text:
BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The European Central Bank has proposed that the EU's powerful antitrust chief be given a permanent role for shutting down weak banks that survive largely on central bank funding, officials familiar with the issue say.
In the absence of a pan-European scheme for winding up struggling lenders, the task of cleaning up the sector has fallen by default to Joaquin Almunia, the European commissioner for competition issues, who ordered a restructuring of Spanish banks on Wednesday and wants similar moves in Greece.
Now, some officials at the ECB are examining how Almunia's job could be enhanced to give him a permanent and more powerful role in winding up banks. That could widen his remit beyond banks receiving state aid to those deemed too weak to survive.
Setting up an agency with the power to close down troubled banks that are being artificially kept alive by ECB loans is one part of a multi-step plan to establish a 'banking union' across the euro zone and the wider EU to restore confidence in an industry struggling after years of runaway lending.
Other elements include creating a single supervisor to oversee European banks, a job that is set to fall to the ECB, and the possible creation of a unified deposit guarantee scheme.
The problem of so-called zombie banks - which are propped up by support from governments and central banks but which have little prospect of lending to the economy again - is one of the first challenges the new watchdog will face.
It is also one of the chief concerns of ECB officials, who believe that the number of banks in the region needs to be shrunk in line with a rapid contraction in lending after years of cheap finance.
There are no reliable estimates on the number of endangered banks in Europe. Almunia has so far demanded the restructuring of about 50 banks since the beginning of the financial crisis and has ordered the closure of some including Germany's WestLB.
The clean-up is not something the ECB, as supervisor, can do itself, not least because it would bring it into conflict with governments which typically foot the bill for bank closures.
It needs an "executioner" to enforce such wind-ups and some at the central bank believe that could be the European Commission, the EU's powerful regulator and the only institution that already has the clout to shut down lenders.
"They have a financial stability mandate," said one person familiar with the ECB's thinking. "Under competition law, they have power. You can work on a plan where the Commission's Directorate General for Competition has resolution (powers)".
Such a move may first require a change to EU law to reinforce Almunia's position, the official said.
"You must be serious about how you do it - you cannot confer the responsibility on a shaky legal basis," said the person. The ECB declined to comment.
Formally handing the Spanish commissioner permanent and sweeping executive powers would offer a quick and convenient way of building another pillar of the banking union, itself an important step towards strengthening the euro zone's economic coordination.
Earlier this week, ECB Vice-President Vitor Constancio underscored the need to create a European resolution authority.
"Supervision is only one leg of a genuine financial union," he told an audience in Berlin.
"It also requires an effective tool to deal with bank failures without triggering financial instability, without long squabbles about burden-sharing, and without dragging sovereigns into a deadly embrace with their domestic banks."
It is a view shared widely by analysts who have observed the chaotic attempts by European countries to stem the impact of a banking crisis on their own lenders with little pan-European cooperation in tackling the problems.
Paul De Grauwe, an economist with the London School of Economics, blames national politics for the ongoing problems.
"Zombie banks are on an extended lifeline because of the lack of resolve to close them," he said.
"If you were to create an independent European institution, it would be easier to resolve that problem. But we are very far from that. Everybody wants to protect their own turf."
On Wednesday, Almunia announced that Spain would receive 37 billion euros of euro zone funds to recapitalize four banks, on condition of deep restructuring including closing hundreds of branches.
Typically, Almunia imposes changes in return for approving state assistance to laggard banks to prevent them from being put at an unfair advantage over rivals.
Some officials at the European Commission have reservations about the idea of putting him in charge of bank resolution, however, instead favoring the creation of a new authority, independent not only of the central bank but also of the Commission.
That agency could be staffed by officials now working for Almunia, said one.
"The Commission's state aid division has done a good job," said one EU official, speaking on condition of anonymity. "They ensure that state aid is not improperly used but resolution is not just about imposing principles."
Writing by John O'Donnell; Editing by Luke Baker and Mark Potter


text:
The method described in this document introduces a procedure for management of fire hazards in vehicles and mobile machines. The method particularly provides elaborate support for identification of fire hazards in newly assembled vehicles and mobile machines as well as fire hazards resulting from operation, maintenance and retrofitting. The method presents how the identified hazards can be translated to estimations of fire risks and how these can be evaluated. Recommendations are also given on fire risk reduction measures for common designs, procedures and systems. This method is based on experience and knowledge gained through research, fire investigations and other industry professional services, as well as information provided by the industry. The method does not guarantee elimination of fires but regularly performed fire risk management will promote fire safety.
This method assesses the fire suppression performance of fire suppression systems under mock-up operational conditions. For this purpose, several different types of fires are ignited and stabilised inside an enclosure with typical engine compartment characteristics before the fire suppression system is activated. After the fire suppression system has been activated and completely discharged, the system is evaluated based on its ability to extinguish various fire sources.
In order to ensure the reproducibility of the test and facilitate its adoption in different laboratories, the method utilizes a standardised mock-up.
The fire suppression system is evaluated both as a complete system and in terms of components.
Durability tests are adapted for harsh vehicle conditions and are adjusted to suit both on-road applications as well as off-road applications.
This method evaluates the construction of fire safety cabinets designated for storing flammable goods in retail environments and their ability to internal and external fires. The general function of this cabinet must show that it controls and extinguishes a large internal fire, but also that an external fire does not spread to its flammable contents.
Försäljning av produkter som är klassade som brandfarlig vara förekommer på många olika typer av försäljningsställen, från små butiker till stora varuhus och stormarknader. Som förpackningsmaterial förekommer ofta plast och försök har visat att detta ur brandsynpunkt kan leda till en allvarlig situation på grund av en mycket snabb brandspridning (bl a SP Rapport 2007:24). Dåvarande sprängämnesinspektionen utarbetade därför föreskrifter, SÄIFS 1996:2
1, som reglerade hanteringen av brandfarliga gaser och vätskor på försäljningsställen. I föreskrifterna krävdes bl a att "Brandfarlig gas och vätska skall hanteras på sådant sätt att betryggande säkerhet föreligger. Hanteringen får inte försvåra utrymning och räddningsinsats."
I tillhörande "Allmänna råd" gavs exempel på de mängder av brandfarlig vara som kan anses acceptabel i olika lokaler samt avstånd till andra varor. Både mängd och avståndskrav innebar dock avsevärda begränsningar för handeln och föreskrifterna medgav därför att dessa skulle kunna ändras under förutsättning att åtgärder vidtogs för att upprätthålla avsedd säkerhetsnivå. Som exempel på sådana åtgärder omnämns möjligheten att förvara de brandfarliga varorna i ett eget utrymme eller i speciella brandavskiljande skåp.
För att kunna utvärdera brandavskiljande skåp utvecklades SP Metod 2369.
I SP Metod 2369 beskrivs de provningsförfaranden och krav som kan tillämpas för att utvärdera skyddssystem i form av fristående skåp. Metodik och krav är baserade på erfarenheter och försök med brandfarlig vara enligt SP-Arbetsrapport 1997:35 vilka sedan fastställts efter samråd med en referensgrupp bestående av intressenter för myndigheter, räddningstjänst, handeln, försäkringsbolag samt tillverkare av skyddssystem.
I MSB:s (Myndigheten för Samhällsskydd och Beredskap) arbete, 2016-2018, med att ta fram "Handbok Brandfarliga gaser och vätskor i butik" sågs ett behov av att kunna tillåta samförvaring av både brandfarliga gaser och vätskor i framtiden. Eftersom skåp tidigare varit avsedda för och utvärderats för förvaring av antingen brandfarlig gas eller brandfarlig vätska bedömdes det nödvändigt att förändra den tidigare kravbilden. Därmed uppstod ett behov av att förändra brandproven samt de allmänna konstruktions- och funktionskraven i SP Metod 2369 för att säkerställa att metoden överrensstämmer med de nya riktlinjerna från MSB.
I arbetet inför version 6 av SP Metod 2369 genomfördes, som följd av MSB:s arbete med nya riktlinjer, försök med förlängd brandexponeringstid vid provet för utvändig brandpåverkan. Arbetet i SP-arbetsrapport 1997:35 kompletterades också med brandförsök gjorda för att undersöka vid vilken temperatur aerosolburkar exploderar. Resultaten av proven har bidragit till förändringen av provningsmetodik och krav vad gäller utvändig brandpåverkan gentemot SP Metod 2369 version 5 och tidigare.
A novel arc heat treatment technique was applied to design a uniquely graded super duplex stainless steel (SDSS), by subjecting a single sample to a steady state temperature gradient for 10 h. A new experimental approach was used to map precipitation in microstructure, covering aging temperatures of up to 1430 °C. The microstructure was characterized and functionality was evaluated via hardness mapping. Nitrogen depletion adjacent to the fusion boundary depressed the upper temperature limit for austenite formation and influenced the phase balance above 980 °C. Austenite/ferrite boundaries deviating from Kurdjumov–Sachs orientation relationship (OR) were preferred locations for precipitation of σ at 630–1000 °C, χ at 560–1000 °C, Cr2N at 600–900 °C and R between 550 °C and 700 °C. Precipitate morphology changed with decreasing temperature; from blocky to coral-shaped for σ, from discrete blocky to elongated particles for χ, and from polygonal to disc-shaped for R. Thermodynamic calculations of phase equilibria largely agreed with observations above 750 °C when considering nitrogen loss. Formation of intermetallic phases and 475 °C-embrittlement resulted in increased hardness. A schematic diagram, correlating information about phase contents, morphologies and hardness, as a function of exposure temperature, is introduced for evaluation of functionality of microstructures.
The application of nanotechnology to the petroleum industry has sparked recent interest in increasing oil recovery, while reducing environmental impact. Nanocellulose is an emerging nanoparticle that is derived from trees or waste stream from wood and fiber industries. Thus, it is taken from a renewable and sustainable source, and could therefore serve as a good alternative to current Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) technologies. However, before nanocellulose can be applied as an EOR technique, further understanding of its transport behavior and retention in porous media is required. The research documented in this paper examines retention mechanisms that occur during nanocellulose transport. In a series of experiments, nanocellulose particles dispersed in brine were injected into sandpacks and Berea sandstone cores. The resulting retention and permeability reduction were measured. The experimental parameters that were varied include sand grain size, nanocellulose type, salinity, and flow rate. Under low salinity conditions, the dominant retention mechanism was adsorption and when salinity was increased, the dominant retention mechanism shifted towards log-jamming. Retention and permeability reduction increased as grain size decreased, which results from increased straining of nanocellulose aggregates. In addition, each type of nanocellulose was found to have significantly different transport properties. Experiments with Berea sandstone cores indicate that some pore volume was inaccessible to the nanocellulose. As a general trend, the larger the size of aggregates in bulk solution, the greater the observed retention and permeability reduction. Salinity was found to be the most important parameter affecting transport. Increased salinity caused additional aggregation, which led to increased straining and filter cake formation. Higher flow rates were found to reduce retention and permeability reduction. Increased velocity was accompanied by an increase in shear, which is believed to promote breakdown of nanocellulose aggregates. © 2018 by the authors.
Recent studies have discovered a substantial viscosity increase of aqueous cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) dispersions upon heat aging at temperatures above 90 °C. This distinct change in material properties at very low concentrations in water has been proposed as an active mechanism for enhanced oil recovery (EOR), as highly viscous fluid may improve macroscopic sweep efficiencies and mitigate viscous fingering. A high-temperature (120 °C) core flood experiment was carried out with 1 wt.% CNC in low salinity brine on a 60 cm-long sandstone core outcrop initially saturated with crude oil. A flow rate corresponding to 24 h per pore volume was applied to ensure sufficient viscosification time within the porous media. The total oil recovery was 62.2%, including 1.2% oil being produced during CNC flooding. Creation of local log-jams inside the porous media appears to be the dominant mechanism for additional oil recovery during nano flooding. The permeability was reduced by 89.5% during the core flood, and a thin layer of nanocellulose film was observed at the inlet of the core plug. CNC fluid and core flood effluent was analyzed using atomic force microscopy (AFM), particle size analysis, and shear rheology. The effluent was largely unchanged after passing through the core over a time period of 24 h. After the core outcrop was rinsed, a micro computed tomography (micro-CT) was used to examine heterogeneity of the core. The core was found to be homogeneous. © 2019 by the authors.
Pickering o/w emulsions prepared with 40 wt % rapeseed oil were stabilized with the use of low charged enzymatically treated cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) and highly charged 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl (TEMPO)-oxidized CNFs. The emulsion-forming abilities and storage stability of the two qualities were tested in the presence of NaCl and acetic acid, at concentrations relevant to food applications. Food emulsions may be an important future application area for CNFs due to their availability and excellent viscosifying abilities. The emulsion characterization was carried out by visual inspection, light microscopy, viscosity measurements, dynamic light scattering and mild centrifugation, which showed that stable emulsions could be obtained for both CNF qualities in the absence of salt and acid. In addition, the enzymatically stabilized CNFs were able to stabilize emulsions in the presence of acid and NaCl, with little change in the appearance or droplet size distribution over one month of storage at room temperature. The work showed that enzymatically treated CNFs could be suitable for use in food systems where NaCl and acid are present, while the more highly charged TEMPO-CNFs might be more suited for other applications, where they can contribute to a high emulsion viscosity even at low concentrations.
Abstract: Cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) have been proposed for use in low-fat food products due to their availability and excellent viscosifying and gel forming abilities. As the CNFs are negatively charged, the presence of other components in foods, such as electrolytes and food additives such as xanthan gum is likely to affect their rheological properties. Hence, the study of these interactions can contribute valuable information of the suitability of CNFs as rheology modifiers and fat replacers. Rheological measurements on aqueous dispersions of TEMPO-oxidized CNFs were performed with variations in concentration of CNFs, concentration of electrolytes and with varying CNF/xanthan ratios. UV–Vis Spectroscopy was used to evaluate the onset of CNF flocculation/aggregation in the presence of electrolytes. The CNF dispersions followed a power-law dependency for viscosity and moduli on CNF concentration. Low electrolyte additions strengthened the CNF network by allowing for stronger interactions, while higher additions led to fibril aggregation, and loss of viscosity, especially under shear. The CNF/xanthan ratio, as well as the presence of electrolytes were shown to be key factors in determining whether the viscosity and storage modulus of CNF dispersions increased or decreased when xanthan was added. Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.].
Alginate and cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) are attractive materials for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. CNF gels are generally weaker and more brittle than alginate gels, while alginate gels are elastic and have high rupture strength. Alginate properties depend on their guluronan and mannuronan content and their sequence pattern and molecular weight. Likewise, CNF exists in various qualities with properties depending on, e.g., morphology and charge density. In this study combinations of three types of alginate with different composition and two types of CNF with different charge and degree of fibrillation have been studied. Assessments of the composite gels revealed that attractive properties like high rupture strength, high compressibility, high gel rigidity at small deformations (Young's modulus), and low syneresis was obtained compared to the pure gels. The effects varied with relative amounts of CNF and alginate, alginate type, and CNF quality. The largest effects were obtained by combining oxidized CNF with the alginates. Hence, by combining the two biopolymers in composite gels, it is possible to tune the rupture strength, Young's modulus, syneresis, as well as stability in physiological saline solution, which are all important properties for the use as scaffolds in tissue engineering.
Requirements prioritization plays an important role in driving project success during software development. Literature reveals that existing requirements prioritization approaches ignore vital factors such as interdependency between requirements. Existing requirements prioritization approaches are also generally time-consuming and involve substantial manual effort. Besides, these approaches show substantial limitations in terms of the number of requirements under consideration. There is some evidence suggesting that models could have a useful role in the analysis of requirements interdependency and their visualization, contributing towards the improvement of the overall requirements prioritization process. However, to date, just a handful of studies are focused on model-based strategies for requirements prioritization, considering only conflict-free functional requirements. This paper uses a meta-model-based approach to help the requirements analyst to model the requirements, stakeholders, and inter-dependencies between requirements. The model instance is then processed by our modified PageRank algorithm to prioritize the given requirements. An experiment was conducted, comparing our modified PageRank algorithm's efficiency and accuracy with five existing requirements prioritization methods. Besides, we also compared our results with a baseline prioritized list of 104 requirements prepared by 28 graduate students. Our results show that our modified PageRank algorithm was able to prioritize the requirements more effectively and efficiently than the other prioritization methods.
The use of requirements' information in testing is a well-recognized practice in the software development life cycle. Literature reveals that existing tests prioritization and selection approaches neglected vital factors affecting tests priorities, like interdependencies between requirement specifications. We believe that models may play a positive role in specifying these inter-dependencies and prioritizing tests based on these inter-dependencies. However, till date, few studies can be found that make use of requirements inter-dependencies for test case prioritization. This paper uses a meta-model to aid modeling requirements, their related tests, and inter-dependencies between them. The instance of this meta-model is then processed by our modified PageRank algorithm to prioritize the requirements. The requirement priorities are then propagated to related test cases in the test model and test cases are selected based on coverage of extra-functional properties. We have demonstrated the applicability of our proposed approach on a small example case.
Short-term traffic prediction allows Intelligent Transport Systems to proactively respond to events before they happen. With the rapid increase in the amount, quality, and detail of traffic data, new techniques are required that can exploit the information in the data in order to provide better results while being able to scale and cope with increasing amounts of data and growing cities. We propose and compare three models for short-term road traffic density prediction based on Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) neural networks. We have trained the models using real traffic data collected by Motorway Control System in Stockholm that monitors highways and collects flow and speed data per lane every minute from radar sensors. In order to deal with the challenge of scale and to improve prediction accuracy, we propose to partition the road network into road stretches and junctions, and to model each of the partitions with one or more LSTM neural networks. Our evaluation results show that partitioning of roads improves the prediction accuracy by reducing the root mean square error by the factor of 5. We show that we can reduce the complexity of LSTM network by limiting the number of input sensors, on average to 35% of the original number, without compromising the prediction accuracy. .
Real-time road congestion detection allows improving traffic safety and route planning. In this work, we propose to use streaming graph processing algorithms for road congestion detection and evaluate their accuracy and performance. We represent road infrastructure sensors in the form of a directed weighted graph and adapt the Connected Components algorithm and some existing graph processing algorithms, originally used for community detection in social network graphs, for the task of road congestion detection. In our approach, we detect Connected Components or communities of sensors with similarly weighted edges that reflect different states in the traffic, e.g., free flow or congested state, in regions covered by detected sensor groups. We have adapted and implemented the Connected Components and community detection algorithms for detecting groups in the weighted sensor graphs in batch and streaming manner. We evaluate our approach by building and processing the road infrastructure sensor graph for Stockholm's highways using real-world data from the Motorway Control System operated by the Swedish traffic authority. Our results indicate that the Connected Components and DenGraph community detection algorithms can detect congestion with accuracy up to ? 94% for Connected Components and up to ? 88% for DenGraph. The Louvain Modularity algorithm for community detection fails to detect congestion regions for sparsely connected graphs, representing roads that we have considered in this study. The Hierarchical Clustering algorithm using speed and density readings is able to detect congestion without details, such as shockwaves.
Blockchain and verifiable identities have a lot of potential in future distributed software applications e.g. smart cities, eHealth, autonomous vehicles, networks, etc. In this paper, we proposed a novel technique, namely VeidBlock 1 , to generate verifiable identities by following a reliable authentication process. These entities are managed by using the concepts of blockchain ledger and distributed through an advance mechanism to protect them against tampering. All identities created using VeidBlock approach are verifiable and anonymous therefore it preserves user's privacy in verification and authentication phase. As a proof of concept, we implemented and tested the VeidBlock protocols by integrating it in a SDN based infrastructure. Analysis of the test results yield that all components successfully and autonomously performed initial authentication and locally verified all the identities of connected components.
With the development of multicore hardware, concurrent, parallel and multicore software are becoming increasingly popular. Software companies are spending a huge amount of time and resources to nd and debug the bugs. Among all types of software bugs, concurrency bugs are also important and troublesome. This type of bugs is increasingly becoming an issue particularly due to the growing prevalence of multicore hardware. In this position paper, we propose a model for monitoring and debugging Starvation bugs as a type of concurrency bugs in multicore software. The model is composed into three phases: monitoring, detecting and debugging. The monitoring phase can support detecting phase by storing collected data from the system execution. The detecting phase can support debugging phase by comparing the stored data with starvation bug's properties, and the debugging phase can help in reproducing and removing the Starvation bug from multicore software. Our intention is that our model is the basis for developing tool(s) to enable solving Starvation bugs in software for multicore platforms.
Myoelectric pattern recognition (MPR) to decode limb movements is an important advancement regarding the control of powered prostheses. However, this technology is not yet in wide clinical use. Improvements in MPR could potentially increase the functionality of powered prostheses. To this purpose, offline accuracy and processing time were measured over 44 features using six classifiers with the aim of determining new configurations of features and classifiers to improve the accuracy and response time of prosthetics control. An efficient feature set (FS: waveform length, correlation coefficient, Hjorth Parameters) was found to improve the motion recognition accuracy. Using the proposed FS significantly increased the performance of linear discriminant analysis, K-nearest neighbor, maximum likelihood estimation (MLE), and support vector machine by 5.5%, 5.7%, 6.3%, and 6.2%, respectively, when compared with the Hudgins' set. Using the FS with MLE provided the largest improvement in offline accuracy over the Hudgins feature set, with minimal effect on the processing time. Among the 44 features tested, logarithmic root mean square and normalized logarithmic energy yielded the highest recognition rates (above 95%). We anticipate that this work will contribute to the development of more accurate surface EMG-based motor decoding systems for the control prosthetic hands. [Figure not available: see fulltext.]. © 2019, The Author(s).
In this paper we analyse two variants of SIMON family of light-weight block ciphers against linear cryptanalysis and present the best linear cryptanalytic results on these variants of reduced-round SIMON to date. We propose a time-memory trade-off method that finds differential/linear trails for any permutation allowing low Hamming weight differential/linear trails. Our method combines low Hamming weight trails found by the correlation matrix representing the target permutation with heavy Hamming weight trails found using a Mixed Integer Programming model representing the target differential/linear trail. Our method enables us to find a 17-round linear approximation for SIMON-48 which is the best current linear approximation for SIMON-48. Using only the correlation matrix method, we are able to find a 14-round linear approximation for SIMON-32 which is also the current best linear approximation for SIMON-32. The presented linear approximations allow us to mount a 23-round key recovery attack on SIMON-32 and a 24-round Key recovery attack on SIMON-48/96 which are the current best results on SIMON-32 and SIMON-48. In addition we have an attack on 24 rounds of SIMON-32 with marginal complexity.
We point out the risks of protecting relational databases viaSearchable Symmetric Encryption (SSE) schemes by proposing an infer-ence attack exploiting the structural properties of relational databases.We show that record-injection attacks mounted on relational databaseshave worse consequences than their file-injection counterparts on un-structured databases. Moreover, we discuss some techniques to reducethe effectiveness of inference attacks exploiting the access pattern leak-age existing in SSE schemes. To the best of our knowledge, this is thefirst work that investigates the security of relational databases protectedby SSE schemes.
Searchable symmetric encryption (SSE) schemes are commonly proposed to enable search in a protected unstructured documents such as email archives or any set of sensitive text files. However, some SSE schemes have been recently proposed in order to protect relational databases. Most of the previous attacks on SSE schemes have only targeted its common use case, protecting unstructured data. In this work, we propose a new inference attack on relational databases protected via SSE schemes. Our inference attack enables a passive adversary with only basic knowledge about the meta-data information of the target relational database to recover the attribute names of some observed queries. This violates query privacy since the attribute name of a query is secret.
We propose a simple and efficient searchable symmetric encryption scheme based on a Bitmap index that evaluates Boolean queries. Our scheme provides a practical solution in settings where communications and computations are very constrained as it offers a suitable trade-off between privacy and performance.
Characterization of the surface activity of previously obtained polymerizable dialkyl maleates is performed to find out the relation between the structure of surfactants and their performances. The given polymerizable surfactants were synthesized for using in the emulsion polymerization. Three groups of dialkyl maleates-nonionic, cationic and zwitterionic-with different chain lengths of hydrophobic alkyl groups are investigated. Critical micelle concentration (cmc) values are determined for water soluble surfactants. It is found that cmc decreases with increasing chain length of the hydrophobic alkyl group. For nonionic and cationic surfactants interfacial tension at the interface between water and dodecane is measured. Droplet size in oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions is determined for all given surfactants. Cationic and zwitterionic dialkyl maleates with the longest investigated alkyl chain (R=C16H33, C17H35) provide good stability of O/W emulsions. In order to compare the obtained results, measurements with well-known surfactants-nonionic nonylphenol-poly(ethylene oxide) (NPEO10) and cationic hexadecyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB)-are performed.
The success of the P2P idea has created a huge diversity of approaches, among which overlay networks, for example, Gnutella, Kazaa, Chord, Pastry, Tapestry, P-Grid, or DKS, have received specific attention from both developers and researchers. A wide variety of algorithms, data structures, and architectures have been proposed. The terminologies and abstractions used, however, have become quite inconsistent since the P2P paradigm has attracted people from many different communities, e.g., networking, databases, distributed systems, graph theory, complexity theory, biology, etc. In this paper we propose a reference model for overlay networks which is capable of modeling different approaches in this domain in a generic manner. It is intended to allow researchers and users to assess the properties of concrete systems, to establish a common vocabulary for scientific discussion, to facilitate the qualitative comparison of the systems, and to serve as the basis for defining a standardized API to make overlay networks interoperable.
The effect of biofilm formation on passive stainless steel in seawater environments is of primary importance since it leads to potential ennoblement of surfaces and subsequently to localized corrosion such as pitting and crevice corrosion. This study aims at developing an ecofriendly alginate biopolymer containing both non-toxic calcium and a limited amount of biocidal zinc ions which inhibits this effect. For this purpose, calcium alginate containing less than 1 % of zinc ions localized in the vicinity of the steel surface in natural and renewed seawater is demonstrated to reduce significantly the ennoblement process of steel. After 1 month of immersion, a mass loss of only 4 % of the active material is observed authorizing thereby long-term protection of steel in real environment.
Nanocellulose (NC)-based hybrid coatings and films containing CeO2 and SiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) to impart UV screening and hardness properties, respectively, were prepared by solvent casting. The NC film-forming component (75 wt % of the overall solids) was composed entirely of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) or of CNCs combined with cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs). Zeta potential measurements indicated that the four NP types (CNC, CNF, CeO2, and SiO2) were stably dispersed in water and negatively charged at pH values between 6 and 9. The combination of NPs within this pH range ensured uniform formulations and homogeneous coatings and films, which blocked UV light, the extent of which depended on film thickness and CeO2 NP content, while maintaining good transparency in the visible spectrum (∼80%). The addition of a low amount of CNFs (1%) reduced the film hardness, but this effect was compensated by the addition of SiO2 NPs. Chiral nematic self-assembly was observed in the mixed NC film; however, this ordering was disrupted by the addition of the oxide NPs. The roughness of the hybrid coatings was reduced by the inclusion of oxide NPs into the NC matrix perhaps because the spherical oxide NPs were able to pack into the spaces between cellulose fibrils. We envision these hybrid coatings and films in barrier applications, photovoltaics, cosmetic formulations, such as sunscreens, and for the care and maintenance of wood and glass surfaces, or other surfaces that require a smooth, hard, and transparent finish and protection from UV damage.
counterions in the suspensions. The results suggest that there is a threshold surface charge density (∼0.3%S) above which effective volume considerations are dominant across the concentration range relevant to liquid crystalline phase formation. Above this threshold value, phase separation occurs at the same effective volume fraction of CNCs (∼10 vol %), with a corresponding increase in critical concentration due to the decrease in effective diameter that occurs with increasing surface charge. Below or near this threshold value, the formation of end-to-end aggregates may favor gelation and interfere with ordered phase formation.
Proteoheparan sulphate can be adsorbed to a methylated silica surface in a monomolecular layer via its transmembrane hydrophobic protein core domain. As a result of electrostatic repulsion, its anionic glycosaminoglycan side chains are stretched out into the blood substitute solution, thereby representing one receptor site for specific lipoprotein binding through basic amino acid-rich residues within their apolipoproteins. The binding process was studied by ellipsometric techniques suggesting that high-density lipoprotein (HDL) has a high binding affinity and a protective effect on interfacial heparan sulphate proteoglycan layers with respect
to low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and Ca2+ complexation. Low-density lipoprotein was found to deposit strongly at the proteoheparan sulphate-coated surface, particularly in the presence of Ca2+, apparently through complex formation 'proteoglycan-LDL-calcium'. This ternary
complex build-up may be interpreted as arteriosclerotic nanoplaque formation on the molecular level responsible for the arteriosclerotic primary lesion. On the other hand, HDL bound to heparan sulphate proteoglycan protected against LDL deposition and completely suppressed
calcification of the proteoglycan-lipoprotein complex. In addition, HDL was able to decelerate the ternary complex deposition. Therefore, HDL attached to its proteoglycan receptor sites is thought to raise a multidomain barrier, selection and control motif for transmembrane and paracellular lipoprotein uptake into the arterial wall. Although much remains unclear regarding
the mechanism of lipoprotein depositions at proteoglycan-coated surfaces, it seems clear that the use of such systems offers possibilities for investigating lipoprotein deposition at a 'nanoscopic' level under close to physiological conditions. In particular, Ca2+-promoted LDL deposition and the protective effect of HDL even at high Ca2+ and LDL concentrations agree
well with previous clinical observations regarding risk and beneficial factors for early stages of atherosclerosis. Considering this, the system was tested on its reliability in a biosensor application in order to unveil possible acute pleiotropic effects of the lipid lowering drug fluvastatin. The very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL)/intermediate-density lipoprotein
(IDL)/LDL plasma fraction from a high risk patient with dyslipoproteinaemia and type 2 diabetes mellitus showed beginning arteriosclerotic nanoplaque formation already at a normal blood Ca2+ concentration, with a strong increase at higher Ca2+ concentrations. Fluvastatin, whether applied to the patient (one single 80 mg slow release matrix tablet) or acutely in the experiment (2.2 μmol L-1), markedly slowed down this process of ternary aggregational nanoplaque complexation at all Ca2+ concentrations used. This action resulted without any significant change in lipid concentrations of the patient. Furthermore, after ternary complex build-up, fluvastatin, similar to HDL, was able to reduce nanoplaque adsorption and size.
These immediate effects of fluvastatin have to be taken into consideration while interpreting the clinical outcome of long-term studies.
The effects of divalent salts (CaCl2, MgCl2 and BaCl2) in promoting the adsorption of weakly charged polyelectrolyte (polyacrylic acid), PAA, Mw ~ 250000 g/mol) on mica surfaces and their role in tuning the nature of interactions between such adsorbed polyelectrolyte layers were studied using the interferometric surface forces apparatus. With mica surfaces in 3 mM MgCl2 solutions at pH ~8.0-9.0, the addition of 10 ppm PAA resulted in a long-range attractive bridging force and a short-range repulsive steric force. This force profile indicates a low surface coverage and weak adsorption.
The range of the force can be related to the characteristic length scale RG of polyelectrolyte chains using a scaling description. An increase of the PAA concentration to 50 ppm changed the attractive force profile to a monotonic, long-range repulsive interaction extending up to 600 Å due to the increased surface coverage of polyelectrolyte chains on the mica surfaces. Comparison of the measured forces with a scaling mean field model suggests that the adsorbed polyelectrolyte chains are stretched, which eventually give rise to the polyelectrolyte brush like structure. When the mica surfaces were preincubated in 3 mM CaCl2 at pH ~8.0-9.0, in contrast to the case of 3 mM MgCl2, the addition of 10 ppm PAA resulted in a more complex force profile: long-range repulsive forces extending up to 800 Å followed by an attractive force regime and a second repulsive force regime at shorter separations. The long-range electrosteric forces can be attributed to strong adsorption of polyelectrolyte chains on mica surfaces (high surface coverage) which is facilitated by the presence of Ca2+ ions, while the intermediate range attractive forces can be ascribed to Ca2+ assisted bridging between adsorbed polyelectrolyte chains. Also interesting is to note various relaxation processes present in this system. In contrast to both MgCl2 and CaCl2 systems, with mica surfaces in 3 mM BaCl2 solution at pH
~8.0-9.0, the addition of 10 ppm PAA resulted in precipitation of polyelectrolyte chains on mica surfaces, resulting in an extremely long-range monotonic repulsive force profile. In summary, our study
showed that divalent counterions (Mg2+, Ca2+, and Ba2+) exhibit significantly different behavior in promoting PAA adsorption on mica surfaces, modifying and controlling various surface interactions.
We report on the synthesis, microstructure and mass transport properties of a colloidal hydrogel self-assembled from a mixture of colloidal silica and nontronite clay plates at different particle concentrations. The gel-structure had uniaxial long-range anisotropy caused by alignment of the clay particles in a strong external magnetic field. After gelation the colloidal silica covered the clay particle network, fixing the orientation of the clay plates. Comparing gels with a clay concentration between 0 and 0.7 vol%, the magnetically oriented gels had a maximum water permeability and self-diffusion coefficient at 0.3 and 0.7 vol% clay, respectively. Hence the specific clay concentration resulting in the highest liquid flux was pressure dependent. This study gives new insight into the effect of anisotropy, particle concentration and bound water on mass transport properties in nano/microporous materials. Such findings merit consideration when designing porous composite materials for use in for example fuel cell, chromatography and membrane technology. © 2014 the Partner Organisations.
The Internet traffic volume continues to grow at a great rate, now driven by video and TV distribution. For network operators it is important to avoid congestion in the network, and to meet service level agreements with their customers. This thesis presents work on two methods operators can use to reduce links loads in their networks: traffic engineering and content caching. This thesis studies access patterns for TV and video and the potential for caching. The investigation is done both using simulation and by analysis of logs from a large TV-on-Demand system over four months. The results show that there is a small set of programs that account for a large fraction of the requests and that a comparatively small local cache can be used to significantly reduce the peak link loads during prime time. The investigation also demonstrates how the popularity of programs changes over time and shows that the access pattern in a TV-on-Demand system very much depends on the content type. For traffic engineering the objective is to avoid congestion in the network and to make better use of available resources by adapting the routing to the current traffic situation. The main challenge for traffic engineering in IP networks is to cope with the dynamics of Internet traffic demands. This thesis proposes L-balanced routings that route the traffic on the shortest paths possible but make sure that no link is utilised to more than a given level L. L-balanced routing gives efficient routing of traffic and controlled spare capacity to handle unpredictable changes in traffic. We present an L-balanced routing algorithm and a heuristic search method for finding L-balanced weight settings for the legacy routing protocols OSPF and IS-IS. We show that the search and the resulting weight settings work well in real network scenarios.
Measurement and analysis of real traffic is important to gain knowledge about the characteristics of the traffic. Without measurement, it is impossible to build realistic traffic models. It is recent that data traffic was found to have self-similar properties. In this thesis work traffic captured on the network at SICS and on the Supernet, is shown to have this fractal-like behaviour. The traffic is also examined with respect to which protocols and packet sizes are present and in what proportions. In the SICS trace most packets are small, TCP is shown to be the predominant transport protocol and NNTP the most common application. In contrast to this, large UDP packets sent between not well-known ports dominates the Supernet traffic. Finally, characteristics of the client side of the WWW traffic are examined more closely. In order to extract useful information from the packet trace, web browsers use of TCP and HTTP is investigated including new features in HTTP/1.1 such as persistent connections and pipelining. Empirical probability distributions are derived describing session lengths, time between user clicks and the amount of data transferred due to a single user click. These probability distributions make up a simple model of WWW-sessions.
Several studies of Internet traffic have shown that it is a small percentage of the flows that dominate the traffic. This is often referred to as the mice and elephants phenomenon. It has been proposed that this might be one of very few invariants of Internet traffic and that this property could somehow be used for traffic engineering purposes. The idea being that one in a scalable way could control a major part of the traffic by only keeping track of a small number of flows. But for this the large flows must also be stable in the meaning that they should be among the largest flows during long periods of time. In this work we analyse packet traces of Internet traffic and study the temporal characteristics of large aggregated traffic flows defined by destination address prefixes.
Large network operators have thousands or tens of thousands of access aggregation links that they need to manage and dimension properly. Measuring and understanding the traffic characteristics on these type of links are therefore essential. What do the traffic intensity characteristics look like on different timescales from days down to milliseconds? How do the characteristics differ if we compare links with the same capacity but with different type of clients and access technologies? How do the traffic characteristics differ from that on core network links? These are the type of questions we set out to investigate in this paper. We present the results of packet level measurements on three different 1Gbit/s aggregation links in an operational IP network. We see large differences in traffic characteristics between the three links. We observe highly skewed link load probability densities on timescales relevant for buffering (i.e. 10-milliseconds). We demonstrate the existence of large traffic spikes on short timescales (10-100ms) and show their impact on link delay. We also found that these traffic bursts often are caused by only one or a few IP flows.
Connected vehicles can make roads traffic safer andmore efficient, but require the mobile networks to handle timecriticalapplications. Using the MONROE mobile broadbandmeasurement testbed we conduct a multi-access measurementstudy on buses. The objective is to understand what networkperformance connected vehicles can expect in today's mobilenetworks, in terms of transaction times and availability. The goalis also to understand to what extent access to several operatorsin parallel can improve communication performance.In our measurement experiments we repeatedly transfer warningmessages from moving buses to a stationary server. Wetriplicate the messages and always perform three transactionsin parallel over three different cellular operators. This creates adataset with which we can compare the operators in an objectiveway and with which we can study the potential for multi-access.In this paper we use the triple-access dataset to evaluate singleaccessselection strategies, where one operator is chosen for eachtransaction. We show that if we have access to three operatorsand for each transaction choose the operator with best accesstechnology and best signal quality then we can significantlyimprove availability and transaction times compared to theindividual operators. The median transaction time improves with6% compared to the best single operator and with 61% comparedto the worst single operator. The 90-percentile transaction timeimproves with 23% compared to the best single operator andwith 65% compared to the worst single operator.
IPTV, where television is distributed over the Internet Protocol in a single operator network, has become popular and widespread. Many telecom and broadband companies have become TV providers and distribute TV channels using multicast over their backbone networks. IPTV also means an evolution to time-shifted television where viewers now often can choose to watch the programs at any time. However, distributing individual TV streams to each viewer requires a lot of bandwidth and is a big challenge for TV operators. In this paper we present an empirical IPTV workload model, simulate IPTV distribution with time-shift, and show that local caching can limit the bandwidth requirements significantly.
The focus of this paper is on traffic engineering in ambient networks. We describe and categorize different alternatives for making the routing more adaptive to the current traffic situation and discuss the challenges that ambient networks pose on traffic engineering methods. One of the main objectives of traffic engineering is to avoid congestion by controlling and optimising the routing function, or in short, to put the traffic where the capacity is. The main challenge for traffic engineering in ambient networks is to cope with the dynamics of both topology and traffic demands. Mechanisms are needed that can handle traffic load dynamics in scenarios with sudden changes in traffic demand and dynamically distribute traffic to benefit from available resources. Trade-offs between optimality, stability and signaling overhead that are important for traffic engineering methods in the fixed Internet becomes even more critical in a dynamic ambient environment.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Daniel A. Skirtandzy
|This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to WikiFur style and standards.
For specifics, check the edit history and talk page. Consult the Furry Book of Style for editing help.
Daniel A. Skirtandzy (born 1992) is an orange tabby cat furry, currently living in Pennsylvania, USA.
Fandom involvement[edit]
Dan first heard of the fandom in late 2003, but paid little mind to it, soon forgetting about it. A few years later, while researching about hybridization for a school project, he stumbled upon the fandom again. This time something clicked, and kept his attention, as he spent more time researching it.
In early 2008, he found a furry community at Gamespot forums, which led him to Furaffinity. While still new to the fandom, be met a few other younger furs, who led him to Furry Teens Forums. Dan generally spends his time now on a few forums, Furaffinity, and the IRC chatrooms.
Fursonas and characters[edit]
Dan currently has one main fursona, with two alternates.
- Daniel is Dan's main fursona. He is an orange tabby, who's age and attitude fall in line with Dan.
- Li'l Dan is Dan's cub fursona. He is generally playful and expressive. Like Daniel, he is a cat.
- Sydney is Dan's female character, and a Welsh Corgi.
The FezCat[edit]
One thing Daniel has become recognizable by, is his main fursona, Dan, wearing a fez. This has led to be known by many as the 'FezCat'. The icon itself came from Tod Wills' Icon Days on Livejournal. To deter requests of copywritten characters, users were threatened with getting a cat in a fez. With the matching fursona, Dan then requested the icon as such, leading to the well-known icon.
Meets and Conventions[edit]
At the end of 2010, Dan started taking a look into participating in meets and conventions.
To date, he has attended: [(S) Staff (V) Volunteer]
- Anthrocon 2011, 2012, 2013 (V)
- Delaware Furbowl 25, 30, 32, 36
- FA:United 2011, 2013 (V)
- Furstivus 2011 (S)
- Midwest Furfest 2012 (V)
- New Year's Furry Ball 2010, 2012
as well as a handful of other local events.
In early 2011, Daniel obtained a pre-made partial suit from Spiritwolven.
In 2013, he won an auction for a full suit, this one made by DTWA.
Outside the fandom, Dan is usually not without a camera, as photography is a major hobby.
External links[edit]
|This person is a WikiFur user:
- Dan on Furaffinity
- Dan's photography page on Fur Affinity
- Dan on LiveJournal
- Dan on Facebook
- Dan on Twitter
|This stub about a person could be expanded.


text:
What it is:
The Refugee Cash Assistance (RCA) Program helps refugees by providing cash and medical assistance (Refugee Medical Assistance program) during their first eight months in the U.S.
Who is eligible:
Persons who entered the United States with an immigration status that allows them to receive refugee benefits are eligible for RCA and RMA benefits as long as they meet other eligibility requirements.
Eligible immigration statuses are:
- Refugee
- Conditional Entrant,
- Asylee,
- Amerasian,
- Cuban-Haitian entrant,
- Certified as a victim of trafficking and their eligible family members;
- Special Immigrant from Iraq or Afghanistan and their eligible family members.
If you have questions about whether or not you meet refugee status requirements, a staff member can help you. Or you can read more at http://apps.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=388-466.
To be eligible for RCA you must:
- Provide documents issued by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) verifying your immigration status and date of arrival into the U.S.
- Provide the name of the voluntary agency (VOLAG) which resettled you
- Meet immigration status requirements
- Meet work and training requirements
- Meet income and resource requirements
You are not eligible for RCA if you:
- Are eligible for Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
- Have been denied TANF or have been terminated from TANF due to intentional non-compliance with TANF eligibility requirements
- Are a full-time student in an institution of higher education, unless the educational activity is part of a department-approved employability plan
Income and Resource Requirements:
To be eligible for the RCA program you must have resources of less than $1,000. Certain resources, such as the first $5,000 of equity in a vehicle, are exempt.
Unit Size
|Payment Standard
with shelter costs
|Payment Standard
without shelter costs
How it works:
If you are a family of two eligible for RCA, you will get $420 if you have no income. If one or both of you are working, we count half of your earnings against your grant. If you are a family of two, once you earn over $839 per month, you would no longer receive RCA. You will continue to receive RMA for the rest of your first eight months in the U.S.
If you are getting unearned income, such as gift cards, or gambling winnings, or ongoing payments from your VOLAG agency, we count this income dollar for dollar against your grant. If you are a family of two, once you started receiving $420 per month in unearned income you would no longer receive RCA. You will continue to receive RMA for the rest of your first eight months in the U.S.
The Application for Benefits is available in several languages.
- [English]
- [Cambodian]
- [Chinese]
- [Korean]
- [Laotian]
- [Russian]
- [Somali]
- [Spanish]
- [Tagalog]
- [Tigrinya]
- [Ukrainian]
- [Vietnamese]


text:
An annual survey looking for the average cost of the classic Thanksgiving meal shows that the cost of 10 thankful friends and family gorging themselves on turkey and side dishes should cost only about one percent higher than last year.
The American Farm Bureau Federation's (AFBF) 27th annual Thanksgiving Dinner Price Survey shows the cost of Americans' favorite November meal barely increasing over last year's.
The prices of turkey, stuffing, pumpkin pie and other traditional side dishes rang up to $49.48, just 28 cents more than in 2011. Michigan's contribution to the survey added up to the exact same total, but contained some deviations from the national averages for specific products.
Turkey here was 30 cents more per pound than the national average, while a gallon of Michigan milk was almost $1 less expensive. Pumpkin pie mix here was 90 cents pricier than the national average, but cranberries were 46 cents cheaper.
Most of the meal's higher average cost is attributable to a 3 to 4 cents-per-pound increase in the price of the turkey itself, which at $1.39 per pound totaled $22.24 for a 16-pound bird.
That modest increase is likely due to increased consumer demand this time of year, according to AFBF. Other meat products have been relatively more expensive in recent months; along with seasonal interest, that means higher demand for turkey.
Turkey production remains strong; the current supply of birds in cold storage is about 5 percent higher than a year ago.
The entire shopping list included the turkey (a frozen, self-basting young tom); herb-seasoned cube stuffing mix; Libby's Pumpkin Pie Mix; two 9-inch frozen pie shells; fresh sweet potatoes, carrots and celery; enriched brown-and-serve rolls; frozen green peas; a gallon of whole milk; fresh cranberries; whipping cream and a few other basic ingredients for tying everything together.
In addition to the turkey, the rolls, onions, eggs, sugar, flour and butter also increased slightly in price. Less expensive than last year are whipping cream, cubed bread stuffing, sweet potatoes, milk, cranberries, peas, pumpkin pie mix and pie shells. The carrots and celery remained unchanged.
Since the survey began in 1986, the average cost of the Thanksgiving meal has gradually inched upward from the mid- to upper $20 range. Ten years ago the bill totaled $34.56; a decade before that it was $26.39.
Americans spend far less for food—approximately 10 percent of their disposable income—than do citizens of any other nation.
This year's survey averaged retail grocery costs found by 150 volunteer shoppers at grocery stores in 35 states. The annual study is unscientific and Farm Bureau does not make any statistical claims about the survey data, but it is a useful gauge of price trends around the nation.


text:
Our last morning in Asia was depressing. Breakfast didn't help much. Since we flew back to Hong Kong before their breakfast buffet opened, the hotel packed us some breakfast. How thoughtful of them…
The lovely LD displayed some of the contents that were in each plastic container. We were given a boiled egg and a stale sandwich of ham. Lovely...
They also packed each container with a stale BBQ pork bun and two almond cookies. Oh, I remember that they give us a tangerine as well. Breakfast was quite humbling.
To be more harsh, our last meal in Beijing was a great representation of our stay in China. I felt really unwelcome and I felt ripped off. Instead of giving us more time on the Great Wall of China or ordering meals with better food, they tried to get us to spend money at tourist trap markets, and they ordered us a meal with sliced ham and french fries. But as my mom reminded me, "What do you expect when you go on a tour in China?"
I don't know how to end the series of articles: Tea in Asia 2010. With the help of this blog and the photos I took, I'll never forget about my trip to Taiwan, Beijing, and the airport of Hong Kong. I'll never forget how comfortable I felt while biking in the streets of Cijin District. I definitely won't forget about the Great Wall of China either.
I have many regrets about the trip, but I am so glad that I went. Despite what others might say, the trip was well worth it. Thank you to Humber College, CY, DA, DG, and PI for organizing the trip. Thank you to all the guides we had during our whole trip. Thank you to the former Kaohsiung Hospitality College for being such amazing hosts when we were in Taiwan.
(Music starts playing)
Thank you to everyone that went on the trip who made the trip so enjoyable. And finally, I want to thank my mom!
(Exit stage right… err… left.)


text:
Grants, scholarships, work-study and other forms of gift aid just do not cover the full cost of a college education. Many students find that they must supplement their savings with government and private loans. The Federal education loan programs offer lower interest rates and more flexible repayment plans than most consumer loans, making them an attractive way to finance your education. You can also deduct up to $2,500 in student loan interest even if you don't itemize deductions on your income tax return.
Home |
Loans |
Scholarships | Savings | Military Aid |
Other Types of Aid |
Financial Aid Applications
Answering Your Questions | Calculators | Beyond Financial Aid | Site Map | About FinAid®
Copyright © 2020 Fastweb LLC. All rights reserved.


text:
As both Machine Gun Preacher and Coriolanus anticipate their North American premieres at next month's Toronto International Film Festival, new posters have been released for both films. Click images for a larger view.
Read more about the Coriolanus poster from The Hollywood Reporter…
How excited are you for the release of these two films?? Leave us a comment!!
Sunday, Sept. 11, 2011
Machine Gun Preacher WORLD PREMIERE at the Toronto Film Festival – GALA
September 23, 2011
Machine Gun Preacher Limited Release in NY and LA
September 30, 2011
Machine Gun Preacher Wider Release – Locations TBA


text:
High definition low price custom design lenticular 3d plastic pictures.
As your requirement
PVC,PET etc
Full color printing
Home decoration, gift, business gift, art collectible etc.
Ex-factory ( based on material, size, printing colors and quantity)
1) strong stereoperception
2) bright colors
3) high grade
4) strong sensing and vision effect
Delivery time
Normally 7-10 days
T/T bank transfer, Western union, PayPal
How to get a quote?
Q: I don't have any design,can you help on the design?
Yes,of course we can offer professional design with over 10 years experience.
Q: Are your design really free of charge?
Definitely, Free design.
Q: Do you have MOQ?
The Moq is 1000pcs, we can also produce the quantity as you need.
even if you need a sticker with your custom logo, that's also ok.
Q: Can we get some samples before order?
Yes,similar sample is available and it can be sent to you free charges,but pls help to bear the shipping cost.
Q: Which format file do you need?
You can send the artwork in AI, PSD, EPS, CDR, PDF, TIFP, JPG, NG etc. We will check and revise it according to the printing requirements and send back to you for approval before production.
Q: How long can I get my products?
Normally the production time is 5-10 days after artwork confirmed.
For custom sample is 3-5 days,for production is 5-10 days.
It depends on the quantity and produce art due to the artwork.
We are 100% manufacturer and can start production immediately once you order it, also can control the time besides the quality.
We will ship in the fastest way---express courier, normally 3-5days from our factory to your hand.
Q: Can I receive the product without any problem?
If all your shipping details with no problem,normally you will receive the products safety.
You can receive the products safety with the correct shipping details.
If the products losted with our problem, we will make the order free.
Q: What is the package?
OPP bag packed in a strong carton, waterproof.
Q: How can we place the order?
From prepress designing and calibration, label printing, to the final distribution, our service team will guide you throughout the process as below picture.
-Original authentic sticker label our advantage.
-Your inquiry related to our product & price will be replied within 24hours.
-Well-trained & experienced staff are to answer all your inquiries in English.
-Our products include: Various self-adhesive labels, roll label, printed labels, serial number stickers, bar code labels, thermal labels, transparent labels, PVC/PC/PET/PP plastic labels, gold/silver foil label, laser labels, removable labels, price tags Crystal epoxy sticker, epoxy dome sticker, PU dome sticker, cartoon sticker, laser sticker, widow sticker, static sticker, glitter sticker, fluorescent sticker, nail sticker, mobile phone sticker, 3D sticker, gold/silver trim sticker, PVC/PC/PET plastic sticker.
-Our products are exported to Europe, North America, South America, Africa, many countries in Asia, all over the world.
-Good after-sale service offered, please get back if you got question.


text: Let me help guide you through the often complicated process. I have put together a complete Reverse Mortgage eBook to guide you along each step. It includes everything you could want from eligibly questions, how to get started, costs associated with the process, and busting common Reverse Mortgage myths! Download the free eBook today


text:
Homeland Security, Eh?
I sat on the Canadian side of the border for eight minutes, staring intently at the maroon Dodge Caravan ahead of me and trying to figure out what cartoon the kids were watching in the back. Finally the border patrol waived them through - he'd deduced that SpongeBob Squarepants had much greater things to worry about than invading US soil. It was my turn.
If you've never driven through customs and you have three hours to kill, I recommend it. It reminded of that scene in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, where the troll is questioning King Arthur and his knights before they're allowed to cross the bridge.
"What is your name?"
"King Arthur"
"What is your quest?"
"To find the holy grail."
"Are you carrying in any fruit or vegetables?"
The questions were basic - where have you been, where are you going, how long have you been in Canada, and that one about produce. I got them all right except the one about how long I'd been in Canada. I'd said four hours and then corrected myself - I planned on being there four hours, but the slow crossing procedure made it take seven. The customs agent did NOT appreciate me pointing out why I'd been mistaken.
I still passed. That makes sense - I got a 75 on their little test. Though if I had gotten one more question wrong, they may have made me take summer border-crossing school.
I'm sure there are random searches to deter people from smuggling things over, like firearms or zucchini. But these questions are ridiculous. If anyone is going to get caught by a causal conversation with Border Patrol RFD, they'd have screwed up before they did any damage anyway.
"Boss, I'm really sorry I didn't blow up the arena. I tried, but someone asked me what time it was, and I got all flustered. All these questions are really stressful. I need a hug."
I had plenty of time to think this all through, as I was waiting in the airport a few days later. After spending an hour and twenty minutes in the security line, I unpacked my laptop, took off my shoes and belt, and showed my ID. After clutching my pants on the way through the dignity-removal unit, I picked up my carryon - you know, the one with the knife in it.
A few weeks ago, I'd accidentally left a small pocket knife in my bag. I got through unchecked, so I kept leaving it there. This was the sixth time I've gotten through airport security with a knife. I'm sure my next flight will be the seventh.
The knife is small - it probably couldn't do any more damage than, say, a box cutter. But even if they confiscated it I'd still have another weapon. Whenever I fly early, I pick up breakfast by my gate, purchasing my orange juice in a glass bottle. While I can't imagine a terrorist taking a plane with little more than Orangina, it's not comforting to know it's an option.
The reason we're probably safe from Orangina attacks is of how embarrassing it'd be to the terrorist if he failed.
"Did you hear what happened to [insert generically offensive middle-eastern name here]? He tried to take over a plane with vitamin C! Ahahahaha. Silly [insert generically offensive middle-eastern name here]."
What was it that took the Dodge Caravan so long to pass through that checkpoint? Besides the obvious pun on "nuclear family," what could they have said that triggered eight minutes of questions?
"Well, your story checks out. Your three kids seem harmless - they're all safely buckled in, especially the one in the car seat. You've got three "Support Our Troops" magnets on the back of your car, your bumper sticker is an American flag, and you're eating freedom fries. But what is your favorite color?"
"Blue. No, yel… Ahhhhh!!!!"
The only thing that makes us any safer than we were three years ago is the increased willingness Americans have to put their lives on the line for each other. The Department of Homeland Security, which made news a few months ago when they raided a store in Oregon to confiscate knock-offs of the Rubix Cube, is doing little to make me sleep any easier. Though I was really worried about Rubix getting all his proper royalties. Thanks, guys.
If someone takes over a plane using a pocket knife or an Orangina bottle, we'll all attack him, and that is what is keeping us secure. Not removing our belts or proving our laptops have the ability to come out of their bags, or spending three hours in line to get back into America. Which is also silly - if you're going to try to trip up the terrorists, don't give them all that extra time to study.
When I was leaving the country, the Canadian border patrol was a bit trickier. Instead of asking questions like, "Are you carrying in any fruits or vegetables," they asked, "where are your fruits and vegetables?" I almost answered, "in the trunk!" but luckily I remembered that I am not a produce smuggler, and instead replied, "I don't have any. Though I have a few freedom fries left if you're hungry."
Canada has a sense of humor, already having produced Jim Carey, the Kids in the Hall, and the Toronto Maple Leafs. But I wouldn't recommend getting smarmy at the airport. While at LaGuardia, I refused to remove my sneakers. I told the security guard that sometimes they didn't set off the alarm and I was willing to take my chances. I passed through okay - and then saw her set off the machine manually. After checking me thoroughly, she harangued me about how despite where I'm from, in New York they do things differently. I'd already moved to Los Angeles by then, but I still had my New York ID. I showed it to her, complete with an address about five miles from the airport, and asked her what part of New Jersey she was from.
And with that, I picked up my knife and glass bottle and headed towards my flight.


text:
Mall name:
2034 Green Acres Mall, Sunrise Highway, Valley Stream, New York - NY 11581
Phone number to Green Acres Mall mall
516 561 1157
Hours (mall)
Monday - Saturday 10:00 am - 9:30 pm, Sunday 11:00 am - 7:00 pm.
Driving directions
Other stores in Green Acres Mall:
Looking for another location of Lane Bryant store?
Go to Lane Bryant store locator to see all Lane Bryant stores


text:
They grow up so fast, even on a hit series like ABC's "Castle."
In season three, premiering on Sept. 20., mystery writer and crime-stopper Castle (Nathan Fillion) will have to deal with the ultimate foe -- his daughter Alexis brings home her first boyfriend.
Clearly it's not going to be an easy adjustment.
"You see someone with your daughter and something comes over you," Fillion tells PopcornBiz from the "Castle" season three premiere party. "Just imagine what happens when you walk into a living room and you see your daughter and her lip gloss is a little smeared and his hair is a little tussled."
"Try to imagine the face that comes over you. It's not going to be, 'Hey guys what's up?' " he adds. "It's going to be a look at the kid that says I can take you apart. And you can because you fight dirty."
Part of the problem might be that Castle is such a player with the ladies. Alexis (played by Molly C. Quinn) has always been the mature kid while her charismatic, philandering father knows how the male brain works.
"He's such a player himself that he doesn't want his daughter to get played," Quinn tells us. "So there's a lot of commotion."
There are a lot of parallels in the show's father-daughter relationship between the media-played out relationship of Bill and Chelsea Clinton ("that's actually a really good comparison," says Quinn. "There are a lot of the same qualities.")
Further, while Chelsea Clinton went for the Stanford brainiac in the boyfriend-turned-husband department instead of rebelling with a troublemaker, Alexis will make the same choice.
"Alexis goes for the smart, computer-hacker types," says Quinn. "There are no rockers."
"Castle" Crisis! Daughter Alexis Castle To Get Boyfriend in Season Three
They grow up so fast, even on a hit series like ABC's "Castle."


text:
Hello everybody
I downloaded and install the latest version and found a bug or incomplete german translation.
This occours if I want to mark articles as read. Only "Anhänge herunterladen" use the correct translation.
Bug: German translation not complete
An RSS/Atom newsreader with features comparable to commercial newsreaders.
1 post • Page 1 of 1
1 post • Page 1 of 1
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users


text:
Decades after Cambodia's brutal Khmer Rouge movement oversaw the deaths of 1.7 million people by starvation, overwork and execution, the regime's imprisoned top leaders are escaping justice one by one. How? Old age.
Thursday's death of 87-year-old Ieng Sary, one of the founders of the Khmer Rouge, has fueled urgent calls among survivors and rights groups for the country's U.N.-backed tribunal to expedite proceedings against the increasingly frail and aging leaders of the radical communist group, which ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979.
Ieng Sary's wife, former Social Affairs Minister Ieng Thirith, was ruled unfit to stand trial last year because she has a degenerative mental illness consistent with Alzheimer's disease. Only two top Khmer Rouge leaders - ex-head of state Khieu Samphan, who is 81, and the movement's former chief ideologist, Nuon Chea, who is 86 - remain on trial for charges they carried out some of the 20th century's most horrific crimes.
There are growing fears that both men could die before a verdict is rendered. Both are frail with high blood pressure and have suffered strokes.
"The defendants are getting old, and the survivors are getting old," said Bou Meng, one of the few Cambodians to survive Tuol Sleng prison, known as S-21, where up to 16,000 people were tortured and killed during the Khmer Rouge era. "The court needs to speed up its work."
"I have been waiting for justice for nearly 40 years," Bou Meng, 70, told The Associated Press. "I never thought it would take so long."
When the Khmer Rouge captured Phnom Penh in April 1975, they began moving an estimated 1 million people - even hospital patients - from the capital into the countryside in an effort to create a communist agrarian utopia.
By the time the bizarre experiment ended in 1979 with an invasion by Vietnamese troops, an estimated 1.7 million people had died in Cambodia, which had a population of only about 7 million at the time. Most died from starvation, medical neglect, slave-like working conditions and execution under the Maoist regime. Their bodies were dumped in shallow mass graves that still dot the countryside.
The tribunal, officially known as the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, was tasked with seeking justice for crimes committed during that era.
The court was 10 years in the making and opened in 2006. But despite some $150 million in funding, it has so far convicted only one defendant: Kaing Guek Eav, also known as Duch, the commandant of S-21 prison.
Duch was sentenced in 2010 to 35 years in prison for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The sentence was reduced to a 19-year term because of time previously served and other technicalities, a move that sparked angry criticism from victims who said it was too lenient. Cambodia has no death penalty.
Several other major Khmer Rouge figures died before the court even existed, including supreme leader Pol Pot in 1998.
Ieng Sary's death was no surprise given his age and ailing health, said Ou Virak, who heads the Cambodian Center for Human Rights. But "given the fact that the other two defendants are also in their 80s, it should act as a wake-up call to all concerned - the Cambodian government, the U.N., the international donors and the tribunal itself - that these cases need to be expedited urgently so that justice can be served."
"The whole future of the tribunal is currently in limbo, and the possibility that hundreds of millions of dollars will have been wasted is now a very real threat," Ou Virak said. "Most importantly, though, if all three die before their guilt or innocence can be determined, then the Cambodian people will quite understandably feel robbed of justice."
The court has been criticized before for the sluggish pace of proceedings. But one of its prosecutors, William Smith, said the trial has taken time because the indictments are lengthy and the list of alleged crimes long.
The tribunal has been dogged by other problems, including funding shortages from international donors. Earlier this month, Cambodian translators angry that they had gone without pay for three months went on strike just before the court was to hear testimony from two foreign experts.
The tribunal has also been hit by infighting and angry resignations by foreign judges over whether to try more Khmer Rouge defendants on war crimes charges. Human Rights Watch has also blamed Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia since 1985, for obstructing the court's search for justice.
Many former members of the Khmer Rouge, including Hun Sen himself, hold important positions in the current government, and the powerful premier has warned no more trials will be allowed.
Hun Sen has "has done everything in his power to stymie the tribunal's work," said Brad Adams, Asia director for the rights group. "Hun Sen bears primary responsibility for denying justice to the victims of Ieng Sary's atrocities."
"Cambodians now face the prospect that only three people will be held legally accountable for the destruction of their country," Adams said.
Ieng Sary founded the Khmer Rouge with Pol Pot and served as its public face abroad as foreign minister. He faced charges of genocide and crimes against humanity, accused of facilitating the torture and execution of regime opponents during bloody purges.
Before his arrest in 2007, he lived a comfortable life between his opulent villa in Phnom Penh and his home in Pailin, a former Khmer Rouge stronghold in the northwest.
The trial against Ieng Sary, his wife and the last two accused senior Khmer Rouge leaders alive began jointly in 2011. All have denied guilt for any crimes and have said they acted in Cambodians' best interest during the radical communist movement's rule.
Lars Olsen, another tribunal spokesman, said Thursday that "we understand that many probably are disappointed with the fact that we cannot complete the proceedings against Ieng Sary, and therefore we cannot determine" whether he is guilty or innocent of the charges against him.
But it's important to remember, he said, that the case against Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan "is not over." He said it would not be affected and proceedings will continue on schedule.
Ieng Sary died early Thursday at a Phnom Penh hospital, where he was admitted earlier this month suffering from weakness and fatigue. He suffered heart failure, said one of the prosecutors in his case, Chea Leang, who added that under Cambodian law, all charges against him will now officially be dropped.
Yim Sopheak, a 47-year-old street vendor who said the Khmer Rouge regime had executed her parents, said Ieng Sary "deserved to die in prison, not in a hospital. He should have died in the same way as he executed my parents and other people."
Yi Chea, a 72-year-old flower seller who says her husband and other relatives were also killed during Khmer Rouge rule, said she was happy Ieng Sary was gone. But, she added that "he did not deserve to die naturally like this."
Tribunal hearings resume March 25, and once again, the health status of the defendants will be on the agenda. Neth Pheaktra, the prosecutor, said foreign medical experts will testify on whether Khmer Rouge leader Nuon Chea is still fit to stand trial.
Pitman reported from Bangkok.


text:
...but get no "Please verify by putting a code word in at this page." email...
...or do get it, but the page doesn't work.
THEN LET US KNOW HERE! I need your:
- username that you picked for your comic
- when you signed up
- What ISP you are using.
- and if you got the verify email, but the verify page isn't working.
Some ISP's, such as AT&T and AOL, and Microsoft's Hotmail/Live Mail are blocking us. If you cannot get our email, you need to contact them. We have tried to follow their procedures and continue to get burned. Applying pressure on your end seems to be the only way to get them to fix the problem...
...well, except Microsoft's Hotmail/Live Mail. Spammers are all over that like white on rice.
Yahoo! Mail is being delayed. I've contacted Yahoo! about it, and will try to get it cleared out. It's not on our end.
IF YOU GOT VERIFIED, AND YOUR SITE IS UP, BUT NEVER GOT A PASSWORD AFTER THE 7-10 DAY WAITING PERIOD, THIS ISN'T THE THREAD FOR YOU! Don't post here! Instead, follow these instructions:
Dr Neo Lao wrote:If your comic is showing up (or at least the account is) then that means that you should be able to go get a password on your own right now.
Read this page in the CGWiki for instructions on how to change/get your FTP password.
Take the time to read through the other tutorials if you have not already done so.
Important! You will need to make at least one change on the templates in order to get the comic to show up in IE - find this part in the templates:
- Code: Select all
.info {font-size:0.75em;}
And change it to this:
- Code: Select all
.info {font-size:0.75em;}
That apostrophe means that nothing except the background colour show up in Internet Explorer (but the comics work fine in all other browsers).
I repeat UNABLE TO VERIFY PEOPLE ONLY THIS THREAD, please. I thank you for your patience!


text:
This august place is not necessarily known for co-operation and complementary work, but I want to thank all the members for their hard work and our elders who are here with us today for such a momentous evening.
House of Commons Hansard #246 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was riding.


text:
The beauty team at Peter Som's spring '13 show were inspired by the idea of an East Village party girl who, point blank, does what she wants. Tom Pecheux for MAC created an innocent, artsy makeup look that, like a child's drawing, was simply colorful and happy.
The star here, though, was the brighter-than-bright eye (a huge trend for spring '13). To get the look, Pecheux began with a soft yellow shadow on the lid (from a new MAC Spring Trend Palette). He then applied with his fingers, rather than brushes, MAC Pro Paint Sticks in a rainbow of hues to create the colorful ombre eye. Pecheux avoided eyeliner, brow color, and mascara (seriously, mascara is OUT for spring) to keep the focus on the technicolor lids. To finish it off — and add a creaminess to the lip — he slicked on a tiny bit of nude lipstick ("Posh Tone" from the spring collection).
The hipster-princess-gone-bad hair was created by Wella Professionals' global creative director Eugene Souleiman, along with Wella's color ambassador Aura (One name only. She dyed her hair hunter green the night before the show. Yeah, she's way cool). According to Aura, the collection's concept of "Women on the Verge," inspired her and the Wella team to create a stylish, fashion-forward look that made the girls appear as if they had just rolled out of bed. Aura and the team painted extensions to create the dusty, "punky-pastel" shades, and then treated the hair with Wella Professionals Ocean Spritz to create the perfect "slept-in" texture.
And then there were the nails. Exclusively for Peter Som spring '13, Zoya color expert Rebecca Isa created a collection of three shades: creamy orange, mint, and white, all with cooler undertones, which Isa says, "is more flattering against the skin." For the runway, models sported french manicures with mint on the base and orange on the tips — honestly, what's better than that for spring?


text:
Kelsey Plum, La Jolla Country Day's first-team all-state point guard, has been selected as a McDonald's All-American and will play for the West in the April 3 basketball All-Star game at the United Center in Chicago.
Plum, who passed the 2,000-point mark in her career earlier this year, is the first San Diego athlete named to the prestigious boys or girls game since La Costa Canyon's Chase Budinger in 2006 when the games were played in San Diego.
"Kelsey is an unbelievable player and it showed against the nationally ranked teams we played this year," said LJCD coach Terri Bamford, who had one of the other two San Diego girls to play in this game — Candice Wiggins in 2004. That same year, San Diego High's Charde Houston was also selected and she and Wiggins both are currently playing in the WNBA.
"(Plum) had 40 points against Christ the King (New York) and 30 against (Santa Ana) Mater Dei — nobody could stop her."
At 5-feet-8, Plum was pivotal to LJCD's state-championship run a year ago as a ball-handler, shooter and passer. She scored 51 points earlier this year against Dobson (Arizona), had 10 assists against Stockton St. Mary's and 17 rebounds against Bishop's.
This year she has been asked to pick up all areas of her game and, after signing with the University of Washington in November, has led the Torreys to another Coastal League crown and what is expected to be a No. 1 seed for the San Diego Section Division IV playoffs at the seeding meeting Saturday.


text:
The Spikes & Sparrow Bi-fold Wallet has a slim and sleek design for the man who is on the go. Its very compact and allows for quick and easy access to your cards. It is thin enough to sit in your front pocket to add additional security. An outer pocket can hold your business or credit cards. This wallet is designed and manufactured by a company in the Netherlands and is made from high quality buffalo leather. This wallet is exclusively design for and sold by TheWalletKing so rest assured you are receiving a very exclusive wallet. Spikes & Sparrow is a Dutch brand that has a widespread reputation for its women's, men's and business bags. Meanwhile Spikes & Sparrow is available in 25 countries including the USA, Russia and Scandanavia.
These discounts are automatically applied at checkout.
|# of Wallets
|Discount Amount
|3% Off
|5% off
|7% off
For questions on multi unit discounts please email us at firstname.lastname@example.com
Additional Information
The Wallet King
We thank you for shopping with us. Please contact us if you have any questions


text:
Why Should I…?
February 17, 2010 2 Comments
My car needed an oil change. And instead of suffering through the rigamarole that often occurs when going to the dealership (even with a coupon for a freebie), I decided to use the Valvoline "Instant Oil Change" joint not far away. You don't even get out of your car – they have a remarkably efficient system for knocking out quick stuff like this.
And knock it out they did. Very friendly and crisp service. Zoom-zoom and it was done (yes, I have a Mazda). I was very happy with Vince and the gang up in Kinnelon until the very end – when he pointed out a section on the receipt and asked if I would make a phone call ("only about 4 1/2 minutes!") to tell Valvoline about how they did.
Just plug in that 17-digit number and go through a series of questions. Ummm…yeah. I just saved a bunch of time by using their service, then I want to take more minutes of my time to get immersed in an automated phone survey…with no incentive to do so? Why should I?
Oh – I had a chance to win $500.00. Right.
As I drove home, I mused on this – what would motivate me to actually make that call? What would make me WANT to do something so optional and non-rewarding, even if (as a marketing guy) I know why they're doing it and I benefited from the good service?
Well, when totaling up the bill, Vince asked if I had any coupons. Ummm…no. There is a seemingly random appearance at times of such coupons for Valvoline but I can never keep track. Well – what if the incentive to make the phone call was to receive a coupon for $7.00 off the next oil change? And furthermore – what if I could do the survey on-line, and specify whether I wanted to print it out immediately, OR have them e-mail it to me at an interval I choose – say, in 3 months as a reminder, just when I'm due for the next oil change?
That, I would do. And really – isn't it better to provide coupons to already-existing customers, in a way that actually helps ensure their return? Seems like a no-brainer to me.
So, Valvoline or other-purveyors-of-similar-services – Tell you about my visit? Sure – it was fine, but can be better for both you and me. So here's an idea for you, from a customer/marketer who won't make that phone call for no reason, but will spend 15 minutes blogging about how to improve the experience. Hope to see you again in 3 months or so (if I remember…!)
Subscribe to the StickyFigure blog
Twitter: @swoodruff


text:
What Other People Think about Christians
We continue to document the opinions of non-christians through independent research and engaging with people outside our faith. These are NOT the opinions we hold, but the opinions and experiences of those outside the Christian faith. We hope it motivates and inspires you to join our cause
|Story or Opinion


text:
Greetings from MrSkeleton.com. Bucky�s Boneyard is back and will be exhibiting at the MHC THIS MONTH!
MrSkeleton.com is the exclusive B2B and OEM supplier for the formerly discontinued skeleton props offered by Anatomical Chart Company. We will be on site to familiarize the haunters with the new and returning line of great products formerly sold under the Buckys Boneyard label.
See also, Frighteners Entertainment and Boo Crew Production, MrSkeleton dealers who will be selling our product with great cash & carry deals on selected MrSkeleton products.
Also attending will be our friends at skeletonstore, the official marketer of the core products from Buckys Boneyard.
For more information about MrSkeleton.com., please see our FAQ page at the site. Also, you may contact me directly as needed. My email is firstname.lastname@example.com. Our phone number is 678-748-5722.
Best regards, Jeff Nix @ MrSkeleton.com.
MrSkeleton.com is your world class B2B and OEM resource for the extended line of Bucky skeletal components providing affordable, anatomically accurate reproduction models and accessories to the professional haunters industry, studio prop craftsmen trade, professional prop houses, catalog & online web retailers, and theme, entertainment and amusement parks.


text:
For a harmonic function $\Phi$ on a simply connected subset $\Gamma$ of $\mathbb{R}^3$, define a guide curve $\gamma: I \mapsto \Gamma$ of $\Phi$ as a simple regular $C^1$ curve such that
- all point in $\gamma(I)$ are critical points of $\Phi$, and
- for all points $p$ in $\gamma(I)$ there exists a neighborhood $V$ of $p$ so that all critical points of $\Phi$ within $V$ are also in $\gamma(I)$.
My question is whether there are any such guide curves which do not have an analytic parametrization?
For a concrete example, consider $\Phi(x,y,z)=x\ y\ z$ for which any part of a coordinate axis not including the origin is a guide curve.


text:
One of my favorite things ever on earth is crisp, clear blue water. Throw a dash of sunlight on that, and bam. Perfection.
This shot of a curling wave in Hawaii looks pretty fantastic. It also looks pretty. If you look at it as a small thumbnail, it kind of looks like a Monet painting, what with all the lush colors.
My oldest brother taught me how to surf while in Costa Rica. I couldn't handle waves like these on a surfboard, though. I mean, once you get your neck caught in a bad angle even just once, there's no wearing down that paranoia every time you revisit another taunting wave.
BuzzFeed has a whole set of shots they've collected, but I've dropped a few more selects down below to light your eyes ablaze with jealousy. Or maybe that's just what it's doing to me. Brb, I need a vacation to Hawaii now.
Enjoy your off topic thread. Kirk is out doing things. He returns tomorrow. Until then, you will look at the random things I pick out for you. Yay!