How do you get the perfect ice cream with flow controllers?
June 19, 2018 Kevin van Dijk
Ice Cream
For most people the classic summer treat is ice cream. Around 7 billion gallons of ice cream and other related frozen desserts are produced every year worldwide, with production peaking (as you might expect) in the summer months, according to the International Dairy Foods Association. Yet, the moment you consume an ice cream, you will probably not wonder how this delicacy is being made. To get that perfect ice cream, a mass flow controller is often used.
What does ice cream have to do with mass flow meters?
Ice cream contains many different ingredients, such as fat, sugar, milk solids, an emulsifying agent, flavouring and sometimes colouring agents. But there is one main ingredient that you may not have thought about, probably because you can't see it—air. Ice cream is made by freezing and simultaneously blending air into the ingredients. So why is air so important?
If you have ever had a bowl of ice cream melt, and then refroze it and tried to eat it later, it probably did not taste very good. Moreover, if you leave a carton of ice cream out in the hot sun and let it melt, the volume of the ice cream would simply go down. Air makes up anywhere from 30% to 50% of the total volume of ice cream, therefore, aeration in the production process is crucial.
Flow scheme of whipping ice cream process
Possible flow scheme of whipping ice cream process
The amount of air in ice cream (often called overrun) affects the taste, texture and appearance of the finished product. Higher aeration will produce a tastier and smoother ice cream. A side effect of adding air to ice cream is that it tends to melt more quickly. Thus, for attaining an optimal structure of the ice cream, it is important to have a stable inlet air flow in the production process with a constant cream/air ratio. This can be achieved by using a mass flow controller.
 - To get an idea of the effect of air on ice cream, think of whipped cream. Whipped cream - cream with air - has a different texture and taste than plain cream. To learn more about this process, please read the story of our guest blogger Hans-Georg Frenzel, from Hansa Mixer, where he explains how air is used to create whipped cream.
ice cream microstructure
Figure 1: Ice cream microstructure
The process of whipping ice cream into shape
To guarantee the right consistency and structure which ensures a full flavoured ice cream, the cream must contain the correct proportion and composition of air bubbles. Hence, aeration mixer manufacturers use a mass flow controller to dose an exact amount of air into the cooled mixer. Such a mass flow controller will ensure a continuous air delivery, proportional to the cream flow. The mass flow controller must be capable of maintaining its performance regardless of any possible back pressure variation. Occasionally, a check valve is mounted at the mass flow controller's downstream. If inlet pressure drops, such valve will avoid ice back stream into the instrument. A pressure meter is also used with the purpose of monitoring the inlet pressure.
Bronkhorst EL-FLOW Select flow meter
Bronkhorst EL-FLOW Select flow meter
The SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope) picture (figure 1) shows the ice cream microstructure. Air bubbles are a critical ingredient. Experts claim its optimal size, distribution and quantity are one of the secrets for having a creamy texture recipe. Hence, according to meet such demands, Bronkhorst has provided efficient solutions for enhancing continuous aeration processes.
So, the next time you head to the ice cream parlor with your friends, be sure to keep in mind the importance of Bronkhorst when it comes to that delicious refreshment.
Bronkhorst USA LLC
57 South Commerce Way
Suite 120
USA - Bethlehem, PA 18017
Tel. _PHONE_
[email protected]


text:
Obesity is one of the most prevalent health problems in the United States. Current therapeutic strategies for the treatment of obesity are unsatisfactory. We hypothesized the use of colon electrical stimulation (CES) to treat obesity by inhibiting upper gastrointestinal motility. In this preliminary study, we aimed at studying the effects of CES on gastric emptying of solid, intestinal motility, and food intake in dogs. Six dogs, equipped with serosal colon electrodes and a jejunal cannula, were randomly assigned to receive sham-CES or CES during the assessment of: (i) gastric emptying of solids, (ii) postprandial intestinal motility, (iii) autonomic functions, and (iv) food intake. We found that (i) CES delayed gastric emptying of solids by 77%. Guanethidine partially blocked the inhibitory effect of CES on solid gastric emptying; (ii) CES significantly reduced intestinal contractility and the effect lasted throughout the recovery period; (iii) CES decreased vagal activity in both fasting and fed states, increased the sympathovagal balance and marginally increased sympathetic activity in the fasting state; (iv) CES resulted in a reduction of 61% in food intake. CES reduces food intake in healthy dogs and the anorexigenic effect may be attributed to its inhibitory effects on gastric emptying and intestinal motility, mediated via the autonomic mechanisms. Further studies are warranted to investigate the therapeutic potential of CES for obesity.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Medicine (miscellaneous)
- Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism
- Nutrition and Dietetics

source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


text:
Jump to Main Content
Mitigation of inorganic fouling on pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) membranes by coagulation pretreatment of the wastewater concentrate feed
- Wan, Chun Feng, Jin, Shuai, Chung, Tai-Shung
- Journal of membrane science 2019 v.572 pp. 658-667
- aluminum chloride, calcium phosphates, coagulants, coagulation, fouling, osmosis, pH, permeability, polyamides, silica, thin film composite membranes, wastewater
- Utilization of wastewater or wastewater concentrate as the feed solution in pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) via thin film composite (TFC) membranes causes rapid and significant fouling within the porous substrate and onto the polyamide selective layer facing the substrate. Scaling of calcium phosphate salts has been identified as the predominant cause for the severe PRO membrane fouling. In this study, an acidic coagulant, AlCl3, and a caustic coagulant, NaAlO2, are employed to remove the phosphate from the wastewater concentrate. Their optimal dosages are investigated in order to most effectively remove phosphate and maintain a mild pH environment. 1000 ml of AlCl3 and NaAlO2 pretreated and untreated wastewater concentrates are then used as the feed solutions in the PRO fouling studies. The untreated wastewater concentrate that is saturated with calcium phosphate causes a dramatic flux reduction of 45.2% during the first 360 min of the tests and further reduces to 30.7% after a 25% recovery of the wastewater concentrate. Results show that both AlCl3 and NaAlO2 pretreatments can increase the initial water flux to 25.5 LMH and 24.8 LMH at 20 bar respectively, and increase the normalized water flux to 66% and 64% respectively upon a total permeation volume of 250 ml. However, the AlCl3 pretreatment shows a lower water flux recovery after a hydraulic backwash and a faster flux reduction in the repeated fouling tests. Elemental analyses reveal that AlCl3 is less effective in silica removal from the wastewater concentrate, which causes silica condensation underneath the selective layer of the TFC membrane. NaAlO2 appears to be the more effective coagulant in both phosphate and silica removal for a prolonged PRO operation. Moreover, a critical water flux framework is developed to analyze the PRO calcium phosphate fouling, in order to determine the stable water flux at a given phosphate concentration or the maximum allowable phosphate concentration to achieve the target PRO flux and power density.


text: Charles Simonyi is a Hungarian born (10 September 1948) programmer and software developer, and Cold War refugee. In 1972, he joined Xerox PARC and worked with Butler Lampson to create the first WYSIWYG word processor, called Bravo. In 1981, he moved to Microsoft, became head of the application software group, and managed creation of its flagship office programs: Word, Multiplan, and Excel. In 2002, he left Microsoft to found a firm to create and promote a breakthrough programming methodology: Intentional Programming. In 2007, he will become the fifth space tourist.


text: SCHEMA COERCION: USING DATABASE META-INFORMATION TO FACILITATE DATA TRANSFER by Terence Critchlow A dissertation submitted to the faculty of The University of Utah in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Computer Science The University of Utah June 1997 ABSTRACT As more information becomes available, the ability to quickly incorporate new and diverse data sources into existing database systems becomes critical. Schema coercion addresses this need by defining the mapping between databases as a collection of mappings between corresponding constructs. This work defines a comprehensive schema coercion tool: it transforms schemata into corresponding ER representations, identifies correspondences between them, and uses these correspondences to generate a program that automatically transfers data between the databases. In addition to creating a useful tool, this work addresses the significant theoretical problems associated with resolving representational and semantic conflicts between heterogeneous data sources. The approach advocated by this dissertation associates confidences with correspondences, and meta-information with schemata. This approach has successfully reduced the amount of interaction required to define several coercions, including a complex coercion between diverse genetics databases.


text:
130@ gpiochip128@ gpiochip192@ gpiochip64@ unexport
Update your exercises folder and cd to gpio directory.
beagle$ cd beagle$ cd exercises/gpio beagle$ git pull beagle$ gedit togglegpio.sh
Can you tell what the program is doing? Try running it:
beagle$ togglegpio 130 0.05
Note that if you are the root user (which is the default case for Angstrom), you will have to type the following command:
beagle$./togglegpio 130 0.05
The first argument tells which gpio port to toggle, the second tells how long to delay between toggling. In this example 0.05 s is 50 ms, which should give a period around 100ms. Measure the signal on an oscilloscope.
Assignment: gpio from the shell
Measuring a gpio pin on an Oscilloscope
Answer the following questions about gpio measurements.
- What's the min and max voltage?
- What period is it?
- How close is it to 100ms?
- Why do they differ?
- Run htop and see how much processor you are using.
- Try different values for the sleep time (2nd argument). What's the shortest period you can get? Make a table of the values you try and the corresponding period and processor usage.
- How stable is the period?
- Try launching something like mplayer. How stable is the period?
- Try cleaning up togglegpio and removing unneeded lines. Does it impact the period?
- togglegpio uses bash (first line in file). Try using sh. Is the period shorter?
- What's the shortest period you can get?
Toggling the LEDs
Modify togglegpio (call it toggleLED) to toggle the LEDs. Can you get the LED to appear to dim by changing the duty cycle of the toggling?
User Button to gpio 130
Write a shell script that reads the User Button and outputs it value on gpio pin 130.
Count the User Button Presses
Write a shell script that displays a count of the number of times the User Button has been pressed.
Copy gpio 130 to gpio 131
Write a shell script that copies the value of gpio pin 130 to gpio pin 131. How much CPU time does it take? What's the delay from the time the input changes until the output changes? How constant is the delay?
Reading the Keyboard and Mouse
beagle$ cd /sys/class/input beagle$ ls -F beagle$ evtest event2 Hit ctrl-C to stop
Now move your mouse around, or try you keyboard. My mouse is plugged into the bottom left USB port and event2 responds to it. Where do your keyboard and mouse appear?
Reading the User Button
(Note: This may not work on some versions of the OS. In these versions another program is controlling the gpio port that the User button is attached to.)
It's attached to gpio port 4. You can read it via:
beagle$ cd /sys/class/gpio beagle$ ls -F export gpio133@ gpio137@ gpio141@ gpiochip160@ gpiochip96@ gpio130@ gpio134@ gpio138@ gpio162@ gpiochip192@ unexport gpio131@ gpio135@ gpio139@ gpiochip0@ gpiochip32@ gpio132@ gpio136@ gpio140@ gpiochip128@ gpiochip64@
Notice there is no gpio4. Here's how you can create it, set it to an input port and read its value:
beagle$ echo 4 > export beagle$ ls beagle$ cd gpio4 beagle$ echo in > direction beagle$ cat value
Try holding down the switch and doing
cat value again. Does the value change? There's a shell script called readgpio that repeatedly reads the switch.
beagle$ readgpio 4
Try pushing the switch. Does it work? Hit ctrl-C to stop. Look at readgpio. How does it work?
beagle$ which readgpio beagle$ cp /usr/bin/readgpio ~ beagle$ gedit ~/readgpio
- Here is wh1ts article on flashing an LED. It is referenced in the readgpio file that comes on the Beagle.
- This Make magazine article has a few more details.
- Here in a gpio reference for Linux in general. It includes sample 'C' code for flashing at 1 Hz.
- Here is a posting in the Beagle Google group about gpio.
- Here is some information about gpio from the kernel point of view.
- Here is some info on a GPIO Event Driver
- Here is info on how to set edge to falling and poll() the pin.
- Here is the kernel Documentation on gpio.
Embedded Linux Class by Mark A. Yoder

source: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb-edu


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NEEMO 6: Home | Timeline | Journals
Crew Interviews
Interview: Marc Reagan
The NEEMO 6 Crew Interview with Marc Reagan, mission director
Can you explain what NEEMO is, and what does it have to do with the International Space Station.
We saw a need to prepare our crewmembers for space that was outside of the training realm. We have great simulators; we have the ability to teach how systems work and how procedures can be followed, and how to interact with the control center. But, what we were missing was the mission analog environment, living in an extreme environment in close proximity to other people in isolation for extended periods of time and following a regimented timeline that's being re-planned day after day. All of those are aspects of the real mission that you don't get from simulations or from normal training. NEEMO was developed as a concept to fill the rest of that gap, to prepare crewmembers for their first space missions.
Can you describe the Aquarius environment that the crewmembers will be working in?
The Aquarius habitat is the only undersea research facility in operation in the world today. It is located just a few miles offshore near Key Largo, Florida. The sea floor there is 60 feet, and it's in a National Marine Sanctuary, and it's right on the edge of a reef, and there's a lot of reef life there to study. The hatch depth, which is the depth that controls the pressure inside, is about 47 feet. The module itself is about the dimensions of one of our modules on the International Space Station. It's about 45 feet long and about 13 feet in diameter, so it's a pretty tight environment for a crew of six to live in.
How and why were you selected for your involvement with the NEEMO project?
I was one of the people in the beginning that helped put this together as a viable project. I guess I self-selected by being aware that it was going on and volunteering early and helping put it together. We have a very small team of people that run this project - there are only four of us, and I was one of the original four.
What is your role in the NEEMO mission?
In this particular mission I'll be the Mission Director. I'm responsible for getting the mission put together beforehand, and I'll be responsible for executing all of NASA's objectives during the mission. It's a mission that's being operated in the end by the National Undersea Research Center that owns Aquarius. So, all issues related to safety, they have to answer to. The support of the facility, they answer to. But, as far as the objectives that we at NASA are trying to accomplish, all of those are within my purview.
Can you explain how you think that NEEMO is a valuable training tool for the ISS?
What NEEMO does is it gives crewmembers a chance to prepare for their role in upcoming ISS missions in a way that we can't accomplish with our normal training. It's primarily used by the Astronaut Office for rookie crewmembers who've never had a mission to experience their first mission, and make any rookie types of mistakes that they would make. It's also used as a commander upgrade program for the Astronaut Office, so people that have never been commanders of a space mission have the chance to go through this as the Commander of a NEEMO mission and get a chance to have people under their command and make first-time commander types of mistakes. That's probably the greatest value it has. The fact that it's an extreme environment, the fact that you have safety concerns that are always hanging over you because you could make mistakes that could injure or kill you, make it a valuable analog to spaceflight. You always have to be aware of those safety considerations in everything that you do. That's something we just can't simulate in a simulator here.
Can you explain some of the similarities between saturation diving in the undersea environment, and life in space onboard the ISS?
The biggest similarity is the fact that because you're saturation diving, it means that you cannot return to the surface. It takes about 17 hours to go through a full decompression to get back safely to the surface. On the International Space Station, for comparison, if we had to evacuate and get in a Soyuz craft and come back to the primary landing site in Kazakhstan, depending on where you are in the orbit, that could take as much as 18 hours. So in both cases, you're very isolated from the things you take for granted on this planet.
You served on the NEEMO 2 mission. Can you explain your role in that and as a former crewmember, how it will help you better understand the challenges of living and working on the Space Station?
I served on NEEMO 2 as an aquanaut. There were four of us from NASA and two from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington that were helping supervise that mission. That mission allowed me the opportunity to go through all aspects of a real mission from these types of interviews beforehand, to in-flight, public affairs, and educational events. We ate space food throughout the course of the mission. We worked with the Mission Control Center here in Houston. And, we had to, as a crew, figure out what kinds of shirts we were going to wear for photos and things like that. Every aspect of preparation for a mission as well as after the mission, for example, getting all the data to the right people from the experiments we did, getting thank-yous to the right people for the support they gave - all of that gave me a really much better appreciation for what a crewmember has to go through. The spaceflight itself is only a portion of what's consumed their lives for years, leading up to and even after the mission. I think that's helped me much better appreciate what International Space Station astronauts go through as well.
Can you explain how this type of training for NEEMO is different than other types of training at JSC?
I come from the Training Division. In fact, three of our four on our topside team that run these missions work in the Training Division here. So, a lot of the training we do for our aquanauts is very similar to what they see for Space Station. In the big picture, we have a lot of different things that you have to get training on: lots of different experiments the in-flight events that happen, the diving that's happening, and you're proxy scientists for different people. I think the greatest similarity is just the sheer number of widely varied things that you have to go and get training on. At the same time, there's a pretty big difference in the training we do for NEEMO and the training we do for Space Station. Our Space Station astronauts spend a very large amount of their time learning how the systems onboard work, learning how to be the primary responders if systems break down, and keep the Space Station operational and viable. That's not the case with NEEMO. We have two professional "habitat technicians" that are employees of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, and they supervise the missions and the habitat. They are the professionals that make sure that the systems work, and our astronauts, or our aquanauts from NASA, don't get involved in that really, with the exception of the diving gear itself. There's a full week of aquanaut training that teaches you how to use the diving gear safely, because on the excursions they do, they are solely responsible for staying safe, and diving properly and using the equipment properly. That's very similar to astronaut training, but the habitat systems and life support, we don't train in, and that's a big difference that we have.
How is the research on NEEMO similar to the research that's being conducted on the ISS?
Throughout the course of the NEEMO project, we've done dozens of experiments that are similar or actually even on the International Space Station. We've experimented with portable ultrasound devices. We've done experiments where we took crewmembers' blood and looked for viral shedding. On this mission in particular, we have not so much experiments that are on the International Space Station as experiments that may someday be on the International Space Station. This is more of a technology demonstration for things that are out there in manned spaceflight in the future. But, things that are very similar to what we see on board the Space Station is the resistive exercise device, for instance. We have one that we think is an improvement over the one that's on orbit right now. Exercise is a very crucial component to the wellbeing of astronauts in space. We're testing a next-generation of hardware on this mission. We have a bone device that measures the strength of bones. With bone loss that we see in space, that's a very important thing to NASA and to our astronauts. Field testing that kind of technology in an operational environment could go a long way toward making it viable for future spaceflights.
You've been a Space Station training lead for years. Can you explain how that's helped you in designing and directing this mission?
I've had several crews that I've trained, both Space Station and Shuttle crews. I've been involved in training of multiple flight control teams for missions ranging from Shuttle to Station. So I've seen a wide variety of human spaceflight missions come together, and I think it's given me a perspective of the important elements that are involved in space missions, and making sure that we incorporate those same important elements in our NEEMO analog.
You've also spent some time this year as a CAPCOM in Mission Control. Do you think that will help you in your interactions with the NEEMO


Strengthen the inner muscle in just 10 minutes. Ideal posture with a well-shaped body axis.
By repeating symmetrical movements rhythmicly, you can get an ideal posture with the axis of the body in place. It is a fitness gear that can be easily trained to strengthen swing exercise such as golf, baseball, tennis, etc. in the room at home or indoors.
Features of item
Instrument usage
By rhythmically performing symmetrical movements, you will increase your awareness of your exercise posture and optimize your body's axis.
Twisting the body while swinging with POWER BALANCE symmetrically balances the muscles on the left and right sides of the body as well as the front and rear muscles to achieve an ideal posture.
As shown in the photo, use both hands to grasp the handle part of the power balance.
Open the foot to the width of the shoulder, use the entire arm softly and shake the power balance greatly from side to side.
Exercise Tips
Instead of using only the arm, it also moves the shoulder blade.
make as unalienable as to be able to do with a kite
consciously consciously symmetrical and symmetrical in the body of the true center
the face is facing the front and the head is not moved
Effects and Benefits
Learn efficient and effective swings in golf, baseball, tennis, etc.
In order to achieve efficient swing movement, the individual must first maintain proper posture on their own. (But we have a tendency to lose our posture in our daily lives). The rhythmic repetition of symmetrical movements will help you achieve the ideal posture with an aligned body and a stable, powerful swing. POWER BALANCE is also used as a basic training tool for athletes.
Head Speed Improving
As the body's axis becomes straight, the body is rotated faster, and the head speed increases.
Realization of swing stability
There are times when you don't hit a stopped ball properly, or you don't hit it, but you can't always swing the same way. When the axis of the body becomes straight, the swing becomes stable and reproducibility increases, so the meat rate also improves.
Efficient daily exercise
Walking is an effective way to improve the posture that we can do on a daily basis, but it is said that it takes about 4 hours for the body to loosen and improve its posture. In power balance exercise, you can expect the same or better effect as walking exercise in about 10 minutes.
Strengthening inner muscles
You can also effectively strengthen your core muscles, such as the erector spinae muscles, to maintain your posture.
Design based on the HAL METHOD
Designed based on HAL METHOD for beautiful posture and efficient movement.
POWER BALANCE【Frequently asked questions】
The enhancement training for the axis is possible in any type, especially in professional strength and swing sports, and for the first time the wati is suitable for training for the way the body is used.
Alever there are individual differences, power balance, michi, and wachi can be used from about 5 years old, and power balance is available from about the upper grades of elementary school.
You can use any type regardless of gender, so please check the purpose and length.
* Please refer to herefor FAQs regarding other products and delivery.
Power Balance Wachi ¥11,000(excluding tax)
Recommended for those who fall under the following!
Those who use it for the first time
Those who will start exercising from now on
Women who are not confident in their grip
Power Balance Michi ¥10,000(excluding tax)
Recommended for those who fall under the following!
a child's side
If you want to acquire a more precise swing than you want to win.
Those who want to use it indoors
Balance power Pro ¥13,800(excluding tax)
Recommended for those who fall under the following!
Golf Swing
For basic training in swing sports
Power Balance Pharaoh ¥8,000(excluding tax)
Recommended for those who fall under the following!
For baseball training
For basic training in swing sports
Fitness Gear
HALMETHOD on your wrist, anytime, anywhere
INSTRUCTION DVD Teaching materials DVD, etc.
DVD materials on how to use fitness equipment and more
Fitness-related books, Slim Fitters, and more.


Pedagogical Approach for Educative Games
Recently, we've been reviewing our design guidelines for educative games. Regarding this matter, we've decided that our approach for creating educative games should be based on the following aspects:
 1. Pedagogical Approach: This comprises aspects such as the pedagogical philosophy of the application, the user's motivation, and the employment of multimedia resources according with the pedagogical philosophy and the topics developed.
 2. Content: It's related to the information presented by the game, and also the goals of the project.
 3. Language, Grammar & Style: This aspect covers all the things related to grammar, ortography, definitions, localization and format.
 4. Aesthetics and presentation: It includes all the details related with the application's aesthetics, the way content is organized and displayed, and the user interface.
 5. Evaluation: It refers to the mechanisms employed by the application in order to verify the learning results.
 6. Internal Aspects of the System: It comprises all the functions invisible for the user, related to security, data backup, fault-tolerance, among other internal aspects.
The approach must strive for fast and high-quality software deliveries, balancing speed, quality and price. Software requirements and goals are a very volatile matter, and as such, we must structure our work in order to cope with our clients' new expectations, i.e., we'll be following a highly dynamical software development approach.


How to Combine Complementary Proteins on a Plant-Based Diet
How to Combine Complementary Proteins on a Plant-Based Diet
Among the dietary challenges confronting vegetarians and vegans, perhaps none receives more attention than the eternal search for sufficient protein. For those on a plant-based diet, it can be hard enough to compete with the sheer density of protein provided by meat and dairy products, but throw in the need to combine complementary proteins and it can seem nearly impossible.
If you're new to the concept of incomplete proteins, read on. Below we'll discuss what they are, how they vary, and which to combine in order to make them complete.
Why It's Harder for Vegetarians and Vegans to Get Enough Protein
high-protein diet is prized among highly active people because protein enhances recovery and promotes performance. Eating protein after exercise also helps stimulate muscle growth and strength. And if you cut calories for weight loss, a high-protein snack can help stave off hunger and preserve lean muscle mass even as you shed pounds.
Unsurprisingly, vegetarians and vegans eat less protein than omnivores. And as a group, athletic individuals need more protein than the population at large. According to Krista Maguire, RD, CSSD, and nutrition manager for Openfit, "It's common to recommend that vegan and vegetarian athletes eat 10 percent more protein than non-vegetarian athletes."
That's because plant proteins generally score lower in digestibility than their animal counterparts. Therefore, vegetarians and vegans must make smart protein choices to get enough nutrients to reach their dietary and fitness goals.
What Are Complementary Proteins?
Protein complementation is the practice of pairing foods that have different amino acid profiles so you don't miss key aminos. Amino acids are like beads on a protein necklace: By stringing different numbers and types of beads, your body can create infinite possibilities of tissues, hormones, etc. It's to your benefit to have as many beads lying around just in case you need them.
There are 20 different amino acids, but only nine are deemed essential (or indispensable) amino acids (EAA). That means your body can't produce them, so they must be derived from food.
Foods with all nine EAAs score high in biological value and are deemed "complete proteins." All animal proteins are complete proteins, but few plant proteins meet that criterion. Most plant-based proteins are incomplete, but you can make them complete by combining them. That's complementation… complementarity… complementiasis — whatever you call it!
Complete vs. Incomplete Plant Proteins
You can count up plant examples of complete proteins on one finger: At present, soy is the only confirmed plant-based protein, despite common wisdom to the contrary. That makes it an ideal protein source for vegans, and explains its ubiquity as a meat substitute.
But you can get all of your EAAs from plant sources — it simply requires some dietary balance. Beans (excepting soy), grains, nuts, seeds, and vegetables are incomplete protein sources since they're missing or don't contain enough of one or more EAA, but together they can form complete protein profiles.
The handy chart below explains which amino acids are missing from which plant food and what to pair it with to get all nine EAAs. Rice and beans, for instance, is a classic example of protein complementation.
Food Missing Amino Acid Complementary Protein Source
Beans Methionine Grains, nuts, seeds
Grains Lysine, Threonine Legumes
Nuts & seeds Lysine Legumes
Vegetables Methionine Grains, nuts, seeds
Corn Tryptophan, Lysine Legumes
Should You Eat Complementary Proteins at the Same Time?
Simultaneous protein complementation was advocated in the past, but it's now generally believed that you can get away with consuming them within the same day or so. Says Maguire, "Vegetarians and vegans don't need to worry about complementing foods at every meal. Just shoot for a well-balanced diet."
How to Combine Complementary Proteins
Even after reading this, the bean counters (see what we did there?) among us may still want to pair complementary proteins anyway. If it makes your protein accounting efforts any simpler, complementary protein pairings appear naturally in many traditional cuisines:
 - Beans and rice
 - Peanut butter and wheat bread
 - Hummus and pita
 - Tortilla chips and bean dip
 - Oatmeal and almonds
 - Barley with lentil soup
Clearly, there are lots of delicious complementary protein pairings. Here are three rules of thumb for those who are considering protein complementation:
1. Choose high-protein foods
If you're following a calorie-restricted diet, it's a good idea to choose more protein-dense plant-based foods — nuts, seeds, beans, tofu, etc. — to ensure you meet your daily needs without blowing your calorie budget. (You should still eat avocado, mushrooms, oatmeal, spinach, broccoli, and kale; they all contain protein, just not a lot.) You're also getting fiber without loading up on calories. Win-win.
2. Eat a variety of plant-based proteins
The more varied your diet, the less important protein complementation becomes. With a tight budget, variety can be a struggle. In that case, pair a few high-protein foods whose amino acid profiles complement each other (see chart above).
3. Load up on complete proteins
Eggs, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, and low-fat milk can boost protein intake for some vegetarians. Clearly they won't work for vegans, who can instead take advantage of organic soy-based foods like tempeh, tofu, and edamame.
Trinh Le
Trinh is a registered dietitian by day, blogger at Fearless Food by night. She loves helping folks develop a better relationship with food, which includes lots of cooking, eating and learning about nutrition. When she's not snapping mouthwatering shots of (mostly) healthy food, you can find Trinh HIIT-ing it at her local gym. Follow her on Twitter.


Sea lions feast on fragile fish in US Northwest survival war – AP
This is a major problem, and one that pits one creature against the other as we watch the stocks of salmon continue to decline. Sea lions aren't the *only* issue facing salmon, (which include habitat destruction, over fishing and more) but given the low numbers of fish, they have become a major problem for their survival. The question it raises is do we kill off sea lions to save the salmon? If so, how many?
It's a frustrating dance between California sea lions and wildlife managers that's become all too familiar in recent months. The bizarre survival war has intensified recently as the sea lion population rebounds and fish populations decline in the Pacific Northwest Gillian Flaccus reports.(Associated Press)
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Microsoft &.NET Visual Basic Extending the TextBox Control
Extending the TextBox Control
As we all know the strength of VB is it's simplicity. Just draw some controls onto a form set some properties during design time, write some "glue code" and you're done (well, almost anyway). VB also provides us with ready to go controls that are the same as Windows own controls (i.e. TextBox, ListBox, CommandButton and so on) or are they?
Windows own controls have more properties then those available in VB. Properties that Microsoft was too lazy to include or just didn't think a VB developer needed.
But is there a way to harness the power of these hidden properties? Luckily there is! With the help of the SendMessage API function you can extend an ordinary textbox so you can treat the lines of text as an array of strings. This is very useful when you want to parse the text. Let's say that you want to create an HTML editor and you want to add color coding (just like the editor in VB itself). Wouldn't it be very useful then if you could extract just the line of text the text caret is on and examines that text for the HTML tags you want to add colors to? Of course it would! But how do you add colors to a textbox you ask? Well, actually you can't. But the code I'm going to show you could as easily be used on a rich text box as well as a standard textbox.
Let's go to work!
Now, let's go to work, first you have to declare the SendMessage API function:
Public Declare Function SendMessage _
Lib "user32" Alias "SendMessageA" ( _
ByVal hwnd As Long, _
ByVal wMsg As Long, _
ByVal wParam As Long, _
lParam As Any) As Long
You also need to declare the messages you want to send to the textbox. Let's say you want to write a wrapper function that can tell you the index of the first visible line in the textbox. Then you have to declare the following message:
Now you can go ahead and write the function:
Public Function TopLineIndex(txtBox As TextBox) As Long
TopLineIndex = SendMessage(txtBox.hWnd, _
End Function
The EM_GETFIRSTVISIBLELINE message doesn't take any arguments so wParam and lParam must be set to 0 (zero). If you want to use this function on a rich text box instead of the standard textbox then just change the argument type to RichTextBox instead of TextBox in the TopLineIndex function. Remember that the line index is zeroing based i.e. the function returns 0 for the first line, 1 for the second and so on.
A rich text box has a method called GetLineFromChar which returns the line index of the given character indexes. The standard textbox lack such a method though. Let's fix that! You need to use the EM_LINEFROMCHAR message witch is declared in the following manner:
The EM_LINEFROMCHAR message takes the index of the character position in the wParam argument.
Public Function GetLineFromChar(txtBox As TextBox, CharPos As Long) As Long
GetLineFromChar = SendMessage( _
txtBox.hWnd, EM_LINEFROMCHAR, CharPos, 0&)
End Function
So if you want to know what line the text caret is on in a multiline textbox you could call the function in this manner:
Dim lngLineIndex As Long
lngLineIndex = GetLineFromChar(Text1, Text1.SelStart)
MsgBox "You are on line number " & lngLineIndex + 1
Again remember that the line index is zero based.
You can also do the opposite, finding the index of the first character of a line, with the EM_LINEINDEX message.
Public Const EM_LINEINDEX = &HBB
Public Function GetCharFromLine(txtBox As TextBox, LineIndex As Long) As Long
GetCharFromLine = SendMessage( _
txtBox.hWnd, EM_LINEINDEX, LineIndex, 0&)
End Function
Now that we know how to find out what line we currently standing on wouldn't it be nice to find out how many lined of text there is in the textbox? Well that's easily done if you know of the EM_GETLINECOUNT message. This message doesn't take any arguments so we must pass 0 to wParam and lParam.
Public Function LineCount(txtBox As TextBox) As Long
LineCount = SendMessage( _
TxtBox.hWnd, EM_GETLINECOUNT, 0&, 0&)
End Function
OK that was simple enough. Let us go on to the next message: EM_LINELENGTH. This message takes a character index in the wParam argument and returns the length of the line which contains that character:
Public Const EM_LINELENGTH = &HC1
Public Function LineLen(txtBox As TextBox, CharPos As Long) As Long
LineLen = SendMessage( _
TxtBox.hWnd, EM_LINELEENGTH, CharPos, 0&)
End Function
Easy wasn't it? What did you say? – Too easy? Well, let's do something a little more complicated then? Let us write a function that extracts a single line of text from the textbox. The message we need to use is called EM_GETLINE and it takes the line index in the wParam argument and a buffer string to save the text line in as the lParam argument.
Although this sounds faily easy, the problem is that the message requires that the max length of the string to return be saved in the first word of the buffer. A word is a 16-bit value. How can we save such a value in a VB unicode string? The answer is we can't. So what's the solution then? Well, we have to use a byte array and then convert it to a string afterward.
Public Const EM_GETLINE = &HC4
Public Function GetLine(txtBox As TextBox, _
 LineIndex As Long) As String
Dim bBuffer( ) As Byte 'the byte array
Dim lngLength As Long 'the max length of the line
Dim sRetVal As String 'the text to return
'check to see if the LineIndex value is valid
If LineIndex >= LineCount(txtBox)
'call the LineCount function shown above
Exit Function 'bale out
End If
'get the length of the line
lngLength = LineLen(txtBox, GetCharFromLine(txtBox, LineIndex))
'check that there is any text on the line
If lngLength < 1 Then
Exit Function
End If
'ReDim the byte array
ReDim bBuffer(lngLength)
'Save the length in the first word of the array
bBuffer(0) = lngLength And 255
bBuffer(1) = lngLength 256
'Send the message
SendMessage txtBox.hWnd, EM_GETLINE, LineIndex, bBuffer(0)
'Finally convert the byte array into a string and return it
sRetVal = Left$(StrConv(bBuffer, vbUnicode), lngLength)
GetLine = sRetVal
End Function
As you can see there is a lot you can do to extend the functionality in the standard VB controls. And these are just a few of the messages you can use on a textbox. Some of the others are:
EM_CANUNDO - Determines if you can undo the last editing or not.
EM_UNDO - Undo the last editing.
EM_GETMODIFY - Determines if the text in the textbox has been modified. Great to check if you make an editor and want to know if the text have to be saved or not.
EM_SETMODIFY - Manually set the modify flag to true or false. This flag is automatically set to true when the text changes.
I have written a class called cTextBoxEx, with an accompanied demo application, which use all of the mentioned messages and also add a function to delete a single line from the textbox. Furthermore it adds a couple of shortcuts as well. These are CTRL+A to select all and CTRL+Y to cut the current line and put it on the clipboard.
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text:
An example of thorough is the inspection that your mechanic does on your car.
Origin of thoroughMiddle English thoruh, thuruh, an emphatic variant, variety of through, through
- passing through: now chiefly in comb.: thoroughfare
- done or proceeding through to the end; omitting nothing; complete: a thorough checkup
- that is completely (the thing specified); out-and-out; absolute: a thorough rascal
- very exact, accurate, or painstaking, esp. with regard to details: a thorough researcher
- Exhaustively complete: a thorough search.
- Painstakingly accurate or careful: thorough research.
- Absolute; utter: a thorough pleasure.
Origin of thoroughMiddle English thorow through, thorough from Old English thuruh from end to end, through ; see terə-2 in Indo-European roots.
(comparative more thorough, superlative most thorough)
- painstaking and careful not to miss or omit any detail
- The Prime Minister announced a thorough investigation into the death of a father of two in police custody.
- He is the most thorough worker I have ever seen.
- The infested house needs a thorough cleansing before it will be inhabitable.
- utter; complete; absolute
- It is a thorough pleasure to see him beg for mercy.
Old English Ã¾uruh.
- (obsolete) Through. [9th-19th c.]
A disyllabic form of Old English Ã¾urh ("through").


text: animals serving as reservoirs for zoonotic viral infections (Rabies, Hanta virus infection, and Hepatitis E virus) in humans. The fifth and last chapter of the book written by Dr. Dulcilene describes the development of vaccinia virus vector to develop the vaccines against leishmaniasis that is major problem for developing countries of Asia, Africa and South America. Thus the book starts with the introductory chapter regarding the history and present status of the vaccines along with the other chapters contributed by the authors known in their field. Thus book is intended to provide the current and updated knowledge in the field of vaccinology.


text:
Science of Sunday Lunch - A Question of Taste
If you've never thought about all those chemical reactions taking place every time you cook food, here is a little something to whet your appetite...
It's a mere million years since human beings began to apply fire to a variety of objects which had, for eons, been eaten raw. Cooked food prevailed with sushi and steak tartare being an acquired taste (or not). The reason for this may well lie in the chemical changes food undergoes as a result of cooking. The modern day chemistry of food flavour dates from the discovery of the browning reaction, also known as the Maillard reaction which, as its name implies, is responsible for the browning of all foods (i.e. meat fish and vegetables) at temperatures above 154°C.
The Maillard reaction, discovered in 1912 by the French chemist Louis Camille Maillard takes place between amino acids (the building blocks of proteins) and sugars. While grappling with the problem of how amino acids linked up to form proteins, he discovered that when he heated sugars and amino acids together, the mixture slowly turned brown. When heated together sugars and amino acids rapidly produce a whole range of highly flavoured molecules that that are responsible for the brown colour and flavour and aroma of foods cooked over a flame, in the oven, or in oil.
Maillard's reaction occurs most readily at around 148.9°C (300°F) to 260°C (500°F). When meat is cooked, the outside reaches a higher temperature than the inside, triggering the Maillard reaction and creating the strongest flavours on the surface. Food only goes brown, however, if it heats up to over 154°C (67.8°F). That is why boiling in oil makes things brown but water doesn't. Boiled foods and the moist interior of cooked meats and vegetables do not exceed 100°C (the boiling point of water) so therefore look and taste rather plain. Interestingly, melanoidins (final products of the Maillard reaction) possess antioxidant activity and are also coloured.
So, now we've browned the meat, let's look at Mum's soggy vegetables and see how we can improve on things (with a little kitchen chemistry, of course). When plants, like vegetables or rice, are plunged into boiling water, their structure changes from crisp and firm, to soft, wilted, or mushy. All living things are made up of millions of cells, but plant cells differ greatly from animal cells. Firstly, they contain a substance called cellulose (a carbohydrate) in their cell walls. Cellulose (composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen) makes the plant rigid. However, when these cells are heated up, cellulose softens and the plant starts to wilt. The vegetable cell walls eventually collapse opening up their structure and releasing water and air. For most vegetables, this happens within 10 minutes of heating at 98°C - chemistry again! Plants also contain starch granules inside their cells, where they store the energy they capture from the sun. Starch, a polysaccharide, is insoluble in cold water, but swells when it is cooked in warm water - this is known as 'gelatinisation'. For example, pasta and rice both contain a lot of plant starch, which is why they swell when cooked. Another little known fact is that vegetables also lose their appetising colours at temperatures between 66-79°C. So we now have explanations for why plants, such as vegetables or rice, when incorrectly cooked change from crisp and firm, to soft, wilted, or mushy and from coloured to faded.
So what is the solution? To retain crispness, do not boil for too long and to maintain colour always put vegetables straight into boiling water rather than water which is heating up. When they have finished cooking, copy top chefs, who often plunge the vegetables straight into ice-cold water. This rapidly chills them to below 66°C, so they stop cooking and don't start to discolour. So there we have it - the perfect Sunday lunch. But why do we like it? - It's a question of taste! It is generally accepted that we detect four tastes: sweet, bitter, salt and sour. These tastes are due to the chemical components of what we eat. For example :
- Sweet - Receptors recognise hydroxyl (OH) groups on organic molecules including sugars and alcohols.
- Bitter - Receptors responds to organic alkaloids which are often poisonous.
- Salt - Receptors respond to ionic solutions dominated by cations (positive ions) such as sodium (Na). Many sodium salts are salty, but saltiness depends on size of an accompanying anion also. Hence sodium chloride (NaCl) is saltier than sodium acetate (NaCH2COO-) at the same concentration.
- Sour - Receptors respond to hydrogen ions (H+), and the metal ions in salts (such as Na+ in table salt).
Contrary to popular opinion however, taste is not experienced on different parts of the tongue. The lumps on the tongue generally called taste buds are really called papillae and all can respond to all types of taste although there are small differences in sensation. Papillae have several pores in them. These pores are the end of taste buds which contain active cells. When a taste is in the mouth, it moves down the pores and stimulates the taste receptor. Let's not forget the importance of smell in flavour perception however.
Approximately 80-90% of what we perceive as 'taste' is actually due to our sense of smell. Taste receptors exist in the mouth, but flavour is registered in our olfactory bulb, behind the bridge of the nose and while our mouths are sensitive to only a few tastes, our noses can detect thousands of smells. Just think about how dull food tastes when you have a head cold with a stuffy nose or try eating raw, grated onion. It's quite palatable as long as your nose is blocked. Not so if you can also smell it. Smell and taste can nevertheless be over-ruled by our primary sense - sight! We naturally associate taste with what we see, so when faced with an array of flavours we expect strawberry to be red, apple to be green and so on.
If strawberry ice-cream is offered to us in different colours, even though the flavour of each is identical, each will 'taste' different. Taste receptors have already been identified for sweet and bitter tastes, but research has also unearthed a possible fifth taste receptor. The receptor for Umami! It has been suggested that this taste is triggered by compounds of some amino acids (the building blocks of proteins), such as glutamates or aspartates. Particularly implicated is the flavour-enhancing substance monosodium glutamate. Monosodium glutamate is the sodium salt of glutamic acid, an amino acid present in most proteins. In its bound form, glutamate is linked with other amino acids to form proteins and does not produce a flavour enhancing effect. In order to enhance, the glutamate not only must be in its free form, but be present in its L-configuration rather than its D-configuration. (Most flavour-enhancing substances have a sole isomer that is active while other structural arrangements of the same chemical formula have no enhancing properties whatsoever.)
In 1825, the French gastronome Brillat-Savarin, in his book The Physiology Of Taste, used the word "osmosone" to describe the "meaty" taste. The term umami was first coined by the scientist Kikunae Ikeda of the Tokyo Imperial University way back in 1908. There is still no direct translation for it in English, but umami is best described as savoury, meaty and broth-like. Ikeda is quoted as saying: "There is a taste which is common to asparagus, tomatoes, cheese and meat but which is not one of the four well-known tastes of sweet, sour, bitter and salty." Anyone who has eaten a Chinese meal has experienced the Umami taste! This is due to the addition of monosodium glutamate which gives this Chinese food its unique flavour. Nutritional and scientific journals continue to address the new 5th taste sense down to the molecular level.
What they are finding is that umami rich foods taste good because they are good for you. Fish sauce and anchovy are fermented protein products. During the salt cure, the protein breaks down into a wide variety of free amino acids and nucleotides. This assortment of active compounds provides a rich full umami taste and nutritional benefits that other products cannot match. Foods naturally high in umami content include Parmesan, shiitake mushrooms, soya sauce (the naturally fermented variety) and all the fermented oriental fish sauce products. Japanese scientist, Shizuko Yamaguchi who researches the Umami taste extensively has discovered a synergy between foods that are high in nucleotides (nitrogen containing chemicals) and foods high in natural MSG. It has been found that, when combined in the right proportions, the taste intensity can be magnified by up to five times. Even more interestingly, this synergy actually drives us to eating a balanced diet! Take the glutamates found in a tomato-based pasta sauce and combine them with the protein in meatballs. Add a dash of aged cheese e.g. parmesan and the carbohydrates in pasta and hey presto, you have an extra delicious umami taste and a nutritionally balanced meal! Could it therefore be the case, that the reason why we love our Sunday roast so much and occasionally crave a Chinese take-away, is due to our taste for umami? You do the taste test!


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Scientists from Korea have developed a new biosensor that uses fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) to detect DNA double-strand breaks in living specimens in real time.
This biosensor has the potential to aid the development of new treatments for DNA damage-related diseases by revealing how our bodies repair damaged DNA.
Double-strand breaks (DSBs) are a type of DNA damage where both strands of DNA break at the same location. They can adversely affect cell growth and functioning.
Currently, DSBs are detected by immunostaining techniques, which identify markers that accompany DNA damage, such as the protein γH2AX. However, these methods are tedious, and cannot be used to detect DSBs in real time in living specimens.
In a 2023 study, researchers describe a fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) biosensor that can detect DSBs in real time and provide timeand location-based information on yH2AX.
The biosensor also has the potential to revolutionise cancer treatment by helping doctors understand how cells respond to treatment and facilitating the discovery of new DNA repair drugs.
"The biosensor we have designed could be useful in areas such as cancer treatment and drug discovery," says Associate Professor Tae-Jin Kim, from Pusan National University, Korea, who led the study.
FRET sensors consist of two fluorescent proteins or dyes – a donor and an acceptor – which investigate interactions between biological molecules. The energy transfer, and consequently, the amount of emitted light (the FRET signal) depends on the distance and orientation between the two dyes.
"Moreover, as changes in the FRET signal give useful indications of the extent of the DNA damage, the sensor can also be used to examine DNA damage and repair mechanisms, optimise cancer treatments, discover and assess DNA repair drugs, and identify DNA damaging factors in the environment," concludes Associate Prof Kim.


text:
Today I will demonstrate how the margin of error in American Community Survey (ACS) estimates grow as the size of the geography decreases. The final chart that we'll create is this:
The way I interpret the above chart is this: The ACS is very confident about its state-level estimates. It's a bit less confident about county-level estimates. But when you get down to tract and ZIP Code (ZCTA) level estimates, though, the margin of error sometimes increases sharply.
Why is the American Community Survey (ACS) Important?
I spend quite a bit of time on this blog talking about ACS data. The reasons are:
- Availability: The census bureau has an API for the data, and Ezra Glenn has written an R package (acs) for getting the data into R.
- Interest: The survey tells you all sorts of interesting information about Americans (race, income, education, etc.).
- Importance: Over $400 billion in federal and state funds are allocated each year based on the survey (link).
So if you want to analyze an important, contemporary dataset for free, I think that exploring ACS data in R is a good place to start. Also, I have my own mapping project in R (choroplethr). And because ACS data has a geographic component, I can easily use it in my examples.
What does Margin of Error Mean?
Wikipedia does a better job of explaining it than me (link). But the gist is this: The ACS only interviews about 1% of US households each year. Because they are sampling the population, they do not have complete knowledge about the population. As a result, each reported value has both an estimated value and a margin of error. In this case, they are 90% sure that the estimated value lies within the reported estimate +- the marign of error.
The above boxplot shows that the margins of error for states and counties is low. But for tracts and zip codes there are sometimes outliers that are extremely high.
Implications for Mapping
My mapping package choroplethr is popular in part because of its support for ZIP Code maps maps. In fact, in my free course Learn to Map Census Data in R I teach people how to make maps like this:
library(choroplethrZip) # on github data("df_zip_demographics") df_zip_demographics$value = df_zip_demographics$per_capita_income zip_choropleth(df_zip_demographics, "San Francisco Metropolitan Statistical Area", "Per-capita Income", msa_zoom = "San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA")
Like most choropleth maps, the colors are based on estimates alone. That is, the margins of error are thrown out. This might or might not be problematic – it really depends on how large the margins of error in these particular ZCTAs are.
New Version of Choroplethr
The latest version of choroplethr (3.5.0) makes it easier to get the 90% margin of error of ACS estimates. Function?get_acs_data now has an optional parameter, include_moe, that defaults to FALSE. If set to TRUE, the returned data frame will include a column with the 90% margin of error:
> df_zip = get_acs_data("B19301", "zip", endyear = 2012, span = 5, include_moe = TRUE)[] Warning message: NAs introduced by coercion > > head(df_zip) region value margin.of.error 1 00601 7283 561 2 00602 8247 750 3 00603 8913 489 4 00606 6025 692 5 00610 7786 398 6 00612 10203 614
Making the Boxplot
Now that we know how to get the margin of error of estimates, we can create the boxplot that began this post:
library(choroplethr) # version 3.5.0 # B19301 - Per Capita Income: Per capita income in the past 12 months (in 2012 inflation-adjusted dollars) df_state = get_acs_data("B19301", "state", endyear = 2012, span = 5, include_moe = TRUE)[] df_state$region = NULL df_state$geography = "State" df_county = get_acs_data("B19301", "county", endyear = 2012, span = 5, include_moe = TRUE)[] df_county$region = NULL df_county$geography = "County" library(choroplethrZip) # on github df_zip = get_acs_data("B19301", "zip", endyear = 2012, span = 5, include_moe = TRUE)[] df_zip$region = NULL df_zip$geography = "ZIP (ZCTA)" library(choroplethrCaCensusTract) # on github library(acs) df_ca_census_tract = get_ca_tract_acs_data("B19301", endyear = 2012, span = 5, include_moe = TRUE)[] df_ca_census_tract$region = NULL df_ca_census_tract$geography = "Tract" # combine and remove NAs df = rbind(df_state, df_county, df_zip, df_ca_census_tract) nrow(df) # 44371 df = na.omit(df) nrow(df) # 43753 df$geography = factor(df$geography, levels = c("State", "County", "Tract", "ZIP (ZCTA)")) library(ggplot2) library(scales) ggplot(df, aes(geography, margin.of.error)) + geom_boxplot() + ggtitle("Margin of Error by Geographyn2012 5-Year ACSnPer Capita Income (B19301)") + labs(x="Geography", y="Margin of Error") + scale_y_continuous(labels=comma)
The post Margin of Error by Geography in the American Community Survey (ACS) appeared first on AriLamstein.com.


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links to such countries themselves (e.g. Irish-English overtones are prominent in Utila). Exhibit caution about commenting on linguistic skills to locals even positively, as those who do not speak mainstream Spanish suffer certain social stigmas (e.g. not "real" Hondurans, lower class, etcetera).
 Expressions of Honduras
What "Punta" Means
The best known traditional dance in Honduras is punta, called banguity (new life) by the Garífunas. There are different stories about why punta is danced at wakes. Claudio Mejía, a Garífuna from La Punta, Colon explains, "If a man was a happy, popular kind of guy in life, then you want to give him a happy kind of wake." This coincides with African traditions, that when the body dies, the soul is in a kind of stupor and does not leave the body immediately. So friends and relatives party one last time with the deceased. Here, new life is understood as making the transition from being a person to becoming an ancestor. Another explanation is given by Fausto Miguel Alvarez, a teacher from Cristales, Trujillo. "People dance, because even though this one Garífuna has died, another thousand will be born." Here new life is understood to be the new life created in the wee hours of the morning after people go home. Garífunas, like the West Africans they descend from, believe in reincarnation. The spirit of the now deceased grandfather, for example, can be reborn in one of the new grandchildren.
The story behind the name punta is different from its Garífuna counterpart. Once when an enemy died, the people said, "We are going to celebrate and dance from punta a punta (point to point). The punta here refers to point - a piece of land that juts out into the sea. One Garífuna teacher said, "This is why some Garífunas do not agree with the dancing of punta at wakes. It is as if you were dancing when an enemy died." Punta Music and Rhythm Punta was originally danced just by older people. It is the only type of music played at Garífuna wakes. Punta can be sung at the end of mourning ceremonies, known as fin de novenario in Spanish. During a Garífuna wake, there are a number of activities going on. From time to time, family members wail and cry before a coffin that has been put in a specially decorated room. Then, some of the men tune up the drums to play punta. The women sing. People go in one by one or in pairs to dance. Punta music for wakes is played with traditional instruments. These include first and second drums, maracas, a conch shell and sometimes claves - two hardwood sticks that are beat together. The music is sung in Garífuna with a soloist and chorus, like African music or a Gospel music choir. Punta music sounds happy, but the words are often sad. "Yesterday you were well. Last night you caught a fever. Now in the morning you are dead," says one song.
The rhythm pattern is very complex. One drum plays 2/4 or 4/4 beat. The second drum plays 6/8. This is the beat to which the feet move. The women sing in 4/4 time. Sometimes the songs have counter rhythms. The second drum is steady, but the conch shell, maracas, and first drum improvise solos similar to jazz.
This type of sensual dance performed at wakes has also been reported in Jamaica and West Africa. Music also accompanies the dead to the tomb, a custom probably related to Yoruba burial customs, the same origin as the New Orleans jazz funeral.
[add listing] See
[add listing] Do
Cusuco National Park expeditions Cusuco Park can be visited by private all inclusive tours leaving from San Pedro or following the Cusuco backpacking mountain route. Visited 10 weeks of the year by Operation Wallacea, one of the world's top end scientific expedition. Available activities range for all group styles either looking for adventure or just a relaxing mountain experience. Jungle waterfalls, night trekking, dwarf forest and many more.
[add listing] Buy
There is always plenty to do while vacationing in Honduras. In San Pedro, things that revolve around shopping include visiting the City Mall and Metroplaza Mall. In these Westernized areas you can stock up on practical necessities such as adventure clothing for upcoming trips into the Honduran hinterland. Or, if you just like shopping, you can buy clothes and goods for everyday use at pleasingly cheap prices. Mercado de Artesanias Guamilito
Leather goods are particularly famous from here, though in truth you can find just about anything, from clothes to trinkets to food and drinks. The Mercado forcibly calls for you to use your bartering skills; obtaining the price you want can prove one of the more difficult—and therefore rewarding—activities in San Pedro Sula.
The National currency of Honduras is the Lempira but, like almost everywhere in Central America, the U.S. Dollar acts as a second currency and nearly every business accepts both. The U.S. Dollar is the main currency on the Bay Islands due to the frequency of cruises that come by (and by looking around, there are a lot of Americans). It is wise to carry small bills (under $20), especially $2 bills (considered lucky and makes a good tip). It is very important to use only bills printed recently and to avoid notes with tears.
ATM's can be found in most cities. Some ATM's dispense both U.S. Dollars and Lempiras and nearly all can be used in English. Be sure to bring cash to the Bay Islands because they do not have very many ATMs. Nearly all banks exchange money just make sure to bring your passport for identification purposes.
As of July 2011, there are 19 Lempiras to one Dollar and 27L for 1€. Sometimes it may be cheaper to buy in Lempiras.
If going to another country, exchange all lempiras as they are useless once you leave the country, but they can be exchanged at most borders.
 Mobile (3G/GPRS) internet access
If you have an internet capable mobile phone such as iPhone, Google Android, Nokia N95 etc or USB dongle for your laptop, you just need a local SIM card (roughly 25 lempiras) and can start enjoying the prepaid access plans, which generally come in lots of an hour, a day, or a week and have a specific maximum usage.
Here is a table for the settings and activation options for various providers, including approximate costs.
Handicrafts - Honduras is famous for its Lenca ceramics and cotton sock manufacturing.
If visiting San Pedro Sula, be sure to visit El Mercado Guamilito. You will find many wonderful and cheap handicrafts like hand carved wooden boxes, Lencan pottery, hammocks, paintings, leather products from Nicaragua, and beautiful hand-woven fabrics from Guatemala.
Leather Items - Honduran leather items are of fine quality at only a fraction of the price they would be overseas, making your visit to Honduras a great time to purchase these. Bags, attaché cases, belts, wallets and even garments are a bargain. One of the producers in San Pedro Sula whose quality is up to par with international standards is Danilo's Pura Piel.
Honduras has a long history as a silver mining country. Excellent artisans work the silver and produce very artistic and high quality silver products and jewelry. There are several different jewelers in town. Another popular item are paintings by Honduran artists. These usually depict colonial towns and mountain landscapes that are typical of Honduras. The best selection of these can be found at the Maymo art Gallery.
Valle de Angeles, a town near Tegucigalpa, is also known for its beautiful handicrafts, such as carved boxes and tables, hammocks, etc.
[add listing] Eat
The Honduran "Plato tipico" is the most famous lunch. It consists of rice, beef, fried beans (frijolitos), and fried bananas (tajaditas). If you are lucky, it will also come with chimol, a fresh, non-spicy salsa made of tomatoes, green peppers, onions, cilantro and lime juice.
Baleadas are a Honduran original. A baleada sencilla (simple) consists of a thick flour tortilla filled with refried beans, cheese (queso), and a type of cream similar to sour cream but not sour (crema or mantequilla). A baleada especial usually also comes with eggs in it and you can sometimes get avocado or even meat.
Other choices are tacos and enchiladas, though don't expect them to be like those in Mexico. The tacos are meat rolled in a corn tortilla and deep fried. The enchiladas are a flat fried corn tortilla topped with ground beef, cheese and a red sauce.
[add listing] Drink
San Pedro Sula has some of the country's best nightlife and is a great place to go out and to drink and dance the night away or to catch up on all the latest movies.
National beers: Salva Vida, Port Royal, Imperial and the newest Barena. To add, Barena is said to be the Miller Lite of Central America.
Coffee is great, and the brands from Copan are usually the best. Welches is considered to be the best by many locals. Coffee from Lepaera


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ranges from 1 to 19 with 19 being the lowest priority. In other words, the higher the nice value, the lower the processing priority. (Note: It is important to check the network policy for the required nice value for background jobs on your system; they are usually required to be niced and your job may be downgraded in priority if it was niced at the wrong value.) Set your command at the required nice value or higher. If you do not include a number argument, the value will default to 4 for the C shell and 10 for the Bourne shell.
For example, if you wanted to run a long non-interactive job, and you didn't have to have the results of this job right away, you should run it in the background and set a high nice value. Using the C shell, you would type:
Sometimes, while you are logged into one workstation, you will find that you would like to be logged in to another workstation, file server, or other UNIX system. The command rlogin allows you to do so provided that you have an account on the other system. Type:
You may then have to supply your password. You should also get the messages about logging in that are used on newSystem. If your userid is different on newSystem you will have to use the form:
rlogin newSystem -l userid
Problem: Nothing happens when you type CTRL-C to begin your session.
Try typing CTRL-C several times in a row at the prompt. If that doesn't work, type CTRL-\. It's a more powerful interrupt.
Problem: The system prints "login incorrect."
Check to make sure that you are typing your userid and password exactly as they appear on your information sheet (make sure you're using the proper case for all characters). If you still cannot log in, go to the Consulting Center in 103 Mudd Lab and ask for help.
Problem: The computer types everything in upper-case with slashes in it.
SAMPLE OF WHAT PROBLEM LOOKS LIKE
Your userid was entered in uppercase letters, so the system thinks that your terminal can only understand uppercase letters. You need to type logout and then login again making sure that you enter your userid in lowercase letters only. (If the screen displays uppercase as you type your userid, you may have to turn the CAPS key "off" by pressing it once and try logging in once more.)
If you experience difficulty logging out, check to see if you are having one of the following problems. Do not turn off the workstation or terminal. This will not disconnect you from UNIX.
Problem: The system replies "There are stopped jobs" when you try to log out.
Type jobs to see what they are, then type kill %% to terminate all stopped background jobs. After that, try logging out again.
Problem: The system replies, "Not in login shell."
First, type exit, press RETURN, and then type logout at the prompt, if necessary.
Problem: Nothing seems to work and you can't log out.
You might be stuck in a program or shell other than the login shell. Press RETURN to clear any previous commands; then try typing CTRL-C, q, :q, :q!, exit, CTRL-D, CTRL-Q, or CTRL-Z to get back into the login shell. Then try logout again. The following sequence might also work if your terminal is NOT connected directly to your real host machine. Press RETURN, then type "~." followed by RETURN.
If you need additional help, go to the Consulting Center in 103 Mudd Lab during consulting hours or call _PHONE_. You can also send electronic mail to the Consulting Center by using the address: _EMAIL_.
You now have enough information to get started using UNIX. To learn more about UNIX and specific applications, you can refer to a number of resources. You can use the man command to get on-line help. This is the quickest and easiest way to get help during a UNIX session. Virtually every UNIX operation and command has an entry. UNIX documentation written by the vendor for their workstations is available in the document racks of Information Systems maintained networks.
Information Systems has a number of tutorial and reference documents available free of charge in the Consulting Center in 103 Mudd Lab. Below are some of the UNIX-related documents.
The Computing Resource Collection (CRC) in B40 Fondren Library (basement) has a full set of UNIX reference documentation as well as a large checkout collection of books and manuals on UNIX and other related topics, including some very good introductory books.
- Introduction to the X Window System
- Customizing the X Window System
- Introduction to the vi Editor
- Introduction to the aXe Editor
- Introduction to GNU Emacs
- Compilers, Make, and Debuggers
The Consulting Center in 103 Mudd Lab has consultants available to
troubleshoot problems and to provide general assistance. A schedule of
hours is posted outside the door of Room 103. You may also send electronic
mail to the userid _EMAIL_ with questions about UNIX, or use the WWW
Problem Interface with Netscape or Mosaic, located at the URL _URL_
The Rice Campus Store has introductory and advanced books on UNIX, as does any bookstore with a computer books section. Your professor may also have some course notes available at the Rice Campus Store.
If you would prefer a hands-on tutorial introduction to UNIX, Information Systems offers free non-credit, one to three hour sessions on various computing topics, including an introduction to UNIX. Short Course calendars are available outside 103 Mudd Lab. For more information, call _PHONE_.
Downloaded by WebWhacker (TM).
Evaluation copies of WebWhacker generate this header.
To purchase, call _PHONE_ or visit The ForeFront Group.


Bob Vila Radio: Clover
It's a great debate among gardeners: Is clover a pesky weed or a pretty ground cover?
If you want to spark a raging debate among gardeners, ask them how they feel about clover. Some homeowners will give you a list of herbicides to kill it off, others will sing its praises as a naturally green, drought-tolerant ground cover.
Listen to BOB VILA ON CLOVER or read the text below:
In springtime, common white clover forms a lush green carpet that rarely draws any complaints. Come summertime, though, hot weather makes the clover produce its distinctive white flower, which depending on your point of view is either a thing of beauty or a blight on your lawn.
If you love the clover, you don't have to do much to encourage it. If you want it gone, the greenest option is to skip the chemicals and strengthen your grass instead. Mow your grass high, and water deeply but not too often. Frequent light watering makes your grass dependent on you, while letting it dry out between waterings encourages roots to grow deep and strong.
One final note: White clover is very attractive to bees, so if someone in your family is allergic to bee stings, you don't want to encourage clover in your yard. If you have clover, you'll have bees.


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South Korea's Health-Centered Development Model
The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented challenge that underscores both the fundamental value of health and the importance of well-functioning and resilient universal health coverage. South Korea's success in building such a system should encourage today's lower-income countries to make a similar commitment.
SEOUL – The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed inequalities and weaknesses in health systems both within and across countries. Most countries initially responded poorly to the crisis, and suffered heavy human and economic losses. But some in East Asia – including South Korea – performed relatively well. In fact, South Korea's decades of efforts to build a resilient universal health-care system provide a model for today's developing countries to follow.
For starters, policymakers in low-income economies should regard health as a fundamental human right that is critical for both personal development and a country's sustainable economic growth. Healthier children are likely to perform better academically and become healthier, more productive adults. Likewise, establishing a robust and widely accessible health system is necessary to strengthen health security in the face of unpredictable shocks such as COVID-19.
The third goal established by the United Nations Agenda for Sustainable Development (SDG 3) commits all countries to work toward achieving universal health coverage (UHC), including access to quality essential health-care services and safe, effective, and affordable medicines and vaccines, by 2030. But the world is currently far from meeting these targets. More than half of the world's people do not have full access to essential health services, and many countries are struggling to acquire sufficient COVID-19 vaccines for their citizens.


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Complying with ever-changing safety and environmental regulations is forcing manufacturers to make a tough choice. They're having to put off investing in newer equipment to fund compliance. Unfortunately, sticking with aging equipment raises the risk of a costly incident.
Mobile safety inspections using connected worker technology provide critical early warnings for manufacturing maintenance and safety processes. Conducting inspections with handheld digital devices and wearables improves process visibility, data collection, compliance, and decision making.
This whitepaper will examine the safety and environmental problems manufacturing companies confront every day. We'll focus on the operational and safety inspection process, particularly on why it is proving inadequate for so many organizations. It will also introduce a digital solution these companies can use today to reduce potential dangers and reduce costs while boosting daily inspection efficiency and accuracy.
Mobile inspections help manufacturing companies to:
- Eliminate paper and clipboards
- Log data in real-time
- Display and enter operations data across the corporate network
- Respond to alerts without having to return to the office or a PC


licant make system
testing, make
pip install licant==1.9.0
Licant is designed to build small modular projects with a complex dependency tree.
What is it?
Initially Likant was written as a system for assembling code for projects on microcontrollers.
The core of the Lycant system is a make-like assembly tree solver written in python.
But, the main feature of Licant in the system of modules. The Likant paradigm consists in the description of a project by a set of modules that link to each other. Connecting the module automatically tightens the connection of dependent modules.
Modules can have several implementations, which allows flexible configuration of the project. (For example, you can change the initialization code of the microcontroller or the implementation of the input-output system simply by replacing the implementation of the corresponding module).
One of the goals of the project is to work with submodules located in remote directories. The library subsystem allows a project to refer to modules located in remote directories, which allows several projects to use the same code.
python3 -m pip install licant
#!/usr/bin/env python
import licant.make as lmake
import licant
lmake.copy(tgt = "build/b.txt", src = "a.txt")
lmake.copy(tgt = "build/c.txt", src = "build/b.txt")
print("licant targets list:" + str(licant.core.core.targets))
licant.ex(default = "build/c.txt")
Example projects


Not easily swayed.
Wood's Seismic and Wind Resistance
High winds, hurricanes and earthquakes are a harsh reality for much of the U.S. Building in these unpredictable climates requires special consideration of windand seismic-resistive construction materials. Wood-frame buildings can be designed to stand up to high winds and earthquakes given these characteristics:
Inherent Flexibility
Wood's ability to withstand high loads for short periods of time and retain its elasticity and ultimate strength can be an asset in seismic and high-wind zones.
Wood-frame buildings typically weigh less than those made of concrete and steel, reducing inertial seismic forces.
Ductile Connections
The ability to yield and displace without fracturing under abrupt lateral or horizontal stresses is an attribute of wood-frame construction, which features several nailed connections that allow it to respond to seismic and high-wind events without critical failure.
Redundant Load Paths
The numerous fasteners and connectors used in wood-frame construction offer multiple, often redundant, load paths for extreme forces, reducing the chance the structure will collapse if some connections fail.
Strength and Stiffness
The thickness of mass timber panels and the number and size of nails fastening the assemblies determine each component's stiffness. Heavy bracing for shear walls can resist lateral distortion common in earthquakes.
Construction site of mass timber building
Wood Meets Seismic Design Requirements
Learn about the benefits of wood's light weight and resilient design.
Mass timber construction building system
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San Antonio Missions National Historical Park is within one of 16 air quality districts in Texas. The Clean Air Act, amended in 1990, provides that emission sources must comply with air quality standards and regulations that have been established by federal, state, and county regulatory agencies. San Antonio is a Class II area as it relates to the Clean Air Act, meaning that it is in an area with less ozone depletion potential than a Class I area.
Area air quality is considered good, except for ground-level ozone during the hot season (May through October). Ozone levels recorded in the San Antonio region have been elevated often enough that it is considered a "near nonattainment area," (high risk for violation of federal air quality standards), and is expected to be designated nonattainment in the near future.
The park does not monitor air quality since this data is readily available from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the Alamo Area Council of Governments. These agencies operate numerous air quality monitoring stations in the area and also provide other information related to air quality and ways to help mitigate problems. The park is doing our part through such things as using propane mowers instead of gasoline-burning models and encouraging staff and volunteers to take public transportation when possible.
Did You Know?
that Texas longhorn cattle evolved from 3 breeds the Spanish imported to the Americas in the 17th and 18th centuries? They were the barrenda or piebald, the retinto, and ganado prieto. Modern longhorn have long legs and a narrow body - perfectly suited to travel long distances in dry, harsh country.


Gravity Strikes Again
Why do your feet swell during aeroplane flights? It's not sudden-onset elephantiasis (probably).
Instead, it's due to blood pooling in your veins. (As blood tends to do when stationary, thanks to gravity.)
Yes, gravity strikes again!
 1. Sheps, S. (2016). Foot swelling during air travel: A concern?. Retrieved from
Smudge Cells
Memory aids make life better.
Smudge cells are associated with CLL.
 1. LabCE. (2018). Smudge Cells. [online] Available at: [Accessed 11 Sep. 2018].


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Usable with both PlayStation 1 and PlayStation 2 consoles, the original PlayStation controller remains a popular, vital accessory. Even as new consoles are readily available on the market, the PS2 and its accompanying original PlayStation controller remains the most widely purchased and used gaming system, according to MSNBC News. Unfortunately, some users new to the PS1 or PS2 craze may be unfamiliar with the controller's connectivity and interface. Luckily, using a PlayStation control isn't very difficult if you follow the right steps.
Consult the back of the PlayStation game's case to see if the game requires an "analog" controller. PlayStation controllers come in two varieties: standard and analog. The analog controllers feature two joysticks and a built-in "rumble pack," whereas the standard controllers are smaller and do not have any joysticks. Analog controllers will work with any PlayStation game, but standard controllers are not compatible with all games. If your game requires an analog controller, you must purchase this upgrade before you can play using a controller.
Plug the PlayStation controller's cable into the front of the PlayStation 1 or PlayStation 2 console. You must plug the controller into the "Player 1" spot for it to work correctly. You can only use the "Player 2" slot if there is already a controller in the first port. The "Player 1" slot is the leftmost controller port, and it is labeled with the number "1."
Turn on the PlayStation console. The system will automatically detect the new controller, making it ready for use.
Press the "Analog" button in the center of the console if the game you are playing requires an analog controller. You will see a small light turn on when you push this button, indicating that the joystick feature is engaged.
Consult your game's guide or an in-game help menu to learn the appropriate buttons for game play. Every PlayStation game requires the user to push different buttons during game play. To properly use your controller, you need to know which buttons the game utilizes. When learning the controller buttons, there is certain terminology you need to know: the arrow-keys are often referred to as the controller's "D-Pad;" the buttons on the right-hand side are referred to according to the square, circle, triangle, and "X" symbols on the buttons; lastly, the "trigger" buttons on the top left side are called "L1" and "L2," while the top right-hand side's triggers are "R1" and "R2."
In some rare occasions, PlayStation games make reference to an obscure "L3" or "R3" button. These are not actually independent buttons on the controller, but rather these terms describe the action of pressing down on an analog controller's joysticks as if the joysticks were themselves "buttons." "L3" is the term for pressing down on the left joystick and the right joystick is represented as the "R3" button.


6 Undocumented MSSQL stored procedures you may not know about
There are quite a few built-in stored procedures in Microsoft's SQL Server that can help you troubleshoot database issues and make those long nights less painful. Knowing they exist can be a life saver, so lets take a look.
easter egg As most web developers will know, if your not a DBA there are times when getting to the bottom of performance and database performance issues can be pain in the proverbial. Times like these it can be more than handy to have a few tricks up your sleave.
The sp_MStablespace stored procedure returns the number of rows in a table and the space the table and index use.
EXEC sp_MStablespace [table name]
To determine the space used by the blogs table in the mydb database, run:
USE mydb
EXEC sp_MStablespace blogs
Expected Results
Rows DataSpaceUsed IndexSpaceUsed
23 8 32
The sp_who2 stored procedure returns information about current SQL Server users and processes similar to sp_who, but it provides a lot more information. The stored proc sp_who2 returns the following columns: CPUTime, DiskIO, LastBatch and ProgramName in addition to the data provided by sp_who. This can be great when you want to get an instant report on what your SQL server is doing right now.
EXEC sp_who2
[optional, you can check on a single database user as below]
EXEC sp_who2 [database user]
The xp_fileexist stored procedure returns information regarding the existence of a file path and whether it is a file or a directory. Although this is basically useless in a job it can help when doing remote admin.
EXEC xp_fileexist '[file path]'
Expected results
File Exists File is a Directory Parent Directory Exists
1 0 1
(1 row(s) affected)
The sp_MSforeachdb stored procedure can be used in jobs and queries that require you to loop through each database on the server. This can be great when coupled with queries that request stats on a database.
Usage (this example executes the checkdb command)
EXEC sp_MSforeachdb _USER_="print '?' DBCC CHECKDB ('?')"
The sp_MSforeachtable can be used just like sp_MDforeachdb in the sense that you can use it to execute a command against each table in a database – this is great for checking the table size or row count of each table for example or any other task you want to run quickly run against all the tables in your DB.
EXEC sp_MSForEachTable 'SELECT ''?'', COUNT(*) FROM?'
The sp_MSdependencies stored procedure can be used to check all the objects in the database that are dependant on a table. If your unsuccessfully trying to delete a record that has dependencies because of foreign key that has rules applied to it this can be your answer.
EXEC sp_msdependencies [table name]
Expected Results
oType oObjName oOwner oSequence
8 tblAdmin dbo 1


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See what questions
a doctor would ask.
Ballistocardiograph: A ballistocardiograph is a medical device used to record the vibrations produced from heart contractions as they are transmitted to the chest wall. Electronic sensors are attached to the chest wall to detect and record movement.
These diseases are related to the medical device Ballistocardiograph:
These devices are types of the medical device Ballistocardiograph:
Search Specialists by State and City


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About Nevada Agricultural Statistics
Nevada Agricultural Statistics located in Reno, Nevada is
the Nevada field office of USDA's National Agricultural
Statistics Service (NASS). NASS is the official statistical
agency of the United States Department of Agriculture with
the mission to serve the United States, its agriculture,
and its rural communities by providing meaningful, accurate,
and objective statistical information and services. Nevada
Agricultural Statistics operates with assistance and cooperation
from the Nevada Department of Agriculture and the College
of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Biotechnology of University
About Nevada Agriculture
Agriculture often goes largely unnoticed behind the glare
of casinos and tourist attractions in Nevada, and most of
it cannot be seen from the interstate highways. Farming and
ranching, however, provide a cornerstone to the economies
of many of Nevada's rural communities and greatly enhance
the aesthetics of life near the urban areas. Farming is concentrated
in valleys where water is available for irrigation, while
vast rangelands and mountains provide grazing for livestock.
Range livestock production is predominate in Nevada with
well over half of the farms raising cattle or sheep. The
highest concentrations of cattle are in the northern part
of the State. Cow-calf operations are most common type of
operation and Elko county ranks among the leading counties
in the Nation in number of beef cows. Northern Nevada is
also home to the vast majority of the sheep.
Dairying is a growing industry in the State, as is the manufacture
of dairy products. The dairies are concentrated in the vicinity
of the large market centers of Las Vegas and Reno. Horses
are big business in Nevada, both for work and pleasure. Swine
production is limited and most producers market locally.
Other livestock enterprises, including goats, emu, and llama,
are becoming more common.
Nevada's high desert climate is very well suited to
the production of high quality alfalfa hay and alfalfa hay
accounts for over half of the total value of crops produced
in the State. Much of the alfalfa is marketed to dairies
in California and a significant quantity is exported overseas.
A variety of other high value crops are gaining in importance
to Nevada agriculture. Potatoes, onions, garlic, grain, and
seed crops contribute greatly to the total value of production.
Across Nevada lie valleys rich in agricultural resources:
most unseen from the interstate highways.