Dispute Over an Expense Reimbursement Contract? Five Factors to Consider
Are you a Wisconsinbased employee with a dispute (or potential dispute) with an employer about an expense reimbursement contract? If so, before you take action or communicate with the employer about the dispute, below are five factors to consider.
1. Review the contract's terms, including terms about timing and key dates, before taking action.
Many expense – reimbursement contracts have terms that specify important dates and/or time periods. For example, a contract may say that if the employee resigns within one year of his employment start date, then he must reimburse the employer 100% of the expenses it paid relating to the employee's hire, travel and relocation. Or a contract may say if the employee resigns during a given time frame (e.g. at a time between Jan. 1 and Jun. 30, 2019), then he must reimburse 50% of the employer's expenses, or if he resigns during a later time frame (e.g. between Jul. 1 and Dec. 31, 2019), he must reimburse 25%.
Sometimes, the terms are not clearly defined or ambiguous on their face. For example, a reimbursement contract may say the employee has a reimbursement obligation if he resigns "before a one-year period", but may not specifically define the date that "one year" has ended. Such ambiguous terms can raise doubts when, exactly, the one year period begins and ends. Is it one year after the date the last party signed the contract? One year after the date the employee accepted the job offer? One year after the date the employee first started employment at the employer's building?
An employee with a reimbursement contract should review and understand the contract's terms– including its terms about important dates and timing– before he takes action, e.g. before he gives notice of resignation on a given date. A close review of the contract, including terms about key dates and timing, can help the employee be aware of important timing considerations and perhaps avoid a very costly mistake. For example, it may help him avoid giving notice of resignation to occur a day before a date when reimbursement obligations would have vanished under the contract had he stayed employed just a day longer.
2. Know that some contracts and/or their reimbursement terms are invalid under Wisconsin law; don't assume the employer's legal interpretation is correct.
Employers act as if the reimbursement contracts they drafted– and their interpretations of their contracts– are unquestionably valid under the law. But in reality, some reimbursement contracts are invalid under Wisconsin law standards.
Only a Court can determine if a given contract is valid or invalid. However, an employee can have a lawyer assess the likelihood or odds a given contract would be found invalid by a Court, via the lawyer reviewing that contract and comparing it to applicable legal standards, etc.
If an employee's lawyer reviewed a reimbursement contract and saw legal problems with it and felt a Court would likely consider it invalid, the lawyer's opinion to this effect could be conveyed to the employer, and could cause the employer to reduce or withdraw its demand for the employee's expense-reimbursement payment.
It is common in my experience to see problems in the language of an expense – reimbursement contract that present risk to the employer that the contract could (if a legal action arose) be determined by a Court to be invalid. There are some legal issues that, if present in a given contract, could cause a Court to decide the whole contract is invalid. In other instances, there are problems with a contract that are likely to cause a Court to decide only a portion of its terms, or only a portion of money (less than what the employer demands) are legally-valid or owed.
If you have a reimbursement contract with one or more of the following attributes, it may be legally-vulnerable for the employer, and you should consider having an employee rights lawyer assess it further:
 - If the contract was drafted by the employer and has vague or ambiguous terms the employer is now interpreting in its favor, to your financial detriment.
 - If the contract defines types of expenses or time frames, etc., and the employer is seeking reimbursement of types of expenses that are not of the type the contract defines, or were not incurred during defined contractual time frames, etc.
 - If the contract has terms that say the employer may dock your wages (paychecks) for reimbursement money the employer decides you owe.
3. Request proof from the employer for the expenses at issue; make sure they're legitimate expenses and of a type reimbursable under the contract.
A reimbursement contract may specifically state the employee has a right to request the employer give her proof of the expenses at issue, so she can verify they were in fact paid and in fact were proper for the employer to have paid for her hire and relocation, etc.
Such proof can include an itemization of expenses that specifies exact expenses' dates and amounts of payment, to whom they were paid, for what purpose, etc. Proof can also include receipts or bank entries from the employer, or other documents that prove and/or describe how various expense payments were made for given purposes, etc.
Whether or not your contract says you can request the employer provide you such proof of the expenses' legitimacy, it is a good idea for you to make such a request.
If an employer provides you an itemization or other proof of expenses, you should carefully review that documentation, to make sure the described expenses appear legitimate and appropriate. As an initial matter, you may discover that there are erroneous entries or amounts stated for given expenses, and find the employer has overstated the value of expenses it is asking you to reimburse.
You should also compare those documented expenses (as described in the documentation) to the terms and descriptions in your reimbursement contract. Are those expenses, for which the employer demands reimbursement, actually of the type and nature for which the contract requires reimbursement?
If there's any problem with the expenses' legitimacy and/or legality under the contract, it is good that you identify any such issues before communicating with the employer about potential reimbursement, and certainly before paying for reimbursement.
4. You may have legal leverage, for your reimbursement dispute, based on factors outside the reimbursement contract and/or that you may not have considered.
Above I reference some legal issues with a given reimbursement contract or its terms that, in a reimbursement demand or dispute situation, can possibly raise legal risks for an employer and/or leverage for the employee.
Aside from the content or issues in any given contract, there may be external factors or laws that provide potential leverage for the employee.
For one, an employee who is contemplating resignation and related reimbursement contract issues, may be subject to unlawful activities by his or her employer that prompted the plans for resignation in the first place. For example, the employee may be resigning because the employer failed to pay the employee a bonus or commission that was (in the employee/lawyer's view) owed under WI wage or contract laws, or because the employer harassed or discriminated against the employee in arguable violation of WI or Federal discrimination laws.
If an employer arguably violated laws with respect to the employee– and arguably owes the employee legal damages (money) due to lost wages or discriminatory acts, etc.– then those matters may serve as counter-leverage in a negotiation with an employer seeking expense-reimbursement money from the employee.
If a negotiation occurs with an employee about any legal issue, it is likely best that any and all other potential legal issues are also considered by the employee (and employee's lawyer, if applicable). That way, the employer's reimbursement demand is not discussed in a vacuum and the employee's potential legal rights and potential damages are also part of the discussion, leveraging and/or settlement agreement that may occur.
5. If you decide to get a lawyer's advice about a contract reimbursement dispute, it is best to do so before you take action or communicate with the employer.
As referenced above, an employee rights lawyer can review an expense reimbursement contract, assess the circumstances of a reimbursement request or dispute, and possibly identify deficiencies with the contract or the employer's legal position. As a threshold matter, the lawyer may tell the employee some important things not to do, e.g. not to resign before a given date (because of bad consequences per the contract's terms, etc.).
Also, the lawyer may opine that the employer's position has legal weaknesses. If that is the case– e.g. say the lawyer opines a Court would likely find the contract invalid– then that opinion could be helpful for the employee to know before communicating or trying to negotiate with an employer about an expense reimbursement demand.
The employee could retain the lawyer to do the communicating or negotiating.
Lawyers are better at conducting communications and negotiations about contracts than are employees and employers. Most employers know this and have lawyers (or promptly retain lawyers) to assist with any reimbursement-contract disputes that arise for them. Sometimes, employers' lawyers are behind the scenes and, unbeknownst to the employee they're in a dispute with, are monitoring and advising the employers' personnel about what to say or write to the employee. Employees, too often, try to tackle contract-related communications and negotiations on their own, and are thus at a disadvantage compared to the employers, who typically have attorney help accessible.
The more an employee communicates with an employer about a contract dispute– especially written or emailed communication– the more risk the employee incurs of diminishing or eliminating legal rights or options he or she may have had. For example, an employee may send off an email to the employer, about a reimbursement dispute issue, in which he inadvertently agrees to new contractual terms, or agrees to a contractual modification, that are against his interests and/or waive legal rights he'd had (to reduce or


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Does Navage Really Work?
If you have a lot of nose problems like sinus congestion, colds, irritation and the like then it is possible that it is your stuffed and possibly dirty nose that could be causing the problems. If you are looking for a great way to clean your nose and relieve discomfort then the Navage system could be what you are looking for. The manufacturer claims that this nasal irrigation system will clear your nasal passageways and relieve a number of nasal problems like congestion, allergies and more without having to use medication. To use, all that you need to do is add some warm water onto the Navage's tank along with a salt pod to create your saline solution. Then, insert the Navage's nose pillows into your nose in such a way that you are comfortable, press a button and the Navage should do the rest. Not only does the Navage provide irrigation into your nasal passageways; the product also applies a gentle suction effect that will allow the irrigation to be sucked back into the machine, which the manufacturer promises will make the whole process a lot less messy when compared to other nasal irrigation methods.

source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


December 4, 2017 - How to Mess Up Your Opponent When Forced to Make a Weak Shot
No matter how much you train you will sometimes find yourself out of position and having to reach or lunge for a shot. It's not something you want to do; it's something you have to do in those hopefully not-too-often situations. Most players understand the importance of trying to keep the ball at least low in these situations. But there's a lot more you can do to win the point.
Just getting the ball back weakly might work at the lowest levels, but it doesn't work beyond that. Instead, you need to do something to make the shot tricky for the opponent so that he doesn't have an easy winner. Here are five ways to make the opponent uncomfortable. Some players will automatically argue that they are just trying to keep the ball in play and can't do any of these, but that's because they haven't tried and are still thinking like a beginner.
 1. Depth. By keeping the ball deep you keep the opponent farther away from his target (your side of the table) so that he's more likely to miss, you give yourself more time to react to his shot, and you cut off the extreme angles the opponent can attack to. That's a triple whammy.
 2. Angled placement. Even if you are reaching or lunging, you can aim your paddle to a wide corner, forcing your opponent to move and thereby increasing his chances of a mistake.
 3. Last-second change of direction. If you aim for one extreme angle, the opponent will likely move in that direction, and then, at the last second, you can go the other way, completely messing him up. Often this means aiming crosscourt, then going down the line.
 4. Spin. Even when lunging you can spin the ball. Putting a good topspin on the ball can be tricky for some, but even when reaching or lunging for the ball you can give the ball a good backspin. You can even put some sidespin on the ball. In some situations you can even let the ball drop below table level (where the opponent might not even see your contact) and sidespin the ball back, perhaps even faking the opposite sidespin after contact, which can catch the opponent off guard.
 5. Heavy no-spin. If you fake backspin but just meet the ball so it has little or no spin, you'll be surprised how many players lift it right off the table.


High-Level Disinfectants (HLDs) are crucial in healthcare settings. After cleaning, HLDs disinfect heat-sensitive medical devices, rendering them effectively sterile prior to use with the next patient.
High-Level Disinfectants (HLDs) are used in healthcare to kill microorganisms on medical devices such as endoscopes, ultrasonic probes, and cardiac catheters, in order to prevent the transmission of infectious diseases. HLDs are often formulated with aldehydes, peroxides, and peracetic acid. All HLDs are heavily regulated by FDA.
The photo below shows a gastroscope soaking in high-level disinfectant to kill bacteria, viruses, fungi, and most spore-forming microorganisms.
FDA has set clear guidelines for testing, which include the following:
Of these tests, companies often find the Tuberculocidal Rate-of-Kill and AOAC Sporicidal Activity Tests to be the most challenging. The Tuberculocidal Rate-of-Kill uses Mycobacterium terrae, a surrogate of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Mycobacteria have a waxy coat that is hard for HLD products to penetrate. The time and temperature in which an HLD product can achieve 6-log kill in the Tuberculocidal Rate-of-Kill test determines the high level disinfection time.
Per FDA regulations, HLDs must also qualify as sterilants by passing the AOAC Sporicidal Test. The AOAC Sporicidal Test uses bacterial endospores which have a tough, calciferous coating and are inherently more difficult to kill than actively-growing bacteria. For the AOAC Sporicidal Test, Bacillus subtilis and Clostridium sporogenes spores are dried onto porous porcelain penicylinders and silk suture loops, where they find plenty of places to hide. All of these factors make the AOAC Sporicidal Test quite challenging.
The market for HLD products is driven primarily by the demand for fast, easy to use, and affordable high-level disinfectants. If your company is interested in bringing an HLD product to market, please contact Microchem today.
Microchem Laboratory Is:
Quick Contact


out in front
~ Antoine e de Saint Exupery
Some research has shown that only 5% (5 out of every 100) of people achieve success. Why do so many people fail? Success is typically defined in terms of money, position, and power. This keynote reveals concepts that can help individuals achieve success in their personal and professional lives. This session illustrates that being "Out In Front" is about fulfilling your purpose.
Program Content:
 - Purpose and Success
 - The 5 F's that lead to lead to success
 - Establishing Priorities
 - Getting from Here to There – Clearing the obstacles
How Participants Benefit:
 - Know what success looks like
 - Define the 5 F's that lead to success
 - Learn the 10 questions of performance success to reach your potential.
 - Understand the 8 steps of successful goal achievement


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The family environment is the most important environment for the development. And training of children. For this reason, social education can play a very important role as a point of support for those families in problematic situations.
The family plays a leading role in the development of children. And it is in this context where the basic learning necessary to develop socially will take place. The weight of the family in the formation of the individual has meant that social education has always put interest in this institution. In this sense, what role does social education play in the family?
What is meant by social education?
Nowadays, when talking about education, reference is made to something much bigger. And more complex than what is reduced in the education of the schools and institutes.
The education experts Elisa Larrinaga and Santiago Huber, point out that they educate us everything we learn, regardless of the form or where the learning takes place. That is, we educate ourselves almost everywhere, in very different ways and throughout life.
Social education, like the rest of pedagogical sciences, makes a classification in terms of how education is expressed or expressed. Thus finding three types of education: formal, non-formal and informal.
Formal and non-formal education has in common a strictly educational objective, with institutionality being the differentiating element between both. However, informal education does not aim to achieve an educational result.
Regarding this, one can easily understand the role played by social education. Larranaga and Yubero express that the education of an individual is shaped through a set of formal. Non-formal and informal experiences that occur throughout the life of the subject.
The state association of social education and the general council of schools of educators and social educators elaborated a definition of social education. This definition was based on the concept of education as a right of citizenship and a profession of a pedagogical nature.
For them, social education makes it possible, on the one hand, to incorporate the subject of education into the diversity of social networks. Understood as the development of sociability and social circulation. On the other hand, it makes cultural promotion possible. And social to broaden the educational, work, leisure and social participation perspectives.
Social education in the family
Informal education has begun to appreciate and value properly until a few decades ago, despite the importance it acquires for the individual, especially children. And adolescents, who are in full development.
Experts in social sciences have always positioned the family as the main socializing agent of the individual. Social education is no less, and appreciates the family environment as the environment in which the most important learning for children originates.
Family and conflict
Larrinaga and Huber point out that, in the family, the individual is going to witness situations of crisis and change. And that a family environment that is not very close or cozy causes emotional disturbances in the child. Which will be accentuated when he experiences conflict situations.
As a result of this, social education in the family environment emerges as a point of support for those more problematic families at risk of social exclusion.
Action proposal for social education in the family
Family education supports a proposal aimed especially at parents. As we know, children assume as role models their parents. So it is essential to provide parents with the skills and resources needed to show their children an ideal role model to follow.
The Control of one's behavior, self – reliance, development of prosaically behaviors and skills, respect for the values and norms, etc. Some examples of the tasks that social education previously works on parents. And improvements in health, education and coexistence will be appreciated.
Social Education with minors and families
- Troubled teen girl on therapy session with her family and psychiatrist
- At present, Social Education is reaching an extraordinary validity, unthinkable a few years ago.
- The most generalized theories consider that Social Education:
- You must always look for social change.
- Socialize and allow social adaptation.
- Try to make protagonists of their change to the recipients themselves.
The key family in the development of the child
The family is a social unit and also the first and most important educational institution where the child develops.
The family is the main agent that provides the necessary environment for the physical, psychic. And social development of each of its members. Hence the need to emphasize the existence of a permanent interaction of all its components. Numerous studies point to the family as the main development space for children. Not only during the first years of life. But throughout adolescence and youth.
Knowing the family context of the child in general and in particular of the child of exceptional development is of vital importance. Because most of the time we cannot address a child problem successfully without the participation of the family.
Thus, you can work with families from different perspectives depending on the issue or problem to be addressed, for example by:
- Family therapy
- Promotion and prevention in the family
- Many of our Masters and Double Master's degrees have an impact on this important area. Because as we have been saying.


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May 26, 2010, 6:13 AM
Post #4 of 6
Please use the code tags whenever you post code.
Start by adding these 2 lines, which should be in every Perl script you write.
Those pragmas will point out lots of coding errors that can be difficult to track down.
The strict pragma forces you to declare your vars, which is done with the'my' keyword.
You should always check the return code of an open call to make sure it was successful and take action if it wasn't.
It's best to use the 3 arg form of open and a lexical var for the filehandle instead of the bareword.
open my $file1, '<', $ARGV or die "failed to open '$ARGV $!";
open my $file2, '<', $ARGV or die "failed to open '$ARGV $!";
That is normally written as:
Since the print function is a list operator, your attempt to read in the employee number from file to in the print statement will slurp and print the entire file. Instead, you should assign the employee number to a scalr var and use that var in the print statement.

source: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb-edu


Persecution in America
Harvard Professor Wants a Ban on Homeschooling, Claiming It Promotes White Supremacy
April 20, 2020
Due to Corona virus outbreak, more and more people are realizing homeschooling as a viable option to continue their children's education. This is also the time when public school are unable to propagandize our children with climate change, homosexuality, transgenderism, and overall Marxist indoctrination. And parents get to see what their kids are actually learning.
One Harvard professor in a shocking essay, Elizabeth Bartholet, a professor of law and director of Harvard Law School's child advocacy legal clinic, realized how homeschooling is causing a potential set back to their ideological goals, and is now beating the drum against homeschooling on the basis that it promotes white supremacy, and is a threat to children's rights. She even goes so far as to suggest a national "presumptive ban" on the practice. She claims:
"Many homeschool precisely because they want to isolate their children from ideas and values central to public education and to our democracy. Many promote racial segregation and female subservience. Many question science. Many are determined to keep their children from exposure to views that might enable autonomous choice about their future lives,"
Translation - "We cannot brainwash your children if you teach them at home."
Professor Elizabeth, the children are not isolated, they are protected from your ideas and your degenerate values that you poisoned our public education with.
Of course, right on schedule Elizabeth Bartholet goes on to blame the official culprits --> Christians.
"Surveys of homeschoolers show that a majority of such families (by some estimates, up to 90 percent) are driven by conservative Christian beliefs, and seek to remove their children from mainstream culture, some of these parents are 'extreme religious ideologues' who question science and promote female subservience and white supremacy."
The liberal educational establishment is very concerned while families are locked-down in their homes and out of the grips of the state's ability to indoctrinate them.
We are in a narrative war on multiple fronts. If people like Elizabeth Bartholet shape the story, they can win the future. Notice what they have done to the word "white." It is use it as a synonym for "enemy."


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several plating methods routinely used in the laboratory to isolate, propagate, or enumerate microorganisms such as bacteria and phage. All five methods incorporate aseptic technique, or procedures that maintain the sterility of experimental materials. Procedures described include (1) streak-plating bacterial cultures to isolate single colonies, (2) pour-plating and (3) spread-plating to enumerate viable bacterial colonies, (4) soft agar overlays to isolate phage and enumerate plaques, and (5) replica-plating to transfer cells from one plate to another in an identical spatial pattern. These procedures can be performed at the laboratory bench, provided they involve non-pathogenic strains of microorganisms (Biosafety Level 1, BSL-1). If working with BSL-2 organisms, then these manipulations must take place in a biosafety cabinet. Consult the most current edition of the Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories
(BMBL) as well as Material Safety Data Sheets
(MSDS) for Infectious Substances to determine the biohazard classification as well as the safety precautions and containment facilities required for the microorganism in question. Bacterial strains and phage stocks can be obtained from research investigators, companies, and collections maintained by particular organizations such as the American Type Culture Collection
(ATCC). It is recommended that non-pathogenic strains be used when learning the various plating methods. By following the procedures described in this protocol, students should be able to:
- Perform plating procedures without contaminating media.
- Isolate single bacterial colonies by the streak-plating method.
- Use pour-plating and spread-plating methods to determine the concentration of bacteria.
- Perform soft agar overlays when working with phage.
- Transfer bacterial cells from one plate to another using the replica-plating procedure.
- Given an experimental task, select the appropriate plating method.
Basic Protocols, Issue 63, Streak plates, pour plates, soft agar overlays, spread plates, replica plates, bacteria, colonies, phage, plaques, dilutions
Absolute Quantum Yield Measurement of Powder Samples
Institutions: Hitachi High Technologies America.
Measurement of fluorescence quantum yield has become an important tool in the search for new solutions in the development, evaluation, quality control and research of illumination, AV equipment, organic EL material, films, filters and fluorescent probes for bio-industry.
Quantum yield is calculated as the ratio of the number of photons absorbed, to the number of photons emitted by a material. The higher the quantum yield, the better the efficiency of the fluorescent material.
For the measurements featured in this video, we will use the Hitachi F-7000 fluorescence spectrophotometer equipped with the Quantum Yield measuring accessory and Report Generator program. All the information provided applies to this system.
Measurement of quantum yield in powder samples is performed following these steps:
Generation of instrument correction factors for the excitation and emission monochromators. This is an important requirement for the correct measurement of quantum yield. It has been performed in advance for the full measurement range of the instrument and will not be shown in this video due to time limitations.
Measurement of integrating sphere correction factors. The purpose of this step is to take into consideration reflectivity characteristics of the integrating sphere used for the measurements.
Reference and Sample measurement using direct excitation and indirect excitation.
Quantum Yield calculation using Direct and Indirect excitation. Direct excitation is when the sample is facing directly the excitation beam, which would be the normal measurement setup. However, because we use an integrating sphere, a portion of the emitted photons resulting from the sample fluorescence are reflected by the integrating sphere and will re-excite the sample, so we need to take into consideration indirect excitation. This is accomplished by measuring the sample placed in the port facing the emission monochromator, calculating indirect quantum yield and correcting the direct quantum yield calculation.
Corrected quantum yield calculation.
Chromaticity coordinates calculation using Report Generator program.
The Hitachi F-7000 Quantum Yield Measurement System offer advantages for this
application, as follows:
High sensitivity (S/N ratio 800 or better RMS). Signal is the Raman band of water measured under the following conditions: Ex wavelength 350 nm, band pass Ex and Em 5 nm, response 2 sec), noise is measured at the maximum of the Raman peak. High sensitivity allows measurement of samples even with low quantum yield. Using this system we have measured quantum yields as low as 0.1 for a sample of salicylic acid and as high as 0.8 for a sample of magnesium tungstate.
Highly accurate measurement with a dynamic range of 6 orders of magnitude allows for measurements of both sharp scattering peaks with high intensity, as well as broad fluorescence peaks of low intensity under the same conditions.
High measuring throughput and reduced light exposure to the sample, due to a high scanning speed of up to 60,000 nm/minute and automatic shutter function.
Measurement of quantum yield over a wide wavelength range from 240 to 800 nm.
Accurate quantum yield measurements are the result of collecting instrument spectral response and integrating sphere correction factors before measuring the sample.
Large selection of calculated parameters provided by dedicated and easy to use software.
During this video we will measure sodium salicylate in powder form which is known to have a quantum yield value of 0.4 to 0.5.
Molecular Biology, Issue 63, Powders, Quantum, Yield, F-7000, Quantum Yield, phosphor, chromaticity, Photo-luminescence
Using an Automated Cell Counter to Simplify Gene Expression Studies: siRNA Knockdown of IL-4 Dependent Gene Expression in Namalwa Cells
Institutions: Bio-Rad Laboratories.
The use of siRNA mediated gene knockdown is continuing to be an important tool in studies of gene expression. siRNA studies are being conducted not only to study the effects of downregulating single genes, but also to interrogate signaling pathways and other complex interaction networks. These pathway analyses require both the use of relevant cellular models and methods that cause less perturbation to the cellular physiology. Electroporation is increasingly being used as an effective way to introduce siRNA and other nucleic acids into difficult to transfect cell lines and primary cells without altering the signaling pathway under investigation. There are multiple critical steps to a successful siRNA experiment, and there are ways to simplify the work while improving the data quality at several experimental stages. To help you get started with your siRNA mediated gene knockdown project, we will demonstrate how to perform a pathway study complete from collecting and counting the cells prior to electroporation through post transfection real-time PCR gene expression analysis. The following study investigates the role of the transcriptional activator STAT6 in IL-4 dependent gene expression of CCL17 in a Burkitt lymphoma cell line (Namalwa). The techniques demonstrated are useful for a wide range of siRNA-based experiments on both adherent and suspension cells. We will also show how to streamline cell counting with the TC10 automated cell counter, how to electroporate multiple samples simultaneously using the MXcell electroporation system, and how to simultaneously assess RNA quality and quantity with the Experion automated electrophoresis system.
Cellular Biology, Issue 38, Cell Counting, Gene Silencing, siRNA, Namalwa Cells, IL4, Gene Expression, Electroporation, Real Time PCR
In vivo Bioluminescent Imaging of Mammary Tumors Using IVIS Spectrum
Institutions: Caliper Life Sciences.
4T1 mouse mammary tumor cells can be implanted sub-cutaneously in nu/nu mice to form palpable tumors in 15 to 20 days. This xenograft tumor model system is valuable for the pre-clinical in vivo
evaluation of putative antitumor compounds.
The 4T1 cell line has been engineered to constitutively express the firefly luciferase gene (luc2). When mice carrying 4T1-luc2 tumors are injected with Luciferin the tumors emit a visual light signal that can be monitored using a sensitive optical imaging system like the IVIS Spectrum. The photon flux from the tumor is proportional to the number of light emitting cells and the signal can be measured to monitor tumor growth and development. IVIS is calibrated to enable absolute quantitation of the bioluminescent signal and longitudinal studies can be performed over many months and over several orders of signal magnitude without compromising the quantitative result.
Tumor growth can be monitored for several days by bioluminescence before the tumor size becomes palpable or measurable by traditional physical means. This rapid monitoring can provide insight into early events in tumor development or lead to shorter experimental procedures.
Tumor cell death and necrosis due to hypoxia or drug treatment is indicated early by a reduction in the bioluminescent signal. This cell death might not be accompanied by a reduction in tumor size as measured by physical means. The ability to see early events in tumor necrosis has significant impact on the selection and development of therapeutic agents.
Quantitative imaging of tumor growth using IVIS provides precise quantitation and accelerates the experimental process to generate results.
Cellular Biology, Issue 26, tumor, mammary, mouse, bioluminescence, in vivo, imaging, IVIS, luciferase, luciferin
Use of Arabidopsis eceriferum Mutants to Explore Plant Cuticle Biosynthesis
Institutions: University of British Columbia - UBC, University of British Columbia - UBC.
The plant cuticle is a waxy outer covering on plants that has a primary role in water conservation, but is also an important barrier against the entry of pathogenic microorganisms. The cuticle is made up of a tough crosslinked polymer called "cutin" and a protective


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Glypher Data
GlyphViewer application enables a user to create translations from text in images, text available in different type of languages:
 - Modern languages that can be easily recognized by the OCR engine, such as English, Chinese etc... All you will need to do is to select an area, recognize the text and a translation containing that language will be created. You will be able to edit it to add additional translations in other languages.
 - Ancient languages such as Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic. For these kind of languages the OCR engine might not be that successful, but it will enable you to recognize glyphs in order to group them into words and finally build your translation. Basically this process is structured into 3 parts:
 1. Discover glyphs
 2. Group glyphs into words
 3. Use the found words to create translations
The user will have to use the dialog forms functionality on the right side to apply the above steps. Let's take a quick look on how the application looks with all forms opened:
Gliffy Diagram
At any time you can filter the items shown on the image by using the Image menu to select/deselect any display option in order to show/hide the elements such as glyphs, words or translations. Hiding them will not cause them to be deleted, you can show them later at any time by clicking on their menu option.
Recognizing glyphs
The first thing you need to do after you added your image to the project is to start to generate glyphs.
Glyphs are basically characters that form a language. For a Latin language they would be letters, numbers. For Ancient languages, such as HieroGlyphs, they are signs in the image such as a bird, hand and so on.
In GlyphViewer application glyphs are identified by an area in the image (rectangular, polygon), and they can have one or more symbols, associated from different languages with a degree of confidence.
A glyph may have more than one symbol because you may not be sure of which one is correct (for example for incomplete or unreadable glyphs in ancient scrolls).
You have the ability to either manually identify glyphs or use an OCR (optical character recognition) method to allow GlyphViewer to identify them for you.
OCR accuracy greatly depends on the image's resolution and how the character distinguishes from the background image. So if you will be using this method always check your results.
The easiest way to start building glyphs in your image is to use the Identify Ancient Hieroglyphs option from the Translation Builder menu, or use the buttons on the upper right side. You will need to open 2 dialog forms on the right as seen in the image:
 - Language dialog will allow you to automatically recognize glyphs using an OCR technology. All you need to do is select a language you believe the glyphs belong to in 3 then click on the Select Area button. To select the region to recognize glyphs, after clicking the Select button drag a rectangular area in your image, the same way you would do to select a region in a paint editor. The region will appear like the one at 11. You can resize it by selecting the borders of the area or move it by dragging it with your mouse across the image. Once you have selected the area containing the glyphs, select the language you believe the glyphs belong to, also from 3, then click Recognize at 4. If glyphs are identified they will appear on your image with surrounded by a bounding box filled with a color based on the confidence level of the identified symbols. If you chose a modern language, such as English, an English translation text will be automatically build and you will be able to edit it.
 - Glyph Builder dialog will allow you to manually identify a glyph in the image. You will probably want to use it if OCR fails. First at 1 select from the combo box the area to use to create a bounding area around your glyph. You can use either a rectangular area, Rectangle, or define a polygon using Polygon. After you have chosen the preferred select mode click on the Start Select button also at 1. Then go to the image where the glyph is located and:
 - if you chose Rectangle just click on the image then while holding the left mouse button drag to see the corresponding rectangular are forming. When you are done release the mouse left button.
 - if you chose Polygon you will have to click on the image with your mouse to add points to your polygon. You will notice that when you move your mouse that the polygon is being drawn, left click to add a point to it. When you are done double click with your left mouse button to commit the polygon.
 When you finished creating a bounding area around your glyph click on the Add Glyph button at 2. This will add the glyph to the image, but it will not add any symbols for your glyph. You will notice that the glyph is drawn with a gray area because of this. You will have to manually add symbols to your glyph by editing the glyph area.
Depending on the confidence value of a symbol associated with a glyph, GlyphViewer will use different colors for drawing the bounding box in the image view. As you can see in 8 the glyph has a high confidence value and is shown in green. Near it you can see a glyph with a low confidence value in a gray bounding box. At any time you can remove a glyph and all it's symbols by clicking on its bounding box as in 8 the clicking on the Remove button in 2. You can also edit the glyph's value by clicking on it's bounding box. More information about this can be found in Glyph View.
 Discovering words
After discovering some glyphs in the image, either manual or through an OCR engine, and associated some symbols to those glyphs, it's time to start to convert them into words. This is a paid feature of GlyphViewer application, though you will be able to create 30 words if you create a account. More information about this can be found at 1. Becoming a glypher.
In any case now it's time to see if we can add some meaning to the found glyphs. This stage can be done through the Language dialog . This step only requires you to to click on the Select Area button at 3 then use the area like the one at 11 to cover over the glyphs that you want to be translated into words.
The selected glyphs are streamed into an array of symbols with their confidence data and sent to a remote 2glyph server to be translated. Only the symbol data is required by the remote server, no part of the original image is ever sent.
In the case that the symbols that you assigned to the glyphs can compose a word for the language you sent you will notice that new data will appear on your image, as you can see in 9. If you move your mouse over the word text you will notice that it will be highlighted as well as the symbols that compose the word. Editing the word can be done by clicking on it in the image, and a dialog form for it will appear as described in Word View.
If you did not purchased GlyphViewer, for each word identified a credit will be charged to your account. You can see your remaining credits in your login form. In any case creating a account is required.
Creating translations
The final step is to actually build your desired translations. At this point this is done manually by adding the translated words to your own translation. We believe that for an acient language, such as Egyptian Hieroglyphs, any automatic translation will not be posible as composing such a translation should be an art left to the user. But GlyphViewer helps you by providing a list of words that you can use to build your translation. All that you need to do is click on the New Translation... button in 6 and a dialog form will appear to help you with this as described in Translation View.
After you are done you can see the translation appear on the image with the font and color you have chosen. You can also move it by clicking on the translation and dragging it across the image. You can also select the translation and click Edit in 7 to add different a translation in a different language or modifying one of it or Remove to delete it.
Clicking on the translation, as seen in 10 will cause a combo box to appear on the upper right corner of the translation as well as the translation to be surrounded by a thin border. You can use it to scroll through the different languages it has been translated to.
You can also link or add recognized words to the translation. When you move your mouse over the translation you will see the words and their underlying glyphs becoming highlighted.
A translation can be deleted once you selected it by clicking the Delete key.


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Reveals invisible writing
- "The Revealing Charm will reveal invisible ink and messages hidden by magical means. Simply tap a book or parchment with your wand and any hidden message will be revealed. This spell is more than sufficient to overcome the basic concealing charms and so is a favourite of parents and teachers alike."
- —Miranda Goshawk, Book of Spells.[src]
The Revealing Charm (Aparecium) is a charm that forces invisible ink or other hidden messages to appear. It is also possible this spell can be used to make other invisible things reveal themselves. Hermione Granger used this spell on Tom Riddle's Diary to see if anything could be read. Nothing appeared after she used the spell because that was not the enchantment placed on the book.
- "She tapped the diary three times and said, "Aparecium!""
- —Hermione using the spell on Tom Riddle's diary[src]
The Latin word appareo which means "to become visible or to appear".
Behind the scenes
- This is possibly the spell Severus Snape used to attempt to force the Marauder's Map to display its content, though it may also have been Scarpin's Revelaspell.
- According to Pottermore, the hand motion is thus:
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (First appearance)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Possible appearance)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film) (Possible appearance)
- Harry Potter Trading Card Game
- Wonderbook: Book of Spells (First identified as Revealing Charm)


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To quote a whole post..
You can use the "quote" button in the bottom right of any post to quote the whole post.
Or to quote part of a post
1~ highlight the text that you want to quote
2~ copy and paste to your posting text box
3~ ensure that the text you want to quote is still highlighted
4~ press the quote box (looks like a cartoon cloud, it's right besides the link button) at the top of your post text box.
You can simply type QUOTE in brackets as Jon says.
For example, but I'm using the word frog instead of QUOTE so it shows up.
[FROG]words you want to quote[/FROG]
It does work


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NITP in Nepalese Context
When either waters acquisition for irrigation or its application, if both of them or any one of them, is not conventional in nature than that is Non Conventional Irrigation System in our context. In other words any irrigation schemes which are different from conventional irrigation system are non conventional irrigation system. Hence, irrigation system which includes one or more than one of components listed below
- Treadle Pumps
- Low cost water storage (Thai jars, Soil-cement tanks)
- Rain water harvesting mainly for irrigation
- Lifting water using renewable energy (Solar pumps, Electric pumps, Barsha Pumps etc)
are examples of non conventional irrigation in Nepalese context.
NITP has also taken up projects for restoring large ponds, which were traditionally used for irrigation, in Terai region to increase its efficiency and capacity and use it for the development of non conventional irrigation system.
- Serve disadvantaged group
- Serve marginal land and farmers
- Provide irrigation to severely water deficit areas
- Help to achieve poverty reduction goal by promoting high value crops such as vegetable, herbs, fruits etc farming.


Homeward in a Sentence 🔊
Definition of Homeward
in the direction of home
Examples of Homeward in a sentence
After driving to the Grand Canyon for their annual vacation, the Simpson Family was homeward bound due being at the end of their trip. 🔊
A homeward journey was pushed by the homeless counselor on the teenager to have a better life who was now living on the streets. 🔊
After serving a lengthy prison sentence, a homeward departure allowance was given to the released prisoner to be able to make it back to his residence. 🔊
Other words in the Direction category:
Most Searched Words (with Video)


Candida, Yeast, Sugar, Hypoglycemia
 - bakers' yeast is failsafe
 - brewers yeast, sold as a supplement in health food stores, and used in food products such as beer, wine and Vegemite, is not failsafe (contains salicylates, amines and natural MSG)
It is counterproductive to try to combine failsafe eating with a candida diet which excludes yeast and sugar. People who are failsafe 'but not 100%' and swear they react to sugar have almost certainly failed to reduce their salicylate level enough.
Sugar and yeast free diets exclude so many processed foods and natural foods high in salicylates or amines that most people improve when following them. Unfortunately, though, they are very hard to follow and many people come to us after months or years of a candida diet having failed to achieve the improvements they wanted, still not knowing which food chemicals affect them, and completely fed up with the idea of doing any diet. In our experience, it is easier and more effective to go failsafe.
Contrary to popular belief, sugar does not cause children's behaviour problems. If you have a look at the ingredients lists in confectionery displays, you will find that at about 95 per cent of confectionery sold in Australian supermarkets contains nasty additives such as artificial colours (compared with the reverse in Italian supermarkets where the figure is more like 5 per cent) and of the remaining 5 per cent, most contain salicylates through mint or strong fruit flavours. Toffees, butterscotch, caramels, white marshmallows and honeycomb can be failsafe when nasty additives and strong flavours are not used, for example, Darryl Lea Butterscotch.
When mothers swear their children are "sugar addicts" whose behaviour is affected by sugar, they are generally surprised on going failsafe to find that their children are actually reacting to salicylates. Sugar craving can be a salicylate-induced reaction. See Salicylates factsheet.
Q. I have observed that small amounts of salicylates seem to disrupt my child's ability to regulate his blood sugar. Is this possible?
A. Yes, there is a condition called salicylate-induced hypoglycemia or ketonic hypoglycemia which was relatively common in children 40-50 years ago, when children were often given aspirin (salicylates) and became rare when aspirin was no longer recommended for children. One of the children in our network was diagnosed with it - the recommended treatment of a caloric supplement such as Poly Joule powder (which is failsafe) throughout the day as well as failsafe foods made a huge difference to him.
Similarly, feeling tired, weak and shaky can be a delayed reaction to food chemicals such as salicylates, rather than low blood sugar.
(1.9Mb, 0:53)
Factsheet: Introduction to food intolerance
Factsheet: Sugar and hyperactivity
© Sue Dengate update December 2005.
Joomla SEF URLs by Artio


text: In January 1977 the Government of the Philippines awarded two long-term concession contracts, handing over to private consortia the responsibility to operate and expand water and wastewater services in Greater Manila. The Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) privatization was the largest of its kind in the world. The author tells the story of how the idea of a concession emerged and gained support; how the preparation effort was designed and launched; the main hurdles met and how they were surmounted; and the thinking behind some of the key contract features. The objective of this book is to help fellow government officials facing similar challenges in other countries to be better prepared for some of the issues they will have to address, and to move faster on their own learning curve. Each case of utility reform is specific, but some principles are valid across countries: the importance of sustained high-level political commitment; the need for a strong and dedicated government team supported by experienced advisors; the value of a transparent bidding process; and the need to communicate and consult broadly. This book is unique in bring them to life in a step-by-step, first-person account of such transaction.


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"I've heard there's some sort of underground group": LGBTQ activism on evangelical Christian campuses
Historically, most Evangelical Christians have condemned LGBTQ people, citing Biblical passages establishing heteronormative sex and gender roles. As a result, Evangelical Christian colleges and universities can be difficult places for sexual and/or gender minorities, who face hostility, harassment, and even expulsion. Yet some LGBTQ students may engage in strategic activism, even on religious campuses, as a means of survival and resistance. Drawing from queer and intersectional theoretical frameworks, with an emphasis on the period of emerging adulthood in particular, this qualitative study explored the experiences of 23 LGBTQ young adults ages 18–29 (M = 23.48, SD = 3.32) who attended an Evangelical Christian college, examining their reasons for the types of activism they were engaged in and why, the risks of engagement in activism, and why some students chose not to be activists. Findings indicate that in spite of the risks of being out and visible on campus, students were engaged in numerous forms of activism. Students who were not engaged saw engagement as too risky or did not know about the existence of other queer students. Professionals working with LGBTQ young adults in an Evangelical Christian environment should support them in resisting marginalization and finding community with other LGBTQ young adults and connect them to opportunities to enact social change
Journal of Diversity in Higher Education
activism, Christian, college, evangelical, Lgbtq
Gabriele-Black, Kaitlin A. and Goldberg, Abbie E., ""I've heard there's some sort of underground group": LGBTQ activism on evangelical Christian campuses" (2021). Psychology. 305.


text: The initial concept is laudable. "What Anbar has in mind is something he calls "active OER." That's taking the standard digital textbook and expanding it with the addition of digital resources, including simulations that are both interactive and adaptive." So is the committment of $25 million to the project. But why then would it be narrowed down to one commercial provider? "That's where Smart Sparrow comes in: The company produces aero, a learning platform that allows the instructor to pull together lessons from a set of templates." This is in many respects the opposite of extending OERs with interactive resources. Rather, it looks like another case of open-wrapping - taking open content and wrapping it with a proprietary interface.


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A recent paper from our group, in collaboration with Luciano Costa's group at Fluminense Federal University (Brazil) and Burcu Gurkan's group at Case Western Reserve University, has been featured by the Joint Center for Energy Storage Research (JCESR).
In this paper, our team used Raman spectroscopy and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to study the structural and dynamical changes in the solvation shell surrounding Li+ in a ternary electrolyte is composed of a mixture of two ionic liquids (ILs), n-methyl-n-propylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide ([PYR13][TFSI]) and 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium dicyanamide ([EMIM][DCA]), and a lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide ([Li][TFSI]) salt (0–1 M). The local structure of Li+ in this eutectic was found to be heterogeneous and preferentially solvated by [DCA]. The Raman and MD analyses suggest a wide distribution of solvation. The computations showed increased ion pair lifetime for Li+ –[DCA] and decreased lifetimes for Li+–[TFSI] in the ternary mixture with the increase in the [Li][TFSI] concentration. These results show that the solvation and transport properties of charge carriers in ILs can be modified via the presence of multiple ions with varying degree of coordination, which provides an approach to impact the performance in electrochemical processes.


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Environmental laws and regulations govern many activities in the construction and aggregates industries. Due to the nature and complexity of environmental regulation, this brief summary simply cannot comprehensively explain everything that may affect you and your business. However, it will touch on three of the main areas (water, air, and waste) and provide some basic information so you can generally assess whether you may have an issue that needs to be addressed. As Ben Franklin once said – "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."
Why is this important? Inspections and potential enforcement actions by the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) are bad enough. But, other time-consuming actions could hamper your company as a result of unknowingly violating environmental laws. Third-parties, such as neighbors or environmental groups, have the right to file a 'citizen's suit' against your company for environmental violations. General laws of nuisance, trespass, and tort may form the basis for a suit. When wetlands may be involved, the Corps of Engineers may issue stop-work orders, shutting down your job.
Water—Discharges into waters of the state require a permit from the LDEQ. Generally, if you have water leaving your site, you need to evaluate the type of water (for example, is it non-contact stormwater, contact or process stormwater, or process wastewater?) to determine whether you need a permit and the type of permit you may need.
Stormwater discharges from construction sites between one and five acres in size are automatically covered under a general permit. Although no notice to LDEQ is required for coverage, nor is a fee assessed, compliance requirements exist. For example, a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) must be prepared for the site prior to the commencement of any activity. For stormwater discharges from construction sites over five acres in size, a notice to LDEQ to obtain coverage under the general permit is required. The SWPPP is also required.
The construction general permit does not cover cement or concrete plants. Instead, a general permit for discharges from cement, concrete, and asphalt plants must be obtained.
A Spill Prevention, Countermeasures, and Control (SPCC) Plan is required if you store over a certain amount of oil (including diesel fuel) or hazardous substances on your site. For oil, the threshold amount is 1,320 gallons within a common containment area, and only containers with a capacity of 55 gallons or greater are counted. If you store over that amount, a SPCC Plan is required. Generally, the regulations require that the plan describe the containment for the tank holding the oil and the nature and frequency of periodic inspections.
Finally, the site on which you are working or want to construct a facility may be deemed wetlands by the Corps of Engineers. In order to work in wetlands, a permit may be required from the Corps. Making the determination of whether your site is a wetlands and whether a permit is necessary requires scientific and legal evaluation.
Air—Emissions of air contaminants, such as particulate matter, require a permit if over a certain amount. The amount of emissions from engines or other equipment should be evaluated to determine if the site emits less than the permitting threshold. The evaluation should be retained to show to LDEQ that the site was evaluated and is under the threshold. If the facility is over the threshold, there are regulatory permits that may be helpful. For example, there is a regulatory permit for concrete manufacturing facilities and rock, concrete, and asphalt crushing facilities. Even though a permit may not be required, there are certain general requirements for control of particulates (such as dust) and smoke.
Waste—The use of solvents, painting, sandblasting, truck washouts, and many other activities may create waste that must be recycled or disposed. Proper determinations must be made so that the waste is sent to the correct type of facility. For example, a solvent may be used, and due to that use, become too contaminated to be further used. Depending on its type and how it was used, the spent solvent may be a listed hazardous waste or display a hazardous waste characteristic. If so, there are strict rules for on-site accumulation and manifesting the spent solvent to proper handling and/or disposal facilities.
As you can see, the costs of non-compliance can include stop-work orders, fines, lawsuits, and, in certain egregious circumstances, even criminal investigations or prosecutions. Protecting yourself at the beginning of a project may prevent numerous problems during and after a project.


Congressional Considerations for a US–Saudi Nuclear Agreement
November 16, 2018
Joy Nasr
The James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies held a luncheon panel at the US Senate on Friday, October 26, 2018, to discuss the status of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA)'s nuclear-energy program, prospects for a US–Saudi nuclear cooperation, and the considerations for Congress in assessing a nuclear-cooperation agreement with the Kingdom. The panel included Dr. Chen Kane, director of the Middle East Nonproliferation program at CNS, Ambassador Robert Einhorn, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, and Ms. Corey Hinderstein, vice president at the Nuclear Threat Initiative. Speakers discussed the drivers behind the Saudi nuclear program, the different possible outcomes of the US–KSA negotiations, and their implications for US nuclear and foreign policy. Ms. Hinderstein also shared observations from her recent trip to Saudi Arabia to meet with officials involved with the Saudi nuclear program.
Dr. Kane discussed three main areas of concern with the Saudi nuclear program. First is the possibility of Saudi Arabia developing a nuclear-weapon capability. This concern is based on Saudi statements of their intent to develop nuclear weapons if Iran were to acquire them, which signals a hedging strategy. Saudi Arabia has also refused to adopt basic nonproliferation agreements such as a modified small quantity protocol (known as SQPs) safeguards agreement, the Additional Protocol (AP), or the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, raising questions about Saudi Arabia's nuclear intentions.
(L-R): Dr. Chen Kane, Amb. Robert Einhorn, Ms. Corey Hinderstein
The second concern relates to Saudi Arabia's professionalism, politicization of the program, and unrealistic judgment of its own human, industrial, and economic capabilities. For example, Saudi officials have publicly discussed plans to geographically isolate Qatar by creating a canal and using it as a nuclear-waste disposal site. Although this plan is unlikely to materialize, it demonstrates a willingness to politicize the program at the expense of professionalism and credibility. It also reveals the Saudis' failure to understand how such a stunt has further undermined their program's credibility in the eyes of outsiders. Saudi officials have also exaggerated the economic attractiveness and competitive advantage offered by local Saudi industry, which they claim they intend to use in producing sensitive or advanced technologies such as fuel fabrication, valves, pipes, enrichment, and reprocessing. Third, there is a mismatch between KSA's declared intent for the program and its recent statements and actions. Saudi Arabia has argued that nuclear power will offset increasing domestic energy consumption as part of their massive economic reform campaign known as Vision 2030. However, both sites identified for the nuclear-power plants are on the country's industry-heavy east coast, which consumes only 19 percent of the Kingdom's annual energy consumption. The more sensible economic decision would be to locate the new plants to meet household energy needs, which constitutes about 49 percent of the annual energy consumption.
Ambassador Einhorn pointed out that if the United States insists Saudi Arabia forgo domestic enrichment and reprocessing capabilities—the so-called "gold standard" of US nuclearcooperation agreements—the Saudis will pursue cooperation with other suppliers with lower nonproliferation standards. Besides the obvious alternatives of Russia or China, Saudi Arabia may likely cooperate with South Korea, which, under its nuclear-cooperation agreement with the Kingdom, allows Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium up to 20 percent, without prior consent. The United States should pursue an agreement that would be palatable to the Saudis while also preventing them from attaining an enrichment capability. The current US proposal falls short of the gold standard but still requires Saudi Arabia sign the Additional Protocol and to forgo the pursuit of enrichment technology for a set number of years. The Kingdom has agreed to renounce domestic enrichment for a specific period of time but maintains its refusal to adopt the AP, which Ambassador Einhorn noted was of concern, considering Iran has been provisionally implementing the AP under the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. The next round of US–KSA negotiations is expected to start in early 2019. Despite the continued impasse, Ambassador Einhorn argued that, even with the gold standard out of reach, the United States should continue to pursue an agreement that requires more nonproliferation restrictions and oversight than would other suppliers. He referred to his article in the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, which proposed an agreement that includes a domestic prohibition on enrichment and reprocessing for 15 years, as well as a bilateral US–Saudi commission on fuel-cycle options to discuss the future supply of nuclear fuel and alternatives to a domestic fuel cycle. Saudi adherence to the AP should be included in any agreement. In addition, he suggested establishing a common understanding on export-control policy among the suppliers on exporting nuclear technologies to the Middle East, which could include a prohibition on exporting enrichment and reprocessing technologies; AP as a condition of supply; requiring prior consent rights on any enrichment and reprocessing; and a commitment of spent-fuel take back.
Ms. Hinderstein outlined four observations from her recent trip to the Kingdom to meet with officials involved in the Saudi nuclear program. First, the Saudi nuclear-power program is very much "real and alive," despite international skepticism. Saudi Arabia does have an increasing energy demand: it has the same petroleum consumption as India, a country with more than 40 times its population, and its need for water desalination is rising rapidly. To that end, Ms. Hinderstein noted that the Saudis are looking at two large-scale reactors and multiple small modular reactors (SMRs) to meet their needs, a significant scaling back from its original plan for 16 nuclear-power plants. On the regulatory front, King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (KACARE), the Saudi nuclear-energy promoter and regulatory "incubator," is in the process of setting up an independent (though government-controlled) Saudi nuclear regulator that is expected to be functional by the end of 2018.
Second, Ms. Hinderstein noted that while energy needs and rationale are real, hedging is real as well. The program is first and foremost strategic, and decisions will not be made solely based on an economic rationale. Third, Ms. Hinderstein remarked that the Saudis require plenty of support, especially on safeguards, safety, and security issues. Their focus so far on these fronts was external, and Saudis have a long way to go on building internal capacity. Fourth, Ms. Hinderstein found that Iran is a ubiquitous topic in all conversations with Saudi officials. The Kingdom is adamant against accepting any constraints that Iran has not accepted. She observed that Saudis seem to hold two contradictory beliefs with regard to Iran: while they believe a better Iran deal can and should be negotiated, they also see in Tehran a revolutionary, ideological regime whose malevolent regional ambitions cannot be constrained or controlled. These opposing beliefs are hard to reconcile, and indicate that, if the United States hopes to manage KSA nuclear prospects, it should go hand in hand with an Iran strategy. Lastly, Ms. Hinderstein found that the Saudi nuclear community is small, and it is difficult to find institutional or national champions advocating for nonproliferation.
In closing, the speakers agreed that the Saudi nuclear program is fundamentally strategic in its nature, and decisions by the Saudi leadership will likely be politically motivated.
Comments Are Closed


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The Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) is the component of the reaffirmation process that reflects and affirms the commitment of SACS to enhance the quality of higher education and focus on student learning. The QEP describes a carefully designed course of action that addresses a well-defined and focused topic or issue related to enhancing student learning. The QEP will be embedded within JMU's ongoing integrated institution-wide planning and evaluation processes. The topic may evolve from the existing process or from others related to the university's internal reaffirmation report and review.
Developing a QEP as part of the reaffirmation process is an opportunity for us to enhance overall institutional quality and effectiveness by focusing on an issue the institution considers a way of improving student learning. The evaluators expect the QEP to present a clear and comprehensive analysis of the selected topic and show its crucial importance to the institution. The QEP is expected to include:
- A university-wide process for identifying key issues
- Broad-based involvement of institutional constituents in the development and implementation
While the Compliance Certification focuses on the present, the QEP looks to the future. Topic selection will begin soon. If you have an idea for how JMU can enhance its student learning, you could be part of the QEP! Go to _URL_ for more information and to submit your proposal.


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THE EPIGENOME has been revealed to play a significant role in diabetes onset, providing clues into how genes and the environment interact to proliferate this worldwide phenomenon.
To investigate the potential role of epigenetics in Type 2 diabetes (T2D) incidence, Dr Andrew Feinberg, Gilman Scholar and Director of the Center for Epigenetics, Institute for Basic Biomedical Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA and colleagues collaborated with the group led by Dr G. William Wong, Associate Professor of Physiology, Center for Metabolism and Obesity Research, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine to test the epigenetics of identical mice by feeding them either normal or high-calorie diets.
Epigenetic chemical tags influence whether and how often genes are activated, without affecting the genetic code itself; Dr Feinberg likened the behaviour of the epigenome to "software" running the DNA's "hardware". Epigenetic marks at over 7 million sites in the DNA of the mice's fat cells were analysed, and there were significant differences between the normal and obese mice. It was observed that some sites with chemical tags called methyl groups were present in lean mice but absent in their obese counterparts and vice versa. This pattern was also observed in humans in a separate study.
"Mice and humans are separated by 50 million years of evolution, so it is interesting that obesity causes similar epigenetic changes to similar genes in both species," said Dr Feinberg. "It is likely that when food supplies are highly variable, these epigenetic changes help our bodies adapt to temporary surges in calories. But if the high-calorie diet continues over the long term, the same epigenetic pattern raises the risk for disease."
Dr Feinberg added that the results could pave the way for an epigenetic test which could identify individuals at risk of developing diabetes in the future.


RootsTech 2014
Friday, August 2, 2013
Is Moving Towards a Solution for Establishing Genealogical Data Communication Standards Possible?
In a recent post, I outlined a very few of the challenges confronting genealogists as a result of the insular nature of the various commercial genealogical database programs both desktop and online. One original effort in this regard was the establishment of GEDCOM which was first released in Version 1.0 back in 1984. There has been a lot of technological water under the bridge since 1984 and all subsequently released Versions of GEDCOM were ended with the release of Version 5 in 1996. There were a few proposed changes made up until 2001 but there was never a version 6 released.
If I were to revert to my legal jargon, I would say that the cause of action is not ripe for adjudication. It appears to me that the focus of the programmers and technicians addressing the issue of file transfer parameters are jumping ahead of the underlying, unresolved issues that have yet to be discussed and decided by the genealogical community. In fact, such agreement may not even be possible given the disparity of opinions and dynamics of the community. The conditions that allowed for a de facto standard back in 1984, simply do not exist today. At the time, FamilySearch was in a dominant position to propose a standard to a newly and at the time, barely online genealogical community. In 1981, there was no Internet. It was only in 1981 that the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) was standardized, and consequently, the concept of a world-wide network of interconnected TCP/IP networks, called the Internet, was was conceptualized. There were no major international commercial databases. The idea of digitizing all of the world's records was not even a possibility. Additionally, the concept of sharing data between different types of computer programs was in its infancy. The idea of commercializing the Internet was not made possible until 1995, when the NSFNET was decommissioned. To give a dramatic illustration of the changed conditions; in 1996 Infobase's parent company, Western Standard Publishing, purchased Ancestry, Inc. In other words, the company we now know as with its huge database of genealogical sources, did not even exist at the time the GEDCOM standard had its last update.
Now, all of this would seem to be very obvious. Today, we have a huge number of players in the commercial genealogical community, some of whom are multi-national and have a huge stake in the outcome of any imposed standard. Although a few of the now popular genealogical database programs have their origins back during the time of the introduction of GEDCOM, Personal Ancestral File was (and still is) one of the major programs, perhaps because it was released in 1983. Going back to 1984, when GEDCOM was introduced, we find very few of today's players. For example, the present company of was established in 1986, so at the time the program was developed, GEDCOM was already a fact of life. For an idea of when these early programs were developed see Early Genealogy Programs by Dick Eastman. If you read his article, you will see that there were very few genealogy database programs in 1984 and many of those that did exist at the time have long since disappeared. You might also remember that Apple's Macintosh computer was introduced in 1984 with its then revolutionary desktop metaphor (windows) interface.
Is it any wonder that GEDCOM does not fit well in today's online, high speed, complex genealogical computer market?
It is interesting to speculate about the influence GEDCOM had on the development of today's genealogical database programs. How different would they appear if GEDCOM had not been introduced so early? As it is and was, very few, if any, of the existing programs implemented all of the features allowed by the GEDCOM tags and many programs (all?) choose to implement only a small set of the GEDCOM standards. So, almost from the very beginning of genealogy software, there has never been a one-to-one correspondence between the various record fields of the different genealogy programs. In fact, the developers of new programs tried to differentiate themselves from existing programs and add features then unavailable. This type of marketing effort does not engender compatibility. There is absolutely no incentive in the software industry to make your programs work well with others.
In an analogy to the automobile industry; how many of the parts on your car are shared with all of the other cars in the industry? See what I mean. There are dozens of types of windshield wipers! The software industry is equally fragmented. It is only in certain very limited areas, such as connectors and storage devices, that there is even a small amount of uniformity.
Doesn't establishing a present day, universal standard for data communications face an uphill battle with the natural tendencies of the marketplace? What incentive to all of the players in the community have to join together an make such a standard? Why is it in's interest to easily share all of the data fields in Family Tree Maker with's Family Tree Builder? Doesn't that whole concept ignore the marketing factor of unique features? Does this concept explain what is needed to move towards a data communication standard? Perhaps not, but it certainly explains why such a standard may be next to impossible to establish.
If I wanted to design a genealogy software database today, why would I seek to provide a standard way to exchange the data from my program with all of the other programs on the market? Who would buy my program for that reason alone? Right now, there is a scramble among some of the software programs to take advantage of a compatibility with Personal Ancestral File. You will see claims that this or that programs works with PAF files. But even this marketing approach is far from universal. Most of the existing programs make no mention of PAF compatibility, even if they can import GEDCOM files.
In order to move towards some kind of universal data standard, we would have to return to the pre-database days of 1981 and before. Even if a core of programs were to adopt a standard, there will always be developers who want to differentiate their products and try and create a new standard. Think Apple and IBM, then Apple and Microsoft, then Apple, Microsoft and Google.
 Surely the obvious answer to that is - you might be making wonderful features available in your new software but if I can't move my data over, I'm not going to buy your software.
 It seems to me that the answer is slightly more subtle - there's just enough compatibility in GEDCOM to allow people to move the bulk of their data, so they think they've got a good trade-off between compatibility and lock-in.
 So that then leaves us with the question - why have people spent money making their software FS Family Tree compatible?
 1. My experience is that file portability is only a very secondary concern with both the users and the developers, until it becomes a personal issue.
 2. I beg to disagree. Think of the credit card. There are many different banks and retailers offering cards all based on a single standard that allows the same functionality. What differentiates the products are the services provided. Standards can be defined for the functions to be performed (build a tree, enter a person, upload a picture) and for defining and exchanging the data required to perform these functions. Once documented, developers can announce they comply with the standard.
 The drive to standardization needs to come from the users, not the developers. If we insist on products and services that conform to the standards, developers will follow.
 A simple thing like not letting dates be entered in multiple formats would be start!
 1. I agree that the drive for standardization needs to come from the users, but did you buy your last genealogical database program based on the ability to transfer data to some other unknown program?
 2. I don't agree that credit cards are a good example of standardization. Most of the restrictions on credit data come from government regulations, not a desire by credit card companies to share data with one another.
 You are confusing features with user data. Ancestry and MyHeritage don't make money by preventing users from exporting their trees. They make money by selling features which augment user data to create a richer research experience, such as record matching and collaboration. They have no reason to make it difficult t move tree data around. In fact, it's in everyone's best interest for it to be trivial to move tree data around because it further enriches the research experience.
 1. The commercial database programs, whether online or desktop, have no reason to expend their resources making it easier to move data from one program to another. To the contrary, having a program that makes it difficult to move data convinces most users not to leave the program. Why should any developer spend resources enabling users to transport their data to a competing program?
 2. The commercial database programs may not make money by preventing users from exporting their family tree data, but they lose customers if users can migrate their data easily from program to program.
 3. My formal response:
 4. I am out on a limb in this argument. You see, I attach much greater significance in my own research to rich-text narrative, places, and events. So much so that existing formats would not be able to help me. STEMMA was originally a private research project to provide me with an appropriate model and supporting software. However, it has become evident through that research that


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Working out using the TRX Suspension Trainer
The TRX Suspension Trainer is the original, best-in-class workout system that leverages gravity and your bodyweight to perform hundreds of exercises. You're in control of how much you want to challenge yourself on each exercise - because you can simply adjust your body position to add or decrease resistance.
The TRX Suspension Trainer:
Delivers a fast, effective total-body workout Helps build a rock-solid core Increases muscular endurance Benefits people of all fitness levels (pro athletes to seniors) Can be set-up anywhere (gym, home, hotel or outside) By utilizing your own bodyweight, the TRX Suspension Trainer provides greater performance and functionality than large exercise machines costing thousands of dollars.
Specializing In CoreWhy is core so important?
- Core muscles are primary requisite for stability.
- A strong core reduces your chances of low back injury and backache which is getting so common, especially in women and athletes.
- A strong core helps you lift bigger and better in exercises like squats and clean & press.
- A strong core can be the difference between winning and losing in athletics and sports.
- Core includes both abdominal muscles and lower back muscles. Training then both for balance and stability.
Used By Trainers, Athletes and the U.S. Military
Two Thousands of people at all fitness levels now train on the TRX : From everyday people who just want to feel and look their best to some of the world's most elite athletes. The TRX is used routinely by all four branches of the military, and can be found in the locker rooms of:
- Major League Baseball teams
- National League Baseball teams
- UFC fighters
- Olympic-level cyclists, swimmers & runners
The TRX Suspension Training system harnesses your own bodyweight to create resistance as you workout and allows you to adjust the degree of difficulty, regardless of your fitness level, age or fitness goal. Our TRX exercise class builds all body strength, flexibility and your core at the same time.


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By Malou Navio, Antipolo project coordinator
Project staff and CFCA families in the Antipolo project respond to the call to care for our Mother Earth by caring for our local environment through a program we call Clean and Green.
Clean and Green enhances CFCA sponsorship for our sponsored individuals and their families.
The Antipolo project uses ongoing training, lectures and discussion to incorporate Clean and Green into spirituality and way of life and to encourage families to consider the ecosystem.
As CFCA farming families learn irrigation methods for rice paddies and corn growing, more and more are gradually shifting away from the kaingin (slash and burn) way of farming. The families in urban areas promote waste management by reducing, reusing and recycling.
To reinforce this practice, we do not use disposable cups, plates or utensils; plastic wrappers; straws; and Styrofoam during our activities.
Our sponsored children, youth, their parents and the aging in kapitbahayans (small, caring communities) devote one to two hours every Saturday morning to cleaning up their surroundings, streets, canals and rivers. This contributes to disaster risk reduction.
Kapitbahayans grow plants and flowers in easement lots and open spaces to improve their communities. They cultivate these spaces for communal gardens of vegetables and medicinal plants. They can also share the harvest with neighbors.
A tree-planting activity takes place yearly. Most families plant the seeds from the fruits they eat. Many sponsored aging friends love this activity.
Though they say they may not witness the fruition of the trees they have planted, for them it is their gesture toward repaying the food they eat without the effort of growing it.
We have planted and nurtured thousands of trees. The ages of these trees range from younger than one year to more than 10 years old.
They are growing in backyards, along the roads, rivers, in the parks, open spaces, foothills, watershed and shores in the communities served by our three subprojects.
Fifteen sponsored youth leaders with parent advisers are graduates of a comprehensive training on holistic environmental education. This training discussed innerand outer-ecology, and cosmic ecology.
They also learned about the making of bokashi balls (click here to read more about bokashi balls), an indigenous technology of effective micro-organisms that eliminates harmful bacteria from fresh waters. They facilitate the same training on weekends with the sponsored youth, children, mothers and fathers group leaders.
The Earth Day celebration is one of the most important events of the year for us.
This year, the families will celebrate Earth Day with a parade around the town or barangays (neighborhoods), and then they will watch a film and attend workshops on environmental concerns and climate change.
The fathers group, with CFCA families in the communities of Angono, will celebrate Earth Day with a parade around the town and will launch their commitment and initiatives to heal the dying Angono River. They made 14,000 bokashi balls to drop into the Angono River to help heal the river and its species.
In our little way, we can radiate to each other, to the children, youth, aging and families, our dedication to care for the environment and our special love for Mother Earth.
Happy Earth Day!


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Super Brain: Unleashing the Explosive Power of Your Mind to Maximize Health, Happiness, and Spiritual Well-Being
- Author: Deepak Chopra
- Year: 28-10-2013
- Translator.from English: Stoyanka Serbezova-Levy
- Availability: Out Of Stock
- Product Code: 1202-01
- SKU: 18.0133
- ISBN: 978-619-152-309-2
- Read an excerpt:
At an office of Econt 4.00 BGN
At personal address - 6.00 BGN
In order to read our eBooks you have to download Adobe Digital Editions and register on the Adobe website as well. The DRM protected eBooks can not be converted or read on Amazon Kindle devices.
A manual for relating to the brain in a revolutionary new way, Super Brain shows you how to use your brain as a gateway for achieving health, happiness, and spiritual growth.
Two pioneers, bestselling author and physician Deepak Chopra and Harvard Medical School professor Rudolph E. Tanzi, one of the world's foremost experts on the causes of Alzheimer's, have merged their wisdom and expertise for a bold new understanding of the "three-pound universe" and its untapped potential.
In contrast to the "baseline brain" that fulfills the tasks of everyday life, Chopra and Tanzi propose that, through a person's increased self-awareness and conscious intention, the brain can be taught to reach far beyond its present limitations. "We are living in a golden age for brain research, but is this a golden age for your brain?" they ask.
Super Brain explains how it can be, by combining cutting-edge research and spiritual insights, demolishing the five most widespread myths about the brain that limit your potential, and then showing you methods to:
-Use your brain instead of letting it use you
-Create the ideal lifestyle for a healthy brain
-Reduce the risks of aging
-Promote happiness and well-being through the mind-body connection
-Access the enlightened brain, the gateway to freedom and bliss
-Overcome the most common challenges, such as memory loss, depression, anxiety, and obesity
Your brain is capable of incredible healing and constant reshaping. Through a new relationship with your brain you can transform your life. In Super Brain, Chopra and Tanzi guide you on a fascinating journey that envisions a leap in human evolution. The brain is not just the greatest gift that Nature has given us. It's the gateway to an unlimited future that you can begin to live today.
About the Author
More by the same author
|Translator||.from English: Stoyanka Serbezova-Levy|
|Genre||Biology & Evolution, The Human Brain, Self-Knowledge & Self-Help, Spiritual Teachings, The Way to Happiness|


Question: What Are Some Problems With Price Ceilings?
What causes a shortage of a good price ceiling or price floor?
Which causes a shortage of a good—a price ceiling or a price floor.
A price ceiling prevents the price from being raised to the equilibrium level.
Since the price is not high enough, firms will supply less than the quantity demanded, and there will be a shortage..
Are price ceilings good or bad?
While price ceilings are often linked to product shortages, price floors go the other way, often creating a surplus of goods if the price is set at a point where consumers can't afford to buy a product. Even though price ceilings have been around for centuries, many economists doubt their effectiveness.
What are the drawbacks of a price ceiling?
What is maximum price ceiling?
Maximum price ceiling is the legislated or government imposed maximum level of price that can be charged by the seller. Usually, the government fixes this maximum price much below the equilibrium price, in order to preserve the welfare of the poorer and vulnerable section of the society.
What is an example of price floor?
An example of a price floor is minimum wage laws, where the government sets out the minimum hourly rate that can be paid for labour. … When the minimum wage is set above the equilibrium market price for unskilled or low-skilled labour, employers hire fewer workers.
Why does the government use price ceilings?
Governments use price ceilings to protect consumers from conditions that could make commodities prohibitively expensive. … Further problems can occur if a government sets unrealistic price ceilings, causing business failures, stock crashes, or even economic crises.
What are some examples of a price ceiling?
A government imposes price ceilings in order to keep the price of some necessary good or service affordable. For example, in 2005 during Hurricane Katrina, the price of bottled water increased above $5 per gallon.
What are examples of price floors and price ceilings?
The most important example of a price floor is the minimum wage. A price ceiling is a maximum price that can be charged for a product or service. Rent control imposes a maximum price on apartments in many U.S. cities. A price ceiling that is larger than the equilibrium price has no effect.
Is there a price ceiling on gas?
What are the advantages of price ceiling?
Price ceilings prevent a price from rising above a certain level. When a price ceiling is set below the equilibrium price, quantity demanded will exceed quantity supplied, and excess demand or shortages will result. Price floors prevent a price from falling below a certain level.


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NTSE Preparation Material
NTSE is one of the most competitive national level scholarship exams in India. While the competition is tough it is definitely beatable if students follow a structured NTSE Preparation Plan. As a strong preparation strategy and a disciplined approach is a must to crack this exam, AglaSem Schools brings you NTSE Preparation Material to guide your NTSE Preparation Online.
Matching Conditions with the Given Set of Numbers
In the following Questions I to 5 one of the ruLes given below applies to the number sets. Identify the rule that applies co a given number set.
- Multiply the number by 5 and add 5 to the result
- Divide the number by 4 and add the Square of the Quotient to the number.
- Add the number to its square
- Multiply the number by 3 and Subtract 2 from the result.
- subtract twice the number from its Square.
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|Shearing - Course: Technique of working sheet metals, pipes and sections. Trainees' handbook of lessons (Institut für Berufliche Entwicklung, 17 p.)|
In shearing, two wedge-shaped shear blades closely pass by each other. The workpiece that is placed between the two shear blades is cut under continued effect of force. The shearing process is performed in 3 stages:
When the blades touch down, the material springs back a bit under the effect of force. As soon as its elastic limit has been overcome, the blades notch the workpiece.
Figure 17. Notching
1 upper blade, 2 notched sheet, 3 lower blade
In further penetrating, the shear blades overcome the internal resistance of the metal structure and cut the workpiece.
Figure 18. Cutting
1 upper blade, 2 cut-in sheet, 3 lower blade
The penetrating shear blades squeeze the material together between the blades, resulting in a material solidification. Since the blades are not able to further penetrate the material, they tear the residual material apart under continued effect of force.
These stages can be seen at joint faces of thick sheets.
Figure 19. Tearing
1 upper blade, 2 torn sheet, 3 lower blade
Figure 20. Sheared joint face
1 upper notch, 2 smooth cut face, 3 rough torn face, 4 lower notch


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Most Active Stories
Shots - Health Blog
Tue January 3, 2012
Making The Best Of A Hospital Stay By Quitting Smoking
When smokers are in the hospital, they typically have to give up cigarettes for as long as they're there.
Most hospitals make little effort to screen patients for tobacco use or to help them kick the habit permanently. That's a missed opportunity.
Starting this month, though, hospitals can choose to adopt tobacco-cessation measures as part of their performance criteria to meet certification requirements by the Joint Commission, a nonprofit that accredits health care organizations.
The stop-smoking measures aren't required, but are one of several activities that hospitals can use to become certified. Hospitals that choose to go this route will be required to screen all inpatients who are 18 or older, provide cessation treatment for smokers while they're hospitalized and follow-up with them within 30 days of discharge.
Tobacco accounts for nearly half a million deaths each year, and remains the top preventable cause of death.
By screening and treating patients for smoking, hospitals can play an important role in addressing the tobacco problem in this country, says David Zauche, a senior program officer with the Partnership for Prevention, an advocacy group that provided funding for the Joint Commission to test smoking cessation measures. "This doesn't happen, and it should be routine."


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Andrew Stevenson Papers, _PHONE_
A Civil War Collection
Civil War Manuscripts top level
About this Collection
Thomas Andrew Stevenson (known as Andrew), was born in 1841 in Richmond, Virginia, the only son of Thomas Peter Stevenson and Mary Elizabeth Powell. He had three sisters: Mary Ann (b. January 1839), Maria Cullen (b. May 1840), and Elizabeth Duncan (b. 1850). Andrew entered the Virginia Military Institute in September 1860 and was a cadet eyewitness to the events at VMI just prior to and after the beginning of the Civil War. In April 1861, he was assigned as a cadet drillmaster in Richmond, Virginia, helping to prepare the new recruits for service in the Confederate Army; he subsequently joined the 8th Virginia Infantry Regiment. Following the war, he was a teacher and then a lawyer, finally settling in Missouri during the 1870's. He married twice. His date of death is unknown.
The papers consist of three letters (_PHONE_) written by Cadet Stevenson to his older sister Maria, in which he discusses the approach of war and the activity at VMI following secession. Two other Civil War documents are a visitor's pass issued by the Confederate government (1861), and a letter (1862) introducing Stevenson to Major R. C. Taylor.
- Letter, 1860 November 20,from Cadet Stevenson to his sister Maria.
He discusses his views about civil war and the role he hopes to play should war be declared.
- Letter, February 23, 1861,from Cadet Stevenson to his sister Maria. Mentions Christmas (1860); discusses VMI's celebration of Washington's birthday; family news; raising of "disunion" flag over barracks
- Letter, April 19, 1861,from Cadet Stevenson to his sister Maria. Reports on the "great excitement" at VMI after Virginia secedes from the Union.
- Visitor's Pass, November 11, 1861, issued by the Confederate States War Department to Miss Maria Stevenson.
- Letter, March 27, 1862, introducing Andrew Stevenson to Major R. C. Taylor