How Much Does Air Freight Cost?| The Ultimate Guide
Air Freight Cost
You don't need to be a pro to calculate the air shipment cost.
But taking a few suggestions and facts into consideration can assist you better.
Another term of air cargo is airfreight. This service is fast, reliable, and flexible. So, it can be used for urgent deliveries or items which have quick shelf lives.
In this article, we dive deep and help you understand how to calculate air freight rates, review types of air freight rates, what factors are included, discuss DIM, CBM, chargeable weight in detail, and tips for saving cost in airfreight.
Airfreight refers back to the procedure of moving or transporting items in a bulk amount via air. It's constantly been an excessive value-to-weight type of cargo and it's the quickest way to move items globally.
The advantages of air freight are:
 - Much shorter time of shipping than every other freight
 - Reliability
 - Speed of shipping
What are the Types of Goods Transported by Air?
When you decide to deliver your goods by air, you should know that there are two main types of air shipments:
 1. Special shipment
 2. General shipment
Special Cargo permits heavy articles, hazardous substances, and temperature-managed goods. It additionally permits human tissue samples, organs, fragile, excessive-value articles, and animals.
General Crago allows digital machinery, hardware, consumer items, retail goods, toys, clothing, and textile, etc.
Air cargo is transported on distinct types of planes, including passenger planes, cargo planes, charter planes, or helicopters.
Prohibited Articles/load For Air Cargo:
A few confined objects are endangered for the aircraft or passengers' protection and health with extra restrictions.
 - Explosives and fireworks
 - Gases and hearthplace extinguisher
 - Flammable liquid or solid
 - Pesticides and Lithium batteries
 - Strong magnetic products
 - Radioactive substance
 - Lab chemical
What factors include air freight rates?
Air Freight cost relies upon three things:
 - Type of cargo (size, weight, special cargo)
 - Destination ( domestic/ International)
 - Speed
What are those factors which affect air freight cost structure?
Many factors cause air freight cost like:
 - Special events or holidays season
 - Traditional /New regulations
 - Economic situation
 - Technology (robotic, augmented reality, drones, AI, and big data)
Other additional costs like cargo insurance, airline terminal handling fees, customs clearance, and security surcharges are also included in the cost.
Read More About Fuel Surcharge: What Is Fuel Surcharge?
When we talk about airfreight cost we need to know about a few things regarding rates like Cubic Meter (CBM), Dimensional Weight (DIM), and Chargeable weight.
What is CBM?
To find the freight volume of the cargo in domestic and international shipments, we use CBM measurement.
Where, we multiply by Width(W), height(H), and length(L) together of the cargo to get CBM.
How to Calculate CBM in Airfreight?
The standard formula for this:
(Length * Height * Width) / 6000 = volumetric weight(kg/CBM) ≃ 166.66 kg
 So, 1 CBM = 167 Kg
For more in depth detail you can read this guide : Easy Way To Calculate CBM And Freight Ton
What is Chargeable Weight?
The Chargeable weight is the heavier weight between the actual cargo weight and Dimensional weight(DIM).
How is Chargeable weight calculated in airfreight?
It is defined as follow:
 - 166 cubic inches (in3)/lb (pound)
 - 366 cubic inches (in3)/kg
 - 6000 Cubic centimeter (cm3)/kg
What is DIM?
It is also called the Volumetric weight that use to calculate from Width, Height, and Length of the package.
How to calculate a dimensional weight(DIM) in airfreight?
The formula for calculating DIM is :
(Length * Width * Height) / Dimensional Divisor
Here, the Dimensional divisor or factor is a number set by the major freight carriers like UPS, FedEx, DHL, and USPS.
Plus, the divisor weight won't be in centimeters(cm) it should be in Kilogram(Kg).
The DIM factor could be 5000, 6000, and 7000 cm3/kg for Express/ couriers.
The fact is, the larger the DIM divisor, the lesser the volumetric rate. That's why 6000cm3/kg is better than 5000 cm3/kg.
How many types of units of measurement are used in airfreight?
Two types of Units we use for measurement in airfreight:
 - Metric System (Kg, cm)
 - Imperial System (lb, inch)
What are IATA DIM factors in airfreight?
In IATA, different DIM divisors are used for domestic and international.
For Domestic:
 - Cubic Inch/Pound
 in3/lb = 166
 - Cubic meter/Kilogram
 cm3/kg = 6000
For International:
 - Cubic Inch/Pound
 in3/lb = 139
 - Cubic Meter/Kilogram
 cm3/kg = 5000
For dimension and weight, units of measurements in airfreight are:
1- For Dimension
 - Centimeter (cm)
 - Meter(m)
 - Millimeter(mm)
 - Feet (ft)
 - Inch (in)
 - Yard (yd)
2- For weight
 - Kilogram(Kg)
 - Pound(lb)
 - To acquire the DIM weight in Kilogram(kg), divide the cubic inch(in3) by 366
 - And For Pound(lb), divide the cubic inch(in3) by 166
 - And in Kilogram(kg), divide the cubic centimeter(cm3) by 6000
How to Calculate DIM for Express/Courier (FedEx/DHL/UPS/USPS)?
FedEx use to calculate DIM weight with this formula:
(Length * Width * Height) cm / 5000
Same calculation is used in DHL, UPS, and USPS as well.
How to calculate the air freight cost in general with examples?
Like we said before, air cargo depends on weight and volume.
The formula is used by the airline:
(Length * Width * Height) * 366
So, the result will be in KG.
We can understand this by these examples:
If we have one pallet with the following dimension:
Weight = 48
Length = 40
Height = 50
But, the actual weight of the cargo is 200kg.
Now, we have to find the volumetric weight. So, what we will do
 ( Weight* Length * Height) = (48 * 40 * 50) = 96,000
Chargeable weight = 96,000/366 = 262.3 kg
Physical weight = 200kg
Volume weight = 262.3 kg
In short, airlines will always consider volume weight 262.3 kg as the chargeable weight.
The cargo consists of 4 cartons each weighing 50 kgs and measuring (60 * 30 * 45 cms) / (23.62 * 11.81 * 17.71 inches)
Actual gross weight = 4 cartons * 50 kgs = 200kg
Volumetric weight in kg using centimeters = (60 * 30 * 45) * 4 cartons / 6000
Volumetric weight in kg using inches = (24 * 12 * 18) * 4 cartons / 366
= 20,735/366
Total volumetric weight = 54 kg
Output: 200kg is greater than 54kg
Therefore, the chargeable weight will be the actual weight which is 200kg
Types of Air Freight Cost
It's important to grasp that fuel consumption is roughly proportional to the cargo weight and therefore, the destination has flown. There are different rates for various forms of aircraft:
Belly Cargo: During this case of shipping, rates are usually set based on marginal cost.
Charter Cargo: Here, the rates are usually higher, reflecting the incremental distance flown, and available capacity.
Feeder Cargo: Companies like DHL and FedEx rely on feeder airlines that operate small aircraft.
How to Save Cost in Airfreight?
There are many ways to lessen your shipment's cost in airfreight. Some tips are mentioned below:
 - Don't over-bundled your cargo
 - Use lightweight packaging
 - Avoid heavy or big carton in a size
 - Reduce spare space by squeezing the products that can be squeezed.
 - Reduce carate size
 - Don't put all items together especially on a small shipment
 - Bargaining on your DIM factor
 - Use courier services that don't charge volumetric weight.
qafila container shipping service
Final Thought
Things happen when shipping your cargo by sea, especially damage risk is much higher. So


text:
or nervousness may be directly related to variation in forms of early experience including the social environment and exposure to handling by humans, These aspects of early experience also have effects on other types of behavior. Human handling (socialization) timing, amount of early handling of a kitten and the number of handlers influence its later friendliness to humans.
It may affect how kittens adapt to housing in animal shelters, cats who are not socialized with other cats show more signs of distress when group housed in a shelter than socialised cats, cats not socialised to people are more stressed in single and group housing than socialised cats. Cats can be described as tense, high strung, calm or anything else. There is a huge variation. Many different types of early experience can exert some influence on the expression of a specific behavior pattern at a later date; one aspect of early experience can influence a number of different types of behavioral characteristics.
Paternity and Friendliness
Genetic and environmental factors interact to influence the development of numerous behaviors in the cat. One factor which causes variation in kitten friendliness is paternity. Kittens of different fathers show varied friendliness, though they never see the father. Genetic factors caused this. A friendly father produces kittens who are more friendly, than does the less friendly father. The father's friendliness when young and not when an adult can more accurately predict the friendliness of his kittens. Genes do not code for behavior patterns. Genes from the father generate a difference in behavioral characteristics by indirect routes, i.e. by affecting growth rate, which may in turn affect socialisation to humans in a colony situation and affect subsequent friendliness.
Variation in kitten friendliness is partly explained by kitten paternity. Paternal effects on kitten behavior may be attributed to breed differences between fathers, also, variation in early handling affects subsequent behaviors. Friendly father's offspring who are handled during early life can be quicker to approach a person and spend more time with them than non handled kittens and the offspring of an unfriendly father. A friendly father's offspring are quicker to approach and explore new objects. The effect on friendliness may be a more general effect on boldness, due to paternity, influencing a general response to unfamiliar or novel stimuli, regardless of whether it is a person or inanimate object. Early handling has a specific effect on the cat's behavior towards humans-its friendliness. There is a degree of additive effects in the genetic and environmental effects on some of the cat's responses to humans. Friendly-fathered, handled cats behave in the most positive way to people, from the interactive effects of genetic and environmental factors on individual behavioral characteristics. The paternal effect on friendliness or boldness may only become expressed at a certain point of development and maturity.
Differences Along the Timeline
Early individual differences in predatoriness do not necessarily predict subsequent variation in the predatory abilities of older cats. Variability of individual characteristics early in life, around 3 months, may not always predict subsequent individuality in the cat.
There are a number of other reasons why individual behavioral characteristics at one time may not relate to those at another, i.e. cats may develop at different rates and these differences may be clear at one age but not at another. The behavioral expression of particular characteristics may change with age, as may the factors controlling and functions of particular behaviors. In contrast, some studies have shown cross-time consistency in cat individual characteristics. Boldness and curiosity remain reasonably stable despite changing social environments. When cats are tested in groups rather than singly, they behave differently, showing that individual differences in behavior in a non-social context may become amplified when individuals are allowed to interact with each other. There develops a clear social ranking, which may influence individual behavior and cause the consistency of the patterns within a group. Friendliness is attributed to quick/noisy kittens who are more exploratory and quickest to investigate unfamiliar stimuli. These differences can be present from birth and persist into adulthood. Characteristics are also open to environmental influences.
Individual variation in characteristics, such as timidity and boldness, are present at birth or appear shortly after birth. It has been shown in different species that they are related to constitutional differences in the physiological characteristics of the individuals. In wolves, the dominant cub in a litter differs in heart rate and other autonomic process in some test situations. Physiological systems change with time and situation as do behavioral ones. Physiological differences are related to individual differences in behavior. There may be a physiological basis for certain personality traits, especially those present at birth and behavioral stability across time could be attributed to stability of physiological systems. Certain measures of behavior change dramatically according to the contexts in which they are observed, while others are less variable.
When midway through a quarantine, cats are less relaxed, playful and more aggressive and nervous than prior. At release, they are more friendly, affectionate and timid. Three months later, they are more affectionate, nervous and vocal than before quarantine. The interactions that their people could have with their cats were much more restricted in the small quarantine cages than at home. The experiences changed their relationship with their cat; they may have had expectations of how quarantine would affect the cats, and may have changed their behavior and perceptions accordingly. Time and context changes during the quarantine. Some of the changes may reflect true changes in cat individuality. Important real life contextual changes, such as moving and being quarantined or housed in a cattery may result in change in a cat's behavioral style. The context can dramatically affect a cat's individual character. An aloof, placid and low-ranking cat can become aggressive, energetic and dominant if two cats must compete for one food reward. This has a marked effect on behavior, seen in social competition, even in the same individuals.
Relationship Between Cats and People
Relationships between cats and people may be especially open to contextual influence because in a social situation, the behavior of others has a strong effect on an individual's own behavior. Individuals may also develop complicated context-specific ways of behaving according to past experience with other individuals which act to conceal or constrain the expression of any underlying stable behavioral characteristics. Contextual effects on individuality can be external contact or internal (e.g. hormonal) state of the animal.
These terms are used to describe the behavior in a number of species, to describe individual differences: active/reactive, social and calm, which may underlie many of the behavioral differences in between individuals. Others are active/aggressive, timid/nervous and confident/easy going, though some individuals do not fit into these groupings, showing that there is unlikely to be a limited number of easily definable cat personality types. An expression of friendliness could be the result of an interaction between an individual's general boldness in novel or challenging situations, its specific attraction to humans, both of which are affected by a variety of factors, and influenced by the current situation. There is a complex origin and development of individuality. Situational stability and different behavioral styles help cats to cope with caging or quarantine. This shows a new approach to understanding the consequences of these situations, which has important implications for animal welfare.
Singing Nettles Herbal Clinic by Amanda Dainow is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at singingnettles.blogspot.com.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at _URL_
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source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


Take the 2-minute tour ×
A brief background: I'm working on a web-based drawing application and one of the tools I'm implementing is a 1-pixel thick pencil. The tool allows the user to draw 1px aliased lines on the canvas.
In order to determine where the user is drawing on the canvas, mouse coordinates are monitored. If mouse1 is held down, the pixel the cursor is over will change. Essentially it works just like the pencil tool in Photoshop.
NOTE: Bresenham's algorithm will not work for this situation. My input is submitted in real-time, so I'm not drawing a line from P0 to P1 where the distance between P0 and P1 is many pixels. In general, P1 is a neighbor of P0.
The issue I'm having is that my resulting lines do not have a perfectly clean 1px weight. Here's an example:
Line comparison
Note that both of the lines are hand drawn, so there is some variance. What's interesting is that Photoshop is able to make a much cleaner 1px representation of the line that I draw. The reason why my line looks dirtier is because of this:
Photoshop's line
My line
When drawing with the tool in my application, the red pixels are filled in. In Photoshop, the red pixels are not filled in. This makes sense because in order to move from a given pixel to, say, its south-east neighbor, either the east or south neighbor will likely be passed over. There is an extremely slim chance that the cursor will pass exactly over the corner into the south-east neighbor, avoiding the drawing of the red pixel, but this usually doesn't happen.
So, the question I'm left with is how Photoshop is able to skip the red pixels that are showing up in my lines. The only thing I could think of was waiting until two pixels are queued up before drawing either of them so I would know if a "corner-neighbor" was passed over. In that case I would just not draw the first of the two pixels because it would be equivalent to a red pixel in my diagram. This runs the risk of not drawing an intended pixel if the user draws a pixel, moves the cursor one pixel south, and then one pixel east. Both of the pixels should be drawn, but the algorithm would say otherwise.
Any ideas? How might Photoshop be handling this issue?
share|improve this question
What happens when you move the mouse fast? Does it skip pixels? – Hans Passant Dec 28 '10 at 22:07
_USER_ Passant Yes, when drawing quickly I get lines similar to what Photoshop produces. What's odd is that you don't have to draw quickly in Photoshop to skip those unwanted pixels. – Xenethyl Dec 28 '10 at 22:10
It stores the mouse points in a polyline. It doesn't add a new segment to it when it can simply extend the previous one. – Hans Passant Dec 28 '10 at 22:16
_USER_ Passant I'm not sure I follow completely. If I draw a line that passes though (50,50), (50,51), and (51,51), the ideal result would be skipping (50,51) because I was moving down to (51,51). But the points in the polyline would say that the line should move through (50,51)...? – Xenethyl Dec 28 '10 at 22:20
add comment
2 Answers
up vote 3 down vote accepted
Original: Have a look at Bresenham's line algorithm. It can easily extended concerning smoothing etc.
Edit: Regarding the development of the question and the discussions (especially the comments below), I'd like to extract some interesting points: Photoshop's pencil tool does also draw very similar lines with "east" and "south-east" pixels as well, if the mouse is moved relatively slowly thus providing many samples for all those pixels. As soon as the mouse is moved faster, the trajectory does not provide samples for all directly neighbored pixels. The result would then be the desired 1-pixel thick line. In conclusion, we note: There is no "magic" behind Photoshop's pencil tool; it just seems to scan fewer samples. For details see discussions/comments below.
share|improve this answer
I agree; look up Xiaolin Wu's line algorithm in wikipedia for example. – WebMonster Dec 28 '10 at 21:30
_USER_ Xiaolin Wu's line algorithm is for drawing anti-aliased lines. – Xenethyl Dec 28 '10 at 21:32
_USER_ I just had a look at Photoshop's pencil tool we are talking about. It draws lines with "east" and "south-east" pixels as well that are identical looking compared to your own solution, if I move the mouse relatively slow and thus provide samples for all those pixels. As soon as I move the mouse faster and thus do not provide samples for all directly neighbored pixels, the result is indeed similar to your desired Photoshop line. Did you observe this, too? Maybe your progam is too fast and scans for too many samples... ^^ – Flinsch Dec 30 '10 at 8:12
_USER_ I think you may have just helped me realize an issue with my current implementation. Right now I'm firing my draw event whenever the cursor moves to a new pixel. I didn't really give this much thought, as I figured it would be more efficient (if the user doesn't move their mouse, there's nothing new to draw). If I switch to polling instead of event handling, I then have the ability to offer brushes that build up paint over time (ex. an airbrush). I'll experiment with this tomorrow, but I think polling will work nicely. I'll just have to figure out the right interval. – Xenethyl Dec 30 '10 at 9:58
_USER_ I just finished moving my code over to 10ms polling instead of mouse move event handling. Not only is performance better (the browser isn't dropping any mouse move events), but my lines are of much higher quality (rivaling Photoshop). I never would have thought that my original approach was accurate to the point where the quality of my lines degraded. Paint build-up was a freebie with this change too, which I'm quite happy about. If you could edit your answer to note the discussion below and/or polling I'll mark this as accepted. Thanks so much! – Xenethyl Dec 30 '10 at 21:04
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The difference between both lines is basically that Photoshop is re-considering the n-1 pixel drawn AFTER drawing the pixel n, and erasing it if it gives positive with one of the following masks:
 x 1 x x 1 x
 1 o x or x o 1
 x x x x x x
 x x x x x x
 1 o x or x o 1
 x 1 x x 1 x
x= Don't mind
o= The n-1 pixel
1= Marked pixel after drawing pixel n
Or written as logic:
Suppose pixel n-1 is at a[i,j], so, after marking the pixel n, check:
If ( (a[i-1,j ]==1 && a[i ,j-1]==1) ||
 (a[i-1,j ]==1 && a[i ,j+1]==1) ||
 (a[i ,j-1]==1 && a[i+1,j ]==1) ||
 (a[i ,j+1]==1 && a[i+1,j ]==1))
 Unmark a[i,j];
You may want your to draw your line delayed one pixel just for not showing your "disappearing" pixels (although I doubt it'll be noticeable at that scale).
alt text
share|improve this answer
Thanks for helping out with one of my questions again. The environment that I'm running this in very much favors a preemptive solution over a reactive one ("deleting" a pixel is an involved process, especially when you consider drawing over something that already exists). The issue here is deciding whether or not that one pixel should really be deleted. What if the user intended to draw the "L" shape in your diagram? The algorithm would blindly delete it. I'd find it hard to believe Adobe's implementation is insanely complicated with prediction and trajectory tracking... – Xenethyl Dec 28 '10 at 23:34
_USER_ If the user is picky about the corners in Photoshop, he will probably use another tool, and not a freehand pencil. But I agree in that PShop may have better algorithms in there. As for drawing over something pre-existent, I thought you have an "undo" command, so Unmarking!= Deleting. – belisarius Dec 28 '10 at 23:41
Agreed that user preference comes into this a little bit. Unfortunately, this issue is at the core of my drawing algorithm for any other drawing/painting tools (ie. pencil with different tips, paintbrush, etc). Every line that the user draws is treated as a 1px line, and if a tip (ex. a star) is being used it's just stamped at each pixel coordinate. Undo is not implemented yet, but the process would be similarly involved. Changing pixel data requires a copy, read, change, and write in this environment, unfortunately. – Xenethyl Dec 28 '10


text:
- Paper plate, thin cardboard, brad, scissors, markers
Some things are best left to fate… and other things are best left to fortune-tellers. Here's an easy way for your child to make a fortune-telling device that's guaranteed to be somewhat accurate, some of the time.
Attach a spinner to the center of a paper plate using a brad, making sure that the spinner can spin freely. (The spinner, which you can cut out of thin cardboard, should measure about 4 inches by ½ an inch and end in a point.)
Divide the plate into various answer zones. Each zone should have a label (Never, Sometimes, Tomorrow, In 5 minutes, Twenty years from now, and so on). Then ask a time-related question. Your child can close his or her eyes, spin the spinner, and read the future. Now let your child ask a question and you can take on the fortune-telling role.
So when will you get a pet dinosaur? Twenty years from now? We'll have to see a picture of that!
From 365 TV-Free Activities You Can Do With Your Child Copyright © 2007, F+W Publications, Inc. Used by permission of Adams Media, and F+W Publications Company. All rights reserved.
To order this book go to amazon.

source: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb-edu


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Estimating confidence intervals in predicted responses for oscillatory biological models
The dynamics of gene regulation play a crucial role in a cellular control: allowing the cell to express the right proteins to meet changing needs. Some needs, such as correctly anticipating the day-night cycle, require complicated oscillatory features. In the analysis of gene regulatory networks, mathematical models are frequently used to understand how a network's structure enables it to respond appropriately to external inputs. These models typically consist of a set of ordinary differential equations, describing a network of biochemical reactions, and unknown kinetic parameters, chosen such that the model best captures experimental data. However, since a model's parameter values are uncertain, and since dynamic responses to inputs are highly parameter-dependent, it is difficult to assess the confidence associated with these in silico predictions. In particular, models with complex dynamics - such as oscillations - must be fit with computationally expensive global optimization routines, and cannot take advantage of existing measures of identifiability. Despite their difficulty to model mathematically, limit cycle oscillations play a key role in many biological processes, including cell cycling, metabolism, neuron firing, and circadian rhythms.
In this study, we employ an efficient parameter estimation technique to enable a bootstrap uncertainty analysis for limit cycle models. Since the primary role of systems biology models is the insight they provide on responses to rate perturbations, we extend our uncertainty analysis to include first order sensitivity coefficients. Using a literature model of circadian rhythms, we show how predictive precision is degraded with decreasing sample points and increasing relative error. Additionally, we show how this method can be used for model discrimination by comparing the output identifiability of two candidate model structures to published literature data.
Our method permits modellers of oscillatory systems to confidently show that a model's dynamic characteristics follow directly from experimental data and model structure, relaxing assumptions on the particular parameters chosen. Ultimately, this work highlights the importance of continued collection of high-resolution data on gene and protein activity levels, as they allow the development of predictive mathematical models.
A cell's behavior is governed by the dynamic and selective expression of its genes, in which each protein's activity depends on a careful balance between transcription, translation, transport, and degradation rates. These rates, which change with environmental conditions and are often impossible to measure accurately in vivo or in vitro, determine the function of a regulatory pathway. While studying the roles of individual proteins can often provide some insight on how a particular function is achieved, this approach is limited in explaining complicated cellular phenomena at the scale of dozens to hundreds of interacting genes. With the aid of mathematical models, it is increasingly possible to create in silico realizations of genetic regulatory networks to examine their dynamic properties.
Essential to understanding how genetic circuits operate is connecting how inputs (i.e., environmental changes, extracellular signals) are processed to give the appropriate outputs (protein expression, cellular response). In some cases these quantities may be changes to oscillatory profiles: for example, seasonal changes in day length leading to flowering or hibernation. Models of genetic regulatory networks, often sets of ordinary differential equations (ODEs), contain many unknown parameters that must be estimated from experimental data[1]. Derivatives of the model output with respect to changes in input, known as local sensitivities, are frequently validated experimentally or used to predict potential targets for pharmaceuticals[2]. Since sensitivities can change drastically with respect to the particular parameter values chosen, the confidence associated with parameter and sensitivity values is an important consideration in model analysis and design.
Practical identifiability analysis is concerned with calculating confidence intervals in parameter estimates resulting from uncertainty in experimental data[3]. Several techniques for such an analysis currently exist, and are commonly used in analyzing biological models[46]. In one method, the inverse of the Fisher information matrix is used to provide estimates of the variance in each parameter. However, since this method assumes a linearized model, the resulting symmetric normal distributions for each parameter do not accurately reflect the mapping of nonlinear models[7]. In the bootstrap method, distributions in parameter estimates are found through optimum fits to repeated physical or in silico measurements. While accurate in finding the true nonlinear confidence intervals, this approach requires efficient and robust parameter estimation convergence.
Many systems biology models focus on describing interesting dynamic features from interlocked regulatory mechanisms. Limit cycle oscillations are common features in many biological networks, ranging from cell cycle control to cyclic firing of cardiac cells and circadian rhythms[8]. In periodic systems, the behavior (and existence) of limit cycle oscillations is a discontinuous function of the parameters, complicating parameter estimation. Optimal values are traditionally found through trial-and-error type approaches[9, 10] or genetic algorithm search strategies[11], both of which are not amenable to bootstrap methods. Additionally, since the solutions are oscillatory, additional care must be taken in the calculation of the first-order sensitivity values. Here we calculate the sensitivity of the oscillatory period to parameter perturbation, a biologically relevant quantity that is often measured experimentally[12]. Due to these complications, rigorous identifiability analyses of these models are typically not performed.
In this study, a bootstrap uncertainty analysis appropriate for oscillatory biological models is developed and applied to a previously published model of circadian rhythms[13]. Circadian rhythms are near 24-hour endogenous oscillations in physiological processes found in many organisms, coordinated through transcription-translation networks with inherent time-delayed negative feedback[1416]. In mammals, expression of circadian E box genes Period (Per) and Cryptochrome (Cry1 and Cry2) leads to elevated levels of their protein products, PER and CRY. The formation of a heterodimeric complex allows PER and CRY proteins enter the nucleus and subsequently suppress E-box mediated transcription, resulting in rhythmic gene expression. These networks serve as an excellent example of a functional genetic circuit, able to process subtle environmental cues while remaining robust to temperature variations and evolutionary disturbances. Accurate limit cycle models must capture not only the correct time-dependent dynamics, but also the correct input-output response. For circadian rhythms, high-throughput microarrays have provided high-resolution time-series data of gene expression levels[17]. Additionally, knockdown experiments using RNA interference technology (siRNA) and small molecule modulators have resulted in a wealth of data on the dynamic responses to changes in key rates[13, 1820]. This data, together with qualitative knowledge of the underlying network structure, permits the use and verification of a suitable uncertainty analysis.
To enable a bootstrap approach, we employ an efficient parameter estimation routine optimized for limit cycle models. Motivated by the increasing availability of high-resolution time-series measurements, we use an approach similar to multiple shooting, in which a nonlinear and discontinuous parameter estimation problem is transformed into a high-dimensional yet local optimization and solved via nonlinear programming[21]. Since the desired shape of the limit cycle solution is known a priori, a relatively accurate initial guess for the parameters and trajectories can be found. By using multiple sets of in silico data of varying quality, we illustrate how error in experimental results is propagated to uncertainty in parameter sensitivity. Lower quality data - with either higher error or fewer sampling points - result in wider distributions of limit cycles and less identifiable responses. These results can be used in a priori experimental design, finding the minimum sampling points needed for an estimated experimental error to enable accurate modeling. Additionally, we show using literature data how this method can be used to discriminate between candidate model structures, revealing which one yields the highest predictive confidence.
Results and discussion
Mechanistic models of biological processes are often posed as nonlinear, time-invariant systems of ordinary differential equations (ODEs)[911], of the form:
d x dt =f(x(t),p)
in which the vector of state variables x(t) describe the time-dependent activity of important species (i.e., mRNA, proteins, or metabolites), the parameters p are the kinetic rate constants, and the vector function f(x(t),p) contains the transcription, translation, transport, and degradation rate laws of the gene regulatory network. In modeling rhythmic phenomena, we typically seek models and parameter values that display limit cycle oscillations - where for the solution approaches a non-trivial periodic trajectory:
lim t x(t)=x(t+T).
Here the period of oscillation is the smallest T>0 in which the equality (2) holds. Limit cycle oscillations are independent of the system's initial values x(0), and are instead determined completely by the parameters p.
Experimental values for p are rarely available. Given time-series experimental measurements x ̂ i ( t j ) for each state variable in a limit cycle system, we find optimal parameters p such that the error between the experimental measurements and the simulated limit cycle is minimized[22]:
p :=arg min p i states j data x ̂ i ( t j ) x i ( t j, p ) 2 σ ij 2.
Here σ i j is the standard deviation associated with the measured mean of state i at time j. Using the data points x ̂ i ( t j ) to generate a suitable initial guess, parameter estimation may proceed via a nonlinear programming approach (see Methods, Additional file1). In this work, we assume that all states are measured to demonstrate how initial guesses can be generated directly from the input data. However, for systems with unmeasured states, initial guesses for the trajectory and parameter values can be provided by another approach, such as a global optimization routine. A bootstrap method was implemented by repeatedly sampling input data distributions to calculate a population of optimal parameter fits.
After finding optimal parameter fits, we used the models to predict how perturbations change systems dynamics by performing a first order sensitivity analysis. Since adjustments to periodic systems in response to inputs are often manifested through temporary changes in oscillatory period, relative period sensitivities,
ln T ln p


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There are many different ways to 'bring the alphabet' to the child, and even amongst the Waldorf modality – it is done in numerous and varied ways. There is also many differing views on the stories and creative ways behind how the vowels are brought to the child.
Here is how we experienced the vowels in our alphabet journey. We journeyed through the letters in alphabetical order, omitting the vowels. As we progressed through our Alphabet main lesson book (MLB) we would leave the vowel pages blank and as we modelled each letter of the alphabet to stick to our 'alphabet window' we would leave the spaces where special 'Angel Letters' were to later come. The anticipation within Chilli of these 'special letters' was beautiful. As we completed all our consonants – we journeyed through the vowels. I blended many different programs into our 'experience' of these letters.
The 'foundation' for our vowel journey was taken from the Waldorf Essentials Grade 1 curriculum. The first time I read the way the vowels were brought to the child in this program I just loved it and knew it was perfect for Chilli. I know there is much written by many a Waldorf teacher about why they believe the Angels are not the best way to bring the vowels to children, however for us, this just felt like the perfect and right way to experience the vowels. We are using a 'container story' of a family journeying through the year and the Grade 1 lessons. The little girl in our story is called 'Anna'. Great King Equals met Anna in the Gnomes cave and each of the Math Gnomes had a key for Anna. Great King Equals presented his key first as he explained to Anna what would happen. There were 5 golden keys and a door on the wall of the cave just behind where Great King Equals' throne sat. Anna couldn't believe that she had never seen this door before, she'd been working so often in this cave with the math gnomes – but never before had she noticed this door in the wall of the cave.
The Waldorf Essentials program brings together the revision of the Roman Numerals 1-5 in association with the keys and which lock they fit into. In turn each gnome came forward over the duration of our vowel journey and presented Anna with a key which fit one of the locks. The 'door' to reading was slowly unlocked.
With the turning of each lock, an Arch Angel appears. Each angel presents to Anna the letter they are the 'keeper' of and the sounds associated with that letter – the long and short vowel sounds as well as the name of the letter. As the angel almost 'sings' the sounds of each vowel – the angel was doing the Eurythmy gesture for each vowel. We would be standing and also did this gesture as we made the various sounds associated with each letter. We brought attention to how the letter felt as we made the various sounds and where in our body the sound was coming from. We also looked at each others mouths as we made the various sounds, noticing the shape of the mouth and the position of the tongue. We would also try to make the sound with an opposite mouth and tongue position. As an example, if the shape of the mouth is quite a tight contracted gesture, we would try to make the sound with our mouth open wide like another letter. It was a lot of fun and a really nice way to bring mindfulness to how the sounds are formed in the mouth. Each angel has a story for Anna which was the story from each vowel given in the Waldorf Essentials Grade 1 program.
We re-jigged our rhythm a little on these 'vowel days'. Normally we do our letter verses associated with the letter we are studying in Morning Circle at the beginning of the day. When we were doing the vowels, we left doing these letter verses until after the letter had been presented. The verses we used were a blend of the letter verses from Earth Schooling's 'Sixth Sense Language' program and Oak Meadow's Kindergarten and Grade 1 letter work. Earth Schooling has some lovely verses that emphasise the various sounds associated with each vowel and Oak Meadow has some great tongue twisters for the letters. Each day we would also do the associated letter activity from Oak Meadow Kindergarten curriculum such as making A's out of tied bundles of twigs. We also modelled all the vowels out of white medium for our alphabet window.
Our Chalkboard drawing would be ready each day for the letter that was going to be presented. The Chalkboard drawing as a base remained the same and was inspired by a Pinterest picture I had seen. I loved the gesture of giving that the angel was in and the hands 'presenting' the letter. I adapted the colourings of the angel each day to correspond with the Arch Angel that was presenting that letter. When Chilli copied the drawing and letter into her book, we wrote a sentence that emphasised the vowel from that angel and ideally both the long and short vowel sounds.
As an overview – here is how we presented the vowels;
- At the end of our alphabet journey
- Using the Arch Angel stories and concept from Waldorf Essentials Grade 1 program which also ties in the Maths Gnomes and revision of the Roman Numerals 1-5
- In association with the Eurythmy Gestures for each vowel
- Exploring the sounds of each vowel with Earth Schooling's Sixth Sense Language verses as well as Oak Meadow's Kindergarten and Grade 1 verses and tongue twisters
- Creative projects from Oak Meadow Kindergarten program
- Chalkboard drawings inspired by a Pinterest pin
In my opinion, leaving the vowels until last, presenting them in a reverent way and exploring them in ways that differ slightly to how the consonants were brought – all help to bring that necessary 'specialness' to these 5 letters.
After leaving the vowels to 'sleep' for a little while now – we have started to spend a little more in-depth time with the various sounds each vowel makes. We have explored these through the 'long and short vowel sounds' lessons that are in the Oak Meadow Grade 1 program. I told Chilli a short, simple story along these lines; Because there is always a child somewhere in the world learning their letters (I spoke about friends who had learnt letters before her, then when she was learning her letters and now friends that were still learning their letters and would soon learn the angel letters) … Well, the Arch Angels are so busy going around taking their letters and stories to all these children, that they need to have helpers that look after the sounds of the letters. Sure, the angels when they first present the vowels, give the children the Heavenly sounds that come with the letters, but of course the children need to practice the different 'long' and 'short' sounds that each angel letter makes, so the angels have helpers…
Long Lance looks after the long vowel sounds and Short Seth (who we thought later probably should have been called Shawn for a better rhyme!) looks after the short vowel sounds. We drew a picture of each helper – everything about Lance was long, his; hair, body, legs, arms, feet, shirt, sleeves, pants even his finger nails (I had a bit of a Struwwelpeter image in my mind!) But Seth, well everything about him was short; he is short, his feet are short, he has short arms, short hair, even his shirt is short! We explored the short a.a.a. and the long a—— a—– sound and then I read some words (a mix up of the suggested long/short 'A' sound words in the Oak Meadow curriculum) and Chilli told me whether it was a long or short 'A' sound. I made sure to focus in the beginning on really pronouncing the 'A' sounds well as long or short to emphasise that aspect for her, but by the end she just knew these sounds so well amongst the words I didn't have to emphasise much if at all. After that she thought up 5 words that either had the long/short 'A' sound at the beginning or within the word. I was really surprised at how well she did with this and her understanding of these sounds. We're still currently working through each vowel in this way with these lessons from Long Lance and Short Seth.
How have you made these 5 vowel letters 'special' in your homeschooling journey?


Researching the politics of development
Pockets of Effectiveness
 - Pockets of effectiveness are public organisations that function effectively in providing public goods and services, despite operating in an environment where effective public service delivery is not the norm.
 History suggests that pockets of effectiveness have proved critical to developmental state success in the global south.
 Pockets of effectiveness are an emerging subfield of governance research. However, it has lacked a comparative study which systematically identifies: how pockets of effectiveness emerge and are sustained in different contexts and sectors; and the role that domestic and international actors can play in this.
 Our research has sought to understand the political and bureacratic logics that shape the emergence and performance of pockets of effectiveness.
 Our research questions were:
 1. How do pockets of effectiveness emerge and how are they sustained within different types of context and sector?
 2. What role has been and could be played by domestic and international actors in support of this?
 We focused on pockets of effectiveness in five countries in Sub Saharan Africa – Rwanda, Uganda, Ghana, Zambia and Kenya.
 This project has been led by Professor Sam Hickey, The University of Manchester in collaboration with Professor Giles Mohan of The Open University. It is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council.


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Frame Relay Traffic Shaping
Network Consultants Handbook - Frame Relay
by Matthew Castelli
Traffic shaping supports the controlling of the traffic going out of an interface. This control matches the flow of traffic to the speed of the remote destination (or target) interface and ensures that the traffic conforms to policies contracted for the interface. Traffic adhering to a particular profile can be shaped to meet downstream requirements, eliminating bottlenecks in topologies with data-rate mismatches.The primary reasons for using traffic shaping are to control access to available bandwidth, to ensure that traffic conforms to the policies established for the available bandwidth, and to regulate the flow of traffic to avoid congestion. Congestion can occur when the sent traffic exceeds the access speed of its destination (target) interface across a VC.
Following are some examples of when to use traffic shaping:
- To control access to bandwidth when policy dictates that the rate of a given interface should not, on the average, exceed a certain rate, even though the access rate exceeds the speed.
- To configure traffic shaping on an interface if you have a network with differing access rates. Suppose that one end of the link in a Frame Relay network runs at 256 kbps and the other end of the link runs at 128 kbps. Sending packets at 256 kbps could cause failure of the applications that are using the link.
NOTE: Regarding a similar, more complicated case, a link-layer network giving indications of congestion that has differing access rates on different attached DTE; the network might be able to deliver more transit speed to a given DTE device at one time than another. (This scenario warrants that the token bucket be derived, and then its rate maintained.)
- To partition the T1 or T3 links into smaller channels in a subrate service scenario.
Traffic shaping limits the rate of transmission of data, limiting the data transfer to one of the following:
- A specific configured rate
- A derived rate based on the level of congestion
The mean rate is equal to the burst size divided by the interval, as demonstrated by the following equation:
Mean rate = Burst Size (BC + BE) / Time Interval (TC)When traffic shaping is enabled, a maximum burst size can be sent during every time interval. However, within the interval, the bit rate might be faster than the mean rate at any given time.
BE size is an additional variable that applies to traffic shaping. The excess burst size corresponds to the number of noncommitted bits -- those bits outside the CIR -- that are still accepted by the Frame Relay switch but marked as DE.
The BE size allows more than the burst size to be sent during a time interval. The switch will allow the frames that belong to the excess burst to go through, but it will mark them by setting the DE bit. The switch configuration determines whether the frames are sent.When BE size equals 0 (BE = 0) the interface sends no more than the burst size every interval, realizing an average rate no higher than the mean rate. When BE size is greater than 0 (BE > 0) the interface can send as many as BC + BE bits in a burst, if the maximum amount was not sent in a previous time period. When less than the burst size is sent during an interval, the remaining number of bits, up to the BE size, can be used to send more than the burst size in a later interval.
Frame Relay DE Bit
Frame Relay frames can be specified regarding which have low priority or low time sensitivity. These frames will be the first to be dropped when a Frame Relay switch is congested. The DE bit is the mechanism that allows a Frame Relay switch to identify such frames to be dropped or discarded. DE lists and groups can be managed in the following manner:
- DE lists can be specified that identify the characteristics of frames to be eligible for discarding.
- DE groups can be specified to identify the affected DLCI.
- DE lists can also be specified based on the protocol or the interface, and on characteristics such as fragmentation of the packet, a specific TCP or User Datagram Protocol (UDP) port, an access list number, or a packet size.
Differences Between Traffic-Shaping Mechanisms
Generic traffic shaping (GTS), class-based shaping, distributed traffic shaping (DTS), and Frame Relay traffic shaping (FRTS) are similar in implementation, share the same code and data structures, differ in regard to their CLIs, and differ in the queue types used.
Following are some examples in which these mechanisms differ:
- For GTS, the shaping queue is a weighted fair queue. For FRTS, the queue can be a weighted fair queue (configured by the frame-relay fair-queue command), a strict priority queue with WFQ (configured by the frame-relay ip rtp priority command in addition to the frame-relay fair-queue command), custom queuing (CQ), priority queuing (PQ), or first-in, first-out (FIFO). See Table 15-16 for detailed differences.
- For class-based shaping, GTS can be configured on a class, rather than only on an access control list (ACL). To do so, you must first define traffic classes based on match criteria including protocols, access control lists (ACLs), and input interfaces. Traffic shaping can be applied to each defined class.
- FRTS supports shaping on a per-DLCI basis; GTS and DTS are configurable per interface or subinterface.
- DTS supports traffic shaping based on a variety of match criteria, including user-defined classes, and DSCP.
Table 15-16: Differences Between Shaping Mechanisms
|Command-Line Interface||Applies parameters per subinterface
Traffic group command supported
|Applies parameters per interface or per class||Applies parameters per interface or subinterface||Classes of parameters|
Applies parameters to all VCs on an interface through inheritance mechanism
No traffic group command
|Queues Supported||Weighted fair queuing (WFQ) per subinterface||Class-based weighted fair queuing (CBWFQ) inside GTS||WFQ, strict priority queue with WFQ, CQ, PQ, first come, first served (FCFS) per VC||WFQ, strict priority queue with WFQ, CQ, PQ, FCFS per VC|
GTS can be configured to behave the same as FRTS by allocating one DLCI per subinterface and using GTS plus BECN support. The behavior of the two is then the same with the exception of the different shaping queues used.
FRTS, like GTS, can eliminate bottlenecks in Frame Relay networks that have high-speed connections at the central site and low-speed connections at branch sites. Rate enforcement can be configured as a peak rate configured to limit outbound traffic to limit the rate at which data is sent on the VC at the central site.
FRTS can be used to configure rate enforcement to either the CIR or some other defined value, such as the excess information rate, on a per-VC basis. The ability to allow the transmission speed that the router uses to be controlled by criteria other than line speed -- the CIR or excess information rate -- provides a mechanism for sharing media by multiple VCs. Bandwidth can be allocated to each VC, creating a virtual time-division multiplexing (TDM) network.
PQ, CQ, and WFQ can be defined at the VC or subinterface level. These queuing methods allow for finer granularity in the prioritization and queuing of traffic, providing more control over the traffic flow on an individual VC. If CQ is combined with the per-VC queuing and rate enforcement capabilities, Frame Relay VCs can carry multiple traffic types such as IP, SNA, and IPX with bandwidth guaranteed for each traffic type.
FRTS can dynamically throttle traffic by using information that is contained in the BECN-tagged frames that are received from the network. With BECN-based throttling, frames are held in the router buffers to reduce the data flow from the router into the Frame Relay network. Throttling is done on a per-VC basis, and the transmission rate is adjusted based on the number of BECN-tagged frames received.
FECNs and BECNs indicate congestion in a Frame Relay WAN and are specified by bits within a Frame Relay frame. FECN and BECN operation is as follows:
- FECNs -- These are generated when data is sent out of a congested interface. FECNs indicate to a Frame Relay device that congestion was encountered along the transmission path to the destination. Traffic is marked with BECN if the queue for the opposite direction is full enough to trigger FECNs at the current time.
- BECNs -- These notify the sending Frame Relay device to decrease the transmission rate. If the traffic is one-way only (such as multicast traffic), there is no reverse traffic with BECNs to notify the sending device to slow down. When a Frame Relay device receives a FECN, it first determines whether it is sending data. If the Frame Relay device is sending data along the return path of the FECN, this data will be marked with a BECN on its way to the other Frame Relay device. If the Frame Relay device is not sending data, it can send a Q.922 "TEST RESPONSE" message with the BECN bit set.
When an interface that is configured with traffic shaping receives a BECN, it immediately decreases, or throttles down, its maximum rate by a significant amount. If, after several intervals, the [throttled] interface has not received another BECN and traffic is waiting in the queue, the maximum rate slightly increases. This dynamically adjusted maximum rate is called the derived rate, which will always be between the upper bound and the lower bound that is configured on the


In Turkey, found an ancient drill that is 7500 years old
Turkish archaeologists at the excavations on the Aktopraklik barrow in the north-western province of Bursa in the Neolithic and Chalcolithic era found a drill that is at least 7,500 years old.
The design of this ancient drill is a wooden stick, at the end of which a silicon stone is fixed by a rope. As you know, flint is the hardest of natural stones.
"Such flint stones, in their functionality, are comparable to bits that are inserted into modern drills and screwdrivers," said Professor Nedjmi Karul from the University of Istanbul.
Scientists conducted practical tests of an ancient drill and came to the conclusion that it was used to create various ornaments. In ancient times, this drill with a silicon tip, allowed to drill a tree and even stones. With her help, made beads, which were discovered during the excavation of the mound Aktopraklik, say archaeologists.
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Bonnie Parker
The ancient Greeks sure were advanced beyond their time
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x


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September 6, 2011
A normal linked list can be accessed only at its head. A double-ended queue, or deque (pronounced "deck"), can be accessed at either end. Like a normal list, a deque can be null. New elements can be added at either end, the element at either end of a non-null deque can be fetched, and the element at either end of a non-null deque can be deleted. Deques are a combination of stacks and queues.
Your task is to write a function library that implements deques; you should be sure that all operations are performed in constant time. When you are finished, you are welcome to read or run a suggested solution, or to post your own solution or discuss the exercise in the comments below.
Pages: 1 2


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- Open up your photograph in Adobe Photoshop.
- Go to layerduplicate layer. Make sure that the layer on top is the same photo as the one on bottom and not blank.
- Go to image > adjustments >black and white on the TOP layer. This will turn the layer black and white.
- Use the ERASER tool on the toolbar to erase the area that you want to be red.
- To make the brush larger use the left bracket tool ] (under the delete button) and smaller use the right bracket [ tool.
- If you mess up at any time, go to editstep backwards to the last stepyou may have to do it a few times.
- If you need to see the image larger and do it more precisely, press Command +
- If you need to make the image more vibrant red, click on the bottom layer and go to editadjustments- color balance. Slide the scale more to "red" to where you would like it.
- Once you are done, save your work as a photoshop file as lastname-firstname-red-ribbon.psd with BOTH layers for your desktop (so you can go back and change it if needed.)
- AFTER you save the image as a PSD file, go to layermerge layers.
- Save as lastname-firstname-redribbon.jpg
- Do a write up in Microsoft word where you explain what your artwork is about in two or more paragraphsexplaining what your concept was, and why saying "no to drugs" is important. Save as lastname-firstname-respect-writeup
- Put your image and write up in the classroom folder 10-6-2016 Red Ribbon
- Put your image and writeup in the class padlet
- Period 1: _URL_
- Period 2: _URL_
- Period 4: _URL_
- Period 5: _URL_
- Period 6: _URL_
How to make your photograph black and white with red in Adobe Photoshopvideo tutorial


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Current conditions of each piece of equipment can be checked by using predictive maintenance and periodical measurements of monitored quantities at MVE and as a result, we can prevent any possible accidents from happening. One of these measurement methods is vibrodiagnostics which is used for measuring vibrations of important rotating equipment in use and in operation.
According to measuring standards, vibrodiagnostics can be measured in two ways:
Continuous measurements – characterize the current conditions of vibrations of each equipment during its operation in order to diagnose trouble free conditions of rotating parts. In practice, it is common e.g. some dirt (waste) collected on turbine blades creates higher vibration levels via unbalanced loads. To avoid shortening lifespan of these equipment exposed to load, we do analyze the increase in vibrations levels and take actions accordingly.
Predictive – periodical measurements – regularly performed at least once a year in order to determine detailed conditions of individual components. The gearbox is the most monitored rotating component at our power stations (MVE Hričov and MVE Kočkovce). The picture you see here shows CTA diagnostics – the assessment of the gear teeth meshing. Historical data of this measurement are used for evaluating wear state levels and each component lifetime can be thus predicted.
Thanks to these periodical measurements of vibrations, we can diagnose not only the conditions of bearings and gearboxes, but, in particular, of all rotating parts, and thus we prevent them from shortening lifespan.


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Halal nail polish consists of an open lacquer basket. It is developed on the basis of a chemical formula with thermoplastic polymer which, in conjunction with other auxiliaries and chemical reactions, penetrates and punctures the paint – or rather enters and creates amorphous regions: There are microscopic trails in the paint that allow the water particles to penetrate and rest on the nail belt:
Thermoplastic polymers create amorphous regions in the paint. Polyolefin plastomer (POP) is, for example, a polymer composed of l-Bute and 1-ocetane molecular bonds. This polymer is used in plastic packaging to create breathability.
POP is assisted by polyethyn (PE) which distributes the molecular weight in the chain to prevent the holes from pulling together.
In contrast to the permeable nail polish, the conventional nail varnish is dominated by crystalline polymers which form dense layers in the structure, which makes it impossible for the water particles to penetrate. The illustration below gives a visual insight


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Local Government Profile
Hazard and vulnerability profile
In implementing the flood protection and mitigation, BMA set up Flood Control Center as a flood
protection information center of which main networking station is located on the 6th floor of Department of
Drainage and Sewerage, BMA Office 2 in Din Daeng district and other 75 sub-stations are installed at pump
stations and water gates across Bangkok, on the east and west sides of Chao Praya river.
Flood Control Center (FCC) which supervises the hydrological conditions linking directly with the radar
of Meteorology Department and of BMA. FCC has been serving as a decision making tools for DDS flood
protection teams for accurate and immediate directive to solve flood problems effectively.
Monitoring stations monitor real time data of rainfall, water levels, pumps operation, water gates
operation and water quality were installed and later were increased into 75 stations. In addition to this, the
department is now implementing a flood forecasting program aiming at forecasting rainfall intensity and flood
forecasting in 650 km2 of the east bank area which will enable BMA staffs to forecasting flood condition 3-6
hours in advance.
Moreover, FCC serves people with the flood forecasting news and the flood protection and solution. We
use several communication tools in informing people and communities such as radio broadcasting, traffic
billboards and BMA's website.
Disaster Risk Reduction Activities
Due to rapid urbanization of Bangkok, waterbody such as ponds, wells, canals, and ditches were filled up and replaced
by buildings and other structures. This often caused flooding and became a severe problem accordingly. The major
flooding in Bangkok in the past were in the years 1942, 1975, 1978, 1980, 1983, 1995, and 1996. Flooding in the year
1983 was considered the most severe and caused great damage which cost around 6,600 million baht
The causes of flood are as follows:
- Heavy rainfall in short period of time results in inability to immediately drain water from roads, lanes and
houses causing temporary flooding.
- Run-off from the northern and eastern parts flowing through Bangkok due to the slope of ground level. This
mostly causes flooding problem in the eastern part of Bangkok
- Excessive run-off from the North and Chao Phraya River Basin flowing through Bangkok to the sea causing
overflow and flooding in the area.
- The effect of high tide from the sea which occurred in the same time of excessive run-off from the North
through Bangkok causing high water level in Chao Phraya river.
- Land subsidence due to pumping of large amount of underground water which makes the area subside to the
level lower than mean sea level causing difficulty in draining of inundation.
- Insufficient drainage system
The documents have been posted as received. The designations employed do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory or area, or of its authorities.


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Cabinet of Curiosities
Photography & Specimens
September 12, 2012–February 10, 2013
Location: Bloch Building, Gallery L11
Admission is free.
The exhibition, Cabinet of Curiosities: Photography & Specimens is loosely based around the 16th and 17th century concept of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Precursors to the modern museum, these Cabinets were assembled by their owners to reflect the intense fascination with the marvelous, unusual, unexpected, exotic, extraordinary, or rare.
This show examines what a photographic Cabinet of Curiosities might look like. It includes examples ranging from the very tiny (snowflakes and microscopic mites) to the very distant (telescopic image of the surface of the moon). It includes examples that cannot be seen with the naked eye of living things (x-rays) and of the deceased (skeletons of differing animal species). It explores the exotic (carmine bee eater) and the unusual (pulled teeth from the collection of Peter the Great). Along these same lines, questions will be raised about why people collect, what they collect, and the ways specimens are ordered. Emphasizing the relationship photography has always had with science and art, photographic specimens from throughout the history of photography will be shown as well as some of the traditional processes used to create them. Contemporary photographs explore the differing ways specimens are seen photographically and the human-made constructs used for specimen display.
Friday, October 5
Curator's Gallery Talk
Cabinet of Curiosities; Photography & Specimens
Join curator Jane L. Aspinwall as she discusses what a photographic cabinet of curiosities might look like. Photographic examples include the microscopic, telescopic, x-ray, exotic and unusual.
(Thank you, Megha!)


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Although international rugby has been played for well over a century, the Rugby World Cup is a relatively recent phenomenon. The first tournament took place in May and June 1987, with games played in both New Zealand and Australia. The final was held at Eden Park, Auckland, on 20 June, where the home team beat France to become the inaugural holders of the Webb Ellis Cup.
In a country where rugby is often referred to as a religion, hosting and winning the first Rugby World Cup was certainly a big deal. For much of the 20th century the All Blacks had been regarded as one of the best teams in international rugby, but without a world cup such claims were difficult to prove. Before 2011's triumph New Zealand had not won the four-yearly competition since 1987, a fact that weighed heavy on the hearts and minds of New Zealand fans. Photographs of captain David Kirk holding the Webb Ellis Cup aloft in 1987 became one of our most famous sporting images. Until Richie McCaw was able to repeat the scene in October 2011 many feared Kirk's image would remain our only proof of rugby supremacy.
In a remarkable case of history repeating itself the 2011 tournament (once more hosted by New Zealand) saw the same four teams compete in the semi-finals - New Zealand, Australia, Wales and France - and like 1987 the same two - New Zealand and France squared off in the final at Eden Park. This proved to be a much closer game than the 1987 final and indeed closer than most predicted. The All Blacks prevailed 8-7 in the lowest scoring final in the tournament's history.
What is less well known is how the first Rugby World Cup came about. This fascinating story highlights a number of key themes, including the struggle between the amateur ideal and creeping professionalism, tensions between the British home unions and southern hemisphere countries, and international protests over sporting contacts with South Africa. The story begins with a look at the 19th-century origins of international rugby.
Next page: Origins of international rugby


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Tubes as Thin as Fine Thread
Tubes with an outer diameter as small as 0.15 mm are available from Goodfellow (Coraopolis, PA) in lengths ranging from a fraction of a meter to large production runs. Applications for ultra-thin tubes are many, and often relate to the need for greater miniaturization, lighter weight, or flow restriction. Features include:
- A 99.95% gold design.
- An inner diameter of 0.05 mm.
- The availability of 37 pure metal, alloy, and polymer ultra-thin tubes (OD ≤0.5mm).
For more information visit _URL_.


Carrier multiplication (CM), the possibility to generate more than one exciton in a semiconductor quantum dot (QD) after absorption of a single photon has been intensely debated in recent years. Following on previous theoretical and experimental work, we report here that: (1) although the CM factor (i.e., number of generated photons per absorbed photon) at a given photon energy is higher in bulk than in QDs of the same material [Pijpers et al., Nature Phys. 5, 811 (2009)], the energy efficiency (the relative fraction of the photon energy that is transformed into excitons rather than heat) is higher in QDs; (2) for the same ∼1.2 eV band gap, CM is more efficient in PbSe QDs than in bulk silicon; (3) nonetheless, the efficiency of solar cells based on PbSe QDs is not significantly enhanced by CM compared to a bulk silicon-based device.
Phys. Rev. B
Delerue, C, Allan, G, Pijpers, J.J.H, & Bonn, M. (2010). Carrier multiplication in bulk and nanocrystalline semiconductors : Mechanism, efficiency, and interest for solar cells. Phys. Rev. B, 81(Article number: 125306), 1–6. doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.81.125306


Association of British Scrabble Players
Swords & Knives
anelace anlace anlas a short two-edged dagger.
ataghan yataghan yatagan a Muslim long curved knife.
athame a witch's knife used in ritual.
backsword a sword with one sharp edge.
barong a broad-bladed Philippine knife.
baselard a short sword or dagger, worn in the fifteenth century.
bilbo a rapier or sword > BILBOS or BILBOES. [From the town of Bilbao, famous for its swords].
bilboa a rapier or sword, a BILBO.
blade a sword.
bodkin a dagger, stiletto; a blunt needle.
bokken a wooden sword for training.
boline a witch's knife used in ritual, an ATHAME.
bolo a traditional long-bladed Philippine knife > BOLOS.
bowie as in bowie knife, a large knife. No —S.
brand brond (poetic) a sword.
broadsword a cutting sword with a broad blade.
brondyron a brand, a sword.
cemitare a SCIMITAR.
chakra in Sikh culture, a disc-shaped knife used as a missile; a discus representing the sun, as in portrayals of Hindu gods; in yoga, one of the seven centres of spiritual power in the body.
choil the end of a knife blade nearest the handle.
chiv chive shiv chib a knife; (verb) to cut with a knife > CHIVVED, CHIVED, SHIVVED, CHIBBED.
claymore a large sword. [Gaelic claidheamh, sword + mor, great].
couteau a knife; a dagger > COUTEAUX.
crampet a metal tip at the end of a SCABBARD.
crease creese kreese cris kris a dagger or short sword used by the Malays, commonly having a serpentine blade. CREESE, KREESE and KRIS can be used as verbs: to stab with this > CREESED, KREESED, KRISED.
curtalax curtaxe curtalaxe a short broad sword; a cutlass.
curtana a sword without a point, symbolic of mercy. [L. curtus, short].
cutlas cutlass a curved, one-edged sword formerly used by sailors.
cutto cuttoe a large knife > CUTTOES. [Fr. couteau].
da dah a heavy Burmese knife.
dagger a short stabbing weapon with a pointed blade; (verb) to stab with a dagger.
daggerlike like a dagger.
digladiate to fight with swords; to fence.
digladiator one who fights with swords.
dirk a kind of dagger; (verb) to stab with a dirk.
dudgeon the haft of a dagger; a small dagger; also, a fit or state of angry indignation usually provoked by opposition.
epee a sword similar to the foil but with a larger guard and a heavier blade of triangular cross section.
espada a sword.
estoc a sword used for thrusting, esp. in bullfighting.
falchion fauchion fauchon faulchion a broad curved sword.
foil a light slender flexible sword usually having a bell-shaped guard, and when used in the sport of fencing tipped with a button.
foin foyne to thrust with a sword or spear.
fox a type of sword.
gladius a sword; also a cuttlefish pen > GLADIUSES.
glaive gleave a broadsword.
glaived bearing a GLAIVE, a broadsword.
gully gulley a big knife; a groove; (verb) to wear a gully in.
handjar hanjar khanjar a Persian dagger.
hanger a short sword.
jackknife a knife with the blade pivoted to fit into a recess in the handle; (verb) to fold up like a jackknife.
jambiya jambiyah a Middle Eastern curved dagger with two edges.
jockteleg a large clasp knife. [Possibly from jack the leg, the all-purpose knife that hangs by the leg].
katana a long single-edged samurai sword.
khanda a double-edged Sikh sword.
khanjar see HANJAR.
kirpan a small sword or dagger worn by Sikhs.
knife (verb) to stab with a knife.
knifelike like a knife.
knive to knife.
kreese see CREESE.
kris see CREESE.
kukri a broad curved Gurkha knife.
machete matchet a broad heavy knife used for cutting or as a weapon, esp. in parts of Central and South America.
panga an African knife, like a machete.
paperknife a knife for cutting paper
parang a large Malay or Dyak sheath-knife.
penknife a small POCKETKNIFE.
pilcher a scabbard.
pocketknife a knife for carrying in the pocket.
poignado poinado a PONIARD, a small dagger > POIGNADOES, POINADOES.
poniard a small dagger; (verb) to stab with a poniard.
quillon the arm of the cross-guard of a sword handle.
rapier a straight, two-edged sword with a narrow pointed blade, designed especially for thrusting.
rapierlike like a RAPIER.
rapiered wearing a RAPIER.
saber sabre a stout cavalry sword, having a single edge; (verb) to strike with a sabre.
saberlike like a SABER.
sabrelike like a SABRE.
scabbard a holder for a bladed weapon such as a sword.
schiavone a basket-hilted broadsword used by the Doge's bodyguard of Slavs. [Ital. Schiavoni, Slavs].
schlager a duelling sword used in some German universities.
scimetar scimitar scimiter semitar semitaur simitar symitar symitare a curved sword.
shabble an old rusty sword.
shank an often homemade knife; (verb) in golf, to strike the ball by mistake with the part of the club where the clubhead meets the shaft.
shortsword a sword with a short blade.
simi in Africa, a short two-edged sword or large knife.
skean skeen skene a double-edged dagger used in Ireland and Scotland. [Gaelic sgean, knife].
smallsword a light sword used for thrusting only; especially, the sword worn by civilians of rank in the eighteenth century.
snickersnee a large knife, cutlass etc.; a knife fight. [Orig. steake or snye - an English variation on a Dutch term meaning 'thrust and cut'].
spadroon a sword, especially a broadsword, formerly used both to cut and thrust.
stilet stylet a small poniard, a stiletto.
stiletto a narrow dagger; (verb) to stab with a stiletto > STILETTOS or STILETTOES.
sweard sword.
sword (verb) to wield a sword > SWORDED, SWORDING.
swordcraft skill at making swords.
swordlike like a sword.
swordplay fighting with swords.
swordproof proof against swords.
swordstick a hollow stick containing a sword.
tanto a short Japanese sword > TANTOS.
toledo a sword or sword blade made at Toledo in Spain, which city was famous in the 16th and 17th centuries for the excellence of its weapons > TOLEDOS.
tsuba a metal plate at the top of a Japanese scabbard, serving as a sword-guard.
tulwar an Indian sabre.
ulu an Eskimo knife. [Inupiaq].
unscabbard to withdraw e.g. a sword from a scabbard.
vorpal a nonsense word coined by Lewis Carroll to describe a sword.
whinger a dirk or short sword.
whiniard whinyard a short sword or dirk.
yatagan yataghan see ATAGHAN.
ABSP © 2014
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Just 60 seconds after entering the office of Dr. Natario Couser at Virginia Pediatric Ophthalmology Specialists and you already know he's not only an expert physician, but he's a very down-to-earth person and easy to talk with. Our conversation quickly turned to the adorable photo of his 3 1/2 month old son. With his wife currently completing her residency, they are a busy couple.
After spending some time with Dr. Couser, we learned that his sincere concern and caring for children extends beyond his personal life, and into his medical practice.
Dr. Couser is a Pediatric Ophthalmologist and he is the newly appointed Medical Director of the WHEELS Program. A pediatric ophthalmologist is a medical doctor who was first trained in diseases and surgery of the eye after finishing medical school. They then pursue further training in the diagnosis, treatment and surgery of those eye disorders that are unique to children. This makes Dr. Couser highly qualified to treat vision issues in children and to serve as Medical Director of the free WHEELS Program.
WHEELS: A Free Screening Program
The WHEELS program (Where Healthy Eyes and Ears Lead to Success) is jointly developed through Prevent Blindness Mid-Atlantic and the MEDARVA Foundation. It is a pre-school vision and hearing screening program, designed to promote healthy vision and hearing as a component of school readiness.
According to Dr. Couser, "An estimated 80 percent of what a child learns in a normal classroom setting is through vision and 75 percent of a child's normal school day includes an auditory component. Considering these statistics, it's easy to see how healthy vision and hearing contribute to a child's overall success in school. I am proud to be a part of this innovative program, unlike any in the country."
Since there is no federal guideline or mandate to make sure hearing/vision testing is consistent across the states, it's up to individual states to create their own. With 50 different states, that means 50 different things going on related to testing children's vital functions of seeing and hearing. Unfortunately, lots of kids unknowingly enter school with some type of vision problem that affects their educational and social interactions.
We asked Dr.Couser what parents need to know about testing, and he gave us some great information.
Potential Vision/Hearing Problems
"Many conditions in kids are asymptomatic and parents or children don't even realize there is a problem. Some of the potential issues affecting kids can be effectively treated at a young age, but are more difficult to treat once children are older," he explained. "Amblyopia is an example of a condition that can potentially cause permanent vison loss if not treated early. Of children who are diagnosed and treated before age 7, over 75% usually recover completely normal vision. Delaying treatment can result in permanent vision problems and after age 7, a higher percentage of patients will unfortunately not reach their full vision potential."
In Virginia, it's recommended that children receive a thorough hearing and vision test in kindergarten, 3rd, 7th and 10th grades. These are good baselines, but availability of screening by the school nurse or other staff does not guarantee that every child is tested or problems are detected with standard screening processes.
And vision testing really begins at birth and with each pediatric well-baby checkup thereafter. Even infants can follow lights and sounds as a part of the testing process. Dr. Couser explains that referrals from pediatricians make up a big part of his patient list.
"Pediatricians are great for front-line testing. They can refer to specialists if a potential problem is detected and this allows more thorough testing," Dr. Couser says. "There is a difference in a vision screening versus a comprehensive exam so having that preliminary screening is efficient in finding issues."
How WHEELS Works
"We are fortunate to have the WHEELS Program in Richmond. It is very unique and I'm not aware of any other screening program prior to kindergarten like this in the U.S. We have a model program here. And it's an easy and free program for schools to offer." The program has screened close to 7,000 kids so far and they are partnering with 70 school-related programs in the Richmond and surrounding area.
Dr. Couser explains how the program works:
- The WHEELS Program is scheduled at local schools or pre-schools.
- Screenings are conducted in collaboration with the school health nurse or day care coordinator, and delivered by a certified screener. The screenings are performed using the plusoptiX screening technology vision screener and the Welch Allyn OAE hearing screener, both highly advanced technological screening devices, meaning that the child does not have to physically respond to any commands, providing the most reliable results during the screening process.
- During the vision screening, which takes about 15 seconds, a digital camera like device is pointed at the child's eyes and takes a series of pictures which are then analyzed by the screening software and a pass/refer is generated based on pre-determined parameters. During the hearing screening, which also takes about 15 seconds, a sterile-tipped sensor is placed just inside the opening of the ear, sending a series of frequency-controlled tones down the auditory passage, the tones are recorded and a pass/refer is generated again based on pre-determined parameters.
- The screening takes only a matter of seconds and it takes multiple digital pictures of the eyes and interprets the pictures and measurements to return a screening result.
- The screening program is free to the school and the parents.
- The screening identifies children who potentially have vision problems, some that could potentially cause permanent vision loss.
- Parents of children with potential problems receive confidential information that recommends seeing an eye specialist and includes the findings of the testing. Parents are free to choose any eye specialist for follow-up.
WHEELS assistance is available for scheduling in the cities of Richmond, Colonial Heights, Hopewell and Petersburg; and the counties of Chesterfield, Hanover, Henrico, Goochland, Powhatan, New Kent, Charles City, Lancaster, Northumberland, Richmond, Westmoreland, Amelia, Nottoway and Cumberland.
Dr. Couser emphasizes, "Thanks to a grant from MEDARVA Health Care Virginia, there is absolutely no charge to schools, kids and families for this screening. It's a non-invasive, quick screening that could save the sight or hearing of a child. Staff are expertly trained and undergo background checks for safety and security. It's an excellent program available to our community."
Learn more about Dr. Couser and the WHEELS Program in this video or at MEDARVA.com.
Signs to watch for in children that MAY indicate a need for vision testing:
Sitting closer to the TV
Drop in grades
Red or irritated eyes
Eyes crossing after 3 months of age


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The Northwest Passage was the term given to a corridor-like region of space containing large numbers of quantum singularities, devoid of Borg activity despite extending through the entire span of Borg territory. The nickname was created by the crew of the USS Voyager, who intended to use it to cross Borg space without having to engage the Borg.
However, it was soon discovered that the region was devoid of Borg activity for a reason: the quantum singularities were being used by Species 8472, a race more powerful than the Borg, to invade the galaxy from their realm of fluidic space. This species, capable of completely annihilating the Borg, were bent on doing exactly that, in retaliation for the Borg's invasion of their realm and attempt to assimilate them. Moreover, they planned to expand their campaign to include all other life in the galaxy, after they were finished with the Borg. Captain Janeway therefore decided to avoid the corridor entirely, and instead make an alliance with the Borg to defeat Species 8472. (VOY: "Scorpion")
Named after the Northwest Passage, a corridor through Canada linking the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans on Earth by passage near the Arctic circle.
It is uncertain what happened to the corridor after the Borg-Species 8472 War had concluded. As Species 8472 withdrew to their realm, it is possible the singularities became sealed, yet the corridor may still be detectable by the stresses and instablilites in the fabric of spacetime that have undoubtably remained.


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A previous article detailed one of the biggest benefits to transit, being surrounded by other people and fostering a sense of community. Building on that concept, the togetherness – sharing space with other people – is something that gives people a sense of place and makes communities stronger. Lone car commuters have no meaningful way to interact with other people or feel connected to the places their passing.
Researchers from the University of Chicago asked why people "routinely ignore each other" in public when talking to other people makes increases happiness. They asked commuters on trains and buses to "connect with a stranger" near them or remain the same, talking to no one.
The researchers found that the people who talked to others had a much more positive experience commuting than the people who didn't talk to anyone, even though the participants anticipated they would not enjoy socializing. "This mistaken preference for solitude stems partly from underestimating others' interest in connecting, which in turn keeps people from learning the actual consequences of social interaction," researchers Nicholas Epley and Juliana Schroeder wrote.
Several riders that frequently engage others in conversation along their commute, report a more positive ridership experience. It can be an adventure to find out where people are going and how that particular trip fits into their everyday lives. This is also an opportunity to find out about other people's commuting experience. Have they had any trouble navigating the transit system? What do they like about riding the bus or light-rail and what do they dislike? What would they change about the system if they had the chance? How long have they been riding?
Mobility Lab and Citizens for Modern Transit challenge you to interact with someone on your commute today. Compliment someone's shoes, give a stranger your seat, or whatever little and polite thing you can do to connect to the people around you.
Let us know how it goes by sending us an email at _EMAIL_.


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Most horse owners have a pretty steady routine when it comes to working with their horses, and that includes keeping a consistent feeding schedule and program in place, which is a good thing for the horse. However, a variety of situations, from moving to a new place, to a change in the horse's health, can require a change in habits and possibly in diet.
Chris Cox, renowned clinician and dedicated SafeChoice® feeder, offers this advice on preparing your horse for change: "I never ask a horse to do something I haven't prepared it to do. By the time I'm asking a horse to step on to a trailer, that horse has all the preparation it needs to do it – and by prepare I don't mean desensitize. I don't desensitize my horses as much as a lot people do. It's easy to overdo it and end up dulling your horse. It's okay for your horse to react to something, but if it is properly trained it won't overreact."
Chris's training tip follows easily right in to the realm of changing your horse's feeding program. Abrupt change, while a horse can manage and get through, isn't the most desirable scenario. Gradual introduction of whatever is new to the feeding program, whether it is a change in the amount fed or a change to an entirely different type of feed, should be done incrementally over a period of about 7 days. This time frame allows the horse's digestive system to adjust to the new levels of nutrients being digested, and also allows time for the sometimes-picky-eaters to realize that the new feedstuff is, in fact, OK to eat.
Preparing your horse, whether it is in feeding practices, daily schedule, or training, will set you and your horse up to make changes successfully.
Performance horses in all disciplines, from racing to western pleasure, are expected to deliver optimum performance all year around, regardless of temperature. Summer conditions of high temperature and humidity presents several challenges to the horse owner. Proper management of working conditions, water consumption and feeding practices can help meet the challenge.
- Early morning and evening rides are better for both horse and rider.
- Horses confined during the day should have shade, ventilation and fresh clean water. This applies to horses in stalls, at shows or in the pasture.
- If horses must be trained or shown during the heat of the day, they should be offered water regularly. A hot horse should not be allowed to drink large quantities of cold water then stand, but a horse cannot cool down properly if it is dehydrated. The rule "six sips and walk" provides a good guideline. Horses going in classes throughout the day must be allowed to drink regularly, as dehydration and heat stroke can be deadly.
- Loss of fluid can also make a horse prone to colic. If a horse stops sweating, immediate action is required.
Feeding Management Practices:
- Adjust the energy sources fed. The horse's total thermal load can be reduced by using highly digestible fiber sources and added fat feed sources.
- High fiber hay produces more heat increment or heat of digestion than lower fiber hay.
- Fat produces the lowest heat increment.
- The most heat efficient hay source for a performance horse would be an early cut grass or grass legume mixture. This hay should be fine in texture and relatively soft to the touch.
- An added fat feed or the addition of corn oil to the diet will provide higher energy with lower intake, and will assist in reducing the thermal load. Added fat diets may also produce the additional performance benefits of increased endurance and reduced fluid loss.
- Feeding small amounts throughout the day rather than two large feedings may also be beneficial as the heat produced by digestion can be spread out.
- Very high levels of protein should be avoided as the excess nitrogen increases fluid loss due to the higher urine output.
Feeding Salt & Electrolytes:
- Loose trace mineral salt in a feeder protected from rain should be available free choice. Manufactured feeds will generally contain 0.5%-1.0% salt, but a performance horse may require 4-6 ounces of salt per day to maintain electrolyte balance. Horses will generally not consume this much block salt.
- Electrolyte supplements may be beneficial immediately before and during a competition, but care must be exercised to make certain the horse is consuming adequate water.
- Giving a concentrated electrolyte without adequate water consumption may actually increase the potential for a problem.
Summer is a great season to spend more time with horses. Proper management can help make certain it is pleasant and safe for both horse and rider.
When horse feeds are formulated, they are developed to provide nutrition to all sizes of horses – nutrient needs go up as the size of the horse goes up. So, feeding directions are often provided in the following format:
- Activity Level Lbs of feed per 100 lbs of bodyweight
- Maintenance 0.3-0.5
- Light Exercise 0.4-0.6
So, how do you figure out how much to feed your horse? Start with knowing the weight of your horse. Then, divide that weight by 100, and then multiply the result by both of the amounts of feed given in the directions above. The resulting two numbers will tell you the range of how much to feed your horse to give them the nutrition they need for both their size and their activity level.
Example Feeding Directions:
1200 lb horse, in light exercise.
- (1200 ÷ 100) = 12
- (12 × 0.4) = 4.8
- (12 × 0.6) = 7.2
In this example, this horse would need to eat between 4.8 and 7.2 lbs per day of this feed to receive the nutrition he needs. Some horses that are easier keepers can fall to the lower end of the range, while harder keepers may need to push the upper limit.
If you do this math for your horse, and find that you are feeding outside of the designated range, you should search for a feed that is more suitable to your horses needs. Hard keepers, for example, may require a feed that is higher in calories per pound, while easier keepers might require a feed with fewer calories and more concentrated levels of vitamins and minerals. Such a feed might cost more per bag, however the ability to pack more punch in a smaller feeding might actually result in a cost saving!
I was recently called to a boarding and lesson barn to help the owner evaluate her feed program. With the rising costs of bedding, labor, insurance, electricity and hay, she wanted to look at options at saving money.
The farm housed about 40 Thoroughbreds. Twelve of the horses were active in a lesson program, and the other horses activity levels ranged from pleasure maintanece to moderate work/show. The Body Condition Scores of the horses ranged from 4 to 6, and the owner explained that some of the horses were harder keepers than others, with daily grain intake ranging from 1 to 18 pounds of grain per day per horse.
We examined the hay and found it to be a good quality timothy grass mix. The horses were getting about 1.5% of their body weight per day in hay. For grain, she was using an economy feed that was priced at $8.99 per bag. She felt that with the large number of horses on the farm and rising cost she could not afford the premium feeds that were almost $14 per bag.
When we examined the feed tag from the manufacturer, the suggested feed rate was 1 pound per hundred pounds of body weight (that's 10 lbs of feed for a 1000 lb horse!), and the fortification of the product was minimal. The owner then explained that she and the boarders did purchase supplements to provide added biotin, yeast culture, copper, zinc and selenium. Some of the hard keepers were also given a fat supplement.
To determine how much she was spending on feed, we did the following math:
- Current Feeding Program = 10 lbs feed + supplements
- ~ $8.99 per bag / 50 lbs per bag = $0.18 per pound
- ~ $0.18 per pound X average 10 lb per day feeding = $1.80 per day per horse
- ~ Plus the various costs of nutritional supplements to make up for the lack in feed
- Proposed Feeding Program = 5 lbs feed + no supplements
- ~ $14.00 per bag / 50 lbs per bag = $0.28 per pound
- ~ $0.28 per pound X average 5 lb per day feeding = $1.40 per day per horse
- ~ No need for nutritional supplements!
When we calculated the cost per horse per day based on feed consumption and supplements, some of the horses exceeded $3 per day! When we compared that to the feed rates on the premium line feeds, not to mention complete fortification levels and the time savings in not having to sort out servings of supplements every day, the premium feed was a better value in the long run.
Welcome to July! We are in the full swing of summer with heat and humidity in many regions of North America. The higher temperature and moisture levels common this time of year can make feed freshness a challenge, requiring extra attention to how feed is stored. Read on for a few tips on storing horse feed for freshness, and see how well your barn is set up to store feed.
Many of us purchase feed by the bag and transfer the contents into a container which is kept in a feed room or designated area of the barn or shed. The container that feed is kept in as well as the location of the container play an important role in how well


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Total dissolved gas and water temperature in the lower Columbia River, Oregon and Washington, 2002 : quality-assurance data and comparison to water-quality standards
Water-Resources Investigations Report 2002-4283
Prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
- Dwight Q. Tanner, Matthew W. Johnston, and Heather M. Bragg
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, collected total-dissolved-gas and water-temperature data at eight sites near dams on the lower Columbia River in 2002. When water is released through the spillways of dams, air is entrained in the water, increasing the concentration of total dissolved gas to levels that can have adverse effects on freshwater aquatic life. Significant findings include:
- For the eight monitoring sites in water year 2002, an average of 99.6% of the total-dissolved gas data were received in real time by the USGS satellite downlink and were within 1% saturation of the expected value, based on calibration data and ambient river conditions at adjacent sites.
- Most field checks of total-dissolved-gas sensors with a secondary standard were within 1% saturation. Field checks of barometric pressure and water temperature were usually within 1 millimeter of mercury and 0.05 degrees Celsius, respectively.
- In June and July 2002, spills exceeded 140,000 cubic feet per second at the John Day, The Dalles, and Bonneville Dams. These spills resulted in levels of total dissolved gas that exceeded 120% saturation downstream of the dams.
- The variance to the State of Oregon water-quality standard for total dissolved gas of 110% saturation was exceeded at seven of the eight monitoring sites. The sites at Camas and Bonneville are considered forebay sites and had the most days exceeding the variance of 115% saturation. The forebay exceedances may have been the result of the cumulative effects of significant spill throughout the lower Columbia River. Apparently, the levels of total dissolved gas did not dissipate rapidly enough downstream of the dams before reaching the next site.
- From mid-July to mid-September, water temperatures were usually above 20 degrees Celsius at each of the seven lower Columbia River sites in operation. According to the Oregon water-quality standard, when the temperature of the lower Columbia River exceeds 20 degrees Celsius, no measurable temperature increase resulting from anthropogenic activities is allowed.
Total dissolved gas and water temperature in the lower Columbia River, Oregon and Washington, 2002 : quality-assurance data and comparison to water-quality standards; 2002; WRI; 2002-4283; Tanner, Dwight Q.; Johnston, Matthew W.; Bragg, Heather M.
Table of Contents
- Methods of Data Collection
- Summary of Data Completeness and Quality
- Quality-Assurance Data
- Effects of Spill on Total Dissolved Gas
- Comparison of Total Dissolved Gas and Temperature to Water-Quality Standards
- Site-Specific Considerations
- References Cited
Additional Publication Details
- Publication type:
- Publication Subtype:
- USGS Numbered Series
- Total dissolved gas and water temperature in the lower Columbia River, Oregon and Washington, 2002 : quality-assurance data and comparison to water-quality standards
- Series title:
- Water-Resources Investigations Report
- Series number:
- Year Published:
- iii, 12 p. : ill. (some col.), map ; 28 cm.
- Online Only (Y/N):
- Additional Online Files(Y/N):