text:
|Vatican Reverses Itself, "The Martyrdom of St. Lawrence" Not a Caravaggio|
"The Martyrdom of St. Lawrence" painting. The Vatican's top art historian has shot down a report in the Vatican's own newspaper that had suggested that a recently discovered painting was a Caravaggio. The head of the Vatican Museums, Antonio Paolucci, wrote Monday, July 26, 2010, in the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano that the work, discovered in the sacristy of a Jesuit church in Rome, was most likely a copy of an original painted by a Caravaggio student. It was L'Osservatore Romano itself which last week set the art world aflutter with a front-page article "A New Caravaggio,'' detailing the artistry behind the "Martyrdom of St. Lawrence.'' AP Photo/L'Osservatore Romano, HO, Zelo Colantoni.
By: Nicole Winfield, Associated Press Writer
VATICAN CITY (AP).- The Vatican's top art historian on Monday shot down a report in its own newspaper that suggested a recently discovered painting was a Caravaggio.
The head of the Vatican Museums, Antonio Paolucci, wrote in the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano that the work was most likely a copy of an original by a Caravaggio-influence artist.
It was L'Osservatore itself that set the art world aflutter last week with a front-page article headlined "A New Caravaggio," detailing the artistry behind the "Martyrdom of St. Lawrence," which had been discovered in the sacristy of a Jesuit church in Rome.
The author of the article, art historian Lydia Salviucci Insolera, had made clear that she was not making any conclusions about the authenticity of the work and that more diagnostic tests were required.
But the impression given by the newspaper was that the painting was indeed a never-before-seen Caravaggio: The definitive-sounding headline appeared above the fold alongside a color photograph of the dramatic painting on the 400th anniversary to the day of the master's death.
The Vatican has in the past announced such art-world news in L'Osservatore, such as when it revealed last year that the earliest known icon of St. Paul had been discovered in a Roman catacomb just in time for the saint's feast day.
The original Caravaggio article published June 18 pointed out that the "The Martyrdom of St. Lawrence" presented features typical of the artist's style, such as the use of chiaroscuro for dramatic effect and the unique perspective from which the subject is seen. The report also highlighted similarities with other Caravaggio's paintings, for example in the saint's hand and body movement.
But on Monday, after a week of "Caravaggiomania" that ensued amid the already frenzied Caravaggio anniversary celebrations in Italy, Vatican Museum chief Paolucci, a former Italian Culture Minister, issued the equivalent of a Holy See mea culpa and reversal.
In a front-page article entitled "A New Caravaggio? Not really" Paolucci wrote that the work was not of Caravaggio's quality and termed it "modest" at best, pointing out in particular that the hands were completely out of perspective.
The painting depicts a semi-naked young man, his mouth open in desperation, one arm stretched out as he leans over amid flames. St. Lawrence was burned to death in 258.
Paolucci said that while the idea of putting St. Lawrence on the grill where he became a martyr was dramatically beautiful, and the thugs perpetrating his martyrdom are suggestive of Caravaggio's themes, a closer look reveals stylistic shortcomings.
He said that the hands are "wrong in their perspective," that the subjects' anatomies were "awkward" and that in the case of nudes in the background "disjointedPaolucci also noted that the painting technique was "inadequate."
"The quality isn't there, whereas in a Caravaggio it always is, and it's high even when ... he uses maximum carelessness and a minimum of his expressive resources," Paolucci wrote.
He stressed that he wasn't criticizing Insolera and noted that she had correctly made clear that further analysis and documentation would be required to provide definitive answers as to whether the work was a Caravaggio.
The painting is to be unveiled to the public on Tuesday by Italy's Culture Ministry.
At the time of the discovery, Maurizio Marini, a leading Caravaggio scholar, expressed doubts about the authenticity of the work in an interview with The Associated Press. He concurred with Insonlera who noted that St. Lawrence was not a known Caravaggio subject. And he said the stylistic similarities were inconclusive and that claims of new Caravaggios often surface but seldom hold up.
Caravaggio died in the Tuscan coast town of Porto Ercole in 1610 at age 39 under mysterious circumstances. He had been hugely influential and famous, but had also led a dissolute life of street brawls and alcohol.
Recently, a team of Italian researchers said they had identified Caravaggio's remains after a year of digging up bones in Porto Ercole and conducting carbon dating, DNA testing and other analyses.
Italy has been marking the anniversary with a variety of events, and an exhibit in Rome earlier this year drew over half a million visitors.
Associated Press reporter Alessandra Rizzo contributed to this report.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.
July 27, 2010
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Stage 0: Lots of lecture – not much else to say about that.
Stage 1:
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Stage 2: Start with the question: Which is more difficult – pulling a truck or pulling a lineman across astroturf? Students will immediately have opinions one way or another. (Usually they think that pulling a truck is harder because it's "heavier".)
I split the students into group and have each group agree on which object will be more difficult to pull and guess how much force each will require. (This is my favorite part of the lesson – so often students have no concept of how much force a Newton is. If they ask for some guidance, I inform them that I weigh about 500 N. Students find this shocking. They think 500 N is a HUGE amount of force.)
Once each group has their guesses solidified, we then watch this video and the students work to explain why a flea was able to pull something so heavy (no friction!):
I have the students make a list of factors they think might affect an object's friction and have them test them out (different weights, different surfaces, etc.) This leads us nicely into coefficients of friction and other discussions.
Usually at this point, students are still convinced the truck will require more force – after all, pretty much all of our tests confirmed that heavier objects ARE more difficult to pull. We try it out (I let them each try to pull my car using an ENORMOUS force sensor that one of the math classes built last year). They then try pulling each other across astroturf – most of the students were not strong enough to pull ANY of their classmates across the turf.
(These are the lessons that I have actually given in my 3 years of teaching AP Physics.)
Stage 0: So, Torque is force multiplied by the distance to the pivot point. You must use the component of the force that is perpendicular to the distance. Torque makes things rotate. Awesome, huh?
Stage 1: Torque lab stations:
Stage 2: We started class by watching this video:
The obvious question is "holy crap, how did that happen?" which provided a nice segue from our study of fluid mechanics (which we are just finishing) into torque.
We started by listing factor that might affect whether or not a truck would get knocked over by wind. We then analyzed the fluid mechanics behind it and began our analysis of the actual tipping.
(I have to admit I am a little embarrassed that stage 0 and stage 1 are real lessons that at one point I thought were pretty awesome.
I am trying out a new technique for test and exam review this year with my AP Physics students. They all have a year of honors physics behind them, so reviewing concepts is mostly a waste of time. They know the material pretty well, and right now are just struggling with fitting it all together. (Knowing when they can and cannot use COE, how to break down a complex problem into smaller parts, etc.) I have had a lot of requests from students to just tell them the steps they will need to go through to solve some of the problems. And while that sounds like a lot of fun (ahem) I am not convinced it will be worthwhile. I want them to get used to working through problems that they have never seen before and to learn how to use their understanding instead of a scripted procedure to solve problems.
So I am trying two different techniques for test "reviews".
First, goal-less problems. They are awesome. And sooo easy to create. Just take an AP problem (or any problem for that matter) and remove the question. Then we can discuss what we can(or cannot) solve for and how to solve for each unknown. (There are usually lots and lots of possibilities.)
Second, (and this is what I am doing this week) I want them to solve "real" problems. So I will find a video on youtube, an video of Angry Birds, etc. and have them analyze the physics. (This is again similar to a goal-less problem, but a little more fun.) On Monday, we will be looking at a video of the blue Angry Birds (the ones that split into 3 birds in the air) to figure out what exactly is happening. Is momentum conserved? Energy? Why? Are they on Earth? In order to speed up the process I went ahead and loaded the video into Tracker and printed out the x and y position and velocity graphs. Yes, I realize that ideally they could do this themselves, but for the purpose of a test review I want to spend the time actually looking at the physics instead of learning how to use the software. It should still be a challenge for them to figure out what parts of the graphs are relevant and how to use them for momentum and energy problems (this is not something we have specifically done yet.) Hopefully practicing with a fairly open-ended and less structured problem will make them more comfortable when they see an unfamiliar problem that lists all of the information they need and tells them specifically what questions they need to answer.
This is my third year teaching AP Physics. I have the benefit of being able to teach a group of students who have already completed (successfully) a year of honors physics (which I also taught). This is fabulous, except for the fact that they already know pretty much all of the content they need. In the past, no matter how interesting I tried to make the class, it still felt like I was just re-teaching them stuff they already knew (which I was) and they were bored (for valid reasons). This year, I completely changed things around.
The first week or so of class I spent going over some details that we had kind of breezed over last year (when to rotate coordinate systems, further analysis of the difference between static and kinetic friction, etc.). We then spent one day reviewing the "models" that we had developed last year – ie, constant velocity, constant acceleration, projectiles, COE, COM, central force, etc and reviewed when each was and was not valid. (During this time, the students were also working through some AP problems for homework.)
Now that they have their heads back in the game and refreshed their memories, we have the rest of the trimester (until about Thanksgiving) to do some real physics. Stuff that they are interested in and that requires a little more thinking than just trudging through problem after problem (or watching me trudge through problem after problem). I realized (not surprisingly) that there are about a million youtube videos out there that are AP problems in disguise! Except they're even better, because they require the students to decide what information they need (instead of having it listed for them at the top of the page). Awesome. (Plus, the students think they're pretty cool. That never hurts anything.)
Today, we started our first project. I showed them this video:
Without any prompting, the kids immediately asked "is that real?" Well, I have no idea. Why don't we find out? (Actually, I do have a pretty good idea. But I wasn't about to tell them that.) The class was split between students who were convinced it was fabricated and those who really, really wanted it to be real.
Since this was their first problem of this kind we came up (as a class) with a list of information that they would need to collect in order to solve the problem. (I let them come up with the list and simply wrote their suggestions on the board. I really, really wanted to jump in a few times to point out why some of these pieces were irrelevant, but I refrained. Remember how I'm trying to be less helpful? Yeah, that's hard sometimes. But worth it. As it turns out, once they started working the problem most of them figured out what info was irrelevant and what stuff mattered.) The students spent the rest of class looking up distances and determining whether or not this could reasonably be a real shot or if it was faked. Tomorrow we are going down to the gym and using my Flip camera to collect videos of them attempting half-court shots. (And let me tell you, they are pretty darn excited about that.) That way we can compare the analysis of a real shot to the youtube video.
Next project: car crash anaysis, maybe?
I have two main goals for myself this year (both of which are way harder than I would have thought):
 1. Really listen to my kids. Don't correct them, but pay attention to what they're saying and try to figure out where their misconceptions are.
 2. Be less helpful. I have talked repeatedly about how it's okay to make mistakes as long as we learn from them. It's impossible to learn from mistakes if your teacher jumps in and fixes them before you can make any.
For the past couple of days in my 9th grade physics class, we have been discussing motion maps and position-time graphs (along with the buggy lab). I introduced motion maps by talking about what you can tell about a person's


$user = $user->save();
Note that it is not possible to recover a password in this manner as stored passwords are not made available via the Provisioning API for security reasons.
Forcing a user to change their password
A user can be forced to change their password at their next login by setting the login->changePasswordAtNextLogin property to TRUE.
 1. $user = $gdata->retrieveUser('foo');
 2. $user->login->changePasswordAtNextLogin = true;
 3. $user = $user->save();
Similarly, this can be undone by setting the login->changePasswordAtNextLogin property to FALSE.
Suspending a user account
Users can be restricted from logging in without deleting their user account by instead suspending their user account. Accounts can be suspended or restored by using the suspendUser() and restoreUser() convenience methods:
 1. $gdata->suspendUser('foo');
 2. $gdata->restoreUser('foo');
Alternatively, you can set the UserEntry's login->suspended property to TRUE.
 1. $user = $gdata->retrieveUser('foo');
 2. $user->login->suspended = true;
 3. $user = $user->save();
To restore the user's access, set the login->suspended property to FALSE.
Granting administrative rights
Users can be granted the ability to administer your domain by setting their login->admin property to TRUE.
 1. $user = $gdata->retrieveUser('foo');
 2. $user->login->admin = true;
 3. $user = $user->save();
And as expected, setting a user's login->admin property to FALSE revokes their administrative rights.
Deleting user accounts
Deleting a user account to which you already hold a UserEntry is a simple as calling delete() on that entry.
 1. $user = $gdata->retrieveUser('foo');
 2. $user->delete();
If you do not have access to a UserEntry object for an account, use the deleteUser() convenience method.
 1. $gdata->deleteUser('foo');
Interacting with nicknames
Nicknames serve as email aliases for existing users. Each nickname contains precisely two key properties: its name and its owner. Any email addressed to a nickname is forwarded to the user who owns that nickname.
Nicknames are represented as an instances of Zend_Gdata_Gapps_NicknameEntry.
Creating a nickname
Nicknames can be created by calling the createNickname() convenience method:
 1. $gdata->createNickname('foo', 'bar');
Nicknames can also be created by instantiating NicknameEntry, providing the nickname with a name and an owner, then calling insertNickname() on a service object to upload the entry to the server.
 1. $nickname = $gdata->newNicknameEntry();
 2. $nickname->login = $gdata->newLogin('foo');
 3. $nickname->nickname = $gdata->newNickname('bar');
 4. $nickname = $gdata->insertNickname($nickname);
Retrieving a nickname
Nicknames can be retrieved by calling the retrieveNickname() convenience method. This will return NULL if a user is not found.
 1. $nickname = $gdata->retrieveNickname('bar');
 2.
 3. echo 'Nickname: ' . $nickname->nickname->name . "\n";
 4. echo 'Owner: ' . $nickname->login->username . "\n";
Individual nicknames can also be retrieved by creating an instance of Zend_Gdata_Gapps_NicknameQuery, setting its nickname property to equal the nickname that is to be retrieved, and calling getNicknameEntry() on a service object with that query.
 1. $query = $gdata->newNicknameQuery('bar');
 2. $nickname = $gdata->getNicknameEntry($query);
 3.
 4. echo 'Nickname: ' . $nickname->nickname->name . "\n";
 5. echo 'Owner: ' . $nickname->login->username . "\n";
As with users, if no corresponding nickname is found a ServiceException will be thrown with an error code of Zend_Gdata_Gapps_Error::ENTITY_DOES_NOT_EXIST. Again, these will be discussed in the exceptions chapter.
Retrieving all nicknames for a user
To retrieve all nicknames associated with a given user, call the convenience method retrieveNicknames().
 1. $feed = $gdata->retrieveNicknames('foo');
 2.
 3. foreach ($feed as $nickname) {
 4. echo ' * ' . $nickname->nickname->name . "\n";
 5. }
This will create a Zend_Gdata_Gapps_NicknameFeed object which holds each nickname associated with the specified user.
Alternatively, create a new Zend_Gdata_Gapps_NicknameQuery, set its username property to the desired user, and submit the query by calling getNicknameFeed() on a service object.
 1. $query = $gdata->newNicknameQuery();
 2. $query->setUsername('foo');
 3. $feed = $gdata->getNicknameFeed($query);
 4.
 5. foreach ($feed as $nickname) {
 6. echo ' * ' . $nickname->nickname->name . "\n";
 7. }
Retrieving all nicknames in a domain
To retrieve all nicknames in a feed, simply call the convenience method retrieveAllNicknames()
 1. $feed = $gdata->retrieveAllNicknames();
 2.
 3. foreach ($feed as $nickname) {
 4. echo ' * ' . $nickname->nickname->name . ' => ' .
 5. $nickname->login->username . "\n";
 6. }
This will create a Zend_Gdata_Gapps_NicknameFeed object which holds each nickname on the domain.
Alternatively, call getNicknameFeed() on a service object with no arguments.
 1. $feed = $gdata->getNicknameFeed();
 2.
 3. foreach ($feed as $nickname) {
 4. echo ' * ' . $nickname->nickname->name . ' => ' .
 5. $nickname->login->username . "\n";
 6. }
Deleting a nickname
Deleting a nickname to which you already hold a NicknameEntry for is a simple as calling delete() on that entry.
 1. $nickname = $gdata->retrieveNickname('bar');
 2. $nickname->delete();
For nicknames which you do not hold a NicknameEntry for, use the deleteNickname() convenience method.
 1. $gdata->deleteNickname('bar');
Interacting with groups
Google Groups allows people to post messages like an email list. Google is depreciating the Email List API. Google Groups provides some neat features like nested groups and group owners. If you want to start a new email lst, it is advisable to use Google Groups instead. Google's Email List is not compatible with Google Groups. So if you create an email list, it will not show up as a group. The opposite is true as well.
Each group on a domain is represented as an instance of Zend_Gdata_Gapps_GroupEntry.
Creating a group
Groups can be created by calling the createGroup() convenience method:
 1. $gdata->createGroup('friends', 'The Friends Group');
Groups can also be created by instantiating GroupEntry, providing a group id and name for the group, then calling insertGroup() on a service object to upload the entry to the server.
 1. $group = $gdata->newGroupEntry();
 2.
 3. $properties[0] = $this->newProperty();
 4. $properties[0]->name = 'groupId';
 5. $properties[0]->value = 'friends';
 6. $properties[1] = $this->newProperty();
 7. $properties[1]->name = 'groupName';
 8. $properties[1]->value = 'The Friends Group';
 9.
 10. $group->property = $properties;
 11.
 12. $group =


An environment that celebrates the legacy and continuing contributions of Gullah Geechee people to our American heritage.
To nurture pride and facilitate an understanding and awareness of the significance of Gullah Geechee history and culture within Gullah Geechee communities.
To sustain and preserve land, language, and cultural assets within the coastal communities of South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina, and Florida.
To promote economic development among Gullah Geechee people.
To educate the public on the value and importance of Gullah Geechee culture.
Goal 1: Foster public awareness of and appreciation for the history of Gullah Geechee people, their contributions to the development of the United States, and their connections to the African diaspora and other international cultures.
Goal 2: Enhance the quality of life for current and future generations of Gullah Geechee people within the Corridor.
Goal 3: Protect, preserve, and restore tangible and intangible natural and cultural resources in communities and other areas that are of cultural and historical significance to Gullah Geechee people.
Partnership Applications
Partnerships are key to implementation of the various strategies and actions outlined in the management plan. Throughout implementation, the Corridor would continually evaluate partnerships and implementation relative to the Corridor's vision, mission and purpose. Partners will assist in implementing the Corridor's programs focused on education, economic development, and documentation and preservation of resources.
The purpose of the Partnership Application is to gather proposals from potential partners, and to give organizations and members of the community a way to become involved in the Corridor and contribute to preserving Gullah Geechee heritage. This application process will formalize the relationships that the Corridor seeks to build, and will also assist in prioritization of effort and resources in order to operate effectively.
Partnership Application
Partner Site Application
Partner Application Support
Partnership Application Support
Partner Site Application Support
Submission deadlines for Partner applications will be announced following the approval of the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Management Plan by the Secretary of the Interior.
©2012 Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor


text:
Frost layer and gravel base layer in high quality
In times of increasingly scarce raw materials, it is increasingly important to reuse the available construction waste with maximum quality in order to obtain high-quality RCL material at the end of the process chain. When crushing rubble waste usually high fines and high levels of crushed sands are produced, which can prevent the reuse of this recycled material. Monitoring the grading curve is therefore essential to ensure consistent quality. In particular, the proportions of the smaller grain fractions should be smaller, so that the legally prescribed limits for frost layers and gravel base layers are not exceeded by the handling and compression of the RCL gravel. Only then can the requirements for water permeability and frost resistance be guaranteed even after complete use of it.
Little sand and a lot of coarse grain
The gentle crushing process produces only a minor portion of the smaller grain sizes. This gives you more coarse grains, which take on an important function for the support structure, and achieves an excellent load capacity and compressibility of the material. The largest grains are supported by the smaller grains.
The low level of sand or fine particles ensures excellent water permeability and guarantees important antifreeze properties. Depending on the feed material and processing, it may even happen that the amount of added sand have to be increased, so that the usually excess sand content from other treatment processes are utilized and do not need to be landfilled.
Concrete granules as aggregate for concrete
Due to the small proportion of fractions smaller than 2 mm, the double-roll crushing technology with special crushing tools is excellently suited for the production of aggregates for concrete. For feed grain sizes of e.g. 22/100 mm, a product grain size of less than 22 mm can be produced with a sand content of between 20% and 25%.

source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


Causation and the origin of life. Metabolism or replication first?
Department of Chemistry, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva 84105, Israel.
Origins of Life and Evolution of Biospheres (Impact Factor: 1.83). 07/2004; 34(3):307-21. DOI:10.1023/B:ORIG._PHONE_.51012.bc
Source: PubMed
ABSTRACT The conceptual gulf that separates the'metabolism first' and'replication first' mechanisms for the emergence of life continues to cloud the origin of life debate. In the present paper we analyze this aspect of the origin of life problem and offer arguments in favor of the'replication first' school. Utilizing Wicken's two-tier approach to causation we argue that a causal connection between replication and metabolism can only be demonstrated if replication would have preceded metabolism. In conjunction with existing empirical evidence and theoretical reasoning, our analysis concludes that there is no substantive evidence for a'metabolism first' mechanism for life's emergence, while a coherent case can be made for the'replication first' group of mechanisms. The analysis reaffirms our conviction that life is an extreme expression of kinetic control, and that the emergence of metabolic pathways can be understood by considering life as a manifestation of'replicative chemistry'.
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Available from
Addy Pross


text:
Now Recruiting for the Next Group of Students for Culinary and Horticultural Careers
County College of Morris (CCM) recently celebrated the latest graduates from its Culinary Opportunity (COP) and Horticultural Opportunity (HOP) programs, as it also has begun recruiting for the next class to take part in the training sessions for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
COP prepares students for entry-level positions in food production or packaging in a grocery, supermarket, convenience store, food market or restaurant. Students in the program also obtain Serv-Safe certification and are provided with resume preparation and interviewing skills, along with the opportunity to meet potential employers.
Students in HOP gain hands-on experience in horticultural practices ranging from greenhouse production to landscape maintenance to floriculture. Students learn about the safe use of tools, soil preparation and seeding, transplanting techniques, caring for houseplants and more. As with the COP program, students learn how to put together a resume and interviewing skills and have the opportunity to meet with potential employers.
On December 16, the college held a ceremony to honor the graduates from the Fall 2022 Semester COP and HOP programs.
COP graduates from this Fall Semester are Dylan Acree of Boonton, Veronique Coulibaly of Parsippany, Emile LaFargue of West Orange, Rohan Nagaraja of Summit, Matthew Rausch of Andover, Rebecca Rosenberg of Livingston, Aidyn Sanchez of Morristown, and Jordan Walther of Great Meadows.
HOP graduates from the Fall Semester are Peter Bloom of Rockaway, Ryan Lynch of Rockaway, Leon Moss-McNair of Irvington,
Kathrine Padormo of Rockaway, Julian Sanchez of Boonton, and Jamaal Theodore of Flanders.
Speaking to the graduates, Irena Kaler, Director of Workforce Development & Community Partnerships, commended them for their hard work, determination and positive attitudes, saying, "Here at CCM, celebrating these great students, it really is the most wonderful time of the year."
Both programs are limited to eight students to provide for individualized and extensive hands-on training. For more information on COP, visit _URL_ and for HOP, go to _URL_

source: m-a-p/FineFineWeb


text:
Most uses of SPA I've seen seem to be representing static systems, such as recognizing digits, categorizing images, rapid variable creation (also called "completing a pattern") and planning a path for writing those digits back out. Can it be used to represent dynamics as well, such as the general movement from a series of images?
As explained in the NEF book, all non-linear dynamical systems can be represented in the NEF.
The SPA is simply applying semantic meaning and manipulations to the vectors represented by the NEF. The two most prominent examples of this are the motor system and the inference system in Spaun, which are shown in the aforementioned "rapid variable creation" task.
The vision system represents symbols (numbers) which get sent to the inference system. The inference system figures out the answer and sends it to the motor system. The motor system converts the symbol to a path and follows it.
Adding dynamics in a similar system with dynamics being visually identified, manipulated and then output, instead of static paths. One could imagine a system where the dynamics of the movement of an object are identified, manipulated neurally and then imitated. For example, having the running of a cheetah represented a series of limb movements, mapping them onto the human body and then having a human imitate that gait.
Of course this hasn't been implemented yet (and would look quite silly), but it shouldn't be super difficult. The main problem would be a good "demo" or psychological data to match, but I think this is still a good example.


Azure Pipelines architecture for IaaS
Important
CI/CD for IaaS applications is a variant of Design a CI/CD pipeline using Azure DevOps. This article focuses on the specifics of deploying web applications to Azure Virtual Machines.
Azure Virtual Machines is an option for hosting custom applications when you want flexible and granular management of your compute. Virtual machines (VMs) should be subject to the same level of engineering rigor as Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) offerings throughout the development lifecycle. For example, implementing automated build and release pipelines to push changes to the VMs.
This article describes a high-level DevOps workflow for deploying application changes to VMs using continuous integration (CI) and continuous deployment (CD) practices using Azure Pipelines.
Architecture
Architecture diagram of a CI/CD pipeline using Azure Pipelines.
Download a Visio file of this architecture.
Dataflow
This section assumes you have read Azure Pipelines baseline architecture and only focuses on the specifics of deploying a workload to Azure Virtual Machines.
 1. PR pipeline - Same as the baseline
 2. CI pipeline - Same as the baseline, except the build artifacts created for deploying a Web App to IaaS is a Web Deploy package
 3. CD pipeline trigger - Same as the baseline
 4. CD release to staging - Same as the baseline with 2 exceptions: 1) the build artifact that is downloaded is the Web Deploy Package and 2) the package is deployed to a staging Azure Virtual Machine.
 5. CD release to production - Same as the baseline with 2 exceptions:
 a. The release to production is done by updating Azure Traffic Manager to swap staging and production. This strategy can be accomplished by having a Traffic Manager profile with two endpoints, where production is enabled and staging is disabled. To swap staging and production, disable production and enable staging.
 b. A rollback can be accomplished by updating Azure Traffic Manager to swap production and staging back.
 6. Monitoring - same as the baseline
Components
This section assumes you have read Azure Pipelines baseline architecture components section and only focuses on the specifics of deploying a workload to Azure Virtual Machines.
 - Azure Virtual Machines provide on-demand, high-scale, secure, virtualized infrastructure using Windows or Linux servers. Virtual Machines are used in this architecture to host workloads.
 - Virtual Machine Scale Sets let you create and manage a group of identical load-balanced VMs. The number of VM instances can automatically increase or decrease in response to demand or a defined schedule. Scale sets can also be used to host workloads.
 - Azure Traffic Manager is a DNS-based traffic load balancer that you can use to distribute traffic to configured endpoints. In this architecture, Traffic Manager is the single entrypoint for clients and is configured with multiple endpoints, representing the production Virtual Machine and the staging Virtual Machine. The production Virtual Machine endpoint is enabled and staging is disabled.
Alternatives
This article focuses on the use of Azure Traffic Manager as the load balancer. Azure offers various Load balancing options that you could consider.
Considerations
This section assumes you have read the considerations section in Azure Pipelines baseline architecture and only focuses on the considerations specifics to deploying a workload to Azure Virtual Machines.
Operational Excellence
 - Because Traffic Manager is DNS-based, client caching of IP addresses introduces latency. Even though you might enable one endpoint and disable another in Traffic Manager, clients will continue to use their cached IP address until the DNS Time-to-live (TTL) expires. Consider load balancing options that act at layer 4 or layer 7.
 - Consider implementing environments beyond just staging and production to enable things like rollbacks, manual acceptance testing, and performance testing. The act of using staging as the rollback environment keeps you from being able to use that environment for other purposes.
Next steps


text:
In string theory, a worldsheet is a two-dimensional manifold which describes the embedding of a string in spacetime. The term was coined by Leonard Susskind around 1967 as a direct generalization of the world line concept for a point particle in special and general relativity.
The type of string, the geometry of the spacetime in which it propagates, and the presence of long-range background fields (such as gauge fields) are encoded in a conformal field theory defined on the worldsheet. For example, the bosonic string in 26-dimensional Minkowski space has a worldsheet conformal field theory consisting of 26 free scalar fields. Meanwhile, a superstring worldsheet theory in 10 dimensions consists of 10 free scalar fields and their fermionic superpartners.


z ]T, we obtain
$$ {\left[ T\right]}_{\times }={\left[\begin{array}{c}\hfill 0\hfill \\ {}\hfill {t}_z\hfill \\ {}\hfill -{t}_y\hfill \end{array}\kern1em \begin{array}{c}\hfill -{t}_z\hfill \\ {}\hfill 0\hfill \\ {}\hfill {t}_x\hfill \end{array}\kern1em \begin{array}{c}\hfill {t}_y\hfill \\ {}\hfill -{t}_x\hfill \\ {}\hfill 0\hfill \end{array}\right]}^{\mathrm{T}} $$
where [T]× is the anti-symmetric matrix of the vector T. Therefore, Eq. 9 can be expressed as follows:
$$ {x_{s2}}^{\mathrm{T}}\cdot R\left( T\times {x}_{s1}\right)={x_{s2}}^{\mathrm{T}} E{x}_{s1}=0 $$
(10)
where E = R[T]× is an essential 3 × 3 matrix with a rank of 2. Notably, the essential matrix has only 5° of freedom. Based on Eq. 10, each pair of points can provide two linear constraint equations of the essential matrix; thus, calculating the essential matrix requires a minimum of eight pairs of points. Because of the homogeneity of Eq. 10, the essential matrix E can be obtained only with the difference of a non-zero factor, indicating that the equation \( \boldsymbol{E}=\left[\boldsymbol{R},\overline{\boldsymbol{T}}\right] \) × with the motion parameters [R, T] can only be obtained as \( \left[\boldsymbol{R},\overline{\boldsymbol{T}}\right] \), that is, with the difference of a non-zero factor, where \( \boldsymbol{T}=\lambda \overline{\boldsymbol{T}} \). Here, the physical meaning of the non-zero factor λ is the baseline length.
Relative positional calculation of the omnidirectional, stereo vision system
Based on the epipolar geometry of the omnidirectional stereo vision system, the relative position of the two omnidirectional cameras is equal to the essential matrix. Using the improved eight-corner-point algorithm [20], the eigenvalue of the decomposed essential matrix is E = UDV T, where D = diag(σ, σ, 0); thus, the solution of R and \( \overline{\boldsymbol{T}} \) can be expressed as follows:
$$ {\left[\boldsymbol{t}\right]}_{\times}\approx \boldsymbol{V}\boldsymbol{Z}{\boldsymbol{V}}^{\mathrm{T}},\boldsymbol{R}=\boldsymbol{U}\boldsymbol{G}{\boldsymbol{V}}^T or\boldsymbol{R}= U{\boldsymbol{G}}^{\boldsymbol{T}}{\boldsymbol{V}}^T $$
(11)
where
$$ \boldsymbol{G}=\left[\begin{array}{ccc}\hfill 0\hfill & \hfill 1\hfill & \hfill 0\hfill \\ {}\hfill -1\hfill & \hfill 0\hfill & \hfill 0\hfill \\ {}\hfill 0\hfill & \hfill 0\hfill & \hfill 1\hfill \end{array}\right],\boldsymbol{Z}=\left[\begin{array}{ccc}\hfill 0\hfill & \hfill -1\hfill & \hfill 0\hfill \\ {}\hfill 1\hfill & \hfill 0\hfill & \hfill 0\hfill \\ {}\hfill 0\hfill & \hfill 0\hfill & \hfill 0\hfill \end{array}\right] $$
The symbol ≈ indicates that there is a difference in the proportional constant factor λ, which can be calculated by the real translation vector \( \boldsymbol{T}=\lambda \overline{\boldsymbol{T}} \), where \( \overline{\boldsymbol{T}} \) is the unitized vector of the translation vector solution in Eq. 11. In this case, the physical meaning of λ is the baseline length. The calculation method of λ and the real translation vector T will be described after the stereo rectification method is described.
Stereo rectification method
A new rectification model
In the standard V-binocular omnistereo vision system shown in Fig. 6, the triangulation formula can be simplified as a standard, binocular, visual triangulation formula for perspective stereo systems as follows:
Fig. 6
figure 6
Standard, vertically aligned, stereo vision system
$$ r= f\frac{d}{v_2-{v}_1}= f\frac{d}{v} $$
(12)
where v = v 2 − v 1 describes the pixel disparity of the vertical axis, f is the camera focal length, and d is the length of the vertical baseline. Equation 12 shows that the positioning accuracy is isotropic in a vertically aligned stereo vision system and is not affected by the field of view. The epipolar line is the vertical axis of the cylindrically expanded image, which makes the corresponding polar line simple to determine.
An ideal, vertical-baseline, omnidirectional, stereo pair has a linear, epipolar, geometric relationship in the radial direction; however, this assumption is ideal in that inevitable misalignment errors exist between the two optical axes when applied in practice. Our rectification is a procedure used to obtain a column alignment image pair in our vertically arranged systems. A standard, stereo, cylindrical image pair can be generated using the rotation matrix R, and the unit transition vector \( \overline{\boldsymbol{T}} \) can be calculated using the essential matrix. This significantly improves the speed of the algorithm making it suitable for real-time applications. After applying our proposed procedure, two important parameters, namely, (a) baseline length (obtained via stereo calibration) and (b) pixel disparity of the vertical axis (easily obtained from a paralleled cylindrical image pair obtained by rectification), can be used in Eq. 12 to calculate metric scene measurements for robot tasks.
Figure 7 shows the cylindrical image, rectification model of the stereo vision system with a deviation in the optical axis. The epipolar line of the upper and lower cylindrical image is not the vertical line of the expanded cylindrical image when the expansion model that we mentioned is applied directly. However, based on the rectification model shown in Fig. 7, the vertical baseline (the connection of the two origins) of the panoramic, stereo, expanded, cylindrical image pair described in Fig. 6 can be obtained directly. The corresponding polar line and triangulation formulas are thus simplified.
Fig. 7
figure 7
Cylindrical-image, rectification model
By using the effective viewpoints of the two omnidirectional vision systems as origins to establish the omnidirectional vision system's coordinates, F u and F d and O m1 and O m2 are the origins of the systems, indicating O m1 as the origin of the world coordinate system. R and \( \overline{T} \) can be calculated, and the physical meaning of the unit translation vector \( \overline{T} \) is the unit vector of O m2 in F u. Point x u is a point of the upper cylindrical expansion image in F u, and x d is a point of the lower cylinder expansion image in F d. Thus, the following holds:
$$ {\boldsymbol{x}}_{\mathrm{u}}=\boldsymbol{R}{\boldsymbol{x}}_{\mathrm{d}}+\lambda \overline{\boldsymbol{T}} $$
(13)
The line


text:
Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad channelizes energy and activism of its hundreds and thousands of young students as social critic, social deterrent and social watch dog. ABVP prepares the students to their best, to effectively shoulder these responsibilities and provide a dynamic vibrant & nationalist leadership in all domains of the society. The basic idea is that if thousands and thousands of such social leaders perform their role with lifelong commitment then Bharat will be transformed in to a strong, prosperous, modern, scientific and confident nation occupying her rightful place in the global community.
ABVP will work in the field of education for speeding up the process of National Reconstruction through change in individual students & youths at one hand and change in systems at other hand. The doctrine, vision and philosophy of ABVP is vividly manifested on ground in its programmes & activities and a few aspects which are explicitly felt are given below
- Working on democratic principles negating any discrimination based on race, caste, birth and gender.
- Promoting creative and constructive work in social and cultural sectors
- Spreading political awareness about national politics
- Strengthening national identity amongst the minds of students
- Developing a strong sense of Social Equality and Fraternity among the students
- Acting as a catalyst for educational change
- Initiating character building of students at individual & personal level
- Generating strong and fearless campaigns / movements for common good
- Promoting Systemic Reforms
- Developing awareness and actions for sustainable development


text:
According to a study featured in the journal BMC Hematology, although space flight anemia is widely recognized the phenomenon, it may not be a significant concern during long-term space missions.
Spaceflight anemia is the depletion of circulating red blood cells (RBCs) during time spent in space. "There is an idea of 'space anemia' that is associated with space flight. However, this is based on blood samples from astronauts collected after flight, which may be influenced by numerous factors, for example, the stress of landing and re-adaptation to conditions on Earth," said Dr. Richard Simpson; Associate professor at The University of Arizona and the University of Houston.
"The study, led by Dr. Brian Crucian at NASA Johnson Space Center, living, whole blood samples were collected during spaceflight and returned to earth for analysis. This unique sample allowed us to track hematological parameters such as concentrations of red blood cells (RBCs), hemoglobin or hematocrit — in astronauts on board the International Space Station during flight," he added.
According to the study, concentrations of RBCs, platelets and the oxygen-carrying protein hemoglobin, as well as the hematocrit level, elevates during space flight. Even though astronauts' bodies acclimatize to microgravity after few days of flight, the RBC concentrations and hematocrit remains at higher levels.
The researchers studied the changes in the blood components occurred during space flight by analyzing the blood samples of 31 astronauts (6 women; 25 men) who spent up to six months on the International Space Station (ISS). Blood samples collection was made at 180 and 45 days before the mission, an in-flight collection made during first two weeks as well as at 3 and six months of space flight and sent back to earth within 48 hours of collection. Blood was also collected at 3–8 hours and 30 days after their arrival.
Researchers noted that the changes in the blood components observed in the in-flight blood samples might be due to the 48-hour processing delay between sample collection and analysis. The researchers also found noticeable changes in hematocrit level with the increased levels by 12.2%, 12.2% and 10.0% at early, mid, and late time points during space flight compared to preflight levels.
Whereas in reference samples collected on earth from non-astronauts found with only 4.7% increase in hematocrit after the 48-hour processing delay. When the researchers compared pre-flight and post-flight samples, they could find similar blood parameters in both.
Dr. Simpson concluded that the study could not specify the presence of significant anemia, but it must be elucidated in the context of astronaut's plasma volume during flight. As there could find the reduction in the plasma volume in in-flight samples, but it's not been analyzed in long-term missions. "To fully interpret the changes to RBC, hematocrit and other parameters observed in this study, further research into plasma volume during long space missions is needed. This will be addressed in a separate ongoing NASA investigation."


text: A navigational canal is planned to be constructed to link the Black Sea with the Marmara Sea in Istanbul, Turkey. This canal will be built beside an important freshwater lake, with a minimum distance of 1.0 km between them. This lake is an essential source of freshwater for the city of Istanbul. To evaluate the effects of canal construction on the freshwater aquifer between the lake and the canal, a 2D finite difference groundwater flow and solute transport model were developed to quantify the possible seepage flow and to simulate the spatial variations of the salinity distribution in the coastal aquifer, taking into consideration the transition zone between the freshwater and seawater bodies. The numerical model was calibrated by the average hydrologic conditions of 18 years of well records. Arc GIS was used to prepare the spatial datasets for the conceptual model in MODFLOW. The results indicated that, after canal implementation and the attaining of a steady state, 25% of the annual available water in the lake will be drained to the canal in terms of seepage. It was also found that the length of the seawater intrusion in the aquifer is strongly related to the hydraulic gradients, when the lake water level declines for 1 m above the mean sea level, for example, the length of the saltwater extends to halfway between Terkos Lake and Canal Istanbul.


slip ring alternative
Slip rings, often referred to as rotary electrical interfaces, rotating electrical connectors, collectors, swivels, or electrical rotary joints, are devices that are engineered to conduct electricity from a stationary part to a rotating part. In operations necessitating the continuous or intermittent rotation of a component, such as in wind turbines, radar platforms, assembly lines, or even in simple devices like an electric fan, slip rings are virtually indispensable. They provide a reliable connection while simultaneously allowing the freedom of movement—360-degree unrestrained rotation—something that a simple wire would not be able to cope with due to the inevitable wire twisting and subsequent breakage.
Yet, despite their widespread use and undoubted convenience, slip rings are not without their drawbacks. Over time, slip rings and brushes are prone to wear and tear due to the frictional contact that occurs in the course of their operation. This could lead to increased maintenance needs, system downtime, and potential electrical noise which can interfere with the quality of signal transmission. Furthermore, slip rings can be sensitive to harsh operating environments such as high humidity, extreme temperatures, dust, and vibration.
Hence, to alleviate these challenges, the pursuit of slip ring alternatives has become more pertinent than ever. Alternatives are increasingly viable with the progress of modern technology, offering solutions that reduce friction, improve signal integrity, and withstand harsh environments better than traditional slip ring assemblies. The search for alternatives is not only about replacing the traditional slip rings but also about finding more efficient, reliable, and tailored solutions that suit the dynamic demands of our evolving technological landscape. Thus, the necessity for slip ring alternatives is fueled both by the desire to overcome the inherent drawbacks of slip rings and the drive to innovate around the ever-changing needs of technology-based industries.
Types of Slip Ring Alternatives
To address the limitations associated with traditional slip rings, a range of alternatives has been developed. These alternatives leverage various transmission technologies: wireless, optical, and advanced mechanical solutions. The choice of an appropriate alternative depends on the specific needs and constraints of a given application.
Wireless Transmission Technologies
Wireless transmission technologies provide contactless communication between rotating and stationary components, contributing to the reduction of wear and tear, as well as maintenance.
 1. Inductive coupling: This method involves the use of resonant magnetic fields to wirelessly transfer electrical power and data between stationary and rotating components. Inductive coupling eliminates the physical wear and tear associated with traditional slip rings by utilizing contactless transmission. Additionally, this technology reduces the risk of electrical noise, ensuring better signal integrity than traditional slip rings.
 2. Radio Frequency (RF) communication: RF technology leverages electromagnetic waves to wirelessly transmit data between stationary and rotating parts. This transmission method provides a reliable option for contactless communication, significantly reducing maintenance costs and enabling more robust performance in challenging environmental conditions.
 3. Bluetooth: Widely used in consumer electronics, Bluetooth is a wireless technology intended for short-range data transmission and low power consumption. In some applications with less demanding power and data requirements, Bluetooth may offer a cost-effective and readily available alternative to slip rings.
 4. Wi-Fi: Wi-Fi operates on longer distances compared to Bluetooth, and offers higher data transmission rates as well. This technology can be employed in applications where continuous rotation mandates a wireless link for data transmission. However, Wi-Fi is less suited for low latency and immediate responsiveness.
Optical Transmission Technologies
Optical transmission technologies utilize light instead of electrical signals for data transfer. This eliminates the need for physical contact and provides resistance to electrical interference.
 1. Fiber optic rotary joints: Fiber optic rotary joints (FORJs) allow the transmission of data in the form of light pulses through optical fibers, achieving high data rates and eliminating electrical noise issues. FORJs are highly suitable for applications that demand real-time, high-speed communication or for systems with strict electromagnetic interference (EMI) requirements.
Fiber Optic Rotary Joints
Mechanical Alternatives
Mechanical alternatives have been developed to reduce friction and wear, thereby enhancing durability and reliability.
 1. Brushless slip rings: Brushless slip rings, also known as contactless slip rings, use magnetic fields to transfer power and data instead of a physical connection. The absence of brush and ring contact decreases wear and tear, minimizes electrical noise, and boosts overall reliability.
 2. Electric swivels: Electric swivels contain swivel joints that transfer electrical power and data through brushes while rotating. This solution offers a longer lifespan compared to traditional slip rings since the use of brushes mitigates friction and wear issues. However, they're still subject to some friction, unlike completely contact-free alternatives.
 3. Gas and liquid rotary unions: These specialized joints focus on transferring gas or fluid between rotating and stationary components. While they don't facilitate electrical signal transmission like a slip ring, they provide an optimal solution for applications where the primary purpose is fluid or gas passage and not signal or power transmission.
Identifying a suitable slip ring alternative depends on various system and environmental factors, with the ultimate goal of improving performance, reliability, and compatibility with the specific requirements of a given application.
slip ring alternatives
Factors to Consider When Choosing a Slip Ring Alternative
Slip ring alternatives incorporate diverse technologies with distinct characteristics and capabilities. Thus, there are several essential factors to take into account when choosing the most suitable alternative for your application:
Electrical and Mechanical Performance
 1. Transmission rate: This is the speed at which data can be transferred from the stationary component to the rotating component, or vice versa. Applications with high-speed data requirements, such as those utilizing advanced sensors or high-resolution video streaming, may need faster transmission rates.
 2. Signal integrity: This refers to the quality of the electrical signal being transmitted. Signal degradation or corruption—due to noise, interference, or signal attenuation—can significantly impact the performance and reliability of the application. As such, we must ensure that the slip ring alternative provides reliable and consistent signal quality.
 3. Power handling capacity: The power handling capacity indicates the amount of electrical power the device can safely transmit. Applications with high power requirements will need slip ring alternatives that can handle these demands without overheating or breaking down.
Environmental Compatibility
 1. Temperature and humidity resistance: Depending upon the environment where the application is located, it may be subjected to extreme temperatures and high humidity levels. Hence, the chosen slip ring alternative should be able to withstand these environmental conditions without their performance getting hampered.
 2. Dust, water, and chemical resistance: Some applications, like outdoor cameras or industrial gear, may be exposed to dust, rain, or even corrosive chemicals. In such cases, the slip ring alternative should have specific resistance ratings, such as IP or NEMA ratings, which denote the level of protection against dust, water, and chemical exposure.
 3. Vibration and shock tolerance: Certain applications may be subject to significant vibration or shock, such as in heavy industrial machinery or aerospace applications. The slip ring alternative should be designed to withstand these conditions without disrupting performance.
Size and Weight Restrictions
The size and weight of the slip ring alternative are crucial in applications where space is at a premium or where weight constraints could impact performance or safety, such as in airborne applications. The chosen technology should fit within the designated space and adhere to the weight constraints of the application.
Installation and Maintenance Complexity
The ease of installation and the level of maintenance required by the slip ring alternative can affect its long-term viability. A component that is straightforward to install and demands minimal maintenance can save time, money, and resources. Consider potential replacement costs, repair complexity, and the availability of spare parts when making the selection.
Cost and Budget Considerations
The monetary aspect of selecting a suitable slip ring alternative involves balancing between initial acquisition costs, installation fees, operation costs, and maintenance expenses against the allocated budget. While a high-quality, highly-performing option may seem expensive upfront, it might offer lower total costs over its lifetime due to reduced maintenance and replacement needs.
By carefully considering each of these factors, you can select a slip ring alternative that meets your specific needs and ensures reliable, efficient operation over the long term.
Slip Ring Alternatives: Users' Most Common Concerns
When evaluating and implementing a suitable slip ring alternative, users are likely to express several concerns that merit consideration. These concerns revolve around performance, integration, support, security, and compliance aspects.
Reliability and Durability
A fundamental concern is the reliability and durability of the slip ring alternative. Users require a solution that provides consistent performance over time and can withstand normal wear and tear, reducing the likelihood of unforeseen failures and downtime. The chosen alternative should minimize the need for routine maintenance and ensure a long, cost-effective operational lifespan.
Compatibility with Existing Systems
Integrating the slip ring alternative with existing systems—which may include numerous components, like sensors, actuators, controllers, and software—is critical. Users want to ensure that the chosen alternative will seamlessly interface with other elements of the system, avoiding any costly or time-consuming modifications to the existing infrastructure.
Availability of Technical Support
Having access to an experienced and responsive technical support team is essential for many users. It is crucial to ensure a smooth and prompt resolution of any issues that might arise during installation, operation, or maintenance. This can significantly impact system uptime, response time for repairs, and the overall effectiveness of the chosen slip ring alternative.
Safety of Data and Signal Transmission
Users are often concerned about the safety and security of their data and signals during transmission. It is important for the chosen alternative to minimize or eliminate the risks associated with data loss or corruption and ensure secure, stable, and resilient communication. Moreover, in some applications, maintaining data confidentiality and safeguarding sensitive information might be a top priority, necessitating encryption or other security measures.
Regulatory and Industry Standards Compliance
Different industries have various regulations and standards that must


The Best Alternative For Tampons When Swimming on Your Period
It's summertime! You might be planning to hit the beach or the swimming pool soon but what if Aunt Flo suddenly makes a visit?
Swimming during your period might make you queasy and worried. What if you leak in the pool? What if you leak on your new white bathing suit? What if you shouldn't swim during your period?
Relax, it's safe! You can swim during your period! Contrary to popular belief, swimming doesn't make your period stop sooner than it should and swimming during your period is also absolutely safe for you. ""
How so? Swimming just pushes a pause button on your period. It doesn't make it stop completely. When you're in the water, the water pressure keeps your body from releasing menstruation blood. That means you don't have to worry about leaking in the water. You only have to worry about leaking when you leave the water. But why?
When you step out of the water, you're also stepping out of the water pressure, so your period starts right back up again. This is why you should still wear menstrual products even when you're swimming on your period. Unless you're cool rushing to the nearest changing room or bathroom, you shouldn't stop wearing your tampons or pads even when swimming. But this poses a lot of questions, like which is better for swimming, tampons or pads?
Here are the pros and cons of using a tampon and a pad when swimming on your period. First of all, for tampons and pads, both give you the added assurance that you won't leak in public. Using tampons and/or pads during swimming gives you major relief knowing that you won't have to worry about making a mad dash to the bathrooms once you step out of the water.
The problem is, not all ladies use tampons. But even for those who do use tampons, the worry that your string might be showing or the tampon even absorb more than just period blood can be a constant source of stress. As for pads, they lose their adhesive backing because the water dissolves it. The pad then ends up separating from your swimsuit, which can be a humiliating situation in itself. Also pads, because they're made of highly absorbent material, can absorb not only period blood, but also water. The end result? You get a soggy pad between your legs that may or may not slip from your underwear at anytime. Ugh.
Worried? There's an alternative you should start to consider, which is using period swimwear. They are the types of swimwear that have built-in absorbent material particularly designed for ladies swimming during their period. For the ladies who use pads during their period, period swimwear have a discreet, "pocket"-like gusset for your pads, making sure that they remain in place in the bottom of your swimwear.
Period swimwear are making waves these days. They come in pretty colors and designs too! Plus, you don't have to worry about having to wear shorts over them, since this leak-proof swimwear is enough to back you up.
So the next time you go for a swim on your period, it will help a lot if you're prepared. Grab one or two pieces of period swimwear and whether you use a tampon or a pad, remember to change them before you swim and right after you leave the water to stay hygienic. Happy summer, girls!
_TAG_ _TAG_ _TAG_ _TAG_ _TAG_ _TAG_ _TAG_ _TAG_ _TAG_ _TAG_
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Simple Games
These are reasonably straight-forwards interactive puzzles to help you remember basic computer vocabulary:
 - Sort the Devices: Drag the input, output and storage devices/media into the correct boxes.
 - Hardware and Software: Drag the words for diferent hardware and software items into the correct areas.
 - ICT Jumble: Unscramble the mixed-up words to find a series of computer terms.
 - ICT Hangman: Find the missing letters to spell basic IT vocabulary words.
 - Flowchart Symbols: Collect the flowchart symbols, drop them in the right containers and avoid the robots.
 - What Does IT Stand For? Match the abbreviations to the correct words.
Each quiz is made up of 10 statements - all you have to do is decide whether the statement is true or false, and press the appropriate button.


--get your your Linux knowledge
> Linux Reviews > Manual Pages (man) >
video capturing program for X windows
Manpage of XVIDCAP
Section: Version 1.1.3 (1)
Updated: January 2004
Index Return to Main Contents
video capturing program for X windows
xvidcap|gvidcap [-v] [--fps ] [--time ] [--frames ] [--continue [yes|no]] [--cap_geometry ] [--start_no ] [--compress ] [--use_clone] [--expand_to_24bit] [--quality ] [--source ] [--file ] [--gui [yes|no]] [--audio [yes|no]] [--audio_in ] [--audio_bits ] [--audio_rate ] [--audio_channels ]
xvidcap is a tool that captures movement on a selected area of an X11 screen to files. These files may be a number of individual image files (one for each frame captured) or video files encoded on-the-fly through FFMPEG's libavcodec. You select between the two alternatives by specifying a corresponding output filename, ref. "--file" in the OPTIONS paragraph. On-the-fly encoding will also allow you to record audio along with the video. Recording to individual frames may be more convenient if you wish to preprocess the images before encoding, or if you need other video codecs xvidcap does not support. Individual images can later be encoded with tools like ffmpeg, mencoder, or transcode.
Please note that FFMPEG follows it's own license, see:
The utility comes with two alternative GUIs: An Xt-based front-end (xvidcap) and a GTK2-based one (gvidcap). gvidcap is maintained somewhat better, esp. in terms of user-friendliness. However, xvidcap should always provide the same basic functionality. Keep in mind that GUI layouts and behaviours will differ.
The colormap which the program uses depends on the way you select an area to capture (see GUI CONTROLS). The default colormap is the colormap of the root window. If you select a window or just parts of a window with the select button the colormap of this window is used. Not all bit depths and visuals are supported, which means you might not get the correct colors.
For help, RFEs, or bug-reports please turn to.
Runs xvidcap in verbose mode. This will provide more information about user settings, input and output codecs, performance and so forth. Messages like'missing XX milli secs..' while capturing mean you are missing frames due to lack of ressources (dropped frames). This results in a video that will play back too quickly. Note though, that verbose mode slows down xvidcap and may actually be causing frame drops. Try running without verbose mode and watch the "frame drop monitor" in gvidcap, ref. GUI CONTROLS below.
--fps
Specifies the number of frames to be captured per second. This parameter accepts floating point values, which allows for very low capture rates like e.g. '--fps 0.5' to record one frame every 2 seconds. Note that at the moment xvidcap does not force valid frame rates for the given output format, hence your playback timing may be messed up if you don't select valid frame rates. For MPEG1 valid frame rates are: 23.976 24 25 29.97 30 50 59.94 60. MPEG4 can use frame rates from 7.5 to 30.
--time
Specifies the maximum time to capture, if 0 xvidcap will capture until stopped interactively. For any other value any recording session will stop automatically after the specified number of seconds. This parameter conflicts with '--frames' (see below). If both are given on the command line, the one given last beats the first. The program accepts floating point values, e.g. '2.5'.
--frames
Stops capturing after the specified number of frames are captured. If zero xvidcap will capture until stopped interactively, ref. '--time' above.
--continue [yes|no]
When on-the-fly encoding is selected, maximum recording time or frames are specified, and the output filename is incrementable (see '--file' below), xvidcap can automatically continue to capture to a new file when one exceeds the maximum recording time or number of frames. This will change the behaviour of '--time' and '--frames' because recording will not stop at the specified limits, but rather start a new video file. Again, this is disabled for capturing to individual files. If no argument to '--continue' is given, xvidcap assumes 'yes'.
Override the default width and height of the capture frame. Use the 'Select' button to adjust the frame size to an given window. The minimum size is 20 x 20.
--start_no
Defines the start point which should be used for numbering files. The default value is '0'.This parameter is used for capturing individual frames only. The numbering of movie files atm. always starts at zero.
--compress
Define the compression level used for storing individual frames. This is used as the level of native compression with image formats that support it (PNG). Image formats that do not support native compression will be compressed using zlib, if the specified compression level is higher than zero. In this case a suffix of '.gz' is automatically appended to all file names. Valid values are 0 - 9 where zero disables the feature. WARNING: This will slow down capturing and not unlikely cause frame drops.
Use the CLON chunk for MNG files if needed. This will slow down capturing, but saves bytes if two or more identicaly images are saved. This is not recommended if you capture a TV/Video clip, because there will never be two consecutive images which have the same CRC32 checksum.
This will work only for PPM files. It expands 15 and 16bpp images to 24bpp. It should also work for TrueColor/8bpp images, but this is still not tested. Use this option if you want to make input files for the Berkeley MPEG encoder.
--quality
Specify a value between 0 and 100 to define the quality setting for JPEG output or online encoding. The default value is 75.
--source
Enable or disable the usage of the X11 shared memory extension. For shm support both client and server have to run on the same host.
--file
File name or pattern to use for saving the captured frames. A file name pattern contains printf()-like formatting information to make the file name incrementable, e.g. --file "out-%02d.xwd". This is necessary for capturing to individual frames. xvidcap will replace the first printf() format string with the number of the frame currently captured. Thus, in the example given, it will write to files out-00.xwd, out-01.xwd, out02.xwd, etc. Here, the frame number to start with can be specified with '--start_no', see above.
On-the-fly encoding does not need a file pattern. If you specify one nonetheless like --file "mymovie-%d.mpeg", xvidcap will replace the format string with the number of the current recording session (always starting the count from zero). This will enable you to manually in-/decrement that number, or use the autocontinue feature (ref. '--continue' above) effectively creating a series of video files.
Output file types are selected based on the extension specified for the filename. The default file type is "X Window Dump". Valid extensions are:
 Portable Anymap: .pnm .pgm .ppm
 Multiple Network Graphics: .mng
 Portable Network Graphics: .png
 Joint Picture Expert Group: .jpg .jpeg
 X Window Dump: .xwd
 AVI video: .avi .mpeg .mpg
 ASF video stream: .asf
 Flash Video File: .flv .flv1
Support for PNM and PNG is experimental and only Directand TrueColor 15bpp, 16bpp, and 24bpp, or PseudoColor 8bpp seems to work today. Selecting either of AVI, ASF or Flash Video enables on-the-fly encoding through FFMPEG. You can specify the codec to use through a 'codec' parameter in the config file, cf. below.
--gui [yes|no]
Start xvidcap with or without control GUI overriding what's in the preferences file. Running without GUI will automatically start a single capture session. It can be stopped by either specifying one of --time or --frames, or by hitting CTRL-C.
On systems where FFMPEG supports audio capture, you will be able to add an audio stream to an encoded video (i.e. using an *.mpeg extension). Audio streams can either be captured from a compatible audio device (e.g. /dev/dsp ) or from stdin (cf. --audio_in below). Audio can be enabled by specifying any of the audio parameters below on the command line or enabling audio support in gvidcap's preferences dialog. Once audio support has been saved to the preferences file, it will be activated automatically next time xvidcap starts, unless overridden.
--audio [yes|no]
Enable or disable audio capture


of digital wireless communication, flexible design implementations are increasingly explored for different applications in order to cope with diverse system configurations imposed by the emerging wireless communication standards. In fact, shrinking the design time to meet market pressure, on the one hand, and adding the emerging flexibility requirement and, hence, increasing system complexity, on the other hand, require a productive design approach that also ensures final design quality. The no instruction set computer (NISC) approach fulfills these design requirements by eliminating the instruction set overhead. The approach offers static scheduling of the datapath, automated register transfer language (RTL)synthesis and allows the designer to have direct control of hardware resources. This paper presents a complete NISC-based design and prototype flow, from architecture specification till FPGA implementation. The proposed design and prototype flow is illustrated through two case studies of flexible implementations, which are dedicated to low-complexity MIMO turbo-equalizer and a universal turbo-demapper. Moreover, the flexibility of the proposed prototypes allows supporting all communication modes defined in the emerging wireless communication standards, such LTE, LTE-Advanced, WiMAX, WiFi and DVB-RCS. For each prototype, its functionality is evaluated, and the resultant performance is verified for all system configurations. Electronics 2016-08-30 5 3 Article 10.3390/electronics5030050 50 2079-9292 2016-08-30 doi: 10.3390/electronics5030050 Mostafa Rizk Amer Baghdadi Michel Jézéquel Yasser Mohanna Youssef Atat <![CDATA[Electronics, Vol. 5, Pages 51: Miniaturized Blood Pressure Telemetry System with RFID Interface]]> _URL_ This work deals with the development and characterization of a potentially implantable blood pressure telemetry system, based on an active Radio-Frequency IDentification (RFID) tag, International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 15693 compliant. This approach aims to continuously measure the average, systolic and diastolic blood pressure of the small/medium animals. The measured pressure wave undergoes embedded processing and results are stored onboard in a non-volatile memory, providing the data under interrogation by an external RFID reader. In order to extend battery lifetime, RFID energy harvesting has been investigated. The paper presents the experimental characterization in a laboratory and preliminary in-vivo tests. The device is a prototype mainly intended, in a future engineered version, for monitoring freely moving test animals for pharmaceutical research and drug safety assessment purposes, but it could have multiple uses in environmental and industrial applications. Electronics 2016-08-30 5 3 Article 10.3390/electronics5030051 51 2079-9292 2016-08-30 doi: 10.3390/electronics5030051 Michele Caldara Benedetta Nodari Valerio Re Barbara Bonandrini <![CDATA[Electronics, Vol. 5, Pages 49: Impact of Degraded Communication on Interdependent Power Systems: The Application of Grid Splitting]]> _URL_ Communication is increasingly present for managing and controlling critical infrastructures strengthening their cyber interdependencies. In electric power systems, grid splitting is a topical communication-critical application. It amounts to separating a power system into islands in response to an impending instability, e.g., loss of generator synchronism due to a component fault, by appropriately disconnecting transmission lines and grouping synchronous generators. The successful application of grid splitting depends on the communication infrastructure to collect system-wide synchronized measurements and to relay the command to open line switches. Grid splitting may be ineffective if communication is degraded and its outcome may also depend on the system loading conditions. This paper investigates the effects of degraded communication and load variability on grid splitting. To this aim, a communication delay model is coupled with a transient electrical model and applied to the IEEE 39-Bus and the IEEE 118-Bus Test System. Case studies show that the loss of generator synchronism following a fault is mitigated by timely splitting the network into islands. On the other hand, the results show that communication delays and increased network flows can degrade the performance of grid splitting. The developed framework enables the identification of the requirements of the dedicated communication infrastructure for a successful grid-splitting procedure. Electronics 2016-08-29 5 3 Article 10.3390/electronics5030049 49 2079-9292 2016-08-29 doi: 10.3390/electronics5030049 Di-An Tian Giovanni Sansavini <![CDATA[Electronics, Vol. 5, Pages 48: A Comparative Review of Footwear-Based Wearable Systems]]> _URL_ Footwear is an integral part of daily life. Embedding sensors and electronics in footwear for various different applications started more than two decades ago. This review article summarizes the developments in the field of footwear-based wearable sensors and systems. The electronics, sensing technologies, data transmission, and data processing methodologies of such wearable systems are all principally dependent on the target application. Hence, the article describes key application scenarios utilizing footwear-based systems with critical discussion on their merits. The reviewed application scenarios include gait monitoring, plantar pressure measurement, posture and activity classification, body weight and energy expenditure estimation, biofeedback, navigation, and fall risk applications. In addition, energy harvesting from the footwear is also considered for review. The article also attempts to shed light on some of the most recent developments in the field along with the future work required to advance the field. Electronics 2016-08-10 5 3 Review 10.3390/electronics5030048 48 2079-9292 2016-08-10 doi: 10.3390/electronics5030048 Nagaraj Hegde Matthew Bries Edward Sazonov <![CDATA[Electronics, Vol. 5, Pages 47: An Embedded Sensing and Communication Platform, and a Healthcare Model for Remote Monitoring of Chronic Diseases]]> _URL_ This paper presents a new remote healthcare model, which, exploiting wireless biomedical sensors, an embedded local unit (gateway) for sensor data acquisition-processing-communication, and a remote e-Health service center, can be scaled in different telemedicine scenarios. The aim is avoiding hospitalization cost and long waiting lists for patients affected by chronic illness who need continuous and long-term monitoring of some vital parameters. In the "1:1" scenario, the patient has a set of biomedical sensors and a gateway to exchange data and healthcare protocols with the remote service center. In the "1:N" scenario the use of gateway and sensors is managed by a professional caregiver, e.g., assigned by the Public Health System to a number N of different patients. In the "point of care" scenario the patient, instead of being hospitalized, can take the needed measurements at a specific health corner, which is then connected to the remote e-Health center. A mix of commercially available sensors and new custom-designed ones is presented. The new custom-designed sensors range from a single-lead electrocardiograph for easy measurements taken by the patients at their home, to a multi-channel biomedical integrated circuit for acquisition of multi-channel bio signals, to a new motion sensor for patient posture estimation and fall detection. Experimental trials in real-world telemedicine applications assess the proposed system in terms of easy usability from patients, specialist and family doctors, and caregivers, in terms of scalability in different scenarios, and in terms of suitability for implementation of needed care plans. Electronics 2016-08-04 5 3 Article 10.3390/electronics5030047 47 2079-9292 2016-08-04 doi: 10.3390/electronics5030047 Sergio Saponara Massimiliano Donati Luca Fanucci Alessio Celli <![CDATA[Electronics, Vol. 5, Pages 46: Skin Admittance Measurement for Emotion Recognition: A Study over Frequency Sweep]]> _URL_ The electrodermal activity (EDA) is a reliable physiological signal for monitoring the sympathetic nervous system. Several studies have demonstrated that EDA can be a source of effective markers for the assessment of emotional states in humans. There are two main methods for measuring EDA: endosomatic (internal electrical source) and exosomatic (external electrical source). Even though the exosomatic approach is the most widely used, differences between alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC) methods and their implication in the emotional assessment field have not yet been deeply investigated. This paper aims at investigating how the admittance contribution of EDA, studied at different frequency sources, affects the EDA statistical power in inferring on the subject's arousing level (neutral or aroused). To this extent, 40 healthy subjects underwent visual affective elicitations, including neutral and arousing levels, while EDA was gathered through DC and AC sources from 0 to 1 kHz. Results concern the accuracy of an automatic, EDA feature-based arousal recognition system for each frequency source. We show how the frequency of the external electrical source affects the accuracy of arousal recognition. This suggests a role of skin susceptance in the study of affective stimuli through electrodermal response. Electronics 2016-08-04 5 3 Article 10.3390/electronics5030046 46 2079-9292 2016-08-04 doi: 10.3390/electronics5030046 Alberto Greco Antonio Lanata Luca Citi Nicola Vanello Gaetano Valenza Enzo Scilingo <![CDATA[Electronics, Vol. 5, Pages 45: Wearable Multimodal


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As people from all over the nation are settling in to a new normal of working from home while also caring for their kids, Texas Disposal Systems (TDS) is here as a resource with tips and tools for making the best of this time with the littles while instilling green thoughts and practices into the day.
Sponsored Content by Texas Disposal Systems
VIRTUAL LEARNING AND FIELD TRIPS
As our daily routines now include regular interaction with virtual tools, TDS is happy to provide you with several video resources and invites you and your kids to take virtual field trips.
On the TDS YouTube page, you can access an informative video explaining basic recycling practices for your home, as well as a virtual tour of the facility, the landfill and composting operations, the materials recovery facility and even the animals at the Exotic Game Ranch.
Grab the popcorn and let's learn together!
SIMPLIFY CHORE TIME WITH THE WASTE WIZARD APP
Now more than ever, you'll want to find ways to make chore time, well, less of a chore. The TDS Waste Wizard app can help remind you (and your youngsters) of your collection day in TDS service areas, so there's no excuse for missing it!
Need a lesson in how to sort different types of waste? Click on the "What Goes Where?" section to determine whether a specific item goes into your trash, recycling or compost.
There's even a great waste-sorting game, so your kiddos can brush up on their waste-sorting knowledge. After completing the game, your kids can even print out a certificate to show off their waste-sorting expertise!
PLANT A RAISED-BED GARDEN WITH YOUR KIDS
Make your own raised-bed veggie garden. Your tots will love digging in the dirt and you might even have a little fun, too!
And if you're looking for a great place to find locally sourced, natural garden products such as soil, mulch and compost, look no further than Garden-Ville. For complete details, visit garden-ville.com.
DIY DISINFECTING AND CLEANING TIPS
In order to protect your family during this time, we know how important it is for you to keep your home as clean as possible. Find tips on the TDS blog for using items you probably already have in your home as a natural disinfectant.
And what about all the extra chemicals in the bleach and those cleaning wipes, not to mention the waste? Make your own cleaning wipes while helping protect yourself and the environment!
As you can see, there are a wide variety of ways to learn about the environment and keep children busy while you're home together. Want to keep up the work once school resumes? Ask your district leadership about becoming an Eco Academy school! With age-appropriate lessons and Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) alignment, Eco Academy—as well as the rest of Texas Disposal Systems—is here to be a resource for you and your family year-round. Visit ecoacademy.org for details.


OPERS retirement benefits are funded through member and employer contributions and the investment earnings on those contributions. You participate in OPERS by contributing a percentage of your salary each pay period into the retirement system. Your employer also pays a contribution to help fund your benefit.
State Agencies
Contributions for state agencies and their employees are given below.
Employee Employer Total
3.5% 16.5% 20%
Local Government Employers
Members who are employed by local government employers must contribute between 3.5% and 8.5% of their annual compensation. The local governments pay between 11.5% and 16.5% of the employee's compensation. The total local government employer and employee contribution must equal 20%. Each government entity designates as policy how much the employee and employer pays within the given ranges.
Employee Employer
Minimum Maximum Minimum Maximum
3.5% 8.5% 11.5% 16.5%
NOTE: If employer contributions are paid more than 30 days after the monthly due dates, they are subject to a late charge of 3% of the unpaid balance.
2.5% Step-Up Program
The 2.5% Step-Up Program allows members to increase their retirement benefits by paying an additional member contribution each pay period. Click here for more information about the Step-Up program.


14.3. How a Maven Proxy Resolves Artifacts
Overview
A Maven proxy is essentially a Web server that is configured to behave like a standard Maven repository server. Remember that the purpose of the Maven proxy is to serve artifacts to remote HTTP clients, not to install artifacts locally. So, although Maven proxy configuration properties have similar names to the managed container case, they ultimately serve quite a different purpose.
Fabric8 Maven proxy server
The Fabric8 Maven proxy server is a HTTP server, implemented as a servlet inside the container's default Jetty container. Hence, the Maven proxy server shares the same port number, 8181, as many of the other Karaf container services. On a given host, Host, the Maven proxy can be accessed through the following URL:
http://Host:8181/maven/download
The Fabric8 Maven proxy server is configured by setting properties from the io.fabric8.maven PID and these properties are normally set in the default profile (recommended).
Note
Some other properties are configurable through the io.fabric8.maven.proxy PID, but these properties do not play an important role in artifact resolution.
Serving artifacts through the Maven proxy
Figure 14.2, "Maven Proxy Serving an Artifact" shows how a Maven proxy processes a HTTP download request, by locating the requested Maven artifact and then returning it to the client.
Figure 14.2. Maven Proxy Serving an Artifact
Maven Proxy Serving an Artifact
Steps to serve artifacts
The steps to serve the required Maven artifacts are, as follows:
 1. Resolution of a Maven artifact is triggered when a managed container sends a request to the Maven proxy server.
 2. The Maven proxy server parses the incoming HTTP request and then makes a call to the io.fabric8.maven layer, asking it to resolve the requested Maven artifact.
 3. The io.fabric8.maven layer reads its Maven configuration from the io.fabric8.maven PID in the default profile (and possibly also from the maven-settings.xml file, if so configured).
 4. When the Aether library is invoked, the first step is to look up the Maven default repositories to try and find the Maven artifact. The following default repositories are configured by default:
 InstallDir/system
 The JBoss Fuse system directory, which contains all of the Maven artifacts that are bundled with the JBoss Fuse distribution.
 InstallDir/data/maven/upload
 The Maven proxy's upload directory, which is used to store artifacts that have been directly uploaded to the Maven proxy—see Section 14.7, "Automated Deployment".
 UserHome/.m2/repository
 The user's own local Maven repository in the user's home directory, UserHome.
 If the Maven artifact is found locally, skip straight to step 7.
 5. The Aether library now begins the process of consulting the remote repositories (as specified by the io.fabric8.maven/io.fabric8.maven.repositories PID property which references the io.fabric8.agent/org.ops4j.pax.url.mvn.repositories PID property). This process works in tandem with the local Maven repository (as specified by the io.fabric8.maven/io.fabric8.maven.localRepository PID property), which acts as a cache for the remote repositories.
 Note
 If your local network requires you to use a HTTP proxy to access the Internet, it is possible to configure Fabric8 to use a HTTP proxy. For example, see the section called "Configuring an HTTP proxy" for details.
 6. If the Maven artifact is found in a remote repository, Aether automatically installs the artifact into the local Maven repository, InstallDir/data/repository, so that another remote lookup will not be required.
 7. The Maven proxy server returns the successfully located Maven artifact to the client (or an error message, if the artifact could not be found).


text:
High temperature and high pressure wells refers to those deep wells that have a maximum expected formation pore pressure gradient above 0.8 psi/ft and a bottomhole temperature above 150°C.
The main characteristics of high temperature high pressure drilling differentiating it from conventional drilling operation are as follows:
1. It has higher general requirements in terms of the drill rig and downhole tools.
2. High-quality high-density drilling fluid with good stability and suitability for high temperature and high pressure conditions must be used.
3. A sound well structure design is important.
4. Maintain balanced drilling and good pressure monitoring and control.
5. The range of formation pressure changes is wide, which tends to cause formation pressure sensitive problems.
6. The effects of the formation fluid intruding into the wellbore on drilling fluid performance and well quality must be given great attention and dealt with appropriately.
7. Increased difficulty in regards to well cementing, coring, electric logging, testing, and other operations.
The company has one 3000HP high temperature high pressure drilling system that is being used to provide services to Shell SPDC.


text:
Acoustic panels and baffles are used to absorb noise and reduce the passage of sound through a building.
Sound absorbing wall panels, ceiling panels and baffles can provide a high quality, effective acoustic solution for a variety of commercial building environments including:
- Schools & Educational Facilities
- Manufacturing & Industrial Warehouse Units
- Conference Facilities
- Community Centres
- Restaurants & Dining Facilities
Acoustic panels and baffles are used to create a comfortable environment in large open spaces. In planning the installation consideration should be given to the type of space that is being separated, the practical implications such as the requirements of those using the it and the activities to be carried out within the area.
Acoustic panels are available in a variety of shapes, sizes and colours or can be printed with a design of choice if required.
What are the benefits of acoustic panels and baffles?
An effective acoustic solution can aid concentration, speech clarity and privacy by reducing sound propagation throughout a building. They are particularly helpful when installed in open-plan areas of a building, changing the dynamic of noise in one area, which might otherwise overpower activities in another area. Effective baffles and sound insulation are also proven to encourage a better understanding and improved behaviour in a school setting.


text:
General Commission for Scientific Agricultural Research-
Homs Research Center
Ba'ath University, Faculty of Agriculture
This study was carried out at Homs Research Center on two grape local varieties, Halwani and Baladi which rearing on arbor -training.
The aims of this study are:
-Study the time of flower differentiation and influence of self and climate factors on it and effect of self factors on differented buds .
-Study flower differentiation dynamism, formation and growth winter bud and the stages of differentiation flower beginning from bud bursting to fruitset and formation flower parts.
Flower differentiation of both cultivars (Halwani – Baldi) began early June, 2002 (after fruitset by 4) while in 2003, this was 3 weeks earlier than 2002 (second half of June).
Flower differentiation had finished early August (maturity starting) in 2002, while in 2003 it is one month more early than last year (after fruitset by one month ).
The time of winter bud differentiation related to:
When an optimized accumulation of carbohydrates (especially starch and simple carbohydrates).
There is about 549 thermal units from buds bursting in this season.
– There is no effect of the number of light and atmospheric humidity on winter bud differentiation.
– The treatment 6 cans which every one contains 14 buds achieved the higher percentage of differentiated buds, and higher yield and quality.
– The basis eyes to be late for two experimental varieties by the flower differentiation.
– The eyes of two varieties were followed as some dynamism of flower differentiation.
– The height of flower initiates in Halwani cultivar were longes than Baldi, This height increases from the bottom buds (1 – 4th). This took place according to the apical dominance. This result is consistent with the time of ripening of fruit cluster.
– The fruit cluster would obtained it the height of flower initiate rise 650 micron in the two cultivars, While it this value equals >650 micron the result is small cluster in size, uncompleted type, or it turned to tendril because the two cultivars classified as eastern group which characterized by big cluster and the flower initiates must be too large to from clusters.
– After the flower differentiation in productive buds, the beginning starts differentiation. So, we can distinguish four stages from its formation to swelling.
1- Main axes formation, then it will elongated.
2- Secondary axes formation.
3- Flowerseence sets formation.
4- Scale leaf formation in secondary axes base which enclose flowersence sets.
– The stages of differenietion flower beginning from bud bursting to fruitset divided as following:
1- Temporary stage between swelling and bursting bud.
2- Starting of flower beginning which still correlated to the growth
4- Secondary and tertiary axes separation.
5- Flower hanger separation and calyx appears.
6- All axis of inflorescence complete it's formation.
7- Post-opening flower.
8- Fruit set.
Stages (2 -3-4 – 5 – 6) took place before flower opening while the stage (7) after it.
– Results show that the method of cap dropping in the Halwani cultivar differs from Baldi one, This difference could attributed to the sequence of the formation of the separtial layer in the every petal base. The type of cap at separation and the way of cap hunging by flower pro- separation results also show existence differnces in the type and color of nectarin glands. The way of separation, type of the cap, the way of hanging and the type and color of nectarin glands play an essential role in the recognizing of the cultivars.