it had 14, 703 inhabitants, but in 1848, chicopee broke off and formed its own town, dropping springfield under the limit. by 1852, springfield had more than 20, 000 people and became a city on may 25. the year before, massachusetts mutual life insurance co. had been founded. its president, caleb rice became the first mayor of springfield. the 1853 city directory contains 50 pages on businesses and manufacturing firms doing business in the city. there were chemical companies, drug wholesalers, dye houses, millinery shops, and a number of large machine shops that made castings and forgings for steam engines and locomotives. there was the bemis & call co. where the monkey wrench was invented and six ads for blacksmith operations. there were boot manufactures, pump manufacturers, soap and candle makers, coffin makers, bakers, grist mills, cabinet makers, planing mills, stove shops and carriage makers and confectioners. the diversity of springfield businesses have kept it from being a company town, although the huge influence of the armory, especially during time of war was an economic engine of enormous proportions. when the civil war broke out in 1861, springfield became a boom town. the fall of harpers ’ ferry in virginia left the springfield armory as the sole federal arsenal. workers poured into the city and soon every boarding house and spare room in town was rented. production was doubled and tripled within the first months of the war. during the early stages of the war it was announced that harpers ’ ferry production would be replaced by the construction of an armory at rock island, ill. it never approached springfield ’ s magnitude during the civil war, but in 1965, when the unthinkable happened, and the armory was closed, its operations were moved to rock island. over the years springfield has seen companies come and go. the city that was the birthplace of the automobile in america with the duryea in 1895 and became home to knox, duryea, stevens - duryea, atlas, rolls royce and indian motocycles, eventually they all closed. there were also thousands of jobs at american bosch, van norman, westinghouse, u. s. envelope, barney & berry skates, monarch life insurance, meekins, packard and wheat, forbers & wallace and steigers, to name a few. some have been replaced by new industries and technologies, others have just disappeared. but the city is still the hub of western massachusetts and has weathered disappointments and recessions before


the amount of data in our world has been exploding, and analyzing large data sets — so - called big data — will become a key basis of competition, underpinning new waves of productivity growth, innovation, and consumer surplus, according to research by mgi and mckinsey ' s business technology office. leaders in every sector will have to grapple with the implications of big data, not just a few data - oriented managers. the increasing volume and detail of information captured by enterprises, the rise of multimedia, social media, and the internet of things will fuel exponential growth in data for the foreseeable future. research by mgi and mckinsey ' s business technology office examines the state of digital data and documents the significant value that can potentially be unlocked. mgi studied big data in five domains — healthcare in the united states, the public sector in europe, retail in the united states, and manufacturing and personal - location data globally. big data can generate value in each. for example, a retailer using big data to the full could increase its operating margin by more than 60 percent. harnessing big data in the public sector has enormous potential, too. if us healthcare were to use big data creatively and effectively to drive efficiency and quality, the sector could create more than $ 300 billion in value every year. two - thirds of that would be in the form of reducing us healthcare expenditure by about 8 percent. in the developed economies of europe, government administrators could save more than €100 billion ( $ 149 billion ) in operational efficiency improvements alone by using big data, not including using big data to reduce fraud and errors and boost the collection of tax revenues. and users of services enabled by personal - location data could capture $ 600 billion in consumer surplus. the research offers seven key insights. 1. data have swept into every industry and business function and are now an important factor of production, alongside labor and capital. we estimate that, by 2009, nearly all sectors in the us economy had at least an average of 200 terabytes of stored data ( twice the size of us retailer wal - mart ' s data warehouse in 1999 ) per company with more than 1, 000 employees. 2. there are five broad ways in which using big data can create value. first, big data can unlock significant value by making information transparent and usable at much higher frequency. second, as organizations create and store more transactional data in digital form, they can collect more accurate and detailed performance information on everything from product inventories to sick days, and therefore expose


significant value by making information transparent and usable at much higher frequency. second, as organizations create and store more transactional data in digital form, they can collect more accurate and detailed performance information on everything from product inventories to sick days, and therefore expose variability and boost performance. leading companies are using data collection and analysis to conduct controlled experiments to make better management decisions ; others are using data for basic low - frequency forecasting to high - frequency nowcasting to adjust their business levers just in time. third, big data allows ever - narrower segmentation of customers and therefore much more precisely tailored products or services. fourth, sophisticated analytics can substantially improve decision - making. finally, big data can be used to improve the development of the next generation of products and services. for instance, manufacturers are using data obtained from sensors embedded in products to create innovative after - sales service offerings such as proactive maintenance ( preventive measures that take place before a failure occurs or is even noticed ). distilling value and driving productivity from mountains of data michael chui discusses how the scale and scope of companies ' access to data is changing the way they do business. 3. the use of big data will become a key basis of competition and growth for individual firms. from the standpoint of competitiveness and the potential capture of value, all companies need to take big data seriously. in most industries, established competitors and new entrants alike will leverage data - driven strategies to innovate, compete, and capture value from deep and up - to - real - time information. indeed, we found early examples of such use of data in every sector we examined. 4. the use of big data will underpin new waves of productivity growth and consumer surplus. for example, we estimate that a retailer using big data to the full has the potential to increase its operating margin by more than 60 percent. big data offers considerable benefits to consumers as well as to companies and organizations. for instance, services enabled by personal - location data can allow consumers to capture $ 600 billion in economic surplus. 5. while the use of big data will matter across sectors, some sectors are set for greater gains. we compared the historical productivity of sectors in the united states with the potential of these sectors to capture value from big data ( using an index that combines several quantitative metrics ), and found that the opportunities and challenges vary from sector to sector. the computer and electronic products and information sectors, as well as finance and insurance, and government are poised to gain substantially from the use of big


a bill that has to do with water - related issues is going through the kansas legislature. numbered sb 43, it is being introduced by the joint committee on energy and environmental policy. it has to do with bank stabilizations and sediment issues. the bill states " the kansas water office shall prepare a comprehensive plan to increase water storage in kansas reservoirs through dredging that will begin with john redmond reservoir. " it will employ stream bank stabilization and other methods to reduce sedimentation in watersheds above water supply reservoirs and also assure future water storage in kansas reservoirs ; and finance each improvement project. " john redmond has lost nearly 40 percent of its original capacity to sedimentation and today, only 43 percent of the remaining capacity contains water, " susan metzge of the kansas water office testified during committee hearings. " as a result, we currently have access to only 25 percent of the reservoir ’ s storage potential. while john redmond is our current highest priority for storage restoration, it only serves as an example of the condition of many of our state ’ s water supply reservoirs. the kansas water office, in partnership with other local, state and federal stakeholders, is actively developing plans and implementing measures to address this issue. " with the amount of rainfall we have been getting the last couple years this would be something you might want to take advantage of if you are thinking about digging the sediment out of your dry pond. the kansas water office will submit the plan to the kansas legislature on or before dec. 1, 2013. full text of the bill, and metzger ' s testimony, is online at http : / / www. kwo. org / news _ government / news _ government. htm. there is a list of bills at that website pertaining to water issues. — ryan flaming is a kansas state research and extension agent for harvey county. agriculture is his specialty.


liver disease ( cont. ) benjamin wedro, md, facep, faaem benjamin wedro, md, facep, faaem dr. ben wedro practices emergency medicine at gundersen clinic, a regional trauma center in la crosse, wisconsin. his background includes undergraduate and medical studies at the university of alberta, a family practice internship at queen ' s university in kingston, ontario and residency training in emergency medicine at the university of oklahoma health sciences center. bhupinder anand, md in this article when to seek medical care for liver disease often, the onset of a liver disease is gradual and there is no specific symptom that brings the affected individual to seek medical care. fatigue, weakness and weight loss that cannot be explained should prompt a visit for medical evaluation. jaundice or yellow skin is never normal and should prompt an evaluation by a medical professional. persisting fever, vomiting, and abdominal pain should also prompt medical evaluation as soon as possible. acetaminophen or tylenol overdose, whether accidental or intentional, can cause acute liver failure. emergent evaluation and treatment is required. antidotes to protect the liver can be provided, but are effective only when used within a few hours. without this intervention, acetaminophen overdose can lead to liver failure and the need for liver transplant. how is liver disease diagnosed? the precise diagnosis of liver disease involves a history and physical examination performed by the health care professional. understanding the symptoms and the patient ' s risk factors for liver disease will help guide any diagnostic tests that may be considered. sometimes history is difficult, especially in patients who abuse alcohol. these patients tend to minimize their consumption, and it is often family members who are able to provide the correct information. liver disease can have physical findings that affect almost all body systems including the heart, lungs, abdomen, skin, brain and cognitive function, and other parts of the nervous system. the physical examination often requires evaluation of the entire body. blood tests are helpful in assessing liver inflammation and function. specific liver function blood tests include : other blood tests may be considered, including the following : imaging studies may be used to visualize, not only the liver, but other nearby organs that may be diseased. examples of imaging studies include : liver biopsy may be considered to confirm a specific diagnosis of liver disease. under local anesthetic, a long thin needle is inserted through the chest wall into the liver, where a small sample of liver tissue is obtained for examination under a microscope. reviewed by


why do tomatoes change color as they ripen? tomatoes contain two pigments for photosynthesis — chlorophyll, which is green, and lycopene, which is red. when tomatoes start to grow, they contain much less lycopene than chlorophyll, which gives them their green color. but when harvest season arrives, the days shorten and temperatures drop, causing chlorophyll to dissolve and lycopene to take over the shade of the fruit. during this time, sugar levels rise, acid levels drop, and the tomato softens. it becomes ready to eat. the trick is that this final stage of a tomato ’ s life takes place in a relatively short period of time — and that poses a big problem for farmers trying to get ripe produce to grocery stores before it rots. most farmers begin picking tomatoes while they ’ re still green on the vine, and then they treat them with a ripening agent called ethylene gas to induce the red color. far from being a synthetic compound, ethylene gas is produced naturally by other fruits and vegetables as they ripen. in fact, bananas release ethylene gas directly into the air. if you place a ripe banana next to a green tomato, the tomato will ripen, too.


address complex natural resource and climate change adaptation issues, with a focus on increasing resiliency in the face of drought and other external shocks. poverty is widespread. frequent drought, unpredictable harvests and sporadic conflicts put families and rural traditions at risk. millions are still in urgent need of assistance after the worst drought the region has seen for 60 years. - emergency response : treating malnourished children with mobile health units, distributing water, vaccinating livestock, and providing work rebuilding community assets - agriculture & food : improving crop yields and income generation of pastoral and farming households - water : building reservoirs and improving wells in drought - prone communities - women & gender : providing scholarships for girls to continue in secondary school and vocational training to their mothers to generate more income - conflict & governance : increasing good governance and mitigating inter - ethnic conflict in three volatile regions all stories about ethiopia ethiopia : meeting drought - stricken families ' urgent needs in ethiopia july 13, 2011 even before the current horn of africa drought reached its acute stage over the last several days, mercy corps was already hard at work on drought response activities throughout the region. so far, the majority of our drought - related activities have been in ethiopia. ethiopia, somalia, kenya : food crisis hits horn of africa july 6, 2011 ethiopia : tackling water poverty june 29, 2011 the lack of water accounts for enormous challenges for impoverished villages and families in ethiopia. mercy corps is working with communities to ensure sustainable clean water for thousands of people. ethiopia : ethiopia : and the beat goes on february 25, 2011 ethiopia : learning how to run a business january 25, 2011 thirty - year - old felekech indriss lives far out in the countryside in a village called fuchucha, within the konso region of ethiopia, too far from any school where she can be educated. ethiopia : saving and succeeding january 23, 2011 within mercy corps ' prosper program, the savings and credit cooperative project brings much confidence to women in the konso district of ethiopia. once a woman has saved a small amount of money, she is able to join the savings co - op and become eligible to apply for small business loans. ethiopia : reading, finally january 22, 2011 they sit in the shade and practice writing for one hour each day, for five days a week. this is usually done in the morning, well before their daily chores begin. while they do this, their older children take care of the younger ones in order to support their mother ' s education. ethiopia : helping ethiopian mothers protect


in the roman catholic church, the assembly of cardinals gathered to elect a new pope and the system of strict seclusion to which they submit. from 1059 the election became the responsibility of the cardinals. when, after the death of clement iv ( 1268 ), the cardinals dithered for more than two years, the local magistrate locked them in the episcopal palace and fed them only bread and water until they elected gregory x. the system of meeting in closed conclave was codified in 1904 by pius x. voting is by secret ballot ; one ballot is held on the first afternoon of the conclave and four on each subsequent day, two in the morning and two in the afternoon, until a new pope is chosen. in 1996 john paul ii declared that, after 30 ballots, the traditional requirement of a two - thirds majority plus one for the election of a pope could be superseded, at the discretion of the cardinals, by election by a simple majority. ballots are burned in a stove after each vote, and the smoke produced by their burning, which issues from a special pipe through a window, indicates to the crowd assembled in st. peter ' s square whether a new pope has been elected : if there is a new pope, the smoke will be white ; if no majority has yet been reached, the smoke will be black. in addition, bells will be rung to confirm the signal. additives are mixed with the ballots to ensure the proper colour of the smoke.


metaphysics - the study of the true nature of reality. metaphysics has evolved over the centuries as human consciousness has developed to include science and spiritual awareness as tools to explore and observe the true nature of reality. reality, or physical reality, includes everything we experience. thoughts, ideas, emotions, perceptions, even what we call dreams and hallucinations, life and death ; all are included in this experience that we call " reality ". science attempts to separate, categorize, quantify, and objectify physical experience, labeling certain aspects as " real " and others as " not real ". metaphysics includes science, and goes beyond it to encompass all aspects and dimensions of life experience as " real ". religion attempts to separate the physical from the non - physical, or spiritual, aspects of life experience, rejecting the physical and calling it " bad " or " evil " while embracing the spiritual and calling that " good " or even " god ". metaphysics goes beyond religions, recognizing that the physical and non - physical are one and not separate, neither good nor bad, and that everything is in fact what we might call " god ". at this point in our conscious evolution, metaphysics has taken its place as the most comprehensive and most effective means of gaining knowledge and understanding or who we really are, why we are here, and the true nature of the physical universe that we can perceive from our present point of view. while science helps us perceive and understand the qualities of various aspects of physical existence, and religion and spirituality can help us integrate what we call non - physical experience into our lives, it is only through metaphysical studies that the " big picture " can be seen and applied. the impact of gaining knowledge of the big picture and learning how to manipulate and affect our world at that level will lead to unimaginable developments in our technologies, social systems, health and well being, and our relationships to our planet and the universe. to ignore metaphysics is to ignore the potential of our future ; to embrace it is to embrace everything that life has to offer. so how can you study metaphysics? i have found the only reliable method is to access truth from the heart. by the heart i mean that zero point in the heart that connects us to source, all that is, god, or whatever you want to call it. once you access this point, you will find your level of awareness expands in a way that permits your conscious mind to perceive physical reality more accurately and effectively. you will then find that the words you


, god, or whatever you want to call it. once you access this point, you will find your level of awareness expands in a way that permits your conscious mind to perceive physical reality more accurately and effectively. you will then find that the words you read, hear and experience coming from " others " are in fact mirrors reflecting back to you the truth you perceived from the heart. this is true knowledge and it will replace belief as your main mode of conscious functioning. learn how to access the heart and continue your studies by exploring the links below. ~ ~ spirituality : how everything is connected. many aspects of the physical world were once beyond the range of human perception. spirituality is the exploration of those aspects of human experience that are still considered " non - physical " only because our technology cannot as yet measure or detect them. ultimately, as science continues to explore spirituality, it discovers that everything is in fact connected. ~ ~ famous scientists and philosophers. these famous scientists and thinkers have devoted a great deal of their lives and energy to the advancement of metaphysical knowledge and ideas. most have made valuable contributions and advancements in areas that contribute directly to the quality of everyday human life. ~ ~ cosmology and the mayan calendar - 2012. today, scientists know that there are powerful electromagnetic fields emanating from the earth, the sun, the center of the galaxy, and even our own hearts. these electromagnetic fields affect and interact with each other. but what is most relevant to the mayan calendar and 2012 is the impact that these cycles, both large and small, have upon life on earth. featured video : metaphysics for life lesson 102 - how it really works.


james mcneill whistler ( american, 1834 – 1903 ) charcoal and pastel on dark brown wove paper 11 3 / 4 x 7 1 / 4 in. ( 29. 8 x 18. 4 cm ) harris brisbane dick fund, 1917 ( 17. 97. 5 ) whistler went to venice in the fall of 1879 with a commission to make etchings for the fine art society of london and, thereby, to help repair his finances, which had been damaged by the lawsuit he had brought — and won — in 1878 against the english critic john ruskin. during his sojourn, he also created about 100 pastels that feature the expanse of the city and its lagoon and vignettes of narrow alleyways and picturesquely worn buildings. here, dark brown paper and sketchy black lines form an armature against which whistler drew color patches that pertain to doorways, bits of drapery, and a few women and children. seeing whistler ' s venice pastels on view in london in january 1881, a critic for the times observed sympathetically : " these ' pastels ' of mr. whistler are his perfect works — suggestive little pictures which, if he had tried to make them more than this, would have been deformed into elaborate failures. so it is that... mr. whistler, with his slightest sketch, sets the imagination going and makes us conjure up a picture of some well - remembered beauty. "


chicago recently unrolled its pedestrian safety plan, joining the ranks of cities such as portland and new york, which have their own plans for preventing serious pedestrian accidents. the chicago plan has 250 recommendations to prevent injuries and fatalities. could fort lauderdale benefit from a similar plan? some of the recommendations in the chicago policy could help prevent fort lauderdale pedestrian accidents as well : 1 ) chicanes. chicanes are extra turns added to a roadway to slow traffic down. since in many cases fort lauderdale traffic accidents are caused by speeding, reducing traffic speed can be a good way to slash the risk of accidents. 2 ) pedestrian islands. in some cases, fort lauderdale pedestrian accidents occur because a car enters a pedestrian area. pedestrian islands keep pedestrians separated from cars and discourage pedestrians from entering traffic. 3 ) midblock curb bumpouts. these narrow portions of a street to slow traffic, usually by extending the curb. this is yet another way to reduce speed in order to help prevent fort lauderdale car accidents. 4 ) a system for repairing two high - collision areas and four dangerous intersections each year. the chicago plan calls for authorities to find and address dangerous intersections and corridors annually. fort lauderdale also has high collision areas and areas that are considered especially dangerous. identifying and rectifying these problems can help prevent traffic accidents. 5 ) speed humps. reducing speed with speed bumps is effective, according to experts, because speed bumps work whether there is enforcement or not. most cars will slow down rather than taking speed bumps at a high speed, making them more effective than simply lowering the speed limits. 6 ) pedestrian scrambles. a pedestrian scramble stops all vehicle traffic at an intersection and allows pedestrians to walk in every direction at the same time. pedestrians can even walk diagonally. pedestrian scrambles work because they prevent pedestrians and cars from sharing an intersection at the same time. it helps prevent fort lauderdale pedestrian accidents caused by cars turning into a pedestrian area. 7 ) road diets. road diets reduce the number of lanes on some roads, reducing traffic and therefore crashes. former florida bicycle and pedestrian coordinator dan burden is a fan of road diets, noting that they improve road safety and may help prevent fort lauderdale bicycle accidents and florida traffic accidents. roundabouts. these round intersections separate pedestrians from traffic entirely, by having pedestrians stay one car length outside of the intersection. when crossing this type of intersection, pedestrians only face oncoming traffic from one area and traffic is slowed down significantly in roundabouts, which could also reduce the risk of fort lauderdale traffic accidents. 9 ) an improved


curs _ terminfo ( 3 ) unix programmer ' s manual curs _ terminfo ( 3 ) del _ curterm, mvcur, putp, restartterm, set _ curterm, setterm, setupterm, tigetflag, tigetnum, tigetstr, tparm, tputs, vid _ attr, vid _ puts, vidattr, vidputs - curses interfaces to terminfo database # include < curses. h > # include < term. h > int setupterm ( char * term, int fildes, int * errret ) ; int setterm ( char * term ) ; terminal * set _ curterm ( terminal * nterm ) ; int del _ curterm ( terminal * oterm ) ; int restartterm ( const char * term, int fildes, int * errret ) ; char * tparm ( char * str,... ) ; int tputs ( const char * str, int affcnt, int ( * putc ) ( int ) ) ; int putp ( const char * str ) ; int vidputs ( chtype attrs, int ( * putc ) ( int ) ) ; int vidattr ( chtype attrs ) ; int vid _ puts ( attr _ t attrs, short pair, void * opts, int ( * putc ) ( char ) ) ; int vid _ attr ( attr _ t attrs, short pair, void * opts ) ; int mvcur ( int oldrow, int oldcol, int newrow, int newcol ) ; int tigetflag ( char * capname ) ; int tigetnum ( char * capname ) ; char * tigetstr ( char * capname ) ; these low - level routines must be called by programs that have to deal directly with the terminfo database to handle certain terminal capabilities, such as programming function keys. for all other functionality, curses routines are more suitable and their use is recommended. initially, setupterm should be called. note that setupterm is automatically called by initscr and newterm. this de - fines the set of terminal - dependent variables [ listed in terminfo ( 5 ) ]. the terminfo variables lines and columns are initialized by setup


setupterm is automatically called by initscr and newterm. this de - fines the set of terminal - dependent variables [ listed in terminfo ( 5 ) ]. the terminfo variables lines and columns are initialized by setupterm as follows : if use _ env ( false ) has been called, values for lines and columns specified in ter - minfo are used. otherwise, if the environment variables lines and columns exist, their values are used. if these environment variables do not exist and the program is run - ning in a window, the current window size is used. other - wise, if the environment variables do not exist, the values for lines and columns specified in the terminfo database are used. the header files curses. h and term. h should be included ( in this order ) to get the definitions for these strings, numbers, and flags. parameterized strings should be passed through tparm to instantiate them. all terminfo strings [ in - miros bsd # 10 - current printed 26. 4. 2013 1 curs _ terminfo ( 3 ) unix programmer ' s manual curs _ terminfo ( 3 ) cluding the output of tparm ] should be printed with tputs or putp. call the reset _ shell _ mode to restore the tty modes before exiting [ see curs _ kernel ( 3 ) ]. programs which use cursor addressing should output enter _ ca _ mode upon startup and should output exit _ ca _ mode before exiting. programs desiring shell escapes should call reset _ shell _ mode and output exit _ ca _ mode before the shell is called and should output enter _ ca _ mode and call reset _ prog _ mode after returning from the shell. the setupterm routine reads in the terminfo database, ini - tializing the terminfo structures, but does not set up the output virtualization structures used by curses. the termi - nal type is the character string term ; if term is null, the environment variable term is used. all output is to file descriptor fildes which is initialized for output. if errret is not null, then setupterm returns ok or err and stores a status value in the integer pointed to by errret. a return value of ok combined with status of 1 in errret is normal. if err is returned, examine errret : 1 means that the terminal is hardcopy, cannot be


a status value in the integer pointed to by errret. a return value of ok combined with status of 1 in errret is normal. if err is returned, examine errret : 1 means that the terminal is hardcopy, cannot be used for curses applications. 0 means that the terminal could not be found, or that it is a generic type, having too little in - formation for curses applications to run. - 1 means that the terminfo database could not be found. if errret is null, setupterm prints an error message upon finding an error and exits. thus, the simplest call is : setupterm ( ( char * ) 0, 1, ( int * ) 0 ) ;, which uses all the defaults and sends the output to stdout. the setterm routine is being replaced by setupterm. the call : setupterm ( term, 1, ( int * ) 0 ) provides the same functionality as setterm ( term ). the set - term routine is included here for bsd compatibility, and is not recommended for new programs. the set _ curterm routine sets the variable cur _ term to nterm, and makes all of the terminfo boolean, numeric, and string variables use the values from nterm. it returns the old value of cur _ term. miros bsd # 10 - current printed 26. 4. 2013 2 curs _ terminfo ( 3 ) unix programmer ' s manual curs _ terminfo ( 3 ) the del _ curterm routine frees the space pointed to by oterm and makes it available for further use. if oterm is the same as cur _ term, references to any of the terminfo boolean, numeric, and string variables thereafter may refer to in - valid memory locations until another setupterm has been called. the restartterm routine is similar to setupterm and initscr, except that it is called after restoring memory to a previ - ous state ( for example, when reloading a game saved as a core image dump ). it assumes that the windows and the input and output options are the same as when memory was saved, but the terminal type and baud rate may be different. ac - cordingly, it saves various tty state bits, does a setup - term, and then restores the bits. the tparm routine instantiates the string str with parame


type and baud rate may be different. ac - cordingly, it saves various tty state bits, does a setup - term, and then restores the bits. the tparm routine instantiates the string str with parame - ters pi. a pointer is returned to the result of str with the parameters applied. the tputs routine applies padding information to the string str and outputs it. the str must be a terminfo string vari - able or the return value from tparm, tgetstr, or tgoto. affcnt is the number of lines affected, or 1 if not applica - ble. putc is a putchar - like routine to which the characters are passed, one at a time. the putp routine calls tputs ( str, 1, putchar ). note that the output of putp always goes to stdout, not to the fildes specified in setupterm. the vidputs routine displays the string on the terminal in the video attribute mode attrs, which is any combination of the attributes listed in curses ( 3 ). the characters are passed to the putchar - like routine putc. the vidattr routine is like the vidputs routine, except that it outputs through putchar. the vid _ attr and vid _ puts routines correspond to vidattr and vidputs, respectively. they use a set of arguments for representing the video attributes plus color, i. e., one of type attr _ t for the attributes and one of short for the color _ pair number. the vid _ attr and vid _ puts routines are designed to use the attribute constants with the wa _ prefix. the opts argument is reserved for future use. currently, ap - plications must provide a null pointer for that argument. the mvcur routine provides low - level cursor motion. it takes effect immediately ( rather than at the next refresh ). miros bsd # 10 - current printed 26. 4. 2013 3 curs _ terminfo ( 3 ) unix programmer ' s manual curs _ terminfo ( 3 ) the tigetflag, tigetnum and tigetstr routines return the value of the capability corresponding to the terminfo cap - name passed to them, such as xenl. the tigetflag routine returns the value - 1


tigetflag, tigetnum and tigetstr routines return the value of the capability corresponding to the terminfo cap - name passed to them, such as xenl. the tigetflag routine returns the value - 1 if capname is not a boolean capability, or 0 if it is canceled or absent from the terminal description. the tigetnum routine returns the value - 2 if capname is not a numeric capability, or - 1 if it is canceled or absent from the terminal description. the tigetstr routine returns the value ( char * ) - 1 if capname is not a string capability, or 0 if it is canceled or absent from the terminal description. the capname for each capability is given in the table column entitled capname code in the capabilities section of termin - fo ( 5 ). char * boolnames, * boolcodes, * boolfnames char * numnames, * numcodes, * numfnames char * strnames, * strcodes, * strfnames these null - terminated arrays contain the capnames, the termcap codes, and the full c names, for each of the termin - fo variables. routines that return an integer return err upon failure and ok ( svr4 only specifies " an integer value other than err " ) upon successful completion, unless otherwise noted in the preceding routine descriptions. routines that return pointers always return null on error. x / open defines no error conditions. in this implementation del _ curterm returns an error if its terminal parameter is null. restartterm returns an error if the associated call to setup - term returns an error. setupterm returns an error if it cannot allocate enough memory, or create the initial windows ( stdscr, curscr, newscr ). other error conditions are docu - miros bsd # 10 - current printed 26. 4. 2013 4 curs _ terminfo ( 3 ) unix programmer ' s manual curs _ terminfo ( 3 ) mented above. the setupterm routine should be used in place of setterm. it may be useful when you want to test for terminal capabili - ties without committing to the allocation of storage in - volved in initscr. note that vidattr and vidputs may be macros. the function setterm is not described in the xsi curses standard and


capabili - ties without committing to the allocation of storage in - volved in initscr. note that vidattr and vidputs may be macros. the function setterm is not described in the xsi curses standard and must be considered non - portable. all other functions are as described in the xsi curses standard. in system v release 4, set _ curterm has an int return type and returns ok or err. we have chosen to implement the xsi curses semantics. in system v release 4, the third argument of tputs has the type int ( * putc ) ( char ). the xsi curses standard prototypes tparm with a fixed number of parameters, rather than a variable argument list. this implementation uses a variable argument list. portable ap - plications should provide 9 parameters after the format ; zeroes are fine for this purpose. xsi notes that after calling mvcur, the curses state may not match the actual terminal state, and that an application should touch and refresh the window before resuming normal curses calls. both ncurses and system v release 4 curses im - plement mvcur using the screen data allocated in either in - itscr or newterm. so though it is documented as a terminfo function, mvcur is really a curses function which is not well specified. curses ( 3 ), curs _ initscr ( 3 ), curs _ kernel ( 3 ), curs _ termcap ( 3 ), putc ( 3 ), terminfo ( 5 ) miros bsd # 10 - current printed 26. 4. 2013 5 generated on 2013 - 04 - 27 00 : 20 : 00 by $ miros : src / scripts / roff2htm, v 1. 77 2013 / 01 / 01 20 : 49 : 09 tg exp $ these manual pages and other documentation are copyrighted by their respective writers ; their source is available at our cvsweb, anoncvs, and other mirrors. the rest is copyright © 2002 ‒ 2013 the miros project, germany. this product includes material provided by thorsten glaser. this manual page ’ s html representation is supposed to be valid xhtml / 1. 1 ; if not, please send a bug report – diffs preferred.


the right hook, when a right - turning vehicle collides with a bicycle traveling straight - through, can be prevented with assertive lane position and never passing on the right. another common bike - car collision is the left hook, when an oncoming car turns left into the path of a bicyclist going straight through an intersection. the reason for this is the same as for most car - bike collisions : the motorist doesn ’ t see the bicycle. that may come as a surprise, because in the left hook situation, the motorist is facing the cyclist. the failure of a motorist to see a bicycle right in front of him can be explained by the “ moonwalking bear test ”, a short video which challenges the viewer to count the number of times a ball is passed between players in white. the viewer is so focused on counting passes that he never sees the prominent moonwalking bear. motorists and bicyclists alike don ’ t see what we aren ’ t looking for. a motorist making a left turn may be looking for oncoming cars, cars coming from the right or left, and cars that may be already in the target lane. in places like kirksville where there aren ’ t a lot of bicycles, motorists don ’ t expect to see them, and aren ’ t looking for them. as a motorist, you can prevent a left hook by avoiding distractions while driving ( such as talking or texting ) and by watching for bicycles. as a cyclist, you can prevent a left hook using again the third layer of crash prevention, “ discourage drivers ’ mistakes ” with an assertive lane position. allow at least an arm ’ s length from the edge of the road, but when approaching an intersection, especially if an oncoming motorist is waiting to turn left, move more toward the center of the lane. ( always check behind before changing your lane or your lane position ). this assertive lane position makes you more visible. finally, keep an eye on the oncoming traffic, whether or not you see a turn signal. being aware that a motorist might make that left turn even though you have the right of way can give you that extra bit of reaction time you need to avoid a collision.


we recently received this intruiging article from dave horvath and invite you to read it and then join in the discussion. a substantial number of unexplained crashes of radio control model airplanes on 2. 4ghz frequency prompted me to write this article on the so - called “ interference free ” radio control systems on the 2. 4ghz band. the electromagnetic wave spectrum is subject to the immutable laws of physics. the propagation characteristics of the 2. 4ghz wavelength and the environmental effects of this frequency are more complex than on the 72mhz band. to better understand this, we have to look at the electromagnetic wave spectrum where 72mhz band is in the broadcasting region and the 2. 4ghz band is in the microwave region. it is easier to see the huge difference between 72mhz and 2. 4ghz frequencies when we convert 2. 4 gigahertz to megahertz. now it is 2400mhz versus 72mhz. when frequency increases, wavelength decreases. therefore, the 2. 4ghz wavelength is shorter and closer to visible light on the electromagnetic wave spectrum. since visible light is also an electromagnetic wave, 2. 4ghz wavelength behaves more like visible light and travels in straight lines until it is reflected, deflected, diffracted or absorbed. reflection and diffraction will create interference. when parallel rays of light are reflected by a concave mirror, it greatly increases the intensity of light at the focal point. a parabolic dish antenna works the same way for a 2. 4ghz electromagnetic wave. since we cannot focus a high gain directional parabolic dish antenna between our constantly moving model airplane and our transmitter, we have to use an omnidirectional vertical antenna system which has much lower signal intensity. the fhss ( frequency - hopping - spread - spectrum ) and the dsss ( direct - sequence - spread - spectrum ) techniques can share the same band. however, they interfere with each other causing a degradation of performance. range decreases as the number of clear channels decreases. bandwidth drops each time fhss encounters a blocked frequency on a crowded spectrum. the crowded spectrum on the 2. 4ghz band reduces the bandwidth, increases the ever present background noise, increases the adjacent channel leakage ratio, reduces the range, and causes overlapping. overlapping is a direct interference. unlike the 72mhz wavelength which penetrates most objects, the 2. 4ghz wavelength


, increases the ever present background noise, increases the adjacent channel leakage ratio, reduces the range, and causes overlapping. overlapping is a direct interference. unlike the 72mhz wavelength which penetrates most objects, the 2. 4ghz wavelength behaves more like visible light. signal absorption from objects on a model airplane like the engines, electric motors, batteries, servos, pushrods, landing gears, switches, wires, etc., may cause path interference. signal reflection from objects in the terrain, like fences, walls, buildings, trees, hills, power lines cause line of sight interference. high speed data transfer reduces the receiver ’ s sensitivity on 2. 4ghz band. there is a trade - off between speed versus range. the signal strength decreases quadratically as distance increases at constant radiation levels. this is called path loss. when frequency increases, path loss also increases. this is one of the reasons why 72mhz radios have a better range than the 2. 4ghz radios. we can see this clearly when we look at the wireless range calculator : frequency distance loss 100mhz 0. 2 mile 62 decibel 2400mhz 0. 2 mile 90 decibel these calculations are under non - existing ideal conditions, less fresnel ( pronounced frehnel ) effect. when we fly our model airplane on 2. 4ghz, the area around us is known as the fresnel zone. since we have to use an omnidirectional antenna system, the electromagnetic waves will scatter and diffract from objects and from the terrain around us. when the diffracted wave reaches the receiver antenna, it is slightly lags behind the signal which traveled to the receiver antenna in a straight line that creates interference due to the phase canceling effect. the fresnel effect also deals with the behavior of electromagnetic waves over a water surface. as mentioned before, the 2. 4ghz radiation behaves more like visible light, so we have to think of reflections and shadows. flying a 2. 4ghz radio control model over a reflective surface like water, snow, ice or wet terrain negatively affects the radio link. occasionally a 3d aerobatic model plunges into water while hovering. when the rudder is near the water surface, the prop wash creates a chaotic wave pattern which generates a myriad of false - signals. the fresnel effect and the described interference on the 2. 4ghz band work pretty well. we


hovering. when the rudder is near the water surface, the prop wash creates a chaotic wave pattern which generates a myriad of false - signals. the fresnel effect and the described interference on the 2. 4ghz band work pretty well. we successfully tested this at different locations. unfortunately, the “ unbreakable tx - rx link ” broke when our model was over 0. 2 miles away at 45 degree angle. despite the fact that a 90 decibel signal loss over a thousand feet ( 0. 2 miles ) is rather significant, we should have had control at this distance. there are too many factors that can determine the overall range on 2. 4ghz. 2. 4ghz receivers are not immune to ignition and electrical noise as advertised. occasional arc from high tension insulators could break the bind. latency is the time between stimulation and the beginning of response caused by propagation delays. there is a huge time difference in latency claims by different radio manufacturers. some latency claims are in milliseconds, others are in microseconds! this is confusing since one millisecond is one thousandth of a second and one microsecond is one millionth of a second. velocity of electromagnetic waves is 186, 283 miles per second. the velocity of the electric signal through conductors is nearly at the speed of light. with an adequate power output, our radio signal will travel one microsecond which is one millionth of a second to reach our model airplane one thousand feet away. this applies to all brands of radios on 72mhz or on 2. 4ghz. as we know, nothing travels faster than the electromagnetic waves. therefore, i don ’ t see how latency could be improved “ 50 % ” over the leading competitors regardless of different processing. a seven millisecond latency or a fourteen millisecond latency claim is irrelevant since the human being, the rc pilot, has a painfully slow 200 millisecond latency and can not differentiate between seven or fourteen milliseconds. at huge events, like nationals, the 2. 4ghz pin - free radio system makes life easier for competitors and organizers. however, there is a huge difference between flying on 2. 4ghz band in the beautiful country side near muncie where chances are good that there won ’ t be any noticeable interference and flying on 2. 4ghz band in the middle of one of the largest concentration of population and industries in los angeles or


##z band in the beautiful country side near muncie where chances are good that there won ’ t be any noticeable interference and flying on 2. 4ghz band in the middle of one of the largest concentration of population and industries in los angeles or other urban areas. 2. 4ghz radios under harsh conditions work most of the time, however most of the time is unacceptable. illegal signal boosting, ham radio, and rolling hills further aggravate the situation. 2. 4ghz wavelength has higher incurred losses than 72mhz wavelength. in any case, we should hold on to our assigned frequencies on 27mhz, 50mhz, and 72mhz bands. despite glowing reviews, the so - called “ bulletproof 2. 4ghz technology ” has had range and reliability problems since day one. a bench test inside a building in a controlled environment where the receiver is a few inches away from the transmitter is meaningless. 2. 4ghz wavelength is not the best choice to control model airplanes. furthermore, we have ended up with complex radio systems on an overcrowded band on the electromagnetic wave spectrum. the bottom line is that glitch - free software, error - free computers, and an interference - free radio link is only an illusion. www. google. com electromagnetic spectrum images for electromagnetic spectrum videos for electromagnetic spectrum www. google. com frequency - hopping spread spectrum dsss and fhss - spread spectrum tutorials www. google. com 2. 4 ghz interference interference in the 2. 4ghz ism band : challenges and solutions by n golmie 20 myths of wi - fi interference ( rf solutions ) www. google. com path loss in the 2. 4ghz speed vs. distance isa 900 mhz versus 2. 4ghz – learning center www. google. com polarization of light images for polarization of light videos for polarization of light mit physics demo - microwave polarization


i ’ m struggling a bit to teach my children to pack for themselves. i want them to learn how to be self - reliant, but i also want to make sure they have everything they need for the day. if i don ’ t triple check every detail, they ’ re likely to be fully prepared for snack time but missing important papers or sports equipment. what ’ s the right thing to do? your desire to raise self - reliant children is fantastic. but there ’ s no doubt that passing the baton can be tough. the first question has to be : how old are your children? a good general rule of thumb is, if they ’ re old enough to read, they ’ re old enough to pack their own bags. assuming your little ones are old enough, the most effective thing to do is give them some time frame to take complete responsibility for getting themselves ready, ask questions to help prompt them if you think they aren ’ t paying attention to something crucial, and most importantly, when things aren ’ t crucial ( e. g. do they have the right uniform packed ), letting them fail. nothing teaches quite like experience. as you let go of the reigns a bit, here are some more ideas to guide you. • planning starts the night before. mornings are not the right time to teach your children how to pack themselves. you ’ re rushed, and they ’ re often bleary - eyed and grumpy. the ideal time to sit down with them, explain what you are trying to accomplish, and get them to start preparing for the next day is after homework but before tv time. that way you have time to ask them questions and offer un - stressed help in the initial stages. this is a process that will take time and spending time in the evenings helping them learn how to become responsible for themselves is time well spent. • explain as you go. you need to develop a checklist with them and then go through the items. don ’ t criticize or watch over the task being done. accept that the task will not be done exactly the way you would do it but recognize that as long as it is accomplished and done on time, that it is okay. in the beginning, be prepared to patiently ask and answer a lot of questions! why do emergency numbers need to be in the backpacks? because you might need to call someone. why does lunch have to be prepared? so that mom knows they are eating healthy and, besides, too much sugar will make them feel bad, why


about county government montgomery county is proud of the services it offers. these include some of the best in the nation, which we strive to deliver in keeping with our vision statement and guiding principles. an organization chart is provided to show you the various levels of the county government. approved by the voters in 1968 and implemented in 1970, the montgomery county charter provides for a council / executive form of government. the county is composed of the executive and legislative branches. the judicial system consists of the county ' s circuit court, the state district court, the court of special appeals and court of appeals. the executive branch implements and enforces montgomery county ' s laws and provides executive direction to the government. its chief executive officer is the county executive. there are over 30 executive branch departments and agenciesthat help to deliver services to county residents. libraries, transportation and police are just a few. the legislative branch consists of the county council and five related agencies. the charter defines the council ' s powers in three major areas : legislation, land use, and the budget. the other agencies of the legislative branch are : - office of inspector general - the office of legislative oversight - office of zoning and administrative hearings - board of appeals - merit system protection board the judicial system is responsible for the resolution of all matters involving civil and criminal law in the county. the circuit court for montgomery county is the trial court of general jurisdiction that has full common law equity powers in all civil and criminal cases, along with additional powers and jurisdiction conferred by the constitution. it is the only court in the county having the authority to conduct jury trials. its jurisdiction is very broad and it handles major civil cases and more serious criminal cases. additionally, there is the district court of maryland, the court of special appeals, and the court of appeals. montgomery county public schools operate under the authority of the board of education, which is an eight - member body - seven elected by county voters and one student representative, elected by county students. the superintendent of schools, appointed by the board, provides daily administration of the schools. the school ' s overall operating and capital budgets are determined by the county executive and county council. however, the line - item distribution of the funds within the school system is set by the superintendent and the board of education. montgomery college - the county ' s two - year college - operates under the authority of its board of trustees. the college ' s overall budget is determined by the county executive and the county council and is managed by the trustees. there are four other agencies who ' s budgets are


the anthocyanidins of bilberry have considerable pharmacologic activity. they are especially used as anti - aging substances. these bitter compounds inhibit collagen destruction, scavenger free radicals, reduce capillary permeability, increase bloods circulation to peripheral blood vessels and the brain, reduce inflammation and pain and relieve muscle spasms. it is one of the most popular over - the - counter drugs in europe. it is so effective that a single dose it said to improve one ’ s night vision within hours. it has traditionally been used to treat poor night vision, bruising, capillary fragility, varicose veins, poor circulation, raynaud ’ s disease, circulation complications due to diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, gout and periodontal disease. this herb is becoming more important to the aging populations of the world. this fruit and its extracts have marvelous anti - aging properties. bilberry was first studied for its effects on poor night vision. indeed, regular use of the fruit results in quicker adjustment to darkness and glare and improved visual acuity both at night and in bright light during the day. bilberry may be useful in the prevention and treatment of glaucoma since it strengthens connective tissue and prevents free radical damage. in the control of diabetes short term, one ’ s blood sugar is lowered and long term, one ’ s circulatory system is preserved. connective tissue is not destroyed and capillaries function more normally. in other chronic degenerative diseases, like rheumatoid arthritis, the inflammation and pain are reduced while damage to connective tissue is kept to a minimum. uses : bilberry leaf is something you ' ll want to use often in teas and tincture blends. we add it to many food recipes as we would spices ( any meat dishes, salads, vegetable dishes, stir - fry, etc. ). it can be used to benefit men, women ( including before, during or after pregnancy, and nursing ) and children. it can be used as often as you would like. voice of experience : when a more plump and juicy dried berry is desired, we soak ( reconstitute ) these bilberries in water over night. of course, any liquid of choice could be used in place of water. storage : bilberry leaf should be kept in an airtight container and stored in a dark, dry, and cool place. questions? : check


the cashew nut, a popular treat found on grocery and health food store shelves across the world, is jam - packed with nutritional content and can readily be found year round. it has a delicate flavor, and makes wonderful nut butter or special addition to salads and stir - fry dishes. cashew nuts are actually the kidney - shaped seeds that adhere to the bottom of the cashew apple, the fruit of the cashew tree, which is native to the coastal areas of northeastern brazil. it packs 5 grams of protein per ounce and high levels of the essential minerals iron, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, copper and manganese, all of which are necessary for a healthy body. not only do cashews have a lower fat content than most other nuts, approximately 75 % of that fat is unsaturated fatty acids, with 75 % of this unsaturated fatty acid content being oleic acid, the same heart - healthy monounsaturated fat found in olive oil. studies show that oleic acid promotes good cardiovascular health, even in individuals with diabetes. to lower your risk of cardiovascular and coronary heart disease, enjoy a handful of cashews or other nuts, or a tablespoon of nut butter, at least 4 times a week. topping your morning cereal with a quarter - cup of cashews will supply you with 38 % of the daily value for copper. an essential component of many enzymes, copper plays a role in a wide range of physiological processes including iron utilization, elimination of free radicals, development of bone and connective tissue, and the production of the skin and hair pigment called melanin. a quarter - cup of cashews also provides you with 22. 3 % of the daily value for magnesium. everyone knows that calcium is necessary for strong bones, but magnesium is also vital for healthy bones. about two - thirds of the magnesium in the human body is found in our bones. some help give bones their physical structure, while the rest is found on the surface of the bone where it is stored for the body to draw upon as needed. cashews do have a relatively high fat content ( 12 grams per ounce, 2 grams saturated fat ), but it is considered " good fat. " this is due to the agreeable fat ratio in the nut, 1 : 2 : 1 for saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated, respectively, which scientists say is the ideal ratio for optimal health. even with the relatively high fat content, cashew nuts are considered


science of the quake developments in the wake of japan ' s triple disasters : earthquake, tsunami, nuclear. the us geological survey upgraded japan ' s 11 march earthquake today to 9. 0 from 8. 9. based on japan ' s huge network of 1, 200 gps monitoring stations, the quake shifted the country ' s coastline some 4 meters / 13 feet to the east, and knocked earth of its axis by 16. 5 centimeters / 6. 5 inches, shortening earth ' s days by about 1. 8 millionths of a second. the bbc reports that geographical shift will require that gps - based driving maps be updated, and nautical charts, too, since water depths have been changed. furthermore, much of the flooded coastline appears to have subsided permanently — or as permanently as anything ever is on this restless planet — and will not be dry land again anytime in the near future. here are before and after images of the the city of ishinomaki in miyagi prefecture near the quake ' s epicenter. the " after " shot, above, was taken three days after the quake. water still inundated the city. the " before " shot was from august 2008. both are false color images : water is dark blue ; vegetated land is red ; dirt is tan ; buildings are silver. you can see how much of the vegetation in the agricultural fields has been stripped away. this is sure to have an impact on japan ' s food production, perhaps for a while, since saltwater inundation is tough on farmlands. if people in the area depend on aquifers for fresh water, those could be affected by saltwater flooding too. you can also see the extensive flooding around the matsushima air base in the lower left corner of the image. it ' s not at all clear, at this point, just what pollution or toxins may have been unleashed from the air base and nearby industries. meanwhile much of japan ' s chemical industry is still nonoperational due to power shortages. more worrisome is that fate of chemical plants in the tsunami zone. according to chemical & engineering news, there aren ' t many chemical manufacturing plants in this hardest hit region of northeastern japan. but there are some. the effects on them of fires, earthquakes, tsunamis, and continued flooding remains largely unknown and / or undisclosed : a raging fire at the cosmo energy refinery in chiba that began march 11 touched off an overnight fire at the neighboring chisso polyethylene and polypropylene plant.


tsunamis, and continued flooding remains largely unknown and / or undisclosed : a raging fire at the cosmo energy refinery in chiba that began march 11 touched off an overnight fire at the neighboring chisso polyethylene and polypropylene plant. chisso says that none of its workers were injured and that damage to the facility is relatively light. polysilicon producer tokuyama has a subsidiary... located in [ an area ] devastated by the tsunami. tokuyama says it is assessing damage to the subsidiary and to its facilities elsewhere in japan. chemical manufacturer tosoh says its staff in the tohoku area is safe, including the staff of a plant in the town of ishinomaki, which was largely destroyed by the tsunami. this facility was flooded and tosoh says the extent of the damage is unclear. in the images above you can see fires at several oil refineries and industrial complexes, including facilities in the port of sendai and a petrochemical facility in shiogama, where a large explosion was reported. on the left is a natural - color image showing a large brown smoke plume extending about 85 kilometers / 53 miles southeast from the coastline. the image on the right was used to confirm that the brown plume was actually something in the air and not something on the ground / water. here ' s an explanation of the technology used to ascertain that information from far away : [ t ] he right - hand image is a stereoscopic " anaglyph " created from data in misr ’ s [ multi - angle imaging spectroradiometer aboard nasa ’ s terra spacecraft ] red spectral band, and generated by displaying the 46 - degree backward view in red and 60 - degree backward view in cyan. the separation between the red and cyan images is known as stereo parallax, and is related to the height of the observed features above the surface. viewing the anaglyph with red - cyan glasses ( red filter over the left eye ) gives a perception of height. no separation is visible for the coastline, which is at sea level, but the clouds and plume are distinctly elevated. the height of the plume is estimated to be about 2 kilometers ( 1. 2 miles ), at a similar altitude as the nearby clouds. as for efforts to avert disaster at japan ' s imperiled nuclear power plants, the new york times reports near chaos among those running the show : " they ' re basically in a full - scale panic " among japanese power industry managers,


mount vernon — keeping up with the health and safety of one ’ s pets is a top priority for many. diligence is key for many pet owners in keeping their companions safe from sickness and disease. one disease that can be a threat at any given time is rabies. rabies is a viral disease which is spread through the saliva of an infected animal, usually bats, raccoons, skunks, fox and coyotes. animals contract the rabies virus by exposure with another infected animal through blood or saliva. incubation periods can vary, and it usually takes from 10 to 14 days for symptoms to appear. it is a zoonotic disease, meaning it can be transmitted from an animal to a human. although it has been more than 30 years since a domestic animal has tested positive for rabies in knox county, the threat remains real without proper vaccination. bats were the only animal to test positive for rabies during this period, according to the ohio department of health. incidences of rabies in ohio have occurred in dogs and horses. dr. jessica krueger, dvm, of the mount vernon animal hospital, told the news that there are two types of rabies. first is what is called the “ dumb ” form where the animal is not respondent and is basically “ out of it. ” second is the aggressive form where animals will act rather peculiar and may even be aggressive or combative. any mammal can contract the rabies virus, but it is more common in small animals, particularly raccoons and bats. death is the real threat once rabies has been contracted. early treatment of rabies through vaccination can kill the virus, but once it reaches the nervous system it is almost always fatal. most animals die once they have the virus, and deaths have also occurred in humans.


description of the genus dioecious trees or shrubs. leaves alternate, compound, imparipinnate, ( 1 - ) 3 - 13 - foliolate ; tertiary nerves generally collected into an oblique nerve directed towards the angle between midrib and lateral nerves ( not in s. madagascariensis ) ; leaflets petiolulate. inflorescences of axillary or terminal panicles, sometimes borne on the old wood. flowers 5 - merous, unisexual. male flowers : calyx cup - shaped, shallowly 5 - lobed or - toothed ; petals valvate, longer than the calyx ; stamens 10 - 20 ; disk minutely crenate. female flowers : perianth similar to the male flowers ; staminodes usually 5 ; ovary ovoid, 1 - locular ; style 1 with a 3 - lobed stigma, persistent on the fruit. fruit a 1 - seeded, ellipsoid or asymmetrically ovoid, drupe. worldwide : 50 species in tropical and subtropical africa and madagascar other sources of information about sorindeia : epic ( electronic plant information center ) : sorindeiaflora zambesiaca web site : sorindeiagoogle ( germplasm resources information network ) taxonomy for plants report for sorindeiaipni ( international plant names index ) : sorindeiakew herbarium catalogue copyright : mark hyde, bart wursten, petra ballings and stefaan dondeyne 2007 - 13 hyde, m. a., wursten, b. t., ballings, p. & dondeyne, s.. flora of mozambique : genus page : sorindeia. http : / / www. mozambiqueflora. com / speciesdata / genus. php? genus _ id = 2234, retrieved 18 may 2013


traditional christmas greeting : merry christmas ( imported from the west ). also, christmas omedet and merii kurisumasu the majority of japan ' s population is buddhist, and christmas is not a commonly celebrated holiday. however, younger generations do exchange gifts at christmas. shogatsu, new year ' s day, is japan ' s primary winter holiday. on new year ' s eve, many japanese visit their shrine or temple to pray for a healthy and prosperous new year. joya - no - kane is the midnight buddhist chiming of the bells - 108 chimes signifying the 108 earthly sins. traditional christmas greeting : sikukuu njema ya krismasi ( swahili ) bus stations are very crowded in kenya during the holiday season. those who live and work in the city travel to the towns and countryside to spend time with family. throughout the country, shops, homes and mango trees are decorated with colorful ornaments, bells and candles. traditional christmas greeting : jeulguwoon sungtan bonaesaeyo ; meli kliseumaseu saehae pog manhi pateuseyo ; sol tan ul chuka hamnidah ; sung tan chuk ha approximately half of korea ' s citizens are christian. christmas is not a major celebration as it is in the west, but it is a time for sharing and making donations to those less fortunate. children believe in santa haraboji ( father santa ) and many youngsters participate in a christmas eve pageant at their church and go caroling after christmas services. traditional christmas greeting : priecigus ziemassvetkus the latvian holiday season is filled with food and folklore! dishes include lentils with bacon, pork roast, piragi ( rolls with bacon - onion filling ), fresh butter and honey, homemade cheeses and gingerbread. on new year ' s eve, latvian families may drag a large log thoughout the house, then set it ablaze. the effort recalls the hard labor of farming, and burning the log symbolizes removal of hardship and a return to warmth and light. the ashes, said to have healing properties, are sprinkled inside and outside the home. traditional christmas greeting : joyeux noel ( french ), idah saidan wa sanah jadidah ( arabic ) lebanon is the only middle east country that celebrates christmas as an official holiday. on christmas eve, the families attend midnight mass where children sing special musical christmas programs for the church. after returning home from mass, children all over the


heart - health benefits of dark chocolate it ’ s no secret that fruits, vegetables and grains provide many health benefits - we ' ve been told that for years. but did you know that eating chocolate, specifically dark chocolate, could benefit your heart? it ’ s all about the flavonoids in the chocolate. what are flavonoids? flavonoids are naturally - occurring compounds found in plant - based foods. they can be found in a wide array of foods and beverages such as cranberries, apples, peanuts, chocolate, onions, tea and red wine. there are more than 4, 000 combinations of flavonoids. have you had your flavonoids today? flavonoids provide important protective benefits to plants, such as repairing damage and shielding from environmental toxins. when we consume plant - based foods rich in flavonoids – like dark chocolate – it appears that we also benefit from this “ antioxidant ” power. antioxidants are believed to help the body ' s cells resist damage caused by free radicals, which are formed by normal bodily processes such as breathing or environmental contaminants like cigarette smoke and chemicals. when the body lacks adequate levels of antioxidants, free radical damage occurs, leading to high cholesterol and plaque build up on the walls of the arteries. in addition to their antioxidant capabilities, flavonoids may also : • help reduce platelet activation • allow blood vessels to move blood more freely • positively affect the balance of certain hormone - like compounds, which are thought to play a role in cardiovascular health. forms of chocolate before you grab a chocolate candy bar or slice of chocolate cake, let ’ s look at what forms of chocolate would be ideal : • when cocoa is processed into your favorite chocolate products, it goes through several steps to reduce its naturally bitter taste. flavonoids provide this strong taste. the more chocolate is processed ( such as fermentation, alkalizing, roasting ), the more flavonoids are lost. most commercial chocolates fit this category. • dark chocolate appears to retain the highest level of flavonoids. so your best bet is to choose dark chocolate over milk chocolate. • some chocolate manufacturers are studying ways to retain the highest level of flavonoids while still providing acceptable taste. stay tuned for more information in this area. what about all of the fat in chocolate? you may be surprised to find out that chocolate isn ’ t as bad as once perceived


retain the highest level of flavonoids while still providing acceptable taste. stay tuned for more information in this area. what about all of the fat in chocolate? you may be surprised to find out that chocolate isn ’ t as bad as once perceived. the fat in chocolate, from cocoa butter, is comprised of equal amounts of oleic acid ( a heart - healthy monounsaturated fat also found in olive oil ), stearic and palmitic acids. stearic and palmitic acids are forms of saturated fat. saturated fats are linked to increases in ldl - cholesterol and risk for heart disease. some points to consider include : • be cautious as to the type of dark chocolate you choose : chewy caramel - marshmallow - nut - covered dark chocolate is by no means a heart - healthy food option. what wreaks havoc on most chocolate products are the fat and calories that accompany other ingredients. • there is currently no established serving size of chocolate to reap these cardiovascular benefits. however, what we do know is you no longer need to feel guilty if you enjoy a small 1 - ounce piece of dark chocolate once in awhile. more research in this area is needed to determine just how much chocolate - lovers can eat in order to acquire cardio - protective benefits. until that time, enjoy chocolate in moderate portions a few times per week. don ’ t forget to eat other flavonoid - rich foods like apples, red wine, tea, onions and cranberries. here ’ s to your heart - health! gayle baingo, r. d., is a registered dietitian at flagstaff medical center


joined : 16 mar 2004 | posted : thu aug 06, 2009 11 : 24 am post subject : nanotubes could aid understanding of retrovirus transmission | recent findings by medical researchers indicate that naturally occurring nanotubes may serve as tunnels that protect retroviruses and bacteria in transit from diseased to healthy cells — a fact that may explain why vaccines fare poorly against some invaders. to better study the missions of these intercellular nanotubes, scientists have sought the means to form them quickly and easily in test tubes. sandia national laboratories researchers have now learned serendipitously to form nanotubes with surprising ease. “ our work is the first to show that the formation of nanotubes is not complicated, but can be a general effect of protein - membrane interactions alone, ” says darryl sasaki of sandia ' s bioscience and energy center. the tunnel - like structures have been recognized only recently as tiny but important bodily channels for the good, the bad, and the informational. in addition to providing protected transport to certain diseases, the nanotubes also seem to help trundle bacteria to their doom in the tentacles of microphages. lastly, the nanotubes may provide avenues to send and receive information ( in the form of chemical molecules ) from cell to cell far faster than their random dispersal into the bloodstream would permit. given the discovery of this radically different transportation system operating within human tissues, it was natural for researchers to attempt to duplicate the formation of the nanotubes. in their labs, they experimented with giant lipid vesicles that appeared to mimic key aspects of the cellular membrane. giant lipid vesicles resemble micron - sized spherical soap bubbles that exist in water. they are composed of a lipid bilayer membrane only five nanometers thick. the object for experimenters was to create conditions in which the spheres would morph into cylinders of nanometer radii. but researchers had difficulties, says sasaki, perhaps because they used a composite lipid called egg pc that requires unnecessarily high energies to bend into a tubular shape. egg pc is inexpensive, readily available, and offers good, stable membrane properties. it is the usual lipid of choice in forming nanocylinders via mechanical stretching techniques. but sandia postdoctoral researcher haiqing lui instead used popc — a single pure lipid requiring half the bending energy of egg pc. she was trying to generate nanotubes by a completely different approach that involved the use of motor proteins to


. but sandia postdoctoral researcher haiqing lui instead used popc — a single pure lipid requiring half the bending energy of egg pc. she was trying to generate nanotubes by a completely different approach that involved the use of motor proteins to stretch naturally occurring membranes into tubes. working with sandia researcher george bachand, she serendipitously found that interaction of the popc membrane with a high affinity protein called streptavidin alone was enough to form the nanotubes. “ perhaps this information — linking membrane bending energy with nanotube formation — may provide some clue about the membrane structure and the cell ' s ability to form such intercellular connections, ” sasaki says. the formation was confirmed by sandia researcher carl hayden, who characterized the nanotube formation through a confocal imaging microscope. the custom instrument allows pixel - by - pixel examination of the protein interaction with the membranes comprising the nanotubes by detecting the spectrum and lifetimes of fluorescent labels on the proteins. nanotube formation had been noticed previously by cell biologists, but they had dismissed the tiny outgrowths as “ junk — an aberration of cells growing in culture, ” says sasaki. “ the reason they were only noticed recently as trafficking routes is because of labeling studies that marked organelles and proteins. this allowed a focused look at what these nanostructures might be used for. ” it became clear, says sasaki, that the organelles were being transported with “ specific directionality ” on the backs of motor proteins within the tubes, rather than randomly. three - dimensional networks of nanotubes also are found to be created by macrophages — part of the police force of the body — grown in culture, says george. the tubes in appearance and function resemble a kind of spider web, capturing bacterium and transporting them to the macrophages, which eat them. other paper authors include postdoc hahkjoon kim and summer intern elsa abate. the lipid work is supported by sandia ' s laboratory directed research and development office. motor protein work is supported by doe ' s office of basic energy sciences. results were published in the american chemical society ' s langmuir journal in mid - march. source : sandia. gov /...


below are the first 10 and last 10 pages of uncorrected machine - read text ( when available ) of this chapter, followed by the top 30 algorithmically extracted key phrases from the chapter as a whole. intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter - representative searchable text on the opening pages of each chapter. because it is uncorrected material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages. do not use for reproduction, copying, pasting, or reading ; exclusively for search engines. ocr for page 107 manufacturing systems : foundations of world - class practice improving quality through the concept of learning curves w. dale compton, michelle d. dunlap, and joseph a. heim quality is the hallmark of competitive products. consumers reject products that are of inferior quality, and they shun companies who are perceived to provide products or services with less than competitive quality. a company cannot survive in the current world marketplace without providing a product or service that is of high quality. it would be hard to find a u. s. - based manufacturing enterprise that does not place quality near the top of a list of strategic or operating objectives that would also include cost, innovation, and customer focus. this sensitivity to the customer demand for quality has not always been a dominant force in the operating strategies of u. s. companies. having realized its importance, companies find that they must now direct their energies in ways that focus on this objective. a broad range of operating procedures must be modified or, in some cases, created : quality must be designed into products ; a productive interaction must be stimulated among the design, manufacturing, and marketing activities ; input from the customers must be obtained and used ; and active participation by their employees in creating “ quality ” products and services must be encouraged. with this new awareness of the importance of quality have come two specific needs. first, there is a need to measure the performance of the organization against that of its competitors and, second, there is the need to assess the trends in one ' s performance in order to take appropriate actions to ensure continuous improvement. in the first case, an absolute measure of ocr for page 108 manufacturing systems : foundations of world - class practice performance is needed. this is sometimes referred to as “ benchmarking, ” or measuring oneself against the world leader — the “ best - of - the - best ” — in a product or process arena ( compton, in this volume ). in the second, progress over time


sometimes referred to as “ benchmarking, ” or measuring oneself against the world leader — the “ best - of - the - best ” — in a product or process arena ( compton, in this volume ). in the second, progress over time is the prime concern, that is, how well the organization is achieving continuous improvement in performance. a proper combination of these two measures is critical. without them an organization cannot properly evaluate its absolute competitive status, nor can it be assured of its ability to remain competitive over a long period of time. with “ high quality ” as a prerequisite for being competitive in the marketplace, achieving and maintaining high quality in all aspects of an operation is a critical component of the foundations of all manufacturing systems. orientation this article focuses on the second of the two needs identified above, assessing how an organization improves over time. we will be concerned, therefore, with assessing trends in quality. we will conclude with some observations about the need for continuous and careful collection of the type of data that are critical to a proper assessment of progress. “ quality ” is not a universal descriptor that has a unique definition under all circumstances. garvin ( 1984 ) has described five approaches to defining quality. the appropriate metric for measuring the quality of a product or process will depend on the definition or circumstance that is of immediate interest. it can, for example, refer to defects arising from a production process, defective parts shipped to customers, or reliability of the product in service. although we will not discuss the various measures of quality in this paper, we have obtained examples of each of the above measures. we offer examples of the first two in this paper. measures of the quality of the outputs of a system can be obtained in many ways. in the day - to - day operation of a manufacturing enterprise, the collection and use of process data to support statistical process control ( spc ) is important to achieving high - quality manufacturing. spc requires that measures of one or more attributes of the quality of a production system be regularly employed, and it provides a paradigm for the efficient use of those measures to control the process. there is ample evidence of the importance of this real - time control in improving the quality of the processes and the products that result from these processes. in every sense, the effective use of spc and total quality control ( tqc ) have become important elements of the foundations of effective manufacturing systems. the measures of quality that are implicit in the application of spc necessarily concern shorter time periods ; that is, they reflect


the effective use of spc and total quality control ( tqc ) have become important elements of the foundations of effective manufacturing systems. the measures of quality that are implicit in the application of spc necessarily concern shorter time periods ; that is, they reflect the current status of the process or system that is producing the product. although the importance of this near - term collection of data — and appropriate analysis to ocr for page 109 manufacturing systems : foundations of world - class practice accomplish spc — is not questioned, it is also clear that an understanding and quantification of the longer - term trends in quality are also critical to achieving continuous improvement in quality. the learning curve related to costs a traditional approach to measuring the long - term cost performance in a manufacturing operation is to use the “ experience ” or “ learning ” curve concept ( henderson and levy, 1965 ). this asserts that the fractional reduction in the average cumulative cost ( in constant units of measure ) of producing a product is proportional to the fractional increase in the quantity of the product that is produced and yields a power law representation that is similar to that first described by wright ( 1936 ). a common formulation of this law relates the cost of production of the nth unit, xn to the total production volume n xn = kn−b ( 1 ) for large n. equation 1 has been used many times and has been shown to be valid for a wide variety of products in many different industries ( see argote and epple, 1990, for a discussion of this form of the learning curve in manufacturing ). the literature contains numerous discussions of circumstances in which an exponential law is the appropriate formulation for the learning curve ( buck et al., 1976 ; pegals, 1969 ). a simpler formulation for a learning curve, seldom used in the literature and applicable only under limited circumstances, is the linear representation. determination of the form that is most appropriate depends on many factors, including the nature of the data sampling protocol. in general, however, if it is not possible to determine which form is most appropriate, either because of an absence of a priori knowledge or because of a lack of sufficient high - quality data, the simplest formulation is probably best. selecting the simplest formulation entails testing to determine whether the data are best fitted by a linear, an exponential, or a power law representation. irrespective of the formulation chosen, learning curves are not to be viewed as merely descriptive. they can be, and frequently have been, used as an aid in making predictions, in


a linear, an exponential, or a power law representation. irrespective of the formulation chosen, learning curves are not to be viewed as merely descriptive. they can be, and frequently have been, used as an aid in making predictions, in that early experience in the production of a product can be used to predict future manufacturing costs. assuming that one has confidence in the form of the equation that is chosen — whether power, exponential, or linear — and that one can make a reasonable estimate of the constants that appear in them, one can readily predict the costs to produce a unit after some future cumulative production volume has been achieved. even in the absence of detailed data on a given product, the experience of many manufacturers with many products is that manufacturing costs can be expected to decrease by 10 to 20 percent for each doubling ocr for page 110 manufacturing systems : foundations of world - class practice of production volume. abernathy and wayne ( 1974 ) have explored the limits of validity of the learning curve concept. the improvement depicted by the experience curve is a result of conscious effort and attention on the part of the management and employees of the enterprise. it cannot be expected to continue without the attention and focus that accompanies a clearly accepted operating objective, in this case an objective of continuously reducing the costs to manufacture the product or to offer the service. a variety of actions combine to produce the desired cost reductions ( allan, 1975 ) : improved efficiency in the use of labor through training and incentives. introduction of new and improved processes that reduce manufacturing costs. redesign of the product to reduce manufacturing costs. standardization of the product to reduce the variety of tasks demanded of the workers. scale effects resulting from large volume production. substitution of lower - cost materials while retaining product features. the learning curve related to quality just as competitive pressures have forced the management of u. s. companies to pay special attention to costs, so also is management being forced to pay special attention to improvement in quality. although many approaches are taken to improve quality, these efforts have a few key actions in common : simplification of product design to enhance manufacturability. involvement of the employees in designing the manufacturing system. enhanced training of the employees. substitution of automated machinery in areas that are not conducive to human operation. collection of extensive data on each operation, and analysis to identify problems and trends in those operations. introduction of new or improved processes that are less sensitive to variation. although the specific actions taken to improve quality differ from those taken to reduce unit costs, a


collection of extensive data on each operation, and analysis to identify problems and trends in those operations. introduction of new or improved processes that are less sensitive to variation. although the specific actions taken to improve quality differ from those taken to reduce unit costs, a striking similarity exists between the two lists. in particular, both result from conscious actions taken by management and employees to accomplish a common strategic objective for the enterprise. ocr for page 111 manufacturing systems : foundations of world - class practice both combine human commitment and training with technical improvements. both require extensive knowledge of the processes being employed and the products being produced. therefore, quality and costs might be expected to share a common representation. one might then speculate that quality should follow an experience curve similar to that of cost. by analogy, therefore, a quality learning curve might take one of three forms such that the quality index ( qi ) for the nth item is defined as follows : ( 2 ) ( 3 ) ( 4 ) in the above equations, ( qi ) n * is the asymptotic value of the quality index, ( qi ) o is related to ( qi ) l, the quality of the first unit produced and to ( qi ) n *, ( qi ) a and ( qi ) b are constants, and n is the cumulative volume of the products produced. in equations 2, 3, and 4, the sign can be positive or negative — positive if the quality index is improving as cumulative production volume increases, for example, yield from a process ; negative if the quality index reflects defects or defective parts, which will decrease as the cumulative production volume increases. while the particular attribute of the product or process being considered will most likely be different for each product and process, the above formulations are independent of the specific attribute that can be related to the quality index. one should not expect, however, the numerical values of the constants to lie within a specific range or to have any particular relationship from one product to another, because the quality indices can differ depending on the attribute chosen for examination. observations schneiderman ( 1988 ) appears to be one of the first to treat production yields or the quality of products shipped according to a learning curve. schneiderman offers a number of examples of quality learning curves that are presented as exponential formulations in which a measure of quality is plotted as a function of time from the start of production. it should be noted that this formulation is consistent with equation 3 only in the case that production rates are constant over time — a circumstance that seldom occurs. a test of


a measure of quality is plotted as a function of time from the start of production. it should be noted that this formulation is consistent with equation 3 only in the case that production rates are constant over time — a circumstance that seldom occurs. a test of the hypothesis that a quality index is describable by equations 2, 3, or 4 can, in principle, be made by examining the quality of products or processes at various levels of production. for some dozen products — for which measures of quality and production volumes could be obtained — we have generally found that two of the three formulations are virtually indis - ocr for page 112 manufacturing systems : foundations of world - class practice tinguishable in their ability to represent the data. in some cases, the linear and exponential laws were indistinguishable — meaning that the coefficient of correlation for the two laws was nearly the same — while in others, the power and exponential laws were indistinguishable. we found no case in which all three representations were equally good. data are presented in figure 1 figure 2 through figure 3 relating an index of quality to the cumulative volumes of production for three different products — light bulbs, a small electric motor, and grey iron castings. general electric company and the dalton foundries, inc., graciously supplied the data contained in these figures. a description of the quality index for each of the products is given in the figure captions. having no a priori basis on which to choose the preferred formulation for representing the quality index, we examined each of the products using equations 2, 3, and 4. following an observation by buck et al. ( 1976 ) that the exponential form of the learning curve is some - figure 1 a normalized measure of defects in light bulbs for the period between 1970 and 1989 as a function of normalized volumes. quality is measured in defects per million light bulbs. these data represent the cumulative production from a single plant. correlation coefficient r =. 82 ( for the linear representation, r =. 86 ). courtesy of general electric co. ocr for page 113 manufacturing systems : foundations of world - class practice figure 2 normalized defects as a function of cumulative volumes, in arbitrary units, for small electric motors for the period 1981 through 1989. defects due to production errors are in the range of a few tens per millions of motors. correlation coefficient r =. 89 ( for the exponential representation, r =. 70 ). courtesy of general electric co. what to be preferred for batch, or


defects due to production errors are in the range of a few tens per millions of motors. correlation coefficient r =. 89 ( for the exponential representation, r =. 70 ). courtesy of general electric co. what to be preferred for batch, or average, sampling of the metric in question, we have chosen to present three of these sets of data in terms of the exponential relationship of the quality index to the cumulative volumes of the product produced. in none of these cases was saturation apparent, implying either that ( qi ) n * was effectively zero or that the observed values are so far from the saturation value that the present representation is not adequate to display a saturation. it is of particular interest that the correlation coefficients for a linear plot of the data shown in figure 1 and figure 3 are essentially the same as shown for the curves as plotted. the correlation coefficients for the curves shown in the graphs are given in the captions, along with the correlation for the best alternative formulation. each of the data points in these three figures represents an average of the quality metric for a period of one year. thus, for figure 1, the quality data are for 20 years of production, figure 2 for 9 years, and figure 3 for 12 years. in some cases the index is defined as defects in production ; in others, the shipping of a faulty product to a customer. ocr for page 114 manufacturing systems : foundations of world - class practice figure 3 normalized scrap rate as a function of cumulative volumes for the period 1979 through 1989 for a grey iron casting. correlation coefficient r =. 96 ( for the linear representation r =. 94 ). courtesy of the dalton foundries, inc. conclusion in each of the cases examined, there is clear evidence that the quality index, although defined differently for each group of products, is related to cumulative volume of production. with the diversity in product type and processes represented here, the hypothesis that one or more forms of the learning curve exists for quality is supported by these data. although the present data do not appear capable of distinguishing among the various forms for a learning curve for quality, it appears that one or more forms can easily be found to permit a reasonable extension for setting new goals or examining the impact of past actions on performance. because the time frame in which these products were in production is long, it is reasonably certain that the actions suggested earlier as being important for management and employees in achieving a continuous improvement in quality were taken throughout the life of these products. each of the companies that provided these data has indicated that


products were in production is long, it is reasonably certain that the actions suggested earlier as being important for management and employees in achieving a continuous improvement in quality were taken throughout the life of these products. each of the companies that provided these data has indicated that the quality trends demonstrated in these figures are the result of constant and consistent ocr for page 115 manufacturing systems : foundations of world - class practice attention to the importance of continuous improvement. although this dependence of a quality index on cumulative production has been demonstrated for only this select group of products, we believe that this phenomenon is generally true. a collection of additional examples from other industries would help support this conclusion. we have been surprised to find that few companies keep data in the form or with a consistency that allows the following of trends as described in the types of curves shown here. in our view, this is a shortcoming that should be addressed by all concerned with continuous improvement. the systematic collection of data on quality and the representation of these data in the form described by equations 2, 3, or 4, offer a means of tracking progress on the “ continuous improvement ” of quality and a means by which realistic expectations can be established for future goals. above all, the existence of a learning curve for quality should be viewed as one more example of the need for careful collection of systematic data. without good data, this important foundation cannot be used. creating high - quality products through high - quality manufacturing processes and systems is a critical element in the foundations of manufacturing. the learning curve for quality should therefore be viewed as an important element in the foundations of manufacturing. we believe that the learning curves can be an important contributor to achieving improved quality. acknowledgment this work was supported in part by a grant from the ford motor company fund. representative terms from entire chapter :