Updated: 06/07/05
Frequently Asked Questions of the
"The Move a Rock, Take a Break Road"
If you have never spent much time in the Smoky Mountains, you may be missing the significance of some of the things you see on the Finchfield & Wrensylvania.
People in the southeast, particularly in the hills and mountain regions, hate getting rid of anything, especially if they contain sheetmetal. Old cars and appliances give the kidds (of the goat variety) and kids (of the human variety) a place to climb. Refrigerators are popular items for holding up porch roofs. Commodes have been used as flower pots in front yards.
Do you like birds?
Just humming birds and small birds like finches. We do not keep a birdfeeder for larger birds because we don't want our buildings' roofs to be white.
In addition to Bingo halls, The Cherokee Indian Reservation now sports a Harrah's casino.
Christmas Tree Farms
Very common in the mountain regions of the southeast US.
Dillsboro, NC
Is the northern terminus of thr Great Smoky Mountain Railway that is on the east side of the park. They run a steam locomotive and the scenery is great.
Gem & Ruby Mine
Common throughout the Smoky Mountain and Blue Mountain regions are tourist traps where you can pan for gems and minerals. The region is well known for it's minerals, but I don't know about precious gems. Tourists probably find garnet instead of rubies as it is also red. The name Quark's was taken from the opportunist, Quark, a character in the Star Trek Deep Space Nine series.
Idea for the Finchfield & Wrensylvania and Naming It
This is a play on words of the Clinchfield Railroad and the Pennsylvania Railroad - both of which were easy to turn into bird names. The bird name was necessary since all the buildings are birdhouses.
The Clinchfield passes through the picturesque Blue Ridge Mountains. It was a critical railroad for carrying coal out of the nearby Appalachia coal region in Virginia. Both the Clinchfield and the Pennsylvania railroads had well constructed railroads and large locomotives.
I first saw a garden railroad in the mid '80's. There are several thousand of these in the US alone. There is a national convention each year and a half dozen publications. There is a local garden railroad club with about 140 members.
We are probably one of the first in the nation to use birdhouses for our garden railway buildings. The amount of dirt and rock employed definitely makes ours one of the more elaborate garden railroads anywhere.
Garden railroading is more realistic than indoor model railroading. Even runaway cars, which fortunately rarely happens, are more realistic. In indoor model railroading, someone is usually close enough to catch them. Outdoors, if someone isn't right there when it happens, all you can do is stand there and watch them wreck.
A grapevine-like plant that was brought to the US for errosion control. Not having any natural predators, it spreads rapidly killing everything it covers by hogging all the sunlight. It is said that the only way to get rid of Kudzu is to move. Old rusting cars and appliances are frequently covered by it. It is presumed that the cars and appliances were already dead when abandoned.
Smoky Mountain National Park was formerly owned and logged by the Little River Company. The Little River runs primarily east-west on the north side of the park. The road that parallels this small river was originally the roadbed for the company's tracks. Little River donated the land for the park. The Shay locomotive operated on this garden railroad is a model of the locomotives used by the Little River.
Meig's Falls
The Little River Company was rather resourceful having brought a number of innovations to the logging industry. One of them, not dared duplicated by any other railroad, was the only swing bridge in railroading. The bridge was basically nothing more than track dangling in air supported primarily a few steel cables run underneath it and the rail itself. A few additional cables kept it from truly swinging much.
The bridge scaled the falls on the left side at an angle of roughly 45 degrees. This is far too steep for any locomotive. A "Mary-Sue" steam skidder was winched across the bridge and was then used to pull empty log cars up the bridge. Cars were released at the top and allowed to coast to a stop. They were then coupled to a locomotive and taken to the sawmill. Despite the fact that no log car ever wrecked, employees did not ride the cars across the bridge - a wreck would have almost certainly meant being crushed to death.
Moonshine Tank Car
While there may have never been a moonshine tank car, moonshine was popular in the mountains and is still made by some today.
If you wander too far from the interstate, you will find small, isolated towns that were lost in time 50-100 years ago. This is no joke. Running water is questionable. The ONLY sign of modern civialization are the tv satellite dishes. Outhouses are common in these areas.
"Have Your Picture Taken with a Real Cherokee Indian Chief"
The same souveigner shops and tourist traps still entice you to stop in and have your photo taken with an Indian. Whether that Indian is a bonafide Cherokee Indian Chief is another matter.
Roadside Apple Stands
Apples are grown in the mountains. Roadside stands selling apples cheap, cider, and every conceivable jelly are very common.
"See a Live Bear"
Black bears are common to the Smoky Mountains. Many of the souveigner shops and other tourist traps had caged bears for you to see and entice you to stop in. The bears were not well cared for and the cages too small. This practice is now forebidden.
"See Rock City"
Rock City is a tourist attraction in Chattanooga, Tennessee. It was common for barns in the mountain regions of the southeast US to be red with black roofs and "SEE ROCK CITY" painted in giant lettering on the roof.
More on how the trains are controlled.
One of the locomotives uses Sterno to boil water and actually uses steam to propel the locomotive. It uses the same type of radio control as used on model airplanes.
The vast majority of the locomotives on the F&W use DCC - Digital Command Control; primarily for the sophisticated sound systems available for it. The track has a constant 18V of AC on it to power the trains. The radio throttles send commands to a box called a command station. These digital commands are then superimposed on the track power. Computers inside the locomotives interpret these commands.
For the technically minded, the track power is 18 Vp-p square wave AC at about 8.3kHz. This is then pulse width modulated with the digital control signals by the command station. The command station receives radio signals from the throttles in the 900MHz band.
rr break stub gn
Grab that beer* in the last car and stop on by!
It is tough to have trains running for the Januaury show. Even if not running, we will have it open for you to view. Weather may also inhibit us putting out buildings and people. You won't waste your time coming as our HO railroad is also on display during this show. We are also open for G-Day usually the third weekend of June.
We do not keep the buildings and people out. Also, the track frequently gets covered with leaves, sticks, and stones. So we cannot easily show an operable layout other than shows. You will see a static layout with only the landscaping and bridges.
When visiting please keep the following in mind:
Children should be reminded that the Hatfield and McCoy fewd was for real. Coming across someone's still or fighting cock farm is hazardous to one's health even today. Stray children should watch for stray bullets. Unattended children should watch for unattended bullets. "Where does that trail lead?" "It goes to my daddy's still, but it doesn't come back."
Seriously, the rocks are loose. DO NOT let your children touch anything. They could fall and break toes. Do not let your children use my stone arch viaduct as a foot rest. If you knew what that bridge cost, you might be tempted to kill your own kid and I don't have a funeral car - yet.
We are very proud of the weeds we grow. We have the largest variety and bountiful crop in the Metroplex. Weeds are free for the picking. Bags to take them home will be provided on request. Everyone is encouraged to take one home as a remembrance of your visit to the Finchfield and Wrensylvania. If you plant it, this can be the beginning of your very own garden railway!
A reward will be paid for each bug you kill. Mass murder is strongly encouraged. Alternately, you may take them home alive. This is another way to start your garden railway!
*Proof positive that a garden railroad can be useful!
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We are still looking for a still and a mobile home. Have you seen one? Here is a list of some of the buildings on the F&W.
Abandoned Log Cabins (heavily weathered, "rustic," aka falling apart!)
Apple Stand
Bed & Breakfasts
Car Repair
Coaling Tower
Corner Store
Christmas themed buildings
City Hall
CPA Office
Fire Departments
Gem & Ruby Mine
Halloween themed buildings
Hanger for airplane
Mining Supply
Mountain Homes
Post Office


Sat, 20 Feb 2021 18:13:21 -0800WeeblySun, 24 Jul 2016 15:17:37 GMThttp://www.danmessisco.com/blog/-gravity-and-graceGravity is a given
Grace is freedom of movement
Through grace we transcend gravity
And move on earth as we would in space
"Gravity is a given," means that no matter how big or strong we are, or how we move, the effect of gravity on the body as a whole is the same.
"Grace is freedom of movement," means that when we organize our bodies, it's done from the inside out, rather than from the ground up. We stand and move with grace.
"Through grace we transcend gravity and move on earth as we would in space," describes how we can move in a way that is less dependent on gravity and is more core-based.
When I began my college education I had planned to become an astrophysicist. Unfortunately, mathematics was not my strong suit. I continued, though, to take classes in astronomy and physics that were geared to the non-scientist. I was particularly interested in how astronauts move in a gravity-free environment. Things that we take for granted here on earth, like sitting on a toilet that is gravity-assisted, are not so easy in space.
Imagine, if you will, someone floating in space. Their body, if relaxed, would assume the most neutral position. This would vary for each person depending on how they use their body on earth. This is determined by the balance between the flexor and extensor muscles. So, how would this astronaut assume a seated position? He would have to stabilize his core, raise his thighs to a right angle, and also move his lower legs into a right angle. How would he sit in seiza in space? Again, on earth, this is not a problem because it is gravity assisted. In space, he would have to stabilize his core, raise his thighs and bring his heels up to touch his buttocks. In both cases, if he relaxed, he would return to the neutral position. He would be using different muscle groups to do this than he would on earth, where he could use gravity to assume the pose.
Now, imagine taking this astronaut who is in sitting seiza and placing him on earth without changing anything in the way he has organized his body. In other words, imagine that he wouldn't just relax into a gravity-based seiza. Even though he is now in the gravitational field of earth, his seiza posture is core-based. If you pushed on this astronaut while he was maintaining a core-based seiza, it would be very difficult to move him. If he were sitting on a slippery surface, his whole body would slide as a unit across the floor. We see this way of organizing the body in great dancers and athletes who all seem to float gracefully across the floor as if the earth were irrelevant.
For many years, I've practiced Aikido while wearing tabi socks. I do this for the purpose of minimizing my grip on the mat. Movements as simple as a tenkan become challenging when I'm on a slippery surface. Just as with our astronaut, I have to organize my body from the inside out, rather than through gravity and grip. This training has changed the way I move. No longer depending on grip, I'm free to move gracefully without losing my stability or core strength.
It also has changed the way I attack as uke. I can no longer hunker down when engaging nage and have to initiate my attacks without the benefit of grip or grounding. I've found that my attacks have become more efficient, more powerful, and I'm able to change my position quickly to adjust to nage's movement.
By focusing on our own body and its center, rather than the earth under our feet, we move with grace and power, and come to understand the words of O Sensei:
 - I am the center of the universe"
Mon, 23 May 2016 23:30:03 GMThttp://www.danmessisco.com/blog/may-23rd-20162990409 Relative and absolute perspective are terms that describe how we define ourselves and interact with the world around us. Most people define themselves by external references.
For example,
 I'm standing on the earth, in front of, behind, or next to someone or something. This perspective creates duality and leads to a competitive attitude.
In Aikido, when we focus on our uke and try to apply techniques, take their balance or throw them, we are practicing with a relative attitude that is dependent on size, strength, speed, technical skills, etc.
 When we maintain an absolute perspective, with embodied consciousness as the anchor in the here and now, we stand or move in the center of everything and no longer use external references to define ourselves. All movements are based on dynamic poses within our natural range of motion. It is uke who creates the connection through intent and as long as this intent remains, will find themselves magnetically/gravitationally attracted to nage.
 Without resisting the the attack/connection that uke has created, all nage has to do is maintain their center-oriented attitude and the technique will manifest from uke's intent. (Takemusu Aiki)
'''True budo is the cultivation of attraction with which to draw the whole opponent to you. All I have to do is keep standing this way."
 -OSensei
 This doesn't mean we stand there and do nothing. There's an innate timing in our body that is awakened with embodied consciousness. It is more accurate and faster than thought. The body will move, avoiding the attack while maintaining a constant, absolute perspective. Uke will find themselves outside of the sphere of our presence while at the same time caught in its gravitational/spiritual field.
 Without resisting uke's attack, nage is free to change the shape of their body through dynamic poses and natural movement. And uke, falling into this field of nonresistance, find themselves "going along for the ride"
 And should they lose their balance due to a loss of a target,
then nage becomes a "spotter " for uke's fall from grace.]]>


Welcome to your Indian Space Missions
1. What is the full form of ASLV?
2. Which is India's first experimental satellite launch vehicle?
3. Which type of fuel is used by GSLV in its operations?
4. When The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) was set up?
5. Where is the Headquarter of ISRO?
6. Which of the following is NOT true about Indian space research?
7. IRNSS is a ……………..
8. Who was the india's first man/women in the space?
9. Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC), SHAR is situated at…….
10. What was the Chandrayan I……..


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board or corrugated board should be used to fill out partially filled boxes to minimize jostling of plates during handling. Glass plates larger than 5 x 7 inches are ideally stored in cabinets with rigid metal dividers spaced every 1 to 1 1/2 inches.
Broken glass plates, or those with deteriorated image layers
Damaged plates may be stored in sink mats constructed to guidelines suggested by McCabe (1991) with materials that meet the ISO PAT test. Another less elegant solution is to store broken or cracked glass plates between good quality 4-ply or corrugated board inside a 4-flap enclosure. These can then be stored flat in a shallow box. Plates larger than 8 x 10 should be should be stacked only two deep due to their weight. Cracked plates should be supported with a piece of glass or lignin-free ragboard inside their envelopes or sleeves. Ideally, the storage and stabilization of damaged glass plate negatives should be done with the consultation of a conservator. A photograph conservator should perform repair of a broken plate.
Cellulose nitrate negatives
Cellulose nitrate film was manufactured between 1889 and 1951 in the United States. It was produced into the 1960s in other countries. Eastman Kodak was the first company to successfully mass-produce nitrate film, but it was also manufactured by other companies worldwide. Cellulose nitrate is flammable and should be stored, transported, and disposed of following appropriate codes and regulations. (NFPA 40) Nitrate film is inherently unstable and becomes acidic, sticky, and brittle with age. Cellulose nitrate deteriorates in stages, beginning with a breakdown of the cellulose nitrate plastic support. As nitrate deteriorates it poses a threat to other types of photographs stored in the area by emitting oxides of nitrogen, which attack the silver image, the gelatin binder, and eventually the support base of other papers and films. Nitrate materials should be identified, accurately duplicated if possible, housed in buffered paper enclosures (never plastic), and stored away from other collection materials in a well-ventilated room. (Eastman Kodak 1998.) All nitrate films should be inspected periodically for signs of deterioration. Cellulose nitrate in poor condition can auto-ignite at temperatures as low as 41C. Fire codes require that the nitrate materials be stored separately in fireproof cabinets, in vaults, or offsite. Storage at low temperature and low RH greatly slows the deterioration of nitrate film.
Cellulose acetate negatives
Starting in the 1920s cellulose nitrate base film was gradually replaced by film known as "safety" or cellulose acetate film. Cellulose acetate films (cellulose diacetate, cellulose acetate propionate, cellulose acetate butyrate, or cellulose triacetate) tend to shrink when plasticizers and solvents introduced during manufacturing evaporate out over time and cause the film base to cockle and the gelatin emulsion layer to wrinkle as it delaminates from the film base. Eventually the image is distorted by the network of wrinkles or channels formed in the emulsion layer. In addition, the film base becomes increasingly acidic and decomposes. The smell of acetic acid is a sign that the cellulose acetate film base itself is deteriorating and that damage is occurring. Triacetate film, introduced in 1948, remains in wide use today. All acetate films should be inspected periodically for signs of deterioration. Deteriorated items should be stored in buffered paper sleeves, under very stable environmental conditions. Unstable, early acetate negatives should be stored separately from prints in a wellventilated storage room. Plastic enclosures may be used for recently produced safety film negatives (acetate or polyester) that are expected to receive use. Long-term storage of acetate materials should be in buffered paper enclosures. Storage at low temperature and low RH greatly slows the deterioration of acetate film.
Chromogenic Dye Photographs
Chromogenic dyes are inherently unstable and will fade when exposed to light. They will also fade and yellow in the dark even at "normal" temperature and relative humidity levels. In general, high temperatures speed the rate of color fading. Chromogenic photographs should be stored at 2°C and 20-50% RH, which will slow color fading and image loss.
Albums, scrapbooks, and mounted photographs
Historical print mountings were often made of acidic, unstable materials. Many over-the-counter adhesives used to mount photographs into albums and scrapbooks are acidic and will eventually discolor, become brittle, and damage materials. When acidic paper mounts become brittle, the photographic image itself is at risk because of breakage. Mounted photographs that are fragile or brittle may be stabilized with a rigid support such as 4-ply matboard inside a protective enclosure or by placement into a sink mat for protection.
Albums can be wrapped in paper and placed in a document box or in a fitted protective enclosure. Albums may be given full conservation treatment, especially if they are particularly valuable; unfortunately, this is the exception rather than the rule, due to the high cost of album conservation. Heavily used albums or scrapbooks should be photographically reproduced for research use. Interleaving should be done judiciously because it adds bulk to an album and places undesirable stress on the binding. Examples where album pages may benefit from the protection provided by interleaving include the following: photographs that are highly glossy or easily abraded, or both; photographs that have fixer stains; platinum prints; and photographs with tape or adhesive applied in such a way that it may come in contact with other items in the album.
Digital Output or Hardcopy
In the past twenty years an enormous number of new processes and products have been introduced in the digital printing field. Within the larger field of digital output, ink jet, electrostatic and dye sublimation prints are becoming increasingly used to make works of art, photographs, and other documents that are collected and cared for by libraries, archives, museums, and private collectors.
These materials differ significantly from traditional photographic processes. These differences may impact storage and exhibition practice for each process. Since these materials are relatively new, we are only beginning to experience how they will age and possibly deteriorate over time. Currently storage and testing standards for these materials are being incorporated into ISO standards concerning imaging materials.
Ink Jet Prints
An ink jet printer deposits tiny ink droplets on a support of some kind, such as paper or plastic. Inks can be made with organic dyes or, increasingly, pigments. An inkjet printer can print onto a large variety of supports and may use various ink sets. These factors result in an extremely large number of printer / ink set / support combinations. Research has shown that the same ink set printed by the same printer on different supports can have dramatically different stabilities. (Wilhelm 2002) This ink / support interaction demonstrates the importance of knowing as much as possible about the specific ink set / paper combination not only when making prints but also when making acquisition, conservation and preservation decisions. Emerging concerns with ink jet prints include dark stability, light fading, sensitivity to moisture, and sensitivity to pollutants such as ozone.
As ink jet materials have become used for works of art and other objects of long-term value, the digital printing industry has made great strides in lightfastness of ink systems. However, these materials as a group should not be considered completely lightfast and caution should be used when displaying them. Moisture sensitivity is another area of concern. Many ink jet prints have been found to be sensitive to water and smudges. Image losses may result from brief exposures of water and even high levels of relatively humidity over very small amounts of time. With use of new organic dyes and pigments, water fastness has improved. The effect of pollutants, such as ozone, on ink jet prints is an area of growing concern. Testing methods for gas-fading are being developed as ISO standards.
Electrostatic technology has been used in office copiers since 1959. The addition of a laser to the system allows for printing of digital information. During the last twenty years color electrostatic systems have become common. Increasingly, computer printers and copiers using electrostatic technology are being used to produce not only textual documents but also black-and-white and color photographs as digital file output. In these systems, toner containing resin and pigment is fused to paper with heat. At this time, these materials are generally of lesser image quality than ink jet and dye sublimation prints and are used less frequently for producing works of art. However, these systems are less sensitive to water and pollutants, due to the nature of the pigments and resins that can be used. Since some of the pigments in these systems are somewhat unstable, caution should be used in exhibition. Also, many office papers are of poor quality and may discolor upon long-term exposure to light.
Dye Sublimation Prints
Dye sublimation prints use a thermal transfer process to create images using dyes that are made gaseous (a sublimation process) and then condensed onto a receiving layer. Typically the receiver is a paper with a coating that is specifically designed to receive the dyes. Thus, unlike ink jet and electrostatic prints, there are considerably fewer types of papers and colorant systems used within this group of material. As with all materials made up of organic dyes, light exposure should be minimized since organic dyes can fade under these conditions. This technology is relatively expensive compared to ink jet and electrostatic printing and is not as common as those printing methods.
The risk of damage to materials is increased when researchers

source: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb-edu


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The cyclical behaviour of remittances with respect to the receiving-country economy has important implications for economic and financial policies. Counter-cyclical remittance flows could form part of broader stabilisation policies in economic downturns and could also encourage receiving countries to adopt fixed (or less flexible) exchange-rate regimes. On the other hand, pro-cyclical flows may create an amplification effect of upturns or downturns in the receiving economy. There is an extant literature dedicated to exploring the cyclical nature of remittances. In general, the results tend to be country-specific and show that, for some migration and remittance corridors, remittances are counter-cyclical while, for others, they are pro-cyclical. This paper argues that the cyclical nature of remittances must be evaluated in a dynamic framework and that the relationship (between remittances and the receiving economy) is unlikely to be stable over time. Using data from Mexico, we show that remittances are counter-cyclical during some periods, but pro-cyclical at others. The changing cyclical nature of remittances questions the potential of remittances to smooth out cyclical fluctuations in output.
Ruiza, Isabel and Carlos Vargas-Silva (2013) 'Remittances and the Business Cycle: A Reliable Relationship?', Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 40(3): 456-474

source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


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What Is POEMS?
POEMS is an acronym for Positive Outcome and Experience Management Strategies. The concept behind POEMS is to design, develop and deliver management strategies that allow practitioners to achieve a positive outcome and experience in a given situation.
What is POEMS for Children?
This one day course is unique, innovative and the first of its kind. The course introduces management strategies that allow practitioners to effectively reduce anxiety in children and achieve a positive outcome and experience for the child affected.
Why is the advent of the POEMS For Children course so important?
Up to 80% of children admitted to hospital with chronic illness experience anxiety from hospitalisation alone. Between 50 and 75% of children having surgery experience anxiety in the anaesthetic room. This means that in a major paediatric institution such as Great Ormond Street Hospital in London that admits 22,000 patients and completes 15,294 operative procedures per year (figures for 2007/8), up to 17,600 children experience clinically significant levels of anxiety at some point in their admission and up to 11,470 children experience peri-operative anxiety.
It has been shown that anxiety directly increases the perception of pain for any given stimulus, can adversely affect immune function and prolong the healing process. Increased anxiety in surgical patients has been shown to cause a statistically significant increase in post-operative analgesic requirement, nausea and vomiting and lead to a prolonged recovery time. In children, the presence and degree of peri-operative anxiety is directly linked with the appearance and magnitude of post-operative dysfunctional behaviour. Between 24 and 60% of children will display dysfunctional behaviour within the 3 weeks following surgery. This takes the form of eating disorders, problems sleeping, nightmares, temper tantrums, bed-wetting and problems with authority. Between 4 and 12% of children continue to display these patterns of behaviour one full year following surgery. This is an incredible number of children experiencing significant morbidity as a direct consequence of the anxiety they experience. By using the figures above we can put this into perspective. This means that within a single major paediatric institution, over the period of one year, up to 9,176 children would experience significant anxiety related morbidity within the 3 weeks following their surgery and up to 1,835 of these children would still be suffering after one year.
So, if we know that the number of children experiencing anxiety is high and the consequence of this anxiety is significant, what is already being done about this problem and what further action needs to be taken? When you consider the numbers involved, it is immediately obvious that only a small proportion of these children are being managed by psychologists, psychiatrists and play specialists.
These teams play a vital role as part of the multi-disciplinary approach to managing the problem and they are extremely effective in tackling complex and severe cases. They are a valuable but limited resource and from a practical and economic perspective can only be utilised in caring for a small number of children affected. You may then ask yourself who is looking after the vast majority of cases that are left. The answer is simple - YOU ARE. This might appear to make little sense. Applying the figures we have from the feedforward surveys from POEMS courses to hospital staff in general, it emerges that more than 50% have no formal training in the management of anxiety in children, while of the rest, less than 5% have received anything more than the occasional lecture on the subject.
So what is the solution?
We believe that the number of children affected is so high that the only solution is for every practitioner involved in the care of children in hospital to have a core competency in anxiety management. This would mean that every member of staff would be trained to identify, manage and potentially prevent anxiety in children under their care. Every member of staff that a child comes into contact with from the moment they step through the hospital doors would be able to significantly reduce the morbidity experienced by that child.
If multiple members of staff, all part of a multi-disciplinary team equally adept with respect to the management of anxiety are caring for the child, the experience and medical outcome for that child will be dramatically improved. Every interaction with members of staff would then represent an opportunity for that child - an opportunity to drastically improve the quality and outcome of their treatment and significantly reduce the emotional pain and morbidity they experience.
The inception of the POEMS For Children anxiety management course finally makes this goal achievable. The course will allow us to achieve this goal by making practitioners aware of the problem, by making practitioners aware of the consequences of anxiety and by offering practical techniques to allow the effective detection, management, reduction and prevention of anxiety in children receiving medical care. The potency of the management strategies introduced on the course hinges on the careful selection of skills and techniques from multiple areas of therapy and practice including hypnotherapy, psychology and psychiatry amongst many others, with subsequent integration of the techniques within a structured, dynamic and patient centred approach. The skills and management strategies gained from the course dove-tail with, complement and enhance the skills the practitioner already has.
Is the course approved by professional bodies?
The course is approved for 5 CPD points


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Why is LTPB Needed on Campus?
More than 1 in 4 young adults smoke1
(this is the highest smoking prevalence of all age groups)
Half of young adults are in school2
(View Ontario statistics)
Smoking initiation and escalation occurs among college/university students:
- 19% of current smokers began smoking regularly after arriving on campus3
- 10% of post-secondary smokers had their first cigarette after the age of 194,5
- 10% of non-smoking students intend to start smoking6
- most post-secondary students over-estimate how many of their peers smoke7
- See also8, 9, 10
Nicotine is among the most addictive drugs known, and even occasional smokers can become life-long smokers:
- among young adults who have ever smoked but are not currently established (daily) smokers, approximately 54% are at risk for smoking in the future11
- among established smokers - including those who are trying to quit (i.e., have been smokefree for less than 1 year) approximately 86% are at risk for future smoking11
- stress associated with the transition to and experiences of college/university life may magnify the risk of smoking uptake and escalation 12-14
- intensive tobacco marketing strategies targeting this population may also escalate tobacco consumption of post-secondary students15-17
- experimentation with recreational drugs peaks in mid-adolescence, but the risk period for smoking onset/escalation and overuse of alcohol extends into the early 20s 18-20
Young adult smokers on college and university campuses represent a sizable and definable population with which to intervene around smoking. Most post-secondary smokers want to quit, and make repeated quit attempts21. Appealing, accessible smoking cessation strategies that reach a wide audience and assist smokers to quit are needed on post-secondary campuses.
According to the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, there are more than 391,790 full-time undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in Ontario's 20 universities. Using data obtained from individual college campus sites, approximately 207,016 were enrolled in 24 of Ontario's colleges.
1 CTUMS (2008). Health Canada's Tobacco Control Programme. Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey: Smoking Prevalence _PHONE_. Ottawa: Government of Canada; 2009. Accessed September 29th 2009.
2 AUCC (2008). Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada. Fall 2008 preliminary full-time and part-time enrolment at AUCC member institutions. _URL_ Accessed September 29th 2009.
3 Rigotti N, Lee JE, Wechsler H (2000). US college students' use of tobacco products: results of a national survey. JAMA, 284, 699-705.
4 Everett S, Husten C, Kann L, Warren C, Sharp D, Crossett L (1999). Smoking initiation and smoking patterns among US college students. Journal of American College Health, 48, 55-60.
5 Cairney, J. & Lawrance, K.G. (2002). Smoking on campus. An examination of smoking behaviours among post-secondary students in Canada. Canadian Journal of Public Health, 93, 313-316.
6 DeBernardo R, Aldinger C, Dawood O, Hanson R, Lee S, Rinaldi S (1999). An e-mail assessment of undergraduates' attitudes toward smoking. Journal of American College Health, 48, 61-66.
7 Page, R (1998). College students' distorted perception of the prevalence of smoking. Psychological Reports, 82, 474.
8 Wetter, D.W., Kenford, S.L., Welsh, S.K., Smith, S.S., Fouladi, R.T., Fiore, M.C. & Baker, T.B. (2004) Prevalence and predictors of smoking behavior among college students. Health Psychology, Vol. 23, No. 2, 168-177 [Abstract]
9 Lantz P, Jacobson P, Warner K, et al. (2000). Investing in youth tobacco control: a review of smoking prevention and control strategies. Tobacco Control, 9, 47-63.
10 Moskal P, Dziuban C, West G (1999). Examining the use of tobacco on college campuses. Journal of American College Health, 47, 260-265.
11 Gilpin E, White V, Pierce J (2005). What fraction of young adults are at risk for future smoking, and who are they? Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 7, 747-759.
12 Steptoe A, Wardle J, Plooard T, Canaan L, Davies G (1996). Stress, social support and health-related behavior: a study of smoking, alcohol consumption and physical exercise. Journal of Psychomotor Research, 41, 171-180.
13 Lenz, B (2004). Tobacco, Depression, and Lifestyle Choices in the Pivotal Early College Years. Journal of American College Health, 52, 213-219.
14 Naquin M, Gilbert G (1996). College students' smoking behavior, perceived stress, and coping styles. Journal of Drug Education 26, 367-377.
15 Ling P, Glantz S (2002). Why and How the Tobacco Industry Sells Cigarettes to Young Adults: Evidence From Industry Documents. American Journal of Public Health, 92, 908-916.
16 Sepe E, Ling P, Glantz, S (2002). Smooth Moves: Bar and Nightclub Tobacco Promotions That Target Young Adults. American Journal of Public Health, 92, 414-419.
17 Rigotti N, Moran S, Wechsler H (2005). US College Students' Exposure to Tobacco Promotions: Prevalence and Association With Tobacco Use. American Journal of Public Health, 95, 138-144.
18 DeWit D, Offord R., Wong, M (1997). Patterns of onset and cessation of drug use over the early part of the life course. Health Education & Behavior, 24, 746–758.
19 Emmons KM, Wechsler H, Dowdall G, Abraham M (1998). Predictors of smoking among US college students. American Journal of Public Health, 88, 104-107.
20 Sax L (1997). Health trends among college freshmen. Journal of American College Health, 45, 252–262.
21 Patterson, F, Lerman C, Kaufmann V, Neuner G, Audrain-McGovern, J (2004). Cigarette Smoking Practices Among American College Students: Review and Future Directions. Journal of American College Health, 52, 203-210.


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Although it seems like robots modeled after snakes and worms could be used for a wide variety of applications, the majority are designed for only two uses.
Many are created as rescue robots -- for detecting danger or victims or for taking supplies to survivors. Their shape, size, and locomotion style give them access to places people can't or shouldn't go, such as collapsed buildings and nuclear reactors that are damaged or being decommissioned.
The other main use for snake and worm robots is in medical applications. Skinny, snaky tubes are just right for inserting into blood vessels or abdominal cavities to assist in minimally invasive surgery. Or they can go exploring to locate problems such as tumors and send back data about size and location.
Click the image below to see 10 examples of these writhing robots.
The Slim Slime Robot from the Tokyo Institute of Technology's Hirose Fukushima Lab is a pneumatically driven active cord mechanism. It is used to inspect pipes in chemical laboratories or nuclear plants, detect unexploded mines, and help first responders find victims in collapsed buildings. A series of six connected modules are driven by pneumatic actuators. Compressed air is forced from the main tube of each module into that module's bellows, or flexible pneumatic actuators, which are located along the main tube's length. The Slim Slime can creep like a snake, make pivoting turns, roll laterally, and move with a pedal-like motion that emulates snails and limpets. Its total length is 730-1,120mm (28.7-44 inches). It weighs 12kg (26.4 pounds), and its top speed is about 60mm (2.36 inches) per second. (Source: Hirose Fukushima Lab)
robatnorcross, I had a similar thought, although I'm not afraid of snakes--unless they're venomous, that is. This one's "skin" pattern is camouflage, but it looks a lot like some venomous western rattlers I've seen. Even without fear of snakes, this would still give one pause if you were trapped and couldn't move.
Everything dates everyone, doesn't it? But I'm with you--I can imagine an engineer looking at Slinky's movements and wondering how to motorize and automate them. First there's a design that uses a helical shape, gravity, and momentum, and then the big jump to motors.
At the Design News webinar on June 27, learn all about aluminum extrusion: designing the right shape so it costs the least, is simplest to manufacture, and best fits the application's structural requirements.
For industrial control applications, or even a simple assembly line, that machine can go almost 24/7 without a break. But what happens when the task is a little more complex? That's where the "smart" machine would come in. The smart machine is one that has some simple (or complex in some cases) processing capability to be able to adapt to changing conditions. Such machines are suited for a host of applications, including automotive, aerospace, defense, medical, computers and electronics, telecommunications, consumer goods, and so on. This radio show will show what's possible with smart machines, and what tradeoffs need to be made to implement such a solution.


Exploring Static Electricity with Sticky Balloons
based on 54 ratings
Author: Shelly Smith
Grade Level: Preschool to Kindergarten; Type: Physics
This project introduces children to static electricity and the idea that electricity is more than lights and plugs and electric shocks.
Research Question:
Can static electricity make a balloon "sticky"?
 - One or more balloons
 - Wool sweater or rug
 - Wall
Experimental Procedure:
 - Blow up the balloons.
 - Feel the balloons and the wall. Are they sticky? Does the balloon stick to the wall?
 - Rub a balloon several times across the wool sweater or rug.
 - Place it against the wall. Does it stick to the wall?
 - Rub the balloon across the sweater or rug again.
 - Bring it close to a friend's hair. Does her hear leap up and stick to the balloon?
 - What else will a rubbed balloon stick to?
 - Extension A: Blow up many balloons and stick them to the walls in fun and colorful patterns.
Terms/Concepts: Static electricity, what causes static electricity?
References: Science Made Simple: What Causes Static Electricty?
Add your own comment


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This 25 minute lesson is intended to give teachers a sense of what equitable representation for the GLBTQ community might feel like through text selection. It's based on "Reading LGBT-Themed Literature with Young People: What's Possible?" by Caroline T. Clarke and Mollie V. Blackburn. (PDF)
(Estimated Running Time: 23-25 Minutes)
Teachers will be able to identify how text selection can represent their classroom by building ideal decks representing their students.
Required materials are normal text, recommended but not required materials are italicized
- A deck of standard cards for every 4 students. Not all cards will be used. The distribution of cards should be 1/2 spades (16), 1/3 clubs (10) and 1/6 hearts (6). Of the four decks, one will have 3 hearts, one will have 2 hearts, one will have 1 heart, and one will have no hearts. Clubs and spades will be evenly distributed.
How can we engage students in GLBTQ literature without actively or tacitly supporting a homophobic, heterosexist environment?
- Using GLBTQ literature in a classroom only once or twice makes it stand out as different from the norm.
- Deliberately citing the GLBTQ nature as a purpose for reading makes it stand out as different from the norm.
- By making it regular and representative and queering other texts, GLBTQ lit can be normalized.
- Some GLBTQ literature presents a heterosexist view of the GLBTQ community.
- Older GLBTQ lit is often not representative of the current GLBTQ culture.
I'm assuming you're all card players, that all of you have played a type of card game or has friends who do. What card games do you play at home, with your family, with friends? What makes a card game fun and engaging?
Lead students toward recognizing participation, cooperation, equal competition, and possibly the ability to play it their way.
Introduction to New Material:
Before we begin, I want you to know two terms: heteronormative and heterosexist. Heteronormative means relating to a world that promotes heterosexuality or straightness. Heterosexist refers to active bias against same-sex relationships.
Blackburn and Clark's article states that because LGBTQ literature and issues are so new to the classroom, teachers do not have adequate means of introducing them that doesn't tacitly support the homophobic social norms currently in place. There are however, four things you can do to make it easier. The first of which, I've already done by assuming you're card players. Blackburn and Clark state that if you enter a classroom assuming kids are LGBTQ allies already rather than treating them as homophobic, it sets a precedent where the class can engage in the conversation from a positive standpoint. The rest will be shown in our activity for the night and I'll explain them after.
The decks of cards you have represent the books we might teach over the course of the year. Don't think about this too hard. For right now, they're just cards. In these decks are hearts, spades and clubs, no diamonds. The cards go from five to ace. Each deck is a unique set of eight cards taken from this distribution.
Choose one suit, number or face card (King, Jack, Queen, etc) to represent yourself. Don't show or tell anyone right now. Take a minute to write down what represents you, why you chose it, and three adjectives you would use to describe yourself/what represents you. For example, I'm represented by 8s because it's my favorite number, it becomes the infinity sign when turned on its side, and it can symbolize glasses and wisdom; my three adjectives would be wise, infinite, and observant.
Look through your deck of eight cards and analyze its makeup. Take a minute and write down what you think sets your deck apart. What sort of cards comprise it? What stands out?
Group up (groups of 3 or 4). Compare your decks. Do not reveal what represents you. Discuss what's different. Compare what stood out to each of you.
Now, without revealing what represents you, let's build a communal deck. Your job is to make sure you're represented in the deck. The communal deck will also be exactly eight cards. Decide together how to build this deck drawing from each of your decks.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but we're not actually going to play a card game. Instead, I want you to write about your experience today. How did you feel you were represented in your original deck? How about in the communal deck? What problems did you have making sure you were represented in the final deck? How do you think the others felt?
If spades represented the traditional heteronormative canon, clubs represented minority focused heteronormative texts, and hearts represented LGBTQ literature, how does that affect the way your look at your communal deck?
Collect writings as the exit ticket.
Blackburn and Clark's essay points out that treating LGBTQ literature as special rather than normal already sets a classroom up for failure. If you only read one LGBTQ book or article, it will stand out, much like a single heart will stand out in a sea of black suited cards. By making LGBTQ-friendly literature and concepts a regularity normalizes the students to its existence.
In addition, you want to make sure that the books you read reflect your class and allow them to explore their own experiences. Just as you were represented in the decks, your students are represented in the books you read. Blackburn and Clark divide LGBTQ literature into three categories: "homosexual visibility," in which the story revolves around the LGBTQ characters' sexuality and the response to it, often battling homophobia; "gay assimilation," in which LGBTQ characters appear, but their sexuality isn't key to the plot; and "Queer consciousness or community," where LGBTQ characters are shown to be in supportive communities and families regardless of the plot. Just because a book has a LGBTQ character doesn't mean it's representative of the LGBTQ members of your classroom, so presenting multiple and positive LGBTQ experiences is important for varied representation.
Lastly, books, like card games, are supposed to be pleasurable. Choosing a book simply because it deals with a difficult topic is like playing solitaire: it'll take up some time, and you might feel accomplished at the end, but who's going to call it fun? Really. If you choose LGBTQ books that are enjoyable, your students will be more engaged and more willing to explore other books that are queer-friendly.


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Chemistry and Physics at Interfaces
Phase coexistence enables switching in strained BiFeO3July 17, 2013
Evolution of surface topography (stripe formation) of highly strained BiFeO3
with temperature. Background is a 3D rendering of the room-temperature topography.
Highly strained films of multiferroic BiFeO3 are shown to exhibit a complex and temperature dependent coexistence of multiple phases, with a minority phase being a prerequisite to ferroelectric switching of the majority. Due to the simultaneous magnetic and ferroelectric room temperature properties, BiFeO3 films have been investigated by a large number of groups, but an understanding of the structure of different strain-induced polymorphs and their role in the functional behavior has been lacking.
Using a combination of temperature dependent measurements including x-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, atomic-force microscopy and piezoelectric switching, it is now shown that the often observed stripe-like pattern in BiFeO3 films on LaAlO3 substrates emerges as a consequence of additional, thermally induced strain, and piezoelectric switching is only possible at the lower temperatures where these features exist. Therefore, even though the high-temperature purely tetragonal phase discovered here remains polar, its polarization cannot be reversed by an applied field. These findings may enable novel applications that rely on a polar state that can be "set" at room temperature but remains "locked" upon heating.
C. Beekman, W. Siemons, T. Z. Ward, M. Chi, J. Howe, M. D. Biegalksi, N. Balke, P. Maksymovych, A. K. Farrar, J. B. Romero, P. Gao, X. Q. Pan, D. A. Tenne, and H. M. Christen, "Phase transitions, phase coexistence, and piezoelectric swtiching behavior in highly strained BiFeO3 films." Advanced Materials (2013), DOI: 10.1002/adma.201302066
For more information


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Date: Thursday, May 1, 1997
Contact: HHS Press Office _PHONE_
HHS CHALLENGES COMMUNITIES TO INVEST IN THE FUTURES OF GIRLS AND BOYS
Overview: Today Secretary Shalala announced the availability of two new grant programs for communities to develop innovative approaches -- one targeted to girls and other to boys -- to prevent teen pregnancy and promote responsible behavior. Both grant programs build on the Clinton Administration's comprehensive teen pregnancy prevention strategy and one also supports the Department of Health Human Services (HHS) Girl Power! public education campaign.
Building Bright Futures For Girls
As part of HHS' Girl Power! public education campaign, HHS will offer a total of $1 million in grants to communities to build public-private partnerships to promote healthy behavior, increase confidence and prevent teen pregnancy and other risky behaviors, such as smoking and drug use, among girls 9 to 14 years old.
Focusing on Young Girls: Recognizing that girls experience adolescence differently than boys and that 9-14 year old girls are particularly vulnerable to negative influences, loss of self confidence and mixed messages about health risk behaviors, the projects will address the critical and unique needs, interests and challenges of this age group.
Offering a Comprehensive Approach: The projects will take a comprehensive approach by addressing teen pregnancy prevention as it relates to other risky behaviors and within the overall context of health promotion, self confidence, motivation and opportunity.
Building Partnerships: By building strong partnerships with parents, schools, communities, youth groups, religious organizations, media, health providers, businesses and local governments, the grant projects will demonstrate how communities can work together to improve the health, education, and well-being of young girls and their families.
Promoting Volunteerism: Responding to the challenge of the Presidents' Summit for America's Future, the projects will utilize community volunteers to serve as mentors to the girls, to encourage the girls to get involved in community service and to spread the messages of delaying sexual activity, staying in school and preparing for the future.
Expanding The Message To Boys and Young Men
Recognizing that a comprehensive strategy to prevent teen pregnancy and promote responsible behavior must also target boys and young men, HHS announced the availability of $1 million in grants to organizations already working with males to add a family planning component to their existing programs.
Helping to Develop Long-Term Strategies: We do not know enough about what influences a boy's and young men's decisions about abstinence, sexual activity and fatherhood. Similarly little is known about what family planning/reproductive health services are appropriate and effective for males. Therefore these projects will be critical in developing long-term strategies at the federal, state and local levels for including boys and young men in teen pregnancy prevention and family planning efforts.
Focusing on Safe and Responsible Behavior: The projects will focus on developing and testing approaches to providing family planning services to males; ensuring that adult males send the message of abstinence, responsibility and health to young men and boys; and involving males in building community support for teen pregnancy prevention and respectful relationships.
Offering a Wide Range of Services: The projects will provide educational services, counseling, outreach to males and their families, clinical services and public information on family planning/reproductive health issues.
Utilizing Existing Resources: Utilizing the best available resources, the grantees will work in partnership with federal, state, local and community-based health and social service agencies to educate males about health decision-making and family planning.


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St. Ann's Academy sits on a 6 1/4 acre piece of property, which once surrounded the log home that became the pioneer schoolhouse in 1858. Through donations and purchases, the Sisters eventually acquired 22 lots. Much of the grounds, particularly on the west side, was wet and rocky, but loads of fill were dumped from local construction sites to build up the ground level, in the area of the Green and the Arboretum. In 1911, Father Adrian Vullinghs, while a patient in St. Joseph's Hospital across the street from the Academy, conceived a plan to create formal, landscaped grounds for St. Ann's and suggested his designs to the gardener, Sister Mary Colette.
Born in the Netherlands and educated in Belgium, Vullinghs was a priest by vocation. His interest in the outdoors led to his design for the garden of the Church of Our Lady of Assumption, in Saanich. He was present with the workmen to share the expertise he had gained over 16 years of working with the trees and shrubberies in his own garden.
"What was the potato field has been terraced in four parts. The farthest from the house is a favourite resting place for the pupils; the second is a croquet lawn; the third is a tennis court and then comes the grove, which is covered with crushed stone instead of grass." (excerpt from early chronicles, Victoria Sisters of St. Ann,, as quoted in 5 Year Plan) These words of an observer from 1912 reveal the divisions of the Green into areas intended for specific uses. Croquet fell out of fashion in later years, but the grass tennis lawn was enjoyed by Sisters and students alike. In 1928, courts were laid out for the game; they were enlarged in 1933 to accommodate two sets of players and improved again in 1959, eventually including fencing to keep the ball from flying off into the bushes.
During the spring, crocuses, in white and purple, and yellow daffodils would bloom on the Green, and the girls would begin to ride their bicycles. These bikes were stored, at least temporarily, in the simple bicycle shelter that was erected at the south end of the green, in front of the tennis terrace. Wooden slots were arranged around the perimeter of the shelter, so the front tires could be held in place as the bicycles parked in a circle. The Sisters would tend the blooms in the rose arbour, a place of beauty and a stark contrast to the potato fields that had grown before.
Not all of the landscaping was as rustic as wildflowers and wooden shelters. The formal gardens, including the Green, were based on features of Italian and French landscaping. Dividing the grounds into distinct sections, separating these spaces with bushes and shrubs and carefully spacing the trees and flowers were all approaches used in the long tradition of formal European gardens. The small structures, such as the bicycle shed, that were constructed along the paths and the terraced lawns were features used at the great French palace at Versailles, where Louis the Sun King was himself in charge of the landscaping during the 1600s. It is interesting that this would tie in so closely with the French influences in the architecture of the Academy buildings. This stylistic relationship changed: the sheds were demolished, the paths grew over, the Green terraces were converted and there was a greater distinction between the Formal Garden spaces and the open landscaping with the maturation of the trees.
As St. Joseph's Hospital began to grow, parking was required for staff and visitors. Cars began to park across the street, at St. Ann's, in the area where the tennis courts had been. In 1972, St. Ann's Academy, attempting to cope with the high costs of running a school without government funding, and with a vast amount of property to tend, sold a large portion of the grounds to the Provincial Government. The length of the Green, where girls had once run and enjoyed their games, became space for roughly 150 vehicles. The restoration efforts converted the Green into an open, grassy lawn.


Time machine for Java
5 minute read
This article describes a tool developed to support unit-testing of time-dependent logic in Java applications. Originally it has been written for Devexperts' blog.
It is not always simple to write unit tests for time-dependent functionality. In straightforward situations simply replacing a method which returns the current time with a custom implementation will work. However, it is not enough for real programs testing. Let's try to understand why such solutions do not work and what do we really want in order to test time-dependent logic.
Here is a simple method counting the number of days before the end of the world:
fun daysBeforeDoom() {
 return doomTime - System.currentTimeMillis()) / millisInDay
Replacing all invocations of System.currentTimeMillis() with either an existing tools (one, two) or by writing a system specific code transformer using ASM or AspectJ framework will often suffice.
However, there are other cases where this approach is insufficient. Imagine we want our code to wake up each day and display " days left until the doomsday" as in the following code snippet.
while (true) {
 println("${daysBeforeDoom()} days left till the doomsday)
How can we test this code? How do we assert that it is invoked every day and that it displays the correct message? Using the simple approach described above and replacing System.currentTimeMillis() only allows us to test the correctness of the message. However, we would need to wait for a whole day to test it.
This way, it is practically impossible to test such code without additional tools. Let's try to create one!
Currently we have two methods that return the current time: System.currentTimeMillis() and System.nanoTime(). We also have several time-dependent methods that wait for an event with an optional timeout: Thread.sleep(..), Object.wait(..), and LockSupport.park(..).
In order to manage time, we want to create a new method increaseTime(..) which can change the current time and wake up waiting threads by virtual timeout.
To enable this, all of the existing time-dependent methods are need to be replaced with custom implementations. Let's see how this may work.
Test example:
You might have noticed that this test creates a potential race condition between our check message and the actual time it takes to complete the print operation. Of course, one approach is to add a pause.
Repaired test:
Thread.sleep(500 /*ms*/)
In regular practice, this test will almost always work but it is not guaranteed that checkMessage() is invoked after the message is printed. This can occur due to the complexity of the test logic or simply having the code executed on an overcommitted server. You might be tempted to increase the timeout but this makes the tests slower and still offers no guarantee of correctness.
Instead we need a special method that waits until all woken up threads have been completed.
Test we would like to write:
waitUntilThreadsAreFrozen(1_000/*ms, timeout*/)
The inherent challenge is that we want to support all time-dependent methods during testing, but we also want a waitUntilThreadsAreFrozen(..) method and it is not simple to support both.
Working at Devexperts I have developed time-test tool for testing time-dependent logic. Let's look at how it works.
Time-test is implemented as a Java agent. To utilize it you should add javaagent:timetest.jar and include it in the classpath. The tool transforms byte-code and replaces all time-dependent method invocations with our specific implementations. However, writing a good java agent sometimes is not simple so I have developed a JAgent framework at Devexperts to simplify java agents development.
When creating your time dependent tests you should enable TestTimeProvider. It implements all required time-dependent methods (System.currentTimeMillis(), Thread.sleep(..), Object.wait(..), LockSupport.park(..), …) and overrides their default implementations. In most tests, you do not need to actually manage the underyling time so the tool internally continues to utilize the default time-dependent methods wrapped inside the overloaded method. After starting TestTimeProvider you can use the TestTimeProvider.setTime(..), TestTimeProvider.increaseTime(..) and TestTimeProvider.waitUntilThreadsAreFrozen(..) methods.
long timeMillis();
long nanoTime();
void sleep(long millis) throws InterruptedException;
void sleep(long millis, int nanos) throws InterruptedException;
void waitOn(Object monitor, long millis) throws InterruptedException;
void waitOn(Object monitor, long millis, int nanos) throws InterruptedException;
void notifyAll(Object monitor);
void notify(Object monitor);
void park(boolean isAbsolute, long time);
void unpark(Object thread);
As previously described, the primary challenge of the TestTimeProvider implementation is supporting both the time-dependent methods along side the additional waitUntilThreadsAreFrozen(..) method. Thus on every time change all required threads are marked as resumed and only then are woken up. At the same time, waitUntilThreadsAreFrozen(..) waits until all threads are in the waiting state and none of them are marked as resumed. With this approach threads wake up, reset their resumed mark, perform their task and then return to a waiting state before waitUntilThreadsAreFrozen(..) recognize them as complete.
Test with TestTimeProvider:
public void setup() {
 // Use TestTimeProvider for this test
 TestTimeProvider.start(/* initial time could be passed here */);
public void reset() {
 // Reset time provider to default after the test execution
public void test() {
 TestTimeProvider.increaseTime(60_000 /*ms*/);
 TestTimeProvider.waitUntilThreadsAreFrozen(1_000 /*ms*/);
There is another complexity with the time virtualization. The described approach works well if you need to control the time among the whole JVM. However, you usually want to make it possible not to affect testing library (e.g. JUnit) work, GC thread and other not related to your testing code things. Therefore, you need to understand if you are executing in the testing code to decide must you virtualize time here or not. For this purpose, time-test have to know entry points to the testing code (usually, test classes). After that, time-test traces new threads starts and marks them as ours too, which means that the virtual time should be used for them. However, there are some problems if you use shared scheduler like ForkJoinPool because it is started not from the testing code. In order to work with such constructions as well, the definition of entry points has to be expanded.
I think now you understand that it is not simple to test time-dependant functionality and hope that the time-test tool will make your life easier. The tool is open-sourced and available on GitHub.


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Seniors might stave off memory loss by frequenting Facebook, a new study suggests.
The social network is just what the doctor ordered for older folks who are like-minded and can find enjoyment in photo-sharing, and copious discussions about such topics as family life, health, retirement, nutrition and fitness.
It has long been reported that sites like Facebook can actually reduce stress, anxiety and depression but now researchers have added brain flexibility to the list. A study conducted by the Italian Association Of Psychogeriatrics, an organization that promotes better geriatric mental health, revealed that Facebook and Internet technology in general helps keep elderly people's cultural curiosity alive. It stimulates attention span and memory, keeping them mentally young.
The study involved two resident facilities in Italy. The participants were all given laptops with wireless connections, along with tutorials on how to maneuver on the internet. The men and women were schooled on the ins and outs of Facebook, Twitter and Skype. Those folks who got the knack of it and were successful at using the social networking sites demonstrated better cognition and were more on-the-ball than those who chose to remain detached from Internet use.
In recent years, the number of silver-set members who are entertaining themselves via sites like Facebook has increased by 80 percent; the number of seniors who have profiles on Facebook exceeds 1.5 million.


text:
Education and outreach
Playing a Pokémon-like card game about ecology and biodiversity can result in broader knowledge of species and a better understanding of ecosystems than traditional teaching methods, like slideshows, according to new research from the University of British Columbia.
An open-source project launched in 2010 by UBC biologist David Ng and collaborators, the Phylo Trading Card Game works similarly to Pokémon trading cards, but uses real organisms and natural events instead of imaginary characters. While the Phylo project has proven immensely popular around the world, this is the first study to have tested its efficacy as a teaching and learning tool.
Researchers examined how people who played the game retained information about species and ecosystems, and how it impacted their conservation behavior. They compared the results to people who watched an educational slideshow, and those who played a different game that did not focus on ecosystems.
"Participants who played the Phylo game weren't just remembering iconic species like the blue whale and sea otter, but things like phytoplankton, zooplankton and mycorrhizal fungi," said lead author Megan Callahan, a PhD candidate in the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability. "They would say things like, 'I really needed this card because it was the base of my ecosystem,' or, 'When my partner destroyed my phytoplankton it killed all of my chain of species.' Obviously, the game is sending a strong message that is sticking with them."
Participants in both the Phylo Game group and slideshow group improved their understanding of ecosystems and species knowledge, but those who played the Phylo Game were able to recall a greater number of species. They were also more motivated to donate the money they received to preventing negative environmental events, such as climate change and oil spills. (Study participants were rewarded with a toonie [$2] or a loonie [$1], and were given options to donate the money toward different causes.)
"The message for teachers is that we need to use all possible ways to engage the public and get them interested in and caring about the issues of species extinctions and ecosystem destructions," said Callahan. "Something as simple as a card game can be adapted to any environment, from classrooms to field-based workshops, in any location. Our study shows that this can be a really beneficial way of learning about species, and their ecosystems and environments."
Researchers used a deck created for the Beaty Biodiversity Museum that focused on British Columbia's ecosystems, but there are many other versions of the Phylo cards circulating the world. A global community of artists, institutions, scientists and game enthusiasts have created numerous iterations of the game—including decks featuring west coast marine life, dinosaurs, microbes, and even a Women in Science version created by Westcoast Women in Engineering, Science and Technology.
"We have 20 to 30 decks and more coming every year," said Ng. "Games have a way of enticing anybody."
All Phylo decks are open-source and can be downloaded for free from the Phylo website. The Beaty deck, used in the study, is also available at the Beaty Biodiversity Museum gift shop.
The study, "Using the Phylo Card Game to advance biodiversity conservation in an era of Pokémon", appears in Palgrave Communications.


TaxProf Blog
Editor: Paul L. Caron
Pepperdine University School of Law
Monday, September 23, 2013
Osofsky Presents Beyond 'Worst-First' Enforcement Today at Loyola-L.A.
Osofsky 2Leigh Osofsky (Miami) presents Beyond "Worst-First" Enforcement, Toward Better First Solutions at Loyola-L.A. today as part of its Tax Policy Colloquium Series:
When enforcement resources are limited, how should the scarce enforcement resources be allocated to maximize compliance with the law? The answer to this question is crucial in determining to what extent the law on the books translates to the law in practice. A dominant school of thought in the tax literature regarding the allocation of scarce enforcement resources suggests that they should be allocated based on a "worst-first" method, whereby the individuals likely to be most noncompliant are targeted. However, "worst-first" methods suffer some underappreciated weaknesses. While "worst-first" methods can encourage all individuals to increase compliance so as not to be deemed the "worst," they can also provide cover to engage in noncompliance that is perceived moderate for the relevant population. This dynamic can become most problematic in highly noncompliant populations. In such populations, existing, high levels of noncompliance, and underlying, structural causes of the high noncompliance can serve as a means of coordinating on mutual, high noncompliance. Moreover, on top of potential, operational difficulties, "worst-first" theories do not provide a comprehensive explanation for the group and project-based enforcement practices that are found in a number of actual enforcement settings. In response to these deficits in existing theory, I draw on work from across different disciplines to develop a new layer of analysis regarding the allocation of scarce tax enforcement resources. I suggest that, under certain conditions, deterrence can be enhanced by allocating scarce enforcement resources among a low-compliance population of taxpayers through a process I call microdeterrence. After setting forth the theoretical case for microdeterrence, I examine how it might apply in the cash business tax sector, a setting that presents particular challenges for "worst-first" methods. I conclude that certain aspects of the cash business tax sector suggest potential benefits from application of microdeterrence. More fundamentally, I suggest that moving beyond the dominant focus on "worst-first" methods may help improve compliance with the tax law.
Jonathan Kalinski (Office of Chief Counsel, IRS) is the commentator.
Colloquia, Scholarship, Tax | Permalink


text:
The TV show Cheers was set in a bar "where everybody knows your name." Global knowledge of a name is appealing for a neighborhood pub, but not for a programming language. Most programming languages enable you to define functions that have local variables: variables whose names are known only inside the function. This article describes local and global variables in the SAS/IML language.
Scope: the environment where everybody knows your name
One of the features of the SAS/IML language is that you can create your own user-defined functions or subroutines that extend the capabilities of SAS. For brevity, this article discusses functions, but the same ideas apply to user-defined subroutines.
In computer science, the scope of a variable is the "context... in which a variable name... is valid and can be used." A variable inside a function usually has local scope, which means that the variable's name is known inside the function, but not outside. Furthermore, modifying a local variable does not affect any variable outside the function. For example, the following SAS/IML program defines a variable y inside a function. The local variable is created when the function executes and vanishes when the function exits. Although a variable outside the function is also named y, the outer variable is not affected by running the function:
proc iml; start F1(x); /* a function with local variables */ y = 2*x; /* y is local */ print y[label="y inside function (local)"]; return(1); finish; y = 0; t=1:5; v = F1(t); print y[label="y outside function"];
The scope of the variables is shown in the following diagram. Three variables are known to the main program: y, t, and v. Inside the function, two names are known: x and y. The local variable named y is not related to the variable y in the main scope. They have the same name, but their scope is different.
There are two ways to enable a variable inside a function to affect variables outside the function.
- Because the SAS/IML language passes arguments by reference, a function that changes the value of an argument also affects the corresponding matrix that was passed into the module.
- You can use the GLOBAL clause of the START statement to specify variables whose names are known at main scope.
Sometimes SAS/IML users ask if there is a third alternative. Programmers sometimes ask whether it is possible to create a variable that is shared between several functions, but is not global to the entire program. The answer is no. The SAS/IML language does not support a namespace or variables that are global to a namespace.
Parent variables: sharing the memory, but not the name
Because the SAS/IML language passes values by reference, modifying one of the function's arguments changes the value of the matrix that was passed in. The following example illustrates this:
start F2(x); /* a function that modifies its argument */ x = 2*x; /* x is an argument */ print x[label="x inside module (argument)"]; return(2); finish; y = 0; t=1:5; v = F2(t); print t[label="t at main scope"];
Notice that the variable t at main scope has a different name from the parameter x inside the module, but both variables share the same memory. Because x is an argument, changing x inside the function also changes t. See my previous article for more details about passing by reference. The behavior of the F2 function is summarized in the following diagram.
Global variables: sharing the memory and the name
A variable has global scope if you include it in the GLOBAL clause of the START statement. A variable that has global scope can be read or modified inside the module. It corresponds to a variable of the same name that exists at main scope. The following example illustrates this:
start F3(x) GLOBAL(y); /* a function that has a global variable */ y = 2*x; /* y is global */ print y[label="y inside module (global)"]; return(3); finish; y = 0; t=1:5; v = F3(t); print y[label="y at main scope"];
In this example, the y vector is changed from within the F3 function because y is declared to be a global variable. The following diagram illustrates the behavior of the F3 function.
The role of global variables in SAS/IML programs
Although global variables are discouraged in computer science courses, they serve an important purpose in SAS/IML programming. Namely, when you write an optimization program in the SAS/IML language, the function that is optimized (called the objective function) must contain only one argument. The argument vector is modified until the objective function reaches an optimal value. Any parameters to the objective function must be specified as global variables. The global variables are parameters that are held constant during the optimization process.


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How does the auto-reverse safety feature work on car windows?
Jam protection is the term used by the manufacturers when discussing this safety feature. All power windows have a few parts in common.
Others, like one that has the auto-reverse feature, will have a few others.
The window motor is the workhorse of the system and provides the motion that roles your window up and down. It consists of a worm gear and a reduction gear that only allows the motor to move the window. A worm gear is a long shaft like gear that drives a much larger diameter round gear similar to what you would see on a bike, the reduction gear. This gear system cannot be moved by forcing the window up or down. Only the motor, which turns the worm gear, can move the window. Any force placed on the window simply binds this gear system more and more as you apply more force.
It is not unusual for the regulator and motor to be replaced as an assembly. The motor and the regulator can be replaced independent of each other as well. The regulator is the part that holds the fragile glass in the door. The motor is attached at a central part of the regulator and when the motor turns, the regulator swings a single arm or multiple arms that move the glass up and down.
Not all power window systems utilize a module in the door. Some will use only the BCM. Either way the programming methods used to determine the position of the window and whether or not there is an obstruction are the same. Beyond a computer, there is one essential component that allows the auto-reverse function to exist, that is the pulse switch.
The pulse switch is more of a sensor than a switch. It is a device that creates a small voltage when it passes through a magnetic field. This property of electronics is know as induction. Mounted on the worm gear in your window motor is a magnet. As the magnet spins on the worm gear, it passes by the pulse switch inducing a voltage. Each time a voltage is created, the window module receives this voltage signal that is counted as one pulse. Each time the window module receives a pulse, it measures the amount of time it takes for the next pulse to occur. The longer the time between each pulse, the slower the motor is turning. This method of measuring a rotational speed is utilizing a method referred to as a pulse width.
Let's break down what a pulse width is by defining each word. A pulse is a signal created by the pulse switch that a computer can count. The width of the pulse is the amount of time that passes before the next pulse. The term width is used to describe the pattern created when the voltage signals are graphed.
Terminology aside, the only important thing to understand is the window module/computer is simply measuring the amount of time that passes between each pulse. Each pulse can represent one rotation or the 360° of a rotation can be divided into smaller pieces. In the end, all that is happening is the comparison of the time between pulses.
Ok great, you're probably wondering what this has to do with an auto-reverse function. As the window motor rotates, the window module has learned what the normal speed is by measuring the amount of time between pulses. If the amount of time between pulses increases indicating the rotation of the motor has slowed, the window module is programmed to reverse its rotation.
Your window switch simply allows a voltage signal to pass through to the BCM and or window module. The module then powers the up or down relays depending on the direction you requested by depressing the window switch.
The up and down relays convert low voltage signals from the window modules into the twelve volts that the battery supplies. The window modules receive signals from the window switches that direct it to power the up or down relay accordingly.
If you run into any problems with your windows and need servicing, feel free to reach out to a certified mechanic who can diagnose and ensure the proper function of all of your windows components.
Our certified mechanics come to you ・Backed by 12-month, 12,000-mile guarantee・Fair and transparent pricing


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|Jan30-13, 08:44 AM||#1|
Continuous functions on metric space, M
If every continuous function on M is bounded, what does this mean?
I am not sure what this function actually is... is it a mapping from M -> M or some other mapping? Is the image of the function in M? Any help would be greatly appreciated!
|Jan30-13, 11:33 AM||#2|
|Jan30-13, 11:38 AM||#3|
A map [itex]f:X\rightarrow M[/itex] where X is a set and M is a metric space, is called bounded if the image f(X) is bounded. This means that there is an [itex]x\in X[/itex] and an [itex]\varepsilon>0[/itex] such that [itex]f(X)\subseteq B(f(x),\varepsilon)[/itex].
This is what I would call bounded. But you will need to specify the context.
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tiny white flies when cutting the grass on the lawn
Early morning when cutting the grass tiny and I mean tiny white flys by the hundreds maybe thousands fly off the grass leaves. Are these called "White flys" and if so what do you use to get rid of them. I would assume they are laying eggs in the grass. Are they harmful to the grass or just bothersome.


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Hybrid stepper Motor are characterized by very high volumic torque compared to Brushless DC motors. Their maximal no load speed is however limited. They can then be a really interesting solution for applications requesting a high torque at low to medium speed.
Micro-Beam offers to control Hybrid stepper motor in close loop with position sensor as well as with the sensorless technology. The advantages of the close loop control are:
- drastically increase the efficiency of the motor (indeed, while controlling the stepper motor in openloop, the supply current is calculated for the worst case load, which means the motor is continuously supplied as it would deliver its maximal torque, while a close loop control allow to adapt the motor current in function of the load).
- increase the robustness of the system by eliminating the stall problems (indeed a brutal increase of load will slow down a motor controlled in closed loop without stalling).
The following video shows some possibilities offered by closed loop sensorless control of a standard stepper motor.
The close loop control can be implemented with sensors, considering Hybrid stepper Motor are characterized a high number of step per turn (around 200). High resolution sensors are then needed to control in close loop such motors. Beside the price of such sensor, this solution is really robust. Really interesting for low speed applications.
To reduce the cost, Micro-Beam proposes a close loop control with the sensorless technology:
- the analysis of the motor phase voltage to indirectly detect the motor position allows to control in close loop a stepper motor with a quite inexpensive solution.
- the last development done in the sensorless technology allows position control, which make possible many applications.
- In order to reduce cost, our drives are able to drive up to 5 stepper motors simultaneously. By that way, the price of the DSP can be divided by 5 for each motor and it simplifies updates of the machines.
6600 series Hybrid Stepper Motor from Sonceboz
|N2300 series from Pittman
Permanent torque from 120 mNm (length 38 mm)
to 190 mNm (length 76 mm)
Maximal speed 10'000 rpm


Journal of the Whills
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The Journal of the Whills was a legendary record of events in the galaxy. Ostensibly, the Journal was maintained by the Ancient Order of the Whills, a mysterious group of beings.
During the Galactic Civil War, some individuals wished their efforts be recorded in the Journal of the Whills, indicating it was an on-going recording of the history, widely known as a tradition to the inhabitants of the Galaxy. The recording of their names and efforts in the Journal signaled their importance to the history, hence honorary.
The events surrounding the life of several members of the Skywalker family were recorded in the Journal by a Keeper of the Whills, after an interview with the Astromech droid R2-D2 one hundred years after the Battle of Endor.[1]
The inclusion of a brief overview of the fall of the Galactic Republic and the rise of Palpatine's New Order in the Journal's First Saga established that the Journal's beginning included at least the Clone Wars, though how far backwards or forwards in history the Journal's first segment covered was unknown.
Behind the scenesEdit
As well as not having a clear beginning, the style of the Journal is inconsistent. Whereas the First Saga is expository, written in the past tense with a third person perspective, another known excerpt, from early script drafts, is written in a formatted poetic style reminiscent of many religious texts. The excerpt reads as follows:
"... And in the time of greatest
despair there shall come a savior,
and he shall be known as:
Journal of the Whills, 3:127
Although it has never been confirmed, it is possible that this excerpt deals with the Prophecy of the Chosen One seeing as that it does seem to make what could be considered references to Anakin Skywalker, though it could just as easily be referring to his son. The numeric reference is important as it indicates a possible chapter and verse from which the excerpt is taken. The style of the excerpt is also written in the future tense with a prophetic tone, a clear difference from the larger excerpt from the First Saga. However, the First Saga excerpt does indicate that some form of poetic style may be consistent throughout the Journal, as it states:
Journal of the whills
In his early drafts, George Lucas ostensibly planned to use the Journal of the Whills as a plot device to connect the Star Wars galaxy to our own. In Star Wars: The Annotated Screenplays, Lucas explains his original intent:
In 2005's The Making of Star Wars Revenge of the Sith, Lucas intimates that he intended the stories told in his films to be relayed to a Keeper of the Whills by R2-D2, who would record them in the Journal.
The Journal, as a plot device, has several precedents. Most of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories were published in the form of narrations by Dr. Watson. J. R. R. Tolkien's Red Book of Westmarch was supposedly the ultimate source of The Lord of the Rings and his other Middle-earth works. Frank Herbert opened each chapter of his first Dune novel with quotations from texts based on sayings and teachings of the main characters and groups/societies, as did Isaac Asimov in his Foundation series.
"Journal of the Whills" is also the name of the fanclub edition of Star Wars - Das offizielle Magazin, the official German Star Wars magazine.
Notes and referencesEdit
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The technique used is patented and has the following advantages:
The muscle micro-biopsy is a minimally invasive procedure.
- The method is minimally invasive, especially in comparison with the samples of bone marrow from which stem cells are usually isolated and cultured.
- The technique is easy to carry out and requires a minimal amount of tissue.
- The protocol is recommended for young horses to build up a stock of stem cells available for future.


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June 7, 2007 A close cousin of the bacterium that debilitated thousands of World War I soldiers has been isolated at UCSF from a patient who had been on an international vacation. The woman, who has since recovered, suffered from symptoms similar to malaria or typhoid fever, two infections that can occur in returning travelers.
But genetic detective work revealed that she was infected with a new bacterium that had never before been isolated from a human.
A UCSF infectious disease team, in collaboration with colleagues from other institutions, found that the new microbe is genetically similar to one spread by body lice in the trenches during World War I. That bacterium, called Bartonella quintana, caused a disease known as trench fever, and debilitated tens of thousands of soldiers with severe leg and back pain and recurrent fevers.
The new species, recently named Bartonella rochalimae, is also closely related to the bacterium identified about 10 years ago as the cause of cat scratch disease: Bartonella henselae, which infects more than 25,000 people a year in the U.S.
The discovery is reported in the June 7 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.
The woman had been traveling in the Peruvian Andes. She suffered from potentially life-threatening anemia, an enlarged spleen and a high fever for several weeks, as do victims of malaria and typhoid. The Andes are also home to another Bartonella species, spread by sand flies. The researchers first thought this was causing the patient's infection.
But genetic comparisons showed that although the new bacterium is related enough to be classified with the other Bartonella bacteria, it is nevertheless distinct from all of them, the UCSF team found. The UCSF lab is one of the few in the world able to isolate and grow human Bartonella species, and culture of the new organism made study of the DNA much easier.
Also collaborating on the research were scientists at the Massachusetts General Hospital of Harvard Medical School and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Before 1990, no Bartonella infections had been identified in the U.S. The new discovery is the sixth species identified that can infect humans, said Jane Koehler, MD, professor of infectious diseases at UCSF and senior author on the new paper.
Koehler encountered her first patient infected with Bartonella in 1987 during her first week of training in infectious diseases at the AIDS Clinic at San Francisco General Hospital Medical Center.
"The bacteria were eating away a bone in the arm of an AIDS patient -- for months," Koehler recalls. "They can cause extremely painful lesions and tumors of blood vessels on the skin of immunocompromised patients. But when I saw this patient, this type of infection had never been seen at UCSF, and the bacterium causing the infection was unknown."
Koehler's group went on to discover that two different Bartonella species can cause these disfiguring and potentially fatal infections in AIDS patients. Identification of the bacteria required laboratory studies of some of the microbes' DNA sequences.
She was surprised to find that one of the microbes that causes severe infections in AIDS patients in the U.S was the same species that caused trench fever in WWI soldiers fighting in Europe 80 years before. The work was published in "The New England Journal of Medicine" in 1992.
Several years later, her team discovered that the Bartonella henselae bacterium causes cat scratch disease, an infection that causes swollen lymph nodes and fever after a cat scratches its owner or an unlucky visitor. They were again surprised to find that this microbe is the second Bartonella species to cause infection in AIDS patients.
Like trench fever, cat scratch disease had been described in the early 1900s, but no one knew what bacterium caused cat scratch disease until the infection was seen in the AIDS patients. This identification was published in "The New England Journal of Medicine" in 1997.
Koehler's research group found that all pet cats of AIDS patients infected by B. henselae also had the infection in their blood. In fact, about 41 percent of all the pet cats they tested in the San Francisco area had this bacterium in their blood. This work, detailed in the "Journal of the American Medical Association" in 1994, sounded the alarm that pet cats were often infected with a microbe that could be transmitted to their owners through a scratch.
These earlier investigations taught the researchers several important lessons: new diseases and new bacteria infecting humans are still being discovered, and it is important to carefully investigate the genetic make-up of all bacteria that appear in any new or unusual infection. This kind of sleuthing allowed the researchers to discover the new organism, Bartonella rochalimae.
Koehler considers the on-going research and discovery crucial to treating patients and preventing disease.
"When a patient has a high and persistent fever, we need to come up with the correct diagnosis and treatment as soon as possible -- particularly for those with a weakened immune system, who can die from the infection," she says. "Also, different Bartonella species respond to different drugs, so it is essential to explore further and pinpoint which one is involved."
The cat scratch bacteria and the one that brought down soldiers and AIDS patients can be reined in with the same antibiotic, but the Peruvian microbe is usually countered with different antibiotics, Koehler says. Also, caregivers, and medical staff need to know about the different species, so, for example, AIDS patients are cautioned about the dangers of cat scratches and exposure to body lice. Medical staff should know to look for Bartonella infections if someone with a persistent, unexplained high fever has a cat, has been homeless or has been in the Andes Mountains.
"As we continue to discover new pathogens and how humans get infected with them, we improve our ability to diagnose, prevent and treat our patients," Koehler notes. "This enables us to use our work in the laboratory to benefit patients in the clinics and hospital."
The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Burroughs Wellcome Fund Clinical Scientist Award in Translational Research received by Koehler.
Coauthors on the paper and collaborators in the research along with Koehler are: Marina E. Eremeeva, Shari L. Lydy, William L. Nicholson and Gregory Dasch at the Viral and Rickettsial Zoonoses Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta; Helen L. Gerns, Jeanna S. Goo, and Smitha S. Mathew, all technicians in UCSF's Division of Infectious Diseases, UCSF School of Medicine; and Edward T. Ryan, Mary Jane Ferraro and Judith M. Holder at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.
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The Stanford University team found that rats dosed with it for 16 hours sustained twice the muscle damage when they had heart attacks, compared to those spared nitroglycerin.
Nitroglycerin is often used to help treat angina, while it is also used immediately after a heart attack.
Daria Mochly-Rosen, a professor of translational medicine, said they carried out the study because they were concerned that nitroglycerin use in angina patients could be increasing the severity of heart attacks.
The team has found that giving an enzyme killed by nitroglycerin at the same time protected rats' hearts from the harmful side-effect.
The study is published today (THUR) in the journal Science Translational Medicine.


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The PDF/A Competence Center, a non-profit association of more than 110 organizations and individual experts from 20 different countries dedicated to promoting the exchange of information and experience in the area of long-term archiving of documents, describes the standard as follows "PDF/A has been accepted by the International Organization for Standards (ISO) as the standard for the long-term preservation of documents. The standard does not define an archiving strategy or the goals of an archiving system. It identifies a profile for electronic documents that ensures the documents can be reproduced exactly the same way in years to come. A key element to this reproducibility is the requirement for PDF/A documents to be 100% self-contained. All of the information necessary for displaying the document in the same manner every time is embedded in the file."
The aim of the DocsCorp whitepaper is to explain the reasoning behind the standard and how it is different from a normal PDF with as few acronyms and as little jargon and technical explanation as possible. More specifically, the paper answers these frequently asked questions:
1. What is PDF/A, and how is it different from a non-PDF/A document?
2. How do I know if a document is PDF/A compliant?
3. How do I create a PDF/A document?
4. Is there a way to make documents PDF/A ready, without actually converting them to PDF/A?
5. Should I implement these changes to existing PDF workflows?
6. Should I be converting every document to PDF/A now?
The whitepaper is available for download, please click here