user in CA wants to get an ounce, but can't grow it himself, and does not want to pay dispensary prices, where else will he go? The only other way to get it is still the black market. Why would the dispensaries lower their prices very far below black market prices? They're operating openly and don't need nearly as many customers at such high prices to turn the same amount of money.
 In an open, legal market, the retail price should much more closely reflect the cost of production, which, for an ounce of high grade, would be far below $50. Growing outdoors, the only costs of production are seeds (which can be produced for next to nothing and, in an open market, should not be anywhere close to $10 a seed), dirt, compost, and additives. Even a large hole won't take more than $10 to $20 to fill, and if you put that much good soil in a hole, your plant should be huge. Although some strains require variations in nutrients and, therefore, soil mixtures, these costs should hold about the same for every plant.
 Most of the variability of cost will stem from how much bud a particular strain is capable of producing on a single plant. If you have one plant which, under good conditions, will produce a pound, and another which, under good conditions, will produce 2 oz, then an oz from the larger plant will be cheaper. Even if you use $5 of soil for the 2 oz plant and $20 of soil (a rather high estimate) for the lb plant, an oz of the first will cost $2.50 and an oz of the second a little over $1.
 Other costs, such as land to grow on, storefront space, and permits, will still exist, but in a legal market entrepreneurs will be able to get business loans, which, unlike investments in the black market, don't need to be recouped immediately. Rather, the cost will be spread out over time, reducing how much return the investor absolutely must realize with any given crop. Additionally, operating in the open will allow producers to make more efficient use of their growing space (particularly outdoor fields), producing more per acre than illegal grows, which must avoid detection. Fifty acre farms are rather easy to spot from the sky. Given the economies of scale that even a small scale, legal hundred acre farm could produce, I wouldn't expect a legal oz to cost more than $10 to produce, on average, and it should cost less.
 11. Way to go, I wish more forward thinking people would stand up and say what they realy think. Lets loosen the strangle hold, free up our courts and jails, get the tax dollars, and enjoy the FREEDOM to get high. This my friends is not rocket science WTF. Law or not I fire up any way. We need to organize a national march on DC and let the White House see what 10,000,000 people look like on the mall.
 12. why is it everytime we talk about marijuana, they bring up another drug like heroine and cocaine? bringing up those drugs in the conversation just make marijuana look bad. anytime i hear this i think of all the prescription drugs and i wondered how is it these drugs don't come into mind after hearing the word marijuana. and it's simply because the government or the FDA approves of them. i've seen some commercials about pills that have side effects including suicidal thoughts and health problems left and right. and i wonder why don't that person just smoke a joint, they'll be fine and they don't have to worry about any hardcore side effects. and as far as marijuana making you unable to drive or have good hand eye coordination, that's complete bullshit. marijuana helps you focus and focusing on what you're doing gives you better reactions.
 13. I and millions more Americans would vote Republican for the rest of our lives if they got behind marijuana legalization. The right to bear arms.. less goverment intervention… free markets…. and the right to grow & consume a plant.
 In the next decade, Republicans are in line to lose election after election because of national minority growth, today's freethinking youths and the moronic national spokespeople they choose to represent their party.
 I want my right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Whichever party wants to give it to me first is the winner.
 14. the biggest reason more politicians don't take on this issue is there more concerned that they are committing political suicide and wont be reelected even tho the majority of the public is for decriminalization there more concerned about there image rather then the good of the country. This country needs all the extra cash they can get,so between all our taxes being spent combating this comparatively harmless natural growing plant,and Incarcerating thou's who use it. I think we would save a big chunk of change ending this war on cannabis and open it up to the free market put a reasonable tax on it and start climbing our way our of this astronomical national Debt our last "president" got us into.
 15. obama needs to step up and endow our country with liberty, by freeing all nonviolent pot offenders, he needs to say something along the lines of, xxmillions/thousands/ of people are to be freed today, for a crime that is not a crime, for doing something that was as american to our founding fathers as freedom itself, and then quote the quotes of it being illegal to not grow weed in virginia, its use as a fuelthat doesnt pollute ( the real answer to become independent of foreign oil) NOT TO MENTION THAT THIS PLANT IS THE ONLY PLANT CAPABLE OF PRODUCING ENOUGH BIOMASS RAPIDLY ENOUGH TO STOP GLOBAL WARMING BEFORE IT SETS US UPON A PATH OF CATALCYSMIC DESTRUCTION THIS MUST BE DONE SOON OR WE WILL FACE MAJOR DEVESTATION EVEN IF IT IS NOT AS BAD AS THE MOVIES IT WILL BE DETRIMENTAL TO MILLIONS OF PEOPLE AND MANY SPECIES OF ANIMALS (not to mention this viable comparison, if diesel = satan [in the oceans] then biodiesel = jesus]) maybe nto that much but it seriously doesnt hurt the ozone so it cantb e bad on the ocean. PROMOTE THE TRUTH THE ACTIVE INGREIDENST ALSO CURE CANCER CANNABSI SHOULD BE GROWN EVERYWHERE
 16. Concerning costs of production, in Jorge Cervantes Medical Grower's Bible there is a case study that illustrates a 33x8ft indoor garden that by the third crop is producing at $68 per pound. So, grown on a larger scale the costs to produce would be cheaper. (added by Mobile using Mippin)
 17. glenn shapiro, from omaha ne. successfuly defended me on a bogus search and seizure that occured driving through the cornhusker state. he comes highly recomended. many thanks glenn, and thank goodness for lawyers like him that stick up for the little guy.
 18. Politicians still inexplicably silent on marijuana law reform because they have nothing to gain from it. I predict a tipping point some time in the next decade. Reason will eventually win.
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text:
|View source on GitHub|
Encapsulates a parameterized function, along with updates to its state.
oryx.core.state.Module( *, name=None )
Modules have the dual purpose of acting as containers for state and as functions of that state.
As containers, a Module's
variables() method returns any encapsulated state,
unflatten method are used to register it as a Pytree,
so that it can be passed in and out of JAX-transformed functions. For example,
if we have a neural network layer module
returns the weights of the layer and
grad(some_f)(layer) returns the
some_f with respect to those weights.
As functions, a
Module has three methods:
call_and_update. Conceptually a
Module represents a parameterized function
f_variables(inputs), and its
call method computes the output of the
function. A module's
update method returns a new copy of the module for
a set of inputs with potentially new state (variables). The
method returns both the output of the function and an updated module.
__call__ method has some extra logic needed for composing stateful
functions. If a module
m1 is called in the body of another module
we would like
m2 to "inherit" the state in
m1, so that either
m1's variables appear in
m2's variables. If a module has a nonname, then we'd like it to appear in
m2's variables with name
and if not, we'd like variables in
m1 to appear in
m2 directly. To emulate
this behavior, we have the
__call__ method call
assign on the updated
module (or its member variables) to appropriately update the state to an
outer stateful context.
call( *args, **kwargs ) -> Any
call_and_update( *args, **kwargs ) -> Tuple[Any, 'Module']
unflatten( data, xs )
update( *args, **kwargs ) -> "Module"
__call__( *args, **kwargs ) -> Any
Emulates a regular function call.
Module's dunder call will ensure state is updated after the function
call by calling
assign on the updated state before returning the output of
||The arguments to the module.|
||The keyword arguments to the module.|
|The output of the module.|

source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


but add Location (latitude, longitude) for each node. Then use arrows for connectors to show the "direction" of water flow (which node flows into which node). WPF uses XAML and not sure if this one can be implemented using XAML.
 20. vote
 Thanks for the codes. Ewald Bleiziffer said in his post he's actually done it. I'm hoping he'll provide a link to his work. If not, I'll try and adapt your code–with citations for your work, of course.
 21. vote
 Hi Bradley,
 first of all thank you for posting this helpful work.
 I want to use it for displaying a network diagram.
 To do this I need to add some extra functionality. First I want to add a text to each node, the name of the node. Have you made something similar before or have an idea how to do this?
 The second part is to add a ToolTip to each node. The problem where I stuck here, is that I need the absolute Position of each node to compare it with the current cursor position.
 Is there a way to get the current absolute position of each node?
 - vote
 Adding text to nodes is quite simple; just create a subclass of Node and override the DrawNode method.
 In order implement a ToolTip, you will need an additional method for determining if there is a node under the mouse pointer, e.g.:
 public Node HitTest(Point location, Rectangle bounds) {
 Point center = new Point(bounds.X + (bounds.Width / 2), bounds.Y + (bounds.Height / 2));
 // determine the scaling factor
 Rectangle logicalBounds = GetDiagramBounds();
 double scale = 1;
 if (logicalBounds.Width > logicalBounds.Height) {
 if (logicalBounds.Width!= 0) scale = (double)Math.Min(bounds.Width, bounds.Height) / (double)logicalBounds.Width;
 else {
 if (logicalBounds.Height!= 0) scale = (double)Math.Min(bounds.Width, bounds.Height) / (double)logicalBounds.Height;
 // then draw all of the nodes
 foreach (Node node in mNodes) {
 Point destination = ScalePoint(node.Location, scale);
 Size nodeSize = node.Size;
 Rectangle nodeBounds = new Rectangle(center.X + destination.X - (nodeSize.Width / 2), center.Y + destination.Y - (nodeSize.Height / 2), nodeSize.Width, nodeSize.Height);
 if (nodeBounds.Contains(location)) return node;
 return null;
 Note that the above assumes 'location' is relative to 'bounds' and that these are the same dimensions that are passed to the Draw() method. You can call the HitTest() method from the handlers for the mouse events on your form (or whichever control you draw the diagram on). The method will return a Node if there is one at the specified location, otherwise it will return null.
 - vote
 Hi Bradley,
 thank you for this very helpful answer.
 Now I managed to do all the things I wanted to do.
 Really nice work you have done here and good starting point to draw diagrams.
 Thank you again for posting this solution.
 22. vote
 Hi Bradley,
 Could you provide us how to add text to node, i did it as you reply to Markus ( via overriding the drawnode method, but it redraw the network again
 - vote
 Hi Xander,
 The code below provides a very basic example of how to draw text on a node. Note that the text is not taken into consideration when positioning the nodes – to do this, you would also need to override the Size property.
 public class TextNode : SpotNode {
 public string Text { get; set; }
 public TextNode(string text, Color color)
 : base(color) {
 Text = text?? String.Empty;
 public override void DrawNode(Graphics graphics, Rectangle bounds) {
 base.DrawNode(graphics, bounds);
 graphics.DrawString(Text, SystemFonts.DefaultFont, Fill, new PointF(bounds.Right + 3, bounds.Top));
 23. Pingback: Building a Better Tag Cloud | Brad Smith's Coding Blog
 24. vote
 Hi,
 I am porting this code portion into c++.
 I have one doubt regarding this bearing angle calculation.
 Simply finding the bearing angle is ok.
 But why do some other calculation depending on the the difference between x and difference between y?
 Please help me.
 - vote
 The 'tanh' function only works for values in the range (-1, 1) so the part of the code you're referring to keeps the input within those bounds. It checks whether the distance in the X direction is smaller than the distance in the Y direction and, if so, swaps the values and calculates the complement of the angle instead – this needs to be corrected before the method returns.
 I later discovered that if you replace the 'tanh' function with 'atan2', you do not need to perform this correction, i.e.
 private double GetBearingAngle(Point start, Point end) {
 Point half = new Point(start.X + ((end.X - start.X) / 2), start.Y + ((end.Y - start.Y) / 2));
 double diffX = (double)(half.X - start.X);
 double diffY = (double)(half.Y - start.Y);
 if (diffY!= 0)
 return Math.Atan2(diffY, diffX) * (180.0 / Math.PI);
 return (diffX < 0)? 180.0 : 0.0; }
 25. vote
 Thank you for posting the code – amazing work :).
 I have for you a question – I notice that the number of nodes is always random – can I have a way to make a large number of nodes(like 338)?
 I also need to make a minimal intersections of the graph edges – Do you have idea how to do that?
 Thank you for help – and again, nice job.
 - vote
 The example app I included with the code is just for demonstration purposes – when you use the classes in your own app, you can create as many or as few nodes as you like.
 Generally speaking, the interaction between the forces should inherently act to limit the number of intersections – but depending on the topology of the diagram, you might still get a few. Often, the easiest way to deal with this is to just re-run the layout algorithm until you get something you are happy with – or run it a finite number of times and evaluate the best solution; it's quite straightforward to check for intersecting lines in code.
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Feb 202014
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Year 9 Geography Field Trip to Manama Souq
Faye Weaver, 9D, reports that during the first half term, our class, 9D, went on a trip to the Bab Al Bahrain Souq in Manama in order to collect information so that we can produce a project on the following question 'Should the rest of Manama Souq be pedestrianised?' We undertook various investigations, such as an 'Environmental Quality Survey', which we conducted in various places around the Souq, in order to observe our surroundings. We also asked shoppers and shop keepers to complete questionnaires to research not only our own but other people's opinions on the Souq. By taking photographs and making sketches we could further analyse the Souq at home and at school. This enables us to produce a Land Use Map, which is used to observe what different kinds of shops are in the Souq and the advantages and disadvantages of them and why they are located there. By using all of these techniques to gather information, our groups can each contribute our research to a final project which will be our major assessment this term for our interim grades.Year 9 Field Trip


Prime Partitions
October 19, 2012
Today's exercise is my penance for a wrong answer at /r/math.
A partition of a number is a way to add numbers to equal the target number; for instance, 1+1+2+3+5 is a partition of 11. We studied partitions in two previous exercises. If all the numbers used in the summation are prime, it is known as a prime partition; for instance, 2+2+2+2+3 = 2+3+3 = 2+2+2+5 = 3+3+5 = 2+2+7 = 11 are the 6 prime partitions for 11. The number of prime partitions of a number is a function known by the Greek letter kappa in number theory, so κ(11)=6. You can see the sequence of prime partitions at A000607.
The usual computation of the number of prime partitions is done in two parts. The first part is a function to compute the sum of the prime factors of a number; for instance, 42=2·3·7, so sopf(42)=12. Note that sopf(12)=5 because the sum is over only the distinct factors of a number, so even though 12=2·2·3, only one 2 is included in the calculation of the sum. You can see the sequence of the sums of the distinct primes dividing n at A008472.
Given the function to compute the sum of the prime factors of a number, the number of prime partitions can be calculated using the following formula:
\kappa(n) = \frac{1}{n}\left(\mathrm{sopf}(n) + \sum_{j=1}^{n-1} \mathrm{sopf}(j) \cdot \kappa(n-j)\right)
Your task is to write a function that computes the number of prime partitions of a number; use it to calculate κ(1000). 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
10 Responses to "Prime Partitions"
 1. […] today's Programming Praxis exercise, our goal is to calculate the number of prime partitions for a given […]
 2. The formula in the exercise is wrong: the second call to sopf should be sopf(j), not sopf(n).
 My Haskell solution (see for a version with comments):
 import Data.List
 import qualified Data.Map as M
 import Data.Numbers.Primes
 sopf :: Integer -> Integer
 sopf = sum. nub. primeFactors
 k :: Integer -> Integer
 k n = snd $ foldl' calc M.empty [1..n] M.! n where
 calc dict i = M.insert i (s, div (s + sum (map (\j -> (fst $ dict M.! j) *
 (snd $ dict M.! (i - j))) [1..i-1])) i) dict where s = sopf i
 main :: IO ()
 main = print $ k 1000 == 48278613741845757
 3. ardnew said
 small typo: sopf(42)=12, not 7
 4. programmingpraxis said
 _USER_: Fixed. Thanks.
 5. Paul said
 A version in Python. It uses memoization to speed up the calculations.
 from ma.primee import td_factors as factors
 sopfs = {}
 def sopf(n):
 if n not in sopfs:
 sopfs[n] = sum(set(factors(n)))
 return sopfs[n]
 kappas = {1:0}
 def kappa(n):
 if n not in kappas:
 kmax = max(kappas.keys())
 for i in range(kmax + 1, n + 1):
 kappas[i] = (sopf(i) + sum(sopf(j) * kappas[i - j]
 for j in range(1, i))) // i
 return kappas[n]
 print kappa(1000)
 6. […] we're back into the mathy sort of problems from Programming Praxis, tasked with calculating the number of prime partitions for a given number–essentially, how many different […]
 7. JP said
 Here's my solution in Racket (along with a memoization macro that makes the runtime bearable):
 Prime Partitions
 "Memoization in Racket
 ( Also, there's still a typo in the equation. That took me a fair bit to notice until I saw Remco Niemeijer's comment. :) )
 8. JP said
 As a follow up, I wrote up a way to actually generate the prime partitions which might be interesting:
 Prime Partitions II: The Listing
 The interesting points at least from my perspective are that it uses generators and for*/list to control the recursion, making the code relatively clean and simple.
 9. Adam said
 Thanks a lot for this formula. It was a huge problem for me to understand the Euler transformation and I think that without Your formula I'd give up. :D
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Naupaka's yellow blooms catch the eye
Description: Small shrubs 3 to 4 feet tall with narrow leaves 2 to 3 inches long and up to 1 inch wide. The margins of the leaves are slightly serrated near the tip. The most appealing feature of this native plant is its fragrant yellow half-flowers, compared with the other eight native species of naupaka, six of which are also mountain-dwelling. The other two are the common coastal naupaka kahakai (Scaevola sericea) and the endangered dwarf naupaka (Scaevola coriacea), also found near the ocean.
This particular species has the most narrow and pointed petals of them all; it's very striking. The color of the flower is unusual -- the only other yellow-flowered species of naupaka is the 'ohe naupaka (Scaevola glabra), which is much rarer. Once the flowers are pollinated, small black fruit develop with a single seed within.
Distribution: This endemic species is found in dry to mesic forests on all the main islands except Niihau and Kahoolawe, unlike other mountain naupaka, which reside mostly in higher, wetter areas.
Landscape use and care: This plant makes an excellent addition to any yard. It requires little water once established in the ground and loves full sun. It also seems to be the hardiest of the naupaka kuahiwi species, resistant to the mites and other pests that would crinkle and deform other naupaka leaves. Many times, people plant coastal naupaka kahakai on the makai side of a house and naupaka kuahiwi on the mauka side.
For a limited time, this plant can be purchased at Home Depot for around $9.
Cultural uses: The fragrant flowers of various naupaka kuahiwi are used in leis, as seen in the book "Na Lei Makamae," by Marie McDonald and Paul Weissich (a definite must-have for everyone, especially hula dancers, native plant collectors, lei makers and Hawaiian culture enthusiasts).
co-owns Hui Ku Maoli Ola, a native Hawaiian plant nursery, with Matt Schirman. Contact him at _PHONE_ or e-mail _EMAIL_

source: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb-edu


text:
GUI ToolKits are libraries written to ease the task of writing GUI applications by abstracting the drudgework away from the programmer. As an added bonus, they offer a consistent look between applications that use the same one.
In a GUI application written without a ToolKit the actual program is a long loop that continuously calls a function to poll incoming events and then feeds them into a huge switch construct that decides how to react to each event. Every single facet of the application's behaviour has to be reflected here. Needless to say, writing non-trivial applications this way is tiresome at best.
A GUI ToolKit's main responsibility is to abstract away this event loop in a way that it can be maintained and extended easily. To this end, the different "widgets" (such as buttons, labels, menus etc) of a GUI are treated as black boxes. An EventModel is then specified, which defines how events "propagate" across these blackboxes. The EventModel is a large factor in the design of an application's architecture. Different ToolKits tend to use very different EventModels, which can cause a great deal of confusion.


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After collecting the proposal data from a user, the tool improves the quality of the initial idea with AI NLP functions, such as language improvement, bias recognition, evidence suggestion, structural adjustments, concept matching, to strengthen the quality of the original idea.
In today's digital world, the technological capabilities exist to include as many voices as possible in decision-making, to benefit from broad collective intelligence when arriving at important, high-impact decisions.
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text:
|KBS Forest and Fields|
Many of the upland environments on KBS lands are not managed and are thus in a process of ecological recovery from past disturbances. Hardwood forests of ca. 70 years age are abundant and occur in patches of variable size, typically dominated by oaks, maples, beech, and hickories.
Conifer plantations of more than 40 years age are also common. The Kellogg Experimental Forest contains some of the most thoroughly studied forest ecosystems in Michigan. Kay Gross can provide more information on local plant communities.
Nearby public lands - Yankee Springs State Recreation Area, Fort Custer State Recreation Area, Allegan State Game Area, and Barry State Game Area - are largely covered by forest and oak savanna and include the largest blocks of contiguous forest in southern Michigan. These areas also contain a wide variety of lakes and wetlands, including bottomland floodplain forest along the Kalamazoo River and Sphagnum peat bogs in isolated kettle holes.


Supercritical Fluids
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supercritical fluid exists without a distinct liquid or gas phase and forms when temperatures and pressures exceed the substance's critical point. Here supercritical transition is demonstrated with an ampule of liquid chlorine. When immersed in a hot bath, the temperature and pressure inside the ampule rises until around 0:20 when the meniscus marking the interface between liquid and gas disappears. The chlorine is now in its supercritical state. Around 0:43 the hot bath is removed and the chlorine begins to cool, reverting to distinct phases of matter around 0:55.
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text:
Distributed architectures prevent total system failure during emergencies, allowing parts of the system to continue to function, and making overall system recovery faster.
A heterogeneous set of system components monitored by a varied suite of sensors and a particle-filtering (PF) framework, with the power and the flexibility to adapt to the different diagnostic and prognostic needs, has been developed. Both the diagnostic and prognostic tasks are formulated as a particle-filtering problem in order to explicitly represent and manage uncertainties in state estimation and remaining life estimation. Current state-of-the-art prognostic health management (PHM) systems are mostly centralized in nature, where all the processing is reliant on a single processor. This can lead to a loss in functionality in case of a crash of the central processor or monitor. Furthermore, with increases in the volume of sensor data as well as the complexity of algorithms, traditional centralized systems become — for a number of reasons — somewhat ungainly for successful deployment, and efficient distributed architectures can be more beneficial.
The distributed health management architecture is comprised of a network of smart sensor devices. These devices monitor the health of various subsystems or modules. They perform diagnostics operations and trigger prognostics operations based on user-defined thresholds and rules. The sensor devices, called computing elements (CEs), consist of a sensor, or set of sensors, and a communication device (i.e., a wireless transceiver beside an embedded processing element). The CE runs in either a diagnostic or prognostic operating mode. The diagnostic mode is the default mode where a CE monitors a given subsystem or component through a low-weight diagnostic algorithm. If a CE detects a critical condition during monitoring, it raises a flag. Depending on availability of resources, a networked local cluster of CEs is formed that then carries out prognostics and fault mitigation by efficient distribution of the tasks. It should be noted that the CEs are expected not to suspend their previous tasks in the prognostic mode. When the prognostics task is over, and after appropriate actions have been taken, all CEs return to their original default configuration.
Wireless technology-based implementation would ensure more flexibility in terms of sensor placement. It would also allow more sensors to be deployed because the overhead related to weights of wired systems is not present. Distributed architectures are furthermore generally robust with regard to recovery from node failures.
This work was done by Kai Goebel of Ames Research Center, and Sankalita Saha and Bhaskar Sha of Mission Critical Technologies, Inc.
Inquiries concerning rights for the commercial use of this invention should be addressed to
the Ames Technology Partnerships Division at 1-855-NASA-BIZ (_PHONE_).


text:
Thanks to its HTAL (High Torque Aerial Lift) advanced tilt-duct propulsion system, the AD-150 Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) has been designed to take off and land vertically (VTOL) as well as reach a speed of about 300 knots.
It is still being developed by American Dynamics Flight Systems. Its airframe is to be made up of carbon fiber and kevlar materials. It could be one of the most effective drones of its generation with its versatile payload configuration; GCS interfaces; and interoperable data links. Its Pratt and Whitney engines could be feed with Jet-A; JP-4; and JP-5 fuel.


text:
Alu RNA accumulation due to DICER1 deficiency in the retinal pigmented epithelium (RPE) is implicated in geographic atrophy (GA), an advanced form of age-related macular degeneration that causes blindness in millions of individuals. The mechanism of Alu RNA-induced cytotoxicity is unknown. Here we show that DICER1 deficit or Alu RNA exposure activates the NLRP3 inflammasome and triggers TLR-independent MyD88 signaling via IL18 in the RPE. Genetic or pharmacological inhibition of inflammasome components (NLRP3, Pycard, Caspase-1), MyD88, or IL18 prevents RPE degeneration induced by DICER1 loss or Alu RNA exposure. These findings, coupled with our observation that human GA RPE contains elevated amounts of NLRP3, PYCARD, and IL18 and evidence of increased Caspase-1 and MyD88 activation, provide a rationale for targeting this pathway in GA. Our findings also reveal a function of the inflammasome outside the immune system and an immunomodulatory action of mobile elements.
Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


text:
In 2005, we provided the components and circuit diagram for a solar powered.25Hp AC water pumping system with a 2,500 watt inverter for the Assumption School in Majuro. As a result, the School is designated site for emergency water supply, as it has a large water tank supplied by the water pump. In the case of a major power failure this school would be one of very few water sources in the area.
We have also provided components for over 50 outer island elementary schools with basic solar power systems, as requested under the US federally funded Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The systems followed their specifications and were installed at the Ministry of Education Special Education Centers. They are typically used for lights, photocopying, and general school needs.


text:
- No Kill Permit required from VDGIF.
- Landowner may kill or have killed when causing damage.
- No Sunday hunting or killing is permitted.
- You must contact the Commonwealth Attorney's office in your county/city for information regarding legal methods of animal removal. Local ordinances are usually more restrictive than state laws.
- There is a continuous open trapping season in the following localities: Arlington, Chesterfield, Fairfax, Henrico, James City, Loudoun, Prince William, Spotsylvania, Stafford, Roanoke and York Counties.
The beaver is North America's largest rodent. Adult beavers normally weigh 40 to 50 pounds, but exceptionally large animals may weigh up to 80 pounds. They range in length from 35 to 50 inches, including the tail, which normally is about 10 inches long. Beavers today are found throughout North America. Here in Virginia, biologists believe beavers are present in every county. Beavers are important in that they create new habitats that benefit a variety of other animals. Their dams slow the flow of moving waters and allow other wildlife and plant species to colonize this modified ecosystem. Ducks and other waterfowl, as well as many reptiles, amphibians, and aquatic insects, are attracted to beaver ponds. However, the impaired flow and removal by beavers of the woody vegetation along the shoreline can raise the water's temperature and allow more sediment to collect behind the dam. Lower dissolved oxygen levels and higher water temperatures may favor some organisms, but at the expense of others (e.g., trout and aquatic insects dependent upon cool, flowing waters). Physical damage caused by beavers in the Southeast is estimated in the millions of dollars annually. Examples of this damage include timber and agricultural crop loss, damage to roads, septic systems and other property by flooding, and destruction of ornamental plants used in landscaping.
One way to discourage a beaver is by wrapping trees in chicken wire or other heavy metal sheeting or wire. The tree must be wrapped to a height of 4 feet to be effective against a full grown beaver. If this does not solve the problem, landowners, or their agents, may destroy beavers which are causing damage by any lawful method without obtaining a kill permit.
Moving beavers to other areas is not permitted under Virginia Code.
More information regarding beavers: Human-Wildlife: Beaver


December 17, 2012
The animals have never before been seen socialising in groups. New high definition cameras which function with nearly no light made the discovery possible
But new footage shot in Africa has revealed how the black variety of the animal enjoy regular night-time liaisons involving kisses, cuddles and a level of social interaction previously unknown in the species.
Thanks to the latest high definition night vision cameras, scientists are now able to observe the animals in the dark for the first time, and have observed a boisterous personality trait that rarely appears during the daytime.
In footage captured for Sir David Attenborough's latest BBC wildlife series, Africa, 50 animals were revealed to be gathering in groups of up to 16 each night.
Paul Brehem, who was the scientific adviser for the film crew, told the Sunday Telegraph: 'For us to see this happening at night is extraordinary. It seems to be happening every night and we could see different individuals coming and going each night.
'This hasn't really been documented or seen before. We thought the extent of their social interaction was individual males wandering around and searching out females to mate with.'
Affection: Two black rhinos were caught on camera greeting and sharing an intimate moment in the darkness of the desert
The documentary revealed romance was not dead to the breed, with the animals coming together to rub noses, play together and communicate using a range of sounds including high pitched squeaks for calves, and loud bellows by the older adults.
Mr Brehem added: 'What is so touching is that there is a whole side to them that we were not aware of and had not been able to record before.'
Previously the crews could only use the light of the moon to observe the rhinos at night, but the cover of darkness meant the goings-on of their social engagements stayed secret.
There are two types of African rhinoceros – black and white, the latter being more common and more sociable during the day.
The shot had to be delayed for a year while a camera that could work with almost no light was being developed.
It enabled the crew to observe that the eyes of the rhinos were wide open.
The exact location of filming will not be revealed due to the threat of poachers.
The sequence is part of a landmark new series profiling Africa as never before caught on film.
Other scenes show eagles catching giant bats on the wing, lizards stalking their prey on the backs of lions, antelope-hunting monkeys and a nail-biting giraffe fight.
Breath-taking: The documentary shows fog lingering over the mountainous dunes, supplying the desert with precious moisture
Featured on the programme was an aerial view of Namib desert dunes - showing the vaporous fog which provides just enough moisture to allow life to exist.
The programme also featured two African lions competing for dominance
Captured: A shoebill stork chick was filmed in the nest for the first time. The birds proved very difficult to find and crews researched them for six months
Responses to "The secret social life of rhinos revealed in stunning detail for the first time by new night vision cameras (Photos)"
 1. Jennifer M says:
 Great photos of rhinos interacting. Especially good as there will soon be none left for us to see. What a tragedy.
 2. Anonymous says:
 Thank you, these pictures are truely amazing!
 3. steven loots says:
 Beautiful pics.
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text:
Scholing Hands-on training in systematic reviews of animal studie
In this workshop you will be introduced to the concepts of synthesis of evidence and systematic reviews of animal studies and to the differences between these review methods and classical, so-called narrative reviews. Both the advantages and the limitations of systematic reviews will be discussed.
Scholing Scientific Integrity for PhD candidates
Lately science has been compromised in more than one occasion by issues having to do with the integrity of researchers and research teams. This course is designed to discuss these matters with researchers in training for PhD. The 2-days course will be held five times in 2018.


Question: English & Literature
How does Sam try to educate them and what lessons does he teach?
sam from master harold and the boys what lessons does he teach hally and willie
In English & Literature | Asked by jebosley
Asked from the Master Harold...and the Boys study pack
Best Answer
First of all, Sam is a black man, he has no real education except from what he has learned from Hally. But Sam is curious and has a strong personnality.
For willie, I'd say he is litteraly trying to teach him how to dance, That'd be the first thing you'd see but deeper, there's also the No-collision world part where they say that life is a sort of dance without music to guide them, maybe he's trying to open their minds. Don't forget about the violence willie imposes on his girlfriend and how Sam tells him what to do.
For Hally there are many things he has been teaching him, first when they talk about the men of magnitude. They both give the men they'd "like to be like" or they admire, and they talk about religion. But I think that Sam isn't directly giving a lesson in that part buut more likely in the end. When they get in a fight, maybe to make Hally realize that he is wrong acting and saying horribles things about his father, and then being mean to willie to hurt Sam.
I don't think that's all of it, but it's quite a start, sorry for the mistakes I might have made, I'm not english and my english isn't that good :/
Hope I helped :]
(guest) | 2142 days ago
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text:
The history of Tolstoy can be traced back to determine his geneology because he came from ancestors who were very well-known and prosperous in Russia.
Tolstoy's Family History
The Tolstoy family was considered to be noble and important in Russia. Tolstoy and his family are believed to have gotten their start from a man named Indris.
- Indris immigrated from Germany to Russia in 1353.
- It was here that he was baptized, given a new name, and served as military governor.
- He was the founder of several families which were considered to be noble.
- Indris' great-grandson, Andrey Kharitonovich, moved to Moscow, the center of Russian wealth and power. His military knowledge and good looks served him well as he schemed for wealth and influence.
- Andrey became the Grand Duke Vasiliy Tolstoy and the family thrived and profited from Russia's growth and success.
Tracing Tolstoy's Geneology
According to Leo Tolstoy, His Life and Work, (compiled by Pavel Biryukov and Revised by Leo Tolstoy from the 1911 English-language edition and distributed by the Tolstoy Library OnLine) on Tolstoy's father's side of the family, his genealogy actually breaks down to:
Number of Generations from Indris:
- (15 Generations) Peter Andreyevich Tolstoy was the first Count
- (16 Generations) Ivan Petrovich
- (17 Generations) Andrey Ivaonvich
- (18 Generations) Ilya Andreyevich, Governor of Kazan
- (19 Generations) Aleksandra, married to Count Osten-Saken. Nikolay.
- (19 Generations) Pelageya, married to V.P. Yushkov. Ilya (dies without children)
- (20 Generations) Nikolay, Sergey, Dmitriy, Lev, and Marie
As you can see, there are many generations of nobles in the background of Tolstoy and he is 20 generations removed on his father's side from the first noble Indris.
The genealogy on this mother's side is just as impressive. The maternal ancestral line traces back through royalty including princesses and other members of royal families that allowed Tolstoy to have the upbringing and nobility that he had during his time.
Facts About Leo Tolstoy
- Leo Tolstoy, or Count Lyev Nikolayevich Tolstoy, was born in Russia on September 9, 1828.
- He was born the fourth out of five children to very loving parents, but his parents died when he was very young.
- Tolstoy was raised by relatives until he came of age and was able to join the Russian army, which he did with his brother.
- It is during the days that he spent with the Russian army that Tolstoy began writing.
- Today he is known as one of the greatest novelists of all time, if not the single greatest novelist ever. He has written such well-known books such as War and Peace and Anna Karenina.
- In addition to his writing, he also became a devout Christian in his lifetime and his beliefs influenced well-known leaders of history such as Ghandi and Martin Luther King, Jr.
- Tolstoy died in 1910 of pneumonia after wandering outside alone at the age of 82.


text: Three experiments were conducted to test the hypothesis if a sniff of others' body odor was comfortable then it could promote their motor mimicry. Participants（ N = 52, 68, 102 respectively） were asked to pair up with a person sitting around and to rate each others' hands on the favorability of their skin, shape warmth, and odor. Then they played a paper-rock-scissors game twelve times. Results showed that the frequency of draws in the game was not influenced by the partners' scent but slightly increased as the difference between the two evaluations of odor likability increased. The findings suggest the body odor can play a certain role in developing an empathic bond.


Videos by Jason Brennan
In Defense of Open Borders
Jason Brennan debates a researcher from the Heritage Institute on immigration policy. Brennan defends open borders from a moral and economic perspective.
Why Utopia is Capitalist
Brennan presents Why Not Capitalism? at the College of New Jersey. He argues that even if people were angels, market society would be superior to socialism.
Libertarianism Beyond the Cartoon
Jason Brennan explains how the cartoon view of libertarianism is inaccurate, and how libertarians have sophisticated responses to many of their critics.
Markets without Symbolic Limits
Jason Brennan argues that semiotic objections to markets in organs (and other taboo goods) fail.


text:
Wildfires more intense and more frequent in Alberta
Population shifts to wooded areas, aging forests, and changing weather all factors
Before the fires that devastated Slave Lake last year, Lac La Biche was the last community in Alberta to be destroyed by an out-of-control wildfire. It happened in 1919, when a massive blaze swept west from Saskatchewan across northern Alberta and burnt all but three of Lac La Biche's buildings, killed 14 people, and torched more than two million hectares.
Fast-forward 93 years and wildfires are happening more frequently—and are more intense—across Alberta's forested landscape. Diana McQueen, Alberta's Minister of Environment and Sustainable Resource Development, said the province is preparing to battle the growing wildfire threat.
"As the forested communities in our province grows, so does the wildfire threat," McQueen said at a recent news conference in Edmonton. "We're also seeing earlier and dryer wildfire seasons … that means we have to be ready for a new reality of more and more intense wildfires."
An independent panel recently released a report into the Slave Lake fire of last May that destroyed 428 single-family homes, seven multi-family residences, and 19 non-residential businesses, as well as destroying 56 homes in nearby communities.
With a reported $742 million in damages, it was the second-costliest disaster in Canadian history, after the ice storms that devastated eastern Canada in 1998.
Although the report stresses the need for wildfire prevention and preparedness, it also concluded that responders did all they could to save Slave Lake last year.
"Given the available resources and the conditions of the fire, our conclusion is we did not see any opportunity to employ other tactics to guarantee a different outcome without compromising responder safety," said report committee chair Bill Sweeney at the press conference.
Sweeney said a population shift to Alberta's forested areas, coupled with an aging boreal forest and hotter, dryer seasons, means that wildfires will only increase in the province. And that's why prevention is being touted as the most important aspect of fighting wildfires.
MOST WILDFIRES ARE PREVENTABLE
Leslie Lozinski, Alberta ESRD Forestry Information Officer for the Lac Biche Region, said that 80 per cent of wildfires are human-caused.
"This year, most of the fires are human caused," Lozinski said. "Which means that they have been 100 per cent preventable."
The 2012 wildfire season got off to a roaring start, with blazes near Grassland and Bonnyville burning a combined 1,800 hectares earlier this month. In total, there have been 495 wildfires reported in the province this year, including 76 in the Lac La Biche area alone—the second busiest fire region in Alberta behind the Calgary area and by far the most destructive with a total of 1,858 torched hectares.
"With more people living near forests, it's going to mean more activity, more quads, and more chances for wildfires," Lozinski said.
CREATING DEFENSIBLE SPACE
The forestry information officer said that residents can take an active role in reducing the potential damage of wildfires. She recommends creating a 30-metre "defensible space" radius around a property. And a lot of wildfire protection is just basic home and property upkeep and common sense: mow and water your lawn regularly, don't plant highly-flammable juniper and cedar trees near your home, trim the bottom branches off of trees on your property, and pay special attention to your roof.
"It's important to clean out your eavestroughs and gutters," Lozinski said. "A spark or ember can land in an eavestrough, then travel under the shingles—and asphalt shingles are better than wood shingles—and get into the attic."
For more information on how to prevent wildfires and better protect your home and property in case of a wildfire, visit _URL_ or visit the Alberta SRD Forestry Division on Beaverhill Road in the Hamlet of Lac La Biche.
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grand tactics
The topic grand tactics is discussed in the following articles:
 - TITLE: tactics (military)
 SECTION: Evolution of the term
 ...but over time each has acquired both a prescriptive and a descriptive meaning. There have also been attempts to distinguish between minor tactics, the art of fighting individuals or small units, and grand tactics, a term coined about 1780 by the French military author Jacques-Antoine-Hippolyte de Guibert to describe the conduct of major battles. However, this distinction seems to have been lost...


text:
IZOBRAZEVANJE OB DELU Slovenia
Education for adults who are in full time employment. This formula is usually used in formal education
but can be applied to the non-formal education as well. The term was used in Yugoslavia during the socialistcommunist regime. It meant especially the interconnection between work and education. There were
several similar terms which also designated the relation between work and education, like: "izobrazevanje
na delu" (education at work), "izobrazevanje z delom" (education with work), "izobrazevanje iz dela" (education
out of work). All these terms were inscribed in laws and acts in the period of socialist political order
in Yugoslavia (_PHONE_). After the fall of the socialist-communist regime these terms have not been in
use as much as before, but they are still alive. People adopted the term and they use it to define the status
of their education. In Slovenian there is no other suitable word to define adult education students. Officially
the term "non-regular education" has a pejorative connotation in comparison with "regular education"
which refers to the status of the participants in initial education. The term "along the work" was in
practice first used to indicate full time employed individuals involved in education. Later its meaning
became wider and is now used to indicate any adult involved in education. We can compare the term with
similar terms in other languages, indicating part-time students who are not employed full time.
According to Jarvis (1990: 259) "part-time student" is an "adult who is a registered as a student, but
has other obligations, such as work or domestic commitments, and is therefore unable to pursue his/her
studies full time". Similarly, the UNESCO Terminology (1979: 56), gives this definition: "Learning
which involves the selection of one of several different ways of combining employment, leisure and education".
The term in Slovenian does not indicate merely the student, but the participant in formal adult
education in general.
Jarvis, P. (1990) An International Dictionary of Adult and Continuing Education, London & New York:
Titmus, C. et al (ed.) (1979) Terminology of adult education, Paris: UNESCO.
Jelenc, Z. (ed.) (1991) Terminologija izobrazevanja odraslih, Ljubljana: Pedagoški institut.


text:
A pocket guide designed by Purdue University Extension to be an in-field reference for corn and soybean producers is now available.
The 2012 Corn and Soybean Field Guide allows farmers to quickly analyze trouble spots in their fields.
The guide is updated annually and is full of information and photographs to help diagnose and manage problems such as weeds, diseases and insects. Its 320 pages cover crop development, nutrient deficiencies, planting decisions, soil fertility and herbicide injuries. The information can be used throughout the growing season - from planting to harvest.
The 2012 updates include new nitrogen fertilizer recommendations. The guides also can now be purchased in single or bulk quantities through Purdue Extension's The Education Store at _URL_
Producers who use the guide to help manage pest problems and apply appropriate amounts of fertilizer for deficiencies can not only produce top yields but also save money, said Corey Gerber, director of Purdue's Crop Diagnostic Training and Research Center.
The Corn and Soybean Field Guide has been in production since 1988. About 25 percent of the publication's sales are in Indiana, with the rest scattered around the country and the globe. According to Gerber, the guide is applicable to other regions of the U.S. and around the world.
Individual copies are $7, or a box of 25 copies is $157.50. They can be ordered online at the Web address above or over the telephone at (888) EXT-INFO (_PHONE_). They usually ship within two business days.


Capillary GC Columns, by phase polarity
Choosing a stationary phase is the most important step in choosing a column, and should be selected based on the application to be performed. It is recommended to first consult our "Capillary GC Columns, by industry/application" section to determine if we have already identified appropriate columns. For new applications, there is often no existing reference to provide guidance. In these method development instances, one must have some knowledge of the chemistry of the compounds to be analyzed. Phase selection is based on the general chemical principle that "likes dissolves like" and relates to the specific analyte-stationary phase interactions that each group of columns can perform. Choose:
 - Non-polar GC columns for non-polar compounds (such as alkanes) that contain 1) only carbon and hydrogen atoms, and 2) only single bonds between carbon atoms.
 - Intermediate polar GC columns for an alternate selectivity of non-polar and/or polar compounds.
 - Polar GC columns for polar compounds (such as alcohols, amines, carboxylic acids, diols, esters, ethers, ketones, and thiols) that contain 1) primarily carbon and hydrogen atoms, and 2) also some bromine, chlorine, fluorine, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and/or sulfur atoms.
 - Highly polar GC columns for polarizable compounds (such as alkenes, alkynes, and aromatic hydrocarbons) that contain 1) only carbon and hydrogen atoms, and 2) some double and/or triple bonds between carbon atoms.
 - Extremely polar GC columns for additional selectivity of polarizable compounds.
View ongoing GC Special Offers


text:
Study: Pretrial Juvenile Detention Increases Odds of Felony Recidivism by 33%
Jurisdictions use pretrial confinement to ensure that young people who have been accused of an offense attend court hearings. It is the most common use of local detention facilities, accounting for 75% of all admissions.
Yet, a stay in pretrial juvenile detention increases a young person's likelihood of felony recidivism by 33% and misdemeanor recidivism by 11%, according to a new peer-reviewed study published in Crime and Delinquency.
The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Washington and supported by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, looked at how long young people spend in pretrial detention and what impact this has on recidivism. Its findings deliver a clear call for changing the status quo in favor of strategies that avoid detaining young people before their cases are adjudicated.
The researchers found that any pretrial detention stay — regardless of its length — increases the likelihood of recidivism. They also discovered that when a young person spends additional days in detention for pretrial reasons, their risk of recidivism jumps by 1% a day.
"This study affirms what we have long believed — that young people are thrown off course by even a single day in pretrial detention," says Nate Balis, director of the Foundation's Juvenile Justice Strategy Group. "These young people, who are presumed innocent because there has been no determination of guilt, are separated from their families, schools, jobs and communities with lasting consequences."
To assess the impact of pretrial detention, the University of Washington researchers analyzed more than 46,000 juvenile cases across 32 jurisdictions in a northwest state from January 2002 through December 2015.
The study defined recidivism as a recorded court filing by a prosecutor within one year of a young person's initial offense (probation violations were not included in this calculation). This approach revealed a significant correlation between "pretrial detention and both felony and misdemeanor recidivism within one year."
Pretrial detention was associated with higher felony recidivism for youth who had few or no prior arrests. According to the study, detained youth who are at lowest risk for reoffending "will learn deviant behaviors, experience disruption in important protective influences, or be exposed to traumatic experiences when placed in secure care even for a very limited duration."
In addition, the findings did not support the notion that pretrial detention served to dissuade other youth in the community from committing crimes.
"As shown by our Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative®, there are more effective and equitable ways than detention to ensure that young people who are arrested — but who present no serious and immediate threat to their communities — will appear in court," Balis says.


text:
Evolutionary biology sounds exciting - there wouldn't be any movies on the SyFy Channel without Gatoroids and Sharknados and other feats of life science run amok - but in reality you are going to spend a lot of time paying your dues watching sponges in mid-sneeze before you get to create an epidemic or a giant monster.
Sneezing sponges? Isn't that a little far-fetched, even for the network that brought us "Arachnoquake"? No, actually the sponge thing is real, and a new paper points to Porifera sneezing as evidence for a sensory organ in one of the most basic multicellular organisms on Earth, even though it doesn't even have a nervous system to interpret sensory information.
Sponges are pretty simplistic, at least in regards to how we see life. They feed by channeling water through their bodies. They have no digestive or circulatory systems, they live and die by water circulation alone. No noses, because there is no nervous system, so it would be pointless.
Sponges do sneeze, according to Sally Leys, Canada Research Chair in Evolutionary Developmental Biology at the University of Alberta. It takes about 45 minutes and involves an entire body-wide contraction. It's a sneeze because it reacts to stimuli like we do when we sneeze, in this case something like physical sediment.
Don't believe it? They took this video, one image every 30 seconds, after adding sediment to the water it is filtering.
Credit: Danielle Ludeman
The researchers used a variety of drugs to cause sneezing and then observed the process using fluorescent dye. They focused on the sponge's osculum, which controls water exiting the organism, including when it sneezes. Their paper says they found that a cellular version of cilia, which function line antennae in other animals, play a role in triggering the sneezes. They concluded that the presence of ciliated cells in the osculum, combined with an apparent sensory function, means the osculum could be a sensory organ.
"For a sponge to have a sensory organ is totally new. This does not appear in a textbook; this doesn't appear in someone's concept of what sponges are permitted to have," said Leys.
Cilia on the epithelia lining the osculum. a. The sponge Ephydatia muelleri in the lake, and grown in the lab viewed from the side (upper inset) and from above (lower inset). The oscula (white arrows) extend upwards from the body. b, c, Scanning electron micrographs show cilia arise from the middle of each cell along the entire length of the inside of the osculum; b the lining of the osculum with cilia on each cell (inset shows an osculum removed from the sponge and sliced in half longitudinally); c, two cilia arise from each cell. d, e, Cilia in the oscula labeled with antibodies to acetylated α-tubulin (green), nuclei with Hoechst (blue, n), actin with phalloidin (red). f. A 3D surface rendering illustrates how the cilia arise just above the nucleus of the cell. Scale bars a 5 mm; inset 1 mm; b 20 μm; inset 100 μm c, 1 μm d, 20 μm e, f 5 μm. Credit: doi:10.1186/_PHONE_-3
The fun thing about evolutionary biology is that there are always a lot of new things to learn. This raises new questions about how sensory systems may have evolved. This could be unique and have evolved over 600 million years, or it could be evidence of a common evolutionary history.
"The sneeze can tell us a lot about how the sponge works and how it's responding to the environment," said lead author and evolutionary biology graduate student Danielle Ludeman in their statement. "This paper really gets at the question of how sensory systems evolved. The sponge doesn't have a nervous system, so how can it respond to the environment with a sneeze the way another animal that does have a nervous system can?"
We look forward to the answer.
Citation: Danielle A Ludeman, Nathan Farrar, Ana Riesgo, Jordi Paps and Sally P Leys, 'Evolutionary origins of sensation in metazoans: functional evidence for a new sensory organ in sponges', BMC Evolutionary Biology 2014, 14:3 doi:10.1186/_PHONE_-3


March 17, 2013 (San Diego) – Dear EarthTalk: What are the main drivers of food scarcity that lead to so much starvation around the world, and how can they be addressed?
-- Marjorie Millerton, Provo, UT
Food scarcity is a bigger problem than ever as human population numbers continue to swell, putting additional stress on already fragile food production and distribution systems. And it's not just happening in far away places: A recent report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that the number of U.S. homes "lacking food security" rose from 4.7 million to 6.7 million in just the last five years.


text:
How to Create a Breaker Box Diagram Template
The breaker box diagram template is an essential tool for any home or business that requires the use of breakers. It allows users to create an easy-to-follow diagram of the electrical system, ensuring that all connections are properly set up and maintained. In order to understand the importance of using a breaker box diagram template, it is first important to understand what a breaker box is and how it works.
A breaker box is an electrical control panel located in the interior of a house or commercial building. It houses the circuit breakers, which act as miniature switches that control the amount of electricity flowing through each branch of the electrical system. The circuit breakers cut off power when certain levels of electricity are exceeded, protecting people and property from potential electrical hazards. When constructing a breaker box diagram, it is important to ensure that all necessary components are included and placed in their correct positions.
Understanding the Components of a Breaker Box
Before beginning to construct a Breaker Box Diagram Template, it is important to have an understanding of the components can be found in a typical breaker box. A breaker box typically contains several parts, including:
- Main circuit breakers, which protect the entire electrical system from power surges.
- Sub-circuit breakers, which protect specific circuits in the system.
- Ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI), which is a type of circuit breaker designed to protect people from shock.
- Arc fault circuit interrupter (AFCI), which is a type of circuit breaker designed to detect and reduce the risk of fire.
- Switchgear, which acts as a switch to turn the power on or off in the system.
- Circuit identification labels, which clearly identify which circuit breaker is associated with each part of the electrical system.
Creating a Breaker Box Diagram Template
Once you have a full understanding of the components of a breaker box, it is important to begin designing a breaker box diagram template. The best way to do this is to have the electrical system in front of you and draw the schematic by hand. You can then use the diagram as a reference or modify it for your own unique needs. To make the process easier, several tips and techniques can be employed.
- Start with a blank sheet of paper or graph paper and draw a simple rectangle representing the breaker box. Label each corner with the correct components.
- Draw each breaker as a small circle, and label it with the appropriate information.
- Draw in the wiring diagram, marking each wire and connection point.
- Label the main circuit breaker, sub-circuit breakers, GFCI, AFCI, and switchgear
- Include all applicable circuit identification labels
Creating a breaker box diagram template can be a complex process, but following these steps can help simplify the process. With a clear and organised template, you will have a comprehensive overview of your electrical system, ensuring that all components are correctly wired and functioning properly.
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I posed the question here, but get no answers yet.
Let $R$ be a PID, $M$ be an $R$-module. If $M$ is isomorphic to $r$ copies of cyclic primary module $R/\langle p^s\rangle$ where $p$ is a prime element of $R$, then does $M$ possess the following property?
Given any submodule $N$ of $M$ isomorphic to $R/\langle p^{s_1}\rangle\oplus\cdots\oplus R/\langle p^{s_r}\rangle$, $M/N$ is isomorphic to $R/\langle p^{s-s_1}\rangle\oplus\cdots\oplus R/\langle p^{s-s_r}\rangle$.
share|improve this question
This is better suited for MSE. You could start with $r=1$, with $M=R/p^sR$, $N=R/p^{s_1}R$. – Dietrich Burde Jun 26 '13 at 8:23
1 Answer 1
up vote 3 down vote accepted
Choose generators $n_1,\dotsc,n_r$ for $N$ with $p^{s_i}n_i=0$. It is not hard to see that the annihilator of $p^{s_i}$ on $M$ is $p^{s-s_i}M$, so we can choose $m_i$ with $p^{s-s_i}m_i=n_i$. If we can prove that the elements $m_i$ form a basis for $M$ over the ring $R/p^s$, then everything else is clear.
The given assumptions on $N$ imply that the elements $p^{s-1}m_i=p^{s_i-1}n_i$ are linearly independent over $R/p$ in the space $M[p]=\{m\in M:pm=0\}$, and by counting dimensions they must form a basis. Multiplication by $p^{s-1}$ gives an isomorphism $M/pM\to M[p]$, so the elements $m_i$ form a basis for $M/pM$ over $R/p$.
We can certainly write $m_i=\sum_ja_{ij}e_j$ for some matrix $A=(a_{ij})$ over $R$, where $e_1,\dotsc,e_r$ is the standard basis for $M$. The above shows that $\det(A)$ is invertible mod $p$. It follows easily that it is invertible mod $p^s$ as well, which proves the claim.
My argument refers to $p^{s_i-1}$ and so does not immediately work if $s_i=0$ for some $i$, but that can be cured with a few more steps.
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Following is the way I can think of to work for the case when some $s_i=0$. Get $m_i$'s in your argument for nonzero $s_i$'s, and prove that they are $R$-linearly independent by showing a correspinding minor of $A$ is invertible mod $p^s$. Then extend these $m_i$'s to an $R$-basis of $M$ as $M$ is homocyclic. Is there any simpler way? – Binzhou Xia Jul 13 '13 at 13:17
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Cultural History (Call #15942) Prof. C.J. Smith TR 9:30-10:50 AD 245
NOTE: This class is open to those with and without prior musical training.
This seminar is an intensive, topics-oriented survey of the styles, practices, and cultures of music and oral tradition in Ireland since St. Patrick. Drawing on lectures, reading, listening, audio/visual sources, in-class performances, and individual research, this course provides students with an enhanced learning experience combining approaches from folklore, ethnomusicology, cultural and literary history, performance studies, anthropology, geography, and more. Exploring the interaction between music and other aspects of cultural expression—talking, reading, listening, playing, and singing together—we will discover Irish influences from and to the other Celtic nations and to global communities; the interaction of orality, memory, texts, music, dance, and the sacred; and the impact of the Irish Diaspora on music and culture worldwide. Tracing the Irish tradition's histories, influences, and modern permutations, and examining them on recordings, video, and in live performance, we will expand our own artistic and intellectual insight and cross-cultural sophistication. Our theme will be the complex combinations of social, historical, political, colonial, economic, biographical, and artistic factors which have shaped Irish culture and identity over the last two millennia. Intersession study abroad: A final component of HONS3304 will be a spring intersession trip to the West of Ireland, May 13-28, during which Dr Smith will lead day trips, musical expeditions, and roaming seminars on music, folklore, and cultural history in the Irish countryside. Participation in this trip is a mandatory part of the course and Study Abroad scholarship assistance is available. THIS COURSE FULFILLS THE HONORS SEMINAR AND CORE CURRICULUM VISUAL AND PERFORMING ARTS REQUIREMENTS.
[Coyotebanjo] Great post on Irish fried breakfast - October 18, 2005
Serena-abroad has a great post on the traditional Irish fried breakfast. Mandatory reading for my Honors seminar in Spring 2006: "Music, Folklore, and Tradition in Irish Cultural History."
What she neglects to mention is that the single advantage of the traditional fry is that it'll carry you through until dinner--and it's including in the B&B price. Excellent for youthful budgets and digestive tracts.
Check out the blog - October 18, 2005
Still working on synchronizing the blog with this Journal. If you know how to tell a blogspot account to forward to a guestbook, drop me a line at
Visit the blog - September 7, 2005
Jottings here but also at


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Active commuting is about choosing regular physical activity in the form of walking or cycling for your everyday trips. It's a great way to fit regular physical activity into your daily active lifestyle.
Every time you or your children walk or ride to work, school or the shops, instead of sitting in a car, you're burning calories, getting fitter and living your new active lifestyle whilst getting part of you daily recommended amount of regular physical activity.
The journey to work is an ideal chance to help build up the 30 minutes a day of regular physical activity you need. You save on gas, fares and commuter stress, plus you gain all the health benefits that healthy living and regular physical activity bring.
Many employers now have travel plans to help reduce car use and promote active lifestyles and healthy living. Ask your employer if they can help encourage walking and cycling.
It's the same for kids. Children and young people need regular physical activity of at least an hour a day, so why not use the school journey to help them keep healthy and fit? Many schools now have a Safe Routes to Schools project.
Practical measures to encourage walking and cycling can be anything from 20mph speed limits, new cycle lanes and crossings to "walking buses" and "cycling trains", where a parent volunteers to escort groups of younger children. Anything that helps promote an active lifestyle and healthy living should be encouraged.
Top tips for active commuting:
- Think "healthy living" before you travel - every time you use your legs it does you good.
- If your trip is less than a mile or so, try walking - or walk some of the way if it's too far.
- You can start your active lifestyle gently, by walking part of the way, or taking a bus home.
- If you're thinking about cycling, try out your route at the weekend first.
- Work up to walking or cycling every day and see how much fitter you feel!


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Healthy Computing Tip # 427: Be oh so British
Working intensely and continuously without breaks may contribute to discomfort and pain. Although we know that frequent breaks provide a respite, we are generally unreliable in reminding ourselves to take a break because we get captured by our tasks and only stop working after we experience discomfort. To reduce discomfort and increase social support, learn to be oh so British.
How to be Oh So British:
Twice a day (morning and afternoon) stop work and take an actual ten to fifteen-minute break. (Remember, the law mandating breaks was written to help you maintain your health.) Place a sign on the office door letting people know the office is closed for a specific time period. During this break, leave your work area and, if appropriate, take this break with your co-workers while drinking tea (it appears to have anticancer properties) and sharing positive experiences.
To increase social support, bring snacks to be shared with co-workers.
Although taking breaks seems unproductive, research studies have demonstrated that people who take breaks are generally equally (sometimes more) productive than those who work without breaks.


Lowland Rain Forest
This site is under redevelopment. Its content is from 1998, but we will be updating it in the near future.
Many trees in lowland tropical rain forest have tall, straight trunks, especially the dipterocarps (far left) that are marketed as Philippine mahogany.
Climate is largely responsible for shaping the four widespread and several restricted types of habitats that originally occurred in the Philippines. Scroll down to learn about the different types of habitat, or jump to specific habitats using the links on the right.
If you are able to identify people, objects, or contribute to the current description that is shown, please add this information below.


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";s:4:"text";s:2629:" … Formula for diphosphorus trioxide? Diphosphorus tetroxide, or phosphorus tetroxide is an inorganic compound of phosphorus and oxygen.It has the empirical chemical formula P 2 O 4.Solid phosphorus tetroxide (also referred to as phosphorus(III,V)-oxide) consists of variable mixtures of the mixed-valence oxides P 4 O 7, P 4 O 8 and P 4 O 9..
Asked in Chemistry P2O3 is the formula for what? Diphosphorus trioxide. Source(s): write chemical formula diphosphorus trioxide: _URL_ Each formula indicates how many molecules of each element must be included for the outcome to be as expected. i have a test tomorrow, and im soo confused!!! PHOSPHORUS OXIDE (P2O3) 1314-24-5 Diphosphorus trioxide.
Diphosphorus Pentoxide is a covalent compound that has an empirical formula of P 2 O 5 and a chemical formula of P 4 O 10.The molar mass of diphosphorus pentoxide is the sum total of the molar mass of each of the atoms in its chemical formula. The ''tri'' in trioxide means... See full answer below. It has been used as a reducing agent in organic chemistry. Related Questions. Empirical Formula (Hill Notation) P 2 S 5. please help! Wiki User 2010-07-25 18:17:28. Asked in Chemistry P2O3 is the formula for what? Molar Mass: _PHONE_.
Formula: O 3 P 2; Molecular weight: _PHONE_; CAS Registry Number: 1314-24-5; Information on this page: Vibrational and/or electronic energy levels; References; Notes; Other data available: Gas phase ion energetics data; Options: Switch to calorie-based units Diphosphorus tetraiodide is an orange crystalline solid with the formula P2I4. Molecular Weight 222.27. how do i write the chemical formula of diphosphorus trioxide? Chemical formula of diphosphorus trioxide? It is a rare example of a compound with phosphorus in the +2 oxidation state, and can be classified as a subhalide of phosphorus.
Solid diphosphorus tetroxide (also referred to as phosphorus(III,V)-oxide) consists of variable mixtures of the mixed-valence oxides P4O7, P4O8 and P4O9. P2O3 is the formula for diphosphorus trioxide. UNII-0LTR52K7HK. 0 0 0. It has the empirical chemical formula P 2O 4.
P2O3. Answer and Explanation: 'Diphosphorus pentoxide' is also known as phosphorus oxide.
The chart below shows the calculated isotope pattern for the formula P 2 I 4 with the most intense ion set to 100%.


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Bishops' Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People
In 2002, in response to the grave problem of child sexual abuse in Catholic institutions, the Bishops of the United States adopted the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.
The Safe Environment Program of the Archdiocese was established to implement Articles 12 and 13 of the the Charter. Article 12 mandates the establishment of programs to train staff in "ways to make and maintain a safe environment for children and young people", and to publicize "the standards of conduct for clergy and other persons in positions of trust with regard to children". Article 13 requires that the Archdiocese evaluate the background of all clergy and of all those whose duties include ongoing, unsupervised contact with minors.
The Charter can be found on the website of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Office of Child and Youth Protection:


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Model output file format:
Year DOY Hour Min Sec Lat[deg] Lon[deg] NmF2[1/cm3]
Here DOY is day of year, andNmF2 [1/cm3] is maximum electron density from either LEO satellites or ISRs. Lat [deg] and Lon [deg] for NmF2 from ISRs are geographic latitude and longitude of ISRs. For NmF2 from LEO radio occultation measurements, Hour, Min, Sec, Lat [deg] and Lon [deg] are universal time and geographic location at which maximum electron density occurs that are not on the satellite track.


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Total Reflection X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis (TXRF)
Basically TXRF is an energy dispersive analysis with a special excitation geometry. In the standard case of EDXRF the angle between incident primary radiation and the sample is 45°. In addition the detector is placed normally to the incident beam thus the angle between sample and detector is also 45°. A narrow almost parallel beam is impinging at angles below the critical angle on the surface of the reflector which carries the sample as randomly distributed microcrystals in the center part of its surface. The principle setup is shown in Fig 1. The x-rays scarcely penetrate the reflector and thus the contribution from scattered primary radiation from the substrate is minimized. The sample itself is excited by both, the primary and the reflected beam therefore the fluorescent signal is practically twice as intense as in the standard EDXRF excitation mode.
One of the differences between EDXRF and TXRF is the excitation geometry which is changed in such a way that the primary radiation impinges at an angle below the critical angle of total reflection on the surface of the reflector carrying the sample. The critical angles are in the range of a few mrad for the typical reflector materials like quartz or Si and the primary radiation of 9.4 keV from a W-L or 17.5 keV from a Mo-anode x-ray tube
Experimental setup
Comparison of a water sample measured with standard EDXRF and with TXRF.
Today TXRF is mainly used for non-destructive surface contamination analysis in the semiconductor industry and for chemical trace analysis as it offers detection limits in the pg range for excitation with X-Ray tubes and even in the fg region if synchrotron radiation is used. The effect of the angular dependence of the fluorescence intensity is used to non-destructively investigate surface impurities, thin surface layers and multilayer structures and is called "Grazing Incidence" or "Glancing Incidence" (GI) XRF
The main advantages of the TXRF setup are the following:
 - Due to the total reflection of the incident photons only a very small part of the primary beam penetrates into the sample carrier. This leads to a drastically reduced spectral background contribution which originates from scattering on the substrate.
 - As the incident beam is totally reflected from the sample carrier and the sample is excited by both the incident and the reflected beam resulting in a doubled fluorescence intensity.
 - The extreme grazing incidence geometry allows placing the detector very close to the sample surface. This results in a large solid angle for the detection of the fluorescence radiation.
The advantage of measuring the surface contamination with TXRF is the fact that the wafer can be mapped by moving the wafer in the plane below the detector to obtain contamination information from each point of the wafer. The inspected area is determined by the detector aperture and detector crystal size. The spatially resolved analysis is done completely nondestructive and can be performed "in-fab", close to the point of fabrication.
To measure surface contaminations on wafers a special set-up is required, allowing to measure the wafer without any surface contact and with the possibility of an angle scan. Measuring the angle dependence of the fluorescence signal allows to distinguish the form of the contamination, film-type or particulate-type. From this kind of measurement it is also possible to check, if signal comes from a surface contamination or if the atoms are below the surface. Pursuing goals of higher sensitivity, synchrotron radiation (SR-) TXRF and other novel X-ray sources have already penetrated the frontiers of classical TXRF.
Angle dependence of fluorescence signal
Environment Medicine/biology Industrial / Technical applications Mineralogy Fine Arts / Archeological / Forensic
Water: sea, rain, pore water, river, mineral, spring water, drinking water, chemicals and deionized water Body fluids: blood, serum, urine, amniotic fluid, cerebrospinal fluid surface analysis: Si-wafer surfaces, GaAs-wafer surfaces ores, rocks, minerals, rare earth elements, quartz, mineral sands, diamond, crystals, Pigments, paintings, varnish
Air: aerosols, vapor, air dust, airborn particles, fresh air Tissue: hair, kidney, lung, liver, stomach, nails, colon implanted ions: depth and profile variations geological materials, bio-mineralisation bronzes, pottery, jewelry, manuscripts, egyptian masks
Soil: sewage sludges, sediments Various: enzymes, polysaccharides, glucose, proteins, cosmetics, bio-films, human bones thin films: single layers, multi layers textile fibers, glass, cognac, dollar bills, gunshot residue, drugs, tapes, sperm, finger prints
Plant material: Algae, fine roots, cucumber plants, pollen oil: crude oil, fuel oil, grease, pure fuel oil, waste oil, petroleum, oil-shale ash, Diesel
Foodstuff: fish, flour, fruts, crab, mussel, mushrooms, nuts, vegetables, wine, tea, soft drinks, onion chemicals: acids, bases, salts, solvents
Drinks: coffee, spirituous beverages, honey fusion/fission research: transmutational elements in Al + Cu, lodine in water
Various: coal, peat


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Is the evidence strong enough to support a medieval Welsh settlement in North America?
First recorded almost four hundred years after the lifetime of Madoc ap Owain Gwynedd, there is little to indicate that the story was known before Humphrey Llwyd. While there certainly were medieval stories about a Madoc, who seems to have been more well known in Flanders than in Wales, it is by no means certain that the Madoc of the stories and poems was Madoc ap Owain. All that can be said of the medieval romances is that they concern a sea-farer of some renown. That is as far as the medieval sources go.
Where Humphrey Llwyd got the story is unknown. It is in none of the sources he translated into English and it is so far from the medieval versions that they cannot have been the sole inspiration. It is possible, perhaps even probable, that he simply made it up. As a proud Welshman at a time when the English government was doing its best to anglicise the recently-created province (following An Acte for Lawes & Justice to be ministred in Wales in like fourme as it is in this Realme of 1536), making a claim that the Welsh had discovered the New World long before the English (and, indeed, the Spanish) had ever set foot there would have been a strike by Llwyd in favour of national pride.
The flawed evidence of the Bat Creek Stone
In 1991, archaeologists Robert C Mainfort Jr. and Mary L Kwas, writing in The Tennessee Anthropologist 16 (1) identified the hoaxer of the Bat Creek Stone as John Emmert, the assistant who claimed to have found it. Cyrus Thomas had doubts about Emmert's abilities, believing his judgement to be impaired by the drink problem that eventually led to his sacking. Following a series of begging letters to Thomas, Emmert was reinstated in 1888, promising to give him "greater satisfaction than I ever did before" and agreeing with Thomas's hypothesis that the Cherokees were the moundbuilders. Emmert certainly had the motive for producing a spectacular find and despite Cyrus Gordon's identification of the script as Hebrew, it is passable for the Cherokee syllabary. Alas, the Cherokee syllabary was invented in 1819 by the native American silversmith Sequoyah (c _PHONE_, also known as George Gist/Guess/Guest) and a radiocarbon date on material from Mound 3 of 1605 ± 170 bp (409 ± 174 CE) is much too early.
So, could Blackett and Wilson be right in identifying the inscription as sixth-century Welsh, in the Coelbren script? Once again, we find Coelbren to be a modern invention, having been first published in 1791 by Edward Williams (_PHONE_, better known as Iolo Morganwg), a serial forger. Although claims have been made for an earlier origin (such as in the "Welsh runes" attributed to the scholar Nennius or Nemnivus and said to have been invented because an Englishman had taunted him that the Welsh had no writing system), nothing like Coelbren is attested before the time of Edward Williams. It is also evident that if it incorporates symbols for mutated consonants and such mutations are not written before the period of Middle Welsh orthography (twelfth to fourteenth centuries CE), long after the date claimed for the Bat Creek inscription by Wilson and Blackett, then Coelbren can be no earlier that the twelfth century CE.
Dismissing the recent claims
Wilson and Blackett are keen promoters of an alternative Arthurian archaeology that uses some very poor evidence that does not stand up to critical scrutiny. Indeed, there is even a suggestion that some of the evidence they use is fraudulent. Their frequent complaint that they are not taken seriously by academe is typical of Bad Archaeologists: they tell their readers that the reasons for being ignored are professional jealousies, an inability to see beyond accepted ideas and even darkly political conspiracies. Like so many other Bad Archaeologists they seem incapable of recognising that the real reason the professional archaeologists do not give them the recognition they believe they deserve is that their ideas are poorly thought out, supported by inadmissable evidence and, ultimately, rubbish.


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The Alliance for the Great Lakes is happy to present H.O.M.E.School, a series of online lessons about the Great Lakes for kids in grades K-8.
Each lesson explores a different topic with a quick video from our education manager Katie Larson. After the "classroom" portion, students can apply their knowledge with a fun, hands-on activity they can do at home or at school. For educators and those who want to learn more, we offer resources to dig in deeper on the topic with links to other lessons and activities.
Want to get started right away? Your kids can watch the video below to meet Katie and learn a fun trick for remembering the names of the Great Lakes. Then they can test their knowledge with a fun online activity!
My colleagues and I have been thrilled to use H.O.M.E.School as our online science unit for firstand second-grade students throughout the coronavirus quarantine. The lesson plans are flexible, well-paced, and cohesively connected from week to week. A good variety of optional follow-up activities are always included so that parents can extend the learning as their schedules allow. Best of all, the lessons are fun and launch student exploration of concrete, real-world issues. –Chris Weber, teacher


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January 3, 2001
John F. Kennedy University announced that it will strive to become the first university in the United States to be designed in its entirety using "Green Principles."
Charles E. Glasser, JD, university president, announced that, "The university's goal is to achieve, wherever possible, the integration of sustainable principles in the building of its new Concord campus, as well as its academic curriculum."
Glasser said the specific goals of the Green Project include:
- Striving for the highest possible rating from the US Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy Efficient Design (LEED) rating system;
- Maximizing the use of green building materials throughout all aspects of design and construction, including campus furnishings;
- Designing the energy and water consumption needs using environmentally sensitive yet highly efficient methods;
- Integrating the principles of sustainability into the curriculum.
While several US colleges and universities have completed sustainability construction practices in individual buildings, JFKU believes it would be the first university in the country to construct an entire campus implementing "Green Principles."
The university has obtained an option to buy a five-acre site on Galindo Avenue in downtown Concord, adjacent to the Concord BART station. Plans are to break ground in early 2002 and to begin classes there in the fall of 2003.
Glasser said the JFKU Board of Regents has approved a resolution to integrate the principles of sustainability into the new campus in Concord. Glasser has been working with a number of leaders in the sustainability movement, including Jim Quinn, president and CEO of Collins Pine Company, who earned his MBA from JFKU in 1970 and was Alumnus of the Year in 1998. Quinn, also named Man of the Year in the timber processing industry in 1998, is a national leader in his business and in the field of sustainability. Others who Glasser is working with include David Orr, head of the Environmental Studies Department at Oberlin College and an author and visionary in the field of sustainability; David Ford, president of the Certified Forest Products Council; and Bill Browning of the Rocky Mountain Institute.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently updated its report on ozone-generating air cleaners: Ozone Generators That Are Sold as Air Cleaners: An Assessment of Effectiveness and Health Consequences. Based on the most credible scientific evidence currently available, the report says that ozone can be harmful to health, whether in its pure form or mixed with other chemicals. Some studies show that ozone concentrations produced by ozone generators can exceed health standards even when one follows manufacturers instructions. Even at concentrations that do not exceed public health standards, ozone is generally ineffective in controlling indoor air pollution. EPA advises the public to use proven methods of controlling indoor air pollution. (Thanks to Hal Levin.)
Andersen Corporation, maker of Andersen windows and patio doors, announced that it will not source wood from endangered forests and it will give preference to Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) or equivalent certified wood supplies in the manufacture of its products. These commitments become a part of the company's established practices of promoting responsible forestry management in the procurement of wood supplies.
"These commitments support the approach we have taken over the years to preserve forest resources by responsibly sourcing wood, conserving wood whenever possible and reclaiming wood within our operations. All three must be practiced to assure the long-term health of the world's forests and the viability of wood as a valued natural resource," said Kurt Heikkila, vice president of technology and business development for Andersen Corporation.
Andersen said it will give preference to certified wood supplies while pursuing the best wood for its products in terms of quality, price, volume and consistency of material. Andersen will continue to work with suppliers to ensure that specified lumber or cut stock is not sourced from endangered forests. The company said it supports constructive efforts, such as the new Coast Forest Conservation Initiative in British Columbia, to achieve responsible balance among economic, environmental and community interests in timber-producing areas.
Last March, Andersen joined the Certified Forest Products Council (CFPC), an independent, non-profit, voluntary business initiative that promotes responsible forest products buying practices throughout North America in an effort to improve forest management practices worldwide.
Andersen primarily uses ponderosa pine in its window and patio door products and it is sourced from well-managed forests mainly in the western United States. The company is using increasing quantities of its patented biofiber composite, Fibrex -- material, made from waste wood fiber. Fibrex material was developed to reduce the company's need for raw timber and reclaim its wood waste stream. Andersen also conducts ongoing research on wood species and alternatives for use in its products.
Wood conservation has been practiced throughout Andersen manufacturing facilities for years. Scrap wood is finger-joined and edge-glued to create usable pieces; parts are reengineered to save wood; and wood veneers are used where appropriate. Andersen is also committed to recycled wood supplies and to products made with wood waste reclaimed from operations, such as Fibrex material.
As heating oil and natural gas prices rise, the Alliance to Save Energy has taken "$ticker $hock" over high energy prices to a "Shocking" new level with its humorous new TV and radio campaign which focuses on consumer angst over energy bills and solutions to easily reduce both energy bills and pollution.
Titled "Static Electricity House," the television public service advertisements (PSAs) highlight a family's wild experiment to deal with high energy prices by powering their home with static electricity. It requires all family members, including the dog, to keep rubbing their wool socks on the carpeting to keep lights on and power functioning.
But that approach has many humorous drawbacks -- from a burning carpet to having all their hair stand on end. There are many other "shocks" in the process.
But the family discovers they didn't have to go to such extremes when simple energy efficiency approaches and ENERGY STAR-labeled products are better solutions to reduce their energy prices, energy use, and pollution.
In "Big Shock," the radio public service spots, first the husband keels over and then the wife when they open their home energy bill. In addition, the Alliance is re-releasing its popular radio spots by the Beach Boys to the tune of "Summer in Paradise."
Alliance funding partners for the PSAs and a broader multimedia campaign bring together federal and state government and industry--the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), New York State Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), Pacific Gas and Electric Company, and the North American Insulation Manufacturers Association (NAIMA).
Cornell University is consuming a lot less energy and helping regional electric power plants release fewer pollutants into the air thanks to the university's innovative lake source cooling (LSC) installation. LSC uses cold water from the depths of Cayuga Lake to replace conventional refrigeration to cool campus buildings. The $60 million system is one of the largest environmental engineering projects undertaken by a university.
Based on experience since the system was installed in July 2000, the university expects to buy about 20 million fewer kilowatt-hours of electric energy per year for cooling, reducing the burning of coal in power plants by about 25 million pounds a year.
As additional project benefits, Ithaca High School -- which is tied into the system -- will see similar energy and cost percentage savings, and the City of Ithaca has received road and utility upgrades valued at $1.3 to $1.5 million.
Although the concept of using naturally cold, deep water for a cooling system is not new, this is the first such installation by a university anywhere in the world and the first to be deployed in a small freshwater lake. A comparable system is in operation to cool downtown businesses in Stockholm, Sweden, dissipating heat into the Baltic Sea, and an experimental system cools the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii. Systems are under consideration for downtown Toronto and a research facility near Rochester, both drawing from Lake Ontario.
When it became necessary to update Cornell's central cooling system to keep up with growth of the campus, combat rising energy costs, replace aging equipment and eliminate ozone-depleting chloroflurocabon refrigerants, the university opted for LSC. While the cost of building the LSC system was more than 50 percent higher than the cost of a new refrigeration plant, the long-term savings were attractive, and the environmental benefits offered a bonus.
"People think the cost of cooling is lower because of lake source cooling, but the cost upfront is higher. We paid a premium, but it will be paid for over time," explained William "Lanny" Joyce, Cornell utilities engineer and director of the LSC project. "We have built something that will last 75 to 100 years, whereas conventional chillers last about 30 years. It's a much more passive system with fewer moving parts."
The old cooling system consisted of eight "chillers"-- essentially massive water coolers in which a refrigerant is alternately compressed and expanded to transfer heat out of water that is circulated to cooling systems in campus buildings. The old chillers, Joyce said, used a total of 16,000 horsepower to supply 16,000 tons of cooling, each ton being the equivalent of 12,000 BTUs per hour. In industry terms, a "ton" of cooling is the equivalent of melting one ton of ice over 24 hours.
The LSC system, installed in a plant on the east shore of Cayuga Lake, consists of seven heat exchangers and uses only 4,000 horsepower for 20,000 tons of cooling capacity, Joyce said. The system pumps 39.5-degree Fahrenheit water from a lake depth of 250 feet through the heat exchangers, where the lake water absorbs heat from a separate, and sealed, water supply that is circulated to campus buildings. Chilled water travels in a closed loop between the plant and the campus, two and