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Why High-Fiber Diets May Help Weight Loss
(Image credit: Minadezhda | Dreamstime)
Nutritionists have long known that eating more fiber is a good idea. It helps digestion, and evidence suggests it curbs appetite.
Now, new research on animals suggests that one reason fiber makes you less hungry is because after you eat it, your body produces a chemical called acetate — also found in vinegar — which changes brain cells that control hunger.
In experiments, mice and rats that were fed a high-fiber diet had more acetate in their guts, and those given acetate directly into the colon ate less than animals not given the compound, according to the study. [10 New Ways to Eat Well]
"There's a big body of literature that suggests metabolic activity of [gut bacteria] releases [hunger-suppressing] hormones," said study researcher Gary Frost, a professor of nutrition and dietetics at Imperial College, London. "Our paper shows that it's the short-chain fatty acid acetate, produced by biota in the colon."
In mammals – both rodents and humans – fiber is digested by bacteria in the colon, which release various chemicals as they work. Fiber gets broken down into acetate, among other things.
In one set of experiments, the researchers fed a group of mice a diet that was high in a type of fiber called inulin (not to be confused with the hormone insulin), which is found in foods such as bananas and garlic. Another group of mice was fed a diet low in that type of fiber.
After two months, the mice with the high-inulin diet had gained less weight, and an analysis of their colon content showed more acetate compared with the mice on the low-inulin diet.
Other studies suggested that fiber affects hunger by changing hormone levels, but Frost's team noted that their own previous work had found certain kinds of brain cells in the hypothalamus fired more often after high-fiber diets, and the hormones involved in appetite suppression actually suppress this kind of neuronal activity.
So in a second set of experiments, the researchers gave mice and rats acetate intravenously and via the colon. The acetate was tagged with radioactive carbon, so the researchers could track its path through the body with a PET scan.
About 3 percent of the acetate stayed in the bloodstream, and made its way to the brains of the mice, specifically their hypothalamuses, which regulate appetite.
This shows that acetate affects the brain and regulates hunger, the researchers said.
So does this mean drinking vinegar can help you lose weight? Frost noted that to get the same effect as eating fiber, a person would have to drink a lot, because vinegar is digested and much of the acetate in it breaks down. "You'd have to drink enough for it to get to the brain," he said. Drinking so much vinegar would be unhealthy — the chemical is quite acidic.
Frost said he and his team plan to do more research to tease out exactly how big the effect of fiber on hunger is. "With dietary fiber the actual effects are complex, it's one of a number of systems that have effects on appetite, and there are others."
Jesse Emspak


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UV beads absorb ultraviolet light. UV radiation is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength just shorter than that of visible light. The beads then release the energy of the UV light at a wavelength we can see. The wavelength emitted by the beads is different depending on the dye, and we see this as different colors.
Many molecules absorb UV light. Some, like DNA, can be damaged by the energy in UV light. Sunscreen blocks UV light, protecting the DNA in your skin.
The UV flashlight is not dangerous for short periods of time. It emits UV A wavelengths, which cause less damage than UV B.
Mess Kits are single-serving experiments that allow kids to explore scientific concepts at their own pace. Visitors are encouraged to complete as many as they want! See all Mess Kits.

source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


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a" (Ziziphus sp.) — onto the swale. The fruit trees were placed in or next to the ditch. The indigenous trees were planted on the downhill side of the bund. The slope, though very shallow, was running downwards towards the east. The site faces a prevailing wind from the east, so the indigenous trees were placed to shelter the fruit trees from the wind.
In the semi-arid environment of Konso there is a long, hard 6-month dry season, during which the young fruit trees will struggle for survival. In order to increase their chances the way in which we plant the tree seedlings and subsequently care for them is very important.
- We dig the planting holes as deep as possible. The school sites have rocky ground and we want to give the seedling a chance to put its root down as deep as possible, as fast as possible.
- We line the sides of the hole with cardboard. Cardboard absorbs and holds water effectively, but also forms a barrier to moisture movement, preventing water from diffusing out of the planting mix into the surrounding soil.
- We fill the hole with water and let it soak in.
- We fill the hole ½ full with compost/topsoil planting mix and water it again till fully saturated.
- We carefully remove the tree seedling from its nursery container, taking care not to disturb the soil as much as possible, and place it on top of the planting mix in the hole. Then we fill in the hole up to about 5cm from the brim with more planting mix and water well.
- We mulch over the planting mix and the surrounding soil to 50cm radius to 10cm depth with dead plant material. We also make a temporary shade for the seedling.
Installing a Grey Water System
Since this is a dryland environment it is clear that the tree seedlings, especially the fruit trees, will need follow-up watering to insure their survival.
In Jarso school there is a WFP feeding station, which provides school lunches to the kids. It was observed that there are three hand washing stations (made from old oil drums, cut in half with a tap installed on them, which are filled with water from rainwater catching tanks) installed on two of the classroom blocks. We therefore designed a system to make use of the waste handwash water after use (i.e. grey water). In Karat we designed a similar system using waste water from water taps.
The grey water system comprises the following:
1) A receptacle was fixed below the tap. This is made from an old vegetable oil jerry-can. The mouth of these jerry-cans is 50mm so they can be directly plumbed into 50mm PVC piping if heated a little to soften the plastic. The receptacle was secured on a concrete platform.
2) We use charcoal inside the jerry can to make a filter for any soap being used in the hand-wash.
3) We installed PVC piping to carry the grey water to the swale and along the swale. In Jarso Primary 60m of piping was installed and in Karat Secondary 18m was installed.
4) We used hot metal to punch a hole in the piping next to each of the tree seedlings.
Day 4 (Queen Mary's and King Edwards Group 1): Setting up a Chicken Forage Area
The chicken forage area was designed to allow the school to keep a flock of egg-laying hens in an area of the compound, to give the chickens a living area that provides them with their needs (shelter, roosting space, security, nesting space, access for feeding and watering and also an area in which the chickens can forage for greens, insects and other natural food sources available in the compound).
In the case of Jarso Primary, the school already had a flock of about 10 chickens and a small chicken house that provided a secure roosting and nesting area for the flock. With the Queen Mary's Group, we just had to fence out the forage area with chicken wire and construct a door to give access for feeding and watering. The fencing was pretty hard work due to the hard ground, but half the girls managed to get all the holes dug and sink the posts while the other half put together an access door for the compound.
In the case of Karat Secondary there was no resident flock in the school and no accommodation for them. We adapted an old decrepit storage shed to make a new luxury chicken house and bought some local hens from the market, as well as fencing the forage area and putting a door on it. We were able to make use of the expertise of one of the volunteers, Henry, to adapt old school furniture for making the nesting boxes. Meanwhile, Will and Gibson constructed a masterful door for the compound, assisted by one of the students.
Day 4 (King Edwards Group 2): Building a Rocket Stove for the WFP Feeding Program Kitchen
One important aspect of the permaculture design for Jarso Primary School was to reduce the fuel consumption for the WFP Feeding Program in the school by installing rocket stoves in the school kitchen to reduce the consumption of fuel wood.
In Konso major deforestation is an ongoing problem, with women trekking progressively further to collect firewood year by year and the indigenous trees of the area become increasingly depleted. Acutely aware of this fact we made sure the Jarso School permaculture design included measures to both reduce fuel consumption by the kitchen and provide extra sources of fuel wood on-site, by planning for a wide Zone 4 area in which fast-growing fuel wood species can be planted. We therefore took advantage of the WC volunteer program to get the first of several rocket stoves built by the second group from King Edwards, Lichfield. The rocket stove design is well known in permaculture. We just adapted it to make use of locally available materials: clay, chalk and an old oil drum.
The rocket stove concept works as follows:
- Heat from the burning of the fuel creates an up-draft, since hot air is less dense than cold air and subsequently rises. With the local norm of using three rocks to cook on, air simply wafts into the combusting part of the fire from the surrounding area. With a rocket stove we a) concentrate the in-flow of air to create a blasting effect which makes the fuel burn hotter, b) direct it onto the fuel from below, so that the air is flowing through the fire. This creates much hotter combustion and the air leaving the combustion area will be much hotter.
- In order to ensure more of the heat generated by the combustion of the fuel is transferred into the food we a) shelter and insulate around the combustion area so that heat radiated by the fire cannot escape into the surrounds and the exhaust gases from the fire cannot be carried away by breezes but must pass vertically upwards to where the food is cooking, b) we confine the outflow of exhaust gasses from the fire so that they must flow in a narrow space around the bottom and the edges of the pot, so transfer maximal heat into the pot and its contents.
To build the rocket stove with the group we did the following:
1) We pre-made 150 clay bricks from a local clay that has excellent binding properties and does not crack. (The clay is often used for rendering walls in the locality.)
2) We cut the top off a 200 litre oil drum and a rectangular hole 20cm high and 40cm wide in the side of the barrel at the bottom edge. A rectangular section of 15 x 50cm was then cut out of the barrel top. This was used to make the divider between the fuel and air inlets.
3) Some of the bricks were crushed up and mixed with gypsum to form a render.
4) The bricks are laid using the render/mortar to form the walls of the air/fuel inlets and the chimney.
5) The gap between the bricks and the edges of the barrel are filled in with dolomite (a light chalky rock which is highly porous and therefore a good natural heat-resistant insulator) which we harvested from our site.
6) The challengers tagged the fuel/air inlet:
The Finished Rocket Stove:
More Activities Coming Up in September and December — Get Involved and Support Our Work
The expeditions were really successful and the groups all managed to achieve all the challenges that were set. They also went off for a 3-day trek around the Konso villages, visiting the artisans, cultural sites and terraced farmlands of Konso which are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
When school returns in September the environmental clubs will have a great set of models which they can scale up gradually, as well as a permaculture plan for the school site which they can continue to follow in implementation. A big thanks to all the challengers from Queen Mary's and King Edwards schools who participated and also to Mr Adisu and Mr Beyene from Jarso Primary and Mr Ararso from Konso Secondary who helped facilitate the programs.
In September and December this year we shall be running Permaculture Design Courses at Strawberry Fields Eco Lodge for local and international participants.
Design and practical exercises we do on the courses will also be conducted on local schools participating in our Permaculture in Konso Schools Project. We may also be able to train more teachers from the currently participating schools or even begin projects in new schools if we have sufficient participation on the courses from paying participants. You can support the growth and development of our Permaculture in Konso Schools Project by doing a PDC with us, or by sponsoring us to train an Ethiopian participant. Please get involved in our initiative to help the South Ethiopian community of Konso to improve and develop their own food security.


Newbie Guide 2 - The First Five Minutes (WoW)
Contents [hide]
The first five minutes
If you're reading this for information, I will assume you haven't actually started playing yet, so refer to the screenshot on the right for a basic layout of the user interface. The screenshot use the basic UI, with no mods or add on to modify it, so this is what your screen will looks like when you first log on.
The first thing you will witness is a brief introduction to your race, purely for storytelling purposes. The quests you do will often relate back to what is mentioned in it.
User Interface
When you first look at the screen and all the stuff on it, you might be a little bewildered. Let's talk about what's on the screen right now, and get into the menus a bit later.
In the upper-left corner is your character portrait, along with your health and mana bar. (or rage or energy, but I will continue to say mana.) If you were in a group, your groupmates' display would appear below your's, slightly smaller.
Next to your health is your target's health. You will need to click on someone or something to get a target, but in the screenshot, the priest is fighting a Highland Raptor. The red namebar indicates that this is an aggressive target. Yellow indicates non-aggressive, able to be attacked, but not aggressive. And green is a friendly target that you cannot attack. Player names are in blue. "Tapped" targets, which we'll discuss later, are in gray.
Newbie Guide
Character Creation
The First Five Minutes
Interacting With Other Players
Basic Concepts
Regarding Tradeskills
Transportation and Getting Around
Items, Inventory, and Money
Quests, parties, and instances
Abilities and Talents
Odds Ends
In the upper-right is the minimap. It displays the name of your region (Arathi Highland), clock - the sun gives an exact time if you mouse over it, an overhead view of the area with zoom in and zoom out buttons, and arrows along the edges indicating the direction of points of interest or distant groupmates. Groupmates and other things you are tracking appear as dots on the minimap. For example, there is a dot to the west that is the location of a mining node. This is an old picture, but if someone is actively tracking herbs, ore, undead, treasure, etc., it will appear in a small circle by the minimap.
Just to the left of the minimap are active buff. This player doesn't have a
Above the bottom bar are the two chat windows. The right one is for combat messages and the left one is for all other messages, such as communication with players. This is no longer the default setting, and you will probably not see the combat window by default, although it is easy to switch to by putting your mouse over the chat box and picking the other tab. (The current set up is refered to as "simple chat" in the interface options.)
Along the bottom, the left side of the bar indicates abilities that can be used at the push of a button, or you can click on them. You get six bars to work with, and there is no limit to memorized spells or anything like that. The only limitation is what you can fit on the screen, and some custom user interfaces create more bars of hotkeys.
The center region of the bar is the different menus you can bring up. The right side is your bags - you will start with just the backpack at the right end, and a quiver if you are a hunter. You need to acquire bags to begin with, and this is one of your first challenges in the game. The green bar between the options and bags is a lag-report, that gives you your ping if you mouse over it.
The long narrow bar divided up into 20 blocks above the toolbar is your experience meter. You can read all about experience elsewhere, but at low levels, it will fill very quickly. If you are considered "rested", meaning your player is fresh from inactivity, you may find a notch in the experience bar. Until you reach that point, you gain experience at a higher rate.
The arrows or WASD keys will move you. Somewhere near you should be a person with a big yellow exclamation point over their head (!) If you are undead, you will need to leave the tomb you start in first.
If you move near that person and right-click them, they will begin to give you a quest. That quest will either be to kill some of the basic creatures nearby, or talk to someone nearby who will tell you to do that. Be sure to keep an eye out for other questgivers. While you have an active quest with an NPC, they will have a silver question mark over their head, and it will turn yellow when you have finished. (A silver exclamation point means that person has a quest you are too low in level for.) Quest givers also show up on your mini-map.
You might have noted when you put your mouse over the questgiver to talk to them that your cursor changed to a talk bubble. Any time your cursor changes, there is something special you can do by right-clicking. Talking to people, looting corpses, mining ore, opening chests, and attacking monsters are all different examples.
Find a nearby creature, and walk up to them. You'll notice that the game tells you what level they are. Expect a tough fight if it isn't level 1 or 2. Target it and attack by either right-clicking the creature, clicking on the attack hotkey at the left end of your ability bar, or by pressing one to activate that hotkey. (You can also press T to do this.) Your character will attack automatically until the fight ends. Your skill with your weapon will probably go up some, and when the creature dies, you can then loot its corpse.
Find another creature, but this time, try using one of your abilities to start combat. If you are a melee character, such as a rogue, it will turn on auto-attack by itself. If you cast a spell or fire an arrow with autoshoot, you will need to turn on attack on your own when the creature gets near. You can also use your skills during combat, of course - a warrior will have to since he starts a fight with no rage and has to attack normally at the beginning (for now.)
After you've picked up some stuff, click on your backpack to open it, or press B. You might have picked up something you want to equip. You'll also have a few things you started with - some food and drink, your hearthstone, and a note from your class trainer. Food and drink restore your health and mana out-of-combat, and the hearthstone will teleport you to the last place you bound it to, (usually an inn,) with a one hour re-use timer. Right-click on the note (it might not be a piece of paper) and it will start a quest simply to find your trainer.
Press C now to open the character window. (This is the button with your face on it at the menu bar.) Here you will find the items you are wearing and the mostly empty slots you can equip for. You'll also see your basic stats and some notes about your weapon damage.
Go to your backpack and pick up an item you want to try equipping. One of the boxes in the menu should turn blue. Click on that box and your character will equip that item. (If the armor type is in red, such as mail for a priest, nothing will happen because you can't wear it.) If you replaced an old item, like your shoes, it will go where the new shoes were in your backpack. You can also right-click to quickly equip items. If you were lucky enough to get a bag of some sort, *drag* it to one of the other inventory slots in the bottom right.
There are two other tabs at the bottom of the character menu, reputation and skills. Ignore reputation. Skills will tell you the things you are capable of (weapon proficiencies, for example,) and how skilled you are at them out of your potential. Your potential will increase each level.
Press escape to close the windows you have open, and press M for map. This will bring up a map of the nearby area you are in. Not much of it is showing since not much of it is explored, but at least this should help you a little bit from getting lost. If you right-click on the map, it will zoom out to show the whole continent, and you can look at any other map you have explored.
Kill a few more creatures, and then go back into town (or whatever settlement you have) and find a merchant - any merchant. If you put your mouse over an NPC, it will say their name and their profession. Generally anyone that isn't a guard or a class trainer in the starting area will sell things. (If a person has a big name floating over their head before you target them, that is another player.)
Right-clicking on a vendor will open up a sell window. There might be things you want to buy, but hold off for now. Find a couple items in your backpack that you can't use at all, such as random body parts of creatures you killed, and left-click them to highlight and then left click in the list of goods to sell it. You can also right-click to sell quickly.
When you've sold everything you can't use, close the window and look around for your class trainer. They should appear as a yellow dot on your minimap when you draw near, but some


Instructions How to Write
Reflective Essay on Personality Types
Having an ability to be a reflective learner and having a good sense of self-awareness is fundamentally important in being a successful science professional. The research on reflection suggests that this does not come particularly naturally or easy for people, and it is a skill that needs explicit and ongoing practice. Self-reflection is particularly powerful in increasing self-awareness and research has proven that self-aware people are more
likely to be successful professionals.
Assignment instructions
Your assignment is made up of the following parts:
 Complete the Meyer-Briggs personality test (
o Record the values (%) for each attribute, including 'identity' value (assertive/turbulent), and report these at the top of your assignment along with your name. The values are an important indicator of the strength of the tendency of that attribute.
o If you find the outcome is too different from who you think you are, then resit the test. However, often the first result most accurately captures your natural tendencies and it is best not to resit the test. It would be better to explain that some elements of the personality description does not reflect who you think you are. Remember that if your % for an attribute is close to 50% then likely you will exhibit tendencies from both side of the spectrum.
o Useful overview information:
 Structure your essay to cover the following aspects
o Provide an overview of your personality type. Give an indication how closely you associate to that description.
o Identify your personality strengths. Are you using any of these strengths currently (explain how), and how you could use this to develop your science career? There is not an expectation that every strength or weakness will be discussed (there will be many, however, some tend to bunch
together), instead, focus on the ones most pertinent to you. Also, explain any strengths in the personality description that clearly is not you.
Identify your personality weaknesses. Do any of these currently impacting you (explain how), and what could do to minimise and manage the negative impact of these attributes on your science career?
o Find the details of the exact opposite personality type, and discuss how you would work with such a person (including what aspect would find easy to work with and what would you find challenging to work with). The exact opposite of your personality type will be the opposite
letters to what you have (e.g., ENTJ opposite is ISFP).
o Go back to the Management Styles video lecture and Lecture Notes, and identify a Management Style that you would work best under (explain why) and briefly explain what type of manager you probably would likely be.
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Or download our app "Guided Lessons by Education.com" on your device's app store.
Read Across the World
- Students will be able to identify themes in short picture books.
- Students will be able to determine common themes.
- Tell the students that today they are going to review some common themes.
- Remind students that theme is the message in a text.
- Have students raise their hands to share some common themes in text. Some themes may include: Acceptance, courage, bravery, friendship, cooperation, kindness, loyalty, and perseverance.
Explicit Instruction/Teacher modeling(20 minutes)
- Locate Africa on a map and tell students they are going to listen to a folk tale from Africa.
- Have students shade in Africa on their world map.
- Read the book "Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters" by John Steptoe.
- As you read the story, draw the students attention to the acts of Nyasha.
- When you have finished reading the story, ask the students what were some character traits of Nyasha.
- Explain to the students that the kind acts shown by Nyasha lead us to believe that "kindness" is a major theme in the book.
- Have students create a three-column chart on their notebook paper to record the title of the story, country it is from and theme.
- They will record "Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters," Africa, and Kindness in the first row.
- Tell students that they will read and examine other texts from around the world to determine theme.
Guided Practice(60 minutes)
- Put students in groups of four or five.
- Assign each group a picture book to read as a team (these should be various stories from around the world).
- Students will have 20 minutes with each book and will be responsible for reading the book, locating the country of origin on the world map, and determining the main theme.
- Students will work with three different books from 3 different areas of the world.
Independent working time(20 minutes)
- Ask students to choose two stories that they read and have them create a Venn diagram to compare the two stories including the themes.
- For advanced students, let them create a triple Venn to compare three stories instead of just two.
- For students needing additional support, provide students with some ideas of what they can compare in their Venn diagram such as character traits, setting, theme, etc.
- Google Earth can be used as a world map.
- Students will choose a picture book from a selection of books chosen by the teacher.
- Students will independently read their chosen picture book.
- Students will write about the theme of the story and give text support to prove they have chosen the correct them.
Review and closing(10 minutes)
- Ask, "What were some common themes in the picture books read?"
- Ask, "Why do you think these are common themes in children's stories?"
- Allow time for student discussion on these questions.


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Novel P-in-N Si-Sensor technology for high resolution and high repetition-rate experiments at accelerator facilities
2019 May 23
2019 July 25
Linear array detectors with high spatial resolution and MHz frame-rates are essential for high-rate experiments at accelerator facilities. KALYPSO, a line array detector with 1024 pixels operating over 1 Mfps has been developed. To improve the spatial resolution and sensitivity at different wavelengths, novel p-in-n Si microstrip sensors based on have been developed with a pitch of 25 micrometer. The efficiency of the sensor has been improved with the use of anti reflecting coating layers optimized for near infrared, visible and near ultraviolet. In this contribution the detector system and the sensors will be presented.


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Download the zip file for more information about this lesson:
Note: This hack was recorded live at EdCampNYC on May 5th, 2012 as part of the Model It! Science Inquiry Lesson Slam.Teacher notes, student notes outline, and practice sheets for implementing this lesson
Modeling Friction Through Inquiry in a Physics First class
Problem of practice
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We've worked out an exclusive deal for our members to bring you this product at a price lower than what everyone else pays anywhere on the internet!
The definitive answer to correct lip-sync error for up to four sources!
When you watch TV or movies, do you ever notice how picture and sound are sometimes OUT OF SYNC? The presenter's lips don't move quite at the same time as their voice? Irritating isn't it. This is known as lip sync error.
Even if you haven't consciously noticed lip-sync error (we avoid this impossibility by subconsciously looking away) b]research at Stanford University[/b] discovered it causes a negative impact on our perception of the characters and story.
Lip sync error affects a huge number of displays, including modern plasma TVs, LCD screens, DLP TVs and digital projectors.
The Felston DD740 solves the frustrating problem of lip sync error for anyone with an A/V amplifier or home theater system.
What causes lip sync error?
There are many causes but most boil down to the video signal being delayed more than the audio signal allowing speech to be heard 'before' the lip movement that produced it is seen.
Digital image processing within broadcasts and within modern displays delays video and allows audio to arrive too soon.
Sound "before" the action that produces it can never occur in nature and is therefore very disturbing when the brain tries to process this conflicting and impossible visual and aural information.
Most people initially only notice lip-sync error when it exceeds 40 to 75 ms but this varies enormously and really depends upon the individual's defence mechanism - how far he can look away from the moving lips so as to ignore the increasing lip-sync error. We call the value at which it is noticed consciously their "threshold of recognition".
An individual's "threshold of recognition" falls greatly once it has been reached and lip-sync error has been noticed. At that point their defence mechanism can no longer compensate and the sync problem enters their conscious mind. The same person who was never bothered by a 40 ms lip-sync error may, after noticing 120 ms error, become far more sensitive and notice errors only a small fraction of their previous "threshold". Many people can "see" lip-sync errors as small as "one milli-second" and some can even detect 1/3 ms errors.
How do you fix lip sync error?
The only way to correct lip-sync error caused by delayed video is to delay audio an equal amount.
The Felston DD740 digital audio delay solves lip-sync error by letting you add an audio delay to compensate for all the cumulative video delays - no matter what their cause - at the touch of a button on its remote.
It connects between four digital audio sources and your AV receiver (or digital speaker system) allowing you to delay the audio to match the video achieving "perfect lip-sync".
Unlike the audio delay feature found in most a/v receivers, the DD740 is designed for easy "on-the-'fly" adjustment while viewing with no image disturbance. This makes fine tuning for perfect lip-sync practical as it changes between programs or discs, and the DD740's 680ms delay corrects larger lip-sync errors common in HDTV.
Why doesn't HDMI 1.3+ fix this?
The widely misunderstood "automatic lip-sync correction" feature of HDMI 1.3 does nothing more than "automatically" set the same fixed delay most receivers set manually. It does nothing to correct a/v sync error already in broadcasts or discs which changes from program to program and disc to disc. Ironically, it can make lip-sync error "worse" when audio arrives delayed.
Does the Felston DD740 work with HD lossless audio found on Blu-ray discs?
No. The Felston DD740 is a S/PDIF coax/toslink device. Lossless audio such as DTS-HD Master Audio and Dolby TrueHD found on Blu-ray discs is only available over HDMI.
Does the Felston DD740 work with HD lossless audio found on Blu-ray discs?
We are not aware of any similar audio delay boxes that accept HDMI. There are other manufacturers of s/pdif delay boxes similar to the Felston DD740 but both are over twice the price and don't offer as many features (neither has numeric pad delay entry, 36 presets, or 1/3 ms adjustment). An HDMI delay box would need to an HDMI "repeater" (often called a splitter) since the HD Audio is HDCP encrypted along with the video. It would require an HDMI "receiver" chip (like TV's have) to decrypt the audio and video data and a "huge" memory to store it for delay but it would also require an HDMI "transmitter" chip (like a Blu-ray player has) to HDCP encrypt the re-aligned audio and video for output. If an HDMI delay box ever comes to market it will no doubt be expensive but like our other products we would offer it to our members at the best price on the internet.
Felston DD740 Features
680ms delay (340ms for 96kHz signals)
On-the-fly adjustment with no image overlay
Tweaking in 1ms and 1/3ms steps
36 preset delays for instant recall
Fully featured remote control with numeric keypad for discrete delay entry
Discrete input switching, with input's last delay restored
Automatic optical-to-coax/coax-to-optical conversion
4 digital audio inputs, 2 digital audio outputs (optical and coax)
Adjustable display brightness
Discrete IR commands for integration with learning remotes
No effect on audio quality thanks to bit-perfect reproduction
The Felston digital audio delays solve lip-sync error by allowing you to delay the digital audio signal to match the delay* in the video signal thereby restoring perfect lip-sync.
The delay unit is inserted in the digital audio path between your video source (DVD/Blu-ray disc player, DVR, etc.) and your AV receiver as in the diagram above. Since the DD740's "bit-perfect reproduction" does not change the digital audio signal, it is compatible with PCM and all present and future s/pdif surround sound formats at both 48 KHz and 96 KHz.
Since there is nothing in the video or audio signal to define when they are in sync it is a subjective adjustment and this is where the remote control excels. It remembers the last delay setting used on each input and includes 36 presets where common delays can be stored for instant recall. But most importantly, the + and - buttons allow dynamic "on-the-fly" delay adjustments while watching with no image disturbance - an essential feature allowing tweaking for "perfect-sync". These are necessary features for true lip-sync correction and not generally available on even the most expensive AV receivers that claim a lip-sync delay feature.
At first thought it might appear the DD740 audio delay could not correct for "already delayed audio in the arriving signal" but in conjunction with the video delay of your LCD, DLP, or plasma display it actually can - up to the display's video delay. That is, if your display delays video 100 ms your DD740 will correct lip-sync errors from 100 ms audio lagging to 580 ms audio leading.
* Normally lip-sync error is due to video delays in both the arriving signal as well as in the display allowing audio to arrive too soon but when broadcasters over-correct for the video delay they added the arriving signal might have audio delayed instead of video.
Using the DD740
In standby mode, audio passes through with no delay while coax to optical and optical to coax conversion remains active. When the DD740 is switched on, the signal is output with your last selected delay.
When you notice lip-sync error, correcting it is simply a matter of adding or subtracting audio delay. The plus and minus delay buttons allow adjustment in 1 ms steps (or even 1/3 ms). You adjust while watching your program and there is no image disturbance at all as you press the buttons and shift the audio into alignment with video.
As you use your DD740 you will notice that different sources, different discs, and different broadcasts require different delays for perfect lip-sync so the DD740 includes 36 delay presets (9 per input) to remember these commonly used settings making it easy to get to the optimum delay quickly.
It also features direct numeric entry so if you know the desired delay you just enter the numbers. That feature is even more valuable when used with programmable learning remote controls (e.g. Pronto, Harmony, URC, etc.) since it allows full control of the DD740 using its comprehensive discrete IR commands.
A/V receivers do not offer all these DD740 features but the most important and overriding advantage of the DD740 is the ease of delay adjustment while watching with no image overlays to disrupt your viewing.
With an A/V receiver that forces you to use a set-up menu overlaying your image every time you need to adjust the delay, perfect lip-sync just isn't practical.
But my amplifier only has an optical input!
No problem. The DD740 transmits the selected source to both outputs simultaneously. This means an a/v amplifier with just one input (optical or coax) can be used with four digital audio sources (two coax and two optical).
Which types of audio signal can the DD740 delay?
In order to solve lip sync issues, the DD740 delays digital audio signals passing between your source equipment (e.g. disc player, set-top box) and your home theater amplifier via a DIGITAL AUDIO CABLE. Digital audio cable is either optical (toslink) or a coax cable fitted with a single RCA phono socket at each end.
NOTE: The DD740 is not directly compatible with ANALOG (stereo) audio signals. Analog audio signals use a pair of leads that connect to two RCA phono sockets (usually one with


text:
Study Of A Vietnam 155 Km Bauxite Slurry Pipeline From The Highlands To Coast
Vietnam's bauxite resources are mainly found in the Highlands region, which is also home to the upper catchment areas of some of Vietnam's most significant river systems. The location of alumina refineries in the Highlands region with their associated residue disposal facilities raises serious environmental concerns. The tropical climate zone brings periods of intense monsoonal rainfall that needs to be contained and managed. The likelihood and impact of fugitive dust emissions, ground water contamination, or discharge of contaminated water streams must be minimized. The existing infrastructure for transportation of raw materials, refinery supplies and product alumina to and from the refinery is also limited. Therefore, potential investors will have to pay high costs to minimize the environmental risks and to upgrade and improve transport infrastructure in order to build and operate their refineries in the Highlands.
One potential solution to these problems is to locate future alumna refineries closer to the coast some distance from the mines and beneficiation plants in the Highlands. In coastal locations, red mud can safely be neutralized and stored using sea water and alumina product can easily be transported to a nearby port. A Vietnamese alumina project has now been proposed to build a mine and beneficiation plant in the Highlands (Gia Lai province) and the refinery close to the coast (Binh Dinh province). The connection between the two plants will be via a 155 km bauxite slurry pipeline.
This paper describes the technical aspects of the pipeline design, operating and control philosophy, maintenance, and capital cost.


text:
Garden Dictionary Word: autotrophic (n. autophyte)
autotrophic (n. autophyte)
1. Refers to organisms that are capable of processing inorganic materials into organic ones by using energy from outside the organism such as sunshine on chlorophyll. 2. Refers to a body of water that is limited in its supply of organic material to what it is capable of producing within its own borders.
A| B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z


text:
using angle measuring devices as the arm moves. The system calculates the position of the probe with coordinates known from the angle measuring devices.
Although mechanical systems scan with generally high accuracy, the rate at which a mechanical system acquires data is relatively slow and can take several hours for scanning and digitizing. A typical mechanical system measures only one point at a time and can digitize only small, solid objects.
As an alternative to mechanical systems, there are several types of optical object shape digitizers which fall into two basic categories: systems based on triangulation and alternative systems. A triangulation system projects beams of light on an object and then determines three-dimensional spatial locations for points where the light reflects from the object. Ordinarily, the reflected light bounces off the object at an angle relative to the light source. The system collects the reflection information from a location relative to the light source and then determines the coordinates of the point or points of reflection by triangulation. A single dot system projects a single beam of light which, when reflected, produces a single dot of reflection. A scan line system sends a plane of light against the object which projects on the object on a line and reflects as a curvilinear-shaped set of points describing one contour line of the object. The location of each point in that curvilinear set of points can be determined by triangulation.
Some single dot optical scanning systems use a linear reflected light position detector to read information about the object. In such systems a laser projects a dot of light upon the object. The linear reflected light position detector occupies a position relative to the laser which allows the determination of a three dimensional location for the point of reflection. A single dot optical scanner with a linear reflected light position detector can digitize only a single point at a time. Thus, a single dot optical scanning system, like the mechanical system described above, is relatively slow in collecting a full set of points to describe an object. Single dot optical scanners are typically used for applications such as industrial engineering. The digitizing speed is usually slow and is limited by the mechanics of the scanning system, i.e., the moving and positioning of the light beam. However, accuracy of these systems can be high. A scanning head can be mounted on a high-precision, but costly, positioning system to take a digitized image of the object's shape with generally good accuracy. However, because of the high cost, slow speed, and lack of flexibility, single dot optical scanners find generally only limited application.
Scan line systems offer one solution to the speed time bottleneck of single point triangulation system. Those systems typically employ a 2D imager, such as a charged coupled device (CCD) camera, for signal detection. The systems project a light plane (i.e., a laser stripe) instead of just one dot and then read the reflection of multiple points depicting the contour of an object at a location that is a distance from the CCD camera and from which the position can be triangulated. Some embodiments of the scan line-type system attach the CCD camera to a rotating arm or a moving platform. During scanning, either the object moves on a known path relative to the camera and laser, or the camera and laser, together, move around the object. In any case, such systems usually depend on this type of fixed rotational movement and typically use a bulky, high-precision mechanical system for positioning. Because of the use of mechanical positioning devices, rescaling flexibility can be very limited, e.g., a scanner designed for objects the size of a basketball may not be useful for scanning apple-sized objects.
Some laser stripe triangulation systems currently available are further limited because the laser stripe stays at a fixed angle relative to the camera and the system makes its calculations based on the cylindrical coordinates of its rotating platform. The mathematical simplicity in such a projection system complicates the hardware portion of these devices as they typically depend on the rotational platform mentioned. Also, the simplified geometry does not generally allow for extremely refined reproduction of topologically nontrivial objects, such as objects with holes in them (e.g., a tea pot with a handle). Full realization of triangulation scanning with a non-restrictive geometry has not been achieved in the available devices.
The laser stripe triangulation systems currently available are also burdened by factors that place upper limits on scanning speed. The laser stripe triangulation systems which use a rotational platform are constrained by the speed at which the platform or arm can rotate the object without moving or shaking it. Some systems take 15 or so seconds to complete a 360° scan. A target object, such as a person or an animal, may have difficulty staying still for such a scan time.
Another speed limitation is that the laser stripe triangulation systems typically can only generate one light stripe per camera image. As laser stripe triangulation systems generate a single laser stripe and project that stripe upon the object, the CCD camera captures an image of the stripe in a frame image--one laser stripe per CCD camera frame. Thus, the collection of laser information in some systems is subject to the speed limitations of the camera.
Additionally, for those optical triangulation systems employing a computer, there is the further problem of processing the incoming data. The CCD camera typically outputs frames of picture information at a rate of 30 or more frames per second. Each frame is composed of a two dimensional frame matrix of pixels and contains, for example, 640×480 pixel values of light intensity information. Thus, laser stripe triangulation systems must sort through many megabytes of information. These systems typically require very powerful computers and have sizeable memory requirements. In addition, they take a relatively long time to process the incoming CCD information into a viable set of points concerning the object. The points created can depict the object, but the system that create them are also limited in that they typically do not achieve a sophisticated model of the object.
Apart from optical triangulation systems (single dot or scan line systems), there are alternative optical scanning systems which present a scanning solution different from those employing triangulation techniques. Range meters and multi-camera systems are among those categorized as "alternative" systems. Range meter systems typically use an infrared pulsed laser and mechanical scanning techniques to project a dot laser across an object and then measure the phase delay of the reflected signal. As range meter systems typically incorporate a single dot method of data collection, they generally have the speed limitations that are intrinsic to single-point scanners. Additional accuracy problems occur because depth coordinates are not sufficiently accurate, such that in some systems, when an object is large, ghosts can appear on the scan.
Another type of alternative scanning system is a stereoscopic system which uses several CCD cameras located at known distances from each other. The captured images are processed with a pattern recognition system which maps the various points of an object captured by the cameras, thereby obtaining the shape/contour information. One advanced stereoscopic system uses 16 CCD cameras. Although each camera in such a system has a small exposure time, it takes several minutes to analyze the data for each scan. This can cause the system to delay, sometimes up to six minutes per scan. In this type of system, the device must also project a special grid on an object to obtain reference points for gluing a complete 3D picture. In addition, accuracy is sometimes a problem because stereoscopic scanning relies on light reflecting properties. The systems make assumptions based on Lambertian reflecting properties to determine resolution surface features of the scanned objects. Different surfaces can dictate different results for the same object.
Thus, for devices that scan, measure or otherwise collect data about an object, it would be a substantial advance if a scanner could be created that could rapidly gather highly accurate data concerning a 3D object. It would also be an advance if the device could rapidly process the data in a fashion that did not require a large computing system (and allow for portable embodiments), and after computing, create a descriptive model from the data points collected about the object.
The present invention comprises a high speed, accurate and portable system and method for rapidly measuring objects and processing the shape, contour, color and other data it collects for display, graphic manipulation, model building--such as through adaptive mesh generation--and other uses. Because the basic information about the object is obtained and processed in rapid fashion, the invention is particularly suited to scan and measure objects which cannot easily stay motionless, such as people or animals. The mechanical and data processing features of the present invention permit the collected data to be processed with high accuracy. Those features also allow for embodiments that are portable and less costly than prior systems.
The invention provides a system for rapidly scanning an object with a geometric light shape (such as a laser stripe), recording the shape of the reflected points of light by means of an image collector (such as a camera), and, by a triangulation technique that does not depend on the fixed direction of the light source relative to the camera, reconstructing the 3D shape of the object through a computer using the data points collected from the reflection of the laser stripes. With the collected data points, a user can, inter alia, create, display and manipulate an image of the 3D object on a computer, physically reproduce the object (through computer controlled milling machines and stereolithography), compress the data for easy transmission (such as over the Internet), or use the data in graphic manipulation systems (such as in 3D video animators). The invention includes a model building algorithm which provides multi-resolution analysis and adaptive mesh generation, leading to significant compression of the digital shape information, which for most objects will be order of magnitude compression.
Another aspect of the present invention is its ability to generate multiple geometric shapes, such as laser stripes, within a single collected image (such as in a single camera frame) and intelligently process that information to describe the object. The present invention achieves speed in acquiring 3D shape and contour data by projecting


text:
Easternmost Greek Macedonia and Greek Thrace
Mt. Pangeon (Pangaion)
This little known mountain southeast of Serres, and close to the north Aegean, is very rich in flora, birds, and butterflies. Its highest point is 1956 meters (6416 feet). Some 700 species of plants have been recorded here, including some that are not found anywhere else in Greece.
On the lower slopes below 700 meters are kermes oak, Oriental hornbeam, prickly juniper, manna ash, wild pear, and Christ's thorn, and many flowers, including several orchids. Higher up is beech forest with main species found in central Europe, and above the tree line, alpine meadows with many flowers as well.
Many rare or special plants grow in rocky crevices. Many birds breed on the mountain, including some birds of prey, though they are not protected, and the mountain is exploited for marble and timber. Butterflies are also common. There is a road up to the TV station on the top of the mountain, but also roads up from many villages around it. On the north slope there is a nunnery, and two refuges.


text:
The Lena river
The Lena is one of the ten greatest rivers on the planet. Beginning in the mountains of the Baikal range the Lena flows 4400 kilometers to the Arctic Ocean. The river-bed spans as much as 15 kilometers in its middle reaches, while in the lower reaches it spans as much as 25 kilometers. The size of the Lena delta is mentioned in the Guinness Book of World Records. Some of the Lena's tributaries, such as the Vitim, the Olyokma, the Aldan, and the Vilyuy, are longer than some of the greatest rivers in Europe.
The river is bounded in ice for seven months. The ice crust gets more than a meter thick. The Lena opens up in the second half of May.
There are no dams, weirs, or hydroelectric stations on the river. The Lena flows as it did ages ago. One can still draw potable water strait from the river. Amazing landscapes, Lenskie Shyeky (where walls of rock squeeze the river), rich flora and fauna, and unique and ancient culture, could all impress even an experienced traveler.


text: The salinity of European soil is increasing every year, causing severe economic damage (estimated 1-3 million hectares in the enlarged EU). This study uses the biomass of halophytes-tall fescue (grass) and hemp of the Białobrzeskie variety from saline soils-for bioenergy, second generation biofuels and designing new materials-fillers for polymer composites. In the bioethanol obtaining process, in the first stage, the grass and hemp biomass were pretreated with 1.5% NaOH. Before and after the treatment, the chemical composition was determined and the FTIR spectra and SEM pictures were taken. Then, the process of simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) was carried out. The concentration of ethanol for both the grass and hemp biomass was approx. 7 g·L-1 (14 g·100 g-1 of raw material). In addition, trials of obtaining green composites with halophyte biomass using polymers (PP) and biopolymers (PLA) as a matrix were performed. The mechanical properties of the composites (tensile and flexural tests) were determined. It was found that the addition of a compatibilizer improved the adhesion at the interface of PP composites with a hemp filler. In conclusion, the grass and hemp biomass were found to be an interesting and promising source to be used for bioethanol and biocomposites production. The use of annually renewable plant biomass from saline soils for biorefinering processes opens up opportunities for the development of a new value chains and new approaches to sustainable agriculture.


Water Mirror
Produced by FAPA (Fine-Art Photography Association)
Published by Case Publishing
260×360 mm
46 illustrations in color
Text: Yuri Mitsuda
Art Direction: Yoshihisa Tanaka
Price: ¥7,800 (tax excl.)
Inquiry: shashasha/Case Publishing
FAPA website
A camera is a device for acquiring part of an object, and I see photography as pure perception, courtesy of the camera.
For example, a baby seeing a mirror for the first time may start to cry, mistaking their own reflection for someone they don't know, or extend a hand in an attempt to touch the world in the mirror. Every one of us must have looked at a mirror in that way once, but as experience permeates us, the act of looking becomes more efficient.
This being the case, what do photos of mirror reflections in water look like? Both trees surrounding a lake and virtual trees suspended in the water's surface appear equal in photography.I see the water's surface as a fascinating motif for contemplating the impossibility of seeing without relying on experience.
Risaku Suzuki


Family dogs can help prevent babies from getting sick
SALT LAKE CITY - New research suggests that having a family dog can help a baby's immune system and prevent them from getting sick.
Carl Arky with the Human Society of Utah says dog owners often give their pets to the humane society because they're expecting or have just had a new baby and are worried that a dog will make a house dirtier.
But a study out Finland says that keeping dogs in the house can actually help a baby's immune system.
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text:
Nissan end of life vehicles are treated conform to the European ELV Directive requirements.
First, all liquids are drained – brake fluid, motor oil, transmission oil, and so on. These liquids are carefully collected and kept separate for treatment by specialised recycling companies. In this way, we help prevent contamination of the ground, water, and air.
Then, we remove the tyres, air conditioning gas and all parts containing heavy metals (lead, mercury, cadmium and chromium). These include lead wheel weights, catalytic converters, mercury switches and the battery.
Some parts of the vehicle may still be suitable for second-hand use. After dismantling, these parts are cleaned and checked, then stored for use in other Nissan cars.
Nissan uses standardised tools to make the dismantling process easier. We reduce the fixings, we mark our plastic parts and constantly improve dismantling solutions.
Finally the remaining "de-polluted" vehicle is shredded. The shredded output is separated according to material (metal, plastics, and so on). These materials may be further recycled into new car parts or for other purposes.
Facilitating the treatment process for ELV
The recycling activities are supported by the International Dismantling Information System (IDIS) developed in collaboration with 21 car manufacturers. In this IDIS, Nissan provides information on non-metal materials, components and dismantling instructions for dismantling operators.
To find more information about IDIS please access the site. _URL_


text:
Medical Definition of radiochromatography
: the process of making a quantitative or qualitative determination of a radioisotope-labeled substance by measuring the radioactivity of the appropriate zone or spot in the chromatogram
radiochromatographic\-krə-ˌmat-ə-ˈgraf-ik, -ˌkrō-mət-\play adjective
Seen and Heard
What made you want to look up radiochromatography? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).


text:
Determinació de compostos orgànics volàtils i semivolàtils en atmosferes urbanes i industrials del camp de Tarragona
In the framework of the present Doctoral Thesis different analytical methods to determine three groups of organic compounds present in the atmosphere have been developed. The groups of studied compounds have been volatile organic compounds, volatile organic sulfur compounds and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The developed methods were based on the analysis by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and active sampling of air into solid sorbents and subsequent thermal desorption, solid phase microextraction and high volume sampling of the particulate phase of air in quartz fibre filters and of the gas phase in polyurethane foam cartridges followed by solvent extraction by both, ultrasonic bath and pressurized liquid extraction. These methods have been applied to the monitoring of these compounds in different urban and industrial areas from Tarragona Region, area which is characterized by an extensive development of chemical and petrochemical industry. Moreover, no data about these compounds in the atmosphere of this region is available.
Document Full Text
Advisor:Borrull Ballarin,Francesc; Marcé Recasens,Rosa Mª
School:Universitat Rovira i Virgili
Source Type:Master's Thesis
Keywords:departament de química analítica i orgànica
Date of Publication:12/12/2008


error.
Linkage Errors
Linkage Types
Certain functions require a specific linkage type, such as __stdcall. Other functions require correct parameter matching. Perhaps the most common errors are in using incorrect linkage types. When a function specifies a __stdcall linkage you must specify the __stdcall for the function you declare. If it does not specify __stdcall, you must not use the __stdcall linkage. Note that you rarely if ever see a "bare" __stdcall linkage declared as such. Instead, there are many linkage type macros, such as WINAPI, CALLBACK, IMAGEAPI, and even the hoary old (and distinctly obsolete) PASCAL which are macros which are all defined as __stdcall. For example, the top-level thread function for an AfxBeginThread function is defined as a function whose prototype uses the AFX_THREADPROC linkage type.
which you might guess as being a CDECL (that is, non-__stdcall) linkage. If you declared your thread function as
and started the thread as
AfxBeginThread((AFX_THREAD_PROC)MyThreadFunc, this);
then the explicit cast (often added to make a compiler warning go away!) would fool the compiler into generating code. This often results in the query "My thread function crashes the app when the thread completes, but only in release mode". Exactly why it doesn't do this in debug mode escapes me, but most of the time when we look at the problem it was a bad linkage type on the thread function. So when you see a crash like this, make sure that you have all the right linkages in place. Beware of using casts of function types; instead. write the function as
AfxBeginThread(MyThreadFunc, (LPVOID)this);
which will allow the compiler to check the linkage types and parameter counts.
Parameter counts
Using casts will also result in problems with parameter counts. Most of these should be fatal in debug mode, but for some reason some of them don't show up until the release build. In particular, any function with a __stdcall linkage in any of its guises must have the correct number of arguments. Usually this shows up instantly at compile time unless you have used a function-prototype cast (like the (AFX_THREADPROC) cast in the previous section) to override the compiler's judgment. This almost always results in a fatal error when the function returns.
The most common place this shows up is when user-defined messages are used. You have a message which doesn't use the WPARAM and LPARAM values, so you write
to simply send the message. You then write a handler that looks like
afx_msg void OnMyMessage(); // incorrect!
and the program crashes in release mode. Again, I've not investigated why this doesn't cause a problem in debug mode, but we've seen it happen all the time when the release build is created. The correct signature for a user-defined message is always, without exception,
afx_msg LRESULT OnMyMessage(WPARAM, LPARAM);
You must return a value, and you must have the parameters as specified (and you must use the types WPARAM and LPARAM if you want compatibility into the 64-bit world; the number of people who "knew" that WPARAM meant WORD and simply wrote (WORD, LONG) in their Win16 code paid the penalty when they went to Win32 where it is actually (UNSIGNED LONG, LONG), and it will be different again in Win64, so why do it wrong by trying to be cute?)
Note that if you don't use the parameter values, you don't provide a name for the parameters. So your handler for OnMyMessage is coded as
 { something here...
 return 0; // logically void, 0, always
Compiler "Bugs"
An optimizing compiler makes several assumptions about the reality it is dealing with. The problem is that the compiler's view of reality is based entirely on a set of assumptions which a C programmer can all too readily violate. The result of these misrepresentations of reality are that you can fool the compiler into generating "bad code". It isn't, really; it is perfectly valid code providing the assumptions the compiler made were correct. If you have lied to your compiler, either implicitly or explicitly, all bets are off.
Aliasing bugs
An alias to a location is an address to that location. Generally, a compiler assumes that unless otherwise instructed, aliasing exists (it is typical of C programs). You can get tighter code if you tell the compiler that it can assume no aliasing, and therefore, values that it has computed will remain constant across function calls. Consider the following example:
int n;
int array[100];
int main(int argc, char * argv)
 n = somefunction();
 array[0] = n;
 for(int i = 1; i < 100; i++)
 array[i] = f(i) + array[0];
This looks pretty easy; it computes a function of i, f(i), which at the moment we won't bother to define, and adds the array entry value to it. So a clever compiler says, "Look, array[0] isn't modified at all in the loop body, so we can change the code to store the value in a register and rearrange the code:
 register int compiler_generated_temp_001 =somefunction();
 n = compiler_generated_temp_001;
 array[0] = compiler_generated_temp_001;
 array[i] = f(i) + compiler_generated_temp_001;
This optimization, which is a combination of loop invariant optimization and value propagation, works only if the assumption that array[0]is not modified by f(i). But if we later define
int f(int i)
 return i;
Note that we have now violated the assumption that array[0] is constant; there is an alias to the value. Now this alias is fairly easy to see, but when you have complex structures with complex pointers you can get exactly the same thing, but it is not detectable at compile time, or by static analysis of the program.
Note that the VC++ compiler, by default, assumes that aliasing exists. You have to take explicit action to override this assumption. It is a Bad Idea to do this except in very limited contexts; see the discussion of optimization pragmas.
const and volatile
These are attributes you can add to declarations. For variable declarations, the const declaration says "this never changes" and the volatile declaration says "this changes in ways you can't possibly guess". While these have very little impact when you compile in debug mode, they have a profound effect when you compile for release, and if you have failed to use them, or used them incorrectly, You Are Doomed.
The const attribute on a variable or function states that the value is constant. This allows the optimizing compiler to make certain assumptions about the value, and allows such optimizations as value propagation and constant propagation to be used. For example
int array[100];
void something(const int i)
 ... = array[i]; // usage 1
 // other parts of the function
 ... = array[i]; // usage 2
The const declaration allows the compiler to assume that the value i is the same at points usage 1 and usage 2. Furthermore, since array is statically allocated, the address of array[i] need only be computed once; and the code can be generated as if it had been written:
int array[100];
void something(const int i)
 int * compiler_generated_temp_001 = &array[i];
 ... = *compiler_generated_temp_001; // usage 1
 // other parts of the function
 ... = *compiler_generated_temp_001; // usage 2
In fact, if we had the declaration
const int array[100] = {.../* bunch of values */ }
the code could be generated as if it were
void something(const int i)
 int compiler_generated_temp_001 = array[i];
 ... = compiler_generated_temp_001; // usage 1
 // other parts of the function
 ... = compiler_generated_temp_001; // usage 2
Thus const not only gives you compile-time checking, but can allow the compiler to generate smaller, faster code. Note that you can force violations of const by explicit casts and various devious programming techniques.
The volatile declaration is similar, and says the direct opposite: that no assumption of the constancy of a value can be made. For example, the loop
// at the module level or somewhere else global to the function
int n;
 // inside some function while(n > 0) {
will be readily transformed by an optimizing compiler as
if(n > 0)
and this is a perfectly valid translation. Because there is nothing in the loop that can change the value of n, there is no reason to ever test it again! This optimization is an example of a loop invariant computation, and an optimizing compiler will "pull this out" of the loop.
But what if the rest of the program looked like this:
while(n > 0)
and the thread used the variable registered by the registerMyThreadFlag call to set the value of the variable whose address was passed in? It would fail utterly; the loop would never exit!
Thus, the way this would have to be declared is by adding the volatile attribute to the declaration of n:
volatile int n;
This informs the compiler that it does not have the freedom to make the assumption about constancy of the value. The compiler will generate code to test the value n on every iteration through the loop, because you've explicitly told it that it is not safe to assume the value n is loop-invariant.
Many programmers put ASSERT macros liberally throughout their code. This is usually a good idea


text: Pottery & Porcelain Marks – Arrows: Arrows have been used as marks since the early 19th century, about 1828, and are still used today. Earliest marks are a line with an upside-down v-shaped symbol on top. Later marks have two arrows, usually crossed, with a few lines jutting outward on each side at the bottom. These marks appear most often on earthenware, but they also appear on art pottery and stoneware. Harker Pottery Co. is one of the main producers of 20th century American pottery with arrow marks.


text:
I am working on the parallelization an algorithm, which roughly does the following:
- Read several text documents with a total of 10k words.
- Create an objects for every word in the text corpus.
- Create a pair between all word-objects (yes, O(n)). And return the most frequent pairs.
I would like to parallelize the 3. step by creating the pairs between the first 1000 word-objects the rest on the fist machine, the second 1000 word-objects on the next machine, etc.
My question is how to pass the objects created in the 2. step to the Mapper? As far as I am aware I would require input files for this and hence would need to serialize the objects (though haven't worked with this before). Is there a direct way to pass the objects to the Mapper?
Thanks in advance for the help
UPDATE Thank you for reading my question before. Serialization seems to be the best way to solve this (see java.io.Serializable). Furthermore, I have found this tutorial useful to read data from serialized objects into hadoop: _URL_


text:
The Indian and Black Rhinoceroses
By Susana Cortázar
Inevitably, when patrons walk through the many animal exhibits at Zoo Miami, they will stop and "ooh" and "aah" at two of our most impressive animals – the powerful-looking Indian and Black rhinos, with their massive bodies, armor-like exteriors and imposing stature. Not only are they beautiful to look at, they are quite interesting and different from each other.
The Indian Rhino
The Indian rhino, also known as the Greater One-horned Rhinoceros is native to India and Nepal. Both genders have a single black horn which develops at six years of age and is used for protection, scent-marking, and charging. In the wild, they rub it against trees to sharpen it, while in captivity, they usually rub the horn down into a nub.
Although it has poor eyesight, it possesses excellent senses of hearing and smell. It can weigh from 5,000 to more than 6,500 pounds, ranges between 5'7" – 6'7" tall and is approximately 13 feet long. An excellent swimmer, it can also run up to 25 miles per hour.
Grazers, they eat grass, branches, fruits, and trees. They also do what is known as "flehmening" – when the rhino comes across female urine, examines it, curls back his upper lips in order to expose his vomeronasal organ, and can tell from the drawn urine scent the hormonal level of the female and whether she is ready to breed.
The Indian rhino's natural enemies are tigers and humans, who hunt it for sport or to use its horn. Dominant males also fight among themselves, resulting in high mortality rates. Surprisingly, the Indian rhino fights with its incisors, not its horn. It is also very aggressive toward the female during courtship.
Females' gestation period is approximately 16 months. Mothers give birth to one calf, and will stay with it up to four years. Babies are anywhere from 80 – 100 pounds at birth.
And now, let's meet Zoo Miami's four fascinating Indian rhinos:
- Mohan – male; in his 40s; one of the oldest rhinos in captivity; caught in the wild
- Suru – male; nine years old; can be seen if you take a behind-the-scenes tour; is used for breeding; came from the San Diego Zoo
- Jaunpur ("Johnny") – male; 20 years old; weighs 4,700 pounds; the star of our Rhino Encounter Station; came from the San Diego Zoo
- Kalu – female; nine years old; 3,400 pounds; came from the Bronx Zoo
Our Indian rhinos are no lightweights. They eat a whopping 100 pounds of food a day – one bale of hay, 20 – 25 pounds of pelleted food, and produce. For enrichment, they get browse – mahogany, rosewood, rubber tree, ficus leaves and branches, avocadoes, and mangoes, all of which are found at Zoo Miami. They also enjoy playing with a 50-pound boomer ball and love to go for a swim in their respective exhibit's pools.
Their four keepers work closely with them to train them to lean-in toward the fence so they can be closely examined, open their mouth to check their teeth and raise their foot for drawing blood for medical exams. Keepers follow a specific behavioral plan and each keeper is responsible for teaching a particular behavior. One of the most popular training techniques is "target," where the rhino is trained to touch his/her nose to the end of a stick, enabling keepers to guide the animals where they need to go.
The keepers work very closely with the rhinos but never have unprotected contact with them. A system of heavy metal swinging doors keep them apart. Keeper Kim Jacobs states that, "although keepers and their animals form a strong bond, we keepers need to have a healthy respect for these animals no matter how much we love them. After all, they are not pets, can become aggressive at any given moment and cause great harm."
Indian rhinos vocalize and keepers can tell what the rhinos are trying to tell them with each distinct sound. Kim explains some of the vocalizations. "Air breaking, the most common, represents frustration; grunting means aggression; and when females are in heat, they constantly emit a high-pitched sound."
Zoo Miami has just opened a Rhino Encounter Station, where patrons will have the rare experience of touching, brushing and smelling a rhino. Johnny, the star, has been undergoing training for three months by means of audio cues to go to the encounter area and lean against the metal fence. Training started with a ringing bell and he is being given browse. Although rhinos are not very intelligent but easy to train, Johnny soon learned that when he heard the bell, going to the designated spot would earn him a treat. Hey, who wouldn't learn quickly if a treat were the end result?
You'll notice that Johnny does not have a horn. He has rubbed it down to a nub by marking his territory. In the wild, rhinos rub them into a sharp point to use them as defense and other purposes.
A funny, or maybe not – depending on where you're standing – characteristic of the male Indian rhino is that it urinates backward to mark its territory. So when you visit our rhino encounter at Zoo Miami, be cognizant that if Johnny decides to mark at that moment, you may need a change of clothes! But we're sure you'll have a good laugh!
The Black Rhino
The Black rhino, which has four subspecies ranging historically throughout sub-Saharan Africa, is not really black but more gray/brown/white, depending on the soil condition and its wallowing behavior. Approximately 11 – 12 feet long, 55 – 67 inches high, and weighing between 1,800 – 3,100 pounds, it runs at speeds up to 35 miles per hour. It has two keratin horns on its skull (keratin is the material that makes up human hair and nails) which are used for defense, breaking through big branches to feed, and instilling fear in its enemies. Its long, prehensile upper lip, much like an elephant's or a tapir's allows it to grasp leaves and small branches.
While not blessed with good eyesight, they make up for it by relying on their excellent senses of smell and hearing. They are not territorial, but can become extremely aggressive and attack if they feel threatened or become confused.
Unfortunately, the Black rhino is almost extinct as a result of loss of habitat and its only natural predators – lions, hyenas and poachers. Its horns are sought after for use in traditional Chinese medicine and it is claimed they cure fevers, act as an aphrodisiac, and help with fertility problems. While there is no medical proof for any of this, the practice has sadly resulted in an enormous reduction in the Black rhino population. In the Middle East, the horn is used to make hand-carved handles for daggers used in various ceremonial events. These handles are considered status symbols in and can cost anywhere from a staggering $15,000 to $75,000!
According to Zoo Miami Mammal Curator Conrad Schmitt, "Zoo Miami has been very successful in producing Eastern Black rhinoceros babies – 13 since we opened 30 years ago." There are now four Black rhinos at Zoo Miami:
Toshi – male; imported from Hiroshima, Japan, in the late 80s and is the father of Circe's unborn baby
Eddie – male; 11 years old; born in Cincinnati and owned by Peace River
Circe – female; 10 years old; pregnant and due in August; born at the Riverbanks Zoo and owned by the L.A. Zoo
Jello – male; six years old; born at Zoo Miami
Their daily diet consists of one bucket of pellets, one bag of produce and a couple of big flakes of hay. For enrichment, they receive ficus leaves and branches, banana peels, rubber tree, mahogany, and a boomer ball, which they love to roll down into the moat.
Black rhino Area Manager Kim Harp, who was worked with the rhinos 3½ years, laughs when she talks about the rhinos' vocalizations. "They squeak like a little toy. They do this when they are calling out to each other or to the keeper. It's hysterical to see this huge animal have this little squeak come out of it." Other vocalizations include growling and roaring when they feel aggressive or upset, and huffing when they are excited.
Circe, who is pregnant, is more "high strung, sensitive to her environment and timid than our males," says Kim. Behaviors during labor include pacing, contractions, pushing, and vocalizing in the form of squeaking. And now that a new black rhino is due in August, how does Kim feel about it? "This will be Circe's second baby and I am very excited to be having another black baby rhino running around soon."
Although there are seven keepers tending to them, the rhinos don't really have a favorite, although they can tell when someone new is around.
And while Indian rhinos urinate backward to mark their territory, they have been upstaged by the black rhinos. How? Well, not only do they urinate backward, but then defecate and kick their dung to spread it


Other Portsmouth events
Leaping Away From Pollution
Please note: Events will be held on the ground floor and are 18years+. Step free access is also available - please ask a steward for assistance.
Past event - 2019
22 May Doors 6:30pm
Event 7:30pm - 9.30pm
One Eyed Dog, 177-185 Elm Grove,
Portsmouth PO5 1LU
Sold Out!
Join us for an evening of talks exploring how amphibians can help us understand DNA sequences and how a new technology of digestive eating enzymes can curb plastic pollution.
Frogs are back in the clinic!
Annie Godwin (Our Body Speaker)
The ability to sequence DNA at low cost and high throughput has completely transformed the diagnosis of genetic diseases. By comparing the DNA sequence of an affected child with those of its family, it is possible to identify genes where sequences vary; these genes are called variants. In around half of all cases, the causative gene cannot be identified. Here we show Amphibian tadpoles have the potential to rapidly provide evidence that could inform both the clinical diagnosis and management of rare genetic diseases.
What is eating our waste?
Harry Austin (Our Body Speaker)
Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) is one of the most abundantly produced thermoplastics and is accumulating in the environment at a staggering rate. The useful properties possessed by PET such as strength, thermal stability and chemical resistance also confer it with an alarming resistance tobiodegradation. Recently, a newly discovered bacterium, Ideonella sakaiensis 201-F6, was shown to exhibit the rare ability to grow on PET as a major carbon and energy source. Join us and explore the usefulness of this new digestive enzyme for future energy production and waste treatment.
Prawns on Prozac
Professor Alex Ford (Our Body Speaker)
The study of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) has led to a better understanding of the interconnections between human and environmental health. This work focused on synthetic estrogens and their role in feminizing wildlife. With some countries reporting 1 in 6 people taking antidepressants, the focus has more recently turned to drugs that are used to treat depression, anxiety and anti-psychotics. This talk will focus on the latest effects reported in wildlife following antidepressant and antianxiety drug exposure and highlight some unusual ways this has been communicated in media!


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- To teach people that people who are homeless are just like you and me. They just need us to love them and care for them.
- To teach everyone to treat people who are homeless like family because if you do that you will love them in all the right ways and you will treat them in all the right ways and care for them in all the rights ways.
- To teach people that no one should ever eat from a garbage can or live without a bed or a home and let them know that there are people that have to because they have no choice.
- To ask every person who will listen to help however they can to make life for people who are homeless better.
- To teach people that everyone can make a difference in the lives of others.


Re: Dissecting the Aquatic Ape: Bipedalism
26 Jul 1996 18:38:33 GMT
Paul Crowley ( wrote:
: Knuckle-walking may be unusual; that does not mean it's "very
: specialized". A Ford Edsel may be unusual without being
: specialized; a refrigerated truck may be specialized without
: being unusual. The number of morphological and behavioural
: changes necessary to convert a quadrupedal palm-walker (such as
: a baboon, or a monkey) into a knuckle-walker are far less than the
: number it would need to become a biped. A palm-walker could well
: occupy the same niche as a knuckle-walker (chimps are not *that*
: different from baboons). OTOH no one has begun to outline the
: niche occupied by the bipedal hominid.
Well, monkeys are pronograde arboreal quadrupeds, so they palm-walk on the
ground in the same way they palm-walk arboreally. Advanced hominoids are
orthograde suspensory types, so their natural posture on the ground would
be erect or semi-erect hand-aided bipedalism (fist-walking). For reasons
almost certainly involving constraints posed by how motor programs work in
the CNS, fist-walking can't be very fast (you can't gallop or run unless
the limbs involved can work autonomously and with low probability of being
damaged in the process). Hence for speed on the ground, you'll abandon the
The niche is large-bodied suspensory feeding in open-canopy forest. This
differs from large-bodied suspensory feeding in closed-canopy forest in
that you can't bridge from tree to tree (as can Pongo or Hylobates).
Instead, you have to climb down out of the tree to move to another tree.
In relatively closed open-canopy forest, a bipedal stance doesn't give you
useful early warning of attack. That set of selective pressures leads to
Pan and Gorilla. In more open forest, or in close forest if the understory
is not overgrown, the height above ground of the sensory organs in a
bipedal posture is useful in giving early warning of attack, and you get
various hominids.
: > The original reason for any large ape to move down to the ground is to
: > get out of the tree it's in and move to another tree.
: Is this true? You're assuming that (large?) apes originally were
: 100% arboreal - like gibbons.
The Fayum primates appear to be (nearly) 100% arboreal. The early
hominoids (Proconsul and its relatives) are fruit-eating pronograde
arboreal quadrupeds from closed-canopy forest biomes. It is suggestive
that the brachiator, Oreopithecus, appears to trace back in ancestry
directly to close relatives of Proconsul. Hylobates appears to stem from
the same group. Dryopithecus, the earliest orthograde suspensory hominoid
that we have good evidence for, had no significant adaptation to
terrestrial movement.
: Why? I can see no reason why a
: substantially ground-based existence, especially for a larger
: animal, should be ruled out. Many primates (e.g. baboons) are
: mainly ground-based today. Why should the general pattern have
: been different at any time during the past 65 Myr? The ancestral
: ape certainly acquired a brachiating capability but that does not
: mean that that was its main activity.
The niche occupied by the earliest monkeys (catarrhines) appears to
involve food collection on the ground but taking refuge in the trees to
chew it.
: > : 2. Likewise we share many behavioural features with chimps, such
: > : as: multi-male groups, female exogamy, tool-use, weapon use, sophis-
: > : ticated social abilities, war-like tendencies among males, and strong
: > : family ties primarily based around older females. If {a} were true,
: > : all these would have had to evolve independently at least twice.
: >
: > These have not been ruled out as ancestral. These are mostly behavioral
: > and hence very labial.
: I strongly disagree with you that behavioural features are labile.
: They are always intimately tied into niche, and IMHO in evolution
: niche is everything.
Behavioral features can change much more quickly than phenotype.
Behaviorally based speciation can take as little as _PHONE_ years.
(Cichlids in Lake Nabunago, fruit flies in Hawaii.) Why this occurs is
interesting, involving how learning and selection interact in defining an
ESS. I have an old paper on the subject from back when I was doing ESS
theory (_PHONE_).
Harry Erwin, Internet:, Web Page:
49 year old PhD student in computational neuroscience ("how bats do it" 8)


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Why can we see color? It's cause for blushing
WASHINGTON — Primates may have evolved color vision not to find the ripest, tastiest fruit but rather to detect that telltale blush on someone else's rump, researchers reported Thursday.
The cone structures in the eye that help detect color seem exquisitely tuned to skin tones, the team at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., reported.
"For a hundred years, we've thought that color vision was for finding the right fruit to eat when it was ripe," said Mark Changizi, a neurobiologist and postdoctoral researcher at Caltech who led the study.
Instead, Changizi and colleagues report in the current issue of the journal Biology Letters, the system seems adapted especially to find the colors prevalent in primate skins, notably changes due to how much oxygenated hemoglobin is in the blood.
The three-cone system can help a primate detect if a potential partner is having a rush of emotion in anticipation of mating and if an enemy's blood has drained out of his face due to fear.
"Also... when you're more oxygenated, you're in better shape," Changizi said. That may be why humans value rosy cheeks, he said.
The clincher: Changizi said old-world primates that have the three-cone vision are also all bare-faced and bare-butted.
"There's no sense in being able to see the slight color variations in skin if you can't see the skin," Changizi said. "This could connect up with why we're the 'naked ape.' "
Copyright © 2006 The Seattle Times Company


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Performance Evaluation of NCB'S VIS-A VIS PCB'S Operating In Bangladesh
Department of AIS, Islamic University, Kushtia, BD
MD. Abdus Sabur
Khulna University Business Review – A Journal of Business Administration Discipline, Khulna University
Volume 5, Number 1, January to June 2005, Pages 19-31
Published: March 2008
Published Online: July 2019
Commercial Bank is the most important functionary of the financial system play a dynamic role in the economic development of a nation as well as Bangladesh. Economic history shows that financial development always starts with a banking system. In a country's development, the banking systems' contribution is highest in the initial stage of development compared with the other financial systems. An attempt has been made in this paper to evaluate the comparative performance of these two sectors of banks operating in Bangladesh. The specific objectives of the study are to evaluate the growth trend of general business activities of selected banks and identify the comparative commercial profitability, employee efficiency and overall performance of studying banks during 1995 to 2004. On the basis of the analysis considering the above measures included in this paper, it has been observed that the profitability performance as well as trend of general business operation and employee efficiency of the selected private banks was far better than the selected public banks for the study period.