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Bitsadze equation
The partial differential equation that can be written in complex form as follows:
where , and that can be reduced to the elliptic system
in the real independent variables and . The homogeneous Dirichlet problem in a disc : , where the radius is as small as one pleases, for the Bitsadze equation has an infinite number of linearly independent solutions [1]. The Dirichlet problem for the inhomogeneous equation in the disc is normally solvable according to Hausdorff, since it is neither a Fredholm problem nor Noetherian; in a bounded domain containing a segment of the straight line , this problem is not even a Hausdorff problem, even though the homogeneous problem has only one zero solution [2].
|A.V. Bitsadze, "On the uniqueness of the solution of the Dirichlet problem for elliptic partial differential operators" Uspekhi Mat. Nauk , 3 : 6 (1948) pp. 211–212 (In Russian)
|A.V. Bitsadze, "Boundary value problems for second-order elliptic equations" , North-Holland (1968) (Translated from Russian)
|C. Miranda, "Partial differential equations of elliptic type" , Springer (1970) (Translated from Italian)
|L. Bers, F. John, M. Schechter, "Partial differential equations" , Interscience (1964)
Bitsadze equation. Encyclopedia of Mathematics. URL: http://encyclopediaofmath.org/index.php?title=Bitsadze_equation&oldid=17152


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Apparently, the Iraq war is over and the good guys won, or something.
Y'know, whenever I start to fancy myself a wordsmith, I need only read whatever the latest post on Fafblog or Driftglass is and that pretty much kicks the chair out from under that notion.
"Where else would you go when you have an ax to grind?"
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Apparently, the Iraq war is over and the good guys won, or something.
Posted by Unknown at 3/17/2010 12:59:00 PM Recommend this Post
Labels: longwinded inside blogging
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- Unknown said...
Excellence is considered to be an important value, and a goal to be pursued.The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.
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Had a long think last night as I lay in bed, wishing I hadn't had quite such a large measure of vodka. We bought some new glasses from Tesco over the weekend you see, because I have a terrible habit (I seem to have a lot of those actually, come to think of it) of breaking the ones we already have (my husband says it's the Greek part of me coming out) and although these new glasses are very nice, they're a lot bigger than the old ones - think Brian Potter's vase in 'Phoenix Nights' and you've just about got them. I'll be altering the measures accordingly next time I fancy a little nightcap.
Anyway, like I said, I was thinking last night and decided that, as much as I love writing about the characters I've already created in books already out there (I'll be sparing you the plugs today - you know where to find the links to Amazon should anyone want to purchase my eBooks, and please feel free to do so. I'd be very grateful!!), it's time to take a step back from them for a while and create some new ones. So that's what I've been doing this morning. I've been making notes, building new character ideas, playing with story outlines, and it's been fun. Creating new characters is always fun, I find it quite exciting to turn these people from words on a page into something "real" (you know what I mean) with personalities and habits and little quirks that will, hopefully, make them interesting enough for people to care about them and want to read about them. Still trying to decide in what style I'll be writing this new book, but it is definitely going to be a comedy, set in my native North East of England.
I always like this part of the writing process, even though in the beginning it used to frustrate me because I just wanted to get straight on with the writing and get into the book as quickly as I could. But you learn, as time goes on, that you can do that, but your life as a writer is made a little easier if you have your characters almost sorted and your story outlined, even briefly. Ofcourse things will change as you start writing - they always do. As characters develop and the story moves forward things are always going to change, that's inevitable. These characters I'm creating are new even to me, and I need to get to know them and grow with them and let them turn into the people they're going to become and that can only happen during the writing process. Which is what I love about doing this, it's what I love about writing. I start out with a blank page and a handful of ideas and before I know it I've got a whole new set of characters and a story I'm totally involved in! To start with nothing and end up with a completed book is a real achievement to me; an even bigger one if I know that people are enjoying reading my stories and buying my books because they like them.
So it's a bit of a short post today because, now I've started on this new book, I really want to see how much of it I can get planned and structured today. If I can end the day with a clear idea of where it's going and I'm happy with it all, then I can settle down infront of 'Holby City' tonight feeling like I've actually done something useful today, and that I'm moving forward. It's been a while since I started anything new - I've been so busy preparing my existing completed novels for eBook publication - and I really can't wait to get stuck in, get involved with these yet-to-be-fully-expanded characters. But I'm excited to see where they - and the story - take me. I'm ready for that exciting journey, and it starts right here...


text: Research ArticlesAuditory Neuropathy: An UpdateGibson, William Peter Rea; Sanli, HalitAuthor Information Sydney Cochlear Implant Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia. Address for correspondence: Professor W. P. R. Gibson, Sydney Cochlear Implant centre, P.O. Box 188, Gladesville 2111, Australia. E-mail: email@example.com. Received December 14, 2005; accepted November 3, 2006. Ear and Hearing: April 2007 - Volume 28 - Issue 2 - p 102S-106S doi: 10.1097/AUD.0b013e3180315392 Free Metrics Abstract Objectives: To describe the round window electrocochleography (RWECochG) and electric auditory brainstem responses (EABR) in ears affected by auditory neuropathy (AN), and to determine if these electrophysiological tests can predict the outcome following cochlear implant surgery. Methods: A longitudinal study of all pediatric cochlear implant patients between 1994 and 2005 was undertaken. Speech perception outcomes after cochlear implantation and electrophysiological data were collected prospectively and analyzed. Some otoacoustic emissions (OAE) data were collected retrospectively during the neonatal period. All subjects were tested using round window electrocochleography (RWEcochG), auditory brainstem responses (ABR), and implant-evoked electric auditory brainstem responses (EABR). The auditory neuropathy (AN) group consisted of 39 children (78 ears) which had present OAE and absent or grossly abnormal ABR (a broad N1 component only). Results: All 78 ears from the 39 AN children showed large cochlear microphonics (CM) and an abnormal positive potential (APP) using RW ECochG. A further 21 children showed large CM and APP but had not been tested for OAE. In total, 60 children were discovered to have APP among 435 pediatric patients who received a cochlear implant. Electrically evoked ABR (EABR) from the implanted ear were normal in 45 and abnormal in 15. 46 age matched patients without large CM and APP were used as a control group. Two year postimplant scores (Melbourne categories) were: 6.27 (APP and normal EABR), 2.25 (APP and abnormal EABR) and 5.37 (control group). Mann-Whitney U Test for nonparametric data was used to test for significant difference at significance level p < 0.005 (two tailed). The APP ears which provided normal EABR had significantly better outcomes after cochlear implantation than APP ears which had abnormal EABR. Furthermore, the APP ears which provided normal EABR performed significantly better after cochlear implant surgery than the control group of patients with no OAE, appropriate ABR results and normal EABR. Conclusions: Ears affected by AN provide large CM and APP on RW ECochG. The presence of normal EABR may indicate a significantly better outcome after cochlear implant surgery than for those APP ears which had abnormal or absent EABR. Based on these findings it is suggested that the presence of APP and/ or OAE in 75% of the ears which have absent or abnormal ABR may not indicate a pathological condition affecting the auditory nerve or synapse but only survival of outer hair cells despite extensive loss of inner hair cells. For many years clinicians have been aware that a few hearing impaired children have a disproportionate loss of speech perception leading to a poor performance using conventional hearing aids. The term "auditory neuropathy" was originally coined in 1995 (Sininger, Hood, & Starr, 1995) after the first longitudinal study of 10 subjects who were discovered to have absent or grossly abnormal auditory brainstem responses (ABR), but present otoacoustic emissions (OAE). These findings led to the concept that the dysfunction primarily affected the neural auditory pathway (Starr, Picton, Sininger, et al., 1996); however, this concept failed to account for the unexpectedly good performance of most of these ears using a cochlear implant (Miyamoto, Kirk, Renshaw, et al., 1999; Trautwein, Sininger, & Nelson, 2000; Shallop, Peterson, Facer, et al., 2001; Gibson & Sanli, 2002; Madden, Hilbert, Rutter, et al., 2002; Buss, Labadie, Brown, Grosset, et al., 2002; Mason, De Michelle, & Stevens, 2003). This paper reviews the electrophysiological findings obtained from children affected by AN. OAE are assumed to be derived from the motor activity of outer hair cells (OHC) and do not appear to depend in any important way of the functioning of inner hair cells (IHC) (Mills, 2006). IHC are not connected to the overlying tectorial membrane and cannot exert an effective force back on the organ of Corti and cannot be a significant source of OAE (Trautwein, Hofstetter, Wang, et al., 1996). Abnormal positive potentials (APP) are an early positive summating potential (SP) with respect to an active electrode placed in the round window niche (O'Leary, Mitchell, Gibson, et al., 2000). The APP or early positive SP is probably generated by a slight asymmetry of production of CM. Materials and Methods Ears with OAE and absent or grossly abnormal ABR (a broad N1 component only) were investigated using round window electrocochleography (RW ECochG) and electric auditory brainstem responses (EABR). The electrophysiological data were collected prospectively between 1994 and April 2005 from 435 severely and profoundly deaf children who received cochlear implants. The majority of the children were referred with OAE results obtained during the neonatal period. Preoperatively these children underwent RW ECochG, ABR, and often transtympanic EABR testing. A specially constructed 'golf club' electrode was placed into the round window niche during general anesthesia (Aso & Gibson, 1994). Electrodes placed on the vertex and ipsilateral earlobe recorded the ABR. Data were collected using the Medelec® Sensor apparatus until 1998 and afterwards using the Medelec Synergy apparatus. All of the children received a Nucleus® Cochlear implant. Only patients who had full insertion of 22 electrodes were included in the study. The EABR were obtained intraoperatively. Software from the Cochlear® Corporation, Australia was used to generate the EABR via the Nucleus 22 and 24 devices. EABR were sought from all 22 electrodes. The normal values for the latency of eV were established in deaf ears that had no abnormal positive potentials (APP) and achieved speech perception scores over 50% using a cochlear implant (Melbourne category 7) (Ray & Gibson, 2004). The EABR waveform was judged to be abnormal according to the following criteria: either no discernible wave eV or a delay of eV greater than 2 msec on at least 5 of the 22 electrodes tested. Three categories were compared: the first two categories were children with auditory neuropathy sub classified according to the EABR findings. The third category was a control group. Group A Large CM and APP on RWECochG and normal EABR Group B Large CM and APP on RWECochG and abnormal EABR Group C No large CM or APP on RWECochG and normal EABR The outcome after cochlear implantation of the study groups was measured using the Melbourne speech perception categories (Table 1) at 1 yr and 2 yr postsurgery (Dowell, Blamey, & Clark, 1995). All data were statistically evaluated using standard statistical package (Statistica, Release 6.1). Mann-Whitney U Test for nonparametric data was used to test for significant difference at significance level p < 0.005 (two tailed).TABLE 1: Melbourne speech perception categoriesResults 39 of the 435 children that received a cochlear implant had present OAE during the neonatal period and had absent or abnormal ABR. On RW ECochG testing, all of these 39 children showed a large cochlear microphonic (CM) and an abnormal positive potential (APP) in both ears. It is probable that the APP is derived from CM which has not cancelled with phase reversal of the stimulus. Examples of traces are shown in Figure 1.Fig. 1. RW ECochG recordings from 5 different subjects showing APP alternating 8 kHz tone burst at 100 dBnHL.There were a further 21 children who had large CM and APP who had not been tested for OAE during the neonatal period. Thus a total of 60/435 (13.8%) children had the RW ECochG abnormality. The abnormality was most commonly encountered in children who had been born prematurely and had suffered a period of hypoxia (Rea & Gibson, 2003). The EABR results were obtained from all 60 children at the time of their cochlear implant surgery. Electrically evoked ABR (EABR) were normal in 45 (75%) (Fig. 2) and abnormal in 15 (25%) (Fig. 3). The 39 children who had OAE and absent or abnormal ABR showed a similar result: EABR were normal in 32 children (82%) and abnormal in 7 (18%).Fig. 2. Normal implant evoked electrical auditory brainstem response recorded from channels 22–1 in MP1 + 2 mode of stimulation at CL: 228 and PW: 25 μs.Fig. 3. Implant evoked electrical auditory brainstem response traces recorded from an ear with APP and abnormal EABR.Outcomes after Cochlear Implant Surgery The Melbourne Speech perception scores of group A and group B at 1 yr and 2 yr postimplant are given in Table 2. The mean speech perception scores in the control (Group C) group at 1 and 2 yr are 3.93 (SD 2.36) and 5.37 (SD 2.1). It is interesting to note that the speech perception outcome in group A are statistically better than the control group (C) (two tailed p value <0.005, Mann Whitney U Test). Analysis of the 39 children with OAE rather than all 60 children with APP did not alter the conclusions of this paper but it was decided not to include ears with APP in the control group C.TABLE 2: ResultsFurther statistical analysis was performed ANOVA comparing the three groups which shows that the speech perception scores of the three groups are significantly different, but overall ANOVA does not give the order of the three groups. One problem with ANOVA and t-test is that they require a normal distribution of samples (or near normal). Our distributions do not fit these criteria as our samples are not normally distributed. Because ANOVA does not give any specific ordering, a multiple comparisons approach was employed. To perform multiple comparisons procedure, t statistics for all pairs of means were computed and compared with the critical t value for that pair. In these computations pooled standard deviation of all populations was used which increases the power of the tests. Table 3 shows the multiple comparisons t statistics of paired groups in the study.TABLE 3: ResultsFrom the table one can safely conclude that, speech perception scores of group A (APP normal EABR) are better than speech perception scores of groups B (APP abnormal EABR) and C (No APP normal EABR). Also it is clear that speech perception scores of group C are better than speech perception scores of group B. Power calculations of t statistics in comparing groups was undertaken as there are only 15 subjects in category B which showed that despite this discrepancy, the statistical results are valid (Table 4).TABLE 4: ResultsConclusions Forty five of the 60 ears that had APP and abnormal or absent ABR had normal EABR on intraoperative testing and the outcome of cochlear implantation was statistically better than a control group of deaf ears which did not have APP. The EABR findings suggest that for these children, the afferent conduction in the auditory pathway to the level of the inferior colliculus was not disordered—in other words, there was no brainstem neuropathy. The finding that the 45 children with APP and normal EABR performed better using cochlear implants than a group of children with no APP and normal EABR suggests that the higher cortical areas are not adversely affected. Fifteen of the 60 ears (25%) which had APP and absent or abnormal ABR had abnormal EABR and these children only gained limited benefit from a cochlear implant. It would appear that these 15 children did have a neuropathy. The presence of OAE and the absence of ABR can be explained by the presence of OHC when there is a significant loss of IHC. Animal studies support this theory. Studies performed in chinchillas (Harrison, 1998) with carboplatin (an anticancer drug from the same group as cisplatin) have shown an extensive loss of IHC while the OHC remain intact. In these animals, the preserved outer hair cells produced both an electrical signal recorded as the cochlear microphonic (CM), and an acoustic signal recorded as the OAE while the lack of IHC produced a reduced or absent ABR. There are also genetic animal models: the Bronx waltzer mouse (Bock, Yates, & Deol, 1982) and the Beethoven mouse (Bussoli, Kelly, & Steel, 1997) are mouse mutants which have extensive loss of IHC in the presence of OHC. Chronic hypoxia can also produce a similar loss of IHC in guinea pig (Harrison, 2001). This is of interest as many premature infants with auditory neuropathy have suffered periods of hypoxia (Rea & Gibson, 2003) and may explain why a few infants pass OAE screening tests when they have a profound hearing loss on ABR testing (Davis & Wood, 1992). An alternative suggestion is that there is a disorder of the synapse rather than loss of IHC. There is a recent discovery of hair cell synaptic ribbons required for faithful synaptic transmission (Khimich, Nouvain, & Pujol, et al., 2005). Mouse mutants (Basoon and Piccolo mutants) with disordered hair cell synaptic ribbons have been studied but the ABR findings are not similar to auditory neuropathy as the wave V is present but delayed in a manner similar to when the nerve is affected by an acoustic neuroma.References Aso, S., & Gibson, W. P. R.. (1994). Electrocochleography in profoundly deaf children: comparison of promontory and round window techniques. American Journal of Otology, 15, 376–379. Cited Here | View Full Text | PubMed Bock, G. R., Yates, G. K., & Deol, M. S. (1982). Cochlear potentials in the Bronx waltzer mutant mouse. Neuroscience Letters, 34, 19–25. Cited Here | PubMed | CrossRef Buss, E., Labadie, R. F., Brown, C. J., Gross, A. J., Grose, J. H., & Pillsbury, H. C. (2002). Outcome of cochlear implantation in pediatric auditory neuropathy. Otology & Neurotology, 23, 328–332. Cited Here | View Full Text | PubMed | CrossRef Bussoli, T. J., Kelly, A., & Steel, P. (1997). Localisation of the bronx waltzer (bv) deafness gene to mouse chromosome 5. Mammalian Genome, 10, 714–717. Cited Here | PubMed | CrossRef Davis, A., & Wood, S. (1992). The epidemiology of childhood hearing impairment: factors relevant to planning of services. British Journal of Audiology, 26, 72–90. Cited Here Dowell, R. C., Blamey, P. J., & Clark, G. M. (1995). Potentials and limitations of cochlear implantations in children. Annals of Otology, Rhinology, & laryngology, 166 (Suppl), 324–327. Cited Here Gibson, W. P. R., & Sanli, H. (2002). Auditory neuropathy: the use of electrophysiological tests. In T. Kubo, Y. Takahashi, & T. Iwaki (Eds.), Cochlear Implants—An Update (pp. 53–58). The Hague: Kugler Publications. Cited Here Harrison, R. V. (1998). An animal model of auditory neuropathy. Ear & Hearing, 19, 355–361. Cited Here | View Full Text | PubMed | CrossRef Harrison, R.V. (2001). Models of auditory neuropathy based on inner hair cell damage. In Y. Sinninger & A. Starr (Eds), Auditory Neuropathy: A New Perspective on Hearing Disorders (pp. 51–66). Cambridge, MA: Singular Press. Cited Here Khimich, D., Nouvain, R., Pujol, R., Tom Dieck, S., Egner, A., Gundelfinger, E. D., Moser, T. (2005). Haircell synaptic ribbons are essential for synchronous auditory signalling. Nature, 434, 869–893. Cited Here Madden, C., Hilbert, L., Rutter, M., Greinwald, J., & Choo, D. (2002). Pediatric cochlear implantation in auditory neuropathy. Otology & Neurotology, 23, 163–168. Cited Here | View Full Text | PubMed | CrossRef Mason, J. C., De Michelle, A., & Stevens, C. (2003). Cochlear implantation in patients with auditory neuropathy of varied etiologies. Laryngoscope, 113, 45–49. Cited Here | View Full Text | PubMed | CrossRef Mills, D. M. (2006). Determining the cause of hearing loss: differential diagnosis using a comparison of audiometric and otoacoustic emission responses. Ear & Hearing, 27, 508–525. Cited Here | View Full Text | PubMed | CrossRef Miyamoto, R. T., Kirk, K. I., Renshaw, J., & Hussain, D. (1999). Cochlear implantation in auditory neuropathy. Laryngoscope, 109, 181–185. Cited Here | View Full Text | PubMed | CrossRef O'Leary, S. J., Mitchell, T. E., Gibson, W. P., & Sanli, H. (2000). Abnormal positive potentials in round window electrocochleography. American Journal of Otology, 21, 813–818. Cited Here | View Full Text | PubMed Ray, J. D., & Gibson, W. P. R. (2004). Role of auditory stimulation in maturation of the auditory pathway. Acta Oto-laryngologica, 124, 695–699. Cited Here | View Full Text | PubMed | CrossRef Rea, P. A., & Gibson, W. P. R. (2003). Evidence for surviving outer hair cell function in deaf ears. Laryngoscope, 113, 2030–2033. Cited Here | View Full Text | PubMed Shallop, J. K., Peterson, A., Facer, G. W., Fabry, L. B., & Driscoll, C. L. (2001). Cochlear implants in 5 cases of auditory neuropathy: postoperative findings and progress. Laryngoscope, 111, 555–562. Cited Here | View Full Text | PubMed | CrossRef Sininger, Y. S., Hood, L. J., Starr, A., Berlin, C. T., Picton, T. W. (1995). Hearing loss due to auditory neuropathy. Audiology Today, 7, 16–18. Cited Here Starr, A., Picton, T. W., Sininger, Y., Hood, L. J., Berlin, C. I. (1996). Auditory neuropathy. Brain, 119, 119, 741–753. Cited Here Trautwein, P. Hofstetter, P., Wang, J., R., Salvi, Nostrant, A. (1996). Selective inner hair cell loss does not alter distortion product otoacoustic emissions. Hearing Research, 96, 71–82. Cited Here Trautwein, P. G., Sininger, Y. S., & Nelson, R. (2000). Cochlear implantation of auditory neuropathy. Journal of the American Academy of Audiology, 11, 309–15. Cited Here | PubMed © 2007 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc.View full article text


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As I have been actively blogging for 1 month and half so far, I have noticed that many of the most amazing bloggers I am following open their virtual doors to others, allowing them to share their best, most liked or commented posts.
Being extremely grateful to many of them, I would like to do the same for you too! Just to make it different and easily visible, I have created a padlet page where you can add your link and then click on the others'. Therefore you won't be able to comment below.
This padlet shows a better sense of community to me 🙂
Enjoy and share! Let's try it! Click on the padlet, add your name in the title and then your post and a short description of it.
All the best


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This is the intimate and revealing story of Stephen Hawking's life. The audience joins him at home, under the care of his nursing team; in San Jose as he "wows" a packed theatre audience; in Silicon Valley as he meets a team of technicians who hope to speed up his communication system; and as he throws a party for family and friends. HAWKING carefully tells Hawking's life journey, from boyhood under-achiever to PhD genius, and from a healthy cox on the Oxford rowing team to diagnosis of a motor neuron disease, given just two years to live — yet surviving several close brushes with death.
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Concept: Strength of materials
Analysis of a Knotless Flexor Tendon Repair Using a Multifilament Stainless Steel Cable-Crimp System
- The Journal of hand surgery
- Published over 7 years ago
- Discuss
PURPOSE: To compare the biomechanical and technical properties of flexor tendon repairs using a 4-strand cruciate FiberWire (FW) repair and a 2-strand multifilament stainless steel (MFSS) single cross-lock cable-crimp system. METHODS: Eight tests were conducted for each type of repair using cadaver hand flexor digitorum profundus tendons. We measured the required surgical exposure, repair time, and force of flexion (friction) with a custom motor system with an inline load cell and measured ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and 2-mm gap force on a servo-hydraulic testing machine. RESULTS: Repair time averaged less than 7 minutes for the 2-strand MFSS cable crimp repairs and 12 minutes for the FW repairs. The FW repair was performed with 2 cm of exposure and removal of the C-1 and A-3 pulleys. The C-1 and A-3 pulleys were retained in each of the MFSS cable crimp repairs with less than 1 cm of exposure. Following the FW repair, the average increase in friction was 89% compared with an average of 53% for the MFSS repairs. Six of the 8 MFSS specimens achieved the UTS before any gap had occurred, whereas all of the FW repairs had more than 2 mm of gap before the UTS, indicating that the MFSS was a stiffer repair. The average UTS appeared similar for both groups. CONCLUSIONS: We describe a 2-strand multifilament stainless steel single cross-lock cable crimp flexor repair system. In our studies of this cable crimp system, we found that surgical exposure, average repair times, and friction were reduced compared to the traditional 4-strand cruciate FW repair. While demonstrating these benefits, the crimp repair also produced a stiff construct and high UTS and 2-mm gap force. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: A cable crimp flexor tendon repair may offer an attractive alternative to current repair methods. The benefits may be important especially for flexor tendon repair in zone 2 or for the repair of multiple tendons.
An elastic second skin
- Nature materials
- Published about 4 years ago
- Discuss
We report the synthesis and application of an elastic, wearable crosslinked polymer layer (XPL) that mimics the properties of normal, youthful skin. XPL is made of a tunable polysiloxane-based material that can be engineered with specific elasticity, contractility, adhesion, tensile strength and occlusivity. XPL can be topically applied, rapidly curing at the skin interface without the need for heat- or light-mediated activation. In a pilot human study, we examined the performance of a prototype XPL that has a tensile modulus matching normal skin responses at low strain (<40%), and that withstands elongations exceeding 250%, elastically recoiling with minimal strain-energy loss on repeated deformation. The application of XPL to the herniated lower eyelid fat pads of 12 subjects resulted in an average 2-grade decrease in herniation appearance in a 5-point severity scale. The XPL platform may offer advanced solutions to compromised skin barrier function, pharmaceutical delivery and wound dressings.
High-strength cellular ceramic composites with 3D microarchitecture
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
- Published over 6 years ago
- Discuss
To enhance the strength-to-weight ratio of a material, one may try to either improve the strength or lower the density, or both. The lightest solid materials have a density in the range of 1,000 kg/m(3); only cellular materials, such as technical foams, can reach considerably lower values. However, compared with corresponding bulk materials, their specific strength generally is significantly lower. Cellular topologies may be divided into bending- and stretching-dominated ones. Technical foams are structured randomly and behave in a bending-dominated way, which is less weight efficient, with respect to strength, than stretching-dominated behavior, such as in regular braced frameworks. Cancellous bone and other natural cellular solids have an optimized architecture. Their basic material is structured hierarchically and consists of nanometer-size elements, providing a benefit from size effects in the material strength. Designing cellular materials with a specific microarchitecture would allow one to exploit the structural advantages of stretching-dominated constructions as well as size-dependent strengthening effects. In this paper, we demonstrate that such materials may be fabricated. Applying 3D laser lithography, we produced and characterized micro-truss and -shell structures made from alumina-polymer composite. Size-dependent strengthening of alumina shells has been observed, particularly when applied with a characteristic thickness below 100 nm. The presented artificial cellular materials reach compressive strengths up to 280 MPa with densities well below 1,000 kg/m(3).
Thigh muscle specific strength and the risk of incident knee osteoarthritis: The influence of sex and greater body mass index
- Arthritis care & research
- Published over 3 years ago
- Discuss
To determine whether lower thigh muscle specific strength increases risk of incident radiographic knee osteoarthritis (RKOA), and whether there exists a sex-specific relationship between thigh muscle specific strength and BMI.
Preparation of biosilica structures from frustules of diatoms and their applications: current state and perspectives.
- Applied microbiology and biotechnology
- Published over 7 years ago
- Discuss
Frustules, the silica shells of diatoms, have unique porous architectures with good mechanical strength. In recent years, biologists have learned more about the mechanism of biosilica shells formation; meanwhile, physicists have revealed their optical and microfluidic properties, and chemists have identified ways to modify them into various materials while maintaining their hierarchical structures. These efforts have provided more opportunities to use biosilica structures in microsystems and other commercial products. This review focuses on the preparation of biosilica structures and their applications, especially in the development of microdevices. We discuss existing methods of extracting biosilica from diatomite and diatoms, introduce methods of separating biosilica structures by shape and sizes, and summarize recent studies on diatom-based devices used for biosensing, drug delivery, and energy applications. In addition, we introduce some new findings on diatoms, such as the elastic deformable characteristics of biosilica structures, and offer perspectives on planting diatom biosilica in microsystems.
Novel naturally crosslinked electrospun nanofibrous chitosan mats for guided bone regeneration membranes: material characterization and cytocompatibility.
- Journal of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine
- Published over 7 years ago
- Discuss
Guided bone regeneration (GBR) barrier membranes are used to prevent soft tissue infiltration into the graft space during dental procedures that involve bone grafting. Chitosan materials have shown promise as GBR barrier membranes, due to their biocompatibility and predictable biodegradability, but degradation rates may still be too high for clinical applications. In this study, chitosan GBR membranes were electrospun using chitosan (70% deacetylated, 312 kDa, 5.5 w/v%), with or without the addition of 5 or 10 mm genipin, a natural crosslinking agent, in order to extend the degradation to meet the clinical target time frame of 4-6 months. Membranes were evaluated for fibre diameter, tensile strength, biodegradation rate, bond structure and cytocompatibility. Genipin addition, at 5 or 10 mm, resulted in median fibre diameters 184, 144 and 154 nm for uncrosslinked, 5 mm and 10 mm crosslinked, respectively. Crosslinking, examined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, showed a decrease in N-H stretch as genipin levels were increased. Genipin-crosslinked mats exhibited only 22% degradation based on mass loss, as compared to 34% for uncrosslinked mats at 16 weeks in vitro. The ultimate tensile strength of the mats was increased by 165% to 32 MPa with 10 mm crosslinking as compared to the uncrosslinked mats. Finally, genipin-crosslinked mats supported the proliferation of SAOS-2 cells in a 5 day growth study, similar to uncrosslinked mats. These results suggest that electrospun chitosan mats may benefit from genipin crosslinking and have the potential to meet clinical degradation time frames for GBR applications. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Compressed orally disintegrating tablets: excipients evolution and formulation strategies
- Expert opinion on drug delivery
- Published over 7 years ago
- Discuss
Introduction: Orally disintegrating tablets (ODTs) have emerged as one of the novel solid oral dosage forms with a potential to deliver a wide range of drug candidates to both paediatric and geriatric patient populations. Of the plethora of available technologies, compression of excipients offers a cost-effective and translatable methodology for the manufacture of ODTs. Areas covered: The review is a modest endeavour from the authors to assemble literature published over the last couple of decades on formulation development of compressed ODT. It describes the main ODT excipients used since the introduction of this dosage form in the 1990s and explores the switch from cellulose-based excipients towards sugar/polyols. Furthermore, it unfolds the key properties of ODT fillers, binders and disintegrants with an emphasis on their advantages and drawbacks. The review also provides a critical assessment of the various strategies employed for performance enhancement of compressed ODT with a focus on the underlying mechanisms for fast disintegration and acceptable mechanical strength. Expert opinion: Recent increase in the total number of compression-based technologies for ODT development promises to reduce the manufacturing cost of this dosage form in the future. However, some of the developed methods may affect the stability of tablets due to susceptibility to moisture, collapse of pores or the generation of less stable polymorphs which require rigorous testing prior to commercialization.
A new method for the continuous production of single dosed controlled release matrix systems based on hot-melt extruded starch; analysis of relevant process parameters and implementation of an in-process control
PURPOSE: In the present study we evaluated a novel processing technique for the continuous production of hotmelt extruded controlled release matrix systems. A cutting technique derived from plastics industry, where it is widely used for cutting of cables and wires was adapted into the production line. Extruded strands were shaped by a rotary-fly cutter. Special focus is laid on the development of a process analytical technology by evaluating signals obtained from the servo control of the rotary fly cutter. The intention is to provide a better insight into the production process and to offer the ability to detect small variations in process-variables. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A co-rotating twin-screw extruder ZSE 27 HP-PH from Leistritz (Nürnberg, Germany) was used to plasticize the starch; critical extrusion parameters were recorded. Still elastic strands were shaped by a rotary fly-cutter type Dynamat 20 from Metzner (Neu-Ulm, Germany). Properties of the final products were analyzed via digital image analysis to point out critical parameters influencing the quality. Important aspects were uniformity of diameter, height, roundness, weight and variations in the cutting angle. Stability of the products was measured by friability tests and by determining the crushing strength of the final products. Drug loading studies up to 70% were performed to evaluate the capacity of the matrix and to prove the technological feasibility. Changes in viscosities during API addition were analyzed by a Haake Minilab capillary rheometer. X-ray studies were performed to investigate molecular structures of the matrices. RESULTS: External shapes of the products were highly affected by die-swelling of the melt. Reliable reproducibility concerning uniformity of mass could be achieved even for high production rates (>2500 cuts/min). Both mechanical strength and die swelling of the products could be linked to the ratio of amylose to amylopectin. Formulations containing up to 70% of API could still be processed. Viscosity measurements revealed the plasticizing effect caused by API addition. Dissolution data proved the suitability of extruded starch matrices as a sustained release dosage form. Monitoring of consumed energies during the cutting process could be linked to changes in viscosity. The established PAT system enables the detection of small variations in material properties and can be an important tool to further improve process stability.
α-Tricalcium phosphate cements modified with β-dicalcium silicate and tricalcium aluminate: Physicochemical characterization, in vitro bioactivity and cytotoxicity
- Journal of biomedical materials research. Part B, Applied biomaterials
- Published about 6 years ago
- Discuss
Biocompatibility, injectability and in situ self-setting are characteristics of calcium phosphate cements which make them promising materials for a wide range of clinical applications in traumatology and maxillo-facial surgery. One of the main disadvantages is their relatively low strength which restricts their use to nonload-bearing applications. α-Tricalcium phosphate (α-C3 P) cement sets into calcium-deficient hydroxyapatite (CDHA), which is biocompatible and plays an essential role in the formation, growth and maintenance of tissue-biomaterial interface. β-Dicalcium silicate (β-C2 S) and tricalcium aluminate (C3 A) are Portland cement components, these compounds react with water to form hydrated phases that enhance mechanical strength of the end products. In this study, setting time, compressive strength (CS) and in vitro bioactivity and biocompatibility were evaluated to determine the influence of addition of β-C2 S and C3 A to α-C3 P-based cement. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy were used to investigate phase composition and morphological changes in cement samples. Addition of C3 A resulted in cements having suitable setting times, but low CS, only partial conversion into CDHA and cytotoxicity. However, addition of β-C2 S delayed the setting times but promoted total conversion into CDHA by soaking in simulated body fluid and strengthened the set cement over the limit strength of cancellous bone. The best properties were obtained for cement added with 10 wt % of β-C2 S, which showed in vitro bioactivity and cytocompatibility, making it a suitable candidate as bone substitute. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 2014.
Development of monetite-nanosilica bone cement: A preliminary study
- Journal of biomedical materials research. Part B, Applied biomaterials
- Published over 6 years ago
- Discuss
In this paper, we reported the results of our efforts in developing DCPA/nanosilica composite orthopedic cement. It is motivated by the significances of DCPA and silicon in bone physiological activities. More specifically, this paper examined the effects of various experimental parameters on the properties of such composite cements. In this work, DCPA cement powders were synthesized using a microwave synthesis technique. Mixing colloidal nanosilica directly with synthesized DCPA cement powders can significantly reduce the washout resistance of DCPA cement. In contrast, a DCPA-nanosilica cement powder prepared by reacting Ca(OH)2 , H3 PO4 and nanosilica together showed good washout resistance. The incorporation of nanosilica in DCPA can improve compressive strength, accelerate cement solidification, and intensify surface bioactivity. In addition, it was observed that by controlling the content of NaHCO3 during cement preparation, the resulting composite cement properties could be modified. Allowing for the development of different setting times, mechanical performance and crystal features. It is suggested that DCPA-nanosilica composite cement can be a potential candidate for bone healing applications. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B, 2014.


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By witnessradio.org Team
Less than two decades, former Kaweeri Coffee Planation limited evictees who were settled on Block 168, plots 22 and 23 Kanseera word, East Division, Mubende district are being evicted again by a local businessman.
The 300 people are part of over 4000 victims who were violently evicted from their land in the villages of Kitemba, Luwunga, Kijunga and Kiryamakobe, Mubende district on August 18, 2001 by Ugandan army and police on behalf of Kaweeri Coffee Planation limited. Kaweeri Coffee Plantation Ltd is a full subsidiary of the German Neumann Kaffee Gruppe (NKG) based in Hamburg
Kaweesi Swaibu, 70 who's part of the 300 claims that he was a resident of Kitemba village, Maduddu Sub County on Block 91, plot 1 before the Kaweeri eviction. "i was resettled by one Emmanuel Kayiwa Bukoo who claimed to be the landlord of our former land. I was given five (5) acres of land on Block 168, Plot 22/23 which totals to 322.5 Hectares.
He explained that before he accepted to be resettled, his former landlord (Kayiwa) claimed that he was the rightful owner of that land and assured them of security from another eviction.
Federesi Madina, 68 Years, claims she was compensated with three(3) acres of land after her land was forcefully taken by Kaweeri Coffee Plantation Ltd to grow coffee. "I was surprised to hear that there are three people claiming ownership of our land. I signed documents accepting the offer but I am being evicted, why should I be displaced in my own country? Asked Federesi.
Businessman Kawesi George a resident of Mityana said he bought 322.5 hectares on Block 168, Plot 28 from one Swaibu Lubega Wagwa and he wants what he called trespassers to voluntarily vacate his land, which he wants to use for his business.
Emmanuel Bukoo Kayiwa, said he entered into agreement with some of the Kaweeri evictees from Block 91 plot 1 after he rightfully acquired land on Block 168, Plot 22, 23 and 28 Mubende District Land Board. "I am shocked to hear that someone else has a title on the same land. Why would a public office issue more than one title on the same land" Asked Kayiwa.
All natives facing eviction from the said land, lost their original land to Kaweeri Coffee Plantation Limited two decades ago.


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Home cleaning Solutions - Company Aspects and also Importance
Housekeeping solutions are treatments to preserve neatness as well as tidiness at different home kinds. Business homes hire specialist научете повече тук carriers to get their office pristine as well as create a great workplace. Besides, housekeeping company provide solutions for houses, estates, healthcare facilities as well as other facilities.
The development of housekeeping services India has actually observed in the current times is worth taking a note. Several professional business around the nation are associated with offering basic as well as sophisticated house cleaning companies. Go via the complying with conversation to find out the kind of services anticipated from housekeeping experts.
Floor Cleaning:
Expert housekeeping solutions offer cleaning up services for all sorts of floors, consisting of concrete floorings marble floors, wooden floors and tiled floorings. Passages, entry locations and stairs are also cleansed by these specialists. Cleaning of flooring includes services like sweeping and wiping.
Carpet Cleaning:
Specialist housekeeping deals carpeting cleaning as a component of their bundle. Carpeting shampooing as well as vacuum cleaning are the companies supplied by these professionals.
Garbage disposal Services:
Housekeeping services are useful in getting the waste from house or workplace got rid of quickly without facing any type of hassle. Many of the house as well as office owners find it frustrating to dispose off the garbage and also other kinds of wastes. Getting the garbage gotten rid of off with expert solutions is a sensible solution.
Furniture and Upholstery Cleaning:
Furnishings items like sofas capture dust and also dust with the flow of time, however cleaning them is a big difficulty. You can relay on specialist companies like residence keeping to keep these items clean. These services are suitable to upholstery and different equipments.
Odor and also Insect Control:
Anther activity executed by the professional housekeeping company are controlling bad odors that may result from various resources. Leak of water and also flooding water are a few of the causes for bad odors. This services can also be employed for pest control in your homes, workplaces and also estates. Rats, rodents, reptiles, roaches as well as lots of sorts of pests present a fantastic problem for the building proprietors. Obtaining them ended making use of experts is a good solution.
Glass Cleaning:
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Building Maintenance:
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Housekeeping services could be hired for commercial buildings like shopping center as well as department shops. Healthcare facilities as well as wellness care centers are additionally among the establishments that can take benefit of these solutions. Housekeeping provider utilize licensed cleaning products as well as remedies, newest cleansing equipments and also secure and also effective strategies to provide finest cleaning services.
Housekeeping upkeep companies are treatments to preserve sanitation and order of points at various home types. Massive business homes hire housekeeping maintenance companies in specialist domain name to maintain their workplaces spick-and-span as well as produce a hygienic working atmosphere.
Housekeeping company carriers offer solutions for homes, estates, health centers and also various other facilities.
Specialist housekeeping companies supply cleaning solutions for all types of floorings, including concrete floorings marble floors, wood floors and tiled floors. Housekeeping services additionally entail expert glass cleaning solutions, particularly for corporate homes with big glasses set up in their facilities. Housekeeping solution companies make use of licensed cleaning products and solutions, newest cleaning devices and risk-free as well as efficient techniques to supply most desirable cleansing solutions.
Big business homes employ housekeeping maintenance solutions in specialist domain name to keep their offices pristine and also develop a sanitary working environment.


text: Many pertaining to school organizations and communities exclude, voluntarily or not, everything what they judge to be different of a culture that conducts our society. This exclusion still more cruel if is analyzed by the optics of the carrying children of Necessidades Educativas Especiais (NEE), children whom they possess in its motor development, physical or cognitivo some peculiarity differs that them from its pairs, demanding a special treatment. Such fact makes with that ' ' problema' ' presented if it becomes still more preoccupying, since the school is space of meeting of diverse citizens (each one its way) and is, or at least would have to be, development and formation space. Space that ' ' (…) it assured to all the cultural and scientific formation for the personal, professional life and citizen, making possible an independent relation, critical and construtiva' ' (LIBNEO, 1998, p.2). It would have to be the space of where conscientious citizens appeared, capable to initiate a process of change of the picture of an exculpatory society as ours. Several had been the scholars as Oak (2004), Sant' Ana (2005), Mantoan (2002), Lopes (2007) had perceived this exclusion in the schools and in them they bring interesting quarrels on the reality faced for the managers and the professors in regular schools of the nets of education. Lopes (2007) in the alert one that the inclusion arrives at the school as a revolutionary, pretensiosa metanarrativa being necessary to examine withheld it and carefully what ' ' (…) it does not mean to fight to invibializar it, but it means an attempt to think it stops beyond the reducionista binomial of the enclosed one or the salvacionista character that the inclusion seems carregar' ' (LOPES, 2007, P. 1). That is, at the moment to insert children with NEE we do not have to make it as assistencialista measure, much less to park only in quarrels of binary oppositions between inclusion and exclusion.


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Jeff Carlson- Head Baseball Coach (retired), Elk Grove HS (CA)
This episode is brought to you by baseballcloud and Axebats.
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During this episode of Ahead of the Curve, I interview Jeff Carlson, Ex-Head Baseball Coach at Elk Grove Baseball in Elk Grove, California. Jeff Carlson shares his wealth of knowledge for father's that are coaches and have kids playing baseball. Jeff also offers valuable tips on how to communicate openly and accurately with players and coaches, how to handle parents that are concerned about their kid's playing time, and what have been beneficial strategies for fundraisers.
Episode Highlights:
- How did Jeff Carlson get involved in baseball coaching?
- What advice does Jeff Carlson give to those transitioning from coaching to focusing on family?
- What has been Jeff's experience with his two sons playing baseball?
- What did the conversations look like with Jeff's sons when he had to critique their playing?
- Was there ever a time with his sons playing baseball where he had to push them to practice more?
- What was Jeff Carlson's experience like at Elk Grove when he first started?
- What are some different practical ways that Jeff was able to get players prepared to succeed?
- How did Jeff turn his coaching approach into a system that he could apply?
- What are Jeff Carlson's thoughts on the power of communication?
- What is the fine line between effective communication and something they may not need to worry about?
- How did Jeff Carlson deal with parents feedback about their kids not playing in games?
- What hard rules did Jeff Carlson set out each year?
- What were his teams' best fundraisers?
- Did his staff interview with him or through the school's athletic director?
- What is something they did in practice that his players loved?
- What books and resources that have benefited Jeff Carlson?
3 Key Points:
- Find ways to get your team to spend time together before and after practice, such as having a clubhouse.
- You can't coach and communicate the same way with each player. It has to be tailored to their individual personalities.
- Informal conversations with coaching candidates have been Jeff's interviewing process.
Tweetable Quotes:
- "For your kids, always try to challenge them. Don't be afraid that they might fail. When they learn failure at an early age, it's just going to make them stronger and a better person and player down the road." – Jeff Carlson (04:15)
- "As far as building culture, building communication as a head coach, I think that it is important that when a kid makes a mistake, that maybe you put your arm around him and tell him." – Jeff Carlson (09:22)
- "My main goal was about developing players, so that they could play at the next level." – Jeff Carlson (16:21)
- "My philosophy was, 'If you're not hitting, you aren't going to be able to play at the next level.'" – Jeff Carlson (26:03)
- "We always brought the kids in and we would talk to them where they are at and tell them their roles. And we tell the kids, 'We are going to be honest. You may not like what you hear. But, we are going to be honest to you.'" – Jeff Carlson (33:33)
- "My rule was always, the player can always come to me at the appropriate time and discuss playing time. I was not going to discuss it with the parents, ever." – Jeff Carlson (40:01)
- "I think our budget when I finished was about $100,000 to run our program, which is a lot."– Jeff Carlson (46:00)
- "Try to surround yourself with the best possible coaches you can find."– Jeff Carlson (47:30)
Resources Mentioned:
- Ahead of the Curve Podcast
- Twitter: @AOTC_podcast
- Jeff Carlson: Twitter
- Jeff Carlson Email: firstname.lastname@example.com


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Key West Food and Wine Festival
Coming up! Key West Food & Wine Festival – Jan. 21-26, 2014
Key West, the wine-and-dine capital of the Florida Keys will once again host the Key West Food & Wine Festival in late January, 2014. If you love to eat and drink, you simply can't miss Key
The Key West Food & Wine Festival is a six-day event that showcases the very best food and wine in the Keys. The jam-packed festival itinerary features tastings, parties, tours, contests and seminars. You can learn from an executive chef how to prepare traditional Peruvian ceviche, show off your coconut bowling skills or tour some of the most beautiful kitchens in Key West.
Admission to most Key West Food & Wine Festival events is through advance ticket purchase. Festival events range in cost from free (coconut bowling and the Key West Wine Market) to quite pricey ($385 for three festival parties, one seminar and a VIP gift bag). If you're visiting Key West on a budget (as most people do!), check out "Girls Night Out" at Square One ($10) or "Pizza and Prosecco" at Roostica ($35), one of Key West's newest restaurants.
If you're a die-hard foodie, however, you may want to make room in your wallet to attend the biggest and most important tasting and competition in the Lower Keys – the 29th Annual Master Chef Classic. The event, which benefits Key West's Monroe Association of ReMARCable Citizens, features premium wine, appetizers, entrees and desserts prepared by the best and most talented chefs in the Keys. Just looking for a buzz? Then you can't miss Duval "UNCORKED" 2014, a mile-long shopping, food-tasting and wine-sampling extravaganza.
Visit the Key West Food & Wine Festival website for more information and to purchase tickets. Don't forget to book your Key West hotel or rental car early to secure the best rates!
Article by Kate Bradley
Twitter: http://twitter.com/partyinkeywest
Find Key West Hotels Click Here
To book an activity reservation on the Key West Party directory
To find your Key West Party location for Key West, Florida go to: http://www.PartyInKeyWest.com.


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Terrorists are celebrating the arrival of the new US president Donald Trump who recently offered them the ammos to take on the US. His recent absolute executive order shunning the citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries namely Libya, Iran, Iraq, Somalia, Syria and Sudan and Yemen dazed and quaked the world. First, no one expected a sane person to use presidential writ to ban others from entering his country on grounds of being Muslims or what he conjures to be terrorist without any scientific or watertight evidence.
The Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) and other terrorist groups must be having a good time for getting what they wanted freely and easily. I don't know if Trump and his security advisors know that what they unleashed is exactly what the terrorist groups employ namely discriminating, criminalising and demonising all those who don't subscribe to their ideology. Refer to how the ISIL and other international terrorist groups have been hijacking and killing even beheading Westerners simply because they're infidels. If anything, discrimination and division have always been the tool of terrorism as it originates from neo-religions that sired the seed of destruction wherever they converted people.
Why wasn't Saudi Arabia included in Trump's ban now that the symbols of Islam such as the holy cities of Mecca and Medina are in Saudi Arabia? The reason is simple: it is in bed with the US. What a double standard! I think Indonesia has many more Muslims. Why isn't it affected? Isn't this pure islamophobia that Trump displays pointlessly? What of homegrown terrorists that have recently become a thorn inside Europe?
When an academic Blaney III referred to Trump as a "mortal danger for the US," I thought that he had gone to too far. With Trump, the US might lose big time unless corrective measures are taken. Trump's mantra during the 2016 campaigns showed vividly how he hates people of colours mainly blacks whom he and his father once denied the right to rent their condos. Additionally, Trump seems to add Muslims to the people of colour. He once asserted that Africa needs to be recolonised for 100 years.
With the majority in both houses of Congress and Senate compounded with his racist history and ignorance of America's foreign policy, Trump becomes dangerous for Africa as the head of the country leading the global war on terror. The little time he has been in power has been dogged by controversy that has prompted his predecessor to criticise his populist policies.
By Nkwazi Mhango


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How can we make traditionally expensive expert knowledge available for free for social causes and communities in need?
Sharing professional advice freely & openly
I make my living as a consultant, and as an organizer of conferences. Therefore I'm well aware of the prices that both organizations and individuals pay for advice, learning, and access to knowledge.
Yet, not all communities/organizations/individuals can afford to hire experts if they need input of some sort or another. Or worse, they have to resort to fake experts who seem to work more cheaply, but also deliver worse or the wrong kind of advice.


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Exhibits + Show + Mission
Fasten your seatbelts for an action-packed and immersive adventure to Mars! Using imagination, wit and drama, students will engage in hands-on experiments, research and analysis while solving challenges on a realistic simulated space mission. This experience cultivates the confidence and skills essential to future success, including problem-solving, critical thinking, communication and teamwork.
Our 2 ½ hour simulated space mission is available for grades 5-12.
What's Included
- Access to self-guided exhibits, hands-on maker space, interactive floor activities & telescopes
- One planetarium show
- One 2.5 hour simulated space mission
- Available Thursdays & Fridays from September 19, 2019 to May 29, 2020
- Open to grades 5-12 only
- 2 times daily: Morning (8:45 AM – 1:45 PM) or Afternoon (9:30 AM – 2:45 PM)
- Morning mission groups must arrive by 8:45 AM.
- Afternoon mission groups must stay until 2:45 PM.
- Check Available Dates. (Look under Voyage to Mars)
- Don't see a date that works for you? Contact email@example.com.
- $750 for 32 students
- 11 adults (including teacher) admitted free
- Extra students require advanced approval and cost $25 each if approval is granted.
- Extra chaperones cost $15 each.
- Please email our Education Programs Coordinator at firstname.lastname@example.com for approval of extra students and/or chaperones
- Download Mission Materials
- All Mission Materials must be completed prior to your visit.
- Review our FAQs
- NEW! Download our Chaperone Guide in English or Spanish
- NEW! Galaxy Guide


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State transportation officials are considering a plan that would earmark $390 million to help reduce highway deaths by straightening roads, improving lighting and adding guardrails.
On May 30, the Texas Transportation Commission ordered state Department of Transportation officials to identify strategies to cut the state's roadway fatalities — typically about 3,900 annually — in half by 2035, the Houston Chronicle reported.
Laura Ryan, a commission member, said for the first half of 2019, Texas had a confirmed 1,857 fatalities along roads, which are about 50 less than the first six months last year.
"Fifty is a drop in the bucket based on the (fatality) number," Ryan said, advising TxDOT to figure out solutions.
Later this month, commissioners are expected to approve particulars of the safety plan that would dedicate $600 million over two years in an attempt to eradicate roadway fatalities in the state.
"If the $600 million is spent wisely and it does affect the goal we have set for ourselves, it would be the best $600 million we ever spent," transportation commission Chairman Bruce Bugg said. "But the emphasis is on the word wisely."
The Houston region leads major metro areas in the nation in avoidable roadway deaths, an investigation by the newspaper revealed last year.
Funds specifically for safety represents fewer than 5% of TxDOT's $76.2 billion 10-year Unified Transportation Program, which transportation commissioners are slated to approve sometime in August.
"We have dramatically under-invested in transportation safety for a while, from a cost-benefit analysis point of view," said Jay Blazek Crossley, who through his nonprofit Farm & City advocates for safer streets. "Every dollar proposed of this $600 million will have way more bang for the buck than every other dollar in the UTP."
Officials in TxDOT's 27 districts will have extensive authority over how money is expended in those areas. Each district will create a four-year safety plan, specifying projects proposed for the money's use.
"They'll look and see their hot spots," said Michael Lee, director of engineering and safety operations for TxDOT.
Possible maintenances or enhancements run from the costly — such as a multi-million-dollar overpass — to simple repairs such as reflective markings on the sides of roads and more obvious threatening signs.
Information from AP via: Houston Chronicle, http://www.houstonchronicle.com


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giuliano pappadopoli
Giuliano Pappadopoli (1977) is an Italian architect and designer. He founded GPatelier in 2016 where he is responsible for direction and management. He studied at Polytechnic University of Bari (Italy) where he graduated with a five years Master's degree in Architecture in 2008. Additionally, he has attended a Technical Institute with a focus on industrial design, mechanical drawings, and technology. Since his childhood, he constantly took part in his father's woodworking shop where, through 20 years experience, he practiced and developed excellent skills in Furniture Design and Interiors. In 2018 he started to develop his own furniture collection, which will be soon available for purchase online. Before founding his own Amsterdam-based Atelier he worked at leading architectural offices such as LEVS architects. He has taken part of several design competitions, in which he varyingly ranked amongst the highest positions. Currently, he collaborates with architects, artists, designers, and makers, making GPatelier a hub for resonating structural experimentation, investigating the influence of architectural elements on self-creation of local communities as well as the contribution of community participation in architectural development. Thanks to his multidisciplinary background and research-based design method, Giuliano produces provocative, philosophical and subversive works, which also brought him into the art field with several exhibitions and installations. Well known for his sketches, designing skills, and concept development capabilities, he believes architecture should not aim at self-satisfaction mania, but rather, in terms of human and environmental factors. Challenging the conventional, he likes to bring architecture into any aspect of life and into any discipline. He directs his work towards a smart and more sustainable future through participatory planning, where the emotions and sentiments of objects, spaces, and places come from people and the other way around, in a multisensory experience.


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Toll Free: 877-297-0014 Direct: 831-462-8243 Fax: 831-462-8246
SES COVID-19 Update: We are open for business. Solar Electric Supply is part of our Nation's critical infrastructure as defined in the
"Memorandum on Identification of Essential Critical Infrastructure Workers During COVID-19 Response", issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on March 19, 2020.
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Contact us for wholesale pricing, solar module system design or reviews for the Kyocera KD260GX-LFB2 black frame solar panel.


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In Canada, biofuel policies have helped to reduce GHG emissions, but according to a new report from Canada's Ecofiscal Commission, these reductions have come at a significant cost. The report, Course Correction: It's Time to Rethink Canadian Biofuel Policies, examines the extent to which biofuel policies have achieved their stated objectives, and whether these policies have been cost-effective for Canadians.
Course Correction finds that these biofuel policies have reduced GHG emissions by an average of 3 Mt per year from 2010 to 2015, an amount less than one-half of one percent of Canada's total GHG emissions. These small reductions have been very expensive, however. The total consumer and taxpayer cost has been approximately $640 million per year. On a per-tonne basis, the estimated average cost of the emissions reductions have ranged from $128 to $185, far greater than the cost achievable with a carbon price, such as the ones already available and coming by 2018 to all Canadian provinces as per yesterday's Federal announcement.
An analysis of the policies' other objectives appears unlikely to justify these high costs. When it comes to support for rural communities, the federal government's own cost–benefit analysis for its renewable fuel mandate found that economic costs far exceeded benefits. Further, the Ecofiscal report finds that impacts on air pollution and on the development of next-generation biofuels have been negligible.
As a result, the Ecofiscal Commission recommends that all production subsidies be terminated as initially planned, and that renewable fuel mandates be gradually phased out. In their place, the Commission recommends that governments across the country continue to develop a rising pan-Canadian carbon price. The report also notes that as part of the policy transition, governments should consider complementing carbon pricing with flexible performance standards and broad funding for research and development to spur the shift to low-carbon transportation.


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Chiropractic Treatment for Arthritis
Chiropractic care is all about restoring the health of your spine and other joints in your body. If you have arthritis, and your condition is creating range of motion injuries in the head, neck, shoulders, hip and spine, chiropractic treatment for arthritis can definitely help.
Arthritis is joint inflammation, and the continued swelling over time damages the joints. While no one can cure arthritis, it can certainly be helped by chiropractic care. When joints swell and become deformed and damaged, the joints become misaligned. They just don't work like they should. For example, arthritis in the spine can cause vertebrae to misalign. When the vertebrae are "stuck" for more than seven days, small tears occur in the spinal discs. Over time, the tears can become larger, and the disc begins to break down.
Restoring Function
Chiropractic treatment for arthritis can restore your joint to proper alignment and function, and that reduces the inflammation that is causing the arthritis in the first place. We suggest regular visits for arthritis patients. Most of our patients see improvement in four to ten visits.
During your visit, we will perform a chiropractic adjustment, meaning a manual manipulation of the spinal vertebrae. We use specific movements to improve your range of motion in the joint, and to reduce nerve irritation which is causing you pain.
We might also recommend other treatments like massage therapy and myofascial therapy for soft tissue problems involving muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Many of these hands-on therapies are designed to break up scar tissue and improve blood flow and tissue elasticity. We may even recommend specific stretches for improved flexibility and strengthening exercises to improve stability of a joint.
Benefits of Chiropractic Treatment for Arthritis
Rarely do we see an arthritis patient who cannot be helped by chiropractic care. Individuals with greatly restricted range-of-motion due to arthritis do experience fairly dramatic results from chiropractic treatment for arthritis–reduced pain, improved flexibility, and better range of motion.
Just remember that we use gentle manipulations to relieve joint tenderness, to slowly stretch your joints and to increase your range of motion. As chiropractors, we focus on the relationship between structure and function—the better your spinal structure is, the better you will function.
If your joint structure isn't right, the joint won't work as it was designed to. Chiropractors have great success restoring function to arthritic joints.
Click here to to make an appointment and have your arthritis assessed!


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Soon after I had written last week's column about improving protection at local levels, I found a structure already in place that was based on a similar idea. This was in relation to the Community Policing that that present Inspector General has instituted.
His determination to establish mechanisms for this is in line with the Mahinda Chintanaya commitment to ensuring consultation at village level. Sadly I don't think any other government department has moved coherently to implement this idea, and I can only hope that the present IGP does not fall prey, as his most illustrious predecessor Osmund de Silva did, to resentment on the part of politicians who want to provide solutions to all problems themselves. Osmund de Silva found that his efforts to develop a productive relationship between the police service and village communities was looked on with suspicion by the politicians of a newly independent country who thought they were the heirs to all the authority that the British had exercised.
So, whereas the British hierarchichal system, with the police seeing themselves as representatives of a government that was at a remove from the people, has changed in Britain, with greater understanding of the community basis of democracy, it continues in Sri Lanka. And though the IGP has tried to change things, I suspect old habits will die hard in many parts of the country, not least because of the different layers of politicians who insist on controlling things themselves – as was tragically illustrated in the recent reign of terror in Sabaragamuwa.
Last week saw yet another example of the slow erosion of systems that makes justice so alien a concept for our people. In Parliament we received yet another Bill cointaining amendments to a previous Bill. It will be taken up only later, so I was not surprised that the original Bill was not available, since anyone interested could look it up in the interim in the Parliament Library. But once again I found that the notes at the side of the document, which are supposed to sum up the content of each clause, simply noted that the clauses were amendments to previous clauses.
The summing up, I should note, had been included at the beginning of the Bill. This does not happen always, so one should be thankful that this time at least anyone looking at the Bill could find out at a glance what was happening where. But I fail to understand why a custom designed for convenience, to allow anyone looking at the Bill to see immediately the impact of each clause, is now ignored. The only place where it still prevails is in the last two clauses of the Bill, where a note on the side tells us exactly what is in the Bill itself. One notable piece of information thus highlighted is that, where versions of the Bill in different languages are different, the Sinhala text shall prevail.
After some depression about not achieving very much with regard to either Reconciliation, or the Human Rights Action Plan, I was heartened by several factors last week. In the four Divisional Secretariat meetings I attended in the Wanni, it was clear that things were improving all the time. Several problems were brought to my attention, but these were largely practical problems, similar to those prevalent in other parts of the country. The impact of inclement weather on agriculture, the need for better roads for rural connectivity, and for better electricity connections, shortages of teachers for essential subjects, are national problems, not consequences of the conflict.
Of course much more needs to be done for the people of the Wanni, given what they suffered, and for the first time I felt sad that I cannot contribute more to education, since the Ministry as it now stands is incapable of increasing teacher supply or ensuring better distribution. But, with regard to the other matters, there is much appreciation of progress with regard to roads and electricity, and also understanding that government paved the way through its support for agriculture for abundant harvests in the last few years, even though this year floods have caused problems.
I should note here the appreciation amongst officials and community organizations of the Japanese Peace Project, which has done much for small scale irrigation works in the last few years. A meeting at the Japanese Embassy later in the week confirmed my view of the intelligence and sympathy of their approach. Equally the Indian Housing Project has generated much confidence that things are getting better, though government must do more to publicize both that and the other large scale housing support provided by the military and other agencies, in particular the Swiss, who also work relatively quietly.
The Indian journalist Sathiyamoorthy, one of the sharpest – and also I think most sympathetic – commentators on the Sri Lankan scene, wrote recently on questions in connection with the army and the police in the North. With regard to the latter, he seems to be of the view that the police should not come under the Ministry of Defence, which is not an argument I accept.
My main reason for this is the very simple belief – on the basis of a principle known as Occam's Razor – that one should not create entities unnecessarily. Unfortunately Occam's Razor is unknown in Sri Lanka, where we multiply entities endlessly, as with Ministries and layers of government. In affirming the need to keep the police under the Ministry of Defence I believe we should also extend the principle more widely, but that is another question, and requires more thought and strength of mind than is usually applied in this country.
Sathiyamoorthy thinks a division between the police and the Ministry of Defence would help 'in recapturing the imagination of the police as a civilian force, easily approachable by and comforting to the civilian population. Not just the Tamil minorities, but even the Sinhala population in the run-up to the JVP insurgencies had felt alientated from and by the police, for possibly no fault of theirs'.


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Providers looking to reduce costs need to address the social determinants, Humana says
A Medicare Advantage member who is food insecure can have up to 26.6 unhealthy days a month, correlating to $15.64 per month in higher medical costs.
Providers striving to generate better health outcomes and reduce costs should increasingly help patients address social and economic concerns--such as isolation and food insecurity--along with their physical conditions.
That's one of the key takeaways of Humana's new 2019 Bold Goal Progress Report, which examines the company's own progress in improving results among some of its Medicare Advantage members.
The recently released report, now in its fourth year, tracks various health-related developments among Humana's MA populations in several southern communities that are part of the company's Bold Goal initiative. The population health strategy is aimed at improving the health of the communities the insurer serves by 20 percent by 2020, partly through the use of social determinants screenings.
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Bold Goal uses the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's health-related quality of life measurement known as healthy days -- which actually measures self-reported mentally and physically unhealthy days over a 30-day period -- to track progress.
The 2019 report's findings show that Medicare Advantage members living in Humana's original seven Bold Goal communities have seen a 2.7 percent reduction in their unhealthy days since 2015. That compares to a 0.6 percent increase in unhealthy days reported by the company's MA members in non-Bold Goal communities.
Humana Medicare Advantage members in San Antonio, the company's first Bold Goal community, have experienced a 9.8 percent reduction in unhealthy days since 2015.
Social, environmental and economic factors influence about 70 percent of what makes people healthy, the report said. The company found that a Medicare Advantage member who is food insecure can have up to 26.6 unhealthy days a month, while someone who suffers from loneliness can have 24.4 unhealthy days a month.
That's a big deal because, each unhealthy day is correlated to 10 hospital admissions per thousand -- or the potential of $15.64 per member per month in higher medical costs, according to Humana's research.
The upshot is that addressing the social determinants of health could potentially drastically improve outcomes and costs.
Bold Goal has fallen short of its 20 percent improvement target so far. One reason: New Humana MA members reported high mentally unhealthy days, which offset gains in several of the Bold Goal communities.
But the overall trend toward better outcomes is encouraging, especially given the growing importance of addressing social determinants of health, such as loneliness and food insecurity, in an increasingly value-based care world.
For example, the report notes that social isolation costs Medicare $6.7 billion a year, and is on the rise; reports of loneliness in adults over 45 have doubled from 20 to 40 percent since 1980; lonely senior citizens are almost 64 percent more likely to develop clinical dementia; food-insecure seniors are 65 percent more likely to be diabetic and 66 percent more likely to have had a heart attack.
"Given current demographic trends, we expect to see continued demand for a support structure that addresses social needs, along with clinical ones," said Bruce D. Broussard, Humana's president and CEO.
Mark Klimek is an independent writer and editor with 20 years' experience covering financial issues, healthcare and more.


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Laptops and mobiles have many security features and levels. But the wallet that we carry holds most of our valuable and personal items. The wallet needs to be protected from all at every time.
Latest Security Wallets Designs for Gents and Ladies:
Keeping our credit cards and money intact and safe is of paramount importance. Here 9 best security wallet types that make to protect your money and credit cards from thief's.
1. Chest Security Wallet:
These are top quality chest security wallets that are very lightweight. The wallets are great to store passport and money etc that need to be safeguarded at all times. The colours that the wallets come in are varied from pale to dark colours. These wallets are comfortable to wear and are easy to clean with an adjustable strap.
2. Neck Travel Security Wallet:
This travel pouch is the best to wear under your clothes that hangs on the neck for added security. The wallet has easy storage pockets for passport, money and credit cards. The closures are made of Velcro that make it easy and adds an extra layer of security.
3. Men's Security Chain Wallet:
Here is a great option to secure your wallet even when not on travel destinations. The wallet is made from leather and has a security chain that can be attached to the belt loops of the pant. The wallet has a secure button opening too. It contains four credit card slots and more space for cash.
4. Credit Card RFID Security Wallet:
This security wallet is one of the latest to be invented. It is made of aluminium panels and comes lined with RFID blocking material that protects from credit card scanners and therefore prevents identity thefts. It has six slots for credit cards, ID and any other material that you would like to keep. The design is perfect for women.
5. Cable Security Wallet:
You can easily get yourself this security wallet that has a retractable cable attached to it. The cable is then connected to the belt loops of the pants. The idea is that is anyone tries to steal the wallet it will snap back and coil into the cable holder.
See More: Men'S Front Pocket Wallet
6. Waist Band Wallet for Security:
This waist band security wallet is made from nylon or polyester. The modern security wallet comes with RFID blocking material that helps guard you against security theft. The nylon and the zippers used are high quality and durable. It has a special fabric that keeps away moisture too.
See More: Men's Magic Wallet
7. Leg Security Wallet for Men:
Leg wallets are a great way to keep your important items safe from thieves. The leg wallets are worn around the leg near the ankle and are hidden from view under the pants. The wallets can hold cash easily. These are best for people who love to go on a run every day and do exercises as this lets them be free from carrying items in their pockets.
8. Men's Security Belt Wallet:
Another great idea is this travel belt that doubles up as a security wallet. The belt has an inner lining that houses pockets. Each of these pockets can hold cash and keep it secure. The belts are normally worn on trousers and pants and this can easily conceal any cash that you may want to carry as extra.
9. Bio-Metric Security Wallet:
This is one of the most advanced in security wallets. The wallet can open only when the owner's identity is confirmed. The users need to initially connect the wallet to the computer. They then need to scan their fingerprint and set it as the security code. The wallet can then be opened by swiping the finger over it. An alarm will also sound on the user's cell phone if the wallet is away from the user for more than 10 feet.
See More: Coin Wallet
Choose wallets with anti-theft and RFID technology to safeguard your items. These are a great buy if you travel in densely populated areas.


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The good news: Hotels can book taxis and limousines in advance. The bad news: The Strip closes to automobile traffic from about 6 p.m. to 3 a.m. Best to steer clear of the roads altogether.
Hit the monorail. It runs north and south between the MGM Grand and the SLS Hotel & Casino until 3 a.m., with multiple stops along the way (unlimited day pass, $12).
Sounds good in theory—just remember that the Strip is four miles long. Know how far you're venturing before you set out.
Patience and deep pockets are required: Black cabs are scarce, and fares are pricier than usual on New Year's Eve (same goes for taxi-hailing apps like Hailo and Drivr, which impose minimum fares for the night).
The Underground is by far the best way to get around, and it's free from 11:45 p.m. to 4:30 a.m.
Great if you're staying in Central London—with one big caveat: Crowds and bridge closures make crossing the Thames a challenge from roughly 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.
This is the one city where you shouldn't even try to hail a cab—and the apps will be astronomically expensive. They're hard to find on a normal night and nearly impossible to land on one like this, especially around the Champs-Élysées or Montmartre, where much of the action is centered.
If you're near a Métro station, hop on. In fact, from 5 p.m. on December 31 until noon on January 1, the Métro, the bus, and the trains (including the RER) are free and run all night.
No question about it, walking is the way to go. It's convenient and infinitely more romantic than the Métro.
A taxi stand on Elizabeth Street between Liverpool Street and Nithsdale Lane will be staffed and managed between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. They may charge premiums, and brace yourself for road closures around Sydney Harbor vantage points.
Extra trains will run in and out of the city—in an effort to cope with the increased demand—while the light-rail will operate regular weekday service to the city every 15 minutes.
Stroll back to the hotel if you're staying near the harbor. Remember that it's summertime Down Under, so count on temperatures of around 60 degrees even after midnight.
More on New Year's Eve:
The Perfect New Year's Eve in Chicago
The Perfect New Year's Eve in Paris


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This time of year starts to really be a bummer for anyone who fly fishes and and lives in the northern hemisphere. Yes, I know you folks in the south can fish all year and you folks in the north can ice fish. Let's face it though fishing slows down - even in the south. Oh, and drilling holes in frozen lakes to catch fish - don't even get me started... Ice fishing flat out sucks if you ask me. It's just a step above watching paint dry.
Every year around this time I start to make the transition from fishing to skiing. While I fish all winter it's just not quite as easy to get out and have fun.
We hit upon an idea the other day though. What if we could utilize snowmobiles and/or backcountry (AT) skis and get to a location that didn't freeze in the winter to fish. By fish, I mean cast a line. We could take a couple of days and camp. Fishing and skiing the entire time. Does this location exist on planet earth? I'm thinking it's gotta be a tailwater deep in the wilderness or some stretch of river kept ice free by springs for spell. Does anybody know of any place like this or ever heard of anything that stays fishable that you could ski to?


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How Do I Find Licencees For My Product Or Service?
Did you know that you can grow and scale your business without having to hire employees?
Here's what is covered:
Why introducing licencees could be better than hiring a sales team
Time savings associated with licencees
How to make people feel as if they are a part of something bigger
The control you have with licencees
How to maximise potential when working with licencees
About this video
Businesses live and die by cash, this video looks at one way of scaling and growing your business without the need for investment up front.
Business Growth Bureau discusses how you can maintain control of the business but also allow it to scale and grow. An important topic in today's dynamic workings environment. Rupert and Alex will be talking about the pros and cons associated when you introduce licencees to your company.
Hello everyone! I'm Alex Smith and this is Rupert Honywood from Business Growth Bureau. Thank you so much for joining us again. We're actually gonna be looking at right now is if you're looking for a different level of growth through your business -say you haven't got the resources to actually plug the BDM's in or support stuff around you. There is actually options on how to grow and expand your product and service by doing something called licensing. So, Rupert essentially in a nutshell what is licensing for a business? (0:28)
Yeah! Licensing is a way that you can potentially scale or grow your business but still have an element of control over the intellectual property or product service that you've actually created. (0:38)
What does it actually look like? What does it mean to actually license out my business? (0:42)
What it enables you to do is to actually find people around you that can really help you to scale and grow your business but making sure they comply with the framework that you put in place and adopt the best practices which you've made lay down. (0:57)
So essentially they provide my products and services but I set all the guidelines for them to be followed. (1:02)
Exactly (1:03)
And in terms of the money arrangement because obviously everybody cares about the money and how they're gonna get paid for certain things but like how does that look? Do I pay them a revenue share? Do I just put them on salary? What do I do with them? (1:12)
Right! Almost certainly, wouldn't be a salary because it was a salary wouldn't normally fall under a license arrangement but typically what would happen is the licensee would may pay a sum of money, it could be a large amount, could be a small amount or it could be nothing in theory. Then what would tend to happen is was it may be that a percentage is retained by the person who owns a license and then the licensee also retains percentage themselves and depending on the business what those numbers look like it's going to be completely different. (1:45)
Yeah! In terms of having a licensee for your product. What the massive pros to that obviously, we've talked about one of them to scale and reach but what are other pros to that? (1:56)
There's pros for a licensee and a licensor. For example, for the licensor or the person issuing the license it does give that control which is great also it saves you as a licensor having to expand at the same rate so it means, let's say your business has massive growth potential, if you have to start employing loads of people before the revenue starts to come in your business will typically need to borrow a lot of cash to give you that growth first before you start to see the return on investment.
Lots of small businesses can't sustain that equally they may have developed a lot of really good IPs as we're protecting it. Equally a lot of licensees want to feel they're part of something, they want to become part of a training program, they almost want a little bit of a business in a box. So it's much less onerous and potentially a franchise arrange would tend to be much easier to buy into.
So, if you're in the coaching, mentoring, training space for example, let's take there's a case in point. You may have developed a whole program which you want to unused licensees to go out and push out based on your model so you then train those coaches, trainers, mentors up to offer what you've created and then the coach, mentor trainer then actually retains as a percentage of the revenue for themselves and obviously as a licensor you receive something on the back of them but what does enables you to is potentially to scale much more quickly without necessary taking on the financial risk. (3:27)
Now, Obviously it's nice to know that. In terms of the flip side of that what's the cons of it? (3:33)
Well the cons are you just had to be a little bit careful because it depends what you want at the back end. So, in some cases you may find this particular approach helps to increase the value of your business but it's just a case whether increases it by as much as if you actually retained everything yourself and employed people.
It tends to be by definition, much lower cost a much lower risk for all parties concerned to look at a licensing type of arrangement rather than employing hold armies or teams of people but it can be the downside of it I suppose as well is it can sometimes be a bit like herding cats so you may be very reliant on how active those licensees want to be and there can be a hidden cost with that so by recruiting the right licensees can actually be really important for you and your business. (4:25)
Is there a good place to find these licensees? (4:26)
Well, yeah! Depends again on your market but actually you couldn't find it because a lot of this when someone's coming in licenses it's about building relationships of trust and building a team of people around you that are going to be supporting organizations the other way around. And so some networking referrals can work very well for that but equally also if you plug in some form of service where you can maybe through LinkedIn and use other social media where you get people warmed up to the point where they're actually asking to have those type of conversations and expressing interest in working with you.
Then basically some very good methodologies that we can recommend for that and ideally that's covered by some of the other videos that we have to offer. Now that would enable you to scale things out much more quickly and that obviously is something worth considering as well. (5:16)
Cool! Is there anything else you feel kind of needs to cover on there? (5:18)
Yeah! So I think broadly speaking that's covered most of it. What I would say is just look at our website, look at our YouTube channel, there's lots of good stuff on there and we may well be covering the whole aspect of franchising in another video but certainly for smaller businesses and potentially large ones license registers can work very well. (5: 40)
Perfect! Okay, thank you very much for taking the time to watch. As you know I'm Alex Smith and this is Rupert Honywood from Business Growth Bureau. Thank you very much, I hope you enjoyed it. Thank you! (5:47)
Thank you! (5:48)


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