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What is the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)?
The EPA is an independent public body that was established under the Environmental Protection Agency Act, 1992. The EPA is responsible for environmental research development, monitoring, licensing and regulation as well as the enforcement of environmental law in Ireland. The Environmental Protection Agency is responsible for regulating water quality in Ireland and will continue to carry out this work alongside Irish Water.
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People who are organizationally minded, or who are risk adverse often have difficulty understanding the benefits and safety afforded by Agile as opposed to defined processes. This often manifests in a desire to standardize tools or processes so they become defined.
For example: an organization may wish to standardize on a spreadsheet template to use for iteration backlogs for all Agile teams. This seems innocuous. While I understand the desire to standardize, I believe even doing this would be detrimental to an organization. Some Agile teams may not use spreadsheets at all. In fact, using spreadsheets is considered a last resort used only if you have an extremely complex project. Generally speaking, user story and task cards along with a burndown on a white board are meant to be sufficient. Standardizing on spreadsheets would _impose_ process where it is not necessary and would be taking us all back along the path of a non-agile approach to projects.
In one instance where I have coached, we did in fact use a spreadsheet because we have up to 300 tasks per team per two week iteration. It would have been very difficult to manage all these tasks manually. Additionally, we customized our spreadsheet to work for our circumstances which are unique. Agile specifically encourages the values of simplicity and adaptability. I am perfectly happy to share our spreadsheet for other people to learn from, but the whole notion of standardizing the spreadsheets seems to be against agile principles. Think of it this way: would anyone be happy if an organization decided that everyone needed to drive the same car to work? Each person’s car serves their own transportation needs. In exactly the same way, each team’s spreadsheet/whiteboard/cards serves their needs… and not necessarily the needs of anyone else. It is true that everyone needs transportation, and in the same way an organization needs every team to track their user stories and tasks, but how exactly it is done should be left up to the teams.
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How to get rid of hyperpigmentation? Hyperpigmentation treatments vary according to the cause of the condition. Hyperpigmentation treatment lasers are commonly recommended to lighten and make hyperpigmentation conditions least visible.
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Why would I want my horse to be barefoot?
Domestically kept horses do not live a natural life. They do not run wild overgrasslands, up to twenty miles a day. They do not eat a natural diet of grasses, forage, roots, bark, berries, for up to twenty hours a day. They do not walk and trot for hours, looking for salt licks, water, forage, or shelter. They do not shelter under trees or in ravines. They do not bond with a herd and play, or battle for dominance within the hierarchy .
Most domesticated horses live in dark caves, called stalls. They stand most of the day, by themselves. They eat two to three meals a day, usually from a large pile in front of them. They eat a mono diet of one or two types of hay. They are given supplements, often with molasses in them to make extruded pellets. Once in a while a two-legged predator comes out and barks orders, or murmurs sweet nothings, often with sweet treats.
“Natural” means as close to the conditions of nature that we can get. So “natural” hoofcare involves exercise—as close to ten miles a day of walking and trotting as possible, on rough ground; as natural a diet as possible—low sugar grasses, hays, and forage, fed throughout the day, on the ground; correct saddle fit is crucial, since carrying weight on their backs is unnatural stress. Natural riding techniques help the horse develop and use muscles to carry us with the least amount of damage.
Finally—a “natural” trim, which is based on the feet of the feral horse. A feral horse’s hoof is short, about 3 ½ inches from hairline to ground, regardless of the size, age, or breed. The walls are straight, neither scooping outward, nor caving in. The hoof walls support about 15% of the weight of the horse. The toe angle may vary from 45 to 60 degrees; and the degree of angle may differ from foot to foot. It may also be different than the pastern angle. The frog is on the ground, spread out over about a third of the hoof on compression, and bearing about a third of the weight of the horse. The bars and heel buttresses are in active contact with the ground, as part of the hoof wall. The rest of the sole is also on the ground on compression. The whole sole springs back to a slightly concave shape when unloaded.
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Let's face it. January is a gloomy month. The weather is cold and cloudy, we have the post-holiday blues and we are finding our resolutions falling to the wayside. It's time to inject some good "spirits" into our day, and the best way to do that is through a great happy hour. Here are our current top spots in Uptown for some much needed pick-me-ups.
The Sake Social at Uchi has been legendary in Austin and Houston, and now Dallas gets to revel in this wonderful happy hour. The food is beautiful, the sake is hot and the ambiance is perfect for socializing. Find specials on sushi rolls and tastings like the Chef's Veggie Roll, the Spicy Crunchy Tuna, Machi Cure and Avocado Nigri. For your drinking pleasure, Sapporo draught, sake and a couple of wine selections are offered at a discounted price. This is a great time to sample some of their amazing dishes at affordable prices. And the best part? Sake Social takes place daily from 5pm-6:30pm, so you have a chance to check it out any day of the week.
After a day of shopping at West Village, take your packages and what's left of your money and head over to Malai Kitchen for their happy hour. Monday-Friday from 4pm-7pm, you can nosh on $5 bites like grilled satay, spicy edamame and Vietnamese meatballs. Malai Kitchen mixes some of the best cocktails in the village, and they have a sampling of their finest on the happy hour menu. You can't go wrong with a Lemongrass Fizz or the Mekong Mule - they are light and refreshing and hit the spot. Go back to Malai Kitchen for their Sunday brunch and enjoy their all day happy hour.
Max's Wine Dive is known for great chicken and champagne, but they also offer ALL DAY happy hour on Fridays! Monday-Thursday, their happy hour runs from 4pm until 6pm, but the fun starts at 11am on Fridays. Enjoy wine and beer specials as well as discounted bites like fried pickles, pulled pork sliders and their yummy Drunk & Fried Bread. So on Fridays, leave work a little early or take a "happy" lunch break and sidle up to the bar for these specials.
One of the best happy hours in Uptown happens daily from 3pm-7pm at Sushi Zushi. Not only will you find specials on cocktails, wine, beer and sake, but you can also indulge in a wide variety of discounted appetizers and rolls. Nosh on edamame, dig into the Crawfish Dynamite or sample one of the many rolls on the happy hour menu. These specials only apply to dine-in (no take out), so plan to go with friends and linger for a bit.
Happy hour at Public School 214 is so revered it even has its own name - recess! Close your laptops, put away those papers and head over to this popular spot on McKinney Avenue Monday-Friday from 4pm-7pm. Go straight to the bar to take advantage of the specials. Chow down on some of their most ordered items like Parmesan Truffle Frites, Mini Cheeseburgers and Crispy Ahi Tuna Tacos at discounted prices. Wash it down with $5 well drinks, $10 half litre house wine and $4 & $5 craft beers.
Looking for a fancy spot to unwind? Check out cocktail hour in the Stone Crab Lounge at Truluck's. Monday-Friday from 4:30pm-6:30pm, you can enjoy half-price cocktails, featured wines and select appetizers. Since Truluck's is on the upscale side (business casual attire is recommended), their appetizer menu is a step above the sliders and wings. Here, you'll find escargot, shrimp cocktail and beef tartare - you can even order caviar and champagne for two if you are on a special date. Live music starts at 6pm.
Relax and "un-wine" at this West Village wine bar during their happy hour Monday-Friday from 4pm-6:30pm. Cru Food & Wine is the perfect spot for wine drinkers to try some new wines by ordering their wine flights at a discounted price. To go with your glass of red or white, try some of their happy hour small plates like bruschetta, calamari and their famous Goat Cheese Beignets.
That should get you through a work week or two. With the great variety at these spots, you could revisit them and enjoy an entirely different selection each time. What are your favorite happy hours in Uptown? Don't forget to mention us in your food and drink adventures around Dallas -- we're on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Cheers!
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Is buying Christmas gifts for men really that hard? Well it shouldn’t be. Granted all men are different, so you need to know what particular categories of products a particular man enjoys. Overall though, electronics ranks at the top with 81% of men wanting something from that category during the holidays (according to CreditDonkey.com).
Also 79% of men like to receive gift cards. Some popular electronics products from Amazon.com this holiday season are Google Chromecast Media Players, tablets (such as iPads, Kindle Fires, Androids, Windows), and GoPro cameras. Some good gift card choices are Amazon, Starbucks, or AMC Movie Theaters.
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Luigi's Mansion is a launch title for the Nintendo GameCube initially released in 2001 and the first installment of the Luigi's Mansion series. A sequel to this game, titled Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, was released for Nintendo 3DS family systems in 2013. The game marks the debuts of King Boo, a major villain in the Mario franchise, and Professor E. Gadd, a major supporting character in the series.
The game was re-released for the Nintendo 3DS with additional features such as coop, gyro controls.
Luigi, having won a mansion in a contest he did not participate, enters Boo Woods and locates it. He enters the mansion and is soon attacked by a ghost, but Professor E. Gadd appears and attempts to vacuum the ghost with his Poltergust 3000. E. Gadd tells Luigi that the house is an illusion that has appeared out of thin air, where Mario has been captured by King Boo and his minions.
Luigi uses two devices given to him by E. Gadd to progress through the game: the Poltergust 3000 to vacuum up ghosts and the Game Boy Horror to investigate objects, navigate the mansion and communicate with E. Gadd. On top of its primary function, the Poltergust has various other uses as well, such as vacuuming up money and being used as a flashlight to help Luigi see and even stun ghosts. Once Luigi collects the corresponding Elemental Medal, he can also use the Poltergust to vacuum up Elemental Ghosts and expel their fire, water or ice powers to fight other ghosts and deplete their HPs so that Luigi can capture them.
There are 51 Boos that hide in the various rooms of the mansion. 35 of these are named to differentiate between them, while the remaining 15 make up the third Boss of the game, Boolossus. The magic of the King Boo's spells increase based on the number of his minions nearby. Because of this, Luigi must capture 20 Boos to break the seal designed to block Boolossus from him. After capturing 20 more, the seal separating Luigi from King Boo was broken. If Luigi catches all 50 Boos, he will be rewarded with the extremely valuable Gold Diamond.
Rank A: Finish the game at or above 100,000,000G or 150,000,000G(PAL).
Rank B: Finish the game with 70,000,000 to 99,999,999G or 70,000,000 to 149,999,999G(PAL).
Rank C: Finish the game with 60,000,000 to 69,999,999G.
Rank D: Finish the game with 50,000,000 to 59,999,999G.
Rank E: Finish the game with 40,000,000 to 49,999,999G.
Rank F: Finish the game with 20,000,000 to 39,999,999G.
Rank G: Finish the game with 5,000,000 to 19,999,999G.
Rank H: Finish the game with 5,000 to 4,999,999G.
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Describe an important historical event in your country.
and say why it was important to your country.
The Umbrella Revolution is one of the most important historical events of Hong Kong. It was initiated by the students in 2014 and lasted for over three months, blocked traffic and usual activities for a couple of months. The movement was initiated to protest against the decision of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress. It was a political movement where the police turned violent and the situation went out of control for a certain time. This is a very smart cue card task for a candidate like me. I will answer the remaining questions in brief.
The umbrella movement protested against some political decisions. In the beginning, it was only some peaceful sit-ins by students of different educational institutions. But later, the movement was participated by thousands of individuals from different classes of the society. The demand of the movement was the cancellation of the NPCSS decision. Political harassment was a concerning issue then.
It was a group movement and so, no true leadership was formed here. The movement was participated mostly by a group of students, and after sometimes, the locals started joining the movement. In fact, it was a movement for free and fair election in Hong Kong so that each of the candidate gets the equal chance to be elected or rejected in the national election. The name was provided by Adam Cotton and social website - twitter helped greatly to spread the name.
It was really important for the country on some grounds. It showed that the people are conscious about their rights and responsibilities on voting in elections. The government termed the movements as instigated by foreign sources and also blamed that the educational institutions were becoming political tools. But it was necessary to give the government a severe blow to political issues.
Topic: Describe an important historical event in your country.
1. The Black Death that occurred in the Mid-14th century was a historical event for London. Due to the outbreak of this disease, a good number of people died. People of every class were affected by this health disorder. Now, the event is considered as the part of dark history. The aftermaths of the disorder were notable. People turned back to religion with some new inspirations.
2. The event of September 11 in 2001 was one of the most historically important events in the USA. On this day, some so-called Islamic extremists destroyed the World Trade Center – an American landmark. Some people were brainwashed by Osama Bin Laden and conducted the deliberate attack to cause damage to the USA. It was the beginning of a new history in the USA and the War on Terror begin from that day.
3. The Battle of Plassey took place in 1757. It was the beginning of colonialization in India and surrounding areas. By bribing Mir Jafar Ali Khan, an associate of Siraj Ud-Daulah, the British East Indian company won the battle. Siraj Ud-Daulah was the last independent Nawab of the country and after his fall, the British regime began in this subcontinent. The event was important in some aspects. Settlements from different other places were done based on trade and other purposes.
4. The year of 1964 is an important year for Canada. On this year, the country received its own flag. Before this year, Canada had to use the Union Jack. The legislative body of the country is largely commendable for this purpose. In fact, a flag helps to represent sovereignty and the country did not have that. So, it was an important event on December 15 in 1964 when the Canadian flag was hoisted. The maple leaf was picked after different options.
5. Independence of Japan was one of the important events in the country’s history. Before the independence, Japan was under the USA authority. The USA emancipated Japan on January 1 in 1952 and declared it as an independent country. The inner movements for independence played an important role in this case. Now, we are an independent nation and have ample options for development.
6. The revolution of China in 1911 was an important event in the country’s history. It was termed as the Chinese Bourgeois Democratic Revolution and played a great role in the fall of Qing Dynasty. The revolution also ended the feudalist society in China which was around 2000-year-old. The revolution was led by Dr Sun Yat-sen. This was an important event because it helped to create a new society in China.
1. Describe an important historic event you know about.
2. Describe something you learned in your school.
3. Describe a national day in your country.
4. Describe something you think most of the people in your country know about.
5. Describe a historic event that changed the fate of your country.
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Dry fly fishing is fairly new (within the last 100 years), but it is that segment of fly fishing methods which has made fly fishing the popular sport that it is. Trout rising to the surface of streams and rivers to capture emerging aquatic insects is probably the natural phenomenon that made people think about the possibility of fishing with artificial flies in the first place. Some humans are natural hunters. A trout rising to the surface of the water is a pretty visual occurrence, but how to capitalize on such a situation? Most aquatic insects are small and very fragile, and impaling one with a hook and using it for bait would be nearly impossible. Making that skewered insect float in a natural fashion would be an even more difficult task.
The basis of dry fly fishing is called "Matching the Hatch", which means that a facsimile of an insect is built on a hook using materials and methods to convince a fish that it is feeding on the real thing. Apparently humans have been doing this type of thing for thousands of years. There is evidence to suggest that as soon as people started to smelt metals, it wasn't long until they made metal fish hooks. After inventing metal fish hooks, it wasn't long until hair and feathers were attached to those hooks. But that doesn't mean that the first flies were dry flies. In order that an artificial fly would be able to float, it would have had to have been constructed on a hook that is very light weight.
Aquatic insects and artificial flies are able to float, not because they are necessarily lighter than water. Instead they are riding on the surface tension of the water. It turns out that surface tension is the result of the tendency of water molecules to attract one another. This is called cohesion, which forms a barrier at the water surface, and resists foreign objects. This allows objects that are slightly denser that water ride on the surface. But there are limits to the strength of surface tension, and usually if for any reason an object that is denser than water breaks trough the tension, it will sink. The first metal fish hooks were crude by today's standards. That is because it has only been in the last century or so that all the impurities could be removed from steel to allow hooks to be made from wire that is of fine enough diameter to be strong enough to get the job done. In order to construct a fly that floats, the hook must be very light in weight.
It is obvious that a feather dropped upon the water will float, at least until it soaks up enough water that it breaks the surface tension and then sinks. Water fowl feathers float longer because they are saturated with oils that resist intrusion by water. Early fly tiers found that certain chicken feathers (especially neck hackles) could be arranged to ride on the surface tension of water and support the rest of a fly. Chickens are not water fowl, they are upland ground birds and have little resistance to water. However, they produced the right kind of feathers that would ride the water if treated with waterproofing grease.
Competition between tackle manufacturing companies is intense. Every item available for fly anglers to use on the water has been upgraded with every production run. Rods, reels, lines and leader are much changed from what was available 50-years ago. Fly rods and fly lines are most changed in the materials used in construction.
Fly casting is the generation of fly line speed. The faster an angler can make a fly line go, the farther the line and ultimately the fly will go. The faster the line speed the more an angler can ignore wind. Modern rods and lines are able to build fly line speed and accuracy that was unheard of 10 years ago. The newest rods are more stable during the cast and anglers are able to throw tighter loops, and cast more accurately. A dry fly that is placed exactly in the center of a trout's feeding lane is much more likely to get eaten than one that is a little off. Casting accuracy is paramount to angling success.
A fly that acts like there is nothing attached to it is much more effective than one that is being pulled around by unnatural tension from the leader or line. That unnatural manipulation of the fly from the leader is called drag. In most cases when dry fly fishing, drag is to be avoided like the plague.
There are types of dry fly fishing where a fly dragging across the surface is done intentionally. Several examples come to mind. One is waking fly fishing for salmon and steelhead, where the fly is presented quartering down stream and the fly drags across the current and leaves a wake on the surface of the water to attract a fish to strike. Another is fishing the Travelling Sedge hatch on British Columbia lake where giant caddis run across the surface of the water. Fishing poppers for bass or certain saltwater fish is dry fly fishing where a large floating fly is manipulated with line tension to create a surface disturbance. Mousing for Alaskan rainbow trout is another example of inducing drag to the fly by mimicking a mouse swimming across a stream. Fishing a grass hopper pattern might require adding action to your fly. However, most hatches of aquatic insects require a drag free drift.
Our world is changing continually. The only thing that man can't seem to do well is leave anything alone. Since 1850 watersheds have been harvested and manipulated for the providence of our modern civilization. The resulting environmental change adversely affected our once prolific wild fisheries. A vast State run hatchery program was supposed to mitigate for all the resulting damage. Around 1990, Oregon went from a plan heavily relying on hatcheries for fish, to a plan for restoring wild fish fisheries. Reasoning that these fisheries would never allow the harvest of these wild fish, catch and release became the object. Like all plans that involve the natural world, it is an experiment. At FlyFishUSA/The Fly Fishing Shop, we believe the experiment is worth pursuing. An angler gets to test their skill against the fish and then turn it loose essentially unharmed. Please pinch down your barbs. Do the least damage possible. Thank you. Comments are welcomed.
Please check out our extensive selection of Dry Flies.
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Can you find the marble in the wooden die?
A fun and attractive puzzle that also looks good as a desk, shelf, or coffee table ornament.
Inside the 2.5" cube is a 3 dimensional maze.
The object is to get a marble through the maze and out the die.
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What is Star Wars Galaxies online?
Star Wars Galaxies, called SWG for short, is a 3D Sci-fi themed MMORPG set in the George Lucas� Star Wars universe. The game features many noteworthy characters from the movie and has all the famous landmarks from the films as well. With 10 playable races and 9 professions to choose from Star Wars galaxies has enough variety to keep players engaged.
Warfront is dedicated to bringing the players a classic and familiar game play while enhancing the original content as well as integration of new and unique encounters. Classic content such as Krayts, Nightsisters, Geo Caves, Corvette, and DWB have retained their classic feel and play through but have been upgraded with new fights, new mechanics.
World Empire at War It is a space strategy game with hundreds of players. Sign up now and become the emperor of the galaxy. Only need a browser to play. A space strategy game in real time. Play along with hundreds of other players. No downloading, you only need a browser.
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Q. No. 1: A can do a work in 18days, B in 9 days and C in 6 days. A and B start working together and after 2 days C joins them. What is the total number of days taken to finish the work?
Remaining work = 1- 1/3 = 2/3.
(A+B+C)'s one days work = (1/18 + 1/9 +1/6) = 1/3.
1/3 work is completed working all of them together in one day.
Hence, 2/3 work will be completed in 2 days.
Thus, Total number of days taken to finish the work is 4 days.
Q. No. 2: A worker is paid Rs 56 for 35 hour week. Upto 40 hour, he is paid at the normal rate and on overtime, 1.5 times the normal. How many hours did he work to get Rs88?
The worker worked for (40+10) = 50 hour.
Hence, tank will be filled in 15/2 = 7.5 hour.
Q. No. 4: A and B weave a carpet in 10 days and 15 days respectively. They begin to work together but B leaves after 2 days. In what time will A complete the remaining work?
(A+B)'s two days work = 1/3.
=> 10 * 2/3 = 20/3 hour.
Q. No. 5: I can do a piece of work in 8 days, which can be done by you in 10 days. How long will it take to do it if we work together?
Work done by both = 1/8 + 1/10 = 9/40 in 1 day.
One work will be completed by them in 40/9 days.
Q. No. 6: A contractor undertook to do a piece of work in 9 days.He employed certain number of labourers but 6 of them being absent from the very first day, the rest could finish the work in 15 days. Find the number of men originally employed?
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A number of established, reliable methods and tools exists for near-surface monitoring at CO2 storage sites regarding i) gas monitoring, ii) biomonitoring (micro- and macrocosm), iii) ecological monitoring (populations and systems). Well-established deep subsurface technologies are also available that give information about the amount and the migration of CO2 underground. For example, seismic measurements are at present the dominating geophysical methods for monitoring CO2 injection in saline aquifers and depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs. The method allows, in most cases, detailed mapping of the migration of the CO2 plume, and reasonably accurate volume estimates may be achieved by using appropriate assumptions.
The various monitoring techniques have their specific advantages and shortcomings in terms of sensitivity, reliability, capability, e.g. for point vs. wide area measurements or continuous vs. discontinuous measurements. These aspects are introduced and discussed in the relevant Sections that cover the various monitoring compartments. For example, to provide an early warning of CO2 migration to shallower depths, monitoring can be performed in wells in the subsurface. Monitoring in injection or observation wells typically involves low background variability; however, often results in small/weak signals. Shallow subsurface technologies are able to detect and quantify amounts of CO2 that have leaked into the shallow overburden, soils or the seabed or, ultimately, the oceans or atmosphere. In contrast to measurements in the shallow subsurface where background variability is typically moderate, the high background variability noted at the surface is a major challenge for surface/water monitoring technologies.
For a comprehensive monitoringMeasurement and surveillance activities necessary for ensuring safe and reliable operation of a CGS project (storage integrity), and for estimating emission reductions, various techniques are needed with very different characteristics combining i) continuous and discontinuous techniques, since a leak may vary with time and thus might be missed by one-off sampling, as wellManmade hole drilled into the earth to produce liquids or gases, or to allow the injection of fluids as ii) point and wide-area techniques, since large areas need to be covered rapidly because storage(CO2) A process for retaining captured CO2, so that it does not reach the atmosphere sites can cover many km2, but targets (leaks) may be rather small.
to detect potential leakage(in CO2Carbon dioxide storage) The escape of injected fluid from the storage formationA body of rock of considerable extent with distinctive characteristics that allow geologists to map, describe, and name it to the atmosphereThe layer of gases surrounding the earth; the gases are mainly nitrogen (78%) and oxygen (around 21%) or water column and monitor potential impacts in near-surface eco-compartments.
In addition to the techniques' specific characteristics, special reference will be given to various "boundary conditions" to be considered when selecting monitoringMeasurement and surveillance activities necessary for ensuring safe and reliable operation of a CGS project (storage integrity), and for estimating emission reductions tools such as location of the site (onshore/offshore), site accessibility (depending on land-use, topography, wells), volume to be monitored (considering depth, spread, pressure footprint).
An overview of potential CO2Carbon dioxide monitoringMeasurement and surveillance activities necessary for ensuring safe and reliable operation of a CGS project (storage integrity), and for estimating emission reductions techniques and their applicability for monitoringMeasurement and surveillance activities necessary for ensuring safe and reliable operation of a CGS project (storage integrity), and for estimating emission reductions of deep or shallow processes, for locating the CO2 plumeDispersing volume of CO2-rich phase contained in target formation, monitoringMeasurement and surveillance activities necessary for ensuring safe and reliable operation of a CGS project (storage integrity), and for estimating emission reductions of fine scale processes, detection and quantification of a leakage(in CO2 storage) The escape of injected fluid from the storage formation to the atmosphere or water column was given by Pearce (Fig. 2-1). These authors group the potential monitoringMeasurement and surveillance activities necessary for ensuring safe and reliable operation of a CGS project (storage integrity), and for estimating emission reductions techniques as techniques for primary and secondary use.
Fig. 2-1: Potential CO2Carbon dioxide monitoringMeasurement and surveillance activities necessary for ensuring safe and reliable operation of a CGS project (storage integrity), and for estimating emission reductions techniques and their applications (from Pearce et al., 2005); ESP = Electric spontaneous potential; VSP = Vertical Seismic Profiling; EM = Electromagnetics; ERT = Electrical Resistance Tomography; IR = Infrared detector; NDIR = Non-dispersive infrared spectrometer.
Primary Technology - A proven and mature monitoringMeasurement and surveillance activities necessary for ensuring safe and reliable operation of a CGS project (storage integrity), and for estimating emission reductions technology or application.
Secondary Technology - An available technology that can provide insight into CO2Carbon dioxide behaviour and that will help refine the use of primary technologies.
Additional Technology - A technology which is research-related and might answer fundamental questions concerning the behaviour of CO2Carbon dioxide in the subsurface and which might have some benefit as a monitoringMeasurement and surveillance activities necessary for ensuring safe and reliable operation of a CGS project (storage integrity), and for estimating emission reductions tool after testing in the field.
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First Sentence: 3 May. Bistritz – Left Munich at 8.35 p.m. on 1st May, arriving at Vienna early next morning; should have arrived at 6.46, but train was an hour late.
Comments: Dracula has long been a character of myth, both in literature and in the movies. With the continuing and in some ways resurgent popularity of vampires today, I thought it was time I went to the one of the most famous accounts of the infamous vampire, starting with Bram Stoker’s Dracula. I had the added motivation of wanting to read a novel that more recently came out called The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova, and starting off with Dracula seemed the a wise course after seeing reviews of Ms. Kostova’s book.
Bram Stoker’s Dracula was subtle in terror, and yet quite suspenseful and alluring all the same. The novel is made up of journal entries, phonograph records, telegrams and missives, all offering the different perspectives of the many characters as the story unfolds. There is the young and courageous Jonathan Harker, his clever and perceptive wife Mina, the gentle and beautiful Lucy, the quiet but strong American Quincey Morris, the wealthy and gentlemanly Arthur Godalming, the intelligent Dr. John Seward, the lunatic Renfield, Professor Van Helsing whose knowledge and skill lead the group on their quest, and, of course, the most famous character of all, Count Dracula, who is most mysterious and horrifying throughout. Their experiences made for an intriguing story, which had me eagerly wanting to return to visit them each time I had to set the book down.
As with many classic novels, Dracula has been taken apart, piece by piece, every bit of it analyzed and philosophized about. There are many theories as to the author’s intent and its representation of Victorian society at the times. I did not read Dracula with any of this in mind, nor did I seek it out. I read the novel for purely entertainment value and was well rewarded. It is no wonder the novel has earned the status of a classic, and there is no doubt that it will continue to do so.
Favorite Part: I loved the character of Mina right from the start. She was not only intelligent and courageous, but also had a good heart. My favorite portion of the book by far was the beginning sections where Jonathan Harker is in Transylvania visiting the Count. There was eeriness about it that carried over into my dreams that first night after I started reading the novel.
Miscellaneous: From the late shift to the early shift. I am not sure how I feel about waking up extra early in the morning to get ready for work, but I don’t mind getting off at an earlier hour, that’s for sure!
On the movie front, my husband and I recently enjoyed watching Fried Green Tomatoes, a movie I had seen years ago, but after having just read the book was inspired to do so again. There were quite a few differences between the book and the movie, although that in now way took away from either. I enjoyed them both immensely. We also recently saw The Lake House movie starring Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock. Although slow at times and trying to ignore the paradox that often comes with time travel of any kind (this time through letters), we both enjoyed the movie quite a bit.
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Stockholm Arlanda Airport is the larger of Stockholm's two airports. The other, Stockholm–Bromma, is located north-west of the city's centre, but can only be used by a small number of smaller aircraft. The smaller airports in Nyköping and Västerås are both located around 100 kilometres (60 mi) away from the Swedish capital. Stockholm Arlanda serves as a major hub for Scandinavian Airlines and Norwegian Air Shuttle.
Terminal 2 (gates 61–72) was initially built in 1990 for use by SAS as a domestic terminal. The terminal was designed to enable short turnaround times for aircraft, increased efficiency, and short walking distances, at that time without security check and with most passengers having hand luggage only, allowed to show up 10 minutes before departure. It had double walk bridges designed for both doors of MD-80. However SAS decided to leave the terminal because of decreases in passenger traffic on domestic routes. For a while the terminal was used by other airlines like Transwede Airways for both domestic and international services but now the terminal is only used for international flights. Security checks, a larger luggage claim area, more shops and restaurants have had to be added over the years, making the terminal fairly small. But in 2013 it was extended with a new floor level, where restaurants and lounge now is located. Terminal 2 has 8 aircraft parking stands with passenger bridges.
Terminal 3 (gates 51–59) was built in 1990 for regional aircraft. There is a café there. People walk outdoors from the gates and board the planes with airstairs. Access is through terminal 2, with a 200 m walking distance. As with terminal 2 it was built without a security check, which was added after 2001. There has been a decline in passenger numbers for smaller connections in Sweden.
Terminal 4, formerly Inrikes 1 (gates 30–44) was originally designed for the Swedish domestic carrier Linjeflyg, and initiated in 1983. Linjeflyg and Scandinavian Airlines moved all operations from Stockholm–Bromma Airport to the new terminal at Arlanda in 1984. This was made to assemble the domestic and international departures between Scandinavian Airlines and Linjeflyg. Because of increasing popularity, the terminal soon got too small. For that reason, Inrikes 2 was set up for SAS, who moved all domestic flights from Inrikes 1 to the new terminal in 1990.
Terminal 5 (gates 1–24 & F26–F69) is the largest of the passenger terminals at the airport and in use for international flights. All intercontinental flights and other international flights, except those in terminal 2, operate from terminal 5. The terminal has three piers equipped with 31 aircraft parking stands with passenger bridges. There are also a number of remote aircraft parking positions serving this terminal. Terminal 5 has restaurants, bars and shopping areas. The first stage of the terminal was inaugurated in 1976. Terminal 5 has since been expanded with a new passenger pier F. By 2040 terminal 5 will be expanded with another pier, pier G which will help the airport accommodate 40 million passengers compared with the 25 million today. The new pier will be designed to handle bigger aircraft models such as the Airbus A380. In addition to the scheduled services listed, all charter flights are handled at Terminal 5. The terminal is (like terminal 4 and Sky City) connected to Stockholm Central station by high-speed trains.
The motorway E4 goes past the airport and connects Arlanda with central Stockholm as well as Uppsala and other cities further north. Terminal parking, short-term and long-term parking is available at the airport. The low price long-term parking requires a free shuttle bus ride. The bus departs every 8–15 minutes. There are rental car facilities at the airport.
6 January 1987: A Transwede Sud Aviation Caravelle registered as SE-DEC on a non-scheduled flight from Stockholm–Arlanda Airport to Alicante Airport (ALC) encountered problems after take-off most likely caused by ice. The aircraft hit the runway hard causing the landing gear to fail and the aircraft slid off the runway and caught fire. None of the 27 passengers and crew was killed but the aircraft was written off and subsequently used by the airport's ARFF as a fire and rescue training aircraft.
27 December 1991: Scandinavian Airlines Flight 751, a McDonnell Douglas MD-81, registered as OY-KHO, a scheduled flight from Stockholm–Arlanda Airport to Warsaw-Frederic Chopin Airport (WAW) with a stopover at Copenhagen-Kastrup Airport (CPH) crashed shortly after take-off due to a dual engine failure when clear ice, which had formed during the night, was not properly removed during de-icing, broke off and was ingested into the engines. None of the 129 passengers and crew was killed but the aircraft was written off.
7 October 1997: A BAC One-Eleven belonging to Tarom registered as YR-BCM on a scheduled flight from Bucharest-Otopeni International Airport (OTP) to Stockholm–Arlanda Airport suffered a failure of the nosewheel steering after touching down heavily on runway 26. As the airplane slowed down the commander discovered that he could not control the aircraft which departed the runway and continued into the grassy area to on the right side. The aircraft slowed down softly and when it came to a stop the passengers and crew were able to disembark using the normal exits. The aircraft was written off and taken to Halmstad by Le Caravelle Club to be used as a fire trainer.
^ a b "ESSA – Stockholm/Arlanda" (PDF). AIP Sverige/Sweden. Norrköping: The LFV Group. 23 August 2012. pp. AD 2 ESSA 1-1..8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
^ a b c "ESSA – STOCKHOLM/Arlanda – www.lfv.se". lfv.se. Archived from the original on 20 February 2015. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
^ Alitalia plans Milan Linate – Stockholm in S18 Routesonline. 14 December 2017.
^ "Pegasus adds Antalya – Stockholm flights from April 2017". routesonline. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
^ "Japan – Air Self Defence Force (JASDF)". Jetphotos.net. Retrieved 2013-04-13.
^ a b "Nu startar pendeltågslinjen till Arlanda och Uppsala – AB Storstockholms Lokaltrafik". Sl.se. 2012-11-29. Archived from the original on 2013-05-23. Retrieved 2013-04-13.
^ "Stockholm–Arlanda's taxi system wins another environmental award". Arlanda.se. Archived from the original on 2011-03-14. Retrieved 2013-04-13.
^ "ASN Aircraft accident Convair CV-440-75 SE-BSU Stockholm–Arlanda Airport (ARN)". Aviation-safety.net. 1969-11-01. Retrieved 2013-04-13.
^ "ASN Aircraft accident Convair CV-990-30A-5 EC-BNM Stockholm–Arlanda". Aviation-safety.net. 1970-01-05. Retrieved 2013-04-13.
^ "ASN Aircraft accident Sud Aviation SE-210 Caravelle VIR OY-SAN Stockholm–Arlanda Airport (ARN)". Aviation-safety.net. 1973-07-14. Retrieved 2013-04-13.
^ "ASN Aircraft accident Sud Aviation SE-210 Caravelle III OY-KRA Stockholm–Arlanda". Aviation-safety.net. 1974-01-25. Retrieved 2013-04-13.
^ "ASN Aircraft accident Antonov 24B CCCP-46806 Stockholm–Arlanda (ARN)". Aviation-safety.net. 1977-05-26. Retrieved 2013-04-13.
^ "ASN Aircraft accident Sud Aviation SE-210 Caravelle 10R SE-DEC Stockholm–Arlanda Airport (ARN)". Aviation-safety.net. 1987-01-06. Retrieved 2013-04-13.
^ "ASN Aircraft accident BAC One-Eleven 525FT YR-BCM Stockholm–Arlanda Airport (ARN)". Aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 2013-04-13.
^ "ASN Aircraft accident Saab 2000 SE-LSF Stockholm–Arlanda Airport (ARN)". Aviation-safety.net. 1999-10-08. Retrieved 2013-04-13.
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0.971646 |
What does ESG mean and what do different ESG strategies entail?
Active ownership – Engaging with companies and voting to initiate changes in behaviour, and in company policies and practices.
ESG – A shortening of environmental, social, governance, the three central factors in measuring the sustainability and ethical impact of an investment.
ESG integration – Inclusion of ESG risks and opportunities in traditional financial analysis, and investment decisions. It is based on a systematic process derived from appropriate research sources.
Exclusion – A strategy that exclude companies, sectors or countries that don’t align with the values of investors. Exclusions may actually reduce the investor’s impact on companies due to loss of voting rights.
Impact investing – Targeting measurable and positive social and/or environmental impact.
MSCI – An investment research company that provides indices, portfolio risk and performance analytics as well as governance tools to institutional investors and funds.
Norms-based screening – Screening of investments according to their compliance with international standards and norms.
Positive screening – A strategy tilting portfolios towards companies outperforming peers in ESG measures (Best in class), or thematic investing in companies solving specific ESG challenges.
Responsible investing – Often synonymous with ESG investing. Means taking into account different kinds of social, environmental or governance factors in investments.
Socially responsible investing – Investment style that focuses on social issues, such as labour rights.
Sustainable investing – Investment style that takes into account environmental issues, such as global warming.
UNGC – The United Nations Global Compact is an initiative that encourages businesses to adopt sustainable and socially responsible policies, and to report on their implementation.
Also see the Field guide to ESG, on how to you navigate in the ocean of ESG themes and terminology.
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0.940529 |
The Portuguese government has asked for a bailout from its growing debts. Portugal, the third Eurozone country to face economic crisis, is asking for assistance from the European Commission, IMF and Europe’s bailout fund. This article anticipates the estimated bailout costs and ramifications for the Euro as a result of Portugal’s default.
Portugal's prime minister has said his country will ask for a bailout due to its high debts and difficulty raising money on international markets.
Prime Minister Jose Socrates said "the government decided today to ask the European Commission for financial help".
Portugal becomes the third financially troubled eurozone country after Greece and Ireland to request assistance from Europe's bailout fund and the IMF.
Analysts expect Portugal will need up to €80bn. A bailout had long been expected as Portugal, one of the 17-nation eurozone's smallest and weakest economies, struggled to finance its economy.
The move came as fears grew of a fresh debt crisis for weak countries on the fringes of the single currency zone as the European Central Bank prepared to start raising interest rates from the emergency level plumbed during the financial crisis.
The euro rose on the foreign exchanges on Wednesday in expectation that the European Central Bank would raise borrowing costs from 1% and signal further policy tightening in the months ahead.
But City economists warned that the interest rate rise would add to debt servicing costs and prove more problematic for countries such as Portugal and Ireland than for the core single country nations of Germany and France. Ben May, of Capital Economics, said: "If interest rates were to rise in line with market expectations, their impact would be greatest in the periphery and may prompt a further escalation of the region's fiscal crisis.
"Higher official interest rates will not only lower economic growth in the periphery, but will also prompt the average interest rate that governments pay on their debts to rise. Other things equal, then, higher interest rates will increase the chance of peripheral government debt spiralling out of control."
Along with other central banks, the ECB slashed interest rates during the financial crisis in an attempt to pull Europe out of recession, but it has responded to rising inflation in recent months with clear signals that borrowing costs will rise. The euro's strength coincided with a rise in the price of gold to $1,454.84 an ounce.
Marchel Alexandrovich, of Jeffries International, said a 1% increase in ECB rates would mean that mortgage debt interest payments of euro area households would rise by around 7% on average, but there would be a 30% jump in debt services payments for households in Portugal and Finland, a 15% increase in Ireland and around a 10% rise in Spain and Italy.
"In aggregate, debt interest payments for the euro area households and non-financial corporations would rise by around 0.3% of GDP if ECB rates are one percentage point higher," he said. "But Germany and France would see a rise of just around 0.1% of GDP, while Portugal, Spain and Ireland would see increases equivalent to 0.8% of GDP.
"The countries which least welcome higher interest rates on economic fundamentals are likely to be the ones most affected by them. One more reason why the ECB would be wise to tread very carefully in the months ahead."
Several of Portugal's banks have been calling on the government to accept help from its eurozone partners, warning that they can no longer continue to buy up Portuguese debt. Lisbon needs to find almost €5bn in repayments this month and another €27bn in June. The rising interest rate on Portuguese borrowing has added to the sense of crisis in the eurozone, amid reports that Greece is under pressure from the International Monetary Fund to default on its borrowing. The Irish government is understood to be concerned about weaker-than-expected tax revenues and the vulnerability of its banking sector. An informal meeting of European finance ministers is planned for Friday.
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0.99549 |
If you feel that a police officer or member of police staff has acted inappropriately towards you, you can make a complaint about it.
There are a number of ways you can do this. Firstly you should contact the local police service itself who will have a professional standards department and report what happened to them. Your complaint will be recorded by the department and then a decision will be made as to how best deal with your complaint.
You can also ask someone to complain on your behalf such as a the Citizen's Advice Bureau, a solicitor or your local MP or Assembly Member.
You could also contact the Independent Police Complaints Commission.
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0.998502 |
Look in the mirror. Odds are good the person looking back at you is human.
Humans are the most variable of races. You can pick your looks and mannerisms to fit almost any culture you want. You can model your character off an existing culture, or make up one of your own. If you make one up, try to keep the behaviours rational and consistent.
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0.999889 |
Acworth is a city in Cobb County Georgia, United States. It is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. The 2016 estimate for Acworth's population is 28,502. As of the 2010 census, this city had a population of 20,425, up from 13,422 in 2000. Acworth is located in the foothills of the North Georgia mountains along the southeastern banks of Lake Acworth and Lake Allatoona on the Etowah River. Unincorporated areas known as Acworth extend into Bartow, Cherokee and Paulding counties respectively.
Acworth's nickname is "The Lake City". Acworth Beach is located on nearby Lake Allatoona and Lake Acworth.
Like the rest of Cobb County, the area now containing Acworth was carved out of the former Cherokee Nation in 1831 after the natives were expelled.
The Western and Atlantic Railroad was completed through town in 1840. A watering station for the locomotives was established there.
The town received its current name in 1843 from Western & Atlantic Railroad engineer Joseph L. Gregg, who named it for his hometown of Acworth, New Hampshire, which was named for the former Royal Navy Surveyor Sir Jacob Acworth.
Telegraph lines reached the town in 1851.
A private school was opened for white students in 1852. A newer private school operated from 1899 to 1935, when they integrated with the Cobb County School District. Until 1935, high school students from Acworth paid tuition to attend. Students outside the town were subsidized by the Cobb County School Board. Black students were educated separately in a grammar school. The closest Black high school was in Atlanta. Later, students were bused by the county to a segregated school in Marietta.
Acworth was incorporated on December 1, 1860.
Volunteers to fight in the Civil War enlisted in what became Company A ("Acworth Infantry") in the 18th Georgia Volunteer Infantry and Company C ("Invincibles") in the 41st Georgia Volunteer Infantry.
The town was captured by the Union June 6, 1864. The city was called "Little Shanty" by the Union troops, to contrast it with the next town south, "Big Shanty", since renamed Kennesaw. The town was under martial law during the six months of occupation. On November 13, 1864, the town was burned down by the army of General W. T. Sherman, sparing twelve homes and one church; its citizens were left destitute.
The town had nearly recovered by the 1880s. Cotton farming in the area peaked from the 1890s through the 1920s. Low prices during the Great Depression resulted in a cessation of cotton farming in the area and throughout Cobb County.
During segregation, the railroad tracks served as a racial divide, with African Americans living to the northeast of the tracks and the whites to the southwest. There were few common public events. When a movie theater was erected in the 1930s, Blacks were allowed to access the balcony from a separate entrance. Whites sat on the main floor.
Volunteers formed a fire department in 1907.
There were eventually a total of three textile mills in town from 1905 through the 1980s. They employed about 800 workers at their peak.
In 1926, Main Street was paved. When the entire Dixie Highway (old U.S. Route 41 and part of the Cherokee Peachtree Trail) was paved in 1929, over 800 tourist vehicles entered the city daily.
When the Etowah River was dammed, forming Lake Allatoona, citizens feared that land near the town would become a swamp. They successfully petitioned for a second dam, resulting in Lake Acworth in the 1950s. This became a tourist attraction.
The town made a major improvement in its water and sewage lines in the late 1940s.
The city elected its first woman mayor, Mary McCall, in 1956 and 1961-6.
African-American students were schooled separately from white children until 1967.
In 2011, the filming of several scenes for the Footloose remake took place in downtown Acworth. The Acworth Presbyterian Church was used as the primary church, and the house of Mayor Tommy Allegood was used as Julianne Hough's character's home.
In 2017, the city was the site of the WWA Wakeboarding National Championship.
Acworth is located in the foothills of the North Georgia mountains along the southeastern banks of Lake Acworth and Lake Allatoona on the Etowah River. It is bordered by the city of Kennesaw to the southeast and by Bartow and Cherokee counties to the north.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.8 square miles (22.7 km2), of which 8.3 square miles (21.4 km2) is land and 0.54 square miles (1.4 km2), or 6.05%, is water.
Unincorporated areas considered Acworth for mailing purposes extend into southeast Bartow County, southwest Cherokee County, and northeast Paulding County. Some of the incorporated portions of Acworth east of Nance Road and Acworth Due West Road have a Kennesaw mailing address.
The main route through the center of Acworth is Main Street, a two-lane road. It is known as "Old 41" as it was formerly the route for US 41. State Route 92 and the new Highway 41 pass through the southern part of the city. Interstate 75 runs just north of the city's northern border, with access from exits 277 and 278. The newly built Seven Hills Connector connects South Acworth to its faster growing areas in Paulding County. There is also Bells Ferry, which goes through Acworth, Kennesaw, and Marrietta.
As of the census of 2000, there were 13,422 people, 5,194 households, and 3,589 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,896.9 inhabitants per square mile (732.4/km2). There were 5,453 housing units at an average density of 770.7 per square mile (297.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 79.7% White, 12.6% African American, 0.2% Native American, 2.3% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 3.2% from other races, and 2.00% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.05% of the population.
There were 5,194 households out of which 37.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.9% were married couples living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.9% were non-families. 23.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.08.
In the city, the population was spread out with 27.0% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 41.0% from 25 to 44, 15.7% from 45 to 64, and 7.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.6 males.
The city is governed by a five-member Board of Aldermen, who serve staggered four-year terms. The mayor is elected to four-year terms.
An unusual ordinance once required all citizens to own a rake. This ordinance was enacted shortly after the neighboring city of Kennesaw ordered every homeowner to own a gun in 1982. The requirement to own a rake is no longer in effect.
The city maintains eleven public parks: Acworth Sports Complex, Baker Plantation, Dallas Landing, East Lakeshore, Frana Brown, Logan Farm, Newberry, Overlook, Proctor Landing, and South Shore.
The Cobb County Public Library System maintains a library in the city.
Public education in Acworth is handled by the Cobb County School District.
Musa Smith, former NFL running back.
^ a b "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Acworth city, Georgia". U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder. Retrieved July 29, 2014.
^ Geocities.com Retrieved on February 10, 2008 Archived 2009-10-24.
^ "New Georgia Encyclopedia: Cobb County". Georgiaencyclopedia.org. 2011-11-15. Retrieved 2012-12-22.
^ Acworth Society for Historic Preservation (2006). Images of Acworth. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing. p. 7. ISBN 0-7385-1479-9.
^ Krakow, Kenneth K. (1975). Georgia Place-Names: Their History and Origins (PDF). Macon, GA: Winship Press. p. 1. ISBN 0-915430-00-2.
^ a b Acworth Society for Historic Preservation (2006). Images of Acworth. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing. p. 85. ISBN 0-7385-1479-9.
^ Acworth Society for Historic Preservation (2006). Images of Acworth. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing. p. 41. ISBN 0-7385-1479-9.
^ Acworth Society for Historic Preservation (2006). Images of Acworth. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing. p. 56. ISBN 0-7385-1479-9.
^ Acworth Society for Historic Preservation (2006). Images of Acworth. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing. p. 59. ISBN 0-7385-1479-9.
^ Acworth Society for Historic Preservation (2006). Images of Acworth. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing. p. 73. ISBN 0-7385-1479-9.
^ Acworth Society for Historic Preservation (2006). Images of Acworth. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing. pp. 77, 78. ISBN 0-7385-1479-9.
^ Acworth Society for Historic Preservation (2006). Images of Acworth. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing. p. 2. ISBN 0-7385-1479-9.
^ Acworth Society for Historic Preservation (2006). Images of Acworth. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing. p. 111. ISBN 0-7385-1479-9.
^ Acworth Society for Historic Preservation (2006). Images of Acworth. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing. p. 72. ISBN 0-7385-1479-9.
^ a b Caldwell, Carla (August 2017). "From the Editor". Around Acworth. p. 4.
^ "The Marietta Daily Journal - '80s remake has Cobb ties". Mdjonline.com. Archived from the original on 2013-01-28. Retrieved 2012-11-07.
^ "Funtrivia.com". Retrieved February 10, 2008.
^ "Cobb County School District". www.cobbk12.org.
^ "Acworth Elementary School". www.cobbk12.org.
^ "Baker Elementary School". www.cobbk12.org.
^ "Ford Elementary School". www.cobbk12.org.
^ "Frey Elementary School". www.cobbk12.org.
^ "Pickett's Mill Elementary School". www.cobbk12.org.
^ "Pitner Elementary School". www.cobbk12.org.
^ "Barber Middle School". www.cobbk12.org.
^ "Durham Middle School Home Page". www.cobbk12.org.
^ "Child Care in Acworth, GA - Sunbrook Academy at Governors Towne Club".
^ "Warren Creavalle - MLSsoccer.com".
^ "Throwback: 'Southern hospitality' steered Musa Smith to UGA". 10 September 2015.
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European leaders have moved to head off British Prime Minister Theresa May’s bid to rewrite the Brexit divorce deal, warning they will not shift.
Having thrown out the exit deal May negotiated with the EU, divided British lawmakers voted on Tuesday to send her back to get an Irish border backstop clause removed.
May seized on this as a chance to prevent Britain crashing out of the European Union on March 29 without an agreement on the terms of the split, vowing to return to Brussels to demand changes to the text.
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0.998408 |
Tendons occurs in many forms and injuries. These are called tendinopathies and are usually caused by overuse but vary slightly in their type depending on the area of the tendon that is affected. This may be related to age, body type, body weight, nutrition, improper training, fluctuations in heat or cold, repetitive movements etc..
These injuries generally result in inflammation and degeneration or weakening of the tendons, which may eventually lead to tendon rupture or avulsion.
1. Paratenonitis refers to inflammation of the paratenon, located between the tendon and its sheath.
2. Tendinosis refers to non-inflammatory injury to the tendon at the cellular level. The degradation is caused by damage to collagen, cells, and the vascular components of the tendon, to leading to rupture of the tendon.
3. Paratenonitis with tendinosis a combinations of paratenon inflammation and tendon degeneration are both present.
A tendon is a tough band of fibrous connective tissue that usually connects muscle to bone[ and is capable of withstanding tension. Tendons are similar to ligaments and fascia as they are all made of collagen except that ligaments join one bone to another bone, and fascia connect muscles to other muscles. Tendons and muscles work together and can only exert a pulling force.
Tendon length varies in all major groups and from person to person. Tendon length is determined by genetic predisposition, and has not been shown to either increase or decrease in response to environment, unlike muscles which can be shortened by trauma, use imbalances and a lack of recovery and stretching. Tendon length is limits muscle size and potential muscle size. For example, should all other relevant biological factors be equal, a man with a shorter tendons and a longer biceps muscle will have greater potential for muscle mass than a man with a longer tendon and a shorter muscle. Successful bodybuilders will generally have shorter tendons. Conversely, in sports requiring athletes to excel in actions such as running or jumping, it is beneficial to have longer than average Achilles tendon and a shorter calf muscle.
Tendons have a small amount of elasticity, which gives them some ability to function as springs. This allows tendons to passively modulate forces during locomotion, providing additional stability with no active work. It also allows tendons to store and recover energy at high efficiency. For example, during a human stride, the Achilles tendon stretches as the ankle joint dorsiflexes. During the last portion of the stride, as the foot plantar-flexes (pointing the toes down), the stored elastic energy is released. Furthermore, because the tendon stretches, the muscle is able to function with less or even no change in length, allowing the muscle to generate greater force.
How does a damaged tendon heal?
REGENERATION: New tendon fibres grow from special cells within the tendon.
FORMATION OF SCAR TISSUE: There is bleeding in the gap between the torn tendon fibre ends, and from this blood matrix, or scaffold, is formed to anchor the two ends together.
Acute tendinopathy: Follow R.I.C.E protocol. Stop the activity, rest in a comfortable position, preferably lying down and apply ice or a cold pack for 10 minutes every hour for 6 hours to reduce internal bruising to the tendon and its sheath.
An Ice Cup is the easiest way to reduce inflammation of the tendon. Freeze a polystyrene cup of water and then gently rub the affected area with the ice for 5 minutes several times a day.
The associated muscle may tend to spasm for the first two or three days after injury. Warm compresses can help to ease the spasms. Avoid over-working the muscles for several days but do try to continue with as near to normal activities particularly walking to keep the muscle actively healing.
Massage will help to clear the inflammation form the musclotendinous unit and ease the tenderness but care must be taken not to further bruise the tendon or its sheath.
It is important to keep the region warm to relieve pain and muscle spasm, but preferably using clothing, a pad or pillow avoiding hot water bottles or similar as these tend to cause congestion of the area. Taping or bandaging with elastic cohesive bandages or using a muscle or joint support can help relieve pain and protect the muscle to allow more normal activity to continue.
Chiropractors will use modalities such as Low Volt Current, TENS, Ultrasound, Laser Therapy, to help reduce inflammation, improve circulation, and improve flexibility of the affected tendon. Treatment length, duration, and frequency depends on the severity of the condition. Consult a Chiropractor as soon as possible to speed up recovery and to return to pre-accident health.
Mild to moderate tendinopathy: This is usually noticed the next day when there may be significant pain and stiffness on getting up in the morning. A warm shower or bath, especially with Epsom salts will help to ease the stiffness. Again refrain from the offending activity but do keep on the move. Seek advice as to whether to continue with ice or to use alternate hot and cold compresses.
The rehabilitation after this period involves gradually stretching the muscle to elongate the scar tissue and progressively increasing the muscle strength. Your Chiropractor will use massage and neuro-muscular techniques to improve drainage, blood flow and reduce spasm as well as addressing any causative factors such as local or remote stiffness or dysfunction using mobilisation and remedial exercises.
The following will help reduce the chances of Tendonitis.
Warming up is thought to decrease tendon injuries because the musclo-tendinous unit is more extensible when the tissue temperature has been increased by one or two degrees. A good warm up should last several minutes - starting gently and finishing at full pace activity. Simply starting with lighter activities and building up gradually whether it be housework, gardening, moving building blocks, preparing for playing golf, dancing or practising match activities such as sprinting and passing for rugby. Do not stretch before exercising unless specifically instructed to do so. There is a lot of recent evidence to show that stretching slightly irritates muscle and therefore leaves it more vulnerable to injury during exercise.
Recovery after training sessions and matches can be enhanced by performing a cool down, which is thought to help muscles get rid of waste products.
Careful stretching of muscles after use or exercise is important to re-order the musclo-tendinous unit and return to its normal length. Tired muscles tend to retain a memory of the repeated contractions they have undergone as part of the exercise or activity and stretching helps to correct this contraction. Tight muscles are also associated with increased risk of strains, and stretching is therefore mandatory to maintain muscle strength and prevent injury.
Do not overstretch the muscles (remember pain means damage!) - just take the stretch to the point of where you just feel it. Very slight discomfort only, not pain. Active stretches are helpful if the muscle is very tight. For these you hold the stretch and slightly contract the muscle at the same time. Ask your Chiropractor for advice on stretching.
Maintaining good muscle strength and flexibility may help prevent muscle strains. Muscle strength allows you to carry out activities in a controlled manner and decreases the unco-ordinated movements which can lead to injury. Diet can have an effect on muscle injuries. For instance, it has been found that if a player’s diet is high in carbohydrate in the 48 hours before a match, there will be an adequate supply of the energy which is necessary for muscle contractions. However, if the muscles become short of fuel, fatigue can set in during training or matches. This fatigue can predispose a player to injury.
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0.999693 |
The pre-placed blocks will give you everything needed for the program. Your goal is to find the value of the variable x to make the robot move to catch the ball. Using the equation y=5x-139, given from the parametrics x=31+i and y=16+5i, and the final destination of the ball being (40, 62), find the value of x that the linkbot robot needs to move in order to catch the ball. (The linkbot's original location is (34, 62)).
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0.999915 |
Do you know what a walk-in bathtub is? It's a tub that gets installed into an alcove where the user can walk in without a barrier in their way, whereas many tubs require the person to step over the side. Instead of having the fixed front wall that a standard tub would have, walk-in tubs have doors that open outward for easy entry.
The occupant then either sits on the tub's floor or alternatively on a single-person seat that's built in. When the door gets closed and sealed, the tub can get filled full of water. Some walk-in tubs are just for soaking, and others might have therapeutic options like whirlpool or airbath jets.
Walk-in bathtubs are ideal additions to many bathrooms for anyone that has mobility issues. If they can't enter a standard tub safely by stepping up over the edge or can't seat themselves on that edge to swing their legs in, then a walk-in tub is much safer. The elderly, those with dementia, folks with disabilities, and anyone with mobility issues from conditions like obesity can take advantage of walk-in tubs, as can caregivers.
The average or typical cost of a standard model walk-in tub runs in a normal range of $5,000 up to $7,000. If you want a tub installed with additional options like hydrotherapy, then the cost might be as high as $10,000. The total cost you pay can be impacted by the kind of tub, the size, whether a surround is included, whether you make room for a new tub or replace an older one, or if an electrician is necessary to place and hook up a motor.
Soaking tubs are good for just regular bathing, and will usually run from $2,500 to $5,000. An airbath is ideal for anyone with circulatory problems or diabetes, and they run from $5,000 to $7,000.
A whirlpool for hydrotherapy works well for muscle aches and deep-tissue massage; they run the same price range as airbaths. Bariatric tubs are wider, so they're good for anyone finding standard sizes too confining or tight, and those with mobility issues might also like them; these run from $5,000 up to $10,000.
Combination walk-in tubs let the user switch between water jets or air jets as they need to, and they typically average between $7,000 and $10,000.
Installing a typical walk-in tub is usually a straightforward process in a normal bathroom refit. The older tub gets taken out, and possibly also a row of tile adjoining it to the walls. Walk-in tubs usually are higher or deeper than normal tubs, so some tile work has to be done. In the majority of cases, the costs of this run the same as installing a standard bathtub, meaning it's 6 to 8 hours of work.
Labor rates in many but not all markets run from $45 to $65 per hour. $700 is a normal installation cost. If an airbath or whirlpool is getting installed, then the cost might be much higher, with $1,500 being the charge for a motor placement and electric connections. That's because the motor has to be set up close by, and the hook-up needs to happen properly for safety reasons.
Upgrading your available pipes up to a 0.75-inch diameter might be appealing, since it means the tub can fill up faster. However, the cost might run from $4,000 up to $6,000. Additionally, you might also need an upgrade in terms of your hot water heater, because walk-in tubs can typically hold from 50 to 80 gallons of water.
A standard heater that gives you 50 gallons of stored up hot water usually runs from $600 up to $800. You can also go for a tankless heater that provides endless hot water for $1,500 to $2,000.
Electrical work might be necessary for upgrading the circuit, which can run into several thousand dollars. A tile flange can run from $100 up to $500. If you want a longer tub that might even have two seats, expect your costs to start at $5,000. An add-on neck-rest can be comfortable and costs about $100.
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Growing up, many children and teenagers dream of playing video games for a living. In 2017, that has become more of a possibility due to the popularity of eSports, with many football clubs and sports teams launching their own eSports teams.
Eredivisie side Heracles have decided to go one step further, starting a training academy to allow young gamers to progress through the ranks like footballers before competing with the main squad.
Who is the favourite to win the 2017-18 Eredivisie?
Their first class includes six gamers aged between 13 and 19-years-old, who will be coached in eSports by Heracles senior eSports player Bryan Hessing, using a specially designed centre called an eBox, which allows 36 players to play FIFA 17 (and shortly FIFA 18) at the same time.
The academy will represent Heracles at eSports events as a club, while the individual players will have a chance to progress to the senior team. One of the new trainees, Rik Weits believes that himself and the other inductees will make history.
"I am convinced that the Heracles ePlayers will create history," Weits told Heracles' official website.
"The developments indicate that eSports is only increasing. I feel honoured that I belong to the first class at Heracles Almelo. I will make every effort to represent the club as best as possible, including in tournaments."
Heracles' football team finished the 2016-17 Eredivisie season in 10th position, missing out on qualification to the European competition playoffs on goal difference behind Groningen and Heerenveen.
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Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) is an indispensable tool for identifying causal mutations obtained from genetic screens. To reduce the number of causal mutation candidates typically uncovered by WGS, Caenorhabditis elegans researchers have developed several strategies. One involves crossing N2-background mutants to the polymorphic Hawaiian (HA) strain, which can be used to simultaneously identify mutant strain variants and obtain high-density mapping information. This approach, however, is not well suited for uncovering mutations in complex genetic backgrounds, and HA polymorphisms can alter phenotypes. Other approaches make use of DNA variants present in the initial background or introduced by mutagenesis. This information is used to implicate genomic regions with high densities of DNA lesions that persist after backcrossing, but these methods can provide lower resolution than HA mapping. To identify suppressor mutations using WGS, we developed an approach termed the sibling subtraction method (SSM). This method works by eliminating variants present in both mutants and their nonmutant siblings, thus greatly reducing the number of candidates. We used this method with two members of the C. elegans NimA-related kinase family, nekl-2 and nekl-3. Combining weak aphenotypic alleles of nekl-2 and nekl-3 leads to penetrant molting defects and larval arrest. We isolated ∼50 suppressors of nekl-2; nekl-3 synthetic lethality using F1 clonal screening methods and a peel-1–based counterselection strategy. When applied to five of the suppressors, SSM led to only one to four suppressor candidates per strain. Thus SSM is a powerful approach for identifying causal mutations in any genetic background and provides an alternative to current methods.
Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) was first used to identify causal mutations in Caenorhabditis elegans nearly 10 yr ago (Sarin et al. 2008), and this approach has been progressively refined and applied to a growing number of organisms (Schneeberger and Weigel 2011; Leshchiner et al. 2012; Obholzer et al. 2012; James et al. 2013; Moresco et al. 2013; Hu 2014; Schneeberger 2014; Doitsidou et al. 2016). One complication of WGS is that many hundreds or thousands of variants are typically detected in individual mutant strains, thus making it difficult to pinpoint the causal mutation that is responsible for the observed phenotype. Because the large majority of mutations that alter phenotypes lead to changes in the primary sequence of proteins (Sarin et al. 2008), filtering steps can be applied so that only DNA variants that alter coding sequences are considered. Nevertheless, in the absence of other information, this can still result in large numbers of exonic variants that must be experimentally tested.
Several WGS strategies have been developed to reduce the number of candidate variants by simultaneously providing mapping data on the causal mutation, an approach termed “mapping by sequencing” (Schneeberger and Weigel 2011; Zuryn and Jarriault 2013; Schneeberger 2014; Doitsidou et al. 2016). In C. elegans, a widely used approach makes use of the Hawaiian (HA) variant, CB4856, which differs from the field-standard N2 Bristol strain by >100,000 polymorphisms (C. elegans Sequencing Consortium 1998; Wicks et al. 2001; Hillier et al. 2008; Doitsidou et al. 2010; Vergara et al. 2014). Typically, mutants generated in the N2 background are crossed to the HA strain to generate N2/HA hybrids, which are then allowed to self-fertilize. Homozygous mutant progeny of N2/HA hermaphrodites are then isolated and subjected to WGS and variant identification. N2/HA polymorphisms can then be exploited to map mutations to genomic regions that are homozygous for N2-specific variants, thereby greatly reducing the number of causal variants to be considered (Doitsidou et al. 2010). Variations on HA mapping have also been developed to facilitate the mapping and identification of diverse allele types (Smith et al. 2016). This approach, however, has two major caveats. One is that it is not easily applied to complex genotypes, such as mutations that alter phenotypes only when one or more additional mutant loci are present in the background. The other is that genetic differences between N2 and HA can lead to changes in the expression of phenotypes in ways that are not predictable (Doroszuk et al. 2009; Reddy et al. 2009; Bendesky et al. 2012; Rodriguez et al. 2012; Green et al. 2013; Pollard and Rockman 2013; Glater et al. 2014; Snoek et al. 2014; Doitsidou et al. 2016; Kamkina et al. 2016; Singh et al. 2016).
As an alternative, the method known as ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) density mapping does not require use of the HA strain and relies on the ability to detect signature changes to DNA that are induced by the commonly used mutagen EMS (Drake and Baltz 1976; Flibotte et al. 2010; Sarin et al. 2010). After serial backcrossing, strains are subjected to WGS, and genomic regions that contain higher densities of EMS lesions (such as those flanking causal mutations) are identified (Zuryn et al. 2010). Because the density of EMS-induced lesions is relatively low compared with the number of polymorphisms between N2 and HA, this method may yield substantially lower mapping resolution than the HA method (Doitsidou et al. 2016).
Another approach that circumvents use of the HA strain, variant discovery mapping (VDM), also relies on variant frequencies to identify chromosomal regions of interest, but uses both EMS and non-EMS variants (Minevich et al. 2012; Cheesman et al. 2016). Thus, VDM may improve mapping resolution relative to that of EMS density mapping, but may provide less information than HA mapping methods (Doitsidou et al. 2016).
Here, we describe the sibling subtraction method (SSM), which is an alternative approach for WGS analysis that does not require use of the HA strain and does not conceptually rely on variant mapping methods. We applied this strategy to identify suppressors of synthetically lethal nekl-2; nekl-3 double mutants, which arrest as larvae because of defects in molting (Yochem et al. 2015; Lazetic and Fay 2017). Our results indicate that this method can be used to reduce the number of candidate causal variants to as few as one or two coding change candidates in most cases, thus providing a powerful alternative to current approaches. This study also highlights the utility of using synthetically lethal combinations of weak aphenotypic alleles as a genetic background for suppressor screening, and includes a description of a counterselection approach to increase the efficiency of genetic suppressor screens.
C. elegans strains were maintained according to standard protocols (Stiernagle 2006) and were propagated at 22° unless otherwise stated. Strains used in this study include N2 Bristol (wild type), WY1145 [nekl-2(fd81); nekl-3(gk894345); fdEx286 (pDF153, nekl-3(+); pTG96, SUR-5::GFP)] (Lazetic and Fay 2017), WY1208 [nekl-2(fd81); nekl-3(gk894345); fd130], WY1209 [nekl-2(fd81); fd131; nekl-3(gk894345)], WY1210 [nekl-2(fd81); fd132; nekl-3(gk894345)], WY1211 [nekl-2(fd81); fd133; nekl-3(gk894345)], WY1217 [nekl-2(fd81); nekl-3(gk894345); fd139], WY1232 [nekl-2(fd81); nekl-3(gk894345); fdEx286; fdEx297 (pTG96.2, SUR-5::RFP)], and WY1255 [nekl-2(fd81); nekl-3; fdEx303 (pDF153, nekl-3(+); pTG96, SUR-5::GFP, PMA122, Phsp16.41:peel-1)] (Seidel et al. 2011). For additional strains, see Supplemental Material, Table S1.
Suppressors were obtained through an F1 clonal screen following standard EMS mutagenesis (Kutscher and Shaham 2014) of strain WY1145. Suppressed worms were detected by their ability to propagate in the absence of the GFP-marked nekl-3–rescuing array, fdEx286, and further confirmed by backcrossing to WY1145. For the peel-1 counterselection screen, strain WY1255 was mutagenized with EMS and individual P0s were placed on large NGM plates, grown for two generations, and then heat shocked to eliminate array-containing F2s. After 4 d, plates were heat shocked to eliminated rare escapers and plates were then screened 3–4 d later for the presence of propagating (GFP−) suppressed worms.
For each backcross, suppressed hermaphrodites were crossed to WY1145 males, GFP+ F1 cross-progeny hermaphrodites were individually cloned, and GFP− F2 suppressed animals were isolated. From these crosses, the frequencies of GFP− males were scored in the F1 generation to determine if the suppressors were either dominant or on LGX. To distinguish between dominant mutations and recessive mutations on LGX, we crossed suppressors to WY1232 (GFP+ RFP+) males and scored for the presence of RFP+ hermaphrodites in the F1 generation. To determine if the dominant mutation fd132 (WY1210) was on LGX, WY1210 hermaphrodites were crossed to WY1232 males, and viable RFP+ F1 males were then crossed to WY1145 hermaphrodites. We then scored for the presence of suppressed F1 males (GFP− RFP− or GFP− RFP+). Although we observed >100 GFP+ RFP− and/or GFP+ RFP+ males resulting from this cross, we failed to observe any GFP− RFP+ or GFP−RFP− males, indicating linkage to LGX. Additionally, we picked F1 GFP+ RFP+ hermaphrodites singly to plates and scored their F2 progeny. We observed 100% (n = 40) of GFP+ RFP+ hermaphrodites to segregate suppressed progeny, further confirming the location of fd132 on LGX.
After either two (WY1208) or four (WY1209, WY1210, WY1211, and WY1217) backcrosses, suppressed strains were mated to WY1145 males and several F1 heterozygous (GFP+) cross-progeny were allowed to self-fertilize. Then, 50–100 F2 self-progeny were subsequently cloned to individual plates to obtain the sup/sup (Sup), sup/+, and +/+ (Non-Sup) genotypes. Thus, sequencing analysis was carried on strains that were backcrossed a total of 3× (WY1208) or 5× (WY1209, WY1210, WY1211, and WY1217). DNA was prepared as previously described using the Gentra Puregene Tissue Kit (Doitsidou et al. 2010). The following numbers of independent isolates were used to generate the DNA pools: WY1208 (Sup, 10; Non-Sup, 15), WY1209 (Sup, 10; Non-Sup, 10), WY1210 (Sup, 10; Non-Sup, 13), WY1211 (Sup, 10; Non-Sup, 5), and WY1217 (Sup, 5; Non-Sup, 8).
Paired-end libraries were prepared for each strain and sequenced on an Illumina HiSeq 2000. Resulting reads were analyzed via SSM as described in the Results. Briefly, our workflow was adapted from CloudMap and incorporated tools including Trimmomatic, BWA, SAMtools, Genome Analysis Toolkit (GATK), Generate pileup, VarScan, SnpEff, SnpSift, and Integrative Genomics Viewer implemented on the UseGalaxy.org platform (Li and Durbin 2009; Li et al. 2009; McKenna et al. 2010; Cingolani et al. 2012a,b; Koboldt et al. 2012; Bolger et al. 2014; Afgan et al. 2016). A detailed description of variant analysis is provided in the Supplemental Methods in File S1.
Reads for all strains used in this study are deposited in NCBI's Sequence Read Archive under BioProject ID PRJNA415825. Code (workflows) used to generate the results in our SSM method are available as SSM Variant Detection and SSM Variant Subtraction and can be accessed through the shared workflows at usegalaxy.org/workflows (owner: bjoseph). Specific software versions and parameters for workflows are provided in Supplementary Methods in File S1.
dsRNAs corresponding to exons in candidate suppressor genes were prepared using standard PCR methods followed by T7 RNA synthesis (for primer sequences see Supplemental Methods, File S1) and were injected at 0.8–1.0 µg/µl into strain WY1145 (Ahringer 2005). GFP− F1 progeny were scored, together with noninjected controls, for each experiment. For WY1217, injection of dsRNA corresponding to exon 11 of B0302.1 (1033 bp fragment) led to 18.6% (n = 1112) adult viability vs. 0.7% (n = 279) in noninjected controls (P < 0.0001). For WY1209, injection of dsRNA corresponding to exons 9–11 of F56D12.6a (970 bp fragment) led to 16.5% (n = 1054) adult viability vs. 1.9% (n = 210) in noninjected controls (P < 0.0001).
CRISPR/Cas9 RNPs were injected into strain WY1145 using dpy-10 co-CRISPR methods (Arribere et al. 2014; Paix et al. 2014, 2015), and Rol and Dpy progeny were monitored for suppression over two generations (for crRNA and other oligonucleotide sequences see File S1). In cases where mutations in the candidate suppressors led to the premature termination of transcripts (C04A11.4, F56D12.6, and B0302.1), we generated breaks within 45 bp of the candidate lesion and allowed nonhomologous repair mechanisms to generate new stop codons or frameshifts. This led to the isolation of three new alleles of C04A11.4 (fd208, 1 bp deletion; fd209, 2 bp deletion; fd210, 8 bp deletion), two new alleles of F56D12.6 (fd211, 13 bp deletion; fd212, 10 bp deletion), and three new alleles of B0302.1 (fd213, 16 bp insertion; fd214, 7 bp deletion; fd215, multiple substitutions and insertions). For specific sequences, see Table S2. For the essential gene F48E8.5, we used a repair template to introduce the specific lesion identified by WGS. This led to the isolation of two independent alleles (fd216 and fd217), both of which contained the identical (G→A) nucleotide substitution and also displayed suppression.
Fosmids containing a wild-type copy of the candidate gene were injected with SUR-5::GFP into nekl-2; nekl-3; sup adults, and GFP+ F1 progeny were scored for molting defects. In some cases, incomplete rescue (desuppression) led to our ability to score progeny from the F2 generation, although we were unable to obtain stably transmitting lines. For strain WY1208, we injected fosmids corresponding to C04A11.4 (WRM0620dD12, WRM0632aG02, and WRM0610cA04, 2–6 ng/µl each + SUR-5::GFP [pTG96], 100 ng/µl). Suppression by fd130 in WY1208 led to 83% viability (17% arrest; Table 1). Following injection of WY1208, 80% of GFP+ F1 larvae (n = 25; P < 0.0001) arrested with molting defects, and a similar trend was observed in the F2 progeny from several viable transmitting F1s (83% arrest, n = 37; P < 0.0001). In contrast, injection of this fosmid mix into wild type showed no deleterious effects on larval development or adult viability. WY1217 was injected with fosmids corresponding to candidate B0302.1 (WRM061cD03 and WRM0612dE01, 6 ng/µl each + SUR-5::GFP [pTG96], 100 ng/µl). Whereas the fd139 mutation led to 76% viability in this strain (24% arrest), we observed arrest in 93% of GFP+ F1s (n = 30; P < 0.0001). For strain WY1211 (fd133) we injected a mix of fosmids corresponding to F48E8.5 and an RFP marker (WRM0618bG08, WRM064bA06, and WRM0618aG08, ∼6 ng/µl each + SUR-5::RFP [pTG96.2], 100 ng/µl) into WY1211 worms that also carried the fdEx286 nekl-3+ GFP+ rescuing array. Three stably transmitting GFP+ RFP+ lines were then for scored viability in the F3 generation. Arrest among the GFP− RFP+ animals occurred at frequencies of 92% (n = 210), 95% (n = 128), and 97% (n = 181) for the three lines tested, respectively, whereas arrest among GFP− RFP− worms was 63% (n = 223; P < 0.0001). Furthermore, <10% of GFP+ RFP+ progeny underwent arrest (n > 200 for each strain), indicating that the arrays were not highly toxic. P values were determined using the N-1 chi-squared test.
To better understand the functions of Nek family kinases during development, we sought to identify extragenic suppressors of molting defects in nekl-2 and nekl-3 mutants. Previous studies had identified an allelic series of nekl-2 and nekl-3 mutations, including null alleles that arrest at the L1/L2 molt, moderate loss-of-function alleles that arrest as L2/L3s, and weak alleles that are aphenotypic (Yochem et al. 2015; Lazetic and Fay 2017). Furthermore, certain combinations of weak alleles of nekl-2 and nekl-3 lead to double mutants that display penetrant molting defects and concomitant larval arrest. In the case of strain WY1145, synthetically lethal nekl-2(fd81); nekl-3(gk894345) double mutants are maintained by the presence of a rescuing extrachromosomal array (fdEx286) that is transmitted to ∼65% of self-progeny, and expresses wild-type nekl-3 along with a fluorescent reporter (SUR-5::GFP) (Lazetic and Fay 2017). Thus, in this study, WY1145 hermaphrodites gave rise to viable array-containing GFP+ progeny as well as array-negative GFP− progeny, 98.8% (n = 444) of which arrested as larvae with molting defects (Figure 1A). Rare GFP− escapers that reached adulthood produced progeny that arrested nearly uniformly with molting defects (98.5%, n = 1721).
Phenotypes of molting-defective and suppressed strains. (A, C, and E) DIC and (B, D, and F) fluorescence images of strains WY1145 [nekl-2(fd81); nekl-3(gk894345)] and WY1211 [nekl-2(fd81); paa-1(fd134); nekl-3(gk894345)]. GFP+ worms carry an extrachromosomal array (fdEx286) that expresses wild-type nekl-3 and SUR-5::GFP. (A and B) Whereas GFP− worms (white arrows) in the starting strain, WY1145, arrest uniformly with molting defects. (C and D) GFP− worms in the suppressed strain, WY1211, can reach adulthood. (E and F) Suppression is reverted in strain WY1211 by the expression of wild-type paa-1 from a fosmid, which is carried by an independent extrachromosomal array marked with SUR-5::RFP. Compare GFP− RFP+ arrested larva (E and F) with GFP− gravid adults (C and D). Also note that the paa-1+ RFP-marked array is not generically deleterious for growth as evidenced by the viability of GFP+ RFP+ adults (E and F). White arrows indicate GFP− worms; white arrowheads indicate GFP+ worms; white boxes in (E) and (F) indicate that the image was acquired from a region outside the main panel; yellow boxes indicate regions of increased magnification. Black scale bar in (A) (for A–F), 100 µm; white scale bars in insets (A and E), 20 µm.
We reasoned that WY1145 could be effective for identifying extragenic suppressors because both fd81 and gk894345 are very weak loss-of-function alleles and thus are potentially amenable to genetic suppression, and by carrying out the screen with double mutants, we could obtain suppressors that are specific to either nekl-2 or nekl-3, as well as suppressors of both. As a first approach, we mutagenized WY1145 with EMS and carried out a semiclonal F1 screen (Figure S1). Plates containing candidate suppressor mutations were initially identified based on the increased frequency of F2 GFP− animals reaching adulthood and were subsequently verified by propagating strains derived from isolated F2 GFP− animals for multiple generations. From this screen of ∼8000 haploid genomes, 27 independent isolates were obtained with suppression frequencies ranging from ∼20% to nearly 90% (Figure 1, Table 1, and Table S1). Notably, a pilot screen using a moderate loss-of-function allele, nekl-3(sv3), alone failed to uncover strong suppressors (data not shown), suggesting that approaches using synthetic-lethal combinations of weak alleles may be particularly productive.
To reduce the labor associated with F1 clonal/semiclonal screening methods, we considered alternative strategies. Because the frequency of naturally occurring GFP− escapers reaching adulthood in WY1145 (∼1–2%) was likely to be much higher than the frequency of authentic suppressors, standard nonclonal approaches were deemed impractical because of the high incidence of false positives. We therefore considered a strategy involving a counterselectable marker to eliminate animals carrying the nekl-3+–rescuing array. peel-1 is a sperm-derived toxin that, when overexpressed in C. elegans larvae and adults, leads to death at all postembryonic stages (Seidel et al. 2008, 2011). We engineered a nekl-2(fd81); nekl-3(gk894345) double-mutant strain (WY1255) with a rescuing array containing wild-type nekl-3, SUR-5::GFP, and a heat shock–inducible peel-1 transgene. After incubation of WY1255 at 34° for 2 hr, nearly 100% of array-containing GFP+ worms perished within 24 hr. As outlined in Figure S2, WY1255 worms were mutagenized, and 100 individual P0 animals were picked to large plates and incubated at 22° until F2 progeny began to emerge (∼5–6 d). Plates were then heat shocked to kill array-containing animals and were monitored for an additional 7–8 d to identify plates with actively propagating populations of GFP− animals. To prevent the re-emergence of any surviving GFP+ worms, plates were heat shocked again after 4 d. From this screen we identified an additional 23 suppressors, demonstrating the utility of this counterselection approach (Table S1). In particular, this method should be useful for identifying suppressors of phenotypes that are <100% penetrant, but it can also be applied to phenotypes that are fully penetrant.
Our combined genetic screens identified ∼50 mutants that displayed a wide range of suppressor strengths and included both dominant and recessive alleles (Figure 1, C and D, Table 1, and Table S1, and data not shown). Suppressed strains (nekl-2; nekl-3; sup) were backcrossed to WY1145 and, after preliminary genetic characterization, five strains were selected for further analysis by WGS (Table 1). In addition, genetic studies determined that three of these five suppressors were on LGX, whereas two were autosomal (Table 1 and Materials and Methods). The molecular identification of the suppressors, however, presented several technical challenges given that the suppressor mutations did not exhibit obvious phenotypes on their own. In addition, the nekl-2(fd81) and nekl-3(gk894345) mutations are aphenotypic and show defects only when combined as double mutants (Lazetic and Fay 2017). Although it was possible to introduce both the fd81 and gk894345 mutations into the HA mapping strain (CB4846) using CRISPR/Cas9 methods, as discussed at the beginning of this article, this divergent background has the potential to alter the expression or penetrance of phenotypes. Furthermore, it was unclear if methods that did not make use of the HA strain would provide sufficient mapping resolution of the affected loci to consistently enable facile identification of causal mutations (also see below) (Doitsidou et al. 2016).
We therefore devised a WGS strategy to identify nekl-2; nekl-3 suppressors that did not depend on either variant density mapping or the use of CB4856. We refer to our approach as the SSM, and a generic version of this strategy is shown in Figure 2. Importantly, this strategy can be applied to a variety of phenotypes as well as both simple and complex genetic backgrounds, including mutations that lead to enhancement or suppression. To carry out this approach, nekl-2(fd81); nekl-3(gk894345) suppressed strains (nekl-2; nekl-3; sup) were crossed to WY1145 to generate heterozygous (sup/+) GFP+ F1 cross-progeny, which were picked to individual plates and allowed to self-fertilize (Figure 2A and Figure S3). Next, sibling GFP+ F2 progeny from a single F1 parent were picked to individual plates and allowed to produce the F3 generation. Based on standard Mendelian inheritance patterns, a 1:2:1 ratio corresponding to sup/sup, sup/+, and +/+ would be expected among the F2 generation. Plates containing F2 parents of the sup/sup genotype were recognized based on the high frequency of viable GFP− adult F3s. Moreover, viable GFP− F3 worms from candidate sup/sup plates were picked to new plates and allowed to propagate to ensure suppressor homozygosity. Conversely, plates containing parental F2s of the +/+ genotype were identified by the absence of suppressed (adult GFP−) F3 animals (Figure S3). For each suppressor strain, individual sup/sup isolates were combined to make genomic DNA, which we refer to as the “suppressed” DNA pool (Figure S3). Corresponding +/+ isolates were also combined to generate a “nonsuppressed” DNA pool (Figure S3). We note that the number of independent sup/sup or +/+ isolates used to generate the DNA pools ranged from 5 to 15, indicating that as few as five isolates may be sufficient for our approach to be successful.
Schematic design of the SSM. (A) The genetic crosses required for generating multiple independent m/m and sibling +/+ isolates, which are combined to produce the mutant DNA pool and the nonmutant sibling comparator DNA pool, respectively (also see Figure S3). (B) Simplified representations of sequenced chromosomes from the mutant pool (pink) and nonmutant sibling comparator pool (blue) are shown. Yellow lines indicate variants detected by WGS, and asterisks indicate variants that are homozygous in the mutant pool. Note that the depiction underestimates the true number of variants per chromosome. Dashed lines and purple asterisks indicate variants that are present in both the mutant pool and the nonmutant sibling comparator pool, which can be eliminated (subtracted) as candidate causal mutations. Note that subtraction will remove most or all variants on unlinked chromosomes, whereas homozygous variants very close to the causal mutation (red) may not be subtracted (black asterisks). (C) Venn diagram of subtracted variants (purple) along with the relatively small proportion of remaining candidate variants (pink) after application of the SSM.
The workflow for the experimental and bioinformatic analysis is shown in Figure 3 and is described in detail in the Supplemental Methods in File S1. For our SSM analysis, we tested four different filtering criteria for each of the suppressor strains. This allowed us to determine how different parameters would impact the identification of candidate variants. In our most stringent version (filtering analysis 1; FA1), we required that variants from the suppressed DNA pools be present in 100% of reads, whereas variants from the nonsuppressed sibling DNA pools need only be present in >0% of reads. These parameters therefore minimized the number of candidate variants from the suppressed pools while maximizing the number of variants from the nonsuppressed pools used for subtraction. We predicted that the large majority of strain-specific noncausal mutations acquired before or after mutagenesis would therefore be subtracted, leaving a manageable number of candidates requiring experimental validation (Figure 2, B and C).
SSM workflow. Overview of the experimental and bioinformatical steps involved in the SSM/WGS method. For additional details, see text and Supplemental Methods, File S1.
In practice, we found that FA1 eliminated 98.4% (range, 98.0–99.0%) of all variants detected in the five suppressed DNA pools (Table 2). Likewise, when considering variants leading to changes in protein structure (nonsense, missense, frameshift, and splice site mutations), an average of 98.8% (range, 98.2–100%) of variants were subtracted. Manual examination of candidate variants following computational subtraction led to an additional reduction in the total number or candidate variants for all five strains from 13 to 10 (see File S2). In two of these cases, the subtraction of a common variant failed because the required number of nonsuppressed sibling reads fell below our set computational threshold of three. Nevertheless, an examination of the two high-quality reads available from each strain indicated that the variants were present in both suppressed and nonsuppressed strains and thus could be eliminated as causal.
Although effective in limiting the number of candidate causal variants, it was possible that our most stringent parameters (FA1) could, however, lead to the occurrence of false negatives. Consistent with this possibility, FA1 failed to identify coding change candidates for strain WY1217, suggesting that at least one true positive may have been eliminated in our analysis (Table 2). One source of false negatives could be due to sequencing errors or misalignments, which could lead to a failure to call an authentic variant in the suppressed DNA pool. False negatives could also result if one of the worm isolates used for DNA sequencing was incorrectly assigned at the level of phenotype. For example, it is possible that DNA pools for dominant alleles could contain animals that were heterozygous, thus reducing the percentage of causal variant reads in the suppressed DNA pool to <100%. Conversely, in the case of weakly penetrant recessive alleles, heterozygous strains could be accidentally assigned to the nonsuppressed pool, thereby increasing the percentage of causal variant reads to >0% and leading to their subtraction. Finally, regardless of the above filtering criteria, a false negative would occur if the causal mutation were to be located in a noncoding region (also see below).
We therefore analyzed sequencing data from all our strains using three additional filtering criteria (FA2–4). In the case of FA2, we reduced the requirement for variant calls from the suppressed DNA pools from 100 to ≥90%, while maintaining the requirement for nonsuppressed variant reads at >0% (File S2 and Table 2). Compared to FA1, this increased the number of called variants in the suppressed DNA pools by an average of 31.0% (range, 23.7–37.1%), increased the average number of variants after subtraction by 18.7% (range, 7.1–52.6%), and raised the total number of coding-change variants (for all five strains) after subtraction from 13 to 20. Notably, FA2 parameters led to the identification of a single coding-change candidate for strain WY1217 (File S2 and Table 2). Further examination of this candidate revealed that a single read from the suppressed DNA pool had been improperly aligned with BWA, leading to its omission in FA1.
For FA3, we required variants from the suppressed DNA pools to be present in 100% of reads but mandated that variants from the nonsuppressed DNA pools be present at ≥10%, thereby reducing the number of variants used for subtraction by an average of 87.8% (range, 75.0–92.6%). This led to an average increase in the number of candidate variants following subtraction by 8.1% (range, 2.8–22.6%) relative to FA1, and increased the total number of coding-change variants from 13 to 15 (File S2 and Table 2). Finally, by requiring variants to be present in ≥90% of reads in the suppressed DNA pools and ≥10% in the nonsuppressed DNA pools (FA4), we observed an average increase over FA1 in the number of variants following subtraction by 27.6% (range, 21.6–64.5%) along with an increase in total coding-change variants from 13 to 22. We note that even under these more liberal filtering criteria, an average of 98.2% of variants were subtracted using SSM. In summary, by using less stringent filtering criteria (FA2–FA4), we observed a modest increase in the number of candidate causal variants and, in the case of FA2 and FA4, identified a single coding-change candidate for strain WY1217.
Having identified candidate casual variants, we next sought to validate the identities of all four recessive causal mutations using a combination of RNAi, transgenic rescue experiments, and CRISPR/Cas9. In the case of strains WY1208, WY1209, and WY1211, we focused on candidates obtained using FA1, whereas for strain WY1217, FA2 criteria were used (File S2 and Table 2). A summary of the findings and methods used for validation is shown in Table 3. One example is strain WY1211 (nekl-2; nekl-3; fd134), which exhibits 34% suppression (n = 199), making it the weakest of the suppressors subjected to SSM/WGS (compare Figure 1, A and B to Figure 1, C and D). After subtraction using the most stringent parameters (FA1), only two candidate variants remained that affected coding regions, corresponding to missense mutations in C27F2.9 and F48E8.5/paa-1 (Table 1). Notably, both variants reside within a 0.6-map unit-long region on the left arm of LGIII. C27F2.9 encodes a protein with homology to JMJD8, and the detected variant leads to a R220C substitution in a residue that is not highly conserved among closely related species. paa-1 encodes an essential gene that is orthologous to the PR65 structural subunit of the mammalian PP2A protein phosphatase. Moreover, the identified variant in paa-1 causes a G550E substitution in a glycine residue that is highly conserved throughout metazoans (data not shown). Two lines of evidence demonstrated that the fd134 causal mutation corresponds to the lesion in paa-1. First, we recreated the identical (G→A) mutation using CRISPR/Cas9 methods in the WY1145 background and obtained two independent suppressed lines. Second, we injected fosmids encoding the wild-type paa-1 locus into WY1211 and observed clear desuppression in three of three lines (Figure 1, E and F). Our identification of paa-1 as a suppressor of nekl-2; nekl-3 defects suggests that the C. elegans PP2A complex may oppose NEKL-2/3 kinase activity, possibly by dephosphorylating NEKL2/3 targets. Likewise the causal mutations for strains WY1208, WY1209, and WY1217 were successfully identified using a minimum of two independent methods (Table 3).
In the case of the dominant suppressor, fd132 (WY1210), FA1 criteria identified coding variants in two genes, T09B9.4 (amino acid substitution M399I) and W07E11.1 (amino acid substitution P1181L). Notably, both genes are located on LGX, which genetic mapping had shown to harbor the causal mutation, and are positioned within ∼300,000 bp of each other (∼0.25 map units). Moreover, both genes reside within a 1.7 Mb region that contains 13 consecutive variants that are present in 100% of suppressed DNA reads and 0% of the nonsuppressed. Genomic engineering of the T09B9.4 and W07E11.1 mutations using CRISPR/Cas9, however, did not lead to genetic suppression, indicating that neither mutation likely corresponds to the causative change in this strain. Consistent with this, RNAi of both genes failed to revert suppression of WY1210, which could be expected if fd132 was a gain-of-function allele, or to induce suppression in strain WY1145, which might be anticipated if fd132 was a dominant negative allele. We next examined coding variants in three additional genes (F53A9.7, T05A10.1, and R04E5.10) that were detected using FA2/4 criteria (Table 2). All three genes are on LGX and closely flank the 1.7 Mb region containing T09B9.4 and W07E11.1. However, precise editing of these genes using CRISPR/Cas9 failed to produce genetic suppression. Thus, the fd132 causal mutation may reside in a noncoding region, such as an element that promotes transcriptional or posttranscriptional repression, or it is possible WGS/SSM may have failed to identify the causal coding variant. However, we note that the 1.7 Mb region, which also corresponds to the region implicated by EMS density mapping (see below), does not contain any sequencing gaps within coding regions, further implicating noncoding elements.
We next compared our subtraction approach to the EMS density mapping method, which identifies regions of the genome harboring high frequencies of EMS signature variants that are maintained following serial backcrossing (Zuryn et al. 2010). Importantly, use of SSM does not preclude EMS density mapping methods and these methods can be viewed as complementary. We first obtained EMS density maps for strains WY1208, WY1209, WY1210, WY1211, and WY1217 using the published CloudMap workflow, which is available on the Galaxy web platform (Minevich et al. 2012). In each case, we subtracted called variants that were present in any of the other suppressed strains. Although a subset of the major peaks generated by EMS density mapping were consistent with the locations of our identified causal mutations; in most cases, this analysis failed to provide unambiguous localization of our causal mutations to either chromosomes or to chromosomal subregions (Figure 4 and Figure S4).
EMS density mapping comparison in WY1208. EMS density mapping for the five suppressor strains was carried out using the CloudMap workflow on Galaxy (A) or using our variant identification workflow based on allele frequencies (B). The x axis indicates the location on each chromosome in megabases (Mb). The number of EMS signature SNPs are indicated on the y axis; red bars indicate a 0.5-Mb region, and gray bars indicate a 1.0-Mb region. Black arrows indicate the location of the identified causal mutations, and gray arrows indicate noncausal mutations identified by SSM. The blue bar in (B) indicates the implicated region on LGX that contained five coding-change candidates.
Because the EMS density mapping workflow on CloudMap uses Bayesian methods to call variants, which we found to lead to some false positives in our analysis, we were next interested to perform EMS density mapping using our workflow, which bases variant calls on absolute allele frequencies (e.g., >0–100%). Once again, we subtracted variants that were present in any of the other suppressed strains before generating density maps. Notably, this approach greatly reduced the total number of EMS variants and dramatically improved the clarity of the mapping method (Figure 4 and Figure S5). For example, in the case of WY1208 this resolved the chromosomal location of fd130 to a region on LGX (5–14 Mb) that contained five homozygous coding-change candidates, including C04A11.4. Likewise, candidates for WY1209 (4), WY1210 (3), and WY1211 (2) were identified, although in the case of WY1217 no coding-change candidates were identified under the major peak on LGX (Figure S5).
When carrying out EMS density mapping, it is theoretically advantageous to sequence multiple mutant strains derived from the same parent as this increases the number of background variants that can be identified and subtracted before generating density maps. To test this directly, we generated EMS density maps for WY1208 using WY1211 only as our subtraction strain. Notably, this led to considerably poorer resolution of the causal candidate to either a chromosome or chromosomal subregion; eight coding-change candidates were implicated under the major peak on LGX (2.5–14 Mb) (Figure S6). In summary, when applying our variant identification workflow, SSM generally outperformed EMS density mapping and may be particularly advantageous in situations where a limited number of strains are to be sequenced. However, additional studies will be necessary to determine the relative advantages or disadvantages of SSM and other available methods.
We have demonstrated SSM/WGS to be a simple and effective approach for identifying causal mutations in C. elegans. Importantly, this approach does not require the use of polymorphic strains (e.g., CB4856) and does not rely on variant mapping methods. In addition, SSM should be generally applicable to other animal systems. SSM can be made flexible in its use of different filtering parameters (FA1–4; Table 2), which can allow for a progressive interrogation in the search for causal candidate variants.
Based on our study, SSM appears to provide somewhat better resolution of candidates than EMS density mapping methods alone, particularly in cases where fewer total strains are subjected to sequencing (Figure 4, Figure S4, Figure S5, and Figure S6). We note that although the majority of published studies using EMS density mapping do not directly state the number of causal candidates obtained using this approach, Zuryn and colleagues reported two, four, and nine candidates for the three test strains examined (Zuryn et al. 2010). Importantly, EMS density mapping can be used in a complementary fashion with SSM, and altering the published workflow (e.g., calling variants based on absolute counts rather than probabilities) may provide increased resolution over the current version available through CloudMap, as implemented on Galaxy.
One drawback to SSM is the additional costs of having to sequence both mutant and nonmutant sibling comparator samples. This, however, must be balanced by the potential for reducing the number of causal candidates, which can be time consuming and expensive to validate. Another drawback of SSM relative to high-density mapping methods, such as the use of CB4856 or VDM, is that noncoding causal variants may be more difficult to identify using SSM. This is because the reduced mapping resolution provides less guidance regarding which variants should be prioritized for initial validation tests. Finally, we note that our average coverage for the five genomes was 20–30×, and it is possible that a somewhat higher coverage level would provide better information. Nevertheless, our current coverage did allow for the identification of four out of four recessive alleles from our screen. Our approach did not allow for a direct comparison between SSM and “bulked segregant” VDM methods; future parallel assessments of these methods may prove useful.
In addition, we showed that a counterselection method using an extrachromosomal array encoding the inducible toxin peel-1 can provide a highly efficient means for identifying genetic suppressors, especially in cases of incomplete penetrance of the starting strain. Our studies also underscore the utility of using weak alleles in synthetic-lethal combinations as starting strains for suppressor screens. In particular, recent advances in genomic engineering (Arribere et al. 2014; Paix et al. 2014, 2015; Dickinson and Goldstein 2016), as well as the Million Mutation resource (Thompson et al. 2013), make the identification of weak alleles and combinatorial-dependent phenotypes highly feasible. Finally, because SSM/WGS is not affected by genetic background, it should be possible to identify genetic modifiers of complex genotypes in a straightforward manner.
We thank Amy Fluet for editing. Some strains were provided by the Caenorhabditis Genetics Center, which is funded by National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Research Infrastructure Programs (P40 OD010440). This work was supported by NIH grants GM066868 (to D.S.F.), P20 GM103432 (Wyoming INBRE), and P20 GM103451 (New Mexico INBRE, Bioinformatics Core).
Supplemental material is available online at www.g3journal.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1534/g3.117.300135/-/DC1.
Copyright © 2018 Joseph et al.
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Liberum veto (Latin for “the free veto”) is what the right of every nobleman not to permit adopting laws at the Sejm was called in the Commonwealth of the Two Nations. This right formed intensively after the Union of Lublin. But in the times of Sigismund Vasa (1587–1632) many decisions were taken unanimously. Why?
The main principle of parliamentary meetings of the Commonwealth of Poland and Lithuania was the minority's joining the majority. The Sejmiks that were convened before every Sejm were the first stage during which the most various demands were coordinated and one instruction, which the envoys had to follow strictly at the Sejm, was issued. The second stage during which contradictions were coordinated was provisional meetings of different parts of the Commonwealth of the Two Nations. Such meetings were held in Lithuania, Prussia, Masuria, Poland Major and Poland Minor.
These meetings made the work of the Sejm easier, and the envoys who came to the general Sejm spoke and offered laws not as individual persons but on behalf of the district they represented or even on behalf of the entire province. Contradictions were understood not as a private opinion of an individual but as a request of the entire district. Theoretically all the people taking part in the Sejm sessions were equal. In many cases the right of liberum veto played an important role in this situation.
Until the middle of the 17th century individual delegates could in this way make the majority of the deputies reconsider the decisions once again, take into consideration the interests of the provinces. But in 1652, it was not permitted to prolong the work of the Sejm for the first time, and in 1669, the right of contradictions was made use of for the first time when dissolving the Sejm. The initial aim of the principle of unanimity to defend the minorities became distorted and the right of liberum veto became a tool of struggle between different political groups. Under the rule of Augustus III (1733–1763) the climax was reached when only one Sejm was not dissolved.
Who and why used the right of liberum veto?
A contradiction at the Sejm could be expressed for many reasons. Sometimes a district issued the instruction in which a permission to dissolve the Sejm was given if one or another decision was taken (on new taxes, military or peace issues). However, most often that was done when some faction of the nobles instigated it.
There were exceptions too, when the Ruler made use of the possibilities provided by the right of liberum veto. For example, Jan Casimir Vasa (1648–1668) supported the establishment of the right of liberum veto understanding that it was a tool with the help of which it was possible to control the work of the Sejms that were unfavourable to him. In any case, an envoy, if he expressed his disapproval, had no chances of maintaining the contradiction unless he was supported by more influential and powerful persons.
Disapproval was expressed in different ways in the Sejm hall. Usually it was not permitted to undertake considering any issues as long as one or another demand had been satisfied (for example, the Ruler has to distribute free offices; at the beginning of the 18th century, it was popular to demand that the Russian army should be withdrawn). The contradiction could be expressed in reading the prepared laws and when the envoys were asked to give their approval.
The envoy who lodged a protest left the conference hall or was immediately "evacuated" from it by a group that took care of him. In this way, the chances of ruining the work of the Sejm and resisting general pressure, persuasions, even threats that loomed over the protestor if he remained in the hall, increased. Even after such an envoy left the hall, the majority of the Sejm did not give up and looked for him desperately in the city, even the guards were put to protect the gates of the city so that he could not leave.
The rank of the district that the envoy represented played a significant role. Greater attention was paid to the contradictions of the envoys of Vilnius district who sat in the front of the conference hall than to the contradictions of the envoys, say, from Minsk who sat at the back of the hall. If it wanted, the Sejm could "ignore", i.e. simply "not hear" the contradictions of such envoys and finish work successfully.
The only way to "circumvent" the right of liberum veto was confederation sejms where all decisions were taken by the majority of votes. According to the laws, confederation sejms always sat in conference during the interregnum when the old ruler was dead and the new one was being elected by the majority of votes. In cases of special internal turmoil or external danger, when the confederation of the nobles covering the entire state formed, the confederation sejms sat in conference when the Ruler was alive too. The most vivid examples are the 1672 and 1717 sejms and the 1710 confederation council whose decisions were equated to those of the Sejm.
The significance of the right of liberum veto should not be overestimated in the history of Lithuania's parliamentarianism. Even after the Sejm had adopted the laws nobody was guaranteed that the Sejmicks would approve them and the nobility would carry them out. Upon the dissolution of the Sejm, the sejmiks undertook the initiative of legislation and took the most necessary decisions. Therefore though the significance of the Sejms dissolved by means of the right of liberum veto is undisputable, the Commonwealth of the Two Nations created an efficient mechanism of neutralising the ruin of the Sejms.
In 1768, the right of liberum veto was restricted when considering the issues of taxes, and on 3 May 1791 the Constitution abolished it. It is doubtful if liquidation of the earlier right of liberum veto could have saved the state from ruin. This action would have not created an effective parliament overnight, it would have only strengthened the legislative power and given an additional impulse to the Sejm to restrict the Ruler's powers even more and to strengthen the decentralisation of the state.
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How high is too high for a rewards card's annual fee?
It depends on what you're going to get back, and that comes down to you -- how you spend your money and, in this case, how you travel.
If you opt for an annual fee that doesn't return more than its net value in rewards, year after year, you're paying too much. On the other hand, if a travel rewards card offers something you're going to use every year, and you can't get it from a fee-free card, a modest annual fee may prove worth the investment.
Are those free tickets and waived fees you mentioned an ongoing benefit? Assuming you're planning to make a long-term commitment to a credit card, look beyond the sign-up incentives when you weigh your options. Remember: You're going to be paying that fee every year, long after the initial incentives are gone. A card should continue to pay back your annual investment.
Even if those benefits are ongoing, they only benefit you if you use them often enough to justify the expense. Analyze your travel habits and be brutally honest with yourself. In a typical year, what do you pay out of pocket for companion tickets and baggage fees? If it amounts to three times the annual fee and you can't find those benefits in a no-fee card, I'd call that a good investment. If you fly once a year and limit yourself to what you can fit in the overhead compartment, however, you're not getting your money's worth.
I wouldn't dismiss a card with an annual fee purely on principle, however. Annual fees can range from $40 to $500 and beyond. Forty bucks a year isn't going to break you, but it should guarantee you at least $50 in meaningful rewards every year or what's the point? Likewise, most frequent travelers don't mind shelling out $90 for $300 worth of travel benefits. It's harder to justify paying $500 every year unless you have a specific goal.
For example, if you fly every week on business or make regular overseas trips, a card with steep annual fee may help you score elite status with an airline or hotel loyalty program. In that case, the fee is like paying to join a private club -- it's an investment in your own lifestyle. People who spend many hours in airports and airplane seats have a strong motive for wanting to upgrade. Their credit card can be the means to much-needed comfort and convenience.
If you're still stuck, ask yourself this: How are you going to feel in three years when that fee shows up on your bill? Will you wish you'd spent the money on a new jacket or that restaurant you've been hearing about? Or will you smugly remember what this card saved you over the past year?
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0.968238 |
What condition should I expect my foster dog to arrive in?
Your foster dog may be thin, matted, scared and dirty. The foster home needs to be willing to take the foster dog as it is and give it the care it needs at the dog’s pace.
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0.995763 |
Speech-Language Pathologists, or Speech Therapists, are highly trained professionals who work with children and adults who have a variety of conditions, including Down Syndrome, Autism, Dyslexia, stuttering, hearing loss, cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injuries, stroke, vocal polyps, and developmental delays.
Childhood apraxia of speech may be described as a motor speech disorder that occurs in children and presents as a global deficit in the production of sounds, syllables, and words. These errors are not a result of muscle weakness. Apraxia occurs as a result of poor communication between the brain and body parts/muscles such as the lips, tongue, and jaw. A child may demonstrate apraxia of speech if she/he demonstrates the following characteristics: little to no cooing or babbling as an infant, delayed production of first words, greater language skills than speech production, sounds choppy in speech, demonstrates difficulty combining syllables or sounds. Many other characteristics may exist with the diagnosis for instance, some children will have difficulty eating as well as groping movements with their mouth, lips, and tongue during speech production.
Pragmatic language is the social use of language. It is the ability to appropriately use language, change language, provide background information to unfamiliar listeners, speak differently in different settings, and follow conversational rules in order to interact with others in a variety of settings. A child who has deficits in pragmatic language may display Pragmatic language ability involves the ability to appropriately use language (e.g., persuade, request, inform, reject), change language (e.g., talk differently to different audiences, provide background information to unfamiliar listeners, speak differently in different settings, etc) as well as follow conversational rules (e.g., take turns, introduce topics, rephrase sentences, maintain appropriate physical distance during conversational exchanges, use facial expressions and eye contact, etc) all of which culminate into the child’s general ability to appropriately interact with others in a variety of settings.
A child with an oral motor disorder experiences difficulty controlling the lips, tongue, and jaw muscles. This can make eating, drinking, and speaking difficult. A child with an oral motor disorder may display: a “droopy” face, open mouth posture, refusal to eat food requiring chewing, frequent gagging, difficulty moving tongue side to side, up/down, drooling, and difficulty producing words.
Expressive language is the production of language, sharing thoughts, ideas, and feelings with others. Children who experience delays in this area may display difficulty naming items, putting words together in phrases and sentences, and using language appropriately in a variety of settings with different people (at home, school, with parents and teachers). They may use fewer words than other children of similar age, use non-specific vocabulary (“this” or “thing”), make grammatical errors (“I have two cat”), use incomplete sentences (“She running”), and experience difficulty retelling a story or relaying information in an organized way.
Fluency is the smooth, forward moving, unhesitant, effortless speech. Children who have fluency disorders, or “stuttering,” display disruptions in the production of speech sounds. They may display sound prolongations (“ssssun”), word repetitions (“I..I..I..want”), blocks (the mouth is positioned to say the sound but the sound does not come out). Voice is the pitch, quality, and loudness of voice. Voice disorders may be caused by vocal cord nodules, polyps, and paralysis, growths due to a virus, cancer, or disease, vocal abuse, and reflux. People may experience a hoarse or raspy voice, decreased ability to sing high notes, a deeper than normal voice, a raw achy throat, and/or an increased effort to talk. Resonance is the modification of sound generated from the vocal cords. It is the quality of perceived sound during speech.
Speech is the ability to express thoughts and feelings by articulating sounds. It is part of natural development for children to make mistakes and use sounds incorrectly. Children may demonstrate a speech sound disorder if the inaccurate productions of sounds exceeds the expected level of achievement provided their age and gender.
Articulation is the production of speech sounds. Children who have an articulation disorder do not use the sounds expected for their age group accurately. They may display the following: distortion of sounds, addition of sounds, substitution of sounds (“tun” instead of “sun”); Omission of sounds (“ba” instead of “ball”).
Phonological Processes are naturally occurring processes that children utilize in order to simplify an adult target word to a level they are capable of producing. For example, children often produce /t/ and /d/ for /k/ and /g/ when first beginning to speak as in “tar” for “car” or “bade” for “bake.” As children mature, they gradually suppress this process and others until their speech is like that of an adult. When children do not suppress these processes (most suppress all by the age of 5), they are said to exhibit a phonological process disorder.
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So I just ordered a new phone on cricketwireless.com. Two hours later I recive a text saying thank you for your payment of $25.00 dollars. They had taken my $25.00 activation fee off my phone bill.. Is this normal or will I have to pay the activation fee again?
If you're a current Cricket customer purchasing a new device online or in a Cricket store there is a $25 upgrade fee.
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0.999997 |
Hawkwind invented "space-rock", a hybrid of hard-rock and acid-rock that united the sonic power of the former and the free improvisation of the latter (and Robert Calvert's sci-fi visions). Hawkwind (1970), In Search Of Space (1971), Doremi Fasol Latido (1972) and Space Ritual (1973) refined the idea, but theirs was a cult phenomenon that focused mostly on the live performance (somewhat similar to what had happened in the USA with the Grateful Dead) while boasting the frenzied, noisy attitude of the MC5. Hawkwind's gargantuan sound also represents a natural (no matter how demented) liaison between hippy culture and punk culture.
Scroll down for recent reviews in english. Gli Hawkwind inventarono lo space-rock, uno stile al confine fra hard-rock e acid-rock che univa la travolgente potenza sonora del primo e l'improvvisazione libera della seconda. Il loro fu un fenomeno di culto che ricorda per molti versi quello dei Grateful Dead, ma unito alla potenza degli Mc5. Il sound pantagruelico degli Hawkwind rappresenta anche una liaison naturale, per quanto demenziale, fra la cultura dell'eccesso hippy e la cultura dell'eccesso punk.
Il problema principale degli Hawkwind e` che hanno registrato una quantita` spropositata di materiale scadente, e non sono mai riusciti a concentrarsi su un album capolavoro. Un'ideale antologia del gruppo coprirebbe al massimo 20 brani sui circa 500 che hanno pubblicato. Nel loro caso vale soprattutto l'idea, non tanto la realizzazione.
Si formarono nel 1969 per opera del chitarrista Dave Brock, del sassofonista Nik Turner e del tastierista Dik Mik. In tutte le le variazioni del complesso, e pur nella totale anarchia della loro evoluzione, sara` sempre Brock il cervello del gruppo.
Hawkwind (UA, 1970) conteneva gia` alcuni pezzi di grande effetto: Hurry On Sundown, Mirror Of Illusion e la suite in due movimenti Paranoia. Era un art-rock di maniera, ma in breve il poeta Bob Calvert, sacerdote visionario dello "Space Ritual Show", li indirizzo' verso una originale re-interpretazione pseudo-fantascientifica della ideologia hippy e verso un sound che applicava l'acid-rock all'hard-rock, rivalutando il ruolo del sassofono (Turner), del sintetizzatore (Mik), dei light show e dei rituali sul palco.
In Search Of Space (1971), sbandiero` una musica Violenta ma ripetitiva, ossessiva, martellante, percossa da scosse elettroniche (Del Dettmat al sintetizzatore) e da assoli logorroici, e dedicata a temi fantascientifici. You Shouldn't Do That, You Know You're Only Dreaming, il magniloquente proclama dark di Master Of The Universe e Adjust Me sono classici di una geniale auto-indulgenza.
Doremi Fasol Latido (1972), con Ian "Lemmy Kilmister" Willis al basso, continuo` con maggior convinzione, anche se forse meno fantasia: Down Through The Night, Space Is Deep, Lord Of Light, Brainstorm, Time We Left This World Today. I brani erano comunque ipnotici anche quando non avevano molto da dire. Il sound classico degli Hawkwind e` quello di questo album.
Su singolo uscirono l'apocalittico anthem Silver Machine (1972), l'epico sabbah Urban Guerrilla (1973), loro capolavoro, Psychedelic Warlords (1974), l'incalzante Kings of Speed (1974), Motorhead (1974).
Il loro fantastico show dal vivo venne immortalato sul doppio live Space Ritual (1973), che aggiunse anche diversi brani al loro repertorio maggiore (Earth Calling, The Awakening, The Black Corridor, Orgone Accumulator, 10 Seconds of Forever, Sonic Attack).
La stagione d'oro era gia` al termine, pero`. Calvert lascio` il gruppo e il violinista Simon House High Tide (dark) subentro` a Dik Mik e si mise a suonare il mellotron. Hall Of The Mountain Grill (1974) contiene soltanto un paio di sbiadite copie del loro stile classico: Wind Of Change e Paradox.
Poi Kilminster lascio` il gruppo per fondare i Motorhead e venne sostituito da Paul Rudolph dei Pink Fairies. Nonostante il contributo dello scrittore di fantascienza Michael Moorcock, Warrior On The Edge Of Time (Atlantic, 1975) non miglioro` di molto (Assault & Battery , The Golden Void, Magnu, Simon House's instrumental Spiral Galaxy 28948).
Psychedelic Warlords (1992) e` un'antologia dei primi singoli e di brani dai primi album.
Nel frattempo Robert Calvert aveva pubblicato due album molto piu` interessanti: Captain Lockheed and the Starfighters (1974), una sorta di rock-opera che contiene le bizzarre vignette di Ejection, The Aerospaceage Inferno, The Song of the Gremlin, Catch a falling Starfighter, e Lucky Leif and the Longships (1975), ancor piu` fiabesco e surreale. Entrambi si avvalgono degli arrangiamenti di Brian Eno.
Nonostante il rientro di Calvert, il nuovo album degli Hawkwind, Astounding Sounds Amazing Music (1976), era ancor peggio del precedente (eccetto Kerb Crawler), ma Quark Strangeness And Charm (Sire, 1977) segno` invece un notevole ritorno alla forma migliore con Spirit Of The Age, Quark Strangeness And Charm, The Forge Of Vulcan e la sinistra psichedelia cosmica di Hassan I Sahba. Purtroppo fu anche l'ultimo album con Turner. Con lui se ne andarono House, Calvert, il batterista e il secondo chitarrista. La stagione delle orgiastiche messe nere per eroinomani era finita.
Collection (Castle, 1986) e` un doppio antologico.
Il gruppo si sciolse e si riformo` (con Harvey Bainbridge al sintetizzatore), cambiando brevemente nome in Hawklords, per PXR5 (1978), che contiene le decorose Death Trap, Robot, High Rise. Su singolo uscirono Psi Power (1978), 25 Years (1979) e Shot Down in the Night (1980).
Nik Turner left for Egypt. Xitintoday (Charisma, 1978), credited to Sphynx, comprises flute recordings that Nik Turner made in 1977 inside the Keope Pyramid and overdubs by Tim Blake, Steve Hillage, Turner himself (on vocals) and others. The album, that pioneered ambient music, will be re-recorded with Helios Creed on guitar and backing by Pressurehed, and released as Sphynx (Cleopatra, 1993).
Upon returning to England, Nik Turner formed the Inner City Unit, which debuted with the singles Solitary Ashtray (1979) and Paradise Beach (1980). Pass Out (1980) contains Space Invaders, Watching the Grass Grow, Polyethylene, Cars Eat With Autoface. Maximum Effect (1981) has Beer Baccy Bingo & Benidorm and Bones of Elvis. Inner City Unit died after New Anatomy (1984) and The President's Tapes (1985).
Hawkwind, now featuring Ginger Baker and Gong's Tim Blake on synthesizer, released Levitation (Charisma, 1980), which does not boast any irresistible gem, but features a sequence of strong songs: Motorway City, Who's Gonna Win The War, Levitation, Space Chase, The Fifth Second Of Forever, Dust Of Time.
Sonic Attack (1981) is vastly inferior, despite Angels of Death and Rocky Paths.
During the 1980s, Calvert released Hype (1982), Test Tube Conceived (1986) and Freq (1984). The latter one is a bizarre case of agit-prop synth-pop. Bob Calvert died in 1989.
Turner rejoined Hawkwind for Church of Hawkwind (1982), one of their least appealing albums, despite the huge doses of electronics, and Choose Your Masques (1982), a moderate improvement (Choose Your Masks, Solitary Mind Games, Waiting For Tomorrow).
Again, the best of Hawkwind came out as singles: Zones (1983), Night of the Hawks (1984), Needle Gun (1985), Zarozinia (1985).
The Chronicle Of The Black Sword (Flicknife, 1985), the last major Hawkwind release, was a concept album inspired by their friend Michael Moorcock's writings. The Demise, Needle Gun and Zarozinia are relatively catchy, while the surreal soundscapes of Shade Gate and The Pulsing Cavern, and the fairy-tale ballads of Song Of The Swords, The Sea King and Elric The Enchanter give the album a cohesive and unitary feeling.
Dave Brock also recorded the solo albums Earthed to the Ground (1984) and The Agents of Chaos (1988), later collected on Dave Brock & the Agents of Chaos (Flicknife, 1991).
Then Brock focused again on Hawkwind but Turner had quit again. Out And Intake (1987) boasts two more classics: Ghost Dance and Assassins of Allah. On the other hand, The Xenon Codex (1988) is a very minor work.
Space Bandits (1990) marked the return of violinist Simon House, but did not last.
Harvey Bainbridge left, too, before the radio-friendly Electric Teepee (1992). He will release his first solo, the ambitious Schulze-esque cosmic journey of Interstellar Chaos (Taste, 1993), and then start the Alman Mulo Band (himself and Norman Alman), which released the high-tech world-music of Afrodiziac Dreamtime (Taste, 1993), the jazzy/ambient/ethnic hodgepodge of Diamonds and Toads (Taste, 1994) and Orisha (Divine, 1995).
Hawkwind was therefore reduced to a trio (Brock, Alan Davey and Richard Chadwick). The same trio recorded the dull It Is The Business Of The Future To Be Dangerous (Griffin, 1993).
Disguised as Psychedelic Warriors, Dave Brock, Alan Davey and Richard Chadwick recorded the electronic album White Zone (Griffin, 1995).
By far the most interesting works came from flutist Nik Turner. Prophets Of Time (Cleopatra, 1994) reinterprets material of the Inner City Unit and Hawkwind albums with the help of Simon House on violin and Helios Creed on guitar.
Spiral Realms are Turner and Pressurehed keyboardist Len Del Rio, who recorded Trip To G9 (Cleopatra, 1994) and Crystal Jungles of Eos (Cleopatra, 1995), two albums of cosmic music.
Anubian Lights are Turner, Simon House, Del Rio, Helios Creed and others. They debuted with the ambitious The Eternal Sky (Cleopatra, 1995). The 55-minute EP The Jackal And Nine (Cleopatra, 1996) increases the doses of world-music and ambient music.
Nik Turner part� per l'Egitto. Xitintoday (Charisma 1978), accreditato a Sphinx, comprende parti di flauto che Turner registr� nel 1977 all'interno della piramide Keope e sovraincisioni di Tim Blake, Steve Hillage, Turner stesso (alla voce) e altri. Il disco, che anticipa la musica ambient, verr� ri-registrato con Helios Creed alla chitarra e l'accompagnamento dei Pressurehed, col titolo di Sphinx (Cleopatra 1993).
Al ritorno in Inghilterra, Nik Turner form� gli Inner City Unit, che esordirono con i singoli Solitary ashtray (1979) e Paradise beach (1980). Pass out (1980) contiene Space invaders, Watching the grass grow, Polyethylene, Cars eat with autoface. Maximum effect (1981) contiene Beer bacey bingo & benidorm e Bones of Elvis. Gli Inner City Unit cessarono l'attivit� dopo New anatomy (1984) e The president's tapes (1985).
Con l'ingresso di Ginger Baker e Tim Blake dei Gong al sintetizzatore, pubblicarono Levitation (Charisma 1980), che non si pu� certo vantare di possedere delle grandi gemme, ma contiene una serie di brani potenti: Motorway city, Who's gonna win the war, Levitation, Space chase, The fifth second of forever, Dust of time.
Sonic attack (1981) e` molto inferiore, nonostante Angels of death e Rocky paths.
Durante gli anni '80, Calvert fece uscire Hype (1982), Test tube conceived (1986) e Freq (1984), quest'ultimo uno stranissimo disco di synth-pop.
Turner rientro` nel gruppo per Church of Hawkwind (1982), uno dei loro dischi meno interessanti, nonostante un massiccio uso dell'elettronica, e Choose your masques (1982), un leggero miglioramento (Choose your masks, Solitary mind games, Waiting for tomorrow). Ancora una volta, le cose migliori uscirono sui singoli: "Zones" (1983), "Night of the hawks" (1984), "Needle gun" (1985), "Zarozinia" (1985).
The chronicle of the black sword (Flicknife 1985), l'ultima pubblicazione su major, era un concept album ispirato dai libri del loro amico Michael Moorcock. The demise, Needle gun e Zarozinia sono relativamente intriganti, mentre i paesaggi sonori surreali di Shade gate e The pulsing cavern e le ballate favolistiche di Songs of the swords, The sea king e Elric the enchanter danno al disco uno spirito coesivo e unitario.
Dave Brock registr� anche due dischi solisti, Earthed to the ground (1984) e The agents of chaos (1988), raccolti poi in Dave Brock & the agents of chaos (Flicknife 1991).
Brock si riconcentr� sugli Hawkwind ma Turner se ne era andato di nuovo. Out and intake (1987) contiene due nuovi classici: Ghost dance e Assassins of Allah. Ma il lavoro successivo, The Xenon codex (1988) risult� piuttosto trascurabile. Space bandits (1990) segnava il ritorno del violinista Simon House, ma non dur� molto.
Anche Harvey Bainbridge lasci�, prima dell'accessibile Electric teepee (1992). In seguito fece uscire il suo primo disco solista, il viaggio cosmico ambizioso sulla scia di Shulze di Interstellar chaos (Taste 1993), poi diede vita alla Alman Mulo Band (lui e Norman Alman), che fece uscire la world music tecnologica di Afrodiziac dreamtime (Taste 1993), il guazzabuglio jazz/etnico/ambient di Diamonds and toads (Taste 1994) e Orisha (Divine, 1995).
Gli Hawkwind erano perci� ridotti ad un trio formato da Dave Brock,Alan Davey e Richard Chadwick, che registr� il tedioso It is the business of the future to be dangerous (Griffin 1993).
Sotto lo pseudonimo Psychedelic Warriors, lo stesso trio registr� un disco elettronico intitolato White zone (Griffin 1995).
I lavori di gran lunga pi� interessanti sono quelli del flautista Nik Turner. Prophets of time (Cleopatra 1994) reinterpreta materiale degli Inner City Unit e degli Hawkwind con l'aiuto di Simon House al violino e Helios Creed alla chitarra. Il progetto Spiral Realms lo vede insieme al tastierista dei Pressurehed Len Del Rio in due dischio intitolati Trip to G9 (Cleopatra 1994) e Crystal jungles of Eos (Cleopatra 1995), dedita alla musica cosmica. Gli Anubian Lights sono Turner, House, Del Rio, Creed ed altri. Debuttarono con l'ambizioso The eternal sky (Cleopatra 1995). L'EP di 55 minuti The jackal and nine (Cleopatra 1996) aumenta le dosi di world music e ambient.
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0.999041 |
What do plants and street photography have in common? On the face of it not a lot, but both depend on light, one paints with light, the other need its to grow. In the evening, when the light is golden, plants like most things take on a different hue.
Street photography is all about capturing ephemeral moments. In some ways it sums up the beauty and fragility of life. Flowers and plants similarly, have a transient nature and their beauty only lasts temporarily. Rather than recording a realistic representation of a flower, I try to add some context and give a feeling of the fragility and fleeting brilliance they engender.
With plants it’s tempting to concentrate on a single plant. I prefer to fill the frame and create a composition. Try shooting into the light, use a macro lens. I like using a macro lens to create out of focus elements, and add to the composition rather than exploit its sharpness. Flowers and plants are not something I would normally create an image of, but ultimately it’s all about experimenting and having fun.
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0.971625 |
Have you ever had someone come to work with pink eye and say the famous phrase “I’ve been on antibiotics for 24 hours, I’m fine.” Then, magically, 3 or 4 of your co workers come down with the dreaded ailment within a few days or even a few weeks. The incubation period for pink eye not only varies, it can be extensive, so staying home when infected becomes even more imperative during this critical time.
If you are suffering from the most common form of pink eye, adenoviral conjunctivitis, the “24 hour” period that you’ve been on antibiotics is pointless and your coworkers will thank you later when their eyes look like they’ve been awake for six weeks and using cornstarch for eye shadow. Bacterial conjunctivitis, however, is treatable with antibiotics, and if that is genuinely the source of your symptoms, you can safely return to work just a day after treatment beginnings without unleashing the plague on your office’s accounting department.
Bear in mind that if your immune system is depressed, you may want to stay home an extra day and give those antibiotics a chance to work. They may take just a bit longer, and you should look for some symptom improvement (although it won’t have cleared fully of course) before popping on your suit and heading out the door. You should still practice exceptionally high hygiene during this time, better safe than sorry.
One of the most important parts of not only bacterial conjunctivitis but also viral (adenoviral) conjunctivitis, follicular conjunctivitis and pretty much any condition that causes discharge, swelling, pain and discomfort is home treatment. Antibiotics will help treat your condition from within and are pretty much the only medical care you will be afforded during this time, but it will do little to tend to your symptoms in the beginning. This is where home care comes in.
Compresses are going to provide a substantial amount of relief to your symptoms. You can try cold or warm, whichever feels better to you. Make sure the compress is clean, and that if your “good eye” isn’t infected yet, that you don’t accidentally schlep your compress into the unaffected eye. Make sure you use a different compress each time. Ideally, the compress should be cleaned prior to each use. You will also want to clean the eye. This should be done gently, and from the inside of the eye to the outside of the eye. You will want to make sure that if you are using something disposable to clean the eye, that it is tossed immediately, and if using a soft cloth, that it is laundered immediately, or at a minimum kept out of the reach of others. Preventing the spread is also an important part of treatment, because if it gets to a residing family member, guess where it’s coming next…..
Pinkeye is a very contagious illness, but it is rarely serious. Bacterial form of this illness, thankfully, is very easily treatable with antibiotics, and requires far less “off time” than it’s long winded cousin. With prompt medical attention, you certainly can be right as rain in no time.
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0.987981 |
How can I cut the cholesterol in my diet?
You don't need to eat any foods that contain cholesterol. Your body makes all the cholesterol you need. Eating too much cholesterol-rich food may raise your blood cholesterol. Only foods from animal sources contain cholesterol. Foods high in cholesterol include meats, especially organ meats, egg yolks, and whole-milk products. In addition, many of the same foods are high in fat and saturated fat. So limit how often you eat these foods and the amount that you eat.
Here are some tips for cutting back on the amount of cholesterol that you eat.
Eat no more than 3 whole eggs per week.
Use 2 egg whites instead of a whole egg.
Switch from whole-milk products to low-fat or nonfat versions over time. It might take a while to adjust to the taste. But gradually you can make the change from whole milk to 2% to 1% to nonfat, and the change will be easier this way.
Avoid eating or limit your intake of organ meats, such as liver, sweetbreads, brains, and heart.
Eat more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains in place of foods rich in cholesterol.
Read the Nutrition Facts labels on food packages. These must list the amount of cholesterol per serving. Choose foods lower in cholesterol.
Remember that eating foods high in saturated fat tends to raise cholesterol levels even more than eating foods high in cholesterol. If you focus on eating a diet low in total fat, this will help you reduce your intake of saturated fat and cholesterol, too. For more details about limiting the cholesterol in your diet, see How Much Cholesterol Can I Have?
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0.994366 |
When deciding the right type of image to utilize for any multitude of purposes, resolution is the most important factor to the display graphics. While size is often thought of as an important part of getting an amazing picture, the resolution is what makes it possible to get a clear photo or image whether the size is tiny enough for a locket or large enough to cover an entire wall. The resolution makes it possible to have bright colors, too.
When a company or business wants to transfer a logo or emblem to a storefront sign, questions on colors and sizes come into play. Can the sign company transfer that 100 pixel by 100 pixel image into a clear and concise sign for the consumer?
Answering the question takes a little bit of information on how pictures and photos are created. Resolution is often considered pixel density to those experts that know the industry. The higher the pixel density, the larger the image can be while retaining the same high quality and vibrant colors. Display graphics are often found on a monitor or television screen, and the better the resolution, the clearer the image.
Resolution is an important part of creating the best signs, logos, or emblems. Importance must be given to the understanding that the display graphics do not always meet perfectly with what people experience once that image is printed or transferred to another medium, as is common with creating business signs.
When resolution is taken into consideration, it helps to think of resolution as pixels per inch. Each pixel is a specific color with all of the pixels combined side by side to create the image viewed. The higher the resolution, the more color depth and the larger the image can be without losing that intense and vibrant color depth. Lower resolutions will not support the higher number of pixels necessary to get desirable effects in image transfers.
Computer screens or monitors actually possess a higher resolution than televisions. As such, the realism is more lifelike than would be found on televisions. Computer screens are capable of supporting a more in-depth color scheme as well as advanced resolutions needed to ensure better realistic images. Yes, computer screens are more forgiving, but certain specifications must still be followed to ensure concise image transference.
When a company is creating a sign or logo or emblem with realistic colors and clear imagery, the company will have certain specifications to get a better finished product. To discover those specifications, the consumer will generally meet or speak with the company to understand what is required and how to obtain the best image for the needs. The display graphics are a vital part of getting better signs for any consumer.
Advances in technology have allowed the size, resolution, and type of color schemes to provide the best products to the consumer combining realism with vibrancy. There are such techniques as dithering that help get better, but for the best product, consumers should have a meeting of minds with the sign creators. Getting better starts with understanding the importance of colors and resolution in images to display graphics.
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0.999931 |
Write an essay on Sociology And Social Science?
No matter how advance human being become, they will never stop discriminating between male and female. The society has a tendency to stereotype certain professions either for male or female. There are various social and cultural factors that stereotype the professions, and it is due to these factors that people from the opposite gender are deprived of pursuing career according to the choice of the individual.
• Films that always portrayed a female as a nurse.
All these factors are depriving those men who want to take up nursing as a career. It is the society that does not let an individual take up a career according to the individual’s choice.
Mainly history is responsible for stereotyping the nursing career as the career for the female. Florence Nightingale along with 38 female nurses started to care for the men injured in the Crimean War in England. There have been examples of men forming a group to treat plague victims in ancient Rome. In addition to this, the first American nurses were a group of individuals where most of the people were male (Willis & Elmer, 2011). In spite of this, the nursing career became a female-oriented career especially when United States Nurse Corp was formed in the year 1991.
In addition to history as a factor, social factors also contribute to stereotype nursing as a female-oriented career. It is often seen that women are called ‘nurse’ while men are called ‘male nurse’. The society should know that ‘nurse’ is a career, not a gender (McLaughlin, T. Muldoon & Moutray, 2015).
The percentage of male nurses is low worldwide. As per the study, the percentage of male nurses in the United States and Canada recorded a percentage of 10% in 2006 and 9% in 2001 respectively. The European countries like the United Kingdom and Netherlands recorded a percentage of 10% in the year 2003 and 23% in the year 2000 respectively when it came to male nurses. The percentage of male nurses in the Middle East countries like Jordan and Lebanon are 25% in the year 2011 and 19% in the year 2000 respectively (kelvin, 2015).
There are other professional factors. Though there are men who work as the nurse in various departments, yet, the problem arises in the gynaecology department. Many women had expressed uneasiness when men touched the private parts.
Thus, it can be said it the social factors that hugely affect the career of men as nurses. There can be men who want to become a nurse by choice, but it is the notion created in the society regarding female nurse stops the male population from taking up nursing as a career.
Eliopoulos, C. (2010). Gerontological nursing. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Willis, K., & Elmer, S. (2011). Society, culture and health. South Melbourne, Vic.: Oxford University Press.
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0.991384 |
How to cook the most delicious coffee?
Despite the fact that the birthplace of coffee is considered the African country of Ethiopia, the true masters of cooking are the Italians. They were the first to discover its miraculous effect on the human body, reaching with amazing results in the treatment of grains. By this people, in the coffee art appeared such well-known drinks like espresso and cappuccino, coffee latte, ristretto, machchiato and company.
life, for the preparation of coffee, there are many fixtures. Among them the most modern devices can as accurately to recreate the best recipes of the Italian “Barista”, are the machine. These functional appliances have earned a worthy place in kitchens around the world and became the pride of gourmets.
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0.994527 |
Some of us may remember playing the game "I Spy," with my little eye, where the speaker would describe something within everyone's line of sight for the other participants to guess what they see. In a world of smartphones, tablets and other handheld devices, our eyes can see the whole world right from our fingertips.
The eye is a truly amazing organ which turns light into sight and for animals, this can mean a completely different type of vision. For example, insects and arthropods, have compound eyes that can have up to 25,000 lenses compared to the single one found in humans. This allows for thousands of images being present at once, which allows faster motion detection and image recognition, which is the reason why it can be difficult to swat a passing fly.
People and most other animals, have eyes that are similar to a camera, which use a single lens to focus images onto a light sensitive membrane on the inside of the eyeball called the retina. While these camera-type eyes are similar conceptually, most animals see the world completely different than humans.
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0.999997 |
Boots has today emerged as the face of modern capitalism after reports found that it had been charging the NHS extortionate amounts for drugs that were available on the high street for a fraction of the price.
According to a Times report the high street chain charged the health service as much as £1,500 for single pots of moisturiser that others have sold for less than £2.
The obscene bill for “specials” medication joined other charges such as £650 for coconut oil that costs £1 and £45.47 for preservative-free eye drops that can also be sourced for a quid.
But that’s not the worse of it.
Despite making millions of pounds from UK customers and bagging a sizeable income from the NHS Boots also avoids paying tax.
According to a study by War on Want, thanks to a number of Alliance Boots related entities in tax havens such as the Cayman Islands, Switzerland and Gibraltar, Boots has managed to avoid billions of pounds in tax over the years – enough to fund tens of thousands of new nurses.
The reason it has been able to get away with such a scam is that nobody really know how much tax Boots owes in the UK.
Stefano Pessina, the Chief Executive Officer of Walgreens Boots Alliance, orchestrated one of the biggest heists in British tax history when Walgreens bought the high street chain for £11 billion.
To buy Alliance Boots, Pessina and KKR borrowed almost £9 billion from Barclays, the Royal Bank of Scotland, Citigroup, JP Morgan, and Merrill Lynch among other banks.
The borrowed billions were then shoved onto the balance sheet of Boots UK Ltd – and those banks jumped to the front of the queue for repayment out of the profits made by the company.
Set in black ink on pink paper in the Companies and Markets section of the FT, these are no more than the technicalities of a company buyout. Yet they amount to a dramatic shift in power. Think about that previous paragraph again: a billionaire based in a tax haven, Pessina, and a small consortium of wealthy investors and funds, represented by KKR, pick up a 158-year-old company employing around 70,000 Britons. To do so, they borrow billions from a few global banks and dump most of these loans on the balance sheet of Boots in the UK – pushing it deep into debt, even though the debt has nothing to do with the actual business Boots does here. A firm that delivers an essential social service is now private, making it almost impossible for outsiders to see how it is changing. Finally, the profits made by Boots UK are used to repay the lenders faster and ultimately leave more profit for the investors.
In this way, British money – whether from customers or taxpayers – was siphoned offshore. The KKR funds that owned Alliance Boots were housed in the tax haven of the Cayman Islands, while the stakes held by Pessina were located in Luxembourg. A few months after going private, Alliance Boots shifted its headquarters from Nottingham to the low-tax canton of Zug in Switzerland.
The tragedy of the Boots case is that it is so closely linked to healthcare at a time when the NHS is tearing at the seams.
Under-funding has led to a lack of beds and medical professionals in one of the worse winters on record for the health service, one that should have been entirely preventable if companies such as Boots were held to account.
If it takes cases such as this to highlight how rampant capitalism is damaging the country then so be it, but Boots must now be hung up to dry along with all the other private firms that are drilling the NHS into the ground.
Over to you, Prime Minister.
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0.947069 |
I would like something suitable for an essay format. Ideally a single word or short phrase that conveys the same concept.
This is a different question to http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/59145/usage-of-the-phrase-you-dont-know-what-you-dont-know which asks about usage without requesting alternatives.
Unknown fits the description. Nothing more is needed.
Or since something can be known about something that is more generally unknown (for example, only its existence might be known), you can go with "unknown unknown", where the first "unknown" is an adjective modifying the second "unknown", which is a noun.
"Unknown unknown" was made famous by Donald Rumsfeld.
I would suggest using You never know as it means you know "something might happen in the future, but you never really know how it will happen or whether or not it will eventually happen." as defined in the link (Macmillan Dictionary).
I understand it might have a different meaning depending on situations you are in, but it seems very close.
What is an alternative to the phrase “what you don't know won't hurt you”?
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0.974201 |
The Italian Communist Party (Partito Comunista Italiano, PCI) was a communist political party in Italy.
The PCI was founded as Communist Party of Italy (PCd'I) on 21 January 1921 in Livorno , by seceding from the Italian Socialist Party (PSI). Amadeo Bordiga and Antonio Gramsci led the split.
Outlawed during the Fascist regime, the party took part in the Italian resistance movement. It changed its name in 1943 to PCI and became the strongest political party of the Italian left after World War II, attracting the support of about a third of the voters during the 1970s. At the time it was the biggest communist party in the West (1.8 million members and 34.4% of the vote in 1976).
In 1991 the PCI was disbanded and replaced by the Democratic Party of the Left (PDS), that was accepted in both the Socialist International and the Party of European Socialists. More radical members of the party left the party to form the Communist Refoundation Party (PRC).
The PCI participated to its first general election in 1921, obtaining 4.6% of the vote and 15 seats in the Chamber of Deputies.
In 1926, the Fascist government of Benito Mussolini outlawed the PCI. Although forced underground, the PCI maintained a clandestine presence within Italy during the years of the Fascist regime. Many of its leaders were also active in exile. During its first year as a banned party, Antonio Gramsci defeated the party's left wing, led by Amadeo Bordiga. Gramsci replaced Bordiga's leadership at a conference in Lyon , and issued a manifesto expressing the programmatic basis of the party. However, Gramsci soon found himself jailed by Mussolini's regime, and the leadership of the party passed to Palmiro Togliatti. Togliatti would lead the party until it emerged from suppression in 1944 and relaunched itself as the Italian Communist Party.
The party played a major role during the national liberation (Resistenza) and in the April of 1944 after the Svolta di Salerno ( Salerno's turn ), Togliatti agreed to cooperate with the king so the communists took part in every government during the national liberation and constitutional period from June 1944 to May 1947. The communists' contribution to the new Italian democratic constitution was decisive. In the first general elections of 1948 the party joined the PSI in the Popular Democratic Front but was defeated by the Christian Democracy party. The party gained considerable electoral success during the following years and occasionally supplied external support to center-left governments, although it never directly joined a government. It successfully lobbied Fiat to set up the AvtoVAZ (Lada) car factory in the Soviet Union . The party did best in Central Italy, particularly in Tuscany, Emilia Romagna and Umbria, where it regularly won the local administrative elections, and in some of the industrialized cities of Northern Italy.
The Soviet Union's brutal suppression of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 created a split within the PCI. The party leadership, including Palmiro Togliatti and Giorgio Napolitano (who in 2006 became President of the Italian Republic), regarded the Hungarian insurgents as counter-revolutionaries, as reported at the time in l'Unità, the official PCI newspaper. However Giuseppe Di Vittorio , chief of the communist trade union CGIL, repudiated the leadership position, as did prominent party member Antonio Giolitti and Italian Socialist Party national secretary Pietro Nenni, a close ally of the PCI. Napolitano later hinted at doubts over the propriety of his decision. He would eventually write in From the Communist Party to European Socialism. A political autobiography (Dal Pci al socialismo europeo. Un'autobiografia politica) that he regretted his justification of the Soviet intervention, but quieted his concerns at the time for the sake of party unity and the international leadership of Soviet communism. Giolitti and Nenni went on to split with the PCI over this issue. Napolitano became a leading member of the miglioristi faction within the PCI, which promoted a social-democratic direction in party policy.
In the mid 1960s the U.S. State Department estimated the party membership to be approximately 1 350 000 (4.2% of the working age population, the proportionally largest communist party in the capitalist world at the time, and the largest party at all in whole western Europe with the German SPD).
Declassified information from Soviet archives confirms that the PCI relied on Soviet financial assistance, more so than any other Communist party supported by Moscow. The party received perhaps as much as $60 million from the end of World War II until the PCI’s break with Moscow in the early 1980s. The party used these funds mainly for organizational purposes. According to the former KGB archivist Vasili Mitrokhin, after the Athens Colonel Coup in April of 1967, Longo and other PCI leaders became alarmed at the possibility of a coup in Italy. These fears were not completely unfounded, as there had been two attempted coups in Italy , Piano Solo in 1964 and Golpe Borghese in 1970, by neo-fascist and military groups. The PCI’s Giorgio Amendola formally requested Soviet assistance to prepare the party in case of such an event. The KGB drew up and implemented a plan to provide the PCI with its own intelligence and clandestine signal corps. From 1967 through 1973, PCI members were sent to East Germany and Moscow to receive training in clandestine warfare and information gathering techniques by both the Stasi and the KGB. Shortly before the May 1972 elections, Longo personally wrote to Leonid Brezhnev asking for and receiving an additional $5.7 million in funding. This was on top of the $3.5 million that the Soviet Union gave the PCI in 1971. The Soviets also provided additional funding through the use of front companies providing generous contracts to PCI members.
In 1969, Enrico Berlinguer, PCI deputy national secretary and later secretary general, took part in the international conference of the Communist parties in Moscow, where his delegation disagreed with the "official" political line, and refused to support the final report. Unexpectedly to his hosts, his speech challenged the Communist leadership in Moscow. He refused to "excommunicate" the Chinese communists, and directly told Leonid Brezhnev that the invasion of Czechoslovakia by the Warsaw Pact countries (which he called the "tragedy in Prague") had made clear the considerable differences within the Communist movement on fundamental questions such as national sovereignty, socialist democracy, and the freedom of culture. At the time the PCI was the largest Communist Party in a capitalist state, garnering 34.4% of the vote in the 1976 general election.
Relationships between the PCI and the Soviet Union gradually fell apart as the party moved away from Soviet obedience and Marxist-Leninist orthodoxy in the 1970s and 1980s, and toward eurocommunism and the Socialist International. The PCI sought a collaboration with Socialist and Christian Democracy parties (the historic compromise). However, Christian Democratic party leader Aldo Moro's kidnapping and murder by the Red Brigades in May 1978 put an end to any hopes of such a compromise.
During the "anni di piombo" the PCI strongly opposed the terrorism and the Red Brigades, who, in turn, murdered or wounded many PCI members or trade unionists close to the PCI. According to Mitrokhin, the party asked the Soviets to pressure the Czechoslovakian State Security to withdraw their support to the group, which Moscow was unable or unwilling to do. This as well as the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan led to a complete break with Moscow in 1979. In 1980, the PCI refused to participate in the international conference of Communist parties in Paris although cash payments to the PCI continued until 1984.
In 1991 the Italian Communist Party split into the Democratic Party of the Left (PDS), led by Achille Occhetto, and the Communist Refoundation Party (Partito della Rifondazione Comunista), headed by Armando Cossutta. Occhetto, leader of the PCI since 1988, stunned the party faithfully assembled in a working-class section of Bologna with a speech heralding the end of communism, a move now referred to in Italian politics as the Bolognina. The collapse of the communist governments in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe had convinced Occhetto that the era of eurocommunism was over, and he transformed the PCI into a progressive left-wing party, the PDS.Cossutta and a third of the PCI membership refused to join the PDS, and instead founded the Communist Refoundation Party.
Benjamin, Roger W.; Kautsky, John H.. Communism and Economic Development, in The American Political Science Review, Vol. 62, No. 1. (Mar., 1968), pp. 122.
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I just learned that I have a free afternoon tomorrow while working in Sacramento. I have a rental car and would like to do a scenic drive in "wine country". Which would be a more scenic drive, Sonoma County or Napa Valley? Please suggest a route with approximate driving times to/from downtown Sacramento. I am not a big wine drinker but would consider stopping at one or two wineries if time allows ( more interested in scenic drive) I will be leaving Sacramento at 2:00. I just learned about this opportunity and haven't had time to do research myself. Thanks for the help.
Why not travel up into the Amador county wine region. It is much closer than driving all the way to Napa/Sonoma. Or even closer - to some of the wineries around Clarksburg on the Sacramento river.
I'll warn you that traffic on I-80 west of Sacramento to where you turn off to go up the Napa Valley - especially between Davis and Vacaville will be bad due to construction and uneven pavement. Last Sat (when there is usually much less traffic than on weekdays) It took me an hour just from the Sac county line to Vacaville - which normally is a 30 min drive. My guess (because of the traffic) it would take 2 hours to get to Napa on Thurs.
But if you travel east of Sacramento to Plymouth - you can see LOTS of vineyards, wineries, and some cute goldrush era towns/villages. The drive to Plymouth should take under an hour from downtown Sac.
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0.99999 |
The artist's sketches and photos.
The artist's work on display.
The major theme in my work is architecture. My latest series of work is inspired by coastlines.
What was the best advice given you as an artist?
The best advice I received was just to follow my interests, and to stay focused.
I prefer to work with music, particularly classical and modern jazz.
I would like to own a painting by Paul Klee.
My favorite writer is the Norwegian writer, Knut Hamsun (Hunger).
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0.999676 |
2.1.1 Understanding Iteration in General – "While"
A "while" loop is a control flow statement that allows code to be executed repeatedly based on a given Boolean condition. The "while" loop can be thought of as a repeating "if" statement.
There are two commonly used "test before" loops in the iteration (or repetition) category of control structures. They are "while" and "for"; this module covers the "while" loop.
Understanding Iteration in General – "While"
The initialization of the flag is not technically part of the control structure, but a necessary item to occur before the loop is started. The English phrasing is, “While the expression is true, do the following actions”. This is looping on the true. When the test expression is false, you stop the loop and go on with the next item in the program. Notice because this is a "test before" loop, the action might not happen. It is called a "test before" loop because the test comes before the action. It is also sometimes called a "pre-test" loop, meaning the test is pre (or Latin for before) the action and update.
Consider the following one-way conversation between a parent and their child.
It's just after breakfast, and the parent knows their child had Cheerios. Past experience has taught them that their child usually spills Cheerios on the floor.
All of the elements are present to determine the action (or flow) that the child will be doing (in this case repeating). Because the question (Is there a Cheerio on the floor?) has only two possible answers (true or false), the action will continue while there are Cheerios on the floor. Therefore, either the child 1) never picks up a Cheerio because they never spilled any or 2) picks up a Cheerio and keeps picking up Cheerios one at a time until they are all picked up.
Output "Do you want to try again? y or n "
No matter what the user replies during the flag update, the test expression does not do a relational comparison but does an assignment. It assigns ‘y’ to the variable and asks if ‘y’ is true? Since all non-zero values are treated as representing true, the answer to the test expression is true. Viola, you have an infinite loop.
The examples above are for an event controlled loop. The flag updating is an event where someone decides if they want the loop to execute again. Often the initialization sets the flag so that the loop will execute at least once.
Missing an attribute might cause an infinite loop or give undesired results (does not work properly).
Missing the flag update usually causes an infinite loop.
In the following example, the integer variable age is said to be controlling the loop (that is the flag). We can assume that age has a value provided earlier in the program. Because the while structure is a test before loop; it is possible that the person’s age is 0 (zero) and the first time we test the expression it will be false and the action part of the loop would never be executed.
Output "I love corn chips!"
This loop is a counting loop similar to our first counting loop example. The only difference is instead of using a literal constant (in other words 5) in our expression, we used the variable age (and thus the value stored in age) to determine how many times to execute the loop. However, unlike our first counting loop example which will always execute exactly 5 times; it is possible that the person’s age is 0 (zero) and the first time we test the expression it will be false and the action part of the loop would never be executed.
Using a variable to count up or down to control a loop.
Using user input to control a loop.
Items associated with iteration or looping control structures.
Indicating that test before loops might not execute the action.
A test before iteration control structure.
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0.950815 |
I am due to receive a redundancy payment of £116,000. How can I reduce the tax I will have to pay on this amount?
Sorry to hear you've been made redundant, but at least you have a reasonable settlement to soften the blow. With regards to saving tax on the settlement it depends on what you actually mean, and what you intend to do now. Did you mean reducing the taxation of the actual settlement payment?
The first £30,000 of a redundancy settlement is usually untaxed, although this figure can reduce in certain circumstances.
The rest of the money is deemed to be "wages" (holiday pay, Lieu of notice etc.) so is taxed.
The size of your settlement suggests that part, or all, of yours will be taxed at the higher rate of 40%, although ultimately which part depends on whether you take another job in the current tax year.
The best way to reduce the taxation on the settlement is to use the funds to increase your pension benefits in retirement, by investing into a pension scheme. You will automatically gain back the income tax on the amount invested at the rate paid.
Let's assume that £30,000 is indeed non-taxable. That leaves £86,000.
As a higher rate taxpayer you will complete a tax return and enter on this that you have made this contribution. The taxman will then refund a further 20% or £17,200 to you. Having written a cheque for £68,800, and then received £17,200 back, you have had a net outlay of £51,600. This is the net pay you received, but you have a full £86,000 in the pension. In simple terms that's it.
Unfortunately the maximum contribution in any tax year is restricted to either the amount you actually earn, or £50,000 whichever is the lower figure. The £86,000 is regarded as pensionable income for this purpose, but not the £30,000. As we have just started a new tax year, if we assume you take no other employment then you are capped at £50,000 for 2013/2014 tax year.
In your case you could potentially look back 3 years to the 2010/2011 tax year, taking into account your contributions in that period. If contributions in that year are under £14,000 then you could put the remaining £36,000 as being paid in 2010/2011. If however you had contributed £20,000 then you can contribute only £30,000, and then you would have to see if you have £6,000 unused allowances in 2011/2012.
This carry forward process is a little complicated as a financial adviser needs to allow for what are referred to as input periods, and also calculations need to take account of actual earnings, and other pension contributions etc.
There is the additional difficulty in that at this point I'm assuming you don't know what income you will have from employment this year, and what pension contributions will be made. Obviously you may already have new employment arranged, and therefore will know these figures.
You haven't mentioned your age, and obviously this might make a difference to you as ideally a pension should be invested for the longer term. However, if you are over 55 you can take advantage of the "immediate vestment" option. I'll ignore any other pension that you may have (which can simply be added) and assume you invest the £86,000.
Assuming you are currently aged 55 you can "vest" (or cash in) the pension. taking 25% as a tax free sum, so you get back £21,500 immediately, untaxed. So at this point you are only £30,100 down on your original position of having £51,600 after tax.
If you wish you can then draw income of over £3,000 per year (this figure will increase dependant upon your actual age etc). The income is liable to taxation just like any other income.
You can choose not to draw this income until later years, which could increase the amount when you decide to begin drawing it, and perhaps allow it to be drawn at a lower tax rate.
If the above doesn't meet your needs then you'll just have to accept that your redundancy payment has has to be taxed, and then ensure that whatever investment you make going forward is as tax efficient as possible. This would include using your full ISA investment allowance for this year, and investing in a way that allows you to utilise your ISA account with each future tax year. You should also consider investments that utilise your Capital Gains Tax allowances.
I have tried to keep it as simple as possible, but the pension rules in particular are indeed quite complicated and you should seek independent financial advice before doing anything.
Hi Darren – thanks for the advice on immediate vesting. I’ve left saving for a pension quite late, so this is something that I will definitely look into.
I found your post very useful and current because I am going through exactly this kind of settlement agreement. What I did not understand is why the first £32k of income will not be taxed at 20%?
Hi, I’m not sure where you have got the £32k figure from. It is up to the first £30k of a redundancy payment which is not liable to income tax as per current tax legislation.
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This paper is an extended version of our paper published in Chen, A.T.-Y.; Wang, K.I.-K. Computer Vision Based Chess Playing Capabilities for the Baxter Humanoid Robot. IEEE International Conference on Control, Automation and Robotics (ICCAR), 2016, pp. 11–14.
As we move towards improving the skill of computers to play games like chess against humans, the ability to accurately perceive real-world game boards and game states remains a challenge in many cases, hindering the development of game-playing robots. In this paper, we present a computer vision algorithm developed as part of a chess robot project that detects the chess board, squares, and piece positions in relatively unconstrained environments. Dynamically responding to lighting changes in the environment, accounting for perspective distortion, and using accurate detection methodologies results in a simple but robust algorithm that succeeds 100% of the time in standard environments, and 80% of the time in extreme environments with external lighting. The key contributions of this paper are a dynamic approach to the Hough line transform, and a hybrid edge and morphology-based approach for object/occupancy detection, that enable the development of a robot chess player that relies solely on the camera for sensory input.
Board games provide a popular pathway for using computer vision (CV) to support human-robot interaction research. The well-defined and fixed game rules allow us to simplify computer vision problems significantly by taking advantage of domain knowledge, making board games attractive for initial efforts into scene recognition and understanding. Chess is often used by researchers because of its reasonably high state-space complexity; in 1950, Claude Shannon first estimated the game-tree complexity of chess to be 10 120 ; more than the number of atoms in the observable universe. This complexity makes “solving” chess a non-trivial problem that is challenging for both humans and computers.
Creating a robot that plays chess against humans requires three main subsystems to be developed: perception of the chess board and the current piece configuration, computation of the next game move, and actuation of the robot arm to manipulate the pieces on the board. In this paper, we present a project to use the Baxter humanoid robot developed by Rethink Robotics, as shown in Figure 1, to play chess with minimal configuration in unstructured environments. A key goal was to play without controlled lighting conditions, without fixed board positions, and without needing to modify the chess board or pieces, which are shortcomings faced by other chess robot systems. Playing robustly without human intervention was also a key consideration. A driving motivation was to make Baxter play chess in the same way and under the same conditions as a human, without having to artificially modify the environment to suit the robot.
Using high-level open source tools, the computation and actuation problems were largely satisfied quickly. The main contribution of this paper is the use of cameras as the sensing mechanism for the development of a complete robotic chess playing system. This relies on the development of a computer vision algorithm for perceiving the chess board and the current board state. We extend our previous work by presenting two algorithmic contributions: a dynamic approach to using the Hough line transform for image segmentation, and a hybrid edge and morphology-based approach for object/occupancy detection. We also present more complete results with an experiment showing the robustness of this approach under varying lighting conditions. This research is unique when compared to existing chess robots which rely on specially designed chess boards, rather than perceiving and playing chess like humans do. In addition, research in this area also improves chess-related computer vision techniques as well as supporting human-robotics interaction research in related areas such as medical assistive robots and small-scale manipulation.
This paper is structured as follows; Section 2 describes related works and highlights the differences between our implementation and existing chess-related research. Section 3 discusses the computer vision algorithm, with the two key contributions highlighted in Section 4 and Section 5. Section 6 briefly presents the chess engine and mechatronics subsystems, and Section 7 explains how the subsystems are connected. Section 8 presents results that demonstrate the robustness of the implementation, and Section 9 discusses some areas for future work and concludes.
Existing efforts in developing chess-playing robots generally greatly simplify the challenges of creating a holistic perceive-compute-actuate system by applying significant constraints. The most common is the use of a Digital Game Technology (DGT) board, which uses sensors physically embedded in the board and the pieces to report the current square location of each piece to a computer, thus removing any need for external perception. Examples of this include Chesska from Russia and the KUKA Monstr from Germany, which competed in a “World Championship for Robot Chess” . However, DGT boards are not only expensive but far less common than standard non-digital chess sets, immediately restricting the generality of the chess robot.
In cases where computer vision is used for perception, common simplifications include using non-standard colours (such as pink and green) to help the camera differentiate between the board squares and pieces , and mounting the camera directly above the board to reduce perspective distortion [5,6]. CVChess uses Harris corner detection and heatmaps to detect the board and piece movements at acute camera angles from a laptop webcam, but requires manual move triggering and is susceptible to errors with an inability to recover. Neufeld and Hall propose a probabilistic matching algorithm based on image masks to detect and classify the pieces and their current positions, although with lower accuracy than our method. Tam, Lay, and Levy use a combination of Hough line transforms and domain knowledge to segment squares from populated chessboards in a similar approach to ours, although no piece detection is implemented. Bennett and Lasenby present a feature detector that identifies chess board vertices in a robust way, although again this method only finds chess boards and does not identify occupancy or pieces. Czyzewski describes a three-step system that finds, then analyses, and then refines the chess board segmentation from different angles using neural networks, but only a draft of the algorithm has been released and more tests need to be conducted to verify the reliability and robustness of this approach.
One of the common simplifications used by hobbyists for the mechatronics subsystem is to use an XY linear slide system, mounted on top of the board so that a gripper can easily and consistently move to a square and pick up or put down a piece. However, this requires a fixed board position, and can sometimes occlude the board from a human player, while also making the board much less portable. Most implementations require that the board be in a fixed position so that the physical location of each square (and therefore each piece) is known to the robot beforehand ; this is also common with DGTs.
Gambit is the closest implementation to ours in terms of functionality, with a stated goal of achieving as much generality as possible. It is an autonomous system that uses an infrared depth camera in conjunction with a secondary camera to perceive the board and a custom 6-DoF robot arm for actuation. However, there are still significant differences in the approaches, such as Gambit’s use of SVMs to learn the piece types, and using two cameras to include depth information instead of just one camera. Our implementation takes a simpler approach to the perception problem, with similar overall results. Some other similar implementations include [13,14], but these papers do not report accuracy rates, speed, or other results.
Perhaps the most challenging part of creating a chess robot is giving the robot the ability to “see” the board. Baxter has a camera built into the arm, underneath the end effector as shown in Figure 1. This provides a 1280 × 800 widescreen image with a 16:10 aspect ratio, although some of the image is obscured by the end effector, leaving roughly 1280 × 500 of the image usable. The sub-problems to be solved are shown in Figure 2: finding the chessboard from the wider image (board detection), segmenting the image into the individual squares on that chessboard (square detection), and finding the pieces on those squares (piece detection). At each step of the algorithm, if it is not successful (e.g., no board is detected) then the algorithm exits and waits for the next frame.
To assist with the development of the computer vision algorithms, we used OpenCV , an open source image processing library. This not only helps with the development time, but also allows us to take advantage of efficient, optimised code. In order to obtain consistent and stable images, the arm (and therefore the camera) moves to a fixed position above the play area in order to perceive the current state of the chess board. We wanted to ensure that the CV algorithm can operate without the camera being directly above the board (i.e., that it can deal with some amount of perspective distortion), so the camera is positioned at a 0.4 radian angle from the perpendicular to the table. The desired output of the CV subsystem is the current position of all the pieces on the board, and the coordinates of a move if there is one. Figure 3 shows a diagrammatic representation of the CV algorithm.
Firstly, image preparation or pre-processing is conducted. Conversion to greyscale reduces the amount of information for each pixel to reduce computation time and complexity, and greyscale information is sufficient for this task. Gaussian blurring reduces the amount of noise in the image by smoothing out the pixel intensities so that sharp changes in intensity are dampened. This is done by filtering the image with a 5 × 5 Gaussian kernel. The Otsu threshold is then calculated; this allows the algorithm to respond dynamically to lighting changes in-between images by recalculating the optimal threshold used for thresholding and edge detection purposes.
Board detection is relatively simple, as we are effectively looking for a large square in the image, as shown in Figure 4. Canny edge detection is used to identify the boundaries of the objects, using hysteresis to produce more consistent edges than the Sobel or Prewitt operators. Dilation is a morphological operation that expands the edges found by the edge detection by a certain number of pixels, so that we can fill in any holes in those edges, creating continuous contours. Square contours can then be identified by iterating through all of the contours found and isolating those with four edges, at approximately right angles to each other, with approximately equal length and width. Some tolerance is allowed for each of these measures, which accounts for cases where perspective distortion may make the board seem slightly trapezoidal rather than exactly square. The largest square identified in the image, above a set minimum size or threshold, is designated the chessboard. If no chessboard is found, then the image is rejected and the subsystem should await the next image. If another object is incorrectly identified as the chessboard, then the image will fail later on in the algorithm during square or piece detection and still be rejected.
We slice the original wide image so that only the chessboard is present in the image in order to reduce the amount of processing required in later stages. The orientation of the chessboard relative to the camera is also calculated by determining the angles that the four chessboard edges make to the x and y-axes of the image. This allows us to account for cases where the board is not exactly parallel to the camera (and therefore the robot), which is very likely if the board is not fixed in position, as seen in Figure 5. Our measurements indicate that the orientation can deviate by up to 10 degrees away from the perpendicular before the algorithm no longer detects the square shape of the chess board.
The algorithm then begins square detection, which segments the image into the 64 squares on the chess board. Contrast limited adaptive histogram equalization (CLAHE) is used to boost the differences in intensity throughout the image. This is to reduce the likelihood of white pieces on white squares or black pieces on black squares becoming indistinguishable. Local adaptive equalization helps avoid unwanted information loss that is often encountered in global histogram based contrasting, especially in situations where the lighting is not consistent across an image. We apply Gaussian blurring again to further filter out noise that sometimes arises from contrasting, and Canny edge detection and dilation are executed to produce stronger edges for the squares and pieces.
As the camera is not directly above the board, some of the square boundaries can be occluded by the pieces on the board. Additionally, perspective distortion can cause some of the square edges to not be exactly parallel/perpendicular to the x- and y-axes of the image. We developed an iterative and segmenting algorithm based on the Hough line transform that deals with these issues, explained in more detail in Section 4. The dynamic Hough line transform outputs a series of lines that correspond to the edges of the squares on the chessboard; we also constrain the selection of lines to those that are roughly parallel to the x and y-axes of the board as identified earlier, spurious lines that cannot possibly be the edges of the squares (e.g., going diagonally across the board) are removed.
We use the same approach as in the board detection section to detect the square contours. Domain-specific knowledge is used to ensure that there are 64 (8 × 8) squares detected. If there are fewer than 64 squares, we reject the image. If there are more than 64 squares, then the smallest squares are removed as they usually originate from noise at the edges of the board. Occasionally, lighting can cause parts of the image to become saturated, making detection of the correct square edges difficult, and the image becoming rejected. However, usually the saturation only lasts for one or two frames, and the algorithm successfully processes a later frame. The OpenCV implementation of contour detection does not guarantee any particular order, so we use the centroids of each square to sort them into order from left-to-right, top-to-bottom. Masks are then created for each square to build an 8 × 8 occupancy grid.
For piece detection, we process the chessboard image in two different ways and merge the outputs. The strategy is to identify the edges of the chess pieces and use that information to determine which squares have pieces in them and which squares do not, which we call occupancy. This process is discussed in more detail in Section 5. A differential image approach is taken, where the occupancy of each frame is compared to the previous frame to see which pieces have moved. This approach uses the assumption that the board is initially set up in a known configuration, in our case with the pieces set up correctly for the beginning of a match. There are three types of piece movements to check: a piece has moved to a previously unoccupied position, a piece has taken another piece and therefore moved to a previously occupied position, or two pieces have moved to previously unoccupied positions and castling has occurred. The algorithm does not check for the legality of moves; this is handled by the chess engine subsystem describe in Section 6. From this analysis, an origin square and a destination square (both from 0 to 63, starting at the top left, incrementing left-to-right and top-to-bottom) can be determined and reported to the chess engine subsystem.
The Hough Transform is a useful algorithm for extracting shapes from images, although originally it was used to identify lines. Importantly, the lines can be detected even if there are holes in the line or some distortion in the image, which is useful in our case where many of the lines are occluded by pieces. The transform returns a set of lines, each represented by their parametric ρ (perpendicular distance from the origin) and θ (angle from the horizontal axis measured counter-clockwise) values. The Hough line transform identifies points in the image, and then uses a voting mechanism to identify lines, with more votes indicating more points of that line found in the image and therefore the stronger likelihood of that line being real. This is the approach used for segmentation in , which uses domain knowledge specific to chess to improve the accuracy of the algorithm, but requiring careful tuning for each set of environmental conditions as optimal threshold changes. The OpenCV implementation of the transform accepts a vote threshold as an input, which can be used to filter out lines with low votes that are either very short or generated from noise.
In our approach we use what we call a dynamic Hough line transform; we call this transform “dynamic” because in our approach we segment the image and apply transforms with different vote thresholds in order to create the most usable set of lines, and iteratively try different vote thresholds until our square detection succeeds (or gives up and exits). This approach accounts for the fact that the body of the robot can create a shadow over the chessboard, making squares further away from Baxter lighter than squares closer to Baxter. It also partially accounts for some perspective distortion, and recognises that lines that are closer to Baxter (at the bottom of the image) are typically longer and therefore we should use a higher vote threshold than parts of the image further away. This perspective distortion worsens as the angle of the camera view becomes more acute. Additionally, if there are pieces on the board in their initial positions, then the Hough line transform can mistake the line of pieces as a chess square edge, which should be filtered out. By dynamically determining the vote thresholds, we have fewer unwanted lines in the output, as shown in Figure 6.
Using this approach has further applications in scenarios where it is difficult to calibrate cameras, such as on mobile robots. It allows shapes to be found even when perspective distortion alters the true shape of the object. While it is more computationally expensive than the standard transform (due to the iterative nature of testing the vote thresholds), the algorithm could be modified to use online learning and optimisation to learn the appropriate thresholds to avoid computing them again for each frame.
In order to determine where the chess pieces are on the board, we use an edge-based approach to determine occupancy of the squares. While detects the type of the individual pieces (i.e., knight, rook, king), we found that this requires either a close camera or a high resolution camera in order to collect enough detail to discriminate between the pieces. It is actually possible to know which piece is being moved by keeping track of the move history, with the assumption that the game starts with pieces in their initial positions. Our strategy is based on differential comparison, where we remember the previous board state, compare it to the new board state, and use that to determine which move has been made (and therefore what the piece type was). We also aimed for a more computationally light algorithm without complicated deep learning.
We use two approaches to edge detection and merge the results. Firstly, we use the output of the Canny edge detection in the square detection step of the algorithm and morphologically close the edges, which we will call Method A. Morphological closing is a dilation operation followed by an erosion operation, which fills in any space between the edges. This process fills in the square if there are piece edges in the square, removing any requirement of the piece being perfectly in the centre of the square. This provides a good indication of where the pieces are, but is occasionally susceptible to misinterpreting small shadows on empty squares (especially white squares) as pieces. Secondly, we try to reduce the impact of shadows by using morphological edge detection. This applies morphological closing to the contrasted image before applying Canny edge detection and dilation, which we will call Method B. This process essentially blurs out smaller shadows by suppressing smaller edges and enhancing sharper edges. However, this can misinterpret changes in lighting across the board as new edges, for example when a light is shone across half of the board. This can cause the algorithm to incorrectly report pieces where there is actually just a lighting gradient.
Both approaches tend to over-report, i.e., find pieces where there are not any, as shown in Figure 7. To counter this, we simply element-wise AND the output of both methods, so that both methods must agree for us to accept that there is a piece in a particular square. This method is more resistant to small shadows created by the pieces, while also avoiding misinterpretation of lighting gradients across the board, thus improving the accuracy of piece detection significantly, as described in the results section. This approach can still fail where there are larger/longer shadows, created by external light sources at low angles, but in our testing the method is generally robust under standard or natural lighting conditions. Using this approach has further applications in scenarios where the occupancy of spaces needs to be determined in uncontrolled environments, such as pick-and-place operations or scientific experiments.
We then determine the average intensity of each square in the occupancy grid, comparing it to an empirically determined threshold to determine if there is a piece present or not. A parameter sweep in increments of 10 was conducted to find a suitable value. Under standard lighting conditions, a threshold value of 70 out of 255 was suitable, and achieved the results shown in Section 8.2. We also take the intensity of the centroid of the square from the original image to determine whether the piece is white or black based on another preset threshold.
As the computer vision algorithm is the main focus of this paper, we give a light description of the chess engine and mechatronics subsystems to aid the reader in understanding how we tested the algorithm in realistic conditions. Rather than redevelop these subsystems from scratch, we use the open source chess engine Stockfish and the inverse kinematics solver IKFast as the core of the computation and actuation subsystems. Stockfish is one of the strongest chess engines in the world, currently ranked first in the Computer Chess Rating List (CCRL). It uses the Universal Chess Interface (UCI) protocol, which accepts as an input two algebraic notations, indicating the origin and destination squares of the last move. The engine also keeps track of the board configuration to recognise special cases, such as piece capture and castling. At the beginning of the game, we ask the user to select a difficulty level, which corresponds to the search depth that the engine uses. We use PyStockfish, an open-source wrapper that makes it easier to integrate Stockfish into our script since our code was developed in Python. We also use Chessnut, a Python open-source chess board modelling framework. This library verifies individual moves to check if they are legal; illegal moves could result from either erroneous analysis by the CV subsystem or by human interference. If an illegal move is detected, then we inform the user and request that they resolve the situation before Baxter plays his move. Once the origin and destination square numbers are provided by the CV subsystem, they are converted to their algebraic equivalents (from a1 to h8), verified by Chessnut, and then passed to Stockfish. Once Stockfish provides the next move, we convert the origin and destination squares for the next piece to cardinal square numbers in x–y co-ordinate space, and pass this to the mechatronics subsystem for actuation.
The Baxter arm has seven degrees of freedom as shown in Figure 8, which is a non-trivial kinematics problem to solve. IKFast is used to greatly simplify this challenge, by allowing us to simply input the desired end effector co-ordinates relative to the centre of Baxter’s torso. Unlike many other implementations (as discussed in Section 2), we do not need the board to be in a fixed position. During normal or energetic gameplay, the board can move slightly when touched by a human player, so the robot should dynamically recalculate the co-ordinates of the square positions before each move. This can be done based on the camera image, although some manual configuration at system initialisation is required so that the application knows how the pixels in the image correspond to physical distances.
As Baxter is designed to be safely used around humans without safety cages, the joints are compliant, meaning that the torques at each joint are constantly measured and the arm stops moving if it detects that the torque is not what it should be, for example if it hits an obstructing object, such as a human. However, this creates two significant problems for our application. Firstly, this makes the movement of the robot arm very slow in comparison to other robots, which is a limitation of the platform due to internal torque limitations. Secondly, the accuracy of the arm is not always perfect, as the compliant joints allow some deviation from the equilibrium position. To counteract this, we implemented intermediary waypoints between the initial position and the desired endpoint, which instructs the arm to make a series of smaller movements, reducing overshooting. This improved accuracy comes at the cost of even slower movement, but is required to ensure that Baxter plays chess robustly with minimal actuation error when the board is not in a fixed position. This could be improved through the use of better kinematics modelling, and could be made more natural through programming-by-demonstration .
To assist with the accuracy of the square co-ordinates, a calibration sequence at system initialization gives the mechatronics subsystem the co-ordinates for the bottom left square. From this position, taking into account the orientation of the board provided by the CV subsystem, the end effector co-ordinates are calculated for each square on the board using a pre-configured square size. Given the origin and destination squares, the mechatronics subsystem then picks and places the piece. Baxter’s arm has an electric two-finger attachment that closes and opens to pick up and release the chess pieces as shown in Figure 1 and Figure 8. If a piece is already at the desired destination, then the move is capturing a piece, so the mechatronics subsystem first removes the captured piece and places it in a box beside the board before moving the capturing piece. The system also checks if the move from the chess engine is a castling move; if so, Baxter moves the second piece as well.
The system software is developed in Ubuntu using Python for scripting and ROS for communication with the robot and its peripherals. A finite state machine approach, shown in Figure 9, is used to manage the different actions that Baxter takes in various circumstances. In the initial state, Baxter and its peripherals are set up. This includes moving the arms to neutral locations, configuring the correct cameras to be open and streaming, and loading the images to be shown on the screen (i.e., Baxter’s face). In the calibration state, we detect the current lighting conditions to set parameters in the CV subsystem, the user selects a difficulty level for the chess engine, and the mechatronics subsystem is calibrated as described in Section 6 to help improve the accuracy of the positioning. Based on the brightness of the pieces closest to Baxter, the CV subsystem determines if Baxter is playing as white or black, and then transitions to the appropriate state.
If it is Baxter’s move, we move through a compute-actuate-perceive cycle, where the chess engine decides what the next move should be, the mechatronics subsystem executes that move, and then the CV subsystem verifies that the move was made correctly. If it has made a mistake, then the system asks for human intervention, although this is rare. The chess engine also determines if a checkmate has occurred; if so, then Baxter transitions to the appropriate game over state for winning or losing, otherwise it transitions to the human’s move state.
If it is the human’s move, then the arm moves to an observation position, and Baxter indicates to the human that it is their turn by nodding the head and changing his facial expression. If the human user takes too long, after awhile the image on Baxter’s screen changes so that it appears that Baxter is bored and asleep because it has been waiting for too long. Meanwhile, the CV subsystem continuously processes the frames arriving from the camera to determine if a move has been made. Unlike many other implementations (see Section 2), no manual move triggering is required as the CV subsystem rejects images where no valid chessboard is found, such as when a hand is obscuring the board because it is moving a piece. No move is sent to the chess engine if no change in board configuration has been detected. When a move has been detected, Chessnut verifies the validity of the move (if it is illegal, Baxter displays a message asking the human to verify their move), and then the system transitions back to the Baxter move state.
To help Baxter appear more responsive, the robot responds differently depending on if it wins or loses to represent emotion [19,20]. When Baxter wins, the arms move to a neutral position, a happy expression is displayed on the screen, and the background behind Baxter’s face flashes different colours to indicate celebration; when he loses, Baxter crosses his arms and displays an upset facial expression on the screen to indicate disappointment and sadness.
In this section, we will present the results in terms of the chess robot’s performance against humans, quantitative analysis of the CV algorithm, and some qualitative comments about the overall timing and errors.
Stockfish is a very strong chess engine, so the average person is not able to beat it since we use a minimum search depth of 6 (most humans only plan two or three moves ahead). As we have not tested Baxter against any Grandmasters, in over 50 complete games, no human has beaten Baxter at chess yet. We did not conduct a formal survey, but the main response from most human players was that they enjoyed playing against a humanoid robot, in particular highlighting the changes in facial expressions. They liked that the robot seemed to be responsive to the human moves, and that the camera placement was sufficiently high enough and out of the way that it did not obstruct the human player’s vision when trying to see the pieces on the board.
We took a sample of 500 frames from Baxter’s camera, with variations in the chess board orientation, chess board position, piece positions, external lighting intensity, and external lighting orientation. Of those, only about 270 frames were suitable for further analysis, because in many of the frames the camera was saturated, making it impossible to distinguish between edges or between white squares and white pieces, even to a human looking at the image. Most of this saturation would be temporary, so when running our algorithm in the real-world, it would simply reject these images and wait for a more suitable frame. In this test set, only 76 samples were taken in what could be considered “normal” lighting conditions; all other samples involved the use of a lamp to create extreme lighting conditions in order to challenge the CV algorithm, as shown in Figure 10. This was done by moving the lamp to different positions and angles around the board to create bright (saturation) and dark (shadow) areas around the board. In a real-world scenario, it is unlikely that the lighting source would be so close to the board or at such an acute angle. For this experiment, all of the parameter and threshold values were held constant for all cases, even though changing some of these values could improve the accuracy under more adverse lighting situations.
The first observation from Table 1 is that the board and square detection have relatively high accuracies, meaning that they generally succeed at identifying where the board is from the wider image and identifying where the squares are based on the Dynamic Hough line transform. The second observation is that the hybrid piece detection method is superior to method A or method B alone. Additionally, under normal lighting conditions, the hybrid piece detection method is very accurate, making it a robust implementation suitable for a human-facing chess robot.
It should also be noted that even in situations where the piece detection fails to identify the piece positions correctly, for example when external lighting creates a strong shadow edge on a white square, generally this does not cause any actual errors in the performance of the chess robot. This is because we use Chessnut for validating the legality of moves, and generally if the piece detection is erroneous then the move that the CV subsystem suggests is illegal. After implementing Chessnut, in our testing we have never encountered a situation where an illegal move is given to Stockfish unless a human has intentionally made an illegal move. In situations where the algorithm seems to be irrecoverable from an illegal move (or cheating on the part of the human), a message is displayed asking for human intervention to correct the last move.
We make the observation that Baxter plays chess with different timing requirements to human players. When humans play at a high level, the perception time for detecting and analysing a move is very short, the computation time of deciding the next move is comparatively long, and the actuation time of moving a piece is very short. For Baxter, this is exactly the opposite; running on a 1.9 GHz i5 processor, the CV subsystem can only process a few frames per second (faster if the algorithm does not find a chess board or squares), and the chess engine subsystem returns a move in a few seconds or less (depending on the difficulty level/search depth). However, actuating the piece can take a significant amount of time, about 45–90 s, depending on if Baxter needs to move one piece or two (such as during piece capture or castling). This can give the impression that Baxter is a very slow player, particularly at the beginning of the game when a human player usually executes well-known opening sequences from memory without much computation. However, as the game progresses and becomes more complex, human players slow down as they consider the different options and consequences of their moves, so Baxter can outpace them since its move time remains roughly the same throughout the game. If speed of play is an important factor, then our approach could be applied to an alternative camera/robot arm arrangement if necessary.
The mechatronics subsystem does occasionally knock over other pieces as it actuates; this should be considered in the context that even humans sometimes knock the pieces over during vigorous matches of chess. Baxter unfortunately cannot detect fallen pieces or know how to pick them up and re-orient them as this is a difficult challenge, so human intervention is currently required, but some fault tolerance could be developed as part of future work.
As part of a broader chess robot system, a robust computer vision algorithm has been developed for analyzing chess boards and their current game states with fewer restrictions than other robot chess approaches. We developed a complete robotic system, incorporating computer vision, chess engine, and mechatronics subsystems to deliver an engaging experience for human chess players. With our focus on robustness and flexibility, Baxter can play with a standard chess board instead of an expensive DGT board, with a wide variety of board colours, using a camera that does not obstruct the player’s field of view by being fixed directly above the board, and with variation in the board position and orientation, as well as an ability to deal with varying lighting conditions.
In our computer vision algorithm, the most robust components are the board detection and square detection, but the accuracy of the piece detection could potentially still be improved. The problem of ignoring or removing shadows from an image, particularly small shadows that may move as lighting conditions change, remains challenging but in our experiments we show that our algorithms are sufficiently accurate to deliver reliable performance. An alternative area of exploration is the use of external/extrinsic calibration to transform the image to a birds-eye view, which might help with line and piece detection, but might also cause saturation effects to have a larger impact.
Developing more fault tolerance could be useful for further chess robot research, especially if it allows Baxter’s arm to move faster. To this end, better modelling of the chess pieces, such as the use of SVMs in or the use of 3D modeling , could be used to tell the difference between a knocked over piece and two or three pieces in adjacent squares, and also put the correct pieces back onto the correct squares. There has also been recent interest in developing stronger chess engines like AlphaZero , although since Stockfish is already stronger than most human players, the real-world effect would be essentially negligible.
In conclusion, our implementation of a chess-playing robot is robust, and is a useful case study for further human-robot interaction research with Baxter, as well as improving upon existing computer vision approaches towards analysing chess games, with two algorithmic developments presented for dealing with challenging unconstrained scenarios.
Conceptualisation, A.T.-Y.C.; methodology, A.T.-Y.C.; development/software, A.T.-Y.C.; validation, A.T.-Y.C.; writing-original draft preparation, A.T.-Y.C.; writing-review and editing, A.T.-Y.C. and K.I.-K.W.; supervision, K.I.-K.W.
Mukhamedov, E. Chesska defends World Champion title in Robot Chess. 2012. Available online: http://en.chessbase.com/post/cheka-defends-world-champion-title-in-robot-che (accessed on 14 January 2016).
Danner, C.; Kafafy, M. Visual Chess Recognition, 2015. Available online: http://web.stanford.edu/class/ee368/Project_Spring_1415/Reports/Danner_Kafafy.pdf (accessed on 7 February 2019).
Hack, J.; Ramakrishnan, P. CVChess: Computer Vision Chess Analytics, 2014. Available online: http://cvgl.stanford.edu/teaching/cs231a_winter1415/prev/projects/chess.pdf (accessed on 7 February 2019).
Cour, T.; Lauranson, R.; Vachette, M. Autonomous Chess-Playing Robot, 2002. Available online: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/57e7/9b85d53597d59a1009ea964876de260935ea.pdf (accessed on 7 February 2019).
Bradski, G. The OpenCV Library. Dr. Dobb’s Journal of Software Tools. Available online: https://opencv.org/ (accessed on 7 February 2019).
Figure 1. The Baxter robot playing a game of chess, with the gripper (end effector) and camera at the end of the arm magnified.
Figure 2. Top level CV algorithm flowchart with intermediate screenshots at each stage of the algorithm.
Figure 3. Detailed flowchart of the computer vision algorithm, divided into the three main sections of board detection, square detection, and piece detection.
Figure 4. Board detection from the wider image, with part of the image blocked by the end effector.
Figure 5. The CV algorithm can detect the board, squares, and pieces when the board is in different orientations, and is not parallel to the image axes.
Figure 6. A comparison of the Hough line transform, from left to right in each row, with a vote threshold of 100, 150, 200, 250, and 300, our dynamic Hough line transform, and the final output with squares highlighted. Note the robustness of the method against lighting gradients shown in the images.
Figure 7. A comparison of the outputs from the occupancy detection algorithm(s). (a) shows the board converted to greyscale, (b) shows the image after contrasting and morphological closing, (c) shows the occupancy output for the first method (after contrasting and blurring of (a)), (d) shows the occupancy output for the second method (based on (b)), and (e) shows the final occupancy. Note that in (c) there are two false positives in the first row, and in (d) there is a false positive in the last row (all indicated by red boxes). All of these false positives are ignored in (e), leading to a correct output.
Figure 8. The Baxter arm with seven degrees of freedom (DoF) shown.
Figure 9. Finite state machine for the overall system control.
Figure 10. Examples of challenging lighting conditions on the chess board.
Table 1. Computer Vision Detection Accuracy (%).
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0.959164 |
Are rebate credit cards a good deal?
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No spacecraft has gone farther than Voyager 1. The spacecraft is currently exploring a transitional zone between our solar system and interstellar space.
Voyager 1 was the first spacecraft to cross the heliosphere, the boundary where the influences outside our solar system are stronger than those from our Sun. Most scientists agree Voyager 1 will not have truly left our solar system until it passes through the Oort Cloud in a few hundred years.
Voyager 1 also made detailed studies of Jupiter and Saturn.
It carries one of two copies of the Golden Record—a message from humanity to the cosmos that includes greetings in 55 languages, pictures of people and places on Earth and music ranging from Beethoven to Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode."
Voyager 1 and 2 were designed to take advantage of a rare planetary alignment to explore the outer solar system. Voyager 1 targeted Jupiter and Saturn before continuing on to chart the far edges of our solar system.
Voyager 1 successfully flew by both the Jupiter and Saturn systems before continuing out into the farthest most reaches of our solar system. Voyager 1 has been observing the interplanetary medium throughout its journey, and is now in interstellar space—since August 2012. On Nov. 29, 2017, engineers successfully fired Voyager 1’s thrusters after 37 years of inactivity.
Voyager 1 succeeded on all counts, with the single exception of experiments using its photopolarimeter, which failed to operate. Jupiter's atmosphere was found to be more active than during the visits of Pioneer 10 and 11, sparking a rethinking of the earlier atmospheric models which could not explain the new features. The spacecraft imaged the moons Amalthea, Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto, showing details of their terrain for the first time.
Possibly the most stunning of Voyager 1's discoveries was that Io has extremely active volcanoes, powered by heat generated by the stretching and relaxing the moon endures every 42 hours as its elliptical orbit brings it closer to and then farther from Jupiter. This finding revolutionized scientists' concept of the moons of the outer planets. The spacecraft also discovered a thin ring around the planet (then making it the second planet known to have a ring), and two new moons: Thebe and Metis.
Voyager 1 targeted Jupiter and Saturn before continuing on to chart the far edges of our solar system.
Voyager 1 was to become the second spacecraft to visit Saturn. Its mission there was to explore the planet and its rings, moons, and magnetic field in greater detail than was possible for its predecessor, Pioneer 11.
Voyager 1 met all of its goals except for the experiments planned for its photopolarimeter, which failed to operate. The spacecraft found three new moons: Prometheus and Pandora, the "shepherding" moons that keep the F ring well-defined, and Atlas which similarly shepherds the A ring. Saturn's largest moon, Titan, was found to have a thick atmosphere which hides its surface from visible-light cameras and telescopes. Spacecraft instruments showed it to be mostly nitrogen, like Earth's atmosphere, but with a surface pressure 1.6 times as high as ours.
The spacecraft also imaged the moons Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, and Rhea; revealed the fine structures of Saturn's complex and beautiful ring system; and added the G ring to the list of known rings.
Just as it used Jupiter's gravity to help it reach Saturn, Voyager 1 used a gravity assist at Saturn to alter its course and increase its speed, giving it a trajectory to take it out of the solar system. Voyager 1 entered interstellar space in August 2012.
In August 2012, Voyager 1 became the first spacecraft to cross into interstellar space. Here Voyager can sample what space is like beyond our solar system. (If we define the solar system as the sun and everything that primarily orbits the sun, however, Voyager 1 will remain within the confines of the solar system until it emerges from the Oort cloud in another 14,000 to 28,000 years).
An alignment of the outer planets that occurs only once in 176 years prompted NASA to plan a grand tour of the outer planets, consisting of dual launches to Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto in 1976-77 and dual launches to Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune in 1979. The original scheme was canceled for budgetary reasons, but it was replaced by Voyager 1 and 2, which accomplished similar goals at significantly lower cost.
The two spacecraft were designed to explore Jupiter and Saturn in more detail than the two Pioneers (Pioneers 10 and 11) that preceded them. Each was equipped with slow-scan color TV to take live television images from the planets, and each also carried an extensive suite of instruments to record magnetic, atmospheric, lunar, and other data about the planets. The original design of the spacecraft was based on that of the older Mariners. Power was provided by three plutonium oxide radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) mounted at the end of a boom.
Voyager 1 was launched after Voyager 2, but because of a faster route, it exited the asteroid belt earlier than its twin. It began its Jovian imaging mission in April 1978 at a range of 265 million km from the planet; images sent back by January the following year indicated that Jupiter's atmosphere was more turbulent than during the Pioneer flybys in 1973 and 1974.
On 10 February 1979, the spacecraft crossed into the Jovian moon system, and in early March, it had already discovered a thin (less than 30 km thick) ring circling Jupiter. Flying past Amalthea, Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto (in that order) on 5 March, Voyager 1 returned spectacular photos of their terrain, opening up completely new worlds for planetary scientists to study. The most interesting find was on Io, where images showed a bizarre yellow, orange and brown world with at least eight active volcanoes spewing material into space, making it one of the most (if not the most) geologically active planetary bodies in the solar system. The spacecraft also discovered two new moons, Thebe and Metis. Voyager 1's closest encounter with Jupiter was at 12:05 UT on 5 March 1979 at a range of 280,000 km.
Following the Jupiter encounter, Voyager 1 completed a single course correction on 9 April 1979 in preparation for its rendezvous with Saturn. A second correction on 10 October 1979 ensured that the spacecraft would not hit Saturn's moon Titan. Its flyby of the Saturn system in November 1979 was as spectacular as its previous encounter. Voyager 1 found three new moons: Prometheus and Pandora, the shepherding moons that keep the F ring well-defined, and Atlas which similarly shepherds the A ring. It also discovered a new ring (the G ring) and revealed the intricate structure of the ring system, consisting of thousands of bands.
During its flyby, the spacecraft photographed Saturn's moons Titan, Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, and Rhea. Based on data, all the moons appeared to be largely composed of water ice. Perhaps the most interesting target was Titan, which Voyager 1 passed at 05:41 UT on 12 November at a range of 4,000 km. Images showed a thick atmosphere that completely hid the surface. The spacecraft found that the moon's atmosphere was composed of 90 percent nitrogen. Pressure and temperature at the surface was 1.6 atmospheres and -180 degrees Celsius (-292 degrees Fahrenheit), respectively.
Voyager 1's closest approach to Saturn was at 23:45 UT on 12 November 1980 at a range of 124,000 km. The spacecraft found that about 7 percent of the volume of Saturn's upper atmosphere is helium (compared with 11 percent of Jupiter's atmosphere), while almost all the rest is hydrogen. Since Saturn's internal helium abundance was expected to be the same as Jupiter's and the sun's, the lower abundance of helium in the upper atmosphere may imply that the heavier helium is slowly sinking through Saturn's hydrogen. That might explain the excess heat that Saturn radiates over energy it receives from the sun.
Following the encounter with Saturn, Voyager 1 was on course to escape the solar system at a speed of about 523.6 million km (325.4 million miles or 3.5 AU) per year in the general direction of the sun's motion relative to nearby stars. The spacecraft's trajectory, which had been designed to send it closely past Titan and behind Saturn's rings, bent the spacecraft's path inexorably northward, 35 degrees out of the ecliptic plane, the plane in which the planets orbit the sun. Thus, Voyager 1 could not be sent to Uranus or Neptune.
The official goal of the Voyager Interstellar Mission (VIM), as the dual Voyager flights have been called since 1989, is to extend NASA's exploration of the solar system beyond the neighborhood of the outer planets to the outer limits of the sun's sphere of influence, and possibly beyond. Specific goals include collecting data on the heliopause boundary, the outer limits of the sun's magnetic field and the outward flow of the solar wind.
On 17 February 1998, Voyager 1 became the most distant human-made object when it surpassed Pioneer 10's range from Earth. In September 2012, Voyager 1 was 19 billion km (12 billion miles) from our sun. Earlier that same year (August 2012), Voyager 1 passed into interstellar space.
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Products for french manicure There are 3 products.
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Light-field imaging is a research field with applicability in a variety of imaging areas including 3D cinema, entertainment, robotics, and any task requiring range estimation. In contrast to binocular or multi-view stereo approaches, capturing light fields means densely observing a target scene through a window of viewing directions. A principal benefit in light-field imaging for range computation is that one can eliminate the error-prone and computationally expensive process of establishing correspondence. The nearly continuous space of observation allows to compute highly accurate and dense depth maps free of matching.
In computer vision communities such as stereo, optical flow, or visual tracking, commonly accepted and widely used benchmarks have enabled objective comparison and boosted scientific progress. In the emergent light field community, a comparable benchmark and evaluation methodology is still missing. The performance of newly proposed methods is often demonstrated qualitatively on a handful of images, making quantitative comparison and targeted progress very difficult. To overcome these difficulties, we propose a novel light field benchmark. We provide 24 carefully designed synthetic, densely sampled 4D light fields with highly accurate disparity ground truth.
We present a benchmark database to compare and evaluate existing and upcoming algorithms which are tailored to light-field processing. The data is characterized by a dense sampling of the light fields, which best fits current plenoptic cameras and is a characteristic property not found in current multi-view stereo benchmarks. It allows to treat the disparity space as a continuous space, and enables algorithms based on epipolar plane image analysis without having to refocus first. All datasets provide ground truth depth for at least the center view, while some have additional segmentation data available.
We present a novel method which allows to reconstruct depth information from data acquired with a circular camera motion, termed circular light fields. With this approach it is possible to determine the full 360° view of target objects. The proposed method finds trajectories of 3D points in the EPIs by means of a modified Hough transform. For this purpose, binary EPI-edge images are used, which not only allow to obtain reliable depth information, but also overcome the limitation of constant intensity along trajectories. Experimental results on synthetic and real datasets demonstrate the quality of the proposed algorithm.
Camera calibration for light field data poses more strict constraints on the accuracy of the calibration method, due to the increased estimation precision possible with light field data. To improve the localization accuracy in calibration scenarios we have developed an robust, fractal, self-identifying calibration target to be used in place of the classic checkerboard calibration target.
To acquire light field data for both, synthetic and real world scenes, the process is very similar. The camera is moved on a equidistant grid parallel to its own sensor plane and an image is taken at each grid position. Although not strictly necessary, an odd number of grid positions is used for each movement direction as there then exists a well-defined center view which makes the processing simpler. Alternatively also the acquisition via camera array is possible while here the calibration is a very crucial part.
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Which psychological processes are involved in intentional buying and how rational is the buyer?
Each day we face numerous decisions that determine the outcome of our life to a great extent. Whether we are rich or poor, happy or sad, good or bad - it all comes down to the decisions we make. It is therefore logical to assume that human beings have evolved to be experts in decision making. For decades, Economists, Psychologists and Philosophers have struggled to answer this question by conceptualizing the way people make decision and by coming up with models that explain judgment and decision making (Gigerenzer and Selten, 2002). Over the last few centuries, models of rationality have been constantly changing and evolving. In 1654, Blaise Pascal and Pierre Fermat had a prolonged discussion about human rationale in gambling scenarios, giving birth to the rational choice theory (Hacking, 1975). Its main assumption is that humans take into consideration every available information, cost and benefit associated with a decision and proceed to select the best choice amongst all available alternatives - the one that maximizes Expected Utility. This model, however, is inherently flawed, as it ignores elements such as cognitive biases and mental shortcuts (also known as heuristics) that could lead to deviations from the assumption of perfectly rational decisions (Kahneman, 2003a). In response to the limitations of the rational choice theory, Herbert Simon proposed the notion of bounded rationality to compensate for flaws in human thinking and to take into consideration environmental constraints when making a decision (Simon, 1955). Bounded rationality suggests that humans act as satisficers rather than maximizers, aimed at finding a decision that is good enough, taken the amount of information and time that were available for making the decision (Simon, 1956). This framework applies to any decision making process - including consumer behaviour. Therefore, this essay will argue that consumers are not perfectly rational agents, aimed at maximizing expected utility with each transaction. Rather, humans have inherent limitations to their information processing abilities leading to the development of cognitive biases and heuristics, which help them make decision faster and more efficient. This ability, however, comes at the cost of making suboptimal decision. To illustrate the point and to compare and contrast both models of rationality, we will use a practical example of a car purchase throughout the essay. Lastly, will investigate further factors, both internal and external, which have been shown to have an impact on buying behaviour.
Carl would then have the capacity to analyse the entire information and synthesise it into an actionable decision. However, research has shown that this is highly idealistic and non applicable, indicating a considerable deviation from rationality (Kahneman and Tversky, 1982). Buying a new car has received a lot of attention in the consumer research literature. Because of the large purchase price of a new car, one would expect a considerable time investment for external information gathering and a sophisticated decision making processes. Surprisingly, research in consumer behaviour portrays consistent findings that pre-purchase search activity is grossly limited (Beatty and Smith, 1987), contradicting the notion of the rational choice theory. Behavioural economists argue that the rationality concept is deeply flawed, highlighting numerous problems involved with its underlying assumptions (Tversky and Kahneman, 1974). Firstly, the perfectly rational human is presumed to possess knowledge of all relevant aspects in his environment, which, if not absolute complete, is at least astonishingly comprehensive. He is assumed to have a perfectly coordinated system of preferences and outstanding computational capabilities, enabling him to choose an action from a whole multitude, which will “permit him to reach the highest attainable point on his preference scale” (Simon, 1955). This is highly problematic, as no human possesses all the knowledge and information useful for a decision. Also, due to the limited capacity of cognitive processes regarding computational and predictive functions, genuine human rationality can at best be an “extremely crude and simplified approximation” of the perfect rationality that is assumed (Simon, 1955). There is a substantial lack of evidence that complex computations can be performed in the actual process of decision making. It therefore seems quite reasonable to examine the possibility that the decision making process is quite different from the one that the rational choice theory portrays (Simon, 1955). We can therefore conclude with a high degree of certainty that the rational choice theory is not the most useful framework for describing the process of decision making and buyers should not be seen as fully rational agents, aimed at maximizing expected utility.
In reality, human beings are quite different. Their cognitive capabilities are limited. Full rationality requires unlimited cognitive capabilities, which contradicts the structure of our brain. For this reason, the decision-making behaviour of human beings cannot conform to the ideal of full rationality (Gigerenzer and Selten, 2002). Herbert Simon (1955) introduced a new concept that challenged the preceding model of human rationality as understood by the rational choice theory. He coined it bounded rationality. According to him, rationality is bounded, as there are always limits to time, our thinking capacity and the information available (Simon, 1982). It offers an alternative framework for exploring the decision making process, which embraces the boundaries of human information processing (Mueller and de Haan, 2009).
“ Broadly stated, the task is to replace the global rationality of economic man with a kind of rational behaviour that is compatible with the access to information and the computational capacities that are actually possessed by organisms, including man, in the kinds of environments in which such organisms exist ” (Simon, 1955).
The reality is that in most of our day to day lives, we don’t have the full information available to us to make fully informed rational maximizing choices. We live in a world of increasing complexity, information failures and information gaps. A world filled with lots of constraints. According to Herbert Simon (1955), instead of searching for an alternative that maximizes expected utility, humans use a different strategy to compensates for the limits of our brains and the environmental constraints. Simon called this strategy "satisficing" (a combination of satisfy and suffice). In this strategy, the search process goes on until a satisfactory alternative is found that reaches or surpasses an a priori established aspiration level on a specific goal variable, and then this alternative is taken. Good decisions are regarded as such in regards to the costs and constraints involved (Johnson, 2012). Decision-makers in this paradigm perform as satisficers who can only seek a satisfactory solution, lacking the ability and resources to arrive at the optimal one. Instead of doing all the equations and working everything out before they make a choice, people rely on heuristics (Tversky and Kahneman, 1974). Research has provided strong evidence to believe that decision making is influenced by heuristics rather than analytical logical reasoning (Kahneman, 2003a). Judgment and decisions are therefore dependent on a scarce amount of data, strongly influenced by unconscious mental biases (Tversky and Kahneman, 1974). Let us once more explore the case of Carl, who is searching to buy a car with a budget of €10.000 - this time from the perspective of bounded rationality. From it follows that Carl would not be looking to maximize Expected Utility (EU). Instead, he would search through available alternatives until a specific acceptable threshold is met - i.e. he finds a “good enough” alternative that would satisfy his criteria, taking into account the information, time and cognitive resources he has. Carl would look for a satisfactory decision, rather then a maximal one. Because his information and time is limited, we could assume that Carl would limit his criteria for buying a car to only include the most important components: Price, Reliability, Safety and Power. Based on his own preferences, he would set a predetermined cut-off value for each component and start researching information in contemporary car journals. He would then look for an alternative that is Satisfactory (S), taking into account the amount of time invested (time) and the amount of information researched (information). Carl would then proceed to select the first alternative that satisfies all of his predetermined cut-off values.
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Are Holland, Michigan's Heated Sidewalks "Intelligent Infrastructure"?
Years ago, a small town in Michigan, best known for its annual tulip festival, diverted waste heat from its power plant into pipes that run under streets and sidewalks in the central business district. For generations Hollanders have appreciated their forefathers' prescient decisions, especially in hard, freezing winters with their Lake Effect snow storms.
Much of the snowmelt system was installed in 1988 during the reconstruction of the downtown streets and sidewalks. This project, known as "streetscape", was already planned to spruce up the downtown with additional parking, attractive lighting, seating, flower boxes, etc. A large private donation got the snowmelt portion of the project off its feet and the piping and tubing were installed while the streets and sidewalks were torn up.
Thanks to the underground pipes, no matter how cold it gets, the sidewalks stay clear and dry, all because someone was thoughtful enough to use an industrial by-product that other towns blithely discarded.
At the end of 2008, Sierra Club filed suit in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids, alleging the existing plant has violated the federal Clean Air Act. The suit claims the Holland Board of Public Works, which operates the plant, has made modifications it over 40 years to keep it operating without installing required modern controls that would limit emissions of carbon dioxide, sulfur oxide, nitrogen oxide and other pollutants.
This early decision, which lead to the installation of 120 miles of tubes, have [sic] kept downtown Holland alive, even as towns of similar size have been decimated, with shops decamping to nearby malls.
Holland is not like towns of similar size. This place is rich. For over a century it has been a summer playground for the rich of Chicago, who came across by private yacht. It is in the middle of some of the most successful industries in America, including Herman Miller and Amway. It is a big tourist center. You probably can't walk down that main street in the summertime for all the crowds, and a heated sidewalk isn't doing a whole lot then.
The hot water system is a lovely and convenient thing, but it didn't keep the town from being "decimated". The town had three million bucks in 1988 to fix up its sidewalks and a generous donor who put a big private investment into the public realm, (a rare and wonderful event) and it is kept warm by the filthiest of fuels. That is hardly a demonstration of what Smart Planet calls "Intelligent Infrastructure."
And don't get me started about that outdoor gas fireplace that Sally refers to in the Metropolis article; it's no better than the outdoor patio heaters that should be banned for burning fossil fuels and creating greenhouse gases because people don't have the brains to go inside. Heating the outdoors is not smart infrastructure.
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Field Marshal Sir Alured Clarke (24 November 1744 – 16 September 1832) was a British army officer.
The Ambela Campaign (also called Umbeyla; Umbeylah; Ambeyla) in 1863 was one of many expeditions in the border area between the Emirate of Afghanistan and the Punjab Province of British India (this area was formally renamed to North-West Frontier Province in 1901, present-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa); this campaign was against local Pashtuns of Yusufzai tribes of the border region between British India and Afghanistan.
Arthur Percy Sullivan, VC (Art Piaras Ó Súilleabháin; 27 November 1896 – 9 April 1937) was a banker, soldier, and an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
As the Crow Flies is a novel by Jeffrey Archer.
Üsküdar, traditionally known in Italian and English as Scutari (Σκουτάριον in Greek), is a large and densely populated district and municipality of Istanbul, Turkey, on the Anatolian shore of the Bosphorus.
Sir Banastre Tarleton, 1st Baronet, GCB (21 August 175415 January 1833) was a British soldier and politician.
The Second Battle of Copenhagen (or the Bombardment of Copenhagen) (16 August – 5 September 1807) was a British bombardment of the Danish capital, Copenhagen in order to capture or destroy the Dano-Norwegian fleet, during the Napoleonic Wars.
The Battle of Cowpens, fought on January 17, 1781, was an engagement between American Colonial forces under Brigadier General Daniel Morgan and British forces under Sir Banastre Tarleton, as part of the campaign in the Carolinas (North and South).
The Battle of Guilford Court House was a battle fought on March 15, 1781, at a site which is now in Greensboro, the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, during the American Revolutionary War.
The Battle of Kandahar, 1 September 1880, was the last major conflict of the Second Anglo-Afghan War.
The Battle of Landen or Neerwinden was fought in present-day Belgium on 29 July 1693 during the Nine Years' War.
The Battle of Quebec (French: Bataille de Québec) was fought on December 31, 1775, between American Continental Army forces and the British defenders of Quebec City early in the American Revolutionary War.
The Battle of Steenkerque (Steenkerque also spelled Steenkerke or Steenkirk) was fought on 3 August 1692, as a part of the Nine Years' War.
The Battle of Vigo Bay, also known as the Battle of Rande, was a naval engagement fought on 23 October 1702 during the opening years of the War of the Spanish Succession.
The Battle of Walcourt was fought on 25 August 1689 during the Nine Years' War.
Camden is a city in Kershaw County, South Carolina, United States.
Cavalry Barracks is a British Army installation located north of Hounslow Heath in Hounslow, west London.
Chancery Lane is a London Underground station in Holborn in Central London, in the ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London.
Brigadier General Charles FitzClarence (8 May 1865 – 12 November 1914) was an Anglo-Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
Charles Graham Robertson VC MM (4 July 1879 – 10 May 1954) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
Lieutenant General Charles O'Hara, 1st Baron Tyrawley (died 9 June 1724) was an Irish soldier known for his service with the British Army.
Charlotte is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina.
Major General Colin George Donald, CB, CBE (18 September 1854 – 31 October 1939) was a British Army officer who became colonel of the Royal Fusiliers.
East Ham is a district of the London Borough of Newham, England, 8 miles (12.8 km) northeast of Charing Cross.
Field Marshal Sir Edward Blakeney (26 March 1778 – 2 August 1868) was a British Army officer.
Brigadier-General Edward Fitzpatrick (died 10 November 1696) was an English Army officer who became colonel of the Ordnance Regiment.
Between 1866 and 1871, the Fenian raids of the Fenian Brotherhood, an Irish Republican organization based in the United States, on British army forts, customs posts and other targets in Canada, were fought to bring pressure on Britain to withdraw from Ireland.
Flintlock is a general term for any firearm that uses a flint striking ignition mechanism.
Fort Bowyer was a short-lived earthen and stockade fortification that the United States Army erected in 1813 on Mobile Point, near the mouth of Mobile Bay in what is now Baldwin County, Alabama, but then was part of the Mississippi Territory.
Fort Chambly is a historic fort in La Vallée-du-Richelieu Regional County Municipality, Quebec.
Fort Clinton (demolished) was one of a pair of American Revolutionary War fortifications located at the confluence of the Popolopen Creek and the Hudson River.
Fort Montgomery is a fortification built in 1776 by the Continental Army on West Bank of the Hudson River during the American Revolution.
Major-General Francis David Rome (1905–1985) was Commandant of the British Sector in Berlin.
Frederick William Palmer (11 November 1891 – 10 September 1955) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
The Fusilier Brigade was an administrative formation of the British Army from 1958 to 1968.
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General Sir George Brown, (3 July 1790 – 27 August 1865) was a British soldier notable for commands in the Peninsular War and the Crimean War.
Field Marshal George Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney, KT (9 February 1666 – 29 January 1737), styled Lord George Hamilton from 1666 to 1696, was a British soldier and Scottish nobleman and the first British Army officer to be promoted to the rank of field marshal.
George Jarratt VC (20 July 1891 – 3 May 1917) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
Admiral George Legge, 1st Baron Dartmouth PC (c. 1647 – 1691) was an English naval commander who gave distinguished service to both Charles II and James II.
Georgetown is the third oldest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina and the county seat of Georgetown County, in the Lowcountry.
The Gunboat War (1807–1814) was the naval conflict between Denmark–Norway and the British Navy during the Napoleonic Wars.
Henry Mitchell Jones VC, also known as Henry Michael Jones (11 February 1831 – 18 December 1916) was an Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
High Holborn is a street in Holborn and Farringdon Without, Central London, which forms a part of the A40 route from London to Fishguard.
Holborn is a district in the London boroughs of Camden and City of Westminster and a locality in the ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London.
Holland is a region and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands.
Honi soit qui mal y pense (UK: or US) is a French maxim used as the motto of the British chivalric Order of the Garter.
Major General James Francis Harter DSO MC (1888–1960) was a British Army officer who became colonel of the Royal Fusiliers.
Field Marshal James O'Hara, 2nd Baron Tyrawley and 1st Baron Kilmaine, PC (1682 – 14 July 1774), was an Irish officer in the British Army.
The Jewish Legion (1917–1921) is an unofficial name used to refer to five battalions of Jewish volunteers, the 38th to 42nd (Service) Battalions of the Royal Fusiliers, raised in the British Army to fight against the Ottoman Empire during the First World War.
General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, 1st Prince of Mindelheim, 1st Count of Nellenburg, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, (26 May 1650 – 16 June 1722 O.S.) was an English soldier and statesman whose career spanned the reigns of five monarchs.
John Molyneux VC (22 November 1890 – 25 March 1972) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
General John Mostyn (c.1709 – 16 February 1779) was a British soldier, MP and colonial administrator.
General Sir Kenneth Thomas Darling (17 September 1909 – 31 October 1998) was a senior British Army officer who, after serving with distinction during the Second World War, later served as Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of Allied Forces Northern Europe from 1967 to 1969.
General Lord Robert Bertie (14 November 1721 – 10 March 1782) was a senior British Army officer and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1751 to 1782.
The matchlock was the first mechanism invented to facilitate the firing of a hand-held firearm.
Matthew Hughes VC (1822 – 9 January 1882) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
Maurice James Dease VC (28 September 1889 – 23 August 1914) was a British Army officer during the First World War.
A musket is a muzzle-loaded, smoothbore long gun that appeared in early 16th century Europe, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating heavy armor.
Lieutenant Colonel Neville Bowes Elliott-Cooper, (22 January 1889 – 11 February 1918) was a British Army officer and an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
The Nine Years' War (1688–97) – often called the War of the Grand Alliance or the War of the League of Augsburg – was a conflict between Louis XIV of France and a European coalition of Austria, the Holy Roman Empire, the Dutch Republic, Spain, England and Savoy.
The North Russia Intervention, also known as the Northern Russian Expedition, the Archangel Campaign, and the Murman Deployment, was part of the Allied Intervention in Russia after the October Revolution.
The pals battalions of World War I were specially constituted battalions of the British Army comprising men who had enlisted together in local recruiting drives, with the promise that they would be able to serve alongside their friends, neighbours and colleagues ("pals"), rather than being arbitrarily allocated to battalions.
Pink Floyd – The Wall is a 1982 British live-action/animated musical drama film directed by Alan Parker with animated segments by political cartoonist Gerald Scarfe, and is based on the 1979 Pink Floyd album of the same name.
Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, (Edward Augustus; 2 November 1767 – 23 January 1820) was the fourth son and fifth child of Britain's king, George III, and the father of Queen Victoria.
Prince George, Duke of Kent, (George Edward Alexander Edmund; 20 December 1902 – 25 August 1942) was the fourth son of King George V and Queen Mary.
A public school in England and Wales is a long-established, student-selective, fee-charging independent secondary school that caters primarily for children aged between 11 or 13 and 18, and whose head teacher is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC).
Brigadier Reginald Howlett CBE DSO MC (1882 – 20 October 1942) was a British Army officer who became colonel of the Royal Fusiliers.
General Sir Reginald Seaburne May, (10 August 1879 – 26 October 1958) was a British Army officer who served as Quartermaster-General to the Forces.
Major-General Sir Reginald John Pinney, KCB (2 August 1863 – 18 February 1943) was a British Army officer who served as a divisional commander during the First World War.
The Regulation Colours are the standard colours used in the armed forces of the countries falling under the Commonwealth of Nations.
General Richard Airey, 1st Baron Airey (April 180314 September 1881), known as Sir Richard Airey between 1855 and 1876, was a senior British Army officer of the 19th century.
Lieutenant General Richard Prescott (1725–1788) was a British officer, born in England.
General Sir Richard Wilbraham (12 April 1811 – 30 April 1900) was a British Army officer who became colonel of the Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment).
Captain Robert Gee (7 May 1876 – 2 August 1960) was an English-Jewish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
George Roger Waters (born 6 September 1943) is an English songwriter, singer, bassist, and composer.
The town of Rota is a Spanish municipality located in the Province of Cádiz, Andalusia.
The Royal Fusiliers War Memorial is a memorial in London that was erected in 1922 and is dedicated to the almost 22,000 soldiers of the Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) who died during the First World War, including the units that served with the North Russia Relief Force until 1919.
The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers is an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Queen's Division.
Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu is a city in eastern Montérégie in the Canadian province of Quebec, about southeast of Montreal.
General Sir Samuel Benjamin Auchmuty (28 April 1780 – 30 April 1868) was an Anglo-Irish soldier.
Samuel George Pearse, VC, MM (16 July 1897 – 29 August 1919) was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
Sidney Frank Godley VC (14 August 1889 – 29 June 1957) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
In the Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo, (7–20 January 1812) the Viscount Wellington's Anglo-Portuguese Army besieged the city's French garrison under General of Brigade Jean Léonard Barrié.
The 1695 Siege of Namur or Second Siege of Namur took place during the Nine Years' War between 2 July to 4 September 1695.
The Sportsman's Battalions, also known as the 23rd (Service) Battalion and 24th (Service) Battalion (2nd Sportsman's), Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) were among the Pals battalions formed by the British Army in the early stages of the First World War (1914–1918).
The Final Cut is the twelfth studio album by the English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released on 21 March 1983 by Harvest Records in the United Kingdom and on 2 April by Columbia Records in the United States.
The Northern Echo is a regional daily morning newspaper, based in the town of Darlington in North East England; serving County Durham and Teesside.
Thomas Elsdon Ashford (1859 – 21 February 1913) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
Surgeon Major Thomas Egerton Hale VC CB (24 September 1832 – 25 December 1909) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
In July 1779, British Major General William Tryon and 2600 men embarked onto a Royal Navy fleet led by Admiral George Collier, and raided the Connecticut ports of New Haven, Fairfield and Norwalk.
The Province of Upper Canada (province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees of the United States after the American Revolution.
The Volturno Line (also known as the Viktor Line) was a German defensive position in Italy during the Italian Campaign of World War II.
Major General Walter Pitts Hendy Hill CB CMG DSO (10 June 1877 – 1942) was a British Army officer who became colonel of the Royal Fusiliers.
Walter Napleton Stone VC (7 December 1891 – 30 November 1917) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
General William Gordon (1736 – 25 May 1816), of Fyvie, was a British general and courtier.
Lieutenant General William Hargrave (died 21 January 1751) was a British Army officer and Governor of Gibraltar.
Colonel William Hope VC (12 April 1834 – 17 December 1909) was a Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
William Norman VC (1832 – 13 March 1896) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
Winnsboro is a town in Fairfield County, South Carolina, United States.
The 111th Brigade was a formation of the British Army during the First World War.
The 124th Brigade was a formation of the British Army during the First World War.
The 167th (1st London) Brigade was an infantry formation of the British Territorial Army that saw active service in both the First and Second World Wars.
The 17th Indian Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the Indian Army during World War II.
The 17th Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the British Army which provided active service in the Second Boer War and both the First and Second World Wars.
The 18th (Eastern) Division was an infantry division of the British Army formed in September 1914 during the First World War as part of the K2 Army Group, part of Lord Kitchener's New Armies.
1st (City of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers) was an infantry battalion in the British Army.
The 25th (Frontiersmen) Service Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) was a British Army unit that served during World War I. It was raised by the Legion of Frontiersmen.
The 29th Division, known as the Incomparable Division, was an infantry division of the British Army, formed in early 1915 by combining various Regular Army units that had been acting as garrisons around the British Empire.
2nd (City of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers) was an infantry battalion of the British Army.
The 33rd Division was a New Army infantry division of the British Army formed in 1914 during the First World War as the 40th Division in the K5 Army group then renumbered in April 1915 as part of the new K4 Army Group.
The 41st Division was an infantry division of the British Army, raised during World War I as part of Lord Kitchener's New Armies.
The 54th Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Army that saw active service in both the First and Second World Wars.
The 73rd Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the British Army that served in both World War I and World War II.
The 80th Infantry (Reserve) Division was an infantry division of the British Army formed at the beginning of 1943, during the Second World War.
The 86th Brigade was a formation of the British Army.
The 98th Brigade was a formation of the British Army during the First World War.
The 99th Brigade was a formation of the British Army during the First World War.
The 9th Infantry Brigade was a Regular Army infantry brigade of the British Army that saw active service during both the First and Second World Wars.
2nd Royal Fusiliers, 7th (Derbyshire) Regiment of Foot, 7th (Royal Fusiliers) Regiment of Foot, 7th Foot, 7th Fusiliers, 7th Regiment of Foot, 7th Regiment of Foot (Royal Fusiliers), City of London Regiment, Fusiliers Museum (London), Royal Fusilier, Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment), Royal Fusilliers, The Royal Fusiliers, The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment).
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Buenos Aires - Argentina's former president Cristina Kirchner was charged in yet another corruption investigation Monday, in this case over the fraudulent import of liquid gas.
Caracas - Juan Guaido proudly calls himself a "survivor," and he proved just that in defying the threat of arrest to make a triumphant return to Venezuela on Monday.
Caracas - World powers are taking sides in the struggle between the rivals to lead Venezuela, which has pitted some Western nations against Russia, China and others.
Sansalvador - Nayib Bukele is favored to win El Salvador's presidency when voters head to the polls on Sunday, as the country grapples with violence, corruption, poverty and an exodus of migrants seeking to reach the United States.
Maduro vs. Guaido: Who is backing whom?
Caracas - Venezuela has been receiving massive attention from the international community since National Assembly chief Juan Guaido declared himself acting interim president of Venezuela.
Tegucigalpa - Thousands of people took to the streets across Honduras on Sunday to protest against the president a year after his controversial inauguration.
Caracas - The political crisis in Venezuela has intensified since Juan Guaido proclaimed himself acting president, but what happens next depends on the United States and the Venezuelan military.
Caracas - By declaring himself acting president, Venezuela's opposition leader Juan Guaido sparked a leadership battle with the head of state, Nicolas Maduro.
Caracas - Juan Guaido proudly calls himself a "survivor.
Caracas - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro will begin his second mandate on Thursday plagued by accusations of illegitimacy and increasing international isolation in a country crippled by an economic crisis.
Bras - On the eve of taking office as Brazil's new president on Tuesday, Jair Bolsonaro is making clear he intends to implement the far-right agenda he promised during his election campaign.
Rio De Janeiro - Brazil is about to experience its moment of truth with its new president, Jair Bolsonaro, who takes power on Tuesday as an untested leader vowing a crackdown on crime and corruption and ideological opposition to the left.
La Paz - Bolivian President Evo Morales is forging on in his bid to win a fourth term in next year's elections, despite mounting opposition against a move branded unconstitutional.
- Shaken by a string of high-profile corruption scandals, Peruvians overwhelmingly approved a government overhaul that among other things sends all members of Congress packing by mid-2021.
- Shaken by a string of high-profile corruption scandals, Peruvians overwhelmingly approved a government overhaul that among other things sends all members of Congress packing by 2021.
Caracas - Venezuelans stayed away in droves Sunday from municipal elections, handing a victory to the ruling party -- but with just 27 percent turnout.National Electoral Council chair Tibisay Lucena put the rate of abstention at 72.6 percent.
Caracas - Analysts were expecting a record low voter turnout Sunday in Venezuela's municipal council elections, a vote in which opposition parties were banned from participating.
La Paz - Thousands of people took part in protest marches across Bolivia on Thursday amid a general strike called by opponents of President Evo Morales' bid for a fourth term.
Seville - A far-right party won seats in a Spanish regional parliament for the first time since the country returned to democracy following the death of longtime dictator Francisco Franco in 1975, results in Andalusia's election showed.
Seville - Spain's most populous region Andalusia went to the polls yesterday in the first of a series of tests for Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
Madrid - Spain's Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez faces his first test at the ballot box on Sunday in regional polls in Andalusia which will kick off a series of elections in the country.
Rio De Janeiro - Far-right President-elect Jair Bolsonaro promised in his victory speech Sunday to "change Brazil's destiny," after campaigning on a hardline law-and-order platform.
S - Fernando Haddad is the last hope for those dreading a far-right win in Brazil's presidential election Sunday, but the measured university professor lacks the charisma of his mentor, ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
S - Brazil's presidential candidates made their final push for voters Saturday, with pitches that echoed the gulf between them: leftist Fernando Haddad held a "peace rally" in the favelas, while far-right frontrunner Jair Bolsonaro took to Twitter.
S - Fernando Haddad is the last hope for those dreading a far-right win in Brazil's presidential election, but the measured university professor lacks the charisma of his mentor, ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Mexico - Mexico's incoming leftist government of President-Elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Thursday opened polls for a referendum on whether or not to keep building a controversial new airport for the capital area.
S - It took three gunshots to change Katia Sastre's life, turning the police officer first into a heroine and then one of the most successful politicians in Brazil's general election.
Rio De Janeiro - Right-wing Brazilian presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro once said he'd rather have a dead son than one who came out of the closet, but that isn't stopping conservative gay voters from backing him in Sunday's decisive election run-off.
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What would you do if every door you tried to open was locked, but yet you had the key to unlock it and for some reason it won't open that door. I tell myself I have to keep trying because eventually that door will open. I know that my world is behind those doors in many more ways than one, but trying to bully off the weight that holds us down is very hard at times. I can imagine how difficult it is to keep a focused mind during moments like these, and this may be some of our weaknesses that come forward. At least for me it is anyway. I guess this is just me venting and getting it all off my chest, or some cheap cry for help in my own silly way, but I know that as each day goes by, I focus on the great things in my life, and all the beautiful music and art to keep my smile alive. As I continue forward, I focus on everything to keep it real, and to express the real pain, stress and emotions have so much power sometimes. I will climb this hill and I will get on top.
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Verify if the given text is NOT present anywhere in the page source.
text String Required Text to be verified if NOT presenting anywhere in the page source.
You want to verify if the text “Login unsuccessfully” is not present in the current page.
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Weekly Box Office Round-Up: Gone Girl Finds its Cash!
This week the new releases were Gone Girl and Annabelle. I had said that I thought Gone Girl would be #1 with Annabelle at #2. Let's take a look at this past week's box office.
In first place this week was Gone Girl and there was little doubt in my mind that it would be number one, but what did surprise me was by how little it beat Annabelle. It broke all sorts of records, making it director David Fincher's biggest weekend opening ever. I did not get a chance to see the film yet but hopefully I'll be able to see it this upcoming weekend with a review shortly after.
In second place was the Conjuring-prequel Annabelle. Like I said above, I was surprised by how little Gone Girl beat this movie by, only making $378,854 more than Annabelle. I think this movie will last a little while on the top 5, despite mixed reviews. It's the really the only horror film out now and it already has a fan base coming off the well-received movie The Conjuring.
In third place is the Denzel Washington led film The Equalizer. Last week, the film was in first place, so it makes sense that it would take third place this week. I think it will stay in the top 5 for a couple more weeks, holding out in the lower ranks as bigger releases come our way.
In fourth place this week is the animated kids film The Box Trolls. Last week it was in third place. I think next week it will be in fifth and then drop out of the top 5 as it is replaced with bigger releases. We'll have to wait and see what happens.
In fifth place this week is the young adult book-adaptation The Maze Runner. On its third week it has already dropped to fifth place. I had said when it first came out that I didn't think it would last long in the top 5 and I'm betting that it won't be on the list next week.
To re-cap, #1 was Gone Girl, #2 was Annabelle, #3 was The Equalizer, #4 was The Boxtrolls and #5 was The Maze Runner.
Next week, Dracula Untold, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day and The Judge open. I think Gone Girl will still be number one with Dracula Untold at #2.
What do you think of this week's box office? What will be #1 next week? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.
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My ancestor Peter Goehle was born in Herrnsheim in 1852. He immigrated to New York City in 1873. Peter was the son of Louise Harbauer (the daughter of Laurenz Harbaurer) and Franz Goehle (both born in Herrnseim). Laurenz Harbauer was the son of Wendelin Harbauer and Franziska Heyl (born 1753).
"Hans Heyl zu Herrnsheim und seine Ehefrau Maria bekunden, dass sie dem Hans Jakob und seiner Ehefrau Elisabeth zu Herrnsheim fr 10 Gulden 2/3 Ackerland am Mittelweg zwischen Johann Krumbcher, Schulthei, und Peter Decker verkauft haben - Zeugen: Georg Hanheimer, des Gerichts, und Niklaus Becker, der Gemeinde 1642-09-08"
As Peter points out this records indicates that the Heyls were "an old family in this area".
*I had originally translate this as "brought from". In November 2016 Gerhard Redecker wrote that it should read "sold to".
Note: This is based on the death of the widow Anna Maria Hail in 1726 age 70 and the limited number of records for the name in the parish.
Occupation: From the church records - Scabini - which the German Research Companion by Shirley J Riemer translates as "juror".
According to the Worms Archive Report of 2007 Franz Heyl's occupation was verwalter which the German Research Companion by Shirley J Riemer translates as "administrator". While the church records continue to list the occupation of Franz Heyl's son, Philippi, as scabini the Worms Archive Report lists his occupation as Schöffe which they translated as "Juror".
1736, Elizabeth filiola D Francisco Hail proctor loci witness to baptism of Marie Elizabeth Bech Posthuma ligitima filia of Francisco Bech and Barbara 15-15 March 1736. See also his daughter Maria Elizabeth as a witness in 1736.
Note: I am unsure who Anna Catherine Vogt was. Is it possible that it was Gertrude's mother?
Christopher Holtzemer: Peter Schulz says that Christopher Holtzemer was the son of Philippi Holzemer and his wife, Marie Agnetes. Their daughter Catherine Elizabeth Holzemer (b. 1723) married Joh. Heinrich Schoembs in Herrnsehim. They are included in the Schembs family tree.
Andrianus Holtzemer of Christopher and Catherine 19-20 November 1739 witness Andreanus Schaffer canpona ad galleim gallen aciemi hie ???
Note: Andrian Schaffer was the husband of Anna Catherine's sister, Catherine Elizabeth. See Catherine Elizabeth Heyl and Adrian Schaffer below.
Marriage: Widow Jacobus Gehlen to virgini "Mia" [Maria] Margarethe Holzemer d of Christopher Holzemer and Anna Catherine (wife) witnesses Christopher Holzemer sponsa patri [the engaged female's father] and Mathias Wenesheimer July 20, 1779.
Marriage: Gertrude Hial daughter of D Francisco Hail victoris et scabini and Gertrude to bachelor Joannes Adam Holzemer son of Philippi Holzemer victore 1732 day month, witness Christopher Holzemer and Philippi Henrici Conrad.
Note: Gertrude's sister Anna Catherine was married to Christopher Holzemer, son of Philippi in 1727, see above.
Maria Gertrude of Andrian Schaffer and Catherine Elizabeth 10-11 September 1742 witness Gertrude Hail(in) wife of Domini Francisco Hail pratoras. Note: Gertrude was the grandmother of Maria Gertrude. I have seen this before in German-American records. It shows that it was in practice in this part of Germany also.
Joannes Phillippi Heil of Joannes Hail and Marie Elizabethe 17-18 February 1753, witness Joannes Philippi Pitzheim son of Domini Hardardi Pitzheim m villa Bonheimnes hsi parochia Burstadeanne ???
Children: 1777 and 1779 both children of Henrici Kuhm and Anna Margarethe.
Johann Boxheimer war mit Damian Bildstein (aus 0299) Erbbestä nder auf dem Boxheimer Hof; es ist die Verleihung oder Verpachtung eines Gutes an einen oder mehrere Pächter und seine Erben, dass es wie Eigentum vererbt wird.
Seems that people from Boxheimer Hof had a close relation to Herrnsheim as there were marrying each other from time to time (Hagenauer, Heil, Zipp, Boxheimer, Bildstein...).
Petri Franciscus Hail of Philippi Hail and Anna Margarethe 22 - 23 January 1756, witness Adolescence Petrus Fri--- Wallsruether son of (too dark) Domini consuliary autici Wallsreuther.
1730, Philippi Antonus Becherle of Joannes Becherle and Maria Elizabeth 10-12 July 1730 witness Phillipi Antonio Hale adolescence.
Witness: Elizabeth filiola D Francisco Hail proctor loci witness to baptism of Marie Elizabeth Bech Posthuma ligitima filia of Francisco Bech and Barbara 15-15 March 1736.
Birth: circa 1792 son of Federich Heil per marriage.
Birth: Circa 1843, Hermann Wilhelm Heyl, Worms, son of Daniel Cornelius Heyl (1818-1844) and grandson of Cornelius Heyl (1792-1858). He was the second of three children and when his older brother, Cornelius (1842-1861) died Hermann Wilhem took the name Cornelius. At age 19 he took over his grandfather's leather factory. The company were large scale manufacturers of patent-leather and the largest employer in Worms.
Johann Cornelius Heyl 1721-1779 was the son of Johann Jakob Heyl 1684-1750 and Johanna Marie Printz.
The family was perviously from Bacharach.
"Unquestionably the leading figure of Hessian National Liberalism in the aftermath of 1884 was Cornelius Heyl. Forty-one in the year of Heidelberg, energetic and dedicated in the traditions of reform Protestantism — Laboremus was the family motto he chose — Heyl now commanded a personal influence unmatched in the Grand Duchy by anyone outside of the ducal family and the state administration. In a portrait done a year earlier by the famed painter Franz Lenbach, the man whom his enemies grudgingly called the Grand duke of Worms stares ahead with assurance, his even features firmly set in the manner of an individual who know he is listened to. Heyl was now a notable among notables. In 1884 he purchased the estate of the dukes of Dalberg at Herrnsheim, near Worms, and took up residence in its empire-style palace. In the same year he commissioned a more spacious and elegant home, the Heylshof to be built in the city itself. Thus Heyl already had adopted the style of an aristocrat when, two year later in March 1886, he was elevated to the hereditary nobility by his friend Ludwig IV and given the title Baron von Heyl zu Herrnsheim.
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Say what you will about nips, tucks, and implants, but the popularity of plastic surgery in the US continues to soar.
According to new data provided by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, cosmetic surgery has seen explosive growth in the US. Between 2000 and 2016, there's been 132% more procedures — and that number doesn't include reconstructive surgeries in response to injury, disease, or gender confirmation.
Gains in procedures were modest from 2015 to 2016, however, with a 4% year-over-year increase in cosmetic surgeries (such as liposuction and breast augmentation) and a 3% jump in "minimally invasive" procedures (such as Botox injections and laser hair removal).
While only 10.4% of the 17.2 million total cosmetic procedures in 2016 were surgical, those invasive operations added up to a cost of $8.05 billion, which is nearly half of all money spent that year in the industry.
Here are the most popular invasive procedures Americans had done and how much they spent on them.
Americans spent nearly $1.1 billion on nose-reshaping rhinoplasty in 2016.
While the western US had the most plastic surgeries, the northeast US won out on rhinoplasties.
American men claimed 13% of the 1.65 million invasive plastic surgery procedures in 2016 — a jump of 28% compared to 16 years ago.
The popularity of breast augmentations climbed about 50% from 2000 to 2016, while the number of eyelid surgeries has declined by nearly half.
On average, face-lifts were the most expensive form of cosmetic surgery per procedure.
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What are my current research interests?
Short answer: The wonderful, amazing and beautiful boron hydrides! The boron hydrides – often referred to as the boranes – are polyhedral cluster molecules consisting atoms of boron and hydrogen (like the molecule next to the text, B18H22, green balls = boron, white balls = hydrogen). The boranes do not occur naturally, we have to make them in laboratories like my own (check out the video „Michael’s Boron Lab“ below). This means that in my lab we create new molecules that do not exist elsewhere in the Universe! Many of these new molecules have wonderful properties. Currently, I am interested in how our new boranes interact with light. We have made a whole series of beautifully luminescent boranes (see picture next to text: „Michael’s Magical Luminescent Boranes“), and we have even created the first borane-based laser!
Interesting Borane Bonus Fact: Research into borane chemistry in the Czech Republic began as a Top Secret project during the Cold War. The goal was to use the highly energetic boranes as rocket fuel! (check out the video „Boron Chemistry in the Czech Republic“ video below).
Boron Hydride Cluster Lasers: Unlocking the potential of the boron hydride clusters in the field of fluorescent materials and of laser technology.
Emission from electronically excited species forms the basis for an important class of light sources, that of lasers. Widely tunable, efficient and photostable laser devices have far-reaching implications in many fields ranging from spectroscopy and material processing to underwater communications, biotechnology and medicine, and thus remain an important scientific goal. Until now, most of the attention has been directed towards the development of either organic based materials, such as laser dyes, conjugated polymers and oligomers, or inorganic-based colloidal quantum dots and organic-inorganic halide perovskites. Although highly efficient and tunable emission is readily available from these materials, there are still important drawbacks that limit widespread commercial usage, such as low solubility in common solvents and polymers, low chemical stability and/or photostability and/or lengthy and costly synthetic procedures. In an attempt to overcome the above limitations, and to provide a radically new solution to the demand for blue laser materials, we have turned our attention to the boranes (boron hydrides), a group of inorganic compounds previously unconsidered in laser technology. We have recently described the photophysics of the borane anti-B18H22, revealing it to exhibit an intense blue fluorescence with a quantum yield approaching unity (ΦF = 0.97).1 We have also shown that solutions of anti-B18H22 show laser emission with a good efficiency and an outstanding resistance to photodegradation when compared to commercial organic laser dyes; making it the first laser borane.2 Our current research is expanding on these promising beginnings, seeking to fully understand the potential and limitations of this and other new luminescent borane molecules, and novel borane-capped nandots and nanoparticles at a fundamental level with an aim to maximise laser efficiency and photostability, and offer emission at tunable wavelengths. We intend to achieve these goals by forging a comprehensive understanding of the photophysics and photochemistry of anti-B18H22, and investigating the effect chemical substitutions and derivatizations have on the absorption and emission characteristics of this and related boranes.3-5 Ultimately, the successful completion of these project aims will further the prospects of the boranes as a novel and competitive alternative to present organic laser dyes.
What are the boranes? Boron has one valence electron fewer than its number of valence orbitals. This makes boron the only electron-deficient non-metal, and necessitates hydrides of boron to share electron density in spherically-aromatic delocalized fashions. It does this by forming molecules of polyhedral cluster geometries. These geometries represent an architectural “bridge” in the structural continuum that stretches from the highly condensed clusters adopted by the late transitional metals to the open chains and ring formations found in the hydrocarbons. As chemical and physical behavior is often a function of structure, then the boron hydrides have, with their unique polyhedral molecular geometries, large potential for novel properties. In addition, boron is the only light element with two abundant naturally occurring isotopes, 10B and 11B, providing for interesting nuclear properties unavailable to organic systems. For example, the exceptionally high nuclear cross-section of 10B for the capture of thermal neutrons (over 1000 times that of any of its neighbours) renders boron-containing species as useful neutron absorbers and sensors.
Londesborough, M. G. S. et al., Distinct photophysics of the isomers of B18H22 explained. Chem. 51, 1471-1479 (2012).
Londesborough, M. G. S. et al., A Borane Laser. Nature Communications, 6:5958 (2015).
Londesborough, M. G. S. et al., Tuning the Photophysical Properties of anti-B18H22: Efficient Intersystem Crossing between Excited Singlet and Triplet States in New 4,4′-(HS)2–anti-B18H20. Chem., 52, 9266-9274, (2013).
Londesborough, M. G. S. et al., Thermochromic Fluorescence from B18H20(NC5H5)2: An Inorganic–Organic Composite Luminescent Compound with an Unusual Molecular Geometry. Advanced Optical Materials, 5, 1600694, (2017).
Londesborough, M. G. S. et al., The Interaction of anti-B18H22 with Light, Handbook of Boron Science With Applications in Organometallics, Catalysis, Materials and Medicine Volume 3: Boron in Materials Chemistry, World Scientific (Ed. N. S. Hosmane and R. Eagling), 115-136, (2018).
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How to start engine if keyless entry battery dies?
Another question by the way. I dont see any instruction on how to start your car if any case your keyless entry runs out of battery. Manual says to insert the key into this small pocket but i cant quite figure how exactly to insert the key. Im afraid i might break something.
To unlock the car: go to passenger door and use the key that's inside the FOB.
To start the car: insert the FOB into the FOB holder just above the twin cup holders.
Its a rectangle/hole just big enough for the FOB.
Add: With the metal part of the key facing to the bottom, there's also a hole for the metal part and there's the contact switch <-- at least that's what they told me.
No idea about the metal part and contact switch... I'll peek through the hole this afternoon.
Hmmm, I don't think you need the metal key extended once you open the passenger door with it, you just need the key fob in the center console holder. I have to insert mine key side up because it's on a key ring with the remote start fob attached to it.
That's what I thought too. There's absolutely no way the metal part is going to sit flush in there.
My FOB has a slide out key like a normal car, and it has the lock on the passenger door. Safety measure, and as above you just put the FOB into the holder above the cup holders and it will start like normal.
I can unlock and lock my car from a fair distance, not sure how far 50ft is.
Unfortunately, my lock/unlock distance isnt too far away - or it needs line of sight to be effective.
The civic I drive could be behind walls at 50ft and still work; not quite so for the mirage.
Someone write a DIY with pics.
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Though self-esteem can be unhelpful.
In particular, beware the false adulterate eyes.
The other side of the coin is everyone else learning ways to communicate and build relationships that respect different levels of comfort or proficiency with small talk.
It is very difficult to find that value neutral question to start a conversation. I have found that if it is at a party or function for someone or for a particular cause to ask "What is your relationship to x?" and that is usually pretty safe, and they have to answer with more than yes or no and that provides something to build on. People are often happy to talk about their own lives if you can get onto something that is important to them (not too confidential). Once you have got that far you can get on to politics.
I started a conversation tonight with 'sorry, I'm terrible with names...' He'd forgotten mine too, so it was sweet.
This is almost therapuetic. I thought I was the only one who has troubles with small talk (medium talk is ok; big talk is great). My daughter increasingly comments on my social awkwardness but there are situations that resemble hell eg meeting MPs or, recently, making a hurried tour of the Home & Garden Show. My strategy: walk quickly, avoid all eye contact, reject all offers to sell you dodgy kitchen gadgets or spa pools.
I have found that if it is at a party or function for someone or for a particular cause to ask "What is your relationship to x?" and that is usually pretty safe, and they have to answer with more than yes or no and that provides something to build on.
What I would really, really love to be able to do is hostess properly. Shush. I mean, introduce people who don't know each other with a little one-sentence snippet about each person that leaves them with something to talk about. I can work out when people I know will hit it off, but I'd like to be able to help.
I would love to be able to do that. Tricky part is getting them into the same place at the same time, when it is quiet enough for each to hear the other. Unfortunately, they might also dislike each other on sight.
And without revealing in that one sentence something they would rather not have publicised. As in, "This is Garth, he has a wonderful model train set in his garage".
Ben, I like what you're saying and it makes a lot of sense to me. Trouble is, it runs completely counter to my own experience. For one thing, I find learning foreign languages infinitely easier than making small talk in English. I'm quite happy reading newspapers and novels and textbooks and poetry in French and Chinese, but I need to know somebody reasonably well before I can converse easily with them. And I'm pretty sure it took me until university to learn how to converse in English.
In my work life, I learned to deal with my social awkwardness by acting, creating a "social Chris" persona that I put out there to deal with my colleagues. Trouble is I have to do that in two languages, often simultaneously, but it works. It drains me, but it gets the job done. With my students, the teacher-student relationship/divide helps immeasurably.
Outside of work social interactions can be quite fraught. My Chinese-language self reminds me a lot of my 12-year-old English-language self, in that I find it incredibly difficult to take part in conversations. I know I'm supposed to, and in theory I know what is supposed to happen, but there is some mental block that I'm still trying to work through. It drives my wife nuts in the same way and for the same reasons I drove my parents nuts when I was a kid, but there you go, there's me. I can still be very awkward in English, even more so in Chinese. In fact, I'm pretty confident I'd find it easier to learn Mongolian to the point where I could read the Secret History than properly learn this small talk/social interaction thing.
Shared too much, perhaps, but that seems to be a common problem around these parts.
I mention this because I got two good friends together finally and they had a nice chat in the rain in a Cuba Street carpark about Foucault and Marx, because the topic was so interesting and there are not many people who share the passion.
Emma Hart: I loved this piece; TMI are my middle initials. Why have a conversation if it's not a real one?
@Isabel Hitchings: I agree, competitive parenting is so vile.
What would be some good ice breakers that aren’t of the How are you?, What do you do variety?
I’ve long suspected Laurie Anderson must be a gas at cocktail parties. Que es mas macho iceberg or volcano?
The worse small talk starter ever (and one I use distastefully often) is "And what do you do?" How the hell do you answer that?
If you ask this of someone like me, for whom parenting is my primary occupation, you are going to come away with the perception that I can't talk about anything other than my kids because that is the only opening you've given me. Asking "what are you interested in?" is better.
I frequently get stuck in situations where people blithely assume I agree with them and it often takes quite a while until there is a conversational space where I can put them right by which stage saying what I really think is impossible without being horribly rude. I find this utterly perplexing as I never assume someone shares my opinion without fairly solid evidence.
All my life, I've found other people - inscrutable.
and a very few friends.
and, over the years, have stopped trying at them.
where it involves a majority of people I dont know.
For the record, I've never been to a hair dresser in my life. My mother cut my hair until I was 18 - I've cut it thereafter.
... which largely explains why Craig is yet to be knighted.
I could see how offering to steam clean the head of state's downstairs carpet for a modest fee would put a crimp in that ambition.
What I would really, really love to be able to do is hostess properly.
It's a skill, most certainly. But there's small talk in it. Introducing people to the next love of their life might involve wading through the shallows. It seems like a very meaningful activity to me.
and not mention putting a crimp in it.
royals are just so entitled, eh.
But this was my first professional colour, so the first time I'd been in the salon for two hours. My tweets became increasingly desperate.
I cannot emphasise strongly enough that no matter how good the salon's espresso machine is, you should UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES drink coffee the entire time. Not unless you enjoy buzzing round like a toddler who has just had its very first raspberry popsicle while your friends laugh hysterically.
Also, hair salons tend to have way better trashy magazines than dentists.
Okay, this has made me think. Everyone is, at some stage, strangers to each other. So how have you initiated your friendships? Have others initiated, or have you made the first move? Did someone introduce you? I am curious, because I'm thinking about how we make friends. So if you don't do small talk (I'm assuming we mean that initial "Hi, how are you? etc" that people do when they first meet), what does that first blooming of friendship look to many of you?
Yes! Couldn't have said it better myself, Ian.
You can get by without small talk: I've managed to initiate friendships and the like by launching straight into the big talk ("Come on, boffins!") by just being disarming (and slightly charming). It probably is a special skill: years of speech and drama coaching (once again, part of my learning to work with my disability) has been useful, but small talk isn't necessary, just sufficient (for some people).
You could tell them that you will call the person in that seat John regardless of who sits there, then it's up to them if they want to be called by their own names.
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Share an interest in reviving their iconic hotel and region.
We hope you will feel at home in our comfortable surroundings and that you may also feel a part of our bigger picture. Our vision is to embrace the history of this important market gardening area, and to promote both local produce and young local talent. To this end, we endeavor to source the bulk of our produce from the gardeners and artisans in the Uraidla/Summertown/Piccadilly area. We also strive to find our fish, meats and cheeses within South Australia, where possible. Our young people working the floor and bars mostly live locally, and share an interest in reviving their iconic hotel and region.
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The conflict that gave rise to the emergence of William Wallace was a dispute over the throne of Scotland between Baliol and Robert the Bruce that led, after some maneuvering by King Edward 1 of England, to war and submission of Baliol who had aligned himself with the French. In the end, King Edward, also known as Longshanks, for his height, carried away the Scottish throne of stone from Scone and destroyed records pointing to Scottish independence or the inferiority of the English. After Baliol spent a period in the Tower of London he was exiled to France where he died.
Very often a guerrilla leader will arise in circumstances of political turmoil such as conflict on the succession to a throne, the opposing forces of a civil war on the cusp of independence such as China or Angola, or the ethnic Balkanization of Sri Lanka.
Edward then appointed a Governor-General of Scotland and filled as many posts as possible with English immigrants, a template adopted by England throughout the ages to this day in their few tiny remaining far flung possessions. The original Governor-General soon vacated the post leaving the ruthless Chief Justice Ormesby and Lord-Treasurer Cressingham to oppress and loot Scotland, a historical mandate repeated throughout English possessions for centuries. Edward then ordered a further requirement that the landed gentry of Scotland swear allegiance to him under penalty of imprisonment or becoming a fugitive which added to a growing resentment and hatred of the English occupiers.
Here, one of the primary elements of successful guerrilla warfare presented itself, when indigenous people have their land occupied by a foreign or local group that proceeds to regulate and often exploit a newly created and previously peaceful underclass.
The guerrilla leader often begins from nondescript and forgettable beginnings in the context of a single incident before beginning a climb to ultimate leadership. For George Washington it was Trenton, for Mao the Long March and King Ibn Saud, the capture of Masmak Fort in Riyadh.
All accounts tend to culminate with his participation at the Battle of Stirling Bridge preceded by what is often referred to as the rising in Lanark after the killing of the Sherriff.[iv]At this time Wallace who came from a background of some privilege and connections was a fugitive from the authorities not unlike the situation of former political fugitive and later Vietnamese General Vo Nguyen Giap in 1930.[v] They were both strong nationalists that ended up in wars of independence with Giap having the more eventual success.
Shortly after Lanark, anti-English forces within Scotland attracted by the small but bold actions of Wallace, some with petty axes of their own to grind, joined up with Wallace where they proceeded to roam central Scotland in sufficient numbers to win all encounters. At the time, all of Scotland north of the Forth river was depleted of occupation by retreat of the English from attacks by Scots except for Dundee and Stirling which drew the attention of Wallace and his followers to march for a siege on Dundee in August 1297.[vi] The Scottish forces as was common at the time and seen even in present day Syria, was an alliance of forces some with different agendas. The joint force was under the leadership of Wallace and Andrew Moray or Murray which was confirmed by the Lubeck letter sent in both their names as leaders of Scotland.[vii] The Forth was a barrier to the north-east and Stirling was a critical geographical junction for any English army wishing to march on Scotland.
A guerrilla leader draws on small initial successes to gather confidence and spread his fame across the country which is a double-edged sword. The benefit of attracting material support and fighters but increased attention by the prevailing authorities will limit general anonymity or travelling to further the cause. As the resistance group increases so does the number of the hierarchy, which impairs command and control by single decision making.
Wallace halted at the small abbey of Cambuskenneth in a village close to Stirling castle surrounded on three sides by the river Forth across which the English encamped preparing for battle.
Casemate Publishing has acquired the rights to publish Guerrilla Warfare: Kings of Revolution by Peter Polack for its Casemate Short History series. Guerrilla Warfare: Kings of Revolution is a compendium of prominent guerilla leaders worldwide including George Washington, Simon Bolivar, Mao Zedong and King Ibn Saud. The book profiles each leader and analyzes their military strategy for readers interested in biographies, military history or the history of the countries included in the book.
This should prove to be an interesting book. However, I am not convinced that William Wallace was a guerrilla leader – as opposed to being a rebel leader – and the author strikes a rather anti-English tone.
I agree with Polack that hanging, drawing, and quartering was a “vile” method of execution. However, these were viciously violent times, and neither the Scots in general nor Wallace in particular, were especially chivalrous compared to the English.
In 1297, what was English? Polack refers to Edward I appointing "English" bureaucrats to govern Scotland, but the Plantagenets were of French extraction, as were the Balliols and Bruces. The English court would have spoken French or Anglo-Norman, and the same held for the Norman elites of Ireland and Scotland. Since 1066, the Kings of England had relied upon Flemish tradesmen and Flemish mercenaries, and Edward I was no exception. Flemish mercenaries were crucial to Edward I’s conquest of Wales, and he deployed large numbers of Flemings (and Welshmen) against the Scots.
Polack refers to the colonization of English “immigrants” comprising a “template adopted by England throughout the ages to this day in their few tiny remaining far flung possessions”. Not quite. He is gazing at the past through the lens of contemporary nationalism, and while that may be entertaining (e.g. Braveheart), it distorts history. The First Scottish War of Independence was not an example of an indigenous people resisting foreign occupiers, and I have no doubt that many English in 1297 were still smarting from the Norman Conquest and Harrying of the North only two centuries before.
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Research shows Hispanics are more likely to own cell phones and use them more often than the U.S. population overall.
(CNN) -- As the run-up to the 2012 U.S. elections gains momentum, Hispanic Americans may prove to be an especially influential political force. According to a new report, the political mobilization of U.S. Hispanics is an increasingly mobile (as in cell phones) phenomenon.
According to Connected Hispanics and Civic Engagement, published recently by the Hispanic Institute, "The use of cell phones builds upon the cultural affinity for close connections and opens the way for organized political and social action. Three areas in particular demonstrate the power of mobile technology in the Hispanic community: immigration, education and voter registration/mobilization."
The report points out that Hispanics have been leading the U.S. population in terms of embracing mobile technology.
For example, last summer Pew found that more than 87 percent of English-speaking U.S. Hispanics owned a cell phone, vs. 80 percent of non-Hispanic whites. Another Pew study found that, compared to the general American population, Hispanics use their cell phones more often, and they use more features on their phones.
Additionally, Pew found in 2009 that Hispanics were leading other ethnic groups in mobile internet access.
Hispanic mobile civic engagement isn't just limited to smartphones, which so far comprise less than one third of the cell phones in use in the United States. Much of this activity is happening via text messaging, e-mail, the mobile web and social media -- tools available on most "feature phones" (the next step down from smartphones, and usually the most affordable type of cell phone).
For example, the report notes that in 2006 "a group of 4,000 Hispanic high school students used MySpace, e-mails, and texting to organize a walkout in protest. The students' success served as an inspiration for a subsequent major demonstration in April 2006 in Dallas with 350,000 participants."
And in 2009, two immigration advocacy groups (Reform Immigration FOR America and the Fair Immigration Reform Movement coalition), ran a successful text messaging campaign. They sent out simple alerts containing key information, calls to action, and quick responses to breaking news. They gathered feedback via text messaging. Organizers credit this with increased attendance at rallies and hearings in 2009 compared to previous rallies in 2008.
"Once individuals were registered to vote, they were sent numerous text messages to remind them about early voting, voting site locations, availability of transportation to the voting sites, updates about ballot initiatives, and other information. Additionally, voters were given contact information and a central location for in-person contacts. This two-way mobile network allowed voters to access information when it was most convenient to them."
Furthermore, "THI staff were able use text messaging to gauge how many of the newly registered voters had taken part in early voting or were likely to wait until Nov. 2. With this real-time data, THI staff were able to then target particular neighborhoods, and even specific addresses, for additional in-person follow up."
THI believes that mobile apps increasingly will drive Hispanic civic engagement. A 2010 Pew report indicates that U.S. Hispanic smartphone owners are avidly embracing apps, for everything from video sharing to banking and more. And in general, apps are becoming a key tool for all kinds of political and advocacy campaigns -- from candidate-driven to grassroots.
Apps may indeed fuel future Hispanic civic engagement. But if the goal is to reach a large and economically diverse group such as Hispanics, smartphone apps are just one part of an integrated mobile strategy. Other vital components of effective engagement efforts include simpler Java-based apps (designed to run on feature phones via platforms such as Snaptu and GetJar), mobile web sites, social media, e-mail, and text messaging.
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How much should you 'improve' a live recording in the studio?
Live recordings are frequently 'improved' in the studio. But is there a point where improvements should stop?
Amazon in the US doesn't seem to have it at the moment.
In March 1972, Visconti was asked to record a concert given by T. Rex at Wembley Stadium in London. Wembley stadium is England's premier sports stadium so this is clearly a major event. It was to be filmed too - by director Ringo Starr!
Mobile recording was a major project in those days. Today, you can throw enough equipment to record a concert into the boot (trunk) of a car.
Back then, it meant hiring the Rolling Stones' mobile studio, which was built into a huge truck.
Then as now, live recordings are rather different to studio recordings.
First of all, in a modern-day studio recording, the arrangement is generally built up as part of the recording process. Indeed, the song may be written as part of the recording process.
But in a live recording, clearly the band has to know the song already! Obvious perhaps, but it's a major difference in recording technique.
Secondly, since the band is performing in front of an audience, then whatever mistakes they make are going to be printed onto the recording for eternal posterity.
One answer is to use technically great musicians and rehearse to the point where there is no possibility of making a mistake.
But technically great musicians can sometimes be lacking in passion, and over-rehearsal is, artistically, almost as bad as not enough.
So it is likely that there will be mistakes. Small mistakes perhaps that the live audience won't notice, but they will show up in a recording on repeated listening.
One possibility of dealing with these mistakes is to make it clear to the audience that the concert is being recorded and there may be retakes.
Generally this doesn't happen when the audience has paid for their tickets. If it is an invited audience and they see the show for free, then their patience can be tested a little. I've seen this happen and the audience actually loved the idea of being in on the process of making a live recording.
But the T.Rex concert was a regular concert, and there would have been no possibility of this happening.
One is if there is more than one show. If there are two shows, one will be better than the other. That's only natural. So the better show is used for the majority of the recording, and any mistakes are fixed by editing sections from the other.
In an audio-only recording, this is easy, as long as the tuning and tempi match.
In this case, the evening concert sold out and an afternoon show was added. Great for audio, but T. Rex's leader Marc Bolan changed his outfit between shows, ruining the possibility of the shows being intercut for the film.
There is one further way of fixing mistakes in a live recording, which Visconti came to call 'Live Plus' - and that is to take the tapes into the studio and punch-in or overdub any 'tricky' moments.
Now this is where a serious problem arises. How do you know where to stop?
And when you buy a record or CD of a live show, how live do you expect it to be?
Clearly, the odd fixup is in everyone's benefit. But to rip a live performance to shreds and almost completely re-record it in the studio isn't the right thing to do.
In the end I guess it boils down to your philosophy of recording, and how much respect you have for your audience (and how much money you want to make).
In this case however, Visconti added background vocals and re-recorded some of the bass, which was out of tune on stage, which seems to me to be entirely reasonable.
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Swedish musical instrument company Hagstrom produced guitars from the late 1950s and for the best part of three decades. Like so many other classic guitar makers, their current product line is very much based on the innovative designs the company first developed in the 1960s and 1970s. Guitars like the Swede, Viking bass, and solid body H-series, though clearly influenced by better known American designs, were great guitars in themselves, and did much to earn the brand the reputation for high-quality, highly playable instruments. One important innovation by Hagstrom, and arguably one of the key reasons for their sucess, was the low-action "fastest playing neck in the world" produced by their patented H-shaped "expander-stretcher" truss rod (rail).
Hagstrom was founded by Albin Hagström in 1925, largely dealing in imported accordions. By 1932 he had expanded into their manufacture, at a plant in a Swedish town, Älvdalen. In the second half of the 20th century, however, accordion sales were declining; but Hagstrom were there at the beginning of the new guitar boom, producing their first electric, the Hagstrom De Luxe in 1958. By this time, Albin had died (later to be replaced by his son Karl-Erik), but the company's many years experience of accordion manufacture massively influenced the early guitars, with the use of pearloid sparkle finishes and a preference for push-switches over potentiometers more widely used in American guitars. Over the next two decades, Hagstrom produced a number of interesting and commercially sucessful guitars, many with a nod towards, Gibson and Fender, but some quite unique designs of their own.
In the early sixties, Hagstrom produced a number of solid bodies that were distributed by different companies worldwide, often given alternate model names and even different brands; for example Hershman in the US labelled some Hagstrom guitars as Goya, whilst Selmer in the UK used the marque Futurama. Guitars like the Corvette and Impala helped cemment Hagstrom's reputation as a quality builder, and by 1965 alternate branding was no longer necessary.
In the latter half of the decade solid bodies were selling well, particularly the Hagstrom II and III, as were the semi-acoustic Viking, finally appearing in the hands of Elvis Presley in 1968. Other famous users included Frank Zappa who appeared in Hagstrom advertisements with a 12 string guitar, David Bowie, and Jimi Hendrix, with the legendary Eight-stringed bass. But the Les Paul-style Swede debuting in 1970 was the guitar that really grabbed guitar players attention, selling well right through the seventies and into the eighties.
Hagstrom pickups and tailpieces were, at times, also used by other manufacturers, most notably Guild, who widely fitted their mid/late 1960s guitars and basses with Hagstrom parts.
Hagstrom guitars of the 1970s did conform somewhat to an establishing consensus (admittedly Gibson's) of what a guitar should be.. i.e. potentiometers controlling tone and volume, a three-way pickup selector switch and humbucking pickups. But this was largely beneficial, the Les Paul-style Swede was, and still is, a very highly regarded guitar, perhaps the pinnacle of vintage Hagstrom guitars. But in true late seventies style, Hagstrom fused a guitar with the growing electronic innovation of the time to create the Patch 2000. But of course fashions change, and in many ways it was this electronic innovation that dealt the death blow to much of the guitar industry worldwide in the early 1980s. Hagstrom stopped producing guitars in 1983.
It is estimated that Hagstrom produced 130,000 guitars in the period 1958-1983. They were by no means the biggest guitar manufacturer of the 20th century, but still very significant. In the year 1965, Hagstrom produced between 10 and 11 thousand guitars and basses compared to almost 84 thousand produced by Gibson.
Just found a 1967 HC-25 Classical that is in amazing condition. Anyone out there have any info on this Guitar? It is a quality build. Beautiful Spruce top. Solid. The back and sides look to be solid also, Brazilian Rosewood. Sounds and plays great.
Hi My name is Robert and I would like to know how to date my semi hollow which I have been led to believe is a 1963.
The serial number is typically six digits - the first three digits are the batch number, the second three the instrument number within the batch. There is a book with batch number dates available - this is how Hagstrom's are dated. There is no date or code representing the date within the digits of the serial number.
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Role Playing/Situational Dialogues Preparing for Different & Difficult Conversations and Situations Role playing takes place between two or more people, who act out roles to explore a particular scenario. It’s most useful for preparing for unfamiliar or difficult situations. For example, you can use it to practice sales meetings, interviews, presentations, or emotionally difficult conversations, such as when you’re resolving conflict.
By acting scenarios like these out, you can explore how other people are likely to respond to different approaches; and you can get a feel for the approaches that are likely to work, and for those that might be counter-productive. You can also get a sense of what other people are likely to be thinking and feeling in the situation. Also, by preparing for a situation using role play, you build up experience and self-confidence with handling it in real life; and you develop quick and instinctively-correct reactions to situations.
This means that you’ll react effectively as situations evolve, rather than making mistakes or becoming overwhelmed by events. You can also use role play to spark brainstorming sessions, to improve communication between team members, and to see problems or situations from different perspectives. Write a situational Dialogue on the following situations: 1. A manager explains to a supervisor how a compressed workweek would affect the unit’s productivity. 2. A project manager justifies the hiring of two extra employees to complete a project on time. 3.
One manager advises another on the best method of handling a difficult situation or project. Standards of Role Players: • Literate: A very good role-player who shows that they are able to demonstrate proper use of grammar, punctuation, capitalization, spelling, and so forth. A literate role-player knows when long introductions are appropriate, understands the place for short one or two sentence posts and keeps in character emotions separate from their own • Semi-Lit: A decent role-player who has an “OK” grasp of grammar, punctuation, capitalization, spelling, and so forth.
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What is an example of a sentence that is “a compound, complex sentence with an appositive somewhere in the sentence and includes a resumptive modifier”? Please explain.
good quotes for Romeo and Juliet with analysis? Really struggling!
How has the European Romanticism politically influenced nations towards ideals of freedom, liberty and self-identity?
at this point in the play Macbeth is justifying his killing of Duncan's guards to Macduff and the other thanes.
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If I were to stop someone in the street and ask them, "What would you consider to be reasonable accessories to bring with you on a shopping trip to a large clothing store?," I could expect to receive a variety of responses. Assuming, that my general appearance - which has variously been described as 'off-putting' and 'hauntingly insidious' - coupled with the fact that I yelled this question at them without any prior warning, didn't result in me being maced in the initial fear and confusion, I'm sure that a repeated refrain would emerge. Many people would perhaps cite some sort of shopping or tote bag as a prerequisite, while others - perhaps anticipating a longer day out - may advise bringing some snacks to help stave off hunger while perusing the clothing racks.
However, while these may be good and reasonable answers for any traditional shopping trip, the fact that Penneys have opened their largest ever store - spanning some 160,000sq ft - has significantly changed things. The scale of this store, opened in Birmingham is simply staggering. Given the sprawling cavernous expanse that it contains within, spread across five gargantuan stories, the word 'trip' seems unsuitable to describe a visit to the store, 'expedition' would be more apt. Consequently, it sounds as if it would be almost negligent to enter onto the premises, equipped so feebly as if you were going for a simple conventional shopping trip. Given the likelihood of becoming lost in a among a labyrinth of incredibly cheap, sloganed t-shirts, in amongst the standard fare one would bring on a shopping trip, it seems advisable to also pack some basic survival equipment. Nothing too major, perhaps just a flare, a large bowie knife - to fend off any large predators that may target you at nightfall between the aisles - and some light rope so that you may lash together a rudimentary shelter from a display stand of discounted parka jackets.
The mammoth store officially opened its doors today to about 300 shoppers who had amassed for the grand opening. Some of them had been waiting outside since 6am, a truly mind-boggling endeavour. Within the vast confines of this shop are a multiplicity of other features and sub-venues. There are three food venues, including a Disney café - quite what this would entail beyond just some simple artwork in the café itself is beyond this writer, and, lacking the funds, means and sense of journalistic responsibility to go to Birmingham to find this out, we must content ourselves for it to remain a mystery.
Given the plethora of cross-branded products that Penneys - who operate under the name 'Primark' in the UK - have released in recent years they have incorporated specific sections in the shop for these. There will be a Disney shopping area as well as a Hogwarts Wizarding World section. Thrilling stuff all round.
So, if you are a fan of impressively cheap clothes housed for sale in essentially an aerodrome, then why not head over to Birmingham to experience this leviathan store yourself?
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What’s the best way to experience Dallas? Live in the middle of it! Jefferson Ross is a premier downtown apartment location. Located in the popular West End, guests will enjoy being walking distance to Downtown Dallas’s premier restaurants, bars, shopping, and so much more.
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The founder of surrealist cinema, Luis Buñuel enjoyed a career as diverse and contradictory as his films: he was a master of both silent and sound cinema, of documentaries as well as features; his greatest work was produced in the two decades after his 60th year, a time when most directors have either retired or gone into decline; and although frequently characterized as a surrealist, many of his films were dramas and farces in the realist or neo-realist mode. Yet despite all the innovations and permutations of his work, Buñuel remained suprisingly consistent and limited in the targets of his social satire: the Catholic Church, bourgeois culture, and Fascism. As he once commented, "Religious education and surrealism have marked me for life."
Buñuel described his childhood in Calanda, a village in the Spanish province of Aragon, as having "slipped by in an almost medieval atmosphere." Between the ages of six and fifteen he attended Jesuit school, where a strict educational program, unchanged since the 18th century, instilled in him a lifelong rebellion against religion. In 1917 Buñuel enrolled in the University of Madrid and soon became involved in the political and literary peñas, or clubs, that met in the city's cafes. His friends included several of Spain's future great artists and writers, including Salvador Dali, Federico García Lorca and Rafael Albertini. Within a few years the avant-garde movement had reached the peñas and spawned its Spanish variants, creacionismo and ultraísmo. Although influenced by these, Buñuel was often critical of the Spanish avant-garde for its allegiance to traditional forms.
In 1925 Buñuel left Madrid for Paris, with no clear idea of what he would do. When he saw Fritz Lang's Destiny (1921), however, he realized where his vocation lay. He approached the renowned French director, Jean Epstein, who hired him as an assistant. Buñuel began to learn the techniques of filmmaking but was fired when he refused to work with Epstein's own mentor, Abel Gance, whose films he did not like. In a prophetic statement, Epstein warned Buñuel about his "surrealistic tendencies."
In 1928, with financial support from his mother, Buñuel collaborated with Dali on Un Chien Andalou, a "surrealist weapon" designed to shock the bourgeois as well as criticize the avant-garde. As in his earlier book of poems, Un Perro Andaluz, Buñuel rejected the avant-garde's emphasis on form, or camera "tricks," over content. Instead, his influences were commercial neo-realism, horror films and American comedies. Buñuel's three early films established him as a master of surrealist cinema, whose goal was to treat all human experience-dreams, madness or "normal" waking states-on the same level. The critical success of L'Age D'Or (1930), secured Buñuel a contract with MGM, which he turned down after a visit to Hollywood in 1930.
His next film, Las Hurdes: Tierra Sin Pan (1932) was a documentary financed with money won in a lottery and shot with a camera borrowed from Yves Allégret. Ostensibly an objective study of a remote, impoverished region in western Spain, the film constituted such a militant critique of both church and state that it was banned in Spain. The stage had been set, however, for Buñuel's later work, in which realism - with its pre-established mass appeal - provided an accessible context for his surreal aesthetic and moral code. After Las Hurdes, Buñuel would not direct another film until 1947. Although still critical of commercial cinema, he spent the next 14 years within the industry, learning all aspects of film production. From 1933 to 1935 he dubbed dialogue for Paramount in Paris and then Warner Bros. in Spain; between 1935 and the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 he produced popular musical comedies in Spain; during the Civil War he served the Republican government, compiling newsreel material into a documentary about the war, Espana Leal en Armas (1937).
In 1938, while he was in Hollywood supervising two other documentaries, the Fascists assumed power at home. Unable to return to Spain, Buñuel went to work for the Museum of Modern Art in New York, reediting and dubbing documentaries for distribution in Latin America. He was forced to resign in 1942, however, because of his suspected communist background - a suspicion which he later claimed had been aroused by Dali. In order to survive, Buñuel narrated documentaries for the Army Corps of Engineers until 1944, when Warner Bros. hired him to produce Spanish versions of their films.
In 1946 Buñuel moved to Mexico, where many of Spain's intellectuals and artists had emigrated after the Civil War. He would live there for the rest of his life, becoming a citizen in 1949 and directing 20 films by 1964. This period is often described as an "apprenticeship" in which Buñuel was forced to shoot low-budget commercial films in between a handful of surreal "classics." Indeed, Buñuel's supposed indifference to style - his minimal use of non-diegetic music, close-ups or camera movement-is often judged to be largely the result of the limited resources available to him. Yet his Mexican films can more accurately be seen as a refinement of the unobstrusive aesthetic style that had been evident since Un Chien Andalou. As Buñuel himself insisted, "I never made a single scene that compromised my convictions or my personal morality."
In 1955 Buñuel began to direct international (and more openly political) co-productions in Europe. In 1961 he was invited to Spain to film Viridiana. The completed film was a direct assault on Spanish Catholicism and Fascism and was banned by its unwitting patron; a succès de scandale, it won the Palme d'Or at Cannes and secured long overdue international acclaim for its director.
After Viridiana, Buñuel worked mostly in France. The growth of his new international (and consequently educated and middle-class) audience coincided with his return to a surrealist aesthetic. The Exterminating Angel (1962), The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972) and The Phantom of Liberty (1974) depict a bourgeoisie trapped within their own conventions, if not-in the latter film's metaphorical conceit-their own homes. Belle De Jour (1967), Tristana (1970) and That Obscure Object of Desire (1977) explore sexual obsessions and preoccupations. And The Milky Way (1970) launches a frontal assault on the Church, in a summation of Buñuel's lifelong contempt for that institution. In 1980 Buñuel collaborated with Jean-Claude Carrière, his screenwriter since Diary of a Chambermaid (1964), on his autobiography, My Last Sigh.
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Creating a content strategy for Instagram How to build content pillars for the type of content you share to Instagram. Content is the heart of Instagram. The 95 million photos and videos shared daily to the platform are the reason more than 500 million people open the app every day. And content should be at the core of your strategy, too. But what should you post about? Before you get into... Final Thought . In short, Find your niche, create original content and use your branding strategies with your content on Instagram. And all the best for creating, and posting killer content on Instagram.
The key to any marketing plan and visual content strategy is having a story to tell. What story? The story of your audience and the story of you/your products and services. How you plan to tell that story should directly impact how you plan your content calendar on � how to change image into rgb colour mode on photoshop Final Thought . In short, Find your niche, create original content and use your branding strategies with your content on Instagram. And all the best for creating, and posting killer content on Instagram.
One of the best ways to create fresh and dynamic curated content is to curate from social media sources such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Instagram.
The best way to grow and strengthen your audience is to create high quality, on-brand content that people want to see in their Instagram feed.
Hold your breath and let�s take a deep dive into creating viral Instagram content that goes off. When I say viral Instagram content, I mean content that makes people tag their friends, like, comment and save it to their albums.
Instagram�s visual, mobile-only format prompts get millions of people to make impulsive purchases from their feeds every day. Selling on Instagram is easier than ever before � you just need to show up with awesome content regularly.
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The Byrds were an American rock and roll band. Formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964, The Byrds underwent several lineup changes, with frontman Roger McGuinn remaining the sole consistent member till the group's disbandment in 1973.
Their trademark songs include covers of Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "My Back Pages," Pete Seeger"s "Turn! Turn! Turn!", as well as the originals "I"ll Feel a Whole Lot Better", "Eight Miles High" and "So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star."
The Byrds were popular and influential during the late 1960s and early 1970s. The band melded the British Invasion sound with elements of contemporary folk and pop music. They also helped forge such subgenres as folk rock, space rock, raga rock, psychedelic rock, jangle pop, and ""- on their 1968 album Sweetheart of the Rodeo, which featured Gram Parsons ""- country rock.
In 1991 they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2004, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked them #45 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. Several band members went on to successful solo careers after leaving the group.
Inspired by the success of the Beatles, Roger McGuinn had been playing Beatles songs acoustically in Los Angeles folk clubs when Gene Clark approached him to form a duo. David Crosby joined them in a group they called the Jet Set, and they were joined by drummer Michael Clarke and mandolin-player-turned-bassist Chris Hillman in a band they named The Beefeaters. In November, 1964 the group signed to Columbia Records and a few days later renamed themselves The Byrds.
On January 20, 1965, The Byrds recorded "Mr. Tambourine Man", a Bob Dylan song given the full electric treatment, and effectively created folk rock. McGuinn's jangling, highly melodic guitar playing (using a 12-string, heavily compressed Rickenbacker for its extremely bright tone) was immediately influential and has remained so to the present day. The group's complex harmony work became the other major characteristic of their sound (McGuinn and Clark alternating between unison singing and harmony, with Crosby providing the high harmony). Released in June, 1965 after a long delay, this debut single reached #1 on the U.S. charts and repeated the feat in the U.K. shortly thereafter. At the same time, The Byrds' debut album Mr. Tambourine Man was released, reaching #6 in the U.S. and #7 in the U.K. The album mixed reworkings of folk songs (most notably Pete Seeger's "The Bells Of Rhymney") with several more Dylan covers in addition to the band's own compositions, mainly written by Gene Clark.
Since the band had not yet completely jelled in January, McGuinn was the only Byrd to play on "Mr. Tambourine Man" and its B-side, "I Knew I'd Want You". Rather than using band members, producer Terry Melcher hired The Wrecking Crew, a collection of top session men including Hal Blaine, Larry Knechtel and Leon Russell, who provided the backing track over which McGuinn added lead guitar and lead vocal while Crosby and Clark sang harmony. By the time the album sessions started, Melcher was satisfied that the rest of the band was competent to record, and they played on all the remaining tracks.
The group's follow-up single was another interpretation of a Dylan song, "All I Really Want To Do". Unfortunately for The Byrds, Cher simultaneously released her own version to greater commercial success. Even though they had recorded Dylan's "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" as their prospective third single (it was played on the California radio station KFWB), The Byrds instead quickly recorded "Turn! Turn! Turn!", a Pete Seeger adaptation of a traditional melody, with some lyrics taken directly from the Biblical book of Ecclesiastes, and the song became the group's second U.S. #1 single, headlining their second album (also titled Turn! Turn! Turn!).
As with their debut, this album was characterized by harmony vocals and McGuinn's distinctive guitar sound, highlighted by Terry Melcher's bright-sounding production. This time they featured more of their own compositions and now had a major songwriter in Gene Clark; his songs from this period, including "The World Turns All Around Her", "She Don't Care About Time", "I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better" and "Set You Free This Time", are widely regarded as amongst the best of the folk-rock genre.
Gene Clark left the band in March, 1966, partly due to a fear of flying which made it impossible for him to keep up with the band's itinerary. Clark had witnessed a fatal airplane crash as a youth, had a panic attack on a plane in Los Angeles bound for New York and refused to board. McGuinn told him, "You can't be a Byrd, Gene, if you can't fly." Clark was subsequently signed by Columbia as a solo artist and went on to forge a critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful body of work.
The Byrds' third album, Fifth Dimension (5D), released in July, 1966, built on the new sound the band had created, McGuinn extending his exploration of jazz and raga styles on tracks such as "I See You" and Crosby's "What's Happening?!?!", respectively. The campaign in U.S. radio to clamp down on "drug songs" affected several of the tracks, including "Eight Miles High" and "5D," and limited the album's commercial success (#24 US).
Allegedly irritated by the overnight success of manufactured groups such as The Monkees, the group next recorded the satirical and slightly bitter dig at the music business, "So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star", which again broke new ground musically, featuring a trumpet part played by the South African musician Hugh Masekela. The song, written by McGuinn and Hillman, achieved modest success as a single and also led off their fourth album, Younger Than Yesterday. (It is now regarded as a rock classic.) The LP was more varied than its predecessor and has been widely praised for tracks such as Crosby's sinister ballad "Everybody's Been Burned", a cover of Dylan's "My Back Pages" (later released as a single), and a quartet of Chris Hillman numbers which showed the bassist emerging fully formed as a country-oriented songwriter ("Have You Seen Her Face", "Time Between", "Thoughts And Words", "The Girl With No Name").
By 1967 there was increasing tension between the band members, McGuinn and Hillman becoming irritated by what they saw as Crosby's overbearing egotism and his attempts to jockey for control of the band. In June, when The Byrds performed at the Monterey Pop Festival, Crosby sang the majority of lead vocals, and to the intense annoyance of the other members gave lengthy speeches between every song on the JFK assassination and the benefits of giving LSD to "every man, woman and child in the country." He further irritated the band by performing with rival band Buffalo Springfield, filling in for Neil Young. His stock within the band deteriorated even more following the commercial failure of his first A-side song, "Lady Friend", released in July (US #82). In October, during the recording of the fifth Byrds album, Crosby refused to participate in taping the Goffin-King number "Goin' Back" in preference to his own "Triad", a controversial song about a ménage à trois.
The simmering tensions within the band finally erupted and in 1967 the other group members fired Crosby, who subsequently received a considerable cash settlement and soon after began working with Stephen Stills and Graham Nash, forming the hugely successful supergroup Crosby, Stills & Nash. Gene Clark briefly rejoined The Byrds as substitute, but left three weeks later after again refusing to board an aircraft while on tour. Byrds historians disagree on whether or not Clark participated in the recording sessions for the upcoming album. Michael Clarke also quit during these sessions, partly due to disputes with Crosby during the recording of "Dolphin's Smile". Studio drummer Jim Gordon was drafted in to complete his parts. On the final album, Crosby and Clarke both ended up playing on several tracks each. The bluegrass guitarist and future Byrd Clarence White, who had also played on Younger Than Yesterday, contributed significantly on the tracks "Wasn't Born to Follow" (later included on the Easy Rider soundtrack) and "Change is Now."
The resulting album, The Notorious Byrd Brothers, was released in January, 1968, and despite its troubled genesis contains some of the band's gentlest, most ethereal music. The record mixed folk rock, country, psychedelia and jazz, often within a single song, and attempted to deal with many contemporary themes such as peace, ecology, freedom, drug use, alienation and mankind's place in the universe. Over the years, The Notorious Byrd Brothers has gained in reputation, while the contentious incidents surrounding its making have largely been forgotten.
Now reduced to a duo, The Byrds quickly recruited Hillman's cousin Kevin Kelley as drummer and the band went out on tour in support of The Notorious Byrd Brothers as a trio. After realizing that the trio arrangement wasn't going to work, McGuinn and Hillman, in a fateful decision for their future career direction, hired Gram Parsons, originally to play keyboards (he later moved to guitar). Hillman was an excellent mandolin player and had played in several notable bluegrass bands, and soon he and Parsons persuaded McGuinn to change direction again and take up a musical style in which The Byrds had previously only dabbled - country music.
After Parsons' departure, McGuinn and Hillman hired guitarist Clarence White, who had played on a few tracks of every Byrds album since Younger Than Yesterday. The new lineup had only been together for a very short time when White persuaded McGuinn and Hillman to replace Kevin Kelley with Gene Parsons (no relationship to Gram Parsons), who had played with White in Nashville West, another pioneering country-rock band. This new lineup played two shows together in October before Hillman quit to join Gram Parsons in creating the Flying Burrito Brothers. McGuinn, now the only original Byrd left, hired bassist John York (who had been working in the Sir Douglas Quintet) to replace Hillman, and the resulting quartet recorded the Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde album and released it in February, 1969 to poor U.S. sales and moderate U.K. success.
In July, 1969 The Byrds were the headliner of the Schaefer Music Festival in New York City's Central Park, along with Miles Davis, Chuck Berry, Fleetwood Mac, Led Zeppelin, B.B. King, The Beach Boys, Frank Zappa and Patti LaBelle. They appeared at the festival again in 1970 and 1971.
In October, 1969 the band released the Ballad Of Easy Rider album. The single from the album was "Jesus Is Just Alright", which in a similar arrangement became a hit for The Doobie Brothers four years later. During those recording sessions the group also recorded a version of Jackson Browne's "Mae Jean Goes to Hollywood", but it remained unreleased for some twenty years. The title track was composed by McGuinn (expanding on a verse line written by Bob Dylan) as the music theme for the 1969 hippie movie Easy Rider, and both album and single sold well off the back of the movie's huge success. By the time the album was released, John York had left the band because his girlfriend objected to his going out on the road. He was replaced by bassist Skip Battin, who had some chart success in 1959 as half of the duo Skip & Flip.
In 1970, The Byrds released the double album (Untitled), which charted well in the U.K. and acceptably in the U.S. (Untitled) featured one disc of live recordings and one of studio performances such as "Chestnut Mare", "All The Things" and "Lover of the Bayou". It also included a 16-minute live version of "Eight Miles High".
In 1971 they released Byrdmaniax, which was a commercial and critical disappointment, largely due to inappropriate orchestration which was added by producer Terry Melcher to many tracks on the album without the band's approval. Also in 1971 came the release of Farther Along. The title track of that album, sung by Clarence White with the rest of the group harmonizing, would became a prophetic epitaph for both White and Gram Parsons. In July 1973, White was killed by a motor vehicle while he was loading equipment after a gig in Palmdale, California. Soon afterwards, Gram Parsons died as a result of an overdose of morphine and alcohol, in the Joshua Tree Motel, also in California.
On May 13th, 1971 the Byrds lineup of Roger McGuinn, Gene Parsons, Clarence White and Skip Battin appeared at London's Royal Albert Hall, to critical acclaim. The full concert, including a number of encores, was issued in 2008 on CD for the first time.
McGuinn toured with the Byrds through 1972, with L.A. session drummerJohn Guerin replacing Gene Parsons. Two Byrds recordings exist with this lineup: live versions of "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "Roll Over Beethoven", recorded for the soundtrack to the movie Banjoman. The final recording sessions involving all four of the latter-day Columbia Byrds were for Skip Battin's 1972 album, Skip; Guerin was on drums. McGuinn appeared on only one track, "Captain Video" - evidently Battin's tribute to his erstwhile employer.
Skip Battin and John Guerin either quit or were fired after the February 10, 1973 show in Ithaca, New York, and were replaced by Chris Hillman and Joe Lala, respectively, for The Byrds' final two shows on February 23 (Burlington, Vermont) and 24 (Passaic, New Jersey).
The five original Byrds all briefly reunited in late 1972 (while McGuinn was still on tour with the CBS version of the Byrds) to cut the reunion album Byrds. The album came out in March, 1973, less than a month after the Columbia version of the Byrds played their final show. The album garnered mixed reviews, and a planned tour with the original five Byrds to support it never materialized.
In the late '70s, McGuinn, Clark and Hillman worked on and off as a trio (modelled on CSNY and, to a lesser extent, The Eagles), touring and recording two albums, and scoring a top 40 hit ("Don't You Write Her Off") in 1978. Some of the earlier and later live shows were advertised by unscrupulous promoters as Byrds reunions. By 1979 Clark had departed and the two others recorded an album as McGuinn-Hillman.
In the late 1980s there were disputes over which members owned the rights to the "Byrds" name. Clarke and Clark toured separately under The Byrds name at that time, and from 1989 through most of 1993 Michael Clarke toured occasionally as "The Byrds Featuring Michael Clarke" with former Byrd Skip Battin and newcomers Terry Jones Rogers and Jerry Sorn. To solidify their claim to the name and prevent any non-original members from using it, McGuinn, Hillman and Crosby staged a series of Byrds reunion concerts in 1989 and 1990, including a famous performance at a Roy Orbison tribute concert where they were joined by Bob Dylan for Mr. Tambourine Man. These shows led to McGuinn, Hillman and Crosby recording four new studio tracks for the boxed set The Byrds in 1990. During that year, a legal action against Clarke and his booking agent failed, a judge ruling that Clarke's group had toured successfully. Eventually, a settlement was reached, preventing any entity not including McGuinn, Hillman and Crosby from using the name "Byrds".
The Byrds were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991. The original lineup of Gene Clark, Michael Clarke, David Crosby, Chris Hillman and Roger McGuinn was honored at this induction. Gene Clark died later that year, and two years later Michael Clarke succumbed to liver disease brought on by alcoholism.
Though both Hillman and Crosby have expressed an interest in working with McGuinn again on future Byrds projects, no such reunion has occurred and all three have successful individual careers.
This article has been read 1608 times.
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0.997442 |
During the Cold War, the Soviet Union and, in a milder way, the United States imposed external limits on the activities of states and societies, causing longstanding conflicts among smaller countries to be "frozen." Following the Soviet Union's collapse in the 1990's, those conflicts began to "unfreeze."
With interethnic tensions already on the rise, Yugoslavia was the first country to dissolve into conflict. Soon after, war broke out between Armenia and Azerbaijan, followed by fighting in Transdniestria and Chechnya. While some conflicts were addressed - the West finally intervened militarily in the former Yugoslavia; and Russia fought in Chechnya for almost a decade, and imposed peace in Transdniestria - others, such as that between Armenia and Azerbaijan, were simply frozen again.
Fortunately, not all potential conflicts erupted. The Soviet Union did not dissolve into violence, as most other empires have - an outcome for which no explanation short of divine intervention or sheer luck seems to suffice. Despite rising nationalist sentiments and mutual suspicions, Central and Eastern European countries also managed to avoid conflict, thanks to their rapid acceptance into NATO and the European Union.
At that point, the world breathed a collective sigh of relief. But, in the early 2000's, globalization triggered the "second unfreezing" by facilitating rapid economic growth in Asian countries that, for two centuries, had been constrained by Western dominance, Cold War rules and institutions, and rampant poverty.
With thriving economies came increased strategic clout, leading to the rise of regional geopolitics shaped by national interests and fears, rather than by external forces. The West's failures in Iraq and Afghanistan, followed by the global economic crisis (which exposed severe structural weaknesses in the US and the EU that their democratic governments have been unable to resolve), accelerated this process.
As a result, Europe has practically abandoned its global geopolitical role, with virtually no evidence of its presence, aside from trade, remaining in East Asia. Although the US has retained considerable influence, the combination of structural economic problems, a divided elite, and two de facto military defeats has impeded its ability to exercise that power.
Old alliances - such as the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization, the Central Eastern Treaty Organization, and the Australia, New Zealand, United States Security Treaty - have died or are dying. And forming new alliances has proved difficult, with India rejecting what the US, with uncharacteristic humility, has proposed.
Meanwhile, Asia is being roiled by intensifying territorial disputes in the South and East China Seas, as countries revive old claims against each other. East and South Asia are embroiled in an arms race, mainly at sea. Everyone is afraid of China, which remains relatively peaceable, but no longer bothers to conceal its growing military capacity. With no pan-Asian security architecture expected to emerge in the near future, the West's departure from the region is generating a security vacuum.
Furthermore, in the Greater Middle East, the fall of one secular dictatorship after another, coupled with the loosening of external control, has incited new - and rekindled old - suspicions, religious disagreements, and mistrust of outsiders in general and the West in particular. As a result, the region has entered a period of conflict, social degradation, rising nationalism, and growing religious fanaticism.
Most threatening, however, is the possibility that the EU could collapse, triggering a third unfreezing. The EU, established to break the destructive cycle of European nationalism that had facilitated the rise of two totalitarian systems and caused two world wars, amounted to the creation of a prototype of a humane world order. After being its own - and thus the world's - worst enemy for centuries, Europe became a beacon of peace.
But, resting on the laurels of the EU's founders, successive European leaders largely failed to perceive the competitive challenges posed by globalization. They seemed to forget that the European project's underlying motivation was political, not economic, which led them to rush into enlargement and set unrealistic goals. Now, they must pay for their mistakes by overhauling the entire institutional framework of the EU and the eurozone.
At the same time, Europeans must prepare for an even more profound transformation. In order to regain economic competitiveness, European countries will have to abandon many of their social-welfare policies and reform their political institutions. Most Europeans prefer to ignore the looming challenge of radical policy reform, owing to the decline in living standards that it implies.
Global leaders must encourage Europe to tackle its problems decisively by offering advice, financial support, and constructive criticism. Russia must continue to press for an Alliance of Europe - a new framework for economic and diplomatic relations among the EU, Russia, and the rest of Greater Europe - which could offer a way out of Europe's systemic crisis.
The first unfreezing had serious consequences. Now, global leaders must work to minimize the fallout of the second, and use all available means to prevent a third.
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0.999469 |
Genistein abrogated G2 arrest induced by curcumin In an try to discover pure compounds that dis rupt G2 checkpoint in cancer cells, we employed genistein, an inhibitor of cdk1 phosphorylation. We examine the capability of various concentration of genistein in modulating G2 arrest induced by curcumin. First of all, we buy 17-AAG activated the G2 checkpoint by adding curcumin with the concentration of ten uM overnight. Sixteen hrs just after DNA damage, the cells had been handled with various con centration of genistein for a further 24 hrs. The cells have been harvested along with the cell cycle distribution was ana lysed. Certainly, as shown in Table two and Figure two, genis tein at concentration of twenty uM abrogated the G2 M block induced by curcumin, decreasing G2 M popula tion from 28% in curcumin only handled cells to 6% in mixture with twenty uM genistein.<br><br> Rising concen tration of genistein up to 50 uM didn't appreciably re duce the shift of G2 M population. The G2 M population only decreased to 10% in mixture with 50 uM genistein. Blend of curcumin with genis tein enhanced the subG1 population which represents dead cells, from オーダー 17-DMAG 2% to 44% and 47%. Addition of genistein following G2 arrest induced by curcumin resulted in additional cell death To check out the impact of combination of genistein with curcumin on cell viability, we taken care of the cells with cur cumin, genistein and in blend with different inter val instances by way of MTT assay. The experiments were carried out in 3 replicates. Previously we found that curcumin at concentration of ten uM induced G2 M ar rest with very little toxicity.<br><br> In this experiment we confirmed the obtaining that treatment curcumin at given concentra tion retained the viability of cells of 83. 66%. An オーダー A66 try to increase the sensitivity of this compound in inducing cell death is conducted by addition of genistein. Table three shows that genistein alone at low concentration of 5 and 10 uM induced cell proliferation as in comparison with handle, reaching 191. 80% and 171. 22% respectively. Expanding concentration to twenty uM maintained the viability of 90. 41%, whereas large concentration of 50 uM induced 61. 28% cell death. On this review we located that genistein which was added 16 hrs soon after ten uM curcu min resulted in extra cell death, from 83. 66% viability in curcumin only treated cells to only ten.<br><br> 88% in combin ation. Incorporating greater concentration of genistein only slightly improved the percentage of cell death. Interestingly, on this examine we uncovered that adding genistein following DNA injury induced by curcumin created much more cell death in comparison to including at the identical time. The effect of inducing cell death by blend of curcumin and genistein had been confirmed by observing the morphology of your cells after treatment method with curcumin or in combination with genis tein using ethidium bromide and acridine orange double staining beneath fluoresence microscope. The pres ence of apoptotic cells were shown as orange to red population as when compared with nutritious green cell population. As proven in Figure three, only handful of dead cells had been observed in curcumin only treated cells. However, com bining curcumin with genistein resulted in high accumulation of apoptotic cells.
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0.909799 |
The connection between good hygiene and good health is a strong one. By keeping the body clean, you equip it to avoid and resist illness. Hygiene involves washing the body and performing other personal care tasks such as trimming fingernails and combing hair. When raising children, it's important to teach them good personal hygiene habits. Your example of personal cleanliness is also an effective teaching method with children as they will watch and learn to perform these tasks as they see you do them.
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0.99587 |
I found an issue in the traslation.
In the context menu of a skin, it says "descargar pieles", but it should say "descargar piel". "Descargar pieles" would be if it says "unload skins".
soyelrafa wrote: I found an issue in the traslation.
Thank you, I will update this soon.
Brian wrote: Thank you, I will update this soon.
I would translate this to "Cadena de caracteres".
In the actual translation, "plugins" is not translated. So it would be "Plugins externos".
Following my previous assessment, this would be "Plugins incorporados".
Feel free to ask for anything else.
"Cadena de caracteres" seems awfully long to get the concept of "string" in computer terms across in a small dialog. Perhaps "texto" would suffice? The point isn't always a direct translation. Do programmers in Spain really say "Cadena de caracteres" when they are talking about a string value?
jsmorley wrote: "Cadena de caracteres" seems awfully long to get the concept of "string" in computer terms across in a small dialog. Perhaps "texto" would suffice? The point isn't always a direct translation. Do programmers in Spain really say "Cadena de caracteres" when they are talking about a string value?
In practice I use string (example: "Tengo esta string con el valor "coche" (I have this string with the value "car"), but I suppose someone that doesn't know anything about programming would prefer another term. About what you say, "texto" seems fine to me.
Check the files in the first post in this thread for the current translations.
Brian wrote: Thanks for the translations.
Line 12: #define STR_ABOUT "Acerca"
#define STR_ABOUT "Acerca de Rainmeter"
Line 17: #define STR_DISABLEDRAGGING "Deshabilitar arrastrando"
Line 37: #define STR_USEDEFAULTMONITOR "Usar por defecto: Monitor primario"
I also check Windows, and in screen settings it says "Convertir esta pantalla en la principal"
#define STR_USEDEFAULTMONITOR "Usar por defecto: Monitor principal"
Line 39: #define STR_AUTOSELECTMONITOR "Auto-selección basado en posición de ventana"
#define STR_AUTOSELECTMONITOR "Autoselección basado en posición de ventana"
In this case, auto is used as a prefix, and don't need the "-". You can check this article of the RAE to see other examples with "auto" prefix use: http://lema.rae.es/dpd/srv/search?id=mcfVullDKD6tVIDKqz (autobiografía, autoestima, autopropulsión, etc.).
Line 56: #define STR_CLICKTHROUGH "Mediante pulsación"
This could be literally translated "Clic a través de". However, I think gramatically is wrong, because "de" is a preposition that must reference something. So, I would translate it to "Hacer clic a través de la piel".
#define STR_CLICKTHROUGH "Hacer clic a través de la piel"
Line 72: #define STR_ABOUTRAINMETER "Sobre Rainmeter"
All programs I check use "Acerca de <software>".
#define STR_ABOUTRAINMETER "Acerca de Rainmeter"
Line 139: #define STR_RESETSTATISTICS "Resetear estadísticas"
This is because the RAE doesn't have recognized "Resetear" as a spanish verb.
143: #define STR_CREATENEWSKIN "Crear un nuevo skin"
144: #define STR_NEWSKIN "Nuevo skin"
148: #define STR_ADDSKIN "Añadir skin"
#define STR_CREATENEWSKIN "Crear nueva piel"
I also removed an unnecesary "un" on the first case.
161: #define STR_THEMEALREADYEXISTS "El diseño ""%1"" ya existe.\n\nDesea reemplazarlo?"
163: #define STR_THEMEDELETE "Está seguro de que desea eliminar el diseño ""%1""?"
165: #define STR_LOGFILEDELETE "Está seguro de eliminar el archivo de registro?\n%1"
182: #define STR_TEMPLATEDOESNOTEXIST "La plantilla ""%1"" no existe.\nDesea utilizar la plantilla predeterminada?"
186: #define STR_TEMPLATEDELETE "Está seguro de que desea eliminar la plantilla ""%1""?"
In Spanish you have to start questions with ¿ and finish them with ? like it is well made on lines 178 and 179 for example.
#define STR_THEMEALREADYEXISTS "El diseño ""%1"" ya existe.\n\n¿Desea reemplazarlo?"
#define STR_THEMEDELETE "¿Está seguro de que desea eliminar el diseño ""%1""?"
#define STR_LOGFILEDELETE "¿Está seguro de eliminar el archivo de registro?\n%1"
#define STR_TEMPLATEDOESNOTEXIST "La plantilla ""%1"" no existe.\n¿Desea utilizar la plantilla predeterminada?"
#define STR_TEMPLATEDELETE "¿Está seguro de que desea eliminar la plantilla ""%1""?"
Due to space concerns, I decided to leave STR_ABOUT as is, and remove the "de la piel" from STR_CLICKTHROUGH making it: Hacer clic a través. Hopefully this is acceptable.
Both of these strings appear on the context menu and click through also appears in the Manage dialog. We don't want to increase the width of either of these if possible.
1. loc. adv. de través.
1. loc. prepos. Pasando de un lado a otro de. A través de la celosía. A través de una gasa.
2. loc. prepos. Por entre. A través de la multitud.
3. loc. prepos. por intermedio de.
#define STR_CLICKTHROUGH "Hacer clic a través de"
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0.999923 |
Create three documents using what you have already learned in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
What you are doing, why you are doing it, when the credit cards will be charged, and the safety that is being taken to safeguard their credit cards and sensitive information. Follow the instructions supplied with the template.
Using the data document attached you will create an excel spreadsheet. Follow the directions attached for completing the necessary information to complete the assignment. You can use this data to help create the PowerPoint.
You will then create a powerpoint that you would present to your supervisor that will demonstrate how your implementation of this has increased revenue over the past year.
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0.999999 |
Answering the following questions to help identify "a sense of urgency"
1 Are you clear on how to succeed in this business?
2 Is there alignment between vision, strategy and behaviour?
3 Are you constantly improving internal processes?
4 Are you staying ahead of the competition?
5 Are you maintaining a high-performance climate?
6 Are you successful in attracting, keeping and developing talent?
7 Are you improving customer satisfaction?
8 Are you stimulating innovation?
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0.999997 |
Why is it so important to make the best decision when it comes to skincare products? Most of the people think chemical products are not really that dangerous. If you are one of those people, I respectfully disagree with you.
Did you know that our skin absorbs 60% of the substances we apply in our daily routine? If this does not surprise you, it comes with even worse news: If you are pregnant, beware of the products you use! Harmful chemicals cause the most disease when they are present during fetal development. Even more so, the toxic substances can lead to serious illness, such as cancer or infertility.
If we convinced you to use organic skincare products, you would probably ask yourself: what exactly should I choose, natural or organic? What are the differences and what would be the best option for my skin?
Natural cosmetics contain ingredients derived from plants and minerals. Ingredients such as aloe, chamomile, shea butter, beeswax or essential oils have a lot of benefits for hair and skin - even when they are not technically organic.
Organic cosmetics do not contain any chemical additions; they are composed of plant-based ingredients grown healthy and organic, without being treated with herbicides or chemical fertilizers. Unlike natural cosmetics, they must contain a much higher degree of plant-based ingredients in order to be certified organic. (learn more about the certification procedure right here).
When you decide to buy that popular and top-rated brand of anti-wrinkle cream that has been advertised daily, you encourage indirectly the pollution of the planet. That cream is for sure unsafe for your skin. If not, why would it need any marketing strategy? Unfortunately, many of the commercial cosmetic products contain toxic substances for both skin and body. The side effects cannot be discovered immediately, but they will leave marks on the body over time.
Cosmetics can damage both the environment and health. Chemicals used in cosmetics are washed into rivers, lakes, and streams. Thousands of plastic packages are left behind, chemical elements pollute waters affecting marine life and, generally, life on Earth.
On the other hand, organic products are not just beneficial to you, but for the entire environment as well. Why? Because the ingredients are based on sustainable agriculture. As I have already said, they come from plants that have not been chemically treated.
Parabens, sulfates, phthalates or petrochemicals? When you choose to use daily organic skin care, you no longer have to worry about all these ingredients that may have a negative impact on your skin.
Instead, what would you say about: aloe vera, shea butter, coconut oil, eucalyptus, green tea, and other more pronounced names compared to the above? These are just some of the natural ingredients used in various cosmetics.
If you are one of the people who prefer the fragrance of a product to the detriment of any other qualities, we have good news: organic cosmetics have a pleasant smell too, and it is even closer to nature than any other chemical. The flavors of the products you find on the market are due to the chemicals that are mixed with other ingredients, which can cause skin damage, nervous system diseases, cancer or allergies. Make sure the products you buy have a genuine smell of natural ingredients and not of synthetic flavors.
Most organic makeup products contain coconut butter. Their fatty acids may help reduce wrinkles, dry skin, and age spots. You can also find ingredients such as peach extracts, grapes, white tea, which prevent aging skin and naturally build collagen for glowing, youthful skin.
Solar radiation is one of the most important factors when it comes to premature aging. Choosing an organic cosmetic product made from natural minerals will offer you, besides many advantages, a certain sun protection. In organic ingredients, you can also find: antioxidants from vitamin C, rose oil, rose water, rosemary oil or sunflower oil.
Do you remember that cosmetic product you bought just because it was cheap and “could not affect you at all”, but the next day, after applying it, your face was irritated and full of pimples? Unfortunately, events like this happen quite often and can never be forgotten. Even if the products were cheap, they had a much higher cost: the long-term health of your complexion. Are you really willing to pay this price?
By choosing organic products, not only will you enjoy the short-term beautifying effects, but you will also make a sustainable choice for your health!
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0.919127 |
The film is set three years after the original Star Wars. The Galactic Empire, under the leadership of the villainous Darth Vader, is in pursuit of Luke Skywalker and the rest of the Rebel Alliance. While Vader chases a small band of Luke's friends—Han Solo, Princess Leia Organa, and others—across the galaxy, Luke studies the Force under Jedi Master Yoda. But when Vader captures Luke's friends, Luke must decide whether to complete his training and become a full Jedi Knight or to confront Vader and save his comrades.
Following a difficult production, The Empire Strikes Back was released on May 21, 1980, and initially received mixed reviews from critics, although it has since grown in esteem, becoming one of the most popular chapters in the Star Wars saga and one of the most highly-rated films in history. It earned more than $538 million worldwide over the original run and several re-releases, making it the highest-grossing film of 1980. When adjusted for inflation, it is the 12th-highest-grossing film in the USA and Canada as of 2012.
In 2010, the film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being "culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant."
Princess Leia now leads a contingent that includes Han Solo and Luke Skywalker in a hidden base on an icy planet of the Hoth system. A probe droid, one of many sent by Darth Vader throughout the galaxy in hopes of finding Luke and the other rebels, lands on Hoth. Luke goes to investigate but is ambushed by a monstrous, furry wampa. While Han Solo searches for him, Luke frees himself from the wampa's cave with his lightsaber but soon succumbs to the freezing temperatures of the snowy wasteland. The spirit of his late mentor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, appears before him and instructs him to go to the planet Dagobah to train under Jedi Master Yoda (voiced by Frank Oz). Han manages to find Luke and uses the warmth of his dead tauntaun mount to keep him alive while they wait to be rescued.
Just as Luke recovers, the Imperial fleet, having been alerted to the location of the Rebel base by the probe droid, launches an attack using gigantic AT-AT Walkers. The Rebels mount a strong defense, and Luke brings down a walker single-handedly after his fighter is disabled, but the base is nonetheless captured. Han and Leia escape on the Millennium Falcon with C-3PO and Chewbacca, but their hyperspace drive malfunctions, and they must hide in an asteroid field. Luke escapes with R2-D2 in an X-wing fighter and crash lands on Dagobah. He is soon found by the diminutive Yoda, who at first pretends to be a simple swamp inhabitant in order to test Luke's patience. After conferring with Obi-Wan's spirit, Yoda accepts Luke as his pupil.
Han and Leia end their bickering and grow closer, but their courtship is interrupted when they must flee a giant asteroid worm. They avoid capture again by attaching the Millennium Falcon directly to the side of a Star Destroyer in Vader's fleet. Frustrated at having lost them, Vader turns to several notorious bounty hunters, including Boba Fett (Jeremy Bulloch, voiced by Jason Wingreen/Temuera Morrison). Meanwhile, Luke begins a brief period of intensive training, during which his power in the Force grows exponentially. He suffers a setback when he fails a test and sees the vision of his own face inside Darth Vader's helmet. Then he becomes troubled by premonitions of Han and Leia in pain and despite Yoda and Obi-Wan's disapprovals, leaves to save them, promising to return to complete his training.
Having escaped detection, Han lets his ship float away with the star destroyer's garbage and sets a course for Cloud City, a floating gas mining colony in the skies of the planet Bespin. Boba Fett secretly follows the Millennium Falcon to the planet Bespin and arrives just before Han and Leia. Bespin is run by Han's old friend Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams), but shortly after they arrive he turns them over to Vader to prevent the takeover of his city. Over Lando's objections, Vader uses them as bait to bring Luke into his trap.
Vader intends to hold Luke in suspended animation and selects Han as a test subject for the process. Han and Leia profess their love for each other, after which Han is frozen in a block of carbonite. Reneging on his deal with Lando, Vader gives Han's hibernating form to Boba Fett, who plans to present this "prize" to Jabba the Hutt who put a price on Han's head for not paying a debt that he previously owed to Jabba. Lando frees Leia, Chewbacca, and C-3PO, but they are too late to stop Fett from escaping with Han, forcing them to flee in the Falcon without him.
Meanwhile, Luke has arrived at Cloud City, as Vader planned. Luke and Vader engage in a lightsaber duel that leads them over the central air shaft of Cloud City. Vader severs Luke's right hand, disarming him, and reveals that he did not kill Luke's father, but actually is Luke's father. Horrified by this fact, Luke refuses Vader's offer to rule the galaxy at his side, choosing instead to throw himself down the air shaft. He slides through a tube system and is ejected but catches onto an antenna under the floating city. He makes a desperate telepathic plea to Leia, who senses it and persuades Lando to return for him. Its hyperdrive finally repaired by R2-D2, the Falcon escapes. Aboard a Rebel medical frigate, Luke is fitted with an artificial hand. As Luke, Leia, R2-D2, and C-3PO look on from the medical center, Lando and Chewbacca set off in the Falcon to rescue Han from Boba Fett and Jabba the Hutt.
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0.990029 |
SHA-1 value for the combined text 896488 and number 0 [new string 8964880] is 46badca0ee7475257ebe28396c61f9e05023161c.
SHA-1 value for the combined text 896488 and number 1 [new string 8964881] is ebdcbc8d47a290b678c0508f7249c730418f02f6.
SHA-1 value for the combined text 896488 and number 2 [new string 8964882] is f3bef14f572a8bcf87802884195fa3a25551248f.
SHA-1 value for the combined text 896488 and number 3 [new string 8964883] is 18821683cdbf57d666bfdb4507f4b0b09fb5f091.
SHA-1 value for the combined text 896488 and number 4 [new string 8964884] is 1281c6d1b45ccba05fe784585a7d69c695b23ab3.
SHA-1 value for the combined text 896488 and number 5 [new string 8964885] is c198274bf123547b2d399a182b2d2dcbdbd24e7f.
SHA-1 value for the combined text 896488 and number 6 [new string 8964886] is 989257cb916f6f108aec943fabe3597782a3f501.
SHA-1 value for the combined text 896488 and number 7 [new string 8964887] is 087fdebd289ce17277b0e01613710619353a89bf.
SHA-1 value for the combined text 896488 and number 8 [new string 8964888] is 4d5bfb6027c70a5d1dc301d6ad37707f1e83476d.
SHA-1 value for the combined text 896488 and number 9 [new string 8964889] is f507376111af8bc660209b6bacb18990bc601371.
SHA-1 value for the combined text 896488 and letter a [new string 896488a] is 78ffd84af9319633858b9b69787fa7b80eaf6f36.
SHA-1 value for the combined text 896488 and letter b [new string 896488b] is 97dc5744a49c9952ae5b6d28afaa9da6604bfb93.
SHA-1 value for the combined text 896488 and letter c [new string 896488c] is 767589d62e025353297eae2c0ce303b8b82ff142.
SHA-1 value for the combined text 896488 and letter d [new string 896488d] is 8886278e1cf6b353d1e0419eeef01ca01a7c17ef.
SHA-1 value for the combined text 896488 and letter e [new string 896488e] is dd4665eae62c8082b51af96861cf9af75ba625a7.
SHA-1 value for the combined text 896488 and letter f [new string 896488f] is 8012af1affffa468dae75ff8bf87abd68345de64.
SHA-1 value for the combined text 896488 and letter g [new string 896488g] is 0a37cbb9ca77e6733cd9a1f7bc97323ed39679a9.
SHA-1 value for the combined text 896488 and letter h [new string 896488h] is 2da2ca3183004d151e47695672f167afde91ae0b.
SHA-1 value for the combined text 896488 and letter i [new string 896488i] is 42a3727ea476b0d7952231c461d1d95d1d6d1052.
SHA-1 value for the combined text 896488 and letter j [new string 896488j] is 02353aa8a14b6d714c200baee3e79879a12f6aed.
SHA-1 value for the combined text 896488 and letter k [new string 896488k] is d9f3217ee1c608ea9ca578cb19aa145964dfd842.
SHA-1 value for the combined text 896488 and letter l [new string 896488l] is e264441756a77c4dad4618672d0abc6137df5459.
SHA-1 value for the combined text 896488 and letter m [new string 896488m] is 846883905c5cef1233b5d103a218d5154c9266c1.
SHA-1 value for the combined text 896488 and letter n [new string 896488n] is eb2e91a07285399dc9470112255d239a0d7c0ad5.
SHA-1 value for the combined text 896488 and letter o [new string 896488o] is 7f586d385af1eb3ec03f64d9082a8feb8e3a9b96.
SHA-1 value for the combined text 896488 and letter p [new string 896488p] is 580e1f711a57506c6d7884da3faf03324476e6da.
SHA-1 value for the combined text 896488 and letter q [new string 896488q] is 66a682254d977bca359e8355d819082a89721156.
SHA-1 value for the combined text 896488 and letter r [new string 896488r] is 233c9a52716647310529b2fbba7fa3adccace0a3.
SHA-1 value for the combined text 896488 and letter s [new string 896488s] is 28b816b4933ec5c89645a35c7fafc56d33163c65.
SHA-1 value for the combined text 896488 and letter t [new string 896488t] is c68eea6ff72ea72274c3fc8c0c7c69406c972293.
SHA-1 value for the combined text 896488 and letter u [new string 896488u] is a30c69f87e1662da677050de46b2cd5337a98a0e.
SHA-1 value for the combined text 896488 and letter v [new string 896488v] is a98ec9a6cf4d30598041a35252afe42762c6fc27.
SHA-1 value for the combined text 896488 and letter w [new string 896488w] is 02d5e099ceaced3c32a4ab4058ed9e33b0b4db84.
SHA-1 value for the combined text 896488 and letter x [new string 896488x] is 76bc2717f0f7caabaa619b31d5c4edc77a51d7e0.
SHA-1 value for the combined text 896488 and letter y [new string 896488y] is 3378252ad0f1e6193d2d5212d0cf6f4c33295bca.
SHA-1 value for the combined text 896488 and letter z [new string 896488z] is 24e6af11ccf471ab604e2015f9bb3927f3f07530.
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0.939294 |
Damien Chazelle and Ryan Gosling reteam for another film that examines the cost of ambition. This is the story of Neil Armstrong's preparation for the Apollo 11 moon mission, and it's told in an unusually thoughtful way that relies on quiet moments of personal drama rather than the usual bold exhilaration of aerospace achievement. And this subtle approach gives the film several singular thrills.
In the early 1960s, test pilot Neil (Gosling) understands that pushing the envelope teaches him how to push even further. Still recovering from the loss of a young daughter, he and his wife Janet (Foy) are excited to join Nasa's astronaut lineup. The understand the very real risks and seize on President Kennedy's challenge to get to the moon within the decade. Sure enough, Neil becomes commander of the iconic mission alongside Buzz Aldrin (Stoll) and Jim Lovell (Schreiber). But Janet worries that he is internalising the experience, leaving her and their children outside.
Cinematographer Linus Sandgren shoots in a period style, with grainy visuals that match the shaky, clanky mechanics. These aren't sleek, gliding spaceships; they're rattly rockets that always seem on the verge of breaking down simply because the exhaustive testing still doesn't prepare them for travelling so far from home. And the astronauts are similarly prepared and yet unready for the emotions these flights bring up. So Singer's script remains internal even when the story heads to space.
Within this ensemble of white men, the actors bring out each guy's distinctive personality. Since everything is seen through Neil's eyes, Gosling is the only one who gets to dig deep into his character's undercurrents. The film isn't interested in explaining actions or understanding motivations; it's more focussed on sharing his experience, letting the audience feel it along with him. In this sense, Foy offers us a way in. So even though she remains on the side, she is a powerful force throughout the film.
Chazelle expertly balances the film's wondrous visuals (the effects are seamless) with the more pungent emotionality. As the story builds toward the moon landing, it gains an edgy sense of urgency. We may know how the story ends, but we begin to understand how it must have felt for those who weren't so sure. And by avoiding the temptation to end on a note of rah-rah triumphalism, Chazelle reminds us that the most important thing about this story is that normal men did something astonishing that day.
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0.944781 |
Remember the Steven Seagal film Hard to Kill? Well there a Direct-To-Video film I would like to mention: Out for Blood, starring Don "The Dragon" Wilson as John Decker a lawyer whose family is killed by drug smugglers but he survives and with partial amnesia, he becomes the Karate Man as he tries to find those responsible.
There are a few similarities but it's more like a side movie. That seems to be a spin-off.
Remember the film Con Air? Well there is a movie I would like to recommend, Evasive Action also known as Steel Train, and stars Dorian Harewood as Luke Sinclair a man whose family was killed and when the killer went free he gunned down the killer, then went to jail, then when he saves the life of imprisoned crime lord Enzo Marcelli (Roy Scheider) he ends up in a prison transfer where Marcelli tries to escape with help from his henchmen, and Luke takes it on himself to stop them.
The movie brings together 3 actors who were special guest villains on Walker, Texas Rangers: Sam J. Jones (Thomas Bodine Williams/Mick Stanley), Ed O'Ross (Max Kale), and Ray Wise (Garrett Carlson), an appearance by Don Swayze the brother of Patrick Swayze, and criminals who have nicknames similar to the villains in Con Air, and even a reference to Con Air, when the Warden tells a Marshall that Airlines won't transfer prisoners after a plane went down in Las Vegas.
Remember The Karate Kid? Well there is a side movie called Showdown (1993) starring Billy Blanks as Billy Grant an ex-cop who resigns after Accidently killing a man in self-defense and becomes a janitor at a local school then comes a new kid named Ken Marks (Kenn Scott) who falls for Julie Martin (Christine Taylor) and runs afoul of her possessive boyfriend and school bully Tom Slate (Ken MacLeod) but learns Martial Arts from Billy Grant and together teach the bully a lesson and Billy face his past in the form of Lee Powers (Patrick Kilpatrick) Tom's teacher who is also the brother of the man he killed.
There are some similarities with The Karate Kid.
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0.999997 |
Let me rephrase that. Training is expensive if it doesn’t stick.
There is a lot of great training out there but it usually comes with a price. Let’s break that investment into your valued employee down a little more specifically: There is the cost of the tuition, in many cases, for the training event they are attending. There is the cost of travel, transportation, meals and lodging. There is the labor cost for the employee while they are at training, and there is the lost revenue that the employee would have generated if they were working. There may be more, but it adds up to a sizeable investment.
1. Review the training with them immediately after they complete it.
Get an understanding of the content and their understanding of the content. There are typically unanswered questions that could benefit from more clarity. Your job is to flush those out. This serves two purposes: It gives you an avenue to clarify anything there may be confusion on, and it gives them a chance to teach what they have learned. Learning happens when the student becomes the trainer. It may also give you a better idea of what they learned and how to reinforce it. You must create the environment that helps this new process grow instead of wither.
2. Set clear expectations about what results you expect to see from this investment.
It’s not enough to expect it, you must require the change. As the leader of the organization, the outcome you expect must be clear. This must be done in a positive way, but it should be concise. This can be established with the participant before attending the training event by setting goals together and defining the results.
3. Make a training plan.
Have an intentional approach, so your weekly meetings have a predetermined direction. By building a plan, you become less reactive and more proactive when delivering the information. Identify what training needs to happen, and set a course for how and when that knowledge is passed on.
4. Reinforce the training in weekly meetings for the whole team.
Our process needs to be heard consistently and the tools and phrases from the training should be top of mind. Training isn’t “one and done.” Like anything that is to be mastered, it needs practice, drill, and rehearsal until it becomes a habit. By continuing to train every week, our teams hear the same key phrases consistently until they click and become part of their vocabulary. We don’t often understand something new on the first pass. Sometimes it takes a few exposures before the light goes on.
5. Spend time on weekly coaching.
Weekly coaching is one of the highest return activities I see, yet many leaders can’t seem to make the time for it. It has such a dramatic effect on the culture of your company and the performance of your team. I think of weekly coaching like steering a ship; every week you can correct the course and help your teammate get back on track, so at the end of the month they arrive at their destination. If you wait until the month is done, you end up way off course. The reasons our employees get off course are many. The reason may not even be their fault, and weekly coaching can give you the feedback you may need to correct course elsewhere in the business. By speaking with your teammates every week, the lines of communication grow stronger and more effective. This also gives you the valuable time with your employee to really focus on some developmental opportunities that can’t be tackled in group training. Weekly coaching provides the safe zone where learning happens.
6. Build processes to support new concepts learned in training, to provide the accountability piece that is often missed after training.
t is not enough to ask your employees to do something. Our company processes must support those activities so they can take root. If the critical pieces aren’t in place, the process will fall apart. Worse yet, we allow it to fall apart because we haven’t developed the solution to the problem. Measurement and tracking are often key pieces to determining if a process is effective.
For example: If our new process is to give the customer options on every visit, and we are requiring the technicians to fill a sheet like that out, then we should have a process that measures how many calls they ran and how many of those options sheets were turned in to the office. This gives us the data to determine if the activities are happening that will drive the result we are looking for. It’s not enough to wait for the results. The activities need to happen before we can truly measure the result. Then we can determine the result of our training by looking at the results.
7. Ride along with your employees.
This is another high return activity, where the rubber meets the road and you can see the results of your training investment right before your very eyes. It is often a big eye-opener when you get to watch your employees at work. Ride-alongs give you a great view of how effective your training is and what opportunities for improvement you may have. It is also an invaluable way to learn the challenges your employees may be facing because of a failed process or other roadblocks you weren’t aware of. When you do find a solution to one of these problems, not only will your performance improve, but your team will be less stressed.
Ride-alongs also give you the time and focus to train your employee while they are working their craft. This is real-world feedback in their own environment. It’s not just theory. I have often had technicians and salespeople tell me, “You really brought me luck today.” It’s not luck. When a proven process is followed great things happen, like happy customers and greater revenue. By riding with your field employees, you can help them identify behaviors they may not be aware of and help them get back on track.
I titled this article “Keeping the Tools Sharp,” because training really is like sharpening your tools. Every time you help your employees get better at their jobs they become sharper and more effective. This can help them make more money in some cases, depending on your incentive or bonus plans. Helping them boost their income as a result of training and accountability is a win. Training also helps them avoid many bad customer encounters and endure less frustration as they do their job. Most of our customer complaints are self- inflicted because we didn’t follow the process. By training your techs to identify needs, give options, and get customers involved in the right solutions, everybody wins. Stress gives way to job satisfaction and happier customers.
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0.95963 |
Sir Wilfrid Laurier (November 20, 1841 - February 17, 1919) was the seventh Prime Minister of Canada from July 11, 1896 to October 7, 1911.
He was born in Saint-Lin, Canada East (what would later become Quebec), and graduated with a B.C.L. from McGill University in 1864. In 1868 he wed Zoe Lafontaine (1841-1921).
Often considered one of Canada's great statesmen and the first francophone prime minister, Sir Wilfrid Laurier is well known for his policies of conciliation and nation building. He argued for an English-French partnership in Canada. "I have had before me as a pillar of fire," he said, "a policy of true Canadianism, of moderation, of reconciliation."
Before joining the Liberals Laurier was a member of the radical Rouge wing of Quebec politics. He became disenchanted with extremism and ideology, however, and later embraced a far more conciliatory approach. Distinguished by his debonair charm and intellect, Laurier was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons in 1874 and gradually built up his party's strength and his personal following in Quebec and elsewhere in Canada. He led the Liberal Party to victory in 1896 and remained prime minister until 1911.
One of Laurier's first acts as Prime Minister was a solution to the Manitoba Schools Question, which had brought down the government of Mackenzie Bowell earlier in 1896. His compromise stated that French-speaking Catholics in Manitoba could have a Catholic education if there were enough students to warrant it, on a school-by-school basis. This was seen as the best possible solution under the circumstances.
In 1899 the United Kingdom expected military support from Canada in the Boer War. Laurier, who wanted Canada to move towards stronger ties with the United States (a policy of "continentalism"), was caught between support for military action from English Canada, and a strong opposition from French Canada, which saw the Boer War as a reminder of its own defeat in the Seven Years' War. Henri Bourassa was an especially vocal opponent. Laurier eventually decided to send a volunteer force, rather then the militia expected by Britain, but Bourassa denounced him anyway.
Laurier's greatest failing was, perhaps, his ambitious railway schemes. John A. Macdonald had had great success building a national railway and in many ways Laurier wished to match him and began constructing a second national railway. This and other railway schemes were a financial disaster.
In 1905 Laurier oversaw Saskatchewan and Alberta's entry into Confederation, the last two provinces to be created out of the Northwest Territories. In 1910 Laurier introduced the Naval Service Bill to create an independent Canadian navy, but Bourassa attacked him again over this issue, saying Britain would simply call on the Canadian navy whenever it felt necessary. Imperialists in English Canada were also opposed to attempts to remove Canada from Britain's influence.
Another controversy arose regarding Laurier's support of trade reciprocity with the United States, which was opposed by Conservatives as well as Liberal businessmen, but had strong support of agricultural interests. These controversies led to the victory of Robert Laird Borden and the Conservatives in the election of 1911, which was mostly fought on the issue of reciprocity.
Laurier led the opposition throughout Borden's tenure as Prime Minister. During World War I he was an influential opponent of conscription, which led to the Conscription Crisis of 1917 and the formation of a Union government, although Laurier refused to join the coalition.
Laurier died on February 17, 1919, and was buried in Notre Dame Cemetery, Ottawa, Ontario. The Sir Wilfrid Laurier National Historic Site of Canada is located in Saint-Lin-Laurentides, a town 60 km north of Montreal. Another site is Laurier House, his official residence in Ottawa at the corner of Somerset and what is now Laurier Street.
Sir Wilfrid Laurier is depicted on the Canadian five-dollar bill. On November 1, 1973, Waterloo Lutheran University was renamed and became Wilfrid Laurier University, one of Ontario's publicly funded universities. There are also many high schools in Canada named after him.
Laurier is also the personal hero of Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chr�tien who saw in Laurier's abilities at conciliation and at winning majority governments an ideal model to follow.
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0.968514 |
What are the top hostels in California?
The Golden State is high on the agenda for many travelers exploring the USA, as it contains many attractions that America is known for abroad. However, the expense of this portion of the country can be staggering, so it helps to stay in hostels during your time there.
The top hostels in California combine a low price with outstanding value, making them the perfect places to stay on your trip to this groovy state.
When the time comes during your trip to ride the trolley cars of San Francisco, you’ll want to get off it at USA Hostels San Francisco once your sightseeing for the day has concluded.
With unique features like a 50 seat theatre to kick back with a movie, and a yoga room so you can embrace the progressive way of life that many Bay Area folks adhere to, you’ll enjoy your time hanging with other travelers here.
Additionally, they also offer group activities that include pub crawls, bike rides across the Golden Gate Bridge, and guided walking tours through downtown, so the fun doesn’t stop after you leave the premises either.
Los Angeles is a spread out city with many great neighbourhoods in which to stay, but we would recommend that you hang your hat at Banana Bungalow West Hollywood, as this hostel is located in one of the most fabulous parts of town.
As the name suggests, this hostel is modeled after beach bungalows despite not being at the beach, nor in a tropical area – but hey, it’s all in good fun!
If you decide to go with it, you’ll love their free BBQ’s, poker nights, and karaoke sessions. When the time comes to explore the surrounding area, you’ll be able to save a healthy chunk of cash on tours and shuttles to places like Venice Beach, Disneyland and the homes of Hollywood stars (exterior views only … sorry!).
Unlike its two bigger cousins to the north, San Diego has a more chilled out vibe to it, making a good choice for those looking to relax a bit.
Staying at the International Travelers House Zoo Hostel will aid you in this cause, as this place takes care of breakfast AND dinner for you, as your per night fee pays for this service.
With a variety of amenities designed to appeal to the party traveler, this hostel is well suited to those looking to let their hair down on their California trip.
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0.988404 |
WTF Economics: shifting curves UP/DOWN or LEFT/RIGHT?
In other words, price is the input variable, and quantity is the output variable, and so I expect all the graphs to have P on the bottom horizontal X axis and Q on the left vertical Y axis.
The fact that it's intuitive to econ professors to flip these axes... is I think very weird. When I talk with economists I'd want to say "demand increases so the demand curve shifts up", and they expect me to say "demand increases so the demand curve shifts right"
It may be the convention, but you're not going to convince me that it is a good convention to go against everything that will be learned in every other math related field.
So there's hope in the world.
Probably a lot of the confusion is that this is just the model for equilibrium. The more fundamental model is the model of the dynamics, and then there's no Price, there's price-at-time, so P(t+dt) is a function of P(t) and also D(t),S(t), the transaction volume V(t) and the inferences that the individual actors make by observing V(t) and/or their environment, but on this simple diagram, there is no time, and it makes no sense to say that "price is a function of price"
Even more fundamental than The Price, is the bid-ask spread, because Bids and Asks can change without transactions, whereas it makes no sense to talk about a transaction Price without transactions. So a producer looks at the quantity they have, and the Bid Price, and the Ask Price, and they provide a new Ask Price, the consumer looks at their preferences for consumption and the Bid Price and Ask Price, and provides a new Bid Price, these converge towards the point where they are close enough to meet in the middle and then we see a Transaction Price and a Transaction Volume.
If we taught this as fundamental, and then taught the equilibrium price theory as a simple model applicable for slow changes, the way that equilibrium thermodynamics is applicable for slow adiabatic displacements of the piston head or whatever, it would in my opinion improve understanding.
According to Humphrey (1992), Cournot contributed the original curves while Rau and Mangoldt provided stability analysis. Mangoldt did the first comparative statics exercises and Jenkin applied the analysis of price determination to the long and the short runs. Cournot, Dupuit and Jenkin use the framework for tax incidence analysis while Jenkin devises the concept of producer surplus. To Humphrey’s knowledge, Marshall was probably aware of much of this work. One wonders if Marshall's placing of price on the vertical axis and quantity on the horizontal axis might have been done to differentiate his work from the others – Cournot has quantity on the vertical axis and price on the horizontal (but see Gordon 1982 for another explanation of why Marshall did it – to motivate the desire to use price as a money measurement of benefits and costs in measuring surplus and welfare). Humphrey (1992) asserts that Marshall nevertheless deserves some credit because he gave the diagram its most “complete, systematic and persuasive” statement but not because he was the first to invent it. So there you have it. (from http://worthwhile.typepad.com/worthwhile_canadian_initi/2015/03/a-very-brief-history-of-demand-and-supply.html).
Suffice it to say, there is some history to the placement of P and Q on the graph. This does not defend its current positioning, but it is sometimes useful to find out how things got the way they became.
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0.997633 |
This NPC can be found in Plaguelands: The Scarlet Enclave (1).
Highlord Darion Mograine yells: Soldiers of the Scourge, stand ready! Prepare to unleash your fury upon the Argent Dawn!
Highlord Darion Mograine yells: The sky weeps at the glorious devastation of these lands! Soon, Azeroth's futile tears will rain down upon us!
Highlord Darion Mograine yells: Death knights of Acherus, the death march begins!
Highlord Darion Mograine yells: Soldiers of the Scourge, death knights of Acherus, minions of the darkness: hear the call of the Highlord!
Highlord Darion Mograine yells: RISE!
Highlord Darion Mograine yells: The skies turn red with the blood of the fallen! The Lich King watches over us, minions! Leave only ashes and misery in your destructive wake!
Highlord Darion Mograine says: Kneel before the Highlord!
Highlord Darion Mograine says: You stand no chance!
Highlord Darion Mograine says: The Scourge will destroy this place!
Highlord Darion Mograine says: Your life is forfeit.
Highlord Darion Mograine says: Life is meaningless without suffering!
Highlord Darion Mograine says: How much longer will your forces hold out?
Highlord Darion Mograine says: The Argent Dawn is finished!
Highlord Darion Mograine says: Spare no one!
Highlord Darion Mograine yells: OBEY ME, BLADE!
Highlord Darion Mograine says: You will do as I command! I am in control here!
Highlord Darion Mograine says: What is happening to me?
Highlord Darion Mograine says: Minions, come to my aid!
Highlord Darion Mograine says: Save your breath, old man. It might be the last you ever draw.
Highlord Darion Mograine says: Father!
Highlord Darion Mograine yells: You... betrayed me. You betrayed us all, monster! Face the might of Mograine!
Highlord Darion Mograine yells: Tirion!
Highlord Darion Mograine says: So too do the Knights of the Ebon Blade. Although our kind has no place in your world, we will fight to bring an end to the Lich King. This I vow!
Highlord Darion Mograine Thousands of Scourge rise up at the Highlord's command.
Highlord Darion Mograine The army marches towards Light's Hope Chapel.
Highlord Darion Mograine After over a hundred Defenders of the Light fall, Highlord Tirion Fordring arrives.
Highlord Darion Mograine kneels in defeat before Tirion Fordring.
Highlord Darion Mograine becomes himself again...and is now angry.
Highlord Darion Mograine throws the Corrupted Ashbringer to Tirion, who catches it. Tirion becomes awash with Light, and the Ashbringer is cleansed.
Highlord Darion Mograine Light washes over the chapel ? the Light of Dawn is uncovered.
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Pop singer Ariana Grande is again at # 1 in The United States, with its newest offering of love-song tunes and high notes, few can make. Sweetener debuts at the top of the Billboard 200, the country's most comprehensive chart, measuring the most popular albums every week ] Sweetener starts off with a very healthy first image as he shifts 231,000 equivalent copies. Of this total, 127,000 are actual sales, the remainder being largely streamed from equivalent units.
Sweetener is Grande's # 1 third album in her home country, which has impressive drawbacks She has just released four full-lengths. Her music career started on a big foot when her debut Yours Truly started at No. 1, and just a year later, her second follow-up My Everything ended up a massive hit The Singles Front also landed at its peak.
Sweetener was introduced with a handful of songs, two of which were used as real singles. The first time was "No Tears Left to Cry," which debuted in the top 10 and reached its peak in No. 3. It was the ninth song of the singer and reached the highest region of the Hot 100. The successor single "God Is a Woman" came in only one position, which is not yet tenth, although she had to settle for eleventh place , A single ad, "The Light is Coming," with a verse by Nicki Minaj, rose only as high as # 95 and became a small hit.
Pop singer Ariana Grande returns to # 1 in the US with her latest offering of love songs and high notes. Sweetener debuts at the top of Billboard 200, the country's most comprehensive chart, measuring the most popular albums each week.
Sweetener starts off with a very healthy first picture as he shifts 231,000 equivalent copies of that sum are 127,000 actual sales, while the rest comes largely from streaming equivalent units.
Sweetener is Grande's # 1 third album in their home country, which is impressive when bed That she has just released four full-size right. Her music career began with a big foot when her debut Her Truly started at No. 1, and just a year later, her second follow-up My Everything was a massive success on the Single front was landed, even on the summit.
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0.999491 |
A Dialogue between two friends on coming/ensuing examination Anik: Good evening, Sadik. Sadik: Good evening. How are you? Anik: I am fine but feeling a little nervous. What’s about you? Sadik: I am fine too. Why do you feel nervous? Anik: I am afraid of the examination.
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0.947427 |
Which dividend giant is the smarter pick?
Investors seeking income like high-yielding dividend stocks, and both Altria Group (NYSE:MO) and Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) consistently rank among the top yielders in the blue-chip stock world. The two businesses don't have a lot in common, but one thing they share is that they both produce ample cash flow, and they have both decided to return much of that available cash to shareholders through dividends. Yet with competitive challenges facing both companies, investors want to know which one makes a better stock pick right now. Let's look more closely at Altria and Verizon, comparing them on a number of metrics to see which one looks more attractive right now.
Both Altria and Verizon have done extremely well over the past year, and although the cigarette maker has a slight lead, the telecom giant has done a good job of catching up in recent months. Altria's gain of 30% beats Verizon's total return of about 24% since Sept. 2015, but both have dramatically outperformed the market's smaller rise.
One way in which Altria and Verizon are quite different is in how market participants assign values to their stocks. Using simple valuation metrics based on trailing earnings, the disparity between the two companies is quite clear. Altria currently trades with a trailing earnings multiple of 23, compared to just 15 for Verizon. Those two numbers have converged slightly in recent months, but they still give a big lead to Verizon.
In addition, when you take near-term growth projections into account, Verizon still maintains its lead. Verizon's forward earnings multiple of 13 is far cheaper than Altria, which trades closer to 20 times forward earnings. The lower valuation that Verizon sports here gives it the nod in this category over Altria.
Many investors in Altria and Verizon focus almost solely on dividends, and current yield is the first thing that many people look at. Here, Verizon has built up a lead, paying a dividend yield of 4.4%. Altria weighs in at 3.7%, which is also respectable and has risen slightly in recent months.
One trend that investors have seen lately is that payout ratios for the two stocks have gotten closer together. Verizon's payout ratio has risen from around 50% into the 60% to 65% range. Altria, meanwhile, has seen its payout ratio stay between 75% to 80%. That still leaves Verizon with more room to consider dividend increases, but the telecom has traditionally been more conservative about its dividend growth policy.
Altria has done an excellent job of rewarding shareholders with dividend increases. In August, the cigarette maker gave investors an 8% boost to its quarterly payout, and going forward, it will pay $0.565 per share every three months. The move marked the 50th increase in 47 years for Altria, and it's a lot bigger than the 2% increase that Verizon recently announced earlier this month. Verizon will pay $0.5775 per share going forward, but its pace of long-term dividend growth has been slower than Altria's. Which stock gets the overall win in dividends depends on whether you focus on Verizon's current income edge or Altria's better future dividend growth potential.
Both Altria and Verizon are large, mature companies, but they each have opportunities they can capitalize on in order to grow further. Altria has showed the value of its diversified set of businesses in its recent results, in which growth for the smokeless tobacco division has outpaced sluggishness in the core smokeable products segment. From a longer-term perspective, Altria's strategy of using pricing increases to offset volume decreases continues to work well, and the company has been able to produce nearly double-digit percentage growth in earnings by focusing on improving productivity and cutting unnecessary costs. Forays into the e-cigarette business through its Nu Mark division have shown promise, and although that business is early in its growth cycle, Altria has high hopes for alternatives to cigarettes. Finally, Altria's stake in SABMiller should turn into a corresponding interest in Anheuser-Busch InBev in the near future, and that gives Altria shareholders exposure to the fast-growing global beer market.
Meanwhile, Verizon has worked hard to stay atop the U.S. wireless industry. The company has had to deal with falling operative revenue on an adjusted basis, but it has done a good job of retaining customers despite huge competitive pushes from its rivals to take away its customers. Divestitures of legacy landline assets have allowed Verizon to focus on its higher-growth areas, and the coming release of the iPhone 7 might well help stoke greater interest in upgrading and give Verizon a chance to woo new customers to its service. The threat of a price war is always present, but Verizon is positioning itself to emphasize its quality, and that could help it stand out among the crowd of wireless providers serving the U.S. market.
Based on all of these factors, both Altria and Verizon have good points and challenges to overcome. Verizon's cheaper valuation makes it a more attractive value pick, but Altria's record of long-term dividend growth makes it look better for those who prioritize portfolio income.
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0.692622 |
M- and N-cadherin are members of the Ca2+-dependent cell–cell adhesion molecule family. M-cadherin is expressed predominantly in developing skeletal muscles and has been implicated in terminal myogenic differentiation, particularly in myoblast fusion. N-cadherin-mediated cell–cell adhesion also plays an important role in skeletal myogenesis. In the present study, we found that both genes were differentially expressed in C2C12 and Sol8 myoblasts during myogenic differentiation and that the expression of M-cadherin was preferentially enhanced in slow-twitch muscle. Interestingly, most MRFs (myogenic regulatory factors) significantly activated the promoter of M-cadherin, but not that of N-cadherin. In line with this, overexpression of MyoD in C3H10T1/2 fibroblasts strongly induced endogenous M-cadherin expression. Promoter analysis in silico and in vitro identified an E-box (from −2 to +4) abutting the transcription initiation site within the M-cadherin promoter that is bound and differentially activated by different MRFs. The activation of the M-cadherin promoter by MRFs was also modulated by Bhlhe40 (basic helix–loop–helix family member e40). Finally, chromatin immunoprecipitation proved that MyoD as well as myogenin binds to the M-cadherin promoter in vivo. Taken together, these observations identify a molecular mechanism by which MRFs regulate M-cadherin expression directly to ensure the terminal differentiation of myoblasts.
Trunk skeletal muscle cells are derived from axial somitic cells during early embryogenesis. Signals from the notochord and neural tube induce the specification of myogenic precursors among somitic cells that can potentially develop into cells capable of forming trunk skeleton and dermis in addition to skeletal muscle [1,2]. These myogenic precursors are characterized by their expression of a bHLH (basic helix–loop–helix) transcription factor, either MyoD or Myf5, and other muscle lineage markers, such as desmin and vimentin . Once these cells express MyoD or Myf5, they are committed to the myogenic lineage and become myoblasts that terminally differentiate into myotubes, which form the skeletal muscle .
Terminal differentiation of myogenic cells is dictated by the function of MRFs (myogenic regulatory factors) that include MyoD, Myf5, myogenin and Mrf4. Overexpression of any one of these bHLH transcription factors in several non-myogenic cells induce the transdifferentiation into myocytes . Myogenic bHLH proteins activate the expression of another family of transcription factors, MEF2 (myocyte enhancer factor 2) proteins . Together, myogenic bHLH and MEF2 proteins promote the fusion of mononucleated myoblasts into multinucleated myotubes as well as activating muscle-specific genes that promote contractility and cell-cycle exit such as p21cip1 and p27kip1 [4,7].
For fusion into multinucleated myotubes, myoblasts need to recognize, adhere to and align with one another. This process is critical to terminal myogenesis because it ensures that fusion only happens between myoblasts and not between myoblasts and other cell types . Several members of the cadherins and IgG transmembrane adhesive factors/receptors families have been show to play important roles in this process [9,10]. These factors promote adhesion of myoblasts by binding to their counterparts on the neighbouring myoblasts in a homophilic manner. This binding signals into the nucleus to regulate the expression and function of MRFs and to promote cell-cycle exit .
Cadherins are transmembrane proteins that have been implicated in the morphogenesis of many tissues. They are present in most solid tissues and function in a Ca2+-dependent manner [12,13]. Among them, M- and N-cadherin are the major members expressed in differentiating skeletal muscle cells and have been shown to play critical roles in myogenesis. Antibodies specific for the extracellular domain of M-cadherin inhibit the fusion of cultured myoblasts . Similarly, in vitro myogenic differentiation of chicken epiblast cells , primary embryo myoblasts , as well as C2C12 murine myoblasts was blocked by antibodies against N-cadherin. Furthermore, addition of antagonistic peptides targeting the ligand-binding site of M-cadherin abolished rat L6 myoblast terminal differentiation . Conversely, incubation of C2C12 and other myoblasts with the extracellular domains of N-cadherin enhances terminal myogenic differentiation .
M-cadherin is the only member of the cadherin superfamily whose expression is restricted in the developing skeletal muscle and correlated with differentiation of myogenic cells [19,20]. In adult skeletal muscle, its expression is confined to satellite cells, stem cells residing beneath the basal lamina of muscle fibres, and the sarcolemma surrounding satellite cells, implying its role in mediating the communication and adhesion between satellite cells and muscle fibres . Outside skeletal muscle, high levels of M-cadherin are only found at the contactus adherens connecting neuronal extensions in the glomeruli of the granule cells layers of the cerebellum . After damage of skeletal muscle, M-cadherin expression is activated and the highest level is found in the fusing myoblasts [14,21,23]. These lines of evidence strongly suggest that M-cadherin has an important role in myogenesis, both in myogenic stem cell specification/maintenance and in the fusion of myoblasts.
Surprisingly, mice lacking M-cadherin are viable and no gross developmental defects, especially in skeletal muscle, are observed [24,25]. Furthermore, skeletal lesions induced by necrosis are efficiently repaired in M-cadherin-null mice, suggesting that satellite cells are present and function normally. Therefore it seems that the function of M-cadherin in myogenesis can be largely compensated for by other classic cadherins, such as N- and R-cadherins, that are also expressed in embryonic muscle during development. Unlike M-cadherin, N-cadherin is expressed in many other tissues, predominantly in neuronal tissue . Mice lacking N-cadherin exhibit severe defects in neurulation, somitogenesis and cardiogenesis and die at 9 dpc (days post coitum) before muscle tissue forms . However, myoblasts derived from these mice form myotubes in vitro, suggesting again redundancy with other cadherins . The expression of N-cadherin is also induced upon terminal differentiation, suggesting a role in the alignment and fusion of myoblasts .
Although both N- and M-cadherins have been demonstrated to play critical roles during myogenesis, the mechanisms that direct their expression during these processes remain unclear. In the present study, we use molecular and cellular assays to show that MRFs induce the expression of M-cadherin during terminal differentiation of myogenic cells. M-cadherin was strongly activated by most MRFs, but was only marginally activated by Mef2C. In contrast, the activation of the N-cadherin promoter by MRFs was relatively weak. MRFs activate M-cadherin directly through binding to an E-box close to the transcription initiation site in vitro and in vivo. Our findings elucidate the mechanism of MRF-mediated activation of M-cadherin during myogenic differentiation.
Full-length M-cadherin promoter (from −3180 to +200) in pGL3-basic vector (Promega) was constructed by inserting a PCR product amplified from mouse genomic DNA into the KpnI and XhoI sites of the vector. Deletion clones of this promoter were constructed by digesting the full-length clone with either PstI or SmaI in conjunction with KpnI to create reporters containing regions from −2535 to +200 and from −1773 to +200 of the M-cadherin promoter. The genomic fragment from −3180 to −1984 was cloned into the SmaI site of pGL2-tk-enhancer vector (Promega). Further deletion of the M-cadherin promoter was achieved by PCR amplification and insertion into the SmaI site of the pGL3-basic vector to create reporters containing the regions from −508 to +200, from −252 to +200 and from −91 to +200 of the M-cadherin promoter. The primers used for amplification of each fragment are listed in Table 1. The E-box and CDE mutant reporters of the M-cadherin promoter region from −252 to +200 were generated by PCR-based site-directed mutagenesis. The primer sets used for this purpose are listed in Table 1. The reporter construct of N-cadherin promoter (from −3785 to +1032) was created as described above. All PCR products were sequenced to confirm their sequence integrity. The expression vectors for MyoD, myogenin, Myf5, Mrf4 and Mef2C were as described previously .
NCU, National Central University; FP, forward primer; RP, reverse primer.
All experiments involving animals were approved by the National Central University Animal Ethics Committee and were conducted according to the guidelines set by the National Laboratory Animal Center.
Proliferating C2C12 and C3H10T1/2 cells were kept in DMEM (Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium) supplemented with 20% or 10% fetal calf serum respectively. All cells were kept at low confluence to prevent spontaneous differentiation. To induce terminal differentiation, the culture medium of confluent C2C12 myoblasts was changed to DMEM containing 2% (v/v) horse serum to reduce the mitogen concentration in the medium. C2C12 cells normally started to differentiate 48–72 h after serum withdrawal.
Cells were split and plated into 12-well culture dishes 1 day before transfection. Transient transfection assays were performed by combining plasmid DNAs in 50 μl of Hepes buffer (20 mM Hepes, pH 7.0, 187 mM NaCl, 5 mM KCl, 0.7 mM Na2HPO4 and 5.5 mM dextrose) first. Then, Lipofectamine™ (Life Technologies) in 50 μl of Hepes buffer was added to the DNA solution and incubated at room temperature (25 °C) for 15–30 min allowing the DNA–liposome complex to form. Aliquots (1 ml) of culture medium were added to each tube and mixed gently. Medium containing the DNA–liposome complex was transferred to cells. The transfection solution was left overnight before the medium was replaced with differentiation medium containing 2% (v/v) horse serum. Cells were harvested and assayed for luciferase activity 16–24 h after transfection in a Clarity 2 luminometer (BioTEK). All experiments were performed in triplicates and repeated at least three times.
Total RNA was extracted from the C2C12 and Sol8 myoblasts and C3H10T1/2 fibroblasts using TRIzol® (Life Technologies) according to the supplier's instructions. Mouse soleus and gastrocnemius muscles were isolated and pooled from three or four mice (3 months old) and then homogenized in liquid nitrogen for RNA extraction. First-strand cDNA was synthesized using Superscript III (Life Technologies). Briefly, total RNA was denatured at 65 °C for 10 min in the presence of 0.5 μg of oligo(dT) and 1 mM dNTPs. After chilling on ice for at least 1 min, RT was allowed to proceed at 25 °C for 5 min in the presence of 1× first-strand buffer, 5 mM DTT (dithiothreitol) and 40 units of RNase inhibitor. The reaction mixture was incubated at 50 °C for another 60 min before heat-inactivation at 70 °C for 15 min.
Real-time PCR was performed in 25 μl reaction volumes containing 5 μM forward/reverse primers and 1× SYBR Green reaction mixture (Applied Biosystem). The reaction was performed by initial denaturing for 10 min at 95 °C to activate Taq DNA polymerase, followed by 40 cycles of 95 °C for 15 s and 63 °C for 1 min. Different amounts of template were used to ensure the linear amplification of PCR products. Gapdh (glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase) was used as an internal control and was amplified in the same PCR assay. The expression level of each gene was normalized to that of Gapdh first, then the normalized expression level (ΔCt) at PMB (proliferating myoblast) stage or in gastrocnemius muscle was arbitrarily set as 1. The relative expression level of each gene at CMB (confluent myoblast) and MT (myotube) stages and in soleus muscle was calculated using the 2−ΔΔCt method. The primer sets used for quantification of myogenic gene expression are listed in Table 2. All reactions were performed with the ABI 7300 sequence detection system.
Constructs for expressing GST (glutathione transferase)–MyoD and GST–myogenin fusion proteins were gifts from Dr George Muscat (Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia). Both GST- and MBP (maltose-binding protein)-fusion proteins were expressed in Escherichia coli strain BL21 and purified using glutathione–agarose (GE Healthcare) and MBP–agarose (New England Biolabs) bead affinity chromatography respectively according to the manufacturer's instructions. Adsorbed GST-fusion proteins were eluted by incubation in elution buffer (15 mM GSH with 50 mM Tris/HCl, pH 8.0) at 4 °C for 2 h before centrifugation at 36300 g for 15 min at 4 °C to separate the proteins from the beads. Protein in the supernatant was collected and analysed by SDS/PAGE (10% gels) to examine their integrity and concentration. MBP-fusion proteins were eluted with 10 mM maltose in column buffer (20 mM Tris/HCl, pH 7.4, 200 mM NaCl, 1 mM EDTA and 1 mM DTT) at 4 °C for 2 h and then processed as for GST-fusion proteins.
Wild-type and E-box mutants of M-cadherin core promoter (from −52 to +24) were amplified with Pfu DNA polymerase (Yeastsun) to create blunt-ended PCR products and then labelled on both ends by PNK (polynucleotide kinase)-mediated DNA phosphorylation in the presence of [γ-32P]ATP (10 μCi; NEN). 32P-labelled probes were purified further by gel purification in a 15% acrylamide gel buffered with 1× TBE (45 mM Tris/borate and 1 mM EDTA). The 32P-labelled DNA band was cut from the gel and eluted on to DEAE-cellulose filter paper before being washed off from the paper with high salt solution. Then the 32P-labelled DNA was ethanol-precipitated and resuspended in distilled water for the protein binding assay.
Bacterially expressed proteins (0.5 μg) were used to bind 32P-labelled oligonucleotide probe in 20 μl of binding buffer (25 mM Hepes, pH 7.4, 5 mM MgCl2, 4 mM EDTA, 2 mM DTT, 110 mM NaCl, 0.5 μg/ml BSA and 0.8% Ficoll) at room temperature for 30 min. Protein and DNA complexes were resolved on 5% acrylamide low-ionic gels containing 5% (v/v) glycerol at 40 °C for at least 3.5 h. Signals on the gels were visualized by autoradiography. Antibodies (0.5 μg) against MyoD (554130, BD Pharmingen), Myogenin (556358, BD Pharmingen), Bhlhe40 (Ab12049, Abcam), MBP (E8032S, New England Biolabs) and mouse IgG (Ab6785, Abcam) were included in the binding reaction to verify the presence of these proteins in the shifted complexes in the gels.
Confluent C2C12 myoblasts (CMBs) and those kept in differentiation medium for 1 and 5 days (DM1 and DM5 respectively) were washed several times with PBS before being fixed in 1% (w/v) formaldehyde for 20 min at 37 °C. Cells were washed twice with ice-cold PBS, followed by incubation in PBS containing 125 mM glycine for 10 min before being scraped off in PBS containing 2 mM EDTA. Cells were collected by spinning at 1700 g for 5 min at 4 °C, and then washed with ice-cold PBS twice. The pellet was resuspended in 250 μl of lysis buffer [50 mM Tris/HCl, 150 mM NaCl, pH 8.1, 0.1% SDS, 1% Triton X-100 and 1× protease inhibitor (Sigma)] and sonicated with at least five cycles of 30 s 140–150 W pulses with 30 s rest intervals. The lysate was spun at 17900 g for 10 min at 4 °C to clear the solution, and the supernatant was transferred to a new tube. Then, 80 μl of Protein A/G–agarose was added to the supernatant and incubated at 4 °C for 1 h before centrifugation at 1700 g for 5–10 min at 4 °C to clear the solution. The supernatant was transferred to a new tube and 1 μg of specific antibody was added. The binding was allowed to proceed at 4 °C overnight. Protein A/G–agarose (80 μl) was added before incubation for another 1 h to capture the immune complex. The beads were collected and washed four times in lysis buffer for 10 min, then washed once in LiCl buffer (0.25 M LiCl, 1% Nonidet P40, 1% sodium deoxycholate, 1 mM EDTA and 10 mM Tris/HCl, pH 8.1) and twice in 1× Tris/EDTA (pH 8.1) for 5 min. The immune complex was eluted twice with 250 μl of elution buffer (1% SDS and 0.1 M NaHCO3, pH 8.0), and the eluate was heated at 65 °C for at least 6 h to reverse the cross-linking. DNA was extracted with phenol/chloroform twice and purified further using a PCR purification kit (Geneaid) before amplification with primers targeting M-caderin (from −52 to +24) and myogenin (from −366 to +23) promoters. PCR of an M-cadherin upstream site (from −508 to −400) served as a negative control. The relative amount of co-immunoprecipitated DNA was determined by PCR and compared with that of input DNA. Antibodies against MyoD and myogenin were purchased from BD Pharmingen (#554130 and #556358 respectively); those against Bhlhe40 and mouse IgG were from Abcam (#Ab12049 and #Ab6785 respectively).
Both M- and N-cadherin have been implicated in the fusion of myoblasts into myotubes. To characterize the mechanisms of activation, we first performed a detailed expression analysis during myogenic terminal differentiation of Sol8 and C2C12 myoblasts. Myotubes formed by Sol8 myoblasts have a slow-twitch phenotype , whereas those formed by C2C12 have a mixed phenotype in which genes encoding both fast- and slow-twitch contractile proteins are expressed at similar levels [30,31]. Using qRT-PCR, we found that the expression of both M- and N-cadherin was increased during terminal myogenic differentiation in C2C12 myoblasts (Figure 1A). In contrast, in Sol8 myoblasts, the expression of M-cadherin was only induced at the CMB stage, but not increased further at the MT stage, whereas the expression of N-cadherin did not change during terminal differentiation (Figure 1B). These differential expression patterns in C2C12 and Sol8 myoblasts suggest that the regulation and function of M- and N-cadherin in these two fibre types is different. This hypothesis was supported further by the finding that the expression of M-cadherin was significantly higher in the slow-twitch soleus muscle than that in the fast-twitch gastrocnemius muscle (Figure 1C). Conversely, no difference in the expression of N-cadherin between these two muscles was observed (Figure 1C). The expression of PGC-1α (peroxisome-proliferator-activated receptor γ co-activator 1α) served as a marker for slow-twitch muscle and that of MyoD and myogenin served as lineage and differentiation markers respectively.
The expression level of MyoD, myogenin, M-cadherin and N-cadherin, during differentiation of C2C12 (A) and Sol8 (B) myoblasts was determined by qRT-PCR. The expression level of GAPDH served as an input control, whereas the expression of MyoD and myogenin served as lineage and differentiation markers respectively. The expression level of each gene in PMBs was set as 1-fold expression and their expression level in CMBs and MTs was compared with that of PMBs. (C) The expression level of PGC-1α, and M- and N-cadherin in gastrocnemius and soleus muscles was also determined by qRT-PCR as above, and the expression level of each gene in gastrocnemius was set as 1-fold expression. The signal of PGC-1α served as a marker for slow-twitch muscle. **P<0.01 compared with that of PMB or gastrocnemius. Results are means+S.D. for at least three independent experiments. For the amplification of each gene, PCR was started with a cDNA template equivalent to 25 ng of total RNA. PCRs using equivalent amounts of total RNA or no template control were run simultaneously to examine the degree of genomic DNA contamination. Only samples without detectable genomic DNA contamination were analysed further.
The increased expression of M- and N-cadherin during terminal differentiation suggested that MRFs activate their expression. To test this hypothesis, the promoters of both genes were cloned and assayed for their regulation by MRFs. We found that most MRFs, except for myogenin and Mef2C significantly increased M-cadherin promoter activity, but had no effect on that of N-cadherin (Figure 2A). Among these factors, MyoD and Mrf4 showed the highest activation effect on M-cadherin promoter activity. To demonstrate the regulation of endogenous M-cadherin by MRFs, we overexpressed MyoD in C3H10T1/2 fibroblasts and showed that the expression of M-cadherin was significantly up-regulated (Figure 2B). In contrast, MyoD repressed N-cadherin expression in these cells. These observations suggest that M-cadherin is a bona fide target of MyoD and that MyoD regulates M-cadherin expression by targeting its promoter directly.
(A) M- and N-cadherin promoters (0.67 μg) were transfected into C3H10T1/2 cells in the absence or presence of MRF expression vectors (0.33 μg) overnight and their luciferase activity was determined after being kept in differentiation medium for 24 h. The promoter activity in the presence of GFP (green fluorescent protein), but in the absence of MyoD and other MRFs, was set as 1-fold activation. *P<0.05, **P<0.01 compared with GFP. Results are means+S.D. for at least ten independent experiments. (B) The expression of M- and N-cadherin in control and MyoD-overexpressed C3H10T1/2 cells kept in differentiation medium for 4 days was examined by traditional RT–PCR (left-hand panel) and qRT-PCR (right-hand panel) as described above. The expression level of each gene determined using qRT-PCR was compared with that of Gapdh and shown in the right-hand panel. Both m36b4 and Gapdh served as input controls. **P<0.01 compared with control cells.
To define further the regions within the M-cadherin promoter that were targeted by MyoD, a series of 5′-end deletion mutants of the promoter were tested for their regulation by MyoD. Deletion of the region from −3180 to −2536 had no effect on the MyoD-mediated activation (Figure 3A). Similarly, further deletion to −1774, −509, −253 and −92 did not affect the activation of M-cadherin by MyoD (Figure 3B). In contrast, MyoD failed to activate reporter constructs containing regions from −3180 to −1984 and from −2010 to −3 of the M-cadherin promoter (Figures 3C and 3D). These results suggested that MyoD-binding sites are located within a region close to the transcription initiation site, especially the region between −4 and +200.
(A)–(C) Activation of full-length and deletion mutants of M-cadherin promoters by MyoD was assayed by transient transfection assays in C3H10T1/2 cells as described in Figure 2(A). All numbering of promoter regions are relative to the transcription initiation site. (D) Schematic diagrams summarizing the regulation of these promoter regions by MyoD. The promoter activity in the presence of GFP, but in the absence of MyoD, was set as 1-fold activation. The significance of MyoD-mediated activation was examined using Student's t test. Results are means+S.D. for at least three independent experiments. *P<0.05, **P<0.01 compared with GFP.
The DNA sequence targeted by MyoD is termed the E-box and its consensus sequence is 5′-CANNTG-3′. Through a bioinformatics search using the MatInspector tool (http://www.Genomatix.de/matinspector.html), two E-boxes (E4 and E5 boxes) were identified within the region from −4 to +200 and another three E-boxes (E1–E3 boxes) were located further upstream. Alignment of the promoter sequences of M-cadherin genes from mice, humans and cows found that both E3- and E4-boxes were conserved among these three species. In addition, an upstream GC box and a downstream element were conserved (Figure 4A). To test their function in MyoD-mediated activation, sequences in the CDE (conserved downstream element) were mutated and tested for their activation by MyoD. Mutation of the region from +6 to +13 significantly reduced MyoD transactivation (Figure 4B). Furthermore, this activation was completely abolished when the region from +14 to +16 was mutated. The binding of MyoD to the core promoter region was not affected by the mutation of the CDE (Figure 4C). However, the basal activity of the M-cadherin promoter was reduced by mutation in the CDE region (results not shown), therefore these observations imply that CDE is required for both basal promoter function and its activation by MyoD.
(A) Alignment of cow, human and mouse M-cadherin promoter region around the initiation site shows the conservation of the GC-box, E3/E4-box and a CDE. (B) MyoD-dependent activation of the proximal M-cadherin promoter was abolished by the CDE mutation. The CDE region in the M-cadherin proximal promoter (from −252 to +200) was mutated to an A/T pair partially (either from +6 to +13 or from +14 to +21) to determine their function in the MyoD-dependent activation in C3H10T1/2 cells as described in Figure 2(A). Results are means+S.D. for three independent experiments. **P<0.01 compared with GFP. ##P<0.01 compared with wild-type (WT) promoter in the presence of MyoD. (C) Binding of bacterially expressed GST and GST–MyoD proteins (0.5 μg) to 32P-labelled wild-type (lanes 1–3) and CDE mutant (lanes 4–9) core promoter (from −52 to +24) probes was examined by EMSA.
To verify whether MyoD targeted these E-boxes, each of them was mutated independently to 5′-AAAAAA-3′ in the context of the −252 to +200 promoter and tested for their regulation by MyoD. Employment of the region from −252 to +200, instead of from −4 to +90, allowed us to test the specific effect of the mutation of each E-box and examine the possible collaboration among these E-boxes because the activation of this region by MRFs (Figure 5A) was very similar to that of the full-length (−3180 to +200) promoter (Figure 2A). Mutations of E1-, E2-, E3- or E5-box did not abolish the activation of this region by MyoD and Mrf4 (Figure 5B). In contrast, mutation of the E4-box significantly reduced MyoD- and Mrf4-mediated transactivation (Figure 5B), suggesting that MyoD activates the M-cadherin promoter by binding to this site.
(A) Upper panel: schematic representation showing five conserved E-boxes in the proximal promoter region (from −252 to +200). Lower panel: the regulation of this region (wild-type) by MRFs was examined by transient transfection assays as described in Figure 2(A). (B) These E-boxes were mutated to an A/T pair individually to assay for their influence on the regulation of this proximal promoter region by MyoD and Mrf4 in transfection assays. Results are means+S.D. for four independent experiments. *P<0.05, **P<0.01 compared with GFP. #P<0.05, ##P<0.01 compared with wild-type promoter in the presence of MyoD or Mrf4.
To examine whether MyoD and Mrf4 targeted the E4-box by direct binding, bacterially expressed GST–MyoD and GST–Mrf4 fusion proteins and 32P-labelled DNA fragments containing both E3- and E4-boxes were used in EMSAs. Both GST–MyoD and GST–Mrf4 bound to DNA fragments containing E-boxes (Figure 6), whereas GST-only protein did not. The specificity of the binding was confirmed by using an antibody specific to MyoD (Figure 6, left-hand panel). Mutation of either of these two E-boxes had no significant effect on the binding of GST–MyoD or GST–Mrf4 to the other intact E-box. These observations demonstrate that both E-boxes can be bound directly by MRFs in vitro. Since only the E4-box was required for the activation of the region from −252 to +200 by MRFs in vivo and the E3-box-containing region (from −2010 to −3) failed to be activated by MyoD, it implies that the E3-box is targeted by other factors and whose binding to the E3-box prevent the access of MRFs to the E3-box.
Bacterially expressed GST–MyoD (left-hand panel) and MBP–Mrf4 (right-hand panel) (0.5 μg) were used to bind 32P-labelled E3- and E4-boxes containing core promoter (from −52 and +24) probes in EMSAs. In the left-hand panel, an antibody against MyoD (0.5 μg, lane 4) was included in the same reaction to verify the identity of shifted bands.
Our previous study has shown that transactivation of the PGC-1α promoter by MRFs is mediated by two proximal E-boxes, in which a transcriptional repressor called Bhlhe40 (also known as Stra13/Shap2/Dec1) binds to an E-box adjacent to the one targeted by MRFs and thereby represses MyoD-mediated transactivation of PGC-1α . Bioinformatic searching identified E3-box as a perfect binding site for Bhlhe40, and prompted us to ask the question of whether Bhlhe40 also binds to the E3-box in the M-cadherin promoter. Similar to what was observed in the PGC-1α promoter, co-transfection of Bhlhe40 significantly repressed MyoD-mediated transactivation of the M-cadherin promoter (Figure 7A). Using bacterially expressed MBP–Bhlhe40, we showed that Bhlhe40 bound to the region from −52 to +24 of the M-cadherin promoter and this binding was abolished when the E3-box, but not the E4-box, was mutated (Figure 7B), demonstrating that Bhlhe40 targets the E3-box. Furthermore, Bhlhe40 formed a complex with MyoD on the wild-type −52 to +24 promoter region (Figure 7C, lanes 9 and 10), and this complex disappeared when the E3-box, but not the E4-box, was mutated (Figures 7D and 7E, lanes 5–7), suggesting that an intact E3-box is required for the formation of the Bhlhe40–MyoD complex. It will be of interest to test whether Bhlhe40 bound to M-cadherin promoter represses MyoD transactivation by sequestering essential co-activators, such as P/CAF [p300/CREB (cAMP-response-element-binding protein)-binding protein-associated factor], as is the case for the repression of the PGC-1α promoter .
(A) Bhlhe40 represses MyoD-mediated activation of the M-cadherin promoter. Full-length M-cadherin promoter (0.67 μg) was co-transfected with either Bhlhe40 or MyoD expression vector (0.17 μg) into C2C12 myoblasts to examine their regulation by MyoD and Bhlhe40. Cells were harvested 48 h after transfection for determination of their luciferase activity, and the luciferase activity in the absence of MyoD and Bhlhe40 was set as 1-fold activation. Results are means+S.D. for four independent assays. *P<0.05, **P<0.01 compared with the activity of GFP only. The significance of Bhlhe40-mediated repression of MyoD transactivation was also examined using Student's t test and the P value is indicated. (B) Wild-type (WT) and mutant (MT) M-cadherin core promoter (from −52 to +24) probes were incubated with MBP (1.0 μg, lanes 2, 5 and 8), MBP–Bhlhe40 (1.0 μg, lanes 3, 6 and 9) or by themselves (lanes 1, 4 and 7) to determine the binding site of Bhlhe40. Antibodies against MBP or IgG were included in the reactions in lanes 10 and 11 respectively. (C) Similar to (B), but with increasing amounts (200, 400 and 600 ng) of MBP (lanes 6–8) or MBP–Bhlhe40 (lanes 9–11) included to detect their interaction with GST–MyoD on wild-type probe. Antibodies (0.5 μg) against MyoD (D) and MBP (B) were included in lanes 12 and 13 respectively to determine the protein identity included in the complex. N, non-specific antibody. The interaction between MyoD and Bhlhe40 (both at 0.5 μg) on either the E3- or E4-box mutated core promoter probes was examined in (D) and (E) respectively and performed as described in (C).
To confirm that MRFs bind to the region incorporating the E3- and E4-boxes of the proximal M-cadherin promoter in vivo, ChIP assays using antibodies against MyoD, myogenin and Bhlhe40 were performed. We found that all three factors bound to the promoters of M-cadherin and myogenin, a well-known target of MyoD , during the process of terminal differentiation (Figure 8). However, in contrast with myogenin, the binding of MyoD and Bhlhe40 to the M-cadherin promoter was observed in cells of both confluent C2C12 myoblasts (Figure 8, left-hand panel) and those kept in differentiation medium for 1 day (DM1; Figure 8, right-hand panel). The binding of myogenin to the M-cadherin promoter region was rather weak (compared with its binding to its own promoter) and can only be observed in the DM1 stage. These observations are consistent with the facts that: (i) myogenin is not expressed until the initiation of terminal differentiation; and (ii) the activation of the M-cadherin promoter by myogenin is rather weak and not significant (Figure 2A). It therefore suggests that MyoD, probably as well as Mrf4, should play a more critical role than myogenin in the regulation of M-cadherin expression. Bhlhe40 binding to the M-cadherin promoter in confluent and differentiating myoblasts implies that the regulation of M-cadherin by MRFs is modulated by Bhlhe40 in vivo as observed for other myogenic genes . Unfortunately, an antibody against Mrf4 is currently unavailable, otherwise, it will be interesting to know whether Mrf4 binds to the M-cadherin core promoter region in vivo.
Chromatin of confluent C2C12 myoblasts (CMB; left-hand panel) and those kept in differentiation medium for 1 day (DM1; right-hand panel) were immunoprecipitated (IP) with antibodies against MyoD, myogenin and Bhlhe40 and then amplified by PCR with primers targeting M-cadherin (from −52 to +24) and myogenin (from −336 to +23) promoters. The signal of M-cadherin (−508 to −400) served as a negative control. The number of PCR cycles used for each primer set is listed on the right-hand side. NTC, no template control.
Apart from its correlative expression pattern during myogenesis, two previous studies have implicated the regulation of M-cadherin by MRFs: (i) the expression of M-cadherin is severely reduced in MyoD-null mice ; and (ii) its expression in mice null for both Myf5 and MyoD can be rescued by the expression of either MyoD or Myf5 [35,36]. In contrast, the expression of N-cadherin is not directly affected by the gain- or loss-of-function of MRFs in these studies. However, these studies only indirectly suggest a regulation of M-cadherin by MFRs; no detailed study on the promoter of M-cadherin has been attempted. In silico analysis showed multiple putative E-boxes throughout the full-length region (from −3180 to +200) of the M-cadherin promoter. However, deletion of most of these E-boxes had no effect on its activation by MyoD (Figure 3) and only deletion of the E4-box reduced MyoD and Mrf4 transactivation (Figure 5B). The close location of E4-box to the transcription initiation site (initiator) raises the possibility of direct interaction between MRFs and factors in the basic transcription machinery. MRF-targeted E-boxes with a similar close location to the initiator is also found in the promoters of PGC-1α (from −22 to −17), myogenin (from −15 to −10), acetylcholine receptor σ subunit (from −22 to −17), MafB (from +2 to +7), and acetyl-CoA carboxylase β (from −14 to −9) [37–40]. Among these genes, some of these promoters are TATA-less and others are TATA-dependent, and thus these E-boxes should not function as a substitute for a TATA-box. How these E-boxes function to activate transcription is currently unknown. We speculate that the initiator-adjacent E-boxes may function differently from those located further upstream or in the myogenic enhancer located very distally, such as those in chicken MLCI (myosin light chain I) and mouse dystrophin genes [41,42]. MyoD bound to initiator-adjacent E-boxes may interact directly with components, such as TAFs (TATA-box-binding protein-associated factors) or SRBs (suppressors of RNA polymerase B), in the RNA polymerase II general machinery and thus promote the nucleation of RNA polymerase II pre-initiation complex at the promoter. On the other hand, distal E-boxes may require co-activators or the formation of enhanceosomes to achieve the same function. Identification of the protein complex formed on these two different types of E-boxes may help to understand the mechanisms of transcription activation mediated by them.
Multiple E-boxes forming independent clusters are often observed in myogenic regulatory regions that confer muscle-specific expression. For example, the promoter region of PGC-1α, γ-sarcoglycan and myostatin genes contain eight, nine and ten putative E-boxes respectively [40,43]. In most of these genes, only subsets of these E-boxes are bound by MyoD family members. For example, only E-box 6 is actually bound by MyoD within the myostatin regulatory region, whereas all of the other E-boxes are targeted by other bHLH proteins that are unrelated to muscle-specific expression . A similar phenomenon is also observed in the PGC-1α gene, in which eight E-boxes are found in the promoter region (from −992 to +90), but only two proximal (E1 and E2) E-boxes are implicated in the MyoD-mediated activation. Furthermore, only the E2-box is bound by MyoD in vitro . The E1-box in PGC-1α is bound by another bHLH protein called Bhlhe40 and this binding represses MyoD transactivation by sequestering P/CAF from MyoD . In the case of M-cadherin, only the E4-box was targeted by MRFs (Figure 5B), and the binding of Bhlhe40 was only found on the E3-box; this suggests that, in addition to competing for P/CAF, both Bhlhe40 and MRFs may compete for binding to the E3-box. It will be interesting to test whether the binding of Bhlhe40 to the E3-box has any effect on the binding of MRFs to either the E3- or the E4-box. If this is the case, P/CAF or other co-activators might counteract this effect.
Some myogenic E-boxes are specifically regulated by only one or two MRFs and the binding of other MRFs is excluded. For instance, MyoD and myogenin act on the chicken MLCI gene as distinct transcription factors binding to E-box 1 and 5 respectively. However, these two myogenic E-boxes are not responsive to Mrf4 . M-cadherin is expressed in adult satellite cells and embryonic migrating myogenic precursors before myogenin and Mrf4 are expressed, suggesting that its regulation by MyoD and Myf5 is different from that by myogenin and Mrf4. In the present study, we found that the M-cadherin promoter is differentially targeted by all MRFs; with the highest activation by MyoD and Mrf4, followed by Myf5 and least by myogenin. Previous studies have identified the expression of Mrf4 in early myogenic progenitor cells , suggesting that Mrf4 may initiate the expression of M-cadherin in these cells. Therefore the differential regulation of the M-cadherin promoter observed in the present study can partly explain the differentiation stage-specific activation of the M-cadherin gene. Analysis of the binding of various MRFs to the M-cadherin promoter in cells isolated from different developmental stages is needed to prove this observation.
Although M-cadherin is predominantly expressed in skeletal muscle, its expression is also detected in other tissues/organs, such as brain and liver, albeit at relatively low levels. In recent years, several studies have found that an abnormal expression level of M-cadherin may be implicated in the aetiology of diseases such as Type 2 diabetes , intellectual deficiency and hepatocellular carcinoma . The abnormally high expression level of M-cadherin in the liver of mice with diabetes is of special interest in that the M-cadherin level correlates well with the severity of the disease. Currently, it is still unknown whether its abnormal expression in the diabetic liver is a cause or a result of this disease. In addition, it is of interest to know what the cause of M-cadherin up-regulation in the diabetic liver is. Both abnormal expression and function of an M-cadherin activator or repressor might be the cause of this phenomenon, and we are currently investigating this issue.
Sheng Pin Hsiao performed most of the experiments, including generation of reporter constructs, quantification of M-cadherin and myogenic genes expression in vitro and in vivo, binding and interactions of factors on M-cadherin promoter in vitro and in vivo, and transient promoter assays. The study was proposed and organized by Shen Liang Chen, who also wrote the paper.
S.P.H. is a postgraduate student supported by funding from the National Health Research Institute in Taiwan. This study is supported by funding from the National Science Council of Taiwan, ROC, to S.L.C. [grant number NSC-96-2311-B-008-006-MY3].
We thank Dr William Sellers (Department of Medical Oncology, Dana Faber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, U.S.A.), Dr George Muscat (Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia) and Dr Chien Chia Wang (Department of Life Sciences, National Central University, Jhongli, Taiwan) for providing plasmids.
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0.974051 |
If people can cough voluntarily it would be like other voluntary actions like talking, laughing, crying, clapping, stomping, snapping your fingers, screaming, and yelling where you can do it whenever you like. Also a cough is a common reflex action that clears the throat of mucus or foreign irritants or if something is in your lungs you want to cough up and that you can't make mucus or foreign irritants get in the throat or make something get in your lungs.
Because you can. But I think what you're saying is that sometimes it is involuntary, and you can't help it and sometimes you can't stop it. But you can also cough on purpose. So it can be both.
Why do you think people prefer traveling most vacations?
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0.999999 |
Solstice is a restaurant located in Stowe, Vermont. Based on ratings and reviews from users from all over the web, this restaurant is a Great Restaurant.
Interested in eating in Solstice? Check out this restaurant's features and options and find driving directions, so you can spend more time eating and less time figuring out how to get there.
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0.990515 |
In similar fashion, we describe a material's ability to resist the movement of electric charge using resistivity, symbolized with the Greek letter rho (ρ). Resistivity is measured in ohm-meters, which are represented by the Greek letter omega multiplied by meters (Ω•m). Both conductivity and resistivity are properties of a material.
When an object is created out of a material, the material's tendency to conduct electricity, or conductance, depends on the material's conductivity as well as the material's shape. For example, a hollow cylindrical pipe has a higher conductivity of water than a cylindrical pipe filled with cotton. However, shape of the pipe also plays a role. A very thick but short pipe can conduct lots of water, yet a very narrow, very long pipe can't conduct as much water. Both geometry of the object and the object's composition influence its conductance.
Focusing on an object's ability to resist the flow of electrical charge, we find that objects made of high resistivity materials tend to impede electrical current flow and have a high resistance. Further, materials shaped into long, thin objects also increase an object's electrical resistance. Finally, objects typically exhibit higher resistivities at higher temperatures. We take all of these factors together to describe an object's resistance to the flow of electrical charge. Resistance is a functional property of an object that describes the object's ability to impede the flow of charge through it. Units of resistance are ohms (Ω).
In this formula, R is the resistance of the object, in ohms (Ω), rho (ρ) is the resistivity of the material the object is made out of, in ohm*meters (Ω•m), L is the length of the object, in meters, and A is the cross-sectional area of the object, in meters squared. Note that a table of material resistivities for a constant temperature is given to you at right.
area of 3.14 × 10–6 m2 at 20° Celsius has a resistance of 0.0625 Ω. Determine the resistivity of the wire and the material it is made out of.
Question: At 20°C, four conducting wires made of different materials have the same length and the same diameter. Which wire has the least resistance?
Answer: (2) gold because it has the lowest resistivity.
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0.999985 |
How to hatch a praying mantis egg case indoors.
Hatching your Praying mantis is easy! In warm temperature (70-90F/22-34C), they will wiggle out of their egg case in about 1 to 8 weeks. You will need: 1 Container, it can be an old aquarium or plastic jar, netting to cover the container opening, string or rubber band, a pin, twig and misting bottle.
1.Cut a piece of netting to fit over the opening of your container.
2.Attach the egg case to the twig by either pinning the open end of the mesh tube the egg case is shipped in or by pinning the top part of the egg case on to the twig. It is important to pin the egg case at least 5 cm above the floor of the cage.
3.Put mesh over the opening of the jar and secure with rubber band or string.
4.Place container in a warm spot, not directly in the sun.
5.Mist daily, this is very important. You do not want your egg case to dry out.
6.Wait patiently. Check egg case daily.
7.Once hatched enjoy the event, and then let the mantis go in you garden.
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