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Today, NASW celebrates the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy's special message to Congress regarding the state of mental health in the United States. President Kennedy's remarks brought the issue of stigma, and access to care, to the forefront of his domestic agenda. As a result of this initiative, the Community Mental Health Centers Act was signed into law, which funded the development of mental health centers, training programs, and outpatient treatment programs. The passage of this law ignited a series of responses from the federal government to address mental illness including mental health provisions in Medicaid and Medicare.
The country has made tremendous progress since 1963 in recognizing and treating mental illness. Recently, under the Obama Administration's leadership with the Affordable Care Act and the Mental Health Parity and Addictions Equity Act, Americans now have greater access to mental health services. In the wake of the Newtown tragedy, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will launch a year-long national dialogue on mental health in the coming weeks to focus on combating the stigma of mental illness by educating the nation's youth, educators, and parents.
While we celebrate this anniversary, NASW remains cognizant of the progress the nation still needs to achieve in order to more appropriately address gaps in mental and behavioral health services. As President Kennedy noted in his address, "This situation has been tolerated far too long. It has troubled our national conscience–but only as a problem unpleasant to mention, easy to postpone, and despairing of solution." At a time when mental health services continue to experience state and federal budget cuts, and mental illness continues to be misunderstood by society, NASW remains committed to raising awareness and advocating for sound policy to support individuals and strengthen our communities.Tags: Advocacy, mental health, nasw, National Association of Social Workers, news, social justice, social work, social worker
Posted in Advocacy |


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For most teachers, the greatest reward for their job is seeing students thrive and succeed. They just want to know that they've helped. Thus, one of the most important things students can do for their teachers is say thank you. Our teacher profiles feature stories of students who return to visit their teachers many years later, and for these teachers, knowing where their students end up instills in them a sense of accomplishment.
Ways to Thank a Teacher
There are many ways to thank a teacher: a note, a card, a kind word. There are also ways to share your gratitude in the hopes that others will recognize your teacher's impact and maybe honor their own teacher. The New York City Department of Education allows students and parents to thank teachers on their website. USC's online Master of Arts in Teaching, the MAT@USC, has its weekly "Thank a Teacher Thursday" blog post. The website MyTeacherMyHero.com allows people to record and upload videos in which they speak about their favorite teachers. People like Sean Paul, Kathie Lee Gifford and Star Jones have already thanked their teachers --- have you?
Teacher Appreciation Celebrations
On a nation-wide level, the importance of teacher recognition is also acknowledged and encouraged. On the first Tuesday of the first full week of May, thousands of communities across the country gather to celebrate National Teacher's Day, to focus on the invaluable contributions of educators. The week encapsulating National Teacher's Day is also considered Teacher Appreciation Week, and many school districts sponsor events, including special lunches or awards ceremonies, to mark the occasion. National Teacher's Day and Teacher Appreciation Week are opportunities for school administrators to thank the educators who work so hard to make schools a better place. But also, it is a chance for students, parents and communities to give back. It is not uncommon for students and parents to present teachers with gifts of appreciation or for classrooms to come together in little celebrations to honor their teachers during this time of year. National Teacher's Day was instituted by the National Education Association, which provides resources for planning your own teacher appreciation events here.
Companies Honoring Teachers
Companies and organizations with vested interests in education also play a part in thanking teachers. Office Depot, for instance, has instituted the Star Teacher Program, which provides educators with everyday discounts, a Teacher Appreciation Breakfast and other events. Every year for Teacher Appreciation Day, Staples has in-store events that recognize educators and offers them special benefits. Target, Big Lots, Walmart and Office Max have similar initiatives.
Teacher Appreciation Awards
You can also nominate a teacher for an award to show your appreciation. There are many awards associations that are very stringent with regards to who's allowed to nominate a teacher, but others, such as the National Teacher's Hall of Fame, allow students, parents, community members and fellow teachers to nominate candidates. Other teaching awards include:
- Thomas Gale TEAMS Award
- National Association of Special Education Teachers Award
- The Great American Teacher Awards
- PBS Teacher Innovation Awards
- Stephen Sondheim Inspirational Teacher Awards
Remember: Appreciating your teacher shouldn't be limited to a single day or special event. Teachers change lives every day, and it's important to ensure they know they are appreciated. These awards and events are special ways to do a little something extra to show your gratitude, but what's important is simply saying thank you.

source: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb-edu


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Ax Family History
Ax Surname History
Ax family history has a rich and complex origin whose details have been accumulated over the years by Ax family researchers. The last name Ax is an old family line that has spread all across the world over the centuries, and as the Ax family has spread, it has evolved making its etymology challenging to piece together. This page is dedicated to a detailed history of the Ax family name, Ax origins, and records of Ax ancestors.
No content has been submitted here about Ax. The following is speculative information about Ax. You can submit your information by clicking Edit.
The evolution of Ax begins at it's earliest origins. Even in the earliest days of a name there are variations in that single name simply because family names were infrequently written down at that stage in history.
As Ax families emigrated between countries and languages, the Ax name may have changed with them. Ax ancestors have moved across various regions all throughout history. It was common for a last name to change as it enters a new country or language.
Ax country of origin
No content has been submitted about the Ax country of origin. The following is speculative information about Ax. You can submit your information by clicking Edit.
The nationality of Ax may be complicated to determine because country boundaries change over time, making the nation of origin indeterminate. The original ethnicity of Ax may be difficult to determine as result of whether the surname came about organically and independently in multiple locales; e.g. in the case of family names that are based on a profession, which can crop up in multiple countries independently (such as the surname "Fisher" which was given to fishermen).
Meaning of the last name Ax
No content has been submitted about the meaning of Ax. The following is speculative information about Ax. You can submit your information by clicking Edit.
The meaning of Ax come may come from a profession, such as the name "Brewster" which refers to a female brewer. A lot of these trade-based family names might be a profession in some other language. This is why it is essential to understand the country of origin of a name, and the languages used by its ancestors. Many western names like Ax originate from religious texts such as the Quran, the Bible, the Bhagavadgītā, and other related texts. Commonly these names are shortened versions of a religious expression such as "Worthy of praise".
- Goldie Ax 1914 - 1997
- Lillian Ax 1945 - 2004
- Ida Ax 1893 - 1981
- Joachim Ax 1905 - 1969
- Paul Ax 1930 - 2006
- Abe Ax 1906 - 1968
- Helene M Ax 1915 - 1995
- John Ax 1902 - 1985
- Helene Ax 1895 - 1973
- Faye Ax 1909 - 1976
- Louis Ax 1891 - 1980
- Hellen Ax 1907 - 2009
- James B Ax 1937 - 2006
- Oscar Ax 1912 - 2003
- Ethel Ax 1924 - 2008
- Joanne Ax
- George B Ax 1911 - 1990
- Irving Ax 1908 - 1988
- Edward Ax 1920 - 1962
- Frieda Ax 1908 - 1984
Ax Family Tree
Famous people named Ax
No famous people named Ax have been submitted. You can submit your information by clicking Edit.
Nationality and Ethnicity of Ax
No content has been submitted about the ethnicity of Ax. The following is speculative information about Ax. You can submit your information by clicking Edit.
We do not have a record of the primary ethnicity of the name Ax. Many surnames travel around the world throughout the ages, making their original nationality and ethnicity difficult to trace.
More about the name Ax
Fun facts about the Ax family
We have no fun facts about Ax. You can submit your information by clicking Edit.
Ax spelling variations
No content has been submitted about alternate spellings of Ax. The following is speculative information about Ax. You can submit your information by clicking Edit.
Understanding misspellings and alternate spellings of the Ax last name are important to understanding the history of the name. Names like Ax vary in how they're written as they travel across communities, family branches, and languages over the years. In the past, when few people knew how to write, names such as Ax were transcribed based on how they were heard by a scribe when people's names were recorded in government records. This could have led to misspellings of Ax.


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Iron Founding and Metalworking Industry
Salisbury Foundry in the 1880s (Tasmaniana Library, SLT)
The first significant iron/brass foundries and metal working facilities were established in Hobart by the partnerships of Henry Davidson (founder) and Alexander Clark (millwright) of the Derwent Foundry in 1840, and James Easby (millwright) and Robert Robertson (founder) of the Albion Foundry in 1844. Similar operations were established in Launceston by William Peter (founder) and William Knight (millwright, Phoenix foundry), briefly in partnership, and William Huttley (engineer/founder). Initially, foundries largely operated as import agents and repair workshops. Gradually they made larger implements, from stoves in the 1850s to large steam engines and substantial iron castings during the 1870s.
Railways and the mining industry during the 1870s provided impetus for expansion. In under twenty years, achievements included boilermaking (1870, John Clark, Hobart), railway locomotive fabrication (1877, also John Clark), stamp battery and associated ore processing equipment (1877, Salisbury & Armstrong, Launceston), welded wrought iron box girders (1884) and rivetted wrought iron girders (1885, both William Henry Knight, Launceston). The latter enabled iron bridges, particularly for railway crossings of rivers and estuaries, to be fabricated locally. Railway maintenance facilities were established at Launceston in 1871 and Hobart by 1883, the latter including Hobart's only copper furnace. Knight installed reverberatory furnaces in 1885 to enable wrought iron to be re-worked, and in purpose-built plants at Mount Bischoff, Launceston and Hobart for tin smelting. Following the passing of the Inspection of Machinery Act (1884), Robert Kennedy & Sons established a marine engineering and maintenance facility including a slipway at Battery Point where an iron-hulled bucket dredge for use at the Mersey estuary was built in 1887. After remote areas in the north and west of the state were settled towards the end of the nineteenth century, rural foundries were built at Devonport in 1887 (Finlayson Bros), Latrobe in 1889, Zeehan in 1899 and Scottsdale in the 1900s.
Foundries continued to come and go in the twentieth century, and some industries like the Electrolytic Zinc Works (1916) had their own foundry sections. As cheaper mass-produced fittings of plastic or other material (for example, pipes of plastic rather than cast iron) replaced metal, and many other metal components were imported, the number of foundries declined. Some have endured. Peter's Foundry, in 2004 Tasmania's largest, is the oldest continuously operating foundry in the southern hemisphere. It now trades as Bradken, strictly a ferrous foundry. Salisbury's in Launceston made the Cataract Bridge, and in the 1920s became a structural specialist rather than a foundry. Retlas, reputedly founded in Hobart in 1906 by a Mr Salter (the name is Salter backwards), has moved several times. In 2004 it specialises in marine fittings and industrial castings.
During the Second World War, from 1942 munitions were produced at the Munitions Works in Glenorchy, which employed almost 1500 workers, and other foundries such as Peter's also assisted the war effort. A number of foundries were established after the war. Austral Bronze moved from the mainland to the old munition plant, and produced brass and copper components, but moved back to Sydney in 1964 when the price of freight rose too high. Bill Perkins and Selwyn Skeels founded Skeels and Perkins in the late 1940s, and by the 1980s produced bronze and aluminium castings, next door to Incat at Glenorchy. In 2004 the firm, still owned by the Perkins family, trades as Apco Engineering, and is unusual in that it works in both ferrous and non-ferrous metals. The Montpelier Foundry moved from Hobart to Glenorchy in 1949, and mostly made castings for large industries such as the Zinc Works and Mount Lyell. In 1974 a former employee, Rex Garner, began the Derwent Foundry, making bronze castings and propellers. Montpelier was sold to a mainland firm in the early 1980s, but in 1986 Garner bought it. The combined business is now called Derwent Pipelines. In 2004 half a dozen foundries continued to manufacture metal products in Tasmania.
Further reading: M Morris-Nunn & C Tassell, Launceston's industrial heritage, Launceston, 1982–83; A Alexander, Glenorchy 1964–1998, Glenorchy, 1998.

source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


Accents and job prospects in Ireland: Check out the RTE website on how accents may affect job prospects in Irish society. The piece comes in the context of a new bill aiming to ensure that employers do not discriminate against job applicants or employees because of their accent.
In the piece it reads that "In Ireland, it would appear that we are somewhat behind the UK when it comes to accepting that this is an issue. There, received pronunciation refers to the form of dialect adopted typically by those viewed as being from a middle-and upper-class, or southern region upbringing."


Project 2: Social Inference and Altruism. R. Adolphs, PI; C. Hutcherson, Co-PI
This project builds directly on Project 3 of our previous Conte Center on altruism, which was directed by Antonio Rangel and featured work by Cendri Hutcherson. We will look at how variability in altruistic decision-making arises from modulation by social inference, building on two of the systems already investigated in Project 1 (social inference and action imitation). How does the level of social inference influence social decision-making? What contextual factors determine how we represent another person, so that we can make prosocial choices about them?


Resurrected protein's clue to origins of life
By Simon Redfern from BBC News:
The extremophile bacterium Staphylothermus
The earliest life would have survived at more than 100 C
New reconstructions of ancient proteins have provided clues to the habitat and origins of life on Earth.
The resurrected protein is thought to have existed almost four billion years ago in single-celled organisms linked to the earliest ancestor of all life.
The protein survives in the extreme environments of high acidity and temperature expected on early Earth and, intriguingly, also Mars.
Spanish and US scientists reported their study in the journal Structure.
Maybe we have resurrected Martian proteins. Maybe the last universal common ancestor formed on Mars and transferred to Earth — Professor Jose Sanchez-Ruiz Granada University
Gene sequences in a protein called thioredoxin, taken from a wide variety of modern organisms, were analysed and placed in an evolutionary context — locating them on a molecular-scale tree of life — to chart their progression from their primordial forms.
Ancestral code
The thioredoxin protein is an enzyme which can break sulphur bonds in other molecules and has a number of metabolic functions in cells. It is shared by almost all life on Earth, from the simplest bacteria to complex animals including humans, indicating that the ultimate single-celled ancestor of all life on Earth would also have had the gene.
Prof Eric Gaucher of Georgia Tech, US, helped with the ancestral gene sequence reconstruction and commented: "A gene can become deactivated by as few as one or two mutations.
Thioredoxin of the earliest bacterium
Protein folding has survived billions of years
The group used molecular clocks to date the evolutionary branches back in time and linked them to geological changes in Earth's environment.
Changes in the protein's length appeared to occur in fits and starts, with its helix structure suddenly lengthening at the point that cells started to develop a nucleus (the transition from prokaryote to eukaryote), paving the way for higher life.
The results suggest that biological systems might evolve at the molecular level in discrete jumps rather than along continuous pathways, as has been suggested from studies of the evolution of species.
Hell on Earth
The group studied how well the ancient thioredoxin coped with heat, and found that it survived temperatures of more than 110 C, as well as being stable in acidic environments.
The early Earth was a hostile environment for life. It was hellish, and the first geological eon on Earth is termed the "Hadean" after Hades, the ancient Greek god of the underworld. Before four billion years ago it is thought that Earth suffered heavy bombardment from meteorites. It is likely that any atmosphere that survived was hot and possibly acidic four billion years ago.
The ancient protein's properties indicate that it may have been adapted to that environment. It shares features with "extremophiles" – bacteria found today in extreme environments like hot springs and even at depth within Earth's crustal rocks.
It may be that the only life that survived that heavy bombardment were the forms that could cope with high temperatures and energies, like this ancient protein.
Alien resurrection?
Another intriguing possibility, although not discussed in this study, is that the ancient protein came to Earth having formed at an earlier time on another planet.
In particular, recent evidence from Nasa's Curiosity rover suggests that Mars may well have been a more conducive place for life to develop than Earth during the first 500 million years of the Solar System, before four billion years ago.
Many Martian meteorites have landed on Earth, with our planet acting like a local gravitational vacuum cleaner.
"Four billion years ago Mars was a much a safer place than Earth. Maybe we have resurrected Martian proteins. Maybe the last universal common ancestor (the first life) formed on Mars and transferred to Earth," commented Prof Sanchez-Ruiz.


the test is shown below. Note that since the plans are all delivered to the same portion of the panel (unlike the original Ling test) no open beam is required to remove beam profile effects. RAT3_updated.PNG
Since these tests have been delivered to the EPID the output factor tool can be used to analyse the dose deviations. In the table below the measured values have been normalised to the average. It can be seen that the maximum dose deviation from unity is 0.4% inidcating the accuracy of the MLC speed during RapidArc. It is noted that this test is only analysing the central few leaves for speed. However other tools can be used to analyse the dose along the entire length of the MLC bank. This method is most convenient for routine QA.
Leaf Speed (cm/s) Value (cGy/MU) Normalised Deviation (%)
1 0.476121 1.001 0.1
2 0.473771 0.996 -0.4
3 0.475437 0.999 0.0
4 0.475901 1.001 0.1
5 0.475555 1.002 0.2
The Halcyon is able to deliver varying leaf speeds during RapidArc. The RapidArc Leaf Speed Test has been adapted and incorporated in routine QA.


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Jonathan Ward discusses viability of two means for resolution of disputes related to cybersquatting. Cybersquatting occurs when a party registers a domain name that contains someone else's trademark and then attempts to profit by selling or licensing the name to that party. Cybersquatting tends to be classified as direct cybersquatting and typosquatting, and actions involving domain name conflicts fall in four categories: 1) trademark infringement, 2) confusion of source, 3) dilution of a famous mark, and 4) bad faith registration. Recognizing the growing issue of cybersquatting, Congress passed the Anitcybersquatting Consumer Protection Act in 1999, which provided a litigious avenue for dispute resolution. Around the same time, ICANN (the assignor of domain names) adopted the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy, which provided an alternative dispute resolution avenue through arbitration. Mr. Ward presents a comparison between these two options, and concludes that the best method depends on which channel of recourse offers the most benefits at the lowest cost.
Jonathan M. Ward,
The Rise and Fall of Fences: The Overbroad Protection of the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act,
5 Marq. Intellectual Property L. Rev. 211
Available at: _URL_


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"For what is exalted among people is an abomination before God" (Luke 16:15) - Mondays with Mounce
Categories Mondays with Mounce
Note: you can watch the blog on my YouTube channel.
Before I get into the Greek, I think it is helpful for us to stop and ask ourselves if we really believe this. Think about the things that we value, to which we aspire, what we respect in other people, what we secretly long for. How many of these things are actually "detestable" (NASB), an "abomination" (ESV), "revolting" (CSB) in God's eyes? I suspect the list is rather long.
The Greek of this verse is pretty simple, but it does illustrate several points.
"What is exalted among men (τὸ ἐν ἀνθρώποις ὑψηλὸν)" shows the use of the article (τό) to turn an adjective (ὑψηλὸν) into a noun. The prepositional phrase ἐν ἀνθρώποις is in the first attributive position even though usually a prepositional phrase is in the second attributive position when performing this function. "Abomination" (βδέλυγμα) is in the predicate position and therefore we need to supply the verb "is." Does ἐνώπιον simply mean "before" or does it carry the nuance of being in someone's presence, hence, "in the sight of God"?
The translation is straight forward, and there is no real debate about what it means, although I suspect its application is much more difficult. But look at how much "interpretation" was needed, albeit a simple enough interpretation that a first year student could do it. The myth of "literal" translation is that you can see the Greek structure behind the English. Good luck on even this simple of a sentence.
A word-for-word translation is: "the in men exalted abomination before the God."
1. "The... exalted" is turned into a noun and you have to figure out the precise meaning of τό. Context suggests Jesus is primarily thinking of wealth.
2. Is ἀνθρώποις referring to males or people? Beyond that, you have to determine what is the most effective word to create the contrast between that which is human and God. Regardless of a translation's decision on how to handle ἄνθρωπος in general, it is a special situation when ἄνθρωπος contrasts with the divine. This is one of the few situations in which I like (or at least am getting comfortable with) the word "human" since it sets up a strong contrast with θεός. But "mankind" also works, and the word is still in wide use in English. You could even go with "man" to emphasize the humanness, although ἀνθρώποις is plural. But my point is, there is no "literal" translation. You have to decide which words express the meaning best.
3. There is no verb ἐστίν, but "is" must be added for the translation to be English.
4. And then there is the "among" (ἐνώπιον). You have two choices. BDAG has, "(1) pert. to a position in front of an entity, before," and "(2) pert. to being present or in view, in the sight of, in the presence of, among." Most translation go with the latter, but my point is that this is an interpretive position.
So even with a sentence this simple, it is highly doubtful that a first year Greek student, much less someone who does know any Greek, could see the Greek structure behind the English. Let's stop assuming that you can.
But back to my point. Which of my goals and aspirations are in fact an abomination in the sight of God? How about a working knowledge of Greek? That can't be an abomination, right? We just want to know God's word better.
My guess is that if knowing God and his word better truly is your motivation, then it is a good thing. But if we are pursuing Greek for self-gratification, for respect in the academic community, to have the ability to lord our knowledge of Greek over the people to whom we preach and teach, then even something as precious as knowing Greek is an abomination.
Something to think about. Motives are tricky things.
What Is the Mark of the Beast?
What Is the Mark of the Beast? This post is adapted from material found in Craig Keener's Revelation online course. The book of Revelation speaks of s...
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We get many questions about feeding horses yeast, what kinds there are, and if some are better for horses than others. We have our own understanding about feeding with yeast. Horses are by nature "large intestine fermenters," and we experience that feeding with yeast has more downsides than advantages. I thought I would clarify information about different types of yeast since that is usually what the questions we get are about.
Yeast are fungi, but does it belong to the animal or plant kingdom? Researchers thought long about it and came to a conclusion that it is its own art. Fungi do not have the green substance chlorophyll that plants have in order to produce their own nutrients. Since Fungi lack chlorophyll, they have to obtain nutrients like animals. However, they do not consume like animals, but instead suck nutrients from the ground or in its habitat. Fungi are therefore neither plants nor animals, and are categorized into a separate kingdom.
Living yeast
A packet of yeast is made up of yeast cells, saccharomyces cerevisiae, and water. Yeast is a unicellular fungus that is composed of protein, carbohydrates, fat, minerals, and B vitamins. Most of the protein is made up of enzymes, which are definitive in the fermentation process.
Unicellular organisms, the group yeasts belong to, have a very intensive metabolism and growth. That is why yeast cells can multiply so quickly. Each yeast cell can give off 20-30 new identical cells, which then give off just as many, and so on. In favorable conditions, a "starting culture" of 10 milligrams can grow to 150 tons in a week! In the right environment, fermentation has its peak. The environment in the intestine is suited for fermentation; just as 38 degrees Celsius is ideal when fermenting dough, it is the ideal temperature in the intestine.
How does it work?
What affects and decides the growth of yeast are the access to nutrients and oxygen, as well as the temperature of the yeast culture. By lowering the temperature, the activity level decreases, which is the reason that ready yeast is stored in cold temperatures. When the temperature is increased again when yeast is dissolved in the dough liquid (intestinal gruel), the cells are activated again. During the actual baking the temperature increases significantly in the bread and at 50 degrees Celsius the yeast "dies."
Killed Yeast"
During the pelleting process (heat of 50 degrees Celsius), living yeast cells are killed. It is said that it is only used to increase the protein levels and B vitamin levels. However, B vitamins are also sensitive to heat, so how can that be explained?
In a great deal of products, the yeast has been made thermally stable during production so that the living yeast cells can handle the pelleting (however it is done)
Other feeding yeast
Some feeding yeast is mixed into wheat feeding flous (wheat gluten) for the most part.
Brewer's Yeast
Brewer's yeast is one of the most common staples for feed that is used as a supplement. Brewer's yeast is a residual product and staple in the production of beer. The living yeast microbes are cooked in order to be killed off before drying and sacking. It is rich in proteins, enzymes that are crucial to the fermentation process.
What the horse owner that is feeding with yeast notices is that the horse's stomach condition improves, and there is no watery stool. What is actually happening is that the horse is starting an abnormal fermentation of the feed, which causes an injured intestine membrane. This type of fermentation causes the PH value to become more acidic, decreasing the number of good intestine bacteria and causing the bad intestine bacteria to multiply. In the end this can cause LGS (leaking gut syndrome), in other terms, toxic substances leak out through the membranes out into the blood stream.
The blood that is to be purified in the liver and kidneys cannot keep up with all the new toxins that are transported there, so the toxins follow the blood through several circuits in the body and eventually have to be stored somewhere. They often end up in the muscles, tissues, skin, and hooves. The immune system is weakened, and the horse gets various disease symptoms that are not always associated with feeding of the horse (the horse's stools improved)
There are also yeast fungi belonging to the Candida family, which are part of the body's normal flora. Candida have the task of making sure unwanted bacteria do not attach and harm the flora of the intestines. When the Candida's normal nutrients run out, the candida divides and spreads throughout the body through the damaged membrane, to the blood stream and feeds on the sugar that is supposed to be transported to the cells. This process in turn causes a large strain on the horse's wellbeing and immune system and can even begin developing into different disease symptoms and allergies.
Some examples of what fungal infections can cause: thrush, fungal onset on the skin that can appear as discoloration, fungi in the ears and milk ducts of mares. Watery stool is just one symptom that can appear due to yeast being fed to a horse.
Products to use
In Europe: Colofor
In Northamerica: Colomin


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Capacitor failure modes
Power cap sizing
The green boxes contain values which may be changed.
The software modifies erroneous proposed values.
The first step in sizing supercapacitor energy storage is the determination of the energy requirement,
taking into account the following corrections:
This calculation step takes into account the performances of the technology which depends from one manufacturer to the other.
Typical values are 2.5 Vdc, 5.3 Wh/kg and 8'566 W/kg.
It considers also that a part of the energy is dissipated
inside the component in the internal resistance (cf "RAGONE").
A distribution of 12 application voltages (close to Un) may be given in the first column
In the second column the corresponding application temperature must be defined
In the third column the duration of each collicitation must be defined in %.
Cell Nr in series :
Expected life duration [Hours]: 1500
Component chosen: CAP350F
Correction for the thermal dissipation
Choose the Charge method in your application:
Charge method chosen: Constant current
Voltage [V] / Current [A] / Power [W]
Source: Garmanage: Roland Gallay


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When the phone number is visible
- If you add someone as a phone contact and write them a message, the recipient will be able to see your number.
- If you contact a user via username, forwarded message or group, your number remains 'unknown' until it's shared.
- Once the number is shared, you will always see it — even if you delete it from your contacts list. No reason to hide it again.
- Your mutual contacts (people in your contacts who also have your number) will get your new number added to your contact in their address book unless you have blocked them in Telegram. This makes changing numbers even easier.
If you want to hide your new number, you can either block these users or create a new account with this new number.


More like this: drinking, legends and the body.
Mary McCormack Bowles
The Well of the Dead, Culloden Moor - the body of Alexander MacGillivray of Dunmaglass the leader of Clan Chattan was found here. Alexander MacGillivray led his men on such a ferocious charge that he broke through the first line of defence of Cumberland's army before being killed. Legend has it that Highlanders are still seen drinking from the well...
Related Pins:
Stones at Culloden marking the site of the burial of various clans. These types of markers are scattered all over the moor. Legend has it, the heather will no longer grow where the graves are located... nor do birds sing over the moor.
St. James well drinking cup in Donohill, Tipperary County. Well water is believed to be most potent on the eve of a Saint's feast day
Jerusalem pub, Nottingham, England
Legend says that the pub was named the Last Drop because this was where those condemned to die by hanging would have their last drink! The menu is not very extensive, but come here for some Scottish cuisine like neeps and tatties or classic fish and chips and you won't be disappointed.
The oldest relic of the Armstrong clan. It stands 8 ft high and is carved from stone. It was erected (1320) in the memory of Alexander Armstrong, 2nd Laird Mangerton who was killed at Hermitage Castle by the wicked William de Soulis. Legends say this is the place where Armstrong's clansmen rested with his body overnight before taking him to Ettleton Cemetery (Ettleton Kirkyard) for burial - resting place for several other Armstrongs. Ettleton is a village near Castleton, Scottish Borders.
Sláinte is commonly used as a drinking toast in Ireland, literally translating as "health".
The Nine Ladies of Stanton Moor, Derbyshire, England. Neolithic stone circle, (each about 3 ft. high, circle is 33 ft. in diameter), c. 2000-1000 BC; according to legend, the nine standing stones are witches caught dancing on the Sabbath to the sounds of the Devil's fiddle playing. Photograph copyright 1996.... chinese johnny
in denmark, 1950, two brothers were digging peat to be used as fuel when they came across what is now known as the tollund man. he still had hair, skin, and a five o'clock shadow, so they assumed it was a recent murder victim and called the police. upon arrival, they noticed rope around his neck: this wasn't a recent murder victim. in fact, the body was from 300-400 BC, and was shockingly well preserved by the peat.
Scotland is home to the oldest tree in Europe (pictured), a twisted yew which has stood in Fortingall for 3,000 years. According to local legend, Pontius Pilate was born in its shade and played there as a child
Russian women and children recently liberated from a German concentration camp lay flowers at the bodies of 4 dead American soldiers. Russian eye witnesses reported the Americans were slain by German officers after they surrendered. Hilden, Germany 1945.


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Sunday, 27 January 2013
Production of Brown Ink Out of Gmelina arborea (Gamhar) Fruit
The world today is suffering for an economic crisis; many people seem to realize the importance of each item that needs to be bought. Ink is an ordinary item but prevalent in everyday use. Ball pens, pentel pens, markers and everything that provides ink for its functions are expensive that not all people can afford. That's why the researcher investigated a project that can help lessen the economic crisis for the production of ink.
Offices, workstations and even academic institutions have been using ink especially for their papers works and some other related activities. However, with the advent of highly commercialized items and supplies, people have difficulty in purchasing some basic things that are necessary to their works. Production of ink out of Gmelina arboera fruit will somehow stand as a remedy to this problem.
Gmelina arborea is a fast growing tree, which though grows on different localities and prefers moist fertile valleys with _PHONE_ mm rainfall. It does not thrive on ill drained soils and remains stunted on dry, sandy or poor soils; drought also reduces it to a shrubby form. The fruit of this tree is said to be acrid, sour, bitter, sweet, cooling, diuretic tonic, aphrodisiac, alternative astringent to the bowels, promote growth of hairs, useful in 'vata', thirst, anaemia, leprosy, ulcers and vaginal discharge.
This particular tree occurs naturally in Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and in southern provinces of China and Philippines, but planted extensively in Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Malaysia and on experimental basis in other countries as well. It is also planted in gardens and avenues.
Gmelina arborea timber is reasonably strong for its weight. It is used in constructions, furniture, carriages, sports, musical instruments and artificial limbs. Once seasoned, it is a very steady timber and moderately resistant to decay and ranges from very resistant to moderately resistant to termites.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM:
The main rationale of this study is to produce an ink out of Gmelina arborea fruit.
- What is Gmelina arborea?
- What are the economic advantages in producing such ink?
- How does it differ from other commercial inks?
- Is it economically feasible?
- Is it effective to use?
The researchers have anticipated the availability of the needed materials in this study, below are the hypothetical statements set by the researchers.
- The ink will be usable.
- This study will show proper utilization of natural resources.
- The product will take an economic advantage compared to the commercialized ones.
- The study will show how to use waste materials especially the Gmelina fruit itself.
- People can easily acquire to use the ink.
- Because of its affordability people can easily purchase the ink.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY:
Gmelina fruit can be found anywhere and some people perceive that this particular fruit has of no value. In general, the significance of this study will show how this natural resource can be used to create something that can be of big help to some other people especially office workers, business people and mostly to the students. This ink can be used for paper works, office works, and can also be used as a substitute or alternative to the commercial inks.
SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS:
The main product of this study is "ink", since the juice of Gmelina fruit is brown; therefore the color of the ink is brown. No other trees were used, only Gmelina arborea.
This study is limited only for brown ink production.
DEFINITION OF TERMS:
Gmelina arborea - is a fast growing tree, which though grows on different localities and prefers moist fertile valleys with _PHONE_ mm rainfall. It does not thrive on ill drained soils and remains stunted on dry, sandy or poor soils; drought also reduces it to a shrubby form.
Inkis a liquid containing various pigments and/or dyes used for coloring a surface to render an image or text. Ink is used for drawing or writing with a pen or brush. Thicker inks, in paste form, are used extensively in letterpress and lithographic printing
Commercializemanage or exploit in a way designed to make a profit.
Natural resources - are naturally occurring substances that are considered valuable in their relatively unmodified (natural) form. A natural resource's value rests in the amount of the material available and the demand for the certain material.
Fruit juiceis a liquid naturally contained in vegetable or fruit tissue. Juice may be supplied in concentrate form, requiring the user to add water to reconstitute the liquid back to its 'original state' (Generally, concentrates have a noticeably different taste than their comparable "fresh-squeezed" versions)
1. Gmelina Arborea Fruit
2. Coconut Vinegar
4. Marker (empty)
1. Gather all the materials needed.
2. Wash the Gmelina arborea fruit and the pot.
3. Squeeze the Gmelina fruit and get the extract.
4. Heat the pot using a stove or electric stove then put the extract of Gmelina fruit.
5. Mix the vinegar into the extract of Gmelina fruit inside the heated pot.
6. Let it cool and put it in an empty marker bottle.
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE:
Gmelina arborea is a fast growing tree, which through grows on different localities and prefers moist fertile valleys with _PHONE_ mm rainfall. It does not thrive on ill drained soils and remains stunted on dry, sandy or poor soils; drought also reduces it to a shubby form. It is a trent to see the Gmelina arborea tree standing straight with clear bole having branches on top and thick foliage forming a conical crown on the top of this tall stem. Bark light grey coloured exfoliating in light coloured patches when old, blaze, thick a chlorophyll layer just under the outer back, pale yellow white inside.
Vinegar is a sour tasting liquid containing acetic acid, obtained by fermenting dilute alcoholic liquids, typically wine, cider or beer and used as a condiment or for pickling. Ink is a coloured fluid used for writing, drawing or printing.
Basically this research tackles about the Production of Brown Ink out of Gmelina Arborea Fruit; enable to come up with an accumulated result, the correspondents of this study conducted some experiments and prepared all the necessary equipment, tools and materials.
This research is applied in its method. Since the number one raw material of the study is already been used by people, the researchers also underwent some series of test in order to get the best result.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION:
The result of the study which was based upon the research may iclude the economics progress and sustainability of ink production.
The production of ink varies directly to the daily neeeds of the people, especially those who are in the following working areas like offices, workstations, academic institutions and in some related activities.
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS:
Itherefore conclude that the Gmelina fruit waste material has a great impact into the progression of our society. By this research study, people can easily acquire to use the ink out of Gmelina arborea fruit, which is affordability and which people can easily purchase.


text:
After a mere year of laying eggs, many hens on commercial farms become McNuggets. What if it didn't have to be that way?
According to Modern Farmer, Jane Howorth founded the British Hen Welfare Trust to keep chickens in the U.K. out of the proverbial pot and in someone's backyard instead (a robust screening process weeds out the BBQ-minded). In nine years, the Trust has adopted out more than 400,000 hens. Stateside, similar nonprofit Forget Me Not Farms has a waiting list of 300.
While the hens aren't at peak egg-producing capacity, many still lay eggs regularly. One happy adopter had to step up her baking and describes her two hens, Maisy and Flora, as "very cheeky girls, very affectionate, and friendly."
What else can you do with a chicken in retirement? Here are a few ideas, via the ever-amazing internet:
8. Hug it.
7. Give it a ride on the back of your turtle.
6. Build it its own amusement park.
5. Make it into a meme.
4. Wiggle it to learn about science.
3. Dress it up, obvs.
2. Autotune its squawks and turn them into a techno dance groove.
1. Just observe its magnificent splendor.
How to Recycle a Hen, Modern Farmer.


text:
Performed in villages and closely attached to water rice agriculture, water puppetry is a unique performing art and is the intangible cultural heritage of the Viet people in the Northern Delta region of Vietnam. Created in the tenth century, the first historical record on water puppetry was inscribed in an ancient stele in 1121 called the Sung Dien Dien Linh in the Long Dọi Buddhist Temple of Ha Nam Province. The inscription reads that water puppetry was performed to entertain the king on the occasion of his longevity ceremony.
Puppeteers, water, and puppets are the three core elements of water puppetry. The cultural spaces for water puppetry in villages are ponds and lakes. Different from other art forms, puppeteers do not appear on the stage, which is a two-story pavilion on the water face. The top floor is for worshiping the ancestral puppeteer; the lower floor serves as the backdrop and is very evocative. Puppeteers stand in the water behind a curtain and manipulate the puppets with sticks. They are talented and brave people as they stand in the cold water for hours performing puppetry, a job which is extremely taxing.
The puppets are hand-made from a special wood, which is light and floats. The process to fully complete the construction of a puppet is a long one, from carving the core to final decoration. The puppet is then painted with natural resources so that it is water proof and durable. The puppet makers create puppet characters according to performances that are related to legend, historical periods, and folktales such as the Fairy, the King, the Queen, the God, the Villager, the Girl, the Man, the Boy, and amiable animals. All are inspired by the vitality of life and the rich imagination of peasants in the Northern Delta region.
The puppet is composed of two parts: the body and the base. The body is the part that floats on the water and represents the character and the base is submerged under water and keeps the body floating. The base also holds a mechanic system which moves the puppet using two manipulating systems involving the use of sticks or strings. Both the sticks and the strings function in the water using the waters force to remotely control the movements of the puppets. The performers stand behind the curtain and control the puppets by manipulating each stick or a system of strings outside the pavilion or under water.
Each puppet show includes many scenes, which are short stories. The stage is decorated to evoke the story's background using elements of light, music, sound, color, and especially language to make the water puppet stage cheerful, lively, and attractive.
In the past, many villages were well-known for performing puppetry, but now only a few villages keep this tradition alive. They are Dao Thuc (Ha Noi), Thanh Hai (Hai Duong), Nguyen (Thai B.nh), Vĩnh Bao (Hai Ph.ng), and Rạch (Nam Dinh) to say a few. Some village organize puppet shows and tours in many parts of the country and abroad.
At present, Vietnam's water puppetry is not only performed in villages with ponds, lakes, fields, and villagers, but also in performing arts theaters and centers in towns and cities. Water puppetry has also been performed internationally, however, despite its development, the water puppetry of communities as a living heritage, is facing the risk of oblivion. Ancient performances have been forgotten, old puppeteers do not know who to pass on the tradition, with many Vietnamese people having never seen a water puppet show and are unfamiliar with it as part of their own heritage.


The Best Easter Traditions Come from Germany
The Best Easter Traditions Come from Germany
Luisa Weiss
Mar 25, 2016
Easter eggs
(Image credit: Luisa Weiss)
The culmination of the Lenten period that begins much earlier in the year, on Ash Wednesday (February 10 this year), Easter is a joyous holiday with candy, culinary delights, and animal folklore. And while each country has its own unique customs, Germany's Easter traditions deserve particular recognition. It was, after all, in western Germany that the Easter bunny, or rather Osterhase, was born.
It's unclear exactly how the Easter bunny came to be — potentially the origin story lies in the fertility festival of the pagan goddess Eostre, whose spirit animal was a rabbit. But it is widely speculated that German immigrants brought the floppy-eared, egg-bearing bunny to the states in the 17th century. And Germans are also responsible for the first edible Easter bunnies, which hopped onto the scene sometime in the 18th century.
Here are six other wonderful Easter traditions from Germany.
1. Parades
The festivities really begin at the start of Lent. Fasching or Karneval are just two of the regional names for the week of pre-Lenten revelry, most famously celebrated in the Rhineland and in German-speaking Switzerland. In cities like Cologne, an enormous parade takes over, and city officials, dressed in costume, toss out candy to the multitudinous crowds.
2. Doughnuts
In Germany, Karneval time is also doughnut time. Jam-filled doughnuts called Berliner, Krapfen, or Pfannkuchen, depending on which part of Germany you're in, are a tradition with a centuries-old pedigree. "Fat Tuesday," after all, was a day of animal slaughter before the Lenten fast prohibited it. The lard gathered that day was used to cook doughnuts and other fried dough specialties.
3. Bonfires
As Easter nears and Lent comes to an end, another German tradition is to light a great bonfire on Easter Sunday. Traditionally, the bonfire was supposed to be a symbol of ushering out the cold and darkness with the resurrection of Christ and the advent of springtime. Depending on the region, various parts of Germany celebrate this tradition in different ways. In some, a simple bonfire is lit, in others, great wheels of wood are set on fire and rolled down a gentle slope.
(Image credit: Luisa Weiss)
4. Easter "Trees"
My favorite German Easter tradition may well be the Osterstrauss, a bouquet of budding fruit tree boughs clustered together in a big vase and hung with delicately painted Easter eggs painstakingly collected (or made) over the years. Sometimes the eggs are interspersed with little handcrafted wooden ornaments in the shapes of bunnies or smaller birds' eggs. And depending on how far along the boughs were in their development before being cut, sometimes little blossoms will pop out over the course of the run-up to Easter, providing a lovely natural backdrop to the eggs and ornaments.
Along the same lines, an Osterkranz, or Easter wreath, can be also hung with hand-painted eggs. It replaces the Weihnachtskranz, or Christmas wreath, of pine boughs that is hung from the ceiling (or placed on a table) and decorated with four candles representing the four weeks of Advent.
5. Green Cakes
Almost every region of Germany has its own celebratory dishes for the holiday. In Hesse, in central Germany, a savory leek yeasted cake called Grüner Kuchen ("green cake") is traditionally baked on Maundy Thursday, the Thursday before Easter. Cubes of fatback, known as Grüner Speck (or "green bacon"), are scattered across the top of the cake.
Maundy Thursday is also called Gründonnerstag, which means "green Thursday," and while it's not entirely clear where the term comes from, one explanation is that it is related to the pre-Christian tradition of eating new green herbs and leaves at the beginning of spring as a way of fortifying the body and soul after the long, cold winter months. Making the savory cake in spring, when the wind can still have quite a nip to it, actually makes a lot of sense: Grüner Kuchen is rib-sticking and richly flavored.
(Image credit: Luisa Weiss)
6. Gorgeous Breads
A nationwide tradition is serving a braided, enriched sweet bread for breakfast on Easter weekend. A yeasted dough is enriched with plenty of butter, milk, and eggs, and studded with raisins or bits of candied peel. The dough is divided into three strands and braided together — the three strands symbolizing the Holy Trinity.
Depending on the region, the dough can vary. Sometimes a mashed potato is kneaded into the dough to provide more moisture, other times, the dough strands are filled with sweet nut paste or poppy seed filling.
Get a Recipe: Easter Bread with Raisins and Sugar Cubes
If there are small children at the table, the dough can be plucked into smaller pieces and rolled into small ovals. Then, with a pair of scissors, the dough can be snipped to create little hedgehogs, bunny rabbits, or mice. An egg wash gives each roll a gorgeous shiny, dark-brown finish in the oven.
Talented bakers create all kinds of braided wonders with yeasted dough, and my friend Joanie, a sculptor, even makes stunning animals on Easter morning, like this rooster. To gild the lily, she makes dozens of tiny balls out of almond paste and tucks them here and there throughout the dough for a little edible surprise.
Created with Sketch.


text: For a number of years I have been maintaining multiple spreadsheets to track my investments and I maintain a file of the detail data from month to month and also a summary report spreadsheet. In both spreadsheets I copy, modify, and rename them with a mmyy code so I end up with a copy of each for each month as a historical record. Therefore, each month I modify the summary sheet using a find/replace function on a segment of the cell command that extracts the data from the detail sheet into the summary sheet. For some weird reason, a few months ago the normally very simple task of changing the portion of the command that relates to the month of the year (changing the month from 06 to 07 for example) which, when clicking on Replace ALL performed the change on all 80+ cells in a split second no longer does that. It now finds the first cell to change then asks for more directions such as what file to work on and then which sheet within the file, and repeats these steps for every cell in the summary sheet. Or it doesn't and circles back to the original Find/Replace window. To see the sequence, view the attached file showing screen shots of each of the windows and the convoluted workflow that presents to me. I was able to find a way to make it work again for a month or so but then it went off the tracks again and I am struggling to understand what is happening. Any help would be happily accepted.


Consumers choose locally grown and environmentally friendly apples
When asked to compare apples to apples, consumers said they would pay more for locally grown apples than genetically modified (GMO) apples. But in a second questionnaire consumers preferred GMO apples - that is, when they were described, not as GMO, but as having a Reduced Environmental Impact. The research conducted by University of Illinois economist Michael Mazzocco and Augustana College marketing professor Nadia Novotorova demonstrated that product labeling makes a difference when it comes to consumer acceptance.
Mazzocco says it's about selling the benefits. "When GMO crops were first introduced, people called them 'Frankenfood' and emphasized the laboratory processes used in breeding. The benefit seemed to be for farmers who saved money by not having to spray their crops with chemicals."
The reality is that apples can be bred to be disease-resistant, so they don't have to be sprayed with fungicides and other chemicals 15 to 20 times per growing season. This attribute gives them reduced environmental impact, and that's a benefit consumers can wrap their teeth around, as well as their wallets.
"One thing we learned was that if you're going to get any benefit from technology, you're going to have to communicate the benefits of it," Mazzocco said. "People aren't willing to pay you for the technology just so they can have another attribute. There's an equal trade-off. But, when you don't call it GMO and instead you communicate the benefit to the environment, it's more than a one-to-one trade-off and consumers are willing to pay more for it."
No apples were tasted, handled or even seen. "In both questionnaires, people rated apples based on a description. We were trying to identify where the trade-offs are between the attributes," Mazzocco said. "People don't want an apple. What they want is the attributes of the apple - nutrition, flavor, color, etc.
"But, an apple also comes with other attributes. Like the guilt from using all of that from transporting it from the state of Washington to Illinois or the fear of feeding your children what might be Frankenfood," Mazzocco said.
Both surveys began by giving the participants the identical short lesson in apple growing which included information about apple diseases and pests and how disease-resistant apples are developed. One apple is made through laboratory techniques where a naturally occurring scab-resistant gene from an apple was inserted into another variety of apple that's your favorite - the one you would normally buy. This apple that has the gene inserted in a laboratory can reduce apple spraying 15 to 20 times per season in an orchard in the Midwest for an apple grower that's susceptible to apple scab.
"A conventional apple, a non-cloned apple, grown in a typical apple growing region in Washington, Michigan, or New York, probably is not susceptible to apple scab and has fewer sprays. So in order to have a locally grown apple in the Midwest you're going to have to do something about apple scab otherwise you may not have a crop," Mazzocco said.
Given that information, 200 people rated 12 combinations of attributes of apples. For example, one might be $1.39 a pound, produced far away, and conventionally grown. Another apple might be $1.59, locally grown, and GMO. For the second study, a separate set of 200 people's questionnaire described the attribute as "reduced environmental impact" rather than GMO. Everything else was the same.
"Looking at the rankings of all of the combinations of attributes, and the comparison of the weightings of the importance of the various factors - what it boils down to is that people will pay more for reduced environmental impact. When you call it a GMO, there are some who will steer away from it, but on average they're indifferent. They'll trade local for GMO," Mazzocco said.
"We concluded that the benefits of genetic modification are something that consumers can get their arms around. People understand the benefit that with these apples you have fewer fungicide sprays around your neighborhood and your waterways in order to enable locally grown apples - grown in the Midwest."
The study also found that people aged 65 and older have a stronger preference for conventional apples. "When we called it a GMO apple, the people aged 65 and older reacted to that. When you call it reduced, they didn't react to it as much and younger people trend towards it.
"The message is that we need to be careful what we label things and to communicate the benefits," Mazzocco said.
More information: Consumer Preferences and Trade-Offs for Locally Grown and Genetically Modified Apples: A Conjoint Analysis Approach appeared in a 2008 issue of International Food and Agribusiness Management Review.
Impact of Product Attribute Wording on Consumer Acceptance of Biotechnology Applications in Produce appears in the November 2009 issue of Journal of Food Distribution Research.
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One bad apple: Consumers prefer perfect produce
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Notes on ML
ML is case-sensitive.
ML is interactive; you start it up, then you type expressions (at the prompt) to be evaluated. Every expression ends with a semicolon. ML responds with both the value and the type of the result. Example:
- 3 * 4;
> val it = 12 : int
In this example, "it" stands for the English word "it." You can read this response as: Its value is 12, and its type is int.
To define a value, use the form:
val pi = 3.1416;
ML is an expression-oriented language, not a statement-oriented language. That is, everything in it is considered to be an expression and to have a value. A few expressions that are executed for their side effects rather than their value (mostly output expressions) return the unit, (), as their value&emdash;this is like void in C or Java.
To define a function, use the form:
fun average (x, y) = (x + y) / 2.0;
ML is strongly typed; however, it almost always figures out the types for itself. If you need to help it along, you can specify the type of any identifier by following it by a colon and the name of the type. For example, in the function
fun max (x, y) = if x > y then x else y;
the variables x and y could be int, real, char, or string; if you don't specify, ML assumes that they are int. To define this function to use char values, give ML a hint by attaching :char to any one of the variables, anyplace in the function. For example,
fun max (x:char, y) = if x > y then x else y;
To execute the expressions in file myFile (usually definitions that you are testing), use
use "myFile";
To load a library unit, such as Int, use
load "Int";
Once loaded, the functions in the library unit can be used, but you have to prefix them with the name of the library and a dot, as in Int.max (5, 3); To "open" a library unit means to make the functions in it available without prefixing them; open Int like this:
open Int;
(* This is a comment (* and comments may be nested. *) *)
There are two kinds of identifiers.
Alphanumeric identifiers beginning with a'(single quote) are used only for type identifiers. Often ML will use 'a to indicate a variable (unknown or arbitrary) type. For example, 'a list means a list whose elements are of type 'a.
The variable _ (an underscore all by itself) is used as a "wildcard" or "don't care" variable.
There are several primitive types in ML; the following table gives the most important ones.
Primitive type
0, 5, 42, ~17, 0x00FF
~ is used for unary minus,
0x starts a hexadecimal number
0.0, ~5.3, 1.7e14, 1e~10
Can't start or end with a decimal point
true, false
These are the only boolean values.
"", "One\nTwo"
"\n" is newline,
"\t" is tab,
"\\" is backslash
#"a", #"\n"
# before a string of length 1
This is the only value of this type, and is often used to mean "no value" (much like void in C).
There are two special real constants in ML:
There are three families of constructed types in ML: lists, tuples, and functions. Functions are first-class objects: they can be created, manipulated, passed as parameters, and otherwise treated like other kinds of values. (However, when ML prints the result of an expression, and that result is a function, ML doesn't print out the entire function; it just prints the word fn.) Every function takes exactly one parameter as input and returns one value as its result; however, that parameter and that result may each be of a constructed type, such as a tuple.
The following table gives a few examples of constructed types. Pay special attention to the second column, which shows how ML expresses type information.
Example expression
Expression type
[2, 3, 5, 7, 11]
int list
Lists may be of any length, but all elements must be of the same type.
'a list
The empty list can be represented by [] or by nil. The type of this list might be unknown.
(5, "hello", ~16)
int * string * int
The type of a tuple depends on its length and the types in each position.
("abc", [1, 2, 3])
string * int list
Tuples can contain lists, and vice versa.
A tuple with one element is the same as that one element.
fun double x = 2.0 * x;
real -> real
All functions take exactly one parameter.
fun sum (x, y) = x + y;
int * int -> int
In this example the parameter is a tuple.
fun hi () =
 print "hello\n";
unit -> unit
In this example the parameter is the "unit," and so is the result.
(double, [sum])
(real -> real) *
(int * int -> int) list
Functions are values, and can be put into lists and tuples.
Built-In Functions
Standard boolean operators:
not : bool -> bool
not true, not (i = j)
(Prefix) Unary negation.
andalso : bool * bool -> bool
(i = j) andalso (j = k)
(Infix, left associative) Conjunction. "and" is a keyword with a different meaning.
orelse : bool * bool -> bool
(i = j) orelse (j = k)
(Infix, left associative) Disjunction.
Standard arithmetic operators:
~ : int -> int
~ : real -> real
~5, ~limit
~1e10, ~average
(Prefix) Unary negation.
* : int * int -> int
* : real * real -> real
2 * limit,
3.1416 * r * r
(Infix, left associative) Multiplication; operands and result are all of same type.
/ : real * real -> real
7.0 / 3.5, score / average
(Infix, left associative) Division of real numbers.
div : int * int -> int
limit div 2
(Infix, left associative) Integer division with truncation.
mod : int * int -> int
limit mod 2
(Infix, left associative) Modulus.
+ : int * int -> int
+ : real * real -> real
2 + 2, limit + 1
score + 1.0
(Infix, left associative) Addition of reals or of integers.
- : int * int -> int
- : real * real -> real
2 - 2, limit - 1
score - 1.0
(Infix, left associative) Subtraction of reals or of integers.
real : int -> real
real i, real (limit)
Convert integer to real.
round : real -> int
round (average)
Numbers ending in.5 are rounded to an even number.
trunc : real -> int
trunc average
Fractional part is discarded.
floor : real -> int
floor average
Largest integer not greater than argument.
ceil : real -> int
ceil (average + 3.0)
Smallest integer not less than argument.
ord : char -> int
ord #"a"
ASCII value of character.
chr : int -> char
chr 97
Character corresponding to ASCII value; argument must be in range 0..255.
str : char -> string
str initialLetter
Convert single character to string of length 1.
< : 'a * 'a -> bool
i < 0
Less than. a' can be int, real, char, or string.
<= : 'a * 'a -> bool
x <= 0.0
Less than or equal to. a' can be int, real, char, or string.
= : 'a * 'a -> bool
s = "abc"
Equals. a' can be int, char, or string, but not real.
<> : 'a * 'a -> bool
ch <> #"\n"
Compares two ints for inequality. a' can be int, char, or string, but not real.
>= : 'a * 'a -> bool
i >= j
> : 'a * 'a -> bool
x > y
Greater than. a' can be int, real, char, or string.
Operations with strings
The operators < <= = <> >= > can be applied to strings for lexical comparisons.
^ : string * string -> string
"Hello, " ^ name
Infix concatenation of two strings.
concat : string list -> string
concat ["ab", "c", "de"]
String concatenation.
size : string -> int
size "hello"
Number of characters in string.
explode : string -> char list
explode inputString
Convert string to list of characters.
implode : char list -> string
implode [#"h", #"i"]
Convert list of characters to string.
Int.toString : int -> string
print (Int.toString 5);
Convert int to string. Load Int library before using.
Real.toString : real -> string
print (


text:
It all began here:
(click on picture to link to page)
Colour lovers is an amazing place for digital art! There are thousands of patterns and color combinations for any crafters' heart! By clicking on the Pastel Butterflies image, you should arrive here:
I recommend playing with the buttons! However, in the right hand column you have a selection of pixel options for saving the image. I usually select preview:
Click on the small image and save as. For MTC this works great---the image is square and the patterns are designed to be repeatable. Before going on, there is a great surprise found by scrolling down the page:
Let's make the card!
MTC or related software
Graphic software (PSE, Paint, etc)
Lettering Delights files: Butterlies and Blossoms
My Thoughts Exactly Stamps: Easter Greetings
Misc. flower blossoms
Cardstock: White for print and cut, colored for card base
Downloadable egg file (see below)
- Open the downloaded butterfly image in your graphic program. I use PSE, but Paint or Infranview will do just fine! It opens really small, but that is okay!
- In PSE, select size: Image. Adjust the values as indicated for use in MTC.(I have had great success using these numbers--I texturize everything! )
- Save the new graphic in your digital papers file. I name my papers after the designer so that I will know to whom the credit is given! For example, my paper is named "Pixiehatz_butterflies".
- Now, download the basic egg file in one of these two formats.
- Open MTC and the egg file.
- Duplicate the file so that you have three (3) shapes. Arrange them on your mat to be cut from colored cardstock.
- Open a new page within this file. Name it. I find that the pages feature of MTC makes arranging my designs so easy!
- Duplicate for a total of two. Texturize with the paper downloaded from Colourlovers. So prettty!
- Create an "opening" for your egg front.( I used a scalloped circle created earlier and saved to my shapes within MTC.)
- Shadow the circle.
- Move each scalloped circle (opening) to it's own layer.
- And the fun continues....
- Copy the RGB values from the design page in Colourloves. This can be done in a number of ways. I find the easiest way is to do a screen capture and save to the same file as my graphic. I can then use multiple windows in my design as you will seen in the following images.
- Select one scalloped circle. Choose "Custom Color" from it's MTC layer.
- Type the desired RGB value in the highlighted box. Select add to Custom Color : OK. The scalloped circle will become that perfectly matched color! Repeat this process for the second scalloped circle.
- For the ornament I used Butterfly 3 from Lettering Delights' Butterflies and Blossoms Collection. I recolored the butterfly with the RGB values from Colourlovers.
- Duplicate the butterfly
- Mirror the duplicate so that it will fit precisely on the back of the first image.
- Rearrange the layers for optimum printing:
- After the butterfly is printed, select the layers for cutting:
- Print all pages that are PNC. Cut all pages and shapes:
- Choose one of the (green) card stock cuts. This will become your easel. Score the egg in half and 1/2' from the edge:
- Add your layers and embellish! Hint: I added the digital paper egg to the backing prior to gluing the easel to the back. Saved trimming the decorative paper!
I hope you enjoy this new source of digital papers!


Field of Dreams is based on three colours, blue, white and black with a closely cropped horizon line, allowing the viewer to gaze over the abstract, somewhat mysterious bent corn stalks into a dreamy and luminous mid-summer sky. Some have likened the shapes of the stalks to cubist works or even many small Sidney Opera Houses, and I can see those comparisons. In addition, if one looks closely at the clouds and blue sky, it is possible to find nearly half of the alphabet's letters in these shapes and forms.
The abstract field, endless sky, and glowing clouds lull one into dreams, hopes, thoughts of the future, reflections on the past and indeed, evaluation of the present. As always, I hope these photographs provide viewers with a mirror into their inner thoughts, hopes, fears, joys, challenges, loves and much more.
Scott Mead


text: English: occupational name for a scribe or secretary, originally a member of a minor religious order who undertook such duties. The word clerc denoted a member of a religious order, from Old English cler(e)c 'priest', reinforced by Old French clerc. Both are from Late Latin clericus, from Greek klērikos, a derivative of klēros 'inheritance', 'legacy', with reference to the priestly tribe of Levites (see Levy) 'whose inheritance was the Lord'. In medieval Christian Europe, clergy in minor orders were permitted to marry and so found families; thus the surname could become established. In the Middle Ages it was virtually only members of religious orders who learned to read and write, so that the term clerk came to denote any literate man.


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What are the rules for splitting words at the end of a line?
In printed texts, especially those with narrow columns, it's necessary from time to time to divide the last word in the line, and put some of it on the line below. The computer's automatic word-breaking system can execute this, but sometimes the output is 'wrong': tran + scend or trans + cend, des + pite or de + spite, the + rapist or ther + apist and go on and on. Yet dictionaries are far from unanimous about word-breaking.
That being said, I wonder if there are any 'rules' or guidelines that can be helpful in word-breaking actions.


text:
Taking It Home, Session 12: Humor (Sandpaper)
In "Toolbox of Faith," a Tapestry of Faith program
IN TODAY'S SESSION...
Today's Toolbox of Faith topic is humor and the Tool of the Day is sandpaper. The sandpaper symbolizes humor, a tool which smoothes the rough edges of life. In this session, participants engaged in and reflected on humor and laughter, and examined their place in helping us survive and enjoy the life we are given. We emphasized that humor can be an affirmation of life and a source of inner spiritual strength that helps us connect to others and look honestly at ourselves.
We explored humor to illustrate that:
- Unitarian Universalism is a faith that will help you be affirmed in life and connected to all beings through laughter
- Unitarian Universalism values respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part (seventh Principle)
- Unitarian Universalism affirms the direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces which create and uphold life. (first Source).
The children examined the difference between humor that is cruel — such as jokes based on stereotypes — and humor that opens us up to healing laughter. We emphasized that humor can heal when we laugh with others, and can harm when we laugh at others.
EXPLORE THE TOPIC TOGETHER. Talk about...
Can you think of times when you have encountered humor as an affirmation of life, or to teach or learn a lesson? Can you share an example? Have you experienced humor that is cruel? What happened?
What do you think about humor as a religious tool? Have you ever experienced humor in this way?
EXTEND THE TOPIC TOGETHER. Try...
Share laughter and humor in as many ways as you can together, by playing silly games, making faces, reading humorous stories out loud, and enjoying humorous family anecdotes. If you notice a moment when you are using humor to soften some pain in life — even a small hurt or disappointment — point this out to your child.
Find out if there is a Laughter Club in your area and join in for a session. For information and a directory of local Laughter Clubs, visit the Dr. Kataria School of Laughter Yoga website. On the website, find some laughter exercises.
Go together to the Scholastic Books website and use Dav Pilkey's Name Change-O-Chart to make silly names for each person in your family. Your family might enjoy reading together Captain Underpants and the Perilous Plot of Professor Poopypants by Dav Pilkey (Scholastic/Blue Sky Press, 2000) or others in the Captain Underpants series.
A FAMILY RITUAL
For a week, invite each family member to share a "joke of the day" at breakfast or at dinner.
This work is made possible by the generosity of individual donors and congregations. Please consider making a donation today.
Last updated on Friday, June 22, 2012.
- About the Authors
- Session 1
- Session 2
- Session 3
- Session 4
- Session 5
- Session 6
- Session 7
- Session 8
- Session 9
- Session 10
- Session 11
- Session 12
- Session 13
- Session 14
- Session 15
- Session 16
- List of Stories
- List of Handouts
- List of Leader Resources


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(written from a Production point of view)
Jon Michael Picard was a French Human that lived during the 16th century. He was a descendant of Françoise de Picard and Madame de La Barre, and a far ancestor of the La Barre and Picard family, and Captain Jean-Luc Picard.
The article containing this information was included in the Picard family album during the filming of Star Trek Generations. However, the information is non-canon as the article was never seen on-screen.


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12 Fascinating Facts About A Colorado Bird You May Have Never Seen
Colorado is home to over 500 species of birds and a lot of outstanding bird habitats, but have you ever seen this bird?
Owls of Colorado
Among all of the birds in Colorado, there are no less than 13 different species of owls including the popular great horned owl, the short-eared owl, the eastern screech owl, and the snowy owl - like the ones you see in the movie Dumb and Dumber.
One of the lesser-known Colorado owls is the burrowing owl which can be found throughout Colorado in various suitable habitats. These are small, long-legged, short-tailed, long-winged birds that stand 7 to 10 inches in height.
Birds That Live Underground
What is unusual about the burrowing owl is the fact that is that it doesn't live in trees, but usually in dry, open areas with short grasses and no trees. These birds can fly, but they actually nest in underground burrows created by prairie dogs, squirrels, or badgers. That means you might see burrowing squirrels on golf courses, cemeteries, airports, vacant lots, and pastures.
Burrowing Owls Can Be Difficult To Spot
The problem is, they can be really hard to spot if they aren't moving since they spend so much time on the ground and can often be hidden by forage. Oftentimes, the color of their feathers blends right in with the landscape. Additionally, since they often are using vacated prairie dog burrows, from a distance, they could appear to be prairie dogs instead of owls. Knowing what to look for and where to look is the key.
Colorado Parks & Wildlife says the owl habitat is slowly disappearing and burrowing owls have been negatively impacted by insecticides that kill grasshoppers, crickets, and beetles. The birds could become an endangered species in the near future.
12 Fascinating Facts About Colorado's Threatened Burrowing Owl
39 Colorado Animals You May Run Into


From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 (Redirected from Casters)
Jump to: navigation, search
For other uses, see Caster (disambiguation).
Two wheeled Casters on a desk chair (no fork)
Rigid casters[edit]
Swivel casters[edit]
A swivel caster.
Additionally, a swivel caster typically must include a small amount of offset distance between the center axis of the vertical shaft and the center axis of the caster wheel. When the caster is moved and the wheel is not facing the correct direction, the offset will cause the wheel assembly to rotate around the axis of the vertical shaft to follow behind the direction of movement. If there is no offset, the wheel will not rotate if not facing the correct direction, either preventing motion or dragging across the ground.
When in motion along a straight line, a swivel caster will tend to automatically align to, and rotate parallel to the direction of travel. This can be seen on a shopping cart when the front casters align parallel to the rear casters when traveling down an aisle. A consequence of this is that the vehicle naturally tends to travel in a straight direction. Precise steering is not required because the casters tend to maintain straight motion. This is also true during vehicle turns. The caster rotates perpendicular to the turning radius and provides a smooth turn. This can be seen on a shopping cart as the front wheels rotate at different velocities, with different turning radius depending on how tight a turn is made.
The angle of, and distance between the wheel axles and swivel joint can be adjusted for different types of caster performance.[1]
Industrial Casters[edit]
In early manufacturing, industrial caster bodies were typically fabricated from three separate, stamped metal parts, which were welded to the top plate. Today, many industrial caster bodies are made by laser cutting the body from a single metal blank and then using a press brake to shape the legs to the required ninety degree angle, thus producing a mechanically stronger device.
Various factors affect industrial caster performance. For example, larger wheel diameters and widths provide higher weight capacity by distributing the load's weight across a larger wheel surface area. Also, harder wheel materials (e.g., cast iron, high profile polyurethane) are less sensitive to and tend to not track dirt and debris on floors.
Braking and locking casters[edit]
A swivel caster with a wheel lock. The vertical swivel on this type of caster can not be locked in position.
Caster central locking mechanism on an old Stryker hydraulic stretcher. Shown in the locked position with the center cam rotated downward.
Swivel Caster with Poly Brake
A more complex type of swivel caster, sometimes called a total lock caster, has an additional rotational lock on the vertical shaft so that neither the shaft can rotate or the wheel can turn, providing very rigid support. It is possible to use these two locks together or separately. If the vertical shaft is locked but the wheel can still turn, the caster becomes a directional caster, but one which may be locked to roll in one direction along any horizontal axis.
In some cases it is useful to be able to brake or lock all casters at the same time, without having to walk around to individually engage a mechanism on each one. This is accomplished using a central lock mechanism, which is engaged by a rigid ring encircling each swivel caster, slightly above the wheel, that lowers and presses down on the wheel, preventing both wheel and swivel rotation. An alternative method is the central lock caster, which has a rotating cam in the center of each vertical caster shaft, leading down to a braking mechanism in the bottom of each caster.
Caster flutter[edit]
One major disadvantage of casters is flutter. A common example of caster flutter is on a supermarket shopping cart, when one caster rapidly swings side-to-side. This oscillation, which is also known as shimmy, occurs naturally at certain speeds, and is similar to speed wobble that occurs in other wheeled vehicles. The speed at which caster flutter occurs is based on the weight borne by the caster and the distance between the wheel axle and steering axis. This distance is known as trailing distance, and increasing this distance can eliminate flutter at moderate speeds. Generally, flutter occurs at high speeds.
What makes flutter dangerous is that it can cause a vehicle to suddenly move in an unwanted direction. Flutter occurs when the caster is not in full contact with the ground and therefore its orientation is uncontrollable. As the caster regains full contact with the ground, it can be in any orientation. This can cause the vehicle to suddenly move in the direction that the caster is pointed. At slower speeds, the caster's ability to swivel can correct the direction and can continue travel in the desired direction. But at high speeds this can be dangerous as the wheel may not be able to swivel quickly enough and the vehicle may lurch in any direction.
Electric and racing wheelchair designers are very concerned with flutter because the chair must be safe for riders. Increasing trailing distance can increase stability at higher speeds for wheelchair racing, but may create flutter at lower speeds for everyday use. Unfortunately, the more trail the caster has, the more space the caster requires to swivel. Therefore, in order to accommodate this extra swivel space, lengthening of frame or extending the footrests may be required. This tends to make the chair more cumbersome.
Caster flutter can be controlled by adding dampers or increasing the friction of the swivel joints.[2] This can be accomplished by adding washers to the swivel joint. The friction increases as the weight on the front of the chair increases. Anytime the caster begins to flutter, it slows the chair and shifts weight to the front wheels. There are several online anti-flutter kits for retrofitting wheelchair casters in this manner. Other methods of reducing caster flutter include increasing swivel lead, using heavier grease, reducing the mass of the wheel, or increasing friction with the ground by changing materials.[3]
Ergonomic Designs[edit]
A twin wheel rigid ergonomic[why?] caster
Wheel diameter, wheel width, and tandem wheels[edit]
Load capacity may be increased by using wider wheels with more ground contact area. However, when rotating a wide swivel caster in-place, the center part of the wheel-to-ground contact patch rotates slower than the regions further out to the sides. This difference in rotation speed across the base of the wheel contact patch causes wide wheels to resist rotation around the swivel, and this resistance increases as weight loading increases.
An alternative way to increase load capacity while limiting swivel-rotation resistance is to use multiple narrow wheels in tandem on the same wheel axis. Each wheel has a comparatively narrower ground contact patch than a single wide wheel, so there is less resistance to turning in place on the swivel.
Other related wheels[edit]
There are four main classifications of wheels:
 - A standard wheel has a center rotating hub (or bearing) and a compliant material on its outer side.
 - A caster is a wheel mounted to a fork, with an optional, additional offset steering joint.
 - An omni-directional wheel (Mecanum wheel, Omni wheel, or Swedish wheel) is made of a large central hub with many additional smaller wheels mounted along the perimeter such that their axes are perpendicular to the central wheel. The central wheel can rotate around its axis like traditional wheels, but the smaller wheels can also enable movement perpendicular to the central axis.
 - A spherical wheel is omni-directional and is generally a spherical ball mounted inside a restraining fixture. An example is a ball transfer unit.
See also[edit]
 1. ^ Siegwart, R. and Nournakhsh, I. "Introduction to Autonomous Mobile Robots", MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 2004. 321 p. ISBN 0-262-19502-X
 2. ^ 12 Making the Front Wheels, Center for International Rehabilitation Chapter
 3. ^ Causes and Corrections of Caster Flutter Caster Concepts' Solutions
 4. ^ Focus on Ergonomic Design Improvements Caster Concepts' Solutions
External links[edit]


text:
I think it depends how much ice you have avalaible to you, or could have available.
- Surface area / volume, show how much more slowly large pieces of ice melt compared to the same volume of small pieces.
- Have a container with a large volume of floating ice, mark the water level and show how it doesn't change while the ice melts - already floating ice will have no effect on sea level.
- Have a slope of something covered in ice leading to a container of water to represent an ice shelf on the land, as this melts, the water (sea) level rises.
- Do the melting in water things at different temperatures, fridge, cooler room (outside?) warm place - draw a graph of temp v speed of melting.
- Do you have one of those mist generator things you put under a small amount of water? If so you can use it over a mound of something to represent the Antarctic continent. As the mist is generated and falls down the slope, it is acting like a catabatic wind.
That's all I can think of for now, let me know if you want anything specific and I'll see if I can think of something.


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Microwave Limb Sounder
The Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) experiments measure naturally-occurring microwave thermal emission from the limb (edge) of Earth's atmosphere to remotely sense vertical profiles of atmospheric gases, temperature, pressure, and cloud ice. The overall objective of these experiments is to provide information that will help improve our understanding of Earth's atmosphere and global change.
NEAR REAL-TIME DATA VIEWER
|Current GMT day:|
|Maps @ 46hPa; SO2 @ 147hPa and CO @ 215hPa|


text:
Nanostructured photocatalysts for green chemistry and sustainable catalysis
Nanoscale materials with precise structure and composition offer unique opportunities in the development of catalytic processes for green and sustainable chemistry. Following a long tradition of successful undergraduate researchers and summer interns in our lab, SULI students in the Vela group will apply principles of nanomaterial synthesis, green chemistry, and catalysis to investigate photochemical transformations of renewable and alternative energy sources, with an emphasis on carbon dioxide (CO2) and biomass-relevant substrates.
The Vela group focuses on the design of distinct, powerful and widely applicable synthetic strategies spanning the continuum between the molecular and nano scales, and that enable effective processing and incorporation of nanomaterials into innovative energy conversion and catalytic technologies. We are particularly interested in the use of hybrid heterostructured nanocomposites as photocatalysts for the selective solar-to-chemical energy conversion of biomass-derived substrates (polyols) into useful chemicals (biopolymers) and fuels (molecular hydrogen).
Mentor: Javier Vela, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Iowa State University


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KDnuggets Home » News » 2016 » Apr » Tutorials, Overviews » Association Rules and the Apriori Algorithm: A Tutorial ( 16:n14 )
Association Rules and the Apriori Algorithm: A Tutorial
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A great and clearly-presented tutorial on the concepts of association rules and the Apriori algorithm, and their roles in market basket analysis.
The Problem
When we go grocery shopping, we often have a standard list of things to buy. Each shopper has a distinctive list, depending on one's needs and preferences. A housewife might buy healthy ingredients for a family dinner, while a bachelor might buy beer and chips. Understanding these buying patterns can help to increase sales in several ways. If there is a pair of items, X and Y, that are frequently bought together:
Tesco Pic (edit).png
Product placement in Tesco, UK.
 - Both X and Y can be placed on the same shelf, so that buyers of one item would be prompted to buy the other.
 - Promotional discounts could be applied to just one out of the two items.
 - Advertisements on X could be targeted at buyers who purchase Y.
 - X and Y could be combined into a new product, such as having Y in flavors of X.
While we may know that certain items are frequently bought together, the question is, how do we uncover these associations?
Besides increasing sales profits, association rules can also be used in other fields. In medical diagnosis for instance, understanding which symptoms tend to co-morbid can help to improve patient care and medicine prescription.
Association rules analysis is a technique to uncover how items are associated to each other. There are three common ways to measure association.
Measure 1: Support. This says how popular an itemset is, as measured by the proportion of transactions in which an itemset appears. In Table 1 below, the support of {apple} is 4 out of 8, or 50%. Itemsets can also contain multiple items. For instance, the support of {apple, beer, rice} is 2 out of 8, or 25%.
Association Rule Support eqn
Table 1. Example Transactions
If you discover that sales of items beyond a certain proportion tend to have a significant impact on your profits, you might consider using that proportion as your support threshold. You may then identify itemsets with support values above this threshold as significant itemsets.
Measure 2: Confidence. This says how likely item Y is purchased when item X is purchased, expressed as {X -> Y}. This is measured by the proportion of transactions with item X, in which item Y also appears. In Table 1, the confidence of {apple -> beer} is 3 out of 4, or 75%.
Association Rule Confidence eqn
One drawback of the confidence measure is that it might misrepresent the importance of an association. This is because it only accounts for how popular apples are, but not beers. If beers are also very popular in general, there will be a higher chance that a transaction containing apples will also contain beers, thus inflating the confidence measure. To account for the base popularity of both constituent items, we use a third measure called lift.
Measure 3: Lift. This says how likely item Y is purchased when item X is purchased, while controlling for how popular item Y is. In Table 1, the lift of {apple -> beer} is 1,which implies no association between items. A lift value greater than 1 means that item Y is likely to be bought if item X is bought, while a value less than 1 means that item Y is unlikely to be bought if item X is bought.
Association Rule Lift eqn
An Illustration
We use a dataset on grocery transactions from the arules R library. It contains actual transactions at a grocery outlet over 30 days. The network graph below shows associations between selected items. Larger circles imply higher support, while red circles imply higher lift:
Association Rules Network Graph
Associations between selected items. Visualized using the arulesViz R library.
Several purchase patterns can be observed. For example:
 - The most popular transaction was of pip and tropical fruits
 - Another popular transaction was of onions and other vegetables
 - If someone buys meat spreads, he is likely to have bought yogurt as well
 - Relatively many people buy sausage along with sliced cheese
 - If someone buys tea, he is likely to have bought fruit as well, possibly inspiring the production of fruit-flavored tea
Recall that one drawback of the confidence measure is that it tends to misrepresent the importance of an association. To demonstrate this, we go back to the main dataset to pick 3 association rules containing beer:
association rules confidence lift example
Table 2. Association measures for beer-related rules
The {beer -> soda} rule has the highest confidence at 20%. However, both beer and soda appear frequently across all transactions (see Table 3), so their association could simply be a fluke. This is confirmed by the lift value of {beer -> soda}, which is 1, implying no association between beer and soda.
association rules support example
Table 3. Support of individual items
On the other hand, the {beer -> male cosmetics} rule has a low confidence, due to few purchases of male cosmetics in general. However, whenever someone does buy male cosmetics, he is very likely to buy beer as well, as inferred from a high lift value of 2.6. The converse is true for {beer -> berries}. With a lift value below 1, we may conclude that if someone buys berries, he would likely be averse to beer.
It is easy to calculate the popularity of a single itemset, like {beer, soda}. However, a business owner would not typically ask about individual itemsets. Rather, the owner would be more interested in having a complete list of popular itemsets. To get this list, one needs to calculate the support values for every possible configuration of items, and then shortlist the itemsets that meet the minimum support threshold.
In a store with just 10 items, the total number of possible configurations to examine would be a whopping 1023. This number increases exponentially in a store with hundreds of items.
Is there a way to reduce the number of item configurations to consider?
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text:
How the UN is using Google technology to increase awareness of refugee camps
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has teamed up with Google to give anyone with Web access a chance to see what life and conditions are like in a refugee camp. The initial iteration centers on Chad, Iraq, Colombia and Darfur.
Web surfers can explore camps through the visual, textual, audio and video information that's layered on top of the bigger picture. Pop-up windows throughout the images of the camps tell you what's going on, and what's needed. You can also move in close enough to examine the infrastructure, including schools and other facilities.


Cold Wave - News Makers
A cold wave is a weather phenomenon that is distinguished by a cooling of the air. Specifically, as used by the U.S. National Weather Service, a cold wave is a rapid fall in temperature within a 24 hour period requiring substantially increased protection to agriculture, industry, commerce, and social activities. The precise criterion for a cold wave is determined by the rate at which the temperature falls, and the minimum to which it falls. This minimum temperature is dependent on the geographical region and time of year. Source: Wikipedia < Read less Read more >
Cold Wave