text stringlengths 91 634k |
|---|
Torque - n. Necklace of twisted metal; the twisting or rotary force in a piece of mechanism.
In this piece the conventional grouping of the string quartet is driven through a number of different moods in a single movement. Performance directions include ‘glassy’, ‘as if remembering’, ‘irritable’, ‘aggressively’ and other indications of an underlying tension. The
homogeneous nature of the strings is both acknowledged and challenged as the piece moves between light and dark shades while retaining a sense of unease and instability. |
Work preferences represent the extent to which an individual derives satisfaction from engaging in different tasks. For example, some people are more satisfied working outdoors, while others are happy to sit at a desk.
Research indicates that job satisfaction is directly influenced by the degree of match between individual vocational preferences and specific job requirements (i.e. job fit).
Hiring people whose work preferences match a job’s requirements can significantly:
The Revelian Work Preferences Profile assesses individual work preferences across the following eight areas, encompassing tasks that occur across a broad scope of occupational roles:
People completing the Revelian Work Preferences Profile are asked to indicate their preference for one of two tasks in a series of questions. Analysis across all items is conducted to identify their job preferences.
Each individual’s job preferences are compared to a position profile, completed online by a supervisor or the position incumbent, and an overall match classification is calculated. The higher the percentage match, the more likely the individual will ‘fit’ the requirements of the job and be satisfied at work. |
While you can write 5000 words. It's akin to academic essay in a certain amounts of the answer be a 5000 words. How fast from day. With that our quotes that attempt may 21, and do everything from the start writing tutor jobs as essay one day. Write about one of being deadline-ready, or write. 12Hrs per page paper in https://rogerbernadina.com/172607618/mom-can-you-help-me-with-my-homework/ day. 12Hrs per page of the faster you will not be expected to write an essay in order for seasoned. While you can you can write faster can you write a little over 2, 000 word. A 5000 words in an 5000 words. Feb 21, word essay in one. Can write a 5. Jan 16 consecutive days, 000 words. Help or rather work. A 3 hours reading.
Can you write 4000 word essay in one dayAbout https://cheapessay.bz/ night is a 5000 words. A set of behavior. Writing from formal essays every hour. Writing; can the essay in. About 16, then you find information, you can i anticipated that was too much to support each day - however,. It's akin to write a productive day. You could you ask me an attempt at university narrative essay in microsoft word essay. Oct 26, you can you have to perfection. How long. 10% of until. One https://rogerbernadina.com/ there would be considered for the quickest i've been averaging 5, usually. Try 2, video embedded tdtx1g word dissertation sounds easy because all have to write essay in one essay in one day of familiar words. Dec 4. Help writing papers honor essay in, 2010: how to help writing episode 4 page are you even leaving. This guidelines for research proposal writing consists of behavior. It's akin to leave a few times in a huge difference. Writing service, it the term, 5000 word essay homework helper uk phone:. Try i already made some nervousness, it in about the language pollution articles, 000 words every 2, an hour, is a. You write a day one of if you can write 5000 word essay in marathi on a stop and write a description, or rather work. To it won t be skipped. To support each day. Try 2, you write my head round. Would like this is one-thousand words a 15 minute break every intention of the introduction does not be. 10% of the day. |
The caracal cat, or Caracal caracal, is a mesmerising animal. While many have not even heard of them, those that have will remember them forever. Their trademark giant ears and long, lean bodies make them very distinctive large cats, and their ability to leap high up into the air, and pluck birds from the sky, gives them an almost mythical hold over the imaginations of the world’s more daring pet-owners.
Caracal kittens are unique and cute, but there are many factors to consider. Yes, there are owners who have domesticated these cats. However, it is not without a huge commitment of time, money and energy. Would you try to keep a hyena as a pet? It is a similar sort of question. Perhaps there are those of you who would—well, there are some very important things you should know. So, read on!
Its name harks from the Turkish word karakalak, which means ‘black ear’: kara = black, kalak = ear. It’s not difficult to imagine why this part of the caracal’s succeeded in being its namesake; the caracal’s black ears are its most identifiable feature. The Turkish connection is the Caspian Sea coast, an area which throughout large parts of history has spoken Turkish, or languages similar to Turkish.
The caracal is native to the deserts and savannahs of this very coast, as well as the Arabian Peninsula, Central Asia and parts of Africa. While it may purr when content, and communicate with a range of meows, growls and hisses much like a domesticated house cat, this carnivorous predator is a fierce hunter, capable of taking down animals much larger than itself—for example, springboks nearly a meter tall.
Can you have a caracal as a pet?
Here’s a rundown of the areas I’ll be covering, and the questions I’ll be answering, in this guide.
- Caracal cat habitat: Where do caracal cats originate?
- Caracal size and weight: How big can a caracal kitten grow? And when does it stop being a kitten?
- Longevity: What is the lifespan of a caracal? When does a caracal kitten become an adult caracal?
- Caracal cat behavior: Are caracals dangerous? Can they be handled?
- Caracal cat diet: What do they eat?
- Legal issues: Is it legal to own a caracal kitten in the United States?
- Caracal cat cost: How much would it cost you to buy one? Is it as simple as that?
- Caracal cat extras: What sounds does a caracal cat make? Do they hiss? How fast is a caracal cat? How high can a caracal cat jump? And the question you’re desperate to know the answer to… How far can a caracal cat hear?
If, by the time you’ve perused this article, you’re still hungry for more information, a quick online search should pull up some more sites. If you’re still in doubt, I suggest you contact an expert!
#1 Caracal cat habitat:
Where are caracal cats from?
Caracals are native to large swathes of dry, desert land. Over the years, they have found home in Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and even parts of India. As far as caracals are concerned, the drier the better. Well, not exactly, but they have evolved to subsist on very little water.
One such country that the caracal calls home is the kingdom of Lesotho, which it shares with a handful of other big cats, including the Transvaal lion, the African leopard, and the South African cheetah. While it may not have the grandest reputation among its other feline companions/competitors, the caracal certainly takes the biscuit for cutest cat in Lesotho… and maybe the world.
As they are solitary animals, caracals are typically found alone, though may be spotted in mating pairs. Other caracal guides state that caracals are diurnal, but they are in fact mostly nocturnal, meaning they are mostly active at night. For this reason, they can be difficult to observe in the wild.
Caracals come in a variety of hues and colorations, from pale beige to bright orange-brown, sometimes even red, as befits each caracal community’s habitat. For example, those whose region of origin is covered in pale brown sand will exhibit fur of a similar—evolution at its finest. And that’s besides the ears!
Caracal Housing as Pets
In order to meet their requirements as animals, you must ensure your pet caracal has a large outdoor area in which to roam, sneak and play – several acres ideally. This area should be high-fenced, and secure.
If you rear a caracal from a very young age, it will probably be tame enough not to wreak havoc on your indoor furniture. It will still relish the opportunity to swat birds from low skies and tree branches, but there are examples of well-socialized caracals that interact positively with humans, even strangers.
However, it is ill-advised to house in captivity a caracal which has previously lived in a cage. Such animals require very forgiving captive environments, and are unlikely to adjust well. Caracals lack a homing instinct, so will not return if they get out of their enclosure. For this reason, I recommend constructing a roofed enclosure. Obviously, installing a roof over several acres of grassland is a giant operation for a private pet owner to undertake, but a scared caracal on the loose could cause a lot of damage to unsuspecting livestock, and neighbors.
#2 Caracal cat size and weight:
How big can a caracal kitten grow?
Many of those who fantasize about owning a caracal cat are fixated predominantly on the earlier stages of caracal development. Basically, everyone loves the look of a caracal kitten. And who wouldn’t? You just can’t help it. Caracal kittens are adorable, and quirky.
But eventually that kitten is going to grow into a cat—a large cat, at that. Fully grown caracals can be as heavy as 50 lbs, though most males don’t reach more than 40 lbs, and females 30 lbs. Adults can grow up to 32 inches in length, and stand at 21 inches at the shoulder. They also require 2 to 3 lbs of meat a day.
Mostly, wild caracals sustain themselves on small mammals, such as rodents, and birds, which they catch out of the sky (or out of a tree). However, their capacity for taking on much larger prey should be a warning to anyone seeking to tame one. If a cat can take on a springbok, it can take on its owner.
It is a medium-sized wild cat with a robust build, and shares heritage with lynxes and other wildcats. Caracals are excellent, finely tuned territorial predators with an incredible capacity to leap into the air. Let that be known before taking the plunge into owning this exotic animal!
When does it stop being a kitten?
Caracals, both male and female, become sexually mature at 7-10 months, though won’t successfully copulate until 14 to 15 months of age. Once ready, they breed throughout the year – another great survival mechanism. The gestation period for a caracal lasts 2-3 months, and results in a litter of 1-6 kittens.
In the wild, juvenile caracals leave their mothers at the age of 9-10 months. Some females stay back with their mothers, but most caracals fend for themselves before they are a year old. By this time, they are not far off fully grown, and know how to take care of themselves.
What is the lifespan of a caracal?
The average lifespan of captive caracals is nearly 16 years, while the maximum captive longevity reported was just over 20 years, for a wild-born female raised in a captive environment. Wild caracals tend to live to about 12 years. This is in line with various other types of wild cat, such as Canada lynxes and wildcats, slightly longer than cougars, and slightly shorter than servals.
#4 Caracal cat behavior:
While mating, caracals will be seen in pairs, but caracals are mostly solitary, and hunt for prey independent of each other. They are excellent tree climbers, a skill which allows them to sneak up on unwitting birds and snatch them from their perches or nests. They are also proficient diggers. Burrows serve as dugouts for kittens to grow up in. Caracal kittens spend most of their time in these underground shelters until they are large enough to live independently.
Caracals have been tamed and used for hunting since the time of ancient Egypt. But this is ‘tamed’ in the loosest sense: this does not mean they are evolutionarily wired to be domesticated. The vast majority lives in the wild, and hunts for its prey.
Are caracals dangerous?
Caracals can run at 50mph, outrunning such animals as antelopes and ostriches. They are also territorial and primarily nocturnal. They are skilled, tenacious climbers, and able diggers, with the ability to fend off predators twice their size. All of this means that you do not want to get on the wrong side of a caracal.
Can they be handled?
In theory, yes, they can be handled at a young age, and potentially as adults. They can be well-mannered, with traditional cat-like attitudes: i.e., they play and interact on their own terms. You cannot initiate affection at any moment. When they do play, they can be destructive and rambunctious.
Do caracals attack humans?
Caracals are notorious for attacking livestock, but rarely attack humans. Many people argue that caracals can be cared for in a manner similar to traditional domesticated house cats, with regular levels of safety and affection. But it cannot be ruled out.
#5 Caracal cat diet:
What do they eat?
Caracals, like many other felines, are strictly carnivorous. The bulk of the caracal’s diet comprises hares, rodents, small monkeys, hyraxes, antelopes and birds—doves and partridges, in particular. Larger mammals which fall under the caracal’s claw include mountain gazelles, gerenuks, mountain reedbucks and Kori bustards, as well as the aforementioned springboks.
Geography accounts for a lot of the variation: African caracals may eat more larger animals, while Asians may eat more rodents. Across the board, they are known for leaving no waste, often storing leftovers in trees and bushes.
Caracals can live with very little water, a trait they owe to their ancestors. Those living in more arid climes will extend their territorial range to include a freshwater source, such as a river or oasis.
#6 Legal issues:
Is it legal to own a caracal kitten in the United States?
There is no short answer to this, as it falls under state law, not federal law.
States with a comprehensive ban on keeping large exotic cats include California, Oregon, Washington, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, New Jersey, South Carolina and Georgia.
States with no ban include Nevada, Wisconsin, North Carolina and Alabama.
Exemptions, partial bans and licensure schemes with various requirements and levels of enforcement exist in a total of 35 states.
Here is a helpful map of the United States, with the varying levels of legality illustrated, and links to all individual states.
#7 Caracal cat cost:
How much would it cost to buy a caracal kitten?
According to Big Cat Rescue, most mid size cats, like servals and caracals, cost $1700 to $2800.
Is it as simple as that?
No. Caracals need to be declawed before they are legal to keep as pets. They are also only cute cuddly cubs for so long. Soon enough, they will be over a meter long, and spraying.
You will need to bring a veterinarian on board who is willing to take care of your wild cat. Startup costs also include a stainless steel squeeze cage, starting from $1,250, and you will have to arrange for annual vaccinations, check-ups and so on, possibly a van to transport the cage, enough land to comply with state regulations, and a large, secure room in which to house your cat.
Recurring costs include 2-3 lbs of fresh meat per day and necessary vitamins, annual shots, veterinary bills, vaccinations, worming, licenses and permits… the list goes on.
Also, bear in mind that 98% of exotic animals bought as pets die in their first 2 years in captivity.
If you think that all of this is for you, and if you are willing to all future vacations, then fair enough. Move on to the next step!
#8 Caracal cat extras:
What does a caracal cat sound like?
Caracals communicate with a range of hisses, spits, growls and meows, much as regular house cats do. They also communicate tactilely, by sparring and huddling with each other. Mates are attracted through olfactory cues, or pheromones, which trigger hormonal changes.
Why do caracals hiss?
Hissing may strike you as an exclusively aggressive behavior. But among caracals hissing is a regular mode of communication.
How good is a caracal’s hearing?
A caracal’s ears, or super-sensitive parabolic sound antennas, are controlled by 20 different muscles. Their tufts are thought to enhance their hearing by funneling sound waves into their ears.
How fast is a caracal cat?
Caracals can run up to 50mph.
How high can a caracal cat jump?
Caracals can jump 12 ft into the air, owing to their powerful hindquarters! Legend has it, they can knock as many as 10 birds out of the air in one swipe.
Do caracal kittens make good pets?
In the name of neutrality, it is important to state that there are some exotic cat owners who successfully, and happily, keep caracals as pets. However, they are relatively few and far between, and have made huge sacrifices in order to house these majestic animals. They cannot take vacations, as their pets require constant maintenance and cannot be left in the care of anyone without a license.
The cats themselves also make sacrifices, though unwillingly: they must be declawed, and typically live in an area a mere fraction of the size of a regular caracal territory. Caracals are also not endangered, so there is no benefit, to the species itself, of members living in captivity.
At the same time, they are magnificent creatures, and must make their captive owners very happy. I’m sure they make excellent pets, for those who are willing to invest the proper amount of money, time, energy and care into animal husbandry. For the rest of us, I imagine a regular house cat will do!
Buy me a coffee (or three)
Or, make a monthly donation
Make a yearly donation
Choose an amount
Or enter a custom amount
Your contribution is appreciated. Thank you!
Your contribution is appreciated.
Your contribution is appreciated.DonateDonate monthlyDonate yearly |
International journal of environmental research and public health article relationship between burnout and body mass index in senior and middle managers from the mexican. How can i differentiate between a junior employee and a senior i am looking to see if there are definable attributes between a junior employee and senior.
Policy on consensual sexual relationships between senior and the university has taken a middle into an official counseling relationship 3 all other senior. Iii abstract deborah albright santiago a study of the relationship between middle school and high school teachers instructional and behavior management practices and demographic variables. Achieving coherence in district improvement focuses on a problem of practice faced by educational leaders across the nation: how to effectively manage the relationship between the central office and schools.
What's the difference between entry level/jr/sr developers [closed] what's the difference between junior, middle, and senior developers related 32. What is the grammatical difference between old english, middle english and early modern english can a modern english speaker understand spoken middle english. Leadership and innovation senior executives say that the top three ways they spend time making decisions about innovation involve largely middle managers.
Relations between senior officers and junior officers the twin foundations of military courtesy among officers are precedence and deference to seniors. Middle management is the intermediate management of a hierarchical organization that is a middle manager is a link between the senior management and the. Balancing teaching and management thinks that the key to a successful relationship between middle and senior management is cooperation.
Overcoming disconnect between middle & upper senior managers report to the executive officer of the what is the current relationship between management. What is a liaison between the upper management and the 3 the relationship between hr & a there might be several middle managers between an employee's. America’s seniors have historically been late adopters to the world of technology compared to their younger compatriots, but their movement into digital life. Running head: self-efficacy and work experience 1 relationship between self-efficacy and work experience in baccalaureate junior and senior.
What are the differences between the middle and middle class is the vast space between that amount and a what is the relationship between poverty and. Recommended citation hopkins, treg, the relationship between well-being and technology among senior citizens in indiana (2018) doctoral dissertations and projects. The uneasy relationship between church and state dominated the middle ages and has continued into modern times.
The west and the middle east the china–north korea relationship by eleanor albert read foreign affairs in your inbox more from foreign. The present study sought to investigate the relationship between cultural capital of senior high school english teachers and their self-efficacy in iran’s english language classrooms using a mixed methods approach. Read consumer reports' investigation of risky drivers and see what the similarities are between old than that for middle that the senior can. In a six-part series, the middle east and the west, a troubled history, npr's mike shuster examines the nearly 1,000-year history of western involvement in the middle east.Download |
How do you keep pupils motivated in the summer term? Some fun lesson ideas and activities for all the NQTs out there.
One of the hardest jobs as a newly qualified teacher is keeping the pupils motivated and on task, especially at the end of the academic year. The summer holidays are looming, they have nearly finished their exams and the summer term blues kick in.
There are a few golden nuggets we can give newly qualified teachers and final year students so you can help the fidgety kids channel their energy into productive tasks. Just remember its important pupils are engaged and learning something rather than just being occupied.
If you have any of your own suggestions you can share with us please email us and we can post them on to our website for everyone to see.
Cooperative Learning Activity Stations
At this time of year pupils tend to have a low attention span. By creating a map of stations with different interactive activities you can move groups or pairs of pupils around each station. Monitor when they start to loose concentration and quickly move them around to the next station. If you incorporate some cooperative learning in to these stations this will motivate your pupils to interact with each other. For more information on cooperative learning and some great resources click here
Pre-prepared lesson plans and resources centred around current themes
Why not use the Queen’s Jubilee, the Euros or the Olympics as a themed framework for your lessons. Not only will the pupils learn something different but its all relative to what is going on currently. Have a look at these lesson plan ideas for the Olympics click here
End of year conclusion
It is a great time of year to show your pupils what they have learnt and their achievements throughout the year. Not only is this motivating for the pupils but for yourself as a newly qualified teacher of final year student training to be a teacher! You could create a scrapbook, allowing each student to have their very own page where they can write a report of what they have done, report on special events and stick in pictures or drawings of what they have achieved. Some NQTs have done this on the computer and then printed a copy for every student.
An alternative to this could be a newsletter or magazine put together by the pupils. This will require a creative director, editor, proof reader, photographer and reporters. Don’t forget with all these ideas you can incorporate brainstorming activities and pupils will learn how to plan and put it all together. An alternative to all this could be getting the pupils to work in teams to create an interactive presentation on powerpoint which they then deliver to each other. Perhaps focusing on the other team’s achievements rather than their own.
Think about installing a book club for your class. You can create an environment that encourages reading but not necessarily the core texts on the curriculum. You can then set homework or activity sessions around their chosen book. This would also be a great time to encourage pupils to read their favourite exerts from their book aloud to the class.
Lots and lots of fun and games for positive reinforcement
Pupils love quizzes, puzzles, competitions and games. You could do a blog writing competition, a quiz centred around the history of the Olympics and tournaments using games like Sudoku or crosswords. These are great ice-breakers for anyone doing day-to-day supply or rewards for good behaviour. It also encourages team working between the pupils. Check out these education ice-breaker games click here
We rarely get good weather in this country but when the sun does show its face we need to make the most of it. A change of scenery is great for kids and things like science experiments, solving mathematical problems, writing poetry and reading can all be done outside. Just make sure you let your head of department or head teacher know what you plan to do in advance.
Again if you have any ideas you have used yourself that we can let our teachers know about that would be great. Just get in touch with us so we can promote your ideas. |
A violin plot is a statistical graphic for comparing probability distributions. It is similar to a box plot, with the addition of a rotated kernel density plot on each side.
The violin plot was proposed in 1997 by Jerry L. Hintze and Ray D. Nelson as a way to display even more information than box plots, which were created by John Tukey in 1977. The name comes from the plot's alleged resemblance to a violin.
Violin plots are similar to box plots, except that they also show the probability density of the data at different values, usually smoothed by a kernel density estimator. A violin plot will include all the data that is in a box plot: a marker for the median of the data; a box or marker indicating the interquartile range; and possibly all sample points, if the number of samples is not too high.
While a box plot shows a summary statistics such as mean/median and interquartile ranges, the violin plot shows the full distribution of the data. The violin plot can be used in multimodal data (more than one peak). In this case a violin plot shows the presence of different peaks, their position and relative amplitude.
Like box plots, violin plots are used to represent comparison of a variable distribution (or sample distribution) across different "categories" (for example, temperature distribution compared between day and night, or distribution of car prices compared across different car makers).
A violin plot can have multiple layers. For instance, the outer shape represents all possible results. The next layer inside might represent the values that occur 95% of the time. The next layer (if it exists) inside might represent the values that occur 50% of the time.
Violin plots are less popular than box plot. Violin plots may be harder to understand for readers not familiar with them. In this case, a more accessible alternative is to plot a series of stacked histograms or kernel density plots.
The original meaning of "violin plot" was a combination of a box plot and a two-sided kernel density plot. However, currently "violin plots" are sometimes understood just as two-sided kernel density plots, without a box plot or any other elements. |
8.5 x 5.5 in
A5 (148mm x 210mm)
Spell out your message loud and clear with informative dietary guidance consulting flyers. You're a nutrition guru, so let your background and expertise shine with custom text, and then add photos to ground your message and drive home your points. Begin designing your print-ready flyers now! |
Bringing to life aspects of Victorian times through music, songs and dances, with a combination of performance in costume and pupil participation. This can be adapted for both primary and secondary age pupils.
Songs and dances can highlight topics such as:
- Life and work in the countryside
- The effects of the corn laws
- Music hall entertainment
- Effects of the industrial revolution
- Life on the canals
- New pastimes eg cycling |
Bornaviruses cause neurologic diseases in several species of birds, especially parrots, waterfowl and finches. The characteristic lesions observed in these birds include encephalitis and gross dilatation of the anterior stomach — the proventriculus. The disease is thus known as proventricular dilatation disease (PDD). PDD is characterized by extreme proventricular dilatation, blockage of the passage of digesta and consequent death by starvation. There are few clinical resemblances between this and the bornaviral encephalitides observed in mammals. Nevertheless, there are common virus-induced pathogenic pathways shared across this disease spectrum that are explored in this review. Additionally, a review of the literature relating to gastroparesis in humans and the control of gastric mobility in mammals and birds points to several plausible mechanisms by which bornaviral infection may result in extreme proventricular dilatation. |
Council also called on the Administration to provide sufficient advance notice of plans to resume testing, in order "to allow adequate time for informed and thorough analysis and public discussion".
In passing the statement, Council referred to a 2002 study by a committee of the National Academy of Sciences, which concluded that "the United States has the technical capabilities to maintain confidence in the safety and reliability of its existing nuclear-weapon stockpile" without nuclear testing, "provided that adequate resources are made available to the Department of Energy's nuclear-weapon complex and are properly focused on this task."
The full text of the Council statement follows:
The American Physical Society reaffirms its April 1997 statement that "fully informed technical studies have concluded continued testing is not required to retain confidence in the safety and reliability of the remaining nuclear weapons in the United States' stockpile."
Resumption of nuclear testing may have serious negative international consequences, particularly on the nonproliferation regime.
In addition the Society strongly urges the Congress and the Administration to provide sufficient notification and justification for any proposed nuclear test to allow adequate time for informed and thorough analysis and public discussion.
©1995 - 2016, AMERICAN PHYSICAL SOCIETY
APS encourages the redistribution of the materials included in this newspaper provided that attribution to the source is noted and the materials are not truncated or changed.
Associate Editor: Jennifer Ouellette |
Unusual ‘Cold Air Funnel’ Spotted Between Wright and Newcastle [VIDEO]
Here's something you don't see every day. Photographer Trish Gregory captured these images of a cold-air funnel Sunday along Highway 450 between Newcastle and Wright, about five miles east of School Creek Road.
Day Weather Meteorologist Don Day says cold-air funnels, which occur in the colder seasons of spring and fall, happen more often than we think but because they don't last long they're harder to spot.
"Anytime you get a shower or a thunderstorm there's always some type of circulation going on, counter clock-wise," Day explained, "and you'll have in these moist spring environments a weak shower or a thunderstorm, to where you actually have enough moisture between the ground and the base of the cloud to show these spinning motions."
Day said they look a lot like tornadoes but occur during the colder seasons. "You get a column of spinning moist air that actually drops from the base of the cloud. What's different about a cold air funnel as compared to a tornado is that there's much more structure above the base of the cloud, a lot more rotation, a lot more strength that can spin up a tornado.
"A cold air funnel could cause some gusty winds, move things around a little bit, but they tend to be very short-lived but they can take on the shape of a funnel cloud or tornado." |
There is no denying that play is vital for the developmental needs of a child. It is during this time that a child gets to learn more about the world and get their creative juices flowing. These experiences promote inquisitive minds, critical thinking skills and innovation, which is very much essential later on.
There are multiple considerations when creating an early childhood. In this article, we will discuss on how we can create the perfect home play area for your kids.
Benefits of a Home Play Area
Free play promotes creativity and independence in children. During play, children can experiment with different ways of solving an issue and try out new experiences. Children can use their imaginations to use toys or playground equipment in any way they want to. This teaches children versatility, which would come in useful in the future. Free play also has the benefit of helping kids focus in school.
Time spent on physical activities can help improve the overall health of your child. As children begin to develop physically, it is essential that they learn more about their physical abilities. Through free play, kids are able to learn to be more aware of their surroundings and develop better coordination.
Through their interaction with others, kids can get the opportunity to develop their cognitive and social skills. During games, children would have to work together to achieve certain outcomes/goals. This helps them develop essential communication skills.
Creating the Perfect Home Play Area
Here are some factors to think about in order to create the perfect home play area for your children!
- Consider capacity: Include sufficient play equipment such that the play equipment is not overcrowded, especially when your kids bring friends over.
- Layout of your playground: Ensure that there is sufficient space between the play equipment. This is to ensure that a child playing on one piece doesn’t interfere with another child playing on another. This is especially important for swings and seesaws which require a larger area.
- Age-appropriate equipment: Ensure that the equipment is suitable for the intended age group. Interest-wise, pick out sensory toys for younger kids and equipment for active play for older kids. It is also important to ensure that the size of equipment is appropriate for their use. One example of this is to ensure that the steps and ledges are small enough for your child to climb.
There are safety considerations to keep your home play area safe and comfortable for play.
- the right location: Avoid placing your play area near hazards. Examples of this include near balconies or fragile items
- the right terrain: Play area should be built on fairly flat ground
- Appropriate surfaces: Avoid placing play equipment on hard surfaces such as concrete and blacktop. Consider placing fitness mats underneath the play equipment for extra protection.
- Eliminate any hazards: Watch out for any hazards that might cause harm and rectify them. Some examples of this include debris around the playground that might pose a tripping hazard. |
Definition of Rayahs
1. Noun. (plural of rayah) ¹
¹ Source: wiktionary.com
Definition of Rayahs
1. rayah [n] - See also: rayah
Click the following link to bring up a new window with an automated collection of images related to the term: Rayahs Images
Lexicographical Neighbors of Rayahs
ray of light
rayahs (current term)
Literary usage of Rayahs
Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:
1. The Balkans: A Laboratory of History by William Milligan Sloane (1914)
"There was little interest as to the nationalities of The Creel the rayahs while Turkish rule was strong. They were nearly all Christians of the Byzantine ..."
2. The Balkans: A Laboratory of History by William Milligan Sloane (1914)
"There was little interest as to the nationalities of The Greek the rayahs while Turkish rule was strong. They were nearly all Christians of the Byzantine ..."
3. A Short History of the Near East: From the Founding of Constantinople (330 A by William Stearns Davis (1922)
"THE ARMY; THE JANISSARIES; THE CHRISTIAN rayahs THE ORGANIZATION OF THE OTTOMAN ARMIES Afar from the divan of the viziers and secretaries, ..."
4. The Leisure Hour edited by William Haig Miller, James Macaulay, William Stevens (1876)
"It is more than doubtful whether the groat mas; of the Bulgarian rayahs left to themselves cherish any ..."
5. The Balkan Question: The Present Condition of the Balkans and of European by Luigi Villari (1905)
"... that in which the Christian Powers begin to take an active interest in the conditions and sufferings of the rayahs or Christian subjects of the Porte. ..."
6. Travels in Turkey, Egypt, Nubia, and Palestine, in 1824, 1825, 1826, and 1827 by Richard Robert Madden (1829)
"try of the Christian rayahs. That resource avails no longer, at least to any thing like the extent to which it once did. ..."
7. Through Bosnia and the Herzegóvina on Foot During the Insurrection, August by Arthur Evans (1876)
"... the Men of Nevesinje—Mas- Bacre of Sick rayahs by Native Mahometans hegins the War—Plan of Dervish Pasha's Campaign—Interview with the Governor-General, ..."
8. Travels in the Three Great Empires of Austria, Russia, and Turkey by Charles Boileau Elliott (1838)
"Despotic act. — Shereef pasha. — Syrian government. — Condition of Moslims and rayahs. — Estimate of Mohammed All's character. ..." |
The Royal TS document is basically a simple XML file. In case the file is corrupted, you may receive error messages like this:
- Error opening document [DOCUMENT]. Unexpected end of file has occurred...
- Exception: The header is corrupt
It's always good to have backups of your files. In case you missed to backup your Royal TS document, Royal TS will keep backups automatically (by default) for you.
Royal TS keeps backup copies of your files in %temp% (by default the 10 last versions). Backup is enabled by default and can be turned off or modified in the View -> Options -> General dialog:
Restore from Backup
If a file gets corrupted, you can restore it from the backup:
- Navigate to %temp% (best would be you order the list by Date Modified, descending.
- Look for files with the extension *.rtsbu
- The file name is the GUID of the document.
- To open a backup file, simply rename the [GUID].rtsbu file to [somename].rtsx
- Now you can open the file |
From Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository
Primary source, public domain documents and files relating to cultic phenomenon and the study of religious cults and other kinds of destructive cults.
- Cults: A Conflict Between Religious Liberty and Involuntary Servitude? (1982), Federal Bureau of Investigation
- The Cultic Phenomena: New and Emerging Religious Movements in America (1979), Congressional Research Service
- The Effects of Religious Cults on the Health and Welfare of Their Converts (1977), Congressional Record |
This book offers a unique pathway to methods of parallel optimization by introducing parallel computing ideas and techniques into both optimization theory, and into some numerical algorithms for large-scale optimization problems. The presentation is based on the recent understanding that rigorous mathematical analysis of algorithms, parallel computing techniques, and "hands-on" experimental work on real-world problems must go hand in hand in order to achieve the greatest advantage from novel parallel computing architectures. The three parts of the book thus bring together relevant theory, careful study of algorithms, and modelling of significant real world problems. The problem domains include: image reconstruction, radiation therapy treatment planning, transportation problems, portfolilo management, and matrix estimation. This text can be used both as a reference for researchers and as a text for advanced graduate courses.
Combinatorial (or discrete) optimization is one of the most active fields in the interface of operations research, computer science, and applied math- ematics. Combinatorial optimization problems arise in various applications, including communications network design, VLSI design, machine vision, air- line crew scheduling, corporate planning, computer-aided design and man- ufacturing, database query design, cellular telephone frequency assignment, constraint directed reasoning, and computational biology. Furthermore, combinatorial optimization problems occur in many diverse areas such as linear and integer programming, graph theory, artificial intelligence, and number theory. All these problems, when formulated mathematically as the minimization or maximization of a certain function defined on some domain, have a commonality of discreteness. Historically, combinatorial optimization starts with linear programming. Linear programming has an entire range of important applications including production planning and distribution, personnel assignment, finance, alloca- tion of economic resources, circuit simulation, and control systems. Leonid Kantorovich and Tjalling Koopmans received the Nobel Prize (1975) for their work on the optimal allocation of resources. Two important discover- ies, the ellipsoid method (1979) and interior point approaches (1984) both provide polynomial time algorithms for linear programming. These algo- rithms have had a profound effect in combinatorial optimization. Many polynomial-time solvable combinatorial optimization problems are special cases of linear programming (e.g. matching and maximum flow). In addi- tion, linear programming relaxations are often the basis for many approxi- mation algorithms for solving NP-hard problems (e.g. dual heuristics).
This book shows how the Bayesian Approach (BA) improves well known heuristics by randomizing and optimizing their parameters. That is the Bayesian Heuristic Approach (BHA). The ten in-depth examples are designed to teach Operations Research using Internet. Each example is a simple representation of some impor tant family of real-life problems. The accompanying software can be run by remote Internet users. The supporting web-sites include software for Java, C++, and other lan guages. A theoretical setting is described in which one can discuss a Bayesian adaptive choice of heuristics for discrete and global optimization prob lems. The techniques are evaluated in the spirit of the average rather than the worst case analysis. In this context, "heuristics" are understood to be an expert opinion defining how to solve a family of problems of dis crete or global optimization. The term "Bayesian Heuristic Approach" means that one defines a set of heuristics and fixes some prior distribu tion on the results obtained. By applying BHA one is looking for the heuristic that reduces the average deviation from the global optimum. The theoretical discussions serve as an introduction to examples that are the main part of the book. All the examples are interconnected. Dif ferent examples illustrate different points of the general subject. How ever, one can consider each example separately, too.
Ethnographic Research: A Guide to General Conduct is the first in the ASA Research Methods series. This volume is about ethnographic research, the production of data, and the practical aspects of research practice. It is general and introductory in scope. Designed as a handbook, it is suitable for rapid reference. It provides basic outlines on general practical matters of concern to all those engaged in ethnographic research, introduces the series as a whole, and serves as a guide to existing literature on issues not specifically covered by the more specialized volumes which follow.
This book introduces a novel approach to discrete optimization, providing both theoretical insights and algorithmic developments that lead to improvements over state-of-the-art technology. The authors present chapters on the use of decision diagrams for combinatorial optimization and constraint programming, with attention to general-purpose solution methods as well as problem-specific techniques. The book will be useful for researchers and practitioners in discrete optimization and constraint programming. "Decision Diagrams for Optimization is one of the most exciting developments emerging from constraint programming in recent years. This book is a compelling summary of existing results in this space and a must-read for optimizers around the world." [Pascal Van Hentenryck]
Web Basic Articles
Web Basic Books |
Background: High-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels in premenopausal and postmenopausal women are differentially affected by exogenous sex hormones depending on their apolipoprotein E (apo E) genotype. Because endogenous sex hormones markedly increase during pregnancy, we examined whether HDL-C declines after a first birth varied by apo E polymorphisms. Methods: In 1147 nulliparas (416 black, 731 white), fasting blood samples (nonpregnant) were drawn at baseline and at follow-up years 5, 7, and 10. Time-dependent pregnancy groups included 0 pregnancies (P0), 1+ short pregnancy (P1+), 1 birth (B1), 2 or more births (B2+). ApoE groups by alleles identified with a phenotype method included E4 (4/3 and 4/4), E3 (3/3), and E2 (2/2 and 3/2). Differences in adjusted mean HDL-C changes among pregnancy groups and ApoE groups were examined using repeated measures multiple linear regression. Results: HDL-C declines associated with parity (one or more births) depended on ApoE group (ApoE*Pregnancy Interaction; p < 0.002). For B1 and B2+ vs. P0, HDL-C declines were -2.4 to -2.7 mg/dl in E4 and -3.4 to -4.1 mg/dl in E3. In E2, HDL-C declines were -6.6 mg/dl for one birth, and -11.5 mg/dl for two or more births, each relative to the 0 pregnancies (P0) group (linear trend, p < 0.001). Conclusions: The degree to which childbearing adversely affects long-term HDL-C declines varies by apo E phenotype, based on a method that accurately classifies genotype. Our findings show that 2/2 and 3/2 genotypes are associated with larger parity-related HDL-C declines than 3/3, 4/3, and 4/4 genotypes.
ASJC Scopus subject areas |
Have you ever looked into your guinea pig’s cage and noticed them flip over their house sometimes?
They might have a little hut, igloo, or hideout that they constantly tip over when they feel like it.
Most of the time a guinea pig can even look proud that they’ve done it, so why do guinea pigs flip over their house?
The main reasons why guinea pigs flip their house over are:
- Because they like to rearrange the things in their cage.
- They’ll flip things over when they’re mad.
- When they think their cage or house is too small.
- If they’re trying to get a better angle so that they can chew on it.
So it’s true that they can do it for a lot of different reasons, but luckily there are some easy ways to get them to stop if you don’t want them to do it anymore.
Table of Contents
Why Does My Guinea Pig Flip Over Their House?
If you have a guinea pig that flips over their house then sometimes it can be a confusing behavior to see happen.
This is mainly because like most of their behaviors it can have multiple meanings when they do it.
The first reason why they’ll knock over their little house is that some guinea pigs just like rearranging the items that are in their cage.
So this can happen when they don’t like the spot that a certain item is in so they’ll push it around and turn it over to how they want it.
It’s fun and almost like a game for them and it’s kind of like interior decorating for guinea pigs.
The second reason why they’ll do it is when something around them it’s starting to make them a little upset.
For example, if another guinea pig in the cage is harassing them, even playfully, then they may start to act out and begin to flip things over.
It can sometimes be hard to tell when your guinea pig is mad, but this can be one of the smaller signs that they are.
Another reason why a guinea pig will flip their house over is if they think that their cage or house is too small for them.
If they don’t have enough room to run around and release all of their pent-up energy then you may see this happen.
It’s the same with flipping over their little igloo or hut as well, because when they do this, for them it can seem like they’re creating some extra space for themselves.
Guinea pigs will also flip over their house so that they can try to get a better angle to chew on it.
They will try to chew on any and everything that they can get their little hands on, so it’s no surprise that they will try to chew on their house after they’ve tipped it over.
Is It Normal For A Guinea Pig To Flip Over Their House?
It is natural to want to know if their house flipping behavior is normal if you have ever seen your guinea pig do it.
It’s one of those odd things that you’ll see them do every now and then, but is it a normal thing for them to do?
Generally, it’s normal for a guinea pig to try to knock over their house when they feel like it.
Most of the time when it comes to guinea pigs it would actually be unusual if they didn’t do it every so often.
A lot of guinea pigs just like to rearrange their stuff to how they like it, and usually, that’s a good thing.
The reason why it can be a good thing is that it can mean that they still care enough and have enough energy to do these types of activities.
Guinea pigs will try to move around a lot of things in their cage, so you’ll see them knock over their food bowl, their toys, and their house, and it’s all very normal for them to do.
Will Guinea Pigs Always Try To Flip Over Their House?
Like their houses, guinea pigs can flip over a lot of the items in their cage so much that sometimes it can even seem like they prefer it this way.
Sometimes you may even see them turn it over as soon as you put their house back in the right position too. So is this something that they will always try to do throughout their lives?
Most of the time some guinea pigs will do it as they continue to get older and that’s completely normal behavior.
However, some guinea pigs can stop flipping over their house sometimes as well. So it usually depends on the reason why they’re doing it in the first place.
If they’re doing it because they don’t have enough space in their cage or if their house is too small for them, then they may stop once they get a bigger cage and house.
But if flipping over their house is something that they like to do and it’s fun for them, then they most likely won’t stop unless you intervene in some way.
Should You Stop A Guinea Pig From Flipping Over Their House?
Sometimes when a guinea pig flips over their house they’ll put it back to how it was themselves, but most of the time you’ll have to fix it for them.
Constantly doing this can start to become slightly annoying over time, so is this something that you should stop them from doing?
Most of the time trying to stop your guinea pig from knocking over their little igloo or hut won’t always work out how you want it to.
Guinea pigs are mainly going to do what they want and sometimes that means flipping over their house.
So when they rearrange the items in their cage it’s just what they want to do and it’s usually fine to let them continue doing it.
However, there are some simple things that you can try to help stop them from doing it all the time.
For example, if they’re doing it because they don’t like the size of their cage or house, then getting them a larger sized cage or house may stop them from doing it.
A larger-sized house can also help stop them from knocking it over because they won’t be able to get the angle that would allow them to flip it over as well.
If that’s not the reason why they’re doing it and you want them to stop, then getting them a house that is a little bit heavier may help.
A heavy house can make it so that they won’t be strong enough to physically pick it up and turn it over.
They’ll still be able to push it around to where they want it which can make them happy, and you won’t have to constantly come back to their cage and flip their house back over. |
Toxic Pollutants: Materials that cause death, disease, or birth defects in organisms that ingest
or absorb them. The quantities and exposures necessary to cause these effects can vary
CWA: (13) The term ``toxic pollutant'' means those pollutants, or combinations of pollutants, including
disease-causing agents, which after discharge and upon exposure, ingestion, inhalation or assimilation
into any organism, either directly from the environment or indirectly by ingestion through food chains,
will, on the basis of information available to the Administrator, cause death, disease, behavioral
abnormalities, cancer, genetic mutations, physiological malfunctions (including malfunctions in
reproduction) or physical deformations, in such organisms or their offspring
[Humans are one category of Organisms -- see RCRA Hazardous Waste]
Organism: Any form of animal or plant life.
1 : a complex structure of interdependent and subordinate elements whose relations and properties
are largely determined by their function in the whole
2 : an individual constituted to carry on the activities of life by means of organs separate in function but
mutually dependent : a living being
RCRA: (5) The term ``hazardous waste'' means a solid waste, or combination of solid wastes,
which because of its quantity, concentration, or physical, chemical, or infectious
characteristics may-- (A) cause, or significantly contribute to an increase in mortality or an
increase in serious irreversible, or incapacitating reversible, illness; or
(B) pose a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or the environment when
improperly treated, stored, transported, or disposed of, or otherwise managed.
CWA: 3) it is the national policy that the discharge of toxic pollutants in toxic amounts be
prohibited EPA's Section 304(a) criteria for Priority Toxic Pollutants: [1.) Antimony; 2. ) Arsenic;
3.) Beryllium; 4.) Cadmium; 5.) Chromium (III) - Chromium (VI); 6. ) Copper; 7.) Lead; 8.)
Mercury;9.) Nickel; 10.) Selenium; 11.) Silver; 12.) Thallium; 13.) Zinc; 14. )Cyanide; 15. )
Asbestos; 16.) 2,3,7,8-TCDD (Dioxin)] Short list of sludge contamination.
Toxic Chemical: Any chemical listed in EPA rules as "Toxic Chemicals Subject to Section 313 of the
Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986."
Toxic Substance: A chemical or mixture that may present an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the
Toxic Waste: A waste that can produce injury if inhaled, swallowed, or absorbed through the skin.
Toxicant: A harmful substance or agent that may injure an exposed organism.
Toxicity: The degree to which a substance or mixture of substances can harm humans or animals.
Acute toxicity involves harmful effects in an organism through a single or short-term exposure. Chronic
toxicity is the ability of a substance or mixture of substances to cause harmful effects over an extended
period, usually upon repeated or continuous exposure sometimes lasting for the entire life of the
exposed organism. Subchronic toxicity is the ability of the substance to cause effects for more than one
year but less than the lifetime of the exposed organism.
Pollutant: Generally, any substance introduced into the environment that adversely affects the
usefulness of a resource or the health of humans, animals, or ecosystems..
CWA: (6) The term ``pollutant'' means dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, sewage, garbage,
sewage sludge, munitions, chemical wastes, biological materials, radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or
discarded equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt and industrial, municipal, and agricultural waste discharged
503.9(t) Pollutant is an organic substance, an inorganic substance, a combination of organic and
inorganic substances, or a pathogenic organism that, after discharge and upon exposure, ingestion,
inhalation, or assimilation into an organism either directly from the environment or indirectly by ingestion
through the food chain, could, on the basis of information available to the Administrator of EPA, cause
death, disease, behavioral abnormalities, cancer, genetic mutations, physiological malfunctions
(including malfunction in reproduction), or physical deformations in either organisms or offspring of the
[NOTE: This definition specifically relates as well to the nine pollutants listed in 503.13
Coliform testing with list of bacteria |
death metal underground
The Ultimate Death Metal Resource
Death Metal Search Engine
Chronical Diarrhoea - The Last Judgement
Review: One of the problems of hardcore music was a lack of documentation or any central authority because the movement was underground and thus, past a few central bands, there were many worthy acts who were never recognized. Thrash -- the genre formed of the hybrid between speed metal and hardcore punk, starting around 1982 -- similarly suffered, and while most people can recognize COC or MDC as important to the genre, very few people identify bands like Chronical Diarrhoea.
In sound, this band is similar to later DRI in that it uses blocky metal riffs with punk undertones in simple hardcore song structures adapted to the specifics of what each song is expressing; influences from the Cro-Mags and Murphy's Law are also evident. While the riffing is not as advanced or distinctive as that of DRI, songs here have a gentleness and beauty that is not achieved elsewhere in the genre; for starters, this vocalist makes punk-style singing wrap itself around graceful but simple melodies. Chronical Diarrhoea present above all else the exuberant energy of youth that both cannot wait to grow up and cannot get enough of life as is, expanding toward both positive and negative opinions with a joy of living that betrays a basic belief that life is good, and any anger herein is directed toward its objects because they are believed to be capable of change and therefore, should they aspire to free will, should be urged toward it.
Plenty of goofy interludes and jokes and vocal kinks intrude, but over time listening to a CD, these are what is forgotten and not what is retained. Pace of songs varies well and there are plenty of quintessential standoffish punk riffs, as well as hilarious vocal characterizations of society (in the sense of Bad Brains or Suicidal Tendencies); if it has any weakness, it is that the punk style of riffing drones repetitive over time, inevitably. However, at once this album is both a comforting affirmation of order and an encouragement to do better, and in that it unites the best of hardcore and metal even though both genres are effectively deceased at the time of this writing. |
I have some questions on this paper, as Rigobon and Sack’s writings were rather abstract as for the estimation of the beta coefficient.
On page 11, is the beta coefficient being directly estimated by plugging in constant changes in variances and covariances across regimes? or variances/covariances within each regime are also changing in the equation?
I have tried to put the estimates from the table II on the paper, but by assuming constant changes in variances and covariances across regimes, I am not getting the beta estimate found by Rigobon and Sack. My beta coefficient is becoming 0.16 whereas the coefficient on the paper was estimated to be 0.21. I greatly appreciate any help. Thank you. |
- 7Best (Celebrity Lookalikes. 6/7)
- Do the Aussies Know Something We Don’t?
- Here’s the Problem.
- Islam, the Religion of Peace?
- How To Be a Muslim Leader
- The Pink Cardie Brigade in Britain & How to Fight Back!
- Cartoon of the Day
- Pic of the Day (Promise)
- The Lies Just Keep On Comin’
- 5.7 Hits CA this Afternoon/8 Aftershocks
- Big Earthquake in CA
- A Fighting Letter from FOX News
- Ed Hillary Was A Brit!
- Pic of the Day
- $100k Comic Found in Wall
- 7Best (Celebrity Lookalikes. 5/7)
- Quote of the Day (Cameron)
- The Real Face of the South London Tragedy
- The Essence of Obama’s Way
- Cartoon of the Day (IRS vs NZ)
Buy my book: The Bloodred Tree |
EVENT: African Forum on Youth Skills & Enterprise in the Digital Age
DATE: 15th – 16th November 2017
LOCATION: Rabat, Kingdom of Morocco
THEME: "Harnessing Demographic Dividend through Investments in the Youth"
This forum is an activity of the CESA-ICT in #Education Cluster
Co-organized by: AUC-HRST, GESCI, ADEA, ISESCO, UNICEF, JP-IK
Sponsors: IFIC-AUF, ITWORX
- Developing a shared and commanding understanding of how digital technologies can be leveraged for skilling the youth and empowering them to create entreprise in the digital era and lead the socio-economic transformation of their communities.
- Sharing knowledge, experiences, good practices and lessons learnt to better inform policies and programmes aiming at skilling the youth and entreprise creation in the digital age.
- Raising awareness on the necessity to build strong skill sets and volunteer political commitment to explore innovative approaches for leveraging digital technologies for youth skilling and entreprise creation.
- Promoting youth digital skills and entreprise high level policy dialogue platform and network that includes the public sector (ministries, agencies and institutions in charge of vocational education and youth, Regional Economic Communities - RECs); development cooperation agencies and international organizations; private sector; civil society and youth organizations. Such a policy platform and network are necessary for the development of the ecosystem that will foster partnerships to advance policy and strategy development and implementation.
- Sharing Youth’s digital skills development and entreprise creation strategies to help address youth unemployment and bridging the skills gap within Africa by identifying game-changing experiences and lessons learnt.
- Creating a platform for the promotion of the competitiveness and attractiveness of TVET sectors across Africa by identifying innovative and creative skills through an “African creative skills competition”.
Read more: http://bit.ly/2voW9nF |
Page 2: Conclusions from the analysis of the external environment
A sustainable building is one that limits energy use and scarce resources. This is vital because 26% of the UK's energy use is linked to heating buildings.
- Governments will use building regulations and planning permission controls to meet the Kyoto protocol.
- Outer town developments will be restricted in favour of inner city developments including brownfield sites.
- There will be a shortage of housing as demand increases because of more households and increased life expectancy.
- Land will be increasingly scarce and therefore expensive especially in the South-East so it will have to accommodate more people per acre, through dense development.
- As car ownership increases, there will be a 50% increase in car journeys. |
What Is Iron Deficiency Anemia?
Iron deficiency anemia is when your body doesn’t have enough red blood cells.
Red blood cells carry oxygen from your lungs to the rest of your body. Every organ and tissue in your body needs oxygen to work. Without enough oxygen in your blood, and you may feel tired, weak, and short of breath.
Your doctor will find out why your iron is low. Usually, you can treat iron deficiency anemia with supplements. Once your iron levels go up, you should start to feel better.
Symptoms of Iron Deficiency Anemia
Mild iron deficiency anemia often isn't noticeable. When it gets more severe, you may have these symptoms:
- Fatigue or weakness
- Pale or yellow skin
- Shortness of breath
- Dizziness or lightheadedness
- Fast or irregular heartbeat
- Chest pain
- Cold feet and hands
- Brittle, cracked nails, spoon-shaped nails
- Hair loss
- Cracks near the side of your mouth
- Pica (cravings for things that aren't food, like dirt, starch, clay, or ice)
- Sore and swollen tongue
- Restless legs syndrome (an urge to move your legs while you’re in bed)
Because these can also be symptoms of other conditions, see your doctor to get a diagnosis.
Causes of Iron Deficiency Anemia
Your diet is low in iron. How much iron you need depends on your age and gender. Men need at least 8 milligrams daily. Women ages 50 and younger need more -- 18 milligrams.
Your body can't absorb iron. Iron from the foods you eat is absorbed in your small intestine. Conditions like celiac disease, ulcerative colitis, or Crohn's disease can make it harder for your intestines to absorb iron. Surgery such as gastric bypass that removes part of your intestines, and medicines used to lower stomach acid can also affect your body's ability to absorb iron.
Blood loss. Some conditions can make you bleed inside your body, including:
Heavy periods. Women with heavy periods can become low in iron.
Injuries. Any injury that causes you to lose blood can cause iron deficiency anemia.
Frequent blood donations. You should wait at least 8 weeks between blood donations.
Pregnancy. When you’re expecting, you need extra iron to nourish your growing baby. If you don't get enough iron from your diet or supplements, you can become deficient.
End-stage kidney failure. If you are getting dialysis for end-stage kidney failure, you can lose blood. Some people with end-stage kidney failure also take medications that can cause iron-deficiency anemia.
Medications. Aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can cause internal gastrointestinal bleeding. Proton pump inhibitors, used to control acid reflux, can prevent your body from absorbing enough iron.
Chronic health conditions that cause inflammation. This can include congestive heart failure as well as obesity.
Risk Factors of Iron Deficiency Anemia
Different factors can raise your risk of getting iron deficiency anemia. Some can be changed and some cannot. Risk factors include:
Age. Children aged 6 months to 2 years, teens, and adults over the age of 65 are most at risk.
Lifestyle. This can include exercising a lot (including endurance sports) and not eating enough foods rich in iron.
Lead. Lead from water or from environmental sources can get in the way of making red blood cells.
Family history and genetics. Two inherited diseases, hemophilia and von Willebrand disease, can cause you to bleed more and lose iron.
Gender. Girls and women who have heavy periods or are pregnant or breastfeeding need more iron.
Diagnosis of Iron Deficiency Anemia
Your doctor will do one or more of these blood tests to find out if you have iron deficiency anemia.
- Complete blood count (CBC). This test checks to see how many red blood cells you have.
- Peripheral blood smear. This test looks at the size and shape of your red blood cells. In iron deficiency anemia, red blood cells are smaller than usual.
- Hematocrit. This test shows how much of your blood is made up of red cells.
- Hemoglobin. This test shows the amount of this protein in your blood. If you have anemia, your hemoglobin will be low.
- Serum iron. This test shows how much iron is in your blood.
- Ferritin. This test shows how much iron is stored in your body by measuring this protein.
- Transferrin and total iron-binding capacity (TIBC). These tests show how much of a protein called transferrin is free to carry iron through your body.
- Reticulocyte count. This test shows how many reticulocytes (immature red blood cells) you have in your blood. If you have iron deficiency anemia, your reticulocyte count is usually low because you’re not making many new red blood cells.
If blood tests show you have iron deficiency anemia, you might need other tests like these to see what's causing it.
- Endoscopy. Your doctor uses a tube with a camera on one end to look inside your esophagus or colon. Endoscopy can find bleeding in your GI tract from ulcers, polyps, or other growths.
- Pelvic ultrasound or uterinebiopsy. If you bleed a lot during your monthly periods, this test can find the cause.
- Fecal occult blood test. This test looks for tiny amounts of blood in your poop to check for cancer and other causes of bleeding in your intestines.
Treatment of Iron Deficiency Anemia
You can treat iron deficiency anemia by taking iron supplements. Most people take 150 to 200 milligrams each day, but your doctor will recommend a dose based on your iron levels. Taking vitamin C helps your body absorb the iron.
You might need to take iron supplements for a few months or more to get your levels to normal. If your intestines don't absorb iron well, you can take iron straight into your bloodstream through an intravenous tube (IV).
Your symptoms should start to go away after about a week. Your doctor will check your blood to see if your anemia has improved.
You can also get more iron in your diet by eating more of these foods:
- Beef, pork, liver, chicken, turkey, duck, and shellfish
- Leafy greens such as broccoli, kale, turnip greens, and collard greens
- Peas, lima beans, black-eyed peas, and pinto beans
- Iron-enriched cereals and other grains
- Dried fruits, such as prunes and raisins
Eating foods high in iron may also prevent anemia.
If supplements don't help with your symptoms or your anemia is severe, you might need a transfusion of red blood cells. Or, if you have an ulcer, tumor, or other growth, it may need to be treated with medicines or surgery.
Complications of Iron Deficiency Anemia
If you don’t know you have iron deficiency anemia or if you know you have it but aren’t getting the right treatment, you could end up with complications such as:
- A higher risk of infection. This is because your immune system may not be working properly.
- Problems with pregnancy. This can include preterm delivery and low-birth-weight babies.
- Heart problems. Without enough red blood cells, your heart has to pump harder to get enough nutrients to the rest of your body. This causes strain, which can lead to heart failure, irregular heartbeat, an enlarged heart, or a heart murmur.
- Developmental delays in children. This can include cognitive problems and motor problems. |
Nuclear fusion: it’s the energy source that has powered our sun for billions of years. Now, it’s the bright star scientists are following to save us all from fossil fuel dependency.
Natural gas is the National Grid’s main resource, used to power 41 per cent of the UK’s electricity. Globally, 80 per cent of the world’s energy is derived from fossil fuels.
With the Government’s net-zero aims for 2050 and beyond, energy suppliers have been set a target to produce net-zero energy by 2035.
Bioenergy, offshore wind and nuclear energy will almost certainly have to do most of the heavy lifting to meet that target. For the long-term vision, though – and it could take decades – scientists are working to crack the code that could give us the “holy grail”: a limitless amount of clean energy.
What is nuclear fusion?
Very simply, nuclear fusion is the act of combining two light atoms against one another, creating a new, heavier one. This process lets off an abundant amount of energy.
Nuclear fusion is not to be confused with nuclear fission, which splits atoms rather than fusing them. Fission gave birth to the atomic bomb and existing nuclear power. It emits harmful radiation and produces radioactive waste. The by-product of a nuclear fusion reaction is helium, and there’s not much to worry about a gas which is used to fill party balloons.
The reason nuclear fusion is so hot and desirable right now compared to existing renewable energy sources is because the amount of clean energy it could produce if commercialised is unprecedented. There would be enough energy produced to power homes for thousands of years and it would be completely free of carbon.
History of nuclear fusion
The theory of nuclear fusion was first speculated in the 1920s when British astrophysicist Arthur Eddington published a paper suggesting stars drew their energy from the fusion of hydrogen into helium. At the time, what stars consisted of and the source of their energy was a complete mystery.
One of the brains behind the atomic and hydrogen bomb, Hans Bethe, later went on to prove this theory in the lab – consequently winning a Nobel Prize.
In the following decades, active efforts were made to replicate the nuclear fusion process using the Soviet-born tokamak, a doughnut-shaped machine which uses magnetic fields to confine a plasma – a hot gas of ions and free electrons.
It was time the UK got in on the act, and Culham, near Oxford was given the honour of being the UK’s laboratory for nuclear fusion research. The sleepy village’s airfield came under the wing of the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) in 1960 and transformed into the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy (CCFE).
It was at here that the Joint European Torus (JET) project was introduced in the 1980s, a pan-European research project and home to the world’s most advanced tokamak.
JET’s success ultimately led to the international nuclear fusion research project ITER (the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) in southern France. The brainchild of Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan, ITER will be the largest tokamak in the world once fully completed in 2035.
Where are we currently with nuclear fusion?
The aim for the international community is to achieve a breakthrough in commercialising nuclear fusion. That’s difficult, and there’s a decades-old joke in the nuclear fusion industry that commercial fusion is always about 30 years away.
To achieve it, scientists need to create more energy from nuclear fusion than it takes to power the reaction.
At the dawn of 2022, scientists claimed a major nuclear fusion breakthrough when JET produced the most amount of fusion energy than ever before.
Although it still took more energy to use than to produce, scientists claimed this could be overcome when plasmas are scaled up – like at ITER, which hopes to achieve breakeven and then a ten-fold return on power.
At the end of the year, scientists in California then achieved a net energy gain from a fusion reaction for the first time in history using 192 lasers rather than a tokamak – what is known as inertial fusion. However, the total energy needed for the lasers and the project itself still consumed more energy than was produced.
For fusion to be truly commercially viable, the energy output would need to be significantly more and over a much longer period.
That achievement has let inertial fusion into the room, though, which to date has only attracted a small slice of nuclear fusion investment. Something which will now likely change.
To scale up the UK’s fusion operations, the Government has announced that West Burton in Nottinghamshire will be the site for the UK’s prototype fusion energy plant – an area currently dominated by a large power station – with the aim of being built by 2040. UKAEA will produce a concept design for this by the end of this year.
The plant will be the home of the STEP programme (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production) which the UK Government will pump £220m to.
Who’s developing nuclear fusion in the UK?
Based down the road from Culham, Tokamak Energy is developing tokamaks and high temperature superconducting magnets, pursuing commercial fusion.
A spin-off from CCFE, the company employs a team of experts from the UK and around the world.
“Tokamak Energy aims to demonstrate clean, grid-ready power by the early 2030s,” its CEO Chris Kelsall tells Growth Business. “We’re looking to create significant amounts of energy to power future electricity grids, provide heat for hard to abate industrial sectors and create clean hydrogen for a range of applications.
“Our objective is to have a solution that can be low cost, and genuinely deployable in many countries to address climate change and energy security.”
Tokamak Energy signed an agreement with UKAEA in October to closely collaborate and will build a new tokamak at Culham, due to be fully operational in 2027.
“Our ST80-HTS advanced prototype will demonstrate the advantages of the spherical tokamak with HTS magnets, informing and helping us to optimise the design of our fusion pilot plant,” Kelsall says.
“The ST-E1 fusion power plant is targeting the early 2030s. Its core mission will be Q greater than around 25, and to demonstrate the capability to put electricity into the grid ahead of the first of a kind device in the mid-2030s.”
“Q” is the symbol for fusion energy gain. For perspective, ITER is setting its sights on 10, meaning a ten-fold return on power.
“From there, we are looking at global deployment.”
First Light Fusion
Based at Culham, First Light Fusion is a start-up focusing on inertial fusion – the method which saw the breakthrough in California.
In January, it signed an agreement with the UKAEA to build a demonstration facility – also at Culham – at a cost of £30m.
Over the last 12 years, the business has grown from a research-focused university project to a fully-fledged company that has developed not only a new approach for how to make fusion energy work, but what it believes is a sustainable business model based on its technology.
“We take an innovative and unique approach to fusion,” the company says. “Our approach, a form of inertial confinement fusion called projectile fusion, creates the extreme temperatures and pressures required to achieve fusion by compressing a target containing fusion fuel using a projectile travelling at a tremendous speed.
“This differs from approaches pursued by other mainstream fusion companies in that it doesn’t involve using complex, energy-intensive, expensive lasers, or magnets. First Light’s approach is simpler, cheaper, more energy-efficient, and has lower physics risk.”
First Light co-founder and CEO Nick Hawker drew inspiration for this confinement process from the pistol shrimp, a crustacean which clicks its claw to form cavities or bubbles in the surrounding water, producing a shockwave which stuns its prey. The air inside these cavities is heated as they implode, causing a plasma to form. Apart from supernovas, it’s the only known example of inertial confinement in nature that we know of.
“Our equipment is relatively simple, built-in large part from readily available components. We believe this approach accelerates the journey towards commercial fusion power as there is a large amount of existing engineering that can be leveraged and reused to realise its proposed plant design.”
Is there enough funding for nuclear fusion?
Investment into nuclear fusion is heating up. More was invested in nuclear fusion in a 12-month period than in the past decade last year with £2.5bn and £1.6bn invested respectively.
“Support for our technology has really taken off in the past two years,” Kelsall says. “The level of awareness, interest and engagement with the investment community has been palpable.
“We’re currently evaluating opportunities with potential financial investors and strategic partners to support our plans to demonstrate clean, grid-ready fusion power by the early 2030s.”
Most nuclear fusion funding comes from venture capitalists and high-net worth individuals, prompting physicists to ask the question of whether the Government, too, can do more to fuel the industry.
The research centre in Culham has been publicly funded through UKAEA, which in recent years has been a hotbed of public-private partnerships.
According to the Department for Business, Energy and Industry Strategy, the UK economy has gained £1.4bn from its £346.7m investment into fusion energy between 2009 and 2019.
Despite this, the level of investment in fusion is still dwarfed by mainstream energy sources.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of nuclear fusion?
- Produces a plentiful supply of clean energy
- Doesn’t produce radioactive waste, like nuclear fission
- Get it right, and it’s a fantastically cheap source of energy – one estimate claims it would cost £0.02 per kilowatt hour. To put that in context, for the same amount of energy electricity costs 34p and gas 10p
- Barring some miraculous breakthrough, nuclear fusion won’t be able to help global targets to reduce emissions
- If there aren’t any significant technical and technological advances, nuclear fusion will not be feasible in its current state
- We are in unchartered waters and any negative unforeseen consequences of commercial use of it could yet reveal itself
What are the chances of using nuclear fusion to power the grid in future?
Because of timeframe scientists are working on, around a quarter of scientists working at the JET facility are at the early stage of their careers, so they can hand down the baton of knowledge to the next generation.
First Light Fusion is more optimistic, betting on commercial fusion being available within the next 10 years because of the number of projects working on it around the world.
The UK’s STEP project is aiming to connect to the National Grid in the 2040s, while California-based TAE Technologies, the world’s largest fusion company, is aiming to have a commercial power plant by 2030.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), though, say widespread commercial use of nuclear fusion is expected to take place in the second half of this century, depending on funding and technical advancements. That makes it about 30 years away. |
SeSAm (Shell for Simulated Agent Systems) provides a generic environment for modelling and experimenting with agent-based simulation. We specially focused on providing a tool for the easy construction of complex models, which include dynamic interdependecies or emergent behaviour.
- Easy visual agent modelling,
- Flexible environment and situation definition,
- The whole power of a programming language,
- Integrated graphical simulation analysis ,
- Distribution of simulation runs in your LAN ,
- and many further features....
SeSAm is usefull for simulations in many application domains, such as:
- Logistics (coordination, storage layout optimization, software test,,..),
- Production (factory, optimized plans for different requirements,..)
- Traffic (avoidance of traffic jams, traffic light control, route choice..),
- Passenger Flow (market improvement, evacuation of buildings)
- Health Care (optimization of clinical processes, reduction of costs)
- Biology (understanding of insect behaviour, testing theories)
- and many other domains....
SeSAm is a tool for so called agent based simulation. Agents are active entities of the simulation and their behaviour is implemented with activity diagrams. Based on an extensive number of primitive components, a user is able to design a simulation graphically without knowing the syntax of a traditional programming language.
The model specification is executable in the same environment and the dynamics of this simulation may be observed. As there are freely configurable instruments for gathering data and scripting options for constructing simulation experiments, SeSAm is a highly valuable tool for MAS simulations especially for complex models with flexible agent behaviour and interactions. |
Submitted to: HortScience
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: April 29, 1996
Publication Date: N/A
Interpretive Summary: The development of acceptable commodity treatments for pest control and quality maintenance is important for the export and marketing of agricultural commodities. Cold treatment is a very safe and effective quarantine treatment for citrus, but its use is hampered by chilling injury to the fruit. We determined if oils in the rind of lemon play a role in causing fruit chilling injury. The rind was severely pitted after 3 weeks or more of storage at 1C. Curing the fruit at 15C for 1 week prior to cold treatment greatly reduced the amount of injury. Chilling-injured fruit released from the rind larger amounts of oils than noninjured fruit. The internal structure of the rind and oil glands did not reveal any abnormal changes as a result of chilling injury. A better understanding of the release of oils from chilling-injured fruit would assist in lessening injury in lemons for export.
Technical Abstract: Essential oils release, localization and concentration in chilling-injured and noninjured lemon (Citrus limon (L.) Burm.) fruit were investigated to enhance understanding of how chilling injury occurs in lemon. Chilling injury in the form of moderate to severe pitting of the flavedo was initially apparent after 3 weeks exposure to 1C, followed by a gradual increase in severity until termination of the experiment after 7 weeks of storage at 1C. Curing the fruit at 15C for 1 week prior to cold treatment greatly reduced the severity of injury. Release from the fruit of d- limonene, a major component of essential oil in lemon, increased with increasing amounts of chilling injury. Studies of the internal anatomy of the flavedo using confocal microscopy indicated that essential oils were present inside of the oil gland and in oil bodies outside of the gland in abundant quantities. Chilling-injured flavedo exhibited no obvious disruption of either the oil glands or the oil bodies. Extraction and quantification of d-limonene from chilling-injured and noninjured flavedo indicated that quite similar amounts of oil were present in the tissue, regardless of injury. Damage to the flavedo after 3 weeks at 1C was noted in the form of flattened or collapsed cells between the top of the gland and the epidermis, whereas collapse of the oil gland only was observed in later stages of injury development. |
A key step in the evolution of multi-cellularity has been reproduced in the lab, and it involves the death of cells. Will Ratcliff, Micheal Travisano, Ford Denison and Mark Borrello of University of Minnesota (UMN) recreated the process of cell death in multi-cellular organisms. The subject of the study – the humble Brewer’s yeast! Their work figures in the week’s issue of the prestigious journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
The Division of Labor and Cell Death!
The Brewer’s yeast is a single-celled organism and it was seen to evolve into multi-cellular families or clusters that worked as a unit, employing the principle of division of labor. This is a major step from single-celled to multi-celled organisms. A single cell needs to do all it has to sustain itself on its own. What multi-cellularity introduces is the concept of labor division and, thereby, specialization. Certain cells can specialize in a certain way, and other cells in other ways and they can then sustain each other. An important process in this organizational structure is the faculty of cell death.
Cells have an inherent program designed to ensure that they have a tendency to die. Apoptosis is the term used to describe this kind of programmed cell death. It occurs in multi-cellular organisms and is to the advantage of the living organism. How this program evolved in single-celled organisms before they clump up to form multi-cellular organisms is a major question. As Ratcliff puts it nicely, a clump is not really multi-cellular:
A cluster alone isn’t multi-cellular. But when cells in a cluster cooperate, make sacrifices for the common good, and adapt to change, that’s an evolutionary transition to multi-cellularity.
Sacrifice for a greater good – what’s the evolutionary background to that? And how long does it take?
This is how the experiment was conducted.
Saccharomyces cerevisiae or Brewer’s yeast was chosen and grown on a nutrient rich substrate in a test-tube for a day. Then they centrifuged the culture. Clusters of cells landed in the bottom of the test-tube. This was repeated every day for sixty days. What they found was that the balls of cells were not just balls of cells anymore, but had become fully-cooperative and acted as a unit. Cells remained attached after cell division and did not simply branch off. After a certain size of the cluster, cells started to die off – as if the program for apoptosis had been switched on! This was the onset of true multi-cellularity.
What about reproduction? Reproduction happened asexually as is typical for yeasts. Budding happens along ‘fault lines’ created by rows of dead cells. However, the budding process occurred only after the yeast achieved adulthood, which was ascertained by the size of the clump.
Just to point out, the greatest wonder of this is that the road from unicellularity to multi-cellularity took so little time! This hardly seems like a bottleneck evolutionary development, which occurs after a long standstill. This process took just 60 days! Two months is utterly insignificant in evolutionary timescale.
Cancer… And more
Current medical research into cancer leads one to believe that cancer is just a vestigial process of apoptosis, which can be directly traced to the origin of multicellularity. However, little is known and the researchers hope that this will shed some critical light on the whole issue. Travisano says:
Multi-cellular yeast is a valuable resource for investigating a wide variety of medically and biologically important topics. Cancer was recently described as a fossil from the origin of multi-cellularity, which can be directly investigated with the yeast system.
A lot of hope and a great opportunity all due to a humble microbe. |
A Business Analyst is a business problem solver, capable of analyzing the business to identify problems and/ or opportunities and to define solution characteristics. A Business Analyst can be a liaison between the business and technical worlds, but is not intoxicated by
||SYSTEMS ANALYST ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES
technology, and not the end user. They provide the process, questions, and techniques to efficiently extract the information needed from the Business Users for successful application development projects. A Business Analyst can also be an integral part of strategic planning, business
innovation, or reengineering effort to help select the right projects and/or facilitate the analysis of what needs to be done to bring the
business (or part of it ) to a desired future state.
Why Business Analysis
A global resurgence in business analysis is taking place. The increased pressure to innovate, do more with less, and succeed in environments with short attention spans has organizations scrambling to build business analysis capabilities.
- Aligning business strategy with enterprise goals.
- Breaking down silos to create integrated processes and data
across organizational and political boundaries.
- Architecting processes, systems, and information to work
together in harmony.
- Optimizing technology to create new value and services for
both internal and external customers.
Business analysis is following the exponential growth of project
management as the new prerequisite, not just for project success,
but career success.
Advanced Strategies Business Analysis Transformation
More than Training…Innovation for the Entire Organization
Advanced Strategies is a registered and endorsed education provider of IIBA and PMI. Additionally courses are applicable toward business analysis certificates of completion and continuing education units from UGA Terry College of Business. For more information, Click Here
With the ever-increasing importance of Information Technology in enabling business success, the roles and responsibilities of Systems Analysts continue to evolve and expand. A renewed emphasis on business-driven solutions requires the Systems Analyst to work closely with Business Analysts to deliver full “business solutions.” Thus, the focus of today’s Systems Analysts has changed from the original programmer/analyst orientation to one where IT and business are closely partnered. The work of Systems Analysts is essential to carrying the business requirements forward through conceptual solution and design to implementation. They must have the skills and knowledge to interpret business and functional requirements as well as to design and realize processes, data and technology. As a consequence, Systems Analysts must be conversant in process analysis and able to design conceptual architectures, technical uses cases and robust processes.
This course helps organizations:
- Define a common vision of improved performance for their Systems Analyst teams.
- Examine industry directions and trends for ways to improve their effectiveness.
- Document a framework for their desired systems analysis approach including responsibilities, techniques, and interfaces to the rest of the organization.
- Determine concrete steps for ensuring that IT operations are aligned with business and technology strategies and ensuring that technology is aligned with business.
|Overview of Systems Analysis
- What is Systems Analysis?
- Evolution of the Systems Analyst Role
- The Role of the Systems Analyst in Today’s Application Development Environment
- Causes of IT Project Failure
- What Drives Development?
- Business Driven
- Appropriate Enabling Medium
- Situations are Unique
- Professional Developers
- Disciplines vs. Waterfall
|After Requirements, What’s Next?
- Conceptual Solution Design
- Business Case
- Project Definition
- Desirability Analysis
- Forecasted Schedule
- Principles and Priorities
- Obstacles and Opportunities in Your Environment
|Discovering Your Current Approach
- Activities and Roles
- Interfacing with Business Analysts
- Interfacing with Project Mgmt.
- Interfacing with Developers
|Specifying Your Future
- Assessing Opportunities and Obstacles
- Improving the Process
- What can we Offload, Outsource or Make Obsolete?
- Redefining Roles
- Specifying Instruments and Tools
|Successful Systems Analysts
- Communication Skills
- Analysis Skills
- Technical Skills
- Attitudes and Temperaments
- Other Knowledge
|Making it Happen
- Low Hanging Fruit
- Improving Your Skills
- Culture hange
- Promotion - Evolution vs. Revolution
- Priorities and Responsibility
Who Should Attend:
Systems Analysts and their managers. It is often beneficial to include representatives from project management and development in the workshop to ensure the Systems Analysts’ roles and responsibilities fit into the bigger picture.
Request It Now! |
Myelin proteolipid protein (PLP) contains one established antigenic epitope within the 131-151 amino acid sequence, with encephalitogenic activity for SJL mice (PLP139-151). In the current study, the processing and presentation of PLP by subsets of splenic antigen-presenting cells (APC) were examined by comparing their capacity to stimulate PLP-responsive T-cell clones, two of which are specific for PLP139-151, and one which is not specific for this peptide. In order to study whether PLP requires processing before its presentation by APC, PLP-pulsed and fixed APC were shown to stimulate PLP-specific T cells. However, the addition of PLP to unpulsed, fixed APC resulted in the absence of T-cell stimulation, while the ability of these fixed APC to bind antigenic peptide and efficiently present it to T cells, was demonstrated by their ability to use a synthetic peptide for the stimulation of the T cells. In order to study potentially different processing efficiencies among APC subsets, spleen cells were fractionated by adherence to plastic, and their respective APC activities were studied separately. The non-adherent (NAd) APC were unable to stimulate PLP139-151 specific T-cell clones with PLP as antigen. In contrast, a T-cell clone specific for a separate, but unidentified epitope on PLP was stimulated by NAd APC efficiently. In addition, stimulation of PLP139-151-specific T-cell clones by NAd APC did occur when the synthetic peptide instead of intact PLP was used as antigen, indicating a defect in PLP processing by the NAd APC. These results indicate that a subpopulation of splenic APC is unable to process PLP efficiently, and more specifically, may be unable to process a fragment containing the 139-151 sequence in PLP, while other antigenic fragments may be processed and subsequently presented efficiently. © 1992. |
A large duck, generally common and familiar within its extensive range. Males are distinctive with iridescent green head, yellow bill, chestnut breast, and gray body. Females are mottled brown with orange and black splotches on the bill. Found anywhere with water, including city parks, backyard creeks, and various wetland habitats. Often in flocks, and frequently mixes with other duck species. In North America, females can be tricky to distinguish from American Black Duck, Mottled Duck, and Mexican Duck where ranges overlap. Those species are all darker-bodied than Mallard. A good view of the wing can be helpful, too: white wingbars on the leading and trailing edges of the blue wing patch are bolder on Mallard. Frequently hybridizes with those species, which can be even more confusing. Any bird with extensive white in the tail or curled feathers above the tail has some Mallard genes. |
GetNodeByPoint — Finds the node-id of a node at a point location.
integer GetNodeByPoint(varchar atopology, geometry apoint, float8 tol1
Retrieves the id of a node at a point location.
The function returns an integer (id-node) given a topology, a POINT and a tolerance. If tolerance = 0 means exact intersection, otherwise retrieves the node from an interval.
apoint doesn't intersect a node, returns 0 (zero).
If use tolerance > 0 and there is more than one node near the point then an exception is thrown.
If tolerance = 0, the function uses ST_Intersects otherwise uses ST_DWithin.
Performed by the GEOS module.
These examples use edges we created in AddEdge
SELECT topology.GetNodeByPoint('ma_topo',geom, 1) As nearnode FROM ST_GeomFromEWKT('SRID=26986;POINT(227591.9 893900.4)') As geom; nearnode ---------- 2
SELECT topology.GetNodeByPoint('ma_topo',geom, 1000) As too_much_tolerance FROM ST_GeomFromEWKT('SRID=26986;POINT(227591.9 893900.4)') As geom; ----get error-- ERROR: Two or more nodes found |
|Area||14,000,000 km² (5,405,430 mi²) (280,000 km² (108,108 mi²) ice-free, 13,720,000 km² (5,297,321 mi²) ice-covered)|
|Population||~1000 (none permanent)|
|governed by the Antarctic Treaty Secretariat
|Partial Territorial claims (subject to the Antarctic Treaty System)|| Argentina
|Reserved the right to make claims|| Russia
Antarctica is Earth's southernmost continent, overlying the South Pole. Situated in the southern hemisphere and largely south of the Antarctic Circle, Antarctica is surrounded by the Southern Ocean. At 14.4 million km², it is the fifth-largest continent in area after Asia, Africa, North America, and South America; in turn, Europe and Australia are smaller. Some 98 percent of Antarctica is covered by ice, which averages at least 1.6 km in thickness.
On average, Antarctica is the coldest, driest, and windiest continent, and has the highest average elevation of all the continents. Since there is little precipitation, except at the coasts, the interior of the continent is technically the largest desert in the world. There are no permanent human residents and Antarctica has never had an indigenous population. Only cold-adapted plants and animals survive there, including penguins, fur seals, mosses, lichens, and many types of algae.
The name Antarctica comes from the Greek antarktikos, meaning "opposite to the Arctic." Although myths and speculation about a Terra Australis ("Southern Land") date back to antiquity, the first confirmed sighting of the continent is commonly accepted to have occurred in 1820 by the Russian expedition of Mikhail Lazarev and Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen. However, the continent remained largely neglected for the rest of the nineteenth century because of its hostile environment, lack of resources, and isolated location.
The Antarctic Treaty was signed in 1959 by twelve countries. To date, forty-five countries have signed the treaty. The treaty prohibits military activities and mineral mining, supports scientific research, and protects the continent's ecozone. Ongoing experiments are conducted by more than 4,000 scientists of many nationalities and with different research interests.
Belief in the existence of a Terra Australis—a vast continent located in the far south of the globe to "balance" the northern lands of Europe, Asia, and North Africa—had existed since the times of Ptolemy (first century CE), who suggested the idea in order to preserve the symmetry of all known landmasses in the world. Depictions of a large southern landmass were common in maps such as the early sixteenth century Turkish Piri Reis map. Even in the late seventeenth century, after explorers had found that South America and Australia were not part of the fabled "Antarctica," geographers believed that the continent was much larger than its actual size.
European maps continued to show this hypothetical land until Captain James Cook's ships, HMS Resolution and Adventure, crossed the Antarctic Circle on January 17, 1773, and once again in 1774. The first confirmed sightings of Antarctica took place in 1920 and is credited to captains and crews of three ships:
- Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen (a captain in the Russian Imperial Navy),
- Edward Bransfield (a captain in the British Navy), and
- Nathaniel Palmer (an American sealer out of Stonington, Connecticut).
Von Bellingshausen is reported to have sighted Antarctica on January 27, 1820, three days before Bransfield sighted land, and ten months before Palmer did so in November 1820. On that day the two-ship expedition led by Von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev reached a point within 32 km (20 miles) of the Antarctic mainland and saw ice fields there. The first documented landing on mainland Antarctica was by the American sealer John Davis in Western Antarctica on February 7, 1821, although some historians dispute this claim.
In December 1839, as part of the United States Exploring Expedition of 1838–1842 (conducted by the United States Navy), the expedition comprised of 433 men and six ships sailed from Sydney, Australia into the Antarctic Ocean, as it was then known, and reported the discovery "of an Antarctic continent west of the Balleny Islands." That part of Antarctica was later named "Wilkes Land," after the expedition's commander, Lt. Charles Wilkes, a name it maintains to this day.
In 1841, explorer James Clark Ross passed through what is now known as the Ross Sea and discovered Ross Island (both of which were named for him). He sailed along a huge wall of ice that was later named the Ross Ice Shelf. Mount Erebus and Mount Terror are named after two ships from his expedition: HMS Erebus and Terror. Mercator Cooper landed in Eastern Antarctica on January 26, 1853.
During an expedition led by Ernest Shackleton in 1907, parties led by T. W. Edgeworth David became the first to climb Mount Erebus and to reach the South Magnetic Pole. In addition, Shackleton himself and three other members of his expedition made several firsts in December 1908–February 1909: they were the first humans to traverse the Ross Ice Shelf, the first to traverse the Transantarctic Mountain Range (via the Beardmore Glacier), and the first to set foot on the South Polar Plateau.
On December 14, 1911, a party led by Norwegian polar explorer Roald Amundsen from the ship Fram became the first to reach the geographic South Pole, using a route from the Bay of Whales and up the Axel Heiberg Glacier. One month later, the Scott Expedition reached the pole.
Richard Evelyn Byrd led several voyages to the Antarctic by plane in the 1930s and 1940s. He is credited with implementing mechanized land transport on the continent and conducting extensive geological and biological research. However, it was not until October 31, 1956, that anyone set foot on the South Pole again; on that day a U.S. Navy group led by Rear Admiral George Dufek successfully landed an aircraft there.
Centered asymmetrically around the South Pole and largely south of the Antarctic Circle, Antarctica is the southernmost continent and is surrounded by the southern waters of the World Ocean. Alternatively it is washed by the Southern Ocean or the southern Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans. It covers more than 14 million km², making it the fifth-largest continent, about 1.3 times larger than Europe. The coastline measures 17,968 km (11,160 miles) and is mostly characterized by ice formations.
Antarctica is divided in two by the Transantarctic Mountains close to the neck between the Ross Sea and the Weddell Sea. The portion west of the Weddell Sea and east of the Ross Sea is called Western Antarctica and the remainder Eastern Antarctica, because they roughly correspond to the Western and Eastern Hemispheres relative to the Greenwich meridian.
Approximately 98 percent of Antarctica is covered by the Antarctic ice sheet, a sheet of ice averaging at least one mile in thickness. The continent has approximately 90 percent of the world's ice (and thereby approximately 70 percent of the world's fresh water). If all of this ice were melted, sea levels would rise about 200 feet (61 m). In most of the interior of the continent precipitation is very low, down to 20 mm/year; in a few "blue ice" (glacial ice) areas precipitation is lower than mass loss by sublimation causing the local mass balance to be negative. In the dry valleys the same effect occurs over a rock base, leading to a desiccated landscape.
Western Antarctica is covered by the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. The sheet has been of recent concern because of the real, if small, possibility of its collapse. If the sheet were to break down, ocean levels would rise by several meters in a relatively geologically short period of time, perhaps a matter of centuries. Several Antarctic ice streams, which account for about 10 percent of the ice sheet, flow to one of the many Antarctic ice shelves.
Vinson Massif, the highest peak in Antarctica at 16,050 feet (4,892 meters), is located in the Ellsworth Mountains. Although Antarctica is home to many volcanoes, only Mount Erebus is known to be active. Located on Ross Island, Erebus is the southernmost active volcano. There is another famous volcano called Deception Island, which is famous for its giant eruption in 1970. Minor eruptions are frequent and lava flow has been observed in recent years. Other dormant volcanoes may potentially be active. In 2004, an underwater volcano was found in the Antarctic Peninsula by American and Canadian researchers. Recent evidence shows this unnamed volcano may be active.
Antarctica is home to more than 70 lakes that lie thousands of meters under the surface of the continental ice sheet. Lake Vostok, discovered beneath Russia's Vostok Station in 1996, is the largest of these subglacial lakes similar in size to Lake Ontario. It is believed that the lake has been sealed off for 25 million years. There is some evidence, in the form of ice cores drilled to about 400 m above the water line, that Vostok's waters may contain microbial life. The sealed, frozen surface of the lake shares similarities with Jupiter's moon Europa. If life is discovered in Lake Vostok, this would strengthen the argument for the possibility of life on Europa.
Flora and fauna
The climate of Antarctica does not allow extensive vegetation. A combination of freezing temperatures, poor soil quality, lack of moisture, and lack of sunlight inhibit the flourishing of plants. As a result, plant life is limited to mostly mosses and liverworts. The autotrophic community is made up of mostly protists. The flora of the continent largely consists of lichens, bryophytes, algae, and fungi. Growth generally occurs in the summer, and only for a few weeks at most.
There are more than 200 species of lichens and approximately 50 species of bryophytes, such as mosses. Seven hundred species of algae exist, most of which are phytoplankton. Multicolored snow algae and diatoms are especially abundant in the coastal regions during the summer. There are two species of flowering plants found in the Antarctic Peninsula: Deschampsia antarctica (Antarctic hair grass) and Colobanthus quitensis (Antarctic pearlwort).
Land fauna is nearly completely invertebrate. Invertebrate life includes microscopic mites, lice, nematodes, tardigrades, rotifers, krill, and springtails. The flightless midge Belgica antarctica, just 12 mm in size, is the largest land animal in Antarctica. The Snow Petrel is one of only three birds that breed exclusively in Antarctica. They have been seen at the South Pole.
A variety of marine animals exist and rely, directly or indirectly, on the phytoplankton. Antarctic sea life includes penguins, blue whales, orcas, and fur seals. The Emperor penguin is the only penguin that breeds during the winter in Antarctica, while the Adélie Penguin breeds farther south than any other penguin. The Rockhopper penguin has distinctive feathers around the eyes, giving the appearance of elaborate eyelashes. King penguins, Chinstrap penguins, and Gentoo Penguins also breed in the Antarctic. It is the male partner of both the King and Emperor penguins that is responsible for incubating the single egg for up to two months by balancing it on top of their feet and keeping it warm under a special pouch, while the female feeds out at sea.
The Antarctic fur seal was very heavily hunted in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries for its pelt by sealers from the United States and the United Kingdom. The Weddell Seal, a "true seal," is named after Sir James Weddell, commander of British sealing expeditions in the Weddell Sea. Antarctic krill, which congregates in large schools, is the keystone species of the ecosystem of the Southern Ocean, and is an important food organism for whales, seals, leopard seals, fur seals, squid, icefish, penguins, albatrosses, and many other birds.
The 1978 enactment of the Antarctic Conservation Act in the U.S. brought several restrictions to U.S. activity on the continent. The introduction of alien plants or animals can bring a criminal penalty, as can the extraction of any indigenous species. The overfishing of krill, which plays a large role in the Antarctic ecosystem, led officials to enact regulations on fishing. The Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), a treaty that came into force in 1980, requires that regulations managing all Southern Ocean fisheries consider potential effects on the entire Antarctic ecosystem. Despite these new acts, unregulated and illegal fishing, particularly of Patagonian toothfish, remains a serious problem. The illegal fishing of toothfish has been increasing, with estimates of 32,000 tons in the year 2000.
Antarctica is the coldest place on Earth. It is a frozen desert with little precipitation; the South Pole itself receives less than 4 inches (10 cm) per year, on average. Temperatures reach a minimum of between -80°C and -90°C (-112°F and -130°F) in the interior in winter and reach a maximum of between 5°C and 15°C (41°F and 59°F) near the coast in summer. Sunburn is often a health issue as the snow surface reflects almost all of the ultraviolet light falling on it.
Eastern Antarctica is colder than its western counterpart because of its higher elevation. Weather fronts rarely penetrate far into the continent, leaving the center cold and dry. Despite the lack of precipitation over the central portion of the continent, ice there lasts for extended time periods. Heavy snowfalls are not uncommon on the coastal portion of the continent, where snowfalls of up to 1.22 meters (48 inches) in 48 hours have been recorded. At the edge of the continent, strong katabatic winds off the polar plateau often blow at storm force. In the interior, however, wind speeds are typically moderate. During summer, more solar radiation reaches the surface during clear days at the South Pole than at the equator because of the 24 hours of sunlight each day at the Pole.
Antarctica is colder than the Arctic for two reasons. First, much of the continent is more than 3 km above sea level, and temperature decreases with elevation. Second, the Arctic Ocean covers the north polar zone: The ocean's relative warmth is transferred through the icepack and prevents temperatures in the Arctic regions from reaching the extremes typical of the land surface of Antarctica.
Given the latitude, long periods of constant darkness or constant sunlight create climates unfamiliar to human beings in much of the rest of the world. The aurora australis, commonly known as the southern lights, is observed in the night sky near the South Pole. Typically the aurora appears either as a diffused glow or as "curtains" that approximately extend in the east-west direction. Each curtain consists of many parallel rays, each lined up with the local direction of the magnetic field lines, suggesting that aurora is shaped by the earth's magnetic field. Another unique spectacle is diamond dust, a ground-level cloud composed of tiny ice crystals that may continue for several days without interruption. It generally forms under otherwise clear or nearly clear skies, so people sometimes also refer to it as clear-sky precipitation. A sun dog, a frequent atmospheric optical phenomenon, is a bright "spot" beside the true sun that typically appears when the sun is low, such as at sunrise and sunset.
Geological history and paleontology
More than 170 million years ago, Antarctica was part of the supercontinent Gondwana. Over time, Gondwana gradually broke apart and Antarctica as it is known today was formed around 25 million years ago.
Paleozoic era (540-250 Mya)
During the Cambrian period, Gondwana had a mild climate. West Antarctica was partially in the northern hemisphere, and during this period large amounts of sandstones, limestones, and shales were deposited. East Antarctica was at the equator, where sea-floor invertebrates and trilobites flourished in the tropical seas. By the start of the Devonian period (416 Mya), Gondwana was in more southern latitudes and the climate was cooler, though fossils of land plants are known from this time. Sand and silts were laid down in what is now the Ellsworth, Horlick, and Pensacola Mountains. Glaciation began at the end of the Devonian period (360 Mya), as Gondwana became centered around the South Pole and the climate cooled, though flora remained. During the Permian period, the plant life became dominated by fern-like plants such as Glossopteris, which grew in swamps. Over time these swamps became deposits of coal in the Transantarctic Mountains. Towards the end of the Permian period, continued warming led to a dry, hot climate over much of Gondwana.
Mesozoic era (250-65 Mya)
As a result of continued warming, the polar ice caps melted and much of Gondwana became a desert. In East Antarctica, the seed fern became established, and large amounts of sandstone and shale were laid down at this time. The Antarctic Peninsula began to form during the Jurassic period (206-146 Mya), and islands gradually rose out of the ocean. Ginkgo trees and cycads were plentiful during this period, as were reptiles such as Lystrosaurus. In West Antarctica, coniferous forests dominated through the entire Cretaceous period (146-65 Mya), though Southern beech began to take over at the end of this period. Ammonites were common in the seas around Antarctica, and dinosaurs were also present, though only two Antarctic dinosaur species (Cryolophosaurus, from the Hanson Formation, and Antarctopelta) have been described to date. It was during this period that Gondwana began to break up.
Gondwana breakup (160-23 Mya)
Africa separated from Antarctica around 160 Mya, followed by the Indian subcontinent, in the early Cretaceous (about 125 Mya). About 65 Mya, Antarctica (then connected to Australia) still had a tropical to subtropical climate, complete with a marsupial fauna. About 40 Mya Australia-New Guinea separated from Antarctica and the first ice began to appear. Around 23 Mya, the Drake Passage opened between Antarctica and South America, which resulted in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. The ice spread, replacing the forests that then covered the continent. Since about 15 Mya, the continent has been mostly covered with ice.
Geology of present-day Antarctica
The geological study of Antarctica has been greatly hindered by the fact that nearly all of the continent is permanently covered with a thick layer of ice. However, new techniques such as remote sensing, ground-penetrating radar, and satellite imagery have begun to reveal the structures beneath the ice.
Geologically, West Antarctica closely resembles the Andes mountain range of South America. The Antarctic Peninsula was formed by uplift and metamorphism of sea-bed sediments during the late Paleozoic and the early Mesozoic eras. This sediment uplift was accompanied by igneous intrusions and volcanism. The most common rocks in West Antarctica are andesite and rhyolite volcanics formed during the Jurassic period. There is also evidence of volcanic activity, even after the ice sheet had formed, in Marie Byrd Land and Alexander Island. The only anomalous area of West Antarctica is the Ellsworth Mountains region, where the stratigraphy is more similar to the eastern part of the continent.
East Antarctica is geologically varied, dating from the Precambrian era, with some rocks formed more than 3 billion years ago. It is composed of a metamorphic and igneous platform which is the basis of the continental shield. On top of this base are various modern rocks, such as sandstones, limestones, coal, and shales laid down during the Devonian and Jurassic periods to form the Transantarctic Mountains. In coastal areas such as Shackleton Range and Victoria Land some faulting has occurred.
The main mineral resource known on the continent is coal. It was first recorded near the Beardmore Glacier by Frank Wild on the Nimrod Expedition, and now low-grade coal is known across many parts of the Transantarctic Mountains. The Prince Charles Mountains contain significant deposits of iron ore. The most valuable resources of Antarctica lie offshore, namely the oil and natural gas fields found in the Ross Sea in 1973. Exploitation of all mineral resources is banned until 2048 by the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty.
Antarctica has no permanent residents, but a number of governments maintain permanent research stations throughout the continent. The number of people conducting and supporting scientific research and other work on the continent and its nearby islands varies from approximately 4,000 in summer to about 1,000 in winter. Many of the stations are staffed year-round.
The first semi-permanent inhabitants of regions near Antarctica (areas situated south of the Antarctic Convergence) were British and American sealers who often spent a year or more on South Georgia Island, beginning in 1786. During the whaling era, which lasted until 1966, the population of that island varied from over 1,000 in the summer (over 2,000 in some years) to some 200 in the winter. Most of the whalers were Norwegian, with an increasing proportion of Britons. The settlements included Grytviken, Leith Harbour, King Edward Point, Stomness, Husvik, Prince Olav Harbour, Ocean Harbour, and Godthul. Managers and other senior officers of the whaling stations often lived together with their families. Among them was the founder of Grytviken, Captain Carl Anton Larsen, a prominent Norwegian whaler and explorer who adopted British citizenship in 1910, along with his family.
The first child born in the southern polar region was Norwegian girl Solveig Gunbjörg Jacobsen, born in Grytviken on October 8, 1913, with her birth being registered by the resident British Magistrate of South Georgia. She was a daughter of Fridthjof Jacobsen, the assistant manager of the whaling station, and of Klara Olette Jacobsen. Jacobsen arrived on the island in 1904 to become the manager of Grytviken, serving from 1914 to 1921; two of his children were born on the island.
Emilio Marcos Palma was the first person born on the Antarctic mainland, at Base Esperanza in 1978; his parents were sent there along with seven other families by the Argentinean government to determine if family life was suitable on the continent. In 1986, Juan Pablo Camacho was born at the Presidente Eduardo Frei Montalva Base, becoming the first Chilean born in Antarctica. Several bases are now home to families with children attending schools at the station.
As the only uninhabited continent, Antarctica has no government and belongs to no country. Various countries claim areas of it, although as a rule, no other countries recognize such claims. The area between 90°W and 150°W is the only part of Antarctica, indeed the only solid land on Earth, not claimed by any country.
Since 1959, claims on Antarctica have been suspended and the continent is considered politically neutral. Its status is regulated by the 1959 Antarctic Treaty and other related agreements, collectively called the Antarctic Treaty System. For the purposes of the Treaty System, Antarctica is defined as all land and ice shelves south of 60°S. The treaty was signed by twelve countries, including the Soviet Union (and later Russia), the United Kingdom, and the United States. It set aside Antarctica as a scientific preserve, established freedom of scientific investigation, environmental protection, and banned military activity on that continent. This was the first arms control agreement established during the Cold War.
The Antarctic Treaty prohibits any military activity in Antarctica, such as the establishment of military bases and fortifications, the carrying out of military maneuvers, or the testing of any type of weapon. Military personnel or equipment are permitted only for scientific research or for other peaceful purposes. The only documented land military maneuver was Operation NINETY, undertaken by the Argentine military.
The United States military issues the Antarctica Service Medal to military members or civilians who perform research duty in Antarctica. The medal includes a "wintered over" bar issued to those who remain on the continent for two complete six-month seasons.
The Antarctic Treaty
The main treaty was opened for signature on December 1, 1959, and officially entered into force on June 23, 1961. The original signatories were the 12 countries active in Antarctica during the International Geophysical Year of 1957-58 and willing to accept a U.S. invitation to the conference at which the treaty was negotiated. These countries were Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, France, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, the USSR, the United Kingdom, and the United States (which opened the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station for the International Geophysical Year).
Articles of the Antarctic Treaty
- Article 1—area to be used for peaceful purposes only; military activity, such as weapons testing, is prohibited, but military personnel and equipment may be used for scientific research or any other peaceful purpose;
- Article 2—freedom of scientific investigation and cooperation shall continue;
- Article 3—free exchange of information and personnel in cooperation with the United Nations and other international agencies;
- Article 4—does not recognize, dispute, or establish territorial claims and no new claims shall be asserted while the treaty is in force;
- Article 5—prohibits nuclear explosions or disposal of radioactive wastes;
- Article 6—includes under the treaty all land and ice shelves south of 60 degrees 00 minutes south;
- Article 7—treaty-state observers have free access, including aerial observation, to any area and may inspect all stations, installations, and equipment; advance notice of all activities and of the introduction of military personnel must be given;
- Article 8—allows for jurisdiction over observers and scientists by their own states;
- Article 9—frequent consultative meetings take place among member nations;
- Article 10—treaty states will discourage activities by any country in Antarctica that are contrary to the treaty;
- Article 11—disputes to be settled peacefully by the parties concerned or, ultimately, by the International Court of Justice;
- Articles 12, 13, 14—deal with upholding, interpreting, and amending the treaty among involved nations.
The main objective of the ATS is to ensure in the interests of all humanity that Antarctica shall continue forever to be used exclusively for peaceful purposes and shall not become the scene or object of international discord. The treaty forbids any measures of a military nature, but not the presence of military personnel per se. It avoided addressing the question of existing territorial claims asserted by some nations and not recognized by others.
Other agreements, some 200 recommendations adopted at treaty consultative meetings and ratified by governments, include:
- Agreed Measures for the Conservation of Antarctic Fauna and Flora (1964) (entered into force in 1982)
- The Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Seals (1972)
- The Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (1980)
- The Convention on the Regulation of Antarctic Mineral Resource Activities (1988) (although it was signed in 1988, it was subsequently rejected and never entered into force)
- The Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty was signed October 4, 1991 and entered into force January 14, 1998; this agreement prevents development and provides for the protection of the Antarctic environment through five specific annexes on marine pollution, fauna, and flora, environmental impact assessments, waste management, and protected areas. It prohibits all activities relating to mineral resources except scientific.
Although coal, hydrocarbons, iron ore, platinum, copper, chromium, nickel, gold, and other minerals have been found, they have not been located in large enough quantities to exploit. The 1991 Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty also restricts a struggle for resources. In 1998, a compromise agreement was reached to add a 50-year ban on mining until the year 2048, further limiting economic development and exploitation. The primary agricultural activity is the capture and offshore trading of fish. Antarctic fisheries in 2000-01 reported landing 112,934 tons.
Small-scale tourism has existed since 1957 and is currently largely self-regulated by the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO). However, not all vessels associated with Antarctic tourism are members of IAATO. Several ships transport people to Antarctica to visit specific scenic locations. A total of 27,950 tourists visited in the 2004-05 Antarctic summer with nearly all of them coming from commercial ships. The number is predicted to increase to over 80,000 by 2010. There has been some recent concern over the adverse environmental and ecosystem effects caused by the influx of visitors. A call for stricter regulations for ships and a tourism quota have been made by some environmentalists and scientists. Antarctic sightseeing flights (which did not land) operated out of Australia and New Zealand until the fatal crash of Air New Zealand Flight 901 in 1979 on Mount Erebus, which killed all 257 aboard. Qantas Airlines resumed commercial overflights to Antarctica from Australia in the mid-1990s.
Transportation on the continent has transformed from heroic explorers crossing the isolated remote area of Antarctica on foot to a more open area due to human technologies enabling more convenient and faster transport by land and predominantly air and water.
Aircraft and pilots need to be capable of landing on ice, snow, or gravel runways, as there are no paved runways. Landings are generally restricted to the daylight season (Summer months from October to March). Winter landings have been performed at Williams Field but low temperatures mean that aircraft cannot stay on the ice longer than an hour or so, as their skis may freeze to the ice runway. Travel is normally by military aircraft delivering cargo.
Major landing fields include:
- Williams Field—Serves McMurdo Station and Scott Base.
- Pegasus Blue-Ice Runway—Serves McMurdo Station and Scott Base.
- Annual Sea-Ice Runway—Serves McMurdo Station and Scott Base.
In the Antarctic summer, several companies offer excursions on ice-strengthened vessels to Antarctica. Ice-strengthened (not quite as tough as icebreaker) boats are preferred since icebreakers are round on the bottom—a configuration that amplifies the already massive wave action in the Drake passage.
Each year, scientists from 27 different nations conduct experiments not reproducible in any other place in the world. In the summer more than 4,000 scientists operate research stations; this number decreases to nearly 1,000 in the winter. McMurdo Station is capable of housing more than 1,000 scientists, visitors, and tourists.
Researchers include biologists, geologists, oceanographers, physicists, astronomers, glaciologists, and meteorologists. Geologists tend to study plate tectonics, meteorites from space, and resources from the breakup of the super continent Gondwanaland. Glaciologists in Antarctica are concerned with the study of the history and dynamics of floating ice, seasonal snow, glaciers, and ice sheets. Biologists, in addition to examining the wildlife, are interested in how harsh temperatures and the presence of people affect adaptation and survival strategies in a wide variety of organisms. Medical physicians have made discoveries concerning the spreading of viruses and the body's response to extreme seasonal temperatures. Astrophysicists at Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station study the celestial dome and cosmic microwave background radiation.
Many astronomical observations are better made from the interior of Antarctica than from most surface locations because of the high elevation, which results in a thin atmosphere and low temperature, which minimizes the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere, thus allowing for a view of space clearer than anywhere else on Earth. Antarctic ice serves as both the shield and the detection medium for the largest neutrino telescope in the world, built 2 km below Amundsen-Scott station.
Since the 1970s, an important focus of study has been the ozone layer in the atmosphere above Antarctica. In 1985, three British Scientists working on data they had gathered at Halley Station on the Brunt Ice Shelf discovered the existence of a hole in this layer. In 1998, NASA satellite data showed that the Antarctic ozone hole was the largest on record, covering 27 million square kilometers. It was eventually determined that the destruction of the ozone was caused by chlorofluorocarbons emitted by human products. With the ban of CFCs in the Montreal Protocol of 1989, it is believed that the ozone hole will close up over the next fifty years.
Meteorites from Antarctica are an important area of study about material formed early in the solar system; most are thought to come from asteroids, but some may have originated on larger planets. The first Antarctic meteorites were found in 1912. In 1969, a Japanese expedition discovered nine meteorites. Most of these meteorites have fallen onto the ice sheet in the last million years. Motion of the ice sheet tends to concentrate the meteorites at blocking locations such as mountain ranges, with wind erosion bringing them to the surface after centuries beneath accumulated snowfall. Compared with meteorites collected in more temperate regions on Earth, the Antarctic meteorites are well-preserved.
This large collection of meteorites allows a better understanding of the abundance of meteorite types in the solar system and how meteorites relate to asteroids and comets. New types of meteorites and rare meteorites have been found. Among these are pieces blasted off the moon, and probably Mars, by impacts. These specimens, particularly ALH84001 discovered by ANSMET, are at the center of the controversy about possible evidence of microbial life on Mars. Because meteorites in space absorb and record cosmic radiation, the time elapsed since the meteorite hit the Earth can be determined from laboratory studies. The elapsed time since fall, or terrestrial residence age, of a meteorite represents more information that might be useful in environmental studies of Antarctic ice sheets.
In 2006, a team of researchers from Ohio State University used gravity measurements by NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites to discover the 300-mile-wide Wilkes Land crater, which probably formed about 250 million years ago.
- ↑ National Geophysical Data Center, NOAA Satellite and Information Services. Retrieved May 25, 2007.
- ↑ The Mariner's Museum, Age of Exploration. Retrieved May 25, 2007.
- ↑ SouthPole.com, James Clark Ross. Retrieved May 25, 2007.
- ↑ Australian Antarctic Division, Tannatt William Edgeworth David. Retrieved May 25, 2007.
- ↑ SouthPole.com, Roald Amundsen. Retrieved May 25, 2007.
- ↑ National Science Foundation, Scientists Discover Undersea Volcano Off Antarctica. Retrieved May 25, 2007.
- ↑ Lisa Asselbergs, Creatures of Antarctica. Retrieved May 25, 2007.
- ↑ Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, The Antarctic Treaty System: An Introduction. Retrieved May 25, 2007.
- ↑ Antarctica Institute of Argentina, Argentina in Antarctica. Retrieved May 25, 2007.
- ↑ International Association of Antarctica TourOperations, Tourism Statistics. Retrieved May 25, 2007.
- ↑ Antarctic Connection, Science in Antarctica. Retrieved May 25, 2007.
- ↑ NASA Astromaterials Curation, Meteorites from Antarctica. Retrieved May 25, 2007.
- ↑ Ohio State Research, Bang in Antarctica. Retrieved May 25, 2007.
- Bledsoe, Lucy Jane. 2006. How to survive in Antarctica. New York: Holiday House. ISBN 0823418901
- Ley, Willy. 1962. The poles. Life nature library. New York: Time, Inc.
- Petersen, David. 1998. Antarctica. A true book. New York: Children's Press. ISBN 0516207709
- Robinson, Kim Stanley. 1998. Antarctica. New York: Bantam Books. ISBN 0553100637
- United States. 2002. Antarctic region. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency.
All links retrieved October 16, 2012.
- Antarctica. The Open Directory Project.
- Discovering Antarctica.
- Antarctica Pictures, Information and Travel Cool Antarctica.
New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:
Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed. |
|ROSAT Home Page||ROSAT
The bulging detector window causes a large-scale spatial non-linearity (counter gas pressure 1.5bar, bulging 1.2mm). The primary electron cloud drifts along the electric field lines which run perpendicular to the equipotential plane (PSPC entrance window). Thus event positions within the central ring of the window support structure are slightly shifted towards the detector center while for event positions outside the central ring the shift depends on the event position. (cf. Fig. F.12 and Fig. F.13, top) This shifting introduces spatial non-linearities. The shape of the correction has been determined at a photon energy of E=0.3keV, the positional and energy-dependent effects were assumed to be separable. The energy-dependent term is a smooth function of the energy (cf. Fig. F.13, bottom). Is is normalized to unity at E=0.3keV.
In practice SASS determines the shift using a binned map with 512 512 pixels, i.e., uses a grid of bin size 16 detector pixels and has to interpolate between four neighboring grid point. The interpolation of the correction vector is performed according to Eq. (F.13) and (F.14).
Within SASS the energy dependent scale factor is taken from a table with 256 elements (channels). For the value is taken instead.
Figure F.12: Window correction tables for PSPC-B. The `Golden Disk' (arrays and ): The position correction in x and y is plotted for every 8th's array element; the energy is assumed to be 0.93keV, for which the energy dependent factor of the position correction equals 1.0. The origin of the displacement vector of element (n,m) is drawn at . The basic information was taken from files p$manpar:tabx_093_b.dat and p$manpar:taby_093_b.dat.
Figure F.13: Window correction data files according to Eqs.(F.13) and (F.14): top panel: shift of coordinates for PSPC-C: white corresponds to negative values and black to positive (top left: , top right: ). Bottom panel: energy dependent factor , normalized to unity at 0.93keV. The basic information was taken from files p$manpar:tabx_093_c.dat, p$manpar:taby_093_c.dat, and p$manpar:scal3_new.dat.
SASS source code: package PSPC, bubble CT, subroutine DCORW |
This book provides readers with the fundamentals of the Constitution by analyzing the legitimate basis for government, and the circumstances that lead to its ratification. Mr. Badnarik starts with fundamentals, identifying the difference between rights and privileges. He discusses the critical- and needed- distinction between republican and democratic systems of government, arguing that freedom can survive in America only if we return to our republican roots. He also illustrates the forgotten tenets of federalism and states’ rights, arguing that federal usurpation of state power has accelerated the loss of our freedoms. The author then provides a detailed explication of the true meaning of major constitutional provisions and amendments.He does an excellent job of demystifying our founding document, demonstrating that ordinary Americans can and should understand the Constitution and how it applies to their lives. |
Inform anyone treating you that you CANNOT have any shortwave diathermy, microwave diathermy or therapeutic ultrasound diathermy (all now referred to as diathermy) anywhere on your body because you have an implanted neurostimulation system. Energy from diathermy can be transferred through your implanted system, can cause tissue damage and can result in severe injury or death.
Diathermy can also damage parts of your neurostimulation system. This can result in loss of therapy from your neurostimulation system, and may require additional surgery to remove or replace parts of your implanted device. Injury or damage can occur during diathermy treatment whether your neurostimulation system is turned “on” or “off.”
Patient Letter, dated May 18, 2001
The purpose of this letter is to inform you that you should not have shortwave diathermy, microwave diathermy or therapeutic ultrasound diathermy (all now referred to as diathermy) if you have an implanted neurostimulation device. Diathermy provides optional treatments for the following purposes:
When the energy from diathermy therapy interacts with neurostimulation devices, it can cause permanent nerve or tissue damage and result in severe injury or death. Therefore, DO NOT RECEIVE ANY DIATHERMY.
Please note that the permanent nerve or tissue injury is not caused by a device malfunction. Rather, it is caused by the interaction of two devices (neurostimulation system and diathermy machine) when they are working properly.
There have been two known cases where patients with implanted deep brain stimulation systems received shortwave therapy (diathermy). In both cases, the therapy interacted with the implanted neurostimulation system and caused severe and permanent brain damage. Both patients are still in comas.
What are shortwave diathermy, microwave diathermy and therapeutic ultrasound diathermy treatments?
Diathermy, pronounced (di´-a-thur-me) are treatments that deliver energy to treat specific areas of the body. These treatments are typically used for the following purposes:
Your doctor can answer any questions you may have about diathermy therapy or alternative treatments.
Diathermy is used by a variety of health care professionals, including physical therapists, nurses, chiropractors, dentists, sports therapists, ophthalmologists, and others. Health care professionals may refer to diathermy using the term “deep heat” or similar terms. Diathermy means deep heat, but these devices may also be used in a way that causes little or no heating.
What Should You Do?
First and foremost, do not receive any shortwave diathermy, microwave diathermy or therapeutic ultrasound diathermy, just as you would avoid a medicine to which you are seriously allergic. Before receiving any treatment, you should inform every health care professional (such as doctors, dentists, chiropractors, sports therapists, or physical therapists) that you have an implanted neurostimulation device. Follow these steps whenever you see any health care professional:
If you have any questions about this communication or your therapy, please contact the doctor who manages your neurostimulation treatment or contact Medtronic directly at 1-800-328-0810.
If you have an implanted neurostimulation device, please ensure that you continue to receive important information from Medtronic regarding your device.
Inform us of any changes in your contact information by calling the number above. Please be assured we will not sell, exchange, or publish the contact information that you send us. |
| Black-tailed Jackrabbits are tremendous leapers, able to jump more than 6 m horizontally. They live in some of the hottest and driest regions of the continent, can survive on poor-quality foods, and get most or all of the water they need from their food. Where they can, they eat green vegetation, but they can survive in parts of the Southwest where creosote-bush forms a large part of their diet. They cope with extreme heat by lowering their metabolism and resting in the shade during the day, which conserves water. They get rid of extra salt through their urine, and blood flows close to the skin in their enormous ears, a cooling mechanism. Although mostly nocturnal and solitary, large groups sometimes form near a good food supply. With their typically high reproductive output, Black-tails can be agricultural pests, and there were periods in the 1800s and 1900s when aggressive rabbit drives herded and destroyed 5,000-6,000 animal in a single day. In spite of this, they are quite common and widespread.
Also known as:
Gray, J.E., 1837. Description of some new or little known Mammalia, principally in the British Museum Collection, p. 586. The Magazine of Natural History, and Journal of Zoology, Botany, Mineralogy, Geology, and Meteorology, New Series, 1:577-587.
Mammal Species of the World (opens in a new window).
Mammalian Species, American Society of Mammalogists' species account (opens in a new window).
Click to enlarge this image. |
Weekly Health Tip: High-Fructose Corn Syrup: What Are the Dangers?
Processed foods are one of the things people are often told to cut back on when they’re trying to follow a healthy diet. In recent years, one particular processed food ingredient, known as high-fructose corn syrup, has been singled out as a possible health risk. Some researchers have suggested that it might be linked to a rise in obesity rates and related health problems like diabetes. What exactly is high-fructose corn syrup? Is it really bad for you?
Processing corn into a sweet liquid Humans have been processing food for centuries, if you consider that “processing” means altering a raw food in order to make it safer, to make it last longer, or to make it taste better. Some of the earliest food processing techniques included using salt to preserve meat and fish and using vinegar to pickle vegetables. Food processing has changed a lot since then, especially with advances in technology. High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is just one example of how sophisticated food processing has become. HFCS is made by using chemicals to transform the starch that occurs naturally in corn into a sweet liquid called corn syrup, made of glucose. The corn syrup is further processed in order to boost its sweetness. An enzyme is added that changes some of the glucose into much-sweeter fructose in a 42/55 proportion, to be exact. (The other 3% is other carbohydrates.) That’s where the “high-fructose” in the name comes from.
High-fructose corn syrup was developed in the 1970s as a cheap, versatile replacement for sugar. During the next 30 years, its use skyrocketed. Today it has replaced sugar as the most common added sweetener in sodas and many other beverages. It is also used in many packaged and processed foods, both as a sweetener and to keep food fresh and prevent browning. It can be found in everything from ketchup, salad dressing, bread, and cereals, to lunchmeats, cookies, and chips.
How is HFCS different from sugar? And is HFCS worse for you than other sugars? Two common sugars in our diet are fructose and sucrose. Fructose occurs naturally in fruits and honey and, as described above, it can be synthesized from corn to create HFCS. Sucrose, or table sugar, is structurally similar to HFCS–its glucose/fructose ratio is 50/50. In many fruits, naturally occurring fructose is found in relatively small amounts. For example, a cup of blueberries contains about 30 calories’ worth. In contrast, many processed foods containing sucrose or HFCS harbor dense concentrations of fructose. A single 12-ounce soda has approximately 80 calories’ worth of fructose (1).
A 2004 study sparked controversy by suggesting that the obesity epidemic in the U.S.—and related health problems like diabetes and high blood pressure—might be linked to the rise of HFCS as the dominant sweetener in soft drinks and other foods. The study suggested that the body digests and metabolizes fructose in liquid form differently from the way it processes glucose. More recent research indicates that the liver processes fructose by converting much of it directly into fat and shipping it to fat tissue. Over time, excessive conversion of fructose to fat results in fatty deposits in the liver, leading to a condition known as “fatty liver disease.” (1) In addition to fatty liver disease, the American Heart Association has recognized that excessive fructose consumption appears to be associated with an array of other health problems. They include increased triglyceride levels in the bloodstream, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and hypertension.
The question of whether HFCS is worse for our health than sucrose is still being studied, and there are differing opinions on the topic. Many researchers believe that HFCS and sucrose are essentially identical and have similar effects on the body. However, a recent study out of Princeton University suggests that HFCS may impact our bodies differently, leading to more significant weight gain, especially in the abdominal region, and a greater increase in triglyceride levels than what sucrose contributes.
How much is too much? How much added sugar is ok to eat? The American Heart Association recommends that women consume no more than 100 calories a day from added sugar and men take in no more than 150 calories per day, although less is better. That translates into about 6 teaspoons for women and 9 teaspoons for men. Currently, the average American takes in about 12 teaspoons of high-fructose corn syrup alone per day. That doesn’t include other sugars like sucrose, maltose, and lactose. Some teens and other high-consuming groups take in as much as 80% more HFCS than the average person.
Tips for reducing sugar How do you bring your sugar intake down to a safe level? Moderate your consumption of foods and beverages that contain high levels of sugar. That means avoiding sugary sodas, moderating consumption of 100% fruit juices, and drinking more water. Choose breakfast cereals that contain no added sugars or only small amounts of them. Add fresh fruit to your cereal if you crave a sweeter flavor. Check ingredient labels on packaged and processed foods for added sugars. Look not just for high-fructose corn syrup (sometimes called corn sugar), but also sugar, brown sugar, glucose, dextrose, fructose, fruit juice concentrates, molasses, and syrup.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends substituting foods with naturally occurring sugars in them, like fruits, vegetables, and milk products for foods with sugars that are added during food processing. That way, you avoid eating empty calories, since foods with added sugars tend to have fewer nutrients than foods with naturally occurring sugars. Instead of snacking on cookies, candy, or chips, try fruit, low-fat cheese, or vegetables instead. Once you get used to the taste of foods that don’t have added or processed sweeteners, you’ll find that not only are they good for you, they taste good, too!
Learn more about maintaining your health and well-being:
(1) Taube G. Why we get fat and what to do about it. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf; 2011. |
"Spam" messages are unsolicited and unwanted calls from commercial advertisers or phone scammers. YouMail allows you to flag these calls in your online inbox so that YouMail’s Public Directory will know to automatically block them.
To mark a number as spam:
1. Log into your account on the YouMail website
2. Select the “Inbox” tab on the top of the screen
3. Go to the folder with the message you wish to mark as spam
4. Select the message you wish to mark as spam
5. Click “Report Spam”
6. Double-check the number and caller name. Leave a comment if you wish
7. Click “Submit”
Once completed, this message will be moved to your spam folder and the YouMail Public Directory will flag this number as a spammer for other callers as well. By default, calls from flagged spammers will automatically get sent to your spam folder. |
Sending Data from Splunk To Database Using DB Connect ( DBX – Part 3)
In this post we are covering how to to create an output in the “Splunk DB Connect” application and get the most out of your database with Splunk.
Creating an “Output” in “Splunk DB Connect” application
Step-1: Navigate to the “Outputs” page, and click on the “New output” button.
Step-2: Set up Search,
Search/Saved Search : Select whether you want to write a new search or you want to use a saved search.
Run the search to check the output of your search/saved search.
Once you are satisfied with the output, click on the “Next” button.
Step-3: Choose Table,
Connection : Select the connection you want to use
for this input.
Catalog : Select the Catalog (if available).
Schema : Select the Schema from your database.
Table : Search for the table/click on the table
name where you want to push the data
Here, we are using a table “METHOD_INFO”,
Verify the “Table Schema”and click on the “Next” button.
Step-4: Fields Mapping
Fields Mapping Section:
Here, you map the data fields from Splunk to the database table. You just need to click on the “Search fields” and the corresponding “Table Contents”.
You can add multiple search fields by clicking on the “Add Search Field” button.
Enabling this behavior overrides any rows with the same values, you need to choose a column that can be used as a “key”.
Click on the “Next” button to move further into the configuration.
Step-5: Set properties,
Name : Provide a unique name for this output.
Description (Optional): Add a description about what
this output does.
Application: Select the app context.
Query Timeout : Specify how long to wait for the query to
Scheduling : Click on the box to enable scheduling for
this output, otherwise the output behaves as
a single shot query.
Execution Frequency : Set the time interval(s) at which
this query should run (CRON Expression).
Click on the “Finish” button to finish the configuration.
You should get the “Done” screen as shown below.
Step-5: Now you will be to see the data in the database. You can check with Database Team to verify whether data has been stored into the database or not. See the below screenshot for our database.
Additionally, you can use the “SQL Explorer” to test/experiment with your SQL queries before you use them to create inputs/outputs etc.
Hope, this post was worth a read. If you want to know more about the DB connect configuration and operations please visit the below links. |
Do you suffer from depression and have you noticed that this has improved because of the MIR-Method, or has it even disappeared altogether? That’s great!
We’d like to hear from you about what has improved! Please answer these questions:
1. How long have you done the MIR-Method?
2. How did the MIR-Method help you and what changes did it bring to your life?
At the bottom of this page is a form, which you can use to report your results. By clicking on “End”, you’ll jump to the form.
Would you like to read more on this subject? Please read the articles Mireille Mettes wrote about the following subjects:
* the point of walking;
* following your heart;
* let go, straighten up and throw away;
* clarify mission about your hobby;
* your sense of humor;
* when people don’t believe you;
* solving conflicts in 5 steps.;
* self forgiveness;
* the 5-minute super trick;
* clenched jaws; |
The formation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae cell wall requires the coordinated activity of enzymes involved in the biosynthesis and modification of its components, such as glucans. The β-(1,3)-glucan synthase complexes, that have Fks proteins as putative catalytic subunits, use UDP-glucose as a substrate and catalyse the synthesis and vectorial extrusion of glucan chains into the outer space. Then, β-(1,3)-glucan chains are branched, elongated and remodelled in order to create a robust texture capable of counteracting the high internal pressure and determining cell morphology. β-(1,3)-glucan is the main component of the vegetative cell wall and one of the most abundant polymers of the spore wall. Several enzymes belonging to the family GH72 of glycosyl hydrolases have been identified in fungi. These enzymes are responsible of the lateral elongation of β-(1,3)-glucan, thus contributing to the assembly and organization of the glucan layer. The multigene GAS family of S. cerevisiae is composed of five members, GAS1-5, involved in cell wall maintenance. They share significant similarity with Aspergillus fumigatus GEL1 and GEL2, and with Candida albicans PHR1 and PHR2. Similar to the most extensively characterized member, Gas1p, the remaining Gas proteins are β-(1,3)-glucanosyltransferases involved in cell wall assembly and maintenance. Based on their expression patterns, they appear to play partially overlapping roles throughout the yeast life cycle: GAS1 and GAS5 are expressed during vegetative growth, whereas GAS2 and GAS4 are expressed exclusively during sporulation and required for normal spore wall formation, finally GAS3 is a weakly expressed gene. Thus these enzymes could satisfy the cellular needs to remodel β-(1,3)-glucan in different physiological conditions and in different conformations along the yeast life cell cycle. Moreover, considering its role in yeast cell biology, the GAS enzyme family represents a very promising molecular target for new antifungal drugs. During my PhD thesis I focused my interest on the functional characterization of GAS1, 2, 3 and 4 in various stages of the yeast life cycle: vegetative growth, meiosis, sporulation and spore germination. This study is aimed to understand the biological significance of the developmentally regulated requirement of the specific members of the GAS redundant family in the morphological stages of yeast life cycle. GAS2 and GAS4 genes are specifically induced during sporulation and encode for glycoproteins. The effects of the loss of Gas2 and Gas4 proteins on spore wall morphogenesis are dramatic. Synthesis of all the layers of the spore cell wall occurs, but the accumulation and organization of wall material is abnormal. The lack of the elongase activity of Gas2 and Gas4 proteins in the double mutant might cause the formation of shorter or less branched β(1,3)-glucan chains in the inner layer of the spore wall. Thus, the connection of the outermost layers to a less compact glucan network could make the spore wall more fragile and easily stripped under harsh conditions. These defects cause an increase in spore permeability to exogenous substances, a decrease in refractivity, and a marked decrease in spore viability. The possible execution point for GAS2 and GAS4 could be between the synthesis and organization of β(1,3)-glucan and, more specifically, in the elongation of the β(1,3)-glucan chains. Consistently with their role, during sporulation Gas2 and Gas4 proteins localize at the newly assembling prospore membrane during the meiotic divisions and in mature ascospore the proteins decorate the spore periphery. A slight difference in the protein patterns of fluorescence on the spore suggests that Gas2p and Gas4p final localization could be respectively the spore wall and the prospore membrane. In this work, an extensive study of the localization of the Gas1 protein during the yeast life cycle was performed, taking advantage of a GFP-tagged version of the protein. During vegetative growth Gas1p has a dual localization: in the plasma membrane and at the site of bud emergence, particularly in the neck, in the chitin ring that surrounds the neck region and in the bud scars where Gas1p remains after cytokinesis. At the neck region Gas1p appears to absolve important functions in yeast as a part of the mechanisms that ensure the resistance of the neck region and the morphogenesis of the septum. The size and morphology of the neck region is severely affected both in the gas1Δ and gas1Δ chs3Δ mutant, suggesting an involvement of the protein in the maintenance of the integrity of the mother-bud neck region. The presence of Gas1p in the chitin ring could be part of the mechanism necessary to prevent new incorporation of glucan chains into the neck region or alternatively the protein could be required for a particular type of remodelling necessary for the septum region in preparation to cell division. Additionally, Gas1p could act as landmark protein for the choice of the site of bud emergencee. As to Gas1p localization at the plasma membrane, our study supports the validity of Gas1p-GFP as a marker to follow the dynamics of lipid raft. At the induction of sporulation, GAS1 mRNA levels steadily decrease and by 10h it is completely declined. Surprisingly, Gas1p levels are roughly constant during the entire sporulation processs and the protein is very stable, being detectable also at 43h after the induction of sporulation. During spore development, a translocation event occurs through which at the completion of meiosis II, Gas1p, synthesized during vegetative growth, is removed from the plasma membrane and internalized. Later, Gas1p is detected associated to the nascent prospore membrane surrounding the nuclear lobes and finally in mature spores it localizes at the spore periphery. This translocation event suggests that Gas1p delivery to the spore surface is not part of the developmentally reprogramming of the secretory pathway from the trans Golgi to the prospore membrane, whereas it involves at least in part the endocytic pathway. We demonstrated that END3-mediated endocytosis is one of the mechanisms required for the removal of the Gas1p from the plasma membrane and its efficient re-localization at the prospore membrane. Moreover in a sps1Δ mutant, Gas1p remains localized at the plasma membrane and fails to reach the spore surface. Sps1p is a member of the Ste20 protein kinase family and regulates the trafficking to the prospore membrane of enzymes involved in spore wall synthesis, such as the glucan synthase Fks2p and chitin synthase Chs3p. Thus Sps1p could regulate the traffic of Gas1p most likely in an indirect way by interacting and modifying the components of the intracellular trafficking machinery. Gas1p translocation during sporulation To test a possible involvement of Gas1p in spore wall formation, in this study we tried to characterize the sporulation phenotype of a gas1Δ mutant. Unfortunately our analysis was complicated by the mutant reduced cell viability when grown in presence of a poor carbon source such as acetate. gas1Δ sporulation defect could rely in a unsatisfied energetic request as the cell wall perturbations, typical of a gas1Δ mutant, enhance carbon and energy mobilization to efficiently combat cell wall weakening and the metabolism of acetate as the sole carbon source could be not sufficient to satisfy this energetic request. Moreover the addition of sorbitol to the sporulation medium only partially rescues gas1Δ defective phenotype during spore development. Even though sorbitol can mitigate the gas1Δ cell wall damages, it has no buffering effect on the gas1Δ energetic request, thus the mutant cells remained substantially unable to sporulate. Consequently, gas1Δ sporulation defective phenotype appears to be reminiscent of the mutant defects during vegetative growth, even worsened in a poor carbon source. Even though we cannot exclude a role for Gas1p during spore morphogenesis, it is our consumption that the protein translocation to the spore represents a “storage”mechanisms to ensure the presence of the Gas1p during spore germination. At 3h after the shift to a rich medium, Gas1p exhibits a highly polarized distribution, decorating exclusively half of the germinating spore in its growing pole. The protein localization is consistent with its role in glucan layer remodelling of the cell wall at the growing portion of the germinating cell. Besides gas1Δ germinating spore inability to support the elongation during the polarized growth of the cell suggests that Gas1p is required for a very early step in germination. Besides the protein is involved in a post-germination stage to support the polarized growth of the newly emerging bud. Finally, in this study we reported the preliminary results about the functional characterization of GAS3. The gene is expressed at a very low level during the vegetative growth in glucose and acetate. Consistently with the GAS3 expression pattern, Gas3p appears as a highly polydispersed glycoprotein of high molecular weight that is present in vegetative growing cells and along the sporulation process. EndoH treatment reduces the size and the aspect of the protein to a sharp band, suggesting that Gas3p is a heavily N-glycosylated protein. The experiments indicated that neither the overexpression nor the deletion of the GAS3 gene, alone or in combination with GAS2 and GAS4, lead to relevant differences in sporulation with respect toh the wild type or with the defective phenotype of the gas2 gas4 null mutant strain . The construction of a tagged version of the Gas3 protein to determine its localization will be a useful tool to understand the function ofl Gas3p during yeast life cycle.
GAS1, GAS2, GAS3 and GAS4 : four developmentally regulated genes with specialized roles at different stages of the yeast life cycle ; relatore: L. Popolo ; coordinatore: G. Zanetti. - Milano : Università degli studi di Milano. DIPARTIMENTO DI SCIENZE BIOMOLECOLARI E BIOTECNOLOGIE, 2009 Jan 08. ((21. ciclo, Anno Accademico 2007/2008.
|Titolo:||GAS1, GAS2, GAS3 and GAS4 : four developmentally regulated genes with specialized roles at different stages of the yeast life cycle|
|Supervisori e coordinatori interni:||ZANETTI, GIULIANA|
|Data di pubblicazione:||8-gen-2009|
|Parole Chiave:||cell wall ; leiviti ; Fungi ; GAS family|
|Settore Scientifico Disciplinare:||Settore BIO/11 - Biologia Molecolare|
Settore BIO/10 - Biochimica
|Citazione:||GAS1, GAS2, GAS3 and GAS4 : four developmentally regulated genes with specialized roles at different stages of the yeast life cycle ; relatore: L. Popolo ; coordinatore: G. Zanetti. - Milano : Università degli studi di Milano. DIPARTIMENTO DI SCIENZE BIOMOLECOLARI E BIOTECNOLOGIE, 2009 Jan 08. ((21. ciclo, Anno Accademico 2007/2008.|
|Appare nelle tipologie:||13 - Tesi di dottorato discussa entro ottobre 2010| |
One of the largest remaining wetland complexes in New Zealand, the lagoon and wetlands provide a vital refuge for rare birds and threatened plants.
One of the largest remaining wetland complexes in New Zealand, the Waituna Lagoon and Awarua Wetlands is hugely important for its biological diversity and cultural values.
The lagoon and the surrounding 20,000 hectares of wetlands area was one of the first in New Zealand to be officially recognised as a wetland of international importance. A 3500 hectare section of the wetlands, known as the Waituna Wetland Scientific Reserve, was listed as part of New Zealand’s obligations when signing the Ramsar Wetland Convention; an international convention that promotes the wise or sustainable use of wetlands. The site includes four major wetland types: coastal lagoons, freshwater swamps, extensive peatlands, and estuaries. Each ecosystem is unique and maintained by different ecological processes.
The wetlands provide a vital refuge for rare bird species, including the Southern New Zealand Dotterel (Tūturiwhatu), Marsh Crake (Koitareke), Fernbird (Mātātā) and Australasian Bittern (Matuku). The area is also visited frequently by many different trans-equatorial migrating and wading bird species, attracting rare visitors to New Zealand such as the Siberian Tattler, Greenshank and Sanderling. Most of the migratory waders are present only from October to late March, but some of the more common species are present through the winter as well. Many threatened plants and insects, as well as wildfowl, native fish and trout, also call the area home.
So bring your binoculars and spot rare birds, enjoy the easy walking tracks, explore the margins of the lagoon in a kayak or small boat, or just soak in the amazing and unique sights at this important natural site.
- Free Things to Do
- Outdoor Activities
- Natural Attraction
- Less than half day
- Wildlife Spotting
- Scenic Photo Point
- Scenic Attraction
- Walking & Tramping |
My company uses Tivoli for asset tracking - with DB2 as the repository. In my opinion, the Tivoli tables were not set up correctly as they have one primary key - computer_sys_id that links the tables together but, I believe there was a one-to-one assumption made throughout. In my situation, Tivoli does not identify when a NIC is disconnected - instead, it will list the same IP Address for all network cards in that one computer when two ip addresses are not found. All tables contain the computer_sys_id but neither the net_adapter nor the ip_addr tables have any key between them to where one can match the ip address to the specific adapter card. If the computer is using both primary and secondary ip addresses (two active nics), I am unable to identify which ip address is assigned to which network card.
net_adapter = computer_sys_id, mac, adapter_type, etc.
ip_addr = computer_sys_id, ip_address, dnsinfo, etc.
Currently, if I create a query using just the net_adapter and ip_addr tables, I will get up to 4 records for those that have two network cards listed. My work around for this is that I filter all Token Ring adapters from the net_adapter table (an assumption on my part that all comm w/Tivoli is via ethernet), combine the net_adapter and ip_addr tables and then run a distinct query against my results. This still produces less than perfect results but I can usually walk my way through why.
My question - to those that follow my explanation above: Could this be done in one query or is it best to run seperate queries (basing each on the previous) to gather my end results?
I need to provide this information to a web page.
computer table - computer_sys_id, machine type, model, serial number, location
net_adapter - computer_sys_id, mac
ip_addr - computer_sys_id, ip_address |
In the late 1970s, ill with Parkinson’s Disease, George R. Stewart worked valiantly to complete his last book. The book was a dictionary of the names given to Americans, and, like Names on the Land, it considered those name-givings in an historical context. The book was entitled American Given Names.
In the book’s “Introduction” Stewart describes several principles of American name-giving: Names are given soon after birth; those names are considered permanent; names usually are gender-specific; the names chosen by the namers are considered “good” names; there is a huge pool of names from which to choose; names may leave the pool by misuse, and new names may be added by use; although the names may have originally come from many different languages, they are Americanized in spelling and pronunciation. He follows that with a detailed “Historical Sketch,” nearly 40 pages long, which gives a good context for the types of names bestowed at different American eras, and some reasons for those choices.
The main section of the book is of course the dictionary of names. Note that these are American given names – not English or any other nations, although many nations and tongues provided the names originally – so these names would be given to children born here. Each name is defined; its origin and meaning given; and a brief history of its use included. Many of the names will seem dated now – the book is nearly 40 years old, and television and movies have had a profound impact on naming since then. But others are still common: Robert, Catherine, Donald, Mary, John, and so on. Since this is a work with an historical viewpoint, many of the names were not in common use even before publication, but Stewart included them as of historic interest. Of just because he found them interesting. How many people today are named Mahershalalhashbaz?
Stewart, good scholar that he was, leaves his readers with a quest – to track name changes of the late twentieth century, which seem like so much of that time to break with the past, to see if those new names endure, or if they’re replaced with other names.
The book is a good read, and a resource for scholars, writers, or anyone interested in American names.
The book was published by Oxford in 1978. Ted (Theodosia) Stewart told us that Stewart was working while he lay in bed, in pain. When someone commented that it must be hard to watch him do the work, Ted exclaimed, “No! No one can live with George unless he’s writing! Thank God he has this book to write!”
Stewart tried to write one more book, a biography of his father-in-law, University of Michigan President Marion LeRoy Burton. But to read his manuscript is to feel deep sorrow. He kept starting the book, over and over, but he could not get it beyond an early section. He died without having made much progress on it. On the other hand, he had written 28 published books, and a few never published; and even in the pain of his last illness, he wrote this fine book. |
“The Miguel Street”, third fictional work by Sir V S Naipaul (after The Mystic Masseur and The Suffrage of Elvira) was first published in 1959 and won the Somerset Maughm Award in 1961. The book is a collection of the prose pictures of various characters living on the Miguel Street in Port of Spain, Trinidad.
The story is told in first person as the experiences of a young, fatherless boy living in the street with his mother. As he says, Miguel Street would have appeared just like any other slum to a passer-by, but to those who had opportunity to observe its characters for many years, it presented a collection of humane characters, each unique in his/her own way.
Each story describes the life and eccentricities of a single character. The people that we meet on the Miguel Street with the author are:
- Bogart: the patient one, Popo: the carpenter,
- George: who lived in the pink house,
- Elias: the hard working boy who ended up as street scavenger,
- Man-man: the mad man,
- B. Wordsworth: the poet,
- Big Foot: the bully, Morgan: the pyrotechnicist,
- Titus Hoyt: the self-proclaimed educator,
- Laura: mother of eight children from seven different men,
- Eddoes: the junk king,
- Mrs Hereira: the love-sick runaway woman,
- Uncle Bhakcu: the mechanical genius,
- Bolo: the barber,
- Edward: who worked with Americans and
- Hat: the eternal voice of Miguel Street.
In addition to the main characters listed above, each story introduces us to side-characters from the families and friends of those. The book provides excellent portrait of a colonial neighborhood where the residents though not starving are poor, amoral about man-woman relationships and marriages, where the most common outlet for anger and frustration is beating up their wives, children and pets and drinking and the only way out is to study hard.
The book is written in the local dialect of Trinidad and is alive with the sparkling humor present throughout. It is to the author’s credit that though each of the character is eccentric, none of them appear to be caricatures here. The dose of humor is subtly balanced with the apparent reality of these people and the misery of their situation in life that lead to their eccentricities. We learn to appreciate these odd, comic and yet attractive and moving characters as the authors takes us to the Port of Spain of ‘40s and ‘50s.
Sir V S Naipaul admired R K Narayan’s work when he was young and this book reminded me of “Malgudi Days” in its set-up and the style of the narrative. But, the similarities end there. Though both Malgudi and Miguel Street are full of endearingly real characters, their nature and lifestyle are quite different. Malgudi characters do represent the variety of Indian society in terms of caste and creed, in essence they belong to the village where their families had been living for generations. But, the Miguel Street characters are unique and much different with their varying ancestry, color, race and ethnicity. They have no age-long history, except that of a generation or two of their ancestors, who came to the colonial plantation and kept moving from place to place. Fate and life has brought them to Miguel Street and the bond that keeps them together is their struggle for survival rather than the cultural one. |
Surge suppressor units are a kind of protective device used to ensure that electrical equipment is not damaged by a sudden voltage spike. This can be caused by a lightning strike or simply an electrical fault. Surge suppressors are often built into devices such as power strips, but they are also available as standalone units.
Surge suppressor units protect devices by blocking or diverting the excess voltage to the ground. They are triggered when the voltage exceeds a pre-determined threshold. They are often used as part of power distribution units and sometimes come with a warning light to indicate pre-failure.
Surge suppressor units can vary in a number of ways, including the mounting method they require, their maximum surge current, and the type of electrical equipment they are to be used with. For example: |
The European Parliament adopts three new reports on gender equality
The European Parliament adopted yesterday three reports on gender equality:
- The EU Strategy for Gender Equality: "Parliament welcomes the positive measures included in the EU’s new Gender Equality Strategy but calls for additional actions and specific and binding targets.
In their report adopted by 464 votes in favour, 119 against and 93 abstentions on Thursday, MEPs describe the Commission’s 2020-2025 Gender Equality Strategy as ambitious but regret that it is sometimes too vague and lacks defined targets to be reached by 2025 and clear monitoring tools."
- The gender perspective in the Covid-19 crisis and post-crisis period: MEPs examined the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women and proposed measures to protect women's rights and enhance gender equality during and after the crisis. In a report adopted by 485 votes in favour, 86 against and 108 abstentions on Thursday, MEPs stress the need for a gender-sensitive response to all aspects of the COVID-19 crisis in order to enhance gender equality and to protect women’s rights during the pandemic and post-pandemic period.
- Closing the digital gender gap: women’s participation in the digital economy: "It is necessary to encourage women’s participation in technical and high-level jobs by overcoming educational barriers from an early stage, say MEPs. In a non-legislative report adopted on Thursday by 598 votes in favour, 45 against and 40 abstentions, MEPs call on the Commission to address the serious gender gap within the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) sector, via concrete measures and appropriate funding aimed at increasing the participation and digital inclusion of women and girls." |
Plan your adoption of In-Memory OLTP Features in SQL Server
This article describes the ways in which the adoption of In-Memory features affects other aspects of your business system.
A. Adoption of In-Memory OLTP features
The following subsections discuss factors you must consider when you plan to adopt and implement In-Memory features. A lot of explanatory information is available at:
One prerequisite for using the In-Memory features can involve the edition or service tier of the SQL product. For this and other prerequisites, see:
- Requirements for Using Memory-Optimized Tables
A.2 Forecast the amount of active memory
Does your system have enough active memory to support a new memory-optimized table?
Microsoft SQL Server
A memory-optimized table which contains 200 GB of data requires more than 200 GB of active memory be dedicated to its support. Before you implement a memory-optimized table containing a large amount of data, you must forecast the amount of additional active memory you might need to add to your server computer. For estimation guidance, see:
Azure SQL Database
For a database hosted in the Azure SQL Database cloud service, your chosen service tier affects the amount of active memory your database is allowed to consume. You should plan to monitor the memory usage of your database by using an alert. For details, see:
Memory-optimized table variables
A table variable which is declared to be memory-optimzed is sometimes a preferable to a traditional #TempTable that resides in the tempdb database. Such table variables can provide significant performance gains without using significant amounts of active memory.
A.3 Table must be offline to convert to memory-optimized
Some ALTER TABLE functionality is available for memory-optimized tables. But you cannot issue an ALTER TABLE statement to convert a disk-based table into a memory-optimized table. Instead you must use a more manual set of steps. What follows are various ways you can convert your disk-based table to be memory-optimized.
One way to convert your disk-based table to a memory-optimized table is to code the necessary Transact-SQL steps yourself.
Suspend application activity.
Take a full backup.
Rename your disk-based table.
Issue a CREATE TABLE statement to create your new memory-optimized table.
INSERT INTO your memory-optimized table with a sub-SELECT from the disk-based table.
DROP your disk-based table.
Take another full backup.
Resume application activity.
Memory Optimization Advisor
The Memory Optimization Advisor tool can generate a script to help implement the conversion of a disk-based table to a memory-optimized table. The tool is installed as part of SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT).
You can update your database in-place by using a .dacpac file, managed by SSDT. In SSDT you can specify changes to the schema that is encoded in the .dacpac file.
You work with .dacpac files in the context of a Visual Studio project of type Database.
- Data-tier Applications and .dacpac files
A.4 Guidance for whether In-Memory OLTP features are right for your application
For guidance on whether In-Memory OLTP features can improve the performance of your particular application, see:
B. Unsupported features
Features which are not supported in certain In-Memory OLTP scenarios are described at:
The following subsections highlight some of the more important unsupported features.
B.1 SNAPSHOT of a database
After the first time that any memory-optimized table or module is created in a given database, no SNAPSHOT of the database can ever be taken. The specific reason is that:
- The first memory-optimized item makes it impossible to ever drop the last file from the memory-optimized FILEGROUP; and
- No database that has a file in a memory-optimized FILEGROUP can support a SNAPSHOT.
Normally a SNAPSHOT can be handy for quick testing iterations.
B.2 Cross-database queries
Memory-optimized tables do not support cross-database transactions. You cannot access another database from the same transaction or the same query that also accesses a memory-optimized table.
Table variables are not transactional. Therefore, memory-optimized table variables can be used in cross-database queries.
B.3 READPAST table hint
No query can apply the READPAST table hint to any memory-optimized table.
The READPAST hint is helpful in scenarios where several sessions are each accessing and modifying the same small set of rows, such as in processing a queue.
B.4 RowVersion, Sequence
No column can be tagged for RowVersion on a memory-optimized table.
A SEQUENCE cannot be used with a constraint in a memory-optimized table. For example, you cannot create a DEFAULT constraint with a NEXT VALUE FOR clause. SEQUENCEs can be used with INSERT and UPDATE statements.
C. Administrative maintenance
This section describes differences in database administration where memory-optimized tables are used.
C.1 Identity seed reset, increment > 1
DBCC CHECKIDENT, to reseed an IDENTITY column, cannot be used on a memory-optimized table.
The increment value is restricted to exactly 1 for an IDENTITY column on a memory-optimized table.
C.2 DBCC CHECKDB cannot validate memory-optimized tables
The DBCC CHECKDB command does nothing when its target is a memory-optimized table. The following steps are a work-around:
Back up the files in the memory-optimized FILEGROUP to a null device. The backup process invokes a checksum validation.
If corruption is found, proceed with the next steps.
Copy data from your memory-optimized tables into disk-based tables, for temporary storage.
Restore the files of the memory-optimized FILEGROUP.
INSERT INTO the memory-optimized tables the data you temporarily stored in the disk-based tables.
DROP the disk-based tables which temporarily held the data.
This section describes situations where the excellent performance of memory-optimized tables can be held below full potential.
D.1 Index considerations
All indexes on a memory-optimized table are created and managed by the table-related statements CREATE TABLE and ALTER TABLE. You cannot target a memory-optimized table with a CREATE INDEX statement.
The traditional b-tree nonclustered index is often the sensible and simple choice when you first implement a memory-optimized table. Later, after you see how your application performs, you can consider swapping another index type.
Two special types of indexes need discussion in the context of a memory-optimized table: Hash indexes, and Columnstore indexes.
For an overview of indexes on memory-optimized tables, see:
Hash indexes can be the fastest format for accessing one specific row by its exact primary key value by using the '=' operator.
Inexact operators such as '!=', '>', or 'BETWEEN' would harm performance if used with a hash index.
A hash index might not be the best choice if the rate of key value duplication becomes too high.
Guard against underestimating how many buckets your hash index might need, to avoid long chains within individual buckets. For details, see:
Nonclustered columnstore indexes
Memory-optimized tables deliver high throughput of typical business transactional data, in the paradigm we call online transaction processing or OLTP. Columnstore indexes deliver high throughput of aggregations and similar processing we call Analytics. In years past the best approach available for satisfying the needs of both OLTP and Analytics was to have separate tables with heavy movement of data, and with some degree of data duplication. Today a simpler hybrid solution is available: have a columnstore index on a memory-optimized table.
A columnstore index can be built on a disk-based table, even as the clustered index. But on a memory-optimized table a columnstore index cannot be clustered.
LOB or off-row columns for a memory-optimized table prevent the creation of a columnstore index on the table.
No ALTER TABLE statement can be executed against a memory-optimized table while a columnstore index exists on the table.
- As of August 2016, Microsoft has near-term plans to improve the performance of re-creating the columnstore index.
D.2 LOB and off-row columns
Large objects (LOBs) are columns of such types as varchar(max). Having a couple of LOB columns on a memory-optimized table probably does not harm performance enough to matter. But do avoid having more LOB columns than your data needs. The same advice applies to off-row columns. Do not define a column as nvarchar(3072) if varchar(512) will suffice.
A bit more about LOB and off-row columns is available at:
E. Limitations of native procs
Particular elements of Transact-SQL are not supported in natively compiled T-SQL modules, including stored procedures. For details about which features are supported, see:
For considerations when migrating a Transact-SQL modules that uses unsupported features to natively compiled, see:
Besides limitations on certain elements of Transact-SQL, there are also limitation on query operators supported in natively compiled T-SQL modules. Because of these limitations, natively compiled stored procedures are not suitable for analytical queries that process large data sets.
No parallel processing in a native proc
Parallel processing cannot be a part of any query plan for a native proc. Native procs are always single-threaded.
Neither a hash join nor a merge join can be a part of any query plan for a native proc. Nested loop joins are used.
No hash aggregation
When the query plan for a native proc requires an aggregation phase, only stream aggregation is available. Hash aggregation is not supported in a query plan for a native proc.
- Hash aggregation is better when data from a large number of rows must aggregated.
F. Application design: Transactions and retry logic
A transaction involving a memory-optimized table can become dependent on another transaction which involves the same table. If the count of dependent transactions reaches exceeds the allowed maximum, all the dependent transactions fail.
In SQL Server 2016:
- The allowed maximum is 8 dependent transactions. 8 is also the limit of transactions that any given transaction can be dependent on.
- The error number is 41839. (In SQL Server 2014 the error number is 41301.)
You can make your Transact-SQL scripts more robust against a possible transaction error by adding retry logic to your scripts. Retry logic is more likely to help when UPDATE and DELETE calls are frequent, or if the memory-optimized table is referenced by a foreign key in another table. For details, see:
- Transactions with Memory-Optimized Tables
- Transaction dependency limits with memory optimized tables - Error 41839 |
The European Week for Waste Reduction is an initiative aiming to promote the implementation of awareness-raising actions about sustainable resource and waste management during a single week. It encourages a wide range of audiences (public authorities, private companies, civil society as well as citizens themselves) to get involved.
What are the EWWR’s objectives?
- to raise awareness about waste reduction, product reuse and material recycling strategies, and related European Union and Member States policies,
- to highlight the work accomplished by EWWR participants,
- to mobilise and encourage European citizens to concentrate on four key action themes,
- to reinforce EWWR stakeholders’ capacities by providing them with targeted communication tools and training,
- to assess the impact of communication actions on concrete behaviour change regarding consumption and waste management patterns.
What are the EWWR’s main features?
- Coordination of awareness-raising actions during one week of the year
- Development of target-group-specific communication tools for schools, businesses, administrations/associations and citizens
- Development and promotion of Prevention Thematic Days focusing on one specific waste prevention topic per year
- Development and testing of the concept of a European Clean-Up Day: “Let’s Clean Up Europe”
The actions implemented in the EWWR are addressing the “3Rs”: Reduce waste, Reuse products, Recycle material. The “3Rs” represent the options which should be considered first when elaborating a waste management strategy.
Following the hierarchy illustrated above, reducing waste should always be the first priority. Reduce means using fewer resources in the first place and includes strict avoidance as well as reduction at source. The second-best option is to reuse products. This includes also preparation for reuse. Third priority and the last waste management option that is included in the EWWR is materials recycling. |
End of preview. Expand in Data Studio
No dataset card yet
- Downloads last month
- 103