text:
The lipid phosphatase FIG4 is a subunit of the protein complex that regulates biosynthesis of the signaling lipid PI(3,5)P2. Mutations of FIG4 result in juvenile lethality and spongiform neurodegeneration in the mouse, and are responsible for the human disorders Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease, Yunis–Varon syndrome and polymicrogyria with seizures. We previously demonstrated that conditional expression of a wild-type FIG4 transgene in neurons is sufficient to rescue most of the abnormalities of Fig4 null mice, including juvenile lethality and extensive neurodegeneration. To evaluate the contribution of the phosphatase activity to the in vivo function of Fig4, we introduced the mutation p.Cys486Ser into the Sac phosphatase active-site motif CX5RT. Transfection of the Fig4Cys486Ser cDNA into cultured Fig4−/− fibroblasts was effective in preventing vacuolization. The neuronal expression of an NSE-Fig4Cys486Ser transgene in vivo prevented the neonatal neurodegeneration and juvenile lethality seen in Fig4 null mice. These observations demonstrate that the catalytically inactive FIG4 protein provides significant function, possibly by stabilization of the PI(3,5)P2 biosynthetic complex and/or localization of the complex to endolysosomal vesicles. Despite this partial rescue, later in life the NSE-Fig4Cys486Ser transgenic mice display significant abnormalities that include hydrocephalus, defective myelination and reduced lifespan. The late onset phenotype of the NSE-Fig4Cys486Ser transgenic mice demonstrates that the phosphatase activity of FIG4 has an essential role in vivo.
FIG4 encodes a lipid phosphatase that regulates biogenesis of the signaling lipid PI(3,5)P2 (1–4). The important role of FIG4 in the mammalian nervous system was first indicated by the spongiform degeneration of the brain and peripheral nervous system (PNS) caused by a loss of function mutation of Fig4 in the plt mouse (5). A similar phenotype results from mutation of the associated protein VAC14 (6). FIG4 is localized on the cytoplasmic surface of endolysosomal vesicles in a complex that also includes the scaffold protein VAC14 and the PI(3)P kinase PIKFYVE (6–8). The close association between the kinase that generates PI(3,5)P2 from PI3P and the phosphatase that removes the 5-phosphate results in transient, spatially localized production of PI(3,5)P2 that is thought to regulate vesicle fusion and trafficking events.
In addition to its phosphatase activity toward the substrate PI(3,5)P2 (9), there is evidence that the FIG4 protein can stabilize the PI(3,5)P2 biosynthetic complex and contribute to localization at the surface of endolysosomal vesicles. Deletion of yeast FIG4 impairs the localization of VAC14 and PIKFYVE to the vacuole surface (6,9). The phosphatase-inactive yeast mutant fig4-1 (9) stabilizes the association of VAC14 and PIKFYVE (7). Mammalian FIG4 protein is destabilized in mutant mice lacking VAC14 (10), although VAC14 and PIKFYVE proteins are stable in mice lacking FIG4 (10,11). The human patient mutation p.Ile41Thr impairs interaction of FIG4 with VAC14 resulting in destabilization of the FIG4 protein (10). Thus the lethal phenotype of Fig4 null mice, which lack FIG4 protein, could result either from loss of FIG4 enzymatic activity or from loss of its stabilization functions, which indirectly impair the biosynthesis of PI(3,5)P2. To distinguish between these functions, we generated a mutant FIG4 with an active-site mutation that produces a stable FIG4 protein lacking catalytic activity. We evaluated the ability of this mutant to rescue cellular vacuolization and survival of the Fig4 null mouse.
Fig4 is a member of the Sac phosphatase family that contains the active-site motif CX5RT/S (12–17). The cysteine residue of the CX5RT/S motif participates in SN2 nucleophilic attack on the phosphate group of the substrate (18). Replacement of the active-site cysteine by serine inactivates enzymes of this class by preventing formation of a thiol-phosphate intermediate (19,20). Cysteine-to-serine mutations resulted in complete inactivation of the lipid phosphatases MTMR2 and SAC1, whose active sites are closely related to FIG4 (20,21). Cysteine-to-serine mutations of the CX5RT/S motif also inactivate protein tyrosine phosphatases (22–26) and dual substrate phosphatases (19,27,28). Most recently, the mutation p.Cys450Ser was used to inactivate fig4 in Drosophila (Bharadwaj and Lloyd, HMG co-submitted manuscript).
We generated the active-site mutation p.Cys486Ser in FIG4 and examined the effect in Fig4-deficient cells and mice. The partial rescue of the Fig4 null phenotype by the active-site mutant indicates that mammalian FIG4 has both phosphatase-dependent and phosphatase-independent roles that are essential in vivo.
Fig4 with an active-site mutation rescues vacuolization of Fig4−/− fibroblasts
Fig4−/− fibroblasts accumulate large, cytoplasmic, fluid-filled vesicles derived from the endosome/lysosome pathway (5) (Fig. 1A). Transfection of wild-type Fig4 cDNA rescues vacuolization of null fibroblasts (Fig. 1B), and pathogenic mutations impair rescue (29,30). We introduced the p.Cys486Ser active-site mutation into the Fig4 cDNA (Fig. 1D and E). Primary fibroblasts cultured from Fig4−/− mice were transfected with the mutant and wild-type cDNA. The mutant cDNA was as effective as wild-type in correcting vacuolization of cultured cells, with >80% of null cells lacking vacuoles (Fig. 1C and F).
Generation of transgenic mice with neuronal expression of mutant Fig4
To examine the role of the mutant protein in vivo, the FIG4-Cys486Ser mutant cDNA was cloned downstream of the 4 kb NSE (neuron-specific enolase) fragment that we previously used for the expression of wild-type Fig4 (Fig. 2A) (32). The linearized cDNA construct was microinjected into fertilized eggs and founders carrying the transgene were identified by amplification of genomic DNA with transgene-specific primers (Fig. 2B). The transgene was transmitted through the germline to offspring in a cross between transgenic founders and Fig4+/− heterozygous null mice.
To determine whether the transgene was expressed in the Fig4+/+,Tg+ offspring, brain RNA was prepared and the transgene transcript was amplified with a forward primer in the NSE noncoding exon and a reverse primer in exon 2 of Fig4. These primers span an intron, permitting distinction between spliced transcripts and genomic DNA. Expression of spliced transcript was detected in brain (Fig. 2C), but not in other tissues of mice from line 415. This expression pattern continued through adulthood and is consistent with the predicted neuronal specificity of the NSE promoter. Fig4+/−,Tg+ mice were crossed with Fig4+/− mice to generate Fig4−/−,Tg+ mice that are predicted to express mutant FIG4 in the absence of wild-type FIG4. Expression of Fig4 protein was detected by western blotting in brain of Fig4−/−,Tg+ mice (Fig. 2D). The expression of FIG4 protein in the mutant is 45 ± 5% of endogenous wild-type expression (n = 3) (Supplementary Material, Fig. S1). Expression of the transgene transcript was quantitated by qRT-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on brain RNA from three Fig4−/−,Tg+ mice and three wild-type mice. Expression of the transgene mRNA was 29% of the endogenous level (ΔΔCT = 1.8) (Fig. 2E).
Rescue of postnatal growth and juvenile lethality by the mutant transgene
Fig4+/−,Tg+ mice were crossed with heterozygous Fig4+/− mice, and offspring were genotyped at 14 days of age. Twenty-five percent of offspring had the genotype Fig4−/− (31/115) and 50% of these carried the transgene (16/31), consistent with Mendelian predictions. The early growth impairment of Fig4−/− mice was almost completely rescued by the expression of the mutant transgene (Fig. 3A). The growth of these transgenic mice was comparable to previously described transgenic mice expressing wild-type Fig4 from the same promoter (32). At 30 days of age, Fig4−/−,Tg+ mice did not display the characteristic muscle wasting and small size observed for Fig4−/− mice (Fig. 3B). The juvenile lethality of Fig4−/− mice was also rescued by the mutant transgene (Fig. 3C). The mean survival of the control Fig4−/− non-transgenic littermates was 37 ± 11 days (n = 15), and none lived beyond 2 months of age. In contrast, 36/38 Fig4−/−,Tg+ mice expressing the mutant transgene survived beyond 2 months of age (Fig. 3C).
Rescue of spongiform degeneration by the Fig4Cys486Ser transgene
Fig4−/− null mice exhibit spongiform degeneration in brain, spinal cord and dorsal root ganglia, with greatest severity in cortical layers 5 and 6, deep cerebellar nucleus, thalamus and dorsal root ganglia (5,10,32). To determine whether the p.Cys486Ser mutant protein could rescue these neurological phenotypes, we examined brain and dorsal root ganglia of Fig4−/−,Tg+ mice by light microscopy. At 4 weeks of age, the profound neurodegeneration seen in control non-transgenic littermates was not seen in mice expressing the Fig4Cys486Ser transgene (Fig. 3D). The extent of rescue by the mutant Fig4 was comparable to that described previously for the NSE-Fig4WT transgene (32).
Adult-onset phenotypes in Fig4−/−,TgCys486Ser mice
Although juvenile phenotypes were essentially rescued by the mutant transgene, adult Fig4−/−,TgCys486Ser mice exhibited reduced lifespan, with only 50% of mice surviving beyond 5 months of age (Fig. 4A). Expression of the transgene is maintained through 8 months of age (Fig. 4E). The reduced survival is in contrast to the long-term survival of mice expressing the wild-type NSE-Fig4WT transgene (Fig. 4A). Fig4−/−,TgCys486Ser adult mice were also smaller than wild-type littermates or Fig4−/−,TgWT mice (Fig. 4B). As they age, Fig4−/−,TgCys486Ser mice develop a hunched posture and domed head (Fig. 4C and Supplementary Material, Video). Dissection of the brain revealed enlarged ventricles and compression of cerebellar and cortical tissue that is indicative of high-pressure hydrocephalus (Fig. 4D). Hydrocephalus has been observed in Fig4 null mice (10) and patients with Yunis–Varon syndrome, who are also FIG4−/− (29,33,34).
Fig4−/− mice have a diluted coat color due to clumping of melanosomes in the hair shaft (5). The NSE promoter is expressed in melanocytes in addition to neurons, and we showed previously that the NSE-Fig4WT transgene rescues the coat color dilution of Fig4 null mice (32). However, coat color was not restored in mice expressing the Fig4Cys486Ser transgene, whose diluted pigmentation mimics the Fig4−/− mouse (Fig. 4D).
Thus, the non-catalytic functions of FIG4 rescue some but not all of the abnormal phenotypes of the Fig4−/− null mouse.
Impaired myelination in Fig4−/−,TgCys486Ser mice
Myelination is defective in the central nervous system (CNS) and PNS of Fig4 null mice (5,34). Myelination is restored by expression of the NSE-Fig4WT transgene, which is expressed in neurons but not expressed in oligodendrocytes (32,35). To determine whether the TgCys486Ser transgene can restore CNS myelination, we examined the abundance of myelin proteins in brain membranes of Fig4−/−,TgCys486Ser mice at P21, an age when neurons appear fully rescued (Fig. 3D). The abundance of myelin-associated glycoprotein (MAG), myelin basic protein (MBP) and proteolipid protein (PLP) was reduced to <50% of wild-type levels in the Fig4−/−,TgCys486Ser mice (Fig. 5A and B).
To determine whether this reduced expression of myelin proteins results in a functional deficit in the Fig4−/−,TgCys486Ser transgenic mice, we measured nerve conduction in acutely isolated optic nerves. In Fig4−/− mice, compound action potentials (CAPs) reveal a dramatic reduction in the population of fast conducting fibers and a corresponding increase in the proportion of slowly conducting (non-myelinated) fibers in the optic nerve (35). This defect is corrected by the wild-type NSE-Fig4 transgene, which restores the normal CAP pattern seen in wild-type mice (Fig. 5E and F) (35). In contrast, the active-site mutated TgCys486Ser did not restore the normal CAP phenotype (Fig. 5G). As a result, the ratio of slow-amplitude (non-myelinated) to fast-amplitude (myelinated) conduction is much higher in mice expressing the mutant transgene (Fig. 5H), demonstrating the functional defect associated with impaired myelination of the optic nerve. Neuronal regulation of myelination in this system is thus dependent upon FIG4 catalytic activity.
Genetic mutations affecting the generation of PI(3,5)P2, PI(4,5)P2 and PI(5)P are all deleterious to the nervous system. The work reported here provides additional support for the essential role of FIG4 in mammalian brain. Neuronal expression of Fig4 is necessary and sufficient for protection against spongiform neurodegeneration (32). We have found that this function can be provided by FIG4 protein containing an active-site mutation. The significant phenotypic rescue by the mutant protein indicates that non-catalytic functions of FIG4 are important in vivo. The stabilization of the PI(3,5)P2 biosynthetic complex by catalytically inactive FIG4 has been described in yeast (7,9), and a similar role could account for the function of catalytically inactive mammalian FIG4. By stabilizing the biosynthetic complex, the PI(3,5)P2 deficiency of Fig4 null cells may be partially ameliorated.
It is notable that a functional role for the catalytically inactive Drosophila fig4 has recently been described. Expression of the p.Cys450Ser active-site mutant was sufficient to rescue the extensive vacuolization of larval muscle in the fig4 null fly (Bharadwaj and Lloyd, HMG manuscript co-submitted). Thus in model systems including yeast, invertebrate and mouse, mutation of the active site does not completely abolish the biological activity of Fig4.
An example of the stabilization of a related enzyme by an inactive phosphatase is provided by the MTMR gene family, which dephosphorylates the third position of PI3P and PI(3,5)P2. Among the 14 MTMR paralogs in mammalian genomes, six have lost phosphatase activity (36). Mutations of either the catalytically active MTMR2 or the catalytically inactive MTMR13 can cause recessively inherited Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease type 4B (36). MTMR2 and MTMR13 interact directly on the membrane of the endolysosomal system (21,37), with MTMR13 acting as a scaffold to stabilize the activity of MTMR2.
In older mice, the essential role of the phosphatase activity of FIG4 becomes evident, as the catalytically inactive transgene does not rescue long-term survival. Myelination in particular is not rescued even in young mice, and the transgenic mice develop severe hydrocephalus like the uncorrected null mice.
The level of expression of the mutant protein is ∼45% of endogenous Fig4 protein (Supplementary Material, Fig. S1). For comparison, heterozygous Fig4+/− mice expressing 50% of wild-type protein level are unaffected (5), and transgenic mice expressing Fig4-I41T at 10% of wild-type protein level are unaffected (10). Thus, the level of expression of Cys486Ser protein is unlikely to be responsible for the incomplete rescue of late onset phenotypes.
Cysteine to serine mutations of the CX5RT/S phosphatase motif have been widely used to eliminate enzymatic activity (19–28). We were unable to directly evaluate the activity of the FIG4-Cys486Ser mutant because of the instability of recombinant FIG4 protein and the difficulty of purifying the protein from mammalian cells. Quantitation of the impact of the mutation on the cellular abundance of PI(3,5)P2 and PI5P would provide additional insight into the phenotype of the mutant mice described here.
Mutations of Fig4 and the scaffold protein Vac14 are proposed to reduce synaptic activity of neurons via altered post-synaptic trafficking of AMPA receptors between endosomes and the surface of dendritic spines (38). Pharmacological inhibition of PIKfyve also reduces synaptic strength (39). Protein effectors of PI(3,5)P2 that could mediate these synaptic effects include WD40 domain proteins, sorting nexins and class II formins (4). The lysosomal cation channels TRPML1, TPC1 and TPC2 are also directly regulated by PI(3,5)P2 (40–42). Reduced activity of the lysosomal cation channels secondary to reduced PI(3,5)P2 could lead to osmotic enlargement of the lysosome compartment that may underlie vacuolization of Fig4 null cells (43). In support of this model, rescue of vacuolization by overexpression of TRPML1 has been reported in Vac14 and Fig4 mutant cells (40,44). Similarly, mutation of drosophila TRPML1 generates a muscle vacuolization phenotype similar to that of the FIG4-deficient mutant (Bharadwaj and Lloyd, HMG manuscript co-submitted).
The work described here demonstrates that the defects leading to juvenile lethality of the Fig4 null mouse are substantially rescued by the Fig4Cys486Ser protein. Nonetheless, survival of adult mice was greatly impaired. Thus, both catalytic and non-catalytic roles of FIG4 are essential. The mechanisms underlying the catalytic and non-catalytic functions of FIG4 remain to be fully understood. The mouse model described here will be a useful system to better understand normal protein function and pathophysiology of human disorders caused by FIG4 deficiency.
Materials and Methods
Mutagenesis of Fig4 cDNA and generation of expression constructs
The full-length Fig4 cDNA was previously cloned downstream of the chicken β-actin (CAG) promoter (10). We mutated the phosphatase active-site motif CX5RT by the PCR extension method. A fragment containing the substitution c.1458G>C encoding the missense mutation p.Cys486Ser was amplified from the CAG-Fig4 construct using the forward primer 5′ GTGAT GCTTC TGTGA TGTCT TTTAC and a reverse primer containing the mutation (underlined): 5′ CCGTA GGAAG CTTGG TTGAG ACACC TGACA AACC. The CAG-Fig4 plasmid was digested with BstXI (New England Biolabs, Ipswich, MA, USA) and the products of 7.2 kb and 420 bp were gel purified. The PCR product containing the mutation was digested with BstX1 and the resulting mutant 420 bp fragment was ligated to the 7.2 kb fragment from the wild-type clone to generate the CAG-Fig4-Cys486Ser construct. For neuron-specific expression in transgenic mice, the mutant cDNA was PCR amplified from the CAG clone and cloned downstream of the 4 kb enolase (NSE) promoter as previously described (32). Promoters, coding regions and UTRs of cDNA clones were subjected to Sanger sequencing for sequence verification.
Cell vacuolization
Mouse embryonic fibroblasts were isolated from plt/plt homozygous null embryos at E13 (5). Cells were cultured to Passage 3 and stored frozen in Recovery Cell Culture Freezing Medium #12648 (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA, USA). After co-transfection with enhanced green fluorescent protein, cells were cultured and vacuolization was evaluated by light microscopy as previously described (29,30).
Transgenic mice
The NSE-Fig4 cDNA was microinjected into (C57BL/6 × SJL)F2 fertilized mouse eggs in the University of Michigan Transgenic Animal Core (www.med.umich.edu/tamc/) as previously described (32). Transgenic founders were identified by PCR of genomic DNA as described in the text. Founders were crossed with congenic C3H. Fig4+/− heterozygous mice (N23) carrying the plt null allele (43). Fig4+/− offspring inheriting the transgene were crossed again with C3H.Fig4+/− mice to generate Fig4−/−, transgene positive (Tg+) mice and non-transgenic littermate controls for experiments. Wildtype mice expressing the transgene did not exhibit abnormal phenotypes or reduced fertility. Animals were housed and cared for in accordance with NIH guidelines. Experiments were approved by the University of Michigan Committee on the Use and Care of Animals.
Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction
Transgene transcripts were detected with the forward primer in NSE exon 1, CACCG GCTGA GTCTG CAGTC CTCG, and the reverse in Fig4 exon 2, TGATT GCTCC CAACT AGAAA GTATC, with 30 cycles of amplification. qRT-PCR was carried out as previously described (10). RNA was prepared from whole brain using the Trizol reagent (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA, USA). cDNA was generated with the first-strand cDNA synthesis kit (Invitrogen). Transgene expression on the Fig4plt/plt null background was detected with the pre-designed Taqman assay spanning Fig4 exons 18 and 19 (Catalog # Mm 01189585_m1) (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, CA, USA) that does not detect the plt transcript due to the retrotransposon insert in intron 18 (5,32).
Brain and spinal cord were fixed for 24 h at 4°C in phosphate buffered 10% formalin and dehydrated in 70% ethanol for 24 h at 4°C prior to processing. Paraffin embedding and hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining were carried out at Histoserv, Inc. (Bethesda, MD, USA). Images were obtained with an Olympus BX51 microscope and DP50 camera.
Western blotting was carried out for FIG4 (30), and myelin proteins MAG, MBP and PLP as previously described (45). Brain membrane proteins were prepared from three mice of each genotype at P20-P22 as described (35). Primary antibodies included mouse anti-βIII tubulin (1:20 000; Promega), rabbit anti-MAG (1:1000) (34), rat anti-MBP (1:1000; Millipore), anti-PLP (1:1000, Abcam) and mouse anti-Fig4 (NeuroMab, 1:200). Primary antibodies were detected using either horseradish peroxidase-conjugated secondary antibodies (1:2000–15 000; Millipore Bioscience Research Reagents) or Alexa-conjugated secondary antibodies (1:20 000, Molecular Probes). The Licor C-DiGit and Odyssey imaging systems and software were used for visualization and quantification of myelin proteins. For quantitation of FIG4 protein, the ratio of FIG4 protein to loading control was determined using the ImageJ software (46) (Supplementary Material, Fig. S1).
Optic nerve conduction
CAP recordings of acutely isolated optic nerves from P20-P22 from mice of genotype Fig4++ (n = 8 nerves), Fig4−/−,NSE-Fig4TG (n = 4 nerves) and Fig4−/−,NSE-Fig4Cys486Ser (n = 6 nerves) were performed and analyzed as previously described (35,47).
Supplementary Material
Supplementary Material is available at HMG online.
Authors' Contributions
Conception and design of experiments: G.M.L., M.H.M.; execution of experiments: G.M.L., C.M.F., A.C.M., R.C.W. and Y.A.M.; interpretation of data: G.M.L., C.M.F., A.C.M., R.C.W., Y.A.M., R.J.G. and M.H.M.; manuscript preparation: G.M.L., M.H.M.
Funded by National Institutes of Health research grants R01 GM24872 (M.H.M.), R01 NS81281 (R.J.G. and M.H.M.) and the Dr Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Medical Foundation on Neural Repair and Rehabilitation (R.J.G.). Y.A.M. acknowledges support from the National Institutes of Health Cellular and Molecular Biology Training grant T32-GM007315.
We thank A. Antonellis for critical reading of the manuscript.
Conflict of Interest statement. None declared.


text:
Hello Kathy!
We have these ladybugs in plenty, or something
very like them, in Georgia. I thought I had heard
they were introduced, originally into FL, to control
aphids in pecan groves; though that makes sense if
they go after them on hardwoods generally. I
understand they are since spreading north and becoming
more abundant. They gather and look for shelter in the
fall where they spend the winter. I certainly have
found clumps of them in the cold weather in sheds,
woodpiles and other sheltered spots, so I guess they
could get into a not-well-sealed cabin or house. And
they do bite at the least disturbance.
Bob Burns
--- Kathy Kempf <email@example.com> wrote:
> I am taking part in our local university's study
> about Multicolored Asian
> Lady Beetles. Anybody else in the country/world
> notice ladybugs acting odd
> in the fall? They were released in the midwest
> several times in the past
> couple of decades to try to help control aphids in
> hardwood forests.
> Trouble is, they swarm and try to find places to
> hibernate. Since they
> can't find cliffs as in their native habitat, they
> are infesting people's
> houses by the hundreds or thousands or tens of
> thousands here in the
> American midwest. I know they have penetrated into
> central Indiana, but not
> yet into western New York (Buffalo area).
> They also bite, and increasing numbers of people are
> having allergic
> reactions.
> These look very similar to native American ladybugs;
> they are colored from
> dark to light orange, with varying numbers of black
> spots.
> For more information, check out the Ohio State
> University IPM site at
> www.ag.ohio-state.edu/~ipm/
> I am not a researcher with this group, just a
> participant.
> Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at
> http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp.
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Health - your guide to health and wellness

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Hotels in Aschau
Hotel reservation
Hotel rooms in Aschau
There are not so many hotel rooms in Aschau, just 10, still everyone can find an offer to suit his choice. The most common offers in this city are 4, 5 stars, they count 1 out of 10, and their prevalent location is central district. According to our practice, it is the most profitable to book a hotel in the east of Aschau, as it is the location of the hotels with optimal cost and quality offers along with the cheap hotels. Taking into account the small size of the city, there is no need to dwell hotel reservation on the location: the road to the city center would take less then half an hour, so one can book a hotel in any district of Aschau. The most populated with hotels district of Aschau is the north, 70% of cheap hotel rooms are concentrated here. However, even those who want to live in the south can choose from 1 variants of hotel rooms. Aschau is an ideal place for couple and solo, such travellers rate hotels there 8.6 out of 10 on average. The view to mountain and garden from the hotel room can serve as a pleasant addition to the journey. Apart from all these, hotels in Aschau offer their customers pets allowed, concierge service, laundry service and spa. The staff of the most hotels is multilingual: it speaks russian, italian, spanish and french. It is even possible to find english speaking people in the hotels of Aschau if necessary. The most appreciated amenities in Aschau hotels are service and room. According to the visitors reviews, hotels in Aschau has rather comfortable, delicious food and fantastic service. Take a look at our selection of the cheap hotel rooms in Aschau to make a well-informed choice for your reservation!
Aschau cheap hotels
Guest Houses
All cheap hotels in Aschau
hotel collections
Pets-friendly hotels in Aschau
average rating
"We are responsible for those who tamed" - said Antoine de Saint-Exupery.
Show hotels
All hotel collections in Aschau
Best hotels in Aschau
Hotels in Aschau are spread around the city within the distance of 5.5 kilometers, while 2 hotels are located directly in the city center. Those who are keen on antique should definitely fall in love with
Residenz Heinz Winkler
, the oldest hotel of Aschau, constructed in 1405. This hotel is located 1.4 km away from the city center. The most popular accommodations in Aschau is
Burghotel Aschau
located in a 0.6 kilometers from the city center.
The best hotels are here and now. Try them!
All cities in Germany


text:
Realty Executives Big Bear sponsors the 6th annual golf tournament to benefit our local Habitat for Humanity. Tournament at Bear Mountain Golf Course includes BBQ lunch, best ball scramble, and raffle for prizes. Cost for both golf and lunch is $100, with hole sponsorships also available. To register, contact Sally Iazeolla at 584-2202 by June 23.
Related Posts
Bach to Rock
Music in the Mountains Concert Series
Rotary Fireworks & Dinner


text:
Procurement & Supply Chain jobs
668 Matching Jobs
Procurement & Supply Chain jobs
Yearly Salary (£)Expand / collapse
- Featured JobBasildonPermanent£28,000 - £32,000
The Production Coordinator, based in Basildon, will manage the production planning process by co-ordinating the flow of linen measuring, monitoring and planning the interfaces between logistics and operational departments in order to optimise product availability and OTIF performance.
Featured JobLeicestershirePermanent£25,000 - £35,000
- Exciting role with a FTSE 100 Business
- Based in Basildon
Production Coordinator, Leicestershire.
Featured JobLancasterPermanent£28,000 - £32,000
- Exciting Opportunity for an aspiring Production Coordinator
- Working for a leading FTSE250 Business
Production Coordinator - Lancaster
Featured JobBirminghamPermanent£60,000
- Exciting Opportunity for an aspiring Production coordinator
- Working for a leading FTSE250 Business
In collaboration with the Continuous Improvement team, you will optimise the ROI on textiles and the utilisation of textiles. You will ensure lean practices flow from supplier to plants. In order to achieve this, you will be responsible for the overall development and implementing of the appropriate systems and processes.
You will drive forecasting and have implemented a model previously. Moving on from this you will look to implement S&OP to improve demand forecast. This will be achieved by looking at the inventory strategy and where hubs are and are not sharing product.
Featured JobBirminghamPermanent£28,000 - £32,000
- Experienced forecast and demand manager required
- Working for a leading FTSE 250 business
Manage the production planning process by co-ordinating the flow of linen measuring, monitoring and planning the interfaces between logistics and operational departments in order to optimise product availability and OTIF performance. Act as primary site customer interface and ensure that the relationship between the customer and the laundry is maintained to the highest standard. To ensure accurate data management of customer records at all times.
Featured JobCounty DurhamPermanent£28,000 - £32,000
- Exciting Opportunity for an aspiring Production coordinator
- Working for a leading FTSE250 Business
Production Coordinator based in County Durham
Featured JobIlkestonPermanent£50,000 - £60,000
- Exciting Opportunity for an aspiring Production coordinator
- Working for a leading FTSE250 Business
Michael Page Procurement & Supply Chain are currently working exclusively with Ward Recycling whose head office is located in Derbyshire, to recruit a Senior Scrap Metal Buyer to join their team. They are looking for someone with experience in metal trading/purchasing to bring their knowledge and contacts to the business with a view to increasing the substantial tonnages that the company already handles.
Featured JobNorth West EnglandPermanent£50,000 - £60,000
- Senior Scrap Metal Buyer role with a growing business in Derbyshire
- Attractive starting salary and bonus package available
Due to exciting, strategic plans we are looking to recruit an IT&T Category Manager in to our client Electricity North West. You will deliver the IT&T procurement strategy ensuring legislative compliance and bespoke services are provided to the IT&T business which offers affordable solutions and an efficient service
Featured JobNorth West EnglandPermanent£50,000 - £60,000
- Category Manager
Due to exciting, strategic plans Electricity North West are looking to recruit a Commercial Manager in to the business. You will lead a commercial team as the commercial expert across the business whilst implementing the commercial strategy which ensures commercial compliance and supports the delivery of affordable commercial contracts
BirminghamPermanent£60,000 - £75,000
- Commercial Manager
- Utilities
Responsible for maximising value to the organisation through the structured management and development of the subcontract supply chain. Leading the implementation of the Supply Chain Strategy. Providing high quality support on supply chain engagement, selection, development and performance management.
Home>Our expertise>Procurement & Supply Chain
- Senior Procurement Manager (Rail)
- Based in Birmingham
About Michael Page Procurement & Supply ChainMichael Page's Procurement and Supply Chain division are part of the international Page Group. With 153 offices in 35 countries, we have built our foundations on a localised recruitment service with a global footprint.In the UK, our Procurement and Supply Chain division has 17 teams of specialist consultants based within 13 UK offices. Last year we placed over 1800 purchasing and supply chain professionals in interim and permanent roles for organizations ranging from global multinationals to local SME's.Find out more about how we can help, and for advice to progress your career below.Our teams specialise by region, job type and industry sector, to ensure in-depth market knowledge. This industry expertise covers the breadth of the country and incorporates financial services, construction and facilities management, public sector, automotive, aerospace and general manufacturing, the FMCG market and a multitude of niche and specialist sectors. The extensive infrastructure enables us to meet our clients and candidates building strong, one-on-one relationships. In turn, we are able to offer flexible solutions matching specific client requirements with the very best candidates.Our scale, scope and specialist capability allows us to develop flexible recruitment solutions to best meet changing market conditions where the competition for talent remains strong.
Procurement jobs we recruit include:
We aim to deliver and develop world-class sourcing teams for our clients, and provide access to challenging opportunities to enhance the careers of our procurement job seekers.
- CPOs
- Procurement/purchasing directors
- Category managers
- Buyers/senior buyers
- Indirect and direct strategic sourcing professionals
- e-Sourcing specialists
- Supplier relationship managers
- Commissioning specialists
- Procurement transformation leaders
- Purchase-to-pay systems specialists
Supply chain jobs we recruit include:Our specialist supply chain teams are experts in the geographies, industries and job types they serve. This in-depth market knowledge allows us to understand the various supply chain structures and the different role types within them. A detailed understanding of supply chain roles and access to as broad range of supply chain candidates is critical. Recruiting supply chain positions remotely via job spec alone is a difficult task.
- Supply chain directors and managers
- Materials planners/managers
- Production planners
- Master production schedulers
- Customer service managers
- Demand and supply planners/managers
- S&OP roles
- Import and export managers
Useful articles
Latest jobsView More Jobs


text:
By (author) Anna Dewdney
Format: Hardback
Normal Price: $34.22
Your Price: $30.11 AUD, inc. GST
Shipping: $7.95 per order
You Save: $4.11! (12% off normal price)
Plus...earn $1.51 in Boomerang Bucks
Availability: Available, ships in 8-11 days
Llama Llama Mad at Mama by Anna Dewdney
Book DescriptionYucky music, great big feet. Ladies smelling way too sweet. Look at knees and stand in line. Llama Llama starts to whine. Does any child like to go shopping? Not Llama Llama! But Mama can t leave Llama at home, so off they go to Shop-O-Rama. Lots of aisles. Long lines. Mama is too busy to notice that Llama Llama is getting m-a-d! And before he knows it, he s having a full-out tantrum! Mama quickly calms him down, but she also realizes that they need to make shopping more fun for both of them. Parents and children are sure to recognize themselves in this fun-to-read follow-up to the popular Llama Llama Red Pajama. Watch a Video "
Buy Llama Llama Mad at Mama book by Anna Dewdney from Australia's Online Bookstore, Boomerang Books.
Book DetailsISBN: 9780670062409
(262mm x 262mm x 15mm)
Imprint: Viking Press Inc
Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
Publish Date: 6-Sep-2007
Country of Publication: United States
Customers who bought this also bought...
Books By Author Anna Dewdney
Llama Llama Gram and Grandpa, Hardback (January 2017)
On an overnight visit to Gram and Grandpa, Llama Llama realizes he forgot Fuzzy LLama.
Christmas in the Barn, Hardback (October 2016)
Rhyming text relating the birth of a child in a barn among farm animals.
Llama Llama Easter Egg, Hardback (August 2015)» View all books by Anna Dewdney
What will the Easter Bunny bring for Llama Llama? Jelly beans, colorful eggs, and a fluffy surprise! Bursting with pastel colours and featuring a rhyming text, Llama Llama Easter Egg is the perfect introduction to Easter fun for little ones.
» Have you read this book? We'd like to know what you think about it - write a review about Llama Llama Mad at Mama book by Anna Dewdney and you'll earn 50c in Boomerang Bucks loyalty dollars (you must be a member - it's free to sign up!)
Author Biography - Anna Dewdney
Anna Dewdney dislikes shopping almost as much as Llama Llama. She lives with her two daughters, a dog, and a pickup truck in southern Vermont.
Facebook Page | Twitter | Google+ | Bulletin e-Newsletter | Blog | RSS
Become a Member | Book Lists | Recently Released | Coming Soon | Fast Delivery Books
Bestselling Books: Our Current Bestsellers | Australia's Hottest 1000 Books | Bestselling Fiction | Bestselling Crime Mysteries and Thrillers | Bestselling Non Fiction Books | Bestselling Sport Books | Bestselling Gardening and Handicrafts Books | Bestselling Biographies | Bestselling Food and Drink | Bestselling History | Bestselling Travel Books | Bestselling School Textbooks & Study Guides | Bestselling Children's General Non-Fiction | Bestselling Young Adult Fiction | Bestselling Children's Fiction | Bestselling Picture Books | Top 100 US Bestsellers
For: Schools | Organisations | Libraries | Publishers | Authors | Book Clubs | Bloggers | Affiliates
About Us | Contact Us | Help Desk | Security | Privacy | Terms of Use | Copyright
Phone: 1300 36 33 32 (9am-5pm Mon-Fri AEST) - International: +61 2 9960 7998 - Online Form
Address: Boomerang Books, 878 Military Road, Mosman Junction, NSW, 2088
© 2003-2017. All Rights Reserved. Eclipse Commerce Pty Ltd - ACN: 122 110 687 - ABN: 49 122 110 687
For every $20 you spend on books, you will receive $1 in Boomerang Bucks loyalty dollars. You can use your Boomerang Bucks as a credit towards a future purchase from Boomerang Books. Note that you must be a Member (free to sign up) and that conditions do apply.


text:
Tie a Scarf in Different Ways
Edited by Maria Sharon Ubando, Lynn, Alma, Eng
A scarf can be a good addition to your outfit. Besides letting it hang over your shoulders or wrapping them around our necks, there are a number of creative ways that you can tie a scarf. This piece of cloth can make help you create a better look to even an old dress, shirt or any other clothing.
The Many Looks of Your Scarf
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6Loop and Tuck Scarf Knot.This knot fits well with chunky scarves. Take the scarf and look for the middle. Place it in front of your neck and leave the ends resting against the back. Put the ends of the scarf back at your front. Tuck the ends of the scarf creating a loop placed around your neck. Pull the knot down so you will feel comfortable.
How to Choose the Right Scarf
A scarf is usually wrapped or worn around the neck and this may highlight some parts of the body, like the face and the bust. It is then very important that you choose one that can flatter the figure of your body.
- 1Choose Scarves in Neutral Colors.Neutral colors are the safest when buying scarves. This is because you can pair them with any other colors.Advertisement
- 2Check the Material.When buying a scarf, be sure that you choose one with the right material. Wool, cotton and chiffon are some of the recommended fabrics.
- 3Be Careful with the Prints.When you decide to wear a scarf over a dress, be mindful with the prints on the fabric - no mismatching allowed. Printed scarves will not match with a dress with a different print.Advertisement
- If you have problems with any of these steps, ask a question for more help, or post in the comments section below.
Article Info
Categories : Accessories, Scarfs, Purses & Jewelry
Recent edits by: Alma, Lynn, Maria Sharon Ubando


text:
Mega: "Norwegian delights - Fjordland" Top 5 Page for this destination Molde Shopping Tip by knerten
Molde Shopping: 12 reviews and 15 photos
You'll find Fjordland shelves in most Norwegian food stores, but the shelf at Mega has the biggest selection. Fjordland is a range of ready-made heat-and-serve products that taste great, and most food of this kind does not. With a wide range of traditional Norwegian dishes, this is a must-try when in Norway. Somewhat on the pricy side, but well worth it. I've tried similar things in other countries, but this is definitely the best.
What to pay: NOK 40-60
Directions: Coop Mega, East of the ferry quay.
Theme: Food and Drink
More Reviews (22)
Local Customs (4)See All Wecam III
Sports & Outdoors (1)Sea Rafting - The ultimate experience
Restaurants (5)See All Is this thing supposed to be a pizza?
Transportation (7)See All The Speed Passenger Boat to Vestnes
knerten's Related Pages
knerten Lives Here!
"If we are incapable of finding peace in ourselves, it is pointless to search elsewhere. --- Francois de la Rochefoucauld"
- Member Rank:
- 0 1 1 1 4
- 311 Reviews
- 684 Photos
- Add Friend
- Follow
- Send Message
Have you been to Molde?Share Your Travels


text:
- Horoscopes
- Dear Abby
- Games & Puzzles
- Lifestyle
- Events & Exhibits
- Food & Drink
- Arts & Music
- Movies & TV
So much of medical education is based on the following dictum: "see one, do one, teach one." Drawing blood. Lancing an abscess. Suturing a laceration. Sticking a needle into the jugular vein. Like most doctors in training, I saw one,...
If you endure rather than enjoy New England winters, turn up the thermostat and grab a mug of hot coffee while you read this story of two epic winters.
DEAR ABBY: My husband's nephew, "Jacob," is 25 and always hanging around our house. He has had a hard time over the last four years. First, his mom committed suicide. Two years later his dad died in his sleep. My husband...
DEAR ABBY: I have recently started disclosing to close friends and family that I am asexual (someone who experiences no sexual attraction to any person). For the most part they have been supportive, but my mother and one of my...
DEAR ABBY: Because I had a promiscuous past prior to getting married, it was understandable that my husband and I have gone through some rough patches. It's been three years since our wedding, and he still can't let it go...
DEAR ABBY: My daughter-in-law is extremely jealous of the close relationship I have with my daughter. If I spend time with my daughter and grandson, she gets mad at me and keeps my grandchildren from me. I need advice on how to...
DEAR ABBY: I will be spending a couple of months visiting my daughter, who is a single mom. She has asked me to help her wake her 8- and 11-year-old kids in the morning and have them ready for school. Unfortunately, she...
DEAR ABBY: My fiance and I are getting married in a year. We have some very close gay friends, and I have gay family members on my mom's side. The majority of our family is gay-friendly, but a few of them on my father's side are very open about...
DEAR ABBY: I have been a vegetarian for 12 years. My husband has been one on and off for five years. I thought our children, 7 and 3, had never had meat in their lives. I recently found out that my father-in-law has been feeding...
Happy Birthday: Look for ways to do good deeds without being taken advantage of or having it cost you too much emotionally,...
Power trio: A new stage farce has fun with three female icons


text:
Is Vennootskap P & L incorrect or missing key business information? Update your Hotfrog listing today.
Contact details
Are these details correct?
Hotfrog SouthAfrica provides information regarding Vennootskap P & L in White River KwaZulu-Natal. Vennootskap P & L is located at 8 B Chief Mgiyeni Khumal Dr, White River KwaZulu-Natal 1240 and provides engineering services. Contact them on 013 751 2849.
Is Vennootskap P & L in 8 B Chief Mgiyeni Khumal Dr, White River KwaZulu-Natal 1240 your business? Claim your listing and attract more leads by adding more content, photos and other business details.
We have more engineering services in White River KwaZulu-Natal available on Hotfrog SouthAfrica. You can update your search for White River engineering by location, keyword or service options.
Small Business Hub
Sharing tips, ideas and advice to help grow your small business.
Your profile without ads
Have you considered upgrading to Hotfrog AdVantage? No competitor advertising means exclusive focus on your business. You take centre stage.
Create your free Hotfrog business profile
Follow Hotfrog on:
Share on:
Hotfrog Small Business Hub


text:
|Publication number
|Publication type
|Application number
|Publication date
|Jul 17, 2012
|Filing date
|Sep 6, 2006
|Priority date
|Sep 6, 2005
|Fee status
|Publication number
|H. Lewis Wolfgang
|Original Assignee
|Kencast, Inc.
|Export Citation
|BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan
|Patent Citations (86), Non-Patent Citations (9), Referenced by (1), Classifications (6), Legal Events (4)
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet
This application claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/714,565 filed on Sep. 6, 2005, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of reliably and robustly encoding data streams to be transmitted to various types of communication and computer systems, for example but not limited to, a one-way satellite broadcast system including a host computer and a subscriber computer. In particular, the present invention relates to an encoding procedure that uses a shifted interleaving of packets.
2. Description of Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,223, U.S. Pat. No. 6,012,159, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,272,658, all of which are assigned to KenCast, Inc., are hereby incorporated by reference.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,223 describes a method for encoding a stream of source packets, in which a number, k, of source packets of a message are packet-level forward-error-correction ("FEC") encoded to form a number n−k of error-correcting wildcard packets. The k source packets and the n−k wildcard packets (forming a total of n packets) are to be transmitted by a transmitter/encoder, such as a host computer, to a receiver/decoder, such as a subscriber computer. The message may be successfully reconstructed on the receiver/decoder side as long as any of k packets, whether they are source packets or wildcard packets or both, are successfully received. For example, a transmitted message may comprise k=180 source packets and n−k=20 wildcard packets, for a total of n=200 transmitted packets, as shown in FIG. 1A of U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,223 and reproduced herein as
As disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,223, after the arrival of each source packet at the transmitter/encoder, for each byte of the source packet, the respective error-correction contributions to the corresponding bytes of the n−k wildcard packets are computed. Thereafter, the source packet is transmitted to the receiver/decoder without waiting for the arrival of another source packet of the k source packets. This is repeated for each arriving source packet. For each wildcard packet byte, the error-correction contribution generated from each source packet is summed in an accumulator, or the like. After all the error-correction contributions have been computed using all k source packets and summed over all n−k wildcard packets, the wildcard packets are transmitted to the receiver/decoder.
As further disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,223, the number n−k of wildcard packets is determined by the operator of the transmitter/encoder (e.g., host computer), based on knowledge of the communication channel to be used, and, specifically, on the expected number of packets to be lost during transmission, e.g., due to interference. For example, it may be expected that a maximum 4 out of 16 transmitted packets will be lost during transmission, a 25% loss rate, and thus n−k=4 wildcard packets will be computed for every k=12 source packets. (A 25% loss rate was chosen to provide an easy to understand example—actual loss rates usually are less than 5%. In any event, the present invention is not limited to any particular loss rate.) Accordingly, at the receiver/decoder, the k=12 source packets may be reconstructed without errors if any 12 of the transmitted packets, that is, any combination of transmitted source packets and wildcard packets, are successfully received.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,223 explains that due to the nature of actual packet streams not all expected source packets may arrive at the transmitter/encoder. Continuing with the above example, only the first nine of the expected twelve source packets may arrive at the transmitter/encoder; the last three may never arrive. Eventually, a timeout condition occurs, for example, after the elapse of a predetermined time interval from the arrival of the last source packet (this generally is referred to as the "timeout case," in contrast to the case where all expected source packets arrive). At that time, i.e., when a timeout condition occurs, the wildcard packets, and more preferably, a subset thereof, are transmitted, with an indication in the headers of the wildcard packets that, in this example, only nine source packets contributed to the information of the wildcard packets.
As also disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,223 (and, by reference therein, U.S. Pat. No. 6,012,159 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,272,658), to further enhance the encoding scheme's robustness against interference, prior to encoding and transmission, the packets may be grouped into multiple shares in an interleaving fashion, as shown in FIG. 1B of U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,223 reproduced herein as
Further, U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,223 discloses that a lot of multiple shares of interleaved packets may be transmitted to a subscriber computer at the same time. That is, one share of interleaved packets may be transmitted to the subscriber computer at the same time as several other shares of interleaved packets.
However, this arrangement has consequences. First, when the lot of multiple shares of interleaved packets is transmitted at the same time, all of the shares in the lot are received and ready for decoding at the subscriber computer at approximately the same time. As the number of shares per lot increases, the amount of computation required for decoding each lot increases linearly, and the time in between such computations increases linearly. Another consequence of this arrangement is that the number of error-correcting wildcard packets that must be (consecutively) transmitted at a given time increases linearly with the number of shares per lot. It would desirable to have an encoding method that overcomes these consequences.
The present invention addresses the deficiencies in the prior art by providing a method for transmitting interleaved shares of packet-level FEC encoded packets, with each share including source packets and wildcard packets, for a given time shift between consecutive shares. The method includes: determining a current state; associating a packet with a share based on the current state; and determining a position of the packet within the share. If the position of the packet corresponds to a source packet position, a contribution from the packet to wildcard packets of the share is computed and the packet is transmitted as a source packet. If the position of the packet corresponds to a wildcard packet position, the packet is transmitted as a wildcard packet.
The present invention also provides a method for shifting interleaved shares of packet-level FEC encoded packets to be transmitted, in which multiple shares of packets are transmitted as a lot. The method includes: determining a time shift, S, based on a number of source packets per share, K, a number of error-correcting packets per share, E, and a number of shares per lot, L; and shifting a share by the time shift, S, relative to a previous share, wherein the time shift, S, is given by S=(K+E)/L.
The present invention further provides a method for transmitting interleaved shares of packet-level FEC encoded packets to be transmitted, in which multiple shares of packets are transmitted as a lot. The method includes: determining a time shift, S, based on a number of source packets per share, K, a number of error-correcting packets per share, E, and a number of shares per lot, L, wherein S=(K+E)/L; shifting a share by the time shift, S, relative to a previous share; arranging the lot packets to be transmitted according into columns and rows, with C representing a column number and R representing a row number, wherein 0≦R≦(L−1) and R corresponds to a share in the lot; transmitting a packet at a first position identified by R and C; determining a next position such that: if R+1=L, set R=0 and increase C by 1, or, if R+1<L, then set R=R+1; and transmitting a packet at the next position.
Various aspects of the present invention can be better understood by reference to the detailed description of the invention set forth below, considered in conjunction with the attached drawings, of which:
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the same mechanism to encode k source packets to form a plurality of n−k error-correcting wildcard packets, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,223, is used. One of the differences between the present invention and that of U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,223 is how packets, which include source packets and wildcard packets, are grouped into shares, and how those shares are interleaved.
As discussed above, U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,223 discloses grouping packets into shares whose transmission begins and ends at approximately the same time. In the present invention packets are grouped into shares whose transmission begins and ends at different times.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the times of these beginnings and endings are separated as much as possible. For example, for a given set of parameters: n (i.e., total number of packets per share), k (i.e., number of source packets per share), and l (i.e., number of interleaved shares (shares with interleaved packets) per lot), if the distance between packets in a given share is exactly the same as in the methods described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,223, then the error-correcting properties (e.g., the ability of the subscriber computer to make corrections for missing packets) of this embodiment of the present invention also are the same. However, unlike the methods described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,223, with the shifted interleaving of this embodiment of the present invention the subscriber computer must decode one share approximately every n packets, whereas in the interleaving method of U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,223, the subscriber computer is required to decode l shares every (l*n) packets.
As will be discussed in more detail below,
Because the packets for a given share must be stored in memory until they are decoded, the memory requirements for the subscriber computer still increase linearly with the number of shares per lot. However, increasing the number of shares per lot advantageously increases the robustness of the encoding scheme. That is, by increasing the distance between packets in a given share there is a decrease in the probability that a sequence of correlated errors eliminates more packets than can be recovered from a given share.
Shifted interleaving, according to embodiments of the present invention, allows for an increase in the number of shares per lot, while only requiring a constant amount of computational complexity for decoding. Therefore, shifted interleaving may be used with devices that cannot use the interleaving methods described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,223 due to lack of computational resources.
Another advantage of shifted interleaving, according to embodiments of the present invention, is that error-correcting wildcard packets are interspersed more uniformly in the sequence of transmitted packets that in the interleaving methods described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,223. That is, blocks of consecutive wildcard packets are smaller, which makes it easier to manage the use of bandwidth.
In some embodiments of the present invention, the source packets to be encoded and transmitted come from an external source (such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,223). As discussed above, the number of transmitted packets is larger than the number of source packets, because extra wildcard packets are generated and added to the packets to be transmitted. Because data of the source packets must be reproduced and used at the subscriber computer with approximately the same timing, it is not possible to "slow down" the packet stream to accommodate the extra packets to be transmitted. Therefore the transmitted packets must be sent at a faster rate than the rate at which the source packets are received by the transmitter/encoder. If the source packets are received at a constant rate, then it is easy to see that the transmitted packets must be sent at an increased rate in proportion to the proportion of wildcard packets being added. Further, it is desirable for the transmitted packets to be sent at a rate as uniform as possible, so that a burst error in the transmission network cannot cause a loss of a disproportionate number of packets.
However, if the source packets come from an external source, it may be (and often is) the case that they are not received at a uniform rate. This makes it difficult to predict the desired rate at which to send the transmitted packets when sending large sets of consecutive wildcard packets, as is the case with the methods described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,223. As described below, the present invention overcomes this drawback of the methods described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,223.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, a transmitter is configured to utilize the following parameters:
According to this embodiment, S or (m_nInterleaveShift), that is, the time shift between consecutive shares, is computed from the other parameters as follows:
if S approaches 0, then S=1.
The transmitter uses two variables to represent the current state (that is, to represent the packet to be transmitted next):
In the diagram of
As each packet is sent, R or (m_nCurrentShare) is increased by one. If R or (m_nCurrentShare) is to be increased to L or (nNumSharesInLot), then R is reset to 0 and C or (m_nCurrentCol) is increased by one.
Given the current share and column number, the position, P or (nShiftedPos), of the packet within the share is given by:
P=C−R*S%(K+E), (equation B)
where % means modulo. That is:
At the beginning, positions where C<R*S or
If P or (nShiftedPos) corresponds to the position of a source packet (that is, it is less than K or (m_nNumSrcPktsInShare)), the packet is a source packet and the contribution of the source packet to the error-correcting or wildcard packets is computed using the methods described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,223, and the source packet is transmitted.
If P or (nShiftedPos) corresponds to the position of an error-correcting or wildcard packet (that is, it is greater than or equal to K or (m_nNumSrcPktsInShare)), then the corresponding wildcard packet is transmitted. The wildcard packets are ready to be sent as soon as the last source packet is sent.
Each packet is assigned a lot number. The first instance of each share is assigned lot number 0, and each subsequent instance has a lot number incremented by one.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, lot numbers are 16-bit integers, that is, they "wrap around" at 65536. Each packet is labeled with a share number, R of (m_nCurrentShare); a lot number, T or (LotNumber); and a position, P or (nShiftedPos). The column number, C or (m_nCurrentCol), can be recovered from this information by the following relation:
that is:
At the subscriber computer, the receiver/decoder collects packets as they are received and stores them in memory. When sufficient packets are received to decode a given share, this share is decoded to reconstruct the original source packets, using the methods described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,223. If more packets are missing than can be recovered using the error-correcting methods described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,223, then the receiver/decoder takes a best-effort approach, and uses the source packets that have been received, as also discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,223.
Because the receiver/decoder can reconstruct the column and share numbers corresponding to the packets, using the relations discussed above, it can output the decoded source packets in the order that the source packets were received at the transmitter/encoder.
In keeping with equation A (shown above), the time shift between consecutive transmitted shares, S, is 2. Also, in keeping with equation B (shown above), the positions of the packets are determined by P=C−R*S % (K+E), with 0≦P≦(K+E−1).
For example, the packets of column 7 in
Similarly, for example, the packets of column 13 in
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the parameters are chosen so that a given share will correspond to a given window of real time, e.g. 20 seconds. This is so that the error-correcting properties of the algorithm can correspond to recovery of signal losses for real periods of time. Accordingly, these parameters are set based on predictions about the rate at which source packets are received.
The rate at which source packets are actually received may differ from predictions, and there it is desirable in such cases to keep the shares approximately within the desired window of real time, by sending fewer packets in the share. To achieve such a result, according to an embodiment of the present invention, a time marker is maintained for each share. The time marker measures the amount of time since the first wildcard packet of the previous instance of that share. If this time exceeds a given timeout value, the share is marked as "running late" and any remaining source packets for that share are skipped. That is, when positions corresponding to any remaining source packets come up during an iteration of encoding and transmission processing, nothing is sent and the iteration continues. These skipped packets may be accounted for in the same manner as described in the "Timeout Case" of U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,223.
The number of error-correcting or wildcard packets for the "running late" share can also be reduced, as described in the "Timeout Case" of U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,223. In such a situation, the iteration simply skips over any positions corresponding to wildcard packets that are not to be sent.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the above-described shifted interleaving scheme is performed by a computer programmed to perform the steps of the scheme.
It will be appreciated that the shifted interleaving scheme of the present invention can be applied to any error-correcting process for transforming a plurality of source packets into a plurality of encoded packets, such that the source packets can be recovered (i.e., decoded) from a sufficient subset of the encoded packets. Of course, it will be appreciated that the invention may take forms other than those specifically described, and the scope of the invention is to be determined solely by the following claims.
|Cited Patent
|Filing date
|Publication date
|Dec 30, 1974
|Feb 22, 1977
|International Business Machines Corporation
|Modular branch exchange and nodal access units for multiple access systems
|Sep 24, 1982
|Jun 25, 1985
|Lignes Telegraphiques Et Telephoniques
|Process for time-sequenced multiplexing of data on a transmission medium and devices to implement this process
|Feb 21, 1986
|Jan 5, 1988
|Agence Spataile Europeenne
|Self-adaptive hybrid data transmission
|Jun 27, 1988
|Mar 6, 1990
|International Business Machines Corp.
|Method of reconstructing lost data in a digital voice transmission system and transmission system using said method
|May 15, 1991
|Jan 16, 1996
|The President And Fellows Of Harvard College
|Scheme for information dispersal and reconstruction
|May 23, 1994
|Jan 14, 1997
|Cable Services Technologies, Inc.
|System for distributing video/audio files from central location to a plurality of cable headends
|Nov 16, 1994
|Feb 4, 1997
|Lucent Technologies Inc.
|Adaptive forward error correction system
|Dec 21, 1994
|Apr 1, 1997
|International Computer Science Institute
|System for packetizing data encoded corresponding to priority levels where reconstructed data corresponds to fractionalized priority level and received fractionalized packets
|Dec 13, 1995
|May 20, 1997
|Lucent Technologies Inc.
|Reliable broadcast protocol structure for electronic software distribution
|Sep 1, 1995
|Jun 16, 1998
|National Semiconductor Corporation
|Video coding using segmented frames and retransmission to overcome channel errors
|May 13, 1996
|Aug 4, 1998
|Lockheed Martin Corporation
|Detection of lost packets in switching networks used with scalable coherent interfaces
|Feb 9, 1996
|Sep 29, 1998
|Overland Data, Inc.
|Variable rate bit inserter for digital data storage
|Apr 18, 1997
|May 11, 1999
|Sarnoff Corporation
|Studio transmitter link method and apparatus
|Dec 2, 1996
|Sep 28, 1999
|International Business Machines Corporation
|System and method for discovering path MTU of internet paths
|Jan 17, 1997
|Jan 4, 2000
|Kencast, Inc.
|Method and system for error-free data transfer
|Mar 19, 1997
|Feb 29, 2000
|Lucent Technologies Inc.
|Error correction system for packet switching networks
|Apr 11, 1997
|Apr 18, 2000
|Scientific-Atlanta, Inc.
|System and method for detecting correcting and discarding corrupted data packets in a cable data delivery system
|May 15, 1998
|Aug 15, 2000
|North Carolina State University
|System and method of error control for interactive low-bit rate video transmission
|Oct 13, 1998
|Oct 31, 2000
|Lucent Technologies Inc.
|Method and apparatus for forward error correction in packet networks
|Jan 23, 1998
|Nov 21, 2000
|Starburst Communications Corporation
|Data transmission
|Apr 10, 1997
|Feb 13, 2001
|International Business Machines Corporation
|Selective tunneling of streaming data
|Apr 27, 1999
|Jun 19, 2001
|Chaincast, Inc.
|Method and system for implementing an internet radio device for receiving and/or transmitting media information
|Oct 27, 1998
|Aug 7, 2001
|Kencast, Inc.
|Method and system for reliable broadcasting of data files and streams
|Apr 27, 2000
|Sep 11, 2001
|North Carolina University
|Method and systems for dynamic hybrid packet loss recovery for video transmission over lossy packet-based network
|Feb 5, 1999
|Oct 23, 2001
|Digital Fountain, Inc.
|Information additive code generator and decoder for communication systems
|Oct 22, 1998
|Nov 13, 2001
|Lucent Technologies Inc.
|Method and apparatus for transmitting MPEG video over the internet
|Sep 17, 1999
|Nov 20, 2001
|Digital Fountain
|Information additive group code generator and decoder for communications systems
|May 19, 1999
|Jan 1, 2002
|Kencast, Inc.
|Method for validating communicated packets of data and for locating erroneous packets
|Dec 2, 1998
|Apr 9, 2002
|Agere Systems Guardian Corp.
|Tuning scheme for error-corrected broadcast programs
|Jan 8, 2001
|Apr 16, 2002
|Digital Fountain, Inc.
|Information additive code generator and decoder for communication systems
|Oct 18, 2000
|Jun 25, 2002
|Digital Fountain, Inc.
|Generating high weight encoding symbols using a basis
|Sep 1, 2000
|Aug 13, 2002
|Telcordia Technologies, Inc.
|Adaptive layered coding for voice over wireless IP applications
|May 1, 1998
|Sep 3, 2002
|Niwot Networks, Inc.
|System for recovering lost information in a data stream
|May 19, 1998
|Oct 8, 2002
|Nokia Mobile Phones Ltd.
|Method and apparatus for controlling time diversity in telephony
|Sep 22, 2000
|Nov 26, 2002
|Digital Fountain, Inc.
|On demand encoding with a window
|Apr 19, 2000
|Dec 17, 2002
|Texas Instruments Incorporated
|Processes, articles, and packets for network path diversity in media over packet applications
|Jan 26, 2001
|Dec 24, 2002
|Vyyo, Ltd.
|Space diversity method and system for broadband wireless access
|Jun 18, 1999
|Feb 25, 2003
|Sun Microsystems
|Detecting congestion by comparing successive loss of packets in windows to provide congestion control in reliable multicast protocol
|Jul 13, 1999
|May 20, 2003
|At&T Corp.
|Network-based service for recipient-initiated automatic repair of IP multicast sessions
|Aug 7, 2001
|May 20, 2003
|Kencast, Inc.
|Method and system for reliable broadcasting of data files and streams
|May 19, 1999
|May 27, 2003
|Kencast, Inc.
|Method for minimizing the number of data packets required for retransmission in a two-way communication system
|Dec 14, 1999
|Jun 3, 2003
|Texas Instruments Incorporated
|Wireless base station systems for packet communications
|Aug 6, 1999
|Jun 3, 2003
|Intel Corporation
|Reliable communication of data by supplementing a unidirectional communications protocol
|May 21, 1999
|Jul 15, 2003
|Microsoft Corporation
|Receiver-driven layered error correction multicast over heterogeneous packet networks
|Dec 31, 2001
|Aug 12, 2003
|Kencast, Inc.
|System, computer-readable medium, and method for validating communicated packets of data and for locating erroneous packets
|Apr 6, 2000
|Aug 19, 2003
|Kencast, Inc.
|Method for packet-level fec encoding, in which on a source packet-by-source packet basis, the error correction contributions of a source packet to a plurality of wildcard packets are computed, and the source packet is transmitted thereafter
|Feb 14, 2002
|Sep 2, 2003
|Digital Fountain, Inc.
|Information additive code generator and decoder for communication systems
|Jul 3, 2002
|Dec 30, 2003
|Realnetworks, Inc.
|System and method for regulating the transmission of media data
|Apr 11, 2000
|Feb 17, 2004
|Sun Microsystems, Inc.
|Method and system for measuring reception characteristics in a multicast data distribution group
|Jul 10, 2000
|Mar 2, 2004
|Kdd Corporation
|Data transmission apparatus
|Jun 10, 1999
|May 11, 2004
|Blue Coat Systems
|Method for real time protocol media recording
|Jul 13, 1998
|Jul 20, 2004
|Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ)
|Communication method and system
|Dec 27, 2002
|Aug 24, 2004
|At&T Corp.
|Network-based service for the repair of IP multicast sessions
|Dec 14, 1999
|Oct 12, 2004
|Texas Instruments Incorporated
|Integrated circuits for packet communications
|Feb 16, 2001
|Mar 15, 2005
|Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
|Method and system for packet communication employing path diversity
|Sep 29, 2000
|Aug 30, 2005
|Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ)
|Method and an arrangement relating to mobile radio systems with the possibility of switching channel coding schemes
|Apr 19, 2002
|Apr 4, 2006
|Kencast, Inc.
|System for protecting the transmission of live data streams, and upon reception, for reconstructing the live data streams and recording them into files
|Jul 16, 2001
|Jun 27, 2006
|International Business Machines Corporation
|Codec with network congestion detection and automatic fallback: methods, systems & program products
|Nov 16, 2001
|Nov 21, 2006
|Ntt Docomo, Inc.
|Data transmission method, data transmission system, transmitter and receiver
|Jul 31, 2003
|Jan 1, 2008
|Terayon Communication Systems, Inc.
|Method and apparatus for automatic rate adaptation in a DOCSIS upstream
|Feb 5, 2003
|Jan 29, 2008
|Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd
|Method and apparatus for transmitting and receiving information about spreading codes used for a packet data channel in a communication system
|May 9, 2005
|Aug 26, 2008
|Digital Fountain, Inc.
|File download and streaming system
|Oct 29, 2007
|Sep 16, 2008
|Marvell International Ltd.
|Circuits, architectures, systems, methods, algorithms and software for conditional modulation coding
|Feb 17, 2006
|Apr 7, 2009
|Harris Corporation
|System and method for transmitting FEC packets
|Jun 7, 2005
|Sep 14, 2010
|Minghua Chen
|Optimization of streaming data throughput in unreliable networks
|Mar 1, 2001
|Oct 25, 2001
|Michael Grimwood
|Apparatus and method for synchronizing an SCDMA upstream or any other type upstream to an MCNS downstream or any other type downstream with a different clock rate than the upstream
|Jan 26, 2001
|Nov 29, 2001
|Vyyo, Ltd.
|Space diversity method and system for broadband wireless access
|Aug 14, 2001
|Mar 21, 2002
|Ville Ollikainen
|IP multicast service without a return connection
|Aug 7, 2001
|Apr 25, 2002
|Steele William E.
|Method and system for reliable broadcasting of data files and streams
|Nov 16, 2001
|Jun 20, 2002
|Yukihiko Okumura
|Data transmission method, data transmission system, transmitter and receiver
|Jan 23, 2001
|Jul 25, 2002
|Bisher James A.
|Method and apparatus for bandwidth management associated with misbehaving sessions
|Apr 19, 2002
|Jan 9, 2003
|Wolfgang H. Lewis
|System for protecting the transmission of live data streams, and upon reception, for reconstructing the live data streams and recording them into files
|Jan 19, 2001
|Feb 5, 2004
|Jennings Charles A.
|System and method for managing media
|Jun 12, 2002
|Sep 2, 2004
|Kazuo Kubo
|Error-correction multiplexing apparatus, error-correction demultiplexing apparatus, optical transmission system using them, and error-correction multiplexing transmission method
|Sep 8, 2005
|Mar 16, 2006
|Hanho Lee
|Reed-solomon decoder systems for high speed communication and data storage applications
|Sep 22, 2005
|Mar 23, 2006
|Kencast, Inc.
|System, method and apparatus for FEC encoding and decoding
|Apr 4, 2006
|Nov 9, 2006
|Stmicroelectronics S.R.I.
|Method and system for correcting burst errors in communications networks, related network and computer-program product
|Jun 30, 2005
|Jan 25, 2007
|Claus Bauer
|Method and system for optimizing forward error correction of multimedia streaming over wireless networks
|Oct 18, 2007
|Apr 24, 2008
|Kencast, Inc.
|Systems, methods, apparatus, and computer program products for providing forward error correction with low latency
|Nov 21, 2007
|May 22, 2008
|Polycom, Inc.
|System and method for dynamic bandwidth allocation for videoconferencing in lossy packet switched networks
|Mar 26, 2008
|Oct 2, 2008
|Kencast, Inc.
|Systems, methods, apparatus and computer program products for providing packet-level fec with higher throughput using user datagram protocol (udp)
|Aug 4, 2008
|Dec 4, 2008
|Fujitsu Limited
|Communication-quality measuring apparatus, communication-quality measuring method, and computer program
|Mar 16, 2009
|Jul 9, 2009
|Kencast, Inc.
|System, Method and Apparatus for FEC Encoding and Decoding
|Feb 4, 2009
|Aug 20, 2009
|Kencast, Inc.
|Systems, methods, apparatus and computer program products for highly reliable file delivery using compound and braided fec encoding and decoding
|Oct 24, 2006
|Jan 7, 2010
|Catalin Sindelaru
|Method and system for firewall friendly real-time communication
|May 4, 2010
|Aug 26, 2010
|Kencast, Inc.
|System, Method and Apparatus for Reducing Blockage Losses on Information Distribution Networks
|Adi Shamir, "How to Share a Secret", communications of the ACM, Nov. 1979; vol. 22, No. 11, pp. 612-613.
|C.A. Asmuth and G.R. Blakley, Proceedings of the 1982 Symposium on Security and Privacy, IEEE Computer Society, Apr. 26-28, 1982 Oakland California, pp. 156-169.
|Ehud D. Karnin, et al. "On Secret Sharing Systems", IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, vol. It-29, No. 1, Jan. 1983.
|MacKay, David, J.C., "Information Theory, Inference and Learning Algorithms," Cambridge University Press, 2003.
|McAuley, "Reliable Broadband Communication Using a Burst Erasure Correcting Code", SIGCOMM '90 Symposium, pp. 297-306, Sep. 1990.
|Michael O. Rabin, Efficient Dispersal of Information for Security, Load Balancing, and Fault Tolerance, Journal of the Association for Computing Machinery, vol. 36, No. 2, Apr. 1989, pp. 335-348.
|Michael O.Rabin, "Probabilistic Algorithms in Finite Fields", Siam J. Comput. vol. 9, No. 2, May 1980, pp. 273-280.
|Miller, "Reliable Multicast Protocols: A Practical View", Local Computer Networks Conference Proceedings, Nov. 1997, pp. 369-378.
|R.J. McEliece and D.V. Sarwate, "On Sharing Secrets and Reed-Solomon Codes", Communications of the ACM, Sep. 1981 vol. 24, No. 9, pp. 583-584.
|Citing Patent
|Filing date
|Publication date
|Mar 18, 2014
|Jul 19, 2016
|Kencast, Inc.
|Systems, methods, apparatus, and computer program products for providing forward error correction with low latency
|U.S. Classification
|370/235, 714/758, 370/252
|International Classification
|Cooperative Classification
|European Classification
|Sep 6, 2006
Owner name: KENCAST, INC., CONNECTICUT
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:WOLFGANG, H. LEWIS;REEL/FRAME:018264/0574
Effective date: 20060905
|Apr 1, 2014
|Certificate of correction
|Jan 14, 2016
|Fee payment
Year of fee payment: 4
|Apr 15, 2016
Owner name: ENHANCED CAPITAL CONNECTICUT FUND V, LLC, CONNECTI
Free format text: PATENT SECURITY AGREEMENT;ASSIGNOR:KENCAST, INC.;REEL/FRAME:038439/0381
Effective date: 20160415


text:
- Project Details
Title The Fair Money Game - Education about financial management that is ethical, accountable and sustainable
Project Number L/09/T/0006
Year 2009
Project Type Transfer of Innovation
Status granted
Country BE-Belgium
Marketing Text The game Ethica invites participants to put themselves in the shoes of bankers or investors, to experiment different financial behavior and to visualize the impacts on Planet, People and Profit. It proposes also alternatives to change positively our behavior.
The planned partnership aims to reinforce responsible and sustainable financial behaviours by transferring the innovative educational/ training board game FINANCité from Belgium, where it was developed by RFA, the Project Coordinator, to at least five other EU countries. FINANCité will be translated, tested and adapted in 3 versions for 3 target groups : young people in vocational education, vulnerable adults and adults in lifelong learning processes. The dissemination of the master game issued from this process will focus on intermediate groups, trained in order to reach final users.
The partners will consider, if needed, the possible use of other pedagogical tools, in order to offer online support helping trainers and teachers in debriefing after the game or for further activities on financial matters. So the experience of the two partners specialized in financial education will be crucial. The contribution of the two partners specialized in education to sustainable development (ESD) will ensure a global perspective based on social and environmental responsibilities. All partners will contribute to the dissemination of the master game, conceived in French and translated into 4 languages.
Innovations will be transferred from the original game, as well as from the pedagogical tools and approaches of the partners, as best practice in financial education and education for sustainable development. Very few educational tools cross these two goals. Considering the current European economic downturn, the need for such tools is very timely.
The Fair Money Game Project is based on the Lisbon Strategy and many other statements of the European Commission hailing the role of financial education in poverty reduction and in creating inclusive financial markets, among others the Green paper on Financial services Policy (2005) and the Communication on Financial Education (2007). With the same aim, OECD launched an "Improving Financial Literacy" programme in 2005. The importance of improving financial literacy for the personal and professional development of European citizens, is also emphasized by RFA leading a long term research on financial exclusion at an European level. In the context of a democratic and inclusive European society, the freedom to choose an occupation and right to engage in work, as well as the freedom to conduct a business are emphasized in the articles 15 and 16 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU.
The financial sector is a key sector in a sustainable economy, considering the huge impact of investment choices. The limits and dangers of short-term views, lack of transparency and accountability have emerged as key challenges for wider public education, especially for vulnerable and inexperienced groups. It is an opportunity to sensitize citizens as well as future workers on more sustainable values and approaches. To address such issues, financial education requires innovative programmes.
Description Financial Education: yes but which one? Following the 2008 financial crisis, the financial education ethics and solidarity becomes a societal issue and demands are increasing about educational games to raise awareness of ethical and solidarity finance to misinformed audiences. The game Ethica meets this demand by enabling young people from 16 to adults, to become familiar with concepts such as investment, savings or credit, knowing the social and environmental consequences of their investments. While having fun, participants learn about the financial implications of actions for those who ask (individual responsibility), but also their social and environmental impacts (social responsibility). They also find alternatives to existing or potential financial practices more responsible and caring.
Product Types
Product information Objectives Players will: Learn how personal savings and investments can affect other people, the planet and the global economy - both for better and for worse. Understand the pros and cons of different investments and savings, and their levels of financial, social and environmental risk. Be able to make more informed, ethical choices about how we can use and invest our money in a socially and environmentally responsible way. Understand how money can be a tool for both sustainable and unsustainable development in a range of businesses. Understand how banks can use, bed or well, the money that we invest in them. Understand how we can influence banks and businesses by choosing our bank or investing our money. Age : from 15 years old Players : from 6 to 27 Please, contact us if you need any further information about this pedagogical game.
Projecthomepage http://ethica.co/


text: http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=2247552005 Thirty years for woman who had sex parties with schoolboys RHIANNON EDWARD AN AMERICAN woman who had sex with high-school boys during parties fuelled by alcohol and drugs has been sentenced to 30 years in prison. Silvia Johnson, 41, of Arvada, Colorado, described herself to investigators as a "cool mom", who "was never popular with classmates in high school", and who was beginning to feel like one of the group. She pleaded guilty in July to two misdemeanour counts of sexual assault and nine felony counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. She was also sentenced for additional charges of third-degree assault, violation of a restraining order and harassment for unrelated cases involving her husband and children. Johnson could be eligible for parole in about ten years. Authorities said Johnson held parties for the boys almost weekly between October 2003 and October 2004, during which she provided drugs and alcohol to eight boys and had sex with five of them. The prosecution described her as "perverse" and "a manipulator". However, a defence expert pointed to Johnson's history of mental problems. Peter Weir, the judge, said that while he sympathised with her mental problems, they did not excuse what she did. Johnson said: "I'm very sorry for what I've done. You know it was a year ago that some of that arrogance and nonsense did exist, but it doesn't anymore. "I've learned my lessons. I know I've hurt so many people. Not just the boys, but my own family. I've let down myself, my community, just everybody, and I know that I have a serious mental illness." In a police interview, Johnson admitted inviting underage students to her home for the parties because she wanted her daughter's friends to think of her as a "the cool mom". In the interview she said: "I fell in love with being a part of the group in a way, because that was never something I was a part of growing up." Johnson also said she resented what she described as a double standard for men and women. "I think what I always had a hard time with is, guys who do it are considered studs," she said. "A girl does it, she's considered a slut."


text:
Optical Component Fluorescence Filter - Chinaprice: contact company for price
filter, dichroic beamsplitter and emission
filter and Filter Cube for Fluorescence
Microscopy, Flow Cytometry, X-Ray
Fluorescence Analyzer, Hematology Analyzer,
Spectroscopy, etc. Mainly used in UltraViolet
/ Violet / Blue / Green excitation.
High Transmission
Deep Blocking
Steep Slope
Stable Ripple at Band Pass
Excellent Environmental Stability
Company Contact:
- Posted By: QingDao NovelBeam Technology Co.,Ltd
- Phone: 8618766281592
- Address: 177 Zhuzhou Rd, Qingdao , Qingdao , China
- Email:
- Website: http://www.novelbeam.com
Published date: July 22, 2013 -
- Business Description: Qingdao NovelBeam Technology Co. Ltd. was founded in 2003, Qingdao.
NovelBeam has been adapting and improving optics technology for medical,
life science, laser and micro display projection applications, offering
design solutions and rapid R&D prototyping as well as high volume
manufacturing with repeatable performance and reliability.
NovelBeam constantly innovates on optical processing, high energy optical coating, LED thermal management, LED driving technology, and customized illumination and imaging system design; holds 20 patents and the number continues growing. The company has built and keeps enhancing the ability of responding to market/customer demand rapidly, and developing/manufacturing ground breaking products accordingly.
NovelBeam now owns world class manufacturing facility for several product lines including LCoS Display Optics, Optical Filter (for analytical and medical use), High Power Laser Optics, CCD Lens, LED Light Module and Light Source; and vertical integration capability from component level grinding, polishing, cleaning, coating, gluing, mounting to opto electronic and opto mechanical modules and system assembly. The company is both ISO 9001 and ISO 13485 certified.
Embracing the concept of sustainable development, NovelBeam is dedicated to environmental care, keeps the highest environmental standards in the full cycle of product design, manufacture and delivery. ALL products of NovelBeam are RoHS compliant (2002/95/EC).
Caring for today and tomorrow, NovelBeam has been committed to providing value added products, continuous improvements, and product safety assurance, to help customers succeed, consumers lead better lives, employees achieve and communities thrive.
Related listings
Is Ma 0 3m Integrating Spheres For Spot Lighting TestEquipment - Lighting - Industrial - Lisun Electronics (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. - China - May 9, 2016 - contact company for price
• Diameter: IS- 0.3M ( φ0.3m) , IS- 0.5M ( φ0.5m) , IS- 1.0M ( φ1.0m) , IS- 1.5M ( φ1.5m) , IS- 1.75M ( φ1.75m) , IS- 2.0M ( φ2.0m) . Other sizes can be designed according to the customer's request. • The painting of integrating spheres i...
Ledlm 80pl Aging Life Test Machine For Led Lamp And Luminaire Works With A Temperature ChamberEquipment - Lighting - Industrial - Lisun Electronics (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. - China - May 9, 2016 - contact company for price
LEDLM- 80PL LED Lumen Maintenance and Aging Life Test System is designed according to standards of IES- LM- 80, IES- LM- 82, TM- 21 and GB2312- 80, and the software is developed base on Arrhenius model. LED has the features of long life, but with the...
Dyj 60hz Adjustable Referance Ballast Is For All Kinds 50hz Or Lamps Test According To Iec60188Equipment - Lighting - Industrial - Lisun Electronics (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. - China - May 9, 2016 - contact company for price
Specification: • Inductance: 0~1240Ω( adjustable) • Inductance Power Factor COSφ: 0.075~0.120( adjustable) • Resistance: 0~111Ω ( adjustable) • Current Range 0.150~0.670A ( Imax: 1A) • The rated frequency is 50Hz ( or option 60Hz) Accord...
Safe Trade Tips
- Ask for business references and check them
- Use a payment method that offers better protection for all such as Letters of credit and verified professional escrow services. Avoid payments in advance such as money transfers
- Verify their business via their local Chamber of Commerce
- Search the internet using their website address, their business name, their phone and fax numbers, and their email addresses to see if you can find any feedback about them.
- Get to know more about scams to avoid: Internet Crime Complaint Center - International Financial Scams
- This site is never involved in any transaction, and does not handle payments, shipping, guarantee transactions, provide escrow services, or offer "buyer protection" or "seller certification"


text:
Thinkers50 Podcasts
Thinkers50 Podcast: Enrique Dans and the Evolution of Work
For this Thinkers50 podcast, Stuart Crainer interviews Enrique Dans, professor and Senior Advisor on Innovation and Digital Transformation at IE Business School, on the evolution of work and the influence of robotics and technology. Enrique talks about how...read more
Thinkers50 Podcast: Niraj Dawar's Tilt
In this Thinkers50 Podcast, Niraj Dawar talks about his book Tilt: Shifting Your Strategy from Products to Customers. Since the Industrial Revolution, we've been focused on building better products and bigger factories. However, that is changing due to three...read more
Thinkers50 Podcast: Niraj Dawar Live at T50 2015
For this podcast, Niraj Dawar, author of Tilt: Shifting Your Strategy from Products to Customers, speaks at the Thinkers50 2015 event about brands. Where do markets exist and where do brands compete? Do brands compete on the shelf, online, or in the consumer's...read more
Thinkers50 Podcast: Inequality
In this podcast, we hear the Thinkers50 2015 panel on inequality. Liz Mellon, Don Tapscott, and Anil Gupta discuss wealth, prosperity, and growth on a global scale. Can wealth inequality be fixed? What has contributed to inequality? Can new thinking and business...read more
Thinkers50 Podcast: Friend and Foe
Stew Friedman leads Wharton's groundbreaking Work/Life Integration Project. He also hosts Work and Life, a radio show on Wharton Sirius XM. In this interview Stew talks with his Wharton colleague Maurice Schweitzer, author of Friend and Foe: When to Cooperate, When to...read more
Thinkers50 Podcast: Mindfulness
In this Thinkers50 Podcast, Des Dearlove talks with Deborah Rowland about mindfulness. What is mindfulness and can it make a difference in leading change? Listen to the podcast below: Deborah Rowland says that mindfulness is awareness. In her research, she sets out to...read more
Thinkers50 Podcast: Adoption
How can adoption shape leaders? Des Dearlove and Deborah Rowland talk about her experience of growing up adopted, and how it has made her into a change leader. Listen to the podcast below. Listen on iTunes All Thinkers50...read more
Thinkers50 Podcast: Deborah Rowland and Change
In this podcast, Des Dearlove talks with Deborah Rowland, a former PepsiCo executive and author of the forthcoming book Still Moving. They discuss leading change, managing change, and how leaders can execute change effectively. From this podcast: Is...read more
Thinkers50 Podcast: Progress
In this podcast, Peter Fisk, Whitney Johnson, and Amy Edmondson discuss progress at T50 2015. Peter Fisk starts off by posing the question: What do we mean by progress in today's world? Has it changed, or do we need to change it? From this podcast: What does...read more
Thinkers50 Podcast: Becoming a Leader
In this Thinkers50 podcast, Stuart Crainer and Des Dearlove talk about the process of becoming a leader. Most of us don't aspire to become leaders, but we find that we've been appointed to a leadership position. How do people become leaders, and what does...read more
Thinkers50 Podcast: Anil Gupta and the Emerging Market Story
For this week's Thinkers50 podcast, Anil Gupta talks about his research in the emerging market story. He poses the question, "Is the emerging market story over or where is it headed?" Key items that Gupta discusses are: 2015 is the 5th consecutive...read more


text:
Chapter 1. About this User Guide
Table of Contents
This guide contains information about how to use DssW Power Manager. This guide has been written for users of Power Manager. Administrators and developers should refer to Power Manager's other documentation.
This guide assumes you have working knowledge of the Mac operating system and its conventions. For help with the operating system, please see your Mac OS documentation.
Hardware and Software Requirements
To use DssW Power Manager, you need the following hardware and software:
- A Mac OS X capable computer;
- Mac OS X 10.7, aka Lion, or later (Mac OS X 10.9, aka Mavericks, or later is recommended).
Available features depend on your hardware and the version of Mac OS X you are using.


text:
Hard Rock Hotel Penang
5 February – 30 November 2017
Here's a special room package created just for the Papa, Mama & Lil Rockers!
The early bird catches the worms. Book your stay 61 days in advance and save up to 15% off Best Available Rates! Room rates start from RM340++ per room per night.
More drinks promotion here!
1 – 28 February 2017
This one's for the health freaks! Grilled chicken with herbs is perfect for your diet.
1 – 31 March 2017
Grilled chicken and prawns marinated with herbs and spices, fragrant rice, green curry gravy, fish crackers and achar.
1 – 31 March 2017
Grilled marinated lamb cutlets served with rosemary and mint jelly lamb jus, garden vegetables and seasoned French fries.
Now – 29 December 2017
Looking for a romantic dining experience that you and your partner will not forget? Have a 4-course candle light dinner at our private beach-side cabana.
January – February 2017
Take care of your body. It's the only place you have to live. – Jim Rohn
March – April 2017
Take care of your body. It's the only place you have to live. – Jim Rohn
2 January – 28 February 2017
Spend & save at Rock Shop!
1 – 31 March 2017
Purchase any 3 t-shirts for only RM300.
Penang, Malaysia11100
Tel: +60 4 8811711
Fax: +60 4 8812155
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
Hi ladies, I'm cd 16 I think I ovulated yesterday so should be testing around the 1st April @Lovemysons can you please add me. Good luck to everyone!
Lovemysons (22-03-2016)
So as I'm getting into bed I asked my boyfriend to bring me a drink to take my tablets with. He handed me a Powerade of some flavour I've never seen before. I put the tablets in my mouth and took a big gulp and swallowed and as I did so I gagged and nearly bought it all back up. Was the foulest tasting thing ever. I asked him to get me water instead and he comes back saying 'I think you need to go poas'. I literally finished my period 3 days ago! I told him this and asked if he even understands how it works and he said 'I'm just really hopeful'. This coming from a guy who already has a child.... Lol am I the only one with partner who is clearly delusional and/or hopeless? 😂😂
brodiesmummy2011 (23-03-2016),tamzmaree (23-03-2016)
Kitzycat (24-03-2016)
First attempt BD last night after mc almost 2 weeks ago. I'm not still ovulating according to opk's but cm is looking ready.
We are not morning BDers!!! We thought f$&@ it we will be late for work - the result, 30 mins of marathon sex 😂 we just perform better at night lol hahaha!
This is where I'm at so far! Will do an opk tonight
Pregnant for the first-time?
Not sure where to start? We can help!
Our Insider Programs for pregnancy first-timers will lead you step-by-step through the 14 Pregnancy Must Dos!