text:
In probability theory, a conditional expectation (also known as conditional expected value or conditional mean) is the expected value of a real random variable with respect to a conditional probability distribution.
The concept of conditional expectation is extremely important in Kolmogorov's measure-theoretic definition of probability theory. In fact, the concept of conditional probability itself is actually defined in terms of conditional expectation.
Let X and Y be discrete random variables, then the conditional expectation of X given the event Y=y is a function of y over the range of Y
where is the range of X.
A problem arises when we attempt to extend this to the case where Y is a continuous random variable. In this case, the probability P(Y=y) = 0, and the Borel–Kolmogorov paradox demonstrates the ambiguity of attempting to define conditional probability along these lines.
However the above expression may be rearranged:
and although this is trivial for individual values of y (since both sides are zero), it should hold for any measurable subset B of the domain of Y that:
In fact, this is a sufficient condition to define both conditional expectation and conditional probability.
Formal definition
Note that is simply the name of the conditional expectation function.
A couple of points worth noting about the definition:
- This is not a constructive definition; we are merely given the required property that a conditional expectation must satisfy.
- The required property has the same form as the last expression in the Introduction section.
- Existence of a conditional expectation function is determined by the Radon–Nikodym theorem, a sufficient condition is that the (unconditional) expected value for X exist.
- Uniqueness can be shown to be almost sure: that is, versions of the same conditional expectation will only differ on a set of probability zero.
- The σ-algebra controls the "granularity" of the conditioning. A conditional expectation over a finer-grained σ-algebra will allow us to condition on a wider variety of events.
- To condition freely on values of a random variable Y with state space, it suffices to define the conditional expectation using the pre-image of Σ with respect to Y:
- This suffices to ensure that the conditional expectation is σ(Y)-measurable. Although conditional expectation is defined to condition on events in the underlying probability space Ω, the requirement that it be σ(Y)-measurable allows us to condition on as in the introduction.
Definition of conditional probability
For any event, define the indicator function:
which is a random variable with respect to the Borel σ-algebra on (0,1). Note that the expectation of this random variable is equal to the probability of A itself:
Then the conditional probability given is a function such that is the conditional expectation of the indicator function for A:
In other words, is a -measurable function satisfying
A conditional probability is regular if is also a probability measure for all ω ∈ Ω. An expectation of a random variable with respect to a regular conditional probability is equal to its conditional expectation.
- For the trivial sigma algebra the conditional probability is (almost surely) a constant function,
- For, as outlined above,.
Conditioning as factorization
In the definition of conditional expectation that we provided above, the fact that Y is a real random variable is irrelevant: Let U be a measurable space, that is, a set equipped with a σ-algebra of subsets. A U-valued random variable is a function such that for any measurable subset of U.
We consider the measure Q on U given as above: Q(B) = P(Y−1(B)) for every measurable subset B of U. Then Q is a probability measure on the measurable space U defined on its σ-algebra of measurable sets.
Theorem. If X is an integrable random variable on Ω then there is one and, up to equivalence a.e. relative to Q, only one integrable function g on U (which is written ) such that for any measurable subset B of U:
There are a number of ways of proving this; one as suggested above, is to note that the expression on the left hand side defines, as a function of the set B, a countably additive signed measure μ on the measurable subsets of U. Moreover, this measure μ is absolutely continuous relative to Q. Indeed Q(B) = 0 means exactly that Y−1(B) has probability 0. The integral of an integrable function on a set of probability 0 is itself 0. This proves absolute continuity. Then the Radon–Nikodym theorem provides the function g, equal to the density of μ with respect to Q.
The defining condition of conditional expectation then is the equation
and it holds that
We can further interpret this equality by considering the abstract change of variables formula to transport the integral on the right hand side to an integral over Ω:
This equation can be interpreted to say that the following diagram is commutative in the average.
E(X|Y)= goY Ω ───────────────────────────> R Y g=E(X|Y= ·) Ω ──────────> R ───────────> R ω ──────────> Y(ω) ───────────> g(Y(ω)) = E(X|Y=Y(ω)) y ───────────> g( y ) = E(X|Y= y )
The equation means that the integrals of X and the composition over sets of the form Y−1(B), for B a measurable subset of U, are identical.
Conditioning relative to a subalgebra
There is another viewpoint for conditioning involving σ-subalgebras N of the σ-algebra M. This version is a trivial specialization of the preceding: we simply take U to be the space Ω with the σ-algebra N and Y the identity map. We state the result:
Theorem. If X is an integrable real random variable on Ω then there is one and, up to equivalence a.e. relative to P, only one integrable function g such that for any set B belonging to the subalgebra N
where g is measurable with respect to N (a stricter condition than the measurability with respect to M required of X). This form of conditional expectation is usually written: E(X | N). This version is preferred by probabilists. One reason is that on the Hilbert space of square-integrable real random variables (in other words, real random variables with finite second moment) the mapping X → E(X | N) is self-adjoint
and a projection (i.e. idempotent)
Basic properties
Let (Ω, M, P) be a probability space, and let N be a σ-subalgebra of M.
- Conditioning with respect to N is linear on the space of integrable real random variables.
- More generally, for every integrable N–measurable random variable Y on Ω.
- for all B ∈ N and every integrable random variable X on Ω.
- Conditioning is a contractive projection
- for any s ≥ 1.
See also
- Law of total probability
- Law of total expectation
- Law of total variance
- Law of total cumulance (generalizes the other three)
- Conditioning (probability)
- Joint probability distribution
- Disintegration theorem
- Loève (1978), p. 7
||This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. (November 2010)|
- Kolmogorov, Andrey (1933). Grundbegriffe der Wahrscheinlichkeitsrechnung (in German). Berlin: Julius Springer.[page needed]
- Loève, Michel (1978). "Chapter 27. Concept of Conditioning". Probability Theory vol. II (4th ed.). Springer. ISBN 0-387-90262-7.[page needed]
- William Feller, An Introduction to Probability Theory and its Applications, vol 1, 1950[page needed]
- Paul A. Meyer, Probability and Potentials, Blaisdell Publishing Co., 1966[page needed]
- Grimmett, Geoffrey; Stirzaker, David (2001). Probability and Random Processes (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-857222-0., pages 67-69


text:
The Jefferson County Educational Service Center (JCESC) was one of 88 county school districts established in 1914 by the Ohio General Assembly. County school districts were charged with responsibility for elevating the state's system of education to a proper standard, and the work of county staff was primarily regulatory and compliance-driven. Staff developed courses of study, provided teacher inservice training, and supervised classrooms. In 1995, county school districts were renamed educational service centers, a title that appropriately describes a shift in focus from compliance to service and reflects the current work of ESCs.
Today, JCESC embraces a system-wide culture of service that begins with the leadership of the Governing Board and extends across all licensed and classified staff. In response to constituent needs, JCESC
- provides high quality professional development embedded in the National Staff Development Standards, for district administrators and teachers,
- coordinates collaborative programs for constituent districts to eliminate duplication of human and financial resources,
- participates in interagency collaborative programs across Jefferson and Harrison Counties to provide efficient, cost-effective responses to at-risk student issues,
- collaborates with higher education in leadership initiatives,
- provides collaborative, cost-effective direct services for students with disabilities,
- administers the Virtual Learning Academy, an e-learning program that preserves district student and fiscal bases across the State, Country and Internationally, and
- sponsors the The Jefferson Health Plan, a partially self-funded health insurance program serving more than 250 school districts and political subdivisions
Details of these and numerous other programs and services are available on this website.
Click any topic to learn more about the Jefferson County Educational Service Center.

source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


text: The book, over 30 years in the making and based on worldwide research about the history and evolution of Oriental poultry races with a detailed description, their origin, distribution and current day breeding status worldwide, is a long needed work while nothing like it has been published for over fifty years. This book provides in detail educational information about the ancestors of domestic chickens, whereby it traces the origin of many ancient poultry breeds, how and where they were developed many generations ago for the purpose of sportsmanship before cockfighting was banned in most countries. But that has not stopped enthusiasts and fanciers to save many of these species from extinction and rather promoting them through a worldwide interest in exhibitions competitions, whereby in Germany alone are national poultry exhibitions with over 40,000 and even to 60,000 entries every year excite the public in tough competitions as covered in this work. Moreover, the reader will learn everything essential about purposeful breeding and preserving these breeds for future generations to come. The over 250 pictures of some 35 breeds shown in this book have been collected from various sources worldwide, many are of birds bred and photographed by the author giving the reader information not available elsewhere, which includes a today's analysis of the sport of cockfighting as well as extensive information on genetics of the rarest species.


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According to Peterson, recent outbreaks of toxic algae blooms in Quebec lakes and off Swedens Baltic Sea coast are prime examples of ecosystem flips, the consequence of nutrients from fertilizers permeating the soil and running off into streams, lakes and oceans.
As you get more and more nutrients in the soil you eventually get to a point where you can even completely stop farming and all the nutrients will still be there, explained Bennett, an assistant professor at McGill's Department of Natural Resource Sciences and the School of Environment. You go past a tipping point where its very difficult to reverse.
Ecosystem flips can have significant and sometimes devastating effects on human well-being, as global populations suddenly lose resources they are dependent on, said the researchers. Some of the most vulnerable areas on Earth are places like the drylands of sub-Saharan Africa.
In some of these regions we risk two types of ecosystem flips, one that causes rapid soil degradation with dramatic effects on yields and farmers' livelihoods, and another that affects rainfall and therefore also vegetation growth, Gordon said.
These are the places where populations are growing the fastest, people have the least amount of water per capita and are the poorest of any of the biomes of the world. They are also the regions most likely to be affected by climate change, Peterson added.
As global demands for agriculture and water continue to grow, concluded the authors, it is increasingly urgent for scientists and managers to develop new ways to build resilience by anticipating, analyzing and managing changes in agricultural landscapes. Managing the green water component of the hydrological cycle is also important, as well as encouraging more diverse agricultural practices.
Regime shifts a key issue at the Resilience2008 Conference, Stockholm Sweden, April 14-17 2008<
|Contact: Mark Shainblum|


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METHODS: Measuring Influence
What Is Effect Size?
In the Death Penalty Study, researchers used a non-probability dimensional sample of 1,600 U.S. residents to conduct an experiment. Through a mock trial, researchers also asked people to state their intended actions regarding the execution of a serial killer. As a matter of convention, statistical significance is reported here. However, in a strict sense,'statistical significance' is not an appropriate tool for understanding how various characteristics of people influence each other. Tests of statistical significance are appropriate for probability samples only. In reporting findings of this study, researchers indicate how "influential" one characteristic is over another characteristic. This is reported as effect size, using a statistic called Eta Squared.
For example, about 26% of the people in the study oppose all methods of execution (Abolitionists). One characteristic that influences a person to identify as an Abolitionist is gender. Women are more likely to be Abolitionists (30%) than men (22%). The relationship is'statistically significant.' However, with a large sample of 1,600, even small differences between men and women will be'statistically significant.' According to Eta Squared, the 8-percentage point difference between men and women indicates that gender exerts only a'small' influence on opposition to all methods of execution.
Unlike statistical significance, the Effect Size Yardstick (see diagram) is a more useful tool. Eta Squared is a statistic that measures the'strength' or 'power' of one characteristic (gender, for example) over another (rejecting all methods of execution, for example). Although the influence of gender on Abolitionist status is'statistically significant,' gender only exerts a very small (weak) influence. Eta Squared is only.01. Researchers would say that gender accounts for only 1% of the variance in Abolitionist status of people in the study. The other 99% is not accounted for. The following diagrams will illustrate how you can interpret effect size and Eta Squared.


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If you're like most people, you've learned to bottle up "unacceptable"
emotions, such as anger, fear, frustration, and grief. Sometimes, of
course, the cap slips off. Then these emotions are let loose at high
intensity, though not necessarily in the right direction. One safe way
to decant any emotions—even the most hurtful, terrifying, or sad
feelings—is journal writing. A blank sheet of paper and a pen can offer
enormous release and, possibly, insight into hidden conflicts.
Writing about traumatic events can have physical benefits, too,
according to psychologist James W. Pennebaker, who began studying this
issue in the late 1970s. A series of studies required one group of
people to write down their deepest thoughts and feelings about the most
traumatic event they recalled. A control group wrote only about trivial
events. Both groups wrote for 15 minutes a day for four days. In one
study, the group that expressed deep emotions reported feeling better
and also had significantly fewer doctors' visits and symptoms of illness
for nearly half a year afterward. After a similar experiment, the group
that revealed deep emotions had livelier immune system defenders called
T cells for the next six weeks. Research shows people with asthma and
arthritis benefit from journal writing, too.
Why does writing about emotional issues make a difference in physical
and emotional health? Pennebaker theorizes that confiding bottled-up
feelings can relieve stress, which ratchets up blood pressure, heart
rate, and muscle tension.
Writing It Out
Clinicians at the Mind/Body Medical Institute have found that the
following journal exercise helps relieve ongoing sources of stress. A
single attempt is not enough, though. When you first sit down to write
about a problem, you may feel more anxious. The wound, once exposed, may
initially hurt more than it did while hidden. But continuing to write
about the same problem over the course of several days often enables you
to work through difficult emotions and reach resolution or acceptance.
Here's some advice before you begin:
- Deeply troubling events and
situations, such as domestic violence, rape, or direct exposure to acts
of terrorism or war, are best explored with an experienced therapist.
For other situations, you can proceed on your own and seek professional
help only if you feel you need assistance.
- If you're physically
healthy, choose the most stressful event or problem you currently face.
It's usually one that you frequently dwell upon. Or, if you think your
current problems stem from past circumstance, write about traumatic
events in your past.
- Truly let go. Write down
what you feel and why you feel that way.
- Write for yourself, not
others. Don't worry about grammar or sentence structure. If you run out
of things to say in the time allotted, feel free to repeat yourself.
- Do this exercise for 15–20
minutes a day for three to four days or as long as a week if you feel
writing continues to be helpful.
The Benefits of Massage
A massage at the hands of a skilled practitioner can be rejuvenating.
Research shows massage has a physiological impact, too. A 2005 review of
research studies involving massage therapy showed that massage
consistently lowered levels of cortisol while increasing activity of
pleasure-related brain chemicals in patients with a broad range of
physical and psychological conditions. Massage also lowers blood
pressure and heart rate and may enhance certain measures of immune
function. A 2005 study showed that women with breast cancer who
participated in massage therapy three times a week for five weeks showed
more immune system activity and reported less depression, anxiety, and
fatigue than the women who didn't receive massages regularly.
Whether it's for therapeutic reasons or purely for pleasure, massage
offers the comforts of a warm touch and release from muscle tension.
There are currently no national licensing requirements or standards for
massage therapists. Experienced practitioners can be found through
professional organizations, such as the American Massage Therapy
Association (888-THE-AMTA) and the National Certification Board for
Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork _PHONE_).
Affirmations are statements that express love, acceptance and, often, a
joyous vision for your self and your life. A stream of positive thoughts
can drown out more negative ones. Try incorporating simple affirmations,
such as "I breathe in healing" or "I breathe out tension," into
relaxation techniques. Or paste them to your mirror or another prominent
place where you can read them several times a day. The more often you
repeat an affirmation, the more likely you are to believe it and act on
Whether you write your own affirmation or borrow one from a helpful
bumper sticker ("One day at a time"), the words should resonate for you.
When creating an affirmation, choose a stressful aspect of your life and
decide what a positive outcome would be or how you wish you felt about
the situation. Try to craft first-person present-tense statements:
- "I can do this."
- "I am doing my best."
- "I am calm."
- "I deserve respect."
- "Week by week, I am growing
healthier and stronger."
- "I can relax my body."
- "I am a loving, caring
Imagine these techniques and self-nurturing acts as dry seeds for a
garden. Lush growth rewards those who do more than scratch the earth,
toss in a few seeds, and step back to see what comes up. Dig deep. Water
frequently. Remove choking weeds from the plot when necessary. Combining
the richness of your past experiences, a willingness to expand your
current boundaries, and a desire to fill your life with courage, love,
and joy can make a great deal of difference in what you reap.
Power of Prayer
Several large studies suggest that people with an active religious life
tend to stay healthier, live longer, and be happier. For example, a
review article published in 2000 in the Journal of the American
Geriatrics Society cited an international study of nearly 170,000
men and women from 14 countries that found religious affiliation and
attendance at services significantly increased the likelihood of
happiness and satisfaction. Twelve years of data from 2,800 older adults
enrolled in the Yale Health and Aging Study, reported in 1997 in theJournals
of Gerontology, showed members of religious congregations had a
slower onset of physical disability. Other studies on how religion
affects health have noted less hostility and anxiety, lower blood
pressure, and better quality of life among people with strong beliefs.
But the power of prayer is not easy to document. A 2002 study in the
Annals of Behavioral Medicine sifted through research claiming
religion and spirituality have positive effects on cardiovascular
disease and hypertension. The investigators disputed these results,
citing numerous flawed or irrelevant supporting studies.
But prayer offers solace and comfort to many people. Religious
communities can be part of a larger social network that keeps a person
afloat with emotional support and outright assistance (see Social
Support). By reinforcing positive emotions, religious belief might
stimulate healthy physiological responses through complex nervous system
pathways much as a constant flood of negative thoughts may set the
opposite reaction in motion. And, of course, certain religions encourage
better health habits, such as avoiding alcohol and tobacco.
If prayer is meaningful to you, it can enhance the relaxation response
and perhaps your health as well. You may want to use your favorite
prayer or a phrase from it to help you focus.
Just as a ship is protected by the rubber bumpers that separate it from
a hard wooden dock, so, too, do people benefit when social buffers
soften the inevitable bumps and bruises of life. Studies show that
social ties—at least those that represent positive
relationships—significantly protect health and well-being.
In Sweden, researchers following more than 17,000 men and women for six
years found that the group that reported the most isolation and
loneliness had almost four times the risk of an early death as those
with good social networks. California researchers who tracked roughly
7,000 Alameda County residents for nine years found that a lack of
strong community and social bonds multiplied the likelihood of dying by
nearly two to three times.
Confidants, friends, acquaintances, co-workers, relatives, and spouses
or companions weave a life-enhancing social net. Their support may
involve outright assistance or may be largely emotional. Studies show
that people who have greater social support fare better on measures of
immune function when faced with stressors as diverse as caregiving,
surgery, exams, and job strain. For example, women with breast cancer
who felt they had high-quality emotional support from an intimate
relationship, social support from a doctor, and nourishment from other
connections had more natural killer cells—capable of destroying
virus-laden cells and certain tumor cells—than those who lacked these
Not surprisingly, the quality of relationships counts. Research suggests
negative ones—an embattled marriage or a draining caretaking
arrangement—can be more harmful than helpful.
Strengthening Your Social Bonds
Given the pleasures and benefits of social ties, why not grasp
opportunities to expand your social circle and deepen the ties you've
already made? Here are some ways to do just that:
- If you normally wait for
others to reach out, pick up the phone and propose a

source: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb-edu


text:
Following the devastating bushfires on the NSW South Coast, the Australian Government and Catholic Education Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn are providing a range of supports to affected children, families and communities.
The Australian Government will:
- provide mental health support for school staff, students and families in bushfire affected communities
- provide financial support to child care services in bushfire affected communities
- provide Child Care Subsidy (CCS) activity test debt exemptions for families in bushfire affected communities
- provide an additional $400 to families for each child aged under 16 that is eligible for the Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment
- provide scholarships for regional students from bushfire affected communities to help them attend university
Further information on these assistance packages can be found on the Department of Education website.
Catholic Education Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn (CECG)
CECG has committed to providing practical and financial support to their schools in Batehaven, Broulee and Moruya that have been affected by the bushfires. This support includes:
- total fee remissions to families
- additional relief staffing to affected schools
- additional counselling services for students, staff and the wider school community
For more information contact Ben Duggan on (02) 6234 5454.
For information on personal hardship and distress assistance, contact the Disaster Welfare Assistance Line on 1800 018 444.


text:
Aspirin Can Prevent Hearing Loss From Ototoxic Medication
Editor: Researchers at the University of Michigan have discovered that
aspirin can prevent hearing loss that would otherwise occur in users of a
common family of antibiotics. The obvious question is whether aspirin can
prevent hearing loss from other medications. How about from noise exposure?
Around the world, inexpensive antibiotics known as aminoglycosides have
been used for the past 60 years in the battles against acute infections and
tuberculosis, as antibacterial prophylaxis in cystic fibrosis and other
patients, and in and other conditions. But for all of the good they do, the
drugs also have been widely linked to irreversible hearing loss.
Now, researchers at the University of Michigan's Kresge Hearing Research
Institute and their Chinese colleagues, working under the leadership of
Jochen Schacht, Ph.D., and Su-Hua Sha, M.D., have found that the hearing
loss can be prevented in many people with the use of another inexpensive,
widely available medication: aspirin. The results appear in the April 27
issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.
The researchers studied 195 patients in China who received 80 to 160
milligrams of gentamicin (a type of aminoglycoside) intravenously twice
daily, typically for five to seven days. Of those, 89 patients were given
aspirin along with the antibiotic, and 106 were given placebos along with
the antibiotic. The results were dramatic: The incidence of hearing loss in
the group that was given placebos was 13 percent, while in the aspirin group
it was just 3 percent, or 75 percent lower.
"We would like to see the word get around to the medical community around
the world that you can take some precautions to minimize the risk to your
patients. Aspirin is available everywhere, and it's cheap," says senior
author Schacht, professor of biological chemistry in otolaryngology at the
University of Michigan Medical School and director of the U-M Health
System's Kresge Hearing Research Institute. Gentamicin is not commonly used
in the United States.
He notes that this research builds on earlier U-M studies that showed
promise in combating drug-induced hearing loss in the laboratory.
"Previously we found that such a treatment works well in mice, but I am very
excited that this worked so well in humans," says Schacht. "Translating
animal studies into clinical practice is not an easy thing to do. We were
fortunate that our extrapolation from mice to men and women worked in the
The research is exciting, says lead author Sha, because hearing loss
caused by these antibiotics is so prevalent. The incidence of aminoglycoside-induced
hearing loss averages 8 percent but the numbers may be higher in developing
countries, she notes, where aminoglycosides are frequently the only
affordable antibiotics and are sold over the counter. No therapy currently
exists to prevent ototoxicity.
This research began in 1999 with a collaboration with Chinese hospitals.
Working with Schacht, Sha - associate laboratory director of U-M's Kresge
Hearing Research Institute's Biochemistry Laboratory - got in touch with her
colleagues in China. The two traveled to China and presented their ideas,
and ultimately began a partnership with the Fourth Military Medical
University in Xi'an, China. The third author on the paper, Jian-Hua Qiu,
M.D., represents the colleagues of the Fourth Military Medical University.
After receiving approvals from institutional review boards at U-M and the
Fourth Military Medical University, the otolaryngology department in Xi'an
conducted the prospective, randomized, double-blind trial at Xijing Hospital
and Airforce Chengdu Hospital from 1999 to 2003. All of the participants
were ages 18 to 65, and were inpatients who were scheduled for treatment
with gentamicin. Hearing damage, or ototoxicity, was defined as a shift from
a person's baseline hearing by at least 15 decibels at both the 6 and 8 kHz
frequencies, which are the first affected by the drugs. The effectiveness of
the gentamicin as an antibiotic did not lessen when it was paired with
Schacht notes that even though gentamicin has been linked widely with
hearing loss, and its use has been declining in industrial countries, it is
not practical to think that it will be replaced in the near future by other
antibiotics because it has specific applications and is so inexpensive and
available, especially in poor countries. While aspirin shows promise, and he
hopes that health care providers pair it with gentamicin, he also notes it
is not yet the perfect solution because of the potential side effects of
aspirin, including gastric bleeding. And he notes that this is an off-label
use of aspirin, which may inhibit some practitioners from giving it to
patients in such instances.
He hopes that further studies will lead to the development of new and
safer antibiotics, or another drug that can be paired with gentamicin that
has fewer side effects than aspirin. He and Sha are exploring partnerships
with other countries to conduct future research.


text:
Windows 2000 Professional: Secure network shares
Network shares are one of the mechanisms that worms and viruses use to spread. They often look for shares with no restrictive security and plant contaminated files in the shares to also infect the computers of users who access those files.
You can reduce your network's susceptibility to worms and viruses by tightening security on network shares. Take these steps to protect your network from worms and viruses:
In addition to these steps, firewalls, virus scrubbers, and adding security patches to your operating systems and applications are other important ways to further reduce your organization's susceptibility to worms and viruses.
Windows 2000 Server: Mount a volume in an empty NTFS folder
Managing server disk space can be a continuing battle, even when features such as disk quotas are in place. As a disk fills up, it often causes services and applications to fail.
Windows 2000 introduced a feature called mounted volumes that can help administrators overcome disk cramp. You can mount a new volume in an empty NTFS folder, which makes the volume appear to applications and users as if it's part of the original disk's file structure.
For example, assume you have a folder named \Users on drive C, and the disk is reaching capacity. The \Users folder contains 4 GB of data. You can add a new 120-GB disk to the server, move the contents of the existing \Users folder to the new disk, and mount that volume in the now empty \Users folder. The result is a C drive that now has 4 GB of additional free space and a \Users folder that has 116 GB of free space for more user data.
To mount a volume, first install the new disk in the server, partition it, and format it. Next, create or empty an NTFS folder, open the Disk Management console, right-click the new volume, and choose Change Drive Letter And Paths. Click Add, select Mount In The Following Empty NTFS Folder, specify the NTFS folder, and click OK. Click OK again, and close the Disk Management console.
Note that you can assign a drive letter to a mounted volume, enabling you to access it either from its drive letter or its mount point.


text:
(pen‐name of Robert Noonan) (?1870–1911), a house‐painter of Irish extraction, is remembered for his posthumously published novel The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, which first appeared in 1914, edited from a manuscript left in the care of his daughter. An abridged edition appeared in 1918, but on the discovery of the original handwritten manuscript in 1946 it became clear that the author's intentions had been widely altered, and it reappeared, ed. by F. C. Ball, in 1955.
The action takes place during one year in the lives of a group of working men in the town of Mugsborough, and the novel is a bitter but spirited attack on the greed, dishonesty, and gullibility of employers and workers alike, and on the social conditions that gave rise to these vices. Debates on socialism, competition, employment, and capitalism are skilfully interwoven with a realistic and knowledgeable portrayal of skilled and unskilled labour in the decorating and undertaking business, and with the human stories of the families of the workers. Noonan's coining of names for local worthies—Sweater, Didlum, Grinder, Botchit, etc.—indicates his attitude towards the widespread corruption and hypocrisy that he exposes, and the book has become a classic text of the Labour movement. The ironically named 'philanthropists' of the title are the workers who toiled for pitiful wages while making no effort to understand or better their lot.


text:
Minesweeper (video game)
||This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. The specific problem is: does not meet project guidelines. (June 2008)|
The player is initially presented with a grid of undifferentiated squares. Some randomly selected squares, unknown to the player, are designated to contain mines. Typically, the size of the grid and the number of mines are set in advance by the user, either by entering the numbers or selecting from defined skill levels depending on the implementation. The grid size is often user-selectable, as a way to adjust the difficulty level.
The game is played by revealing squares of the grid, typically by clicking them with a mouse. If a square containing a mine is revealed, the player loses the game. Otherwise, a digit is revealed in the square, indicating the number of adjacent squares (typically, out of the possible eight) that contain mines. In typical implementations, if this number is zero then the square appears blank, and the surrounding squares are automatically also revealed. By using logic, the player can in many instances use this information to deduce that certain other squares are mine-free, in which case they may be safely revealed, or mine-filled, in which they can be marked as such (which, in typical implementations, is effected by right-clicking the square and indicated by a flag graphic).
In some implementations, a question mark may be placed in an unrevealed square as a marker. This has no meaning in the rules of the game, but can serve as an aid to logical deduction. Another convenience feature present in some implementations is an interface to quickly clear around a revealed square once the correct number of mines have been flagged around it. The game is won when all mine-free squares are revealed, meaning that all mines have been located.
Some implementations of Minesweeper will set up the board by never placing a mine on the first square revealed, or by arranging the board so that the solution does not require guessing. Minesweeper for versions of Windows through Vista protected the first square revealed. Minesweeper with Windows 7 also protects the first square unless the user chooses to replay a specific board.
Minesweeper can be modeled as algebra of binary variables that does not always possess a unique solution. In such cases, the player has to guess about the location of a mine. See below for an example of a case in which the player has to guess.
Minesweeper has its origins in the earliest mainframe games of the 1960s and 1970s. The earliest ancestor of Minesweeper was Jerimac Ratliff's Cube. The basic gameplay style became a popular segment of the puzzle game genre during the 1980s, with such titles as Mined-Out (Quicksilva, 1983), Yomp (Virgin Interactive, 1983), and Cube. Cube was succeeded by Relentless Logic (or RLogic for short), by Conway, Hong, and Smith, available for MS-DOS as early as 1985; the player took the role of a private in the United States Marine Corps, delivering an important message to the U.S. Command Center. RLogic had greater similarity to Minesweeper than to Cube in concept, but a number of differences exist:
- In RLogic, the player must navigate through the minefield, from the top left right angled corner to the bottom right right angled corner (the Command Center).
- It is not necessary to clear all non-mine squares. Also, there is no mechanism for marking mines or counting the number of mines found.
- The number of steps taken is counted. Although no high score functionality is included, players could attempt to beat their personal best score for a given number of mines.
- Unlike Minesweeper, the size of the minefield is fixed. However, the player may still specify the number of mines.
- Because the player must navigate through the minefield, it is sometimes impossible to win — namely, when the mines block all possible paths.
The gameplay mechanics of Minesweeper are included in a variety of other software titles, including:
- The mini-game Vinesweeper implemented into the MMORPG RuneScape; in this iteration (written by Jagex developer Danny J), the Minesweeper gameplay is given a large multiplayer aspect and the "game board" adopts a continually resetting timer. This allows for a never-ending game of Minesweeper where the skill is awarded assessed in points rather than "game completion".
- The PC game Mole Control (developed by Remode); in this game, the minesweeper mechanic is integrated into a puzzle adventure game based in a village called Molar Creek, which has been overrun with exploding moles. You play the local inventor's assistant, who is tasked with clearing the village of exploding moles, and you can also take part in the Molar Creek Annual Mole Control competition in a Time Attack Mode.
Distribution and variants
Versions of Minesweeper are frequently bundled with operating systems and GUIs, including Minesweeper in Windows, KMines in KDE (Unix-like OSes), Gnomine in GNOME and MineHunt in Palm OS. Apart from the bundled versions, a huge number of clones of all shapes and sizes can be found on the Internet.
Variants of the basic game generally have differently shaped mine fields in two and three dimensions, or various two-dimensional layouts, such as triangular or hexagonal grids, or possibly more than one mine per cell. For example, X11-based XBomb adds triangular and hexagonal grids, and Professional Minesweeper for Windows includes these and others.
The Voltorb Flip game in the non-Japanese releases of Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver is a variation of Minesweeper and Picross.
Another derivative of Minesweeper is Tentaizu, which could be described as a Minesweeper with some squares initially revealed, where the player doesn't reveal any squares, only mark them, and whose objective is to mark all mines correctly. Tentaizu puzzles usually have a unique solution.
In 2000, Richard Kaye published a proof that it is NP-complete to determine whether a given grid of uncovered, correctly flagged, and unknown squares, the labels of the foremost also given, has an arrangement of mines for which it is possible within the rules of the game. The argument is constructive, a method to quickly convert any Boolean circuit into such a grid that is possible if and only if the circuit is satisfiable; membership in NP is established by using the arrangement of mines as a certificate. This proof has been disputed; see Scott, Stege, & van Rooij.
Measuring board difficulty
The difficulty of a given minesweeper board is often measured using the 3BV measure (stands for Bechtel's Board Benchmark Value).
The 3BV of a board is the total count of:
- openings of the board, i.e. regions of orthogonally or diagonally contiguous squares having no neighbouring mines, together with the immediately surrounding numbered squares
- numbered squares that are not part of any openings.
For example, in the illustrated example, there is one opening (shown by white borders) and there are seven further numbered squares (green dots), giving a 3BV rating of 8. Equivalently, it is the minimum number of single clicks required in typical implementations to reveal all of the mine-free squares.
3BV/s stands for 3BV per second.
Because the time that is needed to finish a Minesweeper board depends highly on the difficulty of the board, it may not be the best way to compare records. 3BV/s on the other hand does consider the difficulty of the Minesweeper board as well as the time needed to finish it. Among the best Minesweeper players, 3BV/s records are not nearly as important as time records, but they give a picture of how fast someone can play with regard to mouse-handling.
If flags are marked, it is possible to require fewer clicks than the 3BV of the respective board. Using only left clicks is called non-flagging (nf) whereas marking mines with right-clicks is called flagging-style.
In 2001, the Italian "International Campaign to Ban Winmine" voiced strong concern over the game, contending that it is an "offense against the victims of the mines" and those who risk their lives to clear them. They created their own "Winflower" game, and lobbied Microsoft to use it in place of Minesweeper in Windows 98. As a reaction to this criticism, the version of Minesweeper included in Windows Vista and Windows 7 offers a mode in which the mines are replaced with flowers.
- Kaye (2000)
- Allan Scott, Ulrike Stege, Iris van Rooij, Minesweeper may not be NP-complete but is hard nonetheless, The Mathematical Intelligencer 33:4 (2011), pp. 5-17.
- Blincoe (2001)
- Microsoft Shell Blog - The UI design minefield - er... flower field? at the Wayback Machine (archived January 19, 2008)
- Adamatzky, Andrew (1997). "How cellular automaton plays Minesweeper". Applied Mathematics and Computation 85 (2-3): 127–137. doi:10.1016/S0096-3003(96)00117-8.
- Lakshtanov, Evgeny; Oleg German (2010). "'Minesweeper' and spectrum of discrete Laplacians". Applicable analysis 89 (12): 1907–1916. doi:10.1080/00036811.2010.505189.
- Kaye, Richard (200


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Posted on July 26, 2018 @ 04:45:00 AM by Paul Meagher
When we think about design, we perhaps think of it as one type of mental process or activity. A recent article
called Positive, Negative,
and Neutral Design argues that we can engage in landscape design by adding, subtracting, or doing nothing to the elements
in the landscape. Often we think about design as coming up with a plan and then implementing that plan by adding the elements
in our plan to the landscape. Another way to approach landscape design is to remove unwanted elements from the landscape. This is
called negative design. It is often less labor and resourse intensive than positive design. An example would be to create a pasture
for animals by selectively cutting away trees in a forest. This is the way agriculture would have spread in the beginning. Neutral
design involves "doing nothing" by letting the landscape evolve on its own. The basic idea is to approach landscape design with a
combination of positive, negative, and neutral mindsets to come up with a landscape design that works.
The author advocates an approach to landscape design that involves letting many flowers bloom and then culling what you don't want. In other words, plant many seeds/seedlings without alot of regard for whether they will survive or not, see what grows and what doesn't grow, and then cull out what you don't want. He calls this a weakly positive approach combined with a negative approach. It is often how
new farmers begin their farming careers by trying out different things, seeing what works and what doesn't work, and then focusing
resources on what does work and less or no resources on what does not work so well.
My wife is trying to get my son to get rid of clothes he no longer wears from his room. We are essentially asking him to engage in
negative design - remove the unwanted elements from his wardrobe. I suggested that perhaps my wife would have to do the negative
design for him and leave him with the positive design aspect of picking out the elements he does want from what was culled out. The
point here is that a negative design problem isn't necessarily more easy than a positive design problem and that we can approach the
same objective (remove unwanted clothes) from different mindsets [negative (son) OR positive (son) + negative (mom)]. My sons mindset is probably a neutral one - leave things as they are, its my room and I don't have a problem with how things are right now. That mindset will not survive my wife's desire to remove clutter so she can take more
control of the room when he leaves again for university. So the neutral mindset will have to go.
The article discussed in this blog was posted on the website, Making
Permaculture Stronger, where an inquiry into the merits of different approaches to landscape design has been going on for awhile now. The four approaches under consideration are winging it, fabricating, hybrid, and generating. In the 22nd post in his inquiry, Dan Palmer arrives at the conclusion expressed in this diagram:
Essentially, Dan is arguing that the traditional fabricating approach that involves designing all the elements up front and then implementing that design does not work very well in practice. One better approach, the hybrid approach, is to do the high level design so you are guided at the macro level, but to do the detailed design in stages as you implement parts of the high level design. This allows you to incorporate feedback as you proceed to the next part of the design, while maintaining the overall structure that you want to impose. I would argue the diagram is incorrect in that imposing and unfolding boundaries should meet in the center above the hybrid approach. The generating approach is a bit more radical in that even the high level design has the potential to be altered in light of feedback from the low level design.
The purpose of this blog was to consider whether design is one type of mental activity or process or whether it actually refers to a multitude of mindsets and approaches. My conclusion is the latter. There are multiple mindsets that you can use when engaging in a design - positive, negative, and neutral - and there are multiple approaches you might adopt which include winging it, fabricating, hybrid and generating. In contexts with alot of uncertainty winging it might be appropriate and it seems to me that engineers are often asked to use a fabricating approach. That same engineer might use a hybrid or generating approach when it comes to their home landscape design because they have the luxury of doing it that way. Sometimes you are given more creative leeway to work with the landscape.


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Sound change and alternation
In linguistics, rhinoglottophilia refers to the connection between laryngeal (glottal) and nasal articulations. The term was coined by James A. Matisoff in 1975.[1]
There is a connection between the acoustic production of laryngeals and nasals, as can be seen from the antiformants both can produce when viewed via a spectrogram. This is because both sounds in a sense have branched resonators: in the production of nasal sound, both the oral cavity and the nasal cavity act as resonators. For laryngeals, the space below the glottis acts as a second resonator, which in turn can produce slight antiformants.
In Krim, a language without contrastive nasal vowels, vowels are nonetheless strongly nasalized after /h/. A similar correspondence occurs after /h/ and /ʔ/ in Pirahã. It has even been attested in some varieties of American English, such as [hɑ̃ːvəd] for Harvard by the Kennedys.[2]
Rhinoglottophilia may have occurred historically in the development of Inor. Inor has nasal vowels, unusual for a Gurage language, and in many cases these occur where the language etymologically had a pharyngeal or laryngeal consonant.[3] Similar processes have also been reported for Irish[4] and in Nyole, where Bantu *p appears as /ŋ/ rather than as /h/ as in other Luhya dialects.
Rhinoglottophilia may occur with any laryngeal sound, not just specifically glottal ones. For example, correspondences such as Khoekhoe xárà meerkat and Khwe xánà banded mongoose (and similar correspondences between nasalized and unnasalized clicks) have been explained as pharyngealization of the vowel in proto-Khoe.
See also[edit]
 1. ^ Matisoff (1975)
 2. ^ Childs, 2003, An introduction to African languages, p. 61–62.
 3. ^ Boiving (1996)
 4. ^ Ó Maolalaigh (2003)
 - Boivin, Robert (1996). Spontaneous nasalization in Inor. Essays on Gurage language and Culture. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2133.
 - Matisoff, James, A. (1975). "Rhinoglottophilia: The Mysterious Connection between Nasality and Glottality", in C.A. Ferguson, L.M. Hyman and J.J. Ohala eds., Nasálfest: Papers from a Symposium on Nasals and Nasalization, Universals Language Project, Stanford University, Stanford, 265-287.
 - Ó Maolalaigh, Roibeard (2003) Processes in Nasalization and Related Issues, Ériu, Vol. 53, pp. 109–132
 - Sprigg, R. K. (1987) "Rhinoglottophilia" re-visited : observations on "the mysterious connection between nasality and glottality", Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area, vol. 10, no 1, pp. 44–62 (1 p. 1/2)


Special Instructions for Windows Users: ======================================= They only thing you really have to worry about beyond a regular UNIX installation is: 1) Use nmake instead of make. Or, if make is unavailable, you will have to copy the modules by hand. To the correct perl library directory. (c:\perl\site\lib if you are using ActiveState, for instance). 2) Change the "store" directory. This is where all web-mirrored files will be stored. The location for the store directory is found in the XML configuration file at the bottom of Latex.pm under


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University Innovation Fellows Program
The University Innovation Fellows program empowers students to become agents of change at their schools. The Fellows are a global community leading a movement to ensure that all students gain the attitudes, skills and knowledge required to navigate a complex world. These student leaders from schools around the world create opportunities to help their peers build the creative confidence, agency, and entrepreneurial mindset needed to address global challenges and to build a better future.
Fellows create student innovation spaces, start entrepreneurship organizations, facilitate experiential workshops, work with faculty and administrators to develop new courses, and much more. They serve as advocates for lasting institutional change with academic leaders, lending the much-needed student voice to the conversations about the future of higher education.


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Professor recommends dropping "nerd" and "geek"
Psychology professor David Anderegg of Bennington College would like to see the use of these words eliminated from our language. He believes they are as damaging to an individual as a racial epithet.
Historically nerds and geeks have become people to avoid. A nerd is one who displays social ineptness, while a geek is a person with expertise in a specific area. Most students do anything they can to avoid either classification.
However, being good at math, science, or computer technology is associated with being nerdy or a geek. Without these labels, where would American students stand in comparison to other countries in math and science proficiency? Is it possible that being considered a geek keeps a student from excelling in an area of his or her interest?
The term "cool nerd" has surfaced and is proposed as a compliment rather than a criticism. It is meant to describe a person who is multi-faceted – one who combines computer skills with another field of study – graphic design, for example. Do you think "cool nerd" will take over and replace the commonly accepted "nerd" or "geek?"
What are some ways to adjust to a label others have given you? Whatever the label might be, you're most likely not alone – there is comfort and support in camaraderie.


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Practitioners' perception of the impact of the vision of policy-makers on practice: The example of the recommendations of the Moser Commission
Ade-Ojo, Gordon O. (2011) Practitioners' perception of the impact of the vision of policy-makers on practice: The example of the recommendations of the Moser Commission. Research Papers in Education, 26 (1). pp. 53-77. ISSN 0267-1522 (Print), _PHONE_ (Online) (doi:10.1080/02671520903257997)Full text not available from this repository.
This paper presents the perception of practitioners of the impact of the Moser Committee recommendations and the Skills for Life agenda it generated. The paper further explores areas of convergence and divergence between practitioners' perceptions and the underpinning values of the Moser Committee recommendations. The study utilised a range of research tools including an online questionnaire, documentary analysis and elements of discourse analysis in the collection and analysis of data. It found that there is substantial divergence between the perception of practitioners and the values underpinning policy. It concludes by suggesting that a varying perception of what constitutes sustainable education and the lack of input from practitioners into policy might be responsible for this significant divergence of opinion and also raised a question on the perceived role of practitioners in the policy‐making process.
|Additional Information:|| Published online: 11 Nov 2009. Published in print: March 2011. Published as: Research Papers in Education, (2011), Vol. 26, (1), 53–77.|
|Uncontrolled Keywords:||policy, Moser committee, practitioners, skills for life, values, literacy paradigms, economic model|
|Subjects:||L Education > LB Theory and practice of education > LB2361 Curriculum|
L Education > LC Special aspects of education > LC5201 Education extension. Adult education. Continuing education
|School / Department / Research Groups:||School of Education|
School of Education > Department of Lifelong Learning & Teacher Education
|Last Modified:||05 Dec 2013 15:31|
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float opdigits(string name)
This function will return the numeric value of the last set of consecutive digits in a node's name. It is used when building several similar networks. This expression expects a path to a node, if the node doesn't exist, it will return 0.
opdigits(".") means the digits of the node that the expression is in. Tip: It is the same as the variable
opdigits("..") means the digits of the parent of the node. Tip: It is the same as the variable
opdigits("../..") is the digits of the parent of the parent.
opdigits("/obj/geo22") = 22 opdigits("..") = 7 (if the current component is named geo7 for example)


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Words That Inspire: 3/4-Baked
HOW TO BREAK THROUGH
"I believe in the 3/4-baked philosophy. People chase perfection—trying to 'fully bake' their ideas before they share them with the world. Too many people end up never sharing their ideas, songs, dreams, novels, and inventions.
The 3/4-baked philosophy is about finding that right time to share your work—letting the community fully bake it. The more you do this, the more you put yourself out there, the more success you have."
Jason F. McLennan
How many ideas or dreams get left on the shelf because you don't think they're good enough or because you're afraid of how they'll be received? Sustainable architecture guru Jason McLennan suggests that we stop "chasing perfection." Getting off the mark is at the heart of Jason McLennan's 3/4-baked philosophy. Dare to share.
Check out the classroom activity below to find out what level your students might take their ideas.
Before you and your students explore Jason McLennan's 3/4-baked philosophy, take a look at how he came up with the term. Fully-baked seems easily understood, but what about half-baked? See how many definitions you can come up with.
Level One: Write it down
Ask each student to write down their 3/4 –baked ideas. They may be dreams, inventions, ambitions, service projects, and more. Whatever the idea, it should be more than the idea itself, but doesn't have to be fully fleshed out. They may keep these ideas to themselves in a journal, or, if your group of students feel comfortable, post them where everyone can see—and see where these ideas end up!
Level Two: Find someone to share your idea
Have your students think of someone they trust, someone with whom they can share this 3/4- baked idea. It may be someone who has knowledge or expertise in this area, or a person whom they feel will give constructive feedback and support.
Level Three: Get moving!
How has the feedback helped your students changed or grown their ideas? What do they now need to do to fully bake them? It's time to spring into action.
Level Four: Celebrate
Congratulations! Your students have taken their 3/4- baked ideas and tested them. Are they now fully baked?
Level Five: Continue the journey of the 3/4-baked philosophy
Now that your students have taken the risk to share their 3/4-baked ideas, encourage them to do it again!
Read Jason McLennan's YES! Breakthrough 15 Story, "Bringing Buildings to Life."
- Ideas for a Better Food System :: Processing
The women of Georgia Southern Alternatives Agriculture Co-op are providing jobs for young women by independently processing and selling their pecans.
- Patch Adams
What a disillusioned pre-med student learned from a wacky doctor's serious dream.
- Nurturing Creative Thinkers
In this entertaining talk, Sir Ken Robinson asserts that to get the best out of people, schools need to nurture creative thinkers rather than good workers.
The above resources accompany the February 2012 YES! Education Connection Newsletter
That means, we rely on support from our readers.
Independent. Nonprofit. Subscriber-supported.


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Dietary fibers contribute to health and physiology primarily via the fermentative actions of the host's gut microbiome. Physicochemical properties such as solubility, fermentability, viscosity, and gel-forming ability differ among fiber types and are known to affect metabolism. However, few studies have focused on how they influence the gut microbiome and how these interactions influence host health. The aim of this study is to investigate how the gut microbiome of growing pigs responds to diets containing gel-forming alginate and fermentable resistant starch and to predict important interactions and functional changes within the microbiota.
Nine growing pigs (3-month-old), divided into three groups, were fed with either a control, alginate-, or resistant starch-containing diet (CON, ALG, or RS), and fecal samples were collected over a 12-week period. SSU (small subunit) rDNA amplicon sequencing data was annotated to assess the gut microbiome, whereas comprehensive microarray polymer profiling (CoMPP) of digested material was employed to evaluate feed degradation. Gut microbiome structure variation was greatest in pigs fed with resistant starch, where notable changes included the decrease in alpha diversity and increase in relative abundance of Lachnospiraceaeand Ruminococcus-affiliated phylotypes. Imputed function was predicted to vary significantly in pigs fed with resistant starch and to a much lesser extent with alginate; however, the key pathways involving degradation of starch and other plant polysaccharides were predicted to be unaffected. The change in relative abundance levels of basal dietary components (plant cell wall polysaccharides and proteins) over time was also consistent irrespective of diet; however, correlations between the dietary components and phylotypes varied considerably in the different diets.
Resistant starch-containing diet exhibited the strongest structural variation compared to the alginate-containing diet. This variation gave rise to a microbiome that contains phylotypes affiliated with metabolically reputable taxonomic lineages. Despite the significant microbiome structural shifts that occurred from resistant starch-containing diet, functional redundancy is seemingly apparent with respect to the microbiome's capacity to degrade starch and other dietary polysaccharides, one of the key stages in digestion.
The gut microbiome of animals comprises a broad diversity of bacterial and archaeal phylotypes and is considered a separate organ due to the influence of its metabolic traits on host physiology [1]. Its key roles include modulating food intake, growth and development of the body, energy uptake from food, immune system and proliferation of epithelial cells, and resistance to infections [2]. Diet is one of the most important factors influencing gut microbiome structure and function, which indirectly modulates metabolic activities of the host [3].
Dietary fibers are defined as a large group of carbohydrates that play an important role in the gut microbiome as well as in the physiology of the host [4]. Resistant starch is an example of a dietary fiber that cannot be broken down by digestive enzymes or be absorbed in the small intestine but can be fermented by microbes in the lower gastrointestinal tract [5]. Diets rich in resistant starch have potential health benefits, such as lowering postprandial glycemia and insulinemia, enhancing absorption of minerals including calcium and iron, and prolonging the duration of satiety [6,7]. The fermentation byproducts of resistant starch (that is, short-chain fatty acids) also contribute to host health in many ways [5]. For example, butyric acid is the main energy source for colonic epithelial cells and may play a role in preventing colon cancer [8]. There are four types of resistant starch defined by their physicochemical properties, with each type affecting the gut microbiome structure differently [9]. Type 1 consists of physically inaccessible starch; type 2, granular starch; type 3, retrograded starch obtained by cooking and cooling the starch; and type 4, modified starch. Type 3 is considered the most resistant form and is totally resistant to digestive enzymes [6].
Alginate is a viscous dietary fiber consisting of guluronic acid (G) and mannuronic acid (M) that forms a gel at low pH (such as in the stomach). This gel structure slows down gastric emptying and reduces the rate of intestinal absorption of metabolizable nutrients, subsequently lowering the blood cholesterol and glucose levels [10]. Alginate may assist in the refinement of gastrointestinal barrier function and was previously shown to increase mucus layer thickness and replenishment rate, which are fundamental for the colonic mucus barrier [10]. The gel structure of alginate may also play a role in controlling obesity and type II diabetes [11] as well as limiting the adverse effects of luminal contents adsorbing a number of damaging agents such as mutagens, toxins, and carcinogens [10], thus reducing colonic exposure to these agents. Alginate-containing diets have demonstrated a satiating effect on pigs (short-term satiety) primarily due to the gel forming capability [7,12]. While fermented at a low rate by gut microbiota [10], alginate has been shown to also affect microbiome structure at some level, demonstrating its potential as a prebiotic [13,14]. However, the microbe-alginate relationship has not been evaluated in detail.
Pigs are frequently utilized as models for humans due to their similar body size, genome, digestive tract, diet type as well as other anatomical and physiological features [15,16]. Their gut microbiome also exhibits similar structural features to the extent that their use as model animals in gut microbiota studies is believed to be advantageous [17]. Previously, it has been shown that alginate and resistant starch (type 3) display different effects on the physiology and feeding patterns of growing pigs [12]. The feed intake of ALG pigs was higher than CON pigs to compensate for the reduced digestible energy intake with ALG and to result in an overall similar digestible energy intake to CON pigs. Digestible energy intake is reduced by resistant starch with increase in fermentation and more efficient use of digestible energy.
In this study, it was hypothesized that the diets containing these two contrasting dietary fibers exert different influences on the pig gut microbiome and affect important interactions and functionalities within the microbiota. Feeding trials were conducted on young animals (growing pigs) where the total energy intake should be less variable than in adult animals, as all individuals require high-energy intake for growth. Therefore, any change in microbiome structure and function in response to dietary fibers may be more visible. Microbiome analysis was conducted over a 12-week period encompassing: SSU rDNA amplicon sequencing, functional analysis of predicted metagenomes, and CoMPP analysis of plant cell wall components (PCWCs). Correlation and co-occurrence analysis were additionally conducted between the relative abundances of operational taxonomic units (OTUs) and post-digestion PCWCs.
Feeding trials and microbiome data collection
In order to characterize the effects of ALG and RS on the pigs' gut microbiomes, we assessed the community structure via 16S rRNA gene analysis. Using amplicon pyrosequencing, we obtained 251,522 SSU rRNA gene fragments in total (approximately 524 nt). Quality filtering and clustering analysis resulted in 2,621 total OTUs from 61 samples. Functional capabilities of each microbiome were predicted using KEGG pathway analyses of simulated metagenomes and compared between diet types to identify differences. CoMPP analysis was used to measure relative PCWC levels in the original feed as well as fecal samples in order to monitor changes of the individual polysaccharides and proteins that were available to the microbiome populations for ingestion (Figure 1). As expected, starch levels (detected using the CBM20 probe) were consistent in the original feed samples for all diets (Additional file 1: Table S1). No starch was detected in the fecal samples of any of the pigs, irrespective of the solubility of the starch component in their diet. Overall, a variety of pectic substrates, hemicellulosic substrates (including xyloglucans, xylans, mannans, and betaglucans), and cellulose were detected in all diet groups. The change in relative abundance of these PCWCs (decrease or increase depending on the PCWC) over time was consistent across all samples, and no differences were observed between diets (Figure 1). Alginate levels were unable to be reported via CoMPP analysis due to the lack of a suitable probe; however, previous pig feeding trials using alginate have indicated that this polysaccharide is detectable in fecal material and is not digested completely [18].
Figure 1
Comprehensive microarray polymer profiling (CoMPP) of plant cell wall components (PCWCs) and principle component analysis (PCA). Heatmap (A) shows the relative abundances of PCWCs in each sample. Color intensity is proportional to mean spot signal. T1 to T7 refer to the time-points when samples were collected. PCA plot (B) shows the comparison of PCWC composition between diets. Labels contain name of diet type (CON, ALG, RS), pig number for the specific diet with numbers between 1 and 3 and time-point numbers between 1 and 7 in the order (starting from T1 as first time-point). HG, homogalacturonan; AGP, arabinogalactan protein; GlcA, glucuronic acid.
Microbiome diversity
Alpha diversity analyses were performed upon all samples to determine how the different diets affected the microbiome of each animal over the 12-week period. Shannon index plot (Figure 2)


Vanderpoel Gallery of Asian Art
Collector and Donor Emily Vanderpoel in her NYC apartment, surrounded by her collection of Asian Art.
Mrs. Vanderpoel pictured at her Grammercy Park home.
In 1935, Slater Memorial Museum director Hannah Dodge pursued New York collector Emily Noyes Vanderpoel in hopes of acquiring the donation of Mrs. Vanderpoel's extensive collection of East Asian art and artifacts. The success of that acquisition led other donors in the succeeding 85 years to add to the collection. It includes Japanese, Korean, Southeast Asian, and Chinese objects. Materials and techniques include ceramics, ivories, silk textiles, fans, woodblock prints, and metalwork.
The first display of the objects was installed shortly after Mrs. Vanderpoel made her donation. The gallery was refreshed in 2011 when the Atrium was completed and the entire museum was re-installed and re-interpreted. Even then, museum staff realized that the research was lacking and that the objects had even more exciting stories to tell.
An example is the collection of Japanese Netsuke, a unique form of purse closure. These skillfully carved miniatures embody Japanese folk tales and parables in delightful caricatures, now on display and interpreted for the first time ever in the museum.
Also newly-displayed is a replica terra cotta Qin Shi Warrior. Thousands of remarkable figures were discovered in China during the 1970s and the site has been undergoing excavation for decades. Further study found that, like ancient Greek statuary, the ceramic warriors had been polychromed. The replica within the gallery has been painted based upon a traditional color scheme that other warriors could have featured.
A man in a blue robe sits in the background. Two women sit in the foreground on either side of him. They wear red robes.
Aquamedia, 19th century
Gift of Emily Noyes Vanderpoel
This traditional portrait depicts members of the Chinese scholar‐official class. The Rank Badge appears to be a wild Goose indicating fourth rank (among nine). The sitters appear to be siblings of the same generation; three sisters and two brothers. They wear semi‐formal robes and the artist carefully employs a pointillist method of applying color. Much like classic western depictions of wealthy individuals and families painted by notable artists such as Sargent, Copley, Crocker, and Emmons, this group portrait reflects one of many generations of Chinese families that played an important role in the inner-workings of China's bureaucracy during the Qing Dynasty.
The Qing Dynasty (_PHONE_) was the final era of Chinese imperial rule, before succumbing to political instability and collapse, leading up to the invasion of China by Japan in 1931. Founded by Manchu clans, the dynasty chose the name "Qing" meaning either "pure" or "clear." The ruling classes of the Qing Dynasty took on cultural roles as active patrons of Chinese arts and heritage that served in important government capacities. Many of these individuals were skilled in the arts and were known as "literati" or "scholar-officials." Over the course of a century after the founding of the Qing Dynasty, China's political and economic influence expanded greatly. Chinese material goods were imported throughout Western Europe and America leading to the art movement known as "Chinoiserie" in which western artists imitated the Chinese aesthetic in decorative arts, furniture, architecture, and more throughout the eighteenth century. This influence began to change into the nineteenth century when Western Europe and the United States began to rapidly industrialize their economies. Life-changing innovations and cultural shifts caused western nations to view countries such as China as being virtual relics of a bygone era, in need of assistance from more powerful and 'civilized' societies.
Octagonal dish with concave surface. Blue and white design depicts water, a bridge, willow tree, and two birds.
Porcelain, 19th century
Gift of Aileen Dodge
This salt cellar, dating from the 19th century, illustrates an interesting cyclical aspect to international porcelain production. The pattern that appears on the top of the item is informed by the Willow Pattern. The Willow Pattern was developed by English ceramic manufacturers around 1780 in imitation of Chinese shan shui (hills and streams) designs. The pattern was so popular it became generic in English manufacturing by 1814 and out-sold Chinese porcelain. In response, Chinese artists hand-painted an imitation of this faux-Chinese design onto their export goods to better compete for buyers.
Blue and white porcelain bowl with scalloped edges. Scenes of houses and landscape elements are on the body of bowl.
Porcelain, 19th century
Gift of Aileen Dodge
This bowl is a fine example of 19th-century Canton ware. After the U.S. formally became a trading partner with China in 1784, this type of porcelain was exported in great numbers by the 19th century. The lattice border and scallop shell identify this bowl's border as a Canton border. By this time period, the hand-painted landscape scenes that appeared on porcelain such as this were conventionalized to reduce production costs and better compete with English manufacturers. This helped to make Canton ware even more affordable to the American buyer.
celadon glaze with mishima decoration in white and black slip - tree and floral design
Ceramic, _PHONE_
Gift of Emily Noyes Vanderpoel
While Korean potters first obtained the knowledge of celadon ceramics from China's Song Dynasty, they perfected the type by the 12th century. Korean celadons are widely admired by scholars and collectors alike. The soft gray-green color of this glaze known as "celadon" derives from a European term to describe the unique range of colors that are created through the use of an iron-rich slip, a glaze with a low percentage of iron oxide, and fired in an oxygen-reducing kiln. A character in the French pastoral novel L'Astre by Honore d'Urfe, was named Celadon. Published in the early 17th century, the work became popular and was rendered theatrically. The green-gray color of the character's costume became highly fashionable and instantly recognizable. During the 19th century, the characters' name - Celadon - began to be used by Europeans to describe this specific category of ceramic wares.
Porcelain bowl - famille rose glaze with white interior
Porcelain, c. _PHONE_
Gift of Emily Noyes Vanderpoel
The reign mark of Emperor Yongzheng, the fourth Emperor of the Qing Dynasty (_PHONE_), appears on the foot of this vessel helping us to date it to the Qing Dynasty – the last Imperial Dynasty of China. It was during the Qing Dynasty that colored glaze palettes were developed, including the rose color observed on this monochrome bowl.
Men and women build a giant snow frog in a winter scene.
From the Series Genji in the Twelve Months
Utagawa Kunisada I (Toyokuni III), Japanese
Ukiyo-e (Wood Block Print), 1858
Gift of Emily Noyes Vanderpoel
Written in the early 11th century, the Tale of Genji is considered one of the most critically acclaimed works in Japanese history. Considered by many as the first novel, it became immensely popular in Japan and influenced literature, theater and art. In the 1820s, a parody of the novel was written by Ryutai Tanchicko which further sparked the influence of Genji in the arts. Woodblock prints from the 19th century depict scenes from both the original Genji as well as the parody.
Prior to 1873, Japan used a lunar calendar, in which the twelve months, corresponding to phases of the moon, comprised each lunar year. Specific festivals and rituals were associated with each month and their depiction became popular in secular Japanese painting from the 10th century through the Edo period.
Here, in the eleventh month, the beloved character Genji watches ladies-in-waiting participate in a traditional winter activity - the building of snow sculpture. Participants placed bets on how long it would take for the snow sculpture to melt.
Kunisada began his career as a book illustrator and influenced younger printmakers, including Hiroshige and Hokusai. The later artists became so prolific and popular that critics asserted their works were inferior. More recently, the later artists of the ukiyo-e have been re-evaluated and their reputations rehabilitated.
Men gathered together outside of an inn
From the Fifty-Three Stations of the Tōkaidō
Andō Hiroshige, Japanese, (_PHONE_)
Ukiyo-e (Wood Block Print), 1833-34
Gift of Emily Noyes Vanderpoel
From the 12th – 19th centuries in Japan, daimyos, powerful lords, presided over large regions and frequently warred with each other for more territory and even greater power. To help curb the violence and inspire loyalty, the Tokugawa Shogun instituted an edict, the Sankin Kōtai, in 1635. This policy required that each daimyo spend a certain amount of time each year living in the capital, Edo. As a daimyo journeyed to Edo for his required residency in the city, he was escorted by an elaborate procession. In this print, Andō Hiroshige has depicted members of a daimyo's entourage as they prepare to leave an inn along the Tōkaidō at dawn.


text:
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Involving or representing two or more agencies, especially government agencies.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. The act or acts of one acting as an interagent; intermediate agency.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. Intermediate agency.
- From inter- + agency. (Wiktionary)
"(d) Developing a memorandum of understanding among the agencies to encourage long-term interagency coordination and cooperation to further the spirit and intent of the National Trails System Act and related programs."
""I would hardly call interagency cooperation a matter of playing nice.""
"So-called interagency agreements reduced the governor's office budget by more than $700,000 last year, about 19 percent."
"For a daily updated recording about the spring burning program, call the interagency prescribed fire information number at _PHONE_ or _PHONE_."
"This kind of interagency fighting seems to outsiders like me to be frustratingly parochial — a mere battle among agency players for power, turf, jurisdiction, etc."
"Africom's "interagency" makeup was trumpeted as a better way to meet the continent's development needs."
"This means a small military footprint and fewer bases and a fully coordinated "interagency" and international effort."
"Instead, it reorganized all federal government climate research efforts in 2002 into an "interagency" creature known as the "Climate Change Science Program CCSP."
"Gregory filled him in on what little was known, and explained that part of NASA's contingency plan, instituted after the Challenger disaster of 1986, was the activation of a standing "interagency" investigation board."
"Partnerships provide some of the most effective examples of public information, such as interagency programs, external advisory boards, public-private consortiums, and joint funding."
Looking for tweets for interagency.


Keep Your Car Clean L 2
Why is it Important to Keep Your Car Clean?
While some car owners treat a visit to the car wash as a luxury spurge or entertainment for their kids, there are certain meaningful reasons to make a trip to the local ceramic coating a regular part of the car's maintenance schedule. A good number of people take pride in keeping their vehicles clean and well-maintained inside and out. However, other than the aesthetic appeal, a clean car is better equipped to weather the years. Rust, dirt and other road grime can have a huge effect on your car's value, integrity and to your health too. The following are some of the reasons why you would consider keeping your car clean:
1. Minimizing Damage to the Car
While the wheels and engine receive a reasonable amount of the preventative maintenance, the coatings and paint on the vehicle are very important barriers meant to prevent oxygen and moisture from rusting its frame. Exposure to such corrosive compounds as dust, road tar, bird droppings, insect splatter and regular run-off-the-mill dust can break this barrier, thereby posing a threat to the overall outlook of the car. Regular washing allows you to keep the surface clear while limiting the damage that could be caused by dirt.
2. Removing Road Salt
As corrosive as bugs and dirt can be, salt is even worse. Therefore, if you reside in areas whose climate has extremely cold winters and where salt is poured to melt the roadways, chances are your car will be covered in salt frequently. Just a few winters' worth of salt is enough to cause and accelerate rust all through the frame. Even car owners who take time to rinse their vehicles with heated garages are not exactly safe because the elevated temperature within the garage is enough to speed up the corrosive process. Additionally, much of the salt is usually deposited at the bottom of the car where rinsing is pretty much impossible. The only way you can sufficiently get rid of the salt from all the vehicle's surfaces is by taking it to a car wash that provides an undercarriage or underbody flush service.
3. Maintaining the Appearance of the Car
Scrubbing the dirt away and adding some shine to the tires can go a long way in ensuring that your car looks as good as new. This does not only make the owner feel better, it also means that in the long run, both the drivers and passengers will start to treat it better. Ultimately, this creates a positive loop whereby a nice car will look nice for much longer all thanks to a couple of quick car washes.
Car Vacuum 1
4. For Car and Driving Safety
Just a slight layer of dust can have a huge impact on visibility especially during conditions of light change. Anything that could prevent you as a driver from seeing out clearly through any window or mirror can affect not just your safety but that of the vehicle as well. A car wash is one of the safest, easiest and quickest ways you can keep the surfaces squeaky clean. Handwashing may seem like a perfectly good alternative to washing your car but only if the washer is aware of exactly what to do. Using the wrong soap can strip the clear coat, ruining the finish. Similarly, if you use the wrong sponge or brush, there are high chances of carving many little scratches into the paint for good. However, even with the right soap and brush, there are high chances of grinding dirt against the coat. On the other hand, a well-maintained auto car wash that uses specialty chemicals and soft cloths manufactured specifically for the purpose can save you time in terms of risk mistakes, buying supplies and doing the actual washing.
5. Improving Fuel Efficiency
A light buildup of dirt is capable of creating a drag and wasting fuel over time. According to studies and tests done on fuel efficiency, cars with a cleaner exterior and interior can improve fuel efficiency by up to 10%. While this may not seem as much to go by, it's definitely worth a try.
Closing Remarks
It has been proven that a clean environment can improve an average person's mood significantly. This applies to the interior and exterior of your car as well. Keeping it clutter-free and clean can help reduce road rage, anxiety and stress. If you value your safety and the integrity of your car, a regular clean up can be just the recipe for preventing any adverse effects. Vacuuming the interior every few months and washing the exterior once every month can prove effective in keeping your car spotlessly clean and yourself healthy and happy while driving it.
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text:
There are really two decisions that must be made regarding the hidden layers: how many hidden layers to actually have in the neural network and how many neurons will be in each of these layers. We will first examine how to determine the number of hidden layers to use with the neural network.
Problems that require two hidden layers are rarely encountered. However, neural networks with two hidden layers can represent functions with any kind of shape. There is currently no theoretical reason to use neural networks with any more than two hidden layers. In fact, for many practical problems, there is no reason to use any more than one hidden layer. Table 5.1 summarizes the capabilities of neural network architectures with various hidden layers.
Table 5.1: Determining the Number of Hidden Layers
|Number of Hidden Layers||Result|
|none||Only capable of representing linear separable functions or decisions.|
|1||Can approximate any function that contains a continuous mapping from one finite space to another.|
|2||Can represent an arbitrary decision boundary to arbitrary accuracy with rational activation functions and can approximate any smooth mapping to any accuracy.|
Deciding the number of hidden neuron layers is only a small part of the problem. You must also determine how many neurons will be in each of these hidden layers. This process is covered in the next section.
Deciding the number of neurons in the hidden layers is a very important part of deciding your overall neural network architecture. Though these layers do not directly interact with the external environment, they have a tremendous influence on the final output. Both the number of hidden layers and the number of neurons in each of these hidden layers must be carefully considered.
Using too few neurons in the hidden layers will result in something called underfitting. Underfitting occurs when there are too few neurons in the hidden layers to adequately detect the signals in a complicated data set.
Using too many neurons in the hidden layers can result in several problems. First, too many neurons in the hidden layers may result in overfitting. Overfitting occurs when the neural network has so much information processing capacity that the limited amount of information contained in the training set is not enough to train all of the neurons in the hidden layers. A second problem can occur even when the training data is sufficient. An inordinately large number of neurons in the hidden layers can increase the time it takes to train the network. The amount of training time can increase to the point that it is impossible to adequately train the neural network. Obviously, some compromise must be reached between too many and too few neurons in the hidden layers.
There are many rule-of-thumb methods for determining the correct number of neurons to use in the hidden layers, such as the following:
These three rules provide a starting point for you to consider. Ultimately, the selection of an architecture for your neural network will come down to trial and error. But what exactly is meant by trial and error? You do not want to start throwing random numbers of layers and neurons at your network. To do so would be very time consuming. Chapter 8, "Pruning a Neural Network" will explore various ways to determine an optimal structure for a neural network.


text:
Fifteen balls that represent gas particles (atoms or molecules) move inside a box. All of the balls start out moving with the same speed in random directions. For example, the 700 m/s speed is appropriate for neon at 392 K = 119 °C. As the balls collide elastically with the walls and each other (so their total energy is conserved), the speeds of the balls change.
The color of each ball shows its speed, as shown on the bar graph on the right side of the screen. The bar graph shows the average percentage of balls in each speed range. This average is taken over the time since the balls started moving.
1. Use the drop-down menu to select the initial speed of the balls.
2. Press the Start button to start the animation.
3. Press the Pause button to stop the motion of the balls.
4. Press the Reset button to run the animation again. You may change the value of the initial speed after you press the Reset button.
Warning: Remember that for a head-on collision, the balls will trade speeds. In this case, the balls will trade colors, and it may appear that the balls pass through each other. This is just an illusion caused by trading colors.


text:
What you eat directly impacts your body and brain. So be very specific about the food you eat before or in the flight. Experts also say that what you eat before or during the flight impacts how you feel during and after the flight. So avoid these food disasters while boarding in a flight to India
Fried or Fast Food
Health experts always advise you to avoid fried fast food. Above 35000 feet above the ground, digestion is tough. And eating saturated fats can restrict blood flow inside your body that causes blood clotting. It leads to DVT (Deep Vein Thrombosis).
Alcohol! But it's not a food technically. Yes, you are right but it is something that will impact your body. This is the reason you are advised to avoid to drink in access, it can lead to dehydration. It is not that you are prohibited to have any alcoholic drink on the airplane but you should take care of your body yourself in the flight.
Stay away from cauliflower, broccoli and cruciferous vegetables when you are travelling in the air. You might know that the airplane cabin is pressurized but it is not same on the ground. When you take off the air pressure decreases and air expands by 30 per cent in the cabin. This causes swelling in the stomach. This leads to an expansion in the small intestine and produces a blot feeling within your body.
Carbonated beverages are also a contributor in blotting. So avoid beverages like soda, coke and beer. Just imagine that air bubbles in your stomach! They will expand in your stomach with pressure changes. This is surely not a comfortable feeling. Keep this thing in your mind and rather than buying a carbonated beverage go for simple water.
Sugar-Free Gum and Candy
Sugar-free gum and candies are like a boon for diabetes patients. But eating them before you fly is a bad idea. Because it contains artificial sweetener and our body is not designed to digest these kinds of things. It can cause blotting, gas and other laxative effects on your body.
The food contains garlic is delicious but you should avoid it. It will linger on your breath. The reason is that it includes a sulfuric component and whenever you inhale oxygen it will be there even after brushing your teeth. Besides that, you will not smell good and it may also bother your seatmates. So avoid everything which contains garlic inside it.
Airplane provided water
It is advised to carry your water bottle along with you rather than using airplane provided water. It is the report of a test done by EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) one out of every 7 airplanes one does not meet federal standards. And there are chances that the bottle you will get from an airplane is refilled by that tank water. So keep your bottle, keep yourself hydrated and make your journey easy and healthy. Furthermore, it is only not the water but coffee and tea also that could be made of that water. So pass them also.
Avoid having beans and Legumes before you fly or in your journey. These are not easy to digest and are considered as major gas culprits. Many other types of legumes and beans contain indigestible complex sugar. So eating legumes can cause on-board blotting.
These are some food items that you should avoid to have before flying. Otherwise, you will have problems with your digestion and your long journey can be quite uncomfortable.


[SI-LIST] Re: One decoupling cap per BGA power pin?
 - From: Larry Smith
 - To: Anand.Kuriakose@xxxxxxxxxx
 - Date: Tue, 13 Aug 2002 10:20:21 -0700 (PDT)
Anand - You had a couple of good questions the other day. I was tied
up with some other work and did not respond..
There has been a lot discussion on si-list about having one decoupling
capacitor per power pin of active devices. The problem is that micro
processors and some ASICs have 10's or 100's of power pins and there is
no way to place a decoupling capacitor at each pin location.
Actually, the "one cap per pin" rule should have been thrown out the
window when we advanced from double sided printed circuit boards and
"power trees" to using layers in the PCB dedicated to solid (or mostly
solid) power planes. This happened many years ago, but the old rule of
thumb (which served us nicely for a long time) has outlived it's
A good analogy can be made with water towers and pipes. Back when we
had a rural economy, every farmer had his own water tower to supply the
needs of his house and farm. This is like having one decoupling
capacitor per power pin.
But soon everybody moved to the city. The cities placed 10 or more
water tanks up on the surrounding hills and hooked all the houses and
businesses up to the water tanks with a network of pipes. This is like
power planes supplying power to one or more chips from 10's or 100's of
decoupling capacitors. Once you connect the chips up to the caps with
power planes, it is impossible to determine which capacitor is
supplying current to each chip. This would be like trying to determine
which water tank is supplying water to an individual house through a
well interconnected system of pipes. A similar analogy can be made
with electrical power generation from public service companies and the
power grid. From the power meter in your house, it is impossible to
determine the generation station your electricity came from, or
even which state. In California, we understand this.
The water (or power) system may be limited by the capacity of the tanks
or the capacity of the pipes. Imagine having a dozen huge water tanks
hooked up to the city through a garden hose. This is what you have on
a PCB if your power planes are undersized (too high of impedance, too
high of spreading inductance, thick dielectric between power planes).
You have plenty of energy stored in the decoupling capacitors but the
channel for the energy to limits the amount of power that can be
consumed by the chips.
The other extreme is to have a dozen milk cans on top of the hill
hooked up to the city through 12 inch pipes. This would be like having
very good thin dielectric power planes (with a fair amount of embedded
capacitance) but very little stored charge to bring to the power
consumers. The distribution system is capable of carrying an enormous
amount of water but will very quickly exhaust the supply in the small
water tanks.
The trick to power distribution design is having enough energy storage
on the PCB (in the form of capacitors with several time constants) and
having big enough transport system (the impedance and inductance of the
power planes) in order to channel the energy from where it is stored to
where it is consumed. All of the valves (capacitor ESR and mounting
inductance, BGA pin pattern, electronic package, etc) have to be sized
in order to not severely limit the flow of power from the capacitors to
the chips.
The concept of one cap per power pin has long outlived it's
usefulness. Come to think of it, the phrase "decoupling capacitor" has
outlived it's usefulness. A much better phrase would be "power
distribution capacitor."
We now have to think in terms of having enough stored charge on our PCB
in order to support the power needs of the chips until a DC to DC
converter can respond to power transients. We have to think in terms
of having sufficiently low impedance power planes to bus the power from
the cap locations (maybe 100's of them) to the power pins of our
BGA's. There is no way we will fit enough storage capacity for our
chips on the PCB within the BGA pattern. There no way to identify
which capacitor is decoupling which pin. The capacitors establish low
impedance power distribution system across a broad frequency range and
the power planes are the conduit to bring the power to the chips. The
whole system should be sized consistently or you might end up with a
weak link in your chain.
Larry Smith
Sun Microsystems
> From: ANAND KURIAKOSE
> To: Larry Smith
> Cc: si-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: Re: [SI-LIST] Noise on BGA core voltage rail
> Date: Fri, 9 Aug 2002 10:43:57 -0700
> MIME-Version: 1.0
> Hi Larry,
> When decoupling huge BGAs, only few of the high frequency caps can
> be placed directly under the BGA yielding very low inductance b/n the BGA
> power/GND pin and the caps. This is done by placing vias facing out into
> the quadrants (i guess we call it offset via placement). But the remaining
> caps have to be and are placed around the periphery of the BGA. I do not
> know what better can be done in order to reduce the trace inductance b/n cap
> to BGA pin. Are there any other methods to reduce the inductance in the
> decoupling paths?
> I have one more question. Since there will be a huge number of
> power/gnd pins in BGA (assume 729-pin BGA) we cannot afford to place one
> high frequency decap per power pin. If the power pins in the 4 different
> quadrants of the BGA are decoupled unequally, will there be different levels
> of noise seen at power pins in the different quadrants?
> Anand.
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