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04 September 2009
The discovery of two new genes associated with Alzheimer's disease could provide valuable new leads in the race to find treatments and possibly cures for the devastating condition, according to a leading University scientist.
Professor Julie Williams, School of Medicine, has completed the largest-ever joint Alzheimer's disease genome-wide association study (GWAS) involving 16,000 individuals.
The study, published in Nature Genetics, uncovered two new genes associated with Alzheimer's disease. Previously only one gene, APOE4, had been shown to be a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease.
The study reveals, for the first time, that two further genes, CLU and PICALM, are related to Alzheimer's disease.
Professor Julie Williams, who led the study, said: "Both CLU and PICALM highlight new pathways that lead to Alzheimer's disease. CLU is a clusterin - a type of protein - which normally protects the brain in a variety of ways. Variation in this gene could remove this protection and contribute to Alzheimer's development.
"PICALM is important at synapses - connections between brain cells - and is involved in the transport of molecules into and inside of nerve cells, helping form memories and other brain functions.
"We know that the health of synapses is closely related to memory performance in Alzheimer's disease, thus changes in genes which affect synapses are likely to have a direct effect on disease development."
The study was funded by the Wellcome Trust, Medical Research Council, Alzheimer's Research Trust and the Welsh Assembly Government.
The University-led research also involved scientists from universities in London, Cambridge, Nottingham, Southampton, Manchester, Oxford, Bristol and Belfast, who collaborated with Irish, German, Belgian, Greek and American institutions.
The findings are some of the first to emerge from the University's new flagship Medical Research Centre (MRC) research centre.
The Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics at the University – the only MRC Centre of its type in Wales, is aimed specifically at harnessing the genetics revolution for research in mental disorders.
It is also supported by funding from the Welsh Assembly Government's Wales Office of Research and Development (WORD) and the University itself, totalling more than £4M.
The First Minister for Wales, Rhodri Morgan, has hailed the findings as a 'feather in the cap' for Wales' reputation as a centre for world-class research.
Rhodri Morgan said: "This major breakthrough in the battle to understand and develop treatments for Alzheimer's is good news for the 37,000 people in Wales and their carers who are affected by Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia.
"It is a real feather in the cap of Welsh science that this important global study has been led by a Welsh scientist, Professor Julie Williams and that the Welsh Assembly Government was able to give financial support for her work. World-class research like this will help lead to improved treatment for this distressing disease, and may one day even mean we can cure dementia."
The Centre was opened in April 2009 under the directorship of Professor Mike Owen of the University's School of Medicine and officially launched by the First Minister.
Professor Mike Owen, School of Medicine, who co-directed the research with Professor Williams said: "These findings are the result of over 15 years hard work by many young scientists and doctors and I'd like to pay tribute to them as well as the many patients and families who have helped us with our work.
"The challenge now is to try and understand how relatively subtle genetic influences like these lead to disease and how we can intervene to stop this happening."
Professor Williams added, "The MRC Centre and research like this is changing our understanding of what causes the common form of Alzheimer's disease and provides valuable new leads in the race to find treatments and possibly cures.
"It also shows that other genes can be identified using this method, and we are already planning a larger study involving 60,000 people, which can be achieved within the next year.
"It is also important to recognise the contribution many Welsh people who have acted as subjects for this research over the years."
The EU: What's in it for Wales?
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Tasmania's ageing population matters because as people get older they become more reliant on the services provided by governments (for example pensions, health and aged care). Dave Hunt/AAP
Tasmania can't only rely on a growing population for an economic boost
While Tasmania is currently experiencing its highest rate of population growth since the global financial crisis, this won't necessarily lead to an automatic economic windfall for the state.
Both the Liberal and Labor parties in Tasmania's election campaign are supporting population targets as a means to boost the economy.
Read more: Tasmanian election likely to be close, while Labor continues to lead federally
Some say Tasmania's smaller population is an asset to the state's unique character, others believe it condemns the state to mediocrity and holds us back.
But what's usually ignored in the typical BBQ conversation is that it's actually the composition of the population that really matters.
It is unrealistic for these political parties to expect population growth rates to be maintained or increase by themselves as population growth is not linear. The drivers of population change in Tasmania are the population age structure and the state's relative economic performance with the rest of the country. Tasmania needs the ability to retain and/or attract families to live and work there.
A long standing population policy
In March 2013, the then opposition leader for the Liberal Party, Will Hodgman, announced a population target of 650,000 Tasmanians by 2050. This was based on a population growth rate of 0.6% per annum, the average rate of growth over the previous decade.
Previous Labor governments had asserted that population growth would occur naturally alongside a strong economy and so a specific population strategy was not required.
When the Hodgman Liberal government took office in March 2014, it developed and released a population strategy aiming to reverse Tasmania's projected population decline and put Tasmania on a population growth trajectory.
Population change occurs as a result of natural increase (more births than deaths) and migration (in Tasmania's case both interstate and overseas migration).
Historically, around 60% of Tasmania's population growth has occurred from natural increase. However, the state's population continues to age and the number and proportion of women of reproductive age continues to decline. So the usual natural increase will wane as the gap between births and deaths reduces.
Migration will need to increase considerably to replace this projected slowing down and to achieve both the short term population targets desired by the Property Council and the longer term objectives of the Tasmanian Liberal government. Even with increased migration (interstate and overseas) of families, they will then need to have at least two children to ensure population replacement is possible.
However, historically Tasmania has always gained more older people (those aged 45 and over) and lost more younger, working and reproductive aged people (those aged 19 to 39). This is primarily due to a lack of employment opportunities..
This trend reduces the proportion of the population that is younger - and increases the proportion of the population that is older. In comparison with the rest of Australia, Tasmania is seeing this happen at a faster rate, even in times of stronger population growth.
Impact on Tasmania's economy
Tasmania's ageing population matters because as people get older they become more reliant on the services provided by governments (for example pensions, health and aged care). These services are funded by the taxpayer; however in ageing populations, taxpayers are diminishing in supply.
Of course this is not to say that older people are not valuable contributors to the community and economy, particularly those who are active, engaged and self-funded in their retirement.
Read more: Will elections in 2018 see 2017's left-wing revival continue?
Older people can also contribute to the state's economy as consumers in labour intensive sectors like retail and hospitality and the health and care services. These all create employment opportunities for Tasmanians. Over a third of all new jobs projected over the next five years in Tasmania are in the healthcare and social assistance sector (5,300 additional jobs).
These economic and employment opportunities will need to be carefully managed as the Tasmanian workforce becomes increasingly dominated by industry sectors that are largely publicly funded.
The Tasmanian Liberals' three-pronged plan focuses on job creation and workforce development, supporting interstate and overseas migration, and promoting Tasmania's liveability and lifestyle. Labor's intent is to invest in essential services, build productive infrastructure and promote the creation of secure and stable jobs.
Both plans are laudable in achieving potential growth. However, to effectively change the age structure of the population (and longer term population growth), these policies will need to be targeted to those of working and reproductive age.
While targeted population growth is important for Tasmania in meeting the challenges of an ageing population and a growing economy, population change needs to be planned for. A stable age structure with a population balanced between the working age and non-working age will provide a platform for proactive and consistent economic development policy.
This in turn will provide greater confidence for the private sector to invest in the state over the longer term, increasing the propensity for growth and the potential prosperity for all Tasmanians.
Population growth for growth's sake (as a proxy for economic growth), without consideration for the economic and social implications this creates, might actually result in a type which puts at risk the longer term economic viability of the state.
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Global Economics and Management (GEM) - The Program
A multitude of political, social and cultural forces drive economic decisions in our globalized world. To understand these forces, students need to learn about the many challenges faced by today's firms and economies. These include resource scarcity, climate change, economic growth, financial crises, or inequalities. The program Global Economics and Management views the classical studies of business administration and economics within a global context and combines them with knowledge from political science, sociology and management. Students gain a transdisciplinary understanding of global economic challenges with an emphasis on sustainable development and responsible leadership.
The Bachelor program Global Economics and Management has received excellent ranking results in the most recent university ranking conducted by the Center for Higher Education (CHE).

source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


Basic Cardiovascular Physiology: From Molecules to Translational Medical Science
Basic Cardiovascular Physiology: From Molecules to Translational Medical Science
Basic Cardiovascular Physiology
This book focuses on established cardiovascular principles and highlights some of the progress achieved by recent research in the cardiovascular field. The authors report the basic concepts related to the functioning of the cardiovascular system necessary for medical students to understand.
To foster learning, in each chapter the fundamental points are highlighted in italics and/or bold. In addition, there are added boxes that contain some more detailed information about physiological mechanisms or deeper analyses of clinical aspects. The book describes the structure and function of the heart and vascular system for the reader to understand how the cardiovascular system responds in both health and disease. Conveying a unified vision of the function of the heart and the vascular system, the authors explain the complexity of the system that goes far beyond the integrated connection between preload, afterload and cardiac contractility.
The endothelium covers the internal part of the whole cardiovascular system; therefore, endothelial physiology is treated in several chapters. Given the importance of coronary circulation in cardiac pathophysiology, this special circulation is described in detail and enriched with the most up-to-date information. Several paragraphs and boxes on clinical implications are dedicated to the principles of electrophysiology and the electrocardiogram. A space is also dedicated to myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury and cardioprotective procedures. The book is written in a linear and simple language without compromising the scientific rigor of the various topics covered.
This website strictly complies with DMCA Digital Copyright Laws..


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desertion, in law, the forsaking of a station involving public or social duties without justification and with the intention of not returning. In military law, it is the abandonment of (or failure to arrive at) a place of duty without leave; in time of war, especially in the face of the enemy, desertion is punishable by death. In maritime law, a seaman who abandons a ship without leave is rendered liable to damages and forfeits the wages he has already earned. In family law, desertion is the willful abandonment by one spouse in a marriage, without the consent of the other. The refusal to renew cohabitation without justification is also considered desertion, and in some states of the United States, mere abstinence from sexual intercourse is considered such. The refusal by a husband to support his wife has been regarded as desertion if he has the means to support her. In most states, desertion continued for a certain period is grounds for divorce. In the modern, no-fault divorce, desertion is not recognized, although the marital partners may have been living apart prior to the divorce.
More on desertion from Fact Monster:
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Crime and Law Enforcement

source: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb-edu


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Governments that foster open markets and resist protectionism have the best chance of stimulating inclusive economic growth and creating high-value jobs, according to a new study from 10 international organisations presented in Paris.
Policy Priorities for International Trade and Jobs, launched by OECD Secretary General Angel Gurria during the annual OECD Forum, shows that protectionist and discriminatory trade measures do not protect or preserve jobs. On the contrary, closing markets is actually more likely to stifle growth and put additional pressure on labour markets.
The report, a product of the International Collaborative Initiative on Trade and Employment (ICITE)*, analyses the complex interactions between globalisation, trade and labour markets. Drawing on numerous studies covering different parts of the globe and countries at very different levels of development, the report highlights the powerful role trade can play in driving growth and improving employment.
Of the 14 main studies undertaken since 2000 reviewed in the report, all 14 have concluded that trade plays an independent and positive role in raising incomes.
Through its impact on productivity, trade also raises average wages. Over the _PHONE_ period, manufacturing workers in open economies benefitted from pay rates that were between 3 and 9 times greater than those in closed economies, depending on the region. In Chile, workers in the most open sectors earned on average 25% more in 2008 than those in low-openness sectors.
Fears of the impact of offshoring may be exaggerated. Studies for the United Kingdom, United States, Germany and Italy demonstrate that off-shoring of intermediate goods has either no impact or, if any, a positive effect on both employment and wages.
The report also shows, however, that openness to trade is not enough. Complementary policies – such as sound macroeconomic policies, a positive investment climate, flexible labour markets and adequate social safety nets – are needed to realise the full benefits of trade....
The ICITE report debunks the principal argument against freeing up trade – the supposed impact of imports on jobs. The report says that there is no systematic link between imports and unemployment. Instead, evidence shows that in country after country, both exports and imports push productivity growth upward while helping create better skilled and higher paying jobs.
Offshoring and outsourcing by developed countries – two commonly-cited negative aspects of globalisation – often complement, rather than replace domestic jobs, while creating new, higher-wage opportunities in developing countries, according to the report.There is enough in this report to keep even the nerdiest of trade nerds busy for a long while. I especially like the part about the necessity of "complementary policies" to realize the full benefits of free trade. That's something I've been arguing here for a while now - open markets are awesome, but their benefits are seriously undermined unless they're accompanied by sound fiscal policies (especially tax policies), a streamlined, predictable regulatory environment and a dynamic labor market. Without these things, all the trade in the world won't fix what ails the US and other struggling economies.
But all the trade stuff's important too, particularly during yet-another-election-season featuring scores of US politicians spewing populist nonsense about the allegedly horrible effects of imports and outsourcing on American jobs. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, isn't it about time we stopped listening to these people?


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What's In A Name? Trumeau Mirror
Our trumeau wall mirror designs have been a steady seller for us over the years. The history behind these elegant designs is interesting – A quick search on Wikipedia:
A trumeau mirror is a wall mirror originally manufactured in France in the 18th century. It takes its name from the French word trumeau, which designates the space between windows. In England it is normally known as a "pier glass."
Trumeau mirrors were originally intended to hang on a wall between windows, providing a decorative element and bringing more light to the room. Most antique trumeau mirrors are highly ornate and often gilded.
The mirror is almost always rectangular and sometimes includes a decorative portion at the top, with the mirror below it. Those designed to be placed above a mantelpiece, rather than between windows, could have candles placed in front of the mirror to increase ambient light.
Reproductions of 18th-century trumeau mirrors became popular in the Regency period in the 1950s, when French furniture was popular.


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One way to achieve the objectives proposed by the UMH is through the Occupational Observatory, whose mission is to increase the level of "employability" of students and graduates, through tools such as internships, job placement, training competency and professional skills, information on labor market dynamics, personalized counseling or promotion of entrepreneurship. Its functions are:
- Management practices of students in companies and institutions.
- Promotion of university-industry relations through educational cooperation agreements and the job market.
- Preparation of reports on the labor market: needs, employability of graduates of the UMH, and so on.
- Organization of activities to facilitate the search for employment in the various campus and advise students in actively seeking their first job.
- Management of business networking with the dual purpose of promoting work placements for students and employment contracts for new graduates.
- Encourage entrepreneurship, train, inform and advise students for entrepreneurship as well as handle the presentation of their business plans for various prizes and contests.
This text has been translated using a machine translation engine.


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Aspects of Camera Lenses: Anterior Surface
Camera lenses are complex pieces of machinery composed of autofocus motors, mechanical rings, a few lenses (to create a compound lens), an aperture and lots more. Lenses function according to the physical law of optics. When we refer to our lenses, such as a 50mm or a zoom lens, we are referring to the whole lens unit.
The Anterior Surface
Anterior surface refers to the outer most piece of glass on the lens. This is the part of the lens that is furthest away from the photographic medium. It is through here that the light first enters through the lens on it's journey to becoming a photograph. This piece of glass is also most susceptible to damage and should be protected.
If it becomes scratched, it may become necessary to replace the entire lens, as the scratch will be visible in all the photographs that are taken. To help prevent the anterior surface from being scratched, one can purchase a UV filter for about $15 to cover the lens. Thus, any damage sustained happens to the filter and not the lens.
Anterior surface is a name that comes from anatomy. It refers to the cornea, the outer most layer of the eye.


2. Your theory of the case was not well-presented. Again, laypeople often don't have the training to present a legal argument in an easy-to-digest manner. I've always thought that the best way to teach how to do it is to think of the old proofs you had to learn in Geometry -- i.e. these things [sparknotes.com]. You want to prove that Joe Spies sent you an e-mail. To prove that conclusion, you have to break that down into separate pieces- (a) you received an e-mail; (b) the e-mail contained a remove link to FullServices.com; (c) I looked up FullService.com's registration; (d) the registration lists a phone number of XXX-XXX-XXXX; (d) I called that number, and someone answered; (e) I asked that person's name; (f) the person said "Joe Spies"; etc. (Note that each step in the chain refers to something that is proven in the step before it. That's a chain of logic -- it's how things get proved, in geometry, or in court, or anywhere.) Before you ever go into court, outline your case exactly like this, and when it comes time to put on proof or to summarize you proof in a closing argument, work through this outline.
 3. Of course, having a great outline doesn't work if you don't understand what it proves. In the chain I mention above, you have not proven that Joe Spies sent you an e-mail. You've proved that you received an e-mail, that a website is mentioned in that e-mail, and that Joe Spies answers the phone at the registered phone number of that website. That's it. Someone might reasonably *infer* from these facts that Joe Spies sent you the e-mail, and a circumstantial inference can be enough to prove a case, but under these facts, the inference isn't very strong. You didn't track headers to show FullServices.com is the sender of the e-mail (and you probably can't -- it probably came from a bot, or broken relay). You assumed that FullServices.com conspired with the sender simply because it is listed in the e-mail, but that assumption isn't warranted. You don't account the possibility that FullServices.com is just an innocent company hired by a spammer to maintain a remove list. The only proof you had that FullServices.com was somehow involved was your phone call, which has its own problems. Without any other proof of FullSerivce.com's involvement in the sending, you didn't prove Spies violated the law.
 5. The Judge properly refused your transcript of the call for several reasons. First, I haven't looked up the law in Washington, but if it requires both parties' c
 - by Rob T Firefly (844560) on Wednesday April 18, 2007 _USER_:43PM (_TAG_) Homepage Journal
 Anyone taking bets on how soon they implement rules against handing in legal papers with white-out on them?
 - by vbrookslv (634009) on Wednesday April 18, 2007 _USER_:44PM (_TAG_)
 Despite all the 'pest' comments here, I am glad someone is actually doing this. I wish I had the time to do the same. The booby-trap is just freakin great. IMHO, the judge not reading the brief should be grounds for immediate reprimand. I mean, we trust out judicial system to (interpret then) carry out the laws that are passed. I don't care if they consider it being a pest, it's the law, and it's what they were hired for. I mean, the reality is that if they (the judges) are pestered by it, they are getting a slight taste of why the law was passed! The point to be made is that if every single spam resulted in a court case, the judicial system would be suffering from the same Denial-of-Service attack that our mail servers and inboxes are. That's why SPAM is a problem!
 Fun Stat:
 I admin a small ISP. We received about 80k emails per day, of which about 97% are rejected by our various antispam technologies (RBL, Bayesian, etc). To reject one message as spam, it takes as many as dozens of DNS queries and such (since many anti-spam technologies rely on the DNS infrastructure to propagate the Block List). So that 1KB spam can generate 10x or more in traffic to kill it. So those who try to trivialize spam as just a nuisance have no idea what it takes to deliver your email, relatively screened-out. And guess what, next week, if another major spammer enters the biz, these numbers could double or more, just on the whim of some spammer.
 - I'm wondering... (Score:5, Interesting)
 by RM6f9 (825298) * on Wednesday April 18, 2007 _USER_:05PM (_TAG_) Homepage Journal
 Have you approached any of the local market media with this? They could run a piece of "Investigative Journalism" - Seems like some of these judges would be excellent fodder...
 - "stupidest law" (Score:5, Insightful)
 by bidule (173941) on Wednesday April 18, 2007 _USER_:07PM (_TAG_) Homepage
 Erm, is the judge telling you that you are spamming the court with useless suits?
 Is he saying that the law forces him to lose time handling spam?
 Well, is he for or against spam? I am confused...
 - A modest proposal (Score:3, Interesting)
 by DaveV1.0 (203135) on Wednesday April 18, 2007 _USER_:11PM (_TAG_) Journal
 Let's start signing up these judges for every kind of spam available.
 - by BenEnglishAtHome (449670) * on Wednesday April 18, 2007 _USER_:36PM (_TAG_)
 I hope some lawyer can tell me if I'm wrong (and I hope I am) but I'm under the impression that in small claims court (at least in my home in Texas) judges are not *required* to follow the law. Small claims is viewed as a sort of neutral arbitrator where the right thing gets done according to the judge, not where any fine points of law (or gross ones, for that matter) are really important. I was involved in a suit over $100 where a potential buyer had put a $100 down payment on a purchase of an item, the balance to be paid in a month. If he didn't come through, the deposit was forfeit. We had the guy sign a nice, typewritten document stating as much in very clear, simple language. He didn't complete the transaction and then sued to get his $100 back. At court, the contract was produced and the judge read it closely then said "Give him his $100 back." "Excuse me? Your honor, the contract is clear. Under what conceivable theory can you say that we're obligated to give him his money back?" "The contract doesn't matter. It's just not right for you to keep his money. Give it back."
 And that was the end of that.
 Later, someone who identified themselves to me as an attorney told me that this was the way small claims was supposed to work. Small claims was, supposedly, where anybody could go to get justice without a lawyer and without anybody getting tripped up on technicalities (which, apparently, a clearly written contract can be if the judge so decides).
 I can sort of see the idea. If some slickster is ripping off poor people via incomprehensible contracts, it would be nice for them to have some place to go to say "Please do the *right* thing and help me out." In fact, very small dollar disputes in small claims in Texas (under $25, iirc) can't be appealed through the state courts at all; there is simply no intervening authority between small claims and the U.S. Supreme Court. (Which allowed a landmark suit about voting rights to jump to the Supremes in record time some decades ago, but that's another story.)
 No matter how much slack I'm willing to give to small claims judges, though, not even reading a motion is just stupid and corrupt. I sincerely hope this story is getting some press play back home.
 - by Hemogoblin (982564) on Wednesday April 18, 2007 _USER_:30PM (_TAG_)
 In an earlier comment, Mr. Haselton posted a transcript of the hearing here [judgejokes.com]. If you read it, you'll find the story isn't quite as clear cut as he makes it out to be.
 Now, I agree that the accused was probably a spammer and should have punished for his crimes, but Mr. Haselton did NOT argue his case very well. I think the dismissal of the claims was more a result of Mr. Haseltons poor presentation than anything else. He was not particularly organized, presented too much irrelevant information and had a poor flow. It is true that the judge interrupted him a number of times, but IMO it was simply to make Mr. Haselton get to the point.
 At the beginning of his presentation, Mr. Haselton did not clearly explain the technical details. I'm still not quite sure what bulletproof


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When you use your phone to unlock a Tesla, the device and the car use Bluetooth signals to measure their proximity to each other. Move close to the car with the phone in hand, and the door automatically unlocks. Move away, and it locks. This proximity authentication works on the assumption that the key stored on the phone can only be transmitted when the locked device is within Bluetooth range.
Now, a researcher has devised a hack that allows him to unlock millions of Teslas—and countless other devices—even when the authenticating phone or key fob is hundreds of yards or miles away. The hack, which exploits weaknesses in the Bluetooth Low Energy standard adhered to by thousands of device makers, can be used to unlock doors, open and operate vehicles, and gain unauthorized access to a host of laptops and other security-sensitive devices.
When convenience comes back to bite us
"Hacking into a car from hundreds of miles away tangibly demonstrates how our connected world opens us up to threats from the other side of the country—and sometimes even the other side of the world," Sultan Qasim Khan, a principal security consultant and researcher at security firm NCC Group, told Ars. "This research circumvents typical countermeasures against remote adversarial vehicle unlocking and changes the way we need to think about the security of Bluetooth Low Energy communications."
This class of hack is known as a relay attack, a close cousin of the person-in-the-middle attack. In its simplest form, a relay attack requires two attackers. In the case of the locked Tesla, the first attacker, which we'll call Attacker 1, is in close proximity to the car while it's out of range of the authenticating phone. Attacker 2, meanwhile, is in close proximity to the legitimate phone used to unlock the vehicle. Attacker 1 and Attacker 2 have an open Internet connection that allows them to exchange data.
Attacker 1 uses her own Bluetooth-enabled device to impersonate the authenticating phone and sends the Tesla a signal, prompting the Tesla to reply with an authentication request. Attacker 1 captures the request and sends it to Attacker 2, who in turn forwards the request to the authenticating phone. The phone responds with a credential, which Attacker 2 promptly captures and relays back to Attacker 1. Attacker 1 then sends the credential to the car.
With that, Attacker 1 has now unlocked the vehicle. Here's a simplified attack diagram, taken from the above-linked Wikipedia article, followed by a video demonstration of Khan unlocking a Tesla and driving away with it, even though the authorized phone isn't anywhere nearby.
Relay attacks in the real world need not have two actual attackers. The relaying device can be stashed in a garden, coat room, or other out-of-the-way place at a home, restaurant, or office. When the target arrives at the destination and moves into Bluetooth range of the stashed device, it retrieves the secret credential and relays it to the device stationed near the car (operated by Attacker 1).
The susceptibility of BLE, short for Bluetooth Low Energy, to relay attacks is well known, so device makers have long relied on countermeasures to prevent the above scenario from occurring. One defense is to measure the flow of the requests and responses and reject authentications when the latency reaches a certain threshold, since relayed communications generally take longer to complete than legitimate ones. Another protection is encrypting the credential sent by the phone.
Khan's BLE relay attack defeats these mitigations, making such hacks viable against a large base of devices and products previously assumed to be hardened against such attacks.


With every roll of the dice, players choose a Blokus shape and color it in on their board, using a different colored pen each turn. There's just one rule to remember - every shape you fill in must touch another shape of the same color, but only at the corners!
 - 4 Six-sided dice
 - 4 game boards
 - 4 dry erase markers
 - Instructions
Object of the Game
Cover the most squares on your game board.
 - Players sit in a circle around the play area.
 - Each player takes a game board.
 - Youngest player goes first and play proceeds clockwise around the table.
Game Play
Tip: If you only have two or three players, check out "Twoor Three-Player Games" below.
 1. Each player takes one marker.
 2. The starting player rolls all four dice.
 3. Beginning with the starting player, then moving clockwise around the table, each player chooses one die to take.
 4. The number on the chosen die corresponds to a row of Blokus shapes on the left side of your game board. Select any unused shape from that row then add it to the board's play area by coloring it in. You may rotate and flip the shape any way you want.
 Each new shape you fill in must touch at least one other piece of the same color, but only at the corners.
 There are no restrictions on how pieces of
 For example: blue pieces can only touch at the corners, but it doesn't matter how blue touches green or red or yellow.
 5. The first shape of each color must cover a corner square.
 6. You may use each shape only once. After coloring in a shape within your play area, cross out the image of that shape from the left side of your board to show it has been used and can't be used again.
 7. After every player has filled in their chosen piece, the round is over. Pass your marker to the player on the left, and the next player in clockwise order rolls all of the dice to start the next round.
 8. Once all players have filled in a shape of each color in the four corners of their board, they will start building out from those pieces.
 9. If you do not want to use the number on the die you selected, you may cross out one of the three "strikes" on your game board and instead STRIKE SYMBOL select an unused piece from any row on your board.
 10. When a player is unable to fit a shape on the board, they are out of the game, even if they could place shapes of another color. Remove one die from the pool so the number of dice equals the number of active players.
 Remember: Players who are out of the game must still pass their markers. Always use all four markers regardless of the number of active players.
End of the Game
The game ends when no players can fill in any more pieces.
Once the game ends, players count up the unfilled spaces on their board. The player with the fewest unfilled spaces wins the game. If there is a tie, the player who used the fewest strikes wins.
Twoor Three-player Games
 1. Use one die per player (for example, 3 dice in a three-player game).
 2. Place the unused marker(s) "on standby" to the right of the starting player.
 3. During play, pass the markers as usual, just make sure you include the markers placed on standby as part of the cycle.
 Each turn the starting player will pass his marker to the left and take the first marker from the standby zone, and the player to the right of the starting player will pass their marker into the standby zone.
 In this way, all four colors will still be used.
 4. All other rules remain the same.
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Sumela Monastery in Turkey
In Turkish: Sümela Manastırı; Panagia Soumela, "Virgin Mary of Soumela" in Greek) is a spectacular rock-hewn monastery perched dramatically on the narrow ledge of a steep cliff in the forests south of Trabzon. It was built in the fourth century, just before the Roman Empire split into east and west, by two Athenian priests, Barnabas and Sophronius, who, according to legend, found a miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary in a cave.
The monastery's location in this geopolitically tumultuous corner of the globe naturally saw times of trouble and fell into ruin numerous times throughout its history, with its most thriving times falling under Byzantine and Ottoman rule.
The twentieth century, however, was not kind to the monastery. It was abandoned following the chaos and inter-ethnic violence at the end of World War I, and the population transfer of Trabzon's (formerly Trebizond) Greek population back to Greece.
Its remote location gave it some sanctuary, but its frescoes still attracted the occasional casually hurled rock by a bored shepherd. The beautiful frescoes today suffer from decades of heart-wrenchingly pointless vandalism by travelers—judging from the various alphabets and names scrawled across these impressive religious works of art, it appears that just about every culture in the world has taken part in the desecration.
The buildings themselves have been fairly heavily restored in recent decades, as the Turkish government has stepped in to protect the monastery and to turn it into a museum.
The simplest way to get to the monastery is by tour, and you can find a tour in town by just asking any other traveler there (no tourist visits Trabzon without seeing Sümela). The monastery lies close to Maçka, about 30 km south of Trabzon, and those preferring to get to the monastery on their own means instead of taking a tour can get to Maçka by taking minibuses heading for Gümüşhane, Erzurum or other destinations south from Trabzon. The rest of the way, approximately 17 km to the actual site of monastery, can be done by dolmuşes from downtown Maçka, which will take you to the entrance of Altındere National Park (Milli Park). Then, the monastery is about half an hour walk away, which can be done through a forest trail, which was recently widened in order to cope with the ever increasing numbers of visitors, or along the tarmac road leading to the monastery.
Those approaching with their own vehicles can get as near as 300 meters to Sümela itself, where there is a car-park in front of Hagia Barbara Chapel.
Today the monastery's primary function is as a tourist attraction. It overlooks forests and streams, making it extremely popular for its aesthetic attraction as well as for its cultural and religious significance.
The monastery was founded in 386 AD during the reign of the Emperor Theodosius I (375 - 395), Legend has it that two priests undertook its creation after discovering a miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary in a cave on the mountain.
During its long history, the monastery fell into ruin several times and was restored by various emperors. During the 6th century, it was restored and enlarged by General Belisarius at the behest of Justinian.
It reached its present form in the 13th century after gaining prominence during the reign of Alexios III (1349 - 1390) of the Komnenian Empire of Trebizond, established in 1204. At that time, the monastery was granted an amount annually from imperial funds. During the time of Manuel III, son of Alexius III, and during the reigns of subsequent princes, Sümela gained further wealth from imperial grants. Following the conquest by theOttoman Sultan Mehmed II in 1461, it was granted the sultan's protection and given rights and privileges that were renewed by following sultans. The monastery remained a popular destination for monks and travelers through the years.
In 1682 and for a few decades, the monastery housed the Phrontisterion of Trapezous, a well-known Greek educational institution of the region.
The monastery was seized by the Russian Empire during the 1916-18 occupation of Trabzon.
The site was abandoned in 1923, following forced population exchanges between Greece and Turkey. The departing monks were not allowed to take any property with them, so they buried Sumela's famous icon under the floor of the monastery's St. Barbara chapel. In 1930, a monk secretly returned to Sumela and retrieved the icon, transferring it to the new Panagia Soumela Monastery, on the slopes of Mount Vermion, near the town of Naousa, in Macedonia, Greece.
As of 2012, the Turkish government is funding restoration work, and the monastery is enjoying a revival in pilgrimage from Greece and Russia.
On 15 August 2010, Orthodox divine liturgy was allowed to take place in the monastery compound. A special pass issued by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople is now required to visit on August 15, the day of the Dormition of the Theotokos or Feast of the Assumption, when a divine liturgy is held. Only 450 to 500 visitors are allowed inside the monastery, although widescreen televisions are available to observe the event at a cafe some hundred metres away from the monastery.
The principal elements of the Monastery complex are the Rock Church, several chapels, kitchens, student rooms, a guesthouse, a library, and a sacred spring revered by Eastern Orthodox Christians.
The large aqueduct at the entrance, which supplied water to the Monastery, is constructed against the side of the cliff. The aqueduct has many arches which have mostly been restored. The entrance to the Monastery leads up a long and narrow stairway. There is a guard-room next to the entrance. The stairs lead down from there to the inner courtyard. On the left, in front of a cave, there are several monastery buildings. The cave, which was converted into a church, constitutes the centre of the monastery. The library is to the right.
The large building with a balcony on the front part of the cliff was used for the monks' cells and for housing guests. It dates from 1840.
The influence of Turkish art can be observed in the design of the cupboards, niches and fireplace in the rooms of the buildings surrounding the courtyard.
The inner and outer walls of the Rock Church and the walls of the adjacent chapel are decorated with frescoes. Frescoes dating from the era ofAlexios III of Trebizond line the inner wall of the Rock Church facing the courtyard. The frescoes of the chapel which were painted on three levels in three different periods are dated to the beginning of the 18th century. The frescoes of the bottom band are of superior quality.
The frescoes of the Sümela Monastery are seriously damaged. The main subject of the frescoes are biblical scenes telling the story of Christ and the Virgin Mary.


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This product is a great way to finish up a poetry unit in grades 6-9!
Students will compare and contrast the classic poem "Ithaca" by Constantine Cavafy with Miley Cyrus's song "The Climb". Download includes full lesson plan with objectives and Common Core standards, TWO sets of task cards, poems and lyrics, and answer sheets. Each set of task cards corresponds to one of the texts and is differentiated into two levels.
This lesson was originally taught to a 7th grade class, but could work for grades 6-9 in general, inclusive, or special education settings!
Features of this download:
- Tiered activity
- Close Reading Task Cards including questions on theme, tone, and supporting details
- Common Core Alignment
- Web links for a comprehensive lesson plan


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In this book, Marvin R. Weisbord and Sandra Janoff describe a three-day program to help organizations develop a future plan. Their conference is designed to unite groups of people from different areas of an organization so they can create a program together that they all support. Typically, the conference includes 50 to 70 people who review the past, explore the present environment, create future scenarios, identify common ground and make action plans. The program encourages dialogue and working together as peers. Future Search suggests how you might organize this program yourself, from setting up the agenda to planning the logistics. Because the book is a specific, practical guide for a particular type of conference, it will primarily interest those leaders and managers who want to put on such a program. getAbstract recommends Future Search as a good hands-on tool for companies, non-profits, government agencies or other organizations that want to hold a future planning conference.
In this summary, you will learn
- How to plan your firm's future using a Future Search conference
- Which five parts constitute a conference
- Which elements will ensure its success.
About the Authors
Marvin R. Weisbord is an internationally-known organizational consultant. He is the author of Productive Workplaces and Discovering Common Ground. Sandra Janoff is a psychologist and consultant. She has designed and facilitated whole-systems processes in the public and private sectors. Together they plan and lead Future Search conferences, coach facilitators and offer public networks. They are partners in a consulting group, Future Search Associates.


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Your Colorado optometrist might take part in Medicaid and supply eye exams and glasses in your kids for gratis to you. Virtually 1 of each four kids in Colorado is insured by means of Medicaid. As a result of so many kids are coated below Medicaid there are six factors it is advisable to perceive.
- Medicaid protection for imaginative and prescient varies state by state so don't presume you should have the identical advantages when shifting to Colorado from one other state. There are various kinds of imaginative and prescient care protection for youngsters and adults. Adjustments in eye care advantages have occurred in the previous few years, and can proceed to alter with well being care reform. Growth or reduce backs in advantages might happen at any time. Medicaid is a state run program run in cunjunction with the Federal Governement. States can range the protection insurance policies to a point. The state of Colorado has it's personal plan. One instance of the variations is grownup protection. Adults have a $ 2.00 co-pay for eye exams and restricted benfits for eyeglasses. Many states have full protection for adults.
- For Medicaid imaginative and prescient protection in Colorado, kids's imaginative and prescient insurance coverage protection is outlined by age 20 and below. When reaching age 21, Colorado Medicaid counselors you an grownup and the advantages change. Youngsters are eligible for an eye fixed examination by their optometrist as wanted with no co-pay.
- Contact lens becoming charges entail further expenses above the common eye examination. These are usually not coated until there may be an eye fixed illness that warps the cornea. Contact lenses would be the solely approach to offer acceptable visible acuity. The precise contact lenses are additionally not coated until they're relevant medical analysis. This isn't a space the place a affected person can plead their case. If there are particular medical situations requiring contact lenses your eye physician has to file a kind to have your case thought-about. The overview course of can take a number of weeks to a number of months. It's usually permitted if contact lenses are the one strategy to right your imaginative and prescient as a consequence of a corneal eye illness. Your optometrist might should submit a kind for prior authorization greater than as soon as to speak the necessity for particular consideration, so you will have to have some endurance.
- A regular eyeglass body and lenses are coated with no co pay. A regular body means frames are restricted to cheap frames. That doesn't imply that they're unnecessarily low high quality. Your optometrist is barely allowed a restricted reimbursement for the eyeglass body. Repairs for damaged frames or lenses are a profit, and a substitute body is offered if the body can't be repaired. Whereas this isn't essentially a vast profit, it may be used greater than as soon as in case your youngster is already to breaking glasses. Lack of eyeglasses will not be particularly outlined as a profit however could also be coated.
- Lens remedies resembling scratch resistant coatings, glare free coatings, tints, and skinny lens supplies are usually not coated. Scratch resistant coatings are the one choice you should buy. Prescription eye glass lenses and not using a scratch coating will almost definitely have scratch marks on them inside a day or two of teenager utilization. Scratch resistant coatings are usually not scratch proof, however they'll definitely lengthen the usable lifetime of the lenses. There's a strategy to have thinner, lighter lenses coated in your youngster. If you happen to request polycarbonate lenses, they are going to be a lot thinner and enticing for larger eye glass lens prescriptions, and assist your youngster's self picture. Polycarbonate lenses are often beneficial for youngsters and teenagers needing eyeglasses as a consequence of their excessive affect resistance.
- Different providers could also be obtainable with prior authorization. Imaginative and prescient gadgets for youngsters which have vital sight loss from eye illnesses, some lens remedies, remedy for lazy eye, and different providers are typically permitted. Don't count on a quick approval, however it's definitely worth the wait when the service finally ends up being coated.
Medicaid is continually altering and this data is offered as instructional, not as consultant of present state coverage. Various kinds of packages can be found in some areas of Colorado. Eligibility for enrolling in Medicaid and understanding your imaginative and prescient advantages is your duty, and the State of Colorado has assets that can assist you. Go to the Colorado State web site at: _URL_ [_URL_ Thousand of kids are eligible for Medicaid protection in Colorado however are at present not audited or coated by any insurance coverage plan. You possibly can assist hold your youngsters wholesome by taking the time to enroll them now, and maintaining with annual preventive eye physician examinations.[ad_2]


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This woodland wildflower is somewhat unusual because its foliage has withered away by the time the flowers bloom. Both the foliage and flowers are attractive; the latter help to brighten the gloomy corners of woodlands during the summer. Wild Leek has the widest basal leaves (23½" across) of any Allium sp. in the state. A similar species, Allium burdickii (which is also called 'Wild Leek'), has basal leaves that are about 1-2" across. Other wild Allium spp. have leaves that are narrow and strap-like (less than ½" across). Wild Leek has about 25-50 flowers in each umbel, while Allium burdickii has 10-20 flowers in each umbel. Wild Leek has reddish leaf petioles and flowering stalks that are often reddish at the base, while the petioles and stalks of Allium burdickii are light green throughout. This latter species is restricted to wooded areas in NE Illinois and it is less common.
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Most combinatorial optimization problems are NP-hard, and require computation exponential to the problem size. How can we solve difficult tree-search problems approximately, using the analytical results of their average-case complexity? The answer to this question leads to a new approximation approach, the topic of this chapter. This new method makes use of the complexity transitions of branch-and-bound on incremental random trees, and is referred to as ε-transformation.
Local Search Goal Node Solution Quality Random Tree Average Relative Error
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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Description of the Friesian Horse population of South Africa and Namibia
AbstractData obtained from the Friesian Horse Studbook of Southern Africa and Friesian Horse Breeders\' Society of South Africa were analyzed to describe and evaluate the population regarding inbreeding and morphological body measurements. Eight different body measurements (height at withers, height of back, height of croup, body length, length of cannon forelimb and hind limb, circumference of cannon bone foreand hind limb) recorded on 232 horses were included for analyses. The pedigrees of 696 horses were used for estimation of inbreeding coefficients. A total of 25% of the horses included in the data was inbred, with inbreeding coefficients ranging from 0.07% to 27.8%. A positive trend in the average inbreeding per year was observed, but the rate of inbreeding was relatively low. Recording of pedigree information will be essential for long-term evaluation of inbreeding in the Friesian Horse and the recording of objective body measurements is recommended for inclusion in selection programs.
Key Words: Body measurements, Linear scoring, Heritability, Inbreeding
South African Journal of Animal Science Vol.34(3) 2004: 149-157


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As a staff member, you can determine the way you participate within Projectcampus. Some teachers have assistants or instructors managing the course on Projectcampus, and only step in if there is a question only the teacher can answer. Some teachers take the lead and step in on every occasion. It is really up to the teacher to decide what suits him/her and the course best. It is important that expectations on the side of the students are managed up front (at the start of the course), to prevent frustration on both sides.
Basically, this is expectation management. You just indicate in your first post or during your introduction lecture what is expected from the students on Projectcampus and what the students can expect from each other and from their teachers. Obviously, teacher presence once in a while is important. But students can go a long way helping each other if this is clearly communicated (and checked) by the teachers.
TIP: Explain your students that Projectcampus makes it easy to learn from each other. Students can help each other in the course or follow projects from other teams or students.


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Beam Element Analytical Model of Thin-walled Beam Structure
MB Guo-jun, QIAN Ruo-jun (Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China)
In this paper, a kind of thin-walled beam element analytical model that can be used in the elastic analysis of thin-walled beam structure was presented. Based on the space beam element analytical model, an improved displacement model was adopted. It can consider the possible patterns of the deformation of thin-walled beam, such as tension or compression, shear, bending, torsion and warping, and their coupling effect. Thus the element shape function was derived. According to the definition of Green strain, the expression of normal strain of element was constituted using the method of expanding Taylor series. And the corresponding thin-walled element stiffness equation was formulated. The apparent formulation of element stiffness matrix under the local coordination was attained. According to the thin-walled beam element analytical model obtained by this paper, the interrelated structural calculating program was worked out. The numerical example validates the element stiffness matrix. Finally the comparison between the space beam model and the thin-walled beam model indicates the effect of section warping on the thin-walled beam structure.


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One of the Australian Museum's most treasured books is a folio of watercolours by the 18th century museum artist Sarah Stone. More than just a skilful depiction of curiosities from early voyages, this unique work is a tangible reminder of fortunes won and lost, says Research Librarian Leoné Lemmer.
And the winner is …
Sir Ashton Lever's growing sense of hope was about to be dashed.
It had been almost five weeks since the lottery had been drawn – on 24 March 1786 – to decide the fate of the museum he'd built up over 12 years or more.
Known as the Holophusikon (or Leverian Museum), it held thousands of artefacts, including a sizeable lot acquired just five years previously from his friend Captain James Cook's second and third voyages.
This was a golden age of scientific discovery. Public curiosity was high and Sir Ashton's museum in London drew large audiences willing to pay the hefty entrance fee of five shillings and threepence, or two guineas for an annual ticket. There were regular advertisements advising the public of new acquisitions and the museum was used by natural historians such as John Latham, Gilbert White and Thomas Pennant.
But in the early 1880s Sir Ashton's financial situation was worsening and he needed to sell the collection, preferably to a single large institutional buyer. His luck ran out when, despite holding more than three-quarters of the tickets in his own lottery, another's had somehow come out of the hat first.
Yet why had the winner not come forward to claim their prize, one of England's finest private museums? Perhaps they had left the country, or lost the ticket, or …?
The lottery itself was no chook raffle. Two years previously, Sir Ashton had obtained an Act of Parliament to allow the lottery to go ahead; 36,000 tickets had been printed, priced at one guinea apiece, but only 8000 had been sold – hardly a decent return for a collection valued at £53,000.
If only the British Museum had not been so truculent about taking the collection off his hands when he'd offered it to them in 1783. Had Sir Joseph Banks really opposed the acquisition? Or did they simply not have the space for his collection, which occupied 16 rooms in Leicester House in London's West End?
Unbeknown to Sir Ashton, the owner of the winning ticket had also experienced a change of luck. Mrs James Parkinson had died some time before the draw, and the winning ticket was found among her papers. Her widower eventually claimed the prize five weeks after the draw and went on to manage the museum for 20 years before his fortunes, too, were to change.
Sir Ashton died on 28 January 1788, just two years after finally handing over his museum to Parkinson, and two days after Captain Arthur Phillip set foot at Sydney Cove with a small group of marines and convicts.
Bound in crimson Morocco
Sarah Stone's work captures a time of journeys to new lands bringing back previously unseen animals, plants and ethnographic items. Her drawings are the last visual record of Sir Ashton Lever's important collection.
The Museum's folio contains 132 of Sarah Stone's paintings. It was acquired by the publisher and bookseller George Roberston (of Angus & Robertson Ltd) who generously donated it to the Australian Museum.
Writing about the new acquisition in the Australian Museum Magazine in 1928, Museum Director Charles Anderson said, 'Comparison with our collection of material collected by Captain James Cook …reveals a number of pieces identical with these pictures of Lever's treasures'.
There are just two other volumes of Stone's work. Both are held by the Bishop Museum in Hawaii and described in the book Art and artifacts of the 18th century.
The authors, Roland and Maryanne Force, mention a third volume of Stone's work, bound in crimson morocco and containing 132 drawings, that had sold at auction to an unknown collector and effectively disappeared.
The emergence of the missing volume at the Australian Museum created great excitement among researchers working on Cook's collection.
The beginning of the end
James Parkinson managed the Leverian Museum from 1786 to 1806, and Sarah Stone continued her work at the Museum under the new owner.
Parkinson commissioned a number of publications including A companion to the Museum (1790) and George Shaw's Museum Leverianum (1796), for which Shaw wrote the text and leading artists – including Stone – provided the illustrations.
Eventually, like Sir Ashton before him, Parkinson began losing money. Faced with mounting financial losses, he finally arranged an auction to dispose of the entire collection in lots. A sale catalogue of the Leverian Museum's contents was drawn up with the assistance of entomologist Edward Donovan.
In a mammoth auction spanning 60 days in 1806, Lever's museum was finally dispersed. More than 26,000 objects were snapped up by museums large and small, and individuals.
A few copies of the sale catalogue have survived with (incomplete) annotations of the buyers' names and prices paid. According to these notes, the three main bidders were Edward Donovan, collector Leopold von Fichtel and William Bullock, owner of the Bullock Museum which exhibited at the Egyptian Hall in London.
And so 1806 marked the passing of one of the great collections of curiosities in Georgian England and, by no coincidence, is the last year we see a dated work by Sarah Stone.
Leoné Lemmer and Brendan Atkins.
Leoné is manager of the Australian Museum Research Library.
First published in Explore 32(1).
Michael Hugill, Online Producer


text: Kuan Yin (Guan Yin); in English generally known as Goddess of Mercy. She is also known as 'the goddess who has great mercy and great pity'. Her Chinese title signifies 'she who always views or hears prayers'. The most usual image of the goddess is a beautiful and gracious woman, wearing a rosary. She sometimes holds a child, and can also be shown with several heads and hundreds hands with different objects as request, of which she helps the unhappy and afflicted.


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Using CyNoteCyber Laboratory Notebook for Biologists and Bioinformaticists
Creating Notebooks and Entries
CyNote users can create notebooks that consist of research records and entries. To create a notebook:
1. From the main menu, select "Create New Notebook". The following page appears.
1. Fill in the name and the description of the notebook and press submit.
Now that the notebook has been created, it is now ready for use. To create an entry in the notebook:
1. From the main menu, select "Create New Notebook Entry". The following page appears.
2. Fill in the title and give a description for the entry. If desired, enter keywords and upload a file to the entry. When done, click on "Submit Query".
3. The entry is created and will be stored with the notebook.
To leave comments on an entry:
1. Open the entry and scroll to the bottom of the page.
2. Add your comment to the page and press "Submit".
3. The comment will be displayed with the entry.


text: Learning about the sexual health and behavior of patients is an important part of providing high-quality, patient-centered, accessible, and efficient health care to the people in your health center. This toolkit has been created to help develop and implement systems for collecting routine histories of sexual health with all adult patients. Sexual histories should also be taken with adolescent patients. However, because the history-taking approach differs somewhat for adolescents, we recommend supplementing the information provided here with additional resources focused on adolescents. Understanding that all health centers are different, the tools have been designed to be adaptable to different practices and patient populations. Additionally, an extensive list of resources has been included to further your learning about sexual health and behavior and taking routine sexual histories.


From Caterpillar to Chrysalis—and What Happens in There
Image credit:
Youtube / Strang Entertainment
Even though it's still snowing in some areas of the United States, spring has technically arrived. To celebrate, watch the mesmerizing and soothing video below of a monarch caterpillar performing one of nature's greatest magic tricks: Transforming into a chrysalis, after which it will emerge as a beautiful butterfly (Danaus plexippus).
For a long time, what happened in the chrysalis was a mystery. It was sort of like nature's magic trick: A caterpillar disappears into a chrysalis and emerges a butterfly. But last year, research conducted using state-of-the-art technology gave the world a peek inside the chrysalis during metamorphosis.
To conduct their research, scientists used a micro-CT scanner—a version of the machine that doctors use to find internal injuries in people—and nine pupae of one of the world's most widespread butterflies, Vanessa cardui. They hung the chrysalides inside a straw and spun them as they took almost 2000 x-rays, which they used to create highly detailed 3D portraits of the transforming insects at various stages of the transformation. Below, you can see an image of an adult specimen on the sixteenth day of development.
Tristan Lowe
The scans revealed that most of the tracheal system of the butterfly forms in the first day of pupation; the midgut is formed and in position by day 7 (though it will continue to develop through the transformation). The scientists, who published their study in the Journal of the Royal Society, believe that this method of scanning could be used to learn more about the development of a wide variety of other insects, too.
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Distraction Free Reading
Are You Singing of Science?
In January, researchers from National Chung Cheng University in Taiwan and Alpen-Adria-Universität in Austria published a study in the journal Public Understanding of Science exploring the use of science words as lyrical elements in popular Taiwanese mainstream music. The intent of the study was to understand better how non-scientists were using science terminology in creating pop music songs, and perhaps learn something about bridging social contexts by exploring aspects of the most fundamental element of science communication: words.
De Musica Mundana, Robert Fludd, 1617. Sonification of the elements of Earth, pyramids as symbol of the interaction between divine ones and terrestial ones. Courtesy of Deutsche Fotothek, public domain.
De Musica Mundana, Robert Fludd, 1617. Courtesy of Deutsche Fotothek, public domain.
The study examined the content and quantity of scientific terms and expressions distributed throughout mainstream music lyrics as a potential reflection of the presence of science into Taiwanese popular culture and life. Starting with a list of 4526 songs created between 1990 and 2012 generated from the Golden Melody Awards, Asia's mainstream music awards, the authors then reduced the sample based on the "relation of lyrics to science/technology" criterion. A total of 377 songs were ultimately selected for analysis by a panel of three researchers from the fields of science communication, communication, and popular culture. They examined the lyrics looking for scientific and technological terms, scientific metaphors, and/or expressions of scientific implications, and then categorized them as scientific activity or products, scientific research subjects, or cultural idioms. In those 377 songs, the researchers found 858 science words or phrases.
Terminology and expressions related to astronomy and space science tended to appear most prominently in the lyrics, followed by mentions of biology and genetics. An interesting caveat, however, offered by the authors about this finding is that because many of these lyrics are connected to expressions of emotional states and personal mood, they are only very rarely related to actual science or science issues. The research replicated an earlier study by Bucchi and Lorenzet (2008) of much older (_PHONE_) Western popular music, which showed musicians favoring expressions of Darwin and evolution. As a result, the Taiwanese study's authors suggest that music has an enduring potential to serve as a boundary object, providing shared meaning between the social worlds of science and everyday life as expressed in popular culture.
Bucchi and Lorenzet (2008) were the first to propose the idea of boundary objects as elements in the analysis of pop music's role in science communication based on the concept introduced by science and technology Studies (STS) pioneers Star and Griesemer (1989). In the STS world, boundary objects are forms of information (words, images, real and graphical elements, as well as the things they build; sentences, reports, maps, and diagrams) whose structure is common enough to make them recognizable across more than one cultural or social world. The idea is that the items have a boundary status that gives them meaning and effect in both worlds. In the worlds of science and music, science terminology has meaning and effect in both realms.
This concept of music as a boundary object has intriguing and even instrumental implications for the public communication of science and examples of its uses abound. From Here Comes Science, an album by Grammy-nominated band They Might Be Giants, with songs about The Elements and the Sun, to the aging, but popular Barenaked Ladies' The History of Everything for The Big Bang Theory television series, it seems that singing about science is increasingly popular. And if heartfelt science, but somewhat less professional singing is your thing, perhaps you need to witness the Large Hadron Rap. While these and other examples certainly show how it can be done, the question remains, does it have any long-term effect on the public understanding or appreciation of science?
Certainly the worlds of science and music will continue to share the use of terms of scientific activity and products, scientific research subjects, and cultural idioms of science. I wonder, however, what might be the effect of a concerted effort on the part of both parties to work toward the mutual benefit of science communication. I wonder if students singing of science in primary school might make the understanding of science easier in upper grades and in life. After all, the planets, like the wheels on the bus, also go round and round.
Bucchi, M. and Lorenzet A. (2008) Before and after science: Science and technology in pop music 1970–1990. In: Cheng D, Claessens M, Gascoigne NRJ, Metcalfe J, Schiele B and Shi S (eds) Communicating Science in Social Contexts: New Models, New Practices. Berlin: Springer, pp. 139–150.
Star, S. L. and Griesemer J. R. (1989) Institutional ecology, translations and boundary objects: Amateurs and professionals in Berkeley's Museum of Vertebrate Zoology. Social Studies of Science 19: 387–420.
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EFFECT OF DIFFERENT CARBON SOURCES ON THE GROWTH OF ANTIMICROBIAL PRODUCING Bacillus Species IN Citrillus vugaris.
Effect of different carbon sources on the growth of antimicrobial producing Bacillus species in ogiri-egusi sold in Ogbeta, Orie, Artisian, Kenyatta, Enugu State were evaluated using standard microbiological and analytical methods. 12 bacteria were isolated and identified such as Bacillus subtilis,(33.33), Bacillus pumulis (41.66), Bacillus licheniformis (25) were identified based on their colony biochemical characteristics.The isolates of the highest occurrences is bacillus pumilus. Agar well diffusion method was used to determine the antimicrobial activity against two pathogenic organisms, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus. Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus pumulis, gave a zone of inhibition Escherichia coli 0.6mm and 0.8mm after 24 hours of incubation also carbon sources of 5% and 10% sucrose, Glucose and soluble starch were used to check their different carbon sources on the isolates using the spectrophotometer.5% had the highest optimum growth of 1.400 for glucose 1.545 for sucrose,2.376 for soluble starch which can be added in maximum quantity to a medium to produce antibiotics.


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HomeLight's algorithm uses transaction data to match buyers and sellers with real estate agents.
To maximize your chances of receiving referrals, you will need to ensure that your past 1-3 years of transaction history is uploaded and verified.
There are two ways to add transactions:
- If you have several transactions to add, we recommend using the upload spreadsheet tool.
- If you have a small number of transactions to add, you can add each of your transactions individually through the single transaction tool.
Once signed in, click here to upload your transactions.
Regardless of which method you use, keep in mind the following:
- We ask that you only upload residential sales transactions. You should not add rental, commercial, or land transactions.
- You'll need to provide supporting evidence that our team can use to cross-verify the transaction data you add. Verification examples could include a link to your sold listings on the MLS, your personal website, or a screenshot or PDF of your production report.
Bulk Uploading Transactions to HomeLight
To get started, you will need to gather the required information. Each transaction requires the following details:
- Which side of the transaction you represented (buyer, seller or both)
- Property type
- Full Property Address
- Original Listing Date and Price
- Selling Date and Price
Note: If you are licensed in a nondisclosure state, this information is still required, but will not be displayed publicly.
Once you have gathered the required information, download the template spreadsheet. This is the spreadsheet you will use to compile all of your transactions.
- The template spreadsheet contains a header row. Do not make any changes to this row or any of its contents.
- Next, begin entering your transaction data. Ensure that you don't skip any rows and all fields are formatted correctly.
- Columns A through K are required for each transaction. The remaining columns are optional, but you must leave the header rows intact. You are encouraged to fill out as many of the columns as possible.
- Once you are done, save the file in CSV format.
Use the "Upload spreadsheet" button to upload the file. You'll also be required to upload your verification evidence.
Uploading Single Transactions to HomeLight
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text:
The ever-increasing demands for outdoor recreation have caused widespread ecological damages in many parts of the world, so that methods to contain deleterious impacts and maintain the quality of recreational experience must be earnestly sought. Besides the commonlyprescribed preventive and ameliorative actions on the resource-base, visitor management which can provide cost-effective and long-term solutions deserves more attention than hitherto. This paper evaluates a spectrum of relevant options including the subtle (influencing userbehaviour), through the intermediate (redistributing use), to the regulatory (rationing use).
The reduction of per caput impact can, naturally, raise the capacity of an area to accommodate continuing use. Minimum impact techniques can substantially curtail the largely inadvertent damage due to ignorance rather than malice, while recreational planning and management can take into account the changing user preference. Appropriate data to guide management decisions can be acquired through innovative non-contact approaches, including visitor observation, to solicit candid and spontaneous responses. Good-quality information, conveyed through different channels in ample time before a visit, can effectively modify user behaviour and perception. Formal and informal education, to inculcate a responsible attitude towards the natural environment, can bring long-range benefits. Citizen participation can furnish diversified and useroriented perspectives that are important for successful programmes. Copyright © 1989 Foundation for Environmental Conservation. All rights reserved.


Pyrography Contrasting Tonal Values by Lora Irish
Tonal values in pyrography wood burningsTonal values, the shades of sepia from pale coffee with cream to dark chocolate, create the shading colors in our pyrography work. By planning in advance areas of your work that place one very pale tone against an extremely dark tone you can give an area dramatic contrast, impact, and added depth.
Let's use the wood burning, Grandpa's Old Car, as our example of how contrast adds depth to your pyrography designs. Please click of the finished burning and pattern for full-sized printable images.
Pyrography Contrasting Tonal Values by Lora IrishIn the finished wood burning you see an old, abandoned car near a foreground tree and old fence line. This is our foreground area of the pattern. Directly behind the car stands a small clump of trees and a gently rising hillside, this becomes our mid-ground area of the work. In the background, along the hill ridge is a barn and tree line which falls in the background area of the pattern.
For a moment take a look out your window. Notice that those items or elements that are nearest to you are also the items that have the strongest color and shadow contrasts to them. The closer an element is to the viewer the stronger the color hues will appear. Foreground elements have distinct white highlights and crisp dark shadows.
Move you eye to the mid-ground area of you window view. The elements or items in this visual range still have coloration, but the colors are not longer as bright and bold. Shadows in the mid-ground area lose their white and black tones and move into the middle range of gray or brown.
Pyrography Contrasting Tonal Values by Lora IrishMove your eye farther into the window view, try to find some distant point. Notice that the background areas have lost much of their coloration. Most coloring in the background falls in the gray-brown muted tones. There are few distinct shadows in the distant background of any view.
Air – atmosphere – is not crystal clear. Air contains fine water particles that when viewed close up, in the foreground of our designs, are invisible. But the farther we look into a design as a landscape the more the water particles whiten or cloud the view.
So the farther back we look the more 'white' from the water particles cover the elements of the scene. You can see that used in Grandpa's Old Car pyrography. The barn scene that is in the background is worked in a narrow range of pale tonal values to give the effect of looking through water laden air. The mid-ground trees, just behind the car, have more contrast in the tonal values, but those values all fall in the mid-range of our tonal value scale. Only the foreground had dramatic tones of white and black.
The tonal value placement matches the actual tonal value ranges of each area of a landscape.
Drama can also be created by placing one white tone directly in contact with one full black tone. Notice along the bottom edge of the car. The wheel wells and fender area have solid black tones. In contract the grass in front of the car, that touches the car are unburned, white areas in the design. That black and white contrast area directly sets the car on the ground in the grass. This black and white contrast area is so bold that it pulls your eye, over and over again, to that area of the pyrography.
Visit for an in-depth look at using photography in your pyrography work for more information of tonal values.
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text: The southern Agora, between the North Agora and the Theater, was developed as a secondary public square between the 1st and mid 2nd century AD. The earliest building in the South Agora was its north portico, dedicated to the emperor Tiberius (AD 14-37). The frieze of this portico was carved with a chain of garlands hanging from carved masks depicting a variety of Greek theatrical characters. The west and south sides of the South Agora were later also enclosed by colonnaded porticos. Behind these lay important civic buildings: the Hadrianic Baths on the west and the Civil Basilica (a large public hall) and Theatre on the south. Direct access from the South Agora to the theatre was provided by a covered passageway still visible in the massive retaining wall in the southeast corner of the area. The east side of the South Agora was closed off by a tall columnar fašade, richly decorated with statues. The most remarkable feature of the South Agora was along ornamental pool, which runs down the center of the area. The east and west ends of this pool were revealed in excavations in the 1980s, while the middle portion remains unexcavated.


Development/Tutorials/Localization/i18n Semantics
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Semantic Markup by Examples
In the semantic model, text elements are marked for their meaning, rather than for their visual appearance. Consider a few i18n examples of visual formatting: i18n("Move");
History Sidebar
You can configure the history sidebar here.");
Using KDE UI text semantic markup (KUIT for short), these strings would be formated like this: i18nc("_USER_:button", "Move");
i18nc("_USER_:inmenu", "Descending");
 "History Sidebar"
Two distinct differences between visual and KUIT markup can be observed.
The first is the use of context i18n calls, the i18nc(), to convey the broad usage context of a string by means of context marker. The first message above, "Move", has been assigned the _USER_:button marker, where _USER_ is the main context that describes the text as an action to be taken (e.g. operation on data or opening of a new dialog), and :button the interface subcue saying that this text is displayed on a pushbutton widget. The second message, "Descending", has been marked as a semantically a list entry (_USER_), displayed in a menu (:inmenu). The interface subcue can be left out if none is appropriate.
The other difference is the use of semantic tags, which convey the meaning of the element. For example, the %1 bit in the third message tells that the substituted text is the name of a file, and the and tags in the last message lay out a clear structure of longer informational texts.
Even when context marker is present, sometimes the programmer may want to provide an additional free-form clarification to translators, in order shed more light on particularly ambiguous strings. It is just separated by a whitespace from the context marker proper, like this: i18nc("_USER_:inmenu Sorting order", "Descending");
Advantages of Semantic Markup
For the users, the use of semantic tags means consistent formatting of same kinds of text. The notorious example of inconsistent visual formatting would be filenames and paths, which are sometimes put in as is, sometimes in quotes (and ordinary quotes at that, rather than proper English fancy quotes), and sometimes in bold tags. Furthermore, the text withing the tag may be modified with semantic markup; for example, the text is transformed from "/" path delimiters to platform specific ones.
Translators will benefit from both context markers and tags. The "Move" string in the example above had _USER_ context, for which the translator may use command form of the verb, while gerund form (like "Moving") may be more appropriate in the _USER_ context, which would be used if the string was title of the menu, option group, etc. The interface subcue, like :button above, if present additionally enables translator to mentally picture the actual runtime appearance on the spot. Tags within the text will also benefit translators, as they may clear up the structure of the sentence, especially in presence of placeholder substitutions.
The context markers also serve a technical purpose. They decide whether what form of visual formatting is used. E.g. any _USER_ context will use plain text, whereas _USER_ contexts will mostly be formatted with HTML tags (may depend on the interface subcue too).
None the least, semantic markup removes the burden of thinking about the visual formatting to apply while programming, like "Should I put the path in quotes or ?", or "Should the title be or ?", and so on.
Context Markers
Context marker consist of the main context and the interface subcue. The subcue needs not be present, and should be provided only when the text clearly maps to what the subcue describes. KUIT presently defines the following main contexts and their possible interface subcues:
:button - pushbuttons in windows and dialogs
:inmenu - menu entries that perform an action
:intoolbar - toolbar buttons
:window - window title
:menu - menu name
:tab - tab name
:group - option group
:column - column name
:check - checkbox label
:radio - radio-button label
:spinbox - spinbox labels
:listbox - list and combo boxes
:textbox - text and edit boxes
Strings that can be considered one from a range of possible choices or properties. Entries in listings, dropdown and combo boxes are obvious, but also some menu items (e.g. encoding selection, sort orderings), end-labels to ranges (e.g. high/low, more/less), and object properites (e.g. file types, permissions).
:inmenu - items presented as menu entries
:inlistbox - items in list and combo boxes
:range - range labels to sliders
:property - object properties
Any general text for user's information, that does not fall under previous contexts. These are for example tooltip and "What's This?" texts, text in message boxes, fields in status bar, and strings in progress dialogs.
:tooltip - hovering tooltips
:whatsthis - "What's This?" explanations of widgets
:progress - the current state of ongoing process
:tipoftheday - introductory tips on application startup
Semantic Tags
KUIT semantic tags come in several logical groups:
Phrase tags
Phrase tags are mostly terminal, meaning that by default they will not admit any subtags; where some subtags can be used, it is so indicated. KUIT defines the folowing description tags:
Name of an application.
Line-braking body of code, for short listings.
 "You can try the following snippet:"
The construct will be hyperlinked in rich text format.
Emphasize a word or phrase in the text.
The can be used as subtag.
Inline code, like shell command lines.
The can be used as subtag.
 "The line colors can be changed under "
An external message to be reported to the user.
Sentence tags
The sentence is a side note of significance to the topic.
 "It breeds throughout the temperate areas around the world. "
The sentence is a warning.
 "Really delete this key?"
Structure tags
Text paragraph.
List item.
 "History Sidebar"
Limitations to Use of Semantic Markup
Sometimes, the visual formatting may not be quite appropriate for the output device; each context comes with a default formatting. For example, if the _USER_ context is applied to a string which is used in a widget that does not handle rich text, it will come out with HTML tags displayed verbatim. To handle this, visual formatting can be explicitly signaled by /format modifier to context marker:
Presently, the possible format modifiers are /plain, /rich and /shell. In particular, any strings which are output to the terminal should have explicit /shell format.
Should I Go For Semantic Markup?
 - starting work on a new application, and
 - porting messages in existing applications.


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Home / Jim Cox Reports / Jim Cox Report: August 2020
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Jim Cox Report: August 2020
Dear Publisher Folk, Friends & Family:
America has become a Plague Nation.
How did this happen? How did America become a pariah nation whose citizens are now barred from entering Canada, Mexico, and all 27 nations comprising the European Union?
Can publishing play any kind of role in fixing this sad state of affairs?
Before we seek the answer to this question we need to turn to Wikipedia and define three key words:
Plutocracy: A plutocracy is a society that is ruled or controlled by people of great wealth or income. Unlike systems such as democracy, capitalism, liberalism, socialism, communism or anarchism, plutocracy is not rooted in an established political philosophy.
Plague: The rapid spread of disease to a large number of people in a given population within a short period of time. Epidemics of infectious disease are generally caused by several factors including a change in the ecology of the host population (e.g., increased stress or increase in the density of a vector species), a genetic change in the pathogen reservoir or the introduction of an emerging pathogen to a host population (by movement of pathogen or host). Generally, an epidemic occurs when host immunity to either an established pathogen or newly emerging novel pathogen is suddenly reduced below that found in the endemic equilibrium and the transmission threshold is exceeded. When an epidemic spreads to other countries or continents and affects a substantial number of people, it is termed to be a pandemic. The declaration of an epidemic usually requires a good understanding of a baseline rate of incidence; epidemics for certain diseases, such as influenza, are defined as reaching some defined increase in incidence above this baseline.
Publishing: Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the distribution of printed works, such as books, newspapers, and magazines. With the advent of digital information systems, the scope has expanded to include electronic publishing such as ebooks, academic journals, micropublishing, websites, blogs, video game publishing, and the like. Publishing may produce private, club, commons or public goods and may be conducted as a commercial, public, social or community activity. Publishing is also undertaken by governments, civil society and private companies for administrative or compliance requirements, business, research, advocacy or public interest objectives. This can include annual reports, research reports, market research, policy briefings and technical reports. Self-publishing has become very common.
Covid-19 is a plague that has become a pandemic, starting in Wuhan, China and going on to eventually hit every nation on Earth. The virus responsible for Covid-19 first migrated from China to America's west coast. While at the same time migrating to Europe from where it then found its way to America's east coast. As I write this (July 30, 2020), in just six months Covid-19 has killed more than 152,000 American men, women and children. The death count in America is continuing to rise to new levels every single consecutive day. In 21 states the infection rates are raging out of control with more than 10,000 new infections every day -- filling hospitals to capacity, exhausting medical staff, depleting medical resources, and necessitating the presence of refrigerated semi-trucks to hold the overflow dead that the morgues no longer have room for.
Yet in other countries, many of them, the plague that is Covid-19 is under far better control with the numbers of infections and deaths at a mere fraction of those Americans are experiencing.
Why is America doing so badly?
The answer is a lack of leadership at the Federal level and in all too many Gubernatorial state houses such as Florida, Texas, and Arizona. -- But then, how did such a breakdown in leadership come about?
It came about because those political leaders are the product of a social/cultural, political/economic elite that was in turn created by an obscene concentration of immense wealth in just 1% of our country's population. That financial elite had (and continues to) used their wealth to buy the best state and federal governments their money could purchase through campaign donations and lobbyists.
These Plutocrats bought politicians who would pass laws that would protect and expand their wealth and power. They bought politicians who would appoint judges that would protect and expand their wealth and power. They bought communication systems that would protect and expand their wealth and power.
The result was an American Plutocracy that would absolutely control the Republican party (and to a lesser degree hold significant influence with the Democrat party) and allow someone like Donald J. Trump to become president of the United States -- an aspiring demagogue who would be enabled by Republic Senators and House members to take a political wrecking ball to long established American governmental standards, protocols, practices and ethical standards.
Trump got elected because of the kinds of social, cultural, racial, and economic inequities that the Plutocracy had engendered as natural consequences and byproducts of their successful attempts over the past 40 years to advance the kinds of governmental policies that would work to their advantage in increasing and protecting of their ever growing wealth.
Is there any force within America that can help bring our battered country out of the morass it currently is in with respect to Covid-19, as well as the other consequences of this plague including the current (and worsening) economic depression, failed and failing political leadership, the massive campaigns of misinformation and disinformation, broken medical supply lines, inadequate medical facilities and resources, etc.
Yes -- That's where Publishing comes in. Basically publishing has been involved with every advance that humanity has known since the invention of moveable type. Publishing dispenses information. It is how reporters tell the American public what their political leaders are up to. It is how medical researchers disseminate their findings through medical journals and CDC bulletins to the doctors working to cure plague patients and protect the public from infection. It is how sound science rebuts fake science, medical charlatans, the ignorant, and the naive -- basically, the Donald J. Trumps of the world.
As much a danger to Americans as the Covid-19 virus, is the Plutocracy sanctioned American president, Donald Trump's continuing decision to tell his fellow Americans that they don't really need to abide by what medical science has instructed them to do to keep themselves and their families safe (wear masks in public, keep a social distance, get tested and if positive cooperate with infection tracing efforts), telling that the virus will soon disappear on its own, and to continue to vilify, ridicule, mock, ignore, and seek to undermine medical experts like Dr. Fauci.
What I'm recommending as a member of the publishing industry is that we all, in our own ways, seek to promote sound medical practice at ever opportunity. As a book reviewer I'm doing it by trying to bring to the attention of librarians and the general public good books on what the Plutocracy has done to the governance of our country and the exacerbation of our social, economic, and racial justice problems. To bring to their attention good books by knowledgeable authors on and about the current Covid-19 plague.
It is the obligation of those members of the publishing industry who are writers with any expertise or experience with the Covid-19 plague to write the best they can about it in any medium they have access to be it publication in the form of books, pamphlets, newspaper columns, newsletters, or digitally as with on-line blogs, Facebook groups, twitter, etc.
It falls upon those members of the publishing industry who produce print publications such as books, newsletters or newspapers, or who host bloggs or internet discussion groups, to make their services available to writers (and reviewers) so their messages can go out to a public that is in dire need of as much sound information as possible about why America has become a Plague State and what can and must be done about it!
I suppose that I should provide some personal background. I'm a self-described Goldwater Republican. Back in 1964 I worked on the presidential campaign in Salt Lake City, Utah to elect the Republican Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater. Unfortunately he was soundly defeated by the Democrat Lyndon Johnson. But that did nothing to deter me from being a traditionally conservative Republican. So my rather scathing perspective on the current Republican Party does not come from some dewy eyed Democrat.
Launch It!
Rick Benzel & Susan Shankin
New Insights Press
9781733841160, $15.99 Paper/$5.99 Kindle
Launch It! The 7 Stages to FINALLY Writing and Publishing Your Book is an excellent, informative guide for authors looking to follow through on their dreams of writing and publishing their first book. It explores the entire gamut of 7 fundamental steps of the publishing process in great detail, explained by two highly experienced publishing professionals whose background includes working at major publishing houses and then starting two self-publishing enterprises. Each of these seven stages of publishing that they explain requires a different skill set, which is why new authors often bog down either at the beginning, midway, or even just after their book is published. There are many decisions authors must make as they go through the progression of the 7 steps, from deciding what they want to write about and why, to whether to hire an editor or ghostwriter, to choosing and working with a book designer, to assessing the pros and cons of using a book distributor or KDP's print on demand option.
Launch It! explains everything you need. It helps new authors bolster their confidence to put pen to paper, finish their manuscript, and then understand their publishing options. It also provides post-publication