text:
The Bloch sphere is a generic picture describing the coherent dynamics of coupled classical or quantum-mechanical two-level systems under the control of electromagnetic fields1,2. It is commonly applied to systems such as spin ensembles3, atoms4, quantum dots5 and superconducting circuits6. The underlying Bloch equations7 describe the state evolution of the two-level system and allow the characterization of both energy and phase relaxation processes3,8,9. Here we realize a classical nanomechanical two-level system2 driven by radiofrequency signals. It is based on the two orthogonal fundamental flexural modes of a high-quality-factor nanostring resonator that are strongly coupled by dielectric gradient fields10. Full Bloch sphere control is demonstrated by means of Rabi11, Ramsey12 and Hahn echo13 experiments. Furthermore, we determine the energy relaxation time T1and phase relaxation times T2 and T2*, and find them all to be equal. Thus decoherence is dominated by energy relaxation, implying that not only T1 but also T2 can be increased by engineering larger mechanical quality factors.
Whereas the dynamics of semiclassical two-level systems under the influence of a pulsed external electromagnetic field was observed decades ago in many-spin NMR experiments, a completely classical analogue remained elusive for a long time. Such a classical two-mode system can for example be created using two optical cavity modes14 or mechanical resonators. Only recently, several approaches were employed to achieve purely mechanical resonant coupling either between separate resonators15,16,17 or different modes of the same resonator10,18 in the classical regime. So far, the pulsed coherent control of the system was prevented by weak coupling, low quality factors or the lack of a sufficiently strong and fast tuning mechanism.
We present the successful implementation of a purely mechanical, classical two-level system, consisting of the two coupled fundamental flexural modes of a nanomechanical resonator with coherent time-domain control (see also the experiments independently performed using parametric coupling19 instead of the linear coupling employed here). To this end, we use a 250 nm wide and 100 nm thick, strongly stressed20 silicon nitride string resonator with a length of 50 μm dielectrically coupled to a pair of electrodes used for detection21 as well as actuation and tuning22. The two fundamental flexural modes of the mechanical resonator oscillating in the out-of-plane and in-plane direction (Fig. 1a) are linearly coupled by cross-derivatives of the strong inhomogeneous electric field generated between the electrodes (see the Supplementary Information of ref. 10 for a theoretical analysis). A constant d.c. voltage of −15 V is employed to dielectrically tune the system close to the resulting avoided crossing, while the signals generated by an arbitrary waveform generator (AWG) enable time-resolved control in the vicinity of the avoided crossing (Fig. 1b,c). Both voltages are added, combined with the radiofrequency actuation at a bias-tee, and applied to one electrode. The other electrode is connected to a 3.6 GHz microstrip cavity, enabling heterodyne detection of the string deflection21 after addition of a microwave bypass capacitor at the first electrode22. These components, as well as the mechanical resonator, are placed in a vacuum of ≤10−4 mbar and the system is cooled to 10.00±0.02 K to improve the temperature stability as well as the cavity quality factor. The microwave cavity is interfaced to the readout with a single coaxial cable and a circulator.
When the system is driven by an external white-noise source and the AWG output voltage is swept, the avoided crossing of the two modes shown in Fig. 1c can be mapped out, exhibiting a frequency splitting Ω = 24,249±4 Hz. With a quality factor Q = f/Δf≈2×105 and a linewidth of Δf≈40 Hz at the resonance frequency f, the system is clearly in the strong coupling regime of Δf≪Ω. For all measurements discussed in the following, a radiofrequency drive of −59 dBm at 7.539 MHz, resonantly actuating the string at an AWG voltage of 0 V, is applied, which initializes the system in its in-plane mode (Fig. 1c, black circle). A 1 ms long, adiabatic voltage ramp up to 2.82 V brings the state to the point of minimal frequency splitting Ω between the coupled modes. Here, the system dynamics is described by two normal modes, hybrid states formed by the in-phase and out-of-phase combinations of the fundamental flexural modes. The adiabatic ramp thus transforms all the energy of the in-plane mode into the lower hybrid state, such that the classical two-level system2, consisting of the two hybrid modes, is prepared in its lower state. As the drive frequency remains constant (Fig. 1c, dashed line), the string is no longer actuated and its energy is slowly decaying.
Now, the AWG is used to apply a continuous pump tone with frequency Ω to the drive electrodes which starts Rabi oscillations3,11 between the lower and upper state, as shown in Fig. 2. They can be measured directly by monitoring the time evolution of the output power spectrum at the frequency of one of the hybrid modes, here shown for the upper state at 7.6028 MHz, and measured with a bandwidth of 10 kHz. All time-resolved measurements are averaged over 20 (Rabi oscillations and T1 measurement) or 10 pulse sequences (Ramsey fringes and Hahn echo). For a drive amplitude of 100 mV (half peak-to-peak) we find a Rabi frequency of 8.3 kHz (Supplementary Section SIIA). These strong Rabi oscillations demonstrate that the transition between the two hybrid modes forms a classical two-level system, in contrast to the modes themselves, which can be modelled as highly populated harmonic oscillators.
In principle, the decay of these oscillations is governed by both energy relaxation, characterized by a rate 1/T1, and phase decoherence, characterized by 1/T2 or 1/T2*, where T2*≤T2 includes reversible processes caused by slow fluctuations or spatial inhomogeneity of the coupling. For clarity, we use these well-known phenomenological constants in the same way as, for example, in spin systems3, as discussed in detail in Supplementary Section SI.
The exponential decay of a state's energy defines T1. The corresponding measurement is shown in Fig. 3 for both the lower and upper state: the system is once again prepared in the lower hybrid state. To reach the upper state, a subsequent π-pulse is applied, thus performing one half of a Rabi cycle, which transfers the system to the upper state (Supplementary Section SII for details on the frequency and amplitude calibration of the applied pulses). The exponential decay is then measured directly with a spectrum analyser at a bandwidth of 3 kHz, exhibiting different relaxation times T1,l = 4.83±0.1 ms and T1,u = 4.02±0.1 ms for the lower and upper mode, respectively. They correspond to the spectrally measured quality factors. Previously, it has been shown that, at maximum coupling, the two hybrid modes should have the same quality factor and thus T1 time10. However, both modes are affected by dielectric damping22 (Supplementary Section SIB), leading to the observed difference.
To measure the T2* time, a π/2-pulse is used after the preparation in the lower state to bring the system into a superposition state between the lower and upper hybrid modes. The frequency of the pulse is detuned to Ω+500 Hz, leading to a slow precession of the state vector around the z axis of the Bloch sphere3,12. As a result, a second π/2-pulse after time τ does not always bring the system into the upper state, but a slow oscillation, the so-called Ramsey fringes, is observed when the delay τ between the two pulses is varied and the z-projection of the state vector is measured after the second pulse, as shown in Fig. 4. The decay constant of this oscillation is T2*, whereas the decay of the mean value can be interpreted as an effective T1 of both modes. The fit in Fig. 4b results in T2* = 4.44±0.1 ms and T1 = 4.31±0.1 ms. The energy relaxation time of the superposition state T1 is identical to the reciprocal rate average of the two hybrid modes
as the mechanical energy oscillates between the two modes with frequency Ω (Supplementary Movie).
By including an additional π-pulse at τ/2 into the Ramsey pulse scheme and replacing the final π/2-pulse by a 3π/2-pulse to once again rotate to the upper state (Fig. 5), the T2 time can be measured in a Hahn echo experiment3,13. The 180°rotation flips the state vector in the x y-plane of the Bloch sphere, thus reversing the effects of a fluctuating or inhomogeneous coupling strength Ω in the second delay interval of τ/2 and thereby cancelling their contribution. The frequency of the pulses is once again exactly Ω, as all three pulses need to be applied exactly around the same axis. The resulting decay curve represents T2, for which a value of T2 = 4.35±0.1 ms can be extracted from the fit in Fig. 5b.
The good agreement between T2


Out of State Child Relocation and the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA)
In today's hectic pace, moving to another state for business, family demands, or pleasure is a very common occurrence. But what about the family that is separated by divorce or separation and share custody of their children? What happens to this family situation when Mom or Dad decides to take another job or wants to move to another state and take the children to or from the other? A Child Custody Relocation Case?
Sadly this happens frequently. Most Texas attorneys employ a geographic restriction in divorce decrees for couples who have children. These restrictions dictate that the Child and Custodial Parent must live within a school district, County of Domicile, or consecutive contingent counties near the non-custodial parent. But what happens if this restriction clause is not contained in the divorce decree or if Dad/Mom were never married?
Forty Nine States, including Texas have adopted the UNIFORM CHILD CUSTODY JURISDICTION AND ENFORCEMENT ACT (UCCJEA) drafted by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws in 1997. The UCCJEA is a very helpful law since all states but one participate in the determination of the "HOME STATE" and which jurisdiction will handle the family case. UCCJEA also helps to protect non-custodial Parents fighting for child custody out of state when their children have been moved to another state or over 100 miles away from them.
How does The State of Texas treat an initial Child Custody determination?
Texas Family Code 152.201 of the UCCJEA states, among other things, that a court may consider custody issues if the Child:
*Has continually lived in the state for 6 months or longer and Texas was the home state of the child within six months before the commencement of the legal proceeding.
*Was living in the state before being wrongfully abducted elsewhere by a parent seeking custody in another state. One parent continues to live in Texas.
*Has an established over significant time relationships with people (family, relatives or teachers), ties, and attachments in the state
*Has been abandoned in an emergency: or is safe in the current state, but could be in danger of neglect or abuse in the home state
Relocation is a child custody situation which will turn on the individual facts of the specific case, so that each case is tried on its own merits.
Most child custody relocation cases tried in Texas follow a predictable course:
 1. Allowing or not allowing the move.
 2. Order of psychological evaluations or social studies of family members
 3. Modification of custody and adjusting of child's time spent with parents
 4. Adjusting child support
 5. Order of mediation to settle dispute
 6. Allocating transportation costs
 7. Order opposing parties to provide all information on child's addresses and telephone number.
There is another important cause of action in Texas where the court will "take "EMERGENCY JURISDICTION' over a case even though another state has the original jurisdiction. If the opposing party can prove that a legitimate emergency exists and Texas needs to assume the jurisdiction. These emergency situations could be abuse of the child, abandonment or cause neglect of the child, or any action that would put the child in immediate harm's way.
The Nacol Law Firm P.C. @ _URL_ is committed to helping parents have the right to have frequent and continuing contact with their child at all times and encourage parents to co-share in the rights and duties of raising a stable, loving child. Many times, because of parental alienation or other personal factors, a child will be taken away from the non-custodial parent and this can cause some serious mental and behavior problems for the child which could follow her/him into a lifetime adult situation.
Sometimes you can settle, SOMETIMES YOU FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHT! We can help!


text:
|Home | History | Products||Find our products | Contact|
The favorable climate of l'Ile d'Orléans advantageously lends itself to the culture of red fruits. The proximity of the river moderates the climate by delaying the first freezing of autumn and last spring freezing. The grounds of the Orleans type (slightly argillaceous loam) and the sunning due to the convex shape of the island support the culture of these fruits.
The shadbush bay.
This fruit grow in a wild condition in the fields and at the entrance of the leafy trees woods. The shadbushes grow in grounds of various well drained types. Also known under the name of small savages pears, the shadberry was consumed fresh or used for the production of jams.
|2013 | Les Saveurs de l'Isle d'Orléans||
Réalisation : Optima Communication Design
Corrections et traduction : Marie-Claude Lavoie

source: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb-edu


NHPRC Talking Points
Why Is the National Historical Publications and Records Commission So Important for Archives—and for America?
As you discuss the importance of NHPRC with your congressional representatives and others, use the following to inform and educate your listener.
Objection: "NHPRC duplicates other programs, such as the National Endowment for the Humanities."
NHPRC is the only federal program that concentrates on records programs and projects. It is the only federal program that links federal archives with those held by states, counties, municipalities, universities, and nongovernmental organizations. It is the only federal program designed specifically with archives in mind.
NHPRC-funded re-grant programs reach small grassroots organizations—all-volunteer local historical societies, churches, local public libraries, ethnic groups and local governments—that no other federal funding program reaches. These organizations are key to preserving the diversity of the record that makes up the American experience. Most of the institutions that receive NHPRC money through state archives re-grants are not eligible for NEH money. Eliminating NHPRC will hurt the small institutions in your congressional district.
The attached chart demonstrates that there are significant archival programs supported by NHPRC alone and very few areas of overlap with other federal programs.
Objection: "Times are tough and we all need to tighten our belts."
The need for NHPRC is growing, not declining. NHPRC emphasizes collaborative projects and state/local matching funds that are extremely cost-effective. Grants made by NHPRC get a very good bang for the buck.
NHPRC puts money back into the local areas where the taxpayers live. Unlike larger programs that may fund one well-known institution for millions of dollars, NHPRC's funds get down to the grassroots level, where even small amounts of money make a big difference.
NHPRC grants address problems—such as electronic records—that affect the nation, every state and territory, and every community. Then they develop scalable solutions that can be applied in towns, counties, and states across the nation. Without NHPRC, every community would be tackling these problems piecemeal.
The federal government spends hundreds of millions of dollars to support history programs in general, but only $3-10 million to support historical records programs. Eliminating NHPRC will eliminate even that small amount.
Objection: "I don't see NHPRC having a big impact in my community."
NHPRC funds many behind-the-scenes management, preservation, and access projects. When Ken Burns produced the Civil War video series, he used photographs and letters preserved with NHPRC money. The popular book by Joseph Ellis, His Excellency: George Washington, could not have been written without the documentary edition of George Washington's papers—funded by NHPRC.
Your local historical society may have received a re-grant of NHPRC funds to care for a photograph collection or a treasured diary. Children in your schools are probably learning history through historical documents, and NHPRC-funded Teachers' Guides help that happen.
If your community is home to a major research institution, you've probably seen the impact of millions of federal dollars, but nearly every community in America has seen the impact of a small grant from NHPRC.
See chart: Comparison of Archival and Records Management Functions Funded by Federal Granting Agencies (PDF)


Toyger Cat
Toyger Cat Care
Toyger cat care, 8 things to consider. Before getting a toyger cat, make sure you know what you are letting yourself in for. Despite, their perceived independence, toyger cats do need care and looking after. And, as with any pet there are expenses.
Your areas of responsibility include: diet, environment, exercise and protection from dangerous substances and accidents. Such as, communicable diseases that could be prevented by vaccination or by isolation from other cats. Other cats are potential sources of infections.
Toyger Cat Care Points to Consider
1. Your Toyger Cat can live for up to 20 years. Can you offer continued care, love and attention for that period of time? Remember, as your toyger cat gets older, so do you. They need care as they age, just like we do. So owning a toyger cat or any cat requires some thought not just an emotional reaction right now.
2. Where will you be in 5, 10 or 15 years time? Will there be room in your life to care for your toyger cat?
3. Can you afford the care and the veterinary fees if your toyger cat gets ill? Yearly check-ups are the minimum for your toyger cat. Your toyger will need regular vaccinations and should, ideally, be neutered.
4. You will need to rid it of fleas, worms and other routine health care maintenance. These all cost time and money.
toyger cat care5. Who will care for it when you go on holidays or visiting friends? Catteries cost money and there may not always be friends that can care for your pet.
6. Toyger cat care includes feeding which is another expense. Allow a minimum of $10 per week. Can you afford this expense throughout the life of your cat?
7. Additional care items may be needed: litter tray, bedding, bowls, collars, cat toys and special treats. Have you got the room and the money to provide these?
8. Other toyger cat care additional needs are treatments. For example: a long haired cat may need regular grooming. Is this a commitment you are prepared to provide when caring for a toyger cat? Have you considered the vet bills. These can be considerable.
Toyger cat care is a lifelong job. We all want cats to have a good home and a good life. However, make sure that you can care for your toyger cat, before you buy.


text:
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Ships from: Tucker, GA
Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Contemporary Labor Economics 10e presents labor economics as an applied field of micro and macro theory, no longer an area tangential to the core of analytical economics, but rather a critical component of that core. In the Tenth edition, the authors deliver new and updated discussions of public policy issues and coverage of the current economic crisis, while still integrating traditional topics such as labor law, structure of unions, and collective bargaining.
Chapter 1: Labor Economics: Introduction and OverviewChapter 2: The Theory of Individual Labor SupplyChapter 3: Population, Participation Rates, and Hours of WorkChapter 4: Labor Quality: Investing in Human CapitalChapter 5: The Demand for LaborChapter 6: Wage Determination and the Allocation of LaborChapter 7: Alternative Pay Schemes and Labor EfficiencyChapter 8: The Wage StructureChapter 9: Mobility, Migration, and EfficiencyChapter 10: Labor Unions and Collective BargainingChapter 11: The Economic Impact of UnionsChapter 12: Government and the Labor Market: Employment, Expenditures, and TaxationChapter 13: Government and the Labor Market: Legislation and RegulationChapter 14: Labor Market DiscriminationChapter 15: Job Search: External and InternalChapter 16: The Distribution of Personal EarningsChapter 17: Labor Productivity: Wages, Prices, and EmploymentChapter 18: Employment and UnemploymentGlossaryIndex

source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


What is necst?
Necst proposes an educational experience based on the collaboration between students from different geographic and social environments.
The project is based on the digital and shared production of scientific contents and on an extracurricular, in-depth analysis of themes of common interest in the field of energy and the environment.
discover necst


text:
Social Studies Research and Practice
Volume 1, Number 2, Summer 2006
Lead By Example: The Impact of Teleobservation on Social Studies Methods Courses
Katherine A. O'Connor
Amy J. Good
H. Carol Greene
East Carolina University
This teleobservation pilot study focuses on an innovative approach for the preparation of elementary social studies preservice teacher candidates through the use of interactive videoconferencing to provide observations of elementary classrooms. Preservice teacher candidates observed social studies lessons team-taught by regular classroom teachers and university professors in public school classrooms via videoconferencing equipment. Preservice teacher candidates remained on campus while another professor guided them through the social studies observation. Qualitative data were collected from preservice teacher candidates completing their social studies methods course through reflective summaries, KWL charts, and archived threaded discussions. The benefits and challenges of teleobservation are discussed along with implications and possibilities for future work. Specifically, the goals of this project included providing future social studies teachers with the following opportunities: 1) observe an elementary classroom in real-time; 2) discuss teaching as it is happening.
About the Author(s)…
Katherine A. O'Connor is an assistant professor at East Carolina University in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction. Katie is currently teaching social studies, gifted education, and action research courses. Her research interests include social studies, technology integration, teacher working conditions, and National Board Certification. Contact information: _EMAIL_, East Carolina University.
Amy J. Good is an assistant professor at East Carolina University in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction and has more than thirteen years of experience in education. She is currently teaching social studies methods and classroom management courses at East Carolina University. Amy has achieved National Board Certification. Her research interests include social studies, technology, National Board Certification, and telecollaboration. Contact information: _EMAIL_, East Carolina University.
H. Carol Greene is an Assistant Professor at East Carolina University in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction. Carol is currently teaching action research, K-6 curriculum and instruction, and educational psychology courses at East Carolina University. Her research interests include social studies, the role of technology in teacher preparation, and the impact of action research as a professional development opportunity. Contact information: _EMAIL_, East Carolina University.


text:
Related occupations for task:
||Crossing Guards and Flaggers
- Direct or escort pedestrians across streets, stopping traffic, as necessary.
- Guide or control vehicular or pedestrian traffic at such places as street and railroad crossings and construction sites.
- Direct traffic movement or warn of hazards, using signs, flags, lanterns, and hand signals.
||Air Traffic Controllers
- Monitor or direct the movement of aircraft within an assigned air space or on the ground at airports to minimize delays and maximize safety.
- Direct pilots to runways when space is available or direct them to maintain a traffic pattern until there is space for them to land.
- Direct ground traffic, including taxiing aircraft, maintenance or baggage vehicles, or airport workers.
||Bridge and Lock Tenders
- Direct movements of vessels in locks or bridge areas, using signals, telecommunication equipment, or loudspeakers.
- Stop automobile and pedestrian traffic on bridges, and lower automobile gates prior to moving bridges.
||Highway Maintenance Workers
- Set out signs and cones around work areas to divert traffic.
- Flag motorists to warn them of obstacles or repair work ahead.
- Direct motorists to parking areas or parking spaces, using hand signals or flashlights as necessary.
See all 8 related occupations >>


Take the 2-minute tour ×
Possible Duplicate:
Flatten a list using only the forms in "The Little Schemer"
I simply want to turn '(a b (c d) e) into '(a b c d e) (i.e., insert each member of the inner list into the outer list, while maintaining the order of the elements).
There has to be a simple way to do this, but it eludes me for some reason.
share|improve this question
marked as duplicate by Barmar, iMat, jonsca, Vikdor, Jason Sturges Sep 28 '12 at 3:16
Spoiler: _URL_. (If this is for homework, please don't read that thread until you've tried solving it first!) – Chris Jester-Young Sep 28 '12 at 0:50
1 Answer 1
You see that '(a b (c d) e) is a tree, don't you? Something like
In this representation, nodes are lists, and leafs are symbols. What you could do, it print all the leafs of the tree:
 1. if the tree is empty (= is the empty list), then stop
 2. If the tree is not empty, then
 1. If the tree's CAR is a symbol, print it, then process the CDR of the tree
 2. If the tree's CAR is a list, process the CAR of the tree, then process the CDR o the tree
Once you do that, you'll replace "print" by "put the value somewhere". Hopefully, that should lead you to what you want.
share|improve this answer


text:
Thigh tourniquet, Roman, 199 BCE-500 CE
A tourniquet is used to control bleeding, especially during amputations. It is a device that is still in use today. This example was used on the thigh and is made from bronze. Many of the straps have engraved patterns and originally the bronze would have been coated with leather to make the patient as comfortable as possible. The tourniquet came from the private collection of Dr Noel Hamonic (active _PHONE_), and was sold by Hamonic's sons in two parts to Henry Wellcome, the first in June 1928 for £4,400 and the second in July 1928 for £803. The collection consisted mostly of surgical instruments and pharmacy ware.
Related Themes and Topics
There are 438 related objects. View all related objects
Techniques and Technologies:
Removal of part of, or a whole limb by surgery. Used to control pain or the spread of disease in the affected limb.
An apparatus designed for the compression of the vessels of the limb. A loosely applied tourniquet can reduce venous blood flow out of a limb. A tightly applied tourniquet can lessen arterial blood flow into it.


text:
The Textile Technology Digest (TTD) database contains bibliographic citations, with abstracts, and provides international coverage of the literature of textiles and related subjects. Selected articles summarize the technological advancements and applications of science and research to the textile industry. Coverage includes the various aspects of textile production and processing, and the automation and management systems of these operations. Coverage also includes many of the major resources of the apparel, home furnishings, flooring, and polymer industries.
Coverage: 1978 - present


text:
|Neo –Fungicil |
Each 100 g contains:
Chlorphenesin 1.0 g
Benzoic acid 6.0 g
Zinc oxide 20.0 g
Neo - Fungicil powder is an antimycotic agent intended for the topical
treatment of fungal infections of skin, it contains :-
Chlorphenesin which has antifungal and antibacterial properties.
Benzoic acid is added to potentiate the action of chlorphenesin.
Zinc oxide has soothing and protective effects when applied to inflamed skin.
Neo – Fungicil possesses a deodorant effect to relieve the disagreeable odour due to mycotic infections.
Indications and usage :
In the treatment of mycotic skin infections :
- Tinea pedis (Athletes foot), Tinea cruris, Tinea versicolor,
- Tinea circinata and prickly heat (Sweat rash).
Side effects :
Hypersensitivity reactions and nonimmunological contact dermatitis can
Drug interactions :
The activity of benzoic acid is diminished by non ionic surfactants or due to absorption by kaolin. and it is relatively inactive at pH above 5.
Warning and precautions :
Avoid contact with eye ; if this happens, rinse thoroughly with water.
If irritation occurs or if there is no improvement following the full
treatment period, discontinue use and consult a doctor.
Do not use for infection of scalp.
Dosage and administration :
Two or three applications per day on the area affected with the fungus,and rubbing lightly. Treatment should be continued, if possible for several weeks, after disappearance of the lesions.
Plastic container of 50 or 100 g.
Store at temperature not exceeded 30 o C.


To instruct Excel to use relative
 references, click the Use Relative References button on the Macro toolbar.
Executing a macro from Excel
 Before executing a macro for the first time, you should save anything
 currently open just in case the macro contains mistakes that were made
 during recording. The playback results may not be as expected. In the event
 of errors in the macro, it can be rerecorded using the same name. The steps
 involved in running the macro are then as follows:
 1 From a worksheet, select Tools > Macro > Macros to see the Macro dialog
 box (see Figure 2.5).
 2 Select the macro name from the list using the cursor keys, and then click on
 the Run button. The macro will execute one step at a time and return control
 to the user when complete. As you can see from the screenshot in Figure 2.6,
 the macro has performed the actions required.
 Always make sure that your
 data is saved, or that you have
 a backup file, before executing any new macros that you
 have created. Otherwise if your
 macro crashes you might not
 be able to recover it.
 Figure 2.5 The Macro dialog box
 Figure 2.6 Screenshot of weeklysales worksheet after the macro is executed
The week_sales_test_data worksheet
 The tabs at the bottom of the screenshot (Figure 2.6) shows there is a sheet
 called week_sales_test_data. This holds test data so that you can rerun the
 macros without having to enter new data every time. To reload data into the
 weekly_sales range, click the week_sales_test_data sheet and select the
 range testdata. Copy and paste it into week_sales in the weeklysales sheet.
 Take note
 You cannot select a macro button by simply clicking it, as that will execute the macro,
 instead, hold [Ctrl] as you click. You can then move, resize or rename it as required.
Working with macros
Linking a button to a macro
 To run a macro from the macro dialog box, the user must be aware that the
 macro exists, and several keystrokes are required to invoke it! As an
 alternative, you can linked a macro to a button  that can be placed anywhere
 on a sheet. Users can then invoke a macro by simply clicking the button.
 To link a button to the updateSalesRep macro:
 1 Select the weeklysales worksheet from the SALESMAN workbook.
 2 Select View > Toolbars > Forms to display the Forms toolbar on the
 worksheet. Make sure the worksheet is unprotected, otherwise the Forms
 toolbar will be greyed out.
 3 Click the Button icon on the Forms toolbar, then click on the worksheet
 where you will want this to appear. You will then see the Assign Macro
 dialog box. To assign an existing macro to the button or graphic control,
 enter the name of the macro in the Macro name: field, and click OK.
 Figure 2.7 The button updateSalesRep on the weeklysales worksheet.
 Cancel button
 Click here to run the
 selected Macro
 Click here to go to the VBA
 editor to edit the Macro code
 Figure 2.8 The Assign Macro dialog box
 4 Resize and name the button. Move the cursor to some other point on the
 worksheet and click to deselect the button. Its appearance will be similar to
 that in Figure 2.7. The button can now be used to run the macro.
Adding macros to a toolbar
 You can also add a macro to a toolbar, or assign one to a customised button.
 1 Select View > Toolbars > Customise to open the Customise dialog box.
 2 Click the Commands tab to open the Commands page, and select Macros
 from the Categories list (see Figure 2.9).
 3 The Commands list for macros
 has two options: Custom Menu
 Item and Custom Button. To add
 the macro to a toolbar, choose Custom Button, and drag it into place,
 e.g. on the Standard toolbar (see
 Figure 2.10).
 Select the Command tab
 Figure2.9 The Customize box
 Figure 2.10 The custom button (smiley icon) added to the Standard toolbar,
 placed between the Save icon and the Chart Wizard icon.
 4 To assign the custom button to a macro, highlight it and click the mouse. The
 Assign Macro dialog box (see Figure 2.11) will appear, from where you can
 assign a macro to the button.
Adding macros to a menu
 To add a macro to a menu:
 2 Open the Commands page, and select Macros from the Categories list.
 3 In the Commands list for macros, choose the Custom Menu Item. Click the
 menu to which you want to add the macro, and while it is visible, drag the
 Custom Menu Item and drop it to the desired position on the menu.
 4 Click Custom Menu Item on the menu, and the Assign Macro dialog box
 will appear, from where you can select and assign a macro as we have seen
 earlier in this chapter.
 Figure 2.11 Attaching a macro
Macros for Excel charts
 Charts are graphical representation of numeric data. Charts make it easier for
 users to compare and understand numbers  this is why they have become
 such a popular way of presenting numeric data. Charts can be created in
 Excel quite easily using the Chart Wizard, however, this is time-consuming,
 and macros can be automated and activated more quickly. Charts fall into
 two main categories:
 M Series charts
 M Pie charts.
Pie charts
 Pie charts  so-called because they display data as segments in a circular pie
 shape  show the relationships between pieces of an entity. For example, we
 could produce a pie chart to show the breakdown in overall total sales over
 the last four weeks. Such a relationship would show the proportions of each
 of the weeks sales (see Figure 2.12). However, we would not be able to see
 any time trend from this type of diagram and for this situation, a series chart
 would be more appropriate.
 Take note
 An embedded chart is one that
 is displayed over the active
 Figure 2.12 Illustration of pie chart
Series charts
 The purpose of a series chart is to compare changes in some variable over
 time perhaps. The most widely used series charts are line charts and area
 charts. As the name suggests line charts display simple lines to depict
 changes, whereas, area charts displays areas filled below the lines. In all
 series charts, the horizontal line is called the x-axis and the vertical line is
 called the y-axis. Often x is known as the independent variable and y the
 dependent variable, i.e. y depends on x.
 Suppose that we were interested in viewing the trend in the total sales for
 each week during the previous month in the weeklysales worksheet. We
 could create a series chart  called a line chart  as shown in Figure 2.17. The
 title of the chart is Total Weekly Sales for Month, and the total sales are
 plotted against the week number. We can record the macro for this task by
 the following steps:
1 Open the workbook called SALESMAN.XLS.
2 Select the worksheet weeklysales.
3 Choose Tools > Macro > Record
 New Macro. You will see the
 Macro dialog box appear  enter
 the name lineChart.
4 Select the range of cells from
 C41 to F41.
5 Click the Chart Wizard button
 on the Formatting toolbar  you
 will see the dialog box (Figure
 2.13), select the Line chart type
 and click the Next button.
 Figure2.13 Chart type selection
6 The dialog box shown in Figure 2.14 will appear. Make sure that Rows is
 selected and click the Next button.
7 The Chart Options dialog box will appear. You will need to enter the Chart
 Title as well as the Category (X) axis and the Y value name for the chart (see
 Figure 2.15). When done, click the Next button.
8 At the Chart Location dialog box (see Figure 2.16), make sure that the
 AsObject option is selected and click the Finish button.
9 You will now see the chart appear in the worksheet (see Figure 2.17).
10 Click the Stop recording macro button.
 Figure 2.14 Select chart source data
 Figure2.15 Select chart options
Figure 2.16 The Chart
Location dialog box
Figure 2.17 The chart
embedded in its sheet
The Visual Basic toolbar
 Excel contains a Visual Basic toolbar that groups actions for manipulating
 Basic. The toolbar (see Figure 2.18) include buttons for the following:
 M Run Macro displays the Macros dialog box, in which any currently
 available macro can be selected to run.
 M


text:
Pilot continues to operate his Elevator along his unique fifth-dimensional lines.
I am a writer
I am a designer, architect..
So what, who am I?
PILOT here, what do said reports mean?
What difference should I expect, now?
- Is Pilot paid?
- Is Pilot human?
- Does Pilot have a profession?
- What is Pilot's 'modus operandi'?
Perspective, extract from THE ELEVATOR PILOT
Perspective is a vital concept in our 'enlightened' world. My first experience of perspective was in learning how to draw the world on paper. Using paper and pencil, we are able to express a three-dimensional view of the world in a two-dimensional realm. At first, when learning to draw using perspective, the rules of logic as we understand them seem to tease us:
- How can a line in space that is level (i.e. a floor) rise sharply at an angle in the (flat) world of two-dimensional space?
- Why is it that what in physical space might occupy the largest portion of space, (for instance the sky) occupies only a small fraction of the space on the paper?


text:
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math
Most of America's-and particularly Minnesota's-fastest-growing professions require science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) skills. But too few students are graduating from high school with the knowledge and the interest in pursuing STEM degrees in college. Even in Minnesota, which consistently ranks near the top of the pack compared with other states, only half of our 8th graders are proficient in math and only 40 percent are proficient in science. Furthermore, well over half of college students in China and Japan major in STEM fields, compared with only one-third of U.S. students. Improving our students' achievement and engagement in STEM fields is vital to the future of our workforce and economy. That's why Sen. Franken introduced the STEM Master Teacher Corps Act.
The STEM Master Teacher Corps Act would offer career advancement opportunities and higher pay to the top 5 percent of K-12 STEM teachers in a participating area. Corps members will, in turn, mentor other STEM teachers and share best practices with the STEM education community to improve the ability of all teachers to impart strong STEM skills and an eagerness to learn to their students. Corps members will also serve as role models for other STEM teachers, demonstrating the opportunity for continued professional growth if they stay in teaching.
Sen. Franken also believes a strong relationship between our schools and businesses is vital to ensuring kids are engaged in STEM and have the skills they need to take on high-tech jobs. He is proud of the leadership Minnesota's businesses and manufacturers have shown in partnering with schools to prepare students for the workforce, and he will work to further support and enhance that connection.


text:
Popular Culture and Mass Media Section
Over the last twenty years, there has been an increasing academic interest in the materiality of culture, in the transitions from folk to popular and to mass culture, and in the increasing presence and the polarization of mediums (such as videos or comics) that break the barriers between "high" and "low" culture, etc. The increased numbers of papers presented through the Mass Media and Popular Culture Congress Track show the growing interest in, and importance of, a difficult to define area of studies.
However, despite the many papers on photography, posters, videos, science fiction, online communities, etc., none of the current LASA (Latin American Studies Association) Sections truly reflect on this growing interest. Even the Film Studies Section, which closely touches upon one of the topics at the core of mass media studies, is more interested in "high" criticism and production.
The current proposed Section on Popular Culture and Mass Media attempts to fill in a vacuum for interdisciplinary studies within LASA. This section will bring together researchers interested in the cross cultural, interdisciplinary study of both emerging social practices as well as cultural objects produced for popular consumption. The section will offer field practitioners the opportunity to debate and theorize about new perspectives and insights into the social sphere from the perspective of the materiality of culture. The section will foster collaborative projects, research, and the exchange of information of a globalized field.
Section activities could eventually include, but should be not be limited to, pre-conferences on specific topics such as increasing the production of science fiction culture in Latin America or the impact of sports culture in everyday politics, workshops or discussion groups on theoretical issues such as the emergence of new forms of sociability and agency fueled by online communities, and finally, special panels or guests during the LASA Congresses.
I look forward for your participation.
Silvia G. Kurlat Ares, Ph. D.


text:
"Dental Arch" is a descriptor in the National Library of Medicine's controlled vocabulary thesaurus,
MeSH (Medical Subject Headings). Descriptors are arranged in a hierarchical structure,
which enables searching at various levels of specificity.
The curve formed by the row of TEETH in their normal position in the JAW. The inferior dental arch is formed by the mandibular teeth, and the superior dental arch by the maxillary teeth.
- Dental Arch
- Dental Arches
- Arch, Dental
- Arches, Dental
Below are MeSH descriptors whose meaning is more general than "Dental Arch".
Below are MeSH descriptors whose meaning is more specific than "Dental Arch".
This graph shows the total number of publications written about "Dental Arch" by people in this website by year, and whether "Dental Arch" was a major or minor topic of these publications.
To see the data from this visualization as text, click here.


text:
Wandle Valley Living Landscape - London Wildlife Trust
The River Wandle is a unique south London chalk stream.
The Wandle has been identified as one of London's five flagship rivers by the Environment Agency.
Once, this river teemed with wildlife including trout and otter, but by 1960 it was officially declared a sewer. Subsequently much-improved through active conservation effort, the Wandle now supports fish and other wildlife, but still flows through significant stretches of industry, residential areas and commercial centres.
This scheme aims to restore six kilometres of urban river habitat in the River Wandle catchment to create a thriving landscape that supports a rich variety of species and habitats, provides connectivity for people and wildlife, is adaptable to climate change and encourages access and enjoyment by people.
The Wandle Valley is a flagship urban river restoration project, demonstrating how partners can work together to restore a functional river corridor for people and wildlife.
Its value as a regional priority has been recognised by Natural England and the area has been proposed as a new regional park.
We have focused our recent efforts on habitat restoration in-stream and on our Wilderness Island nature reserve.
We are also developing a strategy for the future reintroduction of water vole.
Start date: 2008
Scheme area: 500 hectares
Trust reserves within the scheme
This scheme is helping species including...
Current threats to the landscape:
Habitat loss and fragmentation, pollution, climate change, inappropriate development, non-native species (e.g. mink, Chinese mitten crab).
This scheme is also...
Helping wildlife adapt to climate change, reducing flood risk, improving access for people, providing volunteering opportunities.
Natural England, Environment Agency, National Trust, local authorities, Groundwork, Wandle Trust, Thames 21, local angling groups.


text:
ccountName DOMAINName\SVCSQLDBEngine :CONNECT $(ServerName) GO use master --run sql code on TargetServer instance to create remote sql service login IF NOT EXISTS(select * from syslogins where name = '$(SourceServerSVCAccountName)') BEGIN CREATE LOGIN [$(SourceServerSVCAccountName)] FROM WINDOWS WITH DEFAULT_DATABASE=[master] END GO -- sql code to grant permissions to remote sql instance service account GRANT CONNECT ON ENDPOINT::ServiceBrokerEndpoint to [$(SourceServerSVCAccountName)] GO
Note:You can find full sql code listing in the attached scripts.
You can optionally configure Route object if the source and target services are not on the same database. A route enables messages to flow from one database to another, regardless of whether these databases are stored on the same SQL Server instance, on different instances on the same server, or on different servers. To create a route for server-to-server communication, you will need to create endpoints for the specific use of the Service Broker. You create a route by using the CREATE ROUTE statement. On the source server (SourceServer) that is sending the message, you create a route to the target server (TargetServer). Before creating a route you need to make sure that service broker endpoints exist on both servers and that these endpoints are listening on the TCP port 4022:
--run sql statements in sqlcmd mode once on the source db instance with correct variables values. :on error exit :setvar ServerName SourceServer :setvar DatabaseName SourceDB --set target db server ip :setvar TargetServerIP 127.0.0.1 --set target db broker_instance guid :setvar BROKER_GUID FD111927-71D2-44D0-A62A-5B72EAA18E08 --sqlcmd command to open connection to a db server :CONNECT $(ServerName) GO use $(DatabaseName) GO --sql code to create a route to a remote broker instance CREATE ROUTE [SampleServiceRoute] AUTHORIZATION [dbo] WITH SERVICE_NAME = N'SampleServiceTarget', BROKER_INSTANCE = N'$(BROKER_GUID)', ADDRESS = N'TCP://$(TargetServerIP):4022' GO
You will have to change the BROKER_GUID variable value to match the BROKER_INSTANCE values from the service_broker_guid column in the sys.databases system catalog view on the remote server to which you are creating the route. You must also create a route pointing back to the source db on the target or destination database:
--run sql statements in sqlcmd mode once on the source db instance with correct parameters. :on error exit :setvar ServerName TargetServer :setvar DatabaseName DestinationDB --set source db server ip :setvar SourceServerIP 127.0.0.1 --set source db broker_instance guid :setvar BROKER_GUID FA8FA68C-F1FA-40A4-AB9C-16FF4FDF4C86 --sqlcmd command to open connection to a db server :CONNECT $(ServerName) GO use $(DatabaseName) GO --sql code to create a route to a remote broker instance CREATE ROUTE [SampleServiceRoute] AUTHORIZATION [dbo] WITH SERVICE_NAME = N'SampleServiceSource', BROKER_INSTANCE = N'$(BROKER_GUID)', ADDRESS = N'TCP://$(SourceServerIP):4022' GO
The BROKER_INSTANCE setting is an optional field. You can leave it blank or you can configure it by using the broker instance ID value from the sys.databases catalog view on the source and destination databases. If database mirroring is used on the computer at the other end of the route, you can include the MIRROR_ADDRESS parameter to tell the route the location of the database mirror. If you don't include the MIRROR_ADDRESS parameter, and if the database mirror fails over, the messages don't move to the destination database. This is because the route won't have the information to locate the database mirror.
Prior to sending messages, you must first create a conversation dialog to identify the conversation because messages are transferred from the source to the target snd vice versa. Conversation dialog protocol provides reliable and ordered processing of messages. It ensures that multiple related messages are processed exactly once in order(EOIO) instead of random. To create the conversation dialog use BEGIN DIALOG statement which will map to GUID that is used to identify this service-broker conversation from all other conversations. When it is done then you can send messages over the conversation by using the SEND statement. In the following example, we will send an order wrapped into the XML document. Below code shows how to create the conversation dialog:
At the source:
use SourceDB GO -- sql code to create a conversation dialog DECLARE _USER_ UNIQUEIDENTIFIER BEGIN DIALOG _USER_ FROM SERVICE [SampleServiceSource] TO SERVICE 'SampleServiceTarget' ON CONTRACT [SampleContract] --sql code to create and send a message to remote service DECLARE _USER_ as XML; SET _USER_ = (SELECT TOP 1 * FROM [Order] FOR XML PATH('SampleMessage'), ELEMENTS XSINIL, TYPE ); SEND ON CONVERSATION _USER_ MESSAGE TYPE [SampleMessage] (_USER_) ; GO
Note: dbo.Order table was created and populated beforehand.You can find full sql code listing in the attached scripts.
At this point, the message has been sent and its content can be viewed by querying the target queue. You can view stored messages by running:
--sql code to query remote service queue to view received messages on the target broker instance use DestinationDB GO SELECT cast(message_body as XML) as SampleMessage, * FROM [SampleQueue] GO
You can look at the messages in the queue without causing them to be processed by using the SELECT statement. In order to obtain the contents of the message and remove the message from the queue use the RECEIVE statement. You can receive a single message using the code below
use DestinationDB GO DECLARE _USER_ XML DECLARE _USER_ UNIQUEIDENTIFIER RECEIVE TOP (1) _USER_ = conversation_handle, _USER_ = cast(message_body AS XML) FROM SampleQueue END CONVERSATION _USER_;
or you can receive multiple(top 100) messages using the following code:
use DestinationDB DECLARE _USER_ TABLE (conversation_handle UNIQUEIDENTIFIER, message_body varbinary(MAX)); RECEIVE TOP (100) conversation_handle, message_body FROM SampleQueue INTO _USER_; END CONVERSATION _USER_; GO
After you process all messages in a conversation, use the END CONVERSATION statement to close the conversation so that no other message can be sent on the conversation and to dispose allocated service broker resources. Closed conversation can't be reopened.
Note:if destination queue is empty then you'll receive an error message stating that the conversation handle is missing.
After the END CONVERSATION statement execution, you will get a message on the source queue. You have to receive/process this message and close the conversation properly on the initiator side of the communication. It will allow Service Broker to clean up all the metadata related to that completed conversation. There is an option to configure internal activation routine on the queue to process automatically all new incoming messages. This functionality eliminates any polling that you would have to create in other message-based applications. Lets create internal activation procedure for our example and configure service-broker queues to process received messages automatically.
--sql code to create routine to process service-broker messages CREATE proc [dbo].[InternalActivationProcedure] as begin set nocount on; -- declaring used variables DECLARE _USER_ UNIQUEIDENTIFIER, _USER_ UNIQUEIDENTIFIER ; DECLARE _USER_ XML ; DECLARE _USER_ SYSNAME ; DECLARE _USER_ XML ; DECLARE _USER_ NVARCHAR(10) ; DECLARE _USER_ DATETIME ; DECLARE _USER_ DATETIME ; DECLARE _USER_ DATETIME,_USER_ VARCHAR(50), _USER_ INT, _USER_ INT; BEGIN TRY BEGIN TRANSACTION ; --sql code to fetch a new message from the SampleQueue WAITFOR ( RECEIVE TOP(1) _USER_ = [conversation_handle], _USER_ = CAST(message_body AS XML), _USER_ = message_type_name FROM [dbo].[SampleQueue] ), TIMEOUT 2000 ; Commit tran -- sql code to process received messages IF _USER_ = N'SampleMessage' BEGIN -- PRINT N'SampleMessage' ; ;WITH XMLNAMESPACES('_URL_ AS xsi) SELECT _USER_ = CASE WHEN Element.Val.value('(./OrderDate/_USER_:nil)','bit') = 1 THEN NULL ELSE Element.Val.value('./OrderDate','DATETIME') END, _USER_ = CASE WHEN Element.Val.value('(./ServiceName/_USER_:nil)','bit') = 1 THEN NULL ELSE Element.Val.value('./ServiceName','VARCHAR(50)') END, _USER_ = CASE WHEN Element.Val.value('(./CustomerID/_USER_:nil)','bit') = 1 THEN NULL ELSE Element.Val.value('./CustomerID','INT') END, _USER_ = CASE WHEN Element.Val.value('(./OrderID/_USER_:nil)','bit') = 1 THEN NULL ELSE Element.Val.value('./OrderID','INT') END FROM _USER_.nodes('//SampleMessage') Element(Val); --insert sql code here in order to process received message. INSERT INTO dbo.[Order]( OrderID, CustomerID, ServiceName, OrderDate ) VALUES ( _USER_,_USER_,_USER_,_USER_ ) --sql code to close conversation and send EndDialog message to conversation initiator. END CONVERSATION _USER_ ; END ELSE --in case of error message - close conversation IF _USER_ = N'_URL_


Date of Award
Degree Name
Master of Arts
First Advisor
Dr. Paul Friday
Second Advisor
Dr. Lewis Walker
Third Advisor
Dr. Ronald Kramer
Access Setting
Masters Thesis-Open Access
The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between the type and severity of a crime and the offender's known history (past or present) of controlled substance abuse.
A random sample of federal cases between the years _PHONE_ was used to see if the offender's known problem with substance abuse had any impact on the severity of the recommended and actual sentence imposed on the offender.
Specific control variables such as race, age, educational level, and marital status of the offenders were also incorporated.
Included in
Criminology Commons


text:
Traditional demand planning relies mostly on transactional data, creating latency between customer needs and supplier reactions. So understanding demand and updating supply in a fast-changing environment means incorporating new data sources.
Social listening is now used by marketing departments to assess how their brand is perceived and their marketing campaigns are being received. We have developed an offering that brings this power of social listening to the supply chain team, correlating social sentiment with demand signals. A stochastic (probabilistic) demand planning system with embedded machine learning uses this data to improve demand forecasting.
These enhanced forecasting models can be especially helpful for new product introduction and promotions forecasting. For instance, we leverage a system called "Groover" that listens to social channels and gauges consumer sentiment to enhance supply chain planning. Groover uses natural language processing (a subset of artificial intelligence) to interprets the social communication, focusing on whether the sentiment is positive or negative. It can then look at the network impact, reach and location, producing a social index that can adjust future demand to account for current trends in the social network.


text:
According to a new study, gargling sugar water can boost a person's self-control.
Researchers found that swishing glucose based drink increased attention and self-control in a test that confuses the brain.
Participants in the study were analyzed on the basis of their abilities to do tests on self-control. The first test involved meticulous crossing out of Es on a page from a statistics book. This test is known to deplete a person's self-control
The other test was Stroop task (based on Stroop Effect) where participants were asked to identify the color flashed on the screen that spell out names of other colors. The task requires a great deal of attention and a high level of self-control to block out the wrong answers.
51 people participated in the tests. Half of them were given lemonade sweetened with sugar to rinse their mouths before the tests while the other half got Splenda-sweetened lemonade.
Study participants who had rinsed their mouths with sugar-sweetened lemonade did better on the Stroop test than people who had rinsed with artificially sweetened lemonade.
Rinsing your mouth with sugar-water will not help you exercise self-control during weight loss or with smoking cessation, researchers said in a press release.
"The glucose seems to be good at getting you to stop an automatic response such as reading the words in the Stroop task and to substitute the second harder one in its place such as saying the color the word is printed in. It can enhance emotive investment and self-relevant goals," said Leonard Martin, professor of psychology from University of Georgia.
Sugar water can help you focus on the task that needs more attention. Previous studies have shown that the first test requires so much energy that by the time people are done with it, they are so exhausted that they simply don't pay attention in the subsequent Stroop test.
"Researchers used to think you had to drink the glucose and get it into your body to give you the energy to (have) self control. After this trial, it seems that glucose stimulates the simple carbohydrate sensors on the tongue. This, in turn, signals the motivational centers of the brain where our self-related goals are represented. These signals tell your body to pay attention," Martin said.
He added that gargling with glucose can help people focus on important goals and also help perform better at the next task.
"In short, we believe self-control goes away because people send away, not because they don't have energy. People turn it off on purpose," Martin added.
The study is published in the journal Psychological Science.
Published by Medicaldaily.com


text:
The Voortrekker Road (H2-2):
The Voortrekker Road (H2-2) south-east of Pretoriuskop, was used by Carolus Trichardt, who was the son of the Voortrekker Louis Trichardt. He was commissioned in 1849 by the Transvaal Government of the time to open up a regular route between the northern interior and Delagoa Bay.
Albasiniís caravans were the main users of this road. Over the years his porters transported thousands of kilograms of goods from the coast and carried back loads of ivory.
The trader Fernades da Neves accompanied one of Albasiniís caravans in 1860 and reported that it took 24 days to complete the 250 mile journey between the coast and Pretoriuskop.
The trip employed 150 Tsongas each of which carried 40lb of trade goods, 68 porters carried food and camping equipment and 17 Elephant hunters kept guard.
The Vootrekker Road was improved in 1896 by the trader Alois Nelmapius to cater for the transport of supplies to Lydenburg and Mac Mac, where gold had been discovered. The road was used a lot by transport riders on their way to what was then known as Portuguese East Africa (today Mozambique).
The road descends from the mountainous Pretoriuskop sourveld into the rolling hills of mixed bushwillow woodland past a number of geological features. It is a good drive for if you want to get into the game rich plains south of Skukuza.
It was on this road that the little terrier Jock of the Bushveld was born. Jockís story was written by his master, Sir Percy Fitzpatrick, a former transport rider who became a politician and businessman in the early 20th century.
The main landmark on this road is Ship Mountain (662m), used as a navigational aid by early pioneers and travellers. It is geologically distinctive from the surrounding granite countryside because it is made up of gabbro, a hardier relative of basalt.
Per an old tale, Ship Mountain was a fort used by the Sotho people in the 18th century to protect themselves and their cattle against Swazi raiders coming in from the south. Sotho warriors would hide families and livestock in the caves on the top of Ship Mountain and then use rocks to stop the Swazi from getting to the top.
At the foot of Ship Mountain was a trading store run by Chief Manungu. He was part of Joao Albasiniís trading empire. Along this road you can still see the fence of the boma which was used during the first white Rhino relocation in Kruger Park in which 2 bulls and the 2 cows were released in October 1961.
In the 1960s 320 white Rhino were released into southern Kruger Park from the Umfolozi Game Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal, and a further 12 were released in the north. The Pretoriuskop area is one of the best locations to track and see white Rhino.
The Voortrekker Road roughly follows a line of thornveld to Afsaal. The significance of this is that the grass is more edible than the sourveld and the wildlife can easily be seen.
Even though there are not a lot of animals in this part of the Park, there are far higher numbers. By the 1900s almost all of the game had been shot out of the region by early hunters.
It was so bad that when Stevenson-Hamilton surveyed the area in 1902, he noted that the only wild animal he saw between Ship Mountain and Skukuza was a single Reedbuck.
Closest Rest Camps:


text:
| General conclusions to the report of the Dardanelles
Commission (plus a map of Gallipoli), 1917.
The report - published in 1917 by the parliamentary commission
investigating the Dardanelles campaign - concluded that it had been
fatally compromised by a number of factors. The difficulties of
a military attack on the peninsula were severely under-estimated
and insufficient resources were diverted from the Western Front
to ensure its success. Both of the Allied landings on the peninsula
(in April and August 1915) were flawed. The commission also censured
by name a number of high-ranking military figures, most notably
Sir Ian Hamilton.
Catalogue reference: CAB 19/1 (1917-18)


text:
, also called dry orgasm is very common, if not the rule after TURP. With this condition, the semen is ejaculated into the bladder rather than out through the urethra. Retrograde ejaculation does not affect sexual pleasure, but it does impair fertility.
- Erectile dysfunction.Erectile dysfunction, the inability to achieve or maintain an erection, can occur rarely after TURP.
- Urinary incontinence. Temporary urinary incontinence is common after TURP but in rare cases some men become completely unable to hold back their urine.
- Repeat surgery. Up to 10% of people who undergo TURP need a repeat operation within 5 years. Sometimes, scarring in the prostate severe enough to cause obstruction occurs within a year of the procedure and may require transurethral incision (TUIP) or repeat resection. More often, the urethra is scarred and narrows, but usually this condition can be corrected by a simple stretching procedure performed in the doctor's office. Sometimes, this requires a small internal cut in the urethra to open it up.
Other Invasive Surgical Procedures
Transurethral Incision of the Prostate (TUIP)
In TUIP, the surgeon makes only one or two incisions in the prostate, causing the bladder neck and the prostate to spring open and reduce pressure on the urethra. TUIP is generally reserved for men with minimally enlarged prostates who have obstruction of the neck of the bladder.
TUIP is less invasive than TURP, has a lower rate of the same complications (particularly retrograde ejaculation), and usually does not require a hospital stay. More studies are still needed, however, to determine whether they are comparative in long-term effectiveness.
In simple prostatectomy, the enlarged prostate is removed through an open incision in the abdomen using standard surgical techniques. This is major surgery and requires a hospital stay of several days. Simple prostatectomy is used only for severe cases of BPH, when the prostate is severely enlarged, the bladder is damaged, there are many stones or one large stone in the bladder, or other serious problems exist. Some people need a second operation because of scarring. Side effects of simple prostatectomy can include erectile dysfunction and urinary incontinence. This surgery can be performed through an incision in the lower abdomen or keyhole incisions for robot-assisted laparoscopy.
Laser technology is used for removal of prostate tissue. Laser procedures can mostly be done on an outpatient basis, and there is little risk for bleeding. The procedure involves passing a small tube with a tiny camera and the laser fiber through the urethra of the penis. The procedure is performed under spinal, epidural, or general anesthesia.
Laser procedures have a faster recovery time and less risk of incontinence than invasive surgical procedures, but their long-term effectiveness is less clear. Laser surgery may not be appropriate for men with larger prostates. The procedures use various forms of heat to destroy cells with mechanisms that range from coagulation to complete vaporization:
- Transurethral holmium laser ablation of the prostate (HoLAP) uses laser energy to target and vaporize obstructing prostate tissue. The removal of the tissue helps to restore urine flow.
- Transurethral holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP) is similar to HoLAP except a portion of the prostate is cut into smaller pieces and then flushed out from the bladder.
- Photoselective vaporization of the prostate (PVP) uses a potassium-titanyl-phosphate (KTP) laser ("green-light" laser) to vaporize prostate tissue. The procedure may be a better option for men taking anticoagulant ("blood thinner") medication. Improvement lasts for up to 1 year after the procedure. More studies are needed to confirm long-term efficacy.
Other Less Invasive Procedures
These minimally invasive procedures carry fewer risks for incontinence or problems with sexual function than invasive procedures, but it is unclear how effective they are in the long term.
Transurethral Microwave Thermotherapy (TUMT)
Transurethral microwave thermotherapy delivers heat using microwave pulses to destroy prostate tissue. A microwave antenna is inserted through the urethra with ultrasound used to position it accurately. The antenna is enclosed in a cooling tube to protect the lining of the urethra. Computer-generated microwaves pulse through the antenna to heat and destroy prostate tissue. When the temperature becomes too high, the computer shuts down the heat and resumes treatment when a safe level has been reached. The procedure takes 30 minutes to 2 hours, and the patient can go home immediately afterward.
Transurethral Needle Ablation (TUNA)
Transurethral needle ablation is a relatively simple and safe procedure, using needles to deliver high-frequency radio waves to heat and destroy prostate tissue.
Transurethral Electrovaporization (TUVP)
Transurethral electrovaporization uses high voltage electrical current delivered through a resectoscope to combine vaporization of prostate tissue and coagulation that seals the blood and lymph vessels around the area. Deprived of blood, the excess tissue dies and is sloughed off over time.
Water Vapor Thermal Therapy (Rezum)
In this procedure, small amounts of steam are delivered through a transurethral needle to destroy prostate tissue. The destroyed tissue is then broken down by the body over the next 6 weeks leaving a wider passage way. The procedure takes between 5 to 10 minutes. A catheter is left in place for 2 to 5 days afterwards. There is virtually no risk of retrograde ejaculation.
The UroLift system is the first permanent implant to treat men ages 50 and older with BPH. The implants are placed during a minimally invasive procedure and help to keep the lobes of the enlarged prostate gland open to improve urine flow. It appears to have less impact on sexual health than other surgical procedures.
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases -- _URL_
- American Urological Association -- _URL_
- Urology Care Foundation -- _URL_
Abrams P, Chapple C, Khoury S, Roehrborn C, de la Rosette J; International Consultation on New Developments in Prostate Cancer and Prostate Diseases. Evaluation and treatment of lower urinary tract symptoms in older men. J Urol. 2013;189(1 Suppl):S93-S101. PMID: 23234640 _URL_
Andersson KE, Wein AJ. Pharmacologic management of lower urinary tract storage and emptying failure. In: Wein AJ, Kavoussi LR, Partin AW, Peters CA, eds. Campbell-Walsh Urology. 11th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2016:chap 79.
Bird ST, Delaney JA, Brophy JM, Etminan M, Skeldon SC, Hartzema AG. Tamsulosin treatment for benign prostatic hyperplasia and risk of severe hypotension in men aged 40-85 years in the United States: risk window analyses using between and within patient methodology. BMJ. 2013;347:f6320. PMID: 24192967 _URL_
Cornu JN, Ahyai S, Bachmann A, et al. A systematic review and meta-analysis of functional outcomes and complications following transurethral procedures for lower urinary tract symptoms resulting from benign prostatic obstruction: an update. Eur Urol. 2015;67(6):_PHONE_. PMID: 24972732 _URL_
Foster HE, Barry MJ, Dahm P, et al. Surgical management of lower urinary tract symptoms attributed to benign prostatic hyperplasia: AUA Guideline. J Urol. 2018;200(3):612-619. PMID: 29775639 _URL_
Jones P, Rai BP, Nair R, Somani BK. Current status of prostate artery embolization for lower urinary tract symptoms: review of world literature. Urology. 2015;86(4):676-681. PMID: 26238328 _URL_
Kaplan SA. Benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostatitis. In: Goldman L, Schafer AI, eds. Goldman-Cecil Medicine. 25th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Saunders; 2016:chap 129.
Kim EH, Larson JA, Andriole GL. Management of benign prostatic hyperplasia. Annu Rev Med. 2016;67:137-151. PMID: 26331999 _URL_
McNicholas TA, Speakman MJ, Kirby RS. Evaluation and nonsurgical management of benign prostatic hyperplasia. In: Wein AJ, Kavoussi LR, Partin AW, Peters CA, eds. Campbell-Walsh Urology. 11th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2016:chap 104.
McVary KT, Roehrborn CG, Avins AL, et al. Update on AUA guideline on the management of benign prostatic hyperplasia. J Urol. 2011;185(5):_PHONE_. PMID: 21420124 _URL_


text:
myths. In her TED Talk, Molly Crockett describes how slapping a brain image or brain-related term on marketing and product brands provides unfounded credibility and can convince us of things we don't fully understand.
In the age of fake news, it is important to develop a critical mind and stay on top of the facts. Where can we turn for relevant, empirical information about the mind and brain? In addition to Brainy Sundays, click these blogs for a deeper understanding of topics in neurophilosophy, health and science, psychology, and other info sites such as All in the Mind, Mental Elf, The Best Brain Possible, or The Dana Foundation.


The Habitat Giant Prawns in Nature - fish-hobbyist
The Habitat Giant Prawns in Nature
Find out more about the detailed habitat of giant prawns in nature before farming them in a pond.
Farming giant prawns is getting popular along with its increasing demand. Giant prawn, which is also known as a mini lobster, has a large size and a sweet taste. No wonder giant prawns have a high economic value for both consumption and export quality. If you are interested in raising giant prawns in a pond, you need to be well-informed about the characteristics and the detailed habitat of giant prawns in nature.
Giant Prawns
Giant Prawns (Macrobrachium rosenbergii), the giant freshwater prawn, live entirely in freshwater along the tropical and subtropical regions, such as Southeast Asia, India, and Northern Australia. Some countries like Africa, China, America, the Caribbean, Japan, New Zealand, Northern Australia, and also Thailand also start to grow and consume these prawns, too.
As the demand for giant prawns increases rapidly, many people begin to farm giant prawns on a big scale. They start to gather out the information about the ways how to farm giant prawns, including the habitat of giant prawns in nature and the stages of the prawns from the larval stage, planktonic stage, a juvenile, to a grown giant prawn until they can live thoroughly in a pond.
The Characteristics of Giant Prawns
As this prawn is large, the length of giant prawns may vary and reach over 30 cm or 12 inches. Covered with brownish hard and inelastic skin segments, the body of the prawns consists of the head of the chest (cephalothorax), body (abdomen), and tail (uropod).
Meanwhile, smaller individuals have greenish hard segments with faint vertical stripes. The giant prawn also has a rostrum which contains 8 to 11 ventral teeth and 11 to 14 dorsal teeth.
Either large giant prawns or small ones have walking legs that have different functions. The first pair of legs is more delicate as they use the legs for food projection. On the other hand, the second pair is larger and more powerful. The colors of the claws in the second pair of legs will vary and depend on their social dominance.
The Habitat of Giant Prawns
When it comes to the habitat of giant prawns, the prawns live in two different habitats depending on the stages. The prawns love to live in a highly turbid condition. The grown giant prawns live in tropical freshwater, especially at the bottom of the freshwater area. Meanwhile, the larvae and juveniles require a brackish water environment before entering the post-larvae stage.
The female giant prawns will approach and swim from downstream to estuaries to lay eggs. Then the eggs will enter the larval phase and become the free-swimming larvae (planktonic) and juvenile in the brackish water environments. When the prawns pass the larvae and juvenile stage, the grown-up giant prawns will go swimming upstream to the freshwater environment and start to spawn again.
In conclusion, the habitat of giant prawns can be different depending on the behavior and stages. The larvae and juveniles will live in a brackish water environment and gradually approach and swim upstream to a freshwater area when they become mature.
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Loading Hiearachical JSON objects
Loading Hiearachical JSON objects
JQuery loadJSON plugin enables you to load hierachical JSON objects and generate hierarchical structures of HTML elements based on the template. In the list example is shown how the array of the objects can be loaded into the template. In this example, array of the objects is exdended so each object in the array have its own array as a property. As a re
Live Example
In this example will be used extended template that can be used for complex objects. Example of the resulting page is shown below:
In this example for each company in the list is shown one manager and nested list of all employees. Details about implementation is described in the sections below.

In this template are placed three elements where properties ID, Name, and Address of some JSON object will be populated. loadJSON plugin will take JSON array, bind properties of the elements of the array to template and replicate template item bound with each element in the array. Additionally, inside the LI element is placed SPAN with class Manager where are placed two SPAN elements for manager's first name and last name, and data list with class "Employees" where can be placed first and last name of employees.
 "ID": 17,
 "Name": "Emkay Entertainments",
 "Address": "Nobel House, Regent Centre",
 "Manager": {
 "FirstName": "John",
 "LastName": "Doe"
 "Employees": [ {
 "FirstName": "Brian",
 "LastName": "Hunt"
 "FirstName": "Mick",
 "LastName": "Henning"
 "ID": 18,
 "Name": "The Empire",
 "Address": "Milton Keynes Leisure Plaza",
 "Manager": {
 "FirstName": "Ana",
 "LastName": "Johnsnon"
 "Employees": [
 "FirstName": "Erick",
 "LastName": "O'Neil"
 "FirstName": "George",
 "LastName": "Halloway"
This array contains elements with properties ID, Name, and Address that will be bound directly to the elements in the HTML template. Additionaly it has nested object Manager with the FirstName and LastName properties, and nested array of Employees with their own FirstName and LastName properties. JQuery loadJSON plugin generate nested list Employees records inside each of the generated company records. This way is implemented hierachical template for nested objects.
Template is defined in the LI HTML element, and under assumption that JSON array is placed into the "hierarchy.js" file, the following code generates output HTML using template and JSON array:
As a results of this call will be generated output shown in the live example above.


0], 600-image[:,1])
 plt.title((title_data[plot_no-1])+' $\sigma %d$'%parameter_no)
Texture Model
The texture is defined as the pixel intensities over the modeled entity. Here we have described the procedures to build a statistical texture model.
 - Similarly to the shape model, where all the shapes are previously aligned into a common frame, the texture model requires the alignment of all texture samples to a reference texture frame also.
 - The texture is mapped in a way that the control points from each sample match the control points of a suitable reference frame, the mean shape.
 - Delaunay triangulation is used in the mean shape control points to establish triangles that will be used to map pixel intensities by Piece-wise Affine Warping.
 - A statistical texture model is build using Principal Components Analysis, describing the texture in a condensed model.
Texture Mapping - Warping
The texture mapping is performed by using a piece-wise affine warp, i.e. partitioning the convex hull of the mean shape by a set of triangles using the Delaunay triangulation.
In mathematics and computational geometry, a Delaunay triangulation for a set P of points in a plane is a triangulation such that no point in P is inside the circumcircle of any triangle formed. Delaunay triangulation maximize the minimum angle of all the triangles in the triangulation. They tend to avoid skinny triangles.
Below we have shown the Delaunay triangulation on the set of training face images with their annotated landmarks. The concept is very simple. We will create triangles including our annotated points and then map from one triangle to another.
In [9]:
import matplotlib.delaunay as md
plt.rcParams['figure.figsize'] = 17,8
for i in reversed(xrange(1,7)):
 tim_cootes=cv2.cvtColor(tim_cootes, cv2.COLOR_BGR2GRAY)
 _,_,dest_triangles,_=md.delaunay(dest_x, dest_y)
 for t in dest_triangles:
 t_ext=[t[0], t[1], t[2], t[0]]
 axes.plot(dest_x[t_ext], dest_y[t_ext],'r')
 showfig(tim_cootes, plt.get_cmap('gray'))


text:
At CBMNet we foster collaborations between academia and industry to tackle research challenges in Industrial Biotechnology and Bioenergy (IBBE). We are working to understand the mechanisms by which substances are transported into, within, and out of cell factories, which will lead to the development of enabling technologies that are crucial for the future of almost all cell-based IBBE applications.
Themes we are keen to explore are:
- Getting more things in: manipulation of substrate uptake – The first step in any cell factory-based process must be the transport of reactants across the lipid membrane and into the cell. We aim to use genetic resources and molecular genetics to expand the industry's repertoire of substrate transport options and help optimise the kick starting of a cell factory-based process.
- Getting things out: improving export/efflux of chemicals – Many industrially useful chemicals are highly toxic. We aim to investigate new applications for natural or reengineered efflux or export systems, exploiting the specialised membrane channels that nature has cultivated to keep the live reactor healthy.
- Hijacking transporters for IBBE – We aim to exploit fundamental knowledge of the structure/function relationships of transporters for biotechnology, because transporters have relaxed substrate specificity and thus will recognise and act on modified substrates.
- Moving complex molecules across membranes – Secreting and post-translationally modifying complex molecules such as proteins within cell factories can involve passage across several biological membranes, leading to bottlenecks for productivity. By leveraging molecular methods and engineering expertise, we aim to increase the yield of non-native proteins from cells.
- Altering the membrane itself – We aim to better understand how cell membranes can be engineered in cell factory systems for heightened resistance to stress and toxicity – improving the lifetime of the cell factory – and efficient transport of reactants and products.
- Putting it all together – consolidated bioprocessing – Combining all of the above themes can really leverage our knowledge for improved yield and process efficiency for industrial biotechnology.
- Socio-economic challenges related to crossing biological membranes – We need to ensure our work has lasting effects on the biotechnology sector and beyond by looking at ways to conduct responsible innovation in order to increase the social and economic benefits and effectively manage the risks of our work. We aim to study the new markets created by biotechnology opportunities and how these will impact the economy, by considering science and society relations.
"Beyond standards, an updated regulatory regime is needed to speed the safe commercialization of new host organisms, new metabolic pathways, and new chemical products. Such regimes must be harmonized across national boundaries, enabling rapid, safe, and global access to new technologies and products" National Academy of Sciences, 2015.


Equal Credit Opportunity Act - ECOA
DEFINITION of 'Equal Credit Opportunity Act - ECOA'
A regulation created by the U.S. government that aims to give all legal individuals an equal opportunity to apply for loans from financial institutions and other loan granting organizations. The Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) states that individuals cannot be discriminated upon via factors that are not directly related to their creditworthiness. It prohibits creditors and lenders from considering a consumer's race, color, national origin, sex, religion or marital status in deciding whether to approve their loan or credit application. Financial institutions also cannot deny credit based on age, as long as the applicant is of legal age and has the mental capacity to enter into a contract, nor can they deny credit because the applicant is receiving public assistance.
BREAKING DOWN 'Equal Credit Opportunity Act - ECOA'
When you apply for a mortgage, the lender will ask you about some of these facts under federal requirements that are supposed to help prevent discrimination, but you are not required to respond. The only accepted factors that can be used to determine whether or not an individual is acceptable for a loan are relevant financially related information such as one's credit score, income and existing debt load.
Another aspect of the ECOA allows each spouse in a marriage to have his or her own credit history in his or her own name. That being said, if you have any joint accounts with your spouse, these accounts will appear on both of your credit reports, so your spouse's financial behavior can still have a positive or negative impact on your credit score.
While the ECOA prohibits lenders from basing their decisions on your marital status, some loans, such as mortgages, might require you to disclose that you are making required alimony or child support payments. And if you receive child support or alimony and it represents a significant source of your income, you might need to disclose it in order to qualify for a loan. You could be denied a loan if, for example, your child support payments combined with your other financial obligations mean that you don't have enough money to repay the loan as required. You cannot be denied a loan simply because you are divorced, though.
Organizations found in violation of this act could potentially face class-action suits. If found guilty, the offending organization could have to pay out punitive damages totaling up the lesser of $500,000 or 1% of the creditor's net worth.
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text:
The spectacular medieval manuscript known as the Romance of Gillion de Trazegnies tells the story of a bigamous French-speaking knight from Hainaut (a county in present-day Belgium). Gillion is married to a western Christian noblewoman and an eastern Muslim princess at the same time—while leading the army of the sultan of Egypt.
The book is written in Middle French, the predecessor of the modern language whose grammar and pronunciation is much different from French today. Hear audio recordings of two passages in this post, below.
Although this is a work of historical fiction, the anonymous author of the romance took his inspiration from contemporary events: the advance of Muslim Ottomans in the eastern Mediterranean, who captured Constantinople in 1453 and renamed it Istanbul, and the crusading projects in the Mediterranean of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy from 1419 to 1467, for the Christian recovery of Jerusalem and Constantinople.
The story of a Christian noble in the East would have been of great interest to the duke and his courtly entourage. A loyal and strong western knight is captured by Muslims on his return from a pilgrimage in Jerusalem, becomes a mercenary in the service of the sultan of Egypt, kills the sultan's Muslim enemies and thus works toward the salvation of his soul, and marries the sultan's daughter and inherits the Muslim empire, all the while holding steadfastly to his Christian faith. See a fuller plot summary of this medieval soap opera here.
The manuscript was made in 1464, most likely in Bruges, at that time a major center of artistic and scribal workshops for late medieval book production. Many of the most dazzling and lavish illuminated manuscripts were produced there, as well as in other cities of medieval Flanders, like Antwerp and Ghent. The county of Flanders was part of the duchy of Burgundy, as was the county of Hainaut, ruled by the French-speaking Dukes of Burgundy and known as part of the Burgundian Low Countries.
French was the official language of the Burgundian Low Countries. The manuscript was made for one of the highest-ranking members of the duke's entourage, Louis of Gruuthuse, governor of Bruges, governor general of Holland, Zeeland, and Frisia, and Duke Philip's trusted counselor. The story of Gillion de Trazegnies's adventures was intended to be read aloud, as the dedicatory owner's prologue of the text states clearly:
"It [the story] should be read and very diligently heard and learned among the princes, and especially before those of young age, in order to direct their hearts and acts to valiance and virtuous deeds in everything."
The author's prologue, the second prologue of the Getty Gillion manuscript, presents the story to be heard as a model of chivalric life:
"The high and exalted deeds that inspired the noble hearts of our ancient predecessors are worthy of praise, recommendation, and perpetual memory, especially among princes and noblemen. Upon hearing or reading the stories of righteous men of lore who used and employed the arms and conditions of chivalry, even on the infidels, ancient enemies of the Catholic faith, [princes and noblemen] can thereby greatly gain from fleeing all vice and loving good virtues."
In many ways, a public reading was itself a performance of chivalry.
Public readings, as much as public viewings, were part of the Burgundian courtly culture. Philip the Good, and his son and heir Charles the Bold, regularly held readings at the court. One of Philip's favorite scribes, his secretary David Aubert (who probably wrote out the Getty Gillion manuscript for Louis), describes Philip as "having been accustomed for a long time to have ancient histories read for him daily." Louis of Gruuthuse likely saw on one such public occasion a manuscript made for the bastard son of Philip the Good, Anthony of Burgundy, then commissioned a copy for himself.
This captivating story of a Christian knight's adventures in the East was written out in a script known by its Latin name of bastarda, Burgundian Gothic cursive, a typical scribal handwriting of the second half of the 15th century. The manuscript's language is Middle French, the French of the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries.
Middle French is a transitional phase between Old French, which evolved between the 9th and 13th centuries from Latin, and Modern French that is spoken today. Thus situated at a midpoint in the evolution of the French language, Middle French, while at moments close to Modern French, is not pronounced in the same way. In particular, we note the rolled r (as in the French of present-day Burgundy), the strong presence of consonants despite nasalization (as in the French of present-day southern France, e.g. in "biens" or "tresinstamment"), pronunciation of final r, double articulation of certain diphthongs (for example in "haulte" or "souldan"), and pronunciation of the diphthong [oi] as [wé] (as in "memoire").
Another element of surprise for the modern reader is that Middle French (as Old French) occasionally uses different proper names for cities and countries. For example, medieval writers called Old Cairo "Babilonne." Since Mamluk sultans ruled over both Egypt and Syria from their seat in Cairo, the "sultan of Babylon" is the "sultan of Egypt."
Reading 1: Prologue
The author's prologue states the author's intention and motivation for writing the story. Its expressive and colorful language sets the scene with the description of the triple tomb in the Abbey of Olive in the county of Hainaut. In it lay Gillion and his two wives. The artist of the manuscript, Lieven van Lathem (active _PHONE_), one of the most highly sought-after Flemish illuminators, painted a half-page miniature showing the author's discovery of the tomb and the creation of the story.
Reading 2: Wife vs. Wife
The second scene is a historiated initial on folio 200 verso. The image shows monks celebrating a private mass with nuns at the Abbey of Olive, and the two women to the right of the center are probably Gillion's two wives, Marie and Gracienne, depicted in harmonious communion of shared prayer. Within the same year, at the Abbey of Olive to which they had retired by common agreement, Gracienne will die and Marie survive her by only two days. In this chapter, Gillion, having taken a monk's habit at the Cambron Abbey, tells his life's story to his overlord, the Count of Hainaut.
The manuscript has preserved the detailed story of Marie's, Gracienne's, and Gillion's simultaneous decision to enter religious orders, told in the folios preceding the historiated initial. In an emotional and poignant scene, each of Gillion's wives argues that she should be the one to give him up as husband, each promising not to have carnal relations with him ever again. The absolute dedication of each wife to her husband's happiness (each assuming that he is happier with the other) is overwhelming; at the same time, the nascent complicity and harmony between Marie and Gracienne is captivating.
Although the text breaks off because of one missing folio, on the next remaining folio, 196v, Marie, the lady of Trazegnies, presents to Gillion her and Gracienne's request to allow them to enter a convent together.
With the three protagonists entering the monastic orders, the controversial situation of bigamy is resolved positively, while the characters incarnate a model for and move their audience with the commitment to expiate their worldly sins.
For more on this manuscript, see the book The Adventures of Gillion de Trazegnies: Chivalry and Romance in the Medieval East, coming in December 2015 from Getty Publications. Co-written by Zrinka Stahuljak and Elizabeth Morrison, the book combines a complete reproduction of the book's illustrations, a partial translation of the text, and essays that explore the manuscript's vibrant cultural, historical, and artistic contexts.
Text of this post © Zrinka Stahuljak. All rights reserved.


text:
Our article in Microbiome is published here: _URL_
Mothers' health during pregnancy has always been thought to be important, and mothers are told to watch what they eat. But how does maternal diet influence infant health? Since diet is a key influence on gut microbiome, we hypothesized that maternal microbiome was the link between her and her infant's health. We tested this in a mouse model by using an oral antibiotic, Vancomycin to alter gut bacteria composition in mothers during gestation and while they were breastfeeding. What is important about this antibiotic is that it does not get absorbed from the gut, and so should not reach other sites in the mother, or the fetus. We studied their infants' microbiota and immunity, which is an important determinant of health. Pups born to mothers that were treated with antibiotics during either gestation or nursing had profound changes in their gut microbiota, and they were also different based on the timing of the maternal antibiotic treatment. Bacteria of phylum Proteobacteria, which is often associated with inflammation, were increased in these pups regardless of timing of antibiotic treatment. We were curious to know whether changing the composition in mothers' gut was also indirectly changing composition in other maternal sites for example breastmilk, which may influence bacteria being transferred to offspring. But it is not easy to get breastmilk from a mouse. We decided instead to collect the breastmilk from the pup's stomachs. We found differences in breastmilk bacteria composition according to mother's antibiotic administration indicating that oral antibiotics during pregnancy or after delivery was not only changing the mothers gut but also her breastmilk bacteria composition. Antibiotic treatment in mothers during nursing also led to changes in antibody levels in breastmilk, which is an important source of protection to infants. This implies that what you eat during pregnancy influences your breastmilk composition.
What about immunity in the pups? We examined the proportion and numbers of various immune cells in the spleen, the major immune organ of a mouse. Treating mothers with antibiotics while they were pregnant led to increased total numbers of many immune cells, including CD4 T cells and both Follicular and Marginal zone B cells in the pups. By measuring the levels of an inflammatory marker in pup serum, we confirmed that these changes in immunity were most likely as a result of changes in bacteria composition and not systemic inflammation.
It is possible that changes in maternal breastmilk antibody could have also influenced transfer of bacteria to infants via breastfeeding, an interesting area of future research. In summary, altering bacteria composition in mothers during pregnancy or while breastfeeding has consequences on neonatal health likely through altering their gut bacteria. This is important since gut microbiota are potentially modifiable through diet, probiotics, and even antibiotics. Our future work will interrogate offspring immunity further using vaccines and challenge models.
Microbiota and immunological changes in offspring. Mouse pics from jax.org
Picture showing the Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, at the University of Cape Town, where this research was conducted.