AAAI Publications, Thirty-First AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence
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Multiclass Capped ℓp-Norm SVM for Robust Classifications
Feiping Nie, Xiaoqian Wang, Heng Huang
Last modified: 2017-02-13
Support vector machine (SVM) model is one of most successful machine learning methods and has been successfully applied to solve numerous real-world application. Because the SVM methods use the hinge loss or squared hinge loss functions for classifications, they usually outperform other classification approaches, e.g. the least square loss function based methods. However, like most supervised learning algorithms, they learn classifiers based on the labeled data in training set without specific strategy to deal with the noise data. In many real-world applications, we often have data outliers in train set, which could misguide the classifiers learning, such that the classification performance is suboptimal. To address this problem, we proposed a novel capped Lp-norm SVM classification model by utilizing the capped 'p-norm based hinge loss in the objective which can deal with both light and heavy outliers. We utilize the new formulation to naturally build the multiclass capped Lp-norm SVM. More importantly, we derive a novel optimization algorithms to efficiently minimize the capped Lp-norm based objectives, and also rigorously prove the convergence of proposed algorithms. We present experimental results showing that employing the new capped Lp-norm SVM method can consistently improve the classification performance, especially in the cases when the data noise level increases.
Capped Lp-Norm SVM; Robust Classification
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Heart Problems As a Contraindication to Getting Vaccinated
There are some contraindications to getting vaccinated if you have a few specific heart problems, but having an arrhythmia typically isn't one of them.
Vaccine Timeline and History of Vaccines
From historical safety concerns, like the Cutter Incident in 1955 or the withdrawal of the first rotavirus vaccine in 1999, to improvements in vaccine safety and the control, elimination, and eradication of vaccine-preventable diseases, understanding the history of vaccines can help you understand how important vaccines really are to us all.
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Peer and community support complement and enhance healthcare services by providing the range of non-clinical support people need to manage their health and live well.
Self-management training supports people to develop the knowledge, skills and confidence to manage their health, but research has shown that people's skills and confidence to self-manage decline over time if they do not have on-going support. In addition, people with long term conditions often experience other challenges, such as social isolation, that have an impact on their health and their ability to self-manage. There is an increasing body of evidence that support from peers and groups within people's local communities (sometimes called 'More than Medicine') can build people's confidence and resilience in a range of different areas of their life, which all link to their overall health and wellbeing.
What are peer and community support?
Peer support is the help and support that people with lived experience give to each other. A key element of peer support is that it is reciprocal, enabling people to benefit from both giving and receiving support. Community support, which can include peer support, recognises that people live with their health conditions within a community or social network, and that the skills, knowledge, experience and support (sometimes called social capital) available to them within that community can have a significant impact on how an individual manages their health condition(s).
The key types of support people benefit from are:
- Encouraging and enabling self-management behaviours
- Providing social and emotional support
- Supporting people to address wider social and lifestyle aspects of their health
What are the benefits of peer and community support?
The benefits can be very broad, beyond the impact on an individual's long term health condition, and include:
- Helping people maintain the knowledge, confidence and skills to self-management, by providing goal setting and follow-up
- Addressing wider issues that impact on people's health and well-being, such as providing social opportunities that reduce isolation
- Increased levels of social support—especially condition-specific support
- Positive impact on the wellbeing of people with long-term health conditions who are providing the peer support and volunteering
- Challenging stigma and discrimination within a community.
The way peer and community support are provided can also be beneficial. Unlike health services, peer and community support can often be available to people 'on demand' when they need it, and is usually 'open access' so people can choose to access support that meets their own needs and preferences.
Putting in place effective peer and community support
To get the best out of peer and community support there needs to be a wide and appropriate range of support available, that meets the different needs and preferences of local people. This means not only creating a landscape of different kinds of support locally, but ensuring that it is integrated into the healthcare system and people are systematically linked into it.

source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


Yemen: Homeless families in Taiz
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Many of the displaced people in the city of Taiz western Yemen, are recently homeless in bitter situations, as a result of the destruction of their homes by the ongoing civil war in Yemen in the absence of appeals to claim securing housing for them.
During the recent times a lot of displaced families started to take the streets of Taiz western Yemen as homes for them after the destruction of their homes due to the ongoing civil war in the country.
In this corner of Jamal street in Taiz governorate, western Yemen, Um Riham lives with her two daughters on cartons, so the street tells a story of the homelessness in Taiz by asking people about their daily bread, and their two daughters.
Many of the displaced heade to build a cattege of cartons and cloth to shield them from the summer's heat and the winter's cold, hoping to stabilize their lives.
It is worth to mention that the civil war in Yemen has caused the displacement of hundreds of families as a result of the destruction of homes and buildings.
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text: Above is the statue of Louise Henriette of Orange-Nassau: the namesake of the town, Oranienburg. She was a strong woman who had a large role in government and developed the first orphanage in Germany. She is a special figure for the town, but sadly this is not what marks Oranienburg on the maps. It has a different darker identity. The first Nazi concentration camp was built here in 1933, north of Berlin, and later it developed into the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. In many ways these concentration camps can also be viewed as cemeteries… but not the kind I wish to spend a lot of time in. However, remembering is the only way to never let anything happen like it again and that is why it is important to keep these places preserved.


Towards the Minimum Inner Edge Distance of the Habitable Zone
Extrasolar Planets
The relative humidity is the key controlling factor in determining the inner edge distance because water vapor has a strong impact on the greenhouse warming of the atmosphere, yet too little water vapor will deactivate precipitation and enable CO2 to accumulate.
We estimate that a relative humidity as low as 1% can be sufficient to maintain a liquid water cycle and wash out CO2 from the atmosphere.
If the surface pressure is too low (~0.1 bar), the water loss timescale of the planet is too short to support life. If the surface pressure is too high (~100 bars), we show using atmospheric circulation arguments, that the day-night side temperature difference on slow rotators and tidally locked planets is too small to enable an active water cycle. In contrast, the temperature difference on fast rotators with high surface pressure can be large enough to produce rain. Intermediate surface pressures (~1-10 bars) can provide suitable conditions for a water cycle independent of the planetary rotation period.
We additionally find that the water loss timescale is influenced by the atmospheric CO2 level, because it indirectly influences the stratospheric water mixing ratio. If the CO2 mixing ratio of dry planets is smaller than 10^{-4}, the water loss timescale is ~1 billion years, which may be too short for complex life to evolve. (abridged)
Andras Zsom, Sara Seager, Julien de Wit
(Submitted on 12 Apr 2013)
Comments: submitted to ApJ
Subjects: Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP)
Cite as: arXiv:_PHONE_ [astro-ph.EP]
(or arXiv:1304.3714v1 [astro-ph.EP] for this version)
Submission history
From: Andras Zsom [view email]
[v1] Fri, 12 Apr 2013 19:39:15 GMT (1103kb)
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SCSJ Criminal Justice Reform attorney Daryl Atkinson is a steering committee member of the Formerly Incarcerated and Convicted People's Movement (FICPM). In the following radio piece from PRX, Daryl and his colleagues speak truth to power on issues relating to ending mass incarceration in the United States.
A half-century since the apex of the Civil Rights Movement, the quest for racial and economic justice continues unabated in the United States. Arguably the most powerful expression of that struggle today is the growing movement to end the racialized system of mass incarceration. At the forefront of leadership in the struggle to dismantle the US prison-industrial complex, and to alleviate its negative consequences, stands the Formerly Incarcerated and Convicted People's Movement (FICPM). The FICPM is a nationwide coalition of formerly incarcerated men and women who are holding forth a radical vision for justice and transformation, and who are putting that vision to work in towns and cities across the nation. This 29-minute radio documentary highlights the voices of nine members of the FICPM steering committee, men and women who have experienced the workings of the US criminal justice system from the inside out, and who have dedicated themselves to the work of building a new and better future, not only for presently and formerly incarcerated people, but for the entire nation. The show includes a description of the FICPM's critical analysis, closely mirroring the arguments of Michelle Alexander (author of The New Jim Crow), and it features candid dialogue about race and racism in the contemporary US. Also highlighted are the 14 points of the FICPM's national platform, a blueprint for nationwide grassroots community organizing designed to bring about major structural transformation in the US criminal justice system, and in the US culture itself.
Just as the movement for justice and equality drew vision and leadership from key organizations during the 1950s and 60s, such as Dr. Martin Luther King's Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, today the movement to end mass incarceration finds the Formerly Incarcerated and Convicted People's Movement at the vanguard of the struggle. These are men and women of legacy re-enunciating a powerful message of freedom and equality during this newest phase of the continuing struggle to bring the United States' practices into alignment with its core principles.
"The Formerly Incarcerated and Convicted People's Movement: The Struggle for Freedom and Transformation Continues" is the newest installment of the radio documentary series titled Bringing Down the New Jim Crow. Inspired by Michelle Alexander's groundbreaking book The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, this series explores the intersection of the drug war, mass incarceration, and race in the contemporary U.S. It is produced by Chris Moore-Backman and features the music of Stray Theories.


18 February 2007
Preservation + green = good questions
The Real Estate section of today's Sunday NYT has an article on "The Greening of Graying Buildings." The article covers two successful preservation projects--a NJ farmhouse and a Hoboken factory--which also go green. The most interesting of the two is the farmhouse, developed by Conservation Development of Hillsborough, NJ. (Full disclosure: The principal of Conservation Development, Lise Thompson, is a personal friend and colleague.)
Rosemont Farmhouse
It may not look green... and that's the point.
In its customarily clunky way, the NYT states the obvious as though it were utterly arcane:
THE conversion of a huge Hoboken warehouse building into condominiums and the nearly completed restoration of a small 1860 farmhouse near the Delaware River are two very different sorts of projects. But they share an intriguing goal: creation of 21st-century "green" homes in history-laden structures without stripping the buildings' original character.
It's not "intriguing"--it's only sensible. In any case, the real story here is captured beautifully and succinctly in a quote from Ms. Thompson:
"Sometimes, we had to ask ourselves: What is 'green?'"
Green isn't a "movement," a "lifestyle," or even a technological category. Green is a state of consciousness--a paradigm--a mental model. The challenge isn't a scientific or technical one--the whole question of "efficiency" is merely a sidebar--but rather a spiritual one. In order to build greener buildings, we must become greener people.
Ms. Thompson goes on to explain a bit of her generative thinking vis-à-vis this project:
"The fact is that preserving the house is itself 'green,' because it avoids further development and sprawl — but there are tensions between being green and authentic restoration, and we had to resolve them as best we could."
While there's plenty of room for growth beyond this statement, the point is that Ms. Thompson didn't assume that there is only one answer, and that all she had to do was find it. Instead, she creatively opened up an entire new vista for thinking green: the idea that preservation itself is a kind of environmentally sensitive practice.
There's much left to explore here. But the takeaway, which of course the NYT doesn't really take away, is that green isn't the answer, it's the question.


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CELPIP, Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program is a test organized for evaluating the Aptness of an individual in English Language. Paragon Testing Enterprises, a subsidiary of the University of British Columbia manages CELPIP. The test has 2 versions – CELPIP General and CELPIP General LS. It is a fully computerized examination which is conducted in a single Sitting. Currently CELPIP is valid only for Canadian immigration purpose.
CELPIP Results are available online within 8 business days. To Acquire result within 3 business days, test takers can opt for Express Rating as well.
As, different modules of English language i.e. Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking are involved in the test therefore coordinated support system is provided for each one of them. For example, a computer mouse and a keyboard is given to the test takers for Reading and Writing sections of CELPIP whereas a computer microphone and a headset is provided for Listening and Speaking components.
ORGANIZATIONS ACCEPTING CELPIP
In addition to ICCRC, Real Estate Council of British Columbia and IRCC, the organizations that accept the CELPIP Test results for English Language Proficiency are listed below:
- Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)
- Organizational employment requirements
- Real Estate Council of Alberta (RECA)
- NorQuest College ELP (English Language Proficiency)
- BC Health Care Assistant (HCA) Program
- Real Estate Council of British Columbia (RECBC)
- Alberta Institute of Massage
- Alberta Human Services – Child Care Staff Certification
- Association of Saskatchewan Realtors
- Saskatchewan Apprenticeship and Trade Certification Commission
- TLC-Edmonton Training for Foreign Caregivers
- Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council (ICCRC)
- The listening test is about 50 minutes long and has 6 parts.
- In each part there is a 1 to 3 minute long conversation. Conversation may also be a video.
- Each conversation is followed by 3 to 8 questions.
- Questions cannot be seen while the audio is played, so it is important to take notes.
- 30 seconds are given to answer each question.
- Question types are Mainly MCQs and Fill in the blanks.
- For MCQs the questions are also played in audio form with choices displayed on the screen.
- For fill in the blanks sentences are displayed on the screen. The answers for fill ups are supposed to be selected from choices given in drop down menus.
- For video based conversations it is important to see the video carefully along with listening because questions can be like – What did the person wearing denims think about hiring new people?
- The reading test is about 40 minutes long and has 4 parts.
- Text and questions are displayed simultaneously.
- 10 minutes are available to read the text and answer questions for each part. Depending on the length of the task number of questions per task can vary from 1 to 10.
- Instead of texts there can also be picture based tasks.
- Question types are mainly MCQs and fill ups just like the questions in the listening test.
- The writing test has 2 tasks.
- Task 1 is similar to task 1 of General IELTS. That is letter/email writing for the given scenario. But the word count must be 150 to 200 words. 27 minutes are given to complete task1. After completing task 1 the candidate can go to task2.
- If task 1 is not completed within 27 minutes, then after 27 minutes the screen will automatically switch to task 2. Writing Task 2 is also similar to IELTS task 2. That is 150 to 200 words long essay writing. The maximum time available for task 2 is 26 minutes.
- Speaking test is about 25 minutes long.
- There are 8 tasks. 30 seconds preparation time is given for each. The preparation time starts as soon as the topic appears on the screen. After 30 seconds you are prompted to start speaking. Speaking time for each task is 1 minute. After the time is over the next task automatically appears on the screen.
- Speaking topics are similar to IELTS speaking topics.


How Fast Do Hummingbirds Fly and Flap Their Wings?
Learn more about the breathtaking rapid wing speed of hummingbirds. An expert reveals how fast hummingbirds fly and flap their wings.
how fast do hummingbirds fly, wing speedCourtesy Susan Grove
Ruby-throated hummingbird flying near a feeder
How fast do hummingbirds fly? Hummingbird wing speed varies depending on the species. The smaller the hummingbird, the faster it flaps its wings. Ruby-throated hummingbird wings beat about 50 times a second. A rufous hummingbird's wings beat as fast as 52 to 62 wingbeats per second. The giant hummingbird of the Andes, about the same length as a cardinal, hums at 12 beats a second. The bee hummingbird of Cuba, the smallest bird on earth at only 2 inches from bill tip to tail tip, buzzes along at 80 beats per second.
The advent of high-speed motion photography has allowed scientists to accurately measure and study wing movements that are way too fast for the human eye to see. Hummingbirds flap their wings from about 10 to more than 80 times per second while hovering. They flap their wings even faster during the courtship display dives used by the males of some species. Moreover, hummingbirds can fly very fast, routinely attaining speeds of 20 to 30 miles per hour. They triple that speed during those amazing courtship display dives.
anna's hummingbird wing speed, flyingCourtesy Bonnie Toth
Female Anna's hummingbird in flight
Fastest Flying Hummingbirds
The swiftest hummingbirds fly extremely fast. Christopher James Clark, who has done extensive hummingbird research at the UC Berkeley, discovered that during its courtship dive, the male Anna's hummingbird folds its wings in to its sides. It achieves an average maximum velocity of approximately 90 feet per second. This is the highest speed every recorded for a vertebrate, relative to size. Even more incredibly, as it pulls up, with wings spread, the bird experiences centripetal accelerations nearly nine times greater than gravitational acceleration.
In short, hummingbirds can fly faster than a fighter jet, relative to size. They can withstand g-forces that would make the average person black out.
Hummingbirds are also experts at hovering, the strategy employed by most species for feeding on the nectar of flowers. They can also fly backward and even, for brief moments, upside down. Discover 13 jaw-dropping facts about hummingbirds.
To learn more, check out The Hummingbird Handbook: Everything You Need to Know About These Fascinating Birds, published by Timber Press.
John Shewey
Lifelong birding enthusiast John Shewey is a veteran writer, editor, and professional outdoor photographer, with credits in Birdwatching, Portland Monthly, Northwest Travel & Life, and dozens of other magazines, and co-author of Birds of the Pacific Northwest, a Timber Press Field Guide, and The Hummingbird Handbook. John has photographed birds from the mountains of Alaska to the jungles of Central America to the islands of the Caribbean, and his website chronicles many of these travels in rich photographic detail.


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Co-morbidities in children and adolescents HIV-infected attending a paediatric HIV reference centre in São Paulo, Brazil
A.M. Silva1, M.R.D.O. Latorre1, L.F. Tanaka1, T.C.R. Oliveira1, C.L.A. Barbieri2, H.H.S. Marques2
1School of Public Heath - University of Sao Paulo, Epidemiology, São Paulo, Brazil, 2University of São Paulo, Instituto da Criança do Hospital das Clínicas, São Paulo, Brazil
Background: Due to increased survival of children and adolescents HIV-infected the occurrence of co-morbidities, not necessarily associated with death, has been increasing. We aimed to analyse mild and moderate co-morbidities at any time of follow up in children and adolescents HIV-infected, undergoing treatment at Children's Institute (CI), in São Paulo city, Brazil, from 19991 to 2008.
Methods: 149 HIV-infected patients currently undergoing treatment at CI were analysed. Data were obtained from hospital records and the analysis were done using chi square test.
Results: Males represented 50.3% of patients. Age ranged from 2 to 19 years (mean 13 years) and most frequent age group was 9 to 12 years (53.7%), followed by age group 15 years and older (33.6%). Most patients (86.6%) had acquired HIV through mother-to-child-transmission. The most frequent co-morbidity was recurrent pneumonia (45.0%), followed by dislypidaemia (38.3%) e parotiditis (29.1%) (Figure 1). There is no statistical difference in prevalence of co-morbidities according to sex (p>0.05 for all).
Conclusions: Children and adolescents living with HIV/Aids are susceptible to various co-morbidities as a result of HIV infection itself and/or antiretroviral therapy. Therefore it is essential to be awake to these co-morbidities and its consequences for growth.
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source: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb-edu


Bad or Badly: Instead of Feeling Badly, Just Feel Bad
Bad is an adjective that is used with linking verbs (verbs of being, such as be, become, seem, feel, taste, look, smell).
 - Don't feel bad about slamming my hand in the car door; it happens all the time.
 - I feel bad about dropping you off in the middle of the highway, but I'm running really late.
 - He looks bad; it must be the flu.
 - This soup tastes bad; it reminds me of my grandmother's cooking.
Badly is an adverb, and it describes how you do something (or, as some would say, it modifies a verb–as long as it isn't a linking verb). She sings badly means that you cover your ears whenever she breaks into her operatic rendition of I Will Survive. He swings the bat badly could mean that he swings it so erratically that he has to yell heads up! every time he steps up to the plate.
To feel badly means that your sense of touch is, as the phrase goes, out of whack. This tastes badly means that the food you're talking about is actually what's doing the tasting, and it's somehow doing it in a bad way. Talk about bad taste!
Paul's book–Literally, the Best Language Book Ever;
Sherry's Grammar List


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Australian Shepherd, or Aussie, is not from Australia but instead is a native of the American West. When gold miners flocked to the American West in the 1800s, food became scarce and sheep were imported from Australia. Basque sheep herders managed these flocks and brought their dogs to assist them.
Although the true origin of the name is unknown, most breed experts assume that people thought the dogs came with the flocks of sheep, hence, Australian Shepherd. The dogs became very popular with western ranchers and farmers; they were versatile, hardy, and able to master any job required of them. Jay Sisler, a rodeo performer, brought the breed to the public's attention in the 1950s when his Aussies performed amazing tricks at rodeo performances.
Australian Shepherds are medium-sized dogs, with males standing 20 to 23 inches tall at the shoulder and females slightly less. Aussies are quick, athletic, and agile and can work all day. An Aussie's expression is very intelligent, bright and alert, with eyes that can be brown, amber, blue, or any variation or combination.
The Australian Shepherd coat is mediumlength, straight to wavy, with an undercoat. The coat can be black, red, blue merle, or red merle, all with or without copper and white points. (The merle color is patches of darker color on a lighter, but not white, background.) The breed has a docked or naturally bobbed tail.
Grooming an Australian Shepherd takes only a little time. The coat requires brushing at least twice weekly—more during the spring and fall when shedding is heaviest. Tangles can form in the soft coat behind the ears or in the pantaloons (the hair on the back of the rear legs). The coat requires no trimming. A breed developed to work hard, the Aussie needs vigorous daily exercise. A run alongside a bicycle, a jog with you, a game of flying disc, or a run through the agility course can all be part of the breed's daily routine. Aussies also need a job, whether it's herding sheep, keeping track of the family children, bringing in the morning paper, or learning tricks; Aussies need to be needed. Without exercise and a job to do, Aussies will find something to amuse themselves. Because of this trait, Aussies rarely do well in a home where they are alone for many hours each day.
The socialization of a puppy kindergarten class is important for Australian Shepherd puppies, as they are naturally reserved with strangers. As puppies, Aussies need to meet people of all ages, sizes, and ethnic backgrounds. Continuing training after puppy class is vital to challenge the Aussie's mind and to teach household rules and good social behavior.
Australian Shepherds are excellent watchdogs, although once you're a friend, you will always be recognized and greeted with exuberance. Aussie owners will never find a more loyal companion. Australian Shepherds can be great with children, although Australian Shepherd puppies can be quite exuberant and need to be taught how to behave. Many children get frustrated, though, with the breed's tendency to herd (or circle) kids, trying to keep the kids in one spot as they would sheep.
The breed is usually very good with other pets, although the herding instinct can be quite strong and cats rarely enjoy being herded. Major health concerns include eye disorders, hip dysplasia, and seizure disorders.


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Lindsley Hollow is where the runoff from Bear Cub Pond flows down along Route 206. There are rock piles going straight up the hill, in a row, visible from the road.Going uphill, they can still be seen in some spots, even among ferns that are between knee and waist high.Following the row of rock piles, this ominous pile of rocks appears where the row of smaller piles terminates.Here is a close up of the largest rock pile at the base of the large mound of rocks. Notice the stone row at the far upper right corner of the photo (behind the Striped Maple).Using the large Red Maple with the low Y joint (to the left of the stone row) as a reference point, here is a close up of part of the stone row.In the photo above, just behind the stone row, is a small quarry. My suspicion is that the ominous mound was created by the quarry. However, this has left me with more questions than answers. What were they quarrying? If they were quarrying stone for barn foundations, why did they leave so much rock behind? Why do the row piles lead up to the quarry?
There are other rock piles around, not in the row and seemingly separate from the quarry, although nearby.Then the large stone with the piece of feather-and-wedge-split-granite (from the Near Bear Cub Pond post) is just north and downhill from the quarry. The granite, not being indigenous to the area, would not have come from the quarry. Any ideas on what might have gone on here would be welcome.


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Box Turtle are native species of (Terrapene) of North America (USA and Mexico), of which there are about twelve varieties, characterized by a dome shell, They are allowed to escape the attackers,, The box turtle has become one of the most desirable animals to have as a pet, although its needs in the environment are complex.
There are two known box turtles:
– the decorative box turtles and the eastern box tortoise.
– Before hibernation, box turtles tend to move further in the forest, where they make a room for winter pans, decorative box turtles dig rooms up to 50 cm, while the eastern box turtle sleeps at a depth of about 10 cm. Turtles are active throughout the year, other box turtles are more active at higher temperatures and there are species that are only active during wet seasons.
How to raise a turtle box?
#1 Box size suitable box turtle:
-The turtle may need some space to move inside. Even if they do not seem to move much, they need to provide a wide space or start to suffer, so a minimum of 20 gallons should be provided. The larger the box and the house, the better to turtles.
#2 The appropriate ground for box turtle living spaces:
-You should know that the substrate placed on the floor of the box of any turtle is as important as anything else, and the best substrates are the wet substrate or bedding that contains a large or medium bark mixed with a wet element such as algae. You can also mix sand and soil. They work well with turtles, but should not be completely dry, because the dry substrate causes skin problems when a turtle will affect health and well being. For optimal care, health and comfort, the substrate must be cleaned every week.
#3 Temperature turtle living place box:
– These turtles like most reptiles and turtles like to lie in the sun when you feel like it, so it is a good idea for them to set up a double zone in the temperature of their environment, ideally, there should be one side of the turtle's living place includes a bright light Between 75-100 watts, while the hot side keeps the temperature between 80 – 90 degrees Fahrenheit, and you should guard the other side to stay slightly cool, and its temperature is between 70 – 80 degrees Fahrenheit during the day, not more than 60 degrees Fahrenheit at night, And all lights must be turned on at night to be an alternative source of heat, you may need it To maintain heat if the temperature drops to less than 60 degrees at night. That's why the best reptile thermostat is right for your job, helping turtles to be healthier and less sick.
#4 Food and water turtle box:
When we keeps the box turtles as pets, it is often suffer because its food needs are seldom met. In order to prevent the development of any food problem that may affect the tortoise, the food should be balanced, provide plenty of diversity within its diet, To care for the food systems of turtles such as :
– Introduce vegetables:
Vegetables should be the bulk of the turtle food box system and preferably green leafy vegetables such as spinach, cabbage, lettuce and broccoli.
– Introduction of fruits:
Turtle box loves to eat fruit, but unfortunately, fruits alone may not provide the necessary minerals for the turtle, so when feeding them fruits, should only form a small part of the diet, and the favorite fruits of box turtles include: strawberries, tomatoes, apples and berries.
– Protein introduction:
A high percentage of protein should also be included in foods that are usually in the world of turtles, including earthworms, snails and mollusks. They can also be fed to small mice or very small chunks. There is nothing wrong with dry feeds and vitamin-fortified food, but only about five Percent of turtle food, avoid feeding turtle cat food because it has a very high percentage of fat and protein.
#5 Importance of daily pet control:
-You must recognize the turtles by spending time with them every day and this will help you quickly monitor any changes that may indicate a decline in their health. This way you can make immediate changes in your care and give your favorite turtle the best care, this will help your turtles to live Longer life.
>>See more: How to Take Care of Softshell Turtle.


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Some 3D printing projects are almost unbelievable given their sheer scale — like these plans to create a whole building out of materials made by a 3D printer. On the flip side, some 3D-printed projects are impressive due to the level of detail they host at such a small size.
Take this spaceship, for example. It's length is only the width of a human hair — the dimensions are 125µm x 81µm x 26.8µm. Some human hairs can be as wide as 181 µm.
The spaceship specifically, according to the description of the video showing its printing process, was created with a Photonic Professional GT 3D printer. It took less than 50 seconds to complete.
Here are a few up-close pictures of the spaceship taken through the view of a scanning electron microscope:
Watch real-time the printing of the microstructure:
Learn more about the nano-lithography process of printing in this video:
- The End of Gun Control or Anarchy? See the Chilling Possibilities Created by 3D Printed Guns
- Here's a Recap of Glenn Beck's Awesome New 3D Printer: The Implications and What He Plans to Make
- Wiki-Weapons Conducts First Live Test for 3D Printed Guns
- 3D Printed 'Magic Arms' Allow Toddler to Hug Her Mom
- Material From 3D Printer Could Help You Grow Damaged Bones


Sermon June 21: The Fear of Suffering
Sermon given by the Rev. Andy James at Choctaw United Methodist Church on Sunday, June 21, "The Fear of Suffering."
Scripture 1: Romans 5:1-8
Scripture 2: 1 Peter 4:12-19
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Church Services:
* Nursery care is provided for children three and under.
* Social-distancing wristbands will be available on greeting tables. These wristbands are used to indicated a person's willingness for close interaction: Green = okay with high-fives and handshakes, Yellow = okay with talking but no touching, Red = would like to maintain a distance of six feet.


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ADDITIONAL MATERIALParc cutting template
PUBLIC EXHIBITION SPACE
Is it possible to create a public debate on urban space - around town and on the Internet? A debate that reaches out to a wider audience than the traditional exhibition form where the viewer only meets a work in a confined physical space removed from the context of the exhibited project. Is it possible to create a virtual extension of exhibition space and simultaneously involve the spectators in the manufacturing process as active and interacting users of the exhibit space? These were some of the questions we asked ourselves when developing the concept for the project [parc] at Nørrebro in central Copenhagen in 2002.
Technologically [parc] was based on a discussion about augmented reality, which means that the physical world, we usually move in is augmented with an added digital dimension or layers of digital information. In the project we experimented with different notions of AR to create a public exhibition space in an area designated for the development of a park area for the residents of Nørrebro.
The project consisted of a physical cube printed with 4 different characters [p, a, r, and c] and a user guide inviting the viewer to enter an Internet address where he or she had various opportunities to expand the traditional poster as a means of communication. By installing a piece of software from _URL_ and using a laptop and a webcam it was possible for the user to participate in the public debate. The camera could record and understand letters [p, a, r, and c] and create a digital space around the physical cube, allowing users to co-create the exhibition space.


Polymeric Perturbation to the Magnetic Relaxations of the C2v-Symmetric [Er(Cp)2(OBu)2]- Anion
Tian Han, You Song Ding, Ji Dong Leng, Zhiping Zheng, Yan Zhen Zheng
Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review
8 Scopus citations
To test the coordination symmetry effect on the magnetization-reversal barrier trend of ErIII-based single-ion magnets, the C2v-symmetric organolanthanide anion [Er(Cp)2(OtBu)2]- has been incorporated with different countercations, resulting in two structures, namely, the discrete [K2(Cp)(18-C-6)2][Er(Cp)2(OtBu)2] (1) and the polymeric [ErK2(Cp)3(OtBu)2(THF)2]n (2), where 18-C-6 = 18-crown-6 ether and Cp = cyclopentadienide. Surprisingly, the polymeric 2 exhibits much stronger field-induced magnetization relaxing behavior compared to the monomeric 1. Such disparate dynamic magnetism is attributable to the subtle coordination environmental perturbations of the central ErIII ions.
Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)4588-4590
Number of pages3
JournalInorganic Chemistry
Issue number10
StatePublished - May 18 2015
ASJC Scopus subject areas
 - Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
 - Inorganic Chemistry
Dive into the research topics of 'Polymeric Perturbation to the Magnetic Relaxations of the C2v-Symmetric [Er(Cp)2(OBu)2]- Anion'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
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this fundamentally alters the game mechanics and may be unfamiliar for the player. But the effect could be quite interesting and may well be worth the unfamiliarity.
share|improve this answer
I think I remember playing some platformer with exactly that mechanic - don't leave the ground until you've "charged" the jump. With some pretty animations (like dust cloud growing at the character's feet) this can be done to feel intuitive. – Jari Komppa Jun 7 '11 at 13:31
I've found another solution in David Gouveia's answer to the question " How to make a character jump?"
His idea was to set a velocity when the player pushes down the jump button. In every frame it only computes the gravity. However, when the player releases the button, it sets the velocity to a smaller value if the velocity is greater than it. The velocity is only decremented each frame by the gravity.
I shouldn't steal his answer, so go ahead and read his post. His solution is under the "Variable Height Jump" section.
So really people came up with many different ways to solve this problem...
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Your Answer


The Court Process
The Court Process
The initial Stages
If a driver has been charged with a road offence or refused a Fixed Penalty the police will send a
report to the Procurator Fiscal (PF). The PF is responsible for the prosecution of crime in Scotland and will decide if the case should proceed to court. If further proceedings are to be taken the Procurator Fiscal's office will issue a Compliant which sets out the charge(s), together with a Court Citation. The citation will identify the relevant court where the proceedings will be held and the date on which the case will be heard.
Where a driver is arrested, the police will either release the person on an Undertaking to appear at court on a future date or keep the person in custody to appear at court on the next lawful day.
There are three types courts which can hear a road traffic case.
Where Cases Take Place:
Justice of The Peace Courts
The overwhelming majority of road traffic cases, such as speeding, running a red light and careless driving will be heard at Justice of the Peace Court.
Sheriff Courts
More serious road traffic offences, such as drink driving and dangerous driving are heard at Sheriff Court.
In general cases in the JP Court and the Sheriff Court are held in the court closest to where the offence is said to have been committed. These courts are located in every region throughout Scotland.
The High Court of Justiciary
The High Court hears the most serious cases, such as causing death by dangerous driving. These cases are usually held in the High Court buildings located in both Glasgow and Edinburgh. The High Court can also sit within a Sheriff Court building close to where the offence took place.
Court Hearings and Procedure
Pleading Diets & Undertakings
When a case first calls for a Pleading Diet or Undertaking at a Sheriff or JP Court, the court simply wants to know if the accused person is pleading guilty or not guilty to the charge or charges that have been raised.
Plea of Guilty
If the accused person pleads guilty the court will usually proceed to sentence there and then. For the majority of road traffic offences the court will deal with the case by penalty points, fine or disqualification. In some cases sentence may be postponed for up to 4 weeks for further information that may assist the court in selecting a suitable sentence. Where a plea of Guilty is tendered at an early stage of the proceedings the court consider a discount on sentence because of the early plea.
If a solicitor has been instructed it is not always necessary for an accused person to appear at a Pleading Diet. However, if a person has been released by the police on an Undertaking that person must appear at court. If they fail to do so a warrant for their arrest may be issued by the court.
Continued Pleading Diets
A Pleading Diet and Undertaking can be Continued Without Plea for a short period of time, usually 4 or so weeks. This is common and will arise if the accused person wants to get legal advice or if further information is required before a plea is tendered.
Plea of Not Guilty
Where a person pleads Not Guilty to the charge or charges the court will fix two further court dates. The first date is called an Intermediate Diet and the second is the Trial Diet. These dates may be several months ahead. During this time the prosecution and defence are expected to properly prepare for the Intermediate and Trial Diets.
Intermediate Diet
An Intermediate Diet is usually fixed a few weeks before the Trial Diet. The purpose of the Intermediate Diet is to find out if the trial is ready to go ahead on the allocated date. No witnesses will be present at this hearing/diet. If the trial can not go ahead the original trial date will be adjourned and will be a new date for the trial will be fixed. Another Intermediate Diet may also be fixed. A case may be adjourned for any number of reasons, such as witnesses not being traced, illness or that further information or investigation is required.
At this stage most, if not all, of the evidence against an accused will have been obtained. Having regard to all the evidence an accused person may decide to change their plea of Not Guilty to Guilty. Indeed an accused person can change a plea of Not Guilty to Guilty at any stage of the proceedings.
If a plea of not guilty is maintained and the defence and prosecution are ready to proceed the case will be continued to the Trial Diet.
Trial Diet
At trial diet the accused will be asked to confirm their plea to the charge. If the accused maintains a plea of Not Guilty the the prosecutor (Procurator Fiscal Depute) will call witnesses to give evidence about the incident/offence. These witnesses are known a Crown witnesses. After each witness has been questioned by the prosecutor the defence can cross exam the witness. Evidence against an accused can also take the form of documents, photographs and video footage. The defence can also introduce this type of evidence and call defence witnesses to give evidence to support their version of events.
In the normal course of events, once all the evidence has been heard and the prosecution and defence have summed up, the Sheriff or Justice of the Peace will decide on the guilt or innocence of the accused. In Scotland there are three possible verdicts: one of conviction – Guilty and two of acquittal – Not Guilty and Not Proven.
In all cases there is an appeal process. If can accused person believes that their trail was unfair and that they were wrongly convicted they can appeal against the conviction to the High Court on certain grounds. An accused person can also appeal against a sentence that they believe was unduly harsh. Strict time limits apply to lodge an appeal against conviction, sentence or both. Time limits vary but usually an appeal must be lodged within 7 days from the date of conviction or sentence.
Getting Advice
The court process can be very confusing and daunting, especially to people who have had no experience of the criminal court process. We understand that and will do our best to ensure you are fully informed about each stage of your case.


text:
Stack Computers: the new wave © Copyright 1989, Philip Koopman, All Rights Reserved.
Chapter 2. A Taxonomy of Hardware Stack Support
In order to convey the category for a particular architecture, we shall use a three character shorthand notation based on the three axes of classification. The first letter of the abbreviation specifies the number of stacks (Single or Multiple). The second letter of the abbreviation specifies the size of dedicated stack memory (Small or Large). The third letter of the abbreviation specifies the number of operands in the instruction format (0, 1, or 2). Thus, the abbreviation SS0 would signify an architecture with a single stack, small dedicated stack memory, and 0-operand addressing and the abbreviation ML2 would signify an architecture with multiple stacks, large dedicated stack memory, and 2-operand addressing.
Table 2.1 shows the categorization of existing and historical stack oriented architectures by taxonomy category. Appendix A briefly discusses each of these architectures and how they implement features related to the taxonomy.
Category Machines SS0 Aerospace Computer, Burroughs family, Caltech Chip, EULER, GLOSS, HITAC-10, ITS, LAX2, Mesa, Microdata 32/S, Transputer, WD9000 SS1 AAMP, Buffalo Stack Machine, EM-1, HP300/HP3000, ICL2900, IPL-VI, MCODE, MU5, POMP Pascal SS2 Intel 80x86 SL0 G Machine, NORMA SL1 AADC, Micro-3L SL2 AM29000, CRISP, Dragon, Pyramid 90x, RISC I, SOAR MS0 Action Processor, APL Language Machine, FORTRAN Machine, HUT, Internal Machine, MISC M17, Rockwell Microcontrollers, Symbol, Tree Machine MS1 PDP-11 MS2 Motorola 680x0 ML0 ALCOR, An ALGOL Machine, FRISC 3, KDF-9, Kobe University Machine, MF1600, NC4016, OPA, PASCAL Machine, QFORTH, Reduction Language Machine, Rekursive, RTX 2000, RTX 32P, RUFOR, The Forth Engine, TM, Vaughan & Smith's Machine, WISC CPU/16, WISC CPU/32 ML1 Lilith, LISP machines, SF1, Soviet Machine ML2 PSP, SF1, Socrates
Table 2.1. Population of the stack machine taxonomy
Phil Koopman -- _EMAIL_


Oracle FAQ Your Portal to the Oracle Knowledge Grid
Re: terminology
From: Cimode <>
Date: 18 Jun 2006 11:55:56 -0700
Message-ID: <>
Speaking of terminilogy...and preciseness...
Marshall wrote:
> There's a lot of terminological discussion floating around right now,
> and some of it is really bad.
> Most basically, a relation is a subset of a product of sets.
What the hell is a product of sets? sets of what? product is exclusively an arithmetic operation. Which one are refering to?
What allows to qualify a relation as a subset of the exclusive output arithmetics operations?
> In the c.d.t. context, we mean a little more than that, because
> of keys and possibly constraints, and because each of the sets
> has an associated name, but that's the basic idea. A particular
> relation is a value.
No. A particular occurence of relvar in time is a value. A relation is not a relvar. A relvar is an elementary component of a relation.
> A variable is a construct that has an associated value, and also
A variable is defined and can live totally independently from the values it holds...Defining a value holder according to a value is incorrect.
As an analogy, do you define a recipient according to its content? Do you define a glass of water according to water...Both are totally independent. Water is H2O and glass of water is mainly Carbon
> has some associated destructive update operation, usually
> assignment.
What the hell is associated *destructive update operation*? A sci fi movie?
In statically typed languages, a variable has an
> associated type, and updates to the variable must conform
> to that type, possibly taking subtyping in to account.
So basically you state a variable has type, a value has type, a relation has type?
The three are different. How do you define update? Subtypes are a totally different subjects....You mix up everything!
> "Relvar" is simply an abbrevation for "relation variable." No
> more and no less--just shorthand. It is a variable, and the
> static type of the variable is a relation type.
I totally disagree with such definition because your premise is false you assume
relation = relvar = relvalue
> Note that there is no distinction between "relation" and "relation
> value" the same way there is no distinction between "integer"
> and "integer value."
No. a relation is a particular of function a *relation value* is a value drawn from a domain (RM) or ensemble of values. I will use your analogy of integers to prove you wrong. *integer* refers to the complete set of values drawn from the ensemble of integers meaning ALL of them. An integer value is one specific occuring value...Which basically makes say that
ALL integers = one integer...
>There are values and there are variables.
What a level of incoherence
You just stated above that there is no difference between a variable and a value...Now you state the difference between...Make up you mind!!!
> Values have a type, and in most systems variables have
> a type, such that the variable and its associated value are
> guaranteed to have compatible types, either because the
> types are equal or because the value's type is a subtype of
> the variable's type.
You make so many confusions about RM, I seriously believe you get back to reading about RM.
> Marshall
Received on Sun Jun 18 2006 - 13:55:56 CDT
Original text of this message


text:
Just a quick note to let y'all know the submission guidelines have been updated for Issue #8, the theme confirmed and the reading period announced. Here's a summery summary:
The next reading period is 1st April 2010 to 31st May 2010, when we will be accepting submissions for Issue #8 of SteamPunk Magazine, which is due out in October. The theme for Issue #8 will be The Myth of History, studying the relationship between the impact that stories and legends have on us, and the fallacy of the concept of 'truth' in the way that history is recorded and remembered.. Some ideas for fiction and articles on this theme are:
- Legends in steampunk
- Popular misconceptions in history
- Steampunk as historical myth
- Allegorical poems and tales
- The importance of stories over 'fact'
- Invented history
- Lost and forgotten inventions
- How history is constructed in order to obtain and maintain power
As always, we will accept both themed and unthemed material, so please don't be restricted by the examples above.
Follow this link to read them in full, as well as get details of how to submit your stuff.
Please note, we are not open to submissions yet!


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Are you dealing with a legal issue related to housing, education, transportation, or the environment? Then you may need to look at local ordinances when you are doing your research. Cities and towns have the authority to make local laws in many areas, including planning and zoning, building and construction standards, noise and nuisance regulation, business licenses, and public health and safety. If you deal with these kinds of issues on a regular basis, or if you frequently represent small business owners or landlords, you will definitely be dealing with local ordinances, or municipal codes, at some point.
There are a number of online sources that provide selected municipal codes from cities and towns across the country. Sources that provide codes from Connecticut municipalities include Municipal Code Corporation, General Code Publishers, and American Legal Publishing. Some Connecticut cities and towns provide access to their local ordinances on their websites, as well as in their respective city and town clerk's offices. You may also be able to find a copy of a city or town's municipal code at its public library. The law library also has the municipal codes for the city of Hartford and the town of West Hartford in print.


text:
To develop an application with SYMPHONY, you need to first understand how the source files are organized. Note that in this chapter, all path names are given Unix-style. When you unpack the SYMPHONY source distribution, you will notice at the root level a number of files associated with the automatic configuration system, as well as a number of subdirectories, each of which corresponds to a library used by SYMPHONY for some specific functionality. The files associated with SYMPHONY itself are located in the SYMPHONY subdirectory. Within the SYMPHONY subdirectory are a number of other subdirectories, including one called src containing the source files for SYMPHONY itself.
Also in the main SYMPHONY/ subdirectory, there is a subdirectory called Applications/ (see Sections 184.108.40.206 and 2.2.4) for instructions on building the applications). The Applications/ subdirectory contains the source code for a number of sample applications developed with SYMPHONY, as well as function stubs for developing a custom application using SYMPHONY's callbacks. The subdirectory SYMPHONY/Applications/USER contains the files needed for implementing the callbacks and is a template for developing an application. In this directory and its subdirectories, which mirror the subdirectories of SYMPHONY itself, each file contains function stubs that can be filled in to create a new custom application. There is a separate subdirectory for each module--master ( Master/), tree management ( TreeManager/), cut generation ( CutGen/), cut management ( CutPool/), and node processing ( LP/). Within each subdirectory, there is a file, initially called USER/*/user_*.c, where * is the name of the module. The primary thing that you, as the user, need to understand to build a custom application is how to fill in these stubs. That is what the second part of this chapter is about. Before describing that, however, we will discuss how to build your application.


text:
What: Buriti is a palm tree that grows throughout central Brazil and the southern Amazon basin in swamps and marshes. The buriti fruit, which grows from December to June, contains an edible nut. Traditionally, the buriti fruit has been used as a food source. Parts of the buriti tree have also been used in construction, and buriti straw is used to cover houses and make ropes, baskets, sieves, racks for cooking, skirts and jewelry, such as bracelets (Vegetarian-Restaurants.net).
Oil extracted from the buriti nut contains high concentrations of oleic acid, tocopherols and carotenoids, especially betacarotene. Recent studies have found it to filter and absorb cancer-causing UV rays from the sun (Wiki). The oil also contains soothing qualities and promotes healing.
Buriti contains a high concentration of essential fatty acids which keep the skin moisturized. EFAs also protect from free radical damage and support collagen production, providing anti-aging benefits to the skin.
Origin: Buriti oil is an orange-reddish oil extracted from the fruit of the Moriche palm (Wiki).
Products Found In: Buriti oil's emollient properties make it an effective ingredient in such products as body and facial cleansers, body and facial moisturizers, hair care, and sunscreens.


text:
Emma Donoghue's eighth novel takes as its starting point the unsolved murder of historical figure Jenny Bonnet, a cross-dressing frog-catcher living in San Francisco in the 1870s. The murder mystery, however, is tangential to the real heart of the book. The protagonist is French émigré 'Blanche' Beunon, circus acrobat turned high-class prostitute and, more recently, mother; Jenny Bonnet is only the catalyst for dramatic change in Blanche's life as she frees herself from a parasitic lover-pimp and fights for her child and independence. Two narrative strands – one opening on Jenny's death and following Blanche in the aftermath; the other apprising us of preceding events – mount in parallel to the twin denouements that are the solution of the murder and Blanche's acquisition of self-knowledge.
Unfortunately, some readers may not make it this far. The first quarter of Frog Music is as 'frail' – 'a namby-pamby euphemism for selling it' – as the women 'of no character' who people its pages. The drama of the post-murder strand is laboured:
The bullets winging over her head as


text: Mines use toxic chemicals including cyanide, mercury, and sulphuric acid, to separate metal from ore. The chemicals used in the processing are generally recycled, however residues may remain in the tailings, which in developing countries are often dumped directly into lakes or rivers with devastating consequences. The accidental spillage of processing chemicals can also have a serious impact on the environment. For example, at the Baia Mare mine in Romania cyanide is used to extract gold from slurry. In January 2000 a dam containing tens of thousands of tonnes of slurry burst, poisoning the local river with cyanide and heavy metals. Up to 100 tonnes of cyanide were released into the river, a tributary of the Danube. The drinking water supply for more than 2 million people was affected. Within hours, dead fi sh were seen washed up along the river.


text:
As regulatory changes continue to impact on profitability in the global banking sector, it is imperative that banks re-evaluate their business models and get off the regulatory treadmill in order to weather the ever-shifting operational landscape, says Bertrand Lavayssiere, managing partner at international financial management consultancy, zeb. Here heexplores the impact of regulations on the sector and the potential for banks to turn greater efficiency into a competitive advantage.
European banks have been affected by a rising tide of complex regulations in recent years. The number of regulatory initiatives has increased tremendously, reaching a total of 368 last year alone. And the trend shows no sign of abating. The regulatory landscape is facing significant change over the coming months with the implementation of major European initiatives impacting the payment services, anti-money laundering, investment and data protection regimes. Financial services operators across the EU have only a few months left to prepare for the implementation of the open API regulation, PSD2, which is set to revolutionise use of customer data in payment transactions. Any company handling customer data will also need to comply with new GDPR regulations, requiring further work for compliance professionals.
The consequences of increasing regulation for the banking industry have been severe, with institutions spending an average of 70% of their total annual project budgets on the implementation of new regulations (see Figure 1).
To cope with this regulatory flood, banks have become more and more focused on fulfilling regulatory requirements and considering compliance aspects of their operations. Implementing the continuing stream of regulatory initiatives one after another has blown budgets and started many institutions off on a seemingly endless regulatory treadmill cycle.
Banks need to follow the example of other industries which have accepted a heavy regulatory burden as a natural part of their operations, and start to view regulatory compliance as a core part of their business model. Banking organisations must rethink their approach for the coming years and seek a more efficient regulatory response to minimise the cost to their business. However, there is a long way to go to achieve this goal. According to a zeb survey of domestic systemically important banks (D-SIBs) from the DACH region, only 7% of banks have implemented the idea of regulatory efficiency (see Figure 2).
zeb believes that increasing regulatory efficiency can reduce the overall costs of regulation by approximately 20% in the short term, with the potential for up to 40% reduction in the long term. Given these numbers, banks should view regulatory efficiency as an opportunity to achieve potential competitive advantage.
To get off the regulatory treadmill, banks have to find answers to three key questions:
- Do the right things: How do I stay on top of the flood of regulations?
- Do things right: How do I make sure that regulatory changes are implemented efficiently?
- Support doing the right things right: How can the organisation and governance be optimised?
Ten steps to improve regulatory efficiency
Improve regulatory analytics
Step 1: Achieve true senior management buy-in
Regulatory efficiency should not only be part of the CFO / CRO agenda but must also be understood and strongly communicated across the whole bank by the CEO and other board members. To achieve true management buy-in, regulatory impacts on the business, operating, finance and risk models of the bank must be holistically transparent. Best market practice in this field shows that management buy-in is substantially higher in banks where this responsibility is assigned to the CEO.
Step 2: Centralise monitoring
As an essential part of regulatory management, the flood of regulations has to be monitored and prioritised in an efficient way. To achieve a holistic view of regulatory change and to improve the timing of CtB (Change the Business) activities, a monitoring system should compile all changes coming from different supervisory and legislative bodies. The most advanced banks have set up a monitoring system lead by a centralised regulatory office intended to support the entire organisation (including business as well as compliance and legal departments) in developing a holistic regulatory roadmap. As a starting point for efficient monitoring, the screening of upcoming regulations could rely on comprehensive regulatory content from external providers. For this purpose, tools such as zeb's regulatory hub help banks with monitoring and summarising upcoming initiatives to remain on top of regulations (see Figure 3).
Step 3: Think in different regulatory scenarios
Regulatory impact analyses typically suffer from three weaknesses:
- they are performed on a stand alone basis
- they are based on a single scenario
- they assume "business as usual".
Best performing banks overcome these weaknesses by analysing different regulatory scenarios, understanding the dependencies across the regulatory landscape and the impact on the organisation. There are two key success factors in this direction: a professional simulation tool is needed which goes beyond an Excel-based solution, and a clear process has to be defined to involve the right skills at the right time.
Challenge regulatory change
Step 4: Identify synergies in the projects
When setting up regulatory implementation projects, their idiosyncracies must be taken into account. Regulatory projects are usually characterised by a fixed timeline set by the regulator, require a specific set of skills and knowledge, and impact several business units. Banks often struggle in setting up adequate project/programme management structures; the identification of synergies between different initiatives seems to be especially hard to achieve. The best performing banks follow a three-step approach:
- First, they analyse the impact of every single initiative on time, people, IT infrastructure and business requirements
- Second, they identify overlaps and synergy potentials in the overall project portfolio
- Third, they evaluate different options to realise these synergies.
Step 5: Challenge budgets
Project budgets are often overstated when derived as a simple sum of estimated business and IT efforts and, therefore, leave room for improvement and potential for reduction. In order to increase regulatory efficiency, the project budgeting process should be based on two key aspects:
- project sponsors should always demand alternative implementation scenarios to reveal cost drivers and to understand the impact on the RtB (Run the Business) organisation.
- zeb experience shows that efficiency can be increased when budgets are regularly reviewed by a neutral/independent team. As there are only limited opportunities for project managers to balance implementation costs and risks, they tend to include buffers and overestimate budget requirements. Therefore, a neutral function (e.g. a controlling or programme management function) needs to be involved early on in the budgeting process.
Step 6: Go beyond traditional programme management
Traditional programme management often focuses on formal standards and high-level tracking of milestones via traffic lights – a system with limited scope to add value to regulatory projects. To actively steer the quality, time and budget of regulatory projects, a content-driven approach is needed. This requires a project management team which is able to quickly understand the key aspects, success factors and dependencies of regulatory projects. One key challenge in this area is that requirements are typically not fully clear at the beginning of the project and can change over time. In this context, an agile approach to IT development can help to handle changing requirements.
Rethink the regulatory target operating model
Step 7: Renew your sourcing strategy
By setting up an effective sourcing strategy, banks can reduce costs while focusing on value-adding processes. A robust sourcing strategy requires the identification and analysis of alternatives across the entire organisation. For example, regulatory activities that can be provided at lower costs by a third-party vendor are typical candidates for outsourcing. According to zeb experience, there is a lot of potential for improvements in the regulatory area as the systematic analysis of outsourcing opportunities (e.g. in the field of regulatory reporting) has not yet been fully explored.
Step 8: Create centres of competence and overcome traditional silos
Most regulatory reports, requests and recent initiatives require information from different departments and rely on close collaboration of the various functions involved. Hence, a traditional silo-oriented organisational structure – which is still very commonplace among banks – often struggles to handle regulatory requirements, leading to process complexity. The creation of centres of competence, which go beyond traditional silos, can help reduce this complexity and improve coordination efforts. The best performing banks have implemented central regulatory affairs offices, which bundle together all regulatory analytical functions and serve as a single point of contact to the supervisors and internal departments.
Step 9: Use digitalisation for regulatory process optimisation
Digitalisation has become one of the key drivers of change in the banking industry. As substantial potential has been easily identified in customer-driven business, digitalisation can also play a key role in optimising regulatory processes at the same time. With the help of RegTech solutions, the most advanced banks have already started to use technology to automate repetitive and low value-adding processes as far as possible. Even where full automation is not feasible, technology can still support single phases of the overall process (e.g. data quality checks) in order to save time, resources and, ultimately, costs.
Step 10: Measure and continuously improve efficiency
Defining a clear baseline and ambition level for regulatory efficiency is an important starting point. To achieve the targeted ambition level step by step, continuous tracking of the achieved progress is needed. For this purpose, zeb has developed a self-assessment tool to measure the regulatory efficiency level in banks and to identify potential weaknesses and strengths.
Although the overall situation of UK and European banks has improved in terms of profitability over recent, there is still a lot to be done in order to increase return on equity and address cost to income ratios. The next five years will pose significant new challenges to global banking institutions as the international political picture unfolds. Given the impacts of the regulations coming into force and those currently being implemented, banks are forced into seriously rethinking their business models in order to succeed in the emerging brave new world. Regulatory efficiency will stay on top of the management agenda in many banks as huge potentials can be explored in this field. Banks will thus not only save money in the short term, but will also be better prepared for the challenges


text:
"As the study entered its second decade there was increasing evidence of Osteoarthritis (OA) in the moose population," said lead author Rolf Peterson from Michigan Technological University. "OA is a crippling disease and is identical to that found in humans. It is commonly believed to be caused by 'wear and tear,' but the complex causes have remained poorly understood."... Over the course of the study the team discovered a rise in OA as the moose population increased, and a decrease when the population fell, leading to the idea that OA is linked to moose malnutrition when food is scarcer. The team found moose that were malnourished when young would develop OA in older age. "We have shown how malnutrition early in life increased the risk of OA later in life, but this also applies to humans as much as to a herd of moose in the wild," said Peterson. "These findings cast new light on how early humans first developed OA," said co-author Dr Clark Spencer Larsen, an anthropology expert from Ohio University. "The study of human remains from archaeological contexts reveals OA increased where societies changed from foraging plants and animals to an increased dependency on farming." Such changes were documented in a mid-continental population of Native Americans 1000 years ago. In this group arthritis increased by 65% as society turned from foraging and hunting to agriculture and the cultivation of maize. "Initially the increase in OA was put down to increased joint stress due to the labour of agriculture. However research now shows that, like the moose in Isle Royale, nutritional deficiencies early in life may have been the main cause. Early malnutrition was certainly a part of existence for many pre-historic human societies, and remains a fact of life for millions of people across the world, so this study is also relevant for modern human society."
The original paper is in Ecology Letters, and it should be online at this address. I do wonder if more detailed understanding of the long term impact of early life nutrition is going to drive parents crazy with alarm as every new study which comes out produces a shift in recommendations.


text:
Tagore was a fierce opponent of British rule in India. In this work he discusses the resurgence of the East and the challenge it poses to Western supremacy, calling for a future beyond nationalism, based instead on cooperation and racial tolerance. GREAT IDEAS. Throughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves � and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted. They have enriched lives � and destroyed them. Now Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization and helped make us who we are.
Tagore, Rabindranath Tagore—Nationalism


text:
The target species, i.e., the species subject to protection, was chosen based on Annexes II and IV of the Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC) and is the Sardinian discoglossus (Discoglossus sardus). It is a medium-sized amphibian that lives mainly in ponds and marshes up to 1200 m above sea level and is the target beneficiary species.
The actions of the project aimed at improving the habitats of the Sardinian discoglossus will indirectly produce benefits also for other species that populate the same habitats, i.e., the species of vertebrates and invertebrates that live in those habitats, using them as a refuge, to feed, to rest during migrations and to reproduce themselves. Among these animals we find:
- Sylvia undata. Dartford warbler. It is an insectivorous bird close to the threat of extinction due to the continuous erosion of its habitat along the coasts.
- Lanius collurio. Red-backed shrike. It is a bird that can be recognized very easily thanks to its "bandit mask" on its head. It lives in meadows and cultivated fields and feeds on insects and even other birds that have just come out of the nest. The Italian population is classified as "vulnerable" by the IUCN due to the transformation of the habitat.
- Caprimulgus europaeus. European nightjar. Although not yet threatened according to the IUCN, this species is listed in Annex I of the Birds Directive (79/409/EEC). It is a medium-sized bird with nocturnal habits that feeds mainly on insects. The name "nightjar" derives from an ancient belief according to which this animal feeds on the blood of goats and other grazing animals. In reality, the nightjar is often found near these animals due to the presence of insects associated with them.
- Ficedula hypoleuca. European pied flycatcher. It is a small bird that feeds on insects and prefers wooded environments. The male, in its summer dress, has the upper part of the body completely black, including the wings, which carry a small white band like the lower part of the body. It is easy to recognize but due to its living habitats it is difficult to spot.
- Ficedula albicollis. Collared flycatcher. Unlike the European pied flycatcher, this small bird features a white collar that breaks up the black colour of the upper body. It too is listed in Annex I of the Birds Directive (79/409/EEC) and is a fairly rare species, albeit homogeneously distributed in Italy.
- Phylloscopus (Various species). These birds are also called "luì" in Italian for their classic sound.
- Euleptes europaea. European leaf-toed gecko. It is a small gecko, the smallest in Europe. It lives in rocky areas, on dry stone walls and in abandoned farmhouses. It comes out mainly at night to hunt larvae and adult insects and small molluscs. This species is listed in Appendix II of the Bern Convention and in Appendix II, IV of the Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC). Protected by regional laws in Liguria and Tuscany
As regards the plant world:
- Brassica procumbens. Cavolo prostrato (in Italian). Species with North African and South European distribution, present in Europe in two locations only (Corsica and the Giglio Island)
- Gagea granatelli var. obtusiflora. Plant with a yellow flower commonly called in Italy "cipollaccio giallo di Granatelli" (yellow onion of Granatelli). It is a perennial herbaceous plant with underground bulbs distributed in various regions of Italy.
- Quercus ilex and Q. rotundifolia. They are two large oaks, commonly called holm oak and holly oak, which constitute evergreen woods typical of Mediterranean environments.


text: In the face of challenges like drought and growing demand in many European Union countries, it will be important to achieve a balanced mix of pricing and non-pricing measures to ensure efficient household water use. This report commissioned by the European Environment Agency (EEA) analyzes existing pricing and non-pricing measures for managing water demand in eight European countries. It finds that all monitored countries have mechanisms in place to provide an incentive for a more efficient water use in the domestic sector. But the evidence on the real incentives created by existing pricing (tariffs) for more efficient water use is scarce, if available at all. In some countries (Germany, Denmark, Spain and France) price does not appear to be a significant determinant of water demand. The report concludes that while water pricing will continue to be an important instrument to signal water scarcity and water costs, it should be complemented with non-price policies, such as education or awareness campaigns. The report is available to download on the Eionet website.


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Provided by: nanoweb_2.2.9-0ubuntu1_all
nanoweb.conf - Nanoweb main configuration file
The file nanoweb.conf is the main configuration file of the Nanoweb
HyperText Transfer Protocol server and contains all the general
settings that must apply to all files served from your host. It is
usually located in the directory /etc/nanoweb/.
Some parts of the configuration are seperated out of the main file, but
this man page anyhow only discusses a very small subset (the core
directives) of all possible settings. For further and uptodate
information please refer to the manual on http://localhost/manual/
using your favorite browser.
The configuration files are divided in sections whose names are given
in square brackets, we'll only discuss the main (which is the biggest)
part in this man page:
All other sections define virtual hosts. But see the file vhosts.conf
for an example of what this means in practice.
In any section you can assing values to the configuration directives in
directive = value...
Starting from Nanoweb 1.8.1 you can leave out the equal sign.
These are the core configuration directives that can be used in the
[global] section (most of them can be used in virtual host sections,
too). You'll see some example settings for them in this man page.
ServerName = _URL_
Defines the default server name Nanoweb will respond to and with.
ServerAlias = *.example.com
Is an additional dns name glob the server will accept.
DocumentRoot = /var/www
Defines the base directory under which all files must be located
in, if they should be accessible via http.
DirectoryIndex = index.php index.html
If one of the files specified with this directive is found in a
directory it gets send in favour of a server generated directory
ServerMode = standalone
This tells Nanoweb to run in standard mode, which is to work as
standalone server daemon. The other possible setting here is
DefaultContentType = text/plain
If a file type can not be automagically determined for a file,
Nanoweb will tell it's of the mime(1) type specified here.
Include = /etc/nanoweb/modules.conf
This directive loads another Nanoweb configuration file into the
current one and leads of course to processing of the directives
MimeTypes = /etc/mime.types
Loads the given file which should contain all known file name
extensions associated with the according mime(1) types.
ParseExt = php CGI /usr/bin/php $SCRIPT_FILENAME
Associates a file extension with a parser, commonly a scripting
language interpreter like perl(1) or php(1)
AccessFile =.htaccess
Files with the name given here may contain additonal directives
that apply to the directory (and subdirectories) they're located
ErrorDocument = 404 error404.php
Gives a custom error response file which gets send instead of one
of the builtin error messages, whenever one occours ("file not
found" in this example).
User = www-data
Sets the user id the Nanoweb daemon will run as. Normally you
don't want nanoweb to run with root privileges. Likewise for
Log = /var/log/nanoweb/access.log
The servers log file.
IgnoreDotFiles = 1
Do not deliver files whose name begins with a dot (usually
referred to as "hidden files").
AllowExtSymlinks = 1
Deliver files which are symlinked to outside of the DocumentRoot.
ListenInterface = 0.0.0.0
The network interface Nanoweb shall listen on. When set to 0.0.0.0
the server will listen on all available network cards (lo, eth0 as
well as ppp0 on Linux boxes).
ListenPort = 80
The TCP port address the server should listen to. 80 is the
default for webservers, so you don't want to change this.
The main configuration file, but following parts are
seperated out of it in the standard distribution:
This part of the main configuration loads the extension
modules and defines additional directives for them.
This part of the Nanoweb configuration defines the virtual
hosts and directives that only apply to them.


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Renscan5™ measurement techniques
Renishaw's 5-axis high speed, high accuracy measurement techniques offer a wide range of benefits resulting in significant throughput improvements.
Renscan5 measurement techniques
On measured features requiring position and size, discrete points are captured utilizing the performance of the REVO drive system or in combination with the XYZ axes of the CMM. The Head Touch capability extends the range of usefulness of the REVO/CMM system where minimum points are required but speed of measurement is important.
The Circle Scan is a defined routine that scans a circular feature capturing up to 6,000 data points per second. By defining the expected path, REVO utilizes its 2-axis drive system to follow the surface and minimize the effects on accuracy of moving the three CMM axes. The Circle Scan is ideally suited for inside bores, such as engine blocks where the form is critical.
The Cylinder Scan is designed to move along the axis of an inside or outside cylinder or cone. During the scanning process, the Cylinder Scan traverses along the axis at a uniform length per revolution. The effect is a helical path capturing a large data point set over the full defined length.
The Gasket Scan is ideally suited to follow a non-uniform path during scanning operations. By defining target points along the proposed path, REVO will blend a path between the points while capturing large data point sets minimizing the amount of CMM motion. The Gasket Scan works under a full 5-axis motion control.
Sweep Scan–Flat Plane
Capturing data points over a plane can be accomplished by utilizing the REVO drive system to sweep back and forth while the CMM drive system move is a singular vector direction under a constant speed. This process minimizes the inherent inaccuracies of the CMM structure while scanning the surface at high speeds.
Sweep Scan–Curved Surface
The REVO drive system adapts to the changing surface shape by control the contact pressure of the stylus during a sweeping action. The CMM drives in a uniform direction to minimize the inherent inaccuracies of the CMM structure. This results in the ability to provide surface following while capturing large data point sets and is particularly suited to the measurement of airfoil surfaces.
Section Scan–Round the PlaneInspecting a blade section or other outside shape can be accomplished using the Section Scan capabilities of the metrology software and REVO. This scanning technique results in a single operation by defining a section through a CAD model. With REVO's infinite positioning, the CMM moves around the part while REVO controls the contact position.


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Christmas Teaching Tools
What makes Christmas such a special time of year? There is magic in the air! It is a time filled with possibility, wonder and excitement. No matter where you look, there is something special. Decorations, twinkling lights, falling snow…and music is everywhere.
Using music in the classroom is a powerful teaching tool. Songs stay with us. Sometimes for years, or even an entire lifetime. Some of the most classic songs are those associated with the holiday season. Young children and emerging speakers may struggle with some of the more complicated lyrics and concepts in these traditional tunes and hymns. We wanted to make something special, just for them. Songs that they can understand and sing along to. Songs that are fun, playful and active. Songs that make them laugh and smile.
Christmas is also a great time to introduce a variety of other topics. In addition to traditional holiday themes, it's easy to practice and review other basic language like counting, action verbs, clothing, weather, parts of the body, prepositions of place, and more.
We have a big collection of classroom and at-home activities to share. See our Christmas Pages for holiday songs, videos, games, lesson plans, party ideas, worksheets, and picture cards, all made super simple for emerging speakers. Watch the blog for more teaching tips. And check out the Super Simple Songs – Christmas enhanced CD for even more resources like printable lyric sheets and additional worksheets.
Be sure to send us your ideas and videos this holiday season! And have yourself a Super Simple Christmas!


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High-performance computing (HPC) is the use of parallel processing for running advanced application programs efficiently, reliably and quickly. The term applies especially to systems that function above a teraflop or 1012 floating-point operations per second. The term HPC is occasionally used as a synonym for supercomputing, although technically a supercomputer is a system that performs at or near the currently highest operational rate for computers. Some supercomputers work at more than a petaflop or 1015 floating-point operations per second.
The most common users of HPC systems are scientific researchers, engineers and academic institutions. Some government agencies, particularly the military, also rely on HPC for complex applications. High-performance systems often use custom-made components in addition to so-called commodity components. As demand for processing power and speed grows, HPC will likely interest businesses of all sizes, particularly for transaction processing and data warehouses. An occasional techno-fiends might use an HPC system to satisfy an exceptional desire for advanced technology.


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patient information leaflet. This lists the known side effects and what to do if you get them. You can also get advice from your doctor, nurse or pharmacist. If they think it's necessary they'll report it for you.
You can also report side effects yourself using the yellow card website: _URL_
How can Zevalin affect other medicines?
It is important to tell your doctor if you are taking any other medicines, including over-the-counter and herbal medicines, before you have treatment with this medicine. Similarly, always seek advice from your doctor or pharmacist before taking any new medicines during and after treatment with this medicine, so they can check that the combination is safe.
As this medicine attacks your B cells, which are part of your immune system, it may make it hard for your body to produce antibodies in response to vaccinations. This means that vaccines may potentially be less effective if given during treatment, and live vaccines may cause serious infections. For this reason, if you need to have any vaccinations, these should preferably be completed a few weeks before your treatment. Live vaccines should not be given to someone who has recently been given Zevalin treatment.
Other medicines containing the same active ingredient
There are currently no other medicines available in the UK that contain radiolabelled ibritumomab as the active ingredient.
For background information about our medicine factsheets, including the references used to produce them, click here.


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- Aide de Scilab
- Optimisation et Simulation
- Optimization base
Please note that the recommended version of Scilab is 6.1.1. This page might be outdated.
See the recommended documentation of this function
Checks if the algorithm is terminated.
[opt, terminate, status] = optimbase_terminate(opt, previousfopt, currentfopt, previousxopt, currentxopt)
The object of TOPTIM type (tlist).
A vector of doubles, the previous value of the cost function.
A vector of doubles, the current value of the cost function.
A vector of doubles, the previous x optimum.
A vector of doubles, the current x optimum.
terminate = %t if the algorithm must terminate.
terminate = %f if the algorithme must continue.
terminate= %t, the detailed status of the termination corresponds to :
- The maximum number of iterations, provided by the
-maxiteroption, is reached.
- The maximum number of function evaluations, provided by the
-maxfunevalsoption, is reached.
- The tolerance on the function value is reached. This status is associated
- The tolerance on x is reached. This status is associated with the
optimbase_terminate function returns a boolean:
%t if the algorithm is terminated,
%f if the algorithm must continue.
-verbosetermination option is enabled, messages are printed
detailing the termination intermediate steps.
optimbase_terminate function uses a set of rules to compute if
the termination occurs, which leads to an optimization status which is equal to one of
the following: "continue", "maxiter", "maxfunevals", "tolf", "tolx". The set of rules
is the following.
By default, the status is "continue", and the terminate flag is %f.
The number of iterations is examined and compared to the
-maxiteroption. If the following condition
iterations >= maxiter
is true, then the status is set to "maxiter" and terminate is set to %t.
The number of function evaluations and compared to the
-maxfunevalsoption is examined. I the following condition
funevals >= maxfunevals
is true, then the status is set to "maxfunevals" and terminate is set to %t.
The tolerance on function value is examined depending on the value of the
then the tolerance on f is just skipped.
if the following condition
is true, then the status is set to "tolf" and terminate is set to %t.
The relative termination criteria on the function value works well if the function value at optimum is near zero. In that case, the function value at initial guess
fx0may be used as previousfopt.
The absolute termination criteria on the function value works if the user has an accurate idea of the optimum function value.
The tolerance on
xis examined depending on the value of the
then the tolerance on x is just skipped.
if the following condition
is true, then the status is set to "tolx" and terminate is set to %t.
The relative termination criteria on x works well if x at optimum is different form zero. In that case, the condition measures the distance between two iterates.
The absolute termination criteria on x works if the user has an accurate idea of the scale of the optimum x. If the optimum x is nea 0, the relative tolerance will not work and the absolute tolerance is more appropriate.
In the following example, ones searches to solve f(x) = 0 thanks dichotomy method.
An optimization object is created and configured (number of variables, initial point,
maximum number of iterations,...). The
-verbose option is enabled so that
messages are generated during the algorithm, are printed.
function [f, index]=fun(x, index) f = 2*x - 4; endfunction a = -5; b = 5; x0 = (a+b)/2; // Creation of the object opt = optimbase_new(); // Configures the object opt = optimbase_configure(opt,"-numberofvariables",2); opt = optimbase_configure(opt, "-x0", x0); opt = optimbase_configure(opt, "-tolxrelative", 10*%eps); opt = optimbase_configure(opt, "-maxiter", 30); opt = optimbase_configure(opt, "-function", fun); opt = optimbase_configure(opt,"-verbose",1); function x=Dicho(opt, a, b) xk = optimbase_cget(opt, "-x0"); [opt, fx0, index] = optimbase_function (opt, xk, 1); opt = optimbase_set ( opt, "-xopt", xk ); opt = optimbase_set ( opt, "-fopt", fx0 ); terminate = %f; while ~terminate [opt, f, index] = optimbase_function(opt, xk, 1); [opt, g, index] = optimbase_function(opt, a, 1); if g*f <= 0 then b = xk; else a = xk; end x = (a + b)/2; opt = optimbase_incriter(opt); [opt, terminate, status] = optimbase_terminate(opt, optimbase_get(opt, "-fopt"), f, xk, x); opt = optimbase_set ( opt, "-xopt", x ); opt = optimbase_set ( opt, "-fopt", f ); xk = x; end endfunction x = Dicho(opt,a,b)
- optimbase_function — Calls cost function.
|Report an issue|
|<< optimbase_stoplog||Optimization base||Optimization simplex >>|


text:
Definition of herpetology
n. - The natural history of reptiles; that branch of zoology which relates to reptiles, including their structure, classification, and habits. 2
The word "herpetology" uses 11 letters: E E G H L O O P R T Y.
No direct anagrams for herpetology found in this word list.
Adding one letter to herpetology does not form any other word in this word list.Words within herpetology not shown as it has more than seven letters.
All words formed from herpetology by changing one letter
Browse words starting with herpetology by next letter


Remote Monitoring and Management
If you're running a small business, you probably don't have time to continually check your IT and networks. SpecTronics remote IT services allow us to monitor your systems so that we can work together to rectify any issues that may occur.
Remote Monitoring and Management Services
Increase your workplace productivity with our remote monitoring and management services. Computers play a crucial role in your company's daily operations. Problems with those systems can disrupt your operations. As a result, disruptions can lead to lost productivity, lost customers and lost business opportunities. That's why it's vital to keep your computer systems secure and operating at peak efficiency.
Keeping Your Business IT Systems Running Smoothly
To ensure safe, efficient computer systems, you need to monitor and manage all aspects of your IT environment regularly. This involves:
Applying Software Updates
Many applications and operating system software have known security vulnerabilities. These vulnerabilities unveil a crack for cybercriminals to slip through and access your computer systems. Once in, they'll install a malicious code. This is why you should update your software regularly – newly released patches eliminate cracks in your computer systems.
Update Your Firmware
This task often gets postponed or ignored but it's crucial you apply updates promptly. Proper patch management helps to fix any bugs discovered in your applications as well as providing enhancements. More importantly, updates close known security vulnerabilities which help protect your computer systems from cyber attacks.
Keeping Track of IT Assets
It's important to conduct a regular inventory of your IT assets – recording such information as serial numbers, licensing details and location. For computing devices, you should keep track of installed application information, including their version numbers. Tracking IT assets means you'll know other pertinent information such as how old your equipment is, when a license is nearing its expiration date and whether applications are receiving the necessary patches and updates.
Ensuring Your Computers Are Secure
Monitoring your services, desktop computers and other devices for known security issues is an integral part of your overall computer security strategy. You should monitor a computer's event logs to check if there have been numerous unsuccessful attempts to remotely access it. This provides insight into when the attack is taking place rather than finding out days or weeks later when a hacker gains entry and steals data or implants malware.
Ensuring Your Computer Systems Are Performing as Expected
Keeping an eye on the performance of your servers, computers and other devices to check memory, processor use and available disk space can identify any detrimental long-term trends and allow you to address issues before they become a problem.
Monitor and Manage Mobile Devices
Today, employees can work remotely using laptops, tablets and smartphones. These devices need to be monitored and managed just like desktop computers. For employee mobile devices, you should provide secure mechanisms for the devices to connect to your computer systems and manage those mechanisms.
Workplace Peace of Mind
SpecTronics can take care of the monitoring and managing of your computer systems. Based in Wimbledon, we provide remote IT services to small businesses throughout South West London.
Our team uncover security and performance issues and rectify them before they turn into larger, costly problems. Knowing your computer systems will be monitored 24/7 gives you peace of mind. It keeps your business safe and operating at peak efficiency.
Keep your computer systems in check with our remote IT services.


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Build An Ion Activity
- Click "Atom"
- In the "Show" box mark sure that "Element" and "Neutral/Ion" is checked.
- Add protons to the atom to build the desired element
- Click the green "+" next to "Net Charge", it will show you the charge of the atom
- Add electrons to make the atom neutral.
- Now add or subtract electrons to make the correct ion.
- Look at the "Net Charge" to see what the charge of the ion is