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Brussels 7 March 2007
News Alert
Three Excellent European Research Projects share
€1m Descartes Prize for Research
Three research projects financed by the European Commission were today awarded a share of the €1m Descartes prize for Research at a ceremony in Brussels. The High Energy Stereoscopic System is a telescope system that has revolutionised existing astronomical observation techniques and increased our knowledge and understanding of the Milky Way and beyond. The Hydrosol project has developed a method of producing hydrogen from water-splitting, using the energy of the sun, which could lead to environmentally friendly production of hydrogen for energy purposes. The third project, APOPTOSIS, has made great strides in our understanding of apoptosis (programmed cell death), which will lead to new developments in future treatment of cancer and AIDS. The awards were given at a ceremony in Brussels, attended by the German Federal Minister for Education and Research, Dr Annette Schavan and European Science and Research Commissioner, Dr Janez Potočnik. The ceremony coincides with celebrations of the contribution of research to the European Union over the last 50 years.
The High Energy Stereoscopic System (HESS) brings together about 100 scientists from Germany, France, the UK, Ireland, Poland, the Czech Republic, Armenia, South Africa and Namibia. With EU support they have designed and built the system, developed the complex software needed to collect and analyse data and offered training to young astronomers and astrophysicists.
The Hydrosol project is composed of academics and businesses from Greece, Germany, Denmark and the UK, and was awarded an International Global 100 Eco-tech award in 2005 and a Technical Achievement award from the International Partnership for the Hydrogen Economy in 2006.
APOPTOSIS brings together some of the leading names in cell biology, from Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy and Sweden to examine the mechanisms involved in programmed cell death. Since 2001, the team's research papers have been cited over fifty thousand times in other publications, an extraordinary indicator of the team's success.
A further five projects were also recognised as finalists. These are: NEMABS (Gaining a clear picture of molecules through colouring); QGATES (Quantum mechanics for breakthroughs in information processing); TAMRAM (Thermally Assisted Magnetic Random Access Memory); DYNAQPRIM (Protein dynamics in cell nuclei) and GLOBALIFE (Life courses in the globalisation process)
Launched in 2000, the EU Descartes Prize for Research rewards teams of
scientists for outstanding scientific or technological results achieved through
trans-national research in any field of science, including the social sciences,
humanities and economics.
This year's winners were selected from amongst 13 nominees, which were in turn selected from 66 submissions. The award is selected by the Grand Jury, chaired by Ms Claudie Haigneré, former French Minister for EU Affairs and ESA Astronaut. The Jury is made up of 22 eminent scientists from 11 EU countries, plus Brazil, Morocco, Russia and Turkey, and covers a broad range of scientific disciplines.
For additional information on the EU Descartes Research Prize, and the Descartes Prize Press Conference, please contact
Patrick Vittet-Philippe
Press and Information Officer
Research DG
European Commission
Tel.: +32.2.296.90.56,
mobile + 32 477 27 4663
E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
For background information on the Descartes Prize
Georges Vlandas
Project Officer, Research DG
European Commission
Tel.: +32.2.296.55.40
E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
Spokeswoman for Science and Research
Antonia Mochan
Communication DG
European Commission
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The Descartes Prizes online
Descartes Prize for Science Research
: Project H.E.S.S.
A new glimpse at the highest-energy Universe
© mhw.foto
Coordinator: Prof Werner Hofmann
Participating Countries: Germany, Czech Republic, UK, Poland, France, Ireland, South Africa, Armenia
The High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.) – an array of four big "Cherenkov" telescopes built and operated in Namibia by a European consortium together with African partners – has in the last years revolutionized astronomy at the very highest energies of the electromagnetic spectrum, several orders of magnitude beyond the energy range accessible to satellite-based instruments.
The telescopes detect light emitted when cosmic gamma rays with tera electron volt energies – about a million times higher than the energies of normal light - are absorbed in the Earth's atmosphere. By reconstructing the trajectory of the gamma rays, an image of the very-high-energy gamma-ray sky is generated. In its first years of operation, H.E.S.S. results have provided a number of breakthroughs in this young field of astronomy, such as the first resolved image of a supernova shock wave acting as a cosmic particle accelerator, the first survey of the central region of our Galaxy revealing a large number of novel gamma-ray sources, the detailed study of high-energy radiation from the centre of our Galaxy, or the discovery of a stellar black hole – a "microquasar" – generating gamma rays. The H.E.S.S. results reveal entirely new views of a "nonthermal" universe, governed by processes acting at energies well beyond the energy scales provided by even the hottest stars in the Cosmos.
The H.E.S.S. project involves about 100 scientists from Germany, France, the UK, Ireland, Poland, the Czech Republic, Armenia, South Africa and Namibia. They have designed and built the instrument, have developed the complex software for data acquisition and data analysis, and are operating the telescopes for about 1000 hours each year, when the sky is dark enough to see the faint gamma-ray traces. The project also provides excellent training opportunities for young scientists.
H.E.S.S. - Exploring the Universe's New Frontiers
The glimmering stars in the night sky have captured the human imagination ever since we started to look at the heavens. The ancients tracked the progress of planets and named the constellations. With advances in technology, the night sky became more familiar; entire galaxies were discovered and new theories about the structure of space emerged. The H.E.S.S. project is opening a new window for astronomy that raises as many questions as it answers.
In 1936, Victor Francis Hess shared the Nobel Prize in Physics, for his discovery of cosmic rays. His method, primitive by today's standards, involved taking a balloon up to more than 5,000 metres where, with only a few instruments, he proved that ionisation occurring in the atmosphere was of cosmic origin. It was in his honour that the H.E.S.S. project was named. H.E.S.S. stands for High Energy Stereoscopic System and is the most sensitive instrument on earth for gamma ray astronomy in the Very High Energy range (VHE, above 1011 Electronvolts or 0.1 Tera Electronvolts).
H.E.S.S. is not an average telescope. In actuality it is not one, but a system of four 13 metre telescopes each with over 107 square metres of mirror area. Other telescopes view the cosmos through normal optical light, radio waves or X-rays. H.E.S.S. was specifically designed to observe gamma rays, which are the most extreme form of electromagnetic radiation. The energy in these gamma rays is over a million times greater than that generated by an average X-ray machine. Before H.E.S.S. no Very High Energy gamma ray sky survey was possible.
The initial planning of H.E.S.S. started in 1998, when a consortium of partners from Europe and Africa got together with the intention of constructing a telescope system to observe gamma rays, a project which had previously not been realised on this scale. This was a field in which new research had to be done.
Location is an essential element in the construction of any telescope. The world's population creates a lot of background 'noise' which interferes with night time observation. This noise is audible, but visible also. The noise is created by domestic and street lighting. This is the equivalent of trying to listen to a radio during a rock concert. Also of absolute importance is the absence of rainfall and pollution. These background lights, pollution and cloud cover, severely limit a telescope's ability to see into the night sky.
The perfect site was found in the Khomas Highlands of Namibia in the southern part of Africa. At 1,800 metres above sea level, the site provides clear skies for optimal viewing of the night sky. Another advantage is the fact that it is located in the southern hemisphere, which allows for a perfect view of the Milky Way.
The location is important due to the difficulty of tracking gamma rays, as they can't penetrate the Earth's atmosphere. A remarkable effect, however, occurs when gamma rays strike the Earth's atmosphere. This is known as the 'atmospheric Cherenkov effect'. The moment when gamma rays come into contact with the Earth's atmosphere they create a flash of blue light which only lasts a few billionths of a second.
The H.E.S.S. telescopes detect these faint, short flashes of bluish light and collect it using the mirrors that then reflect it onto extremely sensitive and fast cameras. Each image indicates the position of a single gamma-ray photon in the sky, and the amount of light collected gives the energy of the initial gamma ray. Building up the images photon by photon allows H.E.S.S. to create maps of astronomical objects as they appear in gamma rays.
After only two years of operation, it has already revolutionised the field of astrophysics with a number of major achievements. H.E.S.S. was the first to record an astronomical image of a Supernova shock wave at very high gamma ray energies, thus making the hypothesis about the origin of Victor Hess' cosmic rays in the remnants of Supernova explosions experimentally plausible. H.E.S.S. collaboration members are also world leaders in the theoretical foundation of this origin.
A second result was that the Galactic Centre - the rotational center of the Milky Way galaxy - has been identified as a potential strong gamma-ray source and that nearby interstellar gas clouds are 'glowing' in gamma rays. Scientists presume they are irradiated by high-energy particles generated in a prehistoric particle accelerator close to the Galactic Centre. A third achievement was the discovery of a stellar black hole source of gamma rays in our Galaxy.
H.E.S.S. also found that the VHE gamma rays from distant super massive Black Holes far beyond our Galaxy are characteristically absorbed in interactions with starlight accumulated in extragalactic space. Conventional wisdom believed that this accumulation began with the star formation in the Universe. The absorbing light was indeed revealed to come from known external galaxies. However, it does not show the same signature as the first generation of bright stars. As a result, the search for a clear sign of the primordial sources of radiant energy that lit up the Universe a few hundred million years after the Big Bang must go on.
Led By:
Max Planck Institut für Kernphysik
Saupfercheckweg 1, Heidelberg, Germany.
Prof Werner Hofmann
Dr Michael Punch, Institut National de Physique Nucleaire et de Physique des
Particules (IN2P3/CNRS), France.
Dr Paula Chadwick, University of Durham, United Kingdom.
Prof Thomas Lohse, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (UBER), Germany.
Prof Götz Heinzelmann, Universität Hamburg (Uhamburg), Germany.
Prof Stefan Wagner, Universität Heidelberg (LSW) Germany.
Prof Reinhard Schlickeiser, Ruhr-Universität Bochum (Ubochum), Germany.
Prof Christian Stegmann, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (UErlangen), Germany.
Prof Andrea Santangelo, Eberhard Universität Tübingen (UTübingen), Germany.
Dr Philippe Goret, Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique, Centre de Saclay (CEA/DSM/DAPNIA), France.
Dr Helene Sol, Institut National des Sciences de l'Univers (IN2P3/CNRS), France.
Prof Luke O'Connor Drury, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS), Ireland.
Prof Ladislav Rob, Institut of Particle and Nuclear Physics, Charles University (IPNP), Czech.
Prof Ocker Cornelis de Jager, North-West University (NWU), South Africa.
Prof Michal Ostrowski, Jagiellonian University (JU), Poland.
Dr Rudak Bronislaw, Nicolaus Copernicus Astronomical Center Polish Academy of Sciences (NCAC), Poland.
Dr Ashot Akhperjanian, Yerevan Physics Institute (YerPhI), Armenia.
Winner: Project HYDROSOL
Solar Hydrogen Production via Water Splitting
© mhw.foto
Coordinator: Dr Athanasios Konstandopoulos
Participating Countries: Greece, Germany, Denmark, UK
The HYDROSOL team has developed an innovative solar thermo-chemical reactor for the production of hydrogen from water splitting, resembling the familiar catalytic converter of automobiles. The reactor contains no moving parts and is constructed from special ceramic multi-channelled monoliths that absorb solar radiation. The monolith channels are coated with active water-splitting nanomaterials capable of splitting water vapour passing through the reactor by trapping its oxygen and leaving as product pure hydrogen in the effluent gas stream. In a next step, the oxygen trapping material is solar-aided regenerated (i.e. releases the oxygen absorbed) and a cyclic operation is established on a single, closed reactor/receiver system. The integration of solar energy concentration systems with systems capable to split water will have an immense impact on energy economics worldwide, as it is a promising route to provide affordable, renewable solar hydrogen with virtually zero CO2 emissions.
The uniqueness of the HYDROSOL approach is based on coating nanomaterials with very high water-splitting activity and regenerability (produced by novel routes such as aerosol & combustion synthesis) on special ceramic reactors with high capacity for solar heat absorption. The production of solar hydrogen will offer opportunities to many poor regions of the world which have a huge solar potential. Producing solar hydrogen will create new opportunities for countries of Southern Europe that can become local producers of energy.
HYDROSOL - Heralding a new age in energy
With traditional energy sources diminishing, interest in alternative energy supplies is increasing. Hydrogen is considered by many to be the next link in the evolution of energy, after nuclear energy. A new chemical engineering process hopes to make the 'hydrogen economy' a reality.
The 19th Century saw the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. Yet despite significant advances in technology, little has really changed in the way the world produces its energy. Most of the energy produced is created through the burning of fossil fuels like coal and oil, which has the negative side-effect of releasing CO2 into the atmosphere, one of the main causes of global warming.
The global supply of fossil fuels will not last forever and so the EU has committed its member states to increasing their renewable energy use as well as reducing their CO2 emissions. Energy experts have long pointed to hydrogen as a bright energy hope for the future. Hydrogen is cleaner than fossil fuels and is the most plentiful element in the universe. However, hydrogen does not occur by itself in nature and is only found in combination with other elements, such as in the air we breathe or the water we drink.
The HYDROSOL project has come up with an innovative way of extracting hydrogen from water. Traditionally, the technology to split water (H2O) into its separate hydrogen and oxygen elements has been carried out through a process known as electrolysis. The problem with this method is that the energy required to extract the hydrogen comes from burning fossil fuels, resulting in an almost nil saving in fossil fuels.
HYDROSOL has overcome this problem through the use of a novel solar hydrogen production reactor, which produces practically zero carbon dioxide emissions and uses only solar energy and water. It is estimated that the cost of hydrogen produced in this way could be competitive within a decade, with non-renewable hydrogen currently produced from natural gas, attracting additional costs, for example, through emissions taxes. For Dr Athanasios G. Konstandopoulos - the project's coordinator - clean, renewable and cost-effective energy is only half the story. For him, an equally significant achievement is the revival in the field of Chemical Engineering that Solar Hydrogen Chemical Technology promises to bring about.
Solar hydrogen production is made possible by a key development in the project: nanomaterials with high water-splitting ability, undergoing cycles of oxidation and reduction. These nanomaterials are used as coatings in the HYDROSOL solar monolithic reactor, the reactor itself allows this process to be simply repeated continuously without modifications.
Monolithic reactors first emerged from traditional Chemical Engineering, with their most familiar application being the automobile catalytic converters. For the first time, this reactor geometry has been successfully transferred to solar applications, creating a state-of-the-art solar hydrogen reactor. The reactor contains no moving parts and is made from a high temperature ceramic material, which is heated by absorbing concentrated solar radiation. The reactor geometry is that of a honeycomb with many millimetre-sized parallel channels, each of them coated with the active water-splitting nanomaterial.
As water vapour travels through the reactor, oxygen atoms are absorbed by the coating in the honeycomb channels, similar to the way a sponge soaks up water, leaving only the hydrogen to carry on. The hydrogen produced is clean and ready for use. The 'oxygen-soaked' nanomaterial is then heated to release the oxygen allowing a cyclical operation, so that the entire process (water splitting and redox material regeneration) can be achieved in a single reactor. The process is easily adaptable for use with materials other than water where hydrogen can be found, such as natural gas.
This achievement was only made possible through the cooperation of four teams from complementary engineering fields of study and application. Co-ordinated by the Greek Aerosol and Particle Technologies Laboratory, the consortium consisted of; the German Aerospace Centre, Stobbe Technical Ceramics from Denmark and Johnson Matthey Fuel Cells from the UK.
The work has attracted interest from a number of international organisations including the UN who foresee a huge potential for technological transfer to developing countries with high 'Solar Potential'"; thereby offering the prospect for the creation of new markets, as well as new energy sources.
The HYDROSOL project has attracted international recognition. In 2005, it was awarded an International Global 100 Eco-Tech award during the International Expo in Aichi, Japan, being selected among "… environment technologies that contribute significantly to the resolution of global environmental problems and to the creation of a sustainable future."
More recently HYDROSOL was awarded the International Partnership for the Hydrogen Economy (IPHE) inaugural 2006 Technical Achievement Award for being "…the world's first closed, solar-thermochemical cycle in operation that is capable of continuous hydrogen production." Results from this landmark research project promise the potential for long-term production of renewable based hydrogen, particularly for regions of the world that lack indigenous resources, but are endowed with ample solar energy.
Led By:
Chemical Process Engineering Research Institute, Center for Research and
Technology-Hellas (CERTH/CPERI)
6th klm. Charilaou-Thermi Rd, Thessaloniki, Greece.
Dr. Athanasios Konstandopoulos
Dr Christian Sattler, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt E.V (DLR), Germany.
Mr Per Stobbe, Stobbe Tech Ceramics A/S (STC), Denmark.
Dr Andrew Steele, Johnson Matthey Fuel Cells Ltd. (JM), Great Britain.
Winner: Project APOPTOSIS
Understanding cell death: pathways for future treatments of cancer and AIDS
© mhw.foto
Coordinator: Dr Guido Kroemer
Participating Countries: France, Austria, Denmark, Italy, Sweden, Germany
The project aims to understand the mechanism of apoptosis (programmed cell death) and the impact that deficient cell death regulation has in human disease. Excessive apoptosis participates in the cause of stroke and heart infarction as well as hereditary diseases and AIDS. Deficient apoptosis is one of the hallmarks of cancer and can cause chemotherapy resistance and treatment failure.
The findings of this project have specific importance for those wanting to find out how cell death occurs. Together 6 research teams from Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy and Sweden have collaborated to gain an understanding of the mechanisms of apoptosis. The team has defined the pathways affecting distinct cellular organelles and has discovered cell death effectors (including AIF and lysosmal proteases) as well as inhibitory processes (in particular heat shock proteins). The teams have applied this fundamental knowledge in the areas of cancer research and AIDS research.
APOPTOSIS - The Autumn Time for Cells
During the course of a day millions of cells die as they reach the end of their natural life. To understand the complexities of the very foundation of life, six of Europe's foremost laboratories got together to unravel the mysteries of cell death.
The Apoptosis team reads like an all-star football team for the science world. It comprises some of the best and brightest minds involved in molecular cell biology today. The Apoptosis project is named after the subject of the team's research: programmed cell death. Programmed cell death, is a natural occurrence where cells die, either because of damage, mutation or simply age.
Throughout its normal life span, a cell has one of three possible fates. It can
either engage in proliferation, differentiation or simply die through apoptosis.
Apoptosis happens to several million cells every second in a normal healthy
human adult. The problem lies when this normal apoptotic process is cancelled.
The onset of cancer is accompanied by a suppression of the natural apoptotic
process, allowing the cancer cells to thrive and live on. This is further
complicated when, as a result of therapy programs such as chemotherapy, which is
aimed at inducing the apoptosis of cancer cells, certain cells acquire a
resistance to cell death. This Darwinian selection leads to the survival of
therapy-resistant cancer cells.
Another problem occurs when apoptosis is accelerated, for instance on infection with the human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1), the causative agent of AIDS. In this case, immune cells suffer from an accelerated rate of apoptosis which ultimately leads to immunity failure. Acute pathological cell death also occurs in victims of strokes, intoxication and septic shock.
If progress is to be made, apoptosis needs to be better understood. Talented researchers based in some of the best laboratories in Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy and Sweden worked together in close collaboration to unravel the basic concepts of the mechanisms involved in apoptosis.
Apoptosis is a perfectly normal event in cell life. Despite the regularity with which it occurs; scientists did not really know how cells 'decide' to die. Following years of research the team has now managed to identify the point at which the cell decides to die, namely the permeabilization of mitochondria. These organelles are the cell's powerhouses and required for normal cell life.
The team discovered that mitochondria have an additional function, the control of cell death and that this control is linked to the permeability or leakiness of mitochondrial membranes. Endogenous or exogenous stress can cause the permeabilization of mitochondrial membranes with the consequent liberation of toxic proteins that contribute to the cell digesting from inside. This controlled permeability seals the fate of the cell. By identifying the irreversible frontier between cell life and death, the team has created a paradigm shift in basic cell death research.
This increased understanding has meant that old and ineffective treatments can be abandoned and replaced with new and improved ones. The pharmacological industry has, for example, shifted emphasis away from traditional methods of treating increased cell death and is instead focusing on strategies to intercept the lethal signal pathways at different stages, before mitochondrial membrane permeabilization occurs.
In addition, the consortium has explored the mechanisms of cell death resistance in cancer cells, at the level of mitochondrial membranes. The team developed several strategies for restoring the cell death program in tumours, showing their therapeutic effectiveness in preclinical models.
Partners within the consortium have shown that it is now possible to determine the chemotherapy response in patients suffering from leukaemia by measuring the mitochondrial trans-membrane potential among circulating tumour cells.
The importance of these discoveries cannot be underestimated. Since 2001 the team's research papers have been cited by other journals over fifty thousand times. This is a definitive indication of the importance that this research has had in the medical scientific community. To be cited so frequently also indicates that the research has not only been widely accepted but that it has also become a benchmark for future research.
Project Led By:
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, CNRS,
Institut Gustave Roussy, PR1, Laboratoire FRE2939 "Génomes et Cancer"
39 rue Camille Desmoulins, Villejuif, France.
Dr Guido Kroemer
Dr Josef Martin Penninger, Institute of Molecular Biotechnology GmbH, IMBA,
Prof. Marja Helena Jaattela, Danish Cancer Society DCS, Denmark.
Prof Piacentini Mauro, Department of Biology, University of Rome "TOR VERGATA', IROMA2, Italy.
Prof Boris Zhivotovsky, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Division of Toxicology, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden.
Prof Klaus-Michael Debatin, University of Ulm Medical Faculty UULM.MF, Germany.
Finalists (short-listed)
Descartes Prize for Research
Finalist 1
Gaining a clear picture of molecules through colouring
Project NEMABS
Participating Countries: Germany, Belgium
The NEMABS project allows single molecules to be viewed by colouring them. Through this technique the behaviours of the molecule can be studied and analysed in a more efficient way than simply visualising it in a three dimensional space. For this purpose the team developed, designed and synthesized a new family of dyes attaching to them a number of special properties such as systematic control of absorption and emission, photo-stability, high fluorescence, etc. These properties allow the dyes to be fixed on various types of molecules such as DNAs, proteins, etc. Through this technique, molecules carry a dye as a tag so that this single vehicle can be detected in action. The group has also developed its own software for analysis purposes. The material developments of the product have also shown to be of practical importance. This aspect has led to many patents and interactions with companies for further exploration and technological application. The Mainz and the Leuven group have a long tradition of closely interacting at European level. They have gone across borders by applying their expertise to fields of classical polymer science, catalytic processes and medicinal chemistry.
The consortium stands out not only by the mere number of high ranking publications, training of young researchers and collaboration with industrial partners, but even more so by the width and depth of, both, the synthetic and the photophysical and physical chemistry methodologies based on a jointly developed conceptual approach. Therefore, we can conclude that this consortium is unique world-wide.
Finalist 2
Quantum mechanics brings breakthroughs to Information processing
Project QGATES
Participating Countries: Austria, UK, Germany, Slovakia, France, Spain
This project has studied approaches to information processing (computation) that embrace quantum mechanics - the fundamental physical theory that governs the behaviour of all matter. The QGATES project has realised the elementary building blocks of quantum computers using atoms and ions that are levitated (trapped) at well controlled positions, using electromagnetic fields. Inside the common computers on our desks, data are stored as bits which take the value 0 or 1. Bits are realised using transistors and an array of such bits is called a register. Other devices called gates are built using groups of transistors. A gate gives a specified output for a given input. At the heart of a computer programme lies an algorithm - a mathematical procedure implemented as a set of instructions that sets up the required network of gates. Data are fed into the computer and the programme is executed until the desired result of the task is realised.
Like today's ordinary computer, a future quantum computer will carry out computational tasks, however, theoretical work has shown that some problems can be solved much more efficiently on a quantum computer than on an ordinary classical machine. In a quantum computer, the information is stored in qubits (quantum bits of information) which can take values of 0 and 1 like their classical counterparts, but also any coherent superposition of 0 and 1. In a sense, a quantum bit can be both in the 0-state and the 1-state at the same time. The power of quantum computers is directly related to such superpositions: when applying logical operations to qubits one can perform operations in parallel. Another fundamental quantum mechanical resource employed in quantum computation is entanglement, where two or more remote particles share a single quantum state. In the prototype quantum computers of the QGATES project quantum bits were encoded by putting trapped atoms into states in which their constituent electrons had well specified energies. The atomic qubits were then manipulated using light or radio-frequency pulses and complex sequences of such pulses were employed to realize simple quantum gates and algorithms.
The project group believes their work is exceptional because they have achieved important milestones such as the demonstration of quantum registers, the operation of quantum gates and the demonstration of simple algorithms. They have also generated entangled states of up to 8 ions, demonstrated a process called quantum teleportation where the unknown state of one atom is transferred to another atom and have worked towards interfacing quantum information from atoms to light. They believe that their work has paved the way to scalable implementations of quantum processors.
Finalist 3
Thermally Assisted Magnetic Random Access Memory
Project TAM-RAM
Participating Countries: France, Portugal, Germany
The first objective of the TAM-RAM project was to offer an alternative writing scheme for non-volatile magnetic memories (MRAM) that could overcome the limitations of the standard MRAM technology (such as write selectivity errors and poor scalability). This new approach consists of combining a temporary heating of the cell together with a pulse of magnetic field. This concept solves all selectivity concerns since only one bit is heated at a time and only this bit can be written. The scalability of the TAM-RAM concept is also excellent since the magnetic anisotropy of the storage layer is reinforced by a large exchange coupling with an anti-ferromagnetic material at room temperature and only reduced to minimum at the write temperature.
Another benefit that makes the TAM-RAM concept so attractive is the good scalability of the power consumption which is expected to scale with technological nodes. In addition, TAM RAM are quasi immune from magneto-electrical perturbations, which is good for consumer electronics but also of high interest for spatial applications. Additional objectives of the project included: creating a pole of excellence in MRAM development gathering several partners with complementary skills in order to offer a large spectrum of expertise able to answer all kinds of questions or demand from industry; attracting the interest of an industrial partner to go beyond the simple demonstration of the concept and make a real implementation of the TAM-RAM technology; and bringing a new European equipment provider to the forefront of the MRAM scene with a unique know-how on advanced MTJ structures and connect it with industrial partners.
The project's work is exceptional for several reasons, including: the innovative character of this research at the leading edge of spin electronics; the excellent complementarity of the four partners involved in the second phase of the IST-NEXT European project; the creation of a start-up company CROCUS Technology, who will further develop this technology and go to the production in partnership with a large European foundry; and the impact of this technology on the SINGULUS German Company. The excellent results obtained in NEXT were a good advertisement for the industrial TIMARIS deposition tool developed by this company. This greatly helped this company to recently sell several of these tools to some start-up companies in the US and Europe.
Finalist 4
Protein dynamics in cell nuclei
Project DYNAQPRIM
Participating Countries: UK, Germany, Denmark
The cell nucleus is where genes are located and expressed and is essential for life. The nucleus has separate compartments, each containing many protein complexes, and the correct functioning of the cell nucleus involves regular movements of these proteins between the nuclear compartments. This dynamic system can be disrupted in many human diseases, including cancer, viral infections and inherited genetic disorders.
The DYNAQPRIM project made important advances by allowing the detection and analysis of large multi-protein complexes in the cell nucleus through which scientists were able to measure and study protein dynamics in the cell. The work carried out during this project has pioneered the development of new applications and approaches in functional proteomics, using a novel combination of fluorescence microscopy and mass spectrometry. The new methods were developed to solve problems in cell biology, especially concerning the structure and function of the cell nucleus. The DYNAQPRIM project provides many benefits to the biological and biomedical research communities, stimulated by EU involvement, and will aid future work to develop improvements in diagnostics and therapeutics.
Finalist 5
Life Courses in the Globalisation Process
Project GLOBALIFE
Participating Countries: Germany, Spain, Netherlands, Hungary
The GLOBALIFE project made advances in being the first cross-national research project that has studied the impact of globalisation on individual life courses and employment careers in different countries. The findings of this project have undoubtedly made a major contribution to the fostering and developing of cross-national research in the social sciences. Benefits include the production of around 80 working papers and articles in peer-reviewed journals in addition to four comparative volumes.
The employment of scientists and interaction at the universities has allowed collaboration within 17 different countries. By offering this opportunity, all former project members have obtained excellent positions after their involvement with the GLOBALIFE project and furthermore, the international exchange and training of young scientists has opened new and promising opportunities in European comparative science.


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Arguably the most popular variety of vinyl fencing on the market today, the picket-style shape of fence that many homeowners know and love can create instant curb appeal outside of a home. The look is very traditional, but it can be updated with unusual textures or colors if desired. Vinyl picket fences tend to be quite short, which means that they may not provide all of the privacy that residents require. However, this fence style works perfectly for those who want to keep pets in a safe environment, create boundaries between their property and the neighbor's land or show children where they can safely play away from vehicles.
Vinyl Privacy Fences
Unlike vinyl picket fences, which have large gaps between each slat, vinyl privacy fences don't allow users to see through the material. Instead, slats form a solid wall of vinyl that keeps prying eyes out of the yard or home interior. These larger fences can also be a great way to reduce noise for those who live along a busier road or intersection. Vinyl privacy fences may be as high as 6 feet tall or even taller depending on individual preferences. These fences can also have decorative features at the top of the fence; some of the most popular options include:
- Horizontal patterns
- Lattice effects
- Criss-Cross patterns
Choosing Vinyl Fencing Thickness and Hardware
Along with choosing between vinyl picket fences and vinyl privacy fences, buyers should also give some thought to the fencing thickness that best meets their needs as well as the style and durability of the hardware. Some very inexpensive vinyl fencing might seem like a great deal at first, but it could be thin material of sub-par quality. Spending just a little bit more can get buyers vinyl fencing of a more durable thickness. This slight difference can go a long way in preventing damage in strong winds, it can ensure that repairs are needed less often, and it can prevent dents because the vinyl itself is stronger when thicker. In addition, buyers should choose vinyl fencing that includes metal supports at the bottom of each fence post as well as metal hardware. Unstable wooden posts can cause the fence to sway in the wind during storms, so homeowners are better off with stainless steel or galvanized steel hardware, which can prevent the fence from rusting over time. This is especially true in places where rain is frequent or the humidity is high for much of the year.
Vinyl Fence Textures and Colors
The final factor in choosing the right vinyl fence will be the color and texture. While the most popular color is plain white, that is not the only option available. Most suppliers offer a variety of beige, brown and red hues, but specialty providers can also create bolder color choices according to the needs of the buyer. It is also possible to purchase vinyl fencing that looks like it is made from another material entirely; a realistic wood grain fence is a popular option. From a reasonable distance, it looks just like wood, but residents won't have to deal with the maintenance of actual wooden fencing. Other upscale options, budget permitting, include:
- Faux-granite style
- Stone style
- Textured fences
- Decorative touches on the tops of slats
- Embellishments on the posts
Homeowners who want to make their property more private or even simply create a clear boundary between properties can benefit from one of the many different styles of vinyl fencing available.
Get free estimates from local fencing contractors
Last updated on Nov 8, 2018

subset: commoncrawl


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A:Firstly ,We are the authorized retailer and can obtain the lowest selling price.
Secondly,we only do online sales,so we operate at a lower overhead than a retail store.
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Alec Baldwin's younger brother Stephen Baldwin talks to "Extra" about Alec's quick trip to the hospital on Thursday.
"He's great," Baldwin told "Extra's" Jerry Penacoli. He said the hospital visit was a "miscommunication," adding, "Everything's fine... there was nothing weird, nothing stupid."
Alex was rushed to a NYC hospital early Thursday morning after his daughter called 911. The actor was released a short time later.
Stephen says his big brother is prepping for his big gig as Oscar co-host. "I was talking to him the other night, he said, 'You know, Steve Martin and I have been talking about some of the dialogue.'"
See photos of Baldwin getting ready to host the Oscars
Baldwin and Martin will co-host the Oscars on March 7.


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Next-generation gamification company GamEffective has announced the release of its narrative-based gamification platform for accelerating sales, customer service, and employee training. Using game narratives, no-code integration, and graphic elements such as fantasy sports, virtual city building, and song contests, GamEffective encourages on-the-job mastery for sustained organizational improvement. Via avatars, employees are accompanied by the platform throughout the day and encouraged to acquire skills and become masters of their trade.
Teams play in contests or leagues where organizations can implement continuous improvement processes that provide measurable improvement in employee engagement. The platform provides analytical insights into employee behavior and assists employees in decision making, helping to balance organizational goals.
"Effective game mechanics require an understanding of motivation and the ability to formulate complex requirements into a meaningful experience that helps people learn and improve through the creation of skill and efficiency, as well as teamwork," Gal Rimon, founder and CEO of GamEffective, said. "We take pride in offering a uniquely simple yet scalable platform that requires no coding, that has already proven itself in many successful deployments."
GamEffective offers solutions for sales, customer service, and on-boarding where it offers calls to action, rich game narratives, and cross-platform integration. It works across enterprise applications without the need for coding.
"The gamification industry is realizing that narratives can be formidable drivers of engagement. Instead of just points and badges, we're seeing gamification designs that use more interesting concepts and more gamification design elements, such as elaborate narratives which reflect behavior that managers would like to encourage, including progression to mastery, team building, or the process of decision making," said Mario Herger, CEO of Enterprise-Gamficaition.com, a consultancy.


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So, the 45th annual Palo Alto Concours at Stanford University is finally one for the books. And since, as we reported, one of the marques was the Ford Flathead, there was some bitchin' stuff to drink in under the mostly-hot-but-manageable-sun-thanks-to-the-beer-Geoff-Miles-snuck-in-thanks-Rodder's-Journal.
But the real story this year was the Morris Bros. roadster we helped Dave Tanimura bring to the show (see the entry below): Dave got rockstar staging right inside the front gates and when an old guy and his son walked up to the car and said they knew the car, it wasn't necessarily a huge surprise. But when he said, "I'm Richard Morris," we just about dropped our $15 glasses of chablis.
Turns out, Dick Morris, after selling the roadster to a guy on the San Francisco Peninsula, moved further northeast to Antioch, CA and has been there ever since. One random afternoon, he asked his son (a "computer genius," as he describes and much to the chagrin of his son) to google "Morris Brothers roadster." The kid did just that, hit the return key, turned to his dad and said, "Well, that took about all of thirty seconds!" They found that the car was going to be featured on the grass at Stanford this weekend, made sure they had cash for the bridge tolls, loaded up the fam and headed south.
Morris had hoped that the car he and his brother built and ran like a raped ape up and down the California coast, setting records all over the place, was going to be restored in some way when he sold it, but he knew the reality of the situation: once he sold it, he had to be able to sleep at night knowing that the new owner could do anything he saw fit –– damn the torpedos. Luckily, Dave knew the guy who bought it from Morris, traded his Model A coupe for the roadster and got to work on the restoration.
We were under the shade of a grove of trees on the car show field, smoking cigarettes, when a voice over the PA system called out, "Dan Tanimura, please report to your car…DAN TANIMURA…your car…"
"Hey, Dave –– I think they're talking about you."
"They said Dan."
"Yeah, but how many Tanimuras do you think are here today?"
"Good point."
As we walked up to the car, a few people were kinda milling around it and finally one of them asked if one of us owned it. And that's when it all went down. Dave just about fell over and the reunion was on. As Richard talked more and reminisced more, the stories started coming out: going so fast that oil started pushing through the dash gauges, running around post-war Los Angeles, scheming with Alex Xydias, details here, random memories there, all of us just gobbling it up and shaking our heads in amazement. And when Dave helped him into the car and he sat behind the wheel for the first time in years and years, it was just, well, a moment, y'know?
As Morris and Dave filled in the blanks that were missing from their own experiences with the car, they promised to keep in touch and get together again. Dave's got what he thinks are most of the trophies the car won and a fairly impressive collection of old photos, but Richard's got more pictures and cool junk that never went with the car when he let it go. There's got to be some goodness coming out of this soon and we can't wait to hear more. If we're lucky, we'll tag along the next time they get together, which means you'll come along, too. For now, here are some phone pics from the encounter…


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| 8.2°C Belfast
Badminton player Bodin Issara has been banned for two years for chasing and attacking former doubles partner Maneepong Jongjit during the final of the Canada Open last week.
Bodin lost his temper after Maneepong had hit him on the head with his racquet at the change of ends. The Badminton Association of Thailand (BAT) also gave Maneepong a three-month ban for provoking Bodin.
BAT president Charoen Wattanasin said: "Everything we have done in 60 years collapsed just because of one person. In my six decades in this sport, I haven't seen a more violent case than this.
"I have been requested to be gentle in the measures but this is not about my feelings or others' feelings. It's a matter of the country's image."
The pair previously played together at the London 2012 Olympics and were competing in Canada on opposite sides for the first time since their split.Video of the incident below
Belfast Telegraph


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NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Michael Kors is pleased to announce that the Company has completed the acquisition of Michael Kors (HK) Limited, the exclusive licensee of the Company in China and certain other jurisdictions in Asia, on May 31, 2016, for $500 million in cash, subject to certain adjustments.
The acquisition was approved by the independent members of the Company's board of directors, upon recommendation of a Special Committee, comprised of solely independent directors, which was responsible for evaluating the terms of the acquisition. The Special Committee retained independent legal and financial advisors to assist in evaluating and negotiating the terms of the acquisition and the Purchase Agreement. The Greater China business generated total revenue of $197 million for the year ended March 31, 2016, and had a network of 91 company operated retail stores and six travel retail locations, across China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. For fiscal year 2017, the Greater China business is expected to contribute approximately $200 million to retail net sales, reflecting sales for the ten month period following the closing of the acquisition. The acquisition is expected to be neutral to earnings per share on a GAAP basis, and accretive to earnings per share on a non-GAAP basis, excluding $15 million of one-time acquisition costs. The acquisition is expected to be accretive to earnings per share in fiscal 2018 and thereafter.
"We are very excited about the acquisition of our Greater China licensee," says John D. Idol, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "As you know, we have worked diligently over the past several years, with our licensed partner in this region, to build the infrastructure, establish the brand, and grow acceptance of Michael Kors in the Chinese market. We believe that our brand is gaining strong momentum in Greater China, making it the ideal time for us to integrate this territory into our business and capitalize on the enormous growth potential in this region."
This release includes certain non-GAAP financial measures relating to certain one-time costs associated with the acquisition of the Greater China licensee. The Company uses non-GAAP financial measures, among other things, to evaluate its operating performance and in order to represent the manner in which the Company conducts and views its business. The Company believes that excluding non-recurring items helps its management and investors compare operating performance based on its ongoing operations. While the Company considers the non-GAAP measures to be useful supplemental measures in analyzing its results, they are not intended to replace, nor act as a substitute for, any amounts presented in its consolidated financial statements prepared in conformity with U.S. GAAP and may be different from non-GAAP measures reported by other companies.
Michael Kors is a world-renowned, award-winning designer of luxury accessories and ready-to-wear. His namesake company, established in 1981, currently produces a range of products under Michael Kors Collection, MICHAEL Michael Kors and Michael Kors Mens, including accessories, footwear, watches, jewelry, ready-to-wear and a full line of fragrance products. Michael Kors stores are operated, either directly or through licensing partners, in some of the most prestigious cities in the world, including New York, Beverly Hills, Chicago, London, Milan, Paris, Munich, Istanbul, Dubai, Seoul, Tokyo and Hong Kong.
This press release contains forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on such statements because they are subject to numerous uncertainties and factors relating to the Company's operations and business environment, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the Company's control. Forward-looking statements include information concerning the Company's possible or assumed future results of operations, including descriptions of its business strategy. These statements often include words such as "may," "will," "should," "believe," "expect," "seek," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "estimate" or similar expressions. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based on assumptions that the Company has made in light of management's experience in the industry as well as its perceptions of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other factors that it believes are appropriate under the circumstances. You should understand that these statements are not guarantees of performance or results. They involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Although the Company believes that these forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, you should be aware that many factors could affect its actual financial results or results of operations and could cause actual results to differ materially from those in these forward-looking statements. These factors are more fully discussed in the "Risk Factors" section and elsewhere in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 28, 2015 (File No. 001-35368), filed on May 27, 2015 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.


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Robert Reid Plogger
Robert Reid Plogger
of Bremerton
Aug. 4, 1948
to Dec. 6, 2011
Robert (Bob) Plogger passed away on December 6, 2011, at the age of 63. Bob was born on August 4, 1948, in Virginia to Robert & Irine Plogger.
Bob served in the United States Army for 21 years. He was an avid fisherman and was a vital part of his children and grandchildren's daily lives.
Cherishing his memory are daughter, Cathy Westgate and her husband Gene, sons Robert Plogger and Edwin Lee, sisters Marie Fix and Patricia Southers, brother Paul Plogger and grandchildren Joshua, Destiny, Joseph, Michaellah, and David. Also missing him is his loyal companion Rex.


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Benefit They're Real Push-Up Liner Review
[vc_row][vc_column][sm_custom_heading heading_tag="h4″]Product Description[/sm_custom_heading][sm_column_text]Hello, I would like to tell you about my experience with they're real push-up liner-lash-hugging gel liner pen. Producer says it is the first lash-hugging gel liner in a pen! According to the producer, this matte black gel formula doesn't smudge, budge or dry out. The innovative soft AccuFlex Tip hugs your lash line from corner to corner. The closer the line, the bigger the eye!
HOW TO APPLY: Twist base once to 'push up' gel liner to tip. Resting the AccuFlex tip on the base of your lashes, slowly guide along your lash line from the inner or outer corner. The angled AccuFlex tip works both ways. For first-time use, remove and discard tip protector. (I wish I didin't listen to this advice 🙂 ) Activate they're real! push-up liner by twisting base until gel is delivered to tip. Wipe any excess on tissue.
91% said it was longwearing**
88% said it hugged the lashline**
84% said eyes looked visibly larger**
**Results observed in a consumer panel survey on 32 women after 2 weeks
*Instrumental test on 19 panelists (In my personal view 19 panelist is not a viable thorough statistical data)
#1 Prestige Gel Eyeliner in the US*
Allure Best of Beauty for beauty breakthrough, 2014
Allure Best of Beauty for best gel/cream eye liner, 2014[/sm_column_text][sm_custom_heading heading_tag="h4″]Ingredients[/sm_custom_heading][sm_column_text]Isododecane, Dextrin Palmitate, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Dimethicone, Phenoxyethanol, Disodium Stearoyl Glutamate, Aluminum Hydroxide, Silica. [+/: CI 19140 (Yellow 5, Yellow 5 Lake), CI 42090 (Blue 1 Lake), CI 77007 (Ultramarines), CI 77163 (Bismuth Oxychloride), CI 77288 (Chromium Oxide Greens), CI 77289 (Chromium Hydroxide Green), CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499 (Iron Oxides), CI 77510 (Ferric Ferrocyanide, Ferric Ammonium Ferrocyanide), CI 77742 (Manganese Violet), CI 77891 (Titanium Dioxide)]. N'Å∞ 08395/A
I think all the ingredients except for : dimethicone and phenoxyethanol are OK, not natural, but…OK[/sm_column_text][sm_custom_heading heading_tag="h4″]Pros[/sm_custom_heading][sm_column_text]
- Love the concept of the gel pen.
- Benefit They're Real Push-Up Liner, it's true to it's claims, it does actually hug the lash line.
- The Benefit They're Real Push-Up Liner formula is super waterproof, but it isn't oil-proof, although Glove has no problems with it
- no smudging
- can be worn by contact lenser users, tested by me, while wearying my contacts for longer that advisable length of time 😉
- non irritating, although I never had any eye irritation caused by eye makeup.
[/sm_column_text][sm_custom_heading heading_tag="h4″]Cons[/sm_custom_heading][sm_column_text]
- Benefit They're Real Push-Up Liner dried out after few weeks even though I made sure I closed it properly after each use.
- It takes time to get used to it, I had liners that are easier to use and last longer.
- it is not long lasting, it flakes on me after a couple of hours.
- Benefit They're Real Push-Up Liner crumbles on application especially when there is too much product
- This formula dries quickly, and the gel liner is simply not build-able.
- Benefit They're Real Push-Up Liner is not for eyeliner beginners
[/sm_column_text][sm_custom_heading heading_tag="h4″]Tips that I wish I knew about sooner[/sm_custom_heading][sm_column_text]
- This is a gel liner, and it tends to dry up if not looked after properly so keep the pen tightly capped. Benefit They're Real Push-Up Liner can dry out quickly. I wish I kept that little orange plug and put it back in after every use. (I threw mine away, If I didn't I would probably loose it pretty quickly anyway as it is so small.)
- The Benefit They're Real Push-Up Liner is very waterproof, but it is not oil-proof. Make sure you use primer if you have oily eye lids.
- The gel dries on eye lids pretty quickly, make sure you don't go over areas of already-dry liner if, it might get lumpy and flaky.
- Wipe off the tip between eye applications makes all the difference.
- You'll need waterproof eye makeup remover or Glov to get the Benefit They're Real Push-Up Liner off.
- Benefit They're Real Push-Up Liner requires a bit of practice.
- You may need two clicks instead of one, but not more than that.


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Wired has a very insightful interview with a social psychologist from Harvard Business School named Amy Cuddy. She says that since World War II, we have been trying to figure out a more scientific answer for why the Jews were targeted for genocide. The most prevalent theory was that of ingroups and outgroups: during hard times, one group of people kills the ones that aren't in their group. It sounds good, but in practice that theory couldn't predict who would be discriminated against. So she did a study which involved finding out the groups within a society and then asking the members of that society to rank each group on a number of traits. This revealed that what actually matters are two qualities: competence and trustworthiness.
Competence is how good someone is at turning their intentions into successful action, and trustworthiness is the feeling that their intentions toward you are good. (Warm people are generally perceived to be trustworthy, while cold people are not.) With any two traits, there can be four emotional and behavioral outcomes:
- Incompetent and untrustworthy: disgust and avoidance. Think bums.
- Incompetent but trustworthy: pity. Like kids and small animals.
- Competent and trustworthy: the Holy Grail that everyone wants. Jesus.
- Competent but untrustworthy: respect, admiration, resentment and antipathy. What you feel for Scrooge.
If you think someone is competent and doesn't really care one iota whether you're happy, lying in a ditch somewhere, or getting tortured, then that may just scare you. What if you fall into their bad graces or get on their radar? They're obviously able to destroy you, since they're competent. So when the situation arises, like during war, famine or depression, those are the people that get killed: the aristocracy in the French Revolution, the Jews under the Nazis, the educated under the Khmer Rouge. With the right circumstances, Occupy Wall Street might have ended up there too.
Of course, they don't have to be killed — just made incompetent. During World War II, the US government incarcerated the highly competent and very untrustworthy Japanese living in America. The Civil War was basically fought because, while almost everyone thought blacks were incompetent, southerners thought them to be untrustworthy and therefore worthy of the chains, while northerners thought of slaves like Uncle Tom, and therefore worthy of pity. In presidential elections, both candidates are usually competent, but the one that's warmer generally wins, because he's perceived more trustworthy. The exception that proves the rule is the election in 2000: both candidates were trustworthy, but George W. Bush, who did not appear competent, lost the popular vote. However, in 2004, he won by a good margin after proving his competence in handling the aftermath of 9/11 and starting a war no one wanted — and being more trustworthy than flip-flopping Kerry.
The lesson to take away here is that smart or not, you should try to be nice and popular. If you're not well-liked, people will be disgusted by you if you're incompetent, or resent you otherwise. Even pity for being dumb but nice is better than resentment, because at least then the villagers won't try to burn your house down the first chance they get. Or more likely, you won't die alone. But, according to science, the best thing is to ask yourself: what would Jesus do?
Update, 11 March 2013: A new book called The Charisma Myth makes a similar point about trustworthiness and competence. In it, the author says that charisma is made up of warmth (trustworthiness) and power (competence), underlined by presence — the ability to be completely in the moment. Warm, powerful and present people are very charismatic.
From Wired, via Lifehacker


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There were good things, and there were bad things, and then there were things that turned us into mush - yes, we are talking about things that happened this year which made our hearts melt. Here's a list of the 14 most aww moments of 2014!
The bigger the gift, the better. That's a fact even Kim Kardashian will agree with. For Mother's Day, her husband Kanye West surprised her by gifting her an enormous wall of assorted white flowers. It was like a scene straight out of a fairy tale. Kim K decided to put up a photo on Instagram, and the world went aww.
When two good-looking people get together, they're bound to make cute babies! Yes, ladies, we're talking about Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher's baby girl, Wyatt. The first photo of Wyatt they posted went viral. The cute, chubby baby girl definitely won millions of hearts.
For Mother's Day, MTV India posted some very cute yet thoughtful posts on Instagram and Youtube. The message was clear and easily received: thanking your mom for the little things she does for you, and how you could do your bit to make her feel special in the tiniest ways possible.
Would you eat your friend? You obviously wouldn't! That's exactly the message PETA India sent out on Friendship Day this year to help protect our furry friends. To read more about the campaign, click here!
On the 25th of November, this Bollywood couple became the parents of an adorable baby boy named Riaan! Genelia took to Twitter soon after she was discharged and posted updates about the tiny infant. Here's what she said: "Thank u all for all the wishes on the birth of my son @Riteishd n me couldn't thank ul enough for bein w us all thru this period."
After an ill-thought-out answer on Koffee with Karan early this year, Alia Bhatt unfortunately became the butt of many jokes. But she joined forces with All India Bakchod and came up with an adorable 10-minute mockumentary called "Genius of the Year". It was fun, and delightful to see a Bollywood star be able to laugh at herself! Alia, you go, girl!
King Khan did a fun photo shoot with his baby son, AbRam. He dressed him up as Santa Claus and posted his first photo. The picture has gone viral and is doing the rounds on several social networking websites. We don't blame it for becoming a hit - we mean, look at him, he looks adorable as a tiny Santa! (Doesn't he resemble his father a lot?)
The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge not only went viral internationally but it hit India too. To our surprise, it wasn't just the masses who were a part of this, The bigwigs of Bollywood too took on the challenge. It was super-cute to see some of our favourite B-town celebs like Riteish Deshmukh, Jr Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Bipasha Basu, Sidharth Malhotra, Sunny Leone and many more take part in this challenge. If you missed it, you can go back in time and catch all the fun right here!
After religiously watching all the 9 seasons of HIMYM, we finally got to know who's the mother in 2014. While the world had pinned their hopes on Robin being the one, it turned out that The Mother was actually Tracy Mcconnell. But we all went aww anyway when the series finale of the show added a little twist in the tale and Robin and Ted did actually get together. Huzzah!
This is something we cannot describe - you have to watch the video to believe it. Trust us, this will give you an aww attack!
There are few happier feelings than seeing your favourite Khans share a stage together. For the 21st anniversary of Rajat Sharma's show, Aap Ki Adalat, the newsman managed to get all the three Khans together. It was a wonderful sight to see the trio reunite and let their hair down and just have fun for a change. Who knows, maybe by 2015, the three might even consider doing a film together!
Trust us, after watching this video you're going to be spending your entire day Googling hamsters. They're cute, they're furry and they're even cuter when they're chewing on something bigger than their size! Click here to catch the cutest action!
After five years of onscreen on-again-off-again romancing, our favourite American TV detectives finally took the plunge. Pass us the tissue, please!
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Over the past couple of months there has been quite a bit written about the Village of Brockport Police Department relative to the laying off of police officers and the elimination of shifts. A number of these articles, including the one in City ("Cops on Trial," March 31), contained numerous quotes, opinions, and theories but few facts.
I have been at the Brockport Police Department for the past two years and am now into my third budget process. Once again the police department --- which represents approximately 24 percent of the 2003-2004 village budget, excluding benefits --- is being blamed for 100 percent of the budget problem, and village residents will suffer if there is an elimination of a police shift or a reduction in police presence. While I agree that the Village of Brockport Department of Public Works is understaffed, so too is the Brockport Police Department, and it has been for a number of years.
To understand the present staffing problem of the police department, one needs to realize that in 1991 village board members reduced the full-time police force by 29 percent when they laid off 4 police officers. They did this under the pretext that it would save taxpayers money. Unfortunately, what it did was reduce the salary line of the remaining police officers but at the same time dramatically increase the overtime line.
If other police departments laid off 29 percent of their officers, or any organization reduced its work force by 29 percent but still did the same amount of work, what their overtime budget would be. In other police departments, overtime is expended for investigations, special events, and unforeseen instances requiring additional staffing, and not on maintaining day-to-day operations as in the Brockport Police Department.
Following this 29 percent reduction, the Brockport police union, through negotiations with the village, agreed to add what has become known as minimum staffing language in the contract. On numerous occasions, certain board members have publicly called this minimum staffing requirement a "flaw" in the contract. They have also publicly stated that the union needs to correct this flaw.
The contract that was just recently ratified by a 4-1 village board vote --- one that I did not endorse --- will allow a part-time officer to work in the absence of a full-time officer on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. To utilize this provision of the contract, the Village of Brockport will have to employ at least eight part-time police officers.
The department currently has only three part-time officers, and one of the three will be leaving within the next two weeks for a full-time position in another police department. We will have to hire an additional 10 part-time police officers (10 because it would not be unusual for four of the 10 to fail to pass the rigid training period). This will cost the Village of Brockport $18,000 per officer or a total of $180,000.00.
There is no guarantee as to how long the part-time officers will stay with the department, or that the officers will be available and willing to work at a minute's notice (many part-time police officers have full-time jobs), or how many hours the officers will be willing to work. During the negotiation process, I asked one of the two village negotiators what I was to do if a part-time officer was not willing to work a certain number of hours a week. I was told that I could take that person off the schedule and no longer employ them.
Did anyone think of the training, equipment, time, energy, and taxpayer money that would be wasted to just remove someone from our employment? Did anyone think of how much money it would take to advertise, interview, train, and equip another part-time officer so that the same thing will happen again and again?
For the past two budget years, I have repeatedly shown --- based on studies, not opinions --- how hiring two additional full-time officers (about $75,000 each, including benefits) would be far less expensive than incurring $225,000 in annual overtime cost or the cost associated with hiring part-time officers.
As I have stated, under the new contract I have the option of filling a Sunday-Monday-Tuesday position with a part-time officer. If one of the eight part-time officers (at a cost of $18,000 each) is not willing to work I must fill the position with a full-time officer on overtime (right back to the same old problem). This is not only fiscally irresponsible, it's cheating the taxpayer out of money that can be saved.
For five fiscal years, the budget contained only a small portion of what was routinely spent on overtime. Why would someone continually misrepresent the budget for five consecutive years? People on the board have repeatedly stated that it's not good practice to hire during negotiations. If that were the case, what was the reasoning for not hiring for the past five years? Furthermore, it's never a bad time to save taxpayers money. If my previously proposed budgets were implemented, the Village of Brockport would have saved about $30,000 annually.
Why is the Brockport Police Department the center of the budgetary problem year after year? Whether the police department budget is 24 percent (without benefits) or 34 percent (including benefits), between 66 and 76 percent of the budget is spent on other departments. Why is the police department the only department exploited in the media?
The police department is projected to exceed its budget by less than 4 percent, and would have come in well under its budget had the two officers been hired. The total general government support budget was exceeded by 38 percent, the transportation budget by 14 percent, the health budget by 24 percent, the Culture and Recreation budget by 13 percent, and the Home and Community Service budget by 16 percent.
I'm confident that if you were to look more closely at the departments that make up these various categories you would find that various department budgets were exceeded by sometimes as much as 60, 70, and even 800 percent (no, this isn't a misprint).
Why is the police department blamed for the fiscal woes of the village?
The figures above are not meant to demean or second-guess anyone but rather to compare the police department to other departments in the village and to hold everyone to the same standard. For this to happen, everyone needs to forget the past, hold people accountable for what they do today rather than what someone else did to you yesterday, stop making decisions for self-serving reasons, and start building for the future and doing what is best for the people we work for and represent: the taxpayer.


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Histories of tax havens, secrecy jurisdictions or offshore financial centres, or of international tax and regulation.
History of TJN
History of tax havens: the infographic.
Offshore Histories of:
United Kingdom
Hong Kong
More here
International Business Taxation – Prof. Sol Picciotto. From 1992, a free, detailed history of international tax.
Offshore history links
June 10, 2014 – How Seychelles became the world's first socialist tax haven
Aug 20, 2013 – Michael J. McIntyre, tax justice hero, 1942-2013
June 26, 2013 – Tax justice and a short history of the decline of corporate responsibility
June 11, 2013 – An informal history of tax justice. With a particular focus on the Tax Justice Network.
Feb 16, 2013 – A short potted history of offshore, The Economist
Feb 4, 2013 – The role of tax justice in U.S. economic history, and other stories. Original here.
Aug 20, 2012 – Ronen Palan: a history of the City of London as an offshore centre. "Britain's Second Empire."
Oct 24, 2011 – Bob McIntyre: remembering the U.S. tax reform of 1986. Original here.
Sept 2011 – No vote, no tax – the Suffragettes and their tax protest
July 2011 – The Swiss Tax Haven in the Interwar Period: an International Comparison, Christophe Farquet
July 2011 – The Ideology of Offshore: how the unthinkable became practice
Dec 2010 – Tax Analysts 40th anniversary commemorative book, where 50 tax folk are invited to answer the question: What is one of the most significant changes to tax administration, practice, or policy that you have seen in your professional career? Available free, here.
Dec 2010 – Liberia's shipping industry, MIT Press Journals. Article here.
Dec 2010 – https://www.taxjustice.net/5828-2/
Oct 2010 – The rise and rise of Britain's tax haven empire. A look at some aspects of Britain's rush to set up and protect Caribbean tax havens from the 1970s.
Oct 2010 – Caroline Doggart, Tax Haven Woman. The story of a woman who became one of the world's first tax haven analysts, working for the Economist Intelligence Unit.
2010 – A history of tax havens, by Ronen Palan. A broad historical overview of the offshore system and its emergence.
2009-10 (various) – A history of the Cayman Islands as a tax haven. By Alan Markoff. Originalhere.
Dec 2008 – History of Singapore's emergence as a tax haven. Original articles here, here andhere.
Oct 2008 – Short history primer on international tax, New Internationalist magazine
Feb 2008 – This paper by Michael Lennard, The Purpose and Current Status of the United Nations Tax Work, explores the history and role of the United Nations in international taxation, and the current role of the U.N. Tax Committee. It was updated in February 2010, also in the Asia-Pacific Tax Bulletin, here.
June 2007 – Lessons from the last war on tax havens. Marty Sullivan of Tax Analysts looks at the history of the OECD's Harmful Tax Competition project, and how it was killed by lobbyists in Washington and others.
2006 – Taxation and American slavery. Robin Einhorn of the University of California Berkeleytraces the roots of anti-tax ideology in American history to disputes http://premier-pharmacy.com/product-category/adhd/ about the taxation of slaves as persons and property.
Jan 2005 – Tax avoidance, tax havens and the genesis of the Tax Justice Network – TJN. (NB the contact details provided are now out of date.)
Aug 2003 – a history of information exchange. A United Nations report in the wake of the Monterrey Consensus looking at how, among other things, the OECD stymied efforts by developing countries to get a fairer international tax system. Original document here.
March 2003 – The Declaration of the Tax Justice Network, Essex, 2005
Oct 2002 – No Accounting for Tax Havens.This paper by the Association for Accountancy & Business Affairs (AABA) examines selected issues and episodes in the history of the British Crown Dependency of Jersey. Chapter 6: A Legislature for Hire provides an especially instructive (and important) example of the ways in which private interests shape can shape offshore and onshore legislation.
April 2002 – Délinquance financière et blanchiment des capitaux, a series of reports (in French) from the Assemblée Nationale in France. Focusing on
June 2001 – The Zedillo Report, or the Report of the High-Level Panel on Financing for Development. Discussing, among other things, the possibility of an International Tax Organisation.
2000 – The Origins of Swiss Bank Secrecy. The must-read article for those interested in the issue, by Professor Sébastien Guex of the University of Lausanne. Among other things, it demolishes the widely circulated myth that it was set up to help protect German Jews.
Oct 1998 – The Edwards Report – before and after. A look at how a UK government report critical of UK-focused tax havens got whitewashed. Main articles here.
April 1998 – OECD report Harmful Tax Competition: an Emerging Global Issue. This report, critical of tax havens and tax competition, was killed by Washington lobbyists and U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill during the administration of George W. Bush. The story of how it was killed is available from a TaxAnalysts book review, here.
Oct 1996 – Appel de Genève. Seven top judges issue a statement – more of a cry of rage – against tax havens.
From 1995 – Taxanalysts Tax History project. With a heavily U.S.-focused view of tax history, it contains much detail about taxation – though relatively little about tax havens. For example:Four Things You Should Know About the Boston Tea Party.
January 1981 – The Gordon Report. Entitled Tax havens and their use by United States taxpayers: an overview, this was the first ever in-depth report on tax havens, by the U.S. Treasury. Highly critical of tax havens, it was published just as Ronald Reagan came to power, and was immediately forgotten about. Available in pdf, text and other versions.
September 1980 – An article looking at transfer pricing and unitary taxation, in the context of U.S. railroads.


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Dr. med. Dent. Nóra Fazekas
Dentist, conservative dentistry and implant specialist
She is a Hungarian born, German citizen dentist. She started her education at the Hungarian Semmelweis University, graduated from the Justus Liebig University in Germany with oral surgery major. She is specialized in implantation of artificial root. She possesses specialized knowledge in the field of prevention and implantation. Furthermore, she has an outstanding knowledge of dental radiology and diagnostics, as well as periodontal surgeries. She is experienced in the treatment of patients with disabilities as well as in conscious sedation.