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NSCLC is "Major Battlefield" as Merck,...
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As Immunotherapy Revolutionizes the Cancer Treatment...
The acquisition and processing of digital images is an essential aspect of biological research. While it is easy to learn how to acquire images with one's lab microscope, that it not the same as gaining an understanding of the underlying principles of image acquisition and optimization. Fortunately, the Hamamatsu Learning Center provides a great number of free resources designed to teach researchers basic concepts in digital imaging technology. The site contains a number of interactive Flash/Java tutorials that cover topics such as dynamic range, image processing, resolution, and analog-to-digital conversion. Additional topics such as binning and quantum efficiency are discussed in some of the many review articles found on the site. So if you find yourself wondering about bit depth and image histograms, head on over to the Hamamatsu Learning Center to have all of your questions answered.
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This probably ranks as one of the most ridiculous competitions I ever saw, as far as scoring
This probably ranks as one of the most ridiculous competitions I ever saw, as far as scoring
R/T's program, from choreography to costumes, looks very similar to their program from last year.
Last edited by Whitneyskates; 10-27-2012 at 04:38 PM.
Tanith also made mention that Hubbell/Donahue were lacking in the tension to really carry out the mood of the flamenco. Guess the judges picked up on that too.
Ekaterina and Ilia are such an attractive couple! Speaking of attractive couples, Anna and Luca are on the ice! Here's wishing them lots of luck!
Heh... the announcer made a stupid mistake miscalling C/L.
It's exciting when 6th in the world has a chance to beat the 1st ranking couple.
Anna is the most gorgeous woman ever
OK, I'm officially on the Capellini/Lanotte Love Train. I like their version of Carmen. I didn't catch a couple of elements during feed chop.

subset: commoncrawl


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Chelsea Handler: Jennifer Aniston Hasn't Told Me Anything About Her Wedding
"I know she's engaged but that's all I know," Chelsea Handler told talk show host Katie Couric. "I'm sure I'll find out about it when it's about to happen ... for privacy issues."
Handler co-hosts Friday's episode of Couric's syndicated talk show Katie but had very little to share about her pal Aniston's pending nuptials to Justin Theroux.
"I honestly don't know anything about it," Handler said. "She doesn't consult me on her plans."
The Chelsea Lately host also implied she has not been asked to be a bridesmaid (or a flower girl) by Aniston, who announced her engagement to Theroux last fall.
"Would you ask me to be a flower girl? I mean seriously," she told Couric, who answered politely, "I'm not getting married but I would ask you to be a bridesmaid."
"Bridesmaids are tricky," Handler continued. "If I got married I wouldn't even have a bridesmaid. [My talk show sidekick Chuy Bravo] would be my flower girl – or no, ring bearer. See! I don't even know what happens at weddings."
There is one thing Handler can confirm about Aniston's engagement to Theroux: "She's happy, of course," Handler said. "He's a great guy."


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Occupational asthma is a lung disorder in which substances found in the workplace cause the airways of the lungs to swell and narrow. This leads to attacks of wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and coughing.
Asthma - occupational exposure; Irritant-induced reactive airways disease
Asthma is caused by inflammation (swelling) in the airways of the lungs. When an asthma attack occurs, the lining of the air passages swells and the muscles surrounding the airways become tight. This reduces the amount of air that can pass by.
In persons who have sensitive airways, asthma symptoms can be triggered by breathing in substances called triggers.
Many substances in the workplace can trigger asthma symptoms, leading to occupational asthma. The most common triggers are wood dust, grain dust, animal dander, fungi, or chemicals.
The following workers are at higher risk:
Symptoms are usually due to narrowing of the airways and tightening spasms of the muscles lining the airways. This reduces the amount of air that can pass through and it can lead to wheezing sounds.
Symptoms usually occur shortly after you are exposed to the substance. They often improve or go away when you leave work. Some people may not have symptoms until 12 or more hours after being exposed to the allergen.
Symptoms usually get worse toward the end of the work week and may go away on weekends or vacations.
Symptoms include:
The health care provider will perform a physical exam and ask about your medical history. Your symptoms may have a pattern of getting worse with a certain workplace environment or substance.
The health care provider will listen to your lungs with a stethoscope to check for wheezing.
Tests may be ordered to confirm diagnosis:
Avoiding exposure to the substance that is causing your asthma is the best treatment.
Measures may include:
Asthma medicines may help manage your symptoms.
Your doctor may prescribe:
Occupational asthma may keep getting worse if you continue to be exposed to the substance that is causing the problem, even if medicines improve your symptoms. You may need to change jobs.
Sometimes, symptoms may continue even when the substance is removed.
In general, the outcome for people with asthma is good. However, symptoms may continue for years after you are no longer exposed in the workplace.
Call your health care provider if you have symptoms of asthma.
Chan-Yeung M, Malo JL. Asthma in the workplace and occupational asthma. In: Mason RJ, Broaddus VC, Martin TR, et al., eds. Murray & Nadel's Textbook of Respiratory Medicine. 5th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Elsevier Saunders; 2010:chap 64.
Cowl CT. Occupational asthma: review of assessment, treatment, and compensation. Chest. 2011;139:674-681.
On a mission to heal body, mind and spirit


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Editor's Note: This is the second in a two-part series on holly plants.
In Part 1 of "Haul out the hollies," we learned that early settlers to this country were comforted when they found the American holly, which reminded them of home. What they didn't know was that to Native Americans, the Yaupon holly (Ilex vomitoria) was as familiar as the corner coffee shop.
Yaupon hollies contain caffeine in the stems and leaves that were used extensively by Native Americans as their equivalent of a morning cup of Joe. Ceremonial uses included downing copious amounts of "Black Drink," as they called it, until they, well, vomited, hence the expressive botanical name, "vomitoria." This descriptive name leads people to believe this plant to be toxic. It wasn't the drink itself that made them purge, it was the sheer volume of the beverage consumed.
Native from Virginia to Florida and westward through Texas, this tough evergreen holly thrives in a wide range of sites tolerating salt spray, partial shade, full sun and a wide range of soil types. Providing cover and food for wildlife, the Yaupon holly supports many song and game birds as well as mammals such as raccoons, skunks, foxes, and armadillos, according to the USDA Plant Database.
With jewel-like red berries, small leaved, gray-green foliage and interesting gray bark, Yaupon hollies provide great winter interest with virtually no pest or disease problems.
A range of available cultivars means there is a Yaupon holly for every landscape situation. The straight species can be trained into a small tree by regularly removing lower limbs and emerging sprouts from the base. With proper care, they form vase-shape trees with mature heights of 15 to 25 feet over approximately a 10-year time frame.
Weeping cultivars make dramatic landscape specimens. Commonly available cultivars include 'Folsom's Weeping' and 'Pendula' or 'Grey's Weeping,' a large weeping specimen that reaches 35 feet tall, according to the University of Florida. Both of these cultivars are female plants that produce beautiful berries as long as a male pollenizer is nearby.
'Nana' is a dwarf, compact shrub that is typically used as a foundation plant and in formal shrub borders. Because it is a male plant, it does not produce berries. Even more compact is the cultivar 'Schelling's Dwarf.'
If it's berries you seek, 'Pride of Houston' is a medium-size shrub with very heavy fruit production.
There are even some yellow-fruit cultivars such as 'Aureo,' 'Otis Miley' and 'Wiggins' Yellow.'
While evergreen hollies tend to hog the spotlight this time of year, there is one deciduous holly that deserves some recognition.
Winterberry holly (Ilex decidua), also known as Possumhaw, might lose its leaves for the winter, but that is so that we might better appreciate the stunning orange to red berries gracing the branches of this native tree.
Winterberry is widely adapted to various sites, but is sometimes called Swamp holly because it can tolerate wet feet part of the year.
A petite understory holly, it reaches only 6 to 10 feet tall. The foliage is dark green and nondescript through the growing season, revealing its inner beauty when leaves drop and berries sparkle in the winter landscape. The berries persist until spring, when they ripen enough to be a tasty treat for birds and other wildlife. Like most hollies, they are dioecious, and the female berry producing plants require a male pollinizer nearby.
December is the perfect time to haul a holly into your landscape. Instead of gathering around the television this year, grab a shovel and plant a tree with your family and friends. You will be creating a new holiday tradition, and next year you can deck the halls with fresh greenery and shiny berries.
Amy L. Dabbs is the urban horticulture extension agent and Tri-County Master Gardener coordinator for the Clemson University Cooperative Extension. Send questions to email@example.com.


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on February 15, 2013 - 12:01 AM
A couple of years back, Tom Parrotta, having had little success improving Canisius College's basketball fortunes, decided he'd better get with the trend. Some other schools in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference had made significant additions to their programs by harvesting the robust crop of transfers that materializes on an annual basis. The coach concluded that, like it or not, Canisius would continue to suffer unless it did the same.
Although he was dismissed at the end of last season, Parrotta's fingerprints are on a turnaround that has placed the Griffs near the top of the MAAC. Guards Harold Washington and Isaac Sosa along with big men Jordan Heath and Freddy Asprilla all arrived via the transfer route during Parrotta's tenure. Toss in the addition of guard Billy Baron, who transferred in when his father Jim was named coach, and the Griffs have five players who started their college careers at other four-year schools.
Canisius hardly qualifies as unique. Missouri has opened its arms to seven transfers. Ohio University has six – with not a single freshman on its roster. At La Salle, two of its five transfers have keyed the Explorers' dramatic ascent. At Iona, only three players on the roster began their careers with the Gaels. Three transferred in from other four-year schools while six came by way of junior colleges.
The transfer rate among college basketball players has remained steady over the last few years, fluctuating between 10 and 10.7 percent – or close to 450 players – according to NCAA figures. Still, this dwarfs the rate for other sports, including football, and far exceeds the student body in general.
There are myriad reasons basketball players may seek to transfer out of a program. Some find they've reached too high and are unlikely to see much playing time where they are. Some decide they'd rather be closer to home. Others might be at odds with a coach, or be moved to transfer because of a coaching change. All of these can be rationalized as legitimate reasons to depart.
Rarely do NBA aspirations factor in the decision. Most come to realize that the competition for jobs at the highest level has been increased by basketball's worldwide growth. But while spots on an NBA roster may be ever harder to come by, globalization has created new and lucrative and plentiful opportunities overseas. Name a country and chances are it has a pro league where a player can make a six-figure salary with expenses paid. Many a Big 4 alumnus has continued his career in Europe or Asia.
The NBA's efforts to promote and grow basketball worldwide have impacted the college game far more than has its requirement that high school players must attend a year of college before becoming NBA-eligible. The one-and-done scenario affects a precious few. Opportunities overseas have college players across the country scrambling for playing time, for the chance to compile a resume and make an impression. This could be the core reason some project college basketball's transfer rate will continue to escalate, reaching 500 players in the near future.
The NCAA is re-examining its rules in regard to transfers, as well it should be, because a couple of worrisome trends have emerged. For one, the number of players "transferring up" is on the rise. Bodies are moving from the lower mid-majors to higher mid-majors, from high mid-majors to major conference programs, from major conference programs to elite, title-contending programs.
Regulations prohibiting programs from making contact with a player at another school have grown archaic. Word can be put out through indirect means, through intermediaries, such as AAU coaches, to mask impropriety. So long as there's a system in place somebody's working on how to beat the system. How else would a player at a mid-major know he's coveted by a bigger program? There may be no viable, enforceable solution.
But perhaps the greatest concern is the number of coaches who are compiling programs not through the development of incoming freshmen, but by harvesting large numbers of transfers and junior college players. Instead of identifying a transfer who might fit a particular need, these coaches take all the older and ostensibly more seasoned players they can find. How is this in any way good for the college game or in concert with the ideals of college athletics, as lax as those morals have become?
To advocate the elimination of transfers would be ludicrous. But the rules should be firm and strive to minimize the practice. All transfers should be required to sit out a season, a departure from current NCAA practices that provide players waivers under certain circumstances, such as family considerations. Is that really necessary, especially given many undergraduate degrees have become five-year journeys as it is, even for non-athletes?
Most importantly, a ceiling should be placed on the number of transfers from four-year schools any one program can have on its roster. Loading up on transient players deviates from the essence of what college athletics were meant to be and further fosters the sense of elitism the NCAA has tried – although meagerly so – to quell.
No more than three transfers per school at one time sounds about right. Let's push back closer to the original intent.
Considering his plight, Parrotta had the right idea when he pointed Canisius in a different direction. Trends within the college game compelled him to view recruiting in a different light. Now it's up to the NCAA to eliminate the necessity.
email: firstname.lastname@example.com


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Two Randolph County schools were evacuated and classes were canceled following a bomb threat discovered Wednesday morning.
The bomb threat originated at Elkins High School at approximately 8 a.m. Wednesday when a student reported a suspicious note written on a bathroom wall, Terry George, interim superintendent of Randolph County Schools, said.
By 8:30 a.m., students were evacuated from the high school and Midland Elementary in school buses., he said
Article Photos
The Inter-Mountain photo by Casey Houser
School buses full of Elkins High School and Midland Elementary students leave the schools' joint parking lot as students are transported to an evacuation area following a bomb threat at the high school Wednesday morning.
"We initiated our emergency plan and safely evacuated the students to the evacuation zone," George said.
At the time, it was determined that students would be kept at the evacuation site until they could return to school, Tonya Auvil, executive secretary of the superintendent, said. If school was canceled, she said, buses would transport students to their homes.
Soon after the evacuation the instructional day for students was canceled at both schools.
Officers from the Elkins Police Department were on scene and assisted George with his decision to cancel classes.
"After speaking with law enforcement officials, we have determined the safest thing to do is dismiss the students," George said immediately following the evacuation. "We are waiting for the K-9 units to sweep the schools. Because of the time it takes for the schools to be deemed all clear, we have decided to transport all students home by bus."
Later Wednesday afternoon, George said the majority of students were sent home on the buses which initially transported them away from the school. Some parents decided to pick up their children at the evacuation site, and the kids were released to their parents at that time.
George said officials at the Elkins Police Department performed an investigation. It was determined that the bomb threat was the work of a student, George said.
Classes are scheduled to resume Thursday.
"School will be back in session tomorrow on a normal basis," George said Wednesday afternoon.
This is the fifth bomb-related school incident in the area in two days.
Also on Wednesday, students were evacuated from Philippi Middle School in Barbour County as a result of a bomb threat.
On Tuesday, students from Philippi Elementary School were evacuated after a note was found inside the school; a bomb threat was directed toward the Division of Highways in Dodridge County; and a student at Salem International University was arrested on the campus after being found with a hoax bomb.


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When Did 357 SAAMI Pressure Change?
Tools and Technologies
Handguns: Revolvers
> When Did 357 SAAMI Pressure Change?
December 24, 2012, 12:23 PM
I understand the SAAMI pressure for the 357 changed in the 1980s or 1990s, down to its present 35,000. Does anyone know what year?
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December 24, 2012, 12:28 PM
1992, or 1993.
December 24, 2012, 12:50 PM
Was it 37000 before?
December 24, 2012, 12:54 PM
Was it 37000 before?
I think it was 40,000 PSI.
I think SAAMI changed the pressures when the ultra light .357 Magnum carry guns became popular. (think 12oz S&W M340)
December 24, 2012, 12:56 PM
Thank you ArchAngel
December 24, 2012, 02:43 PM
Thanks. I'd read that S&W wanted it reduced due to the problems with the 125 gr in the K-frames, M-19 and M-66, but I suspect its use in the J-frames had a influence. It could also have been the presence of better pressure transducer equipment that showed peaks instead of averages showed much higher pressure than they'd thought for years.
I'd also heard it was 47,000 somethings (psi, lup, cup, etc.) before dropping to 35K, but that doesn't mean what I read was right.
I'd shot both the 19 and the 66 with those older, higher pressure 125 gr loads. They were accurate enough, but I couldn't see using it for SD - too much flash, blast, and recoil for follow-up. Since I'd moved to semi-autos I had not heard about the reduced pressure until recently. Today's pressures might change me back.
December 24, 2012, 03:07 PM
My info says 46,000CUP (43,500psi) to 35,000psi in 1995. Which was approximately a 25% reduction.
December 24, 2012, 05:26 PM
If you handload, VihtaVuori (2006) loads to the European standard of 43,500psi, same for the 41mag. :)
December 24, 2012, 05:42 PM
Thanks for the info guys.
My reloading manuals also verify there was a change. According to the copyright dates it looks to be somewhere in the 90's.
December 24, 2012, 06:23 PM
So, Jaywalker, you are implying that because S&W was manufacturing revolvers that didn't stand up well to the existing standard, they had SAAMI change the standard rather than fix the problem?
I knew about the 70's reduction in 38Special. Somehow this reduction in 357 had escaped me.
December 24, 2012, 07:30 PM
I doubt it had anything to do with S&W K-Frames.
.44 Magnum & .357 Magnum were both reduced at the same time.
I suspect it had more to do with more accurate pressure measurement methods when electronic transducers took over from copper cylinders getting hammered shorter.
And they found out what the pressure really was.
December 24, 2012, 07:45 PM
I don't know - we see all sorts of conspiracy issues on the internet, and one I read suggested Smith might have lobbied for a change based on the K-frame very real problems with the 125 gr. 357 load. It's possible, but I think it's more likely the change in the testing methodologies cup/lup to psi using strain gauges and piezo-electric methods led to a more accurate representation of pressure. I'm certain, however, there would be no changes to any of the testing methodologies or resulting pressure standards by SAAMI without agreement by large industry manufacturers, including Smith.
Steve C
December 25, 2012, 03:23 PM
The SAAMI pressures measurements changed units from CUP (Copper Units of Pressure) to PSI (lbs per sq in). CUP's where determined using the old copper crush method that is less precise form of measurement of peak pressure and has no direct correlation to PSI. PSI measurements are determined by electronic Piezo transducers which is much more precise in determining peak pressure.
Comparing old SAAMI CUP pressures to current PSI is similar but not precisely like comparing English to Metric measurements and trying to determine if the numbers indicate a real change.
December 25, 2012, 04:03 PM
Steve C
The change in measuring scale came in the late 60's...not 1995.
That was a political change. Not scientific.
December 26, 2012, 04:12 AM
If you handload, VihtaVuori (2006) loads to the European standard of 43,500psi, same for the 41mag. :)
CIP pressure limits have nothing to do with SAAMI pressure limits. CIP limits are generally higher than SAAMI limits. (in some cases what SAAMI used to be)
December 26, 2012, 03:33 PM
I read an article written by S&W some years ago about testing that they did with the 125 gr bullets being blamed for fractured forcing cones on K frames. Apparently they ran 10's of thousands of .357 H110 loads with 125 gr. jacketed bullets and had no cone failures. However, when they tried the same thing with non jacketed bullets, forcing cone failure appeared and fairly quickly, which was apparently caused by lead deposits in the cones causing pressure on the cone to fracture them.
As for the .357 mag changing max SAAMI pressures, I read that this change was primarily the result of better testing tools such as the electronic transducer, thus eliminating the CUP method and going with the highly accurate transducer pressures to PSI.
Currently I load with H110 / 296 and have and still do load and shoot gobbs of them 125 gr. jacketed bullets through my K frames with no indications that they are damaging the cones, or anything else, other than my wrists. One of my K's, a 66-2, has had thousands put through it.
December 26, 2012, 04:01 PM
There seems to be two different issues being discussed:
The method of measuring pressure, and reducing damage to guns.
I contend that if new measuring equipment came along, and more accurate pressure/time information was available, there would be no reason to reduce the loads in the absence of a desire to correct an overpressure situation that had been exposed by gun failures.
If guns were not failing at a certain load, many of which were used for decades, why reduce them when new pressure info is available?
After all, measuring chamber pressure is intended to predict a safe load for a particular cartridge.
No matter what a pressure measurement says, if the guns are failing, the pressure is too high. Conversely, if the guns are reliable at a certain load ( for thousands of rounds), it is a safe load no matter what the pressure readings are.
I am always struck by the assertion that when psi transducers became available, all .357 loads had to be reduced because all these years we were overloading our revolvers but somehow we were just lucky that the guns did not blow up on us.
December 26, 2012, 04:01 PM
Ok, I'm not following this.
Since the transducer is more accurate than the crusher method why not just measure and post the pressure of the (then) existing loads for the standard pressure?
Why reduce the pressure standard unless there was a problem with existing loads? If testing with the transducer and finding the loads were overpressure, why not leave the pressure limits alone and lower the recommended powder charge weights?
Seems to me the pressure limits were lowered for some other reason.
December 26, 2012, 04:14 PM
However, when they tried the same thing with non jacketed bullets, forcing cone failure appeared and fairly quickly, which was apparently caused by lead deposits in the cones causing pressure on the cone to fracture them.
This is total BS from somebody who admits to never using a cast bullet. If you match your diameter and hardness to your sixgun and velocity range, there is no leading. However, use the wrong size/hardness bullet and you will get leading. Shoot tens of thousands of rounds through a continually leaded bore and I wouldn't be surprised to see some issues crop up. But some people get weird ideas about cast bullets in their head and there's no convincing them otherwise.
Steve C
December 26, 2012, 04:45 PM
The change in measuring scale came in the late 60's...not 1995.
That was a political change. Not scientific.
If there was any change in the 60's it didn't come to light in any of the loading manual publications until the 80's. All my old manuals from the early 70's and most from the 80's quote pressures in CUP's for rifles and handguns and LUP's for shotguns.
Remember that SAAMI is not a governmental agency but a trade organization of arms and ammunition manufacturers. Politics has little to do with their publications of pressure guidelines in the manufacturing of ammunition.
December 26, 2012, 04:51 PM
Steve, I wonder if the politics mentioned were intended to be the politics between manufacturers within their trade association
Blue Brick
December 26, 2012, 08:18 PM
46,000 cup in 1981
December 27, 2012, 09:27 AM
Showmebob, I think all of us wish SAAMI had tested and published equivalent loads using multiple methods, but if they did I'm not aware of it. It sounds like economics and policy, from my experience in corporations. No one wants to repeat a standard test because different results cause confusion. "What should we do? Issue a changed standard?" If it comes out the same, you've just wasted time and crushed another copper cylinder. Too bad, though.
Here's an interesting wiki on CUP: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copper_units_of_pressure
They make an informative point, "Since a longer duration, lower pressure pulse can crush the cylinder as much as a shorter duration, higher pressure pulse, CUP and LUP pressures frequently register lower than actual peak pressures (as measured by a transducer) by up to 20%."
For those who visit that wiki site, note in the references at the bottom a nice paper reference written in 2002, "Correlating PSI and CUP," by Denton Bramwell. In it he finds CUP and PSI "correlated," but not "equivalent," with a good example for the difference being his increasing weight compared to his belt size - as one gets bigger so does the other, but it's hard to say by how much.
It's clear the use of piezo/strain gauges found higher peak pressures in common loads and so they dialed them back. Why they dialed them back, however, is conjecture, based on your social views, e.g., nasty lawyers, need to keep K-frames running, various conspiracies, real concern for customers, etc. I do note that Smith makes the 357 currently in J-, L-, and N-Frames, but not K, for what it's worth.
I do wish we had the earlier standard to compare, though.
December 27, 2012, 12:37 PM
Thanks for the info. I read and re-read it.
Maybe I'm way off this morning as sleep evaded me last night but here's my take for whats its worth.
If a gun was built to withstand xxx pressure and that pressure was then checked with a transducer and found to be higher than xxx (and the guns were experiencing no failures) then the guns were built to acually withstand xxx+ pressures. Therefore the pressure standards could (and maybe should) have been actually raised to the pressure readings obtained with the transducer. Since the pressure standards were lowered the pressure standard must have been reduced due to gun failures/desires to build lighter guns etc, not due to the accurate transducer readings.
At least this is the way I'm thinking this morning. All thoughts appreciated.
December 27, 2012, 02:26 PM
I'm not an engineer or a metallurgist, but here's my take on engineering/production thinking: you pick steel and processes (forged, cast, machined, etc.) based on expected load, both for individual and cumulative lifetime use), then add in some safety percentage in case you're wrong about the load - a 50% safety margin, for example (just for argument, not even a guess), over the requirement. PSI testing was not available widely until the mid-1960s, so I suspect the engineers at the time created an equivalency between the PSI design characteristics of steel and the LUP/CUP testing methods since direct PSI testing on barrels wasn't available. If you're reputable, you build it so it doesn't explode, and since we have few kabooms, relatively, Smith is by definition reputable.
While in the case of our 357 example they appear to have been safe instantaneously (no disastrous failures), the more accurately-measured pressures were probably above the basic design requirement and were well into the safety margin to the extent they lessened revolver's lifetime below that particular design parameter. It turned out that CUP/LUP and PSI were not directly equivalent, so something had to change - stronger steel, redesign, or lower pressure. (If the J-frame has less steel, maybe they assumed few people would want to shoot full house loads - I have no opinion.) Smith did introduce the L-frames, then, so they did make use of at least two of the three alternatives.
I had both a Smith Model 19 and a Model 66 and neither broke, but the problems with that model using 125 gr loads is very real and is documented extensively elsewhere. A problem seemed to be the necessity of milling a flat on the bottom of the facing cone - it was a problem, even when the remaining forcing cone is larger than the original, fully round forcing cone on the J-frame 357. So, I guess what I'm saying is there were pressure problems with your "xxx" load example, and the solution is what we have today.
That's not to say that Smith drove this particular decision or that it was based on any K-frame problems, but as Smith & Wesson's a part of SAAMI industry group, they would have to have agreed with the need to reduce pressure or it might not have happened.
You asked for thoughts, but while I have somewhat of a background in production, I'm not an engineer or metallurgist, so if one signs on, I'll defer to him/her for a better explanation. I'm speculating on motivations of a company and engineers from years ago, so I've almost erased this post several times now as it comes close to too many I've read on the internet that have no basis in fact - I'm just stringing together the few things I know. I still may erase it.
On another issue, has anyone noted that this thread now has over 143,000 page views?
December 27, 2012, 02:41 PM
go to "sammi.org" under "info and specs" you will find the ansi standards that came out in 1993. their charts show both copper crusher and piezo electric transducer pressure data for the same test ammo. so, you can compare the two.
fyi, i think there are 11 kinds of people: those who understand internal ballistics, those who don't, and those who have never been exposed (ignorant).
December 27, 2012, 05:59 PM
Thanks, murf, it was there and I just didn't see it CUP and PSI compared. You wouldn't happen to have the pre-1993 standards, too, would you?
December 27, 2012, 10:29 PM
not from sammi. i get all my pre-1993 pressure data from the speer reloading manual number eleven (was going to type 11, but thought it might confuse someone).
the max pressures (in c.u.p.) are in each of the cartridge info page.
December 28, 2012, 07:26 AM
Can you list a couple of the pre-93 pressures that approximate factory, please?
I generally get rid of my older reloading manuals when I get new ones, but I did keep my Speer Number 3 from 1959. There's no pressure listed in it, and only cast bullets for handguns. (I was a little young to reload but I used this manual when I started a few years later with a 1917 Colt.)
December 28, 2012, 10:15 AM
I'm not following the "change in testing methods" argument. Even if changing over to piezo electric testing showed pressures were higher than when testing with copper crush method of testing why would that trigger lowering the pressures? I could understand lowering the powder charges to lower the pressures read by piezo electric testing down to where they should be but why would you need to lower the limits? :confused:
December 28, 2012, 03:39 PM
it would be easier for you to give me a cartridge, or a list, first.
who knows what goes on in the minds of men. i'm sure they had their reasons: political, most likely. can you say 40 s&w and 357 sig (over did it with the 10mm)?
the only two rifle cartridges with a drop in max pressure: 270 win and 222 remington. all others stayed the same. go figure!
December 28, 2012, 03:53 PM
Except they started calling the standard pressure .257 Roberts +P though.
December 28, 2012, 04:20 PM
the standard pressure for the 257 roberts has always been 45,000 psi (they did not use the "c.u.p." designation back then). this is per the speer number 11 manual.
the 257 roberts+p pressure is 50,000 c.u.p. the 257 roberts pressure is 45,000 c.u.p. this is per the sammi voluntary performance standards of 1993.
December 28, 2012, 05:52 PM
I'm not following the "change in testing methods" argument. Even if changing over to piezo electric testing showed pressures were higher than when testing with copper crush method of testing why would that trigger lowering the pressures? I could understand lowering the powder charges to lower the pressures read by piezo electric testing down to where they should be but why would you need to lower the limits?
SAAMI is an industry association and members all agree to abide by the pressure limits set. This allows gunmakers to know what pressures to build firearms to and us to be sure the cartridge we've bought won't be either a squib or a bomb when we squeeze the trigger. SAAMI serves as a clearinghouse for industry's wishes, not a governing body, so once industry has decided, SAAMi publishes a new standard and members (and probably others) load their cartridges to it.
Just the pre-1993 standard pressure for the 357, please, if you have it. I've read anything from 45,000 to 47,000 cup.
December 29, 2012, 04:34 AM
2. John Bercovitz Feb 11 1993, 5:48 pm
Newsgroups: rec.guns
From: ber...@bevsun.bev.lbl.gov (John Bercovitz)
Date: 12 Feb 93 00:48:39 GMT
Local: Thurs, Feb 11 1993 5:48 pm
Subject: Re: Brass Expansion in a .357
Reply to author | Forward | Print | Individual message | Show original | Report this message | Find messages by this author
In article <JANECZKO.93Feb10123...@csd630a.erim.org> janec...@csd630a.erim.org
(Mike Janeczko) writes:
#....... Also, some postings ago,
#suggested that the thickness of the metal used for the cylinder has something
#to do with it. Next time I see the guns, I'll compare.
Sheesh! I can tell _I'm_ not a very convincing poster! 8-)
OK, here's something I posted a long time ago after I did
some figuring for a friend of mine. It's a little broader
than your question but the answer to your question is imbedded.
John Bercovitz (JHBercov...@lbl.gov)
A friend asked why steel cases aren't more common since they would
allow higher chamber pressures. I thought that as long as I had
written something up for him, I might as well post it here:
Material Properties
CDA 260 cartridge brass: barrel steels:
Young's modulus = 16*10^6 psi Young's modulus = 29*10^6 psi
Yield stress = 63,000 psi min. Yield stress: usually > 100,000 psi
I was going to get back to you and explain further why brass is a better
cartridge case material than steel or aluminum. Sorry I took so long. I
left you with the nebulous comment that brass was "stretchier" and would
spring back more so it was easier to extract from the chamber after firing.
Now I'll attempt to show why this is true given the basic material properties
listed above.
A synopsis would be that the propellant pressure expands the diameter of
the thin wall of the cartridge case until it contacts the interior wall
of the chamber and thereafter it expands the case and the chamber
together. The expansion of the cartridge case, however, is not elastic.
The case is enough smaller in diameter than the chamber that it has to
_yield_ to expand to chamber diameter. After the pressure is relieved by
the departure of the bullet, both the chamber and the cartridge case
contract elastically. It is highly desirable that the cartridge case
contract more than the chamber so that the case may be extracted with a
minimum of effort.
A quick review of the Young's modulus: this is sort of the "spring
constant" of a material; it is the inverse of how much a unit chunk of
material stretches under a unit load. Its units are stress / strain =
psi/(inch/inch). Here's a basic example of its use: If you have a 2
inch by 2 inch square bar of steel which is 10 inches long and you put a
10,000 pound load on it, how much does it stretch? First of all, the
stress on the steel is 10,000/(2*2) = 2500 psi. The strain per inch will
be 2500 psi/29*10^6 = 0.000086 inches/inch. So the stretch of a 10 inch
long bar under this load will be 10 * 0.000086 = 0.00086 inches or a
little less than 1/1000 inch.
Yield stress (aka yield strength) is the load per unit area at which a
material starts to yield or take a permanent set (git bint). It's not
an exact number because materials often start to yield slightly and then
go gradually into full-scale yield. But the transition is fast enough
to give us a useful number.
So how far can you stretch CDA 260 cartridge brass before it takes a
permanent set? That would be yield stress divided by Young's modulus:
63,000 psi/16*10^6 psi/(inch/inch) = .004 inches/inch.
How far can you stretch cheap steel? Try A36 structural steel:
36,000 psi/29*10^6 psi/(inch/inch) = .001 inches/inch.
How about good steel of modest cost such as C1118?
77,000 psi/29*10^6 psi/(inch/inch) = .003 inches/inch.
(Note that C1118 doesn't have anywhere near the formability of CDA 260.
Brass cases are made by the cheap forming process called "drawing"
while C1118 is a machinable steel, suitable for the more expensive machining
processes such as turning and milling.)
What about something that's expensive such as CDA 172 beryllium copper?
175,000 psi/19*10^6 psi/(inch/inch) = .009 inches/inch.
(This isn't serious because CDA 172 is pretty brittle when it's _this_
Titanium Ti-6AL-4V
150,000 psi/16.5*10^6 psi/(inch/inch) = .009 inches/inch
(This is an excellent material though expensive and hard to work with.)
Really expensive aluminum, 7075-T6
73,000 psi/10.4*10^6 psi/(inch/inch) = .007 inches/inch
Cheap aluminum, 3003 H18
29,000 psi/10*10^6 psi/(inch/inch) = .003 inches/inch
(Aluminum isn't a really good material because it isn't strong and cheap
at the same time, it hasn't much fatigue strength, and it won't go over
its yield stress very often without breaking. So you can't reload it.
It makes a "one-shot" case at best. Also, 7075 is a machinable rather
than a formable aluminum, primarily.)
Magnesium, AZ80A-T5
50,000/6.5*10^6 = .0077
(Impact strength and ductility are low. Corrodes easily.)
+Here's the important part: Even if you stretch something until it
+yields, it still springs back some distance. In fact, the springback
+amount is the same as if you had just barely taken the thing up to its
+yield stress. This is because when you stretch it, you establish a new
length for it, and since you are holding it at the yield stress (at
least until you release the load) it will spring back the distance
associated with that yield stress. So the figures given above such as
.004 inches/inch are the figures that tell us how much a case springs
back after firing.
Changing subjects for a moment: How much does the steel chamber expand
and contract during a firing? Naturally this amount is partially
determined by the chamber wall's thickness. The outside diameter of a
rifle chamber is about 2 1/2 times the maximum inside diameter,
typically. The inside diameter is around .48 inches at its largest.
Actual chamber pressures of high pressure rounds will run 60,000 psi or
even 70,000 psi range if you're not careful.
One of the best reference books on the subject is "Formulas for Stress
and Strain" by Roark and Young, published by MacGraw-Hill. Everyone
just calls it "Roark's". In the 5th edition, example numbers 1a & 1b,
page 504, I find the following:
For an uncapped vessel:
Delta b = (q*b/E)*{[(a^2+b^2)/(a^2-b^2)] + Nu}
For a capped vessel:
Delta b = (q*b/E)*{[a^2(1+Nu)+b^2(1-2Nu)]/(a^2-b^2)}
a = the external radius of the vessel = 0.6 inch
b = the internal radius of the vessel = .24 inch
q = internal pressure of fluid in vessel = 70,000 psi
E = Young's modulus = 29 * 10^6 psi for barrel steel
Nu = Poisson's ratio = 0.3 for steel (and most other materials)
A rifle's chamber is capped at one end and open at the other but really
it's not too open at the other end because the case is usually bottle-
necked. You'd have to go back to basics instead of using cookbook
formulae if you wanted the exact picture, but if we compute the results
of both formulas, the truth must lie between them but closer to the
capped vessel.
For an uncapped vessel:
D b = (70000*.24/29*10^6)*{[(.6^2+.24^2)/(.6^2-.24^2)] + .3} = .00097
For a capped vessel:
D b = (70000*.24/29*10^6)*{[.6^2(1.3)+.24^2(.4)]/(.6^2-.24^2)} = .00094
There's not a whole heck of a lot of difference between the two results
so let's just say that the chamber's expansion is .001 inch radial or
.002 inch diametral.
The cartridge case's outside diameter is equal to about .48 inch after
the cartridge has been fired. So its springback, if made from CDA 260,
is .004 inches/inch (from above) * .48 inch = .002 inches diametral
which of course is just the amount the chamber contracted so we've just
barely got an extractable case when chamber pressures hit 70,000 psi in
this barrel. This is why the ease with which a case can be extracted
from a chamber is such a good clue as to when you are reaching maximum
allowable pressures. By the same token, you can see that if a chamber's
walls are particularly thin, it will be hard to extract cases (regardless
of whether or not these thin chamber walls are within their stress limits).
A really good illustration of this can be found when comparing the S&W
model 19 to the S&W model 27. Both guns are 357 magnum caliber and both
can take full-pressure loads without bursting. The model 27 has thick
chamber walls and the model 19 has thin chamber walls. Cartridge cases
which contained full-pressure loads are easily extracted from a model 27
but they have to be pounded out of a model 19. So manufacturers don't
manufacture full-pressure loads for the 357 magnums anymore. 8-(
We can see from the above calculations that a steel case wouldn't be a
good idea for a gun operating at 70,000 psi with the given 2.5:1 OD/ID
chamber wall ratio if reasonable extraction force is a criterion. Lower
pressures and/or thicker chamber walls could allow the use of steel cases.
I was so impressed with this 1993 post that in 2005 I tapped John to help me prove the load books were wrong about the CZ52 vs the Tokarev strength.
I sent him ~ a dozen CZ52 barrels and he tested them for RC hardness at JPL.
December 29, 2012, 10:35 AM
That's interesting. Can we assume from that that the J-frame 357's five-shot cylinder allows for greater cylinder wall thickness than the six-shot cylinders of the old Models 19/66?
December 29, 2012, 11:25 AM
Model 60 J frame 5 shot 38 sp I reamed out to 357 mag:
.058" to the outside
.108" between chambers
1.308" cylinder diameter
1.535" long cylinder
.250" x.090" slots in cylinder for bolt
Model 66 K frame 6 shot 357 mag:
.084" to the outside
.075" between chambers
1.456" cylinder diameter
1.675" long cylinder
.275" x.105" slots in cylinder for bolt
The 357 mag cartridge could be 1.59 long and the rim could be as short as .049" so the cylinder should be at least 1.541" long
I have blown up enough cylinders on 38 specials and 32 S&W Longs to know that both the between cylinders AND the to outside thickness must both break. That would mean they add for strength, like ropes in parallel.
J frame = .164" sum for strength calc
K frame = .159" sum for strength calc
It is going to be real hard to blow up either. What happens with smiths is that the slots in the cylinder or the slot in the frame get sloppy. That makes the cylinder loose like a Ruger in rotation, not tight like a post 1907 Colt. The S&W model 29 44 mag got bigger slots in later dash numbers to beef it up.
December 29, 2012, 11:45 AM
Just to be clear, are those measurements to the outside of the cylinder the maximum measurements, or do they include the cylinder stop slots? It appears to me the M19/66 has the slots over the chamber proper, while the J seems to offset to thicker metal.
December 29, 2012, 12:22 PM
jaywalker, for the 357 magnum:
old - 46,000 c.u.p.
new - 45,000 c.u.p.
new p.s.i. - 35,000
December 29, 2012, 12:45 PM
You are right, I was measuring from the chamber to the major OD of the cylinder.
I never noticed it before, but the 5 shot geometry does not have the slot over the a chamber. The slots are between the chambers. 6 shot cylinders have the slot weakening the chamber. That is an advantage for 5 shot strength.
December 29, 2012, 01:35 PM
I don't think you can ascertain a cylinder's strength by measurements alone. Particularly if you are not taking into account the location of the bolt notch in relation to the chambers. Because this is almost always the weakest point.
December 29, 2012, 02:08 PM
I could do a thin wall formula for stress, and maybe a Lame's formula for thick wall, but to do it right you would need one of Roark's open end tube formulas. In all three the stress goes up proportional to the inside diameter.
So at the cave man level, I have tried to blow up many guns.
I don't care if the gun is 150 years old or new, unless it is a Ruger 454 made of specialty steel, this is my guideline for 3/8" to 1/2" inside diameters:
.100" thick, I can't blow it up.
.050" thick, blowing up is easy.
I bought a 90 year old 32-20 revolver Thursday. It is .136" between and .120" to the outside. The inside dia is .356"
SAAMI is 16kcup.
I have not shot it yet, but...
I can tell by looking at it that in a work up it will pierce a CCI450 small magnum rifle primer [the toughest I have found] before it will burst the chamber.
That should be 80 or 90k.
December 29, 2012, 02:13 PM
Well, if I read John Bercovitz's formulae right, the M19/M66 cylinder slot cuts are less a yield strength issue than a Young's Modulus inconvenience. It probably only added to the extraction issue he already noted. The numbers don't lie, though - the K-frame cylinders aren't as strong as the J-frame. I'd read about the K forcing cone problems, but this one is new to me. Thanks.
Thanks. Only a 1,000 cup, then. I would think we'd get that much variance from how deeply we seat or crimp, or how hot the day is. Hardly seems worth the effort. I appreciate your looking.
December 29, 2012, 02:24 PM
So there is no consideration of the alloy used or its heat treatment??? This is a dangerous game you're playing and I hope everybody reading this thread understands that.
December 29, 2012, 02:45 PM
I am glad all these problems apply to S&W. I have seen people use ruger only charts, then add a little more. The only thing that happened is the gas check failed (in the bullets we were able to recover). I realize that the gas check failing causes leading and in time a loss of accuracy. But nothing happened that would cause a catastrophic failure.
I have only seen people do this with cast bullets. I have no idea what, if anything would happen to a jacketed bullet.
December 29, 2012, 04:37 PM
CraigC: http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/young-modulus-d_417.html
Sorry, posted before I finished. Clark is much more qualified than I am to respond to this, but pending his response, here's my quick take:
Young's Modulus is just a ratio, and it applies to many material, not just steel, as shown on the linked page. As far as alloy of steel goes, it just doesn't make much difference. It might be a small number followed by 6 zeroes, so you're dividing some number by 25,000,000, 29,000,000, or 35,000,000. The difference is nearly too small to measure, and not enough to worry about in revolver cylinders.
I'd be interested read Clark's take on heat treating, but if anything I would expect it to improve the situation.
December 29, 2012, 05:50 PM
Oi, am I not qualified. I inherited gun design books, but not gun design brains. I designed electronics. Some gun electronics, but not the gun. I modify guns for fun.
They don't do much heat treat on revolver cylinders, usually.
All the 38 specials I reamed out to 357 mag were soft.
If you try to make a gun, you want some heat treat so it can be light. But hard metal is not easy to machine. And heat treating after machining can be a problem with warpage.
So there is a trade off. .. except the Ruger 454 that they just wanted to ream out a 44 mag design paper thin and then have really high proof loads. They split cylinders and blew out forcing cones until they found a specialty stainless steel that was economical to machine and strong too.
Most of the time over the last century when making revolvers, they took something like 4140 steel that would be RB86 80ksi fully annealed, but they buy it hardened to RC29 132 ksi tensile strength.
Put RC29 4140 in your lathe or mill and it machines ok with coolant all over it. If you ever let a spot get hot, the steel turns very hard and wrecks your tool Then you must try to cut out the hard spot with carbide.
4140 can be hardened to ~RC60 ~ 300 ksi strength, but that is not your firearms chamber. My father called out 4140 in coil springs for gun designs. I think some chisels are made of it. So in other applications 4140 is very hard. But not in revolver cylinders.
December 30, 2012, 04:10 AM
Ruger has been the true king of revolvers for many years now. Smith & Wesson is largely stuck in the past, and hasn't improved anything beyond their triggers. Their standardized frame system leaves no room for major innovation, as anything new they make has to fall within dimensions that were defined more than half a century ago. Other manufacturers are free to innovate at will, and come up with completely new designs as needed. Only Smith & Wesson has shot themselves in the foot this way.
December 30, 2012, 12:44 PM
I am nobody in the world of revolvers. My father did design a 115mm six shooter for the marines in 1960, the XM-70. "X" means experimental, and we never got much money. The patent on his 6 shot revolver
That patent does publish the formula for parabolic taper hydraulic recoil, that before he did the math on his M55 design, the tapers were determined empirically since the French invented it in WWI.
Anyway, I own ~ ~ 50 revolvers, mostly bought for testing.
~10 years ago I got (5) Colt Police Positive revolvers as police surplus for destructive test. I was really shocked by the quality of the design. I could not shoot them loose.
I bought a Ruger blackhawk ~5 years ago and fired one shot. I was impressed negatively. I have not pulled it out of storage since. I also have a security six, which seems like a better gun.
I don't doubt that Ruger revolvers might take over the world, but this nobody likes Colts.
There is a poster on the firing line that makes amazingly good posts about gunsmithing almost all guns. He was a trained watchmaker before he became a gunsmith.
Dfariswheel May 9, 2001, 03:24 AM
Posts: 6,394
Colt was always seen as the Rolls Royce of handguns. Colt spread their dollar around on the gun, pretty equally on the outside finish, and the inside. Smith & Wesson spent their's on the outside, with a great blue job.
I think if you research the posts made by Dfariswheel, you will see HE is intrinsically somebody.
December 30, 2012, 07:21 PM
Ruger has been the true king of revolvers for many years now. Smith & Wesson is largely stuck in the past, and hasn't improved anything beyond their triggers. Their standardized frame system leaves no room for major innovation, as anything new they make has to fall within dimensions that were defined more than half a century ago. Other manufacturers are free to innovate at will, and come up with completely new designs as needed. Only Smith & Wesson has shot themselves in the foot this way.
I'm very confused as to what you are talking about? Not that I care what anyone thinks about S&W but what you said confused me. S&W has come out with the X frame which is different than the others. They also developed the Bodyguard 38 which is completely different than any other revolver ever made for several reasons. It also has an integral laser which is different too. They were also the first to make 7 and 8 round centerfire revolvers. Please clear up what you meant, I'm curious...
December 30, 2012, 09:46 PM
S&W is finally starting to produce new stuff, but most of their offerings are still based on their old-fashioned standardized frame system. For too long they were afraid of breaking the system. On the other hand, you look at companies like Ruger that will create a completely new design as needed, and you see the intrinsic difference. With other companies, you see specialized designs, for a particular role. With Smith & Wesson, you see minor rehashes of the same thing, when a completely new design is often called for.
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In general I can't stand it.
I understand that guys should be happy when they score, so I understand that I may be viewed as a sour puss for this.
I just saw Pascal Dupuis (20 goals this year) score, skate away, go to one knee, and scream as if he had just scored his first career goal. He made it 2-0 in game 1. I thought he may pull a Tyler Kennedy/Evgeni Malkin and jump into the boards.
As a Wings fan, I think I may have a little bias since I don't think we've ever really had a guy who acts like that after a goal. Hossa was close to being that, but he never really went over the top.
I think a lot of the young guys in the league (my generation) are to "blame" for this. Let's face it: Generation Y loves the spotlight and loves the attention.
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"The Networks for Prosperity report analyzes the nexus between the global connectedness of a country and its economic success, sustainability and government effectiveness," said UNIDO Director-General, Kandeh K. Yumkella.
"This is a unique contribution to the global development debate at a time when the world seeks new solutions and innovative approaches for a new era of international development strategy. Efforts to reach agreement on a new set of global development goals beyond 2015 are also looking to unleash the power of new development actors through networks. This report provides a close and detailed approach to networks, reflecting their influence and impact on global policymaking and development cooperation."
Spain's Secretary of State for International Cooperation and for Latin America, Jesús Gracia Aldaz, added: "Spain is proud and honoured to be part of this second report and commends UNIDO for its continued work in this field. The Networks for Prosperity initiative has been supported by Spain since its beginning, and we value all the related achievements and activities developed under this programme by UNIDO. We especially welcome the focus on the Latin America and the Caribbean region and I truly believe that UNIDO's catalytic work and expertise are ideal for matching the economic development priorities of the countries from this geographic region."
Speakers at the report's launch, included Luis Álvarez Soto, Costa Rica's Vice Minister of Economy, Industry and Commerce; Ambassador Carmen Buján Freire, Permanent Representative of Spain to UNIDO; Jan Wouters, Director of the Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies; and Wilfried Luetkenhorst, Managing Director at UNIDO.
The report has been jointly produced by UNIDO and the Centre for Global Governance Studies in Leuven, Belgium, under the overall umbrella of the Spanish MDG Achievement Fund. It includes contributions from a wide variety of experts in the field of knowledge networks and network governance.
You can read the full report here
You can read the executive summary here
For further information on the report, please contact:
Kazuki Kitaoka
UNIDO Programme Management Officer


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Source: Delaware Online
quote: You can call them stabs in the dark, but they are a big part of what's made the US economy so powerful in the last 50 years if not longer. The reason is that the misses are a tiny fraction of GDP, and the DOE grants are no different. $16B in loans over 4 years is around 0.03% of GDP, 1% of total auto related GDP. They've ensured that the US leads EV research and production by a huge margin. Just raising the white flag and letting China and their subsidies snatch that market is bad policy.


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Points aplenty expected as Penn State visits Indiana
October 5, 2013
INDIANAPOLIS — Five things to look for as Penn State opens Big Ten play against an Indiana team that it has never lost to, going 16-0. No. 1: Ground and pound Indiana cannot stop the run....
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Towards a new approach to volunteering
22 April 2011
Harnessing the power of volunteering will require clearer understandings of what it means, a proactive approach to policy and legislation, and even stronger partnerships, an eclectic range of voluntary organizations has agreed.
The second Regional Consultation Meeting under the flag of the tenth anniversary of the International Year of Volunteers was held in Ankara, Turkey, from 18-19 April 2011. Delegates attended from 23 organizations and government ministries from across Europe, the Arab Region and the Commonwealth of Independent States.
This diverse group moved towards several common positions on varied topics: from advocating and recognizing volunteering and its impacts, to creating legal frameworks and influencing public policy. With events in the Arab region fresh in many minds, the delegates renewed a focus on youth and citizen participation through volunteering.
Among the draft summary of recommendations that emerged were calls for a clearer understanding of what 'volunteerism' really encompasses. Different groups conceptualize civic engagement in different ways, and a better mutual understanding of volunteering in all its diversity could lead to clearer and more effective messages for all volunteer-involving organizations.
Meanwhile, the conference recognized the potential of new communications media in highlighting volunteering and what it can do.
There is room for volunteers and voluntary organizations themselves to take a bigger role in policy development, said the delegates, since governments and civil society should continue acting in partnership on this issue. The sheer strength of the civil society lobby when acting in unison has great potential for influencing agendas and improving mechanisms for exploiting voluntary action to its best effect.
Echoing previous consultations this year, the delegates recommended the creation of a practical shared 'knowledge platform', which could enable better governance systems for volunteer management. Meanwhile, they said, it was important to reflect on the particular needs of a particular country while drafting or amending laws, rather than seeking 'one-size-fits-all' solutions.
Moreover, the Ankara attendees considered that a 'volunteer charter' listing common principles and a code of conduct could still act as a guiding framework for creating such legislation. They also called for frameworks that took national needs into account, accompanied by realistic plans and processes to make volunteering laws a reality.
Lastly, the delegates reemphasized the importance of illustrating the 'inspiring change' that volunteer action can bring about for peace and development. Recording this impact might require the creation of not only partnerships but a shared database, while major publications such as the Human Development Report were noted as possible 'entry points' for disseminating the volunteer story even wider.
By bringing together Volunteer-Involving Organizations of every kind and from every region, the series of regional consultations aim to help the volunteering community gain strength and perhaps ultimately speak with one voice as a 'World Volunteer Coalition'.


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Article Archive:
Legally Speaking- Stop As Yield
Ask any motorist what irritates them most about cyclists, and you're likely to get an earful about cyclists who behave as if stop signs and red lights don't apply to them.
It's a sore point in relations between motorists and cyclists, and is the single most cited contributor to the negative stereotype that cyclists are arrogant scofflaws. It's even a sore point between those cyclists who do observe the law, and those who don't, with the law-abiding cyclists resenting the negative stereotype of cyclists that the law-breaking cyclists generate.
Neither side is likely to change its stance; those who believe that cyclists should not hold themselves above the law continue to maintain that cyclists are scofflaws (or, alternatively, that scofflaw cyclists tarnish the reputations of all cyclists), while those who ignore the traffic signals continue to maintain that the law should not apply to cyclists, and reject any responsibility for the negative stereotypes of cyclists.
But what if the law itself was changed? What if the law recognized the reality that many cyclists do not come to a complete stop at stop signs, and legalized that behavior—would perceptions of cyclists change? Would it direct scarce law enforcement resources away from enforcement actions against safe-but-illegal behavior, and towards enforcement efforts that would improve road safety? Would it make cycling easier and safer? Or would it only serve to reward persistent bad behavior? What is the purpose of a law, anyway, and what is the effect of having a law that nobody obeys?
These are the questions raised by newly-proposed legislation in Oregon. The statute, proposed by the Bicycle Transportation Alliance, would allow cyclists to treat stop signs as yield signs, requiring them to yield to traffic with the right of way, but otherwise allowing cyclists to roll through stop signs if they have the right of way.
The proposed law is being championed by longtime Portland bike lawyer and cyclist advocate Ray Thomas, and is based on a similar Idaho statute. Here's how it works in Idaho. As in most states, in Idaho:
Note that I have bolded the provision providing that there may be exceptions to the general rule that cyclists have all of the rights and all of the duties applicable to other vehicle operators. In Idaho, one of those exceptions is the duty regarding traffic signals. This doesn't mean that cyclists have no duties regarding traffic signals; instead, it means that cyclists have different duties regarding traffic signals.
A cyclist approaching a stop sign must "slow down" and "if required for safety, stop before entering the intersection." The law continues:
This portion of the Idaho law is sometimes referred to as "Stop as yield," meaning that cyclists may treat stop signs as yield signs. The Idaho law also allows "red as stop," meaning that cyclists may treat red lights as stop signs:
This section of the Idaho law was added at the request of law enforcement, in order to clarify that cyclists must stop at a red light. Because it allows cyclists to proceed through red when it is safe to do so, after first stopping, the Idaho law addresses the reality that cyclists often have difficulty being detected by the embedded sensor loops at intersections. Although Idaho law allows cyclists to treat "red as stop," the law proposed for Oregon would only allow cyclist to treat stop signs as yield signs; they would still be required to stop at red lights, and to remain stopped until the light turns green.
The Idaho law is unique among the state laws; no other state has adopted this approach … yet. So how has the law worked out for Idaho? The "stop as yield" section of the Idaho law has also been in effect since 1982 (the "red as stop" section was added in 2006), giving Idaho a quarter-century of real world experience with its experiment in bicycle traffic law. Ray Thomas reports that
The apparent success of this statute in Idaho has led cycling activists in California, Montana, Minneapolis, and now Oregon to pursue similar legislation. Nevertheless, this is a complex issue, with some cyclists supporting the legislation, and others opposing it. That divide is even apparent here at Legally Speaking, with me enthusiastically supporting the legislation, and my law clerk on the fence, still trying to make up his mind.
Still, although I support the proposed legislation, I do stop at all stop signs. This wasn't always the case—when I began riding competitively in the 80s, riders never stopped at intersections. That's just the way things were. My own riding underwent an evolution when I began to think about the effect that my own disregard of stop signs was having on the public perception of cycling.
There's no question that the public image of cyclists has suffered tremendously due to our disregard of the laws, and that tarnished public image results in unfavorable treatment of cyclists by the non-cycling public. The unfavorable treatment is apparent in the media, in law enforcement, on the road, and as many attorneys, including Ray Thomas report, in the jury box.
Will Idaho-style legislation be a way forward for cycling, a way for us to shed the negative stereotypes that lead to discriminatory treatment, by legalizing safe-but-illegal common behavior? Or will it simply make cycling safer and easier, with no effect on the public perception of cyclists? We might look to Idaho for the answer to that question. One thing seems clear, however—until stop-as-yield becomes legal, many cyclists will continue to ride in their own private Idaho, heedless of the effect that has on cycling.
(Research and drafting provided by Rick Bernardi, J.D.)
This article, Stop as yield, originally published Jan 22, 2009 on VeloNews.
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NSCLC is "Major Battlefield" as Merck,...
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As Immunotherapy Revolutionizes the Cancer Treatment...
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Source: © Sergey Lavrentev - Fotolia.com
Any of a dozen different mutations capable of abolishing the function of one gene can reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, even in people who have risk factors such as obesity and old age. Overall—as shown by a genetic analysis of 150,000 patients—a loss-of-function mutation in the gene reduces risk by 65%.
Loss-of-function mutations that are protective against disease are much sought after because they uncover promising drug targets. That is, drugs capable of emulating protective loss-of-function mutations could prevent untold suffering. Such mutations have already been found to offer some degree of protection against HIV and elevated cholesterol related to heart disease risk. The new result, which pertains to a gene called SLC30A8, is the first to identify loss-of-function mutations that protect against diabetes.
The protein encoded by SLC30A8 had previously been shown to play an important role in the insulin-secreting beta cells of the pancreas, and a common variant in that gene was known to slightly influence the risk of type 2 diabetes. However, it was previously unclear whether inhibiting or activating the protein would be the best strategy for reducing disease risk—and how large an effect could be expected.
The scientists that ultimately clarified the role of debilitated versions of the SLC30A8 gene began their work in 2009. At first, the scientists included collaborators from the Broad Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, Pfizer, and Lund University Diabetes Center in Sweden. With a focus on identifying loss-of-function mutations protective against diabetes, the scientists sequenced the exons of 115 genes near diabetes association signals identified by genome-wide association studies in 758 individuals from Finland or Sweden. To increase power, they selected individuals at the extremes of diabetes risk including 352 young and lean diabetes cases and 406 elderly and obese euglycemic controls.
The researchers identified a genetic mutation that appeared to abolish function of the SLC30A8 gene and that was enriched in nondiabetic individuals studied in Sweden and Finland. This protective effect surprised the researchers, as they explained March 2 in Nature Genetics, in an article entitled "Loss-of-function mutations in SLC30A8 protect against type 2 diabetes." In this article, the authors noted that studies in mice had suggested that mutations in SLC30A8 might actually have the opposite effect—increasing rather than decreasing risk of diabetes.
Motivated to reinforce their findings, the researchers were stymied at first. The particular genetic variation they had found was exceedingly rare outside of Finland. Eventually, they studied another 7,212 additional Finnish or Swedish individuals. In addition, in 2012, they shared their unpublished results with deCODE Genetics, who uncovered a second mutation in an Icelandic population that also appeared to abolish function of the gene SLC30A8. That mutation independently reduced risk for diabetes and also lowered blood sugar in nondiabetics without any evident negative consequences.
Expanding their work yet further, the investigators looked for additional protective loss-of-function SLC30A8 mutations, and they considered patient populations beyond Finland and Iceland: "As part of the Genetics of Type 2 Diabetes (Go-T2D) and Type 2 Diabetes Genetic Exploration by Next-Generation Sequencing in Multi-Ethnic Samples (T2D-GENES) consortia, we sequenced SLC30A8 exons in 12,294 individuals spanning multiple ancestry groups." Now, with the T2D-GENES project as part of the collaboration, the research team found 10 more protective mutations in the SLC30A8 gene. Altogether, the research team amassed results confirming that inheriting one copy of a faulty SLC30A8 gene reduced diabetes risk by almost two thirds.
"This remarkable collaboration involved many partners who are fully dedicated to the pursuit of therapies for type 2 diabetes," said co-senior author David Altshuler, deputy director and chief academic officer at the Broad Institute and a Harvard Medical School professor at Massachusetts General Hospital. "It's amazing to see what can be learned when everyone works together."
Because the protective effects of the mutations were observed in patients from multiple ethnic groups, the researchers are hopeful that a drug capable of mimicking the effects of the mutations could have broad utility around the globe. Thus far, the mutations do not appear to have any deleterious effects.
"This work underscores that human genetics is not just a tool for understanding biology: it can also powerfully inform drug discovery by addressing one of the most challenging and important questions—knowing which targets to go after," added Altshuler.
In laboratory experiments, members of Altshuler's team showed that the protective mutations disrupt the normal function of the protein encoded by SLC30A8, known as ZnT8. The ZnT8 protein transports zinc into insulin-producing beta cells, where zinc plays a key role in the crystallization of insulin. Exactly how the reduction in ZnT8 functions plays a protective role remains unknown.
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Novum Pharma recently raised the price of an acne cream by over 3,900% in less than a year-and-a-half and Mylan increased price of EpiPen from $100 to $608 . Do you think pharmaceutical companies need to be subjected to price controls?
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Expanding Use of NGS Has Largely...
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The diversity of development tools, an abundance of manufacturing options, and standardization of many unit operations has ushered in a golden age for monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). mAb process development and GMP manufacturing increasingly rely on platform processes involving streamlined production (usually a two to three week fed-batch cell culture), protein A capture, ion-exchange intermediate and polishing columns, and standard filtration steps.
Because of these developments, both innovator companies and contract manufacturers have achieved a high degree of familiarity with mAb manufacture, process development, and clinical development.
Platform manufacturing and quality initiatives are mutually supportive and enabling. As manufacturing platforms become more widely adopted, developers of mAbs have a somewhat easier time implementing quality by design and process analytics, which further aid in establishing standardized unit operations and support CMC regulatory submissions.
While platform processes have become common both upstream and downstream during mAb manufacturing, purification remains something of a bottleneck and an increasing cost contributor, particularly in chromatography-intensive processes. Rising titers are an often-cited contributor to upstream-downstream mismatches, while finding replacements for protein A has met with spotty success.
And while platforming is desirable in the manufacture of conventional mAbs, all bets are off for nonstandard antibody-like molecules, particularly antibody fragments, due to higher variation in titers and the need to alter purification from standard mAb operations. "Antibody fragments can also vary in terms of stability and solubility, presenting significant challenges to formulation scientists," notes Gregory Zarbis-Papastoitsis, Ph.D., senior director for protein production at Eleven Biotherapeutics. Eleven develops antibodies, antibody fragments, and nonantibody proteins to treat eye diseases.
Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells remain the most popular mAb-producing cells due to regulatory familiarity and the large number of successful clinical- and commercial-stage products expressed in these cells. "However, as second-generation expression systems enter clinical trials and commercialization, CHO may experience a significant drop in popularity," says Richard Hetrick, director of business development at Cytovance Biologics.
Single-use bioreactors are now mainstream and capable of handling clinical and even production-scale batches for many mAbs. The high doses at which antibodies are administered guarantees, however, that large stainless steel bioreactors will not disappear.
Despite vendors regularly breaking the size barrier for bioreactor bags, the point will eventually be reached where the bags become too large to handle. Disposal issues may also be problematic for very large bags. Regardless, upper size limits become moot as cellular and culture productivity continues to rise.
"With increase in yields it is debatable whether there will be much demand for 10,000-liter bioreactors in the future, as was projected a number of years ago," Hetrick observes.
Improvements in volumetric productivity for mAb processes do not appear to be slowing down. To this point most were a result of media and feed strategies, but high-expressing cell lines and transfection strategies have played a role as well.
In June, ProBioGen announced a modification that improves volumetric yield in certain cells up to 2.5-fold for certain products produced in CHO cells. The technique involves co-expressing an enzyme along with the therapeutic mAb. The enzyme, according to ProBioGen, acts "on several cellular pathways and results in substantially enhanced volumetric productivities of protein drugs."
Over the last 15 years approximately 30 therapeutic monoclonal antibodies have received regulatory approval. The majority of these proteins are full-length, unmodified IgG1 molecules. "Some reasons for the success of this molecular class are that full-length IgG1s are structurally stable, possess a long serum half-life, and their Fc regions can also confer secondary immune functions or effector functions," observes Walter Low, Ph.D., director for antibody engineering at PX'Therapeutics. PX specializes in developing therapeutic antibodies and other recombinant proteins.
But "canonical" IgG1 molecules possess inherent disadvantages, according to Low. They target mainly cell surface antigens—a therapeutic limitation—and their large size and complexity make them difficult to produce to homogeneity, hence their high manufacturing costs. Many of these drawbacks are addressed through advanced manufacturing and cell-line engineering technologies, which have improved volumetric productivity by as much as 10-fold over the last dozen years.
But biopharmaceutical companies are also devoting substantial resources to developing "next-generation" antibody-based therapeutics that include mainly antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), bi-specific antibodies, antibody fragments, and engineered antibodies.
ADCs are full mAbs or antibody fragments chemically linked to a cytotoxic drug. The combination target specificity and cytotoxicity represents a powerful alternative for treating cancer. Several of these ADCs are currently in advanced clinical trials and many more are in early development.
Antibody conjugates are not a new idea. Early implementations involved chelation, through addition of EDTA-like chemical side-arms, with radioisotopes. Some of these agents are still used for imaging and therapy. The modern version of these "stealth" molecules are composed of antibodies and cytotoxic drugs.
In Adcertis (Seattle Genetics), a lymphoma drug, the antibody targets CD30-expressing cells while the toxin induces cell death. Similarly T-DM1 (Roche) combines the breast tumor-seeking antibody Herceptin with Immunogen's TAP cytotoxic agent. Adcertis is approved, T-DM1 is in Phase III, and other related molecules are in various stages of development.
For example Merck recently announced a collaboration with Ambrx for "smart bomb" antibody compounds consisting of an IgG chemically bound to a cytotoxic compound. This is Ambrx' third foray in immunoconjugates. It is also working with Pfizer on a conjugate for an undisclosed indication, and has an antibody-peptide conjugate in preclinical development.
"We expect this area of mAb research and development to intensify in the coming years," says Dr. Zarbis-Papastoitsis.
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Reed Alexander's Carrot Cupcakes with Vanilla IcingMakes 12 cupcakes
1 cup flour
½ cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. allspice
½ tsp. salt
3/4 cup canola oil
2 tbsp. nonfat plain yogurt
3/4 cup raw sugar
2 eggs
1½ tsp. vanilla
1½ cups carrots, finely grated
1/4 cup golden raisins
1½ cups confectioners' sugar
3 tbsp. nonfat milk
2 tsp. unsalted butter, melted
1. Preheat oven to 375º. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. In a medium bowl, whisk together first 7 ingredients.
2. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat oil, yogurt and raw sugar on medium speed. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in 1 tsp. vanilla. On low speed, add the flour mixture in 3 additions. Stir in carrots and raisins. Fill each muffin cup and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool cupcakes completely.
3. For the icing, place confectioners' sugar in a bowl. In a separate bowl, combine milk, butter and ½ tsp. vanilla. Pour mixture into the sugar, mixing until icing is smooth, thick and glossy. Dip top of each cupcake into the icing and swirl to cover.
Reed Alexander's cookbook Kewl Bites is available in bookstores Sept. 3.


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The Continuing Education Unit (CEU) is a nationally recognized method of quantifying the time spent in the classroom during professional development and training activities. Ten hours of instruction = 1.0 CEU. One hour of instruction = 0.1 CEU.
The Professional Development Hour (PDH) is a term established by the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) in their "Continuing Professional Competency Guidelines." In these guidelines, NCEES defines the relationship between CEUs and PDHs as: 0.1 CEU (1 hour of instruction) = 1 PDH; 1.0 CEU (10 hours of instruction) = 10 PDHs.
The primary purpose of the CEU is to provide a permanent record of the educational accomplishments of an individual who has completed significant non-credit educational and career enhancement experiences. CEUs are needed by many individuals to obtain or renew industry certifications or licenses. However, CEUs are not only limited to these professionals.
CEUs are a great way to enhance one's professional portfolio as well. The process provides printable validation and acknowledgement of the extra learning sessions you are participating in outside of the normal work environment. This can help when you are preparing to move up the corporate ladder, ask for a raise, or simply grow your own personal knowledge of your industry.
CEUs are a great way for chapters to provide an added value to their members when attending chapter events. For only $35/workshops and $50/conferences due from the chapter, you can provide your members with a CEU opportunity at an event they would likely already be attending. Make sure your chapter is taking advantage of some of the lowest prices per CEU in the industry.
To apply for approval to issue CEUs for APWA chapter events, please click on either the "Workshop/Seminar" or the "Conference" application form located in the right navigation menu.
To apply for approval to issue CEUs for APWA Chapter events, please click on either the Workshop/Seminar -or- the Conference application form located in the left navigator bar.
Staff Contact: Education Department
The American Public Works Association has been accredited as an Authorized Provider by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET), 12100 Sunset Hills Rd, Ste 130, Reston, VA 20190; (703) 234-4065.


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The third round of the HP Byron Nelson Championship
Photo: Michael Ainsworth/Staff Photographer
Keegan Bradley hits from a sand trap on the 17th green during the third round of the HP Byron Nelson Championship in Irving, on May 18, 2013.
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Volvo mini excavators and diggers have your solution for dependable excavating equipment. On crawler tracks or on the road with wheeled versatility, you're on your way to more profit in site preparation, landscaping, trenching, excavation, demolition, truck loading, utility/piping and more.
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