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“The early history and
human habitation of Costa Rica goes back more than 10,000 years, however,
research suggests that the area had been sparsely populated and not a key locus
during the pre-Columbian era. Indeed, there is little evidence suggesting that
major civilizations inhabited the area and the stone architecture typically
found in areas inhabited by the civilizations of Mesoamerica from Central to
South America have not been found. In fact, the only main archaeological site
in Costa Rica is at Guayabo. There, the signs of an ancient city, dating back
to about 1000 B.C.E. has been recorded. Guayabo was believed to have been home
to about 10,000 people. Excavations at this site are ongoing and have garnered
artifacts of gold and jade, as well as some potteryentiful country for its
countryman.” (Coleman 2013)
Political Environment
Costa
Rica has a government that we here in the United States are familiar with. They
have a national president and a legislative that assists with decisions in
regards to their country that they hold elections for every four years. They
have multiple parties throughout their countries legislative. There are three
main political parties, the Social Christian Unity Party (PUSC), which is a
Christian Democratic Party with their colors being blue and red, The National
Liberation Party (PLN) is a social democratic party and their colors are green
and white and they have won 7 of the last 12 elections, and the Citizen Action
Party (PAC) which is a mild reformist party whose colors are red and
yellow. (Costa Rica 2015)
“In 1821, Costa Rica became one of several
Central American provinces that jointly declared their independence from Spain.
Two years later it joined the United Provinces of Central America, but this
federation disintegrated in 1838, at which time Costa Rica proclaimed its
sovereignty and independence. Since the late 19th century, only two brief
periods of violence have marred the country’s democratic development: in
1917-19, Federico Tinoco ruled as a dictator, and in 1948 Jose Figures led an
armed uprising in the wake of a disputed presidential election. Costa Rica has
a market economy supported by one of the most peaceful and stable democracies
in Latin America. Its economy is based on tourism, agriculture and electronics
exports. Its citizens enjoy one of the highest life expectancy levels in the
Western hemisphere and better living standards than the country’s neighbors,
Nicaragua and Panama” (Costa Rica 2015)
Legal
Environment
Costa Rica has an executive branch, which is made up of a
President of the Republic, which is elected every four years, won by popular
vote and is the Chief of State and the head of the government. There are two vice
presidents and twenty members of the cabinet, which the president appoints
himself. Their legislature has six permanent commissions that are tasked with
evaluation of proposed laws, and determining what happens with those laws.
The
Costa Rican Supreme Court is divided into four Chambers. Chamber I (Sala
Primera) which is presided over by seven magistrates and has jurisdiction
over all civil and administrative matters. Chamber II (Sala Segunda) is
presided over by five magistrates and has appellate jurisdiction over civil
matters including family law, estates and labor law. Chamber III (Sala
Tercera) is presided over by five magistrates and overhears only criminal
appeals. Chamber IV (Sala Cuarta) has exclusive jurisdiction over
all constitutional matters. (Petersen 2010)
Economic Environment
Costa
Rica has a stable economy that flourishes from tourism, agriculture and
electronics exports. They also depend
greatly on their exports of coffee, banana and beef. During the 1990s, Costa
Rica’s development program focused on integrating national industries with the
world markets and promoting the flow of foreign private investment into the
country. In recent years, Costa Rica has successfully attracted important
investments in its electronics industry. Costa Rica enjoyed robust economic
growth from 2003 to 2007, underpinned by strong global expansion, sound
economic policies, and strong business and consumer confidence. But economic
growth slowed sharply in 2008 and turned negative in 2009, reflecting weakening
activity in the construction, manufacturing, and tourism industries as a result
of the global economic crisis. (Costa Rica Review 2015)
A large help to the growth of the Central America country
was the US-Central America-Dominican Republic Free trade Agreement
(CAFTA-DR). The agreement was expected
to lead to increased foreign direct investment in key sectors of the economy,
including the insurance and telecommunications sectors recently opened to
private investors Economic activity began to pick up in mid-2009 as the
government provided significant support to domestic demand, and the banking sector
remained sound. Real GDP was expected to grow again in 2011, supported by the
global economic recovery and strong inflows of foreign direct investment in
telecommunications and outsourcing. FDI was expected to reach $2.2 billion in
2011, up more than 40 percent from 2010, in part due to spending by
telecommunication firms after the government opened up the mobile phone sector
to private competition. (Costa Rica Review 2015)
Monetary
Environment
From 1987
until late 2006 Costa Rica’s Central Bank (BCCR) adopted a crawling peg
exchange rate regime. The stated goal was to provide exchange rate certainty to
the external sectors of the economy (exports, tourism). During this period of
nearly two decades the country experienced a high inflation rate which averaged
14.9 percent a year. A significant factor contributing to high inflation in the
late 1980s and the 1990s was the fact that the Central Bank monetized the huge
debts it inherited from the loss-making state-owned enterprises that were
liquidated in the early 1980s. (Hildago
2014)
Trade
Environment
While the
Costa Rican government offers tax and regulatory incentives to multinational
companies, it stifles local businesses with high taxes and crippling
regulations. Costa Rica ranks 102nd (out of 189 economies) in the World Bank’s Doing
Business report,
which measures the costs of business regulations and taxes across national
economies. The total tax rate (including labor, income, and other taxes)
amounts to 55.3 percent of an average local business’s profit, compared to the
still high 47.3 percent average in Latin America and 41.3 percent in the Organization
for Economic Co-operation and Development. (Hildalgo 2014)
The top
products that are exported by Costa Rica are office machine parts, integrated
circuits, medical instruments, tropical fruit
and bananas. While the top
imports are refined petroleum, , printed circuit boards, integrated circuits,
packaged medicaments and cars.
Cultural
Analysis
Costa
Ricans ultimately seek “Pure Life” or Pura Vida, by living through their daily
actions. Costa Rica, with a small Indian
population, and has been strongly influenced by the culture and traditions of
Spain. Indian and Afro-American influences have had relatively little impact. Costa
Ricans have taken from the Roman Catholic cultural pattern of Spain, creating an
emphasis on the family and the church, which has developed into a national life
style.
Challenges
and Opportunities
Pura
Vida has been a way of life for many years in Costa Rica. Yet in recent years it
has seen a rapid growth of commercialism and tourism causing some of its, all
residents to have the feeling of “pure life”. Wal-Mart is one company that is threatening
that way of life. “Walmart now has managed to take control of over 50% of the
mega-shopping centers in Costa Rica and announced it is starting to go green.”
(Admin 2009)
Costa Rica has seen a massive growth
in American tourism, which has led many American Business to take over and dominate
the country, just like Walmart has done. In 2005 Walmart became known as, Walmart
de Mexico y Centroamerica and has been operating as Mas x Menos, Maxi Pali,
Walmart Supercenter and Pali all across Costa Rica. Walmart has become the go
to store in Costa Rica causing may locally owned businesses to suffer. Yet with
all the negatives there is some positives for the economy by creating a multitude
of new jobs. “Back in Feb, 2007 U.S. retail mega-giant Wal-Mart Stores
Inc., the world’s largest retailer, said they would spend $49 million to open 14
new stores in Costa Rica and all within a year. The business hype was simple,
it would create 1000s of new jobs, keep the government happy with additional
tax revenue, keep prices down, and provide Costa Ricans with some of the US
luxuries (like electronics) that otherwise they could not get at fair and
reasonable prices.” (Admin 2009).
Costa Rica is as a very health
conscious country. Living the Pura Vida
lifestyle in Costa Rica is necessity and with that creating a gentle and calm
way to receive the proper amount of sleep is a great market to reach the people
of Costa Rica. This is evident due to a
study being conducting in Costa Rica in the recent years. The study, “involving more than 500 members
of 26 families from Costa Rica and Colombia, identified because they each
include many individuals with severe bipolar disorder, is the first large-scale
delineation of sleep and activity traits in BP-affected individuals and their
relatives and the first genetic investigation of such a comprehensive set of
sleep and circadian measures in any human study.” (Lopez 2016) The study of sleep and aiding it would be a
company to introduce into the Costa Rican business environment. GE Healthcare sleep
aid gives clients a device that is to be worn around the neck or wrist to help
induce sleep and help with sleep deprivation instead of using harmful drugs
that create multiple side effects and habit form conditions. This sleep aid
would be both affordable and effective and GE will make all efforts to have it covered
by most insurance companies. Another benefit to introducing this one product
into the market would be that GE would then have a lead in for any other new
and advancing medical devices that are created in the future.
When introducing this product into the market I see GE Healthcare
as creating a special promotion for the new product, generating a buzz about
the product. It they were to use special pricing and actually get the product in
the hands of the users they would be able to create a word of mouth push for
the need of this product.
References
Admin. May 13, 2009. Tico
Times. Wal-Mart – Costa Rica Monopoly Going Green. Retrieved from http://ticotimes.com/costa-rica/walmart-monopoly-green
Ahlstrom, D. & Bruton, G. (2010). International management: Strategy and culture in the
emerging world. Mason, OH:
South-Western Cengage Learning.
Coleman, D. Y. (2013).
History. Costa Rica Country Review, 7-8.
Costa Rica.
(2015). Political Risk Yearbook: Costa Rica Country Report, 2-14.
Costa Rica Review (2015)
http://costarica-information.com/about-costa-rica/politics-and-government/major-political-parties-1
Hildago,
J. C. January 23, 2014. CATO institute. Growth
with Poverty Reduction: the Case of Costa Rica.
Lopez,
J. January 2, 2016. Costa Rica Joined Sleep and Bipolar Disorder Research Study
retrieved from https://news.co.cr/costa-rica-joined-sleep-and-bipolar-disorder-research-study/43734/
Petersen, R. A. 2010. | https://lucasdipasquale.com/introduction-marred-the-countrys-democratic-development-in-1917-19/ |
Write a brief description of the Concrete Operational stage of child development. Discuss the classification, seriation, and transitivity of this stage.
The stage named as the Concrete Operational Stage is the part of the four stages of the theory which is named as the Piaget’s theory of Cognitive Development. The same is considered to be brought into light by Sir Jean Piaget. In this connection, the concern stage of the theory named as the Concrete Operational Stage is considered to be the third stage of the cognitive development theory of Piaget. This stage is known to follow the pre-operational stage that is divided to occur in the age group that lies between 7 and 11 of the student (specifically, the pre-adolescence years). The concerned stage is considered to be characterized by the appropriate and perfect use of the logic. During the time period when a children is known to grow through this stage, the thought process of a child becomes more matured as well as adult like. The children start solving the problems in a more specified logical fashion way. In an abstract manner, the hypothetical thinking is not still in this stage is known to be developed in the child, therefore, the children are only able to solve the problems that are applied in the concrete events as well as the objects. At this particular stage, the children are known to undergo the transition where a child learns to rules the conservation. Piaget had significantly undermined that the children have the capability to solve the problems that are applied only to the aspect of some concrete events or say objects. In addition to this, at this particular stage the children are also known to undergo a transition where the same gets the learning of the rules such as the conservation. The psychologist also determined that the children are capable enough of learning and incorporating the synergy of inductive reasoning. The inductive reasoning is known to involve the drawing inferences that comes up from the observations in the concern of making a generalization. In contrast to this, the children are known to struggle with the deductive reasoning that involves the synergy of using the generalized principle in the concern of trying the prediction that is to be determined as the outcome of an event. The children are also recorded to face and experience difficulties in the figuring out of the logic that lies in their head when they are this particular concerned stage. Take, for example, a child will only understand the aspect that A is more than B and also that B is more than C. Howsoever, when it is questioned that, is A more than D? Than the child might not be able to logically figure out the query being asked because of their level of mental growth.
It was also examined with the help of the studies that there are two important processes that lies under the synergy of the concrete operational stage. The same are determined to be known as logic as well as the elimination of egocentrism.
In this connection, the egocentrism is determined to be the inability of the children to consider or even create an understanding about the perspective of other as compared to one’s own. This is that phase where the thought as well as the morality of the child is considered to be completely self-focused. At the time the children are known to be into this stage, they are known to acquire the agility through which they can view things as per the perspective of some other individual, even if the perspective is not determined to be correct by the children oneself. Take, for an instance, showing a child a comic series in which Maria is known to put a ball under a box, leaves the room and then Johnson moves the ball to a drawer and Maria comes back. Thus, in this connection, based on the aspect of the concrete operational stage, the thought process of Maria will be still considered to be that the ball is still under the box and not the drawer though the same knows that he ball is in the drawer at the present. The children at this stage are however known to solve the problems that are applied to the actual sense of objects or events as stated earlier. They cannot solve the problems that are related to the objects that are abstract as well as hypothetical tasks in nature. The understanding as well as the knowing of how to use the complete common sense is not yet determined to be completely adapted.
Piaget determined that the children that lies under the stage of concrete operational stage, are the ones who are able to incorporate the inductive logic as stated earlier. Whereas, when considered on the other hand, the children belonging to the age group of this concerned stage are recorded to have difficulty in the use of the deductive logic that is known to involve the general principle of the prediction that outcome any of a specific event. The same is known to evolve the ideology of the mental reversibility. Take, for, example, the same being able to reverse the order in which the relationships lies between the mental categories. Take another example of a child may be being capable enough of recognizing that his or her pet dog belongs to the breed of a Labrador and that the dog is an animal and thereby the drawing of the conclusion that is gained from the available information and along with the same applying all of these to the procedures of the hypothetical situations. The adolescents are also known to change in a cognitive manner by the way they think about the social matters and concerns. The adolescent egocentrism is known to govern the way the adolescents are known to think about the social matters as well as heighten itself and the self-consciousness in the individuals with the way they are and the same is known to be reflected in the sense of the personal uniqueness as well as invicibility.
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Selfish gene has a vital impact on the survival of the species as a whole.
What is a selfish gene? A selfish gene is not a gene that makes an individual selfish. In fact, it may even be involved in the demonstration of a selfless act, a mark of altruism. Selfish gene elements (or selfish DNA) are nucleotide sequences that make copies of itself within the genome. They are regarded as unhelpful as they are of no use since they do not make a protein product. Sometimes, they may even cause harm. However, selfish genes have a vital impact on the survival of the species as a whole.
Selfish gene as a concept in evolution
Richard Dawkin coined the term selfish gene. He also proposed a gene-centric view of evolution in his book “The Selfish Gene”, which he wrote and published in 1976. An excerpt of his book states: “Genes are competing directly with their alleles for survival, since their alleles in the gene pool are rivals for their slot on the chromosomes of future generations. Any gene that behaves in such a way as to increase its own survival chances in the gene pool at the expense of its alleles will, by definition, tautologously, tend to survive. The gene is the basic unit of selfishness.” 1
Selfish gene, defined
Dawkin defined gene as a piece of chromosome that is sufficiently short to live and function long enough. A gene, he delineates, “functions as a significant unit of natural selection”.1 Based on this notion, genes tend to be selfish in a way that they would compete for their survival. They spread by forming replicas that ought to be passed on across generations. And we, as living beings, are only their vessel and an ephemeral vehicle that conveys them to the next vess
The genes are the immortals…. They are the replicators and we are the survival machines. When we have served our purpose we are cast aside. But genes are denizens of geological time: genes are forever. – Robert Dawkin1
Accordingly, a selfish gene would compete for its seat (loci) on the organism’s genome. Those that efficiently make copies of themselves would likely increase in number and survive in the gene pool whereas those that are less effective in the competition would tend to decrease in number.
Altruism
In spite of its reputation as egoistic, a selfish gene favours altruism, especially, if the act would help its replicas in other members of its species survive. Many animals – from mere ants to the more intricate humans – display altruism, which refers to a set of acts depicting a seemingly selfless behavior for the benefit or well-being of others. Hence, even if the altruistic act would eventually harm an individual, it would still prove beneficial to a selfish gene since more of its replicas in other members could wind up persisting.
Elements
Selfish gene elements (sometimes referred to as selfish DNA) are nucleotide sequences that make copies of itself within the genome. They do not necessarily add up to the reproductive success of or confer significant advantage to the organism. Sometimes, they may even cause harm.
Recently, researchers have sequenced for the first time two selfish genes from the fungus Neurospora intermedia. A fungal spore that carries the selfish gene known as the “spore killer” would kill the sibling spores lacking the gene. 2
Another example of a selfish gene element is that found by the UCLA researchers in a strain of the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans. They found a pair of selfish genes, one that encodes for a poison and the other that encodes for its antidote. The offspring that does not inherit the gene for the antidote dies while still an embryo because it fails to protect itself from the poison (toxin) produced by the mother. 3
Implications
These studies on selfish genes implicate that there might be many more of them and are probably just hiding in plain sight. Discovering them could one day lead to important uses. For instance, selfish genes could be used as genetic control that would deter the development of pesky parasites at the molecular level.
— written by Maria Victoria Gonzaga
References
1 Dawkins, R. (2016). The Selfish Gene: 40th Anniversary edition (4th ed). Oxford University Press. ISBN 0191093076. | https://www.biologyonline.com/articles/selfish-gene-selfish-to-persist |
Indigenous Cultural Monitoring is an important step in acknowledging Native peoples’ historic and spiritual relationship to stewardship of public and private lands. An Indigenous Cultural Monitor is someone from local Tribal Nations trained in archeological methods, Indigenous Protocols, and traditional teachings who monitors archeological assessments conducted within affected lands. Those assessments include potential environmental impacts and artifacts uncovered during the work.
In the last few years, momentum has been increasing around the Land Back movement, an Indigenous-led initiative to return both public and private lands to Native peoples that claim them historically, spiritually and culturally. It is a movement for restitution and restoration of Indigenous rights, decision making power, sovereignty and self-determination with regard to land.
We acknowledge that the lands here were first “stolen” and continue to be sold to the highest bidder. How might we change the existing system? How to approach the lands in a good way, a better way?
On this week’s show, Joe Calderon shares his insights on Indigenous protocols, archaeological analysis, and properly approaching the land. He is a Cultural Monitor representing the Chumash, Tongva, and Chicano Peoples. He works to protect his Ancestors, Sacred Sites, Artifacts and Cultural Resources, as well as doing his best to care for the environment, water, and lands. He is also a singer, instrument maker, and composer of songs and enjoys sharing traditional teachings with others.
His monitoring company, Sacred Grounds, can be reached at [email protected]. | https://wilderutopia.com/uncategorized/indigenous-protocols-approaching-the-lands-with-cultural-monitoring/ |
If your mesh looks too uneven, smooth it out using this virtual iron. The tool works in all three modes (point, edge and polygon).
The Iron tool works by smoothing out the selection in areas where the angle between neighboring edges is equal to or greater than a threshold angle (Angle). The strength of smoothing is controlled by the Percent value.
Drag in the viewport to vary the Percent value (i.e. the strength of smoothing).
Shift+drag in the viewport to vary the Angle value (i.e. the threshold angle). | https://help.maxon.net/us/html/TOOLIRON.html |
Mimi the Artist has made a butter lamb for Easter Sunday every year for as long as she can remember! Before that, her mom and grandmother made them!
The photos below will show you how Mimi shaped a stick and a half of softened butter to make it look like a baby lamb.
Let the butter soften at room temperature, (do not try softening the butter in the microwave, the consistency will be uneven). Create the lamb on wax paper or foil. Once it is done place it into the refrigerator to harden, then transfer the lamb to a pretty serving dish. You can place colorful jelly beans around it, or sprigs of parsley.
Step 1.
Mimi softened 2 sticks of butter for this project. Place a piece of wax paper or foil down on the counter to work on. You will also need 2 knives, not sharp ones, and one toothpick.
Step 2.
Unwrap and lay out one stick of softened butter. Cut approximately a tablespoon off of the front end of the stick to use for the lamb's 4 legs. Cut the 2nd stick of butter in half to use for the head (you may not need any of the remaining half).
Step 3.
This picture shows the front side of the lamb. The chunk of butter extends past both the front and back of the lamb's body, but a bit more so in the front.
Step 4.
With a knife in each hand, start smoothing and shaping the head. Two ears can be 'worked out' from the soft butter and actually stick out from the sides. Using the smooth edge of one of the knives, scrape the top of the face area so it looks more smooth and slants downwards a bit.
Step 5.
Carefully narrow the front of the face, it will look a bit like a triangular wedge.
Step 6.
Round off the edges of the face.
Step 7.
This photo shows how the back of the head is rounded out.
Step 8.
This image shows another angle of the head.
Step 9.
Start smoothing out the edges of the front and back legs and round the back of the torso (body).
Step 10.
This is a photo of the back of the lamb, make a curve into the bottom of the back to give it some shape.
Step 11.
Have the 2 front legs be slightly separated.
Step 12.
Start to 'roughen' up the surface of the butter so it stops looking so much like a 'stick of butter'.
Step 13.
This is a view from the top, looking down.
Step 14.
This photo shows the back of the lamb.
Step 15.
Think of the lamb having his legs tucked underneath him.
Step 16.
Add a little tail.(a small clump of butter taken from the "extra" half stick)
Step 17.
Use whole cloves for the eyes.
Now it is time to use the toothpick, use it to make tiny curls all over the lamb's body.
Step 18.
Mimi used a caraway seed for the nose.
Carefully place the lamb (while it is still on the wax paper) into the refrigerator so the butter can harden.
Step 19.
Once the butter is hard you are ready to transfer the lamb onto a pretty serving dish!
Step 20.
The back view.
Step 21.
Back/side view.
Step 22.
Happy Easter!
An interesting "footnote".... I brought one of my Butter Lambs to my twin sister's house for Easter one year not realizing that she had already made one, we both laughed after we placed them side-by-side... they were mirror images of each other! I am left-handed and my twin is right-handed! | http://www.mimitheartist.com/for-kids/holiday-activities/holiday-projects/how-to-make-a-butter-lamb-for-easter |
There’s no question that The Lowest Pair are talented songwriters. Since their 2013 formation, Kendl Winter and Palmer T. Lee have written five albums worth of original material and toured extensively behind their efforts. Those efforts have won them considerable notice from both the mainstream and indie music press. Some will say that they work within a genre with relatively narrow possibilities and that their lyrical content is the only place where they can break any new ground, but Winter and Lee prove often on this release that there is any number of minor variations focused performers and arrangers can bring to longstanding traditional forms like folk and bluegrass. Their latest album, Uncertain as It Is Uneven, is part of a dual release this year from the duo. The release isn’t a proper double album, in the traditional sense of the term, or connected thematically – the two full length efforts have different musical agendas and leave different impressions on listeners.
The mood on Uncertain as It is Uneven is decidedly low-fi. Most of the songs are confined to a mid-tempo stroll and some listeners might find this problematic on such a relatively length album, but it begins in spellbinding fashion with the nuanced guitar/banjo swirl of “The Company I Keep”. Winter’s vocal lingers over each word and her unique tone and enunciating process gives a layer of emotion to the song it otherwise lacks. “Keeweenaw Flower” is a straight-ahead folk song musically and Lee’s guitar ably backs his vocal work, but the real winner in this song is a melody that listeners will find difficult to shake upon hearing it once or twice. “37 Tears” is full of numerological imagery that Lee’s baritone coveys without any gimmickry and the same strengths are in force on its follow up, “The Sky Is Green”. Winter’s vocal has a warm, very youthful quality that nullifies any sadness peeking between the lines. The duo’s harmony vocals are a surprisingly key strength of their presentation considering the contrasts in their voices and the first half of the album benefits enormously from their skill in that area.
“Dreaming of Babylon” has an unusual arrangement that Winter’s beautiful reading grounds with its melodic grace. The album’s final songs, “Pretend It’s True” and “By Then Where Will That Be”, have markedly different subject matters and approaches to said subject matter, but they are musical cousins that help bring the album to a moody, anxious ending. The first song focuses much more tightly on interpersonal relationships and mixes unique with familiarly imagery to make an impact. The musical backing is simple while being employed with a tremendous amount of artistry. The last song is a much more expansive effort that reveals ambitions the preceding ten songs only hint at. The Lowest Pair are clearly a duo who doesn’t mind taking the occasional whiff at wide scope lyrical profundity and they connect here with a sweeping personal look at their own lives and the hearts of those around them. It’s a truly splendid ending to an overall fine release.
URL: http://thelowestpair.com/
YOU TUBE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KrS7hs3H5k
8 out of 10 stars. | http://nodepression.com/album-review/lowest-pair-uncertain-it-uneven |
Recently proposed regulatory changes and legislation indicate that the United States is seeking to upgrade its anti-money laundering (AML) regime, and that the real estate sector in particular almost certainly needs to prepare for new requirements and reporting obligations under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) launched an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) in December 2021 to solicit public comment on potential requirements under the BSA for certain individuals and entities involved in real estate transactions. Coupled with recently introduced legislation in the Senate, the Kleptocrat Liability for Excessive Property Transactions and Ownership (KLEPTO) Act, the developments indicate that the US real estate industry and those involved in the sector should proactively reevaluate their risk appetites and update their compliance processes.
Real Estate Money Laundering in the United States: Current Situation
Money laundering through US real estate purchases by individuals and LLCs alike continues to be a prime layering mechanism that facilitates concealment of illicit assets. According to a recent report from the Washington DC thinktank, Global Financial Integrity (GFI), between 2015 and 2020, at least $2.3 billion was laundered through US real estate, but that number is almost certainly much higher.
In April, FinCEN renewed its geographic targeting orders (GTOs)—the agency’s response to significant money-laundering risks in the real estate sector—that have required title insurance companies since 2016 to identify the natural persons behind shell companies used in real estate cash transactions. This 12th renewal of the GTO expands the requirements to additional jurisdictions in the United States to include parts of Washington, DC, Northern Virginia, and Maryland, as well as additional Hawaiian Islands and the city and county of Baltimore.
The GTOs have proven a useful tool for law enforcement, giving agencies the ability to compare GTO-reported legal entities with suspicious activity reports (SARs) filed by banks and financial institutions. In its Advisory to Financial Institutions and Real Estate Firms and Professionals in 2017, FinCEN noted that “over 30 percent of the real estate transactions reported under the GTOs involved a beneficial owner or purchaser representative that had been the subject of unrelated Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) filed by U.S. financial institutions.” Although title agents and real estate professionals are not required to file SARs, this advisory emphasizes their importance in efforts to combat criminal activities, providing a possible additional justification to impose BSA reporting requirements on the real estate sector.
- Banks and money services businesses are the primary source of filed SARs, and the lack of BSA reporting requirements for the real estate sector provides a loophole for those wishing to launder illicit funds that the GTOs have been working to mitigate. The Treasury Department’s 2022 National Strategy for Combating Terrorist and Other Illicit Financing specifically stresses weak or nonexistent reporting and disclosure requirements for company formation and non-financed real estate transactions as vulnerabilities that the United States must address to mitigate the use of real estate in money laundering.
Currently, money launderers can evade reporting requirements by purchasing real estate outside of the applicable counties and keeping cash amounts under the current reporting threshold. In response to the ANPRM, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) recommends that “FinCEN [should] require nationwide reporting of BOI [Beneficial Ownership Information] similar to the reporting requirement imposed under the GTOs,” and that “there should be no minimum monetary threshold for BOI reporting for non-financed deals.” Other organizations have suggested expanding the GTOs across the United States, including GFI, which recommended “a permanent and nationwide regime” in its response to the ANPRM.
We assess that the current GTOs, which must be renewed every six months, are limited to residential real estate, and apply to only 13 jurisdictions in the United States, are only part of the battle against the use of the real estate sector to hide and launder assets. The proposed FinCEN regulations and possible additional legal measures pending in Congress will almost certainly help close the loopholes that allow malign actors to access and exploit the US financial system.
- Possible changes proposed in FinCEN’s ANPRM include removing reporting thresholds, expanding reporting requirements to all cash transactions nationwide, and including commercial real estate in the reporting requirements.
- Approximately $463 billion in 2021 residential real estate transactions will “likely proceed without any [anti-money laundering] reporting obligations,” according to FinCEN, leaving “a substantial portion of the real estate market” unprotected from the risks posed by potential money launderers. To mitigate the problem, FinCEN could apply AML reporting obligations to all segments of the real estate sector.
Politically exposed persons (PEPs) and sanctioned individuals can hide behind complex legal entities and integrate misappropriated funds into the US financial system via real estate transactions. Disclosure of ultimate beneficial ownership is key to helping combat money laundering and sanctions evasion. The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), implemented in January 2021, requires LLCs at their inception to disclose their beneficial owners to a national registry. The KLEPTO Act, introduced April 2022, would require beneficial ownership disclosure for all legal entities involved in real estate transactions.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which sets global standards and recommendations for combatting money laundering and terrorist financing, recommends that countries “assess the risks of misuse of legal persons for money laundering or terrorist financing, and take measures to prevent their misuse,” ensuring that registries are up-to-date and accurate.
FATF in 2008 also requested public consultation on its 2008 published Risk Based Approach for Real Estate Agents and has begun making updates to this guidance, which likely will include reemphasis on ultimate beneficial ownership along with new specifics on how individuals in the real estate sector can combat money laundering in today’s more complex and challenging money-laundering environment and methodologies.
Regulatory Environment: The Challenges
The Tax Justice Network this year designated the United States as the world’s most secretive jurisdiction, which likely will prompt Congress to boost FinCEN’s resources to enhance the agency’s ability to mandate additional transparency and reporting and provide funds for additional staff, as well as create and manage the CTA registry.
- Acting FinCEN director Him Das last month testified before the House Committee on Financial Services that many of the agency’s staffing requests remain unfunded, despite being mandated by the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) of 2020, including personnel needed to implement the beneficial ownership framework under the CTA, enforcement personnel, and others.
- Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) last month sent Senate appropriators a bipartisan request to provide FinCEN with maximum possible funding to support implementation and enforcement of key AML and anticorruption reforms.
- The $40 billion aid package to Ukraine that was approved last month included $52 million in emergency funds to help FinCEN meet the requirements of the CTA and the AMLA.
Although new FinCEN regulations and resources almost certainly will help mitigate money laundering in real estate, the lack of infrastructure in the sector to handle new AML requirements presents a challenge. Leading trade organizations, the American Land Title Association (ALTA) and the National Association of Realtors (NAR) recently revealed that most of their thousands of members and member organizations, which vary in size from small to large, would not have the investigative tools or resources to comply with AML/CFT regulations under the BSA.
- According to ALTA, members spend between $45 -$250 per transaction to research the beneficial owner(s) in compliance with the current GTOs—a cost that is usually passed on to the customer. ALTA also notes that “63% of title companies have five or less employees and 94% have less than 20 employees.” ALTA noted that imposing an AML requirements on title companies that are similar to financial institutions would be unnecessarily costly and burdensome.
- NAR also notes that most individual states have not invested in proper AML education or formal training on AML/CFT issues. Lack of current education and training infrastructure would make compliance with new BSA requirements difficult for realtors and brokers.
We judge that current GTO requirements and possible future AML obligations for professions in the real estate sector will require expert research into ownership and control structures by risk and compliance experts with foreign language capabilities and jurisdictional knowledge. FiveBy’s expert certified AML/CFT and global sanctions analysts can help clients craft a bespoke solution to help identify beneficial owners, money laundering, and sanctions evasion methodologies to help professions in the real estate sector more effectively comply with US laws and regulations.
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FiveBy is a specialized risk intelligence consultancy with unique expertise in risk and fraud management. Companies and organizations contact FiveBy when they see risks related to fraud, abuse or compliance that could affect their reputation, their ability to support customers, their intellectual property, or their bottom line. FiveBy provides unique insight and experience to transform these risks into opportunities. Our tech and business savvy, and our proven track record, means you can rely on us to address those risks enabling you to focus on your day-to-day business. Whether you work with FiveBy on an assessment, to address a one-off incident, or to create robust processes to address future risks – we’ll always be in your corner. We stay ahead of the game, so you don’t have to. | https://www.fiveby.com/real_estate/ |
The Nguyen Emperor Khai Dinh's Royal Tomb is unique among the royal tombs in Hue, Vietnam. Where other royal tombs are expansive and invite respectful reflection, Khai Dinh built his final resting place to be monumental in style and bombastic in execution.
Plus, if the local tour guides are to be believed, Khai Dinh's tomb was purposefully designed to be difficult to visit - the tomb was built on the side of a mountain, and its inner sanctum is 127 steps up from street level, a fact that must have grated on the court officials who were required on pain of their lives to pay their respects to the late emperor.
Getting to Khai Dinh's tomb: the site is six miles from Hue, and is served by package tours, xe om, and cyclo drivers from the town center. For more on each method and their prices, consult our article on How to Visit Hue Royal Tombs. See Khai Dinh Tomb's location on Google Maps.
Operating Hours and Admission Fees: Admission to Khai Dinh's Royal Tomb costs VND 55,000, to be paid at the gate. The Tomb is open from 8:00am to 6:00pm.
Must Haves: parasol, sunglasses, and a bottle of water in the sunny season during April-September, and an umbrella and raincoat/jacket during the rainy months of October-March. (See our Weather in Vietnam article to find out more.) Comfortable shoes, plus calves of steel - those 127 steps won't climb themselves.
Khai Dinh's royal tomb is definitely not wheelchair-friendly, and the government hasn't seen fit to add an elevator to the site, so if you're mobility-challenged, better give this one a pass.
From the street facing Khai Dinh’s Royal Tomb, visitors must climb up a series of steps to reach the wrought-iron gate that limits access to the tomb.
At street level, the tomb looks gray and imposing – the Emperor chose to build his tomb out of modern materials like concrete and wrought iron. The tomb is also wired for electricity, a first in Hue tomb design.
Despite the Eastern design sensibility, a large dollop of Western influence can be seen in the tomb’s details. The Emperor visited the Marseilles Colonial Exhibition in France in 1922, which may have accounted for the significant European influence on the tomb’s design.
The tomb began construction in 1920 and took eleven years to complete, and was still unfinished when the Emperor Khai Dinh died of tuberculosis in 1925. His son, the last Emperor of Vietnam Bao Dai, finally completed the tomb in 1931.
After passing the gate, visitors enter a courtyard lined with the traditional left and right mandarins’ buildings constructed from reinforced concrete. Visitors must climb another 37 steps to reach the forecourt level preceding the mausoleum.
Even at this point, veteran tomb-visitors might note that Khai Dinh’s royal tomb is much smaller than his predecessors’ (the whole lot is about 1.3 acres in area). To make up for the size mismatch, the tomb’s designers must have seen fit to cram in much more elaborate detail in the space they had.
The steps leading up to the forecourt are “guarded” by two dragons, forming a sinuous set of banisters.
Two pillars flank the forecourt, also called the imperial audience court, which in turn directly precedes the octagonal stele pavilion that bears the imperial hagiography written by Khai Dinh’s successor.
Like the other royal tombs in Hue, Khai Dinh’s royal tomb also has an honor guard of stone bodyguards, mandarins, elephants, and horses. This honor guard, unlike the rest of the royal tomb, is carved out of stone, and occupy two rows on each side of the forecourt.
In the middle of the forecourt stands the octagonal stele pavilion commemorating Khai Dinh’s life and accomplishments. Like the rest of the tomb, the pavilion is made of reinforced concrete.
In real life, Emperor Khai Dinh came to the throne at a difficult time – in 1916, the French were rulers in all but name, and had exiled the previous two emperors for their refusal to cooperate. Khai Dinh’s reign, from 1916 to 1925, marked a period of subservience to the French colonial masters.
The tomb itself was a point of contention; Khai Dinh squeezed his peasantry hard to come up with the funds to finance the construction of his tomb. Khai Dinh’s unpopularity with his people may have influenced his decision to place his tomb on the slope of Chau Chu Mountain in the outskirts of Hue – a story that local tour guides don’t try very hard to dissuade.
Another flight of stairs takes you to the apex of the entire tomb complex, the elaborate Thien Dinh Palace, which may be entered on the right side entrance (the front entrance is locked).
The palace interior is organized into three parallel rows of halls. Left and right rows were for the use of the tomb caretakers. The middle row housed the Emperor’s relics and the reserved space for the nobility to worship the emperor’s memory.
Thien Dinh palace presents the greatest departure from the gray grimness of the rest of the tomb. The exterior is decorated in a flowery show of glass and porcelain that can best be described as “baroque”; the interior is no less gaudy. The ceiling bears nine painted dragons flying amidst the clouds. The walls are decorated with bits of porcelain and glass.
The caretakers have surrendered the left and right rows to an exhibit of the Emperor Khai Dinh’s personal effects, including a gold chair, photographs of the Emperor’s life and times, and this rather martial-looking statue of the Emperor standing like a conqueror.
This is a closeup of the ceramic mosaic that makes up the walls of the center row within the Thien Dinh Palace at the top of the tomb. The walls and partitions of the palace’s left and right rows are made of undecorated imitation stone, but the walls in the middle row – housing the crypt and the places for the Emperor’s “cult” – are a riot of color and texture, of the type that can be found nowhere else in Vietnam.
The mosaics are the work of Vietnamese artisans, who created a lush interior for the palace that many experts have called a work of “Vietnamese neo-classicism”. Using broken porcelain vases and bits of glass, the artisans created densely-populated inlaid tile wall designs that proliferate throughout the palace walls.
The center rear of the palace reveals the piece de resistance: a life-size bronze statue of the enthroned Emperor Khai Dinh, sitting under a concrete canopy decorated with a ceramic-and-glass mosaic. The statue was cast in France in 1920; the canopy weighs over a ton, belying its lacy appearance.
The Emperor’s successor Bao Dai completed the tomb in 1931, six years after Khai Dinh’s death. Not long after, World War II and the Cold War would turn the Nguyen Dynasty out of Hue; Bao Dai became the last ruling Nguyen emperor, for a time becoming a puppet head of state for the Japanese, then the French, then finally the South Vietnamese government based in Saigon.
The end of the Nguyen dynasty also ensured that Khai Dinh’s would be the last royal tomb constructed in Hue. | https://www.tripsavvy.com/khai-dinh-royal-tomb-walking-tour-1630006 |
Background {#Sec1}
==========
In 2013, almost 7000 people in the United States died due to complications from HIV/AIDS \[[@CR1]\]. Though this number is less than half of that reported a decade earlier, HIV/AIDS is still among the leading causes of death within the United States and worldwide \[[@CR1]\]. The introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) was largely responsible for the substantial declines in HIV-related morbidity and mortality \[[@CR2]\]. In fact, the number of new annual infections has been reduced by more than 60% since 1985 \[[@CR1]\]. With approximately 1.2 million people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) \[[@CR1]\], there have been increasing concerns about the costs associated with lifetime treatment of the infection, including costs associated with accessing medical care, HIV medications, and costs for treating co-morbid conditions. Though previous studies have projected lower healthcare costs due to the availability of HAART and fewer hospitalizations due to AIDS-defining illnesses, more recent studies have suggested that, for a proportion of PLWHA, frequent and lengthy hospitalizations are common, which are associated with high personal costs and healthcare expenditures \[[@CR3], [@CR4]\].
The cost of HIV care in the United States is a critical issue considering that there are approximately 1.2 million PLWHA. A recent study estimated that the lifetime medical costs for an individual who becomes infected with HIV at age 35 was \$326,500, with 60% of those expenses attributable to the costs of antiretroviral medication \[[@CR5]\]. This estimate was 3.3 times higher than the lifetime costs of medical care for high-risk individuals who remain uninfected and include the medical costs related to treating both HIV and non-HIV-related conditions. In addition to costs incurred due to longer lifespans, the rates of new infections are on the rise within vulnerable populations, particularly among young, Latino and African American men who have sex with men (MSM) between the ages of 13 and 24 years \[[@CR1]\]. Between 2005 and 2015, HIV infections rose by 87% among young, African American MSM; however, more recent figures suggests that the dramatic increase is beginning to level off \[[@CR1]\]. Among Latino MSM, new infection rates rose by 24% during the same period \[[@CR1]\]. These figures are concerning, as members of vulnerable groups are less likely to engage in outpatient care and more likely to seek in-hospital care, which is associated with higher cost expenditures \[[@CR4]\]. Additionally, in 2002, the costs associated with new HIV cases in the United States were estimated to be \$6.7 billion in direct medical costs and \$29.7 billion in indirect costs that result from productivity losses, which describes lost economic opportunities as a result of illness, disability, or premature death \[[@CR6]\]. These estimates do not include economic losses that occur as a result of caregiving responsibilities or morbidity, which suggests that the true economic burden may far exceed the estimated costs \[[@CR6]\]. The costs for lifetime treatment based upon the number of new diagnoses were estimated to be \$16.6 billion in 2009 \[[@CR7]\]. Longer lifespans and the over-representation of members from vulnerable groups living with the virus have important implications for healthcare systems, particularly as it relates to resource utilization and allocation, and cost expenditures \[[@CR2]\].
Though there have been a number of studies that have examined the costs of HIV care within the United States, the majority of these studies focused on data collected prior to or shortly after the advent and uptake of HAART, were limited by a focus on a short time frame, or have not provided cost comparisons between HIV/AIDS and other chronic conditions \[[@CR2], [@CR6], [@CR8]--[@CR11]\]. Since the early years of the HIV epidemic, researchers were tasked with providing accurate and updated information regarding the costs of HIV care to assist key stakeholders and decision-makers with economic planning, policy development and adjustments, economic evaluations of interventions focused on treatment costs, and resource allocation \[[@CR5]\]. Therefore, the current study uses data from a nationally representative sample to assess direct healthcare expenditures for PLWHA from 2002 to 2011 in the United States when compared to those without HIV, but suffering from other chronic conditions.
Methods {#Sec2}
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Data source and population {#Sec3}
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We analyzed data from participants in the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey-Household Component (MEPS-HC) for the years 2002--2011 without restrictions on age. MEPS is a survey of a nationally representative, non-institutionalized, and U.S. civilian-based population administered by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) \[[@CR12]\]. The AHRQ validates MEPS data by administering a variety of quality assurance measures and compares MEPS numbers with data from other sources, such as the Census Bureau and National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). MEPS obtains information on participants' use of medical care and their medical spending, as well as information on demographics, socioeconomics, and health conditions. Medical expenditures are defined as the payments that health care providers receive from all payers (including insurance providers, survey respondents, and other sources) \[[@CR13]\]. Data for the MEPS-HC is obtained by means of self-report.
Medical and financial information is obtained from medical records, reports from physicians and home health care providers, and pharmacies. Diagnoses coded according to ICD-9-CM (International Classification of Disease, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification) are also collected as part of the Medical Provider Component of the MEPS. The medical conditions and procedures reported by the MEPS-HC related to HIV/AIDS were recorded by the interviewer as verbatim text and then converted by professional coders to ICD-9-CM codes. The error rate for any coder did not exceed 2.5% on verification. To protect the confidentiality of respondents, fully specified ICD- 9-CM codes were collapsed to three digits \[[@CR12]\].
Individuals with HIV/AIDS were extracted from MEPS-HC medical condition files using ICD-9-CM codes at the person level. For each year, we merged data from the MEPS-HC medical condition files and the full-year consolidated files using the unique person identifier (DUPERSID) on a one-to-one match. To ensure a sufficient sample size and robust estimation for our analysis, we pooled the 10-year MEPS data due to their common variance structure, which is necessary to ensure comparability of our variables within the complex sample design. We adjusted the analytic sampling weight variable by dividing it by the number of years being pooled. The sum of these adjusted weights represents the average annual population size for the pooled period. Estimates of totals are based on adjusted weights and reflect an "average annual" basis rather than the entire pooled period. The MEPS has a complex design consisting of clustering, stratification, and multistage and disproportionate sampling with oversampling of minorities \[[@CR13]\]. The 2002--2011 direct healthcare costs were adjusted to the value of the US dollar in 2014 using the consumers price index obtained from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) (<http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl>).
Measures {#Sec4}
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### Outcomes {#Sec5}
Dependent variables in this study are the direct costs for total healthcare expenditures, defined as the sum of direct payments for care provided during the year, including out-of-pocket payments and payments by private insurance, Medicaid, Medicare and other sources \[[@CR13]\]. The total medical healthcare expenditure is a sum of office-based medical provider expenditure, hospital outpatient expenditure, emergency room expenditure, inpatient hospital (including zero night stays) expenditure, prescription medicine expenditure, dental expenditure, home health care expenditure and other medical expenses \[[@CR13]\].
### Primary independent variable {#Sec6}
The primary independent variable is people with HIV/AIDS. We used ICD-9-CM codes as defined in the MEPS to represent disease conditions. We used ICD-9-CM diagnostic codes of 42 and V08 to identify patients with HIV/AIDS.
### Covariates {#Sec7}
All covariates used for analysis were based on self-report. Co-morbidities: Binary indicators of co-morbidities were based on a positive response to a question "Have you ever been diagnosed with diabetes, hypertension, stroke, emphysema, joint pain, arthritis and asthma?" Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) indicates a positive response to a question "Have you ever been diagnosed with coronary heart disease, angina, myocardial infarction, or another heart disease?" A binary variable of comorbidity showed if patients had at least one comorbidity. Race/ethnic group was categorized into non-Hispanic Whites (NHW) vs. Others (Non-Hispanic Blacks (NHB), Hispanics, other races). A binary indicator of education was coded as less than high school (≤ grade 11) vs. high school or more. Marital status was coded as married vs. non-married (Widowed/Divorced/separated, or never married). Sex was coded as female vs. male and age was coded as a continuous variable in years. Census region was coded as: South vs. Other regions (Northeast, Midwest, and West). Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) was coded yes =1 as of the end of the year. Health insurance was coded into insured vs. uninsured at all times in the year. The income level was defined as a percentage of the poverty level and grouped into two categories: poor (\<125%) vs. low income (125%) or more. Calendar year was grouped into three consecutive years, 2002/04, 2005/07, and 2008/11 for the pooled data.
Analyses {#Sec8}
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The baseline characteristics of patients were compared by HIV/AIDS status and presented as percentages for categorical variables. We tested differences between values using χ^2^ tests. We estimated the unadjusted mean for direct healthcare expenditures for individuals by HIV/AIDS status using the test post-estimation command. We then used generalized linear modeling (GLM) to estimate the adjusted direct medical expenditures by HIV/AIDS status after controlling for confounding factors. The GLM has been widely employed in situations where, due to large number of non-users of health services, there are excess zeros in cost data and the assumption of normality of the error term is not satisfied \[[@CR14]\]. The model addresses the zero concentration as well as the positive skewness of expenditures \[[@CR15]\] and allows users to calculate incremental effects and standard errors \[[@CR16]\]. The use of GLM has an advantage over log OLS, as it relaxes the normality and homoscedasticity assumptions and avoids bias associated with the transformation of raw scaled scores \[[@CR16]\]. While a two-part econometric model (family gamma, log link) can model non-negative values and heavily-skewed cost distribution data, we chose GLM because the two-part model failed to provide estimates due to the small percentage of individuals with HIV/AIDS diagnoses (0.14%) in our analysis. To control for confounding, socio-demographic factors including age, sex, race, marital status, education, health insurance, metropolitan statistical area status, region, and income level, comorbidities and time trend were included in the model. We used Pearson's χ^2^ tests for Table [1](#Tab1){ref-type="table"}, adjusted Wald F test for Table [2](#Tab2){ref-type="table"} and z-test for Table [3](#Tab3){ref-type="table"} to measure significance level.Table 1Weighted sample demographics by HIV/AIDS status among US population 2002-2011VariablesAll (%)HIV (%)No-HIV (%)\**p*-valueN244,124,177342,732\
(0.14%)243,781,444\
(99.86%)Gender Male46.980.746.8\<0.001\* Female53.219.353.2Race/ethnicity Non-Hispanic White69.646.469.7\<0.001\* Other race30.453.630.3Marital status Married53.59.553.6\<0.001\* Non-married46.590.546.4Education category \<High School31.323.031.3\<0.001\* High School or more68.877.068.7Insurance Insured89.991.989.90.302 Uninsured10.18.110.1Metropolitan statistical status Urban83.095.683.0\<0.001\* Rural17.04.417.0Census region South36.035.636.00.925 Other regions64.064.464.0Income category Poor income16.838.816.8\<0.001\* Low income or more83.261.283.2Chronic conditions Diabetes8.311.38.30.154 Hypertension32.832.932.80.961 CVD13.613.713.60.978 Stroke3.53.63.40.893 Emphysema2.11.92.10.806 Joint pain37.839.637.80.634 Arthritis26.025.026.00.774 Asthma11.016.211.00.023\* Comorbidity51.868.551.8\<0.001\*Year category Year 2002/0429.226.429.20.086 Year 2005/0729.731.029.7 Year 2008/1141.142.641.1Note: \*denotes that *p* \< 0.05 for each pair of variables for which association was measured Table 2Unadjusted means of total healthcare and healthcare service expenditures by HIV statusHIVNo HIV*p*-valueMean (\$)95% CIMean (\$)95% CITotal Cost 2002/0422,54415,901--29,1874,4074,243--4,571\<0.001\*\* 2005/0727,24716,548--37,9464,7604,620--4,900\<0.001\*\* 2008/1129,32921,817--36,8405,0134,877--5,150\<0.001\*\* Pooled sample26,89321,844--31,9434,7614,669--4,854\<0.001\*\*Inpatient 2002/043,874575 --7,1731,2901,179--1,4010.124 2005/074,6981,115--8,2811,3311,250 --1,4120.065 2008/114,162290--8,0341,3581,275--1,4410.154 Pooled sample4,2522,028--6,4761,3301,277--1,3840.010\*Office-based 2002/042,1121,407--2,8171,010980--1,0400.001\*\* 2005/072,410929--3,8911,1561,112--1,1990.095 2008/113,2142,012--4,4151,2491,213--1,2850.001\*\* Pooled sample2,6741,945--3,4031,1521,129--1,175\<0.001\*\*Medications 2002/0413,83310,194--17,472907877--937\<0.001\*\* 2005/0718,5738,708--28,4381,0451,008--1,083\<0.001\*\* 2008/1119,82015,306--24,3341,1161,067--1,166\<0.001\*\* Pooled sample17,85414,061--21,6461,0341,007--1,061\<0.001\*\*Outpatient 2002/04446419--473966174--1,7580.197 2005/0732081--558449422--4760.288 2008/11481179--783474444--5040.959 Pooled sample559321--798458440--4760.407Emergency Room (ER) 2002/04451-38 --940162155--1700.247 2005/0727845--511169161--1770.354 2008/1119265--320205195--2150.841 Pooled sample287104--470182177--1870.260Home Health 2002/049294--1,855152113--1910.100 2005/0744477--810168120--2170.145 2008/11956-236--2,149179149--2090.200 Pooled sample790215--1,365168140--1950.034\*Dental 2002/04249121--378339328--3500.171 2005/07342136--548341329--3530.992 2008/11390193--588338325--3510.597 Pooled sample338226--451339331--3470.987Other 2002/0412691--10312670--1820.309 2005/079792--103179105--2530.029\* 2008/1111049--1719186--950.531 Pooled sample9491--9813698--1730.030\*Note: Inpatient=Hospital Inpatient; Outpatient=Hospital Outpatient; Total healthcare expenditure= the sum of direct payments for care provided during the year, including out-of-pocket payments and payments by private insurance, Medicaid, Medicare and other sources; Total medical healthcare expenditure= sum of office-based medical provider expenditure, hospital outpatient expenditure, emergency room expenditure, inpatient hospital (including zero night stays) expenditure, prescription medicine expenditure, dental expenditure, home health care expenditure and other medical expenses; \*\**p* ≤ 0.01; \**p* ≤ 0.05 Table 3Generalized linear model: Incremental healthcare expenditures by HIV status among US individuals accounting for relevant covariates (adjusted to 2014 dollars)VariablesIncremental Cost95% CI*P*-valuePrimary Independent Variable HIV (vs. no HIV)31,147\*\*23,645 -- 38,648\<0.001Covariates Female (vs. Male)1,419\*\*1,181 -- 1,657\<0.001 Other race (vs. non-Hispanic White)-866\*\*-1,115 -- -617\<0.001 Non-married (vs. Married)-380\*\*-573 -- -187\<0.001 Age (in years)63\*\*55--71\<0.001 High school or more (vs. \<High School)619\*\*360 -- 879\<0.001 Uninsured (vs. Insured)-3,642\*\*-3,809 -- -3,475\<0.001 Urban (vs. Rural)308\*58 -- 5570.015 Other regions (vs. South)377\*\*158 -- 5950.001 Low income or more (vs. Poor income)-1,221\*\*-1,601 -- -841\<0.001 Diabetes (vs. no Diabetes)2,971\*\*2,640--3,301\<0.001 Hypertension (vs. no Hypertension)1,249\*\*1,052 -- 1,446\<0.001 CVD (vs. no CVD)3,364\*\*3,043 -- 3,685\<0.001 Stroke (vs. no Stroke)2,945\*\*2,462 -- 3,446\<0.001 Emphysema (vs. no Emphysema)2,294\*\*1,732 -- 2,855\<0.001 Joint pain (vs. no Joint Pain)1,032\*\*827 -- 1,238\<0.001 Arthritis (vs. no Arthritis)1,577\*1,350 -- 1,805\<0.001 Asthma (vs. no Asthma)1,405\*\*\*974 -- 1,836\<0.001 Comorbidity (vs. no Comorbidity)378\*35--7210.031 Year 2005/07 (vs. Year 2002/04)356\*73 -- 6400.014 Year 2008/11 (vs. Year 2002/04)367\*87 -- 6470.010Note: \*\*\**p* \< 0.001; \*\**p* ≤ 0.01; \**p* ≤ 0.05; Primary outcome variable in this model is total health care expenditures and the incremental (marginal) effect represents the primary independent variable (HIV/AIDS) and other covariates
The Generalized Linear Model (GLM) method is efficient in modeling cost data with the appropriate choice of the variance function. The modified Park test can be used as a diagnostic test to examine the model fit \[[@CR16]\]. The gamma model is used for data situations in which the response can take only values greater than or equal to zero \[[@CR17]\]. Multicollinearity was assessed for predictors of the GLM taking into account the complex survey design.
For all the analyses, we accounted for the complex sampling design of MEPS by using sampling weight, variance estimation stratum and primary sampling unit (clustering) in order to extrapolate the estimates to a U.S civilian non-institutionalized population. A *p*-value \<0.05 was considered statistically significant. All analyses were performed using STATA 14.
Results {#Sec9}
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Population characteristics {#Sec10}
--------------------------
The characteristics of US population with and without HIV/AIDS during the 2002--2011 period are shown in Table [1](#Tab1){ref-type="table"}. Of the weighted 244,124,177 people in the U.S. population, 342,732 (0.14%) had HIV/AIDS. HIV/AIDS was more frequent among those who: identified as male, were members of other racial groups, were non-married, had at least completed high school, were urban dwellers, poor income earners and reported comorbid conditions. While HIV/AIDS prevalence increased in 2005/2007 and 2008/2011, these changes were not statistically significant.
Unadjusted cost differences between individuals with and without HIV/AIDS {#Sec11}
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
The total mean unadjusted direct expenditures for individuals with HIV/AIDS consistently increased from \$22,544 (95%CI: 15,901--29,187) in 2002/2004 to \$29,329 (95%CI: 21,817--36,840) in 2008/2011 (Table [2](#Tab2){ref-type="table"} and Fig. [1](#Fig1){ref-type="fig"}). Relative to the direct expenditures for individuals without HIV/AIDS (\$4761 \[\$4669--\$4854\]), PLWHA had nearly six times higher unadjusted mean expenditure (\$26,893\[\$21,844--\$31,943\]) over the 10-year pooled information period (Table [2](#Tab2){ref-type="table"}). PLWHA had increased inpatient hospital expenditures from 2002/ 2004 (\$3874 \[\$575--\$7171\]) to 2005/08 (\$4698 \[\$1115--\$8281\]) but then decreased in 2008/2011 (\$4162 \[\$290--\$8034\]). PLWHA had continuously increased prescription medicine expenditures from 2002/2004 (\$13,833 \[\$10,194--\$17,472\]) through 2008/2011 (\$19,820 \[\$15,306--\$24,334\]). Prescription medicine expenditures (\$17,854) of HIV/AIDS accounts for the largest proportion (66%) of the total medical expenditure. Trends in office-based expenditures for PLWHA were similar, with costs increasing continuously from 2002/2004 (\$2112 \[\$1407--\$2817\]) through 2008/2011 (\$3214 \[\$2012--\$4415\]).Fig. 1Trends in total direct expenditures and healthcare services by HIV status
Adjusted incremental cost differences for PLWHA {#Sec12}
-----------------------------------------------
The results of the adjusted GLM on incremental costs associated with HIV/AIDS controlling for socio-demographic factors, comorbidities and time trends are shown in Table [3](#Tab3){ref-type="table"}. The results of the modified Park test verified the use of a gamma distribution with a log link as the best--fitting GLM to get consistent estimation of coefficients and marginal effects of medical expenditure \[[@CR17]\]. The variance inflation factor (VIF) for all predictors used in the model indicated there was no multicollinearity. After adjusting for socio-demographic factors, comorbidities and time trend covariates, the adjusted incremental cost of total direct expenditures for HIV/AIDS increased by \$31,147 (95% CI \$23,645--\$38,648) when compared to those without HIV/AIDS (Table [3](#Tab3){ref-type="table"}). Being female, more educated, and having comorbidities were significantly associated with higher incremental cost compared with their counterparts. Each one year increase in age was associated with \$63 higher incremental expenditures. Compared with the South, residents in other regions had \$377 higher incremental expenditures. Non-White race/ethnic group, non-married and the uninsured had significantly lower incremental costs compared with their counterparts. Compared with 2002/2004, incremental expenditures were significantly higher by \$356 in 2004/2005 and \$367 in 2008/2011. HIV/AIDS was associated with 800--900% higher incremental expenditures relative to other high cost chronic conditions (i.e., diabetes, stroke, and CVD).
Estimated US burden of HIV/AIDS {#Sec13}
-------------------------------
Finally, we extrapolated the aggregate cost to the US population for PLWHA and those without during 2002--2011. Based on the adjusted mean, the aggregate incremental cost of HIV/AIDS was approximately \$10.7 billion higher than the costs for those without HIV/AIDS.
Discussion {#Sec14}
==========
Despite the decline in AIDS-related morbidity and mortality, the financial burden of HIV resulting from longer lifespans and the rise of new infections among vulnerable groups in the United States is considerable. The purpose of the current study was to provide updated estimates of direct healthcare expenditures for PLWHA using data from a nationally representative sample of patients receiving care from diverse provider sites. Compared to individuals without HIV, PLWHA were more likely to be members of racial minority groups, unmarried, poor, less educated, and report comorbid chronic conditions. Our results support previous studies that have highlighted concerns regarding the 'browning' of HIV, as PLWHA are more likely to face social and structural challenges that contribute to higher rates of infection and subsequently, a higher financial burden \[[@CR6]\]. Moreover, members of vulnerable populations may be more likely to enter HIV care at more advanced disease stages, which has been associated with greater healthcare utilization and thus higher costs \[[@CR2], [@CR18]\].
To our knowledge, this is the first study to compare the financial burden of PLWHA and those living with other chronic conditions. We found that PLWHA had significantly higher direct healthcare expenditures between 2002 and 2011 than their counterparts; they reported higher costs of prescription medications, and higher utilization of inpatient, office-based, and home health services. Moreover, our analyses indicated that PLWHA incur incremental costs that are approximately \$10.7 billion**,** or 800--900%, higher than their counterparts without HIV but living with other chronic conditions (i.e., CVD, diabetes, and stroke). For PLWHA, the largest proportion of cost expenditures resulted from prescription medications, which increased steadily during the study period to account for 66% of total expenditures, costing \$17,854 in 2008/2011, which is approximately \$4000 more than medication-related expenditures in 2002/2004. Our results are consistent with earlier studies finding that costs of prescription medications are increasing over time and aside from mortality-related productivity loss, represents the most burdensome cost to PLWHA and the healthcare system \[[@CR5], [@CR19]\]. As such, changes in HIV cost expenditures are largely dependent upon fluctuations in medication costs, which may be expected to decrease as expiring patents make way for generic options \[[@CR9], [@CR20]\].
Our overall annual, per-person cost estimate (\$31,147) was substantially higher than those of earlier studies (mean total costs between \$18,640 and \$20,300) \[[@CR4], [@CR7], [@CR19]\]. These higher costs are likely due to the wide availability of HAART and longer life expectancies, which require people to take HAART over longer periods of time, contributing to higher direct cost expenditures \[[@CR4], [@CR5]\]. Previous research, however, has suggested that universal uptake of HAART could lead to lower indirect cost expenditures, as better health among PLWHA and longer lifespans could lead to greater economic productivity \[[@CR6]\]. For those with other chronic conditions, the largest proportion of cost expenditures resulted from inpatient and office-based fees, followed by prescription medication costs. However, the costs of prescription medications for PLWHA were almost 5 times higher than the top three cost expenditures for those without HIV, combined. The results of this study suggest that HIV/AIDS remains a significant concern for the United States and requires additional resources and research to identify ways to reduce HIV care costs, yet improve the quality of care. Considering the needs of those most vulnerable to infection, access to HAART may become increasingly difficult for individuals if policies and allocation of resources are not improved. There is a strong need for financial investment and socio-structural interventions to reduce the financial burden on those most impacted by HIV in order to facilitate longer and healthier lives \[[@CR5]\].
The current study has several major advantages over previous studies, including: 1) an examination of cost trends using data from a nationally representative survey; 2) an analysis of cost expenditures using a variety of categories, including prescription medications, inpatient services, office-based care, dental treatment, emergency room visits and home health services; 3) the utilization of a novel methodology that enables incremental cost estimates; 4) accounting for multiple comorbidities in an attempt to isolate the effect of HIV/AIDS; 5) the inclusion of unadjusted cost estimates to provide further insight into the actual costs amassed by PLWHA; and 6) using pooled analyses that capture cost trends over a 10-year period of time.
Though this study has a number of strengths, our results are also subject to several limitations. First, HIV/AIDS status was determined by means of self-report and was not confirmed by the use of laboratory tests. As a result, it is possible that HIV status was under-reported, considering that a large proportion of PLWHA are unaware of their HIV status ^1^. However, people unaware of their HIV status will not be accessing HIV care so will likely have few, if any, incurred costs. This method, however, has been commonly used in the cost estimation literature and for those who are aware of their status, reporting is likely to be accurate \[[@CR21]\]. Second, due to limitations of secondary data analyses, we are unable to access indirect costs associated with HIV, including loss of productivity and a decreased quality of life. As a result, the current findings cannot estimate the indirect costs associated with accessing and utilizing HIV care. Lastly, the current data, though sensitive to change over time, is pooled and therefore cannot be interpreted as representative of longitudinal trends.
Conclusions {#Sec15}
===========
Our estimates of cost expenditures associated with HIV care over a 10-year period show a financial burden that exceeds previous estimates of direct medical costs. However, these results do not consider cost expenditures that result from indirect sources, such as productivity loss and early disability and mortality. Though PLWHA are likely to incur greater healthcare costs over time due to prescription medication, the clinical benefits to the person, as well as the larger community, may be substantial and could lead to fewer viral transmissions, saving approximately \$230,000 for each averted infection \[[@CR5]\]. There is a strong need for investment in combination prevention and intervention programs, as they have the potential to reduce HIV transmission, and facilitate longer and healthier living thereby reducing the economic burden of HIV/AIDS. Future research should consider how socio-structural factors interact with demographic characteristics to influence HIV cost expenditures. With changing political climates, the outcomes of PLWHA might be greatly impacted. The Affordable Care Act (ACA), for example, offered substantial benefits to PLWHA, including: 1) access to private insurance coverage; 2) expanded Medicaid eligibility based upon income and residency; 3) elimination of annual and lifetime benefit costs; and 4) elimination of insurance companies abilities to deny coverage based upon pre-existing conditions \[[@CR22]\]. Recent efforts to repeal the ACA could lead to less healthcare coverage for PLWHA, especially childless adults and those at greatest risk for transmitting the virus, leading to increases in new infections and higher healthcare costs. It is therefore critical that public health researchers, advocates, and physicians partner with lawmakers to ensure that PLWHA who are most vulnerable to poor health outcomes have equal access to healthcare.
Not applicable.
Funding {#FPar1}
=======
This study was supported by Grant K24DK093699 from The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease (PI: Leonard Egede). The funding agency did not participate in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; and preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript. TR was supported by a training grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (R25DA035692).
Availability of data and materials {#FPar2}
==================================
The datasets generated and/or analysed during the current study are available in the AHRQ's Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) repository, <https://meps.ahrq.gov/mepsweb/data_stats/download_data_files.jsp>.
TDR and KGB wrote the first draft of the manuscript. KGB analyzed the data. LEE designed and obtained funding for the study. All authors approved the final manuscript.
Ethics approval and consent to participate {#FPar3}
==========================================
Ethics approval for the following study was waived.
Consent for publication {#FPar4}
=======================
Not applicable.
Competing interests {#FPar5}
===================
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Publisher's Note {#FPar6}
================
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
| |
(Ashe) Engl. & Graebn.
Southern Shagbark Hickory
Southern shagbark hickory is considered by some to be merely a variety of C. ovata, rather than an independent species. Detailed study of the two taxa has been conducted by Gibbon (1972). He found C. ovata to be associated with more acid soils, having a thicker surface horizon and coarser texture than C. carolinae-septentrionalis. Southern shagbark was found on soils formed from basic parent materials which were higher in calcium. This constitutes a level of ecological adaptation, one of the criteria of species status. The two taxa can be distinguished morphologically using the criteria given in the discussion of C. ovata. As in the other undisputed species, reproductive isolation has not been fully evaluated, but is implied by the occurrence of both types of trees in sympatric populations, despite the occurrence of occassional intermediates which are evidently hybrids. The distribution of the species is provided (distribution map). | https://cgru.usda.gov/carya/species/carolinae-septentrionalis/sepsp.htm |
The Incredible Power of Negativity
Negativity and negative conversations can have a huge impact on how we feel and act – both at work and in our home lives.
Let’s start with Negative conversations and consider what we can do and why, then move onto negative culture, environment and the impact.
I am sure we have all experienced a time when a conversation has gone like this
- Intro – 2 minutes
- Good stuff – 2 minutes
- Bad stuff – 30 minutes
- Good stuff – 2 minutes
- Bye
How did this feeling leaving the conversation? Terrible, right? What do you remember about the conversation? The bad stuff?
Of course, this is all you remember.
So we all agree this isn’t a positive conversation and doesn’t help get to the point we are all trying to achieve – a fun, exciting, supportive place to be – fulfilling our creative and intellectual needs and working towards a common goal. So how can we change, bearing in mind difficult conversations do sometimes have to be had?
- Before you start, think about the point you are trying to get across.
- Consider how you frame the point, the language and tonality you use plays a huge part in this.
- Don’t turn it into an argument, let the person respond and listen to what they are saying and the way they are saying it – use that emotional intelligence you have worked so hard on!
- Social summary of what they have said.
- Reply calmly, control the conversation and don’t keep hammering the point across – ask if they understand the reasons and the impact.
- How are they going to ensure changes are made and sustained? Discuss accountability and roles in the change, who is there to support them?
I think this covers conversations, how many times do you consider these points before speaking with someone? It is a conscious effort we have to make, recently I have stopped saying ‘No problem’ and started saying ‘Of course’. It completely changes the flow of conversation. If there is anything you want to add/discuss, let me know in the comments. With that, let’s move on.
Negativity breeds negativity. An environment as closely knit as a workplace (for example) can be hugely influenced by one or many team members. Negativity is a mindset which can be easily changed – if you know how. It’s up to every individual to demonstrate the positive behaviours they want to see and feel in their lives and the people around them. How?
- Language – The language you use on a day to day basis is a large representation of who you are. Change it up, be positive, be encouraging, be enthusiastic.
- Notice – Pick up on the great things people do, let them know they have done something awesome! It doesn’t have to be a huge gesture, a ‘well done, you made it really easy for that customer’ will do. Side note, it also really helps make the constructive conversations a lot easier.
- Reflect – take time out of the day to reflect. Reflect on your workday in the car before you get home. Reflect on what you have said, think about how you might have made another person feel.
By thinking about these simple steps you have already started to make a change in your outlook on life (well done!) The key point to mindset change though, is sustained. These points need to be practised and practised in order for them to be engrained in your behaviours. The great thing is, other people will notice your change and up their game to reflect you – its win, win!
Positivity in mindset, behaviours, language and actions can have a huge impact on our personal lives, business environments and the results we and our teams achieve. It would be great to hear the changes you have/are making to shift towards positive conversations and purpose and the results of this. | https://blue-sky.co.uk/blog/the-incredible-power-of-negativity/ |
The supreme wise king who returned from the journey of immortality.
In legends, he has been described as ｢the one who saw everything｣.
At times ruthless, at times approving of human nature; the great king of Uruk that strictly lead the masses.
Comment Manifested not as a tyrant, but in a condition where he grew up as a king after returning from the underworld.
Producing devices that carry magical power. Since he is not a magus, Gilgamesh originally would not possess this skill, but he has an ability equivalent to it due to the existence of his Noble Phantasm. All tools that can be created (that can be retrieved from the Noble Phantasm) are ｢items inside the Babylonian treasure vault｣.
the king still doesn’t feel like going to the cedar forest due the matter with Enkidu having a lasting effect on him.
Gilgamesh’s charisma as a wise king, who was said to be the most outstanding king of all. He possesses an extremely high charismatic nature that is almost like magical power or a curse.
A skill that denotes Gilgamesh’s way of being as a Caster that manipulates various mystic codes. Grants bonus to magical attacks. He will handle tools with care in case of fighting while being mindful about them. He was such a king.
Long-range bombardment from the citadel of Uruk. A prodigious cannon fire that concentrates not only Gilgamesh’s own, but also the total force of the people of Uruk that lived in the Age of Gods.
Mankind’s oldest King of Heroes, Gilgamesh himself. Differently from when he is an Archer, his way of being in this form is not of a hero that personifies raging power, but that of a wise king that governs the masses.
「Hahaha, that becomes clear as day when you look at the alignment!
Because he is attempting to protect his back even more than when acting as the King of Heroes, his meagerness during combat has drastically increased. | http://fate-go.cirnopedia.org/servant_profile.php?servant=145 |
---
abstract: 'We examine the possibility of observing gravitational lensing in the weak deflection regime by the supermassive black hole in the center of the galaxy M31. This black hole is significantly more massive than the black hole in the center of our Galaxy qualifying itself as a more effective lens. However, it is also more distant and the candidate stellar sources appear consequently fainter. As potential sources we separately consider stars belonging to the bulge, to the disk, to the triple nucleus formed by P1+P2 and by the recently discovered inner cluster P3. We calculate the number of simultaneously lensed stars at a given time as a function of the threshold magnitude required for the secondary image. For observations in the K-band we find 1.4 expected stars having secondary images brighter than $K=24$ and 182 brighter than $K=30$. For observations in the $V$-band we expect 1.3 secondary images brighter than $V=27$ and 271 brighter than $V=33$. The bulge stars have the highest chance to be lensed by the supermassive black hole, whereas the disk and the composite nucleus stars contribute by 10$\%$ each. The typical angular separation of the secondary images from the black hole range from 1 mas to $0.1''''$. For each population we also show the distribution of the lensed sources as a function of their distance and absolute magnitude, the expected angular positions and velocities of the generated secondary images, the rate and the typical duration of the lensing events.'
author:
- 'V. Bozza$^{1,2}$, S. Calchi Novati$^{1,2}$ and L. Mancini$^{1,2}$'
title: Gravitational lensing by the supermassive black hole in the center of M31
---
Introduction
============
As soon as the evidence of a supermassive black hole in the center of the Milky Way (identified with the radio source Sgr A\*) became overwhelming, the scientific community started to investigate its ability of acting as a gravitational lens for background stellar sources. The first work by @WarYus considered lensing of sources in the immediate environment of Sgr A\* and showed that the background sky should appear slightly depleted by a lensing effect. They suggested the possibility that gravitational lensing could be strong enough to generate an observable secondary image for several stars at a given time. More precise estimates by @Jar, @AleSte, and @CGM, point out that about 10 stars belonging to the Galactic bulge should give rise to secondary images with $K<23$ at a given time. Deep and high resolution images in the near infrared of the Galactic center are being obtained by several advanced observatories such as Keck, VLT, and Gemini North. The progress registered by these observations encourages to search for signatures of lensing effects by Sgr A\*. For example, identifying the two images of a background source [@Ale], or measuring the astrometric shift of the background stars due to gravitational lensing [@NusBro], could help to determine the position of Sgr A\* very accurately. Enhanced microlensing caused by black holes surrounding Sgr A\* has also been considered [@AleLoe; @CGM]. A fascinating possibility is offered by stars orbiting very close to Sgr A\*, which have now been followed very accurately across several years [@EckGen; @Genzel; @Ghez1; @Eckart; @Sch1; @Sch2; @Ghez2; @Ghez3; @Weinberg; @Eis; @Paumard; @Reid]. In fact, the precise knowledge of the position of the source allows to predict the time, the position and the brightness of the secondary image [@DeP; @BozMan1; @BozMan2].
Meanwhile, our knowledge about the central regions of the Andromeda galaxy (M31) has grown considerably. @Kent has provided a detailed brightness and density profile for the bulge and the disk of M31, which is still the reference for present works. @Lauer93 discovered that the nucleus of M31 is actually constituted by two components, which they called P1 and P2. @King95 noticed that P2 is much brighter than P1 in the ultraviolet. Then @Tremaine hypothesized that P1 and P2 are actually parts of the same eccentric disk orbiting a supermassive black hole, with P1 being formed by stars at the apocenter and P2 being formed by stars at the pericenter. Later on, @Bender05 discovered a bright cluster of young stars (named P3) embedded within P2. They also managed to give the most precise estimate for the mass of the central black hole of M31, $M=1.4^{+0.9}_{-0.3}\times 10^8$ M$_\sun$. Recently, @DemVir have cast doubt on the hypothesis that the P3 cluster is made of young stars of spectral class A5 – B5, proposing that it is actually made of old stars. On the other hand, @CMCQ have supported the young-stars hypothesis suggesting a mechanism for the refuelling of gas in the neighborhood of the central black hole.
It is very interesting to note that the supermassive black hole in the center of M31 is nearly two orders of magnitudes heavier than the black hole in our Galaxy, estimated to $3.6\times 10^6$ M$_\sun$ by @Eis. From the lensing point of view, the greater distance of M31 with respect to Sgr A\* is therefore partly compensated by the larger mass of its central black hole. This motivates a deep investigation of the probability of having stellar sources lensed by the supermassive black hole in M31.
Gravitational lensing effects have been successfully employed in several contexts as a tool to study the structure of galaxies, large-scale structures and cosmological parameters [@SaasFee]. As we will show in this paper, it is not unlikely that gravitational lensing by the supermassive black hole in M31 will follow the wake of its ancestors. With a conspicuous number of events it will be possible to undertake a precise reconstruction of the mass distribution in the inner core of M31. Gravitational lensing would then provide an independent and unbiased method to be crossed with other investigation methods such as object counting, spectroscopic or proper motion measurements and so on. Indeed the study of the physics of the core of M31 would greatly benefit from these new data, which will help to understand the physics of the stellar environment of supermassive black holes and possiblly shed light on the true origin of these enigmatic objects.
In this paper, we shall exploit the present knowledge of the bulge and the disk populations in M31 to calculate the expected number of simultaneously lensed sources for a given threshold magnitude in either the $K$-band or the $V$-band. We will also consider sources belonging to the central clusters, modelling P1 and P2 as components of a single eccentric system and P3 as a separate inner stellar cluster surrounding the central black hole. For each of the four populations (disk, bulge, P1+P2, P3), we shall present several probability distributions characterizing the properties of the lensing events. The paper is structured as follows: in § 2 we indicate our reference models for the source populations and describe their features. In § 3 we review some basics on gravitational lensing, with particular reference to the black hole in M31. In § 4 we present our estimates for the number of lensed sources at any given time for a given threshold magnitude of the secondary image. In § 5 we examine the contribution of sources of different magnitude to the total number of events. In § 6 we give the distribution of events as a function of the source distance. In § 7 we show the distribution of the angular positions of the images. In § 8 we present the distribution of their apparent angular velocities. In § 9 we estimate the rate and the average duration of the lensing events. In § 10 we discuss some issues concerning the identification of the lensing events. § 11 contains the conclusions.
Source populations {#Sec Source}
==================
Our aim is to calculate lensing probabilities for four different populations of stellar sources around the supermassive black hole in the center of M31, namely P3, P1+P2, the bulge and the disk. We therefore introduce specific models for each population containing information on their spatial distribution, kinematic properties and luminosity function, which are the necessary elements for the calculation of the lensing probabilities to be treated in the succeeding sections.
For all populations, we choose to normalize the spatial distribution $f_{P_j}$ to unity, so that the quantity $f_{P_j}(x,y,z)dxdydz$ represents the probability of finding a single star of the population $P_j$ in the space element $dxdydz$.
We shall present gravitational lensing probability estimates for hypothetic observation programs in the $V$-band ($\sim$ 0.55 $\mu$m) or in the $K$-band ($\sim$ 2.2 $\mu$m). The $K$-band presents some considerable advantages for this kind of research, since the interstellar extinction is lower in the near infrared than in the visible. In fact, in the $K$-band the total average extinction (M31 + our Galaxy) is $A_K=0.1$ [@Olsen06], whereas in the $V$-band we have $A_V=0.31$. The latter value can be deduced by adding the intrinsic extinction of the M31 galaxy $A_{V,\mathrm{int}}=0.12$ (half the value given by @Han, since our sources are close to the center of M31) to the foreground extinction $A_{V,\mathrm{ext}}=0.19$ [@Schlegel]. Moreover, large ground-based telescopes are optimized for interferometry in the infrared bands. In the most powerful configuration, they can reach resolutions of order the mas. Such capability would be very precious for the detection of secondary images generated in gravitational lensing events. Even the forthcoming [*James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)*]{} is designed to carry instruments for deep infrared imaging [@Gar]. On the other hand, the $V$-band is less affected by background noise. Furthermore, at the diffraction limit, the $V$-band enjoys a resolution 4 times better than the $K$-band, though large interferometers operating in the visible bands are still far to come.
In any case, by comparing the results in the two bands we get a much deeper understanding on the source selection operated by the gravitational lensing phenomenon. Since the stellar populations have different luminosity functions in the two bands, all gravitational lensing distributions look different, with some features exalted or depressed. This also allows a quick double-check of our results.
On the basis of this choice, we need the luminosity functions of each source population both in the $K$-band and in the $V$-band. In the $K$-band, this function will be expressed as $n_{P_j}(M_K)$, defined so that $n_{P_j}(M_K)dM_K$ represents the number of stars belonging to the population $P_j$ with absolute magnitude in the range $[M_K,M_K+dM_K]$. The total number of stars belonging to the population $P_j$ is recovered after integration on all magnitudes $$N^\mathrm{tot}_{P_j}=\int n_{P_j}(M_K)dM_K.$$
The same definitions hold for the $V$-band, with the obvious changes in the notation. The following subsections explain the construction of the luminosity functions and the choice of the spatial distribution for each stellar population.
P3
--
The cluster P3 was discovered by @Bender05 through spectroscopic observations using the [*Hubble Space Telescope (HST)*]{}. Although this cluster is embedded within P2 (see § \[Sec P2\]), it is characterized by a distinct stellar population and different kinematic properties, strongly indicating that it must be considered as a separate entity.
The characteristics of P3 are consistent with the hypothesis of a circular disk of stars in Keplerian rotation around the central supermassive black hole. In particular, @Bender05 used two models to fit the spectroscopic observations: an exponential flat disk and a @Sch79 triaxial model. The best fits were obtained with the flat disk or a thin Schwarzschild model, with axial ratio 0.26. As a reasonable synthesis of the models explored by @Bender05, we choose a classical thick-disk spatial distribution $$f_{\mathrm{P3}}(x,y,z)=\frac{1}{4\pi
r_\mathrm{P3}^2z_\mathrm{P3}}\exp\left[-\frac{\sqrt{x^2+y^2}}{r_\mathrm{P3}}\right]
\mathrm{sech}^2\left[\frac{z}{z_\mathrm{P3}}\right]$$ with the disk scale being $r_\mathrm{P3}=0.8$ pc and thickness $z_\mathrm{P3}=0.1$ pc. The inclination of the disk relative to the line of sight is $i_\mathrm{P3}=55^\circ$, similar to that of the system P1+P2.
The rotation curve of P3 is symmetric around its center, reaching a rotation velocity $v_\mathrm{P3}=618 \mathrm{~ km ~ s}^{-1}$ and dispersion $\sigma_\mathrm{P3}=674 \mathrm{~ km ~ s}^{-1}$.
For the luminosity function of P3 we have followed @Bender05, who use the synthetic color-magnitude diagram generated by the program IAC-STAR by @ApaGal. We have run this program with the same parameters, accepting the hypothesis that P3 was generated by a single starburst that occurred 200 Myr ago in a gas cloud with solar metallicity (see @DemVir for an alternative proposal). We adopt a @KTG initial mass function. The algorithm has returned us $10^5$ stars with $M_K<6$. Such a number turns out to be insufficient for a substantial covering of the giant stars branches. We have thus generated a second sample of $10^5$ stars with $M_K<1$ and combined the two samples with appropriate weights. The two samples are shown together in two different color-magnitude diagrams in Figure \[Fig LumP3\]. The cut-off at $M_K=6$ does not translate into a sharp cut-off in the $V$-band. However, the sample is completely unaffected for $M_V< 8$, which we take as our cut-off in the luminosity function in the $V$-band. It is important to stress that gravitational-lensing observations select very bright sources with much higher probability than faint ones. For this reason, we do not pay much attention to the completeness of our simulated samples of stars on the low-luminosity side. In the same way, issues concerning the lower cutoff of the initial mass function are not relevant for us. All gravitational lensing probabilities are practically insensitive to changes in the source distribution function at low luminosities. This statement is also supported [*a posteriori*]{} by the distributions presented in § \[Sec Mag\].
Note that the red giant branch (RGB) lies at almost fixed magnitude in the $V$-band, whereas it spans 6 magnitudes in the $K$-band up to the tip.
The normalization of our sample of P3 stars has been performed introducing a factor $N$ multiplying the total number of stars. The value of $N$ has been deduced by comparing the total magnitude in the $V$-band of our artificial set with the total magnitude of P3 as deduced by @Bender05, being $M_{V,{\mathrm{P3}}}=-5.7$. $$M_{V,{\mathrm{P3}}}=-2.5\log_{10}N-2.5\log_{10}M_{V,{\mathrm{P3-sample}}},$$ where $M_{V,{\mathrm{P3-sample}}}$ is the unnormalized absolute magnitude of our combined sample. Also this normalization procedure on the number of stars deduced by the total luminosity is largely insensitive to the abundance of low-luminosity stars.
Finally, the same set of stars has been used to build a binned luminosity function in the $K$-band and in the $V$-band, normalized in the way just described. The values of these binned functions are shown in Tables \[Tab LumK\] and \[Tab LumV\], together with those of the other source populations, to be discussed in the succeeding sections.
The different orientation of the RGB in the $V$-band and in the $K$-band is reflected in the luminosity function, which is zero in the $V$-band up to $M_V\simeq-2.75$, whereas it is already non-zero in the $K$-band at $M_K\simeq-9.75$. The $K$-band luminosity function clearly shows a red clump at $M_K\simeq
-3.75$, which is not as clear in the $V$-band, where it overlaps the stars at the turn-off point (TOP) of the main sequence (MS). It is worth noting that the real number of stars in P3 should be of order a few thousands, whereas we have simulated $2\times 10^5$ stars in order to have a statistically significant sample.
$M_K$ $n_{\mathrm{P3}}$ $n_{\mathrm{P1+P2}}\times 10^{-3}$ $n_{\mathrm{Bulge}}\times 10^{-6}$ $n_{\mathrm{Disk}}\times 10^{-6}$
-------- ------------------- ------------------------------------ ------------------------------------ -----------------------------------
-10.25 0 0 0 0.0054
-9.75 0.06 0 0 0.0054
-9.25 0.038 0 0 0.032
-8.75 0.04 0 0 0.07
-8.25 0.02 0 0 0.12
-7.75 0.024 0 0 0.12
-7.25 0.038 0.12 0.15 0.2
-6.75 0.07 0.54 0.68 0.98
-6.25 0.095 0.86 1.1 1.5
-5.75 0.097 0.9 1.1 1.5
-5.25 0.49 1.1 1.4 2.
-4.75 1.1 1.6 2. 2.9
-4.25 1.3 2.1 2.6 4.2
-3.75 11 3.5 4.4 6.8
-3.25 3.6 5.5 6.9 12
-2.75 0.091 5.2 6.5 12
-2.25 0.17 7.9 9.8 26
-1.75 0.18 34 42 124
-1.25 7.4 42 53 35
-0.75 17 26 33 38
-0.25 29 24 30 47
0.25 49 33 41 81
0.75 90 48 60 152
1.25 127 67 83 297
1.75 237 121 151 527
2.25 254 349 436 910
2.75 300 677 846 1550
3.25 309 1317 1645 2249
3.75 443 2272 2839 3375
4.25 555 3505 4380 4613
4.75 511 4027 5032 4436
5.25 752 4600 5748 6587
5.75 899 6754 8440 8272
: Binned luminosity functions in the $K$-band for P3, P1+P2, the bulge and the disk of M31. As each bin spans 0.5 magnitudes, the number of stars in each bin is just the tabulated value of $n_{P_j}$ multiplied by 0.5.[]{data-label="Tab LumK"}
$M_V$ $n_{\mathrm{P3}}$ $n_{\mathrm{P1+P2}}\times 10^{-3}$ $n_{\mathrm{Bulge}}\times 10^{-6}$ $n_{\mathrm{Disk}}\times 10^{-6}$
------- ------------------- ------------------------------------ ------------------------------------ -----------------------------------
-8.25 0 0 0 0.0054
-7.75 0 0 0 0
-7.25 0 0 0 0.027
-6.75 0 0 0 0.0054
-6.25 0 0 0 0.0054
-5.75 0 0 0 0
-5.25 0 0 0 0.022
-4.75 0 0 0 0.038
-4.25 0 0 0 0.054
-3.75 0 0 0 0.12
-3.25 0 0 0 0.25
-2.75 0.22 0.0052 0.0065 0.37
-2.25 0.74 0.062 0.078 0.84
-1.75 7. 0.32 0.4 1.7
-1.25 21 0.96 1.2 4.1
-0.75 22 2.5 3.1 12
-0.25 35 6.5 8.1 30
0.25 53 9.7 12 57
0.75 80 51 63 165
1.25 98 31 38 97
1.75 118 26 33 148
2.25 138 33 41 213
2.75 132 41 51 329
3.25 150 64 80 551
3.75 166 235 294 928
4.25 178 826 1033 1382
4.75 205 1021 1276 1542
5.25 223 1317 1646 1748
5.75 233 1512 1890 1932
6.25 247 1706 2131 2046
6.75 248 1754 2192 2073
7.25 258 1897 2370 2227
7.75 299 2253 2815 2609
: Binned luminosity functions in the $V$-band for P3, P1+P2, the bulge and the disk of M31.[]{data-label="Tab LumV"}
P1+P2 {#Sec P2}
-----
On a scale a bit larger than P3, the supermassive black hole in M31 is surrounded by two larger clusters, called P1 and P2. Actually, P1 and P2 are parts of the same eccentric disk orbiting the central black hole, with P2 being composed of stars at the periapsis and P1 by stars at the apoapsis [@Tremaine; @PeiTre].
The spatial distribution of the whole system was obtained by @PeiTre fitting the brightness profile of a simulated sample of $10^7$ stars with orbital parameters randomly chosen from some suitable distributions. We have followed their steps, simulating the same number of stars using the best fit parameters of their non-aligned model, which provides an excellent fit to the observed brightness profile of P1+P2. In Figure \[Fig P1+P2\]a we show the brightness profile thus obtained. For all the details relative to the eccentric disk model, the reader is referred to @PeiTre. To give an idea of the shape of the cluster P1+P2, we just mention that the scale of its extension is fixed by the parameter $a_0=1.37$ pc, its inclination along the line of sight is $\theta_i=54.1^\circ$, its thickness is roughly controlled by the combination $a_0\sigma_I^0$, with $\sigma_I^0=24.6^\circ$. For every star, the eccentricity is a function of the semiaxis of the orbit with several parameters. It is roughly peaked at $e=0.5$.
Binning our simulated distribution of stars, we then easily obtain the spatial distribution function $f_{P1+P2}(x,y,z)$, to be used in the lensing calculations.
In the kinematic calculations, since the stars behind the black hole are closer to P2, we have used the average rotation velocity of P2, estimated as $v_\mathrm{P2}=220 \mathrm{~ km ~ s}^{-1}$ with dispersion $\sigma_\mathrm{P2}=100 \mathrm{~ km ~ s}^{-1}$ [@PeiTre].
The characteristics of the stars composing P2 and P1 are quite similar to those of typical bulge stars. We have therefore used the bulge sample illustrated in § \[Sec Bulge\]. Here we just mention that we have normalized this sample in the $V$-band, using $V_{\mathrm{P1+P2}}=12.55$ mag [@PeiTre]. With this normalization, we have built the luminosity functions in the $K$-band and in the $V$-band, as shown in Table \[Tab LumK\]. Some considerations on these functions are included in the following section.
Bulge {#Sec Bulge}
-----
The bulge of M31 has been studied in great detail by @Kent, who traced precise luminosity and density contours. By interpolating these contours, it is possible to build a very accurate spatial distribution. We shall refer to this distribution as $f_{\mathrm{Bulge}}$. The inclination of the plane of symmetry of the bulge is $i_\mathrm{Bulge}=77^\circ$. The bulge is assumed to have negligible rotation and constant dispersion velocity $\sigma_\mathrm{Bulge}=160 \mathrm{~ km ~ s}^{-1}$.
In order to generate viable luminosity functions for the bulge, we have used the program IAC-STAR by @ApaGal in this case as well. In particular, following @SarJab, we have supposed that the bulge (and also P1+P2) were generated by a single starburst occurred 12.6 Gyr ago with metallicity following a closed box law $$\frac{dN}{dZ}=\frac{1}{y}e^{(Z-Z_0)/y},$$ with $Z_0=0$ and yield $y$ equal to the solar metallicity $Z_\sun
=0.019$. With these specifications, we have generated $10^5$ stars with $M_K<6$ and $10^5$ stars with $M_K<1$. Before combining the two samples, we have randomly removed stars at the lower end of the metallicity distribution ($Z<0.004$), in order to reproduce the data of @SarJab as accurately as possible. This additional cut has reduced the two samples by roughly 10%. Figure \[Fig LumBulge\] shows two color-magnitude diagrams of the combined sample of bulge stars. By comparing with the real ones studied by @SarJab, it is possible to appreciate the accuracy of our sample.
The luminosity profile introduced by @Kent is obtained in the $r$-band of the Thuan and Gunn filter set. Assuming $r-K=2.9$ [@Olsen06], we can directly normalize the luminosity function in the $K$-band and consequently in the $V$-band. The final results are included in Tables \[Tab LumK\] and \[Tab LumV\].
The bulge RGB lies in the range $-1>M_K>-7.5$. The TOP is at $M_K\simeq -3$ rather than $M_K=0$ as in P3. The red clump is peaked at $M_K=-1.25$ and is also evident in the $V$-band at $M_V=0.75$.
Disk {#Sec Disk}
----
The disk spatial distribution is modelled by $$f_{\mathrm{Disk}}(x,y,z)=\frac{1}{4\pi
r_\mathrm{Disk}^2z_\mathrm{Disk}}\exp\left[-\frac{\sqrt{x^2+y^2}}{r_\mathrm{Disk}}\right]
\mathrm{sech}^2\left[\frac{z}{z_\mathrm{Disk}}\right],$$ with disk scale $r_\mathrm{Disk}=5.5$ kpc, thickness $z_\mathrm{Disk}=0.3$ kpc and inclination $i_\mathrm{Disk}=77^\circ$ [@WidDub].
The rotation velocity of the stars in the disk is $v_\mathrm{Disk}=250 \mathrm{~ km ~ s}^{-1}$ with a negligible dispersion [@Kent].
The disk star formation history is quite different from the one followed by the bulge and presumably by the central cluster stars. Following @Hodge, @Wil and @Bel03, we take a simple Population I model with a constant star formation rate throughout the history of M31 and constant solar metallicity. With these assumptions, we have run the program IAC-STAR obtaining $10^5$ stars with $M_K<6$ and more $10^5$ stars with $M_K<1$. The color-magnitude diagrams so-obtained are shown in Figure \[Fig LumDisk\].
The normalization of our sample of stars has been determined comparing the total luminosity in the $R$-band to the total luminosity as indicated by @WidDub $R_{\mathrm{Disk}}=-21.4$. Finally, the correctly normalized luminosity function in the $K$-band and in the $V$-band have been included in Tables \[Tab LumK\] and \[Tab LumV\].
With respect to the other populations, the disk has a complete main sequence extending up to $M_K\simeq -7$ and $M_V\simeq -7$. Moreover, there are also some Red Supergiants (RSG) at $M_K=-10$ and $M_V=-8$. The existence of these supergiants mainly affects the $V$-band luminosity function, since it makes the disk luminosity function start at much brighter magnitudes with respect to the other populations. The red clump is peaked at $M_K=-1.75$ and $M_V=0.75$, though almost contiguous to the MS in the $V$-band.
Basics of gravitational lensing
===============================
In this section we shall briefly recall some definitions used in standard gravitational lensing. This will prepare the ground for the analysis to be presented in the following sections.
The supermassive black hole in the center of M31 can be modelled as a simple point lens, with mass $M=1.4\times 10^8$ M$_\sun$, placed at a distance $D_\mathrm{OL}=760$ kpc from the Sun [@Bender05]. We define the optical axis as the line joining the observer to the lens. For a source behind the black hole at distance $D_\mathrm{LS}$ from it, the lens equation takes the form $$\beta=\theta-\frac{\theta_{\mathrm{E}}^2}{\theta}, \label{LensEq}$$ where $\beta$ is the angle between the line joining the observer to the source and the optical axis, $\theta$ is the angle formed by the observed image with the optical axis and $$\theta_{\mathrm{E}}=\sqrt{\frac{4GM}{c^2}\frac{D_\mathrm{LS}}{D_\mathrm{OL}D_\mathrm{OS}}}
\label{ThetaEin}$$ is the Einstein angle and $D_\mathrm{OS}=D_\mathrm{OL} +
D_\mathrm{LS}$ is the distance from the observer to the source. As the source distances considered in this paper are at most of the order of a few kpc behind the lens, we generally have $D_\mathrm{OS}\simeq D_\mathrm{OL}$.
Solving the lens equation for $\theta$, we obtain the position of the two images $$\theta_\pm = \frac{1}{2}\left( \beta \pm \sqrt{\beta^2
+4\theta_\mathrm{E}^2} \right).$$
These two images are magnified by a factor $$\mu_\pm=\frac{u^2+2}{2u \sqrt{u^2+4}} \pm \frac{1}{2}, \label{mu}$$ where $u=\beta/\theta_\mathrm{E}$ is the source angular position normalized to the Einstein angle.
Figure \[Fig DiskRad\] shows the magnification of the secondary image as a function of the normalized source position. It clearly shows how the dependence of the magnification on $u$ changes from $u^{-1}$ to $u^{-4}$ as we go from the regime of good alignment ($u \ll 1$) to the regime of bad alignment ($u \gg 1$), the Einstein angle representing the scale of the transition between the two regimes.
When the source is far from the optical axis ($\beta \gg
\theta_\mathrm{E}$) the secondary image has very low magnification and becomes unobservable. Our aim is to determine the probability of seeing the secondary images of sources in M31, which will typically become observable when $\beta$ is of the same order of magnitude as $\theta_\mathrm{E}$. We then note that the angular separation of the secondary image from the central black hole is always of the order of the Einstein angle for $\beta \lesssim
\theta_\mathrm{E}$. The order of magnitude of the Einstein angle in the physical situation we are considering is $$\theta_\mathrm{E}=44\, \mathrm{mas} \left(
\frac{D_\mathrm{LS}}{\mathrm{kpc}} \right)^{1/2}.$$
The Einstein angle is of order $0.1''$ for sources as far as a few kpc, whereas it drops to a few mas when the source is closer than 100 pc. We can thus conclude that in order to observe the secondary images of sources closer than 1 kpc to the central black hole we need very high angular resolution, only achievable by interferometric techniques, such as those employed in the VLTI, Keck and LBT. This gives an advantage to source populations distributed on a larger scale (bulge and disk) with respect to the central clusters P1+P2 and P3. However, distinguishing a secondary image at $0.1''$ from the central black hole from other sources is by no means easy and certainly demands high resolution as well.
Since we are speaking about lensing by a supermassive black hole, it is interesting to check that the weak deflection paradigm holds for all the interesting events. Higher order images formed by photons performing loops around the central black hole show up very close to the black hole shadow border, which has a radius of $\theta_\mathrm{sh}=9$ $\mu$as [@Dar; @VirEll; @Boz1]. In order to detect such images, a much greater effort with respect to ordinary lensing images would be necessary. For this reason, we will not consider them in the present analysis.
It remains to check whether the secondary image can always be correctly described in the weak deflection limit. This can be verified by comparing the position of the image $\theta_-$ with the radius of the shadow border $\theta_\mathrm{sh}$. Approximating $\theta_-$ by $\theta_\mathrm{E}$, the ratio $\theta_\mathrm{sh}/\theta_\mathrm{E}$ gives an estimate of the error we commit by neglecting the next to leading order term in the deflection angle [@KeePet]. It is easy to calculate that the error is $2\%$ at $D_\mathrm{LS}=0.1$ pc and $6\%$ at $D_\mathrm{LS}=0.01$ pc. As it will be evident in § \[Sec Dis\], where we calculate the distribution of the events as a function of the source distance, only the low $D_\mathrm{LS}$ tail of the P3 distribution is affected by these errors and then only marginally. Considering the low relevance of this tail in the total estimates and the uncertainties in the P3-population modelling, we will simply ignore any strong deflection effect in our analysis.
Number of lensed sources
========================
This section contains the main calculation of this work, namely the number of expected lensing events at a given time for each source population around the supermassive black hole in M31. We first introduce the methodology that we have followed and then present our estimates for each population at the end of the section. We will focus on the $K$-band, with analogous considerations holding for the $V$-band.
Consider a source of absolute magnitude $M_K$. The observed magnitude $K$ is $$K=M_K+5\log_{10}\frac{D_{\mathrm{OS}}}{10\mathrm{~ pc}}+ A_K,
\label{Ko}$$ where $A_K=0.1$ is the extinction in the $K$-band [@Olsen06]. If the source suffers gravitational lensing, its secondary image has apparent magnitude $$K_{-}= K -2.5\log_{10}\mu_-, \label{K-}$$ with $\mu_-$ given by equation (\[mu\]).
If we fix a threshold magnitude $K_{\mathrm{thr}}$ for the detection of the secondary image, only the sources sufficiently magnified will have a secondary image with $K_-<K_{\mathrm{thr}}$. The minimum magnification needed to bring a source with absolute magnitude $M_K$ above threshold can be found by simply inverting equation (\[K-\]) with $K_{-}=K_\mathrm{thr}$ $$\mu_-=10^{-0.4(\Delta K-24.5)},$$ where $\Delta K = K_\mathrm{thr} - M_K$.
As the magnification is a function of the normalized source position angle $u$ through equation (\[mu\]), there exists a limiting value for $u$ (which we shall indicate by $u_\mathrm{Z}$) such that a source with absolute magnitude $M_K$ has a secondary image just at the threshold value $K_{\mathrm{thr}}$. This can be found inverting equation (\[mu\]) $$u_\mathrm{Z} (\mu_-)= \left[ 2
\mu_{-}(1+\mu_{-})+(1+2\mu_{-})\sqrt{ \mu_{-}(1+\mu_{-})}
\right]^{-1/2}.$$
Defining $\beta_\mathrm{Z}= \theta_\mathrm{E} u_\mathrm{Z}$, all sources with $\beta<\beta_\mathrm{Z}$ have a secondary image brighter than $K_{\mathrm{thr}}$. Finally, we can also define the radius of the lensing zone at distance $D_\mathrm{LS}$, as the radius of the circle containing the sources with magnitude $M_K$ whose secondary image is magnified above $K_{\mathrm{thr}}$. Of course, the radius of this circle is simply $R_\mathrm{Z}=\beta_{\mathrm{Z}} D_\mathrm{OS}$. For any value of the distance $D_\mathrm{LS}$, only sources with $r<R_\mathrm{Z}$ have an observable secondary image. As $D_{\mathrm{LS}}$ varies, we can thus define a lensing zone with radius $R_\mathrm{Z}(D_{\mathrm{LS}})$ centered on the optical axis and that contains all the sources with absolute magnitude $M_K$ that give rise to observable gravitational lensing effects. More explicitly, the radius of the lensing zone is $$R_\mathrm{Z} = 0.16 \, \mathrm{pc} \left(
\frac{D_\mathrm{LS}}{\mathrm{kpc}} \right)^{1/2}
u_\mathrm{Z}\left(\mu_-(\Delta K) \right),$$ which clearly shows that the radius of the lensing zone grows with the square root of the distance of the source from the black hole. The dependence on the absolute magnitude of the source and the threshold fixed by observations is stored in the function $u_\mathrm{Z}\left(\mu_-(\Delta K) \right)$. The brighter the source and the fainter the threshold, the larger the lensing zone.
The probability of finding a single star of absolute magnitude $M_K$ in the lensing zone defined by the threshold magnitude $K_{\mathrm{thr}}$ is obtained integrating the spatial distribution of the population to which the source belongs in the domain contained within the lensing zone $$\Pi_{P_j}(M_K,K_{\mathrm{thr}})=\int\limits_0^\infty d
D_\mathrm{LS} \int\limits_0^{R_{\mathrm{Z}}} dr ~ r
\int\limits_0^{2\pi} d\phi f_{P_j}(D_\mathrm{LS},r,\phi),
\label{PiPj}$$ where we recall that $R_\mathrm{Z}$ is a function of $D_\mathrm{LS}$, $M_K$, and $K_\mathrm{thr}$. In the evaluation of the spatial distribution one must take care of the correct geometric orientation in the space of the population considered, as specified in § \[Sec Source\].
Finally, the total number of lensed sources with a secondary above threshold is $$N_{P_j}(K_{\mathrm{thr}})= \int n_{P_j}(M_K)
\Pi_{P_j}(M_K,K_{\mathrm{thr}}) \; dM_K. \label{NPj}$$
Figure \[Fig NEvents\]a shows the estimated number of lensing events for each of the four source populations considered in this paper as a function of the threshold magnitude $K_\mathrm{thr}$. Repeating the same steps, we can get a similar plot for observations lead in the $V$-band, with a threshold magnitude $V_\mathrm{thr}$ as shown in Figure \[Fig NEvents\]b.
We see that P3 gives a practically negligible contribution. The stars in P3 are too few and too close to the supermassive black hole. The lensing zone is indeed too restricted at distances of the order of a pc to get a sizeable number of events.
The situation for P1+P2 is much better, because this cluster extends to larger radii and is more populated. However, we have to push the threshold magnitude to $K_\mathrm{thr}=27$ or $V_\mathrm{thr}=30$ in order to have at least one expected event. The estimated number of events for the disk is very similar to that of P1+P2.
The bulge is by far the best reservoir of good sources for gravitational lensing by the central black hole. The number of expected events is already larger than one at $K_\mathrm{thr}=24$ or $V_\mathrm{thr}=27$, reaching more than one hundred at $K_\mathrm{thr}=30$ or $V_\mathrm{thr}=32$. Comparing the plots in the $K$-band and the $V$-band, we can note that redder populations such as P1+P2 and the bulge are slightly depressed when going from the $K$-band to the $V$-band. The disk supergiants, not present in other populations, keep the the disk number of events higher at low values of $V_\mathrm{thr}$ with respect to the other populations.
Roughly, the plot in the $V$-band is very similar to the plot in the $K$-band, but is shifted to higher values of $V_\mathrm{thr}$ by 2.5 magnitudes. This apparent gap between the two bands is actually completely recovered when one compares the signal to noise ratio (SNR) in the two bands. In fact, a source with $V-K=0$ emits 5.77 photons in the $V$-band for each photon in the $K$-band [@5.77]. In the background-limited regime, the expected noise due to the 4 populations considered in this paper can be easily estimated thanks to the spatial distributions and luminosity functions introduced in § \[Sec Source\]. Indeed we find that for images with the same FWHM the SNR in the $V$-band is 2.5 magnitudes better than in the $K$-band. This justifies our choice to plot our expectations in the intervals $20<K_\mathrm{thr}<30$ and $23<V_\mathrm{thr}<33$. Furthermore, if the diffraction limit in the two bands is reached with the same aperture, one gets an additional bonus of 1.5 magnitudes for the $V$-band. However, at the present time, the largest interferometers such as VLTI, Keck and LBT are not designed for observations in the $V$-band and therefore only the $K$-band can take advantage of the resolutions available at such long-baseline facilities.
The expectations plotted in Figure \[Fig NEvents\] are also summarized in Tables \[Tab NEventsK\] and \[Tab NEventsV\]. Recall that these estimates give the number of secondary images above threshold simultaneously present at a given time. See § \[Sec Vel\] and § \[Sec Kin\] for a discussion on their evolution in time. It should be noted that the estimates presented in this section do not take into account the angular separation of the secondary images from the central black hole. § \[Sec Ima\] is devoted to that issue.
$K_\mathrm{thr}$ $N_{\mathrm{Bulge}}$ $N_{\mathrm{Disk}}$ $N_{\mathrm{P1+P2}}$
------------------ ---------------------- --------------------- ----------------------
20 0.032 0.0026 0.0036
21 0.086 0.0069 0.01
22 0.22 0.017 0.025
23 0.53 0.043 0.061
24 1.2 0.1 0.14
25 2.7 0.23 0.31
26 5.8 0.49 0.68
27 13 1.1 1.5
28 29 2.4 3.4
29 67 5.3 7.8
30 153 11 18
: Expected number of events for sources in the bulge, the disk and P1+P2 for different threshold magnitudes in the $K$-band for the secondary image.[]{data-label="Tab NEventsK"}
$V_\mathrm{thr}$ $N_{\mathrm{Bulge}}$ $N_{\mathrm{Disk}}$ $N_{\mathrm{P1+P2}}$
------------------ ---------------------- --------------------- ----------------------
23 0.0048 0.0013 0.00056
24 0.023 0.0047 0.0027
25 0.095 0.017 0.011
26 0.34 0.056 0.039
27 1. 0.16 0.12
28 2.8 0.43 0.33
29 7.5 1. 0.87
30 20 2.4 2.3
31 48 5.1 5.6
32 108 10 13
33 225 20 26
: Expected number of events for sources in the bulge, the disk and P1+P2 for different threshold magnitudes in the $V$-band for the secondary image.[]{data-label="Tab NEventsV"}
Magnitude of the lensed sources {#Sec Mag}
===============================
The number of expected events as calculated in the previous section is obtained by integrating over the whole range of possible magnitudes for the sources. It is interesting to evaluate the contributions of sources with different magnitudes to the final result. In Figure \[Fig dNdK\] we show the integrand of equation (\[NPj\]) for all four populations as a function of the source magnitude $M_K$ and the threshold magnitude $K_{\mathrm{thr}}$. For each value of $K_\mathrm{thr}$ the function $dN_{P_j}/dM_K$ has been normalized to unity. Figure \[Fig dNdV\] shows the same distributions in the $V$-band.
Schematically, we can say that low luminosity stars are more numerous, whereas brighter stars enjoy a larger lensing zone and consequently a larger lensing probability. The surfaces in Figures \[Fig dNdK\] and \[Fig dNdV\] are the outcome of the interplay of these two opposite tensions. At lower thresholds, the distributions are peaked on the most luminous stars. As we increase the threshold, less luminous populations become predominant.
As regards the $K$-band, in the distributions shown in Figure \[Fig dNdK\] we can clearly identify the tip of the RGB in the high luminosity peak dominating at lower values of the threshold. At intermediate values of $K_\mathrm{thr}$, the red clump gives the highest contribution. At fainter thresholds, the stars at the TOP become significant and finally overtake the red clump. It is interesting to note that the TOP peak gradually shifts to dimmer values of $M_K$ as $K_\mathrm{thr}$ is increased and less luminous stars of the main sequence come into play. In the disk distribution, the brighter main sequence stars and the RSG also contribute to the first peak at low threshold values.
In the $V$-band, the difference between the four populations is made more manifest. We can note that P1+P2 and the bulge are characterized by just two peaks: the one at higher luminosities is due to the red clump at $M_V\simeq 0$ and the dimmer at $M_V\simeq
4$ is made up of stars at the TOP. The RGB is almost horizontal and therefore there is no other peak at lower values of $M_V$. In P3 the red clump and the TOP give rise to two consecutive peaks at $M_V\simeq -1.5$ and $M_V\simeq 0$ respectively. As the threshold is increased, the distribution flattens because of the contribution of progressively fainter stars coming into play. The disk distributions start with the peak at $M_V\simeq -8$ due to the RSG, which are absent in the other populations. These stars give rise to the different behavior of the disk at low thresholds, already discussed in the previous section. At intermediate thresholds the red clump becomes dominant and is later followed by the TOP contribution, which first forms a shoulder to the red clump peak and then becomes dominant.
Another important point can be anticipated noting that the distributions for P1+P2 and the bulge are always practically identical. This proves that differences in the spatial distribution have very little influence in selecting the class of sources (luminous or dim) for gravitational lensing. This point will be better explained in the next section, where we show that the magnitude and distance distributions can be factorized in a first approximation.
As a final consideration, we see that the contribution of stars at $M_K\simeq 6$ or $M_V\simeq 8$ is always negligible for the thresholds considered in this paper. This provides an [*a posteriori*]{} justification of the irrelevance of the faint end issue of the luminosity function in our calculations, as anticipated in § \[Sec Source\].
Distance of the lensed sources {#Sec Dis}
==============================
The four source populations considered in this paper fill different regions of M31, at various distances from the center. It is interesting to calculate the distribution of the sources suffering gravitational lensing as a function of their distance from the central black hole $D_\mathrm{LS}$. Actually, since the distributions are spread over several orders of magnitudes in distance, we prefer to present the distributions in $\log_{10}D_\mathrm{LS}$. In order to get this distribution for each population, we return to equations (\[PiPj\]) and (\[NPj\]) and reverse the order of integration in $D_\mathrm{LS}$ and $M_K$ $$\frac{dN_{P_j}}{d\log_{10}D_\mathrm{LS}}\propto D_\mathrm{LS}\int
dM_K ~ n_{P_j}(M_K) \int\limits_0^{R_{\mathrm{Z}}} dr ~ r
\int\limits_0^{2\pi} d\phi f_{P_j}(D_\mathrm{LS},r,\phi).
\label{dNdDLS}$$
The distributions so-obtained are shown in Figure \[Fig dNdDLS\], after having been normalized to unity. The plots are obtained for $K_\mathrm{thr}=24$, but the distributions for different thresholds and even for different bands are practically indistinguishable. This is a consequence of the fact that the radius of the lensing zone $R_\mathrm{Z}$ is always much smaller than the scale of variation of all spatial distributions. Then it is possible to approximate the spatial distributions in the integrals (\[PiPj\]) and (\[dNdDLS\]) with the values they assume at the center of the disk of radius $R_\mathrm{Z}$ and replace the integral over $r$ and $\phi$ by $\pi R_\mathrm{Z}^2
f_{P_j}(D_\mathrm{LS},0,0)$. Since the dependence on $D_\mathrm{LS}$ in the radius of the lensing zone factors out, being always $\sqrt{D_\mathrm{LS}}$, the spatial distribution and the magnitude distributions are effectively factorized. This decoupling is not possible when we consider the angular position and the velocity of the images, as will be shown in the succeeding sections.
The maximum lensing probability is reached by P3 at $D_\mathrm{LS}=0.19$ pc, by P1+P2 at $D_\mathrm{LS}=3.7$ pc, by the bulge at $D_\mathrm{LS}=0.48$ kpc and by the disk at $D_\mathrm{LS}=1.5$ kpc. With respect to the other populations, the distribution of the bulge events is less localized and presents a first subpeak at 5 pc. This is a consequence of the fact that although the bulge is sharply peaked at the center of the galaxy, it has a long tail decreasing at a lower rate with respect to the exponential tail characterizing the other distributions. Moreover, the other populations are more or less flattened on planes that never contain the line of sight, whereas the bulge has a more spheroidal shape.
Position of the images {#Sec Ima}
======================
From the observational point of view, it is very important to determine the expected angular distance from the central black hole of the secondary images we are looking for. In practice, the choice of the facilities to employ in the search for these images is heavily influenced by the resolution required to resolve them. In this section, we derive the distribution of the secondary images generated by gravitational lensing with respect to their angular distance from the central black hole.
Suppose we want to calculate the fraction of sources belonging to a given population that generate a secondary image at an angular distance in the range $[\theta,\theta+d \theta]$. The angular position of these sources is determined through equation (\[LensEq\]) as a function of $\theta$ and $D_\mathrm{LS}$. We thus have to sum up the contributions of sources at different $D_\mathrm{LS}$. Considering that $|\beta(\theta,D_\mathrm{LS})|$ is a growing function of $D_\mathrm{LS}$, the first contribution comes from a source at distance $D_\mathrm{min}(\theta)$ such that $|\beta(\theta,D_\mathrm{min})|=0$. This distance can be explicitly calculated using equations (\[LensEq\]) and (\[ThetaEin\]). The last contribution comes from sources at the border of the lensing zone, whose distance $D_\mathrm{max}(\theta)$ is such that $|\beta(\theta,D_\mathrm{max})|=\beta_\mathrm{Z}(M_K,K_\mathrm{thr},D_\mathrm{max})$. This distance is also easily calculable (note that the absolute value is necessary because we are considering secondary images, i.e. images with $\theta<\theta_\mathrm{E}$). Finally, for each source distance in the range $[D_\mathrm{min},D_\mathrm{max}]$, we must sum up the contributions of all space elements lying on a circle of radius $D_\mathrm{OS}|\beta(\theta,D_\mathrm{LS})|$ centered on the optical axis at distance $D_\mathrm{LS}$ from the black hole.
As in the previous section, we prefer to calculate the distribution in $\log_{10} \theta$. Taking proper account of all the Jacobians, we have $$\frac{dN_{P_j}}{d\log_{10}\theta}\propto \theta \int dM_K ~
n_{P_j}(M_K) \int\limits_{D_\mathrm{min}}^{D_\mathrm{max}}
dD_\mathrm{LS} ~ D_\mathrm{OS}^2
|\beta(\theta,D_\mathrm{LS})|\left(2+\frac{|\beta(\theta,D_\mathrm{LS})|}{\theta}
\right) \int\limits_0^{2\pi} d\phi
f_{P_j}(D_\mathrm{LS},\beta,\phi). \label{dNdtheta}$$
Equation (\[dNdtheta\]) is for observations in the $K$-band. The distribution for observations in the $V$-band can be calculated similarly with the obvious replacements. Note that now it is impossible to factor the dependence on $D_\mathrm{LS}$, $K_\mathrm{thr}$ and $M_K$ as done in the previous section. As a consequence, the distribution of the angular positions of the images strongly depends on the threshold magnitude chosen.
In Figures \[Fig dNdthetaK\] and \[Fig dNdthetaV\] we show the distributions (normalized to unity at each threshold) for each source population and for values of the threshold magnitude ranging from 20 to 30 in the $K$-band and from 23 to 33 in the $V$-band respectively. The images of sources belonging to P3 have angular distance in the range $[0.0001'',0.001'']$, those belonging to P1+P2 appear at a few mas from the central black hole, those in the disk have angular distance in the range $[0.01'',0.1'']$, whereas sources in the bulge can generate images with a larger spread of angular distances, from $0.001''$ to $0.1''$. In general, as we increase the threshold magnitude, the distributions move to slightly lower values of $\theta$. This can be understood by the fact that lowering the threshold we accept fainter images generated by sources more distant from the optical axis, whose secondary images appear closer to the black hole. In practice, as a general rule, we learn that, in order to catch all fainter images one gets by performing deeper observations, one also needs better resolution. This shift is partly compensated by the existence of numerous intrinsically dim stars, which anyway need a very good alignment in order to generate a visible secondary image. These dim stars tend to keep the distribution at the highest possible value of $\theta$, essentially fixed by the Einstein angle at the typical distance scale of the population.
Apart from this general behavior, we can clearly identify some of the populations discussed in § \[Sec Mag\]. For example, in the distribution for P3 in the $K$-band we can clearly distinguish three peaks at high threshold, corresponding to the tip of the RGB, the red clump and the TOP from left to right. These peaks are more smoothed in the distributions for P1+P2 and the disk. In the bulge, the double peak structure is mainly determined by its spatial distribution, which presents a long tail extending up to a few kpc. This long tail is responsible for the peak at $\theta
\simeq 0.01''$. This can be seen by the fact that at $K_\mathrm{thr}=20$, at which we expect a single peak due to the tip of the RGB, we already have two evident peaks. Moreover, the same structure can be seen in the $V$-band distribution, notwithstanding the different magnitude distribution.
The $V$-band distributions appear to be less structured with just a very slight shift to lower values of $\theta$ with the increase of $V_\mathrm{thr}$.
Summing up, we note that imaging the central regions of the nucleus of M31 with a resolution of the order of a few mas, as could be possible with the Keck or the LBT, will allow to catch secondary images of sources in the disk and a large part of those in the bulge, provided one reaches a faint enough $K_\mathrm{thr}$ (see discussion in § \[Sec ID\]).
Velocity of the images {#Sec Vel}
======================
Up to now, we have just calculated the number of gravitational lensing events that are observable at a given time. It is very important to understand the timescale of the variations of the geometric configuration of such lensing events. In fact, the strategies for the observations tightly depend on these timescales and can be very different for static or nearly static configurations as opposed to events with any secular development. As will be discussed in § \[Sec ID\], the detection of the motion of the images might be of key importance to identify genuine gravitational lensing events. This section is devoted to the presentation of the distributions of the expected velocities of the secondary images below a given threshold magnitude.
These distributions are obtained by a Montecarlo procedure. For each value of $M_K$ and $K_\mathrm{thr}$, we have generated $10^4$ stars, randomly choosing their position within the lensing zone corresponding to these magnitudes. The velocities of these sources have been randomly extracted from a two-dimensional gaussian distribution centered on the rotation velocity $v_{P_j}$ with dispersion $\sigma_{P_j}$. The values of these parameters are specified in § \[Sec Source\] for each population.
Once the sources have been generated, we have calculated the apparent proper motions of the corresponding secondary images by differentiating the standard formula for the position of the secondary image. The result is
$$v_\theta = \left| \frac{d
\vec{\theta}_-}{dt}\right|=\frac{\sqrt{u^2+4\sin^2 \phi}}{2}
\left(\frac{1}{u}-\frac{1}{\sqrt{u^2+4}} \right)
\frac{v}{D_\mathrm{OS}}, \label{vtheta}$$
where $v_\theta$ is the modulus of the time derivative of the angular position of the secondary image, $v$ is the modulus of the transverse velocity of the source and $\phi$ is the angle between the velocity and position vectors of the source.
The image velocity decreases as $u^{-2}$ when the source is far away from the optical axis. In this limit, the secondary image is also very faint and close to the black hole. In the opposite limit, when $u\rightarrow 0$, the velocity diverges (except for the case $\phi=0$). This is very well-known in microlensing studies, as the secondary image moves very rapidly when the source is at the closest approach distance.
With the velocities of the images thus calculated, we have constructed the distributions shown in Figures \[Fig dNdvK\] and \[Fig dNdvV\] for the $K$-band and $V$-band respectively. The proper motion has been expressed in milliarcseconds per year.
The expected apparent proper motions of the secondary images cover a very large range. All four populations generate images whose velocities generally lie between $0.01$ and $0.1$ mas$/$y, with very long tails extending one order of magnitude above and below these limits.
Going from lower to higher thresholds, all distributions significantly drift to lower values of the proper motion. This is clear from the fact that, at bright thresholds, very good alignments generate higher velocities as it is evident from equation (\[vtheta\]) and viceversa. Then, going to fainter thresholds, the lensing zone is enlarged, and less aligned sources participate in the distribution pulling it to lower values of $v_\theta$. This is particularly evident in the $V$-band.
Thanks to the stronger dependence of the velocity distributions on the threshold magnitude, the internal structure of the four populations in terms of stellar components is made more evident. In the $K$-band we can clearly identify three peaks moving from right to left as $K_\mathrm{thr}$ is increased from 20 to 30. As usual, the peak on the left is due to the tip of the RGB, the central peak is due to the red clump and the one on the right is made up of TOP stars, coming into play at higher thresholds. In the $V$-band there is a first peak formed by red clump stars moving from high to low values of $v_\theta$. At high thresholds the TOP stars are able to form a shoulder and then a second peak on the right of the red clump peak. At low values of $V_\mathrm{thr}$ the disk distribution is influenced by RSG, which form the tail at small $v_\theta$. The contribution of RSG becomes subdominant already at intermediate thresholds, where it is taken over by red clump stars and finally by TOP stars.
Rate and duration of the events {#Sec Kin}
===============================
An interesting quantity for the definition of the timescale of observational campaigns is the rate of the events, defined as the number of new detectable events occurring per unit time. It can be calculated by $$\Gamma_{P_j}=\int dM_K ~ n_{P_j} \int\limits_0^\infty
dD_\mathrm{LS} ~ 2\int\limits_0^{R_\mathrm{Z}} dr
\frac{1}{2\pi}\int\limits_0^{2\pi} d\phi
~ f_{P_j} ~ \sigma_{P_j} ~ G\left( v_{P_j}/\sigma_{P_j}\right),
\label{Rate}$$ where $$G(x)=\sqrt{\frac{\pi}{8}}e^{-x^2/4}\left[(2+x^2)I_0(x^2/4)+x^2I_1(x^2/4)
\right]$$ and $I_\nu$ is the modified Bessel function of order $\nu$.
The combination $\sigma_{P_j} ~ G\left(
v_{P_j}/\sigma_{P_j}\right)$ is the result of the integration on the velocity distribution, again assumed to be a gaussian with dispersion $\sigma_{P_j}$ centered on the rotation velocity $v_{P_j}$. For further details on this point, see the appendix of @AleSte.
The function $G(x)$ satisfies the following limits $$\begin{aligned}
&& \lim\limits_{v_{P_j}\rightarrow 0}\sigma_{P_j} ~ G\left(
v_{P_j}/\sigma_{P_j}\right) =\sqrt{\pi/2}~\sigma_{P_j}\\
&& \lim\limits_{\sigma_{P_j}\rightarrow 0}\sigma_{P_j} ~ G\left(
v_{P_j}/\sigma_{P_j}\right) =v_{P_j}.\end{aligned}$$
Applying equation (\[Rate\]) to each of our four populations, we obtain the curves in Figure \[Fig Rate\]. We see that the more distant populations move more slowly and thus generate new events at a lower rate. For this reason the rate of the bulge events practically coincides with the rate of P1+P2, while the rate of the disk drops to levels comparable to those of P3.
Having calculated both the rate and the number of simultaneously present events, we immediately derive the average time spent by an event above threshold as $$<\Delta T_{P_j}>= \frac{N_{P_j}}{\Gamma_{P_j}}\simeq \frac{\pi}{2}
\frac{<R_\mathrm{Z}>}{<v_{\perp}>}, \label{DeltaT}$$ where the last equality holds approximatively and involves the average radius of the lensing zone $<R_\mathrm{Z}>$, and the average transverse velocity $<v_{\perp}>$.
The average duration of the events for each source population are drawn in Figure \[Fig DeltaT\]. It grows with the chosen threshold of the experiment. This is due to the fact that as $K_\mathrm{thr}$ is increased the lensing zone becomes larger and larger and the time required by the sources to cross it becomes proportionally larger (see the approximate expression in eq. \[\[DeltaT\]\]).
The modulation in the growth at intermediate thresholds in the $K$-band is again an effect of the presence of different stellar branches in each population. In fact, at low $K_\mathrm{thr}$ most of the events are due to bright sources in the red clump. Given their intrinsic luminosity, these sources generate secondary images that stay longer above threshold. At intermediate thresholds, there emerges a non-negligible contribution from fainter sources. These sources have a smaller lensing zone and their secondary images spend much less time above threshold with respect to the brighter sources. The distribution of the average duration becomes bimodal, with the brighter sources enjoying a long time above threshold and the fainter sources spending less time above threshold. The average time of such a bimodal distribution is therefore in the middle between the two maxima. As we increase $K_\mathrm{thr}$ further, the fainter sources dominate with respect to the brighter and $\Delta T_{P_j}$ is determined by these sources only. Then the modulation observed at intermediate $K_\mathrm{thr}$ in the curves in Figure \[Fig DeltaT\] is just the transition from a regime dominated by more luminous sources to a regime dominated by dimmer sources. In the $V$-band this transition is less evident.
Coming to a quantitative analysis of the average duration, we note that the events involving sources in the disk of M31 last up to several centuries. For the bulge the average time spent above threshold ranges from 50 to 200 years. For P1+P2 the situation is more dynamical, thanks to the higher velocities characterizing the stars very close to the central black hole. An observational campaign lasting several years could study the evolution of the secondary images already present and hope to see new events (if the threshold magnitude is sufficiently high). The average duration of the events involving sources in P3 is of the order of one year, but the extremely low rate of new events for this population leads one to discard it as a source of gravitational lensing events.
Identification of the lensing images {#Sec ID}
====================================
On the basis of the analysis given in the previous sections, it is time to set up a realistic methodology to select the candidate lensing images and test their authenticity.
As mentioned before, the most probable lensing events will involve bulge stars as sources, at typical distances ranging from a few pc to 1 kpc from the lens. In this configuration, the secondary images may form at an angular distance from the central black hole ranging from a few mas to $0.1''$. In order to get access to the bulk of the gravitational lensing events, it is then mandatory to employ interferometry. At this point, the question arises whether a secondary image of a lensed star can be distinguished from a background star unambiguously.
In this respect, it is instructive to calculate the expected number of background stars in an angular area within radius $\theta$ centered on the black hole. For a threshold magnitude $K_{\mathrm{thr}}$, only the sources with observed magnitude $K<K_\mathrm{thr}$ will be observable. This fixes a threshold on the intrinsic magnitude of the sources as $$M_{K,\mathrm{max}}=K_\mathrm{thr}-5\log_{10}\frac{D_{\mathrm{OS}}}{10\mathrm{~
pc}}-A_K.$$
The number of background sources is then $$B_{P_j}(K_\mathrm{thr},\theta)=\int\limits_{-\infty}^{M_{K,\mathrm{max}}}
dM_K \; n_{P_j}(M_K) \int\limits_{-D_\mathrm{OL}}^\infty d z
\int\limits_0^{\theta (z+D_\mathrm{OL})} dr ~ r
\int\limits_0^{2\pi} d\phi f_{P_j}(z,r,\phi). \label{BPj}$$
Actually, since the spatial distributions for all source populations are centered on the black hole and have an extent much smaller than $D_\mathrm{OL}$, we can take the approximation $z\ll
D_{\mathrm{OL}}$ and push the lower extremum in the $z$-integral to $-\infty$.
Let us imagine an observational campaign to discover secondary images due to gravitational lensing lying within $\theta=0.01''$ of the central black hole. Fixing $K_\mathrm{thr}=24$, the number of background stars in such area is $B_\mathrm{P3}=3.5\times
10^{-2}$, $B_\mathrm{P1+P2}=8.3$, $B_\mathrm{Bulge}=3.7$, $B_\mathrm{Disk}=1.1\times 10^{-2}$.
Our image will thus contain something like 12 stars within $0.01''$ from the central black hole. The first step would be to check for possible alignments between these stars and the central black hole. If we find that the line joining two stars passes through the central black hole, we can select these stars as candidate lensing images of the same source. Since gravitational lensing is an achromatic phenomenon, the two images must have the same color indices (unless there is reason to believe that the photon paths of the two images cross regions with sensibly different amount of dust). Therefore, false candidates could be excluded taking images in different IR bands and checking whether the luminosity ratio between the two images remains the same in all bands.
A further test is to take another image after several months or even the next year. If the alignment is just a chance product and one of the two stars has a high enough proper motion (which is likely to happen if the star is intrinsically close to the central black hole), then the alignment will be lost in the second image. Conversely, if the alignment is an authentic product of gravitational lensing, and if any evolution shows up, then the two images must move in such a way that the line joining them always passes through the black hole. However, as shown in in § \[Sec Vel\], the proper motion of the secondary images is typically below $0.1$ mas$/$y. Therefore, it would be improbable that the observed events show any evolution within less than ten years. Moreover, given the very low rate of new events, follow-up observations would make sense only if thresholds higher than $K_\mathrm{thr}=30$ are reached in the observations.
Our estimate of 12 background stars in an area of radius $0.01''$ centered on the black hole is based on our spatial distributions, which do not take into account a possible presence of a further cuspy cluster of stars internal to P3 and thus very close to the supermassive black hole. If such a cluster were present, then the number of background stars would sensibly increase. However, these stars would move very fast and chance alignments in a first image would be easily discarded after the analysis of a second image. As stressed before, the most delicate background actually comes from stars that lie along the line of sight but intrinsically far from the black hole and consequently have slow proper motion. We believe that the number of these stars is correctly estimated through equation (\[BPj\]). For completeness, we also mention that the estimate of background stars for $K_\mathrm{thr}=30$ yields 1600 stars and for $V_\mathrm{thr}=33$ gives 1320 stars.
As a final consideration, we note that the deformation of the point-like image of the source is of the order of $10^{-7}$ arcsec for the gravitational lensing events considered in this work. This prevents from using image deformation as a selection tool for lensing effects.
Conclusions
===========
In this paper we have undertaken a deep investigation of the possible observation of gravitational lensing effects due to the black hole in the center of M31. We have considered stars belonging to four different populations (bulge, disk and the central clusters P1+P2 and P3) as candidate sources. Through detailed modelling of the spatial distributions and the luminosity functions of these four populations we have calculated several quantities that can be used to quantify the power of the central black hole as a gravitational lens using present and future observational facilities. We have carried out our analysis both in the $K$-band and in the $V$-band.
The main outcome is the number of expected lensed sources at a given time whose secondary image is brighter than a specified threshold magnitude. The results are summarized in Figure \[Fig NEvents\] and Tables \[Tab NEventsK\] and \[Tab NEventsV\], showing that indeed we expect 1.4 lensed sources at a threshold $K_\mathrm{thr}=24$, 16 events at $K_\mathrm{thr}=27$ and 180 events at $K_\mathrm{thr}=30$. In the $V$-band we would have 1.3 events at $V_\mathrm{thr}=27$, 25 events at $V_\mathrm{thr}=30$ and 270 events at $V_\mathrm{thr}=33$.
We have also presented the distribution of the lensed sources as a function of their absolute magnitude, showing the contribution of different stellar branches as sources of gravitational lensing events.
The distribution of the lensed sources as a function of the distance shows that the disk stars are mostly lensed at about 1 kpc distance from the black hole, whereas the bulge stars can be lensed at distances ranging from a few pc to 1 kpc. The inner cluster stars are lensed at fractions of a pc.
This difference is reflected in the angular separation of the images from the black hole, which ranges from 1 mas to $0.1''$ for bulge and disk stars, whereas it stays of the order 1 mas or below for the inner clusters. The resolution needed to get a significant number of events is thus of the order of a few mas, requiring the employment of long baseline interferometers or extremely large telescopes. This justifies our choice to present our analysis in the $K$-band, for which the present infrared interferometers such as Keck, LBT and the future space telescope JWST are optimized. The VLTI, though representing the most advanced interferometer operating in IR bands, cannot observe M31 efficiently. The parallel analysis in the $V$-band provides a deeper comprehension of all the effects coming into play. In this band, the expectations for the number of lensing events are comparable to those in the $K$-band, provided that $V$-band interferometers are constructed in the future with sizes of the same order as in the $K$-band.
The gravitational lensing events discussed in this paper have a very slow evolution, with typical angular velocities of the images between $0.01$ and $0.1$ mas$/$y. We have outlined a possible observational strategy to select gravitational lensing events within the expected background stars, by checking the alignment of pairs of images, the achromaticity of the flux ratio and setting up follow-up observations to detect any secular development.
Our analysis can be repeated with different models of the source populations. Given the present uncertainties on the morphology of the components of M31, we believe that our estimates can be corrected by a factor of a few at most.
The chances for concrete observations of gravitational lensing events by the supermassive black hole in M31 are rather low (though not null) even with the best facilities available today. The perspectives will be definitely increased with the realization of future projects such as the JWST, the extremely large ground telescopes or the realization of new long baseline optical interferometers in the northern hemisphere. With such facilities it should be possible to reach the higher thresholds indicated in this paper while keeping a very high angular resolution. This would open the way to an intensive research of gravitational lensing events and to their use in the investigation of the environment of the supermassive black hole.
We are grateful to Gaetano Scarpetta and an anonymous referee for some fundamental comments which have taken to a consistent improvement of the manuscript. This work has made use of the IAC-STAR Synthetic CMD computation code. IAC-STAR is supported and maintained by the computer division of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias. The authors acknowledge support for this work by MIUR through PRIN 2006 Prot. 2006023491\_003 and by research funds of the Salerno University.
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This cooling process is simply based on evaporation which helps to lower the temperature.
The air current
The aim is to allow evaporation in a damp atmosphere which will be well ventilated.
If you hang a porous jug (also known as alcarazas) or a flask with a damp cloth around it in the path of an even air current you can lower temperature. This process is antique and was commonly used by our ancients.
In the ground
To keep your food in a cool atmosphere you will have to build a small refrigerator. Dig a hole in a naturally cool and damp soil if possible, make sure that the soil is permeable.
Look for places where the vegetation is dense, where the grass is greener or where mint, moss or rush grow more easily than grass.
Cover the bottom and the sides with a thick layer of green grass, moss, fern and pine needles that you will wet thoroughly.
Put the food in aluminium billycans or stainless steel. Cover with a canvas of green branches, loose enough to enable evaporation. The aim of that canvas is to protect from the sun and create a shady area.
As long as you keep the refrigerator damp it will work. If it gets too dry humidify the lot.
Drinks, fruits and vegetables can be easily kept that way !
Auteur :
Droits réservés (SdE n°165) / All rights reserved AGSE - translated from french by Pierre B. | http://scoutorama.org/A-natural-refrigerator.html |
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What is Vestibular Neuritis?
Contents
Vestibular Neuritis is also referred to as otitis interna and vestibular neuronitis; where the person can have feelings of sudden vertigo, possible hearing loss or a ringing sensation in the ears. It is a disorder that affects the vestibulocochlear nerve of the inner ear. This nerve plays a very important function in sending information pertaining to balance and head position from the inner ear, where impulses are interpreted in the brain once it reach there. It can become a concern when the nerve becomes inflamed for the reason that, it cannot be accurate anymore in interpreting messages reaching an affected person’s brain.
Vestibular neuritis and labyrinthitis are disorders closely related with each other in terms of how it originated and which part of the internal ear is specifically damaged, except that there is preservation of auditory functioning in vestibular neuritis. Vestibular neuritis involves swelling of only a branch of the vestibulocohlear nerve which is responsible for maintaining balance, while labyrinthitis affects both branches of the same nerve which is necessary for balance and hearing. The two problems are having similar symptoms; only that in labyrinthitis, there might be hearing loss or tinnitus.
Vestibular Neuritis Symptoms
The main characteristic of Vestibular Neuritis is a sudden, severe attack of vertigo. The first attack may last for 7 to 10 days, usually accompanied with nausea, vomiting and nystagmus. Some may have additional mild vertigo attacks that may be noted for several weeks and this can only happen when the head is changed from one position to another. This syndrome is observed mostly among middle aged adults, though it can occur with children after having a common cold.
Common signs and symptoms
- Sudden, severe vertigo that increases with head movement
- Dizziness
- Anxiety
- General ill feeling
- Nausea and vomiting
- Problems in concentration
- Rapid and undesired eye motion (Nystagmus)
- Common side effect
- Chronic anxiety often leads to heart palpitations, tremors, panic attacks, derealization and feelings of depression.
Vestibular Neuritis Causes
The specific causative mechanism of Vestibular Neuritis remains unknown until today. There are causes which are thought to be the possible reasons; however, there are some who manifest the condition and who does not have any of the signs listed earlier.
Common causes
Some research findings enumerated common causes of Vestibular Neuritis which are as follows:
- Viral infection of the inner ear
- Swelling around the vestibulocochlear nerve which is caused by a virus
- Viral infections occurring in other parts of the body
Examples of infections leading to Vestibular Neuritis
- Herpes Simplex type 1 virus
- Measles
- Polio
- Mumps
- Hepatitis
- Common cold or Flu
- Acute localized ischemia
Vestibular Neuritis Diagnosis
There is no specific test available to diagnose Vestibular Neuritis. Attending physicians utilize a method of elimination to be able to diagnose the health problem. Some signs of an inner ear viral infection are similar to those of medical problems; so that a careful examination is done to rule out other possible causes of dizziness which are related to a stroke, cardiovascular disease, head injury, allergies, neurological disorders, side effects of prescription and nonprescription drugs and anxiety.
Diagnostic procedures are done to evaluate the hearing acuity of the person and the presence of other symptoms. Those who have chief complaints of the manifestations mentioned earlier are best advised to visit an attending physician or specialists who can perform complete and thorough history taking before final evaluation is done to confirm the diagnosis. These specialists include an otologist, who specializes in ear problems; or a neurologist, who has specialty in checking for nervous system problems related to the ears. The diagnostic tests performed are:
- Hearing tests (Audiogram)
- Vestibular balance tests
- Vestibulocochlear damage tests, such as Vestibular evoked myogenic potentials
- Head thrust test to determine for presence of nystagmus
- Magnetic resonance imaging with dye, to rule out some disorders of the brain
Vestibular Neuritis Treatment
The main goal of treatment is directed at relieving the symptoms that it causes the patient.
Symptoms management
- Medications to control nausea and vomiting such as, Ondansetron (Zofran) and Metoclopramide (Reglan)
- Suppositories containing prochlorperazine for nausea and vomiting
- An intravenous line for rehydration purposes in instances when vomiting is severe and making the patient weak
- Parenteral medications are given as necessary
- Drugs used for dizziness are Meclizine (Antevert), Diazepam (Valium), Compazine and Lorazepam (Ativan)
- Some steroids are also used (Prednisone)
- For a herpes simplex viral infection, an antiviral such as Acyclovir is used
Physical Therapy Rehabilitation programs
- Head and eye movements
- Postural changes
- Walking exercises
- Rehabilitation strategies used are gaze stability exercises, habituation exercises and functional retraining
Others
It is necessary to treat an anxiety disorder and/or depression since anxiety affects the balance of the person.
Vestibular Neuritis Prevention and Complications
Vestibular neuritis is usually experienced once. Most individuals with the disorder recover fully from the condition with clinical consultation and with proper management done. Recovery usually takes from one to six weeks; although for those who have the residual symptoms, it may last for many months and even years. Referral for rapid follow-up care is needed to visit again primary care physicians, a neurologist, an EENT (eye ear nose throat) specialist for consultation and evaluation of signs and symptoms and to check for the effects of management done to patients.
The basic prevention of Vestibular Neuritis to recur is to follow the entire recommended treatment regimen, regardless of the causative factors. These have to be religiously done so that the patient won’t suffer the symptom-related complications such as fluid-electrolyte imbalance and some physical weakness due to prolonged immobility.
References:
- http://www.merckmanuals.com/home/ear-nose-and-throat-disorders/inner-ear-disorders/vestibular-neuronitis
- http://my.clevelandclinic.org/services/head-neck/diseases-conditions/vestibular-neuritis
- http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/794489-medication
- Neal Cherian, MD. Cleveland Clinic Disease Management Program. Dizziness. Accessed 5/23/2013.
- Timothy Hain, MD. American Hearing Research Foundation. Vestibular neuritis and labyrinthitis. Accessed 5/23/2013.
- Charlotte Shupert, PhD. with contributions from Bridget Kulick, PT. Vestibular Disorders Association. Vestibular neuritis and labyrinthitis: Infections of the inner ear. Accessed 5/23/2013. | https://ehealthhall.com/vestibular-neuritis-symptoms-treatment-what-is-causes.html |
When delivering training to a wide variety of veterinary professionals on how to support clients through pet loss, it is clear to see that the effects of pet loss are also significant to those involved in the process as professionals.
It is only in more recent years that pet bereavement support has been included in the veterinary nursing curriculum and still we see many veterinary professionals struggling to deal with a part of their job that is significant on a daily basis and yet a minor focus in their training. Having the responsibility of communicating and supporting traumatised and grieving pet owners is quite a weight to put on the shoulders of anyone who hasn’t received professional training in such areas.
In addition there are aspects of pet loss that can acutely affect those involved when they are part of the team responsible for completing the euthanasia. We often talk of responsibility grief in terms of an owner having to make that difficult decision to end their pet’s life but many of the emotional responses such as guilt, sadness, and anger may also be experienced by those who were present during the process itself.
A study by Vanessa Rohlf and Pauleen Bennett looking at a form of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in professions that take part in euthanasia concluded that occurrence was minimal (less than 15%). However, the fact that is might occur at all does raise the question of need for employers to risk assess in relation to impact on staff health as a result of working with euthanasia.
“A significant negative relationship was observed between satisfaction with social support and reported levels of stress, replicating previous studies indicating that social support acts as an effective buffer against stress (Cohen & Wills, 1985; Leavy, 1983). It was interesting that the highest perceived level of social support was attributed to pet animals, while the lowest perceived level of social support involved employers. Again, this is an area in which education programs for management may be required.
This study has several practical implications. First, it confirms perpetration induced traumatic stress as a valid avenue of study in animal workers. Although almost all of the participants did not report clinically significant levels of euthanasia-related stress, those who did clearly require further research attention. That some individuals suffer perpetration-induced traumatic stress and others do not indicates the importance of examining risk and protective factors. Second, this study confirms that social support and work experience are important determinants of how well animal workers cope with euthanasia-related stress. Third, the study suggests that recruiters should canvas concern about animal death when appointing new staff, so that appropriate stress reduction measures can be implemented as required.”
The full report can be accessed here at Animals and Society: http://www.animalsandsociety.org/assets/library/560_s1332.pdf
For information on training in pet loss support please visit our training pages. Whilst we are currently not taking enrollments on many of our courses following our organisational re-structure we intend to resume training activities soon. You can also access our pet bereavement support for veterinary professionals webinar series. | http://www.scas.org.uk/tag/euthanasia/ |
Team Building & Leadership • Training & Development • Strategic & Operational Planning • Client & Vendor Relationships Business Analysis • Resource Allocation • Cost & Quality Control • Budgeting • Facility Management • Logistics Management Production Control • Aviation Contingency Planning • Process Improvement • Regulatory Compliance • Status Reports Technology: SARSS, Fed LOG, SPBSR, ULLS-A, ULLS-G, PBUSE, AWARDS, Microsoft Office Suite.
Professional Experience
DYNCORP – Various Locations
Supply & Property Manager (Bagram Afghanistan/ Camp Behring Kuwait), 2015 – 2019
Managed supply chain, storage and distribution of $176M worth of goods across five sites across Kuwait and Afghanistan. Coordinated order cycle to maintain sustainability, and customer satisfaction. Monitored quality, stock levels, delivery times, and transportation costs. Organized warehouse, planned routes, processed shipments, troubleshot inventory issues, and ensured compliance with government regulations and contracts. Trained, supervised, and mentored property teams and tool room employees, creating metrics to manage performance. Tracked relocated equipment and personnel movement using TRMS / ASTS systems. Conducted audits for adherence to protocols and generated reports to track movement and tools due for calibration.
- Developed and implemented property policy involving retrograde, ordering, issuing, and unaccounted property.
- Consistently achieved customer reporting, cost, productivity, accuracy, and timeliness targets.
- Negotiated favorable terms with suppliers, manufacturers, retailers, and consumers, resulting in reduced costs.
- Provided training in areas of opportunity to allow each program to develop processes and training for new hires.
- Ensured 100% inventory across all five sites and collaborate with company and military on property accountability.
WOMAN’S HOSPITAL – Baton Rouge, LA
Warehouse Manager, 2008
Managed medical center supply chain and allocated resources including procurement, distribution, and inventory management. Contacted carriers and other companies to negotiate needed equipment, dispatch load, and update tracking system. Developed progress reports for GPS trackers to be distributed to drivers. Coordinated stock to ensure accuracy of product inventory adjustments.
• • • •
L3 COMMUNICATIONS – Iraq
Supply & Production Control Supervisor/Property Book Manager, 2005 – 2012
Provided support in areas of supply & demand, transportation, maintenance, and services. Coordinated contingency transportation support requirements and capabilities with other agencies using GTN, Cargo Movement Operations System, Global Command & Control and ITV system. Operated Material Handling Equipment including fork lifts. Ordered and received materials / equipment using SARRSS and documented policies and procedures.
- Developed improved new plans, policies, and procedures that increased efficiency and productivity.
- Responsible for the supervision, motivation and training of the maintenance personnel within the area of assignment
- Achieved financial objectives by proactive budgeting, scheduling expenditures, monitoring costs, and variance analysis.
- Responsible for ordering parts according to lead times.
HALLIBURTON (KBR) – Iraq
Warehouse Supervisor, 2005
Supervised terminal clearance trucking, materials receiving, storage, records maintenance, and customer service teams to ensure timely operational shipments and delivery execution. Used Army Container Management System, Global Command, Control Personal Computer, and Defense Messaging Systems.
Significantly reduced workplace accidents through effective training of warehouse staff in materials handling.
Responsible for coordinating daily, weekly and monthly scheduling of maintenance plans.
Analyzes maintenance repair specifications to determine tools, parts, and human resource requirements.
Monitors parts inventory levels to achieve necessary levels.
• Accurately verified materials against receiving documents noting and reporting discrepancies and damages.
• •
• •
• •
• •
Edward Bailey • Page 2
• • •
UNITED STATES ARMY – Various Locations
Installation Property Book Officer & Facility Manager, 1980 – 2005
Accountable for $1B+ of government installation property. Collaborated with US Military on projects, monthly invoice payments, contractual issues. Consulted with Federal supply on identification / classification for proper shipping, documentation, and packaging.
Assists Manager in interviewing, hiring, training associates, evaluating performance, rewarding and coaching subordinates
Managing a team of 8-10; hiring; conducting performance reviews; training/coaching; delegating responsibilities
Managing daily operations of end to end fulfilment process of receiving, put-away, picking and packing, shipping and
returns handling
Allocated resources and coordinated teams / third-party contractors to deliver projects on time and on budget.
Assist in the development and implementation of the annual management plan; accomplish key performance indicators as
identified by the Account Manager
Provide management and leadership to facility staff, including hiring and performance management
Develop and maintain a high-performance team including hiring, talent and succession planning, manager and individual
development planning
Manages supervisors including hiring, promotions, recognition, discipline, and performance management. Plans, directs, | https://ambayarea.com/resumes/edward-bailey-resume/ |
How many gibibyte in 1 byte?
The answer is 9.3132257461548E-10.
We assume you are converting between gibibyte and byte.
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The main non-SI unit for computer data storage is the byte.
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1 gibibyte to byte = 1073741824 byte
2 gibibyte to byte = 2147483648 byte
3 gibibyte to byte = 3221225472 byte
4 gibibyte to byte = 4294967296 byte
5 gibibyte to byte = 5368709120 byte
6 gibibyte to byte = 6442450944 byte
7 gibibyte to byte = 7516192768 byte
8 gibibyte to byte = 8589934592 byte
9 gibibyte to byte = 9663676416 byte
10 gibibyte to byte = 10737418240 byte
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The gibibyte (a contraction of giga binary byte) is a unit of digital information storage. It is equal to 1,024 mebibytes.
Note that this site defines the gigabyte as 230 bytes, equivalent to the gibibyte. Some sites define the gigabyte as 109 bytes to distinguish it from the gibibyte, but most users prefer the non-SI form.
A byte is the basic unit of measurement of information storage in computer science. In many computer architectures it is a unit of memory addressing, consisting of 8 bits.
Since computer memory comes in base two rather than 10, a large portion of the software and computer industry use binary estimates of the SI-prefixed quantities, while producers of computer storage devices prefer the SI values. This is why a computer hard drive advertised with a "100 GB" decimal storage capacity actually contains no more than 93 GB of 8-bit (power of 2) addressable storage.
ConvertUnits.com provides an online conversion calculator for all types of measurement units. You can find metric conversion tables for SI units, as well as English units, currency, and other data. Type in unit symbols, abbreviations, or full names for units of length, area, mass, pressure, and other types. Examples include mm, inch, 100 kg, US fluid ounce, 6'3", 10 stone 4, cubic cm, metres squared, grams, moles, feet per second, and many more! | https://www.convertunits.com/from/gibibyte/to/byte |
Registration in:
LC/L.2738(CRM.10/3)
Author
Montaño, Sonia
Rico, María Nieves
Institutions
Abstract
Includes bibliographyWomen's contribution to equality in Latin America and the Caribbean. El aporte de las mujeres a la igualdad en América Latina y el Caribe. La contribution des femmes à l'égalité en Amérique latine et dans les Caraïbes. A Comissão Econômica para a América Latina e o Caribe The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) has been monitoring progress of gender-sensitive public policies for more than a decade. Faithful to its mandate, ECLAC has proposed a rights-based development framework in order to produce positive synergies between economic growth and social equity in a context of modernization of production processes. In the last few years, the Commission has drawn attention to the need to upgrade social protection and ensure universal coverage, the fundamental aim being to establish a fiscal and social covenant which will allow access to social protection mechanisms underpinned by a solidarity-based system of financing. Against this background, Women's contribution to equality in Latin America and the Caribbean brings to the fore two key issues in the structural pattern of inequality between women and men: first, political participation and gender parity in decision-making processes at all levels, and, second, Women's contribution to the economy and social protection, especially in relation to unpaid work. At the tenth session of the Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean, as an indication of the progress achieved, the issue of parity will be analysed as an achievable democratic objective. Although there is evidence in all countries of the region of the considerable role played by women throughout political history and, above all, in the past twenty years, the statistics relating to female representation in parliament and in the executive point to the challenge that the political elites of the region must address in order to improve gender balance. The emergence of female leaders within the region, the increasingly independent electoral behaviour of women and the support received by women candidates from female voters are part of the new democratic landscape. Parity is one of the symbols of the new democracies and is presented as an ethical resource for strengthening the legitimacy of democratic institutions. Section one of this document shows conclusively that women, while accounting for half of the population, have very low rates of representation in most parliaments. Similar discrepancies are visible in the other powers of the State and at decision-making levels as a whole. While the right to vote was won over a period of three decades, between the 1920s and the 1960s, it took almost fifty years to establish Women's right to be actually elected and only in the last few years of the twentieth century was there any significant increase in the number of women elected to public office, mainly thanks to affirmative action, including quota laws, which fortunately have been gaining ground. All the countries that have adopted quota laws have had positive results, as proven by the fact that in some of them the proportion of women elected to public office has increased to around 40%. However, different studies show that, in addition to electoral system reforms, a number of aspects of the political culture which cause discriminatory biases need to be changed. These include inequitable access to financing, the unequal influence of social networks and unfair use of time, which, as shown in the second section of this study, constrains women to focus on reproductive tasks. In the region, Women's labour income is equivalent to 70% that of men. Despite this disadvantage, Women's contribution is fundamental for alleviating poverty, whether they earn a monetary income or contribute to the home through unremunerated labour; indeed, this contribution becomes a reproductive tax, permitting savings on health costs, childcare and care for older persons in the family, to cite just the most obvious examples. As this study demonstrates, this contribution by women to wellbeing becomes the source of the disadvantages they suffer when they seek to join the labour force in an effort to gain economic independence. The situation is even more serious in the case of women with partners and small children to take care of who are forced to put off further training and access to the labour market and who, as a result, have to do without the social protection that is part and parcel of this labour market. The results obtained in five countries of the region demonstrate that men spend almost the same number of hours on unpaid housework, whether or not there is a "homemaker". On the other hand, for the women of these same households, there is an important difference: the fact that another person carries out domestic chores reduces substantially the time that they spend on such chores. All women, irrespective of their employment status, devote a significant amount of time to caregiving, which proves how inappropriate it is to describe a homemaker as "non-working". The difficulty experienced by women in finding a suitable position in the labour market extends to their life as citizens and the world of politics in which, as already mentioned, notwithstanding some advances in the past decade, they have achieved a minority representation in parliament, in the executive branch and in other powers of the State. This document highlights the possibilities of generating virtuous circles that favour universal access to social protection, provided that policies are implemented to promote equality in the labour market, the family and politics. A number of countries have made commendable efforts in this direction. According to available information, only measures geared explicitly to achieving equality in the public and private spheres will be successful in achieving the Millennium Development Goals and particularly, goal 3, which is to promote gender equality and empower women. Women's contribution to equality in Latin America and the Caribbean sets out active policies for overcoming the obstacles to equitable access to the labour market, especially those arising from the sexual division of labour which has become established through usage and the frequent discriminatory practices observed on the labour market. The abundant quantitative evidence collected and analysed points conclusively to the need for policies that foster shared responsibility between men and women in caring for members of the household, especially children, as well as for more comprehensive public action (by the State and the business sector) to facilitate the work of caring for the sick, older persons and the disabled. Lastly, it should be noted that this document is part of a long ECLAC tradition which has sought to promote genuine gender equality within the framework of its efforts to reduce inequity in the different spheres of economic, social and political life in our region. | http://repositorioslatinoamericanos.uchile.cl/handle/2250/2266310 |
Our Library provides access to digital resources critical for helping our students research subjects and complete assignments.
Enrolled for-credit students have full access to Signum’s digital library resources, including a number of subscription-based journals and other materials. (Students must be logged in to access these materials.)
In addition, our librarians have produced a number of research guides to provide help in locating resources related to the core courses offered by Signum, including literature and language study. As Signum University expands its range, so will the research guides provided by the Library.
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A common concern is whether students will have access to the instructors in online education. At a traditional college or university, many professors establish “office hours” when students can stop by to ask questions, clarify assignments, and receive additional recommendations for further readings or research.
Signum University’s instructors and preceptors establish dedicated times for each course when students can connect directly with lecturers and preceptors to ask questions, clarify ideas, and discuss paper topics.
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Our Community Hearth provides helpful information and videos on a variety of topics, such as how to access Signum’s digital campus from various devices (e.g., laptop, tablet, mobile devices) and expectations on how to write papers for Signum’s intensive degree programs.
The Community Hearth also provides a general “Student Lounge” forum where students and auditors can connect about any topic they choose related to Signum courses, events, and other aspects of interest to the student body. Many students share papers, insights from their classes, and information about upcoming events and gatherings that may be of interest.
Writer’s Forge
As part of our commitment to supporting students, auditors, and others in their academic and literary pursuits, Signum University offers Writer’s Forge to help anybody who wants to up their academic writing game, get feedback on their creative writing approaches, or talk through a particular project.
This program is open to all members of the Signum community, including current M.A. or Graduate Diploma students, auditors, Path clients, SPACE explorers, and participants in any of our public programs like Signum Symposia or the Mythgard Academy. Members of the general public are also encouraged to hire a Wordsmith to assist them with revising academic, creative, personal, professional, and popular writing of all kinds.
A Note About Times (and Time Zones)
Students from all over the world may enroll in courses at Signum University. Obviously, the differences in the times of availability and time zones in which our students and professors are operating create some logistical challenges. Our official “Signum time” is the Eastern time zone, based in New Hampshire, United States.
All students and auditors will be asked to inform us of their time zone and the times of day in their local time when class attendance would be possible for them.
For students, different discussion sessions will meet at different times of day, and we will do everything we can to ensure that individuals are assigned to sessions that meet at a time convenient for them.
Depending on enrollment, the professor may deliver lectures at different times. Those who cannot attend lectures live will still be able to download recordings of the sessions. | https://signumuniversity.org/degree-programs/graduate/current-students/ |
This invention relates to a permanent magnet type stepping motor, and more particularly to a permanent magnet type stepping motor adapted to exhibit increased rotational angle accuracy and static angle accuracy and minimize a reduction in static torque.
A typical two-phase permanent magnet type stepping motor which has been conventionally known in the art is generally constructed in such a manner as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, wherein FIG. 4 is a development view of the stepping motor and FIG. 5 shows relationship between pole teeth of a stator and magnetic poles of a rotor.
In FIG. 4, reference numeral 1 designates a rotor including a cylindrical permanent magnet element 7 securely mounted on a cylindrical bushing 5 fixed on a revolving shaft 3. The revolving shaft 3 is supported by two bearings (not shown). The permanent magnet element 7 is constructed into a cylindrical configuration so as to permit n (n: a positive integer of 4 or more) N magnetic poles and n S magnetic poles to alternately appear at equal pitches thereon in a circumferential direction of the revolving shaft 3. The conventional stepping motor also includes a stator 9 arranged on an outer periphery of the rotor 1 while being mounted in a housing (not shown). The stator 9 includes a first claw pole type yoke unit 11 and a second claw pole type yoke unit 25. The first and second claw pole type yoke units 11 and 25 are arranged in juxtaposition to each other in an axial direction of the revolving shaft 3. The first and second claw pole type yoke units 11 and 25 are shifted from each other in the circumferential direction by a distance one quarter (xc2xc) as large as predetermined pitches P between the magnetic poles of the permanent magnet element 7. The first claw pole type yoke unit 11 includes a first yoke 13 and a second yoke 17 respectively including n pole teeth .15 and 19 arranged opposite to the permanent magnet element 7 at a predetermined interval in a radial direction of the revolving shaft 3 and positioned at predetermined pitches P in the circumferential direction. The first claw pole type yoke unit 11 also includes an exciting winding 21 constructed so as to permit the n pole teeth 15 of the first yoke 13 and the n pole teeth 19 of the second yoke 17 to be excited at polarities different from each other, respectively. The exciting winding 21 is wound on a bobbin 23.
The second claw pole yoke unit 25 likewise includes a first yoke 27 and a second yoke 31 respectively including n pole teeth 29 and 33 arranged opposite to the permanent magnet element 7 at a predetermined interval in the radial direction of the revolving shaft 3 and positioned at predetermined pitches P in the circumferential direction. The second claw pole type yoke unit 25 also includes an exciting winding 35 constructed so as to permit the n pole teeth 29 of the first yoke 27 and the n pole teeth 33 of the second yoke 31 to be excited at polarities different from each other, respectively. The exciting winding 35 is likewise wound on a bobbin 37.
In the conventional permanent magnet type stepping motor thus constructed, as shown in FIG. 5, the pitch P between each adjacent two of the pole teeth 15, that between each adjacent two of the pole teeth 19, that between each adjacent two of the pole teeth 29, that between each adjacent two of the pole teeth 33, and that between two magnetic poles of the permanent magnet element 7 are typically set to be identical with each other or to have the same angle.
Unfortunately, the conventional permanent magnet type stepping motor thus constructed is deteriorated in rotational angle accuracy and static angle accuracy as compared with a hybrid type stepping motor. In order to eliminate such a problem, a variety of techniques were proposed as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 245929/1995, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 245930/1995, Japanese Patent Application laid-Open Publication No. 127024/1998, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 248232/1998 and the like. The techniques proposed are generally constructed so as to vary a configuration of pole teeth or shift one of two yokes from the other yoke at a predetermined pitch in a circumferential direction of a revolving shaft, to thereby reduce a detent torque, resulting in eliminating the above-described problem. Alternatively, in the proposed techniques, it is employed that a correction pole magnet of a phase opposite to a high frequency contained in electromotive force induced due to relative movement between a rotor and a stator is arranged on a magnetic pole of the rotor to suppress a high-frequency component, to thereby eliminate the problem. In the prior art, pitches between pole teeth of each of yokes of claw pole type yoke units are rendered constant.
As described above, those skilled in the art attempted to solve the above-described problem while rendering the pitches between the pole teeth of each of the yokes of the claw pole type yoke units constant. However, this fails to increase rotational angle accuracy and static angle accuracy. Also, the conventional rotor having the correction magnetic poles provided thereon causes a problem of substantially reducing a composite or synthesized static torque.
The present invention has been made in view of the foregoing disadvantage of the prior art.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a permanent magnet type stepping motor which is capable of exhibiting both increased rotational angle accuracy and static angle accuracy and minimizing a reduction in static torque.
In accordance with the present invention, a permanent magnet type stepping motor is provided. The permanent magnet type stepping motor includes a rotor having a permanent magnet element fixed on a revolving shaft and a stator including two or more claw pole type yoke units juxtaposed to each other in an axial direction thereof. The permanent magnet element is constructed into a cylindrical configuration so as to permit n (n: a positive integer of 4 or more) N magnetic poles and n S magnetic poles to alternately appear at equal pitches thereon in a circumferential direction of the revolving shaft. The claw pole type yoke units each include first and second yokes and an exciting winding. The first and second yokes each include n pole teeth arranged opposite to the permanent magnet element at a predetermined interval in a radial direction of the revolving shaft and positioned at predetermined pitches in the circumferential direction. The exciting winding is constructed so as to permit the n pole teeth of the first yoke and the n pole teeth of the second yoke to be excited at polarities different from each other. The first and second yokes are combined with each other so that the n pole teeth of the first yoke and the n pole teeth of the second yoke are engaged with each other while being kept from being contacted with each other or are alternated with each other while being kept uncontacted with each other.
In the present invention, the respective adjacent two pole teeth of the claw pole yoke unit are arranged at constant pitches. Supposing that a magnetic pole center-magnetic pole center length between each adjacent two magnetic poles of the n N magnetic poles or n S magnetic poles of the rotor is defined to be one pitch (xe2x80x9cpitch between centers of homopolar magnetic polesxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cmagnetic pole center-magnetic pole center pitch between homopolar magnetic polesxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9chomopolar magnetic pole center-magnetic pole center pitchxe2x80x9d) or a sum of magnetic pole widths of the N and S magnetic poles adjacent to each other is defined to be one pitch (xe2x80x9cheteropolar magnetic pole width pitchxe2x80x9d), the pitches are not defined to be constant at 360xc2x0/n but defined to be two or more pitches different from each other which are within a range of between more than 270xc2x0/n and less than 450xc2x0/n. It is a matter of course that a sum of 2n pitches between the respective adjacent two magnetic poles of the 2n magnetic poles is 360xc2x0. Also, magnetic center-magnetic center pitches between the respective adjacent two magnetic poles of the rotor are not defined to be constant at 180xc2x0/n but defined to be two or more pitches different from each other which are between more than 135xc2x0/n and less than 225xc2x0/n.
Basically, the present invention is featured in that the above-described homopolar magnetic pole center-magnetic pole center pitch or heteropolar magnetic pole width pitch and the magnetic center-magnetic center pitch between the adjacent two magnetic poles of the rotor are varied within the above-described angular range while keeping the pitch between the pole teeth of the yokes of the claw pole type yoke unit constant. When the pitch between the pole teeth of each of the yokes of the claw pole type yoke unit is rendered constant as in the prior art, a phase of a partial static torque partially occurring between the pitches or a phase from a viewpoint of an electrical angle is caused to be identical. In the prior art, it is attempted to vary a configuration of the pole teeth to vary characteristics of the partial static torque and a configuration thereof, resulting in approaching a synthesized static torque which is obtained due to synthesis of a plurality of partial static torques to a sinusoidal wave. On the contrary, in the present invention, the pitch between the pole teeth of the two yokes adjacent to each other is rendered constant, whereas the magnetic center-magnetic center pitch between adjacent two magnetic poles of the rotor and the homopolar magnetic pole center-magnetic pole center pitch or heteropolar magnetic pole width pitch is shifted to shift a phase of each of the partial static torques, to thereby approach characteristics of the synthesized static torque to a sinusoidal wave.
Basically, so long as such construction permits characteristics of the synthesized static torque to be approached to a sinusoidal wave or attains a reduction in detent torque and an increase in rotational angle accuracy and static angle accuracy as compared with the case that the pitch between the magnetic poles of the rotor is constant, a manner of arrangement of the 2n pitches, n homopolar magnetic pole center-magnetic pole center pitch or heteropolar magnetic pole width pitch or a pitch pattern thereof may be varied as desired. Although an arrangement manner or a pitch pattern which leads to the best results has not been found yet, the inventors have found that a variation in pitches within the above-described conditions or ranges permits a specific harmonic component to be reduced or removed, leading to an improvement in characteristics of the synthesized static torque as compared with the prior art. The construction of the present invention that the pitches between the respective adjacent two magnetic poles of the rotor are rendered nonconstant permits a variety of pitch patterns to be employed unless magnetic balance of the stator is highly deteriorated or so long as the magnetic balance is somewhat ensured.
Now, preferred pitch patterns of the rotor which have been found up to date will be exemplified.
In a first pitch pattern, the rotor includes homopolar magnetic poles of n/m (m: a divisor of n other than 1 and n) in each of angular ranges (mechanical angles) of 360xc2x0/n. Also, in the first pitch pattern, a magnetic center-magnetic center pitch between each adjacent two of the n/m homopolar magnetic poles positioned in each of the angular ranges and a magnetic center-magnetic center pitch between each two homopolar poles positioned on each of both sides of adjacent two of the angular ranges are rendered different from each other in order to reduce a detent torque to increase rotational angle accuracy and static angle accuracy and minimize a reduction in static torque. In order to facilitate design of the permanent magnet type stepping motor and manufacturing thereof when the first pitch pattern is employed, the present invention may be constructed in such a manner that the magnetic center-magnetic center pitch between adjacent two of the n/m homopolar magnetic poles positioned in each of the angular ranges is constant and the magnetic center-magnetic center pitch between each two homopolar poles positioned on each of both sides of adjacent two of the angular ranges is constant.
In a second pitch pattern, the rotor includes n magnetic pole pairs each constituted by two heteropolar magnetic poles adjacent to each other. Also, in the second pitch pattern, respective two sets of magnetic pole pairs which are arranged adjacent to each other at every third interval have heteropolar magnetic pole width pitches defined to be different from those of respective two sets of the remaining magnetic pole pairs arranged adjacent to each other at every third interval.
A variation in pitch between the magnetic poles of the rotor when the above-described first pitch pattern is employed may be carried out using any one of two magnetic pole arrangement manners. In a first magnetic pole arrangement manner, the pitch a is reduced as compared with an equal arrangement pitch (360xc2x0/n). This is referred to as xe2x80x9cshort pitch arrangement mannerxe2x80x9d. In the short pitch arrangement manner, the magnetic center-magnetic center pitch a between each two of the n/m homopolar magnetic poles positioned in each of the angular ranges is defined to be within a range of (90xc2x0/n)[4xe2x88x92m/(nxe2x88x92m)] less than a less than (360xc2x0/n). Also, the magnetic center-magnetic center pitch b between each adjacent two of the magnetic poles positioned on each of both sides of each adjacent two of the angular ranges is defined to be within a range of (360xc2x0/n) less than b less than (450xc2x0/n). In the first arrangement manner, the pitch a is reduced as compared with the conventional pitch 360xc2x0/n and the pitch b is larger than the pitch 360xc2x0/n.
In a second magnetic pole arrangement manner, the pitch a is set to be larger than the equal arrangement pitch 360xc2x0/n. This is referred to as xe2x80x9clong pitch arrangement mannerxe2x80x9d. In the long pitch arrangement manner, the magnetic center-magnetic center pitch a between each adjacent two of the n/m homopolar magnetic poles positioned in each of the angular ranges is defined to be within a range of (45xc2x0/n)[4+m/(nxe2x88x92m)] greater than a greater than (180xc2x0/n) and the magnetic center-magnetic center pitch b between each adjacent two of the homopolar magnetic poles positioned on each of both sides of a boundary between each adjacent two of the angular ranges is defined to be within a range of (180xc2x0/n) greater than b greater than (90xc2x0/n).
In the second magnetic pole arrangement manner, the pitch a is increased as compared with the conventional pitch 180xc2x0/n and the pitch b is smaller than the pitch 360xc2x0/n.
The first and second magnetic pole arrangement manners described above each permit partial static torques occurring at the pitches to be successively shifted to either a negative side or a positive side within an electrical angle of 90xc2x0. This results in a detent torque or a harmonic component being decreased, leading to an increase in rotational angle accuracy and static angle accuracy.
When a magnetic center is not varied in each of the angular ranges, the pitches a in each of the angular ranges may be varied within the above-described conditions and the pitches b of m in number may be varied within the above-described conditions. Nevertheless, in order to facilitate design of the permanent magnet type stepping motor, the pitches a and b are preferably constant. In this instance, values of the pitches a and b are set so as to meet relationship (nxe2x88x92m)xc3x97a+mxc3x97b=360xc2x0. This not only facilitates design of the permanent magnet type stepping motor and manufacturing thereof but permits rotational angle accuracy and static angle accuracy to be increased.
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Telangana Govt Stays Hike In Cinema Ticket PricesJuly 01, 2017 12:18
Telangana Govt Stays Hike In Cinema Ticket Prices:- In a recent development, the hike in the movie ticket prices across the State, has been stayed by the Telangana Government, which it had increased substantially in orders, issued on June 23.
From several quarters, the move had come in for sharp criticism, not surprisingly. The State Chief Minister Mr. K. Chandrasekhar Rao, on Friday directed the officials to put the order in suspension, until the government assesses the impact of the new Goods and Services Tax (GST) on the film industry.
Minister for cinematography, Talasani Srinivas Yadav, said, “Following the directions given by the Chief Minister, the orders have been kept in abeyance. A meeting will be held by with the representatives of the film industry and exhibitors to discuss the quantum of the hike. We will assess the exact impact of the new tax on the movie business and revise the ticket rates accordingly, since the GST is coming into force from July 1.”
After a 10 day stay in new Delhi, the Chief Minister returned to the city on Thursday night, and reviewed the ticket price issue with officials on Friday. | https://www.andhrawishesh.com/378-telugu-headlines-top-stories/58217-telangana-govt-stays-hike-in-cinema-ticket-prices.html |
Upcoming Events:
12/10 - 2:00 p.m.- Central Road School Spelling Bee
12/12 - 3:30-5:30 p.m.- PBIS Movie Night
12/17- 12/19 - PTA Holiday Shop
Central Road PTA
Donation Ticket Fundraiser
Talent Show 2020
Central Road's
Packets due Wed. 12/18
Audition packets can be picked up outside of the cafeteria, and soft copies are available here. A form must be turned in for each member of the group.
Cut music can be turned in via email to Christine Love at [email protected]. The audition packet is not considered complete until all forms and music are received. | http://www.centralroadpta.org/ |
Celebrate in style with this decadent Tres Leches Cake. In this version of the traditional Latin American cake, a simple white cake is infused with the rich flavor of coconut and soaked in a sweet three-milk mixture. Four layers of the moist cake are then layered and frosted in a coconut buttercream and garnished with shredded coconut. This is one irresistibly delicious cake that will leave quite the impression. Make one for your next special occasion by following these straightforward steps!
Pre-heat the oven to 170 C / 335 F. Grease and line the cake tins.
Using a stand mixer fitted with a beater attachment or an electric hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy,about 5 to 8 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well to incorporate after each addition.
Add half the flour to the butter mixture and beat to just combine. Add half the milk followed by the vanilla and coconut extracts. Add the remaining flour and milk and beat to combine well.
Divide the mixture evenly between the prepared cake tins. If using two cake tins, bake in the oven for 35 to 45 minutes. If using four cake tins, bake in the oven for 25 to 35 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool for 10 minutes in their tins before inverting them onto a wire rack.
While the cakes are cooling, make the tres leches mixture by whisking together the condensed and evaporated milk, followed by the heavy cream. Set aside.
Once the cakes have slightly cooled, level off any domed tops. If using 2 cake tins slice each cake in half horizontally so that four even layers remain. Pierce the cakes in several places then evenly pour over the tres leches. Let the cakes absorb the milks before gently wrapping them in plastic and transferring them to a refrigerator to chill for an hour.
In the meantime, make the coconut buttercream. Using a stand mixer or electric hand mixer, beat the butter for 3 to 4 minutes until pale and fluffy. Add the icing sugar, coconut extract and coconut cream and continue to beat for another 3 to 4 minutes until smooth and thick.
Fix the bottom cake layer to a board or stand with a small amount of buttercream and spread the top with around 2 tbsp. of buttercream. Add the second layer and spread and repeat again with the third layer, finishing with the fourth and final cake layer.
Cover the cake with a thin layer of buttercream to crumb coat and chill for 30 minutes or until the buttercream has set.
Once set, spread a thick layer of the remaining buttercream over the cake to finish. Garnish with coconut and pesticide free flowers (if desired) to finish.
You can let the cake chill for 30 minutes after final icing so that it's easier to slice for serving.
Before you begin, make sure all of your ingredients are at room temperature.
You can substitute heavy cream for the coconut cream in the buttercream. | https://www.ehow.com/how_2060695_make-tres-leches-cake.html |
I’ve tried to review the Emily books so many times that it’s just silly. But the books are so much a part of my existence at this point that it’s hard to be coherent about them. Emily is the quintessential writer. Not only are her thoughts, feelings, and work ethic extremely similar to mine, but Montgomery (along with Garrison Keillor) is one of the people I hold up as a paragon of a point I like to make. Every subject matter is valid, even everyday mundane life. You don’t have to have experience in darkest Africa or on the fringes of society to write an interesting book. The proof is in the pudding, and the pudding is rural Prince Edward Island in the early 1900s with plenty of aunts and family traditions to make a girl crazy.
I have marked Emily Climbs as the book where she is most like me on the 2016 reading challenge. This is the book in which she’s a struggling, working writer while still trying to balance school duties and family expectation. Emily is more sensitive than I am. I’m able to not care about what people think of me in a way she can’t. But otherwise we are alike. Right down to the writing habits – spilling out all the chaff of life into a diary before writing into the wee hours of the night. Sending manuscripts back and getting nothing but rejections for them. Scribbling sketches of events and trying to capture character in a few paragraphs. Watching the rejections pile up and pretending you don’t care. Being so proud of the free subscription or set of contributors copies that come with your first publication instead of pay. Always hoping for more.
The only thing I don’t find terribly realistic is that Montgomery doesn’t treat Emily’s writing as exactly right. We never see her editing, only writing more and more things. It’s such a faithful portrait of a young writer otherwise that I’m sad it’s left out, not because I feel it detracted from the story but because I think it would have helped me earlier to realize that 75% of the writing process isn’t actually writing. It’s editing the stuff you wrote.
I don’t know whether to recommend this book or not. I cannot see it clearly anymore because I am far too close to it. But owls in the Land of Uprightness, Egyptian trinkets at the snowshoe dance, Perry’s terrible poetry and Ilse’s bad temper, midnight donuts with Cousin Jimmy, and Aunt Ruth’s terrible snooping all make for something pretty magical.
I also read Emily’s Quest this time. I don’t often, because this book is full of heartache. Emily makes one bad mistake after another, spends all of her time lonely and wanting, and I generally feel morose and horrible at the end of it. She gets a happy-ish ending, but it is so quick and so slim that it hardly seems worth the pain to get there. It qualifies quite well as a book that makes me a complete mess for the reading challenge.
This is another one I don’t know if I should recommend. I love knowing what happens to Emily, but watching her be so proud and so mistaken, to attempt to give things you know she can’t, to watch her succeed professionally and fail so hard personally, is not an easy thing to do. I love New Moon, but this Emily is not the carefree, hopeful girl of the other books. This girl has taken it on the chin hard and is struggling to make a life knowing that. It feels true, but it doesn’t make it better to digest. The moonlit snows and gray cats in the orchards seem lonely now, and not a comfort. One by one, all her friends go away. That, too, I think is a bit like the rest of us. The promise of college never is quite the same from the other side.
I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to read Emily as a comfort book. I realized that I’ve memorized large swaths of Emily Climbs this time around, and it didn’t grip me as hard as it usually does because of it. This read around might be the end of an era. For quite a while, at least. We’ll see how I feel in a year or so. | https://caseykins.com/2016/03/07/book-review-emily-climbs-emilys-quest/ |
Constipation meaning, causes, symptoms, medicine, relief
What is Constipation? Meaning, Definitions, Causes, Symptoms, Treatment, Relief, and medicines for Constipation.
What is constipation?
Constipation is a common problem experienced by most of people. It is a chronic condition in which bowel movements occurs less often than usual movements, or consist of hard and dry stools that are painful or difficult to pass out, or the person experiences a sense of incomplete emptying after a bowel movement. Normal bowel movement varies from person to person. For some people, passing stool twice a day is completely normal, while for others, three times a week is the normal condition. Any change from the normal habit is the best way to understand if person is constipated or not.
How does constipation occurs?
If you have fewer than three bowel movements per week it means that you have constipation. It is a common gastrointestinal problem, in which bowel movements are infrequent or difficult to pass.
Our gastrointestinal (GI) tract, which consists of the hollow organs such as the mouth, oesophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine including the rectum and anus, is responsible for digestion, nutrient absorption, and waste removal of the food.
The lower GI Track, consisting of the large intestine, or the bowel which includes your colon and rectum, absorbs water from the digested food and changes it from a liquid consistency to a solid form that we call stool.
Constipation occurs when the digested food spends too high time in your colon. The colon then absorbs higher amount of water and makes your stool hard and dry. If the stool is hard and dry it becomes difficult for your rectal muscles to push out it from your body.
Constipation is considered as a symptom of various health issues, rather than a disease by itself. Person can be considered as a constipated if he/she has fewer than three bowel movements in a week.
If you are suffering from constipation, you may end up with straining to pass stool which is hard and dry or feel that you are not able to completely empty out your bowels.
Causes of constipation?
- Unhealthy or irregular eating habits
- Eating very small portions of food
- Insufficient exercise / Walk
- ill-health
- Dehydration
- Not visiting toilet when pressure arises
- Leading a sedentary lifestyle
- Not drinking enough water
- Lack of fiber-rich foods in diet
- Stress
Who is prone to constipation?
Most of us suffers from constipation at some point of time but below listed types of people are on higher risk.
- Women
- People older than 65 years
- Low-income group peoples
- Person who have just undergone a surgery
- Pregnant Women
- Woman who has just given a birth
- Person who lead a sedentary lifestyle
- Stressed peoples
- People suffering from eating disorders
- People do not eat good amount of fiber rich foods like banana
- Person who consumes large amounts of dairy products
- Frequent travelers
- People who suffering from medical conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, piles, multiple sclerosis, clinical depression, colon cancer
Symptoms of constipation
- Hard stool
- Difiicult to pass the stool out from body
- Only 3 bowel movements in a week
- Needs laxatives everyday for toilet
- Stool causes bleeding or tearing near anus
- Feeling not complete even after going to the toilet
- Painful sensation in stomach
- Feeling not well whole day
Diagnosis of constipation
If you feel any of the above symptoms and looks like chronic, you are advised to visit the doctor. The doctor can suggest dietary and lifestyle changes.
Constipation may also be the symptom of an underlying health condition. Therefore, the doctor may suggest some tests to rule out other health conditions:
Blood tests
Blood tests can specifically diagnose thyroid related problems, such as low thyroid.
Sigmoidoscopy
Examination of your rectum and the lower portion of your colon.
Colonoscopy
Examination of the entire colon with a flexible, camera-equipped tube.
Balloon expulsion test
Measurement of time it takes for you to push out a balloon that has been filled with water and placed in your rectum.
Anorectal manometry:
Measurement of the coordination of the muscles you use to move your bowels.
Complications of constipation
The complication due to this condition includes but not limited to..
Hemorrhoids / swollen veins in the anus
While having a bowel movement if you strain often, it may cause swelling in the veins in and around the anus. In fact, chronic constipation may lead to the development of piles.
Anal fissure
Straining to pass stools can cause tiny tears or bleeding in the anus.
Fecal impaction
Hardened stool can accumulate and remain stuck in intestines if you suffering from chronic constipation.
Rectal prolapsed
This thing occurs when due to too much straining over time, during bowel movements, causes a small part of the rectum to stretch and protrude from the anus.
Treatment of constipation
Medical Treatment
Doctor may prescribe few laxatives for chronic constipation. However, Only medicines are not the reliable to ending constipation. You can be advised by your doctor to change some diet and lifestyle
Exercise
Exercising can provide certain relief from constipation by decreasing the time it takes for the food to move through the large intestine.
Exercises such as aerobics increases your breathing and heart rate. This leads to stimulate the intestinal muscles to contract naturally. When the intestinal muscles contract easily, it help to move the stools out smoothly and quickly.
Exercises like running, jogging, swimming, can keep your digestive tract healthy. Yoga is also a good exercise to get a relief from constipation.
Thank you for reading “Constipation“. Also read. | https://medisease.com/constipation-meaning-causes-symptoms-medicine-relief/ |
This week marks Week 3 of the One Room Challenge, hosted by Calling It Home, and I’m sharing my progress on my craft supply organization.
There is something about a well-organized space that makes me feel calm and almost peaceful. But I have to admit that it’s reeeeally difficult for me to put the effort into organizing a drawer, a closet, a room, etc. I think it’s because it has to get worse before it gets better, you know? Like you have to create a chaotic mess in order to start making sense of it. So instead of diving in and tackling the problem, I avoid it until I can’t stand it any longer. Smart, huh?
I’ve made lots of attempts at organizing all of my crafting materials and art supplies, but I’ve always wound up with a jumbled mess because I haven’t invested the time in creating a good organizing system. Or, worse yet, I don’t stick to the systems I put in place.
Up until now, my materials and supplies have been spread throughout our house. Some items were in my office, some in closets, and some were even on a workbench in our basement. It got to the point where I’d be running between three floors trying to locate my wire cutters and hot glue sticks. And this was my tipping point, when I couldn’t stand it any longer.
Once I got my new craft room painted and the ceiling pendant installed, it was time to make a mess and gather all of my craft supplies into one spot so I could sort and organize them.
I made a list of what my main craft supply organization needs are: which items do I use most frequently vs. only occasionally? Based on this, I started consolidating my supplies and decided what I wanted to keep closet-at-hand, and what could go into storage bins.
The items I use most frequently, like markers, pens and paint brushes, I sorted into mason jars. The hubs gave me this neat wood caddy for Christmas a few years ago; it’s the perfect size for corralling the jars, and doesn’t take up too much space on my craft table.
My mom gifted me a sewing box a while back, so now I have plenty of room to store thread, needles, scissors and my cute owl pincushion.
I don’t have a set budget for my craft room makeover, but I am sticking to the “use whatcha got” philosophy as much as I can. Which means that my shelves will be boasting a hodge podge of storage bins: some are black, some are clear, some are polka-dotted. Most of them are black or black and white (at least I’m consistent!). But as long as my craft supplies fit and I can stick to my new organizing system, I’ll be a happy girl!
Here’s what I’ve accomplished so far for my craft room makeover: | http://twopurplecouches.com/2016/04/one-room-challenge-week-3-craft-supply-organization/?replytocom=77577 |
This article results from reflections developed together with the Historical Research Program that aims to gather theoretical contributions to a history of the Didactics course in Brazil (1827-2011). The reflections were carried out focusing on the analysis of aspects of a periodic in its three phases, Education (1931-1932), Education Journals (1933-1944) and Education (1945-1961), documentary corpus for a research, developed at Masters level. A member of the Research Program mentioned. It was an analysis of aspects such as the life cycle of these journals and also aspects related to their materiality and those that materialize in a qualitative-quantitative analysis, referring, for example, to the predominance and recurrence of the themes on Didactics, such as employee information and the number of articles per employee. The theoretical-methodological framework, besides the theorizations of researchers of the History of the school disciplines, was constituted by the formulations of Elias (1999), from the notion of social configuration. We consider it pertinent to establish such a dialogue, considering that the journals analyzed also constituted spaces for materializing these discourses, centrally, on Didactics, in favor of a utilitarian tradition, confirmed at the end, but at the same time, of the academic and pedagogical traditions. | https://repositorio.unesp.br/handle/11449/166151 |
The evolution of the concepts of growth followed the path and evolution of life concepts. In order to better understand and to explain some aspects of intrauterine growth, and differentiation, modern physiology sought to decipher the most intimate aspects of the placentar filter, the way in which all the influences of the external environment represented by the mother’s body are sent. Aim of the study: the aim was to avoid problems of differential diagnosis with other diseases of the orofacial system. For the purpose of conducting the research, we categorized the etiological factors of the dysfunction in the primary (they are mainly of a systemic nature, their role is hard to be highlighted), secondary (the usual clinical examination, with emphasis on the impact of vicious habits on occlusal caractristics) and thirdly (tests for the examination of psychoemotional and behavioral characteristics as well as the assessment of stress level were performed). Materials and methods:The study was conducted on a sample of 320 subjects who presented themselves at the Pediatric Dentistry Clinic in Galati for various dental treatments without accusing any obvious dysfunctional symptomatology, 120 patients presenting frequent vicious habits. Of these, 56 male (46.66%) and 64 female (53.33%). Results and disussions:Vicious habits are frequent in the critical periods of development of the dento-maxillary apparatus, exerting on it a bad influence. The sucking habits can have their fingers, the lips, the back of the hand, various objects or even tongue.Visual habits break the muscle balance and disturb the growth of the bones giving a new direction of their growth, in the sense of traction and pressure, producing changes in the position of the teeth, arches and jaw bones. Orthodontic treatment works on the basis of the biological principle of dento-maxillary apparatus integration in the general unity of the body, the balance of which develops and maintains according to the hereditary dowry and the influences of the environmental conditions; it is strictly individual; measures and treatment methods vary from one patient to another depending on the individual characteristics and the stage of child development. Conclusions: The various clinical forms of dento – maxillary abnormalities characteristic of each age stage are due to the association of different vicious habits and the intensity or duration of these functional disorders. | http://www.rjor.ro/vicious-obstacleshabits-in-the-growth-and-development-of-the-dental-maxi-facial-appliance/ |
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Modern works on the history of veterinary medicine prior to the founding of veterinary schools in the late eighteenth century frequently depict the early modern period in Germany as a time governed by the collected wisdom of stable-masters and prescriptive manuals by court-based equine tradesmen. In order to define the court ideal for equine veterinary tradesmen, the author analyses the perspectives of four authors, ranging from the sixteenth to the early eighteenth century: Mang Seuter, Johann Walther, Georg Simon Winter and Johann Conrad Weybold. Although farrier and large-smith were at times interchangeable titles for some smiths, there was no progressive shift in title from large-smith to farrier over time. Over the course of the seventeenth century, smiths who worked with equine medicine attempted to increase the status of their trade and of their own reputation through the strategic use of old and new tropes of masculinity. | http://booksandjournals.brillonline.com/content/books/b9789004222427_017 |
During the reign of King Tsogsten Gampo, the founder of the Tibetan Empire, the art of thangka painting was embraced. The unique artistic style of thangka painting is regarded as a cultural treasure with more than a thousand years of influence. Thangkas portray images of history, social life, culture as well as deities. The Tibetan word ‘than ka’ means “recorded message” in English and thangka is a Tibetan transliteration which means religious scroll painting mounted by colorful stain used for worship.
Thangkas are a two-dimensional medium which illustrate a multi-dimensional spiritual reality. Practitioners use thangkas as a sort of road map to cultivate the visualization of deities and establish a link between themselves and the deities. The proportions of the images depicted in the thangkas are considered sacred and artists spend years studying the iconographic grids and proportions of different deities. An authentic thangka painter is more than an artist, their true talent is in their ability to transmit the divine.
There are various forms of thangkas; embroidery, brocade and applique, but most are depicted on canvas and paper. The painting of a thangka is an elaborate process which often takes as long as several months or even years to paint one thangka. To begin a piece of canvas is selected, usually light in color and not too thick to ensure the paint does not crack or peel. It is then stitched onto a wooden frame. The creation of a smooth canvas is achieved by coating it with a mixture of chalk, gesso, and a base pigment. It is then rubbed smooth with a glass or shell until the texture of the cloth is no longer visible.
Since thangkas are not a product of an artist’s imagination but the replication of representations of Buddhist deities and expressions of visions of realization, careful adherence to the correct guidelines is paramount as the outline of the deity is sketched in pencil onto the canvas using a grid. The colors used in traditional thangka paintings come from any different natural sources, earth, cinnabar, ocher, saffron, madder, rhubarb, agate, lapis lazuli, pearls, silver and gold. These pigments are ground to fine powders and mixed with water and adhesives to create the warm and luminous colors. Only one color is applied at a time, first light then dark. The details of the face, hands, and feet are added last. According to custom, it is important to choose an auspicious day for painting the face as the success of a thangka often depends on how well the face is painted. The finishing touches of gold are added to the thangka, known as ‘gold painting’. The paintings are often encased in a brocade border but can also be placed in a glass frame.
The magnificent meditative images of thangkas are fragile objects which will fade if exposed to prolonged sunlight. | https://dakinistore.taramandala.org/blogs/learn-more-about/thangka-painting |
Classic ticking stripes run down the front of this cotton pillow giving it a timeless appeal. Natural cotton canvas and a traditional striped pattern infuses any room with a warm, inviting look. Suitable for most styles and color schemes, choose from multiple colors for the perfect shade to fit your home. This pillow layers beautifully and effortlessly with other solids, patterns, and textures. | https://www.iotveteran.com/throw-pillows-rizzy-home-poly-filled-pillow-20-in-x-20-in-yellownatural-100-cotton-indoor-decorative-pillow-po56081-bed-and-bath.html |
Since earliest times music and dance have played a major role in uniting people through ritual, often seeking union with the divine through trance or ecstasy. This festival seeks to bring back some spiritual nourishment to our lives; to focus our physical and mental selves. While the music and rituals associated with each genre are very different from each other, they share a common thread in bringing people together in search of enlightenment. These are just a few of the many forms that music takes to enrich our lives.
Riyaaz Qawwali performs the ecstatic improvisational Sufi vocal tradition made famous in the West by the late Pakistani singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, enthralling listeners with its lively rhythms, joyous melodies and inspirational poetry. In addition to paying homage to traditional qawwali that has been in existence for over 700 years, the ensemble also weaves various songs and poetry of South Asia into theqawwali framework, using qawwali as a universal message of oneness that transcends religious boundaries. Most qawwali troupes are composed of Muslim family members, but Riyaaz Qawwali, which is based in Texas, is composed of musicians who represent the diversity of South and Central Asia; they are of Indian, Pakistani, Afghani, and Bangladeshi descent, and come from various spiritual backgrounds, including Islam, Hinduism, and Sikhism. | https://roulette.org/event/riyaaz-qawwali-a-world-in-trance-festival-3rd-edition/ |
The owner/person/keeper of any animal is obliged to
- The transport of an animal, which includes any kind of transfer or relocation of the animal from one place to another as well as the loading and unloading of the animal, has to be undertaken in a careful and considerate way at all times. Also, the length of any journey, and of any delay at any stage of transport, shall be minimized.
- Each animal must be provided with sufficient food, water, and rest before, during, and after the journey, according to their biological and ethological needs.
- The method of transport shall be suitable with regard to the welfare and safety of the animal, and the animal’s species-specific and individual character.
It is prohibited to transport an animal in a way that causes pain, injury, death, or avoidable suffering, fear, or distress to the animal.
It is in particular prohibited to transport
A late pregnant female.
A female during one week after giving birth.
New-born animals – for example, when the navel has not completely healed.
An animal who is ill, injured, weak, or in general unfit for the journey.
unless the journey is in the welfare interests of the individual animal.
When transporting an animal for commercial purposes, the following additional requirements and conditions have to be observed.
- The animal must be healthy and fit for the journey, and certified as such by an official veterinarian appointed by the Competent Authority.
- The animal shall have the necessary supervision and care during transportation and loading/unloading.
- The means of transport as well as the loading and unloading facilities, procedures and equipment have to be designed, constructed, maintained and operated in a way that the safety and well-being of the animal is guaranteed at any given time, and any pain, injury, suffering, fear or distress avoided.
- The animal has to be provided with adequate floor area, space and height as well as with sufficient ventilation and protection against unfavourable weather conditions.
- An animal shall only be transported in a vehicle or container that has been inspected and certified by the Competent Authority.
- In case of the transport of aquatic animals, this must be carried out in special means of transportation and/or specially-designed containers; and the amount of water available must be sufficient for the number of animals transported, as well as of appropriate quality and temperature, and a satisfactory supply of oxygen ensured.
- In the case that the upright position of the container transporting an animal is not evident, the container in question has to bear a sign or marking indicating the said position.
- In case it is not obvious from the nature or style of the container that it transports a live animal, the container has to be clearly labelled indicating the fact that it contains an animal, and at the same time identifying the animal species within.
- During transport the condition of the animal has to be checked at regular intervals and concurrently it has to be ensured that the animal has sufficient water and food of appropriate quality and suitability for the animal’s species-specific and individual needs. There shall be both specific official ‘staging posts’ (authorised in accordance with Section 29) with official supervision and control, and also random unannounced checks.
- Any business which transports animals must be registered and authorised by the Competent Authority in accordance with Section 29. Authorisation may be withdrawn in the event of breaches of this code, or temporarily suspended until infringements have been rectified.
- The persons driving vehicles transporting live animals or handling animals during the transport process must have the necessary professional, technical and personal skills, and understanding of animal behaviour, to care for the welfare needs of the animals in their care.
- Drivers of livestock vehicles should be trained in necessary driving techniques, and always take extreme care to avoid acceleration, deceleration or turning corners at excessive speed. They should have their licences endorsed with the species of animals they have been trained and certified to transport.
- No animal shall be transported commercially without prior approval from the Competent Authority. The Competent Authority shall provide detailed regulations governing live animal transport authorisation procedures. These shall include: the advance submission of route plans (together with required contents and submission periods for advance notifications); and the issue of movement permits based on company registration and driver/handler certification; and veterinary checks of fitness, vehicle compliance, and compliance with feeding/watering/resting requirements.
- Journey plans and preparations must include the provision of veterinary attention to deal with any ill or injured animals; and disease control and emergency response measures.
- During transportation of an animal, the transporter shall, at all times, carry the permit issued by the Competent Authority and other documents relevant for animal movement issued under this Act. A person shall not transport an animal in any manner other than that certified in the permit.
- The Competent Authority shall lay down rules and regulations on establishing the fitness of an animal for transport, maximum journey times, set regular rest intervals as well as feeding and watering times. Every effort should be made to reduce the long distance transport of live animals, particularly for killing/slaughter (with animals being slaughtered locally, and carcasses transported instead of live animals).
- International trade, long distance transport and transportation by sea or air shall only be carried out under special licenses/permits from the Competent Authority. Such licenses/permits shall contain additional conditions/requirements, as well as taking necessary measures to protect individual species. Such transport shall be prohibited for species with particular welfare problems during above mentioned transport.
- Both the transporter and the owner of the animal (if different) shall be responsible for ensuring compliance with these provisions.
In addition, Authorisation of the Minister responsible, the Ministry or the Competent Authority to adopt any regulations [and establish, as appropriate, ‘Welfare Codes’, standards and guidance] in this context. | https://usfoor.com/animal-care/general-and-commercial-transport-of-animals/ |
(i) Computer-Aided Perovskite Solar Cell Synthesis
Structurally, perovskites have the stoichiometry ABX3, where A and B are cations and X is an anion. To determine the formability of perovskites, two important factors (octahedral and tolerance) described by Goldschmidt play a vital role in structural stability. We propose an integrated methodology that can select optimum combination of ions for the perovskite solar cell synthesis and simultaneously minimize the material cost.
(ii) Cancer Therapeutics
We intent to develop customized treatment schedules for cancer patients using mathematical modeling, optimization and machine learning tools. Neural networks, decision trees, support vector machines were to determine biological markers linked to Leukemia subtype identification. This information is necessary for determining which tests to conduct for effective for diagnosis and associated treatment scheduled.
Funding: Rowan Seed Fund, Division of University Research
(iii) Design of Wastewater Treatment & Asset Management
Development of a Wastewater treatment superstructure consisting of all possible treatment technologies and flows and optimizing the structure to predict technologies for meeting the purity requirements and low costs. We use representative case studies for municipal and pharmaceutical wastewater treatment and model them as optimization problems. In the next step, we use the P-graph approach for solving the same problems as it can provide insights into non-intuitive solutions, that guarantee global optimality.
Funding: Atlantic County Utilities Authority (ACUA), NJ
(iv) Roadmap for Solvent Recovery in Industrial Manufacturing
As an alternative to conventional solvent disposal methods solvent recovery can improve the greenness and overall sustainability of processes in pharmaceutical and fine chemical industries. A superstructure approach was applied to develop the framework for solvent recovery, which begins with material (waste stream) input, followed by the process technologies that have capability to perform desired separation, reaction, or mixing. The systematic framework developed in this study can be applied to existing and future chemical process designs to minimize solvent waste.
Funding: United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA)
(v) Optimizing Resin Selection for Ion Exchange Processes
Ion exchange resins are widely used in the industry to purify water and recover some valuable compounds. Most of these resins are polymeric based beads that are characterized by various parameters such as particle size, pore diameter, functional groups, and polymeric matrices that play an important role in a successful purification process. This project will concentrate on identifying working models that identify such direct relationship between process performance and the key resin parameters.
(vi) Management of IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome)
IBS is a chronic disease which has a multifactorial etiology, correlating these factors to understand the exact cause and determine the most suitable treatment or patient management strategy is of high importance. Systems engineering tools can be of help in the systematic analysis of IBS symptoms, cause-effect and treatment responsiveness in patients. | https://yenkiekm.com/research/ |
Background: In this work three different techniques were applied to extract dry leaves of spinach (Spinacia oleracea): solid-liquid extraction (SLE), pressurised liquid extraction (PLE) and supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) to investigate the influence of extraction solvent and technique on extracts composition and antioxidant activity. Moreover, the influence of carotenoids and phenolic compounds on the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of spinach extracts was also studied.
Results: The higher concentrations of carotenoids and the lower content of phenolic compounds were observed in the supercritical CO₂ extracts; whereas water and/or ethanol PLE extracts presented low amounts of carotenoids and the higher concentrations of phenolic compounds. PLE extract with the highest content of phenolic compounds showed the highest antioxidant activity, although SFE carotenoid rich extract also showed a high antioxidant activity. Moreover, both extracts presented an important anti-inflammatory activity.
Conclusion: PLE seems to be a good technique for the extraction of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds from spinach leaves. Moreover, spinach phenolic compounds and carotenoids present a high antioxidant activity, whereas spinach carotenoids seem to show a higher anti-inflammatory activity than phenolic compounds. It is worth noting that of our knowledge this is the first time the anti-inflammatory activity of lipophilic extracts from spinach leaves is reported.
Keywords: anti-inflammatory activity; antioxidant activity; carotenoids; extraction techniques; spinach leaves; total polyphenol content.
© 2014 Society of Chemical Industry. | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24930815/ |
The K–5 standards define what students should understand and be able to do by the end of each grade. They correspond to the College and Career Readiness (CCR) anchor standards below by number.
The CCR and grade-specific standards are necessary complements—the former providing broad standards, the latter providing additional specificity—that together define the skills and understandings that all students must demonstrate.
Comprehension and Collaboration
1. Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse
partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
2. Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually,
quantitatively, and orally.
3. Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric.
Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas
4. Present information, findings, and supporting evidence such that listeners can follow the line of
reasoning and the organization, development, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
5. Make strategic use of digital media and visual displays of data to express information and enhance understanding of presentations.
6. Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and communicative tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate. | https://www.csh.k12.ny.us/Page/2591 |
Like most prevalent sports played in America, baseball is divided into foremost conferences. These major baseball leagues are the American League and the National League. Sure, they’re both baseball – however, there is a remarkable difference in the rules directing the game. In addition to those disparities, far-reaching dissimilarities are also apparent in the playing style, tenure, popularity, and influence on American baseball.
The American League (AL), short for American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, was established in 1901 as the successor of the Western League, a minor baseball league disbanded in the late 1890’s. By 1977, AL spread out into 14 teams. Come 1990’s, it was partitioned into three divisions: East, Central, and West. Its counterpart, the National League (NL), also known as the National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, is about two decades older than AL. It was established in 1876 as a replacement for the National Association of Professional Baseball Players (NA). It started with six teams, and over the years it grew to 16 teams split into three divisions, namely the National League East, National League Central, and National League West.
The AL and NL are primarily set apart by one rule: the former permits what they call a ‘designated hitter’ – or DH – for the pitcher, while the latter doesn’t; the pitcher bats all for himself. A DH is a player dedicated to batting. He is allowed to bat on behalf of the pitcher. Because they employ a devoted batter in the lineup, AL teams generally average higher on runs than NL teams do. Other members of an AL team, for instance pitchers, don’t have to bat. As a result, team members are able to maximize their strong skills. With NL teams, pitchers are still expected to bat; in effect, they require an equally strong and effective set of skills that exceeds all aspects and roles in baseball.
With a disparity on that single rule, AL and NL playing styles differ altogether. The NL is mostly oriented towards pitching, with stronger emphasis on offensive running. The AL, on the other hand, focuses on the home run and highly depends on power overall. Furthermore, NL players are put in a batting rotation while, as mentioned, the AL maintains a designated hitter that stands in for pitchers in the rotation.
By and large, the AL has won more games than the NL – 1,249 to 1,202. The AL holds a home run record of 61 through Roger Maris of the Yankees, while the NL outperforms it at 73 through Barry Bonds of the Giants. As for the number of team victories, the Yankees of AL have a record of 41, while the Giants of NL hold 37. With regard to strikeouts, the AL has set 383 through Nolan Ryan of the Angels, while the NL – only a point lower through Sandy Koufax of the Dodgers.
Moreover, both the AL and NL are the major leagues in American baseball. They are equally popular across thirty host cities in the United States.
Summary:
- The American League and the National League are considered the major baseball leagues in the U.S. today.
- The NL was founded in 1876 and has grown to 16 teams to date. The AL is younger by about 2 decades and comprises 14 teams today.
- The striking difference between the two is in the dedicated hitter or DH rule. The AL maintains a dedicated hitter that bats in place of the pitcher in rotation, while the NL requires the pitcher in the rotation to also do the batting.
- The AL is focused on power and homeruns, while the NL focuses on pitching and offensive running.
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All-Star Sho-case: Ohtani is AL’s starting pitcher
DENVER — Shohei Ohtani, the Los Angeles Angels‘ transcendent two-way star, will start and lead off for the American League All-Stars in Tuesday’s All-Star Game from Coors Field, a fitting tribute to his near-unprecedented first-half performance.
Ohtani, who will oppose Max Scherzer of the Washington Nationals, was voted by the fans as the starting designated hitter and was voted by the players as one of five starting pitchers. Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash, who will steer the AL group, said he “took that to heart” in making the decision to start Ohtani.
“This is what the fans wanna see,” Cash said. “It’s personally what I wanna see.”
Ohtani, the only player selected to both pitch and hit in an All-Star Game, will also headline the Home Run Derby lineup on Monday night. Cash said he “begged” Major League Baseball to tweak a longstanding rule and basically list Ohtani as both a pitcher and a DH for Tuesday’s lineup, which would allow Cash to insert a new DH when Ohtani comes out of the game rather than continually utilize a pinch-hitter as his spot in the lineup comes back around.
“I was not expecting to be chosen as a pitcher at all,” Ohtani said through his interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, who will also serve as his catcher for the Home Run Derby. “It’s a huge honor.”
Ohtani is the second Japanese player to start an All-Star Game, joining Hideo Nomo, who represented the Los Angeles Dodgers while starting for the National League in 1995. As a hitter, Ohtani is batting .279/.364/.698 with four triples, 12 stolen bases and a major league-leading 33 home runs, already a single-season record for a Japanese-born player. As a pitcher, he boasts a 3.49 ERA with 87 strikeouts and 35 walks in 67 innings.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, who will lead the NL team, was asked if he ever believed Ohtani would be able to juggle both roles at that level.
“We did,” Roberts said. “We wanted him.”
“So did we!” Cash added, drawing a laugh from the crowd that gathered around the makeshift press conference near Coors Field.
Starting Ohtani allows MLB to fully showcase a man who has arguably become baseball’s most captivating star, but it also avoids the logistical difficulties of asking him to warm up in the middle of a game that he is already hitting in, a circumstance Ohtani is not accustomed to.
“Dave and I both have responsibilities to protect not just our players but all players,” Cash said. “And I think it made the most sense in the availability of it to do something that he has already done, rather than asking him to hit and come in later in the game.”
Most Related Links : | https://reporterwings.com/news/sports/all-star-sho-case-ohtani-is-als-starting-pitcher/ |
The Laboratory of Electrochemical Engineering (LEE), one of the youngest laboratories in the department, is one of the few research groups in the country involved in the development of electrochemical energy conversion and storage systems. The group takes on the technological challenges of finding efficient and sustainable energy supply that can meet the demands of mankind while preserving the environment. Basic understanding of electrochemistry, physical chemistry, and catalysis are used in the development of renewable sources of energy (fuel cell systems), conversion and storage energy devices (batteries), clean water production (capacitive deionization), and environmental process technology (CO2-to-fuel conversion).
Currently, the laboratory is involved in the following research fields:
As the laboratory grows, LEE will become a dedicated incubator of new ideas that increasingly blur the lines between the chemical and electrical engineering worlds. LEE will focus on the research and development of novel materials and systems for more efficient electrochemical technologies in energy, health, and environmental applications. Hence, scientists and engineers working in LEE must be adept in chemical engineering, material science, electrochemistry, and catalysis. | http://dche.coe.upd.edu.ph/laboratory-of-electrochemical-engineering/ |
Rabobank has obligations to protect our customers, ourselves as a Financial Institution and the industry as a whole.
CDD is the steps we take and KYC is the information we collect and verify so that we are confident in knowing who we are offering our products and services to, and we contribute to the shared goals against financial and economic crimes.
This includes ensuring our customers identities, knowledge of the nature and purposes of the business relationship and in the case of non-individual clients, identifying the entity, its structure, key individuals and activities.
Rabobank, as with other financial institutions, is an entity that is subject to laws (including the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006) which place obligations on us to apply identification and verification procedures to our customers and have ongoing customer due diligence.
From time to time we may contact you to confirm if the information we hold is still up-to-date and accurate. We may ask you for additional information and/or documents if there is potential that your circumstances may have changed, or if the information we need to obtain about you or the entity you are associated with, was not collected when you opened your account.
All financial institutions have their obligations both domestically and abroad however they may have different methods to Rabobank in terms of addressing these. Rabobank is part of the international Rabobank Group whose ultimate holding company, Coöperatieve Rabobank U.A (Rabobank Nederland), is based in the Netherlands. Rabobank Australia is therefore required to comply with Australian, Dutch and European Union (EU) AML/CTF legislation, amongst others.
We understand that circumstances change over time. To ensure we hold up-to-date and accurate information so we continue to protect our customers and our business, as well as complying with the AML/CTF Act, Rabobank reviews and updates its customers’ information on an ongoing basis.
If you decide not provide the information and documents, Rabobank may not be able to continue to provide you the services relating to your account. If you have any questions please feel free to give us a call on 1800 792 812 between 9am – 5pm Sydney time, Monday to Friday.
You will need to provide the requested information within 30 calendar days of being notified.
Depending on the type of the account with Rabobank, we may request personal information about account holders, individuals who own or control (directly or indirectly) an entity and/or supporting documentation about an entity’s operating and shareholding structure.
Please find the relevant forms for your type of account located here. Please click on the Rabobank Online Savings Forms tab and scroll down to the Know Your Customer Forms for your account type.
For Australian legislation, visit http://www.austrac.gov.au/businesses/legislation/amlctf-act.
Please refer to our certification reference sheet by clicking here.
You can email electronic copies of completed forms and certified documentation to [email protected].
Alternatively you can send them via post to Reply Paid 4715 SYDNEY NSW 2001 (no stamp required) OR GPO Box 4715 SYDNEY NSW 2001
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Please find the relevant forms for your type of account located here. Please click on the Rabobank Online Savings Forms tab and scroll down to the Know Your Customer Forms for your account type.
Alternatively please give us a call on 1800 792 812 or email us at [email protected], and we’ll be happy to send you a new copy via email or post.
The U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) is a legislation introduced by the U.S. Government to improve tax compliance of U.S. individuals and entities. FATCA requires non-U.S. financial institutions, including Australian institutions to ensure U.S. individuals and entities with financial accounts outside of the U.S. pay tax on their income.
The term Ultimate Beneficial Owner means an individual who ultimately owns or controls (directly or indirectly) the entity.
Definition of ownership: Owning 25% or more of the entity. This can be directly (such as through shareholdings) or indirectly (such as through another company’s ownership or through a bank or broker)
Definition of control: Having the power to make decisions about the entity’s finances and operations. They may exert control through trusts, agreements, arrangements, understandings, policies or practices. | https://www.rabobank.com.au/due-diligence/ |
Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
http://dspace.uniten.edu.my/jspui/handle/123456789/8316
|Title:||Backward reduction application for minimizing wind power scenarios in stochastic programming||Authors:||Muhamad Razali, N.M.
|
Hashim, A.H.
|Issue Date:||2010||Abstract:||In order to make informed decisions in the presence of uncertainties, risk management problems of power utilities may be modelled by multistage stochastic programs. These programs use a set of scenarios (or plausible realizations) and corresponding probabilities to model the multivariate random data process, e.g. electrical load, stream flows to hydro units, generation output of intermittent renewable sources as well as fuel and electricity prices. The number of scenarios needed to accurately represent the uncertainty involved is generally large, thus due to computational complexity and time limitation, scenario reduction techniques are often utilized. The paper proposes a new application for recursive backward scenario reduction to establish possible next-day scenarios for wind power generation at Mersing Johor, Malaysia. The algorithm determines a subset from the initial scenario set and assigns new probabilities to the preserved scenarios. The output is intended to assist generation scheduling of power system employing intermittent type renewable sources. © 2010 IEEE.||URI:||http://dspace.uniten.edu.my/jspui/handle/123456789/8316|
|Appears in Collections:||COE Scholarly Publication|
COGS Scholarly Publication
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Items in DSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated. | http://dspace.uniten.edu.my/jspui/handle/123456789/8316 |
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make reducible the aperture of a projection lens in a state small in the spatial distance from a light source while increasing the availability of light and to miniaturize a projector by setting a spheroidal mirror as a reflection mirror, disposing a light emitting source in the vicinity of the 1st focal point of the mirror, setting a 2nd focal point in the vicinity of a body to be projected and disposing a lens array in luminous flux converged to be condensed onto the 2nd focal point.
SOLUTION: The spheroidal mirror 4 has the 1st focal point F1 and the 2nd focal point F2, is formed to be open in a length a little shorter than the half of the 1st focal point F1 side on the mirror 4, and condenses light from the light emitting source 3 disposed in the vicinity of the 1st focal point F1 onto the 2nd focal point F2 side. The 2nd focal point F2 is set to the vicinity of a liquid crystal panel 1. An integrator optical system 5 is formed of the lens array 7 whose shape is nearly similar to the shape of the liquid crystal panel 1, which is formed in rectangular shape whose ratio is 4:3 and where plural lens elements 6 are two-dimensionally arrayed. The lens array 7 is disposed between a middle point between the 1st and the 2nd focal points F1 and F2 and the 2nd focal point F2.
COPYRIGHT: (C)2000,JPO | |
Technology for Global Security is launching a joint initiative with the Center for Global Security and Research at the renowned Lawrence Livermore National Labs to understand and manage the long-term opportunities and risks posed by artificial intelligence-related technologies to international security and warfare. For most of human history, the army with the largest size had the distinct advantage on the battlefield. In WWI, Frederick Lanchester even devised a famous mathematical formula showing that the advantage a larger military force has is the difference of the squares of the two opposing armies. However, the United States has been the preeminent military power since WWII, not because of the size of its armies, but through the development and use of superior technology.
The paradigm shifts underpinning decades of U.S. technological advantage are known as “offsets” in the military strategy community, and are quintessentially American. The first way that the U.S. leveraged superior technology to “offset” greater Soviet forces was through the atomic bomb. Later, once the Soviet Union achieved nuclear superiority, the U.S. Department of Defense devised a second offset consisting of stealth technology, precision-guided munitions, networked operations, and spaced-based communications (a principal architect of the second offset was Dr. William Perry, who is an advisor to Tech4GS). Again today, strategic adversaries are achieving parity with the United States in military technology, and accordingly, America must consider the application of new, game-changing advances. This is important not just for the United States, but also globally as American preeminence has underwritten international security - but also rules, norms and respect for basic human rights and dignity - for over 50 years. Power abhors a vacuum and, during this time of global political upheaval, more autocratic governments could - and will likely - step in to reshape global consensus in their image.
To that end, countries around the world are studying advancements in machine or artificial intelligence (AI) as the fundamental driver behind the next generation of warfare and international strategic stability. The U.S. Defense Department is looking at AI-related technologies, in fact, to underpin their overall “third offset” strategy. As with many other aspects of society, advances in AI-related technologies have the potential to significantly disrupt the nature of human-machine interaction and warfare. Just as industrial-era technologies augmented and in many ways replaced human physical labor, AI will enhance - or even replace - human cognitive efforts. The potential international security policy implications of AI include: decreased trust in the strategic assumptions and the technologies that underpin decision-making in a crisis; disruptions in the security dilemma as a result of AI-enabled tactical and strategic shifts in the prevention and conduct of warfare; and AI-enabled disruptions to long-term strategic planning and budgeting for maintaining strategic stability between major powers.
At this stage, the national security and technology communities lack a clear, consensus understanding of the near- and long-term opportunities and risks of AI, and therefore lack a clear, consensus understanding of the means to mitigate potentially destabilizing advances at the policy, legislative, and technological level. It is through our work with CGSR that we hope to begin a years-long process of building a repository of the information and insight necessary to fill this gap. For those interested in joining this discussion, or if you have questions, get in touch at [email protected] - we look forward to hearing from you and collaborating on the path forward. | https://www.tech4gs.org/blog-t4gs/archives/03-2018 |
What is Foreign Object Debris (FOD) and why is it important?
Foreign object debris (FOD) can cost airports and airlines millions of pounds each year because it can cause damage or injury to aircraft and airline personnel.
What is FOD?
FOD is foreign object debris that does not belong to or should be nowhere near any aircraft. It covers a wide range of debris material, which includes pavement chips, litter, building materials, sand, stones, luggage, and wildlife. It is often found at terminal gates, taxiways, runways, and in cargo areas, and poses a serious risk to an aeroplane should it come into direct contact with it. FOD could easily splice aeroplane tyres, or be ingested into the engines, which could have catastrophic consequences. Airports and airlines take measures to mitigate this risk by conducting regular and stringent safety checks.
Safety procedures are put in place to raise awareness of the seriousness of the issue and to take steps to address it. These measures include:
Employee training
All airport employees, including airline personnel, receive training to be able to identify and eliminate FOD. The training is provided to raise awareness of the potential hazards to equipment, people, and the costs associated with FOD damage.
Regular inspections
Frequent airside inspections are conducted. The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) requires a daily inspection of aeroplane manoeuvring areas during daylight hours and the rapid removal of FOD. In addition, airline personnel also make further checks throughout the day during their shift, and if there are any building works being undertaken on site, more frequent inspections are carried out. Flight crews are required to immediately report to air traffic control and operations if they observe any FOD on runways and taxiways. Airlines and aeroplane handling agents also employ additional staff to specifically monitor for FOD.
Maintenance procedures
Maintaining control of FOD involves the following:
Sweeping
This is either performed manually or with an airfield sweeper. However, both pieces of equipment are generally used. The airfield sweeper removes FOD debris from airside areas, including aircraft manoeuvring areas, aprons, gates, and the areas adjacent to them. For the areas where the airfield sweeper cannot reach, hand brooms are used.
Magnetic bars
Magnetic bars are fitted under vehicles that use the airfield to pick up fallen metallic material. These bars are regularly cleaned to prevent them from dropping collected debris.
Rumble strips
Driving over rumble strips can dislodge loose fittings from undercarriages. They are used in areas between the land-side and air-side, and adjacent to construction areas. These strips are checked regularly, and any FOD that is found is discarded.
FOD containers
Containers are strategically placed around the airfield for the collection of FOD debris, and they are emptied frequently to prevent overflow. Examination of this debris is undertaken to assess where it may have originated from. Wind barriers and netting are also used around the airfield and serve as barriers to catch airborne debris. They also prevent animals from entering the airfield.
Aircraft maintenance
Aircraft engineers have strict tool control procedures they have to follow. They carry toolbox inventories, and all toolboxes are checked before and after use, to make sure all tools are accounted for before an aircraft is released for flight. | https://www.bayanatengineering.qa/what-is-foreign-object-debris-fod-and-why-is-it-important/ |
Stiff or tight shoulders are a real problem for many, regardless of their age or gender. But, what causes shoulder tightness? Could you prevent shoulder tightness? Is there anything that you can do about it? Continue reading and to find out.
Neck and shoulder injuries, etc.
Stretching exercises for shoulder pain or tightness can help relieve the pain, muscle tension and the tightness of the neck and shoulder muscles. These exercises are also beneficial for increasing the mobility of the shoulder joint, as well as, helping in posture improvement. Stretching exercises will make your muscles stronger and more flexible as well, which means that you will lower the risk of muscle or joint injuries in the future.
Neck stretching is probably something that you have heard about or done it at least once in your life. In order to perform this exercise correctly, you need to stand with the feet hip-width apart while tipping the team to the right and trying to touch your right shoulder. The same should be repeated for the left side.
This is a forward-bend yoga pose that may help release tension in your shoulders. In order to perform this exercise correctly, you need to stand with the feet hip-width apart while bending your knees slightly. Bent your body as well and try touching your toes. Place your hands on the elbows of your opposite arm while remaining in this position. Remain in this position for about one minute.
Child’s pose is a yoga pose very beneficial for stretching the back of the shoulders. In order to perform this exercise correctly, you need to kneel on the ground and touch the ground with the palm and later with your elbows. Sit back, bringing the bottom of the back toward the heels. Breathe deeply, and hold the position for about one minute.
Yoga is very beneficial for the human body and the cow face pose is one of the yoga exercises that you should give a try when dealing with tight shoulders. In order to perform this exercise correctly, you need to stand with the feet hip-width apart and to reach your right arm up straight toward the sky and bending in at the elbow. By keeping the elbow raised, reach the right hand over the head and down the back. Stretch the left arm down and reach your right arm from behind your back. Don’t forget to take a couple of deep breaths while clasping both of your arms together. Repeat the same exercise on the other side too.
The cross-body shoulder stretch helps extend the back of the shoulder. In order to perform this exercise correctly, you need to stand with feet hip-width apart, stretching the right arm out and bringing the arm across the body, so that the hand points to the floor on the other side of the left leg. Hook the left forearm under the right arm, supporting the right arm above the elbow. Use the left forearm to pull the right arm further in and across the body, stretching the back of the right shoulder. Repeat the same exercise for the other side.
The eagle arm stretch is another yoga position recommended in cases of shoulder tightness. This stretching exercise aims to increase the flexibility of your shoulders. In order to perform this exercise correctly, you need to stand with feet hip-width apart, lifting the arms to the sides while inhaling and swinging the arms toward the body while exhaling. The right arms should cross under your left arm, and cradle the elbows into one another, bringing the palms together as well. Take a couple of deep breaths while remaining in this position, release your arms and repeat the exercise again.
To do cross-body arm swings you need to stand with the feet hip-width apart and lift your arms out to the sides. While exhaling, bring the arms towards each other, crossing one arm under the other. While inhaling swing the arms back out to the sides. Repeat this exercise a couple of times.
This stretching exercise for your shoulders helps improve mobility in the thoracic spine, lumbar spine, and shoulders. In order to perform the exercise correctly, you need to lay on your right side on the ground or a mat while keeping your knees slightly bent. Stretch the right arm straight ahead and place the left hand on top of your right hand. Rotate the left arm toward the floor behind the back, as if drawing an arch in the air while keeping your knees and hips pointing to the right during the entire exercise. Start again from the beginning by bringing the left arm back over to meet the right arm. Also, don’t forget to switch sides, by king on the ground on your left side.
Stretching exercises are very good for your health, but stretching exercises, when accompanied with strengthening exercises, are even better.
How to prevent shoulder tightness?
The best thing you can do for your neck and shoulders is to have and maintain a good body posture especially when spending too many hours in front of a PC in a sitting position. Avoid lifting heavy things if you want to watch your back.
Also, don’t forget the stretching exercises mentioned above together with strengthening exercises for your neck and shoulders which ill prevent shoulder tightness in the long term.
If stretching and strengthening exercises together with a good posture don’t help improve the pain and muscle tightness of your neck and shoulders then it’s time to see a doctor. Getting the right diagnosis is necessary, along with other treatment options that your doctor might recommend for you. Besides medications that aim to relieve the pain and discomfort caused by tight shoulders, other treatment options like massage therapy can be helpful. | https://lerablog.org/health/sport/fitness/8-stretching-exercises-for-shoulder-tightness/ |
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Feb 17, 2021· Update: 31 August, 2015: It is now possible to get Bangladesh visa on arrival on the land ports too beside the international airports. This article has been updated accordingly. Citizens of most countries require a valid visa to enter Bangladesh. You can take a Bangladesh visa from your country of origin or the country you are coming from to Bangladesh.
Invitation letter for Schengen visa for visiting family and friends If you are travelling primarily for social reasons (i.e. to visit family or friends) and are staying with them (i.e. staying with the person you are visiting rather than at a hotel) you will need to provide an invitation letter.
Invitation/sponsor letter from Bangladesh or proof of confirmation of hotel accommodation. Proof of return booking ticket. Private bank statement with minimum amount IDR 20 million; Guarantee letter from the employer, if employed or organization (if service). Copy of …
Jul 01, 2018· Invitation letter for Bangladesh tourist visa. I am a Croatian citizen.Croatia is a part of European Union. This August I intend to visit Bangladesh as a tourist for a couple of days. Be so kind and advise whether invitation letter from BD is necessary for the obtaining of tourist visa.Thanks in advance and best regards.
Tourist Visa Invitation. Tourist Invitation consists of a Tourist Confirmation with the attached Tourist Voucher containing the detailed information on stay in the country. In addition we send a sample of the filled in Consular Questionnaire. As a rule, the Invitation for Tourist Visa can be submitted to the Consulate in copy.
Mar 02, 2020· 2. IF THE LETTER OF INVITATION IS PRESENTED IN THE TOURIST VISA APPLICATION. When the letter of invitation is presented in the tourist visa applications, the letter of the inviting person, T.C identification number, Open ID, guest list, residence address, contact number, duration and purpose of stay, whether or not the applicant is related to the applicant must be present. …
Covering-Letter: Covering Letter from applicant name, designation, Passport Number, purpose and outlining who will be responsible for the full costs of the trip – travel, accommodation, expenses etc. Addressed to – The Visa Officer, Embassy of Indonesia, Dhaka. Invitation Letter: (If …
Sep 12, 2018· Sample Invitation To Embassy Letter Writing Tips. Mention the duration of the person's stay. The country and relation with you have to be clearly stated. Make sure you do not make any mistakes while writing the letter. Mention if the person is visiting you for the first time or has visited you in the past. The letter must be short and precise ...
Sep 20, 2020· A visa invitation can be arranged in several ways, depending on what type of invitation you will chose. An invitation for a tourist or business visa online can be arranged in 5 minutes, while a private or work visa invitation will take 30 to 50 days, respectively, to process.
Following is a sample invitation letter for visitor visa or tourist visa to USA. This letter should be provided by the sponsor of the US visa to the visa applicant.Sponsor should provide this letter to invite parents, relatives or any guest to USA. Parents applying for tourist visa to visit their child in USA can carry this this letter when go ...
Apr 09, 2020· A tourist will need a Letter of invitation (LOI) or Sponsor Letter if he wants to travel to Pakistan, especially to the northern areas of Pakistan. Pakistan has relatively strict visa rules, and no foreign tourists can visit without a Letter of invitation to Pakistan.
To register for a Russian tourist visa, you need to: Fill out an application; Pay the consular invitation fee; Receive an invitation by e-mail and present it at the consulate along with a passport and proof of payment of the consular fee. The tourist visas are issued for no more than 30 days. The cost of the Russian tourist invitation: 1.
Student visa: Letter from the concerned educational institution duly attested by the Bangladesh Ministry of Education, Dhaka and Certificate of financial guarantee : Business visa: Letter from the employer in the United States and invitation letter from the host company in …
Sample invitation letter for Schengen Business visa. If you are travelling for the purpose of business, you can view the below example of a Schengen visa sponsor letter. In this sample visa invite letter, a businessman named George Landz is inviting a man named Muhammad Aziz to Germany for the purpose of business.
Sample Visitor's Visa Invitation Letter. Jim and Madeline Newton 114 Lime Grove Montego Bay, St. Mary's Parish Jamaica, West Indies. Subject: Invitation to visit me in the U.S. Dear Mom and Uncle Jim: I would like to extend this invitation for you both to come and visit me in the United States for three months. It sure would be nice to see you ...
Mar 15, 2021· Invitation Letter for China Visa 2021/2022. 1. New visa policy to mainland China for foreigners in Macau. According to official notice on March 15, foreigners reside in Macau, permanent and non-permanent both included, can apply for all types of Chinese Visa to visit China. All applicants must provide a proof of at least 28 days' continuous ...
The first Invitation letter for Visa that I wrote was done in 2002 when I invited my dad to visit me in Canada. I searched the web for a sample invitation letter for visa and at that time I did not find any good samples. I then contacted a friend who is an immigration lawyer who helped me out.. Since then, I have helped many other people to write several invitation letters for visas to friends ...
Sample Company Invitation Letter for Business Visa Application Any person - who is living outside India (Foreigners) and who wants to visit India to attend some business affairs or to explore any business opportunities - will need a Business Visa from the Embassy or …
To apply for clearance, kindly apply via the Consulate with 1 photocopy of your travel document or passport, 1 photograph with a white background and 2 visa application forms duly completed and signed, with visa fee. This process may take from 2-6 weeks.". Report inappropriate content. The_Egyptian_Guide.
Letter of Invitation. To fulfill the Tourist visa invite requirement, you must select one of the following options: A copy of your round trip airline ticket and hotel reservation, or ; A letter of invitation obtained by your host or the organization you will be visiting.
• Business visa : Letter from the employer in the Belgium/Luxembourg or Concerned Chamber of Commerce and invitation letter from the host company in Bangladesh clearly stating the purpose of the visit. • Investor visa: Letter of recommendation from the Bangladesh Ministry of Industries or the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority ...
The Saudi Invitation Letters are processed in 2 working days and are meant for commercial visits for people in Management positions. We email you the electronic Saudi Arabia Letter of Invitation. This is the first step to getting a Saudi visa. The second step is to submit your passport, application form, documents and Invitation through the ...
Dec 03, 2019· Invitation Letter Format for Visa Application. We would like to formally invite Mr. Gaurav Sharma, Marketing Manager, Zenith Technologies, to visit our company, M/s Pinnacle Hospitality in California, USA. From last ten years, Zenith Technologies and M/s Pinnacle Hospitality have been associated and the purpose of this visit is to take this ...
Tourist Visa. If you are planning to go to Brazil for private purposes like visiting your friends and family or going for a vacation, you need to have a tourist visa in place. Tourist visa-on-arrival is not available for Brazil and therefore you will have to apply for an e-visa or get it beforehand from your nearest Brazilian diplomatic mission.
Invitation Letter from Family or Friends for Tourism Purposes. One very common reason people travel to the Schengen area is to visit relatives or friends. This is also seen as a visa for tourism in the particular country. So for the invitation letter for tourist visa, family or friends must write it for you.
The maximum validity period of a letter of invitation is 365 days. ACCRUED RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS • Each copy of the letter of invitation must be signed by the host. • The authority shall deliver the letter of invitation to the host. The responsibility for having it …
Portugal Tourist/Visitor Visa: Invitation letter from your family or friends in Portugal with the address and phone number – if applicable; Bank statement of the last 6 months; Passport copies; Portugal Visa for Business Purposes: Invitation letter from the Portuguese company you will be visiting and their detailed address accompanied with ...
TOURIST INVITATION TO RUSSIA. Price starts from $18. Single/Double entry. (Russian tourist voucher, aim-tourist voucher) For tourist visit up to 30 days. E-mailed shortly after payment. Apply NOW. BUSINESS INVITATION TO RUSSIA. Price starts from $125.
The sample format for this letter can be found here. Business invitation. A business invitation letter from the sponsoring company in the destination country. The letter should be printed on company letterhead stationery, addressed to "The Consulate of Papua New Guinea, Visa Section", and signed by a senior manager.
Official invitation accepted by the Russian consulate.The invitation, also called visa support document, tourist voucher, invitation letter, tourist confirmation or confirmation of hosting a foreign tourist, is issued by the Russian tour operator Russia Support (Travel Econom / Voyage Expo).It is registered with the Federal Agency of Tourist Operators of the Russian Federation (Registration ...
Sample of the Tourist Travel Requirements for an Indonesia Visa for UK Citizens. Passport. The applicant's actual signed passport. The passport must: Have at least one blank visa page; Be valid for six months beyond entry date; Copy of Passport Identification Page. A clear colour photocopy of the information page(s) from the applicant's ...
Basic information For Bangladeshi visa seekers who want to travel to the United Kingdom are issued visas in varies categories such as: British High Commission Dhaka United Nations Road Baridhara. P O Box 6079 Dhaka – 1212, Bangladesh Email: [email protected] Telephone: +88 02 882 2705 Consular fax / email: +880 2 988 2819 / [email protected] VFS Global manages visa ...
Visa Consultancy. For Bangladeshi visa seekers who want to travel to the Turkey are issued visas in varies categories such as: Visit visa Tourist visa Business visa Family visa Others. Turkish Embassy Bangladesh. House No: 7 Road No: 2 Baridhara – Dhaka-1212. Telephone: (+88) 02 984 2198, (+88) 02 882 3536. Fax: (+88) 02 882 3873.
Sample Letter to US Consulate for Visitors Visa Letter to consulate requesting Visa for Parents, relatives or friend you are sponsoring. This letter must be prepared and signed by the sponsor, and presented to the consulate or embassy by the applicant at the time of the visitor visa interview . | https://www.tis-school.it/2022/02/21_38956.html |
Team 3
Team 32018-12-11T09:50:48+00:00
Skeletal muscle dysfunction in acquired and inherited diseases
Our team develops a translational research to better understand the involvement of skeletal muscle in the physiopathology of acquired (Type 2 diabetes, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Kidney Disease) and inherited (Facioscapulohumeral Distrophy) diseases. Our team is a leading expert in clinical and fundamental research in the fields of inflammation, oxidative stress and muscle regeneration, and therefore, we have developed innovative study models such as human tissue biopsies and primary cultures of muscle and adipose stem cells.
Theme 1 :Identificationof the molecular mechanismsof insulin resistance: the role of innate immunity.
In recent years the incidence of obesity and related metabolic disorders has increased significantly, obesity is now considered a pandemic. In France, in 2014, 33% of the adult population is overweight [25 kg / m ≤ BMI (body mass index: weight / height) <30 kg / m] and 15% is obese [BMI> 30 kg / m ] (ObEpi-Roche, 2012) and 4 million people have diabetes. (Read more)
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a respiratory disease characterized by significant systemic, extra-pulmonary, manifestations that contribute to patient survival prognosis. Peripheral muscle dysfunction is an important systemic consequence in COPD as it is involved in exercise intolerance, poor quality of life and reduced survival. Deconditioning was the initially proposed mechanism to explain the development of muscle dysfunction in COPD, but there is accumulating evidence that other potential factors are also involved such as oxidative stress, inflammation and malnutrition. In the past 5 years, we have contributed to the increased knowledge in this topic by developing translational studies in COPD, from classical clinical, including pulmonary rehabilitation, to more fundamental research at the cellular and molecular level.(Read more)
Theme 3 :Role of oxidative stress and inflammation in the pathophysiology of chronic kidney disease: consequences on skeletal muscle function and vascular calcifications
Summary: Oxidative stress and inflammation, which are linked via amplification loops, are cornerstones in the pathophysiology of malnutrition-inflammation complex syndrome (MICS), contributing to worsen the outcome of chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. Skeletal muscle and vascular smooth muscle cells appear as main targets of MICS. Indeed, skeletal muscle dysfunction in uremia has been characterized by a reduction in exercise tolerance and lean body mass (LBM) wasting appearing as an active phenomenon.
Our project is focused on three objectives :
1) to develop creatinine metabolism as a clinically available biomarker of muscle wasting and dysfunction. 2) to characterize and modulate (through changes of oxidative stress and inflammation parameters) the phenotypic skeletal muscle changes related to CKD and evaluate the effects of exercise training, benefiting the facilities and similar experimental design as previously used in the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease topic. 3) to understand the involvement of oxidative stress and inflammation in uremia-related vascular calcifications. (Read more)
Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD), the most common inherited muscle disease of adult life in Europe, is an autosomal dominant disease characterized by progressive weakness and atrophy of specific skeletal muscles.
Despite major progress in the understanding of the genetic basis of FSHD, the exact mechanisms that lead to FSHD defects are not completely understood and no curative treatment is available. However, there is growing evidence that oxidative stress may contribute to FSHD pathology. Collectively, our data support the role of oxidative stress and the value of an anti-oxidant strategy adapted to the FSHD-specific “oxidative stress”. Indeed, our previous results show that vitamins and minerals may improve skeletal muscle function in patients with FSHD. Our major goal is to determine the precise mechanisms and targets involved in this effect. Our general objective is to create a synergy between basic and clinical research by assessing the effects of therapeutic supplementation with antioxidants and/or rehabilitation on muscle disease. (Read more)
Theme 5 :Stem cells and muscular tissue regeneration
During skeletal muscle regeneration, the processes controlling the maintenance of cell immaturity and the transitions from immature muscle stem cells (IMSC) into commited skeletal muscle cells are extremely important. These cell fate decisions thus influence the quality of cell therapy strategies. In this context, our research projects aim to identify the molecular and cellular mechanisms that govern the heterogeneity and survival of muscle stem cells in order to maximize their ability to regenerate human muscle tissues. (Read more)
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There are times when Access contains data you want to analyze in an Excel spreadsheet. This export may take place once or more frequently depending on the situation. For example, let’s say at work you have a monthly report for your department head which pulls monthly customer contact data from Access into an Excel table. Although Access can create reports, your department manager is more comfortable with Excel and wants the data reported in that program. We’ll walk through setting this scenario up and show you the integration capabilities of Access.
Exporting Data to Excel
Open the Access file to be exported and follow these steps to export the customer contact information into Excel.
Step 1
Before exporting data from Access look through the data to identify any errors (e.g. #Error, #Num!, #Name?, etc.). Fix any errors—otherwise errors might multiply as incorrect information may be placed in incorrect Excel cells in a worksheet. Now that the data is ready go to the next step.
Step 2
Select the External Data tab, Excel button and an Export – Excel Spreadsheet command window opens.
Step 3
Fill out the information asked for in the window:
- File name: name for the exported excel file.
- File format: older Excel versions are available as well as the current *.xlsx extension default.
- Specify export options: Decide whether to export the data format and layout or not.
- If exporting the format, the next box/choice becomes available whether to open the destination file after the export is complete or not.
- Click the OK button.
Note: To Format or Not To Format?
How should you determine whether to export data with or without formatting?
- With Formatting: Exporting a table or query with formatting allows the export wizard to use the format property settings, have hyperlink fields exported as hyperlinks and have it use the format settings. With rich text fields text is exported without formatting.
- Without Formatting: Exporting a table or query without format means all records and fields are exported with formatting ignored. Only lookup ID values are exported, and hyperlinks are exported as regular text.
Step 4
One more window opens indicating the export is successful and asks if these same export steps should be saved. This option is used if you are frequently exporting this same data often. In this case we leave the box unchecked.
Step 5
Choose the Excel workbook and file format. If you selected the open the file when done exporting an Excel worksheet will open with the exported Access data. Now you can use the data to do anything in Excel you wish to do.
PRactice Questions
https://assessments.lumenlearning.co...essments/18796
This example was using contact information data in Access, but all kinds of data can be exported from Access to Excel. If an error slipped through, you can either fix it in Excel or return to Access and fix the error there and re-export the data into an Excel worksheet.
Note: Export Possibilities
What is and isn’t possible to export to Excel:
- There are a few types that can be exported to Excel; forms, tables, reports, queries or even a few selected records from a datasheet.
- Things that cannot be exported to Excel are modules or macros and if there are subreports, subdatasheet or subforum in the data they are not exported and must repeat the export for each of them if you want them exported to Excel.
- Only one database object can be exported in a single export, but multiple worksheets can be merged in Excel to cobble together one table or report from the individual exports.
Now that you have walked through exporting a table from Access to Excel, watch this short video to see additional ways to export tables, queries and reports from Access to Excel.
You can also view a transcript for the video “Exporting Tables, Queries and Reports” here (opens in new window). | https://biz.libretexts.org/Courses/Lumen_Learning/Book%3A_Computer_Applications_for_Managers_(Lumen)/15%3A_Integration/15.12%3A_Excel_Table_from_Access_Data |
Why is it important to use a cutting board when cutting food?
It is essential for safe and efficient cutting and it protects the countertop and the cook.
What three terms refer to the same basic process of mixing?
Mix combine blend
What is the correct method for measuring liquid?
1) set the cup on a level surface 2) pour the liquid into the measuring cup 3) bend down to check the measurement at eye level 4) add more or pour of excess 5) pour into the mixing container, use rubber scraper if needed
What is the correct method for measuring dry food?
1) place a piece of wax paper under the proper size measuring cup to catch any extra ingredient. If you need 3/4 cup, use the 1/2 cup and 1/4 cup measures. For 2/3 cup, measure 1/3 cup twice. 2) fill the cup with the ingredient 3) level off the top of the cup, using the straight edge of a spatula. Let the excess fall on the wax paper and return it to its original container. 4) Pour the ingredient into the mixture, using a rubber scraper if needed
How would you mix ingredients when making a salad?
Toss
What are some of the tools needed to measure ingredients accurately?
dry and liquid measuring cups measuring spoons
Why is it necessary to check a liquid measurement at eye level?
A cup in the hand can be tilted, resulting in an incorrect reading , or jostles, resulting in a spill
Why shouldn't you pack or shake down flour after spooning it into a measuring cup?
Probably get too much if you shake the cup or pack the ingredient down
Explain how you would measure a heaping teaspoon of herbs and a pinch of salt.
Healing teaspoon of herbs - leave the ingredient piled in the spoon, should equal almost twice the amount you would get if you leveled off
Pinch of salt - smaller quantity, measured as the amount that can be held between the thumb and finger
Describe three ways to measure solid fats, such as shortening or butter.
stick method (butter/margarine) - 1/4 pound sticks, wrapper marked in tablespoons and in fractions of a cup, cut through the paper with a serrated knife; dry measure method - pack fat into dry measuring cup, pressing firmly to eliminate pockets of space and remove air bubbles, level off the top, use a rubber scrapper; water -displacement method - subtract the amount of fat you want to measure from one cup, pour that resulting amount of water into the measuring cup, and fat until the water reaches the 1 - cup mark, hold fat down under water, lift fat from water with a slotted food
Why is it more accurate to measure some foods by weight rather than by volume?
weight is a more exact measurement than volume, they may be in packages measured by weight
What are two essential tools for safe cutting?
a sharpened knife and a cutting board
What two techniques for changing the size and shape of food result in a smooth mixture?
purée and mash
What are four things that coating accomplishes?
Coating adds flavor and texture, helps food brown better, and retain moisture
How is brown sugar measured?
it contains moisture, tends to be fluffy, pack down into cup with back of sppon, it should hold its shape, measure as a dry ingredient
How is yogurt measured?
can be spooned or scraped out into and out of the cup, used as dry ingredient measuring instructions
How is flour measured?
sift it to remove small lumps or add air; spoon it lightly into measuring cups, use dry ingredient measuring instructions
How is milk measured?
use liquid measuring instructions
How is a stick of butter measured?
use the stick method for measuring solid fats
putting a thin layer of another food on food
coating
dividing a food into smaller parts, using a tool with a sharp blade
cutting
combining two or more ingredients thoroughly so they blend
mixing
subtracting the weight of the container to find the weight of the food alone
taring
to cut food into small, irregular pieces
chop
to chop finely
mince
to cut food into 1/2 inch square pieces
cube
to cut food into 1-8 to 1-4 inch square pieces
dice
to cut off a very thin layer of peel with a paring knife
pare
to make straight, shallow cuts with a slicing knife in the surface of a food
score
to cut food into large, thin pieces
slice
to cut food into very thin pieces
sliver
to pulverize food into crumbs, powder, or paste with a rolling pin
crush
to break or tear foods, such as fish, into small layers
flake
to cut food into smaller pieces or shreds by rubbing the food against the rough surface of a grater
grate
pull it apart with a fork; pressing the food against the rough surface of a grater
shred
to break up foods such as meat or coffee beans into coarse, medium, or fine particles
grind
to crush food into a smooth mixture
mash
to use a blender to grind or mash cooked fruits or vegetables
puree
to divide food into four equal pieces
quarter
to cut food into small pieces with kitchen shears
snip
thoroughly mix and add air to food
beat
beat ingredients together, such as butter and sugar, until soft and creamy
cream
gently mix a light, fluffy mix into a heavier one
fold
mix with a spoon or wire whisk in a circular motion to distribute heat and keep foods from sticking
stir
mix ingredients, such as salads, by tumbling them with tongs
toss
beat quickly and vigorously to incorporate air into a mixture, making it light and fluffy
whip
pour liquid over a food as it cooks
baste
coat a food with flour, milk or beaten egg, and seasoned crumbs or cornmeal
bread
use a pastry brush to coat a food with liquid, such as butter
brush
to put small pieces of food, such as butter, on the surface of another food
dot
to coat a food heavily with flour, bread crumbs, or cornmeal
dredge
lightly sprinkle a food with flour or confectioner's sugar
dust
to coat a food, such as chicken or fish with flour
flour
to coat a food with a liquid that forms a glossy finish
glaze
to dip a food briefly in boiling water and then in cold water to stop the cooking process; one step in canning and freezing fruits and veggies. these kind of peppers and almonds are more easily peeled for roasting
blanch
to cook a food in a sugar syrup, some root vegies, fruits, and fruit peels are prepared this way
candy
to heat sugar until it liquefies and darkens in color; other foods may be this to release their sugar content
carmelize
to make a liquid clear by removing solid particles. A broth is this and the butter fat poured off from the milk solids
clarify
to remove the center of a fruit such as an apple or pineapple
core
to loosen the flavorful food particles in a pan after food has been browned the food is removed from the pan and excess fat poured off a small amount of liquid is added, stirred, and simmered, resulting sauces served with food
deglaze
to separate water from solid food, such as veggies or cooked pasta, by putting the food in a colander or strainer
drain
to add flavor to a food by soaking it in a cold, seasoned liquid the liquid is usually discarded
marinate
to shape a food by hand or by placing it in a decorative mold
mold
to remove a stone or seed from fruit using a sharp knife
pit
to boil a mixture in order to evaporate the liquid and intensify the flavor also called cooking down
reduce
to heat liquid to jest below the boiling point also to blanch food
scald
to add such flavorings as herbs and spices to a food
season
to remove the tough outer coating of a food, such as eggs or nuts
shell
to soak dry ingredients, such as tea or herbs in hot liquid to extract flavor or soften the texture, mixture strained, particles discarded
steep
to separate solid particles from a liquid, such as broth, by pouring the mixture through a strainer or sieve
strain
to leave an opening in a container so steam can escape during cooking
vent
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FIELD OF INVENTION
BACKGROUND
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The present invention relates generally to confectionary products, more specifically but not by way of limitation, a novel candy bar manufactured from two distinct materials.
Millions of individuals regularly snack on various food items as part of their regular diet or as a treat during the day. Individuals consume snacks from a variety of categories such as but not limited to fruit, vegetables, proteins or sweets. A popular snack category enjoyed by many individuals are sweets. Sweets range from hard candies such as but not limited to lollipops to chocolate bars. Those skilled in the art are aware that numerous types of candy bars are commercially available. Many types of candy bars are manufactured using sweeteners, lipids, emulsifiers and protein matter such as but not limited to nuts. Candy bars are also manufactured using fruit pieces such as but not limited raisins or cherries. The latter type of candy bar are typically paired with chocolate either being coated therewith or being manufactured such that the candy bar is a mixture of the fruit and nut pieces with the chocolate.
While numerous candy bar options exist, there are no existing candy bar embodiments that combine a licorice material with a chocolate material. The manufacturing process for licorice and chocolate are very unique and the instant invention provides a process to produce a candy bar that is manufactured utilizing the two aforementioned materials to produce a desirable treat.
It is the object of the present invention to provide a candy bar that is manufactured to include a licorice and a chocolate material.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a candy bar containing a mixture of licorice and chocolate wherein in one embodiment the chocolate material is provided as a coating.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a candy bar having a mixture of licorice and chocolate wherein in an alternative embodiment the chocolate comprises the core of the candy bar.
Still a further object of the present invention is to provide a candy bar that utilizes a mixture of licorice and chocolate wherein in the embodiment having the exterior coating of chocolate the chocolate is in a semi-solid state.
An additional object of the present invention is to provide a candy bar manufactured from a mixture of licorice and chocolate wherein in the embodiment having the chocolate core, the chocolate is in a liquid state.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a candy bar manufactured from a mixture of chocolate and licorice wherein the candy bar is provided in several different sizes.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a candy bar that is manufactured from a combination of licorice and chocolate wherein the licorice is flavored with a plurality of natural flavors.
To the accomplishment of the above and related objects the present invention may be embodied in the form illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Attention is called to the fact that the drawings are illustrative only. Variations are contemplated as being a part of the present invention, limited only by the scope of the claims.
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Referring now to the drawings submitted herewith, wherein various elements depicted therein are not necessarily drawn to scale and wherein through the views and figures like elements are referenced with identical reference numerals, there is illustrated a candy bar constructed manufactured according to the procedures of the present invention.
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The candy bar further includes a first material and a second material . The first material is a licorice material. The licorice material is manufactured utilizing a cornstarch molding process. In step , the cornstarch molding process includes providing at least one tray having a plurality of cylindrical shaped molds is filled with cornstarch. Those skilled in the art will recognize that numerous different shapes and sizes of molds could be utilized to in the tray to produce a candy bar of a different shapes and sizes. In step , cornstarch is utilized to coat the molds of the tray. The cornstarch will provide a coating for the licorice finished product to substantially inhibit the licorice from sticking to both the tray molds and other licorice pieces during packaging. In step , a syrup is manufactured. The syrup contains a mixture of molasses and coconut oil. While varying percentages of coconut oil are contemplated within the scope of the present invention, good results have been achieved utilizing a coconut oil percentage within a range of five to ten percent. This range provides the desired elasticity while providing an improved mouth-feel to a consumer of the candy bar due to the coconut oils properties that consist of medium chain fatty acids that facilitate a semi-solid phase at room temperature. Additionally, the coconut oil maintains its structure during the heating process of the syrup over other common oils that are used during the manufacturing of licorice. Many oils such as vegetable oil are broken down during high heat processes. In step , the syrup mixture is cooked to what is commonly known as a soft-ball stage. As is known in the art, the soft-ball stage of candy cooking occurs when the syrup begins to form a soft more viscous material but not yet hard. In step , flour, sweetener and flavoring are added to the syrup in the soft-ball stage. In the preferred embodiment, a flour such as but not limited to cake flour or other similarly fine ground flour is utilized to blend into the syrup mixture. The finer ground flour provides for an improved texture of the finished candy bar . For the flour, levels of two to six percent of the total volume of syrup are added. This level provides for the desired consistency once the candy bar has been cured. Additionally, during step sweeteners and flavorings are added. It is preferred that warm liquid cane sugar is added to an amount equivalent to ten percent. For example but not by way of limitation, if a batch of syrup in step is being manufactured at a volume of 1000 liters, it is desirable within the scope of the present invention to add 100 liters of warm liquid cane sugar. This percentage provides the desired sweetness of the candy bar and the use of liquid sugar ensures a smooth consistency of the finished candy bar . Conventional licorice utilizes powdered sugar or granular sugar and must be cooked sufficiently in order to properly dissolve the granules. The use of liquid sugar reduces the cooking time as well as improving the texture of the finish candy bar . Still continuing with step , a desired flavor and coloring is added. Those skilled in the art will recognize that numerous different flavors could be added such as but not limited to cherry or raspberry. Additionally, it is contemplated within the scope of the present invention that the flavoring agents are added to produce a desired flavor profile and that no specific concentration of flavoring agent is required. In step , the mixture is cooled to approximately one hundred and fifty degrees and then extruded through a plate having an annular aperture with a diameter that is similar in size to the width of the molds in the tray. As the mixture is extruded, it is cut into lengths that are generally equal to the lengths of the molds of the tray. The cut lengths of extruded mixture are placed in the molds of the tray in step . In step , the final curing of the licorice material takes place. As the final curing of the licorice material takes place the mixture begins to harden so as to form a more waxy consistency. Subsequent the completion of the curing process the cured pieces are removed from the molds in the tray.
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In step , the second material is added to finish the manufacturing of the candy bar . The second material of the candy bar is chocolate. As shown in the Figures submitted herewith, there are two embodiments of the candy bar wherein the embodiments utilize the second material either as a coating or as a filling. For the embodiment illustrated in , the second material is injected into the completed first material . This is accomplished through the utilization of appropriate equipment having a reservoir, pumping system and needle so as to facilitate the injection of the second material(chocolate) into the finished first material(licorice). In this embodiment, it is preferred that the chocolate is manufactured with a process such that the fat content is higher so as to produce a lower melting point wherein the approximate melting point is eighty degrees. This provides for a desired consistency of the filling during consumption of the candy bar . A second material having a lower fat content and thus a higher melting point does not provide the desired consistency for the embodiment of the candy bar illustrated in .
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In step , the alternative embodiment of a coated candy bar can also be accomplished. For a coated candy bar , the first material is substantially covered with the second material . For this embodiment the second material , chocolate, is manufactured using a process commonly known as Pickering emulsion. This process reduces the fat content of the chocolate so as to increase the melting point. During the Pickering emulsion process, the natural fats of the chocolate are replaced with fruit juice droplets. As the fat is removed, the melting point of the chocolate is increased. The fruit juice utilized during the Pickering emulsion process must be the same as the flavoring agent added in step . For example but not by way of limitation, if a cherry flavoring agent was utilized in step , cherry juice must be utilized in step . This provides for a consistency of flavor profile as the chocolate will inherit some of the fruit flavor during the Pickering emulsion process. This process is utilized to remove the fat content of chocolate such that the melting point of the chocolate is approximately 104 degrees.
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While preferred embodiments of the candy bar have been disclosed herein it is contemplated within the scope of the present invention that variations of flavors, sizes and shapes could be manufactured and not depart from the scope of the present invention.
In the preceding detailed description, reference has been made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which are shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodiments, and certain variants thereof, have been described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention. It is to be understood that other suitable embodiments may be utilized and that logical changes may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. The description may omit certain information known to those skilled in the art. The preceding detailed description is, therefore, not intended to be limited to the specific forms set forth herein, but on the contrary, it is intended to cover such alternatives, modifications, and equivalents, as can be reasonably included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
A more complete understanding of the present invention may be had by reference to the following Detailed Description and appended claims when taken in conjunction with the accompanying Drawings wherein:
FIG. 1
is a diagrammatic sketch of a first embodiment of the present invention; and
FIG. 2
is a diagrammatic sketch of an alternative embodiment of the present invention; and
FIG. 3
is a flow chart of the process of making the present invention. | |
Warren Buffett is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist who serve as the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.
He is considered one of the most successful investors in the world and has a net worth of US$84 billion as of June 3, 2018, making him the third wealthiest person in the world.
Buffett has been the chairman and largest shareholder of Berkshire Hathaway since 1970, and he has been referred to as the “Wizard”, “Oracle”, or “Sage” of Omaha by global media outlets.
Buffett is a notable philanthropist, having pledged to give away 99 % of his fortune to philanthropic causes, primarily via the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
He founded The Giving Pledge in 2009 with Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg, whereby billionaires pledge to give away at least half of their fortunes.
Warren Buffett ’s wisdom, knowledge, experience, and quotes are always inspiring entrepreneurs and startups. Over the period of time, Warren Buffett quotes are inspiring young and established entrepreneurs and startups.
Warren Buffett quotes are generally on money, investments, business management and leadership.
Here are some of the best inspirational and motivational quotes of Warren Buffett. This will help you in your entrepreneur and startup journey. | http://www.desientrepreneurs.com/warren-buffetts-quotes-motivational-infographics/ |
Situated within the grand Wisconsin River Valley in fabled Spring Green is a home like no other. Completed in 2020, the first-built Poem Home is a modest home with a modern sensibility. At only 1208 square feet, the home is spacious, with a linear kitchen tucked under a loft and two bedroom suites flanking a generous living area. The home offers a feeling of shelter and a life integrated with nature.
The home is super-insulated and net-zero. Indoor air is healthful, with building materials and finishes selected for their non-toxic content. Rustic wood, stone walls, and raw concrete contrast with more polished surfaces and furnishings to create an authentic and appealing atmosphere that blends inside space to outside space. | https://poemhomes.org/2020-poem-home/ |
We plan to work extensively to address the problems of the region.
Our focus regarding the development of Uttar Pradesh will include the following:
Soil and water conservation measures;
Iimprovement of crop husbandry practices;
Iinterventions on non-farm sectors.
Empower Women through livelihood Skills
Conducting Seminars and Awareness Programs on various topics
OUR PLANS FOR WOMEN EMPOWERMENT
Indian women are economically, politically and socially marginalized. In order to empower women to perform their role in new nation building, Nayana Trust plans to come up with different interventions.
SHG formation, setting forward backward linkages and promote entrepreneurship skills among women is one of the project to be implemented by the organization. We want to empower the women economically. Along the same as women will be holding means of production and they will be getting high space in decision making process in the family. Indeed this will help to gradually bring them in the main stream society through active participation in Panchayati Raj Institutions.
Nayana Trust also plans to work on Women Center model of community development.
Along with economic interventions, organization has been working on their health & nutrition, legal aid, domestic violence etc.
FUTURE PLANS OF NAYANA TRUST WITH SPECIAL FOCUS ON ENVIRONMENT
• To work on programmes which supports ecological integrity, economic and social justice, and provides sustainable livelihoods.
• To work for human health and environmental sustainability through promotion the programmes and activities for rural development and natural resources management.
• To work for generating awareness and capacity building of community to cope up with drinking water, sanitation and hygiene issues of the region.
• To promote the programmes which facilities the traditional and indigenous pattern of living that respect and honour the earth and its life support system aminely with medicinal plants, bio-fertilizers, bio-pesticides, organic farming, effluvent treatment and utilization as fertilizers etc.
• To work for generating awareness and to develop understanding about mitigation measures of global warming and climate change.
• To undertake massive tree plantation program by involving the poorest at the community level for increasing their family and household income and reducing carbon emission in the environment.
• To strengthen the solar power program for the poorest of the poor.
• To involve marginalized farmer for producing climate resilient agricultural product and climate tolerant variety with the help and support of experts.
FUTURE PLANS OF NAYANA TRUST REGARDING VARIOUS SOCIAL ISSUES
- Continue and strengthen the health care services for the rural poor people of the country.
- Continuing the education program including the provision of providing scholarship among the poor students in the country
- Continue the poverty alleviation support to the poor as the countrys 50 percent people live below the poverty line.
- The establish connection of the poor people with socio-economic safety net program of national, regional and international donor communities.
- To implement the water , sanitation and hygiene promotion program in all over the country including cyclone sidr areas.
- To build the awareness among the poorest of the poor on different development issues
- To promote the rights of poor and hard core people of the country.
- To introduce program for the climate victims rehabilitation.
- To ensure necessary services of the poor through establishing linkages with different service providers
- To ensure education for the drop out and children out of school and never enrolled in the school.
- Setting up of a Old Age Home, where all destitutes, irrespective of age, caste, creed, sex, language, etc. will be treated at par. | http://nayanatrust.org/mypage.php?page_id=MTcw |
The slogan for the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018 – Our heritage: where the past meets the future – has currently set the tone for Europe’s museum sector.
Arguably, the title of the European Museum of the Year 2018 has been given to the Design Museum in London, for ‘celebrating and exploring the magic of human creativity, the objects, ideas, skills, and forces that shape our lives’.
The broad concept of human creativity thus has been recognised in its very concrete shape of museum’s involvement with, and being part of, the creative industries generally, which fundamentally shape our everyday lives whether we notice it or not.
It was through the Creative Britain programme of 1990’s and 2000’s that the concept of the creative economy as a driver of social change emerged. This informed the shaping of the European Commission’s own proposal – the €1.46 billion framework programme Creative Europe (2014 – 2020) which offers support to the culture and audio-visual sectors.
This EU sponsored programme fostered a proliferation of cultural policy planning documents in member states, which invariably included the adjective “creative” in their respective titles - Creative Latvia 2014 – 2020, being an example. In view of this policy thrust across Europe and bearing in mind museums’ self-awareness and how their governing bodies profile them as part of the broad creative family, should one not have anticipated strong creative partnerships between museums and the other creative industries?
Yet the research undertaken in 2015 and 2017 by NEMO’s Working Group on Museums and the Creative Industries found to the contrary. With some remarkable exceptions, the surveys undertaken by the Group show that museums’ role in the context of creative industries across continental Europe has, in general, only been vaguely recognised. Even though collaboration with other creative industries was seen as advantageous, such partnerships were not top of the agenda for museum governing bodies.
The primary task of this exercise is to present recent case studies, drawn from across Europe, featuring innovative practice through partnerships between museums and creative industries. These have been gathered through a general call for submissions placed on the NEMO website and by individual invitations to NEMO members. Given the diverse nature of the programmes included, and the breadth of the national representation, it is hoped that this report will stimulate and encourage others to establish creative partnerships. While highlighting some of the good practice being delivered, we hope that the examples will provide further food for thought.
There are 47 Council of Europe member states, most of which are represented within the NEMO though national museum organisations or similar bodies, all of whom received an invitation to submit case studies to this report. Yet only 8 countries chose to present examples of collaborative programmes, with a notably strong representation from Italy. Why should that be, we asked?
While the variations in economic circumstances and in how museums are governed and operated likely influence museums’ appetite and capacity to undertake such work, we would suggest that the landscape and tradition of European museum award schemes has a bearing too. This influence, in broader terms, has been examined in another recent NEMO report, European Museum Awards – A Guide to Quality Work in Museums, coordinated by Margherita Sani, and published in 2018.
The assessment of the public quality of museums, which has been the single most important principle of all of the European museum award schemes, has remained in place virtually unaltered since such schemes were put in place in 1977. What has changed over time, though, have been the criteria by which the very public quality of museums are assessed. Such awards as the Heritage in Motion Award (a joint initiative of Europa Nostra and the European Museum Academy), aim at collecting and celebrating the best multimedia products, be they apps for mobile devices, websites and on-line content, games and interactive experiences, film and video, or whatever. As is easily appreciated, this award embraces significant strands of museum and creative industries joint cooperation.
With increasing recognition of the creative economy across present day Europe, it is not surprising that other awards have emerged to recognise best practice in the museum sector. One of the latest arrivals to the family of European museum awards is the Italian Museums in Short Award. This was initiated within the museum community and aims to make “the role of museums as creative industries or relevant partners of creative industries more visible”, by celebrating short videos made in connection with museums. Launched in 2012 by MUSIL – Museum of Industry and Labour, the European Museum Academy and the Brescia Musei Foundation, this initiative is supported by ICOM Italia. It is but one example of the long-term involvement of Italian museum professionals in sustaining and developing European museum award schemes in general, seeing them (when combined with strong vocational exchange and communication) as a primary means of embedding museums’ work with creative industries as part of their normal day-to-day activity.
The work resulting from museum/creative industry partnerships can now be submitted to such traditional European award schemes as European Museum of the Year Award, European Museum Academy, the EU Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards, and others. Majority of schemes are either open to EU or the Council of Europe member states, effectively making these awards the international trendsetters in the European museum landscape. And, as NEMO’s synoptic publications amply demonstrate, there is indeed a need to place greater emphasis upon the use of creative industries in museums as a primary means of delivering high-quality public services.
The cases studies presented here are offered in the spirit of disseminating what the European Museum of the Year Award scheme designates as ‘innovation and excellence in public quality in museumpractice’. The majority of these case studies are drawn from the digital solutions field. However, there are some outstanding examples, which showcase museum cooperation with performing arts and cinema, music industry, tourism and hospitality business, and the culinary sector. We hope that they will inspire museum managers and administrative leaders, as well as those working in the creative industries. | http://www.creativemuseum.eu/lv/raksti/muzeji-un-radosas-industrijas/museums-and-creative-industries-new-case-studies-from-across-europe |
March 28, 1985 Birthday Facts
Here are some snazzy birthday facts about 28th of March 1985 that no one tells you about. Don’t wait a minute longer and jump in using the content links below. Average read time of 10 minutes. Enjoy!
Contents
What day was my birthday Mar 28, 1985?
March 28, 1985 was a Thursday and it was the 87th day of the year 1985. It was the 13th Thursday of that year. The next time you can reuse your old 1985 calendar will be in 2030. Both calendars will be exactly the same! This is assuming you are not interested in the dates for Easter and other irregular holidays that are based on a lunisolar calendar.
What day was March 28 this year?
The day of the week of your birthday this year was Sunday. Next year it will be Monday and two years from now it will be Tuesday. You can check the calendars below if you’re planning what to do on your birthday.
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How many days until my next birthday?
There are 239 days left before your next birthday. You will be 37 years old when that day comes. There have been 13,275 days from the day you were born up to today. If you’ve been sleeping 8 hours daily since birth, then you have slept a total of 4,425 days or 12.11 years. You spent 33% of your life sleeping. Since night and day always follow each other, there were precisely 450 full moons after you were born up to this day. How many of them did you see? The next full moon that you can see will be on August 22 at 12:03:00 GMT – Sunday.
Fun stat: Your first one billion seconds (1,000,000,000) happened sometime on December 4, 2016.
How old are you in dog years?
If a dog named Racky - a Neapolitan Mastiff breed, was born on the same date as you then it will be 208 dog years old today. A dog’s first human year is equal to 15 dog years. Dogs age differently depending on breed and size. When you reach the age of 6 Racky will be 45 dog years old. From that point forward a large-sized dog like Racky will age 5-6 dog years for every human year.
Wanna share this info in social media? Make sure to take a screenshot first. Dog name and breed are randomly generated. Try reloading this page to see a new pet name and a different breed.
Hey! How’s your lovelife today? Get a free love reading with the most frank answers. Start to seize love opportunities in your life! Try it today and improve your lovelife. Did I mention it’s F-R-E-E? (Sponsored link; 18+ only)
Which celebrity shares my birthday?
You might be happy to know that the following celebrities share your birthday. The list was randomly chosen and arranged in chronological order.
- 1902Flora Robson
- 1910Jimmie Dodd
- 1943Conchata Ferrell
- 1953Rosemary Ashe
- 1963Chieko Honda
- 1966Cheryl James
- 1970Vince Vaughn
- 1971Mr. Cheeks
- 1981Rasmus Kaljujärv
- 1987Vaidas Baumila
View the complete list of March 28 celebrity birthdays.
Hey! How’s your lovelife today? Just for fun! Try your love match score with anyone. Even officemates, schoolmates, or find out the score for your parents and relatives. Don’t limit yourself – you can also pair yourself with any celebrity. It’s a FREE report. Nothing to buy!
Who are the famous March 28 birthdays?
Here’s a short list of famous people in history who were born on Mar 28.
- 1828Melchior Anderegg, Swiss mountain guide (d. 1914)
- 1840Emin Pasha, Egyptian physician and politician (d. 1892)
- 1892Tom Maguire, Irish general (d. 1993)
- 1923Thad Jones, American trumpet player and composer (The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra) (d. 1986)
- 1949Timothy O'Shea, German-English academic
- 1956April Margera, American hairdresser and author
- 1960Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt, French-Belgian author and playwright
- 1968Iris Chang, American journalist and author (d. 2004)
- 1977Lauren Weisberger, American author
- 1981Antonio Rizzo, Italian footballer
View the complete list of March 28 famous birthdays.
Did you know that coffee and word games are an excellent combination to sharpen your vocabulary? Let’s give it a quick spin. Within 30 seconds, how many words can you think of from these letters HIIACED? Check your answers here: Unscramble words HIIACED. (Sponsored by WordFinder.Cafe)
What happened on my birthday – Mar 28th?
These were the events that made history that coincide with your birthday.
- 364Roman Emperor Valentinian I appoints his brother Flavius Valens co-emperor.
- 845Paris is sacked by Viking raiders, probably under Ragnar Lodbrok, who collects a huge ransom in exchange for leaving.
- 1776Juan Bautista de Anza finds the site for the Presidio of San Francisco.
- 1814War of 1812: The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom defeats the United States Navy in the Battle of Valparaiso, Chile.
- 1941World War II: Battle of Cape Matapan – in the Mediterranean Sea, British Admiral Andrew Browne Cunningham leads the Royal Navy in the destruction of three major Italian heavy cruisers and two destroyers.
- 1942World War II: St Nazaire Raid: In occupied France, British naval forces successfully raid the German-occupied port of Saint-Nazaire.
- 1959The State Council of the People’s Republic of China dissolves the government of Tibet.
- 1978The US Supreme Court hands down 5–3 decision in Stump v. Sparkman, 435 U.S. 349, a controversial case involving involuntary sterilization and judicial immunity.
- 2005The 2005 Sumatra earthquake rocks Indonesia, and at magnitude 8.7 is the fourth strongest earthquake since 1965.
- 2006At least one million union members, students, and unemployed take to the streets in France in protest at the government’s proposed First Employment Contract law.
View the complete list of March 28 historical events.
Curious about this Choco Bubble Heart? This is a party item you can activate and send to your friends when you play the free game Jump Birthday Party. It’s a fun and easy-to-play mobile game for all ages. Get free 1,000 gold coins when you download today!
What does my birthday March 28, 1985 mean?
Your birthday numbers 3, 28, and 1985 reveal that your Life Path number is 9. It represents selflessness, forgiveness and creativity. You are the philanthropist, humanitarian, socially conscious, and are deeply concerned about the state of the world.
The following celebrities also have the same life path number: Ronnie Butler, Sandra Denton, Jim Tang, Ayumi Tsunematsu, Teri Moïse, Yasuhisa Furuhara, Patrick Warburton, Leigh Francis, Calum Best, Chadwick Boseman.
What is the birthday horoscope for Mar 28, 1985?
The Western zodiac or sun sign of a person born on March 28 is Aries ♈ (The Ram) – a cardinal sign with Fire as Western element. The ruling planet is Mars – the planet of war and ambition. According to the ancient art of Chinese astrology (or Eastern zodiac), Ox is the mythical animal and Wood is the Eastern element of a person born on March 28, 1985.
What is the birthstone for March 28?
Aquamarine is the modern birthstone for the month of March while Jade is the mystical birth stone (based on Tibetan origin). The zodiac gemstone for Aries is bloodstone. Lastly, the birthday stone for the day of the week ‘Thursday’ is sapphire.
Fun fact: The birth flower for 28th March 1985 is Jonquil for affection.
Mar 28th Birthday Wish
Did someone send you this link? Here’s a birthday wish just for you! Don’t forget to thank the kind soul who sent you this ninja page.
TIP: Click the image above if you want to save the high quality version for posting to social media like Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest. You can also get a new random wish if you want to (the page will reload).
What is a good birthday trivia for March 28?
Q: What do you call a person who shares the same birthday?
A: Birthday twins – easy!
Fun stat: The world population in the year of your birth is 4,856,462,699. (U.S. Census Bureau)
What was the number one song on my birthday?
The number-one hit song in the U.S. at the day of your birth was One More Night by Phil Collins as compiled by Billboard Hot 100 (March 30, 1985). Ask your parents if they know this popular song.
One More Night (2016 Remastered)
Phil Collins
The Singles
What were you in your past life?
I do not know how you feel about this, but you were a male ♂ in your last earthly incarnation. You were born somewhere around the territory of Southern India approximately on 1000. Your profession was builder of roads, bridges, docks.
Your brief psychological profile in that past life: You are a person with huge energy, good in planning and supervising. If you were just garbage-man, you were chief garbage-man.
Lessons that your last past life brought to present: You are bound to learn to understand other people and to meet all life difficulties with joyful heart. You should help others, bringing them spirit of joy.
Can you remember who you were?
How many babies were born on March 28, 1985?
Base on the data published by the United Nations Population Division, an estimated 135,970,553 babies were born throughout the world in the year 1985. The estimated number of babies born on 28th March 1985 is 372,522. That’s equivalent to 259 babies every minute. Try to imagine if all of them are crying at the same time.
What is the popular baby name on 28 Mar 1985?
In the United States, the most popular baby name is Jessica. This name was given to 48,346 baby girls. For the boys it’s Michael. This name was recorded 64,906 times in the year 1985. Any chance you are Jessica or Michael? (Source: ssa.gov)
News headline for Florida Man March 28
What’s your bizarre Florida Man story? The #FloridaManChallenge is breaking the Internet and social media. Some crazy men, women, or creatures from the Sunshine State are making headlines every day of the year including your birthday. Try this fun exercise. Pick your search engine of choice and type in “florida man March 28” and see what kind of wild news headline you will get. This viral craze started in 2013 and gets resurrected now and then. The latest was from Tumblr and found its way to Twitter. As they say, the rest is history.
Roman Numerals for March 28, 1985
Your birthday in Roman numerals using DD.MM.YYYY notation is:
XXVIII.III.MCMLXXXV
March 28, 1985 Birthday Facts Summary
Here’s a quick list of all the fun birthday facts about March 28, 1985. Celebrities, famous birthdays, historical events, and past life were excluded.
- Day index: 87th day of 1985
- Day of week: Thursday
- Day of week birthstone: Sapphire
- Week index: 13th Thursday of 1985
- Next same calendar year: 2030
- Day of week this year: Sunday
- Day of week next year: Monday
- Day of week in 2023: Tuesday
- Days until next birthday: 239 days
- Age on next birthday: 37 years old
- Days since birth: 13,275 days
- Days spent sleeping: 4,425 days
- Years spent sleeping: 12.11 years
- Part of life spent sleeping: 33%
- Full moons since birth: 450
- Next full moon: August 22 at 12:03:00 GMT – Sunday
- First one billion seconds: Sometime on December 4, 2016
- Age in dog years: 208 dog years old using a Neapolitan Mastiff breed
- Life path number and meaning: 9 – It represents selflessness, forgiveness and creativity. You are the philanthropist, humanitarian, socially conscious, and are deeply concerned about the state of the world.
- Western zodiac sign: Aries ♈ (The Ram)
- Western zodiac element: Fire
- Western zodiac sign quality: Cardinal
- Western zodiac ruling planet: Mars – the planet of war and ambition
- Western zodiac gemstone: Bloodstone
- Eastern zodiac animal: Ox
- Eastern zodiac element: Wood
- Modern birthstone: Aquamarine
- Mystical birthstone: Jade (based on Tibetan origin)
- Birth flower: Jonquil for affection
- 1985 world population: 4,856,462,699
- Number one song: One More Night by Phil Collins (March 30, 1985)
- Babies born in 1985: 135,970,553
- Babies born in 1985 every day: 372,522
- Babies born in 1985 every minute: 259
- Popular girl’s name: Jessica – 48,346 babies
- Popular boy’s name: Michael – 64,906 babies
- Roman numerals: XXVIII.III.MCMLXXXV
Try another birth date of someone you know or try the birthday of these celebrities: November 10, 1986 – Josh Peck, American actor; November 16, 1961 – Chris Pitman, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player (Guns N' Roses, Replicants, and Zaum); October 11, 1981 – Beau Brady, Australian actor.
Don’t forget to share the info with your friends, loved ones, or social media followers. Who knows, they might appreciate and thank you for it. | https://mybirthday.ninja/?m=March&d=28&y=1985&go=Go |
The invention discloses a dry and wet elastic wave hole bottom cave and subterranean cavitation detection device and method. The device comprises a probe; the probe comprises an elastic wave emittingassembly, multiple receiving transducer assemblies distributed on the outer circumference of the elastic wave emitting assembly and a probe circuit board assembly; the elastic wave emitting assembly comprises a connecting cavity body, the upper part and the lower part of the connecting cavity body is provided with a circuit board cavity body and a seismic source; the circuit board cavity body is internally provided with the probe circuit board assembly; the seismic source is electrically connected with the probe circuit board assembly; each receiving transducer assembly comprises a sound wavereceiving transducer, a transducer height adjuster and a connecting pipe; one end of each connecting pipe is connected with the connecting cavity body and the other end is fixed with the correspondingtransducer height adjuster through a flange; a first damping pad is disposed between the two flanges; and the sound wave receiving transducer is electrically connected with the probe circuit board assembly. Full-area detection of the hole bottom cave in different environments can be realized; and through the contact stability between the probe and a detection surface and the signal reliability, the detection accuracy is improved. | |
Carroll, Pamela M.
Model Organisms in Drug Discovery
Feed a fruit fly caffeine and it has trouble falling asleep; feed it antihistamines and it cannot stay awake. A C. elegans worm placed on the antidepressant flouxetine has increased serotonin levels in its tiny brain. Yeast treated with chemotherapeutics stop their cell division. Removal of a single gene from a mouse or zebrafish can cause the animals to develop Alzheimer’s disease or heart disease. These organisms are utilized as surrogates to investigate the function and design of complex human biological systems.
Advances in bioinformatics, proteomics, automation technologies and their application to model organism systems now occur on an industrial scale. The integration of model systems into the drug discovery process, the speed of the tools, and the in vivo validation data that these models can provide, will clearly help definition of disease biology and high-quality target validation. Enhanced target selection will lead to the more efficacious and less toxic therapeutic compounds of the future.
Leading experts in the field provide detailed accounts of model organism research that have impacted on specific therapeutic areas and they examine state-of-the-art applications of model systems, describing real life applications and their possible impact in the future.
This book will be of interest to geneticists, bioinformaticians, pharmacologists, molecular biologists and people working in the pharmaceutical industry, particularly genomics.
Keywords: SCIENCE / Biotechnology SCI010000
- Author(s)
- Carroll, Pamela M.
-
- Fitzgerald, Kevin
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons, Inc. | https://www.ellibs.com/book/9780470871300/model-organisms-in-drug-discovery |
Sweden is highly export-oriented. The automotive, pharmaceutical products, mineral fuels and electricity industries are of particular importance. Active consumer spending by private households, targeted state spending and continuous investment stabilize the economy. Sweden's gross value added consists primarily of services, although its innovative and groundbreaking production industries account for a large share of exports.
How to do business
How to do business
Are you considering entering the Swedish market? Are you already active in Sweden and need tips, advice or support with your next steps? Do you have technical or regulatory questions?
In this section we provide you with guides, checklists and background information on doing business in Sweden - specifically for Swiss SMEs and start-ups.
Discover your individual sales potential in Sweden
Analyse a wide range of data and compare Sweden to other countries - specifically for your products!
Industry information
Industry Information
Sweden offers opportunities in different sectors. In this section we highlight interesting potential for selected Swiss industries and explain how to exploit it.
Find opportunities for your business in Sweden
Our database is fed by our global network, tender platforms and a wide range of other sources
References
References
Experience reports from Swiss enterpreneurs on the challenges when entering the Nordic markets and recommendations how to succeed. | https://www.s-ge.com/en/overview/sweden |
Micas have the most platy, parallel, mineral grains with extensive visual aspects of the foliated metamorphic rocks.
It is due to the way these rocks form.
Mica shows all the parameters of foliated metamorphic rocks because it forms under high pressure.
Rocks that form under high-pressure force the minerals to distribute in the Y-plane.
It leads to the formation of mineral layers in the platy form.
What Is a Platy Mineral?
The minerals that form thin layers of the crystals to create many sheets are known as platy minerals.
Most experts call them the leaf-like layers as there are capillary structures inside the mineral layers in the platy structure.
Mica is a suitable platy mineral because it forms under high pressure.
What Is Platy Rock?
A platy rock forms when you provide rapid heating and cooling to the igneous rocks many times as these rocks will break into a sheet-like structure.
These sheets look similar to the strata of the sedimentary rocks.
What Is Marble’s Parent Rock?
Limestone is the marble’s parent rock.
Marble forms if limestone undergoes a metamorphosis.
It is easy to find the parent rock of the marble because the marble has foliation with a slate-like rock structure.
Many experts believe the limestone had layers of shale before it metamorphosed to form the marble.
Is Schist a High-grade?
Schist is not a high-grade metamorphic rock because experts include it in the class of medium-grade rocks.
Some igneous rocks combine with the mudstone by metamorphosis to form the schist.
Schist forms at a higher temperature than the slate as there is a need for a higher pressure for the schist formation.
What Minerals Makeup Shist?
You can find most platy minerals in the schist.
Muscovite, chlorite, talc, biotite, and graphite are some examples of the abundant minerals in the schist.
Most other rocks have feldspar and quartz.
These minerals are not abundantly available in the schist.
Gneiss has a higher concentration of feldspar and quartz as it forms under higher temperature and pressure than the schist.
What’s the Parent Rock of Slate?
Slate has many parent rocks because a low-grade metamorphic environment produces this rock.
You can find evidence of mudstone, siltstone, and shale in slate.
All of these can be the parent rocks for the slate.
A low-grade environment means the slate forms at a lower temperature and pressure than the schist.
What Is Phyllite Parent Rock?
Phylite forms when the shale and the mudstone undergo metamorphosis.
Both of these can act as the parent rocks for the phyllite.
Phylite is also a low-grade metamorphic rock.
It forms at a lower temperature and pressure.
The convergent plate boundaries are the perfect places for phyllite formation.
These areas have enough pressure and temperature to merge different rocks and change their crystal structure.
Where Is Schist Most Commonly Found?
People used the schist to decorate the walls in the past because of the abundant supply.
You can get it from different parts of the world.
Brazil and Ireland are famous for their schist deposits.
Some areas of the US also have schist deposits.
Small deposits are available on all continents.
What Platy Minerals Often Define the Foliation of a Metamorphic Rock?
Micas and chlorites are the platy minerals that often define the foliation of metamorphic rock.
Foliation forms due to the physical rotation of micas and chlorites.
These minerals migrate in the form of layers in the low-grade metamorphic environment.
The parallel orientation is due to the pressure on the minerals.
What Metamorphic Rocks Have Mineral Grains that Line up in Parallel Layers?
Foliated metamorphic rocks have mineral grains that line up in parallel layers.
There are two types of metamorphic rocks.
The non-foliated rocks do not have sheet-like mineral layers.
You will not see the foliation in these rocks.
When the minerals arrange in the form of parallel layers, they form foliation.
Metamorphic rocks have true foliation because the minerals arrange in the form of layers.
You will not see the foliation in igneous rocks because they form when rocks melt.
“Which Low-Grade Metamorphic Rock, Composed of Extremely Fine-Sized Mica and Other Mineral Grains, Typically Exhibits Well-Developed Rock Cleavage?”
Slate is a low-grade metamorphic rock composed of extremely fine-sized mica and other mineral grains.
It typically exhibits well-developed rock cleavage. Slate has high durability due to the fine-sized mica and fine-grain layer formation.
It forms due to the compression of many mineral sediments.
Is a Strong Parallel Alignment of Different Mineral Bands in a Metamorphic Rock?
Strong parallel alignment of different minerals produces bands in the metamorphic rocks.
Rocks with these bands are known as foliated rocks.
It is easy to identify these rocks due to the different color bands in the rock structure.
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- Which of the Following Describes the Type of Deformation Experienced by Rocks before an Earthquake?
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The rankings on rappellingequipment.com are curated to save you time by aggregating the best reviewed products from the most reputable companies. We may receive a commission if you buy something using a link on this page. | https://rappellingequipment.com/what-platy-parallel-mineral-grains-are-the-most-visual-aspect-of-foliated-metamorphic-rocks/ |
Employing a public opinion survey and a content analysis of local media, this study sets out to examine of the agenda-setting effect in China. China is highlighted in this study because it is a collectivist, socialist nation whose mainstream media is largely controlled by the state. Data from this study reveal that (a) Chinese people make clear distinctions between issues of personal importance (their personal agenda) and issues of national importance (their social agenda) and (b) the agenda-setting function of Chinese media was only observed when considering one's social agenda; the personal agenda was not related with the Chinese media agenda. These findings hold true when comparing across different demographic groups on variables such as age, education, news source, and one's ability to critically analyze news. This article contributes to agenda-setting scholarship by providing empirical evidence of agenda-setting effects in a political and media structure substantially different from the Western structures usually examined in such research. | https://scholars.ttu.edu/en/publications/what-is-most-important-for-my-country-is-not-most-important-for-m |
The 3Rs of the genome: Reading, writing and regulatingPosted on March 10, 2021
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A massive effort to map the precise binding locations of over 400 different kinds of proteins on the yeast genome has produced the most thorough and high-resolution map of chromosome architecture and gene regulation to date.
The study reveals two distinct gene regulatory architectures, expanding the traditional model of gene regulation. So-called constitutive genes, those that perform basic “housekeeping” functions and are nearly always active at low levels, require only a basic set of regulatory controls; whereas those that that are activated by environmental signals, known as inducible genes, have a more specialized architecture.
This finding in yeast could open the door to a better understanding of the regulatory architecture of the human genome.
A paper describing the research by Penn State and Cornell University scientists appears March 10 in the journal Nature.
“When I first learned about DNA, I was taught to think of the genome as a library containing every book ever written,” said Matthew J. Rossi, research assistant professor at Penn State and the first author of the paper. “The genome is stored as part of a complex of DNA, RNA and proteins, called ‘chromatin.’ The interactions of the proteins and DNA regulate when and where genes are expressed to produce RNA (i.e. reading a book to learn or make something specific). But what I always wondered was with all that complexity, how do you find the right book when you need it? That is the question we are trying to answer in this study.”
How a cell chooses the right book depends on regulatory proteins and their interaction with DNA in chromatin, what can be referred to as the regulatory architecture of the genome. Yeast cells can respond to changes in their environment by altering this regulatory architecture to turn different genes on or off. In multicellular organisms, like humans, the difference between muscle cells, neurons, and every other cell type is determined by regulating the set of genes those cells are expressing. Deciphering the mechanisms that control this differential gene expression is therefore vital for understanding responses to the environment, organismal development, and evolution.
“Proteins need to be recruited and assembled at genes for them to be switched ‘on,’” said B. Franklin Pugh, professor of molecular biology and genetics at Cornell University and a leader of the research project that was started when he was a professor at Penn State. “We’ve put together the most complete and high-resolution map of these proteins showing the locations that they bind to the yeast genome and revealing aspects of how they interact with each other to regulate gene expression.”
The team used a technique called ChIP-exo, a high-resolution version of ChIP-seq, to precisely and reproducibly map the binding locations of about 400 different proteins that interact with the yeast genome, some at a few locations and others at thousands of locations. In ChIP-exo, proteins are chemically cross-linked to the DNA inside living cells, thereby locking them into position. The chromosomes are then removed from cells and sheared into smaller pieces. Antibodies are used to capture specific proteins and the piece of DNA to which they are bound. The location of the protein-DNA interaction can then be found by sequencing the DNA attached to the protein and mapping the sequence back to the genome.
“In traditional ChIP-seq, the pieces of DNA attached to the proteins are still rather large and variable in length— ranging anywhere from 100 to 500 base pairs beyond the actual protein binding site,” said William K.M. Lai, assistant research professor at Cornell University and an author of the paper. “In ChIP-exo, we add an additional step of trimming the DNA with an enzyme called an exonuclease. This removes any excess DNA that is not protected by the cross-linked protein, allowing us to get a much more precise location for the binding event and to better visualize interactions among the proteins.”
The team performed over 1,200 individual ChIP-exo experiments producing billions of individual points of data. Analysis of the massive data leveraged Penn State’s supercomputing clusters and required the development of several novel bioinformatic tools, including a multifaceted computational workflow designed to identify patterns and reveal the organization of regulatory proteins in the yeast genome.
The analysis, which is akin to picking out repeated types of features on the ground from hundreds of satellite images, revealed a surprisingly small number of unique protein assemblages that are used repeatedly across the yeast genome.
“The resolution and completeness of the data allowed us to identify 21 protein assemblages and also to identify the absence of specific regulatory control signals at housekeeping genes,” said Shaun Mahony, assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at Penn State and an author of the paper. “The computational methods that we’ve developed to analyze this data could serve as a jumping off point for further development for gene regulatory studies in more complex organisms.”
The traditional model of gene regulation involves proteins called ‘transcription factors’ that bind to specific DNA sequences to control the expression of a nearby gene. However, the researchers found that the majority of genes in yeast do not adhere to this model.
“We were surprised to find that housekeeping genes lacked a protein-DNA architecture that would allow specific transcription factors to bind, which is the hallmark of inducible genes,” said Pugh. “These genes just seem to need a general set of proteins that allow access to the DNA and its transcription without much need for regulation. Whether or not this pattern holds up in multicellular organisms like humans is yet to be seen. It’s a vastly more complex proposition, but like the sequencing of the yeast genome preceded the sequencing of the human genome, I’m sure we will eventually be able to see the regulatory architecture of the human genome at high resolution.”
In addition to Rossi, Pugh, Lai and Mahony, the research team includes Prashant K. Kuntala, Naomi Yamada, Nitika Badjatia, Chitvan Mittal, Guray Kuzu, Kylie Bocklund, Nina P. Farrell, Thomas R. Blanda, Joshua D. Mairose, Ann V. Basting, Katelyn S. Mistretta, David J. Rocco, Emily S. Perkinson and Gretta D. Kellogg.
This work was supported by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, the U.S. National Science Foundation, the Penn State Institute for Computational and Data Sciences, and Advanced CyberInfrastructure (ROAR) at Penn State. | https://www.icds.psu.edu/the-3rs-of-the-genome-reading-writing-and-regulating/ |
The invention relates to an unmanned aerial vehicle deployment and calculation unloading joint optimization method based on convex optimization. According to the method, an algorithm based on convex optimization is designed, and the average task response time in the unmanned aerial vehicle assisted mobile edge computing system is minimized by jointly optimizing unmanned aerial vehicle deployment and computing unloading. The method comprises the following steps: firstly, decomposing an original problem into three sub-problems of unmanned aerial vehicle deployment optimization, ground equipment access optimization and calculation task unloading optimization through a block coordinate descent method; then, obtaining an approximate optimal solution of the original problem by alternately solving the sub-problems; and finally, evaluating the performance of the algorithm. Simulation results show that the algorithm designed by the invention can generate a joint optimization solution within several seconds, and has excellent performance of 4.37%-43.04% compared with other classic methods. | |
by Brianna Crandall — July 31, 2017 — Although computer technology and robotics have been around for more than 60 years, their increasingly pervasive presence in the workplace is creating significant shifts in the way that mainstream work is getting done, according to international commercial real estate services firm Avison Young.
Accordingly, these shifts are placing new demands on the space in which work is housed. As a result of the location implications of distributed networks and open-source platforms; and the need for increased power, resiliency and cybersecurity being placed upon offices, warehouses and shopping malls, the real estate of the future is evolving, too.
These are some of the key trends noted in Avison Young’s white paper: Architecture of the Fourth Industrial Revolution — Distributed Networks and Artificial Intelligence, Impacts and Opportunities for the Real Estate Sector, just released.
Amy Erixon, Avison Young principal and managing director, Investments, who authored the white paper, commented:
E-commerce, fintech, co-working, big data, autonomous vehicles and blockchain technologies are distributed-network systems that logistically change where and how work gets done. These technologies, plus artificial intelligence, are the most important sea changes affecting investment and operational real estate decision-making today.
This white paper is intended to help institutional investors and their service providers gain a better grasp of the range and potential impact of these and other forthcoming technology innovations. This paper addresses what we can learn about rates of adoption from the historical trajectory of e-commerce, fintech and artificial intelligence, and provides insights into innovation versus disruptive change, automation and the future of work.
Designed to reduce anxiety about the pace of change and demystify the underlying trends, the white paper contains both a reference guide to the technologies for people who are less familiar with them, and a roadmap for moving forward with updates to occupancy and investment strategies. The paper discusses the promise and policy considerations around the workplace changes currently underway, and the potential for some of the technologies themselves, such as artificial intelligence and blockchain.
Erixon, who is based in Toronto, added:
We hope that this white paper will bring readers new insights and ideas for moving our business forward in this new digitized and dispersing world. Implications for the existing building stock are vast. Companies and industries looking to leverage technological change will expect more from their facilities in the future.
Avison Young’s white paper, Architecture of the Fourth Industrial Revolution: Distributed Networks and Artificial Intelligence — Impacts and Opportunities for the Real Estate Sector is available from the firm’s Web site. | https://fmlink.com/articles/avison-young-artificial-intelligence-real-estate/?popupally_stop=subscribed |
Induced pluripotent stem-cell-derived cardiomyocytes: cardiac applications, opportunities, and challenges.
Chronic diseases are the primary cause of mortality worldwide, accounting for 67% of deaths. One of the major challenges in developing new treatments is the lack of understanding of the exact underlying biological and molecular mechanisms. Chronic cardiovascular diseases are the single most common cause of death worldwide, and sudden deaths due to cardiac arrhythmias account for approximately 50% of all such cases. Traditional genetic screening for genes involved in cardiac disorders is labourious and frequently fails to detect the mutation that explains or causes the disorder. However, when mutations are identified, human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) derived from affected patients make it possible to address fundamental research questions directly relevant to human health. As such, hiPSC technology has recently been used to model human diseases and patient-specific hiPSC-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) thus offer a unique opportunity to investigate potential disease-causing genetic variants in their natural environment. The purpose of this review is to present the current state of knowledge regarding hiPSC-CMs, including their potential, limitations, and challenges and to discuss future prospects.
| |
“Sacred Conversations: Immigration,” part of a forum series to explore complex issues, understand diverse perspectives and find common values for action, will be conducted today starting at 12:30 at First Lutheran Church of Chico, 667 E. First Ave, Chico.
Panelists are chosen for their personal expertise in a field and their willingness to engage in respectful and productive dialogue with people of differing views. Organizations working to address issues related to immigration will be available after the forum to answer questions and explain ways in which the public can be directly involved.
“Sacred Conversations” is a series inspired by Christian values, but people of all and no religious backgrounds are welcome and encouraged to participate. For further information or questions, call the church, 895-3754, or follow on Facebook at www.holley-law.com. | https://www.chicoer.com/2019/09/28/forum-on-immigration/ |
A summary about an academic article (published in the last 2 years) about the females in working environment with a summary about the author’s point of view and a summary about my point of view
The recent years have seen some dynamic changes in the workplaces. Females are taking up more positions in employment. More women are advancing their education and pursuing careers that were considered to suit men for ages. As a result, they compete with men for top positions in initially male-dominated areas such as engineering, law, and medicine. The trend emerges from the efforts of the many women’s groups and other advocates of gender equality. The traditional roles in households have thus changed, and women are becoming independent and postponing marriage time, hence advance in both education and career. Workplaces have thus had to make changes in their systems to accommodate the increase in the female population. This paper reviews the article by Martin and Barnard concerning the challenges that women face in a male-dominated work environment.
The authors argue that females encounter unique challenges in a male-dominated occupation (Martin & Barnard, 2013). The writers are of the view that these problems limit their retention in such places of work and lessens the motivation of more women to get into such careers. Additionally, many of them shift from the male-dominated workplaces to the female-dominated ones along their careers. The research involved the interview of five women; four being in the private sector and one working in the public sector. The sample consisted of females that have worked in the occupations that are male-dominated for at least one year. The writers utilize coding analytical techniques to evaluate the collected data and generate the conclusions. The study’s aim was to uncover the experiences that females undergo and explore their challenges and the possible strategies of copying. The research is significant in understanding what keeps women going into these careers despite the many challenges that come their way. The outcome is considerable in generating the strategies that will ensure retention and the development of female-friendly working environments.
The researchers suggest that organizations need to have an in-depth comprehension of the dynamics that female employees bring in and the consequences of having such changes. The realization of successful co-existence of the genders in occupations that were male-dominated requires that there is an accurate understanding of the challenges of both sides…. | https://essaypundits.com/females-in-workplaces/ |
The density of iron is 7.87 g/cm3, and the average mass for one iron atom is 9.28×10-23 g.
How many atoms are there in a rectangular iron ingot measuring 3.00 cm × 3.00 cm × 9.00 cm?
Thank you Ann! I had the equations and really was closing in on the answer... (stopping for 23 s is what really got me confused) in either case, the displacement for a) is 888 m ! Now I'll try to calculate (b). Thank you much!
Iron crystallizes in a body–centered cubic structure. The volume of one Fe atom is 9.38 x 10–24 cm3, and the density of Fe is 7.874 g/cm3. Find an approximate value for Avogadro’s number.
The mass of a cube of iron is 277 g. Iron has a density of 7.87 g/cm3. What is the mass of a cube of lead that has the same dimensions?
Average density of a copper-coated iron BB is 8.00g/mL. If the density for copper is 8.92 g/mL, and the density for iron is 7.43g/mL, what is the percentages of copper and iron in a BB? | https://www.jiskha.com/questions/946313/The-density-of-iron-is-7-87-g-cm3-and-the-average-mass-for-one-iron-atom-is-9-28-10-23 |
This tutorial contains a reference and important themes about a development of business-applications on the ORCHID platform.
To use the platform the knowledge of following technologies is required:
- Relational databases
- Apache/nginx
- Laravel Framework
To offer some improvements for this tutorial please add a new issue. In case you find some mistakes in the documentation please specify the section and related text to point it out.
Before installation and use of the platform we recomend you to read about the problems it was created to solve. This little waste of time will help you in future.
Introduction
ORCHID - is an instrument for RAD development of web-sites and linear business-applications. It is shipped as a package for the Laravel and can be easily integrated useing Composer, it hamonizes well with other PHP components. You may also register additional third-party components for Laravel or ones found Packagist.
How to read the documentation
If you are a newcomer I recommend you to read the Laravel documentation from start to end, for example at laravel.com. ORCHID does not explain the framework capabilities. if you are already familiar with it you may proceed directly to reading further sections.
This documentation begins with an explanation of concepot and architecture of the ORCHID before it dives into particular themes.
Capabilities
ORCHID takes upon itself the routine business applications development operations by adding custom control elements, fields, templates and screens and allowing to concentrate on a unique business-logic.
Despite it simple appearance it allows you to solve a lot of problems using standard tools also allowing to add your own custom functionality if required.
Following the tutorial you will quickly install it and soon be able to use. | https://orchid.software/en/docs |
The invention discloses a gradual force application and perpetual motion power radar. The gradual force application and perpetual motion principle of gradual mutual force application and circulating energy complementation and perpetual motion is adopted, so that perpetual motion operation is realized. The radar is the perfect gradual force application and perpetual motion power radar which does not need external electric energy, can generate lasting mechanical energy and power and does not have power failure at all; and meanwhile, the radar can convey lots of power to other household appliances. The radar consists of a gradual force application and perpetual motion cabin, a gradual force application and perpetual motion power system, a speed-reducing control power machine, an engine, a generator, a super-capacity storage battery and a fan, wherein the gradual force application and perpetual motion cabin consists of a perpetual motion power device inner sleeve, a perpetual motion body shell front panel, a flange disc, a perpetual motion body shell rear cover, a gradual force application and perpetual motion connecting shaft lever, a high-temperature-resistant axial rare earth strong magnet, multiple groups of gradual magnetic power and multi-stage power source device discs, a radial permanent magnet high-frequency magnet, an air exchange ventilation hood and a whole seat fixing bracket. Therefore, inexhaustible new energy is provided to the gradual force application and perpetual motion power radar. | |
The WEEE Directive was introduced in 2005 to create an environmentally sustainable society.
The WEEE Directive comprises rules and regulations for producer responsibility for electrical and electronic products and was introduced by the European Parliament. Sweden has implemented the WEEE Directive through the Producer Responsibility Ordinance for Electrical and Electronic Equipment (Swedish Code of Statutes – SFS 2014:1075).
Producer responsibility is a policy instrument, the aim of which is to integrate the environmental costs arising during a product’s lifecycle into the price of the product.
The rules and regulations are based on the principle of the ‘polluter pays’, whereby those causing a negative environmental impact are also responsible for the socio-economic costs that arise. | https://recipo.se/en/electrical-and-electronic-products/electronics/ |
###### Strengths and limitations of this study
- National cross-sectional survey, obtained through a freedom of information request, examining orthotic service provision in the UK's National Health Service.
- In January 2017 a survey was sent to all 196 Trusts/Heath Boards who provided orthotic services.
- This cross-sectional survey gathered information on five areas of orthotic service provision (finance, service provision, staffing, complaints, and outcome measures and key performance indicators (KPIs)).
- This survey received a higher response rate (61%), than a previous freedom of information request in 2014 (29%).
- The ability to provide a complete national picture of orthotic service provision was hindered by a low response rate.
Introduction {#s1}
============
Orthotic services within the UK National Health Service (NHS) provide assistive devices (eg, insoles, braces, splints and footwear) which help people recover from or avoid further injury or people who live with chronic conditions, and these services are provided by orthotists and other healthcare professionals (eg, podiatrists, physiotherapists and occupational therapists). Orthotists are normally trained with a dual qualification, with graduates certified to practise as both orthotists and prosthetists; in the UK most will practise as either an orthotist or prosthetist with few practising in both areas. Orthotic services are in higher demand with at least two to four times more people attending services for orthotic treatment than for prosthetic treatment.[@R1] Prosthetist and orthotist (P&O) are protected titles in the UK and currently there are 1108 registered (as of 30 April 2019).[@R2] A report by the British Association of Prosthetists and Orthotists (BAPO) in 2005 concluded that there should be a ratio of 1 orthotist per 30 555 population.[@R3] With the current UK population at 66 million this equates to a current shortage of P&Os which are included on the UK Migration Advisory Committee Shortage Occupation List. Lack of access to prosthetic and orthotic services is a global issue; currently it is estimated that only 5%--15% (approximately 1 in 10 persons) of the world's population in need has access to prosthetic and orthotic devices.[@R4] In 2017, WHO, in partnership with the International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics and the United States Agency for International Development, published global standards for prosthetics and orthotics[@R5] which aim to ensure prosthetic and orthotic services are integrated into health services and systems. This global shortfall in access to orthotic services will be magnified in the future as the projected population growth and ageing population will result in an increase in demand.[@R7]
Orthotic service provision within the NHS has been described as a 'Cinderella service',[@R8] poorly understood and low in any list of priorities. Taking the treatment of diabetic foot ulceration as an example, the importance of pressure-offloading, both non-removable (eg, total contact cast) and removable offloading devices (eg, footwear and removable cast walkers), in ulcer management is outlined within National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and International Working Group on the Diabetic Foot.[@R10] However, recent research examining patterns of care within the NHS identified that only 5% of patients with a diabetic ulcer received a pressure-offloading device.[@R12] Data on orthotic service provision in the UK is lacking, with a report by the NHS Quality Observatory highlighting the current challenges in obtaining accurate figures, which included coding issues and poor recording.[@R13] Although other allied health professions (such as occupational therapists, physiotherapists, podiatrists, and speech and language therapists) have reference costs within NHS systems, these are not available for orthotist appointments.[@R14] While accurate data on the number of orthotic users in the UK is not available from the NHS, a report by the Foundation for Assistive Technology stated that there were approximately 1.2 million orthotic users in England in 2007,[@R15] while a report in 2011 estimated the number of users at 2 million.[@R16] Problems within orthotic service provision in the UK have been the focus of a number of reports by the NHS[@R3] and other organisations[@R8]; with reports highlighting the 'case for action' and the many potential benefits of improving orthotic services, including clinical benefits for patients, financial benefits for the NHS and economic benefits for the wider economy.[@R9] An NHS report in 2014 identified that there was a lack of parity and equity in orthotic service provision,[@R13] and many patients who require orthotic services can find themselves waiting a long time for treatment which can lead to the development of secondary health complications.[@R9] There is a need to accurately collect and use data on process, outcome and patient experiences of orthotic services which can be regularly monitored and reviewed to assess quality and identify areas of best practice.[@R13]
As a result of the lack of available data on orthotic service provision within the NHS both the NHS Quality Observatory and NHS England reports[@R9] used data from a freedom of information (FOI) request titled "NHS National Orthotic Service Questionnaire" undertaken by the Medway NHS Foundation Trust in 2014, which highlighted significant variation in provision across the UK, to support their reports. That FOI received a 29% response rate (55/188 responses) from the surveyed services in England, Wales and Scotland; no responses were received from Northern Ireland's services. Due to ongoing anecdotal evidence of poor orthotic service provision in some areas of the UK, the aim of this study was to explore the current state of orthotic service provision from an organisational and management perspective. In 2017 a survey was undertaken, through a FOI request, to gain an understanding of current orthotic service provision in the UK, explore changes in service provision across the previous 5 years (2011--2016) and to establish the current state of regional differences in provision.
Methods {#s2}
=======
In January 2017, identical FOI requests were sent to all Trusts in England and Northern Ireland and Health Boards (HBs) in Wales and Scotland; these are organisations within the NHS generally serving either a geographical area or a specialised function who provide orthotic services in the UK, a total of 196 Trusts/HBs.
The request consisted of a survey with 30 questions (see [online supplementary file 1](#SP1){ref-type="supplementary-material"}), designed to gather information on orthotic service provision and consisted of five sections: (1) finance, (2) service provision, (3) staffing, (4) complaints and (5) outcome measures and key performance indicators (KPIs). For some questions the Trusts/HBs were asked to provide information for each of the five previous years (2011/2012, 2012/2013, 2013/2014, 2014/2015, 2015/2016). The development of the survey questions was supported by previous FOI requests in this area (see [online supplementary files 2 and 3](#SP2 SP3){ref-type="supplementary-material"}), and it was piloted with two practising orthotists.
10.1136/bmjopen-2018-028186.supp1
Finance {#s2-1}
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This section established how the Trusts/HBs orthotic service was run, the volume of orders and average lead time for orthotic products (survey focused on lower limb orthotic products) and the service's financial performance. Trusts/HBs were asked to state if they provided an inhouse or a contracted service; an inhouse service is one in which the orthotists are directly employed by the Trusts/HBs, while a contracted service is one in which an external company is contracted to provide orthotists and manage the service. They were also asked to state how the service was commissioned; whether through a block contract (contract is paid in advance of the service being undertaken and the value of the contract is independent of the actual number of patients treated or the amount of activity undertaken) or a local tariff ('per patient' tariff with set prices and rules). This question was not relevant to NHS Scotland HBs where a local tariff was not applicable.
Service provision {#s2-2}
-----------------
This section was designed to gain information on the volume of appointments and patients seen and the did not attend (DNA) rate within the orthotics service in each of the last 5 years (2011--2016), the current waiting times, involvement in multidisciplinary clinics and available facilities for patient assessment.
Staffing {#s2-3}
--------
The aim of this section was to gain information on staffing within the service, exploring the number, NHS banding and postgraduate training of the orthotists, the number of current staff vacancies and the employment of locum/agency orthotists within the service.
Complaints {#s2-4}
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The section aimed to gather data on the volume of formal and informal complaints and orthotic related incidents within the service in each of the last 5 years (2011--2016).
Outcome measures and KPIs {#s2-5}
-------------------------
The aim of this section was to gain information on how the service measured its performance, establishing the outcome measures and KPIs used within the service.
FOI requests should be responded to within 20 working days, to allow for a maximum number of responses to be included a deadline of 2 June 2017 for including responses was set. No follow-up contact to Trusts/HBs who did not respond to the FOI request was carried out. The results were analysed using descriptive statistics; providing counts, percentages, ranges and means.
Patient involvement {#s2-6}
-------------------
No patients were involved in the design, implementation or analysis of results of the study.
Results {#s3}
=======
The FOI request was sent to a total of 196 Trusts/HBs; with 119 (61%) responding, 20 (10%) declining to reply and 57 (29%) not responding. The response rates for the FOI request for each region (ranked by % response rate) were: Scotland 12 of 14 Trusts/HBs (86% response rate), Wales 6 of 7 Trusts/HBs (86%), Northern Ireland 3 of 5 Trusts/HBs (60%) and England 98 of 170 Trusts/HBs (58%).
In the subsequent analysis responses from 10 Trusts/HBs from England and 1 from Wales were excluded as they stated that their Orthotics Service was run within another service and their survey response provided limited information. Within the 88 included responses from English Trusts, 1 Trust provided separate responses for their adult and paediatric services, and 1 Trust sent two individual replies for different geographical areas within their Trust; therefore, the total responses for England in the following analysis is quantified as 90, and the total responses for the FOI as 110. Of the responses that could be analysed, totalling 55% of the contacted Trusts/HBs, answers were not provided to all questions by all Trusts/HBs, with large variations in response rates across the thirty questions. The response rates to each individual question within the survey are provided in [online supplementary file 4](#SP4){ref-type="supplementary-material"}. Where percentages are presented, these were calculated based on the number of responses received for individual questions.
10.1136/bmjopen-2018-028186.supp4
Although one could explore the reasons for Trusts/HBs not responding to the request, which is beyond the scope of this commentary, we assessed the responses in a systematic way. Differences between regions of the UK were evident not only for the response rate of the FOI request but also for the response rate of individual questions within the FOI request.
Finance {#s3-1}
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Across the UK, the number of Trusts/HBs which provided an inhouse service were much lower (32% of Trusts/HBs) than those that provided a contracted service (68%). The percentage of inhouse services for each region was: 30% for England, 50% for Scotland, 40% for Wales and 0% for Northern Ireland. The majority (69%; 92% response rate) of Trusts/HBs who responded were funded by a block contract. A question about financial performance was included in the FOI request, however, as the response rate for this question was so low and from some Trusts/HBs it was unclear whether the figures provided were per annum or per contract; it was not possible to analyse this data. The response rate for this question increased from 38% in 2011 to 55% in 2016, with none of the Northern Ireland Trusts/HBs providing this information.
Trusts/HBs were asked to provide information on the volume of lower limb orthotic products they provided over the last 12 months (2015--2016). Many Trusts/HBs replied that they did not record this information; the response rate varied from 41%--59% across the different lower limb orthotic products ([table 1](#T1){ref-type="table"}). Trusts/HBs were also asked to provide their average lead time for these products with large variances evident across responses ([figures 1 and 2](#F1 F2){ref-type="fig"}, [table 1](#T1){ref-type="table"}). The largest variation was seen for the provision of bespoke ankle--foot orthoses (AFOs). The annual total spending on orthotic product and service from 2011 to 2016 are provided in [table 2](#T2){ref-type="table"}.
######
Volume of lower limb orthotic products ordered and average and range for lead times in the UK (2015--2016)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Orthotic product\ Total volume of orders Lead time: average (weeks)\* Lead time:\
Response % (no of Trusts/Health Boards who responded) median\
(weeks)†
------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------ ------------------------------ ----------------
Moulded EVA insoles\ 51 326 3±2 2.6 (1--17.07)
45 (49/110)
Orthotic footwear repairs\ 30 690 2±1 2 (0.6--10)
59 (65/110)
Modular adult orthotic footwear\ 29 469 5±2 4 (1.42--14.6)
51 (56/110)
Bespoke AFOs\ 21 798 3±4 1--34.65
51 (56/110)
Stock paediatric footwear\ 15 186 3±2 2.7 (0.2--9)
51 (56/110)
Bespoke orthotic footwear\ 12 255 6±3 6 (1.56--20)
54 (59/110)
Carbon fibre insoles\ 6347 3±1 2 (1--6.4)
41 (45/110)
Plastic heel cups\ 4514 3±2 2.8 (0.14--11)
41 (45/110)
**Total** 171 585
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\*mean±SD.
†Median (min--max).
AFO, ankle--foot orthosis; EVA, ethylene-vinyl acetate.
{#F1}
{#F2}
######
Total annual spending on orthotic products and service from 2011 to 2016
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Year\ Orthotic product Orthotic service (excluding all non-pay items) Total
Response % (no of Trusts/Health Boards that responded)
-------------------------------------------------------- ------------------ ------------------------------------------------ -------------
2011--2012\ £21 656 333 £9 033 775 £30 690 108
38 (42/110)
2012--2013\ £24 469 684 £10 677 239 £35 146 923
43 (47/110)
2013--2014\ £27 785 999 £12 822 933 £40 608 932
48 (53/110)
2014--2015\ £32 021 319 £14 589 447 £46 610 766
53 (58/110)
2015--2016\ £34 342 895 £14 320 940 £48 663 835
55 (60/110)
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Service provision {#s3-2}
-----------------
Trusts/HBs were asked to provide information on the number of appointments and patients within the service over the past 5 years (2011--2016) and to provide a breakdown of the adult and paediatric appointments ([table 3](#T3){ref-type="table"}). The ability of Trusts/HBs to answer these questions improved over the 5-year period. However, there were still many Trusts/HBs who do not record data for paediatric patients separately. It was found that 33% of responding Trusts/HBs (35/105) used separate paediatric clinics for paediatric patients. The DNA rate remained consistent over the 5-year period at 8%±3%, and the response rate for this question increased from 51% in 2011--2012 to 78% in 2015--2016.
######
Total (adult and paediatric) and paediatric number of appointments and patients within the service from 2011 to 2016
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Year Number of appointments\ Number of patients\
Response % (no of Trusts/Health Boards who responded) Response % (no of Trusts/Health Boards who responded)
------------ ------------ ------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------
2011--2012 Total 495 279\ 313 239\
61 (67/110) 56 (62/110)
Paediatric 74 613\ 47 382\
47 (52/110) 47 (52/110)
2012--2013 Total 552 206\ 371 484\
67 (74/110) 64 (70/110)
Paediatric 92 753\ 58 130\
45 (50/110) 54 (59/110)
2013--2014 Total 618 954\ 421 515\
73 (80/110) 70 (77/110)
Paediatric 109 315\ 74 199\
59 (65/110) 59 (65/110)
2014--2015 Total 689 493\ 458 354\
82 (90/110) 81 (89/110)
Paediatric 120 384\ 84 202\
67 (74/110) 67 (74/110)
2015--2016 Total 726 947\ 459 212\
85 (94/110) 81 (89/110)
Paediatric 129 019\ 87 798\
69 (76/110) 68 (75/110)
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A relatively high percentage of Trusts/HBs (41% in England, 50% in Scotland and 100% in Northern Ireland) reported that they do not include their orthotics service as part of the 18-week referral to treatment (RTT) pathway; it is set out that patients should wait no longer than 18 weeks from general practitioner RTT in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.[@R23] The 18-week RTT pathway was not an NHS Wales target for orthotic services. Seventy-five per cent of responding Trusts/HBs provided information on their current waiting times (adult/paediatric routine and urgent), and the data showed large variation across responses ([figure 3](#F3){ref-type="fig"}).
{#F3}
Regarding orthotic services participating in multidisciplinary clinics, the response rate for this question was high (98%). In Scotland and Wales all HBs who responded reported that their orthotists took part in these clinics. The English Trusts reported that 84% of orthotists within inhouse services (21/25) and 83% of orthotists within contracted service (52/63) took part in multidisciplinary clinics, leaving 15 Trusts which reported not taking part in multidisciplinary clinics. Two of the three Northern Ireland Trusts/HBs who responded to the FOI request reported taking part in these clinics.
The response rate for the question requesting information on the facilities (three-dimensional (3D) gait laboratory, two-dimensional (2D) video vector analysis, video analysis and other gait analysis facilities) available for patient assessments was high (95%); 85% of responding Trusts/HBs reported not having access to a 3D gait analysis laboratory or a 2D video vector analysis system and 79% of Trusts/HBs reported not having access to simple video analysis.
Based on the data provided in the responses, we estimated the average time per appointment for the year 2015--2016; data provided by the Trusts/HBs on the total number of orthotic sessions per week and the total number of appointments was used for this calculation (see [online supplementary file 5](#SP5){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). In both England and Scotland, the estimated time per appointment for inhouse services was longer (England 33 min and Scotland 41 min) than for contracted services (England 18 min and Scotland 24 min). The time per appointment for inhouse and contracted services in Wales were 30 and 35 min, respectively, and for Northern Ireland it was 21 min.
10.1136/bmjopen-2018-028186.supp5
Staffing {#s3-3}
--------
Trusts/HBs were asked to provide information on the number of sessions (both orthotist sessions and limited orthotic practitioner sessions) per week; limited orthotic practitioner's work in a limited area, having gained specific training in competency to assess for and fit a limited number of orthoses, under the supervision of an orthotist. They were also asked to provide information on the number of full-time equivalent orthotists and administration staff working within their orthotics service in 2015--2016. All Trusts/HBs in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland responded to this question, but within the English Trusts/HBs 78% of inhouse services and between 65% and 95% of contracted services provided responses to these questions. A total of 2123 orthotist sessions and 144 limited orthotic practitioner sessions per week were reported with 262 full time equivalent orthotists and 317 administration staff employed within the orthotic services.
Regarding the question on the clinical background of the manager of the orthotics services the response rate was high (93%). Approximately 80% of managers had a clinical background (40% orthotist, 15% podiatrist, 13% physiotherapist, 5% occupational therapist and 7% other). There were more managers who were orthotists within the inhouse than the contracted services within England (68% inhouse (17/25 Trusts/HBs); 27% contracted (16/59)) and Scotland (100% Inhouse (5/5); 60% contracted (3/5)).
When asked to provide details of the NHS Banding, or equivalent, of the orthotists within the services the response rate was low (50%), with most Trusts/HBs who had contracted services stating that the question was not applicable to them as the service was contracted.
Trusts/HBs were asked if orthotists working with complex and highly complex conditions already have or are provided with additional postgraduate training in orthotic management of these conditions. The overall response rate for the UK was 79%; 22% of responding Trusts/HBs stated that mandatory training was provided, 55% stated it was provided but not mandatory, and 23% stated that it was not provided. The Scottish Trusts/HBs reported the highest rates of postgraduate training for complex conditions (100% for contracted services and 80% for inhouse services), the lowest response rate for this question (70%) was for English Trusts/HBs with a contracted service.
Regarding the provision of protected time for continued professional development (CPD), there was a response rate of 76% across the UK. The lowest response rates were from Trusts/HBs using a contracted service (England 67% (42/63 Trusts/HBs), Scotland 67% (4/6) and Wales 67% (2/3)). The reported CPD time ranged from 1 hour to \>6 hours per month, with the greatest number of Trusts/HBs selecting that they provide 3 hours (13 Trusts/HBs) or 4 hours (15 Trusts/HBs) per month. Six Trusts/HBs stated providing CPD on an ad hoc basis and 23 Trusts/HBs responded that their orthotists did not have protected CPD time.
Regarding vacancies for orthotists at the time of the survey a response was provided by 61% of Trusts/HBs. Of the responding Trusts/HBs 19% reported that they had vacancies, and when asked why the position had not been filled some commented on a lack of applicants for positions. Regarding the question about the employment of locum orthotists (91% of responding Trusts/HBs answered this question); 21 of the 100 Trusts/HBs who responded stated that they were currently employing locum/agency orthotists and 40 Trusts/HBs stated they had employed locum/agency orthotists over the last 5 years (2011--2016).
Complaints {#s3-4}
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Trusts/HBs were asked to provide a breakdown of the number of formal and informal complaints they had received regarding their orthotic service in the previous 5 years (2011--2016). The complaints data gives insight into the number of patients who were dissatisfied with their orthotics service to an extent that they felt it necessary to raise either an informal or a formal complaint with the Trust. The response rate for this question increased from 72% in 2011 to 85% in 2016 for formal complaints and from 55% in 2011 to 65% in 2016 for informal complaints. The total number of formal and informal complaints increased annually from 130 and 83 in 2011, to 182 and 328 in 2016, respectively. They were also asked to report how many orthotic related incidents had been logged on their incident reporting system annually over the 5-year period; this increased from 138 (65% response rate) in 2011 to 318 (75%) in 2016.
Outcome measures and KPIs {#s3-5}
-------------------------
Patient satisfaction was monitored by 80% of responding Trusts/HBs (97% response rate), and 35% of the responses stated that they used outcome measures to assess orthotic interventions (94% response rate). The use of a wide range of outcome measures were reported; including function (assessed using various walking tests for example, 10 m walk test and Timed Up and Go Test (which assesses mobility and balance) and Berg Balance Scale (which assesses static and dynamic balance ability), and questionnaires and visual analogue scales to assess pain, comfort and quality of life. With regard to the question about KPIs, the response rate was high (94%); Trusts/HBs were asked if they monitored routine waiting times (70% responded yes), manufacturer lead times (51%), inpatient waiting times (27%), urgent waiting times (30%) and failed first fits (43%). When asked if they accepted general practitioner referrals, 85% of responding Trusts/HBs (89/105) responded that they accepted referrals via this route.
Trusts/HBs were asked if they had an orthotic service patient entitlement allowance for a range of orthoses (94% response rate), with a varied response dependant on the type of orthosis ([figure 4](#F4){ref-type="fig"}). Wide variation in entitlements were seen across Trusts/HBs, with some reporting 1 pair of footwear/orthoses or alteration per year or per shoe size for children, others two pairs/alterations and some stated orthoses were provided 'as needed'.
{#F4}
Discussion {#s4}
==========
This survey was undertaken to gain an understanding of current orthotic service provision in the UK. Results highlighted the large variances across Trusts/HBs; these variances included appointment times, waiting times, product entitlements for patients and product lead times.
Variances in appointment times were evident between regions and between contracted and inhouse services, with all appointment times relatively short (average times between 18 and 41 min). This finding is confirmed by a recent study which examined foot orthotic provision in the United Kingdom[@R25]; reporting that the majority of orthotists (62%) had 15--30 min for clinical assessments and 15% reported having \<15 min appointments. These appointment times were significantly lower than those reported for podiatrists and physiotherapists, who were 11.0 and 13.2 times more likely, respectively, to have 45--60 min appointments.[@R25] It also supports previous research which reported that when orthotists were asked if they provided AFO--footwear combination tuning 27% said they did not tune due to a lack of time.[@R26] These short appointment times, reported in the present survey and previous research, are below the recommended treatment times set out by BAPO; 20 min treatment blocks differentiated as: (1) initial assessment and analysis, (2) measurement and device specification, (3) trial evaluation of the device, (4) supply and final evaluation of the device, (5) review and fine tuning of treatment and (6) final review of treatment outcomes.[@R27] They also advise that this treatment time may need to be increased to reflect the level of experience of the orthotist or the complexity of the case. The recommended treatment times are set by the BAPO Professional Affairs Committee which is a representative group including experienced senior clinicians from all four UK nations, with both NHS and contractor staff consulted. The committee also consider feedback received directly from members and statements made indirectly by clinicians in their biennial 'Working Practices' survey when setting the recommended treatment times. In light of this, while we could consider it as a negative that the survey showed that most Trusts/HBs did not have access to facilities for patient assessments, even simple video analysis, given the current short appointment times it would not be feasible for orthotists to use these facilities even if they could access them. As research has found that orthotists reported that they didn't have adequate time within appointments to complete AFO-footwear combination tuning,[@R26] and that orthotists have significantly shorter appointment times than podiatrists and physiotherapists,[@R25] further research is required to establish if orthotists working in the NHS have sufficient time to complete their patient assessments and design or evaluate a treatment plan.
There were large variations across Trusts/HBs for urgent waiting times for adult and paediatric appointments which are consistent with previous research.[@R9] The majority of Trusts/HBs reported lead times which were outside what has been recommended as maximum reasonable timescales; 10 working days for an AFO, 25 working days for bespoke footwear and 15 working days or stock footwear.[@R28] This combined with differences in patient entitlement confirm, as previously reported,[@R28] that service provision varies according to where you live; there is a need for a national standard to promote equity of care.
Combined long waiting times for appointments and lead times for footwear/orthoses means extended time before treatment is received; the present survey reports average and maximum waiting times for adult appointments of 7 and 34 weeks, respectively, in January 2017. The Medway FOI reported average and maximum waiting times of 9 and 51 weeks, respectively, in 2013--2014.[@R13] For paediatric patients average and maximum waiting times were 5 and 20 weeks, respectively, in contrast to 7 and 52-week waiting times reported elsewhere in 2013--2014.[@R13] Survey results showed that some Trusts/HBs appeared to not accommodate the needs of children. Waiting times of 20 weeks for routine and 8.2 weeks for urgent appointments are unacceptable, as are the long waiting times for supply of paediatric AFOs, usually provided to children with long-term disabling conditions, reported as up to 20 weeks.
Potential reasons for the long waiting times may be due to Trusts/HBs not including orthotic services in the 18-week RTT target or it could be due to a shortage of orthotists or a combination of both. Minimum waiting times are particularly important for children, as long waiting times mean they may have outgrown an orthotic device by the time they receive it and industry standard lead times for orthotic products are required. In addition, the Special Educational Needs and Disability code of practice,[@R29] produced by the UK government, outlines duties for commissioning services to improve outcomes for children and young people who have special educational needs or disabilities, excessive waiting times affects the Trusts/HBs' ability to provide orthotic services effectively to this patient group. There was an increase in the number of Trusts/HBs recording patient complaints and the DNA rate over the 5-year period, and the average DNA rate for orthotic services was consistent with the rate reported across the NHS.[@R30]
There was a high response rate (97%) to the question about monitoring patient satisfaction, with 80% of responding Trusts/HBs including patient satisfaction as a KPI could be perceived as positive and will help in the improvement of service provision. However, there were large variances across Trusts/HBs, most responders reported monitoring routine waiting times with a low number of Trusts/HBs monitoring inpatient and urgent waiting times and failed first fits.
While the introduction of local tariffs has been recommended[@R9] most of the Trusts/HBs who responded were funded by a block contract (69%; 70/101). Many of the Trusts/HBs using a contracted service entered zero for the number of full-time orthotists who work within their Trusts/HBs. Possible explanations for this finding are that they did not consider this question relevant as their service was contracted, or that they do not know the number of orthotists who work within the service. Therefore, it appears that many Trusts/HBs do not hold information on the orthotists treating their patients. A positive response was that 77% of responding Trusts/HBs reported that their orthotists working with complex conditions had postgraduate training in orthotic management of these conditions. However, the lowest response rate (70%) for this question was from English Trusts/HBs with a contracted service, possibly indicating that these Trusts/HBs were not aware of the competency of the staff working with these patients. A lower response rate from Trusts/HBs with a contracted service was also evident for protected CPD time. A positive response was that 73% of responding Trusts/HBs reported providing protected CPD time for their orthotists, however it should be standard practice for all orthotists to receive protected CPD time across all Trusts/HBs.
It was reported in the NHS Quality Observatory[@R13] that the volume of orthotic appointments and users was significantly under-reported within NHS systems; their review of Hospital Episode Statistics found 159 729 orthotics attendances were recorded for 2013--2014. However, in contrast the Medway NHS Foundation Trust FOI reported that the 38 Trusts who responded to the question treated 208 231 patients. In the present study, for the same year as presented in these previous reports (2013--14), the total volume of appointments and patients for the UK was significantly higher, at 618 953 and 421 515, respectively ([table 3](#T3){ref-type="table"}). There is also a vast discrepancy between reports on the volume of orthotic users (which are all people who use an orthosis, not only people attending orthotic services); with estimated figures of between 1.2 million[@R15] and 2 million[@R16] in England. This highlights the need for accurate information on the volume of patients attending orthotic services and on orthotic users in general; without this information it is not possible to provide and evaluate an effective orthotic service or to understand the scale of the need for orthoses.
For the questions which asked for information over the previous 5 years (2011--2016) there was an annual increase over the 5 years in the number of Trusts/HBs who provided responses, suggesting positive improvements in record keeping. However, this variance in response rate meant that it was not possible to directly compare across the years as it is not possible to determine if changes were as a result of changes within the orthotic services or as a result of the increased number of responses to the questions in the FOI. While in some instances it was possible to identify differences in service provision between regions, due to the low response rate for many questions it was not always possible to provide comparisons.
As previously discussed, a report by the NHS Quality Observatory[@R13] highlighted the current challenges in obtaining accurate figures for orthotic service provision; as these is limited historical data on this service this hinders comparison with findings from the present survey. A study by Fox and Winson in 1994[@R31] reported that the annual NHS orthotics budget was approximately £38 million. While the method used to establish this figure differed to the method used within the present survey, it is postulated based on this information that the total budget for orthotic services doesn't seem to increase in proportion to the overall NHS spend; which has increased by approximately 4% a over the lifetime of the NHS.[@R32] Our results show £30.6 million in 2011--2012 within the responding Trusts/HBs, which increases to £40.6 in 2013--2014 and £48.6 in 2015--2016 ([table 2](#T2){ref-type="table"}). The lack of difference within the period from 1994 to 2016 is even more significant considering that this comparison does not take inflation into consideration. This highlights a clear lack of overall understanding of the expenses. In addition, without a clear picture of income and expenditure it is difficult to show the cost effectiveness of the service provision.
The response to use of outcome measure was very disappointing, with only 35% of responding Trusts/HBs (36/103) using outcome measures, implying that most Trusts/HBs have no formal method of measuring whether the orthotic intervention they have prescribed has been effective. For those Trusts/HBs who reported using outcome measures a wide selection of measures are stated as being used including various visual analogue scales, questionnaires and functional objective tests (eg, timed up and go). These findings are confirmed by recently published research conducted by BAPO; their survey of prosthetists and orthotists in the UK indicated that only 28% routinely used outcome measures, with no consistency in the outcome measures used.[@R33] As previously reported,[@R34] the use of a core set of patient-reported outcome measures would enable the assessment of the effectiveness of treatment interventions and would also facilitate audit.
The potential reasons for this finding are multifaceted, but the reported short appointment times and the lack of availability of essential equipment required to undertake accurate measurements in this survey could be important contributing factors. Previous research has reported that orthotists did not routinely provide AFO-footwear combination tuning, which includes essential aspects of orthotic provision such as static and dynamic alignments of orthoses, 27% said they did not tune due to a lack of time and they felt that they did not have the required equipment.[@R26] While it is recognised that visual gait analysis is inaccurate[@R35] and that video gait assessment should be routine clinical practice for orthotic provision[@R37] most Trusts/HBs do not provide access to simple and inexpensive digital slow-motion video analysis.
In 2014, an NHS report stated that it was not possible to obtain accurate figures on the number of people in England accessing orthotics services, with this issue attributed to the complexity of pathways of care and poor availability and accessibility of data.[@R13] While the data presented from this survey is limited by the low response rates for some questions, the information gained provides a valuable insight into orthotic service provision in the UK. While the response rate for this survey was low (61% of contacted Trusts/HBs responded), it received more replies than the Medway NHS Foundation Trust FOI request in 2014 which had a 29% response rate (55/188 organisations responded).[@R9] Of the 20 Trusts/HBs who declined to reply 13 deemed that answering the request would cost in excess of £450 (Section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act[@R38]) which suggests there may be poor record keeping for orthotic service provision in these Trusts/HBs. Two Trusts/HBs declined due to commercial interests (Section 43[@R38]), yet as many other Trusts/HBs responded to the FOI request it is unclear why they considered that they could not respond to the survey. Five Trusts/HBs declined as they stated that their service was contracted to an external company. However, even if the service was contracted, one can argue that the Trusts/HBs are still responsible for overseeing the service and therefore should have access to the requested information.
While this survey confirms that many of the issues reported in previous reports on orthotic service provision[@R8] are still evident there were also improvements in service provision identified. The projected population growth, ageing population and rising prevalence of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular and peripheral vascular diseases will result in an increased demand for orthotics services in the future,[@R9] and therefore, it is essential to ensure that services are capable of meeting current and future demands. Although the low number of responses received could be seen as a limitation of this report; to improve orthotic service provision first it is necessary to fully understand current provision. This has been argued since the late 1980s,[@R39] however the change seems to be rather slow. Additional independent structured research and service evaluations sponsored by a competent authority (such as the Department of Health and Social Care) need to be commissioned which gather complete assessment of orthotic service provision across the UK.
Conclusions {#s5}
===========
The combination of the number of Trusts/HBs who declined to reply to the FOI request and those who replied but provided limited information in their reply hindered the ability to combine the data received to provide a complete national picture of orthotic service provision. Results from this survey highlight the large discrepancies in service provision (eg, waiting times for appointments and orthotic products) between Trusts/HBs. There appeared to be a greater ability for Trusts/HBs to answer questions that reflect quantity of service compared with questions that reflect quality of service. This report clearly highlights the gaps in terms of clinical and economic data capture which prevents the evaluation of effectiveness and cost effectiveness of service provision. The UK NHS needs to establish appropriate processes to record the quality of service provision to enable improvements in clinical management and to get good value for money.
10.1136/bmjopen-2018-028186.supp2
10.1136/bmjopen-2018-028186.supp3
Supplementary Material
======================
###### Reviewer comments
###### Author\'s manuscript
We acknowledge the contribution of Elaine Owen who contributed to the study design, interpretation of the data and revision of draft manuscripts, and Thomas Perry who supported the data acquisition and analysis of the work.
**Twitter:** \@nachic
**Contributors:** NC and NE were responsible for the conception of the work, with all authors contributing to study design. NC and AH completed the data acquisition and analysis, with all authors involved in the interpretation of data. AH was responsible for the original drafting of the work with all authors revising it critically for important intellectual content. All authors had final approval of the version to be published. All authors agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
**Funding:** The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.
**Competing interests:** None declared.
**Patient consent for publication:** Not required.
**Ethics approval:** An ethics disclaimer form for this study was submitted to the Staffordshire University Ethics Committee prior to the start of the study.
**Provenance and peer review:** Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.
**Data availability statement:** The authors will not share the data for this work. The data for this work was obtained through
a freedom of information request, with the responses from individual Trusts/Health boards
publicly available.
| |
Vastu knowledge descended to us through the mercy of 18 Maharishis.
But unfortunately, due to commercialization, it has got corrupted and misinterpreted. As a result, people assume to leave in Vastu homes, but in fact, those homes are full of flaws.
This has created big mistrust in the mind of common man.
Our mission is to restore this Divine science by following the exact methods of traditional Vastu Shastra described in Sanskrit text.
Sahasra Mahavastu 35 years of expirience in structural ingineering.
Vision
Our vision is to create a blend of ancient and modern, following the exact principles of Vastu Shastra. We present it to the contemporary world in a comprehensive way, using modern technologies and design trends.
Our intent is to spread Vastu knowledge in the world introducing Vastu to different architectural cultures, by creating a confluence of East and West.
One family house individual design
We design individual Houses according your requirments and destiny where your horoscope chart is our guide.
We ensure that the aesthetic qualities of architecture become integral to Vastu tenets.
We reconstruct already existing propriety according to Vastu tenets.
Our projects
We will provide you with a full set of 3D color drawings, based on your requirements. This can be amended until you are completely happy. | https://www.vastutantra.com/about-3 |
A New York family claimed a dog rescue service essentially held their dog hostage, the New York post reported. Queens resident Susy Cipia told the post that the Korean K9 non-profit organization found Lily, their lost Shiba Inu, and would not return the dog until the family paid fees for procedures they did not ask for.
Lily escaped from the family’s home on March 26, in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens. Someone found her and took her to a veterinarian, who noticed the dog’s microchip had actually expired. The Long Island City Veterinary Center posted a photo of Lily to its Facebook page, at which point Korean K9 volunteered to take the Shiba into its own hands.
Korean K9 reportedly told Cipia that she could not have the dog back until she paid $250 to have the dog spayed. Korean K9 director Gina Boehler told the Post that New York City’s Health Department requires groups like that to fix dogs before returning them to owners.
However, the Health Department told the Post that rescue groups are not subject to that level of regulation. Cipia apparently planned on breeding Lily at some point, hence her refusal to have the dog spayed, much less pay for Korean K9 to take care of it.
In response to the Post’s report, Korean K9 took to Facebook to debunk the accusations made against the group. In a blunt explanation of Korean K9’s intentions, the organization called the report an “unfair representation” of what happened.
According to the Facebook post, Korean K9 shared proof of the Health Department’s requirements regarding spaying Lily and giving her a rabies vaccine before releasing her back to Cipia. The group went further, claiming Cipia’s lawyer found out Korean K9 was right about all of this, something the Post did not include in its report.
Regardless of who was right or wrong, Korean K9 relented and returned Lily to Cipia for free. Aside from the expired microchip, Lily had a rotting tooth that the group said it would remove at no cost to the dog’s owner. In the comments underneath the Facebook post, Korean K9 said Cipia signed a sterilization agreement and Lily would be spayed this week, with the group covering all costs.
A family in San Antonio accused a dog rescue group of doing the same thing after its missing dogs were recovered by the group last July. In that case, the family claimed the price to get their dogs back kept arbitrarily rising, with the rescue group also asking for documentation the family did not have. | https://www.ibtimes.com/family-claims-rescue-group-held-missing-dog-hostage-organization-fires-back-facebook-2668219 |
It is a truism in career development that you should only do one thing and do it well. You don’t want to pursue multiple business endeavors—that would scatter your energy. Offer a consistent image to the world. Focus.
When I moved back to Cambridge for my sabbatical at MIT, where I earned a doctorate in engineering a decade ago, I thought I knew what to expect. The revitalization of Kendall Square, the Innovation District in South Boston, the new MBTA stop in Somerville, pharmaceutical companies building their new headquarters within walking distance of the Charles River, Google opening an office nearby: I was aware of all these. They were aligned with Greater Boston’s brand as an innovation hub in science and engineering. Left-brain innovation, I call it. For me, that was Greater Boston’s One Thing.
But I was most struck, after I came back, by the amount of right-brain innovation going on—new arts-related offerings that customers pay for. (It is not innovation if it doesn’t have marketplace value.) Everybody knows Boston’s reputation in science, technology, and engineering. But an innovative mindset is sustained by right-brain activities: spend an hour at the museum or two in a theater and view the world differently, especially if the cultural offerings are on the cutting edge. Of course, Boston has all the events that residents count on in a metropolis: open artists’ studios on First Fridays, a book festival every October, a film festival, a jazz festival, community programs at local museums, authors’ events at indie bookstores, and so on. Every large city with any hope to attract the educated, however, does the same. I like to think that Boston is more successful at it—I’ll argue that the Boston events involve writers and artists of a caliber rarely seen elsewhere—but those events alone don’t make Boston special. What does is the role of new works in the city’s cultural scene, and what they mean about Boston’s identity. | http://mitsloanexperts.mit.edu/tag/greater-boston/ |
The Panorama Project is organizing a Readers’ Advisory Impact Committee to research and document the wide variety of Reader’s Advisory services, activities, and title recommendations provided by public libraries and librarians. The committee is open to interested libraries and librarians, as well as other industry professionals.
The committee will be investigating all forms of book, genre, series, and author recommendations and merchandising services/activities. These will include programs and activities inside public libraries, public meeting spaces, and community buildings. It will also include a growing list of online channels that readers encounter via library catalogs, reading apps, reading clubs, and social media platforms.
The committee will document and research both direct (one-to-one recommendations) and indirect (one-to-many) Readers' Advisory activities. These include in-library table and shelf displays, library catalog and website displays, reading lists (distributed in print and electronically), newsletters, podcasts, blog posts, author events and visits, and more.
Once compiled, the committee will measure and analyze the impact library Readers’ Advisory activities have on title/author discovery, brand development, and book sales.
The Readers' Advisory Impact Committee will be facilitated by Bill Kelly, Cindy Orr, and Magan Szwarek. The committee will begin holding regular teleconference calls in October. | https://www.panoramaproject.org/news/2018/10/1/readers-advisory-impact-committee-now-forming |
This past Saturday, we welcomed a new member to the independent bookstore family: RoscoeBooks in Chicago, IL. I had a chance to chat electronically with owner Erika VanDam about her experiences on the journey to bookstore ownership. And while she’s nowhere close to being caught up with the Quick & Dirty Survey questions, I think we have a good start.
What made you decide to open a bookstore?
The idea to open a store, particularly a bookstore, was always in the back of my mind as a dream career. I returned to my job in ad sales after having a baby late last year, but was unhappy and began thinking seriously about changing my career entirely. It was after a long conversation with my husband about the things I truly love to do that I decided to explore the idea.
This part was easy. I knew that I wanted the store to be on Roscoe St., and the Roscoe retail strip is less than 10 blocks long, so I didn’t have many options to begin with. The store’s space was the first one I looked at, and I was pleased that it was in such good condition and located on a block with several other popular businesses…so I made it my mission to work out a deal with the owners.
What’s the square footage of the store?
The space is 1,419 total square feet, and the sales floor is about 1,220 square feet.
What has the timeline been, from deciding to open until now?
I first came up with the idea at the end of December last year. I was still working at my previous job, so I decided to spend the next few months doing some research and signed up for a bookselling workshop in May. I told myself that I would make a definite decision after attending that workshop, and since then, everything happened fairly quickly. I found the ideal space in June and signed the lease in mid-August, with the goal of opening before Thanksgiving.
I see you have a Facebook page, what other things have you done to market the store?
The Facebook page has been a huge asset and has become especially important in recent weeks, but in addition to this, the store has been covered by Publishers Weekly, Shelf Awareness, DNAinfo, Chicagoist and the Chicago Reader.
Yes, we do, though I’m still putting the finishing touches on it. The site will offer general information about the store, an event calendar, and full E-commerce functionality. I expect to go live with it this weekend.
Do you plan to offer activities?
Is so, what kind? Absolutely! We will have a weekly story hour for children, and hope to do author events and readings as soon as the new year begins. I’d also like to offer quarterly book fairs to all of the local schools, and an open invitation for local book clubs to hold meetings and events at the store.
In addition to myself, I have two co-managers and two booksellers.
What hours will you keep?
Monday-Saturday 10am-7pm, and Sunday 10am-6pm.
Have you had any mentors during this process?
Without a doubt, the most important mentors I’ve had during this process have been Donna Paz Kaufman and Mark Kaufman of Paz & Associates. Without their training, insight and good advice, I wouldn’t even have known where to begin. They truly deserve much of the credit for RoscoeBooks’ existence!
What POS software will you use?
Do you plan to join any trade organizations?
Yes! I already belong to the ABA, and will be joining GLIBA as well.
Why should customers choose to shop at RoscoeBooks?
Customers should shop at RoscoeBooks because we have a little something for everyone, and more importantly, we care deeply about becoming a true resource for our community and getting to know our customers. We know that our customers can buy their books anywhere, and that’s why we plan to listen to their feedback and stock books and gifts that they will love and enjoy for years to come. | http://booksandwhatnot.com/marginalia/welcome-roscoebooks/ |
- Vendors selling perishable food and preparing food onsite will be required to produce the relevant food/beverage licenses applicable as per Food Safety & Health Legislation and to have typhoid injection certificate.
- No pork and alchohol food and drinks will be allowed.
- Conditions of Entry into Venue
MITEC considers the well-being and safety of our clients, guests, visitors and team members as of utmost importance. As such, it is embedded in our Safety and Health protocols to ensuring safety, health and welfare of all persons at our premise and to eliminate where practicable or minimise through treatment or other means any environmental and social impacts and/or significant health, hazards and risks.
The following conditions will need to be complied and adhered to before entering our Venue
- All persons will need to read and follow the guidelines stipulated in the MITEC’s Health and Safety standard operating procedures (SOPs) that ensures strict compliance to security procedures and health protocols issued by the National Security Council and the Ministry of Health.
- In the event that any person appears or is unwell and demonstrates common COVID-19 symptoms and is present in the premise, MITEC will immediately activate the necessary protocols to minimise the transmission of infection, which include refusing entry into the Venue.
- You acknowledge that MITEC cannot guarantee that you will not become infected with the COVID-19. You understand that the risk of becoming exposed to and/or infected by the COVID-19 may result from the actions, omissions, or negligence of yourself and others, including, but not limited to, MITEC staff, and other MITEC clients and guests.
- By entering the Venue, you hereby release and agree to hold MITEC harmless from, and waive any and all causes of action related to COVID-19. This liability waiver and release extends to MITEC together with all owners, partners, affiliates, employees, agents or contractors.
- Set Up and Tear Down
- Hours of operation are 11am-6pm (Friday) 9am-5pm (Saturday and Sunday), unless otherwise noted. Set up times are between 8:30 am-10:30 am on Friday , 7:30am -8:30am on Saturday and Sunday . Detailed information will be sent to you prior to the event.
- Booths must be staffed during operating hours. Vendors are not allowed to disassemble booths before 6pm on Friday and 5pm on Saturdays and Sundays unless permission is first obtained by the organiser.
- Vendors are responsible for keeping their space attractive during operation hours and for cleaning up their space after the event closes, including removal of garbage and sweeping up any debris.
-
There will be overnight security. Therefore, it is not necessary to break down your booth on Friday and Saturday night. However, please take your most valuable possessions with you.
The organisers will not be held responsible for lost, stolen, or damaged items.
- Weather
-
The event is a rain, snow or shine event. Please be prepared by bringing the necessary rain shelters or awnings approved by the organiser.
- Permission to Use Pictures of Vendor Products
-
The vendor hereby permits usage of company logo , product pictures before or during the event by the organiser for its marketing and promotional efforts for the event. | https://mitec.com.my/gccmarket-registration/ |
“I just let the music come from my soul; it don’t matter if you’re young or you’re old. Down, down, do your dance, do your dance.”
A popular line dance known as the “Cupid Shuffle” brought everyone to their feet Thursday the Gilroy Senior Center on Hannah Street, where seniors dance for an hour after lunch every week.
As I watched, a woman in turquoise slacks limped out onto the open space of the recreation room and began dancing to the beat of the music. Suddenly her limp was magically gone as she began to move with enthusiasm in a group of 20 seniors whose ages ranged from 55 to 85.
As the smile never left her face, she seemed to grow younger before my very eyes. The group does a type of exercise known as “Zumba,” which is a fun way to stay in shape and is popular with all ages.
Nancy Headley’s red, white and blue sequined baseball cap with its proud “USA” logo across the front never stops bobbing up and down as she leads the dancers in many different rhythms and incorporates choreography intended to give every part of the body a great work out.
Headley, proud mom of Gilroy Marine William Headley, found the exercise of Zumba helped to relieve the stress she felt while her son was away on dangerous missions in Afghanistan. One of Gilroy’s foremost experts on Zumba, she volunteers her time at the Gilroy Senior Center where she leads Zumba classes for free. Her efforts as an instructor are so appreciated, she is now in demand to lead Zumba at Rebekah Children’s Services and for Kaiser Permanente in Gilroy.
Her assistant leader is the very fit 23-year-old Ruben Lopez, a local fitness instructor who also teaches Zumba.
“We’re a team,” he said. “Last week at Gilroy Healthcare & Rehabilitation Center, some people were less mobile, so I told Nancy, ‘Throw some arms in the air.’ We added a lot of arm movements. They were all so happy!”
If motions are too challenging for some, Headley always gives alternate ideas as an option for doing the exercises. She helps tutor everyone, explaining any choreography that might be slightly more complicated.
“It’s really not hard,” Lopez said. “It’s all just steps which we show you, and once you get the steps, then you add flavor.”
It was Virginia Ruiz’s idea to add Zumba to the Senior Center, where she coordinates numerous volunteer efforts. Zumba has allowed her to stay vital and cope with the grief of becoming a widow three years ago.
“I was sitting at home alone,” she said. “But now I coordinate activities here. We have nutrition education and special birthday recognitions, and I hope to have a Bible study in the future.”
All of the dances are done to festive and lively music, allowing for the incorporation of different dance styles from all over the world. Zumba has something for everyone.
One of the clear genre favorites the Senior Center is country, for which the Zumba moves resemble a combination of square and line dancing influences.
Who couldn’t help but smiling while exercising to one particular country song by Luke Bryan, who sang: “Come on now, you know you got everybody looking. Shake it for the birds, shake it for the bees, shake it for the catfish swimming down deep in the creek. Spin me around this big ole barn, tangle me up like grandma’s yarn.”
Everyone began picking up the pace and smiling a little broader.
“It’s a lot of fun!” and “I love this!” are comments from the dance floor as Headley encourages the group to keep going. The group does moves that help with flexibility and maintaining good balance; something important for seniors whose most common injuries are sustained in falls.
“Almost done,” Headley calls out, followed by a big “Ha Yah!”
Zumba is multiculturally popular and brings everyone together with the universal language of music. In Gilroy, the style of dance brings English and Spanish speakers together and erases any barriers as everyone just has fun together.
As I prepared to leave the Senior Center on Thursday, I felt a gentle tap on my shoulder, and as I turned to see who it was, participant Maria Elena Fernandez was saying to me, “You come next week? Oh wait, that’s Thanksgiving. I see you in two weeks!”
Her enthusiasm is contagious and uplifting. Watching the seniors Zumba is inspiring and makes me feel like I can get up and dance!
All seniors are welcome to sign up for Zumba on Thursdays at the Gilroy Senior Center from 12:30 to 1:30. | http://gilroydispatch.com/2012/11/20/teraji-this-isnt-your-grandmothers-dance-class/ |
Zoonotic viral infections are responsible for a large portion of emerging infectious diseases in humans. However, for many viruses the molecular basis that determines host range, virulence and the potential for cross-species transmission is poorly understood. The long-term goal is to delineate key factors that contribute to viral host range and virulence by analyzing the interaction of viruses with the host innate immune system. A major focus are model poxviruses, which display extreme differences in host range and virulence and include major human and animal pathogens. The objective of this application is to determine the contribution of species-specific interactions of the host antiviral protein kinase R (PKR) with virus inhibitors for virus replication, virulence and host range. The central hypothesis is that both viral host range and virus replication are directly influenced by the interaction of PR and its viral inhibitors. The rationale of this project is that an improved understanding of the mechanisms that determine virus host range can ultimately result in a better prediction of host switches and changes in virulence and also might lead to new alternative strategies for disease control. Based on strong preliminary data, the main hypothesis will be tested by pursuing three specific aims: 1) Characterize host-specific PKR inhibition by poxvirus inhibitors; 2) Elucidate the molecular basis for PKR sensitivity to viral inhibitors; and 3) Evaluate the effects and functional consequences of naturally occurring variants of rabbit PKR and myxoma virus inhibitors. Under the first aim, the interactions between PKR proteins from different host species with PKR inhibitors from prototypic poxviruses will be studied and their functional relevance in cell line infection assays tested. In the second aim, the molecular basis for species-specific PKR-inhibitor interactions will be determined by combining mutagenesis, binding and infection assays and the potential of PKR to resist PKR inhibitors from other viruses will be tested. Under the third aim, naturally evolved variants of PKR from rabbits and from myxoma virus PKR inhibitors, as well as mutants that were generated in artificial evolution experiments, will be analyzed for effects in interaction and infection assays to test the PKR-inhibitor interactions in textbook example for host-virus coevolution. The proposed research is significant because it will lead to the better understanding of the molecular basis for poxvirus host range, yield novel insights into the mechanisms of resistance to viruses and how they evolve, and might lead to a better prediction of which viruses have a strong potential for cross-species transmission. This project is innovative because it introduces new strategies and novel tools to elucidate the importance of host-virus interactions for virus replication and host range and explores the novel concept that the outcome of cross- species virus transmission is strongly influenced by chance, but might be predicted by experimental analyses. Ultimately, the knowledge gained during this project will lead to the better understanding of the molecular mechanisms behind virus host range and resistance and is expected to propel the field forward.
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Contents
Introduction
Construction planning is the process of formulating activities required to undertake a construction project. This includes analysing the implications of each activity and selecting from the alternatives the appropriate method to accomplish the project goals.
Construction plans are used to prepare budgets and schedule works and to determine which participants are necessary in the project team.
Purpose of planning
Construction planning is crucial for successful completion of projects within the set time, quality and cost. It is an integral part of project execution that involves all stakeholders to ensure delivery and compliance.
Key considerations in construction planning
There are technical issues that must be taken care of in the preparation of construction plans. These aspects form the basic parts of the plan and can also be used as guidelines to analyse the effectiveness of the final plan.
First and foremost is the choice of construction methods and technologies to be used. This is a high priority since it has an impact on material choices. It also allows planners to check and compare technologies, classes of work required, types of systems for the structure and environmental implications.
It is also necessary to keep in mind that preparation of a construction plan is a backward reasoning process that seeks to define tasks, set time and assign resources to reach a predetermined outcome.
Prior to this it is important to determine what the emphasis of the plan should be. Is it directed towards cost control , schedule control (or quality)? With cost control, it is better to evaluate direct and indirect costs (such as overhead costs, financing costs, activity cost and so on). With schedule control as the focus, the main criteria should be on the precedence of activities, efficiency, resource availability and utilisation and integration of schedule and budget.
Construction method
The selection of different technological and methodological alternatives for the construction of the designed structure starts in the preliminary design stages. Often at this stage, alternatives are devised by architects and are hypothetical and abstract. They form the basis for the future detailed development of the construction method to be used, which may involve engineers, contractors, suppliers and specialists.
From a number of developed alternatives, the analysis is made weighing the cost, time and quality for each method. Depending on the availability of equipment, effects of each method and the skills available for each method, the most feasible method is chosen and a detailed plan is prepared.
Setting up project activities
It is important to take into consideration the technology and methods selected for the project. Individual activities should be scheduled in accordance with the defined precedent of works, since this will help to frame efficient organisation of construction tasks and allocate resources dependent on often repeated activities.
The defined activities should be developed in detail for all the tasks, including time and resources (equipment and labour), planning.
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"I try to think before I eat, yet time after time, I find myself having just downed a whole box of cookies just because I've had a rough day," said Meryl Gardner, Ph.D., a consumer psychology expert at the University of Delaware. "I had wanted to make myself feel better, but 15 minutes later I'm feeling much worse. Why am I so short-sighted when I'm in a bad mood?"
Gardner's experience is a familiar one for anybody who struggles with emotional eating -- the act of eating usually rich, fatty foods for comfort during times of stress, boredom or worse. To gain more insight into why people turn to "comfort food," she conducted a series of four escalating experiments that examined how positive, negative and neutral moods affected food choice. Gardner also looked at how "temporal construal," a concept that involves focusing on either the present or the future, affected food choice.
Gardner found that when she elicited bad moods among the participants (by having them read a sad story or writing in detail about things that make them sad), they were much more likely to choose indulgent snacks over healthy ones. No surprise there -- bad moods indicate that there's a problem, and rich food is one way to feel better about that problem in the short-term. She also found that happier people were more likely to choose healthier snacks and were more likely to say they want to stay healthy as they grow older.
But Gardner also found that pushing people to contemplate the future -- by having them imagine details about their future home -- strongly mitigated the effect of a bad mood on food choices. Participants who were put in a bad mood but who were then encouraged to imagine their future home chose to eat less indulgent food, compared with participants with bad moods who were encouraged to describe their present homes.
"When you think about the future, you're taking in a bigger perspective," explained Gardner. "People think about what is important to them, not just what's on the tip of their forks."
Dieting is often described as a battle of wills between your present self and your future self. But Gardner's findings indicate that simply thinking about the future in a more abstract sense -- even if unrelated to food and/or health -- could be a more effective way to subconsciously motivate yourself to make healthier choices. The reason, Gardner guessed, is because an abstract sense of the future isn't burdened with emotional baggage that could come with thinking about your future self.
"To motivate myself [to choose a healthy option at a restaurant], I might think about my college reunion coming up -- but that could put me in a worse mood," Gardner said. "Instead of focusing on how I will look in five years, I'll think, 'How will this restaurant look in five years? What will this menu look like in five years?'"
Another finding was that participants who wrote detailed descriptions about things that made them happy ate 77 percent healthier than the other groups. Co-author Brian Wansink, Ph.D. of Cornell University, explains the finding in the video below:
Dietitians often recommend that getting to the root cause of your negative emotions -- or simply allowing yourself to feel that emotion, however difficult it may be -- could help people curb their emotional eating problems. In that sense, Gardner's future-minded findings could be seen as a form of escapism, or another way to avoid one's feelings -- and could be a "direction a dietitian may want to consider," she said. "It's something dietitians can work with and use as fuel for designing interventions."
Gardner's study, "Better Moods For Better Eating?" was published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology in collaboration with Wansink, Junyong Kim, Ph.D. of Hanyang University and Se-Bum Park, Ph.D. of Yonsei University. | https://www.huffpost.com/entry/a-surprisingly-simple-way_n_4860551?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular |
Afghanistan has long been a source of migration, both within the region and further afield. Yet as the nature of these movements continues to change, little information is available about the numbers of Afghans who have experienced migration, displacement, and return to the country. One commonly referenced figure, drawn from a 2009 report by the International Committee of the Red Cross, estimates that three out of four Afghans had at some point in their lives experienced displacement. A key feature of Afghan migration today—beyond outward migration and displacement—is return to Afghanistan, at times voluntarily but often forced. These returns, which include both migrants who only recently left Afghanistan and others who have lived abroad for decades, have significant implications for individuals, the society to which they return, and the dynamics of the migration system more broadly.
Initially, most returnees were refugees. The refugee repatriation program that followed the fall of the Taliban in 2002 was the largest run by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to date. Returns were voluntary and driven primarily by refugees’ desire to return home and aid in the reconstruction of the country. A resurgence of violence in recent years and continued low economic growth have, however, brought spontaneous returns to a standstill. Instead, a rising number of Afghans continue to seek protection and a better life within and outside the region, including in European countries—a new Afghan exodus.
But forced movements out of Afghanistan and the experiences of destination countries is only one side of the migration picture. The other, less frequently discussed reality is one of forced returns, driven by restrictive policies in the countries where migrants and refugees have sought refuge. In the case of Afghanistan, these are returns from Iran, Pakistan, and now Europe. In 2016 alone, forced returns are estimated to have affected 1 million Afghans. This report draws on extensive field research, conducted between 2008 and 2017, to explore the dynamics of forced return through the lens of the Afghan experience.
At present, Afghanistan is faced with the difficult task of reintegrating unprecedented numbers of returning civilians while facing ongoing conflict and humanitarian crises. In parallel, the growing number of Afghan and other nationals seeking protection in Europe has motivated destination-country governments to look for ways to forestall further arrivals. European policymakers have favored two approaches: (1) attempting to address the root causes of migration through development and humanitarian assistance, and (2) facilitating repatriation through return and reintegration programs for those who are judged not to have legitimate protection needs. At the same time, neighboring Iran and Pakistan, which host the largest number of Afghan refugees and migrants, have increased pressure on Afghans to return. Returns have thus come to dominate Afghan migration patterns at one of the most insecure and unstable times in its recent history. This has created tensions for individuals, households, and entire communities across Afghanistan, with implications that are not only economic, but social and psychosocial as well.
By forcibly returning migrants and failed asylum seekers, with or without reintegration assistance upon arrival, policymakers hope to encourage returned migrants to remain in their country of origin and to deter others from undertaking the same journey. Yet migration from Afghanistan has remained high, and many returnees choose to leave again—a trend that suggests such policies are not achieving their goals. Several features of Afghan migration and return contribute to the limited effectiveness of these policies:
Migration is a key survival strategy and economic lifeline. For many Afghan individuals and families, migration remains a crucial strategy for mitigating the economic and security risks they face in Afghanistan. Without improved safety and livelihood prospects upon return, many will again turn to migration, creating a migration-return-remigration cycle as Afghans continue to move in search of protection and opportunities.
Returning migrants are increasingly diverse and have complex protection needs. While earlier voluntary returns consisted primarily of adult men, children and families make up a growing share of those returned. Many experience a need for psychosocial support, and families are frequently split across borders with little hope of reuniting legally. Age, mentalhealth concerns, and emotional strain make it difficult for many who return to (re)build a life in Afghanistan.
For many of those returned, Afghanistan is not “home.” This is particularly the case among youth, many of whom have never lived in Afghanistan and have instead spent most of their lives in Pakistan or Iran. Others have spent their formative years in European countries, arriving as minors and later being forcibly removed once they hit adulthood. They have no personal networks in or connections to Afghanistan, with loved ones and friends more likely to be in the countries where they grew up. For these young returnees, “home” is not synonymous with the homeland or country of citizenship, and cultural, social, and economic integration will not be easy.
European governments engaged in forced or assisted returns generally offer assistance in an attempt to mitigate some reintegration challenges. Yet such efforts face numerous limitations, including:
Thinking beyond economic integration. The support provided is often narrowly focused on economic integration and does not address more complex needs such as health care, psychological support, housing, or education.
Addressing the information gap. Stakeholders assisting returnees need reliable information about postreturn realities if they are to develop strong, effective strategies. For example, few return programs base the support they offer on a mapping of the local context (e.g., of labor market needs). As a result, initiatives are often insufficiently targeted or tailored to help returnees integrate locally.
Planning for reintegration before return. Support is provided only after return, despite evidence of more successful reintegration outcomes among returnees who are assisted in planning for their return prior to departure. Developing a reintegration plan before return can increase the commitment, confidence, and capacity of returnees to handle the high and low points of their postreturn lives to Afghanistan.
Coordinating between internal and international stakeholders. A lack of coordination both within the Afghan government and with international partners has limited the effectiveness of reintegration initiatives. Government authorities and partners on the ground are not always aware of when or where returns are happening, thus limiting their ability to prepare for, identify, and reach out to new returnees with supports.
Engaging migrants and communities in the process of designing supports for returnees. There is no broader dialogue on what being returned to Afghanistan means to individuals and families; returnees are not included in the process of defining pre- or postreturn support needs, have limited access to information that would help them plan for return, and are often unable to mobilize the resources needed to make return a viable long-term strategy.
Policymakers in countries initiating returns could address some of these limitations by first improving coordination with partners in Afghanistan, linking predeparture with postreturn counseling and assistance. A more comprehensive mapping of returnee needs and local contexts would make tailored reintegration programs more effective, as would enabling returnees to prepare for their departure before they are returned. Monitoring and evaluation of returnee outcomes is also needed to better understand what is working and in which contexts. Where monitoring is not feasible due to conflict and insecurity, returns should not be occurring.
Finally, policymakers should bear in mind the development benefits migration can hold for Afghan families as well as for the nation as a whole. Further research on this dynamic in the Afghan context is needed to provide the evidence required to support policy decisions. Governments could consider ways to open legal migration channels for Afghans who lack opportunities to find security and economic selfsufficiency at home. The national labor migration strategy adopted by the Afghan government in 2016 could provide a basis for managing such a legal migration program. Efforts that fail to recognize the importance of movement as a survival strategy may find their ability to reduce unauthorized migration severely limited, leading to a lose-lose situation for governments and individual Afghans alike. | https://reliefweb.int/report/afghanistan/forced-migration-forced-returns-afghanistan-policy-and-program-implications |
Last year I was at St. Lukes Hospital in Houston while a member of my family had surgery and recently I was in the same position.
We are constantly getting records on behalf of clients and reviewing them. We frequently retain the services on Information technology specialists to assist in reviewing the records. We have found that while electronic medical records can function well there are many potential problems, lacks of communication and the tantalizing temptation to alter the medical record by going back in and "amending prior entries".
At St. Lukes each of the time a member of the staff came into the room they did so with a mobile computer on a platform so that they could make immediate entries into the patients's chart. Each different discipline would come in and make their entries, and then leave. Reviewing a record such as this after the fact finds that the entries end up being departmentalized, that is each department will have its own section and all the records from that section are together. However care is not supplied in that manner. Care is supplied on a given day by different individuals and the requirement then is that we breakdown the record so that we can see all of the events that occurred on a given day and in chronological order for that day.
Therefore in analyzing the record we will ask a paralegal to go through the record and find every entry for a given day or days when we know the problem occurred. Then when we have the multiple pages from different sections of the chart we re-organize the data into daily events so that they can be reviewed by us and by any expert we select so that we can actually see what the patient was dealing with on a minute by minute basis. Once we are aware of what occurred we can then identify gaps or errors that occurred.
In my own experience I was able to observe the ability of the internist to access, real time the laboratory results as they were posted, the surgeon the radiology reports as they were posted and the ability to communicate among each other in the decision making process. The information was immediately available and usable. I also noted the pressure that they were all under to see a patient, get tests performed and decisions made so that they could proceed to the next patient. No problems on my end but it brought home the challenges that our clients face and our approach to record review.
In a recent case we obtained the meta data associated with the records. This data allows us to see when each entry was made and whether or not there were any returns to a particular entry, This would indicate a change and an inappropriate alteration.
Knowing how the records are entered it is obvious that so much information is being entered that it will be impossible for any individual in charge of a case to keep up with all the information being entered. Currently there is no way to for the practitioner to be able to differentiate between "information" and "important information" and to know when "important information" is being entered into the chart. Records are replacing the oral communication necessary to optimize treatment. The excuse is that "I entered the information in the record so that it was available for the surgeon to review." How was the surgeon supposed to know it was there?
It was noted in both instances that at times it became more important to enter information than know the importance of the information being entered. The clutter of information precluded the practitioner from being able to be aware of the problems and being able to react to that information in a timely fashion.
EHR will improve medical care. EHR will allow us to better represent you. | https://www.goldsmithlegal.com/blog/2015/08/electronic-health-record.shtml |
Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas decorations, New Year’s fireworks — the holidays are filled with much-anticipated traditions. Family traditions are more than just fun, they are powerful sources of family strength and unity. Even simple, everyday family traditions such as good-bye hugs or bedtime stories give important structure and rhythm to family life. They bring predictability, cohesion, and comfort — especially during times of transition and stress.
Today’s interesting alert by UFI writer Beckie Mann, discusses the important benefits of family traditions. “Traditions or family rituals are actions that are performed repeatedly and have meaning for family members. . . Not every family needs a formal crest and motto, but every family needs good traditions.”
What are your family traditions? What new ones could you start? We invite you to join Beckie’s New Year’s resolution “to use family traditions to stabilize and strengthen [your] family.”
We also invite you to join the tradition of remembering UFI in your end-of-year giving, to support our critical work at the UN, state legislatures, and our educational and internship programs. Click here to make your tax-deductible donation to this important work, because everything worth fighting for begins and ends in the family!
Wishing you and yours a very Happy New Year,
Laura Bunker
United Families International, President
“Without Our Traditions”
By Beckie Mann
“Without our traditions, our lives would be as shaky as a fiddler on the roof.” Thus declares Tevye in the opening sequence of Fiddler on the Roof. Does your life seem shaky? My family life certainly seems chaotic lately with many changes and challenges. As a university student of family life, I have learned that traditions really do help stabilize and strengthen families.
The end of the year brings a variety of holidays with their accompanying traditions. Every family creates its own unique celebration that brings the family together and defines what the holiday means to them. Some families have traditions that have been passed down for several generations. These traditions help connect families to their roots and understand where the family came from. Other families may be building new traditions because things are always changing. Perhaps the family is growing or the grandparents moved into a small apartment or maybe the family feels a need for a new focus. New traditions help family members remain connected through transitions and renew their commitment to each other.
Traditions or family rituals are actions that are performed repeatedly and have meaning for family members. Many family rituals revolve around holidays or life events such as marriage. Other family rituals are more mundane, but are just as important- reading a bedtime story, or saying goodbye with a kiss. Rituals help family members stay in touch, confirm family values, and define family roles. Gilda Berger’s thoughts about the importance of Jewish holiday traditions describe the importance of all family traditions:
“The stories and holidays help bind the Jewish family together. They strengthen and deepen their unity and purpose. They keep alive their memories and way of life. They put them in tune with nature and the changing season. They give the Jewish people ideas about how to live their lives. They make them think about the kind of people they are and the kind of people they would like to be.”
Dr. John Gottman has led one of the most extensive studies of marriage relationships. He has defined seven principles that create lasting marriages. One of the principles is to “create shared meaning.” Gottman teaches that couples need to create a vision of who they are as couple and develop rituals to support that vision. For example, when a restaurant host wants to seat my husband and me on opposite sides of the table, we insist on being next to each other. At home, we sit next to each other on the couch and not even the cutest grandkid gets in between. Even when we are angry and give each other the silent treatment for a week, nobody sleeps on the couch.
What is your definition of couple? What rituals support that definition? How do your rituals strengthen you in times of stress?
Families also need to create shared meaning. In medieval Europe some families had family crests and mottos that displayed important family history and values. The Shackleton family motto was “by endurance we conquer.” Earnest Shackleton named his ship Endurance and set off to make a third attempt to conquer Antarctica. He failed to even reach the continent, but he valiantly helped his crew endure nineteen months of extreme polar conditions and brought them safely home. Shackleton had learned early in life “Difficulties are just things to overcome after all.”
Not every family needs a formal crest and motto, but every family needs good traditions. Research during the past century has found that family rituals are associated with many good outcomes for all family members. Kansas State University’s Connections Newsletter lists a few:
• Protect high-risk teens from unhealthy behavior
• Raise self-esteem of children and adolescents
• Help immigrants adjust to a new country
• Provide meaning to personal and family identity
• Increase physical health
• Help family members cope with stress of poor health
• Provide more order and structure to families which increases security and stability
• Decrease incidence of mental health issues in teens
• Long-term positive effects for dealing with life’s stress
• Increase family and marital satisfaction.
Researchers during the Great Depression and World War II wanted to find out why some families survive a crisis and others fall apart. Researchers concluded that family unity and adaptability enabled families to successfully overcome challenges together. One way to build family unity is through traditions or rituals. Rituals help families feel connected to each other and to value family relationships. Continuing research confirms that family rituals strengthen families and make them more resilient. Further research shows that maintaining family rituals and routines during major disruptions, such as divorce, can help protect children from negative effects.
Family rituals help families to organize their time and live more intentionally. Good traditions ensure families take the time to connect with each other. If our family did not honor the Sabbath, my husband would work seven days a week. He would never find time to make popcorn and watch a movie with the kids. Spending time together strengthens family relationships.
The Need to Connect
Humans have a strong need to be connected to other humans and to have a place where they belong. Dr. Sean Brotherson teaches that connectedness is important for the healthy development of teenagers. When teens feel connected to their parents, they have greater self-worth and social confidence. They are more likely to adopt the values of their parents and are more likely to avoid risky behaviors. One way to foster connectedness within a family is through family rituals.
Some of the most important family rituals are parting and greeting traditions. In the movie Ever After, the father always turns and waves one more time at the gate. For couples reuniting at the end of the day, Dr. Gottman suggests a six-second kiss. As family members venture out into the world, parting rituals remind them they have a home waiting to welcome them back. Homecoming traditions help family members reconnect.
The recent chaos in my family has left me feeling that my family needs more connection and order. In keeping with the cultural tradition of the New Year, I resolve to use family traditions to stabilize and strengthen my family.
Beckie Mann and her husband recently celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary. They are the parents of six children and have one grandson. Beckie just graduated with a degree in marriage and family studies from BYU-Idaho.
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Please forward this email to your friends and family who care about protecting life, family, and faith.
Encourage them, too, to go to UFI’s website and sign up to receive this important information for themselves! | https://unitedfamilies.org/email-archives/ufi-without-traditions/ |
It is known that the regenerative capacity of the injured central nervous system (CNS) in adult mammals is severely limited, yet axons in the peripheral nervous system (PNS) regrow, albeit to a limited extent, after injury. Researchers hypothesize that differences in the regenerative potential between injured PNS neurons and injured CNS neurons reflect major differences in intrinsic transcriptional networks, however, these are yet to be mapped. Now, a study from researchers led by UCLA has identified a specific network of genes that promote repair in the peripheral nervous system in a mouse model; importantly, this network doesn’t exist in the central nervous system. The team state that their findings also led them to identify a drug that promotes nerve regeneration in the central nervous system. The opensource study is published in the journal Neuron.
Previous studies support the concept that specific intrinsic molecular differences contribute to the divergent neuronal growth after PNS and CNS injuries. This has been shown by the manipulation of individual candidate genes induced in neurons by PNS, but not CNS, injury, which can promote limited CNS regrowth after injury.
However, these findings also suggest that multiple pathways act in parallel to stimulate neuronal regeneration after injury. The current study shows that the expression of transcription factors is coordinately upregulated following PNS injury, but not after CNS injury, consistent with the theory that coordinate regulation of this core network, rather than individual components, is necessary for axon regrowth.
The current study measured the response of gene regulation at the level of messenger RNA, or mRNA, in each instance of injury. The lab state that they developed a unique set of algorithms to look at the interactions of various groups of genes and the order in which they were expressed. Results identified common patterns that correlate with regeneration in the peripheral nervous system, and within those patterns the group were able to identify several genes not previously known that enhanced repair. In contrast, data findings show that these patterns are not present in the central nervous system.
The team surmise that theirs is a major advance, identifying the entire network of pathways turned on in the peripheral nervous system when it regenerates, key aspects of which are missing in the central nervous system. For the future, the researchers state that as a proof of principle that gene expression could be used to screen for drugs that mimic the same pattern, they identified the drug Ambroxol, which significantly enhanced central nervous system repair. | https://health-innovations.org/2016/02/24/gene-pathway-responsible-for-peripheral-nervous-system-regeneration-identified/ |
Sustainable Infrastructure Systems is a core module designed for Research Engineering students registered on the EPSRC fundedC entre for Doctoral Trainingi n Sustainable Infrastructure Systems (CDT-SIS) at the Faculty of Engineering and the Environment, University of Southampton, as part of the first year taught programme. This module provides formal training in interdisciplinary areas of Engineering and Science within a common framework that addresses infrastructure interdependencies, sustainability and society. The approach adopted is to expose students to a range of real world challenges faced by society in the pursuit of delivering infrastructure essential to the Water, Energy and Transport sectors. The module is timetabled over a week-long block during semester 2 during which students attend lectures and seminars in which experts from both academia and industry present case studies of current problems in which they are involved, illustrating the range of techniques employed to find solutions. The module involves at least two site visits of relevance (e.g. to transport infrastructure construction sites, power stations) during which industry partners discuss socio-economic, political, operational, and strategic challenges faced by the sector they represent. The key theme that runs throughout this module is the identification of common challenges faced by the different industrial sectors in delivering and maintaining often contentious infrastructure projects, and difference or similarities in approaches adopted to find solutions. The module will provide a good background for the Group Design Project and Individual Projects that take place during Semester 2 and the summer, respectively.
Aims and Objectives
Module Aims
The overall aim of the module is to provide postgraduate students registered on the CDT-SIS programme with the foundations needed to appreciate and understand current challenges faced in delivery of infrastructure plans, both for the UK and internationally, and insight into the differences and common features of approach adopted to find solutions.
Learning Outcomes
Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- recognising and using subject-specific theories, paradigms, concepts and principles
- analysing, synthesising and summarising information critically, including prior research
- applying knowledge and understanding to complex and multidimensional problems in familiar and unfamiliar contexts
- recognising the moral and ethical issues of investigations and appreciating the need for professional codes of conduct.
- receiving and responding to a variety of information sources (e.g. textual, numerical, verbal, graphical)
- communicating appropriately to a variety of audiences in written, verbal and graphical forms
Transferable and Generic Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- preparing, processing, interpreting and presenting data, using appropriate qualitative and quantitative techniques and packages including geographic information systems.
- using the internet critically as a means of communication and a source of information.
- developing the skills necessary for self-managed and lifelong learning (e.g. working independently, time management and organisation skills).
- identifying and working towards targets for personal, academic and career development
- developing an adaptable and flexible approach to study and work.
Subject Specific Practical Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- planning, conducting, and reporting on investigations, including the use of secondary data
- referencing work in an appropriate manner.
Syllabus
The module consists of ten 3-hour sessions (morning and afternoons) during a week-long block in Semester 2 during the Easter period. During an introductory lecture the problems and challenges of delivering the UK infrastructure plan essential to ensure economic growth and maintenance of living standards and quality of life will be defined and aims of the module outlined. Following this the opening third of the module will focus on the challenges faced in development of energy systems, considering solutions adopted over scales that range from the small, e.g. local low-head hydropower initiatives, to the large, e.g. advances in nuclear and traditional hydrocarbon based systems. In addition to the engineering challenges, assessment of environmental impacts and socio-political perspectives will be considered, leading to discussion of potential mitigation options. A site visit to a local power station will form part of this component of the module. The second element will focus on transport systems. Key challenges associated with meeting road, rail, shipping, and air transportation will be discussed, and how the problem solving approaches used in this sector have common parallels or may be used to solve problems in other sectors. A site visit of a local transport construction visit will take place. The final section of the module will consider challenges faced by, and potential solutions available to, the water industry in light of a shifting climate and population growth. Topics covered will include water resource management, waste water treatment, and strategies for assessing and managing coastal and river flooding. The module finishes by examining the interactions between the sectors and how solutions may be better integrated. Timetable of lectures and seminars will be provided at the start of the course.
Special Features
Field trips are flexible and tailored to provide support for students with special needs.
Learning and Teaching
Teaching and learning methods
The course will be delivered through a series of lectures and seminars (including those given by invited guest speakers) based on discussion and evaluation of relevant case studies; group discussion; and field visits. Directed reading, assignments, private study.
|Type||Hours|
|Seminar||9|
|Wider reading or practice||60|
|External visits||12|
|Completion of assessment task||60|
|Lecture||9|
|Total study time||150|
Resources & Reading list
examples of key academic journals available via Blackboard..
Michael Penn. An introduction to civil and environmental engineering.
Annie R. Pearce, Yong Han Ahn. Sustainable Buildings and Infrastructure: Paths to the Future.
Mayada Omer. The Resilience of Networked Infrastructure Systems: Analysis and Measurement.
Ulf G. Sandström. Biodiversity and Green Infrastructure in Urban Landscapes: The Importance of Urban Green Spaces.
Lester Hoel, Nicholas Garber, Adel Sadek. Transportation Infrastructure Engineering: A Multimodal Integration.
John B. Miller. Case Studies in Infrastructure Delivery.
Frank R. Spellman. Water & Wastewater Infrastructure: Energy Efficiency and Sustainability. | https://www.southampton.ac.uk/courses/modules/feeg6021.page |
Our client in the medical sector, sources and supplies medical products into Africa, the company has established long-standing relationships with clients in multiple sectors and has excellent staff retention due to the family orientated culture they have developed.
As the Procurement and Logistics Manager you will be responsible for all operations, including quotations, tenders, procurement, shipping, planning and control of activities.
Note: This is an onsite position with no possibility of hybrid or remote working | Only candidates with experience in the medical sector will be considered
Minimum Requirements:
Education: Suitably qualified in Procurement, Supply Chain Management, Logistics or Business Administration
Software: Advanced Microsoft Excel, previous experience using accounting packages and supply chain systems
Languages: Excellent English communication skills ideally with Portuguese as a first or second language (advantage)
Experience: A minimum of 5 years’ experience with medical product exports with experience in quotation and tender preparation and procurement
Stock control & stock forecasting
Development of sustainable strategies
Working knowledge of all laws and regulations: relating to procurement, customs and tariffs, shipping and freight laws and VAT
Proven working relationship with medical suppliers
Personal Attributes: Excellent attention to detail
Strong strategic and leadership skills
Strong persuasive, communication, and interpersonal skills
Strong business acumen and financial skills
An achievement orientated individual with strong negotiation skills
Ability to exercise resilience when facing challenges and pressure
Duties and Responsibilities:
Manage all aspects of purchasing to support organizational operations efficiently and cost-effectively
Strategizing to find cost-effective deals and suppliers
Monitor and control all aspects of procurement
Establish and implement purchasing policies, procedures, and best practices
Monitor ongoing compliance with purchasing policies and procedures
Direct procurement policies to ensure all items are purchased and delivered within budget and time constraints
Monitor supplier and vendor compliance with contractual agreements
Oversee supplier compliance with internal quality standards and external regulations
Introduce performance improvement measures for suppliers and vendors
Review purchase orders for proper authorization and compliance with organizational policy and procedures
Identify and source new suppliers and vendors
Manage vendor and supplier selection process based on price, quality, support, capacity, and reliability
Develop and maintain strategic relationships with key suppliers and vendors
Establish and update an approved vendor/supplier database
Develop, negotiate, and administer purchasing agreements
Troubleshoot cost, quality, and delivery concerns
Manage risk relating to quality, cost, delivery, and supply of purchases
Track purchases from placement until delivery
Match purchase orders with goods delivered
Inventory management
Check stock at warehouse
Work with relevant departments to manage inventory requirements
Facilitate timely placement of purchase orders
Verify invoiced amounts with goods received
Handle invoices and forward to accounting department
Source comparative quotes within the Medical Industry
Kontak Recruitment, a Recruitment Agency & one of the leading personnel & recruitment agencies in Johannesburg South Africa. Trusted employment and staffing agencies, recruiting top staff & personnel for companies hiring throughout the employment spectrum. Permanent and contract placements agency. Professional & Reliable Recruitment Services. Hire certified Staff for entry level to executive placements and view available vacancies near you at our job agencies.
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You will receive an email when a new job matching your criteria is posted. | https://www.jobmail.co.za/jobs/logistics/warehousing-distribution/south-africa/procurement-and-logistics-manager-jb1939-id-6637918 |
Archaeological investigations at the nineteenth-century Bland (11MS923) farmstead recovered a small but well-preserved faunal assemblage. The composition demonstrates reliance on swine, chicken, and various wild taxa reflecting the inhabitants’ Upland South heritage. Similar dietary preferences have been observed at other nineteenth-century farmsteads in west-central Illinois. Comparison with Kuehn’s (2007) zooarchaeological analysis of contemporaneous sites in the northeastern region reveals distinct dietary patterns across the state. Dietary choice was influenced by a variety of factors, but this study, incorporating detailed historic records research, indicates that cultural assimilation was a particularly significant aspect. | https://experts.illinois.edu/en/publications/zooarchaeological-analysis-of-the-bland-site-interpreting-subsist |
Voter Turnout Lags in America's 22 Largest Cities
Low voter turnout is commonplace for America’s 22 largest cities. In mayoral elections taking place from 2008 through 2011, no city had a turnout of more than 45% of registered voters -- which translates into an even lower figure among eligible voters. Of those 22 elections, 15 cities had mayoral voter turnout under 33%, and ten cities experienced a turnout under 20%. In San Antonio and El Paso, turnout lingered in the single digits.
To underscore those facts: the mayors of nearly half of America’s largest cities were elected by less than one in five registered voters – and in two of these cities more than nine in ten registered voters stayed home.
San Diego had an impressive turnout rate of 76.98% during its 2012 general election, which can be attributed to its being held in tandem with the 2012 Presidential election. The resignation of San Diego’s elected mayor, however, led to a more recent special election that received a much lower turnout rate of 43.58%.
Local primary and runoff elections see even worse rates of participation. Seven of these cities held primary elections to nominate mayoral candidates. Turnout in these primaries did not pass 40%. Five of the largest 22 cities held runoff elections with turnout floundering at 39%.
The city with the second highest turnout in its most recent election was San Francisco, with a relatively strong 42%. San Francisco is also the only city of the 22 to use the instant runoff voting (IRV) form of ranked choice voting in its mayoral elections. Even when it doesn't bring new voters to the polls, IRV typically means one single, decisive election takes place when the most voters are likely to participate.
San Jose will be holding an election for mayor this November. Riding on the coattails of November midterm elections, San Jose’s voter turnout will likely be disproportionately high.
With these dismal turnout rates, it's clear that we should have a national conversation about participation in non-presidential elections -- as FairVote is doing with its new Promote Our Vote project, with specific ideas for how cities can take action to spark higher turnout.
Click here for a spreadsheet containing turnout data for these 22 cities for their most recent elections, including primaries, first rounds, and special elections. Tips on how to use the spreadsheet can be found in the "Read Me" tab. | https://www.fairvote.org/voter-turnout-lags-in-americas-22-largest-cities |
DOC-2/DAB2 is a member of the disable gene family that features tumorinhibiting activity. The DOC-2/DAB2 interactive protein, DAB2IP, is a new member of the RasGTPase-activating protein family. It interacts directly with DAB2 and has distinct cellular functions such as modulating different signal cascades associated with cell proliferation, survival, apoptosis and metastasis. Recently, DAB2IP has been found significantly down regulated in multiple types of cancer. The aberrant alteration of DAB2IP in cancer is caused by a variety of mechanisms, including the aberrant promoter methylation, histone deacetylation, and others. Reduced expression of DAB2IP in neoplasm may indicate a poor prognosis of many malignant cancers. Moreover, DAB2IP stands for a promising direction for developing targeted therapies due to its capacity to inhibit tumor cell growth in vitro and in vivo. Here, we summarize the present understanding of the tumor suppressive role of DAB2IP in cancer progression; the mechanisms underlying the dysregulation of DAB2IP; the gene functional mechanism and the prospects of DAB2IP in the future cancer research. | https://utsouthwestern.pure.elsevier.com/en/publications/dab2ip-in-cancer |
Occupational Groups:
- Translations and Languages
- Closing Date:
21978 | OTP
|Deadline for Applications:||Open|
|Organizational Unit:||Language Services Unit, Services Section, Office of the Prosecutor|
|Duty Station:||Various|
|Type of Appointment:||Individual contractor on an ad hoc and short-term basis|
|Minimum Net Annual Salary:||Payment is based on fixed rates, per work unit|
|Contract Duration:||Freelance service contracts of variable length based on operational needs|
A roster of freelance transcribers will be established as a result of this selection process. Once accredited, freelance transcribers may be offered contracts for the provision of remote transcription services in keeping with the operational needs of the Unit.
Organisational Context
The Integrated Services Division (ISD) within the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) centralizes the specialized support functions that provide cross-cutting support to the Office. The Division is headed by a Director who is responsible for managing the reliable and cost-effective delivery of integrated services and ensuring that the OTP is adequately supported through all relevant service functions, technologies and equipment, and that appropriate services are available to allow the implementation of the Office’s mandate. The services include planning and operations, witness protection and management, information knowledge and evidence management, forensic science, language and administrative support. The Division works to develop new approaches and strategies that promote the use of modern tools and advanced technology as mechanisms to strengthen the effectiveness of the Office.
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Shortlisted candidates will be invited to sit a transcription accreditation test. Accreditation is subject to obtaining the necessary security clearance. Successful candidates will then be placed on a roster of accredited transcribers.
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Accredited transcribers on the roster will be contacted for work assignments based on their acceptance of the applicable rates and terms and conditions, their availability, and their suitability for a particular project based on their profile and experience, as well information security constraints. The ICC makes no absolute guarantee of freelance work.
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Mindful of the nature of the ICC’s mandate and operations, freelance transcribers must understand that the audio/video material outsourced for transcription may on occasion risk being of an upsetting or disturbing nature.
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Dedication to the mission and values
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Learning and developing
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Handling uncertain situations
- Adapts to changing circumstances;
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- Plans activities and projects well in advance and takes account of possible changing circumstances;
- Manages time effectively.
Interaction
- Expresses opinions, information and key points of an argument clearly;
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confidentiality requirements.
Realising objectives
- Accepts and tackles demanding goals with enthusiasm;
- Keeps to agreements with others;
- Focuses on client needs;
- Takes responsibility for actions, projects and people;
- Monitors and maintains quality and productivity.
General Information
- The selected candidate will be subject to a Personnel Security Clearance (PSC) process in accordance with ICC policy. The PSC process will include but will not be limited to, verification of the information provided in the personal history form and a criminal record check. All candidates should be in a position to submit an electronic copy of their passport and all diplomas listed on their profile when requested;
- Applicants may check the status of vacancies on ICC E-Recruitment web-site;
- Post to be filled preferably by a national of a State Party to the ICC Statute, or of a State which has signed and is engaged in the ratification process or which is engaged in the accession process, but nationals from non-state parties may also be considered;
- In accordance with the Rome Statute, the ICC aims to achieve fair representation of women and men for all positions;
- Applications from female candidates are particularly encouraged;
- Personnel recruited at the General Service level are not entitled to all of the benefits granted to internationally-recruited staff;
- The Court reserves the right not to make any appointment to the vacancy, to make an appointment at a lower grade, or to make an appointment with a modified job description. | https://www.impactpool.org/jobs/809394 |
Copyright: © 2012 Parsa P, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
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Birth weight; Prenatal care; Gestational age; Weight gain; Iran
Pregnancy is an important stage of a woman’s life, and has the potential to influence the growing fetus and the mother. It has been suggested that pregnancy weight gain within the Institute of Medicine recommended ranges are associated with better pregnancy outcome than are weight gains outside these ranges [1,2]. Maternal weight gain is depending on socio-economic status, biologic factors and cultural behaviors [3,4].
In Iran, access to prenatal care as a part of primary health-care system was established to improve access to health care for pregnant women and reduce the health gap between urban and rural areas . Adequacy of prenatal care has been defined by the number of visits, the stage of pregnancy at which care was initiated, the source of care (private versus public), the spacing of visits, and medical care services for example, blood and urine tests, health education, and dental care . Mothers who delayed initiation of care until the third trimester are likely to have a higher risk of low birth weight. Conversely, increased birth weight may be expected to coincide with more visits because both birth weight and the total number of scheduled visits increase with gestational age . According to Tavani , 23.5% of Iranian women have less than two antenatal visits during pregnancy and 64% having six or more antenatal visits.
Birth weight is major determinant of neonatal and infant mortality and contributes to childhood morbidity. Nutrition status and body fat stores of mothers are associated with birth weight of infants . It is shown that factors contributing to low birth weight (LBW) for a developing country include: low maternal caloric intake or inadequate weight gain during pregnancy, low pre-pregnancy weight short stature, and female sex of the fetus . In Iran, low birth weight occurs 8 and 7% in rural and urban areas, respectively . A recent study in 2010 showed the LBW rate was 6.8% (95%CI 6–7.5%) . Low birth weight accounted for 40% of infant mortality in Iran . Furthermore, LBW babies have higher risk of problems in neurological system, cognitive development, and getting metabolic syndrome in adulthood . Due to these problems, LBW infants need more frequent hospitalizations and outpatient visits .
As known, nutritional status of mothers (before and during pregnancy) and weight gain during pregnancy have important effects on pregnancy outcome . This study, aimed to investigate effect of prenatal health care on mother weight gain during pregnancy, baby birth weight and gestational age in a population of pregnant women who those referred to urban health centers in Hamadan city in 2004.
In this retrospective study, 264 prenatal care records were selected randomly among prenatal care records of women who had delivered in a previous year in 12 Health Care Centers in Hamadan city. Data were collected by a questionnaire consisted of socio-demographic characteristics, reproductive history and prenatal health care. Women’s age, educational level, occupation, parity, interval between pregnancies, histories of low birth weight baby, last menstrual period (LMP), were recorded. Prenatal health care assessed by time of starting prenatal care, frequency of visits, weight gain during pregnancy, nutritional status and having supplements (multivitamin and ferrous) . Exclusion criteria were diabetes mellitus, preeclampsia, cardiovascular diseases, renal or any other disease that may affect pregnancy outcome, multiple pregnancies, and fetal anomalies.
Newborn gestational age was calculated based on LMP and sonography examination during the first trimester (complete 37 weeks was considered as term pregnancy). Preterm birth was determined as less than 37 weeks of gestational age. Birth weights were recorder based on hospital records, and low birth weight was defined as less than 2500 gr. Pregnancy outcome was assessed by weight gain during pregnancy, neonatal birth weight, and gestational age. Kotelchuck’s Adequacy of Prenatal Care Utilization Index (>6 visits = adequate, <6 visits = inadequate) was calculated adequacy of prenatal care .
Investigators reviewed completed questionnaires, and any incomplete data, discrepancies or errors discovered during this review were eliminated. Using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS version 16) data was analyzed. Statistical analysis was performed using the Chi-squared test, t- test and one way- ANOVA. Level of significance was set at p < 0.05.
A total of 264 women’s prenatal care records entered in our study. The mean age of pregnant women was 25.05 years [95% CI: 20.33, 29.47], of these 31 (11.7%) aged 15-19 years, 195 (73.9%) aged 20-30 years, 38 (14.4%) aged >31 years.
Most mothers (70%) and fathers (65%) had received 8 years of education or more, and approximately 87% lived in urban areas. Only 13% of mothers had an activity outside the home, and 87% were housewives. 123 (46.6%) experienced their first pregnancy. Regarding the prenatal care visits, the mean of prenatal care visits was 6.32 [95% CI: 5.43, 9.21]. One hundred and eight (41%) of the subjects were visited less than 6 times and 59% were visited more than 6 times during their pregnancies. Data of maternal weight gain showed 22% were less than 6 kg, 50.4% 6–12 kg, 17.7 % more than 12 kg. The mean of women weight gain during pregnancy was 8010.67 grams [95% CI: 4462.96, 11558.38].
The mean of neonatal birth weight was 3198.93 grams [95% CI: 2725.82, 3672.04]. About 3.4% of neonates were low birth weight (<2500gr), 84.1% of them were between 2500-3999 gr. And 6.1% were above 4000 gr. Only 27.3% of women had started their prenatal care during the first trimester, 62.9% in the second and 2.7% in the third trimester of their pregnancy. About 95% of newborns were born at fullterm gestational age. There were no significant relationship between neonatal birth weight with numbers of prenatal care, women’s weight gain during pregnancy and the time of starting prenatal care (Table 1).
|Mothers ’prenatal care variables||Neonatal birth weight||Statistics||p|
|LBW (<2500g)||NBW (2500-4000g)||HBW (>4000g)|
|Prenatal care visits
|
Inadequate (<6)
Adequate (>6)
Total
|4 (1.7%)
|
5 (2.1%)
9 (3.8%)
|101 (38.4%)
|
135 (51.2%)
236 (89.6%)
|6 (2.5%)
|
11 (4.1%)
17 (6.6%)
|t= 0.123||NS (0.720)|
|Women's weight gain
|
<6 kg
6-12 kg
>12 kg
Total
|3 (1.3%)
|
6 (2.5%)
0 (0.0%)
9 (3.8%)
|60 (22.8%)
|
137 (52.1%)
40 (15.3%)
237 (90.3%)
|1 (0.5%)
|
12 (4.5%)
2 (1.0%)
15 (6.0%)
|F=0.35||NS (0.700)|
|Starting prenatal care
|
First trimester
Second trimester
Third trimester
Total
|1 (0.5%)
|
8 (3.1%)
0 (0.0%)
9 (3.8%)
|75 (28.4%)
|
157 (59.5%)
8 (2.7%)
240 (90.9%)
|2 (1.0%)
|
12 (4.5%)
0 (0.0%)
14 (5.6%)
|F=0.38||NS (0.680)|
Table 1: Relationship between neonatal birth weight and mothers’ prenatal care.
Results have revealed absence of statistically significant relationships between socio-demographic variables and anthropometric measures with pregnancy outcome which may be explained by the relative homogeneity of the sample in terms of socio-demographic characteristics, and small variance of neonatal birth weight.
Prevalence of low birth weight found in this sample was smaller to those reported by the other studies [9,15]. No significant association was found between maternal weight gain and neonatal birth weight that it could be due to lower prevalence of LBW in our study, missing values and lack of accurate weight records.
The fact that there was no relation between neonatal birth weight and prenatal care is in agreement with findings reported by other researchers [16,17]. Rosso has reported that most studies in different countries have found no correlation between maternal diet and consequence of pregnancy. He suggests that positive dietary effects can be expected in only two groups: women with a low pre-pregnancy weight, and those with gestational under nutrition. Even, among pregnant women who will reach or even exceed a critical body mass near term, no correlation between maternal diet and birth weight would be expected . Based on the findings of other studies [18,19], it seems that any effect of the dietary intake on birth weight could be associate to pre-pregnancy body weight. Scholl et al. suggested that when maternal stores are low or under conditions of poverty, there may be a more direct relationship between maternal intake and birth weight. Susser reported an inconsistent results among studies attempting to correlate birth weight with maternal food intake. He stated that “the causal sequence of maternal nutrition, weight gain, and infant birth weight were not sustained by available evidence except in situations of extreme nutritional deprivation” .
Due to lack of information on pre-pregnancy weight and height of mothers’ records, calculating of body mass index (BMI) was not available. The independent association between pre-pregnancy BMI and pregnancy weight gain was found in previous study .
The impact of socio-economy status on birth weight has shown in many studies [21-27]. Living in a poor condition and rural areas are associated with a higher chance of low birth weight infants [21-23]. Our study was done in a low socio-economic status living in urban areas; however, no significant association was seen between socio-economy status and birth weight. Free of charge access to prenatal health care in both rural and urban women may be cause of this result .
The most important limitation of this study was that it did not follow pregnant women throughout their pregnancy, and depend on existing data in health records. The second limitation was a relatively small sample size. Although this study cannot assess all determinants of pregnancy weight gain and birth weight, it might help to describe how total pregnancy outcome varies in this population.
The findings have shown implication of prenatal health care, counseling nutritional support and education may have an important role to play in pregnancy outcome. Healthcare providers should take more attention into account for high risk population. They may provide valuable information on dietary habits, birth-spacing behavior and assist in designing a comprehensive care plan to promote mother and neonatal health status.
A healthy diet and regular prenatal care can help to reduce problems for both mother and fetus during pregnancy. For this reasons, it is suggested that women who are thinking about getting pregnant take steps to improve or maintain their own level of health before they get pregnant and keep it during their pregnancy.
This work was supported by Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Iran. Authors would like to thank Deputy of Research and Technology of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences for financial support of this study. They also appreciate from the staff of the healthcare centers who those helped us in collecting these data. | https://www.omicsonline.org/effect-of-prenatal-health-care-on-pregnancy-outcomes-in-hamadan-iran-2161-0711.1000114.php?aid=3545 |
Plants thrive after wildfire
The massive wildfire that recently engulfed a good chunk of the Kenai Peninsula landscape may look like a bleak, uninviting place for some time, but regenerative ecological forces are already at work. As we embrace the hard work, dedicated suppression efforts, and good fortune that resulted in a positive community outcome, many of our floral friends can rejoice in the opportunities of the fire-altered system.
Wildfire is nothing new to boreal spruce-birch forests, as these systems evolved with fire and are dependent on disturbance for regeneration. Many plant and wildlife species have adapted to fire disturbance, and their continued survival and success is dependent on it. Fire not only prompts regeneration of many plant species, it recycles mineral elements like nitrogen and phosphorus, and removes accumulated organic matter.
Wildfires are variable, with some areas burning so severely that only mineral soil is left, and other areas left with patchy vegetation or organic mat chunks. During a fire, vegetation either survives by chance or by adaptations like thick bark; by recolonizing from seed banks or seed transport by wind, flooding or animals; or by sprouting new growth from underground roots or plant parts.
Reestablishment of ecological communities following a fire is variable in Alaska, but we understand general patterns of succession, and know what to expect around the Kenai Peninsula. Post-fire ecological succession generally follows a process of soil building and early colonization by mosses and liverworts, then wildflowers and grasses, then deciduous shrubs and trees, and finally by conifers. Large fires in both 1947 (still the largest recorded wildfire on the peninsula at more than 310,000 acres) and in 1969 left a legacy of patchy birch stands interspersed with spruce stands, structuring diverse wildlife habitat.
Plants that have fire-adapted traits are known as pyrophytes, and quite a few are found in our fire-evolved boreal forest system. Many species of moss and liverworts readily establish in patchy or severe fire areas, sprouting from wind-dispersed spores. These species help other species to establish by accumulating organic material like drifting leaves, twigs and other organics, and holding moisture.
Horsetails are common in post-fire areas that were not hot enough to burn the rhizome, or underground stem. Every gardener in the region knows the persistence of these plants that sprout and sprout again despite attempts to remove them.
The most celebrated early post-fire gem is the morel mushroom, which for somewhat mysterious reasons tends to abundantly fruit in the first or second year following a wildfire. The fungus may possibly be seeking new food sources or substrates to colonize, prompting a big surge in fruiting bodies to produce spores. Morels can be easily distinguished from non-edible look-alikes as they have cap and stalk as one unit. False morels have brain-like lobes, with a detached cap. As with any wild edible, consult experts and guides before attempting to harvest them.
Bluejoint reedgrass mainly regenerates after a fire from thick root mats, and also through prolific seeding adjacent to burned areas. This common grass species can compete with tree regeneration, leading to a complex set of potential long-term changes in forest composition.
The iconic fireweed is probably the best-known post-fire plant, incorporating its affinity for burned areas into its very name. This species has prolific light seeds that can travel large distances in wind. Vast patches of bright pink flowers are visible from considerable distances in the years following a fire.Unfortunately, many non-native flowers — such as the orange and yellow hawkweed and dandelions — display the same wind-dispersed prolific spread if there are seed sources following a fire. Monitoring for non-native species will take place to reduce invasions in recently burned areas.
Several shrub species, including dwarf birch, blueberry, lingonberry, and Labrador tea, will readily resprout in less severe burn areas from root crowns in partially burned or intact organic mat locations. Taller shrubs like willow, particularly Barclay’s willow and Scouler’s willow, sprout prolifically after fires.
Alder can sprout, but tends to reseed in areas adjacent to fires to reestablish itself.
Deciduous tree species depend on fires for large-scale reestablishment. Paper (or Kenai) birch, an integral part of the forests here, readily grows on post-fire sites burned to mineral soil in vast patches from long-distance seed dispersal. Quaking aspen generally resprouts from root suckers which quickly grow in nutrient-rich post-fire soils. Cottonwoods, including both balsam poplar and black cottonwood, produce light tufted wind-dispersed seeds, and can resprout from lateral roots and even stems or branch fragments.
Black spruce is entirely fire-dependent for regeneration, as its resin-sealed cones require the heat of fire to melt and release seeds. Black spruce’s structure is very fire susceptible, with flammable low-growing short crowns that tend to burn completely in fires. Seeds are released between one to three years following a fire that kills the tree, and seedling growth can occur in both mineral and organic mat areas. White and Lutz spruce do not need fire to release seeds, but adjacent stands will produce large seed crops after a hot, dry summer to recolonize burned areas.
Post-fire landscapes can be eerie and solemn places, but within them is the pulse of new life and regeneration almost immediately following the destruction. As the landscape renews itself, creating fresh wildlife habitat for generations to come, we’ll have the chance to directly observe the ecologically fascinating process – and perhaps even harvest some delicious morels along the way.
Dr. Elizabeth (“Libby”) Bella is an ecologist at Kenai National Wildlife Refuge.
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Needs assessment is a valuable tool which allows communicating with the community and identifying essential components that require improvement. Reading skills are among the fundamental learning competencies that schoolchildren should master. This will ensure their future academic success and provide them with the necessary tools for lifelong knowledge acquisition. Reading tests carried out in 2016 and 2017 indicated an issue of low reading performance in Safoa Elementary.
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The purpose of this needs assessment is to identify the problems that contribute to the poor reading performance among pupils and create an improvement plan that would target the issue. This plan should enhance the students’ achievements and ensure stakeholder engagement in the process. The school’s management administered the survey, and it was given to the teachers. This choice was made because they can provide valuable insight into the matter and offer changes to the existing practices that would help improve the reading performance. This paper aims to display details regarding the needs assessment, survey results, and suggest an action plan that would help carry out the improvement.
School Mission and Vision and Identification of Need
The establishment in which the needs were assessed is Safoa K-6 Elementary School. Its vision is to uphold the reputation of a living-learning community. Additionally, the primary objective is to cooperate with stakeholders to inspire the learners and to create a positive culture that would contribute to the mentioned cause. The mission of Safoa Elementary is to provide a strong educational foundation to the students and to ensure that they can reach their academic potential.
Cooperation with the community is the critical component of this approach. Thus, the plan should involve the engagement of all stakeholders to ensure that it complies with the mission and vision statements.
The previous organizational efforts were aimed at providing schoolchildren with the necessary reading skills through standard practices. The regulatory systems that were addressed in the paper are the existing curriculum, instructions, student center practices, and parental involvement. The stakeholders that should be supportive of the project are the staff members, the administration, and the children’s’ families.
As was previously mentioned, the skills assessments have provided an understanding of low reading capabilities. Additionally, most of the pupils in Safoa Elementary are second language learners, which creates another barrier for their reading achievements. According to Anderson (2017), “school systems face unprecedented local, state, and federal accountability for performance and student achievement” (p. 1). This highlights a need to address the issue because reading is among the essentials that one has to master to ensure that they can gain knowledge in the future.
Structure of Assessment and Data Collection
Four initial steps were used to design an adequate tool, which would help identify issues that contribute to low reading performance and create a change plan. Firstly, the leader who administers the program chose the objectives of the assessment. The change agent reviewed essential questions that help identify the educational problem and desired outcomes. Furthermore, questions of whether the survey would address these issues appropriately, should the leader incorporate other methods to collect more information, and timeframe that can be used to carry out the assessment were discussed.
The process of development for the needs assessment instrument began with identifying a proper approach. For this project, the survey was chosen because the tool can be designed in a way that ensures precise and unbiased answers (Glanz, 2014). Additionally, open-ended questions can provide a better understanding of the specific aspects that contribute to the problem.
The second step involved identifying the target population among the stakeholders. The aim was to ensure that the chosen community has an understanding of the existing reading problem and possesses required competency to advise on a possible solution. Subjects in this needs assessment are over the age of 18, and those are teachers from Safoa Elementary who can provide valuable information regarding specific issues that may be obstructing students from performing well in reading tests.
No leading questions were included in the assessment to create a tool that is unbiased (Glanz, 2014). Additionally, they participated in the project voluntarily, and anonymity was guaranteed. Out of twenty-two personnel members, twenty-one completed the assessment. A detailed explanation of the issue, purpose, and possible implications were sent out together with the survey letter. Additionally, potential concerns regarding the politics of the school were addressed as well.
The survey questions were sent out via email to twenty-two teachers from the Safoa Elementary school to collect the data. The process of answering was done by using Google Drive, which allowed receiving the results right after the completion. Twenty one responded provided his or her insight within one week. Likert scale format was used in the process of creating the questions to give the subjects various options to identify nuances of the issue more accurately.
Appendix A presents a visual display of the survey results. Overall, twenty questions in the format of the Likert scale and five open-ended questions were created for this project. To maintain Human subject requirements and ensure that the responder’s personal information remains undisclosed no personal data such as name, position, or other information that could indicate a specific participant was included in the survey.
Another component that contributed to the successful assessment of needs involved designing the survey questions that would specifically target the issue of low reading performance in students. The items were sent to teachers to receive feedback on possible improvements and ensure that the tool is adequately designed (Glanz, 2014). The approach allowed deleting the components that would not contribute to the cause and adding those that were of primary concern to stakeholders. The questions were divided into four sections to group the issues in regards to a specific topic. Finally, the survey was carried out and feedback from the stakeholders was assessed for further examination. The purpose of the project was explained to the participants.
Data Analysis and Summary of Results
Data were analyzed by applying frequency distribution to identify the most common answer, which helps enhance an understanding of the existing problems. Information and its interpretation from the survey’s questioners were categorized. Appendix A presents study results that were collected from the teachers and consists of graphs that display frequency distribution for the collected answers. The following paragraphs give an interpretation of the answers provided by 20 responders of the survey.
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General Information
The first section of the survey assessed the primary information regarding age, gender, and experience level. The data provides insight into the existing human resources that Safoa Elementary employees. According to the results, all teachers at this school are male; most of them are in the age group of 26-30 and 36-40. An essential component to this survey is the level of experience because individuals that have been in the organization for a more extended period are more likely to provide experience-based advice that can be used in this project (Glanz, 2014). The respondent’s answers indicate that 30% of employees have worked in the educational field for four to six years. Based on this it can be concluded that Safoa’s staff members have sufficient experience.
Curriculum
The next section of the assessment was created to identify current approaches that Safoa takes towards its teaching practices. Most responders state that the current reading curriculum corresponds to the needs of the students. Additionally, they indicate that they feel confident when teaching in correspondence to the existing practices. Sixty-five percent of the responders received training that prepared them for applying the curriculum.
Sixty percent agree that the current practice links old knowledge to the new experience. This section provided an insight into the teacher’s view on the matter. Based on these answers it can be concluded that most employees are satisfied with the existing practices. This would indicate that from the teacher’s perspective, no changes to the curriculum should be made; thus, a change strategy should focus on other aspects that contribute to reading skills development.
Instructions and Resources
The next section focused on the strategies that are employed within classrooms to enhance learning. The results are especially valuable to this project because they indicate a serious problem that should be addressed.
Primarily, sixty percent of responders stated that the existing instructions do not correspond to the needs of the students. Furthermore, seventy percent pointed out that they have not received training that would enable them to apply a different instructional strategy. Then, lack of various resources and inability to implement them within the curriculum is indicated by the fact that sixty-five percent of teachers do not think that the library provides a sufficient amount of resources.
Other problems that were found during this survey are the fact that teachers do not feel confident in providing educational interventions for students that struggle to keep up with the existing demands. This aspect requires additional attention from a leader because ensuring that educators are capable of applying different methods that suit the diverse needs of children is essential for productive learning.
Other resources that could enhance reading skills such as audiobooks are not employed in classrooms, which is displayed by sixty-five percent of responders. This leads to a lack of motivation for schoolchildren because they do not have a choice of approach to reading. Blogs, podcast, and games are not used by fifty-five percent of the individuals. These problems may be due to a lack of such resources in classrooms, which was cited as a reason by sixty-five percent of responders.
Based on the replied from this section it can be concluded that teachers lack training and instructions that would enable them to apply various approaches and techniques. In this way, they would be able to address the different needs of students in regards to reading and enhance their skill level. Additionally, the school’s leaders should consider investing in more resources for classrooms, that would enable educators to play audiobooks, podcasts, show blogs and apply other methods.
for only
Student Centre
This part of the survey was designed to identify whether teachers ensure that pupils provide feedback to each other and engage in activities apart from those offered by the school. On the most part, the majority of responders stated that they make certain that feedback is provided to children. Additionally, most instructors allow to choose from a variety of written materials and ensure that kids can link the knowledge they receive to the outside world, providing a practical application for information.
This indicates a positive attitude that can help improve the reading skills of the learners because those are a must for their further education and work. Furthermore, most responders indicate that they encourage children-led activities and collaboration, which can be used as a basis for the future implementation plan. This part of the data collection presents no significant issues with the student center.
Parental Involvement
The data from this section indicates that the current practices at Safoa Elementary do not encourage parental involvement in the student learning process. Most responders state that feedback from families and community is not integrated into the curriculum, as is reported by fifty-five percent of teachers. Additionally, sixty-five percent mention that they do not create partnerships with parents, which may be due to lack of instructions from the school’s leaders on how to carry out the practice.
The overall environment of the organization does not welcome the involvement of relatives in the teaching process, as was stated by 60 percent of teachers. No mean of communication with families is established by seventy percent of the responders of the survey, which may lead to the issues mentioned above. This section provides a clear understanding of the need to improve cooperation with parents that would enable instructors to assess feedback and implement it into their work. Together with the issues, indicated in the instructions section of the paper it can be concluded that currently, Safoa does not adhere to its mission and vision.
Interpretation of the Results
The answers collected from the teachers imply that two primary factors need to be changed by the school’s administration – parental involvement and instructions for educators. The component that was surprising is that while teachers receive sufficient training, the existing guidelines obstruct staff members from applying more flexible techniques in their classrooms. Also, attitudes towards parental involvement were unexpected because the vision and mission statement indicate the need to incorporate community members into the learning process for students. The factor that was anticipated is lack of various resources within classrooms, such as books or technical applications.
Implication for Action
The objective of the first action step is to modify the existing instructions for teachers to address the needs of pupils in regards to reading issues. Another approach to this strategy is to apply different methods for teaching in the upcoming year. The school leader will have to create new training programs to implement this step successfully. According to Markee (2015), the topic of instructions, their creation, and implementation did not receive enough attention from scholars.
The author argues that approaches used by educators to communicate tasks and the general guidelines they use in their practice are crucial for the proper educational process. Thus, the objective of this change is in creating a training process that would enable teachers applying flexible approaches in their everyday work. This component will include using different reading and listening resources, based on the specific preferences of the schoolchildren. The principal should schedule weekly meetings for sharing experiences to ensure that the practice is carried out efficiently.
The resources for this step are additional financial or non-financial incentives for the personnel to adhere to the training. For instance, the administration can offer a bonus to a teacher whose class will display the best result in regards to reading at the end of the year. Additionally, the leader will have to provide a classroom for meetings and training sessions. The administration will have to create presentations and search for articles that would help teachers understand new approaches.
The primary method of evaluating this step is an assessment of reading results from students. Additionally, classroom observations and lesson plan examination can provide an understanding of the efficiency in regards to the chosen practice.
The second action step involves ensuring that the school supports the professional development of teachers. More specifically, the personnel members should learn how to use technology and apply it for enhancing their skills. The resources for this steps are online courses or webinars, specifically tailored to explain different techniques that help strengthen reading skills. The approach of a workshop in which the topics will include the application of audiobooks, blog posts, websites, and interactive games as a method to improve reading skills for learners is suitable. For instance, Education Week offers webinars that help teachers understand different techniques of improving literacy for their students (“Education week webinars,” 2018).
The resource provides free of charge videos and presentations, and the school leaders would need to provide a classroom and a timeframe for the staff members to participate in these sessions. A specific agenda or a book should be created to plan the process, choose particular dates for the events, and track the progress. Both teacher evaluation and children achievement tools should be used to evaluate the action step.
The final step is cooperating with community members to improve learning outside of school. The primary approach to ensuring that parents get involved in the process of teaching their children how to read is to invite them for a visit. This event can be held on a monthly basis and should include games and other activities. The educators should provide the necessary information on how to communicate with children to help them acquire knowledge outside of the educational establishment.
According to Howe and Lisi (2015), schoolchildren cannot study everything they should know in a classroom; thus, teachers require additional support from the children’s families. The leader’s task, in this case, is to ensure that a partnership is built between Safoa Elementary staff members and the community. The resources required for implementing this step are a classroom and food for the visitors. Assessing and examining results of students’ performance can help monitor the initiative’s success.
Possible Barriers
It is anticipated that some teachers will show resistance towards the proposed changes. This is due to the fact that some individuals may be concerned with the effect that the technology use will have on their life and work. Moreover, the generation gap between baby boomers and generation-x can enhance the negative attitudes towards the offered technological change (Lovely, 2005). Additionally, a change in the instructions implies that these staff members will have to alter their daily practice. The final issue is the pressure that some may feel due to knowing the administration’s desire for improving reading assessment results.
Some staff members may point out that to attend training sessions and webinars they would need to dedicate personal time. One of the approaches to mitigating this risk was previously discussed. It is a creation of monetary incentive in the form of bonus to those who display the best results. Alternatively, the administration can offer to pay for the additional training. Parents may be resistant to the initiative because they are unable to come to the meeting at a set time and date.
To avoid such risk, they should be informed via emails that they can visit the school either in the morning or in the evening. Additionally, to ensure convenience the meeting can be held in the Family Centre that operates in the community.
Considering these issues the school’s administration should discuss the plan with primary stakeholders to ensure that they understand the purpose and value of the project. In addition, the generation gap should be addressed to mitigate negative relationships between staff members. Knight (2009) states that leaders should ensure that new practices are easy to implement and do not burden the teachers or other stakeholders. Thus, the personnel and parents should be asked to provide their insight into the offered change plan, and alterations to it should be made accordingly.
Reflection and Summary
Needs assessment is a valuable tool that should be used by leaders to implement change. Anderson (2017) states that “school leadership is a critical component of strong performance and student achievement” (p. 1). Thus, leaders of establishments should be the primary initiators of alterations in regards to practices that do not provide a required result. When considering the reading assessment results that were examined in this project, one can conclude that a change affecting all teachers and other stakeholders is necessary. Gabriel and Farmer (2009) state that “effective leadership is the key to improving academic achievement and attaining lasting change” (p. 20). Thus, needs assessment can help the administration influence the educational process and results that children display.
Gathering information to articulate and create better approaches is crucial. According to Marsh and Farell (2014), “increased availability of technology, financial support from policymakers, and greater accountability for student outcomes have all contributed to the increased focus on data use for educational improvement globally” (p. 2). However, the authors emphasize that most educational facilities struggle with implementing new strategies due to a lack of previous practice and necessary skills. To mitigate this component and ensure that Safoa Elementary can successfully adapt the approach several methods for overcoming barriers are offered in this paper.
This relates to the needs assessment research because policymakers and school administration should understand the importance of stakeholder involvement and consider their opinion when creating new practices. The offered change is connected to the vision and mission statements of Safoa Elementary because the organization aims to create an environment for learning and involve the community. The suggested change ensures that teachers can apply flexible methods that would be tailored to each student, enabling their progressive education. Additionally, cooperation with parents and other community members should help children gain knowledge outside school.
The leadership style that is required to implement this strategy is transformational leadership because the approach is aimed at facilitating change. Additionally, according to Harrison and Killion (2007), effective teachers should provide resources to their colleagues, help implement new instructions, provide support, and assist in other ways to ensure that learning outcomes of students are satisfactory. By combing the tools mentioned by the authors and those of transformational leaders one can effectively identify issues in a school setting and help mitigate them by engaging the stakeholders. Overall, this project provided all the information that Safoa Elementary leader would need to carry out the change and improve reading results of the schoolchildren.
References
Anderson, M. (2017). Transformational leadership in education: A review of existing literature. International Social Science Review, 93(1), 1-13.
Education week webinars. (2018). Web.
Gabriel, J. C., & Farmer, P. C. (2009). How to help your school strive without breaking the bank. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Glanz, J. (2014). Action research: An educational leader’s guide to school improvement. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Little.
Harrison, S., & Killion, J. (2007). Ten roles for teacher leaders. Educational Leadership, 65(1), 74-77.
Howe, W. A., & Lisi, P. L. (2015). Becoming a multicultural educator: Developing awareness, gaining skills, and taking action. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE.
Knight, J. (2009). What can we do about teacher resistance? Phi Delta Kappan, 90(7), 508–513. Web.
Lovely, S. (2005). Creating synergy in the schoolhouse: Changing dynamics among peer cohorts will drive the work of school systems. School Administrator, 62(8), 30.
Markee, N. (2015). Giving and following pedagogical instructions in task-based instruction: An ethnomethodological perspective. In C. J. Jenks & P. Seedhouse (Eds), International perspectives on ELT classroom interaction. London, United Kingdom: Palgrave Macmillan.
Marsh, J. A., & Farrell, C. C. (2014). How leaders can support teachers with data-driven decision making: A framework for understanding capacity building. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 43(2), 1-21. Web. | https://ivypanda.com/essays/safoa-elementary-poor-reading-performance/ |
“I have recently been involved in a dispute with a neighbour over my cat entering and allegedly soiling his garden.” File photograph.
We live in a small housing estate comprising nine bungalows in a large town. I have recently been involved in a dispute with a neighbour over my cat entering and allegedly soiling his garden. Recently I was outside petting our cat – who is very much a pivotal member of our family – when I noticed an electric fence which has been installed between our garden and his. The fence runs the perimeter of the side of our property that leads to his. It is about 1ft off the ground – cat height. My older sister has two young children who regularly visit my mother and play in the garden. It would seem that part of the fence encroaches on our property and is not entirely confined to his property. What are my rights in this regard? I cannot conceive how it is lawful for him to do this?
From the question there appears to be no issue with the boundary per se, it seems the real issue is with the cat, its movements and a low electric fence that encroaches on a part of your property.
There are number of ways that you may deal with the encroachment and the nuisance caused by the cat. Perhaps speaking with your neighbour is the easiest at first as you can address all your concerns by way of conversation and establish if your neighbour is willing to hear and understand your point of view.
An electric fence is not a toy nor is a shock from one insignificant as they can be rather nasty. They are routinely used by farmers to manage livestock but are not particularly suited to an urban setting where unsuspecting adults, young children and animals may come into contact with them.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in the UK states that “All electric fences must be installed and operated in a way that ensures there is no electrical hazard to people, animals or their surroundings. The fence construction must not risk entanglement of animals or people.” That would appear to be good common-sense advice.
Your neighbour might not be aware that the fence, its position (or indeed the cat) is causing you such worry. He might be able to move the fence safely into his property and you will both save on surveys and legal fees. If your neighbour is unwilling to move the fence, then you may wish to consider other options such as consulting your solicitor for legal advice and a geomatics surveyor for the purpose of conducting a ground truth survey.
A geomatics surveyor will measure your property. S/he will do a ground truth survey, which measures and records relevant features in and around your property, at the time of survey. The findings will then need to be compared to your Deed Map to establish if the two concur and corroborate your existing belief as to where exactly your property ends and your neighbours commences. Before asserting where the “exact” boundary is, it is best that there are no spatial discrepancies’, that you may be unaware of, in existence as they may cause unnecessary ill will that can be avoided. Depending on the Deed Map and all shown thereon, it may be the case that defining the “exact” boundary will be difficult. Deeds and deed maps can and do fall short on such critically specific information.
It is also important to remember that your “exact” legal boundary is a shared item. A legal boundary is a line of no width that distinguishes one property from that of another. Therefore, you cannot unilaterally impose it on your neighbour as they may have conflicting ideas or supporting documents.
Mediation is an alternative option that you may also consider, should you be unable to speak with your neighbour and wish to resolve the matter in a non-adversarial way. Mediation is a process in which an independent mediator will assist disputing parties in resolving their dispute in a collaborative and consensual manner, which may see your dispute resolved to your satisfaction. | https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/homes-and-property/can-our-neighbour-install-a-cat-height-electric-fence-1.3629272 |
Founded in September 2014, the Center for Global Health (CGH) works to improve health conditions of populations worldwide through three main pillars of intervention: Research, Outbreak Investigation, Education and Training.
Support local authorities in the management of and response to infectious disease outbreaks, to better understand emergence and transmission patterns in order to limit further spread in human populations.
The Institut Pasteur International Network has a long tradition in working closely with local ministries of health on training and building capacity to detect and respond to outbreaks of known and unknown pathogens. Since 2014, Institut Pasteur has formalized its process for responding to infectious disease outbreaks with the inception of the Outbreak Investigation Task Force (OITF).
What is the Outbreak Investigation Task Force?
The Outbreak Investigation Task Force consists of Pasteurians with experience in field investigations of infectious diseases and with expertise in epidemiology, clinical infectious diseases, virology, bacteriology, entomology, logistics, risk communication and other fields. OITF members receive advanced training in field-based teamwork, coordination with local governments and partner organizations, epidemiologic investigations, adaption of studies to field interventions, database use and management, and report writing. OITF task force members are then, upon request, able to be deployed rapidly to support an outbreak of emerging and re-emerging pathogens.
How does the OITF operate?
The primary aim of the OITF is to support local authorities in the management of and response to an infectious disease outbreak. Upon notification of a novel or re-emerging pathogen, and at the request of local authorities, the OITF can rapidly deploy staff during the early stages of an outbreak. We will work in support of the local Instituts Pasteur, in partnership with World Health Organization’s Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN), and/or through bi-lateral agreements with national governments. Working with local partners, our rapid-response teams investigate pathogen transmission, identify the populations most at risk for infection and severe outcomes and develop mitigation measures to control the spread of the disease.
Human health, animal health and the state of ecosystems are inextricably linked with approximately 75% of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases that have affected humans over the past three decades are known to be of zoonotic origin. In recognition of the fact that global surveillance of infectious diseases must therefore expand beyond humans to include animal and environmental aspects of pathogen emergence and re-emergence, the Institut Pasteur, through the CGH and the OITF, has become a key proponent of the ‘One Health’ initiative. The Institut Pasteur and the IPIN regularly conducts and coordinates multi-sectorial investigations of human cases of diseases from rabies to H5N1 in collaboration with the Ministries of Agriculture and the Ministries of Health in affected countries, placing the Institut Pasteur and the OITF in a position to advance the ‘One Health’ initiative on the global health agenda.
Building on the wide spectrum of educational opportunities offered by the Institut Pasteur and the IPIN, the CGH develops new courses that combine a global health dimension with multidisciplinary courses and practical experience. The CGH also actively forges partnerships to make basic and advanced courses more accessible to students across the globe.
In order to provide flexible and rapid access to training, the CGH collaborates in the development of online learning tools and resources at the Institut Pasteur. This facilitates the continuing scientific education and training of students, scientists, and public health professionals across disciplines and geographic locations. In response to the success of the first Pasteur/Cnam Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) entitled “Concepts and Methods in Epidemiology”, the CGH is producing additional online courses in vaccinology, neurology, entomology, immunology, and stem cell biology and regenerative medicine. Moreover, the CGH and the IPIN are developing a specialized e-learning platform. This platform shall offer basic science and practical courses specifically related to global health.
The Center for Global Health and the IPIN are currently working on developing a bespoke Pan-African capacity strengthening program with the goal to support health research and training in Africa. In addition to building local expertise, it will aim to strengthen the Pan-African research collaboration by linking research groups across the continent, especially between the Francophone and Anglophone regions.
The aim is to offer a bespoke, demand – led support platform, based on the existing research strengths, current and future research ambitions, as well as identified skill gaps at Institutions of Higher Education across Africa, developed in collaboration with relevant stakeholders on the continent and beyond.
The program will focus on the next generation of researches, particularly post-graduates and post-docs, and their career development and employability. Furthermore, it will aspire to better integrate researchers into the existing health research networks in Africa.
The capacity strengthening program will concentrate on two research priority areas: emerging infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance (AMR), with Malaria being the third possible area of research. Training opportunities within these priority domains include bioinformatics and biostatistics, molecular genetics (including human genetics), training on –omics technology, but also lab training in areas such as microbiology. | https://research.pasteur.fr/en/center/cgh/ |
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