Benefits of Angkung Fruit and Leaves for Health
The fruit of the angkung plant is quite popularly used for traditional medicine. The leaves themselves are often used as a side dish like other green vegetables.
Circulating information, that this fruit can treat blockage of blood vessels in the brain. However, do these claims prove to be effective? Check out the nutritional content as well as the potential benefits of angklung for health.
Nutrient content of angkung fruit and leaves
Angkung or also known as Malabar spinach or Basella alba is a plant that grows in mainland Asia and Africa.
This plant is similar to green spinach with red stems and grows vines.
If you look closely, the leaves are heart-shaped with dark green and shiny. Near the leaves, grow white or pink flowers.
Within a certain time, the flower can turn into a small purple fruit that looks like a berry and sticks to the stem.
Consumption of both the leaves and fruit of the angklung plant is believed to provide health benefits because of its nutritional content.
Nutrients of angklung leaves per 100 grams
1. Water: 90.40 grams (g).
2. Carbohydrates: 0.2 g.
3. Protein: 3.4 g.
4. Fat: 0.7 g.
5. Fiber: 3.7 g.
6. Calcium: 267 milligrams (mg).
7. Iron: 10.9 mg.
8. Potassium: 446 mg.
9. Vitamin C: 79.8 micrograms (mcg).
10. Beta carotene: 2213 mcg.
Nutrients of ripe angklung fruit without seeds per 100 grams
1. Carbohydrates: 1.64 g.
2. Protein: 51 g.
3. Niacin: 0.5 mg.
4. Vitamin C: 89.33 mg.
5. Vitamin E: 1.27 mg.
Benefits of angklung fruit and leaves for health
This plant has many names, such as Indian spinach, grape spinach, and creeper spinach.
For the leaves, people usually prefer to eat them in ripe condition. So, it is very rarely enjoyed as a raw vegetable.
The leaves can be served as stir-fried dishes, stews, clear vegetables, or vegetable peels. While the fruit, more often used as juice.
Based on a study in LWT Food Science and Technology, the angklung plant, both the fruit and the leaves, can provide the following benefits.
1. Potentially lowers cancer risk
Both the fruit and the leaves, the angklung plant provides cancer prevention benefits because it is rich in antioxidants.
These various antioxidant compounds include polyphenols, flavonoids, and vitamin C which can reduce the bad effects of free radicals.
Free radicals are molecules that can damage cells, proteins, and DNA in the body. Well, DNA damage can trigger cells to become abnormal and cause cancer growth.
The presence of antioxidants can protect the body's cells from damage caused by free radicals that come from exposure to sunlight, the body's metabolism, or air pollution.
In addition, the content of vitamin E and beta carotene in Malabar spinach which if consumed regularly can also help reduce the risk of prostate cancer and lung cancer.
2. Relieves constipation
Treating constipation is the benefit of various types of fruits and vegetables, including the fruit and leaves of the angklung plant. This benefit is obtained from the content of insoluble fiber.
This type of fiber promotes bowel movement and keeps the texture of the stool soft, making it easier to expel from the body.
However, the consumption of fibrous foods must be balanced with adequate water intake. That way, the fiber in the digestive system functions optimally.
In addition to maintaining the digestive system, high-fiber foods can keep cholesterol levels and blood sugar levels stable.
3. Stabilize blood pressure
Consuming angklung fruit and leaves can help keep your blood pressure stable.
The benefits of this plant are obtained from the potassium content in it.
Potassium keeps fluid inside cells and helps muscles contract. In addition, this mineral keeps sodium levels in the body stable.
Keep in mind that excessive sodium levels can cause blood pressure to rise. Well, with adequate potassium intake, you can keep your blood pressure normal.
Can angklung fruit be used as a medicine for stroke?
Malabar spinach has long been used as traditional medicine.
One of the uses of angkung which is quite popular is as an alternative treatment for blockage of blood vessels in the brain.
Although many have applied it as a stroke treatment, there is no research that supports the claim that this fruit can help overcome stroke.
After further investigation, this potential may come from the vitamin E content in the angkung fruit.
Based on research in Stroke and Vascular Neurology, vitamin E intake has the potential to prevent more severe ischemic strokes.
The ischemic stroke itself is a blockage of blood vessels in the brain so that blood cannot flow smoothly.
Despite showing this effect, increasing the intake of vitamin E is not the main treatment for ischemic stroke patients, but as an additional treatment. This method should still be supervised by a doctor who treats the patient's illness.
So, if you want to add angklung fruit or leaves regularly to the patient's diet, consult your doctor further.
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Suppose you have a coin from 1776 – 1976 with Eisenhower on it. In that case, you may want to know what it is currently worth.
1976 marked the last time Eisenhower "Ike" dollars were minted. Hence, _PHONE_ Eisenhower silver dollars, being numismatic coins, have their value even as silver bullion.
Every actual _PHONE_ Eisenhower dollar is a silver coin. However, these coins were also minted using copper-nickel clad without bearing any mint mark.
Sadly, there is not much information about the value of one dollar (USA) Liberty coin from 1776 to 1976.
For this reason, I took it upon myself to dig a little further to find out the actual value of these coins present days, especially with the view of knowledge obtained from silver recyclers and selected coin collectors, and here is what I found out:
Value of _PHONE_ silver coins
Over 200 million of these coins were made across three mints. However, only about five million are "silver clad", with a silver weight of about 40%.
Irrespective of the condition, _PHONE_ USA silver coins are worth at least their weight in silver. In other words, the value is gotten from the silver melted. The specification of this coin in terms of silver weight is 3161 oz.
At the time of writing, this silver melt value of _PHONE_ USA silver coins is worth somewhere around $7.90, an estimation based on the current $24.98 per ounce of silver spot value.
When considering the 1976 Eisenhower dollar, it is important to note that the coin is not worth very much. Unfortunately, this is because it is a commode date in the series of legal tenders.
However, since (if) they are silver, it is probably worth around $10 to $15. 1976 dollar coin becomes really valuable only when they are in PERFECT condition. That is, without blemishes and hairline scratches.
You can tell when you have one of the silver coins by its off-white, ivory color that makes it stand out. Real silver coins do not appear red when viewed from the side. Only less valuable ones, copper-clad, do reflect the red color from the side.
Specification of _PHONE_ Silver
The 1776 to 1976 silver coin category is the Eisenhower Dollar with a face value of $1.00. The coin is composed of 60% copper and 40% silver with the weight of the latter .3161 oz.
The total weight of the coin is about 24.59 grams, and as established earlier, the current Silver Bullion Value of the coin is around $7.90.
On the reverse side of the coin, there is a special design or mark that represents the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence of the USA. That is the bicentennial of the United States.
On the flip side, we see the Liberty Bell and the moon, while the obverse side of the coin takes the same characteristics of the Ike dollar series from previous decades.
As mentioned earlier, _PHONE_ S Eisenhower silver dollar was minted as proof coins where the mint mark is seen above the date on the piece. It was also minted as an uncirculated coin, which is less valuable.
Since the discussion is around value exchange, how can I distinguish between this series's silver-clad coins and copper-nickel-clad coins?
The copper-nickel coins do not weigh as much as the silver coins. While the latter weighs 22.68 grams, the latter weighs 24.59 grams. Aside from weighing differences, Silver coins appear to be shinier than copper-nickel ones.
How are _PHONE_ Silver coins graded?
For MS 63 choice uncirculated, uncirculated coin with fewer deficiencies than coins in lower uncirculated grades of this series, areas like the coin's luster are not a focal point of focus.
But, in the main areas, there may be some blemishes or marks. It is an uncirculated coin with relatively ordinary eye appeal.
Meanwhile, MS 65 gem uncirculated may have a few light contact marks but should not be all that apparent. Generally, it will be one with strong luster and eye appeal.
The next grade is the PR 65 proof coins of this series, of which there is no flaw in the piece. Although, it can account for a few blemishes in its areas.
Things you should examine on _PHONE_ silver coins.
The two-cent advice of every coin collector concerning knowing the worth of the 1976 USA silver dollar coin in your possession will be to examine the mark of the Ike dollar on the mint.
If the mark is a D or has none, then it is not a silver coin, so don't expect it to be worth anything that suffices, in any condition, it is presented. If there is an 'S' mint mark on the coin, then there is a probability of it being a 30% chance of silver.
Another area to look at on the mint is the edges. Here, coins with the copper color at part of the edges are not composed of silver. However, even if the edges are silver and a darker grey, you are holding a silver-clad Ike dollar.
If you go to most coin shops with these coins grade, you will get nothing more than a dollar in exchange for it.
_PHONE_ dollar coin was a special coin at that time, but it only values more now if it is silver. As mentioned earlier, the graded silver coins of this mint are worth around $10.
Finally, the bicentennial series was heavily minted, and it is worth it today, depending on what it is composed of. The silver composed mint is worth higher than those made with copper-nickel clad.
Generally speaking, the uncirculated or proof version of the _PHONE_ dollar coin is worth more than the regular circulating one. Thankfully, sites like eBay are good resources for obtaining a decent range of exchange for these coins.
Julie comes from a long line of metal detectors. Her family has been in the hobby for over 45 years and has recovered large amounts of civil war artifacts as well as a fair number of bottle caps. Lately she has been focusing on metal detecting in the Rocky Mountains.

source: m-a-p/FineFineWeb


Navigation überspringen.
Ray: Under the Banyan Tree
Ray, Romita:
Under the Banyan Tree : Relocating the Picturesque in British India / Romita Ray. - New Haven, Conn. [u.a.] : Yale University Press, 2013. - xi, 360 S. : Ill., Kt.
ISBN 978-0-300-18769-4
US$ 85,00
DDC 704.949954
Under the Banyan Tree is the first comprehensive study of the evolution and flourishing of the picturesque during the British Raj. Romita Ray argues that this concept allowed British artists and writers traveling in India to aestheticize the Indian landscape, its people, and the biota (the banyan tree and the elephant, above all). These ideas not only shaped specific landscapes in India, but also fed the imagination of a global audience throughout the British empire. The material in this engaging text ranges from river landscapes and tea plantations to elephants and bejeweled Indian princes, shedding light on how the concepts of picturesque beauty and pleasure were diversified in India, sometimes dramatically beyond their conventional parameters. Exquisitely illustrated with unusual and beautiful images, Under the Banyan Tree is both a starting point for examining the function of the picturesque and an insightful addition to scholarship investigating British art and empire in the 18th and 19th centuries. [Verlagsinformation]
Acknowledgments. ix
Introduction: The Picturesque Prism. 1
1. Along the Water's Edge. 19
2. A Cup of Tea in a Veil of Mist. 53
3. A Grove in the Banyan. 97
4. Imperial Phantoms. 153
5. The Tusks of Empire. 201
Epilogue: Continuities. 261
Notes. 268
Bibliography. 312
Index. 349
Romita Ray was born and raised in Calcutta. She is an associate professor of art history at Syracuse University, New York. Profile page.
Quellen: Yale University Press; WorldCat; Bookbutler; Library of Congress
Bildquelle: Yale University Press
Bibliographie: [1]


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Out of control
THE PAY PACKETS of chief executives in South Africa are out of control, says Philip Theunissen, of forensic and accounting firm Computus, which recently published a research note on the gap between salaries of CEs and average employees. Theunissen analysed the annual reports of 326 listed companies and public corporations for the financial years ended July 2008 and June 2009. He found the average CE's remuneration of all the companies studied was R4,76m/year. The average basic salary of CEs was R2,37m/year, while the average worker earned R124 457/year over the same period, according to Statistics SA.
While performance-based remuneration, often in the form of share options, has become a worldwide practice to align the interests of a company's shareholders and its CE, options aren't closely linked to the performance of CEs, allowing them to benefit from movements in share prices due to market and industry trends beyond their control.
Says Theunissen: "It seems a small number of CEs are using the conditions of incomplete and asymmetric information surrounding their capabilities to such an extent that, when it comes to remuneration negotiations, their individual bargaining power is far greater than the collective bargaining power of the remaining 8,4m workers. The result is that CEO remuneration in SA is in all likelihood out of control."


Skeletons must not be sold as Hallowe'en props, doctors warned
skeleton lantern
The Medical Defence Union said the it is sometimes asked for advice on what doctors should do if they find human remains Credit: Reuters
Human skeletons must not be sold as Halloween props, doctors have been reminded.
Current medical students use plastic replicas of skeletons in their studies, but in the past doctors used real human skeletons.
Now the Medical Defence Union (MDU) has issued guidance for medics about the use and disposal of real bones.
It said that it is occasionally asked about how to appropriately deal with human remains.
The medical defence organisation said that skeletons cannot just be sold on like any other unwanted item.
Its guidance on the disposal of skeletons reminds medics that they must maintain dignity and respect in the handling of all human bodies and tissue.
"For example, advertising a genuine human skeleton online for use as a Halloween prop could draw criticism," it states.
The document draws attention to the strict rules on the disposing of human remains.
Dr Ellie Mein, medico-legal adviser for the MDU, said: "Medical students now use plastic replicas of skeletons in their studies, but up until 30 or 40 years ago it was common for those studying medicine to use a real human skeleton.
"At the MDU we sometimes hear from doctors and their relatives who literally find a skeleton in the closet and wonder how to dispose of it sensitively.
"There are strict rules about the disposal of human remains, meaning skeletons can't just be sold on like any other unwanted item.
"In fact auctions sites such as eBay say they don't allow the sale of human body parts, skulls or bones regardless of whether they are for medical use or not.
The organisation said any disposal of body parts should be done sensitively, and with respect and dignity. This can include by incineration, separate from other clinical waste or burial.
Dr Mein said: "Another option is to donate a skeleton to a medical school for teaching purposes or give the skeleton to a medical student. However any medical school using body parts to train healthcare professionals needs the appropriate HTA licence.
"Any doctor considering disposing of a human skeleton should bear in mind that a key principle on which the Human Tissue Act is based is that all bodies, body parts or tissue should be treated with respect and dignity."


Saturday, 18 March 2017
A Ritual for the Planet by Candlelight for Earth Hour
Every year after the Spring Equinox is Earth Hour.
Earth Hour is an annual event when people are encouraged to turn off all non-essential electric lights for an hour as a symbol for their commitment to the planet. It usually takes place from 8.30pm to 9.30pm on a Saturday close to the Spring Equinox at local times all over the world and is a grassroots event, organised by the World Wildlife Fund.
The idea is that instead of using electricity, you do things by candlelight. Activities often include things like dining by candlelight, playing games or having a candlelit procession. However, you could try some candle magic while the electric lights are off.
Here is a ritual for Earth Hour designed to be done by candlelight – although you could do it as a Spring Equinox rite instead if you preferred. The ritual includes casting a circle by candlelight, scrying (or divination) for insight into what you could do to help the environment, and then making a dedication of actions you intend to make in the future.
You will need:
A candle lantern
Plenty of candles to light your space
A bowl or wine glass full of water for scrying
Paper and pens or pencils for everyone present
Some cake and wine (or fruit juice) to share
Optional: A dark and light candle to represent balance.
To start with, light enough candles to see by and put the rest of the things in the middle of your space – perhaps on a small table. Turn off your electric lights and begin your ritual by casting a circle.
How to cast the circle
Casting a circle is done at the beginning of rituals to create a safe and sacred space to contain the magical energy raised and keep out unwanted influences. Here is a simple way to cast a circle using just a candle in a lantern. All you need to do is walk clockwise in a circle around the edge of your space with the lit candle in the lantern. As you do so, try to visualise a circle of light surrounding the area. You can say: "By the light of this candle I cast this circle to be a safe and sacred space within which to honour Planet Earth for Earth Hour."
When you have done that, put the lantern down at the north of the circle you have cast and, if you want, also arrange other candles around the edge of the circle. It does look lovely and helps define your space.
The word 'scry' means to look, and is another term for divination or fortune telling, often using a crystal ball or a bowl of water. It is best done either by moonlight or candlelight.
Place your bowl or glass of water somewhere that everyone present can see it. Everyone should take a few deep breaths to relax and then concentrate on
the question they wish answered. For this Earth Hour rite, the question is: "What should I do, and what should I stop doing, to help the planet?"
Then all present should peer into the bowl of water and watch to see if any shapes or images appear. You probably need to give everyone at least 20 minutes for this, because it can take some time to get answers. Don't talk while you are scrying, just concentrate on looking at the water. The answers might come to you as images, shapes or shadows in the water, but they might simply be thoughts that come into your mind. Scrying can take a bit of practice, so don't worry too much if you don't seem to get anything. It can help to half-close your eyes as you scry.
Dedication of actions
Now it is time to write down the answers you got from the scrying, or to write down other thoughts about what you are going to do to help the environment.
Give everyone pens or pencils and paper for them to make two lists. One list is for actions they are going to take, the other is for things they are going to do less of. If you like you can have one dark candle and one light candle lit on the table to represent the balance of the two lists, but that's optional.
For example, you might say you will start growing your own vegetables, but waste less food; or you might say you will recycle more, but also aim to buy fewer products that are overpackaged. You might even choose to set up a donation to the World Wildlife Fund, but eat less factory-farmed produce.
After the ritual, everyone should put their lists somewhere they will see them to be reminded of their good intentions.
Cakes and wine
It is traditional to end rituals by sharing cakes and wine (or fruit juice for drivers and those who don't drink). Raise a toast to Planet Earth and make a promise to keep your intentions. Save a little of the food and drink as an offering the Earth– to be put outside after the ritual.
At the end of the rite, walk anticlockwise around the circle with the candle lantern and say: "The circle is open, the rite is done." Then snuff out the candle.
Timing an hour by candlelight
This is optional, but if you want to measure the hour by candlight, all you need to do is get a household candle or dinner candle that burns for a stated length of time. Just put a ruler along the edge of the candle, measure the length that will burn in an hour and stick a pin in at that point. Then light the candle at the start of Earth Hour and us it to measure how the time is progressing.
Other candle spells
My book Pagan Portals - Candle Magic: A Witch's Guide to Spells and Rituals details of lots of other spells you could try by candlelight for Earth Hour - or any other time.
Links and previous related posts
Anonymous said...
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something completely, but this post offers good understanding yet.
Anonymous said...
finding the time and effort to put this content together.
But so what, it was still worthwhile!


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The effect of different impedance loading on a moving coil phono cartridge frequency response. The audible effects of using an overly high load impedance setting can typically be a lack of low frequencies, a slightly hard or "unmusical" sound with poor imaging.
What does cartridge loading mean?
Define MC load; the resistance added across the coil portion of the cartridge, normally added at or in the phono amplifier. This means that a resistance value must be applied to the cartridge coil to get the best most accurate sound possible.
Do moving coil cartridges sound better?
They are preferred by audiophiles due to their measurable and subjectively better performance, however. The moving coil cartridge produces a low output level which requires an additional stage of gain to play at sufficient volume.
How important is cartridge loading?
For an MC cartridge resistance loading is very important. The manufacturer will give a recommendation range (usually). Load it with too little resistance and the sound will be too bass heavy and rolled off at the top end. Too much resistance and the treble becomes more prominent.
How is cartridge output measured?
Remove any wires connected to the cartridge.
Set the ohmmeter so it can read up to 10,000 ohms.
Connect the ohmmeter leads to the white pin (L) and the blue pin (LG).
Connect the ohmmeter leads to the red pin (R) and the green pin (RG).
Connect the ohmmeter leads to the white pin and the red pin.
How does a phono cartridge work?
Cartridges turn movement into signal with a magnet attached to the top end of the cantilever (the thin rod with the stylus at its tip). When the stylus moves the cantilever moves the magnet and this induces a voltage in a coil of wire placed very close to it.
How do I know if a cartridge is compatible?
If you're unsure, take a look at the end of your turntable's tonearm (the part you lift and set on the vinyl to play the music). If you see screws mounting the cartridge to the end of the arm, then the cartridge can be replaced. If you don't see any screws, then you'll only be able to replace the stylus.
How do I choose a moving coil cartridge?
The key to choosing a cartridge is whether you want a moving-magnet (MM) or moving-coil (MC) design-both great, but for completely different reasons. In a moving-magnet cartridge, the magnet is attached directly to the tiny cantilever that holds the stylus. The magnet sits adjacent to two coils of wire.
What does 100pF mean?
100pF = 0.1nF. 1000pf = 1 nF. 100nF = 0.1µF. When designing circuits or using capacitors in any way, it is often useful to have these capacitor conversions in mind as values transition from picofarads to nanofarads and then nanofarads to microfarads.
What should the impedance be for a moving coil cartridge?
The good news is that the likely fixed load impedance will be between 50 and 100 ohms – a useful ballpark figure suitable for many moving coil cartridges. The bad news is that you may need a different cartridge or more flexible pre-amp or transformer after all.
Is it possible to step up the voltage of a moving coil?
The moving coil cartridge is a truly low impedance voltage generator. Because of this it is possible to use a transformer to step up the voltage by factors of 10 or more times without causing any impedance interface problems with conventional phono preamplifiers.
Can you amplify a moving coil phono cartridge?
It is difficult to amplify the microvolt level signals present at the output of most moving coil phono cartridges without adding audible noise. With transistor-based preamplifiers it is possible to do so using special techniques; it is even more difficult to do with tubes.
Why are moving coil cartridges not prone to resonance?
In the case of moving-coil cartridges, their coil inductance is so much lower than their moving-magnet counterparts that capacitance will have little effect on the frequency response unless grossly excessive capacitance is added – the circuit would be not so prone to resonance because of the low inductance of the cartridge. Summary.


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In Term 2, Year 11 IB students gathered together for the Group 4 Project. Students from each of the Group 4 subjects: Biology, Chemistry, DT, and Physics came together to 'Myth Bust' a TV show or film of their choice. This year we have seen students investigate the science of 'Black Panther', busting the myth that flowering plants could grow in a dark cave; and the science behind 'Spiderman', showing that with the right chemistry, someone could create an artificial spider web that could hold their weight.
The emphasis was as much on cooperation between the students and collaboration amongst the different scientific disciplines, as the outcome. It was a valuable experience where students came to understand more about problem solving and the nature of the IB Diploma curriculum.
Lee Taylor | Head of Science (Years 7 – 12)


text:
The Federal Trade Commission is making its own bid to protect gig workers against exploitation. The regulator has adopted a policy statement detailing how it will tackle gig workers' problems. The FTC plans to step in when there are misrepresentations about pay, costs, benefits and work terms. Officials also expect to intervene with "unfair or deceptive" algorithms, harsh contracts and anti-competitive behavior such as wage fixing and monopoly-creating mergers.
The Commission said the classification of workers wouldn't affect enforcement, so companies can't avoid repercussions by classifying people as contractors instead of employees. Violators may have to pay fines and change their practices, and the FTC could partner with other government bodies (such as the Justice Department and National Labor Relations Board) to address issues.
There are gaps. It could be difficult for the FTC to prove algorithm-driven abuse, for instance, and it's not clear which non-contractual "restraints" might hurt workers' freedom of movement. However, this could still serve as a warning to gig companies that might hide steep operating costs, fight unionization efforts or collude with rivals to keep wages low.
The FTC isn't alone in hoping to improve the lot of gig workers. A bipartisan measure in Congress, introduced to the House and Senate this February, is meant to provide portable benefits to gig workers. Last year, the Labor Department revoked a rule that made it harder to protect those workers' labor rights. States and cities have also filed lawsuits and otherwise taken efforts to bolster working conditions. However, the FTC's policy provides an extra, nationwide safeguard that might further discourage attempts to exploit the gig economy.

source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


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Run Collator Node
Darwinia Collators play a crucial role in the Darwinia Network as they are responsible for block production and ensuring block liveness. These Collators collect transactions from users on the parachain and generate state transition proofs for Relay Chain validators. In essence, they provide blocks to validators on the relay chain for finalization.
To learn more about Collators and their functions, you can click here. This resource will provide you with detailed information on the topic.
Note
The steps outlined below are based on Darwinia, and the steps for Crab are similar.
 - RAM: 8 GB:
 - Storage(SSD): 800 GB
Download Snapshot
It's important to note that there is a faster method to expedite the syncing process**.** You can achieve this by downloading the snapshot blockchain data and moving it to the current node database location and greatly speeding up the node sync process. Click here for more detailed instructions.
Start The Collator Node
 1. Open a terminal shell on your computer
 2. Create a work dirctory
 Let's create a directory called run-collator-node to store everything needed for setting up an collator node, including the downloaded node binary and the chain database.
 mkdir run-collator-node && cd run-collator-node

 3. Download and decompress the binary.
 As of the time of writing this doc(2023-09-04), the latest version of the Darwinia node is v6.4.0. Please ensure that you check for the latest version when running your own node.
 wget _URL_
 tar xvf darwinia-x86_64-linux-gnu.tar.bz2

 4. Start the node by running the following command:
 ./darwinia --chain darwinia --base-path /data/darwinia-collator --frontier-backend-type sql --collator

 5. Verify your node is up and running successfully by reviewing the output displayed in the terminal. The terminal should display output similar to this:
 Loading genesis from '/home/bear/coding/rust-space/test-docs/run-collator-node/darwinia2.json'
 2023-10-16 16:14:20 Darwinia
 2023-10-16 16:14:20 ✌ version 6.4.0-2f0941d6f2a
 2023-10-16 16:14:20 ❤ by Darwinia Network <_EMAIL_>, 2018-2023
 2023-10-16 16:14:20 📋 Chain specification: Darwinia2
 2023-10-16 16:14:20 🏷 Node name: adventurous-throne-2027
 2023-10-16 16:14:20 👤 Role: AUTHORITY
 2023-10-16 16:14:20 💾 Database: RocksDb at /data/darwinia-collator/chains/darwinia2/db/full
 2023-10-16 16:14:20 Native runtime: Darwinia2-6400 (DarwiniaOfficialRust-0.tx0.au0)
 2023-10-16 16:14:21 Parachain id: Id(2046)
 2023-10-16 16:14:21 Parachain Account: 2qiDxtPxw1BsbLwujRn5Q2352CaDPY8UMZi4iHBfPXo6FgHd
 2023-10-16 16:14:21 Parachain genesis state: 0x000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000de42f41f451c1be24559be5f93ed0a74f2b6a65d0c965fec4647e165d1947b7103170a2e7597b7b7e3d84c05391d139a62b157e78786d8c082f29dcf4c11131400
 2023-10-16 16:14:21 Is collating: yes
 2023-10-16 16:14:23 [Parachain] 📑 Connection configuration: SqliteBackendConfig { path: "/data/darwinia-collator/chains/darwinia2/sql/frontier.db3", create_if_missing: true, thread_count: 4, cache_size: 209715200 }
 2023-10-16 16:14:25 [Relaychain] 🏷 Local node identity is: 12D3KooWJXgiE8JJSv6fCiEmkEjGAewNYh2HPCSJZuKMZrJUwWrR
 2023-10-16 16:14:25 [Relaychain] 💻 Operating system: linux
 2023-10-16 16:14:25 [Relaychain] 💻 CPU architecture: x86_64
 2023-10-16 16:14:25 [Relaychain] 💻 Target environment: gnu
 2023-10-16 16:14:25 [Relaychain] 💻 CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5700G with Radeon Graphics
 2023-10-16 16:14:25 [Relaychain] 💻 CPU cores: 8
 2023-10-16 16:14:25 [Relaychain] 💻 Memory: 63578MB
 2023-10-16 16:14:25 [Relaychain] 💻 Kernel: 6.2.0-33-generic
 2023-10-16 16:14:25 [Relaychain] 💻 Linux distribution: Ubuntu 22.04.3 LTS
 2023-10-16 16:14:25 [Relaychain] 💻 Virtual machine: no
 2023-10-16 16:14:25 [Relaychain] 📦 Highest known block at #61195
 2023-10-16 16:14:25 [Relaychain] 〽 Prometheus exporter started at 127.0.0.1:9616
 2023-10-16 16:14:25 [Relaychain] Running JSON-RPC server: addr=127.0.0.1:9945, allowed origins=["http://localhost:*", "http://127.0.0.1:*", "https://localhost:*", "https://127.0.0.1:*", "_URL_"]
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text:
Possibility to be equipped with iPhone "Functions that can be operated with only finger gestures without touching the screen at all"
"Apple has the possibility to implement gesture-controllable features and curved displays on the iPhone without touching the screen,"BloombergIt reports. Experts say that there is an aim in differentiating Apple's most important product called the iPhone in an increasingly confusing market.
Apple Working on Touchless Control and Curved iPhone Screen - Bloomberg
Since Steve Jobs spread mouse pointing device in the early 1980's, Apple continues to explore "how humans intervene in computers". The gesture manipulation being done this time is a new technology as the operation of the smartphone, and the iPhone user can do various operations just by moving the finger closer without touching the screen. Experts are analyzing if Apple is keen on developing gesture manipulation techniques, perhaps it will be possible to implement it in less than two years.
According to the testimony of the officials, Apple also has developed a curved display gradually bent from the top to the bottom, different from Samsung's smartphone with curved screens rounded on the left and right sides. So far, flat models are adopted for most models of the iPhone. The OLED (organic EL) display of iPhone X is slightly curved at the bottom, but it is a level almost unknown to human eyes.
Since gesture manipulation functions and curved display are still in the early stages of development at Apple, it may not be adopted as a result. However, the TrueDepth camera installed on the iPhone XFace IDYaAni characterIn considering that it has a high image recognition ability to make it possible, we can expect technology that recognizes the movements of fingers that do not touch the screen.
The OLED display used in iPhone X can bend and fold, unlike the liquid crystal display used for iPhone until then.Apple is developing a new display technology called micro LEDHowever, it is said that three to five years will be necessary for micro LED display to be on the market due to a problem of too high cost. Therefore iPhone adopting curved display is likely to have enough possibility to appear within 2 to 3 years.


text:
|Two Eurasian Pies (Pica pica) outside The Prado, Madrid|
When I was researching my last amateur etymology piece (
The word pie in the English language was first used to refer to the bird, starting around the mid-13th century. It's believed that it was around a century later that pie, the delicious pastry which was originally filled with a variety of mixed or minced meats, took its name from the way Magpies are known for collecting random objects to decorate their nests. Our third usage of pie arose about two hundred years later and appears to have been used mainly in the old printing days; after a printing job, the printer's blocks would be all mixed up or pied before being sorted into their proper boxes. And when you go back to the Latin word for Magpie, Pica, you are easily brought back to the world of typesetting with pica as a modern typographic unit of measure, although this seems to be coincidental here.
So our beloved apple and pumpkin pies (fruit was introduced as a pie filling around the beginning of the 17th century), not to mention rhubarb and blueberry, may all have been named after a bird. I even read somewhere, thought it's a little far-fetched for me, that the blackbirds from the classic nursery rhyme Sing a Song of Sixpence, are an allusion to the humble magpie.
Sing a song of sixpence,
A pocket full of rye,
Four and twenty blackbirds
Baked in a pie.
When the pie was opened
The birds began to sing
Wasn't that a dainty dish
To set before the king?


text:
Seasons in Kerala
We are always asked; when is the best time to travel? Some people like to avoid the heat and some embrace it. Unlike the UK, Kerala only has 3 seasons: Summer, Monsoon and Winter. There is no Spring or Autumn season. Kerala has a slightly different climate to other Indian states. Here is some more information about the seasons in Kerala:
The height of the Summer season in Kerala is from February to May, with temperatures rising to 35ºC and beyond. Although there is no Autumn in Kerala, the heat scorches the leaves on the trees causing them to wilt and shed, similar to Autumn leaves. However, Summers in Kerala do tend to be cooler than the rest of India.
It generally rains throughout the year in Kerala. There are two Monsoon seasons: the South West Monsoon in Kerala, Edavappathi – as the rain starts by the middle of the Malayalam month Edavam. This is the main rainy season in Kerala and takes place from June to August. Average rainfall during this monsoon is 2250 – 2500 mm.
North East Monsoon in Kerala, Thulavarsham – as it rains during the Malayalam month of Thulam. This is the retreating or reversing monsoon and takes place in October and November (sometimes lasting until December)
The Winter Season in Kerala begins towards the end of the northeast monsoons. Typically from the end of November until the middle of February. The temperatures are much lower and cooler but otherwise this season does not differ much from the other seasons. In fact, the Winter season in Kerala has the lowest amount of rainfall.


How Radio Can Improve Lives in Minority Communities
Braisby, Rose (2021) How Radio Can Improve Lives in Minority Communities. MRes thesis, University of Lincoln.
How Radio Can Improve Lives in Minority Communities
Braisby Rose e-copy submission 11.02.21.pdf - Whole Document
Item Type:Thesis (MRes)
Item Status:Live Archive
This thesis will draw upon radio production, specifically community radio, to examine how the participation of the audience can empower participants and offer a voice to the voiceless. By embedding the values of community radio into community/rehabilitation projects, can radio improve lives for those participating in the production?
This research will explore what is meant by the term minority community, and how those within a minority community can be better represented through the medium of radio. Radio produced 'by the prisoner for the prisoner' is beginning to draw academic interest as a means to help prisoners with their rehabilitation process. This thesis will explore the nature of the media within minority communities, and will specifically examine how radio production can be used to connect with the more challenging to reach communities such as prisoners and patients within a high-secure hospital. Are prisoners a minority community? If so, what defines them as such? By focusing on one element of minority communities; those who are incarcerated, this body of work examines the broader implications for other minority communities.
It is necessary to examine the impact that radio has on the producer to analyse how radio can improve lives. By drawing on the theory and practice of media production, as well as the impact on participants, a conclusion can be made on how the lives of those involved are improved.
The DiGi DBT (Digital Dialectical Behavioural Therapy) project will act as a case study to test the theory that radio production can improve lives. Through an observational research approach, the project will look specifically at patients diagnosed with personality disorders, living in a high-secure hospital. By encouraging patients to engage with community radiobased projects, can they be empowered? If empowerment takes place, can this aid the patients' rehabilitation process?
DiGi DBT was initially a two-year project, funded by Knowledge Transformation Partnerships (KTP), which was later extended to three years. DiGi DBT was observed first-hand by the researcher and author of this thesis, while being employed as the Media and Therapy Developer responsible for leading the programme. The project saw the University of Lincoln and Rampton High Secure Hospital come together to use radio as a medium to help patients diagnosed with personality disorder redesign Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT) for future patients through radio production. This thesis uses ethnographic, observational and qualitative research techniques to evaluate the success of the project, the project aims and how this project can be used as a case study to evidence how radio can improve lives in minority communities
ID Code:44216
Deposited On:04 Mar 2021 12:51
Repository Staff Only: item control page


Symfony 2.0 vs Agile Toolkit 3.8 – part 4 – Bundles, Users, DB
Wednesday, May 19th, 2010|Misc|by Romans
This post continues comparison of Agile Toolkit and Symfony 2.0. This post is based on features described in Quick tour – page 4
This is a new concept for Agile Toolkit introduced in 3.8. It is however called "Locations". Everything in Agile Toolkit is not bundle, but rather a resource of particular type. Resource may be found in one of the locations.
In practice we have to deal with many cases, when framework change might be required or extended locally. We might then copy./lib/Form.php from./amodules3/Form.php and tweak it. The includes work, they will grab local copy of the file for auto-inclusion if it exists first. The same thing applies to templates, javascript routines, css and images. Through this approach you can drop image under template/jui/images/logo.png and it will automatically used instead of the one bundled with the theme. This is calling substituting.
Third party bundles will play major part, however we have to implement them without hogging performance. Currently you can manually specify additional locations.
Common practice on substituting
Often your code snippets will rely on common class such as Page, but you will want to implement to tweak it for your project. In 3.8 a common practice is to create proxy classes in lib/* such as MYPage, MPForm, MPGrid (where MP is project abbreviation). However we do plan to use "Page", "Grid", "Form" as a proxies to Form_Generic, Grid_Generic etc and use substituting technique to override those within your project.
User attributes (sessions)
In Agile Toolkit any object may use $this->memorize(), $this->recall() and $this->forget() to safely store data in session. If you want multiple objects to use same data, use $this->api->memorize()
It's discouraged to use sessions for things like notice requests – after all you have to keep in mind that in web app you may have multiple browsers open, ajax requests firing and then user still have that "back" button. Web is designed state-less and should stay this way.
memorize() is used to save state of certain control if user leaves the page and comes back. For example, grid will use memorize() for the sorting order. Once you log out it's gone, but while you work with the application it will remember how you sorted the grid on each screen. Filters will also memorize their contents until you reset them.
Accessing the Database
Agile Toolkit takes much more responsibility in a way how user accesses database. Of course you can still send requests through $this->api->db->query(), but in practice it is never used.
Instead framework provides you with db->dsql() which will return a stand-alone class. The class called dynamic query. It's similar to queries in Zend framework, however implementation is much more powerful and allows to do updates, deletes, inserts and can potentially be extended for other operations.
A common use would be
// no product exists
dsql() is simply a query building engine. You can use dsql->select(), dsql->update() to generate a safe SQL code, in case you want to use fetch(). Agile Toolkit always relies on dynamic queries – all objects. This allows you to have a code like this if($_GET['q'])$grid->dq->where('name',$_GET['q']); Framework will encode element properly. Query used by the grid will be altered only if argument was passed. Notice that you can also do joins, grouping, ordering and more.
Sending emails
Email parser relies on functionality of SMlite template engine and provides a easy-to-use wrappers. Often mail body will be stored in the text file and in many cases it will be supplied in both text and html.
When you use TMail, you use set() to define to, from, and as well as signature, and parts of the message body. The whole class tries to fit requirements of a modern web app out of the box, while remaining quite simple and transparent.
Read Part 5 for Agile Toolkit comparison with Symfony 2.0


text:
A thump on your window usually means that a bird has crashed into the glass, sometimes stunning, injuring or even killing itself in the process.
Birds fly into windows for several reasons. Mostly, they don't see the glass as a solid barrier. Or a bird that sees its reflection in the window may think it can fly to where the "other" bird is.
Houseplants hanging inside windows may give a bird the illusion that it can fly into the plants.
To reduce the hazards windows pose for birds:
Attach black silhouettes of flying hawks or strips of opaque tape or flagging to windows to make the glass visible to birds.
Install screens or lightweight netting in front of windows as a cushion if birds fly into it.
Put up an owl statue or other raptor statue close to the problem-causing window.
Keep your blinds or curtains closed or partially closed.
Move houseplants away from windows, as these attract birds.
Move bird feeders either away from windows (20 feet or more) or closer to windows (three feet or closer) to help prevent injuries.-- Homes & Gardens of the Northwest staff
If you want to automatically receive a free daily homes and gardens tip, sign up at OregonLive.com's newsletters subscription site.

source: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb-edu


text:
What to do if there is an arrow on the bow and why it can happen
Onions are a popular crop among gardeners from different regions. It is planted both on greens and on a turnip. Among those who grow this vegetable, it is difficult to find people who have not had problems with shooting onions. This is a common occurrence, but not everyone knows how to prevent and fight it. In the article we will tell you about the popular methods and secrets of experienced gardeners.
The content of the article
Why does the bow go into the arrow
Shooting is not a disease... This is part of the onion breeding process. The plant throws out an arrow with a flower, from which seeds will then appear. This is laid down by nature, this is a natural, but undesirable process that gardeners are trying to prevent.
There are 4 main reasons for shooting:
- Improper storage of seedlings (high humidity, frequent temperature fluctuations).
- Incorrectly selected seed (more than 3 cm in diameter).
- Early planting in cold ground.
- Lack of moisture.
What is the risk of shooting
The onion arrow is an inflorescence that requires a lot of energy and minerals to grow... When a flower appears, the plant redistributes resources, depriving the turnip of a significant part of its nutrition. This can lead to insufficient growth of the rhizomes, and by the time of ripening the onion will be small. Also, after shooting, the vegetable is poorly stored and is unlikely to stay until the New Year.
How to grow a bow without arrows
Many gardeners have come to terms with the appearance of arrows on onion beds and fight them as they arise. But there are those who are trying to prevent their formation. For this, it is important to comply with a number of conditions.
Proper storage of sevka
This is one of the most important factors in preventing the growth of arrows.... There are 2 ways save seed:
- warm - at a temperature of + 17 ... + 22 ° C at home;
- cold - about + 8 ° C in the basement or caisson.
For both methods, maintaining moisture indicators is important. at the level of 65-75%. Sevok, which was stored at high humidity, is shot.
The choice of storage method depends on varieties and the size of the bulbs... Small sevok in warm home conditions can dry out, and then not rise at all. Cold storage is preferable for it. The situation is reversed with larger family varieties - they are well kept warm.
Important! Whichever storage method you choose, sort out the planting material several times during the winter and remove the rotten onions, otherwise the entire set will disappear.
Processing before planting
Preplanting Tips to Reduce Shooting Risk:
- Even at the stage of choosing a set in a store, pay attention to the appearance and husk. Onions suitable for planting must be dry, free from rot and characteristic unpleasant odors. When peeling, the scales should not completely lag behind the bulb. It is desirable that there are no already sprouted specimens.
- Before planting, the onion is warmed up. To do this, the bulbs are laid out in one layer on a board and placed on a radiator or oven. The duration of the procedure is 15-20 days.
- For planting on a turnip, select bulbs 1-2 cm in size. Larger specimens are planted separately on greens.
- The soil also requires preparation for planting. Onions grow poorly in heavy clay soil. Such a soil must be made looser and more porous. For this, sawdust or sand is added.
Attention! If you grow your own seedlings from seeds, treat them with a potassium permanganate solution before sowing.
From winter varieties, pay attention to:
- Centurion is a Dutch variety, early maturing, with good germination and long shelf life;
- Shakespeare - an early ripening variety with good taste.
For planting in April, choose:
- Stuttgarten - a popular variety of German origin, early maturing. Bulbs weighing up to 15 g.
- Centurion F1... This hybrid is not a winter analogue of the Centurion. Has similar characteristics.
- Red Baron... Medium early, unpretentious variety with high yield.
Proper planting care
It is important to follow the recommended onion planting dates... So that he does not go into the arrow, he is planted in a warmed-up ground. Usually the soil is ready by late April - early May. The air temperature must be at least + 15 ° C, the ground temperature - at least + 12 ° C. It is also not worth delaying, since too late planting negatively affects the yield.
Reference. Experienced gardeners advise planting onions when the first leaves appear on the birches.
Another important point in the fight against shooting is watering mode... Lack of moisture can cause this unpleasant phenomenon. In spring, onions should be watered regularly, at least 2 times a week, preferably with warm water until the soil is completely saturated. If the summer is hot, in June - the first half of July, the number of irrigations can be increased, and in the second half of the summer, reduced. About 2 weeks before harvesting, the onions stop moistening. This allows it to mature, contributes to good keeping quality.
What to do if arrows went on the bow
If the bow goes to the arrow, it is important to identify the cause in order to prevent the situation from repeating. next season. This year you will not influence the flowering process in any way. It remains only to eliminate the arrows at the initial stage of their appearance so that the plant does not waste energy and nutrients on flower development and seed ripening.
Throwing out cut peduncles is optional, they can be eaten both fresh and processed.
Attention! Do not rush to cut all the arrows off the bow. It may be worth leaving a few for the seeds to ripen.
Preventive measures include:
- Warming up. The sevok is left on the battery for 2 weeks.
- Hardening. The planting material is placed underground or in a caisson, where the air temperature is from 0 to + 8 ° C, and kept there for 10 days, and then transferred to a warm place. When such hardening is not available, a quick method can be used. Before planting onions, they are immersed in cold water and dried in the sun.
- Soak. This measure not only helps to prevent shooting, but also promotes active bulb growth.
Solution for soaking onions can be prepared based on:
- Soda. Soaking time in soda solution is 15 minutes.
- Copper sulfate - 5 g per 1 liter of water.
- Salt - 1 tbsp. l. for 1 liter of water. Processing time is 3 hours.
- Potassium permanganate - 30 g per 10 liters of water.
- Birch tar - 1 tbsp. l. for 1 liter of water. The onions are dried for a day on a battery, then the husks are removed and the tops are cut off. Leave in the solution for 4 hours, stirring occasionally.
Tips from experienced gardeners
Summer residents with experience advise:
- Do not trust the purchased planting material, but grow the seedlings yourself, controlling each stage.
- For growing, choose bulbs with a diameter of 1-2 cm.
- The purchased set must be warmed up before planting.
- Plant onions in the ground when the first leaves appear on the birches.
- Cut off arrows at once. Eat the bulb of the plant with an arrow after digging it up. It will not be stored.
- Use onion arrows for food or as fertilizer, folding them in the garden after cutting.
Observing simple rules that have been formed over the years based on the experience of many generations of summer residents, you can reduce or completely avoid shooting onions.Store the seed in a room with a humidity level of 65-75%, treat the seed before planting and water in a timely manner.


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How to warm up your singing voice
9 Best Vocal Warm-Ups for Singers
Professional singers know how physically demanding singing can be. It takes a lot of stamina and energy to sing onstage and bring the venue to life. That's why singing, like any other physical activity, should involve a warm-up, as well as a vocal cool-down. At School of Rock, we make these vocal warm-ups a ritual, whether it's to prepare for a singing lesson or a show rehearsal. These quick singing warm-ups can be done in just 10 to 20 minutes, and they should become an integral part of any successful practice routine.
Why do you need to warm up your voice?
We warm up our voices so we can keep them healthy, sound our best and protect against damage. Warming up your voice will allow you to sing better and extend your range comfortably. It is absolutely necessary to always warm up before singing.
9 best vocal warm-ups for singers
There are many simple vocal exercises you can use to warm up your voice, so you have a lot of options when it comes to deciding how to warm up your voice. Fortunately, School of Rock can help you narrow them down. Here are nine of the best vocal warm-ups used by our vocal instructors.
9 best vocal warm ups from School of Rock
1. Yawn-sigh Technique
For this quick vocal exercise, simply yawn (take in air) with your mouth closed. Then, exhale through your nose as if you are sighing. This will help relax your voice and improve its range.
2. Humming warm-upS
Humming is one of the best vocal warm-ups because it doesn't put a lot of strain on your vocal cords. Place the tip of your tongue behind your bottom front teeth and hum up and down the major scale while keeping your mouth closed. Each note should sound like "hmmm" — including the "h" sound is less taxing on your voice.
3. Vocal Straw Exercise
To perform the vocal straw exercise (also known as straw phonation), take a straw and hum through it. Start at the bottom of your range and slide up to the top slowly and evenly. Then, hum your favorite song through the straw. You can also place the straw in a partially full glass of liquid and blow controlled bubbles in the glass.
4. Lip buzz Vocal warm-up
As far as vocal warm-ups go, lip buzz (or lip trill, as it is sometimes called) is very simple. The goal is to make a motorboat sound by making your lips vibrate as you blow air through your mouth and nose. You can incorporate pitch slides as well.
5. Tongue trill exercise
The tongue trill vocal exercise is difficult for some singers. It involves curling your tongue and rolling your R's as you go through your range from low to high.
6. Jaw Loosening ExerciseS
When singing, you want to drop your jaw lower than when you are just talking. With your finger, trace back along your jawline from your chin to your ear. That curved space between your jaw and your ear is where you want to drop your jaw.
Pretend you are yawning with your mouth closed and feel where your jaw drops. Avoid just dropping your chin.
7. Two-octave pitch glide Warm-Up
For this easy vocal warm-up, make an "eeee" or "ohhhh" sound and gradually glide through the chromatic notes of a two-octave range. Glide up and then back down. This will transition from your chest voice to your head voice.
8. Vocal Sirens Exercise
Much like the pitch glide, the siren exercise takes an "oooo" sound and gradually goes from the lowest note of your range to the highest and back down, like a siren for an emergency vehicle. The sound is continuous and covers the tones between the notes.
9. Vocal Slides Technique
This technique is also known as a portamento, which is Italian for "the act of carrying." Much like the siren exercise, you slide from one note to the next in your range, but you don't sing the in-between notes.
Now that you've mastered a few vocal warm-ups and exercises, always remember to maintain good posture and use proper breathing techniques. Two common breathing techniques are singing from your diaphragm and exhaling on a hiss. Keep reading to learn how you can perform these to improve your singing.
1. Sing from Your Diaphragm
When singing, it is vitally important to use proper breathing techniques to avoid hurting your voice. It is most common to breathe from the chest during everyday activities, including speaking, but singing requires breathing from the diaphragm. Proper breathing gives your voice more power, more control and a fuller, more expressive tone. Sing from your diaphragm to avoid straining your voice. Your body should be relaxed and balanced, with your weight slightly forward.
What is your diaphragm?
The diaphragm is a muscle between your chest and your belly that governs how much air you inhale and exhale when you breathe. "Singing from your diaphragm" is a phrase for this important breathing technique, which describes the proper way to breathe in and out while singing.
How to sing with your diaphragm
The sound of your voice doesn't actually come from your diaphragm, of course — sound is generated by vibrations of your vocal cords. The vibrations are caused by air being pushed out of your lungs. Your diaphragm is what controls the pushing and is responsible for putting power behind your voice.
2. Exhale on a hiss
A hissing breath exercise is a great way to start when learning how to warm up your voice before singing. This technique forces vocalists to sing from their diaphragms and improves breath control.
To master the exhale on a hiss breathing technique, it's important to:
 1. Stand up straight and relax your body. This will also relax your diaphragm and release any tension that could prevent you from singing incorrectly.
 2. Breathe in through your mouth and count to five. As you breathe, bring the air deep into your lungs. A "singer's breath" should not make your chest puff out or your shoulders rise — instead, your belly should expand outward.
 3. Exhale and count to nine. While exhaling, make a hissing noise that sounds like the first letter of the word "sizzle." By the time you are done counting, all the air should be expelled from your lungs.
Once you build more lung capacity and get comfortable with this exercise, you can breathe in for a seven count and exhale for a 12 count.
Now that you've warmed up your voice and know how to breathe from your diaphragm and exhale on a hiss, you're ready to sing.
How to cool down your voice after singing
After vocal warm-ups and singing, it is essential that you also cool down your voice. You can use the same vocal exercises you used during your warm-up, starting with the most intense and working down to the least intense. Simply using the humming vocal exercise will also allow your voice to cool down and relax. Following these tips will keep your voice strong and allow you to perform at your best.
Vocal warm-ups are a critical part of any singer's practice and performance routine. These quick and easy vocal warm-ups will refine your technique, build your vocal power and control, and help expand your vocal range.
At School of Rock, our trained vocal instructors teach students all aspects of singing, including warm-ups and other vocal techniques that thousands of professional singers use every day to keep their voices in shape and sounding their best. Ready to start singing? Sign up for a singing lesson now, or read more about our perforamnce-based music programs.
Check out other School of Rock Resources


Guidelines for Developing and Evaluating Tree Ordinances
Ground survey
Measuring various tree characteristics, including species, age, size, health, and damage factors.
Materials needed:
The ground survey is one of the most basic methods for gathering urban forestry data. Ground surveys typically are used to gather the baseline data for most tree inventories. The ground surveys used in urban forestry are of two general types, commonly referred to as windshield surveys and foot surveys. Details of each type are discussed below. When resources are insufficient to conduct a complete inventory, a representative sample of the urban forest can often provide sufficient information for making management decisions and monitoring progress. Furthermore, when natural woodlands or forests are managed, as in parks and open spaces, a complete inventory is usually unnecessary and impractical.
Sampling considerations for ground surveys
If less than a complete survey is planned, plot selection should proceed as outlined under Sampling from Populations. To provide estimates of size and condition of street trees, researchers working in several cities in the eastern U.S. (Valentine et al 1978) arrived at the following recommendations, which can be used as a rough rule of thumb for planning ground surveys: The use of a sampling interval is not strictly necessary, but reduces the amount of effort involved. To use a sampling interval, some information about tree species incidence is required in advance. As an example, suppose you plan to sample 50 plots, and London plane is likely to occur in almost all plots. To have 100 London plane trees represented in the overall sample, it will only be necessary to tally two or three per plot. If you anticipate that ten London plane trees will occur in a typical street section, then only one out of every five London planes needs to be tallied. When using a sampling interval, the selection of the sampled trees must be unbiased. Don't just skip those that look good (or bad) or are difficult to read; use a regular interval. Finally, the sampling interval needs to be taken into account when the data are tabulated, to show the actual incidence of these tree species.
The windshield survey
This technique is most suitable when the data to be collected consist of one to a few obvious characteristics. It is also useful for rating characteristics that occur at relatively low frequencies. One person drives a vehicle in which one or more evaluators tally data using tally counters and data sheets. Data collected should consist only of counts of trees that have or lack a particular characteristic or fall into a limited number of categories. The greatest advantage of this method is that it is relatively fast and inexpensive. The main drawback is that only a few characteristics can be rated for each tree. If an evaluator attempts to rate too many characteristics from a moving vehicle, either accuracy will suffer or the driver will have to slow the rate of travel to an impractical speed. The foot survey should be used if a number of detailed observations are to be made on each tree. Examples of some of the characteristics that could be rated in a windshield survey include:
-Canopy dieback. This is a simple indicator of tree health. Either tally trees above and below a given cutoff value (e.g., dieback affecting more than 1/3 of the crown), or use 3 to 4 categories (e.g., low, moderate, severe, tree dead). If descriptors such as "low" or "severe" are to be used, it is necessary to establish specific criteria for each description (e.g. low=less than 20% of crown affected) to minimize differences that may arise between different evaluators. Photographs that illustrate the different classes are very useful to ensure uniformity between different evaluators and different years.
-Improper pruning practices. Topping and other poor pruning practices are especially obvious in winter after leaf fall.
-Prohibited practices, such as vandalism, or attaching signs or wires to trees.
-Specific disease and pest problems. If surveys are timed to coincide with periods when disease or insect pest problems are most obvious, it may be relatively easy to document the extent and incidence of the problem. For example, leafy mistletoe in deciduous trees is easily rated in the winter months, whereas branch dieback in alder caused by flatheaded borers is most obvious in summer.
-Tree type. Trees can be placed into relatively broad categories based on height or type (e.g., conifers, evergreen hardwoods, deciduous hardwoods) fairly readily. Also, the frequency of a single or a few distinctive tree species could be tallied. However, especially in areas where a wide variety of tree species are used, a complete tally of trees by species would be difficult or impossible to conduct from a moving vehicle.
-Trunk diameter. For many, though not all tree species, diameter serves as a useful indicator of tree age. Several broad classes of tree diameters (e.g. less than 6 inches, 6- 24 inches, greater than 24 inches) can be distinguished with enough accuracy to be used in a windshield survey.
-Planting site characteristics. Empty planting spaces, severe sidewalk displacement, and other obvious site characteristics can be tallied.
The foot survey
When detailed information in a number of different categories is to be collected, the survey should be conducted on foot. All of the examples listed above under the windshield survey could also be evaluated in a foot survey. Some data may be expressed as categories, as in the windshield survey, but it is also possible to take more detailed data and actual measurements rather than use generalizations and estimates. For example, stem diameter can be measured rather than estimated and trees can be identified to species. The type of planting space (for example grass, bare soil, depressed well, level well, raised planter) and size of the planting space can be identified. Tree condition, hazardous trees, hardscape damage, and site conditions can be inspected and evaluated more thoroughly in the foot survey than in the windshield survey.
If data are being collected for an inventory, such as a street tree inventory, data are typically collected for every tree in the area of interest. If forests or woodlands containing large numbers of trees are being evaluated, it is more efficient to sample the area rather than conduct a complete survey. Sampling may occur using plot-based or plotless techniques (e.g., point-centered quarter method). Plots may be arranged in various shapes and sizes, and plots of varying sizes are sometimes nested within each other. Plot area can be either fixed (e.g., circular 0.2 acre plots) or variable (e.g., prism-based plots). Plots may be permanent, which allows for direct observations of changes that occur over time. Given the wide variety of sampling methods available for measuring forest attributes, persons that specialize in forest survey methods (e.g., university forestry department faculty, forestry consultants, state and federal forestry staff) should be consulted before undertaking a forest survey.
Plot or tree locations can be noted directly on maps or aerial photos. Standard survey techniques can also be used to pinpoint tree locations. With the decreased cost and increased precision of GPS (Global Positioning System) technology, the use of hand-held GPS receivers provides another way to determine tree or plot coordinates in the field. However, GPS readings from low cost units are subject to several sources of error that can degrade the precision of location information. In particular, tree trunks, branches, and canopy can interfere with the reception of satellite signals needed to obtain coordinates. We have been able to achieve improved reception by using a high-gain external GPS antenna mounted on a mast that can be elevated at least part of the way into the canopy.
Some common measurements recorded in foot surveys are described below.
Tree size
Measurements of tree size can include such measurements as tree canopy spread, diameter at breast height (DBH), and tree height. Within species, DBH is generally correlated with tree height and age, but due to the influence of site conditions on tree growth rate, DBH may not always be a good indicator of tree age.
Canopy cover
Canopy cover provided by individual trees can be estimated by measuring the maximum canopy diameter and a second diameter at a right angle to the first. Canopy area can then be calculated using the formula for the area of an ellipse, i.e.,
Area = pi * r1 *r2
where pi=3.14159, and r1 and r2 are the two radii (i.e., half the diameters). If tree canopies are symmetrical, a single diameter can be measured and the formula for the area of a circle (pi*r*r) is used. The total area covered by tree canopy can be divided by the area of the site to obtain percent canopy cover. This methodology works best for areas with nonoverlapping tree canopies, such as parking lots or other relatively open areas.
In areas with more complete or irregularly overlapping tree cover, other methods of estimating canopy cover are applicable. If data are being collected in individual fixed-area plots, ocular estimates of tree canopy cover may be adequate. A density scale (see the example under Photogrammetry and remote sensing) can be used to help calibrate different observers. Also, less error will be introduced if canopy is estimated in cover classes, such as the six-level scale discussed below.
Two similarly named instruments can also be used for measuring tree overstory canopy cover: the spherical densiometer and the densitometer. The two terms are sometimes interchanged, so either term may be used to describe either type of instrument. The spherical densiometer is used to measure canopy cover over a plot or other local area. An image of the canopy is reflected onto a gridded spherical mirror and the observer counts the number of points on the mirror that either contain or lack canopy cover. The number of points counted is then divided by the total number of points


Omu Tou Recipe| Ghanaian Cuisine
Omu Tuo is a Ghanaian delicacy that is usually prepared with rice. But one thing that makes it unique from any other regular rice dish is its preparation process. Typically, the rice is prepared until it's soft and then pounded to form sticky balls. When pounded, you may mistake them for Ugali.
The dish goes well with soups like peanut stew, groundnut soup, or palm nut soup. Although Omu Tuo is common among the Hausa people, it has spread to other parts of Ghana and beyond.
Today, we will walk you through the recipe and all that you need to prepare yours. But before then, let us have an overview of Ghanaian culture.
Ghana Culture
Ghana is home to over 100 ethnic groups with the Akans, Ewes, Gas, and Moshi-Dagbanis being the largest tribes. Just like its ethnic groups, its culture is very diverse. Though some groups may share some cultural practices, each tribe has its practices, which sets them apart from others.
Maintaining honor, dignity, and a good reputation is crucial to the Ghanaians. The society maintains harmony regardless of their cultural and religious differences which makes their culture one.
Society treats people according to their age, position, wealth, and experience. Elderly people are accorded due respect and viewed as more wiser. Younger people go for advice from the elders and involve them in decision-making.
Dining Etiquette
Ghanaians are very welcoming and love sharing. During meals, dining etiquette is followed to the letter. When invited to a Ghanaian home, you are expected to leave your shoes outside. Getting yourself a seat or choosing where to sit is a sign of disrespect to the hosts. Always be patient and wait for the host to usher you in and show you where to sit.
Food is usually served in a communal bowl, and you are only allowed to begin eating from the front part. Before serving the meal, a basin of water is brought for everyone to wash their hands. After washing hands, you should wait until the male elders start enjoying their food.
In Ghana, you are not allowed to sit until you are shown where to sit Click To Tweet
Now, let's switch our focus to our Omu Tou recipe.
Serves: 2
Dish: side dish
Cuisine: Ghana
A cup of white long-rice
2 cups of water
½ teaspoon of salt
2 tbs butter
 1. Wash and rinse the rice to remove excess starch. The step is optional since the starch is required to improve the stickiness of the rice.
 2. Add water in a cooking pot and bring it to boil. Add butter and salt and cook it until the rice is soft. To achieve this, you need to lower the temperature of your heat-source to ensure the rice slowly boils until all the water is absorbed.
 3. Use a wooden spoon to pound the rice. Turn the rice to one side of the pot then to the other. Do this repeatedly until the rice is mushy.
 4. Serve by putting in a wet bowl and swirling until the bowl is formed.
 5. Serve with peanut soup stew or any soup of your choice
Note: To enjoy the meal, you need to ensure that the ratio of water, salt is perfect. You can also incorporate your favorite spices to enhance the taste.
If you love this Omu Tou recipe, you may also like:
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Hercules military transport planes operated by the Royal Norwegian Air Force that land at Jan Mayensfield, which only has a gravel runway. The planes fly in from Bodø Main Air Station eight times a year. Since the airport does not have any instrument landing capabilities, visibility is required, and it is not uncommon for the planes to have to return to Bodø, two hours away, without landing. For heavy goods, freight ships visit during the summer, but there are no harbours and the ships must anchor up.
The island has no indigenous population, but is assigned the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code SJ (together with Svalbard), the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD).no (.sj is allocated but not used) and data code JN. Its amateur radio call sign prefix is JX. It has a postal code, N-8099 JAN MAYEN, but delivery time varies, especially during the winter.
People Population: no indigenous inhabitants
Government Country name: conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Jan Mayen
Legal system: the laws of Norway, where applicable, apply
Flag description: the flag of Norway is used
Communications Radio broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA (there is one radio and meteorological station) (1998)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 13 (Jan Mayen and Svalbard) (2000)
Transportation Airports: 1 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007)
Ports and terminals: none; offshore anchorage only
Military Military - note: defense is the responsibility of Norway
Transnational Issues Disputes - international: none


Loading Paper in Tray 1 and Tray 2
The procedure when loading paper in Tray 1 is used as an example, and the same procedure applies to Tray 2 (optional).
 1. Pull the paper cassette out.
 2. Slide the paper guide to the width of paper to be loaded.
 3. Slide the paper stopper to the length of paper to be loaded.
 4. Fan a stack of paper well, and then align the edges of the paper.
 5. Load paper with the print side face down.
 Do not load paper above the "" mark on the paper guide.
 6. Secure the loaded paper with the paper guide.
 7. Push the paper cassette until it stops.
 8. Press [Device Settings] on the touch panel.
 9. Press [Paper Setup].
 10. Press the tray in which paper is loaded.
 11. Set [Paper Size], [Media Type], and [Media Weight].
 12. Press [Back] until the home screen is displayed.


text:
Trimming technique is a powerful and efficacious way of endowing an arbitrary complex topology to CAD files created by using NURBS. In this work, spline FEM for trimmed CAD surfaces in linear and geometric nonlinear elasticity problem is presented. The main benefit of the proposed method is that no additional modeling for the analysis of the trimmed NURBS surfaces is necessary. As a pioneering attempt to deal with the trimmed surfaces in spline FEM, the information on the trimming curves and trimmed surfaces exported from CAD system is directly utilized for analysis. For this, a specific searching algorithm and an integration scheme of trimmed elements are introduced. For analyses, the construction of the stiffness matrix based on the spline basis function is presented. In the formulation, the information on the trimming curves is used not only for obtaining integration points but also for calculating the Jacobian. It is observed that the proposed method gives the theoretical convergence rate. Multiple-holes problems which are difficult to analyze with conventional spline FEM are easily treated with the proposed method.
Moreover, if the domain boundaries are described by trimming curves only, with the extension of the classical concepts of trimming curves, it is supposed that the proposed method has a lot of advantages over conventional methods.
First, any problems of arbitrary complex topology can be handled. The flexibility for describing complex domain is significantly improved, because the complicated boundaries are easily represented by NURBS curves. Circular or any degrees of polygonal shapes are manageable. It is shown that any complex multiply-connected NURBS domain can be described by using trimming curves only. Schemes for imposing essential and traction boundary conditions on trimming curves are presented. It has been demonstrated that with the presented schemes boundary conditions on trimming curves can be successfully treated.
Second, when p...


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Trivial Tuesday: Turtle That Pees Through His Mouth
The Chinese soft-shelled turtle is not the handsomest creature on the planet, to be sure, but it has its own claim to fame by being able to kind of pee out of its mouth. Chinese Soft-Shelled Turtle (Public Domain Image)Chinese Soft-Shelled Turtle (Public Domain Image)
Scientists noticed that when the turtle had emerged onto dry land it would plunge its head back into the nearest puddle. They found that the turtles will then expand and contract its mouth to expel waste -- something like a rinse and spit for reptiles.
The turtle's digestion gets going it breaks down protein in the liver and it ends up as urea -- just as it does with humans. To expel the urea from the body, humans process it through the kidneys which turn it into urine. The turtles send it the other direction.
The reptile ships the urea north to gill-like studs in its mouth. It is then able to breathe and excrete urea at the same time. This adaptation, which makes us a little woozy to think about, is 15 to 50 times faster than the kidney route. Their kidneys only expel about 6% of the urea that builds up in the digestion process.
Researchers believe that this phenomenon is due to the salt water environment the turtles inhabit. The only other animals that demonstrate such an ability are fish, who are able to exrete urea via their gills.
Source: Discover Magazine
Laurie Kay Olson
Animal News Blogger
PetsLady.com
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text:
Huebner - Onion Homestead
This site was home to two important area families, as well as a stagecoach stop in the 1800s. Development here began in 1858 when Joseph Huebner and his family, who arrived from Austria five years earlier, bought acreage surrounding what is now Huebner Creek and Huebner Road. A successful San Antonio businessman, he soon erected three limestone buildings here and began to acquire herds of horses, mules and cattle. He also opened a stagecoach stop at the family's homestead ranch on the San Antonio to Bandera stage line route. The stop included blacksmith services, change of stock and overnight accommodations if travelers were unable to pass over the flooded creek. Joseph Huebner died in 1882 and was buried on the homestead property.
(CLICK ON ABOVE TITLE TO OPEN EXHIBIT FILES)
© San Antonio Conservation Society


Thursday, August 31, 2006
Performance: Block Variables Breakdown
In response to my previous blog, Chris Nokleberg noted that if we're using String#equals a lot, interning will have an additional benefit...namely because String#equals short-circuits if both String objects are ==. I had forgotten about that benefit, so I thought I'd poke around for places it might have an effect.
In digging a little, I was reminded that DynamicVariableSet, which holds block-local variables, does a linear search for retrievals and mutations. Compare that to method-local variables in Scope, for which all clients must pass an index to get or set a value. I'm not sure if there's a reason why DynVars must be retrieved by name and Scope vars can be directly's probably historical from the C code or a limitation of the current parser. In any case, a linear search could theoretically represent a performance issue accessing or modifying block-local variables. So I thought I'd run some numbers to see how frequently we have to search past the 0 value in the DynVarSet. Here's the breakdown while gem installing rake:
Count of block var retrieves from indicies 0 through 6:
So a total of 787121 block variable lookups, with percentages below:
index 0: 65.6%
index 1: 28.7%
index 2: 5.4%
...with the remainder filling out the last 0.3% of accesses
What can we learn from this? Well DynVarSet currently allocates initial space for up to 8 variables, based on someone's long-past examination of code that showed a maximum of 6 was a good estimate. The numbers above show that, for RubyGems + RDoc at least, a maximum of 3 would cover 99.7% of all cases without requiring expansion of the array, and that with a subsequent expansion to 6 slots we would cover all but 0._PHONE_% of cases. So using 6 as a maximum and always allocating 8 slots is perhaps a bit generous. More profiling on more code is warranted here, but it might be safe to drop the initial size to 3 and leave in the doubling when expanding.
It also shows us that we pay the cost of two String#equals calls for 28.7% of lookups, and pay for three in 5.4% of lookups, with higher counts statistically insignificant. So although it might seem like we're unlikely to suffer much of a performance hit because most block var lookups are at index 0, our cost to lookup or modify block variables is doubled in over a quarter of cases and tripled in a twentieth of cases. If we normalize all lookups to the same cost (X * 99.7 versus X * 139.2), that translates to a 28% performance boost for block variable lookup cost. Note that I'm not measuring block variable modifications here either, which would conceivably see a similar boost.
And of course what it doesn't show (but which we know to be true) is that if we were able to eliminate both the linear search and the call to String#equals, we'd save a very large percentage of block var lookup time, since we'd reduce it to a simple array indexing. I think it's worth exploring how we could do that--especially since we already do it for Scope in all the same places.
Isn't optimizing legacy code fun?
Performance: Inlining Strings
A while ago, we decided to inline all appropriate symbolic strings as they entered the AST. This appeared to help performance a measurable amount, presumably for two reasons:
 1. The AST would take up less space in the long term
 2. Since Strings cache their hashcodes, having each identical string in the AST be the same object would reduce the number of hash calculations.
And the numbers seem to bear it out. Here's a local rake install:
Without interning AST strings:
real 1m19.894s
user 1m18.649s
sys 0m0.920s
With interning AST strings:
real 1m15.021s
user 1m13.785s
sys 0m0.948s
So it's very this case 4-5 seconds out of 80 seconds, or about a 6% gain with interning.
However this week I realized the fallacy of the second point above. In order to intern each incoming string, Java must hash them. This causes all strings entering the AST to be hashed once anyway in order to get the interned version. In fact, it could reduce performance, since we're now forced to hash strings we might never encounter during execution.
I can't confirm that this is 100% true, but it's a reasonable theory. String.intern() is native code, but logic dictates that the fastest way to intern strings would be to use an internal hash/symbol table. So I proceeded this evening to try removing interning to see how it affected performance. I hoped to get a small gain during execution due to a large gain during parsing. The numbers above show that I lose a measurable amount overall by interning. However, I do see substantial parse performance gains:
With interning AST strings ( - t method of measuring 100 parses):
Without interning AST strings:
About 1.7 seconds out of 11, or a whopping 15% gain in parse speed without interning. AARGH.
At this point I'm leaning toward removing interning and swallowing the 6% performance hit temporarily until we can figure out where it's coming from. Logically, interning everything should only add overhead, or so my brain tells me. Where's the flaw in my logic?
My London Schedule
So here's the times and places. I want to get together JRubyists to just chat a bit at some point, and it seems like Thursday or Friday would work best. The only concrete suggestion so far is the Fitzroy Tavern on the 15th, around 6:30PM-7:00PM (thanks Damian). This works for me, and it's after the conference. Here's a goofy Google Map to Fitzroy from the conference center.
I'm also planning to attend the "Pizza on Rails" event on the 13th, so folks can find me there.
I'll keep this entry updated as things come in, so it can be used for reference.
13 September, 6:00AM: Arrival in London (Heathrow)
Other than getting checked into the hotel, I have that whole day free. I don't plan to cram for my presentation or anything, since it's not until Friday (and I don't really work that way). To avoid the lag I'll probably sleep as much as I can on the plane. Getting out and about once I get there ought to get the circadians whipped into shape.
13 September, 6:00PM: Pizza on Rails
Pizza on Rails is around 6PM, with pizza at 7PM.
14 September, 9:00AM: RailsConf Day One
The "Welcome" is at 9, and it goes straight through until 8:30PM with a lunch break from 12:30PM to 2:00PM and a dinner break from 5:50PM to 7:30PM. I'll probably try to grab meals with folks from the conf.
15 September, 9:30AM: RailsConf Day Two
Lunch break is the same as Day One, and the conf is scheduled to go through until 6PM, with "Closing Remarks" coming after that. Probably be out by 6:30, and the Fitzroy is pretty close. Maybe someone not going to the conf can get there early to scope it out.
15 September, 3:00PM: JRuby on Rails
I'm in the last set of speakers, before the final plenary session with James Duncan Davidson and Dave Thomas. I'm up against cleaning up rails, adding unicode to rails, and project management for rails. I wish I could attend the unicode session, but I'll try to grab Dominic offline.
15 September, 6:30PM: JRuby Meetup
So far I think we'll just be at Fitzroy Tavern, as mentioned at the top of this post. All are welcome...I don't fly out until 1:25PM the next day, so I can stick around for a while.
16 September 10:00AM: Departure
Given the recent TERROR scare, I'm going to be extra careful and head to the airport nice and early. I'm not particularly worried about TERROR, but I am over-cautious about giving security enough time to scour my person for soda pop and lip balm.
Thus ends my first trip to London. It's too bad it will be so short, but I have business to attend to stateside immediately after the conference. Hopefully I'll stop back in when I'm in the EU for JavaPolis.
I hope to see plenty of JRubyists in London!


text:
To improve the coulombic efficiency of GeO2 electrode, a Cu-containing ternary metal oxide (CuGeO3) was prepared and the electrochemical behavior of Cu component was studied. The GeO2 electrode shows a low coulombic efficiency in the first cycle (43%), which is mainly caused by a poor Ge oxidation kinetics (Ge + 2Li2O → GeO2 + 2Li+ + 2e-). The X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) data illustrate that the Cu component in CuGeO3 is converted to nano-sized metallic Cu in the earlier stage of lithiation but idles thereafter. In contrast, the Ge component in CuGeO3 behaves like the GeO2 electrode. It is converted to nano-sized Ge by a conversion reaction and further lithiated by alloying reaction. The de-lithiation proceeds in the reverse order. The CuGeO3 electrode shows a much improved coulombic efficiency (74%) in the first cycle, which is indebted to a facilitated Ge oxidation with a much reduced electrode polarization. This feature has been explained by the favorable roles provided by the in situ generated nano-sized metallic Cu particles that make such an intimate contact with the nano-sized Ge and Li2O that they can catalyze Li2O decomposition and provide an electronic conductive network for Ge oxidation. A similar favorable effect was observed with the other ternary oxides (FeGeO3 and CoGeO3), wherein the formation of nano-sized metallic Fe and Co can be assumed.
Bibliographical noteFunding Information:
This work was supported by WCU program through KOSEF funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (_PHONE_). The authors also wish to acknowledge the Research Center for Energy Conversion and Storage for financial support, and the Pohang Light Source (PLS) for the XAS measurements.
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Chemical Engineering(all)


text: Shell is black or purple above and white below, coiled, with a definite raised spire (but the shell is only about as tall as wide), no siphonal notch or canal in aperture, interior of the shell is pearly. Animal has an operculum which is thin and horny with spiral lines. Columella has two small nodes. The umbilicus is closed by a callus (picture). Shell up to 3 cm diameter. The apex is frequently heavily worn, and shell may be encrusted with coralline algae or bryozoans. Animal's foot is black on the sides. The black on the shell is due to a dark periostracum.


text:
Harold's Fall or King Will
April 2 - April 4, 2009
The winner of the 2009 Rod Parker Playwrighting Festival is George Watsky, for his play Harold's Fall or King Will. Harold's Fall or King Will by George Watsky focuses on William and Harold, two chess players in a park in New York City. Harold's magical piece of chalk can transform himself and his surroundings, but at the price of his undoing. Using chess as a metaphor, the play examines status, race and morality in the world that Harold creates. NewFest '09, sponsored by Rod Parker, is an opportunity for student playwrights to collaborate on a full production of his or her play. The play chosen is directed by Joe Antoun, Artistic Director of Centastage.


Complaint Process
1. Initial steps: The initial steps involved in receiving and reviewing a complaint typically include the following:
 - The College receives a completed complaint form or a written letter of complaint from the patient.
 - The College confirms receipt of the complaint by letter to the complainant and notifies the registrant that a complaint has been received.
 - The College reviews the complaint and requests any clarification or further information from the complainant.
 - The College may request copies of the patient's clinical records from the registrant at this stage or at a later stage, depending on the nature of the complaint.
2. Steps involved once all information has been received: Once the College has received any further requested and relevant information from the patient, the registrant(s) and/or other individuals, and it has been determined that the College has jurisdiction to investigate the matter, the following steps ensue:
 - The complaint will be summarized.
 - If the complaint is a "serious matter" (defined in the Health Professions Act as a matter that, if proven, would result in limitations or conditions on the registrant's practice, or a suspension or cancellation of registration), the complaint will be taken to the Inquiry Committee.
 - The College sends a letter to the Registrant along with a copy of the letter of complaint, and requests a response to the allegations.
 - The College may contact other individuals involved in the patient's care or who otherwise might have additional relevant information.
 - Where appropriate, the College may provide the patient with a copy of the response obtained from the registrant and ask for any further comments.
 - If the allegations, even if admitted or proven, would result in no more than a reprimand, it will still be completely reviewed.
3. Steps once the complaint has been investigated: Once the investigation is concluded, the complainant and the registrant will receive a report. The report typically includes a summary of the allegations and the registrant's response to the allegations, a description of the information and documentation considered in the investigation, and the Inquiry Committee's review and opinion in response to the complaint.
4. Steps if corrective action is requested of the registrant: If any corrective action on the part of the registrant is required, the College may:
 - inform the registrant about the concerns and provide remediative advice including the requirement to have consultation, supervision or take educational courses;
 - request that the registrant attend the College for an interview;
 - circulate advice and suggestions to all registrants on matters relevant to the general practice of registrants in its official publications;
 - reprimand the registrant about the conduct;
 - order a general review of the registrant's practice; and/or