text:
Daqing Oilfield Logging and Testing Services Company
Xianglin B.,Harbin Institute of Technology |
Haoyu L.,Harbin Institute of Technology |
Faxian L.,Daqing Oilfield Logging and Testing Services Company
Petroleum Exploration and Development | Year: 2010
Traction robot conveying technology is efficient in horizontal well logging. Auto-centralizer is an assistant support to bear the weight of robot and center the robot in casing while logging. The mechanical model for an auto-centralizer with four pair of bias arms was built based on spring-lever mechanism. ADAMS (Automatic Dynamic Analysis of Mechanical Systems) was applied to analyze the sensitiveness coefficient of structural parameters and spring force, thus optimizing the structural parameters. Consequently, a simulation model was built based on the optimization result, and a simulation study was carried out on the mechanical properties and dynamic performance with the ADAMS mechanics system modeling and simulation module. The results implied that the original structure had a disadvantage while traversing obstacles. Further studies indicated that the coupling between the pair arms adopted hinge joint, which couldn't form a closed triangle of force while traversing obstacles. We have employed an improved structure by adding a connecting lever to eliminate the constraint between the arms. Contrast experiments show that the new structure avoids bearing the load with one side and has less shock while traversing obstacles, thus improving smoothness of movement for the traction robot. © 2010 Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration & Development, PetroChina.


text:
definition 1: a distinct, novel idea that has been arrived at through consideration.
example: The company was looking for an exciting concept that would increase sales of its cars.
example: The Earth being round was a novel concept to many in the fifteenth century.
definition 2: a personal or generally-held way of conceiving something; idea; notion.
example: Your concept of a good marriage is not the same as mine.
example: The child had heard the word "loyalty," but she didn't really understand the concept.
See full entry

source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


, use of reduced amounts of carboxamides in the first half of the incubation period – that means in symptom-free or infestation-free crops – can lead to complete inactivation and possibly even fighting back of Septorica tritici.
Conclusion part II: Rethink the current fungicide strategy
Particularly healthy varieties kill two birds with one stone: on one hand, the strong carboxamides are not used for curative treatment, so the pest cannot really adapt to these agents anymore. On the other hand, effective fungicides can, when used in this way, do their share in keeping up the resistances of the varieties for a long time, as this will never be fully tested by a strong infestation intensity.
Strongly resistant varieties and strong acting fungicides can therefore – when used correctly – complement each other perfectly in their effects.
Status: 15.10.2015


text:
Exit tickets are not a new idea by any means. I have been aware of exit tickets for many years of my teaching but must confess I have not used them. I must say I don't really know why, I just preferred other activities for plenaries.
A new colleague of mine shared an exit ticket and I was talking to them about it. I decided to give an exit ticket a try and get out of my plenary 'rut' sort of speak.
I decided a great opportunity was with my year 9 students when we had been looking at how to factorise more complex expressions. I planned my lesson and activities and so had my examples and questions in mind when I was creating my exit ticket. I also remembered a great piece of advice from Mr Barton in his book 'How I wish I had taught maths' which is that the plenary can potentially be the 5 minutes of our lesson that students really remember. He suggested that a plenary may not be a time to introduce a problem solving type question or an exam question but instead a question that will actually build the students confidence and allow them to leave the room feeling that they have achieved something and remember that final question that they could answer. With this in the back of my mind I chose my question carefully for the exit ticket.
I handed out the exit tickets at the end of the lesson and asked the students to bring them to my desk before they left. I know some teachers chose to check them once the students have gone but I decided to check the tickets whilst the student was there and had conversations with students if necessary and asked them to make any corrections there and then. Of course you could just ask for a pile on your desk and then check them in your own time ready for the next lesson.
Some examples of students exit tickets are below:
The top left exit ticket is an example of a very small mistake that a few of my students made which was that they had placed a plus sign between the terms instead of a negative because the second term is negative. This mistake was very quickly rectified by me simply asking 'why is your second term in the bracket positive?'. The top left exit ticket was again an example that I saw and showed that this student had understood the concept of factorising but had not selected the highest common factor. Again, I just had to point out that the terms in the bracket had a common factor greater than 1 therefore this was not fully factorised. The bottom example is one of a student who had struggled more and therefore a more detailed conversation was needed and I had to help guide the student more.
I definitely think that this exit ticket brought a great insight into what my students had truly understood. It also helped me decide upon what to use for my next starter. It had become apparent from the exit tickets that some students had struggled with identifying the highest common factor of numbers, some had struggled with the highest common factor being a letter that is not linear and some had made mistakes with the second term being negative. My next starter addressed these issues and was designed to help students rectify these areas. In the same lesson that I used this starter I handed back the exit tickets and asked my students to stick them in their books.
Overall, I certainly feel the exit ticket was a valuable plenary. The ticket itself did not take long for me to make. I already had the template and then printed 4 to a page and just had to print and cut them out. The information I was able to glean from them in a matter of minutes was excellent and certainly allowed me to really understand which of my students understood the lesson and which had struggled. It also gave my students the opportunity to decide how confident they felt. I would recommend using an exit ticket for a plenary.
The template which I used can be found here: factorising an expression exit ticket


Dobbersky wrote:
While many senior yudansha may agree that Pinan/Heian holds everything you need to defend yourself, they certainly have kept these applications pretty secret.
I examined the Ashihara kata video posted and want to make a few points, before going on to a discussion of Pinan.
First, I like this kata from a fighting perspective. I don't find it perfect and have a critique, but it is good fighting. My issue is that the attacks lack an element of realism. Every one is a single technique. In fights, it is quite common for attackers to use combinations. Following is a list of the attacks that are defended against.
1. Single body strike
2. Single head strike
3. Single body strike
4. Single head strike (with the hand staying extended)
5. Single kick
6. Single kick
7. Single kick
8. Single kick
But I find the defensive techniques sound and useful. It is my understanding that this Ashihara kata, and others are recent inventions. In my view, this kata has a clear focus on empty hand fighting, and, as compared to most Okinawan kata of Chinese origin, is modeled on what I call "modern" empty hand fighting principles. The hands are held high, protecting the head. The body is relatively stationary. The counters are aimed at the head. There are round house kicks. These concepts vary significantly with the Chinese kata taught to Okinawans, where the hands are held low, where there are no roundhouse kicks, and where there are woefully few strikes to the head.
To summarize, this Ashihara kata contrasts significantly and in useful ways to the Pinan and other Chinese kata practiced by Okinawans, handed down 100 to several hundred years ago.
The heritage of the Pinan indicate a more recent arrival in Okinawa, as compared with many kata, at least as described in Bishop's text by Chozo Nakama. He states that a Chinese taught Channan to Itosu, who modified them, at least in part, so they could be taught over five years to Okinawan high school students. They may be quite older. They certainly contain sequences that are shared with other kata such as Kusanku and Passai which are likely quite old.
The Pinan are practiced differently by different systems, and these have been recorded and are in large part available on Youtube.
What has not been recorded and put on youtube are much meaningful bunkai. It's easy for anyone to claim tha these kata have everything you need for self-defense. It's also easy to say that there are systems that teach useful fighting for much of the Pinan sequences.
But I have found that we are expected to take this all on faith. I find the distinct lack of much useful Pinan application on Youtube as a telling sign that these claims may be overstated.
In the Ashihara kata shown, each direction is fully utilized against an attacker. What we find is that the defender does not move forward in the way we find one does in Pinan kata. In Pinan Shodan and Nidan, there are four steps to the front and back.
The challenge of applying these movements to empty hand fighting is that the attacker is in the way. A number of youtube videos show an attacker backing up in stances, striking. Is this in any way a realistic model of fighting?
Perhaps such a formalize and stiff retreat could be modified such that the attacker isn't really stepping back in locked stances, but is quickly backpedaling while striking. But even if this change were made, would anyone consider this a realistic model for how an attacker would respond to a defenders forward movements? Is it realistic to have a defended stepping forward in cat or back stance executing shutos, or in front stance using rising blocks, while stiffly moving forward in repetitive stances?
I like the Ashihara approach to kata where the hands clearly protect the head, and are held high and out in front. In Pinan kata, most movements have one hand on the hip leaving the head woefully unprotected. The first and third attacks in the Ashiraha video show a body attack, which when blocked leaves the head wide open, which the defender fully exploits.
This forum, as well as others often have posters make claims that kata are complete empty hand fighting systems, that the movements can all be used in useful ways.
Yet when asked to demonstrate these concepts, posters typically respond with statements such as:
"Look on Youtube, it's all out there."
"If you go to so-and-so's site, you can buy DVDs that explain it all."
"I can't show you our techniques, my teacher won't let me."
"The techniques practiced in my dojo are secret."
In the Ashihara kata, each direction represents a complete series of movements to be performed against an attack. I have given up hope on finding anyone who will post applications of Okinawan kata that do the same thing. For Pinan Shodan, that would include three shutos and a nukite (spear hand) in one defensive sequence. For Heian Shodan, that would include a downward block follow by three strikes or three upward blocks all done while charging forward in long front stances.
I am a kata enthusiast and I believe there are a variety of good self-defense sequences in Pinan. But it is my opinion that much of what passes for bunkai is just bunk. I would be grateful if anyone would point to youtube videos that show full directional sequences as self-defense applications.
If one looks at Aikido, Judo, and BJJ, there is just so much application out there on youtube. This is also true for all sorts of Chinese arts. PMA arts are amply demonstrated on Youtube.
But when it comes to kata application, it is all a big secret, or you can go to some site where it is available for just 29.99 for a DVD.
Why should anyone take this on faith. I have a suggestion. Those who would like others to believe that all these long kata sequences make sense in fighting would be well served by putting a few examples out there on youtube.
Cayuga Karate


text:
I saw this lesson on Artsonia in several variations.
- drawing sheet A4 size
- white pencil or silver gel pen
- black paper for background
Start this the lesson with a class discussion about witches. How can you recognize a witch? What things belong to a witch? What can you say about the clothing of a witch?
Students draw with pencil the lower half of the body of a witch: skirt and legs. Around this body they draw things that belong to witches. Draw a horizon line at about 1/3 part from the bottom. The drawing should be coloured with markers. Colour the background with markers or chalk pastel. The latter is obviously faster than colouring the background with markers.
Paste the drawing on a black background and decorate the rim with theme-related little drawings. Use a white pencil or a silver gel pen.
In the debriefing should be clear that you only need a half drawing to recognize a witch: Which witch is this?
Made by students of grade 3


Friday, July 17, 2015
Your Excellency: Opening Debate on Technology Review
17 July 2015
An open letter to the diplomatic community
Your Excellency:
This month, America celebrates our independence. In the 1770s, England's King George III was exploiting his colonies so he could continue to fight the French; wars are expensive and oppressive to the people. In just one century, the monies were turned inside the country to enable the people to prosper, and the technology of the day—the steam engine—established the railroad system and travel by steamships, but then World War I came and that technology was used for war.
This week, the Iran nuclear power deal has the capacity to trigger the same pivot to enable the people to prosper, and combined with the creation of the international government, where disputes between nations are settled in a legitimate and globally recognized international court system, there is no need for developing technology to be used for warfare. Innovation in technology can be used to trigger a global renaissance instead.
We are introducing the idea for technology review to ensure that technology will be used to benefit the people. We would like to open this idea to debate, also, so that shared research enables the solutions to problems to be found, and to ensure that cultures that may have previously opposed the introduction of certain technologies to have a voice in their creation. No new technology should be introduced until everyone is basically in agreement for it to come. There is no resistance to the plan when everyone is involved with the creation of it, and every aspect is addressed, including cultural review. This is the value of inclusive debate.
Our technology team will participate in the events at Oxford and Stonehenge, which are part of the planning for the creation of the international court system. The first issue the team will address during this event is technology review.
Yours for peace,
Karen Holmes,


text:
Height: 85.000 cm
Bear or Goose house
From: Kayang, British Columbia (Haida)
Date: AD 1890s
The Haida people live on the Northwest coast of North America. They used to build wooden houses for their whole clan (extended family) to live in during the wet winter months. Totem poles, memorials to important chiefs, would be raised outside many houses. These can still be seen today, carved with stories about the clan of the owner.
This is a model of one of these houses, belonging to either the Bear or the Goose clan. The pole tells the story of a man who proved that he could hunt by catching a whale. You can see the man and the whale near the bottom of the pole.


Why would you want to associate a value with an enum case? - a free tutorial
Paul Hudson _USER_
One of the most powerful features of Swift's enums is their ability to store one or more associated values – extra pieces of information that describe the enum case in more detail.
Associated values can be attached to every case, or only some cases. Plus, each case can have as many associated values as you want, as long as each one has a type.
For example, we might create a Weather enum with three cases:
enum Weather {
 case sunny
 case windy(speed: Int)
 case rainy(chance: Int, amount: Int)
That means our weather can be sunny, it can be windy, or it can be rainy. However, when it's windy we're also asking to store how fast the wind is as an integer – whether it's 10 kilometers per hour (kph), 20, 30, and so on. And when it's rainy, we're storing a percentage chance of the rain happening and a volume value, storing how much rain will store.
We could do something similar, but it would be pretty unpleasant. Imagine this:
enum Weather {
 case sunny
 case lightBreeze
 case aBitWindy
 case quiteBlusteryNow
 case nowThatsAStrongWind
 case thisIsSeriousNow
 case itsAHurricane
That gives us more ways to describe windy weather, but it's very imprecise – we've gone from being able to distinguish between a 10kph wind and a 15kph wind. Worse, if you hadn't seen the list ordered like it is above, would you know that aBitWindy was supposed to be stronger than lightBreeze but less strong than quiteBlusteryNow?
Now imagine trying to work with the rainy case, where we need to store two integers. We'd end up having to have cases that describe a low chance of light rain, a low chance of moderate rain, a low chance of heavy rain, a moderate chance of light rain, a moderate chance of moderate rain… well, you get the point.
So, enums with associated values let us add extra information to an enum case – think of them as being adjectives to a noun, because it lets us describe the thing in more detail.
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text:
illustration (attribution, if any possible, is at the end of the article)
A monk asked Zahozhou, "Does the cypress tree have buddha nature?"
Zhazhou answered, "It does."
The monk said, "When does it become buddha?"
Zhazhou said, "When the sky falls to the ground."
The monk said, "When does that happen?"
Zhazhou said: "When the cypress tree becomes buddha."
Please take the time to ask yourself how you understand the above, before continuing with the talk below…
A student asks "Does the cypress tree have buddha nature?"
A preliminary question would be: what is buddha nature? Nāgārjuna —a great Indian philosopher— in his Verses from the Center said that Buddha nature is the nature of this world. Buddha nature has no nature, nor does this world. That is to say: buddha nature and the world both are emptiness ('no nature,' i.e. no essence), and emptiness is empty.
What is emptiness? It is the absence of an independent'self,' an essence independent from a web of conditions and circumstances. 'Conditions' usually refer to the 'causes' or simply the 'background' from which the being arises. Basically, emptiness is when a being cannot say "it is in my (independent) nature to…"
Upon observation, the whole world is empty because nothing has a nature to exist (let alone evolve or live or create) regardless of the circumstances. Any tendency has to meet supportive conditions in order to mature, existence itself requires supportive circumstances, the very distinction of anything requires the existence of a'something else'… hence there is nothing with an independent 'essence:' every thing is nature-less or'self'-less (i.e. any thing is defined "in relation", "in context").
So, having mastered Nāgārjuna's teachings, the insightful teacher thus hears the student's question "does the cypress tree have buddha nature?" as: "Is the cypress tree 'empty' of any essential self (i.e. of a self independent from a web of conditions)?" No surprise then that he answers
Not only the cypress tree as we see it (a concept, categorised in a biological family, without much attention to what makes this particular tree different from other trees of the same family) is 'empty,' but the real tree is 'empty'! Why? The concept is born from a contact with the world, and from grouping different perceptions under one category, and from an intention to understand the world, to make it predictable hence safe… The concept does not exist independently from such conditions. Similarly, the tree did not appear spontaneously: it required a seed, a fertile soil, water, light, temperatures within a certain range… and none of these conditions were themselves independent from their own web of conditions.
Greed and hatred are based on ignorance, the childish illusion most beings have that "the world would be so much better if only this (insert personal preference) was different." Greed and hatred are based on the illusion that there exist things whose 'nature' is pleasurable or disagreeable, independently from circumstances.
Realising the emptiness of all things, experiencing emptiness, and thus destroying such illusions are insights that a buddha experiences, hence the name of 'buddha nature,' but such experience is 'lived,' it is not an object or a place or even a'separate' process (karmic or whatever). Emptiness (or 'buddha nature') is empty.
Unfortunately, the student has reified buddha nature, he has made emptiness to be'something' (a karma seed maybe, or a characteristic of beings, etc.) that leads to the fruition of Buddhahood. Hence he asks
"When does it become buddha?"
The misunderstanding by the monk (emptiness being something, i.e. not empty itself) is decried by Nāgārjuna in unambiguous terms: believers in emptiness are incurable.
Clearly, emptiness is empty of any essential, independent existence: e.g. emptiness is (at the very least) dependent in particular on our illusion that things do have a 'nature'!
Zahozhou now has to dispel such misunderstanding by the monk but words are risky, as exemplified by the reification of 'buddha nature'… Words cannot tell the Truth, only point to it. The answer of the master should hopefully show to the monk the absurdity of making 'buddha nature' be something that leads to Buddhahood.
"When the sky falls to the ground."
This is a multi-level answer, a marvellous spiritual millefeuille:
1. the sky never falls to the ground. What is left after the sky fell? Another sky? Nāgārjuna says that "no trace of space is there before the absence of obstruction which describes it." The sky doesn't fall to the ground, because the'sky' is defined as 'not the ground' (and, as such, is empty of any essential nature). If the sky never falls to the ground, the cypress tree never becomes a Buddha. As a cypress tree, this is just factual;
2. Nāgārjuna also states that "in seeing things to be or not to be, fools fail to see a world at ease." _We_ separate the concepts'sky' and 'ground' in separates entities, although they are not separate for real: the sky starts where the ground stops, and there's no distance to 'fall' between the two. The tension created by the idea of 'the sky falling' puts on display a tense mind (tense from clinging to concepts which do not capture things 'as they are'), rather than a tense world;
3. there's no distance, no separation between'sky' and 'ground,' no more than there's separation between the cypress tree, buddha nature, buddha… they're all empty (concepts), there aren't different types of emptiness which we could distinguish. Nāgārjuna says "when transfixed on what's unwavering beyond fixation's range, you see no buddha nature" i.e. the concepts, fixated ideas, put a veil on the empty nature of 'things.' The student has reified emptiness, made emptiness to be something, hence he has obscured the nature of reality. "Buddha nature is the nature of this world. Buddha nature has no nature, nor does this world." i.e. 'buddha nature' is emptiness and emptiness is empty;
4. if one poetically interprets the sky falling to the ground, a lightning storm might be an appropriate image: it would refer to the sudden insight of emptiness. A deep insight of emptiness is an Earth-shattering experience, because the lack of 'nature' is suddenly seen about everything; the Mahāparinibbāna sutta [DN 16(.3.17)] mentioned that when the Tathāgata gains unsurpassed enlightenment, then the earth shudders and shakes and violently quakes;
5. Continuing with this poetic interpretation of the sky falling to the ground, a deep insight of emptiness is an Earth-shattering experience, because the lack of 'nature' is suddenly seen about everything: the sky-high castle made of our concepts, views, preferences and opinions suddenly collapse onto the reality, onto the ground (of our concepts) 'as it is.'
One may note that if one questions the 'nature' of the ground, its essence is never found as one digs deeper and deeper in the soil (it is 'empty' of essential nature); however the existence of the ground is reliable enough to support sky-scrappers…
6. another poetical image tells us that the sky covers everything; and so does emptiness…
7. just for fun, one might note that what is 'inserted' both in the sky and in the ground is the cypress tree. So, isn't the cypress tree what prevents the sky from falling? ;-)
Ultimately, the student needs to let go of 'nature', of 'essence' (incl. the hypothetical essence of buddha nature), that is "wisdom," and the teacher cannot 'let go' in place of the student. Unfortunately, when presented with the above gorgeous multi-faceted diamond-answer "When the sky falls to the ground," the student takes the explanation literally:
"When does that happen?"
"When the cypress tree becomes buddha." Emptiness is the same, no matter in which order one puts concepts on the table. A true insight in emptiness will lead to seeing the emptiness of concepts like'sky' and 'ground' simultaneously to seeing the emptiness of other concepts, like 'cypress tree,' 'buddha nature' and 'buddha.' There aren't different types of emptiness.
The circular answer is solved in the flash simultaneously shedding all obscurity: all'mental constructions' stop at once, i.e. all creations and reifications of concepts from perceptions stop, when emptiness is experienced.
The reversal of order naturally echoes the Heart sūtra too: "form is emptiness, emptiness is form." Everything is empty (as a mental construction, i.e. as an un-enlightened human experience), but emptiness is not nothingness: you cannot pin down your'self', but whacking a stick on your head still hurts!
Any quote from Nāgārjuna's _Mūlamadhy


Confidence begets confidence
Learn to become more confident!
34°12'40.8″N 35°52'39.0″E
A rock climber's life is in the hands of the belayer. The belayer is the person who controls the safety rope at the bottom of the mountain. When the climber shouts: "Belay", the rope should be tight, holding the climber's in his position.
Before any difficult or long reach move, the belayer needs to ensure that the climber's position is safe and secure. Some holds are even hard to reach that the climber might jump to get it. Two scenarios emerge:
1. Either the climber succeeds and the belayer has to pull the rope and secure the rope again
2. Or, the climber failed at making the move and a fall will happen.
During the fall, the climber has only one way to stay alive, to rely on the belayer's ability to pull the rope and keep him in place. The confidence of the climber comes from his courage and technical abilities in climbing, but no climber would risk a jump without trusting the belayer at the foot of the mountain.
Confidence: /ˈkɒnfɪd(ə)ns/ the feeling or belief that one can have faith in or rely on someone or something.
The etymology of the word comes from: con (with) and fidere (to trust).
Confidence can be tackled in two categories:
Basic Confidence and Extended Confidence
Basic confidence is a quality of trust that you have in your abilities. This may vary from one person to another, naturally confident people can generally speak up, state their opinion meanwhile, less confident people might have a difficulty at talking to a stranger or need to think about it before doing it.
Both confident and less confident people within the basic confidence spectrum wouldn't dare taking that climber's jump. In fact, having a very high basic confidence allows you to explore everything within your common abilities. For example, a trapeze gymnast could perform all the tricks within his abilities, but he needs to know that there is a net beneath him before performing a new jump.
In order to reach to your extended confidence area, and start outdoing your skills and improving your abilities, you will need to rely on confidence generators: the belayer for the climber, the net for the gymnast.
Extended confidence is what will give you the power and the momentum to get out of your comfort zone and explore new areas. Confidence is knowing that someone is watching, someone has your back and will be there if you fail.
Improving your confidence requires you to surround yourself with people who will encourage you to get out, grow and take the jump!
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text:
Date of Award
Doctor of Philosophy in Environmental Engineering - (Ph.D.)
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Marhaba, Taha F.
Hsieh, Hsin Neng
Yip, Ngai Yin
Membrane filtration has been extensively used in water and wastewater treatment, desalination, dairy making, and biomass/water separation. However, membrane fouling, aging and insufficient removal efficiency for dissolved organic matters remain major challenges for wider industrial applications. In order to tackle these challenges, this doctoral dissertation investigates mechanisms of membrane fouling and development of antifouling membrane filtration technologies. Specifically, four major research areas are explored: (i) nanoscale physicochemical characterization of the chemically modified polymeric membranes; (ii) quantitative modelling between membrane properties and membrane fouling and defouling kinetics; (iii) development of quantitative structure-activity relationships for membranes that undergo thermal and chemical aging treatments; and (iv) design of microwave-assisted reactive and antifouling membrane filtration system.
The first research study focuses on the development and validation of atomic force microscope (AFM) and hybrid AFM-IR techniques to acquire surface topography, hydrophobicity and chemical distribution at nanoscale on polymeric membranes. AFM is used to obtain the topography images that show the pore size, porosity and also surface roughness of the polymeric membranes. Moreover, the chemical force mode of AFM is applied to probe nanoscale hydrophobicity on modified membranes. Furthermore, the AFM-IR technique offers accurate chemical identifications and distribution of additives on modified membranes at nanoscale, which is not achievable by conventional FTIR due to its low resolution or low sensitivity. The hybrid AFM techniques are believed to be critical for the nanoscale characterization for material properties in a wide spectrum of applications.
In the second work, predictive models for membrane fouling and defouling kinetics are developed. The models integrate membrane surface properties (i.e., hydrophobicity and surface charge) and filtration performances with protein, saccharides and natural organic matters (NOM) as model foulants. Positive correlations (R2=0.74-0.99) are obtained between the fouling rates and the foulant deposition rates on different membrane-foulant interaction systems. This correlation could be used for further developing predictive models of membrane fouling.
In the third work, the chemical and thermal stability of surface chemically modified polyether sulfone (PES) membranes are investigated. The membranes' physical (i.e., pore size, roughness), mechanical (i.e., tensile strength) and chemical characteristics (i.e., IR spectrum, and hydrophobicity) are evaluated. The quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSAR) for membrane filtration after aging are developed.
Sustaining high flux and diversified pollutant rejection are two crucial benchmarks for membrane filtration. In the fourth work, a microwave-enhanced membrane filtration process that uses microwave (MW) to energize catalyst-coated ceramic membranes is designed. MW irradiation is selectively absorbed by catalysts and H2O2 to produce ''hotpots" on membrane surface and promote generation of radicals and nanobubbles. The MW-Fenton-like reactions enhance chemical degradation of persistent organic pollutants (i.e., 1,4-dioxane) and significant mitigation of fouling. MW irradiation can effectively penetrate membrane modules and selectively promote surface reactions, which may open new avenues toward reactive and antifouling membrane filtration techniques.
Fu, Wanyi, "Fouling and aging in membrane filtration : Hybrid AFM-based characterization, modelling and reactive membrane design" (2019). Dissertations. 1401.


text:
Himalayan Balsam, named from it's native habitat, was brought into the country in 1839 as a decorative plant and is now on the notifiable plant list for invasive species (contact the Environment Agency or your local Wildlife Trust if you find any). A relative of
the Busy Lizzie, this giant (it can grow to 3 metres in height) is crowding out native species, especially along waterways. It is also known as 'Policeman's Helmet (due to the shape of it's flowers), and 'Jumping Jack' or 'Touch me not', due to the explosive mechanism that ejects rapidly seeds from the seedpods when touched or really ripe (see the photo with the arrowsthe seeds are too fast for me to catch clearly!). Around 800 seeds from each plant are sprung several metres, many then being carried by water to invade a new area of land. The only non-chemical control for this shallow-rooted plant is to cut the plant down or weed it out before it has a chance to set seed. As well as crowding out native species, the nectar-rich flowers tend to attract pollinators, especially Bumble Bees, away from native plants. The estimated bill for eradication is £300 million so there is research afoot to find a biological control. In his research on Himalayan Balsam, Professor Ian Rotherham of Sheffield Hallam University has found that it is also spread deliberately by people who find it attractive! All parts of the plant are edible and the seedpods are said by Richard Mbey to taste nutty, though I don't fancy it because, if you touch one, the smell is powerful and unpleasant, which is why I think it is called Touch-me-not! Conditions: A still, mild day of sun and cloud. Temperature: Max 17- Min 10C.


text:
Infant Mortality Awareness Month – September 2012
A Healthy Baby Begins with You and You and You
A Healthy Baby Begins with You and You and You September is Infant Mortality Awareness Month and the Office of Minority Health is encouraging everyone to get involved to help reduce the infant mortality rate, particularly in minority communities. The theme is A Healthy Baby Begins with You and You and You.
To actually tackle the issue, healthcare professionals, grandparents, husbands, friends, family members, employers, neighbors and government policymakers can help positively impact infant mortality rates through education, support and policy. Neighborhoods, workplaces, community centers and places of worship can serve as prime locations for awareness building. Combining this with the implementation of culturally competent practices and the utilization of CLAS, these components will help decrease health disparities and bring about health equity. Place, race, and income do matter, but there are ways to account for them and address them in order to have a more holistic and effective approach to patient care.
What Can Healthcare Providers Do to Help Reduce Infant Mortality Rates?
You will need Adobe Acrobat® Reader™ to view PDF files located on this site. If you do not already have Adobe Acrobat® Reader™, you can download here for free.

source: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb-edu


Is The Book Of Judith True?
What does the name Judy mean for a girl?
Judy as a girl's name is of Hebrew origin meaning "praised".
It is a diminutive form of Judith first used in the 18th century.
Related Baby Names Lists..
What is Jesus real name?
Is Tobias in the Bible?
Who did Judith kill in the Bible?
general SiseraJudith is an exemplary Jewish woman. Her deed is probably invented under the influence of the account of the 12th-century-bce Kenite woman Jael (Judg. 5:24–27), who killed the Canaanite general Sisera by driving a tent peg through his head.
Is the name Judith in the Bible?
From the Hebrew name יְהוּדִית (Yehudit) meaning "Jewish woman", feminine of יְהוּדִי (yehudi), ultimately referring to a person from the tribe of Judah. In the Old Testament Judith is one of the Hittite wives of Esau. This is also the name of the main character of the apocryphal Book of Judith.
Is Judy short for Judith?
Judy is a short form of the name Judith.
1939Judith has been used in the United States ever since 1880, with over 454321 girls given the name in the past 200 years. Judith gained the most popularity as a baby name in 1939, when it's usage went up by 149.62%.
Who wrote Judith poem?
Is Judy an old fashioned name?
Records indicate that 450,505 girls in the United States have been named Judith since 1880. The greatest number of people were given this name in 1943, when 25,188 people in the U.S. were given the name Judith. Those people are now 77 years old.
What are the books taken out of the Bible?
Where is the story of Judith found in the Bible?
The story of Judith and Holofernes is found among the apocryphal works of the Septuagint, the Greek translation of Hebrew Scripture, which formed the basis for the Old Testament. The purpose of the book is to inspire courage and patriotism through its heroine, a widow named Judith.
What does Judy mean in Arabic?
Judi is a name with multiple origins. It is a short form of the Hebrew name Judith. It is also an Arabic name referring to a mountain mentioned in the Quran.
Why is the book of wisdom not in the Protestant Bible?
What does Judith mean in the Bible?
What does Judea mean?
Why are the 14 books removed from the Bible?
What books did Martin Luther removed from the Bible?
Why was Judith removed from the Bible?
Why Tobit is not in the Bible?
What are the 14 missing books of the Bible?
14 of these books are included in this volume and these are the books; The First Book of Esdras, The Second Book of Esdras, The First Book of the Maccabees, The Second Book of the Maccabees, The Book of Baruch, The Book of Bel and the Dragon, Ecclesiastes or the Preacher, The Book of Esther, The Book of Judith, The …


What forces affect submarines?
Lesson overview
The context of the lesson is a practical investigation to discover how shape and surface area affect the speed at which a submersible descends. Students develop their understanding of forces, surface area, and fair testing.
Learning outcomes
 - Understand gravity as a force
 - Consider how forces affect submersibles
 - Investigate how shape affects speed
 - Predict and test with accuracy
 - Describe how forces affect submersibles
Lesson step
 1. Forces mini quiz (15 mins)
 Students take a forces mini quiz in groups to assess their level of understanding and open a discussion about gravity.
 2. Virtual submarine dive (10 mins)
 Students take a virtual submarine dive and consider how forces might impact on submersible design.
 3. Shape investigation (20 mins)
 Using modelling clay students investigate how a variety of shapes move at different speeds through water. Making predictions, students test different shapes and measure speed ensuring it is a fair test.
 4. Understanding water resistance (15 mins)
 Students describe why shapes move at different speeds using scientific vocabulary to explain their findings.


text:
Apr. 17, 2012 Researchers from the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM, Spain) have mathematically shown that particles charged in a magnetic field can escape into infinity without ever stopping. One of the conditions is that the field is generated by current loops situated on the same plane.
At the moment this is a theoretical mathematical study, but two researchers from UCM have recently proved that, in certain conditions, magnetic fields can send particles to infinity, according to the study published in the journal Quarterly of Applied Mathematics.
"If a particle 'escapes' to infinity it means two things: that it will never stop, and "something else," Antonio Diaz-Cano, one of the authors, explained. Regarding the first, the particle can never stop, but it can be trapped, doing circles forever around a point, never leaving an enclosed space.
However, the "something else" goes beyond the established limits. "If we imagine a spherical surface with a large radius, the particle will cross the surface going away from it, however big the radius may be" the researcher declares.
Scientists have confirmed through equations that some particles can escape infinity. One condition is that the charges move below the activity of a magnetic field created by current loops on the same plane. Other requirements should also be met: the particle should be on some point on this plane, with its initial speed being parallel to it and far away enough from the loops.
"We are not saying that these are the only conditions to escape infinity, there could be others, but in this case, we have confirmed that the phenomenon occurs," Diaz-Cano states. "We would have liked to have been able to try something more general, but the equations are a lot more complex."
In any case, the researchers recognise that the ideal conditions for this study are "with a magnetic field and nothing else." Reality always has other variables to be considered, such as friction and there is a distant possibility of going towards infinity.
Nonetheless, the movement of particles in magnetic fields is a "very significant" problem in fields such as applied and plasma physics. For example, one of the challenges that the scientists that study nuclear energy face is the confinement of particles to magnetic fields.
Accelerators such as Large Hadron Collider (LHC) of the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) also used magnetic fields to accelerate particles. In these conditions they do not escape to infinity, but they remain doing circles until they acquire the speed that the experiments need.
Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:
- A. Díaz-Cano and F. González-Gascón. Escape to infinity in the presence of magnetic fields. Quart. Appl. Math., August 26, 2011; 70 (2012), 45-51 [link]
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.


text: Over the past forty years intensive investigations into the use of compliant surfaces have been undertaken, both theoretically and experimentally, in order to obtain turbulent drag reduction in boundary–layer flows. Although positive results were found in some of the studies, none of these had been successfully validated by independent researchers. In this paper the results are reported of a recent investigation carried out by the authors to verify the experimental results of Semenov in 1991 and Kulik and co–workers in 1991, who successfully demonstrated the ability of compliant surfaces to reduce the skin–friction drag and surface–flow noise in a turbulent boundary layer. A strain–gauge force balance was used in the present study to directly measure the turbulent skin–friction drag of a slender body of revolution in a water tunnel. Changes in the structure of turbulent boundary layer over a compliant surface in comparison with that over a rigid surface were also examined. The results clearly demonstrate that the turbulent skin friction is reduced for one of the two compliant coatings tested, indicating a drag reduction of up to 7 per cent within the entire speed range of the tests. The intensities of skin–friction and wall–pressure fluctuations measured immediately downstream from the compliant coating show reductions in the intensities of up to 7 and 19 per cent, respectively. The results also indicate reductions in turbulence intensity by up to 5 per cent across almost the entire boundary layer. Furthermore, an upwards shift of the logarithmic velocity profile is also evident indicating that the thickness of the viscous sublayer is increased as a result of turbulent drag reduction due to the compliant coating. It is considered that the results of the present experimental investigation convincingly demonstrate for the first time since the earlier work in Russia (by Semenov and Kulik) that a compliant surface can indeed produce turbulent drag reduction in boundary–layer flows.


What is Independent Chip Model in Poker?
The Independent Chip Model (ICM), is a calculation which allows players to estimate the value of their stack at any given point in the tournament. ICM calculations evaluate a player's chip stack and place a monetary value on it based on tournament payouts.
Want to learn the strategic value of ICM? Check out this article:
ICM Poker Introduction: What Is The Independent Chip Model?
« View All Poker Terms
Put Your Skills to the Test with a Quick Poker Quiz!


Querying Places
Revision Information
 - Revision slug: Querying_Places
 - Revision title: Querying Places
 - Revision id: 131213
 - Created:
 - Creator: Gemal
 - Is reviewed? Yes
 - Reviewed:
 - Reviewed by: Jay
 - Is approved? Yes
 - Is current revision? No
 - Comment executeQuery instead of executeQueries
Revision Source
Revision Content
Most information from the Firefox history and bookmarks system ("Places") comes from executing queries on the history system (nsINavHistory.executeQuery/executeQueries). This will give you a nsINavHistoryResult object which will contain a tree structure of the results. The definitions of these structures is in {{template.Source("browser/components/places/public/nsINavHistoryService.idl")}}
Executing a query
There are two parts of a query: a list of one or more nsINavHistoryQuery objects, and an nsINavHistoryQueryOptions object. You first need to fill out these structures with the parameters you want. Use nsINavHistoryService.getNewQuery and nsINavHistoryService.getNewQueryOptions to retrieve empty objects. These objects typically have empty values for each possible field, so using them in their initial state will give you all of history in a flat list:
var historyService = Components.classes["_USER_-history-service;1"]
// get all history sorded by ascending visit date
var options = historyService.getNewQueryOptions();
options.sortingMode = options.SORT_BY_DATE_ASCENDING;
// no query parameters will return everything
var query = historyService.getNewQuery();
var result = historyService.executeQuery(query, options)
Result types
The query options structure nsINavHistoryQueryOptions has an attribute resultType for the type of the results that you want. It is important to understand the differences between these:
 - RESULTS_AS_URI: This is the default, and means that you get one result node of type RESULT_TYPE_URI for each URI that matches the query. The visit date for each node will be the last visit date for that URL. You will definitely want this when showing bookmark folders.
 - RESULTS_AS_VISIT: This means that you want one entry for each time a page was visited matching the given query. Therefore, you may get duplicate entries for URLs, each with a different date. The nodes will be of type RESULT_TYPE_VISIT which will give you access to a session ID for each visit. This session ID is the same for all pages that were reached by clicking links. A new session starts when the user types a new URL or follows a bookmark. It is used to compute the dividing lines in the places history view.
 - RESULTS_AS_FULL_VISIT: This is the same as visits but the results will be of type RESULT_TYPE_FULL_VISIT and will have additional information about the visit, such as the referring visit, and how the transition happened (typed, redirect, link, etc). This information is typically not needed and causes the result nodes (of which there may be many) to be larger, which is why it is a separate option.
The named constants are properties of nsINavHistoryQueryOptions, for example Components.interfaces.nsINavHistoryQueryOptions.RESULTS_AS_VISIT.
Query parameters
Note: The query object interface is subject to change. In its current form it is not very expressive. Implementing a better interface is {{template.Bug(317830)}}.
You can pass one or more nsINavHistoryQuery objects to nsINavHistoryService.executeQuery/executeQueries. Within one query object, all parameters are ANDed together. The conditions for different query objects are then ORed together. This allows for a simpler implementation and interface than a full logical operation with nested clauses while still being expressive.
Example of querying for any pages I've visited that contain the word "firefox" in the title/URL or that I've visited today from mozilla.org.
// first query object searches for "firefox" in title/URL
var query1 = historyService.getNewQuery();
query1.searchTerms = "firefox";
// second query object searches for visited in past 24 hours AND from mozilla.org
var query2 = historyService.getNewQuery();
query2.beginTimeReference = query2.TIME_RELATIVE_NOW;
query2.beginTime = -24 * 60 * 60 * _PHONE_; // 24 hours ago in microseconds
query2.endTimeReference = query2.TIME_RELATIVE_NOW;
query2.endTime = 0; // now
query2.domain = "mozilla.org";
var result = historyService.executeQueries([query1, query2], 2, options);
Note: Keyword searching doesn't work correctly across OR queries. The current behavior does the normal query and then selects keywords from the first query and filters all the results. (In other words, the keywords from the first query are ANDed with all queries.) Keywords from subsequent query objects are ignored. This is {{template.Bug(320332)}}.
Bookmark queries
The contents of bookmark folders can be retrieved by setting the "folders" member in the query object. This item is an array of folder IDs from the bookmark service. Typically, you will only have one folder ID in this list, which will given you the contents of that folder. You can set multiple folders and the result will be the intersection of all the folders.
Generally, you want to set the grouping mode in the options to GROUP_BY_FOLDER for bookmarks queries. This will result in a hierarchical structure containing the bookmark folder hierarchy rooted at where you requested.
Note: This doesn't actually have any effect in the current implementation. The query system always assumes GROUP_BY_FOLDER for bookmarks queries. See {{template.Bug(324579)}}.
For sorting, you will generally want to use SORT_BY_NONE (the default) since this will return items in their "natural" order as specified by the user in the bookmarks manager. Other sortings will work, however.
For bookmark queries you will generally want no query parameters to retrieve all items from the requested folder(s). When you specify exactly one folder, GROUP_BY_FOLDER, and no query parameters, the system will be more efficient querying and keeping the results up-to-date since this maps to exactly one bookmark folder.
var bookmarkSvc = Components.classes["_USER_-bookmarks-service;1"]
// |options| is an object created in the previous section
options.setFolders([bookmarkService.toolbarRoot], 1);
options.setGroupingMode([options.GROUP_BY_FOLDER], 1);
var result = historyService.executeQuery(query, options);
Serializing queries
Normally, query and options objects are represented in terms of objects. However, it is possible to serialize these objects using queriesToQueryString, and deserialize them using queryStringToQueries. The result will be a string starting with "place:" which you can store or bookmark. When a "place:" URI is bookmarked, it will expand to the results of the query when it is opened by the user.
You should never manually construct "place:" URI strings. The format is subject to change. If you need one, create the proper objects and call the history service to serialize it for you.
Be careful, queryStringToQueries may not return any query objects if the string was empty. Your code should handle this case. There will always be an options structure returned. If no options were specified, it will have the default values. If there were no query parameters specified but the input string was not empty (there were options) you may get one query object returned, containing the default query values.
Example of serializing and deserializing two queries and an options object:
var queryString = historyService.queriesToQueryStrings([query1, query2], 2, options);
var queriesRef = { };
var queryCountRef = { };
var optionsRef = { };
historyService.queryStringToQueries(queryString, queriesRef, queryCountRef, optionsRef);
// now use queriesRef.value, optionsRef.value
Using the results
Note: Be careful when accessing nodes and do not keep references to them around. Notifications sent to the result from the history and bookmarks system, as well as commands executed by the programmer such as sorting may cause the structure to change and nodes may be inserted, removed, or replaced.
The nsINavHistoryResult object returned by executeQuery/executeQueries contains the list of matches to the given history or bookmarks query. These results are contained in a tree structure made up of nodes. A node's type can be retrieved using its type attribute. This type tells you what interface you can QueryInterface the node to in order to get at more detailed information:
 - nsINavHistoryResultNode: Base class for all nodes. Contains URI, title, and other general info.
 - nsINavHistoryVisitResultNode: Derived from nsINavHistoryResultNode, contains session information.
 - nsINavHistoryFullVisitResultNode: Derived from nsINavHistoryVisitResultNode, contains information about how the user navigated to this page. Note: currently unimplemented, see {{template.Bug(320831)}}.
 - nsINavHistoryContainerResultNode: General container node giving access to its children. Derived from nsINavHistoryResultNode.
 - nsINavHistoryQueryResultNode: A type of container representing a query of the history system. It allows you to get the query options and parameters.
 - nsINavHistoryFolderResultNode: Derived from nsINavHistoryQueryResultNode, this represents a special type of query mapping to the exact contents of one bookmarks folder. It gives easy access to its folder ID, and also updates itself more efficiently than a general query.
Example of detecting the type of a node
var Ci =


Take the 2-minute tour ×
I am interested in studying moduli of complex surfaces which arise in computing the differential on the Heegaard Floer Homology chain complex. In particular, I am interested in the generic case, when the holomorphic discs in $\operatorname{Sym}^g\Sigma$ are as "bad" as possible. I have searched online for some examples of "generic"/"complicated" Whitney disks in the symmetric product, but most papers I see deal with special cases (namely where one can see by inspection and the Riemann mapping theorem that certain homotopy classes of Whitney disks are uniquely representable by holomorphic disks).
To elaborate on what I mean by "complicated" holomorphic disks, let's recall a certain (now standard) perspective on the Whitney disks. If we have a holomorphic disk $\phi:\mathbb D^2\to\operatorname{Sym}^g\Sigma$, then we can consider the fiber product: $$\begin{matrix} S&\xrightarrow{\tilde\phi}&\Sigma\times\operatorname{Sym}^{g-1}\Sigma\cr \downarrow& &\downarrow\cr \mathbb D^2&\xrightarrow\phi &\operatorname{Sym}^g\Sigma \end{matrix}$$ Then $S\to\mathbb D^2$ is a $g$-fold ramified cover (and the fiber over a point $p\in\mathbb D^2$ is "the $g$ points in $\Sigma$ given by $\phi(p)$"). Thus another way of viewing holomorphic disks in $\operatorname{Sym}^g\Sigma$ is as $g$-fold ramified maps $S\to\mathbb D^2$ along with a map $S\to\Sigma$. Thus, even though we consider only disks mapping to $\operatorname{Sym}^g\Sigma$, moduli spaces of more complicated Riemann surfaces naturally come in to play in Heegaard Floer Homology as moduli of the ramified cover $S$.
I am interested in the following "complicated" behaviour of $S$ and of the map $\tilde\phi:S\to\Sigma$:
 1. Can the map $S\to\Sigma$ fail to be an immersion? (I believe the answer is yes; in fact I think I know where to look for more information on this, I just haven't followed up on it yet).
 2. In general, what do the "slits" or "cuts" along the $\alpha$ and $\beta$ curves look like in $S$, and how does $S$ degenerate as these slits vary in length? Do the slits ever interact with each other (e.g. by colliding), or do they all give "independent" degenerations of $S$? (this is a bit vague, but if someone has an enlightening example, I'd really like to see it)
 3. Can $S$ have positive genus? This is the question I'm really most interested in. I have on good authority that the answer is yes, so actually what I really want is an example where $S$ has positive genus and contributes to the differential (or at least has Maslov index one).
share|improve this question
As for 3, doesn't Lemma 9.4 in Ozsváth and Szabó's "Holomorphic disks and topological invariants for closed three-manifolds" exhibit an instance where $S$ is an annulus? – Marco Golla Mar 11 '12 at 9:17
I do know of examples where $S$ is an annulus (I like the pictures in math.ucla.edu/~lwatson/pages/pdf/resume-CIRGET-liam.pdf), and can easily imagine how to get a sphere minus $k$ disks. But these all have genus zero. – John Pardon Mar 11 '12 at 20:15
Sorry - messed up between genus and Euler characteristic of the associated closed surface.. My comment was fairly useless. – Marco Golla Mar 11 '12 at 20:27
Have you looked at Robert Lipshitz's thesis? He takes something similar to this ramified cover approach. If I recall correctly, I heard him give a talk in which he mentioned in passing that one must consider curves with genus, though I don't remember what justification he gave. (You might also consider asking him directly. I'm sure he knows the answer to these questions. If you get an answer this way, please do come back and write up a summary for mathoverflow.) – Sam Lisi Mar 27 '12 at 0:06
1 Answer 1
up vote 6 down vote accepted
 1. Yes, $S \to \Sigma$ can fail to be an immersion. The failure is a branch point of the map $S \to \Sigma$, since it is (close to) a holomorphic map. This is fairly common as soon as the multiplicity of some region in $\Sigma$ gets higher than $1$. Of course, in the simple examples you can actually compute, this tends not to happen.
 2. A "slit" along the $\alpha$ or $\beta$ curves looks like a perfectly ordinary piece of the boundary upstairs in $S$, including at the end of the slit. It's best to think about the end of the slit as a boundary branch point, looking locally like the map $z \to z^2$ restricted to the upper half-plane in the domain. Slits cannot collide, due to boundary monotonicity: above each point on $\partial \mathbb{D}^2$, the $g$ different points map to distinct $\alpha$-curves. I don't know what you mean by "independent" degenerations, sorry....
 3. Yes, higher genus images can happen, and it's not too hard to construct examples that are forced by gluing, although again in most cases where you're able to compute Heegaard Floer homology by directly counting curves it does not. The index formula in Corollary 4.3 of Lipshitz's paper "A cylindrical reformulation of Heegaard Floer homology" will let you easily construct examples of high genus surface with index 1, and a little more playing around should let you see that some of these must actually have representatives.
share|improve this answer
Thanks! I understand your answer to #3, and am satisfied with this construction of higher genus S. Given the vague phrasing of #2, your answer gives me the information I wanted (particularly that the slits do not collide). – John Pardon Apr 2 '12 at 2:24
I'm still confused about #1, though. More specifically, I thought that following the proof of Lemma 2.17 in Oszvath--Szabo "Holomorphic disks and topological invariants for closed three-manifolds" (or Lemma 4.1 in Lipschitz "A cylindrical reformulation of Heegaard Floer homology") gives for any domain D a surface S --> Sigma which is an immersion on its interior. And wouldn't every holomorphic disk in that homotopy class determined by D (say g>2) give the same map S --> Sigma except possibly differing by the lengths of the slits? – John Pardon Apr 2 '12 at 2:29
A map with interior branch points can be homotopic to one without them. Specifically, in the construction you refer to, they construct maps with corners of greater than 180 degrees. These can turn into slits, i.e., boundary branch points. Two boundary branch points in turn can trade off for an interior branch point. I now see my answer to #2 above was incomplete. When the boundary of $S$ maps with two U-turns (boundary branch points) in a row along a single boundary component, the two branch points can collide to form an interior branch point. – Dylan Thurston Apr 3 '12 at 9:15
Your Answer


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U.S. Department of State
Diplomacy in Action
The United States and Lithuania Strengthen Energy Security Cooperation
Media Note
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
July 1, 2011
Begin text:
The Governments of the United States and Lithuania reaffirm their strong bilateral partnership and close cooperation, and recommit to strengthen energy security in promoting energy diversification efforts in the Baltic Sea region. Lithuania has taken a leading role in promoting regional energy security cooperation in several key energy diversification and market liberalization initiatives, including a regional nuclear power plant, new opportunities for liquefied natural gas, and energy interconnectors within the Baltic Sea region. Lithuania has also been a leader in the implementation of the European Union's Third Energy Package.
The United States and Lithuania recognize the crucial importance of the region's shared interest in enhancing energy efficiency and diversifying energy sources through the development of clean, safe, and sustainable energy sources. Such energy sources include nuclear energy, LNG, domestic unconventional oil and gas, and renewable energy. Both countries underline the importance of the IAEA nuclear safety standards and international nuclear safety obligations, including those in the Convention on Nuclear Safety.
The United States and Lithuania realize the promise domestic unconventional oil and gas hold for our future and the importance of fully developing and utilizing these resources in an environmentally responsible manner. Representatives of the Republic of Lithuania and of the United States participated in the Global Shale Gas Initiative (GSGI) Conference in Washington DC in August 2010. We look forward to continuing to cooperate on areas such as shale gas. Both the Lithuanian government and industry leaders are comprehensively exploring the opportunities for unconventional oil and gas in Lithuania.
The United States and Lithuania intend to work together to promote safe and stable energy supplies and to encourage the development of energy projects leading to a diversified and liberalized energy market. Both countries intend to identify potential opportunities to further enhance cooperation and trade and investment in the energy sector. The governments of the United States and Lithuania are pleased that American firms are being considered to participate in the implementation of these important projects.
PRN: 2011/1099
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Liberal Brooklyn College Professor Says Math Is Racist: '2+2=4' Is 'White Supremacist Patriarchy'
Brooklyn College Professor of Math Education Laurie Rubel argued this week on Twitter that basic math is culturally problematic and the mathematical equation 2+2=4 "reeks of white supremacist patriarchy.
Rubel's tweet was retweeted and promoted by several leftist academics at universities and liberal colleges around the nation.
According to a report by Campus Reform, Brooklyn College Professor Laurie Rubel, who teaches math education, tried to make the case this week that basic math is "white supremacist.
Breitbart report: The tweets are part of a larger trend on liberal college campuses by liberal academics, many of whom have started to argue that "objective truth," including basic math, is a social construct, and therefore racist.
Along with the 'of course math is neutral because 2+2=4' trope and the related (and creepy) 'math is pure' and 'protect math.' Reeks of white supremacist patriarchy," Rubel added. "I'd rather think on nurturing people & protecting the planet (with math in service of them goals)."
Several academics from institutions around the nation chimed in. Harvard Ph.D. candidate Kareem Carr suggested that math should be reevaluated because it was primarily developed by white men.
People say it's subjectivism to ask if math is Western. I don't get that. It's an objective fact that some groups were more involved in the creation of modern math than others," Carr said. "They may have been *trying* to make it objective but it's not stupid to ask if they actually succeeded!
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Will farmers carry the burden of GMO contamination? | Greenpeace International
Will farmers carry the burden of GMO contamination?
Strong legislation needed to ensure the survival of GMO-free farming
Feature story - March 4, 2003
Genetically engineered (GE) crops, as any other living organism, grow and reproduce. That's why genetic contamination is a problem with the potential to multiply. A proposal in the EU aims to put the burden of controlling contamination onto farmers seeking to keep their fields GE-free.
Once GE crops are planted on a commercial scale, the measures to avoid contamination can substantially increase the final cost of conventional and organic products. The EU Joint Research Centre has calculated an increase of costs as high as 41 percent for oilseed rape seed production, and 9 percent for conventional maize production in Europe.
One would think that politicians would see it as their responsibility to prevent genetic contamination from happening. However, this doesn't seem to be the case in the European Union (EU). An unpublished "Communication on Co-existence," which Agriculture Commissioner Franz Fischler will soon present, takes the view that legislative action at European Community level should be avoided.
Instead, the Commission's Agriculture Services considers an approach where preventative action would be limited to coordinating and advisory functions. They also assume that Co-existence measures should be strictly limited to the economic aspects of genetic contamination and propose that seeds contaminated below certain threshold (0.3 - 0.7 percent depending on the crop) should not even need to be labelled as genetically modified.
Only comprehensive legislation can save the purity of seeds, ensure the survival of uncontaminated conventional and organic farming in Europe and ensure the right of consumers and farmers to say "no" to GE products. Clear liability regulations following the "polluter pays" principle must ensure that extra costs are borne by the producers and growers of GE crops responsible for the contamination.
Instead, the leaked Communication argues that the burden of Co-existence measures "should fall on the economic operators (farmers, seed suppliers, etc.) who intend to gain a benefit from the specific cultivation model they have chosen." According to this view, farmers who have an economic interest in ensuring that their products remain GE-free, would have to pay to avoid contamination instead of those responsible for the contamination.
We call on decision-makers in the EU to adopt clear and effective legislation to protect the agricultural assets of Europe and prevent genetic contamination. Failure to do so could have severe consequences: environmental damage to farmland and biodiversity, economic loss for conventional and organic farmers, and higher prices for
the overwhelming majority of consumers who want to buy and eat non-GE food.
Read the Communication from Fischler to the Commission on Co-existence of Genetically Modified, Conventional and Organic Crops. (pdf)
Read EU study finally published: Co-existence of GE/non-GE farming (May 2002)


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 10 Things You Should Know about Communicating with an Autistic Child
 CNN PRODUCER NOTE Emily Ferguson's son Sammy has made great strides in the last two years. He now speaks occasionally and uses picture cards to convey his wants. She says he is able to make 16 nonfood requests (play with me, outside, toy lizard, hug, music toy, etc.) and about 30 food requests.
 "About a year ago, I was tickled when Sammy realized he had no limit to the amount of times he could request cookies. For the first time, I felt like a 'normal' mother, because I had a child who was asking for something he wanted repeatedly and he was getting the same answer ('No.'). He is also able to tell me when he wants to go outside to play, wants a hug, would like his water tube toy, etc. It has been an amazing experience to see Sammy go from just crying to using pointing to giving others picture cards on sentence strips."
 She said she prays Sammy will find the communication tools that work best for him, "and that he will be able to share his thoughts and emotions with those around him. Until that day, I want the world to understand that my child is worth respecting, loving, and cherishing."
 Visit Emily's iReport profile to learn more about Sammy and his progress. Do you have autism or a loved one on the spectrum? How do you communicate? Add your story to this assignment and it could be featured on CNN.
 - dsashin, CNN iReport producer
 First of all, I am the mother of an amazing 8 year old boy, named Sammy, living with severe autism. Here are some tips I share with family and friends when it comes to communicating with my child. Now, if you meet one autistic child, you meet one autistic child. Each one is unique and has different needs. This is just want I have learned while interacting with my son:
 1. Speak with respect and with an age appropriate tone of voice. Please don't speak loudly and with a "baby" tone of voice.
 2. Don't require or wait for eye contact. You could be waiting a very, very long time!
 3. Talk with my child. Pause like you would in normal conversation and wait for a response. No, he probably won't reply with words, but watch his body language, listen to his breathing, etc. I believe a child's worst fear is being invisible.
 4. Don't avoid my child. Autism isn't contagious!
 5. Please have an open mind. Please don't judge. I understand when people are judging my parenting skills when my child is having a meltdown in the middle of the grocery store or wherever. Judgmental attitudes never help. A lady at a New Jersey beach two years ago offered to help carry things back to my van when Sammy was having a fit. I will never forget that act of kindness. An open and helpful heart goes a long way!
 6. When you spend time with an autistic child, please understand autism doesn't define him or her. Each child has different interests and explores the world differently.
 7. Try to ignore the gross behaviors...yes, gross behaviors. Picking the nose, scratching the butt, etc. are behaviors that happen anywhere. Washing hands is something we do frequently.
 8. You don't have to be an autism specialist in order to connect with a child living with autism. Learn about autism, reach out to a family or a support group, and make connections.
 9. Don't touch my child. My son likes his personal space and he has occasional aggressive behaviors. Also, his teachers and I are teaching him boundaries. It is okay for family to snuggle and hug him, but it isn't okay for people outside of the family to do so.
 10. Encourage my child. Notice what my son is doing and say something. Everyone loves encouragement.
 Photo by Lyle Wenger
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Green Chemistry
E-Separation Solutions
E-Separation Solutions-09-21-2010, Volume 0, Issue 0
Participants in this Technology Forum are from Agilent Technologies, Thermo Fisher Scientific, and Waters Corp.
Separation techniques following green chemistry practices are becoming more important as solvent disposal costs increase and laboratories move toward decreasing solvent consumption and the generation of hazardous waste. Participants in this Technology Forum are Helmut Schulenberg-Schell of Agilent Technologies, Sergio Guazzotti and Eric Phillips of Thermo Fisher Scientific, and Elizabeth Hodgdon and David Wetherell of Waters Corp.
Which separation techniques are the most compatible with green chemistry? Which aren't?
Schulenberg-Schell: Conventional liquid chromatography (LC) requiring long run times on large i.d. columns can create a substantial amount of waste and consume considerable amounts of energy. A wide range of alternatives are available to seamlessly transfer to state-of-the-art ultrahigh-pressure liquid chromatography (UHPLC) instrumentation and column technology. This accelerates LC separations down to run times of a few minutes or even seconds. In addition supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) and capillary electrophoresis (CE) instruments are available for analytical laboratories. Both techniques are extremely fast and will not create significant amount of organic solvent waste at all. In addition they can be used as orthogonal methodology to confirm results from LC separations.
Guazzotti and Phillips:Green techniques have to do with minimizing or eliminating the hazardous waste associated with laboratories. This can be done by moving to gas chromatography (GC) techniques that do not require solvent for separation. Regarding LC, this can be done by changing to a less or nonhazardous solvent or by using UHPLC. By utilizing UHPLC the amount of solvent needed to carry out separations is significantly reduced without sacrificing the actual separation resolution. The term "green" needs to be applied to the entire method, from extraction to analysis and even reporting.
Hodgdon and Wetherell:SFC certainly offers some distinct advantages, from a green perspective, by eliminating many of the traditional solvents utilized in HPLC. By using carbon dioxide as the primary mobile phase, in combination with small amounts of organic modifier, typically methanol, we can achieve faster separations, and produce significantly less organic waste in the process.
Like SFC, sub-2-µm LC systems and particle chemistries offer a way to scale high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) flow rates and hence solvent usage, without compromising performance. This is because reducing inner diameter and column length can have a significant impact on solvent consumption. Additionally, the increased efficiency of small particles offers the ability to reduce the analysis time, further reducing solvent consumption and environmental impact.
Which green separation techniques have been the most widely implemented?
Schulenberg-Schell:UHPLC has created the most buzz recently; however, there is a substantial installed base for CE and SFC as well. CE has a strong footprint in biopharmaceutical, food, and forensic applications where charged compounds are of high interest. SFC has the advantage of scalability from analytical to prep scale.
Guazzotti and Phillips:There is a focus on how to change the way all sample preparation and separations are done to minimize the hazardous waste. This has been done on all techniques, GC and LC. The biggest change recently has been on the LC separations. There has been a move to lower volumes and faster run times to give better separations and faster run times. This also has the effect of lower consumption of solvent. UHPLC has been widely applied, with significant growth since its first introduction in 2004.
Hodgdon and Wetherell:The key to embracing change is to offer a way to improve efficiencies and lower costs at the same time. Sub-2-µm LC has demonstrated this conclusively. Many companies wish to be more environmentally conscientious but to access these improvements and make the investment solid, return-on-investment (ROI) benefits need to be demonstrated. The acetonitrile shortage has now passed, but this event accelerated many companies to access sub-2-µm particle technology. Now, systems are being designed that allow users to future-proof their labs, to run HPLC now, but with the ability to access sub-2-µm LC to take advantage of solvent and disposal cost savings where the technique can be proved most effective.
Has automation decreased solvent consumption? What other techniques can chemists use to decrease solvent consumption?
Schulenberg-Schell:Automation can come in different ways to the lab. If simple manual procedures are executed by robots there will be no significant savings. If automation goes along with a downscaling of sample amounts required per analysis this can help tremendously to save solvents. With the state-of the art detector sensitivity this is possible. UV diode-array detectors allow analyses to start from much smaller sample amounts and still achieve the required limits of detection (LOD).
Guazzotti and Phillips:Although automated techniques may appear to increase solvent consumption, they generally decrease it. There is less opportunity for spills, the waste is handled in a more appropriate manner and there is the move to less hazardous solvents. Sample preparation is one area that can continue to decrease solvent use. Techniques that minimize and eliminate solvents are not only preferable from an environmental impact side but also can be more economical for the lab.
In LC applications one approach that can be used for HPLC as well as UHPLC is carrying out isocratic separation and recycling the mobile phase with the help of automatic recyclers. The combination of temperature programming with isocratic separations and recycling certainly offers several advantages since in this case the polarity of the mobile phases changes with temperature and therefore optimal separations can be achieved for many applications.
Hodgdon and Wetherell:By analyzing customer needs practical and perceptive automation features can be developed by suppliers, and these do not have to be overly complex. For example, a new system optimizes solvent usage by automatically blending up to four solvents in accurate proportions. There is no requirement to make up a number of specific mobile phase bottles, which will be discarded after perhaps only one use. Instead, users can proportion smaller volumes of concentrated solvents in any sequence for isocratic or binary, ternary, and quaternary gradients. Not only is the amount of solvent usage limited for applications such as automatic method development or system flushing, it is simplified and routine assays become more rugged as less human error is introduced. Further, in the latest iteration of the technology, the user can program methods directly in units of pH and molarity, again simplifying the use of buffer stocks that can be prepared in smaller batches.
What have been the biggest hurdles for chemists in implementing green chemistry techniques?
Schulenberg-Schell:In many industries we are dealing with methodology that is subject to regulation. Unfortunately a lot of conventional technology has been recommended or declared as mandatory in these documents. Changing the regulatory guidance can be very time-consuming and expensive to do. Solutions to help with rapid method development and validation of new methods can significantly cut down the time for transition.
Guazzotti and Phillips:The belief that standard methods cannot be changed or altered and the speed at which agencies change has been a big hurdle. There is also a significant investment in time and resources to change methods to use either different sample prep techniques or different solvents for LC separations. One hurdle for the implementation of UHPLC has been the need to revalidate methods if the modifications needed to scale the separations from HPLC to UHPLC did not fall within the parameters' variability allowed by the USP.
Hodgdon and Wetherell:For SFC we see that many customers are just not familiar with the current technology, and the advantages it provides in the laboratory for normal-phase analysis and purification. As manufacturers we need to increase the visibility of SFC as a mainstream laboratory tool, and also help customers understand the value it provides from a green chemistry perspective. Flexible platforms will be developed that can run multiple techniques, as well as targeted chemistries that allow simple method development and transfer strategies and software that accelerates method development.
Propagating sub-2-µm LC methods in place of conventional HPLC methods is dependent on the availability of tools and practices to assist in managing change. Nevertheless, for both SFC and sub-2-µm LC the hurdle remains that regulatory practices, particularly compendial chromatographic procedures do not provide the necessary flexibility to change the chromatographic column without the necessity of revalidation of the method.
What trends can we expect to see in the future with green chemistry, particularly with regard to separation techniques?
Schulenberg-Schell:We observe a few commercial companies and regulatory bodies taking a strong interest and we expect that much larger numbers of users will quickly learn and adopt the new green chemistry. The savings for a better future, the quality of life, and the economic benefits are so significant that this is the place to be.
Guazzotti and Phillips:There will be a continual drive to use less solvent and solvents that are less hazardous. Sample preparation will be a very large focus as will the solvents used in LC. The laboratories that make the best use of the idea of green chemistry will not only benefit the environment but they will benefit their profits. The lab will become more profitable because there will be less spent on collecting, storing, and disposal of hazardous waste. In addition, in LC we can expect to see a continuous increase in the adoption of UHPLC as well as scaling down separations to reduce the amount of mobile phases needed to carry out separations.
Hodgdon and Wetherell: We are now beginning to


text:
One of the most
exciting and anxiety-producing times in a family's life cycle is when a
teen prepares to transition from life as a high school student to life
on a college campus. We tell our children lech l'cha -- go
off and find yourself -- and our children are only too eager to go
forth. But have we given them the necessary tools for the trip ahead?
When they get to
college, our students will come into contact and interact with students
from all racial, ethnic, and religious backgrounds. But when they are
talking with their friends and questions come up about what Judaism
believes in, will they know how to answer? Will they be able to
explain Reform Judaism when faced with challenges from their more
traditional peers? We teach in our schools the importance of the Land
of Israel, but do we give our students the necessary knowledge about
the complexity of the situation to face the attacks from the
anti-Zionists? We want our students to live a Jewish life, but do we
pack even the very basic items -- a Tanach, a Kiddush cup or
candlesticks, and a mezuzah -- in their suitcases?
Packing for College: Where Does Judaism Fit? is a
program from the Union for Reform Judaism designed to ensure that our
students are ready for the challenges ahead. Created to support both
teens and their parents as they make the transition from high school to
college, Packing for College: Where Does Judaism Fit? provides
congregations with a sorely needed program for the post-confirmation
period while connecting families to the community during this
transitional time in the family life cycle. Best of all, the Packing for College materials are available TO DOWNLOAD free.
Packing for College can transform a time of tension and
dissention into a time of exploration and communication; it can help
make the transition period between high school and college a part of
the life cycle of families, and it creates rituals to celebrate the
There are 10
individual items available in the Packing for College Series.† Each
is available as
an electronic download in PDF format.† All are
available at no charge.
Packing for College: COLLEGE CHOICES, JEWISH CHOICES
11th Grade Teen Session #1: College Choices, Jewish Choices
ONLY AVAILABLE AS DOWNLOAD
How do students identify and prioritize the important factors to be considered as they think about colleges? And how will their choices impact future Jewish attitudes and patterns of behavior? This session parallels the parent session
My Choice, Your Choice, Our Choice, and should be held at the same time.
11th Grade Teen Session #2: Is God Where Iím Going?
ONLY AVAILABLE AS DOWNLOAD
A series of values clarification exercises will help develop a stronger sense of studentsí own Jewish self. A particular focus will be on understanding how Jewish development needs to keep pace with their physical, social, emotional, and intellectual development.


charging batteries
Document Sample
charging batteries Powered By Docstoc
 Why should you follow safety precautions when charging batteries?
Lead-acid batteries contain sulfuric acid and only trained and authorized personnel should handle them. When talking about lead-acid batteries, people usually call sulfuric acid "battery acid" or the "electrolyte". An electrolyte is general term used to describe a non-metallic substance like acids like sulfuric acid or salts that can conduct electricity when dissolved in water. Lead-acid batteries can produce explosive mixtures of hydrogen and oxygen gases when they are being charged.
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Charge batteries only in approved, ventilated battery-charging areas. Install a safety shower and an eyewash station in a battery-charging area.
What are some precautions to use when handling battery acid?
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Wear splash-proof goggles and protective clothing (gloves and aprons). A face shield may also be necessary when handling sulfuric acid in an open system. Do not store acid in hot locations or in direct sunlight. Pour concentrated acid slowly into water: do not add water into acid. Use nonmetallic containers and funnels. Use extreme care to avoid spilling or splashing the sulfuric acid solution. It can destroy clothing and burn the eyes and skin. Use an eyewash station if the sulfuric acid solution is splashed into the eye. Neutralize spilled or splashed sulfuric acid solution with a baking soda solution, and rinse the spill area with clean water.
 What do I do if someone gets sulfuric acid on their skin?
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Avoid direct contact. Wear chemical-resistant protective clothing, if necessary. As quickly as possible, flush the contaminated area with lukewarm, gently flowing water for at least 20-30 minutes, by the clock. If irritation persists, repeat flushing. DO NOT INTERRUPT FLUSHING. If necessary, keep emergency vehicle waiting. Under running water, remove contaminated clothing, shoes and other leather goods (e.g., watchbands, belts). Transport the victim to an emergency care facility immediately. Discard contaminated clothing, shoes and leather goods.
What do I do if someone gets sulfuric acid in their eyes?
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Avoid direct contact. Wear chemical-resistant gloves, if necessary. Immediately flush the contaminated eye(s) with lukewarm, gently flowing water for at least 20-30 minutes, by the clock, while holding the eyelid(s) open. Neutral saline solution may be used as soon as it is available. DO NOT INTERRUPT FLUSHING. If necessary, keep the emergency vehicle waiting. Take care not to rinse contaminated water into the unaffected eye or onto the face. If irritation persists, repeat flushing. Quickly transport the victim to an emergency care facility.
Why is there a danger of exploding batteries? The charging of lead-acid batteries can be hazardous. When batteries are being recharged, they generate hydrogen gas that is explosive in certain concentrations in air (the flammability or explosive limits are 4.1% to 72% hydrogen in air). The spark-retarding vents help slow the rate of release of hydrogen, but the escaping hydrogen may form an explosive atmosphere around the battery if ventilation is poor. The ventilation system should be designed to provide an adequate amount of fresh air for the number of batteries being charged. This is essential to prevent an explosion.
  
Always keep sparks, flames, burning cigarettes, and other sources of ignition away from the battery recharging area. Wear protective eye wear when working near batteries. Do not break "live" circuits at the terminals of batteries.
What should I do when charging batteries?
 
Check the electrolyte level before recharging. If the battery has been outside in cold weather, make sure that the battery is not frozen before recharging it. If the electrolyte is covering the top of the plates, do not add more water. Recheck the fluid level after the battery has been recharged. If water is added, use distilled water, not tap water. When vent plugs may need adjustment, follow manufacturers' instructions carefully.
  
 
If the battery has sealed vents, do not recharge the battery with a current greater than 25 amps. To reduce the possibility of explosions, follow the recommendations of the recharger manufacturer for attaching and removing cables and for operating the equipment properly. Generally, this includes unplugging or turning off the charger before connecting or disconnecting the clamp connections. Carefully attach the clamps to the battery with the proper polarity (positive [+] clamp, usually red, to the positive terminal and negative (-) clamp, usually black, to the negative terminal). Ensure that area is ventilated when the batteries are being charged. If the battery becomes hot or if the electrolyte spits out from the vent, turn off the recharger temporarily. Resume recharging using a lower current or charging rate.
What should I do when servicing batteries?
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Keep metal tools and jewelry away from the battery. Inspect for defective cables, loose connections, corroded cable connectors or battery terminals, cracked cases or covers, loose hold-down clamps and deformed or loose terminal posts. Replace worn or unserviceable parts. Check the state of charge of non-sealed and sealed batteries with an accurate digital voltmeter while the engine is not running and lights and other electrically-powered equipment are turned off. Also check the electrolyte levels and specific gravity in each cell of non-sealed batteries. Follow the battery manufacturer's recommendations about when to recharge or replace batteries. Tighten cable clamp nuts with the proper size wrench. Avoid subjecting battery terminals to excessive twisting forces. Use a cable puller to remove a cable clamp from the battery terminal. Remove corrosion on the terminal posts, hold-down tray and hold-down parts. Use a tapered brush to clean battery terminals and the cable clamps. Wash and clean the battery, battery terminals, and case or tray with water. The corrosive acid can be neutralized by brushing on some baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) solution. If the solution does not bubble, the acid is probably neutralized. Rinse the battery with water to remove the baking soda solution. To prevent electric shocks, never touch or come in contact with both terminals at the same time. If baking soda solution is applied with a cloth, remember that these solutions can conduct electricity. When battery cables are removed, ensure that they are clearly marked "positive" and "negative" so that they are reconnected with the correct polarity. Use a battery carrier to lift a battery, or place hands at opposite corners. Remember, batteries can weigh 30 to 60 lb (about 14 to 27 kg) so practice safe lifting and carrying procedures to prevent back injuries. Use a self-leveling filler that automatically fills the battery to a predetermined level. Never fill battery cells above the level indicator. Do not squeeze the syringe so hard that the water splashes acid from the cell opening.
Now how is your finger?
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Tags: health, safety


text:
The Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) at the University of Missouri has developed an online tool to help farmers build projected budgets for their operations.
The Farm Cost and Return Tool, or Farm CART, is at _URL_
"The tool allows beginning farmers and ranchers, not only in Missouri but all over the country, to play a what-if game on the Web," said FAPRI economist Peter Zimmel. "They can develop a farm with how many acres they want, how many animals they want, and they can see what it will look like financially over the next five years."
Farm CART was funded by a Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Grant from USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The USDA Beginning Farmer and Rancher project was started because the age of the average farmer is increasing and the number of farmers is decreasing. USDA is looking for ways to educate people who may want to start farming in the future, Zimmel said.
FAPRI developed Farm CART to help producers who are either thinking about farming or are looking to grow their operation, but Zimmel says the tool can benefit anyone who wants help making better-informed agricultural finance decisions.
"With the risk that is involved in agriculture, you really need to plan for the future," Zimmel said. "What's the future look like for your farming operation? Is it feasible to continue to farm the way you're farming?"
Farm CART uses the baseline projections that FAPRI produces every year. The tool can provide budgets based on a selected location but can also be customized to a specific operation.
"One of the strengths of this tool is that producers can say they want to make a farm that looks like X, Y and Z, and see how that looks financially," Zimmel said. "But then they can go back and add soybeans and see what the difference is financially. Is it a positive or a negative? Then they can go back and make a better-informed decision if they should grow their farm that way."
Zimmel says a lot of effort went into making Farm CART easy to use. He says there is very little information that producers have to enter before they can play those what-if games. Information from the FAPRI baseline as well as the USDA is programmed in, so all that is needed is the number of acres or animals.
"All the information we start them with, all the costs for seed, fertilizer or chemicals, is there," Zimmel said. "But if they want to they can customize that to their specific operation and change every number in there."
The Farm CART is free to use and there is no sign-up or registration required. Zimmel says all you have to do is select the state and county and you are ready to go.
"There aren't many tools with the ability to project out five years, especially in a Web-based tool with all the information from FAPRI and USDA," Zimmel said. "One of the big benefits of Farm CART for a producer who is either getting ready to start farming or wants to make a change to their operation, they can look at it before actually going out there and spending the money to try and do it."
For more information, go to _URL_


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We have developed an android application which loads different eco-zones and does geo-fencing based on current GPS location.
We have converted a shapefile to KML, then to JSON format, for loading in the Android app.
The zones had 1000+ vertexes, so performance was an issue. I then tried splitting the polygons, this deforms zone boundaries.
Is there a better approach to this, while respecting zone boundaries, in which the performance could be improved? I.e. less vertices using some other algorithm? or a better GIS data format?
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You can generalise (simplification) the polygons lightly or aggressively - see gis.stackexchange.com/questions/440/… – Mapperz Feb 13 '13 at 3:07
If the shapefile was loaded into a spatial database (ie postgis) you can request both json (geojson) and simplified polygons on the fly postgis.org/docs/ST_AsGeoJSON.html postgis.org/docs/ST_Simplify.html – Mapperz Feb 13 '13 at 3:11
1 Answer 1
I'm not sure about your exact workflow, so I'll try to give a general answer.
There are two different ways that geodata can be used, and the answer depends on which one you need:
 1. You are showing the data on a map. In this case, if you load 1000+ vertices as graphics on the map, you will have a low performance. What you need to do is to load the data as a raster, say a WMS service or something similar. Delegate the drawing of the layer to something else. How to implement this, depends on you map View. I am not too sure of Google Map API, But you could look into using the osmdroid library.
 2. Your app has the data, but it is used only for querying. Say for example, finding out if the current location is within a zone or not. This can be done by storing the data in a spatial database. We have had a lot of success with spatilite for Android
You could also go for a hybrid aproach if you need both.
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