text:
Child-resistant packaging is regulated by the Code of Federal Regulations in Title 16, Part 1700 as part of the Poison Prevention Packaging Act (PPPA). The purpose of this act is to protect young children (under 5) from poisonings and deaths due to open containers of hazardous products.
A package that is child-resistant should be difficult for children under 5 to open or obtain a harmful amount of the contents within a reasonable time. It should not be difficult for the average adult to open and use properly.
In order for a package to be considered child-resistant, it must be tested with children. A total of 80% tested must not be able to open the package within 10 minutes of testing. Similarly, when the packaging is tested by adults, 90% have up to 5 minutes to open and close the package so that it is child-resistant again.
What products require child-resistant packaging?
The commission of the PPPA sets rules that require child resistant packaging for specific products used in or around the house such as:
- The products present a risk of serious injury or illness to children under 5 who are able to open the packages of products and drink, eat, or handle the contents.
- The technology exists or can be developed to produce child-resistant packaging for products, that the packaging can be used with modern mass production and assembly techniques, and that the packaging will adequately protect the integrity of the product and not interfere with the product's intended storage or use.
Child-Resistant Required Packaging of Household Products
- Chemical & Cosmetic Products
- Mouthwash Products
- Drugs & Dietary Supplements
- Liquid Nicotine Containers
Exceptions to the Rules
A manufacturer can package one size of a regulated product (non-prescription) in regular packaging that is not child-resistant. The label of the packaging must include "This package for households without young children" or in smaller packages "Package not child resistant."
Learn more about packaging options for child-resistant required products from our packaging consultants.


text:
Food & Farm News
» July 5, 2005 «
Things are looking up, literally, for overseas shipments of California farm goods. A study predicts that airplanes will carry a larger share of the state's farm exports. The report, issued by California State University, Fresno, says the value of airborne farm exports has increased sharply the past four years. Most of those shipments head to Asia. But one of the study's authors predicts that inland airports will begin non-stop, passenger and freight service to European cities.
The situation has changed since the government last surveyed horse owners about how they protect their animals' health. In the seven years since the last nationwide survey, West Nile virus began striking horses. The disease killed more than 200 California horses last year, and sickened hundreds more. Horses can be vaccinated against the disease. About 200 Californians who own horses and other equines will be asked to participate in the health-management survey.
Modified management of grazing lands improves water quality while providing ranchers with economic benefits, according to rangeland specialists. University of California farm advisors say ranchers can reduce runoff into streams by slowing irrigation rates on hillside pastures. They say that moving cattle from pasture to pasture at certain times also benefits grazing lands and the streams that flow through them.
To avoid flooding this spring, a study says reservoir operators released enough water to accommodate more than 1 million Californians. That water flowed through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, unused, into the Pacific Ocean. The California Farm Water Coalition says the released water was above that needed to serve environmental needs in the delta. It urged the state to consider additional storage for water that's available during similar high flows.Top

source: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb-edu


text:
It Waits for You
Paul David Walker
This book can be downloaded and read in Apple Books on your Mac or iOS device.
Paul David Walker often says, "The job of a poet is to travel into the unknown and come back and make a report." These poems are his reports, both deeply personal and full of mystery. These poems "come to" Paul and are written to create a personal exploration of what is deep in our hearts, yet unknown, or may have been glimpsed and forgotten. Paul makes sense of the relationship between heaven and earth, light and darkness, our fears and connection with the divine. In the author's words, these poems are meant to "leap up out of readers like laser beam lamps reaching into the dark sky."

source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


This page is part of © FOTW Flags Of The World website
Lithuania - History of Lithuanian Flags
Last modified: 2014-05-29 by zoltán horváth
Keywords: lithuania |
See also:
The following material represents a synopsis of the history of Lithuanian flags:
Not much is known about Lithuanian flags prior to the 1200's. The earliest available records talk about "yellow Gediminas towers" on a "red field. This is a clear reference to King Gediminas of Lithuania who ruled from 1316 to 1341. The earliest described Lithuanian flag contains a block shaped outline of the Voruta castle, home of King Gediminas during his reign. Of interest however is that archeological diggings have unearthed Lithuanian bracteate's dating from King Mindaugas'es reign (1234 - 1263) in Gotland and elsewhere showing the same outline on the coins as is attributed to King Mindaugases flags.
The earliest known mention of Lithuanian flags is in the "Chronicon Dubicense"; it cites an "insignia Lithwanorium" in the text but does not go on to describe it. Logic would state that it must have been one of the "towers of Gediminas". Ample documentation exists regarding the Lithuanian flags which participated in the Tannenberg battle of 1410 against the Teutonic Knights. Lithuanian units from the Aukstaitija province flew the red and yellow towers of Gediminas.
Aside from the towers of Gediminas (also called gates of Gediminas), which now are identified with all things Lithuania, there are two other "national" symbols which have adorned Lithuanian flags since the early Middle Ages - the Apostolic cross and the Vytis.
The Apostolic cross was introduced by King Jogiella (1377 - 1398) who made the cross an integral part of the Gediminian royal houses coat-of-arms. The choice of this particular symbol was a masterpiece of diplomacy by King Jogiella. The King knew that a "pagan" Lithuania would be no match against her many enemies. By marrying into the Polish royal family, he also adopted Christianity for Lithuania. This would then prevent any future "crusades" from being undertaken against Lithuania. As the Lithuanian kingdom was located in both "eastern" and "western" Europe and as the Apostolic cross was accepted as a "Christian" cross by both Constantinople and Rome, King Jogiella could not have selected a better symbol for the Lithuanian royal household. The Apostolic cross thus quickly made it on to Lithuanian flags and banners. Any battles the Lithuanian's would from then on conduct in the defense of their realm would be against the people of the enemy nation - not against the Christian beliefs of their enemies.
From the available records of the Tannenberg battle of 1410, four Lithuanian flags are described as carrying the Apostolic cross. They were: King Jogiella's personal banner (1&4 quarter - blue field, white Vytis; 2&3 quarter - red field white cross) King Jogiella's personal household troop banner. (1&4 quarter - red field, white Vytis; 2&3 quarter - blue field yellow cross) The Lithuanian Kremenec infantry battalion. (red field, white cross) The Lithuanian Samogitia infantry battalion. (red field, green hill holding a white cross).King Jogiella also introduced a second symbol in to Lithuanian history - the Vytis. The Vytis, which means "hero" (in German "Held", in Hungarian "Vitez" and in Slovenian "Vytez"), is a knight mounted on a charging horse. Its intent was to not only honor the Lithuanian nobility (who could easily identify itself with a knighted rider), but also the common Lithuanian soldier who did well in battle. Through King Jogiella's decree, a white "Vytis" placed in to a red field would henceforth become the flag of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Two small distinctions were to be noted. While both the Jogiellian and Kestutian royal households would use the same "Vytis" as their coat-of-arms, on the Jogiellian coat-of-arms, the shield on the "Vytis" contained the Apostolic cross and on the Kestutian coat-of-arms, the shield on the "Vytis" contained the "towers of Gediminas". The "Vytis" flag is also described by various chroniclers of the Tannenberg battle of 1410. They were: Grand Duke Vytautis'es personal flag.
King Jogiella's personal flag (same as described above). King Jogiella's personal Lithuanian body-guards.Lithuanian army troops.Lithuanian garrison troops. Lithuanian-Ruthenian levy formations. Lithuanian-Ukrainian levy formations. Grand Duke Vytautis'es personal royal flag flew in Constanza (present day Switzerland) when Vytautis attended a Church Council there. On a side note, just as the Poles and Lithuanian's had militarily defeated the Teutonic Knights in battle, so they defeated them at the Church Council. At the conclusion of the meeting, the Pope revoked many rights previously granted to the Teutonic Knights. Grand Duke Sigismund Kestutaitis (1432 - 1440) was assassinated in 1440 by Lithuanian nobles from King Jagiello's family. As a result, many members of the Kestutian royal household fled to Moscow. That effectively ended the Kestutian influence in Lithuanian state affairs. From then until 1795 (when the remnants of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania were absorbed by Russia), the white "Vytis" in the red field was the official Lithuanian state flag. The "towers of Gediminas" remained in the Lithuanian coat-of-arms. It must be noted that since Lithuania joined Poland to form the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was the larger of the two in terms of size. For many years, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was one of Europe's largest kingdoms. The Lithuanian flags flew in Vilnius, Kaunas, Kiev, Smolensk, Odessa and nearly at the gates of Moscow. But being large in size often seems like an open invitation from ones neighbors to make theirs what is yours.
As of the last partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Russia gained control of all of Lithuania (Lithuania Minor excepted). During the Napoleonic wars, both Prussia and Russia raised "Lithuanian" military formations. Many of the raised formation received their own battle flags. For example, the Russians raised the Imperial Lithuanian Guards Regiment - and gave it their own flag. Prussia had already raised a "Lithuanian" Dragoon Regiment back in 1717. It too flew its own flag until 1919.
Lithuania remained under Russian control until 1914/1915 when the German army effectively occupied all of Lithuania; though both the Russians and the Germans continued to use "royal" Lithuanian heraldry unchanged in design.
Lithuania regained its independence in 1918 from a 200 plus year Russian occupation. But in 1918, the new nation needed a flag. Initially, there were calls to resurrect the old "imperial" banners; a prime advocate for this was Dr. Jonas Basanavicius. His recommendation called for the new Lithuanian state flag to be a white Vytis in a red field. Regretfully, political circumstances were against the good doctor. A red field was too closely associated with Lenin's brand of communism. Thus, the old imperial flag would not do, though it was accepted as the Lithuanian coat-of-arms. The colors of green, red and yellow had historically been the ones most frequently used in Lithuanian flags. These colors too are to this day very popular in Lithuanian folk art. Thus, in late 1918, Lithuania adopted its current "national" flag - horizontally striped yellow (top), green (middle) and red (bottom). Yellow was interpreted to mean the energy and warmth of the radiating sun. Green stood for the bountiful green acreage's of Lithuania. Red represented the blood flowing in both animal life and man alike. Philosophically, one could say that the Lithuanian state flag is a
celebration of life. Since its creation in November of 1918, the Lithuanian Air Force used a unique national recognition symbol for its military aircraft. It was a trapezoid formed from yellow-green-red stripes. In the center of the inner red stripe, there was a white Vytis. This symbol was placed on all six positions as well as the rudder. As this was very cumbersome to draw, within a few months, Lithuania changed its national recognition symbol to the ever familiar Apostolic cross. This has been in use ever since.
During the interwar period, Lithuania flew numerous types of official flags. Nearly every one included the yellow-green-red stripes in its designs.
Lithuania's independence ceased to exist in 1940. As with Estonia and Latvia, introduced Soviet rules and regulations banned all references and uses of republican Lithuanian symbols.


I've not found a clear answer to my question below. Everything I found on the internet was too fuzzy and vague, so I hope this is not a duplicate.
In which way does the word "quite" in front of an adjective strengthen or weaken the corresponding adjective?
Some examples:
Consider: "I'm quite good at school."
Does this mean I am very good at school, or like "good, but also not one of the best students" or even only considerably good?
The same for this: "I can run quite fast."
I've read, that this means that I can run not very fast, and I've also read that it means that I can run "very very fast, but not like Usain Bolt".
If you've checked the dictionary you'll have seen that there are 2, somewhat contradictory definitions for "quite":
 1. to the utmost or most absolute extent or degree; absolutely; completely.
 2. to a certain or fairly significant extent or degree; fairly.
In short, "quite" can mean "very" or "not so much"!
In spoken English, we tend to put emphasis on the word when we are minimising something, and perhaps draw it out with a negative inflexion, for example:
-was the town busy?
-it was quite busy. (meaning it wasn't very busy)
Also, as a very general rule, we wouldn't use it to mean the highest degree unless we were using it with a strong word such as "excellent", "marvellous" or "terrible". With more moderate words like "good" or "bad", it tends to be added to understate. For example, "I can run quite fast" would probably mean reasonably fast; wheras "I can run quite rapidly!" sounds far more positive, and would likely be taken to mean very fast.
In modern type-written English we use italics, bold, underlining, "quote marks" etc to tweak the inferred meanings of words - "just that little bit of fine tuning".
In spoken English, we use volume, inflection - and modifier words - when we wish to tweak a word's meaning, ever so slightly.
Fairly, rather, quite and pretty are all degree modifiers. They are used to express the degree to which a certain quality is present. Fairly does not show a high degree of something, rather and quite do.
So quite emphasizes the word busy - not busy enough to be very busy, as Astralbee noted in that excellent answer, but more than just busy.
Your Answer


text:
12 April 20013
Author: Kannen, V.
Title: These are not 'regular places': women and gender studies classrooms as heterotopias
Journal: Gender, Place and Culture.
This article questions the transformative potential of women and gender studies classrooms through a discussion of student experiences of privilege and oppression in these spaces. Using in-depth interviews with 22 undergraduate students from two contrasting Canadian universities, this article explores how women and gender studies classrooms function as heterotopias or 'other places' – sites that challenge 'regular' places outside of the academy. Critically analyzing student experiences illustrates to how the intersections of space/location, power, and identities inform notions of privilege and oppression within these classrooms. Analysis of the participants' reflections points to how it is through these 'other places' that students are able to recognize identities that were once unknown to them, become conscious of their embodiments via feelings of worry and discomfort, and question their sense of place in the classroom. It is because of these findings that this research functions as a call to instructors regarding the need to prioritize student experiences, so as to be able to critically reflect upon the social and academic significance of women and gender studies classrooms.
Canada; Foucault; heterotopia; identity; students; women and gender studies


text:
Friday 17 May
Artichoke cactus (Obregonia denegrii)
Artichoke cactus fact file
- Find out more
- Print factsheet
Artichoke cactus description
This small cactus is just visible above the surface of the ground, as the heads emerge only slightly from the larger underground root system (2). The distinctive appearance of the head, which has given rise to the common name of 'artichoke cactus', is formed by the spirally arranged, erect tubercles; at the tip of each, there are 3 - 4 flexible spines (2). White flowers emerge from the centre of the whorl of tubercles, and these develop into whitish-brown fruits if cross-pollination is successful (2).
- Head diameter: 2.5 - 20 cm (2)
Artichoke cactus biology
This striking cactus produces flowers during the summer months. Fruits develop if the flowers are successfully fertilised through cross-pollination; the fruits dry and then split open, allowing the seeds to be washed away (and therefore dispersed) by rain (2).Top
Artichoke cactus range
Found only within the Valley of Jaumave in the state of Tamaulipas in eastern Mexico (2).Top
Artichoke cactus habitatTop
Artichoke cactus statusTop
Artichoke cactus threats
Artichoke cacti are in high demand for commercial trade and have previously been collected in large numbers (2). Local people use this species to treat rheumatism, and over-collection for this reason is also a threat (1). Habitat destruction, through urban development, road construction and livestock grazing pose further threats to survival; accelerated erosion has been observed at both known sites of this species (2). The total population is thought to have decreased by as much as 50% over the past 50 years; although around 5,000 individuals still remain (1).Top
Artichoke cactus conservation
International trade in wild-taken plants and seeds of the artichoke cactus is banned by its listing on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) (3). The species is also protected under Mexican law (5), although illegal collection does still occur (1). It has been suggested that the Valley of Jaumave is a prime candidate for a nature reserve (2), which if created would preserve the future of this appealing cactus amongst various others.Top
Authenticated (20/3/03) by Dr Nigel Taylor. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
- In cacti, a small wart-like or angular swelling upon the stem.
- In animals, the spiral or convolutions in the shell of a snail. In plants, a set of leaves, flowers, or branches that spring from a stem at the same point and encircle it.
- IUCN Red List (February, 2003) _URL_
- Anderson, E.F., Arias Montes, S. & Taylor, N.P. (1994) Threatened Cacti of Mexico. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
- CITES (February, 2003) _URL_
- Taylor, N. (March, 2003) Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Pers. comm.
- Oldfield, S. [comp.] (1997) Cactus and Succulent Plants Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan. IUCN/SSC Cactus and Succulent Specialist Group. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.
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Edit Article
How to Control a Mobile App with Podium
A content management system (CMS) allows you to control and update content in your mobile app without re-submitting it to the app stores. This is similar to how Wordpress works for websites, you sign in, update content, and it gets pushed live to your mobile app. Not what you're used to? That's because traditional apps don't have this option. However, this is possible now and you can do it!
Steps
 1. 1
 Create a developer account for your app. You may want to publish to Apple's App Store or Google Play. Each store you publish to may have fees for signing up as a developer or selling apps, so be aware of this.
 2. 2
 Sign up with Podium. This is the CMS that will be integrated into your mobile app, so that you can control content from an admin panel. Podium is a mobile app content management system that for enterprise applications, not games.
 3. 3
 Choose how you will build your application. Apple and Android both have their own native language and development environments. You can also use a third party development environment to write cross platform applications. Podium supports all of these scenarios and languages.
 4. 4
 Build your application while integrating Podium. You will build the structure for your app, and use Podium's easy to use REST API to provide the content. This allows you to be able to add and edit content from Podium's Control Interface.
 5. 5
 Once your application is built, test, and then test more. Test your application on as many smartphones as possible, especially if you are building for Android. Android has so many device configurations and screen resolutions it is likely to be more problematic than iOS apps. Some cross platform building tools have simulators to test your apps on, but always build the app and test it on a device to see how it really looks and performs!
 6. 6
 Build your application and submit to app stores. This process will vary for each platform and each store you choose to submit to. But since you signed up to be a developer, you will know all about that process from their documentation.
 7. 7
 Login to Podium and control your app. Podium has an intuitive interface to input, update, or delete content from your application. Each page is broken down so you know exactly where to go. You can control your events, locations, information, news, and more from the control interface.
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 Categories: Mobile Operating Systems
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text:
AudioQuest Husky Details
- Patented Dielectric-Bias System (DBS) minimizes energy storage in the insulation and the multiple nonlinear time-delays that occur
- Metal: Solid 5% Silver
- Geometry: Triple-Balanced
- Insulation: Polyethylene Air-Tubes
- Noise-Dissipation System: Carbon-Based 4-Layer NDS
- Jacket: Up to 5m, Black/Blue Braid
- Terminations: RCA or XLR, Cold-Welded, Hanging-Silver directly over pure Red Copper, with groundings
POLYETHYLENE AIR-TUBE INSULATION: Any solid material adjacent to a conductor is actually part of an imperfect circuit. Wire insulation and circuit board materials all absorb energy (loss). Some of this energy is stored and then released as distortion. All of Husky's conductors use PE Air-Tube Insulation because air absorbs next to no energy, and Polyethylene is low-loss and has a benign distortion profile. PE Air-Tube Insulation causes much less of the out-of-focus effect common to other materials.
PATENTED DIELECTRIC-BIAS SYSTEM (DBS): All insulation slows down the signal on the conductor inside. When insulation is unbiased, it slows down parts of the signal differently, a big problem for very time-sensitive multi-octave audio. AudioQuest's DBS creates a strong, stable electrostatic field which saturates and polarizes (organizes) the molecules of the insulation. This minimizes both energy storage in the insulation and the multiple nonlinear time-delays that occur. Sound appears from a surprisingly black background with unexpected detail and dynamic contrast. The DBS battery packs will last for years. A test button and LED allow for the occasional battery check.
CARBON-BASED 4-LAYER NOISE-DISSIPATION SYSTEM (NDS): 100% shield coverage is easy. Preventing captured RF Interference from modulating the equipment's ground reference requires AQ's Noise-Dissipation System. Metal and Carbon-Loaded synthetics prevent most RFI from reaching the equipment's ground plane.
TRIPLE-BALANCED GEOMETRY: The three conductors in "Triple-Balanced" Husky cables ensure that whether prepared with RCA or XLR plugs, the positive and negative signals have equally low-distortion conducting paths. The 100% coverage shield is never used as an inferior conductor.
COLD-WELDED HANGING-SILVER DIRECTLY OVER PURE RED COPPER SYSTEM: This plug design enables a perfect heat-free connection between cable and plug. The connection between the plug and conductors is made using AQ's Cold-Welded System, which provides a superior connection that ensures that the structural integrity of the conductor is kept completely intact. The Cold-Welded System refers to a combination of high pressure at the point of contact and the use of copperor silver-impregnated paste. (Husky's silver conductors get silver paste.) XLR plugs are also available.
GROUNDING: Sometimes there is a hum problem unless the subwoofer and AV receiver (or surround-sound processor) are attached to each other using a separate wire. If your system has a hum problem, try attaching the little spade-lug tails to the metal chassis of the subwoofer amplifier and to the chassis of the sending component. Usually, this extra wire will not be needed.
|Sub Title||Subwoofer Cable with RCA or XLR Terminations|
|Shipping Offer||AUTHORIZED DEALER - FULL WARRANTY - FREE SHIPPING|


American Crested
American Crested Breed Profile
Fur Short, smooth, close, thick
Rosettes None
Characteristics White crown
Lifespan 4-6 years
Suitable for Beginners
Breed Characteristics
The American Crested is completely one color - apart from its characteristic white crest on its head! This is like a little white crown created by the whorl. This makes it easy to tell this animal apart from other guinea pigs, especially for beginners. The crown sometimes makes these little pets look angry or indignant. But they're just as peaceful and funny as the rest of them. The rest of the American Crested's short, soft fur is usually golden brown, red or black. It doesn't have any markings or patterns to its fur.
Guinea Pigs for First-Timers
American Crested guinea pigs are among the easiest guinea pigs to keep. You could even call them "beginner guinea pigs". Still, inexperienced pet owners should get plenty of information and get hold of a guinea pig guide. Just like all guinea pigs, the American Crested is on the shy side.
How can you tell the American Crested and the English Crested apart?
Both have a crest on their heads but only the American Crested's is always white. In the English Crested, this is always the same color as the rest of its coat. If they didn't have this tuft, they'd just be completely normal American guinea pigs.
American Crested Guinea Pig American Crested Guinea Pig - Photo: Kirill Kurashov/Shutterstock
The white crest isn't easy to breed, as the babies of two American Crested guinea pigs won't always have the same markings, e.g. they might have additional white patches.
Fur Care
Short-haired guinea pigs can mostly keep themselves clean as they wash themselves with their little feet. Their fur should therefore only be cleaned when the American Crested doesn't keep up its hygiene duties. You should use a plastic brush for this. Knots can't always be prevented, and should be carefully cut out with scissors. It's also important to regularly check their ears, eyes and nails - just like with any guinea pig.
Just like all guinea pigs, the American Crested needs a combination of fresh hay, grasses, herbs, vegetables, fruit, seeds and twigs. They also need fresh water daily.
Did You Know?
A "crest" is a crown or tuft.
American Crested Guinea Pig American Crested Guinea Pig - Photo: Kurashova/Shutterstock


How We Went From Magic Cookies To The Art Of Misdirection
When the first digital identity trackers were conceived in the nascent days of the web in the early 1990s, they were originally coined "magic cookies."
The term came from a concept already utilized by computer programmers, but early web developers lent the name to HTTP cookies, because they envisioned these new identity trackers would enable all sorts of content and commerce to be delivered and exchanged over the internet.
They were right. But fast-forward to the privacy-savvy 2020s, and the term magic takes on an entirely new connotation: the art of misdirection.
While many consumers have some implicit knowledge why digital identity trackers exist, most don't understand what the explicit value exchange is with publishers and marketers.
As a result, watch as the majority of them perform a disappearing act as soon as they can.
According to a new study released this week by apps attribution analysts AppsFlyer and the Mobile Marketing Association, three-quarters of American smartphone users are likely to opt out of having their identity tracked as soon as they receive an IDFA notice like the one Apple is about to introduce.
What's remarkable to me is that 27% are likely to opt into continuing to have their identity tracked, which underscores the dichotomy of knowledge about the implicit value exchange between digital media and the people who consume it.
Not surprisingly, the study also finds that younger consumers are more likely to accept identity trackers, which either indicates they are more knowledgeable -- or that they are just culturally attuned to being tracked.
The study also indicates that slight majorities of consumers understand that apps use their identity for two purposes: to target them with ads and/or to improve their user experiences, but without an explicit understanding of which apps do so and when -- and perhaps most importantly, how individual users benefit explicitly from sharing their identity.
Instead, the whole process is likely to feel like, well, smoke and mirrors.
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text:
Carlos students explore southern MinnesotaFrom September 15 to 17, 36 5th and 6th graders from Carlos Elementary School logged 750 miles in a loop around southern Minnesota.
From September 15 to 17, 36 5th and 6th graders from Carlos Elementary School logged 750 miles in a loop around southern Minnesota. During the trip, they combined adventure and learning and discovered the geographic diversity in Minnesota.
Students experienced the geology of the granite quarries in St. Cloud, the bluffs above Winona, and the formation of Mystery Cave in Forestville State Park. They also took part in biological and historical studies at the Eagle Center in Wabasha and the Eagle Bluff Learning Center in Lanesboro.
At Eagle Bluff, the students took on the role of either a pioneer family from the 1800s or a Native American tribe of the era. They experienced tasks such as sawing wood and grinding corn.
At Prairie Woods Environmental Center near Spicer, students navigated a climbing wall or were flung into the air, propelled by fellow classmates on the "flying squirrel."
Tim Urness and Eric Amundson are the 5th and 6th grade teachers.


REST API method completes successfully, the second
 // REST API method retrieves the text written in the image.
 //
 // Note: The response may not be immediately available. Text
 // recognition is an asynchronous operation that can take a variable
 // amount of time depending on the length of the text.
 // You may need to wait or retry this operation.
 //
 // This example checks once per second for ten seconds.
 string contentString;
 int i = 0;
 do
 {
 System.Threading.Thread.Sleep(1000);
 response = await client.GetAsync(operationLocation);
 contentString = await response.Content.ReadAsStringAsync();
 ++i;
 }
 while (i < 60 && contentString.IndexOf("\"status\":\"succeeded\"") == -1);

 if (i == 60 && contentString.IndexOf("\"status\":\"succeeded\"") == -1)
 {
 Console.WriteLine("\nTimeout error.\n");
 return;
 }

 // Display the JSON response.
 Console.WriteLine("\nResponse:\n\n{0}\n",
 JToken.Parse(contentString).ToString());
 }
 catch (Exception e)
 {
 Console.WriteLine("\n" + e.Message);
 }
 }

 /// <summary>
 /// Returns the contents of the specified file as a byte array.
 /// </summary>
 /// <param name="imageFilePath">The image file to read.</param>
 /// <returns>The byte array of the image data.</returns>
 static byte[] GetImageAsByteArray(string imageFilePath)
 {
 // Open a read-only file stream for the specified file.
 using (FileStream fileStream =
 new FileStream(imageFilePath, FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read))
 {
 // Read the file's contents into a byte array.
 BinaryReader binaryReader = new BinaryReader(fileStream);
 return binaryReader.ReadBytes((int)fileStream.Length);
 }
 }
 }
 Wednesday, October 28, 2020 3:29 AM
 - User303363814 posted
 The debugger or the docs will give you the types.
 Wednesday, October 28, 2020 7:45 AM
 - User-_PHONE_ posted
 The debugger or the docs will give you the types.
 According to the Docs, Its Newtonsoft.Json package, and i tried JToken but the "JToken does not contain a definition for "text" and no accessible extension method 'text' accepting a first argument of type 'JToken' could be found"
 According to debugger when i input the file, its type string, but i am getting same error for string: "string does not contain a definition for "text" and no accessible extension method 'text' accepting a first argument of type 'string' could be found"
 Wednesday, October 28, 2020 6:57 PM
 - User303363814 posted
 The code you showed in the very first post was referencing the .text property of one element of the lines array. Therefore, you have the type at your fingertips. The debugger will tell you the type of the element of 'lines', or you can just hover with your mouse.
 Thursday, October 29, 2020 12:36 AM
 - User-_PHONE_ posted
 The code you showed in the very first post was referencing the .text property of one element of the lines array. Therefore, you have the type at your fingertips. The debugger will tell you the type of the element of 'lines', or you can just hover with your mouse.
 it was dynamic!!! OMG thats the type LOL
 but dude, i just tested it inside the choJSON code i had and it worked!! it FREAKING worked!!
 I cant thank you enough!!! a lot of folks said this is impossible, and someone said I had to redesign it from scratch, in whcih he recommended i start with clustering the JSON into buckets and then applying some AI transformations on it then use the strategy pattern etc...
 someone else whose MS certified said after he tried coding it he realized its impossible to do because the JSON is not in the format of a regular JSON property/attribute relationship that you'd find.
 I almost gave up! How does your simple function work so well!! AMAZING!
 Friday, October 30, 2020 2:13 AM


text:
As an increasing number of large diameter pipe bursting jobs are attempted, more is being learned about the capabilities and potential of pneumatic pipe bursting. The large diameter pipe bursting project in South San Francisco is one of the most challenging and innovative bursting projects ever attempted in North America. It is being heralded as a landmark pipe bursting job.
In 1999, the City of South San Francisco was confronted with a Cease and Desist Order from the Regional Water Quality Control Board mandating the elimination of severe wet weather overflows within ten years. The City completed a comprehensive evaluation of their wastewater collection, conveyance, treatment, and disposal system. Locally deficient sewers, undersized pump stations, and hydraulic restrictions in the effluent outfall system were identified as the major contributors to the wet weather overflow problem. A five-phase program was developed to address these conditions. Resolving the wet weather overflow problem was such a monumental task that many different elements were required. This massive "tool box" of solutions means that every presentation attendee should be able to take away valuable insights to benefit his or her own agency.
Construction of the first phase of improvements has recently been completed. Recognizing the importance of making significant strides early in the program, the first phase was the largest project in the group. Phase 1 Wet Weather Improvements included:
- Replacement of an existing pump station with a new 45-MGD pump station.
- Construction of a new 49-MGD pump station located alongside an existing pump station.
- Construction of 4,100 linear feet of 36-inch diameter force main (1,880 lf installed by pipe bursting from 27-inch to 36-inch); 6,860 linear feet of 42-inch diameter force main (525 lf installed by microtunneling); and 3,340 linear feet of 8-inch to 16-inch gravity sewer replacement (300 lf installed by horizontal directional drilling at Slope=0.0030).
- Expansion of the effluent pump station to the fullest extent possible without constructing a new facility – 60 MGD.
- Construction of a 7.5 million gallon effluent storage pond.
- Addition of 30 MGD influent pumping capacity.
This paper focuses on the design and construction of the force main installed by pipe bursting.
Design and construction challenges included construction sequencing, constrained sites, coordination with other projects, heavy rain and flooding during construction, soft, corrosive, and contaminated soils, high groundwater, congested utility corridors, heavy traffic, freeway crossings, and property issues. Initially, a route was chosen for the new force main to be constructed by traditional open-cut construction. Soils borings performed for the geotechnical investigation, however, identified a high potential for significant differential settlement and a need for extensive shoring that would include, at a minimum, interlocking sheet piles. The geotechnical engineer warned against constructing the force main by open-cut construction methods.
The design team then considered other alternatives for the force main. One part of the project involved constructing a new gravity sewer to replace a 27-inch diameter VCP sewer. An approach that involved utilizing the abandoned sewer as the host pipe for the new force main was developed. This approach would replace the 27-inch sewer with a 36-inch force main, installed using the pipe bursting process.

source: m-a-p/FineFineWeb


text:
Resource Smart Schools
What is Resource Smart Schools?
"Resource Smart Schools is a free program offered by Sustainability Victoria that supports Victorian schools to embed sustainability across the school facilities, community and curriculum, while saving resources and money for the school."
What Does this mean for our school?
The Resource Smart Schools program offers access to sustainability experts to support our ongoing mission to become a more sustainable school. We are working towards Sustainability Certification by measuring and tracking our use of resources, such as electricity, water, waste, and documenting the biodiversity on school grounds. With this information, we are learning to operate more sustainably, reducing costs to save on electricity, water and waste bills – and greenhouse gas emissions to minimise their impact on the environment.
The school is creating an environmental management system tailored to our needs which will benefit both student learning and our planet.
How does it work?
Schools must accomplish a set number of actions to complete a Module to receive a certificate valid for four years. Completion of the Core Module is the first step as it serves to develop a whole-school environmental management plan. The other four Modules include a minimum number of actions for completion, which once achieved, are submitted for verification. For each module verified, we will be awarded a star, and we are well on our way to achieving 5-star status


text:
Children's resilience in the presence of mothers' depressive symptoms : examining proximal regulatory processes related to active agency
MetadataShow full item record
Using a large sample from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care, the current study examined the processes through which children's agentic processes promoted their resilience in the face of mothers' depressive symptoms at first grade. Children's resilience in the presence of mothers' depressive symptoms was demonstrated to be homogeneous across domains of academic performance, social competence, internalizing behavior, and externalizing behavior. Children's effortful control, self-assertion, and mastery motivation predicted their resilience in these domains to a varying degree. The agentic processes mediated the relation of different patterns of individual (i.e., child intelligence, temperament), relational (i.e., attachment security), and environmental (i.e., maternal sensitivity, childcare quality) factors to children's resilience across domains. Interrelations among child individual, relational, and environmental characteristics were also observed. Moreover, findings from two analytic approaches converged in terms of underscoring the importance of the agentic system in promoting child resilience in the face of mothers' depressive symptoms. Children's agentic processes promoted their resilience via additive main effects rather than interactive effects.


text:
As seamstresses, the orphaned sisters Emília and Luzia dos Santos know how to cut, how to mend, and how to conceal. These are useful skills in the backcountry of Brazil, where vigilantes called cangaceiros make the rules. Emília dreams of falling in love and escaping to the city. Luzia also longs to escape their little town, where residents view her with suspicion because of her deformed arm and her quick temper.
But when Luzia is abducted by a group of cangaceiros led by the infamous Hawk, the sisters' quiet lives diverge in ways they never imagined. Emília stumbles into a marriage where her glamorous life is soon overshadowed by heartache and loneliness. Luzia, forced to trek through scrubland and endure a nomadic existence, begins to see the cangaceiros as comrades, not criminals.
Luzia will overcome time and distance to entrust her sister with a great secret—one Emília vows to keep. And when Luzia's life is threatened, Emília will risk everything to save her.
1. How does their shared childhood as poor, religious, orphaned seamstresses shape Emília and Luzia's unique perspectives on life?
2. How does access to water define political power in a country like Brazil in the 1920s and 1930s? How did the author's descriptions of extreme drought affect your appreciation of modern conveniences?
3. How does the Hawk's treatment of Luzia in the caatinga, or scrub, reveal Antônio's true nature?
4. What does Emília's reception into Recife society indicate about the esteem in which the Coelho family is held? To what extent is her mother-in-law, Dona Dulce Coelho, overly concerned about others' perceptions of Emília?
5. To what extent are secrets responsible for the marriage between Degas and Emília and, much later, for its disintegration?
6. How does Luzia's behavior in the initial aftermath of Antônio's death explain her success in becoming the new captain of the cangaceiros? In what other ways does her behavior change once the Hawk is dead?
7. How do Dr. Duarte's interests in phrenology and politics and his import-export business connect him to the government's search for The Seamstress and the Hawk?
8. At various points in the novel, how does Dr. Eronildes Epifano represent both salvation and damnation to the cangaceiros? What role does Degas play in alerting Emília to Dr. Eronildes's duplicity?
9. Given The Seamstress's attacks on innocent people, to what extent are Emília's efforts to communicate information to Luzia through newspaper articles and photographs ethically defensible?
10. How does the book's final image connect with earlier images of bones in The Seamstress? Why do you think the author chose to close her book with this image?
Frances de Pontes Peebles was born in Pernambuco, Brazil and raised in Miami, Florida. A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and the Iowa Writers' Workshop, she has received several awards, including Brazil's Sacatar Artist's Fellowship and the Michener-Copernicus Society of America Award. Her short stories have appeared in Zoetrope: All-Story, the Indiana Review, the Missouri Review, and the O. Henry Prize Story Collection 2005.


Neutralizing Ring
This ring is all about clearing. We are literally pulling out negative energy and attachments. You can use one ring or two depending on how quickly you want to move. Depending on the strength of the attachments, you can pull from 6 to 9 layers of structuring.
The 4" ring is great for very local types of issues like bodily pain however the 9" ring, made with sacred geometry (on a nodal point), gives you a resonant opening frequency higher than any other shape. It also makes it possible to work the body much faster and completely smoke the auric field for a floating effect.
Want to go for a ride? Stand on two 4" rings and clear your entire body in just seconds
 This protocol is only one of the many uses for the ring. Its uses include clearing non-organic material in food and water, reducing pain or preventing energy absorption from clients.
Test the heaviness before and after to notice the clearing.
Step 1. Clear vertically (flat along the body) within 1" of the body in order to clear the first zone and pull out the negative structuring from the first layer in your cells. Move along the body from the feet to just above the head on all sides.
Step 2. Clear zone 2 which is about 1 foot away from the body and you do this by making your ring perpendicular to the body and again move from the feet to just over the head on all sides. Do a pass vertical along each side as well as perpendicular.
Step 3. Clear zone 3 which is about 6 feet away from the body. Do a sweep in this zone and notice how your client feels. It could be better to have them lying down as it is common for the client to feel unstable. Do a pass vertical along each side as well as perpendicular.
This will give you a total of 8 passes. If your client is lying down, you will need to call on the Devas to help you clear the zones (the part of the body that is in contact with the table).
Call on the Devas, the nature spirit that is connected to everything. For example, by simply saying to yourself or outloud, "I call on the Devas to work the back of the body as well". Because the rings have such high Devas, you are able to request what part of the body you wish to work on. This will expand the auric field and create a cleared presence. Practitioners will also get the work provided to the client
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text:
Stuck like glue: Case studies in assessing the variability of hafting adhesives during the southern African Later Stone Age
Author(s): Margaret-Ashley Veall
Variations in design and function of any tool represent adaptive strategies employed by humans to exist within a landscape. With the increased application of both chemical analysis and microscopy to archaeological material, the identification of hafting adhesives, the glue of composite tools, provides a means by which we may evaluate how members of our species existed within dynamic environments and exploited its resources. In southern Africa, the well-preserved assemblages of the Later Stone Age (LSA), though considerably neglected in recent decades, presents a unique opportunity to evaluate raw material procurement strategies related to tool manufacture from an organic perspective. This poster presents the findings of several case studies that are the foundation of a doctoral project utilizing microscopy and molecular analysis in tandem to identify the adhesive composition of hafted technologies from stratified LSA sites located in a variety of geographies and ecologies. This research will attempt to broaden our understanding of the relationship between adhesives, stone tool manufacturing, and the ecology of a surrounding region. The overall aim of this work is to contribute to the long-standing narrative on the appearance and continued application of hafting adhesives in the manufacture of composite tool technologies in southern Africa.
This Resource is Part of the Following Collections
Cite this Record
Stuck like glue: Case studies in assessing the variability of hafting adhesives during the southern African Later Stone Age. Margaret-Ashley Veall. Presented at The 81st Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Orlando, Florida. 2016 ( tDAR id: 405333)
min long: -18.809; min lat: -38.823 ; max long: 53.262; max lat: 38.823 ;


text:
By: Darksword Armory
The Medieval Knight sword, or type XIV, is the quintessential sword of the medieval period. Described in Oakeshotts typology as being relatively short, with a strong taper and sharply pointed (E. Oakeshott: "The Sword in the Age of Chivalry" p.51 ) the Medieval Knight sword is a light and well balanced weapon which facilitated a fast and agile fighting style. As full plated armor aggregated into the complex defense of the aristocratic military elite, swords too had to be improve to counter this ever evolving defense. Unlike the sluggish and belated fighting that characterize modern misconceptions of medieval combat, the Medieval Knight sword, or Type XIV, was a well balanced and deadly weapon innate with exceptional handling characteristics. While the deep seated taper delivers assertive thrusts, the impressive cutting abilities made this sword a deadly weapon of choice. The Medieval Knight sword is a beautifully crafted and engineered weapon. Exceptionally designed to deliver both cut and thrust, it is very well balanced, light and responsive. Elegantly crafted from originals at the Royal Armouries and the Wallace Collection, the medieval knight sword reflects the design and taste of the late medieval period. The detailed handle and curved guard indicates the early artistic influences, eventually explored during the Gothic period. Available with Standard or Interlaced Sword Belt Scabbard.
Product Code: 4400
Stock: IN STOCK*
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All ratings & reviews are from verified customers read more
5/5 average from 3 reviews
Reviewed by owners of this product
"Beautiful Blade, The Epitome of Traditional medieval European Swordsmanship." - Charles (5/5)
"My husband was very happy with the sword" - Denise (5/5)
"Fit and finish superb. Absolutely nothing negative to comment on in even close inspection. Blade, guard and pommel have more of a polish than matte finish, just an fyi, Sheath is robust as is metal tip, almost a weapon in itself. The sword: if you know the Type XIV this is that. Beautifully balanced at about 4" from guard. Blade strikes a perfect balance between robust and flexible and perhaps a little longer than typical Type XIV at 31"? I absolutely love it. Kudos, Darksword. Kudos Reliks," - Bojan (5/5)
Crafted in wood with the blade extending straight into the pommel these Roman st... more
This 3 foot practice sword is commonly used for learning martial arts forms such... more
The Practical Tai-Chi swords from Hanwei have been developed in response to many... more
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text:
Configure cross-platform settings
Important: Note the following important information for this feature:
- Cross-platform settings in Profile Management work with a set of supported operating systems (OSs) and applications. Configure this feature only in a production environment.
- Microsoft Office settings do not roam between versions of that application. For more information, see Operating systems and applications supported By cross-platform settings.
- This feature is suitable for registry and application settings. It is not for files or folders, or objects typically used with folder redirection (for example, browser favorites, and desktop and Start menu settings).
- If you use this feature to migrate user profiles between systems with different profile versions, disable it after the migration has been completed for all users. There is some performance impact, primarily to logoffs, when using this feature. So it is best to leave it disabled unless you support roaming between profile versions.
This topic contains an example of the steps you can take to configure cross-platform settings. For a more detailed case study, see Cross-platform settings - Case study.
Tip: Citrix recommends restricting this feature to a small, test set of users before putting it into production. Use the Cross-platform settings user groups option to achieve it. If this setting is configured, the cross-platform settings feature of Profile Management processes only members of these user groups. If this setting is disabled, the feature processes all of the users specified by the Processed groups setting. If Cross-platform settings user groups is not configured in Group Policy or the.ini file, all user groups are processed.
- For the settings that are common to all platforms, create a common Group Policy Object (common GPO), link it to the Profile Management.adm or.admx file, and configure the settings as required. This setup is best practice because it minimizes duplicate settings that can make any later troubleshooting awkward. Depending on your requirements, all Profile Management settings work on multiple platforms except Path to user store. Configure Path to user store separately for each platform due to the different user store structures of Version 1 and Version 2 profiles. In the common GPO, leave this setting unconfigured.
- Create separate OUs for your different platforms. For example, if you are migrating from Windows 7 to Windows 8, create separate OUs for these operating systems), and set Path to user store appropriately in each OU.
- Locate the definition (.xml) files for the supported applications whose personalizations you want to work across the platforms. These files are located in the CrossPlatform folder in the download package. You can create your own application definition files. For details, see Create a definition file.
- Copy the.xml files to a suitable location on your network.
- Edit the common GPO in Group Policy Management Editor. Under Profile Management open the Cross-platform settings folder and configure these settings:
- Cross-platform settings user groups. Restricts the users who experience cross-platform settings. This setting is optional. It is useful when testing this feature or rolling it out in stages.
- Path to cross-platform definitions. Identifies the network location of the definition files that you copied from the download package. This must be a UNC path. Users must have read access to this location, and administrators must have write access to it. The location must be a Server Message Block (SMB) or Common Internet File System (CIFS) file share.
- Path to cross-platform settings store. It is the common area of the user store where profile data shared by multiple platforms is located. Users must have write access to this area. The path can be an absolute UNC path or a path relative to the home directory. You can use the same variables as for Path to user store.
- Specify a base platform by ensuring Source for creating cross-platform settings is set to Enabled in that platform's OU. This setting migrates data from the base platform's profiles to the cross-platform settings store. In the other platforms' OUs, set this policy to Disabled or Unconfigured. Each platform's own set of profiles are stored in a separate OU. You must decide which platform's profile data to use to seed the cross-platform settings store. This is referred to as the base platform. If the cross-platform settings store contains a definition file with no data, or the cached data in a single-platform profile is newer than the definition's data in the store, Profile Management migrates the data from the single-platform profile to the store unless you disable this setting. Important: If Source for creating cross-platform settings is enabled in multiple OUs, the platform that the first user logs on to becomes the base profile.
- Set Enable cross-platform settings to Enabled. By default, to facilitate deployment, cross-platform settings is disabled until you turn on this setting.
- Run a Group Policy update.
- If you are migrating profiles across platforms but not supporting roaming of them, when the migration is complete, set Enable cross-platform settings to Disabled.
If Path to cross-platform definitions is not configured here, the value from the.ini file is used. If this setting is not configured here or in the.ini file, no cross-platform settings are applied.
If Path to cross-platform settings store is disabled, the default path Windows\PM_CP is used. If this setting is not configured here, the value from the.ini file is used. If this setting is not configured here or in the.ini file, the default path is used.
If Enable cross-platform settings is not configured here, the value from the.ini file is used. If this setting is not configured here or in the.ini file, no cross-platform settings are applied.
Example: Roaming Microsoft Office settings between Windows Server 2008 and Windows 7
This example describes the major steps involved in allowing users' application settings to roam between two operating systems that create Version 2 profiles. Microsoft Office 2010 is the example application, and roaming takes places between Citrix XenApp 6.5 on Windows Server 2008 and Windows 7. Both OSs are 64-bit.
- Users are accustomed to accessing Office 2010 and Internet Explorer 9 as published applications on Citrix Virtual Apps servers, and change several settings in these applications. For example, they modify their email signature in Office and choose a new home page in Internet Explorer.
- At a future date, virtual desktops (created with Citrix Virtual Desktops) are created but not yet released to users. The desktops run Windows 7 and are preconfigured with Office 2010 and Internet Explorer 9.
- The users expect their settings to be the same on their new desktops. You configure the cross-platform settings feature according to the procedure in this topic. It includes enabling Source for creating cross-platform settings in the OU for Windows Server 2008.
- When users next run the published versions of the applications (not the new, virtual desktops), their settings are copied to the cross-platform settings store.
- The new desktops are then released to users. When they log on and run the local versions of Office and Internet Explorer, the settings from the earlier Windows Server 2008 sessions are used. Users' modified email signatures and home pages are available on their Windows 7 machines.
- Users browse in Internet Explorer from their virtual desktop, and decide to change their home page again.
- Users log off and leave work. They don't have access to their virtual desktop at home, but they can run the published version of Internet Explorer 9 remotely. They find their most recent home page, created on Windows 7 in the previous step, has been preserved.


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I want to create tree with predefined depths with D3.
Is there a way to set depth before tree is generated?
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It depends on your definition of "tree". D3 has several hierarchy layouts, of which d3.layout.tree is one. The tree layout refers to Reingold–Tilford's tidy tree layout algorithm. This particular algorithm is not conducive to customizing the depth of nodes because it assumes that all siblings are the same depth (so that it can place the nodes tidily).
The d3.layout.cluster, in contrast, can be easily modified to render nodes at custom depths. Simply ignore the generated d.y coordinate and substitute your own depth value (probably in conjunction with a linear scale to map from data to pixels). For an example of this technique, see Ken-ichi Ueda's right-angle phylograms.
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text:
A Learning Objectives Outline report has been produced on the basis of the Review Report. Based on the pertinent policy issues and the best practices already identified, this report defines a list of learning objectives. The objectives are defined according to the framework of targeted key competences, namely learning to use open source ICT tools to "read" landscapes and understand major issues related to them; and developing key and transversal civic competences necessary to engage in policy assessment, policy comprehension and problem solving. Within this framework, detailed objectives are defined in relation to landscape policy, with reference to the target groups of the project.
Velika Planina plateau, Slovenia, 2013
‴ Learning Objectives Outline Report


text:
The Cytel blog keeps you up to speed with the latest developments in biostatistics and clinical biometrics.
In the world of clinical trials, the pace of innovation is accelerating, and approaches such as Bayesian methods are gaining traction. These methods bring flexibility and speed to clinical trial design and analysis, and with increased access to the necessary computational power, are transforming today's clinical research . However, the number of simulation and modeling tools necessary to perform Bayesian computations requires statisticians to be well-resourced technologically. Many biostatisticians may not readily have access to the cloud computing power to make these design approaches practical within the time constraints afforded for statistical design.
There are many dose-finding designs that have been developed over the past 30 years and several more are anticipated . Sponsors often face the dilemma of choosing from the various design options available today. Finding the right dose in Phase 2 gives a potential new therapy its best chance to demonstrate efficacy during Phase 3, and Bayesian techniques prove to be useful for optimal dose-finding.
Cytel recently conducted a webinar on Bayesian Dose-finding Designs for Modern Drug Development, presented by Dr. Yuan Ji.
Dr. Ji is a Professor of Biostatistics at The University of Chicago and a well-known name in the industry. In his presentation, he introduces representative Bayesian designs for dose-finding trials. The webinar offers insights on topics including classical DLT-based dose-finding designs, designs with delayed toxicity using time-to-event endpoints, and designs for combination dose-finding trial. Watch the on demand webinar to see the illustration of Bayesian modeling and inference for dose-finding designs that utilize the concept of probability intervals and related methods for clinical development and decision making.
Cytel's New Horizons Webinar Series introduces you to the latest innovations in statistical trial design. This webinar from the series is presented by Dr. Yuan Ji, a consultant for Cytel. Yuan is the founder of Laiya Consulting and currently is the Professor of Biostatistics at The University of Chicago. In his presentation, Professor Ji introduces the U-Design version 1.4, which mainly consists of a new module of dose-finding trial designs with joint efficacy and toxicity outcomes.
Click the button to register for the next webinar in this series, presented by Cytel's Ursula Garczarek. Ursula will be presenting a case study on the value of detailed clinical trial simulations for rare diseases.
TOGETHER trials, and the advantages of adaptive platform designs for investigating COVID-19 therapies
Cytel has recently designed and implemented the TOGETHER Trials, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to generate knowledge to help fight COVID-19, particularly in low and middle-income countries. The trials, with sites in Brazil and South Africa, test three existing interventions as possible treatments for COVID-19 in high-risk adults who do not require hospitalization, compared to a placebo.
The TOGETHER trials use an adaptive platform design. This type of design is particularly useful for contexts such as COVID-19 response, where there are many unknowns and a need for accelerated and resource-efficient answers, for 5 reasons.
Keeping up with the rapid pace of clinical development means that we need to adopt the innovative or computationally intensive designs like Bayesian methods. Yet, cutting edge technology can sometimes be difficult to assess or can introduce risk. Cytel's new web-native extension of East, East AlloyTM, makes it practical and sustainable to adopt innovative and computationally intensive designs. Continue reading this blog to learn more.
Pantelis Vlachos, Principal, Strategic Consultant at Cytel, conducted a webinar to introduce the capabilities of East AlloyTM. East Alloy is a new East environment that enables rapid access to innovation with the trust and support you have come to expect from Cytel. The cloud-native software makes it practical to apply computationally intensive Bayesian methods. Download the brochure to learn more.
This blog is a part of the new blog series on technology and Bayesian decision-making by Pantelis. Continue reading to learn about the methods and capabilities, such as, Bayesian meta-analytic priors, Bayesian MAMS, adaptive dose-finding and others, available to all East Alloy users.
Bjoern Bornkamp, Statistical Methodologist at Novartis and Jose Pinheiro, Senior Director, Johnson & Johnson provided their insights on adaptive designs for dose finding in Cytel's latest webinar. The webinar demonstrates how adaptive and Bayesian techniques can be implemented for optimal dose-finding.
This two-part blog series provides a summary of the webinar. Read the first part to get key highlights from the presentation by Jose Pinheiro on the need to conduct dose finding Phase 2 studies, dose selection comparisons and the use of MCP-Mod for dose finding.
Continue reading this second part to learn about the methods of adaptive dose-finding, presented by Bjoern. Click the button to access the webinar recording and download the presentation slides
Bjoern Bornkamp, Statistical Methodologist at Novartis and Jose Pinheiro, Senior Director, Johnson & Johnson provided their insights on adaptive designs for dose finding in Cytel's latest webinar. Finding the right dose in Phase 2 gives a potential new therapy its best chance to demonstrate efficacy during Phase 3. A well-executed dose-ranging trial therefore has the potential to alter the course of the entire clinical development program. This webinar demonstrates how adaptive and Bayesian techniques can be implemented for optimal dose-finding.
This two-part blog series will provide a summary of the webinar. In this first part, get key highlights from the presentation by Jose Pinheiro on the need to conduct dose finding Phase 2 studies, dose selection comparisons and the use of MCP-Mod for dose finding. Click the button to access the webinar recording and download the presentation slides
Cytel brings to you a new blog series on technology and Bayesian decision-making by Pantelis Vlachos, Principal/Strategic Consultant for Cytel. In his inaugural post Pantelis walks us through the features and benefits of our new offering, East Alloy™. East Alloy™ is a web-based extension of East for clinical trial design that blends the pace of SaaS delivery, the ease of use and robustness of Cytel software, and the velocity of cloud-based computing. Gain some behind-the-scenes insights into the development of this new module and understand how your company can leverage East Alloy to conduct computationally intensive designs with ease, confidence, and speed.


text:
There are 4 primary reasons that cause defects in brick masonry work. These are as follows.
Crystallization of Salts from Bricks
Corrosion of Embedded Iron or Steel
Shrinkage on Drying
1. Sulphate Attack
The common forms of defects due to sulphate attack are
Chipping and spalling of bricks and
Formation of cracks in joints and rendering
These types of defects happens when sulphate salts present in brick work
react with alumina of cement in case of cement mortar or
react with hydraulic lime in case of lime mortar
This reaction causes increase in the volume of mortar and consequently leads to cracks, chipping and spalling of brick work.
These defects are commonly found in following situation;
exposed boundary wall
manhole and retaining walls (where they come in contact with moisture)
This type of defects can be prevented by adopting suitable construction detail and good quality materials that prohibits entry of moisture into the body of brick work.
2. Crystallization of Salts from Bricks
Defect formed due to crystallization of salts from brick are known as efflorescence.
Presence of excessive soluble salts in the brick is the primary cause of this type of defect. When these brick come in contact with water, the soluble salts present therein gets dissolved and comes to surface in the form of whitish powder.
Due to this defect the wall looks dull and losses it aesthetic look.
The only way to cure this defect is by repeatedly brushing and washing the wall surface.
3. Corrosion of Embedded Iron or Steel
Formation of cracks in brick work falls in this category.
Dampness in building causes corrosion of embedded iron or steel. Corrosion of steel results in increase in the volume of metal and thereby leads to crack in brick work.
The defect due to corrosion of steel or iron can be prevented by encasing the reinforcement in thick and impermeable cement mortar and providing a cover of 15 to 25 mm around the embedded member.
4. Shrinkage on Drying
Formation of cracks in masonry joints is one form of defect due to shrinkage.
As brick are porous material it has tendency to absorb water. When it absorbs water it swells and when this absorbed water evaporates brick starts to shrink. This shrinkage of brick creates cracks in brick masonry joints.
The formation and type of crack occurs is dependent upon type of mortar used in brick masonry. Where lean mortar is used in brick masonry crack get distributed over large number of joints and where thick mortar is used cracks are few but wider.
Shrinkage cracks do not affect the structural strength of brick work and it can be easily prevented


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So how do "green" web hosts offset carbon emissions by their datacenters? There are a few different ways that a "green" web host can offset their carbon emissions. First, the web host can buy credits from their energy or electricity supplier.
The "credits" can mean different things to different electric companies but either way the web host is paying a higher per kilowatt charge then they would normally. By purchasing the credits the web host is also telling their energy supplier that they want more "clean & renewable" energy rather than coal energy. Another way a web host can be green with their energy company is by having agreements with their supplier to purchase only energy from renewable energy sources. These agreements again will cost the web host more per kilowatt than if they just used regular pricing.
A web host may decide to put up some solar panels and produce their own electricity. The electricity produced can be put to work inside the datacenter and any left over can be passed onto the electricity company. The web host may also enter into agreements with their electricity supplier to purchase solar energy.
Efficient buildings and lighting
Some green web hosts will use energy efficient buildings and buildings that have been certified as LEED. The datacenter and offices may employ various energy saving tactics from turning off lights when not in use to carpooling. Many green web hosts will encourage their employees to turn off their LCD displays when not in use, turn off the lights when no one is in the room, and keeping the building's air conditioning off unless they really need it.
Some green web hosts will try to use natural cooling elements. Like a datacenter located in a snowy area during the winter may not use their air conditioners. Instead, the datacenter may let in some natural cold air to keep the datacenter cool. The techniques used by different green web hosts will vary but most web hosts will try things that will keep their bills down and still allow them to accomplish the job.
At some datacenters their may be some design changes to prevent cool air leakage. The datacenter may employ various tactics to keep the cool air in and keep the hot air out. From better cabling to using more energy efficient servers and equipment.
Another way green web hosts will help save the Earth is by planting trees. Besides having plants and other "green" things in their offices. Green web hosts may plant a number of trees whenever a certain metric is met.


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An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth
Colonel Chris Hadfield has spent decades training as an astronaut and has logged nearly 4,000 hours in space. During this time he has broken into a Space Station with a Swiss army knife, disposed of a live snake while piloting a plane, been temporarily blinded while clinging to the exterior of an orbiting spacecraft, and become a YouTube sensation with his performance of David Bowie's 'Space Oddity' in space. The secret to Chris Hadfield's success - and survival - is an unconventional philosophy he learned at NASA: prepare for the worst - and enjoy every moment of it.
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An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth: What Going to Space Taught Me About ...
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An extremely important aspect of any web application is validation. Validation is the process of ensuring that data coming from the outside world is correct for the purpose of our application.
Validation will ensure any data entered by the user is valid and will prevent bugs creeping in due to invalid data.
It also allows us to define and implement important rules around how the business operates and how the application should reflect and respect those rules.
In today's tutorial we are going to be looking at validation in Ruby on Rails, how it works and how to define and implement validation rules in your projects.
Why is validation important?
As I mentioned in the introduction, validation is extremely important for a whole host of reasons.
Your application will need to accept data from the outside world. No matter how you structure your application or your user interface, data entered by users will always have mistakes, be invalid or even malicious.
Validation helps protect your application against invalid data by allowing you to define certain rules around what should be accepted and what should be rejected.
Whenever data is entered that does not meet the requirements of these validation rules your application will automatically reject it to prevent it from entering the application.
Where does validation happen in Ruby on Rails?
Typically in an application there will be multiple methods of validation in one form or another.
However the majority of the validation rules of a Ruby on Rails application will occur within the models.
Ruby on Rails' Active Record models have a number of helper methods that allow you to define all sorts of complex and intricate rules around what data should be accepted as part of that model.
What is an example of validation?
So hopefully the importance and location of validation within a Ruby on Rails application should be clear.
Now lets look at an example of validation.
Imagine we have an Article model as part of the blog application we are building. Every blog article should have a title and so we can write a validation rule that defines this requirement:
class Article < ActiveRecord::Base
validates :title, presence: true
The Article model inherits from ActiveRecord::Base and so we automatically have access to the parent methods.
In the example above we are defining a validation rule that states the :title property should be present.
We can see this in action by booting up the Rails console:
bin/rails c
Now if we attempt to create a new 'Article' without a 'title' and then we call the 'valid?' method, we should be returned 'false':
=> false
Next, if we try to create a new Article whilst passing a title, the valid? method should return true:
Article.create(title: "My first blog post").valid?
=> true
Getting validation errors
Whenever a validation rule has not been satisfied an appropriate error message will be set on the model object.
Back in the console run, the following line:
article =
When we call the valid? method on the article object, it should return false:
=> false
We can get access to the error messages by calling the messages method on the errors collection:
=> {:title=>["can't be blank"]}
If you wanted to only get the errors for a particle attribute of the model, you can pass the appropriate symbol to the errors collection:
=> ["can't be blank"]
What types of validation are available?
Ruby on Rails has a number of default validation helpers that enable you to define your validation requirements directly inside of your model.
These helpers cover the majority of common validation requirements that you will typically find in a web application.
Each validation helper also accepts a :message or :on option.
The :message option allows you to define a custom validation message that will be placed in the errors collection if the rule in not satisfied. If you don't specify a :message option the default message for that rule will be used:
validates :title, presence: true, message: "You need to include a title"
The :on option allows you to specify which action this rule should be run on. By default Rails will run each validation rule on both create and update, however you can specify that any rule should only be run on one action with the following format:
validates :title, presence: true, on: :create
Rails comes with a lot of validation helpers that cover the vast majority of the validation scenarios you will require. Take a look at the Validation guide for a list of all of the available helpers.
Validation is an extremely important aspect of a modern web application, but fortunately Rails makes it a breeze to define and enforce those rules.
In today's tutorial we have looked at defining validation rules on the model. Your application will likely have important business rules that should always be enforced. For example, articles should always have titles.
However, certain validation rules should not sit in the model. You will usually find that models that attract a lot of responsibility will end up in a tangle of validation rules for specific circumstances.
We will be looking at dealing with this problem in next week's tutorial!


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A group of School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering researchers has received support for an international project to improve lightweight metals for use in the transportation industry.
Working with researchers in Qatar and through Texas A&M University, the researchers, including Hussein Zbib and David Field, professors in the WSU School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, have received support from that nation's national research foundation to better understand and improve the behavior of high strength steel and magnesium.
Leaders in Qatar have invested heavily in recent years in research and education. Led by Princess Sheikha Mozah, Qatar established an Education City to promote research and education, which includes several U.S. university branch campuses. Invited to submit a proposal by WSU alumnus Eyad Masad ('95 MS, '98 PhD Civil Engineering), Zbib has been working with Qatar-based, Texas A&M University researchers.
Their first project involved improving magnesium alloys for automotive applications. Magnesium is very lightweight, strong, and less dense than other metals, such as steel and aluminum. It is also the world's fourth most abundant element. Magnesium alloys are commonly used in the manufacturing of cell phones, laptops, cameras, and other electronic components. Increasing its use in automotive applications could reduce the weight of cars by as much 37 percent, dramatically increasingly their fuel efficiency, says Zbib.
While magnesium is used in some automotive parts, however, it has significant problems with corrosion. It is brittle and can crack easily.
The researchers, including Zbib, Field, and doctoral students Hesam Askari and John Young from WSU, and Ghassan Kridli, Georges Ayoub, and Ana Rodriguez from Texas A&M-Qatar, focused on expanding the use of magnesium for eventual use in auto body parts, such as the chassis. By manipulating the microstructure of the material, they worked to increase the ability of the material to be formed into complex shapes. In particular, the researchers looked at the material's characterization, processing, and forming.
"This work will have significant applications in the auto industry in the next decade," says Zbib.
In a separate project, Zbib received support to do research in advanced high strength steel. As a building material, steel's important properties include its strength and ductility, or how much it can stretch before it breaks. Unfortunately, the two properties work against each other, so that as a steel alloy gets stronger, its ductility decreases. Zbib's group is increasing both the strength and ductility of steel by manipulating the material's microstructure through thermo-mechanical processes.
Zbib is also using multiscale modeling to better understand the impacts of microstructure changes at the macro-scale, which could lead to better steel design.
Engineering increasingly requires understanding of materials from the nanoto macro-scale. Researchers have to be able to look at the atomic level of materials and know how materials behave in a full-scale dam or airplane. With the help of multiscale modeling to predict materials' behavior, researchers and manufacturers can design a material, rather than using a traditional trial and error approach.
"We are working to take our understanding of the mechanical properties at the atomic level to help us understand and design for the macro-scale," says Zbib.
In This Issue
Making Room for More
- Nuclear Security Fellowship
- Student Club Updates
- Scholarships Make a Difference
- In Memoriam: Clayton Crowe


Microscopic Cell Nuclei Segmentation Based on Adaptive Attention Window
Article
Abstract
This paper presents an adaptive attention window (AAW)-based microscopic cell nuclei segmentation method. For semantic AAW detection, a luminance map is used to create an initial attention window, which is then reduced close to the size of the real region of interest (ROI) using a quad-tree. The purpose of the AAW is to facilitate background removal and reduce the ROI segmentation processing time. Region segmentation is performed within the AAW, followed by region clustering and removal to produce segmentation of only ROIs. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method can efficiently segment one or more ROIs and produce similar segmentation results to human perception. In future work, the proposed method will be used for supporting a region-based medical image retrieval system that can generate a combined feature vector of segmented ROIs based on extraction and patient data.
Key words
Microscopic image nuclei segmentation region of interest (ROI) adaptive attention window (AAW) quad-tree region-based image retrieval
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Copyright information
© Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine 2008
Authors and Affiliations
 1. 1.Shindang-dong Dalseo-gu, Department of Computer EngineeringKeimyung UniversityDaeguSouth Korea
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Webinar: Supporting Independence and Resilience
Are you struggling with your child's lack of independence? Understand why this is a struggle for your child, how to build up your child's resilience and learn the tools to help your child become more independent.
Twenty-One Senses believes in empowering families. Adam, one of our coaches, has two decades of experience understanding how people learn. He will help you understand your child's struggles and provide strategies to better support a positive outcome.
Once you register, we will provide you the secure link for the meeting. If you have any questions, you can contact us at _PHONE_.


Is Depth Really Necessary for Salient Object Detection?
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Authors Jia Li, Jiawei Zhao, Yifan Zhao, Xiaowu Chen
Journal/Conference Name arXiv preprint
Paper Category
Paper Abstract Salient object detection (SOD) is a crucial and preliminary task for many computer vision applications, which have made progress with deep CNNs. Most of the existing methods mainly rely on the RGB information to distinguish the salient objects, which faces difficulties in some complex scenarios. To solve this, many recent RGBD-based networks are proposed by adopting the depth map as an independent input and fuse the features with RGB information. Taking the advantages of RGB and RGBD methods, we propose a novel depth-aware salient object detection framework, which has following superior designs 1) It only takes the depth information as training data while only relies on RGB information in the testing phase. 2) It comprehensively optimizes SOD features with multi-level depth-aware regularizations. 3) The depth information also serves as error-weighted map to correct the segmentation process. With these insightful designs combined, we make the first attempt in realizing an unified depth-aware framework with only RGB information as input for inference, which not only surpasses the state-of-the-art performances on five public RGB SOD benchmarks, but also surpasses the RGBD-based methods on five benchmarks by a large margin, while adopting less information and implementation light-weighted. The code and model will be publicly available.
Date of publication 2020
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text:
The Seeds of Death
Deadly Ice Warriors, exploding seed pods and a lethal fungus are among the terrors in store in this feature-length adventure. It is the 21st Century and Earth is totally dependent on T-Mat, a revolutionary form of instant travel.
When the system breaks down The Doctor and friends make a hazardous journey to the relay station on the moon only to find that it has fallen into the hands of the Ice Warriors who plan to invade Earth.
Using T-Mat, the Ice Warriors transport seed pods to Earth which burst, disgorging a deadly Martian fungus. This spreads rapidly, extracting vital oxygen from the atmosphere. Can The Doctor outwit the evil Ice Warriors and destroy the fungus in time to save a dying world?
- The Seeds of Death was the fifth episode of season 6
- Also edited into a movie format, came with a "Screen Legends" sticker on the top of the case
- The working title for this story was The Lords of the Red Planet.
- After the opening titles a specially filmed model sequence was used as a background for the story title and episode number, showing a scene of the Earth and Moon. The camera pans across the foreground object then zooms into the background object – Earth or Moon – on which the episode begins. The exception is in episode three where the panning stops between the Earth and the Moon, as this instalment begins in cislunar space.


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What is an air data test set?
An air data test set is a an electronic controller which, based on a supply pressure, automatically provides a pressure at a variable and adjustable rate.
Air data test sets are specifically developed to convert the pressure to be controlled into a height or rate of climb and velocity.
As a result of the high accuracy, control stability and ability to simulate altitude and velocity, an air data test set is particularly suitable as a reference for aircraft workshops and also for instrument manufacturers and calibration laboratories in the aviation industry, in order to make calibrations on sensors and displays.
Who is Mensor and what do they do?
Mensor was founded in 1969 in Houston, Texas, and has been dedicated to the design and manufacture of the finest high-accuracy measurement, calibration and control instruments and test systems for pressure available. In 1978, Mensor relocated to San Marcos, Texas. From the first Mensor quartz manometer produced for the aviation industry in 1970 to the advanced computer-controlled pressure calibration systems of today, Mensor's name has become synonymous with reliability and innovation in the field of precision pressure measurement, control and calibration.


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Stochastic approximation methods and applications in financial optimization problems
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Optimizations play an increasingly indispensable role in financial decisions and financial models. Many problems in mathematical finance, such as asset allocation, trading strategy, and derivative pricing, are now routinely and efficiently approached using optimization. Not until recently have stochastic approximation methods been applied to solve optimization problems in finance. This dissertation is concerned with stochastic approximation algorithms and their appli- cations in financial optimization problems. The first part of this dissertation concerns trading a mean-reverting asset. The strategy is to determine a low price to buy and a high price to sell so that the expected return is maximized. Slippage cost is imposed on each transaction. Our effort is devoted to developing a recursive stochastic approximation type algorithm to esti- mate the desired selling and buying prices. In the second part of this dissertation we consider the trailing stop strategy. Trailing stops are often used in stock trading to limit the maximum of a possible loss and to lock in a profit. We develop stochastic approximation algorithms to estimate the optimal trailing stop percentage. A modification using projection is devel- oped to ensure that the approximation sequence constructed stays in a reasonable range. In both parts, we also study the convergence and the rate of convergence. Simulations and real market data are used to demonstrate the performance of the proposed algorithms. The advantage of using stochastic approximation in stock trading is that the underlying asset is model free. Only observed stock prices are required, so it can be performed on line to provide guidelines for stock trading. Other than in stock trading, stochastic approximation methods can also be used in parameter estimations. In the last part of this dissertation, we consider a regime switching option pricing model. The underlying stock price evolves according to two geometric Brownian motions coupled by a continuous-time finite state Markov chain. Recur- sive stochastic approximation algorithms are developed to estimate the implied volatility. Convergence of the algorithm is obtained and the rate of convergence is also ascertained. Then real market data are used to compare our algorithms with other schemes.