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I have a generic N-ary expression tree and I want to convert the same to a binary tree. Is there any well defined algorithms to do the same?
I tried going thro' different algorithms of converting N-ary tree to expression tree like _URL_ but thats not going to work, as they don't worry about precedence and all.
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Can you expand on your requirements for the binary tree, vs the nary tree? Anything specific... or is your only requirement that children of a node, are simply still descendants of the same node? – ChrisCM Jun 4 '13 at 13:52
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1 Answer
Simple answer.
Step 1: Convert N-ary expression tree with different levels of precedence into an N-ary tree where each node has only a single level of precedence.
Step 2: Convert that tree into a binary tree.
If you're seeking a straightforward solution rather than an efficient one, it may be easy to explode each node into levels matching your precedence, then after you have a binary tree collapse out the obviously useless nodes. If you want a more efficient solution, then you'll want to be more cautious in the initial expansion.
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Subsidy vs. Installment Models-Economic Impacts
The key difference between wireless subsidized and financing/installment models is that a sizable portion of the phone price is carried by the carrier in the subsidized model. In the installment model, the full price is split monthly in equal installments over the full period of the plan with no subsidization. With the installment plan model, the wireless courier makes a marginally higher incremental margin. In both Canada and the United States, major wireless carriers no longer offer subsidized contracts. In addition, the cost of wireless phones is rising, resulting in a decline in subscriber growth. Below, we discuss this topic in more detail.
- A wireless subsidized model or contract bears a sizable portion of the cost of the phone paid by the carrier up front. The result is a smaller contract price for the consumer.
- To protect the initial cost of acquisition (COA) by the courier, the consumer must sign a contract for a period of months. This is typically 24 months in both Canada and the United States.
- The subsidized price is recovered over the length of the contract.
- In the installment model, the full retail price (FRP) is shown up front to the consumer.
- The FRP price is divided over the term of the plan into monthly repayments. Most plans are 24 months.
- In Canada, the installment plan can include a payment up front. If there is payment up front, it will reduce monthly repayments.
- Interest is not charged over the repayment period of the wireless phone.
- The phone belongs to the consumer at the end of the plan.
Model Cost Comparison
- When comparing the purchase of a wireless device of around $600 in value between a subsidy and outright payment contract model, the following applies:
- The following items are charged for in the subsidized model, a monthly service charge, activation and retention ETF/EU waiver.
- Total monthly cost of the $600 phone is $46.33.
- The following items are charged for in the outright payment model, a monthly service charge, activation, retention and the outright cost of the wireless phone.
- The total monthly cost of the phone on the installment plan is $69.99.
- From this exercise completed by NPI, the cost of an outright payment contract model is more expensive than a subsidized contract model. This is primarily because a subsidized phone contract has a reduced cost on the phone model bought.
- The idea of a subsidized model is about retention, keeping the consumer in the carriers stable for as long as possible, increasing your profit per client over time.
- In an installment model, there is a general incremental profit over subsidized contracts.
- Wireless carriers raise the finance for the phones through bank loans and public security.
- Because the cost of an ever-improving wireless phone is increasing constantly, the risks to profit margins are high for the carriers and have dropped the subsidized model.
- All the leading carriers in Canada and the United States only offer the installment model now. AT&T stopped using the subsidized contract model in 2016.
- The 24-months installment contract is the normal contract length, but longer installment contracts are now being explored by carrier companies. This will keep the consumer locked in for longer with increased profit margins.
- According to Verizon, their previous consumer subscribers are not replacing their phones. This indicates both the subscriber and profit margins are down.
- An article by the New York Intelligencer supports Verizon's findings and that a smartphone plateau has been reached. United States wireless sales are in a decline across the board. This is expected to continue into 2022.

source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


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The name Pralus was first associated with chocolate in 1948 when Auguste Pralus began his first patisserie in France. Francois Pralus furthered the tradition by creating his own single-origin bars from the world's finest beans in 1991. As with many French chocolatiers, the cacao beans are roasted much longer than their European and American counterparts. The result is a darker colored bar with smokier, darker flavors. Explore the dark, roasty, iconic flavors of Francois Pralus chocolates.
- 100 gram bar, 45% milk chocolate
- Made with criollo beans from Indonesia
- Balanced flavors with notes of vanilla, caramel, and milky spices


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Original URL: _URL_
Martian pole freckled with geysers
Unlike anything on Earth
Every spring, the southern polar cap on Mars almost fizzes with carbon dioxide, as the surface is broken by hundreds of geysers throwing sand and dust hundreds of feet into the Martian "air".
The discovery was announced in the journal Nature by researchers at the Arizona State University, based on data from the Thermal Emission Imaging System on the Mars Odyssey orbiter.
Images sent back by the probe showed that as the sun began to warm the pole, the polar cap began to break out in dark spots. Over the days and weeks that followed, these spots formed fan-like markings, and spidery patterns. As the sun rose higher in the Martian sky, the spots and fans became more numerous.
"Originally, scientists thought the spots were patches of warm, bare ground exposed as the ice disappeared," said lead scientist Phil Christensen. "But observations made with THEMIS on NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter told us the spots were nearly as cold as the carbon dioxide ice, which is at minus 198 degrees Fahrenheit."
The team concluded that the dark spots were in fact geysers, and the fans that appeared were caused by the debris from the eruptions.
Christensen said: "If you were there, you'd be standing on a slab of carbon-dioxide ice. Looking down, you would see dark ground below the three foot thick ice layer.
"The ice slab you're standing on is levitated above the ground by the pressure of gas at the base of the ice."
He explains that as the sunlight hits the region in the spring, it warms the dark ground enough that the ice touching the ground is vaporised. The gas builds up under the ice until it is highly pressurised and finally breaks through the surface layer.
As the gas escapes, it carries the smaller, finer particles of the soil along with it, forming grooves under the ice. This "spider" effect indicates a spot where a geyser is established, and will form again the following year. ®

source: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb-edu


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What is Civil Society?
Definition of a CSO
The concepts of 'civil society' and 'civil society organisation' are still debated but we use these terms as they are most widely understood internationally. Other common terms are; nonprofit organisation, charity, NGO, third sector, voluntary sector and so on.
The Centre for Civil Society at John Hopkins University defines a civil society organisation as:
"Any organisation whether formal or informal, that are not part of the apparatus of government, that do not distribute profits to their directors or operators, that are self-governing, and in which participation is a matter of free choice. Both member-serving and public-serving organisations are included. Embraced within this definition, therefore, are private, not-for-profit health providers, schools, advocacy groups, social service agencies, anti-poverty groups, development agencies, professional associations, community-based organisations, unions, religious bodies, recreation organisations, cultural institutions and many more." Statement of the Sixteenth Annual Johns Hopkins International Fellows in Philanthropy Conference Nairobi, Kenya
Sub sections for this page:
What is Civil Society? : GSI Resources : Assembly


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In his lab at Indiana University, James Goodson keeps violet-eared waxbills – a stunning but notoriously aggressive type of finch. Males and females form life-long bonds but they don't play well with others. "Most of our animals are housed in male-female pairs, but were you to introduce another adult into their cage, most of them would attack immediately," says Goodson. But some of Goodson's birds don't fit the stereotype. They almost never attack intruders.
These birds weren't born docile. They became that way after Goodson stopped a special group of neurons in their brains from releasing a chemical called VIP. This single act turned fighters into pacifists and confirmed, in dramatic fashion, that there's a special class of cell that drives aggression in these bird brains.
The neurons that Goodson targeted are found in the hypothalamus – a primitive ball-shaped region in the centre of the brain that governs many of our basic functions, from sleep to hunger to body temperature. It also has a long history with aggression. For decades, scientists have found that an electric burst to the hypothalamus can make mammals and birds more aggressive. And last year, Dayu Lin showed that he could transform docile mice into vicious brutes by switching on neurons in a specific part of the hypothalamus called the ventrolateral ventromedial hypothalamus (VMHvl).
Goodson focused on an adjoining area called the anterior hypothalamus (AH), which has been linked to aggressive behaviour in back-boned animals from fish to humans. He found that neurons in the upper part of the HA are more active when male waxbills attack subordinate intruders. The more belligerent the bird, the more active these neurons were.
This small part of the hypothalamus is rife with neurons that secrete a hormone called VIP. It's a chemical jack-of-all-trades that affects the width of blood vessels, controls the movement of gut muscles, and more. It also affects the brain, but aside from some involvement in body clocks, we know very little about what it does there. Here's one clue: every part of the brain that's important for social behaviour has neurons that secrete, carry or respond to VIP.
Goodson found another clue earlier this year: he showed that the amount of VIP in the AH predicted how aggressive different species of sparrow are. Now, he has managed to completely abolished any aggressive behaviour in his waxbills by stopping the neurons in their AH from producing VIP. He used a small piece of DNA that's specifically matched to the birds' VIP gene, and stops them from making the hormone. When he infused their AH with this fragment, their reactions to intruders changed from immediate fisticuffs to the equivalent of harsh language.
The birds hadn't been generally sedated by the treatment, because they kept on eating and moving as per usual. Their social skills hadn't been dulled, because they were still willing to spend time with blue waxbills – a different species that they sometimes associate with in the wild. And they could still tell that an intruder had arrived, for they continued to make angry calls and threatening displays. They just didn't fight, chase or attack.
Goodson got the same results when he worked with zebra finches. Unlike the fierce waxbills, zebra finches are very sociable and live in large colonies. They only attack when competing for mates or defending their nests. But even these pacifists became even more peaceful after a VIP-reducing injection.
These results are astonishing in how specific they are. Goodson has shown that a specific group of neurons – those in the upper AH that secrete VIP – drive aggressive behaviour in birds, and only aggressive behaviour. They don't affect more pleasant social skills, the ability to recognise other individuals, anxiousness, or movement—just aggression.
Even more specifically, Goodson thinks that these neurons affect aggression when birds defend their territories, but not when they compete for mates. After he injected the zebra finches with the anti-VIP fragment and placed them together with other finches, they took two days to become less aggressive. On the first day, when they were competing for mates, they'd fight as often as their untreated peers. On the second day, after they had paired up and set up a nest, suddenly they became more passive.
Dayu Lin, whose work I described above, praises the paper. "Not many mammalian studies have implied a role of VIP in aggression, "she says. "The big question is whether that cell group exists in mammals and whether it has the same function." This is important not just for understanding the relevance to humans, but because it would be easier to unpick what VIP actually does in mice, according to Clifford Saper, who studies the hypothalamus. "The genetic tricks that are available in mice cannot be done in birds," he says.
Saper also checked the Allen Brain Atlas – a massive database showing how genes are switched on across a mouse's brain – and says, "It doesn't appear that there is a similar VIP group in mouse brain." But Goodson counters that the Atlas may be out of date.Many of the studies looking at VIP in mouse brains are old, and don't focus on the hypothalamus. And because neurons make and release VIP very quickly, it's quite hard to track the chemical. At the very least, we know that VIP is found in the AH of sheep and hedgehogs, and Goodson says, "This region of the brain is very similar across all vertebrate groups, and in both birds and mammals."
Reference: Goodson, Kelly, Kingsbury & Thompson. 2012. An aggression-specific cell type in the anterior hypothalamus of finches. PNAS _URL_


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plenty of room. You can keep a single catfish or a mixed-gender group in your community tank.
How to Care for Your Bristlenose Catfish
It's not hard to set up the ideal habitat for these funny-looking but friendly catfish! Let's take a look at the care requirements for the bristlenose pleco:
Bristlenose Tank Set-up and Habitat Requirements
What kind of aquarium set-up do these tentacled plecos need to thrive?
These small plecos do well in tanks 25-gallons and up. As bottom dwellers, bristlenose prefer horizontally-oriented tanks rather than tall or portrait-style aquariums. If you're buying a standard size aquarium, consider getting a long breeder tank for your pleco community.
It's best to use a soft substrate in a bristlenose tank, rather than sharp or harsh gravels. Using aquarium sand, soil or fine gravel prevents injury to your fish's abdomen or fins. For breeding set-ups and single-species tanks, you can skip using substrate entirely if you want to make your maintenance really easy, but you may have to skip having live plants (or keep them in pots).
Water and Temperature Parameters
Bristlenose catfish are hardy and tolerate a wide range of temperatures. They prefer water from 60 to 80°F, so you may not need a heater for your tank, and a pH range from 6.5 to 7.5. They are not especially sensitive to your water hardness and do best at 6 to 10 KH.
Filtration, Aeration and Lighting
Bristlenose catfish prefer well filtered and very clean water with a moderate to high rate of flow along the bottom of their tank. Canister filters are ideal for pleco tanks, but HOB filters may suffice in smaller aquariums. They are nocturnal fish and prefer low light or heavily shaded areas of your tank during the day.
If you're using a robust filtration system you may not need an airstone for your pleco tank, but it can't hurt to use one, either. Some bristlenose can store oxygen in their stomachs for up to a day, and may be able to survive low-oxygen conditions, but other fish may suffer when exposed to hypoxic zones in your tank.
Plants and Decorations
Bristlenose catfish prefer tanks with a lot of live plants, and they actively feed on the biofilm and algae that grow in mature aquariums:
- It's best to provide your plecos with a variety of plants and surfaces to feed on, including fast-growing vegetation like Hornwort and decor such as rocks, sticks and wood to rasp.
- These fish enjoy hiding in driftwood during the daylight hours, so provide them with plenty of caves and hiding holes.
Brushmouth catfish are easy to care for, but with their vigorous appetites, they also produce a lot of waste. Be sure to change your aquarium's water on a regular basis and replace the filter media as needed to keep your water quality high. Poor water quality leads to stress and can make your fish sick.
What do Bristlenose Plecos Eat?
Bristlenose catfish are scavenging omnivores and will enthusiastically consume both plant and animal foods. But unlike most species of catfish, they don't thrive on a high protein diet, which can lead to bloating and other health problems. They do best when fed about 90 to 95% vegetable matter with the occasional protein treat:
Bristlenose are known to feed on bogwood and aquarium biofilm, as well as algae and live plants, but aquariums can't provide them with a naturally balanced diet. It can take up to 6 months for a tank to mature and produce biofilm, so you should always supplement your pleco's diet with commercial foods and treats:
- Offer your bristlenose a daily mix of sinking algae wafers, spirulina pellets and/or freshly blanched veggies like peas, cucumbers, zucchini and spinach.
- Your catfish will also eat scraps left by your other fish, and once a week you can offer a small protein treat like brine shrimp, Daphnia or shrimp eggs. Be cautious when offering bloodworms to your community, since they're very easy to overfeed.
Compatible Bristlenose Tank Mates
You can keep a group of bristlenose in a single species or breeding tank, but these shy fish are also a great option for community aquariums! They are compatible with other peaceful species and often do well with the smaller semi-aggressive fish like Tiger Barbs. Some fun options for tank mates include (but are not limited to):
- Live-bearing fish like mollies, platys, swordtails and guppies (pleco may eat their fry, however)
- Peaceful and semi-aggressive barbs
- South American cichlids
- Loaches and Cory Cats
Bristlenose catfish are easy to breed as long as you have a mix of genders in your tank, and they've been known to produce viable eggs even in community aquariums. In that case, you'd probably have to transfer the eggs to a breeding tank if you wanted to raise fry, since the community would eat 'em.
Here's a brief overview of the spawning process; for more information and detailed instructions, check out this translated article by a respected German authority:
- Male fish naturally establish their territory and even excavate "caves" underneath driftwood decor, or you can provide them with a partially buried plastic container, PVC pipe or ceramic flower pot as an easy-to-transfer egg cave instead.
- When the female fish are plump and ready to spawn, the male lures them into the cave. The female lays the eggs and attaches them to the cave wall, and then her role in the breeding is finished and she swims away.
- The male fertilizes the eggs and then protects the embryos for about 10 days, until they hatch. Rival males will readily eat these developing eggs, and even female fish will snack on eggs and young fry if they can.
Bristlenose catfish are usually very healthy fish, but they're susceptible to any bacterial, viral and fungal diseases carried in your water. It's important to quarantine new fish and live plants before introducing them into your community to prevent the spread of aquatic diseases.
- Be cautious when treating a sick bristlenose community, since these scaleless fish are very sensitive to medications that contain copper and could be poisoned by them!
- As voracious eaters, bristlenose often suffer from bloat or constipation problems if they consume too much protein.
Ultimate Bristlenose Breeding Tank: Equipment and Supply List
What do you need to start a single-species tank for bristlenose catfish? It depends on whether you also plan to raise fry, since you'll need another basic set-up for the babies once they hatch. Here's a complete list for a breeding tank with 4 fish (1 male and 3 females):
- 50-gallon (or larger) aquarium with a cover/lid
- Canister filtration system
- Driftwood or bogwood decor
- Plastic containers, PVC pipes or ceramic flower pots for breeding caves
- Commercial algae wafers and spirulina pellets
- Treats like blanched veggies, and the occasional high-protein snack
- Water conditioner and hoses/buckets for water changes
Optional but useful equipment includes:
- Soft aquarium soil, sand, or fine gravel substrate
- Mix of fast and slow-growing live plants
- Airstone and pump
- Light Fixture and/or Moonlight for nighttime viewing
- Fry tank with a sponge filter
As you can see, there's a ton of reasons to consider adding a bristlenose catfish to your planted freshwater community. Have you had bristlenose plecos before, or raised their fry? We'd love to hear about your experiences in the comments below, or come dive into our community of fish lovers online!


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A great many of my umbelliferous plants are going to flower now and seed now, making it a perfect time to save seeds for new plantings. You probably have some umbelliferae in your garden too! It is a big word, for a big family, but it basically means fragrant plants that have an upside down umbrella-like flower.
A quick botany lesson
Plants belonging to the umbelliferae family are known as the carrot or parsley family, and make up a group of mostly aromatic herbs. A defining characteristic of these plants are that they flower in a simple or compound umbel. An umbel is a flower made up of a number of short, equal in length, flower stalks radiating from a single point – see images below.
Umbelleferae in your garden
Now that you see what it looks like, you can probably identify a couple of herbs in your garden that fall into this family – here is a list of just a few that are commonly grown:
- Angelica (Angelica archangelica)
- Anise (Pimpinella anisum)
- Caraway (Carum carvi)
- Carrot (Daucus carota)
- Celery (Apium graveolens)
- Chervil (Antrhiscus cerefolium)
- Cicely (Myrrhis odorata)
- Coriander (Coriandrum sativum)
- Cumin (Cuminum cyminum)
- Dill (Anethum graveolens)
- Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare)
- Lovage (Levisticum officinale)
- Parsley (Petroselinum crispum)
- Parsnip (Pastanica sativum)
Besides saving seeds, or letting your herbs self-sow, there is also another important reason to let these plants bolt (grow a flower stalk to produce umbels, and eventually seeds) – and this reason is apparent in their alternative family name Apiaceae. Apis = bees. Bees love to forage on the flower nectar, and the umbels are also great spots for other beneficial insects to rest, refuel and hide.
How to harvest umbelliferae seeds
Harvesting seeds from these plants are really easy, as the umbels of flowers ripen into clearly distinctive seeds which can easily be rubbed off when ripe. I wait until the seeds are ripe (browning or darkening) on the plant and just pinch a bunch between my thumb and fingers and rub them – seeds that are ripe will easily come off, and can be caught in a bag or your other open hand. Alternatively, the whole umbel head can be cut off and shaken into a bag. Keep saved seed in a cool and dry place until you are ready to sow them.
A note on safety with umbellifereae
There are some really poisonous plants in the carrot family too, e.g. poison hemlock and water dropwort, so don't harvest umbellifereae from the wild…


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Design of the SuperElastixFilter¶
The SuperElastixFilter is designed to be part of an itk pipeline such that it can connect to other itk filters and supports the itk update mechanism. All input and output data required by the (configured) algorithm are exposed by the SuperElastixFilter. In this philosophy the SuperElastixFilter does/should not read or write data (images, meshes, etc) from disk directly. Therefor, in the commandline tool, which uses the SuperElastixFilter, readers and writers reside outside the SuperElastixFilter. However, unlike common itk filters, the inputs and outputs of the SuperElastixFilter are typically unknown at compile time, because they depend on the Blueprint configuration describing the actual algorithm to execute. This complicates the setup of a pipeline, since up and downstream itk filters are typically templated over their datatypes. To stay as close as possible to the itk philosophy, the SuperElastixFilter supports 2 modes of operation:
- Application embedding: at compile-time the inputs and outputs are known. That is, the application developer makes sure that any Blueprints to be used, will correspond to the (compile-time defined) number and types of inputs and outputs by known identifier names (defined by the Sink and Source Components). In this mode, the order in which the inputs and outputs are connected to other filters, and the Blueprint (Object) is set, is arbitrary. However, to connect the output of the SuperElastixFilter a templated version of GetOutput must be used: ImageFileReader::Pointer my_writer->SetInput(selxFilter->GetOutput(identifier));
- Commandline tool: at compile time the inputs and outputs are unknown. The class implementing the commandline interface is not aware of the datatypes used by all components. (In this way, adding custom components with new types does not affect the source code of the commandline interface). The commandline interface is invoked by pairs of filenames and identifier names. The identifiers refer to Sink or Source Components as defined via the Blueprint that, in turn, define the data types. In this mode, the commandline interface cannot instantiate the readers or writers because of their templated types. Instead, the SuperElastixFilter is requested to return appropriate readers and writers corresponding to the identifier names. SuperElastix will return respectively an AnyReader or AnyWriter, which are non-templated Base Classes that, if updated, call the appropriate reader of writer (by use of polymorphism). In this mode, it is required to set the Blueprint prior to request and connect readers or writers.
The following sequence diagrams show the order of function calls of each mode of operation.
Note that these are simplified diagrams and may not reflect all details and naming as found in the source code.


Thursday, March 16, 2017
CCP Its Time - Structure Changes for the Overview
I really really like a lot of things about the new structures (i.e. Citadels and Engineering Complexes).
Look at the image above. Prior to Citadels, there were two dockable celestials on my overview. Upwell structures appear on the overview if you have permission to dock at them OR you are on the same space grid with them. But in both cases they look on the same on the overview so you can get into the situation where two structures are on the overview and one you can dock at and one you can't and you need to look at the name and know which is which or you need to warp to each one and see what happens.
On top of that, even if every structure on the overview are ones you have access to, there is no easy way to distinguish at a glace or with a tab preset any of them of the same size in any manner except reading the names. For example, look again at the image above and find the Astrahus owned by my corporation Aideron Robotics. While its easy to distinguish the Azbel and Fortizar from the Raitaru and Astrahuses, one needs to scan every one of the former and know the name to find the Kirith's Grand Emproium Astrahus. And to complicate matters every structure automatically gets the system name pre-pended so you can't even scan the column's first letter/word easily. There has to be a better way.
I have several proposals.
1. Apply corporate standings tags to structures just like we do to pilots in the overview. This would quickly distinguish corporate structures from alliance structure from friendly structures from neutral and hostile ones. Yes, this does not mean you have access to docking at that structure but it would simply looking at a glance on the overview. And besides, someone blue on the overview doesn't mean that they won't shoot you either.
2. Indicate accessibility in a new column. Either a new overlay icon on the regular icon (like a tiny green check mark) or a new column (with check mark). This would be an optional column and could be placed anywhere is the column order.
3. Grey out structures not accessible when on grid with them. Yes, you can see them and everything, but some sort of indication that they are not accessible would simplify life immensely.
4. Provide option to see ALL structures in overview. Right now you jump into a system there is a second you see all structures before the ones you don't have access too and are not on grid get greyed out and removed from overview. It would be nice for scouting purposes (and home defense) to be able to bring them up.
CCP its time - make the overview great again!
1 comment:
 1. Let me get in with the default response question that comes to mind: was the overview ever great in the first place?
 But good suggestions. So presumably with the patch after the next one some of these suggestiosn will be implemented by a dev with 5 minutes of spare time.
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European Decorative Arts and Sculpture
Pitcher with Landing of General Lafayette at New York, 16 August 1824Made in Cobridge, Staffordshire, England, Europe
Made by James and Ralph Clews, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, 1818 - 1834
Glazed earthenware with transfer-printed decoration
Currently not on view
1940-16-171Bequest of R. Wistar Harvey, 1940
Various methods of printing on a ceramic body by means of a transfer were introduced in England in the 1750s. For printing under the glaze, the earliest and most basic method consisted of applying color—most notably cobalt blue—to an engraved copper plate. From this engraved plate, the design was transferred to a thin paper which was then pressed onto the unglazed surface of a ceramic object before being softened with water and peeled away. The decoration was hardened in a muffle kiln, then glazed and fired again. The resulting decoration had the appearance of an engraved print.
This process of printing on ceramics allowed standardization of decoration, permitting intricate designs to be created quickly and in large quantities. The major centers for the production of English transfer-printed wares were located in pottery centers in the county of Staffordshire and in Liverpool. As early as the late eighteenth century, manufacturers working in these areas realized the potential of the nascent American market and created ceramics decorated with scenes of this country's monuments, both built and natural.


Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Are your bugs sexy?
Do parasites alter sexual behaviour?
While some parasites clearly manipulate the behaviour of their host to enhance their ability to spread to new hosts (think of alteration of limbic function by rabies leading to biting behaviour or reduced fear from predators in many instances), do they ever alter sexual behaviour?
There is evidence that many organisms discriminate against mates that are parasitized. It has even been proposed that positive selection for bright colours, large appendages, elaborate feathers/fur/etc is a surrogate for selecting mates who can support such useless extravagances... and are therefore free of parasites.
Rats have been shown to be able to identify parasitized individuals by smelling their urine, and avoid mating with them as a result. Female rats appear to prefer the scent of males that are free of lice over lice-infested males.
So do parasites ever lead to increased mating success? Snails (Biomphalaria glabrata) exposed to to Schistosoma mansoni respond by increasing their reproductive output. This is an adaptive response that enhances reproduction before the parasite causes host castration. Makes you wonder how they know?!
Milk-weed leaf beetles (Labidomera clivicollis) also increase their reproductive effort in response to parasitism by a sexually transmitted mite Chrysomelobia labidomera. This is where things get interesting. When a parasite is sexually transmitted, making it's host more promiscuous and/or more sexually attractive would be a great strategy.
Just imagine how rabies might effect its host if it were sexually transmitted...
Anonymous Coward said...
Makes you wonder: are STDs the cause or the consequence of risky sexual behaviour?
Anonymous said...
I find frothing at the mouth rather fetching.


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Leveraging the processing power of NVIDIA(R) Tesla(TM) GPUs, GeoStar's seismic software suite dramatically accelerates the performance of complex seismic data. Now, the computation of large datasets generated by searching the earth for oil deposits, can be achieved in smaller, more power efficient GPU based systems as compared to CPU-only based clusters.
"We are dealing with large prestack time migration datasets, which typically take more than 30 hours to run on a cluster of 66 CPUs," said Liu Qin, general manager of GeoStar. "Just a single Tesla C1060 GPU delivers roughly the same computing power, which means we can get orders of magnitude performance increases as we add more GPUs, while dramatically saving power and cost. Tesla GPUs are truly a revolutionary solution for oil and gas exploration."
The Institute of Geology and Geophysics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has spent recent months testing NVIDIA Tesla GPUs with GeoStar's solution. In a computation of prestack time migration data covering 740 square kilometers, 24 Tesla GPUs completed the processing more than 600 times(i) faster than a traditional cluster with 66 CPUs, a result which CAS researchers believe can be improved through additional tuning.
Based on NVIDIA's massively parallel CUDA architecture, NVIDIA Tesla GPU Computing solutions are transforming a broad selection of industries but their impact has been profound in the oil and gas space. As computational needs increase, the power consumption required to run and cool servers in datacenters have become a major portion of operational expenses. Tesla GPU-based clusters enable much higher performance than CPU-only clusters, meaning oil and gas companies can now deploy smaller, more computationally dense clusters that use less energy and still meet the ever increasing demand of applications such as seismic processing.
NVIDIA: Chinese oil and gas industry loves Tesla
Posted on Thursday, Apr 30 2009 @ 01:50 CEST by Thomas De Maesschalck


Fairlight (video game)
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ZXSpectrum Fairlight.png
Fairlight in-game screen
Developer(s) Edge Games
Publisher(s) Edge Games
Designer(s) Bo Jangeborg
Engine Grax
Platform(s) Amstrad CPC by Trevor Inns, Amstrad PCW by Trevor Inns, Commodore 64 by Trevor Inns, ZX Spectrum
Release date(s) 1985 (ZX Spectrum)
1986 (Other platforms)
Genre(s) Arcade adventure
Mode(s) Single player
Distribution Cassette, Floppy disk
Fairlight is an isometric projection arcade adventure video game developed by Bo Jangeborg and Jack Wilkes at EDGE Games and released in 1985. Developed in seven months, Jangeborg created the GRAX game engine using some prior code and components from his earlier project, graphics package The Artist. Wilkes contributed art assets towards the game, including enemy sprites and the title screen. The game was well received critically and commercially, selling over 50,000 copies, a sequel Fairlight II was released in 1986.
The game revolves around the protagonist Isvar, and his quest to find the Book of Light for the court sorcerer, in order for them to escape Castle Avars.
The ZX Spectrum version was one of the first (along with Technician Ted) to have an interactive loader - instead of the usual yellow/blue loading bars, a counter at the bottom of the screen ran backwards indicating how long until the game had loaded.
The player controls an adventurer named Isvar that can be moved in a castle which is not only three-dimensional isometric view, but realistic in terms of the way objects behave. Each object has its own physical properties and resultant characteristics in terms of how much else can be carried alongside it. Certain objects have special uses (e.g. keys open certain doors), and there is a puzzle element to the game to discover how some of these objects relate to the world in order to help the player solve the game.
In addition to carrying objects, they could also be stacked on top of each other to enable Isvar to climb up to rooms above him or to reach important objects perched high above on platforms. There are also a number of secret areas in the castle that are not visually obvious to the player and can only be discovered through exploration.
During Isvar's exploration of the castle he is accosted by its guards and monsters - trolls, monks, guards, tornadoes, man-eating plants, bubbles, etc. all of which weaken Isvar's energy. Fortunately the castle also contains food and magical potions which will restore his health. In addition, certain game objects can affect the enemies, (by either killing them, distracting them, or freezing them, depending on the object and the type of enemy they are used upon)
Once defeated in combat a guard disappears leaving only his helmet behind. Helmets can be picked up and carried by Isvar, and placed somewhere else out of harms way (or into the path of a tornado, that destroys any object it touches). If Isvar leaves the room, the guard will regenerate from the helmet.
 - Edge refused to pay Bo Jangeborg for Fairlight unless Bo signed up to make more games for Edge[1]
 - Fairlight II was released without Bo's approval[1]
 - The game won the awards for best arcade adventure, best graphics and best music of the year according to the readers of Crash magazine.[2]
Preceded by
UK number-one Spectrum game
January 1986
Succeeded by
"Monty on the Run"
 1. ^ a b TIGSource message by user Raiten recounting his interview of Bo Jangeborg [1]
 2. ^ _URL_
External links[edit]


text:
NEW YORK, NY.-
As American artists rebelled against the academic art and aristocratic portraiture that predominated at the turn of the twentieth century, they began looking to modern life for their subject matter. One of central figures in this dramatic shift was Edward Hopper, whose work is exhibited in relation to his most important contemporaries in Modern Life: Edward Hopper and His Time, opening at the Whitney Museum of American Art
on October 28, 2010.
Placing Hopper beside such artists as Robert Henri, William Glackens, John Sloan, George Ault, Guy Pène du Bois, George Bellows, Alfred Stieglitz, Edward Steichen, Charles Demuth, Ralston Crawford, Paul Strand, Charles Sheeler, Charles Burchfield, Ben Shahn, Lisette Model, Thomas Hart Benton, and Reginald Marsh, the show traces the development of realism in American art in the first half of the twentieth century. The exhibition, organized by Whitney curator Barbara Haskell and senior curatorial assistant Sasha Nicholas, and shown previously in different form at the Bucerius Kunst Forum, Hamburg, and the Kunsthal Rotterdam, is being installed in the second-floor Mildred & Herbert Lee Galleries, where it remains on view until April 10, 2011.
The work of Edward Hopper (_PHONE_) has been presented often by the Whitney throughout the institution's history, beginning with his first-ever solo exhibition, held at the Whitney Studio Club in 1920, but Modern Life is the first Whitney exhibition to focus specifically on the context in which he worked. It follows Hoppers evolution into America's most iconic realist painter, tracing his connections to the artistic movements that paralleled his work while also highlighting his development of a singular aesthetic that would ultimately distinguish his art from that of his contemporaries.
Modern Life begins in 1900, the year that Hopper arrived on New Yorks art scene. In the exhibition's first section, his art is seen alongside the work of the Ashcan School artists, who boldly depicted the changing social and political environment of New York using rapid, loose, impressionistic brushstrokes, heavy impasto, and a dark, gritty palette. In the first decade of the century, Hopper studied with both Robert Henri and John Sloan, and quickly began to exhibit with the artists in their circle. The lessons Hopper learned from themespecially the urge to paint everyday, even mundane subjects, and a passion for capturing dramatic light effects were immediately evident in his early paintings. Among the wealthy art patrons of the time, only Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney would stake her reputation and fortune on the work of the Ashcan artists and their successors. Her advocacy, crucial to the flourishing of a distinctly American modernism, led to the founding of the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1930 and to the formation of the collection on view in this exhibition.
The next section of Modern Life examines Hopper's relationship to artists who painted the excitement of urban life in the "Roaring Twenties," including Guy Pène du Bois and George Bellows who, like Hopper, were students of Robert Henri and represented a younger generation of the realist school initiated by the Ashcan group. These artists, together with sculptors such as Gaston Lachaise, departed from the loose brushwork of the Ashcan aesthetic, instead using smooth curves and monumental, tubular forms to depict their figures. Purged of anecdotal detail, their compositions are balanced between the idealized forms of abstraction and the particularities of realism. Though not as stylized as the work of these artists, Hopper's paintings and prints of the 1920s share a similar approach. Works like his iconic Early Sunday Morning are drawn from observed reality and yet are devoid of characteristic details that tie them to a specific place and time. Hopper was not interested in the lively social world depicted by many of his colleagues, but he shared their interest in capturing moments of solitude and in using bold, simplified forms to infuse his scenes with dramatic monumentality.
Also explored are the connections between Hopper's art and that of the Precisionists, who began to paint American factories, skyscrapers, and machine-made structures during the 1920s. Characterized by crisp lines, hard-edged geometric shapes, and flat planes of color, the Precisionist style embodied the sense of order, logic, and purity identified with science and the machine. For many of the Precisionists, including Charles Demuth, Charles Sheeler, and Ralston Crawford, this style also reflected a desire to create a distinctly American aesthetic rooted in shared national experience. Although Hopper did not share their optimistic embrace of industry and its hard-edged aesthetic, his work of the period shares certain affinities with theirs. For Hopper, as for the Precisionists, architecture offered a means of exploring formal geometries and light effects. In Hopper's paintings of urban scenes and industrial structures, as in those of the Precisionists, the interaction between diagonal planes and expanses of light is often as much a focal point as the subject itself. Both Hopper and the Precisionists depicted recognizable subjects, but their work conveys in equal measure the desire to reduce modern architectural forms to their abstract essence.
The next section of the exhibition examines Hopper's rural paintings of the 1930s in the context of other American artists who retreated to the countryside in search of a reprieve from the commotion of modern urban life. In 1930, Hopper and his wife Jo began spending summers in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, where he painted the coastal landscape and scenes inspired by the small town life he observed there. Together with Charles Burchfield, who painted in and around Buffalo, New York, Hopper came to represent the movement known as American Scene painting. Both artists elicited from the vernacular architecture and landscapes of small town America a mood of desolation and melancholy, in part for a way of life that was rapidly being abandoned as more people moved to urban centers. For many viewers, their art captured the sturdy individualism at the heart of the American ethos, particularly during the hardships of the Great Depression.
The exhibition's final room presents Hopper's urban paintings of the 1930s alongside those of the Social Realists, including Reginald Marsh, Paul Cadmus, and the Soyer brothers, Raphael and Isaac. Hopper was friendly with these artistsall were closely allied with the Whitney Studio Club and exhibited frequently at the Whitney Museum after its opening in 1931. At the time, Hopper's depictions of city life were often associated with those of the Social Realist circle, but his images differ from the work of his contemporaries, who gravitated to the chaos and vitality of urban life in the 1930s. Unlike his peers, Hopper uses the city as a springboard for exploring moments of solitude, transforming scenes of everyday life into meditations on the human condition.
Modern Life: Edward Hopper and His Time includes approximately eighty-five works in a range of media, primarily from the Whitneys collection, which includes more than 2,500 works from Hopper's estate bequeathed to the Whitney in 1968, and combining well-known works with rarely exhibited early paintings and works on paper. Also featured are several loans of key Hopper paintings from other museums, including The Museum of Modern Art, The Brooklyn Museum, and the Neuberger Museum of Art. Nearly all the works by other artists in the show are from the Whitneys collection, with the exception of a John Sloan painting, The Haymarket, Sixth Avenue (1907), originally owned by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, now in the collection of The Brooklyn Museum. In addition, the exhibition features a case of photographs of Hopper at work, with other artists, and at various stages of his life, drawn from the archives of the Whitney's Frances Mulhall Achilles Library.


Peter (Donald), Apologies, but your tone is quite often abusive. People who post thoughtful comments ought not to be insulted just because you disagree with them. Now, to continue this thread with some responses to your objections, as I have seen them: Objection #1: Adding flow-of-control tasks makes Ant more complex for the user. Response #1: Adding more tasks -- any tasks -- increases the complexity of the tool, in a trivial sense: there are more tasks to choose from, and so choosing the appropriate task to use requires reading more documentation. Adding if/then, switch, foreach, etc. tasks or constructs will, in this trivial sense, increase the complexity of the tool. However, people are not required to use each and every task provided with Ant. I myself use only about 14 Ant tasks --,,,,,,,,,,,,, and


text:
What is imagery?
The mind is a powerful healing tool. Using our imagination, we can visualize almost anything. Imagery (or visualization) is a therapeutic technique that has been used for centuries. By creating images in the mind, a person can reduce pain and other symptoms associated with his or her condition. The more specific the visualization, the more therapeutic it will likely be. Patients are taught to imagine sights, sounds, smells, tastes, or other sensations to create a kind of daydream that "removes" them from or gives them control over their present circumstances.
Imagery usually involves a program with set objectives and goals. Patients are guided to visualize their goals and work toward them.
Two imagery techniques are widely used today:
Palming involves the visualization of color. The patient places his or her palms over the eyes and envisions the color associated with stress (usually the color red). Then, the patient changes the color he or she sees to a more relaxing color, such as blue. It is believed that changing colors in the mind induces relaxation.
Guided imagery involves envisioning a certain goal to help cope with health problems. Guided imagery is most often used as a relaxation technique that involves sitting or lying quietly and imagining yourself in a favorite peaceful setting (maybe a beach, meadow, or forest). Another example is the Simonton method--a method in which a cancer patient imagines Pac Men (from the old Pac Man video game) gobbling up bad cancer cells.
Studies have shown that imagery can help the mind and body relax. It can help in managing anxiety, stress, and depression; help reduce pain, lower blood pressure, and lessen nausea; and give people a better sense of control and well-being.


text:
| < July >
|Normal Max/ High Temperature
|Min/ Low Temperature
|Number of Wet Days (probability of rain on a day)
|Average Sunlight per day
|Average Daylight per day
|Sunny (Cloudy) Daylight Hours
|Sun altitude at solar noon on the 21st day.
- The average temperature in Felixstowe, England in July is very mild at 17.5 °C (63.5 °F).
- Afternoons can be warm with average high temperatures reaching 21 °C (69.8 °F).
- Overnight temperatures are generally mild with an average low of 14 °C (57.2 °F).
- The average daily temperature variation/ range in July is 7 °C (12.6 °F).
- The weather in July is a little parched with rain occasionally. A mere 47mm (1.9in) of liquid is deposited across an average of 12 days.
- The heavens above Felixstowe, England are fine with on balance a detectable 6:36 of magnificent sunshine per day.
- The shortest day is 15:33 long and the longest day is 16:38 long with an average length of 16:11.
- There are approximately 9:20 per day when bright sunshine is absent due to cloud, haze or the sun being too low on the horizon to register.
- It is sunny approximately 41.4% of daylight hours and cloudy 58.6% of daylight hours.
Check the distance to and compare the Felixstowe, England July averages with somewhere beginning with:
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | All
Weather Trend Graph for July in Felixstowe, England, Uk
Navigate to July Weather in Locations Surrounding Felixstowe, England:
- Hull, England, Uk - 227.2 kms (141.2 miles) NNW
- Waddington, Uk - 185.2 kms (115.1 miles) NW
- Birmingham, England, Uk - 215.5 kms (133.9 miles) WNW
- Lyneham, Uk - 234.4 kms (145.6 miles) W
- London, England, Uk - 125.8 kms (78.1 miles) WSW
- London-Gatwick, Uk - 134.8 kms (83.8 miles) SW
- Brighton, England, Uk - 162 kms (100.7 miles) SW
- Bournemouth-Hurn, Uk - 255.6 kms (158.8 miles) WSW


Advanced Clinical Psychology with Children and Adolescents
Introduces students to the aetiology and assessment of the more common psychological disorders of older children and adolescents including problems of affect disturbance; eating disorders; problems of substance abuse; personality development; and gender/social identity. The teaching also integrates instruction and discussion of methods of intervention.
Callaghan Campus
 - Semester 1 - 2015
Learning Outcomes
1. Identify the factors determining the formation and maintenance of common psychological disorders of older children and adolescents.
2. Demonstrate an understanding of the assessment procedures and their appropriate application to the presenting case.
3. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the various intervention strategies appropriate in these cases.
4. Explain concept of 'best practice' as determined by evidence-based treatments for the amelioration of these problems.
5. Show an awareness of the impact of the problems and interventions on the young person's social milieu.
 1. Problems of emotional distress
 2. Problems with eating
 3. Problems of personality development
 4. Problems of substance abuse
 5. Problems of social identity and social development
 6. Adjustment problems in adolescence
 7. Behavioural interventions
 8. Other intervention strategies
Assumed Knowledge
It is assumed that students will have completed a four-year program in Psychology which has been accredited by the Australian Psychological Society. It is also assumed that students will have completed PSYC6506 Clinical Psychology with Children and Families.
Assessment Items
Case Study / Problem Based Learning: Case Study
Presentation: Critical case presentation
Essay: Essay
Contact Hours


Intracranial pressure
Use of the CRASH study prognosis calculator in patients with severe traumatic brain injury treated with an intracranial pressure-targeted therapy
Authors: Olivecrona M, Olivecrona Z.
Based on the Corticosteroid Randomisation after Significant Head Injury (CRASH) trial database, a prognosis calculator has been developed for the prediction of outcome in an individual patient with a head injury. In 47 patients with severe traumatic brain injury (sTBI) prospectively treated using an intracranial pressure (ICP) targeted therapy, the individual prognosis for mortality at 14 days and unfavourable outcome at 6months was calculated and compared with the actual outcome. An overestimation of the risk of mortality and unfavourable outcome was found. The mean risk for mortality and unfavourable outcome were estimated to be 44.6±32.5% (95% confidence interval, 35.1-54.2%) and 69.3±23.7% (95% CI, 62.3-76.2%). The actual outcome was 4.3% and 42.6% respectively. The absolute risk reduction (ARR) for mortality was 33.1% and for unfavourable outcome 29.8%. A logistic fit for outcome at 6months shows a statistically significant difference (p<0.01). A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis shows an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.691. The CRASH prognosis calculator overestimates the risk of mortality and unfavourable outcome in patients with sTBI treated with an ICP-targeted therapy based on the Lund concept. We do not advocate the use of the calculator for treatment decisions in individual patients. We further conclude that patients with blunt sTBI admitted within 8hours of trauma should be treated regardless of their clinical status as long as the initial cerebral perfusion pressure is >10mmHg.
Cerebrovascular Pressure Reactivity and Cerebral Oxygen Regulation After Severe Head Injury
Authors: Jaeger M, Lang EW.
BACKGROUND: To investigate the relationship between cerebrovascular pressure reactivity and cerebral oxygen regulation after head injury.
METHODS: Continuous monitoring of the partial pressure of brain tissue oxygen (PbrO2), mean arterial blood pressure (MAP), and intracranial pressure (ICP) in 11 patients. The cerebrovascular pressure reactivity index (PRx) was calculated as the moving correlation coefficient between MAP and ICP. For assessment of the cerebral oxygen regulation system a brain tissue oxygen response (TOR) was calculated, where the response of PbrO2 to an increase of the arterial oxygen through ventilation with 100 % oxygen for 15 min is tested. Arterial blood gas analysis was performed before and after changing ventilator settings.
RESULTS: Arterial oxygen increased from 108 ± 6 mmHg to 494 ± 68 mmHg during ventilation with 100 % oxygen. PbrO2 increased from 28 ± 7 mmHg to 78 ± 29 mmHg, resulting in a mean TOR of 0.48 ± 0.24. Mean PRx was 0.05 ± 0.22. The correlation between PRx and TOR was r = 0.69, P = 0.019. The correlation of PRx and TOR with the Glasgow outcome scale at 6 months was r = 0.47, P = 0.142; and r = -0.33, P = 0.32, respectively.
CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest a strong link between cerebrovascular pressure reactivity and the brain's ability to control for its extracellular oxygen content. Their simultaneous impairment indicates that their common actuating element for cerebral blood flow control, the cerebral resistance vessels, are equally impaired in their ability to regulate for MAP fluctuations and changes in brain oxygen.
Magnetic Resonance-Based Estimation of Intracranial Pressure Correlates With Ventriculoperitoneal Shunt Valve Opening Pressure Setting in Children With Hydrocephalus
Authors: Muehlmann M, Koerte IK, Laubender RP, Steffinger D, Lehner M, Peraud A, Heinen F, Kiefer M, Reiser M, Ertl-Wagner B.
OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the pressure setting of the ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt valve and a magnetic resonance (MR)-based estimate of intracranial pressure (ICP) in children with shunt-treated hydrocephalus without clinical signs of shunt malfunction.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Institutional review board approval was obtained before the study, and all subjects and/or their legal guardians provided written informed consent. In this prospective study, 15 consecutive patients (median age, 8.25 years; range, 2.2-18.4 years; 6 girls and 9 boys) with shunt-treated hydrocephalus without signs of shunt malfunction were examined with retrospectively gated phase contrast sequences to quantify arterial inflow, venous outflow, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flow to and from the cranial vault. The ratio of the maximal intracranial volume change and the pulse pressure gradient change was used to derive MR-ICP. Spearman ρ was used to test for the association of setting of the shunt valve opening pressure and MR-ICP.
RESULTS: Shunt valve opening pressure settings and MR-ICP were positively correlated (Spearman ρ = 0.64, P < 0.01). Median MR-ICP was 8.67 mm Hg (interquartile range, 1.59 mm Hg) and median setting of the VP-shunt valve was 6.62 mm Hg (IQR, 1.47 mm Hg). The median MR-ICP was 1.9 mm Hg (IQR, 0.73 mm Hg) higher than the setting of the shunt valve.
CONCLUSION: There is a positive correlation between MR-ICP and VP shunt valve opening pressure setting. The systematically higher assessment of MR-ICP is most likely a result of outflow resistance within the shunt tubing system and well within the known fluctuation rates of VP shunt systems.
Euronews: Deep inside the brain (noninvasive intracranial pressure measurement)
Spectral analysis of intracranial pressure signals recorded during infusion studies in patients with hydrocephalus
Authors: García M, Poza J, Santamarta D, Abásolo D, Barrio P, Hornero R.
Hydrocephalus includes a number of disorders characterised by clinical symptoms, enlarged ventricles (observable using neuroimaging techniques) and altered cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) dynamics. Infusion tests are one of the available procedures to study CSF circulation in patients with clinical and radiological features of hydrocephalus. In them, intracranial pressure (ICP) is deliberately raised and CSF circulation disorders evaluated through measurements of the resulting ICP. In this study, we analysed seventy-seven ICP signals recorded during infusion tests using four spectral-based parameters: median frequency (MF) and relative power (RP) in three frequency bands. These measures provide a novel perspective for the analysis of ICP signals in the frequency domain. Each signal was divided into four artefact-free epochs (corresponding to the basal, early infusion, plateau and recovery phases of the infusion study). The four spectral parameters were calculated for each epoch. We analysed differences between epochs of the infusion test and correlations between these epochs and patient data. Statistically significant differences (p<1.7×10-3, Bonferroni-corrected Wilcoxon signed-rank tests) were found between epochs of the infusion test using MF and RP. Furthermore, some spectral parameters (MF in the basal phase, RP for the first frequency band and in the early infusion phase, RP for the second frequency band and in all phases of the infusion study and RP in the third frequency band and in the basal phase) revealed significant correlations (p<0.01) between epochs of the infusion test and signal amplitude in the basal and plateau phases. Our results suggest that spectral analysis of ICP signals could be useful for understanding CSF dynamics in hydrocephalus.
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Interactive Table for the Star-Spangled Banner Permanent Exhibition
Interactive Table for the Star-Spangled Banner Permanent Exhibition
C&G Partners, Chermayeff & Geismar, Potion, 2008
For the reopening of the National Museum of American History, Potion and C&G Partners designed an interactive table to accompany the Star-Spangled Banner display. The museum wanted visitors to have the opportunity to see, touch and explore the details of the flag. With the nearly 200-year-old flag's delicate condition, this hands-on experience could only take place with an interactive design. Here, a high-resolution image of the flag is projected onto a 15 x 4 table, presenting a section of the flag at actual scale to reveal its intricate details.
Custom sensing technology recognizes visitors' gestures, allowing them to easily activate information about the flag. One hundred and fifty "hot spots," indicated by circles, are scattered across the flag's surface. Touching a hot spot brings up a fact about the flag, such as why the material is torn in a certain place, what techniques were used during preservation, or why one of the original stars is missing. Visitors can also intuitively navigate to different areas of the flag. By holding their hand over the surface, they activate a graphic tool that can quickly push the flag in any direction.
Juror Notes
Great use of scale; shows tremendous restraint. The use of multi-touch surface is well orchestrated.
Collections: AIGA 365: 30 (2009)
Repository: Denver Art Museum
Discipline: Information design
Format: Information graphic, Interaction


text:
Symbolism can be seen in architecture of S.L. Temple
Lynn Arave - Nov. 27, 2008
The 40 years of labor it took to construct the Salt Lake Temple — much of it without the help of machines — have come to symbolize the extreme dedication, sacrifice, self-reliance and faith that early members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Utah possessed. However, the outside (like the inside) of the iconic structure contains a wealth of symbols and representations.
"Notable among all LDS temples, the Salt Lake Temple includes significant symbolism in its architecture," the Encyclopedia of Mormonism states.
The Salt Lake Temple "stands as an isolated mass of the everlasting hills.? As nearly as any work of man may so do. It suggests duration," Elder James E. Talmage wrote in "The House of the Lord."
While it would be improper to discuss the inside of the sacred temple's symbolism, the outside of the sacred edifice has been publicly written about over the years — because anyone can view that aspect.
Here's a look at highlights of the temple's extensive outside symbolism.


, which only partially corresponded to the former three Naciónes. The K?hts?t?hka (Kotsoteka) ('Buffalo Eaters'), which had moved southeast in the 1750s and 1760s to the Southern Plains in Texas, were called Cuchanec Orientales ("Eastern Cuchanec/Kotsoteka") or Eastern Comanche, while those K?hts?t?hka (Kotsoteka) that remained in the northwest and west, together with H?pen (Jupe, Hoipi - 'Timber/Forest People') (and sometimes Yapar?hka (Yamparika)), which had moved southward to the North Canadian River, were called Cuchanec Occidentales ("Western Cuchanec/Kotsoteka") or Western Comanche. The "Western Comanche" lived in the region of the upper Arkansas, Canadian, and Red Rivers, and the Llano Estacado. The "Eastern Comanche" lived on the Edwards Plateau and the Texas plains of the upper Brazos and Colorado Rivers, and east to the Cross Timbers. They were probably the ancestors of the Penat?ka N (Penateka - 'Honey Eaters').[21]
Over time, these divisions were altered in various ways, primarily due to changes in political resources.[22] As noted above, the K?hts?t?hka (Kotsoteka) were probably the first proto-Comanche group to separate from the Eastern Shoshones.
War on the plains: Comanche (right) trying to lance an Osage warrior. Painting by George Catlin, 1834
The name H?pen (Jupe, Hoipi) vanished from history in the early 19th century, probably merging into the other divisions, they are likely the forerunners of the Nokoni N (Nokoni), Kwaar? N (Kwahadi, Quohada), and the H?pen (Hois) local group of the Penat?ka N (Penateka). Due to pressure by southwards moving Kiowa and Plains Apache (Naishan) raiders, many Yapar?hka (Yamparika) moved southeast, joining the "Eastern Comanche" and becoming known as the Tahnahwah (Tenawa, Tenahwit). Many Kiowa and Plains Apache moved to northern Comancheria and became later closely associated with the Yapar?hka (Yamparika).
In the mid 19th century, other powerful divisions arose, such as the Nokoni N (Nokoni) ('wanderers', literally 'go someplace and return'), and the Kwaar? N (Kwahadi, Quohada) ('Antelope Eaters'). The latter originally some local groups of the K?hts?t?hka (Kotsoteka) from the Cimarron River Valley as well as descendants of some H?pen (Jupe, Hoipi), which had pulled both southwards.
The northernmost Comanche division was the Yapar?hka (Yapai N or Yamparika -- '(Yap)Root-Eaters'). As the last band to move onto the Plains, they retained much of their Eastern Shoshone tradition.
The power and success of the Comanche attracted bands of neighboring peoples who joined them and became part of Comanche society; an Arapaho group became known as Saria T?hka (Chariticas, Sata Teichas - 'Dog Eaters') band, an Eastern Shoshone group as Pohoi (Pohoee - 'wild sage') band, and a Plains Apache group as Tasipenan band.
The Texans and Americans divided the Comanche into five large dominant bands - the Yapar?hka (Yamparika), K?hts?t?hka (Kotsoteka), Nokoni N (Nokoni), Penat?ka N (Penateka) and Kwaar? N (Kwahadi, Quohada), which in turn were divided by geographical terms into first three (later four) regional groupings: Northern Comanche, Middle Comanche, Southern Comanche, Eastern Comanche, and later Western Comanche. However, these terms generally do not correspond to the Native language terms.
The "Northern Comanche" label encompassed the Yapar?hka (Yamparika) between the Arkansas River and Canadian River and the prominent and powerful K?hts?t?hka (Kotsoteka) who roamed the high plains of Oklahoma and Texas Panhandles between Red and Canadian River, the famous Palo Duro Canyon offered them and their horse herds of protection from strong winter storms as well as from enemies, because the two bands dominated and ranged in the northern Comancheria.
The "Middle Comanche" label encompassed the aggressive Nokoni N (Nokoni) ("wanderers", "those who turn back") between the headwaters of the Red River and the Colorado River in the south and the Western Cross Timbers in the east, their preferred range were on the Brazos River headwaters and its tributaries, the Pease River offered protection from storms and enemies. With them shared two smaller bands the same tribal areas: the Tahnahwah (Tenawa, Tenahwit) ("Those Living Downstream") and Tanim (Tanima, Daha?i, Tevawish) ("Liver Eaters"). All three bands together were known as "Middle Comanche" because they lived "in the middle" of the Comancheria.
The "Southern Comanche" label encompassed the Penat?ka N (Penateka) ("Honey Eaters"), the southernmost, largest, and best known band among whites as they lived near the first Spanish and Texan settlements; their tribal areas extended from the upper reaches of the rivers in central Texas and Colorado River southward, including much of the Edwards Plateau, and eastward to the Western Cross Timbers; because they dominated the southern Comancheria they were called "Southern Comanche".
The "Western Comanche" label encompassed the Kwaar? N (Kwahadi, Quohada) ('Antelope Eaters'), which is the last to develop as an independent band in the 19th century. They lived on the hot, low-shadow desert plateaus of Llano Estacado in eastern New Mexico and found shelter in Tule Canyon and Palo Duro Canyon in northeastern Texas. They were the only band that never signed a contract with the Texans or Americans, and they were the last to give up the resistance. Because of their relative isolation from the other bands on the westernmost edge of the Comancheria, they were called the "Western Comanche".
There has been, and continues to be, much confusion in the presentation of Comanche group names. Groups on all levels of organization, families, n?m?nahkahni, bands, and divisions, were given names, but many 'band lists' do not distinguish these levels. In addition, there could be alternate names and nicknames. The spelling differences between Spanish and English add to the confusion.
Some of the Comanche group names
 - Yapar?hka or Yamparika (also Yapai N -- '(Yap)Root-Eaters'; One of its local groups may have been called Widy? N / Widy? / Widy? Yapa -- 'Awl People'; after the death of a man named 'Awl' they changed their name to T?tsahk?nan or Ditsahkanah -- 'Sewing People'. [Titchahkaynah]
Other Yapai local groups included:
 - Ketahtoh or Ketatore ('Don't Wear Shoes', also called Napwat T? -- 'Wearing No Shoes')
 - Motso (?Bearded Ones?, derived from motso -- 'Beard')
 - Pibianigwai ('Loud Talkers', 'Loud Askers')
 - S?hm?ht?hka ('Eat Everything')
 - Wahkoh ('Shell Ornament')
 - Waw'ai or Wohoi (also Waaih -?Lots of Maggots on the Penis?, also called Nahmahe'enah -?Somehow being (sexual) together?,?to have sex?, called by other groups, because they preferred to marry endogamy and chose their partners out of their own local group, this was viewed critically by other Comanche people)
 - H?pen or Jupe ('Timber People' because they lived in more wooded areas in the Central Plains north of the Arkansas River. Also spelled Hois.
 - K?hts?tka or Kotsoteka ('Buffalo-Eaters', spelled in Spanish as Cuchanec)
 - Kwaar?n or Kwahadi/Quohada (Kwahare -- 'Antelope-Eaters'; nicknamed Kwahihki -- 'Sunshades on Their Backs', because they lived on desert plains of the Llano Estacado in eastern New Mexico, westernmost Comanche Band). One of their local groups was nicknamed Par?h?ya ('Elk', literally'Water Horse').
 - Nokonin or Nokoni ('Movers', 'Returners'); allegedly, after the death of chief Peta Nocona they called themselves Noy?hkan -- 'Not Staying in one place', and/orT?ts? Noy?kan / Detsanay?ka


Unicorn Clan
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Dramatis Personae
"We are the children of the wind. "
General Overview
For all their differences, the other Great Clans of Rokugan are united in one regard: they look at the Unicorn Clan as outsiders and borderline barbarians. This reputation is not entirely undeserved, as the clan spent the majority of its history completely absent from the Empire. During the ﬁ rst days of Rokugan, the Lady Shinjo petitioned her brother Hantei for the right to explore the world beyond the Empire in order to ensure that no new threats might come from there. For eight centuries the Clan of the Ki-rin was gone, before it ﬁnally returned as the Unicorn Clan. Now the clan ﬁts in poorly with its fellows, having adopted numerous customs the Empire ﬁnds strange or even disgusting. The Unicorn do not care overmuch, however, and celebrate life as few others, embracing their rich and diverse culture in spite of the raging xenophobia their colleagues share. The Unicorn may never fully be integrated into the Empire, but their zest for life, their compassionate nature, and their powerful cavalry (unique because of the gaijin horse breeds the clan controls) ensure they will not be ousted from their position any time in the near future.
The Unicorn are ﬁlled with curiosity, curiosity born of centuries of wandering and exploration. No matter how beneﬁcial or comfortable their situation, no matter how much power and inﬂuence they wield, they cannot help but wonder what lies beyond the horizon. This philosophy pervades their every action, giving some the impression that they are easily distracted, when the truth is merely that they wish to resolve issues as quickly as possible so the option to move on is always present. Some among their number overcome this tendency, of course, such as their court representatives, but somewhere in the back of every Unicorn's mind, curiosity still lurks.
Another dominant aspect of Unicorn philosophy is concern for those who are under the clan's protection. All clans safeguard the peasants who work for them, of course, since they are valuable assets who handle matters the samurai cannot or will The Lady Shinjo was by far the most compassionate and caring of the Kami, so much so that she alone attempted to reconcile with their lost brother Fu Leng during the First War. Her effort was doomed to failure, of course, but even that did not deter her, and her brothers and sisters respected her all the more for it. The family that bears her name has always struggled to rule the clan as they believed she would. The Moto, descended from nomads who joined the clan during its journeys, are brutal and warlike, with little of the gentle nature of their Shinjo lords, though they eventually replaced the Shinjo as lords of the clan. The Utaku (once called Otaku, they changed their name in reverence to the Second Unicorn Thunder, Otaku Kamoko) are pious and devoted, a matriarchal family with the most feared and potent cavalry force in the whole of the Empire. The Ide are among the Empire's most ardent paciﬁsts, and as such get along well with the Phoenix. They are the voice of the Unicorn in court, and have attempted to adopt more of the Empire's customs than the other members of the clan. Sadly, despite their efforts they continue to be regarded as outsiders by most. The Iuchi family practice strange rituals that are unlike those conducted by any other shugenja family, and are looked upon as oddities by many. They have exceptional gifts in travel magic and in establishing mystical bonds with animals. The tiny Horiuchi family was created from the Iuchi and served as caregivers for the clan's orphans and ill, until they were eradicated by plague from the face of Rokugan.
As might be expected of a clan that possesses such enormous numbers of cavalry, the Unicorn lands are dominated by vast, ﬂowing plains and peaceful grasslands. Much of this is used for grazing to feed the horses, of course, but during their long years of wandering, the Unicorn learned a great deal about making the most of their resources, and studied various gaijin methods of agriculture. As a result, the clan is able to feed its people on the modest portions of arable land used for farming, in particular the exceptionally fertile northeastern region of their provinces. The clan also controls a portion of the Spine of the World Mountains, including the narrow but strategically important Iuchi Pass through the northwestern end of the mountain chain, which separates the northern and southern portions of their holdings.
The Unicorn, once known as the Ki-Rin Clan, were absent from the Empire for nearly eight centuries as they wandered the world, exploring and ensuring that there were no external threats to the Emperor that might remain unknown. Since their return, they have been regarded by many as barbarians and outsiders, due mostly to their embrace of customs that are in stark contrast to the norm for Rokugan. Still, the Unicorn are universally respected because of their cavalry. They use gaijin steeds and their horse-mounted troops are without compare in the Empire.
The tiny Horiuchi family has never claimed more than a few dozen members at most. Created a few decades before the Clan War, the Horiuchi are a branch of the Iuchi family that specializes in defensive and protective magic. Horiuchi samurai are compassionate individuals who tend to intervene in the affairs of others during times of crisis.
The public face of the Unicorn, the Ide have worked tirelessly to combat the perception many have of the Clan as barbarians and near-gaijin. They ﬂawlessly merge the traditions of their people with the customs of the Empire, and in doing so seek to earn the gradual respect and acceptance of other clans. Samurai of the Ide family are almost universally even-tempered and eager to forge alliances with others, whether personal or larger in scale.
With the exception of the Tamori, the Iuchi family is probably the most militant shugenja family in the Empire. They serve in the armies of the Unicorn Clan in considerable numbers, and while they enjoy friendship and scholarly debate as much as any priests, they do not shy away from conﬂict when pressed.
The Moto exemplify virtually every negative stereotype that the Unicorn Clan as a whole has struggled with since their return to the Empire centuries ago. More than any other family, their gaijin blood is obvious from the look of them, short and squat as they are. They are alternately boisterous and brusque, depending upon the circumstances, and rarely ﬁt in well with samurai of other Clans. They are respected, however, for their warrior traditions.
The Shinjo family ruled the Unicorn Clan for most of their history, although in the latter portion of the Empire's development they were removed from power by their founder, the Kami Shinjo, due to corruption within their ranks. The Shinjo are an affable, industrious family whose members adapt easily to almost any task set before them, and who work well with others in virtually any situation.
The matriarchal Utaku family are rigidly honorable and pious individuals with carefully deﬁned duties depending upon their gender. Women are generally trained to serve with the most elite cavalry units in the world, the Utaku Battle Maidens, while the men manage the households and serve among the legions of infantry in the Unicorn army.
The Unicorn's view of other clans:
 - CRAB: They do not care that we are different, because they do not care about the Empire's customs any more than we do. It is refreshing to be treated as equals, and we will not forget their camaraderie.
 - CRANE: Were it not for them, we might never have reclaimed our birthright. Always remember they are our allies, and forgive them their arrogance. They know no other way.
 - DRAGON: What kind of person can tolerate hiding in the mountains for a thousand years? Do they not crave the wind in their hair and the plains rushing by beneath them? They are extremely peculiar.
 - LION: Our closest neighbors and potentially our greatest enemies. They dislike us because we are different, but they recognize our military power. Perhaps one day we can be allies rather than simply neutral toward one another.
 - MANTIS: Ambitious and aggressive, attempting to seize a place for themselves in the Empire. They are very much like us.
 - PHOENIX: They look down their noses at us but still covet the knowledge we safeguard. If they wish to gain access to our libraries, they must first meet us as equals. A pity they are not willing to do so.
 - SCORPION: Even in the most treacherous realms, we never encountered anyone as despicable as the Scorpion. They are a blight upon the Empire, and perhaps as their enemies we can forge alliances with the other clans.
 - MINOR CLANS: Their weakness makes them of little importance, but their bushi can be as brave and honorable as any Great Clan samurai, and for that at least we can respect them.
Unicorn Clan
Three Feet from Death nuRegret


There was iridescence in the sky west of the Illawarra last night. The sunlight passing through the icy clouds, creates a rainbow effect as the light is fragmented into its constituent colours. These clouds would probably be considered to be iridescent or maybe even nacreous clouds.
The effect was visible for an hour or so before sunset. The higher clouds were occasionally obscured by "local" clouds lower in altitude.


text:
Wikipedia mentions that Rik-Veda has 432 000 syllables and refers to Satapatha Brahmana as the source of this information. Satapatha Brahmana 10:4:2:23 states the following:
"He arranged the Rik-verses into twelve thousand of Brihatîs, for of that extent are the verses created by Prajapati. At the thirtieth arrangement they came to an end in the Paṅktis; and because it was at the thirtieth arrangement that they came to an end, there are thirty nights in the month; and because it was in the Paṅktis, therefore Prajapati is 'pankta' (fivefold). There are one hundred-and-eight hundred Paṅktis."
12000 (Brihatis) x 36 (syllables) = 432000
10800 (Panktis) x 40 (syllables) = 432000
My questions: Does Rik-Veda consist of Brihati meters with 36 syllables, or of Pankti meters with 40 syllables?
If it consists of both, then the total amount of syllables would be 864000.
According to my understanding Rik-Veda has many different meters, like Trishtubh, Gayatri, Jagati etc.
Who can explain to me the Satapatha Brahmana text?
What is the meaning of the thirtieth arrangement where the Brihatis came to an end in the Panktis?
(I am writing Rik with ka instead of ga, because my Guru'ji says ka is more original, only later it developed into ga. R stands for infinite dynamism of the absolute Being and ka stands for its point value.)


text:
Client: Colorado Springs Utilities
Task: Increase participation and representation of youth perspectives in decision-making about electricity generation.
Students conducted focus groups, interviews, and a survey to capture how area youth think about electricity production and to understand their priorities in the future. Almost 500 high school-age students participated in the different engagement methodologies, and analysis of collected data highlighted key priorities, trends, and opportunities. Additionally, a lesson plan and strategy were developed to enable long-term engagement with youth beyond the scope of this study.
Findings were delivered to the Utilities Policy Advisory Committee as a component of a comprehensive planning process. Results were subsequently used to support the weighing of different factors (cost, environmental impact, reliability, innovation etc.) in scenario planning, and also to support the ultimate adoption of a planned energy portfolio that will reduce carbon emissions from electricity generation by 90% by 2050.


not reliable
Copper copper heavy none none no Cu 29 very easy to ID
Iron black heavy none fizz yes Fe 26 delayed reaction with HCl and smells bad, almost like rotten eggs
Tin gray light none little fizz, immediate no Sn 50 yellow tint
Zinc gray heavy none fizz, immediate no Zn 30 shiny
Magnesium gray light little fizz after a while fizzes and loses color; dissolves after a while no Mg 12 dull
Almost every metal has a "give-away", making them fairly easy to identify-
 - Iron is the only magnetic metal
 - Copper is the only metal with a color other than grey (or similar).
 - Magnesium will often steam with HCl, and will also let off a strong odor when HCl is added.
 - Zinc will react vigorously (but will not steam) with HCl, and is non-magnetic.
 - Tin and aluminum are very similar (neither react very much with HCl), but there are a few things that can be done to tell them apart. First, tin often has a yellowish tint, which aluminum will never have. Next, tin is often fairly shiny, while aluminum is dull. Lastly, if the metal is very malleable, it is probably aluminum (think aluminum foil).
In Crime Busters, there are 3 nonmetals which can never be mixed in the event: yeast, vitamin C, and sodium acetate. Everything left is neutral or basic and non-biological.
The key to finding the components to a mixture is to react each off individually. If there appears to be a powder and a crystalline component, add HCl or iodine to a sample. If the iodine turns blue, finding the first component will be straightforward because you will only need to find the pH of the mixture with water. A more neutral pH will mean that the noncrystalline component is flour; a more basic pH will mean cornstarch. If the iodine fizzes (and the HCl), then the component is Alka-Seltzer. A fizz with only the HCl means the component is either CaCO3 or NaHCO3. Once again, a pH test will show the difference: a neutral pH means calcium carbonate, and a basic pH means baking soda. No reaction means gypsum. To find the crystal, test for solubility. Sand will not dissolve, whereas salt and sugar will. The difference between the latter two is that salt has cubic crystals, and sugar has irregular crystals.
Two crystals are fairly easy to separate because the HCl and iodine can be skipped, and only solubility needs to be tested. Once again, a component that does not dissolve is sand, and a component that does is either salt or sugar, which can be differentiated by crystal shape. If both dissolve, the mixture is salt and sugar (probably the single most common mixture in this event).
For two powders, test with iodine first, then HCl if not all of the mixture fizzed or turned blue, and finally pH if needed. Go off of the information above to find each, and use logic if two things react at once.
This is very easy to do but must be done with care. Place a dot of ink (solute) at one end of a strip of filter paper. Then, get a small cup of solvent (often dH2O) and put the paper on the cup just so that the ink dot is above the waterline. Wait for the colors to separate, and that's it! Once the colors have stabilized, remove the paper from the solvent, and quickly put a line in pencil where the top edge of the water is on the paper. This allows you to find the Rf (retention factor or retardation factor) value of any ink spot if it is included in a question.
For practicing paper chromatography at home, use a coffee filter paper or paper towel if you do not have chromatography paper. Alcohol-soluble markers and pens will not work if using water, and if they do, the results won't be very visible. Using water-soluble markers/pens like Expo Vis-a-Vis will get you the best results.
In paper chromatography, the paper is the stationary phase and the solvent is the mobile phase. The higher the Rf value, the higher the affinity the solute has for the mobile phase, and the lower the Rf value, the higher the affinity the solute has for the stationary phase.
Some of the basic fingerprint patterns
Practice identifying and comparing fingerprints. There are 3 basic categories of fingerprints(arches, loops, and whorls). They are easily identified by there general shape and number of deltas (triangles made from ridges). Make sure you know if your event supervisor is looking for the basic type (loop, arch, whorl), or the more in-depth name (Tented Arch, Ulnar Loop, etc.).
 - Arches= a hill shape with no deltas
 - Tented arch= an arch with a sharp corner at the top point
 - Plain arch= an arch with a more rounded top point
 - Loops= a beanish shape with one delta
 - Ulnar Loop= A loop pointing towards the pinky
 - Radial Loop= A loop pointing towards the thumb
 - Whorls= a circle-like shape with two or more deltas
 - There are many sub-categories of whorls, such as (but not limited to)-
 - Plain whorls
 - Central Pocket
 - Double loops
 - Accidental whorls
The polymers required for this event are PETE (1), HDPE (2), PVC (3), LDPE (4), PP (5), PS (6), and PMMA (7). HDPE, LDPE, and PP float in water while PETE, PVC, PS, and PMMA do not. This means that the first group has a density of less than one and the second group more than one.
Identifying the polymers in the first group is easy. HDPE and LDPE are translucent while PP is not. HDPE is relatively more translucent then LDPE. Identifying in the second group is also fairly simple. PS will SLOWLY drop down in water or half of the flecks will sink while the other will float. PVC is sometimes rubbery, but never transparent, while PETE and PMMA are always clear.
Fiber Analysis
Natural fibers come from plants (cotton) or animals (wool). Manufactured fibers are synthetics like rayon, acetate, and polyester, which are made from long chains of molecules called polymers. To determine the shape and color of fibers from any of these fabrics, a microscopic examination is made.
Generally, the analysts get only a limited number of fibers to work with--sometimes only one. Whatever has been gathered from the crime scene is then compared against fibers from a suspect source, such as a car or home, and the fibers are laid side by side for visual inspection through a microscope.
The first step in fiber analysis is to compare color and diameter. If there is an agreement, then the analysis can go into another phase. Dyes can also be further analyzed with chromatography, which uses solvents to separate the dye's chemical constituents. Under a microscope, the analysts look for lengthwise striations or pits on a fiber's surface or unusual shapes.
In short, the fiber analysts compare the shape, dye content, size, chemical composition, and microscopic appearances, yet all of this is still about "class evidence". Even if fibers from two separate places can be matched via comparison, that does not mean they derive from the same source, and there is no fiber database that provides a probability of origin.
Plant fibers are made from cellulose and/or other carbohydrates, animal fibers are made from keratin and/or other proteins, and synthetic fibers are made from hydrocarbons, such as petroleum, a mixture of hydrocarbons.
Here is a useful table that can help to identify common fibers used in competitions.
Animal Fibers
Fiber Smell Flame Withdrawn
Wool Burning Hair Small flickering flame, brittle ash, no smoldering Self-extinguishing
Silk Burning Feathers Calm, no smoldering, black beads, crushable Self-extinguishing
Vegetable Fibers
Fiber Smell Flame Withdrawn
Cotton Burning Paper Flame amber or yellow, slow burning, fluffy, greyish ash Continues to burn
Synthetic Fibers
Fiber Smell Flame Withdrawn
Nylon celery Orange, hard bead produced Self-extinguishing
Acrylic pungent Burn quickly, hard black bead that can be partially crushed Continues to melt
Polyester sweet/chemical Burns quickly, hard cream or black colored bead that cannot be rushed Continues to burn
Rayon Burning Wood Rapid burning flame, slow burning embers, no ash Continues to burn
Competitors are asked to know the difference between human, cat, and dog hair for competition. Microscopes are most commonly used for this, so studying images of different hairs is good practice for this portion of the event. Below are some examples of the required hair - overall, it is relatively easy to tell them apart. Cat hair has a scaly outside (cuticle) similar to human hair, though the core (medulla) is more broken or even invisible in human hair. Conversely, dog hair has a very thick medulla.
Microscopic Images of Hairs
Type of Hair Cat Dog Human
Image (s) Cat hair 1.jpgCathair2.jpg Dog hair 1.jpg Human hair 1.jpg
Along


text:
Women are happier as compared to men, say American scientists in their recent findings. Researchers at the University of South Florida recently ran a study in which they noticed the presence of more happiness genes in women's brain than their opposition. They claim that the entire game of happiness and sadness in human beings is being played by these genes.
The genes in talks is known as 'MAOA', which researchers believe make good effect upon the levels of feel-good chemicals in the brain, which are further responsible for all the fluctuations that occur in the moods of both men as well as women.
They explained that the MAOA genes are present in two variations, a highly active one and a comparatively lesser active one. For which, approx 350+ men and women were questioned by the researchers during their study about how happy they were followed with the collection of their saliva sample that was further tested for their DNA.
They found that women, who showed presence of the less active type, were happier than others, but the ones, who had two copies of the 'happy' type of MAOA, were happiest among all the participants. Declared results revealed 59 percent women with one copy genes, 17 percent with two but among men only one in four lacked the happiness gene.
US Business News
New Zealand News
- After Suspected Botulism, CFIA Warns People
- Health Care Education Necessary for the Future of Province: Analysts
- B.C. Government Grants $700,000 for Managing Facial Deformities
- Michelle Shocked delivers hate speech about homosexuality at her gig
- Guess who Justin Bieber got burned by?!! His ex-girlfriend Selena Gomez


became to be known as Polynesians traveled thousands of miles across the open Pacific ocean; spreading their culture and their language, with only natural navigation. Australian aborigines passed down ways of finding one's way across the often featureless landscape through the medium of song and dance. The routes described in these songs were known as Songlines . They often followed the stars, with lyrics and movements to the song acting as memory aids for the routes.
In short, natural navigation, like most things in bushcraft is about being at one with the natural environment. It's about knowing how to spot and then interpret the signs that nature is showing you.
How can different elements help us to navigate
Natural navigation with trees
This blog is not supposed to be an in-depth guide to natural navigation, to learn these skills in detail it is worth attending a course. This blog merely provides a general introduction to natural navigation.
Natural navigation with trees/plants
Aside from the sun and the moon, trees and plants are among the best tools for natural navigation. The best way to use trees and plants in terms of natural navigation is as direction finders.
Trees, plants and the sun
Trees are rarely symmetrical. Look for the side of the tree that appears 'heavier', or more abundant in terms of leaves and branches. In the UK if a tree is relatively isolated then the abundance of foliage on one side will indicate a southerly direction. This is because the southern side of a tree gets the most sun, so it naturally grows in that direction. Additionally, branches on the southern side are likely to grow out in a horizontal direction, those on the northern side are likely to grow upwards in an effort to reach the limited sunlight.
The effects of sunlight on the directional growth of a tree will become very confused in wooded environments. For this reason, it is better to consider isolated trees when trying to establish direction.
Trees, plants and the wind
Trees and plants help to provide a clue as to the general trend in terms of wind direction. In the UK the trend is for the prevailing wind to blow in from the southeast, that is it travels from a southeast to a northeast direction. This often means that the tops of exposed trees exhibit a sort of combed effect, with the ends of the branches pointing in a northeasterly direction.
Using natural navigation to estimate distance
Estimating the distance to an object relevant to your position is a key aspect of navigation. When combined with a direction it enables you to triangulate your position on a map with pinpoint accuracy. Being able to judge direction enables you to estimate how long it will take to reach your destination. With that in mind here are some natural ways to judge distance if you don't have a map or a compass.
Click here for more information.
Use your fingers
This section should more correctly be titled, 'judging distance using parallax', but that's not very snappy. Parallax is, in short, a method of judging distance by holding out a finger and shutting your eyes. It works like this; when you hold your finger out straight in front of you and view it only using your left eye, then, keeping your finger out in front of you, view it only using your right eye, it seems to have moved. This phenomenon is known as parallax.
To use this to measure distance, hold your finger out in front of you so that it is pointing upwards in line with the object that you wish to know the distance of. View your finger through only your left eye, then, without moving your finger, view it only through your right eye. Note how many feet along the object your finger appears to have moved. Your distance from the object will be ten times the distance that you perceive your finger to have moved.
For example, if your finger appears to have moved thirty feet the object will be approximately three hundred feet away from your current position.
Judging distance with natural navigation
Know your distances
It is also worth remembering some key distances. Keep in mind that, like many elements of natural navigation, these are rough tools and not entirely accurate. With thanks to Harold Gatty's 'Finding your way without map or compass' rough distances are:
46 metres/50 yards: a person's facial features, such as eyes and mouth, can be clearly seen.
275 metres/300 yards: the outline of faces can be seen.
1600 metres/1 mile: large tree trunks can be seen.
4km/2.5 miles: you can just about make out chimneys and windows
14.5km/9 miles: the average church tower or steeple can be seen.
Using the sun
When it comes to natural navigation the sun is one of the best indicators of direction. Roughly speaking, the sun rises in the east and settles in the west. However, it is only twice a year that the sun rises exactly in the east and sets exactly in the west.
One of the simplest ways of navigating using the sun is through the use of sun tables. These are tables that relate the latitude and time of day to the angle that the sun will be at. Having a copy of these tables jotted down in the back of your notebook helps you to establish direction. Harold Gatty's book, 'Finding your way without map or compass' features some excellent examples of these tables.
Get started with natural navigation
Don't throw away the map and the compass just yet. One of the best ways of getting started with natural navigation is to incorporate elements of nature in your normal navigation when on your next trip. For example, how does the position of the sun relate to the direction you're heading in? How far away do you estimate the church in the distance to be?
Next week
Next week we will be looking at how to find your way without a map or compass in more detail.
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