Zumbs' Blog
Posts Tagged 'Roleplaying games'
Fantasy Worldbuilding: Law
Posted by Zumbs on April 28, 2014
When people live together, sometimes serious problems arise, that is, someone has been wronged and want some sort of satisfaction. In small groups these could be solved on a case by case basis. It is not difficult to imagine that over time, the body of earlier solutions gave rise to a tradition of how to solve these problems. With the spread of writing, these traditions became codified onto law.
However, law is not necessarily about justice. It is a tool to an end. When wielded by the powerful, law is used to keep their advantages. Commoners can get better rights, but they have to fight to get and keep them. This fight is very dynamic, but the trajectory is usually to the advantage of one group. Conquerors may also use laws to break the conquered.
Law is tightly coupled with the ruling elite: They write the law to maintain their privileges. Note that different ruling groups may have different interests, which can have a profound effect on the law. An example could be the relationship between the king, the nobility, the religions and the magicians. Even in an autocratic monarchy, the king still has to consider the implications of making an enemy of the other powerful players. On top of that, the ruling groups may have further subdivisions. Two or more religious orders may fight for dominance (e.g. the New Gods and the Old Gods), and some members may have other interests, e.g. one group of nobles may want to be king whereas another wants to curtail royal power.
Often the law is defined by the ruling group, e.g. law in a theocracy may ban worship of other gods, but provide economic freedom, whereas an oligarchic council of high nobles may allow religious freedom, but ban free exchange of goods.
Settling legal twists
The most basic legal twist is that someone has been wronged and want satisfaction. Even with the most simple laws, people will still need some way to determine if an illegal activity has been committed and meter out compensation and/or punishment. The activities needed to go through the legal mechanisms will be called the legal framework in this post. Historically, the legal framework has changed many times and has had many different forms. It can be more or less codified and centralized.
Private and public law
Legal twists between individuals (or groups) are called private law. It is an individual that raises the case inside the legal framework against another individual. Classic examples are disagreements over contracts or torts. Public law regulates twists between government and individuals. Examples of public law could be treason or arson. Legal twists are raised either by individuals against the government or the other way around. Public law also implies that the government takes an interest into these cases and may investigate possible illegal activity. In private law, it is more often the parties that do the investigation, even though the government may require that the parties make relevant information available.
Which portions of the law are private or public depend very much on the society itself. Is there a government and how strong is it? And can an organization be a part in a legal twist, or will its members (or leaders) be responsible?
Might and right
In societies with a weak (or non-existent) central power, the notion of crime may not exist separately from the notion that someone has been wronged and want compensation. This means that if the wronged party is unable to claim compensation, e.g. due to being dead, no crime has been committed, unless someone else raises the case on behalf of the wronged party.
This is an advantage to the rich and powerful, as they can kill the weak and their family and take their land, and no one will lift a finger. If you ally with a lord, he or she may demand compensation. The lord would balance issues of making a competitor angry against making others sworn to him or her angry, as commoners may leave the service of a lord that does not protect them. However, the weak have little rights unless they have banded together to form some organization – which is likely to get a lot of enmity from the local lords.
In 11th century Iceland, they had an interesting alternative. As the wronged party, you could sell the right to demand compensation for the crime to a 3rd party who could pursue the case for you. While this holds some interesting prospects for role players it does not really solve the issue: What is to stop a powerful lord from threatening the wronged party into silence, or scare off a private investigator?
Without any central power metering out justice, your rights and safety is dependent on the might of your family, clan or ally and their ability and resolve in hunting down and punishing anyone doing wrong against you. If they do not, their group may be viewed as weak, leading to even more wrongs against the members of the group.
Sometimes the wronged party will meet with the wrongdoer to come to an agreement, with compensation to the wronged party. If an agreement cannot be reached, the result can be anything from ritualized combat to full-out war between the two parties. This blood feud can last very long, but can be ended by an agreement. There are often a lot of customs associated with blood feuds, as they tend to get out of hand, which is not to the advantage of either party.
Stateless law
We are extremely used to the idea of having a state as an integral part of our legal framework. However, it is possible to make a legal framework without a state. Traditional Somali Law (also called Xeer) is an example of this. Law is defined in terms of property, so settlements are intended to be compensate the wronged party rather than punishing the wrongdoer. As such, there is no law, just judges trying to figure out the best way to solve a dispute. Politicians and clergy are barred from interfering with the law or serving as judges.
The legal framework is based on clans, determined by paternal ancestry. When someone is wronged, he or she can contact his or her elder, who will gather the elders of the clans involved, investigate the case and hear the parties state their case. They can decide on a verdict, but the parties are not required to follow it (though their clans can try to force them). If this fails, the wronged party and clan are entitled to impose compensation by force. Clans are obligated to defend their kin, but not to attack their opponents, giving a strong incentive to find a settlement. If the wrongdoer is unable to pay the compensation, it is the responsibility of his or her family and clan to pay. Thus, it is in the best interest of the clan to make all their members behave, and may impose additional limitations on the freedom of the wrongdoer.
There are a number of issues with Xeer: Individual rights can be sacrificed for communal stability, women are not allowed to speak, travelers may find themselves with limited protection and it requires that the clans are reasonably even matched in terms of power.
Centralized law
As a society becomes more and more centralized, as does its legal framework. The place where one bring complaints, hear complaints and resolve the issues may be under government control. Judges, juries, investigators, advocates and so on may be public officials – or may not exist at all.
Magistrate law
In some societies, the local official representative of the state – the magistrate – took on the role of mayor, investigator, jury and judge. In case of legal twists, the wronged party could alert the magistrate (or a subordinate) of the situation. The magistrate could investigate, come to a conclusion and pass judgment. As can be seen, this magistrate had a lot of local power, and justice would depend on the diligence, honesty and wit of the magistrate.
In traditional China, such a system did exist. The power of the magistrate was somewhat curtailed by requiring that a sentence of a certain severity should be heard at a higher court, with death penalty requiring the approval of the Emperor. As no-one could be convicted of a crime that they had not confessed to committing, it was quite common to use torture against suspects to extract a confession. However, witnesses could also be subject to torture if the magistrate felt like it. Indeed, many people preferred to solve their disputes themselves as courts could be dangerous and painful for all involved.
Another feature of traditional Chinese law is the integration of class into punishments: Doing wrong against someone above you would increase your punishment, but if you did it against someone below you, it would reduce your punishment. If you were related to the Emperor, you could even escape punishment.
Divine law
At face value, divine law is written by a possibly singular God, and assumed to be as perfect and immutable as the divine writer. This can be true in your world, but the real world begs to differ. Writing law is hard, especially when you have to take changing conditions and the specific situation into account. Thus, both Islamic and Jewish law had provisions to resolve ambiguities. In Jewish law, the truth would be with the majority of the available scholars, whereas Islamic law accepted a good guess.
Even though the law is set and unchangeable, it is open to interpretation that can be very different from the written word. For instance, according to the Torah, a child that defies his or her parents must be punished by stoning. Not only is this rule extremely cruel, it could also doom a people to extinction given that most children at some point would defy their parents. Ancient Jewish scholars (and, presumably, regular Jews as well) held a similar view, and used a flimsy argument to avoid enforcing the


Sugar Camp Sugar Camp
Sugar Camp
Held every year, our Sugar Camp is the highlight of many diabetic childrens' summer vacation. The camp encourages healthy habits that are essential for T1D patients, such as blood sugar monitoring and nutrition. There are also camp sport days, which help our brave-hearted campers to integrate physical activity into their daily lives. Sugar Camp counselors are Type 1 diabetics who identify with the children's challenges and are able to share from their own experiences to help others overcome their obstacles.


text:
m. 23 Nov 1734
Facts and Events
Elihu Adams (May 29, 1741 – August 10, 1775) was a soldier in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He was born in Braintree to John Adams, Sr. and Susanna Boylston; his elder brothers were John Adams, the second President of the United States, and Peter Boylston Adams, who also served as a militia captain during the Revolution. He married Thankful White in 1765, and had at least two children - Susanna, born in 1766, and John, born in 1768.
Adams served as captain of the Braintree Company at the Siege of Boston, and as a minuteman who fought on the Concord Green in 1775. He died of dysentery on August 10, 1775, at the age of 34, and was buried at what is today known as the "Old Section" of Union Cemetery in Holbrook, Massachusetts (then still a part of Braintree).

source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


text:
In the case of a communication system, errors happen while information is being transmitted, while it is being delivered to its destination, or while it is being received. However the errors occur, is there anything we can do to protect our information? The answer is yes. In fact, there are many things we can do, with each hardware or software technique falling into one of two categories: error detection or error correction. Error detection is easier to do than error correction, as we will see.
The first hardware technique involves the use of a parity bit. This bit is stored with a group of data bits and is used to indicate the even or odd parity of the data. Even parity means the number of 1s in the data (including the parity bit) is even. Odd parity means the opposite. Table 1 shows a few sample data items and their associated even and odd parity bits.
|8-Bit Data||Even Parity Bit||Odd Parity Bit|
Table 1: Even and odd parity examples.
The even and odd parity bits are always complements of each other. Figure 1 shows how a single parity bit can be generated using exclusive-OR (XOR) gates.
Figure 1. Generating an even parity bit.
The XOR gate outputs a 0 when its inputs are the same (both low or both high) and a 1 when its inputs are different. The input data _PHONE_ is broken into four groups of two bits, with each pair driving an XOR gate. The eight input bits are reduced to four intermediate bits, then two intermediate bits, then to a single output bit that represents the even parity for the data. Using an exclusive-OR gate as the last gate will generate an odd parity bit.
So, with only a handful of gates, we are able to generate odd or even parity bits. Now, after the parity bit is generated, it is stored with the data or transmitted with it to a receiver. When the data is read back or received, its parity is checked. If the parity does not match, you have detected an error.
Unfortunately, a single parity bit has limitations. It can only detect odd-numbered bit errors. If one bit — or three, five, or seven bits — change, the parity will also change and the error will be detected, but, if an even number of bits change, the parity will remain the same and the error will go undetected.
The limitations of a single parity bit can be overcome by using multiple parity bits. In fact, by using just four parity bits, we are able to detect and correct single bit errors in our eight bits of data. Figure 2(A) shows how four parity bits (three odd and one even) are generated using different groups of bits from the input data. These four bits are called check bits and are transmitted or stored with the original eight data bits.
Figure 2. Using multiple parity bits to detect and correct a single bit error. (A) Generating the check bits.
In Figure 2(B), the 12 received bits are again used to generate four parity bits, with these bits representing the error code. An error code of 0000 indicates that no errors have occurred. Any other error code will indicate the specific bit or even groups of bits in error. This technique was developed by Richard Hamming in the 1950s.
Figure 2. (B) Determining the four-bit error code.
Table 2 shows the four-bit error codes for the Hamming code used in Figure 2.
|Error Code||Error Bit(s)|
|0001||Check bit 0 (bit 8)|
|0010||Check bit 1 (bit 9)|
|0011||Data bit 0|
|0100||Check bit 2 (bit 10)*|
|0101||Data bit 1|
|0110||Data bit 3|
|0111||Data bit 6|
|1000||Check bit 3 (bit 11)|
|1001||Data bit 2|
|1010||Data bit 4|
|1011||All received bits are 0|
|1100||Data bit 5|
|1110||Data bit 7|
*All received bits are 1.
Table 2: Hamming code error patterns.
A deliberate error was introduced into data bit 4. The resulting error code of 1010 correctly identified this single bit error. Once a single bit error has been identified, it is easy to fix it: simply invert the bit that is incorrect.
The ability to detect and correct a single-bit error is important and useful. The price that we pay for this ability is the cost of the four check bits attached to each eight-bit data item. Thus, we have a 50% memory overhead (or bandwidth overhead, during transmission) that must be an acceptable trade-off in order to get the benefit of single bit error correction.
A third hardware technique that can be used with a serial stream of data uses multiple bits to create a check sequence. This technique is called a Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) and can be used with bit streams of varying lengths.
The basic method is to treat the serial data stream as a large, binary number. By dividing this number by a predefined binary polynomial, we end up with a remainder pattern (the check sequence) that gets tacked onto the end of the original data.
The check sequence essentially turns the serial stream into a number that is evenly divisible by the polynomial. So, on the receiving end, when the received data (which includes the check sequence) is passed through the CRC circuit, the resulting check sequence will be all 0s if there are no errors. Any 1s that show up indicate one or more errors in the bit stream, but we will not know where they are.
Suppose the data to transmit is _PHONE_ and the four-bit polynomial is 1011. Generating the check sequence is accomplished through the use of Modulo-2 arithmetic (once again using exclusive-OR). This process is illustrated in Figure 3. A three-bit pattern of 000 is tacked onto the end of the original data. This is done to reserve room for the actual three bits of the check sequence once they are determined.
Figure 3. Generating a CRC check sequence.
At each step, four bits of data are XORed with the four-bit polynomial 1011. This process repeats until there are no more bits left in the data. The final three bits remaining are the CRC check sequence (011). This sequence is now tacked onto the end of the original data (giving us _PHONE_) and transmitted.
On the receiving end, the same process is used again, with the 011 sequence replacing the original three 0s. If there are no errors, the remainder will be 0. Change one of the bits yourself and verify that the remainder is non-zero.
The CRC generator is easily constructed using a few XOR gates and a shift register. Figure 4 shows the schematic of the CRC generator for the 1011 polynomial.
Figure 4. The three-bit shift register used to create a CRC check sequence.
A four-bit divider polynomial requires a three-bit shift register to hold the three remainder bits that make up the check sequence. After all bits have been clocked into the circuit, the shift register will contain the three remainder bits (LSB on the right and MSB on the left).
An eight-bit polynomial would require a seven-bit shift register (and seven 0s tacked onto the original data to begin the process). In general, the shift register has one less stage than the number of bits in the polynomial. Table 3 shows some typical CRC polynomials and their uses.
|CRC-16||X16 + X15 + X 2 + 1||Used with ATM|
|CRC-CCITT||X16 + X12 + X 5 + 1||Used with HDLC|
|CRC-32||X32 + X26 + X23 + X22 + X16 + X12 + X11 + X10 + X8 + X7 + X5 + X4 + X2 + X + 1||Used with Ethernet|
Table 3: Common CRC generator polynomials.
Software techniques for performing error detection and correction are especially useful in the world of networking and the Internet. When we download a web page or send an Email, we want to know that these operations are successful. This guarantees that images and other web page content — as well as Email text and binary attachments — are received without error. Perhaps a better expression would be transferred without error.
If we receive some information and it has been corrupted, we simply ask for it to be retransmitted. This is the beauty of the TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) transport protocol within the TCP/IP suite of network protocols. TCP is a connection-oriented protocol where a session is set up between the transmitter and receiver (a client computer and a server computer).
Reliable exchanges of information are made possible through the use of acknowledgement messages sent back and forth between the transmitter and receiver. Figure 5 shows the various fields of the TCP protocol header.
Figure 5. TCP header details.
The header is a block of information contained in a network message that provides important information to the application processing the message.
One of the fields in the TCP header is the checksum field. This field stores a 16-bit number that is generated by adding all of the values represented by the TCP data together, ignoring any carries out of the 16th bit position. The 1s complement of the final sum is saved as the checksum. For example, if the sum was the 3C85 hexadecimal, the 1s complement checksum would be C


A Project About Play and Playfulness in Adults
Playfulness is a personality trait that follows us from childhood to adulthood, but in the latter takes on a different form. How you play changes and become more complex, often consisting of rules and strategy. This project challenges the way, we adults, think of play and playfulness.
Project info
Nelita Olsson


text:
There are different ways in which the terms medical grade
or pharmaceutical grade can be perceived, particularly when referring to honey.
Most Manuka honey that is sold in retail
stores is table grade. However, some
might refer to active Manuka honey as medical grade to differentiate it from
inactive honey. Another perception of
medical grade honey pertains to honey (usually Manuka honey) that has been
gamma irradiated, classifying it as sterile.
Referring to honey (Manuka or otherwise) as being sterile
can be somewhat confusing. The term
sterile is defined as being free of germs or microorganisms. Despite the FDA's refusal of recognizing
honey of any kind as being antimicrobial, scientific evidence suggests that it
is. However, the potential for botulism
spores in some honeys makes gamma irradiation a process that some feel is
necessary in order to refer to it as being truly sterile.
Since honey is heat-sensitive, gamma irradiation is the
only way to sterilize it without diminishing its properties. However, it is unclear as to whether or not
it is necessary to sterilize honey. The presence
of botulism in honey is harmless to individuals over the age of 1 year
old. Infants under the age of 12 months
old have not yet fully developed their immune system, and therefore, cannot
ward off these spores.
Some might say that the only purpose of gamma irradiating
honey is to make it safe for infants to ingest.
Although, doctors who may want to use Manuka honey for wounds seem to
get a warm and fuzzy feeling when using a product that they consider to be
sterile. Either way, the use of Manuka
honey that has not been gamma irradiated on wounds or for other conditions has
been found to be perfectly safe.

source: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb-edu


text:
LONDON — A rare astronomy tool that helped medieval scientists tell time will remain in Britain after the British Museum scrambled to come up with the money to buy it.
The brass device, called an astrolabe quadrant, had been sold at auction last year, and the museum was outbid. But money from the National Heritage Memorial fund, The Art Fund and the British Museum Friends helped the museum purchase it recently for $700,000.
"The quadrant will be a very important addition to our medieval collection as an object which can explain the sophistication of science in the Middle Ages and the transfer of knowledge between Muslim, Jewish and Christian communities," deputy director of the British Museum Andrew Burnett said in a statement Thursday.
The 14th-century device, which is shape of a quadrant, or quarter of a circle, was designed to be portable and has a radius of 3 inches (77 millimeters). The instrument was used to calculate the height of the sun. With that information, a scientist could determine the time, date and other calculations.
The eagle engraved on this astrolabe indicates it was to be used with the sun rather than with the stars, because the eagle was believed to be the only animal able to look directly into the sun, said Silke Ackermann, the British Museum's curator of European and Islamic scientific instruments.
The invention of the astrolabe is credited to Islamic scientists in the 9th century who learned about the concept from studying ancient Greek science. The devices were later adopted by Europeans in the 10th century and were used through the 1600s.
Eight astrolabe quadrants are known to exist from the Middle Ages, but the British Museum's instrument is the only one created for use in England, the museum said. It was found in an archaeological dig in 2005 in Canterbury, in southeast England.
The device will be on display at the British Museum starting in early August.
© 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


[IronPython] Extension methods...
Keith J. Farmer kfarmer at thuban.org
Tue Sep 20 18:38:21 CEST 2005
LINQ is *very* simple. It's simply, as Anders puts it, a pattern for
describing queries. It's made useful by way of extension methods and
the compiler deciding to convert a lambda expression not into a
delegate, but into an expression tree.
The query methods (Where, OrderBy, Select, etc) take trees, and build up
a description of the query which is then evaluated only when enumerated.
This allows DLINQ, for example, to analyze the tree and produce a SQL
command to send to a database, or XLINQ to produce an XQuery expression,
or LINQ to just take it as-is. If you'd used a list comprehension,
you'd end up pulling all the information down from the database (were
this a database table); since this is an expression that can be
analyzed, you can manipulate it before it's actually invoked.
You can conceivably take the expression and ship it whole to some
service, for the service to deal with. Were this a CLR host (such as
Yukon), you'd have, effectively, created a remoted procedure.
Thus, it's *not* the same as a Python comprehension. The syntax could
be similar, but the compiler would decide what to do based on whether
the method in question takes a Func<> or an Expression<>.
So I would say you were close, but not quite accurate. Take a few
passes through the spec -- it's much more interesting than it seems at
Keith J. Farmer // kfarmer at thuban.org
-----Original Message-----
From: users-ironpython.com-bounces at lists.ironpython.com
[mailto:users-ironpython.com-bounces at lists.ironpython.com] On Behalf Of
Sent: Tuesday, 20 September 2005 08:23
Here's the Python equivalent:
>>> numbers = [5, 4, 1, 3, 9, 8, 6, 7, 2, 0]
>>> lownums = [n for n in numbers if n < 5]
>>> lownums
[4, 1, 3, 2, 0]
For most simple extractions of this sort, I prefer the Python list
comprehension. IMO, the power of LINQ comes from integrating to
using the same syntax as you would for other IEnumerable objects.
More information about the Ironpython-users mailing list


amer is designed to cut away this ridge so that the cylinder is once again uniform from top to bottom.
Once you have visually inspected the cylinder bore, you should take measurements to determine if it is properly sized. The measurement process involves noting the dimensions at various locations along the bore, and comparing your findings to service manual specifications.
Check the size of the bore: cylinder bore measurements are similar to crankshaft journal measurements(CRANKSHAFT). Exact measurement locations for an engine will be provided in the service manual. Generally speaking, measurements are taken at three different locations along the travel area of the piston rings in a cylinder; locations will be near the top, someplace in the middle, and at the bottom.
Check the roundness and taper: at each location(top, middle, and bottom), the bore diameter is measured in two directions. The first measurement should be parallel to the crankshaft as it sits in the crankcase, the other perpendicular to it. By comparing each set of measurements taken, subtracting the smaller measurement from the larger, you can determine if the bore is out of round at any of the three locations. Out of round means that the bore has become too much larger in one direction than the other. Acceptable parameters for out of roundness will be provided in an engine service manual. If your measurements fall outside these specifications, the bore will need to be reconditioned.
Taper of the bore is determined by comparing measurements taken at its top with those taken at its middle and bottom. If these measurements differ, it means that the bore is narrower in one place than in another. A certain amount of taper is acceptable. An engine service manual will specify how much. As with out of roundness, if your measurements fall outside of these specifications, the bore will need to be reconditioned before it can be used.
Record your measurements: to keep track of measurements, create a crude form on a piece of paper which provides space to note each one as it is taken. Using a form saves time, and reduces the chances of error when measurements are checked against specifications.
Compare the measurements: refer to the service manual for the engine on which you are working for official specifications.
1)You will usually find a specification for I.D.(inside diameter), new; this provides guidelines for the original engine cylinder bore.
2)Another specification you will see is the maximum wear limit. This is the largest acceptable cylinder bore diameter for use with a standard size piston. If the bore turns out to be beyond permissible limits, the cylinder itself must be replaced, either fitted with a new sleeve or replaced with an entirely new crankcase cylinder block, or, if a given engine permits, bored larger for use with an oversize piston.
3)There will be a specification for maximum out of roundness allowable for the cylinder bore of a given engine. This specification refers to the shape of the bore, the degree to which it is oval instead of round. The amount of cylinder out of roundness is found by calculating the difference between the two measurements made at each location within the bore(top, middle, and bottom; SEE ABOVE). If the difference between any pair of measurements exceeds the service manual specification, the cylinder has become excessively out of round and must be replaced or bored to a larger size. A cylinder which is just slightly out of round, within specifications, can likely be restored to new when the bore is reconditioned.
4)The final specification you will find is for maximum allowable taper within a cylinder. Amount of taper is determined by comparing the measurements taken at any of the three locations in a cylinder(top, middle, bottom) to those taken at the other locations(SEE ABOVE). If the difference between any two of these measurements falls outside of service manual specifications, the bore has become excessively tapered; it must be either replaced, or bored to a larger size for use with an oversize piston. A modest taper can usually be corrected during routine reconditioning of the bore.
If the bore passes visual inspection and proves to be within service manual wear specifications, the cylinder can be reused. Before reuse, the bore should be honed. The honing process is designed to slightly scratch the cylinder walls, leaving small scratch marks behind. Honing helps ensure that the rings seal properly. It can also correct small amounts taper or out of roundness, and even remove effects of minor scoring from the cylinder wall. Since honing involves a slight enlargement of the bore, the bore should be remeasured after the process is completed to ensure that it remains within specifications. The cylinder head and bore are normally a single component in two stroke engines, which may entail extra care to avoid enlarging the bore too much during the honing process.
Honing a new cylinder: newly manufactured engines are honed to create scratch marks on their cylinder walls. These small scratches assist in lubrication by establishing crevices that retain engine oil. When rings are installed in a new engine, ring surfaces will not precisely match the cylinder bore. A piston ring which has not yet been worn in may contact the cylinder wall in only a few spots. It takes a short time for the surfaces of new rings to wear to the shape of a cylinder wall, and form a tight seal; this short period is referred to as the break in period of an engine. Manufacturers will recommend that you use new equipment under a light workload for the break in period of an engine so that it will occur correctly. The wearing in of piston rings is referred to as the seating of the rings.
Each ring contacts the cylinder wall at intermittent spots before it is seated. Force of contact at these spots is quite high, creating high friction. Rings will therefore require extra lubrication until they wear to the shape of the wall. Once rings are worn in, the force up and down the wall is distributed evenly. A cylinder wall is slightly scratched by honing to provide reservoirs for the increased oil lubrication that rings need during the break in period.
Scratch marks left by honing are referred to as cross hatching. The marks are usually placed at angles of 45 to 60 degrees along a cylinder wall(never vertically). Scratches must be placed at an angle to the motion of the piston to prevent compression gases from escaping past the rings. As an engine is broken in, honing scratches will quickly wear off, and the cylinder wall is left perfectly smooth.
Tools used for honing: a bore is typically honed to restore scratch patterns to the cylinder during a rebuild. A tool called a cylinder hone is used. The cylinder hone is a round, cylindrical tool that fits neatly into the bore, and then is rotated by an electric drill. Honing stones surround the outer edges of the tool. These stones do the cutting. Different types of stones are used depending on the material being cut, and the amount of metal which needs to be removed. If the cylinder must be heavily honed to remove deep score marks or repair other irregularities, coarse stones are used initially for a faster cut. After this initial cutting, they can be exchanged for finer stones that will leave the cylinder walls with a smoother finish.
Hones are adjustable to the diameter of a cylinder. They possess knobs which can be swiveled to extend the cutting surfaces outward until they reach the cylinder wall. As the stones do their cutting, the hone will need to be readjusted periodically, to extend its cutting surfaces enough so they continue engaging the enlarged bore.
The type of hone just described is called a rigid hone. Instead of allowing its cutting stones to conform automatically to the shape of a cylinder wall, a rigid hone will hold its stones in the alignment the operator sets until they are manually adjusted. Since the stones are always aligned, the cylinder is cut in a perfectly round shape. Because of its design, the rigid hone is best for cylinders that are slightly either out of round or tapered.
Another type of hone is called the flex hone. It is similar to a rigid hone in that it requires an electric drill to be rotated, and possesses similar cutting stones. Instead of held rigidly in place, the cutting stones of a flex hone are located on spring loaded arms. As the flex hone is operated, spring pressure insures that the cutting stones remain firmly against the cylinder wall, even as the bore is enlarged.
The advantage of a flex hone is that it works more quickly, and is easier to use; the operator does not need to stop work to adjust the cutting perimeter as would be required with a rigid hone. Another advantage is that flex hones come in a greater variety of sizes, small sizes in particular, and thus can be used on many two stroke engines where a rigid hone would prove too large. However flex hones can be used only on cylinders which are properly shaped; they will not remedy either out of roundness or excessive taper.
To hone a small engine cylinder, the engine block must be securely anchored to prevent it from moving. The hone is mounted on either a handheld drill or drill press. If one is available, a drill press is frequently better because it keeps the hone positioned more uniformly.
Deglazing a cylinder bore: a cylinder that does not require resizing, and which is shaped properly, can be lightly honed to remove the ceramic like petroleum glaze that builds up on all cylinder walls during routine engine operation. Light honing is often referred to as deglazing. Flex hones are usually used to deglaze cylinders. So little cylinder wall material is removed during a deglazing that the standard size piston and rings can be installed in the rebuilt engine. Any time a cylinder needs resizing, a rigid hone with coarse stones should be used first, then fine stones used to finish the procedure.
Honing to recondition an old cylinder: to correctly resize a cylinder, you must ensure that it is perfectly aligned with the hone. It is also exceedingly important to use the correct honing


text:
The P4W project incorporates three lessons learned from previous, similar projects, such as Let's Connect which ran from 2012 to 2015. Let's Connect also took place in the Brainport region and shared P4W's objective of making labour markets more transparent. Several lessons were drawn from this project. These lessons include: first of all, the use of strong incentive systems to encourage individuals to disclose information on their skills (and other relevant attributes); second, the need for a "passport for work" to be selective and structured by nature in terms of its contents, to ensure efficient matching procedures; and third, to maintain acceptable levels of validity and reliability of data on skills (to prevent matching on false grounds). Finally, the passport should be part of a broader platform, linking relevant stakeholders (jobseekers, employers, educational institutes) within one accessible ecosystem.
There are also three barriers for the impact of artificial impact on labour to consider. The first barrier represents the lack of high-quality data about the intricacies of an occupation and its underlying skills. Second, forecasting models are limited due to the uncertainty around technology's impact on labor. Third, aggregate labour market data lacks regional specificity.
In P4W, the gamified assessment serves to promote the engagement levels of the target users (among which there are large differences in literacy levels). By incorporating principles of gaming through online role-playing games and neurogames, P4W seeks to differentiate itself from more classic, survey-based assessments by catering to motivational and incentive-based aspects of use. Previous research has shown a positive effect of gamification on these aspects. Furthermore, P4W heavily invests in psychometric validation of its tools, to ensure the reliability and validity of data for matching purposes. Finally, P4W is aiming for national as well as regional impact, through its contribution to the Dutch skills language CompetentNL.


text:
Identity Development, Risk, and Resilience among Gender Diverse Populations
Walter O. Bockting, Ph.D., Principal Investigator
Previous research has found that the vast majority of transgender individuals experienced discrimination and documented health inequities. Much of the data, however, is limited by the use of small convenience samples of transgender women with a history of sex work, recruited from AIDS and social service agencies. The goal of this study is to move beyond these limitations by using purposive, venue-based sampling to recruit a broad, diverse sample of transgender people in 3 U.S. cities--New York, San Francisco, and Atlanta-and enroll them into a mixed-method longitudinal study to test an adaptation of the minority stress model, investigating vulnerability, risk and resilience in the context of identity development. The aims of the study are: (1) To describe the process of transgender identity development based on qualitative lifeline interviews with a sample of 90 transgender individuals ages 16 and older, and identify periods of acute vulnerability and characteristics of resilience; (2) Informed by findings from Aim 1, to refine a model combining identity development, minority stress, and resilience, and to develop/adapt measures to assess the model's key constructs; (3) To test the model of resilience in a cohort of transgender individuals (N = 480) stratified by city, gender, and age, and follow them over time (baseline, 1-, 2-, and 3-year follow up interviews); and (4) To triangulate qualitative and quantitative data on identity development and minority stress processes in order to inform the future development and testing of intervention strategies aimed at fostering resilience and reducing stigma and discrimination. By achieving these aims, this study will make a significant advance in scientific knowledge about gender identity development, minority stress processes (enacted stigma, felts stigma, concealment, shame and their impact on health and psychosocial adjustment), minority coping (on an individual as well as community level), and the development of resilience over time. The study is innovative in its focus on an understudied minority population, the application of the lifeline interview method to this population, and the adaptation and testing of the minority stress model within the context of transgender identity development.
U.S. TRANSGENDER POPULATION HEALTH SURVEY
WALTER BOCKTING, PH.D.
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: ILAN MEYER, PH.D.
TransPop Study, a first-of-its-kind U.S. transgender population health survey, is being conducted by researchers at the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, Columbia University, Harvard University, and The Fenway Institute at Fenway Health. The study will be the first national probability sample of transgender individuals in the U.S. and thus will be provide a more accurate and detailed picture of the issues faced by transgender people. The study will provide researchers and policy makers with unbiased estimates about demographics, health outcomes and well-being, and health care needs of the transgender population, which will be crucial for designing evidence-based public health and policy interventions.
The TransPop study aims to:
- Describe demographic parameters of the U.S. transgender population, such as race/ethnicity, age, gender identity, education, employment, etc.
- Describe basic health outcomes and health behaviors, such as health status, health care access, quality of life, etc.
- Describe experiences of transgender people with interpersonal and institutional discrimination in areas such as healthcare, employment, housing, etc.
- Describe transgender identity history and transition-related experiences.


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What is MS Polymer? A Comprehensive Guide to this Revolutionary Material
IntroductionIn today's fast-paced world, technological advancements continue to reshape various industries, and the field of construction is no exception. One such innovation that has gained significant attention is MS Polymer. But what exactly is MS Polymer? In this comprehensive guide, we will delve into the world of MS Polymer, exploring its properties, applications, and the benefits it brings to the construction industry.
What is MS Polymer?MS Polymer, short for "Modified Silane Polymer," is a revolutionary adhesive and sealant technology that combines the best features of traditional polyurethane and silicone-based products. It is a versatile material that exhibits excellent adhesive strength, flexibility, durability, and weather resistance.
MS Polymers are developed by modifying the chemical structure of silane polymers, resulting in enhanced performance characteristics. They are typically solvent-free, low VOC (volatile organic compound), and possess excellent UV and water resistance properties, making them ideal for a wide range of applications in the construction sector.
The Advantages of MS Polymer
Superior Adhesive PropertiesMS Polymers offer exceptional bonding capabilities across various substrates, including metals, plastics, glass, concrete, and wood. The adhesive strength ensures a reliable and long-lasting bond, even in challenging environments.
Excellent Flexibility and ElasticityOne of the standout features of MS Polymers is their flexibility and elasticity. This enables them to accommodate movements and vibrations without cracking or losing adhesion. Such characteristics make them ideal for applications where joint movement or structural flexing is expected.
Weather ResistanceMS Polymers are designed to withstand extreme weather conditions, including temperature variations, UV radiation, and moisture exposure. They retain their performance properties over time, making them suitable for both interior and exterior applications.
Paint CompatibilityUnlike certain adhesive and sealant materials, MS Polymers are compatible with most paints, allowing for seamless integration into a wide range of construction projects. This feature ensures a smooth and aesthetically pleasing finish.
User-Friendly and Environmentally FriendlyMS Polymers are generally solvent-free, reducing the release of harmful emissions during application. Additionally, they are easy to handle and apply, making them user-friendly for both professionals and DIY enthusiasts.
Versatile ApplicationsThe versatility of MS Polymer is one of its strongest attributes. It finds application in various construction areas, including:
- Bonding and sealing of metal, glass, and plastic panels in curtain wall systems.
- Installation and sealing of windows, doors, and other fenestration elements.
- Waterproofing and sealing of roofs, balconies, and terraces.
- Bonding and sealing of joints in precast concrete panels and structural glazing.
- Automotive assembly and repairs, such as bonding body panels and windshields.
In summary, MS Polymer is a remarkable material that combines the best features of traditional polyurethane and silicone-based products. Its superior adhesive properties, flexibility, weather resistance, and ease of use make it an excellent choice for a wide range of construction applications. As the construction industry continues to evolve, MS Polymer plays a vital role in enhancing durability, sustainability, and overall performance.


From FedoraProject
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Automatic Updates
You must decide whether to use automatic yum updates on each of your machines. There are a number of arguments both for and against automatic updates to consider. However, there is no single answer to this question: It is up to the system administrator or owner of each machine to decide whether automatic updates are desirable or not for that machine. One of the things which makes one a good system administrator is the ability to evaluate the facts and other people's suggestions, and then decide for onesself what one should do.
A general rule that applies in most cases is as follows:
If the machine is a critical server, for which unplanned downtime of a service on the machine can not be tolerated, then you should not use automatic updates. Otherwise, you may choose to use them.
Even the general rule above has exceptions, or can be worked around. Some issues might be resolved through a special setup on your part. For example, you could create your own yum repository on a local server, and only put in it tested or trusted updates. Then use the automatic updates from only your own repository. Such setups, while perhaps more difficult to setup and maintain, can remove a large amount of risk otherwise inherent in automatic updates.
How are automatic updates done?
You can use a service to automatically download and install any new updates (for example security updates). The yum-updatesd RPM package provides a service which is started automatically. Though, you have to change a configuration file. In order to do this, run as the root user (or become root via su -) from a terminal window. On a fresh install of Fedora Core 19 with default options the yum-updatesd RPM is not installed, the first command below installs this RPM.
yum install -y yum-updatesd
su -c "gedit /etc/yum/yum-updatesd.conf"
and enter your password. After, change the line
do_update = no
do_update = yes
Save the file and restart the service, do it via either command below, the 1st one shown is if you are not the root user and the 2nd one is if you are the root user
su -c /bin/systemctl restart yum-updatesd
/bin/systemctl restart yum-updatesd
You are now done. Yum-updatesd updates your system every time when there are new updates available.
Can we trust yum updates?
Yum in Fedora has the GPG key checking enabled by default. Assuming that you have imported the correct GPG keys, and still have gpgcheck=1 in your /etc/yum.conf, then we can at least assume that any automatically installed updates were not corrupted or modified from their original state. Using the GPG key checks, there is no way for an attacker to generate packages that your system will accept as valid (unless they have a copy of the *private* key corresponding to one you installed) and any data corruption during download would be caught.
However, the question would also apply to the question of update quality. Will the installation of the package cause problems on your system? This we can not answer. Each package goes through a QA process, and is assumed to be problem free. But, problems happen, and QA can not test all possible cases. It is always possible that any update may cause problems during or after installation.
Why use Automatic updates?
The main advantage of automating the updates is that machines are likely to get updated more quickly, more often, and more uniformly than if they updates are done manually. We see too many compromised machines on the internet which would have been safe if the latest updates where installed in a timely way.
So while you should still be cautious with any automated update solution, in particular on production systems, it is definitely worth considering, at least in some situations.
Reasons FOR using automatic updates
While no one can determine for you if your machine is a good candidate for automatic updates, there are several things which tend to make a machine a better candidate for automatic updates.
Some things which might make your machine a good candidate for automatic updates are:
 - You are unlikely to apply updates manually for whatever reason(s).
 - The machine is not critical and occasional unplanned downtime is acceptable.
 - You can live without remote access to the machine until you can get to its physical location to resolve problems.
 - You do not have any irreplaceable data on the machine, or have proper backups of such data.
If all of the above apply to your machine(s), then automatic updates may be your best option to help secure your machine. If not all of the above apply, then you will need to weigh the risks and decide for yourself if automatic updates are the best way to proceed.
Reasons AGAINST using automatic updates
While no one can determine for you if your machine is a bad candidate for automatic updates, there are several things which tend to make a machine a worse candidate for automatic updates.
Some things which might make your machine be a bad candidate for automatic updates are:
 - It provides a critical service that you don't want to risk having unscheduled downtime.
 - You installed custom software, compiled software from source, or use third party software that has strict package version requirements.
 - You installed a custom kernel, custom kernel modules, third party kernel modules, or have a third party application that depends on kernel versions (this may not be a problem if you exclude kernel updates, which is the default in Fedora yum.conf files).
 - Your enviroment requires meticulous change-control procedures.
 - You update from other third party yum repositories besides Fedora (core, extras, legacy ) repositories which may conflict in versioning schemes for the same packages.
There are also some other reasons why installing automatic updates without testing may be a bad idea. A few such reasons are:
 - The need to back up your configuration files before an update. Even the best package spec files can have mistakes. If you have modified a file which is not flagged as a configuration file, then you might lose your configuration changes. Or an update may have a different format of configuration file, requiring a manual reconfiguration. It is often best to backup your configuration files before doing updates on critical packages such as mail, web, or database server packages.
 - Unwanted side effects. Some packages can create annoying side effects, particularly ones which have cron jobs. Updates to base packages like openssl, openldap, sql servers, etc. can have an effect on many other seemingly unrelated packages.
 - Bugs. Many packages contain buggy software or installation scripts. The update may create problems during or after installation. Even cosmetic bugs like those found in previous Mozilla updates (causing the user's icons to be removed or break) can be annoying or problematic.
 - Automatic updates may not complete the entire process needed to make the system secure. For example, yum can install a kernel update, but until the machine is rebooted (which yum will not do automatically) the new changes won't take effect. The same may apply to restarting daemons. This can leave the user feeling that he is secure when he is not.
Best practices when using automatic updates
If you decide to use automatic updates, you should at least do a few things to make sure you are up-to-date.
Check for package updates which have been automatically performed, and note if they need further (manual) intervention. You can monitor what yum has updated via its log file (usually /var/log/yum.log). You can monitor this automatically by email by modifying the cron job to mail you the last part of the log file. For example, edit /etc/cron.daily/yum.cron so that it looks like the following:
if [ -f /var/lock/subsys/yum ] ; then
/usr/bin/yum -R 10 -e 0 -d 0 -y update yum
/usr/bin/yum -R 120 -e 0 -d 0 -y update
/usr/bin/tail /var/log/yum.log | /bin/mail -s yum-report youremail@yourdmain
You would replace youremail@yourdomain with a actual email address to which you want to report sent. This change will mean that after yum runs every night, it will email you the tail end of the log file showing what happened. (Note this assumes you have a working mail setup on your machine.)
Alternatives to automatic updates
Instead of automatic updates, yum can alert your via email of available updates which you could then install manually. You could accomplish such a setup with a cron job such as that listed below. Simply put this in /etc/cron.daily with a suitable filename (such as yum-check-updates.cron).
/usr/bin/yum check-update 2>&1 | /bin/mail -s "yum check-update output" root
You can of course change the email address it sends to, etc. to meet your own needs.
Scheduling updates
Another common problem is having automatic updates run when it isn't desired (holidays, weekends, vacations, etc). If there are times that no one will be around to fix any problem arising the from the updates, it may be best to avoid doing updates on those days. One method is to use a crontab entry instead of the /etc/cron.daily/yum.conf provided by default. For example, to only run updates from Monday through Friday mornings (avoiding weekends), you might use a crontab entry such as the following:
0 7 * * 1-5 /usr/bin/yum -y update
If you need more control over when it


Prophecy and the Plan
The ancient prophecy is a staple of fantasy. This child will kill his father and marry his mother. Not by the hand of man will this being fall. The source of the information is often vague, but once we've heard the prophecy, we know it's going to come true—somehow.
There's a comparable science fiction trope: the long-term Plan. But the Plan functions rather differently. Let's take a look at the two together.
Foretold and Foredoomed
An entire story may be built around the unavoidable destiny that lands on an unlikely or reluctant hero. Or the mysterious message from the past may relate merely to one aspect of the story—perhaps the only way to accomplish some task ("the penitent man will pass"). Either way, in the words of TV Tropes, Prophecies Are Always Right.
As the examples on the Tropes page indicate, this is not strictly true: writers can subvert or otherwise play with the fulfillment of a prediction. But there wouldn't be much purpose in introducing the prophecy if it didn't have some relevance to the plot. Most commonly, this is because it's valid.
Statute of sibylThe device goes back to some of the earliest stories we have. The Greek tale of Oedipus, for example, involves a prediction that a child will bring disaster on his city by killing his father and marrying his mother. The very actions by which his father tries to avert this outcome turn out to produce it.
Shakespeare's Macbeth provides a slightly less antique example. The title character is emboldened to stage a revolt by the "prophetic greeting" of three witches (Act I, Scene 3). Macbeth is further heartened by hearing that "none of woman born" will harm him, and that he won't be beaten until "Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane Hill/Shall come against him," (Act IV, Scene 1). Both statements turn out to be true, but not as Macbeth interpreted them: his opponents approach his stronghold holding "leavy screens" of branches (Act V, Scene 6), and he is slain by Macduff, who was birthed by Caesarean section (Act V, Scene 8). In both these cases the message appears to be that you can't fight fate: the prophecy will come true despite all attempts to prevent it.
The motif carries through to modern fantasy as well. Harry Potter's Divination teacher, Professor Trelawney, is generally played for laughs, but her serious predictions come true. In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, the White Witch is right to fear the "old rhyme" that her reign will end when two Sons of Adam and two Daughters of Eve are enthroned in Cair Paravel (ch. 8).
Fated but Free
Eowyn slays the NazgulThe Lord of the Rings provides some interesting examples. TV Tropes lists a number of vague premonitions by various characters. But a more specific case occurs when the Witch-King of Angmar, secure in Glorfindel's prediction that "not by the hand of man will he fall" (Appendix A, I.iv), boasts that "No living man may hinder me!", and is met by Éowyn's defiant "But no living man am I!" (Return of the King, book V, ch. 6, p. 116).
The main issue of the story, however, is subject to no such foreknowledge. No prophecy gives a hint as to whether the Ring will be destroyed and Sauron defeated. As TV Tropes points out, free will as well as fate exists in Tolkien's world. There is no certainty of outcome in this world's battles. As Chesterton puts it: "I tell you naught for your comfort, yea, naught for your desire / Save that the sky grows darker yet and the sea rises higher."
The foretellings we do see in fantasy seem to be guaranteed by some trans-human source: paranormal, supernatural, even divine. This is why they can generally be relied upon to come true. But what of science fiction, which tends to invoke science rather than the supernatural?
What often takes the place of prophecy in SF is a vast, far-reaching plan of some sort, whose fulfillment is guaranteed not by the supernatural but on some scientific basis. This is, in effect, the science-fictional version of prophecy or fate. Such plans typically are made by human beings (or similar creatures). They are reducible to human intent—and conditioned by human fallibility.
Seldon sits in front of city (Foundation)The classic case is Isaac Asimov's original Foundation trilogy. Hari Seldon, inventor of a new science of "psychohistory" that statistically predicts the aggregate actions of human masses (as distinct from the acts of individual persons), realizes that the millennia-spanning Galactic Empire is headed for an inevitable collapse. To cut short the subsequent thirty thousand years of chaos and barbarism, Seldon launches a plan to establish two "Foundations" from which civilization may be restored more quickly—in a mere thousand years. Seldon's mathematics allows him to arrange things in such a way that the Seldon Plan will inevitably prevail—at least to a very high order of probability (given that we're dealing with statistical conclusions here, rather than superhuman insights).
The stories Asimov tells about the early years of the Foundation thus carry an atmosphere that's similar in some ways to that of a prophecy in fantasy. The leaders and people of the Foundation on the planet Terminus have confidence that they will prevail; but they are not privy to the details of the Plan and have no idea how that will occur—just as the Witch-King did not anticipate he would be slain by a woman, or the Pevensie children know just how they can succeed to the king-and-queenship of Narnia.
On the other hand, Seldon's Plan is not quite as infallible as the typical prophecy. This becomes evident when an individual known as the Mule upsets the psychohistorical scheme by changing its underlying assumptions about human behavior: the Mule has mutant mental powers that could not have been predicted by Seldon.
Galactic Networks and Race Minds
The Snow Queen coverJoan Vinge's 1980 novel The Snow Queen (very loosely based on the plot of Andersen's fairy tale) also involves a Plan, though the characters are not aware of this initially. They come to realize that the "sibyl network," a vast interstellar information system run by technology beyond their understanding, has its own purposes and is seeking (like Seldon) to shape events to promote reconstruction after a collapse of civilization. But they're not fully aware of what the sibyl network is trying to do, and they don't know whether its Plan will be successful.
Unlike the Plan that underlies the Foundation stories, Vinge's Plan is not made by human agents—though the computer "mind" behind it is a human product. But like the Seldon Plan, this long-range plan is not guaranteed to succeed. The sibyl network is not as infallible as the mysterious sources behind the standard fantasy prophecy.
The long-term plan, or purpose, may also belong to a race or species consciousness—a mind (of sorts) that arises from humanity as a whole. The "terrible purpose" that Paul Atreides struggles with in Dune is that of a subliminal racial consciousness that is driving relentlessly toward an interstellar jihad as a way of mixing up the gene pool to refresh the species. This quasi-mind does not seem to have a specific plan in mind, but the overall drive, like the statistically-based Seldon Plan, is irresistible.
Something similar seems to be at work in A.E. van Vogt's mutation-after-humanity novel Slan (1940). In this future setting, the human species is mutating not at random, but in such a way as to consistently produce a "higher" type of being—smarter, stronger, kinder, with telepathic powers. One character remarks: "We have always assumed far too readily that no cohesion exists between individuals, that the race of men is not a unit with an immensely tenuous equivalent of a blood-and-nerve stream flowing from man to man" (ch. 18). Apparently there is some vague but irresistible analogue of systematic purpose at work in humanity as a whole. (Greg Bear's 1999 novel Darwin's Radio, by contrast, suggests a distributed genetic mechanism for such a wave of mutation, without requiring a single overall mind to account for it.)
Ongoing Guidance
A master Plan that spans generations may be designed to operate without intervening human guidance. This is true of certain lost world-ship stories, in which the loss of knowledge on a generation ship is deliberately arranged in advance. In Clifford Simak's Target Generation (1953), for instance, a book of instructions has been secretly passed down from generation to generation, to be opened only when the starship finally reaches its destination.
Of course, the transmission of such a plan won't be reliable if it's subject to human error or accident. I've often felt that the long-dead planners who relied on a secret book in Target Generation ought to have been thrown out on their ears, when the flight was being arranged, for resting the survival of an entire ship


text:
- All common compounds of Group I and ammonium ions are soluble.
- All nitrates, acetates, and chlorates are soluble.
- All binary compounds of the halogens (other than F) with metals are soluble, except those of Ag, Hg(I), and Pb. Pb halides are soluble in hot water.)
- All sulfates are soluble, except those of barium, strontium, calcium, lead, silver, and mercury (I). The latter three are slightly soluble.
- Except for rule 1, carbonates, hydroxides, oxides, silicates, and phosphates are insoluble.
- Sulfides are insoluble except for calcium, barium, strontium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, and ammonium.
It is very helpful to be able to recognize the formulas for those gases that may be used or produced during the course of a chemical reaction. The way to indicate that a compound is a gas when you write a chemical equation is to place (g) after the formula, such as HCl(g).
Here is a list of some of the more common gases:
F2, Cl2, H2, N2, O2, SO2, SO3, CO, CO2, H2S, NO, NO2,
NH3, P2O3, P2O5, SiF4, HCl, HBr, HI, HF, N2O5, N2O3, N2O


text:
Cotangent Vectors, Differentials, and the Cotangent Bundle
There's another construct in differential topology and geometry that isn't quite so obvious as a tangent vector, but which is every bit as useful: a cotangent vector. A cotangent vector at a point is just an element of the dual space to, which we write as.
We actually have a really nice example of cotangent vectors already: a gadget that takes a tangent vector at and gives back a number. It's the differential, which when given a vector returns the directional derivative in that direction. And we can generalize that right away.
Indeed, if is a smooth germ at, then we have a linear functional defined for all tangent vectors. We will call this functional the differential of at, and write.
If we have local coordinates at, then each coordinate function is a smooth function, which has differential. These actually furnish the dual basis to the coordinate vectors. Indeed, we calculate
That is, evaluating the coordinate differential on the coordinate vector gives the value if and otherwise.
Of course, the define a basis of at every point, just like the define a basis of at every point. This was exactly what we needed to compare vectors — at least to some extent — at points within a local coordinate patch, and let us define the tangent bundle as a -dimensional manifold.
In exactly the same way, we can define the cotangent bundle. Given the coordinate patch we define a coordinate patch covering all the cotangent spaces with. The coordinate map is defined on a cotangent vector by
Everything else in the construction of the cotangent bundle proceeds exactly as it did for the tangent bundle, but we're missing one thing: how to translate from one basis of coordinate differentials to another.
So, let's say and are two coordinate maps at, defining coordinate differentials and. How are these two bases related? We can calculate this by applying to :
This has the same values on each of the as does, and we conclude that they are, in fact, the same cotangent vector:
On the other hand, recall that
That is, we use the Jacobian of one transition function to transform from the basis to the basis of, but the transpose of the same Jacobian to transform from the basis to the basis of. And this is actually just as we expect, since the transpose is actually the adjoint transformation, which automatically connects the dual spaces.


text:
ICANZ is a registered Incorporated Society. Its aims are:
- To provide adoption education for couples in New Zealand undertaking adoptions.
- To encourage the formation of support groups for adoptive families in New Zealand and their internationally adopted children for the sharing of ideas, encouragement and the making of friendships.
- To encourage and assist New Zealand adoptive families to learn about and celebrate their child's cultural heritage.
- To offer post adoption services, information, support and continuing educational opportunities to support adoptive families in New Zealand and their children.
- To assist suitable couples living in New Zealand to adopt children from overseas, for whom inter-country adoption is considered by the authorities of their country to be the most appropriate choice of care, provided that such adoptions are in the best interest of the child and are carried out with respect for his or her fundamental rights as recognized in international law.


Level Design
Narrative Design
This section is showing excerpts and documentation related to my video game writing. Synopsis, creation of fictional characters and universes, and storytelling methodology.
* Documents en français
HIVE - Student Integration Project (to be released)
Original story: Vanessa Tellier - Jean-Philippe Marchi - Vincent St-Gelais - Dominic Fontaine
Lead narrative designer: Jean-Michel Roy
Narrative designer: François Pellet - Dominic Fontaine
Starting from the original narrative bible, our mission as a narrative team was to transpose the conceptual world of HIVE into various LOGS and textual clues. Produced in 14 weeks.
My main tasks were:
- produce and show effective documentation for the production team
- write narrative logs used in game
- integrate the content into the game engine
* Documents en français
CHASSEUR DÉPRIME - Game jam - Text-based game
This funny game experience was designed in a game jam format with a team of 4 LD. Chasseur Déprime offered a virtual central Hub (ship's cockpit) and the choice of two missions: Investigation or Combat.
The player embodies Space Booner, who goes on an intergalactic mission in the relentless pursuit of a few credits to patch up his crumbling ship.
My main tasks were:
- write the COMBAT mission
- organize a diagram to facilitate the logic of the text directory layout
* Documents en français
TAXIBOLIDE - Twine - Short story with multiple choices
I wrote this mini story based on the character Space Booner, created in a previous game jam. We follow him in his adventures on a garbage planet in search of a fugitive android.
Will you make the right choices? Try it below.
- CONSTRAINTS: 700 words max.


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FAMILY ORIGINS: VALLENDAR, GERMANY|
The Klufft family, also spelled Kluft, Klofft, and Kloft, originated in the town of Vallendar, Germany in what was then considered Prussia. Vallendar is located near Koblenz, the third largest city in The Palatinate, southeast of Cologne.
Vallendar (also spelled Wallendar) is located in the district Mayen Koblenz and the settlement area of the city spreads on the right bank of the Middle Rhine opposite the inhabited island Lower Rhine Werth (Niederwerth). The city is situated to the west of where the Westerwald (mountain range) meets the right bank of the Rhine. The city is located 5.7 km north of Koblenz and 12.3 km south of Neuwied in Neuwied Basin, a part of the Middle Rhine basin. In 1910 the population of the city was 4,462. The current population is 8,763.
The first record of Vallendar is in 830 CE. It was historically said to be owned by the archbishops of Trier, but may also be of Celtic origin, and thus much older (700 - 600 BCE). In 1232, the Count of Sayn built a castle on the north side of Vallendar. Today, the Marienburg stands where the castle was built.
The modern town hall stands where the original town hall stood, from 1294 to 1789. The ceramics industry (with porcelain factory) and the finishing of leather (and, thus, arts and crafts) were prime industries in the town. The town has had a tannery, a facility where tanning processes were applied to hides to produce leather, dating back to the 17th century.
In 1802 the city was under the principality of Nassau-Weilburg, but in 1815 it became the Kingdom of Prussia. In 1813, the Wars of Liberation began in Germany, following the destruction of Napoleon's army in Russia. After the Battle of the Nations at Leipzig, Germany was liberated from French rule. The Confederation of the Rhine was dissolved. During the Wars of Liberation, Vallendar is a constant passage and quartering station for ally troops. Many inhabitants died of typhoid fever.
The Congress of Vienna assigned Koblenz to Prussia, and in 1822 it was made the seat of government for the Prussian Rhine Province. The Rhine Province (German: Rheinprovinz), also known as Rhenish Prussia (Rheinpreuben), was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from _PHONE_. It was created from the provinces of the Lower Rhine and J'Cleves-Berg. In 1946, the Rhine Province was divided into the newly-founded states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate.
Today the town features a beautiful university and a health resort. Its grace chapel is known throughout the world, particularly in South America.
Johann and Maria Catharina Klufft lived in Vallender and had three children, Anna Maria, Elverinus, and Peter Joseph.
The baptismal sponsors of Anna Maria were A. Muller and Theodor Hisgen. Baptismal sponsors of her siblings included Elverinus Bender, Elisabetha Monreal, Peter Josef Bartel and A.M. (Anna Maria) Noll.
Ludwig Franz Frank married Anna Maria Kluft on November 28, 1804 in Vallendar.
Ludwig and Anna had seven children, including great-great-great-grandfather and immigrant ancestor Theodore Frank.
Photos of the Frank family are available OnLine.
The surname Kluft is Old High German and is either a rift, gap, or fissure or a levee (embankment to prevent flooding).
Surnames of those in my direct ancestral line appear in BOLD.
1 Johann Klufft b: unknown d: Feb. 26, 1804 in Vallendar, Germany
..+ Maria Catharina (unknown)
........ 2 Maria Anna Klufft b: May 19, 1778 in Vallendar, Germany d: unknown
............+ Ludwig Franz Frank b: 1774 in Vallendar, Germany d: Nov. 30, 1855 in Vallendar, Germany
............ [click here for additional information on this family line.]
........ 2 Elverinus Klufft b: May 19, 1780 in Vallendar, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany d: unknown
........ 2 Peter Josef Klufft b: Dec. 21, 1782 in Vallendar, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany d: unknown
|My Family Genealogy|


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High-Intensity Ultrasound OK for Cesarean Scar Pregnancy
(HealthDay News) — High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) can play a role in treating cesarean scar pregnancy (CSP), according to a small study published in the October issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.
Juhua Xiao, MD, from the Jiangxi Maternal and Child Health Hospital in Nanchang, China, and colleagues treated 16 patients with CSP with ultrasound-guided HIFU ablation. Disappearance of CSP mass, undetectable serum beta human chorionic gonadotropin, and no serious complications such as severe bleeding, uterine rupture, or hysterectomy were the criteria used to define successful treatment.
The researchers found that after 2–5 treatment sessions, the mean time for achieving undetectable serum beta human chorionic gonadotropin was 4.94 weeks, and the mean time for CSP mass disappearance was 6.69 weeks. In 1–2 days the moderate abdominal pain in three patients subsided, while nine patients experienced mild vaginal bleeding (<30mL) that resolved within 2–3 days. At follow-up, all 16 patients had recovered their normal menstruation function.
"These preliminary results suggest that ultrasound-guided HIFU ablation is a noninvasive, feasible, and effective method for the treatment of CSP," the authors write.


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- Liquid crystal sheet (available at museum,
nature stores, and science supply catalogs)
- Table top
1. Have a student touch his or her fingertips
on a table top for 30 seconds. Make sure the student has warm
2. While handling
the liquid crystal sheet only by its edges, put it on the spot
where the fingertips touched the table. Observe what happens
over the next several seconds.
Infrared telescopes have a detector sensitive to infrared light.
The telescope is placed as high up in the atmosphere as possible--on
a mountain top, in an aircraft or balloon, or flown in space--because
water vapor in the atmosphere absorbs some of the infrared radiation
from space. The human eye is not sensitive to infrared light,
but our bodies are. We sense infrared radiation as heat. Because
of this association with heat, telescopes and infrared detectors
must be kept as cool as possible. Any heat from their surroundings
will create extra infrared signals that interfere with the real
signal from space. Astronomers use cryogens such as liquid nitrogen,
liquid helium, or dry ice to cool infrared instruments.
This activity uses a liquid crystal detector
that senses heat. Also known as cholesteric liquid crystals,
the liquid inside the sheet exhibits dramatic changes in colors
when exposed to slight differences in temperature within a range
of 25 to 32 degrees Celsius. When the student placed his or
her fingers on the table top, heat from the fingertips transferred
to the table's surface. The liquid crystal sheet detects the
slight heat remaining after the student's hand is removed. A
visible image of the placement of the fingertips emerges on
the sheet. In the case of an infrared telescope in space, the
energy is detected directly by instruments sensitive to infrared
radiation. Usually, the data is recorded on computers and transmitted
to earth as a radio signal. Ground-based computers reassemble
- How was infrared radiation discovered?
- Learn about cholesteric liquid crystals. An
Austrian botanist, Freidrich Reinitfer, discovered them in 1838.
This Activity is from "Space-Based Astronomy:
A Teacher's Guide With Activities"
Originally published by NASA, August 1994.


text:
The sources for the First World
War held by The National Archives and the Imperial War
Museum offer richly varied insights into all aspects of what
G Wells called 'the war that will end war'.
By making a selection of these records
available online for the first time, this exhibition provides
a valuable research tool for all those interested in modern
history - including anyone tracing military records of ancestors
who served in the First World War or researching controversies
relating to the conflict.
Beyond that, it aims to create a wider
understanding of the global nature of the war and its consequences,
which in areas such as the Balkans and Palestine are still
being felt today.


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Constantine II (king of Greece)
Constantine II, 1940–, king of the Hellenes; also known as Constantine XIII. He was appointed regent in 1964 and succeeded to the throne the same year on the death of his father, King Paul. In 1967, after a military junta had seized political power in Greece, Constantine made an abortive attempt to overthrow the generals. When the coup failed, he and his family fled into exile. The junta declared him formally deposed in June, 1973, and established a republic. In Dec., 1974, after the overthrow of the junta, the Greek voters chose not to restore the monarchy. Constantine was stripped of his Greek citizenship in 1994. In 2002 the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Greece had to compensate the former king for property nationalized after the royal family fled the country.


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The Benefits of Theatre
Seminole State's Theatre Program gives students a solid education while promoting self-expression. Students have the opportunity to:
- Learn team building skills
- Explore various crafts of theatre production
- Use creativity to produce each unique production
Seminole State also offers other benefits, such as:
- The opportunity to gain production experience
- A curriculum that parallels the first two years of a four-year degree program
- Smaller class size and individual attention to help students reach their full potential
- Selected studies for a unique education opportunity
There are many aspects to the theatre. It's more than performing on stage or creating a set.
- For performers:
Performing on stage is rewarding and fun. But did you know potential employers also look at your performing experience? Performers often have high confidence levels and are able to speak with large groups of people comfortably and clearly. These are desirable qualities for hiring companies.
- For scenic sets and costume designers:
The visual aspects of a production are as crucial as the quality of the performance. Costumes reveal character. Makeup transforms the actor into the character. Sets are critical to defining the location, tone and mood of a scene. The ability to create a vibrant world out of one's imagination is important when working in marketing, sales or diplomatic positions.
- For sound and light designers:
Sound and lighting are integral parts of a production. They enhance many moods and rhythms of a show and they highlight characters and places, all of which add to the success of a production. The ability to seamlessly combine technology with other components of the production is a highly desired skill for technical professions.
- For stage managers and directors:
A production is a large-scale project. You must organize performers, costumes, makeup, rehearsals and set designs, as well as continually make changes, house management and many other responsibilities. They are all vital to a successful production. When you manage or direct a production, you're showing potential employers you are well organized, can establish and maintain professional working relationships and are able to handle responsibility. These are desirable traits for hiring managers and future career growth.


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In spite of the well-known damaging effects of the sun on our skin, many of us still perceive a tan as healthy-looking. But you don't need to risk the health of your skin in the sun or a tanning bed to make it look healthy - the sun isn't the only factor that can alter skin color.
Carotenoids are a group of 600 antioxidants including alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, lycopene, lutein, zeaxanthin, and astaxanthin. The richest sources of carotenoids are green, orange, and red vegetables and fruits. Many health-promoting phytochemicals, such as carotenoids, flavonoids, and phenols are pigment molecules that provide both attractive colors and health benefits. We are drawn to the vibrant colors of fresh produce that signal health benefits, and a new study has found that we can discern with our eyes how healthy the diet of a potential mate is.
Pigmentation in many species is perceived as a sign of health – birds for example. Carotenoids (both dietary and self-produced) are responsible for the bright feather colors of male birds, which make them more attractive to potential mates. There is evidence that in birds, dietary carotenoids do not merely serve this cosmetic purpose – increased carotenoid intake in birds may also improve color vision, sperm quality, and the health of offspring.
The new study investigated people's perception of skin 'lightness' and 'yellowness' – yellowness is influenced by both carotenoids and melanin (melanin increases in response to sun exposure). Researchers asked subjects to choose from sets of photos of two different skin colors – one whose yellowness was due to melanin, and one due to carotenoids – which skin color appeared healthier. Subjects consistently chose carotenoid coloration over melanin coloration.
According to first author of the paper Ian Stephen, "We found that, given the choice between skin colour caused by suntan and skin colour caused by carotenoids, people preferred the carotenoid skin colour, so if you want a healthier and more attractive skin colour, you are better off eating a healthy diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables than lying in the sun."
There is a direct relationship between skin appearance and health – if your skin does not have an orange tinge, then you are not on a healthy diet. You can even quantify your skin carotenoid levels, which reflect dietary carotenoid intake, using a specialized scanner. [4, 5] I use one of these scanners in my medical practice to confirm that phytochemicals have accumulated in the skin of patients, affording them protection against cancer and other chronic diseases. Plus these phytonutrients in the skin offer protection from sun damage, aging of the skin and skin cancer from sun exposure.
So eating carotenoid-rich food is not only a path to excellent health – it's also a way to look good!
1. Carotenoids Are Cornerstone of Bird's Vitality. ScienceDaily, 2009.
2. Stephen, I.D., Coetzee, V., Perrett, D.I., Carotenoid and melanin pigment coloration affect perceived human health. Evolution and Human Behavior, 2010.
3. Looking good on greens. Eurekalert!, 2011.
4. Ermakov, I.V. and W. Gellermann, Validation model for Raman based skin carotenoid detection. Arch Biochem Biophys, 2010. 504(1): p. 40-9.
5. Ermakov, I.V., et al., Resonance Raman detection of carotenoid antioxidants in living human tissue. J Biomed Opt, 2005. 10(6): p. 064028.
6. Nichols, J.A. and S.K. Katiyar, Skin photoprotection by natural polyphenols: anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and DNA repair mechanisms. Arch Dermatol Res, 2010. 302(2): p. 71-83.


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IADR Mission Statement
Drive dental, oral and craniofacial research for health and well-being worldwide.
IADR Vision Statement
Oral health for the world through discovery and dissemination.
IADR Values Statement
IADR Core Values
Scientific Excellence * Social Responsibility * Scientific Community
Scientific Excellence: IADR values science conducted at the highest possible levels of rigor, innovation and ethics, across disciplines, from discovery science to clinical implementation to global population health.
Social Responsibility: IADR values the pursuit of science to improve health and well-being for all people, to reduce health inequalities and inequities, and proactively takes actions and positions to improve health.
Scientific Community: IADR values a diverse and inclusive scientific workforce, promotes work-life balance, and supports educational activities and mentoring networks to develop the next generation of scientists.


text:
Fred Pearce describes the role of "honey-suckers" in recycling human waste as fertiliser in contemporary India (16 February, p 48). Less than a hundred years ago, this was a not-uncommon practice in the urban UK. Houses built in central Gateshead in the 1890s, and still standing, typically have two hatches in the wall separating them from the back lane. The upper was for deliveries of coal, the lower for taking out human faeces, to which ash from the coal fire had been added.
Those doing the removal were called "honey-pot men"; the euphemism has clearly travelled and lasted. In the mining town of Ashington, Northumberland, a narrow-gauge railway ran down the back lanes between rows of houses, to take the closet contents for use as fertiliser on the mine company's farm.
Pearce does not mention pharmaceuticals and the risks they pose when using human effluent as fertiliser. There are,...
To continue reading this article, subscribe to receive access to all of newscientist.com, including 20 years of archive content.


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Finger puppets are a fantastic method to get children interested in crafts. Making wild animal finger puppets is a simple craft that takes only a few minutes. This article will show you how to make wild animal finger puppets for kids using only a few materials and no stitching needed. This is a fantastic creative art and craft project for kids who enjoy playing and creating things with their imaginations!
What you will need
- Orange and black felt
- Brown and light brown felt
- Grey and light pink felt
- Yellow felt
- Googly eyes
- A Circle-shaped object for tracing
Tiger Finger Puppet
- A circle-shaped object is needed to trace a circle on the orange felt.
- Draw two triangles on your orange felt.
- Then cut out your circles and the triangles. Stick the ears on the head of your tiger.
- Cut out zig-zag patterns from black felt. Then make your tigers face by sticking the googly eyes and black felt on to your circle.
- With your marker, draw on your nose and mouth to complete your tigers face.
- Turn your tiger around, and get some black felt. Put some glue on left and right, but be sure not to put any in the middle, so your finger fits through!
This is your first wild animal finger puppet!
Monkey Finger Puppet
- A circle-shaped object is needed to trace a circle on the dark brown felt. Draw half circles on each side of the circle to make ears for your monkey. Then cut it out.
- With your light brown felt, draw your monkey's face. See video for more detail on this.
- Cut out after drawing and stick on to your circle.
- Draw on your nose and month at the bottom of the circle with your marker.
- Then stick your googly eyes on the top.
- Turn the monkey around and get some light brown felt. Put some glue on left and right, but be sure not to put any on the middle, so your finger fits through!
Here is your second and most chattery wild animal!
Elephant Finger Puppet
- Get some grey felt and draw an elephant shape. If you need some help with the check out the video above.
- Cut out the elephant's face and trunk.
- Cut out oval shapes from light pink felt for the elephant's ears.
- Also cut out a little circle for the elephant's trunk from the light pink felt.
- Attach the pink felt and googly eyes to the elephant's face.
- Turn your elephant around, and grab some light pink felt. Put some glue on the left and right, but make sure not to put any in the middle, so your finger fits through!
Then you get your lovely third wild animal puppet!
Giraffe Finger puppet
- Draw a circle on your yellow felt. Add two small triangles for your ears and two horns.
- Cut out everything above with scissors.
- Stick on the horns and ears to the circle.
- Then you can add your googly eyes.
- With a brown marker, draw spots all over the face and draw the nose and mouth to finish your giraffe's face.
- Turn your giraffe around and get some orange felt. Put some glue on the left and right, but be sure not to put any in the middle so your finger fits through!
You have now completed all four of the wild animal's finger puppets!
This is a fantastic project for your children to work on.
They're ideal for adding to your animal collection! I created my craft using felt, but you may also do it with a card or paper.
Making the wild animal finger puppets when it's raining outside is simple and a pleasant activity to create!
Check out my other puppets on my website, YouTube, and Pinterest. I've got some fantastic farm animals puppets that are lots of fun to create!


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Workable Peace is an innovative high school humanities curriculum and professional development project for secondary school classrooms. Using new teaching materials and strategies, Workable Peace integrates the study of intergroup conflict and the development of critical thinking, problem-solving, and perspective-taking skills into social studies and humanities content. It gives teachers academically rigorous tools for teaching the major themes and key events of history in ways that enliven the imagination, awaken moral reasoning, and impart social and civic skills that students can use throughout their lives.
Ethnic Conflict and Genocide in Post-Colonial Africa focuses on the historical aftermath of the colonial era in Africa and the impact of German ad Belgian preferential treatment of the Tutsis over Hutus in Rwanda. Students learn about the history of the country, and examine the international response to the Rwandan genocide. During the Rwanda role play, students explore the challenges of reconciliation and survival in a small village in the Gisenyi Province of northern Rwanda in the post-genocide era, after a massive wave of Hutu refugees has returned to Rwanda. The participants, all local residents, are asked to solve an issue which has become acutely critical in the new Rwand: ownership of a contested piece of land.


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Between the Galaxies
Name: bryan matthewkarp
Date: 1993 - 1999
What if any thing is in between galaxies, besides space?
How much cooler are sunspotsthan the actual surface of the sun?
Why is the sky sometimes green?
How are satellites named?
"empty" space between galaxies (extra-galactic space) actually
contains about one hydrogen atom per cubic meter. Inter-galactic
space contains about one hydrogen atom per cubic cm.
The surface temperature of the sun is 5770 deg. Kelvin; sunspots
are about (?) 1000 degrees cooler. the sun's photosphere (higher
up in the sun's atmosphere) can get to over 10 million degrees!
Click here to return to the Astronomy Archives
Update: June 2012


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I have read this thread, but I don't think it addresses the same problem.
I am looking for a way to have a command in LaTeX with an interface as follows:
\placetextbox{x_in_page_percentage, y_in_page_percentage}{This is my text}
The command would place the text This is my text centered within a box that may overlap with anything else on the page, and that would be placed at the coordinates specified by the variables x_in_page_percentage and y_in_page_percentage. These variables control the location of the x in the diagram below. E.g.
 This is my text
This way, something like \placetextbox{0.5, 0.5}{This is my text} would place the text roughly on the center of the page, regardless of anything else that may be on that location.
Any thoughts how to do this?
share|improve this question
add comment
1 Answer
up vote 3 down vote accepted
The eso-pic package allows you to add pictures (and text) to pages as an overlay/in the foreground [as an underlay/in the background]. The specific command used to add content to the current page is \AddToShipoutPictureFG* [\AddToShipoutPictureBG*]. The starred * versions of these commands limit the output to the current page, while the unstarred versions ship its contents out to every page.
The following minimal example illustrates the technique used to answer your question in the form of a macro \placetextbox{}{}{}:
\usepackage{lipsum}% For 'Lorem Ipsum' dummy text
\usepackage[pscoord]{eso-pic}% The zero point of the coordinate systemis the lower left corner of the page (the default).
\newcommand{\placetextbox}[3]{% \placetextbox{}{}{}
 \setbox0=\hbox{#3}% Put in a box
 \AddToShipoutPictureFG*{% Add to current page foreground
\placetextbox{0.5}{0.5}{\fbox{\Huge\textsf{This is my text.}}}%
\placetextbox{0.5}{1}{\Huge\texttt{Here is another piece of text.}}%
\placetextbox{0.1}{0.1}{\Large $\mathcal{A}_1$}%
Placement of text at absolute position on page
Other packages are also capable of doing this, including background and tikz.
share|improve this answer
Thanks _USER_. I get the following error with eso_pic: "Option clash for package eso-pic". Before that, I get a warning that says "You have requested the package ;eso-pic', but the package provides 'everyshi'" Any thoughts why I get this? – user815423426 Aug 2 '11 at 19:42
Are you compiling the minimal example provided above? – Werner Aug 2 '11 at 19:51
I just made it compile with the minimal example above. Thanks! Any clues why I may be getting the error "Option clash for the package eso-pic" with a more complex document? – user815423426 Aug 2 '11 at 20:03
Nevermind. I just made it work. All I had to do is to include it in the document before other packages. Thanks a lot. It's a useful command to add copyright notices in papers, etc. – user815423426 Aug 2 '11 at 20:12
It doesn't work for me. It moves everything on the next page... – Karel Bílek Jun 5 '12 at 23:31
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Your Answer


Selective extraction of aliphatic amines by functionalized mesoporous silica-coated solid phase microextraction Arrow
Hangzhen Lan, Wenzhong Zhang, Jan-Henrik Smått, Risto T. Koivula, Kari Hartonen, Marja-Liisa Riekkola
 Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review
 7 Citations (Scopus)
 2 Downloads (Pure)
 Mesoporous silica-coated solid phase microextraction (SPME) Arrow systems were developed for capturing of low-molecular-weight aliphatic amines (LMWAAs) from complicated sample matrices. Specifically, silicas of type MCM-41, SBA-15 and KIT-6 were chosen as substrates to afford size-exclusion selectivity. They possess ordered multidimensional pore-channel structures and mesopore sizes between 3.8 and 8.2 nm. Their surface acidity was enhanced by grafting them with a layer of titanium hydrogenphosphate (-TP). This enhanced the chemical selectivity for basic LMWAAs. The siliceous coatings increased the extraction of ethylamine, diethylamine (DEA) and triethylamine (TEA) by factors of 18.6–102.5, 4.8–10.8 and 2.6–4.0, respectively, when compared to the commercial SPME Arrow with polydimethylsiloxane/divinylbenzene coating. Among them, the MCM-41 and MCM-41-TP coated SPME Arrows demonstrated exceptional selectivity towards LMWAAs that were quantified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The total peak area ratios of LMWAAs/ten competing compounds were 25.4 and 36.3, respectively. The extraction equilibrium was reached within 20–30 min. The MCM-41 and MCM-41-TP derived SPME Arrows gave very similar results (18.4 ± 2.1–376 ± 12 ng g−1 to DEA and TEA) when applied to urban mushroom samples. SPME Arrow with MCM-41 coatings followed by GC-MS was applied also to the analysis of atmospheric air and urine samples resulting in high selectivity due to the size and mesoporous structure of the functionalized silica, and its chemical interactions with the LMWAAs.
 Original languageUndefined/Unknown
 Pages (from-to)
 JournalMicrochimica Acta
 Publication statusPublished - 2019
 MoE publication typeA1 Journal article-refereed
 Cite this


text:
Bead making is a highly valued art/skill throughout the entire world.
It's roots go as far back as the Ancient Syrians and Egyptians. These ancient peoples first used oil lamps, heated with bellows, to melt the glass, to form their beads.
Handmade Lampwork beads are made on a metal rod called mandrels. Molten glass is wound on the rod and then designs with other colors are added to enhance the bead.
After the handmade Lampwork Glass beads are made, they are then put into a kiln to heat all parts evenly and then allowed to cool slowly to reduce the stress in the bead. This is called annealing and it is a necessary part of beadmaking.
After the beads are cooled they are removed from the mandrel, their holes are cleaned of any bead release and they are then ready to be transformed into wonderful pieces of jewellery
Glass Rods :
Melting the glass with a torch :
Annealed beads go into a special kiln :
Jewellery is created! :