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Red tide. Rampant E.coli. Mad cow disease. When it comes to the food chain, what other organisms do we humans have to worry might kill us?
Aliens, apparently. That is, if you take your social satire seriously.
Author Michel Faber does. In his new novel, Under the Skin, he treats the subject of who eats what -- or more to the point, who eats whom -- with terrifying sincerity. At the end of the book, which is neither science fiction nor magic realism but rather intelligently written, neopolitical literature along the lines of Animal Farm, we are left with deepening empathy for both the unlikely protagonist Isserley and the animals we breed and eat.
That's right, empathy. Not sympathy. Because Faber skillfully writes us so-called human beings into the story as delicacies to be captured and fattened for an alien society, we wind up identifying with rather than just feeling sorry for the cattle and poultry we raise for our own consumption.
Of course it is not quite clear at the beginning that Isserley is an alien, sent to modern-day Scotland to hunt hitchhikers. She is never referred to as such; indeed she and others of her race call one another human beings. In her language, of which we learn only a few well-chosen words, earthlings are called vodsels, and the luxury items wrought from our flesh are voddissin. Replace vodsel with cow, and voddissin with filet mignon, and you begin to see where Faber is headed.
Nor do we ever discover where Isserley comes from, as only vague references to "home" are made throughout the story, and obvious science-fiction angles (descriptions of strange weaponry, exhibition of spaceships, et cetera) are deliberately kept to a minimum. Only her appearance, slowly revealed layer by layer, clues us in at first to the fact that Isserley is not all she seems.
In the beginning we are misled to believe that Isserley is a sexual predator, cruising the A9 roadway in a creaky red Toyota that we are informed a little bit later has "customized bits." Those bits, we wrongly assume, are for the purpose of something akin to serial date rape, or just plain kidnap and rape. "She could have some magnificent brute sitting in her car, right next to her, knowing for sure that he was coming home with her, and she could already be thinking ahead to the next one. Even while she was admiring him, following the curves of his brawny shoulders or the swell of his chest under his T-shirt, savoring the thought of how superb he'd be once he was naked, she would keep an eye on the roadside, just in case an even better prospect was beckoning to her out there."
Faber continues with the doublespeak for a while by allowing Isserley to pick up her first hitcher, whereupon she speculates that "the bulge in his jeans was promising, although most of it was probably testicles." She also "must avoid the humiliation of committing herself, of allowing herself to believe he would be coming with her, and then finding out he had a wife or a girlfriend waiting." The author even indulges in a bit of wordplay that we only understand on the second reading: "Isserley wondered, oh how she wondered, what she looked like to him, in his alien innocence. Did he notice the trouble she had gone to for him? She straightened her back against the seat, pushing her chest out. The hitcher noticed all right."
At this shift in point of view, from Isserley to the hitcher, we first become aware that something about Isserley's appearance is not quite right. Abnormally large-breasted, Isserley is described by the hitcher as incredibly short, with "long skinny arms with big knobbly elbows.... Knobbly wrists too, and big hands.... They were odd, actually, those hands. Bigger than you think they'd be, to look at the rest of her, but narrow too, like ... chicken feet."
Other hitchers continue to describe Isserley from their perspectives, through which we learn that her eyes are owl-round; her hair is fluffy and mouse-brown; her nose appears surgically rendered. And in fact her parts have been constructed by surgeons, who have transformed Isserley from her native state into something resembling an earthling -- quite a feat given that Isserley's natural body habitus is four-legged, fur-covered, and prehensile-tailed, and she has a snout rather than a nose and mouth. We receive the most concise description when Amlis, a colleague who would be the equivalent of a vegan in our society, questions Isserley about a herd of sheep. "Have you ever tried using them for meat?' he asks.
"Isserley was dumbfounded. Are you serious?'
"How do I know what you people have got up to?'
"Isserley blinked repeatedly, fumbling for something to say. How could he even think of such a thing?
"They're ... they're on all fours, Amlis, can't you see that? They've got fur -- tails -- facial features not that different from ours....'
"Listen,' he began testily, if you're going to eat the flesh of a living creature....'"
This exchange is the moment when the parable becomes apparent, though long before we are keyed in to the knowledge that Isserley assesses and kidnaps hitchers for the express purpose of turning them into steaks. The "customized bits" in the car are actually needles containing a drug; she stings her victims, and brings them back to a farm where she is assisted by assorted aliens. The unconscious hitchers are then "gelded," and their tongues are removed. Left naked and called "transitionals," they are "squatt[ing] torpidly, each on his own little patch of straw... some chewing warily on their unfamiliar new feed, others scratching at hair that was growing sparse and mossy, others clenching their fists in their castrated laps. Though still vaguely differentiated in physique and coloring, they saw their own future constantly before them. They were slowly maturing towards their destiny, towards a natural mean."
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Sound familiar? In short the hitchers are dehumanized, turned into the animals that Isserley and her ilk consider them to be: deprived of language, of the veneer of civilization, of self-determination. After a short time in the cages, where they are fattened, the hitchers are called "monthlings" and become "a mound of fast-panting flesh, the divisions between one musclebound body and the next difficult to distinguish, the limbs confused. Hands and feet spasmed at random....Their fat little heads were identical, swaying in a cluster like polyps of an anemone, blinking stupidly in the sudden light. You would never guess they'd have the cunning to run if released."
Faber's powers of description certainly make you think twice about eating the force-fed livers of ducks and geese, or snails overstuffed on cornmeal, or chickens locked in cages and pumped full of feed. Of course the true miracle of his prose is that he not only alludes so powerfully to our own food chain without the banal contempt of a PETA member throwing fake blood on a fur coat, he turns Isserley into a likable character. For she, having been altered into a being that is neither, in her eyes, human nor animal, finally does begin to identify with her victims. When she whispers "I'm sorry" to the last hitcher that she stings, we believe her.
We also understand that given the mutilation of her body, she lives in constant pain, both emotional and physical. And when Amlis claims he has "confirmed [his] worst fears.... This whole trade is based on terrible cruelty," we agree with Isserley when she replies that he doesn't "know what cruelty is," that he is incredibly lucky to have a "worst fear that concerned the welfare of exotic animals rather than any horrors he himself might have to face in the struggle for survival." In other words we become so well acquainted with Isserley and the circumstances that have led her to her current state that we also forgive her.
What we never really discover is why these particular aliens consider earthling flesh such a luxury item. We just have to take it for granted that they do, the way the wealthy in our world savor the roe of sturgeon. As a comment on society, Under the Skin gets under ours the way slivers of bamboo might be received by fingernails: with great discomfort and not a little amount of revulsion.


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George ENESCU (1881-1955)
Ouverture de Concert sur des Thèmes dans le
Caractère Populaire Roumain in A major, Op.32 (1948) [9:12]
Symphony No. 3 in C major with choir, Op. 21 (1916/18, rev. 1920)
Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir/Hannu Lintu
rec. 25 August 2011 (Overture), 24-26 April 2013 (Sym 3), Tampere
Hall, Tampere, Finland
This Ondine release is the second of a projected George Enescu cycle
from Tampere and Hannu Lintu, a past artistic director of the Finnish
orchestra. Enescu is surely Romania's most important composer and as a
contemporary of Bartók and Stravinsky is also one most of the most
neglected of the 20th century.
First the Ouverture de Concert sur des Thèmes dans le
Caractère Populaire Roumain. It was written while Enescu was
residing in Paris, suffering from illness, cut off from the assets he had in
his native Romania. He dedicated it to the memory of his patroness Romanian
princess Elena Bibescu who had died over forty years earlier in 1902. Like
many of Enescu's works it was inspired by themes from Romanian folk
music. The frolicsome opening, evocative of a pair of peasant folk fiddlers,
sets the scene. Next there's a swift change to richer scoring of a
more serious rather tragic character. From then on he moves within a range
of serious moods. A dark and weightier central section easily evokes rugged
mountainous regions in stark winter weather. Strongly committed playing from
the Tampere Phil gives fresh directness to Enescu's forceful and
fertile imagination.
The Symphony No. 3 is scored for large orchestra and wordless
chorus. It was started in 1916 in the mountain resort of Sinaia just before
Romania entered the First World War. Enescu continued to work on the score
whilst staying in Iaci, Moldavia and completed it there in 1918. He
conducted the première in 1919 in Budapest. Dissatisfied, Enescu
undertook alterations in 1920 with this revised version being successfully
introduced in 1921 in Paris. It seems that he was never fully satisfied with
the symphony and made minor alterations to it right up to his death. It has
been suggested that the three movements of this dramatically colourful
Symphony may represent Hell, Purgatory and Heaven in the manner of
Liszt's Dante Symphony. Moody and squally, the opening
Moderato is suffused with dark and disturbing writing of a distinctly
cinematic quality. The brassy Scherzo-like central movement
Vivace, ma non troppo has strong march-like elements reminding me of
a Max Steiner or Korngold score to an Errol Flynn adventure. As the writing
turns darker and denser we reach a weighty and wildly dramatic outburst at
10:53-11:13. Slow and solemn with sumptuous orchestral colours the
Finale: ma non troppo has a wordless chorus with a
conspicuously liturgical quality first heard at 3:43. Suggestive of the
consecration rites of the Catholic Church a tolling bell at 13:21 heralds
the conclusion with the music fading away to nothing. Throughout Hannu Lintu
conducts the Tampere Phil with real penetration and his obvious advocacy for
the music strongly held my attention. Lintu's interpretation ensures
the emotional impact of the writing comes over with telling effect.
This admirable release has the advantage of commanding sonics from
the Ondine engineers - a full rich sound with an excellent balance.
Michael Cookson

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Father: Joseph FARRELL b: in Ireland
Mother: Margaret GUINAN b: ABT 1819 in Kings County, Ireland
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International Journal of Antennas and Propagation
Volume 2014 (2014), Article ID 805052, 9 pages
A New Fractal-Based Miniaturized Dual Band Patch Antenna for RF Energy Harvesting
1Department of Information and Communication Engineering, Chosun University, 309 Pilmun-daero Dong-gu, Gwangju 501-759, Republic of Korea
2Department of Information and Electronics Engineering, Mokpo National University, 1666 Youngsan-ro, Cheonggye-myeon, Muan-gun, Jeonnam 534-729, Republic of Korea
Received 12 September 2013; Revised 26 November 2013; Accepted 2 December 2013; Published 29 January 2014
Academic Editor: Apostolos Georgiadis
Copyright © 2014 Sika Shrestha et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
The growth of wireless communications in recent years has made it necessary to develop compact, lightweight multiband antennas. Compact antennas can achieve the same performance as large antennas do with low price and with greater system integration. Dual-frequency microstrip antennas for transmission and reception represent promising approach for doubling the system capacity. In this work, a miniaturized dual band antenna operable at 2.45 and 5.8 GHz is constructed by modifying the standard microstrip patch antenna geometry into a fractal structure. In addition to miniaturization and dual band nature, the proposed antenna also removes unwanted harmonics without the use of additional filter component. Using a finite-element-method-based high frequency structure simulator (HFSS), the antenna is designed and its performance in terms of return loss, impedance matching, radiation pattern, and voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) is demonstrated. Simulation results are shown to be in close agreement with performance measurements from an actual antenna fabricated on an FR4 substrate. The proposed antenna can be integrated with a rectifier circuit to develop a compact rectenna that can harvest RF energy in both of these frequency bands at a reduction in size of 25.98% relative to a conventional rectangular patch antenna.
1. Introduction
In recent decades, energy harvesting from external sources such as solar radiation, thermal energy, wind, and radio frequency (RF) emissions has emerged as a promising source of environmentally friendly energy that can provide an alternative to existing resources. As energy harvesting generally uses inexhaustible sources, it can in many cases provide unlimited energy for the lifespan of an electronic device. Rectennas can be used to convert wireless RF power into utilizable DC power. Typically, the antenna and rectifier circuits in a rectenna are designed separately, with the antenna designed first using electromagnetic (EM) simulation and its parameters and then incorporated into a nonlinear circuit simulation tool used to design the rectifier. While miniaturization of a rectenna application requires that the size of its antenna be reduced as much as possible, a multiband structure that can harvest RF energy at more than one frequency would improve the energy harvesting functionality. Correspondingly, this work focuses on the design of a compact antenna for a miniaturized rectenna that can operate at two frequencies. As it uses a single wireless transceiver to support multiband operation, this multiband reduced-size antenna occupies less space, which in turn expands mobility options and simplifies installation.
Microstrip patch antennas (MPAs) are gaining popularity for use in rectenna applications owing to their advantages in terms of simplicity, lightweight, low manufacturing cost, and ability to easily integrate into feed networks. In addition, antenna patch shapes and modes can be easily chosen to match resonant frequency, polarization, signal pattern, and impedance. Several design variants exist for fabricating small-sized multiband patch antennas that can be used for RF energy harvesting [1].
Recently, the use of fractal geometry has been proposed as a method for miniaturizing standard multiband antenna architectures. Fractals are the class of geometrical shapes composed of multiple iterations of a single elementary shape [2], and their application can be found in various fields, including image compression algorithms, weather prediction, integrated circuits, filter design, and, most relevant to this work, fractal electrodynamics, in which fractal geometry is combined with electromagnetic theory in order to explore new classes of radiation, propagation, and scattering problems. Antenna theory and design have become one of the most promising areas of fractal electrodynamics research, and fractal antennas, which have been developed over the past 20 years, have proven to be the biggest fundamental breakthrough in antenna technology of the last half century.
A fractal element antenna is shaped using recursive nature of fractal geometry. Fractal antenna can produce fractal versions of all existing antenna types, including dipole, monopole, patch, conformal, spiral, and helical, as well as compact variants of each, possible through fractal technology. Fractal patch antennas can be designed in a number of shapes, including Sierpinski gaskets [3], Sierpinski carpets [4], Minkowski loops [5], and Koch Islands [6]. In terms of antenna design, the fractal characteristics of self-similarity/self-affinity and space-filling are of particular interest; the self-similarity and self-affinity properties of a fractal can be relatively understood as copies of the entire structure within the same structure at different scales. An image is reduced by the same factor in all directions for self-similarity; however, a self-affine fractal has a different scale factor for different directions. This unique feature of fractal geometry can provide additional flexibility in the antenna design, since, by selecting the scale factors appropriately, resonances can be spaced by different factors. The self-similar/self-affine properties of fractals such as the Sierpinski gasket [3] are thus seen to be useful in designing multi-frequency antennas.
As fractals constitute space-filling contours, electrically large features can be efficiently packed into small areas. Because the electrical length plays such an important role in antenna design, this packing efficiency is useful in developing viable miniaturization techniques. Using fractal geometries such as the Sierpinski carpet [4] in antenna design allows for reduction in metallization that enables current path lengthening; this in turn reduces the resonant frequency and therefore decreases the overall dimensions needed to resonate at the required frequency.
Miniaturized dual band antennas are generally complex structures that are often challenging to design. The proposed approach avoids the complexity of conventional designs, presenting instead a simple and effective approach to designing a multiband patch antenna at significantly reduced size. In this study, the second iteration of an inset-fed modified Sierpinski carpet containing perturbation and a small stub was etched onto a rectangular patch antenna in order to obtain a miniaturized dual band fractal patch antenna. The proposed antenna can operate at the unlicensed ISM (industrial, science, and medicine) central band frequencies of 2.45 and 5.8 GHz.
The remainder of the paper is organized as follows. Section 1 summarizes the various techniques adopted in previous research to obtain miniaturization and dual band functionality in patch and fractal antennas. Section 3.1 illustrates the fundamental concepts implemented in the proposed antenna design. A simulation procedure and its iterative design approach are demonstrated in Section 3.2. Simulation and fabrication results are discussed in Section 4. Finally, conclusions are provided in Section 5.
2. Related Works
Compact antennas represent an inevitable design step in accommodating the rapid growth of wireless applications. A number of methods have been suggested to reduce the size of microstrip antennas, including the use of high dielectric constant substrates [7], modification of basic patch shapes, short-circuiting patches to the ground plane, the use of superstrates [8], and several techniques combining these methods. The size of a circular microstrip disk antenna can be reduced by introducing slots into its surface; Yo et al. [9] were able to reduce the radius of a rectenna from 16.5 to 15.5 mm, yielding a 12% decrease in area. Etching a cross-shaped slot onto the surface of a square aperture coupled patch antenna enabled an area reduction of 32.5% in a rectenna [10], while etching forty slits onto the perimeter of a two-port, meandered, square patch antenna (ten per side) yielded a 48% reduction in size [11]. The introduction of slits disturbs surface current flow, which in turn forces current meandering and, correspondingly, increases the electrical length of the patch antenna along both of its dimensions. The inclusion of two orthogonal pairs of irregular and asymmetric slits was proposed as a method to reduce the size of a square patch to 40% [12], and an antenna composed of the interconnection of four corner patches alternating with four strips and a fifth central patch was able to attain a surface area reduction of 60% [13].
The use of fractal geometry departs from these techniques by introducing a "non-Euclidean" method for reducing the size of a patch antenna. The purpose of using nonstandard geometry in an antenna is to increase its overall electrical length in order to lengthen its surface current paths and cause a shift in resonant frequency. Thus, by reducing the dimensions of the patch, it is possible to design a much more compact antenna for a given resonant frequency. Various fractal design integrations have been proposed to do this, including a microstrip antenna with an RO4003 substrate and Koch-shaped fractal defects on its patch surface [14] as well as a miniaturized microstrip antenna in which Sierpinski carpets are inserted into a single patch and the inner and outer edge are etched with Koch curves [15]. Jamshidifar et al. [16] introduced a miniaturized fractal butterfly patch antenna, and Shrestha et al. [4] presented an edge-fed, Sierpinski fractal-based patch antenna of significantly reduced size.
Traditional antenna structures operate within a single frequency band, with additional applications requiring the addition of new antennas. As such architecture limits available space and poses sitting problems, it is beneficial to use multiband antennas operating over many frequency bands in order to enable the simultaneous transmission of video, voice, and data information via a single antenna. Several techniques and approaches for implementing multiband antennas have been proposed, including frequency tuning by rotating a circular patch containing four distinct shapes, each of which corresponds to a different set of resonant frequencies [17]. A triangular, truncated-corner short-circuited antenna with a V-shaped slot for dual band operation (i.e., in the 2.5–2.55 and 3.4–3.7 GHz WiMax bands) was proposed by Singh et al. [18], while Ali et al. [19] demonstrated that a square patch antenna containing two rectangular slots properly positioned along its diagonal can function as a dual band antenna in a rectenna assembly. Frequency diversity can be achieved by controlling the electrical length through the switching of pin diodes on the U-slot of a corner-truncated square patch antenna [20].
The self-similarity/self-affinity characteristics of fractal geometry can also be applied in the design of multiband antennas. A square microstrip patch antenna embedded with modified Sierpinski gasket slots allowed for enhanced miniaturization of a dual-frequency system [21], while a dual wideband, coplanar waveguide (CPW) fed modified Koch fractal printed-slot antenna containing a simple tuning slot that is suitable for WLAN and WiMax operation was proposed by Krishna et al. [22]. A novel dual band fractal-shaped microstrip antenna for RFID applications designed to cover ISM band frequencies (2.45 and 5.80 GHz) was presented by Ghalibafan and Kashani [23]. Finally, Bisht and Kumar [24] demonstrated that a circular patch antenna with fractal patterns can produce dual band operation for C-band applications.
3. Antenna Design
Current wireless applications have challenged antenna designers with demands for low cost, high performance, easily fabricated compact multiband antennas with simple radiating elements, and signal feeding configurations. These results can be obtained by designing a modified, inset-fed Sierpinski carpet patch antenna.
3.1. Fundamental Concepts
3.1.1. Design Specifications
The three essential parameters for the design of a patch antenna are the resonant frequency, ; the dielectric constant of the substrate, ; and the thickness of the substrate, . Dual design frequencies of 2.45 and 5.8 GHz are chosen here because they require low-cost components, are located in the ISM band, and experience extremely low attenuation through the atmosphere. The proposed antenna fulfils the requirements of the 2.45 and 5.8 GHz ISM bands for RFID and other wireless applications. The design specifications of the fractal patch antenna are listed in Table 1.
3.1.2. Rectangular Patch Design
A rectangular microstrip patch antenna is taken as the generator of the fractal antenna. The most popular models for the analysis of microstrip patch antennas are the transmission line model, cavity model, and full-wave model (which include primarily integral equations/moment method). As the transmission line model is the simplest of these and provides a good deal of physical insight, it is adopted as the design method for the proposed antenna. In essence, the transmission line model represents a microstrip antenna as two slots, each of width and height , separated by a transmission line of length . Thus, the microstrip is essentially a nonhomogeneous line of two dielectrics— typically, the substrate and the surrounding air. The patch dimensions are calculated by following the simplified formulation of the transmission line model [25].
The width of the antenna is determined to be where , , , and are the width of the patch, the resonant frequency, the dielectric constant of the substrate, and the speed of light in vacuum, respectively.
The effective dielectric constant can be obtained from where is the effective dielectric constant of the substrate.
The fringing effect causes the length of the patch at each end to be extended by distance given by where is the height of the substrate.
The actual length of the patch is given by where and are the vacuum permeability and permittivity, respectively.
3.1.3. Feeding Techniques
Antenna performance depends largely on the feeding technique and the location of the optimum feed point. Microstrip line or coaxial probe feeding is widely used in single layer antenna design because these types of feed are easy to design and fabricate. Impedance control in microstrip feeding can be obtained by either edge feeding, inset feeding, or feeding through an additional matching network called a quarter-wave transformer; in this study, microstrip line feeding with an inset feed is used. An inset feed introduces a physical notch that in turn produces junction capacitance. Together, these influence the resonance frequency; as the inset feed point moves inward from the edge, the frequency decreases monotonically, reaching zero at the centre. The input impedance of an inset-fed microstrip patch antenna depends mainly on the inset distance (length of the notch) and, to a lesser extent, on the inset width (width of the notch), while the resonant frequency is much more affected by variations in the inset width than in the inset length [26].
The inset distance can be calculated using where , , and are the 50 Ω resistance and input impedance of the antenna and the inset distance, respectively.
3.1.4. Ground Plane Dimensions
Although the transmission line model is in theory only applicable to infinite ground planes, for practical considerations, a finite ground plane is used. In order to obtain results similar to those obtained using an infinite ground plane, the size of the ground plane should be greater than the patch dimensions by approximately six to twelve times the substrate thickness. Accordingly, the ground plane dimensions are given by or where and are the length and width of the ground plane, respectively.
For the proposed design, (8) is used to calculate the width of the ground plane, while the length of the ground plane is modified using (9) below to obtain better antenna performance:
Here, is the length of the feed.
3.1.5. Fractal Iterations
The structure developed in this work consists of a simple fractal structure Sierpinski carpet etched onto a rectangular patch antenna using a conventional rectangular geometry as the generator of the fractal iterations. To build the fractal pattern, the patch is divided into nine smaller congruent rectangles, the central rectangle is then removed, and a similar procedure is followed in subsequent iterations for the remaining rectangles.
As each iteration is added, an area of the radiating patch is removed. The iterative process is based on the following rule: where is the number of rectangles covering the radiating material, is the length of the squares removed in each iteration, and is the area of the radiating patch remaining after each iteration.
3.2. Simulation Procedure
The antenna was simulated using the finite-element-method-(FEM-) based Ansoft high frequency structure simulator (HFSS) Ver.10, a high-performance full-wave EM field simulator of arbitrary 3D volumetric passive devices based on a Microsoft Windows graphical user interface. As discussed above, miniaturization of fractal structures involves the process of removing parts from a basic structure; in the proposed design, this removal procedure is performed in an iterative manner.
Iterations of a Sierpinski carpet microstrip patch antenna (SCMPA) performed up to the third order are explained in [4], which shows that antenna performance in terms of reflection loss, impedance matching, and antenna gain remains nearly constant in the first through third iterations. However, while the second iteration experiences the same percentage of size reduction as the third iteration, it is structurally less complicated [4]. An efficient rectenna with a second-order SCMPA is described in [27]. In the proposed design, the second fractal iteration of a Sierpinski carpet is modified to produce a dual band antenna. The workflow diagram explaining the iterative design approach is shown in Figure 2.
The feeding configuration of the second-order SCMPA changed from edge- to inset-fed is shown in Figures 1(a) and 1(b), respectively, with one of the fractal carpet sections replaced by the inset notch shown in Figure 1(b). By introducing this inset, unwanted harmonics are removed; the return losses of the edge- and inset-fed second-order iterated edge-fed Sierpinski fractal antennas are shown in Figure 3.
The return loss of inset-fed antenna shows frequency dips at 2.45 and 6.04 GHz, where unwanted harmonics have been removed without using an additional filter component. However, as the higher frequency is still not equivalent to our objective of 5.8 GHz, the SCMPA requires further modification in the form of perturbation added to the corner of the patch. Although this changes the higher frequency to 5.8 GHz, the impedance match is not improved, and therefore a small stub is added to the feed line. In order to show resonance at 2.45 and 5.8 GHz with fine impedance matching, the simulation procedure required a number of parametric analyses, the results of which are shown in the final dual band miniaturized antenna structure in Figure 4 (with units of length in millimetres). This dual band antenna is 25.98% smaller than its conventional rectangular patch counterpart.
4. Simulation and Measured Results
The designed dual band antenna through the process above is fabricated on an FR4 substrate (Figure 5). In this section, the performance of the proposed antenna is demonstrated through its simulation and measured result. The simulation result in terms of return loss, Smith Chart, voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR), radiation pattern, and impedance versus frequency curve is exhibited and the measured result in terms of return loss, Smith Chart, and VSWR is illustrated to verify the simulation result.
Measurements of return loss, Smith Chart parameters, and VSWR for fabricated antenna were carried out using an Agilent Network Analyser, N5230A. SubMiniature version A (SMA) connectors were used to interface with the network analyser.
The simulated and measured return loss (S11 versus frequency) is shown in Figure 6. The simulated antenna resonates at 2.45 and 5.8 GHz, with respective return losses of 35.52 and 39.6 dB and impedance bandwidths of 60 and 200 MHz, respectively. The fabricated antenna resonates at 2.45 and 5.76 GHz with respective return losses of 21.2 and 18.22 dB and impedance bandwidths of 50 and 120 MHz, respectively. The percentage bandwidth of an antenna is defined by where is the resonance frequency, and and are determined at −10 dB. At 2.45 and 5.8 GHz, the simulated bandwidth percentages of the dual band modified SCMPA are 2.44% and 3.44%, respectively. The measured bandwidth percentages at 2.45 and 5.76 GHz are, respectively, 2.04% and 2.08%.
To enable an efficient transfer of energy, the impedance of the antenna must match that of the transmission cable. In antenna design, the basic objective is typically to obtain transmission line impedance of 50 Ω in order to match that of the antenna; in the case of mismatch, an impedance matching circuit is required. Figure 7 shows a Smith Chart plotting the reflection coefficient that shows the simulated scattering parameter of the designed antenna at 2.45 and 5.8 GHz. Because the reflection coefficient corresponds directly to impedance, this Chart is equivalent to a plot of the impedance; 2.45 and 5.8 GHz can be found at the centre of the Chart, indicating that, at these frequencies, the antenna has zero reflection coefficients and is perfectly matched. The Smith Chart obtained through fabricated antenna is shown in Figure 8.
Figure 9 shows the simulated impedance versus frequency curve. The real component of impedance is nearly equal to 50 Ω and an imaginary component of around 0° at both frequencies. Together, Figures 7 and 9 show that good impedance matching is obtained in both the frequency bands even when the size is reduced through fractal geometry.
The VSWR characteristics of the designed antenna fall into the range of 1-2 for both simulated and fabricated antenna; from Figure 10, these can be seen to be 1.03 and 1.02 at 2.45 and 5.8 GHz, respectively, for simulated antenna and 1.108 and 1.191 at 2.453 GHz and 5.78 GHz, respectively, for fabricated antenna.
The far-field simulated radiation patterns at the respective resonance frequencies are given in Figures 11(a) and 11(b), which show maximum simulated gains of 2.7 and 2.7 dB at 2.45 and 5.8 GHz, respectively. The presented radiation pattern corresponds to linear polarization. The red curve in the radiation pattern is for phi = 0° which is plane ( plane) and the blue curve is for phi = 90° which is plane ( plane).
A comparison between the simulated and measured outputs is provided in Table 2. The measured higher frequency is shifted slightly in frequency versus the S11 curve from the simulation; however, the measured lower frequency is exactly 2.45 GHz. The measured impedance bandwidth and bandwidth percentage are also similar to the simulation results. In the Smith Chart, the measured resonant frequencies are shifted to 2.47 and 5.73 GHz, as shown in Figure 8. The difference seen in between simulated and measured Smith Chart is because of the measurement carried out in the open environment and environmental effects have degraded the performance. If the measurement is carried out in anechoic chamber, then better performance can be obtained. The deviations are also partly attributed to inaccuracies in the antenna manufacturing process. As shown in Figure 10, the measured frequency in the VSWR graph is slightly shifted; nevertheless, its value is still between 1 and 2. Thus, the deviations observed between the simulated and the measured results are minor and can be attributed to environmental effects and antenna manufacturing process.
5. Conclusion
This study produced a modified Sierpinski fractal-based microstrip patch antenna for a rectenna with a significantly reduced size that can operate at two frequencies, 2.45 and 5.8 GHz. Owing to the space-filling nature of fractal geometry, a second-order fractal iteration effectively reduced the size of the antenna, while fractal self-similarity was used to generate two resonating frequencies, although the higher frequency of the initial design was not at the desired 5.8 GHz. To correct this, perturbation was added to shift the higher frequency resonance to 5.8 GHz, and a stub was added to the feed line to obtain fine impedance matching at both frequencies. The designed antenna has a simulated return loss greater than 35 dB and good impedance matching at both frequencies. Simulated gains of 2.7 and 2.7 dB were attained at 2.45 and 5.8 GHz, respectively, and an overall antenna size reduction of 25.98% was obtained. The dual band antenna was then fabricated on an FR4 substrate to verify simulation results. Although deviations between fabricated and simulated results occurred owing to environmental conditions and manufacturing inaccuracies, these were slight and, on the basis of the overall results, it can be concluded that applying fractal geometry to a patch antenna is a simple and effective technique for developing multiband antennas of minimal size. To obtain higher gain, the proposed design can be etched onto other substrates with lower permittivity, such as Teflon. Furthermore, an arrayed fractal antenna can be designed to increase overall gain, and a stacked Sierpinski carpet fractal antenna can be designed to obtain a wider bandwidth than a single antenna. Such antennas can be integrated with a rectifier circuit generating rectennas in order to harvest RF energy at dual frequencies.
Conflict of Interests
The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests regarding the publication of this paper.
This research was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (NRF-2009-0093828). And this research was supported partially by the MSIP (Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning), Korea, under the C-ITRC (Convergence Information Technology Research Centre) Support Program (NIPA-2013-H0401-13-2006) supervised by the NIPA (National IT Industry Promotion Agency).
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- D. Y. Choi, S. Shrestha, J. J. Park, and S. K. Noh, "Design and performance of an efficient rectenna incorporating a fractal structure," International Journal of Communication Systems, 2013. View at Publisher · View at Google Scholar


text:
SANDY, Utah – In a postseason of improbable results in every bracket thus far, FC Dallas captain Daniel Hernandez is pulling for one more surprise on Sunday.
"The fact is, if Seattle wins, we'll get them at home," the veteran midfielder told MLSsoccer.com after FCD eliminated Real Salt Lake on Saturday night. "We're definitely rooting for Seattle because of home-field advantage."
The No. 3 seed in the Western Conference, Dallas became the third lower seed to advance in this year's MLS Cup Playoffs. If the Sounders can pull an upset against the Los Angeles Galaxy on Sunday night at the Home Depot Center (9 p.m. ET, ESPN, ESPN Deportes), it would be a clean four-for-four sweep of underdogs reaching the Conference finals.
That would also give FC Dallas a home date against Seattle for the Western Conference Championship next Sunday, Nov. 14, at Pizza Hut Park. FCD tied the Sounders in both meetings between the teams during the regular season, 2-2 at PHP back in April and 1-1 in July at Qwest Field.
However, the odds favor No. 1 seed Los Angeles on Sunday, of course. If the Galaxy build off their 1-0 advantage in their first leg, that would set up an LA vs. Dallas Western final at the Home Depot Center next Sunday.
That would be a rematch of both teams' final game of the regular season, which the Galaxy won 2-1 to clinch the Supporters' Shield. And that scenario also suits Hernandez just fine.
"At the end of the day, you have to face who you face," he said, adding, "We've lost twice to LA. We'd love to have that chance to face them again."
Think you know the game? Test your powers of prediction with MLSsoccer.com's new fantasy game, Pro Soccer Picks. Play NOW!


text:
|14 Dec 2011
Can I stop the 'WLAN Autoconfig Service'
Good evening,
This is actually a follow-up to a previous post (https://www.sevenforums.com/network-sharing/202490-can-i-disable-my-wireless-network-connection.html) I had in this forum but since I marked that one 'solved' I figured it would be best to start a new thread.
In that thread I was told that since I didn't have any kind of network in my house (I only have one computer) it would be okay to
disable my Wireless Network Connection -- 802.11n Wireless LAN Card.
I did this and now I notice in my Event Viewer under Custom View > Administrative Events there is an error saying: WLAN Autoconfig Service has successfully stopped.
I am curious if this service is connected with my now 'disabled' 802.11n Wireless Lan Card? If so, would there be any problem with 'stopping' it in Services since the Wireless Lan Card is already disabled too?
Thanks and regards,
|My System Specs
|14 Dec 2011
If you are not using your Wi-Fi adapter at all, it is safe to stop the WLAN Autoconfig Service. If you are using a wireless manager software and you are using your Wi-Fi adapter you must stop the WLAN Auto config service bec. they will conflict and will cause an issue.
|My System Specs
|14 Dec 2011
I appreciate you taking the time to respond. I will go ahead and stop it.
Maybe after stopping it that error message in Event Viewer will stop appearing too.
Thanks and regards,
|My System Specs
|15 Dec 2011
|My System Specs
|27 Dec 2016
Windows 7 home premium 32 bit
I have the same warning message!
I use Wifi network, the WLAN autoconfig service is set to "manual", it doesn't run. But I still get the same warning message WLAN Autoconfig Service has successfully stopped.
|My System Specs
|Thread Tools
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*I am unable to connect to the Internet on wireless home network. I have carried out the following: 'Click Start, type services.msc, then press Enter. Scroll down to "WLAN AutoConfig" and right click on it and select Properties. Set it to Automatic and not Disabled, and press the Start...
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I wiped the stupid Windows 7 Starter that came with my netbook and installed Windows 7 Professional and ever since the WLAN Autoconfig Service refuses to start on boot despite it being set to Automatic. It also won't start manually either through "services.msc" or "net start". The only way I can...
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text:
My Nonprofit Reviews
Rick Person
Review for Urban Homeworks Inc, Minneapolis, MN, USA
I have been a volunteer with the Quicksilver Crew for about four years, working as often as I can make it with the Tuesday crews working on house renovations in the North Minneapolis neighborhood near Urban Works headquarters. Not only has the experience of helping prepare the properties for occupancy been very rewarding and inspiring, but the fellowship with the Urban Homeworks staff and the dedicated guys on the crews has been amazing. Rick Person
More Feedback
Would you volunteer for this group again?
For the time you spent, how much of an impact did you feel your work or activity had?
A lot
Did the organization use your time wisely?
Quite well
Would you recommend this group to a friend?
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?


text:
Sharepoint 2010 - workflow sending static email but not dynamic
I am trying to send an email from a workflow in Sharepoint 2010. If I use a static email address, everything works fine but if I specify "CurrentItem:CreatedBy" in the workflow nothing happens.
I'm new to Sharepoint and I've been researching this for several days. Any help would be appreciated.
When you specify the Workflow Lookup as
Data Source: Current Item
Field from source: Created By
There should be a third drop down list that is "Return field as:". Do you have this as the default "as string" or do you have it as "Email Address"?
- 已提議為解答 CSGBrandon 2012年6月13日 下午 04:40
- 已取消提議為解答 Steven AndrewsEditor 2012年6月13日 下午 04:47
Please don't self propose answers, leave the community or the OP to do that for you.
Returning the Created By field as an email address shouldn't matter, it's never made a difference for me.
Have you checked that your workflow is triggering properly?
Steven Andrews | SharePoint Professional | http://www.twitter.com/backpackerd00d | https://baron72.wordpress.com/
Thanks for the advice Steven. I'm new to this so you'll have to forgive my poor etiquette.
Jerry, there is also an option in the select users box that is "User who created current item". Have you tried using that?
- 已編輯 CSGBrandon 2012年6月13日 下午 04:56
Brandon, I tried it both ways and neither way worked.
Steven, I'm not sure what you mean by "triggering properly". I know the the workflow is finishing execution if I use a static email address and it does send the email for a static address.
Is there way to debug this? Or is there a log file somewhere?
- 已編輯 Jerry444 2012年6月13日 下午 05:27
Have you checked the Workflow history for a list item where the workflow has failed to send the email? One thing you could do that may help in figuring out what is wrong is by adding a 'Log to History List' action right before the 'Send Email' action in the workflow and for the message put "Trying to email [CurrentItem:CreatedBY]" and make sure you have the Return type set to "Email Address". Once you have added that action start a workflow and then when you view the workflow history for that item, it should show where it logged "Trying to email username@domain". If it doesn't show username@domain then please post what it says.
As for ULS logs, I don't know much about that so I'm going to refer you to http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff463595.aspx and maybe Steven can confirm whether or not that would be beneficial for you.
Hi Jerrv444,
In my opinion, the problem may be that:
You returen the created by field as email address, but in your AD, the email address field may be blank and so when you imported it to Sharepoint, this field also be blank, so when you try to return the email address, you got nothing.
Simon Huang
TechNet Community Support
Is sounds like you opened the history list in designer. Look in the ribbon above do you see "Preview in browser"?
Thanks! that helps. I'm getting this error: "The email message cannot be sent. Make sure the email has a valid recipient"
I'm going to check AD to see what it has there.
In the Workflow history I see that for this error it is showing the user as "System Account". When I click on "System Account" it shows a profile for it and it shows the work email as blank.
There is an "Edit" link but when I click on it it doesn't provide a way to edit the "work email" field.
Hi guys, Did you get a solution for this??
I am having the same issue. Emails were working fine for all workflows but now they are intermittantly (from my observation) not sending through. At certain times, i.e. night times the emails have worked fine but then i try during the day and i get "The e-mail message cannot be sent. Make sure the outgoing e-mail settings for the server are configured correctly." error message. If i use the direct email (email@example.com) the emails work fine. I am thinking it might be an Active Directory thing because I have checked all of the emails associated with the AD accounts I am testing and they are all fine.


text:
123 NUMBER MAGIC Line Matching
By PRESCHOOL UNIVERSITY
Open the Mac App Store to buy and download apps.
Help strengthen 1-10 number concept while having fun!
An old method with a fun twist to helping reinforce number concepts.
In this app children can enjoy two different modes of number play:
A.)Matching quantities to quantities using 4 types of counters.
B.)Matching Numerals to quantities using 4 types of counters.
The alphabet version of this app became a top ten free app as reported by NextTopApp
- Free
- Category: Education
- Released: 30 November 2011
- Version: 1.0
- Size: 6.3 MB
- Language: English
- Developer: PRESCHOOL UNIVERSITY
- © 2011 Preschool University
Compatibility: OS X 10.6 or later


text:
Thousands rioted in the Hungarian capital of Budapest last night after a leaked audio tape revealed its Prime Minister saying he and his party lied about the economy for four years to get reelected. Host Kai Ryssdal speaks to reporter Stefan Bos in Budapest.
Beyond dry bagels, stale air and slide shows, conferences produce a lot of trash. That's gotten some folks working to make the conference business a little more environmentally-friendly. David Welch reports.
The MacArthur Foundation announced its "genius grants" today. Host Kai Ryssdal talks to winner Victoria Hale, who founded a non-profit drug company that researches drugs for developing nations.
Under a new Norwegian law, all public corporations there have a year to put women in 40 percent of boardroom seats. Stephen Beard reports on the game of musical boardroom chairs that's ensued.
Thailand's military seized control of the country today. Officers said the civilian government was corrupt and running the country into the ground. Host Kai Ryssdal speaks to journalists and experts in Thailand.
New home construction fell 6% last month — double what was expected. Wholesale prices came in flat. And that may be good news when the Fed meets to discuss interest rates tomorrow. Lisa Napoli looks at the numbers.
Even the White House is joining the YouTube craze. It said today it's distributing government-produced, anti-drug videos on the site. Commentator and engineer Bill Hammack says these video sites are the start of another high-tech revolution.


text:
- StudyAko
- ApplyTono
- Student LifeTe Ao Ākonga
- ResearchRangahau
- About LincolnMō Mātou
Ready to apply?APPLY NOW
Find out where and when your classes are on.
See important dates and deadlines for the academic year.
Login to Moodle
Learn everything you need to know about fees and tuition costs.
The fees calculator enables you to make your course selection and obtain an indication of the tuition cost.
Domestic tuition fees depend on the courses you select within your qualification.
Find out the costs of the different on-campus accommodation options for 2018.
All you need to know about academic, examination, general, withdrawal/refund and late fees.
Your fees for learning via our Regional Diploma programme.
Some courses have field trips/tours associated with them.
A compulsory student services fee is charged to all students, which supports the delivery of a range of services.
You may pay by cheque, EFTPOS, credit card (Mastercard or Visa only), direct credit or cash.
The amount of money you need to live on at university will vary depending on your circumstances.
Richie McCaw entered the University as an Excellence Scholar in 1999 to study for a Bachelor of Agricultural Science and was awarded a rugby sports scholarship soon after. The fourth generation of his family to enrol at Lincoln, he made his All Blacks debut in 2001. In recognition of his illustrious rugby career and contribution to sport, Lincoln University awarded him an Honorary Doctorate in Natural Resources in 2012.Learn more about Lincoln
Students and staff can apply for permits to park in designated areas at no charge.Learn more about Lincoln
That's pretty impressive considering there are over 7500 universities in the world.Learn more about Lincoln


text:
My Nonprofit Reviews
133 profile views
1 reviews
Review for Miami Heart Research Institute Inc, Miami, FL, USA
I have been involved in several Miami Heart Research Institute sponsored events including the Nicole Miller Fashion show@ 656 Collins Ave. Miami Beach and the Food Truck Rally @ Museum of Science in Miami. I feel these were quailty events and well attended. As a result of these efforts I plan to continue to support this charity.
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I've personally experienced the results of this organization in...
I have not needed this charities support but feel my contributions are very worthwhile.
If I had to make changes to this organization, I would...
Role: Donor & Attended events and contributed to charity.


text:
All Conference Alert brings you a full compilation of national & international conferences, events, seminars & workshops coming up in Leadership across 6 continents & 130+ countries. Click on the link of conference/event of your choice below to get more details or to submit your abstracts, manuscripts, full-length papers and posters for your preferred conferences All Conference Alert invites organizers to get their conference, event, seminar & workshop listed with us and let the world know about your event.
|15th IAVE Asia Pacic Regional Volunteer Conference and Youth Volunteer Conference 2017 IAVEAP 2017 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia


text:
BJP releases manifesto in Assam
The BJP has promised to make Assam free of Bangladeshi infiltrators if voted to power. Digambar Patowary reports.india Updated: Mar 21, 2011 23:00 IST
The BJP has promised to make Assam free of Bangladeshi infiltrators if voted to power.
In its election manifesto, the party promised to complete the fencing on the Indo-Bangla border within a year, press the Centre for increasing the strength of the BSF personnel on the border by four times and form a special cell to monitor the detection, detention and deportation of illegal immigrants.
Releasing the manifesto of the party on Monday in Guwahati, former BJP national president Rajnath Singh said, "The points included in the manifesto are our promises to the people of Assam. We are committed to implement all these points."
The party also promised to update the National Register of Citizenship (NRC), vital for detecting illegal migrants. For good governance and ending corruption, the party will introduce a bill in the assembly and the state Lokpal will be created.
On the demand for scheduled tribe status for the Koch Rajbongshi, Moran, Ahom, Matak, Chutia and tea tribe (adivasi) communities of the state, the BJP said the party's goal was to solve the problems of all these six backward communities.
It also promised more development works in autonomous councils constituted under sixth schedule of Constitution. Assam has three autonomous councils – the Bodoland Territorial Council, Karbi Anglong Hills Autonomous Council and North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council.


text:
Vision Classes has risen up to a National Level Institute in a span of just 6 years. The main objective to conduct All India Test Series (AITs) for JEE is to provide opportunities to the students located in far flung corners of the country. Every student studying science with mathematics dreams & aspires to be an engineer.
Many students are unable to join regular coaching program because of many reasons such as lack of facilities in their local area, financial strains etc. Moreover, those students, who are undergoing even regular coaching, can also be benefited by evaluating themselves at All India Level and identify their weakness and strength, so that they can formulate strategies for improvement and plan their preparation accordingly.
Since, a Single Test is proposed by the HRD Ministry for admissions in IITs, NITs, IIITs, IISTs & IISERs named JEE from 2014. Hence, for the benefits of students appearing in 2014 onwards, we will be conducting unified AITS for JEE-2014 from this year.


text:
We must warn you about the latest scam seen on Facebook which is based on faked letter reporting that you have violated Facebook's policies. Such letters include a link to a page mimicking Facebook and requiring many personal details and financial information. If you get such letter, be sure to ignore the message supposedly sent by a social network's Team.
After clicking on a link, given in this fake Facebook's message, user is asked to fill in three forms: first one asks to share such details as user's mail login details, other – the type of victim's credit card and its first six numbers. As you may have already realized, if you fall into this scam, there is a huge possibility to lose your credit card details, Facebook and email accounts. Additionally, you may find that your credit card information was used for fraudulent activities.
In most of the cases, victims report about such letters, saying:
LAST WARNING : Your account is reported to have violated the policies that are considered annoying or insulting Facebook users. Until we system will disable your account within 24 hours if you do not do the reconfirmation.
Please confirm your account below:
[malicious link]
The Facebook Team
Copyright facebook © 2011 Inc. All rights reserved.
We highly recommend to ignore messages such as these. Make sure you login to Facebook by accessing the login page through a bookmark or by typing in the Facebook main URL and never share your personal information in such forms like these.
Source: net-security.org


text:
Use the tools below to refine your search by only displaying reviews with a certain number of star ratings or to only show reviews from a certain time period. Eg click on '1 star' to just display the reviews we have which received a 1 star rating click or 'Within the last month' to display just reviews posted over the last month.
Written on: 10/10/2013 by Lord26 (1 review written)
Brought for my daughter for prom and when she is my bridesmaid. Absolutely lovely. It has come up a little big but I would rather that than to small. Quality is really good for the price Great communication Although I did order and paid extra for the dress to come In a box and didn't , but if that's all I've got to moan about… Read Full Review
Written on: 27/09/2013 by lenezik (1 review written)
They put these fancy pictures of dresses and celebrity dresses which they have not made and try make them and they come out crappy!!!!! I ordered a dress from them and it was missing a slit when it arrived and looked nothing like the picture. They say they will pay for alterations but it's been a struggle to get the money for them to pay, I am still waiting! They mislead customers with the pictures they put on their website which they take from other websites! And not to mention their services… Read Full Review
Written on: 27/09/2013
Dear Lenezik,
Thank you for your review.
KissyDress is one of the biggest online tailor shop in UK, so I think there must be some misunderstanding.
Would you please send us an email about your problem and I am sure our customer service team will do their best to help.
Thanks & Regards,
Written on: 11/05/2014
How can you be one of the biggest online tailor shops in the UK when your based in China?! Absolute rubbish!
Written on: 26/09/2013 by magrita (1 review written)
i ordered dress LFNAE0118 for my daughter's Year 12 formal. The dress was stunning and the colour just gorgeous. Their customer service is really helpful when i tried to change the sizes. KissyDress is such a nice store. We'll recommend it to all moms… Read Full Review
Written on: 24/09/2013 by SadieGregory (1 review written)
I ordered a dress for an event that was 3 weeks away, so I did a rush order. When the dress arrived (late due to my address being written wrong on the parcel) it was of disgusting quality with several very obvious faults. It didn't fit (even though I gave my exact mesurements), material used was cheap and useless. And the main seam down the back had been missed by the machine and poorly sewen together pointing outwards. After receiving this thing I immediately emailed asking to return and… Read Full Review
Written on: 12/09/2013 by prairies.east (1 review written)
The dress is Gorgeous . Fits perfectly. Super fast delivery. Great price for the quality and thickness of the material. I will recommend this website to all my friends. Thank you so much for your professional work! BTW, I am from Austria… Read Full Review
Written on: 04/09/2013 by FanCeeeee (1 review written)
Out of all the dresses I ordered before, the dress from kissydress is the most beautiful one. The colour is so nice and the jewelry used are not cheap. However, the inner layers of the dress is not that neat, and I was hoping that the triangle-shape jewelry (or V shape) would show more, since it's what made that dress catch my eye… Read Full Review
Written on: 25/08/2013 by g_TanyaTanya (1 review written)
Hello! I had a really terrible experience with DIY dress and their dresses. So when I found this very similar one online company kissydress, I was quite excited and a little worried. I was concerned that it would have something wrong with it, wouldn't make it in time for the wedding, or wouldn't fit. I opted to utilize the custom size option. it's very nice dress. Beautiful color. The tail touches the floor even with heels. The bust was a little large for me. Since there is only one strap, it… Read Full Review
Written on: 20/08/2013 by KurtSiegfried (1 review written)
Arrived on time and was packaged really well.The dress is in good quality but a little long. I contacted the customer service and get reply quickly.They help me solved the problem, perfect service. I got many compliments. Will definitely recommend Kissydress to others! Ps. Kissy dress ship over the world, I found many places but they all don't ship to Luxembourg, only kissydress does. Thanks… Read Full Review
Written on: 17/08/2013 by juliacolin (1 review written)
I ordered 3 bridesmaid dresses in Fushia for my wedding. These dresses are absolutely stunning. They are well made and just as picture described, fit my bridesmaids perfectly… Read Full Review
Written on: 16/08/2013
My dress arrived today and I love it, I also love that I could track it all the way over to here! I would use again and have recommended to friends!… Read Full Review
Written on: 15/08/2013 by Asatoshi (1 review written)
I bought this dress LFNAE0150 in black. It's a beautiful dress, and runs good. I would recommend buying! followed size chart with measurements and the dress fit perfectly. the beautiful as the picture. I am Japanese, sorry for the poor englsih… Read Full Review
Written on: 14/08/2013 by johnkitty (1 review written)
I was EXTREMELY satisfied with how everything came out. The dress is extremely cute and looks great. Its a gorgeous dress and it fits perfectly! The dress was a great color bright blue as the site shows. I was a bit scared to order online especially when I live sooooo far, but the shipping was fast and the dresss turned up earlier then the due date, I am in love with it. I am very pleased and deffinetly expect me back. Perfect sums up my experience with Kissy Dress. :)… Read Full Review
Written on: 14/08/2013
I ordered a dress late week and it came in a week put its very badly made and nothing like the celeb dress online don't order a dress from this site! I've a wedding in 2 wks and no dress very disappointed. … Read Full Review
Written on: 14/08/2013
Dear Sir/Madam,
Thank you for your review, would you please give us your order number? Because our service team can't find the any complain from you. Our website is always online and we offer online service 7*24 hours. Our customer service will reply all the email within 24 hours. Would you please contact our customer service team? Our aim is satisfied our customers. You can find the email on our contact us page. We are sorry for any inconvenience. Any questions please feel free to contact us.
Best Regards
Written on: 08/08/2013 by BellaBe (1 review written)
Great experience - have put all my friends on to you! Kept me up to date with the progress of the dress on email, and I was amazed at how quickly it shipped. Sizing on the site seems pretty accurate - I bought a size 10 and I'm 70 inch, 67kg, fits great, maybe a little bit loose in the bust. Dress comes long with good seams in case it needs adjustment, and all the seaming / stitching is really nicely, securely finished, so certainly at this early stage it seems remarkably well made! Material's… Read Full Review
Written on: 14/08/2013
Dear Sir/Madam,
Thank you for your review. Please contact our service team for the bust size problem, we will try our best to help.
Best Regards
Written on: 06/08/2013 by Elaine.Will (1 review written)
I am from Norway, I ordered the dress LFNAC0020 in black and had it custom fit. It came so fast and I got so many positive comments on the dress. I would definitely recommend kissydress to anyone looking to purchase a gown… Read Full Review
Written on: 05/08/2013 by lisa86 (1 review written)
I got this dress for prom and I got it last minute.(three days before prom)It was made very very very well. It was beautiful, flowed off my body really well. I got many compliments from my friends. The only things I didn't like particularly was the colour wasn't true to the picture online. We hoped for the deep reddish-pink and turned out it was bright HOT pink. And the bust area was a little too big but it was a minor issue. But other then that, it was was made very well, no problem with it… Read Full Review
Written on: 29/07/2013 by Mini.fr (1 review written)
I ordered a dress from kissydress in black and had it custom fit. It is just incredible. I ordered it for a cruise that we are takiing at the end of the month. I couldn't be more pleased. I wish I would have known about this website when my kids got married. This dress fits perfectly and I like it so much more than dresses I bought at our local store for 5 times the price for weddings. I am a fan, for sure!… Read Full Review
Written on: 25/07/2013 by Lisa.Lange (1 review written)
Got my dress and a wonderful suprise! I chose made to my measurement. It arrived as expected via UPS, less than 2 weeke. I wore the dress as a bridesmaids dress. It was a beautiful dress. Well made, with beautiful material.The price and quality of this dress were amazing. KissyDress deserves the five star reviews. I'm very impressed and satisfied with dress bought here… Read Full Review
Written on: 25/07/2013
Thank you for your review.
Written on: 24/07/2013 by Amanda89 (1 review written)
I am living in United States, I have searched on line for months to choose a perfect dress for my summer ball, which is the biggest party since I have attended the university. I want to make it the best memory all through my lifetime. Finally yes…The dress I bought from KissyDress fit quite well. The size is done according what I offered. Good for the after-sale service group. And I love the Chiffon-make. It takes about 2 weeks for delivering, but it definitely worth waiting!! Thanks for… Read Full Review
Written on: 23/07/2013 by adamlish.lish (1 review written)
I ordered LFNAC1364 for my prom. For this dress, everything is amazing. Just make sure that the dress fits on your hip, and everything will be fine. I ordered the claret, typed in my measurements, and presto! It got perfectly! Such a unique color and everyone loved it. No need for alterations or anything! It arrived at my house within 2 days when it said it would take 3-5! I looked gorgeous on the night I will remember for the rest of my life!… Read Full Review
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CALC 2014 celebrates alumni volunteer leadership
By Jose Perez Beduya |
For those who attended the Cornell Alumni Leadership Conference (CALC) at the Boston Marriott Copley Place, Jan. 17-19, the business of volunteering for the university was equally serious and fun.
Now in its fifth year, CALC, which is organized by the Division of Alumni Affairs and Development's (AAD) Office of Volunteer Programs, brought together more than 700 alumni leaders from as close as Boston to as far away as Beijing. Helping to facilitate the event, a group of 60 current students mingled with attendees.
Participants strategized for the upcoming year and beyond with their respective boards, classes and affinity groups, and attended skills development sessions led by alumni and staff. They also engaged with guest speakers and rubbed elbows with friends old and new – including a "live statue" of Ezra Cornell that ambled in a slow, stately way amid a galvanized Big Red crowd at the tailgate and viewing party for the Cornell-Harvard men's hockey and Cornell-Dartmouth women's hockey games Friday evening.
Among the weekend's highlights was a panel discussion on the challenges and joys of leadership at Cornell. Moderated by alumni-elected trustee Meredith Rosenberg '92, the panel featured Andy Noel, director of athletics and physical education; Hans Bethe House professor-dean Scott MacDonald '78, Ph.D. '86; Mary Opperman, vice president for human resources and safety services; and Deans Lance Collins (College of Engineering) and Alan Mathios (College of Human Ecology). Topics discussed included the urgency of recruiting and retaining outstanding faculty and staff and creating a nurturing community for students. The important role of Cornell alumni, parents and friends – who contribute wisdom, guidance and financial support to the university – and the vitality of cross-campus connections were also emphasized.
"The culture of collaboration is profound at Cornell," said Mathios. "Many people perceive Cornell as a collection of colleges, but it's really pretty seamless."
Other highlights included: "Promoting Student Health and Well-Being" led by Susan Murphy '73, Ph.D. '94, vice president for student and academic services, which showcased the work of student leaders; "Cornell's Secret Weapon: Volunteers for Life," a panel of alumni and one student leader, moderated by Kelly Brown '88, MBA '92; and "Volunteering@Cornell: Past, Present and Future," a panel of staff, faculty and alumni leaders, moderated by Charlie Phlegar, vice president for alumni affairs and development.
In addition, CALC attendees got a preview of upcoming university developments, from plans for Cornell's sesquicentennial events to the unveiling of the beta version of a new online volunteer management system, which will match university volunteers with leadership and service opportunities across Cornell groups near and far.
CALC also served as a venue for recognizing and honoring alumni volunteer achievements. The second annual Cornell Alumni Association Cup – recognizing innovative programs developed by alumni or parent volunteer groups – was awarded by popular vote to the Alumni Duff Ball committee for its first-ever event in New York City last March, organized in partnership with AAD's Student and Young Alumni Programs. The success of Alumni Duff Ball-NYC – attended by more than 400 alumni and raising $45,000 in support of student and academic services – has led to its second iteration, planned for March 1. Jonathan Feldman '08, who helped originate Duff Ball on campus, accepted the award on behalf of the Alumni Duff Ball committee.
The William "Bill" Vanneman '31 Outstanding Class Leader Award – named in honor of its first recipient who served his class for more than 75 years – was, given to Shigeo "Shig" Kondo '43 for 55 years of exemplary service. Kondo, whose life at Cornell was disrupted by World War II, bears the distinction of being the 10th Vanneman awardee.
"Behind every successful man is a woman and a surprised mother-in-law," the 91-year-old Kondo joked in his acceptance speech. He recounted how, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, his junior year was cut short when he was deported to Japan as an "enemy alien" even though he grew up in New Jersey, where his family had moved when he was 3.
"What sustained me at that time was dreaming about returning to that special place on the Hill – Cornell," he said to an audience who rose to a resounding, standing ovation.


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avery is my little snuggle...
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Prions – novel infectious agents
|Prions are simple proteins that are much smaller than viruses. They are unique since they lack a genome. All other known infectious agents contain genetic material.
|Bacteria are often surrounded by a strong protective cell wall and replicate through simple cell division.
|Fungi may cause infections of the mouth, throat, lungs, and skin.
|Parasites thrive on their host, often causing longlasting chronic infections.
|Viruses are small packages of genetic material that can only replicate inside a cell.


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The route to the summit from...
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The route to the summit from base camp under the black buttes @
7,200ft. The route changes depending on crevasse conditions but
this was the path 7/23/05.
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Object Title: The route to the summit from...


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Big Q's K-Cruise
It's the biggest radio from a guy who really knows how to put on a show! Join Q every weekday from 3-7 p.m., as he takes you through some of the biggest hits of the last 30 years. That's when you can enjoy the K-Cruise, an hour of commercial-free K-Tunes for your drive home from 5-6 p.m.


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Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
- The opening scene, featuring Ace swiping a stolen Shih Tzu back from a thief.
- After Aguado mocks Ace and kills a cockroach on front of him just to taunt him, this happens.
- Ace effortlessly proving Roger Podacter's death was murder, not suicide, and making the entire police department look like idiots.
- Ace catching a bullet with his teeth in the middle of a car chase.
- All Ace was trying to do was escape from some Mooks, and suddenly, he's the frontman for Cannibal Corpse. Also a Crowning Moment of Funny.
Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls
- Here's one for all you animal lovers: The scene in Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls where Ace beats up a Monopoly Guy lookalike and uses him as a pelt because he hates the man's wife's fox pelt. Also a Crowning Moment of Funny.
Do not pass Go! Do not collect two hundred dollars!
- How Ace parks the car at the country club. "CHITTYYYYYY!!!"
Ace: Liiiiiiiiiiiiike a gloooooooooooooove!
- The monster truck. Every second of the glorious, glorious monster truck chase.
- Ace beats up an alligator. Its one thing to escape, but no, he teaches it who its messed with!
Ace: (dragging the gator back into the water) Don't start something you can't finish!
- Ace stops the war between the two tribes just in time by running in between them with the white bat in his hands screaming at the top of his lungs:
Ace: SHIIIIIKAAAAAKAAAAAAAAAAA!!!
- He may have gotten his ass kicked doing so, but Ace was able to earn the respect of a tribe of savage headhunters.