profound implications on the inundation dynamics of surrounding lakes/wetlands and the integrity of related ecosystems. Using\ in situ\ measurements and hydrological simulation, this study reveals an altered Yangtze level regime downstream from the Three Gorges Dam (TGD) to the Yangtze estuary in the East China Sea as a combined result of (i) TGD\&$\#$39;s flow regulation and (ii) Yangtze channel erosion due to reduced sediment load. During the average annual cycle of TGD\&$\#$39;s regular flow control in 2009\–2012, downstream Yangtze level variations were estimated to have been reduced by 3.9\–13.5\% at 15 studied gauging stations, manifested as evident level decrease in fall and increase in winter and spring. The impacts on Yangtze levels generally diminished in a longitudinal direction from the TGD to the estuary, with a total time lag of ~9\–12 days. Chronic Yangtze channel erosion since the TGD closure has lowered water levels in relation to flows at most downstream stations, which in turn counteracts the anticipated level increase by nearly or over 50\% in winter and spring while reinforcing the anticipated level decrease by over 20\% in fall. Continuous downstream channel erosion in the near future may further counteract the benefit of increased Yangtze levels during TGD\&$\#$39;s water supplement in winter and accelerate the receding of inundation areas/levels of downstream lakes in fall.
}, keywords = {channel erosion, human impact, Three Gorges Dam, Water level, water regulation, Yangtze River}, doi = {10.1088/_PHONE_/8/4/044012}, author = {Wang, Jida and Sheng, Yongwei and Gleason, Colin J. and Wada, Yoshihide} }


text:
Do the European Great Reed Warblers (Acrocephalus arundinaceus) reach South Africa during wintering?
Publikation/Tidskrift/Serie: Journal of Ornithology
Former studies have shown that the Great Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus arundinaceus) has two genetically distinguishable haplogroups (a ''western'' and an ''eastern'' clade). The species occurs in South Africa from January to late March, yet, in the whole database of EURING, there are no recoveries to the south of the Congo. There are at least three hypotheses concerning which birds are seen wintering in South Africa: (1) the European breeders reach South Africa, but there are no ringing recoveries; (2) a mixed population of birds originating from Turkey, Iran and Kazakhstan (Near and Middle East) winters in South Africa; and (3) birds from Europe and the Near and Middle Eastern populations both reach South Africa. We have sequenced a 492-bp part of the mtDNA control region II in 146 samples from five European breeding and one South African wintering population of Great Reed Warblers. The results show that over 60% of the wintering birds in South Africa carry European haplotypes, belonging to both ''eastern'' and ''western'' clades. Since the exact haplotypic constitution of the Near and Middle Eastern populations are not known to us, we cannot exclude that a mixed wintering population is formed from birds originating from these regions, but it seems more likely that the European breeders reach South Africa.
- Biology and Life Sciences
- Great Reed Warbler
- Control region II
- South Africa
- FCT (Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation)
- Wild great reed warblers
- Molecular Ecology and Evolution Lab
- ISSN: 2193-7192 (Print)
- ISSN: 2193-7206 (Online)

source: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb-edu


text:
What are tracking IDs, and how does the new site help Associates use them?With tracking IDs, Associates can analyze the performance of various Web sites or merchandising strategies while accumulating earnings under a single Associates ID. For example, Associate storeid-20 might use the tracking ID storeid-1-20 to track referrals from one section of his Web site, and storeid-2-20 to track referrals from another section. Each ID would generate earnings for his Associates account storeid-20. He can view earnings for all tracking IDs taken together, or generate reports for each tracking ID individually. If you would like to create tracking IDs for your Associates account, please visit your account and click on "Manage your Tracking ID" link.
We've added several features to the site to help Associates who use tracking IDs analyze their performance and build custom links. You'll:
- Get results faster. The Tracking ID Summary Report now includes data for only those tracking IDs that have activity in the requested time period, making it easier to read and faster to load.
- Analyze performance more easily. Reports data for Associates accounts now include the tracking ID for each transaction. Get all the data you need in a single download instead of generating a report for each tracking ID.
- Save time while building links. You can change the tracking ID to be used in the resulting code at any time while you're building links. This increases your flexibility and eliminates the need for you to repeat steps.

source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


text: This is especially great for Middle School and Elementary School Spanish classes. Teach students the words: "Vive, visita, el bebe, esta sorprendida!" using a Total Physical Response and Storytelling approach. First, introduce the words in the PowerPoint and create a corresponding motion for these words. Then, show them the pictures in the PowerPoint to see if they can generate the correct Spanish word. Once they have internalized this vocabulary, move on to the Mad-Libs style story. Children LOVE to create the story and volunteer information to make the story humorous. This is an excellent way for students to really establish meaning with the vocabulary and internalize it. Afterwards, go through the PowerPoint again and have the students act out the story that they have created-a great assessment of student comprehension.


The working title of the gathering is "The Pastoral Challenges of the Family in the Context of Evangelization." That title itself is important, for it suggests that the primary interest of the synod is evangelization—telling the story of the gospel—and asking what it means for families. Pope Francis famously described the Church as a "field hospital for sinners," and this metaphor applies to the challenge of the synod as well.
The pastoral care of families, far from limiting itself to a legal point of view, has a mission to recall the great vocation of love to which each person is called and to help a person live up to the dignity of that calling. (80)
The document points to three main areas of triage:
how the Gospel of the Family can be preached in the present-day; how the Church's pastoral care programme for the family might better respond to the new challenges today; how to assist parents in developing a mentality of openness to life and in upbringing their children. (158)
Throughout the document, there is an "accent on mercy" (preface), meaning that the Church aims not to condemn anyone. Rather, it aims to "proclaim the beauty of the vocation to love." The gospel of the family is primarily good news about how the lifelong vocation of loving another person for life, and being willing to bear and raise children, is transformed by divine mercy.


Quick Answer: What Does A Unicorn With A Rainbow Mean?
What is a unicorn baby?
Unicorn usually just means perfect.
IVF girl born March 265 points · 5 years ago.
And rainbow baby means a baby after a previous loss, as far as I know..
What does the Unicorn emoji mean sexually?
What does a unicorn symbolize?
What does the 🦄 emoji mean?
What is a 🦄?
A 🦄 unicorn is something magical/ unique, you will rarely find one. However, the symbol is kind of taken over, where every milinial thinks he/she is unique, just like everyone else.
What do unicorns mean on Snapchat?
magicalGenerally the unicorn emoji means magical or mystical. As if someone were to say they're special in a positive type dynamic. It can also be used when someone is trying desperate to convince you that something that is fake is actually real. … Generally the unicorn emoji means magical or mystical.
How do I get the unicorns of my Emojis?
Tap the … next to the unicorns and make your Memoji, then you'll see those instead of the unicorns. the directions when you update tell you how to setup a "memoji" which is an emoji that looks like you. When YOU skipped these directions, it defaults to a unicorn.
What is the meaning of 100 emoji?
What do rainbows and unicorns represent?
The phrase "rainbows and unicorns" or "rainbows, butterflies, and unicorns" is a sarcastic way of describing a situation that has turned sour. Of course, you can also use it earnestly when your new relationship makes you feel like you're walking on clouds.


text:
OMR forms are sheets containing index points on all four corners, and question blocks and answer bubbles for marking the correct answer. Candidates appearing for OMR answer sheet based MCQ tests are required to fill these bubbles with blue/black ball point pen, which the OMR software then reads to verify the accuracy of the answers.
OMR forms handwriting are more popular in the recent days because of its varied uses. These forms have blocks meant for writing addresses or other free-text information. OMR Software comes equipped with OCR and ICR technologies for reading printed digits, barcodes etc and handwritten text, respectively. It can also read images and photographs to be stored in the database for later use and reference.
For all OMT forms with handwriting to be read effectively, the forms need to be filled appropriately. It is advised that you first read the instructions on the form carefully before beginning to fill it.
If it is specified that you use a ball point pen, use only a ball point pen, and not a pencil.
Never use fountain pens and gel-based ink pens to fill the sheets.
If the form needs to be filled using uppercase characters, never use lowercase characters, as the software won't be able to read the forms properly.
Handwritten OMR forms are read by the software the same way OMR sheets with bubbles are read. You may use any scanner to scan the sheets. Addmen OMR software reads the sheets and exports the information collected onto Excel sheet formats.


Ramakrishna Mission, Vacoas, Mauritius
The centre was started in 1941. Swami Krishnarupananda is its swami-in-charge.
 1. A library (with 3675 books) and a book showroom.
 2. Daily worship, occasional discourses, and fortnightly Ramnam Sankirtan in the temple.
 3. Yoga classes, retreats and weekly religious classes at the centre, and occasional lectures at different places in the island.
 4. Weekly religious and cultural classes for children and annual competitions for students.
 5. Yearly book exhibition and competitions (Recitation, Essay and Elocution) for School & College students at the centre.
 6. Celebration of the birth anniversaries of Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi, Swami Vivekananda and some other religious luminaries, as also festivals like Durga Puja, Kali Puja, etc.
Activities of the sub-centre at St. Julien D'Hotman:
 1. An English-medium pre-primary school with 17 children.
 2. Hindi classes for children.
 3. Weekly religious discourses.
Retreat Centre


10X Genomics
The Chromium System is powered by 10x GemCode Technology
The 10x GemCode Technology fuels our Chromium System with an innovative reagent delivery system, set of algorithms and turn-key software analysis tools that enable the discovery of previously inaccessible genetic information at massive rate and scale.
The GemCode Technology creates a unique reagent delivery system that partitions cells or arbitrarily long DNA molecules (including 100 kb) and prepares sequencing libraries in parallel such that all fragments produced within a partition share a common barcode.
A simple workflow combines large partition numbers with a massively diverse barcode library to generate 100,000 barcode containing partitions in a matter of minutes.


Sheep evolved from the mouflon as mountain animals, able to escape predation by leaping between rock ledges. Their defense was their agility. Humans brought them to the plains, where the agility was less useful, but their lack of aggression, speed or weaponry against predators made them a prime target to become one of man's meat providers. A perfect animal in many ways, with extraordinary perceptive powers and some remarkable cognitive skills, they are often treated with complete disregard for their welfare. Yet sheep themselves won't tell us this, for a sheep that alerted others to its weakness really would be stupid. Scientists must ask why we sometimes treat them as non-deserving of moral consideration when it comes to their use in agriculture.
Author Biography
Clive Phillips, Professor of Animal Welfare, School of Veterinary Science, University of Queensland, does research on animal welfare and ethics and policy development, particularly the live export of cattle and sheep from Australia. His work has led to a review of the use of calves in rodeos. He regularly advises advocacy groups in Australia and abroad on welfare issues. Website


The difference between prey drive & hunting instinct
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Barked: Mon Oct 1, '12 7:12am PST
I think prey drive is more to describe the juvenile-like way of just chasing things. No method to it, just chase.
Whereas hunting instinct is used more to describe a more methodical approach. I think someone said something similar above? Same general thing though.
Here it'd be described as prey drive given just the total carelessness about the chase.
And this is more methodical, hunting instinct. An actual attempt to catch. He actually tries. Although gets confused by the initial lack in movement. Pheasants aren't that smart. laugh out loud
I don't think that stalking always means hunting instinct nor that hunting instinct is just stalking. It's just when the dog seems to really have it thought out what he wants. He has a goal. Whereas prey drive is more just for funzies. That's my take on it anyway.
Dr. Watson
Not a wienerdawg!
Barked: Wed Oct 3, '12 12:34pm PST
In her blog, Suzanne Clothier, a marvelous writer and trainer, has an entry entitled "Drive and Brakes and Steering." I'd like to quote from it some.
"For those who find the whole notion of biting and gripping worrisome, perhaps it is easiest to think about it this way: substitute "bite" or "grip" with retrieve, herd, chase. All of these behaviors are aspects of the predatory sequence. In his books DOGS, Ray Coppinger does a wonderful job of explaining the predatory behavior chain - I often recommend his book solely for that chapter.
In our dogs, the behaviors we see are the same ones that would be seen in a wolf's predatory sequence. These behaviors are instinctive, a natural part of the canine behavioral repertoire. Perhaps most importantly, when expressed by our domestic dogs, these behaviors can show considerable deviation from the natural behavior.
Specialized breeds reflect the results of selective breeding for specific behaviors or exaggerations of some behaviors or inhibition of other behaviors.Thus herding dogs exhibit strong chase behaviors but with inhibited bite/grip and highly inhibited killing behaviors, The Border Collie's famous "eye" is a result of generations of breeding for an exaggeration of a natural behavior. Bird dogs have the bite/grip intensely inhibited, thus the desired "soft mouth." In the case of pointing breeds, the naturally occurring stalk behavior is exaggerated to become a frozen "point".
The bite/grip/grab behavior is strong in many working lines, and there is a genetic component to how the dogs grip, where they grip, what will trigger a bite or grip. For example, some dogs bite low while others come up higher -- this becomes very clear when you see dogs worked on sheep or cattle. Are they moving the animals by nipping towards their heels (thus the term "heelers")? or grabbing a hindquarter or going higher for the shoulder/neck or higher still for nose ("headers")?
For many working lines (police K9, Schutzhund, ring sport, etc), there is a tendency to bite hard and to grip with a full mouth bite that goes right to the molars. This is prized, and for good reason: in an attack situation, you want the dog bringing his entire jaw power to bear, not merely the incisors and canines (sometimes called a "bitchy" bite, a grip that is more easily dislodged). These full, hard bites are evident from an early age in puppies from these lines, just as birdy pups demonstrate a keen interest in things with feathers, and field bred retriever puppies carry things, and herding puppies respond to moving things with delight.
Selective breeding is a way of engineering a bigger engine for that behavior (or set of behaviors), so that we can easily shape those behaviors into what we want, whether that's a retrieve of a duck or sheep neatly penned. But balance is the key in any working performance. If you think of instinctive behavior as the engine that drives the dog, then the balance comes in the form of the brakes and steering and multiple gears that allow that engine to be effectively utilized to good purpose. Just as it would not be okay to let a herding dog chase sheep willy-nilly or treat a toddler like an errant ewe, it's also necessary to teach a strong biting dog what is and is not appropriate for those jaws."
I think Clothier explains this question the best. thinking
The MuddyPrincess
Barked: Wed Oct 3, '12 3:16pm PST
I think "prey drive" is something more instinctive and basic and "hunting instinct" is a modified (selectively developed) part of that drive. To me prey drive is a desire to kill things, very basic and critically important for survival. This strong instinct has been preserved in many types of dogs, both intentionally as in terriers, and not bred away from in Nordic breeds. The idea of hunting instinct is generally reserved for sporting breeds and refers to specific traits, like pointing or retrieving. These are unique traits (or parts of the prey capture sequence) that were isolated and enhanced through selective breeding.
My God-dog is a Sammy mix Brady and he has a huge prey drive. I was walking him once with my two pups and my guys who were off leash found an opossum, my Selli just wanted to sniff it and my Duff, a Sheltie Mix, barked at it. I went over with Brady on a leash (because I know how he is), to stop Duffy from barking, and I got one step too close and that was the end of the opossum. I have a friend who has a Brittany Cooper who one day brought her an opossum and dropped it in front of her. She thought the opossum was dead but she saw it run off a few minutes later. Brady had the desire to kill the opossum while Cooper just had the desire to bring it to her.
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as the growing cycle of the vines and, to a certain extent, the quality of the up-and-coming vintage as early as early spring.
He just had to look at the sky, observe the environment of the vines, the flora and fauna surrounding them (trees, plants, flowers, herbs, insects, mammals, birds, etc… ) and also refer to the cycle of the moon and the sun, to anticipate what will happen. Basically, like most people of the older generations, he still had the instinct (senses and behaviours), as well as the knowledge and the experience to comprehend Mother Nature's signs. The reading of these natural things, that my generation has nearly already forgotten, was his daily routine. And it always amazed me to see him in action.
Eyes doubtfully scrutinizing either at the blue or the clouds in the sky, depending on the weather of the day, grasping Mother Nature's signs, I remember him well saying some classic French old timer's vine and wine-related proverbs and quotes (***), such as:
The auspicious ones:
 - "Lendemain de Saint-Vincent ensoleillé, rend le vigneron joyeux dans son cellier." (meaning "Sunny the day after Saint-Vincent day, makes the winemaker happy in his cellar" - Saint-vincent is usually celebrated January 22nd)
 - "Soleil à la Saint-Vincent, - Le vigneron s'en va en chantant." (meaning "Sun at St. Vincent, - the winemaker goes away singing.")
And the inauspicious ones:
 - "Pluie à la Saint-Bernardin, - Vigneron pleure ton vin." (meaning "Rain at Saint-Bernardin, - winegrower cries your wine." - Saint-Bernardin is usually celebrated May 20th)
 - "Gelée de Saint-Fructueux - Rend le vigneron malheureux." (meaning "Frost of Saint-Fructueux - Makes the winemaker unhappy." - Saint-Fructueux is usually celebrated April 16th)
He knew so much about the various natural cycles and signs of Mother Nature, that he could almost anticipate the results and consequences the weather will generate on the vine's life cycle, like if it was snowing, frosting, hailing or raining prior or after this day or this day (meaning prior or after this date or that date), then this or that will happen.
He was like an encyclopedia of knowledge. The vineyard was his life, but he also knew a lot about all sort of food and animals, and also had amazing recipes that I wished I could have written in a book as they were so good, yet well guarded in his mind as he rarely wrote them down. It was all about using your brain and memory and pay attention to all things in general in life, being open-minded and curious and willing to learn more. Savvy? Things that my generation X and the following one, Y, the Millenials, are not doing anymore...
The Evolution of Education over the last 30 years Mathematics by ©LeDomduVin 2019
(Inspired by and translated from a picture found on and courtesy of
3. The rise of the Machines or How Humans became stupid and brainless
Memory is (or "was" should I say) a thing of the old and wise from previous generations. My generation "X" (_PHONE_) and the generation "Y" (Millenial - _PHONE_), (and don't even get me started on my kids generations, "Z" (_PHONE_ or 2012) for my boy and "Alpha" (roughly 2010-2025) for my girl), don't have any memory anymore, as we rely too much on computers, tablets, smartphones, and other gadgets to remember things for us. Consequently, and sadly, we barely use our neurones and our brain's potential anymore.... (sigh).
Therefore, Baby-boomers and Generation "X" (understand Pre-Millenial for those who might not know or understand the concept...), I have a few questions for you.....
 - Do you remember the time when we had to memorize first and last names, birth dates, home and/or work addresses, phone numbers, and other things about people in our immediate surroundings, family and friends, but also colleagues and coworkers, etc... Remember? We used to know these things by heart... But who does that nowadays? No one... Your phone does it for you...
 - Do you remember these long opinionated discussions and debates after a movie or even about a book or an exhibition or an event or god knows whatever else you used to be excited and passionate about?... Remember?... Who does that nowadays? Barely no one... Now instead, you only talk about it for less than a few minutes and the interest has already shifted to the next thing... No more long conversation around a drink or two or not even dinner after the movie or the show to talk about it... You just go back to your social networks and posts with selfies and pictures of yourself in weird situations on which you struck a pose that has nothing to do with you or your everyday natural self... giving yourself and more especially others the illusion of a supposedly exiting life that in reality is far from reaching any kind of excitement.... rings the bell?
 - Do you remember the quality time and special moments spent with your family and friends, or even with your kids, walking around, on a stroll somewhere, riding bikes or playing ball games, being outside, breathing the air, having a BBQ, smiling, laughing, sharing, enjoying these precious moments and the scenery (fixed in your brain as an unforgettable memory) without the distraction of your phone coming to life at each notification of all your social network accounts?... Remember?... I bet you don't.... as you are already too used to the bad habits you took with your smartphone over the last 15 years... too bad, these were precious personal moments that you forgot and probably won't relive ever... (if you don't let go at your phone and other gadgets).
 - Do you remember taking the time just to take the time?... to do something that pleased you... whatever that was... read a book, listen to some music, write, draw, paint, repair small things in the house, fix the old bike or the car in the garage, go for a jog, walk on the beach or in the forest, play with your kids, look at the cloud's shapes, gardening.... feel free.... not being rushed by always having something to do for someone else or being reachable everywhere... Do you remember? Personally, I do, and I loved it...
We do not know anymore how to listen, watch and learn from what surrounds us and more especially from Mother Nature. The trend is to rely on the machines and artificial intelligence (AI) to do things faster and supposedly more efficiently, to obtain sterile results often lacking in depth and/or details and often excluding the needed and unavoidable natural and human factors.
Everything nowadays goes way too fast to satisfy the need for immediate results and instant gratification creating an ephemeral moment of personal satisfaction, which is nothing more than an illusion, usually evaporating seconds later, as the interest as already shifted to something else supposedly even more interesting.... (sigh)...
I see it already with my kids (they are great kids and I love them both), but despite my wife and I efforts to teach them and provide them with good morals, values, manners, social behaviours, and overall a good education at all levels (at home and at school), we can only and desperately witness how fast things go, interact and influence them in their daily behaviours: lack of focus, lack of attention, change of moods, impatience, attitudes, answering back, believing they have rights for everything, and so on, and so on.... (you know what I'm trying to say... yet I still and will love them no matter what..... and, to be honest, I believe that we might have been the same with our own parents back then... but, I don't remember being to such extent....)
It seems that communication and entertainment technologies in general, TV and computers then, but more particularly smartphones, tablets and video game consoles (over the last decade), have intensified and accelerated certain bad behavioural processes in our kids and in ourselves too, (let's not deny it), which became bad habits that are more and more difficult to get rid of, as we are becoming too dependent on them, and, unconsciously, even use them as a substitute for our brain.
So, I'm asking you, in general, where is the time when people still took the time to observe, comprehend and learn from what surrounds them? And in terms of agriculture and viticulture, where is the time when people had the instinct, skill and/or knowledge on how to pay attention to the natural cycles (the seasons, the tides, the sun, the moon, the stars, etc...) and recognize the signs of Mother Nature?
In fact, where is the time when people still had open-mind, curiosity, patience, interest, passion, desire, will, instinct, knowledge, skill and craftsmanship? Is it gone? Will it ever come back? Or would people, from now on, just be satisfied by mediocre results achieved too hastily due to too many screen distractions, as well as lack of interest, attention and/or willingness to do better?
Smartphone Zombies Meme by ©LeDomduVin 2019
Nowadays,


text:
Garner, P., Forbes, F., Fergusson, A., Aspland, T. and Datta, P. (2012) Curriculum, assessment and reporting in special educational needs and disability: A thematic overview of recent literature. Sydney, NSW: Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority.
Garner, P., Forbes, F., Fergusson, A., Aspland, T. and Datta, P.
This report is an explicit recognition of a commitment to apply the principles of the Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young People (2008) to all students. It represents an opportunity for Australia to develop curriculum, assessment and reporting (CAR) provisions for students with Special Educational Needs (SEN) and Disability which benefit from international efforts to formulate inclusive approaches in education and to construct a world-class response to their educational needs. Australia is a signatory to key international agreements which affect students with SEN and Disabilities in all of its educational settings. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) and Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2008) are pivotal pieces that influence this commitment for appropriate provision for students with SEN and Disability. Add to this Australia's status as a signatory on the Salamanca Agreement (1994) and this demonstrates a commitment to inclusive educational practices by government. The call for an inclusive curriculum is universal in Australia. It does not emanate solely from the special education sector which has co-authored this report. Commitment to educational inclusion for all is also apparent in other mainstream peak associations. It is thus supported across all sectors of the education system.


The HLB Concept
Updated: Oct 15, 2020
Introduction to the use of HLB in surfactant selection for emulsification.
In developing emulsifier systems, it is important to select a surfactant/emulsifier system with the correct characteristics to match the requirements of the oil phase plus other factors, such as the temperature of the emulsion and electrolytes.
The use of the HLB system can help in quickly identifying the optimum surfactant system.
HLB = Hydrophile - Lipophile Balance
It provides the starting point for matching the HLB of the surfactant with the required HLB of the oil to form stable emulsions. One can predict the approximate HLB needed to emulsify a given material and make more intelligent estimates of which surfactant or combinations of surfactants are appropriate to a given application. When blends are used the HLB can be
estimated by using a weighted average of the surfactants used in the blend.
Calculation of the HLB of nonionic surfactants
This method has proved very successful with alkoxylated nonionic surfactants but
less successful with ionic surfactants. The HLB system, in it's most basic form, allows for the calculation of HLB using the following formulation :
HLB = % Hydrophile by weight of molecule
Example: Oleyl alcohol 10 EO
 - Molecular weight of hydrophile we calculate the molecular weight of the 10 moles of ethylene oxide ( one mole EO =44 )
10 x 44 = 440
 - we add this number to the molecular weight of the oleyl alcohol
440+ 270 = 710
 - What percentage of 710 is 440?
440 / 710 *100= 61.97%
Therefore : HLB is 61.97 / 5 =12.4
Example of HLB mixture calculation
HLB of a blend of two surfactants, 70 wt% Lansurf SMO80 (HLB=15) and 30 wt% Lansurf SMO (HLB=4.3) can be computed as follows:
HLB mixture = 0.3 x 4.3 + 0.7 x 15 = 11.8
Similarly for a 70:30wt% mixture of oleic acid (HLB=17) and lanolin (HLB=12):
HLB mixture = 0.7 x 17 + 0.3 x 12 = 15.5
The HLB values measured against solubility in water
The HLB of a surfactant, ranging from 1 to 20, affects its characteristics in aqueous solutions and dictates their characteristics and the typical applications where they will be used.
An emulsion is most accurately defined as a dispersion of liquid droplets in a second immiscible liquid. Temporary emulsions may be formed by mixing the two normally immiscible liquids, however, the stability of temporary emulsions produced in this way is poor. Emulsifiers are surface-active materials (surfactants) that are used to assist in the formation and stabilisation of an emulsion.
The optimum emulsifier will also be dictated by the external phase, with oil in water emulsion requiring higher HLB emulsifier systems than water in oil.
When determining the optimum HLB the nature of the oil phase and the emulsion type (oil in water or water in oil) is the starting point. There are literature values available for several materials:
Example Emulsification of paraffinic mineral oil
The literature HLB value for the emulsification of paraffinic mineral oil is 10, but this is an approximate value as the exact HLB will be effected by the composition of the specific oil, plus the HLB values assigned to emulsifiers are not particularly accurate, therefore the optimum HLB for each oil and emulsifier needs to be established by experimentation.
This is achieved by preparing emulsions based on blends of emulsifiers to give HLB's around the theory value as in the table below. Based on the emulsion quality the optimum ratio and HLB can be determined. It may be necessary to make further blends, for example if the best result is obtained with sample 6 further blends with HLB's of 9.3 and 9.1 should be evaluated.
Using blends of surfactants has a number of benefits. Firstly it allows the optimum HLB to be used for each application. Also in many applications, blending emulsifiers with different HLB's can be beneficial, to provide a broader range of HLB's present in the system. This is often beneficial when the oil phase is a mixture rather than an individual chemical species. Blending nonionic and anionic emulsifiers can also be beneficial, in many applications it can increase the stability in applications where a wide range of temperatures can occur.
Sometimes the HLB of the oil may not be known. In this case experimental analysis using a range of nonionic surfactants with varying degrees of ethoxylation but with the same hydrophobe is a good starting method to establish an approximation of the emulsifiers HLB.
Lankem manufactures a wide range of emulsifiers, the following table provides information on their HLB values:
Further reading: The Principles of emulsification
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Dining Out Magazine
Thoughts on "Posible: SPED Students' Pursuit of the Arts", a Documentary Presented by Special Achievers
By Clari _USER_
During the quarantine last year, more and more people turned to online streaming specifically to Netflix. There was a time that my social media feed was full with a list of the best documentaries. I have watched a few, but I did not review or share any in this blog.
But over the weekend, I was able to watch a documentary which I feel needs to be seen by everyone. It's called "Posible: SPED Students' Pursuit of the Arts", a 45-minute documentary presented by Special Achievers.
The Documentary
The Special Achievers is a non-profit, non-stock and non-government organisation that helps children and youth with disability (CYWD) through the programs they created. They currently have two - Mentorship and Expression. The former provides free tutorials and training in arts, music, and sports while the latter focuses on promoting the works and talents of CYWDs who excel in a particular craft or skill.
In the said documentary, Special Achievers ran the Mentorship program by preparing five courses - dance, music, visual arts, creative theatre and chocolate-making for 35 special education (SPED) students of San Antonio National High School in Makati City. The NGO brought in professionals from each field to discover the strengths, talents and train the SPED students for four months.
The Reality
Did you know that 16 per 1000 Filipinos have disabilities? And for those with disabilities, many of them are within 5 to 19 years old. Karen Ann Navarro, Occupational Therapist and co-founder of Special Achievers shared a world report on disability at the beginning of the documentary.
"A disability is not just because there is a part of the body missing or intellectual deficits. There is also a disability because there's a negative attitude towards it. There is a limitation set by the people around them."
The last part is quite sad, but it is the truth. Indeed, society placed limitations. As mentioned in the documentary, there are limitations in inaccessibility, employment, rehabilitation, education and opportunities. Whether done unconsciously or not, people with disabilities are not given fair treatment even in the Philippines.
Busting Stereotypes
I wonder. Are people aware of this negative mindset and its effects? We all indeed have different thoughts and reactions towards something we can not comprehend. But placing stereotypes, especially on people with disabilities, is the by-product of ignorance.
With "Posible: SPED Students' Pursuit of the Arts", Special Achievers was able to point out that limitations are nothing. SPED students are capable of overcoming any hindrance. They are capable of doing anything they put their mind to. Take John Michael Brecino, one of the students, for example. During the interview, he said some words that uplift the soul.
" My two purposes are to show all the people what I can do and to inspire people like me to do the things I am doing. I hope they do not hesitate to go out of their comfort zone, because if you do not go out of it, what will happen to you? Nothing."
The film was able to document the SPED students journey as they break their barriers and the ones set by society. Moreover, their mentors kept on complimenting each SPED student's attitude during the training. No matter the disability, the SPED students are attentive, cooperative; not to mention, eager to accept the knowledge their mentors are sharing with them.
From Why to Thank you
Presented in the first few minutes of the documentary are interviews of the parents. Some of them uttered the word, why. They recalled that they used to ask themselves, "Why is it like that? Why did it happen to me?" Now, they no longer question God but instead say thank you.
Thank you is an expression of gratitude that was uttered numerous times in the documentary. Do you know who said those words a lot? The SPED students who took part in the program. Sure, it is a simple expression and easy to say compared to I'm sorry. But these children are genuinely thankful. They are not ashamed to say it out loud with a smile on their face.
How about you? What are you thankful for in life? And as part of society, have you opened your eyes and your heart yet?
Through this documentary, we can see that anything is possible. As part of society, I believe it is also possible for us to remove limitations. We have the power to create more choices and opportunities for every being.
With that, I urge you to watch "Posible: SPED Students' Pursuit of the Arts", a documentary presented by Special Achievers. The funds raised from this documentary will support the NGO's ongoing art mentorship program for SPED students.
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Urgent Matters
Coordinating cybersecurity efforts between 911 and FirstNet promises to be critical for public safety
by Donny Jackson
Jul 07, 2016
Cybersecurity promises to be a major challenge for public safety as it migrates to IP-based FirstNet and next-generation 911 technologies. Given the constant future need to transport sensitive information between the two networks on constant basis, developing a coordinated cybersecurity strategy for 911, FirstNet and the important interface between the systems is critical.
A couple of days ago, we posted a video interview regarding considerations associated with the consolidation of public-safety answering points (PSAPs), which is a very important—and complex—topic in the public-safety communications arena. For some in the industry, it is a very touchy subject.
At the heart of the PSAP-consolidation discussion is a simple question: Does it make sense to continue having more than 6,000 PSAPs in the United States receiving 911 calls and dispatching first responders?
On the surface, the answer may seem just as straightforward: No, we don't need 6,000 PSAPs. But the operational, logistical and political realities associated with trying to consolidate PSAPs are anything but straightforward. Those realities are even more difficult to overcome in a physical-consolidation initiative, which can require the construction/renovation of a new facility—often an expensive proposition—to house all personnel.
Given all of these complications, it is understandable that the FCC's Task Force on Optimal PSAP Architecture (TFOPA) opted not to address the consolidation issue in its final report.
However, the TFOPA report includes a heavy dose of information outlining the importance of PSAPs sharing certain services, whether a given PSAP is part of a physical consolidation or even a virtual consolidation, which can occur when separate PSAP locations can coordinate in real time via high-speed connectivity that is a fundamental tenet for NG911.
For instance, the NG911 IP-based platform is designed to let 911 centers receive pictures and videos. While this is potentially valuable information, But most PSAP directors do not want their call-takers to be charged with processing images and video while handling an emergency call, for a variety of reasons. Having a team of image/video experts—preferably with help from a public-safety officer to assess what is important and what is not—process the video and distribute key images to first responders would be ideal.
Of course, it is not practical for every PSAP to find the funds necessary to pay for a dedicated video/image team that is housed on site, not to mention the fact that it may be difficult to find enough people with the appropriate expertise that can be available around the clock.
However, it may be possible for a cluster of PSAPs—maybe 5, 10 or 50 call centers, depending on traffic patterns and connectivity—to use a single video/image-processing facility, which can reduce the cost per PSAP significantly. The concept already is used by PSAPs today, as foreign-language expertise is shared by multiple PSAPs to deal with 911 calls from people who do not speak English.
This same concept needs to be extended to cybersecurity in 911 centers, as recommended by TFOPA in its report.
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Discuss this Blog Entry 1
GBH (not verified)
on Jul 8, 2016
I listen to the radio traffic from my local PSAP all the time. That job is one where local knowledge is really prized. You can tell that the dispatching is much more efficient when the dispatcher knows the area they are dispatching. In the utility business, where I do telecommunications work, radio traffic between mobiles and dispatch fell dramatically when local dispatch was consolidated. I believe that had a lot to do with the dispatchers now having a lot less local knowledge. That personal relationship and trust between local personnel is invaluable too
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This is kind of related to this, Defining a CFT using beta-functions
So what would be the right definition of a CFT even classically?
 - Is it true that classically one will call a theory scale invariant only if the action is invariant under scale transformations? (and not by the Lagrangian density)
For example under the scale transformations $x' = \lambda x$, in $3+1$ the scalar field goes as $\phi'(x') = \lambda \phi(x)$ and in $1+1$ it goes as $\phi'(x') = \phi (x)$. This means that in $3+1$ the action of the massless scalar field is not scale invariant but in $1+1$ it is but the Lagrangian density goes the otherway. But from the point of view of beta-functions isn't it more consistent to call the $1+1$ theory as a CFT but not the one in $3+1$?
Isn't a massless scalar field theory in $3+1$ guaranteed to produce mass by RG flow whereas the $1+1$ theory will not?
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1 Answer 1
A classical field theory is said to be conformally invariant iff the action is left invariant under the action of the conformal transformations (as usual when we define a symmetry of a theory). The action for the free massless scalar field is invariant under scale transformations in any dimensions because the (classical) scaling dimension for the scalar field is taken to be $(d-2)/2$. In the interacting case (but still classical), it is enough for the couplings to be dimensionless to ensure scale invariance. So for exemple in four dimensions, you can have only $\phi^4$ interactions. In any cases, a mass term will always break scale invariance.
For the quantum aspects, it is good to keep in mind that generically, a classical interacting conformal theory will not remains conformal after quantization (in particular, this is true also in two dimensions, answering one of your questions). Typically, to define the quantum theory one need to introduce a UV-cutoff, and this will generically trigger some non-trivial RG flow, breaking scale invariance. I think the answer to the previous question Defining a CFT using beta-functions contains good elements on this discussion, so I shall refrain to reproduce it here.
I hope this help!
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I didn't understand your comment about the action being scale invariant for a massless scalar in any dimension. That was the point of my question - under $x' = \lambda x$, $\phi'(x') = \lambda \phi(x)$, $\int d^4x (\partial _\mu \phi(x))^2$ is not scale invariant. The action in primed variables is $\lambda ^4$ times the unprimed one - it comes from the measure (though the Lagrangian density is covariant) – user6818 Mar 30 '13 at 2:45
The Lagrangian density has mass dimension $4$, that's easy to see: $[\partial_\mu] = [\phi] = 1$ (in 4D). So the action, including the measure, will be invariant. – Vibert Mar 30 '13 at 9:56
Actually there is a mistake in your formula, user6818. In four dimensions, $\phi'(\lambda x)=\lambda^{-1} \phi (x)$. – Bru Mar 30 '13 at 10:05
_USER_ Ah! Here I guess the power of $\lambda$ is being determined by trying to ensure that as a $1-form$, $\phi'(x')dx' = \phi(x)dx$..right? In general for a primary operator of weight $(h,\bar{h})$ one would want $A(z',\bar{z}')(dz')^h (d\bar{z}')^{\bar{h}} = A(z,\bar{z})dz d\bar{z}$ So for every $d$ I guess one will have to first derive the values of $h$ and $\bar{h}$ such that one can satisfy $h + \bar{h} = mass\text{ }dimension$ and $h - \bar{h} = spin$..right? – user6818 Mar 30 '13 at 22:40
_USER_: I think there is some confusion in your messages. A mass term will automatically break conformal invariance, as it introduce a mass scale in the theory. Moreover, the very notion of RG flow is intrinsically quantum-mechanical, and thus it is meaningless to talk about RG flows in a classical theory. Finally, a free quantum theory never runs. These three facts should be usefull to solve some puzzles you raised. – Bru Mar 31 '13 at 11:37
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How does Miller use the father-son relationships to question the values of 1940's America? ("Death of a Salesman" by Arthur Miller)
In America in the 1940's, material success was preferable to anything else. Some people in 'the land of opportunities,' were experiencing immense prosperity and unprecedented wealth as social processes were occurring. It was the time when the war between capitalism and communism was occurring i.e. The Cold War, hence the era of McCarthy and un-Americanism. Here was too the time where the majority of citizens in the USA believed in the American Dream, which is the pursuit of material prosperity - that people work more hours and harder to get bigger rewards, financial freedom and the fruits of prosperity for their families. It also can be defined as an American ideal to a happy and successful life to which all may aspire to. The 1940's was also a period of mass unemployment and of an economic depression. The dream thus represented a reaffirmation of traditional American hopes in this time period for its citizens.
Through Miller's play "Death of a Salesman', the relationships between Willy and his two sons Biff and Happy, and Charlie and his son Bernard, are used to reflect upon how significant the dream was for many Americans, and how it leads to either financial and spiritual harmony or distress, or even total devastation.
Willy believes wholeheartedly in what he considers the promise of "The American Dream" - that a 'well-liked' and 'personally attractive' man in business will unquestionably acquire the material comforts offered by modern American life. Oddly, his obsession with the superficial qualities of attractiveness and likeability is at odds with a more gritty, more rewarding understanding of the American Dream that identifies hard work without complaint as the key to success. Willy's interpretation of likeability is superficial--he childishly dislikes Bernard because he considers Bernard a nerd. Willy's faith in his underdeveloped version of the...


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It is closely related to qualities such as character, resilience, grit, etc. It is defined as:
A personality trait which determines, in large part, how people respond to challenge, stress and pressure, irrespective of their circumstances.
Mental Toughness is important and valuable for everyone at two levels.
Firstly, it explains why people behave the way they do. Personality can be defined as an individual's characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting – personality can explain individual differences and how individuals act in to specific events.
The output from many personality measures and psychometric instruments is designed to examine specific psychiatric behaviour i.e. the acting dimension. That is perfectly reasonable and there is little doubt that this is a good and valuable purpose for these measures. But it is different from MTQ assessments in important ways.
Mental Toughness is a personality trait which describes mindset. It examines what is in the mind of the individual to explain why they behave the way they do. So there is an obvious link between mindset and behaviour – this is especially important for young people in understanding who they are and how they can realise their potential in the way they behave.
You could describe mindset as both the pre-cursor to behaviour and the explanation for much behaviour.
Secondly, research and case studies from education and the third sector show that Mental Toughness is a major factor in most of the important outcomes for individuals:
Performance – explaining up to 25% of the variation in performance in individuals. MT people deliver more, work more purposefully, show greater commitment to purpose and are more competitive. This translates into better academic or social action achievement, personal development, and better attendance.
Wellbeing – more contented. MT people show better stress management, willingness to participate, better attendance, are less likely to develop mental health issues, sleep better and are less prone to bullying. They can take stressors in their stride.
Positive Behaviour – more engaged. MT people are more positive, more "can do", respond positively to change and adversity, show better attendance, contribute to a positive culture and a stronger focus on the opportnuities in the world of employment.
Openness to Learning – more aspirational. MT people are more ambitious, prepared to manage more risk – seeing opportunity for learning everywhere and understanding the
need for a transferable skillset in preparedness for the world of employment and manage transition better – crucially important in the 21st century. These translate into real and tangible benefits for organisations and individuals.
Crucially all can be developed through targeted coaching, training and development.
AQR and Mental Toughness Partners have a wealth of experience in this area and have developed mental toughness development programs specific to the education sector.
Benefits of Developing Mental Toughness in Students
One of the greatest challenges facing society today is that of developing young people who are the future generators of wealth so that they can play a full and productive part in the economic and social development of the world they inhabit. This need is particularly acute in the West where the old order is fast disappearing.
The purpose of education and youth work is not only to ensure that young people are skilled and qualified. It must also prepare young people with attributes and qualities that enable them to apply what they learn in a challenging, changing and often stressful world.
A number of initiatives have recently emerged which all have the same goal – to prepare young people for life in a world that demands resilience, confidence, grit, tenacity and commitment in addition to vocational and academic skills. Possible the most important of these is Mental Toughness which, arguably, embraces most, if not all, of the other initiatives in producing the most comprehensive and enduring approach.
There are many issues from the perspective of students. Developing Mental Toughness in young people and students will assist them with:
Transition – both on entry to secondary school from junior school and preparation for life after school (work or further education). Settling into a new school quickly and effectively is a major determinant of success for a long time.
Performance – mainly exam performance but it can embrace doing good quality course work, assignments and even achieving in non-core activities such as sports. It can be focused broadly on year groups or on specific groups – e.g. economically or socially disadvantaged, poor attenders and even "gifted and talented" who find school boring.
Well-Being – simply being contented, enjoying school life, dealing effectively with bullying behaviour.
Positive Behaviour– volunteering, engaging with core and non-core activities, attendance, engagement with student life, developing peer relationships (friends) classroom behaviour.
Employability – preparation of mindset for finding a job or continuing onto further study or vocational training centres.
In Further and Higher Education we also see:
Retention – reducing drop out from programmes and courses
- Mental Toughness Package for Young People
- Mental Toughness Coaching Package for Young People
- UCanPass Program for Schools and Educational Bodies


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term(7) Miscellaneous Information Manual term(7)
term - conventions for naming terminal types
The environment variable TERM should normally contain the type name of the terminal, console or display-device type you are using. This information is critical for all screen-oriented programs, including your editor and mailer. A default TERM value will be set on a per-line basis by either /etc/inittab (e.g., System-V-like UNIXes) or /etc/ttys (BSD UNIXes). This will nearly always suffice for workstation and microcomputer consoles. If you use a dialup line, the type of device attached to it may vary. Older UNIX systems pre-set a very dumb terminal type like "dumb" or "dialup" on dialup lines. Newer ones may pre-set "vt100", reflecting the prevalence of DEC VT100-compatible terminals and personal-computer emulators. Modern telnets pass your TERM environment variable from the local side to the remote one. There can be problems if the remote terminfo or termcap entry for your type is not compatible with yours, but this situation is rare and can almost always be avoided by explicitly exporting "vt100" (assuming you are in fact using a VT100-superset console, terminal, or terminal emulator.) In any case, you are free to override the system TERM setting to your taste in your shell profile. The tset(1) utility may be of assistance; you can give it a set of rules for deducing or requesting a terminal type based on the tty device and baud rate. Setting your own TERM value may also be useful if you have created a custom entry incorporating options (such as visual bell or reversevideo) which you wish to override the system default type for your line. Terminal type descriptions are stored as files of capability data underneath /usr/share/terminfo. To browse a list of all terminal names recognized by the system, do toe | more from your shell. These capability files are in a binary format optimized for retrieval speed (unlike the old text-based termcap format they replace); to examine an entry, you must use the infocmp(1M) command. Invoke it as follows: infocmp entry_name where entry_name is the name of the type you wish to examine (and the name of its capability file the subdirectory of /usr/share/terminfo named for its first letter). This command dumps a capability file in the text format described by terminfo(5). The first line of a terminfo(5) description gives the names by which terminfo knows a terminal, separated by "|" (pipe-bar) characters with the last name field terminated by a comma. The first name field is the type's primary name, and is the one to use when setting TERM. The last name field (if distinct from the first) is actually a description of the terminal type (it may contain blanks; the others must be single words). Name fields between the first and last (if present) are aliases for the terminal, usually historical names retained for compatibility. There are some conventions for how to choose terminal primary names that help keep them informative and unique. Here is a step-by-step guide to naming terminals that also explains how to parse them: First, choose a root name. The root will consist of a lower-case letter followed by up to seven lower-case letters or digits. You need to avoid using punctuation characters in root names, because they are used and interpreted as filenames and shell meta-characters (such as!, $, *,?, etc.) embedded in them may cause odd and unhelpful behavior. The slash (/), or any other character that may be interpreted by anyone's file system (\, $, [, ]), is especially dangerous (terminfo is platform-independent, and choosing names with special characters could someday make life difficult for users of a future port). The dot (.) character is relatively safe as long as there is at most one per root name; some historical terminfo names use it. The root name for a terminal or workstation console type should almost always begin with a vendor prefix (such as hp for Hewlett-Packard, wy for Wyse, or att for AT&T terminals), or a common name of the terminal line (vt for the VT series of terminals from DEC, or sun for Sun Microsystems workstation consoles, or regent for the ADDS Regent series. You can list the terminfo tree to see what prefixes are already in common use. The root name prefix should be followed when appropriate by a model number; thus vt100, hp2621, wy50. The root name for a PC-Unix console type should be the OS name, i.e., linux, bsdos, freebsd, netbsd. It should not be console or any other generic that might cause confusion in a multi-platform environment! If a model number follows, it should indicate either the OS release level or the console driver release level. The root name for a terminal emulator (assuming it does not fit one of the standard ANSI or vt100 types) should be the program name or a readily recognizable abbreviation of it (i.e., versaterm, ctrm). Following the root name, you may add any reasonable number of hyphenseparated feature suffixes. 2p Has two pages of memory. Likewise 4p, 8p, etc. mc Magic-cookie. Some terminals (notably older Wyses) can only support one attribute without magic-cookie lossage. Their base entry is usually paired with another that has this suffix and uses magic cookies to support multiple attributes. -am Enable auto-margin (right-margin wraparound). -m Mono mode - suppress color support. -na No arrow keys - termcap ignores arrow keys which are actually there on the terminal, so the user can use the arrow keys locally. -nam No auto-margin - suppress am capability. -nl No labels - suppress soft labels. -nsl No status line - suppress status line. -pp Has a printer port which is used. -rv Terminal in reverse video mode (black on white). -s Enable status line. -vb Use visible bell (flash) rather than beep. -w Wide; terminal is in 132-column mode. Conventionally, if your terminal type is a variant intended to specify a line height, that suffix should go first. So, for a hypothetical FuBarCo model 2317 terminal in 30-line mode with reverse video, best form would be fubar-30-rv (rather than, say, "fubar-rv-30"). Terminal types that are written not as standalone entries, but rather as components to be plugged into other entries via use capabilities, are distinguished by using embedded plus signs rather than dashes. Commands which use a terminal type to control display often accept a -T option that accepts a terminal name argument. Such programs should fall back on the TERM environment variable when no -T option is specified.
For maximum compatibility with older System V UNIXes, names and aliases should be unique within the first 14 characters.
/usr/share/terminfo/?/* compiled terminal capability data base /etc/inittab tty line initialization (AT&T-like UNIXes) /etc/ttys tty line initialization (BSD-like UNIXes)
curses(3X), terminfo(5), term(5). term(7)


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The Gateways of Wisdom
Gradually, Karl and I work out that our healing process involves holding a question or problem in our hearts and minds and journeying with it through the four Gateways and into the realms of Acceptance, Gratitude, Forgiveness, and Engagement to open up opportunities for healing and reconciliation. Each domain has its own Gateway of Wisdom.
As we approach a Gateway, we may read (or hear) an encouraging message that relates to our specific inquiry. Or we may listen to a more generic message, designed to open us up to its wisdom. For example, approaching Gratitude, we might hear something like this: "Allow your heart to soften as you contemplate the gifts you received from your loved one." Read more


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oil supplements in epilepsy?
There was concern for a number of years that evening primrose oil might cause seizures and advice was given not to use this in epilepsy. Evidence was based on two studies published in the early 1980s on use of evening primrose oil in schizophrenia treatment. A re-examination of this data (Puri, 2007) found the original reports to be spurious and concluded the oil might actually have benefits in epilepsy, suggesting that any contra-indications for use of evening primrose oil in epilepsy be removed from all medical formularies.
Recommendations for use of EFA supplements while on the ketogenic diet
To ensure a good balance between omega-3 and-6 fatty acids, the oil source should be varied wherever possible, and if using large amounts of a polyunsaturated vegetable cooking oil such as those listed in the above table (omega-6 sources), a small amount of an omega-3 source added to the diet as well, such as flaxseed/linseed oil, hempseed oil or walnut oil. The amounts of these omega-3 oils used can be very small, e.g. 2-3ml a day, but this should ensure a child is receiving the correct balance of EFA. This is also important for children following the MCT diet, especially if receiving a large percentage of their energy from the MCT source, to ensure that adequate EFA are provided. General healthy eating recommendations should also be included wherever possible on any type of ketogenic diet within the constraints of the prescription, and these include regular oily fish and dark green vegetables, both good omega-3 sources. Olive oil, although not containing any EFA, can also be included, as has known benefits on cardiovascular health.
There have been questions about whether any one particular type of EFA rich oil is better to use as a supplement on the ketogenic diet. Although flaxseed oil contains the highest proportion of omega-3 fatty acids, adequate supply can easily be provided from small amounts of walnut oil which is more widely available. There is no evidence of advantages of any one oil type. A study examining the effects of hempseed and flaxseed oil on healthy adult volunteers found no differences in fasting serum total or lipoprotein lipids, plasma glucose or insulin level or haemostatic factors between the two oils (Schwab et al, 2006).
Supplemental oils may need to be accounted for in the energy prescription, and should not be used in quantities greater than the small amounts already mentioned as they provide additional fat-soluble vitamins, notably A and E. There have also been concerns about the risk of increased bleeding time with long-term use of excessive amounts of a high omega-3 oil source in the diet. As with any type of dietary supplement, use should always be discussed with a dietitian and medical team before commencing.
Bergquist AGC, Chee CM, Lutcha L, Rychik J, Stallings VA (2003). Selenium deficiency associated with cardiomyopathy: a complication of the ketogenic diet. Epilepsia 44 (4):618-620.
Bergqvist AG, Schall JI, Stallings VA (2007). Vitamin D status in children with intractable epilepsy, and impact of the ketogenic diet. Epilepsia 48 (1):66-71
Bergqvist AG, Schall JI, Stallings VA, Zemel BS (2008). Progressive bone mineral content loss in children with intractable epilepsy treated with the ketogenic diet. Am J Clin Nutr. 88 (6):_PHONE_
Berry-Kravis et al (2001). Carnitine levels and the ketogenic diet. Epilepsia 42 (11), _PHONE_.
Christodoulides SS, Neal EG, Fitzsimmons G, Chaffe HM, Jeanes YM, Aitkenhead H, Cross JH. The effect of the classical and medium chain triglyceride ketogenic diet on vitamin and mineral levels. J Hum Nutr Diet. 2012; 25(1):16-26.
Coppola et al (2006). Plasma free carnitine in epilepsy children, adolescents and young adults treated with old and new antiepileptic drugs with or without ketogenic diet. Brain Dev 28 (6), 358-365.
DeVivio et al (1998). L-carnitine supplementation in childhood epilepsy: current perspectives. Epilepsia 39, _PHONE_.
Hahn T, Halstead L, DeVivo D. (1979), Disordered mineral metabolism produced by ketogenic diet therapy, Calcified Tissue Int 28, 17-22.
Hibbeln JR, Nieminen LR, Blasbalg TL, Riggs JA, Lands WE (2006). Healthy intakes of n−3 and n−6 fatty acids: estimations considering worldwide diversity. Am J Clin Nutr 83(6):1483S–1493S.
Hoyt CS, Billson FA (1979). Optic neuropathy in ketogenic diet. British J Opthalmol 63 (3), 191-194.
Kang HC, Chung DE, Kim DW, Kim HD. Earlyand late-onset complications of the ketogenic diet for intractable epilepsy. Epilepsia 2004; 45:_PHONE_.
Kossoff et al (2009). Optimal clinical management of children receiving the ketogenic diet: Recommendations of the International Ketogenic Diet Study Group. Epilepsia 2009; 50(2):304-317.
Puri BK (2007). The safety of evening primrose oil in epilepsy. Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids 77(2):101-103.
Schwab U, Callaway J, Erkkilä A, Gynther J, Uusitupa M, Järvinen T (2006). Effects of hempseed and flaxseed oils on the profile of serum lipids, serum total and lipoprotein lipid concentrations and haemostatic. Eur J Nutr 45 (8):470-477.
Simopoulos AP, Leaf A, Salem Jr N (2000). Statement on the essentiality of and recommended dietary intakes for n−6 and n−3 fatty acids. Prostaglandins, Leukot Essent Fatty Acids 63:119–121
Willmott NS, Bryan RA (2008). Case report: scurvy in an epileptic child on a ketogenic diet with oral complications. Eur Arch Paediatr Dent 9 (3):148-52.


Wednesday, August 7, 2019
Alexa, What Is a Conflict of Interest? - A follow-up from the pharma-medical industrial complex
Back in in May, Nicholas Wright and I published an article Alexa, What Is a Conflict of Interest? at We discussed the potential conflict of interest which arises from your digital assistant both friend and sales robot.
A few weeks after the article was published, there was news, that Amazon had teamed up with the UK's National Health Service and that Alexa would provide medical advice.
In some sense this announcement leapfrogged the concerns stated in our article. With individuals' health and potential life-an-death questions on the table, he stakes are higher. And the pharma-medical industrial complex is historically prone to conflict of interest as recently illustrated by the role of Purdue Pharmta in the US opioid crisis.
I think that there is certainly a positive and productive role for conversational AI and AI in general in the medical field. The mental health chat bot Woebot might serve as an example.
However, the ethical guidelines need to be strong and clear and the conflict of commercial interests and the health interests of the patient must be eliminated.
Human empowerment and control - revisited
In the original post on the topic from 6 month ago, I wrote about human control of AI systems in terms of the three categories in-the-loop, on-the-loop and out of-the-loop.
Upon further reflection, I think there's a fourth category: conditional-on-the-loop.
The idea of conditional-on-the-loop is that one (potential black box) algorithm is producing a decision (the decider) which is checked against another algorithms which provides full transparency (the checker), for example a rule based system implementing a policy statement.
If the checker agrees with the decider than the system would go ahead with implementing the decision. If, however, there's a conflict between the decider and the checker, the final decision would be delegated to a human decision maker.
The advantage of this approach is its scalability. Routine cases can be automated at low risk and the scarce human resource can be focused on the critical cases.
The approach is of limited use if time-to-decision is of the essence, e.g. in automated weapon systems, autonomous transportation, equity trading or other applications where decision have to be made in extremely short time frames.


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Graffiti Vandalism in Riverside
Winners were recognized at a City Council meeting on May 21, 2013. View the winning Poster Contest entries HERE. View the winning Video Contest entries HERE.
Take Back the Wall
The City of Riverside spends more than $1.3 million each year for Graffiti abatement. In addition, money is spent by other public agencies, utility companies, and private property owners to remove graffiti from their properties.
Nationwide, the American public spends nearly $12 billion each year to fight graffiti.
What is Graffiti?
Graffiti consists of inscriptions, slogans and drawings scratched, scribbled or painted on a wall or other public or private surface.
Today, graffiti is a sign of urban decay. James Q. Wilson, Shattuck Professor of Government at Harvard University and author of "Thinking About Crime," together with George L. Kelling, a research fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government Harvard, first introduced the world to the Broken Window Theory.
The theory contends that if a broken window is left unfixed it can quickly encourage more crime and vandalism to the neighborhood because it sends a message of indifference to observers. Graffiti is one element of the broken window theory. Once graffiti shows up somewhere, if left untreated, generally more graffiti follows.
Graffiti has become everyone's eyesore and everyone's problem. It generates fear of neighborhood crime and instability. It is costly, destructive, lowers property values and sends a message that people of the community are not concerned about the appearance of their neighborhood. It is against the law, and in cases where the cost of clean-up equates to $400 or more, is punishable as a felony. Graffiti is not art; it is vandalism and criminal.
Parents may be liable for up to $25,000 for each graffiti incident pursuant to Civil Code 1714.1.


text:
Montana economic report pushes Big Coal's agenda; ignores environmental, social and taxpayer costs
from Wildlife Promise
Yesterday, the University of Montana's Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER) released a study of the potential economic impacts of developing the Otter Creek coal mine in southeastern Montana entitled, "The Impact of Otter Creek Coal Development on the Montana Economy."
If developed, the Otter Creek coal tracks, leased by coal mining giant Arch Coal, would be one of the largest coal mines in the country. If mined, it will industrialize an extremely important and valuable region for both wildlife and agriculture in Montana. When burned, that coal will add 2.5 billion tons of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.
Although the study's author, Patrick Barkey, director of the BBER, says that the economic analysis is unbiased, he makes dubious assumptions, ignores the current steep decline in coal demand, and ignores any data that might hurt his economic claims. These issues lead to overstated figures that should be taken with a huge bucket of salt.
One of the major problems with Barkey's analysis is that he makes no effort to quantify the direct, indirect and externalized costs associated with the development of a massive greenfield coal mine in a rural, agricultural community. He doesn't even think it is important to mention that there would be any costs to society and taxpayers. Although he touts his ability to measure indirect benefits of the mine using large multipliers (that he doesn't defend), he says that social and environmental costs are "hard to quantify."
Well, I guess if something is "hard to quantify," a diligent and conscientious economist would just ignore those issues. Seems like the honest thing to do.
Some other major issues to point out in this report include:
- It was paid for by the Montana Contractors Association.
- Many of the numbers that they use to estimate projected benefits are based on a study of an undeveloped surface copper mine in Arizona. I'm not exactly sure how a study of potential economic benefits of a copper mine in Arizona, that hasn't been developed yet, would have any relevance to a coal mine in Montana.
- They do not mention or try to quantify the environmental costs of the mining of the coal including degraded air quality and associated health impacts, loss of aquifers in an extremely arid region, loss of wildlife habitat, loss of hunting opportunities and the climate change impacts of 2.5 billion tons of new carbon released into the atmosphere. Note to Barkey: There is a whole field of economics that quantify these things…it's called Natural Resource Economics.
- The study does not consider increased burden on local and state governments for roads, police, crime, housing and public health impacts.
One of my favorite parts of this report is when they estimate employment impact by occupation and contend that 2 jobs will be created in farm, fishing and forestry occupations. Wow, who knew a coal mine could create jobs in the farming, fishing and forestry!
Sarcasm aside, as a Montanan, I'm extremely disappointed to see this study coming out of a University affiliated institution. People in Montana, and around the country, need all relevant information before deciding on projects such as the Otter Creek coal tracts, not one-sided reports from an institution that is supposed to be independent, fair and unbiased.
The report title really should be "The Impact of Otter Creek Coal Development on the Montana Economy…brought to you by Big Coal."


text:
early 14c., "narrow band or strip of cloth," from O.Fr. label, lambel "ribbon, fringe" (Fr. lambeau "strip, rag, shred, tatter"), possibly from Frankish *labba (cf. O.H.G. lappa "flap"), from P.Gmc. *lapp- (see lap
(n.)). Sense of "strip attached to a document to hold a seal"
evolved in M.E. (late 14c.), and general meaning of "tag, sticker, slip of paper" is from 1670s. Meaning "circular piece of paper in the center of a gramophone record" (1907), containing information about the recorded music, led to meaning "a recording company" (1952). The verb meaning "to affix a label to" is from c.1600; figurative sense of "to categorize" is from 1853. Related: Labeled; labeling; labelled; labelling.


text: World War I…. who would have thought there were original color photos of WWI? There are sites who contains hundreds of photos taken by the French in the last two years of World War One. Although color photography was around prior to 1903, the Lumière brothers, Auguste and Louis, patented the process in 1903 and developed the first color film in 1907. The first experiments with color photography were carried out in 1904 near Lyon in France, where father Lumière owned a photographic factory. In 1907 the Lumière brothers patented the autochrome process they had invented. The French army was the primary source of color photos during the course of World War One. During exposure, the grains of potato starch on each plate acted as millions of tiny filters. The light-sensitive emulsion was then reversal processed into a positive transparency. When viewed, light passes through the emulsion and is filtered to the proper color by the starch grains. The resulting mosaic of glowing dots on glass gives autochromes the look of pointillist paintings. Autochromes were the first true color pictures, and the only industrial color photography process until 1935. Take a look at these great colored photographs from World War I. Enjoy.


text:
Pronunciation: (mō'gul), [key]
a bump or mound of hard snow on a ski slope.
Pronunciation: (mō'gul, -gul, mō-gul'), [key]
1. any of the Mongol conquerors of India who established an empire that lasted from 1526 to 1857, but held only nominal power after 1803. Cf. Great Mogul.
2. any of their descendants.
3. (l.c.) an important, powerful, or influential person: a mogul of the movie industry.
4. a Mongol or Mongolian.
5. Railroads.a steam locomotive having a two-wheeled front truck, six driving wheels, and no rear truck. See table under Whyte classification.
of or pertaining to the Moguls or their empire. Also,Moghul,Mughal (for defs. 1, 2, 6).
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.


Why do we even need robots? Aren't chatbots and avatars enough?
Ask yourself this: Do you prefer having a conversation over coffee or on Skype?
Robots vs chatbots and digital avatars
We live in a world where almost everyone has a smartphone with enough processing power and pixels to display a high-quality digital avatar. Most of these phones also have built-in voice assistants, and smart speakers are becoming more and more common in homes and offices alike.
So why do we need robots? Is it really easier to interact with something with a physical presence? And if so, why?
All great questions — and questions that we get a lot at Furhat Robotics.
The answer is intuitive, and surprisingly simple.
The difference between working with pen-and-paper, a keyboard and a mouse, a touch screen, a smart speaker, an animated character, VR, AR, or a social robot, is all about the user experience. We can likely express any "information" through any of the mediums above, but each has its own benefits in how it engages with us in different tasks. And there are multiple elements of normal, human interactions that a voice assistant or chatbot simply cannot convey.
The importance of co-presence
But why? What is it about a social robot that makes it so much more engaging, that makes an interaction feel so much more natural?
Let's start by exploring the concept of co-presence. Co-presence is the effect of sharing the same experience with another person due to them being in the same physical space. Relationships are based on shared experiences, and throughout human evolution, we have always been "co-present" with each other — until relatively recent technological advancements such as radio, TV, phones, and the internet allowed us to communicate with each other over distances.
We are "designed" to interact with people that share the same space as us — which is why we find it easier to trust or build an emotional connection with people when we see them in person, rather than speaking over the phone or Skype.
If you've ever tried a set of VR goggles, you've experienced how immersive technology can recreate that feeling. A good VR experience takes over our senses and we become co-present with whatever lives in that virtual space — helping us engage with the content on a much deeper level.
The same thing happens when interacting with a Furhat robot — except that it happens in the real world, making it potentially even more powerful. The Furhat robot has a face and eyes, can actively show that it is aware of the user, it can look, it can smile and create a sense of shared experience and connection that would be extremely difficult to replicate in a voice, or even video call.
Proximity: how close is close?
The other side of the co-presence coin is proximity. While co-presence is sharing the same physical space, proximity is how close in that space two things are — and the effects of that closeness on the interaction.
Simply put, proximity is the study of physical distance and formation. Sociologists use the proximity principle to describe the tendency for people to form interpersonal relationships with those who are close by.
For example, sitting very close to someone signifies trust and can even be used to signal a romantic relationship, while keeping someone "at arm's length" is usually the opposite. If you're walking towards someone approaching from the opposite direction on the street, it sends very different signals if they give you a wide berth or if they walk closer to you.
There are numerous examples of day-to-day interactions where having a robot in the same room means that we are applying very similar principles to human cognition as that of when people interact with each other. For most people, it's much easier to buy a car at a dealership than talking to a digital assistant. There's no doubt a digital assistant is capable of describing the features of a car, but there's something about standing close to someone in the same physical space, looking the dealer in the eye and shaking hands, that makes it easier to make that final purchase decision.
The Mona-Lisa Effect
Let's go back to video. The reason video conversations can feel awkward — especially when there is more than one person on either end — is due to something known as the Mona-Lisa effect. If you've ever been to The Louvre and seen Mona live, you may have noticed that wherever you stand in the room, it still looks like she's gazing straight at you.
But evolution doesn't always keep up with technology, and this skill doesn't work over video.
When someone's face is displayed on a 2D screen, a person's gaze is perceived the same regardless of the direction from which you view the screen. So if it seems like the person is looking right at you, they are also looking "right at" everyone who is in the room (just like Mona-Lisa).
This doesn't just apply to video calls. This limitation is inherent to any 2D display — be it a video, an animated avatar or — indeed — a renaissance painting.
A physical robot, on the other hand, inhabits the same 3D-space as we do. It can easily convey gaze towards objects, or establish eye contact with people in the same room.
The potential for multi-party interactions
And this ability, in turn, comes with its own perks.
Think of a group discussion — for example a teacher and a group of students seated around a table. Who determines who should speak, and when?
In fact, the turn-taking between the participants is carefully coordinated and negotiated, mostly using eye gaze. And when someone does speak, how do we know who the message is addressed to — just one person, or the whole group?
Voice assistants and digital avatars are great tools for individual people to use for quick informative requests — but that's not enough. As we get more and more used to speaking to machines, we will soon expect — and need — them to be able to engage in more complex exchanges involving more than one person.
There are numerous scientific studies that back up the idea of robots over avatars and chatbots. Making the user experience more engaging means users get more out of the interaction — emotionally and cognitively. Take this 2012 paper by Brian Scassellati and colleagues at Yale University, which studied the effects of physical embodiment on learning gains.
Chatbot vs robot learning gains
Chatbot vs robot learning gains
Participants were asked to solve a set of puzzles while being provided occasional gameplay advice by a robot tutor. Each participant was assigned one of five conditions: (1) no advice, (2) robot providing randomized advice, (3) voice of the robot providing personalized advice, (4) video representation of the robot providing personalized advice, or (5) physically-present robot providing personalized advice. The study found that participants in the group with the robot physically present solved most puzzles faster on average, and improved their same-puzzle solving time significantly more than participants in any other group.
There is a time and place for voice assistants and digital avatars, which have already had a huge impact on society.
So the next time you are wondering why you fly a thousand miles to close a business deal or spend time with your family — or why your company should invest in a social robot rather than a chatbot — it's the human thing to do.
Meet us online
Are you curious to meet your first Furhat robot? We wish we could meet you physically, but in the meantime make sure to claim a spot on our upcoming webinar to see Furhat in action and grab the opportunity to ask our team any questions.
Furhat Robotics is a Stockholm-based startup building the world's most advanced social robotics platform. Visit us at _URL_.


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How to build a meaningful relationship
So, you meet someone and start dating, the attraction is mutual, one thing leads to another, and then you're 'together'. But now what?
This is a tricky stage for a lot of people. Here we'll focus on the basic elements that help to bring meaning into a relationship, and give it more potential to last.
First of all, what would you like the relationship to become? What does the idea of 'being together' really mean for you? Then, when you've figured that out, how does it fit with what the other person would like from a relationship? What's their perspective?
If you don't get clear on the above basic points, then your hoping for relationship success is somewhat like a little seed floating along a river, hoping that chance will somehow lead it ashore so it can grow into a tree, before it gets washed out to sea to become fish food. It might happen, but the odds aren't great.
Different people have different ideas of what a'meaningful relationship' is, and that's fine, there's no one right answer. But here is a short (and by no means complete) list of possibilities, some of which might resonate with you:
- Being mutually loving and supportive.
- Doing things together you both enjoy, which make you feel more alive and connected.
- Sharing simple moments of togetherness, and enjoying the things you have in common.
- Learning from each other, embracing your differences, seeing how they may be complementary.
- Accepting each other as you are in the present moment and sharing what is'real' for you.
(Actually by nurturing some of the above qualities from the early stages of a relationship, we naturally come to know someone a lot better - which helps to avoid that 'what now?' feeling, after the initial infatuation starts to ware off.)
So, with a better idea about what you're aiming for in a relationship, what other things help you get there? A few things are key for lasting success:
- Helping each other to meet each others needs.
- A balance of giving and receiving.
- Being willing to be flexible and compromise sometimes.
What does'meeting each others needs' mean? This is about offering love and support to someone to help them achieve what's most important to them, because you're happy to, not because you feel obliged to. It's not that we're responsible for someone else's happiness, but that by offering our love and support in their service, a relationship grows stronger and deeper. That is, providing there is freely given reciprocity.
A balance of giving to and receiving from each other (in terms of love, support, affection, time and other resources) makes for healthier and more sustainable relationships. If each person aims to make the other person's life more wonderful, then there's a much better chance of that happening for everyone.
Even with everyone having the best of intentions, sometimes it will still be hard to satisfy everyone's needs together. That's where flexibility is required. Again, it's important that it's a willing act and that there's give and take here too. Without occasional compromises, close relationships don't last very long. If you want a robust relationship, learn to be a little flexible.
So what else is important for more a meaningful relationship?
Relationships are all about being connected. We connect through communicating, so our ways of communicating and the skills we have in that area are fairly important.
It's through our ways of communicating that we are able (or otherwise as the case may be) to develop the above helpful qualities in our relationships. There are some ways of communicating that make it easy for others to be receptive to our feelings and needs, and other ways that make it much harder work! Similarly, there are ways of communicating that really help someone open up about their feelings and needs, while other ways tend to result in them closing down.
"Healthy Loving Relationships" looks in detail at how meaningful relationships are made and how they are built to last. From the 5 key ingredients of beautiful and intimate connections, to in-depth coverage of interpersonal communication and developing emotional intelligence, to smart ways to be flexible, to making commitments; it's all in the book.


Wide Briggs Mfg Concrete Weir
New McCrometer McPropeller Inline Meter With Data Collector
New Watchman Flume
New Montana Flume In Small Ditch
Temporary Pipe And Board Weir
Converting Logger Pressure to Depth & Storage/Flows
If you have a pipeline as part of your diversion, then an in-line meter with an integrated data collector can be installed. The data files from these units are
McCrometer McPropeller inline meter with data collector
easily readable in Excel, and the files can be sent directly to the Water Board to meet the requirements of SB 88.
What if you don't have a pipeline? Then your flow needs to be measured in the open ditch with a weir, flume, or orifice. These devices measure the flow but they don't record the data. To continuously record data, a submersible logging instrument must be used to measure the water pressure at the bottom of the box. These logging instruments are commonly put into stilling wells that are inside or outside the measurement device.
Flume with attached stilling well for water level logger
How are water pressure logger measurements converted to diverted flows or reservoir storage? Why does anyone even have to have an electronic pressure logger? Onset ComputerPMCIn-Situ,, and other manufacturers sell data loggers and water level loggers, not pressure loggers, so why is this post talking about measuring pressures at all?
Bluetooth Hobo Logger, cabled to recorder and barometric compensator unit – least expensive option for a single location
Loggers record pressure, because that is the easiest physical attribute to measure. A data logger in water does not know how deep it is, and it does not
 know how much flow is going by, or how much water is being stored in a reservoir. Pressures relate directly to static (standing) water depths, and then equations convert the depths to flows, or to reservoir storage volumes.
How is pressure converted to depth? It's an easy calculation – water that is one foot deep has a pressure of 0.4335 psi at the bottom. So, if your logger measures 1.60 psi, then the calculation to get depth is 1.60 psi / 0.4335 psi per foot = 3.69 feet of depth.
Note that water level loggers can be of two types. The least expensive are completely submersible, and do not compensate for barometric pressure. For an idea of the readings of barometric pressure in a measurement device, a 2 foot deep logger records a pressure of 0.8670 psi. Atmospheric pressure at sea level is about 14.7 psi, and high in the mountains may be 12.0 psi. Air pressure is much greater than those measured in ditches. Usually two of these loggers are used at once, one in the water, and one out of the water measuring only air pressure. This also eliminates the variability in pressure due to weather changes.
Stilling well in a weir
The second type of data logger compensates for barometric pressure at the same time water pressure is being recorded. That way, the water and air pressure data sets do not have to be combined before conversion to depths. These loggers were always more expensive until the Bluetooth Hobo water level logger came along; as of February 2019 I found that it is the least expensive option for a single location.
Now that you can calculate any depth, how do you convert depths to reservoir storage? That requires an Area-Capacity curve, also known as an Elevation-Storage curve. The points can be picked off the curve. For example, in the curve below, a depth of 8.5 feet would correspond to an elevation of 2,802.5 feet, and a reservoir storage volume of 30 acre-feet.
An owner of a reservoir with a capacity over 10 acre-feet must collect monthly storage values. That's easily done by hand. However, a reservoir with a capacity of 50 AF requires weekly measurement; over 200 AF requires daily measurement; and over 1,000 AF requires hourly measurement. That is really tedious to do by hand.
This is where an Excel spreadsheet can make the task a whole lot easier! The spreadsheets shown below are just for this. The first sheet helps translate a graph into a table of elevations and storage volumes. The second sheet translates collected pressure values into depth and storage values, for as many data points as needed.
For diversion ditches from a stream, how are pressures converted to flows? The logger is in a stilling well, usually a pipe connected to the inside or outside wall of the weir, flume, or orifice. It measures pressure, which is easily converted to depths.
As with reservoirs, Excel spreadsheets make the conversion process a whole lot easier. The sheets below have the rating curve for a suppressed weir, and the second sheet converts pressure to actual water depths over the weir boards. Even for thousands of hourly readings, the hourly flow volumes are quickly calculated and are ready to send to the Water Board:


Silence is Superb
Reading to Learn
Brittany Walburg
Rationale: When students can read silently, they are able to continue reading anywhere they go without disturbing others. Also, silent reading allows for students to think about what they are reading. Students increase their reading speed and comprehension. This lesson guides students to use silent reading confidently by using decodable books chosen by each student.
Materials: Multiple books for each reading level (the easiest books will the decodable book and the hardest will be nondecodable books with more words), pencils, and a worksheet with multiple sentences written on it for cross-checking.
 1.) To begin the lesson, the students will reread a book that was read the day before, or I will have the students gather together to discuss a previously read book. "We can read this book together as a group, but there are more ways to read. Today, we are going to try to read without moving our lips. That sounds difficult, but it is really easy. Watch me as I demonstrate silent reading." Model silent reading with the book being discussed by reading without moving your lips or saying a word.
 2.) "What would happen if everyone in this classroom began reading books out loud at the same time? Would you be able to concentrate on the words in your book? I know that I could not read like that. I would get distracted by other people reading around me. By reading silently, we make sure that others can focus on what they are reading. In the same respect, others allow for you to concentrate on your book."
 3.) "What should we do if we come to a word that we do not recognize? Some expert readers try covering the word up and revealing the letters one chunk at a time until they can read the word as a whole. Also, readers should look for words that they recognize within words that they do not recognize, such as rain in raining. If you happen to come across a line of words that you cannot read, let's try and get another book that we can read without as much difficulty."
 4.) I will model how to do cover-ups with the words "jumper" and "raincoat". I will have the words written on word slips that cover up "-er" on "jumper." I will explain that I know how to say jump so I need to add an "-er" to jump to make "jumper." I will have the students help model "raincoat."
 5.) Next, we will discuss cross-checking. The students will be given a sheet with sentences like "The man put on her dress and sandals." I will have the students figure out if the sentence makes sense or if they need to change a word in the sentence for it to make sense. After this, I will explain that by cross-checking, readers make sure that they can comprehend what was read. Cross-checking also leads to faster reading and more comprehension in texts.
 6.) The students will then be allowed to find a book that is at their independent level to read silently. By using books at this level, the students work on fluency, accuracy, and comprehension instead of new concepts. Next, allow the students to find a quiet place to read, even if it means that they sit away from their friends.
 7.) Assess the students by using the worksheet. Ask them questions about their books to see how much comprehension is taking place. Questions such as, who were the characters, where did the story take place, and what happened to the characters? If time permits, allow the students to tell the class what their book was about. If not, make the students write a few sentences about their book for others to read when they get ready to read a new book.
Reference: _URL_
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text:
Understood by few; mysterious or secret: arcane procedures for electing people
More example sentences
- The compact libretto used less of the flowery, arcane language that once had seemed a requisite of high style.
- This is not a task to be undertaken lightly: the language is convoluted and arcane.
- Here at least, the lyrics are quite clear and not concealed beneath some arcane reference.
mid 16th century: from Latin arcanus, from arcere 'to shut up', from arca 'chest'.
- More example sentences
- She had picked up some tips from her father: watch the wool market because it indicates when a Depression is coming; or, more arcanely, keep an eye out for two sure signs that war is on the way: clothes become drab and women wear boots.
- The legacy of those years is thousands of albums cluttering up our apartment, arcanely filed and catalogued.
- Thus the big toe has been given some recognition, albeit arcanely, as a special digit.