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In a turn-based, capture-the-flag style game, both players are attempting to steal the other King's crown jewel and return the jewel to their own King to make him Emperor. Movement and abilities of each unit change throughout the game based on their role. The unit with the jewel of the same color is the King. The King is protected by many guards, and a few elite guards. The unit with the jewel of the other player's color is transformed into the Thief. A unit with both jewels becomes Emperor and wins the game. Depending on play style, the role of King and Thief may change many times throughout the game. The game can be played on a 5×5 or 7×7 board.
10-20 minutes per game
16 pieces on 5×5 board or 24 pieces on a 7×7 board
- Thief Victory: Thief returns to the first rank of the friendly side of the board.
- Elimination Victory: All of the other player's units are eliminated.
- Emperor Victory: The King becomes Emperor by holding both jewels at the same time.
Movement and Ability
Players take turns moving one of their own units. Movement and ability change based on the 4 roles in the game. Movement is not limited by direction (forward and backward movement allowed). Units cannot move into an occupied square unless they can attack that unit.
- King (same color jewel) can move one space in any direction (like a chess king), but may not attack -ormay pass jewel to adjacent unit.
- Elite Guard can move one or two spaces diagonally and those movements may be attacks.
- Guard can move one space diagonally and may attack.
- Thief (opposite color jewel) can move one space in any direction and that movement may be an attack -ormay pass jewel to adjacent unit.
Attacking is simply moving into an opponent's occupied square, removing that unit from the game, and replacing it with the attacking unit. Attacking the other player's King or Thief removes that unit from the board and places the jewel it was carrying onto the attacking unit (that unit now has a new role). You may not attack your own units.
The King and the Thief may pass their jewel to an adjacent ally unit in any direction as their movement. The King or the Thief go back to whatever guard or elite guard unit they were before. The new unit gains the movement and ability of the new role.
The King has the ability to sacrifice one of its own units from the board for a bonus action. For each of your own units you eliminate on your turn you are granted a free action for this turn only. You may remove up to 3 of your own units on your turn, except your last unit or the King. Sacrifice allows you to move any friendly unit one space in any direction including one it cannot normally take (such as an attack, or a guard moving orthogonally).
- Elite guards lose their double move ability when converted to King or Thief
- When the King is the last unit of its color, it is able to double move/attack
- You may not Sacrifice on a turn you would win the game


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Accidental poisoning by methadone occurs, particularly as a result of children ingesting a parent's methadone. Health care professionals have a responsibility to provide information and guidance to methadone users on safe storage of methadone. The objective of the study was to audit the effectiveness of information giving on the safety of methadone consumption, dose measurement and storage, and the effectiveness of sources of advice available for patients.
The study was undertaken prior to the introduction of a scheme for the supervised consumption of methadone, in the setting of an NHS Methadone clinic serving a district population of 490,000 in the UK. 185 consecutive patients attending a methadone clinic to collect a methadone prescription were the subject of an anonymous survey. Issues of safety of methadone consumption, storage and safety information provisions were assessed. A telephone survey of the community pharmacists dispensing the methadone covered the availability of measuring devices and provision of advice on safety was undertaken.
Methadone was stored in a variety of locations, a cupboard being most frequent. 95 patients (60.1%) had children either living in or visiting their home. All stored their methadone in a bottle with a child resistant lid; the majority measured doses using either the container supplied by the pharmacist or a plastic measure. 126 patients (78%) confirmed that a pharmacist provided a measuring container on their first visit, 24 (15%) were given a measure on every visit to the pharmacist. Advice on safe storage was recalled by 30% of the patients, and advice on measuring methadone by 28%. Methadone was seen as potentially dangerous by 82% of the patients.
The risks resulting from unsafe storage of methadone may be reduced by daily instalment prescribing and provision of measuring containers on request. Recall of provision of information on safety issues is poor and the adoption of a standard policy on provision information should be seen as a priority. A re-audit of safety of storage of methadone is recommended following the introduction of a standard policy on information provision.
The number of prescriptions per year for methadone in England increased from 425,400 to 1,318,100 between 1990 and 2001. Prior to the introduction in 1999 of national guidelines in England with regard to supervised methadone consumption, it was common practice for patients to be prescribed take-home methadone from specialist drug clinics or general practitioners which would be dispensed at community pharmacies. Up to 14 days' supply could be prescribed on one prescription and the patient would be allowed to store this at home. In practice, prior to the development of supervised methadone schemes, where patients consume their methadone at the pharmacy and are observed by the pharmacist, many prescribers controlled the amount dispensed by prescribing daily instalments or for 2 to 3 days at a time to reduce the risk of diversion of supplies and the risk of storage of high volumes. Following the introduction of guidelines for supervised methadone, it became the norm within the UK for patients to have daily methadone prescriptions with supervised consumption at the pharmacy for a minimum of 3 months. Providing that they are compliant with treatment, this supervision can then be discontinued and increasing numbers of days' supply can be dispensed to take home. Even within the current supervised schemes, patients will take home at least one day's supply for unsupervised consumption as pharmacies are not in general open on Sundays.
The introduction of national guidelines has produced some changes in the prescribing methods for methadone in the UK. There is still considerable variation in practice between clinicians both in the dose prescribed and the volume dispensed for take-home use
The risks relating to methadone are not confined to those prescribed methadone or to adults using illicit supplies. The storage of methadone at home poses a potential risk to children living with the person prescribed methadone if the supply is not safely stored.
The value of oral methadone prescribing in the treatment of opiate addicts is confirmed in National Clinical Guidelines. Safety issues relating to storage of methadone at home have been well documented. A report regarding the use of babies' feeding bottles as measuring devices for methadone highlighted the risks to children of access to methadone. The study recommended that all doctors who prescribe methadone should ask their patients how they measure their daily dose of methadone. It is clear from current guidance that health care professionals have a responsibility to provide information and guidance to methadone users on safe storage of methadone.. We undertook this audit to evaluate the effectiveness of the sources of advice that those prescribed methadone may have used with regard to safety of storage and measurement of their methadone dose.
Audit criteria and standard setting
The audit followed a standard audit methodology of selecting appropriate criteria and then selecting standards by which to measure success in achieving the criteria.
The following criteria were selected following a review of the literature.
1. All patients prescribed methadone should recall being given information on safe storage of methadone
2. All patients who take home methadone should have it dispensed in a child resistant container
3. All patients prescribed methadone for home consumption should have an accurate measuring device available
4. All patients who have methadone at home should store it a child resistant container within a safe locked location.
5. All patients where children may have access to methadone should be aware of the particular risks to children.
6. All patients prescribed methadone should be aware of the risks of accidental overdose.
The standard setting was agreed by the audit team using the following principles.
1. Given the high risks posed by accidental methadone overdose criteria 1 – 6 were allocated a 100% standard
Development of survey instruments
We devised and piloted a questionnaire for anonymous self completion by patients. The content of the questionnaire was planned to cover the following aspects.
- Volumes of methadone prescribed and stored
- Frequency of pick up of prescriptions
- Frequency of doses
- Location of storage
- Measurement of methadone
- Possible access to the stored methadone by children
- Sources of advice on safe storage and measurement
- Appreciation of the possible risks of methadone.
A checklist for telephone survey of community pharmacists was devised to collect data on the availability of measuring devices and advice on safety aspects of storage and measurement.
Over a period of three days, consecutive patients attending to collect a methadone prescription from the specialist clinic were invited to complete the questionnaire. Of the 185 patients attending, 165 (86.4%) completed the questionnaire.
All pharmacists recorded in the clinic register as potentially dispensing methadone to patients attending the clinic were contacted by telephone (n = 48). Of these, 36 were actually dispensing methadone during the period of the patient survey and 35 (97.2%) agreed to complete the telephone survey
Closed questions were analysed with descriptive statistics, open questions by content analysis, a χ2 test was used to compare outcomes
Volume of methadone stored at home
The mean daily methadone dose for the 161 patients was 32 mg, (Range 5 mg to 80 mg, SD = 14.01). Instalment prescribing is the norm within the clinic and 97 patients (63%) reported a daily pick up, 52 (34%) a pick up every 2 days, 3 patients (2%) picked up twice a week whilst 1 patient (<1%) reported a weekly pick up.
Volumes stored at home reflected the range of doses and the type of instalment prescribing. The mean volume stored at home was 51 mg (Range 0 mg to 315 mg, SD= 48.3). Of the 11 patients who reported that they did not store any methadone at home, 2 reported that they stored it about their person, 8 consumed all their methadone in the street after it had been dispensed and 1 gave it to a parent for safekeeping.
Location of storage
Content analysis of the location of storage revealed a variety of locations (Table 1). A cupboard was the most common storage place 49 (30.6%), 27 (16.8%) stored methadone in the fridge, whilst only 4 patients (2.5%) stored methadone in a medicine cabinet. One patient stored methadone in a wastebin
Table 1. Location of storage of methadone in the home
Safety of storage
Of the 159 patients who completed the item on security of their place of storage, 43 (27%) acknowledged that other people would have access to their storage place.
The presence of children in the house was assessed in two ways, firstly as an item enquiring as to children resident with the patient and secondly an item regarding children who may visit the patient. From these items a consolidated figure of homes where children may have access to methadone was calculated.
158 patients responded to items on children within the home, of whom 95 (60.1%) had children either living in or visiting the home. An assessment by these 95 patients of the risk of children knowing where the methadone was stored resulted in 5 patients (3.2%) accepting that children would know where they kept their methadone, 10 patients (6.45%) reported that they thought children could find their methadone.
Chi square analysis of methadone storage location and assessment of the ability of others to access the storage site showed no significant difference between the group with children living in or visiting their home and those with no children living in or having access to their home.
Methadone storage container
Of the 160 patients

source: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb-edu


Can Pears Pollinate Apples?
All flowering plants require pollination in order to blossom and produce fruit. Some plants can pollinate themselves, in a process known as self-pollination, while most plants require pollen from another plant of the same species. This cross-pollination can sometimes occur between plants which are closely related, but are technically different.
What about pears and apples? Can pears pollinate apples?
No, they cannot. Apples and pears are not closely related enough to be able to cross-pollinate one another. A few varieties of apple are self-pollinating, but most will require pollination from another apple tree planted somewhere nearby. The specific variety of the other tree is also important, because not all types of apples are capable of pollinating one another.
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Blog 8.24.2012 No Comments's first-ever SolidWorks API programming contest has come to a close. Some of the finest API programmers out there stepped up to the challenge described in our last post: Write a macro in as few lines as possible that discovers and displays a single message box listing the children of all part components in the assembly. Without further adieu, here are the results:
1. Ivana K. (15 lines)
2. Josh B. (19 lines)
3. Jeff Z. (20 lines)
4. Satheesh P. (26 lines)
5. Matteo O. (28 lines)
6. Anonymous (57 lines)
Congratulations, Ivana! You will receive a $100 gift card to or one of its international affiliates. Josh and Jeff will each receive a $50 gift card as well. Many thanks to all who participated!
Download Ivana K's solution
The Solution
Writing a top-tier macro that meets the contest requirements involves three challenges, in my opinion.
The first challenge is simply determining how to obtain the children of a part component. Its not as simple as you might think. IComponent2::GetChildren only returns child components, not child features, which means that on a part component this method returns an empty array. To get the children, we actually need to get the IFeature pointer than corresponds to the part component and then use IFeature::GetChildren. This method returns whatever is listed in the Parent/Child dialog box of a part component. The lesson is, a component is considered a feature by the SolidWorks API. With that in mind, we know to traverse the assembly as a set of features rather than components.
The second challenge is understanding how to write recursive functions. Recursion refers to a function referencing itself. A great example of recursion can be seen in the API Help example Traverse Assembly at Component and Feature Levels Using Recursion. Indeed, many contestants used a heavily-trimmed version of this macro as a means of traversing the FeatureManager tree. Recursion lets a programmer re-use code, which can result in having to write fewer lines of code overall. Such was the case with this macro.
The third challenge is knowing tricks and shortcuts within the VBA or VB.NET programming language to remove as many lines as possible. Ivana's winning solution illustrates this well:
 1. The text displayed in ISldWorks::SendMsgToUser2 is actually the return value of the getNames functions.
 2. Most of the variable names are declared as function arguments or as For Each loop elements, instead of on their own line. (Note that declaring variables in For Each loops is only possible in VB.NET.)
 3. Automatic type-casting is used to reduce the number of variable declarations. For example, using "swMod.FeatureByName(c.Name2).getchildren" to get the child features of a component.
 4. Use AndAlso and OrElse operators (available in VB.NET) to effectively squish two conditional statements into one line. Normal And and Or operators require all statements to be verified, whereas AndAlso and OrElse will begin executing the statements contained within the conditional once the outcome is guaranteed. So in Ivana's case, the following logic was applied to each component in the assembly: If the component is a sub-assembly then traverse its features, or, if the component has child features then it must be a part component so add the names of those child features to the final results string.
We can see, then, that VB.NET does offer some significant advantages in terms of reducing line length.
(Note: Should you desire to count the lines in the winning solution on your own, keep in mind that comments, blank lines, Imports statements, and Class declarations are not counted. Also, lines containing 2 or more variables declarations on the same line are counted as separate lines.)
Do know of any alternate solutions or have any questions about the solution we discussed? Please share below.
Until next time,
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|Images courtesy of Slavery Still Exists.|
High school Language Arts teacher, Shelley Wright, uses project-based learning in her classroom in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. After reading a fiction book about child slavery, her students were inspired to teach others about the issue of modern-day trafficking. As part of their work, they created images and videos -- as well as a social media campaign -- to inform and inspire others. You can see some of the images and photos here.
Students at Tualatin High School in Oregon were so shocked and motivated by a recent documentary about bullying in schools, that they launched an anti-bullying poster contest. The contest was part of an effort to reduce bullying in their own school community. You can see some of the posters here.
These two examples not only demonstrate the importance of integrating real-life learning into schooling, but highlight how powerful art and media can be as tools for positive change.
Like our blog? Please share it with others, comment, and/or subscribe to our RSS feed.


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in the traditional notation for categorical logic, a proposition that is both particular and negative. Example: "Some trees are not evergreens." Such a proposition affirms that there is at least one tree that is not also an evergreen. Its contradictory is an "A" proposition with the same subject and predicate terms.
[A Dictionary of Philosophical Terms and Names]
Try this search on OneLook / Google


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Creation and Integration
Geologist Laurence Andriashek of the Ground Water
Group from the Alberta Geological Survey (AGS) has been researching
surficial sediments for the Beaver River Study Area. One of the primary
concerns of this research was determining the interactions between
surface water and ground water, specifically the relationship between
the deep and shallow water aquifers with surface water bodies.
address this properly it was necessary to analyze bathymetry data
represented by lake bottom contours derived from depth soundings.
Maps Distribution Branch of the Alberta Sustainable Resource Development
stored the most up-to-date information as a repository of hard-copy
maps created by the Alberta Environment between _PHONE_.
In January 2003, GISmo Solutions Ltd embarked on a project to create
digital bathymetry data for 27 lakes within the Beaver River study
area. The first phase of this project addressed the reproduction of
bathymetry information from the hard copy maps into a properly geo-referenced
digital Geographical Information System (GIS) data set. Once contours,
lake elevations, and lake boundaries were validated, the second phase
integrated the bathymetry data into the Base Features 1:250K 25-meter
Digital Elevation Model (DEM).
Following the delivery of Beaver River bathymetry product, AGS initiated
a province-wide integration of remaining 146 lakes in the repository.
New project utilized the freely distributed Shuttle Radar Topography
Mission (SRTM) DEM for integration. This project was completed in
December 2004, and has produced a complete, up-to-date digital bathymetry
data set for Alberta.


Electrical Charge of Nano Particles Measured
Photo: Cross-section through two chip-sized glass
Krishnan has developed a new method that measures not only the size of the particles but also their electrostatic charge. Up until now it has not been possible to determine the charge of the particles directly. This unique method, which is the first of its kind in the world, is just as important for the manufacture of drugs as in basic research.
In order to observe the individual particles in a solution, Madhavi Krishnan and her co-workers "entice" each particle into an "electrostatic trap." It works like this: between two glass plates the size of a chip, the researchers create thousands of round energy holes. The trick is that these holes have just a weak electrostatic charge. The scientists than add a drop of the solution to the plates, whereupon each particle falls into an energy hole and remains trapped there. But the particles do not remain motionless in their trap. Instead, molecules in the solution collide with them continuously, causing the particles to move in a circular motion. "We measure these movements, and are then able to determine the charge of each individual particle", explains Madhavi Krishnan.
Put simply, particles with just a small charge make large circular movements in their traps, while those with a high charge move in small circles. This phenomenon can be compared to that of a light-weight ball which, when thrown, travels further than a heavy one. The US physicist Robert A. Millikan used a similar method 100 years ago in his oil drop experiment to determine the velocity of electrically charged oil drops. In 1923, he received the Nobel Prize in physics in recognition of his achievements. "But he examined the drops in a vacuum", Krishnan explains. "We on the other hand are examining nano particles in a solution which itself influences the properties of the particles."
For all solutions manufactured industrially, the electrical charge of the nano particles contained therein is also of primary interest, because it is the electrical charge that allows a fluid solution to remain stable and not to develop a lumpy consistency. "With our new method, we get a picture of the entire suspension along with all of the particles contained in it", emphasizes Madhavi Krishnan. A suspension is a fluid in which miniscule particles or drops are finely distributed, for example in milk, blood, various paints, cosmetics, vaccines and numerous pharmaceuticals. "The charge of the particles plays a major role in this", the Zurich-based scientist tells us.
One example is the manufacture of medicines that have to be administered in precise doses over a longer period using drug-delivery systems. In this context, nano particles act as "packages" that transport the drugs to where they need to take effect. Very often, it is their electrical charge that allows them to pass through tissue and cell membranes in the body unobstructed and so to take effect. "That is why it is so important to be able to measure their charge. So far most of the results obtained have been imprecise", the researcher tells us.
"The new method allows us to even measure in real-time a change in the charge of a single entity", adds Madhavi Krishnan. "This is particularly exciting for basic research and has never before been possible." This is because changes in charge play a role in all bodily reactions, whether in proteins, large molecules such as the DNA double helix, where genetic make-up is encoded, or cell organelles. "We are examining how material works in the field of millionths of a millimeter."
COMPAMED.de; Source: University of Zurich


The Shocking Truth About Network Hardware Failures (and a Proven Way to Protect Yourself)
When it comes to building your network, you don't want to take any chances. Network hardware failures mean lots of lost money and major stress and are the last thing anyone wants! Therefore nothing but the most reliable network hardware will suffice.
 - Jul 22, 2013
 - Rick
network hardware failures - a shocking truth
"The biggest culprit of SMB downtime is actually due to hardware failure, which accounts for some 55 percent of all downtime events in SMBs," explains Paul Mah of SMB Tech.
So, how do you avoid network hardware failures and maintain high levels of reliability?
A good way to avoid network hardware failures is to understand where and when they take place.
This understanding of how network hardware failures happen will arm you with information that can help your organization be more efficient and profitable. Plus, it makes your life easier and less stressful.
Where and When Do Network Hardware Failures Happen?
(Hint: It's not what you think!)
This may come as a surprise to most. The vast majority of network hardware failures take place within the first 30 days of installing brand new, out-of-the-box network hardware.
That's worth repeating. Most network hardware failures occur within the first 30 days of buying and implementing brand new hardware.
Oddly enough, once the network hardware is "burned in," it tends to run smoothly and efficiently for years and years. This means that you could be running a higher risk of encountering network hardware failure when you purchase new network hardware.
For many IT professionals, the top reason they pay more money to buy new network hardware is for perceived reasons of reliability. The reality may be 180 degrees opposite of their perception.
What Could Be Causing Network Hardware Failures?
One of the chief reasons network hardware failures occur in the first 30 days might have to do with testing of the product. Did you know that not every piece of new network equipment is thoroughly inspected for quality purposes? In fact, testing of new hardware looks like this:
Only about one out of every X devices is spot-checked.
That could mean 1 out of every 100 devices is checked. Maybe it's 1 out of 1,000. Whether it is 1 out of 100 or 1 out of 1,000 isn't the most important point.
Shouldn't every unit of network hardware be tested?
Shouldn't that number be a 1 to 1 ratio?
Network hardware failure is a big problem for companies, and the lack of inspection may be causing major issues for customers who are spending extra budget money thinking they're purchasing a superior, more reliable, top-of-the-line product.
But the simple fact is that an untested product could crash at any time—there is no telling when something could go wrong.
A Counterintuitive Solution to Protect Against Network Hardware Failure That Will Save Your Organization Tons of Money
What you are about to hear may take you by surprise. You may have some kind of initial allergic reaction. It's no surprise; you are conditioned to react that way. But if you take a moment to think about it for yourself, you will see that it makes sense. Ready?
Buy pre-owned network hardware.
But wait...not just any pre-owned network hardware.
This is important.
Buy top quality pre-owned network hardware, preferably from an established industry authority who puts the highest value on product testing and certification.
Here's a quick list of some of the things you want to look for to identify a top quality network hardware provider:
Some companies will even have NBD hardware replacement services available that will cost you as little as 50% of what you'd pay for the manufacturer alternative. Plus it allows you to extend the life cycle of your hardware because they can support end-of-life/end-of-service product lines.
This precisely describes our practices and our philosophy. We live it every single day. That's how we know it works, and we will proudly and passionately advocate for this approach. It has ensured high performance and reliability, minimized downtime, and saved people huge amounts of money for a long time.
Just to show you that this isn't a bunch of hot air, the reliability rating for CXtec's very own pre-owned network hardware is over 99.5%. That means a less than 0.05% failure rate. Some original hardware manufacturers have failure rates in the 3 to 4% range. That means buying quality pre-owned hardware provides higher performance and reliability than new network hardware, but at a fraction of the cost.
Less stress. Less risk. Big savings.
When you make the wise decision to purchase top quality pre-owned network hardware in this manner, you erase the doubt and stress from your mind and you get to save as much as 50 to 90% off list prices. So you get the bonus of having extra money available for other priorities for your IT team and your organization. Talk about making your life a little easier.
It's no risk and all reward.
Think about it. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. All it takes is a small shift in philosophy, attitude, and approach to network hardware. What are you waiting for?
If you'd like to learn more about how you can ensure the high performance and reliability of your network hardware while saving lots of money, or if you have a question about your unique situation/problem, we're happy to talk to you. Just click here or give us a ring.


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You can access our My Property tool to find local schools, closest public transport options and more.
There is no agreement on the origin of the name Bahrs Scrub. It is quite possible that the area got its name from German settler Carl Wilhelm Bahr, born in 1840, or his son Wilhelm, born in 1860. The name may originate from Jimmy-bark Scrub, as reported by a correspondent for The Queenslander newspaper in 1866, who documented his journey through the Albert and Logan districts. The area is called Barr's Scrub in a letter to the editor of a local paper dated 21 February 1874. The hill between Bethania and Holmview has always been locally known as Bark Hill, so perhaps the name evolved from this.
Windaroo Creek rises in Bahrs Scrub and flows eastwards into the Albert River. In 1993, approval was given for the construction of a state high school to called Bahrs Scrub State High School. When it opened, it became known as Windaroo Valley High School, with the name taken from the housing estate being marketed at the time. Formerly in Albert Shire, then Gold Coast, Bahrs Scrub was made part of Logan City in 2008.

source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


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before you can move to canada to study, all overseas students are required to get a visa and student authorization. International students are also required to meet the requirements of Canadian Immigration Act and Regulations. It takes about two months for visa to be processed in normal circumstances oer sometimes it can take more the two months.
Documents required For Visa and Student Authorization Procedure
Documents required for attainment of visa and student authorization procedures are:
- • Official acceptance letter issued by the Canadian college, university or Technical Institute.
- Proof of acceptance letter must contain the following data of students:
- • Name
- • Father's name
- • Date of birth of student
- • Mailing address of student
- • Enrolment course of student
- • Tuition fee report
- • Full or part time course
- • Date on which the course will begin
- • Date on which course will end
- • Duration of selected course
- • TOFEL/IELTS score sheet (if required)
- • Completed Student Application form
- • Completed Supplementary Questionnaire for postdoctoral researchers and students
- • Bank Draft for the applicable visa processing fees
- • Passport, valid for at least six months from the planned date of entry to Canada.
- • Six passport sized photographs are also required.
Visa and Student Authorization Procedure
- Submit the completed application kit to the immigration section of the Canadian High commission.
- All the documents submitted, must be witnessed by a notary public or a magistrate or the Canadian Immigration Officer, must be original or photocopies notarized and, and be accompanied by a duplicate copy. Skilled worker visa for Canada:The most popular way of applying for migration to Canada is by skilled worker visa. The Canada Skilled worker Visa point's selection system assesses a person on following main factors:
- Language ability.
- Work experience
Note: This system requires a pass mark of 67 out of 100 points of the questions beeen asked.Advantages of the Canada Skilled Worker VisaWithout the need for an employer or sponsor, the Canadian Skilled Worker Visa allows migration/travel to Canada as a permanent Resident to seek employment. This country is keen to have skilled workers and recently Canada Skilled worker Visa point's selection system is designed to encourage Canadian immigration by skilled workers.The Canada Skilled worker Visa allows you to apply for citizenship after only three years, when you follow necessary requirements to apply.drop your comment, we will love to hear from you


Construction Zones
When approaching or entering a highway construction or maintenance area (also known as work zones), Illinois law requires motorists:
 - Slow down
Discontinue wireless/cellphone use (unless using a hands-free device that may include the use of a single-sided headset), yield to any authorized vehicles or workers in the area,
Change to a lane away from the workers when possible and proceed with caution.
Motorists must obey the posted construction zone speed


This content is from: Local Insights
Proposed amendments to Competition Law
Octavio Olivo Villa
In April, the President of Mexico submitted to Congress an initiative to amend Mexico's Competition Law, Federal Criminal Code and other federal laws, to strengthen the powers of the Federal Competition Commission so as to make meaningful progress with antitrust enforcement in Mexico. The enforcement tools and powers of the Commission under the current Competition Law have proved insufficient to effectively safeguard economic competition and freedom of trade and prevent monopolies, monopolistic practices and other restrictions on the efficient market of goods and services in Mexico.
The initiative that is currently being discussed in Congress is aimed at:
(i) implementing efficient mechanisms to facilitate and provide incentives for the non-contentious resolution of antitrust enforcement proceedings;
(ii) recognising oral arguments in administrative proceedings before the Commission;
(iii) modifying the Commission's organisational structure to make its functions more efficient and transparent;
(iv) giving the Commission the power to summon any person it believes may be able to furnish information or documents so as to enable the Commission to issue opinions on economic competition matters;
(v) expanding the Commission's supervision and enforcement authority over activities carried out by government agencies and entities of the federal public administration;
(vi) significantly increasing fines for violations and introducing in the Criminal Code a catalogue of conducts defined as criminal offences punishable with incarceration, so as to provide an effective deterrent for illegal antitrust activity and market abuse;
(vii) giving the Commission the power to order the suspension of alleged monopolistic practices before they are found to be illegal;
(viii) giving federal courts appellate jurisdiction on competition matters to carry out appellate review of the Commission's resolutions; and
(ix) strengthening the powers of the Commission to conduct inspection visits known as dawn raids, using the element of surprise to collect evidence indicating illegal antitrust activity.
Recent cases have highlighted the need to strengthen the Commission's enforcement powers, to step up economic sanctions against both corporations and individuals involved in illegal antitrust activity and to simplify the procedures for the imposition of sanctions.
One important case relates to the Commission's investigation into suspected absolute monopolistic practices in the market of medicines sold to the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS) through public bids. The investigation was prompted by suspicious conduct by a number of pharmaceutical companies that participated in more than 200 public bids carried out by the IMSS from January 2002 to March 2009.
Following a lengthy investigation, the Commission found in January 2010, in a divided vote, that Eli Lilly y Compañía de México, Laboratorios Cryopharma, Probiomed and Laboratorios Pisa had coordinated the submission of public bids in bidding processes conducted by the IMSS from 2003 to 2006 to purchase human insulin used to treat diabetes, forcing the IMSS to pay artificially inflated prices. The Commission also found that Laboratorios Pisa, Fresenius Kabi Mexico and Baxter had coordinated the submission of public bids in biddings conducted by the IMSS from 2003 to 2006 to purchase a wide range of injection solutions, having a similar effect on the prices paid by the IMSS for such products. The Commission found a clear pattern of conduct where the offenders would take it in turns to bid artificially high prices to have a contract awarded, on the understanding that the other offenders would bid even higher prices when it was not their turn to win the award of a contract.
In its resolution, the Commission decided to impose economic sanctions against the pharmaceutical companies involved to the amount of MXN$21.5 million ($1.659 million) each, being the highest possible fine against a non-repeat offender under the applicable provisions of the Competition Law. The Commission also resolved to impose economic sanctions against the individuals directly involved in the illegal activities, but gave them the opportunity to first submit to the Commission evidence of their economic condition before setting the amount of the fines applicable against each of them.
For the culpable pharmaceutical companies, the consequences of having been caught appear to have been more than outweighed by the profits they must have generated through the illegal activity from 2003 to 2006. This case highlights that maximum sanctions at current levels do not necessarily deter illegal antitrust activity in the absence of criminal penalties for individuals.
The amendment initiative recently submitted by the President of Mexico to Congress is intended to step up economic sanctions against both corporations and individuals involved in illegal antitrust activity and simplify the procedures to impose sanctions. The proposed amendments to the Criminal Code are intended to clarify the language describing illegal antitrust conduct that leads to imprisonment, to provide fair warning to the potential lawbreaker and effectively become a general deterrent. We have yet to see what Congress has to say.


Instagram For Health Care Professionals
Figure 1 is a complex version of Instagram for health care professionals. It's a place for medical students and professionals to both upload and access a growing database of images related to medical conditions. It contains patient photos, brain scans, X-Rays and even cellular images, with text to accompany each image.
Figure 1: Photo sharing for health careFigure 1: Photo sharing for health care
Open the app and you are presented with a feed of images, just like Instagram, so it's a better experience when your colleagues are posting photos. I signed up as a journalist and was presented with a recommended feed of photos with descriptions, some that included requests for second opinions.
The result was a fascinating feed of medical pornography: broken bones, explanted tumors, alzheimers brain scans, and even images of dental destruction from methamphetamine drug use.
Each photo is tagged, e.g Vascular Surgery, making it easier to browse by topic, and I was pleasantly surprised by how accessible and easy it was to use.
The app includes a patient consent to comply with federal privacy laws, just like those faced by GoDerma, another photo based app but for patients to diagnose their skin disorders.
It also includes instructions and tools to black out faces, text (e.g names on X-Rays), or identifiable marks (e.g tattoos) to maintain patient confidentiality.
Photos and files can be shared amongst specific groups of people, or more broadly amongst the medical community.
It seems like an incredibly useful app, that gives doctors and students access to a much larger database of images and case studies that would otherwise be available to them, as well as making the process of helping each other much easier.
What surprised me was that Figure 1 is also interesting to those of us just fascinated by the human body and it's disorders. And it's free!
Download Figure 1 now but beware! Some images are frightening!


Battery charging via Solar pannel
 1. Hey guys, I recently conducted an experiment which involved charging a battery via a PV module and also logging the I and V values to calculate conversion efficiencies. I also logged the I and V values from two other circuits with a fixed resistance. I understand that every irradiation has a Maximum Power Point (MPPT) so a fixed resistance will never draw the maximum energy yield from the PV module. But when I saw the results I saw that the power conversion for the battery was good under high and low irradiances. My question is why is this? Does a battery have some sort of control circuit to vary its resistance? Thanks in advance.
 2. jcsd
 3. mgb_phys
 mgb_phys 8,952
 Science Advisor
 Homework Helper
 No, but depending on the battery type the terminal voltage and so the current availabel from the PV will change as it charges.
 For everythign you want to know about batteries see here
 4. I've looked through that but I still don't understand what is actually happening.
 5. As long as the PV output voltage is higher than the battery it will charge the battery. When the PV output drops, the battery will drain through the PV circuit. Many sailors have woken up to find drained batteries from either leaving their solar charger on at night or not installing diodes to keep the current flowing only to the battery.
 Are you certain that durring the low irradiance test the battery was not what you measured for power conversion?
 6. The forward voltage drop of a diode is roughly 0.6 volts, and is roughly 3 times the emitter-collector drop of a saturated PNP transistor, so using a simple regulator comprised of a simple control circuit and a PNP pass transistor on the + side of the charging voltage is better.
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Combining simulation modeling and stable isotope analyses to reconstruct the last known movements of one of Nature's giantsThe spatial ecology of rare, migratory oceanic animals is difficult to study directly. Where incremental tissues are available, their chemical composition can provide valuable indirect observations of movement and diet. Interpreting the chemical record in incremental tissues can be highly uncertain, however, as multiple mechanisms interact to produce the observed data. Simulation modeling is one approach for considering alternative hypotheses in ecology and can be used to consider the relative likelihood of obtaining an observed record under different combinations of ecological and environmental processes. Here we show how a simulation modeling approach can help to infer movement behaviour based on stable carbon isotope profiles measured in incremental baleen tissues of a blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus). The life history of this particular specimen, which stranded in 1891 in the UK, was selected as a case study due to its cultural significance as part of a permanent display at the Natural History Museum, London. We specifically tested whether measured variations in stable isotope compositions across the analysed baleen plate were more consistent with residency or latitudinal migrations. The measured isotopic record was most closely reproduced with a period of residency in sub-tropical waters for at least a full year followed by three repeated annual migrations between sub-tropical and high latitude regions. The latitudinal migration cycle was interrupted in the year prior to stranding, potentially implying pregnancy and weaning, but isotopic data alone cannot test this hypothesis. Simulation methods can help reveal movement information coded in the biochemical compositions of incremental tissues such as those archived in historic collections, and provides context and inferences that are useful for retrospective studies of animal movement, especially where other sources of individual movement data are sparse or challenging to validate.


Why Did My Cat Pee On My Bed? It's Time To Get Serious About This!
Your cat is a bundle of joy. Right upto the point where you realize that she has relieved herself over your favourite duvet, the third time this week. It is near-impossible to rid the stench and stain associated with such deeds, and if this happens too frequently, it becomes a matter of bad hygiene for everyone in the household. I bet this becomes frustrating after the first few times, and you begin to wonder, why did my cat pee on my bed?
Instead of flying into a tirade against your pet, remember that it is against the nature of a cat to pee anywhere; peeing on your bed is a sign of deeper, solvable issues involved which need to be addressed immediately.
Why did my cat pee on my bed?
Since you have already trained your cat in matters of hygiene, the reason why she would suddenly take to your beloved bed, of all places, can be two-fold.
Either her existing litter-box is not meeting her requirements, or there is something pathologically or emotionally wrong with your cat. It can one or both the reasons. The faster you find the solution, the happier everyone is…
why did my cat pee on my bed
Is your cat stressed?
More often than not, peeing on my bed is a sign that my cat is feeling insecure. It is a trigger for me to start judging what has changed in the recent past.
why did my cat pee on my bed
1. Your cat is anxious
This is the most common cause for my cat to act up. There are several flags that can set off my cat, and I know that is true for all pets:
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 Every time I get a new pet, my cat feels threatened, both emotionally and physically. Any kind of pet higher in the pecking order of bullying (dogs, for instance), especially, if not initiated from a young age, can be stress-inducers for your cat. Animals square off over territory, resources, status and affection. Threat towards these factors, whether perceived or actual, can be deeply disturbing to your cat.
why did my cat pee on my bed
 - check-circle
 Having guests over, especially little children that eat into everyone's attention and get pesky with the cat, turns off her mood. She would rather be left alone and take refuge in the relatively quieter bedroom for all her needs. 'Cat-persons' will testify to how protective these balls of fur can be towards their humans, and the disinclination to share affection is key to their changed behaviours around new people.
why did my cat pee on my bed
 - check-circle
 When my partner goes off on long trips, my cat quite literally mopes and starts peeing on my bed. Separation or any disturbance with the schedule associated with the pet-parents is known to trigger anxiety in the pet's mind and causes them to behave out of nature.
2. Your cat needs a trip to the veterinarian
why did my cat pee on my bed
If you have not been able to recognise any triggers for behavioural changes, it is time to take your kitty to the doc. Cats can suffer from a host of medical problems like urinary tract infections, diabetes or arthritis. Any of these can make it painful for your cat to use the litter-box; your bed thus becomes a more comfortable alternative.
A urinalysis and a host of other diagnostic tests should be done to rule out any possibility of medical problems. The sooner this is attended to, the less suffering your cat has to go through. You can consider best cat food for urinary tract if your cat has a urinary tract infection.
Are the litter-boxes upto your cats' tastes?
1. Are they big enough?
Via: Amazon.com
Litter-boxes, as a rule of thumb from Jackson Galaxy, should be approximately one-and-half times the length of the cat (excluding the tail)
Small, campy litter-boxes are a no-no, as cats feel trapped and vulnerable while attending to nature's call. In a multi-cat household, litter-boxes should outnumber your pets. Also, covered litter-boxes tend to make my cats feel blind-sided, so the bigger and open they are, the safer my pets feel.
By personal experience, the IRIS Open Top Cat Litter box makes my cats feel pretty pampered. The sides and back of this box are high enough to give the much-needed privacy to my cats and also prevents them from spraying their litter over to the floor.
2. Are they being cleaned regularly?
why did my cat pee on my bed
Litter-boxes should be ideally cleaned twice-a-day. Under normal circumstances, cats are tidier creatures than us, and we hate clogged and dirty toilets; imagine what our cats must feel like, having to return to an un-cleaned box. Regular scooping and scrubbing (the latter on a fortnightly basis) are key to maintaining hygiene for your pet.
It is also necessary to try out a few choices before settling on a particular type of litter box for your cat. It takes time to arrive at the right fit, but unless that happens, chances are, your cat will keep hunting for clean, comfortable and safe places to pee on, like your bed.
3. Are the litter-boxes in the right location and have the right substrate?
A lot of cat-owners try to hide litter-boxes behind inconvenient nooks and small, unobserved spaces, so as to avoid embarrassment to guests. If they are out-of-sight for you, chances are, your feline pets will choose a more accessible spot.
Your cat's litter-box cannot be located smack in the middle of all the commotion. It cannot be too far away from where she spends most of her time and it certainly must offer some degree of privacy.
The kind of substrate used in the litter-box is also crucial. Cats like to bury their waste, and prefer substrates with a grainy or sandy texture. Also, while for pet-owners, a scented substrate seems ideal to mask the malodour, most cats may disagree.
why did my cat pee on my bed
I have been a huge fan of Dr. Elsey's cat litter, because it is a naturally clumping litter, with no deodorant features, and is really easy to clean. Better Way's cat litter comes a close second, though my cats still prefer the former (I had to hurriedly revert to Dr. Elsey's when I sensed the suspicion in my cat's eyes!)
What is so inviting about your bed?
Your cat will not think along the line of aesthetics. She just likes the feel of your bed. It is clean, soft and absorbent and is preferable to the touch of the substrate in her litter-box. So peeing there comes as a natural step. Besides, other more serious factors can also be at play:
1. Your cat misses you
why did my cat pee on my bed
The prolonged absence of the pet partner breeds insecurity in cats. They react by trying to reassure themselves of the parents' presence, by mingling their own scents with that of the parents.
Their actions are not vengeful, but one of self-soothing. They are only trying to be cute, but needless to say, we fail to see it that way.
2. A bed offers a bird's-eye-view-of the threat below
why did my cat pee on my bed
A bed, or any elevated place, also acts as a respite from any kind of threat. A cat, like any creature, needs to pee in peace. If her litter-box is inconveniently located where she is exposed to attacks, she would much prefer to relieve herself atop your bed, which offers her a good view of the ground below and eliminate unwanted attention.
Sometimes, renovations, shifting houses and simple rearrangement of furniture can also trigger a sense of threat in your cat. Scared and in search for something familiar, she is likely to target your bed to pee in.
To summarise, take a look at this video to detect your cat's lack of interest in her litter-box, and what to do about it.
How to stop a cat from peeing on your bed
why did my cat pee on my bed
why did my cat pee on my bed
Keeping doors locked is the easiest way to remind your cat that the bedroom is out of bounds. Another alternative is to substitute the targeted fabric with something that your pet does not favour, like a slippery vinyl sheet.
Sometimes, when I realise that my cat is going through some form of anxiety, I deliberately set up play sessions on my bed, not just to ease her mind but also to endear the place to her as a happy spot.
why did my cat pee on my bed
As I said, cats are tidy creatures, they never litter where they sleep or play. Do not chastise your cat when you have nailed the issue as that will only antagonise and stress out your pet. You can learn more tips to keep your cat off the bed.
How to get rid of cat-pee stains from your bed
Once the deed is done, here's a handy step-by-step guide to rid your bed from cat-pee stains. If the pee is still fresh:
why did my cat pee on my bed
why did my cat pee on my bed
 - paw
 Soak it out of the fabric immediately using clean washcloths or paper towels.
 - paw
 If several hours have passed, spray 50 ml of a 1:1 water and vinegar mixture and soak it up after a minute.
 - paw
 The excess liquid can


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Commonly confused words in English
Posted by The ginger Team | November 2nd 2011
English can be a very confusing language if you're not born into it, and there are many confusing words in English. We gathered a few of the most commonly confused words amongst Ginger users, hoping it will help you remember
witch which is which!
What makes a word confusing?
There can be many reasons to confuse words in English: the main source of confusion is homophones – words that sound the same but have a different spelling and meaning. English is full of such words. Another reason could be dyslexia – if you're having a hard time differentiating between words that sound differently but have similar sounds in them, there is a possibility you may have a learning disorder. Other than that, there are just some plain confusing English words! They usually have similar sounds, although they are not pronounced exactly the same, but differ in meaning.
The most commonly confused words
- Advice – a recommendation. Advise – to make that recommendation.
- Affect – to make a change. Effect –a result.
- Breath – a noun, the air that is being inhaled or exhaled. Breathe – the verb of inhaling and exhaling.
- Lie – referring to a person or an animal about to rest. Lay ¬– to put down an object.
- Passed – past tense of the verb to pass, have moved. Past – something that has already happened (opposite of future.)
Have more confusing words in English? Let us know on our facebook page!


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is a method for estimating
sustainable yields for data-poor fisheries.Based on the idea that the average catch has been
abundance has not changed, DCAC makes a correction to that average if
has increased or decreased (which may be the subject of an educated
on subjective impressions).The
magnitude of the correction depends on the approximate natural
which should be about 0.2 or smaller to apply this model.Uncertainty is recognized
in all of the
parameters in the model, and is reflected in the output probability
Alverson, D., and W.
Pereyra. 1969. Demersal fish explorations in the northeastern Pacific
Ocean – an evaluation of exploratory fishing methods and
analytical approaches to stock size and yield forecasts. J. Fish Res.
Board Can. 26:_PHONE_.
Deriso, R. 1982. Relationship of fishing mortality to natural mortality
and growth at the level of maximum sustainable yield. Can. J. Fish.
Aquat. Sci. 39:1054-1-58.
Gulland, J. 1970. Preface. In: J. Gulland (ed.) The fish resources of
the oceans. FAO Fish. Tech. Pap. 97, p.1-4.
He, X., D, Pearson, E. Dick, J. Field, S. Ralston, and A. MacCall.
2007. Status of the widow rockfish resource in 2007, an update. Pacific
Fishery Management Council, Portland OR.
MacCall, A. 2007.
Depletion-adjusted average catch. pp. 27-31 In: Rosenberg, A., Agnew,
D., Babcock, E., Mogensen, C., O'Boyle, R., Powers, J.,
Stefansson, G., Swasey, J. 2007. Setting annual catch limits for U.S.
fisheries: An expert working group report. Lenfest Ocean Program, 1025
F Street NW, Suite 900, Washington, D.C.
and S. Martell. 2004. Fisheries ecology and management. Princeton
University Press. 399 p.


phrases, sayings, proverbs and idioms at
Home button Home | Search the website Search | Phrase Dictionary | Pull yourself up by your bootstraps
The meaning and origin of the expression: Pull yourself up by your bootstraps
Browse phrases beginning with:
Pull yourself up by your bootstraps
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What's the meaning of the phrase 'Pull yourself up by your bootstraps'?
To 'pull yourself up by your bootstraps' is to improve your situation by your own unaided efforts.
What's the origin of the phrase 'Pull yourself up by your bootstraps'?
Pull yourself up by your bootstrapsThe origin of this descriptive phrase isn't known. It refers of course to boots and the straps that some boots have attatched to help the wearer pull them on and to the imagined feat of a lifting oneself off the ground by pulling on one's bootstraps. This impossible task is supposed to exemplify the achievement in getting out of a difficult situation by one's own efforts.
Some early computers used a process called bootstrapping which alludes to this phrase. This involved loading a small amount of code which was then used to progressively load more complex code until the machine was ready for use. This led to the use of the term 'booting' to mean starting up a computer. An early citation of this in print comes from the Proceedings of the institute of radio engineers (IRE), 1953:
A technique sometimes called the 'bootstrap technique'…Pushing the load button... causes one full word to be loaded into a memory address previously set up... on the operator's panel, after which the program control is directed to that memory address and the computer starts automatically.
An electrical engineer correspondent of mine says that bootstrap was used with the same meaning as above to early radio circuits, before the computer era, but I have no documentary evidence to support that assertion.


About Us
More About Robomax
Robomax is a Product of PTC Circle. We are the best robotics lab provider in Rohtak. We are working with man schools and have a great response from them about our work. We will help you to set up your Labs in your school. We can help you to set up STEM Lab and Atal labs also for your school. Robomax has held many seminars in many schools and got a great response from the student. Students are taking an interest in these seminars. Every school should set up a robotics lab in school so students can interact with future technology. By doing practical in labs students will get interested in future technology which is AI (Artificial Intelligence). Robotics has a big scope for jobs in MNC's and many International companies.
Why Robotics is Important?
In addition to exemplifying technology by programming the robot directly, students also learn about science, engineering, and mathematics. Robotics is the future technology and going to build the future. The future will be of robots and Artificial Intelligence. This will help students to learn everything about robots and Artificial Intelligence. There is no need for learning theoretical when we can do practically. The lab will help students to learn practical things and implement all the theories in the lab. The Robotics lab in School has all the equipment which builds interest of the students in the Robots and Artificial Intelligence.
Why Robotics is Important in The Future?
Robotics and AI (Artificial Intelligence) is the future of this world because you can see robotics and technology everywhere. You are all surrounded by technology which is made by robots and AI. As you have heard about the robot receptionist in a big Company so everyone is looking for new technology and RObots. Robots pay a big role in this world as many companies are using them on a big scale to manufacture their products.


harsh conditions. Here are five things to know about child poverty in Lebanon.
5 Facts About Child Poverty in Lebanon
 1. Poverty by the Numbers: There is severe inequality in Lebanon as 5-10% of the population receives more than half of the total national income. Around 25-30% of Lebanese people live in poverty. Refugees and other populations face an even higher rate of poverty. For all of these groups, families with children are more likely to live in poverty. Current estimates say 1.4 million children in Lebanon are living in poverty. This affects their ability to receive an education, adequate nutrition and water and future standard of living and employment.
 2. Education: An estimated 10% of children in Lebanon do not attend school. The schools that do exist are low quality in both education and the physical state of the buildings. The poor education in Lebanon causes less young people to acquire jobs in technical or competitive fields. Armed and violent conflicts in Lebanon have also damaged school buildings. Furthermore, children's access to education is hindered by the 1925 Nationality Law, in which only children with Lebanese fathers receive citizenship. If a child's only parent is their mother or the father is not Lebanese, public schools will not admit them until all other Lebanese children are enrolled.
 3. Child Labor: Lebanon has lower rates of child labor than many of the surrounding countries, but still 7% of children work. Many of these children work to support their families, though their salaries are often low. Boys often work in factories or agriculture which have inhumane and very harsh working conditions. Lebanon has signed on to the ILO's Convention on Child Labor, but this has not decreased child labor.
 4. Refugee Children: Lebanon has a very high number of refugees living inside its borders because of its geographical location. These refugees come from Iraq, Syrian, Palestine and more. The majority of refugees live in extreme poverty. Refugee children often work in poor conditions to make money. Many also suffer from mental health problems due to their trauma. In refugee camps, children face many dangers, including domestic violence, drug use and minimal health care and basic hygiene. Lebanon has not ratified the U.N. Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, and does little to protect these people living inside the country. The country also lacks the resources to address children's mental health problems, but NGOs are working to provide more medical help inside the refugee camps.
 5. Reducing Child Poverty: The Government of Lebanon launched the National Poverty Targeting Program in 2011. The World Bank provided technical and financial assistance to this program to provide a safety net for families living in extreme poverty. Families are chosen based on level of food security, labor force status and other variables. This program currently helps 43,000 households, although more than 150,000 families are in extreme poverty and more than 350,000 qualify are in poverty. The families benefiting from the program receive a "Hayat Card," which gives them access to free health care and educational services, and the poorest receive a debit card for food.
Children in Lebanon are still heavily affected by poverty, whether it is through health care, education or labor. Refugee children and girls are particularly vulnerable as they lack basic rights under law. Although strides have been made in recent years to eradicate poverty, the government and other organizations must prioritize addressing child poverty in Lebanon.
Claire Brady
Photo: Flickr
3RF: Helping Lebanon Recover from the Beirut Explosion
The United Nations has announced a new plan to support Lebanon after Beirut's deadly explosion in August 2020. Operating in conjunction with the World Bank and the European Union, the U.N. has named its program 3RF, short for "Reform, Recovery[ ] and Reconstruction Framework." Lebanon has long struggled under the weight of political and economic crises, which the explosion in its capital city only exacerbated. Therefore, 3RF comes as an effort from the international community to improve conditions in Lebanon over the long term.
An Explosion in the Capital
Shortly after 6 p.m. local time on August 4, 2020, a colossal explosion at Beirut's port sent shockwaves rippling through the city. The disaster killed 200 people, injured thousands more and rendered approximately 300,000 individuals—out of the city's total population of 2 million—homeless and destitute.
Officials have since identified the cause of the explosion as 2,750 tons of improperly stored ammonium nitrate, a chemical found in fertilizer. A welding project in one of the port's warehouses sparked a fire that triggered the blast.
Shockwaves blew out windows at Beirut International Airport five miles away, and scientists from the United States Geological Survey reported that these equated to a 3.3-magnitude earthquake. Besides destroying commercial buildings and residential properties, the explosion also incapacitated three major hospitals and more than 24 clinics. Victims flooded the remaining healthcare centers, placing further strain on a system already contending with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Economic Crisis
Unfortunately, Lebanon was beset by problems before the August 2020 explosion. Public discontent has simmered for years, stoked by political corruption, economic hardship and a government struggling to provide services like reliable power and clean drinking water.
In October 2019, following a foreign currency shortage and the eruption of major wildfires, the Lebanese government announced new taxes in a bid to raise desperately needed revenue. However, the Lebanese government scrapped the plans after large-scale protests gripped the country.
Then, after lockdown measures underwent implementation in March 2020 to slow the spread of COVID-19, Lebanon's economic crisis worsened. As businesses had to fire employees or place them on furlough without pay, prices on basic goods rose to prohibitory levels. In May 2020, former Prime Minister Hassan Diab wrote in The Washington Post that much of the country's population had ceased buying meat and fresh produce and that soon people would be unable to afford bread.
Poverty and Corruption
The blast in Beirut has significantly compounded the hardships that Lebanese people have faced. Many residents within the financial capital have experienced trauma, including older citizens for whom the explosion brought up memories of the violent Lebanese Civil War (_PHONE_). Additionally, more than 55% of the country lives below the poverty line, almost doubling the percentage registered in 2019. Extreme poverty has also surged within the past year, rising from 8% to 23%.
Unfortunately, corruption among Lebanese political elites has meant the lack of a government-led recovery plan. Popular protests in the wake of revelations about mismanagement of the ammonium nitrate at Beirut's port led to the mass resignation of then Prime Minister Hassan Diab's government. Instead, volunteers and NGOs have spearheaded efforts to clean up the city. Funds raised abroad have gone straight to these NGOs on the ground, bypassing the Lebanese government due to the international community's lack of trust in its leaders.
3RF and Lebanon's future
The program 3RF aims to address the desperate situation in Lebanon. Announced at the recent International Conference in Support of the Lebanese People, the plan underscores urgent needs for political reform to solve the root causes of Lebanon's economic crisis. Such reforms will facilitate recovery and reconstruction in the long run.
For his part, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres called upon political leaders in Lebanon "to put aside partisan political interests and form a government that adequately protects and responds to the needs of the people." The International Monetary Fund also promised to help but emphasized the importance of active participation from a legitimate Lebanese government during the reform process.
Conditions for Lebanon's people have been difficult during 2020. Stemming from a spiraling economy and political corruption, the COVID-19 pandemic and the catastrophic explosion at Beirut's port exacerbated these hardships. With thousands of people homeless and poverty rising, the U.N.'s 3RF will hopefully provide immediate relief while also laying the foundation for better governance in the future. Pressure from the international community can likewise encourage Lebanese leaders to form a new government and begin implementing necessary reforms.
– Angie Grigsby
Photo: Flickr


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As students around South Africa continue to disrupt universities demanding free tertiary education, one solution to the crisis could be Massive Open Online Courses, or MOOCs, according to Frost & Sullivan ICT research analyst, Mauritz Venter.
"Higher Education and Training Minister, Blade Nzimande, announced on 19 September that free tertiary education would not be possible in South Africa," Venter explains. "Following this announcement various student bodies around the country have been up in arms, protesting for the right to free education enshrined in the Freedom Charter. The South African Bill of Rights states,: 'Everyone has the right to a basic education, including adult basic education; and to further education, which the state, through reasonable measures, must make progressively available and accessible.'
"This implies the state should, through various means, make further education accessible to those who qualify for tertiary education," Venter says. "Even though South Africa allocates more of its annual budget (R297.5-billion for 2016/17 year) to education than any other department, demand is clearly too high for tertiary institutions to handle."
Venter says that MOOCs could provide a solution.
"A MOOC is a Massive Open Online Course, where education material and lectures are made available through digital means," he says. "This is open to anyone who qualifies, with virtually no limit to attendance, depending on the additional support required for students.
"Organisations such as EdX.org already provide MOOCs at no costs for basic online courses, whilst recognised certifications have been launched on this platform by elite tertiary education institutions like Harvard (in the form of HarvardX), TU Delft or Princeton (in the form of PrincetonX), and can be attended at a fraction of the costs of completing the same course at the institution.
"This begs the question of whether it would not be more efficient to develop mass learning centres across the country, where potential students could access content such as lectures, course notes and textbooks digitally, as opposed to competing for the limited seats at one of our top institutions," Venter says. "Those who want the 'campus experience' would still pay the fees to study at a renowned institution, whilst those without the funds, or who are unable to attain a bursary, would still have access to learning through an online environment.
"The costs of MOOCs include physical infrastructure requirement, like learning centres and technology, as well as facilitators at these centres who assist with the functionality of the learning platform, or tend to any technical queries or errors that may occur," Venter continues. "The credibility of courses is also a contentious factor, and relates to a second major cost aspect. Students would need to complete assessments at the same standard of those attending tertiary institutions, and under the same stringent conditions to ensure no cheating or fraudulent actions take place. This could, however, be achieved in conjunction with existing tertiary institutions, should they be willing to accommodate MOOC learners from time to time.
"The benefits of MOOCs include the mass nature of this form of learning, meaning courses can be made accessible to virtually anyone with a computer and internet access," he says. "Developing MOOC learning centres across the nation will allow students to study in an environment close to home, removing the concern of accommodation at an institution. Whilst traditional learning is stringently structured in terms of lecture times, students learning through MOOCs would create their own learning schedule and could shape this around time used for part time work or other activities such as caring for a family. The key benefit is the reduced costs associated to MOOC learning, due to the scalable nature and ability to re-use content whilst it remains relevant."
Venter says that a concern often raised around MOOCs is the high drop-out rate (completion rate of below 13%).
"This was, however, the experience of students enrolled in MOOCs in Developed Nations," he says. "The research coming from Developing Nations shows a stark contrast, with approximately 49% of students receiving certification, and approximately 79% of students completing the course. These figures came from a study by The Technology & Social Change Group of University of Washington Information School, titled 'The Advancing MOOCs for Development Initiative – An examination of MOOC usage for professional workforce development outcomes in Colombia, the Philippines, & South Africa'.
"The study further found that low and middle income students were the primary users of MOOCs, comprising over 80% of enrolled users. The majority of users (over 80%) only had basic or intermediate levels of ICT literacy, proving that MOOCs do not require high level ICT literacy.
"The study further examined the perspectives of government institutions, potential employers and academic institutions, and found that employers held positive views towards MOOCs, and that MOOCs were being considered a viable means of education by government, more than academic institutions."
Venter feels that MOOCs could be part of a feasible solution to the current crisis.
"Through its assessment and evaluation of Digital Transformation across sectors, Frost & Sullivan believes that whilst MOOCs may not solve the tertiary education crisis in South Africa, it may go a long way in bridging the education gap between the wealthy and financially challenged," he says. "The use of MOOCs, and their ability to produce accredited graduates through digital means, can bring our nation closer to a reality of free and fair education, though not in its traditional form.
"In a world where technology is changing every aspect of our lives, would it not be viable to experiment with the use of MOOCs in achieving universal low cost tertiary education?" Venter asks.


Dartmouth pushes radical change in campus life
After a hard look at student life on campus, the trustees and president of Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H., have decided it's time for change. In a controversial move, they're targeting a more than 150-year-old way of life: the Greek house system.
Like many colleges, Dartmouth is grappling with issues such as alcohol abuse and gender relations. To that end, administrators last month announced principles that will guide social and residential life at the Ivy League school starting in the _PHONE_ school year:
*There should be greater choice and continuity in residential living and improved residential space.
Recommended: Could you pass a US citizenship test?
*There should be additional and improved social spaces controlled by students.
*The system should be substantially coeducational and provide opportunities for greater interaction among all Dartmouth students.
*The abuse and unsafe use of alcohol should be eliminated.
Alumni and students have reacted in particular to Principle No. 3 -which stands to change single-sex fraternities and sororities to co-ed Greek houses or to eliminate the Greek system altogether.
As part of the Monitor's "On Campus" forum, we've given Dartmouth students past and present an opportunity to weigh in. Their debate, while personal, touches on issues applicable to other schools with Greek systems.
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text:
Do you know how many calories in an Apple? although healthy and packed with vitamins and fiber and apple does contain calories. There is no such thing as a free food. So the calories in an apple can be higher
then you estimate aim for five a day. Fruit and vegetable servings of fruit juice or smoothies only count as one portion no matter how much you drink so very the fruits to eat daily. Try super foods like blueberries and red berries calories in fruits such as these is very low.
Apples are packed with nutrition and low in calories plus they provide your body with water. Apples contain at least eighty to ninety percent water and are high in vitamins and antioxidants. They are rich in the following nutrients: Beta carotene,vitamin A, vitamin C (mostly contained in the skin area of the Apple), iron, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, and two important antioxidants polyphenols and flavonoids.
You will be able to tell when an apple is at its perfect ripeness by the amount of send it gives off from the skin. Raw apple with skin per 100 grams 52 calories, extra small = 2 ½" diameter (101g) calories 53, raw apple without skin per 100 grams 48 calories small = 2 ¾" diameter (130g) 63 calories, large = 3 ¼" diameter (215g), 103 calories. One cup sliced (110g) 53 calories, boiled Apple per 100 grams 53 calories.
Good points of apples:
- No saturated fat
- No cholesterol
- Very low in sodium
- High in dietary fiber
- Very high vitamin b6
- Very high in vitamin C
I hope you enjoying reading this article about how many calories in an apple. Don't forget to share this article, thank you very much.


text:
Si and Ge are widely used as analyzing crystals for x-rays. Drastic and accurate shaping of Si or Ge gives significant advance in the x-ray field, although covalently bonded Si or Ge crystals have long been believed to be not deformable to various shapes. Recently, we developed a deformation technique for obtaining strongly and accurately shaped Si or Ge wafers of high crystal quality, and the use of the deformed wafer made it possible to produce fine-focused x-rays. In the present study, we prepared a cylindrical Ge wafer with a radius of curvature of 50 mm, and acquired fluorescent x-rays simultaneously from four elements by combining the cylindrical Ge wafer with a position-sensitive detector. The energy resolution of the x-ray fluorescence spectrum was as good as that obtained using a flat single crystal, and its gain was over 100. The demonstration of the simultaneous acquisition of high-resolution x-ray fluorescence spectra indicated various possibilities of x-ray spectrometry, such as one-shot x-ray spectroscopy and highly efficient wave-dispersive x-ray spectrometers.
ASJC Scopus subject areas


Laku Ritual Dalam Tradisi Pencak Siiat Untuk Keselamatan
Oleh :
Suryo Ediyono - 196601201993031001 - Fak. Ilmu Budaya
Suryo Edltonol
Pencak silat will be danger if ir is owned and mastered by person nor having good character.
Pencak silat school offers something promising for current modern sociery life such as health,
medication, self defense and inner power. Tradition in pencak silat culrure is one of active efforts of
Javanese people in looking for self identity. This research was inrended to look for essence ofpencal
silat, to describe ritual rradidon in pencak silar Persaudaraan setia Hati rerate and ro find our
meaning beyond hhu nnal of pencak silat uadidon in obtaining salvarion. This research used
historicd factual method through descripcion, hermeneutic interpretation, coherence a-nd synthesis.
The resulc is that pencak silat in essence conrain selfdefense, sport, art ard mental spiritual as uniry.
futua.l tradidon of pencal< silat in Persaudaraan Setia Hari Terate includes physica.l test, spirirual resr,
jago' mabar, betel vine and unbleached plain cloth. The ritual was conducted in Suro monrh as sacred
month, self cleaning and self introspecrion for Javanese people. salvation was obtuned rhrotgh hhu of
pencak silat including phpic, spirit, and soul rhar is understood through externaJ, internal ard
invisible environmenr. The three dimensions create common consciousness, sub consciousness, and
high consciousness. Finally, ritr.ral process ofpencak silat induces physical power as hanuragan, inter
powet u haaashitan and spirirual power as hwampuman,
Keyrvords: Iaha rixral, pencak silar rradition, salvation


Segmenting the ring region around the nucleus
I'm measuring the ratio of NF-kB intensity in the nucleus to the cytoplasm, but would like to use the 'ring region' (around the nucleus) for the cytoplasm measure.
Currently, my pipeline is as follows:
 - IdentifyPrimaryObjects - segment nuclei using Hoechst stain
 - ExpandOrShrinkObjects - expand nuclei by 4px
 - IdentifyTertiaryObjects - subtract the nucleus region from the expanded region to obtain the ring region
The Problem
 - I would like to constrain the ring region within the boundaries of the cytoplasm. I am able to segment the cytoplasm but unsure how to crop the ring region/expand the nucleus region within the cytoplasm boundaries.
 - Note I am already able to calculate a nucleus to whole cytoplasm ratio but have found better readings in other image analysis software in using the ring region, due to large differences in cytoplasm shape between and within lines.
I very much appreciate any suggestions as I am new to Cell Profiler and keen to use it a lot more from now on! Thank you
Hi _USER_,
If you have the option to get your hands on a ZEN blue software, you can do exactly this by using the so-called Zone-of-Influence Segmenter.
 - select a segmenter to detect your primary object, e.g. the nucleus (use thresholds or machine-learning for this)
 - define the ZOI (yellow)
 - define the ring size and location
 - define what objects (and sub-objects) you want to detect inside the blue ring using thresholding or machine-learning segmentation
Two Video Tutorials can be found here:
 1. Image Analysis: Other Segmentation Methods 2: ZOI and a Complete Walk Through Example
 2. Zone of Influence Analysis
Sebi (from ZEISS)
1 Like
Hi _USER_,
Thank you very much for your response and for explaining how to do this in Zen blue. I'm currently able to do this analysis in Columbus (PerkinElmer) software but have switched to CellProfiler as I'm keen to use free open-source software. However, I'll happily take a look at Zen lite for the moment and hope to try out the full version if I ever have access to it! The ZOI tool seems very useful.
Hi _USER_,
Sure. CellProfiler is a very powerful tool, which can achieve the same.
Hi _USER_,
Your current pipeline approach is almost fine, but few changes is required to achieve your target as follows,
 1. Once you expand your nuclei, then use "Mask objects" to mask the expanded nuclei using segmented nuclei (Refer the attached screenshot). This would give you the ring.
 2. In the tertiary object module, get the cytoplamic region by subtracting the nucleus region from the cell boundary (hope you could do this by Identifysecondaryobject module)
 3. In the Measurement module use the ring object to measure intensity from the cytoplasmic channel.
Hope this helps. If not, please attach your pipeline with a sample image so that we could help you better.
1 Like
Hi _USER_
Thank you very much for your very helpful answer. I'm sorry I don't understand fully how masking the expanded nuclei provides the ring region, and then I'm not sure whether step 2 in your answer is related to step 3.
I've attached sample images that I'm using. I segment the nuclei using the 'DNA binary' image and segment the cells using the 'Actin' image - which is not ideal for cell segmentation but is what I'm using in my experiment.
Actin.tif (3.4 MB) DNA binary.tif (1.7 MB) DNA.tif (3.4 MB) NFkB.tif (3.4 MB)
NFkB ratio.cpproj (918.7 KB)
Hi _USER_,
When I did similar measurements, I just simply used IdentifyTertiaryObjects. In your case, you need to add 2 more steps:
 1. subtracting cytoplasm from the ring region will give you the part of the ring outside the cell boundaries;
 2. Now, you can subtract the object obtained in (1) from the ring. Thus you will cut away everything outside the cell boundaries and get the desired constrained ring objects.
Good luck!
1 Like
Hi _USER_,
I checked your pipeline with the images. There are few changes required,
 1. To segment Nuclei, you could use your DNA image itself (using IdentifyPrimaryObject module), but if you are using binary image, you could use the module "Threshold" instead of Primaryobject module since that might work better.
 2. To expand segmented nuclei, you could use "ExpandShrinkObject" module, no need of "IdentifySecondaryObject" module. [In the pipeline I have used 4px to expand since you had mentioned so in the earlier description)
 3. This is followed Mask object (as I had mentioned before). In case you notice my earlier screenshot, I have invert the mask just to have only the expanded portion of the nuclei (i.e.your ring region)
 4. To get your cytoplam, you can use "IdentifyTertiary object" module
 5. To measure the intensity you can use MaskedNuclei i.e.ring region object to measure from your preferred channel i.e. either Actin or GFP in this case.
 PFA pipeline.
Just to show you, I have added the "OverlayOutlines" module & here is the screenshot.
NFkB ratio_LB.cpproj (788.1 KB)
Hope this helps
1 Like
Hi _USER_,
Thank you for explaining again and for improving on my pipeline with my images. As you noticed, I didn't see the mask inversion from your original post. The pipeline you sent works very well.
Kind regards,
Hi Oleg, Thank you for a very nice solution. I can apply this logic to other segmentations I'm trying also.
1 Like


text:
The Indigenous University of Venezuela (UIV) is well known for its cultural diversity, bringing together students from many indigenous communities across the country. During mealtimes or when walking together between classes, one might hear the students speaking one of the numerous native languages represented at the UIV.
Preservation of language and culture remains an important pillar for the UIV, and an example of this can be seen on its website [es]. The school's mission statement is available in the Huottöja, Pumé, Ye'kwana, Shiriana, and E'ñepa languages. Here is the translation in the E'ñepa language, also known as Panare:
A university that raises awareness and educates young indigenous students so that they can serve their communities. We preserve and strengthen indigenous peoples and we put forth intercultural and experimental higher education
During the digital photography workshop held on the campus with three students from the edu-communications department, the students also learned some basics in the use of the free and open-source program Audacity to record audio podcasts and upload them to the web. To demonstrate, we recorded the students giving a brief greeting in their native language and the Spanish-language translation. These are the three audio recordings uploaded to Rising Voices' Soundcloud account.
Indigenous University of Venezuela – Kuranicha – Piaroa Language
Indigenous University of Venezuela – Akaneto – Jivi Language
Indigenous University of Venezuela – Wadaana – Ye'kwana Language


text:
Concave Mirror Images
Why is that you can see a REAL image in a concave mirror
when you are looking into the mirror?
A real image is not necessarily an image that is really you. A real image
is one that really has light coming together at it. Place a piece of paper
where the image appears to be located. If you see a picture on the paper,
then the image is real. An image that appears to be in front of the mirror
is usually real. An image that seems to be behind the mirror is virtual.
The light does not go behind the mirror. A real image can be used to expose
film, creating a photograph. This cannot be done with a virtual image. To
use a virtual image for this, you must use a lens or another mirror to
create a real image on the film.
Dr. Ken Mellendorf
Illinois Central College
Some what belated, but the web site below explains it pretty well:
Click here to return to the Physics Archives
Update: June 2012


text:
19] and vary greatly among host species [e.g., [20, 21]]. Furthermore, strong evidence suggests that specific egg morphs with genes coding for egg colour patterns are maternally inherited and most likely located on the female-specific W-chromosome. Thus, egg-morphs of cuckoos that mimic eggs of a single or few closely related host species provide evidence for such specialization and race formation in the European cuckoo. Here we used the ten cuckoo egg morphs (i.e., gentes) assigned to a single host species by Moksnes & Røskaft in a study of egg collection at museums. Because the very large sample size and broad geographic range used in that study, these cuckoo egg-morphs is considered as evidence of host race evolution by cuckoos across Europe.
Specialization could occur for hosts that the parasites will easily find. Consequently, we predicted that cuckoo-egg morphs should have evolved for abundant host species. In accordance, we found that cuckoo-egg morphs have more frequently evolved in species of higher average population density (see Results). These results were not due to the use of species-specific cuckoo-egg morphs exclusively because, when also including egg morphs associated with entire genera, population density of genera explained the probability of having specialized cuckoo egg morphs (Fig. 2).
Host density is a central species-specific trait explaining specialization and speciation of parasites because it affects probability of parasites locating preferred hosts. Specialization of parasites exploiting particular hosts invariably provokes disadvantages when parasitizing other hosts, and, consequently, the evolution of specialization can be seen as a compromise between the use of the maximum number of suitable hosts, and the use of the most frequent suitable host encountered. Furthermore, for similar abundance of different suitable hosts, as the number of species increases, the probability of parasite specializing on a particular suitable host decreases. Consequently, relative host abundance is key to explaining host selection and host specificity of parasites [see examples in ]. Although host abundance or related variables, sometimes failed to explain host specificity [e.g., ], our results are consistent with the hypothesis.
Another demographic trait that could affect host specialization by parasites is the consistency in host abundance at different locations because, as density, it also affects the probability of parasites locating a host species and, therefore, the trade-off in the ability to optimally parasitize different hosts. In agreement with this demographic trait being important for cuckoos, comparative evidence suggests that geographic range of potential hosts explains host selection by the European cuckoo in Britain. Therefore, specialization and race (i.e., gentes) formation of cuckoos might have occurred in evenly distributed hosts (see Introduction). Again, our results were consistent with the prediction (Table 1, Fig. 2). These results were independent of the potential allometric effects of body size and nestling period for both host selection and demographic characteristics because the inclusion of these variables in our statistical model did not change the conclusions (see Results).
The hypothesis of specialization on the most predictable (i.e., abundant and evenly distributed) host resource was first introduced by Ward. In a host-parasite system, large body size, long-lived or abundant hosts are considered the most predictable resources for parasites because living on a more predictable host may increase parasite fecundity and survival. Because host adaptation might promote race formation and speciation by reducing gene flow [24, 25], those evolutionary processes should more commonly occur in parasites that exploit the most predictable and abundant hosts. In accordance with this line of reasoning, host specificity is more common in hosts that live longer (i.e., of large body mass) [23, 26–29]. However, as far as we know, empirical evidence for the importance of heterogeneity in the distribution of hosts on parasite specialization does not exist in the literature, and, therefore, our results are the first to support this hypothetical relationship.
The scarcity of evidence supporting the importance of host density and distribution as variables related to predictability of resources (hosts) for parasites could be due to the parasite-host model systems being used in previous studies. Most of these studies were performed on internal parasites of fishes and flies [see,, and references therein] for which host body size is a variable that reflects predictability of resources for parasites. Evidence for the importance of host density explaining specialization by parasites came mainly from plant-phytophagous insect systems [see, ] where apart from size of hosts, host density per se is an important variable reflecting predictability of resources for adults or larvae. For cuckoos, abundance and distribution of suitable hosts are variables that closely reflect predictability of suitable host species (i.e., resources in brood parasite – host systems), which, as predicted by Norton and Carpenter, explains the association between these variables and probability of race formation in the European cuckoo. Thus, the association between patterns of geographic distribution of hosts (population density and heterogeneity) and evolutionary processes associated with specialization of parasites (i.e., speciation or evolution of races) should be predicted only in the case when population density and heterogeneity of distribution of hosts represent resource availability for parasites as in the case of brood parasites.
We have found an association between probability of specialized egg morph evolution and number of suitable host species within a genus. Although this result could suggest a possible role of cuckoos in the diversification of host genera, as in other parasite-host systems, it is more likely that the specialization of cuckoos on diversified host genera including abundant and homogeneously distributed species is of selective advantage. Closely related bird species tend to lay similar eggs. Moreover, host ability to recognize foreign eggs depends on degree of mimicry between host and parasitic egg [e.g., [31, 32]], and, thus, when egg-recognition ability improves in one but not in other host species within a given genus, cuckoo egg-morphs might still have success parasitizing some species in the genus.
We have presented evidence suggesting that population density and homogeneity of geographic distribution of hosts explain the evolution of specialized egg-morphs of the European cuckoo. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that resource (i.e., host) predictability explains the evolution of host races and species in parasites.
Cuckoo egg morphs
Information on specialization by the European cuckoo in different host species is available from studies performed at different localities by different authors [33, 34], but also from comparisons of cuckoo eggs stored at different museums that were collected from a very wide geographic range of localities. We have in the present analyses followed Moksnes & Røskaft who analyzed clutches from 27 different museum collections from 13 different European countries and established 15 cuckoo egg morphs; ten of these were assigned to a single species of host. The use of this classification has the advantage of being based on the work of the same observers with the possibility of comparing cuckoo eggs laid in nests of very different host species. Furthermore, this classification was made before we started our study, and thus the scientists performing the classification of cuckoo gentes were unaware of the hypothesis being tested here. After this classification some other species-specific cuckoo egg morphs have been proposed as gentes occurring at a very local scale, although these otherwise need further confirmation [33–35] and, therefore, were not considered in the present study.
Moksnes & Røskaft also classified potential hosts as being unsuitable as cuckoo hosts, either because they are hole-nesters, or because they feed their young with food unsuitable for the cuckoo chick, or because they have nests/eggs that are too large to permit successful ejection by the young cuckoo. Among suitable hosts, they distinguished between those with and without specific egg morphs. We considered all suitable hosts and the greenfinch Carduelis chloris, a granivorous species that is known to be able to successfully rear cuckoo nestlings. Thus, our analyses comprise data for 79 passerine species (see Additional file 1). Moksnes & Røskaft also described five different morphs of cuckoo eggs that were not species-specific, but associated with entire passerine genera (Fringilla, Sylvia, Anthus, Lanius and Emberiza). Thus, we considered in our analyses suitable host species for which cuckoos had and had not evolved species-specifics egg morphs. At the level of genera, we considered those with specialized described cuckoo-egg morphs together with others that included suitable species with specific cuckoo egg morphs as the genus for which cuckoos are specialized.
Information on body mass and the duration of the nesting period was included in the models because these variables are likely related to the quality of parental care (i.e., duration and feeding rates) that cuckoo nestlings receive when reared by different host species, and, therefore, they could affect host choice and the evolution of specialized cuckoo-egg morphs. Data were obtained from Cramp and Soler et al..
Estimation of population density and heterogeneity in density was based on maximum and minimum numbers of breeding pairs of different species reported by Tucker and Heath and Hagemeijer and Blair. We started with Tucker and Heath by recording maximum and minimum numbers of breeding pairs for the 31 countries included in their appendix. Afterwards, for each species, we looked for information on countries not explicitly mentioned in Tucker and Heath's list, but within the top-ten list in Hagemeijer and Blair, where we recorded minimum and maximum population size to be included in our data set. For countries where the species was present [based on maps in ], but with no information on maximum and minimum numbers of breeding pairs in either of the two books, maximum and minimum