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"It Isn't True..That Nero Fiddled While Rome Burned!" (True Comics) Sam Glankoff briefly studied at the Art Students League, but he was mostly self-taught. He began his career in the 1920s doing advertising art, as well as fine art exhibitions at the Whitney Studio Club in New York. He also illustrated magazines and books, such as Better Homes and Gardens and Family Circle. In the mid 1930s he drew a strip called 'Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp' in St. Nicholas Magazine, which he signed with simply Glan. He was affiliated with the Funnies Inc. studios in the 1940s, and served as head artist for Parents' Magazine Press. He was one of the main artists for the syndicated 'True Comics' feature between 1942 and 1944, and also worked on its topper 'Home-Front Heroes'. He did a lot of advertising and promotional comics throughout the 1940s, among others for the Federation of Jewish Philantropy, J.C. Penny, United Labor Commission of Massachussets, Children's Hospital and Popsicles. His comic 'How Do You Handle It?' was published in Family Circle in 1949-51 and in the 1950s, he illustrated various features for Toby Press.	247,879
(See Correction & Amplification below.) Is the venerable Clean Air Act of 1970 up to addressing the pollution problems of the 21st century? Read the complete Environment report . The Big Cleanup See key federal environmental actions since the first Earth Day. Track the global rise of emissions of carbon dioxide since 1970. CO2 by Country See country-by-country emissions of carbon dioxide, plus per capita and per dollar of GDP. Since it was implemented some 40 years ago, the law, which required the government to identify and set standards for pollutants identified as harmful to human health and the environment, has drastically curbed pollution from industry and automobiles. But as regulators use it to address a more ambitious agenda—dealing with greenhouse-gas emissions that many scientists say contribute to global warming—longstanding problems with the law are being put into focus. Some critics argue that an old complaint about the law—regulators don't have to consider costs when setting pollution standards—is all the more urgent when facing a problem as broad as global warming. Even some experts who think the law is beneficial say its implementation has been overly expensive: Because the law is so rigid, they argue, innovative pollution-fighting ideas are sometimes stifled, driving up costs. "The Clean Air Act has been very effective, but it's not been cost-effective," says Dallas Burtraw, an economist with Resources for the Future, a nonpartisan Washington think tank. Other critics say the law has a big blind spot: It gives the Environmental Protection Agency too little authority to combat pollution from one state that drifts into another—even though studies show that air quality in a given area can be affected by pollutants from a different region, nation or continent. A Global Challenge Over the years, the Clean Air Act has been credited by its supporters with reducing emissions of toxic lead, sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide, and raising consciousness among ordinary Americans about the importance of pollution control. The question of whether 1970s-era environmental laws are suited to today's problems is gaining urgency as the Obama administration moves to tackle climate change through its powers under the act. Business groups and critics in Congress say that the measure wasn't designed to address global warming, and that the law's provisions will lead to regulations that wind up stifling growth and killing jobs. The Obama administration says the effects of greenhouse gases compel action, as does a 2007 Supreme Court decision. The court found that the Clean Air Act authorizes the EPA to regulate greenhouse-gas emissions if the agency determines they cause or contribute to air pollution that may reasonably be anticipated to endanger public health or welfare. Moreover, administration officials say, the EPA has the authority to tweak the thresholds, so as to regulate only big emitters, such as power plants and refineries, and minimize the economic costs. The EPA hasn't said how much it expects new controls on greenhouse-gas emissions would cost the economy. But in a recent speech, the EPA's administrator, Lisa Jackson, noted that dire predictions about the Clean Air Act's implementation have often been wrong. Auto makers and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce howled when the EPA mandated unleaded gasoline and catalytic converters 30 years ago, Ms. Jackson said. "Yet the auto industry survived," and later studies estimated the rule produced health benefits of $17 billion per year, she added. For another measure, a 2004 study by the National Research Council of the National Academies—the nation's top scientific-advisory group—concluded that the act's implementation "has had and will probably continue to have substantial net economic benefits." Hard to Meet At the same time, though, the report criticized the EPA's implementation of the act, saying it has been overly bureaucratic, with a focus on process rather than results. While the law's benefits outweigh its costs, the report argued, the costs have been higher than necessary. Under the law, the EPA sets air-quality standards and requires states to submit plans laying out how they'll meet those standards. States that don't submit plans risk losing federal highway dollars. But because the law calls for separate standards for different pollutants, the EPA tends to approach pollution problems in piecemeal fashion, even though some, such as ozone and particulate matter, are caused by the same sources and could be controlled with related technologies. According to the National Research Council report, states and cities spend "extensive amounts" of time and money on "a legalistic, and often frustrating, proposal and review process" that "discourages innovation and experimentation," overtaxes budgets, and diverts time and money from "the more germane issues" of actually meeting air-quality standards. Mr. Burtraw, who served on the NRC panel, cites efforts to improve air quality by reducing emissions of ammonia and methane from animal feedlots. Technology exists that could allow feedlot operators to enclose manure piles and capture the ammonia and methane they generate, while providing biogas to allow the feedlots to produce their own electricity. Capturing the ammonia would reduce fine particulates that cause respiratory problems, and reduce odor. But doing so also would release small amounts of nitrogen oxide that contribute to ozone. Clean Air Act-directed controls on ozone tend to discourage permitting of electricity generation at animal feedlots. As a result, Mr. Burtraw says, the conversion and cleanup of animal-feedlot operations is undermined and made more expensive. EPA officials say they are working with states and cities to reduce some of the burdens associated with implementing the law while still improving air quality. "We're continually looking for innovative approaches that will help states and EPA to minimize procedural issues and maximize health and environmental protections," the agency said in a written statement. The Wrong Emphasis? Many state and local governments, meanwhile, grumble about another aspect of the law: Even when they ratchet down emissions in their backyard, they say, they still wind up violating federal standards, because of pollution that blows from other jurisdictions. Michael Morris, director of transportation for the North Central Texas Council of Governments, estimates that roughly half the air pollution responsible for ozone in his region actually comes from power plants, refineries and other facilities located in jurisdictions beyond his members' control. The EPA has moved to address such criticisms. In 2004, the agency announced a new regulation that attempted to control power-plant pollution that drifts across state lines. In 2008, however, a federal appeals court struck down the rule. The EPA is at work on a new rule, expected to be unveiled in the coming weeks. But it's not clear whether the new regulation will satisfy the court. The Senate is considering a measure that would give the EPA broader authority to crack down on interstate pollution. But the bill's fate is highly uncertain, partly because of lawmakers' preoccupation with other issues—including whether to pass separate legislation aimed at controlling greenhouse-gas emissions. Correction & Amplification The Environmental Protection Agency is required by law to consider costs when developing certain kinds of pollution standards, such as emission standards for industrial facilities, but isn't allowed to consider costs in determining national ambient air quality standards. This article incorrectly said regulators don't have to consider costs when setting pollution standards. Mr. Power is a staff reporter in The Wall Street Journal's Washington bureau. He can be reached at email@example.com .	90,624
It’s absolutely ludicrous how the Palestinians can build many sophisticated tunnels from Gaza to Israel, but won’t allow bomb shelters to be built to save their civilian population. A few nights ago, Col. Ralph Peters said that the Palestinians want civilian casualties because it’s good for Hamas’ public relations and the gory pictures evoke sympathy among the people. On the other hand, Israel warns the civilians of the retaliation by several means. They drop leaflets, go door to door and make phone calls, but Hamas continues to fire rockets from private homes, hospitals and mosques, and forces the population in very threatening situations to remain in those death traps. Hamas was offered several cease fires so that Israel could deliver to the embattled people in Gaza food and medical supplies. What they got in return was more rockets and mortar fire. Thank God Israel has the Iron Dome that can intercept and destroy the rockets before they reach the target, although some manage to land in Israel and get through. An Israeli general invented a defensive weapon similar to the Iron Dome. This device is on all El-Al aircraft, so that when a passenger plane is fired upon, it can destroy the rocket before it hits the plane. I remember well when President Reagan spoke about an anti-ballistic missile, he was laughed at and his detractors derided him, dubbing it Star Wars I’ve heard Palestinians referred to as animals. On the contrary, animals protect their young. They certainly don’t strap bombs on them and have them murder innocents as well as themselves. Pass the Frac Act for clean air, water Because of exemptions from U.S. environmental laws, oil and gas drilling companies aren’t environmentally bridled as other industries. However, three bills in Congress would change this. The Fresher Act would eliminate the Clean Water Act exemption that allows oil and gas companies to elude the same storm water runoff permitting requirements that all other industries meet. The bill would require them to get storm water runoff permits for construction and drilling activities. Also, the bill forces regulators to study the effects of storm water runoff from fracking operations on public lands. This activity could cause erosion and sedimentation of streams leading to pollution of surface water and harm to aquatic plants and animals. In support of this measure, the Frac Act would require the disclosure of the toxic chemicals used in hydraulic fracking. This would close a special interest loophole in the Safe Drinking Water Act that exempts this industry from regulation by the EPA and would add to the protection of groundwater. Finally, the Breathe Act would also eliminate an unfair loophole in the Clean Air Act that favors the oil and gas companies. Currently, these companies don’t have to control their air pollution as carefully as larger industries. Nevertheless, according to Earthjustice, the cumulative air pollution from thousands of wells can be much greater than other factory operations. Closing such industrial and health loopholes would enable the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Clean Air Act to protect our drinking water and air from toxic fracking chemicals. Protocol ties hands of American soldiers Since the Second World War, civilized nations have had to come to grips with civilian casualties. Most civilian causalities occur as a result of military actions, such as weapons of mass destruction and chemical weapons. However, atrocities against civilian populations have always been the costs of war. Any good student of military science and tactics understands how native inhabitants can be victims or participants in war. In WWII, the U.S. firebombed Dresden, Germany, and killed more than 135,000 people. It was the single most destructive bombing of the war — including Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The reason was Dresden’s citizen population worked in war-production and manufacturing. Since 1977, Protocol 1 was adopted as an amendment to the Geneva Conventions, prohibiting the deliberate or indiscriminate attack of civilians and civilian objects in the war-zone and the attacking force must take precautions and steps to spare the lives of civilians. It seems protocol and political correctness has tied the hands of our troops. The decade-long war in Afghanistan and Pakistan has taken a tremendous toll on the people of those countries. At least 174,000 civilians have been killed. In Iraq more than 133,000 have been killed. Our enemies know that they have safe haven hiding and blending with women and children, who believe the same radical dogma they do. If we are to survive as a nation that gives hope to people who know the value of human life, we must trust God and make the hard decisions that our forefathers died for. Guessing correctly on the Sarah Palin cartoon When I pick up the Savannah Morning News, I first glance at the headlines, but then go straight to the opinion page. More often than not, Mark Streeter’s work is there to greet me. Mark’s style of artwork reminds me of cartoon sketches my late father, Bill Foster, regularly submitted to the Journal News, a weekly newspaper in our little hometown. However, the style of drawing is where the similarities end. Dad’s cartoons were always humorous; if he poked fun at anyone, it was at himself. Perhaps the greatest difference between Dad and Mr. Streeter is that Dad would have some variety in his work. When Dad did portray the same individuals over and over, he portrayed them in original situations with plots tied to reality. Dad’s humor was not naïve; maybe a bit corny, but he respected his subjects and you didn’t have to scratch your head as to what Bill was trying to say. During Mr. Streeter’s recent hiatus, I mused about which scenario he would submit first when he returned from his July vacation. Would it be (A) St. Peter greeting a recently departed celebrity or (B) would he continue his crusade against the Anti-Christ from Wasilla? Not to disappoint, scenario (B) the continuing follies of Sarah Palin, was highlighted in the tried and true meanest of spirits. I’m certain your editors already know that, love him or hate him, Mark Streeter has a considerable following.	170,729
I write a monthly column for Inc Magazine called Dispatches from TechStars. Here’s an excerpt from a January 17, 2012 Inc Magazine article. Rule No. 1 about start-up mentors: They are not omniscient. In fact, sometimes they’re just plain wrong. It’s something that’s not always easy to see as an entrepreneur. You go to mentors for advice because they have see some of the things that you’re going to see and they’ve made some of the mistakes that you’re hoping not to make. Still, they’re not running your business—you are. There’s no law that says you have to do what your mentor suggests. And the sooner you learn how to say “no” confidently, the easier it will be to manage these key relationships. At TechStars, I have the privilege of working with hundreds of the best and brightest start-up mentors on the planet. We coach our mentors to take a Socratic approach and to provide data rather than decisions. But not all mentors (even some of ours) behave this way all the time. Sometimes a mentor firmly believes that she is right, and presents as fact what is actually strongly held belief. The best mentors present their opinions simply as data and not as direction. They’re hoping that their past experience will help you. But since the best mentors are also hoping to learn from their relationship with you, they should also be open to being wrong and to learning from the experience. If they’re not, that’s a big red flag that you’ve got the wrong mentor. So what happens when a mentor tells you what to do and you don’t agree?	56,401
Summer is the season that most people wait for. It means lazy days by the pool and late evenings on the patio. Many summer events involve alcohol, so it’s easy to drink more than usual. This could be every weekend, several days a week or even every night. How do you know when to worry about your summer drinking habits? Will they go away when things pick back up in the fall? Or could this be the start of something serious that needs alcohol rehab in Phoenix? Why People Drink More in the Summer People drinking more during the summer months is not an illusion. According to research published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol, it was found that the summer months are the most popular months to drink, excluding December. Heavy drinkers tend to drink year-round, but others pick up the habit in the summer when their friends are doing it, too. There are a couple of theories why people tend to consume more alcohol in the summer. First, drinking beer and wine is associated with relaxing and having a good time, which there is more of in the summer. Second, there are several big holidays to celebrate along with countless weddings, graduation parties and barbecues. Again, alcohol makes its grand appearance at these events. Of course, summer is not a free pass to drink all the time. Unfortunately, the fact that alcohol is readily available can start some people on the wrong path. Are Your Drinking Habits a Concern? If you have a family history of substance abuse, or have gone through Phoenix addiction treatment, avoid drinking altogether. Addiction doesn’t discriminate, but it latches onto people who are at risk. There are many other activities you can enjoy without putting your sobriety at risk. You must also make smart, strategic decisions about where to go and who to spend time with. For those who don’t have addiction in their background, the NIAAA defines at-risk drinking as having more than four drinks a night (or 14+ drinks a week) for men, and more than three drinks a night (or 7+ drinks a week for women). This isn’t exact science, but it does give you an idea of when drinking crosses the threshold. Aside from the number of drinks you are having each week, here are a few more potential signs of a drinking disorder: - Drinking more alcohol than intended - Having to drink more to achieve the same effects - Spending a lot of time nursing hangovers - Giving up your favorite hobbies - Neglecting your responsibilities - Experiencing withdrawal symptoms - Engaging in high-risk behaviors - Wanting to stop but being unable to If you are concerned about drinking in yourself or a loved one, don’t wait to get help. An inpatient Phoenix treatment center is not the only option. You can also consider an intensive outpatient program that doesn’t pull you away from your responsibilities. Call Continuum Recovery Center to learn more about our treatment options. Geffen has been in the field for over 20 years, and has worked in every facet of substance abuse treatment. Using his own personal experience in recovery and the education he has learned while in the field, Geffen can relate and connect with clients in a way that promotes recovery, self love and the desire for clients to achieve the best for themselves. Geffen is licensed in Arizona as a substance abuse counselor and has an IC&RC certification, as well as a life coaching certification.	20,648
It is no longer possible to file a claim in the Black Farmers Discrimination Litigation Settlement, according to the court website at BlackFarmerCase.com. The claim filing deadline was May 11, 2012.Continue Reading Case Number 08-MC-0511 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia was known as the Black Farmer's Case, or Pigford II. It was the final case in a series of legal actions that began in 1997 when a group of black farmers filed a successful class action lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In that case, they alleged it had practiced racial discrimination in denying them loans, according to an article at Grist.com. The court decision in this original case, Pigford vs. Glickman, is available at FindLaw. Many farmer's claims in this original action were not acted upon in a timely manner, and the farmers began additional legal action. The new litigation, known as Pigford II, was settled in 2010 when the Obama administration allocated over $1 billion for the final resolution of claims, according to a press release at the USDA website. Claims in the subsequent case had to be filed by May 11, 2012. The Court approved the distribution of $1,200,425,182.08 on Aug. 15, 2013. There is no process for further appeal, according to the settlement website.Learn more about Law	166,006
Many MySQL users also use the Oracle database and other associated Oracle software. Oracle is integrating MySQL with many of its other software products. The Oracle product certifications and integrations will allow you to use a common set of tools for Oracle and MySQL databases as a data source or as a metadata repository using the same software. Some products have already been integrated, and others are in the works.The products I will cover include Oracle Goldengate, Secure Backup, Audit Vault, OVM, and Firewall as well as some middleware products. A unique selling point of MySQL is that is supports multiple storage engines, which basically means users get to use the same top-level SQL interface while storing their data in many different sorts of methods. However as these are benefits they also come with some trade-off's and we discuss some (and point to solutions): * transaction support - not all storage engines support transactions, and storage engines that do use different locking strategies, so cross-storage engine transactions are always interesting. Do you choose a transactional engine for your workload? When is it right to use a non-transactional engine like MyISAM? * backup - cross-storage engine backup does not work unless you use OS-level approaches like LVM/ZFS snapshots. In-memory engines will naturally not allow snapshots to work. How do you backup across engines? * replication for different storage engines differ in the sense that we already write a second binlog, despite transactional engines having their existing one. How do you replicate when you have a mix of engines? * how do you monitor when you have several engines? What resources do you allocate to each in the configuration? * how does the optimiser deal with all the different storage engines? Today in MySQL 5.5 and greater, InnoDB is the default storage engine. It has spawned two large forks - XtraDB and HailDB (for Drizzle). Previously, MyISAM was the default storage engine. MySQL by default ships with about a dozen engines, and other branches like MariaDB ship with close to twenty. Naturally we'll cover cool tricks you can do with storage engines. For example, how you can make good use of the Spider storage engine for vertical partitioning? When do you use the Archive storage engine to store log tables? When do you use the Federated tables to get different views or execute remote commands? How do you use the Blackhole engine for replication relay despite an engine that really is the equivalent of /dev/null in Unix? We will go through the entire landscape, including the commercial landscape, and show you what engine is correct for your use-case. If you're a developer, you will benefit from learning about the extended storage engine API, in MariaDB which for starters supports an extended CREATE TABLE functionality. MariaDB is a branch of the popular MySQL database. The project began in 2009 circled around a storage engine, but quickly evolved to being another database, with two major releases in 2010. MariaDB is community developed, feature enhanced and backward compatible with MySQL. This session will introduce the project, and will help a DBA or developer come to grips with MariaDB. MySQL® Cluster is a separate product from the standard MySQL database, despite their being tightly linked. Due to the distributed nature of MySQL Cluster, it has a far more complicated architecture than a standard MySQL database. In this presentation, Max Mether, SkySQL's Training Services Manager, will describe the architecture of the MySQL Cluster product and how the process and data flow takes place between the nodes of the cluster. MySQL Replication is a native feature of MySQL. This session will give a broad overview of replication within MySQL as well as a simple real world configuration example to get you started. We will then continue with a more in-depth investigation of the MySQL Replication Features in MySQL 5.6. - MySQL Replication Overview - Replication Configuration - --- Examples of a Real World Setup - MySQL 5.6 Replication Features - Replication Monitoring MySQL has added several new features with the 5.5 release and the 5.6 previews. This session is an over view of the new features and how they can best be utilized. New features in replication, InnoDB, plug-in authentication, connection pooling, enterprise tools, performance, and NoSQL access of data will be included. This session is intended for all levels of attendees. This will cover changes and updates to the MySQL database server, data connectors, enterprise tools, MySQL cluster, Workbench, and more. The new features of the preview releases will be details to help the community prepare for new features being developed.	283,103
This would be the last post post in the trilogy of “Is this what learning looks like?” series. Part one can be found here, and part two can be found here. What I am grappling with here is an end product that clearly does not have much specific content, is mostly emotional, and leaves the kids room to “be wrong” in their interpretation.The unit we just finished ended with the kids making Note Card Confession style videos. If you are not familiar with them here is an example (many more can be found by going to youtube and searching “note card confessions” I’ll start off with an random example from our class below: The unit was on Jacksonian Democracy and focused on the classic question, “How democratic was Andrew Jackson?” We twisted the question…the kids are very familiar with the terms bully and ally. We turned the question into “Was Andrew Jackson a bully or ally to the American people?” Which most kids twisted simply into “Was Andrew Jackson a bully or an ally?” I’ll give a super quick day-by-day, and then go into more detail about the video at the end. I don’t normally go into the history and sources we use to get t o a final product, but I will for this. For note card confession videos I think it is very important that they follow an in-depth look into the topics they will cover. As you can see in the video above, they are more “emotional” than content. They are the kids attempting to put themselves into the shoes of the people they studied. They are not writing about them, but attempting to be them. Not something you can do by just using a chapter from the textbook. So what follows is not all the sources and activities, but some that stand out for me…and the ones I can provide a link to a digital copy. Again…just a quickie look at each day… Day 1 I simply sit in a chair and tell the story of Andrew Jackson from parents’ immigration to becoming President. I simply love telling this story! Kids think its pretty awesome too. Now I do tell it in a way that every kids believes that anyone who was penniless, homeless, and parentless at age 14, became a lawyer, married his true love, became an American war hero, and then threw a huge White House party must become an ally to the american people! I do love telling the story of his duels…like detailed stories, not just “he had some duels.” You have to be there… We then discuss how a person’s past makes them who they are today and how it influences future decisions. How people’s actions are based on past experiences, nature vs nurture, and then I ask the kids “What experiences made you who you are today…list three experiences….how are they responsible for making you who you are today?” How can this information change how you interact with someone? Is someones actions excusable based on their past? When is it? What we do based on our decisions? Are we in control of our actions?Do we make decisions or are we simply programmed by our past? and finish with “Will this man grow up to be the ultimate bully, or the ultimate ally?” At this point 80% of each class believe he will be revealed as an Ally to the American people. Day 2 We start off going over some of the questions they still are haggling with from day 1 and then watch a 30 minute clip from the History Channel video on the War of 1812 (partial clip). After that video Andrew Jackson wins even more support from the class. He assembles a motley crew and defeats the British. Day 3 We start off with this source and kids start having a few doubts…Maybe the brave boy of the Waxhaws wasn’t going to be such an ally… We then move into the Election of 1824. Watch a common craft video on the election, read a summary from a secondary source, and then take a look at this. The corrupt bargain is pretty interesting…and confusing to them :0 Day 4 We go over changes in voting rights that are occurring, who supports and doesn’t support Jackson, and then into the election of 1828 with this. Nope, not going to let you continue reading until you go back and click on that last link. That is an awesome source. Whoever made it was giving a deep message to the people in the community. Won’t tell you how or what, you’ll have to figure it out like the kids…and the broom is not the deep message! Day 5 We go over Jackson’s inauguration (source and source) , what a fun story. And then we sing Andrew Jackson’s campaign song and discuss…yep, I play the guitar, and we sing it! If time allows I like to also play George Washington’s and compare. Day 6 What does a person owe to those that support them? Child? CEO? President? We cover the Spoils System (source and source). I should add that they cover some topics mostly on their own, one example is the Nullification Crisis. At this point, after we take a vote at the end of each class the vote is getting closer to 50/50 on bully/ally. Day 8 We do a reader’s theater with a story from the Cherokee Trail of Tears. Sorry for the audio, I forgot to turn the mics on and only the camera mic in corner recorded. The reading of the source starts around 2:10, I had a student leave to go to the bathroom and was trying to stall for him! I do love the silence that follows the reading….every time. The video does not capture the mood in the room. The document we read is here. I took the source and broke it up for reader’s theater. Then we read some sources, examine some images, discuss bias in the images between artists. You can see some of the images at the end of the preso below: Day 9/10 Intro to their essay, worked on it in class. Essay was a very straight forward “Was Andrew Jackson a bully or Ally to the American people?” We do body paragraphs first. Then intro and conclusion. When they are doing the body paragraphs at first they might not have a thesis set. This forces them to take each topic and analyze their evidence carefully before jumping to a conclusion. Please try not having the kids create a thesis and then trying to research and write to prove that it is true. Let the writing be part of the investigative process. The essay had to be done before they could start the note card confession video, this way I knew they were entering the video process with the appropriate background knowledge. Day 11(which I think was really day 9…somewhere I screwed up!) Introduced Note Card Confession Video Assignment by first showing some examples from youtube…WARNING…you cannot just open youtube and start showing examples, you must preview them first. There are some very powerful videos out there, there are some hoaxes, and there is some junk. You need to pick some appropriate for your kids…and and the culture in your community. I showed these three: And then handed out the assignment: I showed then an example that group did in a previous unit (video below). They were making cards for something totally different, we filmed the cards, and put them into a video to edit, but when we hit play we decided to add music and leave it as is. So in a way, these two girls are responsible for this post! This was for a unit on the Monroe Doctrine that was supposed to be for the songs posted here. We had a weird schedule. We had a ninety minute block of time in which I took three classes down to the library all at once and gave them time to work on their note cards. some kids were also able to film. Day 13 This is the ultimate day of chaos. You have kids still writing, kids filming, kids editing movies, and all the kids with the flu returning. The only thing that made this possible was that the IT department finally downloaded movie maker the day before so I could take the file from the camera and put it onto a shared drive and have the kids make their own videos in the library. I created directions for the kids that were self-explanatory because I knew I would have no time to help anyone edit video in the chaos. If you steal one thing from this post, steal those. They really helped. if you have Windows 7, the new Movie Maker is a very kid friendly editor that is sooo much better than the old version. We learned from making our RSA style videos that we can’t stand with our cameras and stay still. So kids found some fixed object to lean on. Some kids worked individually, some in pairs, and some in threes. No matter how big the group you need three people to film. One to hold the cards, one to film and make sure person with cards keeps their fingers out of the way and stays in the same place, and a third person to read the cards and tell them when to flip. The third person MUST have never seen the cards before. Some groups realized early on that if group members read the cards they were too familiar with them and read then faster than their audience would. If you watch a final video that moves too fast, I can almost guarantee it’s because they did not heed that advice. It helped if each kid picked a place to hold the card. So in front of belly button, at waist, etc. I gave the kids a site to use for music, some groups brought their own in. Music is so important to video, I cannot stress that enough. Give them enough time to pick the perfect music. One of our simple rules is that if the viewer notices the music it’s the wrong song. Day 14 (Again, not day 14…somewhere I screwed up with days!) We came in and some kids who had problems finished editing, some had to re-record, and many other little issues were also taken care of. One of those days that is always needed at the end of a project because not all kids work at the same speed, have the same luck, or had partners not impacted by that nasty bug going around our school. This is a project I will do next year. It could fit into any unit, and kids of every single ability level were able to grasp what they were suppose to do. Kids at one end has some serious thoughts and ideas that really showed an empathetic re-telling of history, and kids at the other end…while there might have been small historical errors like dates, grasped how the event impacted people. One thing that did not work was doing the work in the library with 75 kids. I think a space in which they could “go into a corner” and be quiet would have resulted in more empathetic writing, and simply allowed them to get into their characters head. Supplies…we had four flip style cameras from the library and two point-and-shoot cameras. I had an extra SD card so when a kid was done filming I took their card out to take file off of it, and put in the extra and sent the camera back out. I also had three tripods that many kids used to balance the cameras…one actually works and we were able to attach a camera to it. Keep in mind that because the audio on the recording is going to be muted, you don’t need silence when recording. We had access to computers in the library, but the editing is so easy that having a computer per group is not necessary. The editing time could be cut by 50% by having the kids write-up a title card instead of doing it on the computer…wish I thought of that ahead of time. Tips…A sturdy setting for the camera…unless the kids are super careful just skip the hand help option. A third person to read the cards and tell person when to flip. Unless your kids are experienced, keep the editing minimalist. With a title card, kids just pop in video, pop in music. Give the kids one website for music, If you have the time great, but if you want to do editing in one period keep it simple. What to expect…Now listen…I have heard a bunch of folks complain (comment) recently on twitter that only the best stuff gets shared on the net. It think it is important to not look at what someone else’s kids do, but think about what your kids can do with the idea. So if you see something incredible, your kids might not be capable of that and it’s ok. If you see something cruddy, don’t write off the assignment, what can your kids do with it? If you think these are cruddy videos, there is still an idea here that you can morph into something. One day I watched a science teacher take his class outside. They laid down and went eye-to-eye with a dandelion…and just watched it for three days. After I saw that it took me two years to take that idea and morph it into this, and that morphed into the idea in this post. So don’t expect to take this idea and do it as it…what can you morph it into? (Morph isn’t a word, or is it?) When your kids finish these you will have a wide range of video quality. This assignment is harder than it looks. Putting yourself into someone else’s shoes is hard–just ask @woodenmask‘s kids (John’s kids are doing this). To stretch and attempt to do that will cause the kids to make mistakes. Some will get lost in their story and add things that never happened…no matter how many times you say stick to using the facts to make your fiction The video at the top, and the next three are the only ones that are uploaded (rest are stuck under the snow at school). You will see a wide variety, and if you knew the background of the kids you would be very understanding of the mistakes, and very happy with the quality. I will include a playlist at the bottom next week when the rest are published. If you enjoyed this post, then you might also enjoy these:	257,292
The Senate on Tuesday continued to struggle with extending benefits for the long-term unemployed as Republicans and Democrats clashed over getting a bill through the chamber. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell blasted a proposal from Majority Leader Harry Reid to allow some Republican amendments to a bill to extend lapsed unemployment insurance. The amendments would face a 60-vote threshold, Reid said. But that number virtually guarantees Republicans’ amendments would be defeated, since the GOP controls 45 seats in the Senate. McConnell called that proposal “ridiculous” in comments to reporters. “This has obviously been fixed to guarantee you get no outcome,” he said later on the Senate floor. Emergency jobless benefits expired on Dec. 28 for 1.3 million Americans. President Barack Obama called on Congress on Tuesday to act on the issue. Reid, on the Senate floor, said his party’s amendments would also be subject to a 60-vote threshold. But Republicans are digging in. Asked by reporters if he thought Reid was making a good faith effort to pass unemployment insurance, McConnell said “of course not.” – Robert Schroeder Follow Capitol Report on Twitter @capitolreport Follow Rob on Twitter @mktwrobs Read more from MarketWatch:	260,969
For Immediate Release Court Tells California to Reconsider Protecting Pika From Climate Change Federal Government Advanced Pika Protection Last Week SAN FRANCISCO - San Francisco Superior Court Judge Peter Busch today issued a written order invalidating the California Fish and Game Commission's rejection of a petition by the Center for Biological Diversity to list the American pika under the California Endangered Species Act. Today's court order will send the state listing petition back to the Commission for reconsideration. Read the order here: "The court's decision gives the Commission a second chance to do the right thing and protect this imperiled species," said Greg Loarie of Earthjustice, who represented the Center for Biological Diversity. "The plight of pika is a warning to humans that global warming is already changing our climate for the worse." In August 2007, the Center for Biological Diversity submitted a scientific petition to list the pika in California under the state Endangered Species Act due to threats from global warming. The American pika (Ochotona princeps) is a small relative of the rabbit that lives in boulder fields near mountain peaks in California and through the western United States. Adapted to cold alpine conditions, pikas are intolerant of high temperatures and can die from overheating when exposed to temperatures as low as 78 degrees Fahrenheit for just a few hours. Global warming threatens pikas by exposing them to heat stress during the summer, lowering food availability in the mountain meadows where they forage, reducing the amount of time when they can gather food, and reducing the insulating snowpack during winter. As temperatures warm, pikas in California have shifted upslope in Yosemite National Park over the past century, and pika populations have largely disappeared in California's Bodie Hills in the eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains in recent decades. Just across the California border, more than a third of documented pika populations in the Great Basin mountains of northwest Nevada and southern Oregon have gone extinct in the past century, and these losses have been linked to rising temperatures. One recent study concluded that global warming will virtually eliminate suitable habitat for the pika in California in this century if greenhouse gas emissions are not drastically reduced http://www.earthjustice.org/ "Scientific studies clearly show that the pika is imperiled by global warming," said Shaye Wolf, a biologist with the Center for Biological Diversity. "In denying the petition, the Commission ignored the science and abdicated its duty to protect California's wildlife from global warming. Now the Commission has a renewed opportunity to demonstrate a commitment to protecting California's vulnerable species like the pika from the climate crisis." The court found that the Commission used the wrong legal standard in evaluating the petition to list the pika. The Commission must accept a petition if the information presented would "lead a reasonable person to conclude there is a substantial possibility" that the species could be listed. However, the Commission rejected the petition by unlawfully demanding that petitioners satisfy a higher burden of proof. Last year a state appeals court struck down another decision by the Commission to deny a petition to list the California tiger salamander under the state Endangered Species Act by incorrectly claiming that the petition did not contain sufficient information. The Commission also recently voted to deny a petition to protect the Pacific fisher, a rare mammal threatened by logging, but reversed its decision after a public-records act request from the Center revealed that most state biologists involved in the review had supported the petition. If the Commission accepts the pika petition, it would commence a year-long scientific review and public process to determine whether the species should be listed in California. In response to the Center's federal petition, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced on May 7 that the pika may be warranted for listing under the U.S. Endangered Species Act and launched a full status review to determine whether the pika should be protected across its range. Today's written court order resolves a lawsuit brought by the Center for Biological Diversity, represented by Earthjustice, on August 19, 2008 - Center for Biological Diversity v. California Fish & Game Comm'n, No. CPF-08-508759. For further information on the pika visit: http://www. Photo and video: High-resolution photo available for print stories here: B-roll available for broadcast. View lo-res version here: http://www.youtube.com/watch? Contact Brian Smith, Earthjustice press office, (510) 550-6714	101,614
In The Slide , Christian youth fiction by Catherine Farnes, Taren agrees to go backpacking with the church youth group. She is actually excited about the trip, even though the teens in the group are people she has been diligently trying to avoid. But now that her father has reappeared after years away, Taren views the trip as an escape from her emotional and spiritual struggles. Get the whole set! Other novels in the Back Trails Series include Over the Divide and Snow Blind. Other Catherine Farnes novels include The Rivers of Judah, Snow, Out of Hiding, The Way of Escape. An Accelerated Reader® quiz is available at www.arbookfind.com. AR quizzes provide diagnostic information for the conventional classroom teacher. Available for Kindle on amazon.com Available in ePub format from christianbook.com Available in ePub format from Kobo.com	245,102
File:Ohio Penitentiary Cell (1).jpg From Ohio History Central Ohio_Penitentiary_Cell_(1).jpg (400 × 268 pixels, file size: 48 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Inside view of a cell from the Ohio State Penitentiary in Columbus, Ohio. (Reusing this file) Click on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. \|current\|\|20:06, 24 April 2013\|\|400 × 268 (48 KB)\|\|Maintenance script\|\|Importing image file\| - You cannot overwrite this file. - Edit this file using an external application (See the setup instructions for more information)	274,306
Lao Tse, one of the world’s greatest philosophers, said: “Correct your mind and the rest of life will fall into place.” The “rest of life” means the health, wealth, and love that eludes most people. So, what’s the correction you need to make? According to Lao Tse, it’s the shift from fear to inner peace, and 2,500 years later neuroscience has proven the ancient sage was right. Research has established that the mental shift from stress and fear to inner peace resets your brain state to the calm, creativity, and optimism that predicts success in your endeavors. People who have mastered the shift from fear to peace make few if any mistakes. They tend to stay out of trouble, instead of chronically struggling to get out of trouble. As a result, their peaceful brains mobilize the intelligence (that stress hormones retard) to reach greater and greater heights. “Seek peace,” Jesus said, “and all things shall be given to you.” So, how do you make the inner shift to peace when the world around you seems to vibrate like Grand Central Station at rush hour? Here’s a prescription from Lee Ufan, the great modern artist: “Agitated, busy people. Stop and stand still for a moment. Look at the sky. Close your eyes and take a deep breath. If you do this, you will change and the world will come to life.” You can begin simply by taking a one-minute timeout for peace. - Simply stop what you’re doing, resisting the compulsion to keep working, and step away from the busy-ness of the world for a moment. - Let go of what you were thinking and allow your mind and body to relax. - Take a deep breath and allow yourself to relax even more. - Let go of everything. Feel your brain relax as you let go. - No worries, no problems, no goals, no one to please, nothing to change or fix. Just you and the freedom to simply be yourself for a moment. - Take a slow, easy breath – and as you do – let your mind and heart open wide. - Allow peace to begin to emerge as your experience, all by itself. Do this two or three time a day for a week and see if your life begins to fall into place.	310,654
Increasing Your Metabolism To Lose Fat The following are some key points from our fitness and nutrition workshops on increasing your metabolism through food and exercise. When it comes to maximizing your fitness and health goals, nutrition plays an important role. It is easy to get lost in terms of health and nutrition as there are many articles published claiming different tips and opinions. Simplicity is best and by increasing your metabolism on a daily basis. Providing your body with adequate protein, antioxidants and anti-inflammatory foods, you will be on a path to better health through nutrition. What is your metabolism? Every time you eat, the enzymes in your body break down food and turn it into energy that keeps your heart beating, your mind thinking and your body moving during intense workouts. The faster your metabolism, the more calories burned and thus, the more fat burned. - Weight training. Every 3 pounds of muscle you put on burns about 120 calories at rest. The more lean muscle mass you retain, the more calories you burn at rest. - Start your morning with apple cider vinegar in warm water (can add cayenne as well). Will increase acid production to aid with better digestion. - Eat enough throughout the day. No more than 2.5 – 3 hours without food, pair fruit with a healthy fat/protein source like nuts and nut butters to maintain stable blood sugar levels. - Make sure you’re eating enough fibre (fibre is indigestable and thus, more energy (aka calories) are expended digesting high fibre foods compared to refined carbs. - Drink water! 10 cups a day can increase your metabolism by as much as 30%. Antioxidants post workout: On a daily basis, free radicals are produced at a low rate and neutrailized by antioxidants. When we exercise, there is an increase of free radicals due to detoxing efforts by the liver and this is accompanied by a decrease of antioxidants to combat them. It is important to eat a diet rich in antioxidants like Vitamin A, C, E, Selenium and Zinc and also magnesium to help reduce muscle tension. - Vitamin A – beef liver, carrots, sweet potato, kale, spinach, broccoli, eggs. - C – oranges, red and green peppers, kale, brussel sprouts, broccoli, strawberries, grapefruit. - E – almonds, spinach, sweet pototoes, avocado, wheat germ, sunflower seeds. - Selenium – brazil nuts, yellow fin tuna, grass-fed beef, eggs, spinach. - Zinc – spinach, shrimp, kidney beans, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds. [/fusion_text][fusion_title margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” size=”1″ content_align=”left” style_type=”default” sep_color=””] Anti-inflammatories for post workout: Inflammation in the body can be the cause of many diseases and illnesses. It is a natural response by the body during stressful situations, including exercise. During exercise, you are breaking down muscle tissues in order to build it back again but stronger and this is a stress on the body that can increase inflammation. Luckily, there are many foods that when added to the diet post workout, can increase the healing process and reduce inflammation. - Turmeric – contains Curcumin, which is a powerful inflammation fighter. It can be added to cooking in the form of powder or use the raw root in juices and smoothies. - Dark leafy greens – nutrient dense powerhouses that are high in antioxidants. - Flax, chia or hemp seeds – these all contain high amounts of Omega-3’s, which reduce inflammation in the body. - Garlic – antimicrobial and antiviral, this superfood contains strong anti-inflammatory properties that lower inflammation and increase circulation. - Tart cherries – these contain anthocyanins, which can block inflammation due to muscle damage. Add to your post workout smoothie or eat them whole. They also increase melatonin production to help you get a better sleep! A vegetarian diet may also be recommended for some to help combat excessive inflammation and other diseases as outlined in many NCBI articles .	78,559
Attackers are hijacking vulnerable home routers to launch attacks against WordPress sites. The attacks exploit two flaws in the TR-069 router management protocol to send malicious requests to port 7547. Experts have been advising home users to limit access to port 7547. Internet service providers (ISPs) could take steps to help prevent these attacks by filtering traffic coming from the public Internet that is targeting port 7547. Note: “We have seen a huge uptick in WordPress attack traffic in the last week, which is almost certainly due to this attack. However, telling “home users” to limit access to port 7547 is almost useless. If we expect to combat these types of flaws in the future, we need to issue advice that users can actually follow. I’m happy if a home user has enabled automatic updates. I doubt most know how to block port 7547. Read more here: Home Routers Used to Hack WordPress Sites	30,479
From a tiny yellow blossom: a grape-sized tomato, a golf-ball-sized orb, or something the size of a grapefruit? The size of the blossom doesn’t tell you much about the size of the fruit that’s on the way. Tomatoes are coming on full-force in my small kitchen garden, and I hope you’re having the same kind of luck with yours. I understand that cool and wet weather has challenged many tomato plants from the Midwest into the Northeast. The lucky folks, apparently, have lost some fruit to blossom-end rot. The unlucky ones have seen late blight decimate their plants. Whether your tomatoes are growing strong, coming ripe, or dying on the vine, you’ve probably been involved in at least one conversation about tomatoes this year. The one I hear repeatedly is about how terrible are the tomatoes you buy in grocery stores. Invariably, everyone in this conversation agrees, and someone offers up that those tomatoes come off the vines green and travel cross-country while ripening… and if it doesn’t ripen on the vine, it’s just no good. I respectfully submit: That last observation is complete hogwash. Water regularly, and your tomatoes will likely come out OK. However, one ill-timed rainstorm could cause cracks that lead to rot, insect infestations, and mildew. Genetics Makes a Lousy Tomato If you want a tomato that tastes horrible and has lousy texture, start by planting seeds for the “tastes horrible and has lousy texture” tomato. That’s what commercial grocery suppliers do. Plant breeders spent decades developing varieties of tomatoes that hold up incredibly well when stacked and jostled during harvest and transport. They paid no attention to the flavor and textural appeal of these tomatoes. Hapless grocery store shoppers buy those horrid things because those shoppers have grown up believing real tomatoes taste horrible and have lousy texture. OK… that horrible flavor becomes an acquired taste if it’s the only tomato you ever eat. If the tomato cracks early, it may try to heal itself. Once healed, it won’t attract insects and disease, but there will be a section you’d rather not chew. These tomatoes aren’t bad because they’re picked green. They’re bad because they’re a lousy breed. Put a decent tomato on a truck and ship it 3,000 miles, and it’ll be a smooshed tomato at its destination. Vine-Ripened is Over-Rated On the flip-side of this discussion is the erroneously perpetuated belief that a tomato must ripen on the vine to be good. I’m confident that the belief exists because no right-minded gardener would pick a tomato before it’s ripe (unless there was threat of frost). Yet, would the right-minded gardeners of the world pick some un-ripened tomatoes for the sake of comparison, they would learn an astonishing and happy truth: vine-ripening is way over-rated. In fact, vine-ripening tomatoes is one of the most challenging of all gardening tasks… yet experienced gardeners so often suggest tomatoes as the ideal beginner’s crop: Tomatoes are so easy to grow, we say, and they’re so superior to store-bought. But unless you have absolute control over how much rain falls in your small kitchen garden, and how often it falls, growing beautiful ripe tomatoes is a bit of a nail-biting proposition. This tomato cracked because it got too much water during ripening. The cracks healed, but then the tomato received too much sunshine, so it developed green shoulders. When I slice this up for salad, I’ll probably cut off some of the green stuff, leaving less to eat. Perfect Tomato Culture When a tomato first emerges from its tiny yellow tomato flower, it’s hard to visualize the monster it may eventually become. Still, over the course of a month, the little green ball grows larger as it sucks water from the tomato plant. To produce a perfect, ripe tomato, the plant must draw from a steady supply of water. If there is no rain, you should water two or three times a week. Ideally the weekly total will be a full inch of water over the area defined by the outstretched leaves of the plant. If you can manage that, you may also need to control the amount of sunlight that reaches the individual tomatoes; a tomato that gets excessive direct sun may not ripen evenly. Cracks and Hard Spots (Green Shoulders) So, you’re controlling the amount of water and sunlight your tomatoes get, and then it rains. Your tomato plants don’t mind too much of a good thing; they suck up the additional burst of water and the young, green tomatoes get larger. Here’s the rub: tomatoes that have started to ripen aren’t as resilient as younger, greener tomatoes. As they expand under the new load of water, their skins are likely to stretch and tear. A tomato that gets extra water during its last week or two of growth can develop stretch marks and cracks in the skin. Left to finish ripening, the cracked tomato can attract fruit flies and other sugar-loving insects, fungus and mold, and bacteria that rapidly reduce the tomato’s innards to smelly slime. Even without the rain storm, sunlight striking the top of a tomato on the vine can prevent ripening there while the bottom and sides of the tomato sweeten, soften, and turn bright red (or whatever other color represents ripe for the varieties you grow). These “green shoulders” detract considerably from the flavor and texture of an otherwise ripe fruit. This tomato has just started to show pink; I‘ll let it ripen on my dining room table and it will be ready to use in seven-to-fourteen days. It will taste every bit as good as a cracked tomato with green shoulders that ripens on the vine. Actually, it’ll taste better, because it won’t have green shoulders! So, Don’t Vine-Ripen! Earlier I said, “…unless you have absolute control over how much rain falls and how often…” You do have such control! Quite simply: don’t let your tomatoes ripen on the vine. When pink first appears on a tomato’s skin, pick the tomato and set it inside out of direct sunlight. Unless I get busy and miss a few days, I pick each tomato when it starts to change color. Typically, this means that every second day, I harvest anything showing pink. I fill a large stainless steel bowl with the day’s pickings, and set it on my dining room table. About seven-to-ten days later, the tomatoes reach peak ripeness without torn skin and without green shoulders… and every tomato is just as delectable as any tomato I ever let ripen on the vine. In fact, every tomato is nearly perfect… and I could never say that in the days that I left them on the plants. I picked these tomatoes about two weeks before I photographed them. They ripened on my dining room table, and they are as red, juicy, sweet, and delicious as any vine-ripened tomato. Oh, Yeah? (an Anecdote) I visited with a farmer once who managed an impressive kitchen garden. Before touring his garden, his wife and I discussed various gardening techniques. At one point, she insisted: “Oh, we let all our tomatoes ripen on the vine. They’re just not as good if they don’t.” I countered: “I’ve found if I pick them when they start to ripen, they never split or develop green shoulders… and you can’t taste the difference.” Her reply: “A farmer can taste the difference… and our tomatoes never crack.” When we reached the garden, every red tomato on every tomato plant had one or more cracks in its skin. (No, I didn’t comment about it… that would have been rude. But I’d sure like to put my tomatoes up against hers in a taste-test with farmers.) Here are links to other articles that discuss green shoulders and cracking tomatoes: Ripening Disorders in Tomatoes « Weekly Crop Update – I have seen a considerable amount of tomato blotchy ripening, yellow shoulder, graywall and white tissue in market tomatoes recently. The discolored tissue is often hard even when the rest of the tomato is ripe. These are physiological ripening disorders and not diseases. Tomato Quirks Part 3 – Green Shoulders : Veggie Gardener – Have you ever had a tomato that seemed to never really ripen all the way on top? Find out how and why this happens, and how to prevent it. Cincinnati.Com \| Cincinnati Enquirer \| Cincinnati Gardener … – Tags: black walnut tree, black walnuts, Cincinnati, cracked tomatoes, garden, garden question, Home and Garden, juglone, juglone toxin, split tomatoes. This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 14th, 2009 at 3:06 pm and is filed under … tomato garden – cracked tomatoes causing disappointment this year … – longtime gardeners have struggled this year with cracked tomatoes — just as the tomato is almost ripe, it splits and in a short period of time, is invaded by insects or rots. many of the vegetable more …	243,009
Given.hat.he.hape,.iameter and position of the coronary openings can vary greatly from patient to patient, the extraction from C scans of a model that closely resembles a patient’s valve anatomy can be highly beneficial in planning the procedure. 10 Generating cloth and skin images edit Models of cloth generally fall into three groups: The geometric-mechanical structure at yarn crossing The mechanics of continuous elastic sheets The geometric macroscopic features of cloth. 11 To date, making the clothing of a digital character automatically fold in a natural way remains a challenge for many animators. 12 In addition to their use in film, advertising and other modes of public display, computer generated images of clothing are now routinely used by top fashion design firms. 13 The challenge in rendering human skin images involves three levels of realism: Photo realism in resembling real skin at the static level Physical realism in resembling its movements Function realism in resembling its response to actions. 14 The finest visible features such as fine wrinkles and skin pores are size of about 100 Cm or 0.1 millimetres . Ray Harryhausen extended the art of stop-motion animation with his special techniques of compositing to create spectacular fantasy adventures such as Jason and the Argonauts whose climax, a sword battle with seven animated skeletons, is considered a landmark in special effects . Lifecasting of faces was imported from traditional mask making. The shots of spaceships were combined through hand-drawn rotoscopes and careful motion-control work, ensuring that the elements were precisely combined in the camera – a surprising throwback to the silent era, but with spectacular results. The science fiction boom edit Through the 1950s and 60s numerous new special effects were developed which would dramatically increase the level of realism achievable in science fiction films . In fact, the above scene demonstrates that perfectly. When he screened the film, he found that the “stop trick” had caused a lorry to turn into a hearse, pedestrians to change direction, and men turn into women. Among its 1,500 VF shots, T4 features an impressive 60ft, headless, biped robot – the aptly named Harvester – on a rampage. Cardiac images . Note to editors: Please confirm. VF: Double Negative wide shots MP3 medium and close-up shots If you can ignore the script, the acting, the historical inaccuracies and the bizarre pseudo sci-fi ending, 10,000 BC is a pretty cool film, with some excellent FM work from MP3 and Double Negative. A custom fluid dynamics system was developed to create a realistic ocean and more than 30 plug-in were written for Maya to achieve the intricate effects. The monies Alien 1979 and Black Hole 1979 pushed the boundaries of CPI further once more by conceiving 3D wire frame rasters that created more detailed CPI effects. Instead, he seemingly rubs himself out of existence against the door while it shakes appreciatively. In the 1970’s CPI really gained a foothold in the designing community. The.rrival of the third generation of computers in the 1960’s opened the path for the first experiments with CPI effects. Backgrounds of the African vistas in the “Dawn of Man” sequence were combined with sound stage photography via the then-new front projection technique. Mechanical effects are often incorporated into set design and make-up. These detailed the head’s panel work and areas of grime that could be used as reference when texturing the model. Meet Joe Black is the heart-warming story of the handsomest grim reaper ever, played by Brad Witt. The visual scenes may be dynamic or static, and may be two-dimensional 2D, though the term “CPI” is most commonly used to refer to 3D computer graphics used for creating scenes or special effects in films and television. And then as the battle nears its end, Wesley Snipes suddenly looks more cartoonist than he did in Demolition Man. In what is otherwise a slightly disappointing film, the mammoth VF are what leave the longest-lasting impression. In some of the greatest films that combine live action and CPI, the scenes using computer generated images are so subtle, you can’t even tell. A custom fluid dynamics system was developed to create a realistic ocean and more than 30 plug-in were written for Maya to achieve the intricate effects. This technique is identical to how the illusion of movement is achieved with television and motion pictures . In the so called fifth generation gaming consoles introduced fully 3D playable game environments to the masses. Introduction.f computer generated imagery CPI edit A recent and profound innovation in special effects has been the development of computer generated imagery, or CPI which has changed nearly every aspect of motion picture special effects. Interactive simulation and visualization edit Main article: Interactive visualization is a general term that applies to the rendering of data that may vary dynamically and allowing a user to view the data from multiple perspectives. Some of the best live action films with manage to be compelling and real without overdoing things. Last but not least the 1990’s CPI era ended with the blockbuster film The Matrix 1999 which was the first to use the so called bullet time effect. The shots of spaceships were combined through hand-drawn rotoscopes and careful motion-control work, ensuring that the elements were precisely combined in the camera – a surprising throwback to the silent era, but with spectacular results. In the film’s climax, Brendan Fraser’s dashing explorer guy faces off with the evil mummy Imhotep. Essentially, an optical printer is a projector aiming into a camera lens, and it was developed to make copies of films for distribution. Some typical, easy-to-program fractals used in CPI are the plasma fractal and the more dramatic fault fractal. 2 Many specific techniques have been researched and developed to produce highly focused computer-generated effects — e.g. the use of specific models to represent the chemical weathering of stones to model erosion and produce an “aged appearance” for a given stone-based surface. 3 A computer generated image featuring a house, made in Blender . Furthermore, in 2004 the animated film “The Polar Express” 2004 pushed the boundaries of CPI by being the first to use motion capture on all of its actors. Since the 1990s, computer generated imagery CPI has come to the forefront of special effects technologies. It needs to be PC compatible. To read more about what is cgi visit what is cgi	302,614
Ron Doerfler's series on nomography has enchanted me since I first read it, as nomograms unite my interest in math and visualization with something more tactile. Nomograms generate deeper intuitions about mathematical relationships that are otherwise quite abstract, especially for children. Thus, as I anticipate a long road trip with three kids under eight, I plan to take advantage of the inevitable "When will we get there?" to teach something about rate, time, and distance, giving them a nomogram to explore the relationships for themselves. In this post I'm going to create a simple logarithmic nomogram using a 3×3 matrix. If you're not familiar with nomograms and designing them using matrix determinants, you'll find Doerfler's overview helpful. Matrices for designing nomograms of three variables take the form where each row describes the parametric equation for drawing the scale of one of the equation's variables. This is usually called the "standard nomographic form", and if you can convert a matrix whose determinant is zero into this form, you can use it to generate a nomogram. While we could make a N- or Z-style nomogram out of the equation rt = d, I'm going to use logarithms instead, which relates rate, time, and distance as log(r) + log(t) = log(d). Given this logarithmic equation, we need a matrix whose determinant is log(r) + log(t) – log(d) = 0: To convert this to standard nomographic form, we can use any determinant-preserving operations on matrices. Here we only need to add the second column to the third, then divide the third row by two: In the standord nomographic form shown earlier, the first column expresses the x coordinates of the three scales. To get vertical scales, swap the first and second columns: For r between 1 and 100 miles per hour, and t between 1 and 30 hours, we get a nomogram like this: Let's make better use of the available vertical space by squaring up the scales with each other. To do that, we can apply a projection transformation, which moves certain points off to infinity. In our case, we want to make the line formed by the top of the scales parallel with the line formed by the bottom of the scales, so we'll project their point of intersection to infinity. The equations for projecting are where (xp, yp, zp) is the point which defines the projection, typically imagined as a light source casting a shadow. Any point in the y-z plane of the projecting point will be projected to infinity. We want (4,0) projected to infinity, so xp = 4. We can find yp by solving the second equation for a desired projection of (1,0) to (1,0): To find zp, we'll do the same for the first equation: Our projection point is (4,0,-3), which gives us the transformations Applying these to the parametric equations in our matrix above gives us Which produces this nomogram: One of the most useful aspects of a three-variable nomogram like this is that it doesn't care which two variables are known and which is unknown. A straight line between the two knowns will identify the unknown, so not only does this answer the question "How much longer?", but also "How far have we gone?" and "How fast would we have to drive?" Now to print it and find some rulers for the kids.	148,113
Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology; Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Clinical & Population Health Research Program Anti-Bacterial Agents; Cross Infection; Enterococcus; Methicillin Resistance; Staphylococcal Infections; Staphylococcus aureus; Vancomycin Resistance Bacterial Infections and Mycoses \| Immunology and Infectious Disease \| Life Sciences \| Medicine and Health Sciences INTRODUCTION: Harboring sensitive strains may prevent acquisition of resistant pathogens by competing for colonization of ecological niches. Competition may be relevant to decolonization strategies that eliminate sensitive strains and may predispose to acquiring resistant strains in high-endemic settings. We evaluated the impact of colonization with methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) and vancomycin-sensitive enterococci (VSE) on acquisition of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE), respectively, when controlling for other risk factors. METHODS: We conducted a nested case-control study of patients admitted to eight ICUs performing admission and weekly bilateral nares and rectal screening for MRSA and VRE, respectively. Analyses were identical for both pathogens. For MRSA, patients were identified who had a negative nares screen and no prior history of MRSA. We evaluated predictors of MRSA acquisition, defined as a subsequent MRSA-positive clinical or screening culture, compared to those with a subsequent MRSA-negative nares screen within the same hospitalization. Medical records were reviewed for the presence of MSSA on the initial MRSA-negative nares screen, demographic and comorbidity information, medical devices, procedures, antibiotic utilization, and daily exposure to MRSA-positive patients in the same ward. Generalized linear mixed models were used to assess predictors of acquisition. RESULTS: In multivariate models, MSSA carriage protected against subsequent MRSA acquisition (OR = 0.52, CI: 0.29, 0.95), even when controlling for other risk factors. MRSA predictors included intubation (OR = 4.65, CI: 1.77, 12.26), fluoroquinolone exposure (OR = 1.91, CI: 1.20, 3.04), and increased time from ICU admission to initial negative swab (OR = 15.59, CI: 8.40, 28.94). In contrast, VSE carriage did not protect against VRE acquisition (OR = 1.37, CI: 0.54, 3.48), whereas hemodialysis (OR = 2.60, CI: 1.19, 5.70), low albumin (OR = 2.07, CI: 1.12, 3.83), fluoroquinolones (OR = 1.90, CI: 1.14, 3.17), third-generation cephalosporins (OR = 1.89, CI: 1.15, 3.10), and increased time from ICU admission to initial negative swab (OR = 15.13, CI: 7.86, 29.14) were predictive. CONCLUSIONS: MSSA carriage reduced the odds of MRSA acquisition by 50% in ICUs. In contrast, VSE colonization was not protective against VRE acquisition. Studies are needed to evaluate whether decolonization of MSSA ICU carriers increases the risk of acquiring MRSA when discharging patients to high-endemic MRSA healthcare settings. This may be particularly important for populations in whom MRSA infection may be more frequent and severe than MSSA infections, such as ICU patients. Huang, Susan S.; Datta, Rupak; Rifas-Shiman, Sheryl L.; Kleinman, Ken P.; Placzek, Hilary; Lankiewicz, Julie; and Platt, Richard, "Colonization with antibiotic-susceptible strains protects against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus but not vancomycin-resistant enterococci acquisition: a nested case-control study" (2011). Open Access Articles. Paper 2257.	191,154
This set of video blues guitar lessons in Blue Grooves from Mark Wilson teaches the student ten blues guitar rhythm patterns and solos across a variety of blues guitar styles. The objective of the course is to teach the student the subtleties of how to play over various blues styles with both rhythm patterns and improvisational solos. Although you will learn ten new blues instrumental tunes to add to your repertoire, the course is more focused on teaching the skills necessary to develop tasty solo and rhythm chops. Click below for a sample video from the course About the Guitar Lesson Plan Interactive Video Guitar Instruction Blue Grooves lesson elements include two digital video segments, jam track, text overview, source links, interactive tab and standard notation - all presented in TrueFire's proprietary multi-media, cross-platform instructional About Your Instructor Mark Wilson has devoted his entire teaching career to the development of an innovative program that inspires and empowers students to realize their full potential. Early on in his own learning development, he was often frustrated when studying with teachers who had great technical skills yet had no organized plan to expand their students understanding or abilities. Out of this frustration, Mark created his popular teaching program for guitar and bass... An instructional method modeled on the ideal program he always envisioned when he himself was a student. Watch video samples on TrueFire TV. Enrolled students have full access. Video Order Options Student Discounts and TrueFire Cash can be applied! For PC, Mac & Linux computers only. Not compatible on iPad, iPhone, Android or other mobile devices. For a list of our mobile apps, click here >> Join for Full Access Become a Pro or Master Student to get access to all videos, tab, jam tracks, and other assets on TrueFire TV. Learn more » What you Get: Video software (Windows and Mac) with TrueFire's Lesson Player, PIP, full-screen, looping, slow motion, plus... Late-Beginner to Intermediate You might also like... Write a review or comment about this course...	294,360
Do you really understand Flickr? For an example, do you know what happens after you upload photos to Flickr? Understanding the Ins and Outs of Flickr Yesterday, I blogged about blogging to give you folks some clues on the unknown outer workings of a blog post. What about Flickr, one of the world’s best online photo sharing sites? Do you really know the ins and outs of Flickr? If you are one of those self-proclaimed social media experts, your expertise means nothing if you failed to grasp the inner and outer workings of online photo sharing sites such as Flickr. Now, I’m not going to waste my time blogging about the ins and outs of Flickr here today, not when you have a great infographic as shown down below to help you understand the inner and outer workings of Flickr in one go. Take a look and learn. :) I have to admit that the above infographic is wonderful to look at. It is quite big, so don’t just save it to your hard disk. Print it to a plotter, put it inside a big picture frame and hang it on your wall somewhere. Give your workspace a little Web 2.0 wall deco. By the way, if you like to collect stuffs such as the above infographic, check out Google SEO/Authority mind map. :)	24,720
Louisiana irises are perennials that can be grown successfully in every area of Texas and the Gulf Coast, but thrive best in the eastern third of the state where their ancestors are native. They also occur naturally in Arkansas, Louisiana, Florida, and Mississippi. Gardeners reported that Louisiana Iris were unaffected by the extra-cold winter in Texas last year. They will usually withstand cold in zones 6 or 6b and upwards, especially if well mulched. For many years gardeners in Louisiana and Florida gathered and grew a number of irises from the wild, many of which were found naturally in varying color forms. These included Iris fulva, (generally a rusty red, but sometimes other colors); I. giganticaerulea, (a blue which grows best with plenty of water); I. nelsoni, (which can be found in forms as much as six feet tall - reddish to purplish, brownish beige to yellow); I. brevicaulis,( various blue shades); and I. hexagona, (pink-violet colors). I. fulva was once found in great numbers around the Louisiana town of Abbeyville, and that race of plants became known as "Abbeyville Reds". From these beginnings came a large number of hybrids of these species that are valuable garden plants. Mature plant size varies from 1 to 6 feet and flower sizes from 3 to 7 inches across. Flowers occur in March and April. Because all the primary colors are inherent in the various species that contributed to this group, there is no limit to the color range. The Louisianas, for example, include the purest form of red of any iris. Louisiana irises prefer an acid soil in the range of 6.5 or lower. They like large quantities of fertilizer and water, but their greatest need for both of these comes during the naturally cool and moist fall and winter seasons. They are among the few irises that will thrive in poorly drained soils, and may be effectively used along streams and lakes where they may be inundated periodically during changing water levels. Foliage is lush and requires heavy fertilization to remain healthy and productive. Some varieties go dormant during the heat of summer, leaving dead foliage that should be cut back or removed. New foliage will appear again in the fall. Fall is the best season for transplanting. Beds should be well tilled and amended with large amounts of compost, peat, or pine bark. Rhizomes should be planted just below ground level and kept moist until well established. Clumps spread quickly, and individual rhizomes should be spaced several feet apart to avoid need for annual division. Mulching in the summer protects rhizomes against sunscald. Winter protection is not necessary, but could help prevent the evaporation of essential moisture in northern and dry areas of the region. Azalea-camellia fertilizers are recommended, along with water soluble fertilizers designed to lower the soil pH. After bloom is completed in the spring, the stalks should be cut back to the rhizome. Old rhizomes do not bloom again, but increase to produce the following year's crop. These flamboyant flowers are attractive to bees, and the visits of these insects often result in pollination and the production of fertile seed in the irises' large seed pods. Ripening seeds sap the plant's strength, so they should be removed unless, of course, the grower has decided to raise new plants from seed. If so, leave the pods in place until they turn yellow-green in July or August, shell out the seeds before they dry, and plant at once into pots of well-prepared soil. Provide adequate protection over the winter, and plant the young seedlings into permanent locations in March. Although not always available in a great variety of colors, Louisiana irises are sold by some garden centers in Texas. Mail order sources have opened up many more sources for gardeners. Special plant sales, such as the Bulb Mart in Houston each fall and March Mart at the Mercer Arboretum, usually offer a wide variety of Louisiana irises. For more information on Louisiana irises, consult the Society for Louisiana Irises, https://www.louisianas.org. Their annual convention provides a good opportunity to learn more about these interesting plants.	249,995
Having a problem with your induction stove can be quite a pain. They are not as easy to fix as traditional stoves and may cost more to replace. You will be able to find troubleshooting articles in the manual or on the internet if you search in the right place. This article is also handy for giving you an idea of what may be wrong with your induction stove. Hopefully you can fix your problem and do not have to replace the whole stove. Or you can give us a call for any type of oven repairs. So, what is going on with your induction stove? If you have no power (heat or lights), check to make sure the stove is plugged in to a 120-volt outlet. If this is not the issue, check for a dedicated 15-amp line. If this is not the problem, check the fuses. It is common to have a blown fuse in an induction stove. The fuse is going to be a 250v ceramic, 20-amp fuse. Image source: Valeria BM If the stove has been handled roughly or has been dropped, you may experience issues and it will need to be evaluated. Another issue that may arise is that the power cook and hold temp light is flashing even though the pan is on the unit and the unit is not heating. This could be becuase the cooktop is not sensing the proper pan, the pan may be too small or too large, or the pan is not centered. The pan should be no larger than 12″ and no smaller than 7″. If your cooktop stops heating, this could be because there was a power shortage when the unit was in use. If you are using another electric appliance, this could have drawn power away from the stove if it is on the same circuit. Another cause of this is a blocked air vent. There must be a 2″ clearance for air circulation on both sides of the unit. If you have left a pan on the unit. the safety shut-off has been activated and this may be why your cooktop has stopped heating. Still having issues such as the pan not getting hot enough? Check the hold temp button because the cooktop will not generate more than 800 watts of power if this button is activated. If the button is on, switch it over to power cook. If you are using an extension cord, this will not give enough power to the stove if it is over 10 feet. If your pan is getting warm enough but it is not cooking evenly, this could be an issue with the pan you are using. Make sure you are cooking with a CookTek pan or an induction compatible pan. The pan may also be the wrong shape, the wrong size will cause cooking issues, as stated above. Hopefully you have figured out what is wrong with your induction stove. It would be a shame if you had to buy a whole new one because they are not cheap. Giving the Appliance Repair Pros a call can save you a ton of money rather than replacing your stove.	161,254
The digital currencies just like the different varieties of cryptocurrencies have become very popular over the latest years and lots of human beings are inquisitive about those virtual foreign money trends. The reputation and effectiveness of the cryptocurrency may be gauged from the fact that an growing wide variety of agencies and services on line now accept virtual foreign money fee which is basically cryptocurrency. Even although there are sure grey areas in virtual trading domain, the complete cryptocurrency trading model has taken off on a large scale and is probable right here to stay. Understanding the functioning and movements in addition to the ever changing dynamic of the digital currency exchange market is important in accruing profits for yourself. To be a a hit cryptocurrency trader you have to understand the diverse aspects which can be involved in the digital buying and selling. To assist with this, you may find some of cryptocurrency service providers that involves bitcoin mining and other associated merchandise as well as services. When it involves bitcoin mining the Rhy is certainly one of the most dependable names inside the marketplace with considerable enjoy and professional as well as efficient cost brought merchandise and offerings. What need to you already know about Rhy? The Rhy has one in all the largest block chains mines inside the world. The business enterprise's capacity of energy supply is 450 MW and can be applied for powering up a complete of 300000 miners at any given time. As it stands it's miles the biggest employer of mines inside the world. The agency has now come to be a core records middle of blockchain at the heart of blockchain with maximum aggressive and reliable power tariff across the industry. The Rhy changed into founded by the Stars cloud mining science tech enterprise which is essentially of Hong Kong consensus fund, Singapore Hash capital, ETH investment, Exchange Union BTC and Singapore BrahmaOS. The consciousness of the organization is at the upstream as well as downstream of format of mine plus its primary enterprise revolves round block chain. The Rhy has now come to be the maximum resource intensive in addition to biggest blockchain mine inside the world. The Rhy bitcoin mining rental programs When it comes to the bitcoin mining rental applications you have got two main alternatives at Rhy : The Whatsminer M30S (1pac) and StrongU STU-U6 (1 pac). Let us have a study one among these options or programs offered to the potential clients and customers. The Whatsminer M30S (1pac): This product has a energy of 3.7 kw/h x 1 gadgets and has a hash rate of 88 TH/S x 1 gadgets. The estimate every day revenue is 0.00159016 BTC/gadgets. The Whatsminer M30S provides a comprehensive upgrade as well as stable profits. This highlights the super energy of replica. It has a hash charge unit measuring 88 TH/S and the original charge of power is 0.058USD/kwh. The activity fee is counted at 0.046USD/kwh which is the monthly prepaid. In phrases of carrier rate there is 0% series for the mining output within the shape of preservation in addition to labor fees, the dual-line electricity deliver fees of growth and the costs of substation construction. For the mining system profits you can confer with the website of poolin mining pool. In phrases of sales settlement the calculation of the estimated sales is finished through operation of digital foreign money community and that is dynamically changed for the cause of reference only. The actual sales of the agreement is income from virtual foreign money after the mining profits put up the subtraction of the protection charge. The settlement sales is measured or recorded each minute and each day at fixed time which presents factors settled at the revenue of yesterday's contract. For making sure the efficiency of mining the mining operations are carried inside the noticeably standardized machine rooms and there is no offering of mining pool selection. The condo manufactured from 720 day mining would not have the ownership of gadget. If the consumer is not able to pay electricity invoice at its right time then it leads to the freezing of contract and this freezing length exceeds five days following which the settlement is terminated. This means the expiration period of settlement is routinely voided and 720 day condo mining product does now not get possession of mining system. When it comes to the acquisition it's far recommended which you ought to read all of the instructions carefully and recognize that product before you proceed. Once you place the order it suggests that the product has been accepted and thereafter no refunding might be possible. If you've got any queries you can continually contact the customer service. The virtual currency fee fluctuates frequently and difficulty of mining foreign money is frequently adjusted. The charge currency drop or problem boom will cause lower returns at the mining contract. So these are some of the warnings that need to be stated earlier than doing your transaction. Still extra information, you can visit https://en.rhy.com	94,609
How much do you know about honey bees and honey? The whole process starts when the bee sucks nectar from the blossoms and stores it in the honey sack, which when it is full, they transport it to the hive. By taking this amazing... Questions: 10 \| Attempts: 542 \| Last updated: Mar 21, 2022 Agriculture depends greatly on the honeybee for pollination. Honeybees account for _______%__ of all insect pollination. Without such pollination, we would see a significant decrease in the yield of fruits and vegetables. Acquired and manufactured from the nectar of the popular mānuka tree, mānuka honey is an effective monofloral honey sold as an alternative medicine and used for hair and skin. Questions: 10 \| Attempts: 157 \| Last updated: Mar 20, 2022 Mānuka honey is produced in... This test will determine whether or not you have mastered the material in the How We Get Honey and Why We Need Bees Module. Questions: 15 \| Attempts: 72 \| Last updated: Mar 21, 2022 There are many health advantages to be gained from including honey in your diet.	135,472
Why We Care The Guadalupe River supplies freshwater to the coastal marshes of the Gulf of Mexico and the wintering area of the last naturally occurring Whooping Crane population. The Whooping Cranes migrate over 2,500 miles from their breeding grounds in western Canada to winter on the coastal wetlands near and within the boundaries of Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in southeastern Texas. The freshwater from the Guadalupe River is essential for the cranes and their main winter food source, blue crabs, but the river and coastal wetlands are threatened by excessive upstream water use. What We Do The survival of Whooping Cranes in Texas depends on securing freshwater from the Guadalupe River basin and conserving wetland habitats along the Gulf Coast (click on the map to view our project areas). These same waters also sustain a wealth of economic activity along the Texas coast, including commercial and sport fisheries, shellfisheries and recreation. ICF works with diverse partners in Texas, including coastal municipalities, businesses, and community groups, to protect the fragile gulf ecosystem, its precious wildlife, and the vital coastal economy. Our research includes new studies of Whooping Cranes and the ecology of blue crabs to improve our management of cranes and their habitats during crisis periods, while outreach focuses on water users throughout the Guadalupe basin, and their options for water management that can meet their needs while sustaining downstream businesses and communities and healthier coastal ecosystems. We are also involved in a new health study focusing on the western migratory Whooping Crane population. The ICF Veterinary Services Department is providing health assessments of Whooping Cranes captured in Texas, as well as chicks captured and banded on the population’s breeding grounds in western Canada. Through outreach activities, such as this boat tour on the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge (left), ICF is engaging local residents in Whooping Crane conservation in the Guadalupe River basin. On their wintering grounds along the Gulf Coast of Texas, Whooping Cranes feed almost exclusively on blue crabs (below). The coastal marshes provide excellent habitat for the crabs if salinity levels remain moderate, which is determined primarily by the amount of freshwater flowing into the coastal waters from the Guadalupe River basin. When freshwater is reduced, due to drought or use of the river's water upstream, fewer crabs are available for Whooping Cranes. In such cases, the cranes weaken, resulting in higher mortality on their wintering grounds and fewer chicks on their breeding grounds in Canada the following spring. How will this affect the future of this endangered species? Read the Story Photo by Dave & Liz Smith	33,503
Elgar's Enigma - A Love Child Named Pearl? \| Classical music reviews, news & interviews Elgar's Enigma - A Love Child Named Pearl? Tantalising evidence of the composer's secret double life as he composed The Kingdom This Sunday a period of gripping mystery in Edward Elgar's life will be summoned up when the LSO perform his oratorio The Kingdom at the Barbican. When he was struggling to write this devoutly religious work, going through something like a nervous breakdown, a young Welsh red-headed music-hall dancer was making her way on the stage. Were these events connected? More to the point, did Elgar have a lovechild with the dancer? Yes, was the answer given in private by musical circles. But the secret did not get out, while the evidence was allowed to die. Here, for the first time, the remarkable evidence that remains is laid out, in the hope that somewhere out there can be found a clinching piece. Elgar was always a man of riddles, as last November John Bridcut’s documentary, Elgar: The Man Behind the Mask, showed. The film pursued links between some of Elgar’s stranger, more potent music and his states of mind, seeded by a life of multiple layers and secrets. But potentially the greatest untold secret was not touched upon. Did Sir Edward Elgar have an illegitimate daughter? Further, was his secret love the muse who inspired the two mysterious dedications, never solved, in the 13th of the Enigma Variations and the Violin Concerto? This is a story that has remained tantalisingly out of reach despite some significant pieces of tangential evidence that it is true. The eminent music critic Michael Kennedy was given the most crucial evidence that remains in a letter written to him by the historian and National Gallery Director, Sir Kenneth Clark (also maker of the landmark arts television series Civilisation). This sensational letter was prompted by the composer William Walton, who was not the only person to accept without doubt that the cook serving them at the palatial Clark residence had once been Elgar’s mistress, and that her daughter was his child. Michael's article laid out the facts he knew, furnished him through his career as the doyen of music critics and major Elgar biographer After many years of fruitless hunting for her, Kennedy wrote an article in The Sunday Telegraph, published Sunday, 15 November, 1992, headlined "The mysterious Mrs Nelson", appealing for assistance in finding corroborative evidence. I was the assistant arts editor at The Sunday Telegraph and working with Michael I subsequently pursued some of the research avenues it opened. Birth certificates corroborate dates for the birth, as does Lady Elgar's diary of Elgar's visits to London at the critical time, but other supporting evidence from people who knew this at the time has not yet been unearthed. Here, with Michael's approval, I am laying out a full summary of what we found and speculated, and what we have continued to discover of surrounding evidence. We hope that even at this very late stage (now with the help of internet communications) this largest of Elgarian mysteries may find a conclusive solution. The Clark letter Sir Kenneth (pictured below) had written to Michael in 1968, urged on by William Walton. As Director of the National Gallery and a knight while still only in his thirties, he was one of the highest panjandrums in British cultural life, and counted among his friends many composers, Walton, Constant Lambert and Alan Rawsthorne among them. He had met Elgar too, on his visits to London. On their household staff in the war the Clarks had had a cook, a Mrs Nelson, who was acknowledged by many in their circle as Elgar’s one-time mistress, and whose grown-up daughter was apparently accepted by them as being Elgar’s child. Sir Kenneth recounted to Michael how he had been asked by Mrs Nelson to back up her daughter’s passport application for ENSA, the wartime entertainment troop, which identified her as “Miss Elgar”. He did so. This is his letter, in full: Sept 13 1968, from B5 Albany, Piccadilly W1 Dear Mr Kennedy, I am afraid I have been travelling about the country for some time and so have not been able to answer your letter to Lady Clark. During the war we had a cook called Mrs Nelson. She had been cook to Lord Berners and was an extremely good one. She had dyed red hair and the remains of considerable beauty, and in her youth had been on the stage in Paris. She claimed to have been a great friend of Jeanne d'Avril. She had a daughter, whose age appeared then to be about forty, who was also on the stage but without her mother's advantages. The daughter was acting with ENSA, required a passport, and I had to sign the necessary form. She said, and her mother confirmed, that she was a daughter of Elgar, and indeed her name appeared as Elgar on the passport. I only saw Elgar once or twice, but to judge by earlier photographs she certainly had a strong physical resemblance to him. I used to pretend that Mrs Nelson must have been one of the unknown characters in the Enigma Variations, but of course the dates are wrong, as the Miss Elgar whose passport I signed cannot have been born much before 1905. Yours sincerely, (signed) Kenneth Clark. After Michael’s story appeared in The Sunday Telegraph, I interviewed Alan Clark MP, Sir Kenneth’s son, who remembered as a boy being aware of Mrs Nelson’s widely known history with Elgar. The possibility appeared to fit chronology and various circumstantial evidence. When I began to research further, other things fitted too. We made a great leap when we had contact from a Rupert West-Nelson who identified Mrs Nelson as his mother, and who had a much older half-sister. He was by then a man in his sixties who was attempting to fill in his own patchy family history, but he had had no idea of his half-sister’s possible paternal connection. He gave useful clues to hunt down at St Catherine’s House, then the office for birth, marriage and death certificates. The musical reason to do so was that there was at least a possibility that this Mrs Nelson, a small, pretty Welsh actress with luxurious Titian hair, might be the mystery dedicatee of Elgar’s Violin Concerto and the famous three-asterisked variation in the Enigma Variations. Moreover, the illicit affair and the birth of a child might have been a significant cause of Elgar’s well-known but unfathomed nervous crisis at the time. This long drawn-out breakdown, while he was composing The Kingdom, has been the subject of intense interest in all Elgar studies ever since his death in 1934. It resulted in him, a staunch Catholic, ceasing to go to Mass and in a larger sense abandoning his church. Michael’s article laid out for readers the facts he knew, furnished him through his lifelong career as the doyen of music critics and major Elgar biographer (portrait bust of Michael Kennedy, pictured right, by Cecile Elstein). He had two leading documents - the more important being the letter from Clark about his cook, but also a copy of the Violin Concerto inscribed by Elgar after a performance with the letters "A. N." over the five dots of the mystery dedicatee. This had belonged to a young violin student who had approached the composer after the concert - in later life she gave the score to Michael Kennedy. Elgar's assumed muse for the Violin Concerto has always been Mrs Alice Stuart Wortley, but the initials, reproduced in the Sunday Telegraph article, were much more obviously A.N. than A.W. (see reproduction below). If Elgar had indeed been serious when he inscribed those initials, it did not fit the standard wisdom. Furthermore, Elgar had not even met Mrs Wortley when he composed the Engima Variations, and - for what it is worth - it was the strong view of two of his close associates, the music critic Ernest Newman and the conductor Leopold Stokowski, that one and the same woman inspired both works. In sum, a plausible theory demanded researching. Elgar's * in Enigma, written in 1899, and the "alma de ....." of the Violin Concerto, composed in 1909, have always been enigmas without solution. Rupert Nelson's mother was named Dora Adeline Nelson. DAN might be the three asterisks in the 1899 work and might also be the "A.N." Elgar inscribed on the concerto score. Her nickname Peggy, or that of her daughter, remembered by Rupert as Pearl, might also be the five dots in the 1909 work - the lovechild whom Sir Edward Elgar could never acknowledge. Just because they were lower-drawer than his other female associates did not mean that Elgar (a man clawing his way up from tradesman class) could not have felt the most regretful - and painful - love for them. Even though John Bridcut’s film uncovered a love letter to Elgar from a young student written after his death, she was far too young to be the muse of 30 years before. After the film was broadcast, I asked Michael Kennedy for permission to reveal the full details of his long quest and my subsequent researches in a final attempt to see if further information might come to light. He agreed. Listen to the 13th of the Enigma Variations, the LPO conducted by Daniel Barenboim (from ChrisWorthMusic on YouTube): Dora Adeline Nelson Sir Kenneth Clark’s employee during the war was a petite, characterful, well-spoken redhead by then nearing 60. Said to have been on stage in her youth, Mrs Nelson had later become a first-class cook, hired by very grand families around London, including Lord Berners, the noted epicurean, and Sir Oswald and Diana Mosley, as well as Sir Kenneth Clark. Working from Rupert West-Nelson's clues proved a frustrating but eventually encouraging inquiry. He had grown up without much contact with his mother, and when he did so she told him little about her past. The names Dora and Nelson were common, Nelson being particularly widespread in Wales. A theatre actress named Dora Nelson appeared on an Ogden's Cigarette Card in 1900. Very pretty she looks. But it is unlikely, from the date, that this is the same Dora Nelson as his mother. Still it is certainly quite possible that a young dancer-actress might have become a mistress to Elgar on one of his trips away from his home in Great Malvern, Worcestershire, which he shared with his much older wife, Alice. It was crucial to find a connection in the life of Dora Adeline Nelson, if Rupert's mother were the right woman. Born of Swedish background as Neilson, and raised in Wales, she was nicknamed Peggy as a child by her family, so her son told me. But when she left for London to go onto the stage, it is a reasonable guess that she would perform under one of her two Christian names. She was arriving in London just as another dancing Adeline, Adeline Genee, only a year older than herself, was becoming the latest sensation. Genee had named herself after the opera star Adelina Patti. It would be natural enough for the aspiring young Welsh dancer, on discovering the coincidence, to use her second name as well, perhaps in her social life to increase her shine. (Using a second name with acquaintances was a common enough practice - Mrs Elgar herself used Alice, not her first name, Caroline.) And if there was an established Dora Nelson in theatre already, it would be another reason to switch. Hence, it is not impossible that at the time Elgar may have been involved with her she was known to him as Adeline Nelson - A N. At any rate, it is documented in official records that one Dora Adeline Nelson, when in her mid-twenties, bore a fatherless daughter discreetly in a home for unmarried mothers in south London in 1907. She named her baby identically to herself: Dora Adeline Nelson (which certainly didn't help in researches. Nor did it help that Miss Nelson, the mother, later became Mrs Nelson, without any traceable husband). Two highly interesting circumstantial links fit this birth neatly into the "fact" of Sir Kenneth Clark's testimony. First, Sir Edward made two specific trips to London at precisely the time of conception, September 1906. Second, it is apparent that soon after the composer's death, Dora Adeline Nelson's tough working life took a marked step upwards - of which more later. The scenario of a middle-aged, highly sexed Catholic Englishman having a fling with a feisty young dancer while away from home, and then being devastated by guilt on leaving her pregnant, is not inconsistent with either Elgar’s known predilections nor with the volatility of his emotions. (His Malvern home, Craeg Lea, pictured below in 1904.) If he were indeed inspired by love with a young flame in 1899 (Enigma Variation XIII), and later mortified at abandoning her and her baby to inevitable oblivion (1907), this could be a cause for Elgar’s crisis of conscience and mental stability at the time - especially when trying to compose such elevated religious works as The Apostles and The Kingdom, with the tormented Judas figure at their heart. Nor would it be implausible that he should guiltily have the soul of his lost love and their young daughter at heart when he composed the Violin Concerto in 1909. Nor indeed would it be out of keeping with his allusive character that he might feel compelled to acknowledge it, if only in a private sidelong way, through penning the initials "A.N." on its score for a music student only a few years older than his lost daughter would be by then. The secret survived, apparently kept on both sides, and nothing was suspected. However, the significant thing is that within 10 years of Elgar’s death, the very top drawer of society, Clark and Elgar's peer composers Alan Rawsthorne, William Walton and Constant Lambert, were all openly accepting "the known fact" of Clark's cook, Mrs Nelson, being Elgar's mistress and the daughter his illegitimate offspring. Clark even willingly put his signature to it on passport identity documents, as his letter to Michael Kennedy recounted. Alan Clark MP, Sir Kenneth's son, told Michael Kennedy that it was "a known fact" among his father's musical friends, and much talked about. He gave me a few more details in a phone conversation in early 1993, after Michael's article appeared. He told me he was a schoolboy on holidays from Eton when he met Mrs Nelson at one of the family's homes, where they entertained in the grand style with a large staff. Alan Clark told me he thought Mrs Nelson had been with the family about eight months when he first became acquainted with her, though he could not remember which family house it was. Possibly Gloucestershire, possibly London. He did not remember seeing a daughter. There was just a possibility of Mrs Nelson's daughter, Pearl, born in 1907, being still alive "Pearl", Rupert West-Nelson's half-sister, was by now in her mid thirties, and married to an Enfield butcher. One must assume that her husband was on war service if she needed to renew identity documents and used any other name than her married one, Dora Puddefoot. If she was trying to get into ENSA, it seems likely she had asked her mother, a former dancer, to help her out with contacts. When Michael Kennedy decided to write his article for the Sunday Telegraph, he needed others to help fill the jigsaw. He knew that Mrs Nelson would be long dead, but there was just a possibility of her daughter being still alive, in her late 80s. Rupert West-Nelson's letter gave a distinctive new direction for the investigation, which I, as the Sunday Telegraph's assistant arts editor, took up on Michael's behalf. In 1993 I did some interviewing and researching of birth, marriage and death certificates to identify more about his mother and her daughter through official records, but I ran aground after a few basic details. Since that time, in new recent researches much aided by online resources, most of Mrs Nelson's extraordinary progress from uneducated Welsh girl to high-society cook, despite two illegitimate babies, can be discovered. But a connection between her and Elgar still lacks the clinching evidence. That there was a Mrs Nelson accepted as Elgar's mistress, and mother to his child, is attested by Sir Kenneth Clark's letter to Michael Kennedy. The question is how to confirm her identity. Known facts about Elgar - In 1889 Elgar, aged 31, married a woman of 40, Caroline Alice Roberts - a marriage generally accepted as a relationship of companionship rather than sexual passion. A year later, Alice bore Edward a daughter, Carice. (Mr and Mrs Elgar pictured right in 1891.) - In 1899 Elgar wrote the Enigma Variations, dedicated to his friends, all easily guessed from their nicknames and initials. Yet there was a mysterious dedication of three asterisks * over its 13th variation, a yearning, dreamily romantic piece. - In 1904 Elgar was knighted. - In 1905-7 Elgar had had something like a nervous breakdown. As he was a devout Catholic, it's been supposed that it was the stress of completing his religious oratorio The Kingdom, whose fitful progress had taken him five years or more. He wrote some of his strangest, most dissonant and nihilistic music in 1907. - In June 1907 a child baptised Dora Adeline Nelson was born to a Dora Adeline Nelson in a charity maternity hostel in Wimbledon. - In 1909 Elgar completed a violin concerto, premiered in November 1910 by the leading violinist Fritz Kreisler, and teasingly dedicated in Spanish "Aquí está encerrada el alma de ....." (Here is concealed the soul of) and five dots. - In March 1916 after a performance of the Violin Concerto in Birmingham, a music student asked Elgar to sign her pocket score of the concerto. Over the five dots he wrote “A.N.”, signing it. It thus read: “Aquí está encerrada el alma de A.N." Decades later, that student gave the score to Michael Kennedy. - In 1934, Elgar, on his deathbed, made a five-word remark to his friend, the leading music critic Ernest Newman, which Newman described later as "a distressing remark", "too tragic for the ear of the mob" and "[lending] itself too easily to the crudest of misinterpretations". Elgar's sickbed nurse reported that he had talked about a little girl in his last days. - In 1939 Newman wrote to Clare Wortley, daughter of Elgar’s closest confidante, telling her of the deathbed remark, and asking her advice, agreeing with her not to reveal it. - By 1944, and likely much earlier, it was common knowledge among Britain’s leading composers, and their friend Sir Kenneth Clark, the Director of the National Gallery, that Elgar had had an illegitimate daughter, and that the mistress was Sir Kenneth Clark’s cook. Sir Kenneth agreed to verify the daughter’s passport application, which bore the name "Elgar". Known facts about the Dora Adeline Nelsons - Dora Adeline Neilson born 1882, Newport, Monmouthshire, Wales, of Swedish emigrant stock - April 1901, living in Wales, aged 18, now begins anglicising her surname to Nelson - September 1906, becomes pregnant (probably in London) - June 1907 bears a fatherless daughter in a Wimbledon charity hostel, named Dora Adeline Nelson - April 1911, mother works as a servant in London while young daughter is in Wales, living with relatives - Summer 1926, mother becomes pregnant aged 43 by the much younger Rupert West in London - February 1927, mother bears an illegitimate son in London, named Dennis Rupert Nelson. The father is not named on the certificate (but the son confirmed to me who his father was) - 1932, daughter, nicknamed "Pearl", marries an Enfield man - 1934-6, mother works for a Hendon household - 1937-9, a Mrs Nelson works for noted epicurean Lord Berners in Belgravia - 1940s, this Mrs Nelson works for Sir Kenneth Clark - he signs her daughter's identity papers, and sees her passport says "Elgar". He is familiar with the "known fact" that mother was Elgar's mistress and daughter is his child - 1944, in her sixties, Mrs Nelson works briefly for Sir Oswald and Diana Mosley in Newbury - 1961, Dora Adeline Nelson (mother) dies in London, aged 79 - 1990, Dora Adeline Nelson Puddefoot (daughter) dies in Cornwall, aged 83 This is a chronology of events which fits tantalisingly into a coherent emotional narrative, though it cannot all be proved. In 1889 Elgar, aged 31, married Alice Roberts. Within a few years, however, the composer was vigorously tasting and pursuing success on many trips from Great Malvern to London on his own. It is possible that he met a 16-year-old aspirant dancer (or actress) named Dora Adeline Nelson touring in the West Country, or even as a servant, and fell for her bright, independent spirit and young glamour. It appears possible that she performed under the name Adeline, thanks to its celebrity association with Adeline Genee, though Theatrical World magazine in the late 1890s has a Dora Nelson shown in bit parts in comedy theatre. This may well be a different Dora Nelson, however, slightly older. In 1899 Elgar wrote the Enigma Variations. It was gossiped straightaway that the 13th variation signified a secret love of Elgar’s, and that what was supposed a quotation from Mendelssohn's Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage referred to her having gone away. One could assume that his inspiration need not be a grande passion - simply to tease might be enough in a riddlesome composition dedicated "to my friends pictured within". The point would be whether an association begun then had lasted 10 years. In 1905-7 the recently knighted Sir Edward had had something like a nervous breakdown, while taking a long time to complete The Kingdom, his companion oratorio to The Dream of Gerontius and The Apostles. From around that time Elgar seems to have virtually stopped going to Mass. What caused this personal crisis? Guilt? If so, about what, or whom? Did mental illness lead him to an adulterous relationship with a young woman? And what dark journey caused him in 1907 to produce that desolate, nihilistic song Owls, highlighted in John Bridcut’s film? Meanwhile, for a few years into the new century, pretty young Dora Adeline Nelson from Newport, Wales, had gone to London to work in domestic service and then launched herself as a dancer in Paris, allegedly with the celebrated performer Jane Avril, Toulouse-Lautrec's frequent muse (who was a keen Anglophile). Dora Adeline was clearly an attractive and resourceful girl, and having shed her Welsh accent, she would not have lacked for admirers. Yet she remained single evidently, because in 1907, aged 28, and presumably having had to abandon the stage, she bore a child in a charity home for unmarried mothers in South London. When I went to St Catherine’s House in 1993 I found four Dora Nelsons were born 1904-1907, but one fatherless Dora Adeline Nelson, which was the full name remembered by her son Rupert. “June 15 1907: Dora Adeline born to Dora Adeline Nelson, General servant (domestic), at the residence 47 Haydons Rd, Wimbledon. No father named.” Remarkably, Elgar made two visits to London at exactly the necessary time If Clark was right about Mrs Nelson, when Elgar was putting the finishing touches to his oratorio The Kingdom, he was simultaneously tripping surreptitiously to his flame-haired young lover in London and getting her pregnant. And there is the confirmation in his life. Remarkably, according to the Elgar Society's online timeline, using evidence from Lady's Elgar's diary entries, Elgar made two visits to London at exactly the necessary time, 3-7 September and 17-19 September. If on one of his visits to DAN, she told Sir Edward she was pregnant, he would undoubtedly have been in an agonised battle with his conscience. Their liaison beforehand surely could not have left him unmarked by fear and guilt at his adultery, the more so if he was already torn by spiritual doubts through his deep immersion in the profound emotions of his oratorios. Something certainly permeated to his wife, Lady Elgar, whose bitter verses about betrayal, evidently aimed at him, were brought out by John Bridcut's film. Everything was at stake. Elgar had finally come into the status he had craved all his life. If this liaison did indeed occur, he would have known that a bastard child could mean the end of it, probably disgrace, and the curse of lifelong condemnation by the God whom he had spent several years building musical monuments to in epic and acclaimed oratorios. One can only speculate how DAN and her child would have managed when it was clear that there was no question of the father being acknowledged. Evidently DAN was an honourable and robust woman, who swiftly got on with her new life in domestic service; whether she received any money from Elgar or other sources at that time we do not know. But in 1909 Elgar picked up the violin concerto he had begun in 1905 and completed it. It was much publicised, premiered by the leading violinist Fritz Kreisler in 1910. In its mysterious dedication, "Aquí está encerrada el alma de ....." it is of incidental interest that there are five dots, not three, the standard form for printed ellipses. Were the dots deliberately five? For a name? If it were true - as Newman and Stokowski said - that one woman was at the centre of both the Enigma variation in 1899 and this concerto, there would have had to be an unusually durable cause for attachment over a decade. The inscribed copy of the Violin Concerto that Elgar gave the student in Birmingham in March 1916 with the initials “A.N.” over the dots appears to be the only document existing in which Elgar gave any clue to the identity of the dedicatee. Though again, it might not be what it seems. In 1920 Lady Elgar died (the Elgars' grave in St Wulstan's Roman Catholic Church, Little Malvern, pictured right). Two years later Carice Elgar married. It could be supposed that this left Sir Edward in an easier position to arrange support for an illegitimate daughter of 13, who by now had spent much of her short life in the privations of the First World War. He might even be curious to know whether she had inherited his music or her mother’s stage charisma. On the other hand he was locked into his global reputation, the lowly self-taught composer who had become a knight and member of the exclusive Order of Merit. Could he dare to make some provision for her, after his death? The death-bed remark In 1934, the dying Elgar made the leading remark that only his friend Ernest Newman, the musicologist and Sunday Times music critic, heard. It would have seismic implications. Two years after his death Elgar's confidante and close intimate Alice Wortley died, aged 74. After a decent interval, in 1939 Newman wrote to her daughter Clare (herself middle-aged) of Elgar's last words to him. The correspondence appears to have involved two or three letters, and one can guess that Newman may have been attempting very cautiously to ask advice as to some possible obligation he felt Elgar had left behind. In what is perhaps the third letter of the sequence, Newman wrote to Clare Wortley that "the whole facts of the case" had been told him by an "intimate" of both Elgar and the woman concerned. "There was only one woman behind the two pieces - and I am pretty sure I know the name," wrote Newman. "The details are very curious and sad. I'm glad you [Clare] agree with me that Elgar's secret should not be exposed to profane eyes." [My italics.] This wording is curious in its implications: it has a degree of complicity within it that implies Newman was expecting from Clare a privileged knowledge of Elgar’s intimate affairs, and therefore also some advice on a sensitive subject that he himself felt unsure about. It implies, too, that Clare Wortley did not know the name of the woman in "the case" - so it could not be her mother, Alice Stuart Wortley, concerned in this delicate "case". However, the last sentence of Newman's (italicised) is intriguing in its implication that a biographer and eminent music critic would acquiesce readily to the suppression (which Clare Wortley clearly advised) of something that could undoubtedly have allowed him to produce a massively publicised Elgar biography. He had already done the official Elgar monograph and was the obvious man for the first official "life" of Elgar. That sentence implies something agreed between them to be unprintable. Newman may have hearkened to Clare's advice at the time - and presumably he took no action. But he did not necessarily hold his tongue. The contenders for Elgar’s *** and ..... Elgar had many lady friends, and quite a gallery of flings were available to fit his mysterious unnamed dedicatees. Lady Elgar told Dora Penny ("Dorabella" of the Enigmas) that the woman behind the 13th Enigma variation was Mrs Julia Worthington, an American friend of the pair. But Michael Kennedy thinks she was putting Dora Penny off the scent. Some years after Enigma, Elgar marked a sketch for it "LML" - it's often taken that this was Lady Mary Lygon (pictured right), one of his many female friends, who went overseas to Australia (hence the supposed quotation from Mendelssohn’s Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage ). But the intense, mystical poignancy of the music jars with the idea of a mere friendship. (Also, wouldn't a friend naturally mark it "ML" for Mary Lygon rather than the more formal LML for “Lady” Mary Lygon?) In the 1880s the young Elgar had been engaged to Helen Weaver (a five-letter name), but she got tuberculosis and emigrated to Australia. Was this Elgar’s lifelong passionate regret? Yet why would it continue to haunt him a quarter-century later? Mrs Alice Stuart Wortley, of all Elgar's women, was his closest friend and a particularly intimate confidante. She was the daughter of the painter John Everett Millais, who painted a famous portrait of her (pictured left). However Elgar first met “Carrie” Wortley, then 40, three years after the Enigma Variations were composed, which upends any idea of her being a double muse for both works. Yet he referred to the Violin Concerto in their extremely close and loving correspondence as "yours" or "our own". So are the letters that appear to be A.N. on the inscribed violin score actually A.W.? They look exactly like A.N. as reproduced in the Sunday Telegraph article. But it also might be questioned that Elgar would have fallen into mental crisis over her in 1906-7 when the indications are that their relationship only intensified after 1909, after the concerto had been dedicated. By that time Mrs Wortley (her husband became a baron in 1917) was in her late forties, Elgar a little older, and their friendship was several years old. She was also a good friend of Elgar's wife. If it was not illicit passion between them that caused this deepening of relations, but a mature bond between a flawed man and his trusted intimate, this appears to take Alice Wortley out of the frame as the muse. But the mysterious Mrs Nelson, on the evidence we have, has as strong a claim as these. She was an entirely other type of girl from Elgar’s constrained aristocratic lady friends, and a susceptible middle-aged composer might indeed be lovestruck while away from his restraining home. It is also well conceivable that on her return to London in the mid-1900s, she and Elgar met again when he was in a highly emotional state, and a child resulted. Elgar, now Sir Edward (1904), might well have been devastated by allowing a surrender to carnality to result in a child he could not support openly - a serious offence indeed against morality as well as his new, longed-for social status. It is perfectly plausible that in such a situation a composer would sublimate his feelings in music, and enigmatically send his thoughts to her via secret dedications that perhaps only he would know. Ernest Newman’s letters Whether any of Elgar's friends knew about this is unclear, but it may well have come to light for the first time when Elgar was on his deathbed, and made that telling remark to his friend, the leading music critic Ernest Newman. The curious letter Newman wrote to Lady Alice Wortley's daughter a few years later raises considerable speculation. For one thing, it appears to indicate that Newman and Clare closed ranks and buried Elgar’s secret, whatever it was. In Bridcut’s film, the Elgar specialist Michael Kennedy showed a tender letter from Elgar to Alice Wortley from which her daughter had scissored most of the back page, destroying whatever was in it. (Kennedy tells me that many of the "Windflower" letters had been similarly scissored by Clare.) Between two such soulmates what might be confessed? Possibly to Alice, and to no one else, would he confess his flaws, his worries about betraying his faith, or perhaps even his marriage. Perhaps he gave her hints that he knew he had behaved very badly, a long time before he had left a woman pregnant, and there was a child he had abandoned. God would not forgive him. By the time Newman (pictured) chose to write to Clare, both her mother and Elgar were dead. But given Clare's protectiveness of her mother's reputation, and the overwhelming intimacy of Elgar's letters to her that Clare had possession of, one wonders how she received Newman's account of Elgar's deathbed remark, “too tragic for the ear of the mob” and "[lending] itself too easily to the crudest of misinterpretations". Was it that the remark was a shock revelation of a betrayed marriage? Was this the too tragic matter that Newman was asking one of Elgar's nearest and dearest to give her view of? Was it a charge to try to find this now grown-up child? One could indeed see how he would hesitate. There would be the potential for a very great scandal indeed, and possibly the contamination of some of Elgar's most heartfelt and nationally loved work. He himself, a distinguished critic, might well have suffered a public backlash by revealing any such thing. Clare appears to have counselled silence. “I am glad you agree with me...” he wrote, closing the matter. Yet within only four or five years, we reach the perplexing point that Sir Kenneth Clark's letter records. He, William Walton, Alan Rawsthorne, Constant Lambert and other musical colleagues were all acknowledging that Clark’s cook was Elgar’s former mistress, and that her daughter was his child. Clark was even prepared to put his signature to that effect. Where did that belief come from, so soon after Elgar's death? Most probably Newman was the source of the information, recounting to his musical friends Elgar’s last words Most probably Newman was the source of the information, recounting to his musical friends in confidence Elgar’s last words. Maybe he worried that Clare Wortley's attitude was not the right one for history, or for the biography that he felt he had to abandon. At any rate, the "known fact" evidently found wide, if discreet acceptance within the highest cultural circles after 1939. But perhaps there was a second, more difficult legacy that Newman could not deal with openly. Perhaps Elgar had not just asked Newman to tell the outcasts of his death, but had also left a letter for the old flame and the now adult daughter, to show they had remained in his guilty thoughts - or even had inspired these two mysterious musical dedications. If a secret mistress was his muse for two of his greatest musical masterpieces, this indeed would blow open all the obsessively constructed Elgar respectability should Newman reveal it. Better for the keepers of the flame of Britain's greatest composer that these should stay mysteries... Well, such a heartbreaking story is not at all implausible. The problem is tying this speculation firmly to fact and documentation. Speculating on Dora Adeline Nelson’s story (after Elgar) One can find the birth certificates for Dora mother and Dora daughter, one can stitch together from references in biographies of Lord Berners and Diana Mosley the fine career and reputation that "Mrs" Nelson had achieved after Elgar's death. What remains shadowy is how she and Elgar launched any liaison, and how she may have been helped either by him or on his behalf by his friends. Further circumstantial evidence can be found from my conversations and correspondence with DAN’s late-born son, Rupert West-Nelson, whose own life had been fractured by war and an absent father of his own. It is highly likely that the birth of the little girl ended any secret relationship between her mother and Elgar. What is certainly known, from her son and elsewhere, is that Dora Adeline Nelson’s short stage career must have been over, for she went into domestic service, initially as a “general servant”. Now known as “Mrs” Nelson, she parked her baby with relations back in Wales while she continued to work her way determinedly upwards around London. She may have been hoping for her daughter to show signs of her famous father’s talent - she probably would not dare tell her child or her family who he was. Meanwhile she continued to attract men, one of them a much younger chancer called Rupert Joseph West, with whom unexpectedly - despite a 13-year age gap - she had a child in her forties in 1927: a boy who would become our second witness. Dora, then 45, was working as "refreshments-counter assistant", it says on the birth certificate. It was a lousy second choice. Once again her child was born in a charity hospital and had no father named on the birth certificate, indicating that Joe West could not commit himself to regularise this unorthodox relationship. It was the Depression; Dora was no doubt in desperate circumstances. In the early 1950s Joe West was caught embezzling a charity and went to jail, said his son; prison was the last place he ever saw him. The boy grew up under his second name, Rupert, and took on the surname West-Nelson, uniting his parents’ surnames. Perhaps the mother wondered if there would be some secret sign sent from Elgar’s will to acknowledge his daughter Pearl was 20 when her brother was born, a plain, big-boned girl lacking her mother's spirited attitude - she probably helped look after the boy while their mother kept on working to support them, but she left to work as a domestic in Enfield, where she met her future husband, Daniel Puddefoot. There was a marriage certificate for her when she was 25: "July 29 1932: Dora Adeline Nelson, 25, spinster (profession blank), m Daniel George Alfred Puddefoot, 31, bachelor (profession Valet), in Edmonton district. Witnessed by Walter Puddefoot, father, a builder's storekeeper." Her marriage must have been a relief to her mother. Two years after Pearl’s marriage, in 1934, the newspapers announced the death of Sir Edward Elgar. Perhaps then Pearl was told who her father was. Perhaps the mother wondered if there would be some secret sign sent from Elgar’s will to acknowledge his daughter - or some money, even. At any rate, soon after Elgar's death, Mrs Nelson, by now in her fifties, suddenly started doing rather well for herself. From housekeeping in modest households in North London, she was swiftly working as a cook for aristocratic families, highly recommended, judging by her progress through the households of Lords and knights during the next two decades. And the boy Rupert West-Nelson had been accepted into King Edward's School in Witley, Surrey, a very exclusive charity school. Mrs Nelson's employers now included Lord Berners, the Clarks and the Mosleys. Alan Clark told me he thought it was probably around 1943 when his family were living in Gloucestershire that he remembered her. Michael Kennedy, though, thought it might have been at their London house a year or two later. At any rate, by the late war Mrs Nelson's Elgar liaison was apparently so well known that she had no fear of asking this distinguished knight, the director of the National Gallery, to sign her daughter’s ENSA application with her "real" father's illustrious name. If only we could discover that application. The son's story I spoke to Rupert West-Nelson, when I followed up Michael's research in 1993. He had contacted Michael to say, he believed this might be his mother, whose life he was attempting to piece together. He told me on the phone: "Mother was a wonderful cook and she was a cracker, a good-looking woman, with a straight nose, but the left of her upper lip had a hole. I used to say to her, 'What's that?' She said, Peter clawed her - Peter was a cat. In the Thirties she had short cropped hair. She kept her glorious Titian hair for years - it was a foot long. When she cut it off she kept the tresses wrapped in tissue in a trunk. I used to take delight in going through her trunk. Since she lived in other people's houses, she kept all her bits and pieces in a trunk." He said she was Welsh but didn't sound it; and Alan Clark also remembered the cook being Welsh. She constantly talked about the theatre, Rupert recalled; what plays were currently on, who was in them, what to see. She did not talk about her own past, he said. "My mother was much abused and always seemed to be on her own." He told me he had a photo of himself and his mother, DAN, from when he was around five or six, taken in Brighton, he thought. He said he had cut up most photos of himself and his mother, out of unhappiness. He had had a most unsettling life. After four years in the Witley charity school, he and the other pupils were dispersed when the school was commandeered in 1941 by the Admiralty. Rupert was 14 and his schooling was over. He applied to the army, but his age was swiftly rumbled. He then did marine work at BOAC in Poole, then in 1944, aged 17 - at about the time when the daughter was having her forms signed by Kenneth Clark - Rupert joined the Navy. These were the happiest three years of his life, he said. After demob in 1947, he went to live with his father’s brother Arnold in Sudbury, until Arnold emigrated to Canada. He thinks it was his uncle who told him that he had a much older half-sister. He did not recall seeing his mother during the war except for once visiting her at her then employer's, Sir Robert Gillan in Guildford, when he was on leave. He recalled Sturges the gardener. Sir Robert had given him a photo of himself as a pilot. He tried to track down his father, Rupert Joseph West, for whom his mother had named him; it was an unhappy encounter. His father was convicted of fraud against a charity in London, and Rupert found himself visiting him in jail. It was his last sight of his elusive father. He had missed his mother very much, he said, as school and services took him one way and her employment took her another. It was, in his touching phrase, "a life of separations". She was not demonstrative but pleasant, though he had few memories of her as a child. He saw little of his older half-sister Pearl - a “shadowy” figure, he said. He remembered one of the rare occasions he saw her in the 1950s, when they both visited his ageing mother in Shepherd's Bush. She was tall and tidily dressed, he said. He knew her as “Pearl”, now Mrs Puddefoot, but otherwise little about her. He knew nothing of any Elgar connection. The elder Dora lived with Rupert and his wife and children for a year until she became too frail for them to cope with. Pearl, ageing herself, was reluctant to take her mother on, and Mrs Dora Adeline Nelson went into an old people's home in Islington. She died in 1961, aged 83. Rupert then lost touch with Pearl. Much later he tried to track her down, without success. He himself did well; he married and had children. He died in Oxfordshire in 1998. It was not a close family, thanks to events. Even if she did not believe herself to be the unacknowledged daughter of Sir Edward Elgar, Pearl Nelson might well have harboured some bitterness towards her mother and towards fate. She was less attractive to men, and the chance to acknowledge her luminous parent was denied to her when he might have helped her life to be very different indeed. Her mother's lively love life probably brought young Pearl a sense of instability too. She had been parked out by the mother as a toddler, and no doubt suffered from the same lack of maternal demonstrativeness that Rupert regretted. Her likely childlessness (there is no indication of Dora Puddefoot having a child) could have increased her sense of life’s unfairness. One presumes she must have asked her busy, distant mother at some point to tell her about her father. The mother might well have kept the secret until Elgar died, 1934, when Pearl was 27. Or she might have already revealed it on Pearl's marriage to Daniel Puddefoot two years earlier - but then, what pressure might have been put on her by the younger generation to pressurise, or even blackmail, Sir Edward into recognising it? It seems more likely that DAN kept her secret. Maybe if she was helped by Elgar's circle in that career leap of hers in the Thirties, it was on condition of secrecy. Did the daughter go into ENSA, as per Kenneth Clark's recall? I drew a blank in my research. Wartime records are too fragmented. Given that her marriage to Puddefoot endured till death parted them in the 1980s, it could only have been a stage-name. Perhaps it was suggested by the mother, as one chance to claim the Elgar name for herself. In war, much about the future must have seemed uncertain; one might claim what one could. Especially if it was already common talk around the dinner tables where Mrs Nelson cooked. I wondered if Pearl ended her days in an old folks’ home, telling visitors grandly, “I am Sir Edward Elgar’s daughter and I used to be on the stage.” And they would say, "There, there, Pearl, dear." It would sound like a fantasy. But perhaps it was not. Watch home movies of Elgar in old age (ElgarRareMovies on YouTube) Share this article theartsdesk is changing Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. In September we reached our fourth birthday and feel that the time is now right, in line with other media outlets, to start asking our regular readers for a contribution to help us develop the site further. Theartsdesk has therefore moved to a partial subscription model. 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Take an annual subscription now simply click here. more Classical music Festive celebrations as the great Cambridge choir brings seasonal Britten to London Thoughtful concert context for a scheme to fill in the gaps of a crucial Bach manuscript Dazzling early Britten paired with incandescent, urgent Elgar Manchester team relishes Hispano-Latin sounds alongside a percussion tour de force A seasonal cantata and an enchanting musical fairytale, along with British and Irish carols performed by an Austrian group Classical violinist's seasonal crossover disc isn't without its pleasures Cultured strings kicked into fuller life by mercurial Russian pianist Modernism triumphant at Britain's foremost new-music festival Two Hungarian octogenarians bring the house down Dynamic piano variations, late romantic vocal music and a delightful meeting between two Parisiens Distinguished broadcaster and documentary-maker celebrates the big birthday at home The Swedish mezzo brings a taste of France to London's newest concert venue	50,505
Views:263 Author:Site Editor Publish Time: 2019-09-18 Origin:Site Bottle filling machine is becoming advanced due to the latest technological innovation. Many manufacturers are working on the productivity and efficiency of these machines. It has a compact structure. The automation is of high degree. The operation system of this machine is good. It is easy to operate this equipment. The bottle filling machine price depends on its characteristics and technological innovation. Glass bottle filling machine has amazing characteristics that make it stand apart. Before purchasing this machine, it is important for you to check the characteristics of each one. However, some of the main characteristics are mentioned below: It has an adopting air conveyor. The companies can adjust it according to their needs. The design of this machine is good. It is made up of stainless steel. There is no art layout for blind corners. So, the workers can easily clean it up. The capping head of this equipment adopts the constant torque device. There is no need to adjust the height of the machine if you want to adjust the bottle size. Just change the tracker wheels of the machine. The working principle of the glass bottle filling machine is similar to the other filling machines. However, the latest devices are incorporated into it. Due to this reason, its efficiency level is amazing. It can be used to fill up the glass bottles with any liquid. The beverage and milk companies can make the most of it. There is a water treatment system in this machine. This system has to wash the glass bottles thoroughly. This system uses pure water to clean up the bottles. The conveyor passes the bottles from the water treatment system one by one. When the glass bottles are washed up then they are taken to the section of filling. When the conveyor moves the bottles under the filling head then the filling head injects liquid in them. The filling head fills each glass bottle up to a specific level. Each company can adjust this level according to its requirements. The modern machine can fill hundreds of bottles in an hour. After filling, the bottles reach the section of capping. A capping head places a cap on each bottle and tightly shuts it. Due to this reason, air does not enter into the bottles. Otherwise, if the air will enter into the bottles then it will affect the flavor and quality of the liquid. When the capped bottles reach the packaging section then they are placed into the cartons one by one. Each carton can handle bottles from 6 to 10. Nevertheless, the adjustments could be made by the companies. When a carton fills with a specific number of bottles then these cartons are wrapped up with tape. Afterward, they are taken to the distribution area. When you want to start your beverage company then you have to get this machine. You can go for the bottle filling machine for sale. Make a list of the best suppliers and then visit them one by one. After that, choose the supplier that provides top quality machine at a reasonable rate.	198,397
Plug pulled on power plant - Published: December 3, 2009 The Village made what some would call a wise and prescient decision last year when it declined to sign on to the coal-fired power plant American Municipal Power, Inc. planned to build along the Ohio River. AMP announced last week on Nov. 25 that it was terminating the AMPGS project due to a spike in construction cost estimates that rendered the project unaffordable for its customers. Though an AMP spokesperson declined to provide details, several sources indicate that municipalities that did commit to the project are now left with their share of the development costs, which range from thousands to millions of dollars. Yellow Springs was one of the first communities to question the viability of a 1,000-megawatt coal plant in Meigs County when AMP, the Village’s nonprofit wholesale power supplier, began conducting project feasibility studies in 2006, according to Sandy Buchanan, executive director of Ohio Citizen Action. Villagers and Village leaders questioned the construction and operational risks the borrowers were asked to bear and the 50-year lock on power rates, as well as the unknown future cost of carbon emissions, which for a plant the size of AMPGS was expected to produce 7 million tons of CO2 per year. Village Council members also cited the ethical problem with supporting an environmental polluter such as coal when they finally voted 3–2 not to participate in the project in January 2008. Local resident Ellis Jacobs, who works as a public interest attorney in Dayton and opposed local participation in the project, believes Council’s decision was sound. “The facts that were used to oppose the plant were first developed in Yellow Springs, which says that folks here had a major role in killing this plant,” he said Monday. “We also saved a ton of money by not signing on — it’s fair to say that we would have been stuck with some portion of the development costs.” According to AMP spokesperson Kent Carson this week, AMP’s board of trustees voted to terminate the coal plant when construction estimates jumped 37 percent above the $3.25 billion quoted in May. The new building estimate tipped the projected cost of power up to a level commensurate with market rates, which rendered the project “no longer the best option for our members,” he said. Prior to the cost increase, the expected rates would be competitive with the market, he said. According to Carson, AMP did not have the numbers to show how much participants had invested so far in development costs. Ohio Citizen Action tried in October to get the same information from AMP. In response to a public records request OCA made, AMP’s attorneys stated in a letter that AMP was “not subject to the Public Records Act and is not obligated to produce the requested information”— though AMP is governed by its member municipalities and was slated to received $30 million in federal stimulus funds for the project. In a financial report Jacobs saw in March 2009, AMP estimated it had spent $19 million so far in development costs. But in a more recent press release on Nov. 25, the city of Martinsville, Va., a participant in the AMPGS project, stated that AMP had so far spent an estimated $200 million to develop the facility. And having committed to a power level of eight megawatts from AMPGS, Martinsville currently owes AMP an estimated $2.08 million for its share of prorated development costs. The city’s leaders are considering either paying back the money over 10–15 years through a monthly billing increase for residents or rolling that investment into an alternative AMP project, such as natural gas power generation or additional hydroelectric projects. The city is also considering taking legal action against the plant contractors, the press release stated. Accordingly, had Yellow Springs signed onto the coal plant at the slated 1 megawatt rate in 2008, the Village would currently owe AMP its share of prorated development costs, equal to somewhere between $20,000 and $200,000. According to Buchanan from OCA, while AMP was urging communities to rush to sign on to the plant, Yellow Springs approached the proposal thoughtfully and took its time to hold public forums and gather information on the issue. “Yellow Springs was one of the first places to question whether it was a good idea,” she said, adding that in that way, the town “provided a lot of leadership” for other communities, such as Oberlin, who also declined, and Cleveland, who signed up at a lower rate than originally proposed. The other 80 communities that opted to participate were stuck with a bill for the take or pay contract on a project that “never lived up to its promises,” Buchanan said. Turning away the new coal plant was fiscally safe as well as faithful to one of Village Council’s stated goals to reduce its carbon footprint, Village Manager Mark Cundiff said this week. The Village still gets its power through AMP, some from renewable hydro and landfill gas projects, some from the open market and some from AMP’s aging Gorsuch coal plant, whose scheduled shutdown and replacement with AMPGS, AMP is currently reevaluating, Marietta’s press release stated. Though the Village currently has a stable power portfolio, 70–80 percent of its power contracts are set to expire by 2015, when the Village could be buying a lot more on the market if new contracts aren’t found, Cundiff said. The Village is working toward conservation of power usage as well as additional renewable power sources to achieve the ultimate goal of using no coal-fire power for the village, he said.	241,041
Telefónica will let an algorithm decide which startups to invest in Computer programs have been an integral part of the venture capitalist’s toolkit for a long time. Analyzing any company involves at least some measure of computational modeling, projection, or examination, though the ultimate decision has, until now, been usually reserved for a human actor. Telefónica’s Open Future entrepreneurship network is breaking with that tradition by announcing a new, machine-driven startup competition where both the contestants and the winners are selected automatically by an algorithm. The first deployment of this algorithm will take place next year as Telefónica kicks off a series of startup battles — to be held in cities across the world, including Valencia, Buenos Aires, and Bogota — looking to identify new companies working on promising innovations in machine learning. That’s right, an algorithm produced by machine learning will be put in charge of picking the most promising machine-learning startups. The overarching goal in eliminating human intervention is “reducing the bias that subjectivity and intuition can add to decisions while improving the chances of predicting the project’s success.” Telefónica doesn’t disclose the sums of money involved, saying only that “the best startups working on state-of-the-art predictive apps […] will be able to access the funds managed at Telefónica Open Future.” Still, even as just a symbolic gesture, this move signals a confidence in the forecasting power of computers that hasn’t been around since the time of Long-Term Capital Management. Then again, LTCM is the canonical example of the folly of entrusting all your investment decisions to algorithms, so a small and cautious step would seem to make sense here. Source: Telefónica will let an algorithm decide which startups to invest in Via: Google Alert for ML	18,985
You may remember that a month ago, we reported that the worldwide market share for Windows XP-based PCs actually went up slightly in January 2012. There was no explanation as to why a 10 year old operating system would actually gain users after such a long time. Now things seem to be getting back to normal. The newest PC operating system report from Net Applications claims that while Windows XP is still the worldwide leader, its percentage has gone back down to 45.39 percent, compared to January's 47.19 percent. Microsoft's latest OS, Windows 7, gained some market share in January. The report claims that Windows 7 is now used by 38.12 percent of PCs worldwide, up compared to 36.40 percent in January. Windows Vista had 8.10 percent of the PC OS market share in February, followed by Mac OS X 10.6 at 3 percent, Mac OS X 10.7 at 2.69 and "other" operating systems at 2.70 percent. Of course, Microsoft has just released the Windows 8 Consumer Preview which means it will be installed on a large number of PCs in the next month. On April 1, we should see how much of the operating system market share will be taken up by Windows 8.	304,901
June 4, 2009 Here at Gizmag we've covered some unusual gadgets over the years, but a computer hidden in a vase? What at first might sound like a joke, actually makes sense when you consider the once-humble PC is arguably more at home in the living room than the study as digital content and media have grown. Computer manufacturers have obliged by producing PCs designed to blend tastefully with the décor – but none of them blend as seamlessly as the PC-in–a-vase from Taiwanese manufacturer ECS. ECS hasn’t slapped together the prototype PC with the cheapest components they can find either. The specs are actually pretty decent, with the vase boasting an Atom 230 processor, NVIDIA ION Graphics, 2.5-inch HDD, 1GB of RAM, HDMI output and a Blu-ray drive. On top of that the vase is real porcelain. All the connection ports – including two USB ports, an Ethernet connection, HDMI output and power connection – are located in the base of the vase so there are no wires hanging off the vase to ruin the look. Instead the wires trail out of the back of the wooden base. We’ve seen PCs crammed into all manner of enclosures, from microwaves to toilets. But they’re mostly one-off custom jobs built by hackers, not something exhibited at a major trade show by a company like ECS. The PC-in-vase could well be a glimpse of the future with smaller components freeing up manufacturers to play with the traditional form of the PC. At the this stage, the PC-in-a-vase is only a concept but it will be interesting to see whether makes it into production. - Around The Home - Digital Cameras - Good Thinking - Health and Wellbeing - Holiday Destinations - Home Entertainment - Inventors and Remarkable People - Mobile Technology - Urban Transport - Wearable Electronics - 2014 Action Camera Comparison Guide - 2014 Smartwatch Comparison Guide - 2014 Windows 2-in-1 Comparison Guide - 2014 Smartphone Comparison Guide - 2014 Full Frame DSLR Comparison Guide - 2014 Tablet Comparison Guide - 2014 Superzoom Camera Comparison Guide - 2014 iPad Comparison Guide - 2014 Entry-Level to Enthusiast DSLR Comparison Guide - 2014 Small Compact Camera Comparison Guide	131,055
Who are our neighbouring countries and how are they different to us? In this topic we will be looking at the continent of Europe and the countries within. We will be researching the countries in many ways and comparing them to England. In our Europe topic pupils have been looking at where in the world they live. (Continent, country, City, street) Below are some examples of the children's hard work:	182,755
Last Thursday, both Greenplum and Aster Data — the two most recent of my numerous data warehouse specialist customers — both told me of the same major innovation. Both were rushing to announce it first, before anybody else did. This led to considerable tap dancing, with the upshot being that both are releasing the information tonight or tomorrow morning. What’s going on is that Aster Data and Greenplum have both integrated MapReduce into their respective MPP shared-nothing data warehouse DBMS. I’ll write about that at length very shortly, but for now let me throw up some sound bites ahead of the more detailed analysis: - MPP shared-nothing database managers like Greenplum or Aster Data give great performance. But sometimes you need to do even better. That’s where MapReduce comes in. - On its own, MapReduce can do a lot of important work in data manipulation and analysis. Integrating it with SQL should just increase its applicability and power. - Google’s internal use of MapReduce is impressive. So is Hadoop’s success. Now commercial implementations of MapReduce are getting their shots too. - At its core, most data analysis is really pretty simple – it boils down to arithmetic, Boolean logic, sorting, and not a lot else. MapReduce can handle a significant fraction of that. - The hardest part of data analysis is often the recognition of entities or semantic equivalences. The rest is arithmetic, Boolean logic, sorting, and so forth. MapReduce is already proven in use cases encompassing all of those areas. - MapReduce isn’t about data management, at least not primarily. It’s about parallelism. - MapReduce offers dramatic performance gains in analytic application areas that still need great performance speed-up. - MapReduce isn’t needed for tabular data management. That’s been efficiently parallelized in other ways. But if you want to build non-tabular structures such as text indexes or graphs, MapReduce turns out to be a big help. - In principle, any alphanumeric data at all can be stuffed into tables. But in high-dimensional scenarios, those tables are super-sparse. That’s when MapReduce can offer big advantages by bypassing relational databases. Examples of such scenarios are found in CRM and relationship analytics. Some of our recent links about MapReduce - The integration of MapReduce with SQL data warehousing - Three major applications of MapReduce - Another application of MapReduce - Sound bites about MapReduce - Other links about MapReduce	220,314
Tuesday, January 23, 2007 KorUS FTA 7th Round Down with the Korea-United States Free Trade Agreement Down with Fast Track and all Free Trade Deals Protect Workers, Farmers, the Environment and Peoples’ Right to Sovereignty and Democracy The 7th and Final Round of KorUS FTA Negotiations is almost upon us!! JOIN US FOR A WEEK OF PROTEST When: Sunday, Feb. 11 – 14, 2007 (to coincide with the talks) Where: Washington, DC and Virginia PLEASE CIRCULATE WIDELY. For more info call (718) 335-0419 or email email@example.com The U.S. and South Korean governments began FTA negotiations in June, 2006. Now they are in a race to finish at the expense of democratic process and the lives of millions. Join peasant, labor, and community leaders from South Korea to protest neoliberal globalization. WHAT: During the 7th and final week of negotiations, delegations of U.S. and Korean protesters will join forces to oppose the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement. The week will include rallies, vigils, marches, direct actions and solidarity events. Give us a call NOW to find out how you can get involved and look out for updates with specific times and places in the coming weeks (kawanlist.blogspot.com). WHO: This week of protest is sponsored by; The Korean Alliance Against Korea-US FTA (KoA), a South Korean coalition of 280 organizations Korean Americans Against War and Neoliberalism (KAWAN), a U.S. coalition of progressive U.S.-based Korean organizations endorsed by close to 100 immigrant, people of color, LGBT, farmers’, workers’, women’s, national liberation, anti-war and anti-globalization groups from around the country. WHY: Free trade policies such as this have had devastating effects on the lives of Americans as well as workers in the partner countries. Politicians and big corporations claim Free Trade Agreements will encourage foreign direct investment, create jobs and jump-start economies, but in fact they only support elite classes and the governments they back. NAFTA sent formerly high paying manufacturing jobs to Mexico, forced Mexican subsistence farmers to the cities, drove wages and working conditions, leading many to risk their lives immigrating to the U.S. South Koreans and U.S. farmers and workers will suffer the same results it the KorUS FTA passes. KoA and KAWAN’s joint protests began during the first round of talks in Washington, DC, June 2006. In July we followed the negotiators to the second round in Seoul, where over a hundred thousand people protested in the streets. The struggle then went to Seattle for the 3rd round, then Jae Ju Island at the southern tip of Korea and then a ski resort in Montana. This week protesters are taking the streets in Seoul to protest the talks for the 6th time. The South Korean and US governments have announced that the 7th will be the final round. It’s time to go all out. So get ready. · KoA’s English website · KAWAN's blog · Bilateral.org, a progressive website about bilateral trade and investment agreements · News article on protests in Seattle in September Posted by yumi at 9:29 PM	154,139
Dustin Hoffman accuses movie industry of glamorizing gun violence Dustin Hoffman accuses movie industry of glamorizing gun violence - MSN Movies News Dustin Hoffman has waded into the debate over American gun control laws by accusing movie directors of desensitizing audiences with a "fraudulent" depiction of real life violence and discriminating against actors who refuse to use firearms onscreen. "The Graduate" star has spoken out in the aftermath of the devastating shooting at Connecticut's Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown on December 14, when 20 young children and six adults were gunned down. The atrocity prompted calls for U.S. politicians to tighten the country's firearms laws to prevent another rampage, and also sparked debate over whether gun violence on the big screen is linked to the high number of shootings in America. Hoffman insists he has always hated handling weapons onscreen and has only carried guns in a few of his movie roles, including "Straw Dogs," "Hook"and "Little Big Man," as he feels filmmakers shouldn't use violence to thrill viewers. The actor reveals his hatred of firearms began in the 1960s when a theatre colleague threatened to shoot him in a dispute over work. "I have always felt passionate about the fact that the audience is identifying (with movie violence) in a very fraudulent way ... I don't find anything interesting about a gun. A gun is there to threaten or kill," he told NPR. "I don't think people understand what it's like to have a gun pointed at you. When it happened to me (it was) after Kennedy (U.S. President John F. Kennedy) had just been assassinated. I was in Boston. I remember thinking, 'I'm going to take a hit' and every second you are feeling the bullet go straight through you ... You're in immediate shock. I've never forgotten that feeling... It was a guy who was part of a theatre company on the producing end ... He came out and pointed this gun..." Hoffman is convinced many filmakers use shooting scenes to bolster the plot because "the script is lacking," and don't convey the true horror of real life violence because "a gun is rarely used in film in a way that it feels like in life. It's simplified into being a cartoon experience." He also fears actors are pushed into violent roles because their career will suffer if they refuse to handle weapons onscreen, adding, "If you are not holding a gun, and that is something I have always refused to do, then suddenly this person who was always offered leading roles, suddenly gets offered supporting parts then you ... start getting offered cameos..." Fellow actor Denzel Washington recently admitted he will be choosing his movie roles more carefully in the aftermath of the Connecticut shooting, but both Arnold Schwarzenegger and Samuel L. Jackson have spoken out to insist movie violence has no correlation with real life issues.	263,797
Moving, starting college, graduation, getting married, having kids, beginning a new job, and retiring. All these events, and others, fall into the category of transitions. How do you like them? How do you manage? While living overseas in Hefei, China, we received guidelines for transitions. Activities like saying good-bye to co-workers and visiting favorite places before going back to America were among the recommendations. We were also warned that we might need time for grieving and letting go of life as we knew it in China. Sometimes it’s easier just not to form attachments at all. However, life can get pretty lonely if you go that route. Often problems with transition come when you don’t expect them. Missing your favorite part or person of whatever you have left behind can come as a surprise in your new situation. In addition, there is the factor of time. We often don’t give ourselves time to adjust, time to grieve our losses, etc.; we just keep on going. William Bridges in his book, Transitions, Making Sense of Life’s Changes, claims that transition is more than change. “It (transition)… is the inner reorientation and self-redefinition that you have to go through in order to incorporate any of those changes into your life.” These progressions take time, and we are not always encouraged to talk about them in our culture. Furthermore, paying attention to our inner processes interrupts our day, and we would rather just go on to the next activity. Some of the process in transition involves letting go, which is part of ending any relationship, work, or residence. During this time, we may feel the loss of what we have left more keenly simply because we have not yet replaced those aspects of our lives. It’s important to give ourselves time even though the in-between can often feel uncomfortable. However, the comfort the believer has in all of this is that the Lord is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and that He never leaves us. These assurances can help ease the discomfort we might feel during transition	20,538
A massive winter storm hit much of the U.S. Tuesday, dumping heavy snowfall along the East Coast and sending temperatures plunging from 15 to 30 degrees below normal from the Mid-Atlantic region to the upper Midwest. But in addition to causing school closings and disrupting highway traffic, frigid winter weather has far-reaching effects on energy production and distribution—from slowing oil and gas wells and refineries to briefly shutting down a nuclear power plant in the Midwest because of ice. Here are some examples of how the cold can cause problems. Natural Gas Demand—and Prices—Soar Extremely cold temperatures drive up demand for natural gas for heating, increasing withdrawals from underground storage facilities and driving up prices. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that during the week ending January 10, more than 285 billion cubic feet of gas was withdrawn, the most on record. Platts, the energy information service, reported that spot natural gas prices in the Northeast surged to all-time highs on January 21. EIA analyst Angelina LaRose said that suppliers typically withdraw from reserves during cold snaps, but that surge in demand during cold weather is bumping up against the limitations of natural gas pipeline capacity particularly in the Northeast. “The capacity going into New England is more than 85 percent utilized right now,” she said. Propane Shortages Hit Platts reported on January 21 that the price of propane surged to $2.45 per gallon, the highest on record and a surge of nearly 70 cents, as stocks of propane dipped to record lows for January. In Ohio, shortages prompted Gov. John Kasich proclaimed a “state of energy emergency” and lifted restrictions on driving times and working hours for truck drivers delivering propane and heating oil. Oil and Gas Production Slows Freezing temperatures also make it more difficult to get oil and gas out of the ground. EIA reported that so-called “freeze-offs” occurred in parts of the Marcellus Shale play in northeastern Pennsylvania in early January. Refineries, too, can suffer interruptions because of cold weather: During the deep freeze of early January, refineries from Detroit to Memphis reported equipment problems caused by the low temperatures. The problems caused a spike in gasoline prices in the Midwest. Nuclear Plants Get Iced In At Nebraska’s Fort Calhoun nuclear power plant, below-freezing temperatures earlier this month caused an icy buildup on one of the six sluice gates that control the flow of Missouri River water, which is used to cool and condense steam from the plant’s turbines. When workers couldn’t close the gate, the Omaha Public Power District was forced to temporarily shut down the plant. “We’re still in the middle of studying how exactly it happened,” said Power District spokesman Jeff Hanson. He said that the plant has barriers in place to protect the cooling system from river ice, but that officials are investigating the possibility that a leaking pipe over the sluice gate caused the ice buildup. In January 2010, one of the three reactors at the Salem nuclear power plant in New Jersey was forced to shut down briefly when ice got into its cooling system.	231,274
Digital upgrading a TV mast Steve Cannon published on UK Free TV The digital age is upon us and as such 52 main transmitter stations including Long Mountain and their various groups will be converted to a full digital terrestrial television (DTT) service over the next three years. Some of you may be aware that the Beacon Hill and Stockland Hill transmitters have already been successfully converted and will be followed shortly in the coming weeks by Caldbeck. This article will take you through the nuts and bolts of what is required to convert a high powered analogue station to a full digital service. Since 15th November 1998, the United Kingdom has enjoyed a watered-down version of the Freeview service. The smaller low powered relays have not been able to carry this service due to the lack of available channels and spectrum that is already very full. Hence the need to remove the analogue service and free up available channels for public service and commercial use. Some transmitter masts are larger than others, some are older than others, some require very little work and others require major structural work. Masts such as Wenvoe serving South Wales and Sutton Coldfield servicing the West Midlands required major structural work and a temporary aerial had to be constructed, Redruth servicing parts of Cornwall required major structural work and a new set of guy anchors. Caldbeck servicing Cumbria and Southern Scotland required the largest engineering project not seen the network was first constructed, some people have to fathom that there is a newly constructed mast there larger than the Eiffle Tower in Paris. The transmitter at Winter Hill (servicing the North West of England) required major engineering work and a complete reorganising of it's aerial system. Currently at Black Hill (servicing Central Scotland) engineers are building a new 1000ft mast. Sandy Heath in the East Midlands is under going major work and at the Divis transmitter (serving Northern Ireland) a new 650ft mast will be built beginning next year. This is the tip of the iceberg of what is going on. What the digital switch-over is actually about is taking a network that took roughly thirty years to build - and rebuild it in less than five years. People will have to remain patient with breaks in service while construction continues because the truth is there were very few complaints for a service that was taken for granted because it was so reliable. Anyone who has seen their local television mast knows its best known feature is its white top, this is in fact the television aerial array protected by glass reinforced plastic. Standard removal of this cylinder is a lengthy process - whilst it looks small from the ground it actually a very large that weighs several tons. To keep the services on the air, a temporary aerial has to be constructed lower down on the mast. For digital switchover each main station is equipped with a permanent reserve aerial. This Youtube video from the 1992 Divis fit out explains the process behind removing the cylinder:- As the majority of sites are dual running (digital and analogue) brand new combiner buildings have been built to supply the new feeder runs to the masts. Over 300 meters of feeders and cable have to be removed and re-installed twice-over and brand new feeder runs to and from the mast. The old (white cylinder) main aerial which is made from glass reinforced plastic is then removed along with any of the steel gantries and replaced with the new high powered paneled aerial. All the new aerials are for a cardioid radiation pattern, which simply means they will broadcast in a configurable 360 degree pattern. Unfortunately, due to weather some work fell behind over the winter period. At 1,000 feet the winds at this height in excess of 40mph, not safe working continuations. Ice accumulates on the mast stays at these heights and that makes it a very dangerous working environment. Imagine a block of ice the size of a transit van falling from 860ft. Puts it into a bit of perspective. There are other bits and pieces of work and it is impossible to go into it all in detail but i hope that gives a flavor of the task at hand. Please feel free to ask any questions.	252,920
Tropical Cyclone Hellen made landfall in west central Madagascar as NASA's Aqua satellite passed overhead capturing temperature data on its towering thunderstorms. When NASA's Aqua satellite passed over Madagascar on March 31 at 10:47 UTC/6:47 a.m. EDT and the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder or AIRS instrument aboard captured infrared data on Hellen. AIRS data showed powerful thunderstorms circling the center of circulation with cloud top temperatures in excess of -63F/-52C indicating they were high into the troposphere. Thunderstorms reaching those heights also have the potential for heavy rainfall Hellen developed during the week of March 23 in the Mozambique Channel, the body of water that lies between the island nation of Madagascar and Mozambique on the African mainland. By March 26, at 20:00 UTC/4 p.m. EDT, the tropical low, then known as System 95S was centered near 10.7 south latitude and 39.4 east longitude. The low level center was actually over land just inland from the coast, and sitting over the Tanzania and Mozambique border. It was on March 26, that the Joint Typhoon Warning Center or JTWC noted that the low had a high chance for becoming a tropical depression in the next 24 hours. JTWC noted that enhanced infrared satellite imagery on March 26 revealed that the low-level circulation center has consolidated and there were bands of thunderstorms wrapping into it. JTWC estimated that maximum sustained winds are between 25 to 30 knots/ 28.7 to 34.5 mph/46.3 to 55.5 kph. At that time, the tropical low was in an area that had low vertical wind shear and warm sea surface temperatures that forecasters at JTWC said would provide the fuel for thunderstorms to develop and assist the low's growth. Over the next several days, System 95S moved east and back into the Mozambique Channel where it rapidly intensified into Tropical Cyclone Hellen and reached Category IV status on the Saffir-Simpson Scale when maximum sustained winds peaked near 140 knots/161.1 mph/259.3 kph. By March 31 at 1500 UTC/11 a.m. EDT, Hellen's maximum sustained winds dropped to 85 knots/97.8 mph/ 157.4 kph because of the interaction with Madagascar. It was centered near 16.2 south latitude and 45.9 east longitude, about 180 nautical miles/207.1 miles/333.4 km north-northwest of Antananarivo, Madagascar. The NOAA-19 satellite showed that the bulk of strongest thunderstorms were south of the center as a result of wind shear. In addition there is dry air moving into the center of circulation which is also helping to weaken Hellen. Hellen was moving slowly to the south-southeast at 5 knots/5.7 mph/9.2 kph, and the JWTC expects it to curve to the southwest and re-enter the Mozambique Channel. Text credit: Rob Gutro NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center	56,206
In a recent Bible Study with our young adults, led by Jenn Messler, we examined boats in the Bible. This lesson being born out of the concept that we all are in the same storm but definitely not in the same boat…and we quickly realized in our discussion not even the same kind of water (rapids, too calm and quiet, etc.). The main boat story focus was on the story in Mark 4:35-41 where Jesus fell asleep in a boat in the middle of a huge storm. Now I could teach for an hour on: -is Jesus asleep in your boat? -why did they only go to him after they tried everything else? -how bad does a storm have to be before we call on Jesus for help? -how doing ministry makes you want to take a nap.? (that one may just be for me) Those are all great concepts and make a great point, but what about the fact that Jesus asks afterword, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” Jesus continues to challenge us to use our faith (that the Holy Spirit gives us) to speak to our circumstances. Jesus does this with his disciples when they are to feed the 5000. Jesus says, “you feed them”, and their response, “with what? We only have…”. How much time do I spend trying to bail water out of my boat? Or focusing on the waves when I could just speak to the storm? Now this may seem foolish or “simple minded”, but check out the lesson right before this story in Mark 4:30. That is right, faith as big as a mustard seed! Jesus teaches us something and then says go do it! Speak to your storm and do it before you are bailing out water or scared by the waves. When the winds stop and the waves go calm, it is still God who did it. But now you are part of the solution for change. You are part of God’s plan to change the circumstances that look dire! You can break up storms, or move mountains, but you must actually try! Stand up in your boat! Speak to your storm! And watch God change the view!	280,966
Conventional computing systems generate vast amounts of electronic data. Accordingly, many techniques have been developed to organize electronic data in a useful manner. These techniques typically attempt to organize data to facilitate access, manipulation, and/or searching thereof. “Tags” (i.e., metadata) may be associated with data to assist searching of the data. In the case of data generated by an application (e.g., a sales report), the application may assign tags to the data based on the parameter values which were used to generate the data (e.g., Year 2010, New York Region, handbags). If a search query including one or more of these tags is subsequently received, the associated data (i.e., the sales report) is located based on the tags and returned within the corresponding search results. The data may also be indexed based on the tags to provide faster searching. To be effective, the foregoing systems require consistency in the assignment of tags to data and in the tags themselves. This consistency may be provided automatically in the case of structured data, and in the case of data generated based on structured data, by simply using the underlying schema to determine the appropriate tags. Tagging of user-generated data presents difficulties. For example, a user is typically unfamiliar with an underlying schema and/or with underlying assignment conventions, and is therefore unable to properly tag user-generated data. Accordingly, this data is typically stored without tags or with tags that are not consistent with the tags of other stored data. Consequently, the user-generated data is not as effectively-searchable as other system data. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS - Top of Page FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system according to some embodiments. FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of a process according to some embodiments. FIG. 3 is an outward view of a user interface according to some embodiments. FIG. 4 is an outward view of a user interface according to some embodiments. FIG. 5 is a data schema according to some embodiments. FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a computing device according to some embodiments. - Top of Page The following description is provided to enable any person in the art to make and use the described embodiments and sets forth the best mode contemplated for carrying out some embodiments. Various modifications, however, will remain readily apparent to those in the art. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of system 100 according to some embodiments. FIG. 1 represents a logical architecture for describing processes according to some embodiments, and actual implementations may include more or different components arranged in other manners. Other topologies may be used in conjunction with other embodiments. Moreover, each system described herein may be implemented by any number of computing devices in communication with one another via any number of other public and/or private networks. Two or more of such computing devices of may be located remote from one another and may communicate with one another via any known manner of network(s) and/or a dedicated connection. Each computing device may comprise any number of hardware and/or software elements suitable to provide the functions described herein as well as any other functions. For example, any computing device used in an implementation of system 100 may include a processor to execute program code such that the computing device operates as described herein. All systems and processes discussed herein may be embodied in program code stored on one or more computer-readable media. Such media may include, for example, a floppy disk, a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, a Flash drive, magnetic tape, and solid state Random Access Memory (RAM) or Read Only Memory (ROM) storage units. Embodiments are therefore not limited to any specific combination of hardware and software. Application server 110 may provide functionality based on data of data store 120. Application server 110 may also provide business context and logic to assist with the interpretation of the data. In this regard, according to some embodiments, application server 110 may encapsulate the data into business objects including both data and related logic. Application server 110 may provide business processes to clients as is known in the art. A business process may comprise software functionality for a target business segment. A business process may include, but is not limited to, functionality related to schedules, reports, ETL processes, management approvals, standard business practices (e.g., revenue forecasts by product line, costs by department), and security. Business processes may guide and coordinate end-users toward a common performance management goal, such as creating a compliant forecast or statutory-consolidated financial results. One or more business processes may be implemented as a Web Service and exposed via Web Services of application server 110. Embodiments may comprise any types of business processes, Web Services, and software-provided functions that are or becomes known. Data store 120 may comprise a physical and/or an in-memory (e.g., in Random Access Memory) database, or any other type of data store that is or becomes known. A portion of the data stored in data store 120 may be associated with metadata, and this metadata may include tags or other semantic information. The data of data store 120 may be received from disparate hardware and software systems, some of which are not interoperational with one another. The systems may comprise a back-end data environment employed in a business or industrial context. The data may be pushed to data store 120 and/or provided in response to queries received therefrom. Data store 120 may comprise a relational database, a multi-dimensional database, an eXtendable Markup Language (XML) document, or any other structured data storage system. The data of data store 120 may be distributed among several relational databases, dimensional databases, and/or other data sources. To provide economies of scale, data store 120 may include data of more than one customer. In such an implementation, application server 110 includes mechanisms to ensure that a client accesses only the data that the client is authorized to access. Moreover, the data of data store 120 may be indexed and/or selectively replicated in index 125 to allow fast retrieval thereof. Client device 130 may present user interfaces to allow interaction with business applications executed by application server 110. Presentation of a user interface may comprise any degree or type of rendering, depending on the type of user interface code generated by server 110. For example, client device 130 may execute a Web Browser to receive a Web page (e.g., in HTML format) from application server 110, and may render and present the Web page according to known protocols. Client device 130 may also or alternatively present user interfaces by executing a standalone executable file (e.g., an .exe file) or code (e.g., a JAVA applet) within a virtual machine. FIG. 2 comprises a flow diagram of process 200 according to some embodiments. In some embodiments, various hardware elements of application server 110 execute program code to perform process 200. Process 200 and all other processes mentioned herein may be embodied in computer-executable program code read from one or more of non-transitory computer-readable media, such as a floppy disk, a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, a Flash drive, and a magnetic tape, and then may be stored in a compressed, uncompiled and/or encrypted format. In some embodiments, hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of, or in combination with, program code for implementation of processes according to some embodiments. Embodiments are therefore not limited to any specific combination of hardware and software. Data is presented at S210. The data is associated with a data space and is presented within an application process. A data space may refer to a set of data associated with particular dimension values, an Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) cube, or any other definable set of data. The data presented at S210 may be a subset of all data associated with the data space, and other data (i.e., data not associated with the data space) may be presented at S210 as well. The application process of S210 may comprise a business process provided to client device 130 by application server 110. For example, a user may operate client device 130 to request a business process from application server 110. In response, client device 130 may receive and present a user interface such as user interface 300 of FIG. 3. Interface 300 is presented as a “tabbed” Web page, with tab 310 showing the name of the requested application process. Text 320 identifies a step of the application process, while UI controls (e.g., hyperlinks) 330 are associated with sub-steps of step 320. One of the UI controls 330 (e.g., Review Competitors) has been selected, and corresponding data 340 is presented within area 350. Data 340 may be presented in any suitable manner, including but not limited to tables, charts, graphs, etc. Data 340 is associated with a data space defined by dimension value controls 360. In some embodiments, the data space may be changed by selecting one or more of controls 360, which may or may not result in a change to presented data 340. Embodiments are not limited to the types of application processes or to the examples of data presentation described herein. Next, at S220, an annotation is received from a user during presentation of the data within the application process. The annotation may include one or more of a text comment, an attachment (e.g., a document, a report, an analytical visualization), and/or other data. Returning to FIG. 3, a user may select Annotate control 370 prior to S220, resulting in presentation of dialog 400 of FIG. 4. The user may manipulate dialog 400 to input an annotation. For example, the user may type a comment (as shown) into comment area 410 and select Add Comment control 420 to transmit the comment to application server 110. Additionally or alternatively, the user may select Add File control 430 to select a file (e.g., through a subsequently-presented file selection dialog) and transmit the selection to application server 110. The annotation (e.g., comment, file, and/or other data) may be semantically-related to both the application process and the data space of presented data 340. The received annotation is stored at 5230 in association with one or more semantic tags. The one or more semantic tags indicate the current data space and the current application process. FIG. 5 illustrates a schema for storing such tags in association with an annotation according to some embodiments. Schema 500 includes table 510 to specify various field values of the annotation, table 520 to indicate a type of the annotation, and table 530 to define metadata associated with any file attachments of an annotation. In some embodiments the type in table 520 may be hierarchical (e.g., document >Word document). Table 540 defines semantic tags to indicate a data space and an application process. These tags may be associated with an annotation such as a comment and/or an attachment represented by an instance of table 510. For example, with respect to the example of FIG. 4, S230 may comprise generation of an instance of table 540 including the following data: Another instance may be created as follows, and yet another instance as follows: ContextItemValue: IMC MGMT Moreover, the following semantic tags may be created to indicate the application process as follows: ContextItemName: Strategic Review The foregoing instances may be associated with a particular annotation through the annotation ID field of table 540. As described above, a process may include steps and sub-steps. In this regard, table 540 may allow creation of corresponding semantic tags: ContextItemName: Review and update strategy ContextItemType: Process step ContextItemName: Review Competitors ContextItemType: Process substep By virtue of the foregoing, the structured data (e.g., tables, cubes), semi-structured data (e.g., comments) and unstructured data (e.g., files) of data store 120 may be associated with consistent semantic tags. Such association may facilitate analysis, searching, and aggregation of these various types of data. According to the present embodiment, the stored annotation is indexed at S240 based on the one or more semantic tags. S240 may occur periodically, as it may be inefficient to re-generate index 125 each time a new annotation and its associated semantic tags are stored. As described above, this indexing allows for faster searching of data based on queries including the semantic tags. Flow returns to S210 to repeat as described above. The application process and/or the data space may change during subsequent cycles of process 200. For example, if the user uses controls 360 to change the current data space, a subsequently-input annotation will be stored in association with semantic tags indicating the new data space and indicating the same application process. Conversely, if the user accesses the same data space in a new application process, an input annotation will be stored in association with semantic tags indicating the new application process and the same data space. Process 200 may be executed for each user served by application server 110. Therefore, a second user may view data of a data space within an application process as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The second user may also input an annotation to be stored in association with semantic tags indicating the data space and the application process of FIGS. 3 and 4. In this regard, table 510 includes a User ID field to associate each annotation with its creator, but embodiments are not limited thereto. As a result of process 200, annotations relevant to a user\'s current task may be efficiently located. For example, a user viewing data of a data space within an application may be selectively presented with annotations that are associated with semantic tags indicating the same data space and application process. The annotations may have been created by the user or by another user. FIG. 6 is a block diagram of apparatus 600 according to some embodiments. Apparatus 600 may comprise a general-purpose computing apparatus and may execute program code to perform any of the functions described herein. Apparatus 600 may comprise an implementation of one or more elements of system 100. Apparatus 600 may include other unshown elements according to some embodiments. Apparatus 600 includes processor 610 operatively coupled to communication device 620, data storage device 630, one or more input devices 640, one or more output devices 650 and memory 660. Communication device 620 may facilitate communication with external devices, such as client device 130. Input device(s) 640 may comprise, for example, a keyboard, a keypad, a mouse or other pointing device, a microphone, knob or a switch, an infra-red (IR) port, a docking station, and/or a touch screen. Input device(s) 640 may be used, for example, to enter information into apparatus 600. Output device(s) 650 may comprise, for example, a display (e.g., a display screen) a speaker, and/or a printer. Data storage device 630 may comprise any appropriate persistent storage device, including combinations of magnetic storage devices (e.g., magnetic tape, hard disk drives and flash memory), optical storage devices, Read Only Memory (ROM) devices, etc., while memory 660 may comprise Random Access Memory (RAM). Program code 632 of data storage device 630 may be executable by processor 610 to provide any of the processes described herein. Embodiments are not limited to execution of these processes by a single apparatus. Business data 634 may comprise any suitable data in any suitable format (e.g., row-based, columnar, object-based), while index 636 may comprise an inverted index of data 634. In some embodiments, index 636 indexes at least a portion of data 634 based on associated semantic tags as described herein. Data storage device 630 may also store data and other program code for providing additional functionality and/or which are necessary for operation thereof, such as device drivers, operating system files, etc. The embodiments described herein are solely for the purpose of illustration. Those in the art will recognize other embodiments may be practiced with modifications and alterations limited only by the claims.	234,120
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center will roll out new technology to enable personalized treatment aimed at improving outcomes. The center announced Jan. 31 that it would deploy Oracle Health Sciences applications and Oracle technology as the foundation for an organization-wide analytics initiative. The platform will also support the center's Moon Shots Program, an initiative whose aim is to dramatically accelerate the pace of converting scientific discoveries into clinical advances that reduce cancer deaths. [See also: UPMC launches $100M personalized care initiative.] "As we focus on the next-generation of treatments – including our Moon Shots Program – we require a powerful analytical infrastructure that can yield new insight from the unprecedented volume of data available today," said John Frenzel, MD, chief medical information officer, MD Anderson, in a news release. Frenzel added that Oracle's applications and technology stack would help provide “one of the robust foundations that we need to accelerate deployment, and ultimately, discovery of life-saving treatments." Oracle applications and technology will power the enterprise analytics initiative, one of the program's platforms. The new platform will bring together clinical, genomic, financial, administrative and operational information from internal and external sources to yield insights that drive care innovation and optimize operational efficiency. [See also: From Tampa to Milan, Medicine gets personal.] MD Anderson will deploy a wide range of solutions, including Oracle Enterprise Healthcare Analytics. The center, which sees data growth of 30 percent to 40 percent annually, is also deploying Oracle Database and Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition. "Leveraging data and information to drive more effective resource utilization, improve operational efficiency, and level patient volumes across the days of the week is becoming increasingly more important," said Craig Owen, director of clinical analytics and informatics at MD Anderson, in the news release. The new Oracle platform would make it possible for MD Anderson to improve delivery of actionable information that would, in turn, help improve processes, Owen said.	272,971
If I say caviar and you think unreachable, unattainable… well, times have changed! With his Boutary brand and new Parisian restaurant of the same name in the trendy Saint-Germain-des Près, Charles de Saint Vincent aims to shake up the image that people have of caviar. Don’t get me wrong – you will not, in the next 10 years, be spreading caviar on your bread like peanut butter! Making Caviar More Accessible The traditional delicacy of choice for Tsars, aristocrats and celebrities from Marlene Dietrich to Picasso and Christian Dior, caviar is still a refined and sophisticated product. And it is, of course, quite expensive. Other delicacies like champagne, salmon, and oysters are also luxurious products, but over the years have lost the image of being inaccessible. This is what de Saint Vincent would like to achieve: make caviar accessible again! The Expensive Origins of Caviar Traditionally, the term “caviar” refers to roe from wild sturgeons. Between 1990 and 2000, caviar was scarce due to poaching, over-fishing, water pollution, and damming of rivers. All of this considerably reduced the sturgeon population in the Caspian Sea. As a result, the prices exploded, and caviar was sold at two or even three times the price we used to pay in the 1970s. Since 2000, several restrictions and even embargoes were put into place to ban the export of caviar. The ban on sturgeon fishing led to the development of aquaculture (the breeding of fish). Today Italy, France, and China are the largest producers and exporters of farmed caviar in the world. Sturgeon are a very particular species; they are a long-lived and late-maturing fish. Their lifespan is about 50 years, and they first spawn when they are around 8 to 15 years old. There are 25 different species in the world and about 10 varieties are farmed. Different Varieties of Caviar Boutary uses three sturgeon varieties: the Baerii, also know as Siberian sturgeon, very famous in France. They work with a farm in Aquitaine, and they have their own breeding farm in Bulgaria, where they breed two other types of sturgeon: the Oscietre (Ossetra, also known as Russian Sturgeon) and the Sterlet. They have also started farming another variety: the Beluga sturgeon. Caviar, like wine, will age and mature, but in a shorter time frame. According to its maturing time, the caviar will have different characteristics, different colors, and will gain iodine and a long finish. Each type of sturgeon will produce different types of caviar, in terms of color, size, and taste. Boutary Restaurant: a Refined and Relaxed Experience As I mentioned, Boutary recently opened a new restaurant in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. Here, de Saint Vincent recreates the spirit of his family castle, le Château de Boutary, in Tarn-et-Garonne (southwest France). With the help of artist Anne Grim, he reproduced different rooms from the castle: the garden, the chapel, the red room, and the ballroom. It is in this refined, yet laid-back atmosphere that he invites you to discover his caviar. The cherry on the cake is when de Saint Vincent brings a tray with the caviar box and mother-of-pearl spoons, and invites you to taste the caviar of the day à la royale. This “royal tasting” is a tradition that started with the Tsars’ tasters. They would put a knob of the Tsar’s meal on their hand at the anatomical snuff (intersection of the thumb and the index), then bring it to their mouth to taste the food to make sure that it had not been poisoned. The fishermen in the Caspian Sea seized on the tradition, at first ironically, but then kept it as a ritual. Women at the Helm of the Restaurant Two charming women oversee the restaurant with rigor and professionalism: Fatima Meftah, the restaurant manager, and Chef Kelly Rangama in the kitchen. Chef Kelly has climbed the ladder of the culinary profession by working with Michelin-starred chefs. Most recently, she worked as a sous-chef at L’Arôme with chef Thomas Boullault, her mentor. Kelly draws her creativity and inspiration from her native Reunion Island. So her menu features a variety of dishes with ingredients coming from there, such as combava and Aloe Vera. Exquisite Food, Beautifully Presented Chef Kelly also features different dishes in which she carefully combines caviar with other ingredients. For example, the potato with caviar is truly a success, and the presentation is spectacular. And, the crab with caviar, avocado, and sweet pepper of the Vera is absolutely delicious! The carte includes specialties from the sea: sea bass with asparagus (the blood orange sabayon gives a citrus flavor that accompanies the fish very well) and from the land: Pluma Iberica glazed with licorice, served with vegetables of the season. Both embody chef Kelly’s creativity. Desserts are exquisite and beautifully presented. The île flottante with Victoria pineapple roasted with galabé sugar from the Reunion Island and coconut cream served with combava meringue is a killer. The strawberry & chocolate with lemon sorbet and Aloe Vera gel cubes was truly divine! So Many Ways to Appreciate Caviar There are many ways to appreciate the caviar at Boutary. Savor it with a meal created by Chef Kelly or share a box with your guests. Or for a fun twist, try a blind tasting of three different kinds. I really appreciated my experience in the caviar world and particularly enjoyed the royal tasting! To my great happiness, I discovered caviar is always tasted twice. Images by Caliwa Photography for INSPIRELLE. Address: 25 Rue Mazarine, 75006 Paris, France Tel: +33 (0)1 43 43 69 10 Average a la carte price: 45€ for a two-course meal. Menus and bookings online at: http://www.boutary-restaurant.com/	4,362
We describe a new species of Batomys from Mt. Isarog, southern Luzon. Morphological and genetic studies of newly obtained specimens of Batomys granti from the type locality on Mt. Data and other high mountains in the Central Cordillera of northern Luzon, and previously referred specimens from Mt. Isarog on the southern peninsula of Luzon, support the separation of the population from Mt. Isarog as a distinct species that is sister to B. granti and demonstrate the existence of B. granti as a widespread species in the Cordillera. The new species occurs only in montane and mossy forest from 1350 m to 1800 m, and is separated from the nearest known population of B. granti by about 450 km. Limited ecological data indicate that it is a nocturnal herbivore. Recognition of this species raises the number of native murid species on Luzon to 44, and the number of species in the endemic Philippine cloud-rat clade to 18. The new species occurs within a national park that is not currently under threat. Species of Batomys, or hairy-tailed rats (fide Heaney et al. 2010) are members of the cloud-rat clade (Phloeomys Division sensu Musser & Carleton 2005) that is endemic to the Philippines and, based on current published studies, is consistently shown to be the sister taxon to all other Murinae (Jansa et al. 2006, Lecompte et al. 2008, Rowe et al. 2008, Schenk et al. 2013). Batomys granti was described based on specimens obtained by John Whitehead on Mt. Data, Mountain Province, in the Central Cordillera of northern Luzon (Thomas 1895, 1898), and soon thereafter B. dentatus was described from a single specimen from Benguet Province, also in the Central Cordillera (Miller 1910). Information on the distribution of Batomys on Luzon remained static for more than 75 years until 1988, when we initiated surveys of Mt. Isarog in southeastern Luzon and obtained samples of Batomys that we initially identified as B. granti (Rickart et al. 1991, Balete & Heaney 1997, Musser et al. 1998, Heaney et al. 1999). Our subsequent surveys, conducted between 2000 and 2012, covered most of the isolated mountains and mountain chains on Luzon, yielded more specimens of B. granti from Mt. Data, and extended the range of that species to include additional mountains in the Central Cordillera. However, these surveys did not produce additional records of Batomys beyond those from the Central Cordillera and Mt. Isarog (Fig. 1), nor did they lead to rediscovery of Miller's (1910) B. dentatus (Balete et al. 2009, 2011, 2013a, 2013b; Alviola et al. 2011, Duya et al. 2011, Rickart et al. 2011a, 2011b, 2013; Heaney et al. 2013a, 2013b). Mindanaomys salomonseni, described by Sanborn (1953) from Mindanao Island, was subsequently considered a species of Batomys (Misonne 1969, Musser & Heaney 1992). This species is widespread in the Mindanao faunal region, with records from Biliran, Dinagat, Leyte, and Mindanao islands (Heaney & Rabor 1982, Rickart et al. 1993, Heaney et al. 2006b). Musser et al. (1998) defined the taxonomic and geographic boundaries of the foregoing three species of Batomys and also described B. russatus from Dinagat Island. Their study highlighted several characters—in particular, length of incisive foramina, tail diameter, and tail pilosity—that consistently differentiate the Luzon Batomys from those of the Mindanao faunal region. The discovery of B. hamiguitan from the southeastern-most peninsula of Mindanao (Balete et al. 2008) further confirmed the consistency of these differences. Molecular phylogenetic analyses failed to recover the monophyly of Batomys, with B. granti appearing as sister to Crateromys heaneyi (to date, the only member of that genus for which there are gene sequence data), and B. salomonseni as sister to that clade (Jansa et al. 2006, Heaney et al. 2009, Schenk et al. 2013). Further analyses clearly are needed to resolve the generic limits of Batomys and Crateromys, issues we address only briefly in this paper. Here, our reference to Batomys is limited to Luzon populations. The two recognized species from Luzon, B. granti and B. dentatus, were described more than a century ago (Thomas 1895, Miller 1910). Musser et al. (1998) rediagnosed B. dentatus in detail and reaffirmed its distinctiveness from B. granti. They also recognized morphological variation among samples of the nominal B. granti from Mt. Data (the type locality in the Central Cordillera), and those from Mt. Isarog, southern Luzon, but the limited material from Mt. Data did not permit a definitive assessment of their level of differentiation. As described here, analysis of new material reveals that specimens from Mt. Data and elsewhere in the Central Cordillera share a similar morphology, whereas animals from Mt. Isarog are morphologically distinct. Morphological examinations and morphometric analyses, together with a molecular phylogenetic analysis, allow us to refine the species boundaries of B. granti and to recognize the Mt. Isarog population as a distinct species. Materials and Methods Terminology for external features follows Brown (1972) and Brown & Yalden (1973). Terminology for cranial and dental features follows Musser & Heaney (1992). External measurements (Table 1) in millimeters (mm) of total length, length of tail vertebrae (LT), length of hind foot (LHF), length of ear from notch (LE), and weight in grams (WT) were taken from fresh specimens in the field; these measurements are found in the field catalogs of the collectors deposited at the Field Museum of Natural History (FMNH) or the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution (USNM). The length of head and body (LHB) was determined by subtracting tail length from total length. Tail length measurements for specimens with damaged (shortened) tails were not included in analyses. External measurements (mm), body weight (g), and measurement ratios (expressed as percentages) of adult Batomys granti and B. uragon. First line of each variable gives the mean ± 1 SD for sample size n ≥ 4, or the average for n ≤ 3; second line gives the range and sample size (in parentheses) where < n. Probabilities are for t-tests comparing male and female samples of each species. Eighteen cranial and dental measurements (Table 2) were made by Heaney using digital calipers graduated to 0.01 mm. Only measurements from adult individuals were included in analyses, and only a subset of measurements was available for individuals with damaged skulls. Measurements included basioccipital length (BOL), interorbital breadth (IB), zygomatic breadth (ZB), mastoid breadth (MB), length of nasal bones (LN), length of incisive foramina (LIF), depth of rostrum (DR), length of rostrum (LR), orbito-temporal length (OL), crown length of maxillary molar toothrow (LM1–3), labial palatal breadth at M1 (PBM1), length of diastema (LD), post-palatal length (PPL), lingual palatal breadth at M3 (PBM3), height of braincase (HBC), breadth of M1 (BM1), breadth of incisors at tip (BIT), and breadth of zygomatic plate (BZP). Descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, and range) of external, cranial, and dental measurements were calculated separately for adult males and females. We used Student's t-test to assess potential sexual dimorphism. We assessed multivariate variation in cranial morphology through principal component analysis with SYSTAT 10 for Windows (SPSS Inc. 2000) using the correlation matrix of log10-transformed measurements of adult specimens of both sexes for which we had complete measurements. Scanning electron micrographs of crania, mandibles, and teeth were made from uncoated specimens with an AMRAY 1810 scanning electron microscope. Cranial and dental measurements (mm) of adult Batomys granti and B. uragon. First line of each variable gives the mean ± 1 SD for sample size n ≥ 4, or the average for n ≤ 3; second line gives the range and sample size (in parentheses) where < n. Probabilities are for t-tests comparing male and female samples of B. granti. Except for the two specimens of Batomys granti from Mt. Data collected by H. H. Hoogstraal et al. in 1946 (Sanborn 1952), all other specimens examined in this study (Appendix) were collected by the authors and their associates (Rickart et al. 1991, 2011a, 2011b; Musser & Heaney 1992, Musser et al. 1998, Heaney et al. 2003). The Hoogstraal specimens from Mt. Data were prepared as skin and skull (FMNH 62503) and as skin, skull, and skeleton (FMNH 62504). The remainder were prepared as either fluid-preserved specimens or skeletons, after tissue samples were taken from the thigh muscle of fresh specimens and preserved in either ethanol or DMSO buffer. Fluid-preserved specimens were first injected with saturated formalin solution in the field, stored temporarily in 10% formalin, and subsequently transferred to 70% ethanol. For this study, skulls were removed from some fluid-preserved specimens and cleaned with dermestid beetles, as were the skeletons, and briefly soaked in a weak ammonia solution. Age determination of freshly caught specimens was based on relative body size and reproductive condition, and subsequently validated at the museum based on molar tooth wear and fusion of cranial sutures, following the age categories defined by Musser & Heaney (1992) and Musser et al. (1998). All referred specimens of Batomys from Mt. Isarog, with the exception of FMNH 142046 and 152033, are deposited at National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution (USNM). Specimens from Benguet, Kalinga, and Mountain provinces are deposited at FMNH, half of which will be transferred to the National Museum of the Philippines. The capture and handling of animals in the field followed all relevant laws and regulations of the Philippines. We used DNA sequences from the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene to assess genetic variation among specimens from Luzon previously included within Batomys granti (broadly defined). For phylogenetic analysis, we included other members of the cloud-rat clade, and we rooted the resulting trees using sequences from five outgroup species of Muridae, including two deomyines (Deomys ferrugineus and Acomys spinosissimus) and three gerbilines (Meriones unguiculatus, Gerbillus nigeriae, and Gerbilliscus guineae). DNA was extracted from field-collected tissues using a Qiagen DNA Minikit (Qiagen, Inc.). We PCR amplified the complete cytochrome b gene using primers MVZ05a and UMMZ04 (Jansa et al. 2006). To facilitate sequencing, we modified primers by adding M13 tails to the 5′ end of each primer. All PCR amplifications were performed as 25 μL reactions, using GoTaq (Promega Corp.) and recommended reagent concentrations. Reactions were run as a four-stage touchdown protocol as described in Jansa & Weksler (2004). Amplification products were Sanger sequenced in both directions using M13 primers. DNA sequences were aligned using MUSCLE (Edgar 2004) with default settings as implemented in Geneious v. 6.1.2 (Drummond et al. 2006). We analyzed the resulting aligned sequences using maximum likelihood inference as implemented in RAxML v. 7.2 (Stamatakis 2006) running on the CIPRES Science Gateway v. 3.1 ( http://www.phylo.org; last accessed 16 December 2014). We used the GTRGAMMA model of sequence substitution to infer the best tree and performed 1000 bootstrap replicates to assess nodal support. There was no significant sexual dimorphism in external measurements of Batomys from either the Central Cordillera or Mt. Isarog, although for the sample from Mt. Isarog, males averaged slightly larger than females and the difference in length of head and body approached significance (Table 1). Few cranial measurements involved samples large enough to test for sexual dimorphism, and those only among specimens of B. granti from the Central Cordillera; the only significant difference obtained was breadth of the zygomatic plate, which was greater for males (Table 2). We conducted a principal components analysis of 18 cranial measurements using combined samples of adult male and female individuals of Batomys from Mt. Amuyao (n = 4), Mt. Data (n = 2), Mt. Isarog (n = 3), and Kalinga (n = 2). The first four components accounted for 75% of the total variance. Components 1 and 2 with eigenvalues of 4.9 and 3.9, respectively, together accounted for 49.1% of the total variation (Table 3). Components 3 and 4 together accounted for 25% of the total variation; both had eigenvalues of less than 3 and with few variables having large magnitude loadings. In a bivariate plot of individual specimen scores on components 1 and 2 (Fig. 2), specimens from Mt. Amuyao, Mt. Data, and Mt. Bali-it are clearly separated from those from Mt. Isarog; the latter have longer maxillary toothrows, broader incisors and palates, lower braincases, and shorter nasals, incisive foramina, and diastemas compared to specimens from the Central Cordillera (see the higher positive and negative loadings for these traits in Table 3). Character loadings, eigenvalues, and percent variance explained on the first two components of a principal components analysis of log10-transformed cranial and dental measurements of adult Batomys granti and B. uragon (Fig. 2). The tree derived from the maximum likelihood analysis of the cytochrome b data set (Fig. 3) strongly supports (bootstrap = 81%) monophyly of Batomys granti specimens from four localities in the Central Cordillera (including Mt. Data, the type locality), monophyly of the specimens from Mt. Isarog (bootstrap = 100%), and the sister-group relationship of these two montane samples (bootstrap = 100%). The Central Cordillera and Mt. Isarog groups are separated by 4.2% net uncorrected p-distance. As found in previous genetic analyses, the genus Batomys, as currently defined, is paraphyletic because Crateromys heaneyi, as generically allocated by Gonzales & Kennedy (1996), is nested within it; however, support for this arrangement is not strong (bootstrap = 67%). As reported previously, the four species of Musseromys (Heaney et al. 2014a) form a well-supported clade that is sister to Carpomys phaeurus, and Phloeomys cumingi is recovered as the basal taxon to all other members of the cloud-rat clade. List of specimens used in genetic analysis. Based on these DNA and morphometric results, we restrict Batomys granti to include only those populations in the Central Cordillera, and recognize Batomys from Mt. Isarog as a new species. Batomys uragon, new species Batomys granti: Rickart & Musser, 1993:fig. 2A (part, USNM 458944).—Musser et al., 1998:fig. 5, 6, 16, 17; Tables 1–2 (part, FMNH 142046, 152033; USNM 458914, 458946, 458947).—Heaney et al., 1999:fig. 17, Table 9 (full series; referred specimens).—Jansa et al., 2006:figs. 1–3 (part, USNM 458914). USNM 458949, old adult male collected on 25 Apr 1988 by Eric A. Rickart (field number: EAR 2004); preserved in ethanol, with skull subsequently removed. The skull (Fig. 5B) is in good condition, except for the broken nasal tips, anterior edge of right premaxilla, and left pterygoid process. A small sample of muscle tissue was removed from the thigh for molecular studies and a section of the femur was taken for karyology (Rickart et al. 1991, Rickart & Musser 1993). Paratypes (n = 14) Aside from the holotype, 14 additional specimens from Mt. Isarog were examined, consisting of five from the type locality (USNM 458914, 458945–458948); six from 4 km N, 21.5 km E Naga City, elev. 1550 m, 13°40′N, 123°22′E (USNM 458939–458944); and one each from the following localities: 4 km N, 21 km E Naga City, elev. 1350 m, 13°40′N, 123°22′E (USNM 458950); 4 km N, 21 km E Naga City, elev. 1650 m, 13°40′N, 123°22′E (FMNH 152033); and 8.9 km N, 0.8 km E Ocampo Municipality, Camarines Sur Province, elev. 1700–1800 m, 13°38′32″N, 123°23′30″E (FMNH 142046). Known only from Mt. Isarog, where it occurs in old-growth montane and mossy forest, elevation 1350–1800 m. The habitat is described in more detail in Heaney et al. (1999, Sites 4–6 and 16–18). From the Bicolano word uragon (no direct English word counterpart, but roughly translatable to “possessing great ability, vitality, or power”), to highlight its dispersal ability, persistence, and uniqueness to the Bicol Peninsula; adjective in the nominative singular neuter. A species of Batomys, distinguished from B. granti, its nearest phylogenetic relative based on cytochrome b sequences (Fig. 3), by the following combination of features: medium body size (combined lengths of head and body 181–206 mm), with absolutely and comparatively shorter tail; moderate body weight, 160–220 g; pale golden-brown pelage dorsally, paler ventrally; skull longer (40.64–41.71 mm) with shallower brain case (11.66–11.98 mm) and narrower interorbital region (5.25–5.91 mm); rostrum deeper (9.52–10.16 mm) but shorter (17.42–18.79 mm) with correspondingly shorter nasals (15.52–16.76 mm) and incisive foramina (7.64–8.64 mm); zygomatic plate narrower (3.65–4.18 mm); palate broader at M1 (7.43–8.17 mm) and at M3 (4.21–5.04 mm); molar toothrow longer (7.80–8.76 mm) and upper incisors broader (2.77–3.15 mm). 2n = 52, FN = 52, entirely telocentric chromosomes. The standard karyotype is indistinguishable from those of Batomys granti from the Central Cordillera and B. salomonseni from Leyte and Mindanao islands (Rickart & Musser 1993, Rickart & Heaney 2002). Description and comparisons Among the Batomys from Luzon Island, B. dentatus, known only from the holotype, is the most distinctive. From both B. granti and B. uragon it differs in possessing an absolutely and relatively longer tail, which also is distinctive in having the distal third covered in white hairs that form a terminal tuft. Cranially, B. dentatus is distinguished from the other two species in having a wider zygomatic plate, shorter incisive foramina relative to the bony palate, and much more robust dentition (see Table 4 and Fig. 20 in Musser et al. 1998). The remainder of this section provides a detailed description of B. uragon in comparison to B. granti. Batomys uragon is similar to B. granti in external appearance and length of head and body (Figs. 4, 6, Table 1). The dorsal pelage of B. uragon is medium to pale golden-brown (Fig. 4); orange-brown to dark brown among congeners. Individual color variation in B. uragon was noted in the field; most individuals had golden dorsal fur, but the holotype was paler and was noted in the field by Rickart to have “no red coloration (colored like Rattus everetti).” The predominance of the pale golden pelage is particularly evident in FMNH 142046 and 152033. The pelage is woolly and shorter than in B. granti; B. dentatus has the longest fur overall (Musser et al. 1998). The venter is grayish buff with patches of unpigmented fur in the chin, pectoral, and inguinal regions. One male specimen (FMNH 142046) has a small pale brown patch of fur on the left side of the lower abdomen. The ears are slightly shorter than in B. granti (Table 1), and are pale brown covered with short grayish-brown hairs. The eyes are surrounded by pale rings of skin covered with very short grayish-brown and unpigmented hairs, giving the impression of naked eye rings (Fig. 4). The vibrissae are comparable to those of B. granti (mystacial up to 65 mm, superciliary 17–36 mm, extending to or slightly beyond the dorsal margin of the ears, and postocular vibrissae 24–26 mm). The forefeet are broad, each with a mid-dorsal stripe of short, dark brown fur, bordered with short, pale golden-brown fur on each side (Fig. 4). Claws are opaque, with ungual tufts of unpigmented hairs extending slightly beyond the outer margin of the claws, particularly on digits III and IV. The palmar surface, including pads, is unpigmented. The hind feet are broad and about as long as in B. granti, with short, dark brown fur on the dorsal surface, and pale golden-brown fur laterally (Fig. 4). Ungual tufts, composed of unpigmented hairs, extend to the tips of the claws and up to 2 mm beyond them (in FMNH 152033). Plantar surface and the six large, fleshy plantar pads are unpigmented (Fig. 5 in Musser et al. 1998). Compared to B. granti, the tail of B. uragon is shorter on average (Fig. 6, Table 1), absolutely and relatively (128–149 mm, or 63–75% of the combined lengths of head and body), except for an adult female (USNM 458939) that has a longer tail (171 mm or 92% of combined lengths of head and body). The tails of B. uragon and B. granti are uniformly colored, in contrast to the bi-colored tail of B. dentatus (basal two-thirds brown, distal third white; Musser et al. 1998). Batomys uragon has three hairs arising in association with each caudal scale, but has a less visibly pilose tail than does B. granti due to its shorter hairs: 4–9 mm around mid-tail, 7–12 mm at the tip (7–11 mm at mid-tail, 8–30 mm at the tip in B. granti). In Musser et al.'s (1998) redefinition of B. granti, the specimens from Mt. Data that were then available had significantly shorter tails than those of specimens from Mt. Isarog (Table 1 in Musser et al. 1998). The tails of specimens in that Mt. Data series have blunt tips and are covered with hairs, suggesting to the authors that their shorter length was natural, rather than caused by damage that occurred during life or during preparation of the specimens. Thomas (1895, 1898), however, suspected that the tail of the holotype of B. granti was incomplete. Because of the small number of specimens available from Mt. Data, Musser et al. (1998) refrained from drawing any taxonomic conclusions based on differences in tail length. Three recently obtained specimens of B. granti collected on Mt. Data (FMNH 188321–188323) have intact tails that are as long as, or longer than, those of all specimens of B. uragon, except USNM 458939 as mentioned above (Table 1). Furthermore, examination of specimens of B. granti from Kalinga Province and Mt. Amuyao with blunt tail-tips, which at first appeared natural, revealed that the tips are missing; in several, one can feel the sharp edges of the broken vertebra that are barely covered with healing skin. Among adult specimens of B. granti (n = 11), only one specimen from Mt. Amuyao (FMNH 193691) had a distinctly bobbed tail (115 mm or 62% of the combined lengths of head and body). This specimen has a tail that is slightly longer than those of specimens previously available from Mt. Data (75–110 mm; FMNH 62504, BMNH 18.104.22.168 [holotype], BMNH 22.214.171.124; Thomas 1895, 1898; Musser et al. 1998). In summary, we regard the smaller tail length measurements recorded for older specimens of B. granti as artifactual; in fact, specimens from the Central Cordillera, including Mt. Data, have significantly longer tails than those of specimens from Mt. Isarog, herein described as B. uragon (Table 1). Cranial features are similar among congeners, as noted earlier by Musser et al. (1998), but distinct and consistent differences in size and proportion are evident among the specimens of B. granti and B. uragon (Figs. 5, 6, Table 2). Batomys uragon has shorter nasals and a narrower interorbital region. The shorter rostrum (associated with short nasals) is nonetheless more robust in terms of rostral depth. Dorsally, the inflated cranium contrasts sharply with its narrow interorbital region, and because the anterior frontal region is narrowly flared relative to its posterior section, the interorbital region has a longer and more slender appearance than in B. granti. In contrast to the narrow rostrum of B. granti, that of B. uragon has a pronounced lateral inflation that is formed by the swollen capsular projection on each side of the upper incisor roots (Fig. 5). In lateral profile, the dorsal surface of the skull of B. uragon traces an evenly convex arc, extending from the tips of the curved nasals, across the arched frontals of the interorbital region, to the gently curved parietals. In contrast, the dorsal surface of the skull in B. granti is flatter along the nasals and frontals, and the parietal region is more abruptly convex (Fig. 5). The zygomatic arch of B. uragon is similar to B. granti in breadth, but it is distinctive in having the central portion, under the jugal, markedly deeper, brought about by broad postero-ventral expansion of the maxillary zygomatic process (Fig. 5). The zygomatic plate is narrower than in B. granti. Ventrally, skulls of the two species are generally similar, but B. uragon typically has shorter incisive foramina, a broader palate, and smaller auditory bullae that have a moderate to pronounced postero-ventral inflation imparting a rounder appearance (Figs. 5, 6, Table 2). The dental features of B. granti and B. uragon are similar, differing mainly in the relative size of incisors and molars, length of the molar toothrow, and orientation of the crown and anterior rooting of the first upper molars (Figs. 5, 6, Table 2). In particular, B. uragon has a longer molar toothrow, broader upper incisor tips, and shorter diastema. Its dentition is also distinct in having a pronounced inclination of the first row of cusps of M1, further exaggerated by its similarly inclined anterior molar root. The steep inclination of the anterior root of M1 is present among most specimens of B. uragon we examined, except one female (USNM 458939) and one young adult male (USNM 458947), both of which had a more vertical orientation; the latter individual had the posterior edge of the incisive foramina farthest from the anterior root of M1. Compared with B. granti (Fig. 5), the posterior portion of the dentary of B. uragon is wider due largely to its broadly rounded angular process and more expansive base. The condyloid process is as broad as in B. granti but appears shorter due to the shallow sigmoid notch that separates it from the coronoid process. In both species, the coronoid process itself is short and slightly backswept, projecting dorsally to about the same level as the condyloid process. Specimens of Batomys uragon were trapped in montane and mossy forest between 1350 and 1800 m elevation, in habitats with thick leaf litter and humus layers. During the 1988 survey of Mt. Isarog, 11 out of 13 animals (85%) were captured in traps baited with roasted coconut and peanut butter, and two in traps baited with live earthworms. Stomach contents from 3 individuals contained finely chewed vegetable matter only. Two live-trapped animals were presented potential food items. One readily accepted sprouting seeds of an unknown species of dicot, gnawing off and rejecting the sprouts and consuming only the seeds. This animal rejected other plant items that were offered, including a variety of small fruits, bulbs of orchids and other plants, several types of leaves, dried beans, peanuts, and coconut-peanut butter bait. A second animal likewise readily accepted the seeds of the sprouting dicot (again, discarding the sprouts and consuming only the seeds), and also accepted a single type of small fruit as well as coconut-peanut butter bait. Both individuals rejected all animal items including earthworms and various insects. These data suggest that B. uragon has a granivorous-frugivorous diet. All specimens were trapped at night on the ground, along runways and among root tangles. We conducted limited arboreal trapping on Mt. Isarog, but some individuals were captured in places where the terrain was very steep, such as on nearly vertical sides of deep ravines, which suggests that the species is a good climber (Rickart et al. 1991, Heaney et al. 1999). During a mark and release trapping study in 1993–1994, one female was caught five times in a three-day period and moved a mean distance of 11 m (range 5–14 m) between captures; another female moved an average of 44 m (range 14–85 m) between eight captures over a period of three months (Balete & Heaney 1997). There were no signs of reproductive activity among individuals captured in March–May 1988 and December 1993–May 1994 (Rickart et al. 1991, Balete & Heaney 1997, Heaney et al. 1999). Two adult females, both taken in April 1988, had large mammae, perforate vaginas, and old placental scars; there were four scars in USNM 458945 (220 g) and three in USNM 458948 (175 g), but we could not determine the number of litters involved. Further details on reproduction of this species are discussed in Heaney et al. (1999). Our phylogenetic analysis using cytochrome b produced results (Fig. 3) that are consistent with those of other studies in placing Phloeomys in a basal position as the sister taxon to all other cloud rats, Carpomys and Musseromys as sister genera, species of Batomys from Luzon as sister-group to Crateromys heaneyi, and species of Batomys from Greater Mindanao as sister-group to that clade. Clearly, the phylogenetic relationships within the cloud-rat clade require further study to determine whether species not yet represented in molecular analyses conform to the monophyletic groups currently apparent. Future work should involve additional taxa and sequence data from nuclear genes designed to clarify the relationship of Batomys and Crateromys from Luzon, the taxonomic status of those species of “Batomys” from Mindanao as a separate phylogenetic radiation, and the relationship of the enigmatic Dinagat Island endemics B. russatus and Crateromys australis to the other cloud rats. Our phylogenetic analysis (Fig. 3) also provides support for reciprocal monophyly of the Mt. Isarog populations with respect to those from the Central Cordillera. Furthermore, the net uncorrected p-distance of 4.2% between these groups is comparable to that seen between recognized sister species of rodents (Baker & Bradley 2006). This result, coupled with the morphological distinctiveness of the two groups (Fig. 2), provides solid evidence for recognizing the Mt. Isarog population as a species distinct from B. granti. This recognition raises the number of native rodent species documented on Luzon to 44, and the number of known members of the endemic Philippine cloud-rat clade to 18 species, 12 of which occur on Luzon (Heaney et al. 2014b). The extant species of Batomys on Luzon are narrowly distributed, with two species in the Central Cordillera and one on Mt. Isarog (Fig. 1). Mt. Isarog (1966 m elevation) remains the only location outside of the Central Cordillera where the genus is currently known to exist, in spite of extensive surveys of small mammals on isolated mountains and mountain ranges elsewhere on Luzon with elevations of at least 1500 m and seemingly suitable habitat for Batomys (Balete et al. 2009, 2011, 2013a, 2013b; Alviola et al. 2011, Duya et al. 2011, Rickart et al. 2011a, 2011b, 2013; Heaney et al. 2013a, 2013b). The recent discovery of late Pleistocene fossil remains of Batomys in a lowland area in the Cagayan Valley between the central Cordillera and Sierra Madre mountain ranges reveals a much wider geographic and elevational distribution in the past, and perhaps a wider habitat association as well (Heaney et al. 2011b). The absence of Batomys from other high mountains on Luzon seems enigmatic, yet Batomys uragon now joins Archboldomys luzonensis, Chrotomys gonzalesi, and Rhynchomys isarogensis as species that are endemic either entirely to Mt. Isarog or to Mt. Isarog and nearby mountains on the Bicol Peninsula (Musser & Freeman 1981, Rickart & Heaney 1991, Balete et al. 2012, 2013b). We note that the sister species (and only congener) of Archboldomys luzonensis (A. maximus) also occurs in the Central Cordillera, whereas the geographically closest congener of R. isarogensis (R. banahao) is endemic to Mt. Banahaw, which is geographically intermediate between the Central Cordillera and Mt. Isarog (Fig. 1). In contrast to the cognate relationships derived for these montane species, Chrotomys gonzalesi is most closely related to C. mindorensis, a species that is widespread in the lowlands of central Luzon (Figs. 7, 8 in Balete et al. 2012). Perhaps when additional fossils are found, the current montane distributions of Batomys, Archboldomys, and Rhynchomys will be shown to be relictual patterns derived from more widespread distributions during the Pleistocene. In the meantime, recognition of Batomys uragon further reinforces the importance of speciation within Luzon as a primary process generating the island's existing mammalian diversity (e.g., Heaney & Rickart 1990, Heaney et al. 2011a, 2014a, 2014b; Balete et al. 2012, Justiniano et al. 2014). Batomys uragon is restricted to primary montane and mossy forest on Mt. Isarog, and appeared to be moderately common during our studies (Rickart et al. 1991, Balete & Heaney 1997, Heaney et al. 1999). These high elevation habitats are within Mount Isarog National Park and populations of B. uragon under the present management regime appear to be stable and under no threat, though limited in area. In contrast, Batomys dentatus remains to be rediscovered since it was first described by Miller in 1910, and thus is of uncertain status. Batomys granti is broadly distributed in the Central Cordillera and was present but relatively uncommon at our study areas on Mts. Amuyao, Bali-it, and Data (Rickart et al. 2011a, 2011b). However, the proliferation of commercial vegetable farming on Mt. Data, the type locality for this species, has reduced the forest cover to a very small (ca. 80 ha) remnant patch of disturbed mossy forest (Heaney et al. 2006a). Furthermore, this species was not encountered during our survey of Mt. Pulag National Park where commercial agriculture also has reduced forest. Although Batomys granti is currently widespread and has some tolerance for habitat disturbance (Rickart et al. 2011a), the extensive destruction of mossy forest associated with vegetable farming in some the Cordillera poses a risk to the habitat of the species. The continued survival of Batomys and other endemic Philippine rodents will require active protection and careful management of their forest habitats, many of which form crucial watershed areas. We sincerely thank everyone in the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) regional offices (Cordillera Administrative Region and Region 5), National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, Cordillera Administrative Region (NCIP-CAR), and local government units (Mountain Province, municipalities of Balbalan, Barlig, Bauko, Ocampo, and barangays Balbalasang, Del Rosario, Fiantin, Gawana, Latang, Macalana, Mount Data, and Panicuason) who supported and assisted us during our fieldwork. We acknowledge the hard work and expert assistance in the field of N. Antoque, R. Buenviaje, R. Plutado, and J. B. Sarmiento, without whose help this project would not have been successfully completed. We also thank the other members of our field teams, including W. Asido, T. Atiwag, A. Ayuga, J. Barcelona, R. Fernandez, C. Finain, S. Goodman, F. Jumalon, M. Laranjo, M. Lepiten, S. Liggasi, N. Losaona, B. Malaga, A. Manamtam, J. Osea, P. Puchana, D. A. Samson, D. Schmidt, B. Soriano, L. Tagat, E. Tamayo, M. J. Veluz, and R. Wayaway. We thank the people of Balbalasang, Del Rosario, Fiantin, Gawana, Latang, Mount Data, Macalana, and Panicuason for their hospitality, friendship, and assistance as porters, guides, and cooks. We thank L. Carante-Gallardo, B. Masweng, R. Alawas, and A. Olsim of NCIP-CAR and V. Sal-ly, W. K. Kalangeg, and J. Falinchao of NCIP-Mountain Province for their patience in initiating and carrying through the complex process of obtaining permission to conduct fieldwork. We further thank the staff of the DENR Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau for their long-term cooperation and support, especially T. M. Lim, J. de Leon, C. Custodio, M. Mendoza, and A. Tagtag. At the Field Museum, we thank A. Goldman, A. Niedzielski, J. Phelps, and W. Stanley for their help with cataloging and specimen preparation. Illustrations and figures were prepared by A. Niedzielski, who also helped with preparation of the manuscript. Our use of the scanning electron microscope was skillfully facilitated by B. Strack. At the Smithsonian Institution, we are grateful to M. Carleton, K. Helgen, and D. Lunde for lending us Batomys specimens. We thank G. Musser and M. Carleton for reviewing the manuscript and providing many suggestions for its improvement. Our special thanks to the Negaunee Foundation, Grainger Foundation, and the Barbara Brown, Ellen Thorne Smith, and Marshall Field Funds of the Field Museum for their long-term support of our field and collection-based research at FMNH, without which our research, education, and conservation activities in the Philippines would not be possible. Batomys granti (n = 25).—Luzon Island, Kalinga Province, Balbalan Municipality, Barangay Balbalasang, Magdallao, elev. 1600 m (17°27.5′N, 121°04.1′E; FMNH 169125); Am-licao, elev. 1800 m (17°26.5′N, 121°4.25′E; FMNH 169126); Mt. Bali-it, elev. 1950 m (17°25.8′N, 121°00.1′E; FMNH 175560–175561); Mt. Bali-it, elev. 2150 m (17°25.7′N, 121°59.8′E; FMNH 175562–175563); Mountain Province, Mt. Data (FMNH 62503–62504); Bauko Municipality, 0.1 km E south peak Mt. Data, elev. 2290 m (16.85888°N, 120.86078°E; FMNH 188323); 0.75 km N, 0.6 km E south peak Mt. Data, elev. 2241 m (16.86287°N, 120.86108°E; FMNH 188321); Barlig Municipality, 0.5 km N, 0.5 km W Mt. Amuyao peak, elev. 2530 m (17.01717°N, 121.12188°E; FMNH 214322–214323); 0.4 km N, 0.4 km W Mt. Amuyao peak, elev. 2480 m (17.01727°N, 121.12393°E; FMNH 193689); 1 km N, 1 km W Mt. Amuyao peak, elev. 2100–2150 m, (17.02213°N, 121.11791°E; FMNH 193693–193698, 214322); 1.25 km N, 0.5 km W Mt. Amuyao peak, elev. 1990 m (17.026019°N, 121.122761°E; FMNH 193690); 1.75 km N, 0.4 km W Mt. Amuyao peak, elev. 1885 m (17.02929°N, 121.12466°E; FMNH 193691–193692); 2.15 km N, 1.25 km W Mt. Amuyao peak, elev. 1650 m (17.03270°N, 121.11604°E; FMNH 214324); trail to Mt. Amuyao (FMNH 193699). Batomys uragon (n = 15).—See “new species” description above.	251,281
Get a low-down on Careers & Courses I am in B. Tech third year (Computer Science). I want to take Civil Services Examination. Please help me in choosing an optional, along with Public Administration. Civil Services Examination involves two stages -- Preliminary and Main. The Preliminary examination consists of two papers of objective type. Paper I is general studies and carries 150 marks. Paper II is in your optional subject and carries 300 marks. The total number of optional subjects available for preliminary examination is 23 and they are Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, Botany, Chemistry, Economics, Electrical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Commerce, Geography, Geology, Indian History, Law, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Medical Science, Philosophy, Physics, Political Science, Psychology, Public Administration, Sociology, Statistics and Zoology. As you seem to be comfortable with Public Administration, you can opt for it as your optional here. The Main examination has totally nine papers. Paper I is in one of the Indian Languages to be selected by the candidate from the 18 languages included in the eighth Schedule to the Constitution. Paper II is in English. Both these papers carry 300 marks each. Paper III is essay writing and carries 200 marks. Paper IV and V are in general studies and carry 300 marks for each paper. Papers VI, VII, VIII and IX are in the two subjects chosen from the optional subject list. So, here you will have to choose another subject along with Public Administration. There are two papers for each of the subjects, which carry 300 marks each. The number of optional subjects for main examination is 25. They include optional subjects of the Preliminary and also Economics and Anthropology. CSE is one of the toughest competitive examinations in India and the preparation demands several hours of study everyday. So, the second optional should be the subject you are comfortable with, from the provided list. Since you are from engineering background you may find Mathematics easy to prepare. Or if you are good at remembering dates and names, you might find History easy. Consider your knowledge, strengths, time required to gain proficiency in the subject and the time in your hand to make the right choice. Also, note that you are not allowed to opt for Political Science and International Relations or Management along with Public Administration. After clearing these examinations, the candidate must attend a personal interview as the final step in the selection process. For more details, log on to http://www.upsc.gov.in Which universities provide M.Ed course in distance or correspondence mode? M.Ed in distance or correspondence mode is usually offered to those who are in service. Before opting for a university offering the course in correspondence mode, make sure that the university or its authorised study centres are in your locality so that you can attend the contact classes. Some universities offering the course are: Panjab University, Department of Correspondence Studies, Chandigarh offers two-year M.Ed. The eligibility criteria are A degree in any discipline with bachelor’s degree in teaching/ education (can also be basic or yoga) with minimum 50 per cent marks or Postgraduate Senior Basic Trained Teacher’s Diploma Minimum two years paid work experience as a teacher in a recognised institution. The candidate must be in-service. The admission is based on marks obtained in entrance test and qualifying examination. For details, log on to http://dcs.puchd.ac.in Karnataka State Open University offers M.Ed for full-time in-service teachers/ education officers. The eligibility criterion is pass in B.Ed/ B.Sc (Ed.) / B.A (Ed.)/ B.Com (Ed.)/ M.Sc (Ed.) with minimum 50 per cent marks. The admission is based on performance at entrance examination. For details, log on to www.ksoumysore.com (Queries for this column can be sent to email@example.com)	75,488
Ford is recalling about 291,000 of its F-150 pickups in the United States because the door might open in a side-impact crash, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The affected model years are 2009-10. In a recent filing, Ford told the agency that the interior door-handle spring could break “during normal customer usage, resulting in insufficient spring force to return the handle to the fully stowed position.” The affected models have chrome door handles. Wesley Sherwood, a Ford spokesman, wrote in an e-mail that the doors would not open under normal driving, but the automaker was concerned that a door could open in a side-impact crash. In other action this week: • N.H.T.S.A. said it was opening an investigation into corrosion-related failures of the front suspension on about 400,000 Nissan Pathfinders and its sibling, the Infiniti QX4. It covers the 1996–2004 Pathfinder and 1997–2003 QX4. • The safety agency intensified an investigation into possible fire problems on 490,000 Volkswagen Passats from the 2001-7 model years. The focus of the investigation involves ignition coils, which fire the spark plugs. • Harley-Davidson is recalling about 6,900 of its 2011 Softail family motorcycles because an electronic module made by Delphi Automotive Systems is not watertight and a leak could cause the engine to stall. The recall also covers about 800 security system kits that contain the faulty component. • Fairplay Electric Cars is recalling about 1,600 of its 2010-11 low-speed electric vehicles because a supplier in China did not install a fuse in the accessory circuit, raising the possibility of a fire. • Think North America is recalling 16 of its 2011 Think City electric vehicles because the driver and passenger seat belts may have been swapped during assembly. The passenger-side belt has a special child-restraint feature. The brand is also recalling 23 models for a windshield-defroster defect. The vehicles are assembled in Elkhart, Ind. For more information or to report a safety problem, click here.	103,140
US senators demand Saudi Arabia end its blockade starving Yemen A group of Democratic senators have called on US President Joe Biden to take "immediate and decisive action" to pressure Saudi Arabia into lifting restrictions on imports to Yemen, which they say are exacerbating one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. The senators, concerned that Riyadh's blockade has prevented food, medicine and other crucial supplies from entering the war-torn country, said it was time Saudi Arabia faced serious consequences. "Immediate and decisive action must be taken… The United States has diplomatic and economic leverage to compel Saudi Arabia to end its callous blockade of Yemen and we must use it before more lives are needlessly lost," the senators said in a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday. This was the third such letter to be sent to the Biden administration concerning the blockade since he took office in January. Saudi Arabia and its regional allies, mainly the United Arab Emirates, entered the Yemeni government's war against the Houthi rebels in 2015, and began a wide-ranging aerial bombing campaign. The coalition also introduced an air and naval blockade that it says is to prevent the Houthis from smuggling weapons into the country. But critics of Saudi Arabia's actions have long accused the kingdom of cutting off basic civilian goods. While the White House has recently called on Saudi Arabia to ease some of its restrictions, the kingdom has not yet made any move to do so. 'Leverage all influence' At least 16 Democrats, led by Senator Elizabeth Warren, a leading progressive within the party, signed Wednesday's letter demanding the Biden administration take more severe action on the issue. The senators urged the Biden administration to "leverage all influence and tools available", including pending weapons sales, military cooperation, the provision of maintenance for air force planes and other equipment, as well as Washington's general diplomatic ties with the kingdom "to demand that Saudi Arabia immediately and unconditionally stop the use of blockade tactics". The senators acknowledged the Biden administration's efforts to address the conflict in Yemen, including reversing the Trump administration's designation of the Houthi rebel group as a terrorist organisation, announcing an end to US support for Saudi-led "offensive" operations and resuming critical humanitarian assistance to northern Yemen. Tim Lenderking, US special envoy for Yemen, this month urged Saudi Arabia to ease "all restrictions" on the port of Hodeidah and Sanaa airport. In addition to the restrictions being lifted, the State Department said it hoped to reach a comprehensive, nationwide ceasefire, and move to inclusive political talks. 'A leading driver of the suffering in Yemen... has been the air and sea blockade' - Senators' letter Still, the senators called on the White House to do more. "These are welcome steps, but we must now address the serious harm caused by ongoing blockade tactics," the Senators said. Last month, a spokesperson from the State Department sparked ire by telling Vox News that Riyafh's practices in Yemen were "not a blockade". "Food is getting through, commodities are getting through, so it is not a blockade," the spokesperson said at the time. Referencing that comment, the senators highlighted the ongoing shortages in Yemen. "A leading driver of the suffering in Yemen, which has exacerbated all other existing issues, has been the air and sea blockade by the Saudi-led coalition," the senators stressed. "While your Administration maintains that '[this] is not a blockade,' Saudi action is undoubtedly preventing much needed fuel from reaching those in need and is exacerbating an already grave humanitarian crisis; the United States must work to put an end to it," they said. 'Yemen has been neglected' Wednesday's letter is just the latest effort to come out of Congress in recent weeks aimed at getting the White House to act on the situation. Last month a bipartisan group of House Foreign Affairs Committee members sent a similar letter to Secretary Blinken, calling on the White House to pressure Saudi Arabia to stop the "outright blocking" of goods and humanitarian assistance into ports in Yemen, which they said had led to increased inflation, "economic collapse, and the failure of public services in Yemen". "We understand that the conflict in Yemen is complex and affects broader political and security interests, but we nonetheless ask that you stress the need to remove import restrictions immediately on humanitarian grounds," the lawmakers wrote at the time. "Ending this practice will boost Yemen's economy, de-escalate the conflict, and prevent this humanitarian catastrophe from worsening - all important U.S. objectives," the continued. Not long before that, a group of 70 Democrats in the House had sent a letter to President Joe Biden calling on him to pressure Riyadh into ending its blockade on Yemen. "Until recently, the blockade on Yemen has been neglected by Congress despite its catastrophic impact on civilians' lives in Yemen," Dr Shireen al-Adeimi, assistant professor at Michigan State University, said in a statement accompanying Wednesday's letter. "I'm glad to see that this is now shifting, and that U.S. elected officials are calling on President Biden to end his support for the blockade on Yemen. I also hope to see Congress take back its constitutional power by legislating an end to all U.S. involvement in the war on Yemen." Dr Aisha Jumaan, president of Yemen Relief and Reconstruction Foundation, also commented on the senators' letter, saying that the blockade was "meant to starve civilians and destroy their livelihoods" while pushing 16.3 million people "into the brink of a man-made famine". "We must lift the blockade immediately and unconditionally to prevent mass starvation and save lives. Conditioning lifting the blockade to protracted negotiations between warring parties is unethical as it holds civilians hostages and risks their lives. Yemen can't wait," Jumaan said. The war has killed more than 230,000 people in Yemen, caused outbreaks of disease, and brought the country to the very brink of famine.	95,353
March: In like a lion and out like a lamb. That’s how the saying goes. And oh how it rings true for my family. It is Lent, of course, a time for the faithful to pray, sacrifice and fast. And it is in our prayerful reflections and daily acts that we prepare ourselves for Easter and new life. March is also Trisomy Awareness Month. For my family this has become a time to celebrate the life of our daughter, Bella. Bella was born almost five years ago with Trisomy 18, a severe genetic condition that I believe makes every day with her a gift from God. Children with Trisomy 18 have an extra chromosome, are born underweight and suffer a number of health issues that lead in most cases to a shortened life. It is true that 90 percent of babies with Trisomy 18 die at or before birth, many by abortion. Only one in 10 that survive birth see their first birthday. Despite this painful reality, Bella has enriched our lives beyond measure, and she is a happy child surrounded by the love and comforts of her family. We’ve been truly blessed, but we do not take for granted the resources and access to medical support and pro-life disability groups we have had in caring for Bella. Not every child born with Trisomy 18, or any physical or mental disability for that matter, of course, has the means or the access to the same support. This is true across the United States, but it’s especially true in developing countries where many of these children live in poverty. This March, to observe Trisomy Awareness Month, we are thinking about those children and the great organizations that are working tirelessly to support them. And we hope you join us in recognizing them for the great work they do. Karen and I believe, of course, that every life is sacred and every child is born with the God-given right to live a rich and rewarding life. And this is just as true for children with disabilities. When these children are born into lower income families, the challenges they face can often be quite steep. And while public assistance may ease the situation, we can’t rely on the government alone to help these families and these children. We must do more. We must support communities, organizations and churches that can provide specific support to these families. I’d like to mention a few examples of the organizations that are doing this important work. Building awareness will help these children, and if you are able to support them this Easter season, please do. Prenatal Partners for Life provides a community where parents, medical professionals and clergy can connect with each other and exchange information. It also include resources such as adoption agencies that have clients waiting to adopt special needs children. For other families with children born with Trisomy, there is SOFT, the Support Organization for Trisomy. SOFT is also a community of families affected by Trisomy, each dedicated to providing support for each other throughout the child’s life. Jill’s House in McLean, Va., does amazing work providing support and some relief for challenges and stresses families that have special needs children face. These families are often stretched financially and emotionally, and Jill’s House is there to provide some help. And finally, the Faith and Family Foundation at Wheatland Farm in Virginia provides a host of activities and support services for special needs children and their families. All of these organizations do great work – but they aren’t the only ones. The Special Olympics, led by the Kennedy and Shriver families, has worked so hard for decades. And across the country, countless nonprofits and churches provide support on a daily basis to help meet the special needs children and their families so badly need. These are worthy organizations, providing countless hours of time and much needed support. As I’ve written before, our Bella has been a blessing. She has brought us so much joy and happiness. And despite her special needs, she too lives a purposeful and rich life. It’s important for us to continually affirm life, and our belief in the fundamental right to life, by supporting those who work to ensure all families with special needs children are able to provide for them. It’s not easy, we know, and in fact it’s among the biggest challenges a parent can face. But they are not alone. Join me in being there for them.	159,136
1Geophysica Beratungsgesellschaft mbH, Aachen, Germany 2Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Potsdam, Germany 3Department of Earth Sciences, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Faculty of Physical Sciences, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain Received: 06 Jul 2012 – Published in Clim. Past Discuss.: 16 Jul 2012 Abstract. This study focuses on the temperature field observed in boreholes drilled as part of interdisciplinary scientific campaign targeting the El'gygytgyn Crater Lake in NE Russia. Temperature data are available from two sites: the lake borehole 5011-1 located near the center of the lake reaching 400 m depth, and the land borehole 5011-3 at the rim of the lake, with a depth of 140 m. Constraints on permafrost depth and past climate changes are derived from numerical simulation of the thermal regime associated with the lake-related talik structure. The thermal properties of the subsurface needed for these simulations are based on laboratory measurements of representative cores from the quaternary sediments and the underlying impact-affected rock, complemented by further information from geophysical logs and data from published literature. Revised: 12 Dec 2012 – Accepted: 13 Dec 2012 – Published: 22 Jan 2013 The temperature observations in the lake borehole 5011-1 are dominated by thermal perturbations related to the drilling process, and thus only give reliable values for the lowermost value in the borehole. Undisturbed temperature data recorded over more than two years are available in the 140 m deep land-based borehole 5011-3. The analysis of these observations allows determination of not only the recent mean annual ground surface temperature, but also the ground surface temperature history, though with large uncertainties. Although the depth of this borehole is by far too insufficient for a complete reconstruction of past temperatures back to the Last Glacial Maximum, it still affects the thermal regime, and thus permafrost depth. This effect is constrained by numerical modeling: assuming that the lake borehole observations are hardly influenced by the past changes in surface air temperature, an estimate of steady-state conditions is possible, leading to a meaningful value of 14 ± 5 K for the post-glacial warming. The strong curvature of the temperature data in shallower depths around 60 m can be explained by a comparatively large amplitude of the Little Ice Age (up to 4 K), with low temperatures prevailing far into the 20th century. Other mechanisms, like varying porosity, may also have an influence on the temperature profile, however, our modeling studies imply a major contribution from recent climate changes. Mottaghy, D., Schwamborn, G., and Rath, V.: Past climate changes and permafrost depth at the Lake El'gygytgyn site: implications from data and thermal modeling, Clim. Past, 9, 119-133, doi:10.5194/cp-9-119-2013, 2013.	135,683
An Educational and Left Unity Program in Response to the 2016 Elections A Socialist Education Project for 2017 The Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism (CCDS) The Progressive Majority and the Left were shocked by the outcome of the 2016 elections. Nevertheless, most people on the Left know that issues such as the crisis of neoliberal globalization, climate change, and exacerbated tensions concerning class, race, and gender all require long-term and radical solutions that could not be immediately achieved. no matter what the electoral outcome. But elections matter, both in the short and long-term. SEP believes that a thorough analysis of the elections is needed, including the underlying dynamics of society and political economy. This analysis combined with understanding the different strategies of response and resistance will contribute to building the much needed left and socialist alternative. Therefore, SEP will sponsor a program of dialogue on teleconferences, across the internet, and in-print media concerning the election and its consequences. Several topics will be addressed over the next few months. First, what happened? Why did the favorite Hillary Clinton lose the election? Why did she not carry classic Democratic Party rust belt states like Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania? What would have been the election outcome if Democratic Socialist Bernie Sanders had been the presidential candidate? What is the significance of the unexpected success of the Sanders campaign and the emerging Next Left? In addition, what constellation of forces, conservatives, white nationalists, rightwing populists and Trump Democrats led to the Trump victory? Second, in the aftermath of the election, a multiplicity of political forces have been mobilizing to express their anger at the outcome and lay future plans. There are many strategies: mass action, social movements, Our Revolution, progressives asserting control over the national Democratic Party. These emerging struggles are occurring at national, state and local levels. Some want to organize a new Left political instrument or third party, or strengthen an existing party such as the Greens, others seek a truly progressive party emerging from the contradictions within the Democrats. SEP wants to promote understanding of these different strategies, and seek ways of cooperation and collaboration to bring greater unity and effectiveness to the movement. This will inform discussions on strategy and tactics in the coming period.. Therefore, SEP will sponsor a series of teleconferences to address these broad questions. We will post articles, publish statements and publish the weekly newsletter Left Links. We will contribute to the scholarly resources Online University of the Left and the journal Dialogue and Initiative. CCDS will organize programs and sponsor panels at Left conferences, and we are open to new and creative ideas. Our goal is to contribute to the strengthening of both the Progressive Majority and the Left. We seek allies in advancing towards 21st century socialism. Another world is possible!	202,366
(Solanum lycopersicum) Given to Carolyn Male by co-worker Carl Swidorski, who said the seed originated in Poland circa 1900. Part of SSE’s 1997 Polish Collection. Phenomenal set of 3" by 6" red paste tomatoes on vigorous wispy vines. Excellent flavor and very few seeds make this a perfect processing tomato. Fruits hold well on the vine. Indeterminate, 85 days from transplant. 6 weeks before last frost Cage, stake or trellis Green Thumb Tip Sow seeds indoors ¼" deep. Tomatoes are sensitive to freezing temperatures, so wait to transplant outdoors until the soil is warm. Plant in full sun. ± 11,300 seeds/oz Seed Savers Exchange is a tax-exempt, 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of heirloom seeds. Images on this site are protected by copyright, unauthorized use is not permitted.	273,447
The United States' envoy on North Korea's nuclear program will travel to Japan and Thailand next week to seek a joint response to the regime's latest missile test, the State Department said Friday. Joseph Yun, special representative for North Korea policy, will visit Tokyo and Bangkok from Monday through Friday to meet with government officials on ways to "strengthen the pressure campaign" "The United States looks forward to continuing its partnership with both these nations so that the DPRK will return to credible talks on denuclearization," the State Department said in a statement, using the abbreviation for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. North Korea has claimed the latest test was of a new intercontinental ballistic missile capable of striking anywhere in the U.S. with a nuclear weapon. The launch broke a 75-day lull in testing that had raised hopes for a resumption of dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang. Yun had earlier stated that 60 days without testing would send a signal for talks with Washington. Speaking to reporters Thursday, the envoy said the U.S. would still be open to having dialogue with the North if it stopped its weapons testing and stated its willingness to hold talks. "So far, I can report no real progress on diplomatic engagement," he said, noting that he has spent a lot of time talking to North Korean officials through his own channel. "So really, when there is no progress in diplomatic engagement despite us having reached out, there is no choice but continued pressure policies," he added, referring to economic sanctions and diplomatic isolation.	286,087
UFO SIGHTING REPORT UFOINFO Sighting Form Report Location: Conacher Lake, back of Thessalon ON, Canada Date: Fall 1978 approx. time 8 am Approach Direction: Coming From North Departure Direction: Went southwest Witness Direction: South Description: First of all this was a kind of unusual experience None of the people involved saw the usual lights or saucer type objects normally associated with a siting, instead it went as follows One calm, fall morning around 8 am, 1978, 3 Hunters, one of which was my father were standing on the North Side of Conacher Lake. They began to put on their life jackets and put their hunting gear into the boat intending to hunt on the other side of the lake. As they stood talking, all heads turned toward a crashing noise coming through the bush, heading toward the lake. What could this be my father thought to himself. There was no sound of any motorized vehicle. Maybe it was a moose he thought. Within a minute sounds of breaking branches came out to the edge of the lake where the three men stood watching to see what it was. To their astonishment whatever it was took off above the lake with a very loud blast, sounded like a jet leaving the runway- he recalls. Following the noise it went up into the sky in a diagonal direction. To my fathers surprise he had seen nothing he and two other members of my family just looked at eachother in awe. What could this have been my father has never experienced anything like this in his life. So my question is were they so close to something from outerspace. I think possibly. Any other thoughts are welcome. Color/Shape: loud and invisible Height & Speed: approached from the ground went into sky with great speed, such great speed it was not visible to the naked eye. Site Map \| Home \| Sightings Index \| Canadian Sightings \| Report a Sighting	121,722
The buff-banded rail is an omnivorous feeder with an extremely varied diet that includes worms, molluscs, crustaceans, insects, spiders, small fish, amphibians, bird and turtle eggs, chicks of other birds, carrion, fruits, seeds and other plant matter (2). Although known to feed at all times of day, this rail generally concentrates its efforts around dusk and dawn (2) (3). Most prey is captured by a quick stab with a slightly open bill, or alternatively it will peck at food items such as snail shells until they crack open (2). Breeding occurs at different times of the year in various parts of the buff-banded rail’s range, but has been recorded year round in the tropics. The nest is built in, or under, dense vegetation such as long grass, reeds, rushes, shrubs and trees. The female usually lays between four to eight eggs in the nest, which are subsequently incubated by both parents for around 18 to 19 days before hatching. The chicks are fed and cared for by both parents until they are evicted from the nest at five to nine weeks old. At two months old, the chicks are able to fly, and probably breed when just a year old (2).	59,616
MORAGA — Imagine having 400 moms, each reminding you to eat your vegetables, drink this (milk), not that (soda) and plotting a “game plan” to help you avoid chip-laden or fast-food land mines. Sound like a nightmare? It isn’t. Author, registered dietician and certified health coach Jill West has boiled the collective voices of more than 400 nutrition experts into “400 Moms,” a 240-page family food bible. The Moraga resident’s self-published book is 50 percent cheerleading chant, 50 percent solid science and 100 percent mom. The cheerleading comes from West’s naturally exuberant personality. With three boys, ages 20, 17, and 14, she shares a busy life with her husband Daniel, a pediatric oncologist at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital. A lifetime of coaching reluctant dieters and frenzied families has sculpted her language. “Let’s not turn food into a drama,” she’s likely to say, or, “Breakfast leads to better moods. I’ve had three teenagers in the house: I’m all for better moods.” She’s also prone to asking questions (“What are experts’ four favorite breakfast meals?”), and to a speaking style that sets up her self-supplied rally cry answers (“Cereal! Eggs! Waffles! Oatmeal!”). “400 Moms” is liberally sprinkled with her cheery queries and bulleted lists that attempt to strip not only drama but confusion from the torment of family meal planning. West has plied her trade at area hospitals, including the UCSF Medical Center, Harvard Medical School/Joslin Diabetes Center and the UC Davis Medical Center. Collecting feedback and survey responses from more than 400 experts required four years of on-and-off work and nearly 20 revisions. “I wrote one chapter at a time. After completing all 12 chapters, I revised the book seven times,” she wrote, in follow-up notes sent after a presentation at the Lafayette Library and Learning Center in late January. A writing coach sent her through seven additional rewrites. Feedback from ten “adviser” friends and colleagues resulted in the addition of a “Quick Reference Guide” that serves as an unofficial chapter 13 and indexes recipes, Best and Worst Picks and resources. A friend of a friend led West to illustrator Cathy Boylan-Swan for the simple, line art drawings introducing each chapter and sprinkled throughout the book. West chose to self-publish and said today’s publishing companies provide little marketing. Preferring to maintain all rights to the book, she didn’t even consider sending book proposals to publishing houses. The resulting edition strives to be user-friendly, and direct. Although the page design is too dense to achieve the simplicity West claimed was her goal, the content is straightforward. Breakfast, snacks, lunch, dinner, produce, vegetables, desert, beverages, fast food, portion size and the ubiquitous “What Now?” of attempting to revamp family eating habits, are treated with pick-your-battles practicality. The content isn’t groundbreaking–but then, West isn’t trying to cause a revolution. She’s just mom: reminding you to watch your peas and quinoa. In front of the intimate audience in the library’s science center–and during the family, Christian, and morning talk radio interviews her new book has prompted–West said her most important credential is being a mom. As a registered dietician, other moms asked her for advice; sparking the idea of putting her know-how–and that of 399 other experts–into printed form. Marcia Farrar, Moraga, said “400 Moms” is best read straight through, but can be read in a need-to-know fashion. “It’s practical and recognizes families are busy,” she said. “I follow (her) patterns: I’m a physician assistant and it all rings true.” Five-year-old Cassidy McClain, nibbling on trail mix West had supplied while her father Bob looked on, said the snack was good. “I love the raisins, and there’s pretzels and puff balls (Kix cereal, a low sugar cereal West recommends).” She said that, at home, she prepares “Butter Soup, with Orange Juice Squeezes,” a main course that might disturb West’s carefully balanced four-category, protein/grains/vegetable/fruit plate. But Cassidy, showing early-learning adeptness, added, “It comes with fruits and vegetables, nuts and berries.” West’s suggestions, delivered with “Yes, you can!” exclamations, center on a first, essential understanding: no one is perfect, even the experts. And after empathy, there’s empirical evidence that healthy diets lead to happy kids–and even happier moms and dads.	178,240
September 9, 2003 Wanted: Public's Opinion About Space Station Research Institute Image left: International Space Station in orbit 200 miles above Earth. NASA released a draft Statement of Work for public comment today for a proposed International Space Station Research Institute. NASA seeks comments from industry, academia, organizations and individuals regarding contracting to a non-government organization to establish an Institute for International Space Station research management. The purpose of the Institute is to promote research planning, coordination, and advocacy for maximum efficient and effective use of the International Space Station by the U.S. science, technology, and commercial communities. This draft Statement of Work will be followed by a draft Request for Proposals (RFP). "We're enthusiastic about forging ahead with this unique opportunity to create a strong partnership with the user community for the International Space Station utilization process," said Mary Kicza, Associate Administrator, Office of Biological and Physical Research, NASA Headquarters. "We strongly encourage comments on the Statement Of Work from the users as well as potential offerors. These comments will influence our future direction," she said. The Institute will support NASA in fostering cross-disciplinary, interagency, and international flight research programs. As part of its research leadership role, the Institute will be a strong advocate for Space Station research use to NASA, to the user community, and to the public, both national and international. The Institute will provide a strong, centralized voice for the diverse Space Station user community and advocate for the community to the Station program and NASA. A release for RFP is scheduled for this fall, with a contract award expected in fall 2004. For information about NASA on the Internet, visit: To view the full draft Statement of Work on the Internet, visit: For more information about space research, visit: - end - text-only version of this release NASA press releases and other information are available automatically by sending a blank e-mail message to To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send a blank e-mail message to Back to NASA Newsroom \| Back to NASA Homepage	226,915
Ourfoods has teamed up with the USC Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies on Catalina Island, a place where a gallon of fresh water costs more than a gallon of oil, to build an aquaponic research greenhouse (see photo above). Director of Undergraduate Programs for the Wrigley Institute, Diane Kim, Ph.D., notes that they use the system to teach "critical concepts in biology, chemistry and ecosystem dynamics... and to get them to think critically about the inputs and outputs of food production", at a time where California's drought is taking a heavy toll on the viability of both commercial and small scale food producers- making aquaponics a hyper-relevant tool to engage students on sustainable food production. In addition to pioneering an aquaponics curriculum taught at USC's main campus, the executive director of Ourfoods, David Rosenstein, led an interdisciplinary workshop with 27 students on Catalina- each coming with various educational backgrounds, and naturally, a different perspective to bring to the table. In two blog posts by participants, students noted a clear appreciation for an opportunity to break the theoretical, classroom-based learning paradigm and get their hands dirty, one student Jacqueline Hernandez noting "My biggest realization was one that humans depended on for tens of thousands of years: I am physically and mentally capable of constructing structures for a common good. The academic life is one I enjoy very much... but being highly sedentary, it isn’t conducive to making full use of our evolutionary adaptations. There’s empowerment in building big things yourself, and there’s a shared enthusiasm when building with peers." before mentioning that this experience inspired her to build her own aquaponic system on her rooftop, perhaps inspiring the next generation of farmers, policy makers, scientists, economists, or simply citizens who choose to participate in a more sustainable food system. Read more about the student experience here:	146,366
A removal proceeding is also known as a deportation proceeding. Removal proceedings may or may not involve detainment by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). You will attend a hearing in which the immigration judge will ultimately determine if you are removable and if you are eligible for any type of relief from removal. Removal proceedings are very serious and can change your life forever. Please talk to the immigration lawyers of the Chávez Law Group, right away. Notice to Appear Removal proceedings typically begin with a Notice to Appear (NTA) which is your summons to appear in court. The NTA must be based on some grounds of removability. Grounds of removability include: - Overstay of an immigration visa - Criminal conviction - Violation of immigration law - Prior deportation order If you are taken into custody by ICE, bond may be set. Bond is money paid to the court as a deposit to ensure that you will appear at future hearing dates. If you attend all of your court dates the bond money is returned. If you go through a bail-bondsman, the bondsman puts up the money for a fee and may also ask for collateral such as a car title. If you appear at all of your court dates the collateral is released, but you do not get the fee back. If ICE decides that you should not be allowed bond, or the amount is too high, you can request a bond hearing or ask that the amount be lowered. Initial Master Calendar Hearing The initial master calendar hearing is your preliminary hearing. During this hearing the judge will determine if an interpreter is needed for you next court date and you will be asked to enter pleadings. If you concede to removability, you will be asked if you are seeking relief from removal and if so what type. If your case is to proceed, further hearing dates will be scheduled. If you concede removability or if the government’s attorney convinces the judge that you are removable, you may still be eligible for one or more of the following types of relief from removal: - Cancelation of removal - Voluntary departure - Adjustment of status If you or someone you love is interested in obtaining U.S. citizenship or is facing deportation, please talk to the immigration lawyers of the Chávez Law Group, today, or submit our online questionnaire.	138,120
Saturday, June 23, 2012 "What are we Doing here?" Every student having a device in class!?!? It does raise possibilities. On the spot research, new resources available on demand, new potential for collaboration. All of this is true. But we will also have a new landscape of planning and management to deal with. First, everyone's greatest concern - students will at times be disengaged from curriculum. They will take advantage of technology that they are very familiar with and use it in ways that don't coincide with our curricular concerns. Oh my! Oh my! (wring hands and fret). What are we to do? My response is, what makes this different from our classroom in the old paradigm. Haven't students always sought to learn and communicate about THEIR interests ahead of ours? Especially if we let them. What do I mean by that? Students have always opted out of our lessons if we didn't plan the activities to keep them essentially engaged. BYOD doesn't alter that element of our job. Instead of writing notes to their boyfriend or reading anything other than assigned text they are now playing games, engaged in social networks or watching video. Our task remains - engage students in authentic and essential ways. If we do that then billiards, poker, angry birds and bad singers will get moved to the background. I suppose it is a bit more intimidating to see that sea of devices open and operating in front of you when you are attempting to execute your carefully crafted lesson plan. The thought of what all those devices can bring to the party is daunting. We need to take advantage of them though, not ban them out of fear. We need to view them as tools that will serve our curricular interests and plan accordingly. Tuesday, June 19, 2012 Going "Old School." We already have had our first network outage during our experiment with digital textbooks. No real problems other than the fact that we couldn't access our textbook at all during the day on Monday. One teacher said to me during the outage that they "hated" having to always have a "plan B" when planning around technology. I guess that is one of the issues we live with if we are going to rely on technology for delivery of instruction. I joked with my students that it was no problem for me, I could lecture for 5 hours and was sure they would enjoy that. But stability and reliability of network services are an issue. Students were remarkably resilient during the outage. Even those with web only ChromeBooks took notes on scratch pad until network services were restored. Aside from comments about the reliability of the network I don't think an outside observer would have known we were having an issue at all. I understand the concern about "double planning" all the time. I'm not sure its entirely valid. We all have to develop contingency plans for absences, and other events which disrupt our normal teaching routine. Technology usage creates a new set of contingencies perhaps, but also opens new doors to learning. The ability we have to develop enhanced learning environments and collaborative programs outweigh, I believe, the downsides that might occur on an emergent basis. Friday, June 15, 2012 Welcome to "Hot Fun in the Summertime." I hope U.S. can be fun (at least at times) and I hope the digital pilot will be "fun" or at least interesting. I am creating this blog for a couple of reasons. First, I want a space where I can record my thoughts and observations about our experience this summer. I don't have a lot of blogging experience, so this will also serve as a little bit of a testing ground for me. Second, I want you guys to read my comments and post replies. Your comments will provide us with valuable data as we go forward with revamping our learning environments here at Glenbrook. Students might be interested to note that their input is being sought much more intentionally around current technology initiatives. This process is not being driven strictly by administrators or by hardware considerations (hence the BYOD nature of this pilot). What are the concerns? Obviously we are interested in the facility with which you can engage in your work using particular technology. But we are also interested in developing new models for learning taking advantage of technology to manage learning environments more efficiently and powerfully. So welcome to the experiment. I hope you don't mind being a test subject?!? I hope you will share your thoughts and experiences with us?!? I hope you will learn some U.S. History along the way! ! ! And maybe we can even have some fun!?!? Let me know!!!!!	41,700
\|23rd April 2011, 07:31 PM\|\|#1\| Join Date: Apr 2011 HELLO AGAIN ZedZdeD , I CAN SEE THAT IN ONE VIDEO YOU HAVE YOUR MAST WAY BACK AND IN THE OTHER ONE YOU HAVE IN FRONT, AND IT SEEMS TO BE THE SAME WIND CONDITIONS , WHY ?????? ALSO, HOW MUTCH WIND WAS THERE WHEN YOU DID THOSE VIDEOS ????????? \|23rd April 2011, 08:44 PM\|\|#2\| Dream Team - School Guru Join Date: Aug 2006 I hope ZedZded replies, but it looks like normal "longboard" technique. When the mast foot is forward in the track, the sailor is not in the footstraps and is "railing" the Phantom on the centerboard to make max. upwind angle. When the mast foot is near the back of the track, the sailor IS in the footstraps and is keeping the board pretty flat with the centerboard in the UP position. He is sailing on a reach or below and is in the fully planing mode. Going for max speed without trying to stay upwind. So...... normal longboard technique.... mast all the way forward, centerboard deployed board is being "railed" to go upwind on lift from the CB. Reaching.... mast near the back, centerboard NOT deployed (reduces drag alot) and the sailor is back on the board in the footstraps. Hope this helps,	310,905
Washington, DC — The U.S. Department of Interior position in court on maintaining current flows from the Glen Canyon Dam is based upon a “mistreatment and disregard of science” that “significantly impairs Grand Canyon resources” according to a memo by the Superintendent of Grand Canyon National Park posted today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). These charges present a direct challenge for incoming Interior Secretary Ken Salazar who has promised that agency “decisions are based on sound science and the public interest” and will reflect “high ethical standards”. At issue is whether the Colorado River will be managed to build beaches and protect aquatic life in the Grand Canyon, as required by law, or to minimize costs to wholesale power customers. On behalf of Interior, the Bureau of Reclamation has issued a five-year plan which precludes any additional steady high flows following a much heralded high-flow “experiment” conducted last March. In a scathing January 15, 2009 memo, Grand Canyon Superintendent Steve Martin assails Reclamation’s Environmental Assessment (EA) and misrepresentations by the government in defending it against a lawsuit filed by the Grand Canyon Trust, a non-profit seeking to restore Colorado River flows to more closely resemble the river’s natural rhythms to benefit Grand Canyon wildlife. Martin, a former Deputy Director of the National Park Service (NPS), calls Reclamation’s work “perhaps the worst EA I have seen for an action of this importance” because it finds no significant environmental impact for a course of action which, among other defects – - Is rooted in a “lack of scientific veracity” that “continues to misinterpret key scientific findings related to the humpback chub, [and the] status of downstream resources in Grand Canyon”; - Suffers from a “failure to address NPS concerns that actions under the EA’s five-year plan would impair the resources of Grand Canyon”; and - Falsely suggests Park Service concurrence with the five-year plan and in so doing violates both Interior policies and environmental statutes such as the Grand Canyon Protection Act. Martin says that while the Park Service agreed to the March high flow experiment, it never consented to a five-year regime that lacks subsequent high flows and seasonal steady flows. “If Secretary Salazar really means to clean house at Interior, he needs to start right here,” stated PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch, noting that Sec. Salazar’s predecessor, Dirk Kempthorne, tried to silence Martin and ruled that the Superintendent’s “statements do not reflect the Department’s unanimous final decision regarding this matter.” “The Secretary should first withdraw this flawed EA and then discipline the officials responsible for it.” This past November, the Grand Canyon Trust has filed for summary judgment in its suit, contending that Interior has no legal defense for its actions. Martin’s letter undercuts key government assertions. “Secretary Salazar should not permit his department to perpetrate a fraud upon the court,” Ruch added.	231,530
Three New Projects For GE FlexEfficiency 60 Gas-fired units to address Texas irrigation and varying power needs, boost ERCOT reserve margins Golden Spread Electric Cooperative Inc. of Amarillo, Texas, U.S.A., is the latest customer to select GE’s FlexEfficiency 60 technology. The cooperative is purchasing three GE 7F 5-series gas turbines for three new power plants that will enter operation between March 2015 and March 2017, GE said. Golden Spread will install the 7F 5-series gas turbines at sites to be determined in the Texas Panhandle or West Texas, to provide power for its cooperative members who operate in the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) and Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) electric operating grids. “Our members depend on us for reliable and efficient power, and we have selected GE’s new FlexEfficiency 60 technology to meet those needs,” said Mark Schwirtz, president and general manager of Golden Spread Electric Cooperative. “We believe that the 7F 5-series gas turbine will provide a good match for our diverse electricity requirements.” As part of GE’s FlexEfficiency 60 Portfolio, the 7F 5-series gas turbine incorporates advanced combustion technology to deliver operating flexibility – including better turndown capability – while sustaining higher levels of efficiency compared to earlier gas turbine models, GE said. This can translate into increased revenue across a wide range of operating conditions. “As the new order with Golden Spread Electric Cooperative demonstrates, we continue to see strong industry acceptance for our new FlexEfficiency products,” said Paul Browning, president and CEO, Thermal Products of GE Power & Water. “This technology offers an unprecedented combination of base-load efficiency and operating flexibility to address the complex needs of today’s energy grid.”	224,688
NEW YORK — The prime ministers of India and Pakistan met in New York Sunday, and in a step toward easing tension, agreed on the need to stop the recent spate of attacks in the disputed Kashmir region. They also both accepted invitations to visit each other's countries, although they didn't set dates. But the nuclear rivals appeared at odds over whether an end to the Kashmir violence is necessary for stalled peace talks to restart, and India reiterated its demand that terrorist activity emanating from Pakistan must stop. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan's Nawaz Sharif met for just over one hour at a hotel on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. It was their first face-to-face meeting since Sharif was elected in May seeking to improve ties with Pakistan's larger neighbor. India and Pakistan have fought three wars, and relations have been strained since the 2008 Mumbai attacks blamed on Pakistan-based militants that killed 164 people in India's commercial hub. This year, a renewed spate of violence has threatened a decade-long cease-fire on the Kashmir frontier. Indian National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon called Sunday's meeting useful and constructive. He said that Singh and Sharif had tasked senior military officers to find a way to shore up the cease-fire along the so-called Line of Control. "They were both agreed that the pre-conditions for forward movement in the relationship which they both desire is an improvement of the situation on the Line of Control where there have been repeated cease-fire violations," Menon told reporters at a briefing. "Our overall impression of the meeting was that it was useful because it provided an opportunity for high-level contact on issues that are troubling the relationship," he said. "We will now see how both sides take it forward in the next few months." The top bureaucrat at Pakistan's Foreign Ministry, Jalil Abbas Jilani, sounded more upbeat. "It was an extremely positive meeting," Jilani told a separate news conference. "The most significant impact was that the leaders expressed their commitment to have better relations between the two countries." Asked if Pakistan shared India's view that an end to violence on the Line of Control was necessary for the peace process to advance, Jilani said Pakistan agreed that a "conducive atmosphere" was better for dialogue that produces results. But he said Sharif emphasized that "we should continue to talk." In comments Friday at the General Assembly, Sharif called it a chance for a "new beginning" in relations. Singh had downplayed expectations. Their talks came three days after twin attacks by suspected separatist rebels on Indian security forces killed 13 people in the Indian-held portion of Kashmir. Singh raised the issue of terrorism emanating from Pakistan and reiterated the need for effective action against the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks, Menon said. Pakistan has put seven men on trial on charges they assisted in the Mumbai siege, but the trial has made little progress. Jilani said that now that a Pakistani judicial commission has visited India to interview witnesses, he was sure "this trial process would be speeded up." Leaders of India and Pakistan last met a year ago. Pakistan's then-President Asif Ali Zardari met Singh during a visit to India in April 2012. He was the first Pakistani head of state to visit the country in seven years. The two also met in August 2012 on the sidelines of a summit in Iran. That progress has been set back by the upsurge in violence in Kashmir, but the need for peace is intensifying. The impending U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan, where India and Pakistan have competing interests, adds new uncertainty to a region increasingly threatened by Islamic militancy.Comment on this story Sharif, who has served before as Pakistan's prime minister but was unseated in a 1999 coup, is contending with a surge in militant violence inside Pakistan itself. In the latest attack, a car bomb exploded on a crowded street in northwestern Pakistan on Sunday killing at least 40 people. Such attacks in the troubled city of Peshawar have claimed more than 140 lives since last Sunday. Sharif wants to improve relations with India and boost trade to help Pakistan's stricken economy. But he has an uphill task in persuading India that Pakistan and its security services are willing and able to stop attacks on India. It's also a politically sensitive time in India. Singh is expected to step down after elections there next spring, but the ruling Congress party will not want to be seen as soft on Pakistan when attacks in Kashmir are rising.	63,395
How is it cool when Orthodoxy allows both artificial birth control and abortion...depending? How is that cool? This is the teaching on abortion of my own Russian Orthodox Church.http://incommunion.org/articles/the-orthodox-church-and-society/xii orhttp://orthodoxeurope.org/page/3/14.aspx"The Basis of the Social Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church" Document Issued by the Jubilee Bishops’ Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, in August 2000, Moscow, Russia 2. Since the ancient time the Church has viewed deliberate abortion as a grave sin. The canons equate abortion with murder. This assessment is based on the conviction that the conception of a human being is a gift of God. Therefore, from the moment of conception any encroachment on the life of a future human being is criminal. The Psalmist describes the development of the foetus in a mother’s womb as God’s creative action: “thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb… My substance was not hid from thee, them I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest part of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance” (Ps. 139:13, 15-16). Job testifies to the same in the words addressed to God: “thine hands have made me and fashioned me together round about… Hast thou not poured me out as milk, and curdled me like cheese? Thou hast clothed me with skin and flesh, and hast fenced me with bones and sinews. Thou hast granted me life and favour, and thy visitation hath preserved by spirit… Thou brought me forth out of the womb” (Job 10:8-12, 18). “I formed thee in the belly… and before thou comest out of the womb I sanctified thee”, says the Lord to the Prophet Jeremiah. “Thou shalt not procure abortion, nor commit infanticide” — this order is placed among the most important commandments of God in the Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, one of the oldest Christian manuscripts. “A woman who brought on abortion is a murderer and will give an account to God”, wrote Athenagoras, an apologist of the 2nd century. “One who will be man is already man”, argued Tertullian at the turn of the 3d century. “She who purposely destroys the foetus, shall suffer the punishment of murder… Those who give drugs for procuring abortion, and those who receive poisons to kill the foetus, are subjected to the same penalty as murder”, read the 2nd and 8th rules of St. Basil the Great, included in the Book of Statutes of the Orthodox Church and confirmed by Canon 91 of the Sixth Ecumenical Council. At the same time, St. Basil clarifies: “And we pay no attention to the subtle distinction as to whether the foetus was formed or unformed”. St. John Chrysostom described those who perform abortion as “being worse than murderers”. The Church sees the widely spread and justified abortion in contemporary society as a threat to the future of humanity and a clear sign of its moral degradation. It is incompatible to be faithful to the biblical and patristic teaching that human life is sacred and precious from its origin and to recognise woman’s “free choice” in disposing of the fate of the foetus. In addition, abortion present a serious threat to the physical and spiritual health of a mother. The Church has always considered it her duty to protect the most vulnerable and dependent human beings, namely, unborn children. Under no circumstances the Orthodox Church can bless abortion. Without rejecting the women who had an abortion, the Church calls upon them to repent and to overcome the destructive consequences of the sin through prayer and penance followed by participation in the salvific Sacraments. In case of a direct threat to the life of a mother if her pregnancy continues, especially if she has other children, it is recommended to be lenient in the pastoral practice. The woman who interrupted pregnancy in this situation shall not be excluded from the Eucharistic communion with the Church provided that she has fulfilled the canon of Penance assigned by the priest who takes her confession. The struggle with abortion, to which women sometimes have to resort because of abject poverty and helplessness, demands that the Church and society work out effective measures to protect motherhood and to create conditions for the adoption of the children whose mothers cannot raise them on their own for some reason. Responsibility for the sin of the murder of the unborn child should be borne, along with the mother, by the father if he gave his consent to the abortion. If a wife had an abortion without the consent of her husband, it may be grounds for divorce (see X. 3). Sin also lies with the doctor who performed the abortion. The Church calls upon the state to recognise the right of medics to refuse to procure abortion for the reasons of conscience. The situation cannot be considered normal where the legal responsibility of a doctor for the death of a mother is made incomparably higher than the responsibility for the destruction of the foetus — the situation that provokes medics and through them patients, too, to do abortions. The doctor should be utterly responsible in establishing a diagnosis that can prompt a woman to interrupt her pregnancy. In doing so, a believing medic should carefully correlate the clinic indications with the dictates of his Christian conscience.The Bishops who participated in the Millennium Council	100,370
When Military Necessity Overrides Constitutional Guarantees: The Treatment of Japanese Americans During World War Ii, by Jay M. Brown Guide Entry to 82.03.01: While the United States engaged in a global struggle, during World War II, to safeguard democracy and the Four Freedoms, a critical test of constitutional democracy was being conducted on the home front. Over one hundred thousand men, women and children were imprisoned by our government in concentration camps without indictment or the proffer of charges simply because they were of Japanese descent and ancestry. This unit is an attempt to give teachers an insight into the overall treatment of the Japanese Americans and to what led our government into placing them into prison or concentration camps as well as the legal ramifications. The unit traces the history of the Japanese in America from the Nineteenth Century to the late 1940ís and attempts to show that racial prejudice as well as social and economic issues entered into our governmentís decision to remove the Japanese from their legal residences on the West Coast. (Recommended for 8th grade Social Studies, 9-12 grades American History and 9-12 grades Law Course) Pearl Harbor World War II History American Anti-Japanese Prejudice Wars Treatment	16,440
When all else fails, deny, deny, deny. Philip Rosedale, the founder of Linden Lab, is spitting in the face of Wired's recent exposé on the desperate state of Second Life, his company's virtual world. The magazines reported that advertisers are abandoning the thinly populated virtual world after discovering they've been taken in by the hype. But Rosedale told attendees at the recent AlwaysOn technology conference that, in fact, Second Life is just getting off the ground. We'll grant Second Life this much: Flat on its back, it has nowhere to go but up. The proof? Look no further than the nonsense Rosedale successfully peddled to Business 2.0's Jon Fortt. Playing to the magazine's love for entrepreneurs, Rosedale pointed out that there are 830 Second Life residents earning more than $1,000 a month, and there are more than $1.3 million worth of interpersonal transactions a day. Of course, those statistics almost certainly don't include the devastating effects of Second Life's recent ban on gambling. And they certainly don't seem to have anything to do with Second Life's lucrative land sales to big U.S. corporations hoping to advertise int he virtual world. And to that, Rosedale says, never mind the U.S. We're big in Japan! That may be true, but it's likely just due to the temporary wave of attention surrounding Second Life's launch of a Japanese-language version. Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun has uncritically reprinted Linden Lab's estimate of 27,000 "heavy" Japanese users. Despite the Japanese influx, the number of "heavy" Second Life users — about 490,000 — fell by 2.5 percent from May to July. That's not a fact that Rosedale highlighted. But it's one that, if he were building a business on anything but hype, he might want to explain.	111,253
3 Min Read (Adds quotes, details, background) DOHA, July 4 (Reuters) - Qatar Petroleum plans to boost gas production from its giant North Field, which it shares with Iran, by 20 percent after new gas development, QP's chief executive said on Tuesday, despite sanctions imposed on the Gulf Arab state by its neighbours. Qatar in April lifted a self-imposed ban on development of the North Field, the world's biggest natural gas field, and announced a new project to develop its southern section, increasing output in five to seven years. That new project will raise Qatar's total liquefied natural gas (LNG) production capacity by 30 percent to 100 million tonnes from 77 million tonnes per year, Qatar Petroleum's CEO Saad al-Kaabi told a news conference in Doha. Global LNG demand was 265 million tonnes in 2016, according to Royal Dutch Shell's annual LNG outlook. "After further assessment, we have decided that the best way to develop this huge project is by dedicating it to the production and export of liquefied natural gas," Kaabi said. "We have decided that the best option would be to double the size of the project to 4 billion cubic feet of gas per day... This project will strengthen our position as the world's largest LNG producer and exporter." QP will need to build new LNG trains to meet the expansion in capacity, Kaabi said. "We will be looking for international partners to join us," he said, declining to say when a tender would be issued. The announcement comes a day after France's Total signed an agreement with Iran to develop its part of the shared off-shore gas field that Tehran calls South Pars. Kaabi said there is no cooperation with Iran on any project in the North Field, but the countries have a joint committee that meets every year to discuss development of the field. "We know what they [the Iranians] are doing and they know what we are doing," he said. Iran, which suffers severe domestic gas shortages, has made a rapid rise in production from South Pars a top priority. The deal on Monday with Total is to develop its South Pars Phase 11 project, the first major Western energy investment in the country since the lifting of sanctions. Gulf OPEC member Qatar, a future World Cup host with a population of 2.7 million, faces sanctions by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain who have severed diplomatic and transport ties with Doha, accusing it of supporting terrorism. Qatar denies the accusation. The four Arab states meet on Wednesday to discuss how to end the crisis or impose further sanctions on Qatar, which could include asking trade partners to pick a side in the Gulf rift. Kaabi said the company's operations would not be affected by the crisis. "Qatar Petroleum will continue working...If some companies decide they don't want to work with QP that's their choice. We will find other foreign companies to work with," he said. (Reporting by Tom Finn and Issam Abdallah; Writing by Rania El Gamal; Editing by Louise Heavens and David Evans)	68,428
The Security Council Resolution 1325 National Action Plan Initiative (NAP Initiative) is an ongoing project of PeaceWomen, which aims to provide a comparative analysis of individual country NAPs and Regional Action Plans, and a summary of key content and process information. The NAP initiative is a web based platform developed for use by governmental and nongovernmental alike, seeking to develop, evaluate or revise existing NAP’s. In the NAP Initiative you can view summaries of individual countries and regions, or search content by thematic area. You can also find NAP resources and learn more about what National Action Plans are. *Image below kindly provided by Global Gender Program, Elliott School, George Washington University CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO GO TO INTERACTIVE MAP PLEASE NOTE we are currently undergoing some changes to our NAP Theme section. We apologize for any inconsistencies that may appear while we work to provide a more comprehensive and clear NAP analysis for you. \|Country/Region Index\|\|Thematic Index\|	287,281
Our Legal Work The Freedom From Religion Foundation, an educational, watchdog organization working to keep church and state separate, has had many significant legal accomplishments nationwide. The Foundation has taken and won more challenges of the "faith-based initiative" than any other national group to date. The national Foundation has brought more than 40 First Amendment lawsuits since 1977, and keeps several Establishment law challenges in the courts at all times. The Freedom From Religion Foundation has sounded the alarm bell on a multitude of other First Amendment violations. We act on countless violations of separation of state and church on behalf of our membership and the public, successfully correcting many violations through persuasion and education.	199,202
- Pets and Animals Mayor de Blasio is looking to do away with the iconic horse drawn carriages. Why? The History of the Horse Drawn Carriage The tradition of the horse drawn carriage in New York City began in 1935. The horse drawn carriage ride through Central Park is a tourist attraction. Tourist get to sit in the carriage while getting a scenic view of Central Park. The carriage ride provides a romantic ride for couples who during the colder seasons get to cuddle up with a blanket. The ride brings families together to embrace an old, but wonderful tradition. This attraction brings in $15 million a year for the city of New York. The city enforces the rules regulating this industry. The horses are well taken care of in heated stables with plenty of food and water. They are not allowed to ride no more than nine hours a day and do not go out in extreme cold temperatures. So why is it that newly elected Mayor Bill de Blasio is fighting to make this historical ride of New York City extinct? http://petslady.com Horse Drawn Carriage Mayor de Blasio Mayor de Blasio has been quoted as saying "We very much believe it's time to end the use of horse drawn carriages in this city". The city's council speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito would like to replace the iconic ride with vintage cars. Animal rights groups are supporting the extinction of horse drawn carriages. http://www.ny1.com Such a wonderful tradition. What is your opinion? Do you think the Mayor should eliminate the horse and carriage rides in New York City? The drivers of the carriages insist that the horses are well taken care of. The discussion of whether or not to stop this industry has been on every news channel. Many channels have broadcasted videos of the horses, drivers and the stables the horses live in. I watched the segment on Good Day New York where a tour was given of the stables the horses live in. In my observation, the horses seemed well taken care of. They had plenty of hay, running water through pumps and heated stables. So what is the problem, I ask? Many supporters of keeping the horses and carriages have come forward. One of which is actor Liam Neesen who has voiced his opinion on many news and talk shows. Mr. Neesen has gone as far as asking Mayor de Blasio to visit the stables himself. However, the Mayor has yet to accept this offer. The Mayor responded by saying "When he's ready, he will". Yet still the Mayor moves forward to make this wonderful, iconic and historical ride a thing of the past. http://newyork.cbslocal.com Why this issue? With so many issues affecting New York City; such as poverty, crime, unemployment and homelessness, why is the Mayor focusing on something that clearly has no merit? There is no evidence of animal abuse or neglect. Could it be the Mayor just wants to move us forward into the future of technology? I mean vintage cars, come on now? What is so attractive about that? Does the Mayor and all his followers want to forget about history, tradition and the good ole days? Here are some questions the Mayor should be asking himself if he does eliminate this wonderful tradition. - What will happen to all the horses? - How many drivers and staff in the industry will lose their jobs? - What ever happened to tradition and embracing our historical values? - Have you thought about that Mayor de Blasio?	189,711
Tutorials Shared by the Internet Community \|Top Tutorials\|\|New Tutorials\|\|Submit\|\|Login\|\|Register\| Tutorial Basic Detail Total Hits: 4474 Total Votes: 14 votes Average Rating: 2.79 out of 5 Category: JAVA/Core JAVA Description:String is most commonly used class in Java programming. Java also provides two other classes StringBuffer and StringBuilder. We need to carefully choose between these three depending on the requirement. Thus it is important to understand difference among them.	134,728
Internal BP documents examined by 60 Minutes confirm that top executives of the oil company were aware of safety issues that led to the worst workplace accident in this country in 16 years.There's apparently some juicy stuff: 60 Minutes also interviewed a federal official investigating the explosion at BP's Texas City refinery, which killed 15 and injured at least 170, who concludes the blast was "absolutely" preventable. Correspondent Ed Bradley reports on the investigation this Sunday, Oct. 29, at 7 p.m. ET/PT. Carolyn Merritt, appointed by President Bush to be chairman of the U.S. Chemical Safety Board, says management at BP knew enough about Texas City's safety problems to have prevented the disaster. "Absolutely," says Merritt to Bradley's question on whether the Texas City blast was preventable. "The problems that existed at BP Texas City were neither momentary nor superficial. They ran deep through that operation of a risk denial and a risk blindness that was not being addressed anywhere in the organization." Merritt adds that she believes budget cuts at the facility were directly related to the accident. "Twenty-five percent of their fixed costs were cut and when you cut that much out of a budget ... Our investigation has shown that this was a drastic mistake," she says. Merritt spoke to Bradley in the midst of her investigation into the accident. Her report, expected to be released in spring 2007, will outline other failures directly contributing to the deaths and injuries, including old equipment, corroded pipes and non-working alarms. "There were three pieces of key instrumentation that were actually supposed to be repaired that were not repaired, and the management knew this," reveals Merritt. She says BP management authorized the operation that ultimately resulted in the blast, knowing the three pieces of equipment were not working properly.	89,187
Genesis of the Thinking Behind The Utilisation Paradox I have explained elsewhere that the thinking behind the software inventions that underpin Skillspeak was in the incubation process for a significant number of years. There were many indicators that the type of information needed to drive better use of intellectual resource, had never been gathered and thus made available. It was also difficult to have accountant-centric businesses recognise the true value of the available talent allowing better management of its development and especially its retention. One of the strongest motivators of the need to harness the talent in a business and the associated insights required came through a work assignment in 1992. At that time, in my role at the multi-national organisation, it was my job to travel abroad, especially to North America and to Europe. My job was to visit the company’s software development centres in those places and sell them on the idea of outsourcing some of their systems development to our partner firms in Australia with superior development skills. On one occasion, this had me visiting Research Triangle Park in Raleigh, North Carolina. This is not far from both Duke University and the home field of the Durham Bulls, the local Minor League Baseball Team made famous in the movie Bull Durham. I was scheduled to meet several software development directors over the next two days, but on this occasion, I had not cleared the reception desk when a passing executive recognised my Australian accent and summoned me post haste to her office. She explained that whereas I was seeing her the next day, what she wanted to tell me could not wait. Once in her office, she pointed to a well-worn whiteboard. On the top left were the names of about 8 firms they used around the world as outsourcing options and on the top right, there was just one name. That name was a firm in Brisbane, Australia and she explained why they were differentiated on her board. Those on the left were the subject of regular review and some would be dropped for various reasons from time to time. The lone name from Australia was “never to be dropped”. She revealed that this was despite their hourly rate being almost double the highest of all the others. Why was this? Well she went on to explain that this team in Brisbane not only delivered high quality code on time, as well as meeting their cost estimates, but they also critiqued the specifications allowing for a far more advanced piece of code delivered. This was because they were such specialists in their field, they were able to monitor changes in the market demand for certain features needed over time. They would then typically deliver these, often leaving the price at the same relatively low estimated figure. What Did This Company Achieve? Put simply, they avoided direct price competition with alternate suppliers. Notwithstanding the very high hourly rate charged, they retained the engagement based on the quality of the services delivered. Once this perception is achieved, it becomes almost impossible to over-charge. Most clients will pay the going rate if there is no doubt they are benefitting from having the services of the best9D. This is unique in the market. The premium value belongs to the best because there is only one of these in each situation. How then does one reach this privileged position? This can only be as a result of having the best people, best processes, best tools, best methods and best practice. This requires investment to attain and represents a belief in the people such that it is worth making time for them to remain at the top of their profession. It means fewer billable hours allowing for training and research. By recouping the cost of the development hours in the charge-out rate, the company can prosper without the threat of having some competitor under-cut them on price. It means a client would be very brave indeed to change suppliers with no guarantee the work product will not suffer as a result. Where to for this Company? Market leadership can assure a long period of excellent profits and the retention of staff accordingly. We know that they valued their people such that it involved them in business decisions which affected them. This allows the triple value that I believe will limit the risk of attrition E2?? - Are they paid better than the market norm for this type of work? A0Security - Are they given assured opportunities for continuous development of skills? Growth - Are they working mostly on challenging and fulfilling projects which sharpen their skills and make them even more valuable over time? A0Self-Actualisation Recently, I decided I would try to track this organisation down and indeed found a link to their alumni. I learned first-hand how proud they were of their reputation and the feeling of making the ideals I outlined in The Utilisation Paradox a reality. They did not know I was aware of their international reputation nor did they see it as a paradox9D. They gave me insights into how the discovery of the benefits of their working arrangements affected each and every one of them and bonded them into a winning team. It is indeed a pity that many organisations will never see the truth so evident in this real life example. They will bat on at the direction of the bean counters in their business and burn out as they attempt to compete in a downward pressure price spiral. Len NormanA0- Copyright Conquest ConsultingA0 April 2011	20,742
Wolf Population Grows in Three States BILLINGS, Mont. -- The number of wolves in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming continues to grow, with at least 1,300 in the three states at the end of 2006, federal officials say. "I keep thinking we're at the top end of the bubble," said Ed Bangs, wolf recovery coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "I can't see that there's room for any more, but we'll see." The wolf population has, on average, grown by about 26 percent a year for the past decade. The reports of livestock being killed by wolves have also increased, as has the number of wolves killed after livestock attacks. There are at least 316 wolves in Montana, 311 in Wyoming and 673 in Idaho, according to the 2006 federal report. Bangs said the wolf population will eventually level off, and will likely decrease once state agencies take over management of the predators and are able to control the population through hunting. The fastest-growing area for wolves last year was in Wyoming outside Yellowstone National Park, where the number of wolves jumped 31 percent, from 134 in 2005 to 175 in 2006. With that increase, 123 cows were reportedly killed by wolves, more than has ever been recorded in Wyoming since the reintroduction. In response, a record 44 wolves were killed. In Montana, the number of wolves grew by 19 percent, nearly all of that in the northwestern part of the state, said Carolyn Sime, leader of the wolf program for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Montana reported 14 new wolf packs last year, including several established by young males that left other packs in the state. Two packs took heavy hits after preying on livestock. Fifteen wolves were killed from the Sleeping Child pack in southwest Montana, and 11 were removed from the Spotted Dog pack near Avon. Overall, at least 32 cows and four sheep were killed by wolves, according to the annual report, and 53 wolves were removed. Human activities, both legal and illegal, are the leading cause of death for wolves in Montana. In Yellowstone, the wolf population grew by about 15 percent last year from 118 to 136. That growth comes after a decline in 2005 attributed to a canine disease that wiped out scores of pups. Yellowstone wolves killed in 2006 were most likely killed by other wolves. Social strife, especially on the densely populated Northern Range, and competition for prey meant more territorial skirmishes that can be deadly. The number of elk, which are wolves' primary winter prey, has declined 50 percent in the area since 1995. A decreasing prey base and increasing wolf density is likely to mean a decline in wolf numbers over the next several years, biologists said. The Fish and Wildlife Service said the wolf population has, for seven years, met basic recovery goals of 30 breeding pairs distributed across the three states and the agency has recommended removing wolves from protection under the Endangered Species Act. However, the federal government and the state of Wyoming haven't reached an agreement on a management plan. The latest proposal is to delist wolves in Montana, Idaho and all of Wyoming except for the northwest corner, where they would still be managed by the federal government. Source: Associated Press	10,063
Fog can be thought of as a cloud at ground level. It forms when the temperature drops to the dew point (the temperature at which air is saturated), and invisible water vapor in the air condenses to form suspended water droplets. Fog can reduce visibility to 1/4 mile or less, creating hazardous driving conditions. If you can't postpone your trip until dense fog lifts -- usually by late morning or the afternoon -- follow these tips: Drive with lights on low beam. High beams will only be reflected back off the fog and actually impair visibility even more. Reduce your speed -- and watch your speedometer. Fog creates a visual illusion of slow motion when you may actually be speeding. Listen for traffic you cannot see. Open your window a little, to hear better. Use wipers and defrosters as necessary for maximum visibility. Use the right edge of the road or painted road markings as a guide. Be patient. Do not pass lines of traffic. Do not stop on a freeway or heavily traveled road. If your car stalls or becomes disabled, turn your vehicle's lights off, and take your foot off of the brake pedal. People tend to follow tail lights when driving in fog. Move away from the vehicle to avoid injury.	16,414
Original Article Published on Philippine Daily Inquirer on November 29, 2019 Arsenio Balisacan, chair of the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC), would joke in the past about how his job is often confused with regulating sports rather than ensuring a level playing field in business, ultimately to the benefit of the consumer and the broader economy. But more than three years into his seven-year term, the country’s first PCC chair has grown weary of the misconception. And this week, he’s had enough. Using the social media platform Twitter, Balisacan lamented how some members of the press sought his comment on the ongoing Southeast Asian Games—a controversial event due to the potent mix of social media, at times overzealous press coverage and organizers that leave much to be desired. “Not funny,” Baliscan tweeted, while acknowledging that more needs to be done to make the public aware of the PCC and its mission, which at times puts it at odds with some of the country’s biggest business groups. Still, the PCC plays an important role, the benefits of which can be felt by regular consumers. Take the favorable filing of the first abuse of dominance case, where the PCC broke an internet exclusivity deal that would have forced residents of condominium to choose an inhouse internet provider. Or the more high-profile Grab-uber merger, which has resulted in millions of pesos of fines for the Southeast Asian ride-sharing giant and a P5-million rebate for users. Sure, that would probably amount to a pittance to most individual riders but it’s nonetheless important for businesses to know that squeezing consumers comes with a price tag. What of media entities that still mistake the PCC as a sports regulator? Baliscan, who was a University of the Philippines professor and head of the National Economic and Development Authority, gave his usual, straightforward lecture. “PCC has nothing to do with sports. PCC’S mandate is the enforcement of the law prohibiting anticompetitive market practices,” he said when asked by Bizbuzz of his response. That constant reminder to the public, at the very least, should create a level playing field in terms of knowledge of the PCC’S role. —MIGUEL R. CAMUS Taking on giants For residents of Metro Manila, maybe even the whole of Luzon, the mention of Damosa Land Inc. will probably stir a quizzical look. Hey, even seasoned business journalists or veteran realtors may have to seek the help of Google to tell them what it is. That is not a surprise. Like many gems from Mindanao, it is only lately that the property developer is noticed due to the spotlight thrown on the region following the election of President Duterte, and the large infrastructure budget earmarked by the government. Damosa Land is a leading homegrown property developer in Davao and traces its roots to the 1950s, when its previous iteration was that of the car dealership of Don Antonio Floirendo’s Anflo Group called Davao Motor Sales. In the 1980s, Davao Motor shuttered its windows, went on a long hibernation, then emerged again as Damosa Land in 2004. The company chose to take on the property giants that had then seen the potential of Davao’s real estate market in the wake of a booming local economy. Damosa Land has experienced a growth spurt in the last few years—a period that coincided with the decision of Columbia Business School-trained Ricardo Floirendo-lagdameo to take up roots in Manila and join one of the family businesses based down South. Since its inception in 2004, the property developer launched many “firsts”—it’s first agro-industrial estate, its first Peza-accredited IT park, its first condominium project and the first flexible workspace solution in Davao—that have pushed the company’s revenue to a five-fold growth. But Cary, as he is better known, has yet to fully realize his vision for Damosa Land. Two years ago, the company broke ground on its most ambitious project yet—the 88-hectare Agriya township in Davao City’s neighboring city to the north, Panabo. The company has set aside around P4 billion to develop a 40-hectare section of the township, which will be home to the agriculture and environment campus of the University of the Philippines, and the region’s first master-planned agro-tourism attraction. Next year, Damosa Land is also expected to open Diamond Tower, their tallest office building, patterned after wavy banana fibers—a design that translates the company’s agricultural and regional heritage. Damosa Land has so far financed its projects with internally generated funds. The investment banker in Cary, however, knows that there is a rising demand for real estate in Davao and its neighboring areas. Land value in Davao City alone has reportedly jumped around 25 percent from last year to a high P125,000 a square meter around the city center alone. Internally generated cash have so far been enough to sustain the projects of Damosa Land; but Cary knows that there will be greater demand for real estate in Mindanao and more competitive challenge posed by property Goliaths in his home turf. Could the David of Davao’s property developers continue to keep up or, perhaps, dominate the Goliaths of the industry? Abangan!	192,766
Estimating survival and recovery probabilities for Arabian Gulf sailfish (Istiophorus platypterus) from tag recovery studies Abstract:Conventional tagging mark-recovery data for 1686 releases and 85 dead recoveries from Arabian gulf sailfish [Istiophorus platypterus (Shaw in Shaw and Nodder, 1792)] were used to estimate conditional survival (S) and tag recovery (f) probabilities in program mark. An a priori approach was used to construct seven plausible models wherein the S and f parameter probabilities were constrained to be constant or allowed to vary over years. Models were ranked using Akaike's Information Criterion weights (AIC c ) and model probabilities were computed. There was some model selection uncertainty and the best model had a 0.619 probability of being the so-called true model for the parameters estimated. The best model produced the best estimated average annual survival over the 5 yr study at 0.375 (SE = 0.324, 95% CI = 0.252–0.516. A more robust multimodel inference was made by averaging the seven models, producing an estimated average annual survival of 0.382 (SE = 0.068, 95%CI = 0.246–0.518). Post hoc analyses of five additional models incorporating Iranian sailfish catch data as covariates showed no relationship between the Iranian catch and survival probability, but did show a positive relationship between the Iranian catch and recovery probability, suggesting that if catch was high then recovery probability was also high. Document Type: Research Article Publication date: 2006-11-01 More about this publication? - The Bulletin of Marine Science is dedicated to the dissemination of high quality research from the world's oceans. All aspects of marine science are treated by the Bulletin of Marine Science, including papers in marine biology, biological oceanography, fisheries, marine affairs, applied marine physics, marine geology and geophysics, marine and atmospheric chemistry, and meteorology and physical oceanography. - Editorial Board - Information for Authors - Subscribe to this Title - Terms & Conditions - Ingenta Connect is not responsible for the content or availability of external websites	1,748
Pride and Prejudice is a novel by Jane Austen, first published in 1813. The story follows the main character Elizabeth Bennet as she deals with issues of manners, upbringing, morality, education, and... More > marriage in the society of the landed gentry of early 19th-century England. Elizabeth is the second of five daughters of a country gentleman living near the fictional town of Meryton in Hertfordshire, near London.< Less Sense and Sensibility is a novel by Jane Austen, and was her first published work when it appeared in 1811. Sense and Sensibility is set in southwest England between 1792 and 1797, and portrays the... More > life and loves of the Dashwood sisters, Elinor and Marianne. The novel follows the young ladies to their new home, a meagre cottage on a distant relative's property, where they experience love, romance and heartbreak. The philosophical resolution of the novel is ambiguous: the reader must decide whether sense and sensibility have truly merged.< Less	117,329
US 4480155 A A diaphragm type magnetic speaker with conductor runs on the diaphragm, the conductor runs having a multiplicity of conductors arranged in a band in each run which confronts portions of two magnetized strips with front faces of opposite polarity and the space between such magnetized strips. The width of the band of conductors exceeds the width of the space between adjacent magnet strips and traverses the entire transverse portions of both of the adjacent magnetized strips from which the magnetic field for the conductor run emanates. 1. An audio frequency signal current carrying transducer, comprising a diaphragm having a vibratable area, a pair of magnetic backings connected with the diaphragm in confronting and spaced relation to each other and respectively on opposite sides of the diaphragm, each of said magnetic backings having an armature plate with a multiplicity of elongate magnetized strips spaced from each other and magnetized in a direction transverse to the diaphragm and having elongate front faces defining pole faces confronting the diaphragm, the pole faces of each magnet strip being opposite to and confronting a magnetized strip of like polarity in the opposite magnetic backing, the pole faces of adjacent magnetized strips and of opposite polarities producing elongate magnetic fields projecting toward the diaphragm, adjacent magnetic fields being separate and distinct from each other, and a multiplicity of signal current carrying conductor runs on the diaphragm and confronting adjacent magnetized strips of opposite polarities and the spaces therebetween of both magnetic backings, the discrete conductors in each run adjoining each other and covering the entire diaphragm along the run and asserting full control of the diaphragm, the conductors in each run being arranged in a wide band traversing the width of the magnetic field projecting to the diaphragm, there being a narrow space between adjacent wide band conductor runs to maintain such adjacent runs separate and distinct in embraced relation to the respective separate and distinct magnetic fields. 2. The transducer according to claim 1 and the diaphragm being flexible and flexing under influence of the signal current cooperating with the magnetic fields. 3. The transducer according to claim 1 and the vibratable area of the diaphragm being stiff and resisting flexing. 4. The transducer according to claim 1 and the conductors having strands of round wire. 5. The transducer according to claim 1 and the conductors in the runs being in flat strands lying on the diaphragm. 6. The transducer according to claim 1 and the conductor runs being located on the surface of the diaphragm. 7. The transducer according to claim 1 and the conductor runs being embedded in the diaphragm. 8. The transducer according to claim 1 and the width of the vibratable area of the diaphragm being entirely covered with conductor runs, but for said spaces maintaining the runs in separate and distinct magnetic fields. 9. An audio frequency signal current carrying transducer, comprising a diaphragm having a vibratable area, a magnetic backing connected with the diaphragm in confronting and spaced relation with the diaphragm, said magnetic backing having an armature plate with a multiplicity of elongate side by side magnets laid thereon, the elongate magnets being spaced from each other and magnetized in a direction transverse to the diaphragm and having elongate front faces defining pole faces confronting the diaphragm, the pole faces of adjacent magnets being of opposite polarities and producing elongate magnetic fields projecting toward the diaphragm, the adjacent magnets having a sequence of polarities at their front faces as follows, to wit: north, south, south, north, north, south, et seq., each magnetic field traversing entirely across adjacent pole faces of opposite polarity, and a multiplicity of signal current carrying conductor runs on the diaphragm and confronting adjacent magnets of opposite polarities and the spaces therebetween of both magnetic backings, the discrete conductors in each run adjoining each other and covering the entire diaphragm along the run and being arranged in a wide band with a width spanning across the width of a pair of said magnet pole faces and across the space between adjacent magnets to traverse the entire magnetic field at the diaphragm for asserting full control of the diaphragm. 10. A transducer according to claim 9 wherein the armature plate is of soft iron and the magnets are permanent magnets entirely to the pole faces thereof. 11. A transducer according to claim 9 and there being a second magnetic backing on the opposite side of the diaphragm from said first mentioned magnetic backing and being substantially identical with said first mentioned magnetic backing, the pole face of each magnet confronting a pole face in the opposite magnetic backing of like polarity, one of said magnetic backings being apertured for passage of air and sound as the diaphragm vibrates under influence of a signal applied to the conductor runs. This invention relates to diaphragm type magnetic speakers. Diaphragm type magnetic transducers incorporate three basic components including a diaphragm, a magnetic backing, and conductors affixed on the diaphragm. The magnetic backing is magnetized in long zones or strips in a direction perpendicular to the diaphragm which confronts the magnetic backing. This arrangement of magnetizing the magnetic backing produces magnetic pole faces confronting the diaphragm and spaced from each other. Adjacent pole faces of opposite polarity produce magnetic fields which embrace portions of the diaphragm. A number or runs of the signal carrying conductors are arranged to extend along the pole faces of the magnetic backing and in the individual magnetic fields to produce the vibration of the diaphragm when an audio signal current is applied to the conductor runs. Transducers of this type are illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,674,946 and 3,919,499. The magnetic backing of such transducers usually includes an apertured soft iron armature plate upon which a magnet is laid. The magnet has taken the form of an apertured sheet of magnetic material which define such long magnetized zones and such pole faces. In many instances, it has been more efficient to form the magnet in a multiplicity of elongate magnetized strips laid on the soft iron armature plate in spaced relation to each other. Each such strip defines one long magnet with a pole face confronting the diaphragm and cooperating with an adjacent magnetized strip to define the magnetic field which embraces an adjacent conductor run on the diaphragm. In such transducers, the conductor runs on the diaphragm lie along and confront the spaces adjacent the magnetized strips. Although such conductor runs have been known to include several individual conductors or strands, the runs of conductors have mainly confronted the spaces between the magnet strips, where the maximum depth of magnetic field, measured perpendicular from the pole faces, is located. An object of the invention is to provide an improved planar diaphragm type magnetic speaker which provides improved efficiency and provides a high degree control of the diaphragm by actually driving a significantly greater proportion of the diaphragm. A feature of the present invention is the provision of conductors in wide bands covering nearly 100% of the diaphragm area. The band of conductors in each conductor run confronts both the space between adjacent magnetized strips and also confronts substantially the entire front faces of the magnet strips adjoining the space and providing the field which embraces the conductor run. The band of conductors may be tightly clustered, or the conductors in each band may be spaced slightly from each other. Adjacent conductor runs may be spaced from each other or may be arranged without appreciable space therebetween. Conductors on the diaphragm may be round wires, or may be flat and formed of metal foil or deposited metal partially etched away into separate conductors. The magnetic fields are in long zones, along magnetized strips of opposite polarity. The space between the long magnetic fields is narrow, and the conductor runs are spaced from each other only by the same narrow space. Wide conductor bands as described are particularly useful on diaphragms in transducers with magnetic field sources on both sides of the diaphragm. In this arrangement where magnetic pole faces of like polarity confront each other with the conductors in between, the magnetic fields, or the lines of magnetic flux are configured to obtain maximum driving and controlling the diaphragm. In this arrangement, the lines of magnetic flux from both magnetic field sources lie parallel to the diaphragm and perpendicular to the conductors, resulting in application of forces against all of the conductors and the entire diaphragm in a direction perpendicular to the diaphragm as desired among magnetic circuits producing wide based magnetic fields. The principle advantage of the invention is that the efficiency of the transducer is significantly increased, and that there is increased diaphragm control providing improved frequency response. FIG. 1 is an elevation view of a speaker embodying the present invention. FIG. 2 is an enlarged detail section view taken at 2--2 in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is an enlarged detail section view, taken at 3--3 of FIG. 2 and partially broken away for clarity of detail. FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic illustration of one arrangement of conductors on the diaphragm. FIG. 5 is a detail section view of a modified form of the invention. FIG. 6 is a detail section view of another modified form of the invention. FIG. 7 is a detail section view of another modified form of the invention. FIG. 8 is a detail section view of still another modified form of the invention. FIG. 9 is a detail section view of still another modified form of the invention. FIG. 10 is a detail plan view of an alternate form of magnet sheet which may be substituted for the strips illustrated in the other views. One form of the invention is illustrated in detail in FIGS. 1-4 wherein the transducer 15 has a diaphragm 16 with a vibratable area 16.1 and peripheral area 16.2 which is affixed as by adhesives to a peripheral rigid frame and spacer strip 17. The transducer 15 may exist in a wide range of sizes and shapes and may be rectangular in a size range of forty to sixty inches or more long by twelve or more inches wide, or may be relatively wide; or the transducer may be oblong or round, as small as three inches in diameter or smaller. Also the diaphragm may have two or more vibratable areas. The diaphragm 16 as illustrated is formed of a flexible film type plastic, such as Mylar, a trademark of DuPont. The diaphragm may be stretched very tight, or in some instances, may be relatively loose, with such tautness as to remove wrinkles. Otherwise, the diaphragm may be stiff or substantially rigid as more specifically illustrated in FIG. 8. The transducer 15 also includes two identical substantially rigid magnetic backings 18 and 18.1 at opposite sides of the diaphragm 16 and confronting each other. Each of the magnetic backings has a soft iron armature plate 19 with a multiplicity of apertures 20 therein for making the magnetic backing acoustically transparent. The magnetic backings 18 and 18.1 also include a multiplicity of elongate magnetized strips 21 which are laid on the plates 19 and between the apertures 20 thereof. The magnetized strips extend longitudinally of the elongate transducer and substantially throughout the entire length thereof. The elongate magnetized strips may be made of any of a number of materials. One typical material is a rubber bonded barium ferrite material sold under its trademark "Plastiform", by 3M Company, St. Paul, Minn. The magnet strips may also be formed of other magnetic type materials such as ceramic magnets or some of the rare earth magnets. The magnetized strips 21 in FIGS. 1-3 are cut from large sheets of magnetic material and are laid on the plate 19 and magnetically secured thereon. The magnetized strips are magnetized in a direction perpendicular to the diaphragm 16 so that their front faces define pole faces of various polarities north and south. The north polarity front faces are designated 21.1 and the south polarity front faces are designated 21.2. Other magnetic circuits may also be used in the magnetic backing 18, such as the magnetic circuit more fully illustrated in FIG. 6. Each magnetized strip 21 is directly opposite another magnet strip 21 of like polarity in the other magnetic backing. The magnetized strips 21 are located on the plate 19 so that there are spaces 22 therebetween. As indicated in FIG. 2, the adjacent magnetized strips having front faces of opposite polarity produce magnetic fields, indicated by the dotted lines F, which project from the magnetized strips to the diaphragm 16. Because of the opposing magnetized strips of like polarity, the magnetic fields and magnetic lines of flux lie parallel to the diaphragm, as illustrated. The transducer 15 also includes a multiplicity of conductor runs 23 adhesively secured on the diaphragm 16 and lying in spaced and parallel relation to each other throughout substantially the entire length and breadth of the vibratable area 16.1 of the diaphragm. Each conductor run 23 comprises a wide band of individual conductors 24 which, as seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, are tightly clustered together so that each strand or conductor 14 adjoins the next adjacent strand with no appreciable space therebetween. In this form, there is a slight space 25 between adjoining runs 23 or between the adjacent wide bands of conductors of the adjacent runs. It is evident in FIGS. 2 and 3 that the edges of the bands of conductors are directly opposite the sides of the magnet strips. In this transducer with two magnetic backings 18, 18.1 confronting each other, the sides of each magnetic field are nearly perpendicular to the faces of the magnet, but taper slightly convergently away from the magnet face; and each magnetic field lies parallel to the diaphragm, between its slightly converging sides. The band of conductors has a width essentially the same as the width of the effective portion of the magnetic field, that is the portion which lies parallel to the diaphragm and which is effective to produce forces on the diaphragm and conductor run in a direction perpendicular to the diaphragm when a signal current is applied to the conductors. The band of conductors traverses the space between two magnet strips of opposite polarity; however, the space between two magnet strips of like polarity has no magnetic field, and therefore, the width of the space between adjacent conductor bands is about the same as the width of said space between the magnet strips of like polarity. The effective portion of the magnetic field and lines of flux lie parallel to the diaphragm and to the conductor band. The forces generated by signal current in the conductors are therefore perpendicular to the diaphragm and conductors, as desired, to produce maximum vibration and control of the diaphragm for producing the desired sounds. The conductors 24 may be round wire, as illustrated in FIGS. 2, 5, and 6, or may be foil, or metal film deposited on the film and etched away as seen in FIG. 7. Wire size gauge may be within a wide range, for instance, twenty gauge aluminum or smaller. Conductor sizes in foil or metal deposited on the diaphragm should have comparable cross sectional areas as the wire sizes mentioned. Foils may typically be one half mil to ten mil thickness, more or less. In this arrangement illustrated in FIGS. 1-4, magnetized strips 21 are arranged in functional pairs with opposite polarities at their front faces. The strips adjacent each other but not in the same functional pair are of like polarity at their front faces. Accordingly, each conductor band traverses essentially the entire front faces of the magnetized strips of a funcational pair and the space therebetween. In FIGS. 1 and 2, a thin sheet or panel 25 of tissue paper, similar to bathroom tissue or facial tissue, is adhesively secured to the outside face of the soft iron plate 19 of the magnetic backing 18. The sheet of tissue 25 obstructs a number of the apertures 20 and provides a limited acoustical loading to the diaphragm 16. This acoustical loading may be varied by the size of the panel 25 and has the effect of providing a limitation on the movement of the diaphragm to minimize the likelihood of the diaphragm bottoming or slapping against the magnet faces. FIG. 4 illustrates one arrangement of conductor strands 24 in the several runs 23. The magnetized strips extend only along the straight portions of the runs. It will be seen that this configuration is suitable for a printed circuit (or etched) strands which do not need to cross each other. In operation, it has been found that the arrangement of the conductor runs with the conductors in wide bands which overlap and confront the entire faces of the magnet strips, produce an improved control of the diaphragm of the speaker or transducer so as to obtain substantially improved frequency response. Also, there is an increased efficiency in the transducer. In the form of the invention illustrated in FIG. 5, the transducer 30 is very similar to that of FIGS. 1-4. The difference in this transducer is that the individual strands 31 in the conductor runs 32 are spaced from each other instead of lying next to each other and in engagement with each other as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3. The strands are adhesively secured to the diaphragm 33, but are spaced slightly apart. FIG. 5, being in an enlarged scale as compared to FIG. 2, clearly illustrates the approximate shape of the magnetic fields produced by the functional pairs of magnetized strips 34 at opposite sides of the diaphragm. In FIG. 5, the spacing between the adjacent runs 32 of conductors on the diaphragm at least slightly exceeds the spacing between the individual conductor strands 31 in the run. In FIG. 6, the transducer 40 is again very similar to the transducer 15 of FIGS. 1-4 with the exception that the magnetic circuit in the magnetic backings 41 and 42 is slightly different. In this form of the invention, adjacent magnet strips 43 have opposite polarities at their front faces and alternate magnet strips have like polarities at their front faces. Again, as in FIGS. 1-3, because the magnet strips in the opposite magnetic backings 41 and 42 confront magnet strips of like polarity, the effective portions magnetic fields created and the lines of magnetic flux are substantially flat and parallel to the diaphragm 44, although the sides of the magnetic fields are slightly tapered. It will be recognized that in this form, each magnetic field F has a width which traverses only half the width of the faces of adjacent magnet strips of opposite polarity; and the width of the band 45 of conductors is the same as the width of the effective portion of the field which lies parallel to the diaphragm. At approximately the location indicated by number 46, between two adjacent fields F and approximately half way across the width of each of the magnet strips, there is a narrow space of minimum magnetic field, and accordingly, a space is left between adjacent conductor runs 45 opposite this space 46. In the transducer 40 although the conductor runs have the same width as the effective portions of the magnetic fields F, there will be very slightly less percent of the diaphragm which is covered by conductor runs as compared to the transducer 15 of FIGS. 1-3. In the form of transducer illustrated in FIG. 7, the transducer 50 is substantially the same as that illustrated in FIGS. 1-4 with the exception that the transducer 50 has the conductors 51 and 52 formed of foil or metal deposited on the faces of the diaphragm 53. The foil or deposited metal is slightly etched away to form individual strands insulated from each other by means of a simple space. The space between adjacent conductors will have a width in the same order of magnitude as the thickness of the foil. The conductor runs are arranged similarly to those of FIGS. 1-3, but may also be arranged similarly to those in transducer 40 of FIG. 6. The arrangement of conductors as illustrated in FIG. 4 is important to FIG. 7 in order to minimize the likelihood of the need to cross one conductor over another. In the transducer 60 of FIG. 8, the transducer is substantially the same as that illustrated in FIGS. 1-4, which the exception that in this form, the diaphragm 61 has a vibratable area 61.1 which is stiff or substantially rigid, being formed of materials such as styrofoam which may be honeycombed or other similar stiff type material. The vibratable area of the diaphragm has conductor runs 62 embedded therein, or otherwise affixed to the stiff vibratable area of the diaphragm. The diaphragm also has a flexible connection or surround 61.2 connecting the stiff vibratable area to the peripheral area which is clamped to the magnetic backings 63 and 64 of the transducer. All portions of the vibratable area 61.1 will move with substantially the same movement, and remain substantially planar during such movement. Accordingly, the diaphragm has a piston-like action rather than the flexing action of the diaphragm in FIGS. 1-3. In the form of the transducer 70 illustrated in FIG. 9, the transducer is constructed with the magnetic backing 71 only on one side of the diaphragm 72. In many instances, depending upon the overall size of the transducer, this arrangement is satisfactory for producing sufficient sound output. Again, in this form, the conductor runs 73 traverse essentially the entire width of the magnetic fields which intersect the diaphragm and are produced by the magnetized strips 74. The magnetic field or lines of flux F in the transducer 70 have a slighty different rounded shape, and slightly less force on the conductors carrying signal currents, because there is no opposite magnetic backing as in FIGS. 1-3 to create the flattened effect upon the magnetic field. Again, the broad bands of conductors in the conductor 73 provide substantial control on the diaphragm and increase the frequency of response thereof. FIG. 10 illustrates a modified form of magnet structure which may be used in any of the disclosed forms of transducer. The magnet structure 80 is in sheet or panel form and may be molded or die cut to the shape illustrated. The magnet structure is formed of the same material as described for strips 21 of FIGS. 1-3. A number of slots 81 are formed to define spaces between the magnetized strips 82. The slots will align with the apertures in the iron or steel panel of the magnetic backing. Narrow bridges 83 traverse the slots and interconnect adjacent strips 82. The magnetized strips may be magnetized with magnetic poles at their front faces as indicated or otherwise according to the magnetic circuit desired. It will be seen that the improved transducer according to this invention utilizes the wide bands of conductors to cover substantially the entire face of the diaphragm to produce a substantially increased control on the diaphragm and increase the frequency response thereof. Practically no portion of the diaphragm is without close control on its movement.	146,094
\|Publication number\|\|US7379619 B2\| \|Application number\|\|US 11/076,077\| \|Publication date\|\|May 27, 2008\| \|Filing date\|\|Mar 9, 2005\| \|Priority date\|\|Mar 9, 2005\| \|Also published as\|\|US20060291744\| \|Publication number\|\|076077, 11076077, US 7379619 B2, US 7379619B2, US-B2-7379619, US7379619 B2, US7379619B2\| \|Inventors\|\|Roger Mitsuo Ikeda, Jeffrey Matthew Kempf\| \|Original Assignee\|\|Texas Instruments Incorporated\| \|Export Citation\|\|BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan\| \|Patent Citations (21), Non-Patent Citations (1), Referenced by (15), Classifications (14), Legal Events (3)\| \|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet\| The following related U.S. patents and/or commonly assigned patent applications are hereby incorporated herein by reference: U.S. Pat. No. or Mar. 9, 2005 Mar. 9, 2005 Aug. 31, 2001 Mar. 30, 2004 The present invention relates generally to a system and method for image keystone correction, and more particularly to a system and method for two-dimensional keystone correction of photographic or electronically processed images. Aerial images of the earth's surface and its natural and man-made features taken from elevated platforms such as balloons, airplanes, and satellites are widely used for making maps, predicting weather, recording surface feature changes, identifying ground-based activities, and numerous other economic purposes. Invariably, images taken from an aerial camera, whether made using traditional photographic or electronic means, are not produced with alignment of the camera's photographic axis with the local vertical or rotational axis of the subject plane. Misalignment of the camera and object axes produces keystone distortion or a rotation of the recorded image. Such misalignment and rotation also occur for ordinary ground-based images taken from stationary or moving locations such as a picture of a building photographed from a location on a street, or of a land area photographed from an elevated location. Keystone distortion results in a geometric skewing of the location of the points or pixels in the captured image; or the picture may also be rotated in the image plane. It is often important that points in the captured but distorted image be accurately located. For example, an accurate distance between two objects observable in the captured image may be required, which cannot be determined directly from measurements on a keystone-distorted image. In addition, when multiple images are sequenced and assembled to form a mosaic or a larger image than can be viewed with a single exposure, angular and rotational misalignments that produce distortion between adjacent images can result. Thus, the resulting recorded images can exhibit keystone and rotational distortions that must be resized by a geometric transformation of the captured images before they can be used for an end purpose. A prior art method for correcting or accounting for keystone distortion for image processing systems is manual image correction, such as by physically moving the camera or other image acquisition device to align the optical axes. However, the system components may not be accessible for adjustment, or there may be a physical limitation on the placement of the imaging components that prevent sufficient adjustment to correct the distortion, such as in aerial photography. Another prior art method is to provide adjustable optical elements in the image processing system, such as special-purpose lenses, mirrors and mechanical arrangements that can correct keystone distortion. However, this approach may only be able to correct small distortions, and can be cost prohibitive or inconvenient to use because it relies on mechanical elements. Other, prior art methods for two-dimensional keystone correction are generally computationally intensive and may require a trigonometric transformation of the input data based on the angular misalignment of the camera and the subject plane, which may not be known at the time the image is corrected or processed. These computationally intensive approaches may also be cost prohibitive or otherwise impractical for many applications. This is particularly true for images electronically acquired, such as raster-scanned image, acquired by a Charge Coupled Device (CCD) camera or other electronic means that can produce multi-million pixels per image, and produce 60 or more images per second. Thus, what is needed in the art is a process for image keystone correction that can accurately locate points on a corrected image plane for recorded, processed, or displayed images that is not computationally intensive and does not require angular data that represents misalignment of the imaging components. These and other problems are generally solved or circumvented, and technical advantages are generally achieved, by preferred embodiments of the present invention. These embodiments utilize a digital keystone correction process to locate points from an image in a subject plane that is produced with misalignment of the axis of a sensor, such as a camera, and an axis of the subject plane. The digital keystone correction process locates image points for a corrected image on a corrected image plane, corresponding to image points for a distorted image on a distorted image plane using a known rectangular feature in the subject plane. The process constructs two intercept points (“vanishing points”) that are the intersections of the lines which are extensions of the top and bottom edges and the left and right sides of a quadrilateral in the distorted image plane that is constructed from the known rectangular feature in the subject plane. Vertical and horizontal reference points are located by drawing a line through each intercept point and the image point in the distorted image plane. Distances are found from the intercept points on the distorted image plane in relation to the image points and reference points. The distances are scaled and corrected with an offset to locate the points for the corrected image on the corrected image plane. The process of the present invention can preferably be incorporated into a device that includes a microprocessor, or other digital processing circuitry, to produce corrected images from distorted images captured on photographic film or electronic media that have keystone and/or rotational distortion. The device preferably includes a display and a button to select the corners of a quadrilateral in the distorted image plane that represents a rectangular structure in the subject plane. This process can re-position pixels, or other picture elements, to form a corrected image in a corrected image plane using the microprocessor or other digital circuitry. This process corrects alignment errors of pitch, yaw, and roll between the subject plane and a distorted image plane such as photographic film or an electronic imaging medium, i.e., an electronic file. The coordinates of points in the subject plane can be computed using the process of the present invention, and the distance between two points in the corrected image plane or in the subject plane can be determined. Another embodiment of the present invention is a method for performing digital keystone correction. The method locates points in an image within a subject plane that are produced with misalignment of the axis of a sensor such as a camera and the axis of the subject plane. The digital keystone correction process includes locating image points for a corrected image on a corrected image plane corresponding to image points for a distorted image on a distorted image plane. The method includes constructing two intercept points (“vanishing points”) by finding intersections of the lines which are extensions of the top and bottom edges and the left and right sides of a quadrilateral in the distorted image plane that is a known rectangle in the subject plane. The method further includes locating vertical and horizontal reference points by drawing a line through each intercept point and the image point in the distorted image plane. The method further includes finding distances from the intercept points on the distorted image plane to these image points and the reference points. The method further includes scaling and correcting the distances with an offset to locate the points for the corrected image on the corrected image plane. The method can correct alignment errors of pitch, yaw, and roll between the subject plane and a distorted image plane such as photographic film or an electronic imaging medium such as an electronic file. The coordinates of points in the subject plane can be computed using the method of the present invention, and the distance between two points in the subject plane can be determined. An advantage of a preferred embodiment of the present invention is that points from an image in a subject plane, including a known rectangular feature that was captured with misalignment of the axis of a sensor such as a camera or other image recording device and the axis of the subject plane, can be accurately located without angular alignment data between the subject and image planes, and without sensor or projector data such as lens offset and throw ratio. The process and method are not computationally intensive, and can be used to correct multiple independent alignment errors between the subject and image planes. The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technical advantages of the present invention in order that the detailed description of the invention that follows may be better understood. Additional, features and advantages of the invention will be described herein below, to form the subject of the claims of the invention. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conception and specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures or processes for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention. It should also be realized by those skilled in the art that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. For a more complete understanding of the present invention and the advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: The making and using of the presently preferred embodiments are discussed in detail below. It should be appreciated, however, that the present invention provides many applicable inventive concepts that can be embodied in a wide variety of specific contexts. The specific embodiments discussed are merely illustrative of specific ways to make and use the invention, and do not limit the scope of the invention. The present invention will be described with respect to preferred embodiments in a specific context, namely an image keystone correction system such as one utilizing a camera or electronic image recording process that acquires images of an object with one or more axes of the subject plane misaligned to one or more axes of the camera or electronic image recording process. The image keystone correction process locates image points for the corrected image using a geometric transformation that computes the distances of two constructed intercept points in the distorted image plane, derived from a known rectangular feature in the subject plane, to image points and to vertical and horizontal reference points. The vertical and horizontal reference points are located by drawing a line through each of the two intercept points and the image points in the distorted image plane. Scaling the distances and adding an offset determine the location of the corrected image points on the corrected image plane. The invention may be applied to other image acquisition systems such as those using ordinary chemical photographic means to acquire an image, including systems that may convert an acquired image to an electronic medium such as an electronic file or stream of electronic data. The invention may include a device configured with a display and an input device, such as a button to view and select the corners of the rectangular feature that was on the original subject plane. A microprocessor or other digital circuitry can be used to perform the calculations necessary for the keystone correction system. Turning now to The mapping of the present invention allows distortions to be corrected that are caused by misalignment of the subject plane and the distorted image plane and a possible rotation relative to each other. In the case of a camera, the image taken by the camera can be digitally corrected for keystoning and rotation so that there is no distortion (aside from an overall change of scale) in a corrected image produced from a distorted image, which may be a printed photograph of an object in a subject plane. To form a corrected image using methods of the prior art, the rotational position and attitude error (pitch, yaw, and roll) of the camera or projector must be known, and the lens offset and throw ratio (lens focal length divided by the horizontal width of the imager). The process and method of the present invention do not require such information about the optical system. Instead the process and method rely on known points in a subject plane that form a rectangular feature in a subject plane. As illustrated on For aerial photography, an advantage of the process and method of the present invention over prior art is that it can be applied to archival photographs and to photographs where it is impractical to accurately obtain the camera rotational position relative to the subject plane. In the case of projectors, the optical offset and throw ratio are often not accessible because they may be user adjustable and there may be no procedure or mechanism for recording these values. The process and method of the present invention do not need these parameters but rather rely on a rectangular feature on the subject plane as indicated above. There are two coordinate systems to consider in the mapping process of the present invention. The first is the coordinate system associated with the image on a corrected image plane, denoted as the X-Y coordinate system (using capital letters to designate corrected image plane coordinates), and the second is associated with a distorted image on a distorted image plane from an image recording or processing device, denoted as the x-y coordinate system (using lower-case letters to designate distorted image plane coordinates). The mapping from the distorted image plane coordinate system to the corrected image plane coordinate system is: where the mapping functions fX and fY will be described below. The inputs needed to define this mapping are the coordinates of the four corners of the quadrilateral in the distorted image plane that was a rectangle in the subject plane, i.e., the points: Turning now to To perform the mapping of the present invention, define the distances vx, vx1, and vx2 illustrated on v X=((x X −x hint)2+(y X −y hint)2)1/2 v X1=((x bl −x hint)2+(y bl −y hint)2)1/2 v X2=((x br −x hint)2+(y br −y hint)2)1/2 and the ratio SX by; Then the X-coordinate of the image point on the corrected image plane is given by: which is a scaling by a constant, that is fixed for a given image, of the distance of the point on the distorted image plane from an intercept point, that is also fixed for the given image, plus an offset that is fixed for the given image. Similarly, for the Y coordinate, define the distances vY, vY1, and vY2 illustrated on v Y=((x Y −x vint)2+(y Y −y vint)2)1/2 v V1=((x bl −x vint)2+(y bl −y vint)2)1/2 v Y2=((x br −x vint)2+(y br −y vint)2)1/2 and the ratio SY by; Then the Y-coordinate of the image point on the corrected image plane is given by: which again is a scaling by a constant, that is fixed for the given image, of the distance of the point on the distorted image plane from an intercept point, that is also fixed for the given image, plus an offset that is fixed for the given image. The intercept points in the distorted image plane illustrated on Using Equations 1 and 2, any point (x,y) in the distorted image plane can be accurately mapped to a corresponding point (X,Y) in the corrected image plane. Points in the corrected image plane can be scaled to locate the original points in the subject plane, because the two planes are geometrically similar. For an aerial photograph, the mapping to produce a corrected image as described by Equations 1 and 2 can be used to accurately determine distances between two points on a recorded image on a distorted image plane by converting from (x,y) coordinates on the distorted image plane to (X,Y) coordinates on the corrected image plane, or scaled differently to find distances on the original subject plane. Although the present invention and its advantages have been described in detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. For example, many of the features and functions discussed above can be implemented in software, hardware, or firmware, or a combination thereof. Moreover, the scope of the present application is not intended to be limited to the particular embodiments of the process, machine, manufacture, composition of matter, means, methods and steps described in the specification. As one of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate from the disclosure of the present invention, processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps, presently existing or later to be developed, that perform substantially the same function or achieve substantially the same result as the corresponding embodiments described herein may be utilized according to the present invention. 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Freeman and Company, New York, pp. 202-232.\| \|Citing Patent\|\|Filing date\|\|Publication date\|\|Applicant\|\|Title\| \|US7873233 \|\|Oct 17, 2006\|\|Jan 18, 2011\|\|Seiko Epson Corporation\|\|Method and apparatus for rendering an image impinging upon a non-planar surface\| \|US8514194\|\|Dec 3, 2009\|\|Aug 20, 2013\|\|Light Blue Optics Ltd\|\|Touch sensitive holographic displays\| \|US8947401\|\|Dec 23, 2009\|\|Feb 3, 2015\|\|Light Blue Optics Ltd\|\|Display device\| \|US8947402\|\|Dec 23, 2009\|\|Feb 3, 2015\|\|Light Blue Optics Ltd\|\|Touch sensitive image display\| \|US9041822\|\|Feb 11, 2011\|\|May 26, 2015\|\|Canadian Space Agency\|\|Method and system of increasing spatial resolution of multi-dimensional optical imagery using sensor's intrinsic keystone\| \|US20080088526 *\|\|Oct 17, 2006\|\|Apr 17, 2008\|\|Tatiana Pavlovna Kadantseva\|\|Method And Apparatus For Rendering An Image Impinging Upon A Non-Planar Surface\| \|WO2010073045A2\|\|Dec 23, 2009\|\|Jul 1, 2010\|\|Light Blue Optics Ltd\|\|Display device\| \|WO2010073047A1\|\|Dec 23, 2009\|\|Jul 1, 2010\|\|Light Blue Optics Limited\|\|Touch sensitive image display device\| \|WO2012172360A2\|\|Jun 15, 2012\|\|Dec 20, 2012\|\|Light Blue Optics Ltd\|\|Touch-sensitive display devices\| \|WO2012172363A2\|\|Jun 15, 2012\|\|Dec 20, 2012\|\|Light Blue Optics Ltd\|\|Touch sensitive display devices\| \|WO2012172364A2\|\|Jun 15, 2012\|\|Dec 20, 2012\|\|Light Blue Optics Ltd\|\|Touch-sensitive display devices\| \|WO2013054096A1\|\|Oct 8, 2012\|\|Apr 18, 2013\|\|Light Blue Optics Limited\|\|Touch-sensitive display devices\| \|WO2013108031A2\|\|Jan 17, 2013\|\|Jul 25, 2013\|\|Light Blue Optics Limited\|\|Touch sensitive image display devices\| \|WO2013108032A1\|\|Jan 17, 2013\|\|Jul 25, 2013\|\|Light Blue Optics Limited\|\|Touch sensitive image display devices\| \|WO2013144599A2\|\|Mar 25, 2013\|\|Oct 3, 2013\|\|Light Blue Optics Ltd\|\|Touch sensing systems\| \|U.S. Classification\|\|382/276, 382/275, 382/274, 358/3.27, 358/3.26, 382/260\| \|Cooperative Classification\|\|G06T3/00, G06T2207/30204, G06T2207/30236, G06T2207/30181, G06T5/006\| \|European Classification\|\|G06T5/00G, G06T3/00\| \|May 5, 2005\|\|AS\|\|Assignment\| Owner name: TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INCORPORATED, TEXAS Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:IKEDA, ROGER MITSUO;KEMPF, JEFFREY MATTHEW;REEL/FRAME:016197/0159 Effective date: 20050316 \|Sep 23, 2011\|\|FPAY\|\|Fee payment\| Year of fee payment: 4 \|Oct 27, 2015\|\|FPAY\|\|Fee payment\| Year of fee payment: 8	71,768
Diversity and transcultural competences in journalism: a creative opportunity. STREAMING NEWS: Realtimeweb and news mediа/обработка новостей онлайн. Center for an Informed America. Intro to Data-Driven Journalism with NZZ Data. Intro to Data-Driven Journalism with NZZ Data. Data is all around us. We can access it with greater ease; hence, the recent boom in “data-driven journalism.” Data is used to structure the story inside and out, as a tool for verification and presentation, and everything in between. Many news organizations around the world are starting to publish stories and cover beats that can be better told through data. The same goes for our #urbanmobilityCH newsroom, where we will be publishing two stories driven by data. We invited Sylke Gruhnwald, head of the data team at NZZ (Neue Zürcher Zeitung), one of Switzerland’s oldest and most widely circulated newspapers, to a Google hangout with us and asked her how her team works with data and how we can use data in our stories. Keep an open mind and follow the data Fostering an open mind is critical to developing a data-driven story. Beyond knowing when to admit falsification, a general open-mindedness in outlook encourages inspiration for new stories and provides direction for finding data sets. New Yorker Creates Aaron Swartz's Open Source Strongbox Secure Tip Box - Peter Kafka - Media. Technology gives journalists unprecedented power to track down information. And technology gives lots of other people the ability to follow journalists’ footprints. Just ask the Associated Press. Now the New Yorker magazine says it can help journalists, and their sources, cover their tracks. It is rolling out an electronic tip box it says will give leakers and tipsters the ability to cloak their identity when they reach out to the magazine. And it’s releasing the software that built the box, created by the late Web activist Aaron Swartz, via an open-source license. You can find detailed information about the New Yorker’s Strongbox here, along with posts from Joshua Rothman, the magazine’s archive editor, and Kevin Poulsen, the investigations editor at Wired, which, like the New Yorker, is published by Conde Nast. Strongbox isn’t the first attempt to create a secure tipbox in recent years. Who should see what when? Three principles for personalized news. I really don’t know how a news editor should choose what stories to put in front of people, because I don’t think it’s possible to cram the entire world into headlines. The publisher of a major international newspaper once told me that he delivers “the five or six things I absolutely have to know this morning.” But there was always a fundamental problem with that idea, which the Internet has made starkly obvious: There is far more that matters than any one of us can follow. In most cases, the limiting factor in journalism is not what was reported but the attention we can pay to it. Yet we still need news. Something’s got to give. If not every person sees the same news at the same time, then the question becomes: Who should see what when? You specifically go looking for it.It affects you or any of your communities.There is something you might be able to do about it. Seven_Forces_Media.pdf. Make your donation now. Wikipedia is the #5 site on the web and serves 500 million different people every month – with billions of page views. Commerce is fine. Advertising is not evil. But it doesn't belong here. Not in Wikipedia. Wikipedia is something special. When I founded Wikipedia, I could have made it into a for-profit company with advertising banners, but I decided to do something different. If everyone reading this donated, our fundraiser would be done within an hour. This year, please consider making a donation of €5, €20, €50 or whatever you can to protect and sustain Wikipedia. Thanks, Jimmy Wales Wikipedia Founder “Imagine a world in which every single person on the planet has free access to the sum of all human knowledge.” WIKILEAKS PHENOMENA. “Journalists have lost control of the story”: Twitter, tech bubbles, and the nostalgia of the technology press. Editor’s Note: I’m very happy to welcome Tim Carmody — who you may know from Snarkmarket, kottke.org, Wired.com, Twitter, or elsewhere — as a contributor to the Lab. Here he looks at how the increasing speed of media opens us to manipulation — and false nostalgia. There’s nothing new about speculation bubbles, especially in the technology industry. It’s nearly impossible to be certain which new ideas or products will be able to do what they’re supposed to be able to — let alone whether they’ll be able to do so at cost or scale, if they’ll be adopted by the market, or if a competitor will get there first and better. And when everything’s happening quickly and everything seems exciting, it’s nearly impossible to tell a bubble from a real boom. Journalism jobs (media, editorial), news for journalists. Journalism Accelerator: A forum about innovation in journalism, beyond the usual suspects.	241,373
Recent Advances in Genetic Predisposition of Myasthenia Gravis Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disease mediated by the presence of autoantibodies that bind to components of the neuromuscular junction, causing the symptoms of muscular weakness and fatigability. Like most autoimmune disorders, MG is a multifactorial, noninherited disease, though with an established genetic constituent. The heterogeneity observed in MG perplexes genetic analysis even more, as it occurs in various levels, including diverse autoantigens, thymus histopathology, and age at onset. In this context of distinct subgroups, a plethora of association studies, discussed in this review, have assessed the involvement of various HLA and non-HLA related loci in MG susceptibility, over the past five years. As expected, certain HLA alleles were strongly associated with MG. Many of the non-HLA genes, such as PTPN22 and CTLA-4, have been previously studied in MG and other autoimmune diseases and their association with MG has been reevaluated in more cohesive groups of patients. Moreover, novel risk or protective loci have been revealed, as in the case of TNIP1 and FOXP3. Although the majority of these results have been derived from candidate gene studies, the focal point of all recent genetic studies is the first genome-wide association study (GWAS) conducted on early-onset MG patients. Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disease affecting components of the neuromuscular junction and thus disrupting the signal transduction over the postsynaptic membrane . It is a heterogeneous disease, both clinically and biologically, delineated by the presence of specific autoantibodies which are the main pathogenic and diagnostic feature. MG is well-characterized at the effector stage with three autoantigens accounting for nearly 90–95% of the clinical cases; the major target, in 80–85% of MG patients, is the muscle acetylcholine receptor (AChR) , whereas in the rest of the MG patients, pathogenic autoantibodies are directed towards the muscle-specific tyrosine kinase (MuSK) or the low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 4 (LRP4) [4, 5]. However, the presence of only three targets does not mean that there are only three epitopes and three autoantibody idiotypes. Actually, the designation of an extracellular region of the AChR alpha-subunit as MIR—Main Immunogenic Region—clearly implies a multitude of possible epitopes [6, 7]. It is noteworthy that even a single patient might have autoantibodies against more than one epitopes . Even more heterogeneity can be observed among patients; the age at onset which, usually, delineates the groups of early-onset MG (EOMG) < 40 years and late-onset MG (LOMG) > 40 years is strongly related to the gender and constitutes a crucial subdivision of the MG population . Another cause of heterogeneity is the thymus histopathology, referring to thymoma or thymus hyperplasia, which seems to “shadow” genetic analysis, as it does not fall within the EOMG/LOMG classification used in most association studies. In general, the EOMG subset is characterized by female predominance (~2-3 : 1 female to male ratio) and, usually, by a hyperplastic thymus, whereas LOMG shows a male bias, with normal or atrophic thymus, in most of the cases . The presence of anti-titin antibodies (ATA), although of no apparent active role in MG, is thought to signify a more homogeneous group of LOMG patients . Clinically, the extent and the severity of the symptoms, the progression rate (ocular versus generalized type of MG), and the response to different therapeutic approaches complicate the issue even further . 2. Genetic Approaches in Autoimmune Disorders In contrast to Congenital Myasthenic Syndromes (CMS) which, usually, follow Mendelian principles of heredity and do not entail an autoimmune component, MG is a noninherited disease and like most autoimmune disorders, it is considered to have a multifactorial underlying basis. In fact, it is assumed that the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases is caused by a complex interaction between multiple genotypes of low penetrance and environmental factors, including pathogen exposure, particularly Epstein-Barr virus [11–13], sex hormones , and lifestyle habits, such as cigarette smoking . Twin studies reviewed in revealed that high concordance rates among monozygotic compared to dizygotic twins, observed in several autoimmune diseases including MG, are suggestive of a strong genetic component. However, because of epistasis, the individual effect of a gene may be masked or altered through its interaction with other genes. Moreover, the genetic element seems to be restrained and complicated, as the disease-associated alleles of risk loci appear in healthy individuals, as well. Over the past decade, whole genome resequencing, along with the rapid evolution of high throughput technologies and statistical tools have provided novel insights in genetic studies. The development of a new prospect in genetics, genome-wide association studies (GWAS), was crucial for the identification of numerous loci, involved in autoimmune diseases. The vast majority of genetic factors that have been implicated in autoimmune disease susceptibility are common variants, predominantly, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) rather than insertion/deletion polymorphisms or microsatellites. SNPs are found quite frequently throughout the human genome, while their impact on gene expression or protein’s function is not always very noticeable. A genetic study has been traditionally implemented by either linkage analysis or association analysis. The latter is, nowadays, further diversified into candidate gene association study and GWAS. Linkage analysis allows inclusion of vastly different subjects, as it focuses on transmission patterns and not on the residual picture. However, it needs well-established pedigrees, which is not an easy task in general, and the low rate of MG familial recurrence makes it even more difficult to construct. On the other hand, candidate gene association study allows inclusion of completely unrelated subjects, as it ignores transmission patterns, but it requires extreme caution in grouping the test population in relevantly cohesive groups in order to unveil association between genetic loci and the syndrome under study. Also, there must be some a priori basis for suspecting that the candidate gene may be correlated with the disease. Being a combination of the former two approaches, the Transmission-Disequilibrium Test (TDT) allows using the base of case-control association studies to determine linkage, through marker transmission in rather shallow family environments (i.e., with data collected or projected for as little as two generations and sometimes with some links missing) . The GWAS is a step beyond, as it is not the correlation with a certain, candidate locus that must be established or overruled, but any association with any of the genomic markers, irrespectively of physical distance, is sought for. Such an endeavor is possible thanks to the existence and the considerable extent of linkage disequilibrium (LD), which ensures monoblock transmission, through successive generations, of long chromosomal parts, with polymorphic alleles located on them being “in phase”; meaning that, with novel mutagenesis excluded, they are transmitted with identical allelic status forming a haplotype. Thus, instead of millions of markers, one has just to check one marker per LD block, at least in theory. Convenient for detecting candidate loci without previous assumption as it may LD readily lowers the discrimination potential of an association study, and hence, it impairs the accurate location of the implicated site. High-throughput analysis alleviates this by increasing the number of markers interrogated to more informative and discriminative levels, once appropriate depth of analysis is ensured by assembling adequate sample sizes. All three genetic approaches establish, by definition, statistical correlations between candidate disease loci and phenotypes, but they do not produce causative relationship, especially in multifactorial diseases and syndromes, where a combination of loci may produce an end result unattainable by any of the constituents. In this review, we attempted to incorporate all the recent data of the international literature regarding the genetic associations of MG, generated mostly from candidate gene studies, but, also, from the first GWAS conducted on MG patients. We focused mainly on studies published over the past five years, as previous studies—before 2008—have been covered in a review by Giraud and coworkers . 3. Data Derived from the First GWAS in EOMG Patients In 2012, the first GWAS for MG was conducted through an international collaboration of multiple centers that led to the recruitment of 740 MG cases. After applying strict quality criteria to obtain the appropriate clustering of the samples, the 649 patients, who were, finally, included in the study, were of North European descent and developed the disease early, with age at onset >10 years and <40 years, as they comprise a more homogeneous group, suitable for genetic analysis. In terms of thymic histological condition, MG patients were diagnosed with thymus hyperplasia, whereas a strong female bias (82.9% of the overall MG group) was noticed. As probably expected, the study detected the strongest association in the Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) Class I locus (rs7750641) which, after imputation and conditional analyses of the broad HLA region, led to the determination of HLA-B08 allele as the main risk allele (Table 1). A higher degree of association between the HLA-B08 allele and EOMG was revealed when considering only the women. Regarding the HLA-DRB10301 allele that had been previously associated with thymus hyperplasia-related MG , the modest signal observed in the unconditioned analysis was clearly reduced when conditioning on HLA-B8. However, two other alleles of the HLA Class II region, DRB116 and DRB10701, conferred a positive and negative association, respectively, that reached statistically significant levels (Table 1), confirming previous findings . This GWAS, also, verified the association between MG with thymus hyperplasia and the rs2476601 SNP in the PTPN22 locus (discussed below) which has been reported in previous studies [20, 21]. In addition, a novel association was established with TNFAIP3-interacting protein 1 (TNIP1) involved in the negative regulation of NF-κΒ . Applying imputation around the TNIP1 locus, a strong association was demonstrated with the rs2233290 SNP, causing a proline to alanine substitution at position 151 of the coding region . The fact that this variant does not lie within any of the functional domains of the protein possibly explains the lack of association with TNFAIP3, which was, also, observed in a candidate gene study of Hellenic MG population . 4. HLA Loci Susceptible to MG Occurrence In the 1970s, the HLA was the first identified genetic region with a significant role in predisposition of many autoimmune diseases. However, because of the large number of highly polymorphic genes located at this region and related to the immune function and because of the strong linkage disequilibrium across HLA, the identification of the precise alleles associated with disease susceptibility remains challenging. 4.1. Thymoma-Related MG Thymomas are neoplasms of thymic epithelial cells, with ~30–45% of them associated with MG. Except for the increased MG prevalence, many other autoimmune diseases, also, cooccur in patients with tumours of the thymus . Histologically, thymomas are considered to be heterogeneous tumours. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), thymomas are classified into five histological types, differentiated by their neoplastic (epithelial) and nonneoplastic (lymphocytes) component proportions . These are types A, AB, B1, B2, and B3, in order of increasing malignancy, and they have all been observed in MG patients . MG patients with thymoma comprise a distinct subset of the disease, both pathologically and genetically. No reproducible HLA association has been reported in MG with thymoma. In 2001, a case-control study conducted by Garchon and coworkers revealed no significant association of Class II HLA-DRB1 locus in 106 French MG patients with thymoma . However, histological data about thymoma subtypes were not available which may partially explain the lack of association. A subsequent study by the same research group, comprising 78 French MG patients with thymoma, investigated the effect of Class I HLA-A locus to the occurrence of paraneoplastic MG. An increased frequency of HLA-A25 allele was found in the whole group of patients (Table 1). Considering only the subgroup of 27 MG patients with a B2 type thymoma, the analysis demonstrated a negative association of the HLA-A02 allele (Table 1), indicating a potential protective role to the development of B2 thymoma . Recently, the Class II HLA-DQA1 and DQB1 genes were associated with thymoma-related MG in an Asian population. Among the 102 northern Chinese MG patients who constituted a very heterogeneous study group, 41 presented with thymoma, with B2 type being the most prevalent histological subgroup (51%). A significant increase of HLA-DQA10401 and DQB10604 alleles was disclosed in MG patients with thymoma (Table 1), compared to the ones without thymoma and to the control group . Finally, no association was observed in the case of 30 Norwegian MG patients with thymoma who were genotyped for HLA Class I and II loci . 4.2. Nonthymomatous MG The involvement of HLA-DRB1 gene in MG occurrence—under the perspective of its heterogeneity—was assessed through a large study including 656 sporadic MG cases of Caucasian origin. The group of 192 MG patients with thymus hyperplasia presented a significantly increased frequency of the DR3 allele and a concurrent decrease of the DR7 allele frequency, compared to the 10,235 healthy subjects (Table 1) . Moreover, through a relative predispositional effect (RPE) analysis of DR alleles, the DR16 and DR9 alleles, sequentially according to their strength, were shown to be associated with susceptibility to MG and thymus hyperplasia (Table 1) . In order to achieve a greater level of homogeneity, the MG patients not being detected with any thymus anomalies, were categorized by the presence of ATA. The 59 ATA-positive patients appeared to be associated with the DR7 allele, whilst a negative association was observed in the case of the DR3 allele (Table 1), revealing a reverse outcome from the one noticed in MG patients with thymus hyperplasia and in ATA-negative patients who were associated with DR3 (Table 1), as well . Additionally, this study investigated the transmission of the DR3 allele, using the transmission/disequilibrium test in 56 families that consisted of one offspring with MG and thymus hyperplasia and one or two heterozygous parents. This family-based association test determined the presence of genetic linkage between the HLA-DR3 allele and MG with thymus hyperplasia . In the sequel study, Garchon and coworkers reevaluated the contribution of the extended 8.1 HLA haplotype, including Class I HLA-A1 and B8 loci and Class II HLA-DR3 allele, to the occurrence of MG with thymus hyperplasia. Overall, 27 markers, most of them microsatellites, covering the entire region of HLA complex, were genotyped. The family-based transmission disequilibrium test proved the distorted transmission of a core part of the 8.1 haplotype in 46 cases. This 1.2 Mb segment, mapped in the central region of the 8.1 haplotype between the BAT3 and C3-2-11 markers, encompasses the Class III and proximal Class I loci and constitutes the actual causative locus, termed MYAS1 . Furthermore, a quantitative trait locus associated with anti-AChR autoantibody production is suggested to be situated within the MYAS1 . Finally, in the context of a case-control association study, it was supported that the risk conferred by the 8.1 haplotype probably corresponds to an additive genetic model . More recent data derived from an association study of 1,472 SNPs covering the overall MHC region, in a cohort of 438 MG cases from Sweden, determined the Class I HLA locus as the most susceptible in MG . More specifically, the strongest association was detected in the case of rs2523674 SNP mapped 3.5 kb downstream of the HLA complex protein 5 (HCP5) gene, while the imputed HLA-C0701 allele was also associated, in an independent way (Table 1) . Although this study scrutinized a large set of genetic variants across the vast MHC region, it disregarded the heterogeneous clinical and biological profiles of the disease that could lead to distinct HLA association signals. In order to assess this heterogeneity, a case-control association study in the Norwegian population examined the HLA-A, -B, -C, and -DRB1 loci in well-defined subgroups of MG patients sorted by the age at onset (Early-onset < 40 years, Late-onset > 60 years and intermediate group = 41–59 years) and the histology of the thymus (thymoma or nonthymoma). The greatest association of LOMG (>60 years as determined in this study) was with the DRB115 : 01 allele (Table 1), while the DR7 allele showed a modest association which ceased to be significant in the case of MG patients with ATA and age at onset over the 40 years . In the group of EOMG patients, the previously demonstrated association with the HLA-A01, -B08, -C07, and -DRB10301 alleles was, also, confirmed in this study and further conditional analysis revealed that HLA-B08 was the responsible allele for the strongest risk to MG susceptibility, detected for this haplotype (Table 1) . A negative association with the DRB113 : 01 allele was observed in both EOMG and LOMG patients (Table 1) suggesting its protective role in MG . Another study of HLA-DRB1 locus, in a northern Han Chinese cohort of MG patients, showed a significantly increased frequency of DRB109 allele in EOMG patients and a corresponding raise of DRB107 allele frequency in LOMG (Table 1) . The DRB109 was also associated with the negative to anti-AChR antibodies subgroup, but the strongest association of this allele was uncovered in the case of MG patients with the ocular type of the disease (Table 1) . It is worth mentioning that unlike Caucasian populations, no statistically significant differences were observed in the frequency of DRB103 allele in this study. In Saudi MG patients, DNA typing of HLA Class I and II loci revealed a robust association only with the B08 allele, detected mostly in the female and early-onset disease part of the study group . In addition, HLA-B08 and -DRB103 alleles were shown to be in linkage disequilibrium, thus, forming a haplotype from which the A1 locus appeared to be unexpectedly excluded . The HLA-DQB1 locus did not show any correlation with MG in Saudi patients, but in a study encompassing Iranian patients, HLA-DQA10101/2 and DQB10502 alleles were positively associated with MG (Table 1) . The contribution of HLA-DQ and DR loci to MG predisposition was, also, assessed in 48 Tunisian patients with generalized MG and almost half of them being seronegative to anti-AChR antibodies (20/48). The DRB103 and DQB102 alleles were significantly more prevalent in the EOMG patients, while the LOMG patients were associated with the DRB104 and DQB10302 alleles (Table 1) . When comparing the allele frequencies according to gender, the results were the opposite of what would be expected, as the EOMG-associated DRB103 and DQB102 alleles presented in a significantly increased frequency in male patients and the DRB104 and DQB10302 alleles in women (Table 1) . This contradiction could be in part due to the limited number of MG patients participating in the study. MuSK-MG is a separate clinical entity with discrete clinical features and patterns of weakness, compared to AChR-MG. In MuSK-MG, no abnormalities have been reported in the histology of the thymus . The HLA-DR14-DQ5 haplotype was strongly associated with MuSK-MG in 23 white Dutch patients (Table 1), while the B8-DR3 haplotype, which has been consistently associated with early-onset AChR-MG, showed no significant difference . Another study comprising 37 Italian MuSK-MG patients demonstrated strong association with DQB10502 and DRB116 alleles (Table 1) . Since the molecular DQB10502 allele corresponds to the serologic DQ5, these results confirm the association of MuSK-MG with DQ5 established by the above-mentioned study. All statistically significant HLA associations with MG, generated from the above-mentioned studies, are summarized in Table 1. 5. Non-HLA Related Loci Associated with MG Predisposition 5.1. Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase Nonreceptor Type 22 (PTPN22): A General Autoimmunity Risk Factor PTPN22 located on 1p13.3–p13.1 chromosomal region encodes for a cytoplasmic tyrosine phosphatase which is specifically expressed in lymphoid cells. Structurally, PTPN22 consists of two functional domains: the N-terminal catalytic-dephosphorylation domain and the C-terminal binding domain that mediates its interaction with the SH3 domain of the intracellular C-src tyrosine kinase (CSK) . Through the complex with CSK, PTPN22 functions as a molecule-regulator of the TCR signalling pathway, leading to the suppression of T-cell response . The missense SNP rs2476601 (1858C>T), which leads to an arginine to tryptophan substitution (R620W), has been reproducibly associated with multiple autoimmune diseases, MG included, as reviewed in . As a matter of fact, a meta-analysis, conducted recently on the association of rs2476601 with a plethora of autoimmune diseases, established the correlation of this variant with rheumatoid arthritis, MG, lupus, type I diabetes, and several other diseases, but not with a cluster of diseases affecting the skin, the gastrointestinal tract, or immune privileged areas, such as psoriasis, Crohn’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and so forth . Recent data derived from the study by Zhang et al. indicated an impairment of 620W variant stability, in the protein level, caused by an increased degradation rate compared to the wild-type 620R protein . Following the study of the French MG population , recent data have confirmed the correlation of R620W to MG susceptibility in other Northern European populations, as well. A case-control study in a large cohort of Swedish Caucasian MG patients revealed that the minor T allele showed the greatest association with the subgroup of MG with thymus hyperplasia and anti-AChR antibodies (Table 2) . The same study evidenced a significant increase of IL-2 producing cells, after stimulation of PBMC with the human AChR protein, in patients with the T allele. This observation is inconsistent with the results of decreased IL-2 levels, demonstrated by Vang and coworkers, in patients with type I autoimmune diabetes carrying the 620W allele . An association study of the R620W variant in Hungarian and German MG patients proved that the PTPN22 1858T allele was associated with MG predisposition, only, in the subgroup of nonthymoma patients with detectable ATA (Table 2) , leading to conflicting conclusions compared to the French MG study, in which the association was established in the exactly opposite case of non-thymoma patients lacking ATA . Another study in German Caucasian MG patients was the first to uncover a strong association between +1858T genotypes and thymoma-related MG (Table 2) . A statistically significant association was reported with EOMG subjects, too (Table 2). It is worth mentioning that the intratumorous IL-2 expression levels were found to be reduced in patients bearing the +1858T allele . In discordance with the above studies, determination of rs2476601 allele frequencies in a large Italian group of MG patients showed no statistically significant differences between patients and healthy controls . Instead, the rs2488457 SNP which resides in the PTPN22 promoter region (-1123G>C) appeared to be associated with MG characterized by low titer anti-AChR antibodies (Table 2) . This absence of association between MG predisposition and +1858T allele might be in accordance with the decreased allele frequency observed in the general population of the southern European countries, compared to the northern and eastern part of the continent . A meta-analysis of the four above studies performed on allele frequencies of the PTPN22 rs2476601 verified the association of the T allele with nonthymomatous MG . The statistical power of association was significantly reduced when the results from the Italian group were added to the meta-analysis data . An overview of the results derived from the genetic association studies for PTPN22 is presented in Table 2. 5.2. Association of Other Non-HLA Loci with MG Susceptibility To begin with, one of the most important associations is that of the rs16862847 SNP located at the promoter region of the CHRNA1—encoding the alpha-subunit of the muscle AChR pentameric channel—which has been constantly associated with MG, as discussed in detail in . The (cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated 4) CTLA-4/CD152 membrane receptor exerts its impact as suppressor of activated T-cells via binding to B7 costimulatory molecules on antigen-presenting cells. In the absence of a trigger, nonstimulated peripheral T lymphocytes express an alternative transcript which encodes a soluble form of CD152 (sCD152) . In addition to previous studies reporting a probable association between the +49A/G coding variant and the subset of thymoma-related MG [50, 51], the involvement of SNPs located at the promoter region of CTLA-4 has also been evaluated. Two SNPs, at positions -1772T/C and -1661A/G upstream of CTLA-4, were shown to be associated with MG in a group of 165 MG patients of Swedish origin . Because of their location within regulatory elements—the NF-1 and c/EBP binding sites—these polymorphisms plausibly have an effect on gene transcription or even splicing, as implied by the increased levels of sCD152, in -1772T/C heterozygote MG patients . Given the indisputable role of glycobiology in immunity and inflammation, galectins—members of the glycan-binding protein family—were considered as good candidates in the investigation of genetic factors predisposing to autoimmunity. Galectins are soluble proteins containing a carbohydrate recognition domain with high affinity to N-acetyllactosamine oligosaccharides . They mediate a broad spectrum of immunomodulatory activities both intracellular and extracellular, including induction of apoptosis, negative regulation of T-cell response, cell adhesion, and pre-mRNA splicing . The rs2737713 polymorphism which leads to a phenylalanine to tyrosine substitution (F19Y) in the LGALS8 locus, encoding galectin-8, appeared to be moderately associated with MG . A previous study of the same research group examined two SNPs in the 5′ upstream sequence of the galectin-1 gene (LGALS1), along with two SNPs in regulatory regions of the interleukin receptor 2β gene (IL2Rβ) which resides in the 22q13 chromosomal region, too. A strong association was identified between MG and the haplotype formed by SNPs rs4820293 and rs743777 of LGALS1 and IL2Rβ, respectively, but functional studies did not verify an impact of rs4820293-different genotypes on gene expression . Another cytokine receptor, this time interleukin-4 receptor alpha (IL4Rα), was examined in a cohort of Hungarian MG patients recruited from the NEPSYBANK (Hungarian Neurological and Psychiatric Biobank), , as occurred in the two above-mentioned studies. In this survey, three missense variants in the IL4Rα (I75V, S503P, and Q576R) which are thought to disrupt the signal transduction of interleukin-4 (IL-4) were selected. A statistically significant association was observed only in the case of I75V polymorphism and, particularly, when the 75V allele existed in homozygosity . Interleukin-10 (IL-10) is an anti-inflammatory cytokine which exerts its function by downregulating TH1-mediated responses, whereas it constitutes a proliferation and differentiation factor for activated B cells . Three SNPs, at positions -1082 (A/G), -819 (T/C), and -592 (A/C) in the 5′ flanking sequence of IL-10 determine the formation of three haplotypes (GCC, ACC, and ATA) that are implicated in IL-10 production levels, in vitro . A study conducted on the Norwegian population proved the association of the low expression-related genotypes, ACC/ACC and ATA/ATA, with the subgroups of ATA-positive and EOMG patients, respectively . However, in the Hellenic population, the GCC/GCC genotype conferring for high IL-10 levels showed a statistical trend of association when the EOMG and LOMG subsets were compared . Foxp3 is a transcription factor, member of the forkhead/winged-helix family, with a specific role in the function of CD4+/CD25+ T regulatory cells. A marked reduction in Treg immunosuppressive activity in vitro has been identified in MG patients, accompanied by a decrease in FOXP3 expression . A recent study in Han Chinese MG cases attempted to assess the contribution of two SNPs, rs3761548 (−3279A/C) and rs2280883 (IVS9+459A/G), in the FOXP3 gene to MG susceptibility. Statistically significant differences in the genotype distribution of the intronic variant were observed between patients and controls, uncovering a potential protective role of the IVS9+459G allele to the development of MG . No association was evidenced in the case of rs3761548, even after stratification of the subjects according to age at onset, gender, histology of the thymus, and clinical classification . 6. Genetic Loci Not Associated with MG The studies resulting in no statistically significant association are minimally published. This fact, although unconstructive, as it denies clues for more promising direction of further research, might be a justified policy, since better selected population groups and enhanced correlation protocols might lead to positive future findings. Briefly, in the last five years, Interferon Regulatory Factor 5 (IRF5) , TNFα-induced protein 3 (TNFAIP3) , IL10 , Stromal Cell Derived Factor-1 (SDF1) , Programmed Death-1 (PD-1) , Oestrogen Receptor Alpha (ORα) , Class II Transactivator (CIITA) , and Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase, Receptor type C (PTPRC), also designated as CD45 , have been tested and temporarily rejected. The list of nonassociated loci becomes more extensive if previous studies discussed elsewhere are taken into account. The purely autoimmune nature of MG entails the fact that complex pathogenetic mechanisms cause the deregulation of normal immune function, so that an immune response targeting the MG-related autoantigens would develop. As it was expected, numerous studies have verified quite strong associations with various HLA alleles, depending largely on the traits of the study group. Moreover, a series of non-HLA loci were shown to be implicated, enriching our understanding of the multifaceted autoimmune procedures and thus unraveling the specific role of these genes in immunological pathways. Most of these risk loci have been repeatedly associated with several autoimmune diseases, indicating the existence of common underlying pathogenesis in autoimmunity. Thus, MG-associated loci might exert their implication through upregulation of the immune response, inhibition of immunosuppressive mechanisms, or impairment of the delicate procedure of regulating the discrimination between autologous and heterologous molecular conformations, via processes such as the immune tolerance. It is obvious that nowadays, the majority of association studies use preferentially SNPs as genetic markers, since their frequency in the genome is much higher and they are located at many more sites of interest than microsatellites. In fact, as displayed above, association studies focus on SNPs that reside not only in exons but also in regulatory regions, such as cis-elements (promoters and operators) and splicing sites. Furthermore, being easier and more robust to genotype, SNPs are automation friendly, allowing for massive interrogation in multiple candidate genes format and also in truly genomic scale studies, as it is the case in GWAS. 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A recent spike in the number of cases of a bacteria that is the second-leading cause of bacterial foodborne illnesses has spurred the Wichita Falls-Wichita County Public Health District to issue a warning. Leslie Gresham, epidemiology charge nurse at the district, said nine cases of the campylobacter bacteria have been reported since January, but five reported cases in April is what has caused some concern. “We always see (campylobacter) every year,” she said, adding they had nine during the same time frame in 2012. “But we’ve seen a spike for the month of April.” The nine cases between Jan. 1 and April 22 last year were reported before April, with no reported cases in April, May or June, Gresham said. According to the most recent food safety progress report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released last week, there was a 14 percent increase nationwide in the number of campylobacter cases in 2012. The agency indicated there were a little more than 14 reported cases per 100,000 people in the country. For every reported case, the CDC said about 30 go undiagnosed. Gresham said the current upward trend isn’t indicative of what recent history of the bacteria has shown. “It had been on the decrease,” she said, adding that there was a 30 percent decrease since 1996. A baseline was set using 2006-08 figures, which shows the uptick in cases. “Since that baseline, it increased 14 percent in 2012.” The epidemiology nurse said the bacteria is caused by not cooking food — primarily poultry — thoroughly, using unpasteurized milk or cheese made from unpasteurized milk, or drinking untreated water. The bacteria also can be contracted by handling and eating raw or undercooked meat and poultry and cross-contamination of raw meats and fruits and vegetables. Gresham said the bacteria incubates in the body two to five days before someone begins to see symptoms, including diarrhea — sometimes bloody — vomiting, cramping and a fever. There’s no hard-and-fast treatment for campylobacter, she said, and treating dehydration is the primary concern because of the diarrhea and vomiting. The CDC and health district suggests the following to help avoid campylobacter: ■ Clean raw vegetables and fruits, kitchen surfaces, utensils and hands. ■ Separate raw foods from cooked foods, kitchen surfaces, utensils, dinnerware, etc. ■ Cook raw foods according to instructions. ■ Refrigerate foods, including leftover cooked foods, as soon as possible. ■ Use only pasteurized milk. Gresham said it’s also important for those caring for someone with campylobacter to wash their hands frequently. Follow John Ingle on Twitter @inglejohn1973.	269,810
First Dominican-born NYS woman lawmaker pleads guilty to fraud, steps down New York.- NY State lawmaker Gabriela Rosa, the first Dominican-born woman elected to the post in the diaspora’s political history, resigned her seat, after pleading guilty of marriage fraud in 1996,at Southern District Federal Court on Friday. The Immigration and Custom Enforcement had charged her of fraud in filing for bankruptcy protection, and could face more than 10 years in prison. "I’m resigning my post as Assemblywoman representing District 72 as of today," the Dominican-born leader, one of New York’s most prominent political figures in the Democratic Party in recent years, said in a statement. "Although it saddens me to announce it with this news, I would also like to take this opportunity to thank you for trusting me with your vote and allowing me to become the first Dominican-American woman to be elected to the New York State Legislature," Rosa said.	240,571
Sustainability at York St John Food and catering Ethical and sustainable food sourcing on campus. We are continuing to work with our catering team to make sure that our sourcing is as sustainable and ethical as possible. What we've achieved - The menu in YSJ Kitchen, our main food outlet on our York campus, is Food for Life Bronze certified by the Soil Association. - All coffee served at our catering outlets is Rainforest Alliance approved. - The hot chocolate we serve and the sugar in our main outlets are both Fairtrade certified. - 80% of our cakes are made in-house, reducing the need for packaging. - We only use free range eggs. - Where possible we only use Red Tractor certified meat and Marine Stewardship Council certified seafood. We have also implemented the following measures: - 20p takeaway surcharge for disposable food boxes and paper coffee cups - Water bottle refilling points - York St John branded reusable and 100% recyclable cups available at all catering outlets, with a £1.00 discount on hot drinks with purchase - Fighting surplus food waste with the 'Too Good to Go' app Too Good to Go Bags of surplus food items including sandwiches, pasties, pizzas, cakes and fruit will be available to buy on the Too Good to Go app at a discounted price from 3.30pm every weekday during term time. Our sustainable procurement goals - Source environmentally responsible suppliers - Purchase goods and services with least environmental impact - Buy produce locally and within season - Support local businesses and economy where possible	62,737
\|[This is a MPIWG MPDL language technology service]\| Moon (n.) The celestial orb which revolves round the earth; the satellite of the earth; a secondary planet, whose light, borrowed from the sun, is reflected to the earth, and serves to dispel the darkness of night. The diameter of the moon is 2,160 miles, its mean distance from the earth is 240,000 miles, and its mass is one eightieth that of the earth. See Lunar month, under Month. Moon (n.) A secondary planet, or satellite, revolving about any member of the solar system; as, the moons of Jupiter or Saturn. Moon (n.) The time occupied by the moon in making one revolution in her orbit; a month. Moon (n.) A crescentlike outwork. See Half-moon. Moon (v. t.) To expose to the rays of the moon. Moon (v. i.) To act if moonstruck; to wander or gaze about in an abstracted manner.	273,590
11. The Green God The Temple of Aruk was unlike any temple James Wood had ever seen. A mossy mound four stories high, from a distance it looked like a hillock, one of countless others in the forest. But it was no natural feature: it was a face. First he saw the mouth. A gaping cavern that fed into the darkened depths of the temple. A faint light emanated from the mouth, illuminating yards and yards of vines and roots spewing from the hole and crawling across the ground and the mound, as though in imitation of a scraggly beard. More vines burst from a pair of smaller openings above the mouth, flowing around the mouth to form a moustache of vegetation. Two larger holes went where the eyes would be, overflowing with leafy branches that curled up to crown the mound. Deep within the eye sockets burned hellish red light. And the vegetation pulsed. The branches and roots and leaves and veins shifted and rustled and twisted and writhed in unison, their movements rippling across the mound, as though moved by the beating of an unseen heart, or in syncopation with an unnatural breath. Wood’s insides squeezed tight. This was no temple. It was the living face of Aruk. A procession of men lined up outside the temple mouth, each laden with a huge gunny sack. One by one, they climbed the mound and entered the temple, and emerged empty-handed. The rest of the stronghold, a collection of huts large and small, radiated outwards from the temple. Elevated above the ground on dozens of sturdy stilts, they were all made almost exclusively of mood and dried vegetation. Platforms and walkways and ladders joined every building to its neighbours. Darkened lanterns hung from posts at every junction. Men with slung carbines stood guard at strategic locations, peering out into the waters and the deep jungles. None of them knew the STS were here. Yet. Iron fatigue sank into Wood’s body. The team had stood watch the whole night, waiting for the PSB to summon and deploy a bevy of specialists. Cybertechnicians, neurosurgeons, godtech researchers, the big-brained boffins the PSB maintained on its payroll. After much discussion and debate, and some minor experimentation, they used the controls to bring Santiago down to a state resembling baseline function, and carefully detached him from the machine. The hunt for the Temple of Aruk began during the flight back to the mainland. Imagery analysts scoured satellite photos of the island, attempting to retrace the path Santiago had betrayed. Psis took to the Aether, combing the swamps for signs of life. Recon drones crisscrossed the skies above the island. Inside STS HQ, operators kitted up and prepared to make war with a Dark Power. An hour later, the support staff confirmed the location of the stronghold. In the late morning, the STS returned to the island. Six full teams, plus the Black Watch in their assault armor. They brought out the big guns for this job. M900 autocannons, the heaviest and most powerful weapons in the STS’ arsenal, so powerful the STS rarely brought them for fear of collateral damage. But with a Dark Power in play, Wood feared it wasn’t enough. After reaching their landing zone, the operators had trekked silently across miles of hot, humid forest. Despite its apparent bulk, Vanguard assault armor was surprisingly nimble and quiet. Its sensors perfectly replicated its wearer’s motions, reproducing the subtle movements and weight transfers so needed for stealthy movement. All the same, Wood took care to avoid entangling his weapon in the brush. The suit insulated Wood from the heat and the humidity, the microclimate system kept him cool, and the external microphones picked up even the slightest sound. Still, Wood felt like he was driving a coffin on two legs, cut off from the rest of the world. It felt wrong not feeling the breeze on his face, the humidity on his skin. He compensated by scanning all around, ready to respond to any man-made sound. Ahead of the Black Watch, the other teams fanned out. None were in assault armor. The soft soil of the swamp forest didn’t lend itself well to heavy metal, and no one knew if the wooden buildings could withstand the weight of the armor. The Black Watch would hang back and provide fire support; everybody else would make entry or pull security. Sited atop a knoll, their autocannons resting on tripods, the Black Watch watched the stronghold and waited for the go code. Wood chomped down on his hydration tube and sucked down some water. His eyes threatened to close, and his muscles and bones stiffened. Over the radio, snipers and spotters and operators whispered to each other, calling and designating targets. He wriggled his fingers and toes, blinked hard and fast, breathed deep of the filtered air inside his suit. He had to stay alert. It wouldn’t be long before— “All call signs, this is Cherry. I have control.” “Stand by, stand by. Three. Two. One. Execute.” Operators spilled out the forest, charging towards the compound. Crawlers activated their millimeter radars. Red and yellow figures materialized inside every hut. Loudspeakers assaulted the compound from every direction. “THIS IS THE PSB! PUT DOWN YOUR WEAPONS AND COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS UP!” “STAND TO!” a guard shouted. “Green light,” Cherry called. A half-dozen rifles coughed as one. Six guards dropped dead in an instant, their heads shattered and bleeding. Unarmed workers froze and fumbled and dropped their goods and panicked and fled. Crawlers and operators swarmed the compound, over the walkways and the platforms, up and down ladders, chasing down the remaining subjects. Wood scanned left to right, right to left. He saw corpses, operators tackling subjects and cuffing their hands behind their back, Green Bliss rolling out of abandoned sacks. A chorus of bestial roars filled the air. The surviving guards—and a few workers—were transforming into Husks. They turned into bipedal crocodiles, walking lobsters, enormous frogs, and other creatures of the swamp. But the STS came prepared. Snipers and spotters engaged Husks as they emerged, gunning them down before they completed their transformation. Assaulters fired at the sight of weapons, fangs, claws, everything that wasn’t an unarmed baseline human. With every angle covered, every avenue of escape or retreat cut off, the Santiagos didn’t stand a chance. As the slaughter unfolded, Wood continued watching. The last of the Husks died, but the shooting continued. The snipers were disabling every boat and vehicle in sight. Operators delivered insurance shots to downed Husks. A few desperate men jumped into the waters. But at that moment, four gravtrucks swooped in, ready to intercept the swimmers. The op was going smoothly. Where was Aruk? Where were the Syndicate’s rumored Elect and pet monsters? If they could summon the giant lobster in Babylon, what would they do here? Out the corner of his eye, he saw a man fleeing for the Temple of Aruk. “Cherry, Sierra Four. I have eyes on the HVT. He’s running to the Temple.” Today’s High Value Target was Raul Santiago. All they had to go on were three-year-old photos. Wood zoomed in, but before he could get a positive identification, Santiago plunged into the temple’s mouth. Faint babbling flowed from the temple. Santiago must have been shouting something, but he was too far away for Wood to hear. But the words, the sounds, sounded… wrong. They were words that had no place in Babylon, no place in this world. They had come from a place that predated civilization, a place once inhabited by the great and terrible powers that still walked the world. As Santiago chanted, the leaves and vines and moss shifted and twitched and writhed, reminding him of a squirming mass of snakes. The orifices disgorged more vegetation, more and more and more, layering on the mound like a second skin. Or a coat of armor. The operators closed in on the mound on all directions. They moved smoothly but confidently, betraying neither fear nor horror. They wrestled down every subject they found, kicked away and rendered safe every weapon they encountered, all the while keeping one eye on the pulsing mound. They came closer, closer, gathering around the entrance. The operators picked up the pace, charging for the open mouth. Santiago’s voice faded into a blaring drawn-out sigh, so loud Wood could hear it from where he was. The earth rumbled under his suit. Thick dark clouds roiled forth from the open mouth, engulfing the operators. “Gas! Gas! Gas!” Yamamoto reported. “Gas in the Temple!” The operators collapsed nervelessly, some twitching and spasming. Wood’s blood chilled. What other secrets did the stronghold hide? As if in answer, the ground quaked. The waters rippled. A great rumbling and tearing swelled in the swamp. Two masses of titanic roots burst free from the murky waters, organizing themselves into fingers and hands and arms. The hands clawed at the earth, ripping and tearing the platforms apart, and hauled. The mound lifted itself off the earth. It wasn’t a face. It was a head. A head mounted on a thick slimy body, slowly rising from the depths of the dark river. It was the Green God, Aruk. “Entry elements, pull back!” Cherry ordered. “Black Watch, kill the god!” Kill a god. Ridiculous. But they had to try. Swiveling his autocannon, Wood took aim. A bright red crosshair slewed across his display, resting on the enormous green head. More and more vegetation spewed forth from the orifices, pulsing vines with glowing green leaves, drooping down like tentacles. Wood pressed the trigger. And, as one, the Black Watch fired. A withering hail of 30mm armor piercing shells raked the monster’s head, shredding leaves and moss and flora. A flurry of shredded green mush blew from its face. The water behind it erupted in geysers. But still it kept rising. In his peripheral vision, he saw streaking green silhouettes. A quartet of STS operators sprinting to the Temple. Clad in gas masks, they grabbed the nearest downed operators and dragged them from the gas cloud. The great giant raised a colossal arm to the sky and spread its hands. “SCATTER!” Yamamoto cried. Wood swung his autocannon high and to his left, training the crosshairs on Aruk’s arm, and squeezed the trigger. The autocannon’ enormous recoil shook the armored suit. Loosing three-round bursts, he worked the gun up the arm, saw bursts of green fauna where the shells struck. The giant hand formed a fist. The fist fell. The earth quaked under the colossal hammerblow. Jets of mud burst in every direction. Large cracks formed in the earth. But the god had missed the operators. Or not. Bundles of thick veins and roots roped out from the grounded fist, snaking towards the fleeing men. In a heartbeat, they seized the operators, crushing them in a python-like grip. “Shoot the roots!” Wood yelled. Aiming at the nearest root-bundle, he walked a burst down its length. The unnatural flora held under the assault. An operator wiggled an arm free and hacked away with a knife, to little effect. A mass of vines swarmed him, sinking and tearing into him. Blood gushed from the many wounds, and the roots drank it all up. Swearing, Wood fired another burst. This time, the shells sawed away part of the bundle. But as he corrected his aim, the green giant titled his head lifted his hand, taking the operators with it. A string of shells impacted across the monstrous face, cutting across his eyes. The giant halted, roaring in pain. Aiming at the partially-severed bundle, Wood fired a third burst. The roots snapped. The operators fell. Striking the ground, they bounced hard and rolled off. They were all dead, drained and deflated from a thousand wounds. Wood scanned frantically for the other gassed operators. But all he saw were bodies floating in the river. The green giant bellowed, its voice shaking the leaves and the river. With a final surge of effort, it pulled itself up and out the water. First Wood saw its torso, green and mossy. Then its hips, its thighs, its knees, then last of all its enormous legs. Rising to its full height, it bellowed a war cry, its voice shaking the leaves and the water. It was enormous. As tall as the trees around it, Wood had to crane his head to look up at the giant’s own. Twin rubies glared hatefully down at the Black Watch. At Wood. “The AP shells aren’t working!” Connor called. “We need to use HEI!” “Roger,” Yamamoto said. “Cherry, Samurai. Are there any surviving operators downrange?” “Negative! Everyone is clear!” Cherry called. “Roger! Black Watch, switch to HEI!” The green god lumbered towards the Black Watch. With every step it shook the world, shattering planks, rocking trees, kicking up mud and dirt and water. It growled in a tongue older than Babylon, older than men, older than the world. Its voice was the grinding of rocks, the shaking of earth, the chaotic rush of turbid waters. Wood felt every alien word, every unutterable sound vibrate in his belly, his bones, his soul. He didn’t understand its speech, but its meaning was clear. Pure, undiluted hate. Hatred of the aggressor, hatred of the foreigner, hatred of those who had hurt and captured his agents and his followers. It hated the STS, it hated the Black Watch, most of all, it hated him. James Wood, son of the soil, who had come back to challenge the god of his birth land. Ruby eyes blazing, it glared down at Wood and uttered a ferocious roar. Wood turned the ammo selector dial. Three letters appeared at the bottom of his feed: HEI. High Explosive Incendiary. Planting the crosshairs on its face, he fired. Strings of explosions tracked across the mound, stitching up its mouth, its nose, its eyes. Fire raged across the god’s face, burning its coat of unnatural vegetation. Thick choking clouds of smoke wreathed the green giant’s head. It raised its arms. Wood turned and ran. Branches snapped against his armored torso. His boots shattered twigs and roots. The suit sank into soft mud and quickly pulled itself free. He ran and ran and ran— The ground jolted. He stumbled and fell on his face. Desperately he pushed himself off the floor, turning to face the green god. It had planted both arms in the ground. Its head was still aflame, but it ignored the damage. Torrents of vines sprouted from its mossy limbs, snaking towards Wood. Clouds of dark gas crept across the floor. Everything it touched withered, grayed, and disintegrated before his eyes. “Fuck you!” Wood screamed. He ripped off a burst at the encroaching wall of vines. The shells exploded on impact, igniting the flammable organics. Yet the vines kept coming closer, closer, ignoring the flames, and with them came the cloud of deadly gas. “Farmer! Fall back! Fall back!” Yamamoto shouted. One last squeeze of the trigger. One last string of fireworks. Then he pushed himself off the floor and ran. All around him, the operators of the Black Watch unleashed hell on the creature. Short, sharp three-round bursts pounded the god in unrelenting volleys, setting the gigantic body aflame. Everything dies, Wood knew. If the autocannons weren’t enough, the STS could call on gunships, smart munitions, thermobaric bombs. Everything it took to destroy this threat to humanity. He just had to buy enough time to— Iron-hard roots burst from under Wood’s feet. Immediately he released the autocannon, tucked in his chin, and held out his palms parallel to his torso. He caught himself as he fell, and immediately twisted around. Thick roots wrapped themselves around his legs, pinning him to the ground. He grunted, twisted, but he was held fast. Finally, he pointed his right forearm behind him and dropped his wrist. His personal defense weapon snarled, dumping a hundred tiny bullets in a handful of seconds. Through the thunderous liquid roar he heard the splintering and shattering of tough wood. He pointed his other arm behind him and dropped his wrist. His shotgun blared, sending a charge of three-inch 000 magnum buckshot into the mass of vegetation. He fired again and again and again, feeling the monstrous vines weaken. When his shotgun went dry he spun himself around. Feeling resistance, he powered his way through. The surviving vines, shredded and weakened, tore apart. Scrabbling away on his butt, he picked up the autocannon and hunted the giant. It had one colossal leg planted on the ground. Another lifted high in the air. Its lifted foot was falling. Screaming incoherently, Wood mashed the trigger and walked the autocannon across the god’s mass. Fires exploded across its foot, its groin, its exposed knee. Longer extended bursts chattered all around him, the rest of the Black Watch adding their fires. The giant shuddered. Crashing through the trees, burning arms flailing, spewing pillars of dark smoke, the giant slammed into the earth with the force of a meteorite impact. The forest exploded. Huge fireballs erupted among the trees. The shockwave rocked Wood back. Fires raced from branch to branch, root to root, consuming everything they touched. Choking infernal smoke billowed above the woods. In the heart of the smoke, a pair of ruby red eyes glared. “What the hell is that…?” Wood whispered. Yamamoto stepped into view. He had stepped out of his armor. Clad only in his utility suit, he stood before the wildfire, before the lingering eyes of the dying god. “Samurai!” Wood shouted. “Get back! It’s too dangerous!” “I have to do this,” Yamamoto said. “Come on!” Wood shouted. Yamamoto approached the flames. Every step was serene and dignified, conscious yet effortless, deliberate yet graceful. He walked with his spine erect, head upright, fearlessly facing the fires and the malicious gaze of the green god. As a wind blew, he walked through a cloud of embers and smoke, completely unperturbed. Aruk spoke again. It uttered a long litany of curses in a tongue no man spoke, every consonant and vowel and syllable dripping enmity and venom. The sounds were acid burning into Wood’s ears. Yamamoto stoically walked through it all, completely calm. At the edge of the flame, he stopped and spoke. “Aruk! In the name of Almighty God, I am come to end your depredations!” A black roar emerged from the flames. “You recruited criminals and killers into your service, turning them against the people! You have twisted and corrupted innocent people into Husks! Through your pawns and minions, you have spilled the blood of countless people and brought immense suffering to the world! “You have violated the Supreme Law! I denounce you as a Dark Power! I have come to deliver the judgment of Heaven!” A terrible scream ripped the air. The eyes grew larger, brighter, fiercer, as though trying to burn Yamamoto with the power of its focused gaze. Yamamoto raised his fist. A silver cross dangled from a necklace between his fingers. The god screeched, louder than a freight train, louder than a hurricane. And still Yamamoto stood. “Aruk! Satan of the swamp! Spawn of the Abyss! Divine judgment is upon you! In the name of God, I abjure and exorcise you! Surrender now to the power of the Most High! Leave this earth forthwith and never come back!” A great wind rushed through the swamp. Cutting through the burning brush, it carved a passage through the smoke, exposing the floating red eyes. A ray of sunlight fell on the floating eyes, diminishing their malicious scarlet glow. A fresh voice spoke. “I will never leave.” The red eyes vanished. The wind faded, the light winked out, and the fires continued to rage. Yamamoto exhaled sharply, and lowered his cross. “Samurai…” Wood began. “Yeah,” Yamamoto said. Working with local firefighters, the PSB monitored the wildfire, evacuating everyone in its path. Nobody asked why the STS was there, or why there were six suits of assault armor running around the swamp. A brief word and a gesture at the big guns convinced everyone to keep their mouths shut and focus on the flames. Day and night firefighting aircraft overflew the blaze, dumping water and foam and fire retardant. Ground crews gathered from all over the island, digging fire breaks and putting out localized fires where they could. The Black Watch exchanged their autocannons for excavating tools and cut deep trenches through the forest. Forty hours later, the firefighters extinguished the last ember. Two hours after that, the Black Watch was back at the stronghold of the Santiago Syndicate. There was nothing left. Just a thick blanket of ashes and blackened stumps. The compound had burned down to its foundations, leaving little evidence behind. They found no survivors, only skeletons. Aruk had left behind a gigantic, vaguely humanoid crater. At its heart, lying bent and shattered on the dead, blackened earth, was a skeleton. A skeleton so badly smashed it was almost unrecognizable. Armed with field kits, forensic techs swabbed bits of bone and compared them to the national records. The results were indisputable: the remains belonged to Raul Santiago. Still clad in his Vanguard, looking down at the crater, Wood muttered, “Thus ends the Santiago Syndicate. And the age of the green god.” “And now comes the New Gods,” Yamamoto replied. With Aruk out of the way, the game of gods would spread to Moreno Island. The Singularity Network, the Guild of the Maker, and all the other New Gods would now contest more openly in the cities and the swamps, claiming as many souls as they could even as they introduced new technologies and new wealth. “It’s going to be like Babylon all bloody all over again,” Wood said. “Oh?” Yamamoto said. “Gods wrestling with each other, Husks and Elect slaughtering one another, innocent people signing up with one faction or the other. They’ll just do it more openly now.” Wood sighed. “What the hell did we accomplish?” “We have removed a Dark Power from the world. We’ve avenged everyone it has harmed and corrupted. We’ve broken the back of the Santiago Syndicate. We did our jobs.” “And we created a power vacuum. The New Gods will move in to fill it. And they’ll play their games again.” “True,” Yamamoto agreed. “But all it takes is a good man to stop them. A man like you.” Wood laughed. “You exorcised Husks and gods. You’re better qualified.” “The exorcism worked only because you destroyed its physical form.” “I just got lucky. It was about to squash me when I shot its leg. It must have lost its balance, and, well…” He gestured at the crater. “Maybe the fall liberated a pocket of underground methane, and the flames ignited it,” Wood continued. “Swamp gas fires happen all the time over here.” “Perhaps,” Yamamoto allowed. “Or perhaps it was God acting through you.” “You know I’m not into that religious stuff.” Yamamoto laughed. “Very well.” The men continued staring at the crater. Forensics techs eased around them, scrutinizing the dirt for a shred of something, anything, that could be remotely considered as evidence. “Today we fought a Dark Power,” Wood said. “Tomorrow, it’s going to be a New God. In Babylon, over here, or somewhere else in the world.” “No question about that,” Yamamoto said. “But so long as there are men willing to stand up to them, men like the STS, even the New Gods will tremble.” Image credit: File: Ludlow Green Man misericord, Simon Garbutt, Wikimedia Commons Want more stories of action and heroism? Check out the Kickstarter for Silver Empire’s HEROES UNLEASHED! To stay updated on future stories, giveaways and promotions, sign up for my mailing list here.	17,549
Features - Syria EU and UNICEF: working together to give new hope to the children of Syria The current crisis in Syria has severely disrupted children’s education. Nearly one in five schools remains destroyed, damaged, or used for shelters. The lack of a safe learning environment, coupled with internal displacement, insecurity and economic restriction, has left an estimated one mi... EuropeAid Feature - Supporting the modernisation of higher education in Syria In the process of opening its economy, Syria needs a greater number of graduates to further develop specific economic sectors. Only a competitive higher education system can meet this demand. The current highly centralised system faces the challenge of developing relevant programmes and curricula ... EuropeAid Feature - Erasmus scholarships for Syrian students Studying abroad, especially in Europe, might seem expensive and complicated for Syrian students. Many of them wish to go to Europe to complete their studies and then come back to work in Syria. Financial and other barriers could set hurdles to such opportunities. EMP JOSYLEEN (Erasmus Mundus Partn... EuropeAid Feature - Developing energy, boosting the economy and linking the region In order to ensure security of energy supply by developing natural gas resources, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria - with Turkey and Iraq as observers - are in the process of integrating their regional gas markets. This entails both legislative and regulatory harmonisation, along with the dev... EuropeAid Feature - Euro-Med Youth Programme in Syria: Building bridges across the Mediterranean On both sides of the Mediterranean people often have false visions and ideas of the other which can lead to misunderstandings and tensions. Cultures, languages and religions sometimes divide people, but they can also be used to inspire tolerance and respect. http://ec.europa.eu/euro... A bridge of knowledge across the Mediterranean It’s a dream for many Syrian students, the dream of studying in Europe. On the other shore of the Mediterranean, there is another dream, that of sharing Europe’s higher education with its neighbours – a dream of intercultural dialogue among students, ultimately leading to a... Building for the future Reducing energy consumption is a key objective in the battle against climate change. In Syria, the EU-funded MED-ENEC project has combined inspiration from the past with cutting-edge technologies in a visionary new housing project that promises huge energy savings to its residents.... EU connecting Arab and European Gas Markets A project that helps develop energy, boost the economy and creates regional links. In Syria there are three priority areas: infrastructure, regulatory framework and transfer of knowledge and skills. By All4Syria.org ... Olive mill waste: a source of concern for the environment An EU-funded project backs efforts to find common solutions in Syria, Lebanon and Jordan and set up an integrated management system. There will be higher economic benefits and cost reductions if clean production choices are adopted, says the Projects National Director in Syria. ... Pages: 1 [1 ]	5,653
Sittingbourne Town Centre and Milton Creek Supplementary Planning Document (Adopted September 2010) The Sittingbourne Town Centre and Milton Creek Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) was adopted on 9 September 2010. The SPD is, in effect, a Masterplan which indicates the general urban structure and layout of the area; the amount and type of land uses; the overall design approach to the built environment and the public realm; transport and infrastructure arrangements to deliver the Masterplan; phasing of development; and criteria for sustainable design and buildings. Now that the SPD is adopted, it forms part of the Local Development Framework for Swale Borough Council and will be the context for deciding planning applications for new development in the town centre and Milton Creek. What does the Masterplan (SPD) contain? There are a number of documents: the SPD itself and its supporting Appropriate Assessment; the Adoption Statement and the records of public consultation. - The Supplementary Planning Document. You can download the Masterplan document in a Pdf file format. As it is a large document, it is made available in sections: - Adoption Notice September 2010 The formal notice indicating that the statutory regulations for producing the SPD have been complied with prior to adoption. - Appropriate Assessment August 2009 Assessments under the EU Habitats Directive which was revised in consultation with Natural England after the consultation period. - Statement of Consultation Records of formal public consultation carried out March - May 2009 - Schedule of responses to public consultation - August 2009 - Sustainability Appraisal (SA) Schedule of Comments - received August 2009 A SA was produced and consulted on with the draft SPD. However, the statutory regulations changed shortly after the public consultation and the SA is no longer required to support an SPD. The public comments were taken into account, however, and are reported here for completeness. - Appropriate Assessment (AA) Schedule of comments - received August 2009 The schedule of comments received on the AA during public consultations and the Borough Council's responses. The AA and the SPD were amended in consultation with Natural England, having taken these comments into account.	96,548
POSTED: 10:30 a.m. HST, Jan 5, 2014 LAST UPDATED: 11:54 a.m. HST, Jan 6, 2014 The weather system responsible for the lightning, hail and heavy showers over Oahu Sunday night is expected to bring more thunderstorms throughout the islands today and into the work week, forecasters say. The National Weather Service in Honolulu says that an upper level trough north of the islands will bring unstable atmospheric conditions with locally heavy rainfall and thunderstorms over the Hawaiian islands throughout the day. Forecasters said that the weather system will linger east of Hawaii Island until Wednesday, bringing unstable conditions mainly over the eastern end of the state. An increase in windward and mauka showers across the state is possible for the second half of this week, they said today. The weather system brought a dramatic light show for the skies over parts of the state Sunday night, and hail and brief but heavy showers were reported in East Oahu. Hail pellets, from a quarter-inch to a half-inch in diameter, were reported Sunday night in Hawaii Kai, Waimanalo, Kaneohe and Kailua on Oahu, and in Kamuela on the Big Island, according to the National Weather Service. The weekend weather system also delivered cooler temperatures, dipping into the high 50s overnight in some areas. The cold weather will likely continue through the weekend. Today's forecast for Honolulu calls for a high temperature near 78, with northeast winds at 10 to 16 mph, and gusts up to 21 mph.	127,054
\|This article needs additional citations for verification. (June 2013)\| Celestial mechanics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the motions of celestial objects. Historically, celestial mechanics applies principles of physics (classical mechanics) to astronomical objects, such as stars and planets, to produce ephemeris data. As an astronomical field of study, celestial mechanics includes the sub-fields of Orbital mechanics (astrodynamics), which deals with the orbit of an artificial satellite; and Lunar theory, which deals with the orbit of the Moon. History of celestial mechanics Modern analytic celestial mechanics started over 300 years ago with Isaac Newton's Principia of 1687. The name "celestial mechanics" is more recent than that. Newton wrote that the field should be called "rational mechanics." The term "dynamics" came in a little later with Gottfried Leibniz, and over a century after Newton, Pierre-Simon Laplace introduced the term "celestial mechanics." Prior to Kepler there was little connection between exact, quantitative prediction of planetary positions, using geometrical or arithmetical techniques, and contemporary discussions of the physical causes of the planets' motion. Johannes Kepler (27 December 1571–15 November 1630) was the first to closely integrate the predictive geometrical astronomy, which had been dominant from Ptolemy to Copernicus, with physical concepts to produce a New Astronomy, Based upon Causes, or Celestial Physics.... His work led to the modern laws of planetary orbits, which he developed using his physical principles and the planetary observations made by Tycho Brahe. Kepler's model greatly improved the accuracy of predictions of planetary motion, years before Isaac Newton developed his law of gravitation. Isaac Newton (4 January 1643–31 March 1727) is credited with introducing the idea that the motion of objects in the heavens, such as planets, the Sun, and the Moon, and the motion of objects on the ground, like cannon balls and falling apples, could be described by the same set of physical laws. In this sense he unified celestial and terrestrial dynamics. Using Newton's law of universal gravitation, proving Kepler's Laws for the case of a circular orbit is simple. Elliptical orbits involve more complex calculations, which Newton included in his Principia. After Newton, Lagrange (25 January 1736–10 April 1813) attempted to solve the three-body problem, analyzed the stability of planetary orbits, and discovered the existence of the Lagrangian points. Lagrange also reformulated the principles of classical mechanics, emphasizing energy more than force and developing a method to use a single polar coordinate equation to describe any orbit, even those that are parabolic and hyperbolic. This is useful for calculating the behaviour of planets and comets and such. More recently, it has also become useful to calculate spacecraft trajectories. Simon Newcomb (12 March 1835–11 July 1909) was a Canadian-American astronomer who revised Peter Andreas Hansen's table of lunar positions. In 1877, assisted by George William Hill, he recalculated all the major astronomical constants. After 1884, he conceived with A. M. W. Downing a plan to resolve much international confusion on the subject. By the time he attended a standardisation conference in Paris, France in May 1886, the international consensus was that all ephemerides should be based on Newcomb's calculations. A further conference as late as 1950 confirmed Newcomb's constants as the international standard. Albert Einstein (14 March 1879–18 April 1955) explained the anomalous precession of Mercury's perihelion in his 1916 paper The Foundation of the General Theory of Relativity. This led astronomers to recognize that Newtonian mechanics did not provide the highest accuracy. Binary pulsars have been observed, the first in 1974, whose orbits not only require the use of General Relativity for their explanation, but whose evolution proves the existence of gravitational radiation, a discovery that led to the 1993 Nobel Physics Prize. Examples of problems \|This section does not cite any references or sources. (April 2011)\| Celestial motion without additional forces such as thrust of a rocket, is governed by gravitational acceleration of masses due to other masses. A simplification is the n-body problem, where the problem assumes some number n of spherically symmetric masses. In that case, the integration of the accelerations can be well approximated by relatively simple summations. In the case that n=2 (two-body problem), the situation is much simpler than for larger n. Various explicit formulas apply, where in the more general case typically only numerical solutions are possible. It is a useful simplification that is often approximately valid. A further simplification is based on the "standard assumptions in astrodynamics", which include that one body, the orbiting body, is much smaller than the other, the central body. This is also often approximately valid. Either instead of, or on top of the previous simplification, we may assume circular orbits, making distance and orbital speeds, and potential and kinetic energies constant in time. This assumption sacrifices accuracy for simplicity, especially for high eccentricity orbits which are by definition non-circular. Perturbation theory comprises mathematical methods that are used to find an approximate solution to a problem which cannot be solved exactly. (It is closely related to methods used in numerical analysis, which are ancient.) The earliest use of perturbation theory was to deal with the otherwise unsolveable mathematical problems of celestial mechanics: Newton's solution for the orbit of the Moon, which moves noticeably differently from a simple Keplerian ellipse because of the competing gravitation of the Earth and the Sun. Perturbation methods start with a simplified form of the original problem, which is carefully chosen to be exactly solvable. In celestial mechanics, this is usually a Keplerian ellipse, which is correct when there are only two gravitating bodies (say, the Earth and the Moon), or a circular orbit, which is only correct in special cases of two-body motion, but is often close enough for practical use. The solved, but simplified problem is then "perturbed" to make its starting conditions closer to the real problem, such as including the gravitational attraction of a third body (the Sun). The slight changes that result, which themselves may have been simplified yet again, are used as corrections. Because of simplifications introduced along every step of the way, the corrections are never perfect, but even one cycle of corrections often provides a remarkably better approximate solution to the real problem. There is no requirement to stop at only one cycle of corrections. A partially corrected solution can be re-used as the new starting point for yet another cycle of perturbations and corrections. The common difficulty with the method is that usually the corrections progressively make the new solutions very much more complicated, so each cycle is much more difficult to manage than the previous cycle of corrections. Newton is reported to have said, regarding the problem of the Moon's orbit "It causeth my head to ache." This general procedure – starting with a simplified problem and gradually adding corrections that make the starting point of the corrected problem closer to the real situation – is a widely used mathematical tool in advanced sciences and engineering. It is the natural extension of the "guess, check, and fix" method used anciently with numbers. - Astrometry is a part of astronomy that deals with measuring the positions of stars and other celestial bodies, their distances and movements. - Astrodynamics is the study and creation of orbits, especially those of artificial satellites. - Celestial navigation is a position fixing technique that was the first system devised to help sailors locate themselves on a featureless ocean. - Dynamics of the celestial spheres concerns pre-Newtonian explanations of the causes of the motions of the stars and planets. - Numerical analysis is a branch of mathematics, pioneered by celestial mechanicians, for calculating approximate numerical answers (such as the position of a planet in the sky) which are too difficult to solve down to a general, exact formula. - Creating a numerical model of the solar system was the original goal of celestial mechanics, and has only been imperfectly achieved. It continues to motivate research. - An orbit is the path that an object makes, around another object, whilst under the influence of a source of centripetal force, such as gravity. - Orbital elements are the parameters needed to specify a Newtonian two-body orbit uniquely. - Osculating orbit is the temporary Keplerian orbit about a central body that an object would continue on, if other perturbations were not present. - Retrograde motion - Satellite is an object that orbits another object (known as its primary). The term is often used to describe an artificial satellite (as opposed to natural satellites, or moons). The common noun moon (not capitalized) is used to mean any natural satellite of the other planets. - Tidal force - The Jet Propulsion Laboratory Developmental Ephemeris (JPL DE) is a widely used model of the solar system, which combines celestial mechanics with numerical analysis and astronomical and spacecraft data. - Two solutions, called VSOP82 and VSOP87 are versions one mathematical theory for the orbits and positions of the major planets, which seeks to provide accurate positions over an extended period of time. - Lunar theory attempts to account for the motions of the Moon. - Asger Aaboe, Episodes from the Early History of Astronomy, 2001, Springer-Verlag, ISBN 0-387-95136-9 - Forest R. Moulton, Introduction to Celestial Mechanics, 1984, Dover, ISBN 0-486-64687-4 - John E.Prussing, Bruce A.Conway, Orbital Mechanics, 1993, Oxford Univ.Press - William M. Smart, Celestial Mechanics, 1961, John Wiley. - J. M. A. Danby, Fundamentals of Celestial Mechanics, 1992, Willmann-Bell - Alessandra Celletti, Ettore Perozzi, Celestial Mechanics: The Waltz of the Planets, 2007, Springer-Praxis, ISBN 0-387-30777-X. - Michael Efroimsky. 2005. Gauge Freedom in Orbital Mechanics. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, Vol. 1065, pp. 346-374 - Alessandra Celletti, Stability and Chaos in Celestial Mechanics. Springer-Praxis 2010, XVI, 264 p., Hardcover ISBN 978-3-540-85145-5 - Calvert, James B. (2003-03-28), Celestial Mechanics, University of Denver, retrieved 2006-08-21 - Astronomy of the Earth's Motion in Space, high-school level educational web site by David P. Stern - Newtonian Dynamics Undergraduate level course by Richard Fitzpatrick. This includes Langrangian and Hamiltonian Dynamics and applications to celestial mechanics, gravitational potential theory, the 3-body problem and Lunar motion (an example of the 3-body problem with the Sun, Moon, and the Earth).	55,011
During the last couple of years, the business world has seen many changes in the way it operates. As a result, many firms and companies have developed many interesting workplace architecture trends that are changing the concept of what we knew as an office. However, these changes don’t happen overnight, and without any reason or thought behind it, but the opposite. Such changes have created a new and more effective workplace environment altogether. To begin with, we have said goodbye to our beloved cubicles, but welcomed more interaction and creativity. Also, our workspaces allow us to collaborate and share ideas. Another interesting and quite necessary change we have seen is the relevance of proper lighting within closed spaces. These changes in workplace architecture have also provided companies with the opportunity to get more creative when it comes to interior design. Thanks to this, seeing quirky, unusual, off-the-wall interiors have become the norm, especially with young start-ups and new companies. No More Cubicles One of the most interesting changes in workplace architecture is how companies are saying goodbye to the cubicle idea. This is because, now more than ever, work teams have modified their dynamics, and isolating staff members only hinders creativity. Companies nowadays want to stimulate creativity and motivate workers to collaborate and interact. Therefore, designing spaces that allow workers to interact and work together instead of by themselves has become the new standard. Collaborative Space is Key Work teams and companies appreciate spaces that allow them to collaborate and work together. As we mentioned above, the idea of cubicles is outdated and not really welcome anymore. Thus, employers must find ways to create spaces that enables their employees to come together, solve problems, discuss new ideas. The new trends of workplace architecture incorporate such ideas and apply them successfully. Pay Attention to Lighting Nothing can drain an employee as those bright, white, never changing fluorescent lamps we all have had to bear with. Several studies have found that working under this type of lamps can have a negative impact on workers’ health. Such include migraines, eye strain, problems sleeping, depression, anxiety, even an increased rate of breast cancer. Many companies and business owners are finally paying attention to the issue and opting for other sources of light instead. However, thanks to workplace architecture, lighting that mimics sunlight and changes according to time of the day are as popular as ever. This is in order to provide employees with more comfortable, and healthier, indoor conditions. There are many workplace architecture trends that are revolutionizing the concept of an office as we knew it. Many office buildings are actively opting for innovative, creative, and quirky choices when it comes to interior design. Whether they opt for eclectic themes or eccentric décor, companies recognize the value of such environments. Actually, many high-performance businesses are including sleeping areas on which employees can take a nap. Such choices are having a positive impact in both worker’s performance and satisfaction altogether. Consequently, these workplace architecture trends will continue to raise in popularity in years to come.	304,940
A coalition of doctors, environmental groups and First Nations leaders gathered in Montreal Thursday to publicly urge Quebec’s new premier to maintain the moratorium on uranium mining until the risks and impacts of these mines on surrounding communities have been thoroughly studied. The province’s environmental watchdog, the Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement (BAPE), announced Tuesday it will begin a year-long study of the uranium mining issue starting later this month. That process, lead by former environmental journalist Louis-Gilles Francoeur, will be carried out in three phases: pre-consultation hearings to determine public concerns from May 20 to June 23, an information phase this fall where the committee will consult experts, and an official public hearing phase next fall and winter where interested parties can present written briefs or speak directly to the commissioners. Uranium is a naturally occurring radioactive element that is present in many areas of Quebec, including northern Quebec, Temiscaming, the Laurentians, Gatineau, Shawinigan, Sept-Îles and the North Shore. There are no active uranium mines in Quebec — in fact, across the country, the only active mines are in northern Saskatchewan — but mining companies are interested in Quebec’s uranium resources. Strateco, based in Boucherville, has been waiting for years for a certificate of authorization from Quebec’s environment department to begin exploration work at its Matoush site in the Otish Mountains, about 275 kilometres north of Chibougamau. The Matoush Project is the most advanced of about 20 proposed uranium mining projects in northern Quebec which were part of former Liberal premier Jean Charest’s plan to develop the north. But in 2013, the Parti Québécois government called for a moratorium on uranium mining until the BAPE completes a study of environmental impacts and social acceptability. John Longchamp, executive director of the Cree Nation of Mistissini, attended the news conference in Montreal to remind Liberal Premier Philippe Couillard of his community’s clear opposition to that project. “Our territory, in and around the Otish mountains, is considered a major hot spot for uranium exploration,” he said. “Our community is ground zero for the environmental, health and social risks that uranium presents. The position of the Cree nation of Mistissini is clear: there will be no uranium mining on our territory. We have a vision for the responsible development of the resources of our traditional land and uranium has no place in that vision.” He expressed outrage over plans by the BAPE to hold pre-consultation hearings in only one community in the James Bay territory (Chibougamau). The BAPE has said other locations may be announced. Ghislain Picard, chief of the Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador, was also in Montreal to remind the government that the AFNQL adopted a resolution against uranium mining and exploration on their territories in March 2013. Éric Notebaert, a member of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, said a study released last month by Quebec’s public health department is “not at all reassuring, and confirms the numerous risks to environment and to human health, notably cancer risks, risks of toxic and radioactive contamination, as well as psychological and social impacts.” Isabelle Gingras, one of 20 doctors who in 2009 told the government they would leave the Sept-Îles region if a proposed uranium mine was allowed to open there, also came to Montreal to urge a moratorium and more study. “The Institut National de santé publique du Québec study showed significant gaps in knowledge concerning the incidence of certain diseases and genetic malformations, as well as risks related to technological accidents and management of mine residues over the long term. The precautionary principle must be applied when it comes to uranium mines,” she said. Michel Duguay of Université Laval noted that uranium is no longer necessary for producing radioactive isotopes used to diagnose and treat cancer, since these isotopes can be produced using particle accelerators called cyclotrons. “The idea that nuclear reactors are necessary for the production of medical isotopes does not hold water,” he said. “Very soon, in all big Canadian cities, there will be at least one hospital with a cyclotron in the basement that makes medical isotopes.” The BAPE will hold pre-consultation hearings in Montreal at the Hotel Delta, 475 President Kennedy Ave. on May 20 at 7 p.m. and on May 21 at 1:30 p.m. and at 7 p.m.	278,440
REFERENDUM NOT ABOUT UNIFICATION VERSUS INDEPENDENCE: NSC OFFICIAL Singapore, Jan. 14 (CNA) Taiwan's proposed referendum is purely a "peaceful" referendum and a manifestation of the Taiwan people's will, and has nothing to do with the unification versus independence issue, a senior National Security Council (NSC) official said in Singapore Wednesday. Antonio Chiang, deputy secretary-general of the NSC, made the remarks while explaining the Taiwan government's referendum plan to more than 50 local Chinese and Taiwanese leaders gathered at a dinner organized by the Singapore branch of the Global Alliance for Democracy and Peace. Chiang, at the head of a three-member delegation aimed at explaining President Chen Shui-bian's proposed referendum that has prompted criticism from various major powers around the world, arrived in Singapore from Kuala Lumpur Wednesday. Addressing the gathering, Chiang said that Taiwan's proposed referendum is a "peaceful referendum" aimed at defending cross-strait security and lasting peace for the people of Taiwan. Indicating that Taiwan's "peaceful referendum" has nothing to do with the unification versus independence issue and that it does not contradict the "four-nos commitment" made by President Chen during his inauguration speech in 2002, Chiang also said that the right to referendum is a fundamental human right that the Taiwan people deserve. Taiwan does not need to declare independence as it has always been a sovereign and independent state, Chiang said. He pointed out that Chen's administration has spared no efforts in maintaining Taiwan's status quo, adding that it is mainland China which has continuously attempted to change the status quo by trying to force Taiwan to accept the "one country, two systems" formula. Noting that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait should start a peaceful competition in their institutions and systems, the deputy secretary-general said that both sides should also strengthen communication with one another in order to narrow the gap between them and to offer a choice for their people in the future. Pointing out that the notions of democratization and maintaining the status quo are mainstream among the Taiwan people, Chiang said that freedom and democracy are also goals of the people across the Taiwan Strait. In the longterm, Chiang said, regardless of who becomes the next president of Taiwan, Taipei and Beijing are expected to hold talks since the people of Taiwan and mainland China have the same goal in seeking freedom and democracy. Besides meeting with leaders of the local Chinese and Taiwanese communities, Chiang and other members of the delegation also met with leading members of the Singaporean media Wednesday to explain Taiwan's referendum plan. (By Sherman Wu and P.C. Tang) \|Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list\|	145,440
\|On the eve of Sri Ramana On the eve of Sri Ramana Jayanti an offering at the Lotus Feet of Bhagawan Sri Ramana Maharshi In an inseparable bliss did Sri Ramana live. Spotless was His self-knowledge, Calm did He repose on the Will Unchanged He remained in His timeless purity, He held no traffic with error and its rule; He was a guardian of the silence of the Truth. A deep surrender was the source of His might, A still identity was His way to know, Motionless was His action like a sleep. Deathless, watching the works of Chance, Motionless, seeing the millenniums pass, Untouched while the long map of Fate unrolls, He looked upon our struggle with impartial eyes. His position of unshakable Strength Motionlessly upholds the world's huge task, Its ignorance is by His knowledge lit, Its yearning lasts by His indifference. His aloofness drives us to surpass ourselves. Silently assenting in the wisdom that made hell Silently assenting in the harsh utility of tears, Silently assenting in the gradual steps of Time, Careless He seemed of our grief. Awake to a motion of all-seeing Force, The slow outcome of the long years And the unexpected good from sinful deeds, He looked upon hidden powers, He knew the law and natural line of things. He made no haste to untie the world's knot Or to reconcile our torn heart. In Time he waited for the Eternal's hour. Yet His spiritual secret aid is Here and Now; While a slow Evolution's coils unwind His divine intervention thrones above. Alive in a dead rotating universe Even through the tangle of fate And through the bitterness of many falls, His outstretched Hand is felt upon our lives. It has been near us in unnumbered bodies and births; In its unslackening grasp it has been keeping us safe. Aum Namo Bhagawate Sri Arunachala Ramanaya Yours in Sri Bhagawan	310,240
Overview of 154K 630VDC Metal Film Capacitor: Metal Film Capacitor are non-inductively wound or stacked with metallized polypropylene film as dielectric/electrod with copper-clad steel leads and epoxy resin coating. Features Of 54K 630VDC Metal Film Capacitor: - Low dissipation factor high insulation resistance. - High stability of capacitance and DF versus temperature and frequency. - Low loss at high frequency/Small inherent temperature rise. Applications of 54K 630VDC Metal Film Capacitor: - Widely used in high frequency ,DC ,AC and pulse circuits. - Suitable for the situation where applies high frequency and high current pulse. - Large-screen displays and TV S correct circuit design - Electronic devices, differential motor, electric tools, lighting,air conditioner, refrigerator,washing machine and household appliances and power system. Specifications of 54K 630VDC Metal Film Capacitor:Rated Voltage: 630VDC Operation Temperature Range: -40°C - +85 °C Capacitance Range 0.001 μF – 3.3 μF Capacitance Tolerance Range J( ±5%) K( ±10%) Dielectric Polypropylene Film Dissipation Factor Tan δ C≤1µF ≤0.1% (10KHZ) - 1 x 154K 630VDC Metal Film Capacitor	288,940
Effect of transmission intensity and age on subclass antibody responses to Plasmodium falciparum pre-erythrocytic and blood-stage antigens Department of Pediatrics, Division of Immunology and Infectious Diseases; Program in Molecular Medicine Immunology and Infectious Disease \| Immunology of Infectious Disease \| Infectious Disease \| Parasitic Diseases \| Parasitology \| Pediatrics Cytophilic immunoglobulin (IgG) subclass responses (IgG1 and IgG3) to Plasmodium falciparum antigens have been associated with protection from malaria, yet the relative importance of transmission intensity and age in generation of subclass responses to pre-erythrocytic and blood-stage antigens have not been clearly defined. We analyzed IgG subclass responses to the pre-erythrocytic antigens CSP, LSA-1, and TRAP and the blood-stage antigens AMA-1, EBA-175, and MSP-1 in asymptomatic residents age 2 years or older in stable (n=116) and unstable (n=96) transmission areas in Western Kenya. In the area of stable malaria transmission, a high prevalence of cytophilic (IgG1 and IgG3) antibodies to each antigen was seen in all age groups. Prevalence and levels of cytophilic antibodies to pre-erythrocytic and blood-stage P. falciparum antigens increased with age in the unstable transmission area, yet IgG1 and IgG3 responses to most antigens for all ages in the unstable transmission area were less prevalent and lower in magnitude than even the youngest age group from the stable transmission area. The dominance of cytophilic responses over non-cytophilic (IgG2 and IgG4) was more pronounced in the stable transmission area, and the ratio of IgG3 over IgG1 generally increased with age. In the unstable transmission area, the ratio of cytophilic to non-cytophilic antibodies did not increase with age, and tended to be IgG3-biased for pre-erythrocytic antigens yet IgG1-biased for blood-stage antigens. The differences between areas could not be attributed to active parasitemia status, as there were minimal differences in antibody responses between those positive and negative for Plasmodium infection by microscopy in the stable transmission area. Individuals in areas of unstable transmission have low cytophilic to non-cytophilic IgG subclass ratios and low IgG3:IgG1 ratios to P. falciparum antigens. These imbalances could contribute to the persistent risk of clinical malaria in these areas and serve as population-level, age-specific biomarkers of transmission. Rights and Permissions Citation: Acta Trop. 2015 Feb;142:47-56. doi: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2014.10.011. Epub 2014 Oct 24. Link to article on publisher's site Noland, Gregory S.; Jansen, Paul; Vulule, John M.; Park, Gregory S.; Ondigo, Bartholomew N.; Kazura, James W.; Moormann, Ann M.; and John, Chandy C., "Effect of transmission intensity and age on subclass antibody responses to Plasmodium falciparum pre-erythrocytic and blood-stage antigens" (2015). University of Massachusetts Medical School Faculty Publications. 640.	197,569
Jerusalem - Potentially Groundbreaking ALS Research Benefits Ailing Rosh Yeshiva Jerusalem - A clinical trial currently underway in Jerusalem may offer a glimmer of hope to patients suffering from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or ALS, an incurable, fatal, neurological ailment whose victims suffer from a progressive inability to control the muscles needed for movement, speech, eating and breathing. A group of twenty four patients are taking part in the trial, which is taking place at Jerusalem’s Hadassah Medical Center. Using an experimental treatment developed by a Petach Tikvah based biotechnology company called BrainStorm, stem cells taken from the patient’s bone marrow are grown and strengthened in a laboratory setting before being reinserted into the patient’s spinal cord. While the clinical trial is in its earliest stages and is only designed to test the safety and tolerability of the treatments, not its effectiveness, the results have been promising, with patients once confined to wheelchairs regaining the ability to walk on their own. Footage released by Israel’s Channel 2 News shows incredible progress by Rabbi Rafael Shmuelevitz, Rosh Yeshiva of the Mir, who suffers from both ALS and Myasthenia Gravis and as a result was both wheelchair bound and unable to speak clearly. Diagnosed just four months ago by doctors at Minnesota’s Mayo Clinic and told that his life expectancy was just two to four years, Rabbi Shmuelevitz was deemed by BrainStorm to be a “compassionate case” and began receiving a form of the experimental treatments just one month ago. Video footage shows Rabbi Shmuelevitz walking the halls in Hadassah Hospital and speaking intelligibly with doctors and reporters. While BrainStorm representatives were quick to point out that Rabbi Shmuelevitz is not a typical ALS patient and no conclusions can be drawn based on his improvements, Professor Dmitrios Karussis, head of both Hadassah’s Multiple Sclerosis Center and the clinical trial, told Channel 2 News that Rabbi Shmuelevitz’s response to the treatment exceeded his expectations and that he believes that they are in the early stages of a potential breakthrough in the treatment of ALS. As the clinical trials continue in Israel, plans are underway for a similar trial to take place in the United States. “We are hoping to begin a Phase II clinical trial with ALS patients in the Boston area towards the end of 2012,” Cheryl Singer of BrainStorm told VIN News. “For this trial, it is likely that a larger number of patients will be recruited. We are currently awaiting FDA approval to go ahead with this study.” Currently, the only known effective treatment for ALS is the drug Riluzole which improves patient survival rates by just a few months and does nothing to reverse the degenerative damage to the motor neurons caused by the disease. More of today's headlines“Amsterdam - Dutch Jewish author Berthe Meijer, whose life intersected with Anne Frank's, has died. She was 74. Her husband, Gary Goldschneider, said Wednesday that...” Amsterdam - Dutch Holocaust Survivor, Author Meijer Dies “Jerusalem - MK Yohanan Plesner (Kadima) walked out on talks with Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Ya’alon about a universal service bill on Wednesday, when the two...” Jerusalem - Plesner Walks Out On Ya'alon; Tal Law Talks Breakdown	274,179
Marion Belanger's Landfill was a photographic installation that consisted of three photographs printed on silk, suspended in trees. It premiered at the Feet to the Fire Festival in 2008 and was also a featured work in the Zilkha Gallery’s exhibition, Global Warning. Landfill was commissioned by Wesleyan University's Center for the Arts and Environmental Studies Program for the Feet to the Fire Festival 2008, as part of Feet to the Fire: Exploring Global Climate Change from Science to Art. "Grass blankets the mound of earth that holds the waste and refuse of a city. At first glance the fresh green of spring growth appears to mask any vestige of what lies beneath the surface of the ground. But upon closer inspection, unnatural textures and colors, fragments of plastic, and pieces of material culture are seen, as if woven into the land." - Marion Belanger on Landfill	4,910

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