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March 15 & 16, 2014: Civil War in the Southwest
Each year hundreds of spectators descend on Picacho Peak State Park to watch re-enactments of an Arizona Civil War skirmish and the New Mexico battles of Glorieta and Val Verde.
Visitors travel from around the country to experience three fascinating historic battle re-enactments complete with lifestyles of the soldiers in the southwest during the 1860s. More than 200 re-enactors come from many states and will camp at the park with their authentic Civil War camping gear. Food and beverage concessions are also available, including the popular Kettle corn vendor.
Experience three battle re-enactments during the annual Civil War the Southest event.
Civil War battles across America were well documented and history teachers carefully covered each battle across the East Coast, but few ever thought what was happening in the West during this time. A battle of the American Civil War was a skirmish fought near a rocky spire called Picacho Peak located between Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona. The new highway follows the old wagon route that passed Picacho in 1862.
In 1860 the New Mexico Territory, which consisted of the lands that would become the states of Arizona and New Mexico, was sparsely populated. It ranked 34th in population out of 43 states and territories with only 83,009 inhabitants. It was 37th in black populations, with just 8 whom were all free. When the Civil War broke out in 1861, the U.S. Government recalled the majority of its troops from the West to build the Union army for the fighting in the east. Henry Hopkins Sibley joined the Confederacy and convinced Jefferson Davis that he would raise an army in Texas and invade New Mexico territories. He proposed that mineral resources would fill the coffers of the Confederacy and fund their massive war effort.
Re-enactor Liaison: Christopher DeMille, _PHONE_
See 2012 Civil War in the Southwest Photo Gallery
See 2011 Civil War in the Southwest Photo Gallery
See 2010 Civil War in the Southwest Photo Gallery
See 2008 Civil War in the Southwest Photo Gallery
Historical Re-Enactor information about this event
- Alamo Lake
- Buckskin Mountain
- Cattail Cove
- Lake Havasu
- River Island
- Yuma Quartermaster Depot
- Yuma Territorial Prison
- Dead Horse Ranch
- Fort Verde
- Red Rock
- Riordan Mansion
- Slide Rock
- Verde River Greenway
- Boyce Thompson Arboretum
- Fool Hollow Lake
- Lost Dutchman
- Lyman Lake
- Tonto Natural Bridge


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Key Term Definitions
Acoustic Clarity Technology:
This Polycom patented technology allows you to enjoy instantaneous natural conversation. When paired with a full duplex speakerphone, echo is eliminated and both callers are able to speak simultaneously without experiencing voice dropouts. The voice clarity on conference systems that feature this technology is incredibly crisp and clear.
Dynamic Noise Reduction:
One of Polycom's signature features, Dynamic Noise Reduction (DNR) eliminates the unwanted background noise that plagues more traditional conferencing methods. This technology was first introduced in the 1980's and targeted noise reduction in long distance communications. DNR can cut down clatter by as much as 10 decibels and can be paired with similar systems. The Polycom systems that carry this feature provide the user with optimum microphone sensitivity while removing dynamic noise. DNR can really make a difference when conferencing with client's long distance, the level of professionalism will be much appreciated.
Analog is the original telephone technology, a system that converts air vibrations (like those created by the human voice) into similar electrical frequencies. Analog lines can support phones, fax machines, and modems and are typically found in homes or small office settings. Analog systems measure data in one continuous variable while digital breaks down and manipulates the data. One of the advantages of analog systems is that they dot not require a filter for band-limiting. Several SoundStation models operate on an analog system with features that are specifically designed for day to day communication.
Automatic Gain Control:
This adaptive technology is a standard feature in most electronic devices. Automatic Gain Control (AGC) takes the average output signal level and adjusts the gain to the appropriate level for input signal levels. For example, when a signal is too strong the AGC reduces its volume and when the signal is too weak the AGC increases the volume. In telephones the AGC is most commonly used when a conversation is recorded. The AGC will take the large signal from the local user and the small signal from the long distance user and produce a recording that is well balanced.
All microphones have directional characteristics, which are determined by the way a microphone picks up sounds. Microphones can pick up signals from several directions or from one focused point. A cardioid microphone, the most popular of conferencing systems, picks up sound/signals primarily from the front of the microphone. When the pattern of cardioid sound pickup is graphed the shape resembles that of a heart, hence the name. These microphones focus on the sound in front of them and lessen ambient noise from the back or sides.

source: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb-edu


text:
The Island Energy Council of Gran Canaria is a body created by the Island Authority to promote energy efficiency, renewable energy sources (RES), and the transition to a low carbon economy. In the island context electromobility will not just substitute imported fossil fuels in the road transport, but becomes a strategical energy asset for grid balancing in scenarios of high penetration of renewable energies. Electric vehicles are non-critical manageable loads that can compensate the variability of non-dispatchable wind and solar energy. As deferrable loads EVs can contribute to "peak-shaving" of the electric demand curve of the island, allowing for higher penetration levels of RES generation.
The objective of the activity promoted by the Island Authority of Gran Canaria is to advance in the deployment of needed recharging infrastructure in the island. The lack of recharging stations is sometimes blamed as one main factor for potential users of electric vehicles, for not making the decision to switch to electromobility.
Evidence of success (results achieved):
- Installation of charging stations in the island of Gran Canaria
- Jobs created during installation and currently maintaining the recharging infrastructure
The infrastructure now installed is the beginning of an envision dense network of recharging stations covering all the island of Gran Canaria. The initial charging stations have been strategically located at convenient places for local residents and at sites regularly visit by tourist.
The cost of fast charges is high. The low number of existing electric vehicles in the island generates concerns about the foreseen low capacity factor which makes it difficult to make a return on investment on the investment on recharging stations
The program has been successful in reducing energy consumption. Also creating jobs associated to installation and maintenance.
With proper training, installing and maintaining rechargeable infrastructure can generate jobs for young unemployed.

source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


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Click below to read a summary of the Art & film project ideas for Bronze, Silver, and Gold awards; or to go back to project ideas click here.
Make your own animation using a rotating drum and a 'film strip'
Animation is used in all sorts of telly programmes and films. Start by finding out about all the different types; for example, what sort of animation is used in Wallace & Gromit or The Simpsons, or big pictures like Toy Story 3 or Up.
Restoring art work
Every major art gallery has a scientific department, or easy access to scientific knowledge. There are many modern scientific techniques to find out about the sorts of materials and methods artists used – when we look at a painting now it‟s not always the same as when the artist painted it many years ago. Lots of materials change over the years because of chemical changes caused, for example, by interactions with light or oxygen. For this project you can carry different tests on various types of paints (you could even make some paints yourself). You can also look at different ways of restoring old paintings. Contact an analytical chemist from an art gallery, or a university department specialising in art conservation and restoration.
Build a pinhole camera
Pinhole cameras can be made very simply, and they take reasonable pictures. But it‟s a little more complicated to make a pinhole camera that takes a good picture, has an automatic shutter, has a mechanism to wind on commercially-available film, looks like a real camera, etc. In this project you‟ll investigate pinhole cameras and design and build your own.


From Pioneers to Present Day
College Avenue, circa 1898. Photo courtesy Cheney Historical Museum.
Cheney developed into the city we know today because of its strong ties to education, rail, and agriculture. This provided a strong economic base for the community and was the result of much larger events that took place in the United States.
What's in a Name?
The name of the little community, originally Section Thirteen became Willow Springs, then became Depot Springs, because of its ties to the railroad, then Billings, in honor of a president of the Northern Pacific Company, and finally Cheney, in honor of Benjamin P. Cheney, a Director of the Northern Pacific Railroad.
Benjamin P. Cheney was the eldest son of a blacksmith who was born in 1815 at Hillsborough, New Hampshire. Mr. Cheney, a director of the Northern Pacific Railroad, donated $10,000 to establish the Benjamin P. Cheney Academy in the town. And the railroad donated 8 acres of land so that the educational facility could be built.
The County Seat
The Grand Steal
On a night when most of the residents of Spokane Falls were at a gala wedding celebration, a delegation of armed "Cheneyites" invaded the Auditor's office, took possession of the books, did their own ballot recount which showed Cheney the victor, and made off into the darkness with the records - and the auditor, who may have been sympathetic to their position. The "Grand Steal" was not contested and was confirmed by a court decision in 1881.
EWU's Roots: the Benjamin P. Cheney Academy
Shaping a Community
The creation of "Special Interest Groups" was an increasing interest in the social circle. Participating in "proper" social activities became the forefront in Cheney for creating a character all its own. In the past, keeping the small town characteristic was an important issue, and today we find that the citizens of Cheney still share that same ideal and vision for Cheney's future.


Team:Buenos Aires/Project/Model
From 2012.igem.org
Revision as of 19:05, 26 September 2012 by Vparasco (Talk | contribs)
Modelling a synthetic ecology
The crossfeeding model
The model has four variables:
To build the model we did the following assumptions:
 - Each cell has a fixed probability of dying per time interval
 - Each strain only consumes the AA it doesn't produce
 - The system reaches steady state.
Bsas2012-model1.png (model)
Steady State Solution
{N_a ; N_b} → { N_t, x_a }
Note that the percentage of each population in the community is a function of (pa,pb,da,db)).
In particular
Bsas2012-modeling-eq4.png (4)
 Figure 1. Mole fraction x_a as a fuction of the ratio of protein export for values of D=0.1,1,10 (colors).
The parameter estimation process is shown in Parameter selection(linked)
Parameters selected
Value Units
kmax 0.4261 1/hr
K his 2.588e16 AA/ml
K trp 1.041e16 AA/ml
n his 1.243
n trp 1.636
Cc 3.0 10^7 cell/ml
death 3 to 7 days
p his p 2.16e8 AA/ cell hr
p trp p ε 2.16e8 AA/ cell hr
d his 6.348e8 AA/cell
d trp 2.630e7 AA/cell
 Table 1.
Model Analysis
The standard procedure when studying the temporal evolution of a non-linear system is to try to determine all the possible types of trajectories in the phase space. First the nullclines and fixed points(FP) are found; then the latter are classified according to their stability; in the same way as a linear system (**). The goal is to determine qualitatively draw the trajectories for any initial conditions to see how the variables evolve.
How is this behavior governed by the model's parameters?
There was a major difficulty in the analysis of the model because of the dimension of the problem - 4 variables. The analytical results yielded by the usual tools (nullclines, system linearization) could not be simplified so that all the relevant properties of the system could be understood in terms of the parameters.
Phase Plane review.
QSSA: Model Reduction
We supposed that it reaches SS before the other. Therefore taking dAAj/dt=0 we rewrote the AminoAcids as a function of (Na,Nb) in a reduced 2x2 model for the evolution of the populations.
Thus a phase portrait for the nullclines and trajectories was drawn.
Figure 2. Phase portrait for the reduce model.
What does that mean? Pick any point for the plane; those are your initial conditions for the concentration of each population. Now to see how the community evolves with time follow the arrows - like a particle in a flow. No matter how close to the FP we start, the community is overtaken by one of the two strains.
 - The stable FP are {Na → Nt, Nb → 0} and {Na → 0, Nb → Nt}.
 - Only by taking i.c. along the stable manifold –direction marked between red arrows for clarification in Figure 2 – do we reach the FP we wanted as t → ∞.
This phase portrait for two species reveals the so called Principle of Competitive Exclusion.
This is not a representation of auxotrophic community! Somehow we've landed on Lotka-Volterra.
Initially we relied on numerical simulations (NS) to explore possible behaviors.
 - Cells' initial concentration (i.c.c.): dilutions from 1:10000 to 10x of the carrying capacity (Cc).
 - AAs' initial concentration: null, unless stated otherwise.
Die or thrive?
where we can define Bsas2012-modeling-eq7.png (9)
Figure 3.
The other condition is related to extracellular AAs. Let's define
The concentration of extracellular AAs is positive only if δ < 1. In fact as δ → 1 the concentration should tend to ∞ because δ = 1 is a vertical asymptote. This ratio δ between two rates is related to our proposed regulation; if the amount of nutrients produced exceeds the required one for a 90 minutes cycle, the medium is saturated. Then the regulation fails.
Parameter Space and Solutions
Figure 4. Regions in the parameter space that present different types of solutions. Only in Region III both conditions are true.
Now, let's classify these regions numerically to see whether the ideas we just presented are supported. Taking random values from each region we found that all four variables are always positive, instead each region is associated with a different kind of solution. The conditions shape the behavior, not the existence of a solution.
Taking AA(t=0)=0:
II. The extracellular AA keep growing and the medium is saturated. The culture reaches equilibrium for every i.c.c. no matter how low.
Some conclusions we've drawn from these NS:
 2. More so, the formula (5) is a good approximation for the mole fraction in the II close to the limit between regions; the difference between the two increases gradually. The formula is not true in II; thus regulation fails.
 3. There's no pointed change caused by the asymptote, in fact the two regions can't be distinguished experimentally through a strain's mole fraction measure in each side of the frontier; so small is the difference between the values across.
The test that started this analysis: under which initial conditions do the populations thrive or die, has to be understood in terms of Figure 4, not merely the conditions for λ associated with Figure 3.
We noticed that the culture's survival in region III is also dependent on the Ks even though is not explicit in any formula so far. Rather for a fixed value of K there is a i.c.c. threshold below which the culture doesn't prosper. This effect is noticeable when the percentage desired restrict the p values allowed to the lower end of the range.
This is reasonable considering that they introduce another time scale. Not only have the cells to produce and absorb the required amounts of AA before they die, their ability to grow is restricted by the concentration of AA in the medium.
Hill effect
How are the dissociation constants relevant when they haven't appear so far?
Originally we took both Hill coefficients equal to one in our NS, is close enough, right?
 Figure 5. Evolution in time of two cultures that only differ in the i.c.c. with both Hill coef = 1(left); and both Hill coef > 1(right).
 - When n_ hill =1 only the culture with higher i.c.c. reaches a non-trivial SS. The other slowly dies.
 - There is no clear difference between the cases with high and low i.c.c. for n_ hill =1.5. Note that they reach SS faster as well.
The survival of an auxotrophic community is dependent on both the apparent dissociation constants (Ks) and the Hill coefficient as shown clearly on Figure 5. There are two effects related to Hill parameters K and n_hill here:
Shorter time scale to SS.
Larger subspace of i.c.c. that lead to SS.
So when creating an auxotrophy, pick a nutrient with an appropriate Hill coefficient and K. Check the range of allowed i.c.c. estimating the values of the rest of the parameters. We could say that the model is more stable as more sets of initial conditions are susceptible of regulation.
Our case is similar to the one shown in figure 5 with both hill coefficients → 1. Region III is less sensitive to variations in the i.c.c. and therefore the actual Region III resembles the theorical one in Figure 4. When n_hill=1 is much smaller.
Relaxation time
Not only are we interested in predicting the fraction of each strain in the culture, we need this control within a time frame or the system is irrelevant.
Creating a mesh we explored the parameter space (p, ε) for different initial conditions i.c.c. to visualize when the model's prediction and the numerical result of the simulations for the mole fraction differ in an amount lower than the given error; before 65 hours. We won't limit the mesh to Region III only.
For each set of conditions (p, ε,i.c.c.) we test the agreement between the proposed regulation and the NS.
The first two graphs in Figure 6 are different orientations in space of a binary test, a blue dot indicates the points in this space where the error is smaller than 5%. Connecting the dots we see a pattern. This area in the parameter space where we can control the community through regulation has the same shape as Region III, although they don't overlap perfectly.
The green bubble's size in the third graph is a measure of the error in each point for the same NS; it ranges from 0.6 to 4%.
Some points well within Region III don't happen to comply with the established time limit. However there are enough points to see that all percentages are accessible with the model for the chosen precision. It's not necessary now, but a closer look at specific sections is possible with a higher point density matrix.
Figure 6. Scatter plot of the conditions under which the modeled auxotrophy leads to community control in under 65 hours with a 5%


return value of load functions as if it was a bool: if (doc.load_file("file.xml")) { … } else { … }. Otherwise you can use the status member to get parsing status, or the description() member function to get the status in a string form.
This is an example of handling loading errors (samples/load_error_handling.cpp):
pugi::xml_document doc;
pugi::xml_parse_result result = doc.load_string(source);
if (result)
 std::cout << "XML [" << source << "] parsed without errors, attr value: [" << doc.child("node").attribute("attr").value() << "]\n\n";
 std::cout << "XML [" << source << "] parsed with errors, attr value: [" << doc.child("node").attribute("attr").value() << "]\n";
 std::cout << "Error description: " << result.description() << "\n";
 std::cout << "Error offset: " << result.offset << " (error at [..." << (source + result.offset) << "]\n\n";
Sometimes XML data should be loaded from some other source than file, i.e. HTTP URL; also you may want to load XML data from file using non-standard functions, i.e. to use your virtual file system facilities or to load XML from gzip-compressed files. These scenarios either require loading document from memory, in which case you should prepare a contiguous memory block with all XML data and to pass it to one of buffer loading functions, or loading document from C++ IOstream, in which case you should provide an object which implements std::istream or std::wistream interface.
There are different functions for loading document from memory; they treat the passed buffer as either an immutable one (load_buffer), a mutable buffer which is owned by the caller (load_buffer_inplace), or a mutable buffer which ownership belongs to pugixml (load_buffer_inplace_own). There is also a simple helper function, xml_document::load, for cases when you want to load the XML document from null-terminated character string.
This is an example of loading XML document from memory using one of these functions (samples/load_memory.cpp); read the sample code for more examples:
const char source[] = "0 0 1 1";
size_t size = sizeof(source);
// You can use load_buffer_inplace to load document from mutable memory block; the block's lifetime must exceed that of document
char* buffer = new char[size];
memcpy(buffer, source, size);
// The block can be allocated by any method; the block is modified during parsing
pugi::xml_parse_result result = doc.load_buffer_inplace(buffer, size);
// You have to destroy the block yourself after the document is no longer used
delete[] buffer;
This is a simple example of loading XML document from file using streams (samples/load_stream.cpp); read the sample code for more complex examples involving wide streams and locales:
std::ifstream stream("weekly-utf-8.xml");
pugi::xml_parse_result result = doc.load(stream);
Accessing document data
pugixml features an extensive interface for getting various types of data from the document and for traversing the document. You can use various accessors to get node/attribute data, you can traverse the child node/attribute lists via accessors or iterators, you can do depth-first traversals with xml_tree_walker objects, and you can use XPath for complex data-driven queries.
You can get node or attribute name via name() accessor, and value via value() accessor. Note that both functions never return null pointers - they either return a string with the relevant content, or an empty string if name/value is absent or if the handle is null. Also there are two notable things for reading values:
 - It is common to store data as text contents of some node - i.e. This is a node. In this case, node does not have a value, but instead has a child of type node_pcdata with value "This is a node". pugixml provides child_value() and text() helper functions to parse such data.
 - In many cases attribute values have types that are not strings - i.e. an attribute may always contain values that should be treated as integers, despite the fact that they are represented as strings in XML. pugixml provides several accessors that convert attribute value to some other type.
This is an example of using these functions (samples/traverse_base.cpp):
for (pugi::xml_node tool = tools.child("Tool"); tool; tool = tool.next_sibling("Tool"))
 std::cout << "Tool " << tool.attribute("Filename").value();
 std::cout << ": AllowRemote " << tool.attribute("AllowRemote").as_bool();
 std::cout << ", Timeout " << tool.attribute("Timeout").as_int();
 std::cout << ", Description '" << tool.child_value("Description") << "'\n";
Since a lot of document traversal consists of finding the node/attribute with the correct name, there are special functions for that purpose. For example, child("Tool") returns the first node which has the name "Tool", or null handle if there is no such node. This is an example of using such functions (samples/traverse_base.cpp):
std::cout << "Tool for *.dae generation: " << tools.find_child_by_attribute("Tool", "OutputFileMasks", "*.dae").attribute("Filename").value() << "\n";
Child node lists and attribute lists are simply double-linked lists; while you can use previous_sibling/next_sibling and other such functions for iteration, pugixml additionally provides node and attribute iterators, so that you can treat nodes as containers of other nodes or attributes. All iterators are bidirectional and support all usual iterator operations. The iterators are invalidated if the node/attribute objects they're pointing to are removed from the tree; adding nodes/attributes does not invalidate any iterators.
Here is an example of using iterators for document traversal (samples/traverse_iter.cpp):
for (pugi::xml_node_iterator it = tools.begin(); it!= tools.end(); ++it)
 std::cout << "Tool:";
 for (pugi::xml_attribute_iterator ait = it->attributes_begin(); ait!= it->attributes_end(); ++ait)
 std::cout << " " << ait->name() << "=" << ait->value();
 std::cout << std::endl;
If your C++ compiler supports range-based for-loop (this is a C++11 feature, at the time of writing it's supported by Microsoft Visual Studio 11 Beta, GCC 4.6 and Clang 3.0), you can use it to enumerate nodes/attributes. Additional helpers are provided to support this; note that they are also compatible with Boost Foreach, and possibly other pre-C++11 foreach facilities.
Here is an example of using C++11 range-based for loop for document traversal (samples/traverse_rangefor.cpp):
for (pugi::xml_node tool: tools.children("Tool"))
 std::cout << "Tool:";
 for (pugi::xml_attribute attr: tool.attributes())
 std::cout << " " << << "=" << attr.value();
 for (pugi::xml_node child: tool.children())
 std::cout << ", child " <<;
 std::cout << std::endl;
The methods described above allow traversal of immediate children of some node; if you want to do a deep tree traversal, you'll have to do it via a recursive function or some equivalent method. However, pugixml provides a helper for depth-first traversal of a subtree. In order to use it, you have to implement xml_tree_walker interface and to call traverse function.
This is an example of traversing tree hierarchy with xml_tree_walker (samples/traverse_walker.cpp):
struct simple_walker: pugi::xml_tree_walker
 virtual bool for_each(pugi::xml_node& node)
 for (int i = 0; i < depth(); ++i) std::cout << " "; // indentation
 std::cout << node_types[node.type()] << ": name='" << << "', value='" << node.value() << "'\n";
 return true; // continue traversal
simple_walker walker;
Finally, for complex queries often a higher-level DSL is needed. pugixml provides an implementation of XPath 1.0 language for such queries. The complete description of XPath usage can be found in the manual, but here are some examples:
pugi::xpath_node_set tools = doc.select_nodes("/Profile/Tools/Tool[_USER_='true' and _USER_='lastparam']");
std::cout << "Tools:\n";
for (pugi::xpath_node_set::const_iterator it = tools.begin(); it!= tools.end(); ++it)
 pugi::xpath_node node = *it;
 std::cout << node.node().attribute("Filename").value() << "\n";
pugi::xpath_node build_tool = doc.select_node("//Tool[contains(Description, 'build system')]");
if (build_tool)
 std::cout << "Build tool: " << build_tool.node().attribute("Filename").value() << "\n";
XPath functions throw xpath_exception objects on error; the sample above does not catch these exceptions.
Modifying document data
The document in pugixml is fully mutable: you can completely change the document structure and modify the data of nodes/attributes. All functions take care of memory management and structural integrity themselves, so they always result in structurally valid tree - however,


Monitoring Kafka activity in Streams Messaging Manager
You can use Streams Messaging Manager (SMM) to monitor Kafka activity. To do this, you run two SSH sessions, one for producing data to a Kafka topic and the other to consume the data from the Kafka topic. Then you go to the SMM UI from the Management Console to track the producer and consumer activity.
Now that you know how to configure a Kafka client to connect to the Kafka cluster in CDP, generate some activity and monitor it using SMM. To do this, you collect machine usage data from the broker host using the vmstat command and stream that data into the machine-data topic.
For detailed and comprehensive information about SMM, see Streams Messaging Manager.
 1. Start by opening two SSH connections to the same broker host.
 2. On the first session, run the following command.
 BROKER_HOST=$(hostname -f)
 vmstat 1 1000 | kafka-console-producer \
 --broker-list $BROKER_HOST:9093 \
 --producer.config \
 --topic machine-data
 This command runs vmstat and sends each line from its output as one message every second to the machine-data topic.
 This example assumes that you are using LDAP authentication but you can use the authentication method of your preference.
 Leave the session running.
 3. On the second SSH session, run the following command to consume the data:
 BROKER_HOST=$(hostname -f)
 kafka-console-consumer \
 --bootstrap-server $BROKER_HOST:9093 \
 --consumer.config \
 --topic machine-data \
 --group machine-data-$RANDOM \
 You see the data produced by the first session continuously appear on the screen as output.
 Leave the second session also running.
 6. Click Streams Messaging Manager on the services pane to open the SMM web UI.
 It may take a few minutes for the consumer or producer activity to start showing in the SMM UI. You may have to refresh your page a few times until the data starts to appear.
 Once it does, you see one active producer on the left-hand side of the page and at least one active consumer listed on the right-hand side of the page.
 You also see the LAG metrics listed besides each consumer. This metric indicates the number of messages the consumer is behind the latest message produced to the Kafka topic. You can use this to quickly identify slow consumers that are lagging behind producers.
 7. Click either on the producer or on the consumer, and SMM shows their activity, highlighting all the topics and partitions they are writing to or reading from, respectively.
 In this page you can identify metrics for the overall Kafka topic activity and partition-level. The In Sync Replica (ISR) set for each partition can be identified on the screen. The ID of the LEADER replica for each partition is shown on the left-hand side, while the FOLLOWER replicas are represented as teal-colored boxes on the right-hand side.
 8. Click on an empty part of the page to clear the consumer or producer selection, and then click the profile icon for the machine-data topic.
 This opens the Kafka topic details page where you can find all the topic-related metrics and utilization charts.
 9. Click the DATA EXPLORER tab.
 In the Data Explorer page you can sample the data that is flowing through the Kafka topic. Select different partitions and adjust the offset sliders to become familiar with those controls.


text:
|After feasting on the first Thanksgiving dinner, the Pilgrim fathers, who
couldn't watch football because they had no electricity, were enjoying
each other's company when the subject of livestock came up. Talk turned
to trade, and before the afternoon had ended with leftovers, a series of
trades ended with five of the families trading away one of the animals they
had brought on the Mayflower and getting in return an animal brought
to the New World by one of the others. Given the historical recording of
America's first swap meet below, can you determine the name (one was called
Annie) and kind of animal each forefather family traded and which animal
they received in return?
- The Pilgrim family that traded Kate received the sheep in return.
- The Whites acquired the horse after all the swapping was done.
- Neither the cow nor the goat ended up going home to the Hopkins farm..
- The forefather family that owned the horse Thanksgiving morning ended
up owning Bessie Thanksgiving night.
- The Allertons were thankful to get ownership of Prissy at the end.
- Molly wasn't the animal the Hopkinses' traded away.
- Bessie wasn't the sheep.
- The Mullinses traded away the family pig; they never had ownership
of Kate during all the trading back and forth.
- The Brewsters weren't the Pilgrims who traded away their goat.
- After all the swapping back and forth, no two families ended up
simply trading the animals they owned to each other.


There's a good chance that if you've walked around in any city, you've passed by defensive architecture. It's all around us and it shapes the fabric of the city—which is why it's important to understand what defensive architecture is. According to Toronto-based urban planning researcher Cara Chellew, "Defensive urban design, also known as hostile, unpleasant, or exclusionary architecture is a type of persuasive design used to guide behaviour in urban space by designing out specific uses of street furniture or the built environment as a form of crime prevention or protection of property" (Chellew, "About"). In other words, defensive or hostile architecture is architecture designed to limit the ways in which a space can be used. These subtle design implementations act as miniature zoning laws that dictate appropriate uses of public space. Our goal is to educate people on what hostile architecture looks like and who it impacts.
 What does defensive architecture mean, why does it exist, and what challenges does it bring?
 Take Action
 Take a look at a map of hostile architecture found in Washington, DC and submit your own examples.


Hedonic Consumption Behavior Analysis
948 Words4 Pages
While emotional behaviors, sensual pleasures, imagination and aesthetics are in the foreground in the hedonic expectations of consumers, the functional and rational aspects of a product play a more important role in utilitarian expectations. Hedonic consumption is more subjective and more personal in terms of outcomes. When mission is completed, that is shopping is realized, it is more fun and delightful. Therefore, hedonic shopping creates potential entertainment and emotional value. Furthermore, consumers are more stimulated, participate in the shopping process, feel themselves free, have a fantasy motivation, and though temporarily, forget about their problems (Babin et al., 1994). However, adventure, gratification, value and idea…show more content…
The level of this behavior varies according to the characteristic of the consumers. In this context, it can be stated that hedonic shopping differentiates based on gender, that men show more rationalist purchasing behaviors, and that women do shopping with the expectation of pleasure (Jackson et al., 2011). Furthermore, hedonic consumption habits have positive effects on the desire to purchase. Consumers acting more with a hedonic instinct are individuals who spend more time shopping during their free time, like looking around, buy definitely something during shopping and make use of credit card installments. Such behavior is also affected by the design of the shopping center and visual and audial aspects (Budisantoso and Mizerski, 2010). This study also stresses that shopping centers influence consumers who show hedonic purchasing behavior and that businesses should be aware of that. Levels of color usage affect individuals both in the imaginary and hedonic sense; while warm colors like red and yellow stimulate to act, and cold colors like blue and green cause the individuals to think and wait more. Besides, music in stores, the sound in them, noise and the level of temperature are other aspects influencing consumer…show more content…
However, according to (Levesque and McDougall, 1996) satisfaction is conceptualized as an overall, customer attitude towards a service provider. Similarly, they also claim that shopping satisfaction is the accumulated experience of a customer's purchase and shopping process experiences. It was therefore; client satisfaction construct in this paper will be measured through overall satisfaction toward the services. In the article, shopping satisfaction usually refers to the latter type of outcome. Moreover, this mental state, which we view as a cognitive judgment, is conceived of as falling somewhere on a bipolar continuum bounded at the lower end by a low level of satisfaction (expectations exceed performance perceptions) and at the higher end by a high level of satisfaction (performance perceptions exceed
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D20 Modern: The Mystery of the Heritage
Here Come the Fraal...
Alien invasion version 1.3
After having visited And'liss Station the crew of the Vigilance learned of a Fraal fleet moving toward Earth. Vigilance immediately jumped into FTL and made for far terran orbit. There they discovered that the Fraal were in communication with the Earth and were spreading a message of peace after the Earth had shot at them.
Vigilance detected a small ship of Earth origin hiding behind the moon. This was the Prometheus. This military ship was launched for mysterious reasons and carries a strike team aboard it. In order to keep the military people safe they were brought on board the Vigilance.
Now the Vigilance has 20 highly trained military personnel aboard along with their food and weapons. Many questions remain. What should be done with the troops? How much can they be trusted? Is is a good idea to hand this over to the authorities as some around the ship are beginning to suggest?
Kitty is beginning to feel the pressure too. She feels responsible for the lives of all aboard this ship and is staring at the possibility of a war. She also is beginning to feel more alienated from her friends. This is stressing her out and could lead to some poor decisions…


Thank you again, and we'll miss you
The Importance of Translating Military Jargon Into Civilian Language
AUTHOR: Darlene Zambruski
POSTED: September 9, 2009 at 6:12 am
There is a big difference between, "Provide mission critical technical services to the battalion for the tracking of all cargo material in a combat zone" and "Direct IT services to support a 150-person operation, tracking all cargo materials in a demanding work environment."
Military Jargon is Often Incomprehensible to Civilians
Job responsibilities in the military can easily translate to corporate positions; you just need to overcome the language barrier and jargon. The process of translating military jargon into civilian language is essentially the same as translating a resume from Spanish into English…it is a different language. For example, common words in military resumes include command, battalion/soldiers, and mission. These can translate into civilian terminology as supervised, team, and organizational goal. Hiring managers may not understand the significance of your experience when they read resumes with military jargon stating leadership of defensive techniques, combat readiness, weapons storage or combat zone operations.
In order to increase your marketability for a civilian job, break down your experiences and re-word the content to match the language of your target position.
Translate the Jargon for Your New Audience
The first step is to break down job duties into individual tasks to identify key strengths. To accomplish this task, read job postings, company job descriptions, and industry resumes located on job boards and industry association websites to match your experiences to civilian jobs. A great resource is the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Outlook Handbook located online at: This site provides overviews of job positions with detailed information on the nature of the work, language used, and education needed. The second step is to go through your experience and transition your resume using civilian language found in the job postings and company descriptions. Some responsibilities could relate to equipment maintenance, international relations, budget management, team training and leadership, personnel management, and logistics management.
Accomplishments are critical to the resume whether they are for the military or corporate/civilian positions. Be sure to highlight your accomplishments in the resume and quantify the results based on impact to the organization.
In the end, one easy way to test your resume is to have a non-military person review the resume and let you know the verbiage or wording they do not understand.


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For introductory courses in Earth Science in departments of Geology, Geography, Atmospheric Sciences, and Education. The eleventh edition of Earth Science offers a user-friendly overview of our physical environment with balanced, up-to-date coverage of geology, oceanography, astronomy, and meteorology for the undergraduate student with little background in science. The emphasis is on readability, with clear example-driven explanations. The eleventh edition takes full advantage of the subject's visual appeal, with discussions reinforced by incredible color photos and superb illustrations by Earth science illustrator Dennis Tasa.
Other books by this author See all titles
The prices displayed are for website purchases only, and may differ to the prices in Waterstones stores.


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Teen Safe: A Healthy Relationship Group for Teen Girls 12-15
Healthy relationships are a crucial part of adolescent development and individual growth. As children grow into adolescents, they become increasingly reliant on peers for friendship, intimacy, and validation. Some children enter their teenage years poorly prepared for the challenges of developing strong and healthy relationships that will form the basis of adult life. Girls, in particular, struggle with finding a balance between seeking acceptance from peers and maintaining their sense of individuality. They can be at risk for dating and relationship violence, and they are exposed to new and potentially unsafe social situations as they venture out beyond familiar environments. Similarly, on the Internet, girls can be at risk as they explore new websites and chat rooms.
The Teen Safe Curriculum is a 4 module group developed by the Center for Young Women's Health for use with adolescent girls (ages: 12-15). The modules include: healthy relationships, safety in relationships, safety on the streets, and safety on the internet. Each module is designed to take place in 1-1.5 hours so they may require modification to meet time constraints within your school.
- Facilitator's Guide
- Module 1: Healthy Relationships
- Module 2: Safety in Relationships
- Module 3: Safety on the Street
- Module 4: Safety on the Internet


Abstract: We study the contribution of multiple covers of an irreducible rational curve C in a Calabi-Yau threefold Y to the genus 0 Gromov-Witten invariants in the following cases. (1) If the curve C has one node and satisfies a certain genericity condition, we prove that the contribution of multiple covers of degree d is given by the sum of all 1/n^3 where n divides d. (2) For a smoothly embedded contractable curve C in Y we define schemes C_i for i=1,...,l where C_i is supported on C and has multiplicity i, the integer l (0l). In the latter case we also get a formula for arbitrary genus. These results show that the curve C contributes an integer amount to the so-called instanton numbers that are defined recursively in terms of the Gromov-Witten invariants and are conjectured to be integers.


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Scope and Contents
Book of Hours in Latin from the 15th century, of French origin. The Use is not identified, but is not Besançon or Clermont. It may be peculiar to the Abbey of S. Claude, Condat, to which both Kalendar and Litany particularly belong (see the local saints reported under their respective headings).Golden Numbers: on fly-leaf. These are numbers assigned to each year in sequence in a 19-years cycle and are used in order to calculate the date of Easter. Each number is...
late 15th century


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In this case, you can simply create a CSV file with the new team member names, then upload the file to AccessAlly.
How To Upload Multiple Team Members With a CSV File
1. Prepare Your CSV File
Prepare your CSV file. You can do this in either of two ways:
- Export the CSV file from your CRM
- Create the CSV file manually using a spreadsheet app (Google Sheets, Microsoft Excel, Apple Numbers, etc.). For proper formatting, the first row must be the header that includes the following columns: "First Name", "Last Name", and "Email"
Then, save the CSV file in a place that is easily accessible for Step 3 of this tutorial.
2. Locate the Team
Go to: AccessAlly > Teams > Manage
Here, you can search for the leader of the team by contact ID or email.
3. Import Your CSV File
Now, scroll down to the Batch Import section. Here, you can click on the Choose File button to search for and upload the file you created in step 1 of this tutorial.
Once the file is uploaded, you will see the names and emails of each user from the CSV file. Please review this carefully to make sure the information is correct.
4. Review Import Status
As each user is imported properly, the status will say Client added successfully, as in this screenshot:
NOTE: If the number of imports exceeds the number of available team spaces, you will see an error message:
In this case, simply increase the team size (tutorial here), then re-import your CSV file.
Once the import is completed successfully, the team leader will see each user listed on the management page.


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Appraisal: understand the impact of transport projects to optimise their benefits
Cost benefit analysis is carried out to assess the benefit of a project for the society. In most countries, such analysis follows strict principles (For example in France: LOTI, 1982 – Royal, 2014).
Cost benefit analysis is based on data from diverse sources and requires a lot of attention and rigour.
Beyond the calculation itself, it requires a real expertise to translate the regulatory principles project by project and to interpret the results.
Furthermore, techniques and the regulatory framework keep evolving, and the practionner need to remain at the top of the state of the art to ensure the latest recommendations have been used.
Our expert consultants have more than 15 years' experience in the area of cost benefit evaluations. They have gathered experience for a large variety of projects (highways, conventional railway, high speed rail), in different environment (urban, rural) and for different target markets (passengers, freight). Based on our experience, we focus on three fundamental elements :
- Particular attention is given to the interface between the different components: monetarised values derived from the demand and revenue forecast, capacity studies, infrastructure studies etc. The quality of the analysis is directly linked to the quality of these inputs and their treatment.
- The search for meaning: what elements contribute most to the benefit, who benefits most, who supports the highest cost? Behind the rate of return and the usual indicators, we use the cost benefit analysis as a central tool to understand the strength and weaknesses of the project.
- A systematic external quality control: the calculations are complex, data sources, stakeholders, horizons, scenarios are numerous and therefore the risk of an error is high. We recognize it and systematically implement external controls.
Why choose EXPLAIN?
Because cost benefit analysis is at the heart of the consultation and decisions process, we guarantee rigour, expertise and quality control for all projects.
Because one of the challenges with cost benefit analysis is its explanation to non-experts, we devote sufficient time to describe and illustrate our calculations and results so as to make them convincing and intelligible and convincing.


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- Decontaminate work surfaces before and after use and immediately after spills.
- Do not eat, drink, store food, or smoke in the laboratory.
Incident in Smith Building
We hear often in the lab about the importance of compatibility-which gloves are compatible with which chemicals, which chemicals might react with each other, or how chemicals should be stored on the shelf. But the incident in Smith Building a few weeks ago serves as a reminder that the issue of chemical storage compatibility extends also to the containers in which chemicals are stored.
In Smith Building, a solvent mixture of methyl isobutyl ketone and acetic acid was being stored in a container made of polyethylene. The solvent in this case acted as a "stress-cracking agent" in reaction with the container and caused it to crack from the inside to the outside. Over a period of months, the integrity of the container weakened and eventually the sides collapsed.
Nalgene, the company from which the container was bought, said that polyethlyene should not be used to store an MIBK-acetic acid mixture because after only 6-9 months this sort of cracking will occur. Instead, a type 316 stainless steel container should be used.
If you are not storing a chemical or solvent in its original container, be sure to check its compatibility with the new container's material. Though the incident at Smith was a singular example, this sort of problem can occur with many chemicals and solvents if they are not properly stored.
A chemical's MSDS, or Material Safety Data Sheets, contains information about that chemical's compatibility, as well as a wealth of other information on its safe usage. Each laboratory should have a MSDS copy either on disk or in hard copy for each chemical used in that lab, and all employees of the lab should know the location of the MSDS holdings.
Please call DOES (x2907) if you require any MSDS copies or if you have questions concerning chemical compatibility or storage in your lab.


Subnetting a wireless LAN for voice
Editor's Note: Because you can never have too many wizards, we have expanded the scope of the Wireless Wizards to include a full panel of experts from the top wireless vendors. They're at your disposal to help answer wireless LAN questions, so send your queries to
Question: We're currently implementing a WLAN that is expected to support up to 2,000 wireless voice users in a single campus. Part of the requirement is to provide seamless voice and inter/intra subnet roaming. Is there a rule of thumb about the size of the subnet to design in order to have seamless roaming on a campus network wherever there is contiguous RF signal? We don't think it's possible to have one flat voice network, as our vendor is recommending. - Mike
Dan Simone, Trapeze Networks:
Your instinct is correct. Supporting thousands of wireless users in one flat subnet - whether voice or data users - is clearly not scalable. It is also cumbersome to propagate a single subnet everywhere across a campus. Experience on wired networks proved this - it doesn't get better with voice applications on small CPU handsets using the limited bandwidth of 802.11b. With large subnets, you end up with a significant number of broadcasts in each domain, impacting performance. For VoIP applications in particular, you have small CPU-powered devices that can be broadcast intensive, so too many users in one VLAN will quickly degrade performance and increase latency, leading to poor-quality voice calls.
The appropriate size for a subnet primarily serving voice users depends on how the wireless VoIP phones work, and what features you intend to use. If a call center application is used, it's possible to reduce your subnet sizes into something far more manageable and practical (e.g., 255 or 127 users per subnet). Critical to making this work is the ability of the wireless kit to provide a "real" inter-subnet roaming function across the campus with roam times (including authentication and authorization) at about 50ms or less.
Since all users cannot reside in the same subnet, the architecture of the WLAN system will need to support subnet roaming very effectively. The architecture should permit users of any subnet to roam anywhere in the WLAN, unless specific IT policies forbid access in certain network areas. Also, the WLAN system should enable subnet roaming without introducing new routing protocols, such as Mobile IP, and without the need for changing the wired backbone, to propagate all the voice VLANs across the backbone.
Look for a system that can preserve your existing backbone configuration, letting you add voice subnets at the size you see fit. Then make sure it can dynamically support those subnets and quality-of-service signaling wherever your users roam, regardless of what subnet the access points are attached to. This enables full mobility no matter where the traffic comes into the wired network. - Dan Simone, Trapeze Networks.
Dr. Vaduvur Bharghavan, Meru Networks:
In a data network, typically it is recommended to partition the network into smaller subnets in order to reduce the broadcast traffic. Broadcast traffic is sent to all systems on the LAN subnet. This reduces the performance of the network as it grows, and the broadcast traffic grows with the number of users. Broadcast traffic also can affect end systems, since they are required to interpret a greater number of packets received.
The most common types of broadcast packets are Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) requests and NetBIOS. ARP (RFC 826), which makes up the majority of broadcasts, is used by end systems to determine the MAC address of another system to which you are sending an IP packet. Using ARP, your system will send out a broadcast message to all systems on your subnet, asking who has the IP address you are trying to send a packet to. Each receiving system looks at the request and determines if the requested IP address is its address, and if so, sends a reply. In a large network that hasn't been broken into smaller subnets, this introduces a significant amount of traffic into the network. By breaking the network into smaller subnets, you can limit the broadcast traffic to smaller areas of the network, and utilize a gateway/router to forward packets between the different subnets.
The common recommendation for subnet size is 254 hosts (also known as a "/24" subnet); however, this is not a hard and fast rule. You can choose a larger or smaller subnet size depending on the amount of broadcast traffic you expect.
Some WLAN switch architectures eliminate this need for smaller subnet segments, as they manage the broadcast domains intelligently to limit the broadcast traffic such as ARP requests, preventing the broadcasts from being sent out to all hosts. This is particularly important for wireless systems, since the bandwidth on the air is limited. Reducing the number of unnecessary packets transmitted is very important in order to improve your network performance.
When you break the wireless network into multiple subnets, you need to ensure that your WLAN switch and access points can support near zero inter-Access Point handoffs, as well as subnet roaming throughout the network. This is particularly critical for a wireless voice deployment, where you don't want users to suffer disruptions in conversations while they walk around and the phone moves from one access point to another. The issue for large-scale deployments (2,000 voice clients) is that voice is a more demanding application than data. Missed or delayed packets, while not so bad for data traffic, can destroy a voice call.
In 802.11, it is well known that the clients decide when and where to associate and hand off, and that they do so independent of each other. In a large-scale pervasive deployment, such as yours, this causes the "ping-pong" effect, where clients spend much of their time flopping from access point to access point, rather than transmitting or receiving data. Voice cannot afford the loss (too many handoffs, or handoffs taking more than a few milliseconds), or the call becomes unacceptably poor. This is because the voice stream is a digital sampling, with each sample being taken typically every 30ms. If a packet is lost, the signal can't completely recover, and the result is poor voice quality. In a worst-case scenario, this loss may cause a dropped call. In a pervasive deployment, there will be hundreds of access points, which means during the course of a single voice conversation your VoIP handset could switch between access points many times. If the inter-Access Point handoff is more than a few milliseconds, your help desk will be inundated with calls complaining about the quality of the phone. In reality, the problem is almost never the phone, but the WLAN infrastructure.
Pat Calhoun, Airespace:
Deploying a wireless network does not have to impact your existing IP subnet design; the two are completely independent. However, you may decide to put wireless users on different subnets than your wire line users. The choice is yours.
A common approach is to create an overlay for your wireless infrastructure. This overlay can have different subnets, or be one large subnet, but basic IP network design principles apply; most people wouldn't place more than 2,000 802.3 users on a single subnet, so why do this on a WLAN? To put it another way, subnet size should not be a mobility issue, regardless of whether your primary wireless application is voice or data.
The key to mobility is being able to track the movements of a client device from access point to access point, and then forward packets accordingly without forcing a user to get a new IP address. Within a single subnet, this can be accomplished using client MAC addresses. However, this approach is not scalable beyond a single subnet, and limits the administrator's ability to effectively manage the network.
For roaming across subnets, a wireless product must be capable of tracking a client device's movements at Layer 3 using IP addresses. What's more, the infrastructure has to perform some basic IP connectivity functions (e.g. ARP) on behalf of the client so that the existing IP infrastructure is not aware of client mobility. One approach to this problem is to implement proxy Mobile IP, but this is complex to configure, requiring changes to the LAN routing infrastructure. Mobile IP has problems with network discovery and timing, causing breaks that can last several seconds and result in loss of session persistence, which would ultimately harm your voice over WLAN application.
Another more elegant approach to mobility leverages a different signaling mechanism, often referred to as "edge tunneling." In this method, the wireless switches are responsible for tracking roaming clients. Through the use of LWAPP tunneling coupled with edge tunneling, the physical location of the client IP address is hidden from network routing. Regardless of where the mobile client device connects to the network, the wireless switches treat the client like it never moved, enabling seamless mobility. Connections can be maintained across several subnets by groups of wireless switches automatically establishing mobility tunnels between one another. There are no changes needed on the underlying network infrastructure.
Israel Drori, Legra Systems:
There's no rule of thumb for subnet size, so don't worry about that. If you have 2,000 users, plan your overall capacity with one switch supporting 60 radios, which will provide enough connectivity for all of your users. It is possible to have one flat voice network for 2,000 users, but it's not advisable. You can plan and implement a WLAN to support 2,000 wireless voice users in a campus without limiting yourself to a flat voice network. Don't treat your WLAN voice users differently than you would any other network users. Subnet them according to the same divisions that apply elsewhere on your network - marketing, engineering, sales etc. - and set roaming policies that grant access to users as they move from one area to another. Consider a system that lets you connect different radios over Layer 3 to multiple


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2008 Energy balance for the corn-ethanol industry
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The Agricultural Resource Management Survey of corn growers for the year 2005 and the 2008 survey of dry mill ethanol plants are used to estimate the net energy balance of corn ethanol. This report measures all conventional fossil fuel energy used in the production of 1 gallon of corn ethanol. The ratio is about 2.3 BTU of ethanol for 1 BTU of energy inputs, when a portion of total energy input is allocated to byproduct and fossil fuel is used for processing energy. The ratio is somewhat higher for some firms that are partially substituting biomass energy in processing energy.
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result behaves exactly as if the contents of the first expression were inserted. But it may be useful to remember that this is not what happens. Knowing this will enable you to write much more efficient code. If you still have an uncertain feeling with copy-on-write semantics, we recommend you have a look at the _USER_{_URL_ C++-FAQ lite} by Marshall Cline. Chapter 16 covers this issue and presents an implementation which is pretty close to the one in GiNaC. _USER_ Internal representation of products and sums, Bibliography, Expressions are reference counted, Internal Structures _USER_ node-name, next, previous, up _USER_ Internal representation of products and sums _USER_ representation _USER_ _USER_{add} _USER_ _USER_{mul} _USER_ _USER_{power} Although it should be completely transparent for the user of GiNaC a short discussion of this topic helps to understand the sources and also explain performance to a large degree. Consider the unexpanded symbolic expression _USER_ $2d^3 \left( 4a + 5b - 3 \right)$ _USER_ tex _USER_ _USER_{2*d^3*(4*a+5*b-3)} _USER_ ifnottex which could naively be represented by a tree of linear containers for addition and multiplication, one container for exponentiation with base and exponent and some atomic leaves of symbols and numbers in this fashion: _USER_{repnaive} _USER_ pair-wise representation However, doing so results in a rather deeply nested tree which will quickly become inefficient to manipulate. We can improve on this by representing the sum instead as a sequence of terms, each one being a pair of a purely numeric multiplicative coefficient and its rest. In the same spirit we can store the multiplication as a sequence of terms, each having a numeric exponent and a possibly complicated base, the tree becomes much more flat: _USER_{reppair} The number _USER_{3} above the symbol _USER_{d} shows that _USER_{mul} objects are treated similarly where the coefficients are interpreted as _USER_{exponents} now. Addition of sums of terms or multiplication of products with numerical exponents can be coded to be very efficient with such a pair-wise representation. Internally, this handling is performed by most CAS in this way. It typically speeds up manipulations by an order of magnitude. The overall multiplicative factor _USER_{2} and the additive term _USER_{-3} look somewhat out of place in this representation, however, since they are still carrying a trivial exponent and multiplicative factor _USER_{1} respectively. Within GiNaC, this is avoided by adding a field that carries an overall numeric coefficient. This results in the realistic picture of internal representation for _USER_ $2d^3 \left( 4a + 5b - 3 \right)$ _USER_ tex _USER_ _USER_{2*d^3*(4*a+5*b-3)} _USER_ ifnottex : _USER_{repreal} This also allows for a better handling of numeric radicals, since _USER_{sqrt(2)} can now be carried along calculations. Now it should be clear, why both classes _USER_{add} and _USER_{mul} are derived from the same abstract class: the data representation is the same, only the semantics differs. In the class hierarchy, methods for polynomial expansion and the like are reimplemented for _USER_{add} and _USER_{mul}, but the data structure is inherited from _USER_{expairseq}. _USER_ Bibliography, Concept Index, Internal representation of products and sums, Top _USER_ node-name, next, previous, up _USER_ Bibliography _USER_ _USER_{} _USER_ _USER_{ISO/IEC 14882:1998: Programming Languages: C++} _USER_ _USER_{CLN: A Class Library for Numbers}, _USER_{haible@@ilog.fr, Bruno Haible} _USER_ _USER_{The C++ Programming Language}, Bjarne Stroustrup, 3rd Edition, ISBN 0-201-88954-4, Addison Wesley _USER_ _USER_{C++ FAQs}, Marshall Cline, ISBN 0-201-58958-3, 1995, Addison Wesley _USER_ _USER_{Algorithms for Computer Algebra}, Keith O. Geddes, Stephen R. Czapor, and George Labahn, ISBN 0-7923-9259-0, 1992, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Norwell, Massachusetts _USER_ _USER_{Computer Algebra: Systems and Algorithms for Algebraic Computation}, J.H. Davenport, Y. Siret, and E. Tournier, ISBN 0-12-204230-1, 1988, Academic Press, London _USER_ itemize _USER_ Concept Index,, Bibliography, Top _USER_ node-name, next, previous, up _USER_ Concept Index _USER_ cp _USER_


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One common feature of patent cases is a very high level of complexity. Without the right guidance, the complexity of these cases can be substantial barriers to many important things for a person who is in patent litigation, whether they are in the litigation as a plaintiff or a defendant.
Things this complexity could potentially get in the way of include:
- A person fully understanding what options they have during the course of the litigation. Not having a good understanding of one's options can be very problematic when making big choices in a patent case.
- A person understanding the different steps of the litigation process. Misunderstandings regarding the process could lead to a person making key errors.
- Having clear and concise arguments to present to judges and jurors in their case. An argument being overly complex or unclear can significantly cut into the argument's likely effectiveness in a patent case.
Thus, having access to clear explanations of complex patent issues can be vital when a person is going through patent litigation. One thing that can be an important source of such clarity is the guidance and advice of a skilled patent attorney. This is why going through patent litigation, whether as a defendant or plaintiff, without the right attorney can be so risky.
Our firm understands the great value making complex matters understandable has in patent cases. We strive to bring clarity to patent cases for our clients. We draw on our considerable experience in patent matters to help our clients have a clear idea of their options and what processes will likely be a part of their case and with constructing clear arguments for their case.


NCG CAM machines using triangulations as standard, which are quick to calculate and check against for gouge free machining. True surface machining is optional for users to select, should they wish. Machining the surfaces spaces the points in the NC Tape file more uniformly, giving a better / smoother machine movement on some machine tools. However, the calculations to ensure the machining is gouge free will take longer in most cases.
The better the surface finish means less hand polishing, which saves time and money, it also reduces any mis-match / flash caused by polishing rolling/belling corners.


The Cooperacy governance is the way participants take decisions in Cooperacy, according to cooperation science insights.
The Cooperacy governance is made of cooperations, that can also be containers. The main cooperation container is Cooperacy itself. Every cooperation is based on the most simple form of cooperation: two or more people doing something together.
It is advised every cooperation should have two coordinators and a maximum of 150 people. They may also decide to elect everyone as coordinator to experiment diffuse governance.
Anytime, coordinators may resign, can be substituted upon the cooperation participants' will or candidates may propose themselves to become coordinators.
Coordinators may take direct decisions in their cooperation. Only when their decision is publicly communicated it becomes effective. When they are in contrast or unsure about what decision to take, coordinators can ask advice to the participants or start a voting phase, remembering voting is never subject to majority but represents an official evaluation that needs to be integrated.
Participants can propose decisions as well through voting evaluation or asking the coordinators for direct approval.
Participants may also oppose the coordinators decisions. If the opposing participants are at least two1, the coordinators should proportionally and creatively integrate the opposition according to the seven solutions or alternatively start a voting evaluation.
If just a single participant proposes or opposes, but nobody secondes, the single instance is recorded or, when possible, but not always, proportionally and creatively integrated.
Cooperacy is a design democracy: we vote cooperation ideas first, people afterwards. Decisions are voted independently from the people who will enact them, as they will be chosen on a second step.
The voting can be anonymous during the voting phase, but becomes transparent once the results are shown. All voting evaluation results are transparent.
The decision making is based on approval voting, that is, everyone may vote with a single vote all the cooperation ideas or alternative decisions they want. If there is not a clear orientation2 after the voting evaluation, the participants may want to leave their choice to the coordinators. They may also choose with the coordinators which one of the seven possible solutions to apply for the realization of the cooperation's will.
1: DUAL COORDINATION The idea of a coordinating pair came up in order to avoid power to be concentrated in just one person, that receives huge responsibilities and is alone in facing them, or in more than two people, that may generate internal conflictual groups or collusions. Collective coordination is also possible, although roles could emerge anyways.
2: VOTING IS INFORMATIVE The voting results are indicators of the participants will, they do not explicitly determine a final decision, because winning and losing the voting process is substituted by evaluation and proportional creative integration.


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was noted that a court may reject a claimant's choice for a comparator group, and that choosing the wrong comparator group may cause the rights claim to fail.
In Withler v. Canada (Attorney General) (2011), the Supreme Court has jettisoned the comparator group requirement, mandating that instead a contextual analysis is the way to go. They recognized that comparator group analysis was leading to much injustice, something also noted in R. v. Kapp.
For discrimination to be found it must be determined if the burden or denial of benefit harms an individual's human dignity (Law v. Canada). That is, the discrimination will marginalize, ignore, or devalue an individual's sense of self-respect and self-worth.
Law suggests four "contextual factors" which can help guide a contextual analysis of whether the imputed distinction violates the human dignity of the claimant. None of these are determinative of discrimination, and the Court must not consider all of them in every case. This list is also not exhaustive, although the standard Law analysis has yet to develop any additional factors:
- pre-existing disadvantage
- correlation between the grounds of the claim and the actual needs, capacities, and circumstances
- ameliorative purpose or effect of the law on more disadvantaged groups
- nature and scope of interest
Jurisprudence has shown that each of these factors are weighed differently depending on the context.
Pre-existing disadvantage asks whether there was a pre-existing disadvantage or vulnerability experienced by the claimant. In Corbiere v. Canada McLachlin described this factor to be the most compelling and suggestive of discrimination if proven. However, the absence of a pre-existing disadvantage does not necessarily preclude a claimant from succeeding as seen in Trociuk v. British Columbia.
With correlation between grounds and reality, the claimant must show that there is a link between the grounds raise and the claimant's actual needs, circumstances, and capacities. Discrimination will be more difficult to establish if the law takes the qualities of the claimant into account. In Gosselin v. Quebec (Attorney General) the court was sharply divided on this point. The majority said that the law that provided less social assistance to youth was connected to the ability of youth to find employment easily. However, the dissenters insisted that the evidence did not show this to be actual qualities, but were rather stereotypes.
The ameliorative purpose factor asks whether there is a distinction made for the purpose of aiding an even less advantaged group. If this can be shown then it is unlikely that the claimant would be able to show a violation of their dignity. However, Lovelace v. Ontario warned that the analysis should not be reduced to a balancing of relative disadvantages.
The final factor of nature and scope considers the nature and scope of the interest affected by the law. The more severe and localized the results of the law for those affected the more likely to show that the distinctions in treatment responsible are discriminatory.
To overcome this barrier, the federal government expanded the Court Challenges Program of Canada in 1985 to fund test cases challenging federal legislation in relation to the equality rights guaranteed by the Charter. Some funding has been provided to challenge provincial laws under a variety of programs in the past, but its availability has varied considerably from province to province.
In September 2006, the Federal government announced that it would be "trimming the fat and refocusing spending on the priorities of Canadians." This included cutting all funding to the Court Challenges Program.
- Hogg, Peter W. Constitutional Law of Canada. 2003 Student Ed. (Scarborough, Ontario: Thomson Canada Limited, 2003), 1067.
- Hogg, pages 1062-3.
- Hogg, page 744.
- Hogg, pages _PHONE_.
- Court Challenges Program of Canada
- Arne Peltz & Betsy Gibbons, "Deep Discount Justice: The Challenge of Going to Court with a Charter Claim and No Money", 1999. URL accessed on March 10, 2006.
- Canada Department of Finance "Press Release", URL accessed on December 9, 2006.
- CanLII Section 15(1) - Equality before and under law and equal protection and benefit of law
- CanLII Section 15(2) - Affirmative action programs
- Charter Equality Rights - Interpretation of Section 15 in Supreme Court of Canada Decisions, 2007
- 20th Anniversary of Section 15 (Dept. of Justice)
- Fundamental Freedoms: The Charter of Rights and Freedoms - Charter of Rights website with video, audio and the Charter in over 20 languages


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Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
Starkad, Starkotter, Starkodder, Starkadhr (ice.), Störkudhr (ice.) or Starcatherus (Gesta Danorum) was a Scandinavian legendary hero and skald whose adventures are retold in Gesta Danorum and in Icelandic sagas.
He managed to survive a shipwreck after which he was received by the Danish king Fródi. Fródi gave him a longship and the task of patrolling the shores. No mortal man was his equal as he was endowed with superhuman strength and a noble disposition.
He was not only remarkable by his size and courage but also by his skaldic skills. Odin bestowed upon him the life of three men so that he would be able to commit as many atrocities.
He served many kings, such as Erik and Alrik.
The contents of this article is licensed from _URL_ under the GNU Free Documentation License. Click here to see the transparent copy and copyright details


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Homemade Egg Noodles
|2 cups ap flour, plus more for dusting|
|2 tbs water|
|2 tsp kosher salt for boiling water|
- Lightly spread flour on a large cutting board.
- Put 2 cups of flour on the board and make a well in the center.
- Crack the eggs into a small bowl, beat the eggs and add the water.
- Pour the egg mixture into the well and carefully combine gradually with the flour.
- Stir and work the mixture by hand folding the flour over the eggs until the dough can be rolled into a ball.
- Cut into two balls. Knead the first ball gently for a few minutes, dusting the board and hands with flour as needed.
- The dough should be slightly soft and smooth. Take care not to add too much flour as the dough gets dry and firm.
- Roll the dough into thin sheets.
- Flour the top of the dough. Turn over and flour the other side.
- Roll out again until very thin. So thin that you can almost see through.
- Flour and rolling pin and roll the sheet of dough into a long tube.
- Pull the rolling pin out and cut the dough into 1/4 inch wide strips.
- Repeat with the second ball of dough. The dough may be frozen for later use if desired.
- Drop the strips into boiling salted water and cook for about 6 minutes.
- Makes about 1 lb of noodles.


Groat (coin)
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For the hulled and crushed grains of various cereals, see groats. For the surname, see Groat (surname).
Edward I of England
AR Groat. _PHONE_.
The groat is the traditional name of a long-defunct English silver coin worth four English pennies, and also a Scottish coin originally worth fourpence, with later issues being valued at eightpence and one shilling.
The name has also been applied to any thick or large coin, such as the Groschen (grosso), a silver coin issued by Tyrol in 1271 and Venice in the 13th century, which was the first of this general size to circulate in the Holy Roman Empire and other parts of Europe. The immediate ancestor to the groat was the French gros tournois or groat of Tours, which was known as the groot (Dutch for "great" or "large") in the Netherlands.
The name groat also refers to a range of other European coins such as those of the Italian peninsula known as a grosso including the grosso of Venice and the Kraków grosz. Marco Polo referred to the groat in recounts of his travels to East Asia when describing the currencies of the Yuan Empire.[1] His descriptions were based on the conversion of 1 bezant = 20 groats = 133⅓ tornesel.[2]
David II of Scotland
++DAVID x REX x SCOTORVm Crowned bust left holding sceptre before; star at base of sceptre Outer circle: +DNS PTECTOR MS F LIBATOR MS - inner circle: VILL A ED InBV RGh Long cross quartered with of five points mullets.
AR Groat (3.11 g). Light coinage, _PHONE_. Edinburgh mint.
Henry VIII: Irish groat
Henry VIII minted these irish groats, crowned coat-of-arms over cross fourchee; mm: trefoil FRAnCIE ET hIBERnIE REX, crowned harp; crowned h and crowned R flanking (henricus Rex).
AR Groat (25 mm, 2.32 g, 12h). Second harp issue, as king of Ireland, _PHONE_. London mint (exported).
It was after the French silver coin had circulated in England that an English groat was first minted under King Edward I.
Scots groats were not issued until the reign of David II. Scots groats were originally also worth fourpence, but later issues were valued at eightpence and a shilling.[3][4]
Irish groats were minted first in 1425 and the last ones were minted under the reign of Elizabeth I of England. There were also two more issues, both emergency coinage.[5]
While strictly speaking, the English groat should have contained four pennyweights or 96 grains (6.2 grams) of sterling silver, the first ones issued weighed 89 grains (5.8 g) and later issues became progressively lighter. The weight was reduced to 72 grains (three pennyweights or 4.7 g) under Edward III, 60 grains (3.9 g) under Henry IV, and 48 grains (3.1 g) under Edward IV. From 1544 to 1560 (the weight being reduced to 32 grains (2.1 g) in 1559) the silver fineness was less than sterling, and after the 1561 issue they were not generally issued for circulation again for about a hundred years.
From the reigns of Charles II to George III, groats (by now often known as fourpences) were issued on an irregular basis for general circulation, the only years of mintage after 1786 being in 1792, 1795, and 1800. After this the only circulating issues were from 1836 to 1855, with proofs known from 1857 and 1862 and a colonial issue of 1888. These last coins had the weight further reduced to about 27 grains (1.9 grams) and were the same diameter as the silver threepenny pieces of the day although thicker. They also had Britannia on the reverse, while all other silver fourpenny pieces since the reign of William and Mary have had a crowned numeral "4" as the reverse, including the silver fourpenny Maundy money coins of the present. Some groats continued to circulate in Scotland until the 20th century.
At times in the past, silver twopenny coins have been called "half-groats."
The groat ceased to be minted in the United Kingdom in 1856, but in 1888 a special request was made for a colonial variety to be minted for use in British Guiana and the British West Indies. The groat remained in circulation in British Guiana right up until that territory adopted the decimal system in 1955.
Royal Navy chaplains[edit]
In the 1600s and 1700s, chaplains were employed in English Navy ships of war by the Captain, and paid out of a "groat" per month deducted from the wages of the seamen. The Navy's wages did not rise between 1653 and 1797 (see Spithead and Nore mutinies), during which time the Ordinary Seaman was paid 19 shillings, as was the chaplain.[6]
Cultural references[edit]
The word "groat" has entered into a number of English and Scottish expressions, many of them now archaic.
In the north of England, there is the saying "Blood without groats is nothing" meaning "family without fortune is worthless." The allusion is to black pudding, which consists chiefly of blood and oats formed into a patty. "Not worth a groat" is an old saying meaning "not worth a penny", i.e. worthless.
Benjamin Franklin, in his book, Necessary Hints gives the following thrifty advice:
He that spends a groat a day idly, spends idly above six pounds a year." (actually £6 plus one shilling eightpence)
In Beatrix Potter's The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin, there is the following riddle:
"Riddle me, riddle me, rot-tot-tote! A little wee man in a red red coat! A staff in his hand, and a stone in his throat; If you'll tell me this riddle, I'll give you a groat."
The answer is "a cherry."[7]
According to Hawkins' History of the Silver Coins of England,[8] groats were also known as "Joeys",
"so called from Joseph Hume, M.P., who strongly recommended the coinage for the sake of paying short cab-fares, etc."
This refers to the Victorian fourpenny piece. The mention of cab fares is related to the fact that the standard minimum was fourpence, so many passengers paid with a sixpenny piece, allowing the cabbie to keep the twopence change as a tip. The slang name "Joey" was transferred to the silver/cupronickel threepenny pieces in use in the first third of the twentieth century.
In A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett, Sara Crewe picks up a fourpenny piece from the street and uses it to buy buns. The original story was set in 1888.
John o' Groats, a place name in the north of Scotland, is not derived from "groat" but is a corruption of "Jan de Groot", the name of a Dutchman who migrated there in the reign of James IV.[9][10]
The monetary unit of Federation, the forerunner of the currently active Federation II text-based roleplaying game, was the groat.
Terry Pratchett's first book in the Moist von Lipwig series of novels, Going Postal, introduced a supporting character named Tolliver Groat.
As Anne Boleyn is being crowned in the film Anne of a Thousand Days, the gathered crowd give her a negative reception. Thomas Cromwell asks Thomas Boleyn: "How much did you pay them to cheer?", to which he responds: "A groat each".
Although not used in the monetary system of his fictional world of Westeros, author George R. R. Martin uses the term to refer to things of little worth in his series, A Song of Ice and Fire. For example, in the fourth book, A Feast for Crows, Cersei Lannister, in reference to Margaery Tyrell, thinks: "For half a groat she would have slapped the blushing bride right there upon the dais, in view of half the court."
See also[edit]
 1. ^ Yule, Henry; Cordier, Henri. The Travels of Marco Polo: The Complete Yule-Cordier Edition. Third edition (1903), revised and updated by Henri Cordier. Plain Label Books. p. 1226-27. (ISBN _PHONE_)
 2. ^ Henry Yule. The Travels of Marco Polo: The Complete Yule-Cordier Edition. Third edition (1903), revised and updated by Henri Cordier. Plain Label Books. p. 1229-30. (Note) (ISBN _PHONE_)
 3. ^ Mackay: Coin...
 4. ^ Stewart: Scottish...
 5. ^ Gr


Optimal Chebyshev FIR Filters
As we've seen above, the defining characteristic of FIR filters optimal in the Chebyshev sense is that they minimize the maximum frequency-response error-magnitude over the frequency axis. In other terms, an optimal Chebyshev FIR filter is optimal in the minimax sense: The filter coefficients are chosen to minimize the worst-case error (maximum weighted error-magnitude ripple) over all frequencies. This also means it is optimal in the $ L-infinity$ sense because, as noted above, the $ L-infinity$ norm of a weighted frequency-response error $ E(\omega) = W(\omega) [ H(\omega) -
D(\omega)]$ is the maximum magnitude over all frequencies:
$\displaystyle \left\Vert\,E\,\right\Vert _\infty \eqsp \max_{-\pi \leq \omega < \pi} \left\vert E(\omega)\right\vert$ (5.32)
Thus, we can say that an optimal Chebyshev filter minimizes the $ L-infinity$ norm of the (possibly weighted) frequency-response error. The $ L-infinity$ norm is also called the uniform norm. While the optimal Chebyshev FIR filter is unique, in principle, there is no guarantee that any particular numerical algorithm can find it.
The optimal Chebyshev FIR filter can often be found effectively using the Remez multiple exchange algorithm (typically called the Parks-McClellan algorithm when applied to FIR filter design) [176,224,66]. This was illustrated in §4.6.4 above. The Parks-McClellan/Remez algorithm also appears to be the most efficient known method for designing optimal Chebyshev FIR filters (as compared with, say linear programming methods using matlab's linprog as in §3.13). This algorithm is available in Matlab's Signal Processing Toolbox as firpm() (remez() in (Linux) Octave).5.13There is also a version of the Remez exchange algorithm for complex FIR filters. See §4.10.7 below for a few details.
The Remez multiple exchange algorithm has its limitations, however. In particular, convergence of the FIR filter coefficients is unlikely for FIR filters longer than a few hundred taps or so.
Optimal Chebyshev FIR filters are normally designed to be linear phase [263] so that the desired frequency response $ D(\omega)$ can be taken to be real (i.e., first a zero-phase FIR filter is designed). The design of linear-phase FIR filters in the frequency domain can therefore be characterized as real polynomial approximation on the unit circle [229,258].
In optimal Chebyshev filter designs, the error exhibits an equiripple characteristic--that is, if the desired response is $ D(\omega)$ and the ripple magnitude is $ \epsilon$, then the frequency response of the optimal FIR filter (in the unweighted case, i.e., $ W(\omega)=1$ for all $ \omega$ ) will oscillate between $ D(\omega)+\epsilon$ and $ D(\omega)-\epsilon$ as $ \omega$ increases. The powerful alternation theorem characterizes optimal Chebyshev solutions in terms of the alternating error peaks. Essentially, if one finds sufficiently many for the given FIR filter order, then you have found the unique optimal Chebyshev solution [224]. Another remarkable result is that the Remez multiple exchange converges monotonically to the unique optimal Chebyshev solution (in the absence of numerical round-off errors).
Fine online introductions to the theory and practice of Chebyshev-optimal FIR filter design are given in [32,283].
The window method4.5) and Remez-exchange method together span many practical FIR filter design needs, from ''quick and dirty'' to essentially ideal FIR filters (in terms of conventional specifications).


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The effective collective: Grouping could ensure animals find their way in a changing environment
Posted January 31, 2013; 03:30 p.m.
For social animals such as schooling fish, the loss of their numbers to human activity could eventually threaten entire populations, according to a finding that such animals rely heavily on grouping to effectively navigate their environment.
Princeton University researchers report in the journal Science that collective intelligence is vital to certain animals' ability to evaluate and respond to their environment. Conducted on fish, the research demonstrated that small groups and individuals become disoriented in complex, changing environments. However, as group size is increased, the fish suddenly became highly responsive to their surroundings.
These results should prompt a close examination of how endangered group or herd animals are preserved and managed, said senior researcher Iain Couzin, a Princeton professor of ecology and evolutionary biology. If wild animals depend on collective intelligence for migration, breeding and locating essential resources, they could be imperiled by any activity that diminishes or divides the group, such as overhunting and habitat loss, he explained.
Princeton University researchers found that collective intelligence is vital to certain animals' ability to evaluate and respond to their environment. Conducted on golden shiners (above), the research demonstrated that social animals such as schooling fish rely heavily on grouping to effectively navigate their environment. (Photo by Sean Fogarty)
"Processes that increase group fragmentation or reduce population density may initially appear to have little influence, yet a further reduction in group size may suddenly and dramatically impact the capacity of a species to respond effectively to their environment," Couzin said. "If the mechanism we observed is found to be widespread, then we need to be aware of tipping points that could result in the sudden collapse of migratory species."
The work is among the first to experimentally explain the extent to which collective intelligence improves awareness of complex environments, the researchers write. Collective intelligence is an established advantage of groups, including humans. As it's understood, a group of individuals gain an advantage by pooling imperfect estimates with those around them, which more or less "averages" single experiences into surprisingly accurate common knowledge. For instance, the paper in Science cites a 1907 study that predicted with near precision the weight of an ox based on the estimates of 787 people.
With their work, Couzin and his coauthors uncovered an additional layer to understanding collective intelligence. The conventional view assumes that individual group members have some level of knowledge albeit incomplete. Yet the Princeton researchers found that in some cases individuals have no ability to estimate how a problem needs to be solved, while the group as a whole can find a solution through their social interactions. Moreover, they found that the more numerous the neighbors, the richer the individual — and thus group — knowledge is.
These findings correlate with recent research showing that collective intelligence — even in humans — can rely less on the intelligence of each group member than on the effectiveness of their communal interaction, Couzin said. In humans, research suggests that such cooperation would take the form of open and equal communication among individuals regardless of their respective smarts, he said.
The researchers placed fish known as golden shiners in experimental tanks in groups as low as one and as high as 256. The tanks featured a moving light field that was bright on the outer edges and tapered into a dark center. To reflect the changing nature of natural environments, they also incorporated small patches of darkness that moved around randomly. Prolific schoolers and enthusiasts of darkness, the golden shiners would pursue the shaded areas as the researchers recorded their movement using computer vision software. Although the fish sought the shade regardless of group size, their capability to do so increased dramatically once groups spanned a large enough area.
The researchers then tracked the motion of individual fish to gauge the role of social influence on their movement. They found that individuals adjusted their speed according to local light level by moving faster in more brightly lit areas, but without social influence the fish did not necessarily turn toward the darker regions. Groups, however, readily swam to dark areas and were able to track those preferred regions as they moved.
This collective sensing emerged due to the coherent nature of social interactions, the authors report. As one side of the group slowed and turned toward the shaded area, the other members did as well. Also, slowing down increased density and resulted in darker regions becoming more attractive to these social animals.
Couzin worked with lead authors Andrew Berdahl, a Princeton graduate student, and postdoctoral fellow Colin Torney, both currently in Couzin's lab, as well as with former lab members Christos Ioannou and Jolyon Faria, who are now at the University of Bristol and the University of Oxford, respectively.
The paper, "Emergent sensing of complex environments by mobile animal groups," was published online Jan. 31 by Science. The work was supported in part by grants from the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Office of Naval Research, the U.S. Army Research Office and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.


ENTOUCH Smart Building Solutions
How Does a Software-Enabled Platform for Facilities Management Improve and Automate Asset Optimization?
Software-enabled platforms outpace in-house facilities management processes to derive value and self-sufficiency.
The rise of newer facilities management methodologies, including the use of a single pane of glass methodology, have the potential to greatly improve and automate traditional processes. Yet, the level of integration and compatibility required to truly automate facilities management activities demands the use of a software-enabled platform for facilities management, such as an energy management-as-a-service platform. Let's take a closer look at how a software-enabled platform benefits facilities management.
A Software-Enabled Platform Brings Relevant Information Forward
Having the right information to make informed decisions is integral to successful facilities management, and a software-enabled platform in facilities management leverages the power of advanced technologies to proactively identify the most pertinent information and present it to a facility manager. Thus, they can have the necessary information to make decisions that benefit the overall welfare and efficiency of existing assets.
Software-Enabled Platforms Helps Facility Managers Recognize Proactive Maintenance Opportunities
The ability to clearly identify and prioritize items in need of repair, replacement or optimization also contributes directly to the creation and support of a proactive maintenance schedule. Software-enabled platforms can leverage both historic and predictive analytics to generate an ongoing proactive maintenance schedule, including recognizing opportunities where proactive maintenance will likely yield better results than previously believed.
Deep Learning Lets Software-Enabled Platforms Self-Optimize and Self-Manage Assets
Machine-to-machine learning and deep learning within artificial intelligence is a key characteristic of software-enabled platforms. Such platforms have the capacity to cross-reference millions of data points and self-manage use of resources to improve and maximize asset life expectancy. For facilities managers of multi-site portfolios, the ability to self-manage and self-optimize assets saves countless hours and reduces overall facilities management spend.
Additionally, software-enabled platforms communicate seamlessly through the Internet of Things (IoT), which allows the entire process to grow smarter, more efficient and more effective. Therefore, the overall amount of work required on the part of the facility manager decreases, and facility managers can focus on more customer-centric activities and their distributed portfolios.
Automation Leads to Faster Response and Lower Risk
Automation powered by a software-enabled platform in facilities management reduces delays between problem development, reporting and responsiveness. As a result, this lowers the overall risk present in routine facilities management operations, explains FacilitiesNet.
For example, automation in software-enabled platforms can control temperature and lighting settings throughout multiple facilities. If the facility houses combustible gases or substances, keeping the right temperature setting can amount to preventing explosions and maintaining the safety and security of the facility.
Let a Software-Enabled Platform for Facilities Management Do the Work for You
By taking the time to implement software-enabled solutions, facilities managers can do more with less, find more time to focus on customer service, gain stakeholder support and more. Rather than trying to leave your systems running without technology and automation, invest in a software-enabled and integration-ready platform, like ENTOUCH.one, to automate and boost your asset and facilities management processes. Get started with your software-enabled platform by contacting ENTOUCH online today.