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to Winsock that are specific to TCP/IP protocols. It also describes aspects of base Winsock functions that require special consideration or that may exhibit unique behavior when using TCP/IP. Build date: 11/29/2012 |
The consequences of climate change—floods, droughts, extreme weather, declining agricultural production—affect everyone. But in many developing countries, shifting temperature and precipitation patterns are making life especially hard for women and |
their families. A new documentary available online, Weathering Change, tells the stories of women around the world who are shouldering the burdens of climate change. Here is one such story: |
Langtang region, Nepal–The photo is no bigger than a matchbook. In it, a man with stubble on his chin and a pink Nepalese hat on his head peers out from |
a simple white background. His eyes, tiny black dots, squint ever-so-slightly at the camera. For months at a time, this is all Radhika Poudel sees of her husband. They are |
not separated, or divorced. He isn’t a soldier deployed in a foreign war. But he’s gone all the same. “The food from the farms was not enough for us to |
eat,” Radhika explains. “It was not possible to survive. Something had to be done. So, he started working outside (the village).” Her husband usually comes home around June, when there |
is more work on the farm, and also in the winter, when it gets cold in Kathmandu and the work there dries up. Overall, she sees him for maybe four |
months out of the year. “He does whatever he can get his hands on. Sometimes he goes with the trekking groups, sometimes he works as a porter and sometimes he |
works at construction sites as a laborer,” Radhika says. “Clearly, we miss him … but there is no income here. We can’t expect to earn anything by selling what we |
have grown.” Radhika says it has been this way for the last four or five years, ever since the rainfall patterns in their rural farming village changed. While it used |
to rain reliably in April through June, now they never know when to plant, or what their harvest will yield. “Now, seeds die early,” she says. “The crops ripen before |
time. Because of the lack of rainfall, a few places are affected by drought. And the rainfall around September and October destroys what we have planted.” In many of the |
poorest areas of the world, shifting precipitation patterns are already affecting agricultural production, with dire consequences for families and communities. The world’s growing population, which will surpass 7 billion people |
in October, is likely to magnify these challenges. While they are lucky these days to get half of what they used to harvest, Radhika still maintains the farm to feed |
herself, her mother-in-law and her four children. Her days are long–feeding cattle, working the land, growing vegetables. She sees much of the same throughout her village, where other families have |
also been split apart by problems related to climate change. “There are many families that have to struggle,” she says. “Many men have gone away to work as laborers. The |
women have to take the whole responsibility of the household and also look after the kids.” Because of this, another change has also come to the village. Couples that used |
to want big families are now going to the health clinic and asking for contraceptives to limit the number of children they have. To Radhika, it makes sense in these |
tough times, when women are asked to do more, and often do it alone. “There is a big difference between having a lot of children and only two,” she says. |
“It is fine to have no more than two children. Their future depends upon what they can do.” When their reproductive health needs are met, women are healthier and have |
healthier children. Being able to choose to delay pregnancy also increases their prospects for completing school and accessing greater economic opportunities. Radhika’s own children help her in the mornings and |
evenings, but she makes sure they attend school during the day, despite the extra burden it brings. An orphan herself, Radhika lived in poverty as a child, and married and |
had kids young. The village and the farm are all she has known. She wants their future to be different. “If my children choose to stay here and continue on |
with the agriculture, there is no hope,” she says. “However, if they decide to study and go outside of here, then things might be different. “I don’t know what is |
going to happen if I die. But as long as I’m alive, I want to make sure they don’t have to go through the hardships that I had to face.” |
TO ACHIEVE HIGHER DATA RATES in backplane communications, designers tend to improve input/ output (I/O) circuits instead of modifying the board. This approach is easier because of cost and compatibility issues. Yet the I/O usually requires higher power, which may dominate overall power consumption if conventional architectures and circuit structures are used. With novel design approaches, however, it is possible |
to relax the required power dissipation. For example, power efficiency below 5 mW/Gb/s has been targeted by a recent prototype of a 21-Gb/s backplane transceiver. This device, which was developed by Huaide Wang and Jri Lee at National Taiwan University, incorporates a half-rate topology with purely digital blocks to reduce power consumption. To keep the structure simple, the receiver employs |
analog and decision-feedback equalizers in a full-rate structure. The one-tap decisionfeedback equalizer combines the summer and slicer into the flipflop. In doing so, it shortens the feedback path while considerably speeding operation. The transceiver, which is fabricated in 65-nm CMOS, delivers 21-Gb/s data (231 1 PRBS) over a 40-cm FR4 channel while consuming 87 mW from a 1.2-V supply . |
A feed-forward equalizer (FFE) was used in the transmitter. This FFE offered speeds above 20 Gb/s. When trying to select the optimal number of taps for such a high-speed FFE, the researchers discovered that the response better fit into the desired response with the more taps that were used. To determine the DFE topology, the tradeoffs of full-rate and half-rate |
Growing up in Raleigh in the early ’60s, I would sometimes bicycle downtown and stop at the old North Carolina Museum of Art. (The Museum was air conditioned). One of the paintings that always attracted me was a landscape with a sunset. But it was not just a sunset. It |
was volcanic. Krakatoan. Looking back, I don’t think I saw a sunset at all. It was a blinding flash, igniting the sky. (Remember, this was the era of Cuban missiles and “duck and cover.” Neighbors down the street had built a basement fallout shelter that the father of the family |
promised to defend with a shotgun. But I digress . . . the painting fascinated me. It still fascinates me, though less as a premonition of “Dr. Strangelove” than as an image of absolute evil. The artist Thomas Moran had a thing for “The Song of Hiawatha,” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s |
epic poem recounting the heroic exploits of an Ojibway chief. The poem and its vivid imagery inspired Moran to paint several pictures. Our painting depicts an ominous moment in the story when the hero is about to set out to avenge the death of his ancestor at the hands of |
the murderous magician Megissogwon. To direct his journey, Hiawatha’s grandmother Nokomis stands on the shore of Lake Superior and points westward, where: Fiercely the red sun descending Burned his way along the heavens, Set the sky on fire behind him, As war-parties, when retreating, Burn the prairies on their war-trail |
For this painting the artist was challenged to imagine a land of pure evil. Faced with such a challenge, Moran habitually asked himself “what would Turner do?” The great British landscape painter Joseph M. W. Turner (1775-1851) was Moran’s idol. His influence was so pronounced that Moran was known widely |
as the “American Turner.” For his Hiawatha painting, Moran had in mind a specific Turner painting: the horrific Slave Ship (Slavers Throwing Overboard the Dead and the Dying, Typhoon Coming On). Painted in 1840, Slave Ship was Turner’s response to a widely publicized incident in the transatlantic slave trade. He |
heightened the malevolence of the story by marshaling all the forces of nature—a roiling, inky sea, a livid sun, and an angry, incendiary sky—creating a setting fit for the Apocalypse. Moran, who undoubtedly saw the Slave Ship in New York, understood what Turner was doing. He saw that Turner’s fire-and-brimstone |
vision was precisely what was needed for Longfellow’s epic. And so in an act of homage, if not plagiarism, Thomas Moran appropriated the vicious world of the slave trade for his realm of the “mightiest of Magicians.” When I recently walked a group of Governor’s School students around the American |
art galleries, we stopped at Moran’s painting. Several of the kids—not much older than I was when I first saw the picture—were clearly agitated, one asking me what it was all about. Rather than talk about Hiawatha, which none of them had read, I had a flash. Pointing like Nokomis |
|Annu. Rev. Astron. Astrophys. 1992. 30: Copyright © 1993 by . All rights reserved 5.1 Instrumental and Atmospheric Effects Observations of the isotropy of the microwave background radiation are amongst the most difficult ever attempted in astronomy. The sensitivities at |
the level of tens of microkelvin that have been achieved are remarkable, given the many instrumental and atmospheric effects at the level of millikelvin to a few Kelvin. However, progress in this field demands sensitivities an order of magnitude better, |
i.e. at the level of a few microkelvin. It is therefore important to enquire whether these techniques have already been pushed to the limit of sensitivity that can be achieved in practice, or whether one may reasonably anticipate a further |
improvement in instrumental sensitivity of an order of magnitude. The outlook for instrumentation is promising - instrumental advances are being made which permit observations with sensitivities which were not dreamt of ten years ago. In the last few years we |
have entered a new era - the extremely sensitive wide band bolometer observations of Meyer et al (1991a, b) provide a convincing demonstration of the future potential of this approach. Another development which has already helped in these efforts to |
improve the sensitivity of the observations is the introduction of a new generation of transistor amplifiers - sometimes called HEMTs, TEGFETs or HFETs [see e.g. Das (1987), Mishra et al (1988), Chao et al (1989, 1990) and Tan et al |
(1991)] - both as replacements for SIS receivers, albeit at lower frequencies, and as replacements of hydrogen maser amplifiers. The full capabilities of transistor amplifiers are as yet far from being realized. The replacement of the maser amplifiers with transistor |
amplifiers on both the 5.5 meter and the 40 meter telescopes at the Owens Valley Radio Observatory has increased the instantaneous sensitivity by over a factor two so that the same noise levels will now be reached in less than |
one quarter of the observing time. This will make it much easier to track down low level systematic problems, and the full increase of a factor two in sensitivity should be directly reflected in the sensitivities achieved in the best |
weather. The significant effect that the introduction of transistor amplifiers has had on the South Pole observations can be seen by comparing Figures 1d and 1e. The results of Gaier et al (1992) are still preliminary, and a thorough analysis |
is still being carried out on these data, but it is clear that the sensitivity has been improved dramatically through the introduction of transistor amplifiers. The impressive sensitivity already achieved by Meyer et al (1991a), see Figure 4b, indicates clearly |
that instrumental limits are not the problem here, but that backgrounds must be dealt with. Davies and Lasenby and their collaborators are now using transistor amplifiers and their double-switching scheme will likely enable them to push the instrumental limits well |
below the level of fluctuations due to the Galactic synchrotron emission, shown in Figure 5. Observations with the VLA (Fomalont et al 1988) have pushed the instrument to the limit of its capabilities, and the observed variances are only ~ |
15% higher than the theoretical variances - which is typical of normal VLA operation. This exceptional performance is largely due to the automatic cancellation of most offsets and drifts in an interferometer - a point that we return to in |
the discussion of instruments for the future. There is no doubt that instrumental sensitivities can be pushed at least an order of magnitude beyond present limits. However, each observational technique has its own peculiar set of problems and it will |
require substantial efforts to take full advantage of the new developments in instrumentation. As far as ground-based observations are concerned there are two major sources of systematic error to be overcome: atmospheric effects and ground spillover, and it is important |
to determine whether these are likely to impose a hard limit on further progress. The atmospheric effects can be minimized by careful selection of observing frequency and observing site. Observations from the South Pole (Meinhold & Lubin 1991, Gaier et |
al 1992) at 25-35 GHz have been particularly successful in overcoming the atmospheric problem. As far as future prospects are concerned, some encouraging results have been those from the Owens Valley Radio Observatory. In the observations shown in Figure 1b |
and 1c no zero levels or drifts have been subtracted - these are the raw data from which only noisy data (based on internal scatter) have been excluded. We have seen (Equations 8a and 8b) that the rms sensitivity level |
is 10 µK. Furthermore, in the case of the RING experiment, we know that the sky average around the RING must be very close indeed to zero, regardless of the level of the true sky fluctuations, so that this result |
is absolutely calibrated internally. These results show, therefore, that the double switching technique on fields within a few degrees of the celestial pole can eliminate all systematic errors introduced by the instrument and the atmosphere down to the level of |
10 µK. This technique therefore successfully eliminates atmospheric and ground spillover effects down to at least half an order of magnitude below present sensitivity levels. It is possible that we are on the threshold, at the level of 10 µK, |
of insurmountable problems from the atmosphere or ground spillover, but no hint of this has yet been seen, and it therefore appears most likely that the full factor ten improvement in sensitivity being sought will be possible with these techniques. |
Thus it has been demonstrated that the large effects due to ground spillover and the atmosphere can be removed to high precision in the second derivative. We are optimistic that the same can be done in the first derivative by |
There is a lot of misinformation on the Charter School Amendment. I want to try and set the record straight. First, charter schools are public schools. Second, there are different types of charter schools. In DeKalb County, Chestnut, Kingsley and Peachtree Middle are examples of converted charter schools from traditional |
public schools. Third, the charter school amendment primarily deals with charter schools created by the state after a local school board turns down the application. The exception is a school with a statewide attendance zone like the virtual charter school which goes directly to the state. Fourth, the academic performance |
of the state-created charter schools by the former commission is as good or better than the schools in the district where the state created charter schools are domiciled. This data comes from the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement. Fifth, parental involvement is a key component of a charter school because |
in many cases a parent must sign a contract of involvement in their child’s education. Sixth, the current state created charter schools that are brick and mortar facilities receive about 85 percent of the funding that traditional public schools receive. The difference is due to the fact that the state-created |
charter schools do not receive local tax dollars. Seventh, it is true that the state can currently create charter schools. However, based on the Supreme Court ruling it is very likely that any lawsuit challenging this right will be successful. The reason I say this is because in the Supreme |
Court opinion ruling that the state could not compel the locals to contribute to a state created charter school, the court also said the following: state special schools are not schools that enroll the same types of K-12 students who attend general K-12 public schools or that teaches the same |
subjects that may be taught at general K-12 public schools. As a layman, this means to me that the state special school (state-created charter school) would not be an option except for special circumstances such as for the deaf and the blind. Eighth, there are areas of this state where |
local school boards will not approve any charter school. Everyone can’t move or send their child to a private school. Maybe this is why 44 percent of voters in the Democratic Party said Yes to this amendment. Ninth, if a state created charter school does not meet its objectives, then |
it can be shut down. When was the last time a traditional public school was closed due to poor academic performance? Tenth, for-profit companies can make money by running these schools. Why do we care if this means we increase academic performance? Bottom line, if we can increase academic performance |
Oxford, one of the most ancient cities in England, grew up under the shadow of a convent, said to have been founded by St. Frideswide as early as the eighth |
century. Its authentic history begins in 912, when it was occupied by Edward the Elder, King of the West Saxons. It was strongly fortified against the Danes, and again after |
the Norman Conquest, and the massive keep of the castle, the tower of St. Michael's Church (at the north gate), and a large portion of the city walls still remain |
to attest the importance of the city in the eleventh century. West of the town rose the splendid castle, and, in the meadows beneath, the no- less-splendid Augustinian Abbey of |
Oseney: in the fields to the north the last of the Norman kings built the stately palace of Beaumont; the great church of St. Frideswide was erected by the canons-regular |
who succeeded the nuns of St. Frideswide; and many fine churches were built by the piety of the Norman earls. Oxford received a charter from King Henry II, granting its |
citizens the same privileges and exemptions as those enjoyed by the capital of the kingdom; and various important religious houses were founded in or near the city. A grandson of |
King John established Rewley Abbey (of which a single arch now remains) for the Cistercian Order; and friars of various orders (Dominicans, Franciscans, Carmelites, Augustinians, and Trinitarians), all had houses |
at Oxford of varying importance. Parliaments were often held in the city during the thirteenth century, but this period also saw the beginning of the long struggle between the town |
and the growing university which ended in the subjugation of the former, and the extinction for centuries of the civic importance of Oxford. The accession of thousands of students of |
course brought it material prosperity, but it was never, apart from the university, again prominent in history until the seventeenth century, when it became the headquarters of the Royalist party, |
and again the meeting-place of Parliament. The city of Oxford showed its Hanoverian sympathies long before the university, and feeling between them ran high in consequence. The area and population |
of the city remained almost stationary until about 1830, but since then it has grown rapidly. The population is now (1910) about 50,000; the municipal life of the city is |
vigorous and flourishing, and its relations with the university are more intimate and cordial than they have ever been during their long history. Oxford is the cathedral city of the |
Anglican Diocese of Oxford, erected by Henry VIII. Formerly included in the vast Diocese of Lincoln, it is now part of the Catholic Diocese of Birmingham. The handsome Catholic church |
of St. Aloysius (served by the Jesuits) was opened in 1875; the Catholic population numbers about 1200, besides about 100 resident members of the university, and there are convents of |
the following orders St. Ursula's, Daughters of the Cross, Sisters of Nazareth, Sisters of the M. Holy Sacrament, and Sisters of the Holy Child. The Franciscan Capuchin fathers have a |
church and college in the suburb of Cowley, as well as a small house of studies in Oxford; and the Benedictines and Jesuits have halls, with private chapels, within the |
university. PARKER, Early History of Oxford (Oxford, 1885); WOOD, Survey of the Antiquities of the City of Oxford (1889-99); GREEN AND ROBERTSON, Studies in Oxford History (Oxf., 1901); TURNER, Records |
of City of Oxford (Oxf., 1880); and the publications of the OXFORD HISTORICAL SOCIETY (Oxford, various dates). APA citation. (1911). Oxford. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. |
Robert and Evelyn Fobian. Ecclesiastical approbation. Nihil Obstat. February 1, 1911. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York. Contact information. The editor of New Advent |
is Kevin Knight. My email address is feedback732 at newadvent.org. (To help fight spam, this address might change occasionally.) Regrettably, I can't reply to every letter, but I greatly appreciate |
June 20, 2011 -- This adorable ball of spotted fluff is one of five baby cheetah cubs born on May 28, 2011 at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Va. The cubs are the only litter of cheetah cubs born in a North American zoo this year and the result of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' Species Survival Plan breeding program. |
This is the second litter born to six-year-old Amani, but her first attempt at motherhood. In December 2010, Amani gave birth to a single cub. In the wild, singleton cubs often die because their mother cannot produce enough milk to nurse. In captivity, zookeepers ensured Amani's singleton survived by placing it with another mother who had also recently given birth. This time, zookeepers say |
Amani is a dedicated mother and has been seen grooming and nursing her cubs. On average, only 30 percent of cheetah cubs survive in the wild. But in captivity, their survival rate jumps to 80 percent. Cheetahs are listed as a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. It's estimated that there are between 7,500 and 10,000 cheetahs left in the |
wild. And, although they are the fastest animal on land, they've fallen prey to hunting, human conflict, and habitat loss in their native Africa. The Association of Zoos and Aquariums' Species Survival Plan for cheetahs has programs across the continent to ensure breeding and genetic diversity. The group met earlier this year to discuss how to bolster its breeding cheetah populations. The Smithsonian Conservation |
Biology Institute is currently home to seven adult cheetahs but will be getting five more from other programs in the hopes of increasing its breeding population -- and increasing the likelihood of more adorable cubs like this one. Source: Smithsonian National Zoo; |
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