text: Reedbeds are dominated by a small number of plant species, but are extremely valuable habitats for faunal biodiversity. However, reedbeds often exist in small patches distributed across landscapes and for most regions there is a lack of information about their location and condition. This paper investigates the potential of using LiDAR-derived elevation and intensity data to characterise reedbeds. A Leica ALS50 was used to acquire data for reedbeds during the leaf-off phenological period and the study site encompassed a wide range of canopy development. For reedbeds there was a lack of multiple LiDAR returns and ground returns, which limited the ability to acquire information on canopy structure or terrain elevation. Nevertheless, the first return LiDAR data was able to generate an accurate digital surface model and subsequent canopy height model, as validated using field measurements (RMSE 0.47 m; average difference 0.09 m (5% of average height)). LiDAR intensity data displayed specular reflection effects within reedbed areas, but off-nadir imagery was successfully used for mapping reedbeds, non-reedbed vegetation and water bodies.


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Energy in 3 consecutive forms: potential, kinetic, internal (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
A rock has potential energy (PE) localized in it when you lift it up above the ground. The rock is the system; everything else it encounters is the surroundings. Drop the rock and its PE changes to kinetic energy (energy of movement, KE), pushing air aside as it falls (therefore spreading out the rock's KE a bit) before it hits the ground, dispersing a tiny bit of sound energy (compressed air) and causing a little heating (molecular motion energy) of the ground it hits and in the rock itself. The rock is unchanged (after a minute when it disperses to the air the small amount of heat it got from hitting the ground). But the potential energy that your muscles localized in by lifting it up is now totally spread out and dispersed all over in a little air movement and a little heating of the air and ground.
A hot frying pan? The iron atoms in a hot frying pan (system) in a room (surroundings) are vibrating very rapidly, like fast "dancing in place". Therefore, considering both the pan and the room, the motion energy in the hot pan is localized. That motion energy will disperse—if it is not hindered, according to the second law. Whenever the less rapidly moving molecules in the cooler air of the room hit the hot pan, the fast-vibrating iron atoms transfer some of their energy to the air molecules. The pan's localized energy thus becomes dispersed, spread out more widely to molecules in the room air.

source: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb-edu


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At Home Science Lab
Show your middle schooler how a quick whirl of spinach in the blender will reveal the cobwebby "stuff"--or DNA--of life!
Using simple materials found around your home, you can reinforce the static electricity concept by helping your child build a simple device with zapping power!
Try this chemistry experiment with your fourth grader and get some "shocking" results!
Teach your 5th grader valuable science skills and the importance of fresh water to our survival with this fun and informative activity!
This scientific experiment will help your child find out about mold, while developing important hypothesis and experiment-building skills.
Have your child try this classic and entertaining activity that demonstrates circular motion using a bucket and rope. Careful, you may get soaked.
Wondering how we know that air is there? Here's a quick and easy experiment that proves that air may be thin, but it's not too wimpy to block your shot!
Help your child understand surface tension by showing her how she can create a "skin" on top of water.
Think you can blow up a balloon without using your mouth? This isn't just a cool trick, it's also a great introductory lesson in chemistry and biology.
Here's a fun activity to reinforce the physics concept of stored energy for your middle schooler.
Amaze your kids by separating a salt and pepper mixture using an "electric spoon" charged with wool.


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Museum Collections - Mesoamerica - Maya (Before A. D. 1520) - Artifact #3
WHO: Maya culture
WHEN: Late Classic Period, A.D. 550-800
WHAT: This vase (tall dish form) features a seated jaguar. The jaguar was an important symbol of power to the ancient Maya. The jaguar, as the most powerful and feared animal in the jungle, was the natural symbol for the authority of Maya rulers.
HOW: Hand-formed earthenware, polychrome slip decoration.
MUSEUM: Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art. G83.1.140
Zoomify Interactive: To see an image of this artifact that you can zoom in on, click on this link: Front (Warning: This link will open in a new window)


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While the Gemara uses the term terefah to denote any animal with a terminal condition that cannot be slaughtered as kosher since it will die within a short amount of time, the single case of terefah that is mentioned in the Torah is when an animal attacks another animal and kills it (see Shemot 22:30). This most basic case occurs when the predator locks its claws on the body of the animal that is being attacked, and the poison in its claws enters the animal, threatening its life, According to the continuation of the Gemara, this poison "burns" in the body of the animal, injuring and puncturing its internal organs, which renders it a terefah.
The example of a terefah that appears in the Mishnah is a wolf, and Rav Yehudah quotes Rav as teaching that in the case of cattle it is "from the wolf and upwards," i.e. either a wolf or animals larger than a wolf like a lion. Ultimately the Gemara suggests that this teaching comes to exclude the case of a cat that attacks in a predatory manner. While I might have thought that the Mishnah simply mentions ordinary cases of attacking animals, but that smaller animals would be included as well, Rav Yehudah teaches that in the case of cattle an attack by a cat would not be considered significant to render the animal a terefah.
A wolf, canis lupus, is a predatory animal, similar to a dog. It grows to a length of between 3 and 5 feet and an adult can weigh up to 130 pounds. Wolves live and hunt in packs, which allow them to hunt not only small animals, but larger animals, as well. An attack by a pack of wolves can cause serious damage to a herd of cattle.
A cat, felis, is a relatively small predator that weighs between 7 and 15 pounds. We are most familiar with the common house cat – F. silvestris catus – but there are numerous types of wild cats, as well. From the Talmud it appears that there were ferocious wild cats that lived in close proximity to human habitation during the time of the Sages. These cats attacked animals much larger than themselves, such as sheep and goats, and there is even reference to a case when a child's hand was bitten off by such a creature.

source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


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The Ultimate Sell Signal
Just for fun, we've adapted one of our analytical methods for forecasting stock prices and applied it to the stock market of the Roaring Twenties, which really ran from October 1925 up through September 1929: Keeping with our yesteryear analysis by taking only what someone in the 1920s might have known about our statistical control chart-inspired analytical methods into account (statistical control charts were invented by Walter Shewhart in the 1920s, it would still be years before Western Electric's rules for detecting breaks in trends would be well developed), the value of the S&P 500, or really, its predecessor index, in September 1929 would mark a very strong sell signal, indicating that stock prices were no longer "normal", while also being far above the mean. What followed next in October 1929 is, as they say, history!... The difference between the upward trajectory for stock prices in the late 1920s and the downward one in the early 1930s and the downward one is most likely the expectations that investors had for inflation. That difference in trajectory is very similar in many respects to recent stock market history, where the Fed influenced inflationary expectations with its quantitative easing programs. If those expectations had been largely constant throughout this period, the vertical separation between the upward and downward trajectories would likely have been minimal. And for a different perspective on the history of the Great Crash: Finally, also just for fun, here's what the present period of comparative order in the stock market looks like today: Make your own determinations.


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MMRU administers the Consortium, which unites the marine mammal research of four Universities: the Universities of Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon State. It combines the skills and expertise of university-based physiologists, ecologists, marine mammalogists, oceanographers, and fisheries specialists.
The mission of the Consortium is to undertake long-term studies of marine mammals in the North Pacific Ocean. Much of the initial research is focused on the decline of Steller sea lions, but also includes studies of other species such as killer whales, harbor seals, sea otters, and northern fur seals. Graduate student participation and training is central to the success of the program.
Monthly updates on research findings and publications can be obtained by joining our e-mail list at _URL_


Monitoring Heartbeat per Day to Motivate Increasing Physical Activity.
In: UbiComp Workshop on Interaction with Ubiquitous Wellness and Healthcare Applications (UbiWell)
Innsbruck (2007)
Buchaufsatz / Kapitel / Fach: Informatik; Wirtschaftswissenschaften
Physical activity is one of the most basic human
functions and essential for physical and mental health and
has major beneficial effect on chronic diseases such as
heart disease, stroke, etc. Awareness of this condition has
been one of the focuses for researching over recent years.
One common way for making this awareness is monitoring
the number of steps taken by a person and comparing it
with the minimum amount of steps s/he needs. In this
paper we suggest that instead of this, heartbeat can be
monitored to aware physical activity.
Dieser Eintrag ist freigegeben.


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عنوان مقاله [English]
One of the most important strategic decisions that affects the success of an organization, is to locate the facility in an appropriate place. Facilities are characterized on a continuum spectrum from manufacturing facilities at one end and service facilities at the other end. In terms of trends in enterprise turn-over and gross domestic products (GDP) of nations, service industries play an increasingly more important role than their manufacturing counterparts. This article presents a bi-objective non-linear integer mathematical model for reliable facility location problem with stochastic demand. The concentration of this article is to present a new mathematical model in reliable facility location problem with immobile servers with congested facilities. The goal is to determine the location of both inexpensive and reliable facilities. Therefore, a bi-objective mathematical programming model is presented in which total cost and reliability of system are simultaneously optimized. There are many real life applications of the proposed model such as: automated teller machines, communication networks, vending machines, local clinics, hospitals and medical centers, relief distribution centers and reconstruction center locations, kinds of education systems, police stations, truck terminals, hotels, city logistics terminals, parks, bus stops, press delivery networks, locating post boxes, and the like. Since the proposed model is NP-Hard, a multi-objective water flow-like algorithm (MOWFLA) is presented to solve the model. To demonstrate the performance of the proposed algorithm, different test problems are first generated. Then, multi-objective genetic algorithm as best-developed algorithm in the literature and GAMS software, integrating the objectives with LP-metric method, are applied to justify the performance of proposed MOWFLA. According to objective function value (OFV) and computational time (CPUT) metrics, the results show that the proposed algorithm are capable to solve proposed congested facility location problem in large size problems.


Meet the Female Goddess
Whether God or Creator is male or female or genderless is a widely discussed question across all cultures and societies in all times. This is a very profound question which various religions and philosophers have tried to engage in their unique manner.
To my mind, male or female are certain aspects of the divine. God transcends all such binary categories. To me, God is unknowable and incomprehensible to the human intellect. Hence we can worship the ultimate being in any form and method.
Being a woman, the worship of the sacred divine in its female form is of utmost significance and interest to me.
Hindu culture has an extensive number of Goddesses both of minor and significant importance. Some appear as consort to the central male deity, and some have their own independent, and sometimes even ferocious identity. The Hindu Goddess beginning from the Vedic era represent mother nature in its many forms such as Usha, Aditi, and Saraswati. The women goddess generally associated with the life-giving entities such as rivers, plants, and vegetation. Goddess also symbolize wealth, war, divine love, romantic love, and motherland. Dominant Hindu goddesses are Laxmi (Goddess of wealth), Saraswati ( Goddess of intellect, music, and arts), Shakti (Goddess of Creative power). Every Goddess has not just unique quality and boon making power in worldly life but also a separate set of rituals for invoking her. Various prayers and hymns are mentioned in scriptures for pleasing them.
Not just Hindu culture, but ancient Greek, Buddhist, Christian and Egyptian cultures have given place to the sacred female divine.
I am starting a new weekly series where I will write about female representations and symbolism of the feminine divine across cultures and religions. I want to understand and analyze the role these Goddess play in daily lives and what kind of influence they hold in the lives of the common women across the globe.
Please do share your thoughts and opinions on the same and help me in doing complete justice to this massive, ambitious and sensitive subject.
3 thoughts on "Meet the Female Goddess
 1. Wow, I like the ambition! And I guess your perspective is appreciable.
 I myself am trying to bring out my understanding on the world scriptures, though concentrating on so called hinduism. Two of my blog's articles deal with female aspects of God. May you have a look. I will definitely follow your series and try to understand your searches through my lean 🙂 all the very best. If you also critique my articles, it would be of a great help.
 2. Hello =),
 My name is Kevin Cousaert and I am a travel blogger…I am running a travel blog under the name of Happyandfreetobe.
 You have a great website and I really like your article, I found it interesting and true.
 If you want to visit my website :
 If you want to know more about my articles :
 Why don't we connect to each other and help each other by bringing up new ideas and inspirations???
 Enjoy the journey,
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5 Key Items to consider before signing a Loan Contract
After applying for a loan and going through the approval process, the final step is actually signing a legally binding contract. It is at that moment that you become responsible for the loan and everything in the document. You want to be certain that everything is in order. Here are five key items to consider before signing a loan contract.
Total Cost of the Loan
The first item to consider is the total cost of the loan. You are not just repaying the amount you are borrowing. You are also going to have to pay interest. Additionally, you need to look for other fees and costs. Something to understand is that disclosure can be an issue especially with mortgages and auto loans. You need to read over the contract and see if there are closing costs, fees along the way or increases in interest tied to factors outside your control. Try to get the clearest picture possible of exactly how much you will end up paying for borrowing the money. Do not sign if that number is too high.
Penalties for Late Payments or Pre-Payments
The second thing to consider is whether there are penalties for late payments or pre-payments. There is almost always some penalty when your monthly payments are late. Make certain you understand and accept that penalty since you never know what could happen in the future. You also want to check if there are penalties for pre-payments. That penalty is an amount you are charged if you decide to pay more than you are supposed to in a month. You need to know whether you have the ability to make pre-payments or whether you need to always stick to the schedule.
Affordability of the Payments
The median amount of household debt is over $70,000 in the country. You have to consider whether you can afford the loan payments before signing a contract to prevent taking on more debt than you can handle. Go through your expenses and income to see what is left. You need to be sure that you can make payments every month comfortably for the entire term of the loan. Do not sign the contract if you are uncertain about your ability to repay the loan on time.
Spending Restrictions
Certain types of loans have spending restrictions on the money that you receive. You need to look through the agreement to see if there are any restrictions present. This can sometimes happen with lenders who require collateral in order to approve a loan. It is common with mortgages and car loans. Those contracts state that you can spend the borrowed money only on a house or vehicle. You want to check that you are able to purchase what you need with the money before signing the loan.
Privacy Issues
A final point to consider is whether there are privacy issues. Although it does not always happen, some lenders put language in a loan contract that grants permission to sell your information, request personal data from various institutions or even look at your bank accounts. Look through the wording to see if that type of language is present. Sign the contract only if you are comfortable with what is listed.


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According to an unusual study, washing your hands is not only healthy, but it may also put your mind at ease about recent past decisions. A couple of researchers at the University of Michigan conducted a study asking students to choose between two objects out of several they had ranked. When students washed their hands after making the choice, they seemed to experience less cognitive dissonance, while students who did not wash their hands behaved as if they needed to justify their choices to themselves.
People often try to justify choosing one thing, such what to eat, over another by convincing themselves that their choice is superior, even though both items seemed equally good a few seconds ago. This is our way of dispelling the cognitive dissonance choosing creates; if we don't do this, we tend to fret about whether we decided correctly. A couple of researchers decided to test how this dissonance might be affected by the act of washing, which is sometimes linked with moral self-judgment, but hasn't been tested much in relation to other psychological processes.
They set some college students about the task of choosing ten CDs for themselves out of a set of 30, and then ranking them in order of preference. For participating, students were offered a gift of their fifthor sixth-choice CD. Next, the students were split in two groups— one group washed their hands, and the other just evaluated liquid soap packaging.
When the two groups re-ranked their ten CDs, students that did not wash their hands ranked the CD they chose higher, as if to indicate to themselves that they wanted that CD anyway. Students that did wash their hands, though, ranked their chosen CD about the same, showing that hand-washing somehow dispensed with the need to justify a choice.
The authors think this indicates that physical cleanliness may have a broader impact on individual psychology than previously thought—washing has been linked before to absolution of moral guilt, but less so to self-perception. The study was small and limited in scope, but if the link is real, we need hand wipes served with hot wings more than ever.


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Conditional Formatting in column (bar) charts
Excel does not support conditional formatting in charts, but we can solve it with a little trick. Original data will be split into a new table and then will be displayed by Stacked Column chart. The result will look like conditional formatting.
Let us have following data table. We want to highlight a column in chart having a value less than 20.
Simple chart for this table looks like this:
How to automatically highlight columns?
Make a new table having values in 2 columns. In the first are values greater than or equal to 20. In the second column are the rest (values less than 20).
Formulas for item A:
Cell B10: =IF(B2>=20,B2,"") Cell C10: =IF(B2<20,B2,"")
Create stacked column chart from source A9:C15. Result is working like a column chart with conditional formatting.
And the final result:
Watch this in video tutorial:


Infographic World
Award Winning Design and Creativity
Working with Infographic World has been wonderful. They truly understand that communication is an art, and they are able to transcend the barriers of comprehension through the delivery of beautiful, informative, and interactive graphics that can stimulate and resonate with any audience. The working relationship has been a pleasure.
AmeriHealth Infographic: A Visual Glossary to Health Insurance
Health insurance can be a VERY confusing topic. So many terms that people have absolutely no idea to their meaning. That was the motivation behind us doing an infographic for AmeriHealth, creating a visual guide to the various confusing terms found in health insurance. May it make that confusing world slightly easier to understand.


Maximal-ratio combining
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
In telecommunications, maximal-ratio combining (MRC) is a method of diversity combining in which:
 1. the signals from each channel are added together,
 3. different proportionality constants are used for each channel.
It is also known as ratio-squared combining and predetection combining. Maximal-ratio combining is the optimum combiner for independent AWGN channels.
MRC can restore a signal to its original shape.
Example: Least Squares estimate in the case of Rx diversity[edit]
We consider an example of which the receiver is endowed with N antennas. In this case, the received vector y is
y=hs+\rho n \,
where n is noise vector n-CN(0,I_{N \times N}). Following the ML detection criterion the detection procedure may be written as
\tilde{s}=argmin_{s \in QPSK}|\hat{s}-s|^2,
where \hat{s} is the least square solution to the above model.
The least square solution in this case is also known as maximal-ratio-combining (MRC). In the case of N antennas the LS can be written as
which means that the signal from each antenna is rotated and weighted according to the phase and strength of the channel, such that the signals from all antennas are combined to yield the maximal ratio between signal and noise terms.
See also[edit]
Diversity combining


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|Korcula.NET > Places on the island - Korcula - Moreška dance|
|THE MORESKA DANCE
Moreska is pronounced 'Moreska'. It means 'Moorish'. The word is derived from the Spanish adjective 'Morisco' or the Italian 'Moresco'. It is a matter of conjecture whether the dance came to the Adriatic directly from Spain through roving Spanish sailors, or from Sicily or Italy when Dalmatia formed part of the Venetian Republic whether it was originally a Moorish dance or a Spanish one, inspired by the struggle of Spanish Christians against the Moors is also debatable though the latter seems the most likely. We do know for certain that it is one of the oldest traditional European dances still performed, and that records exist of it being danced in Lerida in 1156 in a form portraying a Christian and National victory over the Moors and their expulsion from Aragon.
From the 12th century and particularly in the 16th and 17th centuries, the dance spread to many Mediterranean countries: to Italy, Corsica, Sicily, Malta, France and, through Spanish trade, to Flanders, Germany and even to England. It was subject to frequent local variations, in regard to plot, protagonists and eventually also to form. In Corsica it was danced by eighty swordsmen on each side, armed with two swords apiece, who did battle for the town of Mariana to the music of a solo violin; in Elba the engagement was between Christians and Turks, in other places between Arabs and Turks; sometimes the damsel in distress was a white maiden of royal blood, sometimes a Turkish or Moorish one of equal innocence and beauty. In Ferrara a dragon was introduced who tried to devour the damsel and there were many later versions which degenerated from the original war-dance (intrinsically a useful sword practice and 'keep-fit' class for the warriors of small island or coastal garrisons for whom good swordsmanship and alertness meant their survival) into a form of folk drama, and eventually into the dance interludes of pastoral plays and Italian opera. In Germany the Moreska, though called Moriskentanze, became a mere collection of local folk dances and in England the Morris (l.e. Moorish) dancers threw away their swords and substituted long wooden sticks which they fought with and over which they hopped. In most of the Mediterranean the Moreska survived until the end of the 18th century, and in Italy and Dalmatia till the close of the 19th.
Today, Korcula is the only island where it is still danced with real swords in its original War-Dance form and where it has enjoyed a proud and almost unbroken tradition for over four centuries, though the text, music and pattern of the dance have been slightly altered and shortened (the contest used to last for two hours!) over the years.
The introduction to the dance is a short drama in blank verse which sets the scene -- four characters recite the verses: the enemy or the Black King, his father, Otmanovic, (a kind of Balkan mediator), the Hero or the White King, and the Bula or Moslem maiden, who is a peace-maker as well as a heroine (and a possible convert to Christianity?).
The Moreska arrived in Korcula in the 16th century, at the same time as it did in Dubrovnik, most probably from Sicily or Southern Italy, via Venice. An indication of this is that two of the dance "figures" have Italian names: the "Rujer" and the "Rujer di fori via". "Ruggero" was the name of a Sicilian war-dance, a version of the Moreska, in which the Saracens are shown fighting against the Norman Prince Ruggiero d'Altavilla -- a powerful family who ruled over Sicily and Southern Italy in the 11th and 12th centuries, which suggests a possible link. There are, however, no written records of the Korculan dance until the beginning of the 18th century. Latterly and up to the first World War the Moreska was "fought" only every few years -- protagonists were often wounded and replaced by'seconds' during the dance -- between 1918 and 1939 it was performed every year under the aegis of the Gymnastic Society of Korcula. Nowadays it is an exclusive Society (and 'club') of its own and the Moreska is performed much more frequently for the benefit of the many tourists who visit the Island. Every family in Korcula is proud to have one of its members dance in the Moreska, especially one of the key roles, which demand considerable talent and stamina. When the Black or the White Kings "retire" they are allowed to keep their crowns and these become valued family possessions.
During the second World war costumes, swords, even musical scores and instruments had all been lost in the bombing and fighting and for the first time in its history only very young lads of between twelve and seventeen were available to dance the Moreska, and they had to be taught from scratch.
It was the undefeatable and indefatigable spirit of Ivo Lozica, the town barber, and Bozo Jerirevic, a school-teacher, with the help of a local policeman, Zdravko Stanic, and Josip Svoboda the conductor of the town orchestra, that somehow got the Moreska dancing again and in a very short time the poor, thin undernourished youths were growing into splendid young men and were taking the Moreska to youth conferences and festivals at home and abroad.
THE MORESKA DANCE
The revised score of the Moreska was composed by Krsto Odak who, working with Josip Svoboda, conductor of the town orchestra at the time, reconstructed an earlier score lost in the war. The Moreska from Korcula opens with a scene in which the Black King is seen dragging the captured Bula (Moslem maiden) along in chains trying to persuade her to respond to his love. The Bula refuses because she loves the White King and knows that he loves her.
The White King and his army and the Black King's army with banners and swords enter from either side. The two Kings confront each other and a dialogue of hurled insults and scorn ensues. The Kings are the first to cross swords while their armies stand facing each other and ready for battle. When the White King calls on his men to fight, the two armies clash swords and then break away from one another in order to make way for the Dance of the Black King, the graceful but menacing 'Sfida'. In this dance, which is performed in 6/8 rhythm, the Black King challenges the White King to a contest. The White King accepts the challenge, and then the Black King's father, Otmanovic and a soldier from the White King's army join the fight. They dance in a circle threatening one another with swords. The soldier withdraws leaving the two Kings and Otmanovic. At a given moment both armies, who are facing each other, leap forward and clash swords and then the Black King, still dancing, forms a circle with all the soldiers of both armies gradually joining in.
After this, seven Kolaps or "strokes" of the Moreska are danced in different and complicated rhythms and patterns and all are performed within this circle. The fight consists of alternating sword thrusts and parries. It is performed in pairs, i.e. one White against one Black fighter.
The seventh Kolap is performed in a speedy 4/4 rhythm and the swords clashes are fast and furious. The Black soldiers, facing outwards, defend themselves from within the circle which becomes smaller and tighter as they withdraw from the charges of the White army. Finally the Black soldiers fall down wounded, dying and defeated, laying their swords at their enemy's feet. The Black King admits defeat and surrenders, the White King, the Victor, frees the Bula from her chains and kisses her.
The following dialogue is translated from pat of the 19th century Croatian text of The Moreska published in Zadar in 1869.
Bula: Leave me alone! Your demands are in vain My charms belong to another man. Sweet Osman, my beloved, If you could see now How my heart is breaking And full of sorrow for you! Although this odious steel Binds my hands, My heart is always with you And yours with me. I shall bear you in my heart As long as I have life. Moro: Stop wailing, my lady I have had enough! It is painful for me to listen When you call my opponent your pride Here, in front of my face But I bear and endure it all For the love I feel for you My dear nymph, I give you my heart For your sweet charms. Bula: If you will But one favour grant me, All I ask Is that you stop loving me. Of far more pain for me Is your unwanted love Than the steel That weighs upon my hands. Moro: I will not leave you Nor will I stop loving you. I love honorably your everlasting beauty. Ask whatever you wish, Even my father's kingdom. Drums are heard. Enter the White Army. Otmanovic: There is no fear in Otmanovic! Osman: Do not trust your sword Without honour and without honesty. Treacherously, you wished to steal My betrothed, by torturing her. Where is your knightly honesty, Where your bravery


Biotect David Benjamin and his firm, The Living, have completed the MoMA 'Hy-Fi' tower using mushroom brick technology based on a technique developed by Ecovative.
Consisting entirely of farm waste and a culture of fungus that is grown to fit a brick-shaped mold, the tower is reportedly the world's first large scale structure made using the organic bricks.
The biodegradable material, which is generally used to make packaging, has been used to grow 10,000 bricks and stacked to create three merging cylinders.
The formation is designed to draw breezes through the structure, cooling and shading the Hy-Fi's interior, while a top layer of steel molds have been covered in a special light-refracting film invented by 3M.
The tower was designed as part of MoMA's Young Architects Program and will provide shade, seating and water for visitors attending a Summer music festival held at the courtyard site.
Courtesy Arch Daily


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Errors and any other interruptions are one of the major sources of frustration to viewers. The correlation between technical streaming issues and viewers abandoning playback has been well studied. In essence, there is a real cost to every error that a viewer experiences on your platform. The below models for AVOD and SVOD let you calculate how costly an error is.
In a research paper Krishnan and Sitaraman calculated that "a viewer who experienced failure is 2.32% less likely to revisit the same site within a week". Based on this research we created the following calculator:
Calculate the percentage the customer lifetime value increases by decreasing a particular technical error


text:
Formats: online, tutor supervised
Company: Jordan Consulting Group Ltd
Pay Per Click Advanced Course Features
Pay Per Click Advanced Course offers Bing Ads and AdWords training to take your PPC marketing knowledge to the next level.
- 2 versions of the course:
- Certification: tutor supervised with a tutor assigned to guide students through the lesson material and review their assignments.
- Self-study: students don't receive tutor-supervision, submit assignments, or qualify for SEC certification.
- 10 downloadable lessons.
- 10 interactive online review quizzes.
- 10 lessons (plus 1 bonus lesson).
- 4 assignments.
- 1 interactive online exam.
- Self paced (no set class times).
- Receive a certificate of training.
- Downloadable Adobe PDF lessons to keep.
- 12 months access to:
- online classroom area.
- lesson updates.
- exclusive industry discounts area.
- access to course materials.
- online quizzes and final exam.
- Permanent access to search engine wiki.
- Permanent access to search engine marketing jobs forum.
- $75 AdWords credit voucher.
- PPC201: pay per click advanced course syllabus:
- An overview of PPC marketing.
- Pay per click search engines.
- Key elements of a successful PPC campaign.
- Regional and niche market targeting.
- Building effective PPC ads.
- Successful PPC bidding strategies.
- How to create killer landing pages.
- Click fraud and anti-competitive practices.
- Landing page testing.
- Monitoring and tweaking your campaigns.
- Pay per click tools and software.
- Course tutors:
- Kalena Jordan was one of the first search engine optimization experts in Australia and New Zealand. She's also a moderator at the Search Engine Watch Forums.
- Renée Lam is a marketing strategist with experience in brand and project management, advertising, and sales.


ction, intensive farming, the shipping and slaughter of animals
for food, the caging of wild animals and the use of animals for sport
where the animals welfare is not respected, for example, dog fights
and fox hunting.
From looking at the Bible many Christians believe that God is asking
them to look after animals. Psalm 104 tells Christians that God is
concerned for animals by giving them life, food and water. According
to Proverbs 12:10 'a righteous man cares for the needs of his
animals.' Christians therefore feel that it is their responsibility to
respect and care for the animals of this planet. There are many ways
in which Christians can help prevent cruelty to animals. For example
Christians can protest against all perceived cruelty to animals and
campaign for their humane treatment in all circumstances. Some support
organisations such as the RSPCA or the RSPCB.
Poverty is another key area in which Christians feel they should have
responsibility in. Poverty is not just a problem for the third world
countries. In the United States in 1995 there were 36.4 million people
living below the poverty line. In Britain in 1995 there were still 9.7
million people living on incomes at or below the level of
supplementary benefit. There are almost 6 billion inhabitants on
earth, a quarter of whom remain in severe poverty. In the developing
world only 68% of the population have access to safe drinking water.
Almost two billion people in the third world are without access to
proper sanitation farcicalities that cause diseases which are
responsible for more than 35% of the deaths of young children in
Africa, Asia and South America. Whereas one-fifth of the world
population lack the basic necessities for survival, more than another
one-fifth live in wealth and consume about four-fifths of the worlds
Christians follow their teaching from the Bible when dealing with
their responsibility with the poor. Deuteronomy 15:7-8 says, 'If there
are poor among you, in one of the towns of the land the Lord your God
is giving you, do not be selfish or greedy towards them. But give
freely to them and freely lend them whatever they need.' Jesus made
friends with the needy and fed the hungry. He told his disciples to
sell their possessions and give to the poor. Christians therefore feel
that they should also care for those in poverty. There are many
different ways in which they choose to respond to this. Many choose to
support charities like Christian Aid and The Red Cross. This can be
done by either giving money or actively joining the organisation and
travelling around the world to help people in countries hit with a
crisis. The charities Tearcraft and Traidcraft work to provide
employment opportunities, fair wages and a new sense of dignity for
craft workers in countries such as Bangladesh, Peru and South Africa.
Christians can support these charities by buying the products that are
produced in these countries at fair triad costs. Tearfund is another
organisation which some Christians choose to support by giving money
to help food related projects in some of the worlds poorest regions or
chances to support and educate poor children all over the world. The
Oasis trust is a Christian charity that focuses its activities on the
poor and marginalized in society. It has set up housing and health
care for the homeless in Britain. It works directly with partners in
13 countries around the world to help the world's poorest people.
Again Christians can give money to help fund this organisation, or
students can take gap years to volunteer and help the charity.
Many Christians feel that they have a responsibility to look after all
aspects of this world. In the past Christian organisations have done a
lot in improving the serious issues in the world. For example,
schools, hospitals and refuges for the outcast have been set up.
Christians helped abolish the slave trade and freed the slaves. They
also improved the conditions of workers in mills, mines and the
prisoners in jails. They have protected children from commercial
exploitation in the factories of the West and from ritual prostitution
in the temples of the East.
Religion, Poverty and Wealth Rachel Stevens
Religious Studies Coursework
c.) The problems of the 3rd World Communities are 'their own fault.'
Do you agree? Give reasons to support your answer and show that you
have thought of different points of view. You must refer to
Christianity in your answer.
There are many problems for Third World countries. The main problem is
poverty. This is due to many causes. For example unfair trade,
drought, famine, AIDS, debt, lack of education, war and conflict, lack
of health care and an oversized population.
Personally I don't think that the problems of Third World Communities
are their own fault. Most of these poor people are born into their
situations. Therefore you cannot blame them. I believe that it is due
to the selfishness and greed of many developed countries that has put
these Third World Communities in this situation.
However some people feel that Third World countries have caused their
own problems. For example these developing countries have cut down
many of their own trees that has caused floods, landslides and soil
erosion which has led to infertile land for growing their crops. Some
people would argue that the Third World have too many children for
their families to look after and they spread AIDS by their lack of
moral responsibility. People would also say that wars which 'they
started' have lead to starvation in many African countries. All these
factors are believed by many individuals to be the fault of the Third
World and therefore they have put themselves in this situation.
On the other hand if you look more closely at these problems in the 3rd
World you can see that it often is not their own fault, but a lack of
basic necessities of life and unfair trade agreements with developed
countries. Third world countries used to sell mainly raw materials.
Today they also sell manufactured goods; especially those that need
intensive labour. Developed countries use third world communities to
make goods because wages are lower there than in their own country.
This means that it costs manufactures less to make goods, however it
also means that the Third World are paid small wages and can therefore
not afford a decent lifestyle. Therefore it is the developed world's
fault because they need to pay them bigger wages. They has already
been some help in this area with fair trade agreements, some companies
have agreed to pay higher more stable prices for Third World
producers. Many Christian organisations support these fair trade
Also, one cannot argue that it is the fault of Third world communities
having too many children when they don't have access to contraception
and basic healthcare. They need free or affordable healthcare to help
prevent diseases like AIDS spreading. Education is also needed to
inform these people of the cause of the spread of these diseases.
Education is vital to getting themselves out of the vicious circle of
poverty. Affordable, secure food supplies are also needed to prevent
malnutrition. People cannot argue that it is the fault of third world
communities for cutting down trees and creating infertile land,
because they needed to make money by selling the wood. Also, many
people in the Third world cannot grow their own food anyway because
much of the land has been taken over by large businesses, often to
grow crops for export. It is the greed of the developed world that is
adding to the problems of the poor countries.
Over the years these Third World countries debts have been
increasingly rising. They also have to pay interest on top of these
debts. This means they cannot afford to spend enough on basic services
like health and education; nor on things like transport or
communications which might attract investment. The UNDP Human
Development Report in 1997 stated that, "What poor countries in Africa
spend on debt repayments each year could save the lives of 3 million
children and prevent 1 million cases of malnutrition." In the 1980's
when recession hit the industrialised world, they raised interest
rates, including rates on loans to the Third World. At the same time
the Third World countries were not earning so much money from their
exports, the price of everything was going down. In other words they
were earning less but having to pay more. The developed world should
not have done this because they knew that the Third world would not be
able to pay such high interest rates. It just meant that these
countries were dropped deeper into the realms of poverty making it
harder for them to ever climb out of it. The Jubilee 2000, Debt
cutter's handbook stated that, "In 1993 rich countries took back Â£3 in
debt repayments for every Â£1 given in aid." It is easy to see why
these Third World countries are having problems, it also tells us that
many developed words are simply making it harder for the Third World
when they have no need to.
Many Christians believe that they should take action in helping these
countries. Psalm 24:1 says "The earth is the Lord's and everything in
it, the world and all who live in it." God has created us single
people (human race) and placed us in a single habitat (planet earth).
In other words all people are to share in its God giving riches.
Christians see that all people have equal worth and each person should


text:
On multiscale modeling of pearlitic steel
By studying pearlitic steels using a scanning electron microscope it can be observed that pearlite is a two-phase material with cementite lamellae embedded in a matrix of ferrite. The cementite is commonly described as being stiff and brittle in comparison to the ferrite which is considered to have a soft and ductile mechanical behavior. The observed macroscopic mechanical behavior of a pearlitic steel is a result of the individual behavior of these two constituents as well as of how they interact. It can also be noted that the cementite lamellae appear in so called colonies within which the cementite lamellae have a privileged orientation. Based on this observation it is natural to assume that the average stress-strain behavior of such a colony is anisotropic. Despite this, the macroscopic behavior of a pearlitic steel (virgin material) is considered to be isotropic which is explained by the fact that the individual orientations of these colonies are randomly distributed such that the local anisotropy is canceled out on average.
It is well known, however, that subjecting a pearlitic steel to severe loads will cause the cementite lamellae to align. An example of such type of loading is the contact between a railway wheel and the rail where a large contact force is distributed over a small area. The cyclic loading causes an increasing alignment of the lamellae which results in an evolution of macroscopic anisotropy which in turn is known to also play an important role for other phenomena such as crack initiation and propagation.
In this thesis the feasibility of using the concept of MultiScale Modeling (MSM) to model the mechanical behavior of a pearlitic steel is investigated. The proposed model explicitly includes the colonies as well as the cementite lamellae and the ferrite matrix. The drawback of MSM is its increased computational cost compared to traditional macroscopic constitutive modeling. However, a number of benefits of MSM are worth highlighting. To begin with, it offers a possibility to predict the anisotropic mechanisms discussed above (both the initial local subscale anisotropy and the evolving macroscopic anisotropy). It can also help to increase the understanding of the mechanical behavior of the material. Additionally, once the model is calibrated it can be used for virtual material testing in which the subscale features of the material are modified and the resulting impact on the mechanical behavior of the material can be studied. In addition to the modeling efforts presented in this thesis experimental data from tensile testing, micropillar testing and in-situ SEM images (analyzed using digital image correlation) is used to further increase the knowledge about the observed mechanical behavior of pearlite.
digital image correlation
Virtual Development Laboratory (VDL), Hörsalsvägen 7a, Johanneberg
Opponent: Associate Professor Ron Peerlings, Department of Mechanical Engineering, TU Eindhoven, The Netherlands


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I recently started working with jQuery and was wondering how I would iterate through a collection (an array or list of items) of items and sum their contents.
Does jQuery have something like a for-loop like many other languages do?
Would there be an easy way to implement this - if this isn't easily do-able?
share|improve this question
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3 Answers
up vote 14 down vote accepted
What you are looking for is the jQuery.each() function - which will allow you to iterate through any given field(s) and perform an action. Here are some examples to get you started (just as simple arrays - check documentation for additional functionality):
var array = [ "stack", "overflow"];
$.each(array, function() {
 //Perform actions here (this) will be your current item
Example: (Summing an array of numbers - alerting the sum)
var sum = 0;
$.each(array, function() {
 sum += (this);
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$.each(function) and $(...).each(function) both accurately perform the equivalent of a for-each loop, but the actual JavaScript for-each equivalent is the for(... in...) loop.
for (variable in object)
 // code to be executed
This isn't jQuery-specific, but hey, jQuery is just a JavaScript library after all. :)
share|improve this answer
And this spares memory which can be useful on mobile devices. Why doesn't Apple the simply make an IPHONE WITH 4 GB RAM! D:< – user142019 Jan 5 '11 at 21:29
add comment
For an array, see Rionmonster's answer. For all items matchins a selector:
$("a").each(function() {
share|improve this answer
add comment
Your Answer


text:
Full name: gram/millilitre
Plural form: grams/milliliter
Alternate spelling: grams/millilitre
Category type: density
Scale factor: 1000
The SI derived unit for density is the kilogram/cubic meter.
1 kilogram/cubic meter is equal to 0.001 g/ml.
Valid units must be of the density type.
You can use this form to select from known units:
I'm feeling lucky, show me some random units


Questions related to Suspend Mode, which is a special low-power mode often used on laptops that preserves the contents of RAM while using less power than normal. Questions related to suspending to disk should use the [hibernate] tag.
Suspend (to RAM) is a power saving mode. The machine state is held in RAM with the minimum of power needed to preserve all data. When the user wants to continue the session, they should be able to resume from suspend instantly.
Many laptops activate suspend mode automatically when the lid is closed while running on battery, or can be configured to do so. Suspend can also be activated through a GUI button or on the command line - for example, in versions of Ubuntu that use systemd, such as 16.04, suspend can be activated using the systemctl interface
A related tag is which refers to the open standard for power management interfaces. Suspend as defined by ACPI is "S3"


text:
The International Society of Urological Pathology in 2010 recommended weighing prostates without seminal vesicles (SV) to include only prostate weight in prostate-specific antigen (PSA) density (PSAD) calculation, because SV do not produce PSA. Large retrospective cohorts exist with combined weight recorded that needs to be modified for retrospective analysis. Weights of prostates and SV were separately recorded in 172 consecutive prostatectomies. The average weight of SV and proportion of prostate weight from combined weight were calculated. The adjustment factors were then validated on databases of 2 other institutions. The average weight of bilateral SV was 6.4 g (range = 1-17.3 g). The prostate constituted on average 87% (range = 66% to 98%) of the total specimen weight. There was no correlation between patient age and prostate weight with SV weight. The best performing correction method was to subtract 6.4 g from total radical prostatectomy weight and to use this weight for PSAD calculation. The average weights of retrospective specimens weighed with SV were not significantly different between the 3 institutions. Using our data allowed calibration of the weights and PSAD between the cohorts weighed with and without SV. Thus, prostate weight in specimens including SV weight can be adjusted by subtracting 6.4 g, resulting in significant change of PSAD. Some institution-specific variations may exist, which could further increase the precision of retrospective analysis involving prostate weight and PSAD. However, unless institution-specific adjustment parameters are developed, we recommend that this correction factor be used for retrospective cohorts or in institutions where combined weight is still recorded.
- PSA density
- seminal vesicles
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Pathology and Forensic Medicine


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Voluntarily implemented carbon labels have shown that there is a lack of motivation by companies to develop technology to reduce carbon emissions. This study examined consumer values for mandatory carbon labels in South Korea. Considering the altruistic nature of carbon labels, we asked about individuals' perceptions about the impact of climate change on their personal lives to measure consumer preference for carbon labels. Significant preference for mandatory carbon labels reflected Koreans' high level of concern about climate change. As an increasing number of consumers feel the impact of climate change, the gap of WTPs between low carbon labels and carbon measured labels is sufficient. The lower value of low-carbon labels as compared to GM labels indicates that consumers' guilt is not an appropriate strategy with carbon labels.
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text:
a female, the oesophagus is 2 inches 10 twelfths long; the intestine 31 inches long.
In all these individuals and several others, the stomach contained a great quantity of particles of white quartz, with remains of seeds; and in the oesophagus of one was an oat seed entire.
Although this bird is in its habits very similar to the Crossbills, and feeds on the same sort of food, it differs from them in the form and extent of its crop, in having the gizzard much larger, and the intestines more than double the length, in proportion to the size of the bird.


text:
Order On-line Tracking
WQ Series Sewage Submersible Centrifugal Pumps
1. WQ series Sewage Submersible Pump Introduction details:
WQ series submersible sewage pump is mainly used for municipal work, industrial building, hotels, hospitals, civil air defense, mines, etc. It can be widely used in transfer waste water, rainwater and living water etc. which contains solid grains and various long fibers CNBM WQ series sewage submersible pump have many advantages, such as, hi-efficiency, circumvolution proof, blockage free, auto-coupling, hi-reliability and auto-control, etc.
2. WQ Series Sewage Submersible Pump Operating Conditions details:
1). Rated Voltage: 380V (660V), Frequency: 50Hz, 3-phase AC.
2). Temperature of medium under 40ºC.
3). PH value: 4~10.
4). Volume ratio of solid in medium below 2%.
5). Density of medium should be lower than 12000kg/m³.
3. WQ series Sewage Submersible Pump Technical Performance details:
Discharge diameter: 50~600 mm
Diameter of pass solids: 20~145mm
4. WQ Series Sewage Submersible Pump Structure Characteristics details:
WQ series submersible sewage pump is equipped with status indicator and protection device to ensure for pump safe and reliable operating.
1). the unique cable airproof is adopted, avoid leakage of cable.
2). Heat protector in stator assure of operating life of the motor.
3). The pump adopts outer recycling cooling design with motor power more than 18.5kw, which can keep the pump operating safely under the lowest water level.
4). A floating switch is installed at the bottom of motor chamber to protect the mechanical seal in the motor side.
5). the oil-water probe is installed at the up end of the oil chamber between pump and motor that can protect the mechanical seal in the side. If leakage occurs, the system will signalize and start protection.
6). Adopt perfect mechanical seal, the sealing material adopt tungsten carbide, silicon carbide and hard metal alloy, which can prevent the water from entering into the motor, and keep the operating reliable and safety.
7). the auxiliary impeller can balance the pressure outside of the mechanical seal, prevent the water entering into the oil chamber and prolong the life of the motor.
8). Unique impeller design, wide passage allow large solid and long fiber passing through freely, it features non-clog, convolve-proof and good passing ability.
9). the changeable wearing ring is installed between the impeller and the volute to keep the optimum operation conditions.
5. Impeller Designs Details of Sewage Pumps:
For the sewage to pass freely, it must be widen the flowing passage of impeller, for the big pump, can used for double-vane, or three-vane, for the small pump, it used for single(double) flowing passage, like a bent pipe has same section, it has a good passing characteristic, avoid stop, convolve caused by slowing current possibly. The especially flowing passage of impeller, cooperate with logical volute, made the paper, soft goods, garbage bag and other material in sewage can passing freely and the pump have no vibration in the course of running-in and load through the impeller balance between dynamic and static state.
6. FAQ regarding WQ Series Sewage Submersible Centrifugal Pumps:
1). Can I get trained on CNBM products?
Yes, we provide training courses in our factory (products, general and specific pump technology, hydraulics, and practical applications). Please consult your sales manager or get in touch with our headquarters for more information.
2). Are your pumps cheaper than those of your competitors?
CNBM aims to give its customers the highest standards of quality and service and delivery times, all at a reasonable price.
3). How long is your warranty?
Unless otherwise expressly authorized in writing, by specifying a longer period or different conditions, CNBM states that, for a period of twelve (12) months from delivery date, all Products supplied are free from defects in materials and workmanship, and conform to the applicable specifications. Either the delivery documentation or the invoice must be provided to prove delivery date. In absence of such documents, the production date appearing on the product label may suffice.
1. Manufacturer Overview
|Annual Output Value|
2. Manufacturer Certificates
|a) Certification Name|
3. Manufacturer Capability
|No.of Employees in Trade Department|
|No. of Production Lines|
|Product Price Range|


text: It is well known that there is a spectrum of pores in a soil profile. The conventional use of a single lumped value of soil hydraulic conductivity to describe a spectrum of hydraulically active pores may have unintentionally impeded the development of field-scale chemical transport theory and perhaps indirectly hindered the development of management protocols for chemical application and waste disposal. In this study, three sets of four field-scale tracer mass flux breakthrough patterns measured under transient unsaturated flow conditions were used to evaluate the validity of an indirect method to quantify equivalent pore spectra of macropore-type preferential flow pathways. Results indicated that there were distinct trends in how pore spectra of macropore-type preferential flow pathways changed when a soil profile became wetter during a precipitation event. This suggests that the indirect method has predictive value and is perhaps a better alternative to the lumped soil hydraulic conductivity approach in accurately determining the impact of macropore-type preferential flow pathways on water movement and solute transport under transient unsaturated flow conditions.


text:
This week, NILU welcomed the partners from the Polish GIOS, Chief Inspectorate of Environmental Protection, to Kjeller.
Over the course of three days, NILU researchers from several departments have shared insights and experiences that contribute to the ongoing collaborative project "Strengthening of atmospheric deposition assessment in Poland based on Norwegian experience".
Of particular interest to the Polish partners was how NILU carries out monitoring and assessment of the deposition of air pollution in Norway and Europe. In addition, a comprehensive tour of NILU's chemical laboratories as well as an exclusive visit to the Birkenes Observatory in Agder were included in the program (see picture above).
The first day of the visit began with a presentation of NILU by Deputy CEO Ole-Anders Braathen. Among other things, the EBAS database was highlighted as a valuable international resource that is openly accessible to all.
Furthermore, project manager Barbara Toczko (pictured below) gave a summary of the activities in the project:
- Developing the concept of revision and optimization of deposition measurements in Poland (NILU lead: Wenche Aas, ATMOS)
- Developing the concept of launching the quality assurance / quality control (QA/QC) system for deposition measure (NILU lead: Helene Lunder Halvorsen, MILK)
- Developing the guidance document on assessment of atmospheric deposition, including a proposal of the most suitable deposition modeling technique (NILU lead: Joana Soares, IMPACT)
- Visualisation and making available of atmospheric deposition data via the web site "Air Quality" CIEP (NILU lead: Rune Åvar Ødegaard, DIGITAL)
- Procurement of deposition measurement instruments
- Project management and promotion activities (see _URL_
We look forward to continuing the collaboration!


text:
Groundwater Field Station for Geoscience Students
Paul F. Hudak January-February 1999 Journal of Geography v98 n1 p23-28
This article from the Journal of Geography describes how to create a low-cost groundwater field station for a college hydrogeology course. The article discusses how students use the station to collect and interpret data from wells, and to study spatial hydraulic-head measurements to learn about groundwater flow. The article also discusses why hands-on activities are a valuable addition to a hydrogeology course.
Subject: Education Resource Type: Pedagogic Resources:Research Results, Activities:Lab Activity, Journal Article Special Interest: Field-Based Teaching and Learning Grade Level: College Upper (15-16) Learning Environment: Field-Based Research on Learning: Ways Of Learning:Active/Kinesthetic/Experiential, Geoscience Expertise:Complex Systems Topics: Education
CMS authors: link to this resource in your page using [resource 14983]


text:
Situated in the south-west Pacific, about 1800 km north-east of Australia, are Solomon Islands. Most of the inhabitants of this island country are dark-skinned people called Melanesians. One of the intriguing features of these people is the naturally bright blond hair, which about 10 percent of them sport. Surprised at the co-existence of blond hair with dark skin?
Read on to know the reason for the islanders' blond locks...
Well, a number of hypotheses like bleaching by sun and saltwater, a diet rich in fish, and the genetic legacy of Europeans or Americans have been considered for the origins of their blond hair. But a new study has found that the naturally blond hair in Solomon Islanders is due to variant of a native gene called TYRP1 that plays an important role in the melanin biosynthetic pathway.
The findings were arrived at after analyzing the genetic makeup of 43 blond and 42 dark-haired Melanesians.
Note that the variant of TYRP1 gene is distinctly different from the gene that causes blond hair in Europeans. This variant is not present in the Europeans.
Given the fact that the particular variant responsible for blond hair in the Solomon Islands is absent in the genomes of Europeans, the study author Sean Myles, a geneticist at Nova Scotia Agricultural College in Truro, Canada, said, "It's a great example of convergent evolution, where the same outcome is brought about by completely different means."
The research was co-led by Dr Nic Timpson from the Medical Research Council Center for Causal Analyses in Translational Epidemiology at the University of Bristol and researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
The study is published May 4 in the journal Science.
by RTT Staff Writer
For comments and feedback: _EMAIL_


text:
What does the cell damage test actually determine?
This Cell Damage Test is a quick and easy test that measures malondialdehyde in the urine. Toxic adlehydes are released into the bloodstream when fats, including cell membranes, are oxidized. The kidneys excrete them in the urine. The Cell Damage test is a general measure of cell membrane damage due to free radical peroxidation of lipids.
The Cell Damage Test shows:
- Poor cell signaling of the immune system
- Increased metabolic toxicity
- Mitochondrial diseases
- Reduced cellular energy (ATP production)
- Damaged DNA
- Poor tissue function
- Unresponsive hormones (thyroxin, estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, insulin,
- Increased risk of abnormal cell proliferations
- Increased risk of cardiovascular concerns
We live and die at the cellular level. Autopsies show that in the cases of most people who died of heart attacks, they died at the cellular level 1st. we can go years without"symptoms" not realizing that our cells are sick and dying and once there are no longer any healthy cells to replicate we cease to live. This test will give you in-depth insight into your cellular health in order to give you an opportunity to take a proactive approach to your cell health before it's too late.


DPT 821 Physical Therapy Clinical Skills II, 1 credit
The second of two courses introducing patient handling and physical therapy tests and measurements and intervention strategies. This may include goniometry, manual muscle testing, posture and gait assessment, massage, therapeutic exercise, gait training and objective tests for different neurological conditions. Encourages problem solving, communication, documentation and patient management skills. (Lab: 2 hours.)
Prerequisites: DPT 801, DPT 803, DPT 805, DPT 807, DPT 819, DPT 811.
Co-requisites: DPT 813, DPT 815, DPT 817, DPT 851, DPT 829. Fall


text:
Ganthel was a planet located in the galaxy's Core Worlds. It was an industrial world, with many shipyards and loading docks. A species of beetles known as night-beetles inhabited Ganthel's outback. The slaver group Kotaska operated on the planet until the Galactic Empire arrived and clear away Ganthel's scum.
- "Orientation"—Star Wars Insider 157 (Mentioned only)
- A New Dawn (First mentioned)
- "The Levers of Power"—The Rise of the Empire (Mentioned only) (Misspelled as "Ganthal")
- Aftermath: Life Debt (Mentioned only)
- Aftermath: Empire's End (Mentioned only)
- Join the Resistance (Mentioned only)


text: The Ellis Bay Formation on Anticosti Island has long been recognized for the biostratigraphic importance of its latest Ordovician conodont, palynomorph, and shelly fossil assemblages. However, a sparse record of graptolites has made it difficult to correlate these assemblages with the graptolite biozonation. Restudy of some previously described and examination of newly collected normalograptid specimens from the Ellis Bay and lower Becscie formations, however, shows that biostratigraphically important taxa are present and these species provide important constraints on the age of the strata. Normalograptus parvulus and N. minor have been identified in the upper half of the Ellis Bay Formation, suggesting that these strata are late Hirnantian in age (N. persculptus Biozone). Normalograptus imperfectus and Normalograptus sp. aff. N. acceptus occur in the basal beds of the Becscie Formation, indicating that these strata are earliest Silurian. These graptolite data support the hypothesis that the positive carbon isotope excursion seen in the uppermost strata of the Ellis Bay Formation is isochronous with that seen in the Hirnantian strata at Dob's Linn, Scotland, and does not span much of the lower to mid-Hirnantian, as is the case in Arctic Canada and Nevada, USA. Anticosti Island, Hirnantian, graptolites, Ordovician, Silurian.


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You may not want to receive all notifications from your whole participated projects. For example, there's a participated project you might refer to it later, but not at the moment since you might not have specific roles in there. In this case, you can hide the project(you can search and participate in it later) and you won't be notified any updates from that project.
1. Inside of the project, choose the More(vertical ellipsis; next to the Brush icon) on the right side of the project title, and select 'Hide Project'.
2. Hidden projects can be viewed through the 'Hiding' in the Label section on the left side menu.
1. Select 'Info' in the bottom line of the project..
2. Select 'Hide'.
3. To view a hidden project, select view more(triple-lines) on the upper left corner of the main screen. Select 'Hiding'.
4. If you want to unhide the project, select 'Hiding' and go to the hidden project, then select 'Unhide' through the project information.
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TY - JOUR T1 - A Study of RMBS Litigation Cases of Six Major U.S. Banks JF - The Journal of Structured Finance SP - 91 LP - 99 DO - 10.3905/jsf.2017.23.3.091 VL - 23 IS - 3 AU - Ruddy, John A. AU - Rajan, Murli AU - Petsas, Iordanis Y1 - 2017/10/31 UR - _URL_ N2 - Prior to the financial crisis of 2008–2009, banks engaged in activities related to mortgages and mortgage-backed securities that caused financial losses to investors. This resulted in a wave of residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) litigation. Investors and U.S. government entities filed hundreds of lawsuits in federal court in the years during and after the credit crisis. In this research, the authors consider 43 settlements of RMBS litigation pertaining to major U.S. banks. First, they provide a chronology of major events in the history of RMBS litigation. Second, using a unique dataset, they quantify the impact and involvement of such litigation on major U.S. banks, U.S. government agencies, and other entities. There are two important findings: U.S. banks were not equally impacted, and RMBS settlements were not equally distributed among the various plaintiffs. Third, the authors provide a breakdown of the litigation by year of settlement. They show that litigation settlement activity increased in 2013 and 2014 but declined during the period 2014–2016.TOPICS: MBS and residential mortgage loans, financial crises and financial market history ER -


text:
As you might notice through my rune of the day posts, there are runes that come up expressed as reversed. This is a common technique among contemporary systems of sortilege, especially tarot. The reader themselves will often have a ready understanding of reversed meanings about their tool, which can range from the complex to the simple. In most cases that I have heard of, the reversed meaning is a negative indicator or expression of the meaning contained within that symbol.
While historically we don't know how the runes were used for divination (or if they were used directly) in contemporary practice they are. Many books will give reversed meanings for some or all the runes. This is usually for the practice of Divination. However, if you look at any Futhark, there are runes that are not "reversible." That is, if you turn them 180 degrees on a vertical axis, it is the same symbol. Some symbols like this are invertible (that is if you turn them on a horizontal axis, they will become mirrored to the original inscription) but I have yet to find a rune set that includes inverse runes, as they would require a separate inscription.
What is of interest to many, are the non-reversible runes. A simple example would be Sowelo/Sigil/Sol the rune of the Sun. It's various forms in the futharks are all non reversible images. In essence, it's meaning in a reading never changes. That is an excellent graphical metaphor for the sun. In a certain sense, the power of the sun never changes. It may leave our ability to perceive the sun, but where ever it is, it always shines, bringing warmth, hope, and joy. It never changes or varies in that power.
This is one of the striking differences of the runes vs the tarot. Every tarot card can be reversed. Not every rune can be reversed. Some things are unchangeable, enduring, and lasting within the cosmology of the runes.
In Thorsson's work, the non-reversible runes are often interpreted as being the runes of the Nine Worlds. As he only uses the Elder Futhark, there are only 9 immutable runes. They are Gebo, Hagalaz, Nauthiz, Isa, Jera, Iehwaz, Sowilo, Inguz, and Dagaz. (if you want to know the Nine World equivalents, I suggest you acquire one of his books). The remaining runes are connected to paths connecting those worlds, much in the sense of the magical cabala associations with the tarot, with the major arcane forming paths between the sephira, which are associated with all the number units of the minor arcana. By adding in the Anglo-Saxon and Northumbrian runes though, his cosmological map falls apart, as more non reversible runes are added. Ior, Qweorth, Shtan and Gar, bring the total count from nine to thirteen, and introduce additional concepts or repeated ones. However, they are suggestive of powers that are immutable as well, and maybe they are not symbolic of the nine worlds, but instead of powers manifested in all the worlds, powers that are constantly being expressed and at work in the deepest metaphysical levels.


text:
The survival rate of dogs and cats experiencing cardiopulmonary arrest while in the veterinary hospital is fairly bleak—only
6 percent to 7 percent survive to be discharged and returned to their families, according to the Veterinary Emergency and
Critical Care Society (VECCS) and American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care (ACVECC). In an effort to improve
those outcomes, more than 100 board-certified veterinary specialists from around the world have collaborated to develop standardized
CPR guidelines for companion animals, which were released in June.
The absence of standardized guidelines or training for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in veterinary medicine has been
cited as a major factor in the historically poor outcomes for dogs and cats in cardiac arrest. In fact, until the advent of
evidence-based guidelines and standardized training in human medicine, survival rates in people were similar to animals, say
VECCS and ACVECC spokespersons. Now human survival rates are at 20 percent.
In hopes of seeing similar improvement in veterinary patient outcomes, Daniel Fletcher, PhD, DVM, Dipl. ACVECC, assistant
professor of emergency and critical care at Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine, and Manuel Boller, DVM, MTR
(master of science in translational research), Dipl. ACVECC, senior research investigator at University of Pennsylvania's
School of Veterinary Medicine and the Center for Resuscitation Science at Perelman School of Medicine, created the Reassessment
Campaign on Veterinary Resuscitation (RECOVER), a collaborative project supported by VECCS and ACVECC.
The motivation for the initiative came about as the two colleagues were developing material for a CPR course. They soon discovered
that there was considerable variation in CPR technique in the veterinary community and decided that needed to change.
"We wanted to formalize the process, do a more thorough review of existing evidence and develop true, evidence-based guidelines
for CPR," Fletcher says. "We also wanted to establish consensus for the guidelines by involving more people in the veterinary
community for the review process."
And that's just what they did. Veterinary specialists affiliated with the RECOVER initiative spent 18 months surveying more
than 1,000 pieces of experimental and clinical CPR literature, critically appraising it and devising a series of evidence-based
CPR guidelines for dogs and cats.
The process for developing the guidelines was similar to that used to develop the American Heart Association guidelines for
CPR in human medicine. RECOVER identified five critical "domains," or subject areas, the guidelines needed to address: preparedness
and prevention, basic life support, advanced life support, monitoring, and post-cardiac arrest care. In the end, 74 topics
related to small animal CPR were evaluated, and from that analysis, 101 clinical guidelines were generated. The draft guidelines
were made available to veterinary professionals for comment during an open feedback period and finalized by members of the
RECOVER committee before publication.
The finished product includes detailed information about performing chest compressions, intubating and providing ventilation,
monitoring the patient, gaining vascular access for drug administration and reversing the effects of sedatives and anesthetics,
if those agents were used. Diagrams, step-by-step algorithms and drug dosing charts are also provided as quick-reference tools
Those closely involved with the project believe that the guidelines will have a substantial impact on the veterinary profession.
"We finally have true, evidence-based guidelines that we can teach people and that will improve outcomes in patients," Fletcher
says. "And on a greater scale, this is the first time in veterinary medicine that we've had a large initiative like this.
This process is new for veterinary medicine and we hope that it will serve as a model to be applied to a lot of different
questions in our profession."
The researchers state that while challenging, the methods used in this initiative—identifying and systematically evaluating
specific key issues and questions using a collaborative approach and involving a variety of experts—are certainly feasible
and could pave the way for further evidence-based efforts in veterinary medicine.
A free, downloadable version of the new CPR guidelines is currently available in a special issue of the Journal of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care and online at
_URL_ In addition, RECOVER is working on developing a user-friendly, standardized training course to supplement the guidelines.
Veterinary professionals who elect to take the course will become certified in CPR through ACVECC and VECCS.


Bivouac of the Dead
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A plaque quoting the poem at Golden Gate National Cemetery
A plaque at Cave Hill Cemetery quoting the Bivouac of the Dead
The Bivouac of the Dead is a poem written by Danville, Kentucky native, Theodore O'Hara to honor his fellow soldiers from Kentucky who died in the Mexican-American War. The poem increased its popularity after the Civil War, and its verses have been featured on many memorials to fallen Confederate soldiers in the Southern United States, and are even to be found on many memorials in Arlington National Cemetery, including Arlington's gateway.[1]
When war against Mexico was declared in May 1846, O'Hara left Washington, D.C. to return to his native Kentucky in order to enlist. Within a month, he was appointed Captain of the Kentucky Volunteers, and served as their assistant quartermaster. Before he returned to Kentucky in 1847, he was made a brevet major. After hearing of the severe losses that the 2nd Kentucky Infantry and Kentucky cavalry suffered from the Battle of Buena Vista, O'Hara wrote the Bivouac of the Dead in dedication of the fallen troops. When many of the fallen Kentuckians were buried in Frankfort Cemetery on July 20, 1847, future congressman and U.S. Vice President John C. Breckinridge spoke for an hour at the event. Whether or not O'Hara spoke Bivouac of the Dead is disputed, but it is commonly believed that he did. It is agreed he spoke the poem in 1850 at the same cemetery, for the interment of William T. Barry and General Charles Scott. Bivouac of the Dead would later be called "a worthy contribution to American Literature." It was first published in the Frankfort Yeoman in 1850. However, modern historians have also claimed it was not written until 1851, after Narciso López's failed attempt to remove Cuba from Spanish control.[1][2][3][4]
O'Hara was known to change the lyrics to Bivouac. Alternations included removing mentions of specific places, and removing various stanzas. In 1858 the Mobile Register published what is believed to be the original version, with the Louisville Courier publishing the original with an introduction stating it was the version spoken at the 1847 ceremony, reflecting the changes in the poem. In 1900 The New York Times devoted an article decrying all the alterations to the poem, and stressed returning to the original version.[2][5]
When O'Hara was reinterred at Frankfort Cemetery, a friend used Bivouac as the eulogy.[2]
The first monument to the fallen Confederate States of America in Kentucky, the Confederate Monument in Cynthiana, used a verse from the Bivouac of the Dead. Six other monuments in Kentucky also used parts of the poem on memorials to fallen Confederates.[6] Portions of the poem are also displayed on 7 plaques at Finn's Point National Cemetery in Pennsville, New Jersey, where a significant number of Confederate Soldiers who died in captivity during the American Civil War are buried.
It was Montgomery C. Meigs who chose to quote Bivouac of the Dead for the entrance into Arlington, due to its solemn appeal. However, at Arlington and many other national cemeteries, O'Hara was not credited due to having fought for the Confederacy.[2]
During the late 1920s and 1930s, instances of Bivouac on markers throughout national cemeteries were removed, leaving only fourteen with Bivouac verses on tablets. In 2001, the National Cemetery Administration began returning the first stanza to any national cemetery in which the poem is missing.[2]
Parts of the poem may be found at Marye's Heights in Fredericksburg, Virginia Also, The national cemetery (Union soldiers only) at Antietam in Sharpsburg MD has phases from the first stanza on markers at various points.
 1. ^ a b Bivouac of the Dead - Arlington National Cemetery
 2. ^ a b c d e Bivouac of the Dead - Burial & Memorials
 3. ^ Dixon, Susan Bullitt. THEODORE O'HARA.; His "Bivouac of the Dead" -- The Correct Version and the Incorrect Ones. The New York Times August 11, 1900
 4. ^ Kleber, John E. Encyclopedia of Louisville. (University Press of Kentucky). pg.666.
 5. ^ Dixon, August 11, 1900
 6. ^ Civil War in Kentucky


text:
Clothes and Heritage: Chinese American Clothes from the Virginia Lee Mead Collection - Introduction
Lee B. Lok (1869 – 1942) immigrated to San Francisco from the Tai shan District, Guangdong Province, China in 1881. Soon after arrival he moved to New York City's Chinatown where he worked in the Quong Yuen Shing & Co. general store. With some English skills he became head of the store in 1894 allowing him to upgrade his identity papers from "coolie" to "merchant." This change in status exempted him from the restrictions imposed by the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 which barred the entry of Chinese laborers who had not already been in the United States. This change enabled Lee to marry Ng Shee in China circa 1900 and return to New York. Living above the store at 32 Mott Street, the couple raised seven children.
Mr. Lee behind the counter (in the center) of the Quong Yuen Shing & Co. store, c. 1917
In New York, Lee founded the Chinese Merchants Association, and in 1918 he was recognized as a prominent member of the Chinese community; however U.S. laws prohibited him from becoming an American citizen. His children all attended college becoming teachers, doctors and business people.


Open MPI logo
Portable Hardware Locality (hwloc) Documentation: v1.4.1
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Environment Variables
The behavior of the hwloc library and tools may be tuned thanks to the following environment variables.
enforces the discovery from the given XML file as if hwloc_topology_set_xml() had been called. This file may have been generated earlier with lstopo file.xml. For convenience, this backend provides empty binding hooks which just return success. To have hwloc still actually call OS-specific hooks, HWLOC_THISSYSTEM should be set 1 in the environment too, to assert that the loaded file is really the underlying system. See also Importing and exporting topologies from/to XML files.
enable verbose messages in the XML or synthetic topology backends. hwloc XML backends (see Importing and exporting topologies from/to XML files) can emit some error messages to the error output stream. Enabling these verbose messages within hwloc can be useful for understanding failures to parse input XML topologies. Similarly, enabling verbose messages in the synthetic topology backend can help understand why the description string is invalid.
switches to reading the topology from the specified Linux filesystem root instead of the main file-system root, as if hwloc_topology_set_fsroot() had been called. Not using the main file-system root causes hwloc_topology_is_thissystem() to return 0. For convenience, this backend provides empty binding hooks which just return success. To have hwloc still actually call OS-specific hooks, HWLOC_THISSYSTEM should be set 1 in the environment too, to assert that the loaded file is really the underlying system.
enforces the return value of hwloc_topology_is_thissystem(). It means that it makes hwloc assume that the selected backend provides the topology for the system on which we are running, even if it is not the OS-specific backend but the XML backend for instance. This means making the binding functions actually call the OS-specific system calls and really do binding, while the XML backend would otherwise provide empty hooks just returning success. This can be used for efficiency reasons to first detect the topology once, save it to an XML file, and quickly reload it later through the XML backend, but still having binding functions actually do bind.
enables or disables verbose reporting of errors. The hwloc library may issue warnings to the standard error stream when it detects a problem during topology discovery, for instance if the operating system (or user) gives contradictory topology information. Setting this environment variable to 1 removes the actual displaying of these error messages.
enables or disables objects grouping based on distances. By default, hwloc uses distance matrices between objects (either read from the OS or given by the user) to find groups of close objects. These groups are described by adding intermediate Group objects in the topology. Setting this environment variable to 0 will disable this grouping. This variable supersedes the obsolete HWLOC_IGNORE_DISTANCES variable.
relaxes distance comparison during grouping. By default, objects may be grouped if their distances form a minimal distance graph. When setting this variable to 0.02, these distances do not have to be strictly equal anymore, they may just be equal with a 2% error. If set to try instead of a numerical value, hwloc will try to group with perfect accuracy (0, the default), then with 0.01, 0.02, 0.05 and finally 0.1.
enables or disables some verbose messages during grouping. If this variable is set to 1, some debug messages will be displayed during distance-based grouping of objects even if debug was not specific at configure time. This is useful when trying to find an interesting distance grouping accuracy.
sets a distance matrix for objects of the given type and physical indexes. The type should be given as its case-sensitive stringified value (e.g. NUMANode, Socket, Cache, Core, PU). If another distance matrix already exists for the given type, either because the user specified it or because the OS offers it, it will be replaced by the given one.
If the variable value is none, the existing distance matrix for the given type is removed. Otherwise, the variable value first consists in a list of physical indexes that may be specified as a comma-separated list (e.g. 0,2,4,1,3,5) or as a range of consecutive indexes (0-5). It is followed by a colon and the corresponding distances:
 - If X*Y is given, X groups of Y close objects are specified.
 - If X*Y*Z is given, X groups of Y groups of Z close objects are specified.
 - Otherwise, the comma-separated list of distances should be given. If N objects are considered, the i*N+j-th value gives the distance from the i-th object to the j-th object.
Note that distances are ignored in multi-node topologies.
changes the locality of I/O devices behind the specified PCI hostbridge. If no I/O locality information is available or if the BIOS reports incorrect information, it is possible to move a I/O device tree (the entire set of objects behind a host bridge) near a custom set of processors. domain and bus are the PCI domain and primary bus of the corresponding host bridge.


A harsh toll: How tough mandatory sentences inspired Harney County occupation
The seeds of this month's insurrection at a Harney County wildlife refuge were planted in an unusual midnight deal struck in 2012 between prosecutors and Harney County ranchers Dwight and Steven Hammond.
The long blood feud between the Hammonds and the government reached a surprise moment of consensus that night. After eight days of trial in a Pendleton courthouse on charges they had set illegal fires near their remote Eastern Oregon ranch, the parties agreed to abide by the jury's partial verdict.
The jury informed the judge it had concluded that the Hammonds were guilty of two counts of arson. On seven other counts, the jury had voted to acquit or was deadlocked.
The Hammonds agreed to accept the partial verdict, accept Hogan's sentence and to waive their rights to appeal. The two ranchers and their lawyers believed the U.S. Attorney's office had done the same.
The deal blew up four months later after U.S. District Court Judge Michael Hogan refused to issue the five-year mandatory minimum sentence. Prosecutors immediately appealed, calling Hogan's lighter prison sentences "illegal."
The Department of Justice prevailed. The ranchers were ordered to return to prison to serve out their five-year terms.
The case made the Hammonds martyrs to an angry cadre of protesters, and the perceived government overreach inspired the armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge south of Burns that has attracted worldwide attention.
Even as the occupation reaches day 15, several questions remain unanswered: Why did the government decide to charge the Hammonds under a terrorism statute? Why was it so fixated on a five-year sentence? Did prosecutors renege on a deal not to appeal the original sentence?
Whether you consider the Hammonds heroes or criminals, their collision with the federal justice system offers a cautionary tale of federal power and the mounting controversy over mandatory minimum sentences. A national groundswell of critics, including President Barack Obama and even former Attorney General Eric Holder, has surfaced in recent years claiming mandatory minimums lead to unduly harsh sentences that have disproportionately impacted young black and Latino men.
In this case, the sentences went to the two Oregon ranchers, Dwight, age 74 and Steven, age 49. Even Frank Papagni Jr., the assistant U.S. Attorney leading the Hammond prosecution, repeatedly voiced misgivings about the severity of a five-year sentence. But once the trial began, he offered no concessions, nor did his colleagues who handled the subsequent appeal.
"If they had qualms, I'm disappointed they fought so hard for five years, all the way to the Supreme Court," said Jacon Taylor, Steven Hammond's nephew, who testified at the trial. "In the end, the result was devastating to the Hammonds."
A prosecutors' weapons
Two decades of mounting ill will between the Hammonds and federal bureaucrats over how best to manage their adjacent rangeland erupted into something far more serious in June 2010. Federal prosecutors charged the ranchers with multiple counts of arson, conspiracy and other charges.
Prosecutors chose to file a specific type of arson under a 1996 statute passed by Congress in the wake of the Oklahoma City bombing. The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act gave law enforcement and government lawyers a panoply of new tools to fight terrorism, including a tough new five-year mandatory minimum sentence for arson.
Prosecutors had other charging options that carried much lighter penalties. Another statute -- 18 U.S. Code 1855 -- prohibits setting ablaze "any timber, underbrush, or grass" in the public domain. The Hammonds could have gotten off with as little as probation and fines if convicted.
"The real decision point happened at the charging phase -- that's what brought with it the five year mandatory minimum," said Kevin Sali, a Portland criminal defense attorney. "Look at the statute's legislative history. Clearly, this was intended primarily to fight terrorism. You won't see any mention of ranchers burning brush."
The U.S. Attorney's office in Portland declined to comment on its charging decision.
The Justice Department's own manual is ambivalent. It calls for prosecutors to seek "the most serious offense" that carries with it the maximum penalty. But the manual also urges prosecutors to ensure the sentence is "proportional to the seriousness of the defendant's conduct."
Per Olson, another prominent Portland criminal defense attorney, said it's become commonplace for prosecutors to use the threat of a stricter sentence as a negotiating tool. "Their ability to use those mandatory minimums to coerce someone into pleading to something is quite powerful," Olson said. "Obviously, the Hammonds didn't bite. They wouldn't plead."
Case goes to trial
The Hammonds had the financial wherewithal to hire top-flight criminal defense lawyers -- Larry Matasar and the late Marc Blackman. The two sides were soon talking about a deal.
Kelly Zusman, an assistant U.S. Attorney in Portland who handled the subsequent Hammond appeal, said the characterization of the government as too stiff necked to negotiate is simply wrong. Before the trial got under way, she said, prosecutors offered to reduce the charges that would have likely reduced the prison term to well below five years.
"The government made offers to these guys," Zusman said. "They could have pleaded to lesser offenses. But they had to give something up. Their position was: take it to trial. We're going to win. We haven't done anything wrong."
Eight days into the trial, it was clear the jury disagreed.
Near midnight on June 21, jurors sent a note to Hogan saying they had rejected some of the claims against the Hammonds and were hopelessly split on most of the others. But they were unanimous in agreeing the ranchers were guilty of two counts of arson.
Hogan then did what he has become famous for in Oregon legal circles: He brokered a deal.
He convinced the parties to accept the guilty verdict on the two arson counts and throw out the rest of the charges. The Hammonds agreed to give up their appeal rights, according to court documents. As far as the Hammonds were concerned, they and the government had agreed to a permanent ceasefire that would put the final sentencing decision in Hogan's hands.
Papagni, the prosecutor, accepted the partial verdict, according to court documents. But as events would soon show, the Hammonds and the government had vastly different ideas about the fine points of their 11th hour accord.
Hogan's bombshell
The sentencing was originally scheduled for December 2012. But Hogan rescheduled it to Oct. 30. After nearly four decades on the bench, he was retiring on Oct. 31. He wanted the Hammond sentencing to be his last official act.
By the prosecutors' reckoning, federal guidelines called for a 33- to 41-month sentence for Steven Hammond and six months or less for his father. But in this case, the five-year mandatory minimum trumped the normal sentencing guidelines.
Papagni clearly was uncomfortable with the severity of the sentence the government demanded.
"Perhaps the best argument, Judge, the defendants have in this case is the proportionality of what they did to what their sentence is," Papagni said at the sentencing hearing. "Perhaps that's the most troubling for the court. It is for the prosecutor who tried the case. That being said, I have done my job as I see it."
True to form, Hogan's parting shot was memorable. Five years was out of line, he ruled, a violation of the Eighth Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
"I will impose a sentence that I believe is defensible under the law but also one that is defensible to my conscience," he said. "I am not going to apply the mandatory minimum (which) would result in a sentence grossly disproportionate to the severity of the offenses here."
Instead, Hogan sentenced Steven Hammond, then 46, to a year and a day in prison and Dwight Hammond, then 70, to just three months.
Hogan took a jab at the prosecutors, saying controlled burns in the "wilderness" of the Eastern Oregon desert was not the kind of arson Congress had in mind when it ramped up penalties for arson as part of the antiterrorism statute.
Furious Justice Department officials vowed to appeal. Defense lawyers protested, reminding the government they had waived their right to appeal. The government denied it had ever made such a pledge and charged ahead.
Return to prison
The government, in its appeal, said Hogan did not have the discretion to vary from the minimum. In a stinging rebuke, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed.
Hogan's sentence was "illegal," it ruled last year. It dismissed as nonsense the argument from the defense and Hogan that the fire set by the Hammond were victimless acts of land management gone wrong.
"Even a fire in a remote area has the potential to spread to more populated areas, threaten local property and residents, or endanger the firefighters called to battle the blaze," the Appeals Court ruled.
The Hammonds appealed all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, but the high court declined to consider their case.
It was a Groundhog Day moment this October, when the Hammonds and their supporters gathered for yet another sentencing hearing. This one would be in front of U.S. District Court Judge Ann Aiken in Eugene. Aiken sided with the government and sentenced them to five years.
"It was emotional and sad," said Taylor, Steven Hammond's nephew. "We were told to expect five years. But still, you hold out a tiny shred of hope, even though you know it logically doesn't make sense."
Billy Williams, the U.S. Attorney in Oregon, declined to comment about the case. But he trumpeted Aiken's