How To Remove A Nail From A Tire
How To Remove A Nail From A Tire
If you have a flat tire, there's a good chance that one of your nails has gotten caught in the tire. Here's how to remove a nail from a tire:
1. Locate the nail. It's likely that the nail is lodged in the tread or the rubber around the circumference of the tire.
2. Use a tire iron to hit the nail hard with the blunt end of the iron. This will break the nail off the end of the tire.
3. Use a wrench to turn the tire iron around the circumference of the nail. This will loosen the nail and it can be easily removed.
How to Fix Nail in Tire – Do It Yourself for $5 Tire Plug Kit
Remove a nail from a tire
If you find a nail in your tire, the first thing you should do is remove it as quickly as possible to avoid puncturing the tire. If you can't get the nail out yourself, you'll need to get a tool to remove it.
There are a few different ways to remove a nail from a tire. You can use a standard tire iron, which will create a hole in the tire. Or you can use a pneumatic hammer to break the nail off. If neither of these methods work, you'll need to get a special nail removal tool.
See also How To Remove Nailboo Dip Nails
There are a few different types of nail removal tools. The most common is a claw hammer. This tool has a pointed end that grabs the nail and a hammer head on the other end that breaks the nail off. You can also get a chisel type tool, which has a sharp, wedge-shaped head. This tool is used to break the nail off at the base.
Once you have the tool that you need, you'll need to position it so that the pointed end is touching the nail and the hammer head is facing the tire. Then, hit the nail with the hammer head, breaking the nail off.
The tools you will need
 - A flat head screwdriver
 - A tire iron
 - A bottle of acetone or nail polish remover
 - A grater
 - A safety pin
 - A piece of wood
 - A towel
 1. Start by unscrewing the bead of the tire iron. This is the round, metal part at the end of the iron that has a handle.
 2. Pry off the nail with the screwdriver.
 3. Repeat until all the nails are removed.
 4. Pour acetone or nail polish remover into the tire iron and heat it up until it is hot.
 5. Place the grater over the nail and grind it off.
 6. Use the safety pin to hold the nail while you remove the rest of the nail with the screwdriver.
 7. Break off the end of the nail and discard it.
 8. Replace the bead on the tire iron and tighten it.
Step one
Get a nail remover that is made specifically for tires. There are many on the market, so find the one that is both easy to use and safe for your nails.
Step two
Put on your safety goggles and gloves. This is important because you don't want any of the chemicals on your skin to get into your eyes.
Step three
Secure the nail remover to the tire using the included straps.
Step four
Insert the nail remover into the nail.
Step five
Grip the remover with your other hand and pull out the nail. Be sure to use steady, even pressure to avoid puncturing the tire.
Step two
Carefully remove the nail with a pair of pliers. Make sure to grip the nail tightly so that it does not slip out. Apply pressure to the nail with the pliers in a circular motion until the nail pops out.
Step three
If the nail refuses to come out with a standard pair of pliers, you may need to use a pneumatic tool. Put the end of the pliers over the protruding nail and inflate the tool with air until it's about the size of the nail. Push down on the pliers, and the nail should pop out.
Finishing up
So there you have it, a detailed guide on how to remove a nail from a tire. Whether you're a professional mechanic or a DIY enthusiast, this guide will help you get the job done quickly and efficiently.
Remember, take care when removing nails from tires, as they can be sharp and damaging if not done correctly. If you do happen to nick the tire or puncture it in any way, be sure to get it fixed as soon as possible.
Conclusion
The best way to remove a nail from a tire is to use a tire iron. You can also use a nail puller, but be careful not to puncture the tire.
See also How To Remove Ohora Nails
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Covelo fire burned 617 acres
Full containment of the Pass Fire located east of Covelo, stubbornly eluded CalFire and the US Forest Service firefighters over the weekend.
Monday afternoon, the 617-acre fire was 97 percent contained. Cost as of 10:30 a.m. Monday was $2.6 million, but fire personnel had been reduced to 277 persons from a peak of 921.
When the fire began August 3at noon, it was attacked heavily from the air, as ground resources surged to the location. Initially, the fire threatened several structures near the Eel River Work Center, but then burned north and east, leaving the structures unharmed. Steep hills in the fire zone were covered with a combination of dry grass and oaks on the western slopes and grass and heavy manzanita on the eastern sides.
Containment was particularly challenging in the area located in the steep canyon slopes above the Eel River.
Fire engines from Little Lake, Ukiah Valley, Redwood Valley, Brooktrails and Laytonville fire departments responded to the mutual-aid call just after the fire started, and remained on the fire lines until Friday afternoon. Local firefighters slept on the ground and ate field rations for much of their time out.
In the early stage, the fire size was estimated at 800 acres, but as overflights mapped the fire boundaries more accurately, the official size was scaled back to 644 acres and finally to 617 acres.
Although the fire began in the state responsibility area, it quickly crossed into lands managed by the US Bureau of Land Management and Mendocino National Forest. The fire response was co-managed by CalFire and the U.S. Forest Service.
One firefighter suffered a wrist injury during the fire.


text:
ABOUT YOUNG CITIZENS
The Young Citizens program focuses on citizenship and is a complementary component to Heritage Fairs, an annual event where students present the results of their research on Canadian heroes, legends and key events in Canadian history. Participants in the Young Citizens program make a short video about their heritage fair topic, much like an evening news report or short documentary. The student videos are posted online and reviewed by a panel of judges for a chance to win a trip to Ottawa to attend the Canada's History Forum.
Watch a clip about Young Citizens from CBC's The National:
2013 Young Citizens: Expedition North
To celebrate the centennial of the Canadian Arctic Expedition (_PHONE_), Canada's History is looking for 40 students to participate in this special version of Young Citizens. These students will create a video that explores a theme relating to the history of Canada's north. A panel of judges will review all 40 videos and select 2 students who will receive a trip to Ottawa to show their film at the Canada's History Forum in the fall.
From May 13 - June 3, friends and family can view and vote for their favourite videos. The number of votes received will form part of the judge's criteria.
In June, a panel of judges will review all of the 40 videos based on 6 different criteria. The top 2 videos will be chosen and the students will receive a trip for 2 to Ottawa in the fall, where they will show their film at the Canada's History Forum.
We invite you to meet our Young Citizens, watch their videos, and cast your vote! Go to Find a Young Citizen and discover the stories of Canada's past.

source: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb-edu


text:
Mathä, Thomas Y. Porpiglia, Alessandro Ziegelmeyer, Michael
Year of Publication:
ECB Working Paper 1672
Crossing borders, be it international or regional, often go together with price, wage or indeed wealth discontinuities. This paper identifies substantial wealth differences between Luxembourg resident households and cross-border commuter households despite their similar incomes. The average (median) net wealth difference is estimated to be €367,000 (€129,000) and increases for higher percentiles. Using several different regression and decomposition techniques, spatial (regional) differences in real estate price developments, and thus differences in accumulated nominal capital gains are shown to be one main driving factor for these wealth differences. Other factors contributing to the observed wealth differences are differences in age, income, education and other household characteristics.
cross-border commuting household survey real estate price dynamics wealth

source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


text:
Fish can and do have surgeries performed on them. An anesthetic is delivered to the fish in its water, and the fish is removed from the water for surgery. Performing surgery with the fish in the water is difficult and can result in contamination of the surgical site. For long surgeries, water (containing anesthetic) must be pumped over the gills to keep the fish oxygenated and anesthetized, as well as keep the fish's skin moist. Thick, heavy scales must be removed along the incision line. Sutures may be removed by your veterinarian from 10 to 30 days following surgery, depending on the rate of healing.
For more information, please read the story Do You Think Fish Can Have Surgery


extension-point element:

In the context of a particular extension, a plug-in that stands in the extender role defines the extension, typically making certain aspects of itself available to a host plug-in through the extension. It also causes the host plug-in to add certain processing elements to its environment. As an example, the following plugin.xml corresponds to a plug-in that consumes the org.aperi.myapp extension.

In a similar fashion as a plug-in, a fragment can consume or provide extensions from/to other plug-ins. These capabilities are defined in the fragment.xml file, which is similar to the plugin.xml for a plug-in, and is part of every fragment. An example of a fragment.xml that corresponds to a fragment that consumes the org.aperi.myapp extension follows:

The act of extension is quite a general concept in Eclipse, and to understand its full generality, it is useful to summarize the types of relationships that may exist between plug-in objects, extension-points, and callback objects.
 1. Multiple extension-points may exist in a host plug-in.
 2. A plug-in may act both as a host plug-in, exposing some extension-points, and as an extender plug-in, extending some plug-ins.
 3. Multiple plug-ins may extend a given extension-point.
 4. A given plug-in may extend a given extension-point multiple times.
 5. An extender plug-in may include different extensions of different host plug-ins.
 6. A single act of extension of an extension-point by a particular extension of a particular plug-in may create multiple callback objects.
 7. A plug-in can define extensions of its own extension-points.
For more information on the Eclipse plug-in architecture, see Notes on the Eclipse Plug-in Architecture (_URL_ High Level Architecture Conceptual View
The conceptual view of the Aperi architecture consists of two layers:
 * The Platform layer provides basic storage management functions such as discovery, monitoring, and control of storage assets. It also includes the basic server infrastructure needed to support an enterprise application (logging, threading, transport, container, etc).
 * The Application layer provides high-level functions, such as filesystem capacity reporting, fabric zone control, and so forth.
Process View
At a high level the Aperi Storage Manager consists of the following processes:
 * GUI
 * CLI
 * Server
 * Host agent
 * Database
In addition to the host agent the architecture depends upon SMI-S CIMOMs and SNMP agents to be deployed in the environment. Furthermore, while Aperi includes a rich-client GUI, this is not meant to preclude the development of alternative user interfaces. The components are shown in the image below:
GUI Renders GUI panels for the user and receives user input CLI Provides scriptable command-line interface for Aperi functions Server Contains core infrastructure, including discovery, control, and monitoring services; responds to GUI requests; carries out scheduled actions and receives notifications from agents Database Repository of all information collected by Aperi Host agent Provides detailed information about host filesystems and SAN visibility from the host perspective. May be replaced over time by SMI-S host agents. Responds to requests from the server and generates asynchronous notifications to the server SMI-S CIMOM Provides low-level management and monitoring capability for storage devices. Responds to requests from server and generates asynchronous notifications to the server SNMP Agent Provides low-level monitoring capability for (some) storage devices and generates asynchronous notifications to the server
The following sequence diagrams illustrate various typical flows of communication among the various components.
The first diagram illustrates the flow during a scheduled discovery:
 1. The server's scheduler kicks off the discovery process
 2. The server queries the agents (Aperi host agents, SMI-S CIMOMs, or SNMP agents) required as part
 of the discovery
 3. The agents query the devices they represent
 4. The devices return data to the agent
 5. The agents return data to the server
 6. The server stores the data in the database
The next sequence diagram illustrates the flow when an agent sends an event that triggers a re-discovery (for example, a switch may broadcast a "configuration changed" event, and Aperi needs to rediscover the configuration):
 1. The agent sends an event to the server (either because the agent noticed a change or because it
 received a notification from the device, which is not shown here)
 2. The server stores a record of the event in the database
 of the re-discovery
 4. The agents query the devices they represent
 5. The devices return data to the agents
 6. The agents return data to the server
 7. The server stores the data in the database
The next sequence diagram illustrates the flow when a GUI user invokes a configuration operation, such as creating a volume:
 1. The GUI invokes API on the server (in response to user action not shown here)
 2. The server invokes API on the appropriate agent, such as an SMI-S CIMOM
 3. The agent invokes API on the device to execute the change
 4. The device returns data to the agent
 5. The agent returns data to the server
 6. The server stores the data in the database
 7. The server returns data to the GUI
Mapping Aperi Function to the OSGi/Eclipse Component Model
Each major component of the Aperi platform is represented as an OSGi bundle and/or Eclipse plug-in. The components are organized into logical groupings called features (collections of plug-ins). Many of the plug-ins expose packages or services so that other plug-ins may leverage them. Several plug-ins also define extension points to allow exploiting applications (also plug-ins) to extend the underlying function. Notice that these features correspond to the architectural layers identified above. Server Plug-ins and Features Feature Included Plug-ins Comments org.eclipse.aperi.runtime javax.help javax.jms org.apache.derby org.apache.soap org.apache.xerces org.eclipse.aperi.log org.eclipse.equinox.common org.eclipse.equinox.jakarta.common.logging org.eclipes.equinox.jetty org.eclipse.equinox.jetty.http org.eclipse.equinox.registry org.eclipse.equinox.servlet.api org.eclipse.equinox.servlet.bridge.http org.eclipse.osgi org.sblim.cim.client org.sblim.slp org.eclipse.osgi.services org.eclipse.update.scheduler org.eclipse.update.core org.eclipse.update.configurator org.eclipse.aperi.common org.eclipse.aperi.connector This feature contains the core Eclipse runtime. That includes the base OSGi container, OSGi service definitions, the plug-in framework, and support for plug-in deployment and updates (lifecycle mgmt). This feature also contains the implementation of the OSGi HTTP Service. This service contains the servlet container and the soap implementation needed to support web services. org.eclipse.aperi.server org.eclipse.aperi.cbe org.eclipse.aperi.database org.eclipse.aperi.jobs org.eclipse.aperi.discovery org.eclipse.aperi.monitor org.eclipse.aperi.control org.eclipse.aperi.events org.eclipse.aperi.authorization org.eclipse.aperi.config org.eclipse.aperi.alerts This feature provides the platform layer of the Aperi server. Storage applications are built on top of this feature. org.eclipse.aperi.app.disk Contains disk application (server side) org.eclipse.aperi.app.fabric Contains fabric application (server side) org.eclipse.aperi.app.filesystem Contains filesystem application (server side) org.eclipse.aperi.app.tape Contains tape application (server side) Agent Plug-ins and Features Feature Included Plug-ins Comments org.eclipse.aperi.runtime see above see above org.eclipse.aperi.agent.fabric This feature includes the fabric subagent. org.eclipse.aperi.agent.filesystem This feature includes the filesystem subagent. GUI Plug-ins and Features Feature Included Plug-ins Comments org.eclipse.aperi.runtime see above see above org.eclipse.aperi.gui This feature contains the gui framework org.eclipse.aperi.gui.disk This feature contains the Disk application GUI org.eclipse.aperi.gui.fabric This feature contains the Fabric application GUI org.eclipse.aperi.gui.filesystem This feature contains the Filesystem application GUI org.eclipse.aperi.gui.tape This feature contains the Tape application GUI Standards
Standards, particularly storage management standards, are critical to Aperi. The Aperi Storage Manager is intended to be an exemplary consumer of the SNIA SMI-S standard for storage device management. Aperi should use SMI-S to the fullest extent possible and should serve as a model to others on how to use SMI-S successfully. SMI-S should be the first and foremost mechanism used by Aperi, but Aperi can also use other standard mechanisms such as SNMP and GS3. Finally, it is also important that Aperi be a competitive storage management application, and it is possible that there is some


text:
This four-part jig is called "Lanxtrum's Pony" in The Gunn Book (Fermanagh, 1865), a collection of one hundred and seventy-eight dance tunes compiled by the fiddler John Gunn, an ancestor of John McManus, author of Irish Ceili and Set Dances (1992).
The tune may appear to be pretty complicated, but it is less so than it seems — appearances don't usually account for chunking. The idea of chunking is to focus on one small part of the tune at a time, and take that part phrase by phrase, or further break that down into pieces as small as you like. Work on the chunks, and build up to the whole tune. Take your time and work through each part. So, when a tune seems at first overwhelming, you know what to do. Chunk it! It sometimes helps to work backwards, starting from the concluding phrase of a tune. That is, focus on the last phrase of the last part, and then the penultimate phrase, etc. That way you will play what you have previously learned each time you learn a new phrase. Note, that the last phrase of every part in this tune is pretty much the same each time, so by starting at the end you will have learned quite a bit of the tune already! A nice version of this tune is on the CD Snug in the Blanket (2004) with Paddy O'Brien (Accordion), Jamie Gans (Fiddle), and Dáithí Sproule (Guitar). Interestingly, the tracks were recorded by O'Brien and Gans in 1993, Sproule added his accompaniment ten years later!
D A / A / D A / G / D A / A / D A / G 😐
A D / A / A G / G / A D / A / D A / G 😐
A / / G / / D A / D A / D A / G 😐
A / / / G / A / / D A / G 😐


Definition of Intercostal muscle
1. Noun. Muscles between the ribs; they contract during inspiration.
Exact synonyms: Intercostal, Musculus Intercostalis
Generic synonyms: Skeletal Muscle, Striated Muscle
Derivative terms: Intercostal
Medical Definition of Intercostal muscle
1. Muscle tissue between two ribs. This muscle is a type called skeletal muscle. (12 Dec 1998)
Lexicographical Neighbors of Intercostal Muscle
intercorporate
intercorrelate
intercorrelated
intercorrelates
intercorrelating
intercorrelation
intercorrelations
intercortical
intercostal
intercostal anaesthesia
intercostal arteries
intercostal artery
intercostal ligaments
intercostal lymph nodes
intercostal membranes
intercostal muscle (current term)
intercostal muscles
intercostal nerves
intercostal neuralgia
intercostal space
intercostal vein
intercostal veins
intercostally
intercostals
intercostobrachial nerves
intercostohumeral
intercostohumeral nerves
intercostohumeralis
intercountry
intercounty
Literary usage of Intercostal muscle
Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:
1. Anatomy, Descriptive and Surgical by Henry Gray (1901)
"At the back of the chest they lie between the pleura and the External intercostal muscle, but are soon placed between the two planes of Intercostal ..."
2. The Journal of Physiology by Physiological Society (Great Britain). (1880)
"... united only by the internal intercostal muscle and the pleura, and connected with the rest of the body by a band of tissues consisting of the ..."
3. The Comparative anatomy of the domesticated animals by Auguste Chauveau (1887)
"... which, when it acts singly, it inclines to one side. It may also take part in expiration. 6. Common intercostal muscle. (Fig. 106, 5.) Synonyms. ..."
4. Manual of Practical Anatomy by Daniel John Cunningham (1921)
"Follow the nerve through the internal intercostal muscle. It reaches the deep surface of the muscle at the junction of the cartilage with the bone of the ..."
5. Quain's Elements of Anatomy by Jones Quain, Allen Thomson, George Dancer Thane (1882)
"G4G) that the direct galvanic stimulation of the external intercostal muscle throughout the fifth space caused the lower rib to rise towards :he upper, ..."
6. An Elementary Treatise on Human Anatomy by Joseph Leidy (1889)
"The external intercostal muscle * starts behind in the position of the tubercle of the ribs, ... The internal intercostal muscle,* thinner than the former, ..."
Other Resources:
Search for Intercostal muscle on Dictionary.com!Search for Intercostal muscle on Thesaurus.com!Search for Intercostal muscle on Google!Search for Intercostal muscle on Wikipedia!
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I am trying to prove that a certain sequence of Markov chains $x^N_k$ converges towards a diffusion process. The invariant measure of $x^N$ is $\pi^N$ and the Markov chain $x^N$ is started in stationarity $x^N_0 \sim \pi^N$. It is also assumed that $\pi^N$ converges (in laws) to a limiting probability distribution $\pi$.
The idea of the diffusion approximation is then pretty simple, and runs roughly as follows: we can write $$x^N_{k+1}-x^N_k = \mu(x^N_k) \Delta_N + m^N_k \sqrt{\Delta_N} $$ where $\Delta_N$ is a time step that goes to zero as $N \to \infty$ and $\mu(\cdot)$ is a deterministic function and $m^N_k$ is a martingale difference with respect to the natural filtration generated by $x^N$. It happens that a martingale central limit theorem applies in this case and that it can be shown that $$W^N(t) = \sqrt{\Delta_N} \sum_{k < [\frac{t}{\Delta_N}]} m^N_k$$ converges in laws to a Brownian motion $W$. This is why the sequence of rescaled Markov chain $U^N(t) = x^N(t/\Delta_N)$ should converge in laws to the diffusion $$dU_t = \mu(U_t) \ dt + dW_t, \quad U_0 \sim \pi,$$ where $W$ is independent from the initial position $U_0$.
If we can show that the couple $(x^N_0, W^N)$ converges in laws to $(U_0,W)$ where $U_0$ is independent from $W$, a continuous mapping argument gives the conclusion.
Question: in short, it is assumed that $x^N_0 \sim \pi^N$ converges in law to $U_0 \sim \pi$ and it can be shown that $W^N \to W$. This seems always true that $W$ is independent from $U_0$, is it? How can one ensure that $W$ is adapted to a filtration $\mathcal{F}_t$ with $U_0 \in \mathcal{F}_0$?
Rephrasing: consider a sequence of martingales $M^N$, not starting from $0$, adapted to the filtrations $\mathcal{F}^N$. Let us also assume that the distribution $\pi^N$ of $M^N_0$ converges in law to a distribution $\pi$. If a martingale invariance principle applies to the sequence of martingales $X^N_k = M^N_k - M^N_0$, is it true that the original sequence $M^N$ also converges in laws to a modified "Brownian motion" $W$ with $W_0 \sim \pi$?
Ps: the whole point of this pedestrian approach is to avoid the usual generator-based theorems that ensure that a diffusion approximation is valid.re
share|improve this question
Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't see why you should need or expect $W$ to be adapted to a filtration of the sort you describe. I think you're already done. – Steve Huntsman May 9 '10 at 3:20
First, I would like to be sure that I can chose the Brownian motion W independently from the initial data U_0. Second, I need to prove that the couple (x^N_0, W^N) does converge, which is not clear to me. I need that because we can write U^N=I(x^N_0,W^N) where I is a continuous function: in order to apply the continuous mapping theorem, I need to show that the sequence (x^N_0,W^N) does converge in laws. – Alekk May 9 '10 at 11:04
1 Answer 1
Check out the book by Ethier & Kurtz on Markov processes. As far as I remember, the chapter on diffusion approximations should have everything you might need.
share|improve this answer
Ethier and Kurtz would be perfect if I was working in R^d, but I am actually working with Hilbert space valued Markov chains. The whole story should not change much, but I do not know the proof of E&K enough (based on generators of diffusion etc..) to see if this is a straightforward generalization or not. By the way, if there is a good reference for SPDE approximations of Markov chains, that would be very helpful. Thank you. – Alekk May 10 '10 at 20:11
Your Answer


text:
Message Phenomenon refers to communication with supernatural, extraterrestrial, and/or spiritual beings. This includes Signs from Spirit, events which have a meaningful significance to the observer or experiencer. Referred to as Messages from Heaven or Messages from the Dead. This includes the appearance of physical objects seemingly placed in the observers path such as feathers, crystals, coins (pennies from heaven). Can also include the appearance of rainbow, bird or butterfly or other insect. May also include telephone calls, text messages (or other forms of instant messaging) from a deceased loved one.
Also related to this phenomenon is the idea that supernatural beings routinely influence the thoughts of humans which then leads to creative expressions which then prove to be prophetic. An example of this is the novella, The Wreck of the Titan: Or, Futility, by Morgan Robertson, the plot of which is eerily similar to the sinking of the RMS Titanic.


, there was no statistically significant difference evaluated between the 4°C and 25°C groups statistically(p=0,637)(Table 2).
 Table 1
The distribution difference of the new bone formation.
New Bone FormationGroup 4°CGroup 25°CControl Group
(-)00,00%00,00%325,00%
(+)325,00%433,30%758,30%
(++)541,70%650,00%216,70%χ²:13,86
(+++)433,30%216,70%00,00%p=0,031
 Table 2
Statistical difference of the new bone formation between groups.
New Bone Formation
Group 4°C / Group 25°C0,637
Group 4°C / Control Group0,020
Group 25°C / Control Group0,049
Statistically significant difference was observed between 4°C, 25°C and control groups regarding the distribution of the infection presence (p=0,0001)(Table3). The presence of the infection in the control group 9 (%75), was observed as significantly higher than the 4°C and 25°C groups (p=0,0001) , but no statistically significant difference was seen between the 4°C and 25°C groups (p=1)(Table 4).
 Table 3
The distribution difference of the infection presence.
InfectionGroup 4°CGroup 25°CControl Group
(-)12100,00%12100,00%325,00%χ²:24,00
(+)00,00%00,00%975,00%p=0,0001
 Table 4
Statistical difference of the infection presence between groups.
Infection
Group 4°C / Group 25°C
Group 4°C / Control Group0,0001
Group 25°C / Control Group0,0001
The distribution of the bone necrosis existence between 4°C, 25°C and control groups were observed significantly different (p=0,0001) (Table 5). The existence of the bone necrosis in the control 11 (%91,7), group was evaluated significantly higher than the 4°C and 25°C groups (p=0,0001), but, no statistically difference was observed between the 4°C and 25°C groups (p=1) (Table 6).
 Table 5
The distribution of the bone necrosis existence.
Bone NecrosisGroup 4°CGroup 25°CControl Group
(-)12100,00%12100,00%18,30%χ²:31,68
(+)00,00%00,00%1191,70%p=0,0001
 Table 6
Statistical difference of the bone necrosis existence between groups.
Bone Necrosis
Group 4°C / Group 25°C
Group 4°C / Control Group0,0001
Group 25°C / Control Group0,0001
No statistically significant difference was observed between 4°C, 25°C and control groups regarding the distribution of the fibrosis existence (p=0.355)(Table7). The fibrosis distribution of the control group was not significantly different than the 4°C and 25°C groups (p=0,334, p=0,164), and also, no statistically significant difference was observed between the 4°C and 25°C groups (p=0,232) (Table 8).
 Table 7
The distribution of the fibrosis existence.
FibrosisGroup 4°CGroup 25°CControl Group
(-)216,70%541,70%541,70%
(+)325,00%00,00%325,00%
(++)541,70%541,70%433,30%χ²:6,64
(+++)216,70%216,70%00,00%p=0,355
 Table 8
Statistical difference of the fibrosis existence betweeem groups.
Fibrosis
Group 4°C / Group 25°C0,232
Group 4°C / Control Group0,334
Group 25°C / Control Group0,164
Discussion
The temperature rise on the bone during osteotomies performed by rotational systems is affected by various factors (8-10). Some of these factors are bone density, and the location of the osteotomy, in particular the amount of cortical versus cancellous bone, which may be influential. Other important factors pertain to the drilling, including the speed at which the drill rotates, the sharpness of the margins on the drill, the thickness of the drill, and the force with which the drills applied to the bone (11). Regardless of the reason for, this temperature rise can cause damage or impaired healing on the bone (1,3). As previously mentioned, the accepted threshold level that is required for the thermal injury on the bone is 47°C for a period of 1 minute (1,3).
For the protection of the bone from the thermal damage during osteotomy, saline solution is routinely applied to the drill and the osteotomy site in surgical practice. And also, most of the surgeons prefer cool saline solutions and they believe that it is more effective than the normal solutions for the reduction of the temperature. In the literature, there are some studies indicating the effect of the saline application on temperature rise (11) , on the contrary , others indicate that application of saline solution to the rotational system to bone interface during osteotomy do not reduce the temperature during the osteotomy to any significant degree (12,13). In the authors' knowledge, this is the first study focuses on the effect of the irrigation temperature to reduce thermal rise. At the same time, it is evaluated in this study that application of saline solution is effective or not for the reduction of the thermal damage.
In the present study we evaluated the specimens in terms of new bone formation, presence of infection, necrosis and fibrosis Our study demonstrated significant difference regarding the necrosis values between control group (without irrigation) and the group irrigated with 25°C and 4°C saline (Figures 4-6). Necrosis was not observed in second and third groups. However copious saline irrigation was useful for cleaning the operation area from any remnants of the drill. It is thought that this can be an advantage for wound healing.
Although there was no statistically significant difference between the group irrigated with 25°C and 4°C saline for new bone formation, latter group had numerous osteoblasts and more prominent osteoblastic rim around the trabeculae of new bone (Figures 4,5). These results indicate that there is no disadvantage to use 25°C saline irrigation, but it may be better to use 4°C saline irrigation for rapid healing.
 Figure 4
Newly formed bone in group +4°C (H&E x100)
Int J Med Sci Image
 Figure 5
Fibrosis and new bone formation in group +25°C (H&E x100)
Int J Med Sci Image
 Figure 6
Inflammatory cells and new bone formation in control group (without irrigation, H&E
Int J Med Sci Image
In this study, it is verified that the use of saline irrigation is not only useful to reduce temperature rise on the bone during osteotomy, but also effective for cleaning the osteotomy site from any bony remnants.
Conflict of Interest
The authors have declared that no conflict of interest exists.
References
1. Eriksson A, Albrektsson T, Grace B, McQueen O. Thermal injury to bone. A vital microscopic description of heat effects. Int J Oral Surg. 1982;11:115-21
2. Eriksson R, Adell R. Temperatures during drilling for the placement of implants using the osteointegration technique. J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 1986;36:968-73
3. Eriksson R. Heat-induced bone tissue injury. An in vivo investigation of heat tolerance of bone tissue and temperature rise in the drilling of cortical bone. Gothenburg, Sweden: PhD Dissertation, University of Gothenburg, defended February, 21. 1984:1-64
4. Eriksson AR, Albrektsson T. Temperature threshold levels for heatinduced bone tissue injury: a vital-microscopic study in the rabbit. J Prosthet Dent. 1983;50(1):101-107
5. Matthews LS, Hirsch C. Temperatures measured in human cortical bone when drilling. J Bone Joint Surg. 1972;54A:297-308
6. Watanabe F, Tawada Y, Komatsu S, Hata Y. Heat distribution in bone during preparation of implant sites: heat analysis by real-time thermography. Int J Oral Maxillofac Implants. 1992;7(2):212-9
7. Kerawala CJ, Martin IC, Allan W, Williams ED. The effects of operator technique and bur design on temperature during osseous preparation for osteosynthesis self-taping screws. Oral Surg Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol Endod. 1999;88:145-50
8. Brisman DL. The effect of speed, pressure, and time on bone temperature during the drilling of implant sites. Int J Oral Maxillofac Implants. 1996;11:35-7
9. Cordioli G, Majzoub Z. Heat generated during implant site preparation: an in vitro study. Int J Oral Maxi


Clarkia
Home » Evolution of mating system, life history, and photosynthetic physiology in Clarkia
Evolution of mating system, life history, and photosynthetic physiology in Clarkia
In the western United States, Clarkia (Onagraceae) taxa vary in mating system, life history, and photosynthetic physiology. Self-fertilizing taxa bloom earlier in the year and have higher rates of photosynthesis than their most closely related cross-pollinating species.
Clarkia
By performing a multi-generational artificial selection experiment, Emms et al. find evidence that these traits evolved independently of one another, rather than in a correlated fashion. This suggests that different genes underlie each characteristic, and that Clarkia populations have the ability to respond to natural selection in multiple ways, with the evolution of one characteristic having little influence on the evolution of the others.
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text:
This project provides a multi-mission operations and planning software framework. Apogy uses Eclipse Modeling Framework models to define the systems being controlled, the environment in which these systems are operated, the operations being carried out and the corresponding data produced during operations.
Integrating a rover in Apogy is as simple as creating an EMF model that represent its interface and telemetry) and defined its topology (i.e. how the physical components are attached together and how the degrees-of-freedom are mapped to the telemetry). Once these two steps are completed, one can visualize the rover in 3D in its environment (showing cameras field of view in 3D, using the generic 3D tools to measure distance, record trajectory, measure sun angle, etc), create commands and display telemetry (camera views with overlays, filters and tools, recording and playback of data, etc) without having to write a single line of code! This means that the operator can already start configuring his/her control station, even if there is no real rover to command at that point. Implementing the necessary interface between the generated EMF classes and the hardware (which is usually straightforward) is all that remain to complete the integration and benefit from the many tools already available in Apogy


text:
This book contains a study of the system of liability under the Hagueand Hague Visby Rules. The application of the Rules under American, English and Dutch law and incidentally Australian and Canadian law is researched to determine if the Rules are construed and applied uniformly. Where it is found that there are differences in the way a Rule is applied the intended construction of the Rule is established.
After a chapter on the construction of the Rules, the duties of the carrier contained in article III(1) and III(2) are discussed. Some of the most important exceptions of article IV and the relationship between those exceptions and the duties of the carrier are discussed in two separate chapters. There is also a chapter on the division of the burden of proof.
The book ends with a chapter containing the conclusions derived from the comparative legal research throughout the book.
A summary is included in English and Dutch.
N.J. Margetson is a lawyer in Rotterdam at Hampe Meyjes.
List of abbreviations
1.1 When do the H(V)R apply?
1.2 Construction of the Rules
1.3 Research question
1.4 Method used to answer the research question
1.5 Researched legal systems
1.6 Topics of research
1.7 The UNCITRAL draft convention
2 Construction of the Hague (Visby) Rules
2.3 Aids to the construction of the H(V)R
2.4 Problems regarding uniform construction of the H(V)R
2.5 Ways to improve uniform construction of the H(V)R
3 Duties of the carrier
3.2 What is meant by 'voyage'?
3.3 What is meant by 'before and at the beginning of the voyage'?
3.4 Why is the requirement restricted to the period 'before and at the beginning of the voyage'?
3.5 What is meant by 'due diligence'?
3.6 Is the duty to exercise due diligence to make the ship seaworthy delegable?
3.7 What is the meaning of seaworthiness?
3.8 What is meant by 'properly and carefully'?
3.9 Is the duty contained in art. III(2) delegable?
4 The relationship between the duties of the carrier and the exceptions
4.2 Causes of damage
4.3 The expression 'overriding obligation'
4.4 The requirement of causal connection
4.5 Doctrines concerning the relationship between art. III and art. IV
4.6 Concurrence of culpable and non-culpable causes of damage
4.7 Why is art. III(2) not also considered an overriding obligation under English law?
4.8 The intended construction of the relationship between the duties and the exceptions
5 Art. IV(1) and some of the exceptions of art. IV(2) H(V)R
5.1 Art. IV(1): loss or damage due to unseaworthiness
5.2 The 'nautical fault' exception
5.3 The fire exception
5.4 Perils of the sea
5.5 The catch all exception
6 Division of the burden of proof under the H(V)R
6.2 In general
6.3 Common law
6.4 Dutch Law
6.5 Some other continental authors
6.6 The author's opinion: the division of the burden of proof depends on the invoked exception
6.7 The intended division of the burden of proof
7.1 The intended construction of the H(V)R
7.2 Duties of the carrier
7.3 Overriding obligation
7.4 Art. IV(1): loss or damage due to unseaworthiness
7.5 The 'nautical fault' exception
7.6 The fire exception
7.7 Perils of the sea
7.8 The catch all exception
7.9 Division of the burden of proof
Appendix I Hague Visby Rules
Appendix II Harter Act
Appendix III Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 1936
Appendix IV Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 1971


text:
Topic: Plant Transport Subtopic: The transport of gases
How are gases exchanged in plants?
Answer: When there is low concentration of carbon dioxide in the plant, it takes up some carbon dioxide from the air and if there is low concetration of oxygen it would take up oxygen from the air. Both gases are exchanged through the process of diffusion.
- What is diabetes?
- What is an artificial pacemaker?
- How long it takes to recover from heart transplant?
- What are properties of blood present in veins?
- What is Emphysema?
- What are platelets?

source: m-a-p/FineFineWeb


text:
St. Croix has historically been, and remains today, a melting pot of religions. Known as 'The Land of Churches', the island is home to approximately 150 churches that serve its 50,000 residents. Some of St. Croix's historic churches date back to the 18th century, and the variety of these churches are a true representation of the social and religious diversity that has been found here on the island since the Danish colonial times.
The history of the churches of St. Croix begins back in the 1730s when the Moravians came to St. Croix to convert the enslaved Africans of the island from the traditional African spiritual practices to the Moravian faith, and were successful. The success of the Moravians encouraged missionaries of other faiths to follow suit, especially after the Royal Danish granted permission to practice religion freely in 1754. As a result, St. Croix is home to thirteen historic churches, many of which remain open to the public – some still offering regularly scheduled religious services.
As with many Caribbean islands, Christianity is the predominant religion on St. Croix, although there are several other religious and spiritual practices to be found here including Rastafarian, Islam, and Judaism. However, Lutherans, Anglicans, Roman Catholics, Moravians, Methodists, and Dutch Reformed were some of the earliest denominations of Christianity to establish historic houses of worship on St. Croix. In fact, Lord God of Sabaoth Lutheran Church and the Friedensthal Moravian Church are the oldest congregations of their kind in the United States, and Holy Cross Catholic Church is the oldest Catholic Church in the Virgin Islands.
The beauty of the island's historic churches can be found not only in their history, but also in their architecture. The churches of St. Croix often blend the traditional architectural styles used in churches across the world with local Caribbean details, the combination of which speaks to the island's distinctive creole heritage. This combination of architectural styles is no surprise when you consider that many of the churches were constructed by local African-Caribbean craftsman. While many of these historic structures have been renovated or reconstructed, some of the churches are still built from the original blocks of locally sourced limestone and/or Danish brick, and some feature local mahogany carved alters or other interior details.
If you would like to visit some of St. Croix's historic churches, included below is a list those included on the St. Croix Heritage Trail map of Historic Churches, along with brief descriptions of each. Unfortunately, the Historic Churches map is no longer in print, so included at the end of each description you will find the general location of each church. To learn more about the trail, and obtain a digital copy of the St. Croix Heritage Trail map, please read our St. Croix Heritage Trail blog.
St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church:
Built in 1848, to meet the rising expectations of Emancipation, the church expanded shortly after construction to accommodate a growing congregation. Constructed of local cut stone, the west entry facade has elements of both Gothic Revival (lancet doors and windows) and Neo-Classical (paired entry columns). The curved gable ends appear to be Spanish Baroque influenced. The interior has been altered considerably. The church, its bell tower and adjacent convent with loggias are replete with local details. The cemetery at St. Patrick's Church in Frederiksted contains a monument to fourteen sailors from the W. W. W. Monongahela, who perished in the tidal wave of 1867. (Located on the corner of Hospital and Market Streets)
Holy Trinity Lutheran Church:
This simple church was built in 1792, to replace an earlier wood structure built in 1766. Originally a hip roofed, classically detailed structure, the changes over the years have been consistent with the original design. The tower base predates the cupola and may have been a part of the 1792 structure. The raking gables and finials were early 19th century modifications. The pulpit was centered over the altar and approached from the rear. Now, it has been moved to the northeast corner. Despite changes to the interior, the scale and ambiance of the original church remain. The Frederiksted town cemetery is located across the street from Holy Trinity Lutheran Church. (Located at the corner of Hospital and Hill Streets)
St. Paul's Anglican Church:
This hybrid church combines an 1812 West Indian hipped roof structure, featuring classical and local details, with a Neo-Gothic, three tiered tower built in 1848. The main entrances were via north and south porches with several Neo-Classical details of pilasters, cornice and parapets. The entrance function was shared by the west tower after the 1840's. The tower of local limestone and Danish brick was built to exacting standards of Anglican orthodoxy. It was completely restored after a recent devastating fire. Noteworthy are the local mahogany carved alters and the English pulpit and prayer tablets. (Located on the corner of Prince and King Cross Streets)
The Steeple Building:
Originally built as the Lutheran Church of Lord God of Sabaoth, 1750-53. The Baroque tower with its four-tiered octagonal cupola, reminiscent of Copenhagen's belfries, was added forty years later. In 1838, after the congregation moved to the donated Dutch Reformed Church on King Street, the building was used by the government as a military base and storehouse and later as a school, community hall and hospital. It is now administered by the National Park Service as a museum. (Located on the corner of Hospital and Company Streets)
Lord God of Sabaoth Lutheran Church:
The main body of the present church was built around 1740 as a Dutch Reformed Church, and is St. Croix's oldest church. After 1831, the building was taken over by the Lutheran congregation as a replacement for their original church (the Steeple Building) and it was transferred to the Lutherans in 1834. The most distinctive feature is the Neo-Classical tower, built in 1834, and designed by Albert Lovmand, the official architect for the Danish colonies at the time. (Located on the corner of King and Queen Cross Streets)
Holy Cross Catholic Church:
The oldest Catholic Church in the Virgin Islands, it was originally built in 1755, but was extensively altered in the 1850's. It was built in the shape of a cross to represent St. Croix which means 'holy cross' in French. Architecturally striking, it combines the molded facades of San Juan's 17th century churches, complete with engaged entry columns and elaborate cornice moldings, along with Neo-Gothic elements favored in the 19th century. Though still impressive, the interior has been considerably altered since the 1970's, with the removal of the stenciled lime plaster, and window and door changes. (Located on the corner of Prince and Company Streets)
St. John's Anglican Church:
Built in 1849-58, replacing an earlier structure constructed in 1772. Then, in 1866, a fire destroyed much of the original interior. This design and rebuilding reflects the fully realized fidelity to the Gothic Revival style prescribed for Anglican churches throughout the world. Its masonry details, three-tiered tower and elaborate hammer-beam roof framing are noteworthy. The Christiansted town cemetery, established in 1749, is adjacent to St. John's Anglican Church and includes a Danish section with many prominent names. A Jewish cemetery, dating from the early 19th century, is also nearby. (Located on Route 75/King Street)
Friedensthal 'Valley of Peace' Moravian Church and Manse:
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, this mission church was founded by German Moravian brethren in the 1750s who named the area Estate Friedensthal, which translates to 'valley of peace' in German. It originally served as a Moravian mission, a church and a plantation, and ministered to enslaved Africans. The mission served for a time as a training center for parishioners in trades, reading and writing. The parish house (or manse) was built in the 1830s as both a school and dwelling. The present church, built from 1852-54, is unaltered and features a masonry and wood pedimented entry porch. (Located on Route 75/King Street near Bassin Triangle)
MID ISLAND & WEST END
Friedensfeld 'Field of Peace' Midlands Moravian Church:
Dedicated in 1852, this lovely wood church replaced the original structure built from _PHONE_. The church retains its original exterior and interior appearances. Three flanking roof gables, structurally tied together, enclose the nave and side aisles. An open-work barrel vault functions as a ceiling, as well as a curved structural element for the black-painted center trusses, barely visible beyond. The handsome original lancet windows serve both the main floor and the balconies. (Located on Route 72/Midland Road between Route 75 and Route 73)
Kingshill Lutheran Church:
This church was built in 1912, near the end of the Danish era, to serve the residents and soldiers of the nearby Kingshill station. This structure, simple yet sophisticated, has especially handsome details and proportions. Flanking Ionic columns, east and west, frame the entry and apse. A pediment and round-based belfry and cupola mark the entry. Though the windows and interior details were changed in the 1970's, the church still retains much of its original flavor and appearance. (Located on Route 70/Centerline Road in Kingshill)
St. Ann's Catholic Church:
Originally built as a family chapel in 1815, by Christopher McEvoy Jr., a prominent planter, St. Ann's was deeded to the Catholic Church in 1897, and formally dedicated to St. Ann in 1900. Cruciform in plan, the splayed door and window openings are tied together on the exterior by a fillet molding that engages window keystones. Above is a prominent cornice molding upon which sits pe


EMF Health-effects Research
Curcio G, Ferrara M, De Gennaro L, Cristiani R, D'Inzeo G, Bertini M.
Neuroreport. 15(1):161-164, 2004
The study aimed to investigate the time-course of electromagnetic field (EMF)-induced effects on human cognitive and behavioral performance and on tympanic temperature.
Following a double-blind paradigm, subjects were tested on four performance tasks:
 - an acoustic simple-reaction time task,
 - a visual search task,
 - an arithmetic descending subtraction task and
 - an acoustic choice-reaction time task.
Moreover, tympanic temperature was collected five times during each session.
Results indicated an improvement of both simpleand choice-reaction times and an increase of local temperature on the exposed region under the active exposure. There was a clear time-course of the reaction time and temperature data, indicating that performance and physiological measures need a minimum of 25 min of EMF exposure to show appreciable changes.


text:
Fiber Wall Hanging
Created by Ellen Kochansky
It is a permaculture principle that there is more bio-diversity in the margins. Using silk organza, botanicals, snake skin, butterfly wing, puzzle pieces and text from letters written by Kochansky's mother to her father during World War II, this piece captures interactions in transparency and light. Space is created by what is not filled in on a printed page. Silk organza with a tea-stained background, paper, natural materials. Avoid moisture and sunlight.


Rātā Moehau
Rare specimen forest tree. Reaches maximum of 30 metres. Smallish white flowers (the only white-flowered rata species) Oct-Nov. Distinctive whitish, spongy, flaking bark. Attractive dark green foliage with steeply curved crown. Endemic in the Far North. Prefers good sun, and well-drained soils. Hardy. Tolerates mild frost.
takana native trees takes the loss of our more rare native tree species seriously, and dedicates significant resources to increasing their presence and helping preserve New Zealand's natural heritage.


Electronic postal services questionnaire
The questionnaire will be used to evaluate the development and strategic importance of postal e-services at the global level, benchmark the development of postal e-services in UPU member countries, and identify the impact of possible key factors affecting the development of postal e-services.
Please save paper and complete the survey online (in English, French, Spanish and Russian and Arabic).
Guidelines for answering the questionnaire
To ensure the consistency of the data and make the questionnaire easier to understand, definitions are provided where necessary. Please read the definitions carefully before answering each question.


text:
In every NAEP assessment, the student sample falls into the following groups:
Withdrawn students are those students who have left the school before the assessment data have been collected. Excluded students are those who cannot be assessed even with an accommodation because they are classified as students with disabilities (SD) or as limited-English-proficient (LEP) students. Assessed students are either assessed in the initial session, or if they were absent for that session, perhaps in the makeup session. The last category in the list includes students who were not excluded (i.e., "were to be assessed"), but were not assessed, either due to absence (from both sessions) or a refusal to participate.
Assessed students are also classified as assessed without an accommodation or assessed with an accommodation. The latter group can be divided into SD students assessed with an accommodation, LEP students assessed with an accommodation, or students who are both SD and LEP and accommodated (students neither SD nor LEP can only be assessed without an accommodation). Note that some SD and LEP students are assessed without accommodations.


text:
Dammar (or Damar) varnish is a traditional oil painter's medium, often used in glazes. Vincent Gordon takes us through the steps of how to make your own.
There are many schools of thought on what should and should not be used, when it comes to oil painting. A purist's approach, for example, would be to keep the painting process as simple as possible and stick to mixing only oils with their paint, avoiding resins altogether for fear of surface cracks forming in the future. It's worth noting that resins can become brittle with time, especially if used in excess at the time of painting. These issues could be avoided altogether through the use of acrylic paints, which is a very different experience, yielding different results.
Others are less precious and embrace some change in the appearance of a painting, considering this change as the natural life of an organic work of art.
For many a 5lb cut of dammar varnish is a staple of the studio, as it can facilitate many a painter's need. High gloss mediums, glazing mediums, oil mediums and wax mediums can all be formulated with dammar as a base. So for those curious about making their own unique mixes, a dammar varnish is a good place to start.
How to make a Dammar (Varnish) Medium
The following recipe will make a thick 5Ib cut of dammar varnish, a very sticky viscous liquid, ideal for adding gloss and flow to your paint.
1 part dammar crystals
2 parts turpentine
Formula by volume
100g of dammar crystals
To make a small amount of dammar varnish:
Place dammar crystals in a jar, pour over the turpentine, cap and wait until the crystals have fully dissolved. Shake the jar every so often as encouragement.
Once dissolved, filter your dammar varnish into a clean jar through a piece of fabric. A coffee filter would work here.
To make a larger amount:
Cut out a square of fabric, buttered (soft) muslin, cheese cloth or other suitable material eg. a pair of tights (student style).
Place the dammar crystals in the centre of the layed-out fabric and bring the corners of the fabric together to form a bag. Tie the corners together, either with a piece of string or by knotting the corners together.
Suspend the wrapped crystals in a stainless steel bucket, deep narrow pan or similar vessel, by tying the fabric to a piece of wood placed across the bucket (an old stretcher bar works well here). Try to get the bag of crystals suspended about an Inch (25mm) above the bottom of the bucket.
Once you are happy the bag is secure, pour the turpentine into the vessel. The crystals need to be submerged in the turps to dissolve, if they are not then your vessel is too wide, choose something narrower to bring the level of the turps up.
Cover and wait.
As the dammar crystals dissolve, most of the impurities will be left in the bag, some may drop through the fabric, so I recommend filtering, as mentioned above.
Add to oil paint or pigment to use as an oil painting medium. This general purpose medium will allow your paint to flow more readily, giving greater control over your brushwork. It will add high amounts of gloss, making colours appear brighter.
Less gloss can be achieved by adding more turpentine, either on the palette whilst mixing with your paint or by diluting your bulk varnish.
Use as an ingredient in other painting mediums. When made at the ratio stated here, 2:1, this varnish makes a perfect base for adding in a variety of artists oils. Linseed oil or stand oil are commonly used to change the characteristics of a dammar medium, but this is a whole other subject and something l can discuss in a future post.
Dammar resin takes its name from the remote Indonesian island of Damar, and is produced by tapping and bleeding coniferous trees. The resin oozes out and sets as it runs down the trunk of the tree, where it is then collected.
Dammar has been used as an artists varnish since the 1800's. It is still valued by today's artists because of its relatively slow yellowing characteristics and versatile nature. Traditionally it is dissolved in turpentine, but modern solvents such as an orange solvent or Shellsol T can also be used as a direct replacement for turps, with very little change to the end product.
Natural resin varnishes are often cloudy in appearance due to the waxes present in the resin. Once made your varnish will continue to clear, you might notice a residue building up at the bottom of the jar as the impurities drop out, try not to disturb these impurities as you use the varnish, or if it bothers you or the build up is particularly bad, decant the varnish into a clean jar, leaving the sludge behind. In theory the longer you leave the varnish undisturbed the clearer it will become but some batches will never clear completely.
Note, The word 'varnish' is slightly misleading here. It is really a medium, being too thick and shiny to be used as a final picture varnish. A coat of this over your painting would result in that classic 'over varnished' look.
The term "5 lb cut" (five pound cut) refers to the strength of dilution: 5 pounds of crystals to 1 gallon turpentine.


text:
World Health: the intellectual history of a twentieth century idea
World health is currently understood in a commonsense way as an objective pursued by the World Health Organization. Yet world health is also an idea with a complicated and unexpected twentieth century history.
- How and why did the idea of world health arise? How did nineteenth century public health framed nationally become twentieth century population health, framed globally?
- What were the intellectual traditions formulating 'world health' and 'global population' as problems, projects and possibilities in the twentieth century?
These are the research questions driving this intellectual history of the contested and changing concept of world health. The project focuses on the period between the establishment of the League of Nations Health Organization in 1923 and the Bucharest World Population Conference in 1974, which was designated World Population Year.
The overarching aim is to establish and explore the biopolitical nature of world health as a crucial aspect of twentieth century globalisation.
ARC Discovery Grant 2005-2008


SecureStrings and Plain Text in PowerShell
Thu, Sep 7, 2006 2-minute read
A question came up today on the newsgroup asking why the following didn't work:
PS >$secureString = ConvertTo-SecureString "Hello"
ConvertTo-SecureString : Cannot process argument because the value of argume
nt "input" is invalid. Change the value of the "input" argument and run the
operation again.
At line:1 char:39
+ $secureString = ConvertTo-SecureString <<<< "Hello"
PS >
For some background – a SecureString is a type of string that PowerShell (and.Net) keeps encrypted in memory. Even if an attacker can explore the memory on your computer (like the contents of a swap file, for example,) they cannot gain access to the secret protected by the SecureString.
Although you can pass around SecureStrings with impunity, applications must be extremely careful at the boundaries – when creating SecureStrings and retrieving the encrypted data from them. This means doing things like reading your password input character by character, then removing each character from memory as soon as possible. If the data is ever stored as a regular string, it stays in memory until the process exits.
By typing a regular string onto the command line (like in the example,) the string can no longer be made secure. That specific string stays in memory until PowerShell exits. This is why ConvertTo-SecureString only accepts the encrypted output of ConvertFrom-SecureString. Only in that way can we retain the security guarantee of SecureStrings.
That said, most people aren't that concerned about an attacker spying on their machine's memory, or digging through their Windows pagefile. In many situations, the benefit of being able to automate these situations vastly outweights the potential security risk.
For the upcoming release candidate, we've added some new functionality to allow this:
$secureString = ConvertTo-SecureString "Hello" -AsPlainText -Force
(The force flag lets you bypass the warning I just gave you :) )
Until then, you can create SecureStrings from plain text this way:
$text = "Hello World"
$secureString = new-object Security.SecureString
$text.ToCharArray() | % { $secureString.AppendChar($_) }
[Edit: Ouch… my first dupe!]


classes seem to call their base class's __init__() methods, but with different arguments. This mucks up pickling.
To customise the pickling of sqlalchemy's exception classes you can use copy_reg to register your own reduce functions for those classes.
A reduce function takes an argument obj and returns a pair (callable_obj, args) such that a copy of obj can be created by doing callable_obj(*args). For example
class StatementError(SQLAlchemyError):
 def __init__(self, message, statement, params, orig):
 SQLAlchemyError.__init__(self, message)
 self.statement = statement
 self.params = params
 self.orig = orig
 ...
can be "fixed" by doing
import copy_reg, sqlalchemy.exc
def reduce_StatementError(e):
 message = e.args[0]
 args = (message, e.statement, e.params, e.orig)
 return (type(e), args)
copy_reg.pickle(sqlalchemy.exc.StatementError, reduce_StatementError)
There are several other classes in sqlalchemy.exc which need to be fixed similarly. But hopefully you get the idea.
On second thoughts, rather than fixing each class individually, you can probably just monkey patch the __reduce__() method of the base exception class:
import sqlalchemy.exc
def rebuild_exc(cls, args, dic):
 e = Exception.__new__(cls)
 e.args = args
 e.__dict__.update(dic)
 return e
def __reduce__(e):
 return (rebuild_exc, (type(e), e.args, e.__dict__))
sqlalchemy.exc.SQLAlchemyError.__reduce__ = __reduce__
share|improve this answer

Hi sbt, thanks very much for your answer, it is very helpful. As I mentioned in the update, Mike Bayer has now fixed the problem with SQLAlchemy, though it will continue to be a problem with other libraries, probably. I wonder though, why, with 2 upvotes, you only have 11 reputation. It should be 21, surely? As regards handling the error, I'm inclined to try catching and reraising an exception that is thrown from inside the multiprocessing job, as lbolla suggests, since even if I fix the SQLA exceptions, I can't be sure an exception from outside SQLA won't get thrown. – Faheem Mitha Jan 18 '12 at 6:53
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text:
Practice using a Paper Cone
Teaching Session 1 - 2 - 3 - 4
The illustrations below show more sophisticated patterns made with
the contact method Beginners should first practice the falling
method before proceeding to more complicated designs. The contact
method is used when you want to vary the thickness of the lines.
Hold the cone as you would hold a pen, with the tip in contact with the surface and at an
angle of about 30 to 45 degrees. Draw lines as though you were drawing on paper with a
pen. Control the thickness of the line by adjusting the pressure of your thumb. Squeezing
harder makes a thicker line.
Introduction | I'm done, lets look at some cake motives
Buy the book: Prestige Des Grands Chefs | Professional
Copyright © PastryWiz TM


text:
- Visit the Reserve
- The Conservancy
- Support SELC
- Gateway Park
Bird viewing along Santa Inez Trail during Wildlife Walks
San Elijo Lagoon Ecological Reserve is one of San Diego's largest coastal wetlands.
Naturalist-guided walks explore the ecology and history of the lagoon, and highlight plants and animals that depend on six distinct plant communities:
More than 700 species of plants and animals rest, eat, breed, and make their homes here. Birders will delight in discoveries of rare and migratory species in the reserve.
FREE, GUIDED WEEKEND WALKS
Please note: groups of 5 or more are requested to schedule a walk in advance (see below).
See Side Bar for Weekly and 2nd Saturday Walks.
GUIDED WALKS FOR SCOUTS AND COMMUNITY GROUPS
Designed for groups of 5 or more
Scouts and community groups can arrange for naturalist-led tours tailored to feature wildlife, plant communities, or native Kumeyaay culture of the lagoon. Please schedule at least one month in advance of desired date.
Days: Wednesday through Saturday
Times: 9 am–5 pm (Guided Walks are 1.5 hours)
Suggested Donation: $50
Donations toward environmental education programs enrich our docent training and educational materials. Thank you for your support of San Elijo Lagoon Conservancy.
Log on, and sign up for your desired walk: Calendar
Please contact Tara Fuad, Education Director
E: education [at] sanelijo [dot] org
P: _PHONE_
NATURALIST-LED WEEKEND WALKS
San Elijo Lagoon Guided Walks
Beginning at San Elijo Lagoon Nature Center, this easy walk provides an overview of San Elijo Lagoon's important features, and the connection of wetlands with our society. This walk is also great for birding and marine invertebrate sightings that provide an up-close view of life between the tides. The ¼-mile Nature Center Loop Trail is ADA-accessible. San Elijo Lagoon Conservancy naturalists lead these weekly walks.
Set out traversing coastal sagebrush with chaparral communities on the hills in the lagoon's south side. Underfoot are broken bits of shells, reminders of the native people who once lived here. You will see the freshwater marsh below, and if lucky, you might glimpse mule deer that reside in this eastern region of the Reserve.
ADOPT-A-CLASS FIELD TRIPS:
Summer Evening Walks
As the sun begins to descend over the ocean, some animals that live in San Elijo Lagoon emerge from daytime slumber. Explore the estuary as day becomes dusk with San Elijo Lagoon Conservancy docents. Enjoy the fragrance of sage-scrub on a warm evening. Search for mule deer emerging from naps and scan for night herons fishing for breakfast. Santa Carina trail has moderate inclines in some areas. It is helpful to have water and to dress comfortably.
Summer Evening Walks are free, and are made possible through membership support of San Elijo Lagoon Conservancy. Evening Walks occur 3rd Wednesdays from 5:30-7 pm, except September from 5-6:30 pm.
Summer Wildlife Walks
Focus your binoculars and cameras for incredible opportunities to see osprey, cormorants on the power poles at the inlet, waterfowl, and the rare Clapper Rail that nest in this area. This is San Elijo Lagoon's south side featuring riparian woodlands and coastal sage scrub, with intimate views of the salt marsh, all hosting a wide variety of birds and plants.
Fall Wildlife Walks
Enjoy a stroll through four distinct plant communities: from the shade of riparian woodlands, farther down to the marsh, along hillside chaparral and coastal sage scrub. Listen for the tapping of woodpeckers, or watch for mule deer grazing vegetation along creek banks.
Wildlife Walks are free, and are made possible through membership support of San Elijo Lagoon Conservancy. Wildlife Walks occur 2nd Saturdays from 9-11 am, rotating to a different trailhead every three months starting with Santa Inez, followed by Santa Carina, Rios Avenue, and La Orilla.
Family Discovery Days


Material Management & Potholes
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What do Material Management and Potholes have in common?
 First, let's think about potholes. Potholes are known for destroying our roads and most importantly, the cars we drive. Until a discovery by MacRebur, a company in Scotland, potholes were an inevitable destructive part of our life. MacRebur, theorized that roadways would have less likelihood of experiencing potholes after being filled with a new material, a mixture of asphalt and plastic material waste. This material would allow for more flexibility due to the plastic material properties in the mixture.
The impact of this new discovery on waste would be astonishing. Based on the study completed1 kilometer of road composed of this plastic waste and asphalt could be translated to 684,000 plastic bottles or 1.8 million plastic bags that would be diverted from landfills and oceans!
 So, if you are still asking yourself, what do Material Management and Potholes have in common It's product innovation. PLM enables engineers to spend their time finding endless innovations with material management(even if the problem is a pothole)
 So, let the software manage the background noise, keeping track of details, data and mindless operations that keep human minds spinning. Allow your engineers to utilize their minds to find the best innovations and bring them to life.
 PLM can give your company to grow through innovation, speed up time to market, control cost, and reduce the risk of unknown surprises.
Think the future, think PLM, think PROLIM.
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Moortec recasts in-chip thermal sensor for TSMC N5 process
The result is a considerable space saving and the opportunity, deploy many more probes and do fine-grained thermal feedback, which is increasingly being used in application software as part of load-balancing and functionality.
Moortec has been supplying process, voltage and thermal (PVT) sensor IP for semiconductor manufacturing processes since the company's formation in 2005. Early use of this technology was to perform the simple shut down to protect a system or chip from overheating. This has moved on to providing thermal information as an indicator of processing activity for use in dynamic voltage and [clock] frequency scaling (DVFS).
The company has now come up with a distributed thermal sensor (DTS) that allows up to 16 sensor probes to be distributed across an area of die and communicate back with a hub and on to a PVT controller. As with previous iterations of the thermal sensor IP multiple such sensor nodes can be included on a die.
But in the DTS version it can run off core voltage supply rather than the I/O supply Vdd. Each sample point is 2 percent the size of the previous generation of thermal sensor and even with 16 sample points and the control hub there is a 7x area saving, Moortec said.
The DTS generation of thermal IP is targeting TSMC's 6nm, 5nm and lower manufacturing process nodes. The company said it may opt to also go back up to the popular 7nm node. The accuracy of the DTS probe is similar to the previous generation at +/-5degreeC uncalibrated and +/-1degreeC calibrated.
But the ability to sprinkle multiple probe points across the die with little area cost can make for a more fine-grained and accurate understanding of thermal hot spots and a better response to them.
"We've seen a clear need for tighter thermal control of semiconductor devices," said Stephen Crosher, CEO of Moortec, in a statement. "Multicore architectures applied to AI, automotive, consumer and many other applications, benefiting from highly distributed sensing schemes to minimize system-level power consumption, optimize data throughput, and improve product lifetimes."
Related links and articles:


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Clean Election generally refers to elections that are free of electoral fraud or deception. More specifically, clean election describes a system of taxpayer financing of political campaigns. Candidates who qualify by collecting a prescribed number of signatures and $5 contributions from registered voters in their electoral district can agree to not raise or spend any private money during the primary and general elections. Instead, a set amount of funding for the candidate's campaign is provided from the state budget. If the candidate is outspent by an opponent running a privately funded campaign, the state will provide more funding to the "clean" candidate in order to match the amount spent by the opponent, up to some multiple of the original funding.
Clean elections have been implemented in Maine and Arizona on a statewide level, as well as in Portland, Oregon on the municipal level, and elsewhere. Proponents of clean elections, including those involved in Clean Elections Rhode Island, believe that Clean Elections result in increased voter turnout, political transparency, and diversity of candidates, including fuller representation of women and minorities.


text: Every nation rely on latest engineering technologies to foster in today's technological era. Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) is one of the latest emerging technologies being the center of interest of today's researchers. All the researchers work hard to produce quick deliverables through Research and Development (RandD) and by applying different learning pedagogues. Currently, the learning pedagogues in Engineering RandD are Project Based Learning and Problem Based Learning (PBL). Based on these pedagogues, this paper propose and implements a hybrid pedagogy called Project Oriented PBL (PO-PBL) which is time effective and result oriented learning pedagogy. It has resulted in providing impetus to RandD in WSNs. Further the proposed pedagogy is divided into two paradigms namely PO-PBL Macro Model and PO-PBL Micro Model. We observed that PO-PBL Macro Model results in optimal number of deliverables in time restricted manner over large scale. Moreover, we have also implemented PO-PBL Micro Model, compared it with PO-PBL Macro Model and propose PO-PBL Micro Model as basis for designing self-learning algorithm for WSNs devices.


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Together with collaborators from Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology LUT, Zhao Fu et al. conducted a research to investigate the impact of load and rubbing material on the reliability and failure mechanism of inkjet-printed silver nanoparticle conductor on the flexible paperboard materials by using wear tests. The conductor's reliability was characterized by resistance measurement, the failures and tested counter materials were analyzed using an optical microscope, profilometer, Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), and Energy Dispersive Spectrometer (EDS).
The main findings / highlights are:
1) The counter material has a dominant impact on the counter's reliability and failure mechanism compared with load.
2) The conductors were exceptionally reliable but subject to adhesive wear when tested by paperboards. They were also highly reliable when tested by brushed steel sheet although the silver became severely detached, and the conductivity was lost suddenly when a major scratch was caused by two-body and three-body abrasive wear mechanisms.
3) Sandpaper rubbing caused the most severe silver detachment and quick loss of conductivity, as a large amount of small-size (5 – 15 µm) silicon carbide (SiC) particles with sharp edges and corners caused a dense cutting effect via two-body abrasive wear (by cutting) mechanism.
4) The failures in all cases were accelerated by the edge effect.
5) This study proves that inkjet-printed electronics on the investigated paperboard is exceptionally durable when rubbed by paperboards and steel sheets, and thus provides a reliable solution to intelligent packaging.


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Euan Leckie's simple idea to highlight how human and environmental factors threaten wildlife through challenging yet beautiful jewellery – and the stories that concept could tell – coupled with a desire to create solutions for a number of land, canopy and marine-based wildlife and environmental problems were the seeds that inspired the creation of the Salvari Brand.
HOW IT STARTED
A simple idea to highlight how human and environmental factors threaten wildlife through challenging yet beautiful jewellery, and the stories that concept could tell, was the seed that inspired the creation of the Salvari Brand.
Euan Leckie then forged his design skills with his sister Serena's background in jewellery and Salvari was founded.
Each unique Salvari piece tells a story about global environmental issues that affect the world we live in. By wearing Salvari jewellery you'll look amazing, help promote a message of change and fund vital global projects that make a difference.
Salvari proudly Supports both land and sea-based conservation organisations who share the Salvari ethos of making the world a better, kinder and safer place for all living things.
We are proud to be associated with these amazing organisations and thank them for the important works they do all over this wonderful world. Together fighting for a legacy we can all be a proud part of.
BEHIND THE NAME
Salvari means to be saved or life to be preserved. It refers to the destiny of man and all things, resulting in salvation and a changing of the human heart. As a name for our brand, Salvari was the only choice. It reminds of our collective responsibility to everything around us – all life to be preserved – and how together a difference can be made. From the power of many can come the beauty of change.


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Backups / Restore page consists of screenshots from the Backups/Restore Screen in Backup Bank WordPress Plugin.
This page gives an idea about the how to create and manage the following backups :
- Existing Backups : Existing Backups provides ability to manage the Existing Backup.
- Start Backup : Start taking Backup with different Backup Options & Compression Types.
- Schedule Backup : Schedule Backup can schedule backups to either run at a different time or to run repeatedly.
You can perform extra following actions in Existing Backups :
- Apply Button
- Start Backup
- Schedule Backup
- Purge Backups


text: Many blind people around the world have had challenges reading books. To help them solve their problem and not depend on others, a writing method was developed by the inventor Louis Braille known as the Braille writing method. But with the development of technologies and computers and the need for an easier and less expensive way to help the blind solve the problem of reading any manuscript, even handwritten, and converting it into audio output. Therefore, in this paper we propose to design and implement a smart gara system to assist the visually impaired using a raspberry pi connected to a webcam interfaced that takes a picture of the text. With the use of OCR technology to convert an image to text through optical character recognition and extract text information from the image and convert it into speech. Then the sound is output through the speakers and amplifier. Whereas, the raspberry pi contains OCR (Optical Character Recognition) and a text to speech conversion unit (TTS engine), where the first performs optical character recognition and extracts text from the image, while the second converts it into speech and outputs it with headphones.


text: All-trans-retinal (AtRal) can accumulate in the retina as a result of excessive exposure to light. The purpose of this study was to compare cytotoxicity of AtRal and photodegraded AtRal (dAtRal) on cultured human retinal pigment epithelial cells in dark and upon exposure to visible light. AtRal was degraded by exposure to visible light. Cytotoxicity was monitored by imaging of cell morphology, propidium iodide staining of cells with permeable plasma membrane and measurements of reductive activity of cells. Generation of singlet oxygen photosensitized by AtRal and dAtRal was monitored by time-resolved measurements of characteristic singlet oxygen phosphorescence. Photodegradation of AtRal resulted in a decrease in absorption of visible light and accumulation of the degradation products with absorption maximum at ∼330 nm. Toxicity of dAtRal was concentration-dependent and was greater during irradiation with visible light than in dark. DAtRal was more cytotoxic than AtRal both in dark and during exposure to visible light. Photochemical properties of dAtRal indicate that it may be responsible for the maximum in the action spectra of retinal photodamage recorded in animals. In conclusion, photodegradation products of AtRal may impose a significant threat to the retina and therefore their roles in retinal pathology need to be explored.


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More and more research is coming out in recent years tending to show that the subset of humanity who are violent repeat offenders may have genetic tendencies. It has long been known that the vast majority of violent crime is committed by this subset of repeat offenders.
a recent article about this research has found that there may be a genetic link to violent crime.
Are thugs BORN, not made? Genes associated with violent behaviour identified
- Experts at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden say the majority of violent crime is committed by a small group of anti-social, repeat offenders
- They have identified two genes that may be associated with extremely violent behaviour, leading them to suggest that violent criminals are born
- One of the genes is a variant of cadherin 13 (CDH13) – involved in neural connectivity – and has been linked to impulse control in violent offenders


7 Steps to Repairing Rotting Trim
Shannon Lee
Rotted trim can happen to any home, no matter the age. All it takes is the proper balance of moisture and warmth trapped against wood, and even the sturdiest lumber can fall victim to the elements. Rot damage to trim should be repaired promptly, before the situation gets even worse.
Repairing Rot Damage the Easy Way
These seven easy step-by-step instructions can help you stop the water damage in its tracks:
 1. Find the rot. Inspect your house with a simple screwdriver in hand. Look at windowsills, joints, and end grain. Push your screwdriver against the wood--if it sinks in, you've got rot that needs to be removed. Cracked or blistering paint, discoloration, and the presence of algae are all other telltale signs of water damage.
 2. Pull it out. Using a sharp-edged tool, dig out the area that has rotted. Cut away a section of the old wood to prepare for the replacement. If you are using a Dutchman repair, make sure the cuts are smooth and straight, to allow for very tight joints.
 3. Prepare the piece. Choose a piece of wood that fits perfectly into the area you just removed. A very tight fit is important to prevent further water damage in the joint. Make sure the piece fits well by testing it several times.
 4. Prepare the glue. Because polyurethane glue reacts with water to form a tighter seal, dampen the clean surfaces before applying the glue. Always follow the directions on the label.
 5. Set the patch. Drill pilot holes into the piece of replacement wood, then attach it to the area with long screws that you have driven to just below the surface of the wood. Be careful not to disturb the glue as you do this! It can be very difficult to remove from tools or your skin.
 6. Sand down the glue. As the glue cures, it foams up, filling in all the cracks and joints. But it can also seep out around the repaired area. When it does, use sandpaper to sand it down level with the wood. For significant areas of glue foaming, use a chisel or block plane to remove the excess.
 7. Finish up. Cover the screw heads with putty for a uniform finish, and then repaint the wood to match the surrounding area. And that's it! If you take your time with the job, no one will ever notice the rot damage repair and you have the peace of mind of stopping water damage in its tracks.
About the Author
Search Improvement Project


text: Feature selection is crucial to develop a brain computer interface (BCI) system which has high classification accuracy and less computational complexity in especially a large feature space. Feature selection (FS) problem has been solved by many various methods. Among these methods, especially evolutionary computation (EC) techniques have gained a lot of attention in recent years. However, there are very few studies in the literature that consider FS problem as a multi-objective problem to find the optimal trade-off between classification ac-curacy and the number of selected features. Therefore, in this paper, a non-dominated sorting multi-objective symbiotic organism search (NSMOSOS) algorithm is proposed to generate the optimal feature subset in BCI. The efficiency and robustness of the proposed algorithm as a feature selection method is investigated in two datasets based on motor imagery. The highest classification accuracies of NSMOSOS for dataset 1 and dataset 2 are obtained 97.86% with 11 features and 96.57% with average 19 features, respectively. The obtained results demonstrate that the proposed method achieves satisfying results with regard to both the classification accuracy improvement and feature reduction rates for both datasets. The superiority of the proposed method is verified compared with the existing methods for both datasets. Besides, three different versions of symbiotic search or-ganism (SOS) algorithm are improved, and pros and cons of these algorithms are evaluated compared with each other. In conclusion, the paper indicates that the proposed NSMOSOS algorithm is an efficient and practicable technique for FS problem and could be helpful in developing the BCI applications.


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Automatic number plate recognition
Automatic number plate recognition (ANPR; see also other names below) is a mass surveillance method that uses optical character recognition on images to read vehicle registration plates. They can use existing closed-circuit television or road-rule enforcement cameras, or ones specifically designed for the task. They are used by various police forces and as a method of electronic toll collection on pay-per-use roads and cataloging the movements of traffic or individuals.
ANPR can be used to store the images captured by the cameras as well as the text from the license plate, with some configurable to store a photograph of the driver. Systems commonly use infrared lighting to allow the camera to take the picture at any time of the day. ANPR technology tends to be region-specific, owing to plate variation from place to place.
Concerns about these systems have centered on privacy fears of government tracking citizens' movements, misidentification, high error rates, and increased government spending.
Other names
ANPR is sometimes known by various other terms:
- Automatic license-plate recognition (ALPR)
- Automatic vehicle identification (AVI)
- Car plate recognition (CPR)
- License-plate recognition (LPR)
- Lecture Automatique de Plaques d'Immatriculation (LAPI)
Development history
ANPR was invented in 1976 at the Police Scientific Development Branch in the UK. Prototype systems were working by 1979, and contracts were let to produce industrial systems, first at EMI Electronics, and then at Computer Recognition Systems (CRS) in Wokingham, UK. Early trial systems were deployed on the A1 road and at the Dartford Tunnel. The first arrest through detection of a stolen car was made in 1981.
The software aspect of the system runs on standard home computer hardware and can be linked to other applications or databases. It first uses a series of image manipulation techniques to detect, normalize and enhance the image of the number plate, and then optical character recognition (OCR) to extract the alphanumerics of the license plate. ANPR systems are generally deployed in one of two basic approaches: one allows for the entire process to be performed at the lane location in real-time, and the other transmits all the images from many lanes to a remote computer location and performs the OCR process there at some later point in time. When done at the lane site, the information captured of the plate alphanumeric, date-time, lane identification, and any other information required is completed in approximately 250 milliseconds. This information can easily be transmitted to a remote computer for further processing if necessary, or stored at the lane for later retrieval. In the other arrangement, there are typically large numbers of PCs used in a server farm to handle high workloads, such as those found in the London congestion charge project. Often in such systems, there is a requirement to forward images to the remote server, and this can require larger bandwidth transmission media.
ANPR uses optical character recognition (OCR) on images taken by cameras. When Dutch vehicle registration plates switched to a different style in 2002, one of the changes made was to the font, introducing small gaps in some letters (such as P and R) to make them more distinct and therefore more legible to such systems. Some license plate arrangements use variations in font sizes and positioning—ANPR systems must be able to cope with such differences in order to be truly effective. More complicated systems can cope with international variants, though many programs are individually tailored to each country.
The cameras used can include existing road-rule enforcement or closed-circuit television cameras, as well as mobile units, which are usually attached to vehicles. Some systems use infrared cameras to take a clearer image of the plates.
ANPR in mobile systems
Recent advances in technology have taken automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) systems from fixed applications to mobile ones. Scaled-down components at more cost-effective price points have led to a record number of deployments by law enforcement agencies around the world. Smaller cameras with the ability to read license plates at high speeds, along with smaller, more durable processors that fit in the trunks of police vehicles, allow law enforcement officers to patrol daily with the benefit of license plate reading in real time, when they can interdict immediately.
Despite their effectiveness, there are noteworthy challenges related with mobile ANPRs. One of the biggest is that the processor and the cameras must work fast enough to accommodate relative speeds of more than 100 mph (160 km/h), a likely scenario in the case of oncoming traffic. This equipment must also be very efficient since the power source is the vehicle battery, and equipment must be small to minimize the space it requires.
Relative speed is only one issue that affects the camera's ability to actually read a license plate. Algorithms must be able to compensate for all the variables that can affect the ANPR's ability to produce an accurate read, such as time of day, weather and angles between the cameras and the license plates. A system's illumination wavelengths can also have a direct impact on the resolution and accuracy of a read in these conditions.
Installing ANPR cameras on law enforcement vehicles requires careful consideration of the juxtaposition of the cameras to the license plates they are to read. Using the right number of cameras and positioning them accurately for optimal results can prove challenging, given the various missions and environments at hand. Highway patrol requires forward-looking cameras that span multiple lanes and are able to read license plates at very high speeds. City patrol needs shorter range, lower focal length cameras for capturing plates on parked cars. Parking lots with perpendicularly parked cars often require a specialized camera with a very short focal length. Most technically advanced systems are flexible and can be configured with a number of cameras ranging from one to four which can easily be repositioned as needed. States with rear-only license plates have an additional challenge since a forward-looking camera is ineffective with incoming traffic. In this case one camera may be turned backwards.
There are six primary algorithms that the software requires for identifying a license plate:
- Plate localization – responsible for finding and isolating the plate on the picture.
- Plate orientation and sizing – compensates for the skew of the plate and adjusts the dimensions to the required size.
- Normalization – adjusts the brightness and contrast of the image.
- Character segmentation – finds the individual characters on the plates.
- Optical character recognition.
- Syntactical/Geometrical analysis – check characters and positions against country-specific rules.
The complexity of each of these subsections of the program determines the accuracy of the system. During the third phase (normalization), some systems use edge detection techniques to increase the picture difference between the letters and the plate backing. A median filter may also be used to reduce the visual noise on the image.
There are a number of possible difficulties that the software must be able to cope with. These include:
- Poor image resolution, usually because the plate is too far away but sometimes resulting from the use of a low-quality camera.
- Blurry images, particularly motion blur.
- Poor lighting and low contrast due to overexposure, reflection or shadows.
- An object obscuring (part of) the plate, quite often a tow bar, or dirt on the plate.
- A different font, popular for vanity plates (some countries do not allow such plates, eliminating the problem).
- Circumvention techniques.
- Lack of coordination between countries or states. Two cars from different countries or states can have the same number but different design of the plate.
While some of these problems can be corrected within the software, it is primarily left to the hardware side of the system to work out solutions to these difficulties. Increasing the height of the camera may avoid problems with objects (such as other vehicles) obscuring the plate but introduces and increases other problems, such as the adjusting for the increased skew of the plate.
On some cars, tow bars may obscure one or two characters of the license plate. Bikes on bike racks can also obscure the number plate, though in some countries and jurisdictions, such as Victoria, Australia, "bike plates" are supposed to be fitted. Some small-scale systems allow for some errors in the license plate. When used for giving specific vehicles access to a barricaded area, the decision may be made to have an acceptable error rate of one character. This is because the likelihood of an unauthorized car having such a similar license plate is seen as quite small. However, this level of inaccuracy would not be acceptable in most applications of an ANPR system.
Imaging hardware
At the front end of any ANPR system is the imaging hardware which captures the image of the license plates. The initial image capture forms a critically important part of the ANPR system which, in accordance to the Garbage In, Garbage Out principle of computing, will often determine the overall performance.
License plate capture is typically performed by specialized cameras designed specifically for the task. Factors which pose difficulty for license plate imaging cameras include speed of the vehicles being recorded, varying ambient lighting conditions, headlight glare and harsh environmental conditions. Most dedicated license plate capture cameras will incorporate infrared illumination in order to solve the problems of lighting and plate reflectivity.
Many countries now use license plates that are retroreflective. This returns the light back to the source and thus improves the contrast of the image. In some countries, the characters on the plate are not reflective, giving a high level of contrast with the reflective background in any lighting conditions. A camera that makes use of active infrared imaging (with a normal colour filter over the lens and an infrared illuminator next to it) benefits greatly from this as the infrared waves are reflected back from the plate. This is only possible on dedicated ANPR cameras, however, and so cameras used for other purposes must rely more heavily on the software capabilities. Further, when a full-colour image is required as well as use of the ANPR-re