Data Management
Displaying money values in currency format in SQL
Arthur Fuller responds to a reader who sent him a question recently asking how to display currency amounts in currency format. Check out the solution he offers for the reader's problem.
A reader sent me a question recently in which he wanted to know how to display currency amounts in the format we commonly refer to as currency. (I realize how geo-centric this is, so I will attempt to be world-centric in my response to the reader's question.)
Let's use the Northwind database as our testbed. Consider the following SQL request:
USE Northwind
 Quantity * UnitPrice AS Amount
FROM [Order Details]
This request results in a set that looks like Listing A (which is an abbreviated list). This delivers the correct answers yet not in the desired format. We can alter the look of the money columns, but there is a cost of sorts. For instance, the statement in Listing B delivers what we want (i.e., amounts formatted as currency).
The reader also wanted to know how to get the currency sign prepended to the amount, e.g., $1,320.00. Given the revised statement in Listing B, this is not difficult to do, as you can see here:
USE Northwind
 '$' + CONVERT(varchar(12), Unitprice, 1) AS Unitprice,
 '$' + CONVERT(varchar(12), Quantity * UnitPrice, 1) AS Amount
FROM [Order Details]
Listing C shows how this results in the desired display. I should add one additional proviso that isn't apparent. Style 1 works only on the data types money and smallmoney. Therefore, if you ever store your data in another type, then you can do a double-convert, like this:
CONVERT(varchar, CONVERT(money, YourFieldName), 1)
Why display money values in currency format?
Now that we've created what the reader requested, you may be asking yourself: Why would you want to display money values in currency format?
Assuming that the output target is Query Analyzer, then it makes sense to want your format to look more attractive. But how many users in your organization actually use Query Analyzer to do their jobs? My guess is fewer than five. Most users opt for applications written in Microsoft Access,.NET, Excel, or Delphi, whose formatting functions surpass T-SQL's by a long shot. T-SQL is not designed for elaborate formatting, but rather efficient delivery of the underlying data.
However, you may have a legitimate reason to deliver the data in this format; if so, there is a cost of sorts. The column as delivered is no longer money or even numeric, so you can't perform arithmetic functions (i.e., average, sum, min, max, etc.) within it. If you require such operations, you will have to add the actual column to the SELECT statement, and then perform the operations on that column.
Why offer server code instead of client code?
T-SQL provides solutions to this display problem as illustrated above, but are these the right solutions for your situation? The bottom line here is separation of the front from the back end.
Most of the time, your solution to this problem lies in client code rather than SQL code. However, I recognize that there are some situations in which it is best handled in server code. For example, Access, VB, and.NET offer the Format() function, which handles this problem nicely. This won't always work; for example, you might be feeding a text file into some program that is expecting money amounts to be displayed in exactly one way.
So, if you do need the server code, now you have it. But before you implement it, realize the cost as described above.
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Most people recognize that leading a sedentary lifestyle and smoking isn't good for them. But did you know there's intriguing research suggesting a link between untreated hearing loss and premature death?
Personal life expectancy varies widely, of course. This variance can be connected to things like access to healthy foods, where you live, healthcare accessibility, kind of work, and even gender. But even taking these differences into consideration, individuals with neglected hearing loss seem to die earlier.
Studies Connecting Premature Death to Hearing Loss
Norwegian scientists evaluated the health data from over 50,000 people over a two-year period. They cross-referenced that data with the causes of death for the examined individuals. They could link a greater risk of premature death to hearing loss irrespective of the cause of death.
Other studies show that even moderate hearing loss is linked to a 21% higher morbidity rate and that there's an increased danger of cardiovascular death for those who have hearing loss, particularly if they live by themselves.
Clarifying The Link
For researchers, just because they uncover a link doesn't mean that a causality is solidly demonstrated. Determining what exactly the connection is will normally be the first thing they will attempt to do. What's the common thread?
In this same research it was revealed that there was an increased risk in women with no children and women and men who are divorced. This indicates that social life has an impact on longevity.
Previous studies support this assumption. Data from over half a million participants was analyzed in a study published in the Journal of Epidemiology. It revealed that social isolation increases the risk of early death considerably.
How Does Social Stability Contribute to Longevity?
Much like a pack of wolves or a herd of elephants in nature, social relationships offer numerous life-extending advantages to humans:
- Safety… If you require medical help, you will be more likely to get it right away if there are more people nearby.
- Motivation… Getting up in the morning, trying new things, and looking forward to their day can be greatly motivated by having people around.
- Physical stimulation… You're more likely to get up and do things if you have people around.
- Improved diet and health… Socially connected people frequently have greater access to healthy food and can get to doctor's appointments.
- Support… Someone who doesn't have a strong social network is more likely to attempt to do something risky instead of asking for help.
- Mental stimulation… You're sharing, joking and conversing with people.
Why does untreated hearing loss decrease social participation?
How Hearing Loss Can Leads to Social Separation And Decreased Longevity
You probably have family who will always be there for you. How could that be changed by hearing loss?
Have you ever been in a room full of people you don't know enjoying the company of each other, but paying no attention to you? You likely felt very alone. You can start to feel like this with untreated hearing loss. It's not that people are ignoring you. It seems like you're being ignored because people are starting to have a difficult time having a conversation with you.
From your perspective, you often feel out of the loop because you miss parts of the conversation. Emotional and physical withdrawal, even at family gatherings, can be the result. The appeal of going to a club or restaurant with friends starts to fade away. Simply avoiding these types of scenarios becomes common. Here are some other challenges that individuals who have progressing hearing loss deal with.:
- Mental exhaustion
These make social contact even more difficult.
The Norwegian researchers offer a silver lining in their research, however. After analyzing their research, they came to an important conclusion. The connection between early death and hearing loss can be disrupted by wearing hearing aids.
You will remain healthier, more active and social if you use hearing aids and that can give you longevity.
This fact can be supported by similar studies. The American Academy of Audiology performed one such study. They revealed that when those with hearing loss wear hearing aids regularly, they have:
- Greater independence
- Improved social life outside the home
- Better relationships with family
Neglected Hearing Loss Linked to Premature Death
The link between hearing loss and premature death is a complex one. But an entire picture emerges when all of the data is considered. The impact of hearing loss on relationships, health, and finances is revealed. So it's easy to recognize why the early demise link exists.
It's also evident that getting your hearing loss treated can counter the effects of hearing loss on each part of life. You can keep living an active, social and healthy life well into those advanced years.

source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


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Anne Lehmans (Université Montesquieu-Bordeaux 4/IUFM d'Aquitaine, France) will be contributing to EMMILE programme on Feb. 28th morning with the speech:
"New perspectives in transliteracy and the evolution of the French 'professeur-documentaliste' "
Transliteracy is "the ability to read, write and interact across a range of platforms, tools and media from signing and orality through handwriting, print, TV, radio and films, to digital social networks." (Sue Thomas). The notion has been introduced in France among scholars, particularly those who work in the field of information and library science, and among them, those who are in charge of the future school librarians, "professeurs-documentalistes". However, in France, transliteracy is taken into an epistemic and conceptual framework more than into a pragmatic reflection on competencies, abilities and skills required to deal with information in the digital era. It means a new perspective on information culture as a cross-cultural and critical knowledge about information, media and computer science. This new "trans" perspective is crossing the hyphen between "professeur" (teacher) and "documentaliste" (school librarian). The French "professeur-documentaliste" is an hybridation of an educator and a technician, whose professional identity is built on academic knowledge on information and education science on one hand, documentation and librarian skills on the other.
This contribution is a presentation and a critical reflexion on the actual curriculum and scientific content of the academic and training courses for "professeurs-documentalistes". They have to take into account a new social, technological, academic and institutional environment within the digital era, to define new cross-contents of "information" and to evolve toward new educational and professional practices for new needs. Transliteracy perspective may include innovative practices and solutions to educational questions about information today. Examples of experiences, tools and practices are presented.
§ * § * § * § * §
Anne Lehmans studied Law and Political Science at Universitè Montesquieu-Bordeaux 4, Bordeaux, France. She examined cultural perceptions between Japan, France and the US for her PhD in Political Science and worked on a post-doc at the University of Charlottesville in Virginia (USA) on medias and transcultural relations. She helds and coordinates courses on information literacy and information science at the IUFM (teacher training courses)-University Montesquieu-Bordeaux 4 since 2002. She is involved into several research and library projects. Her most recent contribution : Professeur-documentaliste : un tiers métier with Vincent Liquète.


text:
IVCS extending Financial Services to the Unbanked Areas of Meghalaya
In Meghalaya, the need to ensure access to basic financial services for farming households in rural areas stemmed from a recognition that there existed a thin spread of banking networks and micro-financial institutions across such regions. The penetration of the formal banking sector has always been minimal because of the non-viability of operations in remote areas with difficult topography, limited transportation facilities, and a dearth of communication infrastructure. Residents would often need to travel long distances just for deposits and withdrawals. Even in areas where bank branches are present, clear gaps exist because of the cumbersome processes of banks, language barriers, and poor general knowledge of financial literacy.
But Megha-LAMP is alleviating the challenge through the Integrated Village Cooperative Societies (IVCS) – home-grown, community-led credit and marketing institutions formally registered as Cooperative Societies under the Meghalaya Cooperative Societies Act, 2015. IVCS not only provide basic financial services like thrift and credit to their members but also undertake other economic business activities like setting up retail outlets for groceries, input supply for agricultural activities, aggregation, and marketing of agricultural produce, among others. Megha-LAMP supports them with regular handholding in areas relating to maintenance of books of accounts, capacity-building and training, and financial literacy. To augment their capital, the project provides a Corpus Fund.
330 IVCS have been formed across Meghalaya covering about 42,000 households from 942 villages. "By making financial services available to the last mile, our farmers have been able to take up higher and expanded activities," said Lawrence Malai, Chairman of the Umkon IVCS Ltd. in Ri Bhoi District. The next phase involves tackling the challenge of financial inclusion. Soon, 200 IVCS will provide extension services to their members as Banking Correspondents of MCAB Ltd.


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How many dekanewton in 1 sthene?
The answer is 100.
We assume you are converting between dekanewton and sthene.
You can view more details on each measurement unit:
dekanewton or sthene
The SI derived unit for force is the newton.
1 newton is equal to 0.1 dekanewton, or 0.001 sthene.
Note that rounding errors may occur, so always check the results.
Use this page to learn how to convert between dekanewtons and sthenes.
Type in your own numbers in the form to convert the units!
1 dekanewton to sthene = 0.01 sthene
10 dekanewton to sthene = 0.1 sthene
50 dekanewton to sthene = 0.5 sthene
100 dekanewton to sthene = 1 sthene
200 dekanewton to sthene = 2 sthene
500 dekanewton to sthene = 5 sthene
1000 dekanewton to sthene = 10 sthene
You can do the reverse unit conversion from sthene to dekanewton, or enter any two units below:
dekanewton to yottanewton
dekanewton to dyne
dekanewton to gram
dekanewton to nanonewton
dekanewton to kip
dekanewton to zeptonewton
dekanewton to meganewton
dekanewton to micronewton
dekanewton to pound
dekanewton to dekagram
The SI prefix "deka" represents a factor of 101, or in exponential notation, 1E1.
So 1 dekanewton = 101 newtons.
The definition of a newton is as follows:
In physics, the newton (symbol: N) is the SI unit of force, named after Sir Isaac Newton in recognition of his work on classical mechanics. It was first used around 1904, but not until 1948 was it officially adopted by the General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) as the name for the mks unit of force.
The sthene is the unit of force in the former Soviet mts system, _PHONE_. The symbol is sn.
ConvertUnits.com provides an online conversion calculator for all types of measurement units. You can find metric conversion tables for SI units, as well as English units, currency, and other data. Type in unit symbols, abbreviations, or full names for units of length, area, mass, pressure, and other types. Examples include mm, inch, 100 kg, US fluid ounce, 6'3", 10 stone 4, cubic cm, metres squared, grams, moles, feet per second, and many more!


We understand what it's like to feel inundated with notifications requesting software updates on your devices. Many simply choose to ignore or put off these updates, seeing them as unnecessary and a waste of time. Many ask, if my phone is working fine as it is, why is an update necessary?
Top 4 Reasons why you Can't Ignore Phone Updates
 1. Security
All software systems are exposed to flaws and people generally find out what they are. Google is no stranger to the dangers of flaws within their devices. In fact, they have a group of security researchers whose sole job is to attempt to hack into their own product before hackers do. Even with these systems in place, many hackers figure out security loopholes first, gaining access to personal and sensitive user data. For this reason, apps will create updates with new security improvements and bug fixes.
 1. Stability
Software updates will not only lessen your security vulnerabilities, but will create a much more stable user experience. For example, if your computer frequently crashes, updating the new version of a software can solve this issue and why the feature has not been working properly.
 1. Features
Interesting, fun and easier to navigate new features are constantly being created by developers. Simply updating when requested to do so will ensure you can take full advantage of them, such as those listed below.
 - Facebook's new update introduced 'Live Stream'
 - YouTube's new update introduced split screen mode on Ipads
 - iOS 9.3's newest update introduce 'Night Shift' mode, displaying a sleep-friendly hue!
 1. Performance
By keeping your software regularly up to date, your device will likely run much faster and smoother than before. The current mobile user has an array of applications on their phone, many of which are used numerous times a day. Therefore, it is important you have a device which is not slowed down by outdated software.
Top Things to Remember When Updating
 - Make sure your phone is connected to Wi-fi and the 'Use Cellular Data' is switched off at the time of download. If you're phone is not connected to wifi you're at risk of losing massive amounts of data usage and ending up with one hefty phone bill!
 - Turn on automatic downloads on your device! Many people think they need to constantly be bothered by those pesky update reminders, otherwise they will miss out.. However, all you need t to change the automatic download setting on your mobile to make updating a breeze.
 - If you find everyone raving about that latest update, make sure you check the software developer's website for update announcements so you don't miss out.
It may be tempting to ignore those pesky update reminders when you're coming home from a long day at work.However, next time you see that update it is wise to remember the numerous benefits for your device and overall personal security!


text:
Many of the output options allow functions to be included or excluded using symspecs (symbol specifications), which observe the following syntax:
filename_containing_a_dot | funcname_not_containing_a_dot | linenumber | ( [ any_filename ] ':' ( any_funcname | linenumber ) )
Here are some sample symspecs:
gprofto interpret the string as a filename, rather than as a function name. To select a file whose name does not contain a dot, a trailing colon should be specified. For example, 'odd:' is interpreted as the file named odd.
Note that there may be multiple instances of the same function name because some of the definitions may be local (i.e., static). Unless a function name is unique in a program, you must use the colon notation explained below to specify a function from a specific source file.
Sometimes, function names contain dots. In such cases, it is necessary to add a leading colon to the name. For example, ':.mul' selects function '.mul'.
In some object file formats, symbols have a leading underscore.
gprof will normally not print these underscores. When you name a
symbol in a symspec, you should type it exactly as
it in its output. For example, if the compiler produces a symbol
'_main' from your
gprof still prints
it as 'main' in its output, so you should use 'main' in


text:
Tintinalli's Emergency Medicine: A Comprehensive Study Guide, 7e
|Section 6. Emergency Wound Management >|
Chapter 45. Methods for Wound Closure
Sections: Methods for Wound Closure: Introduction, Overview of Wound Closure Methods, References.
Topics Discussed: wound closure.
Excerpt:"The major goal of wound closure is to restore the skin's
integrity in order to reduce the risk of infection, scarring, and
impaired function. This may be achieved by one of three methods.
With primary closure, the wound is immediately closed by approximating
its edges. The main advantage of primary closure is a reduction
in healing time in comparison with other closure methods. Rapid
wound closure also may reduce bleeding and discomfort often associated
with open wounds. Secondary wound closure, in which the wound is
left open and allowed to close on its own, is particularly well
suited for highly contaminated or infected wounds as well as in
patients at high risk of infection. Although this method may reduce
the risk of infection, it is relatively slow and uncomfortable and
leaves a larger scar than primary closure. Delayed primary (or tertiary)
closure combines the advantages of both primary and secondary closure.
With this method, the wound is initially cleansed and then packed
with dry sterile gauze followed by a sterile covering. The dressing
is left undisturbed unless signs of infection develop: fever, purulent
exudate, or spreading cellulitis. After 4 to 5 days, the dressing
is removed and the wound edges can be closed if no infection has
The content above is only an excerpt.
For full access, log into an existing user account below,
purchase an annual subscription, or
purchase a short-term subscription to the complete website.

source: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb-edu


text:
The influence of direct mail marketing on buyer purchasing decisions: A qualitative analysis of perceptions by age group
With a continued suggestion of online replacing offline, this study has uncovered, through qualitative methods, a variety of benefits, perceptions and implications of direct mail on the overall intention to purchase. It identifies three key areas in which direct mail can impact the decision to purchase, as well as providing an analysis of the effect of age on the uncovered factors. It also provides insight in to the situations where it can be best applied. Finally, it draws a conclusion on the overall findings of this research, which support the continued use of direct mail as a future advertising method.


UK: Impacts of a Deposit Refund System for One-way Beverage Packaging on Local Authority Waste Services
A UK study designed to answer the question: 'What would be the impacts of the introduction of a deposit refund system for oneway beverage packaging on local authority waste services in England?' shows councils would benefit from the introduction of a deposit return scheme (DRS). It finds that, while it is true that some valuable materials may be removed from existing recycling services, far from leading to additional costs, a DRS would be likely to yield net savings, overall, once other factors such as the likely impact on residual waste arisings are taken into account. Overall, it is estimated UK councils would save around £35m per year. Similar savings could be expected from a NZ scheme if introduced.
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text:
From Ohio History Central
In November 1989, the Wexner Center for the Arts opened at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. The Wexner Center for the Arts is an art gallery, which emphasizes contemporary and performing art. The gallery was named in honor of Leslie Wexner, the head of the Limited Brands and a major financial donor to the Wexner Center.
Peter Eisenman was the architect who designed the Wexner Center for the Arts. The building, itself, is an art form. Towers symbolize the Armory, which used to occupy the site, while white metal girders represent the street layout of the OSU campus and the City of Columbus. Unfortunately, the building had some inherent flaws for its original purpose as an art gallery. Skylights allowed too much light into the building, potentially causing damage to artwork in the gallery. The building also contained a poor climate control system. As a result of these and other problems, the Wexner Center for the Arts underwent a major renovation and reopened its doors in 2005.


text: The price/earnings ratio is defined as the ratio of share price to earnings per share. A low PER suggests an attractive share price, whereas a high PER means the share is expensive. However, important fundamental reasons (e.g. low profits, bad management) may cause a low PER. The ratio is calculated according to the following formula: PER = share price / earnings per share.


text:
Nuclear Science and Engineering / Volume 146 / Number 3 / March 2004 / Pages 367-382
Technical Paper / _URL_.13182/NSE03-03
Methodologies to calculate adjoint-based first-order-linear perturbation theory sensitivity coefficients with multigroup Monte Carlo methods are developed, implemented, and tested in this paper. These techniques can quickly produce sensitivity coefficients for all nuclides and reaction types for each region of a system model. Monte Carlo techniques have been developed to calculate the neutron flux moments and/or angular fluxes necessary for the generation of the scattering terms of the sensitivity coefficients.
The Tools for Sensitivity and Uncertainty Analysis Methodology Implementation in three dimensions (TSUNAMI-3D) control module has been written for the Standardized Computer Analyses for Licensing Evaluation (SCALE) code system implementing this methodology. TSUNAMI-3D performs automated multigroup cross-section processing and then generates the forward and adjoint neutron fluxes with an enhanced version of the KENO V.a Monte Carlo code that implements the flux moment and angular flux calculational techniques. Sensitivity coefficients are generated with the newly developed Sensitivity Analysis Module for SCALE (SAMS). Results generated with TSUNAMI-3D compare favorably with results generated with direct perturbation techniques.


The Bromance of Carlos Chávez and Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland (back) and Carlos Chavez (front).
Aaron Copland and Carlos Chávez have an odd relationship, most notably in the similarities with their education and career paths. Robert L. Parker states in his article Copland and Chávez: Brothers-in-Arms, "there is no logical reason why their careers should have been so alike,"1 however alike they were and because of those similarities it seems they became each others best friend, at least in their respective music circles. After their initial meeting in the early 1930's, the two exchanged many letters as well as promoted each others works in their respective countries. It began with Copland through his ten concerts in the Copland-Sessions where Chávez' works were performed in New York, London, and Paris. Soon after, Chavez accepted a post in Mexico as music director of the Orquesta Sinfónica de México where he was then in the position to return the favor to Copland.
However, for the purposes of this class, the importance of this friendship is about more than their similarities in character, education, and career. In 1934, Chávez wrote the following to Copland,
We had this summer a lot of Honegger, Hindemith, etc. etc. stuff here, and let me tell you that there are simple unbearable for me, that are artificial, full of literature, bad literature, and worse possible taste, I cannot stand them any more, they should shut up for ever, so much the better…
I find this personal comment on European literature rather funny. So much of our conversations in class contribute the sense of "high class" music to European culture and styles. Yet, here Copland and Chávez are seeing it as bad, almost grotesque by Chávez' description. Chávez goes on to say the following:
… I got the Little Symphony [sic]; and let me tell you what I thought: well, here is the real thing, here is our music, my music, the music of our time, of my taste, of my culture, here it is as a simple and natural fact of my own self, as everything belonging to oneself is simple and natural.2
From this I was able to conclude on two things. One, that Coplands and Chávez' musical tastes derive from their sense of "American Music." (I am using this term to categorize both North and Central American Music) Although they live in two different countries, they both derive their music from folk traditions that are geographically very close to one-another. This likely contributed to their distaste in the aforementioned composers pieces.
Two, Chávez makes a very conniving argument on the authenticity of music. So much of our class is trying to define authentic music, understanding that we likely never can. However, when music is composed with respect to the origins of its inspiration, the music belongs to itself, simply and naturally. The physical, educational, or cultural background of the composer is less important when he or she is composing out of respect to their sources. If we can allow of that mindset, then the music begins to define itself, not the composer.
1 Robert L. Parker, Copland and Chávez: Brother-in-Arms (Illinois, University of Illinois Press, 1987), 433.
2 Howard Pollack, Aaron Copland: The Life and Works of an Uncommon Man (New York, Henry Holt and Company, 1999), 222.
 1. Parker, Robert L. "Copland and Chávez: Brothers-in-Arms." American Music 5, no. 4 (1987): 433-44. doi:10.2307/_PHONE_.
 2. Pollack, Howard. Aaron Copland : The Life and Work of an Uncommon Man. 1st ed. New York: Henry Holt, 1999.
 3. Schaal, Eric. Aaron Copland and Carlos Chávez.,. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, (Accessed November 06, 2017.)
El Salon Mexico: Copland's Correspondence with Carlos Chavez
copland and chavez
copland letter oct 15 1934
copland letter may 18 1937
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The number of grants offered through the Pet Care Trust (PCT) to classrooms around the nation has more than doubled since August 2011, says the organization's executive director, Steve King. The program is offered through Pets in the Classroom, PCT's education arm, which aims to foster healthy pet-child relationships in students in elementary and middle school. King credits the program's huge growth to a new partnership with Petco and Petsmart, which now advertise the program in their stores. "Our goal is to reach 1 million students in 30,000 classrooms," says King.
The program aims to allow students with no exposure to animals or nature in their home to make connections with the world of animals. According to PCT, caring for animals instills a sense of responsibility and respect for life, brings increased sensitivity, and fosters a sense that all living things need more than just food and water for survival. According to King, pets add to the curriculum as students learn about their background and natural habitat. Moreover, teachers have told King that pets loosen tension in the classroom and improve attendance rates and classroom discipline. In 2011, the program awarded more than 7,000 grants of up to $150 to eligible teachers for purchasing classroom pets.
As the program grows, King says the foundation will be building resources for teachers who would like lesson plans to incorporate their pets into their classrooms. To seek a grant through PCT, visit _URL_.


I Never Promised You A Rose Garden Literary Analysis
1352 Words 6 Pages
In American literature some authors use fiction and others use nonfiction to expand a student's reading. When using fiction, it is an imaginary event about imaginary people that writers will use to talk about something that is false. In opposition some writers will use nonfiction that is based on facts, real events that happened with real people. One such example of nonfiction is a biography. In the fictional novel of I Never Promised You A Rose Garden by Joanne Greenberg, a young girl named Deborah suffers from a mental illness. In her own world named Yr she is taunted by voices that isolate her from the outside worlds. She struggles everyday when thinking of a "normal" life again. Her dad really pushes for her to become normal, sometimes maybe even …show more content…
She is a sixteen year old girl who is admitted into a mental hospital by her parents by the advice of what her doctor told them to do. She was admitted after attempting suicide. In some incidents she will seep into her own world named Yr while in a conversation with others and laugh at inappropriate times. She also had her own language named Yri which she would randomly start to being into the real world when talking with others in the hospital. She started having these troubles after having a tumor removed; she felt pain when the doctors said it was normal and in reality her pain was not normal. She always thought that she would never get better until Dr. Fried had helped her out. "Esther felt she knew Deborah better than her husband did," this is the thoughts her mother had toward Deborah directly, because throughout the whole book she is the only one who truly knows what is best for her and can truly describe her (Greenberg 8). Deborah connects to the theme because when fear is involved, it usually means Deborah is the one fearing something. The reader can see indirectly that she is a smart girl because she can tell when others are lying to her (Greenberg
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Interview for Variables and Conditions
 "Variables and Conditions" interview with Melissa Lizmi
Michael Smith: This time we are talking with Melissa Lizmi about her CFUNITED-05
talk "Variables and Conditions". So why should a developer come to your session Melissa?
Melissa Lizmi: This session is ideal for those that are new to the CFML language or those that just
need a refresher.
We'll start by covering the simplest CF variables (page variables) and progress to the more complex
variable types such structures, arrays, and combination variables. Then we will discuss how you can
program your application to make decisions; otherwise know as conditional processing or "if/then"
statements. We'll also discuss a more efficient approach to lengthy if/then statements; the
CFSWITCH statement.
MS: So what exactly is a variable in ColdFusion?
ML: Variables in ColdFusion are much like variables in any other language, except that CF variables
are much easier to create and call.
But if you want to know what variables are in general terms. You can think of a variable as a box
that can hold a value. We give the box a name so we can easily retrieve the value. The value in
the box can remain constant or, as the name variable implies, it can change.
MS: So what kinds of things let you change a variable?
ML: Well, we can explicitly change the value of a variable with the command. Or we can use
variables to perform calculations, or values can change depending on which links our users click, or
what records are retrieved from our database. There are many ways variable values can be changed.
MS: Why would I need more complex variable types in my applications?
ML: When we find ourselves using a lot of variables in an application it is often extremely helpful
to "group" related variables together. (That's all complex variables really are, just a way to
"group" related variables.) Once we group variables, we can call and manipulate each group of
variables much greater ease than if we had created and named each variable independently.
MS: That makes sense - so what kinds of variable groups does Coldfusion have?
ML: Advanced variable types are lists, structures, arrays, combination variables (like an array of
structures), and COM (component object model) variables.
MS: I see you are also covering conditionals - what are they exactly?
ML: Conditional processing gives your program the ability to make decisions. Believe it or not,
with the help of some key commands, CFIF or CFSWITCH, your program can make decisions. We can use
the CFIF or CFSWITCH commands to code the possible conditions we might expect (like UserAge GTE 65),
then we can say (in code terms) if our condition evaluates true, we send the user to our retirement
page, or, if the condition evaluates false, we send the user to the employee page.
CF provides two main methods of implementing conditional processing.
 CFIF (CFIF/CFELSEIF/CFELSE) - basic if/elseif/else processing.
 CFSWITCH (CFSWITCH/CFCASE/CFDEFAULTCASE) - C-style switch or VB-style case commands.
MS: Sounds like a great session for beginners to CF. See you at CFUNITED!
© Copyright TeraTech Inc 2004. All rights Reserved.


William Kelly
American inventor
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William Kelly, (born Aug. 21, 1811, Pittsburgh, Pa., U.S.—died Feb. 11, 1888, Louisville, Ky.), American ironmaster who invented the pneumatic process of steelmaking, in which air is blown through molten pig iron to oxidize and remove unwanted impurities. Also patented by Sir Henry Bessemer of Great Britain, this process produced the first inexpensive steel, which became the major construction material in the burgeoning industrial age.
In the early 1840s, while on a buying trip for McShane & Kelly, a Pittsburgh dry-goods and shipping company in which he was a partner, Kelly became interested in the iron industry around Eddyville, Ky., and later persuaded his brother to join him in forming an ironworks. They bought an iron furnace and 14,000 acres of timberland and ore deposits; the Eddyville Iron Works prospered.
With the gradual depletion of the timberland and the dwindling of carbon-free iron deposits, Kelly began searching for a more efficient means of refining pig iron. Aware that air drafts cause molten iron to glow white hot, he became convinced that air blown through molten iron not only would remove the carbon but also would cause the temperature of the molten mass to rise, making further heating unnecessary.
In 1855 Bessemer obtained an English patent, and the following year several American patents, on the pneumatic process. When Kelly heard of Bessemer's patents, he filed a priority claim and in 1857 received a U.S. patent superseding Bessemer's patents.
Further innovations in steelmaking, notably by Robert Mushet of England and Goran Goransson of Sweden, made the pneumatic process practical. Before he went bankrupt during the panic of 1857, Kelly sold his patent to his father. In 1859 he renewed his experiments at the Cambria Iron Works, Johnstown, Pa., and by 1862 managed to find enough financial aid to enable him to build a steel plant in Wyandotte, Mich. Within two years he produced the first commercial steel using the Kelly process. In 1863 the Kelly Pneumatic Process Company was organized, and the following year a rival company using Bessemer's patents was organized in Troy, N.Y. Unable to achieve more than minimal success with their respective patents and processes, the two companies pooled their resources in 1866, and thereafter steel production expanded rapidly.
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Zoologger is our weekly column highlighting extraordinary animals – and occasionally other organisms – from around the world
For most of us, blurry vision is a bad thing, if only because it means we're going to have to spend a lot of money on a new pair of glasses. For one jumping spider, though, it's how it catches dinner.
Adanson's house jumper, as the name implies, is a jumping spider. It springs on unsuspecting prey insects from several centimetres away and swiftly dispatches them.
To pull off these leaps, it has to be an excellent judge of distance. And for that, paradoxically, it has part of its visual field permanently out of focus. It's the only animal known to judge distance in this way.
Stalk, jump and bite
The Adanson's house jumper is a cosmopolitan species – meaning it lives all over the place. It hunts during the day, pouncing on insects and other prey, although like many jumping spiders it may also take the occasional drink of nectar.
To cope with its agile lifestyle, it must have excellent eyesight. How it works is not obvious, though. Lab tests have shown that it has top-class colour vision, but that doesn't help it judge distance.
Other animals have all sorts of ways to work out how far away an object is, the most obvious being simply to have two eyes with overlapping fields of vision and compare what they see.
There are also ways to judge distance using just one eye. Chameleons do it by changing the focus of the eye's lens, bringing the object in and out of focus. Alternatively, some insects move their heads from side to side to see how the object appears to move relative to the background.
According to Mitsumasa Koyanagi of Osaka University in Japan and colleagues, though, the Adanson's house jumper does it in a way that has been predicted from theory but never seen in a real animal before.
I can see you…
The spider has two pairs of forward-facing eyes: the central principal eyes are flanked by anterior lateral eyes. If the latter pair are blinkered, the spider can still judge distance, so the principal eyes must be able to do it alone. The visual fields of these eyes don't overlap, though, and they can't adjust their focus, so they can't be using any of the known methods of judging distance.
Koyanagi found a clue in a 1981 study of a related jumping spider, which like the Adanson's house jumper has four layers of light-sensitive cells in its retinas. Bafflingly, the second-deepest layer is full of receptors sensitive to green light, but green light is always out of focus on that layer, so the image there must be mostly blurred.
The same is true of the Adanson's house jumper's principal eyes. That means the blurry image on the second layer contrasts with the sharply focused image on the layer below. As the spider closes in on its prey, the defocused image will get blurrier still, allowing the spider to gauge the distance.
Koyanagi confirmed that this is how the spiders work by testing them under pure green and pure red lights. Under red light, the total absence of green should trick the spiders' perception of its defocused images, making all objects seem closer than they are, so the spiders' jumps should fall short. That was exactly what happened.
None like me
No other known animal judges distance like this, but then, no other group of animals has this retinal structure. All jumping spiders do, though, and so Koyanagi says they may all share the rangefinding ability.
Humans do something similar when we look at photos in which the subject is sharply focused against a blurred background, but that only tells us that the subject and background are at different distances: it doesn't tell us how far we are from the subject. However, there are microscopes that determine depth this way, and engineers working on computer vision have long been interested in the idea.
The Adanson's house jumper, it seems, got there first.
Journal reference: Science, DOI: 10.1126/science._PHONE_
Read previous Zoologger columns: Gecko's amputated tail has life of its own, Unique life form is half plant, half animal, Transgender fish perform reverse sex flip, My brain's so big it spills into my legs, Dozy hamsters reverse the ageing process, To kill a mockingbird? No, parasitise it, Chill out with the world's coldest insect, 'Werewolf birds' hook up by the full moon, Cannibal shrimp shows its romantic side, The only cross-dressing bird of prey, The biggest spider web in the world, Slime killer hagfish feasts in rotten flesh, Female monkeys indulge in synchronised sex.
If you would like to reuse any content from New Scientist, either in print or online, please contact the syndication department first for permission. New Scientist does not own rights to photos, but there are a variety of licensing options available for use of articles and graphics we own the copyright to.
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Canada's new anti-spam law
This guest blog post is provided by the Office of Consumer Affairs, which promotes the interests and protection of Canadian consumers.
Canada's new anti-spam legislation will help to protect Canadians while ensuring that businesses can continue to compete in the global marketplace. It aims to increase consumer confidence in electronic commerce by protecting Canadian consumers and businesses from unwanted spam and related threats. Passed December 2010, this new law will enter into force following a Governor in Council order.
On July 9, 2011, regulations pursuant to Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation were pre-published in the Canada Gazette, Part I, for a 60-day consultation period. On June 30, 2011, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) called for comments on its proposed regulations under the Act.
Who needs to know about this law?
- Makes use of commercial electronic messages
- Is involved with the alteration of transmission data
- Produces or installs computer programs
What is covered under the law?
When the new law is in force, it will prohibit the:
- Sending of commercial electronic messages without the recipient's consent (permission), including messages to e-mail addresses and social networking accounts, and text messages sent to a cell phone
- Alteration of transmission data in an electronic message which results in the message being delivered to a different destination without express consent
- Installation of computer programs without the express consent of the owner of the computer system or its agent, such as an authorized employee
- Use of false or misleading representations online in the promotion of products or services
- Collection of personal information through accessing a computer system in violation of federal law (e.g. the Criminal Code of Canada)
- Collection of electronic addresses by the use of computer programs or the use of such addresses, without permission (address harvesting)
What does it mean for you?
Businesses and organizations need to get ready for the new law. Visit _URL_ to find out how to comment on the draft regulations and learn more about Canada's new anti-spam law.


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We recently received the following question about the moon:
…would we miss the moon if it did not exist? I'm not asking what crazy improbable situation would be needed to remove the moon, just what the observable differences upon the Earth would be if there was no moon? Obviously there would be tidal differences, but would we have any other major effects I'm not aware of?
Thanks for the question Matt, This was a fun topic to research.
There are more ramifications from a missing moon than you might realize.
Of course you're correct that there would be tidal differences but the details may surprise you.
Fist of all, the tides wouldn't disappear. Everyone usually associates the moon with the tides but the sun contributes as well. These sun-only tides would be smaller of course; in fact they'd be about one third as high as they are today. They would also be very simplified as well, consisting of just a high tide and a low tide with no variation. This is because neap tides and spring tides would disappear since there would no longer be any moon to add to or subtract from the sun's tidal influences.
Since Matt wanted to know the observable differences if the moon disappeared, I am creating an Observable Difference Factor scale from 0 – 10.
10–is easily observable by anyone not in a vegetative state.
1–is noticeable only by very alert scientists.
0–is not noticeable at all even by a post-singularity super-intelligent AI.
I give the tides an Observable Difference Factor of 9.
If you live or work near the coast and have a fully functional parietal lobe you will notice that the tides have changed.
Did you know that a day on earth billions of years ago was only 6 hours long? Talk about days flying by.
Geologists know this by counting the growth rings in 400-million-year-old coral fossils and 3-billion-year-old stromatolites. Our days have been steadily lengthening because of a fascinating phenomenon call tidal breaking. The huge high-tide bulge of water closest to the moon is never right under the moon because the earth's spin is moving it away. Gravity pulls the moon towards the bulge which speeds the moon up forcing it into a higher orbit. The bulge is also attracted to the moon so it tries to move toward it which is in a direction opposite to earth's rotation. This increased friction slows the earth down. A more technical way to look at it is conservation of angular momentum. The total angular momentum of the earth/moon system must remain the same. The moon gains angular momentum as it moves away; therefore the earth must lose it to maintain this zero-sum game.
The bottom line then is that if the moon disappeared, the lengthening of our days would greatly slow down. It would still occur though due to tidal breaking caused by the sun.
I give this an Observable Difference Factor of 1.5
Scientists would notice this easily but some regular people would also notice that leap seconds stopped occurring every two years or so.
Picture the two dimensional path the earth takes around the sun. Now picture the axis upon which the earth spins. There is not a 90 degree angle between these lines. If that was the case, the earth would be a seasonless world. It is because the earth is tilted 23 1/2 degrees away from 90 degrees that I have to endure this bitterly cold winter for many months before spring-summer-fall arrives to reset my sanity back to baseline.
We take this angle for granted don't we? It's easy to think that this angle is fixed at the birth of the solar system and stays that way. It turns out though that our moon is a great axis of rotation stabilizer. Without it, the earth's axis could potentially swing from 5 degrees to 40 degrees based on the various gravitational interactions with the other planets. Imagine what this would do to our weather and evolution. For those of you more into short-term thinking, you wouldn't have to hold on to anything were this to happen. This wobble could take thousands or hundreds of thousands of years to occur.
I give this an Observable Difference Factor of 1
Only scientists (and cloaked alien satellites) would notice this
The only other significant effect I could find has to do with the altitude of the water in our oceans. Apparently, without the moons gravity, the water in our oceans would migrate a certain extent from the equator to the polar regions. It was unclear from my research how dramatic this effect would be.
I give this an Observable Difference Factor of somewhere between 5 and 9
This discussion seems to beg the question of what would the earth be like today if it never formed the moon in the first place after that Mars-sized object slammed into the early earth (imagine seeing that coming?).
I won't go into detail but I'd like to briefly address the likely result.
An Earth day now would only be 8 hours long due to the isolated effects of sun-earth tidal breaking.
A faster spinning earth would likely have horrific winds. Daily winds could reach 100 mph and hurricane winds would be quite nasty.
Evolution would be greatly impacted but it still would have occurred I believe. Life seems so tenacious and seems to have started as soon as it was possible but humans certainly wouldn't be here if the moon never was. It seems likely that at the very least evolution would have been delayed or slowed greatly. With no moon there would be no mountainous tides early in earth history to scour the land every few hours and bring back to the primordial soup the critical chemical ingredients of life.
As I sit here contemplating these changes I am also grateful for some moon-based words that I would miss if they disappeared with the moon like lunatic and mooning.


text: The Banded Stilt is a plump-bodied wader, with long orange or pink legs. Adult males and females are similar. The head and body is white with a broad chestnut band across the breast, extending down to the belly. This band fades or even disappears when the birds are not breeding. The wings are black with a conspicuous white trailing edge in flight. The eyes are brown and the black bill slender and straight. Immature stilts do not have black or chestnut on the underparts, the wings are brown and the legs are dull pink. Banded Stilts commonly gather in small parties or large flocks.This species may also be called the Bishop or Rottnest Stilt.


Google Analytics Tracking for Adobe Flash
The Google Analytics Tracking for Adobe Flash component makes it easy for you to implement Google Analytics in your Flash-driven content. This component, developed by Adobe Systems, Inc., contains all of the functionality of the Google Analytics Javascript code. The Flash Tracking component is a compiled tracking object native to ActionScript 3, making Analytics implementation intuitive in Flash, and Flex development environments.
Why Use Flash Tracking?
Without the Google Analytics Tracking for Adobe Flash component, tracking Adobe Flash content with Google Analytics involves a number of technical hurdles. First, you must develop a custom interface to ga.js so that your Flash application can execute the appropriate Analytics method, such as trackPageview() or trackEvent(). In addition, you must also anticipate whether your Flash content will have access to the browser Document Object Model (DOM), since tracking fails for those objects where access to the DOM is denied (typically when your content resides on 3rd party sites). This involves understanding how to use the ExternalInterface call in ActionScript 3 to access the browser DOM and to degrade when access is denied.
The Google Analytics for Adobe Flash component simplifies tracking your Flash content and handles DOM access gracefully. It is useful for a number of common tracking purposes in Flash, such as: :
 - an embedded Flash widget on an HTML page
 - a standalone Flex application or Flash-only site hosted on an HTML page
 - a distributed Flex/Flash game or program where the developer has no control over where the widget will be placed
Keep in mind that tracking applications in Flash has some structural variations from tracking website pages. Familiarity with Analytics Tracking is essential to understanding how this plug-in works. You can also view the Design Documentation for this project for detailed information on how the Analytics Tracking model has been ported over for this component.
Supported Development Environments
You can develop Analytics Tracking for Flash in either Adobe Flash or Adobe Flex environments. Each environment requires a different component, which you can download from These components are based on ActionScript 3 and can be set up in one of two ways for each environment:
In Adobe Flash
 - Add and configure a simple component in the component inspector and drag it to the stage.
 - Import the Flash Tracking libraries directly into your library and start coding.
In Adobe Flex
 - Include an MXML component that you configure from am MXML file.
 - Import the Flash Tracking libraries into your script tags/AS3 files.
How Does the Component Work?
In order to use the Flash tracking component in your environment, you either use the visual tools inside Flash, or you set up the tracking object directly in your code. Regardless of whether you are setting up the component visually or via code, you provide the following elements:
 - the web property ID—This is also known as the UA number of your tracking code and looks like UA-xxxxx-yy, where the x's and y's are replaced with the numbers that correspond to your account and view (profile) information for the object you are tracking. See Web Property for more information.
 - the tracking mode—Choose either bridge mode or AS3 mode. This mode determines how your tracking communicates with the Analytics servers and is described in detail below.
 - the debugging mode—No matter which environment or tracking mode you use, you can turn debugging on to validate and test your tracking.
Tracking Modes
Depending upon on how you distribute your Flash content, the Analytics for Flash component communicates to the Analytics servers either by bridging the communication between the Flash content on an existing Analytics tracking installation, or by communicating directly to the Analytics servers. These two modes are called bridge mode and AS3 mode, respectively. Both modes use the same Analytics tracking functionality, and it's easy to switch your Flash application from one mode to the other. In addition to choosing a communication mode for Analytics tracking, you can also use a debug mode to troubleshoot or validate your tracking.
In either mode, allowscriptaccess must equal always in order for campaign tracking to work. This parameter turns on read access to the page's URL and referrer information required by the Flash tracking code. Without allowscriptaccess, the Analytics tracking code degrades gracefully. It still provides most user activity data, but will not confirm to the Google Analytics campaign attribution model.
Bridge Mode
Use this mode if you control both the HTML page and the Flash content. This mode is best if you have already implemented Google Analytics (ga.js) tracking on your website and you want to add tracking to embedded Flash content. The bridge mode simplifies Flash-to-JavaScript communication by providing a unified ActionScript 3 interface to the ga.js code. It provides the connection from the ActionScript 3 calls to the Analytics JavaScript in order to make the tracking work.
The connection to the Google Analytics Tracking Code can be configured through the web property ID parameter in one of two ways:
 - Most common method. The Google Analytics Tracking Code object already exists on your page with its own name, such as pageTracker. In this case, you provide the full DOM reference to the tracking object. For example, if your object is called pageTracker, you would reference that object in your code as window.pageTracker. For example, the following code snippet illustrates how this would be configured using the Adobe Flex environment with ActionScript 3:
 tracker = new GATracker( this, "window.pageTracker", "Bridge", false );
 - Alternate method. If you have not created a page tracking object on your page, you can simply pass in your web property ID, and a JavaScript tracking code object will be created for you. With this method, reference to the base ga.js javascript source file is still required on your HTML page. The following code snippet illustrates how this would be configured using the Adobe Flex environment with ActionScript 3:
 tracker = new GATracker( this, "UA-12345-22", "Bridge", false );
In order for bridge mode to function correctly, ExternalInterface.available must be set to true in your ActionScript 3 code. This also means that allowScriptAccess should be set to always in the HTML page that embeds the Flash content. The following example illustrates HTML code configured for bridge mode:
 id="flex_component" width="800" height="600"


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Kähler geometry of the universal Teichmüller space and coadjoint orbits of the Virasoro group
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The Kähler geometry of the universal Teichmüller space and related infinite-dimensional Kähler manifolds is studied. The universal Teichmüller space T may be realized as an open subset in the complex Banach space of holomorphic quadratic differentials in the unit disc. The classical Teichmüller spaces T(G), where G is a Fuchsian group, are contained in T as complex Kähler submanifolds. The homogeneous spaces Diff+(S 1)/Möb(S 1) and Diff+(S 1)/S 1 of the diffeomorphism group Diff+(S 1) of the unit circle are closely related to T. They are Kähler Frechet manifolds that can be realized as coadjoint orbits of the Virasoro group (and exhaust all coadjoint orbits of this group that have the Kähler structure).
KeywordsSTEKLOV Institute Symplectic Form Fuchsian Group Coadjoint Orbit Beltrami Equation
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
- 1.L. V. Ahlfors, Lectures on Quasiconformal Mappings (Van Nostrand, Princeton, 1966; Mir, Moscow, 1969).Google Scholar
- 2.R. Bowen, "Hausdorff Dimension of Quasicircles," Publ. Math., Inst. Hautes Étud. Sci. 50, 259–273 (1979).Google Scholar
- 6.A. A. Kirillov, "Infinite Dimensional Lie Groups: Their Orbits, Invariants and Representations. The Geometry of Moments," in Twistor Geometry and Nonlinear Systems, Primorsko (Bulg.), 1980 (Springer, Berlin, 1982), Lect. Notes Math. 970, pp. 101–123.Google Scholar
- 10.S. Nag, The Complex Analytic Theory of Teichmüller Spaces (J. Wiley and Sons, New York, 1988).Google Scholar
- 15.A. Pressley and G. Segal, Loop Groups (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1986; Mir, Moscow, 1990).Google Scholar
- 17.A. G. Sergeev, Kähler Geometry of Loop Spaces (Moscow Cent. Cont. Math. Educ., Moscow, 2001) [in Russian].Google Scholar


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Felfe, Christina. (2006) Objective Trends and Perceptions of Health Status in Germany. ENEPRI Research Reports No. 21, 22 August 2006. UNSPECIFIED.
This paper identifies previous trends and future prospects surrounding the health status of the population and the utilisation of health care services, based on data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (_PHONE_). Health status and the demand for health care services is examined in conjunction with the following variables: health satisfaction; the degree to which health status hinders the fulfilment of daily life activities; disability and chronic illnesses; and the probability, frequency and duration of hospital stays. The first part of the paper describes the main trends associated with these indicators. Then a further analysis is undertaken with regard to the determinants of health status. For this latter purpose, a sample of about 21,000 persons (aged 16 and older) has been used. The determinants are assessed against two measures of health status: a subjective measure, which is self-reported satisfaction with health, and an objective measure, which is the degree of being hindered by health in daily life activities. An interesting question explored alongside the findings is whether health care expenditures have increased because the overall health of the population has worsened or because expectations have risen.
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Masterpieces from the Philadelphia Museum of Art: Impressionism and Modern Art
Chess was a lifelong passion for Marcel Duchamp, who once stated, "I have come to the personal conclusion that while all artists are not chess players, all chess players are artists."1 A competitive, award-winning player, Duchamp incorporated the game into his art throughout his career--literally, as in this early painting of his brothers, Jacques Villon and Raymond Duchamp-Villon, and in increasingly complex ways later on. This piece shows the artist's interest in Cubism, specifically what he called his "demultiplication" technique. Each head is made up of many overlapping successive planes, with chess pieces floating in the indefinite spaces that surround them. Portrait of Chess Players is rendered in a limited palette of earth tones, which Duchamp claims to have achieved through painting by gaslight. The artist made six preparatory drawings and an oil sketch for the composition that reflect his increasing interest in capturing the mental activity of chess rather than in creating recognizable portraits. This emphasis on the mental over the retinal reflects a tendency that grew stronger throughout Duchamp's remarkable career. Emily Hage, from Masterpieces from the Philadelphia Museum of Art: Impressionism and Modern Art (2007), p. 158.
1) Quoted in Andy Soltis, "Duchamp and the Art of Chess' Appeal," n.d., unidentified newspaper clipping, object file, Department of Modern and Contemporary Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art.


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August 13, 2018
The Honorable Steven Mnuchin
Secretary of the Treasury
U.S. Department of the Treasury
1500 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20220
Dear Secretary Mnuchin:
The American Historical Association vigorously endorses suggestions from our members and others that Harriet Tubman be featured on the $20 Federal Reserve Note. We are aware that such a major change in the currency is not to be taken lightly. As the primary organization representing historians in the United States, and the largest professional organization of historians in the world, we take history itself seriously -- especially the deep influence of everyday portrayals of the nation's past. Tubman's heroic efforts on behalf of enslaved people seeking freedom, and on behalf of the nation's military forces during the Civil War make her an appropriate symbol of freedom and the courageous patriotism required to end a system that former President George W. Bush has referred to as "America's original sin."
Money uniquely occupies national attention, passing from hand to hand, day to day. It symbolizes civic unity, the fellowship of all who participate in our economy and our communities. Half of the people who participate in these transactions are women. As we approach the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment historians are reminded that like women's suffrage in 1920, the inclusion of women in the pantheon of patriotic Americans honored on our currency is long overdue.
The AHA recognizes the complexity of issues relating to currency, including the priority given to security issues. As historians we understand the complexities of historical interpretation when assessing the contributions of specific individuals, along with the inevitable political implications of highly visible changes to elements of civic culture. But we also recognize the imperative of change and its relationship to continuity. The commitment to freedom articulated in our founding documents remains central to American culture and institutions. Harriet Tubman's life and work symbolizes the sacrifices that she and thousands of other Americans have made on behalf of those ideas and the values embodied in them.


I've done a little looking around and haven't found a definitive answer to this question. When we talk about sleep and our bedding, we're usually referring to the comfort/ergonomic level of the bedding, but that is not my concern at the moment.
How often should a person wash their bedding? (i.e. sheets, pillow cases, etc.)
The reason I ask this, is through the transition to primal living there is a fairly large emphasis on allowing bacteria back into your life to help strengthen your immune system among other benefits.
Modern thinking says wash bedding once a week to keep the nasty germs and body waste in check. If you do some searching you may find statistics about mattresses doubling in weight from bacteria and body waste accumulation.
Any research/ideas about this, or am I way in left field with my thoughts?


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Clinical Characteristics of Noncritical Patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): Lessons from Bangladesh
Keywords:COVID-19, clinical characteristics, pandemic, Bangladesh, South Asia
The scientific literatures on clinical manifestations of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients from South Asian countries including Bangladesh are limited. Documentation of clinical spectrum from various geographic locations is vital for future scientific studies and clinical management. This study is aimed to report the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of noncritical patients with COVID-19 in Bangladesh. We conducted a cross-sectional study at three dedicated COVID-19 hospitals of Bangladesh. The severity of the COVID-19 cases was assessed based on the WHO interim guidance. Data were collected only from non-critical COVID-19 patients as critical patients required immediate management. A total of 103 real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) confirmed noncritical COVID- 19 patients were included. Most of the patients (71.8%) were male. Mild, moderate and severe illness were assessed in 74.76%, 9.71% and 15.53% of patients respectively. Nearly 52.4% patients had a co-morbidity, with hypertension being the most common (34%), followed by diabetes mellitus (21.4%) and ischemic heart disease (9.7%). Fever (78.6%), weakness (68%) and cough (44.7%) were the most common clinical manifestations. Other common symptoms included loss of appetite (37.9%), difficulty in breathing (37.9%), loss of taste or smell (35.0%), headache (32%) and body ache (32%). The median time from onset of the first symptom to attending hospitals was 7 days (interquartile range: 4 - 10). This study will help both the clinicians and epidemiologists to understand the magnitude and clinical spectrum of COVID-19 patients in South Asian perspective including Bangladesh.
Bangladesh J Microbiol, Volume 37 Number 2 December 2020, pp 42-46


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A 'bailment' is a non-ownership transfer of possession. Under English Common Law, the right to possess a thing is separate and distinct from owning the thing. In some jurisdictions, an owner of an object can steal his own property, a curious result of the distinction. In context, an owner who lends someone else an article, then secretly takes it back, can be stealing.
When a bailment is created, the article is said to have been 'bailed'. One who delivers the article is the bailor. One who receives a 'bailed' article is the bailee.
Definition from Nolo's Plain-English Law Dictionary
A legal relationship in which one party (bailor) leaves personal property in the possession, and under the temporary control, of another (bailee). Common examples include leaving a car in a parking garage, lodging a pet at a kennel, or storing household goods in a storage center. While most bailments are considered "bailments for hire" (in which the bailee is paid), there is also "constructive bailment" when the circumstances create an obligation upon the bailee to protect the goods, and "gratuitous bailment" in which there is no payment, but the bailee is still responsible, such as when a finder of a lost diamond ring places it with a custodian pending finding the owner.
Definition provided by Nolo's Plain-English Law Dictionary.
August 19, 2010, 5:11 pm


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Older age, male gender, and increasing comorbidities increase the risk for death among patients with cancer who contract COVID-19, according to a study of a large nationally representative cohort of patients with both diseases.
Using the National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C) database, investigators identified 398,579 adult patients with cancer in the United States, including 63,413 (15.9%) patients who tested positive for COVID-19. A total of 38,614 COVID-19-positive cases with cancer met criteria for study inclusion. The most common cancers represented in this cohort were skin (14.9%), breast (14.2%), prostate (12.3%), hematologic (12.3%), and gastrointestinal cancers (8.8%). Multisite tumors were present in 10.9%.
"Using N3C, we assembled the largest nationally representative cohort of patients with cancer and COVID-19 to date," Noha Sharafeldin, MD, PhD, MSc, of The University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, and colleagues wrote in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. "We identified demographic and clinical factors associated with increased all-cause mortality in patients with cancer."
Study results showed that COVID-19 positivity was significantly associated with a 1.2-fold increased risk for all-cause mortality, according to the investigators. Among the patients with COVID-19, those aged 65 years or older had a significant 2.0-fold increased risk for death compared with patients aged 18-29 years in adjusted analyses. Women had a significant 10% decreased risk for death compared with men. Results showed that the risk for death increased with Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI). Compared with a CCI of 0, a CCI of 2, 3, or 4 or more significantly increased the risk for death by 1.3-, 1.6, and 2.0-fold, respectively.
The study also revealed geographical differences in death risk among patients with COVID-19. Compared with patients in the Northeast, those in the South and West had a significant 1.3- and 1.7-fold increased risk for death, respectively.
Patients with hematologic malignancies and multitumor sites and those who received recent cytotoxic therapy also had significantly increased risks for death.
"Consistent with previous literature, older age, male gender, and increasing comorbidities were associated with higher mortality in patients with cancer and COVID-19," Dr Sharafeldin's team concluded. "The N3C data set also confirmed that patients with cancer and COVID-19 who received recent immunotherapies or targeted therapies were not at higher risk for overall mortality."
The N3C is a centralized data resource representing the largest multicenter cohort of COVID-19 cases and controls nationwide, the investigators noted.
Sharafeldin N, Bates B, Song Q, et al. Outcomes of COVID-19 in patients with cancer: Report from the National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C). J Clin Oncol. 2021;39:2232-2246. doi:10.1200/JCO.21.01074
This article originally appeared on Renal and Urology News


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Colombian Mushrooms is a beautifully illustrated, bi-lingual Spanish/English children's book that uses Gunter Pauli's ZERI* Education model to teach children science. The book includes a teachers and parents guide and hands on activities that help children apply what they have learned.
Gunter Pauli's ZERI* Education model proposes that children, adolescents and young adults learn science in a way that gives them a more profound academic understanding at the same time that it helps develop their emotional intelligence, eco-literacy, and artistic/creative capacities.
If children are to learn how to think, design, create, and dream in systems, then they must be exposed to systems thinking at an early age. Critical concepts become part of the child's long-term memory and the student gains an intuitive grasp of the big picture. Then the learning of the specific tools, concepts, and principles involved become far more appealing. When students start with a story that integrates ethics, economics, biology, and mathematics, they will be drawn to studying those disciplines later on.
Pauli's work in sustainable manufacturing and agricultural became the catalyst for a major educational reform in Colombia. The strife and violence that exists in this country spawned an urgent desire on the part of college students to rebuild their society. The professors and engineering students at University EAFIT in Medellin, Colombia, eagerly embraced an integrated educational approach, including a compulsory course in biology for engineering majors. As the concept spread to other universities, the need to mold the earlier educational tracks in this new direction became apparent; first in a High School in Manizales where ZERI's coffee and bamboo projects have taken off, and then in elementary schools which asked for a version of this program adapted to their level, comparable to the Garden School projects of the Center for Ecoliteracy.


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A mighty bow, made of black yew-wood, that was carried by the most famous archer in Tolkien's tales, Beleg Strongbow of Doriath (in fact his surname, 'Strongbow', is a reference to Belthronding). With it, he long defended the borders of King Thingol, and when he left Doriath in search of his friend Túrin, he took his famous bow with him. Beleg found Túrin dwelling in the halls of Mîm in Amon Rûdh, and together they founded the kingdom of Dor-Cúarthol - the Land of Bow and Helm - with the 'Bow' of that name being Belthronding.
Dor-Cúarthol was a short-lived realm: its leaders were betrayed to the Orcs, and Beleg was left for dead while Túrin was taken captive. Recovering, Beleg set out into the north to rescue his friend. He succeeded, but in a tragic turn of fate Túrin mistook him for a foe, and slew him. Overcome with grief, Túrin dug a grave for Beleg's body, and he buried Belthronding the famous bow beside its late master.


Friday, September 21, 2012
UV Exposure Meter in a Wiper Blade. Not a Great Idea
A few years ago, the replacement wiper blades that I bought for a car had a feature that I had never seen before: small UV-sensitive pieces that were suppose to change color to indicate that the wiper blades needed to be replaced. They didn't work very well as the blades needed replacing long before the color change occurred, but I kept the blades around (outside) to see what would happen. The dot that was originally black [1] has in the course of a few weeks become yellow [2].
Making an appropriate UV-sensitive indicator would be extremely challenging. The amount 0f UV light that the wiper blades receive is all over the map - literally. It is well known and documented that UV exposure varies with latitude, but also with longitude. For instance, Georgia and Arizona share many of the same degrees of latitude, but the weather in Georgia is much cloudier and rainier than in Arizona. Other factors that influence UV exposure would be how long the car was parked inside or outside during the day and the direction the car faced when parked outdoors.
Parking the car in the shade of say a tree for example, is not as effective at reducing UV exposure as you might think. Rayleigh scattering intensity goes with the inverse 4th power of the wavelength, so UV light is the most highly scattered light from the sun. If the wiper blades can see blue sky at all, they are getting some UV exposure.
But all these factors could be swept aside and ignored if you make the assumption that UV exposure leads to degradation of the rubber and that the degradation of the rubber is the reason that wiper blades need to be replaced.
That unfortunately is false. Wiper blades are made with 2 well-defined 90 angles. I learned from past clients that this sharp angle is essential for wiper performance, but friction and erosion from dirt lead to this angle becoming rounded off over time. This is why wipers need to be replaced. This means that you cannot correlate UV exposure to wiper wear. As an extreme example consider a very rainy climate where the amount of UV exposure will be lower, but the demand and wear on the wiper blades will be very high.
[1] It could also have been clear too and just looked black because of the black background.
[2] I will have the lab here look into the chemistry of this color change and post what I find. My initial guess: it was a polyacetylene or polydiacetylene polymerization. As the polymerization proceeds, the conjugated backbone develops which then absorbs UV light. The color would first be blue but that wouldn't be visible on the black background....
Bend said...
Why would someone need a spot on the blade to tell you that it needs replacing? When it stops working, shouldn't that be the first clue?
John said...
Personally, I thought that they would have changed in 6 months or so - in order to try and get you to replace the blades prematurely. (All in interest of protecting the consumer, of course!)
wheel alignment said...
Replacing and even upgrading wiper blades takes minutes and can provide improved visibility even in the worst of weather conditions. This is a task best performed on a balmy day with a cold drink in wait, instead of during a freezing rainstorm at the superhypermart parking lot.
Ricardo Spencer said...
Interesting post, I am going to spend more time learning about this subject. ok
Wiper Blade Replacement


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Test the Rs232 Communication and SunEzy Communication Protocol
After some time of searching on the internet for wisdom how to pull data from the SunEzy 2800, I came across this Python module: _URL_ It describes the communication protocol in detail. Looking into the Python sources, one can immediately see that this is professionally written software. For me as a Python beginner it was clear I would use this module, study it and hopefully learn a lot from it. But first I have to verify that the communication protocol works with my Sunezy 2800.
As I had to wait for Raspberry Pi to arrive, I first connected the SunEzy to my PC using a USB-RS232 cable and verified that the Sunezy Control Software worked. It took some time though, this piece of software is thought to connect to and manage multiple inverters.
The first test without this software was to query the serial number from the Sunezy inverter. Sounds simple. Send some bytes to the inverter, and read some bytes back – for this purpose there are terminal programs available, like TeraTerm. This sequence – expressed as hexadecimal numbers is to be sent to the inverter:
aa aa 01 00 00 00 00 04 00 01 59
Unfortunately, when I open a terminal in TeraTerm, I can send only characters that are available on the keyboard. But already the first character to send is hexadecimal 'aa' (representation of the ASCII character number 170, or binary _PHONE_). The normal Alphabet is represented by ASCII codes between 32 and 127. Some language specific characters can be represented by values between 128 and 255, but not all values can be generated easily with the keyboard. Worse, values below 32 are control characters, for example LF (line feed, ASCII code 10) or CR (carriage return, ASCII code 13).
The solution to this is: use a Hex Editor like Pspad, save the hex string to a to a file, start TeraTerm, and send data from this file.
Playing with this method wasn't satisfying because I had to connect the inverter with my PC with a 3m cable in that very small boxroom where the heating is.
Below is a code snippet that demonstrates the serial connection to a CMS / Sunezy inverter. It does the following:
- the serial port is opened. We use a normal 9600 Bd, 8N1 connection type.
- A reset is sent and then the serial number is queried. The programming approach is like a C programmer coming to learn Python (like myself) would do it.
- A reset is sent and then the serial number is queried. The programming is more "pythonic".
#!/usr/bin/env python import serial import time _TAG_ Seriellen Port port = serial.Serial('/dev/ttyAMA0',9600, timeout=0.2) # timeout? if not port.isOpen(): print "cannot connect to Sunezy." sys.exit(1) print "Port opened." """ THIS IS THE BEGINNERS WAY OF SENDING A STRING OF ASCII CODES TO THE DEVICE AND RECEIVING THE SERIAL NUMBER AS A HUMAN READABLE STRING. """ _TAG_ ''' | sync | src | dst | cmd | len | payload | checksum | | 2B | 2B | 2B | 2B | 1B | len B | 2B | aaaa 0100 0000 0004 00 0159 ''' SYNC = chr(0xaa) + chr(0xaa) SRC = chr(0x01) + chr(0x00) DST = chr(0x00) + chr(0x0) cmd = chr(0x00) + chr(0x04) leng = chr(0x00) chksum = chr(0x01) + chr(0x59) send = SYNC + SRC + DST + cmd + leng + chksum print "Reset - % i Bytes written." % port.write(send) time.sleep(0.2) _TAG_ serial number """ 2B 2B 2B 2B 1B len B 2B aaaa 0100 0000 0000 00 0155 """ cmd = chr(0x00) + chr(0x00) leng = chr(0x00) chksum = chr(0x01) + chr(0x55) send = SYNC + SRC + DST + cmd + leng + chksum print "Query - %i Bytes written." % port.write(send) time.sleep(.2) raw_line ="" if port.inWaiting() > 0: raw_line = port.read(port.inWaiting()) if len(raw_line) > 10: sn = raw_line[9:-2] print "Serial Number: %s" % sn else: print len(raw_line) ''' PYTHON PROVIDES SOME POWERFUL METHODS TO SIMPLIFY THE STRING OPERATIONS WITH ASCII CODES ''' import struct SYNC = 0xaaaa SRC = 0x0100 DST = 0x0000 CMD_RST = 0x0004 _TAG_ CMD_DSC = 0x0000 _TAG_ - query serial number data = struct.pack('!HHHHB', SYNC, SRC, DST, CMD_RST, 0x00) checksum = struct.pack('!H', sum(map(ord, data))) # sum over the entire data string without the checksum itself data = data + checksum if port.write(data) is len(data): print"--> ", data.encode('hex_codec') data = struct.pack('!HHHHB', SYNC, SRC, DST, CMD_DSC, 0x00) checksum = struct.pack('!H', sum(map(ord, data))) data = data + checksum if port.write(data) is len(data): print"--> ", data.encode('hex_codec') time.sleep(.2) in_data ="" if port.inWaiting() > 0: in_data = port.read(port.inWaiting()) print "<-- ", in_data.encode('hex_codec') if len(in_data) > 10: sn = in_data[9:-2] print "Serial Number: %s" % sn else: print "Bytes received: %i" % len(in_data) port.close()


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Shots - Health Blog
Tue September 4, 2012
Zanzibar Shows Cholera Vaccine Can Protect Even The Unvaccinated
Originally published on Wed September 5, 2012 2:09 pm
Cholera vaccine gives indirect protection to unvaccinated people in communities where a substantial fraction of the population gets the vaccine, a study in Africa shows.
The effect is called "herd immunity." It works because there are fewer bacteria circulating in communities where vaccination levels are relatively high.
The result comes from Zanzibar, an island state of Tanzania, where half the people in six rural and urban areas received two doses of oral cholera vaccine. For those who got it, the vaccine was 79 percent protective against the disease. But their neighbors who didn't get vaccinated had almost as much protection.
"This finding is good news for policymakers who have to deal with cholera in settings where...safe water supply and adequate sanitation cannot be established in a reasonable time frame," the study authors write in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.
They say that the direct and indirect effects of cholera vaccination could eventually eliminate the disease in communities with regular vaccination programs. This is in line with a 2007 prediction by statisticians, but it now has the authority of real-world results.
The results give a boost to those who support much wider use of cholera vaccine in places like Haiti where cholera is endemic, meaning that periodic outbreaks can be expected.
Because the vaccine confers herd immunity as well as direct protection, the findings suggest that all 9.5 million Haitians would not need to be vaccinated in order to achieve a big reduction in cholera caseloads.
"Far from an absolute need for complete coverage," the authors of the Zanzibar study say, "reasonable coverage might well be sufficient to interrupt the transmission of cholera."
They add that is is "becoming increasingly unconscionable" not to include oral cholera vaccine in the public health response to the disease.
Last month the World Health Organization said it will build a global stockpile of cholera vaccine to help blunt outbreaks, with a longer-term goal of universal vaccination in endemic areas as manufacturers ramp up production.
The WHO decision was influenced by a pilot project in Haiti this past spring that showed it was possible to achieve more than 90 percent vaccination rates in two target populations, one rural and one in a Port-au-Prince slum.


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International Journal of Computer Applications
Image analysis is an interesting research area in both graphics and in computer architecture. In this paper, the authors have done detailed analysis on image for designing an efficient way of storing and comparing images within a device. Especially, when the device is an embedded system it needs much care in processing information stored in that device. The important factors that must be considered for any given application include performance, reliability and cost. Any computer that handles large amount of graphical information, involving pictorial images and animation, must have good real time performance.


Clothing & Fashion
A Beginners Guide To
What Entails Non-profit Accounting Services.
Usually the businesses take the initiative in being in business so that they can acquire the profit. It is not usually all organizations that engage in economic activities are after profit, others like non profitable organizations get to provide services to general public. Such organizations are like the charitable institutions, educational institutions and also the religious organizations. Most of the times the non-profitable institutions are set for the welfare of the society including culture and art. For the organization to operate they raise funds from their members and also from the public for them to achieve their objectives. It is through the donations and the help of other people that the non-profitable organizations become successful.
For the records to be well kept in any given institution it has to have an accountant. Proper records of the incomes, assets, expenses and liabilities need to be kept for the non-profitable organization. Records need to be kept because they will be accountable to the contributors. The organization will therefore need to have an accountant that will help them to keep much of the records.
The accountants will be helpful in preparing the financial statements annually and that will be according to the accounting principles. The financial statement will get to consist of the balance sheet, income, payments as well as the expenditure. For the funds of the organizations to be well kept, there is need to consider various factors whenever you want an accountant for your non profitable organization. Before you choose an accountant for the organization, there is need to ensure that he or she has undergone all the needed formalities to be an accountant. These days people might fake their professions as well as their certificates hence the need to be thorough before choosing one.
The other essential thing to consider is the experience of the accountant. It is vital to consider transparency and accountability before choosing the accountant for the profitable organization. There is need for the accountant to be equipped and be ready to serve the community since it entails anon profitable organization. When considering an accountant, it is essential to consider the level of education that the person has undergone. The person should be well informed about accounting and has all the skills that is required. When the organization considers such factors, it will be in a stable accountability of the funds.
Why People Think Are A Good Idea
The Art of Mastering