to a target sequence. The target sequence may be double-stranded DNA and the probes may be chosen for the ability to bind to one or more sites of double-stranded DNA. The binding of the probe may then be detected using a nanopore to generate a probe map in computer media. By detecting probe binding at multiple subsequences along the target, a spectrum map may be constructed. Information contained in the spectrum map may then be aligned an assembled into a finished sequence.
Like Sequence-by-Hybridization (SBH), positional hybridization sequencing relies on the biochemical hybridization of probes to an unknown target. However, once the biochemical hybridization is substantially complete, a detector that determines the position of hybridization may be utilized. In addition to determining the position of hybridization, the detector may be capable of counting the number of times a probe hybridizes to the target. The positional information allows a combinatorial sequence reconstruction algorithm to be used that differs from those used in SBH. In standard SBH, the spectrum of the target sequence from which probes are selected during each step of sequence reconstruction includes all the probes that hybridized and this remains constant during the course of the reconstruction. Thus, every probe in the spectrum can be used at any step during reconstruction. In the case of positional hybridization detection, the spectrum may be a dynamically weighted spectrum. The dynamically weighted spectrum may include all the probes that bound to the target (with different weights). However, in most embodiments, the dynamically weighted spectrum may only include a subset of the spectrum. A consequence of not including all the probes may be that during reconstruction of the sequence, the dynamically weighted spectrum has to change at least once in order to encompass all probes in the spectrum.
Other illustrative embodiments relate to methods and computer algorithms for aggregating, aligning and assembling multiple probe maps into a model nucleotide sequence. In a specific embodiment, a combinatorial sequence reconstruction algorithm may be used to generate spectrum maps for determining sequence information. Due to the complex nature of the calculations and quantity of data generated, the methods described herein may be carried out in a substantially automated manner by an appropriate computer algorithm running on a computer of adequate speed.
In an illustrative embodiment, detection of local ternary complexes may be accomplished by passing double-stranded biopolymer target molecule or fragment thereof through a nanopore and detecting an electrical signal indicative of the locations of the local ternary complexes along the double-stranded biopolymer target molecule. The use of nanopores to detect solution phase DNA hybridization reactions is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,537,755 to Drmanac, and in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20060287833, to Yakhini; both citations are incorporated in their entireties by reference herein.
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shows a flow chart for a method of sequencing a target. For simplicity, this and other embodiments detailed herein use genomic DNA as the target to be sequenced, although other types of molecules, including cDNA, and RNA could be sequenced in this way. A target DNA sequence may be extracted from a source and purified (step ). The starting material may be any of a variety of single or double-stranded nucleic acids, for example, genomic DNA, PCR products, cDNA, RNA-DNA hybrids and the like. The use of double-stranded DNA as a target has several advantages over the use of single stranded DNA. These include a reduction in the amount of secondary structure present in the target strand to be sequenced, a more consistent transmission speed of the DNA through the nanopore, the ability to manipulate single molecules of double-stranded target DNA prior to introduction into the nanopore, a longer persistence length of the DNA, and the use of probe molecules that are of higher affinity and sequence selectivity. While the method may be most powerful with long pieces of DNA to which a probe may bind in multiple subsequence positions, the method may also be applicable to shorter nucleic acids such as viral genomes, plasmids, cosmids, etc. The target DNA may be derived from any of multiple sources and may be the genome of an organism whose DNA sequence is unknown, or is known (resequencing). Alternatively, the DNA may be derived from several organisms. The target DNA may be of a known size or range of sizes; alternatively, the size of the target DNA may be unknown. The purification of step may be the complete purification step or performed in conjunction with later steps. For example, a biochip that includes a nanopore may also accomplish further purification via electrophoretic or other methods. Optionally, the target may be amplified by PCR, rolling circle amplification, or other suitable method.
If chromosomal DNA or other large target DNA polymers are to be sequenced, it may be desirable to fragment the DNA. Target DNA may be fragmented by any of a number of commonly used methods including hydrodynamic shearing, sonication, ultrasonic fragmentation, enzymatic cleavage, nebulization, chemical cleavage, and heat induced fragmentation. Hydrodynamic shearing may be favorable if large nucleic acid fragments are desired. A commercially available device, HydroShear (Genomic Solutions, Ann Arbor, Mich., USA), is available that will shear DNA to a tight size distribution. To use this device, double-stranded DNA in solution is passed through a tube with an abrupt constriction. Fluid accelerates to maintain the volumetric flow rate through the smaller area of the constriction. During this acceleration, drag forces stretch the DNA until it snaps. The DNA fragments until the pieces are too short for the shearing forces to break the chemical bonds. The flow rate of the fluid and the size of the constriction determine the final DNA fragment sizes. In one configuration of the device, size ranges of sheared DNA of from 650 base pairs to 40,000 base pairs are achievable. In a second configuration of the device, size ranges of 1,000 base pairs to 9,000 base pairs are achievable.
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The target DNA may then be aliquoted (step ) and combined with probe molecules (step ). For example, a first aliquot may be combined with a solution containing molecules of probe specific for a first target subsequence (e.g., a 5 to 20 base pair subsequence) and a second aliquot may be combined with a probe that is specific for a second target subsequence. In a simple scheme, the number of aliquots may be equal to the number of different probes to be used in the experiment. A single probe (i.e., a collection of probe molecules having the same or functionally equivalent sequence specificity) may then be added to each aliquot of the target DNA. Alternatively, the number of aliquots may be smaller or larger than the number of different probes; a mixture of probes may be added to each aliquot. The probes may be of either uniform or differing lengths. Various mixing procedures may be used to combine the target and probe, but if the procedure is performed at very low volumes (e.g., 0.1-10 nanoliter), diffusional mixing may suffice.
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The aliquots may then be incubated under stringent conditions (step ) to allow the probe molecules to sample multiple subsequences and to approach equilibrium in finding energetically favored subsequences to bind to (i.e., the subsequences for which the probe is specific). In other words, each aliquot containing target DNA and a probe or a mixture of probes may be incubated under conditions that result in greater hybridization of probes to matched recognition sequences than to sequences containing a mismatch. Taking into account the type of probe used, stringency may be adjusted through temperature, salt concentrations, addition of organic solvents, washing with solutions, electrophoretic washing, or other methods. Optionally, incubated aliquots may be combined prior to analysis, especially if tagged probes are used. A formation of specific local probe-target complexes, may result, which, as described below, may be modeled as a probe map (step ). In specific embodiments, the probe map includes the relative positional information of the local ternary complexes along the double-stranded biopolymer, the absolute positional information of the local ternary complexes along the double-stranded biopolymer, and error of positional information of the local ternary complexes along the double-stranded biopolymer. In another embodiment, a second probe specific for one or more second recognition sites of the target molecule may be used to generate a second probe map. In yet another embodiment, two or more probes may be used for the detection of local ternary complexes, and for the generation of two or more probe maps.
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The collection of hybridized or otherwise bound probes and positions may be used to form a model probe map of the target DNA. The probe map may be used to reconstruct the target DNA sequence. For example, multiple probe maps from probes having a variety of sequence specificities may be aligned and assembled to reconstruct a sequence. In an embodiment, n-mer probes may be used (e.g., polynucleotide probes), each probe having a specificity for one of 4″ possible DNA sequence combinations. A complete library of 4n-mer probes may be utilized to give complete target sequence coverage. In illustrative embodiments, n may be from 3 to 10.
Since the target was fragmented, the complete probe map may be constructed from data derived from the multiple fragments. The probe map may be assembled by matching the pattern between overlapping regions of multiple fragments to arrive at an aggregated hybridization pattern for a given probe having a given target specificity. The pattern matching routine may include determining the 3′→5′ orientation of each hybridization pattern, especially if this has not been determined previously, e.g., by comparison to a known sequence in a resequencing operation.
The sequence specificity of a probe, combined with its estimated probe map with respect to the target, yields a partial sequence model of the target. In other words, if a probe-target complex is detected, it may be expected that the target sequence contains the subsequence for which a given probe is specific. For sufficiently short probes, this subsequence may be repeated multiple times in the target at positions corresponding to the positional information that should be available from detection of binding of that probe. The subsequences may be assigned relative positional information by making use of the distances of measured uncomplexed regions intervening between the probe binding sites. The positional information may contain some error however.
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The model sequences derived from the probe map of multiple probes having multiple corresponding sequence specificities may be preliminarily aligned with respect to each other and/or with respect to other landmarks (step ). For example, for resequencing operations, the sequences may be aligned based on a maximal overlap with a known sequence. Alternatively, the model sequences may be aligned based on maximal overlap with each other or with respect to bound proteins (e.g., zinc finger proteins) included in the mixture, or with respect to other sequence landmarks.
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A starting model sequence may be created (step ). For example, a starting sequence may be created using the known sequence specificity of one of the probes for which a probe map has been determined. The chosen probe may be located at or near the 3′ or 5′ terminus of the preliminarily aligned spectrum map. A growing-end may be chosen for the starting sequence, on the internal side.
In certain embodiments, a spectrum map may be generated from at least a first probe map and a second probe map. Determining the spectrum map may include using a combinatorial sequence reconstruction algorithm. Determining the spectrum map may also include determining a candidate sequence by ordering at least two probe sequences using positional information and error of positional information. If the first recognition site sequence and the second recognition site sequence overlap, determining the spectrum map may include aligning the recognition site sequences.
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A weighted spectrum may be chosen as a subset of the spectrum map with respect to the growing end (step ). The probes encompassed in this subset of the spectrum may be selected using positional information or some parameter related to positional information generated during the detection step. The various sequences corresponding to the probe-specificities for the probes for which binding events were detected within the weighted spectrum may then be compared with a sequence of the growing end (in the initial stages of the process, this may be the entire starting sequence). If possible, a sequence may be chosen that has maximal identity for the growing end yet extends at least one nucleotide beyond the growing end (step ). At least one base of the non-overlapping sequence may then be appended to the growing end (step ). The weighted spectrum may then be changed. This process of selecting nucleotides, appending nucleotides, and changing the weighted spectrum may be repeated until sufficient sequence is determined or the data set is exhausted (step ). If more than one nucleotide choice is available for appending, this may be resolved by evaluating each possible choice in terms of maximal overlap for the next few sequence extensions.
Contrastingly, in standard SBH, the weighted spectrum of the target sequence from which probes are selected during each step of sequence reconstruction may be exactly equal to the spectrum of the target. Every probe in the spectrum may be used at any step during reconstruction. In the case of positional hybridization detection, the weighted spectrum of the target sequence encompassing probes selected during each step of reconstruction may be smaller than the length of the target strand. The weighted spectrum may be as large as the spectrum of the target minus one probe. However, in some embodiments, the weighted spectrum may be significantly smaller than the target spectrum. Thus, during reconstruction of the sequence, the weighted spectrum has to change at least once in order to encompass all probes in the spectrum.
If there were no error in the probe maps with regard to the position of hybridization of the probe, the weighted spectrum may consist of only one probe. Some error may be expected, however. At the other extreme, if there were no certainty regarding the position of probe locations in a probe map, then the next nucleotide to be appended may logically be selected from any probe binding to the target. This corresponds to standard SBH. Balancing these two extremes, the weighted spectrum may be optimized based on estimated error in the positional information contained in each probe map or in the spectrum map. For example, a standard deviation, variance or other quantitative measurement of the error in one or more probe locations may be calculated based on the detector output. The weighted spectrum may then be set to be a multiple of this estimated error. Accordingly, the number of probes encompassed by the weighted spectrum and the size of the error may be inversely proportional, or otherwise inversely correlated. Simply stated, a larger weighted spectrum may be used when a larger positional error is present. The weighted spectrum may be expressed in terms of probes that fall within a fixed number of nucleotides distance from the growing end. Alternatively, the range may vary based on the error in the positional information for each probe, or even based on the estimated error at each probe binding site.
Other alternative calculation methods may be employed including adaptive or genetic algorithms that adjust based on the quality of the sequence output. The output of multiple such methods may also be compared and the best one selected. The range or ranges may be calculated once, multiple times during the procedure, or after each nucleotide is appended.
Bioorg. Med. Chem.
Curr. Op. Struc. Biol.
A number of types of molecules are known to bind in a sequence-specific fashion to double-stranded DNA and may be used as probes individually or in combination. The molecules may be composed of one or more moieties such as polyamides, a nucleic acid, and/or a peptide nucleic acid. In a specific embodiment, the molecule may be a gapped polyamide molecule such as those described in the following Dervan references, each of which is incorporated in its entirety by reference herein: Dervan, P. B. Molecular Recognition of DNA by Small Molecules. 2001, 9, 2215-2235; and Dervan, P. B.; Edelson, B. S. Recognition of the DNA minor groove by pyrrole-imidazole polyamides. 2003, 13, 284-299.
Alternatively, the probe molecules may be composed of native or modified DNA oligonucleotides that are capable of binding in a triple stranded fashion with double-stranded DNA. Alternatively, the probe molecules may be nucleic acid molecules that are combined with the target in the presence of a recombinational enzyme or a recombinational protein. The probe molecule may be a peptide nucleic acid capable of binding to double-stranded DNA. Other modified oligonucleotides, proteins, peptides, or other polymers may also be capable of binding to double-stranded DNA in a sequence specific fashion and thus may be used.
In an embodiment, the probes may be polyamides that bind in a 2:1 complex with dsDNA in the minor groove of the DNA. Alternatively or in addition, the polyamide may bind to the DNA in a 1:1 complex or in a 2:1 or higher-order complex. In the case of a 2:1 complex, the two polyamides may be separate molecules or may be covalently joined at the ends or in the middle of the molecules to form hairpin polyamides, cyclic polyamides, H-pin motifs, or U-pin motifs. Charged groups may be placed at either end or in the middle of the polyamides in order to change their affinity for target or for other probe molecules. Linkers may be attached between heterocycles in the polyamide to modulate the curvature of the molecule. Curvature modulation may be used to increase the binding affinity of a polyamide to a longer DNA sequence by matching the curvature of the polyamide to the curvature of the DNA molecule. Other linkages and appendages may also be used.
Polyamide probes may consist of imidazole, pyrrole, hydroxy-pyrrole, benzimidazole, and hydroxybenzimidazole heterocycles. The heterocycles may be substituted with alkyl or functional groups in order to modulate their binding to DNA. Other heterocycles may also be used. Pairing rules of polyamides for minor groove recognition of DNA have been described by Dervan (see Dervan, P. B.; Edelson, B. S. Recognition of the DNA minor groove by pyrrole-imidazole polyamides. Curr. Op. Struc. Biol. 2003, 13, 284-299).
Generally, each aliquot of target DNA may be subsequently analyzed to detect binding of the probe to the target DNA. In a specific embodiment, a probe map may be generated for each probe to give absolute or relative positional information of probe binding sites located on a longer stretch of dsDNA. The probe binding sites may be separated by non-binding, uncomplexed regions of the target that have relatively low affinity for the probe. Accordingly, the probe map may include absolute or relative information related to the location and length (e.g., in base pairs) of the uncomplexed regions.
A single molecule detector may be used to detect probe binding and thus arrive at a probe map. Unlike detectors typically used for SBH, the single molecule detector may determine the number of times that a given probe binds to a target molecule and the absolute or relative binding sites for that probe. For example, a nanopore based detector, a field effect transistor, Coulomb-charging based detector, or scanning-tunneling or force microscope may be used. Multiple such detectors may be used in parallel or in series. Data from multiple detectors may then be aggregated for analysis, including correlation analysis. Each mixture may be independently analyzed. In an embodiment of the technique, a nanopore may be used to detect the position of local ternary complexes on the target DNA.
In certain embodiments, a nanopore-based detector detects temporal changes in current as probe-complexed and uncomplexed stretches of double-stranded DNA pass through the pore. As seen for single-stranded DNA, the change in current may be positive or negative depending on the concentration of ions in the buffer on either side of the nanopore. The current may increase or decrease while a probe is passing through the pore due to blockade current, tunneling current or other mechanism.
A current signal, reflecting a change in impedance or current measured by the nanopore detector, may be monitored to gain information about the presence and spacings of hybridized probes. As an analyte moves through a volume monitored by the nanopore detector, the current signal changes. The signal may be elevated or depressed for a period of time that reflects the length of the analyte, e.g., a probe-target complex, or the length of the intervening regions without probes. A typical analyte may impede the flow of ions in the electrolyte and be non-conductive. Therefore, the current typically decreases as the analyte flows through the sensing volume. In some embodiments, e.g., a low salt electrolyte and a charge-carrying analyte, the current signal may increase as the analyte flows through the sensing volume. The current signal further changes when the portion of the analyte containing the hybridized probe moves through the volume between the sensing electrodes.
A time interval between current signal changes may be recorded. The duration of the change in the current signal may indicate a presence of a hybridized probe. This duration may be used to determine a distance between two probes on the biopolymer. To determine the distance, one may calibrate the system with known standards and calculate an average speed for the analyte in the channel. Time would then be directly related to distance. In embodiments with multiple hybridized probes, multiple peaks may form, with each peak corresponding to a hybridized probe, with the time between peaks being indicative of the relative spacing of the hybridized probes.
Similarly, the duration of a change in the current signal may be used to determine a length of the analyte.
In a certain embodiment, the biopolymer target molecule may be single-stranded DNA (ssDNA). Double-stranded DNA may be generated from the single-stranded template by enzymatically synthesizing the second strand and thereby afford may of the aforementioned benefits of using dsDNA: a reduction in the amount of secondary structure present in the target, a more consistent transmission speed of the DNA through the nanopore, the ability to manipulate single molecules of target DNA prior to introduction into the nanopore, and a longer persistence length of the DNA. In an alternative embodiment, ssDNA may be stabilized using a plurality of single-stranded DNA binding agents to stabilize the single stranded DNA. The binding agent molecules may be nonspecific, or may be chosen to have specificity for various DNA target subsequences. For example, a mixture of tens, hundreds, or thousands of short (e.g., designed to bind to 6-mers) DNA, or DNA analogs designed to target particular target subsequences may be stringently incubated with a target ssDNA sample. One or more detection probes may then be added and the mixture incubated under stringent conditions. The mixture may be chosen so as to not preclude a detection probe from binding to its complementary subsequence. Different stabilizing agent mixtures may be used with additional aliquots containing target combined with additional detection probes having different subsequence specificity. In related embodiments, the mixtures of stabilizing agents may be chosen to be non-overlapping in their sequence specificity. Using locked nucleic acid or peptide nucleic acid probes may allow the use of more stable probes, capable of binding in higher stringency conditions (e.g., high temperature or low-salt). As a result, the mixture may require fewer agents; e.g., a mixture may be sufficient that binds to only a third or less of the ssDNA sequence.
FIG. 9
Referring to , the above techniques may be used to sequence a biomolecule. The biomolecule may, for example, be a chromosome, single or double-stranded DNA molecule, RNA molecule, or other complex biomolecule comprising a large number of nucleotides or other identifiable components that occur in a random (or seemingly random) sequence. The sequence may represent an entire biomolecule or, in some cases, portions of a biomolecule.
In one embodiment, fragments are drawn from biomolecules at random locations with the goal of aligning and merging maps of these fragments into maps of the entire biomolecule. The fragments may be of any length. For example, fragments may range from 50,000 characters to 100,000 characters, from 100,000 characters to 250,000 characters, or over 250,000 characters. In one particular embodiment, a fragment length of 100,000 characters is used.
Uniform binding probes are introduced to a particular fragment such that the probes bind to the fragment according to binding pair rules. The binding probes may also be of any length, but are typically shorter than the length of the fragment. In certain embodiments, the probes are significantly shorter such that there may be tens or hundreds of possible binding sites on one fragment. In one particular implementation, the probes are six characters long. In other embodiments, the probe length may range between seven and fifteen characters. Probes need not be of uniform length and may be any sequence of characters that will bind to the fragments. In certain embodiments, the probes may be proteins or enzymes that, based on their character sequence, selectively bind to the fragment or have enzymatic activity that depends on a particular sequence in the biopolymer, such as certain restriction enzymes. The restriction enzymatic activity may be inhibited by removing magnesium from the solution containing the fragment and the probes, for example. The detection of a restriction enzyme binding to DNA in the absence of magnesium may then assist with the mapping of the biomolecule.
The positions within the fragment at which the probes bound to the fragment are identified as binding sites, and the distances between the binding sites are measured using the methods described above. The measured distances may include an error, which may be the same or different for different probes. For each fragment and probe, a collection of binding signatures is created, each of which identifies the fragment, the probe, and the distances (also referred to as “intervals”) between adjacent binding sites in a contiguous portion of the fragment. In some cases, the intervals are measured in “base pairs” that occur between binding sites. The binding signature may be of any length and include any number of biding sites. In certain implementations, using nine binding sites and eight intervals has provided statistically accurate results. The length of the fragment(s) and probes may also be modified such that the resulting vector of intervals for any particular fragment-probe paring is sufficiently distinct from other binding signatures.
The binding signatures are ordered in a table based on one or more features of the signatures, such as the total length of the signature. Alternatively, the ordering may be by the length of the first interval in the signature. Once ordered, the binding signatures are grouped into one or more clusters based, in some cases, on the match between the distances between the binding sites within each fragment. For example, a particular signature may be {12835; 3524; 6420; 4082; 128; 644; 8922; 1121}. Other signatures having similar distance measurements and ratios such as {12840; 3500; 6415; 4078; 132; 650; 8920; 1120} may be identified as “close” and therefore placed in a common cluster. In another embodiment, the variance between intervals within each signature is determined, and may be used to cluster the signatures either independently or in conjunction with the intervals.
i
i
i
i
In one particular implementation, a pair of signatures a and b are considered to match if, for all intervals i, |a.d−b.d|<s*√k*√MIN(a.d, b.d), where k is a constant s is a number of standard deviations optimized to capture most matches. The following pseudocode may be used to build signature clusters:
i:=0
while I <= n−1
for (j := i+1 to n−1) and ( |sig[i].1 − sig[j].1| <
s*√k*√MIN(sig[i].1, sig[j].1) )
if (sig[i] matches sig[j])
add sig[j] to cluster sig[i]
if (j = i+1)
i := j
In some cases, all signatures have lengths within a range of s*√k, in which case O(n̂2) comparisons are made. At the opposite extreme, signatures may have widely dispersed lengths, in which case the number of comparisons can be limited to one per signature, by virtue of always advancing loop variable i with j and terminating the j loop immediately after the first non-matching signatures.
FIG. 10
Referring to , a complete mapping of the biomolecule may be built by combining a sequence of signatures based on known predecessor-successor relationships for each signature in its origin fragment. Initially, a starting cluster is selected, either based on predetermined selection criteria or at random. The process of moving along the biomolecule may proceed either forward (e.g., to the “right” as one reads the characters in a DNA molecule, for example) or backward.
In one example, a signature cluster is selected at random. Each signature in a cluster has a set of distances that are very close to a cluster consensus. Each signature in the cluster points to a single fragment from which that signature was derived and has a single successor signature in that fragment. Further, each successor signature is associated with a single signature cluster. By tallying the highest-voted (i.e., the most frequently identified) signature cluster from all the potential successors a new cluster is selected.
As an example, one signature may be (12832; 3530; 6426; 4074; 126; 647; 8929; 1118), as generated from a particular fragment whose vector of distances are: (2206; 4073; 3680; 439; 1450; 12832; 3530; 6426; 4074; 126; 647; 8929; 1118; 6846; 1236; 6363; 1664; 54). The sub-vector (12832; 3530; 6426; 4074; 126; 647; 8929; 1118) is considered the origin of the signature at hand, and by moving one binding site forward, the successor signature is (3530; 6426; 4074; 126; 647; 8929; 1118; 6846). Therefore, the cluster that includes this signature gets one vote from the current signature. Looping through all signatures in the current signature cluster produces a collection of votes for subsequent signature clusters. The signature cluster receiving the most votes becomes the current signature cluster for the next iteration.
−12
Chaining forwards and backwards from the initial cluster creates a complete map of the biomolecule assuming the successor signature voting identifies the correct successor. Since the difference, on any given fragment, between a signature and its successor is only one probe landing, the probability of a correct signature is just under 90%. So an incorrect majority vote takes place at probability sum_i=0..┌c/2┐(0.1̂i)*(0.9̂(c−i))*(c choose i). Under current parameter estimates, this is ˜10for c=50.
The functionality described above may be implemented in hardware or software, or a combination of both on a general-purpose computer. In addition, such a program may set aside portions of a computer's random access memory to provide control logic that affects one or more of the image capture, user input (using, for example, a mouse, keyboard or pointing device) and presentation on a display.
The program may be written in any one of a number of high-level languages, such as FORTRAN, PASCAL, C, C++, C#, Java, Tcl, or BASIC or development environments such as Flash, Ruby on Rails, etc. Further, the program can be written in a script, macro, or functionality embedded in commercially available software, such as EXCEL or VISUAL BASIC. Additionally, the software can be implemented in an assembly language directed to a microprocessor resident on a computer. For example, the software can be implemented in Intel 80x86 assembly language if it is configured to run on an IBM PC or PC clone. The software may be embedded on an article of manufacture including, but not limited to, “computer-readable program means” such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magnetic tape, a PROM, an EEPROM, or CD-ROM.
Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that all parameters listed herein are meant to be exemplary and actual parameters depend upon the specific application for which the methods and materials of the present invention are used. It is, therefore, to be understood that the foregoing embodiments are presented by way of example only and that, within the scope of the appended claims and equivalents thereto, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
FIG. 1
is a schematic depiction of a DNA molecule;
FIG. 2
is a schematic depiction of an RNA molecule;
FIG. 3
is a schematic depiction of a hybridizing oligonucleotide (probe);
FIG. 4
is a schematic depiction of a single-stranded DNA molecule hybridized with a probe;
FIG. 5
is a schematic depiction of an apparatus employed in a disclosed method;
FIG. 6
FIG. 5
is a close-up view of a hybridized biomolecule translocating through the nanopore of the apparatus in ;
FIG. 7
depicts the results from a repetitive application of the disclosed method using different probes;
FIG. 8
is a flow chart for a method of sequencing DNA;
FIG. 9
is a flow chart for a method of sequencing a biomolecule in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and
FIG. 10
illustrates a process for selecting successor signatures from clusters of signatures according to one embodiment of the invention. | |
Objective: To determine if a clinic-based behavioral intervention program for low-income mid-life women that emphasizes use of community resources will increase moderate intensity physical activity (PA) and improve dietary intake. Methods: Randomized trial conducted from May 2003 to December 2004 at one community health center in Wilmington, NC. A total of 236 women, ages 40-64, were randomized to receive an Enhanced Intervention (EI) or Minimal Intervention (MI). The EI consisted of an intensive phase (6 months) including 2 individual counseling sessions, 3 group sessions, and 3 phone calls from a peer counselor followed by a maintenance phase (6 months) including 1 individual counseling session and 7 monthly peer counselor calls. Both phases included efforts to increase participants' use of community resources that promote positive lifestyle change. The MI consisted of a one-time mailing of pamphlets on diet and PA. Outcomes, measured at 6 and 12 months, included the comparison of moderate intensity PA between study groups as assessed by accelerometer (primary outcome) and questionnaire, and dietary intake assessed by questionnaire and serum carotenoids (6 months only). Results: For accelerometer outcomes, follow-up was 75% at 6 months and 73% at 12 months. Though moderate intensity PA increased in the EI and decreased in the MI, the difference between groups was not statistically significant (p = 0.45; multivariate model, p = 0.08); however, moderate intensity PA assessed by questionnaire (92% follow-up at 6 months and 75% at 12 months) was greater in the EI (p = 0.01; multivariate model, p = 0.001). For dietary outcomes, follow-up was 90% for questionnaire and 92% for serum carotenoids at 6 months and 74% for questionnaire at 12 months. Dietary intake improved more in the EI compared to the MI (questionnaire at 6 and 12 months, p < 0.001; serum carotenoid index, p = 0.05; multivariate model, p = 0.03). Conclusion: The EI did not improve objectively measured PA, but was associated with improved self-reported and objective measures of dietary intake. Clinical trials registration: clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT00288327. | https://experts.umn.edu/en/publications/randomized-trial-of-a-clinic-based-community-supported-lifestyle- |
There’s a lot of talk on the web about fluoride and the pineal gland, so I’ll insert this short blog post into our current theme in order to share some light and perspective on the subject.
First of all, there is more concentrated levels of fluoride in the soft tissue of the pineal gland than in any other soft tissue in the body. Does it belong there? That is a question yet to be answered, as we really don’t have data acquired from studies of a pineal gland taken from a human that has not been exposed to fluoride. I am inclined to believe that it does not belong in the pineal gland in such high levels of concentration, simply by reason of the fact that it tends to inhibit enzymes that convert the amino acid tryptophan into serotonin (a neuro-transmitter) and, in turn, serotonin into melatonin.
Unlike the brain, the pineal gland is not protected by the blood-brain barrier, so blood flows freely in and out of the gland. Fluoride apparently passes directly from the bloodstream into the pineal gland, where it attaches itself to the tiny crystals that are floating around inside and covers them with hard mineral deposits. X-ray images show them as white, bone-like lumps that serve as a landmark in the brain for detecting tumors. A tumor would push the pineal away from center in the direction away from the location of the growth.
Fluoride seems to have an affinity for the pineal gland. I suspect there is a vibrational factor involved that triggers a resonance in this trace mineral producing thereby a certain attraction to the vibratory frequency of the gland. That frequency correlates in musical terms to an F#. So fluoride may vibrate at one of F#’s harmonic frequencies, such as A# or C#, the third and the fifth harmonics respectively. Sounds plausible anyway, as all things in the body are vibraitonal in nature. It’s all energy!
But that’s another topic for a future blog post. It suffices to say that fluoride calcifies the pineal gland and in doing so may make it unable to convert serotonin into melatonin. The research in this area is on-going.
The consequences to health are numerous and significant.
A build up of serotonin, for example, in the pineal gland has been found to be associated with certain mental disorders. The normal amount is 3.14-3.52 micrograms per gram of tissue. That level has been found to be as much as three times higher in one schizophrenic case study, while in another study of a patient suffering from delirium tremens, the level was ten times higher (22.82 micrograms of serotonin). High levels were also found in case studies of tremors, such as tardive dyskinesia, Parkinson’s disease and even epileptic seizures.
Decreased levels of melatonin in the pineal gland have been associated with advanced onset of puberty and predisposition to MS (multiple sclerosis) symptoms. Dr. Reuven Sandyk of New York has stated: “‘Dysfunction of the pineal gland can explain a far broader range of biological phenomena associated with MS, and therefore the pineal gland should be considered the pivotal mover of the disease.’ . . . Sandyk suggested that MS severity may be related tothe degree of pineal failure. . . .” (Laurance Johnston via Wilcock). Clinical studies have proven conclusively that MS is associated with pineal calcification.
Perhaps a video would best explain the impact of fluoride on the pineal gland . . . and I just happen to have one for you.
There are seventy-two trace minerals that occur naturally in the human body. They are called “trace” for good reason. In trace amounts they are helpful in the body. However, in large amounts they become hurtful poisons. For example, Arsenic and Lead are well known deadly toxins, and yet we find them in trace amounts in our physical bodies. Below you will find a list of the 72 trace minerals in our bodies which includes fluorine. | https://healingtones.org/category/fluoridation/ |
Category:
stemmas
A scroll recording the genealogy of an ancient Roman family; a family tree.
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phyla
(Linguistics) A large division of possibly related languages, or a major language family which is not subordinate to another.
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The act of invading, especially the entrance of an armed force into a territory to conquer.
The definition of heir is a person who is legally entitled to inherit something upon death, or someone who inherits something and then carries on the legacy or tradition.
A record or table of the descent of a person, family, or group from an ancestor or ancestors; a family tree.
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(Grammar): The act of declining a word; the act of listing the inflections of a noun, pronoun or adjective in order.
A secondary or additional product; something produced, as in the course of a manufacture, in addition to the principal product.
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ancestors (antonym)
The definition of an ancestor is a person or creature from whom one is descended or who lived in the past, or a person who came before.
Find another word for descendants. In this page you can discover 33 synonyms, antonyms, idiomatic expressions, and related words for descendants, like: children, family, offspring, progeny, posterity, issues, stemmas, seeds, raids, progenies and phyla. | https://thesaurus.yourdictionary.com/descendants |
May 25, 2006
Cheesy Name, Sublime Music
Washington Post (DC):
Their name sounds more Monty Python than Monteverdi, but the Suspicious Cheese Lords -- a Washington-based men's a cappella group that specializes in music from the Renaissance -- is one very serious ensemble. In a genuinely beautiful performance at the Church of the Epiphany on Tuesday, the Lords showed that they could deliver not only thoughtful interpretations, but rapturous musicmaking as well.
That was clear from the opening notes of Palestrina's 1584 motet, "Sicut Cervus," given a performance so weightless and transparent it practically turned to light. Two dreamlike songs by the 16th-century child prodigy Vittoria Aleotti were equally luminous, though a challenging work by Francesco Landini -- full of pungent harmonies and intriguing rhythms -- came off just a bit ragged. But the final two Renaissance works on the program (including a finely detailed eight-voice lament by Nicolas Gombert) layered wave upon wave of precisely calibrated, exceptionally moving song.
While they were clearly right at home in the 16th century, the Lords also easily negotiated works from our own millennium, including several compositions from the group's members -- all of which resonated with a certain Renaissance flavor. Despite some fine ideas, Gordon Geise's "A Rose Beheld the Sun" felt vague and unsure of itself, but Gary Winans Jr.'s ". . . les cedres et chaque petite fleur . . ." was much more satisfying, with a distinctive musical imagination and firm compositional control. George Cervantes's "Blessing of Saint Francis," meanwhile -- with its faint but wonderful undertones of Brian Wilson -- was a real delight to the ears.
Oh, and the group's name? It's a playful translation of "Suscipe Quaeso Domine," the title of a motet by Thomas Tallis -- more sedately known as "Take, I Ask Lord."
| |
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You’ll notice something right off the bat on the playlist. There is a LOT of music from 2012 in the 1st hour. That wasn’t intentional, however it was that year that I first dipped my toes into the genre.
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Vinayak, M., et al. Breast Cancer Stem Cell Mediated Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition Targets: Hope for Breast Cancer Therapy. (2016) Intl J Cancer Oncol 3(3): 1- 7.
Copy rights
© 2016 Vinayak, M. This is an Open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Keywords
Breast cancer; BCSCs; Signalling; EMT; Therapy
Abstract
Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed disease and one of the leading causes of death among woman worldwide. Treated patients often suffer from disease recurrence and metastasis due to presence of a subset of tumor cells known as breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs). Presence of BCSC is the reason for resistance and failure of therapy due to aberrant activity of aldehyde dehydrogenase, enhanced DNA damage, activation of self renewal signaling pathways and epigenetic deregulations. BCSC is a small cell population originating from normal breast stem cells, having unique characteristics such as self-renewal, high proliferation rate, ability to generate heterogeneity etc. BCSCs demonstrated aberrant activation of highly conserved signaling involved in developmental pathways such as Wnt, Notch and hedgehog as well as RTK, NF-κB and TGF-β signaling. Deregulation of these signaling pathways is frequently linked to epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) which plays an important role in tumor invasion and metastasis by endowing cells with a more motile and invasive phenotype. The current review will focus on aberrant signaling and regulation of EMT in BCSC; and translation of the growing knowledge into development of targeted therapies.
Introduction
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in woman. Conventional and targeted therapies are implicated to improve survival rates; however treatment resistance, recurrence of disease and metastasis are still major challenges in breast cancer treatment. Particular subpopulations of tumor cells are recently identified to provide resistance toward cancer therapy, namely tumor initiating cells (TICs) or cancer stem cells (CSCs). CSCs have been identified in many malignancies and are hypothesized to form clonogenic core of tumor tissues. These cells could potentially originates from a more differentiated cancer cell that acquires self renewal properties, perhaps as a result of epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT). During tumor progression, cancer cells undergo EMT to acquire stem cell properties like invasiveness, dissemination and chemo-resistance. Thus, an in situ carcinoma progresses to an invasive carcinoma and cells disseminate throughout the entire body via blood and lymphatic vessels. After dissemination, cells must undergo a mesenchymal to epithelial transition (MET) to colonize in distant organs. EMT signaling is involved in development and maintenance of BCSCs (breast cancer stem cells). Therefore for targeted therapeutic achievement of BCSCs, it is needed to have better understanding of EMT signaling and also to identify targets of the pathways.
BCSCs constitutes a minority of tumor cells and characterized by expression of specific cell surface markers including EpCAM+, CD24- and CD44+, however other markers like ABCG2 (ATP-binding cassette G2), CD10, CD29, CD49f, CD133 and CXCR4 (chemokine receptor type 4) have also been used to identify BCSCs. BCSCs could be enriched in populations that underwent EMT due to high expression of transcription factors like Snail1, Twist1, Slug, Zebl, Zeb2, fork head box proteins FOXC1 and FOXC2[6-9]. It has been shown that both normal and malignant mammary stem/progenitor cells express high level of enzyme aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH). Breast cancer displays frequent intra- and inter-tumor heterogeneity as the result of genetic and epigenetic alterations that often enhance the vigour of cancer cells. Therefore, characterization and understanding of origin of this phenotypic and molecular diversity is paramount to improving diagnosis, prognostic and predictive biomarkers and ultimately design of therapeutic strategies.
Molecular subtypes of breast cancer have been recognized through gene expression pattern. Both ER and PR receptors were expressed in Luminal A and B subtypes; however they differ in proliferation kinetics. Basal like subtypes are frequently triple negative (ER-/PR-/HER2-) and p53 mutant and are aggressive due to poor prognosis. Another subtype i.e. claudin low breast cancer is recognized by lack of claudin and cytokeratin, although in this case also ER and PR are not expressed. ER+ patients and HER2+ patients are successfully treated with conventional targeted cancer therapy using tamoxifen and trastuzumab. However, basal like or claudin low subtype fail to respond to targeted therapy. The relationship between intrinsic subtype of breast cancer and origin of BCSCs is not well defined and remains too elusive. Fragmentary reports are available to relate different subtype of breast cancer with specific markers of BCSCs. CD44+/CD24- phenotype is associated with basal and luminal subtype B breast cancer[13,14]. ALDH1+ phenotype is correlated with basal and HER2+ breast cancer. Rare basal-like ER-/PR- /K18-/K5+ cells expressing CD44 have been identified in the luminal type A breast cancer. Quiescent DNA repair capabilities and over expression of drug efflux pumps make BCSCs resistant for conventional cancer therapy.
Plethora of signaling pathways is involved in induction of EMT, BCSCs generation/maintenance and therapy resistance. Here is a brief review of the mechanism of EMT mediated Wnt, Notch, hedgehog, TGF-β, NF-κB and RTK signaling pathways as well as therapeutic resistance in breast cancer therapy.
BCSCs mediated epithelial-mesenchymal transition in breast cancer metastasis
&emspIn course of normal development, cells synchronize the process of differentiation as well as migratory pattern to gain complexity and specialization of particular cell types. Deregulation in these coordination leads to cancer. EMT plays an important and intrinsic part of normal development during organogenesis and is also recognized as a key event for metastasis[18-20]. EMT is involved in process of development like formation of primitive streak, the neural crest delamination, heart valve differentiation and lung organogenesis.
Epithelial cells enhance their migratory capacity by acquiring mesenchymal state through a variety of changes like alteration of apico basal polarity, remodelling of intermediate filaments, microfilaments and intercellular adhesions by secretion of new matrix proteins and glycosamino glycans. EMT reprograms the epithelial cells to promote tumor cell metastasis. EMT de-differentiates the tumor cells and acquires motility and invasiveness to spread into distant organs and further MET reboots an epithelial program for establishment of new tumor at the sites of spreading. EMT further generates CSCs exhibiting resistance to therapy. EMT plays an important role during embryogenesis and healing phenomenon in healthy cells. Loss of E-cadherin (protein necessary for cell adhesion) and increase in N-cadherin are known to be classic marker for EMT and alteration in these marker are used to study and characterized EMT in vitro[22,23].
Mesenchymal phenotype required for tumor metastasis, is promoted by EMT signaling molecules produced in tumor micro environment[24,25]. TGF-β secreted in inflamed microenvironment represses E-cadherin via stimulating the transcription factors Snail and Slug. Further, EMT activating protein Twist is activated by HIF-1, secreted in response to hypoxia. Tumorigenicity of cancer is enhanced by reduced E-cadherin, which is correlated with increased cancer grade. Protein expression in BCSCs is similar to EMT leading to decrease in E-cadherin and increase in N-cadherin as well as increase in Slug expression[6,26]. Additionally, immortalized non tumorigenic human mammary cells undergoing EMT are enriched in CSCs markers such as CD44+/CD24- and signaling proteins SOX2, OCT4[6,27]. The population of BCSCs is significantly increased when mammary epithelial cells transformed through HER2 overexpression undergo EMT in vitro.
BCSCs transit reversibly in two distinct development states EMT and MET due to cell plasticity[28-30]. The EMT cells are mainly quiescent and are localized at tumor invasive edge adjacent to tumor stroma. These cells express cell surface marker profile CD24- and CD44+. The second state is the MET in which cells express de-toxifying enzyme ALDH. BCSCs possessing both CSC markers CD24-, CD44+ and ALDH+ show the greatest tumor initiating capacity. EMT and MET are interconnected in a time dependent and tissue context dependent manner. Recently, a direct link between EMT process and gain of stem cell competence is demonstrated in cultured breast cells. In particular, it was shown that the induction of EMT program not only allows cancer cells to disseminate from the primary tumor, but also promotes their self-renewal capability. Furthermore, stemness and EMT markers in circulating tumor cells (CTCs) were associated with resistance to conventional anti-cancer therapies and treatment failure. EMT cells eventually enter into the next steps of tumor metastasis cascade, including intravasation, extravasation and formation of microscopic and macroscopic metastases in distant organs[9,32,33]. The roles of EMT to promote tumor cell dissemination are well supported by recent studies on CTCs and disseminated bone marrow tumor cells, both of which exhibited EMT and sternness characteristics[34,35]. Clinically, detection of five or more CTCs in 7.5 ml of peripheral blood serves as an indicator of breast cancer progression and the number of CTCs in patients with metastatic breast cancer tends to be a better indicator of tumor prognosis compared to other diagnostic means[36-38].
Breast cancer stem cells mediated Signaling pathways
Maintenance and production of BCSCs are dependent on the microenvironment often called stem cell niche. The microenvironment involved in BCSCs consist various factors including cytokines, nutrients, pH, oxygen pressure, extracellular matrix and immune cells[20,39]. Growth factors promote endothelial cell survival and increase the generation of invasive BCSCs. Hypoxia affects multiple molecular pathways that causes EMT and promotes BCSCs growth leading to enhance chemo/radio-resistance[41,42]. The hypoxia inducible protein carbonic anhydrase IX (CAIX) contributes to changes in local pH in response to hypoxia. CAIX can promote BCSCs proliferation via activation of mTORC1 signaling. Increased activity of IL-6 and STAT3/NF-κβ expression is associated with an increased number of HER2+ BCSCs.
Various signaling pathways having fundamental roles in regulation of self-renewal and differentiation of adult and embryonic stem cells have been linked to BCSCs. Wnt, Notch and Hedgehog pathways have been implicated in resistance to therapy and an increased number of BCSCs during/after treatment. These pathways play key roles during embryonic development and homeostasis; and deregulations involved in normal breast stem cells self-renewal and differentiation result in a BCSCs phenotype. In addition, deregulation in signals associated with cell proliferation, survival and apoptosis contributes to breast cancer.
Aberrant activation of developmental signaling pathways
1. Wnt signalling: Wnt signaling pathway is crucial for embryonic development and is involved in cell fate determination, proliferation and cell migration. Aberrant Wnt signaling leads to various pathological processes including cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. Wnt signaling induces and stabilizes the accumulation and translocation of β-catenin into nucleus which regulates transcription of Wnt target genes leading to build up of Snail and down-regulation of E-cadherin which ultimately induces EMT[45,46]. Canonical Wnt signaling induces the expression of Axin 2 and stabilizes Snail which promotes EMT in breast cancer[47,48]. In the non-canonical, Wnt signaling activates the ERK1/2 pathway which activates β-catenin via RTK-PI3KAKT pathway. Wnt pathway target genes such as LEF1 and AXIN2 are upregulated in breast cancer. Wnt signaling is important for BCSCs self renewal. Wnt1 was originally identified as a proto-oncogene because it was retrieved from an oncogenic integration site of MMTV (mouse mammary tumor virus). Secretion of Wnt ligand from cells in the microenvironment has paracrine effect on the invasive edge of tumor, increasing their proliferative and invasive abilities[50,51]. ΔNp63 is a key regulator of stem cells in both normal and malignant mammary tissues and provide direct evidence that BCSCs and normal mammary stem cells share common regulatory mechanisms. Wnt signaling is required for normal mammary stem cell function and Wnt-responsive cells show enriched BCSCs in mammary gland. Natural dietary components including curcumin, resveratrol and piperine have also been found to inhibit BCSCs pool and to downregulates the Wnt pathway.
2. Notch signalling: Notch receptor has an important role in self renewal and cell fate decisions in mammary gland development[52-54]. Notch pathway is crucial in determination of cell fate and progenitor cell population as it maintains a balance between cell proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis. Early breast cancer stage frequently activates Notch signaling pathway which is correlated with poor prognosis of breast cancer[52,53]. On activation, Notch receptor is cleaved by γ-secretase, releasing the intracellular subunit NICD (Notch intracellular domain), which then translocates to nucleus, interacts with other co-factors and regulates downstream targets transcriptionally. Inhibition of Notch signaling is sufficient to reduce mammosphere formation in vitro. Notch signaling requires coordination with other signals like Notch to promote EMT. TGF-β increases Notch activity through Smad3, subsequently promoting Slug expression which suppresses E-cadherin. Cross-talk of Wnt and Notch pathway is needed for tumorigenic phenotype. Transcriptional factors like Sox2, Oct4 and Nanog act as master regulators of pluripotency. Sox4 induces changes in EMT process, accompanied by an enhanced number of cells with a CD44+/CD24- phenotype and higher invasion and mobility of cancer cells in vivo and in vitro.
3. Hedgehog signalling: Hedgehog signaling functions in multiple tissue/cell types in developing embryo to direct organogenesis, including the ventral-dorsal pattern formation in the neural tube and anterior-posterior pattern formation in the limb. Hedgehog was first identified in a genetic screen for genes required for Drosophila’s embryonic patterning. Hedgehog is an embryonic development organizer pathway that activates Gli1 and Ptch1 positive modulators of hedgehog pathway, leading to BCSCs maintenance. GLI1 is a downstream mediator of Hedgehog signaling which is required for BCSCs self-renewal and tumor initiation.
TNF-α/NF-κB signaling
TNF-α is a pro-inflammatory cytokine involved in inflammation, immunity, cellular homeostasis and tumor progression[28,58,59]. It activates NF-κB which induces transcription factors associated with EMT, such as Snail, Slug, Twist, ZEB1 and ZEB2[60,61]. NF-κB controls the expression of a variety of cytokines particularly IL-6 and IL-8, which are closely associated with CSC function. NF-κB activation is essential for BCSCs and inhibition of NF-κB activation exerts profound effects on normal breast development.
Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) signaling
emsp; TGF-β is a potent mediator of growth inhibition in a variety of cell types via inhibition of c-Myc expression and plays a crucial role in tissue regeneration, cell differentiation, embryonic development and regulation of immune system. TGF-β suppresses tumor growth during early stage of tumor progression. EMT response declined the growth inhibitory response of TGF-β. TGF-β and its receptors regulate transcription of various EMT regulators including Snail, Slug and Twist. Crosstalk of TGF-β with other signaling pathways like Notch, Wnt, NF-κB and RTK is involved in the induction of EMT[64,65].
Receptor Tyrosine kinase (RTK) signaling
RTK has revealed the diversity in mechanisms of their activation by growth factor ligand binding to activation of intracellular tyrosine kinase domains. Mutations in RTKs and aberrant activation of their intracellular signaling pathways have been linked to cancer[66-72]. RTKs also have been involved in EMT process and tumor cell invasion. Activation of RTKs and their trafficking proteins PI3K, MAPK etc along with TGF-β are sufficient to regulate the EMT. Crosstalk of RTK with Wnt and EGFR pathways has been reported in activation of EMT.
Over expression of various signaling mediators like TGF-β, TNF-α, Wnt, Notch and Hedgehog are established to be activators of EMT; and induction of EMT causes stemness leading to formation and maintenance of BCSCs. Suppression of the hyper activated signaling reduces tumor violence as well as EMT process[74,75]. However, neoplastic transformation of normal stem cells is known to produce BCSCs. Therefore, the process of BCSC formation and EMT is not sequential. Both processes are activated with similar abnormal signaling, and promote each other. Crosstalk between various signaling pathways exerts synergistic effects in the regulation of BCSCs. Therefore, inhibition of the crosstalk between embryonic and other signaling pathways is crucial for breast cancer therapy.
Breast cancer stem cells and therapy resistance
Breast cancer starts as a local disease, but it can metastasize to the lymph nodes and distant organs. Nowadays more than 80% of patients under treatments receive adjuvant chemotherapy, although approximately 40% of patients relapse and ultimately die of metastatic breast cancer. Tumor regrowth following chemotherapy/radiotherapy can be arrested if the re-populating cells are destroyed with a selective BCSCs targeting agent.
BCSCs possess an invasive gene signature which correlates with increased metastasis and poor survival[30,78]. In mouse xenograft model of human triple negative breast cancer, the metastatic cancer cells in lungs over express BCSCs marker CD44 and are able to regenerate tumor following transplantation in immune-suppressed mice. High metastatic and invasive capability of BCSCs was also found in circulation of breast cancer patients who were undergoing or had completed treatment. Various studies indicated that BCSCs are relatively resistant to traditional cancer therapies including chemotherapy and ionizing radiation in breast cancer cell line, primary mammary tumor cells and patient derived tumor xenografts[81-91]. Chemotherapy treatment enriches the cells that express markers of BCSCs. Increased ATP binding cassette (ABC) transporters and slow cycling nature of BCSCs serves as a potential mechanism for chemoresistance. Breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP) and Pgp were identified in MCF7 which is involved in MDR. HER2 and EGFR inhibitor Lapatinib, decreased the population of BCSCs, as HER2 overexpression has been shown to drive BCSCs activity[88,92].
Further, the presence of residual ALDH+ cells following new adjuvant chemotherapy was found to associate with a high recurrence rate. Both ALDH+ and EpCAM+CD24-CD44+ are able to enhance migration/invasion capacity, intrinsic detoxifying ability, efflux activities, DNA damage response and antioxidant defence[94-101]. Current treatment strategies and compounds targeting EMT are mainly aimed at various EMT inducing signals[102-107]. EMT also results in the resistance of the MCF7 cell line to tamoxifen.
Micro RNAs (miRNAs) are associated with normal biological processes including stem cell maintenance, differentiation and development. However, deregulation is reported in various human diseases including cancer as miRNAs act as either oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes[108-110]. The miRNAs regulate EMT via various classes such as miR-183 cluster, miR-200 clusters, miR-142, miR-221-222, miR-214 cluster and let-7. The miRNAs have a vital role in breast cancer stemness, metastasis and progression[77,111]. Targeting key EMT regulators such as ZEB1, SIP1 and SIRT1 by miR-200 family inhibits EMT process[112,113]. Further, suppression of miR-200c expression by IL-6 has been reported in EMT progression.
Figure 1: Molecular signaling involved in induction of EMT and regulating BCSCs in breast cancer metastasis. Aberrant activation of Wnt, RTK, TGF-β, Notch and Hedgehog signalling leads to EMT converting epithelial cells to mesenchymal cell phenotype. Transcription factors such as Snail1/2, ZEB1/2, Slug, Smad, NF-κB, GLI as well as signalling protein PI3K and AKT, promote EMT via suppression of E-cadherin and induction of Vimentin. EMT is crucial for invasion, intravasation, circulation and extravasation; and ultimately leads to colonization of metastatic cells by mesenchymal to epithelial transition (MET). The EMT cells are characterized as relatively quiescent, E cadherin negative, Vimentin positive and upregulated p53 and p21; however MET cell are proliferative, E cadherin positive, Vimentin negative having downregulated p53 and p21.
Conclusion
The critical roles of BCSCs in breast cancer carcinogenesis highlight the demands for developing novel therapeutic strategies to eradicate this disease. Plasticity of BCSCs to alteration between EMT and MET state allows for invasion, dissemination and metastatic growth at distal organs resulting in therapeutic resistance. The plasticity could be readily identified by expression of distinct cellular markers. Targeting BCSCs mediated EMT via modulation of Wnt, Hedgehog, Notch, TNF-α/ NF-κB, TGF-β and RTK signaling pathways promises prevention of therapy resistance and disease recurrences. Various signaling pathways involved in breast cancer metastasis do not operate in isolation, but coordinated network is associated with phenotype of BCSCs. Modulation of Wnt, Hedgehog, Notch, TNF-α/NF-κB, TGF-β and RTK signaling pathways might trigger surprising compensatory pathways that could neutralize the treatment effects. Therefore, in-depth understanding of the coordinated signaling network is needed to target BCSCs with specific inhibitors in combination.
Acknowledge:
Research was supported by University Grants Commission (UGC), India. AKM thanks CSIR, India, for JRF & SRF.
Conflict of interest:
Authors have no conflict of interest.
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This chapter reviews experimental evidence from German to address two questions. The first question concerns the time course of structure building by the Human Sentence Processing Mechanism (HSPM): When processing verb-final phrases, does the HSPM have to wait for the verb in order to postulate a VP, or can a VP be postulated even if its head has not been seen in the input? Evidence in favor of the second option comes from a syntactic ambiguity, which arises because certain words in German are lexically ambiguous between being a verb or an adjective. Experiments that have investigated this verb-adjective ambiguity have revealed a purely structural preference in favor of the verb reading, independent of any lexical frequency properties. I will argue that this is only compatible with an HSPM that can postulate a VP node even if the verb has not yet been encountered in the input. The second question asks for possible consequences of combining a head-final VP with a head-initial CP. As will be discussed for the case of German, this kind of mixed headedness is potentially harmful for the HSPM. Experimental evidence for this claim comes from sentences with center-embedded infinitival clauses. I argue that the grammar helps by providing structures that minimize the existing parsing problems.
|Subject (DDC):||400 Philology, Linguistics|
|Bibliography of Konstanz:||Yes|
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The 2021-2024 Regional TIP is now approved. More information on the 2021-2024 Regional TIP may be found below.
Regional Economic Strategy
The Regional Economic Strategy is designed to establish a strategic blueprint for regional collaboration in King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish counties and allows local jurisdictions and eligible...
2017-2020 TIP Documentation
The TIP is required under federal and state legislation. It helps ensure that transportation projects in the region are meeting regional policies and federal and state requirements such as those...
Adopted Policy and Plan Review Process
Description of process for reviewing planning policies and local and regional plans.
Planning for Whole Communities Toolkit
The Toolkit is divided into 25 resource guides describing specific tools and how to put them to work at the local level. The resource guides help to connect the dots between planning and health,...
Transit Supportive Planning Toolkit
Provides three strategies to strengthen the linkage between land use and transit in local plans and implementation regulations. Examples of goals, policies, and implementation actions are also...
UrbanSim (Parcel-Based Land Use Model)
What Does UrbanSim Do? Produces a growth projection for each year (currently out to 2040) Predicts land development at the parcel level Interacts with PSRC’s travel models so the impacts of...
Land Use Baseline
PSRC creates two growth projections to model the outcomes of different policy choices in small geographies. Land Use Baseline is one of them; Land Use Vision is the other. Land Use Vision is a growth...
Regional Macroeconomic Forecast
The Macroeconomic Forecast is an input to PSRC's land use and travel forecasting, and provides the growth assumptions used in our regional growth strategy. It is developed by PSRC with help and... | https://www.psrc.org/search?sort=sticky&order=desc&f%5B0%5D=field_topic%3A5&f%5B1%5D=field_topic%3A27&f%5B2%5D=field_topic%3A7&f%5B3%5D=field_topic%3A16&f%5B4%5D=field_topic%3A8&f%5B5%5D=field_topic%3A329&f%5B6%5D=field_topic%3A14&f%5B7%5D=field_topic%3A11&f%5B8%5D=field_topic%3A24 |
83 sq. m.
West facing to rear
BER D2
Centrally located, two storey over garden level, period house at the meeting point of Georgian Dublin and the vibrant new Grand Canal Dock district. Located two minutes from Merrion Square on the doorstep of the city centre. Across the street is Stripe HQ and around the corner is Facebook and Google.
Requiring upgrading but offering enormous potential, the interior comprises entrance hall with guest WC, living room, kitchen/dining room, bathroom and three bedrooms. To rear there is a 14m long back garden offering obvious potential for development. Original features include the fireplace, shutters and floorboards in the drawing room, the stairs and the two front doors. 3m high ceilings on main floor. To front there is a small patio and on street permit parking. Must be viewed to be appreciated.
Location
Hugely sought after location on the east side of Dublin's city centre close to Grand Canal Dock, one of Dublin’s most fashionable and vibrant city districts. A host of amenities are on offer including canal bank walks and a wide variety of cafes, restaurants, gyms, sports clubs as well as the renowned Marker Hotel and iconic Grand Canal Theatre. The city centre, Ballsbridge, the IFSC and Sandymount are all within walking distance while the DART and LUAS provide easy access to the rest of the city. Grand Canal Dock is home to major employers such as AirBnB, HSBC, Google, Facebook, Matheson and McCann Fitzgerald, and Stripe. | https://www.owenreilly.ie/property/15-grattan-street-dublin-2/ |
The invention relates to a direct-current power transmission line single-ended rapid protection method, which comprises the following steps of: firstly, acquiring a real-time voltage value and a real-time current value at a protection mounting position on a rectification side of a high-voltage direct-current power transmission system, acquiring a real-time voltage value and a real-time current value on a valve side of a smoothing reactor on the rectification side, and acquiring a real-time voltage value and a real-time current value; and then calculating 12-time harmonic components and 24-time harmonic components of the voltage signals and the current signals, and calculating fault voltage and fault current by using the voltage signals and the current signals after the 12-time harmonic components and the 24-time harmonic components are removed. Then, filtering and extracting a specific frequency band voltage component and a specific frequency band current component; and finally, calculating the specific frequency band transient energy at the rectification side protection installation position and the rectification side smoothing reactor valve side, comparing, and judging whether the DC line has a fault or not. According to the method, only rectifier side fault data is utilized, side converter station data is not needed, the action speed is high, the requirement for the sampling rate of the device is low, hardware implementation is easy, protection is accurate and reliable, and the good anti-transition resistance capability is achieved. | |
Taiwan is just as affected and at high risk of the COVID-19 pandemic as everybody else because of China’s initial cover-up and mis-handling in Wuhan, the outbreak epicenter. However, Taiwan’s transparency and free flow of information show that they are the best weapon against the pandemic. By Lee Kok Leong, executive editor, Maritime Fairtrade
Because of its proximity to China, regular flights and vast number of citizens working and living there, Taiwan is expected to have one of the highest numbers of infection. However, this is not the case. Instead, Taiwan has won global recognition for its transparency, fast response and efficacy at controlling the spread of COVID-19 thus far. This is even more laudable given the fact that Taiwan is excluded from the World Health Organization (WHO) because of China’s political pressure.
Taiwan has demonstrated that a better way to contain the outbreak is a free flow of information to make it easier and more convenient for citizens to take the relevant measures. With transparent, timely, accurate and sufficient information, Taiwanese are able to actively follow the government’s instructions to curb the contagion.
In a NBC News report, Richard Ebright, a molecular biologist at Rutgers University in New Jersey, said he believes that Taiwan has done an exceptional job responding to the crisis and that if it had been a member of the WHO, “we would have learned at least two weeks earlier of the threat we were facing.
“In addition, we would have learned at least six weeks earlier that the outbreak could be successfully suppressed and how to do so. The experience of the last three months shows that exclusion of Taiwan from the WHO decreases the effectiveness of the WHO and increases risks to the world.”
China is rolling out a propaganda campaign
On the other hand, the Chinese government has tackled the crisis by using multiple measures to contain the spread of the virus as well as information about the outbreak. Besides the physical measures like lockdown and quarantine, officials have also engaged in propaganda and cover-up like falsely claiming there was no evidence of human to human transmission, muzzling whistleblowers like Dr Li Wenliang and hiding the true extent of casualties.
The authorities are also censoring discussion of the pandemic in the realm of social media, and propagating a new storyline of great leadership from Beijing in firstly saving China, and now, the rest of the world.
In a further clampdown on transparency and to control the narrative, CNN reported that China has imposed restrictions on the publication of academic research on the origins of COVID-19, according to a central government directive and online notices published by two Chinese universities. Under the new policy, all academic papers on Covid-19 will be subjected to extra vetting and must be approved by central government officials before being submitted for publication.
According to a Bloomberg report, US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo has publicly urged China to be transparent about the outbreak. He has repeatedly accused China of covering up the extent of the problem and being slow to share information, especially in the weeks after the virus first emerged. He said the data is important for the development of medical therapies and public health measures to combat the virus.
Also, in a New York Times report, the CIA warned that China has vastly understated its coronavirus infections and that its count could not be relied upon as the US compiles predictive models to fight the virus. Bureaucratic mis-reporting is a chronic problem in China but it has grown worse as the Communist leadership has taken a more authoritarian turn in recent years under President Xi Jinping. China is increasingly stepping up propaganda and strengthening media and online controls, and its primary goal is to maintain regime stability and social control, not to contain the virus outbreak.
Obtaining a more accurate count of the Chinese rate of infection and deaths has worldwide public health implications at a time of grave uncertainty about the virus’ speed of transmission and other fundamental questions like effectiveness of social distancing. Now, more than ever, governments worldwide can certainly do with a set of reliable data as a basis to plan and implement responsive health measures to fight the spread of COVID-19. | https://maritimefairtrade.org/taiwan-transparency-covid-19/ |
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Winter Beach Walk at Fisherman’s Cove Conservation Area
February 4 @ 11:00 am - 12:30 pm
Take a guided walk with a Park System Naturalist along the beach at Fisherman’s Cove Conservation Area, Manasquan, collecting and identifying some of the ocean’s natural treasures. Make sure you dress in warm clothing and bring along something to carry shells. FREE! | https://tourism.visitmonmouth.com/event/winter-beach-walk-at-fishermans-cove-conservation-area-2/ |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to mobile devices, such as cellular phones or cameras and the like, and more particularly to a method of capturing an image with a mobile device.
In recent years, mobile devices are increasingly equipped with built-in cameras. An example of such a device is a camera phone, which combines a cellular telephone with a camera. Other examples include personal data assistants (PDAs), or portable computers, or the mobile device may itself be a camera. To take a picture of a scene in low light conditions, these mobile devices are often equipped with a flash unit. The flash unit illuminates the scene in front of the camera lens of the mobile device, and allows the mobile device to record an image with a shorter exposure time.
In some circumstances, a person being photographed with such a mobile device may be disturbed by the activation of the flash unit. In particular, the person may be dazzled if the flash is lit for a too long time. There are also instances where a light emitting diode (LED) flash will be used, and such a LED flash may overheat and may potentially be damaged if the flash pulse time is too long. There are also eye safety regulations in place, and using longer flash pulse times may bring the energy irradiated into the eye of a person being photographed closer to such safety regulation thresholds.
For obtaining a good low light performance of a camera, it is beneficial to use long exposure times, which may result in long flash pulse times. Further, when taking the picture, the camera will for example adjust the auto exposure (AE) and the automatic white balance (AWB), for which a certain number of frames have to be acquired. The acquisition of these frames, in particular when using long exposure times, results in the flash unit being activated for a long period of time. For the above-mentioned reasons, such a long activation of a flash unit is undesired. There is a need for a method of taking a flash photograph which does not suffer from such drawbacks.
US 2007/0133974 A1
discloses a method of capturing an image with a device comprising an image capturing unit and a flash unit according to the preamble of independent claim 1 and a mobile device according to the preamble of independent claim 8.
WO 2006/085834 A1
Furthermore, from , a further method of capturing an image with a device comprising an image capturing unit and a flash unit is known, wherein the image capturing unit is operated in a flash mode at an operating frame rate, and initial frames are captured at an initial frame rate faster than the operating frame rate. The flash unit is activated during the capturing of the initial frames and a capturing of an image frame.
The present invention provides a method of capturing an image with a device comprising an image capturing unit and a flash unit as defined in independent claim 1 and a mobile device as defined in independent claim 8. The dependent claims define advantageous or preferred embodiments of the invention.
The foregoing and other features and advantages of the invention will become further apparent from the following detailed description read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The detailed description and drawings are merely illustrative of the invention rather than limiting, the scope of the invention being defined by the appended claims and equivalents thereof.
Various embodiments of the present invention are illustrated by the accompanying figures, wherein:
Fig. 1
is a schematic diagram of a mobile device according to an embodiment of the invention;
Figs. 2A and 2B
show a cellular phone with an integrated camera according to an embodiment of the invention;
Fig. 3
is a flow chart illustrative of an embodiment of a method of capturing an image with a mobile device;
Figs. 4A and 4B
show a schematic representation of the timing of a capturing of frames and an activation of a flash unit for a system operating with an operating frame rate and a system operating with a faster initial frame rate according to an embodiment of the invention, respectively;
Fig. 5
shows another flow diagram of a method of capturing an image with a mobile device according to another embodiment of the invention;
Fig. 6
shows a flow diagram of a method of capturing an image with a mobile device according to yet another embodiment of the invention.
Fig. 1
Fig. 1
shows a mobile device 100 for capturing an image according to an embodiment of the invention. Using the exemplary block diagram of , the general operations of the mobile device 100 will be described. The component 110 comprises a user interface 120 and a control unit 130. Control unit 130 comprises microprocessor 131 and input/output unit 132. The component 110 furthermore comprises a memory 111 in communication with microprocessor 131 and a transceiver 112 in communication with the input/output unit 132. Transceiver 112 is coupled to antenna 113 for receiving and transmitting signals. Transceiver 112 may for example be operational to communicate with cellular network base stations, it may be a fully functional cellular radio transceiver. The transceiver 112 may operate according to any known standard. Standards according to which the transceiver 112 may operate include the global system for mobile communications (GSM), UMTS, TEA/EIA-136, cdmaOne, cdma2000, GPRS, and Wideband CDMA. The operation of the mobile device 100 is controlled by the microprocessor 131. Microprocessor 131 may execute programs stored in memory 111. Microprocessor 131 may have the form of a single microprocessor, or multiple microprocessors, and may include general purpose or special purpose microprocessors and digital signal processors. Memory 111 may include several types of memory used in the mobile device 100, such as random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), and other non-volatile memory, such as flash memory and the like. Non-volatile memory may also include EPROM or EEPROM, and may be provided internal to the mobile communication device 100 or in removable form, such as a memory card, or in a combination thereof.
The input/output unit 132 interfaces microprocessor 131, transceiver 112, and user interface 120. The user interface 120 comprises a keypad 121, mode control 122, display 123, microphone 124 and loudspeaker 125. Display 123 is used to display information, function menus and the like to a user of the mobile device 100. Display information may comprise a picture or image, call status, service information, contact information, internet related information, dialed digits and the like. Keypad 121 may comprise alphanumeric keys, menu keys and other control elements, such as a joystick-like control element, a rotary switch, a rocker and similar elements. A user may use keypad 121 to bring up a menu on display 123, select and execute functions, dial a telephone number or enter and exit certain operating modes of the mobile device 100.
The microphone 124 and the loudspeaker 125 interface the audio processing unit 114. Microphone 124 may record a voice signal of a user, and audio processing unit 124 may convert such a signal to a digital signal and provide it to microprocessor 131 through input/output unit 132. Similarly, a sound signal that is to be given out to a user, such as the voice signal of an incoming call, is provided directly or by microprocessor 131 to audio processing unit 114 via input/output unit 132. Audio processing unit 114 may convert such a signal, which is generally available in a digital format, to an analog signal which is then given out by loudspeaker 125. In a case where device 100 is implemented as a mobile communication device, the signal recorded by microphone 124 may for example be used to communicate with another mobile communication device via transceiver 112 and antenna 113, yet it may also be stored e.g. in memory 111 or used to activate a function via voice control.
Mode control 122 is used to activate a particular operation mode of mobile device 100. Modes may be a communication mode, a camera mode, an audio player mode and the like. A mode may be activated by a user using keypad 121, or it may be activated by other means, such as when removing a coverage from a camera lens provided on the mobile device 100, or, in case of a fold-type communication device, by opening the device. A standby mode may also be provided, which may be entered after a certain amount of time has lapsed after the last user input, or directly by user input.
Furthermore, an image capturing unit in form of camera unit 140 and a flash unit 150 are provided in the mobile device 100. Camera unit 140 comprises an image processor 141, an image sensor 142 and lens control 143. Lens control 143 controls lens 144, which is shown here as a single lens, yet it may comprise a plurality of lenses. Lens control 143 controls the position of lens 144 such that an image is focused on an image sensor 142. Lens control 143 may for example use an auto focus method for controlling the axial position of lens 144, such that a sharp image is created on image sensor 142. Lens control 143 is optional, and a fixed lens 144 may also be used. Furthermore, an aperture (not shown) may be provided to control the sharpness in the image plane, e.g. behind lens 114. Image sensor 142 may comprise a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or a CMOS (Complementary Metal oxide Semiconductor) image sensor. Image sensor 142 collects light from the image and converts it to an electrical signal, and this raw image data may be processed by image processor 141. Image processor 141 may be a conventional digital signal processor programmed to process image data, which is well known in the art. By means of camera interface 160, the image data may be supplied to microprocessor 131 via input/output unit 132 and stored in memory 111, or it may be displayed on display 123. By means of an electrical or wireless connection (not shown), the image data may also be transmitted to another mobile device or a computer system, or it may be sent via transceiver 112 and antenna 113 through a mobile communication network to a receiving unit.
Flash unit 150 comprises a driver 151 and one or more light emitting diodes (LEDs) 152. Control signals may be supplied to driver 151 from microprocessor 131 via input/output unit 132 and camera interface 160, yet driver 151 may also directly interface image processor 141. In low light situations, such as at night or in a dark room, image sensor 142 may not receive enough light to provide quality image data. In low light situations, exposure time may be increased which results in camera shake being visible in images leading to motion blur, or sensor gain may be increased resulting in a low signal to noise ratio. If such a situation is detected, camera unit 140 may enter into a flash mode, in which an image is captured by image sensor 142 while light emitting diode 152 is illuminating the scene to be photographed. Light emitting diode 152 may comprise a white power LED. The driver 151 may be in the form of a single chip-integrated circuit and may comprise an external inductor. Driver 151 may also comprise a driver for more than one LED, e.g. a dual LED driver. Flash unit 150 may be directly activated by image processor 141 when detecting a low light situation, or it may be activated by microprocessor 131 via input/output unit 132 and camera interface 160. Furthermore, a lens (not shown) may be provided in front of light emitting diode 152 in order to focus emitted light, and a reflector may be provided on the opposite side of LED 152.
In operation, image sensor 142 may acquire images at a certain frame rate, the frame rate being determined by the light conditions. In low light conditions, longer exposure times are needed and accordingly, only relatively low frame rates may be used. Image sensor 142 may acquire frames at a rate of five frames per second, resulting in a maximum exposure time of 200 ms. The acquired frames may for example be displayed by means of display 123 to a user wanting to take a photograph. By an actuation of a release button, e.g. comprised in keypad 121, by the user, flash unit 150 is activated, a predetermined number of images is acquired using image sensor 142, and exposure parameters are determined by image processor 141. Using the determined exposure parameters, one or more image frames are then recorded. After recording of the image frames, the flash unit 150 can be deactivated. Image processor 141 may for example use an auto exposure loop and/or auto white balance loop to determine exposure parameters.
Mobile device 100 may furthermore comprise other components common to a mobile device, such as a battery, a subscriber identification module (SIM), e.g. in the form of a SIM card, a data interface for establishing a connection to computer systems and similar components. The mobile device 100 may for example have the form of a cellular phone or a Blackberry@ communication device.
Fig. 1
Fig. 1
According to the embodiment of , the camera unit 140 of the mobile device 100 is capable of capturing frames with at least two different frame rates. The frame rate is generally given in units of frames per second (fps). In low light conditions, the camera unit 140 may for example operate in a flash mode at an operating frame rate between 4 and 10 fps, for example at 5 or 7.5 fps. In flash mode, the flash unit 150 will be activated when taking a picture, i.e. capturing an image frame with camera unit 140, so that an illumination of the scene to be photographed is provided. According to the embodiment, the mobile device 100 is provided with a control unit to control the capturing of frames. In the example of , the control unit may be implemented as image processor 141, or as microprocessor 131. The control unit controls the camera unit 140 and the flash unit 150 in such a way that a flash sequence is performed in which a predetermined number of frames is captured at a fast frame rate, while the flash unit 150 is activated. These so called "initial frames" are used to determine exposure parameters or other parameters, e.g. using an auto exposure loop or an auto white balance loop. These frames are captured at a frame rate faster than said operating frame rate, e.g. by a factor between 2 and 8 times faster. A factor of about 2, 3, 4 or 5 times may for example be used. If the operating frame rate is 5 or 7.5 fps, the initial frames are for example captured at a frame rate of 15 or 22.5 fps, respectively. Further, the control unit initiates the capturing of at least one image frame by the camera unit 140, and controls the activation of flash unit 150 during the capturing of the at least one image frame. For capturing the image frame, the exposure parameters determined from the initial frames may be used. Further, as the maximum exposure time available when capturing the initial frames at a fast frame rate is decreased, an exposure target set for capturing these frames may also be decreased, so that the exposure target can be reached and an exposure time and/or image sensor gain can be determined. An exposure time determined on the basis of an exposure target decreased by a factor will also be decreased by a corresponding factor, and accordingly, said factor may be accounted for when capturing the at least one image frame. As a result, even though the initial frames are captured at a fast frame rate with a reduced exposure target, an image frame with the correct exposure can be captured by camera unit 140. Further, as a fast frame rate is used, the whole sequence of capturing the initial frames and the image frame will be shortened, resulting in a reduced time during which flash unit 150 is activated. The reduced flash pulse time is beneficial for persons being photographed, as they will not be excessively disturbed. It is furthermore beneficial for the flash unit, as the risk of overheating and potentially damaging the flash unit is reduced.
As mentioned above, the present invention applies to any mobile device that includes a built-in image capturing unit. The mobile device 100 may be implemented in the form of a personal data assistant (PDA), a personal navigation device (PND), or a portable computer. For these applications, transceiver 112 and antenna 113 may for example be used for wireless data transfer, yet they are optional. Although beneficial, lens control 143, as well as the audio processing unit 114, microphone 124 and loudspeaker 125 do not need to be provided. In other embodiments, mobile device 100 may itself be a camera, such as a compact camera, a single lens reflex (SLR) camera or a network/web camera. Again, these cameras may not be provided with a transceiver 112 or an antenna 113, and audio processing unit 114, microphone 124 and loudspeaker 125 are also optional. Mode control 122 may for example be used to select different exposure modes, such as shutter priority or aperture priority mode, an auto exposure mode, a flash mode, a setup mode or a viewing mode, in which recorded images can be displayed on display 123. In general, flash unit 150 may be comprised in a unit separate from mobile device 100 and functionally connected thereto. An SLR camera or a compact camera may for example use an external flash. Flash unit 150 may also be movable with respect to a housing of mobile device 100, e.g. from a storage position to a use position. Flash unit 150 may for example protrude from the housing in a use position to provide a better illumination.
Fig. 2. Fig. 2A
In another embodiment, the mobile device 100 is implemented in the form of a cellular phone with an integrated camera, as shown in shows the front face of cellular phone 200. Cellular phone 200 comprises housing 201 with an opening for a loudspeaker 202 and an opening for a microphone 203. Keypad 121 comprises a plurality of keys, such as alphanumeric keys, and selection keys. Only a few keys are shown here as an example, and keypad 121 may comprise more control elements, including a joystick-like element, a rocker, a turn-push button and the like. Display 123 may be used to display information, selection menus and the like. When initiating a call, a user may use keypad 121 to dial in a number of a remote communication device and initiate the call with a function key, in response to which data is sent to a receiving station by antenna 113. The user of the cellular phone may then communicate with the receiving party through microphone 124 and loudspeaker 125 located behind the respective openings 203 and 202. The functioning of a cellular phone is known to a person of ordinary skill in the art, and will thus not be explained in greater detail here.
Fig. 2B
Fig. 1
By actuating a button of keypad 121, a user may initiate a mode control 122 to change the operation of cellular phone 200 into a camera mode. shows the backside of cellular phone 200. The backside comprises a lens 144 and a flash unit 150. Flash unit 150 may for example comprise one or more light emitting diodes. A removable cover for covering the lens 144 may also be provided. The user may take a photograph of a scene located in front of lens 144 by pressing release 170 when in camera mode. Release 170 may be part of the keypad 121, and another key, such as a function or alphanumeric key may also be used as a release. In low light situations, cell phone 200 enters a flash mode, in which flash unit 150 will be used to illuminate the scene when taking a photograph. By implementing the system of in cellular phone 200, cellular phone 200 is capable of capturing an image with good exposure while flash unit 150 is activated only during comparatively short periods of time.
Figs. 3
4
Fig. 4A and B
Fig. 4A
Fig. 4A
With respect to and , another embodiment of a method according to the invention is now described. In a first step 301, the camera unit is operated in a flash mode. The flash mode may for example be entered in low light conditions. The frame capturing rate is generally relatively slow, as slow exposure times are needed due to the low amount of available light. A frame rate of 5 or 7.5 fps with a maximum exposure time of 200 ms or 132 ms, respectively, may be used. Referring to , curve 401 shows the capturing of frames, while curve 402 shows the activation of the flash unit. The curves are plotted as a function of time and show points in time between which frames are captured or the flash unit is activated. In , curve sections 403 and 404 indicate the capturing of frames in flash mode at an operating frame rate. These frames may for example be displayed to a user of the mobile device for aiming purposes. In , after the user pressing the release, a predetermined number of initial frames 405 is captured. These may be used for determining exposure parameters, such as exposure time, gain, aperture, white balance and the like. These parameters may for example be adjusted during the capturing of the frames 405, so that as good as possible exposure conditions are obtained after capturing the last initial frame. Afterwards, image frame 406 is captured, which corresponds to the actual photograph. As can be seen on curve 402, the flash unit is activated during the capturing of the initial frames and the image frame. As the frames 405 are captured at the operating frame rate which is relatively low, the flash unit needs to be activated for a long period of time.
Fig. 3
Fig. 4B
Fig. 4B
Fig. 4A
Fig. 4B
Fig. 4B
Fig. 3
Fig. 4A
The embodiment of is illustrated in . After capturing frames 403 and 404 at the relatively slow operating frame rate, the capture sequence is started at time point 407. In step 302, the frame rate is increased by a predetermined factor. In the next step 303, the flash unit is activated. Activation of the flash unit is indicated with reference numeral 408 in . In step 304, a predetermined number of initial frames is captured. The time required to capture these initial frames 405 is shorter than the time required to capture the initial frames 405 in . In this example, 8 initial frames are captured, yet other numbers are also possible, for example within a range between 3 and 15. In the next step 305, an image frame 409 is captured. The flash unit is deactivated in step 306, as indicated by reference numeral 410 in . As indicated in , the flash unit may also be deactivated for a time period 411, between the capturing of the last initial frame and the capturing of the image frame. As can be seen, by using the method of the embodiment described with respect to , the time during which an activation of the flash unit is required is significantly reduced as compared to the capture sequence of . An overheating of the flash unit and a disturbance of the persons being photographed can thus be prevented. After capturing the image frame, the image frame may be processed, e.g. using image processor 141, and displayed to the user of the mobile device on a display, such as display 123.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
With respect to , another embodiment of the method according to the invention is illustrated. The flow diagram of shows a first step 501, in which the camera unit is operated in a flash mode, in which frames are captured at an operating frame rate. In step 502, a signal is obtained to start a capturing sequence. Such a signal may be obtained from a release pressed by a user. In a next step 503, a flash unit is activated. A camera unit is generally operated with an exposure target, which is used to adjust exposure parameters so that an image acquired with the camera unit has an appropriate brightness. Such an exposure target may for example be manually adjusted in order to achieve underexposure or overexposure. To meet the exposure target, exposure parameters such as exposure time (shutter speed) or aperture, if available, may be adjusted. In step 504, the exposure target is reduced by a predetermined factor. As the exposure target is reduced, exposure time can also be reduced to meet the target.
Fig. 4A
Fig. 4B
In a next step 505, an auto exposure loop is started. During the auto exposure loop, initial frames are captured at a fast frame rate in step 506. An auto exposure loop is used to determine an exposure parameter, which may be varied over subsequent initial frames in order to meet the exposure target. Due to the reduced exposure target and the resulting reduced exposure time, it is possible to acquire the initial frames at a frame rate higher than the frame rate that has to be used for acquiring frames without a reduction of the exposure target. This can also be seen from , where the maximum possible exposure time is twice as long as the maximum possible exposure time in for the initial frames 405. It should be noted that the maximum exposure time should only be reduced by a factor such that it is still possible to derive useful information from the frames acquired with the image sensor.
In step 507, the flash unit is deactivated. An exposure parameter is determined in step 508 on the basis of the initial frames captured and the predetermined factor. In step 509, the flash unit is activated and an image frame is captured in step 510. When capturing the image frame, the determined exposure parameter is taken into account. It should be clear that more than one exposure parameter may be determined in step 508, and may be taken into account in step 510. An exposure parameter may for example be at least one parameter selected from the group of exposure time, gain, aperture and white balance. In step 511, the flash unit is deactivated, after which the method is ended. The captured image may then be further processed, using any of the methods of image processing known to a person skilled in the art. The image may furthermore be stored or displayed to a user.
Fig. 6
shows a flow diagram illustrating another embodiment of the method according to the invention. In step 601, a camera unit is operated in low light conditions at an operating frame rate. The operating frame rate may for example be determined by a maximum exposure time, which is set so that motion blur does not become too prevailant. In order to enable the image sensor to collect enough light for producing an image, the camera unit generally runs close to the maximum exposure time, and accordingly, at the corresponding low maximum frame rate. In step 602, a signal to start a capture sequence is obtained, e.g. from a release button by a user. In step 603, an exposure target for capturing an image frame, using which the camera unit is being operated, is reduced by a predetermined factor. The flash unit is activated in step 604. in step 605, auto exposure and auto white balance loops are started. During these loops, initial frames are captured at the operating frame rate multiplied by said predetermined factor in step 606. During the auto exposure loop, exposure stabilizes at a level determined by the exposure target. After stabilization, the exposure time, sensor gain and white balance can be determined in step 607. The determination of sensor gains may not be necessary as it may be set to a maximum value in low light conditions. In step 608, the flash is again deactivated.
Due to the reduced exposure target, the initial frames will generally be too dark, and accordingly, the determined exposure parameters are not suitable for capturing an image frame. To account for the reduced exposure target, the exposure time is multiplied by said predetermined factor in step 609. Using the adjusted exposure time will then result in an image with an exposure corresponding to the original exposure target. As an example only, the frame rate may be tripled during the auto exposure and auto white balance loop, and accordingly, the exposure target should be divided by three. The exposure time determined by using the reduced exposure target should then again be tripled for the capturing of the image frame, so that the image will be correctly exposed.
In step 610, the exposure time or the shutter speed is adjusted in the camera unit. Such an adjustment may take a certain length of time, and accordingly, it is beneficial to deactivate the flash during the adjustment. The flash is activated in step 611 and an image frame is captured in step 612 using the adjusted exposure time, and if applicable the determined gain. The flash is then again deactivated in step 613. The captured image frame may furthermore be processed and is stored in step 614. The image frame may be stored in a volatile memory of the camera unit or of a mobile device, e.g. in a RAM, or it may be stored in a non-volatile memory, such as a flash memory card and the like. In step 615, the image frame is displayed to a user, for example on a display of a mobile device in which the camera unit is comprised.
Figs. 3
5
6
Fig. 3
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the steps explained with respect to , and may be combined. For example the method of may also comprise a step of adjusting an exposure time or shutter speed, or the steps of deactivating and reactivating the flash unit between the capturing of the initial frames and the capturing of the image frame. It should also be clear that the described methods may be implemented in any of the above-mentioned devices, such as a mobile communication device, a camera, a cellular phone, and the like.
Figs. 1
2
Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Further, the present invention applies to any device that includes an image capturing unit and a flash unit. The present invention is thus not limited to the configuration shown in and or mentioned in the description. With respect to , the device may for example not comprise an audio processing unit 114, as well as a microphone 124 and a loudspeaker 125, and it may not comprise a lens control 143 and a transceiver 112, yet it may comprise other units such as a global positioning system (GPS) unit for determining a position, additional control elements and so forth. Components shown in may also be integrated into a specially designed application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), which may for example incorporate the microprocessor 131, the audio processing unit 114, the image processor 141 and/or the input/output unit 132. | |
Health professionals have identified that translated information about COVID-19 vaccines, including which age groups in the community should seek out AstraZeneca, on the federal health department is months out of date.
The Australian health department updated its information since the ABC broke the news about the communication bungle on Thursday.
The failure to update the COVID-19 online information for eight weeks in some cases led to advice that AstraZeneca was the preferred vaccines for Australians over 50. That official advice had changed in June, and then again for residents living in outbreak areas in Greater Sydney, where the risk of being infected with the virus has grown.
Federal government data on vaccination rates to August showed that uptake in western Sydney, where there are high numbers of CALD residents, is among the lowest in the state of NSW. It is also one of the most impacted areas in Sydney due to the community transmission of the COVID Delta variant.
Elfa Moraitakis, CEO of SydWest Multicultural Services, told SBS News that the health department’s outdated information had frustrated community leaders who were attempting to help better inform their communities.
“It is unjust to our diverse communities in Western Sydney not to have access to accurate information,” Moraitakis siad.
“[And some] people wonder why the community feels alienated and isolated from the rest of the city?”
The health department issued a statement that said it was committed to providing timely and reliable information to CALD communities.
“While every effort is made to ensure that translated materials are updated immediately, it is equally important that translations are accurate for the 63 in-language web pages that provide vital information for CALD communities,” a health spokesperson told SBS News.
Responding to a question in parliament about the lag in updated public health information, aged care services minister Richard Colbeck acknowledged that the eight-week delay to provide translations about essential vaccine information was too long.
“It should have been updated sooner, it should not have taken eight weeks,” Colbeck said.
“Communication is extremely important and this information should have been updated sooner.”
Shadow health minister Mark Butler said ensuring credible sources of information stayed updated in the current climate was essential.
“There’s got to be more targeted information of a high quality,” Butler told reporters in Canberra.
“And the most basic thing is to ensure those information points, including the government’s own website, are kept up to date.”
During Question Time, health minister Greg Hunt said the government was using channels including social media, television, and advertising to ‘make sure messages are provided to the culturally and linguistically diverse communities’.
READ MORE: | https://www.themandarin.com.au/165790-departments-translated-health-advice-about-covid-vaccines-months-out-of-date/ |
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Michael is the National Chair of Osler’s Corporate Group which encompasses Capital Markets, Emerging and High Growth Companies, M&A and Private Equity. He is a member of the Firm’s Diversity Committee Executive Council and Operations Committee, and is the former Chair of the Firm’s Audit Committee and a former member of the Firm’s Partnership Board. He has been nationally and internationally recognized as a leading capital markets and cross-border corporate lawyer in Canada.
Michael’s practice focuses on capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, private equity and general corporate matters. He has advised clients in transactions involving the private placement and public offering of debt and equity securities, take-over bids, plans of arrangement, private equity fund formations and leveraged buy-outs. He has also advised various pension funds in their investment activities and various private equity funds in connection with their formation and investment activities.
Michael has provided corporate, M&A and securities law advice to issuers and market participants in the electricity, telecommunications, media, automotive, robotics, life sciences, financial, pension, benefits, real estate, semiconductor, mining, printing, food and general technology sectors. | https://www.osler.com/en/team/michael-innes |
In almost all the well-established integrated systems referred to above, herbivorous or omnivorous species of fish are used. The most common species are the common and Chinese carps. The catfish Pangasius, Indian carps and species of tilapia have also been used on a limited scale. The major benefit to fish farming of integration is easy access to the manure which fertilizes the pond and produces plankton and other micro-organisms to feed the fish.
The feeding habits of the fish, particularly carps, make such integrated farming possible and beneficial.
As mentioned earlier, it is a common practice to have wider embankments in fish ponds to facilitate the building of pig sties and also planting of fruit trees, vegetables or other crops. In China, embankments in integrated farms may be over 10m wide and planted with groundnuts, vegetables, colza, corn, sugar cane, mulberry, bananas, castor, etc. (fig. 30.1). The slopes are planted with grass, which can be used as fodder for grass carp and also for other farm animals like cattle.Feeder channels and irrigation ditches associated with the pond farms are used for growing aquatic plants, such as azolla, duck weed,water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes),and Pistia stratiotis, which are used for feeding thepigs. The control of macrovegetation in tropical fish ponds is a major problem, but in the integrated farming as practised in China, such vegetation is considered a valuable food resource.
Fairly high rates of stocking are practised, as the productivity is generally high. Because of the variety of food materials which become available in the ponds, polyculture is more commonly practised. A total of about 60000 early fingerlings of different species weighing 20–30g are stocked per ha of ponds.
Pig sties are built on the pond embankments or on neighbouring land. The number of pigs reared in relation to the pond area differs (figs 30.1 and 30.2). In China about 45–75 pigs per ha are generally raised, but some farms have up to 90 pigs per ha. The average production of manure (faeces and urine) per pig is around 7.8–8 tons per annum. This amounts to 351–600 tons of manure/ha per year and a very high loading of organic matter in the ponds. According to Chen and Li (1980), even higher rates of
150–300 pigs per ha of pond area are maintained in Taiwan. Considerable care and water management skills are required to prevent pollution of the water and mortality of the stock. It has to be remembered that the number of pigs raised per ha and the manuring rates are worked out empirically, based on years of experience. Experimental work seems to indicate that satisfactory fish production can be obtained with much lower manuring (Buck et al., 1979). Under Hungarian conditions, themaximum loading possible is reported to be 600kg/ha per day, when manure is placed in localized heaps in the ponds (Woynarovich, 1980). The output of manure depends on the size and age of the pig. While a piglet gives about 3.4kg manure a day, a one-year-old pig will produce about 12.5kg a day. It is now a common practice to avoid direct washing of the wastes into the ponds. The wastes are conveyed to a specially built tank, where sedimentation and fermentation of the manure take place. At regular intervals, the supernatant liquid from the tank is allowed to flow into the ponds. The sludge that remains is removed for fertilizing agricultural crops. Thus the loading of decomposable organic matter in the ponds is reduced. The chemical composition of pig wastes is presented (see Table 7.18). The waste output and chemical composition depend on the quality and quantity of food and water consumed by the pigs.
Traditionally, the pigs in integrated farms depend on feedstuffs produced on the farm. As stated earlier, several aquatic plants such as the water hyacinth, Ipomoea, Pistia, Wolffia, Lemna and Azolla are grown in the canals and associated water bodies near the farm. These, as well as the foliage of several terrestrial plants such as vegetables, corn, rice and leguminous plants, are utilized as feedstuffs for pigs. Over 10 tons of aquatic plants can be produced in one ha of water area and this is considered enough to feed 10 pigs. These plant materials are generally mixed with rice bran, bananas, coconut meal, soybean wastes, fish meal, etc., for feeding to the pigs.
The duration of the culture of fish and pigs varies, but generally it is about one year. The yield of fish is reported to vary from 2 to 18 tons/ha per annum. The pigs are generally sold when about 90–100kg in weight. The overall
economics of combined fish and pig raising depend on the local conditions. It has however, been clearly demonstrated in many areas that the adoption of such integrated farming increases the productivity per area and input, and it also increases the farmer’s income by a factor of two or more. Table 30.1 presents the annual operating costs and returns of a pig/fish farm in Malaysia, which illustrates the economic benefits derived.
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Copyright © 2018-2020 BrainKart.com; All Rights Reserved. Developed by Therithal info, Chennai. | https://www.brainkart.com/article/Pig-and-fish-farming---Integrated-farming-of-fish-and-livestock_16169/ |
Michael J. Burak graduated in 2012 with a BA in both Spanish and Linguistics and Languages. He is the founder and CEO of Languages in Motion Ltd., a company dedicated to providing industry specialized, certified-level Translators and Interpreters for individuals, small-medium size businesses, and large corporations. Burak first started working in translation when we founded the University of Calgary Translation Association, an undergraduate student club that became the inspiration for the business. While president of the club, Burak noticed there was a need for certified translation services in the city and found a niche to develop a Language Translation company that provides service in 65 languages. He also founded the International Translations and Interpreters Foundation, an organization that works to bridge the gap between the private and public sector while offering educational programs and seminars to aspiring translators and interpreters.
What is your favourite University of Calgary memory?
Among many things, the highlight was definitely winning the Club of The Year Award with the University of Calgary Translation Association in our first year of operations.
What was your favourite campus hang out spot?
Definitely the 10th floor or basement of MacKimmie Library until it was shut down – then TFDL in the offices or in the lounge area
If you could give one piece of advice to a student completing the same degree that you did, what would it be?
Go on exchange or study abroad for at least a semester or two. The experiences you gain and the people you meet, for roughly the same cost of doing school here, is unparalleled. Living in a different country with different language, culture and food will top the list of your best experiences in life.
What is the best thing about your job?
Truthfully, the best thing about my job is that daily, I get to be surrounded by people that speak so many different languages and are from many different cultures. Additionally, being part of an industry such as the Translation and Interpretation Industry, that is growing and beginning to be recognized as a legitimate profession, is exciting.
How did your arts degree help you get to where you are now/your current career?
It has helped me understand what it takes to be a translator or an interpreter. It has helped me to realize that not only do translators need to learn a second language, they need to master it with near-native fluency to effectively read and understand the text to be translated. It has also helped me make fantastic connections within the university, both as a student and as a grad. | https://news.ucalgary.ca/news/alumni-spotlight-michael-j-burak-ba12-spanish-linguistics-and-languages |
The thing about working the online crowd, as with a face-to-face classroom, is that you don’t need to be a standup comedian. . . What you need is a creative way of analyzing your students and providing the encouragement, mixed with a light-hearted delivery, to help them drop their guards and get involved (Barnhart).
On the whole, the article looks at humor as a viable instructional strategy to help build and engage an online community of learners. That said, educators should try to establish more creative ways beyond funny subject lines to help more students feel comfortable and encouraged to participate in day-to-day online classroom activities. | https://uwbdli.com/2018/04/10/using-humor-to-boost-the-online-classroom-experience/ |
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The Ingrid Console Table with Drawers is clean and simple in design, with its minimalist form and sculpted, tapered round legs. As practical as it is beautiful, it features 2 drawers for storing bits and pieces, keeping the table top clutter-free and ready to style. The warmth and beauty of natural oak, combined with the simplicity of contemporary Scandinavian design, makes this console table an elegant addition to any room or hallway. | https://www.thedesignedit.com.au/collections/consoles-dressers/products/ingrid-console-table-with-drawers |
Bo Chen, associate professor of, Computer Science, is the principal investigator of a new National Science Foundation (NSF) grant award of $598,416, The three-year grant is titled, “SaTC: CORE: Small: Hardware-assisted Self-repairing in Decentralized Cloud Storage against Malicious Attacks.” Zhenlin Wang, professor of Computer Science, is co-PI.
The project aims to develop the first hardware-assisted self-repairing decentralized cloud storage system to defend against malicious attacks.
Chen is a member of the Institute of Computing and Cybersystems’s (ICC) Centers for Biocomputing and Digital Health (BDH), Computing Education (CompEd), and Cybersecurity (CyberS).
Project Abstract: A decentralized cloud storage system eliminates the need of dedicated computing infrastructures by allowing peers which have spare storage space to join the network and to provide storage services. Compared to a conventional centralized cloud storage system, it can bring significant benefits including cheaper storage cost, better fault tolerance, greater scalability, as well as more efficient data storing and retrieval. While bringing immense benefits, the decentralized cloud storage system also raises significant security concerns, as storage peers are more likely to misbehave since they are hosted by individual users who are less reputable and less skillful. This project thus takes an essential step towards protecting the long-term integrity of the critical data outsourced to the emerging decentralized cloud. The project’s novelties are enabling a new self-repair concept in the decentralized cloud and developing a hardware-assisted secure decentralized cloud storage system supporting self-repair. The project’s broader significance and importance are protecting critical digital assets outsourced to the untrusted cloud, training graduate students, and reaching out to underrepresented minority students.
The project aims to develop the first hardware-assisted self-repairing decentralized cloud storage system against malicious attacks. It resolves a fundamental conflict between the requirement of long-term integrity guarantee and the lack of trustiness in a decentralized setting, by leveraging the trusted execution environment (TEE) and the flash translation layer (FTL). Especially, the following research tasks are conducted: 1) enabling secure self-repair in each storage peer by collaborating the TEE and the FTL; and 2) enabling secure self-repair across multiple untrusted storage peers by leveraging the TEE; and 3) building a fully functioning secure decentralized cloud storage system with self-repair support. | https://blogs.mtu.edu/icc/2022/08/bo-chen-cs-is-pi-of-598-4k-nsf-grant-to-develop-hardware-assisted-self-repairing-decentralized-cloud-storage/ |
BACKGROUND
SUMMARY
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Writing boards such as whiteboards and blackboards are frequently used in many different settings (e.g., academic, corporate, non-profit, residential, etc.). Various content including text, drawings, arrows, tables, charts, and graphs may be drawn or placed on the writing boards for lectures, training, brainstorming sessions, etc. Additionally or alternatively, similar content may be hand-drawn on a sheet of paper.
In order to electronically memorialize these ideas, a photograph of the writing board may be taken or a scan of the sheet of paper may be executed. Further, image processing such as optical character recognition (OCR), stroke recognition, and reconstruction may be executed to extract the contents of the image (i.e., the photograph, the scan, etc.).
Although computer recognition of large shapes like ovals and rectangles in the image is relatively easy, computer recognition of hand-drawn arrows is particularly difficult, mainly because arrowheads are drawn with a variety of styles. Regardless, users still wish to convert the image including arrows into an electronically editable format.
In general, in one aspect, the invention relates to a method for processing an image with a processor. The method comprises: identifying, within an image, a candidate arrow comprising a long path adjacent to a plurality of short paths; determining a direction of the candidate arrow based on the long path; estimating a tip pixel within the plurality of short paths based on the direction of the candidate arrow; determining, for the candidate arrow, a plurality of arrowhead edges in the plurality of short paths based on the tip pixel; and generating, for the candidate arrow, a plurality of refined arrowhead edges based on the plurality of arrowhead edges, the direction, and the tip pixel.
In general, in one aspect, the invention relates to a non-transitory computer readable medium (CRM) storing computer readable program code. The computer readable program code, when executed by a processor: identifies, within an image, a candidate arrow comprising a long path adjacent to a plurality of short paths; determines a direction of the candidate arrow based on the long paths; estimates a tip pixel within the plurality of short paths based on the direction of the candidate arrow; determines, for the candidate arrow, a plurality of arrowhead edges in the plurality of short paths based on the tip pixel; and generates, for the candidate arrow, a plurality of refined arrowhead edges based on the plurality of arrowhead edges, the direction, and the tip pixel.
In general, in one aspect, the invention relates to an image processing apparatus. The image processing apparatus comprises: a memory; and a processor that: identifies, within an image, a candidate arrow comprising a long path adjacent to a plurality of short paths; determines a direction of the candidate arrow based on the long path; estimates a tip pixel within the plurality of short paths based on the direction of the candidate arrow; determines, for the candidate arrow, a plurality of arrowhead edges in the plurality of short paths based on the tip pixel; generates, for the candidate arrow, a plurality of refined arrowhead edges based on the plurality of arrowhead edges, the direction, and the tip pixel; and matches properties of the plurality of refined arrowhead edges to an arrow description.
Other aspects of the invention will be apparent from the following description and the appended claims.
Specific embodiments of the invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying figures. Like elements in the various figures are denoted by like reference numerals for consistency.
In the following detailed description of embodiments of the invention, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a more thorough understanding of the invention. However, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known features have not been described in detail to avoid unnecessarily complicating the description.
In general, embodiments of the invention provide a method, a non-transitory computer readable medium (CRM), and a system for image processing using a processor. An image including one or more hand-drawn arrows is obtained. A candidate arrow (i.e., possible arrow) is identified within the image by identifying one or more long paths (e.g., the arrow body) followed by a set of short paths (e.g., the arrowhead). Then, a tip pixel is estimated using the direction of the candidate arrow. Multiple arrowhead edges are initially determined starting from the estimated tip pixel and then refined based on a vector that is orthogonal, or approximately orthogonal, to the direction of the candidate arrow. The properties of the refined arrowhead edges may be compared with one or more arrow descriptions. If there is a match, the candidate arrow is deemed to be an arrow. Accordingly, when the image is converted into an editable format, the long paths and the short paths in the image corresponding to the candidate arrow are replaced with an arrow graphic.
FIG. 1
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shows a system () in accordance with one or more embodiments of the invention. As shown in , the system () has multiple components including a buffer (), a tip engine (), an arrowhead engine (), and a matching engine (). Each of these components (, , , ) may be located on the same computing device (e.g., personal computer (PC), laptop, tablet PC, smart phone, server, mainframe, cable box, kiosk, etc.) or may be located on different computing devices connected by a network of any size and any topology having wired and/or wireless segments.
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In one or more embodiments of the invention, the system () includes the buffer (). The buffer () may be implemented in hardware (i.e., circuitry), software, or any combination thereof. The buffer () stores an image () having one or more arrows. The arrows may be hand-drawn or machine printed. The image () may be a scan of a hardcopy document. The image () may be a digital photograph of a hardcopy document or whiteboard. Additionally or alternatively, the image () may be downloaded from any source (e.g., website). Further, the image () may be of any size and in any format (e.g., JPEG, GIF, BMP, etc.). In one or more embodiments of the invention, the image () is skeletonized (e.g., using the Medial Axis Transform).
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Those skilled in the art, having the benefit of this detailed description, will appreciate that a hand-drawn arrow may appear within the image () as one or more long paths (i.e., the arrow body) followed by multiple short paths (i.e., the arrowhead). In other words, candidate arrows are identified by identifying one or more long paths in the image followed by multiple short paths. The long path adjacent to (e.g., closest to) the multiple short paths may be referred to as the terminal long path. If there is only one long path, it is the terminal long path.
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In one or more embodiments of the invention, the system () includes the tip engine (). The tip engine () may be implemented in hardware (i.e., circuitry), software, or any combination thereof. The tip engine () is configured to estimate the tip pixel of a candidate arrow. The tip pixel is the furthest-most pixel, within the arrowhead, in the direction of the arrow. In one or more embodiment, the tip engine () first determines a direction vector for the candidate arrow based on the endpoints of the terminal long path.
Let A be the vector from the origin to a starting endpoint of the terminal long path. Let B be the vector from the origin to a terminal endpoint (i.e., the endpoint closest to the multiple short paths) of the terminal long path. The direction vector D may be determined as D=B−A. D may be normalized such that it has a magnitude of 1.
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In one or more embodiments of the invention, the tip engine () may generate a test vector T for each pixel within the multiple short paths. Each test vector T goes from the terminal endpoint of the terminal long path to one pixel within the multiple short paths.
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In one or more embodiments of the invention, the tip engine () estimates the tip pixel by calculating the dot product of the direction vector D with each test vector T (i.e., D·T). Accordingly, multiple dot products are calculated (i.e., one dot product for each test vector). The pixel corresponding to the test vector that produced the largest positive dot product with the direction vector D is estimated to be the tip pixel.
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In one or more embodiments of the invention, the system () includes the arrowhead engine (). The arrowhead engine () may be implemented in hardware (i.e., circuitry), software, or any combination thereof. The arrowhead engine () is configured to determine the edges of the arrowhead. Specifically, the arrowhead engine () traces (e.g., using the Moore-Neighbor Tracing algorithm) edges in the short paths staring from the tip pixel. The traced edges are collections of pixels that form the contour (e.g., outer perimeter) of the arrowhead. There may be two edges, and thus two collections of pixels, that extend from the tip pixel. The tracing may continue until the body of the candidate arrow is reached. Additionally or alternatively, the tracing may continue until an extension of the body of the candidate arrow is reached (discussed below).
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In one or more embodiments of the invention, the arrowhead engine () is configured to refine the arrowhead edges. The refinement process may include identifying an outer pixel for each arrowhead edge (i.e., collection of pixels), and then applying a contour smoothing operation to the arrowhead edge based on the outer pixel and the tip pixel.
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In one or more embodiments, the arrowhead engine () calculates a normal vector N that is orthogonal (or approximately orthogonal) to the direction vector D. The arrowhead engine () also generates a test vector T for each pixel in the collection of pixels. Each test vector T goes from the terminal endpoint of the terminal long path to one pixel in a collection of pixels (i.e., an arrowhead edge).
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In one or more embodiments, the arrowhead engine () identifies the outer pixel in a collection by calculating the dot product of the normal vector N with each test vector T (i.e., N·T). Accordingly, multiple dot products are calculated (i.e., one dot product for each test vector). The pixel in the collection corresponding to the test vector that produced the largest positive dot product with the normal vector N is identified as the outer pixel. This is repeated for each collection of pixels.
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In one or more embodiments, the arrowhead engine () further refines an arrowhead edge (i.e., collection of traced pixels) by removing the pixels in the collection of pixels that are beyond the outer pixel. In one or more embodiments of the invention, the arrowhead engine () further refines an arrowhead edge by applying a contour smoothing operation to the collection of pixels. The contour smoothing operation may include generating a straight line between the outer pixel and the tip pixel. The contour smoothing operating may include fitting a curve to the remaining pixels in the collection of pixels and the tip pixel.
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In one or more embodiments, the system () includes the matching engine (). The matching engine () may be implemented in hardware (i.e., circuitry), software, or any combination thereof. The matching engine () is configured to compare the properties of the refined arrowhead edges, and possibly the body of the candidate arrow, with one or more arrow descriptions. These properties are used to distinguish between arrowhead and non-arrowhead shapes. The properties may include the lengths of each refined arrowhead edge, the angle between the two refined arrowhead edges, the angles between each refined arrowhead edge and the body of the candidate arrow, etc. If a match is found, the candidate arrow is deemed to be an actual arrow in the image (). Accordingly, when the image () is converted into a editable format, the candidate arrow (e.g., hand-drawn arrow) may be replaced with an arrow graphic.
Those skilled in the art, having the benefit of this detailed description, will appreciate that the comparison/matching process may be fine-tuned empirically with respect to a collection of good and poor examples of candidate arrows. Further, this fine-tuning may be executed by hand or by machine learning to perform optimization.
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Although shows the system () as having four components (, , , ), in other embodiments, the system () may have more or fewer components. For example, the system () may include a converter engine (not shown) that converts the image () into an editable format. During this conversion process, the converter may replace hand-drawn arrows in the image () with an arrow graphic. As another example, the system () may include addition engines to perform additional processing (e.g., OCR) on the image () to extract text from the image (). As yet another example, the system () may include a repository to store arrow descriptions.
FIG. 2
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shows a flowchart in accordance with one or more embodiments of the invention. The flowchart depicts a process for image processing. One or more of the steps in may be performed by the components (, , , ) of the system (), discussed above in reference to . In one or more embodiments of the invention, one or more of the steps shown in may be omitted, repeated, and/or performed in a different order than the order shown in . Accordingly, the scope of the invention should not be considered limited to the specific arrangement of steps shown in .
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Initially, an image is obtained (STEP ). The image may be obtained from a digital camera or from a scanner. The image may be downloaded from a server. The image may include one or more arrows. Each arrow may be hand-drawn or machine printed. The image may be skeletonized (e.g., using the Medial Axis Transform).
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In STEP , a candidate arrow is identified in the image. The candidate arrow may be identified by identifying one or more long paths (i.e., the body of the arrow) followed by multiple short paths (i.e. the arrowhead). The long path closest to the multiple short paths is referred to as the terminal long path. If there is only one long path, it is the terminal long path.
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In STEP , a direction of the candidate arrow is determined. The direction is determined based on the terminal long path. Specifically, a direction vector is calculated based on the endpoints of the terminal long path. Let A be the vector from the origin to a starting endpoint of the terminal long path. Let B be the vector from the origin to a terminal endpoint (i.e., the endpoint closest to the multiple short paths) of the terminal long path. The direction vector D may be determined as D=B−A. D may be normalized such that it has a magnitude of 1.
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FIG. 3
In STEP , a tip pixel is estimated for the candidate arrow. The tip pixel is the furthest-most pixel, within the arrowhead, in the direction of the candidate arrow. Accordingly, the tip pixel is estimated based on the direction vector. The process for estimating the tip pixel is discussed below with respect to .
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In STEP , arrowhead edges are determined. The arrowhead edges may be determined by tracing (e.g., using the Moore-Neighbor Tracing algorithm) edges in the short paths staring from the tip pixel. The traced edges are collections of pixels that form the contour (e.g., outer perimeter) of the arrowhead. There may be two edges, and thus two collections of pixels, that extend from the tip pixel. The tracing may continue until the body of the candidate arrow is reached. Additionally or alternatively, the tracing may continue until an extension of the body of the candidate arrow is reached.
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FIG. 4
In STEP , refined arrowhead edges are generated. As discussed above, each arrowhead edge is a collection of pixels. The refinement process may identify an outer pixel in each collection and apply a contour smoothing operation to each collection based on the outer pixel and the tip pixel. The process of refining the arrowhead edges is discussed below with respect to .
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In STEP , the properties of the refined arrowhead edges, and possibly the body of the candidate arrow, are compared with one or more arrow descriptions. These properties are used to distinguish between arrowhead and non-arrowhead shapes. The properties may include the lengths of each refined arrowhead edge, the angle between the two refined arrowhead edges, the angles between each refined arrowhead edge and the body of the candidate arrow, etc. If a match is found, the candidate arrow is deemed to be an actual arrow in the image. Accordingly, when the image is converted into a editable format, the candidate arrow (e.g., hand-drawn arrow) may be replaced with an arrow graphic.
FIG. 3
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shows a flowchart in accordance with one or more embodiments of the invention. The flowchart depicts a process for estimating a tip pixel. One or more of the steps in may be performed by the tip engine (), discussed above in reference to . Further, one or more of the steps in may correspond to STEP in . In one or more embodiments of the invention, one or more of the steps shown in may be omitted, repeated, and/or performed in a different order than the order shown in . Accordingly, the scope of the invention should not be considered limited to the specific arrangement of steps shown in .
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Initially, test vectors are generated for the pixels in the short paths (STEP ) of the candidate arrow. Each test vector goes from the terminal endpoint of the terminal long path to one of the pixels in the short paths.
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In STEP , dot products are calculated between the direction vector and each test vector. Accordingly, multiple dot products (i.e., one dot product for each pixel in the short paths) exist after STEP is executed.
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In STEP , the test vector that resulted in the maximum dot product (i.e., the largest positive dot product) is identified. The pixel corresponding to this test vector that resulted in the maximum dot product is deemed to be the tip pixel for the candidate arrow.
FIG. 4
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shows a flowchart in accordance with one or more embodiments of the invention. The flowchart depicts a process for refining arrowhead edges. One or more of the steps in may be performed by the arrowhead edge engine (), discussed above in reference to . Further, one or more of the steps in may correspond to STEP in . In one or more embodiments of the invention, one or more of the steps shown in may be omitted, repeated, and/or performed in a different order than the order shown in . Accordingly, the scope of the invention should not be considered limited to the specific arrangement of steps shown in .
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Initially, a normal vector is calculated (STEP ). The normal vector is orthogonal or approximately orthogonal to the direction vector.
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In STEP , multiple test vectors are generated for the pixels in an arrowhead edge. As discussed above, the arrowhead edge is a collection of pixels tracing an outer edge (e.g., perimeter) of the arrowhead. The arrowhead edge radiates from the tip pixel. Each test vector goes from the terminal endpoint of the terminal long path to one pixel in the arrowhead edge (i.e., collection of pixels).
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In STEP , dot products are calculated between the normal vector and each test vector. Accordingly, multiple dot products (i.e., one dot product for each pixel in the arrowhead edge) exist after STEP is executed.
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In STEP , an outer pixel in the arrowhead edge is identified. Identifying the outer pixel includes identifying the test vector that resulted in the maximum dot product with the normal vector. The pixel corresponding to the test vector that resulted in the maximum dot product is designed the outer pixel. In one or more embodiments, all pixels in the collection beyond the outer pixel are removed from the collection.
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In STEP , a contour smoothing operation is applied to the pixel. The contour smoothing operation may include generating a straight line between the outer pixel and the tip pixel. In other words, the refined arrowhead edge may be a straight line from the outer pixel to the tip pixel. Additionally or alternatively, a smooth curve from the outer pixel to the pixel tip may be fitted to the collection of pixels. In such embodiments, the refined arrowhead edge is the fitted smooth curve.
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Those skilled in the art, having the benefit of this detailed description, will appreciate that the steps in may be executed for each arrowhead edge (i.e., each collection of pixels). However, for the second arrowhead edge, STEP uses the reverse normal vector instead of the normal vector. The reverse normal vector is the normal vector rotated by 180 degrees.
FIGS. 5A-5F
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show an implementation example in accordance with one or more embodiments of the invention. As shown in , there exists a candidate arrow (). The candidate arrow () is hand-drawn. Moreover, the candidate arrow () is located in an image (not shown).
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Still referring to , the candidate arrow () is composed of multiple long paths (i.e., long path A (A), long path B (B), long path C (C)) followed by multiple short paths (). All the long paths (A, B, C) and the short paths () are line segments. Moreover, all the long paths (A, B, C) and the short paths () are composed of pixels. Long path C (C) is the closest to the short paths (). Accordingly, long path C (C) is the terminal long path for the candidate arrow ().
FIG. 5B
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shows multiple candidate arrows () and the direction vectors () for the multiple candidate arrows (). As discussed above, the direction vector for each candidate arrow is generated based on the endpoints of the terminal long path (e.g., Long Path C (C)) for the candidate arrow.
FIG. 5C
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shows multiple candidate arrows () and the estimated tip pixel for each candidate arrow. also shows the direction vector (e.g., ) of each candidate arrow.
FIG. 5D
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shows multiple candidate arrows () and the arrowhead edges (e.g., Arrowhead Edge A (A), Arrowhead Edge B (B)) for each candidate arrow. As discussed above, each arrowhead edge is collection of pixels that traces the outer edge (i.e., perimeter) of the arrowhead. The tracing continues until the arrow body is reached (e.g., arrowhead edge A (A)) or until an extension (e.g., extension ()) of the arrow body is reached (e.g., arrowhead edge B (B)).
FIG. 5E
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shows a candidate arrow () having arrowhead edge A (A) and an outer pixel for arrowhead edge A (A). also shows the direction vector and the normal vector for the candidate arrow (). As discussed above, arrowhead edge A (A) is a collection of pixels tracing the outer edge of the arrowhead. The tracing starts at the tip pixel and moves in one direction (e.g., left direction). As also discussed above, the outer pixel may be identified based on the normal vector. The pixels beyond the outer pixel may be removed from the collection.
FIG. 5F
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shows another arrowhead edge (i.e., arrowhead edge B (B)) and an outer pixel for arrowhead edge B (B). also shows the direction vector and the reverse normal vector for the candidate arrow (). Like arrowhead edge A (A), arrowhead edge B (B) is a collection of pixels tracing the outer edge of the arrowhead. However, in the case of arrowhead B (B), the tracing starts at the tip pixel and moves in a different direction (e.g., right direction). As also discussed above, the outer pixel may be identified based on the reverse normal vector. The pixels beyond the outer pixel may be removed from the collection.
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shows multiple candidate arrows () and refined arrowhead edges (e.g., Refined Arrowhead Edge A (A), Refined Arrowhead Edge B (B)) for each of the candidate arrows (). The refined arrowhead edges terminate at the outer pixels for each candidate arrow. Further, the refined arrowhead edges are curves fitted to the collection of pixels that define the arrowhead edges. These refined arrowhead edges may be compared with arrow descriptions in search of a match confirming that the candidate arrow is an arrow.
One or more embodiments of the invention may have the following advantages: the ability to identify a hand-drawn candidate arrow in an image; the ability to replace the candidate arrow with an arrow graphic when converting the image to a editable format; the ability to determine the direction of the candidate arrow; the ability to estimate the tip pixel of the candidate arrow; the ability to trace the outer edges of the arrowhead of the candidate arrow; the ability to identify outer pixels for the candidate arrows; the ability to refine the arrowhead edges by applying contour smoothing; the ability to characterize short paths as arrowheads by comparing the properties of the refined arrowhead edges with arrow descriptions; etc.
FIG. 6
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Embodiments of the invention may be implemented on virtually any type of computing system, regardless of the platform being used. For example, the computing system may be one or more mobile devices (e.g., laptop computer, smart phone, personal digital assistant, tablet computer, or other mobile device), desktop computers, servers, blades in a server chassis, or any other type of computing device or devices that includes at least the minimum processing power, memory, and input and output device(s) to perform one or more embodiments of the invention. For example, as shown in , the computing system () may include one or more computer processor(s) (), associated memory () (e.g., random access memory (RAM), cache memory, flash memory, etc.), one or more storage device(s) () (e.g., a hard disk, an optical drive such as a compact disk (CD) drive or digital versatile disk (DVD) drive, a flash memory stick, etc.), and numerous other elements and functionalities. The computer processor(s) () may be an integrated circuit for processing instructions. For example, the computer processor(s) may be one or more cores, or micro-cores of a processor. The computing system () may also include one or more input device(s) (), such as a touchscreen, keyboard, mouse, microphone, touchpad, electronic pen, or any other type of input device. Further, the computing system () may include one or more output device(s) (), such as a screen (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display, touchscreen, cathode ray tube (CRT) monitor, projector, or other display device), a printer, external storage, or any other output device. One or more of the output device(s) may be the same or different from the input device(s). The computing system () may be connected to a network () (e.g., a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet, mobile network, or any other type of network) via a network interface connection (not shown). The input and output device(s) may be locally or remotely (e.g., via the network ()) connected to the computer processor(s) (), memory (), and storage device(s) (). Many different types of computing systems exist, and the aforementioned input and output device(s) may take other forms.
Software instructions in the form of computer readable program code to perform embodiments of the invention may be stored, in whole or in part, temporarily or permanently, on a non-transitory computer readable medium such as a CD, DVD, storage device, a diskette, a tape, flash memory, physical memory, or any other computer readable storage medium. Specifically, the software instructions may correspond to computer readable program code that when executed by a processor(s), is configured to perform embodiments of the invention.
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Further, one or more elements of the aforementioned computing system () may be located at a remote location and connected to the other elements over a network (). Further, one or more embodiments of the invention may be implemented on a distributed system having a plurality of nodes, where each portion of the invention may be located on a different node within the distributed system. In one embodiment of the invention, the node corresponds to a distinct computing device. Alternatively, the node may correspond to a computer processor with associated physical memory. The node may alternatively correspond to a computer processor or micro-core of a computer processor with shared memory and/or resources.
While the invention has been described with respect to a limited number of embodiments, those skilled in the art, having benefit of this disclosure, will appreciate that other embodiments can be devised which do not depart from the scope of the invention as disclosed herein. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be limited only by the attached claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
shows a system in accordance with one or more embodiments of the invention.
FIGS. 2-4
show flowcharts in accordance with one or more embodiments of the invention.
FIGS. 5A-5G
show an implementation example in accordance with one or more embodiments of the invention.
FIG. 6
shows a computer system in accordance with one or more embodiments of the invention. | |
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In the first of a series of feature articles in Veterinary Record discussing the state of different sectors of the veterinary profession in the UK and what the future might hold, Jonathan Statham and Martin Green give their perspective on developments affecting the provision of cattle veterinary services.
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THERE has been much debate about how the cattle veterinary profession must reconsider current business models and prepare for new and increasing challenges in practice. Global economic uncertainty is currently combined with dramatic price falls in much of the UK dairy and wider cattle industry. The UK is confronting high costs of production within a fierce global food production market, with the added problem of poorly informed consumer groups. There is also increasing concern regarding the environmental impact of the livestock sector. So, how should cattle veterinary practice change to meet these demands?
Traditional UK farm animal practice remains dependent on the sale of medicines (often at a significant margin) together with government-derived income streams (Table 1). Leading vets have promoted prevention over cure since the late 19th century, and a more preventive approach to practice has been advocated repeatedly since 1938 by government-commissioned inquiries into the veterinary profession (Woods 2007). Why has change, therefore, not occurred previously and what, if anything, may be different now?
History
The catastrophic outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in 2001 prompted a strategic government review. From 2006 to 2008, Defra pump-primed an approach to preventive herd health. Farm health planning involved practising vets working with their farming clients to measure, manage and monitor livestock health. It formed a central part of delivering the Animal Health and Welfare Strategy and was driven by fears for the future of farm animal veterinary practice at a time of poor livestock health, declining farming profits, and heightened public health fears about agricultural antibiotic use. It also offered an opportunity to devolve the financial burden of stewarding food production from government to the industry (Statham 2008).
Lowe report
Spiralling costs of government-funded disease control initiatives, such as those for TB, brucellosis and meat inspection, had seen tendering and Treasury-based pressures for cost cuts bear down on vets in practice. This followed the findings of the Competition Commission that complex monopolies existed in the provision of veterinary medicines into the farming sector, resulting in the implementation of a three-year period of enforced free prescriptions together with a drive for greater transparency and competition, along with a burgeoning internet market opportunity. Concerns expressed by bodies such as the BVA about the future viability of farm animal practice prompted a review of veterinary expertise in food animal production by Professor Philip Lowe, which was published in 2009 (Lowe 2009).
Central to the Lowe report were messages promoting the assertion that the large animal veterinary profession should deliver the needs of the farming sector as its primary customer, recognising its position in the chain of food production. The vet-farmer partnership was confirmed as central to the future development of our livestock industry, food safety, public health, and the Government's Animal Health and Welfare Strategy. A number of specific areas were addressed, including future supply of farm vets, the differing roles required of livestock veterinary surgeons in practice, and potential business models for the future.
Supply of veterinary surgeons in the farming and food sectors
With a larger output of graduate cattle vets and threats to workload, concerns have been expressed regarding future job security. Despite this, many veterinary practices continue to report problems, perhaps more significantly, with retention of farm veterinary surgeons. There appears to be continued enthusiasm for the large animal sector at undergraduate level, but many recent graduates do not remain engaged within the sector and, after an initial period of general practice, gravitate towards companion animal practice. Avoiding the ‘spiral of disillusionment’, as described by Lowe (2009) (Fig 1), is the key: where is the defined career structure and job satisfaction that a generation of highly talented goal-driven professionals has been expecting?
Improved retention through provision of genuine opportunities in the farming and food sector, together with a defined career path, should be a priority for the profession. Recent initiatives such as the BVA's ‘Young Vet Network’ and structured CPD have begun to address this need. The British Cattle Veterinary Association (BCVA) surveyed its members to establish the different needs for future training and education and it now signposts training and education for cattle vets from university, through postgraduate development to further qualification and specialisation throughout their careers, dubbed ‘lifelong learning’ (Fig 2). This is now being delivered and aligns with the RCVS's Professional Development Phase, advanced practitioner (Fig 3) and specialist levels.
Roles required of livestock veterinary surgeons
Livestock vets in practice have many roles to execute in terms of food production and security, public health and animal health and welfare. These need to be fulfilled within a profitable and sustainable business, and conflict can exist between these differing roles.
Providing 24-hour cover in a genuinely inclusive fashion presents challenges well beyond the EU Working Time Directive and may potentially constrain the delivery of more proactive advisory services. Demanding night rotas may present both a financial burden to veterinary practices and contribute to the loss of highly talented young vets from the sector. There is a significant cost to providing these services, especially in remote areas, and this issue needs to be resolved.
The role of veterinary surgeons as independent arbiters of animal health and welfare has come under fire, such as in the book ‘Farmageddon: The True Cost of Cheap Meat’, by Philip Lymbery, of Compassion in World Farming. However, there is much evidence for a more positive role for the veterinary profession in sustainable food production, including the aspiration to move livestock from a ‘life worth living’ to a ‘good life’, as promoted by the Farm Animal Welfare Committee.
In relation to welfare, the issue of farm size or scale has received much attention and remains an easy target, even though evidence for a relationship between welfare and size of enterprise is lacking. Indeed, larger scale farming businesses can offer an opportunity for the production of food with excellent welfare and a smaller impact on the environment per unit of food produced; we should therefore evaluate how effective systems are and what they deliver, rather than focus on size. Resilience in our capacity to produce food globally is likely to be critical in a future with a growing world population (Beddington 2011, Green and others 2011, Statham and others 2012b). Unfortunately, the relationships between size of enterprise, degree of intensification, production level, welfare and environmental impact are complex and not fully understood; a great deal more work is needed to help us make informed, scientific decisions.
Business models for the future
Following the recommendations of the Lowe report, a Veterinary Development Council sought to identify and classify different business models for veterinary practices and the provision of veterinary services.
The place for paraprofessional input as part of the veterinary practice team was also discussed and indeed this role increasingly exists. A wide range of potential activities could be undertaken by appropriately trained people and charged accordingly. A veterinary-led team could include technicians, ‘generalists’ and specialist veterinarians. It is important to have close integration with the veterinary practice structure to prevent fragmentation or duplication of services and to deliver the maximum cost-benefit. There is also a need to provide these services inside a regulatory framework to ensure efficient, safe, consistent and, above all, welfare-friendly delivery. A Defra-led review of the exemption orders under the Veterinary Surgeons Act is underway, with a broad-based industry steering group. The potential oversupply of veterinary surgeons in the jobs market may challenge the differential role for paraprofessionals in the team.
Medicines supply and veterinary dispensing
Perhaps the greatest challenge currently facing the traditional business model of cattle practice is that centred around the supply of medicines to the livestock industry. The ‘One Health’ agenda has driven consumer concerns regarding antimicrobial resistance (AMR), with impetus from some human health professionals. EU perspectives demand increasing notice and Scandinavian lobbying is challenging the accepted norms of medicines usage and prescribing in the UK. The European Medicines Agency and the Committee for Veterinary Medicinal Products wield growing influence on how this debate will evolve. The EU is considering sheltering some key antibiotics from veterinary use to protect their efficacy in human medicine.
The use of antibiotics in agriculture is often cited as a major source of antibiotic resistance in pathogenic bacteria of people. García-Álvarez and others (2011) identified a new strain of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), which occurs both in human and dairy cow populations. Yet, Reid (2012) indicates that the link between on-farm use and the primary development of resistance in human pathogens is unlikely. The reality is that this issue is now at least partially driven by politics. Global travel and transfer of AMR is highly significant for human medicine; a Swedish study found that 36 per cent (50/138) of people who travelled outside Europe and presented with diarrhoea on their return to Sweden had extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli in their stools, compared with 3 per cent (2/63) of those who had travelled within Europe (van der Bij and Pitout 2012).
However, the precautionary principle applies and we need to use antibiotics responsibly. Much remains unclear, but the correct balance needs to be struck between controlling the risk of AMR and providing the necessary medicines to enable high levels of animal health and welfare to be maintained.
Industry initiatives
In recent years our evidence base in livestock disease areas has advanced, for example in mastitis control (Bradley and others 2007, Green and others 2007). Expert systems have evolved to support improved herd performance. At the same time, there is increasing recognition of the social science barriers that exist to implementing change, and strategies for successfully overcoming them are now available (Garforth and others 2004, Ellis-Iversen 2010, Jansen and others 2010). A surge in energetic knowledge exchange programmes from industry through levy bodies such as DairyCo regarding mastitis and lameness control and the EBLEX's Better Returns programme, alongside XLVets' FarmSkills training and national programmes for bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD) control in Scotland and Ireland, have provided new structures for improved support. England in particular needs to develop a genuine consensus platform for further livestock industry initiatives, although an English BVD initiative is emerging.
The future
So, what might the future hold? Although long-established mixed practices continue to deliver a high level of customer service and clinical standards, the trend towards more and more larger practices seems likely. This might drive further specialisation before graduation, as the need for omnicompetence is eroded. Similarly, internal practice specialisation may increase as the technical breadth of cattle veterinary work becomes too wide and greater individual focus is required; practices already promote individual expertise in mastitis, reproduction and nutrition, etc. The challenge may be to adequately assure the quality of such approaches and the extent to which the RCVS's advanced practitioner and specialist tiers adequately define this expertise. Internal specialisation may support the growth of more practice-based research, with close-to-market based studies offering new insights into applied production animal science.
From a business perspective, the traditional mix of medicines sales, reactive ambulatory work, pre-booked fertility visits and government-sponsored disease control programmes is already changing. State veterinary work may decline for some vets, but a closer link to legislative public good functions may also evolve as state veterinary resources continue to decline. Despite the likely ongoing impact of internet pharmacies, lower medicines margins may still offer significant income and opportunities for knowledge exchange, and support for responsible use of veterinary medicines is likely to grow. The veterinary-led team is likely to develop, but the challenge of maintaining a functioning veterinary practice umbrella for paraprofessionals to achieve balanced welfare and skill delivery is less certain. Corporate farm animal practice is emerging, but how much of the sector will become corporate or remain independent is uncertain. Parallels exist in other industries where initial growth is often followed by a plateau as venture capital leaves the sector.
The cultural barriers preventing the veterinary profession from effectively marketing its services are becoming increasingly historic. Collaborative groups have emerged from the profession in recent years, such as XLVets, which represents the interests of more than 50 livestock-focused veterinary practices from the north of Scotland to Cornwall.
Who will be the customer of the future for cattle practice? It seems likely that larger farmer groups may continue to emerge with their own veterinary provision and resources. However, lessons from other sectors suggest again that the role of the genuinely independent cattle vet will retain added value, if quality standards remain high. Fully vertically integrated organisations are likely to achieve some market share, with veterinary provision included in the process from genetics through purchased feed inputs to product marketing. Will retailers evolve their relationship further?
Cattle Health UK
There is a pivotal role for independent practitioners in the delivery of government veterinary services, including surveillance and bovine TB control. A holistic model for endemic disease control similar to successful models in Ireland and Australia has significant support and Cattle Health UK, a model proposed and lobbied for by BCVA (Statham 2013), offers a positive opportunity for improving UK cattle health, with cattle vets centrally at the hub. The recent change in the delivery model for state veterinary services could highlight the opportunity for public and private partnership represented by this concept. However, the risk remains that this change is motivated by government budget constraints rather than strategic outcome.
Undoubtedly, substantial challenges remain for successful delivery of proactive herd health and production management (HHPM) programmes, but certain significant changes have emerged. First, the concepts and tools of HHPM have evolved (Green and others 2012). Secondly, the farming client base served by cattle practice has also developed under market pressures. However, perhaps above all, the need for change is emerging once again. Food security for a rapidly growing world population is climbing up the policy priority ladder. Genuine expertise is required to deliver food supplies for the future in an environmentally sustainable way (Green and others 2011, Statham and others 2012a, b). Increasing livestock production to feed the growing world population, while simultaneously limiting the damaging impact on our environment and minimising the challenge to animal health and welfare, provides an enormous opportunity for the veterinary profession (Fig 4). Who is better placed than the vet to coordinate these conflicting demands at the hub of the farm enterprise team?
References
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The second wave of COVID-19 infection has been catastrophic in India, claiming several lives. While people with comorbidities were considered at risk of developing a severe infection during the second wave, experts have predicted that pregnant and lactating women may be at risk during an anticipated and possible third wave of COVID-19 and hence, should be protected.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), pregnant women with pre-existing medical conditions such as obesity, diabetes, cystic fibrosis, chronic kidney disease, congenital heart disease, and chronic respiratory conditions like COPD and asthma or have undergone organ transplants, immunosuppression therapies or dialysis are at higher risk of developing severe COVID-19 infection.
Several studies have shown that COVID-19 infection during pregnancy can not only affect the health of the pregnant woman but also increase the risk of severe diseases in the fetus.
Research conducted indicates that:
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) conducted a study to find out all the possible ways by which a substantial third wave of COVID-19 could occur. The study published in the Indian Journal of Medical Research on 2nd July 2021, found that:
Hence, vaccination of the vulnerable population, including pregnant women could be an effective strategy to reduce the potency of the predicted third wave.
On 2nd July 2021, the Health Ministry of India approved the use of three vaccines: Covishield, Covaxin, and Sputnik V to immunise pregnant women against COVID-19. The government also published certain guidelines to educate pregnant women about the risks of getting vaccinated versus the risks of contracting COVID-19. Pregnant women are advised to get themselves vaccinated after the first trimester (after three months of pregnancy) as the baby’s organs are more developed by then.
It is necessary to monitor pregnant women, especially those with co-morbidities such as hypertension and diabetes, after administering the COVID-19 vaccine. A doctor must be consulted immediately if the pregnant woman develops side effects after vaccination, which could typically include:
The WHO advises pregnant women to get vaccinated after consulting their doctor and take precautionary measures to protect themselves against COVID-19. These measures include:
Several hormonal and physical changes that occur during pregnancy can make pregnant women immunocompromised. Furthermore, the COVID-19 virus can spread from the mother to the child via the placenta, mother’s body fluids or during delivery. Hence, it is extremely important to vaccinate pregnant women against COVID-19 to ensure their and the baby’s safety before the onset of any new waves of the pandemic.
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Flexible scheduling: “Flexible scheduling” will be used in Weeks 11-17. Additionally, in Weeks 5-10, flexible scheduling may be used in no more than two weeks. In Weeks 5-16, the schedule lists the games tentatively set for Sunday Night Football on NBC. Only Sunday afternoon games are eligible to be moved to Sunday night, in which case the tentatively scheduled Sunday night game would be moved to an afternoon start time.
In each of Weeks 15 and 16, up to three of five designated matchups will be played on Saturday with the remainder to be played on Sunday. Specific dates and start times for such designated Week 15 and Week 16 matchups will be determined and announced no later than four weeks prior to game day.
For Week 17, the Sunday night game will be announced no later than six days prior to January 3. The schedule does not list a Sunday night game in Week 17, but an afternoon game with playoff implications will be moved to that time slot. Flexible scheduling ensures quality matchups in all Sunday time slots in those weeks and gives “surprise” teams a chance to play their way into primetime.
Flexible scheduling will not be applied to games airing on Thursday or Monday nights.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The field of the invention is cross flow filtration used to remove oily residues from aqueous waste streams.
Aqueous waste streams produced by petroleum producing and processing operations often contain oily residues that must be removed before discharge. Conventional methods for removing the residues often require the use of large settling tanks or bulky equipment which are impractical in locations where space is limited, as, for example, on an off-shore oil platform. Filtration devices, although showing promise have been found to quickly clog under field operating conditions and require frequent maintenance to remain operable.
The use of cross-flow filtration in which the feed stream flows under pressure parallel to the filter surface producing two streams out of the filter module has been described by R. H. Bhave et al. in "Removal Of Oily Contaminants In Wastewater With Microporous Alumina Membranes" (AlChE Symposium Series, No. 261, Vol. 84, pages 19-27). Cross-flow filtration due to the continual sweeping of the membrane surface by the feed stream usually will demonstrate less fouling of the membrane than flow through filtration and, as such, is able to operate for a longer period of time before cleaning is required.
Field tests conducted using ceramic membranes in cross-flow filtration systems to remove oil and grease from aqueous waste streams produced on off-shore platforms have found that although initially the membrane separation process reduced the total organics to low levels, fouling of the membrane remains a problem in the presence of certain organics. Over long duration runs the filtration rate decreases significantly, and the membranes have been found to be difficult to clean.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to a process for recovering water with a lower concentration of hydrocarbon contamination from an aqueous waste stream containing free hydrocarbon contaminants comprising the steps of:
(a) contacting a waste stream feed containing free hydrocarbon contaminants in parallel flow under pressure with the outer surface of a semipermeable membrane having an inner and outer surface;
(b) controlling the concentration of a gelation agent in the waste stream feed to a concentration calculated to form a gel layer on the outer surface of the semipermeable membrane, whereby the gel layer and the semipermeable membrane form a dynamic membrane system capable of separating the waste stream into a concentrate component on the outer surface of the dynamic membrane system and a filtrate component on the inner surface of the semipermeable membrane;
(c) creating a controlled shear force at the outer surface of the gel layer by vibrating the semipermeable membrane at a preselected frequency and amplitude in a plane parallel to that of the semipermeable membrane of sufficient magnitude to create turbulent flow at the outer surface of the gel layer in order to maintain an optimal thickness of the gel layer such that the flux across the dynamic membrane system is maximized and the concentration of the hydrocarbon contaminant in the filtrate component is minimized; and
(d) collecting separately the concentrate component the filtrate component which contains a reduced concentration of hydrocarbon contaminants relative to the waste stream feed.
In one preferred embodiment of the invention the frequency and amplitude of the vibration of the semipermeable membrane is controlled at a level calculated to detach the gel layer from the semipermeable membrane but insufficient to damage the gel layer.
As used herein the term "semipermeable" refers to the ability of the membrane to selectively allow the passage of water across its surface while excluding the passage of the gelation agent. The term "dynamic membrane system" refers to the combination of the gel layer and the underlying semipermeable membrane which acts as a support. The system is referred to as "dynamic" because the particles that make up the gel layer are in constant motion during operation, and the thickness of the layer may be controlled by changing the amplitude and frequency of the shear forces applied to the semipermeable membrane.
"Hydrocarbon contamination" as used in this specification refers primarily to free oil and grease present in the waste stream, that is oil or grease which is not dissolved in the aqueous stream but are present as colloidal particles, globules, or the like. Hydrocarbon contamination may be measured as total organic carbon, sometimes referred to as TOC, and may be determined using procedures well known in the art.
"Parallel flow" refers to the passage of the waste stream parallel to the plane of the semipermeable membrane, and the general description of the process that is the present invention is that which is referred to in the art as a "cross-flow" filtration system.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
During filtration with stationary membranes, a layer of unfilterable solids/oil forms at the surface of the semipermeable membrane. This layer operates as a secondary membrane layer and affects tile filtration efficiency and filtration rate across the membrane. Depending on the properties of this layer, the layer could improve the efficiency of filtration (i.e., filter out particles that are finer than the pore size of the original semipermeable membrane), or it can markedly reduce the rate of filtration. This secondary layer that forms on the surface of the semipermeable membrane is referred to in this specification as the "gel layer".
The characteristics of the gel layer that forms adjacent to the outer surface of the semipermeable membrane depends on the type of solids, the presence of surfactants or free and dissolved solids, the concentration of solids and organics, temperature, and the fluid dynamics at the membrane surface. In the present invention a gelation agent is employed to form the gel layer.
The gelation agent may be added to the waste stream prior to contact with the membrane, but most preferably the gelation agent is already present in the waste stream, and its concentration is adjusted to give the desired characteristics to the gel layer. Iron hydroxide, i. e., ferric hydroxide or ferrous hydroxide or a mixture thereof, can be used to form a suitable gel layer for the removal of hydrocarbon contaminants from aqueous waste streams and is commonly present in the discharge streams from petroleum production facilities. Iron hydroxide is also relatively inexpensive. As such iron hydroxide represents a preferred gelation agent for use with this invention. However other gelation agents are also operable and could be used. Most materials that coagulate/flocculate in an aqueous environment could be used to carry out the present invention depending upon the characteristics desired in the gel layer. For example aluminum hydroxide could be used if desired. Organic materials such as dextran, gums, free oils and the like may also be used to form the gel layer. Clays and kaolin may also be useful in forming the gel layer.
The semipermeable membrane forms the support layer for the dynamic membrane system. It may be composed of either inorganic or organic materials. The semipermeable membrane may be either a symmetrical membrane or a asymmetrical membrane. Generally, for use in removing oils and greases from aqueous waste streams inorganic materials are preferred because they are less affected by the contaminants in the waste stream and are less likely to support the growth of biological organisms. Therefore, membranes formed from porous ceramics, steel, aluminum, zirconium, and the like may be used with the invention. Particularly preferred are semipermeable membranes formed from sintered stainless steel.
Organic membranes formed from cellulose acetate and from various polymers and copolymers also may be used to carry out the invention. Operable materials may include, for example, polysulphones, polyacylonitriles, aromatic polyamides, aromatic polyhydrazines, polybenzimidazoles, polyepiamine/amides, polyepiamine/ureas, polyethyleneimine/ureas, sulfonated polyfuranes, polybenzimidazoles, polypiperazine isophthalamides, and the like.
Pore size of the semipermeable membrane will depend to a certain extent upon the gelation agent used to form the gel layer. The pore size must be small enough to prevent the gelation agent from passing through the semipermeable membrane. Generally, the pore size will be within the range from about 0.5 microns to about 5.0 microns. Under certain circumstances pore sizes above or below this range may be preferable.
In forming the gel layer Ph and temperature are believed to effect the characteristics of the dynamic membrane system. With iron hydroxide it is usually preferred that the waste stream have a pH between about 6 and about 8, and more preferably the pH will be above 7. It has been observed that the flux across the dynamic membrane system usually increases with an increase in temperature. However, the process is operable at ambient temperatures and below. In general, the filtration will be carried out at the temperature of the arriving waste stream since it is usually not practical to raise the temperature of the stream prior to feeding it to the module.
In operation it has been discovered that the dynamic membrane system is most efficient when the gel layer is detached slightly from the supporting semipermeable membrane; that is to say the gel layer most preferably floats above the semipermeable membrane with a very small space between them. This occurs normally in the present invention due to the vibration of the semipermeable membrane which serves to detach the gel layer. However, it has also been found that it may be advantageous to periodically backpulse the system e.g., momentarily reverse the flow of filtrate across the semipermeable membrane sufficient to assure separation of the gel layer but insufficient to destroy the gel layer. This backpulse is usually applied to the system at periodic intervals, generally with a frequency in the range of from about every 30 seconds to about every 5 minutes with a frequency of between about every 2 to three minutes being most common.
With the use of a stationary membrane it has been found that the flux across the membrane decreases over time and the distribution of the gel layer is uneven. The gel layer tends to become thickest near the inlet to the module and decrease in thickness toward the outlet for the concentrate. It has been found that vibrating the semipermeable membrane along its plane tends to distribute the gel layer more evenly along the surface of the semipermeable membrane. Even more important it has been discovered that the thickness of the gel layer and thus its permeability characteristics can be controlled by changing the frequency of the vibration. Thus it is an important aspect of the present invention that the efficiency of the dynamic membrane system can be controlled by varying the frequency of vibration.
It is believed that in operation the vibration sets up shear forces at the outer surface of the gel layer that result in turbulent flow of the feed stream adjacent to the surface. These forces are responsible for distributing the gelation agent on the surface and controlling its thickness.
In operation it is desirable to maintain the maximum flux across the dynamic membrane system while retaining the ability to remove the hydrocarbon contaminants from the permeate. Unlike systems described in the prior art, the system that is the subject of the present invention is able to continue to operate for long periods of time without the necessity of frequent cleaning of the module while retaining a high degree of filtration efficiency. The magnitude of the vibratory motion, i. e., the amplitude of the wave, would also have an effect upon the formation of the gel layer, but this parameter is not as easily controlled and will generally remain constant in actual practice.
Finally, the formation of the gel layer and its permeability may be controlled by adjusting the concentration of the gelation agent in the waste stream. Thus the formation of the gel layer and its filtration efficiency may be controlled by controlling several variables in the system, i.e., the gelation agent used, the concentration of the gelation agent, the pH and temperature of the waste stream feed, the frequency of the back pulse, and the speed of the vibration. Thus in practicing the invention the efficiency of the filtration will be monitored, i.e., flux rate and TOC in the filtrate, and the various control factors will be adjusted to optimize the system. Generally this will require no more than adjusting the frequency of the vibration.
The equipment used in practicing the process of the present invention may take a number of forms and utilize semipermeable membranes of different configurations. For example, the semipermeable membrane may be in the shape of a tube or tubule, a flat plate, or it may be spirally wound.
The process that is the present invention has been found to be particularly advantageous when certain hydrocarbonaceous contaminants are present. For example, it has been found that the presence of naphthenates in the waste stream result in dramatic drops in the fluxate across conventional ceramic is membranes. Using the present invention, however, results in better performance of the membrane system and improved rates of flux. | |
I finished reading Brené Brown's book, Rising Strong, and instead of going on about what's in it, and my review, I wanted to first explain why I enjoy Brown's work. She's a researcher who focuses on shame and vulnerability, having exploded onto the world with her 2012 TED talk about the Power of Vulnerability. I've been reading her books since then and believe that a key component of what she teaches intersects with my own work. When used with those we trust, being vulnerable is a powerful tool that helps us overcome our fears and increases our worthiness.
Back in the mid-90s, I wrote my Master's thesis on "Memory and the Quest for Self: A Jungian Reading of Alice Walker and Margaret Atwood" in which I wanted to prove that the female protagonists of Walker's and Atwood's novels are able to heal themselves from past abuse by sharing their stories. The essence of my thesis work aligns nicely with Brown's: When we are vulnerable and share our hurt, stories and pain, we can let go of it, grieve through it, and learn to become better people. We free ourselves from the past and own courage and discover that we've been worthy all along.
Those ideas of vulnerability and worthiness are key points for me and show up time and time again in my novels. In the Cinderella's Secret Witch Diaries series, Cinderella was abandoned by her mother, eventually by her father as well, and becomes lost in looking for her own self-worth through others. I believe that, in order to overcome our pasts, we need to embrace our pain, share it, acknowledge it and then let the pain go to grow and move on.
So I went in with high hopes in reading Rising Strong. My greatest critique is simply this: The book works best when it's told from the heart. The personal stories that Brown shares are wrapped up in a language of vulnerability, a clear example of how she is preaching what she teaches. Brown shares her own issues and fears, walking us through her mental process and on how she works hard at overcoming her own faults and insecurities. However, the book falls flat in the artificial construct that she has overlaid on the book's framework. She talks about "the reckoning, the rumble and revolution" and has built a course out of her ideas that artificially pulls her ideas together. That framework just didn't work for me. The artificiality of it all plays out with her marketing campaign tied around Oprah's "Super Soul Sunday" and her gearing the book toward the same demographic as Oprah's.
Before I get slammed for that, I do get it. Brown is trying to sell books and being mentioned with Oprah and talking with her makes perfect sense. I don't have an issue with any of that, but where things do fall apart is Brown trying to have the book be both an instructional guide and a personal journey through her own experiences. Unfortunately, the instructional guide part of the book just doesn't come together. There's a lot of work that needs to happen in order for one to overcome shame and to learn to be vulnerable. Does it take a workshop or a course? Sure, I can see that, but Rising Strong isn't that course. Breaking the book into the alliterative "reckoning, rumble and revolution" sections is forcing the flow of the book.
Trying to take a personal story about an argument she and her husband had and then sharing other people's most intimate family problems while trying to overlap a workshop structure to help overcome those issues just didn't work for me. Am I really going to stop and rumble with my feelings and then start a revolution? No. More likely, I'll go through the varies stages of acceptance/denial, oscillating back and forth from one state to the next in a more organize way.
Interestingly, I also happened to be reading Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration by Pixar co-founder Ed Catmull (and Amy Wallace) at the same time as Brown's book. In Creativity, Inc., Catmull is vulnerable by telling stories of what has and hasn't worked at Pixar. Sharing the failures, without being critical, and talking through how issues were resolved, he not only shares how the group failed at times, but also his own failures (and how he overcame them). The flow of the book is an easy read because I wanted to learn more. And, to be honest, I put Rising Strong down so that I could read more of Creativity, Inc.
I wondered why and realized that Rising Strong is sometimes hard to get through. It's not so much that I'm being preached to, but I felt like Brown was asking me to go through a litany of steps that, if I followed, would allow me to rise up above my problems. But in Catmull's book, he's addressing some of the same issues, but simply shows what he went through without prescribing a fix for each of us. That was a big difference for me in how I processed the book because being told what to do and shown how to become a better person (in Creativity, Inc.) are two different things.
Although I enjoyed Rising Strong, I thought it more instructional and heavy-handed, but Creativity, Inc. helped me without various fabricated alliterative steps (reckoning, rumble and revolution). Catmull easily tells his story, shares the mistakes and then walks through the solutions by showing how they were applied. I learned a lot from his stories and can see why so many people loved his book.
Would I recommend that you not read Rising Strong? No, I would say read it, but go in knowing what type of book it is and be prepared to glean from it the useful parts and move over to the side those parts which don't quite work. | https://www.ronvitale.com/blog/2016/1/18/rumble-and-revolution-with-bren-browns-rising-strong-book |
VTHM speaker - Heidi Fishman will share her family’s personal story to a group of high school students, providing real life context to their study of the Holocaust.
VTHM speaker - Miriam Rosenbloom will share her family’s personal story to a middle school students, providing real life context to supplement and support the study of the Holocaust.
VTHM will be presenting at the annual Jewish Communities of Greater Vermont (JVCT) Summit at the Killington Grand Resort.
VTHM speakers - Miriam Rosenbloom and Debora Steinerman - shared their family stories, speaking to the lessons learned from studying the Holocaust to a group of middle school students.
Real life stories bring history to life.
"Using Young Adult Literature to Teach History and Compassion"
VTHM speakers - Miriam Rosenbloom and Debora Steinerman - will share stories and discuss the importance of studying Holocaust history as a means of promoting tolerance and respect for all. .
VTHM speakers - Miriam Rosenbloom and Heidi Fishman - shared stories and discussed the importance of studying Holocaust history as a means of promoting tolerance and respect for all. .
VTHM speakers will share stories and discuss the importance of studying Holocaust history as a means of promoting tolerance and respect for all. .
VTHM speakers will share their personal family stories to 4th grade students, providing context and real life content to their studies, while promoting equality, respect and dignity for all.
VTHM speaker - Heidi Fishman - spoke to the college community and students at the College of St. Joseph as a part of their class: "Believe! Obey! Fight!: A History of Fascism."
In a proud effort to be carrying forward the important lessons learned from the Holocaust, Jeudevine Memorial Library hosted VTHM speakers - Heidi Fishman and Miriam Rosenbloom. They spoke to the history of the Holocaust , while sharing moving stories of their family's survival. | https://www.holocaustmemorial-vt.org/events?category=speaking |
Geographical Information Systems & Remote Sensing
Given the wider development of Citizen GIS and an increased public awareness and knowledge of the power and value of spatial data, vastly increased amounts of such data from different sources are now available to researchers. However, in order to turn these data into useful information, they must be efficiently managed, processed and analysed before being displayed in a comprehensible format. Geographical Information Systems and the associated field of Remote Sensing greatly aid us in such tasks. The course is equally split between both parts - GIS and Remote Sensing - with four core module introducing the theory and practice of both subject at an introductory and advanced level. Geographical Information Systems or GIS as they are better known, are widely used in a wide variety of subject fields across the physical and social sciences and even in the humanities, with applicability in everything from archaeology and astronomy to geomorphology and globalisation to soil science and social planning. Remote Sensing – the analysis and interpretation of aerial and satellite imagery – has transformed the manner in which we view the Earth. The synoptic view of the Earth that it has given us has greatly improved our understanding of atmospheric and oceanic processes, sustained environmental management and the interaction of humans with the natural world. It is now a standard research tool in many fields such as geology, geography, pollution control, agriculture and climatology. Additional optional modules in Programming, Spatial Databases and Remote Sensing of the Subsurface are also available to students who want to develop the technical side more fully, though the course has a strong applied flavour throughout. In addition, all students complete a work placement in the Summer months which allows them to gain valuable practical experience to test and develop the skills learnt across the course.
Aims of the Course
- To provide highly qualified, motivated graduates who have been trained in Geographical Information Systems, Remote Sensing and Digital Image Processing and who can apply the information technology skills they obtain.
- To produce marketable graduates who will make significant contributions to GIS and RS application areas including; industry, government, academia, the community and voluntary sector and other public and private bodies.
- To provide an understanding of Geographical Information Systems and Remote Sensing, the technology involved and its applications for specific investigations.
Entry requirements
The basic entry requirement is a degree with a minimum of Second Class Honours (2:1) or equivalent in any of the following subjects: Geography, Planning; Physics; Computer Science; Environmental Science; Geology; Mathematics; Engineering; Geophysics; Public Administration; Public Health or a cognate discipline. Applicants must have a recognised primary degree which is considered equivalent to Irish university primary degree level.
Minimum English language requirements:
IELTS: 6.5 minimum overall score
TOEFL (Paper based test): 585
TOEFL (Internet based test): 95
PTE (Pearson): 62
Maynooth University's TOEFL code is 8850
Subjects taught
The course consists of 6 modules, 5 of which are compulsory. Two of these cover the theoretical concepts underpinning GIS and Remote Sensing. Two other modules involve gaining the theoretical and technical skills necessary to become proficient in the management and analysis of spatial data. A fifth module involves an assessed work placement during the summer months.
Duration
1 year full-time
Fees
In general, there are two levels of fees payable. EU students from EU countries including Ireland pay a subsidised level of fees for both taught courses and research programmes. Tuition fees for students from outside the EU are not subsidised and are thus somewhat higher than for EU students.
Post Course Info
The MSc in GIS and Remote Sensing is first and foremost a course to skill students for work in a wide range of employment areas. These include a wide range of government and semi-state agencies, local authorities and the voluntary sector, especially in areas associated with the environment and planning. In addition, graduates have worked in a wide range of private sector organisations and businesses, where the ability to work with and critically managed big spatial data is increasingly valued. Successful students have also proceeded to PhD level research and gained employment in academia. | https://gradireland.com/courses/geographical-information-systems-remote-sensing-25626 |
Like other Anioma societies Ibusa is very rich in culture expressed in festivals, marriage, naming, funeral and title-taking ceremonies among others.
Festivals
Ibusa as a community celebrates festivals considered important to her and nearly all of these festivals are celebrated on annual basis and are believed to purify the land. Some of these festivals are:
- Iwu Festival- celebrated by Ogbeowele and Umuodafe quarters of the town. Ogbeowele quarters celebrate the festival in November while Umuodafe celebrate it in December. Major characters of the festival are Eze Iwu, Ndi Enem and Ohene. Within the Anioma nation, Iwu Festival is also celebrated by other communities like Ogwashi-Uku (the community that Ibusa imported the festival), Ubulu-Uku, Ewulu, Ubulu-Unor and Illah.
- Ifejioku Festival- Fejoku is the god of agriculture widely celebrated the Anioma people. It is also seen as the sustainer of life that helps food production. This festival holds before Iwaji also called New Yam Festival. It is also the period, able bodied men test their physical strength in a friendly wrestling known as ‘mgba’. In Ibusa, Ifejioku is celebrated by Eze title holders, Ndi Mkpalor and Ngbankpisi. However, each of these title holders celebrates it at different periods.
- New Yam Festival (Iwaji)- This festival is generally celebrated across the Anioma region including Ibusa.
- Ine is commonly celebrated by some quarters of the town and helps to cleanse the town, aiding moral transformation. It is also thought to promote peace and progress in the town.
- Ichu Ekewensu- This is a festival celebrated by the Ezukwu people of the town. The festival socially aims at purifying the community and warding it off of evils that may hider progress in the town.
- Ulor- This is another festival often celebrated in Ibusa. It requires dancing and singing.
- Ofala- Ofala, an annual festival is celebrated every December 25. It was invented by the Obuzor institution.
Music and Dance
There are different types of dance and music performed by Ibusa people. Some of these dances and music are:
- Okanga (originated as a war dance but now commonly performed as a passage rite genre for Alor title holders in Ibusa). It does not take its root from Ibusa as it is also practiced in other parts of Anioma
- Agwuba (a form of dance performed at traditional occasions. However, in Ibusa, Agwuba may also be performed as part of funeral rites). Agwuba is a kind of native musical drum made of wood and thick leather. It produces a special kind of rhythmic sound when beaten. It is the sound of the drum that its dancers follow in their slow movement dance.
- Imanokwa (This is a sort of grand dance performed as form of entertainment but it is also forms part of the funeral rites of a deceased Eze title holder)
- Agilima (Funeral dance mostly used as burial rite for Ezeagwu and sometimes Nwada)
Other types of dance typical to Ibusa are:
- Uloko
- Agbalani
- Odukor
- Ekobe
- Idegbani
Title-taking in Ibusa
Ibusa society is rich in titles. This is because it forms the social order that helps to stabilize the community. Many of these titles are celebrated in elaborate ceremonies. Titles become evident in traditional ceremonies such as burial rites, social and political meetings. It also helps to create levels in Ibusa that helps holders to play their roles and discharge functions to the development of the town. Title holders are often accorded respect and are viewed as people in authority.
Some of these traditional titles Ibusa are:
- Ikwele: This is a Priest
- Ohene: Ohene is a Priest
- Omu: The Omu is a very important institution reserved for women. She is the leader of women and also the custodian of tradition. She cleanses the market and stays in charge of it.
Ibusa social status is divided into three
- Eze or Obi is the highest traditional title in Ibusa.
- Mkpalor (or Ikpa Alor) is second to Obiship/Ezeship
- Mgbankpisi is the lowest title in Ibusa society.
There are three Warlords that are:
- Odogwu of Ibusa (greeted, Odogwu Abii)
- Uwolo of Ibusa (greeted, Uwolo Agba)
- Iyase of Ibusa (greeted, Iyase Onowu)
Ibusa Salutations
The Ibusa tradition prescribes different types of salutations for the town. These salutations are greeted according to positions, village of origin and marital status (for woman). The Obuzor is traditionally greeted ‘Obuzor Oza, Oza, Oza; the Ikwele is greeted ‘Oworta’ and the Omu is greeted ‘Ogbueshi’. The ten villages have different salutations. | http://icduworldwide.org/ibusa-culture/ |
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[Incomplete] How do parents protect the privacy environment of a digital native?
Adapting Law: covering the greater privacy environment
Creating a social norm: Parents need to be educated
Change the architecture: secure sharing.
Conclusion
-The Border Search Exception- I'm writing a paper for a different class about the exception to the Fourth Amendment requirement for a warrant to conduct a search at the international border. I pricked up my ears in class last week when Eben said that en route to JFK someone could do the digital equivalent to locking a door and sliding the key underneath it. I thought it might be useful to set out what I've learned so far about this area of law, if nothing else to make people who are traveling internationally aware of the new border directives.
--Brief background-- The Fourth Amendment at the border rests on a tension between the privacy rights of individuals in their persons, papers and effects, and a government’s interest in controlling what crosses its borders. The Courts have determined that at the border the government's interest is "at its zenith" whereas the individual's expectations are lowered. (United States v. Flores-Montano, 541 U.S. 149, 152 (2004)) This asymmetry in these interests has influenced the development of the border search exception: an exception to the presumption that for a search to be reasonable under the Fourth Amendment the government must obtain a warrant. Electronic devices, now ubiquitous, have posed a challenge to the border search exception. The amount and type data these devices contain mean that laws and concepts that applied to the tangible world do not neatly translate to the digital era.
--The New US Border Directive-- The
new CBP Directive
allows an Officer to carry out a warrantless "basic search" with or without suspicion of wrongdoing. The networking function must be turned off and the Officer is limited to data stored on the device, its operating system and software stored on the device. To carry out an "advanced" search an Officer must have reasonable suspicion of the commission of offending or a "national security" concern and must obtain approval from higher officers. In an advanced search a device can be connected to tools that review, copy and/or analyze the data contained therein.
A traveler is obliged to present the device and information contained therein in a condition that allows inspection of the device and its contents. An Officer can request assistance in presenting the device and information in a way that allows its inspection. Passcodes or other means of access may be requested and retained as needed to facilitate the examination, including information on the device that is accessible through software applications on the device. If an Officer is unable to complete an inspection because of its password protection or encryption the Officer may detain the device.
--The New New Zealand Legislation-- As part of my paper I also looked up the situation in New Zealand, only to find that we also passed new legislation on this earlier this year. Prior to this Act the Courts had recognized a broad power regarding the searching of electronic devices. Contrary to the position of the NZ Customs to simply codify this broad power with clarifications Cabinet has broken away from Five Eyes partners
in requiring reasonable suspicion of the commission of an offense
?
to conduct even an initial search of an electronic device. To conduct a "full search" with forensic assistance a Customs officer needs to have reasonable suspicion that evidence related to the commission of an offense is on the electronic device. After raising these threshold for a search Cabinet has made it an offense to, without reasonable excuse, fail to give access information (passwords etc) to enable a Customs officer to carry out the search.
--To sum up-- In a nutshell the US CBP have broad powers to conduct searches at the border. In my paper I argue an increased suspicion threshold is required for an initial search given the heightened privacy interests that people have in the data stored in their devices (whether intentionally or through sensor collection).
How Smartphones Hijack our Minds, WSJ Oct 6, 2017
Bug in Google Home - listening to everything Oct 11, 2017
Beacon tones - Rackmann v Colts
Tech and Marketing Law Blog, Oct 4, 2017
U.S. Supreme Court to decide major microsoft email privacy fight Oct 17, 2017
Reuters - whether US prosecutors will be able to get access to emails stored on overseas servers.
--
RebeccaBonnevie
- 11 Oct 2017
[Incomplete] How do parents protect the privacy environment of a digital native?
Adapting Law: covering the greater privacy environment
Creating a social norm: Parents need to be educated
Change the architecture: secure sharing.
Conclusion
[Incomplete]
How do parents protect the privacy environment of a digital native?
-- By
RebeccaBonnevie
- rewrite 31 March 2018
A child's privacy ought to be valued and protected. The protection falls primarily to the adults in her life. Unfortunately, due to convenience and ambivalence digital natives are being born into already polluted privacy environments. Furthermore, the adults actions are enabling the Machine to collect her data via their digital identities and sharing on behalf of the child. To change this, privacy needs to be protected as a collective interest. Failing this at the societal level, parent
Lawrence Lessig in “Law of the Horse”
; suggests there are four modalities of regulation in real and cyberspace: law, social norms, markets and architecture. Markets benefit from behavior collection so regulation is unlikely to come from that modality. This leaves law, social norms and architecture to address the protection of the privacy environment.
Adapting Law: covering the greater privacy environment
The UNICEF 10-Point proposal on the e-rights of children includes number 6: “The right to withhold personal data on the Internet and to preserve their identity and their image from possible unlawful use.” A California “online eraser” statute enacted in 2015 goes some way towards this. A platform provider must comply with a request from a person under the age of 18 to delete their posts. This law has some major limitations – it doesn't cover all online platforms, the information might be hidden from the public but may be kept on a server, and the platform is not required to remove something posted by a third party about the person including where a third party reposted the person's post.
Law tends to focus on privacy as an individual right that affects only the individual if it is relinquished by express consent. Cambridge Analytica has shown that to be falsity. The French attempted to create consequences for parents oversharing, but this is a reactive rather than preventative approach. The law is not an effective modality to protect children’s privacy environments.
Creating a social norm: Parents need to be educated
When I began this rewrite the challenge was how to convince parents that their actions to engage with the Machine and share information about themselves and their children affects the children's privacy and allows thtme to be targeted. However, the past few weeks of revelations about Cambridge Analytica seems to have got us half the way there. The masses have been shocked and revolted at the revelation that Cambridge Analytica could obtain data about person A via a decision person B had made about themselves: how dare CA obtain data to analyze and target me without my knowledge, consent or control! This should awaken them to the action needed to preserve a child’s privacy environment.
In New Zealand most expectant couples attend ante-natal classes about birth and having a newborn. At these classes, and through the health support system of midwives, hospitals and doctors, couples are given all sorts of information. From the first few weeks to vaccinations, from co-sleeping to breastfeeding; information is given about all aspects of a child’s life. All aspects except their privacy. When I asked myself when a social norm to protect a child’s privacy environment could be adopted, I thought of this as a vehicle. A child’s privacy environment needs to be treated like any other aspect of the child’s health – teach it alongside how to swaddle your newborn, and provide reading materials that emphasize the importance of the baby’s privacy that can be passed over with a pamphlet on the different breastfeeding holds.
Change the architecture: secure sharing.
Finally, the architecture must be made to provide parents means to share their cherub with family and friends without putting a child’s datapoints up for collection. I would expect it to begin with the privacy hygiene for the immediate family and expand to the mechanisms for sharing. My local early childhood center engage software called
Storypark
which they pay for but I own. The guardians of the child own the content posted and can invite family members to view it. The guardians keep control of the account even when no longer associated with the early childhood center and the terms and conditions say they will not sell the personal data of the children to anyone. This by itself is a good step, though of course has a limitation if the email notification of new content is landing in a gmail account. It is, however, not public broadcasting so may not provide the affirmation that the Facebook generation needs to get the requisite dopamine high.
Conclusion
Privacy is a combination of three things: secrecy, anonymity, and autonomy. One of the problems with it being addressed by law is that is often conceptualized as an individual right rather than a collective one. In fact, my actions affect those around me, a fact far too obvious in the Chinese system of social rating. Privacy should be approached in an environmental way, and the environment of the most vulnerable in our society should be protected by the rest of us. Like anything that involves societal change, often the momentum for the movement takes some time. Hopefully the knowledge of Cambridge Analytica will cause parents to be open to counter ideas about the privacy environment. I think the reality will be, like in so many areas, one generation will do the damage, and the next generation will be left trying to clean up the mess and pull the train back onto the tracks.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Alpaydin, Ethem, Machine Learning, The New AI, MIT Press, October 2016
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r4 - 25 Apr 2018 - 02:21:44 -
RebeccaBonnevie
This site is powered by the TWiki collaboration platform.
All material on this collaboration platform is the property of the contributing authors.
All material marked as authored by Eben Moglen is available under the license terms CC-BY-SA version 4. | http://emoglen.law.columbia.edu/twiki/bin/view/Sandbox/RebeccaBonnevieSandbox |
No matter what the question is, getting a number as an answer is soothing. Logic suggests that in order to have arrived at a number, someone must have done a calculation. Numbers are clear, numbers are facts.
However, while numbers can be very precise (e.g., 67,600), this does not mean that they are accurate. Anyone could have made any calculation to come up with a number. For example, you could have estimated that your product will have a market penetration of 40% in a customer segment of ~169,000 people. This calculation is made up of many assumptions, and it is attempting to forecast the future. However, these uncertainties are not reflected in a number that is shown to four decimal places.
So how can we make sure that uncertainty more clearly? There are several possible options.
- Ask for a range and not exact figure, for example, 65-75%
- Request a confidence interval, for example, 67% +- 5%
- Make sure figures are caveated the figure, for example, ~67%
While each of these has its merits, humans get fixated on specific numbers. I have found the best option is to give or request a range. While this will make you uncomfortable, it means you have a better appreciation of the uncertainty. Then when you present figures to your leadership, you communicate the uncertainty and you cannot be held to ransom against and exact number. | https://gettingbettereveryday.org/2016/10/07/leadership-hack-012-precision-is-not-accuracy/ |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
0001 1. Field of the Invention
0002 The present invention, in general relates to CD ROM disks and, more particularly, to CD ROM business cards including products and methods for encoding and for optimally using personalized CD ROM business cards and to systems that govern their utilization.
0003 Representatives working for many industries use CD ROM business cards to attract clients to the firm they work for. They may want to attract them, in particular, to their own, personal WEB site for certain reasons, especially when commissions are involved.
0004 Clearly, a company representative will not want to go through the expense of obtaining CD ROM business cards and then distributing those cards to potential clients who, when they use them, avoid dealing with the representative who handed them the card in the first place. Representatives would not want to distribute the CD cards if prospective clients are able to access other representatives who also work for or represent the products and services of the parent firm.
0005 Therefore, a fundamental issue to overcome with CD ROM business cards involves directing the prospective client back to the person (i.e., the agent or representative) who gave them the card in the first place. Merely relying upon that person's name is not enough, which they may utterly forget.
0006 There are two especially acute problems associated with personalized types of CD ROM business cards that arise as a result of the need to direct traffic to the agent who distributed the card.
0007 The first is that ordering a small quantity of personalized cards (i.e., CD disks) is expensive. It is much less expensive to order a large quantity of generic cards, but these are presently not able to vector a user to the web site of the representative who provided the card.
0008 The cost of production is expensive and individual representatives many not have a sufficient budget to develop their own CD business cards, especially a sufficiently well designed one. It is possible for such a budget to exceed $100,000.00. The companies are better positioned to invest such amounts of money and, as mentioned above, stand to benefit from volume discounts.
0009 The second is that many industries must closely monitor the assertions made by their representatives. For example, those engaged in financial planning services cannot promise a rate of return on a variable type of investment and any language that might suggest or imply the making of such a promise cannot be tolerated by the parent company. The liability would be enormous, especially during periods of economic downturn.
0010 There are strict standards involved in the financial and other industries that each representative must comply with and the parent company must ensure that such compliance is actually being accomplished.
0011 This leads to the second problem with personalized CD ROM business cards. The parent company must examine each CD ROM business card to ensure that it is in compliance with the standards for that industry. Each industry is aware of the standards that they must comply with and with whatever regulatory body or bodies establish those standards. The problem is in verifying that each representative does not deviate from those standards in their own personalized cards or at the personal WEB site these cards vector clients to.
0012 To do this each personalized CD ROM business card must be reviewed in detail, along with the WEB site of the representative. If a firm has many hundreds or thousands of representatives, this becomes incredibly time consuming and may even be cost and time prohibitive. It is common practice for firms to now have a team of compliance officers (i.e., web site builders) who monitor such activity, yet even they cannot possibly verify that all of their several thousand representatives, for example, are maintaining 100% compliance with the industry standards in their private CD ROM related solicitations.
0013 Another problem that arises is that it is not possible to re-burn a CD ROM business card. Therefore, it is not possible to effect changes to existing cards. This is a vexing problem in the industry.
0014 If a company orders a large quantity of generic cards and either new employees are hired or certain others leave, the question of how to add or delete those prior representatives from the large quantity of already existing generic cards is unsolved.
0015 There is even a worse scenario that has already occurred to one degree or another. Assume that a representative has already handed out a very large quantity of generic CD ROM business cards, all of which are capable of vectoring traffic to that representative's personal WEB site. Assume also that that WEB site was reviewed by the company and was in compliance with company standards.
0016 If that employee (i.e., representative) becomes hostile toward that firm and leaves its employ, then all traffic that uses any of those previously distributed CD ROM business cards will continue to forever be vectored to that representatives WEB site.
0017 If that representative wishes, he may now use his personal WEB site to market products that the original firm that helped develop the business cards does not offer for sale, or he may make comments that could potentially harm the original firm. For example, he could make statements on his WEB site whereby the original firm now promises a certain yield or returns on certain investments which could create liability for the original firm.
0018 Worse yet, he could slander the original firm on his WEB site or he might even post material that could grossly embarrass or portray the original firm in a most horrific context. He could sell his WEB site (i.e., his URL) to others who might in turn do these things, thereby substantially eliminating his own liabilities. All of these potentially damaging scenarios exist while the original firm remains unable to do anything about these already existing cards.
0019 It is desirable to be able to modify the functionality of an already distributed CD ROM business card. It is desirable to be able to affect the vectoring of generic CD ROM business cards. Such has not been thought to be possible because these types of generic CD ROM cards are already burned, that is they are already formed and the data content cannot be changed.
0020 If it were possible to affect the vectoring of generic CD ROM business cards, firms would benefit greatly. They could conceivably add vectoring capability to meet the needs of newly hired employees (i.e., representatives that are hired after the generic cards have been created).
0021 This capability would allow firms and companies to order very large quantities of CD ROM business cards, thereby realizing even greater volume discounts.
0022 Firms could also conceivably stop the vectoring of employees that resign or are terminated. The decrease in liability alone would make such functionality especially valuable.
0023 Also, there is a hidden opportunity for advertising and for revenue generation from that advertising during the process of vectoring a prospect to a representatives WEB site. If a potential customer were vectored to a home page during use of the card, the opportunity to advertise the products offered by that company exists. This is valuable and the parent firms that offer these products and services are willing to pay for this advertising.
0024 The home page, as is described in greater detail hereinafter in the instant disclosure, remains visible for a protracted period of time as certain information is entered by the client.
0025 If a company offers either its own or the products and services of another parent firm and if the company or the other parent firm, for example, offers life insurance policies using a particular tradename or logo, that tradename or logo associated with the life insurance policies, along with the tradenames and logos of other products and services offered by the parent firm, can then also appear on the home page while the necessary information is being input by the client.
0026 This provides an extended opportunity to inculcate the client with advertising information with helps the parent firm to more effectively advertise their products and services. As such the parent firm is willing to pay substantial advertising dollars to a service provider company that offers a home page in this manner.
0027 If the parent firm were to pay, for example, $50,000.00 per annum for each logo or tradename to appear on the home page, the service provider company would enjoy a good source of income. The parent company that paid for this advertising would also enjoy increased sales as a result of the advertisements that appear on the home page.
0028 There are also other possibilities for revenue generation. If a company were to offer a solution to these problems, then many other firms would want to avail themselves of this solution. The service provider company that offered such solution could provide it for a fee to use to other companies. It could also create or otherwise obtain (i.e., purchase from the parent firm) large quantities of generic CD ROM business cards and offer these cards for sale to individual representatives on a customized basis, charging a premium for the added value.
0029 For example, if representative John Smith worked for the ACME company and wanted his own personalized CD ROM business cards, he could contact the service provider company that sold customized versions of the generic CD ROM business cards of ACME. That company could silk-screen on the customized cards John Smith's name and other necessary information, for example, an employee ID number that was assigned by ACME upon hiring Mr. Smith. The service provider would also handle the channeling or vectoring requirements.
0030 If the provider company purchased large quantities of these generic cards for a few cents each, and if the silk-screening process added a few additional cents to each customized card, but did not affect in any way the content of the generic card, these cards could then be sold to the individual representatives at enormous profit, for example, at about $2.00 or more per card. The representative would see much added value and would gladly pay for these cards. For him to buy three-hundred cards would cost him, perhaps $600.00 dollars but when compared to the cost of designing a truly custom card on his own is considered, the savings to him are enormous.
0031 It is also easy. All the representative must do is contact the provider company that offers the customization service, provide the URL of his own WEB site and his ACME identification number and state the number of cards he wants and pay for them. Shortly thereafter he receives the customized cards in the mail. When played, these customized cards ideally show a generic presentation of Acme's products and services and conclude by vectoring the prospect to a home page which, in turn, vectors the prospect to the WEB site (i.e., the URL) of the representative. The representative sees the silk-screening that shows his name and his ACME identification number on both the card and on the packaging. He feels the cards are well worth the money.
0032 Yet the company that provides these cards at say ten cents total per card has an out-of-pocket cost of only $30.00 and ends up realizing a net profit of $570.00 on this order of three-hundred customized cards. Even if the cost, including all labor and shipping rose to $60.00 for this order, the service provider company would still realize a profit of $540.00 on this one order. Multiply this times thousands of representatives that work for ACME and the potential for profit becomes clear, especially when thousands of ACME type companies utilize this approach.
0033 On top of the revenue from the sale of customized cards direct to the representatives is the advertising revenue described hereinabove that is derived by providing the logos and trademarks on the home page and also the administrative and service fees that are charged to ACME by the service provider company for maintaining the home page and data base (that does the vectoring, adds new employees, and deletes terminated employees from its data base).
0034 Another potential problem relates to the packaging of any customized CD ROM business cards and how this packaging can be used to advantage while the cards are in use. If the card is in active use, it is disposed in a CD ROM drive of a computer and therefore it is not convenient to obtain any custom information off of the disk itself which may have to entered into the computer.
0035 It is desirable to also include the custom information fields repetitively on the covering or on the container that contains the disk for use when the disk is itself in active use. Besides being convenient for the client, this also provides yet another way for the representative to further advertise himself, especially if the card and cover should somehow become separated from each other.
0036 Another potential problem concerns changes in the URL (i.e., the WEB site) of the representative. For whatever reason a representative may either change or lose his URL. If the URL of the representative is burned into the generic card, there is no way to correct for changes that may occur in the URL of the representative after he obtains the generic cards that have been customized for his use.
0037 If he loses his URL, all of the generic customized cards he has distributed (or has available to distribute) will send prospective clients to a WEB site that is no longer his. Clearly, this would be disastrous and counter to the purposes of obtaining and distributing the cards in the first place. Representatives who purchase generic cards and have these cards customized need a way to handle these types of problems when they occur.
0038 There is a further need relating to CD ROM business cards as well and that includes creating prospect lists and of sending the correct information or the correct follow-through person to contact a prospective client.
0039 When a prospective client uses (i.e., plays back) a generic CD ROM business card, there is a need to vector that prospective client to the proper products and services that are available. The prospective client may be interested, for example, in life insurance policies. It is possible the prospective client may be interested in establishing educational funding options for their children or perhaps in retirement fund options.
0040 Clearly, if the prospective client is interested in retirement funding because presumably he or she is of advancing years, it would be damaging to send the prospective client information on educational funding when, quite possibly, their children are already grown. There may even be trauma in the prospective client's life concerning children. The prospective client may have lost a child through death or may have wished for children but never been able to have any. Clearly, the correct way to establish a positive relationship with prospective clients is by sending them the types of information that they are interested in receiving and making certain not to send them material that they are not interested in receiving.
0041 It is desirable for a parent company to glean information about the prospective client (also sometimes known and referred to as a prospect), in particular what products and services they are interested in.
0042 Furthermore, the parent company needs a way to vector the prospective client to obtain additional information about the specific product or service that they are interested in. If the client wants information about life insurance options, the parent company certainly does not wish to send (i.e., vector) the prospect to any information that may not be relevant. If the prospect is forced to wade through non-relevant information he or she may lose interest and abandon the quest, thereby losing potential sales for the parent company.
0043 Accordingly, there is a need to be able to vector a prospect using a CD ROM business card to that information which they desire and also to obtain further information about the prospect and his or her needs so that when any additional information is sent or if any follow up telephone calls are made (if a phone number can be obtained) it is relevant to the needs of the prospect.
0044 Another related need involves tracking the efficacy of advertising. It is desirable for a parent company to be able to track which CD ROM business cards yield the greatest return (i.e., number of hits). That way the parent company can modify their advertising to maximize efficacy and minimize cost.
0045 Accordingly, there exists today a need for a system product and method for CD ROM business cards that helps to ameliorate the disadvantages mentioned hereinabove while providing advertising and other revenue-making opportunities.
0046 Clearly, such a system product and method would be especially useful and desirable.
0047 2. Description of Prior Art
0048 CD ROM business cards and methods for making and using them are, in general, known. While the structural arrangements of the above known types of devices, at first appearance, may have similarities with the present invention, they differ in material respects. These differences, which will be described in more detail hereinafter, are essential for the effective use of the invention and which admit of the advantages that are not available with the prior devices.
0049 It is an object of the present invention to provide a system product and method for CD ROM business cards that allows for the use of generic cards.
0050 It is also an important object of the invention to provide a system product and method for CD ROM business cards that allows for the indefinite use of generic cards.
0051 Another object of the invention is to provide a system product and method for CD ROM business cards that can vector a prospect to the URL (WEE site) of a representative that is hired after the generic CD ROM business cards have been made.
0052 Still another object of the invention is to provide a system product and method for CD ROM business cards that is adapted to stop the vectoring of a prospect to the URL (WEB site) of a representative that is terminated or quits after the generic CD ROM business cards have been made.
0053 Still yet another object of the invention is to provide a system product and method for CD ROM business cards that is adapted to advertise the products and services of a parent company on a home page that is visible to a prospective client (i.e., a prospect).
0054 Yet another important object of the invention is to provide a system product and method for CD ROM business cards that can verify the current standing of an alleged employee with a parent company.
0055 Still yet another important object of the invention is to provide a system product and method for CD ROM business cards that inform a prospective client that a particular representative who handed out the card is no longer employed by the company.
0056 A first continuing object of the invention is to provide a system product and method for CD ROM business cards that can change the vectoring of a client from a certain URL (i.e., website) to another website as desired.
0057 A second continuing object of the invention is to provide a system product and method for CD ROM business cards that can change the vectoring of a client from a certain URL (i.e., website) to the website of a parent company as desired.
0058 A third continuing object of the invention is to provide a system product and method for CD ROM business cards that is adapted to take generic cards and silk-screen the cards so as to include other desired information.
0059 A fourth continuing object of the invention is to provide a system product and method for CD ROM business cards that is adapted to take generic cards and silk-screen the cards so as to include the name and an ID number of a representative (assigned by the employer of the representative for whom the generic cards apply).
0060 A fifth continuing object of the invention is to provide a system product and method for CD ROM business cards that is adapted to silk-screen on the enclosures that are adapted to contain the cards desired information.
0061 A sixth continuing object of the invention is to provide a system product and method for CD ROM business cards that is adapted to silk-screen on the enclosures that are adapted to contain the cards the name and an ID number of a representative (assigned by the employer of the representative for whom the generic cards apply).
0062 A seventh continuing object of the invention is to provide a system product and method for CD ROM business cards that is adapted to track the efficacy of advertising by monitoring the number of hits that occur at a home page for a particular ID number.
0063 An eight continuing object of the invention is to provide a system product and method for CD ROM business cards that is adapted to improve the efficacy of advertising by vectoring a prospect from a generic home page to a plurality of pages that more specifically address the products and services that are available.
0064 A ninth continuing object of the invention is to provide a system product and method for CD ROM business cards that is adapted to improve the efficacy of advertising by requesting a prospect to input information about the prospect that is useful in establishing a relationship with the prospect (i.e., information that can help contact the prospect).
0065 A tenth continuing object of the invention is to provide a system product and method for CD ROM business cards that is adapted to improve the efficacy of advertising by vectoring a prospect from a more generic home page to any of a plurality of pages that more specifically address the products and services that are available and are of interest to the prospect and of providing an opportunity for the prospect to input additional information about himself (or herself).
0066 An eleventh continuing object of the invention is to provide a system product and method for CD ROM business cards that is adapted to improve the efficacy of advertising by vectoring a prospect from a more generic home page to any of a plurality of pages that more specifically address the products and services that are available and are of interest to the prospect and of tracking the path taken by the client.
0067 A twelfth continuing object of the invention is to provide a system product and method for CD ROM business cards that is adapted to improve the efficacy of advertising by creating a prospect-list based on input taken from a prospect and of providing that information to a parent company.
0068 A thirteenth continuing object of the invention is to provide a system product and method for CD ROM business cards that is adapted to improve the efficacy of advertising by creating a prospect-list based on input taken from a prospect from a home page and of providing that information to a parent company.
0069 A fourteenth continuing object of the invention is to provide a system product and method for CD ROM business cards that is adapted to improve the efficacy of advertising by creating a prospect-list based on input taken from a prospect after the prospect has been vectored to a page of specific products and services that the prospect is interested from a home page and of providing that information to a parent company.
0070 A fifteenth continuing object of the invention is to provide a system product and method for CD ROM business cards that is adapted to improve the efficacy of advertising by creating a prospect-list based on input taken from a prospect after the prospect has been vectored to a page of specific products and services that the prospect is interested from a home page and of providing that information to a parent company, at least a portion of the information that is gleaned being determined by inference by noting and recording the path (i.e., the vectoring from the home page) that the prospect selects.
0071 Briefly, a system product and method for CD ROM business cards that is constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention has a server that is accessible over the Internet by a Parent Company, a plurality of representatives, a Service Provider, and a plurality of prospects (i.e., clients). The clients gain access to a home page of the server while playing a CD ROM business card on their Internet-accessible computer. The server includes access to a data base. The server, data base, and home page are operated and maintained by the Service Provider who also furnishes customized CD ROM business cards for representatives of the Parent Company. The customized cards are generic cards that automatically vector all of the clients to the same home page after the client has viewed a generic sales presentation of the Parent Company that is included on the CD ROM business card. The Service Provider customizes the generic cards by silk-screening (i.e., printing) on the CD ROM business cards the name of the representative and an ID number of the representative. The ID number is assigned to the representative by the Parent Company and the representative furnishes the Service Provider with his ID number when he orders cards from the Service Provider, typically for a fee. The home page that the Service Provider maintains may include advertising, if desired. The home page is interactive requiring each client to manually enter (i.e., type) the ID number of the representative who gave him or her the CD ROM business card, the ID number appearing on the CD ROM business card. This information is verified by the Service Provider by comparing it with a file of valid employee ID numbers provided by the Parent Company and if the ID is acceptable, it is then used to vector the client to a personal WEB site of the representative, the representative having earlier provided the URL of his personal WEB site to the Service Provider. The Service Provider informs the Parent Company of the URL that is provided to the Service Provider by the representative at the time he or she orders a plurality of customized business cards. The Service Provider subsequently obtains confirmation from the Parent Company of the WEB site's acceptability by the Parent Company prior to enabling vectoring to it (i.e., the representative's WEB site) from the home page and prior to silk-screening the order for customized cards by the representative. Confirmation can occur in any manner although email exchanges are preferred. Changes in vectoring from the home page are accomplished by the Service Provider as needed thereby permitting mass production of Generic CD ROM business cards for each Parent Company. The Generic cards maintain utility over time because they are able to enjoy updated functionality at any time without the need to change any of the data that is contained in the card itself.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
0072FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a system product and method for CD ROM business cards involving the parent company and the representative.
0073FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a system product and method for CD ROM business cards involving use by a prospective client.
0074FIG. 3 is a block diagrammatic view of a portion of a system product and method for CD ROM business cards.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
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0075 Referring to all of the FIG. 1- drawings on occasion is shown, a system product and method for CD ROM business cards, identified in general by the reference numeral .
0076 It is important to note that as used herein the term CD ROM business card is intended to include any type of CD ROM that can be used (i.e., played) on the CD ROM drive of a personal computer. As such, regular types of CD RO~s are included as well as are custom shaped CD ROMs. It is possible to create CD ROM business cards that are of a non-standard size and shape (i.e., configuration). Often, they are smaller than standard sized CD ROMs and they may be oddly shaped or they may resemble a conventionally sized (length by width) paper business card. All such types of CD ROMs are anticipated by the instant invention and are included herein.
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0077 A server is accessible over an Internet (or Intranet) by a Parent Company , any of a plurality of representatives , a Service Provider , and a plurality of prospects (i.e., shown as a first client and a second client ).
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0078 The clients , gain access to a home page (see FIG. 2) that is created and maintained by the server . The client plays a customized CD ROM business card (see FIG. 1) on their Internet-accessible computer (not shown). The server includes access to a data base , either directly or over the Internet .
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0079 The server , data base , and home page are operated and maintained by the Service Provider .
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0080 The Service Provider creates the home page to satisfy the requirements of the Parent Company . If the Parent Company wishes to include advertising in the form of logos or trademarks of the products and services they provide, they may contract with the Service Provider to do so.
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0081 All of the customized CD ROM business cards contain a home page URL (the same URL) that vectors the clients , to the same home page regardless of any customization that occurs to the card.
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0082 The Service Provider also creates and supplies the customized CD ROM business cards for the individual representatives of the Parent Company who want them. Each customized card is made from a generic card without altering any of the data content of the generic card .
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0083 The mechanism of customization of the generic cards into the customized cards , unique to each representative , is described in greater detail hereinafter.
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0084 After the clients , have viewed a generic sales presentation by the Parent Company that appears on all of the customized cards as well as on all of the generic cards , the clients , are automatically vectored to the same home page .
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0085 It is important to note that the Parent Company contracts with the Service Provider who, for a fee, constructs the home page for the Parent Company according to the needs and desires of the Parent Company .
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0086 Other parent companies (not shown) will also contract with the Service Provider who will maintain other home pages (not shown) for the other parent companies as well.
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0087 Clearly, each of the different home pages, being for different companies, will have different company URL's. Each home page is uniquely created and maintained for each parent company by the Service Provider .
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0088 Similarly, the Parent Company , as well as all of the other parent companies, must include their own unique company URL in their own generic CD ROM business cards (and also provide same to the Service Provider ) so that their own clients will be vectored to the proper home pages of the various parent companies.
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0089 The Service Provider customizes the generic cards by silk-screening (i.e., printing) on the CD ROM business cards the name of the representative and an ID number of the representative . There is no difference in data content between the generic cards and the customized cards . Only the exterior of the customized cards is affected to include the representative's name and ID number.
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0090 The ID number is assigned to the representative by the Parent Company and the representative furnishes the Service Provider with his unique ID number when he orders the customized cards from the Service Provider , typically for a fee that he (the representative ) pays to the Service Provider .
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0091 The representative decides how many customized cards he wishes to order at any given time from the Service Provider . The Parent Company typically will provide a quantity of the generic cards that they have had created to the Service Provider .
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0092 Alternately, the Parent Company may elect to contract further with the Service Provider to have the Service Provider create the generic cards for the Parent Company .
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0093 The home page that the Service Provider maintains may include advertising , if desired by the Parent Company .
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0094 Their may also be a hierarchy of various parent companies (not shown) whereby the Parent Company may be displaced at a lower point in the hierarchy and may be obliged to display advertising on the home page of the products and services of any parent company that it represents which is higher in the hierarchy of companies.
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0095 The advertising may include any desired text messages or it may include the logos or trademarks or both of any of the authorized products and services that are available.
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0096 It is important to note that the home page is in reality a screen that appears on the computer of the clients , when they are viewing the customized cards .
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0097 If the first client received his customized card from the representative , the first client is vectored to and sees the same home page as does the second client who may have received a different customized card (not shown) from another representative, the other representative also being an employee of the Parent Company .
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0098 It is also important to note that to the clients , the home page appear to be part of the data content of the generic cards because the client , is automatically vectored to the home page over the Internet using the company URL.
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0099 Therefore, the home page appears to the client , as an extension of the presentation that is provided by the customized card that he or she is viewing.
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0100 The home page is an interactive screen requiring the client , to manually enter (i.e., type) the ID number of the representative who gave him or her the customized CD ROM business card .
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0101 The unique ID number of the representative appears only on the customized CD ROM business cards that he orders from the Service Provider . The ID number is mandatory information which must appear on the customized cards . The name of the representative and any other information, for example the telephone number of the representative , can also be printed (i.e., silk-screened) on the customized cards .
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0102 It is also desirable to print the desired information on any sleeve (not shown) or container (not shown) that is used to house the customized cards for redundancy and also so the clients , do not have to remove the CD ROM from their computer drives to obtain this information.
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0103 If desired, the home page can also include a text message as to where to obtain the necessary information that must be entered which, at a minimum, is the ID number of the representative . The name of the representative may also be required information to enter while at the home page .
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0104 Another potential benefit provided is the ability to track the distribution of customized cards and verify the efficacy of various advertising (i.e., customized card dissemination strategies). For example, the customized cards containing a particular ID number may be distributed according to a particular demographic or they may be mass mailed and the number of hits using that ID number tracked and recorded by the Service Provider . This information has added value and can be sold to either the representative or to the Parent Company .
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0105 A different ID number can then be assigned to the same representative who distributes these cards in a different manner, perhaps face to face and their efficacy can be tracked and compared with other distribution strategies. It is also possible to embed a code using a particular field in the ID number that is assigned by the Parent Company which determines how those cards will be distributed.
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0106 The ID number and any other information that is entered by the client , while at the home page is verified by the Service Provider by comparing it with a file of valid employee ID numbers that are provided ahead of time to the Service Provider by the Parent Company .
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0107 If the ID number and other data entered is acceptable, it is then used to vector the client to a personal WEB site of the representative .
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0108 The representative will have earlier provided the URL of his personal WEB site to the Service Provider at the time he or she orders the customized cards .
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0109 The representative is of course responsible to maintain his own WEB site .
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0110 The Service Provider then informs the Parent Company of the representative's URL. This is done at or shortly after the Service Provider is provided with this information by the representative . Normally, this will occur when the representative places an order for a quantity of the customized business cards from the Service Provider .
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0111 The Service Provider subsequently waits to obtain confirmation from the Parent Company that the representative's WEB site is acceptable to the Parent Company . The Service Provider will not enable the server to vector the client , to the representative's WEB site prior to receipt of such confirmation from the Parent Company .
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0112 The Parent Company may utilize any of a variety of ways to determine compliance and therefore acceptability of the representative's WEB site .
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0113 For example, the representative's WEB site may itself be built and maintained by another provider (not shown) that is known to the Parent Company to construct the representative's WEB site in compliance with any industry or applicable regulatory standards that are in existence.
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0114 Confirmation by the Parent Company is required prior to completion of the order that is being placed by the representative .
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0115 After confirmation has occurred the Service Provider will complete the silk-screening of the order for the customized cards by the representative and will ship them to the representative after payment is also made.
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0116 Confirmation can occur in any manner, such as by telephone or mail, although email exchanges over the Internet are preferred because confirmation from the Parent Company may be available instantaneously and can therefore be accomplished while the order for the customized cards is being taken by the Service Provider .
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0117 Obviously, orders for the customized cards can be taken in any manner as well, including by mail, telephone, or email over the Internet .
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0118 It is possible to accomplish any desired change in vectoring from the home page by the Service Provider . For example, if the representative resigns or is terminated, his ID number is deleted from the file provided by the Parent Company . The Service Provider , comparing the ID number to that file, becomes unable to vector the client , to the representative's WEB site once his ID number has been deleted from the file that the Service Provider is using.
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0119 This prevents the representative , should he become hostile toward the Parent Company , from slandering or embarrassing the Parent Company in any way at the representative's WEB site . The Parent Company is able to control all vectoring from their generic as well as from the customized cards for all time by cooperation with the Service Provider .
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0120 Similarly, a new hire (not shown) is assigned a new ID number and the new hire contacts the Service Provider to order new hire customized cards (not shown) with the new ID number printed thereon. The Service Provider after receiving the URL for a WEB site of the new hire and confirmation of its acceptability from the Parent Company is able to vector new clients (not shown) the hew hire's WEB site once the new clients enter the new hire's ID number at the same home page .
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0121 Other changes may be accomplished by the Service Provider as needed, for example changing the URL of the representative to access a new personal WEB site (not shown) that he has had created (and which the Service Provider has received confirmation of from the Parent Company ).
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0122 Accordingly, the Parent Company is free to obtain large quantities of the generic cards knowing that any and all changes in vectoring can be accomplished. Furthermore, the Parent Company knows that vectoring to the representative's WEB site will occur only to sites that the Parent Company has itself approved of.
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0123 This eliminates much liability for the Parent Company . The Parent Company knows that for as long as the generic advertising that is on the generic cards remains valid, the generic cards will be functional. Accordingly, they will order large quantities of the generic cards at low cost per card.
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0124 Referring now in particular to FIG. 1, it is shown how the generic cards are provided to the Service Provider along with information by the representative .
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0125 The representative's URL and ID number are entered into the data base , the customized cards are silk-screened , and are then mailed to the representative after his URL has been first confirmed by the Parent Company . His customized cards will function properly only if his ID number is present on a file of valid ID numbers that are provided to the Service Provider by the Parent Company .
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0126 Referring now in particular to FIG. 2, the distribution cycle and subsequent use of the customized cards is shown.
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0127 The representative provides the client with a customized card . The client plays the card on his Internet accessible computer which, after the generic sales presentation is complete, vectors the client (all clients , regardless of who is the representative or how the customized cards differ) to the same home page .
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0128 The client is exposed to any advertising and is asked to enter the ID number of the representative . The server waits for this to occur.
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0129 Once the ID number (and any other required data) has been entered by the client , the server determines if the representative remains in good standing by comparing the ID number with the file of valid ID numbers supplied to the Service Provider by the Parent Company .
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0130 If the ID number is valid, the client is vectored to the representative's WEB site where the sales presentation continues in compliance with industry standards, yet in direct relationship with the representative who is desirous to close the sale and receive credit or commission for the sale.
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0131 As long as the representative is an employee of the Parent Company in good standing, all of the clients who use his customized cards are eventually directed to the representative's WEB site thereby ensuring that the client must do business with the representative and not with any other representative (not shown).
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0132 If the comparison does not show the representative to be in good standing, the client is then vectored to an alternative screen . The alternative screen is tailored to display any appropriate message depending upon the nature of the events that preceded the representative's ID number removal from the valid file.
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0133 If the representative resigned, for example, the alternative screen might include a text message that informs the client , This person is no longer employed by this company. Please call telephone number (xxx) 123-4567 or log onto www.listofreps/parentcompany.com for a list of representatives in your area.
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0134 The alternative screen , upon input of the ID number from the client , can thereby provide a seamless way to instantly vector the client to wherever the parent company wishes, thereby giving no cause for concern that anything has changed or is amiss with the parent company.
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0135 In addition, the home page can provide several options for the client to choose from depending upon the products and services that are available from the Parent Company .
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0136 For example, one option might be to obtain further information concerning life insurance options, another concerning educational funding options, and another concerning retirement funding options. The client can select (i.e., click) on the option he is interested in.
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0137 The Service Provider that creates and manages the home page also creates and manages a plurality of subsequent pages that the client is then vectored to after having selecting, from the home page, the product or service that the client is interested in.
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0138 The Service Provider tracks the vectoring that takes place. If the client were asked to input information while on the home page, and if the client then vectors to a subsequent page, the Service Provider knows that the client is interested in certain of the products or services offered by the Parent Company by tracking the path (i.e., which subsequent page) the client goes to.
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0139 The Service Provider is then able to create a prospect list that includes the information gathered from each of the clients and the types of products and services that each of the clients is interested in.
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0140 This information is derived from the data that is actually input by each client and also by inference. If the client goes to a subsequent page that is about educational funding, it can well be assumed that is what the client is interested in, even without further query or input on the part of the client .
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0141 The Service Provider is then able to provide the prospect list to the Parent Company , presumably for an additional fee for this service. Clearly, the server and the data base are used with proper support software to implement this capability.
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0142 If desired, the prospect list can be emailed to the Parent Company or it can be send by FAX or regular mail, as desired. If it is emailed, then a subscription service that automatically tracks prospect information and which sends it to the Parent Company for follow up activity (by the Parent Company ) can automatically be sent at minimum overhead to the Service Provider .
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0143 Obviously, if the desired information about the client is not input while the client is on the home page, it can be input by the client when the client is at any of the subsequent pages. Any of the subsequent pages can also be interactive types of screens.
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0144 Accordingly, the Parent Company is able to track the efficacy of their solicitations. The Parent Company can also determine, as mentioned hereinabove, by a study of the ID numbers that are input, which of the CD ROM business cards are most effective (i.e., which ones get used).
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0145 If one or more of the numbers that comprise the ID number includes a code that specifies how that CD ROM business card is distributed or where, then by the Service Provider tracking the hits as they relate to the encoded information, the Parent Company , upon receipt of this information, can optimally adjust their distribution policies for their CD ROM business cards.
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0146 All of these features and abilities are available with generic types of CD ROM business cards. The Parent Company is free to change the way it does business and by simple changes made to the home page by the Service Provider , the products, services, even the look and feel of the Parent Company can instantly change without changing anything about the already existing generic CD ROM business cards.
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0147 For example, the Parent Company may offer a special incentive to each of the clients by sending a package of three golf balls to the client merely for the client using the CD ROM business card and going to the home page and entering certain information (the ID number, name, address, phone, etc.).
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0148 However, if the Parent Company rescinds the golf ball offer or decides to offer tennis balls instead, the Service Provider can adjust the home page accordingly to reflect the wishes of the Parent Company and these changes are accomplished rapidly.
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0149 This eliminates the risk to the Parent Company arising from the possibility that old CD ROM business cards (i.e., disks) remain out in the world indefinitely and that sometime, perhaps even years later, a new client will be use it and demand the free golf balls, as promised. The new client who now uses the same pre-existing CD ROM business card that once led him to a home page that offered free golf balls is now taken to a home page that offers free tennis balls or perhaps nothing at all, if the Parent Company so chooses.
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0150 Once again the Parent Company is able to use its generic CD ROM business cards indefinitely while being able always to maintain or upgrade the home page accordingly.
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0151 If the Parent Company decides to change its image and wants the home page to reflect this change, perhaps to show a new look and feel, or new product offerings, these changes can similarly be accomplished by the Service Provider without affecting any of the generic CD ROM business cards that have already been distributed and are currently in use or even those that are available for future distribution.
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0152 If a corporate merger were to occur, for example, the Parent Company might have many new products and services to offer. The old generic CD ROM business cards can still be used to show these new products and services because the home page will be edited to reflect any new look or feel or product or service that is desired by the Parent Company . Accordingly, the Parent Company feels confident to order large quantities of the generic CD ROM business cards knowing that changes in specials or products or services can also be readily accomplished by the Service Provider .
0153 The invention has been shown, described, and illustrated in substantial detail with reference to the presently preferred embodiment. It will be understood by those skilled in this art that other and further changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention which is defined by the claims appended hereto.
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0154 Many changes are possible. For example, referring again to FIG. 2 is shown a dashed line identified in general by the reference numeral . The dashed line shows that any desired input from the client can be obtained during actual playback of the CD ROM business card prior to vectoring to the home page. The information that is input by the client during the sales presentation of the generic, CD ROM business card is remembered by the personal computer and is included in the bit stream of communications that vector the client to the home page. The server of the Service Provider captures the information that was input earlier, thereby eliminating the need to do this at the home page. For certain applications, the Parent Company may prefer to obtain information about the client as soon as possible and not wait until the client is vectored to the home page. | |
Earlier I talked about efficiently encoding lists of primes via encoding the gaps between them, in a UTF-8 inspired encoding. That's great, but there's a much simpler, even more efficient way to encode a list of all primes - use bitfields!
In its simplest, least efficient form, you just associate each successive bit with each successive integer - the first bit is for 1, the second is for 2, etc. The bit is 1 if the associated number is prime, and 0 if it's composite.
This trivial, stupid encoding has an efficiency of 8 numbers per byte, which means it's equivalent to the previous gap-encoding as long as the average gap is less than 8 (which covers quite a lot of numbers!). But we can, of course, make it much better.
The first and most obvious improvement is to throw out all the even numbers. Past 2, every prime is odd, so all the even bits are guaranteed to be 0 in the naive scheme. That's wasted space; we can just assume they're composite and spend our actual data budget on the odd numbers. So now the Nth bit corresponds to the (2N + 1)th number. This *doubles our efficiency, encoding 16 numbers per byte, and roughly doubling the number of digits for which this is more efficient than the gap-encoding (covering the primes up to e^16, or ~9 million).
At this point we should pause and recognize the additional benefits we get from this encoding. Not only is it more efficient for quite a lot of primes (the primes up to 9M fill about 500kB of memory, and allow efficient prime testing/factorizing of numbers up to nearly 100 trillion), but it also gives us constant-time random access to the primality information. If you want to find out whether a random N is prime or not, you just look up the (N/16)th byte, and then check the (N/2 + 1)%8th bit. For some algorithms this is really important!
Okay, back to efficiency. Excluding all the even numbers is great, but it's of course also true that, once you get past 3, all the numbers divisible by 3 are composite. Combining that with the previous "no evens" insight, we can chop down the relevant set to just two out of every six numbers - only the values that are equal to 1mod6 or 5mod6. With this, we can encode 50% more numbers in a given number of bits! To be specific, it gives us 24 numbers per byte, exceeding the efficiency of gap-encoding up to e^24, or about 20 billion.
And we can go further! We can additionally exclude the numbers divisible by 5, leaving us with only 8 possibilities out of every 30 numbers (1, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29; mod 30), for an extra 25% density, winning the efficiency race up to ~10 trillion. This has some additional benefits, too - each "set" of possibles is 8 large, same as the number of bits in a byte, which simplifies the math considerably - you look in the N/30th byte, then grab the corresponding bit from the group. This limit also exceeds what we can reasonably use - storing the numbers up to 10 trillion would take about a third of a terabyte, greatly exceeding the RAM of desktop machines. So even in extreme cases, you'll get to store/use more primes with this method than the gap-encoding, and you get the random-access benefit to boot.
We could go further and exclude the multiples of 7, but the benefits are fairly small (encode about 16% more in a given space) and the math becomes a lot more annoying (49 possible primes spread across 210 numbers) and loses the nice symmetries of the previous values, so it's best to probably just stop there. | https://www.xanthir.com/b4hG0 |
As a result of the 2008 financial crisis that sparked the Great Recession, the threat of the total collapse of the world banking systems led to national governments bailing out large financial institutions. The crisis also dramatically reduced the value of stocks and housing and led to high rates of foreclosures and prolonged unemployment. With all the damage caused by Wall Street, it raises the question: is Wall Street necessary? If so, how can we prevent such a calamity from occurring ever again?
To answer the question of the necessity of Wall Street, it is important to explore the benefits that Wall Street generates for the economy. Wall Street helps the world to produce goods efficiently by aggregating money from the savings of families and investing in businesses (Jickling and Hoskins). Many innovative companies, including Facebook and Google, would not have been able to expand their businesses without investments from Wall Street. Also, Wall Street had reformed somewhat in 2010, and it can regulate Foreign Exchange, which is better for organizing the balance of world’s Foreign exchange transactions (United States Congress Title VII). So Wall Street does have some positive effects on the economy, but do the positives outweigh the negatives?
Wall Street has had some negative effects on the economy, including bringing about the worst recession since the Great Depression. The financial crisis in 2008 began with the housing bubble bursting, leading the world finance and economic system to the brink of collapse, and it was the actions of agents on Wall Street that brought about the financial crisis. The financial crises revealed that Wall Street could cause extremely high damage to the society and the economy of the world (Jickling and Hoskins 9-10). To voice their dissatisfaction with this industry, people participated in a protest movement known as “Occupy Wall Street” in 2011. Protestors thought the people who worked in Wall Street destroyed and took away their properties and jobs (Santoro and Strauss 10-11).
In the past six decades, the financial sector has grown steadily relative to other sectors of business in the world (Jickling and Hoskins 5). There are many investment banks and financial services firms on Wall Street, which affects individuals by increasing the ability of firms to hire employees, thereby increasing incomes. Also, the expansion of the size of Wall Street will increase the number of traded companies and improve the global economy (Kaplan and Rauh 12-13). Wall Street has a significant influence on the economy in the world. The profit of companies on Wall Street can affect other relative firms, so the increasing size of Wall Street will promote the competition of different companies (Ho 295). In 1934, Benjamin Graham and David Dodd invented security analysis, with which people analyzed businesses and stocks (Hooke 3-4). These effects are some of the benefits Wall Street can have on the economy.
As Wall Street has the potential to create both positive and negative effects on the economy, it may be best for Wall Street to continue existing, but under better regulations. In response to the financial crisis of 2008 and the continuing recession, the US government appointed a commission to investigate the causes of the crisis. The commission found that the crisis resulted from “high risk, complex financial products; undisclosed conflicts of interest; the failure of regulators, the credit rating agencies, and the market itself to rein in the excesses of Wall Street” (United States Senate). The US government passed regulations aiming to prevent the “too big to fail” situations that necessitated the bank bailouts (United States Congress Title VII). These regulations may be able to prevent the financial system from breaking once again due to the failure of banks that are so large that they affect the global banking system.
Nowadays, we live in a global society—something happening in one country can affect the entire world. The most influential financial industry in the world is Wall Street, and the movement from Wall Street affects a lot of people in the world. From the above information, we know that Wall Street can have both positive and negative effects on the global economy. Though Wall Street was built as a way to strengthen the economy, in recent years it has brought about financial crises. Because of these circumstances, I wonder whether Wall Street overall provides a better or a worse life to the people in the world. As noted above, we can see that Wall Street does some good in terms of increasing the world’s productivity. The bigger the scale, the more it can contribute. However, sometimes people on Wall Street engage in risky behavior and end up causing a financial crisis, which leads to economic decline. So would it be better for the economy to place limits on Wall Street or would it be better to allow those on Wall Street to act free of regulations? The answer depends on which policy would best strengthen the overall economy.
Works Cited
Ho, Karen Zouwen. Liquidated: An Ethnography of Wall Street. Durham: Duke University Press, 2009.
Hooke, Jeffrey C. Security Analysis and Business Valuation on Wall Street. John Wiley, 2010.
Jickling, Mark and Sean M. Hoskins. Finance and the Economy: Occupy Wall Street in Historical Perspective. Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress, 2011.
Kaplan, Steven M. and Joshua Rauh. Wall street and Main Street: What Contributes to the Rise in the Highest Incomes? National Bureau of Economic Research, 2007.
Santoro, Michael A. and Ronald J. Strauss. Wall Street values: Business ethics and the global financial crisis. Cambridge University Press, 2013.
United States Congress. Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Washington, DC: U.S. G.P.O., 2010.
United States Senate. Wall Street and the Financial Crisis: Anatomy. Washington, DC: Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, 2011. | https://writer.tools/subjects/b/business/is-wall-street-necessary |
Marker Text:
Completed in 1911. This is the fifth courthouse to serve the citizens of Williamson County. It was designed by the Austin architectural firm of Charles H. Page & Bro. Although some of the building’s detailing was removed in the 1960s, it remains a fine Classical Revival structure featuring giant order Ionic columns and a copper dome with four-faced clock and a Justice statue. It serves as a focal point for Georgetown’s town square. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark – 1988
Additional Plaque: | http://wilcohistory.org/listing/historical-marker-williamson-county-courthouse/ |
Garage. Tuesday , December 05th , 2017 - 09:49:29 AM
The lines of this garage door with transom lights project ancestral grace. At the same time, it delights one with the atypical arrangement of form. This home feels as though it has stepped out of time, while still offering all the comforts of modern living.
The natural elements in this wooden garage door repeats natural elements of the landscape. Simplified transom windows reflect the geometry of the windows in this traditional style home.
A modern castle deserves something other than a standard wooden door. The curves, angles, and glass of this home are complemented by the unadorned smoothness of this ultra modern design.
Copyright © 2013 · Home Design Ideas and Interior Inspirations. All Wrong Reserved.
Any content, trademark/s, or other material that might be found on this site that is not this site property remains the copyright of its respective owner/s. In no way does vinosolex claim ownership or responsibility for such items, and you should seek legal consent for any use of such materials from its owner. | http://vinosolex.com/concrete-garage-floor-sinking/garage-door-opener-spring-broke-garage-door-spring-repair-residential-garage-door-repair-same-day-garage-door-repair/ |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to mechanisms which enable components of a chair to be adjustably vertically positioned relative to another chair component. More particularly, it relates to chair backrest and armrest height adjustment mechanism which allows raising and lowering of the chair component to multiple releasably locking vertical positions.
Many types of backrest height adjustment mechanisms have been presented in the prior arts. The most basic form includes a cam rotatably mounted in a bracket. The cam along with a cylindrical rod having a handle provide cam action when the rod is rotated. A modified version of this cam mechanism was presented in U.S. Pat. No. 5,382,077. U.S. Pat. No. 5,405,189 also presented another form of this type of mechanism. The primary disadvantage of this type of mechanism is that it requires that the user manipulate either a hand wheel, a button or a lever to vertically adjust the height of the component relative to the seat. Generally, the mechanisms have many parts and require extensive assembly. This factor makes this type of mechanism uneconomical and undesirable.
Another type of backrest height adjustment mechanism includes a slot having a plurality of notches. A spring guided mechanism having a latch pin releasably engages the notches at the desired height. The releasing of the engagement of the notches is achieved by either a handle or by other mechanisms. U.S. Pat. No. 4,639,039 discloses one embodiment of this type of mechanism. In this invention, the latch pin engages the notches at each level and at the bottom-most position the spring mechanism is reset and the latch pin is allowed to again engage the top- most position. This mechanism is expensive to manufacture because the number of components and their arrangement. It is also very complex in design and manufacture. Further, the spring loaded latch pin causes a loud noise when reset at the bottom-most position which is undesirable in some work environments.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,749,230 issued to Tornero discloses another invention for chair backrest height adjustment having a slot and plurality of notches as in above. This invention uses a lock pin to engage each notch and has done away with the spring latch pin. Although an improvement over the spring type mechanism, this invention also has shortcomings which make the present invention more desirable. The Tornero invention is difficult and time consuming to assemble because of the lock pin position and placement. The whole mechanism must be assembled before the backrest is attached as the lock pin is not easily inserted into the slot assembly. Further, the assembly requires and inset in the backrest of the chair to accommodate the unit and insertion of the J-bar, a feature which is not standard in the industry and not present in most all backrests. This units operation relies on the presumption that the chair is always in a perfectly vertical position. When the chair is tilted to one side even slightly, the lock pin fails to engage the notches causing falling of the unit.
SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
An improved height adjustment mechanism for vertically positioning and releasably locking one chair component relative to another chair component. The improved height adjustment mechanism comprises a J-bar attached to the chair frame. The J-bar is slidably mounted on a guide plate having two tracks for holding the J-bar in position for vertical movement along the guide plate. The guide plate also has a slot with multiple lock notches along one vertical edge. A latch bar is pivotally mounted on the J-bar with a pivot screw near one end of the latch. The pivot screw is specially designed such that the thread does not extend to the head of the screw. This partial thread arrangement allows for free rotational movement of the latch bar about the pivot screw when the screw is tightened on the J-bar. The latch bar has a latch tip which releasably engages lock notches on the channel component. The slot of the channel component also has a release cam at its lowest end after the lowermost notch and is releasably engageable with the lower portion of the latch bar. Lifting of the chair component relative to the chair frame beyond the maximum height position provided for by the lowermost lock notch causes the latch bar to pivot from the latched position and unlock remaining in a standby position. While in the standby position, the chair component may be lowered to its minimum height position. As the chair component is lowered to the minimum height position, the latch bar slidably engages an engaging cam surface along the slot leading to the uppermost lock notch. Sliding along the this inclined surface moves the latch bar into a latched position with the uppermost lock notch causing the latch tip to engage the lock notch. Thereafter, Lifting of the chair component with respect to the chair frame causes the latch pin to engage other lock notch positions between the uppermost and the lowermost lock notch. The lifting of the chair component causes the latch tip to slidably move along an upper lock notch into a lower lock notch, thereafter engaging the lower lock notch. The process is repeated once the lock tip of the latch bar reaches the lowermost lock notch.
The height adjustment mechanism of the present invention has various advantages over the prior art. Aside from the self locking mechanism feature which requires no external levers or handles, this invention has numerous other features. The most notable advantage of the present invention is the ease and cost effectiveness of manufacture. The present invention does not require an additional plastic slide to be fixed to the J-bar. It uses the J-bar as the slide plate for its operations eliminating one manufactured piece, thereby making the unit more economic. The weakest points of every height adjustment mechanism are the points where the units come in contact with other chair components. Since the J- bar is slidably integrated within the guide plate, the whole unit is stronger and can withstand a far greater amount of back pull.
Another feature of this improved mechanism is that the latch bar is pivotally attached to the J-Bar with one pivot screw. With this arrangement, only one hole is needed in a standard J-bar for the attachment of the height adjustment mechanism. Further, the pivot screw is inserted from the back of the J-bar which is easily accessible. This greatly reduces the cost of manufacture since the assembly process is very simple and expedient. Yet another advantage is that this mechanism does not require an indentation in the back of the chair component, but is merely affixed to the chair component. Because of its simple and compact design, this mechanism could be used for chair armrests as well as backrests.
The mechanism used in latching a height position by the present invention is also advantageous over the prior art. This mechanism is highly reliable and does not experience misses in latching. This reliability is due to the design and shape of the latch bar which utilizes the gravitational pull to lock each position.
DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a rear view of a chair with the improved height adjustment mechanism in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a two dimensional frontal plan view of the mechanism of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a three dimensional view of the pivot screw shown in FIG. 2.
FIG. 4 is a dimensional plan view of the latch bar shown in FIG. 2.
FIG. 5 is a two dimensional cross-sectional view of mechanism shown in FIGS. 1 & 2 taken in line 5--5.
FIG. 6 is a dimensional frontal plan view of the mechanism of FIGS. 1 & 2 showing latch bar in a release position.
FIG. 7 is a three dimensional view of mechanism of FIG. 2 as used in an armrest.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to FIG. 1, the chair height adjustment mechanism which is the object of this invention (hereinafter mechanism) 1 is attached to chair 6. Chair 6 comprises of seat 3 attached to chair frame 8, J-bar 2 rigidly attached at one end to chair frame 8 and extending therefrom to mechanism 1 and backrest 4 rigidly attached to mechanism 1. The mechanism 1 allows for manual adjustment of the height of the backrest 4 relative to the chair frame 8 by releasably latching among a plurality of positions H1, H2, H3, H4, H5, and H6. The mechanism 1 is preferably covered by a plastic or fabric compartment (not shown) which covers the inner workings of the mechanism 1.
In FIGS. 1, 2, 2a, 5, 6 and 7, mechanism 1 is shown comprising a guide plate 20 rigidly secured to a backrest 4 with bolts (not shown) secured through notches 34a, 34b, 34c, and 34d. The J-bar 2 is slidably received by tracks 35a and 35b of the guide plate 20 such that the J-bar 2 vertically slides along the tracks 35a and 35b. The guide plate 20 has a slot 30 comprising a plurality of lock notches 21 through 29, a release cam 32, a flat portion 33, and an engaging cam 31. Each of the plurality of lock notches 21 through 29 has a convex tongue 51 and two concave seats 52 and 53. A latch bar 10 is pivotally mounted on J-bar 2 with pivot screw 40 such that it is inside slot 30. The latch bar 10 has a latch tip 16 comprising a concave mouth 11 and two convex lips 12 and 13 for latching convex tongue 51 and concave seats 52 and 53 of plurality of lock notches 21 through 29, respectively. The latch bar 10 has a non- threaded hole 14, smaller is diameter than screw head 41, for receiving non-threaded neck 42 of pivot screw 40 such that latch bar 10 pivotally rotates about pivot screw 10. The J-bar 2 has a threaded hole 36 for receiving the threaded body 43 of pivot screw 40. Manually raising backrest 4 causes guide plate 20 to move vertically up with respect to J- bar 2 and latch bar 10. This movement causes latch tip 16 of the latch bar 10 to disengage one of plurality of lock notches 21 through 29 and engage a lower of the plurality of lock notches 21 through 29, thereby engaging a higher adjustable backrest lock position. Raising backrest 4 beyond highest lock position H9 causes release end 15 of latch bar 10 to releasably engage release cam 32 extending from the lowest lock notch 29. The engagement of release end 15 and release cam 32 pivots latch bar 10 clockwise about pivot screw 40 into a standby position. While in the standby position, backrest 4 is lowered to its lowest position H1 with respect to J-bar 2. Latch bar 10 comes in contact with engaging cam 31 as backrest 4 is lowered to its lowest position. This contact pivots latch bar 10 counterclockwise from its standby position to latching of lock notch 21. The cycle is thereafter repeated as backrest 4 is raised and latch tip 16 releases lock notch 21 and engages lock notch 22, vertically moving backrest 4 to a higher H2 height level.
Although the drawings and the description above refers to nine height level H1 through H9, the invention may have more or less height adjustment levels as needed. The invention as described is used for a chair backrest, but may be used in an armrest or with other chair components for height adjustment, as shown in FIG. 7. | |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
RELATED ART
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
OPERATION
The present invention generally relates to data processing techniques and, in particular, to a system and method for retrieving document data based on correlations between the document data and schedule data.
Many computer systems employ a scheduling program to assist users in keeping track of meetings, deadlines, social engagements, and other types of events. Each scheduling program usually includes schedule data defining a user's schedule and a schedule manager to control the processing of the schedule data. The schedule data typically defines different time periods (such as hours within a day, for example) and indicates when an event is scheduled to occur during one of the time periods.
e.g.
etc
For example, a user may provide inputs to indicate that a meeting has been scheduled at a particular time (, at a particular hour and day). The schedule manager is designed to define schedule data indicating that the meeting has been scheduled. The data may include, among other information, the exact time of the meeting, the nature of the meeting, the location of the meeting, the person(s) expected to attend the meeting, .
At any time, the schedule data may be rendered. For example, a graphical schedule showing each hour of a selected day or week may be presented to the user. The schedule data is used to indicate which hours are associated with events and to indicate the details of the events. By viewing the schedule, the user is able to determine when certain events are scheduled to occur.
It should be noted that scheduling programs are generally well known in the art. U.S. Patent No. 4,780,839, entitled "Electronic Schedule Display Apparatus," and U.S. Patent No. 4,896,306, entitled "Electronic Scheduler Capable of Searching Schedule Data Based on Time," which are both incorporated herein by reference, show examples of conventional scheduling devices that may be used to track scheduled events.
When the user of a scheduling program attends a scheduled event, it is often desirable for the user to obtain a software copy of selected documents introduced or discussed at the event. Therefore, scanning devices have been developed that allow a user to scan the image of a document into memory. Essentially, a scanning device captures an image of a selected document and produces a data file that defines the image in data. To increase the user's flexibility, some scanning devices have been designed as portable, stand-alone units.
Most computer systems associate a particular name with each data file stored in memory to identify the data file. Therefore, to retrieve a data file, a user usually supplies the computer system with the name of the data file, and the computer system locates and retrieves the requested data based on the filename provided by the user.
However, as the number of data files stored in the system increases, it becomes more and more difficult to remember the different filenames and to remember or identify which information is stored in each data file. Therefore, it becomes difficult to identify which data file includes data that defines the image of a desired document. Thus, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the industry for a system and method for easily locating and retrieving document data that has been stored or received while the user was attending a scheduled event.
The present invention overcomes the inadequacies and deficiencies of the prior art as discussed hereinbefore. Generally, the present invention provides a system and method for easily identifying and retrieving document data that is associated with an event.
The present invention utilizes a data storage device, an input device, a scanning device, and a schedule manager. Schedule data associated with a plurality of events is stored in the data storage device. The scanning mechanism scans the surface of a document and produces document data based on an image of the document, and the schedule manager stores the document data into memory. The schedule manager also determines a correspondence between the document data and one of the events and correlates the document data with the schedule data based on the correspondence. The schedule manager utilizes the correlation between the document data and the schedule data to retrieve the document data when a request from the input device is received that identifies the one event.
In accordance with another feature of the present invention, the correspondence is based on a determination that the document data is scanned by the scanning device during or at the one event.
The present invention can also be viewed as providing a method for storing and retrieving document data. In this regard, the method can be broadly conceptualized by the following steps: defining schedule data based on a plurality of events; scanning a document; producing document data based on the scanning step; storing the document data; correlating the document data with one of the events; receiving inputs from a user; identifying the one event based on the inputs; determining whether the document data is correlated with the one event in response to the identifying step; and retrieving the document data in response to a determination in the determining step that the document data is correlated with the one event.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to one skilled in the art upon examination of the following detailed description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is intended that all such features and advantages be included herein within the scope of the present invention and protected by the claims.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a computer system in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the scanning device of FIG. 1 in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the scanning device of FIG. 1 in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating the architecture, functionality, and operation of the schedule manager of FIG. 1.
FIG. 5 is an illustration of a schedule rendered from the schedule data depicted in FIG. 1.
FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating the architecture and functionality of the data manager of FIG. 2.
The invention can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The elements of the drawings are not necessarily to scale relative to each other, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the invention. Furthermore, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.
In general, the present invention relates to a system and method for storing and retrieving document data to/from memory. Each set of document data stored in memory is correlated with an event. Therefore, a particular set of document data can be easily located by searching for and locating the correlated event.
etc
FIG. 1 depicts a computer system 21 implementing the principles of the present invention. The system 21 includes schedule data 23 stored in memory 25. The schedule data 23 defines a user's schedule and includes information relating to events, such as meetings, deadlines, social engagements .
A schedule manager 30 is configured to control the processing of the schedule data 23. The schedule manager 30 can be implemented in software, hardware, or a combination thereof. In the preferred embodiment, as illustrated by way of example in FIG. 1, the schedule manager 30 of the present invention along with its associated methodology is implemented in software, is stored in memory 25 of computer system 21, and is executed by processor(s) 32 of the computer system 21.
Note that the schedule manager 30, when implemented in software, can be stored and transported on any computer-readable medium for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device, such as a computer-based system, processor-containing system, or other system that can fetch the instructions from the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device and execute the instructions. In the context of this document, a "computer-readable medium" can be any means that can contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transport the program for use by or in connection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The computer readable medium can be, for example but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, device, or propagation medium. More specific examples (a nonexhaustive list) of the computer-readable medium would include the following: an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber, and a portable compact disc read-only memory (CDROM). Note that the computer-readable medium could even be paper or another suitable medium upon which the program is printed, as the program can be electronically captured, via for instance optical scanning of the paper or other medium, then compiled, interpreted or otherwise processed in a suitable manner if necessary, and then stored in a computer memory. As an example, the schedule manager 30 may be magnetically stored and transported on a conventional portable computer diskette.
e.g.
etc.
The preferred embodiment of the computer system 21 of FIG. 1 comprises one or more conventional processing elements 32, such as a digital signal processor (DSP), that communicate to and drive the other elements within the system 21 via a local interface 33, which can include one or more buses. Furthermore, an input device 35, for example, a keyboard or a mouse, can be used to input data from a user of the system 21, and a screen display 38 or a printer 41 can be used to output data to the user. A disk storage mechanism 44 can be connected to the local interface 33 to transfer data to and from a nonvolatile disk (, magnetic, optical, ). The system 21 can be connected to a network interface 47 that allows the system 23 to exchange data with a network 49.
The preferred embodiment of the system 21 also includes a scanning device 52 configured to capture an image of a document. The captured image can be analyzed, via conventional techniques, to produce a document entry 58. A "document entry" is defined herein as data that defines at least a portion of a document. As shown by FIG. 1, the system 21 can include a plurality of document entries 58.
In the preferred embodiment, the scanning device 52 is detachable from computer system 21. FIG. 2 depicts a more detailed view of the scanning device 52. The scanning device 52 preferably includes an input device 59 and an output device 61 for communicating and interfacing with a user. The scanning device 52 also includes one or more processing elements 62, such as a DSP, that communicate to and drive the other elements within the scanning device 52 via a local interface 64. An image acquisition device 63 is used to capture an image of a document, and the data defining the image of the document captured by the image acquisition device 63 is preferably stored in memory 65 as a document entry 58.
The process of capturing an image of a document via image acquisition mechanism 63 and of producing data defining the captured image is fully described in U.S. Patent No. 5,825,044, entitled "Freehand Image Scanning Device which Compensates for Non-Linear Color Movement," U.S. Patent No. 5,686,720 entitled "Method and Device for Achieving High Contrast Surface Illumination," U.S. Patent No. 5,769,384, entitled "Low Differential Light Level Photoreceptors," and U.S. Patent No. 5,703,353, entitled "Offset Removal and Spatial Frequency Band Filtering Circuitry for Photoreceiver Signals," which are all incorporated herein by reference.
A data manager 75 is preferably configured to control the operation of the scanning device 52. The data manager 75 can be implemented in software, hardware, or a combination thereof. In the preferred embodiment, as illustrated by way of example in FIG. 2, the data manager 75 of the present invention along with its associated methodology is implemented in software and stored in memory 65.
The data manager 75 is designed to receive inputs from input device 59 indicating when a document is ready to be scanned. In response, the data manager 75 is configured to capture an image of the document via image acquisition device 63 and to store a document entry 58 defining the image of the document imaged by image acquisition device 63.
In response to the process of scanning the document into memory 65, the data manager 75 is designed to store a time entry 81 in memory 65 and to correlate the time entry 81 with the document entry 58. The time entry 81 includes data that indicates the approximate time that the data of the correlated document entry 58 was scanned by the scanning device 52.
As an example, the time entry 81 can include a time stamp produced by clock 83. A time stamp is data that indicates when the time stamp was generated by the clock 83. Therefore, the data manager 75 may retrieve a time stamp from clock 83 at the approximate time that the data defining a document entry 58 is scanned by the system 21. The data manager 75 may then store the retrieved time stamp in memory 65 as time entry 81 and correlate this time entry 81 with the foregoing document entry 58. As an example, the data manager 75 may define a pointer in the data of the document entry 58 that points to the time entry 81.
Therefore, each document entry 58 defining the image of a particular document scanned by the scanning device 52 is associated with a particular time entry 81 that indicates the approximate time at which the image of the document was scanned into memory 65. It should be noted tat the use of pointers is not necessary and that there are various other conventional techniques that may be employed to correlate the time entry 81 with the document entry 58.
i.e.
When the scanning device 52 is attached to the system 21 as shown by FIG. 1, the data manager 75 is designed to transmit the document entry 58 and the time entry 81 correlated with the document entry 58. The schedule manager 30 is configured to receive the document entry 58 and the correlated time entry 81. The schedule manager 30 is then designed to search the schedule data 23 for an event corresponding with the received time entry 81. For example, assume that the document defined by the received document entry 58 was scanned into scanning device 52 during a meeting scheduled or defined by the schedule data 23. The schedule manager 30 determines that the received time entry 81 (, the time stamp correlated with the received document entry 58) corresponds with the meeting based on the scheduled time of the meeting (as defined by the schedule data 23) and the time indicated by the time entry 81. In this regard, the time indicated by the time stamp should be within or close to the scheduled time interval of the meeting.
i.e.
When the schedule manager 30 determines that the time entry 81 corresponds with the meeting, the schedule manager 30 is designed to correlate the schedule data 23 defining the meeting with the received document entry 58 that is associated with the time entry 81. For example, the schedule manager 30 may define a pointer within the schedule data 23 that points to (, indicates the address of) the received document entry 58. As a result, each document entry 58 is correlated with one or more corresponding events defined in the schedule data 23.
i.e.
The schedule manager 30 is further designed to retrieve a document entry 58 in response to a request from the user. In this regard, the user may request the retrieval and display of a document via input device 35. In the preferred embodiment, the request indicates an event defined within the schedule data 23. For example, the user may request to view a document scanned by scanning device 52 during a particular meeting or other event. The schedule manager 30 is configured to search the schedule data 23 via conventional techniques to locate the data within the schedule data 23 that defines the specified event (, the meeting in the foregoing example).
Then, the schedule manager 30 is designed to retrieve the document entry 58 correlated with the specified event. In the example described hereinabove where the schedule manager 30 defined a pointer to point to the document entry 58 corresponding with the event, the schedule manager 30 is designed to utilize the pointer to locate the correlated document entry 58. Once the correlated document entry 58 is located by the schedule manager 30, the schedule manager 30 is designed to retrieve the document entry 58 and to process the document entry 58 as requested by the user. For example, if the user requested to view the document entry 58, the schedule manager 30 is designed to transmit the document entry 58 to display 38 or printer 41, which displays the document entry 58 in graphical form to the user through conventional techniques.
As a result, the user is able to view an image of the document defined by the document entry 58 retrieved in response to the user's request. Consequently, the user does not need to remember or find the filename associated with the requested document entry 58. Instead, the system 21 automatically retrieves the requested document entry 58 based on the event information supplied by the user.
It should be noted that it is not necessary for the time entry 81 to precisely indicate when the correlated document entry 58 was scanned by the scanning device 52. In this regard, the correlated time entry 81 may be produced at any time during or close to the time period scheduled for the corresponding event, in the preferred embodiment. For example, if a document was scanned during an event scheduled between 1:00 and 2:00, ten it is sufficient in the preferred embodiment for the time entry 81 to be created at any time between approximately 1:00 and 2:00 on the day of the event. Furthermore, it is possible to design logic that determines which event should be correlated with which time entry 81 even when the time entry 81 is not created during or close to the scheduled time of the corresponding event.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the schedule manager 30 is designed to correlate an event defined in schedule data 23 with document entry 58 based on inputs from the user. In this regard, the user via input device 35 or 59 selects which event is to be correlated with a particular document entry 58. In response, the schedule manager 30 is designed to identify the selected event in schedule data 23 and to correlate the selected event with the document entry 58. Therefore, an event defined by the schedule data 23 can be correlated with the appropriate document entry 58 without the utilization of a time entry 81.
Another embodiment that can correlate an event with the appropriate document entry 58 without utilizing a time entry 81 is shown by FIG. 3. Referring to FIG. 3, the scanning device 52 includes a location sensor 88 that produces location data based on the location of the sensor 88. As an example, the location data can define the coordinates of the location of the sensor 88. Examples of the location sensor 88 are, but are not limited to, a GPS sensor, a LORAN sensor, or a TACAN sensor. Therefore, at the approximate time that data associated with a document entry 58 is scanned by the scanning device 52, the data manager 75 is designed to retrieve from sensor 88 data indicating the current location of the sensor 88. This retrieved data is then used to define a location entry 91, which is correlated with the document entry 58 and is stored in memory 65. Therefore, the location entry 91 indicates the location at which the data in the correlated document entry 58 was scanned by the scanning device 52. When desired, the document entry 58 and the correlated location entry 91 are transmitted to schedule manager 30 (FIG. 1), and the schedule manager 30 can utilize the information in the correlated location entry 88 to correlate the document entry 58 with one of the events scheduled in the schedule data 23, as further described hereinbelow.
In this embodiment, the schedule data 23 preferably includes location data associated with each event defined by the schedule data 23. The location data indicates the scheduled location for the associated event. For example, when entering an event into system 21, the user can specify the address or location of the event. If necessary, this address can be converted trough conventional techniques to the coordinates of the event so that the location data can be compared with the data defined by the location entries 91. In another example, the location of an event may be determined from a predefined look-up table. Various other techniques and configurations may be employed for defining the location data without departing from the principles of the present invention.
When the schedule manager 30 receives a document entry 58 and a correlated location entry 91, the schedule manager 30 compares the data in the location entry 91 with the location data in the schedule data 23. In this regard, the schedule manager 30 identifies the event that is scheduled to occur at or close to the location defined by the location entry 91. The schedule manager 30, then associates this event with the document entry 58 that is correlated with foregoing location entry 91. Therefore, the schedule manager 30 determines which document entries 58 are associated with documents that were scanned at an expected location of a particular event and correlates these entries 58 with this event.
As a result, the user later can access a document entry 58, as described hereinabove. In this regard, the user provides inputs to select a particular event. In response, the schedule manager 30 retrieves the document entry(ies) 58 correlated with the selected event and renders the data stored in the retrieved document entry(ies) 58 via display 38 and/or printer 41. Therefore, the aforementioned embodiment operates essentially the same as the preferred embodiment except that location data instead of time data is used to correlate the document entries 58 with the schedule data 23.
It should be noted that other types of data may be used to correlate the document entries 58 with the schedule data 23. Furthermore, although the scanning device 52 has been described hereinabove as a stand-alone unit, other embodiments for the scanning device 52 are possible. In this regard, the scanning device 52 may be configured to utilize processor 32, input device 35, display 38, and/or printer 41 of computer system 21 (FIG. 1) in lieu of processor 62, input device 59, and/or output device 61 (FIG. 2 and FIG. 3)
The preferred use and operation of the system 21 and associated methodology are described hereafter.
e.g.
Assume that a user enters information via input device 35 of computer system 21 indicating that a meeting or other event has been scheduled for a particular time (, between a time range of a particular day of a particular year). As shown by blocks 101 and 104 of FIG. 4, the schedule manager 30 receives the information entered by the user and defines the event in schedule data 23 through techniques known in the art. The schedule manager 30 may define multiple events in the schedule data 23.
At any time, the user may submit a request via input device 35 to have the schedule data 23 or a portion of the schedule data 23 rendered via display 38 or printer 41. In response to the request, the schedule manager 30 retrieves the requested data from schedule data 23 and transmits the retrieved data to display 38 or printer 41. Through techniques known in the art, the display 38 or printer 41 interfaces the data with the user. Therefore, the user may view the schedule defined by the schedule data 23.
i.e.
etc
As an example, assume that schedule 105 of FIG. 5 is rendered in response to the user's request. As can be seen by refening to FIG. 5, the schedule 105 (which is defined by a portion of the schedule data 23) includes different time periods and events that may occur during these time periods. For example, schedule 105 relates to a five day week where each day is divided into different hour increments. Each event by its location in the schedule 105 is correlated with a particular time period (, the time period during which the event is scheduled to occur). If desired, the user may select one of the displayed events to obtain more detailed information of the event such as the location of the event, documents needed during the event .
When the user attends one of the events defined by the schedule data 23, the user may receive or review a document during the event. If the user wishes to create a software copy of the document, the user scans the document with the scanning device 52, as depicted by blocks 108 and 111 of FIG. 6. At this point the scanning device 52 may be attached to system 21, as shown by FIG. 1, or the scanning device 52 may be detached from system 21 so that the scanning device 52 may be easily transported to the location of the event. In scanning the document the image acquisition device 63 (FIG. 2) captures an image of the document. Data defining this image is stored in memory 65 as a document entry 58 via techniques known in the art. During the scan, the clock 83 produces a time entry 81 that indicates the time when the time entry 81 was produced. The data manager 75 stores this time entry 81 in memory 65 and correlates the time entry 81 with the document entry 58 that defines the image of the document being scanned, as shown by blocks 115 and 118 of FIG. 6.
After scanning the document, the scanning device 52 is attached to the system 21 (assuming that the scanning device 52 is not already attached to the system 21 during the scanning process). Once the scanning device 52 is attached to the system 21, the data manager 75 transmits the document entry 58 and the correlated time entry 81 to schedule manager 30, as shown by blocks 121, 124, and 127 of FIG. 6.
It should be noted that the document entry 58 and the correlated time entry 81 can be transmitted from the scanning device 52 to the schedule manager 30 via wireless signals. Therefore, it is not necessary for the scanning device 52 to be attached to the system 21, as described hereinabove. Furthermore, the document entry 58 and the correlated time entry 81 may be transmitted to the schedule manager 30 over conventional communication networks, such as the publicly-switched-telephone-network (PSTN), for example.
The schedule manager 30 stores the document entry 58 received from the scanning device 52 into memory 25, as depicted by blocks 131 and 133 of FIG. 4. The schedule manager 30 also searches the schedule data 23 to identify the event that corresponds with the time entry 81 received from the scanning device 52. In this regard, the schedule manager 30 searches for the event in schedule data 23 that is scheduled for a time range that includes or is close to the time indicated by the time entry 81. Once the corresponding event is identified, the schedule manager 30 correlates the identified event with the corresponding document entry 58, as shown by blocks 136 and 138 of FIG. 4.
After the document entry 58 is correlated with the corresponding event, the user may wish to retrieve the document entry 58 defining the document that was scanned during the event. Accordingly, the user inputs information into the system 21 via input device 35 identifying the event. The schedule manager 30 in response analyzes the user's inputs and the schedule data 23 to identify the event, as depicted by blocks 142 and 145 of FIG. 4.
The schedule manager 30 then identifies and retrieves the document entry 58 that is correlated with the event as shown by block 148 of FIG. 4. It is possible for the event to be correlated with more than one document entry 58. In this case, the schedule manager 30 preferably transmits information (such as the filenames of the correlated document entries 58) to the display 38 identifying the correlated document entries 58. This information is displayed to the user via the display device 38, and the user preferably selects one of the document entries 58 for viewing. In response, the schedule manager 30 retrieves the selected document entry 58.
In situations where only one document entry 58 is correlated with the identified event, the schedule manager 30 automatically retrieves the correlated document entry 58. Once the appropriate document entry 58 is retrieved, the schedule manager 30 transmits the retrieved document entry 58 to the display device 38 or printer 41, which displays an image defined by the retrieved document entry 58 through techniques known in the art, as shown by block 152 of FIG. 4.
etc.
Therefore, the user is able to view an image of the document scanned into the system 21 during the identified event. The user does not need to provide information identifying the document in the preferred embodiment. Instead, the user may provide information identifying the event (such as the name of the event, the time of the event, the location of the event, the name of persons attending the event, ), and the system 21 automatically uses this information to locate and retrieve the document or documents correlated with the event.
It should be noted that it may take more than one request for the user to identify the appropriate event. For example, the user may not remember the exact date and time of the event but may remember an approximate date range and other details of the event. In this regard, the user may remember that the desired document was scanned by scanning device 52 during a meeting with a particular person in a particular month. The schedule manager 30 may locate a plurality of events based on this information. The user in another request(s) may then select one of these events. The schedule manager 30 then utilizes this selected event to retrieve a corresponding document entry 58 via the techniques described hereinabove.
Furthermore, it should also be noted that the schedule manager 30 may correlate document entry 58 with a corresponding event without using a time entry 81. For example, after scanning the document via scanning device 52, the user may provide inputs indicating which event corresponds with the document. In response, the document entry 58 defining an image of the document is correlated with the event identified by the user's inputs. Alternatively, a document entry 58 may be correlated with an event through the use of location data instead of time data. Therefore, clock 83 and time entry 81 are not necessary for implementing the present invention.
In addition, in the preferred operation, the schedule manager 30 is able to identify an event that corresponds with a received document entry 58 in block 136. However, if the schedule manager 30 is unable to identify an event corresponding with the document entry 58, then the schedule manager 30 preferably creates an event in schedule data 23 and correlates this event with the document entry 58. For example, the schedule manager 23 could create an event generically entitled "data captured" and correlate this newly created event with the foregoing document entry 58. Therefore, when the schedule data 23 is rendered to the user, the user (through the techniques described hereinabove) can access the document entry 58 via the event created by the schedule manager 30.
It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments of the present invention, particularly, any "preferred" embodiments, are merely possible examples of implementations, merely set forth for a clear understanding of the principles of the invention. Many variations and modifications may be made to the above-described embodiment(s) of the invention without departing substantially from the spirit and principles of the invention. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of the present invention. | |
The Cochlear Implant Psychophysics Laboratory, housed in the University of Washington’s Dept. of Speech and Hearing Sciences, was established in 2005 by its principal investigator, Dr. Julie Arenberg (formerly Bierer). The primary goal of the laboratory is to improve the listening experience of cochlear implant wearers by tailoring each device to the specific way that it activates the auditory system. As you can imagine, this part of our nervous system, from our ears to the highest cortical centers of the brain, is vastly complex, handling everything from the constantly changing sounds of the environment, both soft and loud, to the intricate nuances of speech and music. Our main research approach is based on a branch of psychology known as psychophysics, which is the study of perception (in this case hearing) based on the systematic variation of a sensory input (in this case sound). But we also apply other research methods, from electrophysiology (the recording of small electrical signals that the brain produces when it processes sound) to anatomy (via specialized x-ray images of the cochlear implant and its position within the ear). Ideally, our research efforts will lead to improved speech and music perception with cochlear implants, not just for the patient test subjects who participate in our research program, but for cochlear implant listeners everywhere.
The primary funding of the CI Psychophysics Laboratory is through the National Institutes of Health, with competitive grants awarded to Dr. Julie Arenberg. Other funding has been provided by the University of Washington, Royalty Research Fund, and the VM Bloedel Hearing Research Center. We also have close working ties with two leading manufacturers of cochlear implants in the U.S., Advanced Bionics and Cochlear Corporation. We are grateful for the technical support provided by these companies over the years.
Click on the navigation links at the left to learn more about the laboratory and how to participate in our research studies. | https://sphsc.washington.edu/research-labs/cochlear-implant-psychophysics-lab/about-us |
The Deep Nets are the hot thing these days in machine learning research. So hot that institutes are being established to study the social consequences of AI overtaking humanity and the White House has concerns regarding AI. Now every respecting sceptic should ask a question: is humanity really that close to solving the secret of intelligence? Or maybe this is just hype like in the 50'ies and 80'ies?
This is a long discussion. I will post many articles on that in the future hopefully. Here lets dissect a few popular myths:
- Convolutional deep nets solve perception. It is true that these systems have won ImageNet by a substantial margin and often can classify the content of the image accurately. It is also known that they get fooled by stuff that certainly would not fool a human. So that indicates that there is something missing. I think that we have somewhat shallow understanding of what perception really is. Vision is not about just categorising what we see. In fact we more often than not ignore the class of what we see. Humans or animals are more interested with affordances, namely "can I perform an action on what I see". Is it a chair? Do we classify that based on a million chairs we saw? Or do we classify that by the affordance? I can sit on it, it is of the right size, orientation, therefore it's a chair. I'd say there are a few more things to solve before we can confidently say that perception has been solved, I'm looking particularly at robotics where you really need perception. Looking at the recent DARPA robotics challenge we may be looking at many years of research...
- Convolution and feature maps are a biologically sound mechanism. Well not really. From all we know in biology there is no "convolutional operator" in the cortex. There is no known mechanism of weight sharing. In fact the receptive fields vary enormously depending on the eccentricity from the fovea. Convolution and clumping lookalike features by the pooling operators is at best inspired by certain biological observation, namely complex receptive fields in primary visual cortex. Researchers don't really know if it applies in higher cortical areas, neither do they know how such clustering is accomplished in V1. But almost certainly it is not stiff weight sharing and a max operator.
- Translational invariance is universal. To a certain degree on rectilinearly projected photos with objects at a distance in which perspective change is not substantial it is the case (namely the object retains the same appearance as it translates from one part of the image to another). But this is not universal across all signals, even in visual domain. For example a highly distorting fisheye lens will generate a different group of invariances (with this I mean that the same object will have different appearance in the center and at the edge). Translational invariance may be applicable in spectrograms for auditory domain (which is why deep nets work for speech recognition), but that is it. Other kinds of data may not have translational invariance at all or in less severe case translational invariance will only be a rough approximation to the real mapping.
- Convnets are a good model of primate visual system. Well, not really. We don't know much concrete stuff from biology, but what we do know, is that there is massive feedback in all cortical areas. In fact there are more feedback than feedforward connections. We also know that the general behavioural context affects greatly the responses, even in the primary visual cortex. In other words, that feedback is not to make it look neat. It is actually constantly used. One could argue that convnets have feedback in the form of back propagated error, but this is not what I'm talking about. The feedback connectivity causes instantaneous effects. It's not just learning dynamics but the whole perceptual process is affected. So, granted we may have nothing better, convnets are not really a good model for biological visual hierarchy, lets be honest about it.
So as much as the deep learning field has some impressive accomplishments, I don't think we are at the stage where all the pieces of the puzzle are on the table and they just need some organising and scaling up. I think we (researchers in the field) are lacking many fundamental insights and it will take some serious research to get those models into shape (possibly the whole conv-net deep architecture is actually a dead end). Some of that research we are doing at BrainCorp and I hope to soon be able to tell more about it. This is a long subject so let me stop here for now.
If you found an error, highlight it and press Shift + Enter or click here to inform us. | https://blog.piekniewski.info/2016/05/09/deep-nets-and-the-brain/ |
The Eastern Cape provincial government has invoked Section 139(1)(b) of the Constitution with regards to the troubled Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality.
This after the municipality missed a deadline to appoint credible executive directors, including a CFO and city manager.
At a provincial meeting last week, executive committee members received a report from Cooperative Governance MEC Xolile Nqatha about the status of the notice of the intention to invoke Section 139(1)(A) of the Constitution in the affairs of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan municipal council.
As a result, an acting municipal manager and CFO will now be sent to the province to help stabilise matters.
The provincial government also announced it would send a "multi-disciplinary task team to support the acting municipal manager".
"The non-appointment of executive directors also paralyses the financial administration of the municipality envisaged by Section 77 of the Local Government Municipal Finance Management Act," Nqatha said in his letter - dated October 25- to Mayor Mongameli Bobani.
He said his intention to intervene was due to the "persistent failure of the municipality to fulfill its obligations".
These include the failure to appoint executive directors and accounting managers.
Currently, the metro only has one executive director.
Premier Oscar Mabuyane's spokesperson, Mvusiwekhaya Sicwetsha, said: "It should be noted that the secondment of officials to the metro does not put on hold the constitutional responsibilities of the municipality and the directives given to them by the cooperative governance MEC to implement.
"The secondment of officials is a mechanism to help rescue the metro from the difficulty it is further sinking into owing to this current impasse."
Sicwetsha said the provincial government's legal team would ensure that its actions were legally sound.
"In playing its constitutional role, the provincial government will explore options in the Constitution to ensure that the Nelson Mandela Bay metro implements its constitutional responsibilities to the people of the metro." | |
Here we show that 6- and 10-month-old infants take into account an individual's actions towards others in evaluating that individual as appealing or aversive: infants prefer an individual who helps another to one who hinders another, prefer a helping individual to a neutral individual, and prefer a neutral individual to a hindering individual. These findings constitute evidence that preverbal infants assess individuals on the basis of their behaviour towards others. This capacity may serve as the foundation for moral thought and action, and its early developmental emergence supports the view that social evaluation is a biological adaptation.
This was seen as a major breakthrough for the perennial nature vs. nurture debate with respect to morality: here are young infants, presumably having had little time to be indoctrinated on the ins and outs of moral behavior, showing a clear preference for helpers over hinderers. The authors themselves viewed their results as supporting the view that this is likely to be a biological adaptation.
But did the babies really have a preference for the helper qua helper? A group of researchers at the University of Otago thought they had found a glitch in the experimental set up of the original study, and thus conducted similar experiments to test their hypothesis (paper here). The hypothesis was that, rather than showing a preference for the helper for its helping behavior, what the babies in fact did was to show a preference for the ‘bouncy-ness’ of the climber in the helping condition. As you can see for yourself on the video above, when helped to make it to the top of the mountain, the red circle bounces slightly; when pushed down the mountain by the hinderer, no bouncing occurs. So the Otago researchers changed the set up so that bouncing would occur after the hinderer’s intervention instead of after the helper’s. As they predicted, infants no longer showed a preference for the helper, and instead typically went for the character which had caused the climber to bounce – the hinderer, in this case.
The authors of the original study replied, pointing out that their results have been replicated by themselves and by others without the bouncing factor. They also noted that a number of other independent studies also seem to support the claim that babies have a ‘moral compass’. So clearly, the debate isn’t over yet.
At any rate, the new experiment serves as a warning against over-interpreting experimental results, in particular of experiments with preverbal babies. What was first interpreted as a preference for helping behavior may just as well have been a preference for bouncy behavior – and that babies like bouncy things is no news to anyone, really. This debate also illustrates how difficult it is to design experiments to test such higher order concepts such as ‘moral behavior’ while ensuring that one is not dealing with something much more prosaic which happens to be part of the experimental set up.
Personally, I tend to be on the ‘nurture/culture’ side of the debate, but I also believe (from personal experience as well as from other studies) that the onset of social, affectionate behavior occurs very early on in infants. Now, there may well be an evolutionary explanation for that: babies who are not ‘good’ at engaging emotionally with caregivers are simply more likely to be neglected by those caregivers and thus not to thrive; no wonder that babies tend to be such cute, responsive little things. (Incidentally, here is a video of the still face experiment, which shows a baby having a total meltdown when its mother gives it a ‘still face’ – quite painful to watch, actually!) However, there still seems to be a big gap from observing that babies are naturally sociable to claiming that infants show a preference for helping behavior. | https://www.newappsblog.com/2012/10/the-moral-compass-of-babies.html |
This study aims to identify the effects of high school students’ perceptions of school life quality on their academic motivation levels. The study was conducted on a sample of high school students (n=2371) in Amasya Province in the fall semester of 2013-2014 academic year. Study sample was selected with the help of cluster sampling method. Data were collected via personal information form developed by researchers, Academic Motivation Scale developed by BozanoÄŸlu and Quality of School Life Scale developed by Sari. Multiple Regression Analysis was used in data analysis to determine high school students’ perceptions regarding quality of school life on their academic motivation levels. According to research findings, all the variables of quality of school life predicted academic motivation and its subscales (exploration, self-actualization and using data). The most powerful quality of school life perception variables was found to be negative effects towards school and teachers and the least effective variable was social activity.
Key words: High school, quality of school life, academic motivation, motivation.
Copyright © 2022 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article. | https://academicjournals.org/journal/ERR/article-abstract/A3E4C9950078 |
Summary of Essential Job Duties:
Looking for Research Postdoctoral fellow to join Dr. David Engman's research laboratory.
The lab studies the cell and molecular biology of trypanosomes, single-celled parasites that cause African Sleeping sickness and Chagas Disease, as well as animal models of these diseases.
Postdoc fellow will work independently but in close cooperation and in consultation with the PI and other research scientists and the lab manager.
Expected to perform routine and complex lab procedures throughout their training period.
The incumbent may develop, adapt, and implement new research techniques and protocols and will analyze and interpret data.
Will participate in publications and presentations as author or co-author, assist in the preparation of grant proposals. Will design and perform experiments on cell and molecular biology of trypanosomes as well as the animal models of the disease they cause. Will keep appropriate experimental records and documentation and analyze the results with the Principal Investigator.
Collaboration with other lab members to generate data to complement their studies will be essential.
May develop, adapt, and implement new research techniques and protocols.
Analyzes, interprets, summarizes and compiles data.
Operates and maintains equipment and instruments. Participates in lab meetings, keeping a lab notebook, performing calculations, tabulating data, and summarizing methods and results of related experiments.
General lab maintenance will be required.
Additional Information: Scheduling flexibility including evening, weekend, and holiday rotation commitment may be required.
To learn more about The Engman Laboratory: https://www.cedars-sinai.org/research/labs/engman.html
#Jobs-Glassdoor #Jobs-HERC Educational Requirements:
PhD or highest degree in the field. Demonstrates significant, original, and creative contributions to a research or creative program or project completion of postdoctoral appointment in area of specialization
License/Certification Requirements:
Not Applicable.
Experience:
Works independently on research projects designed by a mentor (typically the PI) within area of specialization. Specific Area: Infectious Disease Research. Acquires thorough technical and theoretical knowledge of research project and objectives during one to five (1-5) year post-doctoral appointment. Demonstrated aptitude to perform experimental protocols and procedures, including detailed data collection, and analysis and operation and maintenance of specialized equipment. Knowledge of safety standards and maintenance of specialized equipment. Excellent written and oral communication skills are essential. | https://www.careerarc.com/job-listing/cedars-sinai-jobs-postdoctoral-scientist-pathology-infectious-and-inflammatory-disease-30359249 |
Emily Koopman: I recently read your book Buzz and it was fascinating. You mentioned that your son is "bee crazy" now too. In your opinion, what is the best way for people who haven't grown up in a bee-loving environment to learn, likely at a later age, to appreciate and understand their importance?
Thor Hanson: Plant or visit a bee garden! Nothing connects us to bees more immediately than direct observation, the simple act of finding a bee on a flower and settling down to watch. This can happen anywhere from a park to a back yard to a window box, but if you have the space to plant flowers rich with nectar and pollen, you can have the satisfaction of watching bees while at the same time doing something to help them.
Emily: What are your top five favourite facts about bees?
Thor: There are an estimated 20,000 species of bees in the world, considerably more than the number of birds and mammals put together.
Over 150 common crops rely in whole or in part on bees for pollination, including tomatoes, almonds, apples, artichokes, strawberries, pears, and paprika.
All male bees (and a lot of the females) cannot sting.
Bees can detect the tiny electromagnetic fields given off by flowers, and can sense a change in that field if the flower has been recently visited by another bee!
Some bees can detect the scent of a flower from over half a mile away.
Emily: Though I have yet to get my hands on the book, I know you spent a lot of time in Uganda learning about the country's varying cultures and wildlife (I'm heading to Uganda and Rwanda to do some gorilla and chimp trekking next year), what are some things tourists can do that will aid in local conservation? And, around the world, how does tourism impact the flora and fauna of different countries?
Thor: In choosing travel options abroad, it’s worthwhile to look for tours and activities that give something back to the local community, and to whatever natural resource is being featured. Take the time to find out where your money goes, and you will often be rewarded by a more personal, low-impact travel experience.
Emily: Is there a country you've worked in or visited that we would be surprised to learn has a sustainable environment plan in the works, or one where something could easily be made if the right resources were provided?
Thor: The Central American nation of Costa Rica maintains an admirable network of parks and protected areas, and has made environmental protection a national priority - in its own right, as well as to promote tourism. While some popular destinations do run the risk of being ‘loved to death’ by the influx of visitors, they also have parks that are largely off-limits to people.
Emily: What do you think are the most helpful changes we can make in our everyday lives to better the environment?
Thor: 1. Be informed. 2. Vote.
Emily: For those unfamiliar, can you tell us a little bit about what it is a conservation biologist does?
Thor: Conservation biology is a field that developed organically as more and more researchers saw their study areas and species threatened by human activity. It is dedicated to science that helps us understand and mitigate the many challenges faced by plants and animals, and the natural habitats and processes they rely upon.
Emily: How do you think conservation values and targets might change over the next 25 years?
Thor: Prognostication is always tricky, but it’s safe to say that climate change will play an increasing role in conservation activities in the years ahead. The military describes climate change as a “threat multiplier,” which is a very apt term for conservation as well. Any challenge facing natural systems will be amplified by the rapid environmental change associated with global warming.
Emily: You mentioned that your early interest in the world around you originally drew you to work in conservation biology, but was there a moment where you went, "This is it. This is what I have to do"? Was there a specific animal or plant that made you want to make a difference?
Thor: It was not a creature, but a process that drew me to conservation biology. Watching beloved places replaced by urban sprawl helped transform an interest in the natural world into a passion for its protection.
Emily: I read an article about conservation online that posed the question, "What is the relationship between climate, science, and nature?" and was curious as to what your answer might be.
Thor: Climate regulates nature. Science tells us how.
Emily: In the Pacific Northwest, what causes do you think are in direst need of our attention?
Thor: In conservation biology, there is something called the “umbrella species” concept, where the effort to save one species will benefit a large number of others that come along under the same umbrella. In the Pacific Northwest, no creatures exemplify this idea more than our various species of salmon. Restoring healthy salmon populations reaches from inland rivers to the coast and beyond, benefiting everything from stream invertebrates to orcas to the many communities that rely upon fishing. | https://www.emilykoopman.com/stuff/2019/3/7/the-mighty-thor-an-interview-with-conservation-biologist-and-author-thor-hanson |
5 Reasons to Enter the Healthcare Field
Healthcare has been a highly visible industry lately. Recent times have exposed the highlights and low points of a vital societal need. They have also shown us the importance of the workers who have chosen a career in medicine.
Coming out of the pandemic there may be no better time to enter the healthcare field than now.
Healthcare includes a variety of roles, each with its own unique demands, rewards, responsibilities, and impacts on personal lives. While healthcare professionals may often experience negative emotions, they also feel great satisfaction in their work. So, what are the major reasons many choose to have a career in healthcare?
Fulfilling, Stimulating Work
Healthcare professionals make a difference in other peoples' lives, which is often why research shows that HCPs are fundamentally satisfied with their career choices. And many HCPs experience a fast-paced workday within a continually changing atmosphere, providing daily stimulation.
Healthcare workers also encounter a rich diversity of people among coworkers and patients, each providing unique opportunities to grow and learn. In this field, there is so much variety in terms of people you’ll meet, problems you will address, and places you may go that healthcare is a natural place for the adventurous or curious person.
Earning Potential
Relative to other industries, many careers in the healthcare industry offer an above-average salary. This is especially true if you work in a hospital setting or for government organizations.
In May 2020, the median annual wage for healthcare practitioners and technical occupations (registered nurses, physicians and surgeons, and dental hygienists) was $69,870, while healthcare support occupations such as home health aides, occupational therapy assistants, and medical transcriptionists – which are often career starting points – earned a median annual wage of $29,960.
Strong Industry Outlook
Due to the aging Baby Boomer population and fallout from the COVID-19 outbreak, job security in the healthcare industry is at an all-time high. The demand for workers is continuing to expand, with an anticipated growth rate of 16% from 2020 to 2030.
In addition, the healthcare field is vast, offering opportunities in a variety of compelling careers regardless of your skills or background. The medical needs of an aging generation mean the healthcare industry will continuing to expand, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics projecting the healthcare field to add approximately 2.4 million new jobs during 2019–2029.
Opportunities for all Educational Levels
Whether you have a GED or a Ph.D., there's a healthcare career for you – with literally hundreds of positions available for those with almost any academic certification (high school diploma, bachelor’s degree, advanced degree, etc.).
A minority of roles require eight years of schooling and a residency before you can begin your healthcare career. On the other hand, healthcare jobs like surgical technologists, radiologic technologists, and lab technicians require a more easily accessible associate degree. Still others, such as pharmacy technicians or medical assistants, require education that can be completed in less time than it takes to achieve an associate degree.
Flexibility in Schedule, Lifestyle & Location
Healthcare may be needed anywhere, at any time. Many roles offer HCPs flexibility in when and where they work.
For instance, most patient-centered positions allow a flexible work schedule, overnights/weekends only opportunities, or even three-day workweeks. Other roles may allow you to work remotely. Almost every region in the U.S., for example, has a strong demand for healthcare professionals, meaning that you can live and work almost anywhere and build the lifestyle you imagine.
The recent pandemic has shown us that the demand for healthcare workers is on the rise. If these reasons appeal to you, consider starting your healthcare career today! | https://www.myhealthtalent.com/article/5-reasons-to-enter-the-healthcare-field |
The Shipment Auditor‘s primary responsibility is the auditing of program’s BOM at time of completion, record discrepancies and provide follow-up to customer outlining all shortages, receipt dates and any additional information deemed necessary by the Client or CTE. Shipment Auditor must own the recording and tracking of all material installed, shipped with and missing from each shipment.
Duties and Responsibilities
- Audit BOM of each tool as they are being prepared for shipment.
- Provide Client with pertinent information including (but not limited to) shortage due dates, assembly lead time, costing and/or any additional information deemed necessary by Client or CTE in relation to Shipment-related activities.
- Own the process of teardown and the flow of material to the onsite third party packaging company.
- Execute regular follow-ups with Management, Engineering, etc. to ensure all aspects of shipment are answered, recorded and understood.
- Record all pertinent information during teardown and provide Client with all necessary information.
- Assist Production in the organization of assemblies being removed from tool.
- Work with Engineering to ensure any change orders prior to shipment are properly satisfied per Engineering’s disposition.
- Understand the process flow and work towards improving efficiency, accuracy and quality of tool shipments.
- Apply knowledge of new product development process to facilitate the capture of critical information at the correct points in the product’s build cycle.
- Interface with Engineering and client to meet new and existing requirements pertaining to Shipment-related activities, ensure any process is documented and understood by team.
- Interface with Pilot Production Manager and Integration Project Lead to ensure all critical deadlines are on-track and ultimately met.
- May be asked to support Quality initiatives during high-volume periods
- Assist Quality Engineer in WIP inspections and data collection activities.
- Apply critical thinking to Quality Opportunities in order to mitigate repeat instances.
- Occasionally inspect in-process assemblies using the supplied Quality forms and build documents.
- Support the team with miscellaneous tasks, as necessary.
Qualifications
- Understanding of and experience with indented Bills of Material
- 3-5 years’ experience working in an ISO regulated production environment.
- Experience with product development process, understanding engineering documentation and working collaboratively with development engineers, management and clients.
- Ability to focus on task and apply strong attention to detail.
- Minimum of high school diploma, Associates Degree or trade school equivalent is a plus.
- Strong organizational and motivational skills.
- Able to adapt to a dynamic work environment.
- Experienced in Microsoft Office Suite; strong Excel skills required.
- Strong teamwork, communication, and decision making skills.
- Good technical aptitude and basic understanding of electro/mechanical assemblies.
- Experience in MRP/ERP, Epicor 9/10, CAD software and SW PDM software is a plus.
Working Environment
Generally works in an office environment and engineering lab environment.
Physical Requirements
- Interaction with people and technology while either standing or sitting.
- Must be able to communicate face-to-face and on the phone
- Able to lift up to 50 lbs.
Note: The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by employees assigned to this classification. They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and/or skills required of all personnel so classified. | https://www.coghlincompanies.com/job/shipping-auditor/ |
Belize Reef
Discover the pristine habitats of the Belize Barrier Reef System
The Belize Barrier Reef spans 185 miles of the country’s coastline and is the largest reef system in the Northern Hemisphere.
As the largest and most intact reef system within the Northern Hemisphere, the Belize Barrier Reef comprises seven (7) key marine reserve zones, over four hundred cayes (islands) and three (3) atolls. The reef’s crystal blue waters are a haven for its marine community and an enticing exploratory region for SCUBA divers and snorkelers. Discover the over five hundred species of fish, seventy hard coral and thirty six soft coral species among the plenty of aesthetic views both above and below water. In 1996, this reef was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its significant habitats and natural development. Add the cultural appeal of Belize and skilled guides, and you’ve got yourself the dive trip of a lifetime.
The Belize Hotel Association (BHA) is a non-profit, non-government organization and Belize’s oldest private sector tourism organization. Its membership is comprised primarily of accommodation providers including hotels, resorts, lodges, condominiums, educational facilities and home-stays with allied members including tour operators and ancillary businesses that service the hospitality industry.
The Belize Tourism Industry Association BTIA is an umbrella organization for the tourism industry’s private sector. BTIA’s main strategic objective is to advocate on behalf of its members for the benefit of the tourism industry by influencing the outcomes of public policy and resource allocation decisions by the government, specifically for tourism.
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“Any object before our senses has, apparently, a meaning and a shape intrinsic to the object. But if we dive into its nature, we realize that it does not have a permanent structure or meaning itself. Everything is subject to transformation and in the profound observation emerge new forms and new thoughts.”
Carlos L.
“From emotion to thought, from thought to word and from word to the action: so, descending step by step, the man pulls away his truth. Arriving at the ground of existence our actions barely reflect what we felt when we were on the top flight of stairs”.
Rafael Argullol
“The orthodox interpretation of quantum mechanics is that only one of the possibilities contained in the wave equation of an observed system goes ahead and the rest of them vanish. The theory of Everett or many-worlds interpretation (MWI) of quantum mechanics says that all of them are done, but in different worlds that exist alongside ours.”
Hugh Everett III
“In Western scientific thought, the human soul turns outward wondering the why of the things. Why the One is reflected in the many? What is the reflector and what is reflected? Why is there not only the One? Mysticism, however, in both East and West is experiencing the oneness of things, trying to penetrate beyond the many, which is in the end, just an illusion.”
Wolfgang Pauli
“This collection of photographs is a visual reflection of the reality that surrounds us. It is inspired by reading the teachings of some of the sage mystics devoted to meditation and contemplation of the nature of mind and also by reading books about the latest theories in particle physics made by the best and brightest minds of the international scientific landscape. Although very different in method and objectives, both ways retain an unusual and fascinating similarity in explaining the matter and the observable reality. For scientists, what we call reality or matter is made up of subatomic particles, incomprehensible to the inexpert human mind, as their behavior and existence follows from the result of mathematical calculations rather than direct observation. The observable reality is merely an interpretation of the mind, a truth that only exists in the mind of the one who observes. Meanwhile, mystics believe that Reality cannot be explained or understood, cannot be measured nor apprehended and only through meditation, without an observing mind, we can experience oneness with the All, the ultimate Reality.”
Carlos L.
Copyright © 2017 by Letman Art Gallery
All rights reserved. No part of the images appear in LetmanArtGallery may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of LetmanArtGallery. For permission requests, write to the address below. | https://www.letmanartgallery.com/fine-art-photography/ |
A team collects data with the Polaris terrestrial laser scanner at an engineered slope within the Site C construction area.
Laser scanning will be a critical tool for slope monitoring during nine years of construction for a hydro electric dam in a sensitive area of British Columbia.
Construction was started on the Site C hydro electric dam on the Peace River in north-east British Columbia in 2015. Once the dam comes online in 2024, it will provide an average capacity of 580 MW for the inhabitants and industries in the province. Complex Geotechnics
The land around Peace River is a sensitive area for the local and indigenous population. Furthermore, given the impact of the project, British Columbia’s power company, BC Hydro, needs to understand the natural geological processes occurring around the river and monitor how those processes are changing as the dam is constructed and its 83-km long reservoir filled.
The Peace River valley is geologically active because the last two glaciations deposited a variety of sediments, some with weak layers. The current river carves deep channels through these deposits, creating large slopes and cliffs that are prone to movement.
BC Hydro turned to BGC Engineering, an earth sciences and engineering consultancy, to make a full geotechnical assessment of the region, encompassing the natural terrain around the river and the proposed reservoir. The geotechnical assessment was used to estimate the expected erosion impacts around the reservoir shoreline and estimate potential impacts from landslides, flood events, and landslide-generated waves.
BGC’s work also includes topographic change detection analysis at the dam site, which involves a full-service solution, from field surveying to data processing to disseminating their results.
Survey Overview
Slope monitoring for the project includes many familiar survey tools such as monitoring with prisms and inclinometers, but tying the information from these traditional tools together are surveys using a terrestrial laser system.
Terrestrial laser systems are the natural choice for detecting subtle geological changes over such large areas; while prisms and inclinometers can accurately measure changes at a certain point, a single lidar survey can capture millions of points over an entire slope. This lets BGC detect centimeter-scale changes over large and continuous spaces and adds confidence to data being collected through other means.
BGC did not need to start from scratch, however. Before construction began, BC Hydro had the entire 750 km2 (290 mi2) site around the proposed reservoir surveyed twice using an airborne lidar system, once in 2006 and once in 2015. These datasets gave BGC a good idea of the area’s topography, and comparing the two datasets let them see where major slope movements had occurred in the intervening nine years.
BGC is using the initial assessment of potential impacts resulting from the reservoir filling, combined with the results of the analysis showing the most active slopes, to develop a shoreline-monitoring plan. To keep up to date, BGC surveys most of the regions twice yearly in the spring and fall, aiming for the short window where there are neither leaves on the trees nor snow on the ground to interfere with measurements. Some areas around the dam that are changing more rapidly get more frequent surveys, roughly every two months.
To execute the surveys, BGC has teamed with a rotating group of academics from the University of British Columbia.
Terrestrial lidar surveying began in 2016, and BGC initially cycled through several different scanner models. BGC has had experience with sensors from Teledyne Optech, so when the Optech Polaris was released in 2017, they acquired one of the earliest production units and started using it in their spring 2018 survey.
Survey Range
The sheer size of the project is daunting. During the preliminary planning for the reservoir-wide monitoring network, BGC had identified approximately 10 target areas with slopes that needed particular attention. These areas are spread out along the river and construction area, and many of them lack easy road access, which promised a tough survey regime moving from site to site on foot. The geometry of the slopes also requires multiple set-up locations to minimize the areas that are out of the scanner’s line of sight.
To minimize their work, BGC chose the Polaris-LR, which has the longest range of the Polaris models. This would let them survey slopes that have up to 300 m (984 ft) of relief and are nearly 1 km (.62 miles) wide. In addition, many target areas were on the river banks or in otherwise difficult-to-access places, so a long maximum range gave BGC the latitude to choose more convenient survey stations.
However, the advertised maximum range for a terrestrial laser scanner assumes the beam is hitting a bright target that reflects a large amount of the laser energy back to the receiver, such as lightly colored dry concrete. It also assumes that the beam hits a solid object and produces a single, easily detected return pulse. But heavy vegetation breaks up the beam to produce multiple weak returns, each of which has only a fraction of the power of what a single return would have.
Together, these effects reduce the useful range of terrestrial laser scanning, so BGC was interested to learn whether the Polaris could still achieve sufficient range in the less-than-ideal conditions at Site C, where the slopes consist of often-wet soil or dark rocks and may be covered by large patches of thick vegetation.
The long-range Polaris-LR was originally specified as having a 1600 m maximum range, although later testing showed that it exceeded 2000 m in good conditions. In this project, BGC has found that the Polaris retains much of its maximum range, receiving good data at ranges between 1000–1200 m.
Survey Speed
With just 27 survey stations to hit at 10 different locations, BGC decided to set an aggressive survey schedule. To help meet this schedule (and spare their backs), they decided to leave their 50-lb. Honda generator at home. Instead, they rely on the Polaris’ battery life to get them through, using two pairs of hot-swappable batteries for one 12-hour survey day.
They also speed up the process by skipping target georeferencing, since placing the targets would prove time-consuming, especially when the target areas are on the other side of the Peace River. Moreover, BGC has chosen the target areas specifically because they contain potentially unstable slopes, so it would be difficult to have a surveyor climb them just to place targets.
In lieu of that, BGC relies on the Polaris’s integrated GNSS receiver to roughly georeference the data, then aligns it more accurately back at the office by comparing it to the data from the old airborne lidar surveys and previous terrestrial lidar surveys.
With these efficiencies, BGC can cover multiple survey stations per day. Even in long-range mode, the Polaris still operates at a pulse repetition frequency of 50 kHz, five times faster than the older ILRIS-LR system. In its medium-range and short-range modes, they can operate the Polaris even faster, at 200 and 500 kHz respectively. In addition, the Polaris has a streamlined workflow that considerably reduces the time and hassle needed to get the system set up for each survey.
Ultimately, the Polaris only needs about 30-45 minutes to survey each station, for a total survey time of two to four hours at each location, including two to four stations per site plus set-up and take-down time. Adding in time for travel and photography, BGC can hit two slopes of interest per day, covering all 10 stations in four to five days.
Detail and Precision
After each semi-annual whirlwind survey, BGC takes the data back to their offices to measure the progression of the geological processes around the reservoir. After parsing the point cloud data (and its associated imagery) using Optech’s ATLAScan software, BGC loads it into PolyWorks to align it with the previous year’s surveys.
The primary items of interest are areas of loss (where the elevation of the surface of the slopes has been reduced) and deposition (where the material has increased). These areas can indicate rock falls, landslides, or construction activity.
Such changes can be quite subtle, however, so BGC needs the most detailed, precise data that they can get. To boost the level of detail, the operators set the scanner to fairly tight point spacing, with only 5-10 cm (2-4”) separating adjacent points. For the most critical areas around the dam site itself, they set the spacing to 3-4 cm (1.5”) and are currently experimenting with combining multiple scans for even finer point clouds.
The precision of the data is strongly tied to the scanning hardware itself. The Polaris’ combination of high density and precision allows BGC to reliably detect depositions and losses as small as 0.03 meters in the most optimal cases. With such sensitivity, BGC can detect and measure subtle processes, then put them together to get a much better picture of where and how the landscape is changing, both naturally and as a result of the construction of the dam.
Data Results and Ongoing Work
With such a plethora of data, it has actually become tricky to keep BC Hydro, the design team, and the construction contractor informed about the survey results around the project area. For a simpler project, BGC might use 2D shaded images of the slopes, but at Site C BGC needs to combine multiple sets of terrestrial lidar data, two sets of airborne lidar data, panoramic photographs, spot photographs, and instrumentation data, all of which is too complex to communicate effectively with 2D images.
On the other hand, while commercial GIS software could handle this multitude of data, BGC’s target audience is too large to give everyone a license, and it includes non-technical stakeholders who wouldn’t be able to make much sense of that software anyway.
Instead, BGC decided to analyze the data themselves and publish the results on a web-based GIS map. After logging in, their audience can visualize the TLS change detection results in several different ways, including 3D slope models and colorized point overlays. The GIS map can also bring up the supplementary data from the photographs, airborne lidar, and instrumentation.
Scalability is another reason why BGC went with the web portal. To see how the landscape changes as the dam is filled, BC Hydro wants the semi-annual terrestrial laser scanning surveys of the areas to continue until at least 2029, which will generate at least 20 more datasets. Instead of making the audience download the new datasets manually, BGC’s web-based approach allows BGC to add these datasets continually on their end so that they are available immediately the next time their audience logs into the web-based GIS map.
BGC’s combination of high-accuracy data from the terrestrial laser scanner and rapid distribution via the web-based GIS map ensures that BC Hydro and its stakeholders will always have accurate and up-to-date information about the landscape around the Site C dam. This will enable BC Hydro to provide power to British Columbia with the dam while taking care of the local environment and residents. | https://www.xyht.com/lidarimaging/scanning-sensitive-slopes/ |
Library is the heart of Educational Institutions. The main aim of library is to provide right documents to right users at right time. The collections of library include Books, Journals, Magazines, Project reports, Question Bank, Back volumes of Journals, Magazines and Newspapers in the field of Management studies, Business Studies, Hospitality Studies and Educational Technologies. Our library is adapted with the following sections.
Reference Section
This section has more than 1000 volumes like highly valuable books, rare/unique collections, Dictionaries, Encyclopedias, Syllabus based text and reference books. Periodical Section.
Stock Section
This section has 6131 Books and 2296 Titles for home reading purpose. Books are arranged subject wise and Author name alphabetically for easy accessing. It saves the time of users.
Circulation Section
Circulation section includes issue, return and renewal by the users using their Identity card.
Digital Library
There are 150 CDs, VCDs and 30 DVDs available as e-Books, e-journals and e-magazines. It also includes more than 30 audio-visual motivation e-books for improving communication skills.
- Never carry anything you can't afford to lose.
- Carry your purse across the front of your body, with your forearm across the front of the purse and your elbow held tightly against your side.
- 24 hours Internet facilities available
- Wireless facility available
Working Hours
The Library is kept open from 9.00 A.M. to 5.00 P.M. in all working days. | https://zcc.ac.tz/library |
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Food preparation
Food preparation in ancient times involved a variety of cooking methods including broiling, boiling and roasting. Though Hawaiians lacked metal utensils or ceramic containers, they used wooden and gourd bowls, stones and the drying power of the sun to great effect. In Hawaiian society, it was the task of the men to prepare food and meals.
Cooking methods
Broiling food using hot coals (ko`ala) or hot ashes (pulehu) was a common way to cook if a meal was prepared out in the fields away from home or if the small amount of food being prepared did not warrant use of a larger earth oven, or imu. Food was cooked by being spread out flat on a level bed of coals, or it was warmed over or near a fire and periodically turned. Breadfruit and unripe bananas could be broiled this way in their skins. Other foods needed protection from burning and were wrapped in ti leaves (laulau). Fish could be wrapped in a leaf package called lawalu but a whole fish could also be broiled without being wrapped.
Hawaiians boiled foods but as their containers - made of wood or gourds - were susceptible to burning, the heat was introduced by dropping heated stones into the water-filled container rather than applying heat to the outside of the container. Food was placed in a bowl with water and the stones then added, or food and hot stones were placed in the container in alternating layers with the water added last. Many foods were cooked this way including greens (the tops of new taro leaves or the tender ends of sweet potato vines). In cooking fowl, hot stones were also placed inside the body cavity.
Roasting and steaming were achieved in the imu, or earthen oven. The process of cooking in the imu was called kalua. The oven consisted of a shallow pit dug in the ground, either in a covered, protected place or out in the open if the weather was fine. The pit was filled with kindling surrounded by larger pieces of wood with fist-sized stones arranged over the wood. Once the kindling was lit, the flames were fanned by blowing through a length of bamboo. Once the fire was spent, the hot rocks were spread to create an even floor and they were then covered with a layer of grass or leaves to prevent scorching of the food. Taro, breadfruit, sweet potatoes and other foods or food packages were arranged over the stones and covered with more leaves, preferably ti leaves. On top of all this, a last layer of old mats and kapa was laid. Once enough time had elapsed to cook the food, the mats and kapa were peeled off. The cooked food and hot rocks were removed, the cooks' protecting their bare hands by dipping them first in bowls of cold water. The food was placed in containers to cool and was served cold.
Cooking time in the imu depended on the type of food. Sweet potatoes cooked in two hours; taro took three to four hours. Chicken or fish was cooked in a laulau or ti leaf package or without any wrapping. For whole chickens or other fowl, special cone-shaped stones were heated and placed in the body cavity. Pig also was cooked whole with hot stones added to the abdominal and thoracic cavities, the cooking speeded by adding heat to both the inside and outside of the animal. Large pigs, however, were not cooked in an imu. After being dressed, their inside flesh was salted and hot rocks placed inside. The whole body was wrapped in old kapa and mats and placed on a poi board for 48 hours. After that time, the cooked meat was removed from the inside outward. Using salt in this process helped the meat stay preserved for a considerable time.
Sites for further information
History of Hawai`i Agriculture (Hawaii's Agriculture Gateway)
www.hawaiiag.org/history.htm
Ethnobotany of the Ahupua`a (Kapi`olani Community College)
www.apdl.kcc.hawaii.edu
Meet the Plants (The National Tropical Botanical Garden)
www.ntbg.org
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About the Hawaiian Language on this site. | http://hawaiihistory.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=ig.page&CategoryID=301 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to linkers for solid-phase synthesis, and more particularly relates to a silicon-based linker for solid-phase synthesis.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In the search for therapeutic agents, one of the first steps is to identify specific compounds that bind to the receptor or enzyme target of interest. Once these compounds are identified, numerous analogs or related compounds are synthesized and evaluated for maximum pharmacological activity. Due to the need to synthesize and evaluate large numbers of compounds in an efficient manner, methods have been developed for the generation of large combinatorial libraries of compounds. The first combinatorial libraries generated were those containing peptides and oligonucleotides. However, these compounds generally have poor oral activity and rapid in vivo clearance. Therefore, the utility of these compounds as therapeutic agents is often limited.
Unlike the peptides and oligonucleotides, many small organic compounds, i.e., those with a molecular weight less than 700, have favorable pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic properties. Thus, the design, synthesis and evaluation of libraries comprising small organic molecules is at present of major interest in the field of organic chemistry.
Most of the organic chemical libraries generated to date are made using solid-phase synthesis methods. In solid-phase synthesis, the compounds of interest are made on a polymeric solid support material, such as cross-linked polystyrene. There are general advantages to such solid-phase synthesis. First, isolation of the support-bound reaction products is achieved by washing away reagents from the support-bound material, and therefore reactions can be driven to completion by the use of excess reagents. Second, methods are available for the manipulation of discrete compounds and for tracking the identity of compounds when compounds are attached to a solid support. Also, desired products can be easily isolated without the use of expensive chromatographic methods.
In solid-phase synthesis, the compounds of interest are generated while attached to the solid support via a linkage element, or "linker." Ideally, the linker should be stable to all reactions used in a synthesis sequence and should be cleaved quantitatively under conditions that do not degrade the desired target compounds.
Linkage strategies are generally grouped into four categories. The first is to link through functionality already present in the desired target compounds, as is done in peptide and oligonucleotide synthesis. The second strategy is a cyclative cleavage whereby the linker is incorporated into the final compound. In many cases, however, these two strategies cannot be used with a desired class of compounds or these strategies limit the chemistry that can be performed. Therefore, the third and more general strategy is to introduce an auxiliary functional group, such a phenol, amide, or carboxylate, as a handle for the linker attachment. After cleavage from the solid support when synthesis is complete, this functional group can have a negligible, positive, or negative effect on the biological or chemical activity of the target compounds, depending on the location of the functional group. Thus, this approach introduces an undesirable degree of unpredictability to the synthesis.
An alternative fourth approach is to use a linker that can be removed efficiently and quantitatively when desired, leaving behind no trace of the solid-phase synthesis. One such linker is a silicon-based linker, from which the compounds of interest can be separated by protodesilation, to leave no trace of the linkage site. Various silicon- based linkers have been disclosed in the literature. In J. Org. Chem., 1976, 41, 3877, a dimethylchlorosilane linker is disclosed. This linker is anchored to a solid support, such as a styrene-divinylbenzene copolymer. However, the synthesis scheme disclosed to generate this polymer-anchored linker has not been found to be reproducible. Moreover, the linker is not stable under standard storage conditions, because the silyl chloride is highly susceptible to hydrolysis.
A diphenylchlorosilane linker is disclosed in J. Chem. Soc., Chem. Commun., 1985, 909. Again, this linker is attached to a styrene- divinylbenzene copolymer. Due to the presence of the chloro group, this linker suffers from the same stability problems as the linker discussed above. In J. Org. Chem., 1995, 60, 6006 a silyl-substituted (aminoaryl) stannane ester derivative linker is disclosed. However, synthesis of this linker is complicated and requires that the linker be separately produced before it is joined to the solid support.
Accordingly, a need exists for a solid support linker compound for use in solid-phase synthesis that is stable under storage conditions, but also that can easily be rendered highly reactive. A need also exists for a linker that can be easily produced on solid support. Further, a need exists for a solid support linker that can be readily isolated and purified in high yields. These needs are met by the silicon- based solid support linkers of the present invention.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides compounds of the formula ##STR2## where R is a solid support, R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 are alkyl, substituted alkyl, or phenyl, and where R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 can be the same or different.
The compounds of formula (I) are stable under normal storage conditions, and can be easily isolated and purified. Moreover, the compounds of formula (I) can readily be made highly reactive via lithiation, to form the silyl lithium species, after which both saturated and unsaturated halides can be attached to yield compounds of the formula ##STR3## where R, R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 are as described above, and R.sub.3 is alkyl, aromatic, or unsaturated alkyl, where R.sub.3 can be substituted or unsubstituted.
Where R.sub.3 is, for example, an unsaturated alkyl group, the compounds of formula (II) can undergo acid catalyzed cyclizations to generate ring systems while simultaneously cleaving from the silicon containing support at the silicon atom, to produce compounds free of the silicon-containing solid support, leaving no trace of the solid-phase reaction system. Therefore, the compounds of the present invention are extremely useful in easily and efficiently creating combinatorial libraries of small organic compounds.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
As stated above, the present invention provides novel solid- support linker compounds for solid-phase synthesis having the formula ##STR4## where R is a solid support, R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 are alkyl, substituted alkyl, or phenyl, and R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 can be the same or different.
The compounds of formula (I) above are prepared as follows. First, the solid support of choice is halogenated to yield a compound having the formula R-X, where R is the solid support and X is bromine or iodine. Bromine is preferred, due to its ease of preparation. The solid support can be chosen from any of those conventionally used in solid- phase synthesis, including solid supports comprising polystyrene. Suitable solid supports for use in the present invention include polystyrene, polystyrene/divinylbenzene copolymers, with 1%-2% divinylbenzene cross- linking, and polystyrene/polyethylene glycol copolymers. A polystyrene/divinylbenzene copolymer (2% cross-linking) is preferred, because it has good swelling properties in a variety of solvents.
The halogenated solid support is prepared by conventional means, such as those disclosed in J. Org. Chem., 1976, 41, 3877, which is incorporated herein by reference. There, preparation of brominated solid support is accomplished using a thallic acetate catalyst.
The halogenated solid support is then reacted with an alkyl lithium compound, to produce a compound of the formula R-Li. In the preferred reaction sequence, the halogenated solid support is suspended in THF, and n-BuLi is added. Other preferred lithium-containing compounds that are useful in the present invention are phenyllithium and t-BuLi.
The compounds of formula (I) above can then be prepared in situ from the lithiated solid support. The lithiated solid support is suspended in THF, and a silane of the formula HSiR.sub.1 R.sub.2 Cl is added, to produce the novel compounds of formula (I). As stated above, R. sub.1 and R.sub.2 are alkyl, substituted alkyl, or phenyl, where R.sub.1 and R.sub. 2 can be the same or different. Preferably, R.sub.1 and R.sub. 2 are both C.sub.1-4 alkyl. Most preferably, both R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 are methyl, to avoid steric hindrance.
The compounds of formula (I) above are stable in air under normal storage conditions, thus allowing them to be easily stored for later use. Thus, the compounds of the present invention can be stored in air at a temperature from about 30° C. to about -20° C. without hydrolyzing or otherwise degrading.
As stated above, the novel solid-support linker compounds of formula (I) can then be used to form combinatorial libraries of small organic compounds. These small organic compounds are formed as follows. First, the compound of formula (I) is lithiated in THF at room temperature with a soluble form of lithium, such as lithium biphenylide, lithium nap alenide, or metallic lithium, in the presence of catalytic amounts of lithium biphenylide or lithium napthalenide to form he highly reactive silyl anion, which is then reacted with a compound of the formula R.sub.3 CH.sub.2 Z where R.sub.3 is alkyl, aromatic or unsaturated alkyl and can be substituted or unsubstituted, and Z is a leaving group. Preferably, Z is bromine or chlorine, with chlorine being most preferred. R.sub.3 is preferably unsaturated alkyl; for example, the group R.sub.3 CH.sub.2 can include allyl, dimethylallyl, or geranyl.
Where R.sub.3 is unsaturated alkyl, the R.sub.3 group on the compounds of formula (II) can then, if desired, be cyclized via a cation- pi cyclization to afford a bicyclic system. Cleavage from the silane- based solid support can then easily be accomplished by the use of fluoride ions, such as HF or TBAF, or by generalized electrophilic attack, resulting in the compounds of interest.
The preparation of the novel compounds of the present invention is illustrated in the following Examples.
EXAMPLE 1
Preparation of Poly(bromo)styrene
A polystyrene/divinylbenzene copolymer (2% cross-linking), was brominated according to the method disclosed in J. Org. Chem., 1976, 41, 3877. The resin (5g) was swelled in 75 mL of CCl4 in a 100 mL round bottom flask. Thallium acetate sesquihydrate (300 mg) was added, and the flask was vortexed for 25 minutes at room temperature. Bromine (3.4g) was dissolved in 5 mL of CCl.sub.4, and added to the reaction flask, which then was heated in an oil bath at 80° C. overnight. The reaction was cooled to room temperature, and the pale orange resin was collected by filtration, washed with acetone, methanol, benzene, and CCl. sub.4, and dried. The resin was analyzed by gel-phase Carbon-13 NMR, and determined to be poly(bromo)styrene.
EXAMPLE 2
Preparation of poly(dimethylsilyl)styrene
The resin of Example 1 (300 mg, 0.44 mmol) was swelled in dry THF (4 mL) under N.sub.2 flow. The resin was cooled to -78° C. and n- BuLi (528 uL of 2.5 M in hexanes, 0.88 mmol) was added. The resin immediately turned brown/orange and after 5 minutes, excess n-BuLi was removed by washing with cold THF. Chlorodimethylsilane (293 uL, 1.76 mmol) was added, causing the resin to turn pale orange. The reaction was allowed to warm to 25° C. The resin was washed with THF, water, methanol, and CHCl.sub.3, and dried. The resin was analyzed by gel-phase Carbon-13 NMR and determined to be poly(dimethylsilyl)styrene.
EXAMPLE 3
Preparation of poly(benzyldimethylsilyl)styrene
The resin of Example 2 (125 mg) and lithium wire (99.9%), which was cut into small pieces and washed with hexanes, were suspended in 5 mL of THF in a round- bottomed flask, and a small amount of napthalene (15 mg) was added. The solution turned black and was stirred at room temperature overnight. The lithium metal was then removed, and the flask was cooled to 0° C., whereupon 95 uL of a benzyl chloride solution enriched with 10% Carbon-13 labeled benzyl chloride in 5 mL of THF was added to the resin. The resin was stirred at 0° C. for two hours, and then warmed to room temperature and stirred for four more hours. The resin slowly turned orange. The resin was quenched. It was filtered and washed successfully with NH.sub.4 Cl, water, THF and CHCl. sub.3. The resin turned orange/brown upon addition of the NH.sub.4 Cl. The resin was dried overnight and was then analyzed by gel-phase Carbon- 13 NMR. The resin was identified as poly(benzyldimethylsilyl)styrene, in a yield of 65%.
EXAMPLE 4
Preparation of poly(dimethylallyldimethylsilyl)styrene
The procedure of Example 3 was repeated, with a dimethylallyl chloride solution enriched with 10% Carbon-13 labeled dimethylallylchloride replacing the benzyl chloride solution of Example 3. Analysis of the resulting resin by gel-phase Carbon-1 3 NMR revealed the resin to be poly(dimethylallyidimethylsilyl)styrene, in a yield of 42%.
EXAMPLE 5
Preparation of poly(geranyidimethylsilyl)styrene
The procedure of Example 3 was repeated, with a geranyl chloride solution enriched with 10% Carbon-13 labeled geranyl chloride replacing the benzyl chloride solution of Example 3. Analysis of the resulting resin by gel-phase Carbon-13 NMR revealed the resin to be poly(geranyldimethylsilyl)styrene, in a yield of 78%.
EXAMPLE 6
Preparation of poly(octyldimethylsilyl)styrene
The procedure of Example 3 was repeated, with an octyl chloride solution enriched with 10% Carbon-13 labeled octyl chloride replacing the benzyl chloride solution of Example 3. Analysis of the resulting resin by gel-phase Carbon-13 NMR revealed the resin to be poly(octyidimethylsilyl) styrene, in a yield of 76%.
EXAMPLE 7
Preparation of 2,6, 7-trimethyl-2,6-octadiene
Poly(geranyidimethylsilyl)styrene prepared in accordance with Example 5 was suspended in 600 uL of 1 M TBAF in THF in a glass tube. The tube was sealed and the reaction was heated to 95° C. for 4 hours. The solid support was removed via filtration and the solvent was analyzed by GC/MS to yield one product. The yield of the reaction was determined to be 15% using an internal standard. The identity of the product as 2,6, 7- trimethyl-2,6-octadiene was confirmed by comparison of the mass spectrum and the retention time to a known sample of the product synthesized independently. | |
Transfer of a branch of the anterior interosseus nerve to the motor branch of the median nerve and ulnar nerve.
To explore the applied microsurgical anatomy of the intrinsic hand muscles and related nerves after nerve injuries in the wrist region and to report the results of new technique for the restoration of motor functions of the injured nerves. Seven fresh forearm amputation specimens were employed for studying the anatomical and microsurgical characteristics of the relevant tissues. Transfer of the pronator quadratus branch of the anterior interosseous nerve (PBAN) to the recurrent branch of the median nerve (RBMN) and the deep branch of the ulnar nerve (DBUN) to restore the functions of the intrinsic hand muscles was performed on 20 patients from April 1979 to January 1994. Fourteen patients were followed up for 3-9 years with an average of 5 years and 8 months. The RBMN, DBUN and PBAN had approximately the same lengths of diameter and similar amounts of fascicles and nerve fibers so that after nerve transfer, the possibilities of misdirected connections were greatly reduced. In the latest follow-up, normal muscle strength was regained in 3 patients, grade VI strength in 6, grade III strength in 3 and grade II strength in 2. This new technique is able to restore the intrinsic hand muscular functions after median or ulnar nerve injuries in the wrist region or distal forearm.
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Top 10 Charming Beauties in Ancient China
China has been home to a lot of beautiful women since ancient times, some women were not only beautiful but showed unparallelled wit and heroism, and are still remembered today.
However, most beauties had tragic fates, only a few with stunning appearance could gain favor of emperor, and some beauties were used as a political tool to invite monarch, while some even caused the downfall of an empire/dynasty. Although being called the roots of troubles, these beautiful women won the favor of emperors, and played an important role in the evolution of the Chinese history …
Here is a list of the 10 most beautiful women in ancient China:
1. Daji 妲己
Daji was the most favorite concubine of King Zhou of Shang Dynasty (1600 -1050 BC). She is often considered to cause the downfall of the Shang empire in history. In various folklore the famous myth novel Fengshen Yanyi she is portrayed as an wicked fox spirit who enjoyed torture.
2. Xishi 西施
Xi Shi was one of the Four Beauties of ancient China. She lived in Zhuji, the capital of the Yue Kingdom at the end of Spring and Autumn Period. She was endowed with good looks and her name was a byword for beauty. She was so beautiful that even causes fish to sink out of sight and the flying crane to drop down. Her beauty was used in a revenge plan and caused the downfall of the State of Wu.
3. Zhao Ji 赵姬
Originally Zhao Ji was a courtesan in Handan City and then became concubine of wealthy businessman Lu Buwei, and she was later sent to Zi Chu and became the queen of the Qin State and gave birth to emperor Qinshihuang, however she was addicted to sexual love and had a secret love affair with Lu Buwei and then artificial eunuch Lao Ai who had two children with her. Offended by Zhao Ji’s humiliatory behaviour, Qinshihuang killed Lao Ai and his two bastard half-brothers and then trapped her mother in a royal palace.
4. Beauty Yu 虞美人
Beauty or Yu Ji was a treasured lover of general Xiang Yu. In 202 BC, Xiang Yu was encircled in Gaixia by armies of Liu Bang, Han Xin, Peng Yue. To avoid worries of Xiang Yu, she killed herself with a knife in front of him. Her devoted love is praised by Chinese people for thousands of years and her image often appeared in many literary works
5. Zhao Feiyan 赵飞燕
Zhao Feiyan was the second queen of Emperor Cheng of Han Dynasty. She had tender body and was famous for her beauty, singing and dancing. She was often compared with Yang Guifei, the beloved consort of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, as she was known for her lissome figure while Yang was known for her full figure.
6. Empress Xiao 萧皇后
Empress Xiao (566-648) was the empress of the Emperor Yang of Sui Dynasty. Empress Xiao survived many times of dynasty and regime changes and eventually, Xiao was a unmatched beauty, she was so charming and impossible to describe with words. It was said that the she, at her fifty, even swept later emperor Li Shimin off his feet.
7. Yang Yuhuan 杨玉环
Yang Yuhuan, also known as Yang Guifei, was one of the Four Beauties of ancient China. She was a beautiful concubine of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty. Yang was originally wife of one of the emperor’s sons and later the emperor Xuanzong made Yang Guif his own consort. Yang was so charming that the emperor was infatuated with her beauty and neglected affairs of state. She was finally forced to death by the emperor’s guards as she was blamed to cause the An Lushan Rebellion.
8. Wang Qiang 王嫱
Wang Qiang, or widely known as Wang Zhaojun, is one of the Four Ancient Beauties of China. She was born in Zigui County of the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC – 8AD). In order to establish good relations with north Xiongnu Kingdom, she was sent by Emperor Yuan to marry the Xiongnu Huhanye Chanyu. After his husband Huhanye Changyu died, she was reluctantly married to Huhanye’s son following Xiongnu levirate custom.
9. Diaochan 貂蝉
Diaochan was of the Four Beauties in ancient China. However, unlike other three beauties, there is no recorded evidence to prove her existence. In the famous historical novel The Three Kingdoms, she is described as a both beautiful and courageous woman. She devoted herself to a “Plan of Ring,” married the mighty warlord Dong Zhuo, and lured his ally Lü Bu at the same time, aiming to open a rift between the two warriors. The plan finally worked out and made Lü killl Dong Zhuo in the end.
10. Li Shishi 李师师
Li Shishi was a well-known courtesan in the late years of Northern Song dynasty (960-1127). She was much loved by the Emperor Huizong (1082-1135). Li was both beautiful and talented; she was good at singing, dancing and poetry. The Emperor Huizong was later captured by the Jin kingdom and her whereabouts became a mystery.
2 thoughts on “Top 10 Charming Beauties in Ancient China”
One of most famous Chinese story I was read u/ t The Courtesan Jewel Box about the story of Du Shiniang or Decima is a memorable women characters in the traditional Chinese literature. Expect to find out the above story and related other stores ( full texts ). Waiting for reply. With regards. Thanks. | |
VIDEO: Architecture & Sustainable Design (ASD)
This video shows an interview with Professor John E Fernandez, the coordinator of Singapore University of Technology and Design’s curriculum for Architecture and Sustainable Design pillar. This curriculum is part of a collaboration between SUTD and MIT which is developed to nurture technically-grounded leaders and innovators that will serve societal needs. During the interview, Fernandez gives a wide description of what Architecture and Sustainable Design pillar will look like.
Fernandez explains that teaching in ASD will comprise of a hands-on, industry-oriented approach that treats all design situations as opportunities for a cutting-edge creative approach that is thoroughly rooted in the economic, technical, and social frameworks of a contemporary society. He convinces that especially active learning with strong emphasis on learning-by-doing will fill in every class offered. Students will be introduced to the latest architectural technologies and systems for resource efficient buildings and ecologically responsible urban design. This will include the latest development in smart and environmentally responsive materials as well as passive and low energy building systems. It is important, because the urbanization of the world in the next several decades will add 3 billion people to urban populations, an amount equal to all city-dwellers today.
ASD has targeted teaching and research in the urban context for special attention. Several classes will be offered that address the need for educating an architect to be able to deal with the important issues of future cities including critical resource constraints, the need for energy efficient and humane housing, rapid urbanization, transportation planning, and land use transformations. Students in the latter terms of their studies in ASD will be introduced to the work of the SUTD International Design Centre with the intent of providing them opportunities to be actively involved in researchers and on-going research work.
Fernandez points out that the pillar structure at SUTD promotes a direct interaction between many disciplines at the university in several ways. First of all, the first three terms at SUTD are structured such that all students are engaged in the same experiences, even if they have already chosen their pillar. In the end of their education, students from all pillars will come together during capstone classes. These classes will directly engage students to collaborate with others from other pillars. Finally, students will be actively exposed and strongly encouraged to engage themselves in active research with the promotion of the faculty and researches from SUTD.
Fernandez expects that students of SUTD will be required to apply what they understand under the relationship between markets, valuation and the evolving notion of value in a resource-constrained world. He also expects students to consider themselves as real “change-agents”. That is, the aspirations that result from their education at SUTD should be rather more radical than becoming a good employee or filling a non-creative position in a company. The intent to introduce and engage students in other disciplines besides those traditionally found in architecture should give them more diverse tool kit for addressing the complex and multi-disciplinary issues that they will encounter in the decades. Adapting to climate change, understanding changing financial frameworks, utilizing technology in productive and creative ways will be something normal for their students, and they will take that out into the world. | https://code-collective.cc/john-e-fernandez-architecture-sustainable-design/ |
The Antitrust Division of the US Department of Justice (DOJ) entered into a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) with Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute LLC (FCS), a leading oncology provider in Southwest Florida, relating to allegations that FCS conspired to allocate medical and radiation oncology treatments for cancer patients with at least one other Florida oncology provider during a 17-year period.
As we all settle into our new sense of normalcy, Health Law Scan continues to monitor developments surrounding the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. We have lawyers across the firm providing updates on a wide variety of topics to keep our clients apprised of all the developments.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced on April 26 that it will no longer be accepting new applications for the Medicare Accelerated/Advanced Payment Program (AAPP).
Morgan Lewis is staying informed on all of the developments surrounding the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Our healthcare team continues to follow developments, producing a number of publications and webinars to help keep our healthcare industry readers informed.
COVID-19 Healthcare Provider Updates: We have hosted a number of brief webinars addressing questions of interest to healthcare providers during this time:
- NLRA in the Time of COVID: The Rise of Employee Activism and Public Shaming of Employers and How Unions Are Taking Advantage
- Changing Guidelines on the Use of Facemasks and Other PPE: OSHA Implications and the PREP Act
- PREP Act and Other Considerations for Hospitals Experimenting with COVID Treatments
Our telecommunications, media, and technology group prepared a LawFlash discussing two programs that the Federal Communications Commission established on March 31 to help eligible healthcare providers purchase and deploy telehealth technology. The programs provide immediate relief for telehealth and healthcare providers during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and aim to improve telehealth outcomes over the longer term.
CORONAVIRUS COVID-19 TASK FORCE
For our clients, we have formed a multidisciplinary Coronavirus COVID-19 Task Force to help guide you through the broad scope of legal issues brought on by this public health challenge. We also have launched a resource page to help keep you on top of developments as they unfold. If you would like to receive a daily digest of all new updates to the page, please subscribe now to receive our COVID-19 alerts.
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a far-reaching interim final rule (IFR) to address the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on March 30. The IFR represents a comprehensive set of policy changes designed to shift the provision of Medicare services from face-to-face care to remote care through telehealth, in order to mitigate the risks of exposure to COVID-19 for patients and healthcare providers. Above all else, the IFR prioritizes physically distancing patients from their care teams and other patients.
The IFR, with a display copy totaling 220 pages, is a massive rule issued at perhaps historic speed. Although it was published just three weeks after the passage of initial legislation (the CPRSAA), and only days after the passage of the CARES Act, the IFR touches on nearly every aspect of the Medicare program, including home health and hospice, intensive care services, radiation therapy management, physicians’ services, and inpatient rehabilitation.
The Morgan Lewis healthcare team continues to monitor the developments surrounding the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. We are acutely aware of what the healthcare service provider community is currently facing and are here to help. We are hosting two webinars a week to address the evolving unprecedented legal issues that arise from pandemic. The webinars will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Below we provide the webinars we have previously hosted, and we will keep our COVID-19 Healthcare Provider Update Webinars page updated with the latest webinars.
UPCOMING SESSIONS
PREP Act and Other Considerations for Hospitals Experimenting with COVID Treatments – 4.7.20
COVID-19 Healthcare Provider Update Webinars – 4.9.20
We invite you to join us on Thursday, February 27 for our next installment of the Fast Break series. In a recent post, we highlighted staffing-related trends that arise in collective bargaining in the healthcare industry. For this month’s edition of Fast Break, we will be joined by partner Douglas Hart to discuss the recent National Labor Relations Board labor law changes and what healthcare providers should expect for 2020.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), which regulates the medical use of radioactive materials, recently updated guidance for materials licensees with respect to the administration of radioisotopes. In an Up & Atom blog post, Morgan Lewis partner Lewis Csedrik and associate Roland Backhaus address two recent NRC Information Notices on medical events involving overexposure to strontium-82/rubidium-82 generator elution and the administration of YU-90 microspheres, and discuss the NRC’s recommendations to prevent their reoccurrence.
While US healthcare institutions are poised to respond to any outbreak of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV), how should they prepare as employers for the questions and compliance challenges that arise in a public health crisis? In this LawFlash, our Labor, Employment, and Benefits team cautions that “employers must carefully balance concerns relating to employee and public safety with protecting employees from unnecessary medical inquiries, harassment, and discrimination—all while complying with immigration, leave, and medical privacy laws.” Recommending that “[r]esponsibility should be assigned to specific individuals or teams to assess the hazard, communicate with employees and the public, and implement appropriate security measures,” they detail important information that employers should know before responding to an outbreak situation.
Check out our Responding to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus page for all of the latest developments. | https://www.morganlewis.com/blogs/healthlawscan?tag=Healthcare&page=1 |
TECHNICAL FIELD
BACKGROUND ART
CITATION LIST
Non Patent Literature
SUMMARY
Technical Problems
Solution to Problems
Advantageous Effect of Invention
DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
1. First Embodiment (System Configuration)
2. Second Embodiment (Equipment Configuration)
1. First Embodiment
2. Second Embodiment
REFERENCE SIGNS LIST
This disclosure relates to an information processing apparatus, a method, and a program, and in particular, to an information processing apparatus, a method, and a program capable of causing a system to efficiently learn a method of controlling a person.
Reinforcement learning is a learning method in which, with the aim that a system (robot, etc.) can make motions wisely on its own, it observes a state S and performs an action A for environments such that a reward R obtained from all environments other than itself, including others, becomes higher (see NPL 1).
[NPL 1]
Hado van Hasselt, Arthur Guez, David Silver, “Deep Reinforcement Learning with Double Q-learning”. [online]. 22 Sep. 2015. [Searched Nov. 25, 2016]. https://arxiv.org/abs/1509.06461
Now, people have a request to control themselves and others. However, the existing reinforcement learning has always been a method that causes a system to wisely operate. Also, there is a limit to the effort that a person can spend for controlling another person.
This disclosure is made in view of such circumstances and causes a system to efficiently learn a method of controlling a person.
An information processing apparatus according to one aspect of the present technique includes a reward calculating part configured to calculate a reward based on an input objective state of a control target and a state of the control target based on a sensing result of the control target, a reinforcement learning part configured to perform reinforcement learning using the reward calculated by the reward calculating part and the state of the control target to select a better action for bringing the control target closer to the objective state, and an action execution part configured to execute the action selected by the reinforcement learning part for the control target.
The information processing apparatus can further include a cause-and-effect analyzing part configured to perform a cause-and-effect analysis on the action executed for the control target, and an action adding part configured to add, as a result of the cause-and-effect analysis performed by the cause-and-effect analyzing part, a better action for bringing the control target closer to the objective state.
The information processing apparatus can further include a notifier configured to notify regarding the action added by the action adding part.
After the action is added by the action adding part, the notifier can notify completion of the addition of the action by the action adding part.
The notifier can notify a recommendation of the addition of the action by the action adding part. In a case where the addition of the action is instructed in response to the notification, the action adding part can add a better action for bringing the control target closer to the objective state.
The information processing apparatus can further include a decomposing part configured to decompose the objective state of the control target into smaller objectives.
The information processing apparatus can further include an action execution history DB configured to register a history of actions executed by the action execution part.
The information processing apparatus can further include an input receiving part configured to recognize the objective state of the control target through an input of an image.
The information processing apparatus can further include a sensor part configured to sense the control target.
The information processing apparatus further includes an action input part configured to input an action executed for the control target.
An information processing method according to one aspect of the present technique is executed by an information processing apparatus, the information processing method including calculating a reward based on an input objective state of a control target and a state of the control target based on a sensing result of the control target, performing reinforcement learning using the calculated reward and the state of the control target to select a better action for bringing the control target closer to the objective state, and executing the selected action for the control target.
A program according to one aspect of the present technique causes a computer to function as a reward calculating part configured to calculate a reward based on an input objective state of a control target and a state of the control target based on a sensing result of the control target, a reinforcement learning part configured to perform reinforcement learning using the reward calculated by the reward calculating part and the state of the control target to select a better action for bringing the control target closer to the objective state, and an action execution part configured to execute the action selected by the reinforcement learning part for the control target.
In one aspect of the present technique, a reward is calculated based on an input objective state of a control target and a state of the control target based on a sensing result of the control target, reinforcement learning is performed using the calculated reward and the state of the control target to select a better action for bringing the control target closer to the objective state, and the selected action is executed for the control target.
According to the present technique, in particular, it is possible to cause a system to efficiently learn a method of controlling a person.
Note that the advantageous effect described in this specification is merely an example. The advantageous effect of the present technique is not limited to the advantageous effect described in this specification, and additional advantageous effects may be achieved.
Modes for carrying out the present disclosure (hereinafter, referred to as embodiments) will be described below. Note that the description will be given in conformance with the following order.
<Configuration Example of Control Learning System>
FIG. 1
is an explanatory diagram illustrating a control learning system to which the present technique is applied.
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In the example in , a user uses a control learning system to control a control target . The control learning system includes, for example, a terminal such as a robot, a home appliance, and a multi-functional mobile phone, a cloud service, and the like. The control target is the user himself/herself, or anyone else such as a boss, a subordinate, a child, an aged person who needs a nursing care, and a person around. Note that the control target is not limited to control of human beings, may include a pet, a plant, a harmful insect, and the like.
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The user inputs a person (user himself/herself, anyone else) as the control target , and setting of an objective state indicating how the user wants to control the control target to the control learning system as indicated by an arrow A.
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The control learning system executes an action as indicated by an arrow A so as to achieve the objective state set by the user . Examples of the action include utterance, reproduction of sounds or videos, sending messages, and activation of applications. The control learning system observes a state of the user as indicated by an arrow A. Also, the control learning system senses a target state, which is a state of the control target , as indicated by an arrow A.
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The control learning system then performs reinforcement learning through the utterance or the like of the user to learn what kind of action is to be taken for the state of the control target to make the control target closer to the objective state set by the user as indicated by A.
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The reinforcement learning is a learning method through which a machine (system) by itself learns an action A for maximizing a reward R given in a state S. In the example illustrated in , the control learning system automatically acquires an algorithm for controlling the control target as desired according to utterance or the like from the control learning system . In other words, here, the reward R corresponds to “whether or not a person is successfully controlled as setting” and the action A corresponds to “utterance or the like from the control learning system .”
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With the progress of the learning, the control learning system selects (automatically adds, automatically recommends) an action for bringing the control target close to the objective state more effectively, and executes the action.
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As described above, in the control learning system illustrated in , by using the reinforcement learning, the control learning system can automatically acquire a method of controlling the control target . Accordingly, the control learning system can be caused to learn the method of controlling a person efficiently with cooperation between the person and the system.
FIG. 2
illustrates a detailed configuration example of the control learning system.
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In the example illustrated in , the control learning system includes an input part , an output part , a sensor part , and an action execution part , a control setting input part , a decomposing part , a control setting DB , an additional action input part , an action setting DB , a target state sensing part , a reward calculating part , a reinforcement learning part , an action control part , an action execution history DB , a cause-and-effect analyzing part , an analysis result DB , a feedback part , and a manual execution request input part .
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Note that the control learning system may include, for example, only a terminal such as a robot, a home appliance, or a multi-functional mobile phone, or may include the terminal and a cloud system. In a case where the control learning system includes a plurality of apparatuses, as long as each apparatus is provided with a transmitting part and a receiving part connected to a network and the operation input part , the output part , the sensor part , and the action execution part are provided on the terminal side, other parts may be provided either on the terminal side or on the cloud service side. Note that the control learning system may include a terminal, a home server, and a cloud system. In this case as well, as long as the operation input part , the output part , the sensor part , and the action execution part are provided on the terminal side, other parts may be provided on the terminal side, on the home server side, or on the cloud service side. However, it is preferable that the individual DBs are provided on the cloud system side.
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The input part may include, for example, a touch panel, a mouse, a keyboard, a microphone, or a camera. The input part inputs control setting input items (control target , objective state, date and time of achievement, action, frequency, cost, etc.) to the control setting input part in response to an action (operation or utterance) of the user acquired from the image or the sound.
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The input part inputs an additional action to the additional action input part in response to the operation, the utterance or movement of the user. The input part inputs manual execution to the manual execution request input part in response to the operation or the utterance of the user.
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The output part includes an LCD or a speaker, and displays a screen for operating the objective state or a report of the action execution from the feedback part or outputs a sound corresponding to the report.
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The sensor part includes a camera, various sensors (tactile sensor, acceleration sensor, gyro, microphone) and the like. The sensor part senses the state of the control target and supplies the sensing results to the target state sensing part .
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The action execution part executes an action for the control target . The action execution part , for example, speaks languages, reproduces videos, reproduces music or sounds, sends messages, or executes other applications.
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The control setting input part receives the control target and objective state set by the user and supplies those to the decomposing part or the control setting DB . The decomposing part decomposes the objective state based on the characteristics of the control target and the objective state, and registers the control target and the decomposed objective state in the control setting DB .
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The control setting DB stores the characteristics of the control target and the objective state from the control setting input part or the decomposing part and, in corresponding thereto, an additional action from the additional action input part in an associated manner.
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The additional action input part supplies an additional action from the input part or from the analysis result DB after the cause-and-effect analysis by the cause-and-effect analyzing part to the control setting DB , the action setting DB and the cause-and-effect analyzing part . The action setting DB stores the additional action from the additional action input part .
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The target state sensing part supplies the state S based on sensing information from the sensor part to the reward calculating part and the reinforcement learning part . The reward calculating part calculates the reward R based on the state S from the target state sensing part and the characteristics of the control target and the objective state stored in the control setting DB . The reinforcement learning part performs the reinforcement learning using the reward R calculated by the reward calculating part and the state S from the target state sensing part and supplies the action A selected as being better to the action control part .
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The action control part controls an action of the action execution part according to the action A from the reinforcement learning part , an action read from the action setting DB , or a manual execution request from the manual execution request input part . The action control part also registers an execution history of actions (actions and results of the actions) in the action execution history DB .
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In the action execution history DB , the execution history of actions is registered by the action control part . Note that the same actions may be flagged for each user. In addition, the frequency of an action may be made controllable.
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The cause-and-effect analyzing part performs cause-and-effect analysis based on the action from the additional action input part or the execution history of actions (actions and results of the actions) from the action execution history DB , and registers the results in the analysis result DB . Examples of the method of cause-and-effect analysis include Max-min Hill Climbing or a method of inspecting the accuracy by eliminating object variables. The analysis result DB registers the result of cause-and-effect analysis, and supplies an additional effective action to the additional action input part .
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The feedback part outputs the result of analysis from the analysis result DB and notification of an action having an action execution history DB effect or recommendation to the user to the output part .
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The manual execution request input part accepts a manual execution request of an action input via the input part by the user and issues an instruction to the action control part .
<Setting of Objective State>
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The control learning system will be described in detail below. First, setting of the objective state indicated by the arrow A illustrated in described above will be described.
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For example, the user takes an image (picture) of the control target and inputs the taken image (the control target and the objective state) to the control learning system while viewing a setting screen displayed on the output part .
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In the setting screen , “an image (of a sleeping baby)” is displayed as the objective state, and “every three hours, and continuing at least two hours” is displayed as date and time of achievement, “utterance, music” is displayed as an action, “20 times/day at maximum” is displayed as frequency, and “100 yen/day” is displayed as a cost. By pressing an ADD button provided on a lower portion of the setting screen , the user can add these pieces of information as the objective state.
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Here, through One shot-learning technique, which is a technique of the machine learning for enabling a recognition machine to learn adequately from very small data, the user takes one or several pictures (images), and the objective state of the control target can be input to the control learning system .
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The setting screen may be configured in such a manner that the date and time of achievement can be set from among every week (day of the week which the user wants to set), every day, time or period by or during which the user wants to achieve, and so on. A type of actions to be executed, an allowable cost (when a fee-charging API is used, for example), and the frequency of the action such as once a day can also be set.
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Further, the user may set the objective state by utterance such as, for example, “control my daughter to sleep every three hours at least for two hours, action should be music or speaking (utterance), up to twenty times a day,” “control to be quiet in library,” and so on. Also, the user may set the objective state by a combination of the image and the utterance.
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Also, the user may choose one from recipes that other users have created. Note that a recipe is a profile created by individual or shared in public, and is used in Web service such as IFTTT. Further, a task (study or the like) which requires several steps (stages) to achievement may be decomposed into smaller tasks by the decomposing part (for example, to pass a test→to study every day).
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In this case, a table including the objectives and the objectives after decomposition as illustrated in is prepared as a data set at the time of design. For example, the data set including data in which the objective after decomposition is to study xx minutes every day for a case where the objective is to pass a xxx examination, and data in which the objective after decomposition is to exercise xx minutes every day for a case where the objective is to reduce the weight by xx kg by a diet.
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Also, at the time of design, the decomposing part inputs (objective+characteristics of the control target ) , learns based on the data set , and then prepares and outputs an objective after decomposition as illustrated in .
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Then, at the time of operation, when {the user 's objective (I want to habituate my child's tooth brushing) and the characteristics of the control target (brush teeth two times for three meals, for 20 seconds every time)} is input, the decomposing part decomposes the input by using the learned data set , and outputs the objective after decomposition (brush teeth after every meal for at least one minute every time) .
The decomposition of the objective is performed as described above.
<Execution of Action>
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Next, execution of the action indicated by the arrow A illustrated in described above will be described.
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The action control part (action execution part ) of the control learning system executes utterance such as “You are getting sleepy, aren't you?” or a content reproduction such as “Schubert's Lullaby” as various actions registered for the control target as illustrated in . Note that in the example illustrated in , an example in which the control learning system is a robot (robot+cloud system) is indicated.
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At the beginning, execution is substantially at random. However, more effective actions for achieving the objective state are executed at more effective timing as the reinforcement learning by the reinforcement learning part progresses.
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Examples of the actions that the control learning system performs for achieving the objective include utterance, content reproduction (music, still image, movie, book reading, and the like), physical actions (robot actions, vibrations, tactile reproduction, and the like), stimulation of olfactory perception (aromas and the like), message sending, application activation, kick of external APIs, control of external systems such as air conditioning, and so forth.
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The actions that the control learning system can execute may include, in addition to those preset in advance, actions that the user has freely registered by the additional action input part and actions that the user has manual-executed by the manual execution request input part . Such manual execution and addition of the actions may be performed by utterance. For example, by utterance saying “try to say ‘good night’ next time,” utterance “good night” is registered as an action.
<Observation of User State>
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Next, observation of the user state indicated by the arrow A illustrated in described above will be described.
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The control learning system observes actions that the user , or other persons, or the control learning system take for the control target and the effects of the actions, and takes these actions as actions of itself.
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Specifically, as indicated by an arrow P illustrated in , the control learning system , which is a robot, observes utterance “How about going to bed now?” that the user performs for the control target and the effect of the utterance with various recognition techniques (image recognition, sound recognition).
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The cause-and-effect analyzing part performs the cause-and-effect analysis by using the actions and the effects and registers the result of analysis to the analysis result DB as indicated by an arrow P. At this time, actions that the control learning system can execute substitutionally are targets of the cause-and-effect analysis. In the result of analysis , the result of analysis of the action “I'm sleepy, too . . . ” is “effective,” the result of analysis of the action “You got a ghost” is “ineffective,” the result of analysis of the action “peek-a-boo” has an “adverse effect,” and the result of analysis of the action “Sleep, please . . . (cry)” has an “adverse effect.”
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Out of these results of analysis, the actions analyzed to be “effective” or “highly effective” may be automatically added by the additional action input part as indicated by an arrow P, and a notification saying that “Utterance ‘I'm sleepy, too . . . ’ is automatically added as an action” may be supplied to the output part by the feedback part .
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Alternatively, a recommendation “Utterance: ‘I'm sleepy, too . . . ’ is found to be highly effective. Do you want to add as a new action?” may be supplied to the output part by the feedback part . In this case, by pressing a “YES” button provided in the recommendation , the action “I'm sleepy, too . . . ” is registered.
Note that as a display regarding the actions, actions that are performed by a person (that is, actions that are preferably executed by a person, not by a system) may be recommended. Alternatively, a list of automatic execution actions may be displayed, and ON/OFF setting for each action may be enabled.
<Reinforcement Learning>
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Next, the reinforcement learning indicated by the arrow A and A illustrated in described above will be described.
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The control learning system senses the control target , and performs reinforcement learning with the reward based on whether or not the control target reaches the objective state, and gradually learns a way of controlling as intended.
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As indicated by an arrow A illustrated in , the control learning system , which is a robot, senses the target state, and sets as a reward when the fact that the control target has become the objective state is detected. Also, as indicted by A, actions (utterance, reproduction of sounds and videos, message sending, application activation, etc.) are taken.
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Specifically, the target state sensing part acquires sensing information from the sensor part , and supplies the sensing information to the reward calculating part and the reinforcement learning part as the state S. In addition to the control target , the sensor part senses a state (environment and place) where the control target is in.
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The reward calculating part detects the fact that the target has become the objective state, and sets as a reward R. In order to stabilize the control learning system , several rewards are programmed in the reward calculating part in advance. For example, negative rewards as described later with reference to are also programmed. The negative rewards are rewards received in a case where the control target is made to feel uncomfortable, or rewards received in a case where the control target has a negative feeling against the user or the control learning system .
Utilizing the result of learning for a target similar to the control target, a learning speed can be increased, and the control accuracy can be improved. Note that Domain Adaptation or Transfer Learning may be applied in this case.
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It is also possible to intentionally cause the control learning system to try a specific action by receiving the utterance of the user (“Try to reproduce Schubert's Lullaby now,” for example) by the manual execution request input part .
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In addition, the control learning system retains a history regarding what actions have been made at what time in the action execution history DB , and the feedback part can provide a UI for displaying in a list or reading out the history in the action execution history DB and supplying a report to the user. For example, a report such as “Today I said ‘I'm sleepy, too’ at xx o'clock. Thirty minutes after, the target reached the objective state” is made.
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is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a negative reward.
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In Step S, the user utters “I want my husband to come home before 20:00” to input the control target “husband” and the objective state “coming home before 20:00 is desired” to the control learning system .
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The control target and the objective state are supplied to the reward calculating part via the input part , the control setting input part , and the control setting DB of the control learning system . The reward calculating part calculates the reward R, and supplies the calculated reward R to the reinforcement learning part . The reinforcement learning part performs learning based on the reward R from the reward calculating part and the state S from the target state sensing part , and supplies the action A to the action control part .
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In Step S, the action control part executes the action A (for example, sending a message “come home soon”).
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In response, in Step S, the sensor part senses antipathy of the control target against the control learning system (for example, based on a received message “Don't send me many messages when I'm working”).
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Alternatively, in Step S, the sensor part senses antipathy of the control target against the user (for example, senses soliloquy such as “well, my wife is trying to control me using the control learning system !”).
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The reinforcement learning part receives the negative feeling (antipathy) against the control learning system and the negative feeling (antipathy) against the user sensed in the manner described above as negative rewards at the time of reinforcement learning. Accordingly, the control learning system may be stabilized.
<System Operation>
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Referring next to a flowchart illustrated in , a control learning process performed by the control learning system will be described.
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In Step S, the control setting input part receives inputs of the control target and the objective state from the input part . The received control target and the objective state are registered in the control setting DB and are supplied to the decomposing part .
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In Step S, the decomposing part performs decomposition of the objective as described above with reference to and . The objective after decomposition is registered in the control setting DB . Note that in a case where the objective is simple, the decomposition does not have to be performed.
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In Step S, the action execution part executes an action under control of the action control part . In other words, the action control part causes the action execution part to execute an action according to the action A from the reinforcement learning part , the action read from the action setting DB , or the manual execution request from the manual execution request input part . After the execution of the action, the action control part registers the history of the action in the action execution history DB .
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In Step S, the additional action input part observes the user state based on an image, sound, and information (operation, utterance, or movement of the user) input from the input part .
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In Step S, the target state sensing part senses the target state of the control target , and supplies the sensed state S to the reward calculating part and the reinforcement learning part .
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In Step S, the reinforcement learning part performs reinforcement learning to learn what kind of action is to be taken for the state of the control target to make the control target closer to the objective state set by the user through the utterance or the like of the user . The reinforcement learning part performs the reinforcement learning using the reward R calculated by the reward calculating part and the state S from the target state sensing part and supplies the action A selected as being better to the action control part .
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The procedure goes back to Step S, and steps from then onward are repeated until the control target becomes the objective state or until a user A gives an instruction to end.
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At the beginning, execution is substantially at random. However, with the progress of the learning, the control learning system selects (automatically adds, automatically recommends) an action for bringing the control target close to the objective state more effectively, and executes the action. In other words, with the progress of the learning, more effective actions for achieving the objective state are executed at more effective timing.
As described thus far, according to the present technique, the system can be made to learn the method of controlling a person efficiently with cooperation between people and the system.
Note that the present technique can be applied not only to terminals such as home appliances, robots, and smart phones, but also to vehicles, surgical operation apparatuses, factory machines, apparatuses in hospitals or machines used by dentists for shaving down teeth.
<Personal Computer>
A series of processing described above may be executed by hardware or may be executed by software. In a case of executing the series of processing by software, a program which constitutes the software is installed in a computer. Examples of the computer here include a computer incorporated in hardware for exclusive use, and a general-purpose personal computer capable of executing various functions by installing various programs.
FIG. 11
is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of hardware of a personal computer to be executed by programs in a case where the personal computer constitutes part or entire part of the series of processing described above.
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In a personal computer , a CPU (Central Processing Unit) , a ROM (Read Only Memory) , and a RAM (Random Access Memory) are connected to each other with a bus .
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An input-output interface is also connected to the bus . An input part , an output part , a memory , a communication part , and a drive are connected to the input-output interface .
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The input part includes a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, and the like. The output part includes a display, a speaker, and the like. The memory includes a hard disk or a non-volatile memory and the like. The communication part includes a network interface or the like. The drive drives a removable recording medium such as a magnetic disc, an optical disc, a magneto optical disc, or a semiconductor memory.
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In the personal computer configured as described above, for example, the CPU loads a program stored in the memory into the RAM via the input-output interface and the bus and executes the program. Accordingly, the series of processing described above is performed.
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The program executed by the computer (CPU ) may be provided by recording in the removable recording medium . Examples of the removable medium include a magnetic disc (including flexible disc), an optical disk (CD-ROM (Compact Disc-Read Only Memory), DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), etc.), a magneto optical disc, or a package medium including a semiconductor memory or the like. Further, alternatively, the program may be provided via a wired or wireless transmission medium such as a local area network, the Internet, and a digital satellite broadcast.
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In the computer, the program may be installed in the memory via the input-output interface by loading the removable recording medium in the drive . Also, the program may be received by the communication part via the wired or wireless transmission medium, and installed in the memory . As other options, the program can be installed in the ROM or in the memory in advance.
Note that the program executed by the computer may be a program to perform the processing steps in time series in accordance with the order described in this specification, or may be a program to perform the processing steps in parallel or in a stage when required, such as at the time of a call.
Also, in this specification, the steps describing the program to be recorded in the recording medium include processing steps performed in time series in accordance with the order described here as a matter of course, and also include processing steps that are not necessarily executed in time series, but are executed in parallel or individually.
Also, in this specification, the term “system” means the entire apparatus including a plurality of devices (apparatuses).
For example, the present disclosure may adopt a configuration of cloud computing in which a plurality of apparatuses perform one function in a shared and cooperated manner via a network.
FIG. 12
For example, the present technique may be applied to a network system including a plurality of apparatuses. illustrates an example of a schematic configuration of the network system to which the present technique is applied.
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A network system illustrated in is a system in which apparatuses perform control learning on a control target via a network. A cloud service of the network system is a system which provides a service to perform control learning on a control target together with a terminal , a home server , and the like communicably connected thereto. For example, the cloud service provides a part surrounded by a dotted line in the control learning system illustrated in . In this case, the terminal provides an input/output portion other than the part surrounded by the dotted line of the control learning system illustrated in (the operation input part , the output part , the sensor part , and the action execution part ). Also, for example, only the control setting input part , the decomposing part , and the control setting DB of the control learning system illustrated in may be provided in the home server , or the home server may be omitted. In this manner, as long as the operation input part , the output part , the sensor part , and the action execution part are provided on the terminal side, each of the remaining parts may be provided on the terminal (or the home server) side, or on the cloud service side. Note that in a case where the control learning system illustrated in includes a plurality of apparatuses, although not illustrated, each apparatus is provided with a transmitting part and a receiving part connected to the network.
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Any physical configuration of the cloud service is applicable. For example, the cloud service may have not only a service for performing control learning on a control target, but also another server and a network of any type such as the Internet or LAN.
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Examples of the terminal include a robot, a home appliance such as a refrigerator or an air conditioner, furniture, audio-video equipment such as a television receiving set, a hard disk recorder, a game machine, or a camera, a personal computer, a hand-held type information processing apparatus such as a laptop personal computer, a tablet terminal, a mobile phone, or a smart phone, and wearable equipment such as glasses and a watch.
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By applying the present technique to the network system as described above such that the control learning is performed on the control target between the terminal and the cloud service , high-speed processing can be achieved with the server of the cloud service without applying a load only on the terminal , so that services that satisfy users may be provided.
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Also, the cloud service may provide a service to provide action sets for certain objective states for a charge, a service to charge for an increase in the number of control targets and the number of registered actions, a service to include an advertisement in action content, and a service to sell data (control-need data or person's behavior pattern data).
Note that a configuration described above as one apparatus (or one processing part) may be divided to be configured as a plurality of apparatuses (or processing parts). In contrast, a configuration described above as a plurality of apparatuses (or processing parts) may be integrated into one apparatus (or one processing part). Alternatively, a configuration other than those described above may be added to each apparatus (or each processing part) as a matter of course. In addition, as long as the configuration as the entire system and the operation remain substantially the same, part of the configuration of a certain apparatus (or processing part) may be included in a configuration of another apparatus (or another processing part). In other words, the present technique is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications may be made without departing the gist of the present technique.
Although the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in detail with reference to the attached drawings, the present disclosure is not limited to those embodiments. For those skilled in the art of the present disclosure, it is apparent that various modified examples or changed examples may be considered within a range of the technical thought described in the claims, and these examples should be understood to be included in the technical scope of the present disclosure as a matter of course.
Note that the present technique may have the following configuration.
(1) An information processing apparatus including:
a reward calculating part configured to calculate a reward based on an input objective state of a control target and a state of the control target based on a sensing result of the control target;
a reinforcement learning part configured to perform reinforcement learning using the reward calculated by the reward calculating part and the state of the control target to select a better action for bringing the control target closer to the objective state; and
an action execution part configured to execute the action selected by the reinforcement learning part for the control target.
(2) The information processing apparatus according to (1), further including:
a cause-and-effect analyzing part configured to perform a cause-and-effect analysis on the action executed for the control target; and
an action adding part configured to add, as a result of the cause-and-effect analysis performed by the cause-and-effect analyzing part, a better action for bringing the control target closer to the objective state.
(3) The information processing apparatus according to (2), further including:
a notifier configured to notify regarding the action added by the action adding part.
(4) The information processing apparatus according to (3), in which
after the action is added by the action adding part,
the notifier notifies completion of the addition of the action by the action adding part.
(5) The information processing apparatus according to (3), in which
the notifier notifies a recommendation of the addition of the action by the action adding part, and
in a case where the addition of the action is instructed in response to the notification, the action adding part adds a better action for bringing the control target closer to the objective state.
(6) The information processing apparatus according to any one of (1) to (5), further including:
a decomposing part configured to decompose the objective state of the control target into smaller objectives.
(7) The information processing apparatus according to any one of (1) to (6), further including:
an action execution history DB configured to register a history of actions executed by the action execution part.
(8) The information processing apparatus according to any one of (1) to (7), further including:
an input receiving part configured to recognize the objective state of the control target through an input of an image.
(9) The information processing apparatus according to any one of (1) to (8), further including:
a sensor part configured to sense the control target.
(10) The information processing apparatus according to any one of (1) to (9), further including:
an action input part configured to input an action executed for the control target.
(11) An information processing method executed by an information processing apparatus, the information processing method including:
calculating a reward based on an input objective state of a control target and a state of the control target based on a sensing result of the control target;
performing reinforcement learning using the calculated reward and the state of the control target to select a better action for bringing the control target closer to the objective state; and
executing the selected action for the control target.
(12) A program causing a computer to function as:
a receiving part configured to receive a time-division multiplexed signal obtained by time-division multiplexing a signal that is a tactile signal including a waveform of a vibration for vibrating a vibrating part configured to perform a vibration and that is added with a header including description of information regarding the vibrating part using the tactile signal;
a separating part configured to separate the tactile signal and the header from the time-division multiplexed signal received by the receiving part;
a signal adjusting part configured to perform signal adjustment on the tactile signal separated by the separating part in accordance with the header separated by the separating part; and
the vibrating part configured to perform a vibration based on the tactile signal adjusted by the signal adjusting part.
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Control learning system, User, Control target, Input part, Output part, Sensor part, Action execution part, Control setting input part, Decomposing part, Control setting DB, Additional action input part, Action setting DB, Action control part, Target state sensing part, Reward calculating part, Reinforcement learning part, Action execution history part, Cause-and-effect analyzing part, Analysis result DB, Feedback part, Manual execution request input part, Setting screen, Data set, Utterance, Content reproduction, Result of analysis, Notification, Recommendation, Personal computer, Network system, Cloud service, Terminal, Home server
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
is an explanatory diagram illustrating a control learning system to which the present technique is applied.
FIG. 2
is a block diagram illustrating a detailed configuration example of the control learning system.
FIG. 3
is an explanatory diagram illustrating setting of an objective state.
FIG. 4
is a diagram illustrating an example of a data set used for decomposing an objective.
FIG. 5
is an explanatory diagram illustrating decomposition of an objective.
FIG. 6
is an explanatory diagram illustrating execution of an action.
FIG. 7
is an explanatory diagram illustrating observation of a user state.
FIG. 8
is an explanatory diagram illustrating reinforcement learning.
FIG. 9
is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a negative reward.
FIG. 10
is an explanatory flowchart illustrating control learning processing of a control learning control system.
FIG. 11
is a block diagram illustrating an example of a personal computer to which the present technique is applied.
FIG. 12
is a diagram illustrating an example of a cloud service to which the present technique is applied. | |
The factors underlying the 'zoo visit effect' (changes in animal behaviour/physiology in response to visitor presence) are still poorly understood, despite it being widely investigated. The present study examined the effect of zoo visitors on the behaviour of 17 different species of mammals at the Belo Horizonte Zoo, Minas Gerais, Brazil. The behaviour of the animals was recorded using scan (focal in one case) sampling with instantaneous recording of behaviour, during 12 continuous months. Data were analysed using a comparative method examining five different factors: diet, body weight, stratum occupied, activity cycle, and habitat, as well as three different visitor categories: small and quiet audience, medium size audience and medium noise, and large size and loud audience. Significant changes in the behaviour for each factor, especially increases in locomotor and resting behaviour, were observed in response to different visitor categories. The factors that most explained responses to visitor categories were habitat and activity cycle. Species from closed habitats compared to open habitats were significantly more impacted (more behaviour affected), probably, because they are, evolutionarily, less accustomed to visual contact with people. Diurnal species showed more behavioural changes than nocturnal ones, possibly, because they were being observed during their normal activity cycle. These results may help zoos identify which mammal species are most susceptible to the zoo visitor effect, and consequently, be more pro-active in the use of mitigating strategies. | https://read.qxmd.com/read/30110894/the-different-physical-and-behavioural-characteristics-of-zoo-mammals-that-influence-their-response-to-visitors |
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