The Liberating and Empowering Effect of Absolute Forgiveness

Submitted by Open on Tue, 06/05/2018 - 05:49

On Openhand's level 3 course DIVINICUS, we explore deeply into the importance of not apportioning blame and instead taking full responsibility for the lives only we are creating - at a soul level, we draw everything to ourselves in order to learn, evolve and grow. One vital aspect of this approach is that of forgiveness: realising the other person is not to blame for their distortion (and my creation) and therefore being able to forgive them. In my experience, this is one of the most liberating and empowering things we can do. But if EVERY situation is purposefully designed by the natural flow for us to self-realise, then is there truly a need for forgiveness, and if so, what might that look like?

Taking responsibility

This is an important realisation in the Openhand book 5GATEWAYS: that to blame another is to disempower ourselves because basically we're saying: "something outside of myself, over which I have no control, is the cause of my beingness."

To truly empower yourself as a being of the Universe, is to realise and accept, that you are the creator and therefore the master, of every single situation you manifest - that nothing is 'being done to you'. By the natural Law of Attraction, you draw every experience your soul requires, in order to learn, evolve and grow - to be able to be integrated as an experience of The One, through all universal possibilities.

When this realisation dawns, as we give it breathing space, we might look back through our lives with profound self honesty, looking at every situation from the perspective of, "what was I being invited to realise?" Then, if you inquire deeply enough into any karmic source pain you were carrying (see later), I believe you'll surely see, how synchronistic patterning guided EXACTLY those situations and circumstances to you. It appears that every person who comes into our lives is helping us self-realise in this way and has a "sacred agreement" to help us evolve.

Finding the blessing

So if this is the case, then it begs the question, if every person who 'commits a crime against me' has a sacred agreement to help me evolve, then what is there to forgive?

If in these circumstances we're being offered a priceless gift of self-realisation, even if it can, at times, seem almost impossible to integrate and be accepting of.

Consider the biblical story of Jesus and his relationship with Judas (it matters not whether you believe the story to be true, it's the story itself that can reveal an important realisation). Judas was castigated as a 'traitor' in the story, taking his thirty pieces of silver to identify Jesus to the Romans. But we might consider the crucifixion helped Jesus move beyond his own shadow identity ("why have you forsaken me father?"); he was caused to realise that he and the father are one (just as we all are), that he could never be abandoned even in the midst of total violation. It was his own shadow identity seeing itself as separate from the all that is, that was being crucified, and therefore dissolved, leading to Jesus' Enlightenment. So then, if my take on the story bears water, Judas was actually performing an invaluable service not a 'sin' - yes he certainly had his own distortions, but the engagement was created in order for the various parties to expose their own shadows.

Absolute Forgiveness

The story also illuminates another crucial aspect of this . It is to realise that each of us manifests the situations we need at a soul level, to expose karmic 'shadows', where in a past life, the soul has identified with a particularly traumatic situation, and has then become fragmented into the trauma. The fragment of soul gets buried under layers of repression, retraction and denial - avoidance of the original source pain.

It's utterly essential therefore, that we regress into these karmic past life situations when they arise. Not to try to push away the pain, to bury it, or placate it. And neither to simply gloss over it, by painting some premature layer of spiritual acceptance on top. To be truly The One, is to be able to accept the fullness of the Universe, both the darkness and the light, without needing to change it. So by regressing into one's trauma, provides the possibility of complete acceptance by becoming as-one with the pain. Only then do you come to realise, it does not define you. At this point, you discover yourself as The One, and reclaim the fragment of soul gold that was buried in that inner karmic sediment.

This is why I call the approach "Absolute Forgiveness", because you really have to soften into the absolute in order to process any buried karma and become as-one with it, so as to liberate the aspect of soul that was buried there.

Consider this 9 step healing process for dealing with karmic source pain.

Digging for the Shadows

How might we apply this approach in daily life? Well I invite everyone reading to deeply confront situations where we might consider another has 'sinned against us'; to see the possibility for deeper self realisation that was presenting itself - what were you attached to? What did you need from the other person? How were you needing them to be?

And most importantly, what inner reaction, what 'shadow' does it activate, that I must now work into? Here's an Openhand video on dealing with those inner contractions and how they present an amazing opportunity to unleash the soul through them...

Is Forgiveness even Necessary?

When we're able to empower ourselves in these situations and reintegrate soul through them, it begs the question, "is there a need to forgive?" I would say that when you've reached the point of complete acceptance, where that's helped you find The One in the situation and reclaim a lost aspect of soul, then the answer would be no, there is no need to forgive. At the same time, at that point of surrender, in the work that we do at Openhand, we still find offering the sense of forgiveness can be valuable - it lets each party know that acceptance and integration has been attained.

At this point, you might say something like...

I accept what took place, thankyou for helping me become whole and complete. I see the light in you. I forgive you.

But crucially, only AFTER complete regression into the incident, acceptance of it, and liberation of the soul from the situation.

Absolute Forgiveness then is actually to become awesomely okay with what took place, becoming The One in it by finding peace within your heart, seeing the blessing within the event, taking ownership of the gifts of beingness offered, and then finally, when all judgment has dissolved, forgiving the other person. In a way, it becomes a blessing.

Forgiving another Meditation

On Openhand's level 3 DIVINICUS course, we guide people through Absolute Forgiveness meditations, by regressing them into the original situations and guiding them through the density. People always find them exceptionally liberating. So here below is the kind of meditation approach we apply, that you might also like to work with. It's taken from the 5GATEWAYS book...

Forgiving another meditation - Create a loving, warm and protected space with incense, candles and soft music. Relax, using deep breathing and visualisation. Allow an experience to arise in the past where you have suffered or were abused at the hands of someone else. Contemplate deeply the situation where you suffered, visualising what you would have seen, hearing the sounds and feeling the feelings. What thoughts and emotions are arising for you? Watch them, feel them, fully express them, so as to become as-one with them.

Go deeper into the situation and contemplate the main perpetrator/s. What was it that caused you to suffer? What were you attached to? How were you forgetting this is all an illusion? Now contemplate what was the blessing? What was the lesson? What were you being invited to realise? What aspect of soul is now wanting to come through? (maybe will and power for example). Can you now integrate that aspect of soul and let go of the suffering and pain?

When you know you are ready, feel the darkness gathering into a heavy, dense ball in your right hand and then next see the ball dissolving into light. Then visualise the perpetrator. Connect with the soul in them. See firstly their perfected light. Can you now let go of your resentment, fear or hate? Can you release yourself from judgment? Keep working at it until you can let go of all such negativity.

If you would like help applying the Openhand Approach to Forgiveness, feel free to contact us.

In loving Support

Open HeartPraying Emoji

(Publishers - please publish with links intact and the Openhand brief biog. Thankyou <3)

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Hi Open,  thank you for your reflections in the previous thread and for this article.  After talking about accessing surrender,  which was the positive side, you immediately went on to talk about karma.  You couldn't be more accurate!

And I say this because last night I was woken up really scared from a dream. It was really dark and blurry,  and scary! I was lying,  and my body was shaking and I knew there were beings above or around me.  And I found myself 'flying'  my way down a spiral staircase,  really fast and really scared.  I woke up with fear and could feel it in my sacrum.

The dream and the feeling of running away reminded me of another dream (the one I described to you in 5G). Same karma probably.

It seems to me that the affirmations I did, may have softened an identity of 'I accept anything goes'  and allowed the karma to come up.

I will use the Forgiveness Meditation and see how it goes.

Thanks a lot!!

Best wishes to everyone :)

That's very powerful Alex.

Yes, I've seen much underlying karma activate from the subltlest of feelings. Hence the importance of being with "what is".

Be well within the experience.

Open Thumbs Up Sign

I know that I have been metaphorically “kicked” when I was the most vulnerable in my adult life. I also know that it has led to my most challenging experiences with forgiveness and karma, which I work on regularly. But, it has also helped me know the true “me” on many different levels and has been a part of moving forward on a spiritual path that is more in alignment with my truth. And I am thankful.


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The development of D.H. Lawrence’s philosophy of the unconscious: 1913-1922

Thornham, Susan (1974) The development of D.H. Lawrence’s philosophy of the unconscious: 1913-1922. Masters thesis, Durham University.

The term ‘philosophy' is Lawrence's own, used, hesitatingly, to refer to his expository essays. Critics have preferred other terms, notably 'doctrine', on the grounds that Lawrence's vision cannot lay claim to the rigour of philosophy. 'Doctrine', however, gives a misleading impression of rigidity to a body of work essentially exploratory and if philosophy is, in Whitehead's words, 'the critic of abstractions', then Lawrence's purpose, if not his method, can pretend to the definition. In a series of essays beginning in 1913 and ending properly with the Fantasia of the Unconscious of 1921, Lawrence sought to develop his philosophy. Art and philosophy he saw as parallel supreme expressions of 'man's conscious understanding' and he sought to express both and ultimately to unite the two. This thesis traces this development through the major essays of the years 1913 to 1921, adding a final discussion of the changes of the 1920s, as expressed now in both essays and fiction. It shows Lawrence, a 'passionately religious man' in a post-religious age, seeking to develop a philosophy in which life is the prime mover, the religious source, and the individual 'the beginning of life'. The religion which he sought to establish must also be a psychology; the psychology which he constructed had the significance of a faith. It shows him seeking to solve the problems inherent in such a standpoint. Finally, it shows him seeking to develop his views against the pressure of another major twentieth-century attempt to deal with man in a post-religious age: that of Freud. The themes were the same; the treatment opposite. Lawrence, at first attracted and stimulated by psychoanalysis, was finally moved to refutation, and the best of his philosophical essays were conceived as a direct answer to Freud.

Item Type:Thesis (Masters)
Award:Master of Letters
Thesis Date:1974
Copyright:Copyright of this thesis is held by the author
Deposited On:14 Mar 2014 16:21

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Chaos Rings

From Sonic Retro

Chaos Rings.PNG

The Chaos Rings are six powerful rings appearing in Knuckles' Chaotix. According to the Japanese manual, the Rings were created by an ancient civilization and infused with Chaos Emerald energy. Doctor Eggman builds a base on the mysterious island where they were created in order to find the Rings, which are hidden in Special Stages. Throughout the game, the Chaos Rings are collected in the same way as the Chaos Emeralds usually are, and having all six by the end rewards the player with the "good ending," featuring a picture of Sonic and Tails with the Chaotix.

The Chaos Ring storyline was largely unmentioned in the US manual, and instead Eggman was said to be trying to steal the "Power Emerald" from "Carnival Island". The Chaos Rings can still be collected, but are never explained.

During development these rings were known as the Holy Rings. They were renamed "Chaos Rings" by Knuckles' Chaotix prototype 0202. It is unknown why their names were changed, though it may have something to do with religious censorship employed by many video game publishers at the time.

Items in the Sonic the Hedgehog Game Series
Power-ups   Shield (Water, Lightning, Fire, Gold) | Invincibility | Power Sneakers | Combine Ring | Power Core | Light Cores
Weapons   Piko Piko Hammer | Chaos Energy Cannon | Caliburn | Wispon
Other   Chili Dog | Scepter of Darkness | Cacophonic Conch


How do we create music we can feel?

Within 2 was a project I worked on with Meyer Sound, The Berkeley Center for New Media, and Artist Tarek Atoui. We started with the question of How do we create music for the hearing impaired?

Mitchell Karchemsky
Tarek Atoui
Greg Niemeyer
Perin Meyer
Andrew Frankel

My Role
Initial Prototyping
Idea Exploration
Product Manufacturing

Iterative Design
Software Programming

Within 2 was a project I worked on with Meyer Sound, The Berkeley Center for New Media, and Artist Tarek Atoui. We started with the question of “How do we create music for the hearing impaired?” A quote by Stanford Professor Anne Fernald guided me throughout the project:

“Sound is touch at a distance.”

How can we rethink music in such a way that brings it to a more visceral physical sensation?

Tarek worked with a school for deaf children and ran an experiment where the children were told to go to the city and record the sounds of things they like, which sounds like a fools errand of sorts. What he found is that they would record the sounds of motors and pumps which would vibrate and hum at low frequencies. When interviewed, they noted that they liked how they could feel the sound.

This required lots of different creative thoughts but after weeks of work, we found that low frequencies, sub 100hz leading into what is called infra-base, when amplified propagates powerful waves which feels like a punch when you stand in front of a speaker.

We took this concept and broke it into two seperate instruments: 0.9 and SuperPac

The SuperPac is a direct translation of sound to physical sensation. Utilizing special chairs with built in resonating transducers, the chair serves as the physical interface between the sounds generated and the participant. We needed a way to create signals for the chairs to play and so I was tasked with the work of designing a texture board. Essentially a table with a 4x4 grid of specially textured wood boards which can be stroked and rubbed with special contact microphones to generate tones of different timbres. Three special tables with different physical interaction modalities were made allowing for the artists to not only play but to perform with their full bodies and having the physical motions directly for the observer to experience.

Zero point nine was heavily influenced by Ernst Chladni and his famous work on standing waves and vibratory plates. Chaldni found that placing sand particles on a plate and having the plate resonate would create standing waves, or still points at certain areas of the resonating medium. We wanted to take this effect of standing points in a wave and expand it to a concert hall. With help from Meyer sound, we created 3 platforms consisting of 3 extremely powerful sub-woofers which would produce sounds ranging from 8hz (below the audible level of 20hz ) to 120hz. With these powerful speakers we filled two separate concert halls, a performance auditorium at Mills College, and Hearst Memorial Mining at UC Berkeley. This created a more interactive experience where people explored the space and found areas in the respective buildings where the physical feeling the difference in resonant frequencies in the floor, pillars, glass windows, and even the air around them.

With the heavy inspiration from the children that Tarek interviewed, we wanted to bring in a component of gestural languages as a medium for art. To do this, we utilized the powerful hand and gestural detection platform of the Leap Motion Sensor. Working closely with CNMAT, we interfaced the sensors to the speakers using MaxMSP and a custom built library to help our performers get a more intuitive sense of the gestural language of the instrument.

You can read more about it here in this press release

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The Invention Lab is a UC Berkeley makerspace focused on helping students, researchers, and faculty to make embedded systems inventions.

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How can we make firefighters safer?

Technology startup focused on creating a safer more effective workforce for firefighters through the use of on-person telemetry units.

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How do we create music we can feel?

Collaboration with Meyer Sound, The Berkeley Center for New Media, and Artist Tarek Atoui. How do we create music for the hearing impaired?

Read Me

Hardware and Industrial Design

The MakerPass Authentication system allows for Maker-spaces to grant access to privilaged members in a low-cost, easy to implement solution.

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How can we feel information?

An experiment in haptic feedback modalities and sensory extension. We improved the performance of a player by delivering curated contextual information

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Hardware and Industrial Design

Berkeley Institute of Design. Drill Sergeant enables new makers to build confidence through self-guided interactive physical feedback driven tutorials.

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Dekhi Zamane Ki Yaari Guru Dutt, Mohammed Rafi, Kaagaz Ke Phool, Emotional Song 2

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Matter of Balance

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A Matter of Balance includes eight two-hour sessions for a small group led by a trained facilitator. This nationally recognized program was developed at the Roybal Center at Boston University.


Flow – Why Playing Is the Best Way to Learn

Flow. It conjures up images of air flow, the flow of water, hair flowing in the wind.

Yet, it is also an apt description in psychology for a state of mind we constantly aspire to. Though it is not widely known, flow proves psychologically that playing games is one of the best ways of learning things.

What is Flow?

Flow refers to the ideal mental state in which we perform tasks. When we experience flow, we become absorbed by the activity. Time becomes dilated; we feel as though a minute has passed when in fact it is an hour. We feel focused, resolute, a sense of joy and satisfaction upon completing it.

Sounds familiar? Simply, it is when we are experiencing a ‘hot streak’, being ‘in the zone’ or why time flies when we do something we love.

Flow was first discovered by psychologist Mihaly Csikzentmihalyi in 1975. Over the years, it gained increasing popularity as more people relate to it. Since then, it has become an influential term in psychology, educational theory, organisational theory and even management.

The truth is, flow is not unique. It has been recognized time and again throughout history and in different locations. For instance, Wikipedia states that flow has been used in many Asian religions. In Buddhism and Taoism, ancient teachings refer to wu wei or action of inaction, while in Hinduism, the Bhagavad-Gita alludes to a similar mental thinking.

States of Mind

According to Nakamura and Csíkszentmihályi (1989), there are 6 factors that contribute to achieving flow.

- Intense and focused concentration at that present moment

- Merging of action and awareness

- A loss of reflective self-consciousness

- A sense of personal control or agency over the situation or activity

- Distortion of time

- Experience of the activity as intrinsically rewarding

Later studies added to these. For instance, psychologist Cherry says that there are 3 other key factors, namely:

- Immediate feedback

- Feeling that you have the potential to succeed

- Feeling so engrossed in the experience, that other needs become negligible

Another study by Schaffer (2013) presented 7 conditions required to enter a state of flow. As we approach a task, we ought to:

- Know what to do

- Know how to do it

- Know how well you are doing

- Know where to go

- Have high perceived challenges

- Have high perceived skills

- Have freedom from distractions

All in all, flow is best summed up as having these requirements. These mental states allows us to have the most enjoyable experience when performing the task.

- Be involved in an activity with goals and progress that are clearly visible. This helps to create direction and structure.

- Feedback should be clear, immediate and direct. This allows us to have a clear sense of how we are doing. We can then adjust our work accordingly to achieve the desired performance.

- There must be a balance between difficulty and ability to complete the task. You should feel that while it is a challenge, it is still something that can be completed, instead of being impossible.

In essence, we see a satisfyingly challenging task. We believe we are skillful enough to build it. We are motivated to work hard and persevere on. We see some feedback from us completing a part of it. We are spurred by our success, becoming more motivated.

Finally, at the end of it, we gain high levels of satisfaction and gratification from our accomplishment. We look back at wondrous surprise at how we have spent the whole afternoon playing with it, while simultaneously improving our concentration and cognitive abilities.

Flowing Through Educational Games

Let us take a closer look at how flow relates to educational games and learning. Looking at the states of flow, we see that learning games fulfill many of the requirements of flow.

Focus and concentration while performing the task

The Space Race Ace requires a high degree of concentration to build the track correctly in a pleasing way. It is easy for children to lose concentration, but they are motivated by every portion that they finish.

A sense of personal agency over the activity

Especially prevalent among children, they intuitively understand that there is a big world out there and they have little control over it. Educational games like the Solaris Solar Kit comes with detailed instructions and modular pieces, allowing them to build and experiment while not overwhelming them with details.

Immediate feedback

Most educational games provide some form of instant feedback. For instance, when the Balance Tower topples, children will know that they have made a mistake immediately. Compare this to tests which have (very) delayed feedback.

Have high perceived challenge and skills

Perhaps more so than any other learning methods, educational games provide a healthy balance of challenge and skill. The games are carefully designed and playtested.

Also, one advantage games have is that you can modify the challenge easily. Ad hoc vocabulary games are flexible; you can give the other player a chance if their skill is weaker, while ramping the challenge up when they get better at it.

Group Flow

Flow is important is social psychology and sociology too. Group flow is a form of positive feedback, where flow achieved by one person is induced into another and another, until the entire group enters flow.

Groups become more cohesive, cooperative, argue less, work faster and achieve greater results. We have all seen group flow when an orchestra plays as one soul, or when a sports team appear to be psychic.

This form of group learning can be achieved through games as well. Many organizations are using serious games or learning games for employees’ training and motivation. With group flow, the team’s positive energy bounces off each other and better results are achieved.

Within your work team or family, you can try some simple educational games to achieve group flow. Games like Balance Chairs create a positive atmosphere and helps to bond groups. This positive attitude cannot be understated as it can be sustained even through more serious tasks.

Master of Flow

We hope you see the value of fun games in aiding education and development now.

Flow induces the belief that we are capable of overcoming great challenges. We are more motivated and persevere at the task. In doing so, we build on a small success to achieve greater successes.

Hence, playing allows us to achieve flow more easily. In doing so, we learn more and are motivated to play more, and learn more, and play more, and… You get the idea!

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Published: Thu, June 07, 2018
Science | By Michele Flores

Is the Mysterious Planet Nine Just a Swarm of Asteroids?

Batygin and Brown calculated that this world, dubbed Planet Nine, may be 10 times more massive than Earth and orbit the sun about 20 times farther away than Neptune does. "We can solve a lot of these problems by just taking into account that question".

This means Sedna's orbit can transition from being relatively normal to appearing to be detached from our solar system because of a multitude of interactions with the gravity of smaller bodies.

The hypothesis of the existence of a ninth planet was first put forward in 2012, when Scott Sheppard and Chadwick Trujillo, two scientists from the Carnegie Institution of Science and Northern Arizona University, discovered several celestial bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune (the so-called trans-Neptunian objects, or Tno), composed mainly of rocks, ice and solid methane. According to some of the astronomers these orbits are believed to be the signature of hypothesizing "planet nine", as suggested by a new study. The key evidence was the highly eccentric orbits of some Kuiper Belt objects, which are tilted 30 degrees off-kilter from the rest of the planets.

The work explaining the collective gravity theory was presented at a press briefing at the 232nd meeting of the American Astronomical Society, which runs from June 3-7 in Denver.

The Kuiper Belt, the region immediately beyond Neptune, harbors TNOs of many sizes. There is also a theory that suggests unseen ninth planet lurking beyond Neptune may have kicked up the orbits of these detached objects.

To review: The primary evidence for the existence of Planet 9 is the large number of TNOs with highly unusual orbits within our solar system. This explains the oddball behavior of Sedna, which is a little smaller than Pluto but follows a massive, circular orbital path to circumnavigate the sun, just like other detached objects. Sedna itself was only discovered in 2003, while the second-largest (by volume) and most massive dwarf planet, Eris, was found in 2005.

This research was supported by NASA Solar System Workings and the Rocky Mountain Advanced Computing Consortium Summit Supercomputer.

Next-generation BMW X5 unveiled
Called the BMW Live Cockpit Professional display, the digital cluster makes its debut in the X5 and it comes as standard fitment. In order to do this, we went to the BMW Plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina to see how the new BMW X5 is being built.

Chinese citizens remember Tiananmen Tank Man
China has lodged stern representations with the United States, its foreign ministry said on Monday, over comments by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urging it to come clean on the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.

Trump Insults Canada In Private Phone Call With Trudeau Over Tariffs
The problem with Trump's comments to Trudeau is that British troops burned down the White House during the War of 1812. The World Trade Organization, for example, has become completely ineffectual".

It was the dynamics of detached objects like Sedna that astrophysicist Jacob Fleisig was studying when he noticed, according to his computer simulations, that occasionally they came into alignment, like the hands of a clock.

Planet Nine has not been confirmed, however, and all attempts to find it have been fruitless.

"These orbits crash into the bigger body, and what happens is those interaction will change its orbit from an oval shape to a more circular shape". While the researchers couldn't directly connect their observations to the collision that wiped out the dinosaurs and most life on Earth, Fleisig called the possibility "tantalizing".

The findings may also provide clues around another phenomenon: the extinction of the dinosaurs.

The jostling of these asteroids and space junk might have led to other effects like regularly directing comets into the inner solar system - some of which could have headed toward Earth.

"The handful we've seen is not enough", Fleisig said.

Like this:


Definitions of genus

  1. ( biology) taxonomic group containing one or more species
  2. a general kind of something; " ignore the genus communism"
  5. A broad, general class having under it several groups with certain common characteristics; as, in the animal kingdom the lion, leopard, tiger, cat, and panther are species of the catkind, or genus; in the vegetable kingdom all the species of oak form a certain genus; in logic, a class made up of two or more species, or lower classes.
  6. In natural history classification, the division between the order ( or family) and the species.
  7. Generic, generical.
  8. Group containing several species.
  9. A group or class embracing subordinate classes or species.
  10. An assemblage of species possessing certain characters in common, by which they are distinguished; a class made up of two or more species. Summum genus, a genus contained in no higher Subaltern genus, a genus which is a species to another.
  11. Genera. A group of closely related species, in classification of plants or animals.

Usage examples for genus

  1. I knew them by the shape of their bills and their nests to belong to the genus Phaethornis. – On the Banks of the Amazon by W.H.G. Kingston
  2. Some species of this genus are several feet long. – The Student's Elements of Geology by Sir Charles Lyell
  3. There is no competition among Priests who shall do the utmost degree of good, but who shall have the power of tithing and deceiving the people: if the people had sufficient sense they would treat all Priests as the different kinds of Priests treat each other- as hypocrites and impostors; constant in jealousy, constant in acrimonious opposition and mutual abuse, every order, every genus, are contending for the spoil of credulity. – The Character Of A Priest by Philanthropos
  4. This need not cause surprise, as the genus Rana is certainly not European. – The History of the European Fauna by R. F. Scharff
  5. Every institution has some good teachers, some very excellent ones, but no institution is overstockt with species of that genus. – On the Firing Line in Education by Adoniram Judson Ladd
  6. Mr. Gould informs me the animals of the latter genus also use their tails for the purpose of carrying the grass to their nests. – Journals Of Two Expeditions Of Discovery In North-West And Western Australia, Vol. 2 (of 2) by George Grey
  7. The genus label should be in prominent type, somewhat smaller than the family label, and should be placed at the head of the genus. – Directions for Collecting and Preserving Insects by C. V. Riley
  8. Although I first collected Ptychohyla in 1956, it was not until 1960 that special efforts were made to obtain specimens of this genus. – A Review of the Middle American Tree Frogs of the Genus Ptychohyla by William E. Duellman
  9. This, while they claim a sort of miniature relationship, forms them into a separate genus. – Anecdotes of the Habits and Instinct of Animals by R. Lee
  10. All girls belong to the genus nuisance. – A Little Rebel by Mrs. Hungerford
  11. But it should be remembered, that some species of this genus invariably live, both whilst young and old, in cavities, which the animal has the power of enlarging with its growth. – Coral-Reefs by Darwin, Charles
  12. Therefore let the genus comprehending both of these be either a ceremony or a sacred work. – The Apology of the Augsburg Confession by Philip Melanchthon
  13. Universal inspiration is a genus, of which this is a species. – Orthodoxy: Its Truths And Errors by James Freeman Clarke
  14. A well- marked genus, by reason of the peculiar origin of the capillitium. – The Myxomycetes of the Miami Valley, Ohio by A. P. Morgan
  15. I am uncertain about the genus, not having seen the seed- vessels, but whatever that may be, it is of our finest Australian plants. – The Bushman Life in a New Country by Edward Wilson Landor
  16. This is the type of Grey's genus Catolynx, the other species in India being F. charltoni. – Natural History of the Mammalia of India and Ceylon by Robert A. Sterndale
  17. It is an extraordinary fact that one species in a genus may be luminous and another closely allied species contain no trace of luminosity. – The Nature of Animal Light by E. Newton Harvey
  18. These, as articles of food, are perhaps more widely diffused over the face of the earth than any other genus of edible plants. – The Book of Household Management by Mrs. Isabella Beeton
  19. But this is not at all the case with a genus and its species. – Ontology or the Theory of Being by Peter Coffey
  20. He formed his opinions with the greatest haste, and with the greatest perseverance stuck to them; for he was the most generous of mankind, if generous means one quite full of his genus. – Erema My Father's Sin by R. D. Blackmore


Synchronous sensor network

What is a synchronous sensor network? A synchronous sensor network consists of distributed autonomous sensors to monitor physical or environmental conditions and to pass their data through the sensor network to a main location. When the data is sampled synchronously and transmitted wireless at high speed, the system is… (READ MORE)

WLAN data acquisition and WLAN data transmission

WLAN data acquisition and WLAN data transmission in sensor networks The following blog post deals with: mobile data acquisition, wlan data acquisition and wlan data transmission. Mobile data collection using WLAN WLAN data acquisition in a wireless sensor network is implemented… (READ MORE)

Machine condition monitoring by wireless vibration measurement and vibration analysis

Why do you need wireless vibration measurement? By wireless vibration measurement and wireless vibration analysis changes on a machine can be identified through the permanent acquisition and analysis of vibrations. By vibration monitoring, the safety of personnel and the machine can… (READ MORE)


Ocean asteroid could damage ozone layer

Water vapour and sea salt thrown up by asteroid impact could damage the protective ozone layer.

London: If a medium-sized asteroid were to land in the oceans a tsunami wouldn`t be the only worry, say scientists– Earth’s ozone layer could be at risk too.

A new computer simulation suggests that the water vapour and sea salt thrown up by the impact could damage the protective ozone layer, leading to record levels of ultraviolet radiation that could threaten human civilisation.

Elisabetta Pierazzo of the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Arizona, and colleagues used a global climate model to study how water vapour and sea salt thrown up from an impact will affect ozone levels for years after the event.

They focused on medium-sized asteroids, either 500 metres or 1 kilometre wide. To date, 818 asteroids that are at least 1 km wide have been discovered on orbits that could take them close to Earth.

To get a sense of how much water might be jettisoned into the atmosphere if these asteroids hit the ocean, the team modelled what would happen if they reached Earth`s atmosphere at a clip of 18 kilometres per second, an average speed expected for a near-Earth object, and hit the ocean in the northern hemisphere at a 45-degree angle.

As expected, the simulations showed that the larger, 1-km asteroid created the bigger splash, throwing 42 trillion kilograms of water and vapour – enough to fill 16 million Olympic-sized swimming pools – across an area more than 1000 kilometres wide and up to hundreds of kilometres above the Earth`s surface.

Once in the atmosphere, the water, together with compounds containing chlorine and bromine from vaporised sea salts, destroyed ozone above the Earth`s atmosphere at a much faster rate than it is naturally created.

"It will produce an ozone hole that will engulf the entire Earth," New Scientist quoted Pierazzo as saying.

The study has been published in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters.


If You Think The ‘Ferguson Effect’ is to Blame for the Rise in Crime… Think Again

Murder and violent crime have risen dramatically in several major cities in 2015. In New York, the murder rate has gone up 20% compared to the early months of 2014. In Los Angeles, violent crime is up 27%. In Houston, murders are up nearly 50%. In Baltimore, murders are up 37%.

Some are attributing this spike in murders to a so-called “Ferguson Effect.” The Ferguson Effect is the theory that the recent protests and public outrage against police brutality have caused police to draw back from everyday enforcement, leaving a ‘criminal element’ feeling empowered.

Facing the hard challenge head on is part of American culture. It is George Washington at Valley Forge. It’s Susan B. Anthony and Women’s Suffrage. It’s the Civil Rights Movement. It’s going to the Moon and John Wayne movies. It is grit and determination in the face of considerable odds. It may not be a uniquely American trait, but it is a distinct part of American culture.

Yet there is another culture, birthed out of electoral politics, that says everything boils down to one cause and one effect. It allows candidates to identify a problem, brand its cause, and prescribe a simple solution to win votes. It operates under the assumption that modern Americans are nothing like our predecessors, and we can’t be trusted with the hard answers.

This approach is deeply damaging to the American public, and the propagating of the “Ferguson Effect” is representative of that.

It Diminishes the Significance of the Protests

What happened in Ferguson, in Baltimore, and in smaller protests across the country matters. You don’t have to be black to feel a sense of outrage after being inundated by videos of police officers shooting young black men. How you perceive the causes — and potential solutions — to this problem might differ, but that universally human sense of empathy should be engaged regardless.

And these protests were representative of far more than the deaths of Michael Brown or Freddie Gray. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “A riot is the language of the unheard.” These protests were an outpouring of frustration from communities that are ignored, an expression of outrage against the inequalities and environment that allow unarmed black men to be killed by police.

The “Ferguson Effect” diminishes these factors by tying potential negative consequences of the protests against police to the recent spike in murders and violent crime. It implies that protests against police brutality have consequences for local communities, and it ignores the greater meaning behind the protests. Propagating the “Ferguson Effect” is almost like saying to anyone who protested over the past year, “you asked for it.”

These protests were exactly what the public should have done. When the government is unresponsive to the needs of the people, the protesters took to the streets, and made it impossible for America and its leaders to ignore or forget these problems. Looting and violence in the protests cannot be condoned, but the outrage was justified. The implication of a fixation on the “Ferguson Effect” is to discourage future protests, when they should be encouraged.

It Disrespects the Intelligence of the American People

The spike in murders is far more complex than “it is a result of the Ferguson protests.” In Baltimore, the police chief has attributed it to the pharmacies looted in the riots, subsequently flooding the streets with drugs. In New York, some attribute the spike to the decline in “stop and frisk.” Other local factors, such as the size of the city’s youth population, the level of social disadvantage, and the city’s social disorganization, can have a key role in a spike in crime.

By attributing the rise in crime to the recent protests, the “Ferguson Effect” makes the flawed argument that if one event follows another, the second must have been caused by the first. In so doing, it ignores the multitude of factors that are likely at play.

The “Ferguson Effect” is also founded on the assumption that Americans can only see this issue in black or white. In a Wall Street Journal piece by Heather MacDonald, she stated that “‘Ferguson effects’ are happening across the country as officers scale back on proactive policing under the onslaught of anti-cop rhetoric.” But this entirely mischaracterizes the protests. These protests were not “anti-cop,” but anti-police-killing-unarmed-black-men, and the systemic problems which underpinned these events. While anti-cop rhetoric certainly exists — sometimes in these protests — let’s not mischaracterize the entire event.

As a people, let’s have a little faith in each other and our ability to see shades. If the “Ferguson Effect” does exist, police officers should understand it was not about them doing their job, but rather that certain police officers had unnecessarily killed young men. And protestors should understand that the protests are an indictment of a particular trend in policing, and not policing in general. It feels painfully obvious writing this out, but the “Ferguson Effect” would deny that this is even possible.

It Ignores that Americans Are Willing to Tackle the Hard Problem

The “Ferguson Effect” is indicative of a political system that says, “Here is a complex problem, and here is the easy solution.” In doing so, it disrespects Americans’ ability to understand the complex problem, and their willingness to take that head on.

Is it any surprise that after years of candidates promising easy solutions only to fall short in office we are disillusioned with politics and our government? Americans deserve the hard truth because then we can face it head on, fully prepared, and equipped to tackle it in its entirety.

The dramatic spike in the murder rate in certain cities (and the wider problem of racial inequality spotlighted by the protests) has no single cause, and no easy solution. This is a challenge caused by a diverse array of problems and it requires a systemic approach. Oversimplifying it to the “Ferguson Effect” diminishes the significance of the protests, disrespects the intelligence of the public, and ignores our willingness to tackle the hard problem. Americans deserve the hard truth, and we deserve leadership that will give it.

Editor’s note: This article, written by Andy Smith, originally published on the Centrist Project’s blog on June 5, 2015, and has been edited for publication on IVN. You can learn more about the Centrist Project on its website or follow the organization on Twitter and Facebook.

Photo Credit: a katz / Shutterstock.com


Jack Ü Break Down Creating "Where Are Ü Now"; Share Unheard Versions

  Jack Ü's "Where Are Ü Now" is easily one of the summer's biggest hits. With its surprising Justin Bieber feature and upbeat vibes, the song served as one of the more pleasant surprises on the Jack Ü album.

In a recent feature done for the New York Times, Jack Ü (alongside Biebs) go into detail with the song, explaining its origins, composition, recalling the first time it was ever performed and more.

At around the 3:30 mark, Skrillex decides to let loose previously unheard versions of the song. Although they do not make the song completely unrecognizable, these versions do contain different builds, drops and other elements that would have ultimately taken away from its now almost iconic sound.

The feature goes on to explain performing the song for the first time, and reveals exactly what the heck that "dolphin-flute" sound is at the drop.

Next month, Diplo is set to open for Madonna during select dates of her "Rebel Heart" tour, while Skrillex just released a new collab with Jauz and Fatman Scoop, available for fee thanks to Adult Swim:


QNT 275 Week 2 Activity Data Set

Resource: University of Phoenix Material: Data Set

Review the following business scenario:

You are the manager in a small town in the lake district of a Midwestern state enjoys a robust tourist season during the summer months, but has only a small population of residents during the off season. The Littletown Café adjusts the levels of staff according to the time of year, to coincide with the number of guests, with the tourist season typically starting around Memorial Day each year. One wait staff employee can serve 50 guests. When a bus staff employee is added, the pair can serve 75 guests. At 76 guests, the café adds a second wait staff employee, for a total of 2 waiters and one busser. Analysis of guest numbers can support future decisions about scheduling wait staff, dishwashers, and bus staff for the café.

Download the data set.

Review the data in the data set.

Explain why this is (or is not) a suitable sample of quantitative data for the business scenario. Evaluate the factors that would affect the validity of the data set. Evaluate the factors that would affect the reliability of the data set. Explain the steps you took to arrive at your conclusion about validity and reliability. Display the data set in a chart. Explain briefly why that chart type was selected. Calculate the measures of central tendency and variability (mean, median, mode, standard deviation) for the data. Explain the steps you followed to come your answer. Interpret the measures of central tendency and variability.What are three conclusions you can draw based on the data analysis?

Click the Assignment Files tab to submit your assignment.

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Are these symptoms of dehydration? Today at softball practice I was working really hard when all of a sudden I felt extremely light-headed. This accompanied the urge to vomit and I had to sit down to avoid falling down. My vision seemed to turn black. I d

This . This sounds more like low blood sugar. Did you eat before practice? If so did you eat enough, that is also an important question? Also, dehydration could also have played a role. Was your fluid intake low? The pain in your throat may have been the start of a throat infection, which could make you more prone to dehydration. If these symptoms have occurred a second time and/ or your throat is sore or you have a fever, i recommend you have a complete evaluation by your doctor right away. Take care.


Complex Regional Pain Syndrome and Sphenopalatine Ganglion Blocks CRPS Treatment Protocols and Future Treatments.

The following was originally published on the Think Better Life website

CRPS Chicago: Complex Regional Pain Syndrome can respond to SPG Blocks

The problems facing patients with CRPS are enormous and treatment protocols need to be developed as many patients have little to no relief with current treatments.

I have well over 100 patient testimonials on a wide variety of chronic pain disorders at:

I strongly believe that the single most effective approach with SPG Blocks is for the patient to learn how to self administer the Sphenopalatine Ganglion Block, initially twice a day. This allows them to avoid spending their lives in physicians offices.

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome most frequently occurs following and injury but can also occur from long standing pain problems leading to central sensitization. CRPS is one of the most difficult disorders to treat. Prior to discussing Sphenopalatine Ganglion Blocks in the treatment of CRPS it is important to understand the basics.
Patients with CRPS often experience Hyperalgesia or increased sensitivity to nociceptive input can be severe with even minimal noxious stimulation leading to severe or paroxysmal pain responses and Allodynia, the perception of pain from non-nociceptive input such as light touch.

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome is the current designation for what was previously called reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD) and /or causalgia
Another designation was reflex neurovascular dystrophy (RND) which is an amplified musculoskeletal pain syndrome (AMPS).

CRPS frequently is associated with systemic autonomic dysregulation with major effects on the CNS or Central Nervous System and resultant symptoms including neurogenic edema.

The International Association for the Study of Pain describes two types of CRPS: Type I previously designated as reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD) and Type 2 previously designated as Causalgia.

Type one is also referred to as Sludeck’s Atrophy, Reflex Neurovascular Dystrophy or Algoneurodystrophy. Type 1 is by far the most common type of CRPS . Nerve lesions have not yet been confirmed in type 1 CRPS.

Type 2 by contrast routinely has easily seen nerve damage which may be why it is more difficult to control. While Type 1 is often considered Idiopathic disease Type 2 has a presumed cause of obvious frank nerve damage.

Treatment is challenging in cases of CRPS and is often unsatisfactory especially after the condition has become advanced. The enormous degree of enhanced sympathetic activity causing secondary vasoconstrictionmake some believe there is an unidentified neurotransmitter involved.

My personal theory is a combination of Neural Plasticity causing severe Central Sensitization with increased afferent nociceptive sensitivity leading to storms of neurotransmitter release inside the brain and possible wide spread chages in Gap Junctions in the CNS which could explain the spread of CRPS in affected individuals. The communication could spread directly cell to cell and not synaptically. The Glial cells could be a likely suspect of transmitting this gap junction spread as would the Schwann Cells responsible for Myelin Sheath coverage of neurons.

Secondarily, there is a descending storm of efferent activity again leading to storms of neurotransmitter release as well as kinins and histamine that also may open up increased Gap Juntion spread of the disorder periferrally. The Afferent – Efferent spread will create an I/O error or input output error to the brain.. Computer experts would dub this
Garbage in – Garbage out.

In computers the tech would shut down the computer and reboot. In humans this is a more difficult problem. Ketamine has been used to treat CRPS but probably is most effective if used to prevent or reverse early CRPS. Ketamine is effective in reducing opiod use post-surgery. Opiod use stimultes the Glial cell to break down opiods therefore decreaing the amount used to control pain is key. Ketamine used to treat intractable neuropathic pain and is useful in preventing spinal sensitization, the wind-up associated with chronic pain. By reducing neuroplasticity it may prevent development of CRPS and other disorders associated with Central Sensitization.

While this may help with pain it will not be an effective “reboot” of the system. (below source wikipedia) The effect of Ketamine causes dissociation between the limbic and thalamoneocortical systems with intact ocular, laryngeal, and pharyngeal reflexes. Ketamine is an antagonist of the glutaminergic N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDA-R), both centrally and in the spinal cord, prevents neuronal Ca2+influx, interference with neuronal plasticity, learning and memory, analgesia at central and spinal cord level, as well as interruption of the central sensitization core to chronic pain syndromes.

Ketamine could be used early to prevent Central Sensization but it has weak evidence in the literature.

Pain Med 2015 Jan 13. doi: 10.1111/pme.12675. A systematic Review of Ketamine for Complex Rgional Pain Syndrome was a Cockchrane review that” yielded 262 articles, 45 of which met the inclusion/exclusion criteria. Of those included, 6 were reviews, 5 were randomized placebo-controlled trials, 13 were observational studies, and 21 were case reports.” The conclusions were “there is no high quality evidence available evaluating the efficacy of ketamine for CRPS and all manuscripts examined in this review were of moderate to low quality. Therefore, we conclude there is currently only weak evidence supporting the efficacy of ketamine for CRPS, yet there is clearly a rationale for definitive study.”

This does not mean Ketamine is not effective in individual cases, it just cannot yet be considred a first line treatment. I believe the reason Ketamine is only weak in response is that Ketamine doses are insufficient to reboot the system in both dosage and time of infusion.

The use of a Curare type anaesthesia is association with Ketamine may be the Reboot Mechanism that is necessary for severe CRPS. Theis will reversibly inhibit the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor at the neuromuscular junction. Curare was shown to effectively treat tetanus and strichnine poisoning by interfering with nerve conduction from motor neuron to muscle at the neuromuscular junction (think Botox). This would require total life support including respiration. While the patient is in the anaesthesized state Insulin Potentiation Therapy using a shocking dose of insulin could simultaneously be used to Reboot the system. Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy is currently under investigation for CRPS therapy and conceivably could be used in conjunction with Insulin Potentiation. Insulin potentiation can also be used to move medications across cell membranes and /or the blood brain barrier. This could allow targeted medication use to limit adverse side effects of the medications. I first learned about Insulin Potentiation Therapy from a friend Dr Steve G Ayre a Canadian physician who worked with moving AZT across the Blood Brain Barrier in earl aids research. I learned fro Steve about Insulin Potentiation and then used the addition of very small amounts of insulin to lidocine while doing trigger point injections. Steve was conviced that Oxygen Potentiation held enormous benefits in the future.

Insulin Potentiation may become a treatment of choice for administering drugs to treat acquired Gap Junction Disease.

Cochrane reviews would never find evidence for drastic treatment of this type but considering the decrease in quality of life (QOL) in CRPS patients. A study “Risk factors for suicidal ideation among patients with complex regional pain syndrome.” by Lee DH, Noh EC, Kim YC, et al. in Psychiatry investigation. 2014 Jan;11(1):32-8. reported 74% of patients were considered at high risk for suicide. (abstract below).

The severe nature of CRPS and effects on QOL or Quality of Life demands seeking answers for our patients. Sympathetic Blocks including stellate ganglion blocks have had some success but there is little wrtten on the utilization of Sphenopalatine Ganglion Blocks for treating CRPS. ”

I recently had a patient in my office for routine dental work but due to her severe CRPS we had anaesthesia with Ketamine to facilitate what otherwise would have been incredibly painful experience. After the necessary dental work was done a bilateral SPG block was performed thru the greater palatine foramen intra-orally. The patients husband the pain relief from the Ketamine infusion lasted longer than when she goes in for just Ketamine infusion. These changes could be due to dosage and time of infusion or to addition of Parasympathetic Ganglion Block of the Sphenopalatine Ganglion. I work with Dr Stephen Best and the Neuroscience enter in Deerfield when Ketamine, Ketamine and Transcranial magnetic therapy or Hyperbaric Oxygen is indicated.

I first began utilizing SPG Blocks in the 1980’s when a TMJ/ Headache/ Migraine patient brought in the book “Miracles on Park Avenue” about an ENT physician who treated all matters of pain with Sphenopalatine Ganglion Blocks. The patient wanted me to help them find a doctor who would perform the block. There were no doctors in greater Chicagoland area but a friend and mentor Dr Jack Haden in Kansas City taught me a simple method of doing SPG blocks transnasally. The effect was life changing for my patient and I have been an advocate ever since. There are numerous protocols for administering SPG Blocks including intra-oral and extra-cranial injections and transnasal approaches such as MiRx protocol with TX360 or use of Sphenocath. I prefer the original method I learned for Jack Haden and the book “Miracles on Park Ave: Treatment of Arthritis andd other Chronic Pain” by Albert Benjamin Gerber. The bibliography ain that book was my library index of articles I read to understand the SPG block.

The advantage to the original approach is that it can easily and safely be self administered by patients at home one or multiple times daily and is extremely effective in eliminating and/or preventing pain in many patients. It is a tool I use in treating TMD (TMJ) patients, Migraine , Chronic Migraine, Autonomic Cephalgia, Tension headache and Chronic Daily Headache patients.

Correcting underlying physiology is easier when patients are comfortable.

“Risk factors for suicidal ideation among patients with complex regional pain syndrome.” Lee DH, Noh EC, Kim YC, et al. Psychiatry investigation. 2014 Jan;11(1):32-8.

Objective: Chronic pain frequently coexists with psychiatric symptoms in patients diagnosed with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). Previous studies have shown a relationship between CRPS and the risk of suicide. The purpose of this study was to assess risk factors for suicidal ideation in patients with CRPS.
Methods: Based on criteria established by the International Association for the Study of Pain, 39 patients diagnosed with CRPS Type 1 or Type 2 were enrolled in this study. Suicidal ideation was assessed using item 3 of the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD), and symptoms of pain were evaluated using the short form of the McGill Pain Questionnaire (SF-MPQ). Psychiatric symptoms were assessed in using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Disorders (SCID-I, SCID-II), the HAMD, the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAMA), the Global Assessment of Functioning Scale (GAF), and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI).

Results: Twenty-nine patients (74.4%) were at high risk and 10 (25.6%) were at low risk for suicidal ideation. Risk factors significantly associated with suicidal ideation included depression (p=0.002), severity of pain (p=0.024), and low scores on the GAF (p=0.027). No significant correlations were found between suicidal ideation and anxiety or quality of sleep.

Conclusion: Significant risk factors for suicidal ideation in patients with CRPS include severity of pain, depressive symptoms, and decreased functioning. These results suggest that psychiatric evaluation and intervention should be included in the treatment of CRPS.

***What follows is Reprinted from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke*****

What is complex regional pain syndrome?

Who can get CRPS?

Anyone can get CRPS. It can strike at any age and affects both men and women, although it is much more common in women. The average age of affected individuals is about age 40. CRPS is rare in the elderly. Children do not get it before age 5 and only very rarely before age 10, but it is not uncommon in teenagers.

What are the symptoms of CRPS?

The key symptom is prolonged pain that may be constant and, in some people, extremely uncomfortable or severe. The pain may feel like a burning or “pins and needles” sensation, or as if someone is squeezing the affected limb. The pain may spread to include the entire arm or leg, even though the precipitating injury might have been only to a finger or toe. Pain can sometimes even travel to the opposite extremity. There is often increased sensitivity in the affected area, such that even light touch or contact is painful (called allodynia).

People with CRPS also experience constant or intermittent changes in temperature, skin color, and swelling of the affected limb. This is due to abnormal microcirculation caused by damage to the nerves controlling blood flow and temperature. An affected arm or leg may feel warmer or cooler compared to the opposite limb. The skin on the affected limb may change color, becoming blotchy, blue, purple, pale, or red.
Other common features of CRPS include :

changes in skin texture on the affected area; it may appear shiny and thin
abnormal sweating pattern in the affected area or surrounding areas
changes in nail and hair growth patterns
stiffness in affected joints
problems coordinating muscle movement, with decreased ability to move the affected body part, and
abnormal movement in the affected limb, most often fixed abnormal posture (called dystonia) but also tremors in or jerking of the affected limb.
What causes CRPS

Doctors aren’t sure what causes some individuals to develop CRPS while others with similar trauma do not. In more than 90 percent of cases, the condition is triggered by a clear history of trauma or injury. The most common triggers are fractures, sprains/strains, soft tissue injury (such as burns, cuts, or bruises), limb immobilization (such as being in a cast), or surgical or medical procedures (such as needlestick). CRPS represents an abnormal response that magnifies the effects of the injury. In this respect it is like an allergy. Some people respond excessively to a trigger that causes no problem for other people.

Peripheral nerve abnormalities found in individuals with CRPS usually involve the small unmyelinated and thinly myelinated nerve fibers (axons) that carry pain messages and signals to blood vessels. (Myelin is a mixture of proteins and fat-like substances that surround and insulate some nerve fibers.) Because small fibers in the nerves communicate with blood vessels, small nerve fiber injuries may trigger the many different symptoms of CRPS. Molecules secreted from the ends of hyperactive injured small nerve fibers are thought to contribute to inflammation and blood vessel abnormalities. These peripheral nerve abnormalities in turn trigger abnormal neurological function in the spinal cord and brain, leading in some cases to complex disorders of higher cortical function.
Another abnormality in CRPS involves the blood vessels in the affected limb, which may dilate (open wider) or leak fluid into the surrounding tissue, causing red, swollen skin. The underlying muscles and deeper tissues can become starved of oxygen and nutrients, causing muscle and joint pain and damage. At times, the blood vessels may over-constrict (clamp down), causing cold, white, or bluish skin. The dilation and constriction of small blood vessels is controlled by small nerve fiber axons as well as chemical messengers in the blood.

CRPS also affects the immune system. High levels of inflammatory chemicals (cytokines) have been found in the tissues of people with CRPS. These contribute to the redness, swelling, and warmth reported by many patients. CRPS is more common in individuals with other inflammatory and autoimmune conditions such as asthma.

Limited data suggest that CRPS also may be influenced by genetics. Rare family clusters of CRPS have been reported. Familial CRPS may be more severe with earlier onset, greater dystonia, and more than one limb being affected.

Occasionally CRPS develops without any known injury. There may have been an internal injury caused by an infection, a blood vessel problem, or entrapment of the nerves, so careful examination is needed to determine the cause and treat it.

In many cases, CRPS is the result of multiple causes that act together to produce various symptoms.

How is CRPS diagnosed?

Currently there is no single diagnostic test to confirm CRPS. Diagnosis is based on the affected individual’s medical history and signs and symptoms that match the definition. But because several other conditions can cause similar symptoms, careful examination is important. Since most people improve gradually over time, diagnosis may be more difficult later in the course of the disorder.

Testing also may be used to help rule out other conditions, such as arthritis syndromes, Lyme disease, generalized muscle diseases, a clotted vein, or small nerve fiber polyneuropathies (such as from diabetes), because these require different treatment. The distinguishing feature of CRPS is usually a history of earlier injury to the affected area, as most of these other conditions are not triggered by injury. Individuals without a history of injury should be carefully examined to make sure that another treatable diagnosis is not missed.
Magnetic resonance imaging or triple-phase bone scans sometimes identify CRPS-characteristic changes in the bone metabolism. CRPS is often associated with excess bone resorption, a process in which certain cells break down the bone and release calcium into the blood.

What is the prognosis?

The outcome of CRPS varies from person to person. Almost all children and teenagers have good recovery. Occasionally individuals are left with unremitting pain and crippling, irreversible changes despite treatment. Anecdotal evidence suggests early treatment, particularly rehabilitation, is helpful in limiting the disorder, but this benefit has not yet been proven in clinical studies. More research is needed to understand the causes of CRPS, how it progresses, and the role of early treatment.

How is CRPS treated?

The following therapies are often used:

botulinum toxin injections
nasal calcitonin, especially for deep bone pain, and
topical local anesthetic creams and patches such as lidocaine.

Emerging treatments for CRPS include :

What research is currently being done on CRPS?

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is the primary Federal supporter of research on the brain and central nervous system. Other NIH institutes also support research on CRPS and other painful conditions.

NINDS-supported scientists are studying new approaches to treat CRPS and to intervene more aggressively to limit the symptoms and disability associated with the syndrome.
Previous research has shown that CRPS-related inflammation is supported by the body’s natural immune response. Researchers hope to better understand how CRPS develops by studying immune system activation and peripheral nerve signaling using an animal model of the disorder. The animal model was developed to mimic certain CRPS-like features following fracture or limb surgery, by activating certain molecules involved in the immune system process.

Limb trauma, such as a fracture and then having the limb placed in a cast, is a common cause of CRPS. By studying an animal model, researchers hope to better understand the neuroinflammatory basis of CRPS and to identify the relevant inflammatory signaling pathways that lead to the development of post-traumatic CRPS. They also will examine inflammatory effects of cast immobilization and exercise on the development of pain behaviors and CRPS symptoms.

Peripheral nerve injury and subsequent regeneration often lead to a variety of sensory deficits. Researchers hope to identify specific cellular and molecular changes in sensory neurons following peripheral nerve injury to better understand the processes that underlie neuroplasticity (the brain’s ability to reorganize or form new nerve connections and pathways following injury or death of nerve cells). Identifying these mechanisms could provide targets for new drug therapies that could improve recovery following regeneration.

Children and adolescents with CRPS generally have a better recovery than adults and offer a unique model for the study of chronic pain reversal. Scientists studying children with CRPS are investigating neuroplasticity and the biological processes that cause CRPS to occur, in the hopes of developing more effective therapies and accelerated recoveries for adults and children.


8K VR live streaming on show - TVBEurope

8K VR live streaming on show

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The possibilities of 8K virtual reality live streaming are being discussed on the Advantech stand, with a showcase of the VR capabilities of the company’s
Vega-3304 encoding accelerator.

Advantech said its Vega-3304 is the first commercial off-the-shelf accelerator to support single-channel 8Kp60 or 4-channel 4Kp60 real-time HEVC Main 10 contribution-grade encoding with SDI acquisition. “360° VR solution providers can use the VEGA-3304 to build compact, high-quality VR live encoders that accelerate the next wave of innovation in the media industry,” claimed Advantech.

VR has the potential to fully transform viewers’ experience but real mass adoption is likely to be subject to providing lifelike quality live content, stated Advantech, adding that this poses many infrastructure challenges.

“After stitching, a 360° video can surpass even 8K resolution and the quality of viewer experience will depend on keeping a high resolution throughout the contribution stages. Bandwidth optimisation is crucial to carry this back to the central distribution processing elements over existing networks, so HEVC plays a key role on VR live streaming enablement,” noted Advantech.

However, the potential computational load of multiple 4K or even 8K HEVC encoding is a significant hurdle to overcome in real world deployments.
Emily Teng, Vega video adapters product line manager, Advantech, said:

“The Vega-3304 makes significant progress on off-the-shelf available processing acceleration. Its impressive encoding quality combined with its unrivalled 8K capacity provides a powerfultool to VR developers, [who] now have a straightforward plug-in accelerator to deal with 360° video processing struggles.”


Modern data (1900–present) include observations, which are available in hourly, daily, and monthly form, include surface station observations such as temperature, precipitation, and wind speed as well as marine station observations such as SST, relative sea level, and wind speed. Also included in the modern data is the North American Regional Reanalysis (NARR), which contains gridded atmospheric variables (e.g., geopotential height, virtual temperature) at different heights in the atmosphere (e.g., 925 mb, 850 mb) at a 32-km resolution across North America.

Stratigraphy of shell midden at Everglades