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Research Article | Open Access
Jih-Huah Wu, Wen-Dien Chang, Chang-Wei Hsieh, Joe-Air Jiang, Wei Fang, Yi-Chia Shan, Yang-Chyuan Chang, "Effect of Low-Level Laser Stimulation on EEG", Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, vol. 2012, Article ID 951272, 11 pages, 2012. _URL_
Effect of Low-Level Laser Stimulation on EEG
Conventional laser stimulation at the acupoint can induce significant brain activation, and the activation is theoretically conveyed by the sensory afferents. Whether the insensible low-level Laser stimulation outside the acupoint could also evoke electroencephalographic (EEG) changes is not known. We designed a low-level laser array stimulator (6 pcs laser diode, wavelength 830 nm, output power 7 mW, and operation frequency 10 Hz) to deliver insensible laser stimulations to the palm. EEG activities before, during, and after the laser stimulation were collected. The amplitude powers of each EEG frequency band were analyzed. We found that the low-level laser stimulation was able to increase the power of alpha rhythms and theta waves, mainly in the posterior head regions. These effects lasted at least 15 minutes after cessation of the laser stimulation. The amplitude power of beta activities in the anterior head regions decreased after laser stimulation. We thought these EEG changes comparable to those in meditation.
Low-frequency stimulation, including electricity, sound, magnetic field, light, and laser, is widely used in different areas of medicine. The EEG activity can be affected by different stimulation modalities, not only electrostimulation, sound, and light (visual), but also magnetic stimulation. Red stroboscopic light can cause rapid and powerful build-up of alpha rhythms in the occipital cortex. Stimulation with variable frequency photostimulation created from red light-emitting diodes (LEDs) caused the alpha rhythms of subjects being highly influenced by different stimulation frequency. As for laser, there were only a few reports on EEG changes to laser stimulation. Litscher et al. found that the cerebral blood flow velocity and the amplitudes of 40 Hz cerebral oscillations of the brain can be enhanced by stimulating either the eyes with red light or the acupoints with laser as well as needle acupuncture. However, EEG changes to somatic stimulation with low-level laser (LLL) have not been reported.
LLL has been applied to clinical medicine for a long time. LLL biostimulation was first proposed in 1969 by a Hungarian scientist, Professor Mester, and then LLL therapy became popular allover the world after 1970. There were many clinical applications with LLL therapy, for instance to improve postoperative care in peripheral nerve surgeries and to increase the wound tensile strength. LLL has also been used to relieve a variety of chronic pains [11–13].
The combined use of EEG and functional magnetic resonance image (fMRI) has been proposed as an effective tool to study brain dynamics with both high temporal and high spatial resolution. In spatial analysis of brain fMRI, the brain activity affected by stimulating the Yongquan (KI1) acupoint at the dorsum of the subjects' foot was validated in our previous study. The aim of the present study was to investigate the EEG activities affected by the stimulation of near infrared laser array stimulator (LAS) operated at 10 Hz in temporal analysis (EEG). The LAS was applied to stimulate the palm, and then the variation of EEG activities before, during, and after the laser irradiation was analyzed.
2. Subjects and Methods
Prior to the trial, the study protocol was approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee of Min-Sheng General Hospital. Each participant was required to give written informed consent. This study was directed in conformity with the guidelines in the Helsinki Declaration.
Forty male normal healthy subjects were included. The subjects were randomly assigned to two groups: 20 testers in the laser group (irradiated by LAS) and 20 in the control group (sham LAS). Exclusion criteria included (a) having a history of psychiatric disorders, for example, major depression, substance abuse, and schizophrenic or paranoid disorder; (b) having cardiopulmonary disease; (c) receiving medication.
In this study, an array of laser diodes arranged in a triangle shape were used. The laser diodes of LAS were mounted in a transparent acrylic holder to isolate the laser diodes from the skin of the tester. The LAS consists of 6 laser diodes (LDs) (manufactured by Advanced Chips & Products Corp., Hillside, NJ; wavelength 830 nm; maximum output power 30 mW). Each LD was set at 7 mW output for minimum stimulation in this study, and the operational frequency is adjustable from 1 to 20 Hz, duty cycle 50%. The electronic circuit and optical design in this system have been reported elsewhere. The light of laser diode without any collimated lens is a stripe shape due to the different divergence angle in horizontal (10°) and vertical (30°) directions. The area of the laser light is approximately equal to 14.8 mm2 at 10 mm distance. Thus, the dosage would be approximately 20 Joules/cm2 for 10-minute treatment; it is insensible on operation.
The "single-blind randomized trial" was used in this study. The subjects were unaware which group they were in. Each subject sat in an armchair and was then required to put his left palm on the LAS device. Participants were instructed to relax, follow the open-eyes directive, and withhold from any movements. In the laser group, the laser diodes were turned on for 10 minutes and not turned on in the control group. In the beginning, the testers were relaxed for five minutes to stabilize physiological parameters. The ongoing EEG was then recorded with eyes opened in three stages (6 sessions): before stimulation (baseline 5 min, session 1), during stimulation (laser stimulation, 10 min, session 2 and session 3), after stimulation (poststimulation, 15 min, and sessions 4, 5, and 6).
The low-power infrared laser diode is ideally suited for a single-blind study since the laser light is invisible and emits no heat or any other detectable indication. The testers were randomly divided into two operational modes: laser group who received the real laser stimulation and control group who received the sham laser. The control group had the same procedure as the laser group, but the laser stimulator was not turned on.
2.5. EEG Recording and Measurement
During experiment, the left palm of the tester was put on the LAS. A 16-channel electroencephalograph (Neurofax model EEG-1000, NIHON KOHDEN) was used in this study. The band pass was set at 0.53–70.0 Hz. The variation of EEG potential was recorded on the scalp with Ag/AgCl recording electrodes. Electrode placement was arranged following international 10–20 system. Bipolar recording to take potential between Fp2-F4, F4-C4, C4-P4, P4-O2, Fp1-F3, F3-C3, C3-P3, P3-O1, Fp2-F8, F8-T4, T4-T6, Fp1-F7, F7-T3, and T3-T5 was performed. An additional ECG was recorded by placing electrodes on both hands. Six sessions of EEG data were collected. Each set of EEG data (5 min epoch) was treated with fast Fourier transform (FFT) analysis to obtain the EEG band power (μv2) in the following 4 frequency bands: delta (0.5–3.5 Hz); theta (4–7 Hz); alpha (8–13 Hz); beta (13–50 Hz). The data obtained from bipolar recording were shown in time domain; for each session, the four band powers of valid epochs were averaged, and FFT maps of different session were performed by the software (Neurofax ver. 05-80). The mean and standard deviation of calculated values were expressed as "mean ± SD."
2.6. Statistical Analysis
Two-tailed paired t-test was applied to compare the difference of EEG band power before and after LAS stimulation from Fp2-F4, F4-C4, C4-P4, P4-O2, Fp1-F3, F3-C3, C3-P3, P3-O1, Fp2-F8, F8-T4, T4-T6, Fp1-F7, F7-T3, and T3-T5 electrodes. All the statistical analyses were executed with the SPSS software. A statistical significance was recognized as P value < 0.05.
The mean ± SD of age in the laser and the control group was 20.20 ± 0.58 and 20.90 ± 0.70 years, respectively. There was no significant difference between these two groups (). As showed in Table 1, the average EEG power of alpha rhythm (8–13 Hz) at session 1 showed no significant differences between the two groups. The power spectrum maps of the six sessions in one subject of the laser group were shown in Figures 1(a)–1(f). Figure 1(a) is the baseline stage; Figures 1(b) and 1(c) are stimulation stages. The average power of alpha (8–13 Hz) is apparently increased. In the poststimulation stages (sessions 4–6), activation of alpha power


Resistivity and the solid-to-liquid transition in high-temperature superconductors
by Espinosa Arronte, Beatriz
Abstract (Summary)
In high-temperature superconductors a large region of the magnetic phase diagram is occupied by a vortex phase that displays a number of exciting phenomena. At low temperatures, vortices form a truly superconducting solid phase which at high temperatures turns into a dissipative vortex liquid. The character of the transition between these two phases depends on the amount and type of disorder present in the system. For weak point disorder the vortex solid-to-liquid transition is a first-order melting. In the presence of strong point disorder the solid is thought to be a vortex-glass and the transition into the liquid is instead of second order. When the disorder is correlated, like twin boundaries or artificially introduced columnar defects, the transition is also second order, but has essentially different properties. In this work, the transition between the solid and liquid phases of the vortex state has been studied by resistive transport measurements in mainly YBa2Cu3O7-[delta](YBCO) single crystals with different types of disorder.The vortex-glass transition has been investigated in an extended model for the vortex-liquid resistivity close to the transition that takes into account both the temperature and magnetic field dependence of the transition line. The resistivity of samples with different properties was measured with various contact configurations at several magnetic fields and analyzed within this model. For each sample, attempts were made to scale the transition curves to one curve according to a suitable scaling variable predicted by the model. Good scaling was found in a number of different situations. The influence of increasing anisotropy and angular dependence of the magnetic field in the model were also considered.The vortex solid-to-liquid transition was also studied in heavy-ion irradiated YBCO single crystals. The ions create columnar defects in the sample that act as correlated disorder. A magnetic field was applied at a tilt angle with respect to the direction of the columns. At the transition the resistance disappears as a power law with different exponents in the three orthogonal directions considered. This provides evidence for a new type of critical behavior with fully anisotropic critical scaling properties not previously found in any physical system.The effect on the vortex solid-to-liquid transition of high magnetic fields applied parallel to the superconducting layers of underdoped YBCO single crystals was also studied. Some novel features were observed: a sharp kink appearing close to Tc at high magnetic fields and a triple dip in the angular dependence of the resistivity close to B||ab in some regions of the phase diagram.
Bibliographical Information:
School:Kungliga Tekniska högskolan
School Location:Sweden
Source Type:Doctoral Dissertation
Keywords:NATURAL SCIENCES; Physics; Condensed matter physics; high-temperature superconductors; vortex dynamics; vortex solid-to-liquid transition; critical scaling; glass transition; Bose glass; heavy-ion irradiation; YBCO; Tl2Ba2CaCu2O8+d; oxygen deficiency.
Date of Publication:01/01/2006
© 2009 All Rights Reserved.


Currently Non Collectable Status ensures you not to be levied by the IRS or be scrutinized under the threatening letters or tax collection enforcement. You can be subject to this condition under the status 53, only if you are a taxpayer who cannot afford to pay taxes due to exceeding necessary expenditures in relation to the income being earned.
The IRS, however needs to be informed via a 'collection information statement' that proves that you, as a taxpayer have financial trouble and cannot afford to pay further taxes.
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 - A raise in your income
The IRS keeps regular checks on tax -payers finances. If they notice any changes or raises in the income being earned they are likely to tax you in the future. First, they will have to prove that you longer have financial trouble.
 - The IRS follow-up checks:
From a period of 6-18month, the IRS makes follow-up visits and checks on your current uncollectable status. The IRS is known to mark such cases as future reviews. If they view any changes, they can change your uncollectable status to an ordinary tax-payer.
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stat, or lstat function, rather than going out to the operating system again. Sometimes this is dangerous: a subroutine call can invoke stat without your knowledge, blowing your buffer away. If you're careful, you can save yourself a few unneeded system calls, thereby making your program faster. Here's that example of finding files to put on the backup tapes again, using the new tricks you've learned:
 foreach (_USER_) {
push _USER_, $ _
 if (-s) > 100_000 and -A _ > 90; # More efficient than before
We used the default of $_ for the first test; this is as more efficient (except perhaps for the programmer), and it gets the data from the operating system. The second test uses the magic _ filehandle. For this test, the data left around after getting the file's size are used, which are what we want.
Testing the _ filehandle is different from allowing the operand of a file test, stat,or lstat to default to testing $_. Using $_ would be a fresh test each time on the current file named by the contents of $_, but using _ saves the trouble of calling the system again. Here is another case where similar names were chosen for radically different functions.
See Appendix Q for answers to the following exercises:
 1. [15] Make a program that takes a list of files named on the command line and reports for each one whether it's readable, writable, executable, or doesn't exist. (Hint: It may be helpful to have a function that will do all of the file tests for one file at a time.) What does it report about a file which has been chmod 'ed to 0? (That is, if you're on a Unix system, use the command chmod 0 some_file to mark that file as neither being readable, writable, nor executable.) In most shells, use a star as the argument to mean all of the normal files in the current directory. That is, you could type something like./ex11-1 * to ask the program for the attributes of many files at once.
 2. [10] Make a program to identify the oldest file named on the command line and report its age in days. What does it do if the list is empty (that is, if no files are mentioned on the command line)?
* It's more likely that, instead of having the list of files in an array as our example shows, you'll read it directly
from the filesystem using a glob or directory handle as we will show in Chapter 12. Since you haven't seen that yet, we'll just start with the list and go from there.
† There's a way to make this example more efficient as you'll see by the end of the chapter.
* The -o and -O tests relate only to the user ID and not to the group ID.
† For advanced students, the corresponding -R, -W, -X, and -O tests use the real user or group ID, which becomes important if your program may be running set-ID. In that case, it's generally the ID of the person
who requested running it. See any good book about advanced Unix programming for a discussion of set-ID programs.
‡ This is the case on many non-Unix filesystems but not all of the file tests are meaningful everywhere. For example, you aren't likely to have block special files on your non-Unix system.
* This information will be somewhat different on non-Unix systems since not all keep track of the same times that Unix does. For example, on some systems, the ctime field (which the -C test looks at) is the file creation time (which Unix doesn't keep track of), rather than the inode change time. See the perlport manpage.
† As recorded in the $^T variable, which you could update (with a statement like $^T = time;) if you needed to get the ages relative to a different starting time.
* The -t file test is an exception since that test isn't useful with filenames (they're never TTYs). By default, it tests STDIN.
† On a non-Unix system, stat and lstat, as well as the file tests, should return "the closest thing available." For example, a system that doesn't have user IDs (that is, a system that has just one "user," in the Unix sense) might return zero for the user and group IDs as if the only user is the system administrator. If stat or lstat
fails, it will return an empty list. If the system call underlying a file test fails (or isn't available on the given system), that test will generally return undef. See the perlport manpage for the latest about what to expect on different systems.
* The first character in that string isn't a permission bit. It indicates the type of entry: a hyphen for an ordinary file, d for directory, or l for symbolic link, among others. The ls command determines this from the other bits past the least significant nine.
* Because it is. Asking the system for information is relatively slow.
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European Painting before 1900, Johnson Collection
Allegory of Sight (Venus and Cupid in a Picture Gallery)Made in Southern Netherlands (modern Belgium), Europe
Jan Brueghel the Younger, Flemish (active Antwerp), 1601 - 1678
Oil on copper
Cat. 656John G. Johnson Collection, 1917
LabelJan Brueghel the Younger, the oldest son of Jan Brueghel the Elder (1568–1625), worked in a similar painting style to his father and followed his father's practice, which included depicting art galleries of both existing and imaginary collections. This allegory of sight, likely one in a series of the five senses, shows how art collections were assembled to reflect both the wealth and the learning of their owners. Venus examines herself in a mirror, surrounded by a lavish array of the man-made and natural objects that filled princely studios.
* Works in the collection are moved off view for many different reasons. Although gallery locations on the website are updated regularly, there is no guarantee that this object will be on display on the day of your visit.

source: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb-edu


5 Strange Sexual Traditions from Around the World
5 Strange Sexual Traditions from Around the World
Last update: 04 July, 2018
For thousands of years, sexuality has been the subject of curiosity, interest, fear, and enigma. There are many sexual traditions related to relationships and maturation.
Many of those sexual traditions have survived the erosive passage of time. Although it seems hard to believe, customs that Western culture's limited framework may consider strange – even unacceptable still exist today. We're talking about female and male circumcision, initiation rituals, sacrifices, and a wide variety of mystical acts.
A few of these sexual traditions attract attention due to their brutality. Others arouse curiosity because they contrast greatly with Western customs. All of them tell us about the symbolic world that accompanies human sexuality, and that it's markedly different from animal mating. Here are five examples.
indigenous tribe
1. The strange sexual traditions of the Sambia people
In Papua New Guinea, children must leave their mother's side at 7 years old. From then on, they have to live with the adult males of their community: the goal is for them to become "men". It's a sexual tradition that seeks to avoid contamination. It's also based on the idea that women are impure beings.
The children's passage to adulthood includes some rituals where they cut and pierce their skin. The objective is to remove any traces of contamination that have remained from contact with women. As if this weren't enough, they also have to drink the semen of the elders. According to their beliefs, this gives them more vigor and helps them grow.
2. The Mardudjara Aborigines
This Australian community has a strange initiation ritual for men. The first thing they do is circumcise the men with primitive methods. This circumcision is supposedly very painful. The young men even have to their eat their foreskins.
Once the wound has healed, they cut the penis vertically at the bottom. The blood that flows from this wound is thrown into a fire. It's believed that the new man is purified by this ritual. This is one of many sexual traditions associated with purification by pain.
3. Trobriand Islanders
In this remote New Guinea community, sexual relations take place from an early age. The girls begin at an age of between 6 and 8 years old and boys between 10 and 12 years old. The culture considers it acceptable for them to live together for short periods of time.
From a small age, the girls are instructed to adopt gestures and appearances designed to seduce the boys. They don't get married young. They see sexual relationships as a reality that doesn't imply any kind of commitment.
indigenous girls
4. The Saut D'eau Ritual
In Haiti, the general public still believes strongly in voodoo. One of the most traditional rituals takes place at the waterfalls of Saut D'eau. These are public celebrations, in full view of everyone.
Most people are naked in these festivities. Couples have sex in front of others and orgies also take place. In addition, it's normal for many of those present to be "possessed," according to their beliefs. This leads them to have severe seizures and roll around in the mud.
5. The Nepali Brotherhood
There's a great scarcity of land and resources in Nepal. It isn't easy for the region's inhabitants to form a family. They should be careful about bringing more mouths to the world to feed because there's not much land and food.
To solve this problem, it's customary for brothers to share a wife. All of them must marry the same woman. The purpose is that they can live together to be stronger in the face of the hostility of the environment. It's also to keep a male from being left without a wife while preventing him from having offspring.
Nepalese women
All cultures have given a specific value to sexuality. None of them see it as a purely biological act, but as a fact of life that transcends it all, something symbolic. However strange these sexual traditions may be, they all represent a way of understanding reality that has a meaning within its context. They're valuable proof that we're beings in search of meaning.
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Creating safe exercise programs for clients with scoliosis can be a daunting task. This workshop is the first in a series of Scoliosis educational offerings being created by the Merrithew™ team. It seeks to demystify approaches to working with this three dimensional spinal condition that can be both intimidating and challenging to understand. After reviewing spinal anatomy and physiology, etiology and prevalent types of scoliosis and its diagnosis and treatment, explore programming principles of postural alignment, focused breathing, elongation and postural correction that facilitate safe and effective exercise programs. Experience how to pad for 3 and 4 curve scoliosis and what types of movements should be included and avoided. Learn how to incorporate theoretical information into an exercise program using a variety of small props along with the V2 Max Plus Reformer. Movements in supine, prone, side-lying and standing positions will be discussed along with appropriate modifications that apply the programming principles. Participants leave with the information and practical protocols to confidently work with this population.
- Define the main classifications of scoliosis and describe the bony changes that occur
- Discuss spinal anatomy and the motions that occur in each major segment of the spine and why certain movements are contraindicated in scoliosis
- Identify the postural features of a typical 3 curve and 4 curve scoliosis pattern
- Articulate the basic 'dos' and 'don'ts' for scoliosis exercise programming
- Accurately apply padding, pelvic corrections, self-elongation and breathing techniques for scoliosis
- Discuss exercise programming using a variety of tools and equipment
Equipment used in this workshop

source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


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Charente-Maritime department
Charente-Maritime is a department on the west coast of France. It was named after the Charente river. Its is one of the 83 first French departments made during the French revolution. Its population is 557,024 and its prefecture is La Rochelle.


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The Clean Streams Law was created in 1937 to regulate the discharge of sewage, industrial waste or any substance, which causes or contributes to pollution, into the waters of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The law was amended several times, including in the 1960s to add water quality standards. In the late 1970s and 1980, the Clean Streams law was amended to align its requirements more closely with the federal Clean Water Act.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has delegated authority in Pennsylvania to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to enforce Clean Water Act requirements, including the issuance of National Pollutant Discharge Elimination Systems (NPDES) permits and the enforcement of water-related environmental regulations. The DEP accomplishes this goal through the Clean Streams Law and enforcement of the Combined Sewer Overflow Policy guidelines.
Under the law, if the DEP finds that the "acquisition, construction, repair, alteration, completion, extension or operation of a sewer system or treatment facility is necessary to prevent pollution or a public health nuisance," the department may order a municipality to take action on the issue. Municipalities may be required to file a report pertaining to sewer systems or treatment facilities they own, operate, or maintain and any sewage discharges originating from those sources within the municipality. The report must contain plans, facts, and information that will help DEP determine whether existing sewer systems and treatment facilities are adequate to meet present or future needs.
If deemed appropriate, DEP may issue consent orders requiring municipalities to "undertake studies, to prepare and submit plans, to acquire, construct, repair, alter, complete, extend, or operate a sewer system or treatment facility, or to negotiate with other municipalities for combined or joint sewer systems or treatment facilities." These orders may also prohibit any sewer connections, commonly referred to as sewer tap-ins, for newly constructed businesses or residential developments that would result in an increase in sewage discharged into an existing sewer system or to a treatment facility.
More information on the Clean Streams Law.
Malfunctioning sewage disposal systems can pollute public and private drinking water sources, which can pose a serious threat to public health and the environment. The Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act 537 was passed in the 1960s to "correct existing sewage disposal problems and prevent future problems." The PA Dept of Environmental Resources administers the sewage planning portions of the Act and can order an update of the municipal plan if it is deemed inadequate to meet the current system needs due to capacity limits for wet weather or new development.
A local agency—in this area, the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD)—administers the Act 537 on-lot sewage disposal program (septic system permitting)
Major provisions of Act 537 include:
Locally, ALCOSAN is developing a large-scale regional wet weather plan that generally reflects the current and future needs of its service area municipalities. This plan will be submitted to the municipalities for adoption as their Act 537 revision once completed.
However, municipalities must submit a specific plan when a permit is necessary for their own sewer system improvements, such as for the construction of a pump station or wet weather storage treatment facility in their community, the beginning of a new development of more than 250 homes or the utilization of an on-lot disposal system.
More information on the Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act 537.


Which city is located at the highest altitude in the world?
Cities with the highest altitudes in the world. The highest city in the world with a population of more than one million is La Paz. The Capital of Bolivia sits 3,869 meters above sea level, and is more than 1,000 meters higher than the second ranked city – Quito.
Is Machu Picchu the highest city in the world?
For reference, that's more than 100 meters higher than the world-famous Inca citadel Machu Picchu in Peru, which sits at a height of 2,430m.
Cities in the Sky.
Rank #1
Urban Center La Paz
Country Bolivia
Region South America
Average Elevation (m) 3,869
Where is the highest altitude?
The most high-altitude point on Earth is Mount Everest, in the Himalayan mountain range on the border of Nepal and the Chinese region of Tibet. Mount Everest is 8,850 meters (29,035 feet) tall. The urban area of El Alto, Bolivia, is the most high-altitude city on Earth.
Which is the lowest city in the world?
1. Baku is the world's lowest lying capital city. Believe it or not, Baku sits 28 metres below sea level, which makes it the world's lowest lying capital city. (In fact, it is one of only two capital cities with an elevation officially below sea level, the other being Amsterdam.)
READ Quick Answer: What Are The 50 Largest Companies In The World?
Which is the highest capital of the world?
La Paz, administrative and de facto capital of Bolivia, stands at an altitude of 3,631 m (11,913 ft) above sea level.
What is the lowest elevation on Earth?
The world's lowest place on earth is the Dead Sea located in Jordan and Israel, with an elevation amounting to approximately 414 meters below sea level.
Is Kilimanjaro taller than Everest?
Everest (29,035 feet / 8,850 m) in Asia. Aconcagua (22,829 feet / 6,962 m) in South America. Denali (20,320 feet / 6,190 m) in North America. Kilimanjaro (19,340 feet / 5,895 m) in Africa.
Is there anything taller than Mount Everest?
Measuring from the foot of the mountain to the summit, Hawaii's Mauna Kea is the tallest, but most is under the sea. As measured from the Earth's core, Ecuador's Mount Chimborazo is the world's highest, standing more than 2,072 metres higher than Everest.
Which city is closest to sea level?
Baku is the capital of Azerbaijan and is the lowest national capital in the world, sitting at 92 feet below sea level. Not only is it the lowest national capital by elevation, but it's also the biggest city found at levels this low with a total population of just over 2 million people as of 2016.
What is the lowest country in the world?
Places to go: Maldives is the world's lowest country
Not one of its 1,200 mostly uninhabited coral islands measure more than six feet (1.8 meters) above sea level. The Maldives – made up of a chain of nearly 1,200 mostly uninhabited islands in the Indian Ocean – is the lowest country in the world.
READ Frequent question: How old is the youngest star?
Which country is below sea level?
10) Salton Trough
Thirty-Three Countries with Land Areas Below Sea Level
Country Below Sea Level Location Elevation
Djibouti Lac Assal shoreline 155 meters below sea level
China Turpan Pendi 154 meters below sea level
Egypt Qattara Depression 133 meters below sea level
Which is highest lake in the world?
Highest: Lake Titicaca, Peru-Bolivia
By volume of water, Lake Titicaca is the largest lake in South America, and due to its surface elevation of 12,507ft above sea level, is the highest navigable lake in the world.
Which city is largest city in the world?
As the world's biggest urban area, Tokyo has a population that accounts for more than a quarter of all of Japan.
Which is world's lowest lying capital city?
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A close analysis of these congressional primary elections suggest two important findings: 1) that winners of plurality primaries may be weaker nominees than ones who ran in primaries with a majority requirement; and 2) a relatively high number of open seats in districts that are safe for one party are contested and won by candidates who won their primary with a mere plurality and could poorly reflect voters in their district.
The six elections from 1994 through 2004 demonstrate that plurality wins in congressional primaries are relatively widespread. In these five elections, there were 247 plurality primary wins in U.S. House primaries and 35 in U.S. Senate primaries. In addition, 77 pluralities were avoided in House primaries and 14 in Senate primaries because of provisions in those states allowing for a second-round runoff election between the top two candidates if no candidate in the first round obtained a certain level of support.
Plurality Wins in Congressional Primaries, _PHONE_
|Pluralities Avoided by Runoffs||77|
|Candidates Elected After Plurality Primary Victory|
|Candidates Elected After Runoff Victory|
Federal Elections (94-2004): Election Results for the US Senate
and the US House of Representatives. Copyright of the Federal
Elections Commission, Washington, DC.
Given that many primaries were won by only a plurality of the vote, how do these primary winners then fare in general elections? Overall, plurality primary winners lost in the general election about half the time: 96 of the 247 recent plurality winners for House races were elected, or 39%. The success rate for plurality winners in U.S. Senate races is much worse, as only four of 35 went on to win (11%). Candidates who went through a primary runoff tended to fare somewhat better in general elections: 45 of the 77 such candidates went on to win the general election for House races (58%), although only two of fourteen (14%) Senate primary runoff winners were elected. Many factors ultimately decide the general election, but this evidence suggests that plurality voting systems for primaries might not be the best way for a party to nominate a strong candidate.
Plurality voting in primaries also can result in at least some weak elected representatives. Most congressional seats are safe for one of the major parties, meaning that the demographics and history of that district make a candidate from one party nearly certain to win regardless of how strong a candidate they are. In our analysis, safe seats are seats in districts in which we project one party to win at least 58% of the vote in an open seat election based upon reliable partisan indicators in previous elections. Safe seats can generate unrepresentative nominees because the primary vote is decisive, and voter participation is traditionally much lower for primaries than in general elections. The use of plurality elections in primaries can exacerbate this problem. In a safe seat it is possible for a candidate to win the nomination of the majority party with a very low percentage of the vote, benefitting from a split among other candidates, and then go on to almost certain victory in the general election and secure re-election thereafter. See our Monopoly Politics and Dubious Democracy reports for more information about safe seats in our congressional elections.
Looking at open US House seats in _PHONE_, 31 primaries were won with less than 50% of the vote by candidates whose parties were ìsafeî in that district. Many of these pluralities were notably low. For example, Democrat Mike Doyle of Pennsylvania won his primary in 1994 with less than 20% of the vote, but then went on to comfortable victory in 18th District. In Massachusetts, Democrat Michael Capuano won the 8th District after taking only 23% in the primary in 1998. In 2000, Republican Brian Kerns won Indiana's 7th district after receiving 39% of the primary vote, and Republican Jo Ann Davis won Virgina's first district after winning her primary with 35%. These and other examples of low percentage plurality victories illustrate how a very small percentage of primary voters can effectively decide the outcome of the entire election. Interestingly, between 1994 and 2002, 20 pluralities in open ìsafe seatsî were avoided because of provisions in those states requiring runoff elections.
The fact that plurality-based primaries often allow for the nomination of a candidate with less than a majority of support within his or her party can be troublesome implications for fair elections. First, it means that a candidate might be nominated against the wishes of the majority of the voters of a particular party. This is especially problematic when such candidates beat stronger candidates through vote-splitting. Secondly, using plurality voting in primaries when we have so many safe seats means that candidates can represent districts in Congress even when not necessarily representative of their party, let alone their district.
As long as the United States continues to use single-member districts for congressional elections, adopting the instant runoff voting (IRV)method of voting would improve our process. Strategically, it is good for parties because it ensures that their strongest candidates are not defeated in primaries due to vote-splitting. With IRV, political parties could be more confident that their nominee is actually favored by most of its voters and is therefore more likely to be a strong candidate in the general election. Given the American ideal of democracy involving the will of the majority, IRV is also more democratic than plurality-based voting systems because it ensures that nominees have at least 50% of the support of their party. Adopting IRV would guarantee that no candidate is nominated with a mere 25% of the vote. Because of its strategic advantages and greater democratic character, using IRV in congressional primaries would be a positive step towards a healthier democracy.
Plurality wins in general elections in the US House


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Engine management for Flex Fuel plus compressed natural gas vehicles
Ethanol has been used in Brazil as a passenger vehicle fuel since 1979. Until the year 2000, vehicles were made to run exclusively with either gasoline or ethanol. The MultiFuel engine control module (ECM) was developed allowing vehicles to use fuels with any ethanol percentage, relying only on the existing oxygen sensor as opposed to an add-on ethanol sensor for the percent ethanol evaluation. The use of tank fuel level information allowed for far more robust ethanol percent detection and improved drivability. Four years later, compressed natural gas (CNG) capability was integrated into the MultiFuel technology. Prior to that, vehicles using CNG normally required a second ECM. The MultiFuel integrated with CNG capability is known as the Tri-Fuel system. It uses only one ECM, seamlessly controlling both liquid (ethanol blends and gasoline) and CNG fuels with little power loss, and excellent drivability and fuel consumption. This paper will present both the MultiFuel and Tri-Fuel technologies.
KeywordsBiomass Combustion Methane Dioxide Corn
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
- 1.Brazilian Automotive Industry Yearbook, 2004Google Scholar
- 2.Richard S (1999) Introduction to internal combustion engines, 3rd edn. SAE and Macmillan, Washington, DCGoogle Scholar
- 3.Theunissen FMM (2003) Percent ethanol estimation on sensorless multi fuel systems: advantages and limitations. SAE Technical Paper no. 2003-01-3562Google Scholar
- 4.Bosch R (1996) Automotive handbook, 4th edn. Wiley, New YorkGoogle Scholar
- 5.FuelTable, US Department of Energy. Also at _URL_
- 6.Combustíveis para Motores Endotérmicos, Enfoque no Gás Natural Veicular. Diocles Dalavia. PetrobrásGoogle Scholar
- 7.Renewable energy in developing countries (2003) Renewable energy world, July-AugustGoogle Scholar
- 8.Brazil taking the lead in biofuels (2005) Petrol World AugustGoogle Scholar
- 9.Gás Natural na Matriz de Combustíveis Veiculares (2005) Luciana Bastos de Freitas Rachid, PetrobrasGoogle Scholar
- 10.Well-to-Tank Energy Use and Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Transportation Fuels (2001) North American analysis, vol. 2, Argonne, ILGoogle Scholar


Disadvantages of social media
Addiction and alienation
As social media becomes an increasingly global phenomenon, it gets more ingrained into daily life. This can have serious negative effects on a social, physical, or psychological level.
Social media features a wide variety of activities towards which people might develop addiction by frequently engaging in them and devoting a considerable amount of time for these activities at the expense of other aspects of life. A typical American uses three social media platforms. In 2018, 74% of adult Facebook users in the United States said they visit the site daily, with around 51% of them saying they do so several times a day. Furthermore, 40% of all social media users in the United States said they would find it hard to give up social media, with 14% of them stating that it would be very hard for them to do this.
Once addicted to social media, users tend to spend more and more time browsing and socialising on social network sites, and often feel unable to stop. They also tend to feel unpleasant feelings when offline. This can affect the user's productivity and focus in school or the workplace, which in turn can lead to negative consequences. Furthermore, some social media addicts have developed insomnia and exhibit symptoms of anxiety. However, social networking addiction is not officially recognised as a medical disorder.
Analysis indicates that highly outgoing people are more inclined to develop addictive tendencies and to spend time using social networking sites. This could be explained by the fact that using social media satisfies their need to socialise. However, social media addiction als...
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NIH commits $24 million annually for Big Data Centers of Excellence
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) will fund up to $24 million per year for four years to establish six to eight investigator-initiated Big Data to Knowledge Centers of Excellence. The centers will improve the ability of the research community to use increasingly large and complex data sets through the development and distribution of innovative approaches, methods, software and tools for data sharing, integration, analysis and management. The centers will also provide training for students and researchers to use and develop data science methods.
Biomedical research is increasingly data-intensive, with researchers routinely generating and using large, diverse data sets. Yet the ability to manage, integrate and analyze such data, and to locate and use data generated by others, is often limited due to a lack of tools, accessibility and training. In response, NIH launched the Big Data to Knowledge (BD2K) initiative in December (2012). This initiative supports research, implementation and training in data science that will enable biomedical scientists to capitalize on the transformative opportunities that large datasets provide. The investigator-initiated BD2K Center of Excellence funding opportunity is the first of several BD2K funding opportunities to be announced in coming months.
By encouraging the formation of interdisciplinary teams in a collaborative environment the BD2K Centers of Excellence also seek to increase the involvement of investigators outside of traditional biomedical areas who are experienced with data science.
Applicants responding to the BD2K Center of Excellence funding opportunity announcement should identify a research topic and propose research in data science. They should develop approaches, methods, software and tools for data integration, analysis, database development and management and visualization and modeling to address important research questions. The products from this R&D will be shared and distributed broadly to the research community. The centers are expected to interact as a consortium that cooperatively builds on individual research efforts.
Source: National Institutes of Health


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Liquid Chromatography - Interactions Between 'Brush' and 'Bulk'' Reverse Phases and Aqueous Solvents 3
The relationship between the retention of ethanol on the brush phase with water/methanol mixtures, as shown in figure 35, can now be explained. In pure water the hydrocarbon chains of the brush phase are collapsed on the surface and thus, the effective surface area of the stationary phase is much reduced. Consequently, the retention volume of the solute, being proportional to the available surface area, is also reduced. As methanol is added to the solvent mixture, the solvent becomes more dispersive and the hydrocarbon chains can begin to interact with it and, as a consequence, begin to unfold. The liberation of the chains from the surface results in an increase in the effective surface area of the stationary phase and the retention of the solute also starts to increase. This process continues until there is sufficient methanol in the solvent for the hydrocarbon chains to totally interact with the solvent and be completely released from the surface. At this concentration (about 3%w/v of methanol) the retention volume of the ethanol reaches a maximum. Subsequent increase in methanol concentration merely increases the interactions of the ethanol with the mobile phase and, by adsorption of the solvent onto the surface of the reverse phase, reduces the interactive forces with the reverse phase. Consequently, the retention volume steadily decreases in the expected manner.
Having explained the behavior of the brush phase it is now interesting to consider the behavior of the bulk phase. There appears to be no interaction between the hydrocarbon chains themselves and no change in surface area at high water concentrations. In fact, the retention of ethanol falls steadily as the methanol content increases in the expected manner. The explanation given for this is that the cross-linking that takes place when the bulk phase is synthesized, keeps the polymeric chain system rigid and does not allow the individual hydrocarbon chains to collapse on the surface. As a consequence, the surface area is not reduced and the retention behavior is normal. Another aspect of the behavior of the bulk phase at low solvent concentrations is that it does, in fact, confirm the cross-linked nature of the bulk phase. It would also appear that for certain solutes, the best reverse phase for operation with aqueous mixtures containing very little solvent might be a bulk reverse phase. The retention mechanism on brush type phases under these conditions might be anomalous.


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An electric epilator is a device that is used to remove unwanted hair from the body. It works by using a rotating set of tweezers to pluck hairs out of the skin. Electric epilators can be used on various parts of the body, including the legs, arms, underarms, and bikini area.
To use an electric epilator, you will need to hold the device against your skin and move it in the direction of hair growth. The epilator will pluck hairs out of the skin as it moves across the surface. It is important to hold the skin taut and to go slowly to ensure that the epilator is effective and that it does not cause discomfort.
Electric epilators can be an effective and long-lasting method of hair removal, as they remove the hair from the root. However, they can be painful to use and may cause irritation or redness. It is important to follow the manufacturer's instructions for the proper use and to take care of your skin after using an electric epilator.
2*600mAh NI-MH rechargeable battery


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the dove is a symbol of peace.
These doves can be made
and hung as if flying around your room,
or sent with a message to your Peace Pal.
You will need:
- Start with a square piece of paper which you can make from any rectangle simply by folding up a short edge diagonally to meet the long side and cut off extra. Open flat.
- Fold square paper in half into rectangle and unfold again to lay flat.
- Fold (2) corners in to center line.
- Fold paper in half with triangles inside.
- Fold head down about 1/4 of top edge, creasing well.
- Fold head backwards on the same crease again creasing well.
- Fold (2) Return head to original position and push down on top fold, reversing the middle crease.
- Draw triangle shape and cut away shaded area to make wing and tail.
- Fold up wing. Turn Dove over and fold up other wing.
- Completed Dove can be decorated or hung just like this.


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Classifying music into different genres is easy for humans and much harder for computers, but a new approach could yield a significant breakthrough in machine listening.
Most attempts so far have focused on getting computers to quantify parameters like tempo, loudness, melody and rhythm and matching those up to a list of manually sorted songs. But the researchers behind this new method believe their system is far simpler.
It classifies music by breaking it down into 88 frequency bands (like the different parts of an equaliser), computing the average power over several short-duration 'frames', giving a metric for pitch. For seven different music genres that the researchers tested, this metric was very distinct.
To narrow things down further, the tempo of the song, its variation in volume and its 'periodicity' (how often a song repeats) are thrown into the mix. With these four variables, the system was able to quickly and simply define a genre of a song.
When tested against earlier music classification systems, the researchers claim their results were "substantially better" - though it'll likely take some time to filter through into the systems used by music services like Spotify and the just-launched Apple Music. In the meantime, the researchers reckon it'd prove useful in digital archiving of music.
The details of the method were published in the International Journal of Computational Intelligence Studies.
Image credit: Tomas Fano // CC BY-SA 2.0


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.95 0.067 0.188 Turnips 0.93 0.034 0.130 Watermelons 0.94 0.034 0.110
Although a bushel of apples weighs about 45 pounds, we will assume a weight of 50 pounds to take into account the weight of the container, which must also be cooled. The amount of field heat that must be removed is:
0.87 Btu/lb X (80 F - 32 F) X 200 bu X 50 lb/bu = 417,600 Btu
Since the apples are to be cooled to 32 F in one day, the hourly field heat load is 417,600 Btu divided by 24 hours, or 17,400 Btu per hour.
On the last day of harvest, the storage facility will contain 1,800 bushels of cool apples and 200 bushels of fieldwarm apples. At this time the respiration heat load generated by the stored crop will be the largest. Table 5 shows that field-warm summer apples pro-duce about 0.340 Btu per pound per hour, whereas properly cooled summer apples produce only 0.018 Btu per pound per hour. Thus field-warm apples pro-duce nearly 19 times as much heat by respiration as do cool apples. Since the freshly harvested (warm) apples will be cooled to their proper storage temperature within one day, the heat of respiration used in the calculation will be the average of the values. The average is:
0.340 + 0.018 ------------- = 0.179 Btu/lb/hr 2
The weight, W, of the 1,800 bushels of cool apples is approximately:
W = 1,800 bu X 50 lb/bu = 90,000 lb
The heat of respiration of the cool apples, HRc, is:
HRc = 90,000 lb X 0.018 Btu/lb/hr = 1,620 Btu/hr
The weight, W, of the 200 bushels of warm apples is approximately:
W = 200 bu X 50 lb/bu = 10,000 lb
The average respiration rate, as given previously, is 0.179 Btu per pound per hour. Therefore the heat of respiration for the warm apples, HRw, is:
HRw = 10,000 lb X 0.179 Btu/hr = 1,790 Btu/hr
To obtain the total heat of respiration, HRt, we add the value for cool and warm apples:
HRt = 1,620 Btu/hr + 1,790 Btu/hr = 3,410 Btu/hr
SL = 0.10 X (6,504 + 17,400 + 3,410 Btu/hr) = 2,731 Btu/hr
The total heat load is the sum from all four sources, as shown in Table 6.
Table 6. Total Heat Load for Example Cooling Facility
1. Heat conductance Walls 3,864 Ceiling 1,534 Floor 1,106 6,504 Btu/hr 2. Field heat 200 bushels per day at 80 F 17,400 Btu/hr 3. Heat of respiration 200 bushels warm apples 1,790 1,800 bushels cold apples 1,620 3,410 Btu/hr Subtotal 27,314 Btu/hr 4. Service load 10% of subtotal 2,731 Btu/hr Total heat load 30,045 Btu/hr
The approximate proportion of the total heat load contributed by each of the four sources is:
Heat conduction.... 21.6 percent Field heat....... 57.9 percent Heat of respiration.. 11.3 percent Service load...... 9.1 percent
As discussed previously, refrigeration systems are rated by how much heat they will move or displace in a given length of time. The standard unit of rating is the ton. Since 1 ton of refrigeration equals 288,000 Btu per 24 hours, or 12,000 Btu per hour, the refrigeration capacity, RC, for a unit that would just handle the heat load in the previous example under the conditions described would be:
30,061 Btu/hr RC = ----------------- 12,000 Btu/hr ton = 2.51 tons
A 2.51-ton refrigeration unit would need to run continuously to keep the temperature in this storage facility at 32 F under the conditions listed above. If the conditions used in this calculation were changed, a 2.51-ton unit could be either too large or too small to maintain the desired storage temperature. The capacity needed to maintain a temperature of 32 F would increase if:
For example, if harvesting were increased to 400 bushels of apples per day, the total heat load would increase to nearly 51,000 Btu per hour. A 4 1/4-ton unit running continuously would be required to maintain a storage temperature of 32 F under these conditions.
In practice, it is advisable in selecting a refrigeration system to add reserve capacity to the calculated rating as a protection against overloads. Of particular interest is the fact that refrigeration systems, for reasons to be discussed later, are operated for a total of only 16 to 20 hours per day. The total capacity of the system must be increased, therefore, to compensate for the "off time." For example, if the system described in the example were to operate for only 16 hours per day, it would need to be 24/16, or 1.5 times as large--that is, 3.77 tons instead of 2.51 tons.
Furthermore, it is good practice to increase the capacity of the system by a chilling rate factor. The rate at which heat is removed from the produce is not constant during the cycle but is greatest at the beginning. If the capacity of the system is not sufficient to overcome the thermal inertia of the produce, cooling time may increase above the specified limits for the product. To compensate, a chilling rate factor of 1.5 is applied to most fresh fruits and vegetables. This factor is applied in addition to the on-time factor. Thus the actual refrigeration system capacity, RC, required for the example facility would be:
RC = 2.51 X 1.5 X 1.5 = 5.65 tons
In the example, field heat accounts for 58.9 percent of the total heat load. Once field heat has been removed from the crop, much less refrigeration capacity is required to maintain the storage temperature. While 5.65 tons of refrigeration are needed to cool the apples in the example, about 2 1/2 tons are needed to maintain a constant temperature after they have reached 32 F. Therefore, anything that can be done to lower the temperature of the crop brought into the storage facility will significantly reduce the initial heat load, thus reducing the cost of the refrigeration equipment needed and the electrical energy to operate it.
Harvesting early or late in the day or even at night helps reduce refrigeration cost. Some large growers of highly perishable crops have started harvesting "under the lights" to reduce cooling costs and preserve quality. Although not usable for all crops, hydrocooling is an effective way to remove the first 20 to 30 degrees of heat quickly, lessening the load on the system. Even cooling with well water is a very energy efficient method of precooling produce before it is placed in the cooling room. Note, however, that some types of produce are sensitive to wetting, which encourages the growth of microorganisms.
If the 200 bushels of apples in the example facility were cooled just 20 F before entering the cooling room, the total heat load would be reduced to about 22,080 Btu per hour, or 26 percent. In this case, only 4.14 tons of refrigeration would be required instead of 5.65. Table 7 shows the calculations involved.
Table 7. Total Heat Load at a Field Temperature of 60 F
1. Heat conductance6,504 Btu/hr 2. Field heat 10,158 Btu/hr 3. Heat of respiration 3,410 Btu/hr ------------- Subtotal 20,072 Btu/hr 4. Service load 2,007 Btu/hr ------------- Total heat load 22,079 Btu/hr
Although doubling the insulation value in the walls, ceiling, and floor would reduce the heat conductance by one-half from 6,504 to 3,252 Btu per hour, the percentage reduction of the total heat load would be small. The only way to reduce the heat load substantially is to start the refrigeration cooling process with fruit as cool as possible.
Condensation and Humidity. The cooling coils of the refrigeration system (Figure 4) must be colder than the air in the room if the air is to be cooled. The larger the temperature difference, the greater the rate of heat transfer and the smaller (and less expensive) the cooling coils. However, the colder the coil surface, the more water vapor from the air will condense on the coils, either as a liquid or as ice. Evaporator coil condensation represents wasted refrigeration capacity and should be minimized. Allowing hot, humid air to enter the cooling room is particularly costly because the refrigeration system must not only cool the air but also condense the additional water


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This study examines how probation officers' (POs) knowledge of juveniles' trauma influences probation practices. The study was conducted with POs who responded to a Web-based survey (n = 308). The POs were directed to randomly select one juvenile from their caseload and to complete the Probation Practices Assessment Survey to assess their knowledge of the youth's lifetime trauma and past-year stressful life experience and their practice approaches. Nineteen percent of youths were reported as having had lifetime exposure to at least one type of trauma (for example, physical assault, sexual assault, witness violent death). The most common traumatic experience was sexual assault, with 11% of POs reporting this experience among the study youths. Structural equation modeling results indicated that POs' knowledge of cumulative exposure to trauma is associated with treatment-oriented probation and counseling approaches. Results of this study signal the importance of careful assessments of exposure to trauma and stressful life events among youths on probation. The use of specialized trauma-informed assessment strategies also are recommended to increase the sensitivity of juvenile justice programs to trauma.
- _TAG_ the UN in Geneva | UNICEF
- Varieties of Moral Orders and the Dual Structure of Society: A Perspective from Positioning Theory
- Costa Rica has made major socio-economic progress but more efforts needed to reduce inequality and poverty
- Mandated reporters' experiences with reporting child maltreatment: a meta-synthesis of qualitative studies
- Unfortunate Cautionary Tale of Poverty in Maine
Category Specific RSS


University of Würzburg
University of Würzburg, German in full Bayerische Julius-maximilians-universität Würzburg, autonomous, state-supported university in Würzburg, Ger., founded in 1582. Early a famous centre for the study of Roman Catholic theology, it was secularized in 1814 and became best known for its medical school. Among its teachers were the philosopher F.W. Schelling, the pathologist Rudolf Virchow, and the physicist Wilhelm Röntgen, who discovered X rays there in 1895.


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This chapter discusses the OO (organizational ombudsman) in the context of organizational conflict management systems (CMS). The OO is a confidential, neutral, internal resource-formally independent of line and staff management-working informally, without decision-making power. OOs work with all employees and managers, and every workplace issue, as a "zero barrier" office. OOs seek fair processes for concerns brought to them. OOs refer to all formal and informal CMS options, identify "new" issues, and recommend systems improvements. The chapter discusses the emergence of the role in the context of social, political, and cultural changes over the past 50 years, especially in North America. It discusses the alternative dispute resolution movement-and concurrent emergence of the OO as an appropriate dispute resolution role within a CMS. It describes the functions-and competencies required-of ombudsmen, and discusses current challenges faced by those in OO roles.The full article is available by subscription only. (Oxford Handbooks Online.)
Related posts: Mary Rowe; Howard Gadlin.


Linda Friedman Schmidt
Linda Friedman Schmidt's picture
Linda Friedman Schmidt
Job Title:
Visual Artist
Linda Friedman Schmidt Studio
Country or Region:
Linda Friedman Schmidt is a self-taught artist known for her emotional narrative portraits and figurative artworks created from discarded clothing. She was born stateless in a German displaced persons camp, the first child of scarred Holocaust survivors who met and married in the camp. Her parents spent four years in the camp waiting for a country to accept them.
Linda was raised in Brooklyn, New York, an immigrant child of refugees who faced language barriers and struggled to find a balance in their new lives. She grew up under the shadow of the Holocaust, caught up in the emotional burden weighing down the family. She bore witness to the traumatization of her parents who were haunted by a past they could never speak about. Her mother was emotionally unavailable, her father was angry, prone to violent rages, unpredictable and frightening.
Her artistic medium, discarded clothing, alludes to discarded humanity. She gives new life to the discards, rescues, and transforms them. Her process of cutting and tearing the clothing into strips relates to mourning, violence, the tear in the fabric of families. In a bold, authentic second generation voice she shines a light on little-discussed issues often shoved under the rug. She depicts the suffering of the second generation, the common threads running through the fabric of the lives of survivors' children, the difficulties of refugees and immigrants. Fueled by pain inherited, her artwork is shaped by the intergenerational transfer of trauma. It deals with emotional suffering, pain inflicted by one human being unto another. The sad emotionally scarred human beings depicted reflect her childhood.
Linda Friedman Schmidt's thought-provoking artwork has been exhibited extensively in museums and galleries throughout the USA and also internationally. What makes her art significant is its ability to make the viewer reflect emotionally and intellectually. She is an artist unafraid to tell the unvarnished truth, to confront her family's dark history, to address taboo and controversial subjects.


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Referencing Files in a Workbook
You can refer to the contents of data and Maple code files added to your workbook using Maple Workbook URIs.
Using a Workbook URI to Refer to Workbook Files
Workbook URI Syntax
The Workbook URI (Uniform Resource Identifier) is used to represent the identity and location of files within a Maple workbook or files residing inside another workbook in a given file directory.
A URI would look like this:
Using the URI mentioned above as an example,
The substring, "this://" identifies this URI as a reference to the current open workbook.
The third slash represents the root directory of the Maple workbook.
Finally, "MyCode.mpl" represents the Maple code file located in the root directory of the current workbook.
In general, the URI syntax is "this:////".
Referencing Files in Another Workbook
While URIs of the form "this:////" are used to represent files within a workbook, it is also possible to reference files contained in other workbooks.
The syntax for such a URI is:
"maple:////"
Creating a Workbook URI on Windows
The file separator on a Windows operating system is backslash "\". However, the backslash is also an escape character. So in order to use the backslash as a file separator, a second backslash is required.
A example of a workbook URI on Windows would be:
Creating a Workbook URI on Linux or Mac OS X
The forward slash "/" character is the valid file separator on Linux or Mac OS X.
An example of a workbook URI on Linux or Mac OS X would be:
Linking to a Workbook Attachment
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How to Stretch Content Across the Funnel
Everyone has different preferences when it comes to consuming content. The same person's preferences might even change based on what day it is, what time it is, what device they're using, or any number of unpredictable factors.
As a result, B2B marketers are challenged to produce content in a variety of formats in order to appeal to the widest possible range of audiences.
Of course, creating even a single piece of content can be time-consuming. But if you consider each asset you produce as part of a larger package, you can easily stretch that individual piece of content into multiple assets that fit all stages of the funnel.
Here's an example of how one report sparked the creation of many more assets to support prospects all the way through the funnel:
- Highlights video: B2B Content Marketing Spotlight Report
- Blog post: Generate more leads with a variety of content formats
- Webinar roundtable: B2B Content Marketing Trends – Survey Results and Analysis
- Download: B2B Content Marketing Spotlight Report
Other ideas could include infographics, briefs, or video case studies. It's important to produce a mix of static and dynamic content, but rich media assets like webinars and videos play a particularly important role in nurturing prospects down the funnel.
Learn more about this topic in next week's webinar: The Power of Narrative: Separate Your Content from the Pack.


"real" PhD Staffed Cannabis research team.
- First Hydroponics Nutrients Company to Write & Publish White Papers on Cannabis and Hydroponics.
- Invented pH Perfect technology, hydroponics only pH self adjusting pH line of base nutrients and supplements so you won't have to balance or adjust your nutrients' pH ever again.
- First to invent and use beneficial microbes to balance and maintain pH.
- First to use 100% chelated micronutrients giving you full protection over an ultra wide pH range.
- First to use chelated macronutrients.
- First to use chelated Secondary Nutrients.
- First to combine Humic & Fulvic acids in hydroponics nutrients.
- First to invent hydroponics product that delays genetic degrading in senescence.
- First to invent and use Taste and Terpene Enhancers.
The_BM_Story_Page_56_300x300px Invented first clean Organic Base Nutrient that can be used with drip emitters..
- First to bring Square Wave Technology used in digital ballasts to hydroponics.
- Invented only Organic Enzyme product for hydroponics.
- First hydroponics nutrient company to use 100% chelated micro nutrients in Organic Base Nutrients.
- First to find, identify, and use a Non-Ionic Surfactant that stimulates the growth of Cannabis in Hydroponic Base Nutrients.
- First to identify and use a new class of pH buffering technologies.
- First to create patented engineered hydroponic fertilizer programs.
- First to have Cannabis Grower support both toll-free and online.
- First and only company to offer a 100% performance guarantee.
- First to use hot water manufacturing for superior dissolving of all liquid products.
- First to use multiple stage and element filtering of all products.
- First to use potassium silicate in hydroponics nutrients.
- First Hydroponics Company to use bloom cofactors, and other specialty plant extracts components that stimulate growth to get you bigger yields.
- First to use ultra-purified reverse osmosis water for manufacturing products. Most hydroponics nutrient companies still use tap water to manufacture their products.
- First to use standardized reverse osmosis water "tuning" in all manufacturing facilities and labs. This enables all water used to manufacture and test which is exactly the same anywhere in the world and is the same technology used by Coca-Cola, Anheuser-Busch, and Red Bull to ensure you always get the same consistent product.
- First to use hormone-producing microbes in hydroponics.
- First to offer varietal nutrient mixture ratio and formulation videos.
The_BM_Story_Page_60_300x300pxFirst to create hydroponics products that stimulate plant immune systems.
- First to invent symbiotic synthetic-organic hybrid fertilizers.
- First to do complete competitive product analysis and testing.
- First to offer a total system that takes care of your entire Cannabis plant from birth to senescence.
- First to use vitamins in hydroponics nutrients.
- First to use amino acids in bloom boosters.
- First to identify the specific ratios of macro, secondary, and micro-nutrients for Sativa & Indica Cannabis plants.
- First to have perfectly balanced cations and anion based Hydroponics Base Nutrients for Cannabis that controls the pH in your growing medium.
In 2003, BigMike supplied nutrients to Dr. Elsaholy—from the University of Mississippi—who runs extensive testing on genetics, yield size, and THC levels.
Using Advanced Nutrients' 2003 second generation of nutrients—Advanced Nutrients is currently on its eighth generation of nutrients, BTW—Dr. Elsaholy, was able to increase bud weight by over 21% and THC levels by over 40%, as compared to when using other nutrients.
These are the kinds of results growers are achieving when they nourish their plants with Advanced Nutrients.
Like many of us in our community, BigMike loves nothing more than gazing at big juicy colas in one of his gardens, enjoying a fatty with friends, and continuing his quest for the perfect bud and taking marijuana to its true genetic potential.
The_BM_Story_Page_61_300x300pxBut it almost all came to an end on August 30th, 2011…
While undergoing an operation, BigMike completely flat-lined—he died.
He recalls being in some kind of futuristic oval-shaped room, seeing a bright light and being surrounded 360 degrees by these black towers that looked like some kind of medical equipment from the future—like something out of a Star Wars movie. The equipment was nothing like what they had in the hospital he was at—or at any present-day hospital for that matter.
He felt some kind of deep understanding that he was receiving lessons he was supposed to take back with him to this side of the grass.
Fortunately, the doctors were finally able to revive him.
The_BM_Story_Page_62_300x300pxAfter they brought him back, he noticed something strange. It was as if a part of him died right there on the table and never came back. One day it was there, holding him back from being of maximal use to his fellow man, and the next day—"POOF!"—it was gone.
Something inside of him had shifted—had been transformed. And because of this inner-transformation—a sort of personal evolution brought forth by death itself, if you will—Mike's been spending more time than ever focused on positively impacting the lives of others.
The old-self that he left on that surgical table was replaced with a sincere desire to serve his fellow man to the absolute best of his abilities.
Now, he'll be the last one to tell you he's filled with nothing but altruistic tendencies…because that's not how it is. Like all of us, he likes scarfing down his piece of the pie; he just wants to make sure everyone else gets to enjoy a yummy piece of pie as well.
BigMike and Advanced Nutrients have always been well known for their philanthropy work. But lately, it's like that giving part of him has been injected with large doses of powerful steroids and committed itself to making this crazy world we live in a better place—no matter what the cost.
The_BM_Story_Page_63_300x300pxAnd because of this, Advanced Nutrients…
 - Donates nutrients to a charitable program called Archie's Acres that helps ease the pain and suffering of injured war veterans.
 - Gives away millions of dollars worth of nutrients to assist the sick, needy, and dying people of the world.
 - Constructs classrooms in Uganda.
 - Lends seed money to people in developing countries who dream of starting a small business but simply can't afford to do so.
 - Donates heavily to MPP—the Marijuana Policy Project—and has for many years.
 - Built a growroom for CannaMoms, so children who suffer from conditions such as epilepsy and cancer can get the medicine they need.
 - Is spearheading MMJ Bulgaria to legalize Medical Marijuana in the country of Bulgaria.
The_BM_Story_Page_64_300x300pxBigMike is also the founder of "Holiday Heroes"—a program that brings people and businesses together to feed thousands of Bulgarian families each year. In fact, this past Christmas, Holiday Heroes fed over 20,000 needy people.
He even launched a political party named New Bulgaria that's working hard to root out corruption from within the Bulgarian Judicial System, turn the economy around, and help the impoverished citizens of Bulgaria live the kind of prosperous and empowering life they deserve.
Mike originally went to Bulgaria because the Bulgarian Academy of Science was letting go a lot of their scientists. They simply didn't have the funding they needed and he thought it would be a great opportunity to set up an R&D branch of Advanced Nutrients over there.
So he teamed up with some scientists, received one of only three licenses in the world from a national government to legally grow cannabis for research purposes, and dove in headfirst…
He soon became captivated by the culture, the people, and the natural beauty of Bulgaria, and knew he wanted to make it his home.
The_BM_Story_Page_65_300x300pxHowever, his blissful state of deep admiration soon turned to heartbreak as he witnessed horrific conditions he just couldn't understand. Bulgaria is one of the most corrupt countries in the EU. Its economy, education, and healthcare systems are among the worst in Eastern Europe.
And, you see, a lot of people don't know this, but BigMike is of Eastern European blood. His mother was born in Estonia and his father was born in Latvia.
While both parents were fortunate enough to escape their communist countries, other members of the family weren't so lucky.
The family was torn apart and, until the Wall came down, there was no communication between those who'd escaped, and those who hadn't…
Growing up, Mike heard the horror stories about what happened to his parents and loved ones as they were forced to endure life under communist rule. These stories broke his heart. The powerlessness he felt being unable to do anything to help out his family members who were still going through it is a feeling he'll never forget.
And then, when the Iron Curtain finally came down, Mike, along with his mother and brother, traveled to Estonia and were able to reunite with their lost family. He witnessed first hand as Estonia—once ravaged by communism—ascended from the ashes of impoverishment and rose to greatness.
The_BM_Story_Page_66_300x300pxSo years later, once in Bulgaria, he couldn't help but wonder…
Why had Bulgaria not risen to greatness like Estonia had?
Why had it not moved forward


De la Rue du Can Stéphane, Pudleiner David, Pielli Katrina
Usages de l'énergie
September 2018
Titre Ouvrage:
Energy Policy, vol. 120
pp. 354-364
While energy efficiency can contribute significantly towards improving access to modern energy services, energy sector investments in many developing countries have largely focused on increasing energy access by increasing supply. This is because the links between energy efficiency and energy access, is often overlooked. This oversight of energy efficiency is frequently a missed opportunity, as efficiency is often a very cost-effective energy resource. In combination with grid expansion and new clean energy generation, efficiency efforts can help to ensure that reliable power is provided to the maximum number of customers at a lower cost than would be required to increase generation alone. In this paper we describe an analysis method for determining a country's energy efficiency priorities and devising an action plan to integrate energy efficiency as a resource for meeting a nation's energy access goals. We illustrate this method with a detailed case study of Uganda. If the most efficient technologies on the market were adopted in Uganda, 442 MW of generation-level demand could be offset and energy access for an additional 6 M rural customers could be achieved by 2030. Of this technical potential for efficiency, 91% is cost-effective, and 47% is economically achievable under conservative assumptions.


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The author uses ecological principles and chaos theory to understand why school changes succeed or fail. The book unifies new research on the nature of knowledge and intelligence, the role of school in society, staff development, classroom teaching practices, the processes of school change, the relationship of education and culture, and authentic assessment.
Charting School Change
SAGE Publications, Incorporated
Improving the Odds for Successful School Reform
Education & Reference /


Assessment of Pain
By the Social Security Administration
Many denial letters from the Social Security Administration and its State Agencies improperly apply (or completely ignore) the requirements of Social Security Administration Ruling SSR 96-7p.
This ruling sets forth criteria for assessing the credibility of a claimant's statements about symptoms and their effects. Specifically, it requires the Social Security Administration to consider
(1) the individual's daily activities;
(2) the location, duration, frequency, and intensity of the individual's pain or other symptoms;
(3) factors that precipitate or aggravate the symptoms;
(4) the type, dosage, effectiveness, and side effects of medication;
(5) treatment other than medication the person receives for pain or other symptoms;
(6) any measures other than treatment the person has used to relieve pain; and
(7) any other factors concerning the person's functional limitations and restrictions due to pain or other symptoms.
An unfavorable decision must contain a credibility determination whether the Social Security Administration thinks the claimant is or is not credible.Thus, the Ruling states that in setting forth a decision it is not enough for the Social Security Administration to make a conclusory statement such as "the allegations have been considered," or "the allegations are (or are not) credible."Neither is it sufficient to simply set forth the factors described in the regulations.Rather, the decision must set forth the "specific reasons for the finding on credibility, supported by evidence in the case record, and must be sufficiently specific to make clear to the individual and to any subsequent reviewers the weight the adjudicator gave to the individual's statements and the reasons for that weight." The ruling essentially restates the requirement that decision makers build an accurate and logical bridge from the evidence to the conclusion, and that they state which of a claimant's complaints are being rejected and why such complaints were unsupported by the record.
Recent publications by the Social Security Administration (when changing the Musculoskeletal Listings) make this point clear: objective evidence of severity of pain is not required.
... Our intention is to make sure that no one has the erroneous impression that there must be objective medical findings that directly support the severity of a person's pain.66 FR 58013
The new language,... clarifies that there need only be medical signs or laboratory findings that show the existence of a medically determinable impairment which could reasonably be expected to cause pain or other symptoms for these symptoms to be found to affect an individual's ability to perform basic work activities.66 FR 58013
Considering pain as a factor in an individual's loss of function is consistent with � � _PHONE_ and 416.929 on evaluation of symptoms, including pain. Because the language in these final regulations is consistent with the current regulatory language regarding pain and other symptoms, it should not affect documentation requirements or practices, nor do we see any need for further clarification of the pain standard.66 FR 58028
We do not see lack of objectivity as an issue. A claimant's own statements about his or her functioning have always been factored into a decision, because symptoms are the claimant's statements about how impairment affects the individual. We base disability determinations and decisions on all of the evidence in file, objective and subjective, and we consider whether there are any conflicts between the objective evidence and the claimant's own statements. 66 FR 58028


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This ELEEP Virtual Discussion took place on September 18th, 2016. We were joined by Andrew Ayres to discuss the topic of water scarcity in California. We explore why California's critically overused groundwater basins have had trouble addressing declining water levels, and we find that bargaining costs resulting from numerous, highly heterogeneous users complicate agreement over the form of stringent management measures, sometimes blocking their adoption altogether. The event was moderated by Max Gruenig, President of Ecologic Institute US (_EMAIL_).
In California, a prolonged drought has increased concern over observed groundwater depletion. However, declining groundwater tables are not new, and signs of degradation have been conspicuous in some basins for decades. Meanwhile, collective responses by users have not been uniform: some groups have undertaken costly court-led adjudication to define property rights, while others have done little. We examine the institutions governing California's groundwater basins to explain the adoption and nature of controls. We find that users adopt stringent institutions where aggregate resource benefits exceed bargaining costs—costs which result from numerous users with heterogeneous resource access and water valuations. In extreme cases, bargaining costs block management responses altogether.
Andrew Ayres is a PhD candidate at UC, Santa Barbara. His research concerns the economics of river basin management, and the primary focus is on the formulation and impact of legal and economic institutions that encourage sustainable and efficient water use. Andrew's current work examines institutions for groundwater management, specifically the conditions under which property rights are adopted. The goal of this project is to inform the implementation of California's Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, which may entail management changes in critical basins throughout the state. Previously, Andrew was a Fulbright Fellow and thereafter worked at Ecologic Institute in Berlin, Germany.


up to ValidatorFAQ
How to use validator with dispatchAction
if you want to use different validation rules with the validator you have to declare different action elements in your struts-config.xml file (using the same action class if you want). for that you have to use the (Dyna)ValidatorActionForm.
another means is to validate your form in the methods of your DispatchAction class as in this example:
{{{ Or you could also write a thin wrapper around the validationframework to validate a single field at the time. For instance the following code carries out the validation of the form field at the same time it retrieves its value:
{{{ import java.util.ArrayList;
 while (it.hasNext()) {
 return form.get(key);
This can be called in the following manner from an action extending DispatchAction:
 public ActionForward viewForm (ActionMapping mapping, ActionForm form, HttpServletRequest request, HttpServletResponse response)
 return (mapping.getInputForm() );
Hope this helps someone.
up to ValidatorFAQ
ValidatorDispatchAction (last edited 2009-09-20 23:12:15 by localhost)


Dust marks turn the city into a legible visualization of particulate matter pollution. Dust particles accumulate on the surfaces of the city, forming a patina. Dust marks partially remove this patina and make it legible based on the technique of reverse graffiti. As new particles continue to accumulate, the patterns slowly fade and thus reveal the effect of air pollution.


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Midland, Mich.-based Dow Corning was established in 1943 specifically to explore the potential of silicones. It was created as a joint venture between Corning Glass Works (now Corning Inc.) and The Dow Chemical Co.
Today, the company is a powerhouse in the chemical industry, as evidenced by recent news.
Indeed, Dow Corning senior scientist and director of global science and technology outreach Thomas H. Lane was named 2009 president of the American Chemical Society (ACS). He also will serve on the ACS Board of Directors through 2010.
In his candidate's statement, Lane emphasized the need for education and science literacy. "The next generation of explorers, seekers, and dreamers are being adversely influenced by the dulled public image of chemistry." He believes that ACS must ensure that people – particularly children – understand "the transforming powers of chemistry."
In other Dow Corning news, the company announced several billion dollars of investments to provide critical materials to the fast-growing solar technology industry.
Dow Corning will begin manufacturing high purity monosilane, a key specialty gas used to manufacture thin-film solar cells and liquid crystal displays. This investment includes construction of a new monosilane manufacturing facility in Hemlock, Mich., adjacent to Hemlock Semiconductor Corp.'s polysilicon manufacturing site.
Meanwhile in China, Dow Corning and Wacker Chemie AG officially started production in the first stage of their new pyrogenic silica and siloxane plants in Zhangjiagang.
The new plants are key facilities of an integrated silicone manufacturing site developed by both companies to produce materials used extensively in construction, beauty and personal care, power and automotives. Total investment from both companies for the site is estimated to be approximately US$1.2 billion.
The combined projected capacity for siloxane and pyrogenic silica is approximately 200,000 metric tons per year. It is expected that full operational capacity will be phased in by the end of 2010. Through their Zhangjiagang production complex, Wacker and Dow Corning intend to serve growing customer demand for silicone materials in China and throughout the Asian region.
Dow Corning also is heeding the demand for sustainability with its waste reduction efforts.
The company has reported significant progress in waste reduction, including a cut of up to 80% in process scrap at one of its manufacturing sites.
The reductions have been achieved in part through the company's materials conversion program, which converts or recycles its waste, scrap and off-spec silicone materials instead of sending them to landfill or incineration. Materials are then reprocessed into new products that meet customers' specifications.
Additionally, the company is reducing consumption of natural gas and carbon dioxide emissions by burning hydrogen at its Midland, Mich., plant. Through a wide variety of projects over the past five years, Dow Corning has seen a 19,800-tons-per-year reduction in carbon dioxide emissions.
Noticing the company's environmental efforts, Frost & Sullivan awarded Dow Corning the 2008 Global Specialty Chemicals Corporate Leadership Green Excellence Award for its demonstrated commitment to the use of renewable and sustainable energy resources in the global specialty chemicals market.
"Dow Corning is more than a manufacturer supplying products to the global green energy industries. It is a company that 'leads by example' and shows the rest of the industry how manufacturers can use their technical expertise and products in achieving measurable environmental targets and improving their environmental performance across their business," notes Frost & Sullivan Industry Analyst Leonidas Dokos. "Dow Corning's sustainable development approach is coupled with the value of corporate responsibility which are founded on the company's vision and connected through to business unit goals."
To visit the Dow Corning CP 50 profile page, visit _URL_
To return the to the CP 50 list, visit _URL_