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From the Taiwan Strait to the Strait of Malacca, security concerns are growing around the South China Sea. While the Bush Administration sees a resurgent Chinese military threat across the Taiwan Strait and a terrorist threat in the Strait of Malacca, many countries between the Straits are more concerned about security for their maritime resources from the threats of competitors, traffickers, poachers, and pirates...and
The large volume of shipping in the South China Sea/Strait of Malacca littoral has created opportunities for attacks on merchant shipping. Piracy can threaten a disaster through a collision, grounding, chemical or toxic spill or closing of a strait. Since the 1990's, around half of the world's reported piracy took place in the South China Sea. The big increase in piracy in Indonesian waters and ports may be attributed to its economic crisis and domestic instability. It may also result from more sophisticated attacks by organized crime groups.Interesting.
The response of coastal countries was delayed by uncertainties over legal jurisdiction, disputed sovereignty, and uncoordinated efforts at recovery of crew, cargo, or ships. Even when pirates were detected, "hot pursuit" across national boundaries was seldom attempted. Sensitive to sovereignty issues in their territorial and EEZ waters, coastal countries have slowly started multilateral programs to monitor piracy attacks and bilateral exercises to coordinate anti-piracy patrols. The International Piracy Control Center in Kuala Lumpur, and the International Maritime Organization's Piracy Reporting Centre in London have stepped up monitoring efforts. The ASEAN Regional Forum convened a meeting of maritime specialists to coordinate coast guard action, information exchange, and investigation of piracy reports.


A narrow trail snaking through a remote southeastern Utah canyon dotted with cottonwood trees and Indian ruins is the latest battleground in a long-running dispute between Western residents and the federal government over public use of land.
Led by San Juan County Commissioner Phil Lyman, dozens of ATV riders are planning to rumble through Recapture Canyon near Blanding, Utah, on Saturday to protest the continuing closure of the trail to vehicles. The federal Bureau of Land Management closed the trail to motorized use in 2007, and declined to reopen it despite repeated requests and protests from local government officials.
Now, invoking the name of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy who fought with the BLM over cattle grazing, the ATV riders are planning a show of force.
"I have said a number of times, this protest is not about Recapture, or about ATVs, it is about the jurisdictional creep of the federal government," Lyman said in a Facebook posting explaining the planned protest. "We have a federal government that is out of touch. And it is our fault for letting them forget their proper role."
STORY: Long-simmering land issue boils over again in Nevada
STORY: Tension grows between ranchers, mustang backers
In a statement, BLM officials reiterated the ATV protest is illegal, but declined to discuss how they planned to respond.
Recapture Canyon is just outside tiny Blanding, about 74 miles south of Moab and about 300 miles southeast of Salt Lake City. Out here, territorial conflicts aren't new. A federal appeals court last month rejected San Juan County's years-long efforts to force the BLM to reopen a different road in nearby Canyonlands National Park, the legacy of the "Sagebrush Rebellion" sparked by congressional passage in 1976 of an act ceding ownership of public lands to federal land managers such as the BLM.
At the heart of the Recapture squabble is a question over whether federal officials are overreaching in their efforts to close off motorized access to long-used roads. While the federal government generally argues such closures are necessary to protect the environment and cultural resources, locals see those steps eroding their right to use what they consider public roads.
In 2005, two Utah men built bridges and rock walls to make it easier for ATVs to drive the 7 miles through Recapture Canyon; they were fined $35,000 for what the government deemed illegal trail construction, and motorized access to the trail was halted.
On much of the land controlled by the BLM, people are allowed to drive vehicles anywhere they want. But tightening regulations and enforcement have many in the West concerned. Bundy got into an armed standoff with BLM officials last month after rangers tried to round up his cattle they said were illegally grazing on land his family has been using for decades. The rangers eventually left the area, unable to collect court-ordered judgments against Bundy.
Because the federal government owns more than 90% of San Juan County, its actions can have a wide-ranging effect. In 2012, Utah Gov. Gary Herbert signed a law demanding the federal government transfer millions of acres of land to the state, a move even the bill's sponsors acknowledged would probably fail but said was designed to send a message to Washington. Federal lands don't generate property taxes, a key source of K-12 education funding.
"There's a lot of anger out there (and) this is just the tip of the iceberg," said Liz Thomas, a field attorney with the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. "If the BLM and the federal government shut their eyes to this lawlessness, it's a very bad precedent for public lands in Utah."
The alliance has repeatedly clashed with Lyman and the other San Juan County commissioners, most recently winning a court battle to keep closed a road through Canyonlands. Thomas said federal land managers are charged with protecting the land and resources for multiple uses, and sometimes that requires closing off public access. She said the 2005 illegal trail building demonstrated the need to keep motorized vehicles out of Recapture Canyon.
"It's chock full of cultural resources from 2,000 years ago. People lived there, they raised their families there, worshiped there, celebrated there, buried their dead there," Thomas said. "We are definitely hoping that the law applies to everybody, and the federal government does stand up to lawbreakers, a county commissioner or otherwise."
BLM officials said they were working with local law enforcement in advance of the Saturday protest, but no one knows how many people will show up. Bundy's standoff with the BLM last month drew dozens of armed supporters to his side.
"The BLM-Utah believes that many of these exceptional archaeological resources will be damaged by the proposed illegal ATV ride through Recapture Canyon," said BLM state director Juan Palma. "The BLM-Utah has not and will not authorize the proposed ride and will seek all appropriate civil and criminal penalties against anyone who uses a motorized vehicle within the closed area."
Lyman says he feels a moral obligation to defend the culture and customs of his county, and a duty to assert the county's legal right to a road used for generations. He said the BLM's decision to close the road makes no sense, and he's willing to push it to the point of breaking the law.
"I could herd 2,000 cows down that trail today, and it would be perfectly legal. But if I were to simply touch that trail with one rubber-tired ATV, I'd cause all kinds of irreparable damage?" he asked rhetorically. "From a county standpoint, there's a road there and we claim it. It's a road. We don't claim the land. But the road is ours."
Read or Share this story: _URL_


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|Noah Webster's Dictionary|
1. (p. p.) of Stave.
2. (v.) imp. of Stave.
3. (n.) A house or room artificially warmed or heated; a forcing house, or hothouse; a drying room; -- formerly, designating an artificially warmed dwelling or room, a parlor, or a bathroom, but now restricted, in this sense, to heated houses or rooms used for horticultural purposes or in the processes of the arts.
4. (n.) An apparatus, consisting essentially of a receptacle for fuel, made of iron, brick, stone, or tiles, and variously constructed, in which fire is made or kept for warming a room or a house, or for culinary or other purposes.
5. (v. t.) To keep warm, in a house or room, by artificial heat; as, to stove orange trees.
6. (v. t.) To heat or dry, as in a stove; as, to stove feathers.
Stove (4 Occurrences)
Exodus 17:2 Wherefore the people stove with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why strive ye with me? Wherefore do ye tempt Jehovah? (ASV)
Leviticus 11:35 Everything whereupon part of their carcass falls shall be unclean; whether oven, or range for pots, it shall be broken in pieces: they are unclean, and shall be unclean to you. (See NAS RSV)
Jeremiah 36:22 and the king is sitting in the winter-house, in the ninth month, and the stove before him is burning, (YLT)
Jeremiah 36:23 and it cometh to pass, when Jehudi readeth three or four leaves, he cutteth it out with the scribe's knife, and hath cast unto the fire, that 'is' on the stove, till the consumption of all the roll by the fire that 'is' on the stove. (YLT)

source: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb-edu


text: Myelin proteolipid protein (PLP) contains one established antigenic epitope within the 131-151 amino acid sequence, with encephalitogenic activity for SJL mice (PLP139-151). In the current study, the processing and presentation of PLP by subsets of splenic antigen-presenting cells (APC) were examined by comparing their capacity to stimulate PLP-responsive T-cell clones, two of which are specific for PLP139-151, and one which is not specific for this peptide. In order to study whether PLP requires processing before its presentation by APC, PLP-pulsed and fixed APC were shown to stimulate PLP-specific T cells. However, the addition of PLP to unpulsed, fixed APC resulted in the absence of T-cell stimulation, while the ability of these fixed APC to bind antigenic peptide and efficiently present it to T cells, was demonstrated by their ability to use a synthetic peptide for the stimulation of the T cells. In order to study potentially different processing efficiencies among APC subsets, spleen cells were fractionated by adherence to plastic, and their respective APC activities were studied separately. The non-adherent (NAd) APC were unable to stimulate PLP139-151 specific T-cell clones with PLP as antigen. In contrast, a T-cell clone specific for a separate, but unidentified epitope on PLP was stimulated by NAd APC efficiently. In addition, stimulation of PLP139-151-specific T-cell clones by NAd APC did occur when the synthetic peptide instead of intact PLP was used as antigen, indicating a defect in PLP processing by the NAd APC. These results indicate that a subpopulation of splenic APC is unable to process PLP efficiently, and more specifically, may be unable to process a fragment containing the 139-151 sequence in PLP, while other antigenic fragments may be processed and subsequently presented efficiently. © 1992.

source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


Seven Important Tips for Hybrid Cars Maintenance
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Hybrid cars are becoming increasingly popular nowadays, with more and more manufacturers bringing their respective hybrid offerings to the market.
Do you know which workshops are able to give the best service to Eco Cars? Are there some specific things different from traditional cars that you need to take note of?
Here, we highlight the key things you need to know about Hybrid Car Maintenance.
Japan Used Cars
1. Maintenance costs are similar to a traditional Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) car.
Many people have the wrong mindset that hybrid cars are more expensive to service and maintain, because of all the supposedly 'high tech, complicated' electric parts.
The cost of maintenance of hybrid cars should be fairly similar. The one component that requires regular servicing is the combustion engine.
7 Tips for Hybrid Car Maintenance
2. Check the required oil change interval
Because of the expected lower usage of the combustion engine, Hybrid Car would usually have a longer oil change interval.
To be sure, make sure to check the owner's manual, where the manufacturer will have a recommendation on the oil change interval.
7 Tips for Hybrid Car Maintenance
3. Longer life on brake pads
Thanks to the regenerative braking feature in hybrid cars, the brake pads of hybrid cars experience less heat and friction.
Of course, this is contingent on you adjusting your driving style to take advantage of the car's regenerative braking.
7 Tips for Hybrid Car Maintenance
4. Cooling is key
An enormous amount of heat is generated because of the regenerative braking system and hence the cooling system should be in prime condition at all times.
Hence, check individual hoses, pipes and clamps and any additional air filters used in the hybrid car motor and battery heating and cooling system.
Cooling System
5. Don't worry about the battery
This is probably the biggest concern potential buyers will have about hybrid cars, but the truth is that you shouldn't be too concerned.
The electrical components in hybrid cars are designed to be maintenance-free, and thus don't require any of specialist maintenance.
Most manufacturers also offer warranties on the battery. It is a simple matter of heading back to the dealer to get it replaced if any issues crop up.
That said, you should have your mechanic check the power cords and connections during every engine tune-up, to ensure that everything is in proper working order.
Car battery
6. Make sure the technician is experienced with hybrid cars
Hybrid cars employ sophisticated electronics with wiring systems that may be more complex than that of an ICE car, with wires that you are likely to be unfamiliar with.
Make sure that the workshop you are going to has trained technicians proficient in dealing with such components.
The key thing here is to make sure the technician knows what he is doing and that the workshop has the right tools for the job.
Hybrid Car expert
7. Ensure that you are using engine oil of the appropriate viscosity
For most hybrid cars, a lower weight oil is recommended, compared to ICE cars that usually require 0W-30 oil.
The hybrid cars specifically designed to use Motul Hybrid 0W-20 fully-synthetic 'fuel economy' engine oil.
The lower viscosity grade also improves oil flow at start-up, delivers faster oil pressure build-up, and reaches operating temperature faster.
If you are looking to buy Used Hybrid Cars from Japan and hundreds of stock of Bus, Trucks, Machinery, Parts from Japan.
Please visit our website:
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Family Support Center
Where Lives Are Transformed
A joint project of the Imperial Heights Community Church and Pacific Southwest District Church of the Brethren based on the following statement: "We believe that as Christians we are committed to 'non-violent peacemaking' in the home, in communities, in the nation, and around the world'.
We feel strongly and are addressing pressing concerns within our community on issues such as:
- Seeking solutions through promoting literacy for both Children and Adults.
- conflict education as an alternative to violent attitudes and acts.
- Dialogue and interchange solutions toward multiculturalism breakdown.
Our aggressive efforts are towards a safe environment for all who desire to embrace the love and follow the teachings of Jesus Christ. We are actively involved in:
- Community Outreach
- Conflict Mediation / Resolution
- Community Forums
- Neighborhood Meetings
Keeping Youth Focused and Out of Trouble
Summer Employment / entrepreneurial opportunities
Board Meetings: (TBD)


text: Very well written. A raw edgy read which had me in tears for most of it. It's a memoir that transports the reader back to their own roots of growing up in a migrant family and trying to understand where they fit within an Australian context. This memoir explores sexual identity, family duty and the subtle signs of mental illness. Her fight to understand and come to terms with her illness, rather than banish it forever is simply courageous. Maria's complexity expresses, grit, humour, compassion, sadness, and the underlying Greek value of "filotimo" which encompasses the values of honour, dignity, pride, and responsibility between each other.


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JNTU Question Papers B Tech Applied Chemistry May/Jun-2008
JNTU Question Papers
B Tech Applied Chemistry
1. Distinguish the following:
(a) Hard water and soft water
(b) carbonate and non-carbonate hardness
(c) mg/litre and ppm
(d) Sedimentation and filtration.
2. (a) Discuss the disadvantages of using hard water for various industries.
(b) Explain the factors responsible for the corrosion of a boiler. Discuss the measures for its prevention.
3. (a) Describe how electrochemical properties are used in protecting submerged metals from being corroded.
(b) Explain the corrosion of iron by dilute mineral acids.
4. (a) List the differences between anodic coating and cathodic coating.
(b) How zinc coated on iron prevents corrosion?
(c) Explain sand blasting method of surface preparation?
5. (a) Differentiate between LDPE & HDPE.
(b) What are the drawbacks of raw rubber?
(c) Write the repeating unit for the following:
i. Nylon 6,6
6. (a) Define Refractories and what are the criteria of a good refractory?
(b) Give the classification of refractories with suitable examples.
7. (a) What is meant by blended oils? Explain the functions of various additives added to the lubricants?
(b) What are viscosity & viscosity index of lubricating oil?
8. (a) Discuss the chemical and physical changes that occur during the setting of cement with relevant chemical equetions..
(b) Write a note on decay of cement concrete and its prevention.


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When various daemons or processes freeze or hang up, they need to be forcefully terminated in order to stop the illegal operation or harm they may be causing to your system. The general procedure to kill or terminate any process on Linux is to first find out it's pid (Process Id) using a grep command on the ps -A command. This will tell us the pid of the process to be killed. Then this pid is passed as a parameter to the kill command to terminate the process.
But this is a very lengthy process involving two steps. A process can be easily terminated in just one single step, using the pkill command. You just need to know the name of the process to be killed. All you have to do is pass this process name as a parameter to the pkill command to kill or terminate your process. Simple enough, eh?


Big Trailer Rentals
How to Load a Flatbed Trailer
This guide will outline the proper way to load a flatbed trailer and how to secure the load.
 1. Check Weight Limits - Make sue the weight of the load is not going to exceed the weight limit or capacity for the trailer.
 2. Trailer Inspection - Inspect the trailer to ensure that it will be safe for the road and for the load.
 3. Connect the trailer to the towing vehicle - If you are loading a trailer that is not connected to a vehicle, the trailer must have rear support jacks, but this is not recommended as it is a safety risk. For more information, see our guide: How to Hook Up a Trailer
 4. Loading Area - Move the trailer to a completely flat area. Never load a trailer on a hill or uneven ground.
 5. Loading - Ramps, Tilt Bed, or Side Load
 1. If you are loading a vehicle or equipment with ramps, put the ramps in place and pull the vehicle up to the start of the ramps. Adjust the spacing of the ramps to match the alignment of the tires.
 2. If you are loading onto a tilt trailer, there are no ramps so you will just need to tilt the bed down.
 3. For side loading with a forklift, a spotter should be directing the forklift driver for proper load placement and to avoid hitting the rub rails on the trailer and causing damage.
 6. Weight Distribution - Your load should be placed directly over the axles with a little more of the weight towards the front of the trailer. A good rule of thumb is 60% toward the front and 40% toward the back. If you load too heavy in the back, the trailer will fishtail. If you load too heavy in the front of the trailer, there will be less weight on the front axle of the towing vehicle which can reduce traction and steering ability. When loading a vehicle, tractor, or heavy equipment, be sure to load evenly leaving equal space on each side of the trailer. When loading materials with a forklift, be sure to load over the axles and toward the center for partial loads and avoid have weight on only one side of the trailer.
 7. Decide whether to use straps or chains. Chains should be used when securing heavy equipment and sometimes trucks. Straps would normally be used for securing light weight trucks, cars, and supplies.
 8. When using chains, follow these steps:
 1. Using the right chains. A chain has a Working Load Limit of 1/3 of the chain breaking strength. Understanding the weight capacity of each chain can get complicated because it depends on the diameter and the grade of the chain. Do your research if you are unsure.
 2. Inspect chains for wear, drag marks, or broken links.
 3. Connect at least one (1) chain from four (4) points of the equipment, usually to the axle which is considered to be more secure than the designated tie-down point provided by the manufacture. Be sure to cross the chains. If you are loading equipment that has a bucket or backhoe, it's best to run another chain over that object to prevent swinging or movement that could be a safety hazard. The chains should be attached to a D-ring or fed through the inside of the stake pocket and brought up on the outside for the stake pocket hooked to the top of the top of the stake pocket. This should prevent the chain from coming detached in the event that the chain loosens. Never run the chain on the outside of the rub rail. Position the chains so that the front chains pull forward and the rear chains pull backwards and use a chain ratchet to secure the load.
 9. When using straps, follow these steps:
 1. When using straps, you must first make sure you are using the right straps with the proper weight limits. This is referred to as the Working Load Limit which means the amount of weight each strap will support. The Working Load Limit is 1/3 of the breaking strength of the straps. For example, if the strap breaking strength is 10,000 lbs, the Working Load Limit is about 3,333 lbs.
 2. Inspect straps to be sure there are no frays or cuts that could weaken the straps.
 3. When securing supplies, straps should be placed every 10 feet. If the load is less than 10 feet long, two (2) straps are required.
 10. Check Your Load Frequently - Stop to check your load and ensure chains and straps are secure after the first 25 miles of driving. You are required by law to stop again every 3 hours or 150 miles for routine checks to ensure your load is secure. Look for chains or straps that have loosened or straps that have possibly rubbed and could be causing cuts or frays from rubbing.
It's always the responsibility of the driver to ensure the trailer is loaded properly, even if the trailer is loaded by someone other than the driver.
For more information about cargo securement, visit the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) website.
If you have questions about renting a trailer, call Big Trailer Rentals at _PHONE_.
Disclaimer: The information contained on this page is provided by Big Trailer Rentals, LLC as a general guide to assist with loading a trailer and is not endorsed by DOT or FMCSA. Each trailer and loading situation is different and some information may be omitted from this guide. It is recommended that you check your own resources and federal and local laws pertaining to safety regulations while loading and hauling with a trailer. Big Trailer Rentals, LLC is in no way liable for use or implementation of information provided in this guide.
Big Trailer Rentals


Shell process in a workflow and save it to your desktop or on your dock, so you can reach it more easily. It's a good idea to secondary click on it, then, while pressing Alt/Option, hold the cursor over Always open in, then choose Automator runner.
You might want to go through the script text before you run it, because for some languages the script may be bot specific. Secondary-click on it, hold the cursor on Open in, then choose Other, scroll down and double-click on TextEdit. However, this is not mandatory, and not recommended for beginners, but if you have to; be careful when editing the scripts!
If you want to revert your changes to a script, simply run the following:
svn revert
If a script suddenly doesn't work, and produces the output SyntaxError: invalid syntax, you have encountered an SVN conflict.
Revert the script as described above. Then try to run it. If it works, run the following in Terminal:
svn resolved
You can now try to make the same edits again, if desired.


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Tanzanian health care facilities offer all basic services, but shortage of commodities and poor infection control are major challenges
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. More than 70 percent of all health facilities in Tanzania offer a full range of basic health services. Curative care for sick children is almost universally available, and three in four services provide antenatal care and childbirth. At the same time, lack of running water and shortage of some types of medicines compromise the quality of care offered to children and adults. These problems are found nationwide, in both governmental and non-governmental facilities, and in all types of facilities, according to a new survey conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics and the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare.
While many critical gaps exist, the new study shows important strengths in Tanzania's health care system. More than 70 percent of all health facilities in Tanzania offer a full range of basic health services, including child care, family planning, and treatment for infectious diseases. Curative care for sick children and for sexually transmitted infections is almost universally available in Tanzanian health facilities. Most hospitals and three-fourths of health centres offer 24-hour delivery services for pregnant women. Antenatal care (ANC) services are available in 4 out of 5 facilities, including almost all government facilities. And, nearly 60 percent of health facilities offer the full range of client comfort amenities: a protected waiting area; a basic level of cleanliness; and a functioning client latrine.
HIV services are available throughout Tanzania. About one in four health care facilities have an HIV counseling and testing system, and one in eight provides prevention of mother-to-child transmission services. Antiretroviral treatment is far less available, however, Nationwide, however, only 4 percent of all health facilities prescribe antiretroviral therapy.
Problems with infrastructure and infection control plague Tanzanian health care services. Only 33 percent of health care facilities in Tanzania, including half of all hospitals, have running water. Other items needed for infection control are also in short supply: one-third of facilities do not have soap; only half of facilities have latex gloves; and less than one-third has adequate systems for disposing of needles and infectious waste. These conditions endanger both staff and patients.
Stock outs of medicines and poor storage systems also affect patient care. While more than 90 percent of health facilities say they offer immunization services, only 74 percent had vaccines available at the time of the survey. Among these facilities, less than half have the necessary equipment for correct temperature monitoring, and about a third do not maintain the cold chain at all. Improper storage destroys the effectiveness of some vaccines, making them useless for disease prevention. Medicines to cure tuberculosis (TB) are available in only 60 percent of facilities following the national DOTS strategy (directly observed treatment short-course). Patients who do not take their TB drugs regularly run the risk of developing drug resistant and hard-to-cure strains of TB.
Insufficient counseling, not lack of drugs, is a problem in some services. For example, most facilities providing antenatal care had the antimalarial medicine for intermittent preventive treatment (IPT) for pregnant women. However, less than one third of pregnant women were given the first IPT dose in the facility under the supervision of a provider, and less than 10 percent were advised to get the second dose. Similarly, only half of pregnant women were given a voucher for insecticide treated bed nets (ITN) and told about the importance of using ITNs regularly. Other critical issues were neglected in antenatal care (ANC) services. During more than 1,000 observed counseling sessions in ANC clinics, providers described the risk symptoms of pregnancy in only one-fourth of sessions and discussed nutrition in less than 20 percent.
The 2006 Tanzania Service Provision Assessment Survey (TSPA) was carried out by the National Bureau of Statistics and the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare of the United Republic of Tanzania. Macro International Inc. provided technical assistance through the worldwide MEASURE DHS project. The TSPA collected data from a nationally representative sample of 611 health facilities in Tanzania, covering all levels of facilities, from dispensaries to hospitals.
Funding for technical assistance was provided by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Local costs of the survey were financed entirely by the pooled fund of the Poverty Eradication Division (PED) in the Ministry of Planning, Economy and Empowerment.
Additional information about the 2006 TSPA may be obtained from the Macro International Inc. at _PHONE_ or _EMAIL_. You may also contact the headquarters of the National Bureau of Statistics, Kivukoni Front, P.O. Box 796, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; Telephone: (255) 22 _PHONE_/3, Fax: (255) 22 _PHONE_, e-mail: _EMAIL_. Information may also be obtained from _URL_


text: Peripheral nerve injuries are devastating injuries, which can lead to severe disability. Nerve injuries are relatively common. It occurs with up to 3% of all patients admitted to Level I trauma centers. Most of the injuries to peripheral nerves occur in the upper extremities. Nerve injury will lead to significant impairment in motor function and causes sensory loss. Depending on the level of nerve injury the consequences can be devastating and have great impact on a patient's life and ability to perform daily activities such as work and hobbies. Nerve injury not only causes physical disability. There is evidence it also has great consequences psychologically. Cognitive, emotional and behavioral aspects influence recovery. It is important these factors are recognized so that the quality of patient care can be improved. The last decades both experimental and clinical research has been focused on optimizing the reconstruction of nerve injuries. The studies in this thesis are focused on the optimization of nerve reconstruction.


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The universal forwarder
The universal forwarder is a separate Splunk Enterprise executable whose sole purpose is to send data from a host or other forwarder to a Splunk Enterprise indexer.The universal forwarder replaces the Splunk Enterprise light forwarder. Instances of full Splunk Enterprise and the universal forwarder can co-exist on the same system.
For information on deploying the universal forwarder, see "Universal forwarder deployment overview".
How universal forwarder compares to full Splunk Enterprise
The universal forwarder only forwards data. Unlike a full Splunk Enterprise instance, it cannot index or search data. To achieve higher performance and a lighter footprint, it has several limitations:
- The universal forwarder has no searching, indexing, or alerting capability.
- The universal forwarder does not parse data, except in certain cases.
- The universal forwarder does not output data via syslog.
- Unlike full Splunk Enterprise, the universal forwarder does not include a bundled version of Python.
Scripted inputs and Python
Full Splunk Enterprise comes bundled with Python. The universal forwarder does not. Therefore, if you use scripted inputs with Python and you want to use those scripts with the universal forwarder, you must first install your own version of Python. If you have been using calls specific to Splunk Python libraries, you cannot with the universal forwarder, because those libraries exist only in full Splunk Enterprise. You may use other scripting languages for scripted inputs with the universal forwarder if the target host supports them (for example, PowerShell on Windows Server.)
How universal forwarder compares to the light forwarder
The universal forwarder includes only the essential components needed to forward data to other Splunk Enterprise instances. The light forwarder, by contrast, is a full Splunk Enterprise instance, with certain features disabled to achieve a smaller resource footprint. In all respects, the universal forwarder represents a better tool for forwarding data to indexers.
When you install the universal forwarder, you can migrate from an existing light forwarder that runs version 4.0 or greater. See "Migrate from a light forwarder" for details.
Compared to the light forwarder, the universal forwarder provides a better performing solution to forwarding. These are the main performance differences between the universal forwarder and the light forwarder:
- The universal forwarder puts less load on the CPU, uses less memory, and has a smaller disk footprint.
- The universal forwarder has a default data transfer rate of 256Kbps.
- The universal forwarder cannot be converted to a full Splunk Enterprise instance.
Note: The light forwarder has been deprecated in Splunk Enterprise version 6.0. For a list of all deprecated features, see "Deprecated features" in the Release Notes.
For information on deploying the universal forwarder, see the topics that directly follow this one.
For information on third-party Windows binaries that the Windows version of the Splunk Enterprise universal forwarder ships with, read "Information on Windows third-party binaries distributed with Splunk Enterprise" in the Installation Manual.
For information about running the universal forwarder in Windows Safe Mode, read "Splunk Enterprise Architecture and Processes" in the Installation Manual.
Types of forwarders
This documentation applies to the following versions of Splunk® Enterprise: 6.3.0, 6.3.1, 6.3.2, 6.3.3, 6.3.4, 6.3.5, 6.3.6, 6.3.7, 6.3.8, 6.3.9, 6.3.10, 6.3.11, 6.3.12, 6.3.13, 6.3.14, 6.4.0


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Apple has swiftly addressed a security vulnerability in its recently launched mixed reality headset, the Vision Pro, by releasing visionOS 1.0.2. This update focuses on fixing a vulnerability in WebKit, the browser engine that powers Safari and other web applications. The identified bug, officially tracked as CVE-2024-23222, could potentially enable malicious code to execute on affected devices. Apple had previously addressed this vulnerability in iOS 17.3 for iPhones, iPads, Macs, and Apple TV, highlighting the widespread nature of the issue across its product ecosystem. However, it's worth noting that no patches were provided for the Apple Watch.
While the security patch was released promptly, there is no immediate clarity on whether the vulnerability was actively exploited, specifically targeting the Vision Pro headset. Apple has not disclosed information about potential malicious activity or the identity of those exploiting the vulnerability. WebKit vulnerabilities are often targeted by malicious actors, such as spyware developers, seeking to exploit weaknesses to gain access to the device's operating system and the user's personal data. These vulnerabilities can be exploited when users visit a compromised website or use an in-app browser.
The rapid release of a security patch underscores Apple's commitment to addressing potential threats promptly, particularly as it launches innovative products like the Vision Pro. As technology advances, ensuring the security of mixed reality and augmented reality devices becomes increasingly critical to safeguard user privacy and prevent unauthorized access to sensitive information. Apple's proactive approach in releasing security updates for its latest hardware reflects the ongoing challenge of staying ahead of potential security threats in the dynamic landscape of modern technology. Users are encouraged to apply the visionOS 1.0.2 update to mitigate the identified vulnerability and enhance the security posture of their Vision Pro devices.


Sigh: Sugary, Starchy, Delicious Food May Cause Endometrial Cancer
Cookies, donuts, cake, white bread—you know, what makes food worth eating and life worth living—are linked to an increased risk for endometrial cancer, according to a new report. Additionally, researchers reinforced that obesity is probably the biggest cause of cancer.
Two organizations, the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) and the World Cancer Research Fund International, assigned an international panel of experts to review and analyze evidence of what causes particular cancers. This time around they chose to focus on endometrial cancer, a common form of a cancer that affects around 50,000 women in the U.S. each year.
Estrogen is a known cause for endometrial cancer and because fat cells secrete estrogen, the disease has a "very, very strong and consistent association with obesity," according to the panel, who said that obese women are two to three times more likely to develop endometrial cancer. They suggest that 59 percent of those cases could be prevented if women are active at least 30 minutes a day.
They also found numerous studies that link a glycemic load (high blood sugar) with an increased risk, caused by eating foods that quickly convert to glucose, like refined sugar or refined grains (like white flour).
So, basically, this just in: exercise and a balanced diet will keep you healthy.
Image via Hayati Kayhan/Shutterstock
Drop the cookie: Sweet, starchy foods 'probably' cause women's cancer [MSNBC]


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Bloodless surgery is an approach to health care that began in the 1960s as simple avoidance of the use of transfused blood. It has grown over the last four decades, however, to include changed attitudes toward blood conservation as well as new technologies that minimize the need for transfusions during surgery. The Center for Bloodless Medicine and Surgery at Hartford Hospital in Connecticut defines bloodless surgery as "...surgical and medical treatment without the administration of blood or blood-related products."
The new interest in bloodless surgery has emerged from a variety of religious and social concerns as well as medical, legal, and economic issues.
Religious and ethical considerations
One of the earliest motivations for bloodless surgery was finding ways to treat Jehovah's Witnesses who needed emergency surgery without offending their beliefs about blood transfusion. Many of the larger bloodless surgery centers in the United States serve areas with a large population of Jehovah's Witnesses. The specific Biblical passages that Witnesses cite as the basis for their objections are Genesis 9: 4–5, in which God forbids eating animal "flesh with its blood"; and Acts 15:29, in which the Apostles ask their first converts to "abstain from blood" as well as from other forms of immorality. Mainstream commentators generally understand the first passage as referring to eating an animal that is still alive, and the second as referring to a controversy among early Christians between Jewish and Gentile converts. A group within the Jehovah's Witnesses community, the Associated Jehovah's Witnesses for Reform on Blood (AJWRB), is a good resource for readers interested in the range of views among contemporary Witnesses regarding blood transfusions and in the Witnesses' interpretation of the Bible.
Respect for the religious beliefs of a specific group, however, is related to a more general ethical concern for patients' rights. While a majority of bloodless surgical procedures are still requested by Jehovah's Witnesses, as of 2003 the proportion of other patients requesting bloodless surgery is rising and is expected to continue to increase. Whereas in 1998 only 10% of bloodless surgical procedures were performed on non-Witnesses, by the end of 2002 the proportion had risen to 30%. The number of medical centers in the United States that offer bloodless surgery has expanded from about 20 in 1996 to over 70 as of 2002. While the increased demand for bloodless procedures stems partly from concerns that will be discussed in the following sections, it also reflects changing attitudes on the part of patients. One nurse has described patients enrolling in bloodless surgery programs as "proactive" people who are aware that they have choices about health care and expect medical professionals to respect their decisions. This attitude is a considerable change from the "doctor knows best" passive acceptance that characterized previous generations of patients. Hospitals with bloodless surgery centers emphasize the importance of patients' ethical rights to privacy and self-determination as well as their legal rights to refuse treatments that they find objectionable.
The most important non-religious reason that patients give for requesting bloodless surgery is concern about the safety of blood transfusions. These fears are related to the quality of the American blood supply as well as the process of blood transfusion itself.
- Bloodborne diseases. Many patients are afraid of contracting diseases such as AIDS and hepatitis from allogeneic (donated) blood. The risk of contracting these specific diseases has been vastly reduced over the past 40 years. According to Dr. Gregory Nuttall, chair of the Committee on Transfusion Medicine of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, the risk of contracting hepatitis from transfused blood has decreased from one chance in 10 in the 1960s to less than 1:100,000 by 2000. The risk of contracting HIV infection has been reduced by a factor of 10,000 since the virus was first identified in 1983. Unfortunately, these statistics do not reassure patients who are concerned about the possibility of being infected by disease agents that have not yet been identified as bloodborne. In addition, as of 2003 there is no way to screen potential blood donors for four diseases caused by parasites (malaria, babesiosis, Chagas' disease, and Lyme disease) and one disease caused by prions (Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease), even though the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have recorded cases of transfusion-transmitted malaria, babesiosis, and Chagas' disease in the United States.
- Transfusion reactions related to medical errors. In contrast to the reduction of risk from infection, there has been little reduction of risk since 1960 of noninfectious serious hazards of transfusion, or NISHOT. NISHOT statistics include mistransfusion and ABO/Rh-incompatibility. Although transfusion errors are only a small percentage of all medical errors reported in North American hospitals, they are the most common cause of serious mortality and morbidity associated with blood transfusions. About 25 patients die each year in the United States from transfusion errors involving ABORh incompatibility. These errors are due to misidentification of type-and-crossmatch samples, laboratory errors, or misidentification of the transfusion recipient. Even patients who donate their own blood (autologous donation) in preparation for elective surgery cannot be completely certain that their blood will be correctly labeled and used during their operation.
- Immune system reactions. Allogeneic blood has been shown to disrupt the immune system and reduce longevity in cancer patients. Other studies have shown that transfused donor blood suppresses the production of B-cells and T-cells in recipients.
- Availability of blood. Many healthcare professionals are concerned about the growing shortage of blood for surgical procedures in the United States. Some blood types are less common than others; in addition, there are often seasonal shortages of blood. In January 2003, the American Red Cross, American Association of Blood Banks, and the federal Department of Health and Human Services issued an urgent appeal for blood donations; many hospitals had less than a one-day supply when a seven-day supply is considered optimal. There is an increasing demand for blood; three million pints of blood are used in the United States every year just for elective surgery. In addition, many surgical procedures require large amounts of blood or blood products. According to the Center for Molecular and Cellular Therapy at the University of Minnesota, a liver transplant requires six to 10 units of red blood cells, 20 units of plasma, and 10 units of platelets, while a bone marrow transplant takes one to two units of red blood cells every other day for two to four weeks plus six to eight units of platelets daily for four to six weeks.
The cost of allogeneic blood transfusions is higher than most people realize. One hospital in New Jersey estimates that each blood transfusion costs the patient about $500. Another cost analysis published in the American Journal of Surgery concluded that even though the donated blood itself is free, the costs of preparing, storing, transporting, and unpackaging the blood come to $1,003 to $1,043 per patient receiving a transfusion—and this figure does not include treating the medical complications associated with allogeneic blood transfusion.
A significant problem confronting blood banks in the United States is the growing proportion of older Americans in the general population. Their numbers are not matched by any corresponding increase in the donor population; it is estimated that only 5% of American adults give blood regularly. Although a wide cross-section of the public can be found at blood drives, several studies have shown that the statistically average donor is a college-educated married Caucasian male between the ages of 30 and 50 with an above-average income. As of 2003, the elderly comprise about 13% of the American population, but use about 25% of transfused blood. The aging of the so-called baby boomer generation, which represents a large segment of the population, is expected to lead to a critical shortage of blood by 2030. The rise in the number of complex orthopedic procedures associated with high-volume blood loss that are performed largely in elderly patients contributes to the likelihood of a severe blood shortage over the next two decades.
Another demographic change that affects the size of the population eligible to donate blood is the increased popularity of tourism and the rising number of people stationed in other countries by their employers or the military. People who have been exposed to or have a history of certain diseases from living abroad are either indefinitely or permanently deferred from giving blood. Detailed policies regarding donor deferral from the American Red Cross and the Department of Defense can be found in All About Blood, a booklet from the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB) that can be downloaded free of charge from the AABB web site.
Bloodless surgery covers a wide variety of changes in medical practice as well as new equipment and technological innovations.
Preoperative assessment of patients
A patient seeking bloodless elective surgery is carefully evaluated for a history of unexpected bleeding or clotting problems after medical or dental procedures. He or she will also be asked about a family history of bleeding disorders.
The patient's blood will be tested to determine hemoglobin levels. In most cases, he or she will be given medications to build up hemoglobin levels prior to surgery. These are discussed in more detail below.
Care is taken to minimize the number and size of blood samples drawn for presurgical testing. The invention of microanalyzers allows hospital laboratories to run blood tests on samples of blood that are 30–60% smaller than those previously collected, and to use the same blood sample for multiple tests.
Reducing blood loss during surgery
NEW INSTRUMENTS AND SURGICAL TECHNIQUES. The invention of several types of new surgical instruments has allowed surgeons to perform a variety of procedures with minimal blood loss. Miniaturized end


How Well Do You Know Game of Thrones?
This isnt a quiz about how well you know Game of Thrones actions and deaths, but more trivia about the actors and cool facts about them! Have fun and enjoy!
How well do you know the Game of Thrones actors? Do you know what happened to Sansa's Dire Wolf after it died in the show? You'll be surpriesd, and in my case, heart warmed.
Created by: William Stokes
 1. Which 2 roles were played by other actors in the original pilot?
 2. Which 2 characters auditioned for each other's roles?
 3. Which Stark child, in real life, adopted their Dire Wolf (yes, someone did that)?
 4. What language in thw show actaully exists, but by a different name?
 5. What character changed roles because the original went on to star on a movie? (Note: all these changed actors, but which for that reason)
 6. What is wrong with the appearence of the Targaryen kids in the TV show compared to the books?
 7. Which 2 characters are alive in the books tht died in the TV show?
 8. Who in the books is named Asha?
 9. The actor who play Stannis Baratheon's son plays who?
 10. Who was George R. R. Martin's first chpice for their role?
 11. Which of the following was a TV show or movie that Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister) did NOT appear in?
 12. Which character's disability is real?
 13. Which character's disability is real?
 14. Which of these movies did Grand Maester Pycell's actor NOT appear in?
 15. Who was a sex symbol in the 60's?
 16. What country banned the viewing of Game of Thrones?
 17. It is implied the Night King may have been part of one of the main houses. Which one?
 18. In real life, scientists have done studies that prove that the Mountain could crush Prince Oberan's head. True of False?
 19. Who did scientists say would win based of of the statistics in Game of Thrones?
 20. In the Seasons so far(1-6), hiw many on screen deaths have there been?
 21. There are many ways to say "Hodor" that mean difderent things according to the producers. How many? (Differece in tones, length, pitch, etc.)
 22. What assasination is based off of something real?
 23. How many calories does the Mountain eat everyday? (Normal-2,500)
 24. Each of the 7 Kingdoms has a surname for b------s, like Jon and Ramsey, of the North, are Snow. Which kingdom isnt matched with the correct surname? (Hint: The surname has something corresponding to the kingdom)
 25. What city is George R. R. Martin's image of Atlantis?
 26. What is Greensight?
 27. Who is the Night's King?
 28. Who is the Night King? (Different than the Night's King)
Remember to rate this quiz on the next page!
Quiz topic: How Well do I Know Game of Thrones?


text:
New technologies typically go through significant improvements during their
early diffusion. Literature suggests that these modifications follow from learning-by-using.
However, the micro-level processes by which learning-by-using is actually achieved
remain understudied. The present paper examines these processes through an in-depth
case study of the design and use of a new health-care device. It identifies
several learning processes and preconditions for learning that constituted learning-by-using.
The results question the dominant image of learning-by-using as a harmonious
flow of user feedback.
Back | TIS Home


text:
This chapter presents a step-by-step approach to improving the security of wireless networks. It describes the basic threats to achieving the security objectives of confidentiality, integrity, and availability when using wireless networking. It also explains various countermeasures that can be used to reduce the risks associated with wireless networks. This chapter has two main objectives. The first is to provide managers with practical guidance for improving the security of their organization's wireless networks. The second objective is to summarize the issues and concerns associated with the use of wireless networking so that researchers can identify fruitful areas in need of further investigation.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Computer Science(all)


text:
Copper causes Alzheimer's in people over 50: Study
London: Copper pipes should not be used as
water supply lines as a new study has found that it leads to
build up of metal in body, increasing the risk of Alzheimer's,
heart diseases and diabetes in people over 50.
Researchers at University of Michigan in US found that
traces of copper from pipes mix with tap water, which is then
consumed by people.
As our body cannot process the metal, it gets accumulated
and over a period of time leads to major health problems like
Alzheimer's in later age, according to the study that appeared
in the American Chemical Society's Toxicology journal.
Pointing out that Alzheimer's and heart diseases are made
worse by excess copper and iron, lead researcher George J
Brewer said, "the toxicities are so general that they are a
looming public health problem in diseases of ageing and in the
ageing process itself."
Brewer also warned that those people, whose copper intake
is high, lose their brain function at over three times the
normal rate if they also eat a relatively high fat diet.
The researchers suggested that people over 50 should
avoid vitamin and mineral pills that contain cooper and iron,
reduce meat intake and avoid drinking water from copper pipes.
They should also donate blood regularly to reduce iron
levels and take zinc supplements to lower copper levels, the
Daily Mail reported.
First Published: Saturday, January 23, 2010, 00:00
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text:
Perspective is the fundamental historic difference between Western and Chinese painting. After the 13th Century, Western painting developed vanishing points in fixed perspective. Chinese painters, although aware of perspective, rejected the single-vanishing point method, instead producing landscapes with "parallel perspectives" in which the viewer travels within the painting.
The new Nanjing Museum of Art and Architecture is sited at the gateway to the Contemporary International Practical Exhibition of Architecture in the lush green landscape of the Pearl Spring near Nanjing, China. The museum explores the shifting viewpoints, layers of space, and expanses of mist and water, which characterize the deep alternating spatial mysteries of the composition of Chinese painting. The museum is formed by a "field" of parallel perspective spaces and garden walls in black rammed earth over which a light "figure" hovers. The straight passages on the ground level gradually turn into the winding passage of the figure above. The upper gallery, suspended high in the air, unwraps in a clockwise turning sequence and culminates at "in-position" viewing of the city of Nanjing in the distance. This visual axis creates a linkage back to the great Ming Dynasty capital city.
Limiting the colors of the museum to black and white connects it to the ancient ink paintings, but also gives a background to feature the colors and textures of the artwork to be exhibited. The walls are of blackened concrete which is formed in bamboo-lined formwork. The texture gives a relief of the cross joints of native bamboo. The upper gallery in double wall translucent membranes allows the shadows of steel support trusses a ghost-like exposure.
The 3000-square-meter museum's flexible exhibition spaces are complimented by a Tea House and curator's residence facing the south light and re-circulated water of the pond. Geothermal cooling and heating recycled and low embodied energy materials are part of the green building aims of the project.


How to execute multiple commands through a text file with a Domino server
Technote (FAQ)
Is it possible to execute scripts or a list of commands through a text file on a Domino server?
You can create a text file that lists the commands you would like to execute on the Domino server. The commands which you can include can be anything that can be typed at the server's console. To load the script you must use the < command (less-than symbol), followed by a blank space, and then the name of the text file you created. For example, if you need to execute these commands:
you can create a file called F:\MYFILE.TXT, and within this text file, enter the commands that are to be executed. After you save the.TXT file, enter the following at the Domino server console:
If there is more than one command in the.TXT file, they will be executed in the order in which they appear in the.TXT file.
All commands in the.TXT file could be encapsulated with
start consolelog
in the first line and in the last line
stop consolelog
to write the output into the console.log file.
Note: "stop consolelog" will close any logging launched manually or by CONSOLE_LOG_ENABLED=1 in notes.ini.
These type of batch files are not supported by Lotus.
Document information
More support for:
IBM Domino
Software version:
5.0, 6.0, 6.5, 7.0, 8.0, 8.5
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Misenumancient ok hb 6/8/07ancient port of Campania, Italy, located about 3 miles (5 km) south of Baiae at the west end of the Gulf of Puteoli (Pozzuoli). Virgil in the Aeneid says the town was named after Aeneas's trumpeter, Misenus, who was buried there. Until the end of the Roman Republic it was a favourite villa resort dependent on Cumae. Agrippa made the fine natural harbour into the main naval station of the Mediterranean fleet (31 BC). Pliny the Younger was stationed in Misenum, from which he witnessed (and wrote about) the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. In 890 it Elder commanded the fleet there in AD 79 and died trying to rescue those fleeing the eruption of the nearby volcano Vesuvius. His nephew and adopted son, Pliny the Younger, described the event in two letters to the historian Tacitus. In 890 Misenum was destroyed by the Saracens.


text:
Research Demonstrates Implications of Cost for COVID-19 Antibody Testing
Testing for COVID-19 antibodies can provide important information for communities battling an outbreak. These tests can inform epidemiologists whether someone has had an infection, even if they were asymptomatic. Yet for testing to provide a good understanding, take-up needs to be broad and independent of income, political orientation, or ethnicity.
Recent research from Marta Serra-Garcia of the Rady School of Management at the University of California San Diego and Nora Szech of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology has shown that people's willingness to get tested depends crucially on its cost. Political decision makers should therefore consider making the tests as easily accessible as possible if they want a broad take-up.
In the study, Serra-Garcia and Szech surveyed nearly 2,000 participants, selected to represent the U.S. population, to take part in an anonymous study. Participants made decisions regarding their willingness to get tested for different costs of antibody testing. When the cost of the test was near zero, 80 percent of the participants wanted the test. When test costs increased, demand fell sharply. In fact, when the cost of testing was $20, demand dropped in half.
"Interest in testing is very high compared to other diseases," said Szech. "Yet effort or costs of testing need to be low. Even if the cost is moderate, like $20, the majority of people already become testavoiders. This implies that to know how widespread the virus is and how much immunity there already is, tests need to be free and easily accessible."
While cost was a big factor in test demand, other factors related to the potential value of the test increased demand. Those factors included age, increased length and strength of protective immunity from antibodies and greater uncertainty about having had the virus.
"Compared to tests for Huntington's or HIV, for example, interest in COVID-19 testing is high, but that changes drastically with costs," said Serra-Garcia, an assistant professor of economics and strategic management at the Rady School of Management.
The willingness to pay for antibody tests also depended on income, ethnicity and political views. For example, Black respondents were willing to pay substantially less for testing than white or Hispanic respondents.
"Our findings have important implications for inequality," Serra-Garcia said. "Higher income groups are more likely to get tested, while lower income groups who may be at higher risk if they work in essential services, are less likely to get the test and know about their antibody status. In addition, Black respondents are less willing to get tested, despite recent research showing that Black communities have been hard hit by the virus."
Political preferences may also guide testing decisions. The study found that supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump are less willing to pay for testing. This indicates that the results of COVID-19 testing that rely on volunteers may not be representative of the population as a whole.
"To know how widespread the virus really is and how much immunity there is, we need a high take-up of testing. For example, if we want to learn about the safety of schooling, we need teachers and pupils to support the test broadly," Szech said. "For this, an effortless access to testing is key. If this is not possible, we should think about compensating people for taking the time and effort to get tested."
Because the demand for the testing was significantly decreased by modest increases in costs, the study recommends that testing be free to get the highest participation from people across all backgrounds.
"Conducting antibody tests is necessary to get a better understanding of local immunity status," said Szech. "Ideally, the tests should be free of charge and regularly accessible, at least for low-income and high-risk groups as well as for schools and day-care centers if they are open. It is worth it for all of us at this point."


text:
Linear multivariable control: algebraic analysis and synthesis methods
Details the basic theory of polynomial and fractional representation methods for algebraic analysis and synthesis of linear multivariable control systems. It also serves as a self-contained treatise of the mathematical theory so that results and techniques of the ''state space approaches'' for regular and singular systems appear as special cases of a general theory covering the wider class of PMDs of linear systems. Among the topics covered are: real rational vector spaces and rational matrices, pole and zero structure of rational matrices at infinity, proper and omega stable rational fuctions and matrices.
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Polynomial Matrix Models of Linear Multivariable Systems
Pole and Zero Structure of Rational Matrices at Infinity
Dynamics of Polynomial Matrix Models
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biproper rational column degrees column proper column reduced common left divisor Consider Control coprime in Q Corollary defined Definition deg d(s denote Desoer Diophantine equations equivalence relation Euclidean division Example Exercise follows greatest common left holds true homogeneous matrix differential i.e. let IEEE Trans implies initial conditions internally proper invariant invariant polynomials Laplace transform left coprime Lemma let T(s linear systems matrix differential equation matrix pencil McMillan form minimal realization nn(s non-singular obtain oo of T(s PMD A(p pole-zero structure poles polynomial basis polynomial matrix Proof proper rational matrix Proposition Q S-MFDs Q-stable rankR rankR(s)T(s rational functions rational matrix T(s rational vector space reachable Remark right coprime right divisor Rosenbrock row column row proper satisfied Smith form Smith-McMillan form solution stabilizing compensator strict system equivalent strictly proper system equivalence system matrix TGL(s Theorem TL(s TR(s transfer function matrix unimodular matrix vector space zero structure


text:
5.1 The Likely Impacts of High Bandwidth Networks on the Turkish Economy
According to the National Broadband Vision Study of Turkey,*
through fostering broadband development the Turkish economy could gain US$ 4.9-10
billion extra value added each year thereby boosting its economic growth by 0.8-1.7
percentage points. This economic momentum enabled by an enhanced broadband ecosystem
would bring 180,000-380,000 new jobs and provide new income opportunities. This
implies that employment creation in new broadband-related activities would eventually
compensate for job loss due to process optimization and structural displacements.
Through help of a toolkit* the Broadband National Vision Study
reports to find a significant growth impact for the Turkish economy fueled by broadband
enhancing public policies. In the baseline growth scenario Turkish economy would
take off by an annual rate of 5.0 per cent as depicted in Figure 5‑1, and it would reach the US$ 1,216 billion GDP
level by the end of 2023.
Under the broadband enhancing growth scenario in which a set of active government
programs to boost broadband impact are introduced, the economic growth forecast
is much faster, with an additional 2.3 percentage points, reaching to 7.3% on annual
basis. Government policies targeting enhanced broadband infrastructure and ecosystem
will boost economic growth significantly. By 2023 the Turkish economy would have
a GDP at USD 1,652 billion rather than USD 1,216 billion of the baseline scenario.
This is a GDP level 36% greater than the baseline. It may accurately be called the
The broadband effect encompasses two distinctive categories: Industry benefits (measured
as USD 289 billion during 2010-2023) comprising of the overall broadband productivity
impacts within and beyond the ICT industry; and pillar effects (measured as USD
147 billion during 2010-2023) which might directly be associated with broadband
enhancing policies of the government. Since industry benefits are nearly two times
larger than pillar benefits for Turkish economy, broadband enhancing policies should
trigger a multiplier effect within the economy and their indirect impacts could
potentially outpace the direct effects.
The study also analyzes detailed impacts of enhanced broadband polices on different
economic sectors, the so called pillar effects. Pillar effects can be decomposed
into different sectors as follows:
- 7 per cent of total
pillar effects will come from revitalized small/medium business;
- 6 per cent contribution
will arrive from improved government services;
- 4 per cent to come
from the benefits of broadband-enabled education;
16 per cent to come from
a more attractive business environment;
- 67 per cent to come
from other sectors, as well as multi-factor productivity and the benefits of collaboration
across the economy.
Figure 5‑1 Base line and
broadband enhanced growth scenarios, Real GDP2009=100
Analyses indicate forecast benefits from increased ICT adoption by the SME sector
will be large and e-government applications would provide a significant amount of
contribution through cutting costs and improving productivity. Another important
policy area that should be focused is education. The main benefit seems to be improvements
in the general business
environment. Under the broadband enhanced scenario policies to foster the business
environment, 16 % of total pillar effects will come from improvements in the business
framework alone. The largest one is the multiplier effect. Broadband adoption will
bring benefits diffusing beyond the ICT sector through channels of multifactor productivity.
5.2 Factors Contributing to Turkey's Broadband Development
E-government initiatives have been a major driving force for development of the
broadband ecosystem. Turkey has implemented a highly motivated e government program
that created the necessary demand for enterprises in the ICT sector and motivated
citizens for increased Internet usage. In this regard Turkey has demonstrated an
interesting example that countries with relatively lower level of Internet penetration
and usage ratios can exploit e-government programs as a means to ignite development
of the broadband ecosystem.
Ensuring a shared vision among political leaders and technocrats has also been an
important factor in pushing e-government programs. Since the coming of the new national
government into power in 2002, political leaders saw e-government as a central instrument
that would support public reforms and larger changes in the political system. A
central organizational structure was formulated to develop strategies and put public
money into the pipeline for a set of strategically important projects with high
value and a high transaction volume.
The EU candidacy of Turkey and the membership negotiation process has provided a
good opportunity for the country to reform its ICT and broadband legal and regulative
frameworks. This process helped bureaucrats and top-level managers get closer to
European institutions, policies and initiatives, and market developments in these
The high tempo growth of Turkish economy in the last decade is another factor supporting
in the Internet revolution. The new national government has implemented ambitious
market oriented reforms complemented with a proactive foreign policy which resulted
in large sums of overseas capital flowing into the country. Communications, software
and hardware segments of ICT industries have expanded rapidly.
Figure 5‑2 Turkey connectivity
performance by scorecard component, 2010
5.2.1 Lessons learned
The Connectivity Scorecard is a composite index to assess the relative development
level of ICTs (Figure
Turkey was found to have a robust consumer infrastructure due to its high mobile
and PSTN penetration and also the recent progress in broadband networks. It also
scores strong on consumer usage and skills metrics such as frequent Internet usage
and uptake of voice services. According to the Scorecard the country's business
infrastructure is above average, with high penetration of secure Internet servers,
and substantial business investments in ICT. Turkey also impresses on government-related
metrics such as government spending on ICT and provision of government services
However the Scorecard points out that Turkey ranks somewhat poorly in business usage
and skills, where its score is considerably lower than one might expect given the
state of its business infrastructure. Turkey has made considerable progress in developing
a robust ICT infrastructure but its weaker usage and skills scores indicate that
the country is yet to fully realize its benefits. Therefore, it needs to place greater
effort on ensuring the adoption and diffusion of ICTs to leverage competitive power.
Turkey faces a strategic opportunity in terms of broadband infrastructure development.
The majority of the national broadband network is based on slower speed connections
which do not optimally support advanced applications of next generation connectivity
such as e-education, e-health, etc. There are signals suggesting the current broadband
network has become somewhat overloaded.
To enhance a rapid take up of high bandwidth broadband networks the government should
play a more effective and active role. First and foremost is ensuring effective
regulation. The public stake in the incumbent operator should not prevent authorities
from enforcing rules for fostering competition in the broadband market. Secondly,
Turkey should design a complete and integrated broadband strategy for coordinating
various individual pieces in the same direction.
To enable increased ICT and broadband adoption by businesses the government should
exercise greater efforts to design effective programs and incentives. In particular
skill gaps should be identified and adequately addressed with participation of private
The lack of a suitable national accounting framework for more detailed analysis
hinders international benchmarking in most emerging policy areas notably ICTs and
innovation. Turkey should take measures to address this problem and ensure reliable
and timely indicators are developed and made available to the public.


text:
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Home > Closing Gender Gaps
The Women and Public Policy Program of Harvard Kennedy School closes gender gaps in economic opportunity, political participation, health and education by creating knowledge, training leaders and informing public policy and organizational practices.
We look at what policies, organizational structures and leadership techniques help close involuntary gender gaps, those that occur due to constraints rather than choice, either due to explicit barriers (laws or the absence thereof) and/or implicit barriers (stereotypes, biased judgements and discrimination).
Conducting research to provide evidence-based insights and recommendations, we identify small to large scale successful interventions, while examining the impact of closing gender gaps.
Business Case Conference
What is the economic value of gender diversity in organizations, politics and society? To explore this question, WAPPP hosted a two-day conference in October 2010 to explore the economic value of gender diversity in organizations, politics and society.
Oval Office student training
From Harvard Square to the Oval Office is a non-partisan initiative that trains Harvard graduate students to run for all levels of political office.
Closing the Global Gender Gap
Closing the Global Gender Gap Initiative (CGGGI) aims to conduct, foster and support research on closing gender gaps in economic opportunity, political participation, health and education, to identifying ground-breaking, replicable interventions.


The Direct and Ecological Costs of an Ant-Plant Symbiosis
DSpace/Manakin Repository
The Direct and Ecological Costs of an Ant-Plant Symbiosis
Citable link to this page
Title: The Direct and Ecological Costs of an Ant-Plant Symbiosis
Author: Frederickson, Megan E.; Ravenscraft, Alison; Miller, Gabriel; Hernández, Lina M. Arcila; Booth, Gregory; Pierce, Naomi Ellen
Note: Order does not necessarily reflect citation order of authors.
Citation: Frederickson, Megan E., Alison Ravenscraft, Gabirel A. Miller, Lina M. Arcila Hernández, Gregory Booth, and Naomi E. Pierce. 2012. The direct and ecological costs of an ant-plant symbiosis. The American Naturalist 179(6): 768-778.
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Abstract: How strong is selection for cheating in mutualisms? The answer depends on the type and magnitude of the costs of the mutualism. Here we investigated the direct and ecological costs of plant defense by ants in the association between Cordia nodosa, a myrmecophytic plant, and Allomerus octoarticulatus, a phytoecious ant. Cordia nodosa trees produce food and housing to reward ants that protect them against herbivores. For nearly 1 year, we manipulated the presence of A. octoarticulatus ants and most insect herbivores on C. nodosa in a full-factorial experiment. Ants increased plant growth when herbivores were present but decreased plant growth when herbivores were absent, indicating that hosting ants can be costly to plants. However, we did not detect a cost to ant colonies of defending host plants against herbivores. Although this asymmetry in costs suggests that the plants may be under stronger selection than the ants to cheat by withholding investment in their partner, the costs to C. nodosa are probably at least partly ecological, arising because ants tend scale insects on their host plants. We argue that ecological costs should favor resistance or traits other than cheating and thus that neither partner may face much temptation to cheat.
Published Version: doi:10.1086/665654
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text:
Supports de cours :
Présentation générale de cours
The main operating lines for the scientific projects in teams (SPT) module are:
This experimental module deals with the different scientific fields of physics, chemistry, biology or transdisciplinary projects.
This module lasts about thirty half-day sessions for one year (1/3 in the first year and 2/3 in the 2nd year).
The subjects are proposed either by the teachers or by the students themselves. Groups of three students, formed by affinity, choose one of the proposed subjects. Each team is committed to one project throughout the duration of the module.
The SPT take place in specific premises in order to preserve the mounted experiments. Students have access to scientific equipments, to mechanical service and clean room facilities to enable them to carry out their project. A budget is allocated for the purchase of specific operations.
Projects are systematically renewed every year and all projects are different.
You can see the project of the students from the previous years following this link to the Scientific projects in Teams' webpage (in french).
Time reversal and holography with spacetime transformations in water waves.
Wave control is usually performed by spatially engineering the properties of a medium. Because time and space play similar roles in wave propagation, manipulating time boundaries provides a complementary approach. Here, we experimentally demonstrate the relevance of this concept by introducing instantaneous time mirrors. We show with water waves that a sudden change of the effective gravity generates time-reversed waves that refocus at the source. We generalize this concept for all kinds of waves introducing a universal framework which explains the effect of any time disruption on wave propagation. We show that sudden changes of the medium properties generate instant wave sources that emerge instantaneously from the entire space at the time disruption. The time-reversed waves originate from these « Cauchy sources » which are the counterpart of Huygens virtual sources on a time boundary. It allows us to revisit the holographic method and introduce a new approach for wave control. This work is the subject of Vincent Bacot's thesis.
Holographic methods are based on the time-reversal invariance of wave equations. They rely on the fact that any wave field can be completely determined within a volume by knowing the field (and its normal derivative) on any enclosing surface. Hence, information reaching the 2D surface is sufficient to recover all information inside the whole volume. Based on these properties, Denis Gabor introduced the Holographic method, which provides an elegant way to back-propagate a monochromatic wave field and obtain 3D images. More recently, time-reversal mirrors exploited the same principles extended to a broadband spectrum to create time-reversed waves. This latter approach has been implemented with acoustic, elastic, electromagnetic and water waves. It requires the use of emitter-receptor antennas positioned on an arbitrary enclosing surface. The wave is recorded, digitized, stored, time-reversed and rebroadcasted by the antenna array. If the array intercepts the entire forward wave with a good spatial sampling, it generates a perfect backward-propagating copy.
Here, within the general concept of spacetime transformations, we completely revisit the holographic method and introduce a new way to create wideband time-reversed wave fields in 2D or 3D by manipulating time boundaries. It is the dual time equivalent of standard time reversal based on spatial boundaries. We use a sudden modification of the wave propagation properties of the medium to create a time-reversed wave. This time disruption realizes an instantaneous time mirror (ITM) in the entire space without the use of any antenna or memory. The information stored in the whole medium at one instant plays the role of a bank of memories.
In this study, we use gravity-capillary waves to implement the concept of ITM. Because the surface wave celerity depends on the effective gravity, the disruption of the celerity is achieved by applying a vertical jolt to the whole liquid bath. A bath of water is placed on a shaker to control its vertical motion. A plastic tip fixed on another shaker is used to hit the liquid surface and generate a point source of waves at time t=0. The movie shows a typical time sequence of the vertical tip and bath motions used to generate the surface waves and implement the ITM from above and from the side of the bath. A circular wave packet centered on the impact point is emitted as the tip hits the surface. After time 60 ms, a vertical downward jolt is applied to the bath. The bath acceleration reaches approximately -20g in approximately 2 ms. The propagation of the initial outward-propagating wave is not significantly affected by this disruption. However, at the time of the disruption, we observe the apparition of a backward-converging circular wave packet that diverges again upon trespassing the original impact point source.
The above movie shows the evolution of the profile of a wave packet. The wavelength spreading induced by dispersion is clearly visible. The ITM generates a time-reversed wave packet propagating in the opposite direction. The resulting surface profile can be decomposed into the two counter-propagating wave packets. In contrast with standard reflection, the backward wave packet is not spatially reversed. The time-reversed nature of the backward wave allows the wave packet to compensate for dispersion. The fast short wavelengths will catch up with the slow long wavelengths, thus refocusing the wave packet. ITM is a broadband time reversal mirror.
The above movies show two examples of ITM performed on sources with a complex shape of an Eiffel Tower and a Smiley. The ITM disruption occurs long after the wave field has lost any resemblance to its initial shape at the time of emission. The wave refocus back to its initial shape indicates the time reversal nature of the process.
This work is funded by the AXA Research Fund.


LINGUIST List 13.1863
Sun Jul 7 2002
Qs: Voice/Music/Meaning, Morphology
Editor for this issue: Karen Milligan <>
 1. Nicholas Bacuez, sound and meaning through music
 2. Les Zsoldos, morphology
Message 1: sound and meaning through music
Date: Wed, 3 Jul 2002 19:20:36 +0200
From: Nicholas Bacuez <>
Subject: sound and meaning through music
I am presently working on the voice at the opera and the cultural place
of the sung voice in western society: considering the voice at the opera
as a social fact, I'm working on the link between the "sound" and the
"meaning" through music.
Does anyone have some reference(s) or material(s) on the subject of the
cultural approach to the voice.
I thank you for your kind attention.
Nicholas Bacuez
Message 2: morphology
Date: Wed, 03 Jul 2002 17:59:23 +0000
From: Les Zsoldos <>
Subject: morphology
In the textbook 'Contemporary Linguistic Analysis' (Archibald and
O'Grady), the word 'expensive' is analyzed as expense + ive and
expense is categorized as a verb. This follows the phrase structure
rule V + ive = A. I realize we have creative, active, impressive,
restrictive, etc. but in expensive, shouldn't expense be a noun? Is
'expend' a verb in Old English, or is this just a mistake in the
answer key? Can't -ive attach to nouns? Is productive not such an
example, or is productive really produce + t + ive, where t is a part
of the stem? Is responsive respond + ive where d becomes s as a
result of spirantization which is of course weakening/lenition? Any
answers will be greatly appreciated. My main question concerns the
analysis of 'expensive'.
Thank you.


text:
The Mygreatlakes | The Great Lakes Higher Education Corporation at mygreatlakes.org
Education is considered as basic need meaning its essential for everyone to get some to manoeuvre in life. However, education takes most of the financial income since the most institution of privatized education. These deter many from pursuing higher education living with basic or no education. To curb these problems, several organizations offer scholarships and student loans.
Many students take advantage of the loans and complete their education only to find it difficult to pay back. However, the loan institutes have several ways of retrieving their money and helping more students. The Great Lakes is among the best and largest student loan providers and guarantor in the United States. The corporation is a non-profit and is among the four best companies dealing with United states federal students loans. The company later sold the part of the organization that offered loans to a new company Nelnet.
Applying for consolidation at Mygreatlakes
A student with multiple loans and servicers might find it difficult to manage the loan. However, the US education department gave all students with loans to choose a consolidation servicer. The great lakes are one of the renown servicers which students can select.
- Prepare and apply for the consolidation loan; have the application ahead of time. The process takes 30 minutes, and you're done filling personal details.
- Have a repayment plan for your loan; students can check some of the great lakes repayment plans and use some on the application form. Note some plans require student's requirements to help pay for the loan.
- Use the online process for the application process; you should enter the details fast as one session has 30 minutes and cannot be saved if you leave the page.
- Now select the consolidation servicer for the list given by the education department which includes great lakes. Now you can complete the process and wait for the results.
- Students can track their application though the corporation (great lakes) always communicates after one or two business days. one can check the status from the official great lakes website portal _URL_
- The student will receive information on:
- If the application is received
- if the student needs to take any action,
- when the process is complete.
How to help a student pay their mygreatlakes loans?
Parents and the Institution should help the student learn how they can repay their loans once they clear from school. Parents can offer the following tips:
Counselling on completing exit
students are required to take student loan exit counselling; this helps students know everything about the loan payments. They can survey different plans and the options which are there if they cannot pay the loans. Parents can encourage students to complete to know the difference between normal loans and student loans.
- Help student understands the loan is real, and they will pay after they are done with school. They should learn the money comes with interest so they should borrow what they need and not beyond that.
- Teach students who they owe (great lakes) and how much: students should know who they have to pay and how much they should give on every instalment.
- The student should keep all records students are offered a grace period once they graduate. Here they should learn the grace period time not to expire before they plan on how to pay.
- To ease the payment students can sign up for automatic payments, the auto pay is best as they can manage their finances. The great lakes have an automatic payment method which student can implement on the accounts.
- Students can learn the options in case they don't have an income after the grace period. They can postpone the loan data or seek loan forgiveness.


text:
Models of Self-Organizing Bacterial Communities and Comparisons with Experimental Observations
A. Marrocco1, H. Henry2, I. B. Holland3, M. Plapp2, S. J. Séror3 and B. Perthame1,4*
INRIA Paris-Rocquencourt, BANG, BP105, F78153
2 Physique de la Matière Condensée, École Polytechnique, CNRS, F-91128 Palaiseau
3 Institut de Génétique et Microbiologie, CNRS UMR 8621, Univ. Paris-Sud, F-91405 Orsay
4 Univ. Pierre et Marie Curie, Laboratoire J.-L. Lions, CNRS UMR 7598
* Corresponding author. E-mail:
Bacillus subtilis swarms rapidly over the surface of a synthetic medium creating remarkable hyperbranched dendritic communities. Models to reproduce such effects have been proposed under the form of parabolic Partial Differential Equations representing the dynamics of the active cells (both motile and multiplying), the passive cells (non-motile and non-growing) and nutrient concentration. We test the numerical behavior of such models and compare them to relevant experimental data together with a critical analysis of the validity of the models based on recent observations of the swarming bacteria which show that nutrients are not limitating but distinct subpopulations growing at different rates are likely present.
Mathematics Subject Classification: 35K55 / 65M60 / 92C17
Key words: Dendritic patterns / Bacillus subtilis swarming / Reaction-diffusion equations / Cell community growth.
© EDP Sciences, 2010


Scarless Ear surgery
At Ahluwalia hospital, our ear surgery specialists (neurotologists) have years of training and experience in minimally invasive transcanal endoscopic ear surgery. Our surgeons use advanced techniques to treat conditions such as infections, hearing loss, and tumors.
Leading Expertise in Endoscopic Ear Surgery
Transcanal endoscopic ear surgery (TEES) is minimally invasive surgery to operate on tiny, delicate structures within the middle ear. It differs from traditional ear surgery in that surgeons access the middle ear through the ear canal rather than through an incision behind the ear. This causes less pain and results in a faster recovery.
Most middle-ear conditions that we treat with TEES are not life-threatening, but they can greatly affect a person's quality of life. As these conditions progress, they can destroy nearby structures, such as the ear bones, facial nerve, and inner ear. Surgery is often necessary to avoid complications such as hearing loss, facial paralysis, balance problems, or brain infections such as meningitis, which can be life-threatening.
The following are some of the most notable advantages:
 - A wider and more angled view of the delicate structures in the middle ear can be seen through the endoscope.
 - There is no requirement for range, curettage and canalplasty of the outer ear canal.
 - Large incisions would not be required for the procedure like endaural or postauricular incisions.
 - The time required for the operation is must shorter.
 - The cosmetic outcomes of the surgery are much better.
 - The post-operative pain is much less and recovery is also quicker.
 - The deep, hidden structures, like the facial recess, the anterior tympanic perforation and hypotympanum can be seen directly.
 - The monitor that is used during the surgery offers the necessary visual content.
 - The images are clear and have high definition.
 - The views of multiple angles can be obtained at the same time.


Sports Training and Readiness Testing
What is Sports Training and Readiness Testing (START Assessment)?
This assessment is a series of research-based physical measures that assess your general function, used to discover and correct impairments that lead to injury. We will help you determine the next safe steps to take toward wellness that is unique to your body and life journey. Once assessed, you are given a report that shows your overall START score, which establishes a baseline for designing a program to improve your health.
Why should you choose us for Sports Training and Readiness Testing?
Reduce Pain and Improve Mobility
Science-Based Custom Workouts
Get back to Playing Sports
How can MVP Physical Therapy help you recover?
At MVP Physical Therapy, we know that healthy, strong patients recover faster from life's challenges. That's why we've designed treatments and programs to help empower you to make healthier choices, every day. Our experts can evaluate your fitness and create a supervised exercise and nutrition program just for you. We'll show you how to boost your unique metabolism, burn calories, add muscle, and eat better — while having fun doing it.
What benefits does Sports Training and Readiness Testing provide?
Correct Impairments that Lead to Injury
Receive Baseline to Improve Health
Learn to Reduce Risk of Injury
Athlete Approved Assessment and Training
What are patients saying about us?


11-18 The Mandalorian LED wall
[Image above] The television series "The Mandalorian" uses a novel LED wall to create backgrounds for the show, overcoming some of the challenges faced by green-screen compositing. Credit: Insider, YouTube
I am not one of those people who signed up for Disney+ when it launched last year, but I have many friends who did. And based on their social media posts, the biggest takeaway from the new streaming service is Baby Yoda.
Technically, this character from the Star Wars television series "The Mandalorian" is called The Child, but fans quickly nicknamed the creature Baby Yoda because it is the same species as Yoda from the original Star Wars film franchise. (The true name of this species is unknown.)
This month, the popularity of Baby Yoda dropped substantially with the release of season 2 (one does not simply eat the eggs of an endangered species). But another aspect of "The Mandalorian" continues to impress fans—the novel technology used to generate backgrounds in the show.
Chroma key compositing and the drawbacks of green screens
When traveling to location for a film is not possible, producers typically rely on a visual-effects and post-production technique called chroma key compositing to create backgrounds.
Chroma key compositing involves layering two images or video streams together based on color hues. A key color or color range is made transparent, and then it is replaced with content from other film or digital material.
The technique was initially developed in the 1930s using solid blue screens (blue was the key color that would be made transparent). Since the 1990s, however, green screens became more common.
Chroma key compositing is now a well-established technique in the film industry, but there still exists some challenges that come with it. In particular, colored light often reflects off the solid-colored screen and "spills" onto the subject, requiring removal during post-production. The color of the screen also generally cannot be used anywhere else in the shot, which places some limits on set and costume designers. And because of the limitations in rendering computer graphic content, movements of the camera are often restricted to a dolly track or a few preselected shots for which the content, such as lighting, is already prepared.
The cutting-edge background technology used in "The Mandalorian", though, solves all of these problems.
LED screens offer seamless movie backgrounds
Instead of chroma key compositing, "The Mandalorian" relied on an innovative virtual production workflow called ILM StageCraft, or the Volume.
The Volume is a giant LED wall that comprises 1,326 individual LED screens of a 2.84-mm pixel pitch. It is 20 feet tall, 270 degrees around, and 75 feet wide (180 feet in circumference). It includes an LED video ceiling set on top; only the floor of the Volume does not contain LEDs.
Compared to chroma key compositing—and other backor front-screen projection technologies—the Volume allows for a dynamic shooting environment that can automatically adjust to a camera's movement, so the background appears natural in terms of both positioning and lighting. This ability also negates the problem of light "spill" that must be removed during post-production because all reflected light from the screen matches the desired environment. And because no key color is being reserved for removal later, there are no limits on colors for set and costume design.
An American Cinematographer article explains that the idea for the Volume stemmed from work on the Star Wars movie "Rogue One" in 2016. For that movie, a large cylindrical LED wall was built for use in the space battle landings and cockpit sequences. That wall was used purely for lighting purposes, but advances in LED technology since that movie came out allowed for the Volume to leverage new panels and push the envelope on real-time, in-camera visual effects.
Of course, filmmakers have used LED walls on smaller scales for years. But "'The Mandalorian' is the first real demonstration of what's possible using this technology," a TechCrunch article says.
The video below providers a closer look at the LED wall technology, which we'll likely see much more of across the film industry in the near future.
Credit: Insider, YouTube


text: Mesoscale convective system (MCS)-organized convective storms with a size of ~100 km have increased in frequency and intensity in the USA over the past 35 years, causing fatalities and economic losses. However, their poor representation in traditional climate models hampers the understanding of their change in the future. Here, a North American-scale convection-permitting model which is able to realistically simulate MSCs is used to investigate their change by the end-of-century under RCP8.5. A storm-tracking algorithm indicates that intense summertime MCS frequency will more than triple in North America. Furthermore, the combined effect of a 15–40% increase in maximum precipitation rates and a significant spreading of regions impacted by heavy precipitation results in up to 80% increases in the total MCS precipitation volume, focussed in a 40 km radius around the storm centre. These typically neglected increases substantially raise future flood risk. Current investments in long-lived infrastructures, such as flood protection and water management systems, need to take these changes into account to improve climate-adaptation practices.