Asset protection
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
 - The identity of the person engaging in asset protection planning
- If the debtor is an entity, did an individual guarantee the entity's debt? How likely is it that the creditior will be able to pierce the corporate veil or otherwise get the assets of the individual owners? Is there a statute that renders the individual personally liable for the obligations of the entity?
 - The nature of the claim
- Is the claim dischargeable?
- What is the statute of limitations for bringing the claim?
 - The identity of the creditor
- How aggressive is the creditor?
 - The nature of the assets
United States legislation[edit]
United States federal bankruptcy laws and ERISA laws exempt certain assets from creditors, including certain retirement plans. All fifty states also have laws that exempt certain assets from creditors. These vary from state to state, but they often include exemptions for a certain amount of equity in a personal residence, individual retirement accounts, clothing, or other personal property.
All fifty U.S. states also have laws that protect the owners of a corporation, limited partnership, or limited liability company from the liabilities of the entity. Many states limit the remedies of a creditor of a limited partner or a member in an LLC, thereby providing some protection for the assets of the entity from the creditors of a member.
All fifty U.S. states provide some protection for the assets of a trust against the creditors of the beneficiaries. Some states allow asset protection for a self-settled trust (a trust in which the settlor or creator of the trust is included as a potential discretionary beneficiary) and some states do not.
Creditors have several tools to overcome the laws that provide asset protection. First, there are federal and state fraudulent transfer laws.[5] Today there are two bodies of fraudulent transfer law: the Bankruptcy Code and state fraudulent transfer statutes. Most states have adopted Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act which defines what constitutes a fraudulent transfer. The UFTA and the Bankruptcy Code both provide that a transfer made by a debtor is fraudulent as to a creditor if the debtor made the transfer with the "actual intention to hinder, delay or defraud" any creditor of the debtor. Regarding the modifier "any" (creditor), Jacob Stein, author of textbooks on asset protection, divides the creditors into three classes: present, future and future potential creditors. While UFTA applies clearly to present creditors, the distinction between a future creditor and a future potential creditor is not as clear. The UFTA is commonly held to apply only to future creditors and not to future potential creditors (those whose claim arises after the transfer, but there was no foreseeable connection between the creditor and the debtor at the time of the transfer).[6]
There are also laws which allow a creditor to pierce the corporate veil of an entity and go after the owners for the debts of the entity. It may also be possible for a creditor of a member to reach the assets of an entity through a constructive trust claim, or a claim for a reverse piercing of a corporate veil.
The anti-alienation provision of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) exempts from claims of creditors the assets of pension, profit-sharing, or 401(k) plans. Two exceptions are carved out for qualified domestic relations orders and claims under the Federal Debt Collection Procedure Act. Because the protection is set forth in a federal statute, it will trump any state fraudulent transfer law. Protection of ERISA is afforded to employees only and does not cover employers. The owner of a business is treated as an employer, even though he may also be the employee of the same business, as in a closely held corporation. Accordingly, ERISA protection does not apply to sole proprietors, to one owner business, whether incorporated or unincorporated, and to partnerships, unless the plan covers employees other than the owners, partners and their spouses.[7]
Asset protection planning requires a working knowledge of federal and state exemption laws, federal and state bankruptcy laws, federal and state tax laws, the comparative laws of many jurisdictions (onshore and offshore), choice of law principles, in addition to the laws of trusts, estates, corporations and business entities. The process of asset protection planning involves assessing the facts, circumstances, and objectives of an individual, evaluating the pros and cons of the various options, designing a structure that is most likely to accomplish all the objectives of the individual (including asset protection objectives), preparing legal documents to carry out the plan, and ensuring that the various legal entities are operated properly in accordance with the laws and the objectives of the individual. This process involves providing legal advice and legal work and most states prohibit the practice of law without a license.
Asset protection planning began to develop as a stand-alone area of the law in the late 1970s. It began coming into prominence in the late 1980s, with the advent and the marketing of offshore asset protection trusts. Colorado attorney Barry Engel is credited with the introduction of that concept and the development of asset protection trust law statutes in the Cook Islands.[8] The most distinctive feature of the offshore trust is the fact that the settlor or creator of the trust may be included among the potential beneficiaries of the trust without causing the assets of the trust to be subject to the creditors of the settlor. This is often referred to as a "self-settled trust."
Over the years, this new field of law enjoyed a marginal reputation, but started going mainstream in the mid-1990s. A 2003 article in the Wall Street Journal claimed that 60% of America's millionaires have considered engaging in asset protection planning.[9]
Choice of law rules in the United States make it possible for a person from any state to create a trust, corporation, limited partnership or limited liability company that is governed by the laws of any other state or jurisdiction. Because of this ability to "forum shop," various states and other jurisdictions have modified their laws to allow greater asset protection in order to make them competitive with other jurisdictions.
In most states, the assets of a self-settled trust are not protected from the creditors of the settlor. In 1997, the State of Alaska passed a statute which provided that the assets of an Alaska self-settled trust are not subject to the creditors of the settlor.[10] Since 1997, the following states have adopted legislation allowing for a self-settled asset protection trust: Nevada, Delaware, South Dakota, Wyoming, Tennessee, Utah, Oklahoma, Colorado, Missouri, Rhode Island and New Hampshire. This legislation created a favorable offshore asset protection trust jurisdiction also for non-US settlors.[11]
There is considerable debate about the comparative effectiveness of the asset protection provided by the laws of each jurisdiction, onshore and offshore. Similarly, the asset protection features provided by corporations, limited partnerships and limited liability companies vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Once again, Alaska's limited liability company statute provides innovative advantages over other states. Case law from North Carolina demonstrates the asset protection advantages of a transfer to a limited liability company (see Herring v. Keasler, 150 NC App 598 (01-1000) 06/04/2002).
Just as the Cook Islands have developed a reputation for the best offshore jurisdiction for an asset protection trust, Nevis stands out in the competition for the best jurisdiction to file a limited liability company. The Nevis limited liability company statute is based on the Delaware limited liability statute, but they have a few added advantages. One advantage of a Nevis LLC is that the members and managers are not disclosed to the public.
There is some debate over the ethics of asset protection planning. On one hand, every attorney that creates a trust, corporation, limited partnership, or limited liability company is engaging in some form of asset protection planning. On the other hand, most would agree that it is ethically inappropriate to assist a person to commit fraud or evade income taxes. The timing and the purposes of the plan seem to be the determinative factors as to whether a plan will be considered ethically and legally appropriate. In some cases, individuals have gone to jail for contempt of court for failing to unwind a plan that a judge felt was repugnant to the principles of law and justice,[12] however in those cases the individuals incarcerated retained some control over their plan immediately prior to, or during, litigation.[13]
 1. ^ Jacob Stein (Winter 2007). "The Importance of Trusts in Asset Protection". California Trusts and Estates Quarterly, Volume 12, Issue 4, p. 17-25. Retrieved September 24, 2010.
 2. ^ Richard T. Williamson (2008). The Real Estate Investor's Guide to Corporations, LLCs & Asset Protection Entities. Kaplan Publishing. p. 43. ISBN 978-1-4277-9702-5.
 3. ^ Jacob Stein (September 10, 2010). "McCourt Divorce Shines A Light on Asset Protection". Los Angeles Daily Journal. Retrieved September 27, 2010.
 4. ^ Stein, Jacob (2011). Asset Protection for California Residents. pp. 8–18. ISBN 0-_PHONE_-2-6.
 5. ^ 11 USC § 548
 6. ^ Jacob Stein (August 2010). "Asset Protection May Risk Fraudulent Transfer Violations". Estate Planning. Retrieved September 27, 2010.
 7. ^ Stein, Jacob (2011). A Lawyer's Guide to Asset Protection Planning in California. p. 80. ISBN 0-_PHONE_-0-X.
 8. ^ Cook Islands Table of Stat


How Gooroo works
 1. Step 1
 2. Step 2
 3. Step 3
 Receive timely and helpful feedback after every session
How Gooroo tutors teach economics
Gooroos tutors are experts in and can help students at any level of study (including APs, college, and beyond) with all economics subjects, such as principles of economics, macroeconomics, microeconomics, and econometrics. We also offer help with many economics-related business topics.
 - Microeconomics
 - Macroeconomics
 - Econometrics
 1. Thumbs up
 Perfect tutor matches
 2. Ribbon
 Continuous feedback
 Valuable learning reports help you stay on track towards your goal.
 3. Consultant
 Personal learning consultant
 Get dedicated advice regarding classes, college admissions, and more.
 4. Heart
 Empowered and engaging tutors
What parents and students say
100% Satisfaction guarantee
Perfect match, guaranteed.
Request a Tutor


text:
The Origins of Damask Fabric
Damask is a glossy Jacquard weave. The word Jacquard comes from the French inventor, Joseph-Marie Jacquard, who invented the Jacquard loom attachment in 1801, allowing luxurious patterned fabrics like damasks and brocades to be produced much more efficiently.
Damask has a flat look on the pattern, but a glossy and satiny background. In silk, wool, linen, cotton or synthetic fibers, it is often used for draperies and upholstery. True damasks are reversible. Splendid patterns, silks and dyes were used by the Damascus weavers, sometimes with the addition of gold or silver thread.
Damask was first produced in China, India, Persia, Syria, and then the Byzantine Empire. In the 12th century, the city of Damascus, famous for its textiles, advanced the beauty and design of the pattern. The cloth was given its modern name after this city.
Shop for damask furnishings
at Home Decorators Collection.

source: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb-edu


Last Updated: October 8, 2019
Share this:
Definition - What does Acomoclitic mean?
Acomoclitic is a term for a person who prefers bare or hairless genitals. Acomoclitics may look for hairless genitals in a partner, remove the hair from their own genitals, or both.
Acomocliticism is the opposite of pubephilia where people become aroused by the feel or sight of human public hair.
In the naturist community, where acomocliticism is common, an acomoclitic may be known as a smoothie.
Kinkly explains Acomoclitic
Acomoclitics may spend an excessive amount of time thinking about hairless genitals and have recurring fantasies surrounding this part of the anatomy. They may also exclusively choose partners who remove their genital hair. Acomoclitics typically enjoy both the look and feel of hairless genitals. Many acomoclitics also feel that hairless genitals are more hygienic.
Acomoclitics may remove their pubic hair using razors, hot waxes, or sugaring methods. Some acomoclitic couples find hair removal arousing and make this part of their foreplay.
While hairless genitals are often associated with prepubescent individuals, most acomoclitics insist they do not have a preference for very young partners. Instead, many feel that adults who remove their public hair appear more confident after taking control of their own bodies.
Acomocliticism may be simply defined as a preference like that for curvy women or tattooed men. In other cases, it is a clear fetish. Acomocliticism does not generally require treatment unless it begins to interfere with an individual's day-to-day life. Psychoanalysis, hypnosis, and behavioral and cognitive therapies are some methods for effectively treating acomocliticism.
Email Newsletter


The Globe and Mail
Go to the Globe and Mail homepage
Jump to main navigationJump to main content
Doug Saunder
Doug Saunder
(The Globe and Mai/)
Doug Saunders
From revolutionary to economic manager: Mandela's lesson in change
The world has seen many successful revolutionaries who have led their people from subjection and brutality into liberation and freedom. Nelson Mandela did this for black South Africans with extraordinary elan, but it was not his greatest accomplishment.
And the world has seen a number of sound economic leaders who have taken deeply troubled post-colonial countries from bankruptcy and poverty and delivered them into stability and economic growth. Nelson Mandela also did this, turning South Africa into a flawed but stable economic power and creating half a decade of vital economic development. But this by itself did not make him exceptional.


text:
Despite the claim that the array notation is nothing more than a thinly disguised form of pointer notation, I have just found out that there is at least a difference, which has taken me half a day to discover:
There is an interesting and important difference between the following declarations which may seem equivalent.
char msg = "Hello";
char *msg = "Hello";
The first declaration reserves an aggregate of 6 characters in the memory space currently being allocated, the data space is initialised to the relevant set of character values. This is only initialisation, the values and hence the text of the string can be altered.
The second declaration reserves enough space to hold a pointer to a character, this pointer is initialised to point to a "secret" system place within your program where the actual character string "Hello" is stored. This is likely to be the same general place that is used for storing layout specification strings used by the printf() and scanf() functions. The value stored in "msg", which is only a pointer to a character, can be altered so it points to a different character. However, and this is encouraged by the ANSI standard, the actual string constant should not be alterable, although this restriction is seldom enforced.
Indeed, under gcc, changing a string declared using the second method produces a compilation warning, and running the executable produces a segmentation fault.
1. Are there any other differences?
2. What is the underlying reasoning behind this difference?
Also, if I have
const char msg = "xxxxxx";
char *p = msg;
I can change msg by *(p+1)='y' for example even though msg is declared as const. At least, gcc does not give a warning.
3. Is there a name for this problem? (i.e. something like alias problem, though I am under the impresion that alias analysis is related to code parallelization.)
4. Is it possible that a good compiler detects this?

source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


text:
In "A history of the world in 12 Maps" Professory Jerry Brotton demonstrates the bias and distortion behind a variety of cartographic examples stemming back to the first Mercator projections. In this interview for the BBC, he shows how maps at their worst can be a deceptive expression of the politics of the author, or simply a reflection of a particular contemporary view of the world. He asks if there should be more concern about a private entity such as Google being the single biggest collector and owner of geographic data worldwide.
(Of course some authors would argue that expressing our feelings and beliefs through maps is a freedom we should treasure and celebrate).
- A History of the World in Twelve Maps by Jerry Brotton – review (guardian.co.uk)
- A History of the World in Twelve Maps by Jerry Brotton: review (telegraph.co.uk)


Definitions for marineməˈrin
This page provides all possible meanings and translations of the word marine
Princeton's WordNet
 1. Marine, devil dog, leatherneck, shipboard soldier(noun)
 a member of the United States Marine Corps
 2. marine(adj)
 a soldier who serves both on shipboard and on land
 3. marine(adj)
 of or relating to the sea
 "marine explorations"
 4. nautical, maritime, marine(adj)
 relating to or involving ships or shipping or navigation or seamen
 5. marine(adj)
 "marine barracks"
 6. marine(adj)
 relating to or characteristic of or occurring on or in the sea
 7. marine(adj)
 native to or inhabiting the sea
 "marine plants and animals such as seaweed and whales"
 1. Marine(n.)
 Specifically: A member of the United States Marine Corps, or a similar foreign military force.
 2. Origin: [F. marin a sea solider, marine naval economy, a marine picture, fr. L. marinus. See Marine, a.]
 1. marine(Noun)
 A member of a marine corps.
 He was a marine in World War II.
 2. marine(Noun)
 A marine corps.
 He fought with the Marines in World War II.
 3. marine(Adjective)
 Of, or pertaining to, the sea (marine biology, marine insurance.)
 4. Marine(Adjective)
 Of, or pertaining to, a marine corps.
Webster Dictionary
 1. Marine(adj)
 2. Marine(adj)
 formed by the action of the currents or waves of the sea; as, marine deposits
 3. Marine(adj)
 4. Marine(adj)
 5. Marine(adj)
 a picture representing some marine subject
 6. Origin: [L. marinus, fr. mare the sea: cf. F. marin. See Mere a pool.]
 1. Marine
 A Marine is a member of an infantry force that specializes in naval operations such as amphibious assault. In some countries, a marine force is often part of a navy, but can also be under army or independent command. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included providing protection from war while at sea, reflecting the pressed nature of the ships' company and the risk of mutiny. Other tasks would include boarding of vessels during combat or capture of prize ships and providing manpower for raiding ashore in support of the naval objectives. Marine elements would also contribute to the campaign ashore, in support of the military objective. With the industrialization of warfare in the 20th century the scale of landing operations increased; thus brought with it an increased likelihood of opposition and a need for co-ordination of various military elements. Marine forces evolved to specialize in the skills and capabilities required for amphibious warfare.
British National Corpus
 1. Spoken Corpus Frequency
 Rank popularity for the word'marine' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #4398
 2. Adjectives Frequency
 Rank popularity for the word'marine' in Adjectives Frequency: #604
Anagrams of marine »
 1. airmen
 2. Mainer
 3. remain
Translations for marine
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
Get even more translations for marine »
Find a translation for the marine definition in other languages:
Select another language:
Discuss these marine definitions with the community:
Word of the Day
Please enter your email address:
Use the citation below to add this definition to your bibliography:
"marine." STANDS4 LLC, 2015. Web. 2 Sep. 2015. <>.
Are we missing a good definition for marine? Don't keep it to yourself...
Nearby & related entries:
Alternative searches for marine:
Thanks for your vote! We truly appreciate your support.


text:
Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster has been set free to drift around the solar system for the next billion years, or until the solar radiation makes it disintegrate. But according to a recent paper, it might not stay in space forever: a group of researchers give Starman a 6 percent chance of crashing back down to Earth sometime in the next million years.
Making exact predictions of where an object in our solar system will end up is not easy. Even over the span of a few years, tiny uncertainties in an object's speed and exact location can have significant consequences for where it will end up. Over millions or billions of years, predicting where a tiny solar system object like a Tesla Roadster will be is mostly a matter of probabilities.
An object like the Tesla Roadster is particularly difficult to predict, because its orbit regularly brings it close to Earth, Mars, and Venus. With each pass, the gravitational forces from these planets can alter the Roadster's trajectory. After a million years, Starman could end up anywhere.
However, with complex computer modelling, it's possible to predict the odds that the Roadster will hit a planet in the future. According to the model, there's a 6 percent chance that the car will impact Earth sometime in the next million years, and about a 2.5 percent chance of colliding with Venus. Over the next 3 million years, the odds of an Earth impact rise to about 10 percent.
Of course, space is a big, mostly empty place, and there's about a 50 percent chance that the Roaster will go tens of millions of years without hitting anything. Outer space can be crushingly lonely, after all.


text:
An ASCII text version of this page is available here
The VMUX series of video switchers are designed for video installations in art museums and for routing video signals in small studios. They are matrix switchers with 8 inputs and either 8, 16, 24, or 32 outputs. They are controlled by an external computer, typically an IBM style PC though at least one customer has controlled them using a Mac (we do not provide Mac support ourselves). They are controlled by a stream of characters sent out of the computer's parallel port.
The inputs on the VMUX switchers are "loop-thru" style pairs of BNC connectors. This allows a signal to be connected to the switcher input and then looped to another device. If an input is not looped through to another device, it must be terminated by placing a 75 ohm teminator on the second BNC connector. The inputs accept any standard 1 volt peak to peak video signal in any of the world video standards (NTSC, PAL, SECAM, or industrial video).
Input number one of the VMUX switcher has a dual purpose. Besides being an input to the switching matrix like all other inputs on the VMUX, the sync signal of this input is used to define the vertical interval for vertical interval switching. You must have a video signal connected to input one even if you do not have signals that are synchronized to the vertical interval. Besides this special function, input number one is the same as all other inputs and the quality of this input is not affected by the vertical sensing circuitry in any way.
There are three jumpers inside the VMUX switcher for each of the inputs. These jumpers can be set differently for each input and each set of jumpers only affects that specific input. To set these jumpers you must remove the top cover panel of the VMUX switcher. For safety it is recommended that you disconnect the power cable from the switcher before removing the cover. This will prevent damage to the switcher if anything falls inside and any hazards to the person changing the jumpers from accidentally touching the power supply. It also reduces the chance of damage from static electricity damaging the switcher.
The three jumpers per input are:
- Input isolation
- Input coupling
- Settling time
The input isolation jumper is used to select if the input's ground signal is directly connected to the switcher ground or if the input has differentially received, isolated ground for noise reduction. There is a label at the top of the circuit board showing the position of the jumper for each setting. This jumper has three posible positions.
- None - There is no isolation. The input's ground is directly connected to the switcher's ground.
- Semi - There is a 200 ohm resistor connected between the input's ground and the switcher's ground. This is the default setting. It gives some isolation from ground loops and allows the input's ground to be used by the differential input receiver to remove noise that was picked up by the BNC cable. This is ideal for field setups where there might be long runs of cables to the switcher.
- Full - The input's ground is isolated from the switcher's ground by the 3000 ohm input impedance of the differential receiver. For all intents and purposes this is fully isolated from ground. The input's differential receiver will not only reject noise on the input ground but will also remove hum of up to about 5 volts peak to peak. This setting can be used for studios where there is a lot of crosstalk between cables lying in piles on the floor. It is not recommended for situations where the ground might have huge AC differences on them, like in field operations.
The input coupling jumper is used to select between directly coupled and either AC coupled or DC-restored coupling. The direct coupling setting can be used if your video signal is connected to a device with a known DC stable source since this will minimize any distortion to the signal from the DC restoration circuitry. This setting should only be used if you are an engineer and have confirmed that the video source has a stable DC level. The default setting is the AC/DC-Restored position. This position is used for both AC coupling and DC restoration.
The third input jumper is the Settling Time, or speed of coupling. This jumper has no effect if you have chosen direct coupling. It only has an effect if you have selected AC/DC-Restoration on the Input Coupling jumper. This jumper has three positions, Fast, Medium, and Slow. If you set this jumper to Slow, then the input is AC coupled. The DC restoration circuitry will still slowly adjust the DC level of the input so that over time a constant image will maintain a predefined sync tip voltage, but any rapid changes in the video will bounce the DC level around as if it were AC coupled. If the jumper is set to Medium then the input will be DC restored. This is the default setting and is best for normal switching. In this setting the DC restoration circuitry samples the sync tips over an average of several lines of video and stabilizes the sync tips to a defined DC level. If the video signal has single lines of video where the sync level fluctuates, this setting will ignore them and pass them through as is. The third setting is the Fast setting. This will sample the level of each line's sync tip and use it to adjust the DC level of the video signal. This clamps the video tightly to a DC level but can cause problems in the image if the sync level changes from line to line since the video black level will then change from line to line. This is only recommended for signals that have very stable sync level information. This setting can also cause a slight shade change from the left edge of the screen to the right edge of the screen. This slight darkening from left to right is only about 1 or 2 percent but can be noticable in critical applications.
Each input has one trimpot control that can be adjusted to set the DC level or "offset" of the input. This is used to match each of the inputs so that video black is at the same DC level for each. If this is set wrong then the sync and black levels of the output will jump each time the switcher is switched between different inputs.This should only be adjusted using an oscilloscope. Connect the oscilloscope to one of the outputs and switch between each input, then adjust each of the Offset trimpots so that the video black level is at zero volts on the output. If the sync levels of the inputs vary widely then you may want to adjust the Offset so that each of the sync tips are at the same level. That will prevent monitors from rolling when the switcher changes patches. If you don't have an oscilloscope, but notice that the monitor is rolling when you switch to a given input, you can carefully change the Offset control for that input until the monitor doesn't roll during switching. You do not have to move the Offset control very much, so do this with care.
The outputs of the VMUX switcher pass through the video directly from each input, they do not do any sync processing on them. The outputs of the VMUX switcher are designed to drive 75 ohm terminated inputs with one volt peak to peak video. The devices that each output is connected to must be terminated by 75 ohms or there may be oscillations on the outputs. Most video devices have either a single terminated input, or a dual connector "loop-thru" input. The loop-thru inputs may have a terminator switch. If so, and that device is the last input on a chain of devices, then it should be set to "75 ohms". If it does not have a switch then it should have a 75 ohm terminator placed on the second input. If you loop the output through several devices you need to make sure that only the last one is terminated. Any loop-thru inputs that have a terminator switch, and that are not the last device in the chain, should have that switch set to "Hi-Z". Only the last one shoud be set to "75".
The computer input on the VMUX switcher is normally connected to the parallel port of a computer using a special cable. These inputs are optically isolated from the rest of the video circuits of the switcher. This means that the noisy ground of a typical computer will not affect the video signals. This also means that there could be a dangerous voltage potential between the computer and the video circuitry. Because of this it is recommended that the computer's power cable be connected to the same power grounding system as the video devices in the system. This does not have to be the same power strip or even the same power line as the video circuitry, as long as they share a common ground within the building that they are installed in.
Which software you use will depend on your application. Simple patching and routing software for IBM style computers is included with each VMUX switcher. Advanced software for specific applications is also available, or you can write your own (see the page on writing software for the VMUX).
The VMUX switchers can run off of either 110 or 220 volts. The power inlet is an IEC international power inlet and uses the same type of power cable as most computers. A power cable can be purchased in almost any country in the world at a local computer or electronics store. Before power is connected you must make sure that the voltage selector switch on the back of the VMUX is set to the correct voltage. Insert a small screwdriver into the voltage selector switch and rotate it to either "110" or "220". If you feed 220 volts in while this is set to 110, you will blow the fuse


Admission rules are managed with the oaradmissionrule command. See the usage or man page of the command.
The code of the admission rules is executed within oarsub at submission time. Many internal variables are available, making the mechanism very powerful… and dangerous. Hence the administrator must be very careful when playing with admission rules.
Example 1: avoid the ugly SQL error warning which appear in case of a typo in the oarsub -l syntax
The following admission rule can be added, which check the syntax for valid resource propoerties
# Check the validity of the resource request (-l option of oarsub) to avoid SQL ugly message
# The following variable lists the valid resource properties that the user can use
# See the output of the 'oarproperty -l' command for the list of available properties.
# Only properties which defines the implicit resource hierarchy need to be listed.
my _USER_=("host","cpu","core","thread");
foreach my $group (@$ref_resource_list) {
 foreach my $subgroup (@$group) {
 foreach my $moldable (@$subgroup) {
 foreach my $resource (@{$moldable->{resources}}) {
 while (my ($k,$v) = each(%$resource)) {
 if ($k eq "resource" and not grep (/^$v$/, ("nodes", "resource_id", _USER_))) {
 warn "Admission Rule ERROR : Unknown resource property \"$v\"\n";
 exit 1;
Example 2: enforce a minimum number of hosts in job
I'm looking for an admission rule that would reject job requests if the user ask for less than N hosts. E.g:
$ oarsub -l host=2 -I
would fail if I configure N=3.
I have a very limited set of properties configured:
$ oarproperty -l
You could inspect what resources are requested by looking at the the oarsub command line in an admission rule, using the $initial_request_string variable.
However, this could be very tricky to handle any request case.
You could also use the $ref_resource_list variable, which is a reference to the structure containing the result of the parsing of the resource request. That structure is complex, since it must store information such as the resources hierarchy, moldable jobs, properties, etc. See the code for the admission rule below:
my $min_resources = 5; # N=5
my $error = 0;
foreach my $group (@$ref_resource_list) {
 foreach my $subgroup (@$group) {
 foreach my $moldable (@$subgroup) {
 if ($k eq "resource" and ($v ne "network_address" or $v ne "host")) {
 warn "requesting resource of type $v is not allowed, use nodes or host\n";
 $error = 1;
 } elsif ($k eq "value" and $v < $min_resources) {
 warn "requesting less than $min_resources nodes is not allowed, you requested $v\n";
 $error = 1;
 exit 1 if $error;
Example 3: managing 2 compute nodes generations in the same cluster
After upgrading the cluster with new nodes, we need a rule to:
 1. send the interactive sessions on the old nodes as a default
 2. send the passive sessions on the new nodes as a default
 3. avoid mixing old and new nodes for parallel jobs as a default
 4. users are allowed to override this behavior via setting a property in their request.
First we need to add a property. We called it "cluster" and it is an integer (the year of the node installation): 2011 or 2016
$ oarproperty -a cluster
Nodes kareline-0-x (old one) are inserted in the OAR database with:
oarnodesetting -a -h 'kareline-0-0-p host='kareline-0-0' .... -p "cluster=2011"
Nodes kareline-1-x (new one) are inserted in the OAR database with:
oarnodesetting -a -h 'kareline-1-0-p host='kareline-1-0' .... -p "cluster=2016"
Then we add a rule to match our requirements, based on this property:
my $cluster;
if ($jobType eq "INTERACTIVE") {
 print "[DEBUG] Interactive job";
 $cluster =2011;
} else {
 print "[DEBUG] Passive job";
 $cluster =2016;
if (index($jobproperties, 'cluster') == -1) {
 print " without cluster (".$jobproperties.")";
 if ($jobproperties ne ""){
 $jobproperties = "($jobproperties) AND cluster = '".$cluster."'";
 } else {
 $jobproperties = "cluster = '".$cluster."'";
 print "\n $jobproperties \n";
(You can remove the "print" lines used to check what the rule is doing)
This rule is written in a text file: regle.oar and added ro oar with:
oaradmissionrules -n -r./regle.oar
Example 4: limit access to a queue, based on usernames set in a file
# Title : limit access to the challenge queue to authorized usersqueue
if ($queue_name eq "challenge"){
 open(FILE, "< $ENV{HOME}/challenge.users") || die("[ADMISSION RULE] Challenge user list is empty");
 my $authorized = 0;
 while (){
 if (m/^\s*$user\s*$/m){
 $authorized = 1;
 if($authorized ne 1){
 die("[ADMISSION RULE] $user is not authorized to submit in challenge queue\n");
Example 5: give a more privilege to the owners of nodes
Give a more privilege to the owners of nodes (e.g. people who payed for the nodes) to submit, by restricting others to besteffort jobs:
 - non-owners compete on the resources according to the scheduling policy of the besteffort queue ;
 - but owners can get jobs running, just like if those jobs did not exist (i.e. besteffort jobs are killed whenever non besteffort jobs require the same resources).
 - First add a property to resources: dedicated=NO or dedicated=team_name for nodes owned by each team.
 - Then add an admission rule which describes the team list with regard to unix users and groups.
 - Non-besteffort jobs will automatically bound to resources set with dedicated=NO, except for members of one or more of the defined teams, whose jobs are automatically directed to the union of their dedicated resources (dedicated=team_of_the_user) and the dedicated=NO resources.
 - Besteffort jobs do not have constraints: they are scheduled on any resources with the property besteffort=YES (usually all nodes).
# Description : set dedicated property for exceptional usages
my _USER_;
my %serpico_project = ( 'dedicated' =>'serpico', 'groups' => ['serpico', 'e-serpico' ], 'users' => [] );
my %neurinfo_project = ( 'dedicated' => 'neurinfo', 'groups' => ['visages'], 'users' => [] );
my %fluminance_project = ( 'dedicated' => 'user1', 'groups' => [], 'users' => ['user1'] );
push(_USER_, \%serpico_project);
push(_USER_, \%neurinfo_project);
push(_USER_, \%fluminance_project);
my $jobaddedprop = "\( dedicated='NO'" ;
# original : IGRIDA admission rule
# modified : nef @ Inria Sophia
if (!(grep(/^besteffort/, @{$type_list}))) {
 # Any user can run besteffort jobs on any resource :
 # no additional verification, no modification
 # Search for projects to which the user belongs
 foreach my $project (_USER_) {
 my _USER_;
 foreach (@{$project->{'groups'}}) {
 my $gr;
 (undef,undef,undef, $gr) = getgrnam($_);
 my _USER_ = split(/\s+/,$gr);
 push(_USER_, _USER_);
 push(_USER_, @{$project->{'users'}});
 my %h = map { $_ => 1 } _USER_;
 if ( $h{$user} eq 1 ) {
 $jobaddedprop.= " OR dedicated=\'$project->{'dedicated'}\'";
 } else {
 if ((grep(/dedicated(\s+|)=(\s+|)'$project->{'dedicated'}\'/, $jobproperties))) {
 die("[ADMISSION RULE] $project->{'dedicated'} dedicated nodes are only available for best-effort jobs.\n");
 $jobaddedprop.= " \)";
 # Always need to limit request to permitted nodes
 if ($queue_name ne "admin") {
 if (grep(/\S/, $jobproperties)) {
 $jobproperties = "($jobproperties) AND $jobaddedprop";
 } else {
 $jobproperties = "$jobproperties $jobaddedprop";
 print("[ADMISSION RULE] Automatically add constraint to go on nodes permitted for the user.\n");
That set up:
 - For a user of team'serpico' : $ oarsub -I


"Sniffing Out" Lymphoma Genes by Turning Dogs into Humans
For Immediate Release
Tracey Peake | News Services | _PHONE_
Release Date: 04.08.2011
Filed under Blog,Facebook,NCSU Home,Releases
Humans and dogs don't just share companionship and living space, they also share a similar genetic makeup. Additionally, they share the same types of cancer, including lymphoma. Dr. Matthew Breen, professor of genomics at NC State, uses canines as a genetic model for studying lymphoma because purebred dogs of the same breed have less genetic variation among them than humans do, making it easier to pinpoint areas on canine chromosomes that may be involved with cancer.
In a paper published in the journal Leukemia and Lymphoma, Breen's team took the genetic information from dogs with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and then rearranged or "recoded" the genomes of the dogs so that, genomically speaking, they were human. The researchers then compared the recoded canine genomes with those of humans with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, to see which chromosomes were involved with the cancer in both humans and canines.
"This is the first time that we were able to compare this information from dogs with lymphoma directly with existing data from human patients diagnosed with the equivalent cancer and using the same technique," says Dr. Rachael Thomas, research assistant professor of molecular biomedical sciences at NC State and lead author of the paper.
The data revealed that there were only a few genes involved with lymphoma that were shared by dogs and humans. This is in contrast to current research into human lymphoma, where numerous genes have been identified as possibly having a relationship to the cancer. Breen and his colleagues hope that this data will point researchers toward the most likely genetic culprits.
"In essence, we stripped the background noise from the human data," Breen says. "Lymphoma genomics is a lot more complex in human patients than in dog patients. This study tells us that while both humans? and dogs? have comparable disease at the clinical and cellular level, the genetic changes associated with the same cancers are much less complex in the dog. This suggests that maybe there is a lot of genetic noise in the human cancers that are not essential components of the process. While human studies have been looking in numerous places in the genome, the dog data indicate we need to focus on what's shared, and these are very few regions."
The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the American Kennel Club Canine Health Foundation. The Department of Molecular Biomedical Sciences is part of NC State's College of Veterinary Medicine.
Note to editors: Abstract of the paper follows.
Authors: Rachael Thomas, Alison Motsinger-Reif, Matthew Breen, et al, NC State University
Leukemia & Lymphoma, 2011
Identification of the genomic regions most intimately associated with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) pathogenesis is confounded by the genetic heterogeneity of human populations. We hypothesize that the restricted genetic variation of purebred dogs, combined with the contrasting architecture of the human and canine karyotypes, will increase the penetrance of fundamental NHL-associated chromosomal aberrations in both species. We surveyed non-random aneuploidy in 150 canine NHL cases, revealing limited genomic instability compared to their human counterparts and no evidence for CDKN2A/B deletion in canine B-cell NHL. 'Genomic recoding' of canine NHL data into a 'virtual human' chromosome format showed remarkably few regions of copy number aberration (CNA) shared between both species, restricted to regions of dog chromosomes 13 and 31, and human chromosomes 8 and 21. Our data suggest that gene discovery in NHL may be enhanced through comparative studies exploiting the less complex association between CNAs and tumor pathogenesis in canine patients.


text:
The Technology Faculty at Mount Stromlo High School aims to provide students with engaging learning opportunities in practical environments to help students become lifelong learners. To achieve this, students are exposed to a model of learning that embraces the concepts of design, make and appraise – an approach that aims to encourage students to plan, experiment test and reflect upon the development and manufacturing processes.
In year 7 and 8 students complete an Arts and Technology Rotation comprising of Dance, Drama, Music, Visual Art, Cooking, IT, Textiles and Woodwork. In year 9 and 10 students are able to choose from a range of electives that develop skills and knowledge. Courses offered may include Web Design, Design and Technology, Furniture Making, Welding, Decorative Metalwork, Eating for Good Health, Asian Cooking, Hospitality, Fashion Design and Early Childhood.
Students are given many opportunities to showcase their work throughout the year including preparing and serving food at school functions, special lunches, and exhibiting work at school events.


text:
Do plants receive nutrients immediately after application?
No, which is the point of a slow-release plant food. Instead, Osmocote nutrients are released into the soil as replacements
for the nutrients being drawn into the plant's root system.
The temperature of the soil controls the rate at which nutrients are taken up by the plant and the rate at which nutrients are released by the Osmocote granules. The warmer the soil, the faster nutrients are released. Conversely, when soil temperatures drop, so does the release of nutrients.
Discover everything you've wanted to know about our products in our Frequently Asked Questions.View frequently asked questions.


text:
Learn to Count Classroom Rug - Rectangle - 8' 4"W x 13' 4"L
The eye-catching Learn to Count Classroom Rug displays the numbers 1-20 in bold, beautiful colors. Children can trace or touch the numbers and counting dots with their fingers for a tactile learning experience. This eco-friendly school rug is constructed of nylon fiber, which allows it to be easily recycled by the manufacturer. The antimicrobial treatment and Carpet Guard stain protection will keep common germs and spills at bay. And the KIDply® backing system protects against wear and tear. Made in the U.S.A.
- Ideal for daycare, preschool or kindergarten classrooms
- Eco-friendly and recyclable
- Antimicrobial and Carpet Guard treatment
- Dimensions: 8' 4" x 13' 4"
- Shape: Rectangle
- Suggested grade level: Preschool/kindergarten
- KIDply® backing system
- CRI Green Label Plus™ certified
- Warranty: Lifetime limited
*Carpets for Kids offers Cradle to Cradle certified products. They will take back their used rugs and recycle them into new, colorful classroom carpeting.
CLICK ON LINKS BELOW TO VIEW OR DOWNLOAD
|Fire Testing Report|


text:
Real time analysis of atmospheric single particles in urban environments using aerosol time of flight mass spectrometry
University College Cork
In order to determine the size-resolved chemical composition of single particles in real-time an ATOFMS was deployed at urban background sites in Paris and Barcelona during the MEGAPOLI and SAPUSS monitoring campaigns respectively. The particle types detected during MEGAPOLI included several carbonaceous species, metal-containing types and sea-salt. Elemental carbon particle types were highly abundant, with 86% due to fossil fuel combustion and 14% attributed to biomass burning. Furthermore, 79% of the EC was apportioned to local emissions and 21% to continental transport. The carbonaceous particle types were compared with quantitative measurements from other instruments, and while direct correlations using particle counts were poor, scaling of the ATOFMS counts greatly improved the relationship. During SAPUSS carbonaceous species, sea-salt, dust, vegetative debris and various metal-containing particle types were identified. Throughout the campaign the site was influenced by air masses altering the composition of particles detected. During North African air masses the city was heavily influenced by Saharan dust. A regional stagnation was also observed leading to a large increase in carbonaceous particle counts. While the ATOFMS provides a list of particle types present during the measurement campaigns, the data presented is not directly quantitative. The quantitative response of the ATOFMS to metals was examined by comparing the ion signals within particle mass spectra and to hourly mass concentrations of; Na, K, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Zn and Pb. The ATOFMS was found to have varying correlations with these metals depending on sampling issues such as matrix effects. The strongest correlations were observed for Al, Fe, Zn, Mn and Pb. Overall the results of this work highlight the excellent ability of the ATOFMS in providing composition and mixing state information on atmospheric particles at high time resolution. However they also show its limitations in delivering quantitative information directly.
Atmospheric aerosols, ATOFMS, Urban aerosols, Aerosol mass spectrometry, Single particle mass spectrometry
McGillicuddy, E. J. 2014. Real time analysis of atmospheric single particles in urban environments using aerosol time of flight mass spectrometry. PhD Thesis, University College Cork.


Problem with hard drive clicking
From ThinkWiki
Jump to: navigation, search
The click sound is usually caused by the drive parking its head. There are multiple causes for that, including power management and shock detection (see below for fixes). However, it may also mean that your drive is about to die (the dreaded "click of death"); check /var/log/messages (or /var/log/syslog) for suspicious errors, and remember to backup!
The Hitachi Travelstar 5K80 series, which shipped with many T series Thinkpads, is reported to suffer from this problem in particular. The clicks occur rapidly, and are quiet but noticeable. While in use in a quiet environment, the clicks can be relatively loud and annoying. The clicks seem to happen when the drive is idle and the power has been on for a significant period of time. Western Digital drives (like the Scorpio series) are also known to exhibit pronounced clicks. The clicking is also reported on other vendors' laptop hard drives, and is therefore almost certainly hard drive related rather than laptop chassis related.
The clicking sound appears to occur only when the drive is idle. Forcing the drive to be busy silences the ticking. Launching programs that access the hard drive, such as searching or defragmenting the drive, helps for a time. Cycling the power on the hard drive, such as through a full power-off reboot of the system, stops the ticking for the moment. hdparm can be used to reset the drive without rebooting, or to set the power management settings.
Others recommend using Hitachi's drive feature tool to increase the acoustic management level.
Possible cause and speculation
Laptop drives (especially Hitachi Hitachi Travelstar 5K80, Hitachi Travelstar 5K100 and SAMSUNG MP0804H) can unload heads very often, producing a noticeable click. Some ThinkPad BIOSes can be very eager to program the HD Advanced Power Management feature (hdparm -B), even when told to always keep the HD in "Maximum Performance mode", and will do so every time AC state changes and when coming out of suspend (be it S3 or S4). Unless you reset the HD's APM mode, it will unload its heads eventually, thus producing the clicks.
Another possible cause is the drive firmware running a low level surface media check periodically during idle time.
It is not known whether the problem is a sign of impending drive failure. The root cause of the problem is not yet known. It is quite likely to be a normal mode of drive operation. The problem is very prevalent.
Do not confuse this with regular activity. Many daemons poll (config) files every few seconds. Despite files being cached, POSIX compliant filesystems like ext2 or ext3 must update (= write) the last access time. More details and a workaround in How to reduce power consumption#Hard_Drives.
Some vendors have extra power-saving timers that might be causing issues, such as the idle3 timer of some WD Green drives that controls the WD Intellipark feature.
Tracking down the cause of the clicks
Using "smartctl -A" (part of the the smartmontools package), it is possible to check if any of the drive's attributes related to platter spin-up/down or head unload are increasing when a click is heard. That can help pinpointing the cause of the clicks.
A shell script like this may help to see if the Load Cycle Count is affected (indicating head unloading):
while :
 newval='smartctl -A /dev/sda | awk '$2=="Load_Cycle_Count" {print $10}''
 if [[ $newval != $lastval ]] # i.e., anything has changed (here: load cycle count only)
 echo $newval
 sleep 30 # or some other interval
Possible solutions (Linux)
The clicking noise apparently occurs when the drive is parking its heads (and ramping them off the drive surface in the process) after a timeout after the last disk access. Temporary relief has been found by using hdparm to turn off power management for the drive:
# hdparm -B 255 /dev/sda
That should stop the drive from parking the heads except when turning off. You can also try
# hdparm -B 254 /dev/sda
which doesn't turn power management off, but is the least aggressive setting: it will still unload heads, but far less often. (The drives are prepared to withstand a great number of head unloads: 200,000 unloads are typical, and Hitachi drives tolerate about 600,000 unloads.)
To make these changes permanent, you have to ensure that the -B commands are reissued at every boot, after resuming from disk or RAM, after hotswapping, and every time the ThinkPad BIOS might try to override them. This is done in two steps: changing the default settings when the system boots, and changing the settings when the system resumes after the lid is closed and re-opened.
Start-up settings
On Debian, edit /etc/hdparm.conf (as root):
# vi /etc/hdparm.conf
Add the following lines:
# Change sda to hda if it's a PATA drive
/dev/sda {
 apm = 255
Then, to refresh the settings, run
# update-rc.d hdparm defaults
On Ubuntu 11.04, the script /usr/lib/pm-utils/power.d/95hdparm-apm (part of the hdparm package) sets the APM level to 128 when on battery and 254 otherwise (these defaults are part of the hdparm_options() function in /lib/hdparm/hdparm-functions). This may be overridden in hdparm.conf with the custom setting apm_battery:
/dev/sda {
 apm = 255
 apm_battery = 255
Alternatively, you can override the 95hdparm-apm script by creating an empty file with the same name in /etc/pm/power.d:
# touch /etc/pm/power.d/95hdparm-apm
On Arch Linux, edit /etc/rc.local instead and add:
hdparm -B 254 /dev/sda
Then reboot the system, and the clicking noise should be gone.
Wake-up settings
The clicking may resume when the lid is closed and re-opened. To fix this, create an executable file named 50_hdparm-pm in /etc/pm/sleep.d:
# vi /etc/pm/sleep.d/50_hdparm-pm
With the following content:
To make it executable, run:
# chmod +x /etc/pm/sleep.d/50_hdparm-pm
If this does not help, but manually setting hdparm -B 255 /dev/sda does, try the script below instead:
case "$1" in
 sleep 2
 hdparm -B 255 /dev/sda
exit $NA
On Ubuntu 8.10 (Linux Mint 6) on a T42, there seems to be something else setting a lower value in battery mode, which might be coming from the BIOS because it clicks during boot and stops with this in place. Make an executable file named "" (the important thing is it's starting with "99"), containing the following:
# Use a less aggressive hard disk power management to get rid of
# clicking noise when the drive is parking its heads
hdparm -B 255 /dev/sda
Then, copy this file to /etc/acpi/suspend.d/, /etc/acpi/resume.d/ and /etc/acpi/start.d/. Remember to make the files executable (chmod +x).
Otherwise, try to reset the drive with -w, but note that this may cause data loss, according to hdparm's man page. When used in the following way to stop the clicking, I have not seen any data loss. YMMV.
# hdparm /dev/sda
# sync
# sleep 5
# sync
# hdparm -w /dev/sda
Laptop mode
Yet another solution is to install the laptop-mode-tools package and have it handle the hard drive's settings. Note that by default, laptop-mode-tools will frequently spin down the hard drive to save power.
Edit /etc/laptop-mode/laptop-mode.conf, set CONTROL_HD_POWERMGMT=1 and ensure that hdparm sets -B 255.
Disable WD Intellipark
On WD Green drives where Intellipark might be causing the problem, you can try to use the idle3-tools utility to disable Intellipark.
Possible solution (Windows)
On a X41T, do BIOS, firmware and IBM updates. Then simply disable the ShockProtection of the hard drive. On a native X41T Windows installation, it solved the problem; one will hear a click only every hour. It seems that the problem is related to an aggressive setting that will try to park the head often to protect the drive, so the problem is not related with power management settings. Perhaps a similar approach also works under Linux. – WBonX (Hitachi drive)
Specific models
Hitachi C4K60 (HTC426060G9AT00)
On a Thinkpad X41 with a has a 60 GB Hitachi C4K60 (HTC426060G9AT00) hard disk that had the clicking problem (even in Windows), the hdparm solution above did not work. The problem was indeed caused by the hard disk unloading the heads when idle, and the Load_Cycle_Count SMART statistic could be seen increasing when the clicks occurred.
hdparm -B settings did not seem to help, and a check of the hard


text:
Cities and organizations in the US state of Maryland have found an original and ecologically sound method to cut the weeds from their parks and gardens: Bring in the goats.
Brian Knox, owner of Eco-Goats, a business based in Davidsonville, Maryland, said the hungry animals graze on dense vegetation and munch unwanted weeds and invasive plants while also leaving fertilizer behind for the grasses that people want.
"There is poison ivy and all kinds of stuff that you know people don't want to go in there for, and the goats don't seem to mind that much," he said.
Eco-Goats, which has been in business for three years, often brings dozens of goats to the site that a customer hopes to clear, then puts up electric fences and allows the goats to graze for days.
One group of 30 goats can clear 100 square meters of brush per day, according to Eco-Goats. Because the animals are agile and good climbers, they can often get to hard-to-reach vegetation.
When the work is finished, the goats have left behind their droppings which serve as fertilizer, said Eco-Goats, which charges about $5,750 for 2.5 acres.
In Gaithersburg, Maryland, the conservation group Izaak Walton League of America (IWLA), in partnership with the city, called on the goats to remove harmful, invasive species in the parks that it protects.
"It's such an innovative, sustainable way of removing invasive species, and you get to hang out with some cute goats while you're doing it," said Rebecca Wadler, an IWLA Sustainability Education Program Associate.
Explore further: Front-row seats to climate change


Home / Style / How Would You Know if Your Sports Memorabilia has a Real Signature?
Many sports fans don't get satisfied by just watching their favourite athletes performing live. Most of them will even buy nicely framed sports memorabilia.
Sports memorabilia are the items that the athletes have used during a game. It could be a jersey, boxing gloves, a pair of shoes, a ball, etc. Some fans buy replicas or something that has been made to resemble the real memorabilia. On the other hand, some fans only get satisfied when they buy a signed item.
Signed sports memorabilia are more expensive compared to the items that have no signature, let alone replicas. However, if you will buy one with your favourite star's signature on it, make sure that the signature is real as they are really expensive.
Here are some tips that could help you determine whether the signature on your memorabilia is real or not.
Turn the signature upside down
If you already have a signed item from your favourite athlete, buying a new one with the same signature will determine the real signature. You can make a comparison by turning both signatures upside down.
This way, your mind will look at the items objectively, showing you tell-tale signs and minor differences between the two signatures, revealing the fake one.
Check the ink closely
If you bought signed memorabilia, it would help if you can bring a magnifying glass that you can use to look for possible clues. If the signature were stamped-on, you would notice that all lines get to the surface simultaneously.
Using a magnifying glass, you will notice that the edges have more ink than in the middle. You can compare it to a signature printed by a machine that has felt unnaturally "smooth."
You may also want to check how the signature was made. If it is signed with a pen, its point will cut through the ink, producing "bridges" and "tunnels" that can be seen through a magnifying glass. However, some vendors can duplicate a signature using an autopen: a tool that uses a mechanical arm that can sign using a pen along with a signature template.
Check for signs of robotic signature
Natural handwriting comes in a single, continuous movement. Moreover, before you start writing with a pen, your hand moves the pen towards the paper. Meanwhile, the autopen begins with a dot and ends suddenly with a dot, without that fading effect from handwriting.
You may also use a magnifying glass to see if the signature looks unnaturally "shaky," which could be caused by the machine's vibrations.
You may also see some machine-like straight lines through the magnifying glass. These lines have robotic wobbles, where the machine has slipped.
Skip private auctions
A seller of legitimate signed sports memorabilia will never ask for privacy during the deal. A reliable seller can guarantee you that they are selling items with legitimate signatures with supporting documentation. Moreover, a legitimate seller can provide you with a lifetime guarantee. Furthermore, they are open about their past dealings, history, expertise, and references.
These are just some of the tips that you can follow to determine whether you are buying a real signed item or not. However, if you want to make sure about the legitimacy of your autographed memorabilia, you may try asking your favourite star to sign your item after their game.
Author Name: Paul Sebastian is a blogger and writer. He loves to express his ideas and thoughts through his writings.
Check Also
How To Take Care Of Your Mental Health During The Coronavirus Pandemic


text:
Book of Philemon
The Epistle to Philemon is a book of the Bible in the New Testament. Philemon is generally regarded as one of the undisputed works of Paul, and it was most likely written in Rome, around 61-63 AD. It is the shortest of Paul's extant letters, consisting of only 25 verses.
Purpose of the epistle
Paul addressed the epistle specifically to Philemon, his fellow apostle. Paul appeals directly to Philemon's Christian conscience in asking him to accept the return of Onesimus, a runaway slave of Philemon's. Paul indicates that he converted Onesimus to Christianity (1:10-11), therefore making him "profitable" (or "useful"). Paul implores Philemon to treat Onesimus not as a slave but, like Paul, as a brother in Christ.
Additionally, Paul offers to take on all debts and transgressions that Onesimus owed to Philemon, just as Christ took on the sins of Man.


text:
In the digital age, with its constant bombardment of emails, notifications, and social media updates, genuine family time is fast becoming a rare commodity. While technology has indisputably brought the world closer, it has ironically distanced those sitting right next to us – our family. Amid this chaos, there's one nostalgic artifact that beckons us to pause, reflect, and reconnect – the family photo.
The family photo is more than just a snapshot. It's a doorway to a moment frozen in time, a testament to the stages we've lived, loved, and grown through. The magic of a family photo lies not just in its visual imagery but also in the memories, emotions, and stories it encapsulates.
1. The Power of a Single Frame
Look around your home, and you're likely to find a family photo that immediately brings a smile to your face or a tear to your eye. That photo of your toddler's first steps, the joyous family gathering during a festival, or that impromptu snapshot taken on a lazy Sunday afternoon. These are the moments that define our lives.
What's truly beautiful about these photos is that they capture both the momentous and the mundane. They remind us that family isn't just about the big milestones but also about the everyday moments that, when pieced together, make up the mosaic of our lives.
2. Reflections of Change and Growth
Family photos serve as gentle reminders of how we evolve. From kids transitioning through their rebellious teenage years to adults becoming parents and then grandparents, these photos chronicle our journey.
And it's not just about physical growth. The background of a family photo can reveal moving to a new home, transitioning jobs, or exploring new cities. All of these highlight the family's shared experiences and struggles.
3. Rekindling Bonds
Often, as kids grow up, they move out, charting their own courses and building their own lives. The annual family photo then becomes an enduring ritual. It's that one occasion where everyone comes together, setting aside their differences, and rekindling bonds. Even if siblings have squabbled or parents and children have disagreed, the family photo session becomes an event where everyone wears their best smiles.
4. The Therapeutic Touch
In challenging times, a trip down memory lane can offer solace. Going through old albums and reminiscing about happier times can be therapeutic. It can provide the strength needed to face current challenges, with the knowledge that this too shall pass and soon enough, this moment will just be another picture in a future album.
5. Passing Down Stories
Every family photo has a story behind it. Sharing these stories becomes an essential family tradition. It keeps alive the tales of past generations and helps younger members connect with their roots. Narrating the anecdotes associated with each picture helps in passing down values, life lessons, and the essence of what the family stands for.
6. A Tool for Reconnection
In an era where life seems to be moving at breakneck speed, pausing to look at a family photo can be grounding. It offers an opportunity to disconnect from the virtual world and reconnect with reality – our roots, our loved ones, our past, and our shared history.
Incorporating Family Photos in Daily Life
Given the immense value that family photos bring to our lives, here are some ways to weave them into your daily routine:
- Photo Albums: Despite the digital age, there's an unparalleled charm in flipping through a physical photo album. Dedicate a day each year to compile the year's best moments. This activity can be a fun family event in itself.
- Wall Galleries: Designate a wall in your home for family photos. Watching the wall grow over the years can be incredibly heartwarming.
- Digital Slideshows: Create a digital slideshow of your family's year in review. Watch it together during family gatherings or during the holiday season.
- Gifts: Personalized gifts using family photos, like calendars, mugs, or photo books, can be a hit. They serve as a constant reminder of cherished moments.
- Recreation: Recreate old family photos. It's a fun way to see how everyone has changed and grown over the years.
The value of a family photo extends far beyond the pixels that capture it. It's a legacy, an emotion, a touchstone, and a window into our past. As we navigate through the complexities of modern life, let's take a moment to cherish these frozen moments in time. After all, life isn't measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments – and photos – that take our breath away.
A family photo isn't just a picture; it's a memory encapsulated in time. With the right preparation and mindset, coupled with the expertise of Shoott photographers, your outdoor family photo will be a cherished keepsake for years to come. Read more useful tips about having a photoshoot.


Sending interviewers to targeted locations requires specific distribution options within the software itself, all of which can be found within Nfield CAPI. Have you already heard about sampling points?
Sampling points help you organize the fieldwork
In face to face interviewing, we refer to sampling points when talking about survey distribution. So what are sampling points?
From a technical perspective, sampling points are a way of categorizing interviews into certain groups (points). Categories could literally be anything: streets, areas, cities, or even experienced interviewers in one sampling point and less experienced interviewers in another.
In practice, sampling points are commonly used for a geographical distribution of interviews. The usage of sampling points helps you
 - assure a geographical representativeness of the survey
 - simplify the quota frame
 - control the fieldwork and targets better.
Thanks to sampling points it's easy to assign interviewers to interviews and control your fieldwork!
The geographical categorization helps to divide and manage the fieldwork and survey targets because interviewers may live in different areas or because you need to find respondents across a number of areas.
For example, when working on an international project involving many countries (offices worldwide), one sampling point could be one country (one office) with many interviewers.
Or in another case, when working on a local project, the town could be divided into parts with each one assigned to a different interviewer as a sampling point.
Nfield CAPI offers various scenarios
The following examples are theoretical and meant to explain you the main differences.
1. Surveys without sampling points and without quota
Non-geographical distribution is defined and your interviewers can ask anybody and anywhere.
Typical situation: polls
Example 1 without quota and sampling points actually means no table at all.
2. Surveys without sampling points and with quota
Non-geographical distribution is defined by sampling points, but please note that a quota frame can still be used for geographical distinction. The fieldwork is controlled through the total target that is placed in the software.
Typical situation: the interviewers who live in different cities interview people who are randomly passing by
Example 2 with quota, but no sampling points
3. Surveys with sampling points and quota
Geographical locations with the targets as the sampling points (Amsterdam East, Amsterdam West, Amsterdam South) need to be uploaded first, and then a quota frame with sample characteristics (female, male) should be set up. The fieldwork should be controlled through sampling points, not the total target. The sum of the sampling points targets is your total target, but having the total in the software does not help you control the fieldwork better.
Typical situation: a complex set-up used for international or national projects when a detailed distribution is needed
Example 3.1. with sampling points and quota, less items
Example 3.2. with sampling points and quota, more items


Skip to main content
ENM109 Research Skills Guide: Topic Analysis
Topic Analysis
A topic analysis will help you clarify and understand what your assessment question is asking you to do.
You will generally be given three key pieces of information:
 3. The task or instruction terms tell how you are to deal with the content. There is a list of explanations for common instruction words.
Let's say you have been given an assessment that involves reporting on a natural resource management issue in Australia.
For this example we have chosen the theme of (Australian) marine conservation
Provide an overview of your selected natural resource theme, and describe key management challenges, conservation issues and any other relevant historical dimensions
A topic analysis of this question might look like this:
Instruction words Provide an overview; Describe
Qualifying words & phrases Management challenges; conservation; historical dimensions
Key concepts Marine conservation in Australia
Here are some synonyms that might be used in searching. Note that using synonyms will broaden your search and increase the chances of retrieving information:
management challenges management, administration
historical dimensions history, past, background
"marine conservation" "marine parks"
In fact, the terms we have are probably quite good search terms, so here are some suggested searches:
 - "marine conservation" AND australia*
 - "marine conservation" AND australia* and manag*
 - "marine conservation" AND australia* AND manag* and issue*
 - "marine conservation" AND australia* AND histor*.
For more on search techniques, see the next page (Search techniques).
Topic Analysis
Find additional keywords
In the Oxford Reference search box below, enter some of the keywords you've identified from your assessment question and note down any alternate keywords that you find.
Find your definitions by searching Oxford Reference Online


text:
th day (108º to 120º), called Daka Day, is considered auspicious for invoking the father-line deities -- the masculine. The 25th day (288º to 300º), called Dakini Day, is given over to the feminine principle and the mother line deities, in general. These two days, the 10th and the 25th, are formal feast days, days of observation when extra offerings are made and increased attention given to what is happening. There is some sense of celebration at these points in the month. In many respects, these two days even rival the new and full moon days in importance. The fact is that these four days (new, full, 10th, 25th) are the primary auspicious days as practiced in many Eastern rituals.
There are many other days of lesser importance, which might also interest Western astrologers. Health and healing are important in Eastern ritual, and the 8th and 23rd days of the lunar month are auspicious for this purpose. It is these days that straddle the first and last lunar quarters. The 8th day (84º to 96º) is often called Medicine Buddha Day. Again this occurs in the male, or father-line, half of the month. The 23rd day (264º to 276º), occurring in the feminine half of the month, is dedicated to Tara practice. Tara is the female deity connected to health, long life, and healing in general.
Earlier we mentioned the days given over to purification, most prominently the 13th and the 29th. In addition, on a lesser scale, the 9th and the 19th days are also noted as days when the protector deities should be invoked and kept in mind. These, too, are days of purification. And there are more, still finer subdivisions that are made. In this brief article, these major observance days are enough to give us the idea of how Eastern astrologers approach the lunar cycle. It should be kept in mind that, in the East, astrology is practiced by the general public. So it is not just astrologers who are using the lunar days; everyone observes these days.
Next, we might ask ourselves how this Eastern approach to the lunation cycle might be of value in the West? As mentioned earlier, a major fact is that the lunar cycle is perceived as having a variety of gaps, joints, or points of articulation that can be used. They can be seen as chinks in the armor of our particular obscurations. Many Western mystery traditions also observe the times of the full (and sometimes the new) moon. full moon meditations are common. The quarter moons are given less attention, and few Western rituals exist (to my knowledge) for these events.
It is an intuitive fact that moments of clarity and insight (gaps) do come in the course of living. We all benefit from this kind of insight. What Eastern astrology seems to suggest to us is that many of these gaps are not just random events that occur in our life, haphazardly. They are regular opportunities, joints in the nick of time, when insights are somehow more possible than at other times. Therefore, it is common practice to set aside some portion of these special days for observance, for meditation.
It is unfortunate that the concept of meditation entertained by the public here in the West amounts to some kind of relaxation therapy -- a quiet time. This is very far from the truth of what is considered meditation in India, Japan, Tibet, and other Eastern countries. In fact, meditation is a form of observation. It is observation of what is, and of what is happening in one's mind and environment. When the Eastern mind meditates on special lunar days, it sets aside a time to observe with great care the nature of that particular day. Meditation as taught in Tibet and Japan is a technique that increases our abilities to observe. The meditator is not lost in deep inner space; that is our Western take on the concept of meditation. In the East, the meditator is right here, now, observing the mind and life. This is why it is said that these special days are days set aside for observation.
Here in the West, we are beginning to learn these techniques of observation. By setting aside a time on these special lunar days for observation, we can be open and aware to the possibilities of insight. This kind of awareness appears to be what is required to pick up on these natural events. If we have an insight at one of these time, we might be more willing to give it credence, knowing that it is happening on such-and-such a lunar day. And so on.
It is quite clear from the Eastern teachings that the moments of full and new moon are times when the various channels in the psychophysical body are somehow aligned. This is not to say the new or full moon days are days of peace and quiet. It is taught in the East that, although a new or full moon day may tend to be wild or hectic. Any patience or forbearance we can muster at that time will be much rewarded. In other words, there can be deep insights available to us at these times. According to these same teachings, an eclipse at the full or new moon is even more auspicious. In the teachings it is said that, during these very special events, both male and female energies (channels) are in simultaneous alignment -- the ultimate opportunity. The lunar cycle and its effects and opportunities have been analyzed in great detail in the Eastern teaching.
In summary, the major difference between Eastern and Western astrology as related to the lunation cycle is that in the East any lunar theory is put to the test. It exists as a guide to practice. In other words, they practice what they preach. Here in the West, it would appear that we are somewhat more theoretical. We read about and discuss ideas on the lunar cycle, but very few astrologers that I have met make use of the lunar-phase cycle as a guide to day-to-day practice. As a society, we don't even observe the full or new moon, much less the quarters or any of the other possible lunar days. It is true that most astrologers are aware of the zodiac sign the Moon is in, but here we are not examining that part of the tradition; we are looking at the cycle of the lunar phases. Or, here in the West we may know that it is new or full moon, but we do nothing out of the ordinary in response to that information. And, of course, the general public seldom even takes note of lunar events.
The Eastern approach to the lunar cycle is quite ancient and very detailed. East or West, I assume that both astrological traditions have been engaged in recording something rather than nothing all of these centuries. In other words, I assume that the existing lunar tradition, East and West, is a reflection of reality rather than something we have made up. After all, that is what astrology is all about and why we practice it.
Here we have concentrated on the synodic cycle of the sun, moon, and earth -- the lunation cycle. We have ignored the use by astrologers of the Moon in the signs and houses, something practiced both here and in the East.
On a personal note, my study of the lunation cycle has led me from Western to Eastern texts in an attempt to obtain more practical information for day-to-day living. When I ran out of new texts to study, I sought out some of the living Eastern meditators who observe the lunar cycle on a regular basis. For example, we have had a wide variety of Eastern astrologers living and working at our center in recent years. In addition, one individual skilled in Sanskrit and Tibetan astrology spent almost two years here, translating various Buddhist texts on the subject.
From my experience with these sources, the primary piece of information that stays with me is that reading about or listening to someone with experience in this area is, by definition, preliminary. Both text and teachers (however fine they may be) can but point beyond themselves to the lunar cycle itself. Through any differences that exist, all sources seem united in this one maxim: go and see for yourself. Check it out. The purpose of the teachings is the experience itself that waits to be known. They are telling us: Observe these days. Call it meditation or observation (whatever), but observe with care and attention if these insight gaps are there.
N.P. Subramania Iyer, Kalaprakasika, Ranjan Publications, 1982 Ven. Khenpo Karthar, Rinpoche. From a teaching on Buddhist Festivals, given Big Rapids, MI in 198? D. Bahadur L.D. Swamikannuu Pillai, Panchang and Horoscope, Asian Educational Services, 1985. D. Bahadur L.D. Swamikannuu Pillai, Indian Chronology, Asian Educational Services, 1982. Swami Prakashananda, personal communication. Shyam Sundar Das, personal communication. Sange Wangchug, personal communication and translation of Tibetan texts.


How To Break Steering Lock On Motorcycle?
Can you break a steering wheel lock?
So, how do you break the steering lock? Step 1- Push a screwdriver in between the plastic cover on the steering column and the steering wheel. Use force from your hand or a breaker bar to pry the cover off the column. The plastic cover may break, so keep in mind replacement may be necessary.
How do you unlock a steering wheel without the key?
Another method for how to break steering wheel lock without key is using loosening sticky locks.
 1. Put an electrical cleaner into the keyhole.
 2. Spray canned air into the ignition.
 3. Slide the key gently in and out of a number of times.
 4. Ensure the key is not bent or damaged.
Can Disklok be broken?
The design of the Disklok is round, there is no simple point on a Disklok that if you hit it, it'll break. A chisel, hammer, mallet, saw, screwdriver and various other tools do not have any way to have a go at it, making manual labour a nightmare.
How do you break an ignition with a screwdriver?
You could also hammer a screwdriver straight into the ignition lock breaking the pins in the cylinder and then just turn to start. The final method is to just remove the plastic ignition switch from the rear of the lock then insert a screw driver turn and the car will start.
You might be interested: Often asked: How To Take Care Of New Motorcycle?
What causes steering to lock up?
If your steering wheel locks up while the car is in motion, perhaps the most likely culprit is a lack of power steering fluid, or dirty power steering fluid. Especially at lower speeds like parking lot maneuvers, the power steering system allows you to turn the wheels with ease.
What happens when your steering wheel locks?
If your steering wheel is locked, you won't be able to start your car: either your ignition switch won't turn or, if your car has a start-stop button, you'll see a warning light about the steering lock. Fortunately, it's easy enough to unlock your steering wheel and get your car started with the following simple steps.
Why does the steering wheel get hard?
Can I start my car with a screwdriver?
The first thing you should do is take a screwdriver and place it into the keyhole of the ignition system (which is called the ignition tumbler). Turn the screwdriver and see if it can start the car that way. With a small number of cars, this is all you'll need to do to start the engine.
Why is my steering wheel locked and car won't start?
In order to turn the key and start the vehicle, you will have to move the steering wheel from side to side, while at the same time attempting to turn the key in the ignition. When doing the two actions at the same time you can exit the steering wheel lock and then start your vehicle.


Giraffe Riff Raff
Lesson Activities
1. Begin by asking students to think about their day-to-day interactions with animals. What types of animals do they interact with? What do their interactions consist of? (Answers will vary.) Encourage students to be thorough and look at their interactions with many different types of animal – this could include feeding pets, swatting flies, eating a hamburger – any situation where animals become part of the students' lives.
2. Pick four or five animals that came up during the class discussion. These may vary according to students' answers or regional animals, but they should be different kinds of animals that inspire different kinds of interactions (i.e. Dog, Fish, Spider, Squirrel). Divide students into four groups and assign an animal to each group. Give each group a large sheet of paper or posterboard. Give students 5-10 minutes to think about any and all ways that they might interact with this sort of animal, and to write down all of their answers on the sheet of paper.
3. When time is up, post the sheets of paper at the front of the room. Have students read some of their answers aloud. Compare the interactions with the different animals. Ask students the following questions based on their answers:
 - Why do we interact with these animals in these ways?
 - How does our behavior impact these animals?
 - How does the animal's behavior impact us?
 - How does this animal impact our habitat or environment?
 - Do our actions have an impact on the animal's habitat or environment?
4. Tell students that while these interactions impact animals and their habitats on a local level, all over the world animal populations and habitats are affected both positively and negatively by humans and human behavior. Ask students to reflect on their observations about human-animal interaction in their lives, and think of some examples of ways that human behavior has an impact on wild animals. (Answers will vary, but should include negative effects such as habitat destruction, hunting, etc.) Ask students what they think humans could do about some of the negative effects they have on wild animals. (Conservation, preservation.)
1. Tell students they're going to see some examples of humans interacting with a specific wildlife population – giraffes in Africa. Explain that, like many of the animals they interact with on a regular basis, giraffes are not endangered or at risk. However, they are susceptible to pressure from the human population. Ask students to think of what some of these pressures might be. (Answers should include hunting, habitat destruction such trees cut down for firewood and to make room for livestock, expanding human population, competition for food and water resources.)
2. Ask students to consider why conservation efforts would be made to save the giraffe population if it is not currently at risk? (Answers may vary but should amount to "preventing the population from becoming endangered.) Explain to students that while the giraffe population in general is not at risk, some subspecies may be in danger of extinction. Remind students that giraffes, as well as many other species of wildlife, are vulnerable to habitat loss and habitat fragmentation due to human expansion, and by making efforts now it may prevent negative effects on the animal populations later. Tell students that this process of managing natural resources, namely animals and their habitats, is known as conservation.
3. Ask students to think of what humans can do to counteract the negative effects on the giraffe population and habitat, and to write their thoughts in the first column of the Conservation Strategies Organizer. Tell students that translocation is one of the main strategies used in conserving the giraffe population, and give students a working definition of translocation (the capture, movement, and release of wildlife from one location to another.) Tell students that they will be watching some video clips that explore some of these conservation efforts.
4. FRAME the first clip by telling students that they will watch a video clip featuring wildlife relocation workers in the field, interacting with giraffes. Give students a FOCUS by asking them to note characteristics of giraffes in the wild. PLAY the first clip, "In the Wild." FOLLOW UP with students by asking them to share their observations of characteristics of giraffes in the wild. (Answers may include: little to no group structure, no leader, not much known about community life, camouflaging themselves in trees, dark markings, losing their habitat.) Ask students how the relocation workers account for these characteristics in their work. (Answers may include maintaining the fence, darting giraffes from helicopters in areas where there are no trees, approaching giraffes since they don't perceive humans as predators, covering giraffes' ears and eyes to reduce their stress.)
5. FRAME the second video clip by telling students they'll see another example of how the relocation company operates to transport giraffes. Give students a FOCUS by asking them to note potential positive and negative aspects of the corralling process, for both the humans and the giraffes. PLAY the second clip, "On the Move." FOLLOW UP with students by reviewing their observations from watching the video clip. (Answers may include: using a different method to capture giraffes in a wooded area, humans in danger of being kicked by giraffes, giraffes being scared, some giraffes calmly entering truck, possibility of giraffes charging, giraffes unhappy in small area, nerve-wracking for humans, sad or uncomfortable for humans to watch.)
6. FRAME the next two clips by telling students they will see two examples of areas to which giraffes are relocated. Give students a FOCUS by asking them to note the benefits of the new habitats to the giraffes. PLAY the third clip, "New Digs." FOLLOW UP with students by asking what they noticed in the clip. (Answers may include: private game farm, giraffes attended to by a vet, safe space to run, new open spaces, personal care.) PLAY the last clip, "Giraffe Manor." FOLLOW UP with students by asking what they noticed in the clip. (Answers may include: 20 minutes from Nairobi, sanctuary for one herd of giraffe, on front lawn of a hotel, dining room for animals, a LOT of human interaction, habitat created to save Rothschild giraffes.) Ask students to compare and contrast the two habitats that they saw in the video clips.
7. Ask students to reflect on the video clips they have seen, and how humans behaved and interacted with the giraffes while capturing them and at the game farm and Giraffe Manor. Ask students to record the methods and practices of conservation and translocation shown in the video clips in the second column of the Conservation Strategies Organizer. Compare and contrast.
8. Project on a screen (or write on the board or a piece of chart paper) some of the more priority species for conservation. These include: tigers, jaguars, crocodiles, Asian elephants, gorillas, African wild dogs, bison, and sea turtles. Ask students to think about the habitats in which these animals live and how they interact with humans. Engage the class in a discussion of how the conservation strategies noted on their organizers might be applied to more at-risk or endangered wildlife populations.
1. By now students have seen many different aspects of the conservation efforts in Africa, and the different people involved. Ask students to name some of the different jobs or careers in conservation that they noticed. As students call out their answers, make a list on the board or a piece of chart paper. (Answers may include: company owner, pilot, corraller, darter, veterinarian, driver, animal handler, journalist,hotel worker, biologist, researcher, fundraiser, geographer, etc.)
2. Tell students that, as they can see, there are many different ways to participate in the conservation industry. Ask students which career from the list they would choose, if they were to be involved in the conservation industry. Students should write a brief essay on why they chose that career, and what they would do in that position.
Students can visit the following Web sites for more information on the conservation industry and movements:
 - kelly
 hello all
Inside This Lesson


text:
Impact and Suggestion of Column-to-Surface Vertical Correction Scheme on the Relationship between Satellite AOD and Ground-Level PM2.5 in China
AbstractAs China is suffering from severe fine particle pollution from dense industrialization and urbanization, satellite-derived aerosol optical depth (AOD) has been widely used for estimating particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than 2.5 μm (PM2.5). However, the correlation between satellite AOD and ground-level PM2.5 could be influenced by aerosol vertical distribution, as satellite AOD represents the entire column, rather than just ground-level concentration. Here, a new column-to-surface vertical correction scheme is proposed to improve separation of the near-surface and elevated aerosol layers, based on the ratio of the integrated extinction coefficient within 200–500 m above ground level (AGL), using the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP)) aerosol profile products. There are distinct differences in climate, meteorology, terrain, and aerosol transmission throughout China, so comparisons between vertical correction via CALIOP ratio and planetary boundary layer height (PBLH) were conducted in different regions from 2014 to 2015, combined with the original Pearson coefficient between satellite AOD and ground-level PM2.5 for reference. Furthermore, the best vertical correction scheme was suggested for different regions to achieve optimal correlation with PM2.5, based on the analysis and discussion of regional and seasonal characteristics of aerosol vertical distribution. According to our results and discussions, vertical correction via PBLH is recommended in northwestern China, where the PBLH varies dramatically, stretching or compressing the surface aerosol layer; vertical correction via the CALIOP ratio is recommended in northeastern China, southwestern China, Central China (excluding summer), North China Plain (excluding Beijing), and the spring in the southeast coast, areas that are susceptible to exogenous aerosols and exhibit the elevated aerosol layer; and original AOD without vertical correction is recommended in Beijing and the southeast coast (excluding spring), where the elevated aerosol layer rarely occurs and a large proportion of aerosol is aggregated in near-surface. Moreover, validation experiments in 2016 agreed well with our discussions and conclusions drawn from the experiments of the first two years. Furthermore, suggested vertical correction scheme was applied into linear mixed effect (LME) model, and high cross validation (CV) R2 (~85%) and relatively low root mean square errors (RMSE, ~20 μg/m3) were achieved, which demonstrated that the PM2.5 estimation agreed well with the measurements. When compared to the original situation, CV R2 values and RMSE after vertical correction both presented improvement to a certain extent, proving that the suggested vertical correction schemes could further improve the estimation accuracy of PM2.5 based on sophisticated model in China. Estimating PM2.5 with better accuracy could contribute to a more precise research of ecology and epidemiology, and provide a reliable reference for environmental policy making by governments. View Full-Text
Share & Cite This Article
Gong, W.; Huang, Y.; Zhang, T.; Zhu, Z.; Ji, Y.; Xiang, H. Impact and Suggestion of Column-to-Surface Vertical Correction Scheme on the Relationship between Satellite AOD and Ground-Level PM2.5 in China. Remote Sens. 2017, 9, 1038.
Gong W, Huang Y, Zhang T, Zhu Z, Ji Y, Xiang H. Impact and Suggestion of Column-to-Surface Vertical Correction Scheme on the Relationship between Satellite AOD and Ground-Level PM2.5 in China. Remote Sensing. 2017; 9(10):_URL_ Style
Gong, Wei; Huang, Yusi; Zhang, Tianhao; Zhu, Zhongmin; Ji, Yuxi; Xiang, Hao. 2017. "Impact and Suggestion of Column-to-Surface Vertical Correction Scheme on the Relationship between Satellite AOD and Ground-Level PM2.5 in China." Remote Sens. 9, no. 10: 1038.
Note that from the first issue of 2016, MDPI journals use article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.


text:
While planting apple seeds with kids is fun and will produce a tree, it's important to know that the tree may never bear fruit. Most apple trees that are grown for fruit are produced by a grafting method. Additionally, an apple tree grown from seed that does bear fruit can take up to eight years to get to that stage. Finally, it may produce apples that don't look or taste like the apple from which the original seed came! That said, planting apple seeds with kids is a great learning experience.
Allow the child to pick out and eat an apple, making sure to save the seeds from the core area. It's not a bad idea to eat several varieties, because some apple seeds germinate more quickly than others.
Remove as many seeds as you can from the core. Only use intact seeds, as broken ones will not grow. Clean the seeds carefully with warm water, making sure to remove any parts of the apple that cling to them.
Allow the seeds dry out for at least three days. It's best to put the seeds on a paper plate. Help keep track of what type of seeds you are handling by having the child write the name of the apple they came from on the plate. Make sure to put the seed plates in a protected and out-of-the-way place, so that no critters or children carry them off.
Dampen a paper towel and place the seeds on it. Fold the wet towel over several times so that the seeds are surrounded in moisture. Place the paper towel in a plastic sandwich bag and seal it; then place the entire bag in the refrigerator. Have the child check the seeds daily. They should sprout within one to two weeks. Make sure they are a good size and sturdy before moving to the planting stage.
Use a push pin to poke holes in the bottom of several paper cups. Fill each cup about 3/4 of the way with potting soil. Transfer the apple seeds to the cups, planting one seed per cup. Make sure the green sprouted part is above the soil. Water gently until the soil is very moist and place the cups in a sunny location.
Water the seedlings daily and make certain that they receive lots of sunlight. As they start to outgrow their containers, transfer them to larger clay pots and move them outside into a spot that receives lots of sun. Continue to water daily.
Transplant the trees into the ground when they are about 12 inches tall and have developed a sturdy root system. Have the child help you dig a hole in an area of the garden that receives at least six hours of sunlight each day. The planting hole should be twice the size of the tree's root ball and filled with planting soil and manure. Place pine straw around the base of the tree to help keep moisture in the soil. Continue to water it well, especially during the hot months, and enjoy it as it grows.