Cover image for an article on category data for retailers
Reading the Retail Marketplace: How You Can Leverage Category Data to Identify Growth Opportunity
One challenge that retailers constantly face is getting a clear view of how they are performing compared to the rest of the market. Only looking at your own sales figures means only getting part of the story, but that's often the only data you have access to. If you want to understand where you're succeeding and where you're falling behind in hopes to better navigate the market, you want to look at category data across the marketplace. SPINS can help you do that.
Define the Metrics That Matter
All retailers are working toward long-term, upward growth—more sales, higher profit, and improved customer loyalty. A major obstacle to achieve these goals is quantifying the performance indicators that tell you if you're on the right path before it's too late. SPINS has a market-wide view of department and category data that can be viewed over a variety of time periods. This way, you can monitor both short-term and long-term trends and compare their performance data against their own. With data from more than 200 retailers, you have a wealth of information to dig into and learn from.
Discover the Market Trends
Using SPINS' business intelligence platform, Satori, you can look at a variety of metrics, including dollar sales, units moved, number of stores selling, average retail prices across the market. For example, a 12-week might reveal that you are outperforming the market's average in some important categories, such as frozen meat alternatives. When you expand your view to a 52-week period and see that frozen meat alternative growth is outpacing the growth in other retailers, as well as frozen animal-derived meat in their own stores, you'll know that something interesting is happening in your stores.
Dig Deeper with Attributes
The SPINS team can help you go deeper by focusing on product attributes, which are qualities associated with a product, bringing together label claims, ingredients, and other hidden details. SPINS' Product Intelligence attributes let retailers look at how SKUs are selling and analyze them based on information that reveals broader trends.
Taking the above example, if you know meat alternatives are strong performers for you, you can start exploring how plant-based might be resonating with your customers. SPINS' attributes let retailers think bigger than the packaging and look at items such as milk, protein powders, and yogurts not derived from animals. Once you begin to look through plant-based attribute performance throughout the store, you might find a similar pattern and realize you should put plant-based items front and center in your growth strategy.
Update Your Growth Strategy
With this knowledge and data on hand, and this knowledge, you can begin to look ahead. Continuing the above example, you could prioritize plant-based items in your stores, from promotions to product groupings to inventory. Now, with the right insights and support from SPINS, you have an opportunity to increase sales, improve profit, and build a lasting relationship with their customers. And because this is an ongoing process that involves some testing new ideas as well as monitoring shifting market trends, SPINS will be with you along the way.
Ready to use category data to find growth opportunity?
We'd love to help you get started.
How Attributes Helped a Retailer Improve Category Growth
When a SPINS exclusive retailer wanted to boost category growth, they realized attributes held the information they needed. By looking at what was performing well in their stores and across the market, they discovered where their strengths and weaknesses were. Find out how they turned attribute data into results.


text:
Causes two expressions to be executed sequentially.
The, operator causes the expressions to be executed in left-to-right order. A common use for the, operator is in the increment expression of a for loop. For example:
The for statement allows only a single expression to be executed at the end of every pass through a loop. The, operator allows multiple expressions to be treated as a single expression, so both variables can be incremented.
Supported in the following document modes: Quirks, Internet Explorer 6 standards, Internet Explorer 7 standards, Internet Explorer 8 standards, Internet Explorer 9 standards, Internet Explorer 10 standards. Also supported in Windows Store apps. See Version Information.

source: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb-edu


text:
Date: Feb 5, 2013 2:57 AM
Subject: Re: Matheology � 203
In article ,
fom wrote:
> On 2/4/2013 6:00 PM, fom wrote:
> > On 2/4/2013 5:14 PM, Virgil wrote:
> >> In article ,
> >> fom wrote:
> >>> From the beginning (I showed up when Zuhair was asking questions)
> >>> I have not understood terminology. A CIBT is the Cantor space.
> >>> It is a topological construct and the C refers to topological
> >>> completeness.
> >> In my disputes with WM, a "CIBT" or "COMPLETE INFINITE BINARY TREE"
> >> is a countably infinite set of nodes, with a unique root node and such
> >> that every node has two child nodes, a "left child" and a "right child",
> >> and every node but the root node has one parent node for which it is
> >> either a left child or a right child.
> >> One can model it with its nodes being positive naturals:
> >> 1
> >> / \
> >> / \
> >> 2 3
> >> / \ / \
> >> 4 5 6 7
> >> / \ / \ / \ / \
> >> So that the left child of any node n is 2*n and its right child is
> >> 2*n+1, and the parent of any node n except 1 is floor(n/2).
> > Yes. I gathered that and it is nice to see it
> > framed classically.
> > Would not infinite binary tree suffice? What
> > confused me initially was the inclusion of the
> > modifier "complete".
> I suppose not. In discrete presentations, the
> length of a tree is probably described relative
> to the length at the terminal node of the longest
> branch (usually with a +1 somewhere). Consequently,
> complete here means that every node has a branch
> for every symbol of the alphabet -- in this case 2.
A path in a binary tree is any maximal chain of parent-child linked
nodes in a binary tree, and such a tree is complete if all paths are of
equal length. In an infinite binary tree that means each path is a
countably infinite set of nodes.


Nate Nate - 8 months ago 80
SQL Question
Error when inserting row into MySQL database from Python
I'm trying to update an empty mySQL database using Python.
This is the error I receive:
pymysql.err.InternalError: (1416, 'Cannot get geometry object from data you send to the GEOMETRY field')
Here's the problematic code:
with connection.cursor() as cursor:
# Create a new record
sql = "INSERT INTO 'projects' ('name', 'country', 'activation_date', 'active') VALUES (%s, %s, %s, %s)"
cursor.execute(sql, ('Nate', 'USA', '2016-06-23 09:11:32', '1'))
Here is what the table looks like in the database (it's empty):
enter image description here
enter image description here
It looks like you're using the MySQL type linestring to represent a string, while in MySQL the correct type to represent a string of characters would be text or varchar(). linestring is a representation of a geometric line, as you can see here:
To fix this, simply change the column types of name and country to varchar() or text. See:


text:
Flow rate is important to consider when selecting a particle counter for a critical environment. The flow rate of a particle counter is the rate at which a pump draws air through the sample chamber, measured in cubic feet per minute (cfm). Two common flow rates for particle counters are 1 cfm and 0.1 cfm. Depending on the application, each flow rate can be valuable.
1 cfm versus 0.1 cfm
Let's think about it this way: the highway versus the back roads. If you're going to take a long trip or have a schedule to stick to, you'll want to take the highway. But if you're just running to the store a couple streets over, you would take the back roads.
In terms of cfm, a particle counter with a 1 cfm flow rate is like taking the highway. Its higher flow rate allows for a faster sample collection. A particle counter with a 0.1 cfm flow rate is like taking the back roads. It can achieve the same results in applications where time is not a constraint.
Flow rate does play a significant role in how quickly a particle counter performs its job, but it is important not to ignore the sensitivity of the particle counter. If a particle counter isn't sensitive enough to measure small particles as specified in the ISO Classification of the particular critical environment, then the flow rate doesn't matter.
Applications for Each Flow Rate
The current standard for particle counting requires a sample of 1 cubic meter. For an inspector, then, a 1 cfm flow rate makes sense. A 1 cfm flow rate would allow an inspector to collect the sample information they need in just over half an hour. A flow rate of 1 cfm means an inspector can collect samples from all the areas they need to within their schedule.
However, an employee doing a spot check or a continuous monitor in a space doesn't require the same amount of power. A technique called sequential sampling allows the total required volume to be divided into equal parts and essentially the proportion of required particles is equally divided throughout each portion. A large sample volume does not have to be sampled if the sub-samples show sufficient evidence of cleanliness. With sequential sampling, a particle counter with a 0.1 cfm flow rate, like Setra's 8000 series handheld, can be used to ensure a clean room or other critical environment meets standards during a spot check.
For continuous monitoring of a space, Setra's 7000 series AQM is ideal. A particle counter and environmental monitor with a flow rate of 0.1 cfm, the 7000 series AQM is the most versatile remote air quality monitor available. When integrated into a building automation system, a 0.1 cfm particle counter can provide continuous monitoring without the need for a higher flow rate.

source: m-a-p/FineFineWeb


How to Resolve Meltdown Problems for Macs Running in Sierra and El Capitan?
Broken Laptop Overheated
Yes, you have heard a lot about the meltdown problems on Mac devices running on Sierra and El Capitan. But, do you really understand what a meltdown is? Is there an available fix for it? Do you know how to protect your Mac from the risks involved?
Okay, we will take things one at a time. Relax. Meltdown on Sierra and El Capitan should not be a major problem. We are here to help. We will teach you how to fix a meltdown on Mac and provide useful tips to keep your device safe from these vulnerabilities.
What Exactly Is a Meltdown?
True, it helps to understand what the problem is before you try to fix it. So, before we discuss some potential solutions to your Mac's meltdown problems, we'll tell you what exactly a Meltdown is.
A meltdown occurs when the fundamental isolation between the operating system and user applications is broken or penetrated. As a result of this attack, other programs gain access to the memory, as well as other crucial information of the operating system and other applications.
Simply said, meltdowns are bugs on Macs running on Sierra and El Capitan that allow hackers and perpetrators to access critical information in the OS kernel memory. Although these flaws mainly attack modern Intel-based PCs, it can also affect iOS devices.
The Fix for Mac's Meltdown Problems
Recently, Apple released a fix or security update for Macs running on older versions like Sierra and El Capitan. This update was released to address the meltdown vulnerabilities, as well as improve security and audio.
Now, if your Mac is running under the mentioned versions, it is recommended that you install the updates as soon as possible. Take note that a meltdown is a critical vulnerability. Therefore, you have to be in the loop for any fixes that are available today.
How to Update the Software on Your Mac
To check for any Mac software updates, here are the steps to take:
 1. Go to the App Store.
 2. Click Updates in the toolbar.
 3. Install the updates listed by clicking Update.
If you are not confident about your technical skills, we suggest you bring your Mac to an Apple Store near you. An Apple specialist should be able to take a look at your device and fix the problem in no time.
Keep Your Mac Protected
Given that news of the issue has received wide coverage, it is not surprising why many try to take advantage of the flaw's publicity. Nowadays, plenty of phishing emails are being sent to lure Mac users to click on a link that takes them to a fake website containing a downloadable patch, which in reality, is just a .exe file that installs a malicious software you don't need.
Then again, if you are a smart Mac user, you would not buy such obvious fraud strategy. You would probably just install a reliable 3rd party tool such as the Outbyte MacRepair to ensure no vulnerabilities penetrate your Mac and wreak havoc. So, to ensure that your Mac is fully protected, back up all of your files, install the tool, and run a scan to identify potential threats and get rid of them right away.
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text:
Header block provides a place for branding and other important site features such as a Navigation Menu. The header is usually placed at the very top of your website and it is a place where your site visitors get to know your site.
There are many elements you can add to the header, including:
- Site name
- Social media links
- Business phone number
- Navigation Menu
- Call to action buttons
Let's take a look at how you can modify each of these elements.
Note: When you edit the elements in your Header block on one page, these amendments are applied to Header blocks on all other pages also. The Header block will have the same layout on all pages it is added to.
Customizing the block appearance
You can customize your Header block appearance in various ways - choose one of the pre-selected color options for your header that match the look and feel of your site template, make the header sticky or make it overlay the next block.
To access these options, hover over the Header block and click Block settings:
In the Appearance tab, you will be able to pick the new color for your Header block:
To make the header stick to the top of the screen while the visitor scrolls down, check the box next to Make header sticky.
To make the header transparent, check the box next to Overlay next block option. The header will adapt to the background color of the next block during scrolling.
Once you are happy with the appearance of your header, click Save to confirm the change.
Customizing the block layout
You cannot change the placement of the Header block elements but you can add or remove them. To do so, hover over the Header block and click Block settings:
In the Layout tab, you will be able to enable/disable the appearance of certain elements in the Header block:
If the elements won't fit in one line, an additional line will appear at the top:
Adding a logo
You can enable a logo to show in your header by activating the Business logo option in the Layout section of the Block settings menu.
To add your own image as a logo, follow these steps:
- Click on the existing logo to trigger the appearance of the image editing panel.
- Click Replace image.
- Choose the new logo file on your computer.
The new logo will be added to your site. You can learn more about adding a logo from this tutorial.
Editing social media links
To edit your social media links in the Header block, follow these steps:
- Click on any social media icon in the header. The link editing menu will be activated.
- Click on the Settings button next to the social media icon you want to link:
Enter the URL of the corresponding social media page.
If desired, change the link icon. Click on Choose icon and search for another social media icon from the Icon Library:
Changing the phone number
To show your business phone number, first enable this option in the Block settings menu:
To edit the phone number, simply click on it and type in the new number.
Adding the Navigation Menu
The Navigation Menu, much like all other elements of your site, can be added or removed in the Layout section of the Block settings menu:
You can also make a local Navigation Menu for a particular page. Turning on local navigation on a specific page allows you to hide other Navigation Menu items on this specific page, while they will be displayed in global navigation on other pages. Here's how to turn on local navigation:
- Go to the page where you want to create page-specific navigation.
- Click on the Navigation Menu and then click More...
- Click Convert to local element:
Now you can hide a page from navigation and this change will be visible only on the page where you have enabled the local navigation. To disable local navigation, follow the steps above and click Revert to global element.
To learn more about Navigation Menu editing, follow this tutorial.
Editing the buttons
Your Header block can contain up to two buttons. Check or uncheck the Primary button (filled with color, so it appears more prominent) or a Secondary button (outlined only) in the Layout tab of the Block settings.
If you want to change button colors, follow the steps in this tutorial. To hyperlink a button, click on it and then click on the "chain link" icon:
You will be prompted to manage the link. Review this tutorial to learn how to create links.

source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


text:
The diurnal variations in summer rainfall over the South China Sea (110°E-120°E, 10°N-20°N) are examined for active and inactive intraseasonal oscillation (ISO) periods that are characterized by strong and weak 850-hPa zonal winds, respectively. By analyzing the rainfall retrievals from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission Precipitation Radar for the period _PHONE_, it is found that the peak rainfall during the active and inactive ISO periods occurs in the late morning and late evening, respectively. The morning peak in the active ISO period arises from the organized oceanic convective systems associated with the local convergence along the west coast of the Philippines. The evening peak in the inactive ISO period originates from a stratiform morphology that is initiated by land-based convective systems owing to the increased thermodynamic instability over the Philippines during daytime.
|Journal||Geophysical Research Letters|
|State||Published - 16 Feb 2008|


Thursday, 25 May 2017
The importance of the sun - more experience from Lancashire UK
The Sun and Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) - evidence from Lancashire
Sometimes important evidence can be found very close to home.
Figure 1: Blackpool, on the coast of Lancashire
Previous Posts have shown the epidemic nature of deaths from coronary heart disease (CHD) during the 20th century. The epidemic emerged in the mid-1920s, and this is very clearly recorded in the UK and in the USA. As it occurred simultaneously in all continents of the world (with the exception of the tropics) it can be regarded as a pandemic. The death rate increased rapidly to a peak in about 1970 and it became the major cause of death for several decades in many countries. Following the peak the death rate went underwent a rapid, unexpected, and spontaneous decline
The cause of CHD
The cause of CHD is not clear. Although there has been a ready acceptance that it has been due to faulty diet, research (usually ignored) has shown that this is not the case. I have suggested that a microbiological cause is the most likely, the only one that fits the evidence and our understanding of medical science.
But the incidence of CHD has varied; there are in particular social and geographical variations. These might not tell us directly the cause of the disease, but they might indicate a variation of susceptibility, and this will help us to understand the condition.
The Sun
The sun is related to the incidence of CHD. The sun appears to be protective, and conversely the incidence of death from CHD is highest among people with little exposure to the sun. This is demonstrated in a number of studies.
 - People with CHD have on average lower blood levels of vitamin D than matched controls. The blood level of vitamin D is an index of exposure to the sun.
 - We have seen in previous Posts that the death rates from CHD in the UK are closely linked to latitude. The further north the town of residence, the higher the overall adjusted death rate from CHD. However there is no difference in dietary patterns or any other personal external risk factor.
There is more evidence from my place of residence in Lancashire that indicates a protective effect from the sun.
Figure 2: Location of south Lancashire
4 towns in Lancashire
Figure 2: South Lancashire – Blackpool, Preston, Blackburn, Burnley
 (the blue spot is where I live)
Let us consider four towns in Lancashire, UK : Blackpool, Preston, Blackburn, and Burnley. They have had different death rates from coronary heart disease (CHD), and the data shown in Figure 3 are from 1980. The death rates now are very much lower as the epidemic approaching its end.
Figure 3: Annual death rates from CHD, per 100,000 population, 1980
What is the reason for this? The populations are very similar, all having a relative degree of socio-economic disadvantage. There is no suspicion of dietary difference, although in general diet appears to be of little or no importance in consideration of CHD death rates. The maximum elevation is Burnley at 105 metres above sea level. The four towns lie on the same latitude, 53.8 degrees north of the equator. Blackpool is on the coast and it has been the traditional holiday destination for the populations of the three industrial times.
Could differential exposure to the sun be the solution to the varying CHD death rates of the four towns? The answer is "Yes".
The sun in Lancashire
The annual sunshine data is available from the UK Met Office, and the results are as follows:
Figure 4: Average annual hours of sunshine
The reason for the sunshine variation is based on the location of the coast of Lancashire on the Irish Sea, with a prevailing wind off the sea. It is fed by the Gulf Stream, and so the sea is relatively warm (considering its latitude) and the air immediately above the sea is moist. At an altitude of only 500 metres the air is cool, in keeping with the proximity to the Arctic. As the air from the coast reaches the hills close to Blackburn and Burnley (particularly Pendle Hill (557m, 1827 ft) cloud forms and sunshine is reduced.
Figure 5.Cloud over Lancashire, looking north from my house
The photograph is looking north, on a day that Blackpool, on the coast, left of the image, would have a clear blue sky, as in Figure 1. It can be seen that the hills generate cloud cover that reduces sun exposure of the populations of Blackburn and Burnley.
If we plot CHD death rates against hours of sunshine we find an excellent data fit: the greater the annual sunshine received by the four towns, the lower is the mortality rate from CHD.
Figure 6: Regression of CHD mortality and annual hours of sunshine
Once again we see the same pattern: increasing exposure to the sun appears to give some protection against CHD death. We see this not just in these four Lancashire towns, but also three other Lancashire towns at different altitudes; in cities at different altitudes in the USA; in towns at various latitudes within England and within the UK generally; in cities at various latitudes within France, and within Europe overall.
Protection by the sun
I have previously indicated that CHD has been a 20th century pandemic occurring in all continents simultaneously, with the exception of the tropics. It arose in the 1920s, reached a peak in about 1970, and thereafter underwent a dramatic and spontaneous decline by the end of the 20th century. The only realistic explanation is that it has been due to a micro-organism, the precise identification of which is not clear.
Figure 7: The epidemic of CHD in the UK
The protection given to certain populations by the sun is therefore likely to be mediated by maximal immunological competence. It is known that the sun has this effect, demonstrated in its well-established relationship to tuberculosis. Also it is known that damage to immune mechanisms will increase susceptibility to CHD. There is also laboratory evidence of the immune / inflammatory cascade being enhanced by vitamin D through vitamin D receptors. More of this will follow in subsequent Blog Posts.
The sun has many benefits. Bone health is well-known. Immune competence is not so well known but it is of great importance.
Latitudes, degrees north of the equator
Burnley 53.7893
Blackburn 53.7486
Preston 53.7632
Blackpool 53.8175
 1. Just found this related and fascinating paper, open access:
 Randomized Control Trial Assessing Impact of Increased Sunlight Exposure versus Vitamin D Supplementation on Lipid Profile in Indian Vitamin D Deficient Men.
 Patwardhan VG, Mughal ZM, Padidela R, Chiplonkar SA, Khadilkar VV, Khadilkar AV.
 Indian J Endocrinol Metab. 2017 May-Jun;21(3):393-398.
 Would be interested in comments.
 1. That was very interesting! Thank you for sharing it. I will be sharing it with my husband who insists taking supplemental Vit D is just as good as getting sunlight, as long as his blood level of Vit D is in normal range. He never allows himself any sun exposure because of worries about skin cancer. I tend to feel moderate sun exposure is beneficial. Like almost everything else - not too much, but not too little either.
 2. Hi Nankie - a Post not yet completed will tell you that people with non-melanoma skin cancer have a long life with with good internal health – a measure of sun exposure. Non-melanoma skin cancers are easily dealt with. Their significance is dwarfed but the benefits of the sun.
 2. Be careful of the lure of the visual graph. The table tells a truer story of the results. While sunlight favorably impacts LDL and TC it decreases HDL and increases TG (not included in the graph for some reason) - both of which I understand are unfavorable for atherosclerosis. Vitamin D supplementation on the other hand does indeed have a detrimental impact on LDL and TC but has a favorable impact on TG and HDL. Conclusion of study should be that the impact of both interventions on cardiac this group of cardiac risk factors can't really be determined.


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Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) Stability of Oscillating Fluid Cylinder with Magnetic Field
Abstract
Barakat HM
The magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) stability of oscillating fluid with longitudinal magnetic field has been discussed. The problem is formulated and the (MHD) basic equations are solved. By using the computer procedure from different values of the acting magnetic field the stable and unstable regions are identified. This phenomenon is interest, academically and during the geological drilling in the crust of the earth as we have superposed gas-oil layer mixture fluids. A general eigenvalue relation is derived studied analytically and results are confirmed numerically. The oscillating liquid has stabilizing tendency, in the absence of the effect of the electromagnetic field in the liquid and gas cylinder region, so the model is only subject to the capillary force. It has been found that the model is unstable in the region 0 < x < 1, while it is stable in the region 1 ≤ x < ∞ where x is the longitudinal dimensionless wave number. This means that the model is just unstable in small domains of axisymmetric perturbation but it stables in all domains. For very high intensity of magnetic field the model is completely stable for all values of wavelengths. The capillary force is destabilizing only in a small axisymmetric domain while it is stabilizing in all other axisymmetric perturbations. The stability behavior of the model comes after destabilizing behavior of the model when it be reduced and suppressed.
इस लेख का हिस्सा
में अनुक्रमित
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Terms of reference
 1. To consider and identify and be consulted on issues, trends and developments relating to LSE strategy, policy and governance likely to have an impact on the working environment at the LSE with the exception of matters concerning individuals.
 2. To communicate its views on these matters to the relevant individuals or bodies within the LSE and to request further information relevant to its deliberations.
 3. The Staff Consultative Council shall have no decision making powers (which committees retain) or negotiating powers in respect of staff matters (which remains the purview of the Trades Unions) and is not a part of the Governance Structure and is a self standing body.


Crystal Methods
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Crystal methods are a family of methodologies (the Crystal family) that were developed by Alistair Cockburn in the mid-1990s. The methods come from years of study and interviews of teams by Cockburn. Cockburn's research showed that the teams he interviewed did not follow the formal methodologies yet they still delivered successful projects. The Crystal family is Cockburn's way of cataloguing what they did that made the projects successful.
Crystal methods are considered and described as "lightweight methodologies". The use of the word Crystal comes from the gemstone where, in software terms, the faces are a different view on the "underlying core" of principles and values. The faces are a representation of techniques, tools, standards and roles.
Methodology, techniques, and policies are differentiated between by Cockburn:
 - Methodology - set of elements (e.g. practices, tools)
 - Techniques - skill areas (e.g. developing use cases)
 - Policies - dictate organizational musts
Crystal methods are focused on:
 1. People
 2. Interaction
 3. Community
 4. Skills
 5. Talents
 6. Communications
Cockburn says that Process, while important, should be considered after the above as a secondary focus. The idea behind the Crystal Methods is that the teams involved in developing software would typically have varied skill and talent sets and so the Process element isn't a major factor.
Since teams can go about similar tasks in different ways, the Crystal family of methodologies are very tolerant to this which makes the Crystal family one of the easiest agile methodologies to apply.
In his research, Cockburn [1999], he defines behaviour of people in teams:
 - "People have trouble acting consistently over time."
 - "People generally want to be good citizens, are good at looking around, taking initiative, and doing 'whatever is needed' to get the project to work."
The points above are why Crystal methods are so flexible and why they avoid strict and rigid processes typically found in older methodologies.
The Crystal Family[edit]
Cockburn developed the different methods in the family of methodologies to suit teams of different sizes which need different strategies to solve diverse problems.
The Crystal family of methodologies use different colours to denote the "weight" of which methodology to use. If a project were a small one a methodology such as Crystal Clear, Crystal Orange or Crystal Yellow may be used or if the project was a mission-critical one where human life could be endangered then the methods Crystal Diamond or Crystal Sapphire would be used.
The family is divided into different colours. Some examples:
 1. Crystal Clear
 2. Crystal Yellow
 3. Crystal Orange
 4. Crystal Orange Web
 5. Crystal Red
 6. Crystal Maroon
 7. Crystal Diamond
 8. Crystal Sapphire
Crystal Family example.jpg
[Source: A Practical Guide to Seven Agile Methodologies Part 2, ( )]
The Crystal Family of Methodologies. One characteristic of Crystal is its intentional scaling to projects based on size and criticality. The larger a project gets (from left to right), the darker the colour.
Between all the methods in the Crystal family, there are seven prevailing common properties. Cockburn found that the more of these properties that were in a project, the more likely it was to succeed.
The seven properties are:
 1. Frequent delivery
 2. Reflective improvement
 3. Close or osmotic communication
 4. Personal safety
 5. Focus
 6. Easy access to expert users
 7. Technical environment with automated tests, configuration management, and frequent integration
Frequent delivery[edit]
Frequent Delivery is the regular releasing of iterations of the software program. This idea comes from agile methodologies. Designers and developers decide what features to include in each release and they design and test for each release. With Crystal methods, iterations are to be released weekly up to quarterly – the release times are dependant on the length of the project.
By releasing iterations, stakeholders will be able to spot problems earlier in the project which will save a lot of hassle later on. Another point on this is that if the end users decide that the project does not do things the way they'd like it to be done, then steps can be taken to resolve this before it is too late.
With Crystal methods, there can be more than one iteration in a release. This is because it may not be feasible to release every iteration, so a collection of iterations are gathered and delivered in a single release.
Reflective improvement[edit]
Reflective improvement involves developers taking a break from regular development and trying to find ways to better their processes. Iterations help with this by providing feedback on whether or not the current process is working.
With Crystal methods, the idea of teams holding "reflection workshop" meetings every couple of weeks is encouraged. These workshops help find processes that are and aren't working well and help the team to modify them so that a strategy can be developed that works well for the team.
Close or osmotic communication[edit]
In Crystal Clear and the smaller of the Crystal methodologies, Osmotic Communication is used. Osmotic communication involves the team being together in a room and getting information to flow around it. With regards to larger teams (over 8 or so), where distraction can arise, Close Communication is used.
The team must be in the same room for this to work. This is because if the developer has to break concentration to move somewhere else to ask a question then their thought process will probably be lost.
By using this type of communication, information flows quickly throughout the team. Questions can be rapidly answered and all the team members know what is going on as well as having the ability to correct any misconceptions that may arise.
By listening to the others in the team, a developer can pick up on what the others are doing, gain experience and develop new ideas. Developers working near each other can help with problems that the other is encountering.
Communication overhead is greatly reduced by using this type of communication. The need for email updates, extra documentation, etc is lowered. By having the team together, each member knows what the others are doing so they should be able to take over their team-mate's parts of the project if needed.
Personal safety[edit]
This has got to do with the issue of free speaking within a group of people. If a person is ridiculed whenever they ask a question, suggest an idea, etc then they will be less likely to speak up the next time. The people in the team must be able to trust each other and feel free to speak up about issues or whatever arises.
Focus in crystal refers to two things; firstly focusing on an individual task in a project for enough time that progress will be made and secondly, it refers to the direction of which the project is heading.
With the first, the flow of progress is taken into account while thinking of issues that would affect it such as interruptions, meetings, long questions, phone call, etc. It can take a while to get back into the flow again so this delays completion of the current task.
Crystal defines two rules for dealing with issues that may interrupt focus. One is to set a two-hour period where the developer is to have no interruptions. The other one is to assign a developer to a project for at least two days before being switched to another project.
With the second meaning of focus, issues such as definition of goals are discussed. The definitions should be clear and the developers should know exactly what the goals of the project are. The project leader should prioritise the goals which will allow developers to focus on particular areas.
Easy access to expert users[edit]
This involves the developers working with a person of expertise in the project area so that the expert answers any questions, suggest solutions to problems, etc. The expert user should be an actual/real-life user and not just a tester from the development team. The more involved the expert user is (in practical terms), the better since they would have more hands-on experience.
The more time that the expert user can give will greatly help the overall project but this is not always feasible. There should be a minimum of a once a week, two-hour meeting with the expert user, and the ability to make phone calls to the expert user too.
Technical environment with automated tests, configuration management, and frequent integration[edit]
The idea behind this is that there should be continuous integration and testing so that if any changes are made, then errors, breakages, etc can be spotted. Since this is done on a regular basis, problems are less likely to grow as they can be resolved earlier in the project.
The process of checking-in code into a repository can help in identifying the problem code and remove it by reverting back or updating with correct code. This is where configuration management and automated testing come in. These allow for quicker unit testing and eventual resolution of problems.


Author Country (or Countries)
The process of ﬁnding the optimal allocation of limited resources to a number of tasks for optimizing multiple objectives is called multi-objective resource allocation problem (MORAP). This paper presents K-means-clustering based on one of the evolutionary algorithm, genetic algorithm(GA), to solve MORAP. Using the K-means-clustering algorithm to divide the population to a speciﬁc number of sub-populations each of them with dynamic size. Therefore, different operators of GA (crossover&mutation) can be implemented to each subpopulation instead of applied the same GA operators to the all population. The aim of dynamic clustering is to preserve and introduce diversity into solutions, instead of the solutions becoming similar each other. Two problems taken from the literature are used to compare the performance of the proposed algorithm with the competing algorithms. Moreover, an example of optimum utilization of human resource in reclamation of derelict land in Toshka-Egypt is solved by our approach. The results of different test problems have showed the superiority of our algorithm to solve MORAP.
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Uniting target product profile, regulatory partnering strategies are essential for sustainable product success
Drug sponsors know very well how essential it is to establish the TPP (Target Product Profile) of their prospective drug product as early as possible.
A TPP is, simply, a plan of action for a pharmaceutical development program, communicating the desired attributes of the product and formulation to all stakeholders, whether drug sponsors, regulators, developers or manufacturers. It is critical to determine a product's eventual commercial formulation, and is also a key step in protecting pharmaceutical IP (intellectual property).
Given all of this, it is basic common sense to develop a robust and attainable TPP before you start any development project. Nevertheless, taking a product concept described in a TPP from lab to patient is easier said than done. Here, Chris Rojewski, Pfizer CentreOne Regulatory Affairs, explains why it is important to unite a TPP with a comprehensive regulatory strategy and pharmaceutical regulatory support.
The secret to TPP and regulatory strategy success
Whether you are engaging in a small-molecule or large-molecule development project, a TPP is critical in order to ensure that all involved have a clear idea of why the proposed formulation and finished form are improvements over an existing drug product.
When developing a TPP, you should keep your product's commercial objectives front of mind, weighing them against the drug's pharmacology and clinical development necessities to describe an optimized but market-realistic view of your goals.
Best practice for creating a robust TPP calls for the development of three initial product descriptions:
 1. Weak. A worst-case scenario for a minimally compliant product.
 2. Acceptable. Describes the middle ground that is the most likely outcome.
 3. Strong. The best-case scenario of what you want to claim on the final label.
In addition to these product descriptions, you need a regulatory strategy to align your proposed pharmaceutical development plan with business objectives. The purpose of this is to identify any regulatory risks it may present so you can broaden distribution globally and increase patient access to your innovation.
All strong regulatory strategies feature a common set of principles:
 1. Anticipatory
 2. Quantification of risks
 3. Forward and backward thinking
 4. Regionally, globally agnostic
Taking all of these in to account, you can begin to plan and launch the program laid out in your TPP.
Seeking regulatory support
From a drug developer's perspective, pharmaceutical development program management, including the development of their regulatory strategy, is best left to experts. Most often, this means RA (Regulatory Affairs) consultants or similar specialized resources within their CDMO (contract development and manufacturing organization) partners.
Historically, many CDMOs have offered RA services to support client programs, but not necessarily comprehensively enough to meet the expanding needs of pharma's "developer-class" of companies. However, a growing number of CDMOs are recognizing that comprehensive regulatory strategy is the secret ingredient of any successful project.
More and more CDMOs are offering a service that includes strategy, submission, authoring, publication of submission, lifecycle management and market expansion support, as well as the creation of documentation required for all CTD Modules (1-5). This kind of support is helping drug sponsors of all shapes and sizes to achieve their objectives detailed in their TPP.
Finding the right CDMO partner
When assessing CDMO partners' RA offering, you should consider a number of factors:
 - Is the RA offering fully integrated?
 - Does the RA team have demonstrable experience in addressing CMC risk mitigation and other early RA strategic needs?
 - Can the team publish your regulatory submission securely and compliantly, and submit or speak on your behalf?
 - Can the team respond to regulatory enquiries quickly and efficiently when needed?
 - Can the RA team provide lifecycle management support for your regulatory submission, and support global market expansion and renewal?
A CDMO that offers all of the above in addition to product development and commercialization will be well worth partnering with, helping you manage regulatory risk at a more affordable price point than hiring a separate partner.
Regulatory strategy is integral to effective drug strategy
Whether you are engaged in small-molecule development or large-molecule development, you need a drug strategy that incorporates regulatory strategy from the beginning. This is essential to meet the objectives of your TPP and to ensure efficient and effective long-term lifecycle management.
CDMOs play a growing role in pharmaceutical development and manufacturing. They can also support drug sponsors and IP owners in managing regulatory issues. By working with them in this area, pharma's innovators can ensure they have an effective drug strategy in place to achieve commercial success.
To find out more about our regulatory affairs support, click here.


text:
Advanced Production Methods of Yellow Sarson - Modern Oilseed Production Techniques
by Thakuria, Chayanika
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Yellow sarson (Brassica rapa var. trilocularis) is one of the important rabi oilseed crop under rainfed residual fertility situation in Assam, India. It is mostly used as condiments, spices and leafy vegetables as well as for extraction of oil. Proper planting geometry helps in altering canopy architecture affecting light interception and CO2 assimilation, which further affects the productivity. Among various agronomic factors responsible for crop yield, optimum plant population and fertilizer application are of paramount importance as fertilizer application contributes 18-73 per cent in yield increase of rapeseed-mustard crop.Nitrogen helps in better partitioning of photosynthates to reproductive parts which increases the seed-stover ratio and enhances the yield. Results of field experiments revealed that seed and stover yields of yellow sarson were recorded highest in bi-directional sowing method. All the growth and yield attributing characters, seed and stover yield and harvest index increased with the increase in levels upto 90 kg N/ha; however, the oil content, oil yield and nitrogen use efficiency was significant only upto 60 kg N/ha.
CHAYANIKA THAKURIA, daughter of Dr.Kumudeswar Thakuria did M.Sc(Agri) in Agronomy from Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat in 2011 with "Fertility Management" as a major field of Specialization.Presently she is working as a Subject Matter Specialist (Agronomy)at Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Karbi Anglong, Diphu under AAU, Jorhat (Assam).
Number of Pages:
LAP Lambert Academic Publishing
March 13, 2015
0.22 x 0.15 x 0.006 m; 0.191 kg


text: Shallow submarine hydrothermal fluids from Paleohori Bay off the Greek Island of Milos have been investigated in detail. The extensive gas and warm (max. 93 degrees C) water vents are enriched in major components such as Cl (super -) , Na (super +) , Si, Ca (super 2+) , Mn, PO 4 (super 3-) , NH (super 4+) , K (super +) , Sr (super 2+) , H 2 S and CH 4 and depleted in Mg (super 2+) , O 2 and SO 4 (super 2-) relative to ambient seawater. Based on zero-Mg calculations, it is deduced that the submarine vent fluids are related to the geothermal reservoir beneath Milos which has a similar chemical composition. Fluid samples from each vent in Paleohori Bay represent a mixture of hydrothermal end-member fluids derived from the upper and deeper geothermal reservoir systems of Milos, a mantle-derived source, a high-chloride fluid resulting from phase separation of geothermal fluids and a steam-heated CO 2 -rich meteoric water.


text:
Cheryl Bolen's Regency Ramblings
© Cheryl Bolen
Those of you who read my blogs know I'm a passionate reader of biographies, especially ones about dead Englishmen and women. Quite by accident a few years ago, I realized many of these biographies I'd read were written by three generations of women in a remarkable British family.
These non-fiction titles from my personal shelves were all penned by members of Lady Elizabeth Longford's family.
This dynasty began with the intellectual Elizabeth Longford (_PHONE_), a mother of eight and wife of Frank Packenham, later 7th Earl of Longford (a descendant of the 1st Duchess of Wellington). Elizabeth's firstborn is eminent biographer Antonia Fraser (b. 1932), and Antonia's daughter Flora (b. 1958) is one of the premiere biographers in England today.
I hung on every line of Elizabeth's 1986 autobiography, The Pebbled Shore. She and her future husband were in the first wave of Oxford intellectuals following…
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Amortization is the decrease in value of an intangible asset or assets over time
Amortization is an accounting term used to rectify the cost of intangible assets with the decrease in value over their useful life. Typically, amortization is used to devalue intellectual property, patents, or copyrights whose value has a limited life-span. It is reported as an expense on the income statement (usually as "amortization" though often lumped together with depreciation or sometimes in an overarching category like "other"). However, since it is a non-cash expense, amortization is never actually paid for (no cash changes hands) and, as such, is added back to the total cash from operating activities on the cash flow statement. Thus, amortization actually increases a company's free cash flow while decreasing earnings.
While in theory amortization is used to account for the decreasing value of acquired or developed intangible assets (for example, a new, patented, process for refining crude oil) in practice amortization is often used to spread the payment of one-time expenses over several years, generating a higher net income by reducing expenses on the income statement. By contrast, a highly profitable company looking to decrease their tax payments may list what should typically be an amortized expenditure as a one-time expense on the income statement, reducing their net income for the year and thus decreasing the amount of money owed for taxes.
Amortization is similar to depreciation in that the value of the asset or liability is reduced over time. The key difference is that depreciation refers to tangible assets, like machinery or buildings, while amortization refers to intangible assets such as patents.
Amortization is also a key component of EBITDA, or "Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation, and Amortization".


Graphene in loudspeakers and earphones
Loudspeakers and earphones are used with portable devices such as smart phones, laptops, notebooks and tablets. Inside a speaker a flexible material such as paper or plastic forming a thin diaphragm vibrates and amplifies these vibrations, pumping sound waves into the surrounding air and towards the ears producing different sounds depending on their frequency.
Sound device
The quality of a loudspeaker depends on how flat its frequency response is – that is, on the ability of the design to deliver a constant sound pressure level from 20 Hz to 20 kHz in the audible range. Presently they employ conventional type of speakers which have limitations in their operation in respect of size, frequency response and power consumption.
Graphene loudspeaker
Researchers at the University of California at Berkeley have made a graphene loudspeaker that, while of no specific design, is already as good as, or even better than, certain commercial speakers and earphones.
graphene loudspeaker have ultralow mass, has a fairly flat frequency response in the human audible region and very strong so that it can be used to make very large, extremely thin film membranes that efficiently generate sound. This also means that the speaker does not need to be artificially damped (unlike commercial devices) to prevent unwanted frequency responses, but is simply damped by surrounding air. Such device can operate at just a few nano-amps and so uses much less power than conventional speakers.
The researchers claim that they made loudspeaker from a 30 nm thick, 7 mm wide sheet of graphene grown by chemical vapour deposition process. The diaphragm is sandwiched between two actuating perforated silicon electrodes coated with silicon dioxide to prevent the graphene from accidentally shorting to the electrodes at very large drive amplitudes. When power is applied to the electrodes, an electrostatic force is created that makes the graphene sheet vibrate, creating sound. By changing the level of power applied, different sounds can be produced. These sounds can easily be heard by the human ear and also have high fidelity.
The Berkeley researchers claim that the technique adopted for fabricating the speaker is very straightforward and could easily be scaled up to produce even larger area diaphragms and thus bigger speakers.
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How do you get matlab to import/read a column vector of strings or characters??
8 vues (au cours des 30 derniers jours)
How do you get matlab to import a column vector of strings or characters??
[zone]=xlsread('Tox_model.xlsx',2,"E5:E10");
E5-E10 reads like this in excel:
s1
s2
s3
s2
s3
s1
In reality the colum vector is very long (1000s) and not just a (1:5) vector ...
The variable is empty when I run the code. Why???
Réponse acceptée
David Hill
David Hill le 27 Jan 2021
Did you try reading into a cell array?
zone=readcell('Tox_model.xlsx');
 5 commentaires
David Hill
David Hill le 28 Jan 2021
m=readmatrix('Tox_model.xlsx','Sheet','PWS PFHxS Conc','Range','D5:L102');%much easier to read into a matrix and use indexing
a=readcell('Tox_model.xlsx','Sheet','Participants'' water intake ','Range','E5:E102');
k={'s1','s2','s3','w1','w23','w4','w5','f1','f2','sh'}
for n=1:length(a)
WatCon(n)=m(n,ismember(k,a(n)));%there are several 's0','s5','s4' listed in array that do not correspond
end
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text:
Limiting the turn-to-turn insulation stress imposed on the device being protected
The motor surge protection bank (MSP) provides protection against insulation failure for motors, other rotating machines, and dry-type transformers. This yields assurance of continuous operation of the equipment, the electrical system and the manufacturing process.
The primary function of the MSP motor surge protection bank is to guard the winding insulation of the device being protected. Station class, and metal oxide lightning arresters act to limit the maximum voltage to the device, at a predetermined magnitude. Specially designed surge capacitors, connected in parallel with the arresters, control the rate of rise of the resultant overvoltage. The combination of surge arresters and surge capacitors serve to limit the turn-to-turn insulation stress on the device being protected.
- High voltage motors and generators
- Dry-type transformers
- Motor control centers
- Medium-voltage switchgear
Why Hitachi Energy?
- High transient overvoltage withstand
- Low operating losses
- Long lifetime
- All-film units with a non-PCB completely biodegradable dielectric fluid
- Simplified external connections
- Compact modular enclosure
- Adaptable to customer needs
Brief performance data
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text:
than simply adding a few clauses in a bill already going through Parliament specifically allowing something which older legislation might otherwise have prohibited.
As an aside, the 1870 Tramways Act made this requirement after a street tramway in London using a type of rail with a three quarter inch step proud of the road surface was found to constitute a public nuisance - although apparently a similar installation did not create a nuisance in Birkenhead. By enacting this legislation Parliament decided that proud rails constitute a greater nuisance to users of the public highway than depressed rails. It is unknown whether present-day cyclists, who sometimes complain of their front wheels falling into the groove in the tramrail which is used by the flange on the tramwheel, would find depressed rails constitute a greater nuisance than a small raised flange.
In December 2006 it was revealed that in the past year the number of daily journeys on the Bordeaux tramway system had soared by as much as 26% - reaching 180,000 - this being a very commendable 90% of the projected 200,000 daily journeys for phase 1. In addition, it was revealed that the three tramlines are now carrying more than the entire Bordeaux bus system.
Also revealed is that reliability has reached 99%, which is especially significant in light of the teething problems with the APS ground power system.
Three mono soundclips recorded using a mobile telephone. All come from trams on Line B.
Passengers travelling in the correct part of the tramcar can hear the APS power collection shoes, this is especially noticeable at the transition points between the sections of powered rail and the neutral sections, and where they pass over the insulating joint boxes The first two soundclips demonstrate this.
This link for a 630kb file named 'APS1.mp3'. Also heard is the announcement for Bergonié tramstop.
This link for a 344kb file named 'APS2.mp3'. Also heard is the announcement for Berrière St-Genès tramstop.
This link is for a 745kb file named 'Arrival-Quinconces.mp3'. The third soundclip comes from the front of the tram, so the APS shoes are not heard. Instead sounds heard here include: gongs to encourage pedestrians to stay clear of the tram / not to be too near the tramstop platform edge, the 'rumble' of wheels passing over a crossing (for the future extension of Line C),'squeaking' of the tramcar as it turns right and the 'next tramstop' announcement.
These photographs include views from various locations along the Bordeaux tram system. However they are more of a collection of images than an attempt at a detailed tour of the system. For instance, there are no images of the trams on Line A crossing the River Garonne on the pont de pierre.Important Note RE: Place Names... the same capitalisation of first letters is being adopted as per the streetmap supplied by my hotel. So, whilst tram stops have the initial letters capitalised, place names are generally all in lower case.
In Bordeaux the transition between APS and overhead wires (and vice versa) is manually initiated by the tram driver whilst making station stops. The process takes just a few seconds, so is usually completed within normal station dwell times. According to the manufacturer
it is also possible for this process to be automated, allowing the transition to be accomplished with the vehicle moving.
Not shown is the actual changeover process whereby the pantograph rises or lowers (mainly because I am so used to seeing similar in London that I did not make photographing it in Bordeaux a priority!) Although this may seem novel to some viewers, for those who live in cities where there are already rail services which include 3rd rail and overhead wire operation along different stretches of the route so seeing the power supply changeover, with the pantograph rising and falling as appropriate, is 'nothing special'.
The list of locations where trains use a combination of electric rails and overhead wires for different sections of the same route includes London - several suburban routes plus Chunnel Tunnel 'Eurostar', New York City, Boston, Oslo and Amsterdam. Some of these are 'heavy' rail mainline services, others are urban / metro / subway services whilst yet others involve 'light' rail / trams. On some systems the changeover is carried out whilst stationary; on others it is 'on the fly'.
In the centre of Bordeaux the trams travel along a lawn track reservation parallel to a roadway and the left bank of the Garonne river. To the south of Quinconces this is part of Line C, whilst to the north of Quinconces this will be part of Line B.
Presumeably the local grass is of a different nature, this is because it is less dense / features more bald patches than lawn trackage seen in other cities elsewhere in Europe.
In common with many other French (and beyond) cities in Bordeaux the trams use dedicated traffic signals which to avoid confusion feature different aspects than those used by the general traffic.
Also seen here are the lower level repeater traffic signals placed at a height where they may be more easily seen by car drivers and cyclists which are a feature of French traffic signalling systems.
This page is a branchline off the main website so after viewing it should be closed - navigation through the website is only possible via the main pages - however in case you arrived here courtesy of a search engine then clicking here will take to you the opening page of this website.


In fact, if you just generate the coefficients of your degree n monic polynomial at random, the chance that you'll get something irreducible is at least 1/n. So this suggests an obvious randomized algorithm: keep guessing until you find one.
def generateIrreduciblePolynomial(modulus, degree):
 Zp = IntegersModP(modulus)
 Polynomial = polynomialsOver(Zp)
 while True:
 coefficients = [Zp(random.randint(0, modulus-1)) for _ in range(degree)]
 randomMonicPolynomial = Polynomial(coefficients + [Zp(1)])
 if isIrreducible(randomMonicPolynomial, modulus):
 return randomMonicPolynomial
Since the probability of getting an irreducible polynomial is close to 1/n, we expect to require n trials before we find one. Moreover we could give a pretty tight bound on how likely it is to deviate from the expected number of trials. So now we can generate some irreducible polynomials!
>>> F23 = FiniteField(2,3)
>>> generateIrreduciblePolynomial(23, 3)
21 + 12 x^1 + 11 x^2 + 1 x^3
And so now we are well-equipped to generate any finite field we want! It's just a matter of generating the polynomial and taking a modulus after every operation.
def FiniteField(p, m, polynomialModulus=None):
 Zp = IntegersModP(p)
 if m == 1:
 return Zp
 Polynomial = polynomialsOver(Zp)
 if polynomialModulus is None:
 polynomialModulus = generateIrreduciblePolynomial(modulus=p, degree=m)
 class Fq(FieldElement):
 fieldSize = int(p ** m)
 primeSubfield = Zp
 idealGenerator = polynomialModulus
 operatorPrecedence = 3
 def __init__(self, poly):
 if type(poly) is Fq:
 self.poly = poly.poly
 elif type(poly) is int or type(poly) is Zp:
 self.poly = Polynomial([Zp(poly)])
 elif isinstance(poly, Polynomial):
 self.poly = poly % polynomialModulus
 self.poly = Polynomial([Zp(x) for x in poly]) % polynomialModulus
 self.field = Fq
 def __add__(self, other): return Fq(self.poly + other.poly)
 def __sub__(self, other): return Fq(self.poly - other.poly)
 def __mul__(self, other): return Fq(self.poly * other.poly)
 def __eq__(self, other): return isinstance(other, Fq) and self.poly == other.poly
 def __pow__(self, n): return Fq(pow(self.poly, n))
 def __neg__(self): return Fq(-self.poly)
 def __abs__(self): return abs(self.poly)
 def __repr__(self): return repr(self.poly) +'\u2208'+ self.__class__.__name__
 def __divmod__(self, divisor):
 q,r = divmod(self.poly, divisor.poly)
 return (Fq(q), Fq(r))
 def inverse(self):
 if self == Fq(0):
 raise ZeroDivisionError
 x,y,d = extendedEuclideanAlgorithm(self.poly, self.idealGenerator)
 return Fq(x) * Fq(d.coefficients[0].inverse())
 Fq.__name__ = 'F_{%d^%d}' % (p,m)
 return Fq
And some examples of using it:
>>> F23 = FiniteField(2,3)
>>> x = F23([1,1])
>>> x
1 + 1 x^1 ∈ F_{2^3}
>>> x*x
1 + 0 x^1 + 1 x^2 ∈ F_{2^3}
>>> x**10
>>> 1 / x
0 + 1 x^1 + 1 x^2 ∈ F_{2^3}
>>> x * (1 / x)
1 ∈ F_{2^3}
>>> k = FiniteField(23, 4)
>>> k.fieldSize
>>> k.idealGenerator
6 + 8 x^1 + 10 x^2 + 10 x^3 + 1 x^4
>>> y
9 + 21 x^1 + 14 x^2 + 12 x^3 ∈ F_{23^4}
>>> y*y
13 + 19 x^1 + 7 x^2 + 14 x^3 ∈ F_{23^4}
>>> y**5 - y
15 + 22 x^1 + 15 x^2 + 5 x^3 ∈ F_{23^4}
And that's it! Now we can do arithmetic over any finite field we want.
[7] Especially considering that other wacky things happen like this: x^4 +1 is reducible over every finite field!
Some Words on Efficiency
There are a few things that go without stating about this program, but I'll state them anyway.
The first is that we pay a big efficiency price for being so generic. All the typecasting we're doing isn't cheap, and in general cryptography needs to be efficient. For example, if I try to create a finite field of order 104729^{20}, it takes about ten to fifteen seconds to complete. This might not seem so bad for a one-time initialization, but it's clear that our representation is somewhat bloated. We would display a graph of the expected time to perform various operations in various finite fields, but this post is already way too long.
In general, the larger and more complicated the polynomial you use to define your finite field, the longer operations will take (since dividing by a complicated polynomial is more expensive than dividing by a simple polynomial). For this reason and a few other reasons, a lot of research has gone into efficiently finding irreducible polynomials with, say, only three nonzero terms. Moreover, if we know in advance that we'll only work over fields of characteristic two we can make a whole lot of additional optimizations. Essentially, all of the arithmetic reduces to really fast bitwise operations, and things like exponentiation can easily be implemented in hardware. But it also seems that the expense coming with large field characteristics corresponds to higher security, so some researchers have tried to meet in the middle an get efficient representations of other field characteristics.
In any case, the real purpose of our implementation in this post is not for efficiency. We care first and foremost about understanding the mathematics, and to have a concrete object to play with and use in the future for other projects. And we have accomplished just that.
Until next time!


text:
The Softools platform has some features and functionality which helps the administrators of a site be compliant with some of the GDPR regulations around processing and controlling of personal data.
The article linked to below allows a site administrator to specify a sign up message which ALL users have to accept before using the platform. Upon sign up, the User profile of that user stores a record of exactly when the messages was accepted, and what the content of the messages was at the time (as the message may change).
Personal Identifiable Information
Change Log (Activity Stream) User Profile data
All changes to record data are recorded in the activity stream, which stores for reference the user (first and last name) who made the change and the new value of the field which was changed.
Under GDPR legislation, a user may request that their name is removed from this history if they leave the company.
Simply altering a retired User's last name can aid with this:
When the user profile is changed so that the first name and last name changes, those new details are shown in the history (activity stream). These changes are never lost, as a record of changes to data is always kept as an audit. So an example of the activity stream data (accessed through the history menu option) within a record, shows the following:
After changing my user profile last name from "Theobald" to "Anonymous", the history screen now shows:
Note: The 'Activity' information will reflect the changes with immediate effect, however a log out and in is required for 'Created By' and 'Modified By' to also reflect these changes.


text:
In these special episodes the Musical U team get together to revisit their favourite and most impactful moments from past episodes of Musicality Now.
- Rewind: Practicing - The Musical U team gets together to share their favourite episodes of the Musicality Podcast, focussing on the topic of effective and fun music practice.
- Rewind: Singing - The Musical U Team shares the most powerful lessons from past episodes on singing. Tune in for some tips to free up your voice and build confidence.
- Rewind: A Mindset for Music Theory - Music theory doesn't have to be confusing. In this episode we share some mindset shifts to make theory easy and accessible for you.
- Rewind: Ease and Joy - The Musical U team shares how they've applied lessons from past episodes with hopes of helping you increase joy and ease in your own musical life.
- Rewind: Reflections - The Musical U team reflects on some of the guest experts that have had a big impact on our musical lives. Gain inspiration for your own musicality practice.


text:
The new excavations at Tarquinia take us back to the roots of etruscan civilization. At Tarquinia, a team from the University of Milan have discovered a sort of palace, which may have belonged to the legendary king of the city, and an ancient sanctuary in the vicinity. The close links with the East, which are reflected not only in architecture but also in the finds related to a cult, are remarkable. This centre also revealed the skeleton of a child who had suffered from epilepsy, the "sacred disease". Apart from Tarquinia, continuous excavations are also carried out in the industrial zone near Massa Maritima and at Pyrgi, where the sanctuary of the old port was located together with various altars and an important inscription. In the etruscan town of Chiusi there is an interesting underground reservoir, which is well preserved. In addition, the documentary presents the goldsmiths' technique known as "granulation".
- Direction: ELLI KRIESCH
- Production: BAYERISCHER FERNSEHEN


text:
For systems engineering, use System Composer™ to model architectures and component behaviors that represent and simulate your system. The workflow in System Composer involves capturing stakeholder needs into system-level requirements and then using them to drive your architectural design through behavior models. With System Composer, you can:
Compose an architecture model with components, ports, and connectors.
Extend the modeling language to capture metadata and style the architectural elements using stereotypes.
Define data, physical, or client-server interfaces on ports and use connectors to describe component interaction.
Capture interface information in data dictionaries that can be shared with the behavior models.
Generate architecture views by using filters based on elements or property values.
Represent your system in a sequence diagram to describe system behavior as a sequence of interactions.
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The Covid-19 pandemic continues to cause headaches across the Greek olive oil sector, with the most recent outbreak potentially leading to labor shortages and decreasing the production of the current season.
Some health experts have even identified the start of early harvesting in Greece as a potential cause for the spread of the novel coronavirus in some regions of the country.
The olive harvest hangs on a knife-edge here.
"There is an increase of the coronavirus cases in areas that were off the map of the highly-affected territories until recently, including Fokida, Messinia, Lesvos and Crete," Vana Papaevagelou, assistant professor of pediatric infectious diseases of Athens University, said during a press conference of the Ministry of Health.
"The outbreak of the virus in these areas may be related to the olive harvest," she added.See Also:2020 Harvest Updates
Due to the fear of contracting Covid-19 and the shortage of workers, the olives in many areas are likely to be left unpicked, ultimately leading to a reduced olive oil yield.
"The uncertainty caused by the pandemic made many producers start harvesting in October, which is too early in the season," mill owner Voula Kaplanis, from the village of Solomos on the Peloponnese, told Olive Oil Times.
"Even so, we get olive oil of high quality since there are no signs of the fruit fly," she added. "But other producers are afraid of becoming infected with the coronavirus and have left their olives unharvested, so many of our clients have not yet shown up to process their crop. No one can tell how things will evolve through January when we wrap our operations up."
Further complicating the matter, a new nationwide lockdown imposed in early November introduced more strict international travel restrictions and a prohibition on travel within the country, hampering the daily commute of growers and the available land workers to the olive groves.
During the lockdown period, growers and producers must be able to prove ownership of the groves, whereas proof of employment is required for workers when traveling to the groves for the harvest.
Furthermore, the sluggish procedures in place for hiring foreign workers were pinpointed by some producers as a cause for the lack of workforce in the country.
"There is a great delay in calling in workers [from abroad]," Kostas Apostolopoulos, the head of the Handrinos agricultural association in Messinia, said. "The pertinent regional offices are being choked by bureaucracy."
"The main part of the harvest is expected to begin in 10 days, and we do not know how the quarantine will impact the travel of land workers and the transportation of the olives from the field to the mill," he added.See Also:Greece Pledges €126M Aid to Producers for Pandemic-Related Losses
Yiannis Ravvas, an olive grower and mill owner based in Fthiotida, in central Greece, was quick to describe a grim harvesting season in the region.
"The olive harvest hangs on a knife-edge here," Ravvas said. "Foreign laborers left when the first Covid-related travel measures were announced, and Greek workers are almost impossible to come by."
"We will get on with the harvest with everything we have. Despite the olive trees being in their natural cycle of a low yield this year, we were expecting a substantial production," he added. "But the ugly truth is that the olive fruits have been heavily affected by the fruit fly, which has spread almost everywhere affecting the quantity and most importantly the quality of our olive oil."
Another significant concern for Ravvas is the price of extra virgin olive oil, which is currently lower than the established prices in other olive oil producing territories of the country.
"Producers' prices here are nothing to write home about, ranging between €2.50 ($2.96) and €2.80 ($3.31) per kilogram and rendering all our hard work and efforts pointless," he said.
"The weird thing is that a couple of nearby big bottling facilities operate 24/7 to fulfill orders from abroad in times of strict measures and closures of many eateries almost everywhere, and I do not really understand how prices at origin are so low given the existing market demand," he added.
However, things look better in some areas of Crete in terms of both the availability of workers and olive oil quality, as the owners of the Despina Blavakis olive oil mill near Heraklion told Olive Oil Times.
"Harvest started in October here and we expect to get olive oil of top quality," the owners said. "There are some workers from Albania available, so the pandemic has not created significant obstacles in getting land laborers so far. And thankfully, the olive fruits are unharmed by the fruit fly, but we have to delay the harvest for some days since it has started to rain heavily in our area."
"One kilogram of extra virgin olive oil currently sells for €2.50 ($2.96), which is really low," they added. "We have already sold some quantities in bulk, but the riddle of low prices and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic is difficult to solve and we are uncertain about the future."


What Would Darwin Say to Today's Creationists?
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A talk by Genie Scott of the NCSE:
Photo of Darwin Statute by KevinZim
*Please note:
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4 thoughts on "What Would Darwin Say to Today's Creationists?
 1. He would say: "I never knew that cells were significantly more complex than any manufacturing/distribution facility every constructed by man."
 2. You missed something out, Joe.
 "And yet even such apparently complex organisms are made of extremely simple chemicals that can be created with little more than the abundant gasses of the universe and lightning, the most easily achievable concentrated energy source it is possible for nature to get".
 PS an analogue watch is far more complex than DNA. DNA just consitutes four bases and they can't even be connected except two ways.
 3. Why does an astronaut's watch need to be waterproof to 100m???
 reminds me too of the Futurama episode when the ship is being dragged deep underwater:
 Professor, what pressure can the hull withstand?
 Well, since it's a spaceship, anywhere between 0 and 1.
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One of the relational database management systems found in a C library is SQLite. It's a bit different from other database management systems, for it has a ton of data types. But one of the most common questions everyone asks is how to store byte array in SQLite database Android.
You need to follow a few simple steps to store the array—first, query data from the table. Then make sure you know the data type within the table in question. And then finally call upon the data with a simple read() command within your code. Obviously, make sure the command is as per the data type.
The steps mentioned above are simple but incomplete. There are a few complicated commands that you would have to do before you get the final product you wished for. But first, let's learn a bit about SQLite.
What is SQLite?
A database management system that doesn't use client-server but is embedded into the end program – that's what SQLite is. It is simple to use and makes the C library work faster and smoother.
It generally follows PostgreSQL syntax. But the typed SQL syntax is not strong enough to guarantee domain integrity. This simplicity allows one to use it by just inserting a string into the column.
Within the Android platform, the use of SQLite is quite popular. The reason for its widespread usage is its simplicity and embedded nature. Such a library makes the data storage compact and swift.
Datatypes for SQLite
The Datatypes generality used for SQLite is dynamic. Thus the datatype of a value is connected with the value itself instead of the container. Primarily static data types are used. But the SQLite dynamic type system is compatible with most database engines.
Though it works backward, it will have the same effect. The static type databases will collect the data and store it in SQLite as it would have if the system were SQL.
But the thing that makes SQLite better is its options. This dynamic type allows things to be done that are impossible in traditional databases.
Some Storage Classes
No matter what data you want to be stored, they will have one of the following four classes –
In most cases, storage class is indistinguishable from datatype.
For instance, an INTEGER storage class stores the data as a different value on the disk. But as soon as the value is read, it's converted to a general datatype. Thus one can use the terms datatype and storage class interchangeably.
One thing that makes SQLite a bit problematic is it doesn't have a specific storage class for boolean, date, and time. But it can store the values as TEXT, REAL, or INTEGER.
The applications can store these data in whatever class it prefers. Moreover, these formats can be swapped from one to the other freely.
Take a look at this –
The code here is an example of a rigid type for a SQL database engine. These rigid typed databases convert integers into strings and vice-versa. Here '456' is converted to 456 and 123 to '123'.
To make sure SQLite is compatible with such database engines, the example shown above will work similarly as it would have in the SQL engine. All this is possible because SQLite supports "type affinity" on columns.
By type affinity of a column, it refers to the recommended type of data for that column. But it's not limited to that particular type. One can easily store data of a different kind over the recommended one.
In SQLite, each column is sure to have at least one of the following affinity types –
These affinity types, in turn, will be able to store three types of data.
For instance, a TEXT affinity column can be used to store NULL, TEXT, or BLOB. But if one tries to hold a numerical value in this column, the data will give a TEXT type output instead of the expected INTEGER/NUMERIC.
To make sure the application runs smoothly, one needs to be able to determine the column first. And to do so, just look at the declared type of the column. If you are confused as to what means what, then take a look at this table.
|Declared Type||Affinity Type|
UNSIGNED BIG INT
The following shows how SQLite uses column affinity and converts them to the required type –
Different database management systems are quite dependent on the expressions that you use in the code. But that is not true in the case of SQLite. All the standard sets that one uses for SQL are applicable here.
One thing that is different in SQLite from SQL is that the comparison depends on the storage class. There are a few rules that the comparison follows. They are,
- NULL storage class is considered the lowest among all storage types.
- INTEGER or REAL values are lower than TEXT or BLOB values. But if compared to another INTEGER or REAL value, then the numerical values are taken into account.
- A BLOB value is greater than TEXT. And in a comparison between two TEXT values, a collating sequence is used as the basis of comparison.
- For a comparison between two BLOB values, memcmp() is used.
Here's an example of comparison –
Operators to be Used
In the case of numbers, all the mathematical operators are useable. They can also be used for STRING or BLOB. This is possible because the STRING or BLOB operands are automatically converted to REAL or INTEGER values.
Here is how the conversion occurs:
- BLOB → TEXT → REAL
- The BLOB value is cast to TEXT by casting the sequence of bytes as per the BLOB value.
- Then to cast the TEXT value to REAL, interpretation of the longest possible prefix of the value that relates to a real number is done.
- Any remainder or leading spaces within the TEXT value are ignored.
- If the value has no prefix, then the result of the conversion is 0.0.
- BLOB → TEXT → INTEGER
- The TEXT value found from the BLOB is interpreted, and the longest prefix of value is cast to an integer number.
- Any remainder or leading spaces are ignored.
- If there is no long prefix that interprets to an integer, then the outcome is 0.0.
- In the case where the integer is greater or lower than ±9223372036854775807, then the result of the cast is precisely that.
- For a TEXT that might give FLOAT, the exponent is ignored.
The conversion is a bit faulty. It causes loss and might also make the data irreversible. But despite the flaws, STRING or BLOB type values are converted to REAL or INTEGER all the time.
A new condition is imposed if the mathematical operators in use are %, <<, >>, &, and |. These operators only work for INTEGER type values. So if the data is in the REAL class, then it's converted to INTEGER.
For casting the REAL numeric to INTEGER, the following steps take place,
- REAL → INTEGER
- A REAL value cast to INTEGER gives a result between the REAL value and zero.
- If the value is greater or lower than ±9223372036854775807, the result remains the greatest or lowest possible INTEGER.
Once the query results are sorted, only then can the conversion start. Any attempt to store class conversion before the sorting results in failure. If the sort is done by ORDER, the sequence would be,
NULL → INTEGER → REAL → TEXT → BLOB
If the sort is done as per GROUP, the sequence remains the same, but INTEGER and REAL values are counted under the same storage class. In this case, no affinities are applicable.
Read and Write The Data
Now that you know about the data types and storage classes, you also understand how to sort and convert them. But we still haven't clearly talked about the steps that will help you read, write and store the data.
The steps that you will have to undergo to save any data type are similar. For simplicities sake, let's see the steps for BLOB value.
Let the table in question be materials table. If you are willing to follow the steps, here is the table we would use for the example.
For this example, we have to store a picture for each value in the materials table. Here are the steps you would have to follow,
- First, add a column for the required data type. In this case, the data type is BLOB.
- Next, query data from the table for the content. This will give NULL value in the picture column.
- Now prepare the picture file that you want to save and place it in a folder. For instance, place it in C:\temp, similar to this picture.
- After you prepare the picture, you will have to ready up an UPDATE statement.
- Then get the Connection object by connecting to the SQLite database.
- Once connected, create a PreparedStatement object.
- Now supply the values using the set* method with corresponding parameters of the PreparedStatement object.
- Execute UPDATE statement with executeUpdate() method.
- Make sure to use setBytes methods similar to the following code,
- Next, you have to connect to the tset.db database by the connect() method as follows,
- The following code will update the picture for the specific materials table, and it uses the updatePicture() method,
- If you want to update the picture for material id 1, the following code can be used –
- Finally, execute the program again and check the materials table. If all steps were correctly followed, it would show something as follows –
You may also have interested to know:
How to stop casting chromecast Android?
How to download fb videos in Android?
How to combine two videos on Android?
The "how to store byte array in SQLite database android" process is not tricky if you know the steps. Though the steps may seem confusing, they are not. You just need to practice them once, and you are good to go. If we were to give a gist of the steps, it would be,
Set


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COVID-19 has impacted almost every aspect of people's lives globally. Whilst the short-term financial implications of the pandemic are front of mind for many individuals, we were interested to see whether these worries changed long-term savings behaviour. In this year's Global Retirement Reality Report (GR3), we investigate the impact that COVID-19 has had on personal finances and behaviour around retirement planning. In this overview, we share the results of our survey of Dutch pension savers.
Savers in the Netherlands appear to be less affected by the COVID-19 crisis than other countries we surveyed, with fewer people reporting financial impacts. This may be in part because of the country's "intelligent lockdown" approach and the support that companies have received from the government,1 such as the compensation offered to companies experiencing a loss in turnover of more than 20%. Some savers have adjusted their short-term spending and saving behaviour; however, this hasn't yet affected long-term views around retirement confidence, with any impacts from the crisis expected to be short-lived.
Whilst not a direct result of COVID-19, retirement confidence remains low, with almost half of Dutch survey members reporting that they were not optimistic about their retirement. A key reason for this low confidence was a lack of trust in the long-term sustainability of the pension system. This should improve once the country's planned pension reforms are implemented and people can see that a more sustainable basis is being put in place.
We were pleased to see a good sense of awareness from members about the risks of overreacting to market events and "selling at the bottom," with almost half of the sample believing now is a good time to invest for the long term. Members also showed an appreciation for lower volatility strategies. These findings provide useful insight into the kinds of funds members would like to see their savings invested in.
We began by taking a pulse check on the current financial situations of individuals, compared with the period before the COVID-19 outbreak. We found that 54% of the Dutch sample had been impacted in some form, such as having reduced pay or reduced hours, a lower proportion than in some other countries.
We also found that fewer Dutch respondents felt that they were worse off as a result of COVID-19 compared with other countries.
Perhaps not surprisingly then, among the five countries surveyed, Dutch respondents had made the fewest changes to their short-term spending and saving behaviour.
Key Finding #2: Retirement confidence remains low
What impact do the current changes in employment circumstances have on retirement confidence? Are people thinking that far ahead? We asked our savers how optimistic they are that they will be financially prepared for retirement by the time they plan to stop working.
Almost half of members were not optimistic about their retirement.2
However, when we asked members the same question in 2018, we gathered similar results, suggesting that this lack in confidence may not be solely attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Key Finding #3: COVID-19 is not the main factor affecting retirement confidence levels
Whilst 31% of the Dutch sample said that the COVID-19 situation was having a high impact on their retirement confidence levels, the majority said that COVID-19 was having a low or no impact.
More pertinent than COVID-19 in the impact on retirement confidence was:
"I am most concerned about the uncertain and the unknown: the unreliability of the government, agreements made years ago which are subsequently withdrawn, policy on taxes and other charges."
Key Finding #4: Many think that the impact of COVID-19 will be short-lived
It was clear from our survey that the impact of COVID-19 had limited implications for long-term retirement confidence, suggesting an expectation that the negative financial impacts will be short-lived. This view was shared by the members in our survey globally.
The majority of Dutch savers felt that the impact that COVID-19 would have on their finances would most likely last a year or less.
Key Finding #5: Whilst some can afford to save more in the short term, the majority of DC plan members have not made changes to their retirement savings plan
Our survey results show that there continue to be low levels of engagement from members when it comes to saving for retirement. Whilst 29% of savers have recently adjusted their short-term saving rates, the majority have not thought about their retirement savings plan.
We asked members if they had taken any other actions with regard to their retirement savings plans such as checking balances more regularly or seeking financial advice.
Only one-third of pension scheme members have taken action with regard to their retirement savings plan.
Key Finding #6: Savers would not be happy for their employer to pause contributions into their retirement savings plan
Given the difficulties that many businesses in the Netherlands have faced during the pandemic, we asked savers whether they would be comfortable with their employer stopping pension contributions temporarily if the employer were struggling to survive in the current climate, and it was permitted legally.
52% of members would not want their employer to pause pension contributions.
Key Finding #7: Equities are seen as a good long-term investment, but members prefer lower volatility
March saw 20%+ falls in stock prices and record-high levels of volatility. Whilst some investors flocked to safe assets, others took the opportunity to buy at potentially low valuations. The members in our survey indicated a sense of awareness about crystalising losses, with fewer than 20% thinking now is a good time to sell their equity investments.
However, when it came to risk preferences, the majority said they would prefer an investment that had a lower expected return but with less chance of loss.
53% would prefer lower expected returns if it means less chance of loss.
What can you do?
As the COVID-19 pandemic was peaking in many countries this spring, and many had adjusted to the new normal enforced by nationwide lockdowns, State Street Global Advisors commissioned YouGov to conduct an online survey across five countries. YouGov surveyed 3,479 individual savers with access to pension plans:
The Australia, Ireland, UK and US samples included people saving into defined contribution (DC) retirement savings plans. Because the pensions market in the Netherlands 3 is predominantly defined benefit (DB) (DC accounts for only around 10% of retirement assets in the Netherlands ), we also surveyed those with DB/CDC retirement savings plans. In the Dutch sample, 63% had defined benefit retirement savings plans and 37% had defined contribution retirement savings plans.


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The task of the Pastor is to provide meaningful worship experiences which honor the traditions of the past while providing counsel and support with contemporary life in mind. The pastoral role is to be sensitive to individual needs and struggles, offering support either in person or by referral to other helpful healing resources. The pastoral role is teaching and learning, offering encouragement and warning, complimenting and confronting as each and any of these can be used to "build up the Body of Christ." The pastoral role is to be in prayer for the congregation and by setting an example by both word and action.
The members of the congregation are attached to Christ and each other like branches connected to a tree. The branch (member) brings energy to the tree(congregation) supporting its growth. The role of the congregational member is to offer this energy to other "branches" in supportive ways, avoiding the judgmental approach. The role of the congregational member is to react and respond to insights they have received using such to support existing branches and to spawn new branches. Without the infusion of energy from the branches the tree will die. Likewise, without the support of the foundation provided by the tree the branch will cease to thrive. Member and congregation mutually support and sustain each other.
What will be the future of Two Steeples Parish—Springdale Lutheran and West Blue Mounds Lutheran? That depends on the energy–the interest and support–given by members and staff. Each one of us contributes to answering this question by what we do or do not do. Please continue to worship, give your support for a successful Vacation Bible School, and Car Show along with whatever else will help "build up the body of Christ."