proba
float64 0.5
1
| text
stringlengths 16
174k
|
|---|---|
0.996289 |
1. Battery Type: Intact Battery 2. Cell Type: Li-ion 3.Battery Number: 6 Cell 4.Voltage: 11.1V(Li-Ion Laptop Battery 10.8V and 11.1V are in common use) 5.Capacity: 5200mAh 6.Color: Black To calibrate the battery , you should fully discharge,fully charge,it can increase the length of the battery.
|
0.98473 |
Explain about the influence of warranty and political pressure in IS project.
When a system is being developed under contract, this frequently carries a warranty for a period of months, or perhaps for a year. When so, then assessment requirements to be made of what claims there could be against the warranty and some contingency must be built in to cover this.
Frequently, estimators come under pressure to decrease their estimates therefore some timescale or budgetary constraint can be met. Resisting this needs a certain amount of willpower but this can be made easier when the estimates have been developed onto sound principles, therefore the argument does not degenerate in one person’s guess against another’s.
Consider the economy (above) again where the following set of stocks is traded: x 1 =(2,2,0) x 2 =(1,0,3) x 3 =(0,2,4) for the prices (p 1 , p 2 , p 3 )=(1, 1, 1).
|
0.982798 |
When a son or daughter inherits Saving Bonds from their parent’s estate, do they pay taxes on the interest when they cash them in?
Yes, typically income tax is paid when the bonds are redeemed.
However, it’s also possible for the income tax owed up to the date of your parent’s death to be paid on your parent’s final tax return (without cashing the bonds.) This makes sense if your parent’s tax rate on that final return is lower than yours.
If you go this route, it’s important that you have a copy of that final return so that when you cash the bonds you don’t pay the tax a second time. (The 1099-INT you will receive when you cash them will be for the entire amount of interest earned; you have to deduct the portion that has already been paid on your tax return).
My book has complete information on all the issues related to inheriting Savings Bonds.
|
0.986562 |
Can someone explain 401k to me?
So I have a 401k at the company I currently work for. Which I will be leaving pretty soon. I have a pretty nice (to me) lump of money in that 401k, that I am now terrified is going to disappear into the ether when I leave the company.
I am very dumb about money/banking things and have no idea how this works. Can someone explain to me how not to lose that money? I just have no idea how to approach getting it moved to a place where I have access to it, who to call, etc.
|
0.994526 |
For years now, businesses have slowly been trending towards the use of outsourcing, an arrangement in which a company provides a service for another company that is usually done in-house. With newfound and ever growing emphasis being placed upon collaboration, businesses have found themselves in a position where optimization of the collaboration process has become vital to their own success, whilst providing many positive outcomes from the collaboration. Outsourcing has become a strong method in business and is now a widely accepted practice in public and private sectors on a global scale.
With outsourcing being very prominent with business and in some industries, vital, selecting the right service provider and maintain a strong working relationship with that company has become essential. There are many factors that can affect this like internal resources, requirements of the sponsor, external characteristics and more.
The increase of outsourcing has come from the need to reduce costs and improve cost-efficiency. Also, outsourcing provides the sponsor with an alteration of focus. Companies can put more focus and emphasis on other aspects of their company, for example, customer service or increasing sales. Business identity is crucial to any business and the opportunity to focus on the core business activities to provide the best service you can through giving certain jobs to a service provider or sections of the work to a service provider, provides a positive outcome for both sponsor and vendor.
There is ample of contrasting types of outsourcing which is all dependent on the industry. Good examples include payroll or recruiting, in contrast to clinical-outsourcing in the pharmaceutical industry. The future of outsourcing is limitless because what businesses can outsource is limitless. Small companies can outsource smaller projects to small service providers, or corporate houses can use major service providers to outsource major projects.
|
0.998961 |
Authentication of Hadith about Umar and Baytul Maal?
Please, can you also confirm the authenticity of this narration?
During the period of his khilaafah, Hazrat 'Umar (radhiyallahu 'anhu) made mashwarah with the Sahaabah (radhiyallahu 'anhum) and consulted them in regard to how the wealth of the Bayt-ul-Maal should be distributed among the Muslims.
Hazrat 'Ali (radhiyallahu 'anhu) suggested, "Every year, you should distribute all the money of the Bayt-ul-Maal to the Muslims and you should not retain any wealth in the Bayt-ul-Maal."
Hazrat 'Uthmaan (radhiyallahu 'anhu) suggested, "I see that there is abundant wealth in the Bayt-ul-Maal which is sufficient for all the people. However, if a record is not kept of those who have been given wealth and those who have not been given any wealth, I fear that there will be confusion and matters will get out of hand."
Waleed bin Hishaam bin Mugheerah then proposed, "O Ameer-ul-Mu'mineen! When I went to the land of Shaam, I observed that their rulers had compiled registers and grouped their soldiers into units. Hence, you should also compile a register and group the mujaahideen into units."
Hazrat 'Umar (radhiyallahu 'anhu) accepted this proposal and sent for Hazrat 'Aqeel bin Abi Taalib (radhiyallahu 'anhu), Hazrat Makhramah bin Nawfal (radhiyallahu 'anhu) and Hazrat Jubair bin Mut'im (radhiyallahu 'anhu), as these three Sahaabah were among the Quraish who were the most knowledgeable regarding the people's lineage. Hazrat 'Umar (radhiyallahu 'anhu) then instructed them saying, "Write the names of the people according to their deeni rank and position. Those who are higher in rank and position will receive a greater share."
Accordingly, they first wrote the names of the Banu Haashim, as they were the blessed family of Rasulullah (sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam). Thereafter, they recorded the family members of Hazrat Abu Bakr (radhiyallahu 'anhu), as he was the first Khalifah. They then wrote the names of Hazrat 'Umar (radhiyallahu 'anhu) and his family members, as he was the Khalifah after Hazrat Abu Bakr (radhiyallahu 'anhu).
When Hazrat 'Umar (radhiyallahu 'anhu) saw the sequence in which they had written the names, he said, "By Allah! I wish that I was worthy of being in the position where you have placed me in the register! However, I feel that instead of compiling the register and distributing the wealth according to the sequence of Khilaafah, you should compile the register according to the relatives of Rasulullah (sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam) and follow the sequence of those who are more closely related to him. In this manner, write my name where Allah has placed me, according to my relationship with Rasulullah (sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam)."
When the Banu 'Adiyy, who were the family of Hazrat 'Umar (radhiyallahu 'anhu), learnt of this, they were displeased and came to him and said, "In our opinion, your exalted position is such that you could be regarded as the Khalifah of Rasulullah (sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam), or at least as the Khalifah of Hazrat Abu Bakr (radhiyallahu 'anhu), and he was the Khalifah of Rasulullah (sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam). Since this is your esteemed status, you should keep your position and the position of your relatives third on the register, in the manner these three Sahaabah (radhiyallahu 'anhum) had initially done when compiling the register (in other words, there is no need for you to make the register follow the sequence of the relatives of Rasulullah (sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam) but rather it should be prepared according to the sequence of Khilaafah so that you and your family come third)."
Hearing this, Hazrat 'Umar (radhiyallahu 'anhu) exclaimed in disapproval, "What an excellent suggestion you have given me! O Banu 'Adiyy! You wish to use my back to stand on and eat from the Bayt-ul-Maal more wealth so that I can lose my good deeds for your sake! No, by Allah, you must wait for your turn to come in the register, even if your names are entered at the end of the register!"
From this incident, it is abundantly clear that Hazrat 'Umar (radhiyallahu 'anhu) always gave preference to the blessed family of Rasulullah (sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam) over himself and his family.
These narrations have been mentioned in the Tabaqāt of Ibn Saʿd and are of acceptable quality.
Ibn Saʿd, Ṭabaqāt Kabīr, v.l. 3 pg. 255.
|
0.843408 |
I’ve created a list of dream vacation destinations for you to consider on your next trip. Start saving and planning because you’re going to want to book your vacation ASAP. Be sure to check out my packing tips article because you’ll be wanting to start packing right away after seeing this stunning dream vacation destinations.
The Maldives are on my bucket list for their beautifully clear water of the Indian Ocean, and picturesque villas. Stay on the white sand, or scuba-dive with the fish, but there is no shortage of adventure.
If you’re looking for a romantic vacation, Bora Bora should be on the list. Get your beach bod ready, you’ll need it.
Culture overload. Between the food, people and cities, you will be amazed by any city in India. Visit monuments and historical sights that you will remember for a lifetime.
Cape Town, Johannesburg or national parks, it is all beautiful. Stay in a tent, safari in the dessert, or enjoy a luxurious hotel, but you’ll want to stay.
This dream vacation destination is made up of 333 tropical islands and lies in the South Pacific. Why travel to one tropical island when you can visit over 300?
See the world’s tallest building in Dubai, or a mixture of every sight imaginable from mountains to desert, there is a place in the UAE for everyone.
Get your camera ready because you will be stunned by the culture and landscape of Greece. Eat, enjoy the scenery and be sure to take a boat to the ocean.
As a Canadian I am biased, but Banff is one of the most beautiful places in the world. The mountains, the crystal waters and the wildlife are enough for a dream vacation.
Bora Bora is just one of the beautiful islands of Tahiti. Visit any and you will be pleased by it’s stunning views.
It must be a dream vacation destination if Will and Kate honeymooned in Seychelles. Some 115 islands come together with beautiful beaches and marine life.
Taking a cruise around the Galapagos Islands is one of the world’s best dream vacation destinations. Your inner Darwin will come out with all of the beautiful sights.
Visit a volcano, see the penguins, or venture the southernmost point of the world. Everyone will envy your visit to this continent.
While anywhere in Europe is a dream vacation destination, Croatia’s beauty rivals others. Full of heritage, culture and flavours you’ll want to start packing immediately.
Visit the Incan ruins or temples. Hike Peru’s landscape for a history lesson come to life.
A most sought after dream vacation destination is the Trans-Siberian Railway. You’ll get to visit many of your dream spots all in one journey.
Which of these is your favourite dream vacation destination? Comment below and let us know. We look forward to seeing your vacation grams.
|
0.999999 |
Comunicar envolve uma troca simbiótica e simples entre o emissor da mensagem e receptor. O intuito principal sempre foi e continua sendo fazer com que o receptor entenda a mensagem do emissor. E se ele se identificar é um dos bônus mais gratificantes que existem. A comunicação amarra esses pontos e quando vemos textos diversos sobre lugares de fala, a atenção se volta, principalmente, para este substantivo: a fala. Aí a galera se empolga e esquece de ler-e-ouvir o que está sendo comunicado. Na verdade, esse termo diz sobre respeito e empatia, e não sobre opinião, como muita gente acredita. Somando essas duas palavrinhas mágicas essenciais, temos mínimo de compreensão de quem recebe de coração e cabeça abertas.
Mas como se faz isso? É possível juntar tudo num mixer? Que diferença essas palavras todas fazem?
Essa prática propõe criar uma maior conscientização coletiva junto a espaços inclusivos e justos para a expressão de pessoas tão plurais que habitam numa mesma sociedade.
Portanto, o lugar de fala não está aí para calar. Não é tirar a mão da frente de uma boca e cobrir outra, mas deixar ecoar a voz das minorias. Uma pessoa negra, por exemplo, é a somatória das experiências que essa comunidade enfrentou e ainda enfrenta. Logo, ela tem autoridade e preferência para falar sobre questões raciais.
O que estamos falando nesse texto é pra quem produz conteúdo (como nós), e também pra toda e qualquer pessoa que usa rede social pra vomitar ignorância travestida de opinião. Cuidado, vocês.
Vivemos em um momento-chave, e, de certa forma, positivo, em que todas as questões sobre inclusão, empatia, respeito, identificação e comportamento na comunicação têm ganhado força. Para aqueles que já estavam acostumados com práticas tradicionais, que reproduzem discursos fóbicos, mesmo “que não tenha sido o intuito”, inserir diversidade e representatividade é pisar em ovos. Nós, sinceramente, viramos o olho quase todos os dias lendo textos, comentários e conteúdos diversos vindos de pessoas que não possuem o tato para tratar sobre essas questões. Questionem-se sempre! Simplesmente ignoramos, mas focamos em fazer a nossa parte, como indivíduos.
De qualquer forma é importante entender como a mensagem tem que ser passada: a diversidade existe e o discurso dos movimentos deve ser difundido.
O protagonismo existe e é prioridade. E temos que entender que o discurso de quem não faz parte de certo protagonismo não é dar voz, não é se passar por determinada minoria ou simplesmente determinar comportamentos alheios baseado em crenças próprias. Queremos discutir, debater, informar, ter conversas mais produtivas para compreender diversas vivências, que não as nossas. Quanto mais experiências compartilhadas e mais ângulos, maior a diversidade, e assim a igualdade elementar dá um passo adiante.
Vale lembrar e ressaltar que igualdade não é privilégio. É ter e dar o mesmo tratamento, condições, respeito, mentalidade e empatia que boa parte das pessoas têm desde que nasceram.
Se ainda não encontrou seu lugar nisso tudo e quer saber se é o momento e o lugar certo de abrir a boca para falar, vamos a um passo a passo esperto (que foi inspirado em um infográfico presente em dois textos que valem muito a pena serem lidos: este e este)!
Você faz parte da minoria em questão?
Se SIM, seu lugar de fala está garantido, você tem prioridade, protagonismo, e pode tratar do assunto da forma que melhor expressa suas experiências. Uma das questões que podem transformar esse local são os próprios integrantes da minoria, que reproduzem comentários discriminatórios. Um gay que tem LGBTfobia, uma mulher com comportamento machista e por aí vai. Eterna desconstrução do ser.
Se NÃO fizer parte da minoria, entram aqui mais questões.
Caso haja alguém que represente o grupo do qual está falando, automaticamente você entra como ouvinte, presta atenção no que a pessoa tem a dizer.
Caso você realmente tenha algo a acrescentar, fale, desde que não ofenda os presentes. Expresse sua visão, sempre respeitando a fala da minoria. Mas se não tiver nenhum representante naquele momento, tenha ainda mais cuidado com o que quer falar.
NÃO FALE se não tiver uma base do assunto, ou se simplesmente sua fala ofender alguém, mesmo que não seja sua intenção. Esteja sempre aberto a ouvir. Nesses dois casos, o lugar de fala não te pertence e bola pra frente, haverão outras oportunidades para discutir o assunto.
Você tem base no assunto, estudou, aprofundou e acompanhou relatos de alguém que pertence à minoria? FALE. Fale com a experiência de quem entende, mas não necessariamente de quem se acha desconstruidão porque levanta bandeira, e muito menos como se tivesse vivido na pele. Mas esclareça, na medida do possível, de acordo com seu conhecimento e embasamento.
E mais uma vez: ouça, converse, questione-se e entenda seu lugar na sociedade.
Communicating involves a symbiotic and simple exchange between the sender of the message and receiver. The main purpose has always been make the receiver get the sender’s message. And if s/he identifies with it, it’s one of the most gratifying bonus ever. Communication ties up some loose ends and when we face some texts about the different kind of roles (social, racial, gender…), a word stands out: the role. And the crowd gets excited and forgets reading-and-listening about what’s being communicated. Actually, this term says more about respect and empathy, not about opinion, as many people believe. If you know these two magical and essential little words, we’ve got a minimum understanding of those who receive the message with heart and head wide open.
But how is it done? Is it possible to blend everything together in a mixer? What difference do these words make?
This practice proposes the creation of a greater collective awareness along with inclusive and fair spaces due to the expression of people who are so plural inhabiting in the same society.
Therefore, the roles are not there to shut people up. It’s not about taking the hand from one’s mouth and covering another, but let the voice of minorities echo. A black person, for instance, is the sum of experiences that that community faced and still faces. So, s/he has authority and preference to talk about racial matters.
What we’re talking about in this text is made for those who creates content (just like us), and also for any and every person that uses social media to vomit ignorance disguised as opinion.
We’re living in a key-moment, and in a certain way, it’s very positive, in which, every inclusion, empathy, respect, identification and behavior matters in communication has gained strength. For those who were used to traditional practice, promoting and reproducing fobic speeches, even if “it was not the purpose”, injecting diversity and representativeness is walking on eggs. Honestly, we eye roll almost everyday reading texts, comments and diverse content made by people who don’t have the tact to deal with theses questions. We just decided to ignore them all and focus on doing our part, as individuals. Always question yourselves!
Anyway, it’s important to get how the message has to be published: diversity exists and the movements speech must be diffused.
Protagonism exists and it’s a priority. And we’ve got to understand that the role of who is not a part of any protagonism, is not giving the voice, is not being a certain minority or simply determining other people’s behavior based on one’s own beliefs. We want to discuss, debate, inform, have more productive conversations, in order to understand diverse experiences, which are not ours. The more experiences and angles shared, the more diversity, and so equality can walk a step ahead.
It’s worth reminding and highlighting that equality is not a privilege. It’s having and giving the same treatment, conditions, respect, mindset and empathy that most people have since they were born.
If you haven’t found your place on all of this and wants to know if it’s the right time and place to open your mouth to talk, let’s go to a clever step by step (which was inspired in an infographic, present in two texts that are totally worth reading: this one and this one)!
Are you a minority in question?
If YES, your role in this is guaranteed, you have priority, protagonism, and can treat the subject the way you think that best expresses your experiences. One of the questions that may transform this role are the own minority members, that reproduce discriminatory comments. A gay person that is LGBTQ+fobic, a woman with a misogynist behavior, and so it goes on. The eternal deconstruction of the human being.
If you are NOT part of a minority, there are more questions to be asked.
In case there’s someone who represents the group which is being talked about, automatically you are there as a listener. Just pay attention to what’s being said.
In case you really has something to add to the conversation, talk, provided that you don’t offend the present ones. Express your vision, always respect the minority’s speech. But if there’s no one representing it at the moment, be even more careful with what you’re about to say.
DO NOT SPEAK if you don’t have a subject base, or simply if your speech offend someone, even if it’s not your intention. Always be open to listening. In theses two cases, the role is not yours, the speech is not your, and so life goes on, there will be many other opportunities for you to discuss the subject.
Do you have a basis on the subject? Have you studied, gone deeper into it, listened to reports of people who are part of minorities? SPEAK. Speak with the experience of someone who gets it, but not necessarily someone who sees yourself as a motherfu**ing deconstructed person, as if you have lived that situation. But clarify your point of view, according to your knowledge and background.
And one more time: listen, talk, question yourself and understand your place in society.
|
0.718168 |
From the first skirmishes at Lexington and Concord to the Civil War to the liberation of Nazi-controlled Europe, American Soldiers are celebrated for their vigor and bravery in combat.
On 14 June 1775, The Second Continental Congress formed the Continental Army as a means for the 13 unified American colonies to fight the forces of Britain. George Washington was unanimously elected Commander-In-Chief of the fledgling Army, and he would lead the colonies to victory and independence.
Following the acquisition of the Louisiana territories in 1804, Army Officers Capt. Meriwether Lewis and Lt. William Clark lead an expedition into the western frontier. Lewis and Clark arrived at the Pacific Ocean about two years later.
In 1812, still suffering under British-enforced trade restrictions and other unsettled disputes from the American Revolution, the United States declared war on Britain for the second time. The war was a back and forth struggle that is perhaps most notable for the shelling of Baltimore harbor, which became Francis Scott Key’s inspiration for the Star Spangled Banner.
In 1846, the United States and Mexico went to war following a period of border tensions. This conflict featured several Army Officers who would go on to become important figures in American history, including Gen. Zachary Taylor, Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, Thomas Jonathan “Stonewall” Jackson, and Winfield Scott.
In 1860, after a long-standing dispute over states’ rights to allow their citizens to own slaves, southern states began seceding from the Union. The war that followed would become one of the most important conflicts in American history. During the secession, almost one-third of regular Army Officers resigned to join the Confederacy, and more than three million American Soldiers would serve by the time the war ended in 1865.
As the United States rebuilt in the aftermath of the Civil War, total Army strength grew relatively slowly until the mid 1900s. The World War I era saw the creation of several important Army branches, including the Veterinarian Corps, the Chemical Corps, and the Aviation Section within the Army Signal Corps, the precursor to the Air Force.
World War II led to several more milestones in Army history, including the creation of the Office of Strategic Services, which became the CIA, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt's introduction of the G.I. Bill. Two years after the war, the Army established the Medical Service Corps, later renamed the Army Medical Department (AMEDD).
Following World War II, the United States entered a standoff period with Soviet Russia, known as the Cold War, leading to conflicts in Korea and Vietnam. During the 1980’s, the Army began to reorganize to focus on training and technology. By the end of the decade, the Pentagon introduced plans to reduce total Army strength. In 1989, the fall of the Berlin Wall signaled the end to the Cold War.
In 1991, American and allied forces responded to Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait. The ground campaign lasted just 100 hours before a ceasefire was declared. After the attacks of September 11, 2001, American and coalition forces would again enter into a conflict in the Middle East against terrorist forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Today, the Army is made up of more than 700,000 Soldiers, including active duty and Army Reserve personnel.
Army Soldiers fill many roles. They are doctors, lawyers, and engineers; they are electricians, computer programmers and helicopter pilots; they are police officers, logistics experts and civil affairs representatives. The Army’s constant need for a diverse range of individual Soldiers, each with his or her own expertise is what sets it apart from other military branches.
|
0.946332 |
Mount Fuji (富士山, Fujisan) is a mountain located in the Chūbu region of central Japan, north of Tokyo. It has appeared in many kaiju films to some extent, either as a primary location or a background object. Mt. Fuji has also been featured in tokusatsu television shows and fantasy films outside the giant monster genre, such as Akira Kurosawa's Dreams (1990).
A village near Mount Fuji was suddenly destroyed in a massive earthquake, which left behind radioactive fallout. When the JSDF tried to investigate, the giant robot Moguera appeared through a mountainside and razed a path of destruction through the area. The JSDF engaged the creature at a nearby village, but their weapons were useless. The JSDF proceeded to evacuate all civilians in the village while distracting Moguera, then detonated charges on the Koyama Bridge as Moguera tried to cross it, causing the mech to be destroyed in the gorge below. After it was determined that the earthquake and Moguera were both controlled by some intelligent force, the JSDF set up a perimeter around Mt. Fuji, where a gigantic dome suddenly rose from the ground. A voice emanated from the dome and ordered five humans to enter. Inside, the human representatives were greeted by a race of aliens calling themselves Mysterians, who claimed that Moguera was simply meant to be a show of their power should mankind try to wage war against them. They requested that they be granted a two-mile tract of land in the Mount Fuji area and the ability to mate with human women to rebuild their population, which was ravaged by radiation poisoning. The JSDF refused to comply with the aliens' demands and opened fire on the dome, with their artillery having no effect. The Mysterians used their UFOs and death rays mounted on their dome to destroy their attackers and warned that they would respond to any further attacks with equally deadly force.
After the nations of the world joined together to form the Earth Defense Force, they deployed their VTOL airships Alpha and Beta to the Mt. Fuji area to begin another assault on the dome. However, this attack was met with failure, as the dome was undamaged and the Beta was destroyed. Meanwhile, the Mysterians began leaving their dome to abduct human women and bring them to the dome against their will. Eventually, the EDF developed a new weapon, the Markalite Cannon, which was capable of damaging the Mysterians' dome. Two Markalite Cannons were dropped in the Mt. Fuji area and opened fire on the dome, while the Alpha and Beta No. 2 provided supporting fire. During the attack, Joji Atsumi entered the dome to rescue the captive women. There, he encountered Ryōichi Shiraishi, who had discovered the Mysterians' true intent and decided to sabotage the dome before it could be completed. He helped Atsumi and the women escape then rushed back inside to destroy the Mysterians' equipment. With their dome taking critical damage, the Mysterians deployed a second Moguera, which was destroyed when it burrowed too close to a Markalite Cannon, which collapsed onto it. With their invasion a lost cause, the surviving Mysterians boarded their UFOs and fled to space, returning to their space station.
After being driven away from Tokyo by a barrier of power lines, Godzilla headed to Mount Fuji and climbed towards the mountain's summit. Meanwhile, King Kong broke through the barrier and terrorized Tokyo until he was successfully rendered unconscious using Soma berry juice. The JSDF decided to have Godzilla and King Kong destroy each other by airlifting the unconscious Kong to Mount Fuji and make them fight. Kong was lifted by various balloons and carried over Mount Fuji, and once he was above Godzilla he was released. Kong fell onto Godzilla and began a vicious battle. Eventually, Kong was knocked unconscious and set ablaze by Godzilla's atomic breath. Fortunately for the giant ape, a lightning storm passed over the mountain and Kong was struck repeatedly by bolts of lightning. Revitalized, Kong attacked Godzilla again, pushing him to a cliff overlooking the ocean. After destroying Atami Castle, Godzilla and Kong tumbled into the ocean below, causing a brief earthquake. Eventually, Kong surfaced from the ocean and began to swim back home to Farou Island, with Godzilla nowhere to be seen.
After battling across the Japanese countryside, Godzilla and Rodan continued their struggle in the valley just underneath Mount Fuji. When the evil space monster King Ghidorah emerged from a meteorite and began razing the country's major cities, Mothra traveled from Infant Island to try and convince Godzilla and Rodan to join her against King Ghidorah. Godzilla and Rodan, to stubborn to end their fight and bitter towards humanity, refused to help, forcing Mothra to challenge King Ghidorah alone when he arrived near Mount Fuji. King Ghidorah tossed the tiny larva aside with his gravity beams, causing Godzilla and Rodan to take notice. Inspired by Mothra's courage, Godzilla and Rodan joined the battle against the extraterrestrial invader. Together, the three monsters overcame King Ghidorah and forced him to retreat back to outer space. After their enemy was vanquished, Mothra bid farewell to Godzilla and Rodan and returned to her home.
The Xiliens unleashed their three mind-controlled monsters, Godzilla, Rodan and King Ghidorah to attack the city of Fujinomiya, near Mt. Fuji. There, the humans deployed their A-Cycle Light Ray Guns to disrupt the invaders' magnetic wave-based control of the monstrous trio, while broadcasting a sound frequency that was lethal to the Xiliens.
After seizing control of Earth's kaiju, the Kilaaks established their base of operations on Earth underneath Mount Fuji. The surrounding forests were guarded heavily by the monsters, but the United Nations discovered a way to override the Kilaaks' control of the monsters and sent them to attack the Kilaaks' base instead. In response, the Kilaaks unleashed King Ghidorah to halt the advance of the monsters. Despite King Ghidorah's power, he was no match for the combined might of Godzilla, Minilla, Anguirus, Gorosaurus, Rodan, Mothra, Kumonga, Baragon and Varan and was killed. With King Ghidorah out of the way, Godzilla found the Kilaaks' base and destroyed it, ending their invasion for good. Afterwards, Godzilla and the other Earth monsters returned to Monsterland to live in peace.
As the smog monster Hedorah increased in size and power and rendered much of Japan uninhabitable, a group of young people organized a huge party on the summit of Mount Fuji. Unexpectedly, Hedorah arrived at the summit and menaced the party goers, among them Ken Yano. In response, the JSDF quickly began to assemble their new weapon against the creature, the Giant Electrode, in the hope of drying Hedorah out and killing it. Shortly afterward, Godzilla arrived and challenged Hedorah to battle, buying time for the JSDF to complete the electrode. When Hedorah knocked Godzilla into a pit and smothered him in sludge, the JSDF used flashing headlights to attract Hedorah to the electrode. However, when the electrode was activated, it quickly shorted out. Thankfully, Godzilla arrived and fired his atomic breath at the electrode, powering it up and causing it to dry Hedorah into a husk. Godzilla pulled two white orbs out of Hedorah's body and activated the electrode again, causing them to crumble into dust. As Godzilla walked away, Hedorah's husk burst open and the creature tried to escape in its flying form. Godzilla fired his atomic breath at the ground and took flight after Hedorah. Eventually, Godzilla collided with Hedorah and knocked it out of the sky. Godzilla subdued Hedorah and flew back to the electrode, then activated it and dried Hedorah out again. This time, Godzilla tore Hedorah's husk open and exposed all of its insides and activated the electrode again, completely disintegrating all of Hedorah's body and killing it for good.
The Black Hole Planet 3 Aliens secretly hid their disguised Mechagodzilla inside of Mount Fuji, and eventually triggered an eruption that released it. This fake Godzilla quickly rampaged through the settlements near Mount Fuji as it made its way towards Tokyo. Anguirus, sensing the impostor Godzilla, rose from the ground and attacked the fake Godzilla, but was soundly beaten when his jaw was broken. His enemy out of the way, the fake Godzilla headed unopposed to Tokyo.
Dr. Genshiro Shiragami owned a laboratory on the shores of Lake Ashi, a large lake at the foot of the mountain. It is here where Godzilla and Biollante fought for the first time.
While Mothra created her cocoon on the National Diet Building, Mount Fuji unexpectedly began to erupt. Godzilla, having been trapped underneath the Earth's crust after falling into the Philippine Trench, had swam through molten magma until he was underneath Mount Fuji and emerged from it. Godzilla walked out of the mountain's crater and made his way to Yokohama, obliterating the JSDF's forces along the way.
While Gamera was flying over Japan in pursuit of the last surviving Gyaos, the JSDF shot him down over Mount Fuji. Gamera was then relentlessly blasted by artillery and missiles, while Gyaos flew overhead and noticed its enemy. Gyaos fired its sonic beam at the wounded Gamera, who managed to take flight and chase after it.
When hikers began to mysteriously disappear in the forests near Mount Fuji, Niko Tatopoulos and his H.E.A.T. team traveled to Japan to investigate the stories of the "Fuji Monster." While investigating the creature's trail, they found themselves under attack by a giant yeti. Godzilla, having followed H.E.A.T. to Japan, appeared and attacked the yeti, revealing it to actually be a robot. Eventually, H.E.A.T. were arrested by the JSDF and brought to the Robo-Yeti's controller, Dr. Ifukube. She explained that Godzilla was responsible for the attacks, but Nick told her that Godzilla had been nowhere near Japan for some time and that the samples recovered from the monster responsible did not match Godzilla. Just then Ifukube's base was attacked by King Cobra, the real culprit behind the attacks. As King Cobra headed to Tokyo, Godzilla and Robo-Yeti joined forces against it while Elsie Chapman and Randy Hernandez found King Cobra's lair near Mount Fuji and rescued its victims.
While attempting to hang himself in the forests near Mount Fuji, a man accidentally fell into a cavern, where the legendary beast Ghidorah was sleeping. The man reported his story to the authorities, but they did not believe him. Later, the prophet Isayama traveled to the cavern and awakened Ghidorah so he could go to Yokohama and help Mothra defeat Godzilla.
After Godzilla reached Japan, the Xilien leader X released three monsters, Anguirus, Rodan and King Caesar, to battle him. Godzilla took on all three monsters at once, and managed to knock them all unconscious. Godzilla stacked the three monsters in a pile before continuing on his way.
Mount Fuji can be seen in the background twice in Legendary Pictures' Godzilla. First, Mount Fuji is seen behind the city of Janjira early in the film, and later it is seen in the background of Tokyo when Ford Brody goes there to bail his father out of jail.
The Philippine version of this mountain would be Mayon Volcano.
This page was last edited on 11 January 2018, at 02:56.
|
0.984104 |
What Is Global Warming? Global warming refers to an average increase in the Earth's temperature, which in turn causes changes in climate. A warmer Earth may lead to changes in rainfall patterns, a rise in sea level, and a wide range of impacts on plants, wildlife, and humans. When scientists talk about the issue of climate change, their concern is about global warming caused by human activities.
|
0.999657 |
Subsequently provided are five of most prominent family- and child-friendly hotels in Orlando, Florida. You may consider any of these hotels in your future accommodation list.
#1. Nickelodeon Family Suites — what makes the Nickelodeon Family Suites one of the mostly preferred hotel accommodation by family vacationers is its segregated kid suites that are ornamented with famous cartoon characters like Jimmy Neutron and Spongebob Squarepants. Not to mention are the two amazing water parks outside, plus its catered character breakfast and activities. As for additional entertainment for their family guests, the Nickelodeon Family Suites also cater a 3000 square foot arcade. All these would certainly make the whole family satisfied.
#2. Marriot Orlando World Center Resort& Convention Center — a plenty of amenities as such with a 106-foot water slide and six swimming pools, plus the two thousand rooms make it the largest Marriott in the world. In line with family services, Marriot Orlando World Center Resort & Convention Center also offers a play room off the indoor pool along with exciting videos, games and a television. Additionally are the two inviting pools for kids and a video pergola with ping pong and air hockey. There are extra daily activities like pool games and craft projects open for everyone who want to enjoy.
#3. Ritz-Carlton Orlando Grande Lakes — it is considered an ultra-luxe resort in the city, built with a forty thousand-square foot spa and an 18-hole championship golf course designed by Greg Norman. Ritz-Carlton Orlando Grande Lakes has a Ritz Kids Club, which is open daily to offer special accommodation service to kids in the 5-12 age brackets. A Kid’s Night Out is also made accessible for dinner services. Other child-friendly features and activities the hotel offers include a Lady Bug Release program, Nature Rangers program, fly fishing school, Butterfly Gardens and nature walks. All these are designed to offer kids with a remarkable experience while staying in the hotel.
#4. Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress Resort — known for its world-class accommodation services, the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress Resort has gained reputation in offering every guest a wonderful opportunity to spend a wonderful night, at the same time get to various theme parks during the day. A lot of exciting programs and features are offered to all family vacationers including an eight-hundred thousand gallon swimming pool, which covers around half an acre of the entire place, twelve waterfalls, an extensive pool complex with waterslides and falls and the two slides Camp Hyatt kids’ program. Aside from that, there are also other exiting activities which can make your children have better memories of the hotel.
#5. Gaylord Palms Resort and Spa — it is considered as one of the largest resorts and convention facilities in the entire Florida. The Gaylord Palms Resort and Spa is a 2.1 billion square feet building that occupies sixty-three acres of the land, situated just three minutes from the famous Disney World. It is built with one thousand and four hundred six rooms, with a far-reaching outdoor water play area. Similar to other child-friendly hotels in the place, it also offers a well-organized indoor kids’ program. Those who want to get to Disney World can avail of the hotel’s complimentary shuttle service, too.
|
0.999975 |
What are reciprocal and non-reciprocal links?
A reciprocal link simply means that two websites are linking to each other. A non-reciprocal link refers to a website that links one-way. A good linking strategy is to create as many inbound non-reciprocal links as possible, with some strategically chosen reciprocal links as well.
Link popularity is the total number of web sites that link to your site.
|
0.980559 |
This article shows you When is Good Friday 2020, Good Friday 2021 and further, included day and date and countdown calendar.
In 2020, Good Friday will be on Friday, April 10, 2020.
Good Friday 2020 Countdown Clock will show you the number of days, hours and minutes until Good Friday 2020.
Good Friday 2021 will be on Friday, April 2, 2021.
|
0.963781 |
Description: Play Cave Run at Cool Math Game : Cave Run is a run game. This game can play with 2 players. Your task is very simple, just run, jump, collect more coins, avoid obstacles on the way and don't fail. How long you can run and how much score you get ?
Instructions: For 1 Player : Hold your Left mouse to Jump. To jump higher, you must hold longer.
For 2 Players: Player 1 : Hold the SPACE to jump. To jump higher, you must hold longer.
Player 2 : Hold the ENTER to jump. To jump higher, you must hold longer.
|
0.998733 |
200lb of cucumbers was delivered to the grocery store and left in a storage room. The cucumbers contained 99% of water. After some time part of water evaporated and the contents of water in cucumbers became 98%. What is the weight of cucumbers now?
You have 2 candles. Every candle lights for 60 minutes. You have to find the way to measure 45 minutes.
A snail wants to creep on to the top of the tree 5m high. During the day it can creep up 3m but during the night it slides down 2m. How many days does it need to reach the top?
9 coins,one of them is fake. Use a balance to weigh them not more than 3 times and find the fake. A fake coin is not necessarily lighter.
Connect 9 dots with 4 lines . Don't cross the same dot twice.
Parachutist is landing on the island in the darkness. The island is of unknown shape. There must be a fenced lot at the island. The parachutist needs to find out if he is within the fenced lot or outside.
A band is walking in the street with a constant speed. Someone in the last raw has a dog. The dog runs ahead, reaches the front line of the band and gets back to it's owner. The dog's speed was also constant all the way and while it was running the band passed 50 feet. Find the length of the dog's path,if the distance between the front and the rear line of the band is 50 feet.
There are 100 gold coins in 10 columns by 10 coins in each column. Every coin weights 1 lb. One column contains 10 fake coins.Each coin in it weights 0.9 lb. Take one measurement to find the column with fakes.
Two drivers are going to the next town which is 100 miles away. They depart at the same time, however the first driver stops for gas during the first 50 miles, the second driver stops during the second half. Each stop takes 10 minutes. They both drive with the same speed 60 mph during the first 50 miles and 65 mph during the second half. Who do you think will arrive first?
A chess board has 64 squares.Two squares in the diagonal corners are masked out.Is it possible to cover the rest 62 squares with 31 dominos? (One domino covers two squares.) Explain the logic of your answer.
4 people A,B,C and D need to cross a narrow bridge in the darkness.
Only 2 people can go at once , and they share one flash light.
How to have them all get to the other side of the bridge in less time?
A man is running across a bridge.When he is 3/8 of the way accross, he hears a train coming behind him. If he keeps running he will reach the end of the bridge at the same time with the train. If he turns around and runs back, he will get to the beginning of the bridge at the same time with the train. The man runs at a speed of 5mph, and there is no way to jump off the bridge. What is the speed of the train?
This was sent by John S.
We are going to play a paper-rock game (similar to paper-rock-scissors). If we both have "paper" - I pay you $3, if we both have "rock" - I pay you $1. If they don't match - you pay me $2. Suggest a winning strategy?
There is a large cube that is composed of small sugar cubes. The large cube is 10 sugar cubes long, by 10 sugar cubes wide, by 10 sugar cubes high. How many sugar cubes are on the surface of the large cube?
An escalator is descending at constant speed. A walks down and takes 50 steps to reach the bottom. B runs down and takes 90 steps in the same time as A takes 10 steps. how many steps are visible when the escalator is not operating.
|
0.909492 |
When considering renting out an investment property, many people immediately think of long-term leasing. It sounds so simple: you engage a property manager, they find you a tenant, they sign a lease and you get regular rental income.
Does this strategy offer the very best return on investment for a savvy investor though?
Depending on the type and location of the property you have, you might be able to increase your return exponentially through other channels, such as short-term premium leasing.
Canberra attracts many people for work, and a large number of these people are professionals, who can be your ideal long-term tenant. However, instead of relocating to Canberra, this same demographic is often required to travel to Canberra for short periods of time, requiring accommodation on a short-term basis. If you have a townhouse or an apartment in a convenient location, short-term rental with a local short-term property manager could offer a higher return than a long-term rental. For example, you could expect a rental return for a near-new one bedroom apartment valued at $390,000 to $420,000 (with an investment of approximately $16,000 in furniture) to be around $975 - $1,100 per week. Rent for two bedroom apartments increases to around $1,075 - $1,400 per week. These rates are influenced by the overall presentation of the apartment, length of stay and other services or facilities the building offers, but this is a solid investment proposition when managed properly.
The other advantage of engaging a local short-term property management company is they know the market and what other properties are available, ensuring you get the best price possible for your property. They manage the entire booking process, as well as the check-in/check-out process and cleaning. It is like having a property manager for a long-term rental property, but maximising your return. Ultimately, if there is an issue with your property there is a local agent on the ground who can visit your property in person to check or resolve any issues.
There are other options when it comes to short-term rental management, such as online marketplaces where people can rent out anything from a room or a whole property. The advantages of this type of business are that the service charges can be as low as 3%, and the monthly return can be as high as $3,446 AUD for a property in Canberra. However, these companies are often global, and don’t offer local information or advice to property owners. The onus is also on the property owner to ensure listing information and available dates are accurate and the property is adequately serviced between guests. There is more work involved with this model in comparison to engaging the services of a local short-term property manager.
If you have a property in a central Canberra location or near government departments, short-term rental could be a strategy worth exploring.
The team from Accommodate Canberra are experts in Canberra’s short-term executive accommodation market and manage properties in Canberra's most prestigious and sought after apartment complexes. Contact them to discuss your investment strategy further.
|
0.999075 |
By Jacob Mcguire The Norman Transcript, Okla.
WWR Article Summary (tl;dr) Although Detective Elexa Sanders isn't the first female detective in the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office nearly 130 history, she has broken another barrier being the first black female detective.
With Women's History Month concluding soon, it was perfect timing for Elexa Sanders, of the Cleveland County Sheriff's Office, to be promoted to detective.
Starting March 18, Sanders went to work for the sheriff's office, sporting a detective's badge.
"I have learned so much in just a few days," she said. "There are a lot of women that have paved the way for me."
Of those women, several are and have worked within the sheriff's office for many years.
"Carolyn Parnell, a detention officer at the Cleveland County jail, and Sandra Roberts, who is no longer with the sheriff's office, are two women who I worked with everyday and looked up too," she said. "If I ever did anything wrong, they would pull me to the side and correct me."
Women, Cleveland County Sheriff Todd Gibson said, have been and will continue to be important to the law enforcement profession.
"It's not the same profession as it was when I got in more than 20 years ago," he said. "Law enforcement has female leadership across the country, and they play a vital role in what we do on a daily basis. Law enforcement is prime for being the flagship for breaking that glass ceiling for women and putting in women in leadership."
Although Sanders isn't the first female detective in the sheriff's office nearly 130 history, she has broken another barrier being the first black female detective.
"I haven't really even thought about it to be completely honest," she said. "I think that it's great though."
Sanders, a 2011 graduate of Star Spencer High School, said since she was young she aspired to work in law enforcement.
"I had a number of family members who were in law enforcement who I really looked up too. I always told my parents 'when I grow up, I want to be a police officer,'" she said.
That aspiration never left, following her through high school and into college.
After attending Cameron University in Lawton for a year, Sanders, a single-mom, became homesick.
"I was just ready to come home," she said. "I didn't like the fact that I wasn't able to see my family everyday. I wanted to be there for my daughter. She's my motivation. She's why I do everything that I do. Everyday that I wake up, I think God for allowing me to be that woman, mom, and role model."
She started doing some research and stumbled upon the COPS Program at OSU-OKC, and enrolled for the fall semester.
Sanders graduated from OSU-OKC in 2015 with her associates degree in police science and earned her CLEET certification to become a peace officer in the state of Oklahoma, all while working as a correctional officer at the Cleveland County jail.
This proved to be effective for Sanders, who had her commission picked up by the sheriff's office in 2017. She spent some time on patrol before being promoted to detective last week.
Sanders said despite being in what many consider a male-dominated field, she never thought of it being negative.
"Everybody has been very welcoming," she said. "In dealing with the guys, you've got to get used to and warm-up to them, but it became fun. I know they all have my back. There's not a day on patrol that I felt like I couldn't work with the guys. They made me feel like we are part of a family."
Gibson said when he took over as Sheriff in 2017, Sanders was on patrol. He said immediately saw the work ethic and tenacity she brought to the department.
"Sanders is exactly what we are looking for at the sheriff's office. She was an easy choice to select for a detective position. I even see her going further than that," he said.
Out of its 189 employees, the Cleveland County Sheriff's Office has nine female commissioned officers and 43 noncommissioned employees -- all of which Gibson said, plays an important role in the mission of the sheriff's office.
"Law enforcement is a very complex career field. At the sheriff's office made up of a diverse group of people and thinkers, something we are very proud of," Gibson said.
"As law enforcement has evolved, we have noticed a need for that woman's touch and mindset. We have to wear a variety of hats at the sheriff's office. We're social workers, parents, peacekeepers and mediators. Having those motherly instincts that women bring to the table is very beneficial in dealing with victims and the public."
|
0.999962 |
Why should we wonder about oliguria and AKI?
Urine output often is used as a marker of acute kidney injury but also to guide fluid resuscitation in critically ill patients. Although decrease of urine output may be associated to a decrease of glomerular filtration rate due to decrease of renal blood flow or renal perfusion pressure, neurohormonal factors and functional changes may influence diuresis and natriuresis in critically ill patients. The purpose of this review is to discuss the mechanisms of diuresis regulation, which may help to interpret the urine output in critically ill patients and the appropriate treatment to be initiated in case of changes in urine output.
Acute renal failure or acute kidney injury (AKI) is defined by an acute decline of glomerular filtration rate (GFR). Occurrence of AKI is associated with substantial in-hospital mortality, exceeding 50% when AKI is part of a multiple organ failure syndrome [1, 2]. Therefore, early recognition of AKI, better understanding of its pathogenesis, and development of preventing strategies appear to be potential areas of improvement of patient's prognosis. The decrease of glomerular filtration rate and urine output in response to a decrease of renal blood flow is classically referred as pre-renal azotemia, which can evolve into structural damage if renal hypoperfusion persists. In this line, urine output often is used as a marker of AKI but also to guide fluid resuscitation in critically ill patients. However, both the contribution of renal hypoperfusion to AKI and the genuine definition of pre-renal and intra-renal azotemia have been challenged by several authors [3–5]. The recent international consensus conference on acute renal failure therefore recommended the term "acute kidney insufficiency" rather than "acute kidney injury" in the light of paucity of evidence of a relation between tissue damage and organ failure in human AKI . The purpose of this review is to discuss the mechanism of diuresis regulation and the interpretation of urine output in critically ill patients in the light of clinical and physiological studies.
There is accumulating evidence that critically ill patients developing AKI have an increase relative risk of death. Occurrence of AKI is a marker of severity of the underlying acute illness but also appears as an independent factor associated with mortality in unselected critically ill patients , in sepsis , pneumonia , or cardiac surgery . The mechanistic pathways of such an association remain elusive, with intrication of inflammation, metabolism, and apoptotic phenomena. Remote organs damage has been suggested in several experimental studies [11, 12]. Ischemic-induced AKI has been found to induce myocardial apoptosis , to activate lung inflammatory and apoptotic pathways, and to increase lung water permeability . Surprisingly, even a small increase of serum creatinine after cardiac surgery or transient (i.e., reversible within 3 days) AKI has been found to be associated with an increased risk of death . Although fluid resuscitation and optimization of renal perfusion pressure are central to the prevention and treatment of AKI, excessive fluid resuscitation may be harmful in some critically ill patients. Payen et al. and Bouchard et al. found, when analyzing two large cohorts of critically ill patients, that a positive fluid balance was associated with an increased risk of death in patients suffering from AKI. First, aggressive fluid resuscitation, although increasing renal blood flow, can be ineffective in restoring renal microvascular oxygenation due to hemodilution with no increase in blood-oxygen carriage capacities . Second, positive fluid balance can deteriorate cell oxygenation and prolong mechanical ventilation . Finally, fluid overload may lead to central venous congestion and decrease of renal perfusion pressure , which will promote the development of AKI in patients with acute heart failure or sepsis . The type of fluid used also can have a role with "renal toxicity" associated with the use of colloids.
In clinical research, more than 30 definitions of acute renal failure have been used before the release of the RIFLE criteria by the Acute Dialysis Quality Initiative group in 2004 . The first merit of this classification was to introduce a standard and simple definition of AKI for clinical research purposes but also to stratify the severity of AKI based on serum creatinine level, creatinine clearance, or urine output. In 2007, the Acute Kidney Injury Network classification was published, introducing subtle modifications to the RIFLE criteria. A part from the change in nomenclature (Risk, Injury, and Failure were replaced by stage 1, 2, and 3, the categories Loss and Endstage disappeared), an absolute increase of serum creatinine of 0.3 mg/dl was sufficient to classify patients in stage 1, introducing the notion than only small changes in serum creatinine are of clinical relevance. Finally, the AKIN criteria should be applied "after following adequate resuscitation when applicable" with the purpose of excluding patients with pure renal pre-azotemia. The introduction of the RIFLE and AKIN definitions were a crucial step forward in the development of clinical research and have since been widely accepted by the medical community. Using these classifications, a patient with decrease of urine output will be classified as "AKI." However, a nonsustained decrease of urine output does not necessarily imply a decrease of glomerular filtration rate but can simply represent a physiological renal adaptation (i.e., antidiuresis and antinatriuresis) to maintain the body volume and/or electrolytes homeostasis. This would be the case if decreased urine output is not associated with a decline of creatinine clearance. Although severe acute renal failure with oliguria or anuria has been reported to be associated with a worse outcome compared with patients with preserved urine output, the use of urine output as a criterion to classify AKI severity may be misleading. It was reported that the combination of creatinine and urinary output for classifying the patient's risk of death was more stringent than urinary output alone for classifying patients [7, 24]. One can conclude that patients classified according to the urine output criterion only might be less severe than those classified according to the combination of creatinine and urine output . On the other hand, severe tubular dysfunction can lead to increased urine output despite low GFR. Urine output therefore seems to be a nonspecific and poor parameter for classifying of AKI in critically ill patients.
At constant hydraulic permeability of the glomerular filtration barrier, the glomerular filtration is driven by the pressure gradient across the glomerular capillary walls (Figure 1). The pressure gradient across the glomerular capillary wall is determined by the opposing forces of the hydraulic and oncotic pressures gradients between the capillaries and the Bowman's space. Because the length of the afferent and efferent arterioles in the glomerular capillary network is relatively short and the resistance is low, the glomerular capillary hydraulic pressure remains rather constant along the capillaries, whereas the oncotic pressure along the capillary increases in relation with filtration. Therefore, the limiting factors of GFR are the renal plasma flow and the plasma protein concentration. A higher renal plasma flow will induce a reduction in filtration fraction (i.e., ratio of ultrafiltration to renal plasma flow) with a lesser increase of capillary plasma protein concentration along the glomerular capillaries. Conversely, when the renal plasma flow is reduced, the glomerular filtration rate decreases but with an increase in the filtration fraction. An increase of capillary hydraulic pressure will cause the ultrafiltrate to be mainly generated on the first portion of the afferent side of the capillary network and to cease when hydraulic and oncotic pressures become equal along the glomerular capillary network (Figure 1). Therefore, the oncotic pressure becomes the limiting factor of glomerular filtration . In this line, the natriuresis and diuresis response to crystalloids infusion are in part mediated by the changes of intraglomerular oncotic forces following plasma protein dilution [27, 28], an effect that is not observed after hyperoncotic colloids administration. When hydraulic permeability is altered (decreased of glomerular surface area as in chronic kidney disease) glomerular hydraulic capillary pressure becomes the major determinant of the glomerular filtration rate (Figure 1) .
Schematic representation of the glomerular capillary hydraulic and oncotic pressure in normal kidneys (A and B) and pathologic kidneys with decrease of the total ultrafiltration surface (C and D). The difference between the hydraulic pressure difference [PGC, glomerular capillary hydraulic pressure-PT hydraulic pressure in Bowman's space) and the intracapillary oncotic pressure (∏GC) represents the effective filtration pressure gradient. In normal condition (A), the PGC-PT slightly decreases along the glomerular capillary axe and the ∏GC increases leading to equilibrium between the opposing forces to filtration. If renal perfusion pressure and PGC increase (B), the point of equilibrium is reached earlier along the axe due to increase of filtration fraction. GFR does not change and only increase of renal plasma flow and decrease of filtration fraction causes the GFR to increase (B). GFR is likely to increase with rise of renal perfusion pressure if the filtration surface is impaired, the point of equilibrium not being reached (C and D). Note the role of plasma oncotic pressure. Infusion of crystalloid decreases plasma oncotic pressure due to hemodilution favoring the net filtration pressure while infusion of colloids increases plasma oncotic pressure therefore reducing GFR. GFR, glomerular filtration rate.
Physiologically, the renal blood flow is autoregulated, which means that it remains unchanged when arterial blood pressure varies . Such autoregulation is mediated by a myogenic mechanism, the tubuloglomerular feedback (TGF), and a "third mechanism" not yet fully identified. The lower autoregulatory threshold of mammalian kidney occurs at a mean arterial pressure (MAP) of ~80 mmHg. Below this pressure level, renal blood flow and glomerular filtration rate decrease along with the decrease in pressure .
In normal kidneys, the total interruption of renal blood flow for a prolonged period of time (i.e., more than 30 minutes) followed by reperfusion is always associated with major tubular and microvascular damage. In this condition, cellular lesions result from a combination of cellular hypoxia-reperfusion injury and oxidative stress-associated damage . This situation is a rare clinical scenario except during suprarenal aortic surgery with aortic clamping. Experimental studies have shown that prolonged period of renal hypoperfusion would not systematically lead to renal histological damage and renal failure [33, 34]. Saotome et al. reported that prolonged mechanical reduction of renal blood flow by 80% for 2 h in conscious sheep did not induce sustained renal function impairment or kidney damage . In a rat model, Johannes et al. have shown that temporary mechanical reduction of renal blood flow does not impair microcirculatory oxygenation and renal function . However, severe renal damage were observed in rats recovering from an ischemic acute renal failure induced by intra-arterial infusion of norepinephrine , which underwent additional injury by mild hemorrhage, an effect partially prevented by renal denervation. These observations highlight the role of renal innervation in the induction of renal failure. Together, these experiments suggest that a severe transient hypoperfusion is able to reduce GFR and urine output but is not sufficient to induce persistent AKI. However, this is the superimposition of renal hypoperfusion episodes in relation to other insults, such as sepsis or ischemia, which may induce renal failure. Because of the above-mentioned arguments, it is expected that preventing a decrease of renal blood flow may prevent or limit the occurrence of AKI in ICU patients.
Renal blood flow autoregulation exists at high mean arterial blood pressure, protecting the glomerular structure from hypertensive injury by a decrease of glomerular capillary pressure . Therefore, one can expect that increasing renal perfusion pressure when MAP is below the threshold of renal blood flow autoregulation or if autoregulation is impaired could improve GFR and urine output through an increase of renal blood flow. Sepsis is the leading contributor to AKI in the ICU setting, accounting for more than 50% of episodes of AKI. Whereas fluid challenge can improve renal perfusion pressure and renal perfusion in hypovolemic states, the sole fluid resuscitation is unlikely to increase largely the mean arterial pressure. Vasopressor infusion is therefore required to improve renal perfusion pressure in conditions with systemic inflammation . Norepinephrine has been reported to increase renal blood flow, urine output, and creatinine clearance in experimental sepsis . Although norepinephrine also has been found to increase creatinine clearance in human sepsis , clinical studies in which MAP was increased with norepinephrine have provided conflicting results. Bourgoin et al. found that increasing MAP from 65 to 85 mmHg did not further improve creatinine clearance in patients with septic shock . In contrast, in a more recent study among patients with vasodilatory shock after cardiac surgery, infusing norepinephrine was found to improve renal oxygen delivery, oxygen delivery/consumption balance, and GFR when MAP was increased from 60 to 75 mmHg . Infusion of norepinephrine in septic patients titrated to increase MAP from 65 to 75 mmHg was associated with a decrease of renal Doppler resistive index, suggesting an increase in renal vascular conductance , confirming the experimental data. These results are in accordance with physiological animals studies that showed that norepinephrine and vasopressin can induce, in septic states, an increase of renal blood flow through a combined increase of renal perfusion pressure (i.e., prerenal mechanism) and an increase of renal vascular conductance (i.e., intrarenal mechanism) [38, 43].
Such an increase of renal blood flow does not necessarily translate into GFR increase. For example, infusion of low-dose dopamine (2 μg/kg/min) can increase renal blood flow, induce renal vasodilatation, and increase urine output but with no effect on creatinine clearance .
These apparent conflicting findings call for several comments. First, increase of renal blood flow or urine output does not necessarily translate into increase of creatinine clearance. The systematic review of human AKI by Prowle et al. showed that renal plasma flow and GFR were poorly correlated . In a septic hyperdynamic animal, a fall in creatinine clearance can occur despite an increase of renal blood flow . The same group using the same model found that infusion of angiotensin II could improve creatinine clearance while depressing renal blood flow . Ventilation with positive end expiratory pressure always decreases urine output in correlation with a decreased renal perfusion pressure (mean arterial blood pressure - renal venous pressure) and reduced renal blood flow . A nonpharmacologic technique (lower body positive pressure) was used to increase cardiac output and renal blood flow but with no impact on diuresis . In other words, increasing renal perfusion pressure can increase urine output and natriuresis independently of changes in total renal blood flow and GFR. These discrepancies could, in part, be due to the effect of neurohormonal regulation of vascular tone between the afferent and efferent glomerular arterioles (Figure 2). As an example, predominant vasodilatation on efferent arterioles leads to increase renal blood flow with a steady glomerular capillary pressure and GFR. Conversely, a predominant vasoconstriction of the efferent arterioles, even if renal blood flow remains unchanged, increases the GFR and urine output, potentially inducing renal ischemia. Second, renal fluid and sodium excretion (i.e., diuresis and natriuresis) can exhibit a pressure-dependency response [43, 49, 50]. Several humoral factors control sodium excretion through, in part, changes of renal medulla blood flow and intrarenal redistribution of blood flow.
Schematic view of regulating factors of diuresis and natriuresis. Renal blood flow, renal perfusion pressure, and plasma oncotic pressure influence the effective filtration pressure gradient. Afferent and efferent glomerular arteriole tone can further influence the glomerular capillary hydraulic pressure while tubular cast accumulation increases the Bowman's hydrostatic pressure decreasing the effective filtration pressure gradient. Finally intrarenal blood flow distribution, conformational changes of tubule Na+/H+ exchanger, urea, and chloride channels and aquaporin-2 expression regulate water and sodium (Na+) handling of the ultrafiltrate (see text for further details). GFR, glomerular filtration rate.
Whereas normal kidneys receive ~20% of cardiac output, the medulla receives less than 10% of renal blood flow . Even with a stable renal blood flow within the range of autoregulation, the cortical and medulla have different responses to changes in renal perfusion pressure (RPP). In contrast to the cortical microcirculation, the medulla microcirculation appears to be poorly autoregulated, i.e., pressure-dependent. Renal medulla blood flow regulation is of paramount importance with respect of the regulation of diuretics and natriuresis and, therefore, the response of the kidney to the body fluid composition and volume status (Figure 2). In fact, in mammalians kidneys, the ability of the medulla circulation to regulate its own blood flow depends largely on the body volume status. In euvolemic dogs, when a RPP is decreased from 153 to 114 mmHg within the range of RBF autoregulation (i.e., with no change of renal blood flow), flow in the inner medulla decreases with no redistribution of flow within the renal cortex . In contrast, both renal cortical and medulla are well autoregulated in hydropenic rats. Because the descending vasa recta provide blood flow to the medulla emerge from efferent arterioles of juxtamedullary glomerules, these data suggest that changes in resistance in the postglomerular circulation of juxtamedullary nephrons might be responsible for the lack of autoregulation of medullary blood flow in volume expended animals . Increase in renal medullary blood flow decreases the outer-inner medullar osmotic gradient and increases renal interstitial hydrostatic pressure, which both impair the ability to concentrate urine and participate in the natriuresis response to hypertension in well-hydrated mammalians. In hydropenic animals, this response is blunted preventing further loss of water and sodium. The tubular sodium handling may be mediated more by the angiotensin II and paracrine effects of NO rather than the increase in RPP per se. In the absence of angiotensin II, volume expansion with no increase in MAP induces natriuresis, whereas the increase in MAP by angiotensin II infusion did not induce a natriuresis response . Increase of plasma vasopressin concentration (independently of any increase of systemic arterial pressure) also influences the pressure-natriuresis/diuresis relationship in decreasing the medullary blood flow through receptor V1a . Binding to the V2-receptors in the inner medullary collecting ducts activates the UT-A1 molecules, which increases the urea permeability of collecting duct and increase the ability to concentrate urine. Increased vascular response of the renal microcirculation to vasoconstrictors has been proposed to elicit intense renal vasoconstriction in sepsis-induced AKI . Although this hypothesis warrants further exploration, it is possible in sepsis that endogenous vasoconstrictors, including angiotensin II, could both decrease GFR due to decrease in renal blood flow but also blunt the natriuresis response after the renal perfusion pressure has been restored. Endotoxemia also can increase urine output and water clearance despite decrease in GFR due to tubular aquaporin-2 dysfunction .
The adaptation of medullary blood flow to the Na+ concentration in the tubular lumen adds another level of complexity to the regulation of regional blood flow and sodium handling. The glomerular filtration rate will decrease due to vasoconstriction of the afferent glomerular arteriole in response to increase of the filtrated Na+ reaching the macula densa, a mechanism called the tubuloglomerular feedback (TGF, Figure 2). Tubular salt sensing by the macula densa involves the Na+/K+/2Cl- cotransporter (NKCC2). The mechanism of TGF consists in an increase of the glomerular afferent arteriole vascular tone, mainly mediated by adenosine release, in response to a raise of the [NaCl] concentrations in the tubular fluid. The juxtaglomerular apparatus also mediates renin-release signals through prostaglandins (i.e., PGI2 and PGE2) and nitric oxide release. The TGF response to increase of Na+ concentration in the tubular fluid operates within a few seconds but is not sustained. Prolonged stimulation of the TGF will induce the TGF to reset within 30-60 minutes, increasing the renal blood flow without restoring the GFR . Activation of the TGF has long been proposed by Thureau et al. as an adaptative mechanism to tubular dysfunction and referred as an "acute renal success" in acute renal failure . In theory, TGF response could prevent the rapid loss of water and electrolytes in conditions of tubular dysfunction-associated decrease of Na+ reabsorption. Na+-tubular reabsorptive work constitutes a major part of renal oxygen consumption in the healthy kidney. As a consequence, decrease of GFR or inhibition of Na+ tubular reabsorption can decrease renal oxygen consumption . However, in ischemic-induced AKI there is a diversion of oxygen consumption from Na+ reabsorption to other oxygen-consuming pathways illustrated by an increase of the ratio oxygen consumption/Na+ reabsorption . Redfors et al. have recently shown in an elegant physiological study in patients developing AKI after cardiac surgery that total renal oxygen consumption increases despite a decrease of Na+ reabsorptive work . The oxygen consumption to absorptive work mismatch is not well understood and may result from: 1) higher production of reactive oxygen species by infiltrative immune cells ; 2) high level of NO, which regulates the renal oxygen consumption . This may partially explain why strategies designed to inhibit renal oxygen consumption (e.g., loops diuretics) have failed to improve the prognosis of patients suffering from AKI .
Medical textbooks provide urine biochemistry profiles to differentiate prerenal causes from intra renal causes of AKI in oliguric patients. Although very popular among clinicians, the ability of urinary indices, such as urinary Na+ (UNa) and excretion fraction of Na+ (FeNa), to separate prerenal from intrarenal causes of AKI is questionable. First, these urinary markers have been poorly studied among critically ill patients. Recent reviews of experimental and human sepsis have highlighted the paucity of available studies and their design heterogeneity regarding urinary findings in septic AKI [62, 63]. Most importantly, there is no evidence that these urinary biochemical findings can predict the response to hemodynamic optimization in terms of renal injury and renal function. Although a low UNa or FeNa (e.g., FeNa <1%) suggest a preserved renal tubular reabsorptive capacity, there is no evidence for a correlation between urinary biochemical modifications and tissue damage. Inflammation mediators can induce tubular cell dysfunction with conformational changes of tubule Na+/H+ exchanger, urea, or chloride channels that will influence urine composition independently of any structural damage [14, 64, 65]. As mentioned, the control of urinary Na+ excretion results from a complex neurohumoral regulation and is influenced by fluid resuscitation, arterial pressure, or infusion of diuretics. A fractional excretion of urea (FeU) of 35% or less has been proposed to differentiate prerenal AKI from intrarenal causes independently of the use of diuretics. However, mechanically ventilated patients with transient AKI (resolving within 3 days) exhibited higher FeU than patients with persistent AKI in a recently published cohort . To summarize, sensitivity and specificity of traditional urinary biochemicals showed significant disparities among clinical studies such that their value to classify AKI remains doubtful. There is much more expectation in the use of new biomarkers (i.e., NGAL, KIM1) to make an early diagnosis of tubular damage during the course of AKI and therefore to differentiate prerenal from intrarenal AKI in oliguric patients. Only a few studies are available regarding the association between plasma and/or urine levels of those biomarkers and the reversibility of AKI. Bagshaw et al. reported that plasma NGAL had an area under the ROC curve of 0.71 (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.55-0.88) for predicting AKI progression and of 0.78 (95% CI, 0.61-0.95) for need for renal replacement therapy. Cruz et al. reported an area under the ROC curve of 0.82 (95% CI, 0.7-0.95) for predicting the use of renal replacement therapy . Nickolas et al. reported that urine NGAL remained low in patients admitted in the emergency department with prerenal azotemia versus AKI .
Decrease urine output is common among critically ill patients and can mirror a decrease in creatinine clearance. Although a decrease in renal blood flow and/or a decrease in renal perfusion pressure is a major determinant of GFR, plasma oncotic pressure appears to be central in the glomerular hydrodynamic forces. In hypovolemic states, prompt fluid resuscitation is needed to prevent further deterioration of renal function. The choice of the type of fluid also seems to be crucial, because colloids increase the oncotic pressure and may reduce filtration rate. Fluid administration may be found inappropriate and even harmful in numerous situations due to the inconstant relationship between renal blood flow or renal perfusion pressure and diuresis/natriuresis due to complex neurohormonal control. Furthermore, systemic inflammation can induce natriuresis and diuresis changes due to functional changes unrelated to hypoperfusion, histological, or tubular damage. Experimental and clinical research is needed to determine appropriate therapeutic response to oliguria in critically ill patients.
ML and DP wrote and approved the final manuscript.
|
0.97736 |
Want to write? Having trouble getting started? Stuck in a rut? Using prompts, or ideas, are a great way to free your mind and unstick your blocked mind. Set a timer for fifteen minutes. Choose one of the prompts below and Just Write! I remember . . . A childhood memory Something bad that turned out good Something you would like to see again Someone from your childhood How I really spent my summer vacation Or, write whatever is on your mind. Just write! It’s healthy. It can be fun. And it’s free!
Do dreams come true? I think they can. I’ve had a dream since 2005, an item I can now cross off my bucket list: Produce a series of books to inspire writing. The recently published, The Write Spot: Reflections is the third book in The Write Spot Series. Today’s Prompt: Write your bucket list . . . things you want to do. Your dream wish list. Take a few minutes for this. Next: Choose an item from this list and write as if it were five years from now and you have completed your dream. A sort of cheerleading note to yourself. Go on . . . Dare to dream! For more inspirational writing on this topic: Prompt #212: What is on your bucket list? Prompt #216: Portals, Dreams and Promises The Write Spot: Reflections is available for $12 at Amazon, Copperfield’s Petaluma, and JavAmore Café .
Finish the sentence and keep writing: The autumnal glow, chilly afternoons, and crisp nights . . .
It was a sultry midsummer’s day . . . You can finish the sentence or use the photo to inspire your writing. Write whatever comes up for you.
What is your most prized or cherished possession? Why?
|
0.90774 |
IS rural America in a depression? The word is bandied about a lot these days. ``It's an agricultural depression,'' says Kingman, Kan., farmer Clarence Clossen.
But unlike the '30s, not everyone is in trouble, says Rita Light, waiting on late-night customers at a convenience store here in Rockwell City, Iowa.
``You're either doing great -- or you're not going to make it,'' she says. She and her husband are making it, she adds, but only because her store job and her husband's truck-driving supplement the money they make raising hogs.
In fact, some historians and economists believe the rural situation of the 1980s closely resembles the farm depression of the 1920s. Then, as now, urban America was booming. Bank failures were concentrated in the rural areas. The farm economy was coming off a boom.
In some ways, today's situation is better than it was in the '20s. Rural America is now less dependent on natural-resource employment. Also, farm subsidies that did not exist 60 years ago have slowed the fall of commodity prices during a period of stiff competition in world markets.
In other ways, today's situation is worse. The rate of decline in farmland values has actually been faster now than in the 1920s.
``What we're talking about is a very run-of-the-mill depression,'' says Neil Harl, an agricultural economist. The result: an increasing split between languishing rural communities and booming cities just at a time when it appeared that rural standards of living were beginning to catch up.
The split between haves and have-nots is played out in rural areas, too. While the mining town of Babbitt, Minn., is suffering badly, the only vacant storefront in the nearby town of Virginia is a building that burned down. In fact, says University of Missouri sociologist Rex Campbell, the contact with thriving regions -- either in person or through television -- makes it harder on families and towns that have felt the full impact of the rural downturn.
|
0.985854 |
The nervous system is comprised of a complex network of axonal connections. This network is formed during development, when axons navigate to their target regions. Axon navigation requires multiple signaling pathways to detect and respond to extracellular guidance cues. Many of the guidance cues, receptors and signaling pathways have been identified. However, little is known about how the information encoded by different guidance cues is combined to arrive at a directional response. A key part of how this occurs is likely to involve combinatorial receptor signaling, when different guidance receptors work in combination with each other. However, the mechanisms that underlie combinatorial receptor signaling remain mostly unknown. In C. elegans, ventral axon guidance is mediated by the UNC-40 (DCC) and SAX-3 (Robo) guidance receptors. Here, we use genetic and biochemical analysis to identify a molecular mechanism that can mediate combinatorial signaling involving UNC-40, SAX-3 and the RhoGAP-like protein SYD-1.
Axonal migrations are guided through the developing nervous system by multiple extracellular guidance cues that activate receptors on the surface of the axonal growth cone. The axonal growth cone must integrate these multiple signals to arrive at a single directional response [1–7]. Progress has been made in characterizing individual guidance cues, receptors and their signaling pathways. However, the signaling mechanisms that allow for integration between receptor signaling pathways are largely unknown .
Integration of multiple guidance signals could be mediated by combinatorial receptor signaling . In fact, several examples of combinatorial axon guidance receptor signaling have been identified in various systems. For example, commissural axons in the mammalian spinal cord exhibit a hierarchical interaction between the DCC (UNC-40) and Robo (SAX-3) receptors . Upon reaching the midline, spinal axons are exposed to Slit, which promotes formation of a DCC/Robo heterodimer that silences the attractive response to Netrin, thereby allowing the axons to exit the midline. Variations of hierarchical interactions between the DCC and Robo receptors have also been observed in several other systems [10–13]. Moreover, hierarchical interactions between semaphorin receptors have also been observed [14,15].
Guidance signaling pathways can also exhibit synergistic interactions. For example, in C. elegans, the AVM neuron is simultaneously exposed to both the UNC-6 (Netrin) and SLT-1 (Slit) guidance cues. Both of these cues guide the AVM axon towards the ventral nerve cord. UNC-40 (DCC) can function individually as a receptor for UNC-6, whereas SAX-3 (Robo) can function individually as a receptor for SLT-1. However, UNC-40 can also function independently of UNC-6, when it binds to the SAX-3 receptor to promote the response to SLT-1 . Despite these observations, the signaling mechanisms that mediate combinatorial guidance signaling remain mostly unexplored.
SYD-1 is an intracellular protein that contains a RhoGAP-like domain that has been implicated in synaptogenesis and axonal specification [17–21]. Here, we present evidence that SYD-1 can also function in axon guidance to promote UNC-40 signaling independently of its canonical ligand UNC-6. Our data suggest that UNC-40, SAX-3 and SYD-1 can function interdependently to regulate the MIG-2 GTPase. Our observations provide an example of a signaling mechanism that can mediate combinatorial guidance signaling.
The cell body of the HSN neuron is located on the lateral body wall of C. elegans and extends an axon ventrally to the ventral nerve cord. To determine the relative contributions of guidance cues in HSN ventral axon guidance, we examined HSN axon guidance in slt-1(eh15) and unc-6(ev400) null mutants (Fig 1A–1C). We found that the unc-6 null mutants exhibited 59% guidance defects, whereas the slt-1 null mutants had 2% guidance defects. However, the unc-6 slt-1 double null mutants had 89% guidance defects. These observations suggest that the HSN axon is guided primarily by the UNC-6 and SLT-1 guidance cues. Moreover, the synergistic nature of these interactions suggest interactions between the UNC-6 and SLT-1 signaling pathways in the HSN neuron, providing a system for studying the factors that mediate interactions between these pathways.
Fig. 1. Interactions between the UNC-6 and SLT-1 signaling pathways in the HSN neuron.
(A) Example of normal HSN axon guidance. (B) Example of defective HSN axon guidance. (C) Synergistic genetic interaction between null mutations in the genes that encode the UNC-6 and SLT-1 guidance cues. (D) The UNC-40 and SAX-3 pathways can function in parallel to each other. For the data shown in this panel, the sax-3(ky200) temperature sensitive allele was used to circumvent lethality. (E) The SAX-3 receptor can function independently of the SLT-1 ligand. A null mutation in the gene that encodes the SLT-1 guidance cue results in only rare guidance defects. However, a null mutation in the gene that encodes SAX-3, the receptor for SLT-1, results in 20% guidance defects. Guidance defects are not enhanced in sax-3 slt-1 double null mutants. (F) The UNC-40 receptor can function independently of the UNC-6 guidance cue. A null mutation in the gene that encodes the UNC-40 receptor causes HSN guidance defects at a penetrance that is similar that caused by a null mutation in the gene that encodes the UNC-6 guidance cue. However, loss of UNC-40 function enhances guidance defects in the absence of UNC-6 function, indicating that UNC-40 can function independently of UNC-6. For the data shown in panel D, we analyzed progeny of worms maintained at 20°C and shifted to 24° just prior to egg laying. For all other panels, strains were grown at 20°C. Scale bars are 10 μm. Anterior is to the right. Ventral is down. Alleles shown in all panels, except where noted in panel D, are unc-6(ev400), slt-1(eh15), sax-3(ky123), unc-40(e1430). HSN axon guidance was scored as defective if the axon failed to reach the ventral nerve cord. For the data shown in panel D, n>39. For all other data, n≥200. Brackets indicate statistically significant difference, Z test for proportions (***p<0.0001, **p<0.001).
To investigate interactions between the signaling pathways that transduce the UNC-6 and SLT-1 cues, we examined guidance defects in mutants that disrupt their receptors, UNC-40 and SAX-3, respectively. We attempted to construct an unc-40; sax-3 double null mutant. However, this double null mutant was completely embryonic lethal, precluding analysis of axon guidance. As an alternative we used the sax-3(ky200) temperature sensitive mutation. The single sax-3(ky200) mutant at 24°C has guidance defects with a penetrance of 19%, suggesting that this allele behaves as a strong loss of function at 24°C (Fig 1D). We constructed an unc-40(e1430); sax-3(ky200) double mutant. Although these animals were mostly embryonic lethal at 24°C, we were able to analyze axon guidance in the survivors and found that guidance defects in unc-40(e1430); sax-3(ky200) double mutants were significantly enhanced relative to either single mutant (Fig 1D). Likewise, we also found that guidance defects in unc-6(ev400) sax-3(ky200) double mutants were significantly enhanced relative to either single mutant. These results suggest that UNC-40 and SAX-3 can function in parallel to each other and that these two receptors mediate most, if not all, of the ventral guidance signals in the HSN axon.
SAX-3 can function independently of its canonical ligand SLT-1. To investigate the relationship between SLT-1 and SAX-3, we analyzed mutants that disrupt these proteins. Although SAX-3 can function as a receptor for the SLT-1 guidance cue [22–24], we found that in the HSN, sax-3(ky123) null mutants had 20% defects, whereas slt-1(eh15) null mutants had only 2% defects (Fig 1E). The sax-3 slt-1 double mutants showed no enhancement relative to the sax-3 single mutants. These observations suggest that in addition to being a receptor for SLT-1, SAX-3 can also function independently of SLT-1. These results are consistent with several previous findings of SLT-1 independent SAX-3 function [12,23,25].
UNC-40 can function independently of its canonical ligand UNC-6. UNC-40 primarily functions as a receptor for the UNC-6 guidance cue [26–27]. However, the penetrance of HSN axon guidance defects was enhanced in unc-40(e1430); unc-6(ev400) double null mutants relative to unc-40(e1430) and unc-6(ev400) single null mutants (Fig 1F). Similar results were obtained using the unc-40(n324) null allele (S1 Fig). These observations suggest that UNC-40 can function independently of UNC-6, in the HSN neuron, consistent with previous reports of an UNC-6 independent function for UNC-40 in several different processes [16,26,28–30]. Moreover, the identification of an UNC-6 independent UNC-40 signaling activity in the HSN neuron provides a means to identify the signaling mechanisms that mediate interactions between the UNC-40 and the SAX-3 signaling pathways.
To identify a signaling mechanism that can mediate UNC-6 independent UNC-40 function, we searched for candidate mutations that can enhance guidance phenotypes in unc-6 null mutants, but not in unc-40 null mutants. We found that the syd-1(ju2) null mutation could enhance guidance defects in unc-6(ev400) null mutants, but not in unc-40(e1430) null mutants (Fig 2A). We also obtained similar results using different null alleles for syd-1 and unc-40 (Figs 3B and S2). These observations suggest that SYD-1 might mediate UNC-6 independent UNC-40 signaling.
Fig. 2. SYD-1 mediates UNC-6 independent UNC-40 signaling.
(A) SYD-1 functions in parallel to UNC-6, but not UNC-40. The syd-1(ju2) null mutation enhances HSN guidance defects in unc-6 null mutants. However, the syd-1 null mutation does not enhance guidance defects in an unc-40 null mutant. (B) SYD-1 functions with UNC-40 independently of UNC-6. Guidance defects in an unc-40; syd-1; unc-6 triple null mutant are not enhanced relative to unc-40; unc-6 or syd-1; unc-6 double null mutants. (C) The syd-1 null mutation enhances HSN guidance defects in ev546 and tm5504 hypomorphic unc-40 mutants. Alleles for panels A and B are unc-6(ev400), syd-1(ju2), unc-40(e1430). Alleles for panel C are unc-40(ev546), unc-40(tm5504) and syd-1(ju2). HSN axon guidance was scored as defective if the axon failed to reach the ventral nerve cord. For all experiments, n≥200. Brackets indicate statistically significant difference, Z test for proportions (***p<0.0001, *p<0.01).
Fig. 3. The function of the syd-1 gene in axon guidance is mediated by the SYD-1C isoform.
(A) Schematic of the three isoforms of SYD-1 and location of three mutations. The ju82 mutation is a nonsense mutation the affects the SYD-1A and SYD-1B isoforms. The ju2 mutation is a nonsense mutation that affects all three isoforms. The tm6234 mutation is a deletion that affects all three isoforms. (B) The SYD-1C isoform is necessary and sufficient to mediate the role of SYD-1 in axon guidance. Guidance defects in unc-6 null mutants are enhanced by the ju2 and tm6234 mutations, but not by the ju82 mutation. Guidance defects in a syd-1; unc-6 double null mutant are rescued by expressing SYD-1C in the HSN neuron with an unc-86::syd-1c transgene. (C) SYD-1C binds to the cytoplasmic domain of UNC-40 fused to GST (GST::UNC-40) and also to the cytoplasmic domain of SAX-3 fused to GST (GST::SAX-3), but not to GST alone. An unrelated protein, luciferase, does not bind to GST, GST::UNC-40, or GST::SAX-3. For reference, an amount of protein (SYD-1C or luciferase) equal to 20% of the amount of protein in the binding assay was run on the gel (20% Input). HSN axon guidance was scored as defective if the axon failed to reach the ventral nerve cord. For all experiments, n≥200. Bracket indicates statistically significant difference, Z test for proportions (**p<0.001).
To determine if SYD-1 and UNC-40 function together to mediate UNC-6 independent UNC-40 function, we analyzed guidance defects in unc-40; syd-1; unc-6 triple null mutants and compared these to defects in the syd-1; unc-6 and unc-40; unc-6 double null mutants (Fig 2B). If unc-40 and syd-1 function in a genetic pathway, the triple mutant should have a penetrance of guidance defects similar to the double mutants. Indeed, we found that the penetrance of guidance defects in the unc-40; syd-1; unc-6 triple mutant was similar to the syd-1; unc-6 or the unc-40; unc-6 double null mutants. These observations are consistent with a model where UNC-40 and SYD-1 function together to mediate UNC-6 independent UNC-40 function.
To further test the idea that UNC-40 and SYD-1 function together, we analyzed double mutants between the syd-1(ju2) null allele and two different hypomorphic unc-40 alleles (Fig 2C). When two genes function in a pathway, a loss of function mutation in one gene can enhance defects associated with a hypomorphic mutation in the second gene. Indeed, we found that guidance defects associated with either of two unc-40 hypomorphic alleles could be enhanced by the syd-1(ju2) null mutation, consistent with the idea that unc-40 and syd-1 function in a genetic pathway.
SYD-1 is expressed as three different isoforms, known as SYD-1A, SYD-1B, and SYD-1C. SYD-1A and SYD-1B contain a PDZ domain, whereas SYD-1C does not contain the PDZ domain (Fig 3A). Loss of SYD-1A and SYD-1B disrupts axonal identity in DD and VD motor neurons and also disrupts presynaptic development in the HSN neuron [20,31]. For these phenotypes, the syd-1(ju82) mutation that disrupts SYD-1A and SYD-1B, but spares SYD-1C (see Fig 3A), behaves as a null allele. These observations indicate that SYD-1C is not sufficient for axonal specification or presynaptic development.
To examine the role of each isoform of SYD-1 in axon guidance, we analyzed guidance defects in different mutant alleles of syd-1 (Fig 3B). The syd-1(ju82) allele disrupts the SYD-1A and SYD-1B isoforms, but not the SYD-1C isoform. The syd-1(ju2) and syd-1(tm6234) alleles disrupt all three isoforms. We found that the syd-1(ju82) allele, did not enhance guidance defects in unc-6 null mutants. However, both syd-1(ju2) and syd-1(tm6234) did enhance guidance defects in unc-6 null mutants. These genetic interactions suggest that the role of the syd-1 gene in guidance may be mediated by the SYD-1C isoform. To further test the role of the SYD-1C isoform, we used the unc-86 promoter to drive expression of SYD-1C in the HSN neuron. We found that expression of SYD-1C in the HSN neuron can rescue guidance defects in syd-1(ju2); unc-6(ev400) double null mutants (Fig 3B), indicating that the SYD-1C isoform is sufficient to mediate the function of the syd-1 gene in guidance. Moreover, these results also indicate that SYD-1C functions cell-autonomously in the HSN neuron. Together, these results suggest that the protein domains contained within SYD-1C are sufficient to mediate axon guidance and that the PDZ domain contained within SYD-1A and SYD-1B is not required for axon guidance. By contrast, loss of SYD-1A and SYD-1B disrupts synaptogenesis and axon specification, suggesting that the PDZ domains are required for these functions and implying that the function of SYD-1 in guidance is distinct from its role in synaptogenesis and axon specification. Although our data suggest that the SYD-1C isoform is necessary and sufficient to mediate the role of syd-1 in axon guidance, other interpretations are possible and we cannot rule out potential roles for the other isoforms of SYD-1.
Since genetic data suggest that UNC-40 and SYD-1 function together, we tested for a physical interaction between SYD-1C and the cytoplasmic domain of UNC-40 (Fig 3C). We found that SYD-1C binds to the cytoplasmic domain of UNC-40 fused to GST (GST::UNC-40), but not to GST alone. In addition, we found that SYD-1C can also bind to the cytoplasmic domain of SAX-3 (GST::SAX-3), but not to GST alone. By contrast, we observed no binding between an unrelated protein, luciferase, and either GST::UNC-40 or GST::SAX-3. These observations suggest that SYD-1C can bind to the cytoplasmic domains of both UNC-40 and SAX-3.
SYD-1 contains a RhoGAP-like domain, but has not been associated with any Rho GTPases. By testing candidate GTPases, we found that the GAP-like domain of SYD-1 binds to MIG-2. To confirm this interaction we performed binding assays with recombinant MIG-2 and the C-terminus of SYD-1, which contains the RhoGAP-like domain (Fig 4A). We found that MIG-2 fused to GST (GST-MIG-2) was pulled-down with the His6-tagged C-terminus of SYD-1 (His-SYD-1), while GST alone was not. Moreover, binding between MIG-2 and SYD-1 was markedly enhanced when MIG-2 was bound to GTPγS (a non-hydrolyzable analog of GTP) relative to when MIG-2 was bound to GDP. These observations indicate that the RhoGAP-like domain of SYD-1 preferentially binds to the GTP-bound active form of MIG-2.
Fig. 4. SYD-1 promotes axon guidance by negatively regulating the MIG-2 GTPase.
(A) The RhoGAP-like domain of SYD-1 can bind to the active form of MIG-2. Binding between the C-terminal RhoGAP-like domain of SYD-1 (His-SYD-1) and GST-MIG-2 was substantially enhanced after incubation with GTPγS (GST-MIG-2 + GTPγS) relative to incubation with GDP (GST-MIG-2 + GDP). No binding was observed between His-SYD-1 and GST. (B-C) SYD-1 negatively regulates MIG-2 activity. (B) The syd-1(ju2) null mutation enhances HSN guidance defects in partially activated mig-2(gm38) mutants. However, the null mutation in syd-1 does not enhance HSN guidance defects in the fully activated mig-2(gm103) mutants. (C) Transgenic expression of SYD-1C suppresses axon guidance defects in the partially activated mig-2(gm38) mutants. HSN axon guidance was scored as defective if the axon failed to reach the ventral nerve cord. For all experiments, n≥200. Brackets indicate statistically significant difference, Z test for proportions (***p<0.0005, **p<0.005).
To determine if SYD-1 can regulate MIG-2 activity, we tested for genetic interactions between the syd-1(ju2) null allele and mig-2 gain of function mutations. The mig-2(gm103) mutation encodes a fully activated MIG-2, whereas mig-2(gm38) encodes a partially activated MIG-2 [32–33]. We found that loss of syd-1 can enhance the defects associated with the partially active mig-2(gm38) allele (Fig 4B), suggesting that SYD-1 can negatively regulate MIG-2. By contrast, we observed no enhancement of the fully active mig-2(gm103) allele, consistent with the expectation that fully activated MIG-2 cannot be further activated. To further test the functional relationship between SYD-1 and MIG-2, we transgenically expressed SYD-1C in the mig-2(gm38) partially activated gain of function mutants (Fig 4C). Consistent with the idea that SYD-1 can negatively regulate MIG-2, we found that transgenic expression of SYD-1C suppresses guidance defects caused by the mig-2(gm38) gain of function mutation. To further test the interaction between SYD-1 and MIG-2, we constructed a syd-1(ju2); mig-2(ok2273) double null mutant. We found that penetrance of HSN guidance defects in these double null mutants was not enhanced relative to mig-2(ok2273) single mutants (Fig 5), further supporting the idea that SYD-1 functions with MIG-2. Together, these data are consistent with a model where SYD-1 can negatively regulate the activation state of MIG-2.
Fig. 5. MIG-2 functions with SAX-3 to regulate axon guidance.
HSN guidance defects were observed in mig-2 null mutants and in sax-3 null mutants. HSN guidance defects were not enhanced in sax-3 mig-2 double null mutants, indicating that SAX-3 and MIG-2 function together to regulate HSN axon guidance. The mig-2 null mutant enhances HSN guidance defects in unc-40 null mutants. Alleles are syd-1 (ju2), mig-2(ok2273), sax-3(ky123), unc-40(e1430). HSN axon guidance was scored as defective if the axon failed to reach the ventral nerve cord. For all experiments, n≥200. Brackets indicate statistically significant difference, Z test for proportions (***p<0.0001).
To consider the role of mig-2 in HSN axon guidance, we examined the HSN axon in mig-2(ok2273) null mutants (Fig 5). We found that 14% of HSN axon migrations were defective in the mig-2 null mutants, indicating that MIG-2 is required for HSN axon guidance. Likewise, 20% of HSN axon migrations were defective in sax-3(ky123) null mutants. To determine if mig-2 functions in a genetic pathway with sax-3, we examined sax-3 mig-2 double null mutants. If two genes function in a genetic pathway, a double null mutant should have defects similar to the greatest of the single mutants. We found that the sax-3 mig-2 double mutants had a penetrance of guidance defects similar to that of sax-3 single mutants, indicating that mig-2 and sax-3 do function in a genetic pathway. Consistent with a function for mig-2 in the sax-3 pathway, we also found that the mig-2 null mutation can enhance defects in the unc-40 null mutants. Together, these genetic interactions support the conclusion that MIG-2 functions in the SAX-3 pathway.
Since SYD-1 regulates MIG-2, which functions with SAX-3, we asked if SYD-1 function requires SAX-3. To address this question, we examined genetic interactions between mutations in syd-1 and sax-3. We found that the syd-1(ju2) null mutation fails to enhance axon guidance defects in sax-3(ky123) null mutants, suggesting that SYD-1 might function with SAX-3 (Fig 6A). To further determine if SYD-1 can function with SAX-3, we used the sax-3(ky200) hypomorphic allele and found that the syd-1(ju2) null mutation enhances guidance defects in sax-3(ky200) hypomorphic mutants (Fig 6B). Since, the syd-1 null mutant can enhance guidance defects in the sax-3 hypomorphic mutants, but not in sax-3 null mutants, we conclude that SYD-1 functions with SAX-3, implying that SYD-1 function requires SAX-3.
Fig. 6. SYD-1 function requires SAX-3.
(A) The syd-1(ju2) null mutation does not enhance guidance defects in sax-3(ky123) null mutants. (B) The syd-1(ju2) null mutation enhances guidance defects in sax-3(ky200) hypomorphic mutants. For experiments with the sax-3(ky123) null mutants, we scored only severe HSN defects (the axon never reaches the ventral nerve cord). For the sax-3(ky200) hypomorphic mutants, we did not observe any severe HSN axon guidance defects, but only mild defects (the axon trajectory is defective but eventually reaches the ventral nerve cord). Therefore, for experiments with the sax-3(ky200) hypomorphic mutants, we scored mild axon guidance defects. For all experiments, n≥200. Bracket indicates statistically significant difference, Z test for proportions (*p<0.01).
We have found that single null mutants of unc-40 and sax-3 exhibit partially penetrant guidance defects. We have also found that unc-40; sax-3 double strong loss of function mutants exhibit guidance defects that are nearly fully penetrant. Together, these results suggest that UNC-40 and SAX-3 can function in parallel to each other.
Although UNC-40 and SAX-3 can function in parallel, our genetic analysis suggests that UNC-40 and SAX-3 can also function together. This idea is consistent with previous work in the AVM neuron showing that UNC-40 and SAX-3 can function in combination with each other, whereby UNC-40 functions independently of UNC-6 to potentiate SAX-3 signaling . Consistent with this genetic analysis, biochemical data indicate that both UNC-40 and SAX-3 can bind to each other . Likewise, DCC and Robo, vertebrate homologs of UNC-40 and SAX-3, respectively, also exhibit functional and biochemical interactions [9–11]. Despite these findings, little is known about the signaling events that mediate combinatorial guidance receptor function.
Our results suggest that SYD-1 function requires both UNC-40 and SAX-3, implying that UNC-40, SAX-3 and SYD-1 function interdependently. Loss of syd-1 function fails to enhance guidance defects in null mutants of either unc-40 or sax-3. However, loss of syd-1 function does enhance guidance defects in hypomorphic mutants of either unc-40 or sax-3. These observations suggest that SYD-1 function does not occur in the complete absence of UNC-40 or SAX-3, but becomes apparent when UNC-40 or SAX-3 function is reduced. Moreover, we also find that SYD-1 binds to the cytoplasmic domains of both UNC-40 and SAX-3. Together, these observations are consistent with a model whereby SYD-1 does not function in the UNC-40 individual pathway or the SAX-3 individual pathway, but rather functions in a common pathway with both UNC-40 and SAX-3. However, we note that other interpretations for these results are possible and that future investigations will be required to further define the relationships between UNC-40, SAX-3 and SYD-1.
Our results suggest that UNC-40, SAX-3 and SYD-1 function interdependently, implying that SYD-1 can mediate combinatorial receptor signaling. We propose two models to explain how UNC-40, SAX-3 and SYD-1 could mediate combinatorial signaling (Figs S3 and S4). In the heterodimer model, UNC-40 and SAX-3 would bind to each other and function as an UNC-6 independent guidance receptor. This heterodimer receptor would bind to SYD-1 and cause negative regulation of MIG-2, which functions in the SAX-3 pathway. Alternatively, in the crosstalk model, UNC-40 and SAX-3 would not be physically associated with each other. In this crosstalk model, SYD-1 would bind to the cytoplasmic tail of the UNC-40 receptor and would negatively regulate MIG-2, which functions in the SAX-3 pathway. We favor the heterodimer model because previous results have indicated that UNC-40 and SAX-3 can bind to each other , our genetic analysis suggest that SYD-1 function requires both UNC-40 and SAX-3, and our biochemical analysis show that SYD-1 can bind to both UNC-40 and SAX-3. Future investigations may help differentiate between these two models, or potentially suggest other models.
Our finding that a syd-1 null allele can enhance guidance defects in partially activated mig-2 mutants, but not in fully activated mig-2 mutants, implies that SYD-1 is involved in regulating the activation state of MIG-2. However, SYD-1 lacks two critical residues that are required for GAP activity [34–35]. Thus far, attempts to detect SYD-1 GAP activity have been unsuccessful. Since we have found that the GAP domain of SYD-1 can bind to activated MIG-2, we propose that SYD-1 functions as a scaffold that can promote negative regulation of MIG-2 activity. One possibility is that SYD-1 and MIG-2 may be part of a complex that also includes a GAP protein. Alternatively, it remains possible that SYD-1 could possess GAP activity on its own.
We report that UNC-6 independent UNC-40 signaling is mediated by SYD-1 and that SYD-1 negatively regulates MIG-2. Thus, UNC-6 independent UNC-40 signaling can promote axon guidance by negatively regulating MIG-2. This idea is consistent with previous results showing that negative regulation of Rac promotes signaling downstream of Robo (SAX-3). In Drosophila, CrossGAP (Vilse) has been identified as a GAP that negatively regulates Rac activation to promote Robo signaling [36,37]. In mammalian neurons, srGAP1 has been identified as a GAP for Rac and Cdc42 that is required for Robo signaling [38–39]. Positive regulation of Rac has also been reported, whereby Son of Sevenless (Sos), a Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factor (GEF), can positively regulate Rac to promote Robo signaling . Thus, Robo signaling involves both positive and negative regulation of Rac. Consistent with this idea, guidance defects result from either Rac gain of function or Rac loss of function mutations [32,41]. Likewise, guidance defects are caused by loss of function or gain of function in CrossGAP, a GAP for Rac in the Drosophila [36–37]. Together, these observations indicate that axon guidance requires precise control of Rac activation state, which is achieved through both positive and negative regulation of Rac.
SYD-1C resembles its mammalian homolog mSYD1A, in that both are predicted to contain an Intrinsically Disordered Domain (ID domain) at their N-terminus, rather than a PDZ domain . ID domains can shift between disordered and ordered confirmations and can also engage in intramolecular interactions that affect the function of other domains [42,43]. Although SYD-1C and mSYD1A both contain predicted ID domains, the amino acid sequence of the ID domain is not conserved between SYD-1C and mSYD1A. Consistent with this different amino acid sequence, the function of SYD-1C and mSYD1A appears to be different, in that the former regulates axon guidance and the later regulates synaptic vesicle docking . These different functions are likely to be mediated by different binding partners for the ID domains of SYD-1C and mSYD1A.
Although our study has focused on UNC-6 independent UNC-40 function, we have also observed evidence for SLT-1 independent SAX-3 function. This idea is supported by the higher penetrance of HSN guidance defects in sax-3 null mutants relative to slt-1 null mutants. In fact, SLT-1 independent SAX-3 signaling has been observed in several different processes, including AVM and PVM axon guidance [12,23,25,44]. Much like in the HSN, the PVM neuron shows a higher penetrance of HSN guidance defects in sax-3 null mutants relative to slt-1 null mutants . Genetic analysis has suggested that in the PVM neuron SAX-3 can inhibit UNC-40 signaling in the absence of SLT-1 . This inhibitory interaction between SAX-3 and UNC-40 also occurs in the AVM neuron [12,44]. However, the AVM neuron shows a higher penetrance of guidance defects in slt-1 null mutants relative to sax-3 null mutants. The reason for the differences in slt-1 and sax-3 mutant defects in the AVM relative to the HSN and PVM are not known. However, these differences could be explained by a greater degree of redundant signaling in the HSN and PVM neurons relative to the AVM neuron.
Since we have found that UNC-40 can function independently of UNC-6, one might expect unc-40 null mutants to have a greater penetrance of guidance defects relative to unc-6 null mutants. However, we have found that unc-6 and unc-40 null mutants have a similar penetrance of HSN guidance defects. One possible explanation could be that UNC-6 can also function independently of UNC-40 in the HSN. Indeed, the existence of UNC-40 independent UNC-6 activity is apparent in AVM and PVM axon guidance, where unc-6 mutants have a higher penetrance of guidance defects relative to unc-40 mutants . Moreover, ENU-3 is thought to form part of an UNC-40 independent UNC-6 signaling pathway in the AVM and PVM neurons .
Genetic manipulations were carried out using standard procedures. The N2 Bristol genetic background was used in all experiments and all animals were maintained at 20°C on NGM plates seeded with OP50 bacteria. The following alleles were used and are considered to be null: unc-6(ev400) , slt-1(eh15) , sax-3(ky123) , unc-40(e1430) , syd-1(ju2) , syd-1(tm6234), syd-1(ju82) , mig-2(ok2273) . The following alleles are considered to be hypomorphic: sax-3(ky200) , unc-40(ev546) , unc-40(tm5504) . The following alleles are considered to be gain of function: mig-2(gm38) , mig-2(gm103) . The unc-40(ev546) allele was obtained from Joseph Culotti. The syd-1(tm6234) allele was obtained from Shohei Mitani. All other alleles were obtained from the Caenorhabditis Genetics Center (CGC).
The pAGC5 plasmid includes Punc-86::syd1c::sl2::tagrfp and was created using Gibson Assembly and cloned into pCFJ910, provided by Erik Jorgensen via Addgene (Addgene Plasmid #44481). The DNA sequence encoding TAGRFP was obtained from Julie Plastino . pRSET-SYD-1C (pCZGY658), which encodes His6-tagged C-terminus of SYD-1C protein (AA320-721), was generated using the Gateway cloning system (Invitrogen).
Transgenes expressing SYD-1C in the HSN neuron were created by injecting the pAGC5 plasmid at 4 ng/μl with 50 ng/μl of odr-1::RFP and 50 ng/μl Bluescript into wildtype worms. Two independent transgenic lines were established and crossed into the syd-1(ju2); unc-6(ev400) genetic background. HSN axon guidance was analyzed as described below.
Axon guidance was analyzed as described previously [51,52]. The zdIs13 transgene , which expresses Ptph-1::gfp, was used to visualize the HSN axon in young adult animals. Except where noted, HSN guidance defects were scored as defective if the axon failed to reach the ventral nerve cord. For experiments involving the sax-3(ky200) hypomorphic allele, only weak defects were observed, where the axon trajectory is abnormal, but the axon eventually reaches the ventral nerve cord. Therefore, in experiments involving the sax-3(ky200) hypomorphic allele, HSN axons were scored as defective if their trajectory was abnormal, but they eventually reached the ventral nerve cord.
Recombinant GST and GST-MIG-2 proteins were produced in Escherichia coli DH5α with plasmid pGEX6P and pGEX4T-MIG-2 (obtained from Hiroshi Qadota , respectively, by incubating for 5 h at 37°C in the presence of 0.3 mM IPTG. His6-tagged C-terminus of SYD-1C containing RhoGAP-like domain (His-SYD-1) was produced in E. coli BL21(DE3) with pRSET-SYD-1C (pCZGY658) by incubating for 16 h at 22°C in the presence of 0.3 mM IPTG. GST- and His6- tagged proteins were extracted by sonication in PBS pH 7.4 with 0.5% Triton X-100 and protease inhibitors (Roche) and centrifuging. GST-MIG-2 was incubated with 0.1 mM of GTPγS or 1 mM of GDP (Sigma-Aldrich) in PBS pH 7.4 with 0.5% Triton X-100, 10 mM MgCl2, 10 mM EDTA, 2% glycerol and protease inhibitors for 30 min at 30°C, and then supplied additional MgCl2 to 75 mM. For pull-down analysis, His-SYD-1 was immobilized to HisPur Cobalt Resin (Thermo), incubated with GST or GST-MIG-2 proteins for 1 h at 4°C, washed with PBS pH 7.4 with 0.1% Triton X-100 and 20 mM imidazole for 4 times, eluted with 300 mM imidazole in PBS pH 7.4, 0.1% Triton X-100. The eluate and input were subjected to SDS-PAGE, and GST- and His- tagged proteins were detected by western blotting with mouse monoclonal Anti-GST antibody (Upstate Biotechnology) and Anti-His-tag mAb (Medical and biological laboratories), respectively, using ECL Advance Western Blotting Detection Kit (GE Healthcare).
SYD-1C protein was produced with the TNT SP6 quick coupled in vitro transcription and translation system (Promega) and labeled with biotin. GST::UNC-40 was produced in bacteria and coupled to Glutathione-Sepharose. Binding assays were conducted for 16 hours at 4°C in PBS with 0.1% Triton X-100, 1% BSA and protease inhibitors. After binding, samples were washed 3 times with wash buffer (PBS and 0.1% Triton X-100). Bound material was detected by SDS-PAGE electrophoresis and western blotting with Strepavidin-Alkaline Phosphatase.
2. Blockus H, Chedotal A. The multifaceted roles of Slits and Robos in cortical circuits: from proliferation to axon guidance and neurological diseases. Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2014;27C:82–8.
4. Kolodkin AL, Tessier-Lavigne M. Mechanisms and molecules of neuronal wiring: a primer. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol. 2010;3(6).
21. Stavoe AKH, Nelson JC, Martínez-Velázquez LA, Klein M, Samuel ADT, Colón-Ramos DA. Synaptic Vesicle Clustering Requires a Distinct MIG-10/Lamellipodin Isoform and ABI-1 downstream from Netrin. Genes and Development. 2012;26.
|
0.95207 |
A castle (from Latin castellum) is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble. This is distinct from a palace, which is not fortified; from a fortress, which was not always a residence for nobility; and from a fortified settlement, which was a public defence – though there are many similarities among these types of construction. Usage of the term has varied over time and has been applied to structures as diverse as hill forts and country houses. Over the approximately 900 years that castles were built they took on a great many forms with many different features, although some, such as curtain walls and arrowslits, were commonplace.
A European innovation, castles originated in the 9th and 10th centuries, after the fall of the Carolingian Empire resulted in its territory being divided among individual lords and princes. These nobles built castles to control the area immediately surrounding them, and were both offensive and defensive structures; they provided a base from which raids could be launched as well as protection from enemies. Although their military origins are often emphasised in castle studies, the structures also served as centres of administration and symbols of power. Urban castles were used to control the local populace and important travel routes, and rural castles were often situated near features that were integral to life in the community, such as mills and fertile land.
Many castles were originally built from earth and timber, but had their defences replaced later by stone. Early castles often exploited natural defences, and lacked features such as towers and arrowslits and relied on a central keep. In the late 12th and early 13th centuries, a scientific approach to castle defence emerged. This led to the proliferation of towers, with an emphasis on flanking fire. Many new castles were polygonal or relied on concentric defence – several stages of defence within each other that could all function at the same time to maximise the castle's firepower. These changes in defence have been attributed to a mixture of castle technology from the Crusades, such as concentric fortification, and inspiration from earlier defences such as Roman forts. Not all the elements of castle architecture were military in nature, and devices such as moats evolved from their original purpose of defence into symbols of power. Some grand castles had long winding approaches intended to impress and dominate their landscape.
Although gunpowder was introduced to Europe in the 14th century, it did not significantly affect castle building until the 15th century, when artillery became powerful enough to break through stone walls. While castles continued to be built well into the 16th century, new techniques to deal with improved cannon fire made them uncomfortable and undesirable places to live. As a result, true castles went into decline and were replaced by artillery forts with no role in civil administration, and country houses that were indefensible. From the 18th century onwards, there was a renewed interest in castles with the construction of mock castles, part of a romantic revival of Gothic architecture, but they had no military purpose.
And the wild cataract leaps in glory.
|
0.62493 |
With its pure white plumage contrasted by its black flight feathers and its yellow naked face, the Egyptian Vulture is one of the most easily recognizable birds of the Old World. Soaring on warm air currents with its broad wings, its unmistakable presence has been noted and celebrated through the history of human civilization. From southern Europe to Africa and the Middle East to India, this vulture is culturally significant in all the places where it calls home.
As its name suggests, the Egyptian Vulture was the sacred animal of the ancient Pharaohs; its appearance is immortalized in the Egyptian hieroglyphic alphabet as the letter A. Since the ancient Egyptians thought that all vultures were female and were spontaneously born from eggs without the intervention of a male, they linked these animals to purity and motherhood. In actuality, both genders happen to have the same appearance, the only difference being the larger size of the female. Nonetheless, they were held sacred to the mother goddess Isis; they were also elevated to the rank of deity in their own right as Nekhbet, patron of Upper Egypt and nurse of the Pharaoh. The priestesses of Nekhbet wore garments of white vulture feathers, and the goddess herself was often portrayed as a vulture-headed woman, her wings spread to provide protection, a circlet in her claws - the shen, symbol of infinity. Her cult was in fact linked to the eternal cycle of death and rebirth because of the vulture's role in the food chain as a scavenger and its supposed parthenogenesis; Nekhbet was venerated as the mother of mothers, who existed from the beginning.
Although the vultures carry the most weight in ancient Egyptian mythology, they are also important in other cultures. They appear in Greek mythology, where Zeus transformed two enemies - Aegypius and Neophron - into vultures: the former became a Bearded Vulture, and the latter an Egyptian Vulture. This became the source of the Egyptian Vulture's Latin name, Neophron percnopterus. Since these birds are summer visitors to Europe, they are considered a symbol of spring in Greece and in the Balkans.
In Turkey and Bulgaria, the Egyptian Vulture is commonly referred to as akbuba, "white father". There is a story about one of these birds saving Muhammad from the claws of the golden eagle; according to this legend, the vulture was rewarded with eternal life and gained its white plumage as a symbol of purity, wisdom, and bravery.
The Egyptian Vulture also appears in the Bible with the name of râchâm, often translated as "gier-eagle". It is only mentioned as an "unclean" bird that should not be eaten; in actuality, the Egyptian Vulture is a very clean animal, as its feathers are disinfected by the UV light of the sun during flight, and its stomach acid kills off any bacteria it might have ingested. In spite of this unfair reputation, this animal wasn't considered all bad. In fact, its name contains the root for "love": since these birds are almost always seen in mated pairs, the Hebrew thought of them as committed to each other.
The Egyptian Vulture was also considered to be a good bird in India. There is a story about two birds that visited the temple of Thirukkalukundram ("hill of sacred vultures") daily for centuries: they would appear at 11 o'clock in the morning, and were ceremonially fed sweet rice and other delicacies by the priests. According to a myth, the two birds used to be sages cursed by Shiva to live as vultures, and were visiting the temple in penance. Egyptian Vultures used to be rather common in India; what makes this case so special, however, is that it was always a pair of vultures that would visit the temple - never more. Although it is true that two birds were indeed regular visitors to the temple and photos exist of them, we can easily suppose that they were multiple generations of vultures and not incredibly long-lived individuals.
Birds in general were held in high regard by ancient Etruscan and Roman culture, where they were considered messengers of the gods. Their attempts to detect the tides of good and bad luck involved a particular form of divination, called augury, based on reading the flight of birds. One such instance of augury appears in the foundation myth of Rome, when Romulus and Remus were arguing over which hill the new city would be built on and who was to be king; they decided to settle their argument by observing the flight of vultures. The high regard in which the Egyptian Vulture was held seeps through time to its modern Italian name, "capovaccaio", which means "master of cows" - a name given because of the bird's tendency to fly together with cattle. Although the Egyptian Vulture is often a scavenger, it is also an opportunist that will eat about anything in its reach, including other animals' excrement. This is why it is particularly interested in following cows. To people, this might seem like a disgusting behavior, but the vulture is equipped with a digestive system that allows it to absorb nutrients from manure, and it is thought that the carotenoid pigments in the excrement are what give the bright yellow color to its skin. In Spain, this gives it the much less reverential names of churretero and moñiguero, "dung-eater".
Its feeding habits also reveal another aspect of this creature: its intelligence. The Egyptian Vulture seems to have a somewhat curious expression to its eyes, and is in fact a smart animal, being one of the few birds to use tools. When a vulture finds a large egg, it looks for a stone that it can hold in its bill, and repeatedly slams it against the egg until it cracks. Vultures have also been observed using twigs as tools to spin wool that they then use as lining for their nests, further showing that "bird-brained" should really be changed into a compliment.
It is saddening that such an amazing animal, and one that bears such a cultural significance through history, is currently threatened by human activities. In the last fifty years there has been a sharp decline in its numbers, and the Egyptian Vulture is currently in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The population of these birds has halved in most of its range since 1980. The causes of this lightning-fast disappearance have to do with pesticide poisoning, lead poisoning, collision with wind turbines, poorly designed power lines, the use of antibiotics on cattle, poaching, and habitat destruction. A few conservation projects have been started, and the Egyptian Vulture is a protected species under many legislations. However, seen how its quick decline is not stopping, these efforts are not nearly enough. If the trend is not reversed, there is a very real chance that all that will be left of this strikingly beautiful animal will be just ancient myths.
The vulture illustration is my own work, also available on my artblog.
|
0.867547 |
The Russian Federation (Russian: Российская Федерация, Rossíyskaya Federátsiya), or Russia (Россия, Rossíya), is a country that stretches over a vast expanse of eastern Europe and northern Asia. With an area of 17,075,400 square kilometres, it is the largest country in the world, covering almost twice the territory of either Canada, China, or the United States. It ranks seventh in the world in population, following China, India, the United States, Indonesia, Brazil, and Pakistan.
Once the preeminent republic of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), Russia has been an independent country since the dissolution of the union in December 1991. Under the Soviet system it was called the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic (RSFSR).
Most of the area, population, and industrial production of the Soviet Union, then one of the world's two superpowers, lay in Russia. Consequently, with the breakup of the USSR, Russia was again vying for an influential role on the world stage. This influence is notable, but is still far from that of the former Soviet Union.
Repeated devastating defeats of the Russian army in World War I led to widespread rioting in the major cities of the Russian Empire and to the overthrow in 1917 of the 300-year old Romanov Dynasty. The Communists under Vladimir Lenin seized power soon after and formed the USSR. The brutal rule of Joseph Stalin strengthened Russian dominance of the Soviet Union at a cost of tens of millions of lives. The Soviet economy and society stagnated in the following decades until General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev introduced glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) in an attempt to modernize Communism, but his initiatives inadvertently released forces that by December 1991 splintered the USSR into 15 independent republics. Since then, Russia has struggled in its efforts to build a democratic political system and market economy to replace the strict social, political, and economic controls of the Communist period. A determined guerrilla conflict still plagues Russia in Chechnya.
The Russian Federation is a federative democracy with a president, directly elected for a four-year term, who holds considerable executive power. The president, who resides in the Kremlin, nominates the highest state officials, including the prime minister, who must be approved by parliament. The president can pass decrees without consent from parliament and is also head of the armed forces and of the national security council.
Russia's bicameral parliament, the Federative Assembly or Federalnoye Sobraniye consists of an upper house known as the Federative Council (Soviet Federatsy), composed of 178 delegates serving a four-year term (two are appointed from each of the 89 subdivisions), and a lower house known as the State Duma (Gosudarstvennaya Duma), comprised of 450 deputies also serving a four-year term, of which 225 are elected by direct popular vote from single member constituencies and 225 are elected by proportional representation from nation-wide party lists.
Main articles: Subdivisions of Russia, Federal districts of Russia, Federal subjects of Russia, Republics of Russia, Oblasts of Russia, Krais of Russia, Autonomous Oblasts of Russia, Autonomous Districts of Russia, Federal cities of Russia.
The Russian Federation consists of a great number of different federal subjects, making a total of 89 constituent components. There are 21 republics within the federation that enjoy a high degree of autonomy on most issues and these correspond to some of Russia's ethnic minorities. The remaining territory consists of 49 oblasts (provinces) and 6 krais (territories), in which are found 10 autonomous okrugs (autonomous districts) and 1 autonomous oblast. Beyond these there are 2 federal cities (Moscow and St. Petersburg). Recently, 7 extensive federal districts (four in Europe, three in Asia) have been added as a new layer between the above subdivisions and the national level.
The Russian Federation stretches across much of the north of the supercontinent of Eurasia. Although it contains a large share of the world's Arctic and sub-Arctic areas, and therefore has less population, economic activity, and physical variety per unit area than most countries, the great area south of these still accommodates a great variety of landscapes and climates. Most of the land consists of vast plains, both in the European part and the Asian part that is largely known as Siberia. These plains are predominantly steppe to the south and heavily forested to the north, with tundra along the northern coast. Mountain ranges are found along the southern borders, such as the Caucasus (containing Mount Elbrus, Russia's and Europe's highest point at 5,633 m) and the Altai, and in the eastern parts, such as the Verkhoyansk Range or the volcanoes on Kamchatka. The more central Ural Mountains, a north-south range that form the primary divide between Europe and Asia, are also notable.
Russia has an extensive coastline of over 37,000 km along the Arctic and Pacific Oceans, as well as more or less inland seas such as the Baltic, Black and Caspian seas. Some smaller bodies of water are part of the open oceans; the Barents Sea, White Sea, Kara Sea, Laptev Sea and East Siberian Sea are part of the Arctic, whereas the Bering Sea, Sea of Okhotsk and the Sea of Japan belong to the Pacific Ocean. Major islands found in them include Novaya Zemlya, the Franz-Josef Land, the New Siberian Islands, Wrangel Island, the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin.
Many rivers flow across Russia. See Rivers of Russia.
Major lakes include Lake Baikal, Lake Ladoga and Lake Onega. See List of lakes in Russia.
The most practical way to describe Russia is as a main part (a large contiguous portion with its off-shore islands) and an exclave (at the southeast corner of the Baltic Sea).
the Barents Sea (where their west shore, the south shores of its Franz-Josef Land the port of Murmansk and important naval facilities lie, and where the White Sea reaches far inland).
has a northwest coast on the Baltic Sea.
The Baltic and Black Sea coasts of Russia have less direct and more constrained access to the high seas than its Pacific and Arctic ones, but both are nevertheless important for that purpose. The Baltic gives immediate access with the nine other countries sharing its shores, and between the main part of Russia and its Kaliningrad Oblast exclave. Via the straits that lie within Denmark, and between it and Sweden, the Baltic connects to the North Sea and the oceans to its west and north. The Black Sea gives immediate access with the five other countries sharing its shores, and via the Dardanelles and Marmora straits adjacent to Istanbul, Turkey, to the Mediterranean Sea with its many countries and its access, via the Suez Canal and the Straits of Gibraltar, to the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. The salt waters of the Caspian Sea, the world's largest lake, afford no access with the high seas.
A fact often mentioned about Russia is that the federation spans eleven time zones from eastern Europe to the easternmost point in Asia. This is a confusing piece of information, because it is not a reflection of the width of Russia per se, but rather the width of a relatively northern portion of Russia that is not nearly as wide as Russia as a whole. The easternmost point in Russia is Big Diomede Island (Ostrova Ratmanova); the westernmost, the boundary with Poland on a 40-mile(60-km)-long spit of land separating the Gulf of Danzig (Zatoka Gdanska) from the Zalew Wislany. The geodesic on the surface of the earth (i.e. shortest line between two points on a sphere) joining these two points has a length of about 4100 miles (6600 km), much of it over the Arctic Ocean north of Russia. In contrast, the distance between the two most widely separated points in Russia (the same spit, and the farthest southeast of the Kurile Islands, a few miles off Hokkaido Island, Japan) is about 5000 miles (8000 km), over 20 per cent further. This island is nevertheless further west than Big Diomede, by two time zones, and by over 44° of longitude, all but the nominal width of three of those eleven time zones.
A decade after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia is still struggling to establish a modern market economy and achieve strong economic growth. Russia saw its economy contract for five years, as the executive and legislature dithered over the implementation of reforms and Russia's industrial base faced a serious decline.
Russia achieved a slight recovery in 1997, but that year's Asian financial crisis culminated in the August depreciation of the ruble, a debt default by the government, and a sharp deterioration in living standards for most of the population. The economy subsequently has rebounded, growing by an average of more than 6% annually in 1999-2002 on the back of higher oil prices and a weak ruble.
This recovery, along with a renewed government effort in 2000 and 2001 to advance lagging structural reforms, have raised business and investor confidence over Russia's prospects in its second decade of transition. Russia remains heavily dependent on exports of commodities, particularly oil, natural gas, metals, and timber, which account for over 80% of exports, leaving the country vulnerable to swings in world prices.
The greatest challenge facing the Russian economy is how to encourage the development of SME (small and medium sized enterprises) in a business climate dominated by oligarchs and a large dysfunctional banking system. Many of Russia's banks are owned by entrepreneurs or oligarchs, who often use the deposits to lend to their own businesses.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the World Bank have attempted to kick-start normal banking practices by making equity and debt investments in a number of banks, but with very limited success.
The recent arrest of Russia's most successful businessman Mikhail Khodorkovsky on charges of fraud and corruption in relation to the large-scale privatizations organised under President Yeltsin has caused many foreign investors to worry about the stability of the Russian economy. Most of the large fortunes currently prevailing in Russia seem to be the product of either acquiring government assets particularly cheaply or gaining concessions from government cheaply. Other countries have expressed concerns and worries at the "selective" application of the law against individual businessmen.
However, some international firms are investing heavily in Russia. An example is Scottish and Newcastle, a beer firm who has found the beer market in Russia to be growing much faster than in other areas of Europe. Scottish and Newcastle has already invested heavily in the Russian beer industry (2004).
Russia is fairly sparsely populated and has extremely low average population density due to its enormous size; population is densest in the European part of Russia, in the Ural Mountains area, and in the south-eastern part of Siberia. The Russian Federation is home to as many as 160 different ethnic groups and indigenous peoples. As of the 2002 census, 79.8% of the population is ethnically Russian, 3.8% Tatar, 2% Ukrainian, 1.2% Bashkir, 1.1% Chuvash, 0.9% Chechen, 0.8% Armenian, and the remainder of 10.3% includes Mordvins, Belarusians, Avars, Kazakhs, Udmurts, Azerbaijanis, Maris, Germans, Evenks, Ingushes, Inuit, Jews, Kalmyks, Karelians, Koreans, Ossetians, Dolgan Nenetses, Tuvans, Yakuts and still others.
The Russian language is the only official state language, but the individual republics have often made their native language co-official next to Russian. Cyrillic alphabet is the only official script, which means that these languages must be written in Cyrillic in official texts. The Russian Orthodox Church is the dominant Christian religion in the Federation; other religions include Islam, various Protestant faiths, Roman Catholicism, Buddhism and Judaism.
The Russia Journal - An independent news and anaylsis source from Russia.
WayToRussia.Net - An information resource about Russia.
|
0.911862 |
The standard German infantry weapon was the rifle, originally designed by Mauser and dubbed the Karabiner 98k. This weapon was a 5-shot, bolt-action rifle that actually dated back to 1898 when it was first adopted by the Imperial German Army. It was standard issue for German troops in WWI and, in its modified 98k version (k for kurz, or short), in WWII as well.
While the German standard rifle was a bolt action rifle, the Germans did attempt to design a successful automatic rifle as well. Two designs were submitted for trials in 1941, one by Walther (the maker of the famous PPK and the P38 pistols), and the other was submitted by Mauser. The Mauser design won out over the simpler Walther design and many thousands of the Gewehr 41(W) were made available to the troops on the Eastern Front. After initial use, results were less than satisfactory and as soon as a better design came along (the model 43), production was halted. The way in which German troops used their weapons changed and a rifle with a range of 2000 yards was no longer needed - except for specialists and snipers. Instead, ranges had shrunk down to 400 yards and a less powerful cartridges was needed.
The most common submachine gun used by the Germans during WWII was the MP40. Many times the term "Schmeisser" is used in reference to a German submachine gun. While it is true that the Schmeisser firm did create and produce its own submachine gun design, it was less than perfect and prone to trouble. The MP40 was a not manufactured by Schmeisser, and the weapon was far more simple and had a much more cleaner design, thus it became the standard issue for German troops. An earlier design called MP38 had a similar appearance and saw widespread distribution. A less known model called Erma was also produced as well as a German copy of the British STEN gun, called MP3008. The Waffen-SS used a submachine gun made by Bergman called the MP34 also.
The next submachine gun design to emerge was the MP43 or Machine Pistol 43 from a design developed in 1943. It fired a less powerful cartridge and had a lighter recoil as a result. However, Hitler, still thinking that troops needed a weapon capable of firing 2000 yards, ordered that production of the weapon not start. The German arms minister, however, knew the need of the new weapon, and changed the name to "Machine Pistol", which is what the Germans called their submachine guns like the US Thompson .45 cal. The trick worked and the weapon went into production at three factories and German troops all over the Eastern Front were clamouring for the new weapon. The whole affair was blown" when a few divisional commanders asked Hitler at a conference when they would get the new weapon. Hitler was furious and ordered an investigation. Luckily for the men that had disobeyed the Fuehrer, the results of the investigation were so encouraging about the new weapon that Hitler changed his mind and announced that henceforward the weapon would be called "Sturmgewehr" or Assault Rifle. This was the world's first ever assault rifle.
The Maschinen Pistole 43's origin was actually the Maschinen Karbiner 42 (MKb 42). It looked a lot similar, and was issued in numbers on the eastern front. Later, this weapon was refined into the Mp43. The Germans, contemplating the sniping value of the Mp43, made a variant, called the Mp43/1. It had scope mounting rails on the iron-sights. The sniper arrangement didn't really work, so, few were made. In late 1943, the MP44 (the most commonly found German assault rifle from the war) was developed, though being basically the same thing as it's predecessor. In 1945, Mauser had begun work on a new type of assault rifle (sometimes called the StG45(M), sometimes the Gerat O6), that used a roller-locking mechanism (like that of the Mp5), which slowed the ROF down to 450 RPS. However, these rifles never made it past the prototype phase.
The Germans settled on two light machine gun designs and used them throughout the war, the MG34 and MG42. The MG42 went on to become the standard design for a light machine gun for NATO and is now used in a more modern form by the US military, and the Australian Army, as the M-60! The new German Army continues to use a less modified but still modernized version of the MG42 as their standard light machine gun.
The "potato masher" grenade from WW1 made a comeback in an improved version.
The famous "Luger" pistol was used in WW2 in a shorter barrelled version from WW1. Most Artillery (Long) P08 and Marine P04 had, due to Allied restrictions, to be shortened to a barrel length of 100mm. (Same for the C96). The P08 manufactured after 1935 had the same dimensions then as the pre 1918 P08 Pistols.
Interestingly the Germans never referred to it as a Luger but by it's proper name the P08 Parabellum.
Mauser Schnellfeuer-Pistole These odd-looking pistols (see picture above) were based on the Mauser C96. These were more "flashy" than effective. It was wasteful of ammunition and difficult to aim. The weapon has a protruding 20-round magazine and detachable wooden stock/holster. (When dis-assembled the pistol was housed in the stock) Could fire 900 rounds per minute (15 rounds per second) but because of it's extreme lightweight was nearly impossible to aim with any accuracy. Also a weapon that empties it's magazine in just over 1 second may not be the best option.
The Panzerfaust was an effective, 1 man, shoulder fired anti-tank weapon.
|
0.999993 |
Стоит бегло просмотреть список, чтобы понять, что солнце некогда самого авторитетного музыкального издания закатилось. Прямо за линию горизонта.
25 La Roux - "Bulletproof"
24 Girls - "Hellhole Ratrace"
23 Dawes - "That Western Skyline"
22 Peter Bjorn & John - "Nothing To Worry About"
21 Bat For Lashes - "Daniel"
20 Miike Snow - "Animal"
19 Miranda Lambert - "White Liar"
18 Conor Oberst And The Mystic Valley Band - "Slowly (Oh So Slowly)"
16 Franz Ferdinand - "Ulysses"
15 Kid Cudi - "Day And Night (Crookers Remix)"
14 Black Eyed Peas - "Boom Boom Pow"
13 Animal Collective - "My Girls"
12 Wilco - "Wilco (The Song)"
11 Avett Brothers - "I And Love And You"
10 Lady Gaga - "Bad Romance"
09 Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Zero"
08 The Big Pink - "Dominoes"
07 Dirty Projectors - "Stillness Is The Move"
06 Pearl Jam - "Fixer"
04 Miley Cyrus - "Party In The USA"
03 Bruce Springsteen - "Outlaw Pete"
02 Jay-Z (Feat. Alicia Keys - "Empire State Of Mind"
01 U2 - "Moment Of Surrender"
|
0.919511 |
Business Intelligence and Analysis Services in the "Real World"
I wonder if I could as your advice as a BI / Data warehousing specialist.I have been studying Analysis Services recently having read a couple of books Which step me through the process of building the cubes etc but as I don’t come From a DB background one thing is not clear to me is how does one determine that They need to use BI / Analysis Services etc in the real world? As you, I am a .NET developer with a background of building thick client apps and am Familiar with creating layered architectures etc building on frameworks like NHibernate Etc to abstract out the DB stuff into my more familiar object world. My question how does one Generally interface with this Data Warehousing / Analysis Services stuff in the real world? I am looking for answers from people who have used these technologies in anger and not Like me from canned text book examples scenarios etc. Thanks for your time it is would be appreciated.
And I wrote an response, but after reading the response I figured I could post it up here as it is pretty general.
Basically what I have seen is this. You make your application (either web or windows) that saves transactional data, or logs, or something like that. End users usually want reports off of that data. At first, developers will report directly off that data (OLTP database). It becomes slow, and unusable after tons of data is there, so then developers tweak timeouts, things like that. Then the next step is custom summarizations into other tables, and then archiving off transactional data. Usually, because developers don’t know about data warehousing/BI stuff, all this stuff is custom up to this point.
Eventually, someone realizes that, “hey, there is a way to do this better”, which involves a structured ETL either using stored procs or SSIS or something similar. Also, instead of just ad-hoc or custom summarization tables, a well designed data warehouse (OLAP) database is key.
Now, from there, you can write your reports off your OLAP database, which is OK because the data is summarized, scrubbed, etc. But you really give it an adrenaline boost when you create a cube off that data warehouse OLAP db, it takes care of the summarization, the relationships, all that. You put the reporting in the hands of your end users (excel 2007 for example) – let them pivot and slice and dice the data, its all ready and set for them to do it, with really nothing you have to do on your end except make sure the cube is processed regularly off the DW.
You are basically abstracting your OLTP data up two levels… In all reality you should be able to query your OLTP data for a time frame and get say revenue, and then query the OLAP and the CUBE and get the same results. Now, with your cube, you can still access data from it in your .NET apps using AMO, which is cool as well, or you can write Reporting Services reports directly off the cube as well, makes it a lot easier than writing custom .NET reports.
So, interfacing with your Data Warehouse, the best options to get data in is usually SSIS packages or stored procedures, no .NET coding really. To get data out, you would probably want to use Reporting Services, or you can query it with SqlClient in .NET apps like you would a regular OLTP database.
The cube, you can get data out using AMO objects in .NET, you can query using MDX, XMLA, etc in management studio, or you can write reporting services reports, but the best client is Excel 2007, its built to be tied to SSAS 2005, so it really works out well.
One thing about all the technologies (SSIS, SSRS, SSAS, AMO, etc) is that there really isn’t a lot online as far as examples and documentation, or it is scattered. It is getting better though. Most of the stuff I do I just have to figure out on my own, through trial and error, but it is OK.
Maybe not the cover all response but it kind of covers what I have seen in the past, from my own experiences, and others.
|
0.973141 |
(CNN) - New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, a 2020 hopeful, said Tuesday night that if he secures the Democratic nomination, he will "be looking to women first" when selecting a running mate.
"If you got the nomination, would you commit to choosing a woman as your vice president?" MSNBC's Rachel Maddow asked Booker during an interview on "The Rachel Maddow Show."
"We have such a great field of leaders. I think that you will rarely see a Democratic ticket anymore without gender diversity, race diversity. I think it's something that we should have. So I'm not going to box myself in. But should I become it, you know I'll be looking to women first," Booker responded.
Booker also said he believes a woman should be president right now.
"I believe there should be a woman president right now, and I worked very hard to get one," Booker, who endorsed former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2016, added.
Booker announced his candidacy earlier this month. He joined an already large pool of Democratic contenders, with a record-breaking number of women seeking the nomination. Sens. Kamala Harris of California, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, and spiritual author Marianne Williamson have announced their candidacies for the 2020 Democratic nomination. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York has announced an exploratory committee.
|
0.999973 |
Context. It is generally agreed upon that stars form in open clusters (OCs) and stellar associations, but little is known about structures in the Galactic OC population; whether OCs and stellar associations are born isolated or if they prefer to form in groups, for example. Answering this question provides new insight into star and cluster formation, along with a better understanding of Galactic structures.
Aims. In the past decade, studies of OC groupings have either been based solely on spatial criteria or have also included tangential velocities for identifications. In contrast to previous approaches, we assumed that real OC groupings occupy a well defined area in the sky and show similar velocity vectors. For the first time, we have used 6D phase-space information, including radial velocities from the RAdial Velocity Experiment (RAVE) and other catalogues, for the detection of OC groupings. We also checked the age spread of potential candidates to distinguish between genuine groupings and chance alignments.
Methods. We explored the Catalogue of Open Cluster Data (COCD) and determined 6D phase-space information for 432 out of 650 listed OCs and compact associations. The group identification was performed using an adapted version of the Friends-of-Friends algorithm, as used in cosmology, with linking lengths of 100 pc and 10–20 km s-1. For the verification of the identified structures, we applied Monte Carlo simulations with randomised samples.
Results. For the linking lengths 100 pc and 10 km s-1 , we detected 19 groupings, including 14 pairs, 4 groups with 3−5 members, and 1 complex with 15 members. The Monte Carlo simulations revealed that, in particular, the complex is most likely genuine, whereas pairs are more likely chance alignments. A closer look at the age spread of the complex and the comparison between spatial distributions of young and old cluster populations suggested that OC groupings likely originated from a common molecular cloud.
Current postal address: Elfenstraße 43, 68169 Mannheim, Germany.
|
0.999502 |
This article is about a/an recurring event in the Super Sentai and Power Rangers franchises.
A staple of Power Rangers and Super Sentai in many seasons is the monster growing to giant size after being destroyed or nearly destroyed by the Power Rangers in battle. This would cause the Rangers to summon their Zords or Mechas to finish off the monster for good. Many monsters required one of the recurring villains to make them grow, while others possess the ability to grow on their own. In some cases the monsters do not grow but rather are shown to pilot their own giant robots, and there are a few cases were growing was not needed as the monster was naturally giant-sized. In the event that an enlarged monster was defeated by a final attack from the Mechas or Megazords but still survived, then the enlargement would be undone, and the monster would return to small size.
While most Super Sentai and all Power Rangers seasons make monsters giants, certain series do not follow this strategy: both Battle Fever J and Go-Busters/Power Rangers Beast Morphers use robotic clones of the monster while Goggle V, Bioman and Dekaranger/Power Rangers S.P.D. generally used giant robots that were piloted.
A giant monster will also have some vocal differences, with recent Super Sentai monsters gaining a deep, booming echo, a good example being some of the Karo from Uchu Sentai Kyuranger. The enlarged monsters of recent Power Rangers series also have booming echos, but lack the deepness of recent Super Sentai monsters.
Himitsu Sentai Gorenger - In the final episode, the Black Cross Führer reveals himself as the massive Black Cross Castle fortress, which is finally destroyed with the Gorenger sacrificing Varidreen and the New Gorenger Machines; though they don't fight him in an actual fight, he is the first being to take a giant form.
J.A.K.Q. Dengekitai - Crime uses a CRIME Flying Saucer connected to Crime Big Four member Captain UFO in J.A.K.Q. Dengekitai vs. Gorenger as part of a plot to nuke many world cities; after he falls, Boss Iron Claw tries to escape with it until it is ultimately blown up by Big One tricking him into taking a bomb implanted into a fake version of his claw.
Denshi Sentai Denziman - Vader Monsters all possess the ability to control their body's cellular structure and are thus able to make themselves grow larger or smaller.
Taiyo Sentai Sun Vulcan - Monger Monsters have an Expansion Program built into them that repairs and enlarges them.
Dai Sentai Goggle V - Mozoo are not grown; instead, Deathdark constructs massive mecha known as Kongs which are sent to battle when a Mozoo is defeated. The Kong teleports the Mozoo within, then the "Refresh Power" is activated by Deathtopa to the Kong, refreshing the Mozoo for mecha combat. Though the first several Kongs are different from the defeated Mozoo, starting in episode 5, all future Kongs are exact replicas of the Mozoo.
Kagaku Sentai Dynaman - The creatures created by General Kar undergo various means based on their type.
The original Evolution Beasts are pre-programmed with a genetic "Big Bang Progress", making them grow instantly once extremely weakened, typically via Super Dynamite.
Choudenshi Bioman - Neo Empire Gear uses five recurring human-sized monsters, the Beastnoids, to assist the Big Three; likewise launching a variety of giant robots to assist them.
The original set, the Mecha Gigan, are merely giant robots with their own sentience and assisting Doctor Man and the Big Three in their schemes.
Balzion, a mecha devised by the Anti-Bio Union that came to Earth, is ultimately used as Silva's ultimate weapon.
Dengeki Sentai Changeman - After each Space Beast Warrior is destroyed by the Changemen, Gyodai is summoned to the scene to use his powers to rebuild and enlarge them.
Gyodai also can grow other objects for combat, such as Earth creatures and, during the series finale, the Memory Doll of planet Merle used to rupture a segment of Gozma Star.Ep. 13: Papa Sells the Earth Final Ep.: Farewell, Friends of Space!
Choushinsei Flashman - The Kuragen, a creation made from the genetics of jellyfish, is released and emits an energy that makes the defeated Genetic Beast Warrior grow; after releasing this energy, the Kuragen shrinks to a small size until it can restore the energy within itself.
Beast Warrior The Gitan grows giant-size after it eats Alien Hunter Gerao.Ep. 43: Kauler's Treachery!
Hikari Sentai Maskman - Energy Beast Okelampa is summoned and opens its wings to create a firework-like explosion which bathes the dead monster in energy, reviving and growing it; however the process always tires him out instantly.
Lethal Doggler II grows after absorbing Aura Power from two straight Jet Cannons at full power.Final Ep.: Great Destruction of Underground Empire Castle!
Choujuu Sentai Liveman - Brain Beasts are grown by the Giga Phantom, a cannon possessed by Guardnoid Gash, at the cost of losing their special abilities.
Spirit Brain used all of the collected spiritual power to revive other Brain Beasts to become a "giant ghost".Ep. 25: The 8 Brain Beasts of Tsuruga Castle!
Kousoku Sentai Turboranger - All Boma Beasts are enlarged by special tornadoes by the Boma field commanders, but the method differs on the commander.
Boma Doctor Lehda uses his cane as a flute and plays a tune on it to create an image of an ammonite in the sky which summons the tornado.
Dark Boma Zimba would raise his hand high and shoot a red beam from his palm that summons an image of his head in the sky and creates the tornado.
Princess Boma Jarmin would spit a fiery snake from her mouth, which occasionally would bite the Boma Beast for the growth.
Rage Flying Boma Zulten would summon the tornado by blowing his horagai.
Wandering Boma Yamimaru initially has the Dark Spider summon the tornado while standing over his shoulder; after upgrading from meeting Kirika, he would shoot a red beam from the horns and gem of his helmet.
Wandering Boma Kirika spun her five-pointed ringknife and a blue tornado would come out to enlarge the beast.
Great Boma Emperor Lagorn can create his own tornado from his tentacles to grow himself or Boma Beasts; even after his "death" as he does with Actor Bōma and Gunman Bōma.
Choujin Sentai Jetman - When a monster is destroyed, if its Dimensional Bug survives, it can revive and enlarge it.
If a Dimension Bug possesses an object that is already large, then it is formed as a giant monster, such as Fighter Dimension or House Dimension.Ep. 2: The Third Warrior Ep. 6: Get Angry, Robo!
Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger - When defeated, Witch Bandora would throw her Dora Scepter to Earth and use the ghosts from the underground to regenerate the Dora Monster into a giant. The spell goes, “Evil spirits that sleep within the Earth... Grant your power to Dora (name of beast)!”.
After creating a new more powerful lamp to turn Lamp Fairy Gin evil, Bandora seals him within and wishes for him to emerge as a giant; the spell is broken once his original lamp is restored and he's wished back inside.Ep. 11: My Master!
Dora Pixie grew once the horn maintaining his love power was broken off.
Dora Narcissus grows giant when he reaches the final stage of his evolution to ultimately destroy Earth with giant vines.
Gosei Sentai Dairanger - The Gorma Minions are enlarged with Gorma's Enlargement Bombs. This is something of a disadvantage, as a Gorma Minion can be defeated at human-sized if immobilized mid-throw.Ep. 2: I-i-i-it's Qi-Power!!!
Lieutenant Colonel Shadam temporarily grows giant while accessing the powers of Hell until the Dairanger seal the gate, making him shrink back to normal size.
Ikazuchi, a being from Hell, likewise uses Hell Energy to grow when required.
Zashiki-warashi can grow on its own without the need of the Yoki cloud.
During the final battle, just before Acha and Kocha could enlarge Kaiser Buldont and Multiwa, the two combine their power and do it themselves.
Gekisou Sentai Carranger - After Episode 4, most Gorotsuki eat imo-youkan, a yellow cube-shaped food made from jellied sweet potatoes, to grow, due to the effect of the food on their alien biology. It has to be from only one store, Imocho, for this to happen, otherwise they shrink. As Grotch found out, expired imo-youkan from Imocho only enlarges the consumer for a short while until he reverts back to original size. Expired imo-youkan can also be used to shrink beings who are already giant, as Gynamo does to Exhaus in the final episode.
Starting with the purchase of the mecha Braking by RitchiRitchihiker, the Bowzock begin using multiple mecha for combat later in the series.
Denji Sentai Megaranger - Bibidebi was equipped with a giant infecting virus to which he enlarges Nezire beasts by biting them.
Seijuu Sentai Gingaman - Using a red liquid substance called Baruba-X can enlarge Barban soldiers, but is a last resort because it shortens the Balban's life. Each of the four Balban army's containers are different in design and state a different signal before growing.
Sambash Majin Gang: Modeled off a liquor bottle; the Majin state a regret prior to their growth.
Budoh Majin Mob: Modeled off of a hyoutan, a gourd-like container; stating "I will have my final roar!" (せめて、最後の御奉公, Semete, saigo no o hōkō).
Iliess Majin Tribe: A boot-like vial; they state "The Majin of Iliess are stubborn" (, Iriesu Majinzoku wa shibutoi noda!).
Battobas Majin Corps: Modeled off from an ale barrel; they state "Strategy Change!" (作戦変更, Sakusen henkō!) from a plot typically set up by Biznella.
Kyukyu Sentai GoGoFive - When Psyma Beasts are defeated, Pierre throws a Regeneration Card to turn the demon's remains into a 'Giant Ghost' ("Evil Magic, with your power grant this fallen Psyma Beast the last strength! Amiyasu Amiyasu Amijiisu... Psyma Regeneration!").
Magma Golem was sent to Earth as a giant, arriving as a meteor and rampaging only in a massive form.
Four special "Golem Cards" were created after the second death of Magma Golem after it had gained the power of Grandiene; these cards physically revived Psyma Beasts instead of making them "giant ghosts" and could only be destroyed by the Grand Liner.
The Hades Demon Warrriors have their own special growth card: this card keeps them as ghosts like the Resurrection Card, but increases their strength and grants them weapons like the Golem Card.
Halleluyan used his own ability in Psyma magic to grow.
In certain episodes between Episode 31-39, Salamandes would darken the skies with his power to create the Psyma Zone that would support the giant Psyma Beast.
Pierre drew the energies from the captured humans in the Psyma Tree to enlarge Ghost King Salamandes and Spiritworld Guard Psyma Chaos.
Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger - Whenever an Org is killed, Tsuetsue would wield her staff at the oozy remnants, chanting as the Org Seeds spit out of the staff and onto the puddle, recreating the Org as a giant.
Loki had his own Wolf Seeds that have the same ability.
While there is no direct method used with the Phantom Beast Corps, Badogi and Dezargi were giants from the start.
When a Trinoid (created by Creative Messenger Mikela) is destroyed, its Life Berry lifts up into the air and creates rain. The Trinoid is then resurrected as a giant by the microbes contained within the rainwater. However, this process has a limitation, as it cannot revive a Trinoid that has more than three motifs to it, such as was the fate of the failed Hexanoid project.
Giganoids (created by Visionary Messenger Voffa) are created as giants as a piece of music released from his organ surrounds a Life Berry to create the being.
If a Life Berry is unharmed after a previous Giganoid is destroyed, it can be utilized a second time and modified based on a different or variation on the previous Giganoid's musical theme, as what happens with Giganoid 5: Hunting.Ep. 20: KillerOh, Abare Beginning!
Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger - Most Alienizer, or the Anaroids assisting them, pilot Heavy Industrial Machines, rather than become giant themselves. However, exceptions exist, but have many diverse ways to grow, rather than having one object or agent doing the growing.
Lovelian Balance was a natural giant.
Juuzaiann Braidy was enlarged by being bitten by an alien bat, sent by Agent Abrella.
Ocarnan Amy's species has the natural ability to grow giant, but due to her young age, Amy was unable to control it and grew whenever she was distressed.
Intergalactic Hitman Gigantes grew giant by swallowing pills.
Space Life Form Browgouls naturally grow when eating a certain metal. They do not seem to have a limit on size, as one manages to dwarf the Dekaranger's Mecha.
Pyrian Kurachek's species were basically sentient flames. In order to survive on colder planets, like Earth, and to physically interact with anything, Kurachek wore a protective suit made from metal. When his first human-sized suit was destroyed, he just moved to a giant sized suit, in order to fight the Dekaranger's mecha.
Mahou Sentai Magiranger - Wolzard and later Meemy and Vancuria (using the Wolzard Phones) could use a spell to enlarge the Hades Beasts and Hades Beastmen.
Certain Hades Beasts, such as Blob and Worm, are naturally giants.
Hades Beastman Kirikage uses a ninjutsu to make himself giant.
The Infershia Pantheon were naturally giants, but are able to switch between giant and human size at will. The same applies to their leader Absolute God N Ma.
GoGo Sentai Boukenger - As there are multiple factions in this season gregariously dubbed "The Negative Syndicate", the growing method really depends on the faction. Some monsters are also already giant.
Gajah rarely fought, but when he did, it was either with giant war machines, or with other factions.
Starting from Task 16, King Ryuuwon wields a gun that fires a special dart makes a fallen Wicked Dragon come back to life and grow; but usually, their growth was caused by something different and related to the Precious he was hunting. He also commanded Great Evil Dragons, giant mecha piloted by a trio of footsoldiers, in favor of enlarging monsters.
Dark Shadow's Gekkou of Illusions uses a Shadow Ninja Technique to enlarge Dark Shadow's fallen Tsukumogami using sutras.
The Ashu Tribe shed their small-size bodies to become giants. This is treated as a great sacrifice by Gai and Rei when Hyouga prepares to do so; however, all later Ashu who are shown to do this are able to resume human size later.
The Questers used giant mecha (as they are revived Ashu Tribe members, they had already shed their smaller bodies, later revived by Gajah in Quester form), with their first mecha once belonging to Gajah after they stole it.
Sometimes, the very Precious that the Boukengers and the various Negative Syndicate members are hunting down either become monsters or summon them as security.
Juken Sentai Gekiranger - The Rinrinshi (later Mythical Beast-Fist users) are able to grow giant via a Confrontation/Mythical Technique.
The Infinity Dragon (Long's true form) is naturally giant.
Samurai Sentai Shinkenger - After a Gedoushuu member is killed, they naturally grow, which is identified as their second life, and must be killed again to die completely. All Gedoshuu go through this pattern, including the most powerful leaders such as Dokoku Chimatsuri and Akumaro Sujigarano. The exceptions are Gedonins, humans who become partial Ayakashi which allows them to traverse without the support of the Sanzu River. Another exception is Chinomanako, an Ayakashi who "changes" denomination after becoming Kamen Rider Diend.
They can receive a third life, but only when another Gedoushuu gives up their second life. However this third life, when activated, is even more powerful than the second.
Some Nanashi Company members are born giant, with some of them having the ability to fly.
Some Nosakamata are born giant.
Akumaro's creations: the Kirigami are made giant.
Tensou Sentai Goseiger - Bibi Bugs land on the defeated Warstar and Yuumajuu member, (and later on the Dark Headders), and this revives and enlarges them.
Instead of having one land on him, Great King Mons Drake of the Planet swallowed a Bibi Bug whole to grow.
Because Matrintis members are robots instead of organic beings, the Bibi Bugs were modified by Metal Alice of the Agent into Biibi Nails, as to drill through the armor to reboot, repair, and enlarge the Matrintis member.
Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger - Zangyack's flagship, the Gigant Horse, fires purple lasers from its two large cannons which revive and/or enlarge the monster and a trio of Zgormin, the monsters glowing purple as they rapidly grow.
The Giant Battle Pseudo-Lifeforms droids, used by Basco ta Jolokia and stored within Sally, are naturally giant.
The Ranger Key Clones of Zubaan and Wolzard Fire, lead by Basco, grew giant after they were defeated by Gokai Silver. The original Zubaan and Wolzard also had the ability to change size at will.
Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters - An arsenal of MegaZords exist within subspace managed by the Creators for the sake of Vaglass; having been transported to there 13 years ago. Whenever Enter or Escape create a Metaloid, information about it is transmitted to the Creators, who choose a MegaZord type and install the information on while transporting the giant machine to the other world. Due to elements such as the type of MegaZord, the size, attribute and intent of the Avatar sending it, the time it takes to be transmitted always varies.
Although initially possessing only Alpha, Beta and Gamma-type MegaZords due to their acquisition 13 years prior, Enter develops a fourth kind, Delta using the blueprints of BC-04 and a long sequence to develop it for the mission.Mission 8: Protect the Machine Blueprints!-Mission 17: Its Name is Go-Buster Beet!
Rhino Doubler was grown by Enter using a MetaVirus.
Great Demon Lord Azazel had the ability to grow and shrink at will.
In the alternate universe inhabited by the Dobutsu Sentai Go-Busters, the monsters of the Machine Empire Mechalius were made to grow after being injected with oil from Maintanloader.
Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger - Luckyuro waters the remains of the defeated Debo Monster and/or Cambrima with a pumpkin watering can containing Restoration Water, which restores a Debo Monster and makes them grow. It should be noted that Restoration Water only works on members of the Deboth Army, as Restoration Water is derived from the cells of Deboth himself.
Debo Monsters can be shrunk back down when Luckyuro uses a slingshot to fire a special powder ball at it. If it hits, then the ball absorbs the Restoration Water, returning the monster to normal. If the same ball is thrown back, the water will be returned and the monster will grow once again.
During the last few episodes of the series, the Restoration Water is replaced by Deboth's evolved cells, allowing Chaos, Endolf, Icerondo, and Killborero to evolve themselves.
In his final form, Deboth could enlarge himself by removing his scarf.
Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger Brave - Deizarus and his followers all possess the ability to enlarge at will. They had initially summoned giant Bojinma robots before resorting to such measures.
Ressha Sentai ToQger - When a Shadow Monster is destroyed, it absorbs the darkness it gathered/created and making it grow giant.
The Shadow Line elite and Kuros use Kuliner Robos to fight, with the Shadow Line generals tending to have personal models.
Shuriken Sentai Ninninger - When a Yokai is destroyed in battle, Kyuemon Izayoi uses the stolen hammer and a Kibaoni Nin Shuriken to revive the fallen Youkai and make it grow.
. Taking the hammer for himself, Yokai Mataneko accidentally enlarged AkaNinger Chozetsu while trying to attack him, and realizing his mistake, enlarged himself to continue the fight.Shinobi 26: It's Summer! Last Ninja Race Intermediate Announcement!
Advanced Yokai Nue, Mangetsu Kibaoni, and Super Advanced Yokai Shuten-douji can grow by chanting a spell.
Doubutsu Sentai Zyuohger - Each Deathgalien minion has a special coin slot on its body; when Naria inserted a Continue Medal in the slot, it grew giant. After the monster grew giant, it thanked Naria.
Pocane Daniro can eat the Continue Medal to enlarge himself like Bangray and Naria.Doubutsu Sentai Zyuohger Returns: Life Received! The Earth's Monarchs' Decisive Battle!
Bangray has the ability to recreate beings from the memories of others. When he does this with past monsters, they can be any size he chooses.
Uchu Sentai Kyuranger - The monsters and generals have an Enlarge Inrō with them that, if it survives after the monster and generals are destroyed, can revive and enlarge them.
Tsuyoindaver have the same power printed on his DNA, letting him enlarge himself anytime he wants.
If they chose to, any member of the Space Shogunate Jark Matter has access to a Moraimarz, a fortress/ drill that can become a giant robot.
Deathworm had a Hole Mouth and can change its size at will from a human size to a giant size.
The Vice-Shoguns have an Enlarge Inro Shoulder Pad in their left shoulder that enable them to be enlarge and returned to normal size.
Kaitou Sentai Lupinranger VS Keisatsu Sentai Patranger - Goche Ru Medou inserts the "Get Big/Gros caliber" Lupin Collection artifact into the safe on her back, which loads a shot of growth serum into her ammo belts, which she then shoots into the remains of the fallen Gangler's safe, making them grow.
Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger - Upon creation, Minosaurs absorb life energy from their victims. As they absorb more and more, they gradually get more powerful, growing larger in the process until they've finally achieved a giant form.
Tankjo possesses the ability to enlarge himself at will. He can also enlarge himself by inserting 2 round shots into his back shoulder.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers - During its three seasons, different methods were used. See below.
Season 1 - Rita would chant "Magic wand, make my monster grow" or a variation thereof before throwing her staff to Earth where it would crack open the ground and release a burst of magic to enlarge the monster.
Babe Ruthless and Oysterizer both seemingly grew by themselves without any assistance from Rita, while Goldar and Scorpina also both grew by themselves occasionally. With Goldar, Rita would usually chant "Magic wand, make my Goldar grow".
Season 2 - Lord Zedd materialized a Growth Bomb in his hand and then threw it to Earth where the monster would detonate it. The energy of the explosion would enlarge the monster. Sometimes the grenades would detonate the moment they struck the ground.
Season 3 & Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers - Rita and Zedd would bring their staffs together to create a storm on Earth which would strike their monster with lightning and enlarge it. Rito used their staffs himself once. Sometimes, Lord Zedd or Rita could use their own individual staffs to grow a monster, without needing to bring them together. In one instance, after being dared by Tommy to produce a monster, Zedd used Rita's to make the See Monster grow, when his own staff had been damaged by Tommy.
The first story of this season, A Friend in Need had Zedd use a Growth bomb to make Repellator grow.
Master Vile had the ability to make himself grow.
Power Rangers Zeo - In Target Rangers, King Mondo upgraded Klank and Orbus to allow them to enlarge of his machine monsters. Saying "Around, and round, and away you go!", Klank would swing Orbus on a chain and throw him at the machine monsters with Orbus then re-energizing and/or enlarging the monster with a laser fired through a special USB drive-like device extended from his body. King Mondo apparently had the power to make himself grow, which he used twice.
Mondo's first monster, Staroid, was constructed giant-sized.
Power Rangers Turbo - Divatox's subcraft fired a pair of torpedoes at the monster, which would enlarge it upon detonation. They defied the laws of physics by being able to fly out of water and through space. The Rangers used them once to undo Shrinkasect's spell on them; the torpedoes could also undo transformations but would leave the ones cured temporarily invisible. During the first half of Turbo, Divatox fired her torpedoes from underwater, and in the second half, she would fire them from her Space Base.
Electrovolt absorbed his bikes which made him grow giant without the need for the torpedoes.
Power Rangers In Space - The Dark Fortress would fire green rays called Satellasers to enlarge the monsters.
Darkonda fired an orange beam from his hand to make the Barillian Bug grow.
A tainted strength potion sabotaged by Ecliptor that Darkonda took caused him to grow into a mutated version of himself and temporarily become feral.
Spikey and the Owl Monster grew on their own with no apparent help.
The Coralizer somehow summoned the Sattellasers by himself.
The Psycho Rangers had the ability to grow on their own (although Psycho Blue was enlarged by the Satellasers anyway), but only ever did so after assuming their monster forms.
Power Rangers Lost Galaxy - The monster would drink a flask of green elixir. This was later phased out so instead the monster would grow on its own, usually after being hit by the combined attack of the Rangers' weapons. Radster, Horn, Mutantrum, Ruptor and Fishface were the only monsters to use the elixir phase.
Deviot fires a syringe filled with poisonous formula to grow and control Loyax.
Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue - Jinxer would toss a special card on the debris of a destroyed demon reciting a rhyming spell that was related to the demon's theme and/or element. The demon's remains would turn into bats which flew together into a giant version of the demon. On special occasions a different revival card would make the demon into a more powerful and uglier super demon. Diabolico used this on one occasion to force Falkar to grow by stabbing him in the back with the card.
Magmavore was naturally a giant.
Higher ranked demons such as Diabolico, Olympius and Queen Bansheera had the ability to make themselves grow at will.
Queen Bansheera had the power to revive and empower demons by touching them with her tentacles, even brainwashing disloyal minions in the process.
Power Rangers Time Force - The mutant would remove a patch on its body to expose its DNA causing the mutant to enlarge. When backed into a corner, the mutant would remove the patch. Wes accidentally cut off a patch once which taught the Rangers to avoid hitting the patch. The process worked in reverse when the mutant was defeated, shrinking them down to the size of an action figure for cryo-storage.
Max Axe and Tronicon were able to grow in a similar manner despite being a robot; it is likely Frax gave them synthetic DNA.
Power Rangers Wild Force - Toxica would resurrect fallen Orgs and cause them to grow by reciting the spell "Evil spirits of toil and strife, give this fallen Org new life", firing some magic beans from her staff into the puddle of goo that was formerly an Org. The beans would sprout into vines that reformed and enlarged the fallen Org. Master Org was shown to create the beans from his hands. Still-living Orgs could eat the beans to grow. Jindrax once recited this spell while using Toxica's staff when Toxica had been destroyed. It was explicitly mentioned by Toxica that when an Org becomes giant, it can no longer return to its original size making enlargement essentially a last resort, although this can be countered by Retinax having returned to his original size following his defeat, which Toxica was not aware of. Jindrax ate the magic beans one time and became a giant himself, while chanting "Evil spirits of toil and strife, give Jindrax a jumbo-sized life!." However after only a few minutes in battle he burped out fumes that cause him to go back to regular size, being the only Org to do so. Some higher-ranked Orgs have been shown to grow at will; however, if destroyed at small size, they may still be revived and enlarged by way of the beans. In Zen-Aku's case he was apparently destroyed at giant size, but somehow survived and returned to his original size as seen in the final episode.
Zen-Aku and Master Org had the ability to make themselves grow without the need for seeds.
Retinax coul also do this since his Sentai counterpart impaled himself with Toxica's spear.
Power Rangers Ninja Storm - Lothor's lairship would launch a Scroll of Empowerment to revive and/or enlarge the monster, though some of the main villains just piloted Zord-like robots instead. A few scrolls were kept in chests for emergencies; both Choobo and Vexacus used these back-up scrolls. Lothor had a handheld device called a Personal Alien Manager, or P.A.M. which activated the scroll sent down to enlarge the monster. Unfortunately, it turned out he was limited to growing one monster at a time due to forgetting to pay for a crucial memory upgrade with a limit of three uses per day.
Power Rangers Dino Thunder - Mesogog used his Hydro-Regenerator to revive and/or enlarge his monsters. It took the form of an orb that created a storm cloud which used rain to reconstitute the monsters; this surprisingly also worked on Tutenhawken despite him not being affiliated with Mesogog. However, Trent used his own Zords to battle the Rangers while still evil with them later being utilized by his evil clone.
Both versions of the White Terrorsaurus and the Ugly Monster seemingly had the ability to grow and shrink at will on their own.
Power Rangers S.P.D. - Broodwing would release a bat which would bite and enlarge the monster. This was done only once on T-Top, as most monsters in SPD used robots of their own instead of growing.
"Debugger" and One Eye appeared as giants.
The Dragouls had the power to grow on their own with the first becoming giant, the second starting off as a giant and then becoming much larger than even Megazord-size.
Delex absorbed the energy he'd drained from people originally contained in battery packs to be given to Emperor Gruumm by Broodwing.
Power Rangers Mystic Force - Koragg would often revive and/or enlarge the monster via a dark spell. Necrolai did this several times when she was given Koragg's magic in the from of a dark Mystic Morpher. Imperious' monsters could grow at will. He himself had the power to grow larger than the Mystic Force Megazord (which was the size of his foot), but used the ability once as he was still weak from revival and later didn't want to get his hands dirty. The Ten Terrors were naturally giant sized, and could change between giant and human size at will.
Power Rangers Operation Overdrive - With four villain groups came four methods of instigating giant-sized battles: Kamdor would use a sutra to make his monsters grow. Moltor shot a dart at his to make them grow. This was used only once on Bullox, as he tended to use small monsters or permanently giant robots. Flurious also preferred robots, or monsters that appeared giant sized in the first place. The Fearcats were able to grow on their own by tearing open their bodies, allowing the second body within to emerge and enlarge. The two main Fearcats, Mig and Benglo, perhaps having lost this ability once upgraded by Flurious - typically attacked in a different giant robot in every appearance instead of doing this often. Vulturus, the sole monster created by Thrax, grew by unknown means.
Power Rangers Jungle Fury - Once a Rinshi Beast had collected enough human fear, it gained the ability to grow into a giant form. As evidenced by the Five Fingers of Poison, the Rinshi Beasts could take giant form any time once they had collected the amount of fear needed.
Power Rangers R.P.M. - Venjix would initiate a Power Download at the Venjix Palace, triggering machinery to restore and/or enlarge his robots. General Crunch once wondered why they waited until after the Attack Bots were destroyed to enlarge them. However, this was done to a few intact Attack Bots on several occasions.
The Generation Nine Amphibious Attack Bot presumably grew by increasing its size with the water around it.
Instead of the main method, General Shifter used the key from the Generation 16 Hyper Bot to enlarge himself.
Power Rangers Samurai/Power Rangers Super Samurai - The Nighloks had two lives and, when destroyed at regular size, they would normally unleash their Mega-Monster form, which was a gigantic version of it that also had to be destroyed to finish the Nighlok completely and send them to the Nighlok Heaven. Moogers, the foot soldiers of the Nighlok army, were created at both small and giant sizes, and giant Moogers often accompanied giant monsters. A Nighlok's Mega-monster form could not be unleashed prior to the death of the first life; on one occasion, when a monster had gained enough power to use a weapon only its giant form had, Deker and Dayu were sent to kill that monster to activate its second life, to the Rangers' initial confusion.
They can receive a third life, but only when another Nighlok gives up their second life, as was the case of Octoroo and Gigertox. However, this third life, when activated, is even more powerful than the second, and doesn't resemble the original Nighlok.
Serrator's creations: the Papyrox are made giant.
Power Rangers Megaforce - Vrak sent five of his Zombats to revive and/or enlarge the Insectoids or Toxic Mutants by surrounding their target with a circle of blue light emitted from their eyes. When the Robots were grown, the Zombats, in this case called Zombolts, would burrow into the Robots, like literal bolts, enlarging them.
Admiral Malkor, however, ate a single Zombat to enlarge himself, much to the Rangers' disgust.
Power Rangers Super Megaforce - Levira unveiled a new weapon in the place of the defunct Zombats called the Maximizer, a pair of cannons mounted on the Armada Mothership. When fired, it revived and/or enlarged one of the Armada's monsters, usually with a complement of Bruisers and/or X Borgs. According to Levira, Zombats are not able to grow multiple targets at once, unlike the Maximizer.
Professor Cog had the ability to grow on his own, much to Levira's astonishment.
The Zombats return in Vrak is Back to enlarge his commanders: Tresnag and Drill Horn.
Power Rangers Dino Charge - Sledge would have his ship fire a blue laser called the Magna Beam at Earth to restore and enlarge his outlaws.
Power Rangers Dino Super Charge - After Sledge's ship crashed on Earth, Heckyl, Snide, and/or Lord Arcanon, would have the Magna Beam fired at a satellite in space, which would reflect the beam back to Earth. The beam can also be used to shrink the monsters back to normal size. Should a monster be powerful enough, like in the cases of Lord Arcanon or Badussa, the monster affected by the Magnabeam can be forced back to their original size when defeated by a Megazord as opposed to being destroyed.
Due to Sledge, his crew, and his ship all being destroyed in End of Extinction, Heximas modified his personal sleigh-themed ship with its own Magna Beam in order to grow himself.
Power Rangers Ninja Steel and Power Rangers Super Ninja Steel - Whenever one of the Galaxy Warriors Contestants was defeated, Cosmo Royale asked the audience if they should be given another chance. If the audience cheered loudly enough to push the meter on the Galaxy Warriors stage to the top, Cosmo pressed the blue button on his console that fired a beam from the Warrior Dome Ship to Gigantify the contestant. Some contestants request to be Gigantified without being destroyed first, but the audience's approval is still required (except in a few rare cases, where one of the main villains demanded it right away without waiting for the audience.) When the audience reject it or if the Gigantified monster requires backup, he presses the red button which releases Skullgators which are enlarged from the start. The yellow button's function is revealed when it transports Victor and Monty off the Warrior Dome.
Galvanax is revealed to have his own Gigantify button in his control room on the Kudabots' console.
During the episode Past, Presents, and Future, the monster Cleocatra's time controlling device had a Gigantify function on it allowing her (and Ninja Steel Red, accidentally) to reach gigantic sizes.
Game Goblin was able to grow himself in his game without the aid of the Gigantify Ray.
Versix was able to grow himself using his staff.
Despite Madame Odius and her crew destroyed in Reaching the Nexus, Snow Fright was able to grow thanks to Wrench fixing the Gigantify Ray.
Power Rangers Beast Morphers - Rather than the having the Robotrons growing, Scrozzle will transport a giant Gigadrone robot that takes on characteristics of the Robotron.
|
0.999992 |
What resolution should my photos or layouts be?
Photos should be scanned at 300 dpi unless you require a larger printed size, in which case a higher dpi should be used. For instance, if you scan a 6x4 photo and you wish to have it printed as an 8x10, then a resolution of around 600 should be used.
Layouts should be saved as 300 dpi and created in the size you wish to print. Note: Photos taken off social media sites such as facebook, twitter, myspace, etc usually are not large enough to use. These photos appear large on a computer screen but are generally not large enough to print out in good quality.
It is recommended that you obtain the original files to use instead.
|
0.968559 |
Trusopt eye drops contains dorzolamide that reduces production of aqueous humour or eye fluid, and lowers intraocular pressure, which helps prevent treat glaucome and prevent damage to the optic nerve with possible loss of sight.
What is Trusopt used for?
Trusopt eye drops are used to lower pressure within the eye caused by a build up of fluid (aqueous humour). This increased pressure, known as intraocular pressure (IOP) can cause glaucoma. Trusopt eye drops are used to treat glaucoma, which helps prevent loss of sight due to increased IOP; also to treat ocular hypertension in people who do not have glaucoma. Trusopt eye drops can either be used alone or in combination with other medications (beta-blockers) or as an alternative if other treatments have not been effective or cannot be used.
Trusopt eye drops contain dorzolamide which is a carbonic anhydrase inhibitor. Carbonic anhydrase is an enzyme that is found in several tissues in the body, including the ciliary processes of the eye which produce the aqueous humour or eye fluid, as a result of filtration from the capillaries (small blood vessels) in the eye. Inhibition of carbonic anhydrase in the ciliary processes interferes with the formation of bicarbonate ions and ultimately with the filtration process, which decreases secretion of aqueous humour into the eye. The result is a reduction in intraocular pressure (IOP) which relieves pressure on the optic nerve and this can prevent loss of sight due to increased IOP.
Trusopt eye drops contain the active ingredient dorzolamide hydrochloride 2%. They also contain: hydroxyethylcellulose, mannitol, sodium citrate, sodium hydroxide and benzalkonium chloride as preservative.
Trusopt eye drops contain dorzolamide, a carbonic anhydrase inhibitor that reduces production of aqueous humour by the ciliary processes of the eye and its secretion into the eye, reducing intraocular pressure (IOP) that can cause glaucoma. Although aqueous humour is important for maintaining normal eye pressure and providing nutrients for the eye, increased production or decreased drainage from the eye increases IOP, which can cause damage to the optic nerve fibres that lead out of the back of the eye to the brain and may lead gradual loss of sight. This starts with loss of peripheral vision and eventually to total blindness in that eye. Trusopt eye drops helps restore the balance in the flow of fluid into and out of the eye and this reduces IOP and the risk of damage to the optic nerve and helps prevent loss of sight that can happen if glaucoma progresses untreated.
What are the side effects of Trusopt?
The most commonly reported side effects when using Trusopt eye drops include: burning, stinging, itching eyes, conjunctivitis, watering of the eye(s), redness of the eye(s), swelling of the eyelids(s), eye pain, blurred vision, crusting of the eyelids, nausea, bitter taste, headache, tiredness, weakness.
When should Trusopt not be used?
How should Trusopt be used?
You should use your Trusopt eye drops by applying one drop into the affected eye, three times daily, approximately 8 hours apart, and following the instructions provided. If you are using Trusopt eye drops in addition to beta-blocker eye drop, apply your Trusopt eye drops twice daily. If you are wearing contact lenses, you should remove them before applying your Trusopt eye drops and then replace them at least 15 minutes after applying your drops. You should continue to use your Trusopt eye drops daily for as long as recommended by your doctor, as they will help maintain normal eye pressure but will not cure glaucoma.
How long should you use Trusopt?
You should continue to use your Trusopt eye drops daily for as long as recommended by your doctor, as they will help maintain normal eye pressure but will not cure glaucoma.
If you miss a dose of Trusopt eye drops apply it as soon as you remember, unless it is time to apply the next dose, then skip the missed dose. Do not apply a double dose.
How should Trusopt be stored?
You should store your Trusopt eye drops in a cool place where the temperature stays below 30°C and always replace the top on the bottle to prevent contamination. Discard the bottle of Trusopt eye drops 4 weeks after opening.
|
0.999997 |
Water Heater Accessories are those accessories which are used in water heating system for the better performance of water heating mechanism. Some of the accessories are 1. Temperature Controllers: The temperature controllers regulate the temperature of water coming out of the water heating system. There are several varieties of temperature controllers but you must look for the best quality product. 2. Anode Rod: An Anode Rod will ensure that the appliance you use for heating of water does not rust. There are also several other type of rods which ensure that you have clean water which is not smelly. 3. Flushing Kits: The flushing kit will ensure that you do not have any sediment at the bottom of your tank. You my flush the tank to remove any solid waste particles which may clog the heating system of your water heater. 4. Pipes and Accessories to Water Heater: There are inflow and outflow pipes in the water heater which should not be clogged, so look for copper pipes covered with insulated cloth or PVC pipes with high quality PVC. 5. Tank less Water Heaters: Tank less water heaters is useful as no water tank is required which saves the space. It is also beneficial in conserving energy as the quantity of water heated is only as per requirement. How to find Water Heater Accessories You must find the best accessories for your water heater so that it remains flawless for a long time. The best ways to find Water heater Accessories are: 1. Get More Information: You must get well informed about the latest accessories available for your brand of water heater from the manufacturers website. 2. Look for New Accessories: Look for new articles online or in magazines for the latest accessories which can be added to any brand of water heater like Element, safety valves or connecting pipes, which you may require next time when your current set of element / valves / pipes get faulty. 3. Compare Prices: Whenever you need to buy any water heater accessories try to compare prices from at least two vendors or websites. 4. Newspaper Classifieds: Look for newspaper classifieds to see some new things in the water heater accessories field. 5. Online Classifieds: Some companies with new water heater products like energy saving etc. advertise online, so look for online classifieds and advertisements for new product releases.
|
0.999931 |
(Page 13 of 29) - Feminist Consciousness and the Production of a Contemporary Women's Section authored by Harp, Dustin.
Unformatted Document Text: Tracking number: ICA-12-11416 12 years, also acknowledges this as the main reason behind the reintroduction of a women’s section. During several of my interviews I was told that it was Frink who had wanted to add a women’s section to the paper. When asked if starting a women’s section had been a goal, he first launched into a long discussion about how newspapers have lost women readers by ignoring them. Frink, who received a journalism degree from the University of Texas at Austin, talked about newspapers and women readers with sophistication – it was clear by his extensive and detailed answer that he had considered the topic beyond the level of simple marketing. He explained that during the course of his career, I saw a lot of research and went to a lot of meetings, and I guess it struck a chord with me that newspapers are generally edited – and this has not been absolutely true for a long time, but still, even as the ’60s and ’70s changed a lot of attitudes in America, newspapers still look a lot like they had before the ’60s, which were edited for, [and] by white males. Explaining that the research he saw “struck a chord,” Frink wanted to move away from the all “white male” paper. Still throughout his discussion about providing women readers with relevant content, Frink often went back to the market value of such a move. Finally, he explained, “I hope it wasn’t crass, but I made a remark earlier about what’s right and what’s marketable. My job is to help find what’s marketable. If it happens to be right, that’s cool.” In other words, Frink made it clear that the bottom line for introducing Savvy was financial.
edited for, [and] by white males.
readers with relevant content, Frink often went back to the market value of such a move.
|
0.999507 |
To experience the best of the Netherlands, admire world-class art and enjoy some of Europe's finest nightlife, head to the city of Amsterdam. Known as the "Venice of the North" thanks to more than 1,500 bridges within the city, Amsterdam has a history stretching back to the 12th century. The city is home to a UNESCO World Heritage Site, countless museums and incredible religious buildings. Flights to Amsterdam typically arrive at the Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS), which is just 10 miles south of the city center.
The main airport in the city of Amsterdam, and for Holland as a whole, is Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. Each year, more than 55 million passengers pass through the airport, and it is one of the largest flight hubs in Europe. Amsterdam's airport offers a range of international flights around the globe, but its major carriers include the Dutch airline KLM as well as British Airways, EasyJet and WOWAir. The airport is made up of just one terminal, but it is divided into three large departure halls. The airport is thoroughly modern and equipped with a range of facilities and amenities for travelers. Passengers can enjoy complimentary wireless Internet, numerous shops, a post office, several casual and upscale eateries, and coin-operated lockers that can hold luggage for a few hours or even an entire week.
To get to the city center of Amsterdam from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, you have a number of options available. A taxi ride takes around 30 minutes and can cost anywhere from $40 to $60. Public transport options include the Amsterdam Airport Express, which takes 40 minutes and costs about $5, and the train, which takes around 20 minutes and is about $4.
After your flights to Amsterdam land, you can start to soak in the incredible sights. First up, head for the abundant museums and art galleries in the city, some of which include the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum and the Anne Frank House. The canals that run through Amsterdam are also a highlight, and you can enjoy a river cruise or even a meal overlooking the water at a cafe in the Canal Ring District. In the Old Center, admire medieval architecture and renowned landmarks such as the Amsterdam Dungeon, the 17th-century Rembrandt House and the historic Royal Palace.
Festivals and events take place year-round in Amsterdam, but some of the most popular are the Tulip Festival, held in May, and the Amsterdam Marathon, which is run through the streets of the city each November. Nightlife and entertainment is varied and could include everything from an opera at a theater in Jordaan to live music in the Leidseplein. A typical meal in Amsterdam can cost $20 to $30 for two diners eating Dutch specialty like chicken croquettes and fries or a modern Italian meal. The climate in Amsterdam is oceanic, which means that summers are typically 70 degrees Fahrenheit, winters are roughly 40 degrees, and humidity is high.
|
0.999791 |
Can a Lender Legally Stop Loan Funding After Signing?
That question brought someone to the site. The answer is "Yes, they can". As a matter of fact, just because they have you sign those documents does not in any way obligate that lender to actually fund your loan.
There are two sections of conditions on every loan commitment. The loan commitment is what the underwriter writes up when the loan is approved. The first section is called "Prior to Docs", meaning before the final loan documents the customer signs at closing are generated. These should be all the stuff that's substantive in nature, that governs whether or not you qualify. Unfortunately, that is not the case. The second section is called "prior to funding," or "funding conditions." This should be limited to simple procedural stuff like a final updated payoff demand, final verification of employment (they call and make sure you still work there), etcetera. However, more and more, conditions that more properly belong in "prior to docs" section are being moved to "prior to funding."
Why do they do this? Well, once you sign those documents you are more heavily committed to them. Once you sign, and the Right of Rescission (if any) expires, you are stuck with that lender. You no longer have the right to call it off. If you go elsewhere, to another lender, because they are taking too long, they can fund your loan and force you to live by the terms of the documents you signed. Bad business all around, and you're going to be dealing with two sets of high powered lawyers that the contracts you signed basically obligate you to pay for - but they work for the two different lenders!
One fact that many people don't understand is that it's a rare loan application which is rejected completely. I don't remember when I've ever had a loan application outright rejected. Of course, being a good loan officer, I'm going to be as careful as possible that the people will qualify before I submit their loan package, but this is far from universal. Many loan officers routinely tell people about loans and programs that they have no prayer of qualifying for, but there sure are some great rates attached, for all the good they will do you. Then the loan gets rejected but they sit on the rejection while they work the loan they had in mind for you all along, and come back and say, "This is the best I could do" at closing time, and an extremely high percentage of people will sign on the dotted line because they think they have no choice.
What happens much more frequently is that the loan gets approved, and the underwriter writes a loan commitment, but with conditions that cannot be met in this particular instance. The borrowers need to prove more income than they make is probably the classic example, but these "killer conditions" occur in every area of loan underwriting. More often than not, the loan officer is not really surprised by these, and most often, they won't ever tell you about them if they can avoid it. Why? Because that gives you a "heads up" that you're not going to get the loan you thought you were, and at a time when it's still very possible for you do go loan shopping elsewhere.
Now a good loan officer - both competent and ethical - will not tell you about a loan they don't think you're going to qualify for. My ambition is always to have the list of conditions, both "prior to docs" and "prior to funding", to be as short and unsurprising as I can possibly make it. This saves work and it saves time. Remember, every time that underwriter touches the file they can add more conditions, and they can also discover something that causes them to essentially reject the loan, by adding conditions the consumers in question cannot meet. If I can submit a file and the underwriter writes a commitment with only a few routine prior to funding conditions, I am much happier because now I can request documents, have them signed, and get this loan done. You get this kind of commitment by sending all of the documentation they need in every loan all at once, in the beginning, but only that documentation. It's not necessarily a sign of incompetence if the underwriter puts some other conditions on it - probably somewhere close to half of my commitments have some condition the underwriter took it into their heads to require in this instance. Like any good loan officer, I avoid arguments with an underwriter if I can, so when they give me a condition I didn't anticipate, I figure out what I need to satisfy it and whether I can get it. But you learn when extra documentation will be required.
Many loans, particularly sub-prime, are done completely in the reverse fashion. The loan officer submits a bare application, without supporting documentation, and waits for the conditions, and boy do they get a blortload of conditions. Not too long ago I helped an experienced real estate agent in my office with his first loan. He wanted to do it "the easy way," by which he thought he meant, "The lazy way," but he really meant, "The hard, stupid way." He submitted a bare application to the lender and got seven pages of conditions, which were added to as time went by and he submitted documentation piecemeal. Took him two months and four times the work of just taking another day and submitting a complete loan package in the first place. If he had done that, the loan probably would have been finished in two and a half weeks. Some of the conditions were for stuff I had never encountered before. What was going on, of course, was that the underwriter had gotten it into his head that this was probably a dangerous loan to approve, and he wanted to be extra careful on the approval.
So what can the average person do to safeguard themselves against this happening. Well, you can't - not completely. The underwriter can always add conditions, and so can the funder. Even if the loan gets funded, they can pull the money back right up until the moment that trust deed gets recorded with the county. That's just the way it is. What you can do is ask for copies of the loan commitment, and of the outstanding conditions, those that have yet to be met. Refusal on the part of a loan officer to provide this is always a bad sign. Ditto the inability. I definitely wouldn't sign the loan papers without a copy of the outstanding conditions in my possession, and it may be smart to ask for copies of the conditions at several points in your loan. Yes, they can be faked, pretty easily, but then they are ammunition in your lawsuit if something goes wrong. Before you even apply, you can ask questions about necessary income, what the program guidelines for debt to income and loan to value ratio are, etcetera. Much of the stuff in my article Questions You Should Ask Prospective Loan Providers is aimed at defusing that kind of situation. Furthermore, you can and should apply for a back up loan if you can find someone willing. Remember, at sign up you have all the power, but at closing, the lender has all the power. They have the loan, and nobody else does. Many times, the loan they deliver at closing will have nothing in common with the loan that got you to sign up. If you don't want to find yourself completely at their mercy, the only way to reliably do so is apply for at least two loans. In the worst case scenario, it means that you get the least bad of these two loans, and in most circumstances, you can use the fact that there's another choice you can make to motivate them to deliver something that more closely resembles what they told you in order to get you to sign up. At the very least, get a written Loan Quote Guarantee.
Loan officers have people sign loan documents every day that there is no hope of actually funding a loan on. It doesn't make sense to me, but they do it, mostly because they are afraid if they break down and tell you they can't fund this loan, you will go elsewhere and they won't get paid. Signing loan documents more strongly commits borrowers to this loan, and as long as they keep trying, there's always the possibility that they will get paid. I have talked with people that were strung along for three months before they finally gave up and realized that this loan was not going to happen.
This page contains a single entry by Dan Melson published on May 4, 2008 7:00 AM.
From How Much You Make to A Payment You Can Afford was the previous entry in this blog.
Listing Agents Who Want Both Halves of The Commission is the next entry in this blog.
|
0.999998 |
how would YOU do brick hatch on a round tower?
1) draw the u/s of each course 2) draw the round plan form above/below the elevation (make sure it is an "open" arc) 3) MEASURE the arc at the length of bricklength+joint 4) Using an extra fine pen draw lines from the points up/down to the horizontals, and trim them all to one course high 5) LENGTHEN>>DELTA all the verticals by a bed depth, shortening them from the top (using FENCE option) 6) array the verticals vertically to suit 7) trim the starting end of the original arc by 1/2*(bricklength+joint) 8) repeat above to another (alternating) course 9) array as required.
Use your judgment on how much to do. You have to balance the weight of the parts of an elevation to sell the design. This could look too heavy unless the entire thing is rendered to the same extent. You could also calculate the length of a brick and substitute appropriately broken lines for the continuous horizontals in 1) above to earn extra brownie points. To do this you could array alternating large an small circles around the arc for brick and joint lengths.
A looser approach is to do a bit of 1), all of 2) & 3), and only do a bit of 4, keeping it selective.
I am only serving a tightwad client, and working through another "firm" which has no intrest in me getting paid. find it hard to justify anything more than my own personal standards, as I have quite a bit of work I will get full price for.
wait a minute, instead of MEASURE maybe I DIVIDE, use a line, and DO NOT ROTATE. never tried that. hmm.
will let you know how it comes out. many thanks.
1) draw the u/s of each course 2) draw the round plan form above/below the elevation (make sure it is an "open" arc) 3) MEASURE the arc at the length of bricklength+joint 4) Using an extra fine pen draw lines from the points up/down to the horizontals, and trim them all to one course high 5) LENGTHEN>>DELTA all the verticals by a bed depth, shortening them from the top (using FENCE option) 6) array the verticals vertically to suit 7) trim the starting end of the original arc by 1/2*(bricklength+joint) 8) repeat above to another (alternating) course 9) array as required.
If they get really tall they just *have* to taper.
ARRAY is pretty powerful and quick. Did you know you can pick two points to enter the row height/column distance in that command? I do that to draw stairs in section...draw one, orient UCS to the "nosing line" and ARRAY.
DR. Fleau's suggestion is in synch with my other suggestion about keeping it loose. It really depends on the drawing.
I don't use ARRAY for all it will do. I do something similar with mulls in windows.
what I ended up doing was use the measure command and extending lines from the nodes. it worked. it was quite tedious trimming out from those archtop windows with the brick soldier. BUT IT SURE LOOKS GOOD.
however, the stone hatch on the same tower below the brick...... the "correct" 3d effect for the brick kind of highlights the fact that the stone hatching is VERY 2d. to my eye. the client will probably never notice either one.
The hatch will "recede" along the skewed face. If you really want the hatches to line up as you go around the faces of the building,you can make a 'necklace' of plines representing the adjacent planes of the elevation to be hatched, differentially scaling the skewed ones as above, and hatch them all while adjacent. Make blocks of the skewed ones as above, and move the orthogonal hatches to where they belong. Insert the skewed ones as above, and the hatch will appear to bend around the corners and "stack up" or "recede" along the skewed faces.
On a 2D dwg, I would typically create an irregular closed polyline, Hatch it, erase the polyline and copy resulting "naked" hatch a few times along the tower. The eye makes up for what's missing. I am a stickler for things well done, but I hate nitpicking over tidbits and such.
If I HAD to hatch a circular section, length-wise, I would use the sheet-metal technique of a semi-circle separated in equal parts (using rays) and bringing down vertical lines alongside the cylinder. Draw 2 full sections, copy the rest as a block. Change the block, the whole tower changes.
just for fun, same job has chevrons in random placement. I kind of hate it when I am commisioned to do "art" because they never tell me enough detail to get it right the first time. I have to guess, have them tell me it's horrid, and start over.
suddenly, when they can see my first guess, they know just exactly where the random placements should have been - exactly.
made a chevron from 8 "bricks" , made regions out of them, and made it a block. then I give the block a positive elevation and copy it around "artfully". I hideplot when printing and never edit the brick hatching behind it. when the ladies don't like where "the draftsman" put the chevrons, all I need do is move them around.
back to the slave mines. don't work too hard guys.
Is my tower dead or just resting ?
|
0.919068 |
Having watched the global nuclear scene earnestly for more than four years, I noticed that one country's nuclear pursuits presented red flags on several fronts, considering South Africa's (SA) ranking in industrial education, geo-political instability, internal government corruption, and financial imbalances.
So, it was not surprising to find several articles recently that highlighted those issues. One article: SA selling nuclear secrets to Russia? www.businesstech.co.za/news/general/99502/south-africa-selling-nuclear-secrets-to-russia/ asks what South Africa's governance was actually doing when it met with external agencies, governments, and industrial representatives. I read this article after I read a similar article: Annual report exposes Treasury on nuclear says DA www.timeslive.co.za/politics/2015/09/27/Annual-report-exposes-Treasury-on-nuclear-says-DA.
In 2009 this article announced SA's intention to prepare workers for nuclear employment: Universities prepare for nuclear future www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20091113142652444, yet in 2015 China hosted workers from SA and promised them educational degrees after a short series of seminars: Nuclear Power Skills Training Underway In South Africa Vendor-Country Wannabes www.afkinsider.com/100103/nuclear-power-skills-training-underway-in-south-africa-vendor-wannabe-countries/.
This June 2015 article presents corruption issues that the country's leader, Zuma, has to face: Zuma corruption charges: Lead NPA prosecutor throws weight behind DA ‘spy tapes’ court challenge www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2015-06-10-zuma-corruption-charges-lead-npa-prosecutor-throws-weight-behind-da-spy-tapes-court-challenge/#.VgkxJ3tG9js.
With an environment that favors renewable energy, off the grid solutions, decentralization, and which has a history of environmental racism imposed upon it by external actors, I question the capacity of SA to professionally and securely manage nuclear power facilities. I also ask, as I typically do, what do they do with their waste and what will they do with their future waste?
How does South Africa get itself in a position to sell nuclear secrets to what I was led to believe were more advanced nuclear nations?
(09-28-2015, 08:31 AM)piajensen Wrote: Having watched the global nuclear scene earnestly for more than four years, I noticed that one country's nuclear pursuits presented red flags on several fronts, considering South Africa's (SA) ranking in industrial education, geo-political instability, internal government corruption, and financial imbalances.
The "nuclear secrets" referenced are proprietary (specific component design) in nature. There have been big pushes recently to develop nuclear in South Africa, lots of countries would love to export there (or anywhere else they could sell tech to). I'm guessing that during this courting process many companies shared technical information to try and get SA involved.
I was thinking along the same lines. Three may be "trespasses" on nuclear tech laws during such events, but which never get reported out because it's a normal part of any collective culture sharing and pursuing information.
|
0.997635 |
Swedish physicist, who defined a temperature scale in 1742. The corresponding unit is [°C]. The Celsius scale is defined by the freezing point (0°C) and the boiling point (100°C) of water.
|
0.999999 |
Given a list of numbers, the task is to write a Python program to find the second largest number in given list.
Method 1: Sorting is an easier but less optimal method. Given below is an O(n) algorithm to do the same.
Method 2 : Sort the list in ascending order and print the second last element in the list.
|
0.994873 |
Shane O' Connor (26) is flying to California for the second and biggest weekend of the festival in Empire Polo Club in Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert east of Palm Springs from April 19 to 21, with an expected attendance of 250,000 people over two weekends.
Shane got the coveted gig at the world-renowned festival by emailing the Coachella founder Paul Tollett and sending him some of his photographic work.
The only Irish photographer invited to Coachella, he has been a keen photographer since he was given the gift of a camera at the age of 16, Shane has been photographing concerts for MCD Promotions since December of 2017. 'I've been interested in photography since I was a teenager. I was given a film camera by my mam's boyfriend. After that, I never looked back'.
His foray into music photography began when an American band called LANY came to Dublin to play the Grand Social Club. Shane pitched up with his camera and when someone asked him if he was the venue photographer, he replied with a little white lie that he was. He has worked with LANY directly on two occasions since.
The enterprising New Ross man used the impressive LANY photographs to convince MCD Promotions to eventually take him on as one of their officially approved photographers for big music events in Dublin.
His second concert was the Las Vegas rockers Imagine Dragons concert in the 3Arena. In advance of the gig, in typically direct style, Shane emailed manager Mac Reynolds, a brother of the lead singer Dan Reynolds, who has a law firm in California, and was allowed to photograph the band when they arrived in Dublin.
'Those photos got me to shoot for Niall Horan during the second night of his Flicker World Tour in the 3Arena', said Shane who is excited about his next photographic adventure in California.
After he photographed the successful Athy rock band Picture This, Shane sent images to the lead singer Ryan Hennessy and the pair got chatting, leading to him shooting their Electric Picnic performance.
The significance of the Coachella assignment dawned on Shane when he was sent his briefing pack from Coachella and saw the list of world-class photographers approved for the festival, many of whom he follows, including Gregg Noire and Ashley Osbourne, and his name was among them.
He is thankful for the support and encouragement he has received from another world-class photographer and director, Christian Tierney of Dublin, who discovered the singer-songwriter James Bay, and has toured the world as personal photographer for Niall Horan and is currently on tour with Hozier whom Shane also got to photograph at Elecric Picnic.
Shane has been given an access all areas pass for the festival and is due to arrive at Coachella on Thursday week for a tour of the vast site.
The Wexford photographer who has two young children with his partner Mary, also works locally as a commercial photographer and videographer and has been nominated as Videographer of the Year in this year's South East Radio Customer Excellence Awards.
He wouldn't have been able to do any of it - the trips to Dublin and out of the country - without Mary's support. 'It hasn't been easy on her but Coachella is what it all led up to', he said. His ultimate ambition is to become an artist portrait photographer.
|
0.999448 |
Add the word “supermind” to your lexicon. The concept of war between humanity and machines has a long history in the popular imagination, and more recently, it has migrated from the realm of science fiction to public debate about the near future. Some technologists argue AI is in danger of first taking our jobs, then developing its own humanoid consciousness and ultimately, destroying us. Thomas Malone, one of the world’s foremost experts on how humans and computers work together, argues that this narrative overlooks the huge opportunities for our mutually beneficial relationship with machines. Rather than displacing us, computers can make human groups smarter, not just with artificial intelligence, but perhaps even more importantly with hyperconnectivity: connecting humans to one another at massive scales and in rich new ways.
Using AI and hyperconnectivity to increase our intelligence is the latest example of an age-old concept Malone has uniquely chronicled: the combination of people (and sometimes machines) to create “superminds,” the driving force of progress throughout history. The supermind of the future will be a merger between humans and computers, and organizations of all kinds will need to develop strategies to seamlessly integrate human and technological capital.
Founding director of the MIT Center for Collective Intelligence and author of the recently published book “Superminds: The Surprising Power of People and Computers Thinking Together” (Little, Brown & Company, May 2018), Malone is an authority on designing organizational strategies to optimize the opportunities of human-computer partnerships. Also a professor of information technology and of work and organizational studies, he focuses on how computers can help organizations make better strategic decisions and manage their human resources and business processes more effectively. This research builds on Malone’s earlier work on organizational design and the future of work, notably “The Future of Work: How the New Order of Business Will Shape Your Organization, Your Management Style, and Your Life” (Harvard Business Review Press, 2004). Malone has advocated a “bottom-up” style of management, which has been used by companies such as Zappos, in keeping with his findings on the power of collective intelligence and decision-making. In recent years, Malone has extended this concept to the rise of AI and the opportunities to expand the scope and power of superminds beyond anything ever before seen.
Malone, a professor at MIT Sloan’s School of Management, is an eloquent and engaging speaker, and frequently presents to business audiences around the world. He has also been regularly quoted in various top-tier media outlets, including The New York Times, The Economist and WIRED. Formerly a research scientist at Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC), Malone holds 11 patents, largely in user interface design and the representation of complex processes in software. He has co-founded four software companies, and has consulted and served as a board member for a number of other organizations. His background also includes a doctorate from Stanford University, an honorary doctorate from the University of Zurich, and degrees in applied mathematics, engineering and psychology.
Thomas Malone is available for paid speaking engagements, including keynote addresses, speeches, panels, and conference talks, and advisory/consulting services, through the exclusive representation of Stern Speakers, a division of Stern Strategy Group.
Who Among Us Can Read a Sextant?
Is Cyber Socialism Worth a Try?
Throughout human history, progress has almost never been made by individuals acting alone, but rather by the power of groups. Thomas Malone calls these groups “superminds” – entities like hierarchies, communities, markets, and democracies that can accomplish far more by drawing upon their collective abilities to create, learn, and make decisions together. In this talk based on his book, “Superminds,” Malone uses striking examples and case studies to show how computers can help create much more intelligent superminds, not just with artificial intelligence, but perhaps even more importantly with hyperconnectivity: connecting people to one another at massive scales and in rich, new ways. These new kinds of human-machine collective intelligence can help us address some of our most important problems in business, government, and other parts of society by, for example, creating jobs, enhancing innovation, and increasing the competitiveness of companies, regions and nations. Malone’s presentation is a practical guide to how groups that use computers to leverage their human intelligence can optimize their new power without losing sight of their human goals.
What if you could measure the intelligence of a group? And predict which teams will perform better than others? You can, says Thomas Malone – and doing so is critical for business success. Citing findings from years of comprehensive research, he discusses three significant factors that impact group effectiveness, including: social intelligence, the balance of contributions and proportion of women to men. Malone emphasizes that interpersonal skills are more valuable than we might think, and just because you have really smart people in a group doesn’t mean you have a really smart group. But most importantly, collective intelligence can be influenced and changed, and he offers prescriptive steps for doing so – ultimately, changing how leaders structure their enterprises to achieve their goals and create smarter organizations.
Since its launch in the early 1990s, the Internet has changed the way we communicate, share information and work. More recently, it’s dramatically changing how we think about and resolve collective issues. And according to Thomas Malone, the Internet – and our use of collective intelligence – will truly transform how we solve big, global problems. Drawing from his work with the Sloan Center for Collective Intelligence (CCI), Malone examines how collective intelligence and new technologies are impacting the way people work together – for the better. The Internet, he says, gives more people access to an increasing amount of information that allows them to make larger contributions to their work and the world. Malone discusses new crowdsourcing resources like InnoCentive and CCI’s own Climate CoLab, their benefits, and how they’re already helping foster solutions to complex challenges – from specific workplace issues to global problems like climate change. Collective intelligence, Malone believes, is set to become an increasingly essential factor in companies’ capacity to achieve long-term competitiveness.
|
0.999679 |
Preparing for the OCPJP7 I have come across the java.util.concurrent.locks.Condition.
How is it possible managing more condition with the same lock? Underneath does not it use the intrinsic lock?
Yes, it is possible to have more than one Condition variable with the same lock. However, I am not sure of your question -- why should this not be possible?
I am not saying that it is impossible, or why it is possible or anything. I would like just to know how it works, is it supported merely by the management of the intrinsic lock or there is something more which comes with the locks package?
I know I should go through the source code However I am running out of time (in preparing the exam). So if somebody knows in short how it works and has time to share it responding to this question, thanks in advance.
Condition variables are highly integrated with it corresponding Mutex lock. In this case, the Condition class is highly integrated with the ReentrantLock class. Obviously, the reason for this is because condition variables do things with the lock that can't be done with the public interface -- such as release all the nested locks atomically.
As an implementation detail, The ReentrantLock class (along with it's Condition Class) do not use the Java synchronization mechanism. Instead it use the atomic classes, which in turn, uses JNI to get to features based around the processor's CAS operator. As an FYI, the CAS operator is what synchronization is implemented with, so the Lock/Condition classes goes even lower than synchronization to be implemented.
Interestingly, the last time that I checked, the Lock/Condition classes doesn't use the underlying mutex/condition variables of the operating system either -- instead choosing to go to the CAS operator directly. In my opinion, this was likely a bad idea, as most OSes support priority inheritance with mutex locks, which currently, I don't think is supported by the ReentrantLock class (perhaps it can be implemented in the future).
|
0.946605 |
David Riley – Lock-In: The Potters Wheel, Edgebottom, on the outskirts of Manchester. Sam Sowerby the landlord has recently let a room to ‘Albert Durer’ who, unknown to Sam, is a Black Magician specialising in conjuring forth Cthulthoid monstrosities. His latest ritual sees the pub plunged into a void surrounded on all sides by an impenetrable blackness. Regular Tom Atkins takes a step outside to see what’s going on, has his face torn off for his trouble. The teacher, Harold Sillitoe, is next to try his luck – he bleeds to death after his arm is picked clean as if by acid. Now Sam and his four elderly friends affectionately known as ‘The Grudgers’ after the area they hail from, are left with a desperate choice: either stay here and die of starvation or find some way of getting through the black shroud ….
Funded by the unexpected fortune left him by his late mother, Harry Walker decides to splash out on an extension in the hope it will improve his luck with women. As we can see from the passage quoted above, the operation conducted, by the dubious plastic surgeon Dr. Lockhampton, doesn’t go as well as it might and the resultant gangrene sees poor Harry bitterly regretful that he tampered with his healthy six inches. A chance meeting with a crone along the abandoned railway line restores what he’s lost – with way too much interest. Killer last line.
As far as I’m aware, there are no plans to adapt this one as a graphic novel any time soon.
Franklin Marsh – Last Christmas (I Gave You My Life): December 24th and Kate makes a break for it, clearing off with the kids, away from that wretched husband of hers, never – NEVER – to see him again. Tragically, she opts to spend the night at the Bide-A-Wee’ Guest House, pride and joy of creepy Mr. Pottinger and his mute slab of wife, but – how can that be? The place burnt down years ago! Still, let’s not fret over technicalities – the Pottinger’s sure know how to throw a party!
Sergeant Doobie explains to WPC Stacy Dawes how the place obtained it’s justified reputation as a popular suicide spot and the mystery surrounding the identities of those who perished in the original fire. She thinks he’s a “silly sod” but wisely keeps her opinions to herself.
“Reads like a condensed version of the Amicus Tales From The Crypt” is the biggest compliment I can pay this one.
George settles down to eat his dinner.
George’s dinner settles down to eat him.
I wonder why the lurker in the gravy put me in mind so of the fanged ghoulie on the cover of Pan Horror #3 ?
Jackson also lets on that the inmates have trained themselves to go without sleep. Some have have managed to remain awake for years which, as you’d expect, has wreaked havoc on their already fragile minds and physically they’re a trip – pale, emaciated zombies. Check out those bulbous eyes!
Dr. Zoskia decides that Jackson has served their cause as best he was capable so now he can ‘voluntarily’ commit himself to the Institute while Dunn takes sole control of their case. The last Dunn sees of his colleague, he’s being manhandled into a box.
The late night sequence wherein Dunn, appalled yet fascinated, watches from his window as a group of these maniacs gleefully bury Jackson in St. Olaf’s churchyard is an early Black Book highlight for me.
Delightful M. R. James tribute pitched somewhere between (I think!) The Ash-Tree and a nastier Casting The Runes. Seachester Museum. Dower is consulting the Hesketh papers when who should stroll in but Edgar Bright, still as loud as ever and eager to examine the self same documents. Marvellous, curses Dower who detests him. Back in their college days, Bright got Dower royally drunk and copied down his thesis, presenting it as his own. Bright’s was accepted while Dower was accused of plagiarism!
A scene is narrowly averted as Bright agrees to leave his rival to his studies. The fact that this fraud is following in the same line of research as he gives Dower an idea. When he fortuitously (or so he then thinks) chances on a file relating to a rather eventful witch trial, he has a means of finally avenging himself by way of a little ‘joke’ ….
David A. Sutton – Only In Your Dreams: Donald is overburdened with his work for the North Atlantic Whaling Research Group ( they’re lobbying for the hunting ban to be lifted) and he’s been snappy and intolerant toward his family: wife Margaret, ten year old William and little Sophie, six. When Sophie asks if she can stay up because she’s terrified of “the jellyman” he completely loses it and it’s left to Margaret – as usual – to calm her fears. Apparently, the jellyman is to visit each of them in turn tonight which is why she’s so upset.
Margaret, unable to sleep, wakes up in the early hours and is horrified to discover that Donald hasn’t even bothered to lock up. What if the Animal Rights nutters have tracked them to their new home? She couldn’t go through all that again. But it’s not a bunch of “Woolly headed, criminal terrorists” she should be concerning herself with just now ….
Fell, North Yorks. Narrator confides an incident from his pre-teen years when he was sent off to spend a weekend at his grandfather’s gloomy, cluttered old house a mile or so from the nearest village. Grand-pop has laid on some ‘entertainment’ – tomorrow morning they’re going fishing.
After a hearty breakfast – the boy will need all his strength – they set off in the truck. Presently they approach a filthy shanty town in the woods, populated by barely human creatures and the boy gets his first inkling that “fishing” is something of a euphemism for what he’s about to get up to. The Moreau family have always had a keen interest in genetics and the old timer is proud to have followed in his infamous ancestor’s footsteps.
Prof. Julius Greydin has located a copy of the semi-mythical Book Of Setopholes and argues that it’s an authentic grimoire. His sceptical friend, Dr. Ernest Mellman is adamant that it’s at best a compendium of the usual mumbo jumbo, at worst an elaborate hoax. Their pupil, Tony Zaniger, wonders how they stand each other’s company – they’re always trying to out-do each other. There’s only one way to settle the dispute – perform one of the rituals.
The book goes out kicking and screaming on a note of Grand Guignol.
Thanks to Burl Veneer for providing the cover scan and contents.
Compact paperback collection of WT wonders. Personally, I must admit to being disappointed with the selection, although this is worth having for Mike Ashley’s notes alone. Weird Legacies get off to a flier with – arguably – Solomon Kane’s finest moment, but after Mary E. Counselman’s excellent story of randomly dispensed good fortune and abject tragedy things take a turn for the SF and fantasy. That said, the Edmond Hamilton story is worth a piece of anyone’s time.
Robert E. Howard – The Skulls In The Stars: As he travels across the mist-shrouded, swampy fens, Solomon Kane is beset by a terrifying, red eyed figure with a terrible laugh. This spectre has already been responsible for the deaths of several men, and Kane is all but shredded by the thing’s claws.
When the Puritan learns of the reason for the haunting, he dispenses his usual impartial, brutal justice to the miscreant responsible.
Mary Elizabeth Counselman – The Three Marked Pennies: “On the seventh day after this announcement the possessor of each marked penny will receive a gift.
To the first: $100, 000 in cash.
Edmond Hamilton – He That Hath Wings: David Rand is born with a misshapen spine and shoulders . At first, the kindly Dr. Harriman believes that the orphan’s deformity is a hunched back, but x-rays reveal that he is sprouting wings ..
Cover painting: Death the Bride, by T. C. Gotch,1854-1931.
It could be that these stories were hard to come by in 1965, or they’d just dropped out of copyright. As it is, while there’s nothing remotely second rate in here, only ‘Monk’ Lewis’s story is unfamiliar and if you’ve ten ghost story anthologies, chances are you’ll already have copies of the rest. Hop-frog is Poe at his most playful and the grisly climax is possibly an early influence on E. C. Bierce is represented by one of his grimmest (and funniest) ghost stories, and Lewis’s slab of gothic melodrama is welcome, if comparatively minor.
|
0.945803 |
Frustrated with infertility, any advice?
My OBGYN did some labwork on me after I told her my Husband and I had been trying to concieve for almost a year, and discovered I may have PCOS, she refered me to an endocrinologist and he started me on Metformin. Ive been taking 1500mg for almost 2 months now, as far as I know I'm still not pregnant. I'm having trouble being able to tell when I am ovulating because my cycle is so irregular. To make it worse my husband and I work opposite schedules, so its hard to make time to even be together, on the right days.
I just want to say first that I'm sorry you are having so much trouble with conception. I had a similar situation, me and my husband stopped using anything after we got married and after one year, I was pregnant, I had a miscarriage the first time and another year later I am pregnant again, this time I'm 27 weeks now. I dont have PCOS though, but it did take FOREVER to get pregnant. If there's any way you or your husband can get a schedule change, even if it's only one or two days a week, it would probably help you relax more about the situation, and trying when you're stressed out too much isn't good either. I'd ask your doctor how stress affects conception and if there's any good way to reduce your stress. I'm no expert, but try and not get so frustrated, and let the medication they gave you have a little more time to work for you. And good luck with having a baby.
|
0.999109 |
Let's take a look at the top questions you need to ask during training needs analysis to ensure you are getting the most from the process.
When it comes time for a training needs analysis, it’s important to map out all the steps properly to ensure you are following the process to the best of your abilities and achieving the best results.
Here are the 7 main questions you should be asking yourself to ensure you are getting the most out of your training needs analysis.
1. What Are Your Company’s Goals For The Year?
The first stage of any training needs analysis process is to sit down and think about the company goals for the year that you want to achieve to drive success in your business as a whole.
You may already have set your company’s goals, or this may be something that you integrate into your training needs analysis process, but either way, it’s important to ensure this is always the foundation of the whole process.
Your goals should be SMART goals and ones that will help your business grow and achieve more success over the coming year. Therefore, you will want to create them in conjunction with your wider management team, as well as management from individual departments, to ensure the needs of the entire business are covered.
2. What Needs To Change In Your Company To Meet These Goals?
Now that you know what your company goals are for the year, the next stage of the process is to think about what changes you need to make in your company to meet those goals.
This could include changes to staff skills, team structures, software and tools you use as a business, the type of customers you are targeting as a business, the processes you currently following, etc.
3. What Skills Do Your Staff Need?
One change that will be a big part of your training needs analysis is the skills that you need your staff to have in order to meet your new company goals. This could mean things like learning to use new tools that you bring on as a business, learning to work in a new team structure, taking a different approach to a current process you have in place, interacting with customers differently, training staff up for newly created roles or to get ready for promotions, etc.
It’s important to take the time to map out all the required skills you need your team to have in place to ensure you meet your goals, so you can make sure you have everything you need before you start tackling the process properly.
4. What Skills Do Your Staff Currently Have?
The next stage of the process is to look at all the skills your teams currently have, as it may turn out they already possess a lot of the skills you require them to have. Go through the entire business, team by team, and mark out all the skills each person has.
5. What Knowledge Gaps Exist Within Your Team?
Once you know what skills you want and what skills you already have, it’s really easy for you to spot any knowledge gaps in your business. These will be the skills that you need which your team has not been trained on yet.
You’ll need to prioritise these and decide which ones are the most vital to tackle first, and which ones could wait a little longer. New skills that involve larger groups of people may take priority because the training will take longer to organise and ensure it’s all complete.
6. What Training Will Help You Close These Training Gaps?
Next up, you will need to start planning out the actual training sessions that will close these knowledge gaps. Obviously, you may not be able to tackle every knowledge gap present in your team with training, but the ones you can do something about should be targeted with training sessions.
Work with your training budget to see how much training you can complete in the year, and as we said above, think about priorities and deadlines when scheduling your training, as some training sessions may prove more important than others.
7. How Often Will You Repeat The Training Needs Analysis Process?
The last question you want to consider when it comes to training needs analysis is how often you will repeat this process to ensure the most success for your business. It makes sense to repeat this process every year when you are setting your new business goals and planning your training for the year.
However, training needs analysis can be seen as a massive time investment, so we can understand why you may not want to undertake the process every year. It’s important to go with what works best for your business and use that in the future.
|
0.951408 |
The recent healthcare debate has mainly focused on individuals who are covered under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and how a repeal would impact them. Less time has been spent asking about the effect the ACA has had on most people — those who use employer provided health insurance.
How has the ACA impacted the private market?
Repealing or altering the ACA will be a positive change for many insurance brokers.
One way insurance companies are able to do this is by limiting the number of covered doctors, sometimes by as much as 40-50%. By doing so, the insurance company can then offer two plans — one with a full network of providers, and one with the limited network. In turn, employers save about 15-20% on their coverage rates, by offering employees a limited network plan.
Additionally, since the passage of the ACA, those covered by their employers have been forced to think more like consumers. Deductibles have been added to more plans, such as HMOs, forcing covered individuals to reconsider the need for an MRI, medical test, doctor’s visit, etc. The insurance company forces you to pay more in the form of deductibles, but at a reduced coverage rate.
Pharmacy coverage is another area which has been transformed by the ACA. According to King, the list of drugs approved by insurance companies has been reduced dramatically, since the government does not require that insurers cover all drugs. By reducing the number of covered drugs, insurance companies are able to better manage their costs. Consequently, consumers are forced to take less expensive drugs, and often use the generic option when available.
King says even the popular aspects of the ACA have downsides. One example, such as allowing children to stay on their parent’s plans until they are 26, has led to costs being passed onto the consumer since children over 19 are now charged the same rate as adults.
However, for some, there may be a silver lining. One improvement has been with regards to psychiatric coverage which is now treated the same way as other illnesses. Additionally, insurers are now required to cover pediatric, vision, and dental for children. The ACA has also been good for birth control and abortion coverage.
Repealing or altering the ACA will be a positive change for many insurance brokers. One of the biggest benefits King expects to see with a replacement would be allowing insurers to cross state lines, which would allow more competition. This, he predicts, would lead to more affordable insurance, and less increases in costs.
|
0.97683 |
Jeffrey Sachs is an American economist and Director of The Earth Institute, Quetelet Professor of Sustainable Development and Professor of Health Policy and Management at Columbia University. He is Special Adviser to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon on the Millennium Development Goals, having held the same position under former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. He is known as a commentator and advocate for the relief of poverty, the achievement of improved health in developing countries and for environmental sustainability. From 2000 to 2001, he chaired the World Health Organization Commission on Macroeconomics and Health, which made clear the linkage between health gain, relief of poverty and economic growth.
Sachs is author of The end of poverty: economic possibilities for our time (2005). His most recent book is To move the world: JFK's quest for peace (2013).
He was interviewed by the Editor-in-Chief of the Medical Journal of Australia, Stephen Leeder, who worked with Sachs in New York in 2003–2004, about the upcoming G20 meeting in Brisbane, Australia, in November.
What is your primary message as an economist interested in the relief of poverty about sustainability and its relation to both economics and human health?
It is not possible to consider ending poverty in the midst of human-induced climate change. Even if poor countries, such as those in Africa, make some short-term progress in the fight against poverty, this progress will be overtaken by climate disruption. Africa already is suffering from food price shocks, famine, heatwaves, droughts and other extreme climate shocks. We've got to get real: fighting poverty and environmental degradation go hand in hand.
How could the upcoming G20 meetings in Brisbane be an important forum for consideration of the economics of sustainability?
The G20 countries are the world's most important economies. They account for the lion's share of global greenhouse gas emissions. If the G20 gets its house in order, the world can be saved. If not, the G20 will wreck the world, pure and simple. So what will it be? Will the richest and most powerful countries also be the most short-sighted, or will they understand that they hold not only their fate but the fate of humanity in their grasp? Brisbane is therefore crucial. The prospects are not bright. The Australian Government claims it is driven by science, but it seems to us on the outside that it is driven by mining interests, or by the likes of Rupert Murdoch, the world's number one anti-science propagandist.
The G20 should acknowledge that 2015 is the most important year of diplomacy on sustainable development in at least 15 years. We have three mega-summits next year. The first is on Financing for Development, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in July 2015. The next is on Sustainable Development Goals, at the UN headquarters in New York, in September 2015. The third is on climate change — the so-called COP21 [21st Conference of Parties] of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change — in Paris in December 2015. The Brisbane G20 should help to prepare the world's leading countries to be true forward-looking problem solvers during these three crucial summits next year.
Can the world still prevent runaway climate disaster?
Yes, but we've almost run out of time. In 2009, and again, 2010, the world's governments agreed to fight to keep global warming below 2°C. Yet we are on a trajectory of 4–6°C by the end of this century. In fact, we could trigger runaway climate change, in which warming unleashes various feedback processes (such as the release of carbon dioxide from vegetation, soils and permafrost) that could lead to runaway climate disaster. That's why the 2°C limit is also called a “guardrail” for the world: one that keeps us from spinning completely out of control.
So, to be more specific, can we still keep warming below 2°C?
Yes, just barely, if all major economies of the world begin to take very strong and consistent actions to decarbonise their national energy systems in three main ways: shifting to low-carbon electricity, moving from fossil fuels to electricity in vehicles and buildings, and massive gains of energy efficiency. A fourth main global pillar is to shift from deforestation to reforestation and to reduce emissions from agriculture. These transformations are deep, but they are feasible. And they will not only protect the climate but also boost prosperity if we apply our efforts and ingenuity to the effort. We are running out of our planet's carbon budget — that is, the amount of carbon the world can burn and still remain below 2°C.
But do you see these transformations being achieved by economic reasoning alone?
No. A reinvigoration of a global moral code must also be a lifeline in the 21st century. Pope Francis is utterly correct and compelling when he speaks of the “globalisation of indifference”. We have lost our moral compass as a global society. The mass media, the cynicism of Murdoch and others, have crowded out decency, humanity, justice and foresight. Yet each of us wants our children and grandchildren to survive and to flourish. We each have an instinct, a moral fibre, to keep the world safe for the future and for each other. Yet we have to reinvigorate this morality, to overcome the immorality of greed and power that drive our societies today.
At a time when our societies have unprecedented technological capacity in hand to end extreme poverty, a billion people worldwide are chronically hungry and destitute; in a period when health care technology enjoys astounding advances, 6 million children under the age of 5 worldwide still die each year of utterly preventable causes; and in an era when sustainable technologies for energy, industry, buildings and transport could rein in climate change, the world rushes headlong towards climate catastrophe — our attitudes and moral judgements will be the most important determinants of our fate, not our resources or our capacities.
At this stage of history, humanity is at a crossroads, with the future course of our own choosing. We have the technical means to solve our national and global problems — to banish poverty, fight disease, protect the environment, and train the illiterate and unskilled. But we can and will do so only if we care enough to mount the effort.
So, let us not be blind to our differences — but let us also direct attention to our common interests and to the means by which those differences can be resolved. And if we cannot end now our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity. For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal.
1 The Earth Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
|
0.997419 |
How do digital knowledge, memory & learning affect our freedoms?
There are limits to human knowledge and memory. Biologically, we do not store abstract knowledge knowledge well.This type of knowledge would include numbers, letters, and complex ideas that do not relate to us. Although we have about 100 billion neurons, we are limited to the synapses between active ones. Each neuron could be connected to 10,000 other ones, which leads to and the possibility of contamination between various memories and explains why we may not remember a fact or event accurately. For a memory to be committed to long-term memory, according to Viktor Mayer-Schönberger, “our brain uses multiple levels of processing and filtering before committing information to long-term memory.” 1In a sense, we are not free to be factual and robotic, but rather free to be expressive and reliant on our own interpretations of the real world.
Due to a need for recording this information, we started to use various mediums (cuneiforms, paper, and now digital inscription) as a response to our biological limits in memory. Like Socrates mentioned, we no longer needed to remember because the information was available 2.
Because digital inscription has been so good, I’d argue that it has affected our freedom to forget, and our freedom to be creative.
The cliche “don’t reinvent the wheel” is both a blessing and a curse.” This phrase is used regularly in entrepreneurial or educational settings that push people to produce something new. The assumption is that nothing should be repeated because copying and pasting is considered taboo. The freedom to be creative is now extremely dependent on previous knowledge, and puts future generations at a disadvantage in which they must create just for the act of doing so. I think we are entering a stage in the Digital Age in which we are afraid to waste resources and want them to use shared, basic knowledge to innovate within specialized fields.
These three types of freedoms are addressed via three broad principles that will guide us into the Digital Age: Agency of Digital Presence and Information, Active Expression and Creativity that is enabled by technology, and the Ability to Forget and simplify.
In response to the power relationships that are being established between individual and software accessed publicly, providing users a level of agency in their digital presence and information is critical to enabling identity freedom. The trust is thus shared between the individual who has power over what information is released/published about him/her and the software that dictates that some information must be publicly accessible in order to represent an authentic profile of the individual. As collective intelligence inevitably rises, we must redefine what intelligence means. DeepMind is a company whose mission is focused on “solving intelligence” 4 although their focus is geared more towards developing artificial intelligence (AI) that reflects and imitates the decisions a human user would. I think that we tend to repeat ideas more than we expect or want to believe. AI best understand us through patterns and habits. They are programmed to reflect who we are, and it could be argued that we reinvent the wheel more often than it seems. Sometimes, that’s ok because that’s how we make sense of the world. We must be free to allow ideas, opinions, and digital presences to show patterns and repetition. Psychologically, habits are how we best identify any single person.
We place trust in machines because “humans are generally biased and there needs to be a robot to provide an impartial opinion.” 5 What is not well advertised is that robots are not exclusive – they are a direct product of human decisions and algorithms. As collective intelligence increases and our society moves from a orality to textuality (possible even to visuality), Ong would argue that authority no longer is defined in a conservative manner 6. Information is accessible to everyone, but authority has moved to specialized technology that has become to complex too understand. Malte Rehbien is a digital humanities scholar who still encourages us to criticize authority in the digital age because “technology is not value-free” 7, cannot consider contexts, nor are individuals made aware of the full extents of technology usage on them. That is why I partially agree with the “Right to be Forgotten,” which is an agreement developed by the European Union that allows users to request information to be removed from the internet if it damages their digital presence. The authority is removed slightly and returned back to the individual through this agreement.
Because we are able to engage more with texts and the people who create content, the digital age is becoming one that thrives on emotional contexts (a combination of Ong’s 4th and 5th quality). People are more selectively empathetic and participatory, but are more engaged in those discussions that are directly related to them.
We are more free to use various forms of media to express ourselves, and not just textual formats. We still run into the issue of time as an abstract concept. “Snapchat” is a social sharing app that is based on creating temporary, visual stories. I am an inconsistent user of the app, and an even more hesitant user of the time filter. It is too abstract to know exactly at what time I was studying, for example. That is why a guiding principle should remind us of our ability to interpret and be emotionally cognizant of the situation. Time is still an abstract concept, and is even more abstract during the night when we don’t have the sun to gauge how late it is in the day.
The greatest enemy to expression is data and evidence. In the CMPD Report on Machine Learning, the earlier systems were “easily gamed,” so they retrained the data by adding more features to make the “parameters sufficiently complex.” 8 Because there is so much trust put into machine learning and digital inscription, personal expression is disabled by evidence. As we advance further into the digital age, we must work with data and evidence to provide opportunities for interpretation, agreement, and disagreement.
In the third episode of Black Mirror, “The Entire History of You,” there is an advertisement for the “good life” when you are able to remember every memory you have had, as you had a DVD player hooked to your mind’s eye all the time. I don’t agree with this as the “good life,” and Jorge Luis Borges wouldn’t either. In his short story, “Funes, el memorioso” a man named Itero Funes lives miserably because he is not overstimulated by remembering everything, but instead has almost lost a sense of meaning in life. I think that digital inscription must work in the same way that human memory does: we automatically filter out memories and details unless they are worth engraving into long-term memory 9. Technology should reflect how we naturally strive for privacy and selection of positive memories, and the “right to be forgotten” addresses this issue well 10.
Information overload and continuous production of “chatter” is a pattern that Herman Husse identified in his book The Glass Bead Game 11. This “chatter” is the only recognizable characteristic of an oral society that still exists within the current digital society. We must strive for a new meaning of complexity and simplicity. Most importantly, we and technology must learn how to forget.
Borges, Jorge Luis, Samuel César Palui, Ernesto Lowenstein, and Mirta Ripoll. Funes, El Memorioso.
Hesse, Hermann. The Glass Bead Game. S.l.: Penguin Books, 1943.
Jack Goody and Ian Watt. The consequences of literacy. In Jack Goody (ed.) Literacy in traditional societies, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1968.
Johnson, Evan. “Beauty.AI Announces the First International Beauty Contest Judged by a.” PRWeb. 2015. Accessed September 25, 2016. http://www.prweb.com/releases/2015/11/prweb13088208.htm.
Mayer-Schönberger, Viktor. Delete: The Virtue of Forgetting in the Digital Age.
Norman, Donald A. Living with Complexity. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2011.
Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press, 2009.
Rehbein, Malte. “On Ethical Issues of Digital Humanities.” Accessed August 19, 2016. http://www.phil.unipassau.de/fileadmin/dokumente/lehrstuehle/rehbein/Dokumente/OnEthicalIssuesPreprint.pdf.
Toobin, Jeffrey. “The Solace of Oblivion,” The New Yorker, September 29, 2014. http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/09/29/solace-oblivion.
I chose to work with a friend who did not know about the activity’s premise to prevent any previous priming. During the second round, we both agreed to keep our eyes closed to rely less on our surroundings.
What was initially seen as a random array of words turned out to be what we considered “snippets of our lives.” Each word related to a moment in our lifetime because they would evoke our memories. We agreed that these memories were multi-sensory, with sight and touch being the most dominant senses at use.
There was great difficulty in (1) forcing a connection between abstract words or thoughts and (2) trying not to repeat a word. At times, we hesitated to return to a subject, as if “refreshing” the memory was taboo unoriginal (Hermann 86). Although the active process of creating artificial memory is to revisit the past, there was a constant urge to think ‘forward’. Both Ong and Socrates would blame this culture on how we have fetishized texts as a trustworthy source of intelligence which requires a continuous slew of new, original productions (because otherwise, it’s seen as copying, cheating, or simply stupid).
I argue that this immense, abstract collection of “chatter” has allowed our memory to become a tool for making sense of it all and create meaning for ourselves (The Glass Bead Game). As my partner and I reviewed the list to better understand our word choice, we discovered that all the words had been imagined in action and enacted by either a close family member or friend. Although Hermann explains how “artificial memory includes backgrounds and images” (87), we are now entering a generation that has an artificial memory full of ‘movies’ and moving moments that embed not only various senses but emotional connections.
I recognized this same pattern in the memory palace activity. Using the three lists (a list provided by Dr. Kabala, one I made in English, and one in Spanish) I created three different palaces. Unlike Foer, who created a memory palace full of crazy, bizarre objects, my memory palace had a narrative form that built off of imagined conversations between myself and people I knew very well. Some memory palaces included more than one building or city. In fact, there was some overlap in which two lists would share some parts of the same building but they would never get confused for the other. The abstract list of items were transformed into realistic, relatable moments that I believed in. Some moments were so ‘real’ that I found myself laughing out loud. My memories could not be called a memory palace, but a more appropriate label would be ‘a day in the memory.’ In Kirschenbaum’s Grammatology of the Hard Drive, he defined “motion-dependent” as a necessary aspect for inscription (Mechanisms, page 94). Unlike digital inscription, in which bits remain static after magnetic encoding, the data in human memory is in motion and usually embeds meaning into it. My ‘days in the memory’ were so realistic and possible that three days later, I still have to remind myself that it was just a dream.
Herrmann, Douglas J., and Roger Chaffin, eds. Memory in Historical Perspective: The Literature before Ebbinghaus. Recent Research in Psychology. New York: SpringerVerlag, 1988.
Hesse, Hermann. The Glass Bead Game: (Magister Ludi). Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin, 1943. Print.
Ong, Walter J. Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word. New Accents. London ; New York: Methuen, 1982.
The first critique I will make about the exercise is the conditioning that we received. I would have preferred that the activity be done in a way that we would have not known about the second step (rewriting) during the transcription phase. While doing the exercise, I found myself very conscious of my word selection and sentence structure, which is not a bad nor good thing. During the speaking process, I did not do much verbal “editing” but instead I would clarify a thought by continuing the story. Unlike speaking, writing gives us the ability to edit our thoughts by erasing and modifying until we are satisfied with what is written. We impose more filters on our written work than we do our oral presentations because editing is seen as an opportunity to refine our thoughts. As a writer, I find myself in high pressure situations whenever I have to write an essay or written piece because although editing is an opportunity, it can also be draining to know that I should take advantage of it to produce a work of high quality. The same pressure exists in an oral presentation, because the audience expects the presenter to come having already rehearsed the presentation until it has been mastered. Plato’s conversation with Phaedrus is a great complement to Walter J. Ong’s chapter in his book because it focuses more on the spontanaiety of the moment. How do we judge a presentation that is simultaneously being created at the same time? How does our judgement differ from reading a draft to reading the 5th draft from the same author? Does the ability to edit create a new meaning of text engagement?
Time is a very important concept that provides the underlying framework for oral and written work. In my AntConc results, my word count in the written piece was 20% higher than in the transcribed one. A written piece does not have a time constraint, and that allows us more time to use a wider range of vocabulary. I was not surprised to see that both I had the top 15 recurring words from both texts were almost the exact same: many pronouns and conjunctions were used. This was partly due to the fact that I was trying to rewrite the transcription word by word. The written part of the exercise was much more difficult because I did not want to be redundant nor could I remember well what I had said previously. Any repeated thought in the same written work is be considered taboo, because it doesn’t show progress in intellectual thought. Both Ong and Plato explored the concept of reputation in oral rhetoric and how that is an accepted form of communication. While looking at my data results, I was shocked to see how many more times the pronoun “I” apppeared written piece [Figure 1]. Using that pronoun in writing can give the piece an informal tone yet encourage more participatotion and not agonistic, which does not align with the Ong’s five qualities of a written text.
Although he wrote Orality and Literacy in 1982, I would add the transition from text to visuals as a new part of the chapter. Ong compared the art of oral rhetoric to the change of literary text. All of these forms requires a medium as its vehicle (oral: human voice :: text : paper or electronic text :: visual : paper or pixels). I think that orality is making a comeback by accompanying the growing dominance of visual communication. We see this trend in the remaking of books into movies, in which it is considered easier to transmit a message visually than textually. How does this change the demand for text? Does the word “multimedia” encompass this new transition? But most importantly, what is lost in translation?
|
0.932018 |
Abase Hussen, whose daughter Amira is thought to be alive and still alongside ISIS in Syria, said the schoolgirls are victims who should be 'helped, not punished'.
Miss Begum is heavily pregnant with her third child and living in a Syrian refugee camp. She says Amira is alive but Kadiza Sultana, the third girl who fled the UK with them, died in an air strike two years ago.
Mr Hussen, 52, who once was filmed at a London flag-burning rally attended by Anjem Choudary, said the three young jihadi brides had 'just made a mistake'.
'These girls were young,' he told MailOnline. 'They were manipulated by evil people and they should be brought home and helped. Not punished. They pose no threat.
- February 17 - Kadiza Sultana, 16, and 15-year-olds Shamima Begum and Amira Abase leave their east London homes at 8am to travel to Istanbul in Turkey from Gatwick Airport. Begum and Abase - who has not yet been publicly named - are reported missing by their families later the same day.
- February 22 - Abase's father Abase Hussen says his daughter told him she was going to a wedding on the day she disappeared. Metropolitan Police officers arrive in Turkey, but refuse to confirm whether they are involved in the search for the teenagers.
'The British government have not done anything to help me or the other parents. We have been badly treated.
'Shamima should be allowed to come home and have her baby in peace.
Mr Hussen, who has two other grown up children, said he and his wife had lost contact with Amira last year.
'The last conversation we had with my daughter was over a year ago when she called out of the blue,' he said.
Mr Hussen, a security guard, said three families of the runaway girls had been in close contact when they went missing in 2015, but had gradually lost touch.
'There's been no co-ordination in helping our children to return,' he said. 'Nothing is being done for us.
Mr Hussen, who has been in the UK since 1999, originally comes from Ethiopia, where Amira was born.
He blamed police for failing to stop his daughter fleeing to join ISIS.
But months after she vanished it transpired that he had taken her to an extremist rally when she was just 13.
Shocking footage subsequently emerged of him amid a flag-burning mob, screaming in rage at a protest outside the US embassy in London, in 2012.
Also at the rally were hate cleric Anjem Choudary and Michael Adebowale, one of the killers of Fusilier Lee Rigby.
He later apologised for attending, but admitted going to two further rallies – with his impressionable daughter in tow.
One took place outside the Saudi embassy in London, in 2013, and is said to have been organised by the Islamic extremist group Al-Muhajiroun, founded by hate cleric Omar Bakri Mohammed and linked to many Islamic terror atrocities of the past decade.
Ms Begum, now 19, was tracked down by The Times to a refugee camp in northern Syria where she is the bride of an Islamic State fighter, nine months pregnant and has had two infant children who are dead. Her husband is in captivity.
She also told the paper: 'The caliphate is over. There was so much oppression and corruption that I don't think they deserved victory.
Ms Begum, Kadiza and Amira , who all attended Bethnal Green Academy, left their homes in February 2015 to join a fourth Bethnal Green schoolgirl in Syria who had left London they year before. They each married an Isis foreign fighter, according to The Times.
Kadiza was reported to have been killed in an airstrike on Raqqa in May 2016, while Ms Begum has recently heard second-hand from other people that Amira, and the other schoolgirl who left Britain in 2014, may still be alive.
When she arrived, Ms Begum was put in a house where jihadist brides-to-be waited to be married, she said.
Ten days after arriving in Raqqa in 2015, she wed a Dutchman who had converted to Islam. She claims her husband was later arrested, charged with spying and tortured.
She left Raqqa in January 2017 with her husband but her children, a girl aged 21 months and a three-month-old boy, both died in recent months. Her son had an unknown illness worsened by malnutrition, The Times said.
Ms Begum said she had a 'mostly' a 'normal life in Raqqa, interrupted every now and then by 'bombing and stuff'.
She told the paper: 'But when I saw my first severed head in a bin it didn't faze me at all. It was from a captured fighter seized on the battlefield, an enemy of Islam.
|
0.951414 |
My three world of wonder.
Is it really possible to move on by literally moving to another place?
Traveling gives me a lot of memories. Some are happy and some are painful, but both are worth remembering. It also provides me with an opportunity to create great anecdotes worth sharing.
To be honest, I had never cared much about traveling before. I would rather stay at home, work on my computer, and write about things in my notebook. But recently, I have been hoping for a change.
One big reason why, at one point in my life, I came to hate traveling was that it reminded me of the hurtful experiences in the past, specifically of my daily three-hour trips with him. These trips were something that I used to look forward to -- they were moments of pure joy. Now traveling to me is like walking down memory lane: a flashback of our warm hands intertwined and of hugs, we shared over a long bus ride, our conversations and waves of laughter, and the one goodbye which ended it all. At one moment while we were still together, I thought that maybe he would be the one man whom I would take care of my entire life. However, we came to an end.
My life won't stop just because someone left me in the middle of my journey. I can't hate traveling forever -- it's like denying myself the opportunity to live. Traveling is more than just a whirlwind of fun experiences. In the same way, life is also a fun journey, full of exciting experiences and wonderful adventures. I know that I must continue to travel because maybe along the way, I'll find the one who'll accompany me on all my future travels.
Does it really matter that I have someone to go with to different places just to enjoy it?
I had gone on a lot of vacation travels and short trips with friends en before I had a love life. Maybe what happened was a different kind of happiness when I was with him; there was a thrill that I had never felt before. May it was feeling fulfilled that I got to travel with someone that I wanted to be with throughout my life's journey. I felt comfort when I knew there was someone who was as carefree as I was at every place that we traveled. Lastly, I realized that love was as much a need as a gift of life.
But sometimes, the best travel is when I am alone, which often allows me to see more places and to meet more people. To continue to be alive, I have to live. To experience to be brave, I have to embrace what life may bring. and to explore to be strong, I have to accept what circumstances may have to offer. That's what I did after the break.
For me, a good traveler is one who knows how to travel with the mind. That's why I consider traveling as moments in life where I can go back into the domain of enjoying experiences and leaving my worries of the world behind. Life is something that can't be measured by how long I live but rather how grateful I become. I'm not chained to enjoy the best things of a place because I set my own rules without worrying about what will happen to me. And when I travel alone, I realize how big the world is, taking me beyond the neat corners of my life, I can leave any painful memories and broken promises, even forget them, once I meet people from different places and with different perspectives.
Taking a trip can't fully and instantly heal a heart, but it mends every torn piece as I continue to explore the world -- and as I continue to feel, to create, to express, to sense, to inspire and be inspired, to love and be loved. I don't have to limit myself -- travel, move on and see more of life!
Philippine Airlines flies to Auckland, New Zealand starting December 2015. Book now at www.philippineairlines.com.
**Note: This my winning entry to Globe #Wonderful Blog Competition: Win a Trip to New Zealand.
|
0.999854 |
Cognitive learning is an essential part of the developmental process; it is the way our brains process information received. It is important to understand how the cognitive learning process changes throughout the human life span to fully comprehend the way we think and process information. Psychologist Jean Piaget, was the most influential theorist who described the cognitive development process. Piaget, “envisioned a child's knowledge as composed of schemes, basic units of knowledge used to organize past experiences and serve as a basis for understanding new ones” (Encyclopedia). Furthermore, in a human’s life span there are eight stages in which our cognitive learning changes: infancy, early childhood, middle childhood, adolescence, early adulthood, middle adulthood and late adulthood. This essay will take a look at the changes in cognitive learning over the human lifespan.
The first stage we will look at is cognitive learning in infancy. The stage of infancy is considered birth through age two years old. Cognitive learning begins immediately after birth, infants learn to use their senses to explore their surroundings (Encyclopedia). Newborns are really good at identifying sounds and recognizing their mother’s voice. As the infant grows they begin to understand words; around the age of 18 months old the infant should be able to understand between 100 and 150 words.
|
0.933248 |
Home of President Thomas Jefferson near Charlottesville Va., noted as a landmark in American domestic architecture, and designed by Jefferson himself.
The third Monticello (LSD-35) was laid down 6 June 1955 by Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp., Pascagoula, Miss.; launched 10 August 1956; sponsored by Mrs. Harry R. Sheppard, wife of Congressman Sheppard of California; and commissioned 29 March 1957, Capt. J. T. Hodgson, Jr., in command.
After outfitting and trials off the East Coast, Monticello arrived at her homeport, San Diego, 27 May 1957 to join Amphibious Forces, Pacific Fleet, and immediately began shakedown training. She continued to operate off the Pacific coast, joining in major amphibious training operations which took her to Eniwetok in 1958 and Hawaii and Alaska in 1959, serving usually as primary control ship. Such operations, involving ships of all types along with underwater demolition teams and Marines, keep the fleet at top readiness for any challenge of diplomatic crisis or war itself.
On 14 November 1960 Monticello sailed for a 7-month deployment with the 7th Fleet in the western Pacifie. She was combat-loaded with part of a Marine renforced battalion landing team, and was alerted four times during the Laos crisis, steaming with Paul Revere (APA-248) and four escorting destroyers in the South China Sea and the Gulf of Siam. Returning to San Diego in July, Monticello joined in a joint Army-Navy-Air Force amphibious exercise at San Juan Island, Wash., in September, then returned to fleet training operations from her homeport.
Monticello sailed 18 February 1962 in JTF 8 for nuclear weapons tests at Christmas Island, first carrying cargo between Christmas Island and San Diego, and then acting as command ship during tests of antisubmarine weapons. In June, she sailed again to Christmas Island to aid in closing down the test operation, and continued to a second 7th Fleet tour of duty highlighted by a large amphibious exercise at Okinawa. She returned to San Diego and a program of training with Camp Pendleton marines, necessary overhaul, and refresher training early in Deeember.
She again joined the 7th Fleet's Amphibious Ready Group from January to October 1964, taking part in SEATO as well as U.S. exercises.
After operating on the Atlantic coast through much of 1965, Monticello headed back to the western Pacific in August. Early in 1966, she steamed to South Vietnam for operation "Double Eagle," the longest and largest amphibious operation of the Vietnam conflict up to that time. It enabled Allied forces to engage Vietcong near Thac Tru and secure a beachhead in a key area. At the operation's conclusion, 26 February, she headed for Subic Bay en route home via Hong Kong, Yokosuka, and Pearl Harbor.
After overhaul at San Pedro and training along the Pacific coast, Monticello got underway from San Diego 13 January 1967, heading for the Far East. Much action awaited her in Vietnam. She served as primary command ship for "Beacon Hill I" at Quang Tri 20 March to 2 April and "Beacon Star" there 22 April to 12 May. She joined in operation "Bell" in the latter half of May, in "Beacon Torch" and "Bear Chain" in July, and in August participated in "Kangaroo Kick," an amphibious feint off Hue, and "Belt Drive," again at Quang Tri. Relieved at Danang in September. Monticello returned to San Diego 13 October. After an overhaul that lasted until early 1968, Monticello conducted refresher training and local operations out of San Diego. In November of that year, she once again deployed to Vietnam where she remains into 1969.
|
0.99896 |
We have all heard about how important it is to get plenty of sleep on a regular basis. Unfortunately, for many of us it is hard to find time for all of our priorities, like work, family time, and (non-sleep) relaxation, as well as taking care of ourselves in other ways. Sometimes, sleep is the part of daily life that winds up getting shortchanged. No matter what else might be going on though, getting enough sleep is important for these parts of your health and your life.
Sleep is important for full mental functioning, both in being prepared to learn new information and skills the next day and in retaining what has already been learned. Sleep deficiency has been shown to affect higher-order functioning in the brain, such as problem-solving that can help you to adapt to situations positively.
Sleep can help counteract the effects of stress on your body, helping to reduce blood pressure and stress hormones that by themselves can cause problems. It helps reduce inflammation, including within the cardiovascular system. It is also important for regulating the hormones related to appetite and digestion which can help improve insulin and glucose processing, as well as limiting junk food cravings.
Lack of sleep can affect your basic functioning throughout the day, especially in situations like driving. Prolonged sleep deficits can lead to ‘micro-sleep’, which is falling asleep involuntarily for just a short amount of time. In general, it can make focusing more difficult.
Along with the cardiovascular system, sleep can help boost the proper functioning of your immune system, which is important in both preventing and recovering from disease. This is as true of serious illnesses like cancer as it is of common ailments like colds.
Along with intellectual functioning and concentration, sleep can help with mood regulation and in coping with problems— the improved problem-solving skills that come with rest can help keep frustration from building up as well. These two areas of mental function can feed off of each other, and being rested helps create support positive thinking and outcomes.
If you find that you are not getting enough sleep, it is more than worth your while to take a step back and figure out how to incorporate more quality sleep into your daily routine. Although you may ‘lose’ a little time you could be devoting to other things, the fact that you will be alert and more rested will more than make up for it.
|
0.999969 |
I can think of many situations when business owners could benefit from some headphones. First of all, if you employ many people, they can certainly benefit from them while working in their cubicles so that nobody disturbs them. Secondly, if every person in the office has headphones, they can listen to relaxing music during their break time, and this way work more efficiently. Business owners might want to try this idea out.
|
0.942833 |
FALLS CHURCH, Virginia (CNN) -- A police officer was killed and two others wounded Monday in a shootout with a gunman at a Fairfax County, Virginia, police station, Fairfax Police Chief David Rohrer said.
The gunman was shot and killed on the scene, Rohrer said, and the female officer -- a nine-year veteran -- was pronounced dead at the hospital.
"She was an exemplary detective for us. We love her greatly," Rohrer said.
"The other officer, who was seriously wounded, is still being treated," he said. "He is still in surgery. His family is with him."
The third officer, 28, suffered minor wounds and was treated on the scene, he said.
Police did not release the name of the officers involved pending notification of more family members. The name of the suspect was also not released.
Police spokeswoman Mary Ann Jennings said he was not carrying identification and was driving a stolen vehicle.
The suspect had attempted to take a pickup truck from a civilian but failed, she said. Minutes later, "he hijacked at gunpoint a van. That van was driven onto the parking lot at Sully station," she said.
The shootout began about 3:30 p.m. in the parking lot of the Sully District Station, in the country's westernmost district, said Rohrer.
The chief said the suspect drove up to the police station and opened fire, crouching between two vehicles. Police officers returned fire, he said.
Rohrer said that it wasn't clear whether police killed the suspect or he killed himself.
Rohrer said the gunman targeted the officers. Earlier reports that two gunmen were involved -- which had prompted a search of the area -- were erroneous, he said.
Jennings said the suspect carried a rifle and two handguns.
|
0.999878 |
Movie Plot/Storyline: The film begins with a disclaimer, stating that RETURN OF HANUMAN is not a sequel to any film made before. But is it really possible to watch the new experience forgetting all about the first part? As someone who thoroughly enjoyed HANUMAN, you expect an encore with RETURN OF HANUMAN, although the makers, for reasons best known to them, have decided to alienate the new film with the first animation film on Lord Hanuman. The makers may have their reasons, but for the viewer, the comparisons are inevitable. Write your own movie review of Return Of Hanuman Honestly speaking, one shouldn’t compare the two films for a very valid reason. While HANUMAN was a pure mythological film, RETURN OF HANUMAN merges mythology with the present-day kalyug ki duniya. In this film, there’s Gabbar Singh, plus voice-over clones of, hold your breath, Shah Rukh Khan, Sanjeev Kumar and Raaj Kumar. What’s more, Baby Hanuman handles a volley of bullets like Keanu Reeves handled them in the MATRIX series. RETURN.
|
0.99108 |
Born on the 17th of September, 1950, Narendra Damodardas Modi, commonly known simply as Narendra Modi is the 15th and the current prime minister of India. Before taking office as the prime minister of the country, he served as the leader of the Bharatiya Janta Party, and the chief minister for the state of Gujarat, for a period as long as 13 years, from 2001 to 2014.
From his initial journey in politics till his achievement of becoming the prime minister of India, Modi has come a long way, dealing with both appreciation and criticism and also creating a lot of controversy in reaching the position where he is today and everything else that followed after that.
Hailing from a poor background, he assisted his father in selling tea during his childhood and as a student, was quite average. His skills, however, his teachers described to be residing in the art of debating, oratory and public speaking.
At the tender age of eight, he came across the RSS party and from that time itself, developed a keen interest in the field of politics. Over the years, with his association with the BJP, he gained immense knowledge and experience in politics, and in the year 2001, when the state of Gujarat saw a deteriorating phase post the Bhuj earthquakes, the BJP presented Modi as the new candidate for the post of chief minister.
Despite his lack of much experience, Modi proved to be the perfect choice for the post and took oath as the chief minister of Gujarat on the 7th of October, 2001. During his tenure, the prime agendas that he focused on were small governments and privatization, which brought both criticism and accolades from fellow politicians.
His tenure also saw a lot of controversies, one of the most talked about of which was the 2002 Gujarat riots, where his government was accused for aggravating the violence, which were believed to be caused by the Muslims after a train full of Hindu pilgrims coming from Ayodhya was burnt and this led to an anti-Muslim violence wherein more than 2000 people were killed.
Modi took office as the 15th prime minister of India in 2014 after his party won the majority of votes in the Lok Sabha.
|
0.999999 |
What is Ed Hochuli's net worth? Ed Hochuli's net worth is $15 million dollars and salary per year of $70,000. Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Ed Hochuli grew up in Tuscon, Arizona. He excelled at multiple sports throughout high school, and attended the University of Texas at El Paso, where he played football and graduated with honors. He subsequently earned is law degree from the University of Arizona in the mid-70s. He began refereeing while in law school to earn extra money, and made the transition from high school games to college games in the mid-80s. In 1990, he was hired to work under renowned referee Howard Roe. In 1992, he got the chance to referee his first pro game. Since then, he has become one of the most popular and recognizable referees in NFL history. He has earned the nickname, "Hochules", due to his large biceps, and has his own line of merchandise. He has refereed for multiple Super Bowls and championship games, and has been chronicled on the NFL Network show, "Six Days to Sunday".
Edward G. Hochuli (born December 25, 1950) is an attorney for the firm of Jones, Skelton & Hochuli, P.L.C. since 1983, and has been an American football official in the National Football League (NFL) since the 1990 NFL season. His uniform number is 85. Prior to his officiating career, he played college football for four seasons at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP).
Hochuli is one of the most respected officials in the NFL, having worked numerous playoff games, including two Super Bowls. He is also known for his athletic physique and explanations on the football field. In a poll conducted by ESPN in 2008, Hochuli tied referee Mike Carey for "best referee" votes among NFL head coaches with eight. Beginning his twenty-second season in the league and twentieth as referee (crew chief) with the 2011 NFL season, Hochuli's officiating crew consists of umpire Rich Hall, head linesman Mark Hittner, line judge Adrian Hill, field judge Craig Wrolstad, side judge Ronald Torbert and back judge Don Carey.
|
0.999815 |
Vaccination has been a major advance for health care, allowing eradication or reduction of incidence and mortality of various infectious diseases. However, there are major pathogens, such as Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) or the causative agent of malaria, for which classical vaccination approaches have failed, therefore requiring new vaccination strategies. The development of new vaccine strategies relies on the ability to identify the challenges posed by these pathogens. Understanding the pathogenesis and correlates of protection for these diseases, our ability to accurately direct immune responses and to vaccinate specific populations are such examples of these roadblocks. In this respect, the use of a robust, cost-effective and predictive animal model that recapitulates features of both human infection and vaccination is currently a much-needed tool. We discuss here the major limitations faced by modern vaccinology and notably, the development of humanized mice for assessing the immune system, along with their potential as vaccine models.
One of the major advances in biomedical sciences resides in vaccination, which has allowed the eradication or the reduction of incidence and mortality of various infectious diseases . Smallpox eradication is one of the best examples of vaccine efficacy.
Various types of vaccines have been developed and applied in humans, and can be classified into two main groups . The first type of vaccine consists of live-attenuated pathogens, which have been used successfully against diseases such as smallpox, measles, polio and yellow fever. These vaccines mimic natural infection, but in a weakened non-pathogenic fashion. The second group comprises a wide range of vaccines, including inactivated toxins (diphtheria, tetanus), subunit preparations (hepatitis B), carbohydrate cocktails (pneumococcus) and conjugate vaccines (meningococcus, haemophilus influenza type B). In contrast with live-attenuated vaccines that confer lifelong memory, the second vaccination group usually requires adjuvants to enhance the induced immune response as well as boosting strategies that maintain protective immunity.
Despite this major step ahead for global public health and obvious benefits over the past century, vaccination faces new challenges amidst a world of quickly evolving pathogens. Specifically, classical vaccination approaches for many pathogens have failed because the capacity to generate fundamental knowledge regarding the pathogenesis of these infectious diseases and the ability to determine correlates of protection progress at a slower pace. Further, the capacity to direct the types of immune responses needed to confer protection through vaccination and to protect specific patient groups are affected by the relevance and/or lack of adequate animal models.
For a wide range of pathogens, classical vaccination approaches have achieved limited success. All of these pathogens failed in the vaccine development path for different reasons, which are addressed here.
High antigenic variability and immune evasion. Some viruses such as Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) are characterized by a high antigenic variability . Their high mutation rate allows them to evade immune responses by modifying their target immunogens during the course of infection. In addition to the high intraspecies variability, several subtypes of these pathogens co-exist, adding a layer of complexity to developing broadly effective vaccines. Such immune evasion is also a major problem for the development of a universal Influenza vaccine, where annual updating of the viral strains and targets in vaccines is required for seasonal vaccination. Similarly, malaria represents a complex hurdle for vaccination . At each step of the parasite’s complex life cycle, its morphology and expressed antigens change. When combined with allelic polymorphisms, these mutations allow the parasite to evade the host immune response.
Disease enhancement. Dengue virus (DENV) comprises 4 serotypes. After dengue infection, neutralizing antibodies are generated, conferring life long immunity against the infecting serotype. However, cross-reactive antibodies against other non-infecting serotypes are also generated and believed to increase the severity of subsequent infections by other dengue serotypes through antibody-dependent enhancement . One of the challenges facing the development of a vaccine against DENV will be to induce a protective antibody response against all four DENV serotypes. In addition, the protective immune responses should be durable and equally effective against all 4 dengue serotypes to avoid an incomplete immune response, which would further facilitate and enhance pathogenesis. The recent results of the phase IIb Sanofi tetravalent DENV vaccine highlighted this difficulty to induce such equally protective immunity against the 4 serotypes . This phenomenon was also observed for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in a human vaccination setting, where an incomplete immune response after vaccination lead to vaccine-mediated disease enhancement .
Time of the infection. RSV is one of the main causes of respiratory infection in infants and efficient vaccine against RSV represents an important yet unmet medical need. A major issue with RSV is its timing of infection, where infants in their first 6 months are at highest risk of severe RSV disease, during a period where the immune system is still immature . Inducing effective immune responses that will last in newborns is particularly challenging and may require maternal immunization strategies with mother-to-fetus transmission of protective antibodies.
Neglected tropical diseases. Viruses that are circulating in tropical regions and cause hemorrhagic fever, face a lack of interest in terms of an investment in vaccine development, which does not necessarily reflect an inability to elicit effective vaccine-induced immune responses . Indeed, for Junin virus (New World Arenavirus), a live-attenuated vaccine is used in Argentina, but this local vaccine has not been approved for use in other countries. Similarly, for the hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) caused by Old World Hantaviruses, a local vaccine used in Korea and China have reduced the number of HFRS cases since its implementation.
Whereas most successful vaccines have been developed empirically, there is now a need for understanding the pathogenesis of the infecting organism as well as the disease-specific mechanisms of protective immunity and immune evasion [2,9]. Most of the pathogens for which effective vaccines exist are characterized by a primary infection, which results in long-lasting resistance in the surviving host. As a consequence, vaccines were developed to induce an immune response that mimics the natural infection. Some pathogens that cause persistent infection and also promote the development of cancer, such as Hepatitis B and Papilloma viruses, can now be prevented by vaccines that deliver virus-like particles.
The induction by vaccines of antibodies that confer sterilizing protection against pathogens is usually defined in vaccination as the correlates of protection. However, for many diseases, we do not know which arms of the immune system are responsible for conferring protection, e.g. humoral versus cellular immunity, whether systemic or mucosal immunity should be induced for sterilizing protection. Parameters for the maintenance of protective immunity over years also have yet to be elucidated. In addition, for pathogens that do not induce robust resistance after primary natural infection, it is unclear how to confer sterilizing protection through vaccination. Systems biology approaches are one of the favored strategies used to decipher correlates of protection and predict vaccine efficacy [10-12]. Systems biology is a combination of omic technologies and computational tools that can be used to obtain quantitative, qualitative and integrated analyses at genomic, proteomic and cellular levels. This multiparametric approach helps define the innate signatures that are induced early after infection and/or vaccination and the subsequent adaptive response in humans, and as such gives a global picture of the complex interaction between the innate and adaptive arms of the immune system in one individual at a certain time. This has already been applied in the context of vaccinology studies against yellow fever and influenza .
Systems biology is a powerful tool to measure functional signatures of T cell and B cell responses and may shift the vaccinology dogma from correlates of protection as a single parameter important for vaccine efficacy to co-correlates of protection that combine multiple variables. In addition, not only the type of immune responses needed to confer protection has to be deciphered (correlates or co-correlates of protection), but also these correlates and co-correlates of protection have to be defined in particular populations, including newborn, infants, teenagers, adults, and the elderly; immunodeficient, pregnant individuals and individuals with autoimmune disease. Moreover, antigen design for avoiding immune escape is of importance, implying that balance between protective and enhancing epitopes should be defined as well as the mechanisms leading to the immunodominance of the irrelevant epitopes. The fields of antigen design benefits now from both reverse vaccinology and structural vaccinology. Reverse vaccinology, based on the sequencing of the genomes of pathogens, allows the in silico determination of putative candidate vaccine antigens that were not found by traditional methods. The recognized success of reverse vaccinology has been shown in obtaining an effective licensed vaccine against meningococcus type B . Structural vaccinology, based on information of the 3D structure of the HIV envelope protein, is another key component that may lead towards development of successful vaccines against this virus or similarly, RSV [14,15].
One of the main challenges in vaccination, knowing or not correlates of protection, is to direct the immune system toward responses that would confer protection. How can potent antibody response be induced? How can Th1/Th2/Th17 responses be balanced? How can mucosal immunity be induced? How can long-lasting memory cells be induced?
For example, potent broadly neutralizing antibodies against HIV proteins have been discovered but all of these antibodies exhibit a particularly high level of hypersomatic mutations , further complicating the task of generating high affinity antibodies through vaccination. What is clear is that innate immunity has a central role in programming the adaptive immune response and consequently the protective one. Manipulating innate immunity at different levels, as presented below, may thus impact the outcome of protection by vaccination.
Adjuvants. Adjuvants have multiple facets. They are used in non live-attenuated vaccines in order to improve vaccine efficacy through increased antibodies titers, CD4 T cell frequencies and/or enhanced duration of the vaccine-induced immune responses . They may influence the isotype class switching of antibodies and modulate the Th balance responses (Th1/Th2/Th17). In terms of vaccine manufacturing and large-scale production, use of adjuvants permits a reduction in the antigen dose and the number of doses required to provide protection. Few adjuvants are currently used in licensed vaccines, which are mainly added to enhance humoral immunity. However, a battery of new adjuvants is under preclinical or clinical development and testing . Identifying their precise mechanisms of action will allow us to gain additional information about safety and insight on how to shape the nature of immune responses and duration of memory responses. In addition, adjuvants may be combined in the same vaccine formulation to maximize immunogenicity.
Vectors. Numerous vectors, replication competent or incompetent, have been developed for vaccination and characterized in preclinical models and clinical trials [17,18]. They are able to induce cytotoxic T cell responses in addition to antibody responses. Depending on the infectious agent, one vector will be preferred to another according to nature of immune responses necessary for protection. However, one major constraint to overcome is the potential pre-existing immunity to some vectors, which may limit the induction of the desired immune response against a pathogen or even favor the replication of the pathogen targeted by the vaccine vector. This has been observed in the Merck STEP trial, where pre-existing immunity against the vector, a recombinant Adenovirus type 5, led to an increased incidence of HIV infection .
Route of vaccine administration. Intramuscular and subcutaneous vaccination routes are the main administration modes. However, antigen-presenting cells (APC) are poorly represented in the muscle and direct priming of T cells is impaired, as myocytes lack expression of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II and costimulatory molecules. Consequently, adjuvants are necessary to enhance APC activation and infiltration into and around the intramuscular vaccination site. In addition, these routes of immunization favor systemic immunity and not mucosal tissues-associated immune responses. This is of importance when the pathogen’s portal of entry is the mucosal tissue.
New strategies are being developed for an alternative mode of administration via mucosal tissues (intranasal, oral, sublinguinal, intrarectal and intravaginal) or cutaneous tissues (intradermal, transcutaneous, percutaneous). We have a special interest in the skin , since there is a higher density of APC is present in the skin epidermis (Langerhans cells) and dermis (dendritic cells). As APC are key players in the induction and shaping of immune responses, it is therefore tempting to use skin as a target organ for vaccination. Cutaneous vaccine immunization results in better antigen distribution and sustained APC recruitment into draining lymph nodes as compared to intramuscular administration. Consequently, the features of the generated immune response differ according to the administration route [21,22]. In addition, many studies in humans have demonstrated that intradermal (ID) vaccination induced immunogenicity similar to intramuscular administration but with smaller antigenic doses . However, at similar doses, a superior immunogenicity was observed in the elderly population after administration of an ID influenza vaccine .
Improved health care, with reduction of infant mortality and decreased mortality in older age, leads to increased life expectancy. This impacts vaccination campaigns, as new target groups such as the elderly population, who are more prone to develop infectious diseases, should be taken into account for new effective vaccination strategies. Indeed, senescence of the immune system in the elderly makes them more vulnerable to infections but also renders them less responsive to vaccination. Specific strategies to amplify the immune response, probably through combination of adjuvants, may be required. This should also take into account malnutrition and obesity, which may change outcomes of vaccination. Furthermore, there is more and more evidence of the impact of the microbiome on immunity and consequently on responses to vaccines.
In other specific groups of patients such as immunodeficient people or pregnant women, live-attenuated vaccines have to be avoided and switched toward the second group of vaccines, comprising inactivated, subunit, carbohydrates or conjugated vaccines. In addition, for some pathogens such as RSV, where protection in newborns is required shortly after birth, maternal immunization strategies have to be developed to compensate for the immaturity of the newborn immune system and the difficulty to generate potent immune responses at an early age.
Last, opponents of vaccination represent a growing group in developed countries. For example, measles outbreaks are more frequently observed; notably one case was documented in the USA that started from an unvaccinated child in an undervaccinated population . Strategies should be undertaken to improve the social acceptability of vaccines.
Which animal models should be used for preclinical vaccine development?
Preclinical vaccine development is limited by the lack of adequate animal models. Indeed, whereas mice have enormously contributed in understanding the immune system ontogeny and function, these animal models exhibit limitations for human vaccine development. Notably, the dose of antigen and adjuvants delivered are not representative of the corresponding human dose; the route of antigen administration varies between mice and humans as well as the expression of pattern recognition receptors important for adjuvant efficacy. In addition, no protection experiments can be performed with wild-type pathogens when dealing with strictly human-tropic pathogens, such as HIV and DENV.
Non-human primates and in particular, chimpanzees are another currently used preclinical model that have been essential for the development of several vaccines, including the hepatitis B one, but their elevated costs as well as their restriction of utilization, which are often due to ethical reasons, limits their large use. In addition, HIV vaccination studies have shown limitations of such models as different results were obtained in humans as compared to the preclinical assessment in monkeys. Indeed, SIV sequences are not as diverse as HIV sequences; restriction factors such as TRIM5α or the (absence of the) prevalence of some vaccine vectors in monkeys, such as adenoviruses, may impact the outcomes of the vaccine studies.
To overcome these limitations, efforts have been undertaken to generate adequate predictive animal preclinical models, easy to generate, cost-effective and allowing an in vivo approach of the human immune system. Such models would allow recapitulation of the characteristics of infection by human pathogens and modeling vaccination studies, consequently accelerating the transfer of vaccines as well as new therapeutics from preclinical to clinical stages.
The search for such models has intensified, resulting in the construction of mice humanized for the immune system (Human Immune System or HIS mice). These models mainly arise from the xenotransplantation of human hematopoietic cells and/or tissues, allowing the long-term establishment of components of human immunity in permissive immunodeficient mice. The generation of new immunodeficient mouse strains – in particular NOD/SCID/IL2Rγc -/- (NSG/NOG) and BALB/c Rag-/-IL2Rγc -/- (BRG) - has led to considerable improvements for acceptance of human xenofgrafts [26-30]. A single injection of human hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells allows the development, maturation and long-term maintenance of a multi-lineage human immune system, with all the major human hematopoietic cell populations found in the reconstituted HIS mice [26-30].
Interestingly, these HIS mice can be infected by human-specific lymphotropic pathogens targeting cells of the immune system such as HIV and DENV . HIS mice are attractive tools for investigating pathogenesis of some infectious diseases in a human setting, as well as new live-attenuated HIV vaccines . Several therapies have already been preclinically tested in these animal models and are mainly against HIV, such as microbicides or gene therapy [33,34]. However, induction of strong humoral and cellular immune responses in HIS mice still represents a major challenge. Human B and T cell responses remain suboptimal in HIS mice after immunization and are mostly detectable in infectious settings. Analysis of the antigen-specific B cell repertoire at the clonal level after commercial vaccine inoculation shows mainly an IgM response with a restricted level of somatic hypermutations . Human T cells generated in NSG-HIS mice are educated in the context of a murine thymus, thus restricted to mouse MHC molecules. After immunization of NSG-HIS mice, proper CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell interactions with human APC may therefore be impaired, which may in turn limit B cell responses and the establishment of an IgG antibody response . HIS mice transgenic for human MHC (HLA) class I and/or II molecules have therefore been generated and exhibit improved T cell functionality and improved IgG responses [37-39]. Nevertheless, further improvements are required to obtain strong adaptive immune responses. One potential strategy is to improve the density and/or functionality of human APC that are underrepresented in HIS mice. Supplementation of HIS mice with human cytokines implicated in the development and/or maturation of such cell compartments has demonstrated incremental optimization, further moving humanized mice towards valuable preclinical vaccine models [40,41]. Some vaccine strategies can already be tested in HIS mice, such as targeted vaccine delivery of Epstein-Barr virus nuclear antigen 1 to DC via the DEC205 receptor or DC immunotherapy . Although HIS mice may require some optimization for universal vaccine development and delivery, they already offer several possibilities for obtaining crucial information about the pathogenesis of some infections or the modulation of innate immunity by adjuvants.
Despite major advances in health care made through massive vaccine campaigns over the past century, the field of vaccination faces new challenges. However, identifying these challenges is already one big step. In addition, technological advances in vaccine discovery, reverse and structural vaccinology, systems biology and immune monitoring, together with the optimization of preclinical animal models such as HIS mice, should help us bridge the gap to designing a new range of vaccines against the causative agents of current infectious diseases.
M. Centlivre is supported by a FRM post-doctoral fellowship (SPF20121226281). The laboratory of B. Combadière is funded by the European commission FP7 CUTHIVAC program (241904) and by the Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale “Equipe”. We also thank members of COREVAC (Consortium of REsearch in VACcinology) for helpful discussion.
All authors contributed to conceive and write this manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
|
0.998211 |
Let’s stop feeding the world to sustainably stop hunger!
Stop Hunger is going beyond food aid in developing food self-sufficiency. This means encouraging capacities and opportunities for production and training for healthy eating and income.
Food self-sufficiency means to produce food for: oneself, one’s family and even, one’s community.
Food self-sufficiency is also a national-level issue when it comes to eliminating hunger in a country.
To be sustained, self-sufficiency is a question of education, training and resources, with priority to the women we support, as we are convinced of their considerable role to face hunger.
|
0.998551 |
What is happening in our society today?
The Democratic Party has a long tradition of fighting for the needs of the working class. In the early part of the 20th century, their platform was centered upon securing certain basic rights to workers, such as minimal safety requirements and a right to unionize. These movements were noble and desirable.
The working class needs a political voice, and the traditional platform of the Democratic Party was rooted in that belief.
However, the new campus left differs from that tradition in a variety of ways. Rather than merely fighting for the working class, the campus Left has adopted a radical version of communitarian egalitarianism as a kind of secular religion.
Disciplines like gender and ethnic studies put forth the notion that our incredible culture is the result of white-male oppression. They often promote radical political action – indicating the support for the presupposition that university education should above all foster political engagement of a particular kind.
These disciplines draw their philosophy from multiple sources, but all are heavily influenced by Marxist humanists. One such figure is Max Horkheimer, who developed critical theory in the 1930’s. Any brief summary of his ideas is bound to be oversimplified, but Horkheimer regarded himself as a Marxist, and he believed that Western principles of individual liberty or the free enterprise system were merely masks that served to disguise the true conditions of the West: inequality, dominance, and exploitation. He believed that intellectual activity should be devoted to social change, instead of mere understanding. Thus, Horkheimer and his associates aimed at a full-scale critique and transformation of Western Civilization.
Anyone with a brief understanding of the 20th century knows by now that when Marxism was put into practice, in the Soviet Union, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, and elsewhere, economic resources were brutally redistributed. Private property was abolished, and rural people forcibly collectivized. The result? Tens of millions of people died, while hundreds of millions more were subjected to oppression rivaling that still operative in North Korea, the last classic communist holdout. These economic systems were pathologically murderous, corrupt, and unsustainable. To give you an idea of just how unbelievably horrid the conditions in the Soviet Union were, the government had circulated posters around the country, reminding people to not eat their own children. You wouldn't think people would need to be reminded of that, but the utter catastrophe that followed the period of collectivization, and the resulting famines that caused thousands to starve to death, made it necessary.
In the early 1970’s, Alexsandr Solzhenitsyn published The Gulag Archipelago, an intellectual tour de force that demolished the moral credibility of communism to a greater degree than had ever been done before. He argued that the Soviet system could never have survived without tyranny and slave labor; that the seeds of its worst excesses were sowed during Lenin’s time; and that it was propped up by endless deceit, both individually and publicly. Its sins could not be blamed on a simple cult of personality, a result of some “bad people” who perverted the system for their own uses, as its supporters continued to claim. In painstaking detail, Solzhenitsyn documented the country’s extensive system of forced labor camps, its mistreatment of political prisoners, its corrupt legal system, and its mass murders. Moreover, he showed how these were not mere aberrations, but rather direct expressions of the system's underlying philosophy - Marxism.
By the time The Gulag Archipelago circulated in the West, no one could stand for the credibility of communism, not even the most devout communists themselves.
But that didn't mean that intellectuals’ fascination for Marxian ideas had disappeared. It merely transformed. Rather than denounce their worldview, those who held on to the utopian collectivist vision, particularly in France, developed a new philosophical movement – postmodernism. In a linguistic sleight-of-hand, Jacque Derrida and Michel Foucault, the main exponents of this new philosophy, substituted the idea of power for the idea of money. Society was no longer repression of the poor by the rich. It was oppression of everyone by the powerful.
According to Derrida, hierarchies emerged only to include the beneficiaries of that structure, and to exclude everyone else, who were therefore oppressed. In his view, hierarchies exist because those within it gain from oppressing those who are omitted.
He went further, with an even more radical line of thinking, and claimed that divisiveness and oppression were built right into language - build into the categories that we use to pragmatically simplify the world. There are “women” only because men gain by excluding them. There are “males and females” only because members that fall into those categories benefit by excluding the tiny minority of people whose biological sexuality is amorphous.
Derrida and Foucault put the very act of categorization itself in doubt. The philosophy negates the idea that distinctions might be drawn between things for any reasons other than power.
Epistemologically, they believe there are no such things as objective facts. There are no truths, only interpretations and “truth claims." Hierarchical position and reputation as a consequence of skill and competence? All definitions of skill and of competence are merely made up by those who wish to marginalize and oppress others while they benefit personally and selfishly.
To give the devil its due, there is some truth to their claims. Power is a fundamental motivational force. People compete tot rise to the top, and their place within a hierarchy matters. But the fact that power plays a role in human motivation does not mean it plays the only role, or even the primary role.
Hierarchies exist for many reasons – some arguably valid, some not. In societies that are well functioning – not in comparison to some hypothetical utopia, but contrasted with other existing or historical cultures - competence, not power, is a prime determiner of status.
Furthermore, hierarchies of competence are not only necessary, they are desirable. We need to know who the best doctors, lawyers, carpenters, plumbers, educators and thinkers are so that we can reward them so that they keep doing what they do. It's funny, even the most emphatic exponent of this equity driven doctrine will refuse the service of a surgeon with the best education, the best reputation and, perhaps, the highest earnings.
Of course, it is not unreasonable to note that the interests of power can bias conceptions or corrupt systems, and to warn against that. But that doesn't mean that humans are driven by power and power alone. Why insist upon it? Perhaps it’s this: if only power exists, then the use of power becomes fully justifiable. There is no bounding such use by evidence, method, logic, or coherence. That leaves opinion – and force – and the use of force, under such circumstances, in the service of that opinion.
Thus, the insane insistence by radical egalitarians that empathy and fairness should be the moral pinnacles of our society, for example, becomes understandable when its moral imperative is grasped – when its justification for force is understood: society must be altered, or bias eliminated, until all outcomes are equitable.
A term thrown around all to often on college campuses. Its made its resurgence so strongly in the last few years that I can hardly understand it. Equity means equality of outcome, contrasted with equality of opportunity.
Due to the nature of what Martin Hiedeggar called life's 'thrownness' , we all start in different places. Some people are burdened tremendously due to some socioeconomic, familial, or health related issues. Why is it fair that someone has to compete with people who "start the race" before them? Rather, we should meet people where they are: from each according to his ability, to each according to his need. Outcomes must be equalized, resources and opportunities distributed more equitably.
But the fact of the matter is that all outcomes cannot be equalized. First, outcomes must be measured. Comparing the salaries of people who occupy the same position is relatively straight forward. But there are other dimensions of comparison that are arguably equally relevant, such as tenure, promotion rate, and social influence. The introduction of the “equal pay for equal work” argument immediately complicated even salary comparison beyond practicality, for one simple reason: who decides what work is equal? Its not possible. That's why the marketplace exists, to distribute the decision to individuals so that they can determine what they deem fit. To think that a bureaucratic institution can make such a decision, we need only examine the issue for a moment to see how quickly it falls apart.
Consider disabilities. Disabled people should make as much as non-disabled people. Ok, on the surface that’s a noble, compassionate, and fair claim. But who is disabled? Is someone living with Alzheimer’s disabled? If not, why not? What about someone with a lower IQ? How about healthcare: who should receive healthcare, when, how, and by what process? Should a smoker who develops lung cancer be treated on the governments dollar? Should someone who develops liver disease through alcoholism, or diabetes from being overweight, or lung cancer from smoking get the same amount of care as a person who simply happened upon some misfortune? How do you make that kind of judgement call, at a bureaucratic level, to the degree that people feel their needs are sufficiently met? And it isn't only economic concerns that people have to deal with.
Some people clearly move through life markedly overburdened with problems that are beyond their control, but it is a rare person indeed who isn’t suffering from at least one serious catastrophe at any given time – particularly if you include their family into the equation.
And why shouldn't you? In fact, scholars now agree that children raised by two biological parents in a stable marriage do better than children in other family forms across a wide range of outcomes.
This is not to say that someones race or gender is unimportant. Of course these parts of our identities shape our experiences in part. But here lies the fundamental problem: group identity can be fractionated down to the level of the individual. Every person is unique, and not just in a trivial manner: importantly, significantly, and meaningfully unique. Group membership cannot capture that level of variability.
The welfare and happiness of millions cannot be measured on a single scale. The welfare of a people, like the happiness of a person, depends on a great number of things that can be provided in an infinite variety of combinations. It cannot be adequately expressed as a single end, but only as a hierarchy of ends, a comprehensive scale of values in which every need of every person is given its place.
To set a single aim - such as equity - and collectively work towards it presupposes the existence of a complete ethical code in which all the different human values and needs are allotted their due place. Although such a code may be desirable – the essential point is that no such complete ethical code exits.
Beware of single cause interpretations – and beware those who purvey them.
|
0.999718 |
on systems where Python 3 is default. Backward compability with Python 2 is preserved.
# which is only available in python 2.7.
- print "Error - no supported modules(DPDK driver) are loaded"
- print "Warning - no supported modules(DPDK driver) are loaded"
name = name.strip(":") + "_str"
- print "Error - Only one bind or unbind may be specified\n"
- print "Error: No action specified for devices. Please give a -b or -u option"
- print "Error: No devices specified."
|
0.974499 |
Is bar.exe safe or is this malware?
Be aware that many tasks will be similiar names to existing tasks or processes. You can always view the running tasks on your computer by pressing ctrl-alt-del to view the windows "task manager", and then view the "processes" tab. This will show you all tasks running or currently active on your PC. Although this shows you all running tasks, it does not show dll file thats are loaded, as they get loaded as part of other processes. Many spyware writers attempt to hide their files on your computer, for example, bar.exe may be intentionally misspelled to look like a similiar task, or spyware may be named very similiar to a Windows system task. The reason they do this is so you cannot easily recognize the name in your tasklist as I have mentioned above. Make sure always check the location of the file if you are concerned. You can always find the location of bar.exe on your computer by using your Windows search options, but I will also try to list the file location of every file described on this website, so you can verify the correct location. You can view the entire tasklist directory with the link below.
|
0.97645 |
Salamanders typically use a traveling wave of body curvature during swimming, and a standing wave during terrestrial stepping. This pattern is reflected in EMG recordings . A previous model of the salamander central pattern generator (CPG) reproduced these features by means of strong, extensive couplings from limb to axial oscillatory centers, such that limb centers, whenever active, would impose a standing wave of muscle activity in the trunk . However, recent observations have shown that traveling waves of activity in the trunk and limb activity can occur simultaneously, indicating that another mechanism for the generation of the standing wave pattern should be sought. A neuromechanical model of a salamander was used to investigate the possible role of muscle dynamics and sensory feedback in the shaping of the kinematic and CPG pattern. The model uses abstract oscillators for the CPG, a linear Hill model for the muscles, and local proprioceptive feedback.The parameter space was explored systematically in simulations. The walking trot was first simulated without sensory feedback, using a broad range of muscle elastic and damping properties and various muscle activation patterns. Two regions of the parameter space were found to give good locomotion performance: one, with a lower body stiffness, where the kinematics closely followed the muscle activation pattern, and another, with higher body stiffness, where the trunk kinematics approaches a standing wave in spite of a traveling wave of muscle activation (figure 1A). Using muscle parameters from the second region, the effect of local proprioceptive feedback on the CPG was explored with a broad range of ipsilateral and contralateral feedback strengths. A region was found where proprioceptive feedback has a strong modulatory effect on the CPG, leading to an activity pattern resembling a standing wave in the trunk (figure 1B). Proprioceptive feedback also appeared to have a stabilizing effect on the kinematics. The model was then used to simulate aquatic stepping, and could reproduce two important features of this gait: an intersegmental phase lag in between those of swimming and terrestrial stepping, and the presence of passive oscillations in the tail.
A) kinematics deviating from the EMG pattern in the trunk of an 8-joints model without feedback, illustrating the effect of muscle dynamics. The increased slope of the kinematic line corresponds to motion closer to a standing wave. B) modulation of the CPG by feedback in a 10-joints model (for increased granularity).
The model suggests that salamanders can modulate their intersegmental coordination by modulating the stiffness of their trunk musculature. Salamanders are known to stiffen their trunk during walking. In the model, such a stiffening leads to a shift in the kinematics away from the traveling wave pattern of swimming, towards the standing wave pattern of the walking trot. With local proprioceptive feedback, this shift can be reflected in the CPG.
|
0.943166 |
What is the traditional flag of Aromanians? Darko Gavrovski, our Secretary found it.
After many years of researching, Darko Gavrovski, Secretary of Eurominority found finally in 2004 the Aromanian flag in one old Aromanian Family in Macedonia, keeping from generation to generation.
This flag was presented on TV stations and it was declared as unique artifact, knowing that in many books they are saying that the Flag of this ethnicity is not existing. Darko Gavrovski, specialist of Balkan minorities presents it. He searched it a long time before he found it.
This flag was was used by Aromanian Nationalists (Chiopps, Torvlahs) since 1867, but invented by the Romanian State which considers itself as "Father" State of All Balkan Aromanians. So, it is not originately and traditionaly Aromanian. However many Aromanians have fight for their rights under this flag in this last 150 years.
I hope to see this flag on top of the city hall of Aminciu (Metsovo) soon!
It was a fascist creation by Alkiviadis Diamandis a fascist .
Dear Olvios. I'd rather say the Principality of Pindus was sustained by the help of fascist Italy. This alliance was coerced by the circumstances, as Allied Powers also pacted with Stalin.
Alcibiade Diamanadi was rather a traditional nationalist leader, than fascist. Among the other promient leaders of the principality maybe only Hatzi was convinced fascist. Nicholas Matoussi was an ex-communist, Julius Milvanyi de Cseszneg was an adventurer supported by Badoglio's antifascist government.
I have heard about Aromanian children who were punished for speaking Aromanian at school well into the 1970s and 1980s. Aromanians with such experiences usually maintain a strong antipathy towards the Greek policy and preserve, until today (especially in the Balkans and the diaspora), feelings of belonging to an Aromanian minority.
In the last few years optimistic activities for the preservation of Aromanian culture in Greece as well as serious indications for insufficient tolerance in Greece have increased. Demirtaş-Coşkun characterises the situation of the Vlach population in Greece as "the worst when compared with other countries". Claims that "the Vlach community wants to have education and church services in Vlach" and "Greece refuses to give the Vlachs any cultural rights", represent cultural demands made by the Aromanians of Greece. Aromanian is still learned today in the villages, but only within the families, never in associations or schools.
In the Balkans and the diaspora there are about ten Aromanian magazines, several homepages and radio stations using Aromanian, but none of them in Greece. A large part of the Aromanian community living in Greece is not interested in any initiative aimed at the preservation of the Aromanian language apart from its use in the family. Initiatives taken to protect the Aromanian culture are looked upon with mistrust (i.e. Minority Groups Research Centre, KEMO).
In Greece there is no newspaper using the Aromanian language. Finally, documentary films about Aromanians are very rare on Greek television; their language is never heard.
On 2nd February 2001, the trial of the Aromanian activist Sotiris Bletsas in Athens revived again the discussion about the Aromanians’ rights in Greece. Bletsas was accused of distributing maps printed by the European Bureau for Lesser Used Languages (EBLUL), which showed the minority languages in Greece, at a Vlach festival in 1995. On 18th December 2001 he was acquitted as innocent. Bletsas’ acquittal paved the way for the EBLUL meeting on 26th January 2002 in Salonika, which was arranged for representatives of the linguistic minorities of Greece. The 1st International Conference of the EBLUL has been held in Salonika on November 2002.
On 28th May 2002, an incident occurred at the Book Exhibition of Salonika involving around 100 right-wing greek militants who stormed the stands where publications from Balkan countries were being displayed. They exercised their own variety of censorship by removing and burning books from those Balkan countries, the content of which was considered by some persons to be insulting. A large number of these books were Vlach literature from the Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). Another example of insufficient tolerance is the publishing (or non-publishing) of books with Aromanian subjects. It is typical that most classical scientific literature on the Aromanians has yet to be translated into the Greek, whereas there are translations in nearly every other Balkan language. The Greek edition of M. D. Peyfuss’ thesis "Die Aromunische Frage" has to date not been possible although the translation has been finished for time. My own Greek translation of Gustav Weigand’s "Die Aromunen" has been edited and commented on in the most abominable way by the right-wing secretary of the "Information Center of Ethnic Problems," Achille Lazarou.
Egeturk, I believe that you must moderate your feelings towards the Greeks. We Westerners owe to them a lot, not only the word hypocrisy. But they are humans and make mistakes (do you remember the old "errare humanum est, perseverare diabolicum"?). Their mistake (in my opinion) with the Aromanians in the Pindus mountains is in believing that in the actual Western Europe they can maintain their old balkan policy of hellenization done since the XVIII century.
It would be much better for Greece to officially recognize the neolatin language of the Vlachs as a small patrimonium for Greece. Soon or later they are going to recognize their mistake and they will cleverly change their policy towards this little patrimonium that are now allowing to disappear. These aromanians in our days are only a few thousands and cannot create political problems. The Principality of Pindus is only history now.
We in Italy have calmed down, in this civilized way, the Austrians in AltoAdige/South Tyrol, the Spanish have done the same with the Catalans, the Belgians with the Flamings and Waloons (and so on and on in western europe), and all these people are hundred of thousands, not a few villages like the Vlachs.
The existence of Vlachs who want to maintain their language is well documented (go to my blog on Vlachs, if you want : brunodam.blog.kataweb.it/il_mio_weblog ) and I am going to insert your above excerpt from the book of Dr. Kahl in my june edition. I find it very interesting and well done, like your interventions in this topic (but not your provocative words against the Greeks).
Continua nel prossimo post "Assimilazione greca 6"
Follows in the next post "Greek assimilation 6"
Yes, Centurion, there it is a big problem with the Vlachs in northern Greece. I want to express my solidarity with the forumer "Vlach". I am shocked to discover what has been done and is being done to this neolatin community by the orthodox church and the greek authorities.
Without doubt it is a problem that must be solved by the European Union.
Serious argument and no data. Who is hypocrit calling others hypocrits?
You are the typical greek nationalist, flipper. You greeks write that "an advocate of Mr. Bletsas, Mr. Baltsiotis, a known activist for the aromanian minority in Greece, forced the situation - against Mr. Bletsas' expressed wishes - for a court case to take place.", but then forget that automatically you are naming another vlach activist, the lawyer Baltsiotis.
So Bletsas is not the only ulach fighting for the official recognition of the aromanian language and rights in Greece!!! There is even Baltsiotis.
And many others like the forumer Vlach. Every person with brain understand that the Principality of Pindus was backed by many groups of nationalistic Ulachs (some historians say as much as 5000!). And since there were no gulags and stalinist massacres in the 1945 Greece, many of these followers of Diamantis survived WWII and remained living in the Pindus mountains. Were are they now? The answer is simple and it is the same given in Ae topics by the forumers Vlach and Brunodam: most of them, with their descendants, are still living in the Metsovo area and the surrounding mountains (like even the historian Dr. Kahl wrote).
Then you greeks in this topic forget what your army did against the turkish people in the Izmir area in 1921, before our Kemal Ataturk defeated your army. We Turks still remember the massacres of our people, so don't blame HYPOCRITALLY the Germans,Italians and Bulgarians as the only ones who invaded and killed.
the word hypocrisy is an old greek word.
The Principality of Pindus was Backed by fascists.Vlachs in metsovo will cast anyone down a cliff if anyone calls them non Greek.
Answer: I want to use our turkish term for this balkan population, you like it or not.
2)You are the one to be cast down a cliff from the same vlachs you think are "endangered".
Answer: Typical example of HYPOCRITAL GREEK DEMOCRACY!
3)They dont want anything.Its you imaginative silly thoughts on what you would like it to be.
Answer: Tell that to Bletsa, his lawyer Baltsiotis, the forumer Vlach, the descendants of the follower of Diamantis still living in the Pindus mountains according to Dr. Kahl, the writers of the Armaneasca wikipedia, the aromanians of www.vlachophiles.com and of course all the not greek forumers of this topic who show solidarity to the forumer Vlach.
4)You show support to a fascist plan , You are a fascist like you are now.
Answer: Typical affirmation of an hypocrital greek! You write like a teenager with easy provocative phrases.
5)Diamantis didnt sire thousands of children.
Answer: What means 'sire'? Are you out of your mind?
You greeks write that "an advocate of Mr. Bletsas, Mr. Baltsiotis, a known activist for the aromanian minority in Greece, forced the situation - against Mr. Bletsas' expressed wishes - for a court case to take place.", but then forget that automatically you are naming another vlach activist, the lawyer Baltsiotis.
And many others like the forumer Vlach. Every person with brain understand that the Principality of Pindus was backed by many groups of nationalistic Ulachs (some historians say as much as 5000!). And since there were no gulags and stalinist massacres in the 1945 Greece, many of these followers of Diamantis survived WWII and remained living in the Pindus mountains. Were are they now? The answer is simple and it is the same given in Ae topics by the forumers Vlach and Brunodam: most of them, with their descendants, are still living in the Metsovo area and the surrounding mountains (like even the historian Dr. Kahl wrote), and they want their language officially recognized.
I see that not only Egeturk is too quick in generalizations and offenses.
Intimidation and repression of Aromanians by local Greek politicians, teachers, priests as well as the nationalist press in the period between the civil war and the military dictatorship has led to a tabooing of minority topics in Greece.
Continua nel prossimo post "Assimilazione greca 5"
Follows in the next post "Greek assimilation 5"
Continua dal precedente post "Assimilazione greca 2".
Bravo! Vlach, your finale is wonderful!
I agree totally with your points of view.
As written before, "...sincerely allow me to express my simpathy for the forumer 'Vlach'. From the reaction to his posts of the greek Yiannis, Spartakus and others I now understand why the Vlachs in the Pindus mountains have "fear" to express themselves in their neolatin language!..."
The European Union in 2007 allows every ethnic minority (EVEN IF MADE OF ONLY 3000 PERSONS!) to use the official language wanted. If there are members of this aromanian community (like Bletsas and Vlach and others) complaining about their rights, this means that evidently THERE IT IS A PROBLEM.
WOW. BY THE NUMBER OF GREEKS REACTING ANGRILY (OLVIOS-SPARTAKUS-AKRITAS-ANTIOXOS-GIANNIS-FLIPPER-LEONIDAS-YIANNIS-NEOPTOLEMOS), I UNDERSTAND THAT VLACH HAS CENTERED AND EXPOSED THE TRUTH VERY WELL IN THE TOPIC ABOUT THE AROMANIAN DISAPPEARANCE IN GREECE.
Vlachs cellebration outside the Greek parliament!!!
Vlach dance from the Kozani region in a documentary.
no counter points addressed to any of our own.
Leonidas did you read the many posts from Ulach in the topic Principality of Pindus? Did you read what was written by Brunodam, Arber Z, Cloedis and others in the closed forum on map of ulach areas? There are many substantiate statements and many counter points.
The problem is that "NATIONALISM IS ALWAYS THE SAME" and the nationalist greeks like you and your friends cannot open their eyes to a reality of "SUBTLE EXTERMINATION OF THE AROMANIANS IN GREECE" as our historian Hapiglotu has written.
Bravo to the Vlachs who still preserved their language which is not a "latinate" or "vlachika" but Armaneasta - Aromanian, - a derivate of latin (according to many, one of the closest to latin).
Express my solidarity to them and to the other "voiceless" people on the world, the ones who are ashamed or afraid to identify in their mother tongue.
And yes, I have visited Metcovo and Samarini. Go and ask those vlachs why they keep calling themselves Romeni - Romanians, in their farsarotul dialect. Why do they all lkeep the romanian flags in their houses? BTW, have you ever been there???
Continua dal precedente post "Assimilazione greca".
Originally posted by olviosI have not met one vlach that has told me that.If there are as you say and i dont doubt it then they can gather citizens with vlach ancestors or not that support their demand , talk to their elected officials and do it.
The problem is that to "gather citizens with vlach ancestros or not....and talk to their elected officials" will create a situation where these Aromanians will face harrassments in their lives with the greek authorities. And they all "fear" these kind of problems: all of them have seen what has happened to Bletsas.....and to others (less importantthan him) before!
I am a REAL Vlach !
Originally posted by akritasFinally also I have met Vlachs and NONE of them want GUIDERS as about theirs language.
Originally posted by Spartakus Nice argument! You drunk somebody and then you take his word for granted! First time in AE i hear that!
I read this argument differently -- there are some (how many?) Vlachs in Greece who want to be recognized as a minority. Some of them seem to be affraid due to possibility of bullying by the authorities.
Originally posted by AntonI read this argument differently -- there are some (how many?) Vlachs in Greece who want to be recognized as a minority. Some of them seem to be affraid due to possibility of bullying by the authorities.
Not only afraid, Anton. It is a matter of survival.
After WWII if you defend the Vlach independence -or even the simple right to speak the aromanian language- you are automatically associated with fascism and the defeated nazi germans. That is the usual "trick" used by the Greeks to assimilate this romance minority. And they get the approval and backing of the greek orthodox church in this "silent genocide", as a Turk writer has labeled this assimilation.
Ho letto un interessante dibattito su AE (www.AllEmpires.com) sull'assimilazione degli Aromuni in Grecia. Ne voglio riportare alcuni posts molto "infuocati" ed "infocati". Uno dei partecipanti (un turco di nome Egeturk) vi accusa i Greci di "ipocrisia" nei confronti dei Vlachs, per via della forma come vengono assimilati. Infatti Egeturk asserisce che i Greci (sia come governo, sia come chiesa ortodossa greca, sia come partiti nazionalisti greci) trattano bene solo gli Aromuni che diventano "ellenizzati", mentre incarcerano e perseguitano quelli che vogliono restare "veri" Vlachs ed usare la propria lingua neolatina. Inoltre, secondo Egeturk ed altri, attualmente i Greci negano finanche l'esistenza di questi Aromuni non ellenizzati e rifiutano anche l'evidenza di varie fonti in merito, come quelle relative ai discendenti dei seguaci di Alkibiades Diamantis, che creo' sotto il Fascismo il Principato del Pindo (nella Grecia occupata dall'Italia nel 1941-43) per salvaguardare l'etnia aromuna. Purtroppo il Forum e' in inglese.
How would a normal person want to learn the language and be proud of it, when at the same time every effort is done by the government to make it unimportant and a waste of time to learn it, as it is only just another Greek dialect on their formal argument!
It is brainwashing in the most inspicable way!
Terrible act that should be punished severely by the European Union and by the international court of justice!
claedy you should not be so biased.The government has nothing to do with the decline of the number of the native vlach speakers in the younger generations.I have vlach friends that speak fluently the language here in Greece.They learned the language from their grandparents as it was done since hundreds of years.But most of the young people of my age(i am 25) don't speak the language because they were not interested in learning the language from their grandparents or from their parents.The same thing happened not only with the vlach language but with other languages as well.How many young Greeks speak today the pontian dialect, which is derived from the ancietn greek dialects?Very few.Why is that?Because the young people have other priorities in their lives and don't pay so much attention to the past.As Leonidas said, this language shift is natural.And it is does not only happen in Greece.For example how many people in France speak today the occitan language or the breton language?
After three generations the average Greek American doesn't speak the greek language.The same possibly happens to the Greeks of Australia.This is not because the united states or Australia oppose to them speaking the language but primarily because the greeks there don't find it so practical to learn Greek.This language won't help their carreer or their finding a good job.
A vlach speaker who lives currently in a big city how often would he/she have the possibility to speak the language in everyday life?Seldom.
If you also take into consideration that many families have mixed origins and the father may be a vlach but the mother may be not then it is clear that the children don't learn the language because the mother doesn't speak it and the father is most of the time busy.You told me yourself that you come from such a family, that you have vlach roots but you don't speak the vlach language.
You are correct in almost all this comment, probably one of the best Greek comments regarding this matter, so well done in that respect!
However there is something which you either disregard on purpose or that maybe you can’t see or understand it to be important!
It is a un reversible mistake that the Wlach organisation decision to opposing the teaching of their very own Wlach language is understood to be their rite and a justified decision!
First of all such a decision makes no sense! The reason why it makes no sense it is because it is a self killing act!
When you kill yourself it could be that you have gone mad and you really want to kill yourself, but also that maybe others are putting an enormous pressure on you to do so!
This is no true Wlach decision but an ethnic Greek one!
Those people who have declared such shameful policy should be brought to justice.
The Greek government should be responsible and weight the situation well and give it so much importance as it deserves and why not even more!
The Greek government is solely responsible I repeat for the recognition, protection and promotion of the Wlach language and traditisions!
I am a Vlach, born in Metsovo. In the sixties my father was allowed to get the US visa residency and so, since the age of two, I moved from Epirus and I have been living in Florida (where I am now an american citizen).
Cultural minorities in Greece tread carefully when talk of language and art strays into the realm of cultural identity. For Greek nationalists and conservatives will not allow such talk, as Sotiris Bletsas has discovered to his cost.
On 19 September an Athens court will hear an appeal against a jail sentence handed down Greek Aromanian (Vlach) language activist Sotiris Bletsas earlier this year. His 'crime' - to be caught distributing an EU document that describes his fellow Aromanians as a Greek minority - in 1995.
His conviction triggered an international outcry and drew fresh attention to Greece's extraordinary obsession with Greek national identity and its near fear of potentially separatist minority groups.
Bletsas was sentenced to fifteen months in jail on 2 February and fined 500,000 drachmas ($1,400) for dissemination of "false information" under Article 191 of Greece's penal code. His 'crime' had been to seen distributing a publication from the European Union's semi-official European Bureau for Lesser Used Languages (EBLUL) unit at an Aromanian festival in July 1995.
The document made mention of minority languages in Greece - Aromanian, Arvanite, Macedonian, Pomak and Turkish - and those in other EU member states. Bletsas, a member of the Society for Aromanian Culture, was prosecuted following charges pressed by conservative New Democracy Deputy Eugene Haitidis.
According to Bletsas, the prosecution's witnesses included the Aromanian mayor of Prosotsani in northern Greece. The mayor reportedly considered the reference to Vlach as a "minority language" to be defamatory to the Aromanians. Bletsas appealed the sentence and was set free pending the appeal.
The collapse of the former Yugoslavia and the creation of the state of Macedonia (dubbed FYROM or Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in deference to acute Greek sensitivities) triggered a major upsurge in Greek nationalism. This nationalism was underpinned by a fear that separatist movements might develop in northern Greece, a nervousness that was strongly exploited by Greek conservative forces, primarily in the case of Macedonia, but also in the case of its Aromanian/Vlach minority.
The Society for Aromanian Culture has distributed a press release dated 10 March, which says that Aromanians have "a national conscience, a specificity as a people that speaks its own language, different from that of the other Balkan peoples, [which] has survived for two millenia."
A hearing was held on 3 July but a ruling was postponed to 19 September by the court because of the absence of all three prosecution witnesses: nationalist deputy Eugene Haitidis (New Democracy), who had pressed charges, and two Vlach personalities.
The defence insisted that the trial be held, as is possible in Greece, with the absent witnesses' testimonies in the previous trial read to the court. Defence witneses did turn up to the 3 July hearing, including a representative of the EBLUL team, Domenico Morelli from Italy, as well as party representatives from Greece's PASOK and the Coalition and Renewal Modernizing Movement.
However, the court's presiding judge said that one of the witnesses for the prosecution was not properly summoned; and noting the excuse given by one of the absent MPs - "social obligations" - he said he believed a postponement was unavoidable.
There was an international outcry after Bletsas' trial and an international campaign led by Greek Helsinki Monitor (GHM) in Athens.
The European Parliament's Green/Free Alliance group, Welsh MEP Eurig Wyn, and Basque MEP Gorka Knorr Borras, tabled a formal question to the EU' executive commission, asking asked if the EU considered that the sentence was "compatible with European values of freedom of expression and opinion and of cultural and linguistic diversity."
International critics of the judgement include the Norwegian Forum for Freedom of Expression (NFFE). In a statement its said it considers that Greece should respect the right of some Aromanians to feel they are a separate people and to want their language taught and preserved.
NFFE noted that Greece does respect - and in fact promotes - the right of other Aromanians to feel that they are part of the Greek nation and that their "idiom" (as some call their language) need not be taught and may die out with time. Both options emanate from the right to self-identification, which, said NFFE was only respected in Greece in the second case.
Naturally, programmes aimed at the preservation and development of Aromanian in Greece should not be impeded, but on the contrary encouraged, at least as long as there is sufficient demand for them. The NFFE believes the verdict to be obscurantist and a flagrant violation of freedom of expression. It asks for the verdict to be condemned and quashed at the next hearing on 19 September.
NFFE also asks that Greece abolish its intolerant policies towards minorities, acknowledge the presence of national and linguistic minorities, sign and ratify the European Charter on Regional or Minority Languages, ratify the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, which it signed in 1997, and introduce the teaching of those minority languages (Aromanian, Macedonian and Romani) for which there is sufficient demand expressed.
I want even write to Spartacus that there are many Vlachs in the area of Metsovo who want to have recognized oficially their romance language. I have been there (to meet my relatives) 3 years ago and I have seen the fear they have to express opinions against the ruling greeks and their "friends" hellenized aromanians (who get jobs and political influences refusing their romance language). If someone of my relatives disagrees in public with the greek point of view (that is identical to the one expressed by Spartacus and Yannis) he or she will comdemn himself/herself to a kind of life full of harassments by the authorities. Be sure of that.
It is not true that there are no Vlachs who want to use their language: for example, there were more than 3000 Vlachs in the legion of Diamantis during his Principality of Pindus (see the above map)...where are they now? My father was one of them (at the age of 18 he enrolled, but survived the end of WWII and the greek civil war maintaining a "low profile" with the greek authorities). My father was fascist then, but he changed his political opinion after WWII as did many of those in that legion (I too am not a fascist). Of course some hundreds died, but most of these legionaries are still living in the Epirus area: I know personally someone of them. And I can assure Spartacus and Yannis that they WANT the official recognition of their Vlach language, but they are a minority in the mountains of Epirus and don't want problems with the ruling greeks! Actually there are nearly 2000 survivors of that fascist legion in the Pindus area....and they have families (and sons and daughters) wanting their language officially recognized. BLETSAS IS ONLY THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG.
That fascist legion was promised a part of greece after the "victorious nazis" so you can understand that many vlachs see this minority stance as an insult and something that relates them to that event and they want to differentiate themselves from it.
So, Olvios, you admit that they exist. I have met many of them. And they all want their romance language officially recognized.
|
0.99861 |
The series follows the lives of five rookie cops from 15 Division who have just graduated from the academy.
It has been described as Grey's Anatomy in the world of rookie cops.
The series is set in Toronto.
It is the highest rated premiere for a Canwest-commissioned drama series within the previous five years.
Missy Peregrym portrays Andrea (“Andy”) McNally, the series protagonist. She is driven by the desire to do the right thing even if it means not following procedure.
The Canadian premiere drew an audience of 1.9 million viewers with 712,000 in the 18–49 category, placing first for the night and second for the week.
The first role cast was Andy McNally, portrayed by Missy Peregrym, followed by Gregory Smith cast as Dov Epstein.
In the U.S. the premiere drew 7.253 million viewers and an audience share in the 18–49 category of 2.0 out of 6.
The premiere became the most successful scripted summer debut in over a year and in nearly six years for ABC.
Andy studied sociology/psychology before becoming a cop and she was an A student.
is a Canadian police drama television series starring Missy Peregrym and Gregory Smith.
|
0.995645 |
What is it the debt ceiling?
The debt ceiling is a limit agreed on by Congress. It sets the maximum amount the government is authorized to borrow. Currently it is set at $14.3 trillion, the highest it has ever been. Reaching the limit affects the ability of the U.S. to continue to borrow money. Since 1993 Congress has raised the ceiling before the Treasury ran out of cash 16 times.
|
0.991752 |
What Is an Owner's Engineer?
An owner;s engineer may work closely with a construction project manager to ensure a facility is equipped adequately.
The owner's engineer can save owners money in the short and long term by making sure projects are performed to specifications and regulatory guidelines.
An owner's engineer is an engineer who represents the owner of a project during design, development, and construction to confirm that the work is done well and within legal standards.
The owner's engineer inspects the design plans, timelines, and other materials developed to support the project.
An owner's engineer is an engineer who represents the owner of a project during design, development, and construction to confirm that the work is done well and within legal standards. This third party is not involved in the design and construction project directly, but rather acts as an advocate for the owner to apply due diligence. Most owners do not have the engineering training and skills they need to monitor projects, and rely on the owner's engineer to perform this task for them.
Typically an entire engineering firm, rather than an an individual engineer, provides this service. Owner's engineers can include a team of people from different engineering specialties as well as support staff. They start work on the project as early as possible, usually during the design and development phase. In a meeting with the owners, they can discuss the scope and goals of the project, and define the needs that will be met, so they can keep this information in mind as the project moves forward.
The owner's engineer inspects the design plans, timelines, and other materials developed to support the project. If the engineer identifies flaws, these can be brought to the attention of the owner to discuss various ways for dealing with them. A flaw could be a legal concern, like a power plant that does not appear to have sufficient safety equipment, or a design consideration that could become an issue later. A facility might, for example, have a very inflexible design that would make it difficult to adapt, expand, or build upon later.
During construction, the owner's engineer makes regular site visits to monitor progress. The work includes inspections to make sure the stated plans are being followed and the workers are using the right materials. The owner's engineer can also check for site safety issues, design problems that may become apparent only during construction, and other matters. The engineer generates reports to allow the owner to monitor progress and intervene if it becomes necessary.
Site owners have a legal obligation to perform due diligence in many cases. The owner's engineer can save owners money in the short and long term by making sure projects are performed to specifications and within regulatory guidelines, with an eye to the possibility for future changes to regulations that might necessitate remodels and other adjustments. This work requires engineering training and continuing education to keep up with regulatory changes and evolving industry standards and practices.
What does a Quality Process Engineer do?
What does a Safety Engineer do?
|
0.990031 |
The University of Chicago is amongst the most prestigious universities in the world. Barely a century old, the schools of Jurisprudence and Business, as well as the departments of Economics, Sociology, Linguistics, Political Science (Committee on Social Thought), International Studies (Committee on International Relations), and Physics are considered among the best in the country. Persons affiliated with the University have obtained a total of seventy-five Nobel Prizes (the most by any institution in the world except Cambridge University).
Located eight miles south of the Loop in the Chicago neighborhood of Hyde Park, the U of C was founded in 1890 by John D. Rockefeller (of Standard Oil fame). The school was founded under Baptist auspices, but today lacks a sectarian affiliation. The school's traditions of rigorous scholarship were established by Presidents William Rainey Harper and Robert Maynard Hutchins.
The school's more important contributions to science include Robert Millikan's 1909 Oil-drop experiment, which determined the charge of the electron; the first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction, carried out by Enrico Fermi and his colleagues as part of the Manhattan Project on December 2, 1942; and the Miller-Urey experiment in 1953, considered to be the classic experiment on the origin of life.
The school is also known for its important contributions to modern sociology, economics, international relations, archaeology, philosophy, literary criticism, archeology, and paleontology. In many of these areas there developed in the latter half of the 20th century the "Chicago School of . . ." -- where many members of a department adopted a consistent and often radical approach to the study of each of these subjects. One of the great influences over many of the "Chicago Schools" was the neo-Aristotelian philosopher, Richard McKeon, whose intellectual rigor, in the context of the collegial atmosphere of the University that encouraged cross-departmental discussions, engendered a fresh look at the study of these subjects.
The university runs the largest university press in the country, which publishes The Chicago Manual of Style, the definitive guide to American English usage.
The school's sports teams are called the Maroons. They participate in the NCAA's Division III and in the University Athletic Association. At one time, the University of Chicago's football teams were among the best in the country, but the school, a founding member of the Big Ten Conference, de-emphasized varsity athletics in 1939. In 1935, Chicago's Jay Berwanger was the winner of the first-ever Heisman Trophy.
One of the more famous traditions of the university is the annual Scavenger Hunt, a multiple day event that pits teams (often composed of hundreds) against each other with the goal of getting all of the 300-plus items on the list. While items such as Michael Jordan have not appeared, in 1999 two students built a working nuclear reactor for Scavenger Hunt.
The University also operates a number of off-campus scientific research institutions, the best known of which is probably Fermilab, or the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, managed by the University of Chicago for the U.S. Department of Energy. The University also operates the Argonne National Laboratory, owns and operates Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay, Wisconsin, the Oriental Institute, and has a stake in Apache Point Observatory in Sunspot, New Mexico.
|
0.986929 |
Key difference: A raster images uses different colored pixels, which are arranged in a manner to display an image. A vector image is made up of paths, each with a mathematical formula, also known as a vector, which tells the path how the each part of the image is shaped and what color it is bordered with or filled by.
Raster and vector are two different ways to draw up computer graphics. The basic difference between raster and vector is that a raster image is made up of pixels, whereas a vector image is made up of paths. Raster images are produced by digital image capture devices, such as digital scanners or digital cameras, or by pixel editing programs, i.e. Adobe Photoshop. Vector images are typically generated using drawing or illustration programs, such as Adobe Illustrator.
A raster images uses different colored pixels, which are arranged in a manner to display an image. Raster images are more commonly called bitmap images. Examples of raster images include gif or jpeg. A vector image is made up of paths, each with a mathematical formula, also known as a vector, which tells the path how the each part of the image is shaped and what color it is bordered with or filled by. The data file for a vector image contains the points where the paths start and end, how much the paths curve, and the colors that either border or fill the paths. Vector images have an .eps file extension.
Raster images are mainly used for high density images, or images with many different colors, as each pixel can have a different color, which can be overlapped for different colors and shapes. A vector image is limited, as an image has to be looped and closed off before it can be filled with color. Vector images are mainly used for logos.
The advantage that vector images have over raster images is that vector images can be resized without any visible negative impacts. This is mainly due to the mathematical formulas, which allow the image to hold its form, as the formula dictates how the image is rendered. A raster image, on the other hand, is visibly pixilated when enhanced.
Vector images are often used for logos, letterheads, texts, and other designs, as it always the image to be resized without effecting its quality. Hence, the logo will look the same on a business card as it will on a billboard. Raster images are used for photographs and high colored images in web and print, as they are capable of displaying various different colors in a single image and allow for color editing in the image. Raster images display finer gradation in light and shading at the right resolution.
Another disadvantage of vector images is that they cannot be used in an electronic format; they must first be converted to a raster image. However, vector files do not support photographic imagery well and can often be problematic for cross-platform exchange. Still, conversion from vector to raster is easier, rather than the other way around, and since, text imaging and editing is very difficult in raster, it is easier to generate text as a vector image and then incorporate it into a raster image. This is an effective method as a raster image has a wider range of effects that can be applied to the images. However, a disadvantage of this method is that the final raster image will not be scalable and will be too pixilated to be used on various platforms, which means that the image would have to be edited or re-made for different formats and uses.
|
0.999977 |
1:45 AM high 6.0 ft.
8:21 AM low -0.7 ft.
3:28 PM high 4.6 ft.
8:17 PM low 2.4 ft.
How to reach: To reach the tidal bench marks, proceed west along U.S. Highway 101 in the direction of the Golden Gate Bridge, then NW along Crissey Field Avenue (before the bridge) to the Golden Gate National Park (Presidio). The bench marks are located mostly along the coast in the vicinity. The tide gauge is located on the NE side of the National Parks Service wharf.
|
0.892628 |
The Korea Republic national football team represents the Republic of Korea in international football competitions. The team, also known as South Korea, is recognized as Korea Republic by FIFA. It is often considered Asia's most successful national team, since it made its debut at the 1948 Summer Olympics.
Being a two-time straight AFC Asian Cup champion, South Korea has participated in seven World Cup final tournaments and became the first and only Asian team to reach the semi-finals, doing so when it co-hosted the 2002 FIFA World Cup with Japan. It recently qualified for its eighth World Cup final tournament, the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. It is the only Asian team to have qualified for the World Cup for seven times consecutively and currently holds the best FIFA World Cup record in Asia. They were the only unbeaten team during the AFC Qualification for the 2010 World Cup, and qualified with ease.
In the final round of South Africa 2010 World Cup qualifying, South Korea won the Group B with 16 points and qualified for the tournament finals.
South Korea's first match was another showdown with North Korea, whom they met in the previous qualifying round. For the third time in a row, the match ended in a draw. Hong Yong-Jo converted a penalty to put the North Koreans ahead in the 63rd minute, but Ki Sung-Yeung equalised five minutes later at a neutral venue in Shanghai.
In their second match, Korea Republic crushed the United Arab Emirates (UAE) 4-1 at home. The South Koreans took the lead in the 19th minute when Daegu FC's Lee took a pass from Lee Chung-Yong and deflected shot off a defender that flew over the shoulder of goalkeeper Majed Naser. Park doubled the scoreline six minutes later when he stole a ball from a defender and blasted a shot into the upper right corner of the net. The lone goal for the UAE came from second-half substitute Ismail Al Hammadi who took advantage of a defensive lapse to slide in a shot in the 71st minute. Lee then struck again nine minutes later and Kwak Tae-hwi had the final score.
South Korea scored a shock away win with a 2-0 defeat of Saudi Arabia, which was their first win against Saudi Arabia in 19 years. Lee Keun Ho scored the first goal in the 77th minute, rounding off a move that saw the ball passed all around the park before Saudi hopes were buried when AS Monaco striker Park Chu-Young rattled in a second one minute into injury time of the second-half after catching the hosts on the counter-attack. Their fourth match against Iran ended with a 1-1 draw at Tehran. Javad Nekounam, who plays for Spanish side Osasuna, sent more than 80,000 home fans wild when he fired home a close range free kick for Iran on the hour mark. However, Manchester United's Park Ji-Sung helped Korea Republic to a share of the spoils. Park pounced with a decisive header in the 81st minute when Iranian goalkeeper Mehdi Rahmati managed to only punch out an incoming free kick.
On June 6, 2009, South Korea qualified for their eighth World Cup finals by beating the UAE 2-0 in a home match. It is the seventh consecutive time that the South Koreans have qualified for the tournament. A few days later, South Korea drew 0-0 at home with Saudi Arabia, a team who at the time were still in the running for qualification. A 1-1 draw of their final match against Iran meant that South Korea was the only team unbeaten throughout the whole AFC qualifying campaign, with 7 wins and 7 draws in total. It also extended South Korea's unbeaten streak to 24 games, since losing to Peru by 0-1 in a friendly match on January 30, 2008. It also defeated Australia 3-1 in a friendly match soon after. They were currently undefeated for 27 matches but the record was currently broken by Serbia. South Korea dominated the Asian 2009/2010 award ceremony, winning national team of the year, coach of the year for the country's Huh Jung Moo and club of the year for the Pohang Steelers.
|
0.963891 |
It is quite interesting to see how widespread some languages are, with some having over a billion speakers while others are spoken by a single tribe. Languages have evolved due to the need for people to communicate and have likewise undergone changes over time.
The differences between are as little as the differences between English in Britain and in the US.
There is a rather peculiar case of languages in the former Yugoslavia, where governments have created four supposedly different languages out of one single language. The people of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia, and Montenegro all speak the same language, the Serbo-Croatian language, yet their respective governments claim that they speak Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian and Montenegrin. This would be the equivalent of Australians claiming that they speak Australian, Americans claiming that they speak American, and the British claiming that they speak British, despite all of them speaking English and perfectly understanding each other.
In reality, the differences between how people speak in the former Yugoslavia are as little as the differences between English in Britain and the United States. The only notable thing to mention is that Serbia and Montenegro have, in addition to the Latin alphabet, also the Cyrillic one, but apart from this, these four countries speak the same exact language. Nonetheless, their respective governments sought to courageously protect their people from not speaking a language named after their national identity.
Serbo-Croatian was created in 1850 in Vienna by mutual agreement from several scholars. Prior to that, the people of the Balkans all spoke some archaic form of Serbo-Croatian and while they could still understand each other, it was not standardized, and the majority of the people were illiterate so there were few traces of it in writing, too. Prominent linguists and writers such as Vuk Stefanović Karadžić and Ivan Mažuranić, among many others, got together to form a language by combining elements of all the forms of Serbo-Croatian that were being spoken at the time.
Their politicians stated that they can no longer speak the same language.
Despite some setbacks, it was soon accepted by the international community as well as at home, and it was the official language of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1918-1941) and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1945-1991), with another prominent reform of it being carried out in 1954 in Novi Sad. When the country disintegrated into a bloody civil war in 1991, one republic after another quickly began to rename the language to its own particular nation.
The most absurd political stunt with Serbo-Croatian has happened in Bosnia, where Serbs, Croats, and Bosniaks all live. However, all three sides fought against each other during the bloody civil war in the 90s, and, thus, their politicians stated that they can no longer speak the same language, with each group having renamed Serbo-Croatian to their own national group.
Croatia is the most adamant about keeping its language strictly Croatian, even having words which are commonly used in pop culture banned in schools because they are regarded as “Serbian.” Some Croatians even regard Vuk Stefanović Karadžić as one of the proponents of a Bigger Serbia, a fascist movement that is responsible for the genocide in Bosnia, despite the fact that Karadžić himself wanted to unite Serbs and Croats by having them speak the same language.
Ivo Andrić, who won the Nobel Prize in literature in 1961, was also banned in Croatia during the 1990s due to him being a Serb, despite never engaging in any nationalist rhetoric. Croatia is also not in favor of having any connections with Serbia due to the war, yet Ireland and England fought a war, and English is still the official language in Ireland. The same goes for the UK and the United States, yet Americans still speak English and not American. Algeria also has French as one of their languages in use, despite the bloody war for Algerian Independence in the 50s. There are numerous other examples.
This did not stop the Austrians from creating one of the greatest empires in Europe with its own distinct culture, despite speaking German.
The Cyrillic alphabet is another peculiarity and often used by Serbian nationalists to cry out against discrimination. Unlike its Russian counterpart, the letters in the Serbian Cyrillic are an exact match for the Latin alphabet and thus everything written in Cyrillic could easily be written again in Latin script, letter for letter. This means that Serbians are only keeping it there for the sake of “tradition.” There is no single rational explanation why the government ought to spend additional money to print every single road sign, every single administrative document, and many other things in both Cyrillic and Latin letters.
Being that the majority of books are written in Cyrillic, it is, of course, necessary that it should be taught in schools, but it is obsolete and used solely as a political tool. At the time of its invention, it was revolutionary, but languages, just like other things, develop and improve over time. Signs in Belgrade are written in Cyrillic and English, so a person visiting from Croatia, despite it technically being his mother language, has to read the signs in English.
When Montenegro declared independence in 2006, it also sought to have its own language – claiming that they cannot be an independent Montenegrin nation without having their own language. Yet this did not stop the Austrians, nor the Swiss, from creating some of greatest empires and countries in Europe with their own distinct cultures, despite their speaking German.
Among the ranks of generals in Yugoslavia during World War II, well over half were Montenegrins, and during the 19th century, some of the greatest literary works from the Balkans came from Montenegro. Somehow they mysteriously managed to achieve all of this without the official language being called Montenegrin, but rather Serbian or Serbo-Croatian instead. The demagogues sitting in Podgorica did not offer an answer to this mystery.
The government added 2 new letters to their alphabet, with one of them not even being used in everyday conversation.
When the government created the first Grammar Book of the Montenegrin language, it became a laughing stock on the internet with many Montenegrins having no idea what some of the words even meant. The government likewise added two new letters to their alphabet, with one of them not even being used in everyday conversation.
A rational solution would be to call the language the Yugoslav language as it is the language of the Southern Slavs (jug = south). However, this would signal cooperation, and demagogues in the region win votes by blaming the other side for their troubles. Another rational solution would be to restrict the use of the Cyrillic alphabet to schools as it is obsolete and thus save tax money by not having to print out everything twice.
However, this would also not allow Serbian politicians to cry out against supposed unfair treatment when people living in Vukovar, a town where Serbian nationalists massacred over 200 civilians in one night in 1991, refuse to put up signs in Cyrillic.
Luka Nikolic is a Master’s student at the University of Ljubljana. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business and Economics from the same University and his main interests are economics, politics, and finance. He was born in 1995 in Subotica, Serbia and is looking to pursue a career in investment banking.
|
0.999963 |
The following events and venues match your search for "Radio-City-Christmas-Spectacular". To sort the list, click on the column header. To find tickets for the given event, date & time, click the tickets link in that row. To find events taking place at a matching venue, click that venue name.
|
0.999869 |
Do you know the three home appliances that use the most electricity? Most people don’t have much of an idea, so I thought I’d shed some light. Here are the appliances that use LARGE amounts of electricity and are expensive to run… 1. Fridge Freezers 2. Electric Hobs 3. Tumble Dryers And the appliances that come out cheapest? 1. Microwave Ovens 2. 'A Rated' Washing Machines 3. Gas Ovens With energy bills rising all the time, it’s important that you know the home appliances that use the most electricty and the ones that are costing you the most.
|
0.999806 |
Consider the data which is given in the question.
is the population of the fish.
is the carrying capacity before Catastrophe.
is the carrying capacity after Catastrophe.
The objective is to graph the “before-and-after “curve that tells how population of fish reacts to the change in environment.
|
0.999966 |
Joints, what to do without them? They help you in bending, twisting and moving in all direction so that we can live enjoyably doing different activities like dancing, rock climbing and many more. So in case, the joints are damaged due to any reason like illness injury or any kind of pain. We always try to find solutions.
They also provide you with great discomfort and cause restrictions on joints and thus we are not able to perform many activities that we love so much. The damage of joints is due to many reasons. For example: Osteoarthritis, gout, bursitis, sprains and many more.
Joint pain is affecting many people almost every third adult is affected by the joint pain. The pain grew worse as the people grow.
Cartilage is said to be one of the most important parts of the human body, it is known as a connective tissue that is present in all the regions of the human body. There are times these cartilages get damage and this lead to inflammation, stiffness, and pain. This leads to osteoarthritis this can be classified as one of the most common types of arthritis that can be seen in a human.
Therefore people should eat healthy food so that the cartilage can easily be rebuilt easily in case it is being damaged accidentally.
The knee has the largest joint in the human body, it made with up to the femur at the lower and at the end of the thighbone.
Knee stabilizer- there is various essential stabilizers for keeping your keens strong and healthy. Some of the essentials stabilizers include: The iliotibial band, a thick tissue that is running from the pelvis to the outside knee which helps you in good functioning of the knee during the physical activity.
Exercise and diet- the knees are supported by quadriceps, hamstrings and muscles and the cartilages so, to ensure that the elements are functioning properly so that the injuries can easily be avoided. So it is best to go enough exercise and have a well-balanced diet. This will help you in keeping your body weight stable and keep your calories stable. This will help you in protecting your knees and other things that surround them.
Avoid inflammatory food- the cartilages that are surrounding the knee area are vulnerable to overuse. So eating the proper foods can help you in building the strong cartilages and will also protect your joints. So if you want to have the good health for the person, then one can easily overcome the over emphasize of inflammatory food so that your knees stay supple, strong and resistant.
The most inflammatory foods is the one that is highly processed, they are fast food, and gluten based food, these are found in snack food. So make sure that you avoid having sugary food, cow milk and dairy products this can help you in reducing inflammation.
Lower cooking temperature – high temperature is also the cause of high inflammation caused in the body. The compound of inflammation is produced due to excess heat. This is mainly due to grilling and roasting meat. Gentler cooking is said to be the best alternative, rather than poaching and slow baking.
Winter squash – Winter squash are available to you in various shapes and colors. Common names for various squash are butternut squash, acorn squash, pumpkin, and jack –o-pumpkin. The butternuts have great taste when they are roasted or pureed in a soup. This soup is said to be very delicious when they are baked with brown sugar and butter.
Winter squashes are said to be high in vitamin A and C, this provides you with great beneficial antioxidants. These help you in fighting against the damages that are being caused in the human body. Antioxidant helps you in fighting from oxidative that occur in your body. They help you in supplementing your joints and keep them healthy and strong.
Dark, leafy greens – dark green leafy are said to be very amazing and have extra virgin olive oil and garlic. Buy dark greens that you like, these include fresh kale, chard, beet greens and many more. Greens are said to be the best in eggs dishes that can easily be taken for breakfast and brunch.
Know why to have dark and green leafy vegetables. These green leave have tons of essentials vitamins and minerals. This also helps you in managing weight and also has a low glycemic index. This also helps you in reducing the risk of cancer and heart disease. They are said to be the perfect ingredient for joint.
There are vital nutrients present in green leafy vegetable this included vitamin C, K, and A. they have iron, magnesium, and calcium. Calcium and magnesium are said to be the best for strong bones. Antioxidants are known to be the best and are known for combat oxidant and damage. The causes of these inflammations are due to aging through the body and because of your joints. The nutrients in these dark leafy are the best for healthy joints.
Olive oil– things will automatically taste good in case they are being added with olive oil. It tastes of olive oil is very wonderful when eaten with multigrain bread. One can pure oil in small bowl and chopped with fresh herbs. You can easily dunk your bread and then enjoy.
Cooking food with olive oil will help you in enhancing the flavor of the vegetable. Sauté the garlic slice and then add the virgin olive oil to it, add the wet chopped greens and cover it with the lid. When they wilt they are ready for the people to eat. Add the salt as per your taste and pepper and can easily have a delicious side of dish that will help you in having healthy joints.
Turkey- turkey is gaining great popularity and is said to be the excellent source of proteins. They play a great role in the functioning and the repairing of the muscles. They are said to be very essential for joint health. There are many other benefits of turkey as well. They will help you with sleeping and improve your mood.
Skinless white turkey is said to be excellent they are very low in fat and have low cholesterol as well. it is also known as a substitute for many meat recipes, this helps you in making other recopies like a burger, foodstuffs that include chili. This will help you in lighting the dish and provides you with the great way to maintain your weight for keeping the pressure away from your joints.
Citrus fruit- winter is known as a season of citrus, they are said to be very important when the other fruits are out of season. Grapes, orange, pomelos, tangelos, lemon are known as the most popular citrus fruits. They are primarily known for their vitamin C, calcium, folate, niacin, magnesium and copper. A orange is said to have 170 different phytonutrients.
So here is one delicious recipe made using two of our 5 foods that will make your joints healthy.
The soup is being loaded with various vitamins and is said to be low in fat. There are many ways to improve the health when you are exploring the joints friendly food and dishes that will help them in making them strong.
⦁ 1 lg of butter, peeled, seeded, and chopped them large chunks.
⦁ 1 lg onion fully chopped.
Put the fully chopped onion in a large pot till they are soft and golden, after that add squash cubes, 1 cup of cider and vegetable- and chicken broth, shimmer and cover it with lid. Cook till the time squash is soft poor it in a blender or a food processor in batches.
Then come back to the pot and then add more apple cider to it according to the thickness that is desired. Then season it with salt and paper and then serve your dish.
Many fresh fruits and green leafy greens will help you in getting relief of joint pain. They help you in supplying water that helps in keeping your muscles hydrated. These are fruits that are full of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory. Some of the benefits of the plants are only available when they are eaten raw.
I hope you liked this article and give a comment if it helped you somehow.
|
0.998647 |
How do we come up with an accurate plan that will hold, when we KNOW we are going to have resource issues along the way?
Resource unavailability is such a common problem for creating and meeting a schedule. There is unfortunately no silver bullet. What matters up front is conveying what's truly needed and what could go wrong if those resources are NOT made and kept available.
Use planning work and communication to show what very specifically what resources (people, equipment, lab time, etc.) you need and when.
Use risk analysis to communicate what could happen if you do NOT get these resources at the right time.
Show project alternatives: For example, "If we get X resources in this area with this timing, we could add an extra month to the schedule." For critical issues, "If we do not get these resources, this plan is NOT doable."
Your first goal should be to get to a realistic plan based on the real resource availability, starting at the very beginning of the project. Getting and maintaining commitment requires an early and ongoing communication and influence process to get those resources committed, and convey the consequences if resources aren't committed or issues if resources vanish later in the project.
For example: In the concept phase or initiation phase of a project, you start to get an idea of what types and numbers of functional people you might need during different parts of the project. Start communicating those insights immediately, and let other functional managers know what resources the project will require.
During planning work you will continue to identify necessary resources. It's best to find these needs systematically, by identifying resources for each aspect of the Work Breakdown Structure or task list. This provides an accurate "bottoms up" estimate. Then, summarize those numbers to show the amount of resources you need from each group over time.
Finally, include representatives from functional areas where you typically lose resources during a project, or where you expect to lose them during this one. Use the same techniques just described to point out potential inaccuracies in your schedule due to anticipated resource issues.
The practical key is to expect to have to be relentless in your ongoing communication about resource needs, and what the impacts will be if you don't get those resources at the right time. You may even have to "stomp your feet" and dig in if your feel that a resource shortfall truly threatens the project's goals. And if you're not sure yet but think it could be a threat, be very articulate in your risk statements.
NOTE: One key aspect of successful resource communication is to phrase things objectively and specifically. "We don't have enough resources" may be seen as generalized whining. No one has enough resources! I've heard executives say, "Oh everybody always complains that we don't have enough resources. Get over it. We just have to get it done." In addition, a general statement is not actionable.
Be ready to show specific areas of resource shortfall or looming risk. Find past projects that suffered from this specific resource scenario and refer to the problems caused for those projects. Remind everyone of the project's Late Cost Per Week. Get as specific as possible, and make your requests as specific as possible, down to the people and the points in time. Instead of "We're short QA resources," say "We need 2 senior QA resources for two weeks right here or else (risk/consequence)." That's small, specific, and actionable.
|
0.99995 |
If you’re currently leading a team of people or are about to become a leader, I have learned five things that you should seriously take into consideration. For those already managing and leading a team of employees, it’s never too late to review some aspects of your leadership skills.
Nobody’s perfect and becoming a strong leader is something you can learn and even improve if you think that you’re lacking in certain areas. As in many other roles in the corporate world, a leadership role is a never ending process of self analysis and self improvement.
While opinions do vary regarding the role of a leader in a company or within a hierarchical system, several studies have shown that the main qualities a strong leader should possess aren’t the stereotypical ones we see almost everywhere.
Leaders that empower others are much more preferred and therefore are more successful than those who believe that leading simply means exercising power over those below you.
Here is the list of the five most important leadership qualities any good leader should possess.
1. Serve as a role model and lead as you want your leader to be: The first real thing that differentiates a good leader from a bad one is how they understand the concept of leadership itself, and how they use it to benefit the company as well as the employees. As a leader, your role is to lead a team of people to achieve results that will ultimately enhance and better the company.
So, how do you accomplish this? Simply by empowering, trusting and setting examples instead of showing and using the power you have acquired for your own gain, and to please your ego. It’s probably a little harsh to hear but it’s a truth.
A good leader should be a role model for the rest of team. Maybe it’s even easier to think of it this way; achieving success as a leader will only happen when you manage to lead as you would like your leader to be. In other words, be the leader you would want to lead you.
2. Working the hardest to set the example: Being a leader doesn’t exonerate you from hard work. In fact, it’s the opposite. Successful leaders, whether they run international corporations or smaller firms have to understand this concept which is the importance of working the hardest to set an example. A team will only recognize a good leader who’s willing to work the hardest and set the example by raising the bar as high as possible.
The time when bosses and superiors were sitting comfortably in their offices barking orders, making negative comments, mostly and resting on their laurels should be a thing of the past. When you think of it with an open mind, it’s simple and logical.
How can a leader expect the best from his own team or co-workers if he doesn’t show the example himself? Being in charge still brings in nice perks, such as some flexible time when needed for instance, but it also gives you the very important duty to work as hard as possible alongside your team.
3. Putting your employees first in all circumstances: Leaders do have to make decisions all the time. Good leaders will try and consider the well-being of the company, as well as that of the employees. While this is clearly not an easy task to do—indeed, so many different factors can affect the running of a company—a responsible leader will look for decisions that will benefit both the company and the employees.
One very important thing to remember is that a company is nothing without its workforce, whoever they are, and so, when faced with a hard decision, a good general manager for instance with a good understanding of human resources won’t hesitate to put his or her people first.
Again, decisions can be hard to make but compromises do exist and one of the top 5 leadership skills a good leader should possess is the ability of being able to value the employees as much as the company itself.
4. Expressing yourself the right way: It’s sometimes difficult for leaders to accept that they are filling a role that requires certain skills they may not yet possess. We all express ourselves differently but when it comes to talking to employees for instance, it’s best to adopt a style that may differ from the one you use outside of the workplace.
First of all, paying close attention to what your employees are telling you is probably what’s most important when it comes to honing your communication skills. By listening carefully instead of rushing, and maybe hearing only what you really want to hear, your answer will be much more adapted to your employees’ needs, appreciations or questions.
The second most important thing to learn is to always get straight to the point. There is no need to engage in a long-winded conversation, which in the end may lead you to say things you had no intention of saying, initially.
Listening carefully and making sure that the answer you provide is clear, polite and straight to the point will not only prove effective, but will also show that as a leader, you know what you’re talking about and what you really want.
5. Do exactly as you say and mean what you say: It’s sometimes difficult to keep promises made to employees, and we all know that disappointed staff members do not make good employees.
While there is nothing wrong with promises, and if you want to be a really good leader, you must always think thoroughly before committing yourself to something that may be impossible to keep later on.
Forecasting big business results or any other great business venture for instance is always enticing, and employees will respond positively but when the results aren’t there in end, you will most certainly lose your credibility. The golden rule here is to only commit to what you can deliver and this applies to all areas of your business.
There is always a learning curve when you take on leadership roles but when you know exactly that what you’ve said and announced to your employees is what you really mean, there will be no nasty surprises, disappointments and your leadership skills will remain intact, whatever the circumstances.
r own benefits, the benefit of your team or co-workers, and that of your company.
In conclusion, no one is perfect and neither is their leadership style or ability. If we remember that as leaders we must lead by learning, and we must continually focus on bettering ourselves. We should truly lead with a style of graciousness and humility, and show our strength only when needed. This will improve productivity, morale, and make you an all around better leader.
Next articleHow to choose the right chartered accountant for your business?
|
0.960367 |
who study magic and have access to a magical world. London had optioned the novel, which was published in 2009, while 21 Laps/Adelstein had a deal with Miller and Stentz, who have extensive TV background having worked on such series as Fringe and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. All joined forces on the series project, which will be executive produced by Miller, Stentz, London, Levy, Adelstein and Becky Clements. Following the success of The Magicians, Grossman wrote a sequel, The Magician King, which was published in August.
Contemporary dramas with fairytale elements are hot for a second consecutive broadcast development season.
|
0.970079 |
Iceland, described as the Republic of Iceland is a European island country in the north Atlantic Ocean on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. It has a population of about 320,000 and a total area of 103,000 km2 (39,769 sq mi). The capital and the largest city is Reykjavík, with the surrounding areas in the southwestern region of the country being home to two-thirds of the national population. Iceland is volcanically and geologically active. The interior mainly consists of a plateau characterised by sand fields, mountains and glaciers, while many glacial rivers flow to the sea through the lowlands. Iceland is warmed by the Gulf Stream and has a temperate climate despite a high latitude just outside the Arctic Circle.
According to Landnámabók, the settlement of Iceland began in AD 874 when the Norwegian chieftain Ingólfr Arnarson became the first permanent Norwegian settler on the island. Others had visited the island earlier and stayed over winter. Over the following centuries, Norsemen settled in Iceland, and they brought in people of Gaelic origin as slaves. From 1262 to 1918 Iceland was part of the Norwegian and later the Danish monarchies. Until the 20th century, the Icelandic population relied largely on fisheries and agriculture. In 1994, the nation became party to an agreement that established the European Economic Area, thus allowing it to diversify from fishing to economic and financial services.
Iceland has a free market economy with relatively low taxes compared to other OECD countries, while maintaining a Nordic welfare system providing universal health care and tertiary education for its citizens. In recent years, Iceland has been one of the wealthiest and most developed nations in the world. In 2010, it was ranked as the 17th most developed country in the world by the United Nations' Human Development Index, and the fourth most productive country per capita. In 2008, political unrest occurred as the nation's banking system systematically failed.
Icelandic culture is founded upon the nation's Norse heritage. Most Icelanders are descendants of Norse (particularly from Western Norway) and Gaelic settlers. Icelandic, a North Germanic language, is closely related to Faroese and some West Norwegian dialects. The country's cultural heritage includes traditional Icelandic cuisine, poetry, and the medieval Icelanders' sagas. Currently, Iceland has the smallest population among NATO members and is the only one with no standing army. According to Freedom of the Press, Iceland has one of the freest presses in the world.
|
0.54491 |
Lockheed began working on a new civil airline in 1938. The original Model 44 Excalibur would have been able to carry 21 passengers at a top speed of 241mph. The company took this to Pan American, who wanted a larger aircraft, and the Model 44 eventually evolved into a 40 passenger aircraft capable of 300mph. However in 1939 Howard Hughes of TWA approached Lockheed to discuss the possibility of them producing a pressurized aircraft capable of non-stop flight across the continental US, with a speed of over 250mph at 20,000ft and a payload of 6,000lb. Lockheed dropped the Model 44 and replaced it with the Model 49 Excalibur A, soon to be renamed the Constellation.
The Model 49 was a four engined low winged monoplane. The fuselage had a circular cross section and could be pressured at 8,000ft at up to 20,000ft. It had nose wheel landing gear, and a three rudder tail. Fuel tanks were built into the wings, which had Fowler flaps. It could carry 44 passengers in rows of four, two on each side of a centre aisle, or 20 passengers in the sleeper version. Two versions were proposed - the Model 049-16-01 with Pratt & Whitney Double Wasp engines or the Model 49-99-01 with Wright Double Cyclone engines. Both versions had an estimated top speed of 360mph and would cruise at 20,000ft.
Early in 1940 Howard Hughes's TWA placed an order for nine Constellations, later increased to forty aircraft. Pan American ordered forty aircraft and another four were sold, for a total of 84 initial orders.
Work on these first aircraft was underway when American entered the Second World War, and all construction of civil aircraft was cancelled. On 20 September 1942 Lockheed were given permission to complete the first nine aircraft from the TWA order as the C-69-LO. On 29 September 1942 an order was placed for 180 aircraft with full military equipment, and eventually 313 C-69s were ordered. However only fifteen of C-69s were actually delivered, including the prototype.
The first prototype, with four 2,200hp Wright R-3350-35s made its maiden flight on 9 January 1943, with Eddie Allen, (the Boeing test pilot) and Milo Burcham (P-38 Lightning test pilot) sharing the piloting duties. Each flew three times during the day, and the aircraft then went to the USAAF base at Muruc Dry Lake (Edwards Airforce Base). This aircraft was officially accepted by the USAAF in July 1943 but then went back to Lockheed for more tests. On 17 April 1944 it was flown back to the Air Force with Howard Hughes himself at the controls. After more test it was converted into the XC-69E, with 2,100hp Pratt & Whitney R-2800-83 engines. It was then sold to Hughes Aircraft, but in the 1950s was bought back by Lockheed and used as the prototype for the Super Constellation.
Those C-69s that were delivered in 1944-45 entered service with the Air Transport Command, where they performed well. The type's first transatlantic flight came in August 1945, when one reached Paris from New York in 14 hours 12 minutes. However after the war the Air Force decided to standardize on the Douglas C-54 and twelve of the fifteen C-69s were sold as surplus.
After the war Lockheed decided to finish the many incomplete C-69s on their production lines as a civil airliner, the Model 059 Constellation. The first of these aircraft entered civil service on 6 February 1946, and gave Lockheed time to develop the improved Model L-649, which made its maiden flight on 19 October 1946. This was followed by the L-749 of 1947, which carried more fuel and was designed as an intercontinental airliner. This was ordered in small numbers by the USAAF as the C-121.
This was the designation given to the original nine TWA aircraft when taken over by the USAAF and to five aircraft from the military order. They were all powered by four 2,200hp eighteen cylinder Wright R-3350-35 engines. They had 44 seats on the starboard side of the cabin and four folding benches on the port side and two toilets. Most were quickly sold off as surplus, but the few that were still in USAF service in 1948 became the ZC-69-LO.
The C-69A would have been a 100 seat troop transport, with R-3350 engines and rifle firing ports in the windows, a rather odd feature. None were built.
The C-69B was a design for a long range troop transport with more fuel capacity, but none were built and the contract was cancelled on VJ-Day.
The C-69C-1-LO was the final aircraft to be accepted, and was a VIP transport version with 42 seats. It would have become the Presidential aircraft if Tom Dewey had won the 1948 election, but after his defeat was sold as surplus.
|
0.949295 |
There is a rich body of work related to the security aspects of cellular mobile phones, in particular with respect to the GSM and UMTS systems. To the best of our knowledge, however, there has been no investigation of the security of satellite phones (abbr. satphones). Even though a niche market compared to the G2 and G3 mobile systems, there are several 100,000 satphone subscribers worldwide. Given the sensitive nature of some of their application domains (e.g., natural disaster areas or military campaigns), security plays a particularly important role for satphones.
In this paper, we analyze the encryption systems used in the two existing (and competing) satphone standards, GMR-1 and GMR-2. The first main contribution is that we were able to completely reverse engineer the encryption algorithms employed. Both ciphers had not been publicly known previously. We describe the details of the recovery of the two algorithms from freely available DSP-firmware updates for satphones, which included the development of a custom disassembler and tools to analyze the code, and extending prior work on binary analysis to efficiently identify cryptographic code. We note that these steps had to be repeated for both systems, because the available binaries were from two entirely different DSP processors. Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, we found that the GMR-1 cipher can be considered a proprietary variant of the GSM A5/2 algorithm, whereas the GMR-2 cipher is an entirely new design. The second main contribution lies in the cryptanalysis of the two proprietary stream ciphers. We were able to adopt known A5/2 ciphertext-only attacks to the GMR-1 algorithm with an average case complexity of 2³² steps. With respect to the GMR-2 cipher, we developed a new attack which is powerful in a known-plaintext setting. In this situation, the encryption key for one session, i.e., one phone call, can be recovered with approximately 50–65 bytes of key stream and a moderate computational complexity. A major finding of our work is that the stream ciphers of the two existing satellite phone systems are considerably weaker than what is state-of-the-art in symmetric cryptography.
|
0.999941 |
No, it was not a true haunted basement. It was an ordinary, seldom used place where my best friend Jim had concocted a plan to create a "haunted house".
Jim's basement was more like a root cellar than anything.
It had only one separate room where canned food and preserves were stored. The rest was delegated to the washer and dryer, an old washing sink, and a couple of small windows. As basements go, it was creepy enough since the walls were dirt. The floor was concrete, but it was still very primitive. The scariest thing about the place was probably the old stairs leading down.
This story all began when Jim called me up one day with an ingenious plan for turning his basement into a haunted crypt so authentic, and so terrifying, that it could literally scare his younger siblings to death. (Scaring his siblings to death was a good thing, for then they'd be out of the picture.) Jim was the oldest of six children, an equal pairing of three girls and three boys. They came in a variety of sizes of brat, jumbo brat, super brat, nuisance, and annoyance. Jim, of course, was none of these; he was my best friend. I always felt that his genius rivaled my own when it came to pulling off bone-headed, and otherwise outrageous stunts.
Phase one began with the idea.
Minimal lighting was needed. We both knew that keeping the project a secret was impossible, and as it turned out, word soon leaked as to our plan. Jim's sisters were easy enough to handle because they soon got bored with anything that us boys were up to. However, once all the work was done, they'd be more than curious, and anxious to take the tour, and while criticizing every detail. Next came John; he was a year younger than Jim. He wanted to be in on it, but eventually lost interest when he learned that actual involvement and work was required. Finally, we were left with Jim's youngest brother Joe.
Joe deserves his own paragraph. He came in "nuisance" size. Joe dedicated his life to listening in, spying, or desperately trying to corrupt, or pervert our plans. He was a master at tattling to Jim's parents, and generally being as welcome as a housefly that lands on your mashed potatoes. Joe was the kid who'd run in, kick over your army men and then run away at an incredible speed. His deeds were usually followed by maniacal laughter. Joe was the one who tried to interfere with anything, and wanted to be the constant center of attention.
As the construction began, Jim and I realized that we knew very little about how to create a haunted basement. First we needed to black out the basement windows with cardboard. (We couldn't have younger siblings seeing where they were walking after all.) We did have some great gimmicks though; I learned quickly, that cutting pieces of fishing line into three foot lengths, then hanging them in a doorway made a great spider web effect. Anybody who walked through them in the extremely dim light shuddered and shivered while automatically sweeping their arms and body free of potential eight-legged visitors. Jim pounded some nails into the wall on each side of the door to hang a black crepe paper streamer. We weren't sure of the effect, but it sounded good at the time.
It was then that we heard the evil: Joe, in his usual fashion, was spying from the cracked basement door upstairs. He'd been fairly warned-with the threat of physical violence-to leave us alone. He began yelling "Dad, Jim's pounding nails in the wall again!"
Joe needed to be dealt with.
first Jim tied the fishing line around the doorknob on the inside of the basement door.
He then ran the other end through the bottom of the light socket mounted in the ceiling over the door. (There was a small square opening on the bottom of the light fixture where he fed the string through).
Finally, the other end of the fishing line was attached around the spring of a cocked and loaded mouse trap while another longer line with a heavy fishing sinker served as a counter-balance. This created a pendulum effect. Once the basement door was opened from the outside, the mouse trap came flying the face of the unsuspecting victim.
Q: Could this have worked on anybody else?
A: Probably not; the simple opening of the door from the outside wouldn't create enough momentum to deliver a loaded mousetrap to one's unsuspecting face.
The door would need to be deliberately left slightly ajar so that it could be opened quickly (Joe style) thus enabling the weapon. We watched and waited on the basement stairs. Joe wasn't smart enough to sneak up on us as the shadows of his feet were visible under the door. After a few seconds, he swung open the door and started to charge down the stairs. He'd begun to yell "Ha-ha, I know what your doi--", when suddenly, and in mid-sentence, his face and the mouse trap were introduced to each other. The trap flew up and snapped shut on his ear! It was a perfectly executed plan.
We heard no maniacal laughter, only maniacal screaming in pain and horror as Joe ran to his parents. "Serves you right!" we heard Jim's Dad saying from the kitchen table where he sat sipping his beer and smoking a cigarette. Nothing happened to Jim or I, and I think we both secretly thought that his Dad admired the ingenuity of it all.
Basically, we built a creepy spider-webbed doorway, but the rest of the haunted basement never saw fruition. If revenge is truly sweet, then this one was a thousand calorie dish. Later we graduated to games of daring-do like playing catch with loaded mousetraps. As we all grew to adulthood, Jim and I remained best friends. I don't see him anymore, but we were inseparable from sixth grade to about our mid-thirties. For the record, Joe has maintained that he has no memory of that incident at all.
Sometimes denial is best. You can't beat a good mouse trap either.
|
0.945237 |
heated activity. If youre inside: drop to the ground; take cover by getting under a sturdy table or other piece of furniture; and hold ON until the shaking stops. Describe application where product is needed. The town doesnt fun spot usa promo code exist anymore, he added. This content may be freely reproduced in full or in part in digital form with full attribution to the author and a link. Shout only as a last resort. (Sponsored Ads unfortunately, it was only a matter of time. Avoid stopping near or under buildings, trees, overpasses, and utility wires. Stay inside until the shaking stops and it is safe to go outside.
The ND-Series has long been one of Schlages best selling mechanical locks for good reason - its tough, durable, Grade 1 rated and fits a wide variety of applications.
Passage: Both levers always unlocked.
The ND-Series has long been one of Schlages best selling mechanical locks for good reason - its tough, durable, Grade.
Unless you are in immediate danger, stay where you are. Some places are safer than others during an earthquake. Proceed cautiously once the earthquake has stopped. The greatest danger homebuyer education course coupon code exists directly outside buildings, at exits, and alongside exterior walls. Please Spread The Word And Share This Post Author: Mac Slavo Views: Read by 4,235 people Date: August 24th, 2016 Website: m Copyright Information: Copyright shtfplan and Mac Slavo. At least 120 people are dead, and rescue workers are still searching for survivors and totaling the massive destruction.
Product Features Support 1000 users, Card, PIN, Card PIN Support one-door (Work stand-alone).
A.2 earthquake has destroyed the lives of many people in small towns in central Italy, while it shook the capital in Rome.
Distribution America current news and press releases.
|
0.99799 |
Cholera is an infectious disease that causes severe watery diarrhea, which can lead to dehydration and even death if untreated. It is caused by eating food or drinking water contaminated with a bacterium called Vibrio cholerae. Cholera was prevalent in the U.
S. in the 1800s before modern water and sewage treatment systems eliminated its spread by contaminated water. Only about 10 cases of cholera are reported each year in the U. S. and half of these are acquired abroad. Rarely, contaminated seafood has caused cholera outbreaks in the U. S.
However, cholera outbreaks are still a serious problem in other parts of the world, where cholera affects an estimated 3 to 5 million people and causes more than 100,000 deaths each year. The disease is most common in places with poor sanitation, crowding, war, and famine. Common locations include parts of Africa, south Asia, and Latin America. If you are traveling to one of those areas, knowing the following cholera facts can help protect you and your family. Cholera Causes Vibrio cholerae, the bacterium that causes cholera, is usually found in food or water contaminated by feces from a person with the infection.
Common sources include: Municipal water supplies Ice made from municipal water Foods and drinks sold by street vendors Vegetables grown with water containing human wastes Raw or undercooked fish and seafood caught in waters polluted with sewage When a person consumes the contaminated food or water, the bacteria release a toxin in the intestines that produces severe diarrhea. It is not likely you will catch cholera just from casual contact with an infected person. Cholera Symptoms Symptoms of cholera can begin as soon as a few hours or as long as five days after infection. Often symptoms are mild.
But sometimes they are very serious. About one in 20 people infected have severe watery diarrhea accompanied by vomiting, which can quickly lead to dehydration. Although many infected people may have minimal or no symptoms, they can still contribute to spread of the infection. Signs and symptoms of dehydration include: Rapid heart rate Loss of skin elasticity (the ability to return to original position quickly if pinched) Dry mucous membranes, including the inside of the mouth, throat, nose, and eyelids Low blood pressure Thirst Muscle cramps If not treated, dehydration can lead to shock and death in a matter of hours.
Yellow fever is caused by a virus. The yellow fever virus is a single-stranded RNA virus that belongs to the Flavivirus genus. After transmission of the virus occurs, it replicates in regional lymph nodes and subsequently spreads via the bloodstream. This widespread dissemination can affect the bone marrow, spleen, lymph nodes, kidneys, and liver, in addition to other organs. Tissue damage to the liver, for example, can lead to jaundice and disrupt the body’s blood-clotting mechanism, leading to the hemorrhagic complications sometimes seen with yellow fever.
Yellow fever is transmitted to humans by the bite of infected mosquitoes. Various species of Aedes and Haemagogus mosquitoes serve as vectors and are responsible for the transmission to human and nonhuman primates, which serve as reservoirs for the disease. Three transmission cycles for yellow fever have been identified. Sylvatic (jungle) cycle: In tropical rain forests, infected monkeys pass the virus to mosquitoes that feed on them. These infected mosquitoes then bite humans who enter the rain forest for occupational (for example, loggers) or recreational activities.
Intermediate (savannah) cycle: In humid or semi-humid regions of Africa, mosquitoes that breed around households and in the wild (semi-domestic mosquitoes) infect both humans and monkeys. The virus can be transmitted from monkeys to humans, or from human to human by the mosquitoes. This is the most common type of outbreak in Africa. Urban cycle: When infected humans introduce the virus into urban areas with large numbers of unvaccinated individuals, infected mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti) transmit the disease from human to human. This form of transmission can lead to large epidemics.
|
0.940556 |
How many times have you set a goal and became nowhere close to achieving it? Maybe you even struggle to think of a goal to begin with. As a life fulfillment coach, I've worked with numerous people who really struggle with goal setting, and through my work with them I've developed a clear understanding as to why.
We've all been taught that to achieve our goals we must create the appropriate action steps to get there. To think of the big picture and work backwards to make a plan that will get us to where we want to be. I'm not saying by any means that this is wrong and it doesn't work. There's just a much deeper layer we're unaware of that is ultimately getting in our way.
Setting goals requires you to become vulnerable.
When we aren't able to achieve what we set out to accomplish, despite how great our intentions are, we're left feeling like failures. A lot of the time to make ourselves feel better we even end up making excuses as to why the goal doesn't matter anymore. Regardless of how we feel, the real problem is we didn't do enough work around initially setting the goal in the first place.
There is one major factor as to why traditional goal setting is broken. If you truly want to make changes in your life, the first action step you need to take is doing work around your belief system.
It's really astounding, but not surprising how many of us are unaware of how our belief system shows up in how we show up everyday. It's such a part of who we are that we're immune to seeing the effects of it. However, those unconscious beliefs easily creep into our ability to reach our goals.
Setting goals requires you to become vulnerable. You're creating change in your life, which is never an easy feat. That vulnerability easily causes you to have doubts and those doubts are linked to the beliefs you have about yourself. They can stem back to what you've been taught growing up, or how you've interpreted certain experiences and events throughout your life.
You just need to work through some of the muck to get to a place where you truly believe in yourself.
Goal setting has all of a sudden become far more complex!
It doesn't mean it's impossible. It just means you need to start digging deeper and being really honest with yourself if you have big goals and aspirations you're looking to achieve. This should be the first step in setting a goal. It can be really challenging to work through, as we tend to not see our own blind spots.
That's why working with a Life Coach or a Therapist can be beneficial. They have the ability to work with you as you uncover those belief systems that are getting in your way. You've got what it takes. You just need to work through some of the muck to get to a place where you truly believe in yourself. It is only then when you understand your true motivation, that you will have the desire to follow through with the action steps you put in place.
|
0.996964 |
I have mixed feelings about this book. I usually like all dystopian books I read, but lately I've been disappointed. Aberrant is similar to The Hunger Games, A Brave New World and Divergent, but at least it's different enough to make it original. Early in the book, we learn that the main character Olivia is different from everyone else, being the first and only baby to be conceived naturally in generations. In a world where fertility is non-existent, all babies are created in labs, and the government controls who and when you can get pregnant.
Usually, I really enjoy fast paced books but in this case, I think it was the book's downfall. It lacked detail and description, which made everything feel rushed. As a reader, you're left in a haze of confusion, wondering what is real and what is a lie. With every new place Olivia and Joshua visit, you would think we could learn more about this dystopian world, but on the contrary, we're left with more questions. Everywhere they go, there seems to be someone in charge but ultimately, we still have no clue who runs the "government" and what their endgame is.
Except for the possibility of fertility, Olivia isn't very special. She isn't especially strong or intelligent, and she doesn't inspire much confidence. She is loyal to Joshua, and their friendship could possibly lead to something more, however both are slow to make a move. As for Joshua, there's nothing memorable about his character. Even his loyalty to Olivia is questioned at some point when he pushes her away to spend time with strangers. Also, when he learns that his mother has lived a double life for most of his life, he doesn't really react to the news. He acknowledges it without question or emotion.
What I enjoyed the most about the book is the premise of infertility caused by medical science. I'm definitely pro-vaccination and I alway will be, but I'm also a strong believer in the scientific method. To use an untested vaccine globally is bound to cause some problems and while I have no clue whether infertility is a probable repercussion for vaccines, it's still a very interesting premise. While we did get this small bit of information, the story lacks so much more information about the history of society, the structure of the isolated cities and the government.
The ending was also very confusing. The author threw in some paranormal elements near the end but it wasn't great timing. Overall, I do think the idea behind the book is great but the book itself lacked detail and good editing, which doesn't inspire much confidence in the rest of the series.
|
0.998962 |
A device, in particular a card reader (30) connectable as a terminal of communications network such as the Internet for carrying out secure transactions, in particular using a protocol such as SET, comprises a keypad (34), a display (36) for displaying messages related to a secure transaction in progress, a DSP microprocessor (38) and a memory (40) comprising a non-volatile memory and a RAM. The non-volatile memory is arranged to store software in three shells, a boot shell (62), a system shell (64) and an application shell (66). The boot shell contains non-downloadable ground software that manages software download into the system shell and the application shell. The device is associated with downloadable system shell software and application shell software, one application being arranged to momentaneously store in a network-inaccessible part of the RAM a PAN or PIN code keyed in via the keypad (34); encrypt the code and output the encrypted code to the communications network. The device is useful for secure transactions in e-commerce, e-banking, e-tax, e-mail, telecommunications and restricted access systems, etc.
This invention relates to a device connectable as a terminal of a communications network for carrying out secure transactions in the network, in particular in conjunction with operations like e-commerce, e-banking, e-tax and e-mail using the Internet, and in telecommunications and restricted access systems. The invention is applicable inter alia to secure transactions in a communications network like the Internet wherein encrypted data is communicated between a card issuer system, merchant site applications and a banking system using a protocol such as the Secure Electronic Transaction (SET). The invention also relates to a cardholder system for carrying out secure transactions in a communications network, comprising a device associated with a local computer application (LCA), such as a PC, to which the device is connected.
For example, channel security schemes such as secure HTTP (S-HTTP) and the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocol are intended to create confidence between two communicating parties. S-HTTP uses digitally signed messages with a heavy encryption key to ensure security and authentication. SSL utilizes digitally signed certificates to provide authentication and security by heavily encrypting the messages. This channel security technology makes confidential transmitted information, but it does not protect the merchant and the bank involved in a transaction against "true-false" card numbers, nor does it protect the customer against the abuse of their personal data, and it does not allow the bank to guarantee payments to merchants.
Multi-party protocols have also been proposed for credit transactions, like Secure Transport Technology (STT), Internet Keyed Payments (iKP) and Secure Electronic Payment Protocol (SEPP). The aforementioned SET secure payment technology represents the state-of-the art in Internet based payment processing. More recently a new specification known as EMV, based on the SET protocol, has been developed by EuroCard-Mastercard-Visa with plans for future implementation.
The SET protocol is designed on a hierarchy of trust for the management and verification of SET certificates by certificate authorities, notably between a Cardholder Certificate Authority (who issue cards to cardholders), a Merchant Certificate Authority (who issue certificates to merchants) and a Payment Gateway Certificate Authority, controlling a SET Payment Gateway. The SET protocol is based on the exchange of digital certificates to provide a banking guarantee. SET prevents fraudulent use of payment card numbers, and prevents the interception of confidential information by a third party.
These protocols provide good security between the banks and merchants but, like the previously-mentioned channel security schemes, do not provide full security to the individual user. Although the user's private data like a PAN or a PIN code is transmitted through the Internet in encrypted form in such a manner that the encrypted data can only be decrypted by an authorized institution, when the user enters this information for example via a PC connected in the network, the unencoded data is exposed to an "attack" by an unauthorized person. This has led to abuse and to a considerable amount of litigation concerning unauthorized transactions.
Card readers for accepting so-called smart cards (also known as chip card, IC card or ICC, hereinafter referred to collectively as "ICC" or simply "card") are also known. These card readers typically comprise a keypad, a display for displaying messages related to a secure transaction in progress, a microprocessor and a memory. However, the known card readers do not overcome the above-indicated problem and generally each type of card reader has the limitation that it is specific for a particular application.
An object of the invention is to provide a device connectable as a terminal to a communications network such as the Internet for carrying out secure transactions over the network providing full security for the user, and which can be used with different applications and for many different secure transactions, for example in conjunction with operations like e-commerce, e-banking, e-tax, e-mail, telecommunications and restricted access systems, making it very versatile.
The invention provides a device connectable as a terminal of a communications network for carrying out secure transactions in the communications network, the device comprising a keypad, a display for displaying messages related to a secure transaction in progress, a microprocessor, advantageously a DSP microprocessor, and a memory, comprising a non-volatile memory and a RAM.
The device's a non-volatile memory (hereinafter exemplified as an E2PROM) is arranged to store software in three shells, a boot shell, a system shell and an application shell, wherein the boot shell contains non-downloadable ground software that manages boot operation and software download into the system shell and the application shell.
The device is associated with software downloadable into or downloaded in the a non-volatile memory, namely system shell software containing operating system software that manages the application shell, an ASN library and an encryption/decryption toolbox and optionally a card manager; and application shell software containing software that manages applications for secure transactions.
The downloadable application shell software comprises an application that, when the software is downloaded into the non-volatile memory and the device is connected to the communications network, is arranged to perform a code encryption operation internally of the device when a user keys in a code via the keypad to perform a secure transaction. This code may for example be a PAN or PIN code whose entry constitutes a necessary step for transaction acceptance. This application is so arranged that, when the software is downloaded into the non-volatile memory and the device is connected to the communications network, it encrypts within the device a code keyed in via the keypad and outputs the encrypted code, without the keyed-in code being accessible from outside the device.
For example, when the code is keyed-in, the unencrypted code is firstly momentaneously stored in a non-readable part of the RAM, inaccessible from the network. The momentaneously-stored keyed-in code is encrypted (the entire encryption usually being carried out by means of the downloaded encryption toolbox) then erased from the RAM soon after encryption. The encrypted code is then output from within the device to the communications network, for example in response to the user entering an acceptance code. This enables acceptance of a secure transaction by the user keying in a PAN and/or a PAN or PIN code, without the unencrypted PAN and/or PIN code ever being accessible from the communications network.
Moreover, the device is simple to use and can be produced at low cost notably by using the DSP technology, making it possible to use the device for macro and micro payments, and a wide range of secure transactions.
The device according to the invention is a veritable lock allowing a security check on a secret code (for example a PAN code associated with a magnetic card or a smart card, or a PIN code associated with a smart card), without any transmission of the unencrypted secret code to the communication network, e.g. via the CPU of a personal computer connected to the Internet and to which the device is connected.
A large amount of memory can be made available in the device (say 8 Mbits), so many applications can be installed.
One of the main advantages of the device is the speed of the transaction due to the DSP processor used. This performance allows a high level of protection of data transferred from or to the network (typically via a connected PC) by undertaking huge calculations for data encryption or decryption. For example, the device is able to encrypt data by using an RSA public key of 1024 bits with its full exponent in less than 5 s.
The device is advantageously used in connection with an ICC to perform secure transactions on a communications network, the device enabling on-line card authentication. For this purpose, the device preferably comprises a card reader for an ICC card, the device being arranged to enable card identification and acceptance on an ICC inserted in the reader followed, if the card is accepted, by the above-described operations to establish transaction acceptance. At least a part of these card identification and acceptance operations and/or of said transaction acceptance operations can advantageously be performed using a processor incorporated in an ICC inserted in the device, as will be more fully described below.
In this context, the merchant is certified whereas the device according to the invention operates in a closed security environment in which the device provides certitude of authentication of the purchaser by electronic signature. On-line authorization of the transaction provides a guarantee for the payment or other transaction. Control of the card signature takes place on line, not off line. Bogus merchants/bogus cardholders are eliminated. There is no possibility of fraud, therefore no repudiation, no litigation with the cardholder and no chargebacks to be managed.
An important feature of the device is its ability to download system and application software and to use the downloaded software for performing the operations involved in establishing a secure transaction with the communications network. Particularly in the banking sector, there are frequent modifications liable to make software become obsolete rapidly. The device's downloading capability enables constant updating according to software developments, in particular new or upgraded applications can be downloaded into the device from a server or from a local computer application connectable to the communications network.
For the purpose of allowing software upgrade, the device's non-volatile memory (E2PROM) can comprise a buffer zone serving as a buffer memory for temporarily storing previously-loaded system and/or application software during a download operation, the memory being associated with means, responsive to a signal indicating interruption or failure of a download operation, for reloading system and/or application software stored in the buffer memory.
A device according to the invention can be incorporated in various pieces of equipment, one particular embodiment being an external card reader connectable to a personal computer preferably via an USB connector. Such card reader can include an ergonomically-designed card reader body that can be held in the hand or placed on a support surface during use, the body having a slot for receiving an ICC leaving a part of the ICC protruding during use to prompt card removal when an operation is finished. The card reader body also integrates the keypad and display, and internally contains the memory.
Another embodiment is a discrete keyboard of a personal computer incorporating a device according to the invention, the keyboard being connectable to a personal computer via an USB connector. The main set of keys of the keyboard may be used also as the device keypad, or the device can have a dedicated keypad located alongside the keyboard's usual keys. The keyboard may incorporate its own display for the messages related to secure transactions, or the computer screen can be used for display. It will preferably also have a slot for receiving an ICC, the keyboard thus also serving as a card reader.
The device according to the invention can also be incorporated in a portable personal computer, in which case the device must have its own memory and keypad separate from the computer's hardware accessible to a communications network. The PC's screen can however also be used as the device's display.
Further examples are a Set Top Box of a digital television receiver connectable to a communications network by a parabolic antenna, a mobile communications device such as a telephone connectable via a cellular system of via satellite to a communications network, a fixed telephone set, and a point-of-sale vending device such as a distributor for rental video cassettes, all of which can incorporate a device according to the invention.
The invention also concerns a cardholder system for carrying out secure transactions in a communications network, comprising a device as set out above associated with a local computer, such as a PC, to which the device is connected, preferably by a USB connector. In such a cardholder system the local computer can store software including a Dynamic Link Library (DLL) for cooperating with system shell software and application shell software downloaded in the device's non-volatile memory to perform secure transactions in the network.
The device of the invention is advantageously used with an ICC insertable in the device for effecting a secure transaction in a communications network, but it can also be used for effecting secure transactions in a communications network without the insertion of an ICC in the device. Examples of transactions without using an ICC are e-mail encryption, and operations where credit card data such as the credit card number and expiry data are keyed in by the user, possibly associated with providing other means of identification, as required. Even when the device is provided with a card reader, it is possible to use the device for secure transactions without inserting a card therein.
The device can be used in general for all secure transactions with a communications network, including credit card and debit card applications, virtual card transactions, as an e-purse (in particular for reloading e-purses at home), for health cards, e-trade, e-banking including home banking, e-mail security, secure access to personal data, secure dealings with public authorities including e-tax, e-voting including voting as company shareholder, telecommunications in systems with fixed telephone sets and mobile telephones, and for selective access to restricted-access systems including defense-related and private access systems, etc.
The invention also concerns a computer program, stored on a computer readable medium such as a CD-ROM or on a server, for carrying out secure transactions in a communications network to which a device according to the invention is connected via a local computer application. This program includes the above-described system shell software and application shell software downloadable into the device's non-volatile memory, as well as software downloadable into the local computer application for managing all transmissions between a local computer and the device, including a Dynamic Link Library (DLL), a system driver for USB management and for I/O management, an executable file for managing the download operations, and optionally a test program.
Fig. 5 is a similar diagram illustrating a sequence of operations involved in a download operation.
The card reader 30 comprises a card interface 32, a keypad 34, a display 36 for displaying messages related to a secure transaction in progress, a DSP microprocessor 38 and a memory 40 comprising an E2PROM and a RAM. The keypad 34 and display 36 constitute a user interface. The device further includes an USB interface 42 for connection of the reader to a personal computer 44 via an USB connector 46, see Fig. 2. The reader hardware connects to the PC 44 as a high-speed bus-powered device on the USB bus.
The keypad 34 includes a set of function keys 35 and ten digit keys 37 for keying in the digits 0 to 9. The reader's function keys 35 can for example include: a language key for switching the language of the displayed message; a conversion key for displaying currency conversions (e.g. FF and Euro); a cancellation key for interrupting the current transaction; a correction key for erasing the last pressed key (correction of the introduced PAN and/or PIN code); and a validation key for accepting the entered PAN and/or PIN code and to continue the payment process. Further functions can be included, as required.
The reader 30 and the local computer 44 represent the cardholder system, as defined in the SET standard. The ICC 31 and the issuer bank 54 are the issuer system. The merchant site 50, its bank 52 and the associated payment gateway represent the acquirer system.
The reader 30 has been designed to be used by any computer application, typically a personal computer 44. The reader 30 is activated using a dynamic-link library (DLL) stored in the computer 44's hard disk, and calling the specified interface functions. As soon as these operations are done in a correct way, the reader 30 performs the requested applications. Each application is independent and its software can be downloaded separately into memory 40's E2PROM. This modular implementation allows the reader software to be updated or even upgraded.
As described previously, the user by activating a merchant site 50 will download a Wake-Up request. This input file activates a local application, called the Local Computer Application LCA that will manage the reader 30 on the local computer 44 (the reference 44 is hereinafter used also for the LCA). This LCA 44 is linked to the reader 30 by a Dynamic-Link Library (DLL) that will transmit the LCA requests to the reader. The LCA 44 also formalizes the reader responses and sends them to the payment gateway through the MSA 50.
The merchant site 50 corresponds to a web address that is usually described by a URL address, whereat a set of products can be bought. The products to be purchased can be selected by adding them to a basket. At the end of this selection, the purchaser can prepare a purchase command and select the payment support (SSL credit card operation, card operation with a virtual wallet, etc.).
The reader 30 is protected from being attacked from external entities by the following features.
A specific application can be provided for transparent commands from the local computer 44 to the ICC 31 based on the PC/SC specifications. However, no transparent command for the ICC 31 is allowed between the computer 44 and the reader 30 once a secure transaction has been initiated. For example, it is not possible to enter the PAN or PIN code on the computer keyboard and transmit this data to the reader 30 for checking. Confidential information like the PAN and/or PIN code is always encrypted before being sent to the computer 44 and vice-versa. The sensitive code lines are scrambled before being written in the reader 30's E2PROM.
Security is based on cryptogram algorithms: the higher the calculation performance, the higher the security level. However, a practical restriction on the cryptogram calculations comes from the real time operations. A calculation duration over a dozen seconds is unacceptable for the user. With the described reader, encryption calculations can be performed in under 5 seconds.
The SET protocol is advantageously chosen for the data management in order to match security requirements. Management of the SET protocol requires hardware and software with the following capabilities. A large memory space for the I/O buffers, larger than 4 kBytes in standard use, and extendible to say 64 kBytes for special cases. A flexible management of the I/O buffers is necessary, because all data could have various lengths. The I/O structure of the data should be managed in the heap of the reader's RAM, which should be larger than 4 kBytes. There must be a capacity for a large amount of calculations, which requires a DSP 38 with sufficiently high processing speed. This requires a RAM of at least 16 kWords. For example, a DSP of type TMS320UVC5402 available from Texas Instruments can be used.
The reader 30 is relatively low-cost, by using a low-cost DSP and E2PROM, and is robust and easy to install. It is not possible for the user to erase essential data by performing a wrong manipulation.
Taking into account that the invention is directed inter alia to the banking market segment having multiple functions that are frequently modified, the software is likely to become rapidly obsolete. The reader 30 is accordingly designed with a download capability. Only basic essential software remains in the reader 30. The drivers (for card 31, keypad 34, etc.), the libraries (ASN.1 messages, etc.) the system shell and all the applications are downloadable. This requires the following capabilities. A large reserve of E2PROM memory is provided for allowing the old version of the downloaded software to be buffered. In case of an interruption of the download operation, a restart will reinstall the old version. The download function should be triggered by an external application through the LCA 44 or by a user request. Moreover, the software must be controlled before being written in the memory.
The use of an E2PROM in conjunction with a USB connection has the advantage that the reader 30 can operate from the mains supply without need for a battery.
The download executable (supplied with reader 30) is copied from the installation CD to the PC hard disc during card reader installation when the system recognizes a new USB device. It is executed from the LCA (via the DLL) when the user or a remote site application sends a download request. This download concerns updated firmware that should be transferred from an Internet site into the card reader. During this operation a window appears on the PC screen showing the transfer progress and status.
A factory test program is supplied for testing the card readers 30 after assembly. This program does basic functionality checks of the reader (USB, display, keypad, card insertion) and writes into its flash memory (E2PROM) a coded serial number from a barcode label on the reader 30.
The software installed in the reader 30 is essentially written in an object oriented programming language such as C and C++. But the reader processor 38, which is a DSP, only interprets assembler commands. For this reason the source files are firstly interpreted in assembler using a C/C++ compiler. Some functions that are critical in slowing the performance are optimized in assembler, for example functions that are called during the RSA calculations.
The software architecture is shown in Fig. 3. The reader software 60 has been built in three main shells, boot shell 62, system shell 64 and application shell 66. The boot shell 62 corresponds to the ground software that manages the software download; this shell can never be downloaded. The system shell 64, which is downloadable, corresponds to the rest of the operating system that manages the application shell. The application shell 66, also downloadable, contains the code that manages applications like the payment application.
As schematically illustrated, the boot shell 62 contains the USB manager, and all software for managing downloading, including an RSA/DES manager used for download. The downloadable system shell 64 contains an ASN.1 library which serves as I/O interpreter, the RSA and DES encryption/decryption tools and the drivers, like the card, keyboard and display manager. The downloadable application shell 62 contains administrative applications like a terminal identification application and a download application. It also contains ICC applications, i.e. a set of applications for each chip card, for example controlling different types of payment, for example payments using EMV parameters, or prepaid card payments or so-called Mondeo payments.
The DSP 38 is powered when the USB cable 46 is connected to computer 44. It starts to run and enters the boot shell 62 where all the basic start-up procedure is performed. This procedure essentially checks the validity of the system and activates the USB bus connection. Then the reader 30 waits for an open request from the LCA 44.
The boot shell software 62 can never be upgraded. In one embodiment, the system and the application can only be upgraded together. In another embodiment, the system and the application can be upgraded separately.
The boot shell 62, system shell 64 and the application shell 66 each has its own version number. A hardware version number is written on the electronic plate of the reader 30. Because this number is known during the manufacturing process, it is reported in the boot software that is installed at the end of the manufacturing process. So a new hardware version (nH+1) corresponds to a new boot version (nB+1). If the modifications in the boot shell 62 are sufficiently minor that the new boot version is compatible to the previous system version, the new boot version will keep the same model number. So a new boot version does not always result in a new model number. The hardware, the boot and the system version are respectively numbers (nH+1), (nB+1) and (nS) at the end of the upgrade.
As a second example, the actual hardware is kept but the installed boot shell is modified. This modification alters the system, that is able to take into account the two different boot versions, by implementation of a switch that executes a specific function depending on the boot version. In this case we have (nH), (nB+1) and (nS+1) for the hardware, the boot and the system versions respectively at the end of this upgrade. Because the new system version is still compatible with the old boot shells, the new system will be integrated as a new software version by the download server. The previous model number is kept.
If the boot shell modifications are sufficiently important so as to be no longer compatible with the current version of the system shell 64, the new system version will correspond to a new model number. The new system version will not be downloaded as a new version to the previous system shell. In this case, the new model number is maintained separately. The system and application shells 64,66 are no longer compatible and must be selected by the download server. It is understood that creating a new model has the drawback that a separate and independent release support is needed for each model. This is fully transparent for the user but has drawbacks for the producer.
When a hardware modification requires a modification of the boot shell 62 that does not alter the compatibility with the current or previous system and application shells 64,66 (for example the reader's box colour is modified), it is not considered as a new model, but as a new sub-model that does not require a specific maintenance from the download server.
The code contained in the boot shell 62 essentially initializes the DSP 38 and checks if a valid system is present. If yes, it starts the display, keypad and card processes. If not, the reader 30 waits about 5 seconds, then restores the previous system by re-installing its back-up copy. Then this procedure activates the USB connection 46, and indicates "Reader ready" when the USB checking is finished. At this time, the reader program enters into an infinite loop that corresponds to a state machine, wherein the following events can produce a change of state: an incoming message from the DLL (via USB 42); pressing of a key by the user (keypad 34); insertion of a card 31 (Card I/O 32). All these events are managed by interruption vectors.
Starts and initializes the system shell 64.
Manages the display of the messages in the boot shell 62.
Transfers an incoming message to the system shell 64.
The first and last functions control the execution of the system shell 64. The second function provides to the boot 62 the message library that can be upgraded. The MainSystem function controls all the access to the system, which operates according to the input message type. Messages that can enter the system shell can be split in four categories, the ASN (Abstract Syntax Notation) frame; Test requests; Download application requests; and Complementary Requests.
The input message, encoded according to the ASN specifications, is decoded and, depending on its command header, is treated by the application shell 66. The available applications are described below.
There are three entry point functions for each application that allow to initialize, to perform and to close the application. All of the data that are transferred inside the ASN structure of the I/O messages are managed by the system shell 64. These data are allocated and deallocated in the system shell 64, but managed in the application shell 66. The data that are specific to the application are allocated and deallocated inside the application shell 66.
Allocation of the data structure that is required during the process, initialization of the data and set up of the variable that controls the application process.
Non-blocking or blocking processing of the application steps.
Deallocation of the application data structure and final processing, like clearing of the display or request for card removal.
For example, the implementation of two applications is envisaged, an administrative application that manages the reader identification and the software download request; and a payment application that performs payment operations for a specific type of smart card.
As soon as a download operation is started, the previous system or/and application zone is copied in a backup or buffer zone of the E2PROM and is erased. During this operation, the keypad 34 and the card I/O 32 are deactivated and reader 30 displays at 36 the message "Downloading. Please Wait". Before downloading, the reader 30 prepares its ASN.1 answers. This is done in two functions called in the system shell 64. A first function prepares the correct answer that is expected by the LCA 44, which contains the path of the DLL file when this library must be downloaded by the LCA 44 at the end of the reader download process. A second function contains error messages that must be returned in case of an error.
Fig. 4 illustrates a secure transaction such as a payment carried out with an ICC 31 in an interface device (IFD), namely reader 30 using a local computer 44 as an LCA Wallet communicating via the Internet with a merchant at a merchant site MCA 50 and a Payment Gateway 55, using for example the SET protocol. In Fig. 4, the numbers 1 to 21 are used to designate successive steps of the transaction, as follows.
In step 4, the LCA 44 sends a Card identification request CIDReq to the reader 30 which transmits this request in step 5 to the ICC 31. Identification of an ICC 31 inserted in the reader 30 takes place using the ICC's internal processor, i.e. without using the encryption/ decryption toolbox downloaded in the reader 30. Once the ICC 31 is identified an acceptance message CIDRsp is returned in steps 6 and 7 to the LCA 44. In this ICC identification process, the reader 30 acts as a "window": all necessary encryption/decryption operations take place in the ICC 31 and in the LCA 44.
The CIDReq asks for the ICC identification and also retrieves the initial payment parameters. This command is used by the LCA 44 to obtain the payment parameters required for building the payment request initiation message.
A payment initiation request PinitReq is then transmitted in step 8 from the LCA 44 to the Merchant Site 50 and returned, accompanied by the necessary certificate, to LCA 44 in step 9. This payment initiation request PinitReq is normally followed by a payment request PayReq, so no message requesting card removal is displayed when it is completed. An error during the treatment of this request will interrupt the payment procedure, and display at 36 a message inviting card removal.
In step 10, the LCA 44 sends a payment request PayReq to reader 30. The PayReq asks the reader 30 to perform the payment process. When the reader 30 receives such a request, it cannot perform another operation until the payment application has been completed. The PayReq asks the reader 30 to perform a transaction that is secured with a card signature. Through this command, the computer 44 receives data and information that can be displayed and returns the encrypted sensitive data to the gateway 55.
After this initialization step, the reader 30 displays the amount to be debited and asks the user to enter his/her PIN code. By entering and confirming a valid PIN code, the user accepts the payment transaction conditions. The reader 30 confirms the correct PIN code introduction and performs the protection calculations. Then reader 30 sends a payment response PRsp to the LCA 44 in step 13. At the end of this command, the LCA 44 receives all the sensitive data encrypted in a protected frame that is included in a payment request message PReq sent to the MCA 50 in step 14. In this way, no sensitive data will be readable on the local computer 44 nor transferred into the Internet.
The MCA 50 provides the necessary certificate and includes this in an authorization request AuthReq sent to the Payment Gateway 55 as step 15. The Payment Gateway 55 possesses the necessary key to decrypt the encrypted card-identification data provided in step 6, and provide a payment authorization request AuthRes to the MCA 50 in step 16, the MCA 50 then transmitting a payment request PRes to the LCA 44 in step 17 so the payment request can be performed on the LCA.
The card 31 can be removed at the end of the payment process. If a complementary request Comp1Req (see below) is sent after the PRs, the reader 30 does not ask for card removal. Different messages are displayed on display 36 during further payment processing, even when an error occurs. An error interrupts the payment transaction and the reader 30 asks for card removal.
After a payment transaction, the reader 30 can be asked to perform further processing by a ComplReq through this command. The Payment Gateway 55 can request for example an upgrade of the reader 30's software by initiating a download request and/or the display of a given message on the local computer screen.
Fig. 5 illustrates a software download sequence. In this Figure, the numbers 1' to 8' are used to designate successive steps of the download sequence. Step 2' of Fig. 5 can be considered to be equivalent to step 22 of Fig. 4, in the case where the ComplReq is for software download. In this case, the WakeUp corresponds to the complete message contained in the PRes 17 response.
In response to a Wakeup in step 1', the LCA 44 exchanges a download request DownloadReq with the MCA 50 in steps 2' and 3', leading to downloading of software to the LCA 44. In steps 5' to 8', a DWNReq is exchanged between the LCA 44 and reader 30 leading to downloading of the software to the reader 30.
The software download application is protected by an RSA signature calculated using a private key generated by the controlling Organization who attests with this key that the software inside the reader 30 is qualified for performing the payment transactions according to the selected security protocol.
The memory 40 can allow for the application and system to be downloaded together, or separately. The files to be downloaded are grouped in a single file whose file name corresponds to the design of the reader 30.
As described previously, a buffer zone of the reader 30's E2PROM serves as a buffer memory for temporarily storing system and/or application software transferred from the active E2PROM during a download operation. In case of an interruption or failure of a download operation, a signal initiates reloading the software.
Because the reader 30 is controlled on the local computer 44 by a specific driver and a local computer application (LCA), the installation procedure is in two steps, driver installation and LCA installation, using for example a CD-ROM containing the software that is loaded into the computer.
Usually the software is automatically upgraded at the end of a standard transaction, like a payment. The system uses the fact that the reader 30 is connected to a management server for checking the actual software version that is installed in reader 30. If this version is lower than the current one on the server, it sends a download request to the reader 30, as described above. The user can also request independently a software download.
The reader 30 is designed to be attached to a PC through a USB connection 42/46. However, it not only offers smart card operations, but is also a powerful tool for cryptogram calculations. Because the card 31 and reader 30 are separate from the PC 44, the reader 30 provides a useful tool for securing any transaction that is undertaken on the PC. The reader 30's system and application software being downloadable, any application can be developed and downloaded into the reader 30. These applications can use the tool library that is available in the reader's downloaded system software.
The evolution of a reader 30 is linked to its software architecture which, as described before, is built according to a three shells model. The first shell, the boot shell 62, is fixed inside a given reader 30. After the manufacturing process, this boot shell 62 is never modified inside the reader 30. Over this boot shell 62 is the system shell 64 that contains the tool box including encryption/decryption functions. The functions of this systems library are compatible to all of the boot functions, regardless of the boot versions, inside a same model number. Most of the time an upgrade of this shell 64 will raise an upgrade of all of the applications. In other words, the reader 30 will be entirely upgraded (system and application shells 64, 66).
The applications are developed in such a way that they are independent from each other, but only dependent from the system shell 64 and/or possibly from the boot shell 62. This last dependence should be avoided, where possible. A new application always requires a system upgrade. But it should never require a significant boot upgrade, because this means that a new reader model would have to be created, compatible with this new application. The system shell upgrade is linked to the introduction of the entry points to the new application.
To upgrade this application. Usually this corresponds to a separate download of the application. Sometimes the system must be updated at the same time.
To replace the application by another application. This does not mean that the system will be downloaded with a new one, because the entry points of the previous application can be reused.
To erase the application. This means the entry points will be erased, so the system will be downloaded.
When a payment application from a given Organization is integrated into the current software, the reader 30 must be qualified by this Organization. Its software is signed by the Organization; the private key that controls the download operation is the property of the Organization. This procedure will be chosen for any application that requires a particular qualification for the reader integrity. Because there is a single public key that controls the software download, there is only one specific external Organization that can control the software integrity.
After the reader manufacturing process, any modification of the software must be downloaded. Because the software must be correctly signed for being accepted by the reader 30, the external Organization that has proprietary rights to the download private key is able to control and to qualify the integrity and the quality of the new software. Even if the software modification corresponds to the addition of a new application completely independent from their own applications, the external Organization is able to control that this new added application really does not alter their secure applications. The advantage of this feature is that the external Organization that controls the private key always keeps control of the software downloaded in the reader.
It can be seen from the above that the invention has provided a versatile device ensuring entire security for the user, and which can be integrated in existing or future protocols directed to secure transactions in communications networks, in particular under control of an Organization that possesses the reader's private key. Furthermore, the described reader can be used for many other secure transactions with or without the insertion of a card, including e-banking, e-tax, secure e-mail, telecommunications and restricted access systems. Various modifications may be made to the described examples of hardware and software without departing from the scope of the appended claims.
- application shell software containing software that manages applications for secure transactions, comprising an application that is arranged, when the software is downloaded into the memory and the device is connected to the communications network, to encrypt within the device a code keyed in via the keypad and output the encrypted code, without the keyed-in code being accessible from outside the device.
- output the encrypted code from within the device to the communications network.
The device of claim 1 or 2, comprising a card reader for an ICC card, the device being arranged to enable card identification and acceptance on an ICC inserted in the reader followed, if the card is accepted, by said operations to establish transaction acceptance.
The device of claim 3, wherein at least a part of the card identification and acceptance operations and/or of said transaction acceptance operations is performed using a processor incorporated in an ICC inserted in the device.
The device according to any preceding claim, wherein the memory comprises a buffer zone which serves as a buffer memory for temporarily storing previously-loaded system and/or application software during a download operation, the memory being associated with means, responsive to a signal indicating interruption or failure of a download operation, for reloading system and/or application software.
The device according to any preceding claim, wherein the memory comprises a non-volatile memory, in particular an E2PROM, for storing the downloadable software, and a RAM which includes said network-inaccessible part of the memory.
A device according to any preceding claim incorporated in: (a) a hand-holdable external card reader connectable to a personal computer; (b) a discrete keyboard of a personal computer, connectable to a personal computer; (c) a portable personal computer; (d) a Set Top Box of a digital television receiver; (e) a fixed telephone set; (f) a mobile communications device such as a mobile telephone; or (g) a point-of-sale vending device.
A cardholder system for carrying out secure transactions in a communications network, comprising a device according to any preceding claim, associated with a local computer application (LCA), such as a PC, to which the device is connected, preferably by an USB connector.
The cardholder system of claim 8, wherein the LCA stores software including a Dynamic Link Library (DLL) for for managing all transmissions between the local computer and a connected device.
A communications network in which encrypted data is communicated between a card issuer system, merchant site applications, a payment gateway and a device according to any one of claims 1-7 or a cardholder system according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the device is connected to the communications network to form a terminal for carrying out secure transactions in the network.
The communications network of claim 10 wherein the card issuer system, merchant site applications, and payment gateway exchange electronic certificates according to a protocol such as SET.
A computer program on a computer readable medium for carrying out secure transactions in a communications network to which a device as claimed in any one of claims 1-7 is connected via a local computer application, comprising said system shell software and application shell software downloadable into the device's memory, and software downloadable into the local computer application for managing all transmissions between the local computer and a connected device.
|
0.999823 |
What Are the Various Uses Of Athletic Field Fences?
No matter what type of sport is being played, a good fence is something that every athletic field needs. Chain link fences are usually the most suitable choice for enclosing the perimeter as well as other areas of a sports field because they are protective without obstructing the view. When professionally installed by skilled fence services, these barriers are essential for many reasons.
Whether the athletic field is located at a school or on community grounds, it is essential that these areas be surrounded by the right fence to mark various boundaries. Doing so is important for both insurance purposes, to keep trespassers off these properties; and also to provide the right enclosures for the different playing fields.
Many schools and sports fields have an outer fence around the property lines and additional enclosures to mark off the various playing areas and for other specific needs. Most fence services know which types of barriers are generally recommended for sports facilities and can make an appropriate suggestion based on the sport and the property layout.
Most athletic fields need surrounding fencing to protect both the spectators and the players. Soccer, lacrosse, and hockey fields usually require a lower fence to enclose the playing area and contain the ball, while football fields may use higher or lower enclosures around the playing area. Spectator safety is a prime concern with baseball and requires a much taller barrier around the batting area, with lower fences around the outfield to mark the playing field.
Tennis typically demands a very tall enclosure as well, many times with a screen directly around the court to prevent balls from going through. Some courts in more confined and congested locations may even be enclosed with a chain link roof. In any of these situations, the greater the chance that a ball could fly toward the crowd, the greater the need to have a taller fence installed by experienced fence services in order to protect spectators.
Fences are also necessary for crowd control to protect both players and the crowd. Athletic fields are typically partitioned off from the bleachers to prevent spectators from getting onto the field at any time. Screened barriers and dividers are also commonly used around the bullpen on a baseball diamond and similar areas on other playing fields to offer some privacy to the teams as they rest between plays. Barriers are also necessary to help venue security direct spectators to enclosed viewing areas and control the flow of spectators to and from the playing field.
Almost all athletic fields and courts include some type of barrier to contain the action and protect people. Regardless of the sport, owners of playing facilities must consider the many ways these barriers protect everyone involved and have the right fence installed. To learn more about athletic field fences and enclosures and get help in choosing the right one, property owners should contact local, experienced fence services to discuss their needs!
Need Athletic Field Fencing In College Station TX?
Contact College Station Fencing For Specialty Fencing Needs!
By |2019-04-16T17:06:31-05:00February 7th, 2017|Fences in College Station Texas|Comments Off on What Are the Various Uses Of Athletic Field Fences?
|
0.999999 |
Come up with more inspiring words or positive phrases to boost and motivate them.
It is vital to have in mind that what a parent doesn’t say is almost as important as what they do say. Words that are supposed as dictatorial, mindless, or totalitarian only serve to distance the child. At the other end of the spectrum is the parent who heaps unabashed flattery onto their child, something that is both counterproductive and potentially damaging.
Parents always think of to be very careful with the words to be used. This will depend on how you say it, what to say and when is the proper time to say it. Positive phrases have a big influence on a child’s outlook. Continue to motivate them and come up with more inspiring words or positive phrases to boost and motivate them.
These words of encouragement will have a huge impact on how they see life as they grow up. Children can also use your advice, beliefs, support, and words of inspiration to overwhelmed experiments in life and to impact others as well.
3.I think about you when we’re apart.
4. My world is better with you in it.
5 .I will do my best to keep you safe.
|
0.944002 |
how to create simple conditional formatting.
Conditional Formatting provides a way of viewing data and making it easier to understand worksheets. Conditional formatting enables you to automatically apply to format to one or more cells based on cell value, such as colors, icons, and data bar.
Highlight cell rules: Example rules include highlighting cells that are greater than a particular value, between two values, contain or duplicate specific text strings.
Top bottom rules: Examples include highlighting the top 10 items, percent items, and items above average.
Data bars: Applies a graph bar directly to the cell, proportional to the value of the cell.
Color Scale: Applies background color, proportional to the cell value.
Icon sets: Displays icon directly in the cells. the icon depends on the cell’s value.
When you apply the rules for conditional formatting, Excel displays a dialog box that is specific to that rule. These dialog boxes have one thing in common: a drop-down list with suggestions for common formatting.
The figure shows the dialog box that appears when you choose Home Tab ⇒ Styles ⇒ Conditional Formatting ⇒ Highlight Cells Rules ⇒ Between.
The figure below shows a worksheet with nine ranges, each with different types of conditional formatting rule applied. Here’s a brief explanation of each.
Greater than 10: Values greater than 10 are highlighted with a different background color. This rule is just one of the many numeric value related rules that you can apply.
Above Average: It highlights values that are higher than the average value.
Duplicate Values: Values are highlighted that appear more than once.
Words that contain X: If the cell contains X (upper or lower case), it will highlight the cell.
Data Bars: Each cell shows a horizontal bar proportional to its value.
Color Scale: The color of the background varies depending on the cells ‘ value. You can choose from multiple color scales or create your own.
Icon Set: One of the many sets of icons. It displays in the cell a small graphic. The graphics vary depending on the cell value.
It is basically useful if we want to apply to format in a different location and the conditions are in different locations. But sometimes the built-in formatting rules don’t go far enough. Adding your own formula to a conditional formatting rule gives you a power boost to help you do things the built-in rules can’t do. It’s basically useful if we want to apply to format in a different location and the conditions are in different locations. For example, if we want to highlight the name of the salesman if the sales amount is more than 50,000. Manage rule is used to edit any existing rules.
|
0.964273 |
_One program that allows workers who are at least 55 years old with 10 years of service to cut their hours by 20 percent with a 20 percent cut in pay, but keep health insurance and pension accrual benefits.
_Another that allows employees 60 and older with five years of service to reduce their hours by 20 percent to 50 percent, or even more if they're willing to lose their health insurance benefit.
_An employer that allows workers 55 and older with seven years of service to negotiate their own ``glide path'' to retirement, ramping down from full time to full retirement while retaining benefits.
_Yet another company that allows any employee to switch to less stressful or complex duties or phase to part-time work, retaining health insurance if they work at least 25 hours a week.
``Otherwise, years of institutional knowledge could be walking out the door,'' says Susan Weinstock, vice president for financial resiliency programming at AARP.
``Employees may not want to tip their hands,'' she says.
``A superstar is going to have greater negotiating power than the average employee,'' she says.
This column was provided to The Associated Press by the personal finance website NerdWallet. Liz Weston is a columnist at NerdWallet, a certified financial planner and author of ``Your Credit Score.'' Email: lweston(at)nerdwallet.com. Twitter: (at)lizweston.
|
0.999999 |
What is Piaget's Theory of Development?
Jean Piaget was a philosopher from Switzerland. He was also a natural scientist that was famous for the work that he did studying cognitive development and learning theories encompassed in his view of "genetic epistemology". At the young age of eleven he attended high school at Switzerland Latin wherein one of his short pieces was the start of his scientific career.
Piaget's theory of constructivism impacts learning curriculum because teachers have to make a curriculum plan which enhances their students' logical and conceptual growth. Teacher must put emphasis on the significant role that experiences-or connections with the adjoining atmosphere-play in student education. For example, teachers must bear in mind the role those fundamental concepts, such as the permanence of objects, plays when it comes to establishing cognitive structures.
Piaget's theory of constructivism argues that people produce knowledge and form meaning based upon their experiences. Piaget's theory covered learning theories, teaching methods, and education reform. Two of the key components which create the construction of an individual's new knowledge are accommodation and assimilation. Assimilating causes an individual to incorporate new experiences into the old experiences. This causes the individual to develop new outlooks, rethink what were once misunderstandings, and evaluate what is important, ultimately altering their perceptions. Accommodation, on the other hand, is reframing the world and new experiences into the mental capacity already present. Individuals conceive a particular fashion in which the world operates. When things do not operate within that context, they must accommodate and reframing the expectations with the outcomes.
Apart from learning theories, Piaget's theory of constructivism addresses how learning actually occurs, not focusing on what influences learning. The role of teachers is very important. Instead of giving a lecture the teachers in this theory function as facilitators whose role is to aid the student when it comes to their own understanding. This takes away focus from the teacher and lecture and puts it upon the student and their learning. The resources and lesson plans that must be initiated for this learning theory take a very different approach toward traditional learning as well. Instead of telling, the teacher must begin asking. Instead of answering questions that only align with their curriculum, the facilitator in this case must make it so that the student comes to the conclusions on their own instead of being told. Also, teachers are continually in conversation with the students, creating the learning experience that is open to new directions depending upon the needs of the student as the learning progresses. Teachers following Piaget's theory of constructivism must challenge the student by making them effective critical thinkers and not being merely a "teacher" but also a mentor, a consultant, and a coach.
Some strategies for teacher include having students working together and aiding to answer one another's questions. Another strategy includes designating one student as the "expert" on a subject and having them teach the class. Finally, allowing students to work in groups or pairs and research controversial topics which they must then present to the class.
|
0.971902 |
After Spanish, this country's most common language is Guaraní.
The corresponding question was: Paraguay.
The problem is that Guaraní is not the most common language of Paraguay after Spanish; Guaraní is the main language of Paraguay. Over 90% of Paraguayans are estimated to speak Guaraní, with about 40% of the population monolingual in Guaraní. About 6% are monolingual in Spanish. Roughly half the population is bilingual. That means that about 56% speak Spanish, compared to over 90% who speak Guaraní.
Politically, Spanish is the more important language. The monolingual Spanish minority still constitute much of the elite, and Spanish is used more widely than Guaraní in urban areas. Since the fall of the Stroessner dictatorship in 1989 Guaraní has assumed a more prominent role.
|
0.999645 |
Astronomy is generally believed to be the precursor of Astrology. However, if we are to believe that Astrology is part and parcel of Vedas revealed by the ancient Indian sages often referred to as Rishis or seers, Astronomy and Astrology have had their birth as twins in ancient India.
There is a reference to a text titled Vedanta Jyotisha in Vedic literature and in fact, Indian astrologers prefer to describe the science of the sky they practice as Vedic Astrology.
Modern Astronomy has developed as a science following the invention of the telescope by Italian scientist Galileo Galilei in 1609. However, there is ample historical and archaeological evidence to say that Astronomy had existed as a well-developed science in ancient civilizations in Greece, Sumer or Sumeria, Babylonia, China and India as far back as the 3rd millennium BC.
Newly unearthed Babylonian clay tablets stand testimony to the fact that the ancient Babylonian astronomers were highly advanced observers of the night sky.
It has also been discovered that the ancient Babylonian astronomers were quite proficient in Geometry and they used geometric methods to track the motions of the planets.
Five of the eight planets, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn had been well known to them.
According to the recent historical findings, by 800 BC Babylonian astronomers had learnt the methods to fix the locations of the planets in the Zodiac at a given moment and had been regularly keeping the records of planetary movements on clay tablets.
Babylonian astronomers had also made it a practice to keep records of significant celestial occurrences. Another finding made by archeologists that has amazed the world is a Babylonian record that says that a total Solar eclipse on July 31, 1063 BC had turned the day into a night.
Historians who have done extensive research have gathered sufficient material facts and evidence to demonstrate that the astronomers in ancient civilizations knew about Solar system and stars almost as much as unraveled by modern Astronomy so far. How could they access such vast knowledge if they had no highly sophisticated scientific instruments as those available today? Scientists engaged in this particular field of research are yet to come up with an answer to this question.
Did the ancient astronomers identify the distant planets like Saturn and Jupiter with the naked eye? What we know is that the world had not seen a telescope until the Dutch scientist Hans Lippershey invented a refracting telescope in the year 1608.
An advanced civilization had flourished in Sumer or Sumeria, one of the historical regions in Southern Mesopotamia, modern Southern Iraq about 5,000 years ago. The ancient Sumerians had known that 11 planets orbited around the Sun. We know that only five planets Mars, Venus, Mercury, Jupiter and Saturn are visible to the naked eye. So how did the Sumerians spot the planets not visible to the naked eye?
Archaeologists have come across what is believed to be a cylinder seal impression considered to be 6,000 years old in an area that formed part of ancient Sumer depicting 11 heavenly bodies revolving around the Sun.
|
0.999999 |
Pros / The performance is as good as it gets.
Verdict / The Rockford Fosgate P300's performance is exceptionally tight and big. If you want the best powered car subwoofer, the P300 delivers.
Rockford Fosgate is among the most popular brand of car audio manufacturers, and the P300 is no exception as the most reviewed and highest rated car subwoofer on Amazon. This 300-watt subwoofer features a 12-inch woofer and a sealed enclosure designed to produce a punchy, yet tight performance. In my tests, it was the best performing car subwoofer. For this reason, it earned my pick for the best subwoofer overall.
The Rockford Fosgate P300 has an MSRP price of $299, but the current market price is about $199. While this makes it one of the more expensive powered subwoofers I reviewed, it's still considerably more affordable than purchasing all the components separately. It's not easy to build a good $200 subwoofer when you have to buy the woofer, amplifier and enclosure separately. Plus, you'd have to deal with matching power specs and wiring.
By comparison though, the Pioneer TS-WX1210A, a similar powered sub, but it costs about $130. The performance isn't as pristine as the P300, but it's close. Both feature sealed enclosure with powerful amplifiers. The big question is whether you feel the better performance of the P300 is worth the $70 difference.
To test the subwoofers, I evaluated the bass within the context of a mix by listening to it perform with car speakers. Then I disconnected the speakers and evaluated the isolated bass performance, listening to distortions, clipping and other quirks. After tuning the bass and finding the sweet spot, I evaluated the size of the bass.
The P300 was the best performing subwoofer in these tests. The only comparable subwoofer is the JBL GT-BassPro12. Both subs earned A+ grades for overall performance and size. However, their performance couldn't be more different. The P300 is a very tight subwoofer. The bass has great shape and fits well in the mix because it's designed for accuracy. The GT-BassPro12 is designed to be aggressive and boomy with a massive, front-facing port. It's not nearly as accurate, but then it's not meant to be accurate. In other words, both subwoofers received A+ grades for performance because they are the best at the type of bass they were designed to perform.
The most impressive part of the P300's performance was the size of the bass. The sweet spot was very close to the maximum output and it was shaking the entire building where I tested. This sub certainly has the size to announce your arrival wherever you go.
The frequency response bottoms out at 35 Hz, a somewhat disappointing specification. The basement of human hearing is 20 Hz. For reference, the lowest note on a piano is 27Hz. So, it seems out of character for a 12-inch subwoofer to bottom out at 35 Hz.
The built-in amplifier has a continuous power output of 300-watts, making it the second most powerful subwoofer I tested. This extra power is necessary because of the large woofer and the sealed enclosure, but the size of the bass in my tests proved its power is plenty big enough to rattle your teeth in your head like maracas.
The controls received a B grade. It has only five controls, but these include a 50 to 200 Hz crossover and a 12-dB bass boost. This provides enough control to tune the subwoofer to your car's acoustic challenges and your preferences. It also comes with a wired remote to adjust the volume from the driver's seat. However, the biggest reason for the B grade is the flat knobs. They aren't easy to grip and turn. Some may need to use a flathead screwdriver to adjust the settings.
Like other 12-inch subwoofers, size is a consideration. The P300 comes in a sealed enclosure slightly smaller than the Pioneer subwoofer, but it's still big enough to consider the space it takes up in a trunk or storage area of a vehicle.
If a tight bass performance is your priority, the Rockford Fosgate P300 is the best option. The bass is very accurate and very big. It was the best performing car subwoofer in my tests. The 300-watt, 12-inch subwoofer are capable of rattling the windows of cars you drive past. The only concerns worth considering are size and price.
|
0.941223 |
How to create a workflow in HubSpot that triggers a notification, task or text message when a message response is received.
3. Click the "Create Workflow" button in the top right.
4. Select: Contact-Based > Start from Scratch. Click "Create Workflow" button.
5. Click the "Set enrollment triggers" button.
6. Select the "SMS Received property" enrollment trigger type.
7. Select "Message" as the trigger criteria with a value of "Known." Click the "Done" button.
8. Click the "Change re-enrollment options" link.
Allow contacts who meet the trigger criteria to re-enroll when any one of the following occurs.
11. Now you've completed your trigger, and you can select your available actions. Actions will completed when the trigger event occurs.
Click the orange "Add an action" button.
In this example, we're going to walk through the "Create a task" action.
14. Click the "pencil" icon to give your workflow a name.
15. Click the "Review" button in the top right.
16. Click the "Turn on" button in the top right.
17. Click "OK" to confirm your workflow is on.
18. You're done! Now, whenever a text message response is received, a new task will be created for the contact owner requesting that they respond.
|
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.