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I have a number of old 1000-piece jigsaw puzzles I'd like to sell. I'd like to make sure they are complete first. Is there a faster way to determine whether there are exactly 1000 jigsaw pieces than physically picking up and counting every single one of them?
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Count by 5s. That's about the best you can do. Separate them into groups of the same size and count one group, and count how many groups you have. – Craig Oct 13 '11 at 13:37
I'd go by 10s instead. Form a cube of pieces. Unless they're bent you can easily check that the piles are the same height, so you don't need to worry about losing count. – Peter Taylor Oct 13 '11 at 14:03
You only have to count the pieces of the first puzzle. For the others a one-one match would do. – Christian Blatter Oct 13 '11 at 14:52
The old $1000$-piece jigsaw puzzles in my home cannot be tested for completeness by mere counting. Alas, my children have on occasion mixed up pieces from different puzzles, and having $1000$ pieces in a box does not guarantee that the puzzle is complete. – Dilip Sarwate Oct 13 '11 at 16:39
6 Answers 6
up vote 2 down vote accepted
I don't know of one. To know the number you should have (it may not be exactly 1000), you can assemble the border. Many puzzles are cut with a rectangular grid and you can multiply the number of rows by the number of columns. Unfortunately, I have also seen a number where the grid is perturbed in a small region of the center and the count is changed by 1 or 2.
With an accurate scale, if you have more than one puzzle in the same series, you could weigh the pieces. The thickness and outer dimensions will be nominally the same. Whether they are controlled within 0.1%, however, may be questionable.
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1000-piece jigsaws don't even have exactly 1000 pieces? Ugh. Well I'm glad I found this out before I started counting. That may take figuring out if a puzzle is complete without actually assembling it from daunting to impossible. D: – Emaille Oct 13 '11 at 14:03
_USER_: No, I multiplied up some of the 500 piece ones that were cut rectangular years ago. It was always a little higher than 500. – Ross Millikan Oct 13 '11 at 14:16
If puzzles are cut on a rectangular grid, then, assuming that the ratio of the puzzle dimensions is $4:3$, one might expect a "$1000$-piece puzzle" to have $28$ rows, $36$ columns, and $36\times 28 = 1008$ pieces. – Dilip Sarwate Oct 13 '11 at 16:54
Note: While the thread may have long served it's purpose, I am proposing the following for archival purpose.
You can take a photo after scattering them on a white background and use any software that uses thermal imaging to count, or use infrared beam by having them slide in a narrow strip at an angle that will interfere with the light registering a 'tick'.
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I once treid once piece on a digital scale, then weighing the lot, however I don't deem this to be a very accurate way of doing it.
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Why not take 50 random pieces, measure the weight of them, multiply by 20, and if the weight is inside interval [weight_of_50*20-smallest_piece,weight_of_50*20+smallest_piece] you're good. Is that a reasonable approximation? Of course, you need to have an accurate scale for this. – enedene Oct 13 '11 at 14:00
The only way you can guarantee the jigsaw is complete is to physically do the jigsaw.
Some jigsaws, particularly, Waddingtons & Tower Press jigsaws, have pieces with five connectors so even if you do the border and count the rest, you're not certain it's complete.
For example; some 500 pieced ones may have 502 pieces even the border is 20 x 26 pieces (520), some 750s have 750 pieces even though the border is 24 x 32 (768).
You could also have the other extreme where some pieces are in two bits some 1000 pieced. Some Waddingtons/Tower press ones have this setup with the border 38 x 26 (988).
Any jigsaws with whimsies will also be tricky in relation to 'just doing the border' pieces.
As I've said, earlier, best do the jigsaw, to be certain.
Good luck. :)
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The answer is in the title of this website - Stack. Measure the thickness of one piece, then stack them up and measure the height, place them in a tube, preferably clear, of small enough diameter so the pieces won't fall down the side. A graduated cylinder would be perfect.
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Try to stack them in a 10x10x10 cube
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Your Answer


text:
The Sixteenth Century
Without doubt the finest examples of Renaissance sculptures in the Museo del Prado are the sizeable group of full-length portraits, busts and reliefs of Carlos V and his family: the Empress Isabel, their son Felipe II and Carlos's sisters, María of Hungary and Leonor of Austria. These bronzes and marbles portraits were created by the Italian sculptor Leone Leoni and his son Pompei Leoni. The group include a true masterpiece, the legendary bronze of Carlos V and the Fury.
The collection also includes other exceptionally beautiful works by various Spanish sculptors, such as the Venus by Bartolomeo Ammanati and the alabaster relief of the Allegory of Francisco I of Medici by Giambologna.
El Greco's sculptures of Epimetheus and Pandora are particularly significant due to the importance of the artist and the fact that they are one of the very few known examples of sculpted nudes of a mythological type produced in Spain during the time of the Council of Trent.

source: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb-edu


text:
A tuber vegetable originating from Central America that is typically referred to as either a Sweet Potato or yam in the U.S. It is common for food stores to display and people to refer to the Sweet Potato as a yam, when it is actually a Sweet Potato.
Grilling is a cooking method that uses a dry heat that quickly cooks the surface and then slowly moves to the middle of the meat. When grilled properly, the meat will have a crisp flavorful outside coating with a moist center. Grilling infuses the pork with a smoky flavor from the meat juices that drip during the grilling process.
Potato Preparation | Grilling Potatoes | Grilling Tips
Preparing Potatoes for Grilling
Skins On | Skins Off
The skin of a potato is edible, so the potato can be prepared with the skins on or with the skins off.
Pork cooking times and temperatures are extremely important when cooking pork. The optimum flavor and tenderness of various cuts of pork can be consistently achieved when care is taken to follow the recommended pork cooking time and temperature guidelines.
Tools for Preparation | Potato Preparation | Potato Cooking | Tips
The most popular tuber vegetable in the world. It is available in hundreds of varieties, which vary in size, shape, taste, color, and starch content.
A small potato blend made from a mixture of ingredients that are formed into various shapes such as stars, baskets, crowns, roses, leaves, or uniquely shaped patties to be served as a garnish to accompany meats and poultry.


Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010)
Defy the Future
At the height of the Persian Empire's power and influence, the King's adopted son Prince Dastan leads an attack on the sacred city of Alamut under orders from the Crown Prince, Tus, after it is revealed the city may be the source of arms for their enemies. The battle is quickly won and Dastan takes possession of an interesting dagger, one that Alamut's Princess Tamina is keen to recover. Dastan is soon on the run however when his gift to the King poisons him, putting Nizam on the throne. Tamina tells him the importance of the dagger - it can transport the bearer back in time. With his new found weapon, Dastan sets out to change past events and learn the identity of the man who betrayed them and killed his adopted father. - garykmcd
From a street urchin in the bustling streets of ancient Persia, the young orphan, Dastan, finds himself adopted by the righteous King Sharaman for the bravery and his regal heart. Nearly two decades later, an unfounded rumour of arms dealing in the neighbouring sacred city of Alamut will put the young Prince in charge of a mighty siege, as the beautiful Princess Tamina--holder of the mystical device, the Dagger of Time--is taken hostage. However, the unforeseen calamity of King Sharaman's untimely death will have Dastan and Tamina on the run, as the real murderer stays out of sight. Can Prince Dastan prove his innocence and harness the dagger's overwhelming power? - Nick Riganas


text:
Thick mats of low-growing foliage and small yellow flowers mark the beginning of a puncturevine (Tribulus terrestris) infestation. This annual weed prospers in dry, sandy soils where other plants struggle during warm weather. Eradicating puncturevine is a simple but time-intensive process due to its quick reproduction cycle and prolific production of seeds. Puncturevine's spiked seeds persist in the soil for up to five years, making removal an annual project if this weed is allowed to release its seeds.
Put on thick soled boots and heavy gloves to protect your feet and hands before you start working. Cut the main stems of the puncture vine plant near its center with your hoe to make them easier to handle. Remove each stem from the plant and put it in a trash bag. Check the stem for spiny seeds before you grab it to prevent painful puncture wounds.
Use the hoe to loosen the soil around the center of the plant. Grasp the remaining part of the plant and pull it straight up using steady pressure. Puncturevine develops a deep taproot that allows it to withstand dry weather. If the taproot breaks while you are pulling out the center of the plant, dig it out using your hoe.
Collect any stray pieces of plant left over and dispose of them in the trash. Spread an old piece of thick carpeting over the area the plant covered if the puncturevine has already developed seeds. Walk over the carpeting and press it into the ground to collect any seeds the plant dropped.
Remove the seeds from the carpet and deposit them in the trash bag with the rest of the plant. Reposition the piece of carpet and repeat this process at each spot where you removed a puncturevine plant.
Check the areas around where you removed each plant for stray seeds and dispose of them. Puncturevine seeds readily attach to clothing and fur. Check your pants and your outdoor pets for seeds that could spread puncturevine through your yard.
Things You Will Need
- Work boots
- Thick gloves
- Garbage bag
- Old carpet
- Puncturevine seedlings germinate throughout the entire growing season. New plants often emerge after the seeds are irrigated by a rainstorm and can produce viable seed within five weeks of emerging from the ground. Removing these plants before they produce seeds is the best long-term strategy for controlling puncturevine infestations.
- Puncturevine seeds have sharp woody spines that are strong enough to puncture cloth, leather or even a bicycle tire. Wear thick-soled boots and gloves while working around these plants after they begin producing seeds to reduce the risk of injury to your hands and feet.
- Jupiterimages/liquidlibrary/Getty Images

source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


Buff-necked Ibis walking on grass
Buff-necked ibis
Buff-necked ibises are a fairly common South American species. As with many ibis species, their call is loud and piercing, and used in raucous duet during courtship.
Scientific name: Theristicus caudatus
Rank: Species
Common names:
White-throated ibis
Watch video clips from past programmes (1 clip)
Map showing the distribution of the Buff-necked ibis taxa
Species range provided by WWF's Wildfinder.
The Buff-necked ibis can be found in a number of locations including: South America. Find out more about these places and what else lives there.
The following habitats are found across the Buff-necked ibis distribution range. Find out more about these environments, what it takes to live there and what else inhabits them.
Additional data source: Animal Diversity Web
Conservation Status
Least Concern
 1. EX - Extinct
 2. EW
 3. CR - Threatened
 4. EN - Threatened
 5. VU - Threatened
 6. NT
 7. LC - Least concern
Year assessed: 2009
Classified by: IUCN 3.1
 1. Life
 2. Animals
 3. Vertebrates
 4. Birds
 5. Storks and long-legged wading birds
 6. Threskiornithidae
 7. Theristicus
 8. Buff-necked ibis


Print Migrator
From Galen Healthcare Solutions - Allscripts TouchWorks EHR Wiki
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This page describes how to use the Microsoft Print Migrator to move printer definitions from one server to another. This is especially useful if you want to update the test server with the printers defined on the production print server or if you are creating a new Print Server and want to define all of the printers quickly. This utility will copy the definitions and drivers to the new server.
Download the utility
The first step is to download the utiliy. You can find this on the Microsoft website by searching for Print Migrator or using the following URL:
Print Migrator 3.1
Download the utility and save it to a directory that you'll remember. This toll needs to be on each server you need to backup or restore printer definitions to.
Backing up the Printer Definitions
 1. After downloading the application, find the printmig.exe file you saved and double-click it. This will open the application and show the following summary:
 1. Select the "Actions" drop down and choose "Backup".
 2. Select the path that you'd like the CAB file saved to and name it appropriately. I typically recommend a clear name with a date of the backup.
 3. Once you've selected the location, the program will take a few minutes to create the backup file. Once it has finished, it'll say "Backup Completed". You are done with the backup.
 1. Copy the CAB file you created to the server that you'd like to restore the definitions to.
Restoring the Printer Definitions
 1. Connect to the Server that you'd like to restore the printer definitions to.
 2. Ensure that the CAB file created previously and the PrintMig.exe file exists on this server.
 3. Double-click the PrintMig.exe file.
 1. Select the "Actions" drop down and choose "Restore".
 2. This will ask you to select the CAB file you'd like to restore. Find the CAB file created previously and select "Open"
 3. The process will begin restoring the drivers and printer definitions.
 4. If you recieve the following error, you must Disable Kernal Mode Driver Blocking.
 1. If you receive this error, press OK to terminate the restore.
 2. Once the Restore process teminates completely, review the following article to adjust the setting:
Installing Kernel Mode Printer Drivers
 1. Once the setting is correct, rerun the restore following the steps above.
 2. When the process completes the application will say "Restore Complete".
 3. At this point, all of the printers should appear in the Windows Printer and Faxes page. They will need to be enabled in TouchWorks if they need to be used there, but it should reflect the full list of printers on the production server.


text:
Do pennies make sense?
That might seem like a strange question, but for some countries, including Canada and Australia, the answer is no.
Those are just two of the countries that have stopped making one-cent coins, and last month, President Barack Obama indicated that it might be time for the United States to stop making them, too.
Here's the problem. Pennies cost more to make than they're worth — a lot more. In 2012, it cost the government 2 cents to make each penny. As time goes by, that cost is likely to go up even more as the prices of the metals that are used in the coins go up, economists say. Last year, the government spent $58 million minting, or making, the coins.
So how would you pay for that $9.99 toy if there were no pennies?
Well, the toy would probably cost either $9.95 or $10 in a penniless world. At stores on U.S. Army and Air Force bases, all cash purchases are rounded to the nearest nickel.
Obama said last month that he wondered whether it still makes sense to make the penny. "Anytime we're spending money on something people don't actually use, that's an example of things we should probably change," he said.
But the penny has its fans. There's even a group, cleverly named Americans for Common Cents, that says there's nothing to be saved by ending the penny.
The group says that because prices would most likely be rounded up, people would be forced to pay more. That could be hard on the poor. It also says that without pennies, the government would need to turn out more nickels. And nickels cost 10 cents to make. The good news: Making a dime costs only 5 cents.


text:
Streetscape and Townscape of Metropolitan New York City, _PHONE_
Between 1850 and 1950, the population of New York City grew from just under 700,000 to more than seven million. This collection of 1,300 photographs documents the manifold changes that characterized New York City's urban environment in this 100 year period. The photographs are gathered from several collections: 1896 street views by Staten Island photographer Alice Austen, 1911 panoramas of Fifth Avenue, Washington Irving's home in the 1860s, 31 photo-lithographics of mid-1800s Hudson River mansions, the Sperr collection of 335 photographs taken between 1931 and 1942, and a general collection of photographs divided by city borough. Highlights include Austen's images of New York City laborers (organ grinders, bootblacks, police men, messenger boys) and of her home life among the State Island elite—both rare subjects for this period, and the Sperr collection's documentation of the construction of the Belt Parkway. Part of the New York Public Library's renowned digital library collection, this website is essential for those interested in U.S. urban history, architecture, the history of New York City, and the built environment.


text:
Sexual Ambivalence: Androgyny and Hermaphroditism in Graeco-Roman Antiquity by Luc Brisson, translated by Janet Lloyd, a 2002 paperback from University of California Press, is part of the collection at the Reading Room.
"This fascinating book collects and translates most of the extant Graeco-Roman writing on human beings, divinities, animals, and other creatures who were both female and male. Luc Brisson provides a commentary that situates this rich source material within its historical and intellectual contexts. These selections—from mythological, philosophical, historical, and anecdotal sources—describe cases of either simultaneous dual sexuality, as in androgyny and hermaphroditism, or successive dual sexuality, as in the case of Tiresias (the blind Theban prophet), which are found through the whole span of Graeco-Roman antiquity. Sexual Ambivalence is an invaluable sourcebook that gathers this suggestive, yet hard to find, material in one convenient place.
In addition to including such familiar sources as the myth of Salmacis and Hermaphroditus as told in Ovid's Metamorphoses and Aristophanes's myth of the origin of the sexes and sexuality in Plato's Symposium, Brisson also discusses cosmogonic mythology in Hesiodic poetry, the Orphic Rhapsodies, Gnosticism, the Hermetic Corpus, and the so-called Chaldean Oracles. He presents the manifold variants of the myth of Tiresias, as well as many other sources.
These ancient stories deepen our awareness of how strongly the polarity of sexuality colors our entire perception of the world and are profoundly relevant to our thinking today." — back cover


Break axis in Makie
Hi, I am pretty new to Makie, but I am loving the package so far! Is it possible to have a broken y-axis in Makie? E.g. I want to plot:
xs1 = randn(10)
ys1 = randn(10)
xs2 = randn(10).+ 3
ys2 = randn(10).+ 10
fig = Figure()
ax = fig[1,1] = Axis(fig)
scatter!(ax, xs1, ys1)
scatter!(ax, xs2, ys2)
without resorting to a log scale and have the clusters on the same height. Any help would be much appreciated!
So I asked about this on the Makie Slack channel and apparently this is not implemented yet. However, Julius Krumbiegel suggested I try the following to manually implement what I want:
possible manually, yes, but there's no premade function for it. you would currently have to make two axes, plot the same thing in them, set limits how you want, hide the adjacent spines so it looks like one axis, then the only "tricky" thing is adding diagonal lines at the spine ends. this is best made dependent on the axis position, so that it stays correct
you can grab the ends of the spines from the lineaxis objects in ax.elements, they have an attribute called endpoints. grab the correct points and calculate your diagonals in figure space, then plot the lines into figure.scene
For anyone else who needs to implement this manually, here is the code. This does everything except add that "broken" y axis. I could not manage to implement those diagonal "broken axis indicator" lines. However, if you are in a pinch for time, just add them manually using Inkscape :slight_smile:
If anyone figures out how to add them, please reply to this topic.
using CairoMakie
xs1 = randn(10)
ys1 = randn(10)
xs2 = randn(10).+ 3
ys2 = randn(10).+ 10
fig = Figure();
ax1 = fig[1,1] = Axis(fig)
scatter!(ax1, [xs1; xs2], [ys1; ys2])
hideydecorations!(ax1, ticklabels=false)
ylims!(ax1, 8.5, 11.0)
ax1.yticks = 9:1:11
ax2 = fig[2,1] = Axis(fig)
scatter!(ax2, [xs1; xs2], [ys1; ys2])
hideydecorations!(ax2, ticklabels=false)
hidexdecorations!(ax2, ticklabels=false)
ylims!(ax2, 0.0, 2.5)
ax2.yticks = 0:1:2
rowsize!(fig.layout, 2, Relative(2/3))
rowgap!(fig.layout, 1, Relative(0.0))
Label(fig[:, 0], "Manually broken y", rotation=pi/2)
_USER_, you could draw a horizontal grey line where the axis is broken, with an annotation of the gap used. E.g., y = (2.5, 8.5)
it looks like your y-scale changes, say 0-1 versus 10-11, is that desired?
Yes, so the type of figure I was going for looks like this:
Do you mean a horizontal line spanning the entire figure? If so, yes that would be a programmatic way of indicating where it breaks, however it would not look as pretty as e.g. the matplotlib version (see here)
I mean that the distance between 0 and 1 and between 10 and 11, along the y axis, does not look the same. The distance between 0 and 1 looks bigger. The image you showed with the squiggly broken axis has the same metric near 0 and near 1. Some problem when creating your figure maybe?
Ah, now I see what you mean. Nope, that is not desired, but I suppose it could be fixed by just setting the y limits and the y ticks of both figures?
You could fix the relative scaling by giving both rows an Auto(ratio) size where ratio is the relative length of each axis. For the diagonal lines, you just need to do linesegments!(fig.scene, diagonal_points). The points you have to calculate given the endpoints of the axis lines, an angle that you like, and a line length that you like. You should calculate the points using lift(endpoints) do points... etc so that they update whenever the axis shifts.
Here's a possible implementation, although it uses some rather internal things:
f = Figure()
lims = Node(((0.0, 1.3), (7.6, 10.0)))
g = f[1, 1] = GridLayout()
ax_top = Axis(f[1, 1][1, 1], title = "Broken Y-Axis")
ax_bottom = Axis(f[1, 1][2, 1])
on(lims) do (bottom, top)
 ylims!(ax_bottom, bottom)
 ylims!(ax_top, top)
 rowsize!(g, 1, Auto(top[2] - top[1]))
 rowsize!(g, 2, Auto(bottom[2] - bottom[1]))
hidexdecorations!(ax_top, grid = false)
ax_top.bottomspinevisible = false
ax_bottom.topspinevisible = false
linkxaxes!(ax_top, ax_bottom)
rowgap!(g, 10)
angle = pi/8
linelength = 30
segments = lift(
 ) do p1, p2, p3, p4
 ps = Point2f0[p1, p2, p3, p4]
 map(ps) do p
 a = p + Point2f0(cos(angle), sin(angle)) * 0.5 * linelength
 b = p - Point2f0(cos(angle), sin(angle)) * 0.5 * linelength
 (a, b)
linesegments!(f.scene, segments)
scatter!(ax_top, randn(100, 2).* 0.5.+ 9)
scatter!(ax_bottom, randn(100, 2).* 0.2.+ 0.25)
 1. rescale data such that they fit into the same coordinate system.
 2. plot as you would
 3. re-annotate y-ticks
In your example, you have two chunks of data, share same x, but different ys, one from [0, 0.25], and one from [0.75, 1]. To set up common coordinate system, from [0, 0.5], where [0, 0.25] map to [0, 0.25], and [0.75, 1] map to [0.25, 0.5], this should be one simple broadcast. If you need log-scale, just do it.
i dont really know how to do the "//", but given it serves as attention grabbing marker, you could just plot some shaded region, depends on the determined coordinate system


text:
CMA (Tacoma) Spring Science Classes
June 05, 2018
In June of 2018, associates CMA (Tacoma) volunteered to visit Elk Plain School of Choice to teach an experimental science class to 7th and 8th grade students. Over the course of two days, associates presented to five classes, totaling about 110 students.
Each class had a volunteer begin the presentation with a quick introduction of CMA and the other volunteers assisting during the classes. The presentation focused on environmental issues such as water shortages and possible solutions to these issues; a topic that the students had focused on throughout their time at the school. One solution to the water shortages presented to the students was a product made by Toray called the Ultrafiltration Membrane, as well as facilities that are used to process water for consumption. Students gathered into small groups as volunteers demonstrated the process using a UF Membrane by filtering clear sugar water from orange juice.
Afterwards, the lesson moved on Global Warming and introduced the students to carbon fiber and prepreg. Students were the process to make carbon fiber and prepreg, and the environmental benefits from it, such as reducing the amount of CO2 being released into the atmosphere. Concluding the lesson, students were able to see and discuss finished products made with carbon fiber and future career opportunities.
CMA is proud to discuss science and innovation with the local community, and looks forward to visiting more schools in the future.


text:
Whether you are starting fresh in CloudBees CD/RO or learning a new concept, you can use the hierarchy menu to learn about the CloudBees CD/RO object model structure and product capabilities. This is a wizard-like menu that aids in application, microservice, and environment modeling in CloudBees CD/RO, by helping you to visualize the relationships between objects in a project and coaching you along the way by indicating the next required actions. This menu provides an easy-to-understand view of the model structure and where you are within it, highlights missing pieces, and streamlines navigation across objects.
The hierarchy menu is available in the Application Editor, the Microservice Editor, the Environment Editor, pipelines, and releases.
To view the hierarchy menu for a project, open the Application Editor, the Microservice Editor, or the Environment Editor in that project. The hierarchy menu is expanded and visible by default. The following examples show the hierarchy menu:
The content of the menu dynamically updates when you create or edit an application, microservice, or environment. Child objects that are not configured do not have actions enabled.
Certain actions, such as selecting Requires Setup +, launch dialogs. Each of these dialogs has modal behavior, requiring that you exit it before continuing.
To collapse a menu, select Hide.
To expand a menu, select Show.
Every object with one or more child objects has a Collapse button or an Expand button to collapse or expand the visibility of its child objects.
The following example shows the Collapse button:
The following example shows the Expand button:
Some objects, or rows, contain a popover menu, that is only visible when you hover over the object.
The following is an example of the popover menu:
The following example shows the expanded menu after you select the popover menu :
The menu provides all actions that are available in the visual editor canvas for that object.
Some objects, or rows, have an Add button that is only visible when you hover over the object:
Select Add to open the dialog to add an object.
If an object is editable in a visual editor, the button appears next to it. For example:
The button opens the visual editor for that object.
If you have not completed the definition of an application component, tier map, or environment resources, the Requires Setup + button appears for the object that needs to be defined. The following example shows the button for an application component that requires setup:
The button opens the dialog for adding an application component.
The following example shows the button for a tier map that requires setup:
The button opens the dialog for adding a tier map.
The Application Run button opens the application runtime settings dialog that you can use to set up and start an application run. For example:
The Property Browser button allows you to navigate properties more easily by allowing you to view all properties on a hierarchy of objects in a project. For example:
For details about this functionality, refer to Property Browser.


學術寫作上常誤用及誤解的字彙 U 為開頭的字彙 Common Mistakes in Academic English Writing: Words Beginning with the Letter U
誤解的字彙 U 為開頭的字彙
umbrella 及 parasol
umbrella (uhm BREL uh) (noun)
1. A device that is used for protection from the rain and sun consisting of a circle of fabric attached to a folding frame that is connected to a central pole or handle: "It is best to take an umbrella when you go out in the rain."
2. A group or organization that includes many smaller groups: "Several stores spread throughout the country are part of this umbrella corporation."
3. Something that includes several or many different things: "This umbrella policy that I have includes liability insurance, car insurance, and household insurance."
parasol (PAR uh sawhl", PAR uh sahl") (noun)
A light umbrella which can be used to protect oneself from the sun: "My mother gave me her parasol when I went on the summer picnic."
unexceptionable 及 unexceptional
unexceptionable (uhn" ik SEP shuh nuh buhl) (adjective)
Not likely to cause an objection or offense, but it is usually used to describe something that is good but not outstanding or excellent: "The work she did for the company was unexceptionable; however, she was able to keep her position because she was dependable and always showed up for work on time."
unexceptional (uhn" ik SEP shuh nuhl) (adjective)
Usually not good, interesting, etc.: "As an actress she was unexceptional, but as a singer, she had an exceptional voice."
uninhabited 及 uninhibited
uninhabited (uhn" in HAB i tid) (adjective)
Not lived in by people: "Too often there were those who broke into the uninhabited house down the street until it was torn down and replaced with a new restaurant."
uninhibited (uhn" in HIB i tid) (adjective)
Able to express thoughts and feelings freely: "He is often the center of attention because he is so very uninhibited while talking quite openly about his feelings."
unit 及 unite
unit (YOO nit) (noun)
1. A single thing, person, or group that is a part of something larger: "The basic unit of our society is the family."
2. A part of a hospital where a particular type of care is provided: "My father was put into the intensive care unit after having that bad accident."
3. A particular amount of length, time, money, etc., which is used as a standard for counting or measuring: "The Euro is the principal unit of Euopean currency."
unite (yoo NIGHT) (verb)
1. To join together to do or to achieve something: "The majority of students decided to unite to protest the increase of tuition for the upcoming semester."
2. To cause (two or more people or things) to be joined together and become one thing: "The couple wanted to unite in marriage last spring but couldn't because of the terrible car accident."
university 及 college
university (yoo" nuh VUR si tee) (noun)
An educational institution that offers courses leading to a degree: such as, a bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degree and where research is done: "He completed his degree in law at the University of California."
college (KAHL ij) (noun)
1. An educational place in the United States where a person may go after high school and which offers courses leading to a degree; such as, a bachelor's degree or an associate's degree: "He decided first to go to a college to get his bachelor's degree and then to do research for his doctoral degree at the university."
2. A school that offers advanced training in a specified subject: "She was so talented in art that she decided to go to an arts college."
urban 及 urbane
urban (UHR buhn) (adjective)
Of or relating to cities and the people who live in them: "As an architect she was involved in the development of the urban housing projects in the city."
urbane (uhr BAYN) (adjective)
1. Polite and confident; courteous and refined, as opposed to crude or coarse: "A diplomat must be urbane in order to do his job successfully."
2. Fashionable and somewhat formal: "During our vacation, we really enjoyed the urbane sophistication of the people we met."
usable 及 useful
usable (YOO zuh buhl) (adjective)
Capable of being used or in good enough condition to be used: "The antique coffee grinder was still quite usable and we utilized it to grind our coffee each morning for breakfast."
useful (YOOS fuhl) (adjective)
Helping to do or to achieve something: "It is quite useful to type texts on the computer because, for one thing, correcting mistakes is much easier."
誤解的字彙 U
V 為開頭的字彙
W 為開頭的字彙
X 為開頭的字彙


text:
Personal watercraft have a jet drive system which requires some extra precautions to avoid spreading harmful aquatic exotic species. A pump pulls water in through an opening under the craft, and the impeller (an internal propeller) forces water out, moving the craft forward. Exotic species can easily get lodged in the jet drive system and get transported if the watercraft is taken from one water body to another. A small piece of Eurasian watermilfoil, or other harmful exotic species, caught in the impeller can infest a new lake or river. Zebra mussels could live in excess water in the jet drive and spread to another body of water.
In the water:
Avoid running the engine through aquatic plants near the boat access.
After the engine has stopped, turn the watercraft over while still in the water and pull plants from the water-intake area (this may be easier than crawling under the watercraft while trailered to check for plants). Check the edges of the grate over the water-intake area.
Push or winch the watercraft up on the traler without running the engine.
After you have pulled the watercraft out of the water, start and run the engine for 5 to 10 seconds, to blow out any excess water and vegetation. (The dark, damp closed area of the impeller provides an ideal environment for exotic plants to survive).
After the engine has stopped, pull plants out of the steering nozzle.
Inspect your trailer and any other sporting equipment for aquatic plant fragments, and remove them before you leave the access.
Learn how to identify exotic species, if you believe they have spread to a new location in Ontario, please call the province-wide Invading Species Hotline at _PHONE_.


text:
At Mystic Aquarium, a researcher holds a small drum-like object over the blow hole of a beluga whale. The little drum is actually a petri dish wrapped in nylon mesh. On command, the whale exhales and tiny droplets of moisture from the animal's breath are gathered on the mesh.
This curious interaction is part of a new collaboration between Mystic Aquarium and UConn, where researcher Tracy Romano and her team are developing new methods to test and study the physiology of marine life, with the goal of improving conservation efforts.
In assessing an animal's overall health and physiological state, the goals is to collect samples in a manner that is minimally invasive and to draw data from as few samples as possible, to avoid causing the animal distress that could obscure the results. This is where the inhabitants of Mystic Aquarium come in.
"The samples taken from beluga whales and other animals at the aquarium will serve as a baseline for comparison to animals in the wild," says Romano, associate professor-in-residence of marine sciences at UConn. "These animals are in a controlled environment, and many are trained to give samples on cue. We want to learn as much as we can about the animals in our care."
On the opposite end of the distress spectrum, samples are also gathered from animals that are in the aquarium's stranding rehabilitation program, which has been called to respond to more than 1,000 instances of stranded or beached animals.
"Stranding is perhaps the most stressful situation for these animals to be in," Romano says. "We are able to sample those animals throughout their rehabilitation, all the way until they are released."
This spectrum of samples from known stressed or non-stressed states can then be referenced by the researchers when they gather samples from animals in the wild. Although the work is largely with beluga whales, the team is also looking at animals such as turtles, penguins, sea lions, and other whales.
"We don't know what animals have been exposed to in the wild," says Romano, "but all of the [data we collect] will help in the creation of that baseline for comparison."
Samples collected from animals in the wild and from those at the aquarium are analyzed in the lab at UConn Avery Point, where the team is using a variety of molecular techniques to glean information about the animals. Samples may include a skin biopsy, feces, saliva, and feathers. Molecular analysis of these tissues yields overall health and physiological clues, such as reproductive and stress hormones and immune factors, that enable the researchers to get an idea of the types of illnesses animals have been exposed to, how well their organs are functioning, and even the progress of pregnancies.
"A lot of work has gone into developing this health assessment 'tool box'," Romano says.
As the data is consolidated, researchers can get an idea of the overall health of a population of animals, and can deduce trends. A key goal of this work is to better understand the effects humans and the changing climate are having on marine wildlife.
One of the team's major projects is with different populations of beluga whales in Alaska. The beluga population in Bristol Bay is being used as a control group to study another group of belugas, an endangered group in an area called Cook Inlet, near Anchorage.
"Everyone is very familiar with the many pressures the Arctic is under," says Romano, however, "no one is quite sure why [the Cook Inlet] population is declining and isn't recovering."
The researchers hope to help piece together the puzzle. They are working with a local Eskimo tribe called the Inupiat near Point Lay Alaska, where the local people assist the team in collecting samples from marine wildlife. The information is recorded in a database that will provide a baseline for marine species in the Arctic, even as drilling for oil increases in the region.
Romano points out that there is no such baseline for areas such as the Gulf of Mexico, "but if an oil spill happens in the Arctic we will have this data."
And on a broader level, the researchers hope that the data will help clarify the true impact human and climate are having on the health of the world's oceans, and that the knowledge gained will be used in conservation and management efforts worldwide.
By: Elaina Hancock | Story courtesy of UConn Today


Drivers, Bikers Take Precaution
Drivers, Bikers Take Precaution
Samyuta Rajagopalan
Students get to and leave school in a variety of different ways. Some students go by bus or car while others walk or ride their bike to school. Tompkins High School has certain rules for people to follow so that everyone is safely able to arrive and leave school.
Bikers tend to speed up with hopes that cars will make way for them. This is dangerous because sometimes cars do not see that a biker is crossing in front of them. Other times, cars do not follow the speed limit when they are near school. This is equally as dangerous because when driving faster than the speed limit, drivers may not be in a position to stop and let bikers cross, which could lead to potential accidents for the driver and the biker.
According to the Texas Department of Transportation, bikers and drivers should always stop for lights. They should slow down on the road or on the sidewalk and while making a turn into and out of school. Also, drivers should make sure to use proper signaling.
"Drivers should be aware by watching out for students who bike and walk. They should also follow the speed limit rules so that they don't cause accidents," crossing guard Brigitte Stumm said.
Stumm directs and controls traffic near the school. She ensures that bikes and walkers are able to cross the main road safely while also ensuring the safety of drivers. She gives her advice on how bikers should be safe.
"Bikers should make sure they get off their bike while crossing the road and should always be aware of what is going on around them. If they don't do this, they could hurt themselves and potentially others as well," Stumm said.
While directing traffic, Stumm also notices when people are unsafe on the road. She sees bikers and drivers not making a good enough effort to pay attention to each other. However, if they take high precaution, especially when they are on or close to school property, then the number of injuries and accidents will decrease.
"When bikers and drivers take precautions to be safe, it promotes a positive and secure environment, decreasing the risks of accidents, collisions and harms," biker,sophomore Varshita Aripaka said.


text:
Green architecture – NASA's Sustainability Base
The guys from NASA decided to work on green projects in order to set an example to other agencies around the world. After so many resources used for their missions, this is one of their first right steps. They decided to use their lunar base sustainable technology in order to make an environmentally friendly building at NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California is being named 'Sustainability Base' in honor of the first humans to walk on the surface of another world from their Tranquility Base Apollo 11 lunar landing site 40 years ago. It will serve as a highly efficient collaborative support facility providing workspace for a wide range of NASA's aeronautics and space exploration missions.
"This is a great day for NASA and the federal government", said S. Pete Worden, director of NASA Ames. "This new building represents NASA's commitment to sustainability and improving the quality of life on the planet. Given the incorporation of the very latest NASA technologies, I like to think of it as the first lunar outpost on Earth."
"When the Apollo astronauts looked back and saw the Earth… it was such an astounding image that it served as a touchstone for the whole environmental movement", said Steven Zornetzer, associate director at NASA Ames. "In the spirit of what's best for our country, we decided to focus on constructing the most energy-efficient building possible.
The new building is designed to achieve a platinum rating under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) new construction standards for environmentally sustainable construction. The building will feature near zero net energy consumption, use 90 percent less potable water than conventionally built buildings of equivalent size and reduce building maintenance costs. The building will showcase some of NASA's most advanced intelligent control technologies originally developed to support the nation's human and robotic space exploration missions.
To help achieve the building's sustainability objectives, approximately 72 geothermal wells featuring ground-source heat pumps will be installed, and will provide parking and landscaping with California-native plants. In addition, sophisticated systems for solar water heating, fire detection and suppression, advanced lighting, security, communications operations and site storm water management are also going to be installed.
These systems will be designed to anticipate and automatically react to changes in sunlight, temperature, and wind, and use resources to optimize the building's performance. The new facility will feature a structural steel frame, stand two stories tall with two wings, and will have approximately 4645 square meters of mostly-open collaborative workspace, lunchrooms and a glass-walled atrium.
The Silicon Valley office of Swinerton Builders, San Francisco, California, was selected in a competitive-bid process to build the new Sustainability Base collaborative support facility. Construction of the $20.6 million building is scheduled for completion by the end of 2011. Sustainability Base is aligned with other future-oriented NASA Ames Earth and sustainability programs such as their collaborations with Google Earth and Cisco's Planetary Skin.


text:
Social movements tend to wax and wane over time.
Social movements tend to wax and wane over time. What do you think could explain this variation? 2. In what way is it plausible to think of social movements as being inimical to democracy, and in what way is it plausible to think of them as being the embodiment of democracy itself? 3. What would you describe as the functions of social movement?
The form of organization that is often put in place is normally quite different from what can be expected in political parties that are already running. In most cases, the movements do not manage to put together a doctrine that clearly spells out how their actions are going to be carried out…………………….


text:
Biologists identify proteins vital to chromosome segregationDecember 24th, 2012 in Biology / Cell & Microbiology
New York University biologists have identified how a vital protein is loaded by others into the centromere, the part of the chromosome that plays a significant role in cell division. Their findings shed new light on genome replication and may offer insights into the factors behind the production of abnormal numbers of chromosomes.
Their findings appear in the latest issue of the journal the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The researchers focused on the organization and functioning of the centromere, which is responsible for chromosome segregation—a process that ensures that replicating cells receive a complete copy of the genome. Disruption of this process can lead to the production of an abnormal number of chromosomes—a condition evident in 90 percent of cancer cases.
To explore the mechanics of the centromere, the researchers examined fission yeast. This species of yeast is a model organism in cell biology because its chromosome replication and the regulation of its centromere are similar to that of humans.
In the PNAS study, the researchers focused on a protein, CENP-A, present in both humans and fission yeast. They specifically examined how it is incorporated into the centromere during cell division in order to better understand its role in this process.
Their results identified that a trio of proteins—Dos1, Dos2, and Cdc20—work together to assemble CENP-A at centromeres as they duplicate. They further observed that any disruption of this process subsequently places this vital protein outside of the centromere—thereby preventing it from performing its role of ensuring proper chromosome segregation.
"CENP-A is the engineer of the centromere," explained Fei Li, an assistant professor in NYU's Department of Biology and the study's senior author. "Without this protein, the centromere simply can't function."
Li noted that many forms of cancer have been linked to malfunctioning CENP-A.
"Hopefully, these findings can contribute toward the development of improved strategies for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer," he added.
Provided by New York University
"Biologists identify proteins vital to chromosome segregation." December 24th, 2012. _URL_


LINGUIST List 6.1098
Mon Aug 14 1995
Sum: 'because' vs'since/as'
Editor for this issue: T. Daniel Seely <>
 1., Sum: 'because' versus'since/as' (6.1043)
Message 1: Sum: 'because' versus'since/as' (6.1043)
Date: Mon, 14 Aug 1995 09:22:15 Sum: 'because' versus'since/as' (6.1043)
From: <>
Subject: Sum: 'because' versus'since/as' (6.1043)
I would like to thank the following persons very much for their
judgements, comments and various hints concerning my query: Marie
Egan, Duncan MacGregor, Richard Ingham, James Kirchner, Kevin
Lemoine, David Powers, Karen Ward, Yael Ziv and especially Karen
Stanley, who took a poll about my claims among her colleagues (a
big thank-you to them too).
>From the mail I have received by now, the following picture emerges:
Including the people interviewed by K. Stanley, 7 do not agree with
my distinction and 5 do agree more or less.
Some informants suggest other distinctions between the conjunctions:
For one,'since' and 'as' are more formal than 'because' (a view
which is also presented in some dictionaries and grammars), for
another, 'as' is more formal than 'because' but'since' is "only
suitable for informal conversation but nor for writing". The latter
judgement seems to be in conformity with a prescriptivist view
according to which'since' as a causal conjunction is not to be used
at all. (I want to note that I have identified 209 (=13%) causal
since-clauses among 1576 causal as-, because-, forand
since-clauses in the machine readable British-English LOB-Corpus
(written texts from 1961). Most of these since-clauses are to be
found in the category called 'Learned and scientific writing'.)
Another informant, for whom my example sentence (1) is essentially
synonymous with either conjunction, has the impression that the
speaker of (1) using 'because' "feels John's admission more
noteworthy, or more important to the narrative, than he or she would
if'since' or 'as' were used." Into the same direction, I assume,
goes another judgement according to which 'because' is "stronger and
more explicit and more exceptional." (I have found a similar view in
the literature and have interpreted it as a consequence of my
differentiation: Entailment on the basis of a rule or norm is
intrinsically less noteworthy, less exceptional than'real'
Some people have pointed out the relevance of the position of the
causal clause. As a tendency, my rule/norm interpretation is
considered to be more in accordance with the causal clause (be it
'since/as' or 'because') preceding its main/matrix clause. However,
one informant feels "more comfortable with since clauses preceding,
and because clauses following, the main clause." (This impression is
somehow in conformity with the statistical situation in the above
mentioned LOB-Corpus: Only about 9% of the because-clauses are
preposed, whereas 41% of the since-clauses and 43% of the as-clauses
are preposed there.)
One informant pointed out constraints which may affect the
acceptability of'since' as a causal conjunction: "'since' seems to
have a much more limited application. For me there is a
tense/aspect/??? constraint between the clauses (consistent with the
temporal meaning it also has??), otherwise it sounds forced or
stilted. I don't really like your sentence (1) with'since'.
Reversing the clauses makes it more acceptable to me, as does
changing 'was' to 'is' (strange!). Conversely, changing 'has been' to
'was' makes the'since' version even less acceptable to me."
(Probably, the last point in this quotation is caused by the fact
that replacement of 'was' by 'has been' makes the sentence
grammatically acceptable with a temporal interpretation of the
Do I have to conclude from the 'empirical' outcome of my query that
my differentiation is not tenable? For various reasons (which I hope
to develop convincingly in a doctoral dissertation to be submitted
soon), I do not think so. Are there, perhaps, some more people 'out
there' who agree with my claims, but who refrain from simply stating
'I agree'? Of course, this would not make my query statistically more
valid, but it would suggest that there is some plausibility to my
non-empirical reasons.
Carsten Breul


Michele Lombardelli - Giunge una voce a qualcuno nel buio (A voice comes to one in the dark)
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Michele Lombardelli was Born in 1968 in Cremona, Italy, where he lives and works. What are the images represented in Lombardelli's works, what is their location in space? While, on the one hand, they seem to be totally residual, anaemia-ridden, devoid of sense, yet they manage to instill a doubt about their ability to recall something else, something new. And the selfsame reversibility of the image (from the Latin revertere, to turn back), its actual inconclusiveness, locates it somewhere along an imaginary Moebius strip where internal and external, above and under, beginning and end coincide. The inseparability of physical and formal natures (sculpture-drawing-photography-silkscreen-painting) match the represented object: everyday items, banal interiors, sketched figures, de-contextualized sentences which echo uncanny meanings, literary and cinematographic quotations.
Kód Kód: 1678
Kategorie: Vizuální umění
Rok vydání: 2010
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text:
eSkeletons: "The Hip Bone's Connected to the …" Web Bone
Cyberskeletons are now a click away at an interactive and expanding digital library of human and primate anatomy.
July 6, 2004
Paleontologists are always going to get down and dirty digging for bones. But now, students, researchers, and the general public have a handy and virtual alternative: They can examine and manipulate the digital skeletons of humans, orangutans, chimps, lemurs, and other primates at _URL_.
"Not long ago, it was necessary to have hands-on access to an actual human skeleton if one wanted to learn the basics of human anatomy," says John Kappelman, leader of The eSkeletons Project and an anthropology professor at the University of Texas-Austin. "Today, anyone who can log on to the Web can gain instant access to eSkeletons' images and animation of the complete human skeleton." And much more.
While at first glance, the eSkeletons web site may appear to be "bare bones," its high-resolution, three-dimensional images and interactive features make anatomy quickly "come alive." Visitors can choose a particular bone, for example, the human shoulder blade (scapula), view it from several different angles, and compare it, side-by-side, to other primates' shoulder blades, such as the gorilla's and marmoset's. People can also watch and manipulate video clip "joint animations" of related bones in action -- making the scapula "swing" the humerus (upper arm) as fast as they can slide their computer's mouse.
For a closer look: viewers can float, rotate and pause a bone in 360 degrees of cyberspace, taking advantage of web video and virtual reality player (VRML) applications. Additional eSkeletons' features include: "clickable" colored overlays that highlight special aspects and muscle-attachment points for certain bones, a glossary of terms and "mini-windows" displaying in-depth information.
Dramatic advances in imaging technology helped to make eSkeletons' approach to teaching anatomy possible. With support from NSF and UT-Austin's College of Liberal Arts, Kappelman's lab group uses 3-D laser scanners, high resolution X-ray computed tomography (HRXCT), and digital photography to "capture" skeletal specimens.
Knowledge of anatomy underlies many fields of science, including biology, zoology, physical anthropology, and the medical sciences, with important applications in the bioengineering of bone implants, as well as the visual arts.
Before eSkeletons, access to real bones for hands-on learning was restricted. Students and researchers at select museums, laboratories, and schools, might have ample access, but opportunities for others were limited or non-existent.
"The wild populations of animals like the apes and lemurs are gravely endangered, specimens are rare, and it is very difficult for students to study the anatomy of these species. Delivery over the Web permits us to make the material accessible to all students and to raise their awareness of the rare or endangered status of these animals," Kappelman explains.
The site has attracted notable fans. "The eSkeletons Project is a winner on all fronts," says internationally renowned primatologist, John G. Fleagle, a professor at SUNY-Stony Brook, and the first person in anthropology to be named a Macarthur Fellow. "It saves wear and tear on irreplaceable museum specimens and the expense of trips to a museum for simple comparisons, and at the same time it makes rare comparative material available to anyone with access to a computer. It is unrivaled as a tool for teaching comparative anatomy at all educational levels."
Building on eSkeletons' early success (the site earned an A+ from Education World), the project is expanding the site's original collection (human, gorilla and baboon). New laser scanning equipment and improved HRXCT make it possible to include much smaller primates like the brown mouse lemur, and to scan specimens more rapidly.
eSkeletons' growing roster will give students increased opportunities for bone-to-bone comparisons, diverse lab exercises, and a broader understanding of the range of primate diversity.
eSkeletons also plans to provide data in a format that enables users with 3-D printers to produce their own anatomically accurate models of the bones, full-size or scaled-down, for use as teaching tools. Then, Kappelman's vision of virtual "hands-on" learning will come closer to the reality he knows as an active paleoanthropologist.
In addition to leading the eSkeletons Project in the digital world, Kappelman continues to go digging for bones for his research into the evolutionary history of primates, especially hominoid origins (anthropoid (man-like) apes and human beings). He recently led an international team of researchers in Ethiopia who discovered the partial skeleton of Arsinotherium, an extinct rhino-like mammal that lived 27 million years ago.
From finding fossils of long extinct species to making skeletal materials universally available on-line, Kappelman is intent on sharing his passion for anatomy. "Web access is a great evener -- a common denominator," he says, taking pleasure in the widespread response to eSkeletons. "We have registered users from kindergarten through medical school on each continent, except Antarctica. Once the polar scientists sign up, we'll be able to say we're reaching people everywhere."
-- Moira Burns
University of Texas at Austin
Special Projects in Networking Research
National Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education Digital Library
_TAG_ _URL_: An Interactive Digital Library of Human and Primate Anatomy
_TAG_ Virtual Skeletons in Three Dimensions: The Digital Library as a Platform for Studying Web-Anatomical Form and Function
Digital Morphology Library: _URL_
Paleontology Portal: _URL_
The eSkeletons Project: _URL_
Exhibition of anatomical illustrations: _URL_
John Kappelman's Home Page: _URL_
Andreas Vesalius' 1543 "On the Fabric of the Human Body" in English: _URL_
eSkeleton's site reviews and awards: _URL_
America Zoo -- Primates -- Mammals of the First Order: _URL_
National Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education Digital Library (NSDL): _URL_
High-Resolution X-ray Computed Tomography Facility at University of Texas at Austin: _URL_


- irreducible complexity
 5. Evidence of Biological Information - DNA and information that can only come from an intelligent source.
All of these, when compared to Scripture, seem to show a link as if the "creator" authored the Bible.
Response: The verses he uses are very vague, such as God creating all the things "visible and invisible."
External links
Personal tools
wiki navigation


text:
Definition of Intracranial
Intracranial: Within the cranium, the bony dome that houses and protects the brain.
An intracranial hemorrhage is bleeding within the cranium due, for example, to a stroke or leakage of blood from an aneurysm in the brain. The intracranial pressure is the pressure on brain and the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) within the cranium.
Julius Caesar and his fellow Romans called the skull the "cranium" Today as a rule the "cranium" is taken to be the skull minus the mandible (the jaw bone).Source: MedTerms™ Medical Dictionary
Last Editorial Review: 6/14/2012
Medical Dictionary Definitions A - Z
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text:
Every now and then, you need to take the current date and calculate some other date. For instance, you might have an application that needs to determine what date is the first day of the month, or need to know the last day of the month. Now most of you probably already know how to separate the date into its piece (year, month, day, etc.) and use those pieces along with a number of functions to calculate a date that you might need. In this article, I will be showing how to use just the DATEADD and DATEDIFF function to calculate a number of different dates you might need to use in your applications.
In order to understand these examples, let's first review the DATEDIFF and DATEADD functions. The DATEDIFF function calculates the amount of time between two dates, where the time part is based on an interval of time, such as hours, days, weeks, months, years, etc. The DATEADD function calculates a date by taking an interval of time, and adding it to a date, where the interval of time will be the same as those used by the DATEDIFF function. To find out more about the DATEDIFF and DATEADD functions, and the different intervals of time read Microsoft Books Online.
Using the DATEADD and DATEDIFF functions to calculated dates requires you to think a little differently about what it takes to convert the current date into a date you need. You must think in terms of date intervals. Such as, how many date intervals it is from the current date to the date you want to calculate. Or how many date intervals is it from today to some other date like '1900-01-01', and so on. Understanding how to look at date intervals will help you more easily understand my different date examples.
First Day of Month
For the first example, let me show you how to get the first day of the month from the current date. Remember now, this example and all the other examples in this article will only be using the DATEADD and DATEDIFF functions to calculate our desired date. Each example will do this by calculating date intervals from the current date, and then adding or subtracting intervals to arrive at the desired calculated date. Here is the code to calculate the first day of the month:
select DATEADD(mm, DATEDIFF(mm,0,getdate()), 0)
Let me review how this works, by breaking this statement apart. The inner most function call "getdate()", as most of you probably already know, returns the current date and time. Now the next executed function call "DATEDIFF(mm,0,getdate())" calculates the number of months between the current date and the date "1900-01-01 00:00:00.000". Remember date and time variables are stored as the number of milliseconds since "1900-01-01 00:00:00.000"; this is why you can specify the first datetime expression of the DATEDIFF function as "0." Now the last function call, DATEADD, adds the number of months between the current date and '1900-01-01". By adding the number of months between our pre-determined date '1900-01-01' and the current date, I am able to arrive at the first day of the current month. In addition, the time portion of the calculated date will be "00:00:00.000."
The technique shown here for calculating a date interval between the current date and the year "1900-01-01," and then adding the calculated number of interval to "1900-01-01," to calculate a specific date, can be used to calculate many different dates. The next four examples use this same technique to generate different dates based on the current date.
Monday of the Current Week
Here I use the week interval (wk) to calculate what date is Monday of the current week. This example assumes Sunday is the first day of the week.
select DATEADD(wk, DATEDIFF(wk,0,getdate()), 0)
If you don't want Sunday to be the first day of the week, then you will need to use a different method. Here is a method that David O Malley showed me that uses the DATEFIRST setting to set the first day of the week. This example sets Monday as the first day of the week.
set DATEFIRST 1
select DATEADD(dd, 1 - DATEPART(dw, getdate()), getdate())
But now if you want to change this example to calculate a different first day of the week like First Tuesday of the Week you can change the set command above to set DATEFIRST 2.
First Day of the Year
Now I use the year interval (yy) to display the first day of the year.
select DATEADD(yy, DATEDIFF(yy,0,getdate()), 0)
First Day of the Quarter
If you need to calculate the first day of the current quarter then here is an example of how to do that.
select DATEADD(qq, DATEDIFF(qq,0,getdate()), 0)
Midnight for the Current Day
Ever need to truncate the time portion for the datetime value returned from the getdate() function, so it reflects the current date at midnight? If so then here is an example that uses the DATEADD and DATEDIFF functions to get the midnight timestamp.
select DATEADD(dd, DATEDIFF(dd,0,getdate()), 0)
Expanding on the DATEADD and DATEDIFF Calculation
As you can see, by using this simple DATEADD and DATEDIFF calculation you can come up with many different dates that might be valuable.
All of the examples so far only calculated the current number of date intervals between the current date and "1900-01-01," and then added the number of intervals to "1900-01-01" to arrive at the calculated date. Say you modify the number of intervals to be added, or added additional DATEADD functions that used different time intervals, or subtracted intervals instead of adding intervals; by making these minor changes you can come up with many different dates.
Here are four examples that add an additional DATEADD function to calculate the last day dates for both the current and prior intervals.
Last Day of Prior Month
Here is an example that calculates the last day of the prior month. It does this by subtracting 3 milliseconds from the first day of the month example. Now remember the time portion in SQL Server is only accurate to 3 milliseconds. This is why I needed to subtract 3 milliseconds to arrive at my desired date and time.
select dateadd(ms,-3,DATEADD(mm, DATEDIFF(mm,0,getdate() ), 0))
The time portion of the calculated date contains a time that reflects the last millisecond of the day ("23:59:59.997") that SQL Server can store.
Last Day of Prior Year
Like the prior example to get the last date of the prior year you need to subtract 3 milliseconds from the first day of year.
select dateadd(ms,-3,DATEADD(yy, DATEDIFF(yy,0,getdate() ), 0))
Last Day of Current Month
Now to get the last day of the current month I need to modify slightly the query that returns the last day of the prior month. The modification needs to add one to the number of intervals return by DATEDIFF when comparing the current date with "1900-01-01." By adding 1 month, I am calculating the first day of next month and then subtraction 3 milliseconds, which allows me to arrive at the last day of the current month. Here is the TSQL to calculate the last day of the current month.
select dateadd(ms,-3,DATEADD(mm, DATEDIFF(m,0,getdate() )+1, 0))
Last Day of Current Year
You should be getting the hang of this by now. Here is the code to calculate the last day of the current year.
select dateadd(ms,-3,DATEADD(yy, DATEDIFF(yy,0,getdate() )+1, 0))
First Monday of the Month
Ok, I am down to my last example. Here I am going to calculate the first Monday of the current month. Here is the code for that calculation.
select DATEADD(wk, DATEDIFF(wk,0,
In this example, I took the code for "Monday of the Current Week," and modified it slightly. The modification was to change the "getdate()" portion of the code to calculate the 6th day of the current month. Using the 6th day of the month instead of the current date in the formula allows this calculation to return the first Monday of the current month.
I hope that these examples have given you some ideas on how to use the DATEADD and DATEDIFF functions to calculate dates. When using this date interval math method of calculating dates I have found it valuable to have a calendar available to visualize the intervals between two different dates. Remember this is only one way to accomplish these date calculations. Keep in mind there are most likely a number of other methods to perform the same calculations. If you know of another way, great, although if you do not, I hope these examples have given you some ideas of how to use DATEADD and DATEDIFF to calculate dates your applications might need.
» See All Articles by Columnist Gregory A. Larsen


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Nifont of Novgorod
Our father among the saints Nifont of Novgorod, also Niphon of Novgorod, was the Archbishop of Novgorod in the first half of the twelfth century during a time of political crisis in Novgorod. He conducted a strong program of evangelism among the pagan tribes of the northwestern territories around Novgorod and Pskov. He encouraged the establishment of monasteries with experienced missionary minded monks. He directed the construction of cathedrals in both Novgorod and Pskov. He is commemorated on April 8.
Nifont was born in Greece and came north to the Monastery of the Kiev Caves where he was monk. After Bishop John of Novgorod retired, Nifont was chosen Bishop of Novgorod. He was consecrated bishop in Kiev by Metropolitan Michael in 1130. As much of the area around Novgorod was largely pagan, Nifont chose to concentrate his missionary efforts, first, around Pskov, and then the area of Ladoga, where he laid the cornerstone of the Church of St. Clement in 1153.
After Bp. Nifont's arrival in Novgorod, the political situation began to shift to election of a "ruling" prince from the local area over one from Kiev. In 1136, the Kiev backed Prince Vsevolod Mstislavich, son of Mstislav Vladimirovich and grandson of Vladimir Monomakh, was banished from Novgorod and replaced by Prince Svyatoslav Olgovich. Prince Vsevolod found refuge in the town of Pskov, a rival of Novgorod. Soon, Bp. Nifont joined Vsevolod in Pskov after he refused a second marriage for Prince Svyatoslav that was against the Church canons. This exile lasted until about 1142.
As part of his evangelical zeal, Bp. Nifont had initiated before his exile a program of repairing and building churches in Novgorod, notably construction of Dormition Cathedral on the market square, in 1135. With his exile to Pskov, Bp. Nifont launched an active evangelistic program in the Russian territories adjacent to the town. Pskov became a center of church and monastery building. Between 1137 and 1142, two monasteries were started in Pskov, the Mirozhsky and the Nativity of St. John the Baptist of Ivanovsky Monasteries, monasteries in which the new missionaries were trained in spreading Christian ideals with sermons that bore personal examples of asceticism. At Mirozhsky Monastery, he also initiated the building of the Transfiguration Cathedral with twelfth century frescos that have survived to today.
After the repose of Metr. Michael of Kiev in 1145, the Grand Prince Isiaiaslav moved to have the schemamonk Clement consecrated to the Kievan see without the blessing of the Patriarch of Constantinople. At a council of bishops, Abp. Nifont voiced his disapproval of this action, advising the council that it was contrary to the tradition of the Russian Church as the Church had received the Orthodox faith from Constantinople. The consecration of Clement took place regardless of Abp. Nifont's objection. Abp. Nifont thereafter refused to serve with Metr. Clement nor to commemorate him during services.
Clement in turn refuse to let Nifont return to Novgorod, keeping him under house arrest at the Kiev Caves Monastery. After Prince Isiaiaslav was defeated by Prince George I in 1149, Abp. Nifont was released and allowed to return to a joyous Novgorod. Praising in a letter Abp. Nifont's defense of the traditions of the Church, the Patriarch of Constantinople sent Metr. Constantine to Kiev to depose Clement and assume the see in Kiev.
Abp. Nifont returned to Kiev to meet the new metropolitan, taking up residence again at the Kiev Caves Monastery. While at the monastery, Abp. Nifont became ill. On April 8, 1156, Abp. Nifont reposed after he had seen in a dream thirteen days before St. Theodosius who had told him of his coming death.
Nifont of Novgorod
|Bishop of Novgorod
- St Niphon the Bishop of Novgorod
- V. Sarabianov, Transfiguration Cathedral of the Mirozh Monastery, Severny Polomnik, 2002 ISBN 5-94431-033-2


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In my opinion the primary cause of the ET302 accident lies in the take off roll, the final nose dive could have been caused due to structural failure of the elevator and in an extremely improbable case, the infamous MCAS would have had a role to play.
All aircrafts are loaded with passengers, cargo and fuel and maintained within limits of the centre of gravity so that a safe takeoff, airborne segment and landing is carried out. Based on the weight and balance of the aircraft and the airport/runway and environmental conditions, the flight crew calculate how fast the aircraft needs to roll on the runway (speed) and how much engine thrust needs to be generated in order to accelerate with the given mass and other conditions to allow the wings to generate lift from the air mass flowing over the wings. All these parameters have to keep the aircraft takeoff roll within the runway length and after getting airborne keep clear of the obstacles like hills, buildings etc. around the airport.
As per authentic fine granular data provided by Flightradar24, I have plotted the aircraft indicated airspeed and height above the runway. Please refer to the above snapshot of the takeoff roll.
- Initial acceleration is normal till 90kts
- Passing 90kts, the ADS-B data records a positive rate of climb of 128 feet/minute for 8 seconds and gained a height of about 50 feet.
- After the initial climb, she stopped climbing and flew level for 7 seconds at the same time kept accelerating.
- Again there was an attempt to climb as the aircraft speed increased but not more than 50 feet climb could be achieved.
- At the other end of the runway she was around 180 kts and 80 feet above the runway, which is extremely low and very high on speed as compared to a normal takeoff.
A comparison of the acceleration of the ill-fated ET302 and ET302 of other days show similar acceleration rate.
- The acceleration of ET302 is observed to be normal and the comparison with the flights on other days confirm the same.
- The segment to highlight is from the time she achieved the speed of 90kts and thereafter.
- Passing 90kts, a vertical rate of climb is recored for 8 seconds. This rate is similar to the normal takeoff action when the pilot lifts the nose of the aircraft to get airborne (off the ground/runway).
- The rate of rotation of aircrafts generally is 3 degrees per second from 0-15 degrees. It typically takes 5 seconds to get airborne.
- ET302 may have rotated for close to 5-8 seconds but at a much lower speed of 90-100 kts. The typical takeoff speeds at Addis Ababa would be in the range of 155-165 kts depending on a number of variables as explained in the beginning of the blog.
- The aircraft may have rotated due to a number of reasons:
- Incorrect loading of passenger and cargo. The aircraft balances on ground on the pivotal main landing gear wheels located under the winds, close to the belly. If there is too much weight in the rear of the aircraft as compared to the front, the nose could lift as it does on a see saw.
- On the contrary if the nose is too heavy with forward load or if the flap configuration is incorrect as per the calculated performance parameter, the aircraft may find it difficult to takeoff. Video of aircraft finding it difficult to takeoff.
On 23 Apr 2005 a Turkish B-737 was preparing for takeoff from Stuttgart, Germany. After the crew received take-off clearance and after the airplane had started the take-off run, the aircraft pitched backwards and the tail struck the runway. The pilot in command immediately aborted take-off. The airplane pitched back onto the nose gear, rolled out and came to a standstill on taxiway.During the occurrence a flight attendant was slightly injured and the aircraft severely damaged.
The investigation by the German authorities concluded as following: Contrary to the actual loading of the aircraft, the load and trim sheet showed that take-off weight and centre of gravity were within the permitted tolerance. Because of the remaining passengers on board for the destination Düsseldorf which were seated in the rear part of the aircraft, and the luggage stored in the aft cargo compartment, the centre of gravity was now beyond the permitted tolerance.
5. ET302 could have rotated early due to pilot input based on erroneous speed indication on the cockpit instruments. If the pilot's speed indication is unreliable due to a technical fault, the actual speed may be much lower than the ones displayed in the cockpit. The pilot rotates solely based on the indications from the cockpit.
6. Loss of Pitch Control on Takeoff was the cause of Emery Worldwide Airlines, Flight 17 McDonnell Douglas DC-8-71F accident California February 16, 2000. The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the probable cause of the accident was a loss of pitch control resulting from the disconnection of the right elevator control tab. The disconnection was caused by the failure to properly secure and inspect the attachment bolt.
ET302 rotated at a very low speed causing the tail portion to hit the runway. Since the aircraft continued to accelerate, unlike the Turkish Airline aircraft where the crew aborted the takeoff, there could have been substantial damage to the tail area where the elevator and stabaliser are located. These flight controls help the aircraft in the up and down pitch movement of the nose of the aircraft.
ET302 continued to accelerate towards the end of the runway achieving a speed of 180 kts which is a safe speed to get airborne and leave the ground. In the process, the aircraft was too low and fortunately the runway is like a table top with steep drop towards both ends.
ET302 continued to accelerate to flap retraction speed and reached the maximum operating speed of close to 330kts indicated before the data transmission ends.
Role of MCASMCAS is a software designed for the MAX series to prevent the aircraft nose pitching too high during flight thereby preventing a stall. The stall can lead to a loss of lift and a sharp nose dive. There have been accident of the B-737 stall in Rostov of Fly Dubai and Beirut of Ethiopian Airlines. The MCAS triggers when the flaps are retracted at speeds close to 200-220 kts depending on the aircraft weight and Flap configuration. In the case of ET302, the MCAS would have activated only when the flaps were retracted and if the pitch of the nose was very high or if the high pitch indication was falsely generated by a faulty sensor as was the case in the Lion Air JT610 accident.
There are media reports of part of a stabaliser found with a nose down setting. This is expected in a stall situation where the crew is reacting to a violent pitch up attitude. The Fly Dubai accident in Rostov had similar indications of a 12 seconds burst of nose don trim just before the aircraft nose dived.
In this accident I would focus more on the takeoff roll since the pilot had reported flight control problems soon after takeoff and as per eyewitness reports, there was debris falling and smoke seen from the rear end of the aircraft.
A tail strike always leave deep marks on the runway and if there was structural damage and separation of parts they would have been reported by the air traffic controller as found on the runway after the runway inspection.
ET302 may have impacted the tails due to the extremely low speed at which the rotation is though to have occurred. Thereafter, the crew may have tried to salvate the situation by flying level and increasing speed, as can be seen on the ADS-B data. There was an attempt to raise the nose but something prevented this to happen. This could be the flight control problem that the pilot reported. The crew managed to gain height slowly but there was a force preventing them from doing so since the graph shows increase and decrease of vertical speed but slow climb.
The spikes in green are the vertical climb rate and the gradual altitude increase is depicted in blue. The graphs are not similar to the Lion Air JT610 accident flight data.
In my opinion the primary cause lies in the take off roll of ET302, the final nose dive could have been caused due to structural failure of the elevator and in an extremely improbable case, the MCAS would have had a role to play.
Why is the world finding similarities between Lion Air and Ethiopian Air accidents
The data can be misrepresented if it is not plotted using the same variables.


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1761 is valid Arabic numeral. Here we will explain how to read, write and convert the Arabic numeral 1761 into the correct Roman numeral format. Please have a look over the Roman numeral table given below for better understanding of Roman numeral system. As you can see, each letter is associated with specific value.
The Roman numeral representation of Arabic numeral 1761 is MDCCLXI.
If you are aware of Roman numeral system, then converting Arabic numeral 1761 to Roman numeral is very easy. Converting 1761 to Roman numeral representation involves breaking up the numeral into place values as shown below.
|1000 + 500 + 100 + 100 + 50 + 10 + 1|
|M + D + C + C + L + X + I|
We need to combine all converted roman numerals together. As per the rule highest numeral should always precede the lowest numeral to get correct representation. In modern world, the number 1761 should be used as it is until or unless it represents an ordinal value. In case of any ordinal value, you can use MDCCLXI instead of 1761. For any numeral conversion, you can also use our roman to number converter tool given above.


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Addressing student wellbeing for Work Integrated Learning success
Work Integrated Learning (WIL) students are seeking greater levels of support from universities to reflect the personal and financial stresses associated with their participation, according to a new report.
The research led by Dr Deanna Grant-Smith from Queensland University of Technology and funded by the National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education informed recommendations to improve WIL student outcomes through the refinement of program policies and practices.
Australian universities are under increasing pressure to support students to develop the graduate skills and knowledge required to transition from education into professional practice. The adoption of a range of Work Integrated Learning (WIL) approaches to achieve this aim represents an increasingly prevalent part of the tertiary education landscape. However, successes in increasing the participation of diverse groups in higher education challenge assumptions regarding students' extra-study commitments and the potential impacts of these on students' capacity to participate in WIL activities, particularly unpaid placements. Despite these shifts, there has been limited exploration of student experiences of WIL through a wellbeing lens or with an explicit focus on the equity considerations.
Objectives and methodology
Through the voices and experiences of WIL administrators and participants from the disciplines of health and social services, education and nursing this research identified the personal impacts of participation in WIL, beyond the impacts of professional development and in-situ learning. This research explored personal and other factors influencing students' experiences of WIL placements and their coping strategies for managing the reciprocal impacts of participation on other commitments.
Data for this study was collected using an online student survey, student focus groups, and staff focus groups. The survey and focus group data was analysed using qualitative and quantitative approaches. The analyses sought to identify the impact that personal and other factors can have on the practicum experience, the impact of the practicum experience on other parts of the student's life such as paid work commitments and work-study-life conflicts, and the perceived impact of this on their wellbeing.
In connecting WIL and wellbeing, researchers introduced the concept of WIL wellbeing as a construct to identify the impacts of WIL on participants' wellbeing within and beyond the learning context. Explicitly connecting WIL and wellbeing, and foregrounding the everyday life experiences of WIL participants, the research highlighted the contribution of personal coping strategies (many of which are taken into post-graduation professional practice) to managing a successful WIL experience. In the context of the broad scale adoption of WIL as a learning pedagogy, this research also considered how universities and WIL placement workplaces can better support students in preparation for, and during, their WIL experiences.
Key findings and recommendations
- WIL participants experienced considerable levels of financial stress as a result of undertaking a WIL placement due to the intensive unpaid nature of WIL placements; the additional costs incurred as a result of the placement; relational stressors; and the financial impacts of lost wages. Research participants, regardless of their familial or employment circumstances, suggested that additional financial assistance and support was required by many WIL participants to support their participation.
- WIL workplaces need better preparation and support to positively contribute to participant wellbeing and learning outcomes. Both WIL administrator and student participants in this research identified the impact of attitudes and behaviours of supervisors, co-workers and clients within the WIL workplace on student wellbeing. They concluded that better training, support and vetting of potential WIL workplaces and supervisors is required.
- Greater levels of institutional and community support are required to support WIL participant wellbeing. In addition to more supportive supervisory relationships within the WIL workplace, WIL participants are seeking greater levels of pastoral care, staff support and empathy from universities. Combined, peer, family, community and university support make an important contribution to a successful WIL experience, however, available institutional support and eligibility requirements need to be better communicated to students, particularly those that may not have existing support networks
Conclusions and considerations for policy
Examining the equity implications of WIL participation, this research revealed new insights about participant experiences and has the potential to inform WIL policies and practices to support student wellbeing.
Acknowledging the potential impact of extra-curricular commitments, such as paid employment and caring responsibilities, and other personal factors on the WIL experience and providing focused support is important for supporting student wellbeing, and increasing the potential for a successful placement. Both WIL administrator and student participants in this research proposed that universities and registration/accreditation bodies need to consider alternatives to unpaid WIL placements or structural changes to placement requirements which limit extended unpaid placements.
WIL wellbeing is determined by personal coping strategies and institutional and community support. It is therefore imperative that all stakeholders involved in managing, administering and promoting universal WIL participation are cognisant of the potential impacts of WIL on participants' wellbeing.
Read more here.


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Take a moment to test your knowledge.
1.) If a passenger falls overboard from your boat, you should…
a. Slowly reverse, keeping him in sight at all times. Stop within five feet and allow him to swim to the side of the boat.
b. Stop the boat. Allow him to swim to the side and slowly pull him to safety.
c. Stop. Slowly turn the boat around and approach while keeping the passenger in sight. Shut off the engine and then bring him to safety.
2). True or False?
It is safe for passengers to board or exit from the water if engines are idling.
3). Fill in the blank.
A ________________ will stop a propeller should the driver of a boat be thrown overboard or pulled away from the boat's controls.
If you hesitated to answer even one of the questions above, you may be putting lives in danger. NEVER reverse your boat to pick up a passenger. Always stop, turn around and SHUT OFF the engine before pulling someone to safety. It is NEVER safe to board or exit from the water while engines are idling because the propeller may continue to spin even when the boat is in neutral. And finally, an engine cut-off switch can save the driver's life, should he or she be thrown from the boat.
What exactly is an engine cut-off switch? Most commonly it is a lanyard connected to the driver, and to a switch on the control panel/dash. Let's say you're suddenly thrown overboard after an encounter with rough water or an accident on your boat. The second the lanyard device is pulled from its receptacle, the engine shuts off. Why is this important? Because if you're thrown overboard – and the engine is still running – you are now at serious risk for a propeller strike. Wireless devices are also available in which an electronic device worn by the driver (and other occupants) takes the place of the lanyard.
A typical three-blade propeller running at 3,200 rpm can inflict 160 cuts in one second, traveling from head to toe on an average person in less than one tenth of a second. Propeller safety is not something to be taken lightly.
As a boat operator, you are responsible for every aspect of your boat; just as the driver of a car is responsible for his or her vehicle at all times. Safe drivers know to always be on the look out for pedestrians, especially in populated, urban environments. Similarly, safe boaters know to watch out for people in the water.


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Consider the following statements with respect to Cyclones:
- A cyclone is an area of low pressure around which the winds flow counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere.
- It halts the onwards progression of Monsoon.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Both 1 and 2
Neither 1 nor 2


The Encrypted Memo Field
As of October 28, 2016, Zcash is a reality! Anybody with Internet access can download the software, connect to the global decentralized network, and send and receive payments, without exposing their confidential transaction metadata to the world.
Note: we have not yet created a user-friendly wallet. The software we're distributing is only for command-line-wielding Linux users. Fortunately many other individuals and companies have already stepped forward to provide graphical user interfaces.
This blog post is about a little-known but potentially valuable feature of this new protocol.
The Encrypted Memo Field
When you receive a Zcash payment from someone else's shielded address to a shielded address of your own, you see the amount of Zcash received, and you see the transaction ID, which allows you to identify this transaction (in its encrypted form) in the blockchain.
You don't learn anything about the sender or about the history of the money you're receiving, and you don't see the sender's address. This is by design — the sender should be able to send you money without necessarily revealing other information about themselves.
However, we realized that senders would sometimes need to communicate information about a specific payment. For example an invoice number or account number that the payment is for, an address to which any refunds should be sent, a note to the recipient, etc.
So we implemented an additional field that is visible to the recipient of a payment, called the "encrypted memo field". It is always present in every encrypted payment, and is always exactly 512 bytes long. If a sender doesn't specify a memo, then the memo that is sent is all zeroes (before encryption), and if the sender includes a memo shorter than 512 bytes, then the remaining space is padded with zeroes (before encryption).
This padding is necessary for privacy, so that an observer watching the blockchain can't detect differences between different usage patterns of the encrypted memos. It also means that you don't pay a higher transaction fee for including a memo — the cost is already baked in.
The encrypted memo is visible only the to recipient, unless the transaction view key for the transaction gets shared (by the sender or the recipient) with a third party. In that case, the third party who received the transaction view key would be able to see the memo, along with the amount and the recipient address of the transaction in the blockchain. Transaction view keys are already present in the protocol, but are not yet supported in the API.
What Will People Do With This
a memo field. Remember those?
We conceived of the encrypted memo field as being basically like the memo space at the bottom of old-fashioned paper checks, but lately we've been wondering: what else will people use this for?
Zcash is the first system which combines the append-only property of blockchains with the selective disclosure property of encryption. Using the memo field you can enter arbitrary data (as long as it fits into 512 bytes) into the global, decentralized Zcash blockchain, and your data will become part of the immutable and append-only ledger, but it will not be visible to anyone else — yet. If you later disclose the transaction view key to someone, then the data will become visible to them in the blockchain. If you were to post the transaction view key publicly, then the data would become visible to the public, still embedded in its original place in the blockchain.
Could this feature be useful for private messaging? Time-stamping? Public records such as land title registries? Securely storing and sharing confidential data such as health records or business records?
I really don't know if the encrypted memo field would be appropriate and effective for those purposes, but as of now, the feature is live and nothing can stop you from experimenting with it. If you do, please let me know what you learn!
Return Addresses
One of the more obvious uses for an encrypted memo field sent within a ZEC payment between shielded addresses is a return or refund address. Merchants may prompt their customers to include a refund address along with a payment in the chance that the product must be returned or a service canceled early. Since the memo isn't required to hold the address from which the payment was sent, this feature could even be used as a cryptographically secured gift receipt. If someone buys their sister a birthday gift from a merchant, the gift giver can include their sister's shielded payment address in the memo field and share the transaction ID with her which holds the encrypted transaction details. She won't know the value of the bracelet but if she finds it doesn't fit right, she can return the product to the merchant with the transaction ID, which the merchant can associate with the product and initiate a refund to the address provided in the memo field.
The Travel Rule
Another specific use that we had in mind was satisfying The Travel Rule. The Travel Rule is a regulation of FinCEN which states that when one financial institution is sending a transaction to another, the sending institution is required to include the identifying information of the customer on whose behalf they are making the payment. It's called the Travel Rule because the identifying information is required to travel with the payment, rather than just being delivered out of band or kept in a database. Financial institutions using Bitcoin (e.g. exchanges like Kraken and Poloniex) face difficulty satisfying this regulation, because you can't really include your customer's personal information in a globally-transparent blockchain!
With Zcash, a financial institution can satisfy that rule, by putting the customer's personal information into the encrypted memo. This makes it visible to the receiving financial institution, but not to unauthorized third parties.
Love Notes In The Blockchain
Recently a young woman told me that she had received an encrypted Zcash transaction, and in the memo field, she found a merkletree hash which pointed to a file in the IPFS distributed file system. Following that link, she found that the file was a ticket to a special event, overseas, that she and her distant lover had been talking about attending together.
The memo was a love note. A love note which is permanently embedded somewhere in the first few blocks of the Zcash blockchain, but which is visible only to two people. I think that is beautiful.
Here's a simple program to put memos into the encrypted memo field and to read them out again (if you are the recipient of the enclosing transaction): zmsg
Endless possibilities
While the examples listed in this post highlight some of the exciting ways users, developers and merchants can use the encrypted memo field in Zcash payments, it is only the beginning. We encourage everyone to experiment with this feature and the tools being built around it. You can share your findings and ideas for cool hacks in our online community.