Public Release:
Scientists grow human esophagus in lab
Tiny organoids enable personalized disease diagnosis, regenerative therapies
Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
IMAGE: This confocal microscopic image shows a two-month-old human esophageal organoid bioengineered by scientists from pluripotent stem cells. About 700 micrometers (0.027 inches) in size, the organoid is stained to visualize... view more
Credit: Cincinnati Children's
The newly published research is the first time scientists have been able to grow human esophageal tissue entirely from pluripotent stem cells (PSCs), which can form any tissue type in the body, according to the authors. Cincinnati Children's scientists and their multi-institutional collaborators already have used PSCs to bioengineer human intestine, stomach, colon and liver.
"Disorders of the esophagus and trachea are prevalent enough in people that organoid models of human esophagus could be greatly beneficial," said Jim Wells, PhD, chief scientific officer at CuSTOM and study lead investigator. "In addition to being a new model to study birth defects like esophageal atresia, the organoids can be used to study diseases like eosinophilic esophagitis and Barrett's metaplasia, or to bioengineer genetically matched esophageal tissue for individual patients."
The study involves collaboration from researchers in the divisions of Developmental Biology, Oncology, Allergy and Immunology, and Endocrinology at Cincinnati Children's and the Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco. This includes study first author Stephen Trisno, a graduate student and member of the Wells laboratory.
The Food Channel
The esophagus is a muscular tube that actively passes food from the mouth to the stomach. The organ can be affected by congenital diseases, such as esophageal atresia--a narrowing or malformation of the esophagus caused by genetic mutations.
Additionally, there are several diseases that can afflict people later in life. Some include esophageal cancer, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), or a rare ailment called achalasia--a disease affecting the muscles of the lower esophagus that prevents contraction of the organ and the passage of food.
All of the conditions need better treatments, researchers note. This requires a more precise understanding of the genetic and biochemical mechanisms behind their cause--a need filled by the ability to generate and study robust, functional, genetically matched models of human esophageal tissue that can be grown from a person's own cells.
Tracing Nature's Path
The scientists based their new method for using human PSCs to general esophageal organoids on precisely timed, step-by-step manipulations of genetic and biochemical signals that pattern and form embryonic endoderm and foregut tissues. They focused in part on the gene Sox2 and its associated protein--which are already known to trigger esophageal conditions when their function is disrupted. --The scientists used mice, frogs and human tissue cultures to identify other genes and molecular pathways regulated by Sox2 during esophagus formation.
In another test to help confirm the importance of Sox2 expression on esophageal formation, researchers studied the complete loss of Sox2 during the development process in mice. The absence of Sox2 resulted in esophageal agenesis--a condition in which the esophagus terminates in a pouch and does not connect to the stomach.
After successfully generating fully formed human esophageal organoids--which grew to a length of about 300-800 micrometers in about two months--the bioengineered tissues were compared biochemically to esophageal tissues from patient biopsies. Those tests showed the bioengineered and biopsies tissues were strikingly similar in composition, according to the authors.
The research team is continuing its studies into the bioengineering process for esophageal organoids and identifying future projects to advance the technology's eventual therapeutic potential, according to Wells. This includes using the organoids to examine the progression of specific diseases and congenital defects affecting the esophagus.
About Cincinnati Children's
Cincinnati Children's ranks second in the nation among all Honor Roll hospitals in U.S. News and World Report's 2018-2019 Best Children's Hospitals ranking. In addition, Cincinnati Children's ranks first in the pediatric specialties of cancer and gastroenterology/GI surgery care, and among the top five pediatric hospitals in nine of 10 specialties. Founded in 1883, Cincinnati Children's vision is to be the leader in improving child health, through patient care, research and education.


Zylkene for Small Dogs & Cats (10 x 75mg Capsules)
 - Sale
 - Regular price £7.48
Zylkène is a natural product derived from milk proteins that has been proven to help your cat or dog cope in times of stress and adapt to change. Can be used for short periods or continuously if needed. it is a food supplement made from a protein found in milk (the same molecule that helps babies relax after a milk feed). the active ingredient is a peptide (a protein molecule) which is able to bind temporarily to certain receptors in the brain. This has a calming influence similar in some ways to tranquillizer drugs but without the side effects associated such as sedation or memory loss. It has been clinically proven to be effective in dogs and cats.it can be used for environmental changes (e.g. New pet new baby or house moves) multi-animal households, cattery or kennel stays, fireworks, home alone or travel anxieties.


How to Negotiate a Car Lease [Understanding the Terminology]
Leasing a car can be an excellent option for some people, but it's important you understand the language, terms and other details about it before jumping into it.
A car lease is very similar to renting it. You use it for a certain amount of time or miles, and you pay the car company for the time you have the car. At no point do you own the vehicle.
The difference between renting and leasing is that with leasing you are only paying for the depreciation cost of the car, rather than a percentage of the actual car.
All dealers have set terms that are used in the lease. But what terms are flexible? What affects the price of your lease? And, how can you negotiate to get a better deal?
Dealers might use fancy terms to try and confuse you, but don't let that scare you.
We are here to help you be well-informed about how to negotiate a car lease.
Understanding the Terminology
couple talking to car salesman
One of the most important things when thinking about leasing a car is to understand all of the terms.
Some of the language might seem confusing and could be misleading if you do not fully understand it.
We've broken down 11 common terms that might be thrown around that you should fully understand before agreeing to anything.
1. Gross Capitalized Cost
This is the cost of the vehicle you will be leasing, think of it as the selling cost or the sticker cost of the car.
This price is used to help calculate your monthly payments for your new leased car.
Make sure to compare the gross capital cost number to the MSRP (Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price) of the vehicle you are looking to lease.
If the gross capital cost number is lower than the MSRP number you are most likely getting a good deal.
2. Cap Cost Reduction
The cap cost reduction refers to anything that brings down the price for the capital cost. Say you have another car you want to trade-in
3. Net Capitalized Cost
The net capital cost is the gross capital cost minus any discounts the dealer offers and any cash you put towards a downpayment.
4. Residual Value
The amount your car will be worth at the end of your lease. This is an estimated professional guess.
5. Rent Charge
First of all, the rent charge has nothing to do with renting.
This is just a fancy way of saying the total amount of money you will owe towards your leased vehicle. This can also be referred to as a finance fee or money factor.
The rent charge is determined after a money factor is calculated. You can think of the money factor as an interest rate that is dictated by your credit score. The higher your credit score, the lower your money factor will be.
Rent Charge = (Net Cap Cost + Residual) X Money Factor
6. Acquisition Fee
An acquisition fee is basically just an additional administrative fee covering the costs to create the lease. This does not include registration or taxes due on a new vehicle.
7. Closed-end Lease
A closed-end lease allows the lessee to buy out the vehicle at the end of the lease term. The value of the buyout is determined at the beginning of the lease, so there are no surprise costs at the end of the lease term.
8. Buyout Price
This is the amount you will pay at the end of your lease term if you decide you want to buy the car.
9. Purchase Option Fee
This would be the processing fee if you decided to buy the car at the end of the lease term that is tacked on to the final bill.
10. Disposition Fee
This is a fee for the dealer to prep the car for resale if you don't want to buy the car at the end of the lease.
There could also be an additional fee if you go over the mileage or there are damages on the interior or exterior of the car that need to be fixed before it can be put back on the market.
11. Due at Signing
This is the total amount of money you will be paying for your car lease. Typically, this includes your down payment, first month payment and, if required, a security deposit.
Know What the Car is Worth
Now that you are familiar with the terms, you need to know how to negotiate the best deal on your lease.
Just like when you go in to buy a car, you shouldn't pay the sticker price.
The price of the car is negotiable.
Do your research and find out what the price of the car is, or what it should be. You should never pay more than the average price for the car. You can find out the average price of your car at Kelly Blue Book.
Choose a car that is on the lot. Dealers are typically more willing to give you a good deal on a car to get it off of the lot than on one they will have to order.
What is the Best Deal?
When you are looking for the best lease deal, you need to know what you are looking for and just because the deal seems good doesn't mean it is the best car.
A good, reliable car is the most important factor.
Be open to different car models and years. You may find better deals on cars that were not necessarily the car you originally had in mind.
It's also important to consider a car that has a high residual value.
Know What is Negotiable
Understanding what is negotiable is also crucial before going in to chat about a car lease. There are several things that can be negotiated to help you get the best deal.
Interest Rate
The interest rate, also called "the money factor" and is negotiable to an extent.
The interest rate is what determines the cost of your monthly finance fee.
Also, remember that the better your credit score is, the lower your interest rate will be. Focus on finding ways to increase your credit score before you go in to negotiate a car lease.
Related: How To Build Credit (For Complete Newbies)
Lease Deals and Price Reductions
You can reduce your car price (also called capitalized, or cap cost) upfront by doing these few things.
Do you have a car you can trade in? This will help reduce the cost of the car. Try to get the highest price you can when you trade-in the car.
If you are unsure of what you should get for your trade-in, you can look it up at Edmunds.
If you don't feel like you are getting a good offer for your trade-in, you may want to consider selling it yourself and putting the cash down as a down payment on your lease, which will also help reduce the cap cost of a leased vehicle.
Dealer Offers
Shop around at different dealers and see if they have any special offers that will reduce the price of the car.
Let the dealers know you are doing so and this might entice them to give you their best price just to lock in your business.
Lease Deals
Manufacturers will often offer Lease Deals that will lower payments all around.
Lease deals tend to only benefit individuals with high credit scores, making it even more important to focus on keeping a high credit score before you consider leasing a vehicle.
You can typically find lease deals in November and December for the year-end closeouts and then again in May and June when the dealerships are competing for business.
Note, all lease deals are subjective by location.
Best Price Program
Check out US News Best Price Program for the best price in your area. They help you find the best deals and lowest cap cost on vehicles near you.
Simply plug in the make and model of the car along with your zip code and you can see what is available.
Estimated Expected Mileage
Understand how many miles you realistically put on a vehicle each month. If you currently own a car, start to track your monthly mileage and then calculate out your yearly mileage usage. Make sure to give yourself a buffer.
Going over your mile limit can be very costly on a lease.
It's typical for a lease agreement to have a per-mile cost of 15 to 25 cents for every mile that you go over the cap. If you need to increase your mileage cap, negotiate this in the beginning.
If you can't get a lease that will accommodate the number of miles you intend to drive the car, then leasing may not be the right option for you.
You may want to consider buying a car instead.
Lower Buyout
If you think you may want to buy your car at the end of the lease, try to negotiate that price now. You won't be able to negotiate that after the fact.
Even if you don't think you will wind up buying the car, at least have a good option to consider when the time comes.
Add Ons
Add-ons can be sneaky. Make sure you are fully aware of what add-ons will be tacked on to a lease. Add-ons may include things like warranties, paint protection and key protection.
Regular Maintenance
Know before you sign the lease whether regular service visits are included in the lease or if you have to pay for those out of pocket.
This is determined by the dealer and can also be a costly add-on if you are expected to pay for it.
Understand What isn't Negotiable
It's important to understand what you can't negotiate so you focus on trying to reduce the price on things that are negotiable.
Most of the fees below are set and it isn't worth your time even trying to negotiate. Some of these fees aren't even set by the dealership so they will not be able to assist in any reduction.
Residual Value
The residual value, one of the biggest factors to determine the cost of your lease and is non-negotiable. These values are determined by organizations like Auto Lease Guide and are dictated by


Non-financial determinants of retirement: A Literature Review
F.A.M. van Erp, Niels Vermeer, D. Vuuren
Research output: Contribution to journalBook/Film/Article reviewOther research output
8 Citations (Scopus)
Retirement is often concentrated at specific ages-in particular the 'normal retirement age' and an 'early retirement age'. Financial incentives cannot fully explain this. Moreover, the participation effect of a higher normal retirement age importantly exceeds the encompassing income effect. Based on a literature survey, we conclude that social norms, default options, and reference-dependent utility are likely explanations for the individual propensity to retire at specific retirement ages. Further empirical research on non-financial determinants of retirement is needed to fully understand individual retirement behavior.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)167-191
JournalDe Economist
Issue number2
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2014
Fingerprint Dive into the research topics of 'Non-financial determinants of retirement: A Literature Review'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
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text:
Why is it that when i drop my phone from about 4 feet onto a pillow, and plot the magnitude of the user acceleration i get peak values of 1.5g then 1g then 2.5g then 1g then 2.5g then 0g in a 1 second time frame in free fall with 10 samples. Ideally it should be accelerating at a constant rate downwards due to gravity minus the air resistance, so why does the acceleration go up and down while in free fall? What is causing this noise?
|show 4 more comments|
The most important concept to understand before reading my post is that acceleration relative to the ground (not accelerometer reading) due to gravity will always be 1.0g. However, this acceleration can be diminished/enhanced by external factors such as air resistance, stopping force, applied force, etc.
It is important to recognize the difference between actual acceleration and the accelerometer reading before noticing the variation between my answer and the others. I have answered your question in terms of acceleration because your graph does not seem to reflect raw accelerometer readings, but rather acceleration relative to the ground. To clarify:
Here is a probable situation for each acceleration WRT ground that you posted:
1.5g: When dropping the iPhone, you probably accidentally applied a small force of ~0.5g, causing an acceleration of 1.5g (1.0g due to gravity + 0.5g applied).
1.0g: Once it is in actual free fall, it reads ~1.0g (acceleration due to gravity). This is the acceleration it should hypothetically be reading the entire time it is in free fall, neglecting air resistance.
2.5g: When it hits the pillow, it has an upwards acceleration of ~2.5g because it is stopping after having gained speed from gravity.
0.0g: After it has stopped, it has 0.0g of acceleration because it isn't accelerating. Acceleration due to gravity has been neutralized by the normal forced exerted by pillow.
|show 3 more comments|
The accelerometer is measuring force with respect to the iPhone case. When sitting still on the table, gravity is forcing the accelerometer chip into the bottom of the iPhone case with a force of 1G. When in free fall, both the accelerometer chip and the iPhone case will undergo the same downward force due to gravity of 1G. But then since, in free fall, both the chip and the case will be accelerating downward at the identical rate, there is no force of the chip against the iPhone case, they'll both be falling together, so you get a reading very close to zero G.
So 1 G while you hold it still up in the air. 0 Gs in free fall. Many G's during the deepest contact part of the bounce. 0 Gs during the up in the air part of the bounce rebound. Many G's during the next contact with the pillow, etc. Back to 1 G when sitting still on the pillow.
This is a slight simplification, as the measurement is actually of one part of the chip against another, but the argument still works, but more on a nano-scale.
Einstein discovered something obvious (but hidden in plain sight). That is: what we experience as gravity is actually acceleration. When on the ground, and not moving, we are actually accelerating upward at 1G (one earth gravity). So the earth is actually expanding outward from the center.
Now a funny thing happens with matter (or a large mass like the Earth): space and time around the mass actually collapses at the exact same rate as the expansion. That's why clocks run faster when you move away from the center of the earth or off the Earth's surface. This has been verified in countless experiments and must be taken into consideration in order for GPS satellites to function correctly (for example).
Now a true accelerometer will always measure 1G on the ground. When you released it, the accelerometer goes into "free fall" which means it is now moving at a constant velocity (not accelerating)and thus reads: 0G. Instead of the accelerometer accelerating, the ground accelerates up to meet the falling object because the ground has accelerated upward during the one second of weightless free-fall experienced by the accelerometer. The instantaneous acceleration when striking the pillow is therefore much higher than 1G. Using the pillow as a spring to gently introduce the new instantaneous velocity of the earth to the momentarily weightless accelerometer was a good idea.
Instantaneous acceleration to any instrument is very destructive... and iPhones very expensive.
Is the phone spinning? Air resistance will vary depending on the "profile" presented in the direction of acceleration (down), which means acceleration will vary. The 0g sample is either a spot where the location of the sensor in the phone happened to be rotating/spinning downwards at the same rate as gravity, and/or the phone hit terminal velocity (not likely on a 4' fall).
Normally, when the phone is sitting on the table, the acceleration is 1G. In a free-fall the acceleration is 0G. I've never played with the iPhone accelerometer to know whether the support logic "fakes" 0G when stationary and "fakes" 1G when falling, but if it does it would inevitably be imperfect.
What you should see (from an un-fudged accelerometer) in a free-fall is starting at 1G, decreasing rapidly to 0G while falling, increasing rapidly to several Gs when it hits the "ground", then returning to 1G after rebounding stops, perhaps after several cycles up and down.
|show 6 more comments|

source: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb-edu


text:
The Text World Theory Special Collection is housed in Western Bank Library at the University of Sheffield, UK. It is an archive of publications, research resources, and rare unpublished materials relating to the text-world approach to discourse, collected by Professor Joanna Gavins over a fifteen year period.
The History of the Collection
Professor Gavins began putting the collection together in the late 1990s, at a time when resources on Text World Theory were scarce and often difficult to access. During her Doctoral studies, she collected as many publications as possible by the creator of the text-world framework, Professor Paul Werth, dating back to the earliest days of his academic career. Professor Gavins also received numerous donations from Professor Werth's former colleagues and students, including teaching materials, draft manuscripts, and personal memorabilia. The Text World Theory Special Collection continued to grow in this way over the next decade and a half and was eventually deposited in Western Bank Library by Professor Gavins in 2011.
The collection today includes hard copies of a range of journal articles on text-worlds, many of them from rare or discontinued publications; several draft manuscripts of Professor Werth's 1999 monograph, Text Worlds: Representing Conceptual Space in Discourse, including the earliest full version of this text known to be in existence; copies of Professor Werth's lecture notes from his time teaching at the University of Amsterdam during the 1980s and 1990s; a large collection of PhD theses on text-worlds; as well as a variety of key monographs and other major works on Text World Theory published over a period of more than twenty years.
The dramatic improvement in online research facilities over recent years has resulted in much easier access for researchers to key work and information on text-worlds. The range of research on Text World Theory now available on the internet extends far beyond the boundaries of the Text World Theory Special Collection. However, the collection has preserved a wide range of important materials which would otherwise have been lost, and many of which still only exist in hard-copy form in this archive.
Visiting the Collection
The Text World Theory Special Collection is open to all researchers and students interested in the text-world approach to discourse and visits can be arranged by contacting the Special Collections department at the University of Sheffield.
A complete index of all the items contained in the collection is available in the form of an Excel spreadsheet here. The index includes basic bibliographical information, along with keywords and an abstract for each item. Grateful thanks are extended to Aleksandra Vulić, who compiled the index while visiting the University of Sheffield on a student research placement from University College Roosevelt, the Netherlands, in 2017.

source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


English subtitles
← Update Solution - Intro to Computer Science
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Showing Revision 6 created 07/06/2017 by Dejan Trajkovic.
 1. So update's going to be pretty similar to look
 2. up. So let's start by copying that code and
 3. seeing how we need to change it. So we
 4. have lookup. We're going to change it to be update.
 5. Now instead of taking a key as its input, it's going to take a key and a value.
 6. But it's not going to return anything, so we're going to get rid
 7. of the returns. Right. remember all update is doing is modifying the
 8. value of entry. So now we still have what we had for
 9. lookup, we're still getting the bucket and we want to do that.
 10. We want to make sure that we update the value in the
 11. right bucket. We still need to look through the entries in the
 12. bucket, to find if one matches. If we find one that matches,
 13. well what we did in lookup, was just return it. And update,
 14. what we want to do is change the value associated with
 15. that key. So we are going to have an assignment that replaces
 16. whatever value is there before with a new value. And now
 17. instead of returning the value, we want to stop going through the
 18. loop, and we actually are done with update, so we can
 19. return here. We found the entry, we updated the value. We
 20. also need to deal with a case where we didn't find
 21. the entry. So now we've gone through the loop enough times.
 22. When it was a look-up we just returned none. When it's
 23. an update what we want to do when the key is not
 24. already in the table, is add it. So now we're going
 25. to use, append, to add a new entry to bucket, that has
 26. the key and the value. So that's how we defined update.
 27. There's certainly lots of other ways to do it, and one
 28. thing you should be thinking about is, well this is actually
 29. very similar to look up, right. We duplicated a lot of code.
 30. Maybe there's a way to define update and lookup so
 31. we don't have to have two copies of the code,
 32. that scans through the bucket to find the right entry.
 33. We'll leave that as a homework question for this unit.
 34. For now we're going to be happy that we've got correct
 35. implementations of both lookup and update. And, let's test them.
 36. So, what we did before, we're going to replace the adds
 37. with updates, and now, the second time, what happened with
 38. the add was we added an entry, but we could
 39. never reach that entry because it had the same keyword.
 40. Now we're used update, the second time we should be
 41. updating that value, and we'll see that the lookup now produces
 42. the value 27, for the second lookup. That's good, right,
 43. the first time the value was 23. We did the update,
 44. we got 27, and we can see that the bucket
 45. only contains one entry. So this is great, we finished our
 46. implementation of the hash table. We can do updates that will
 47. either add new values to the hash table, if they don't
 48. already exist, or change the value of ones that exist. And
 49. we can do lookups and lookup will know where to look, which
 50. bucket to look in to find that key, if it exists.
 51. So this has the great property that as the number of keys
 52. increase. As long as we increase the numbers of buckets accordingly,
 53. the time to do both an update and a lookup is constant.
 54. This means the time doesn't increase even as the number of keywords increases,
 55. as long as we increase the number of buckets. So, this size of
 56. each bucket stays the same size, because the expensive cost of this is
 57. going through the elements in the bucket looking for the key that matches.


text:
Dr. Jim Browning
A magnetron is a vacuum device that uses the interaction of electrons and an electric field to generate microwaves. Magnetrons are often used for radar systems. Current magnetrons create electrons by heating a tungsten wire to the point that it emits electrons. These systems waste large amounts of energy and are difficult to control. A shielded cold cathode magnetron is a new magnetron design that has the potential to greatly improve the magnetron's efficiency. These new magnetrons utilize arrays of gated field emitters to inject the electrons into the electric field. These field emitters must be protected from electron bombardment inside of the cavity, so a ceramic structure is incorporated into the design. The field emitter structure consists of emitter tips paired with gates; the electron motion is controlled by a pusher electrode. These emitter gate pair arrays can be individually addressed, thereby allowing control of electron injection. The ceramic structure is fabricated using a Low Temperature Co-Fired Ceramic and thick film metal electrodes. This structure is designed to shield the emitters from back bombardment by electrons and ions. Performance can be measured using segmented collectors and energy analyzers. The results from the design, fabrication, and testing of a shielded cold cathode test structure will be presented.


text:
Maine takes domestic violence extremely seriously. As a result, sentencing can be especially harsh. Nonetheless, as with any crime, the State must prove the elements of the offense beyond all reasonable doubt to get a conviction.
William H. Ashe, a respected criminal defense attorney in Maine, will argue a strong case on your behalf, casting doubt on guilt. Provided below is an overview of what must be proved in domestic violence cases in Maine and what defense may be employed. Remember, each case is different according to the facts and circumstances. If you have additional questions or want to start building a strong defense today, contact the Law Offices of William H. Ashe to learn more about his approach to criminal defense and how he may help you in your specific case.
What are the elements of domestic violence assault in Maine?
In Maine, anyone charged with assault can also have the added element of domestic violence when the alleged victims qualify as a family or household member. Assault, according to Title 17-A §207, occurs when a person:
- intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly
- causes bodily injury or offensive physical contact
- to another person.
A bruise or other visible signs of an assault are not necessary for the commission of the crime. If a person shoves or bumps into another person offensively can satisfy the elements required of assault. To be a domestic violence assault, the alleged offender must have committed that assault, according to 17-A §207A, against a family or household member.
Title 19-A §4002(4) defines family or household members as:
- current or former spouses or domestic partners
- current or former roommates
- current or former intimate partners or persons who engage(d) in a sexual relationship
- biological parents of a child
- Minor children of a household member when the alleged offender is an adult household member
- adult household members related by blood or marriage.
What are the penalties in Maine of a domestic violence conviction?
Penalties in Maine are based on the offense and its classification as a misdemeanor or felony. There are also other consequences to a domestic violence penalty that often apply regardless of the classification of the offense.
Misdemeanor Domestic Violence Sentencing
Domestic violence assault is typically a Class D misdemeanor. Penalties for this crime classification include:
- a fine up to $2,000
- a jail sentence up to one year
- probation up to two years (17-A §1201)
- participation in a 48-week Batterers Intervention education program (17-A §1204).
Felony Domestic Violence Sentencing
Domestic violence assault is enhanced to a Class C felony when the alleged offender has a prior conviction within the last ten years – according to 17-A §9-A. The convictions that qualify as an enhancer include any of the following:
- Domestic violence assault 17-A §207-A
- Domestic violence criminal threatening 17-A §209-A.
- Domestic violence terrorizing, 17-A §210-B.
- Domestic violence stalking, 17-A §210-C.
- Domestic violence reckless conduct, 17-A §211-A.
- Violating a Protection from Abuse order 19-A § 4011.
If an alleged offender was convicted of similar charges in another state, then that would count also as a prior conviction.
Domestic violence assault can be charged as a Class C felony when the alleged offender violated conditions of release per 15 §1092 1(B). In this scenario, the defendant is on bail for domestic violence and violated the condition of bail by either (1) contacting the alleged victim; or (2) possessing a firearm.
A Class C felony conviction can result in the following penalties:
- a fine up to $5,000
- a prison sentence up to five years
- probation up to two years
Other Consequences to a Domestic Violence Conviction
There are other consequences of a domestic violence assault conviction. Important consequences that can be life-changing include the following:
- You can face problems with child custody if you currently have shared custody or want to pursue custody.
- Anyone convicted of domestic violence (misdemeanor or felony) in Maine is prohibited from ever possessing firearms or ammunition for the rest of his or her life. A violation can result in a federal crime.
- If you were convicted of felony domestic violence, you can lose your right to vote.
- If you were convicted of felony domestic violence, you may face particular difficulty finding employment or good housing.
There are many other collateral consequences of a conviction just by the mere existence of a criminal record. These consequences are worth considering as reason to fight a charge of domestic violence assault in Maine.
Are there defenses in Maine to a domestic violence assault case?
You should never plead guilty at an arraignment because that denies you your right to fight the criminal charges against you. In domestic violence cases, there are defenses that may apply in your specific case. These defenses include:
- Self-Defense. If you were defending yourself against another person's use of physical force, you have a defense in Maine. When self-defense is raised, the prosecutor will have to prove that your conduct was not self-defense.
- Witness Credibility. Was the alleged victim motivated to lie about the domestic violence? For example, is there a custody case pending or did the alleged offender and victim recently breakup? Given the close relationships those involved in domestic violence share, there are often reasons an alleged victim will lie or create a story, and if his or her credibility is questioned, that casts doubt on the alleged domestic violence.
- Factual Dispute. In these cases, it is often one person's word against another person's word. Who really struct who first? Was the physical force intentional or incidental to another activity? Guilt can boil down to the small details of these types of cases.
Even when there isn't a specific defense, a good attorney will develop a strong defense strategy to help you get the best outcome possible in your case.
Contact an Aggressive, Smart Domestic Violence Defense Attorney in Maine Today
Domestic violence charges are deeply personal and emotional. Getting aggressive yet compassionate legal representation can be fundamental to fighting the charges without undue stress. William H. Ashe, a reputable criminal defense lawyer in Maine, will provide a strong and thoughtful defense. Contact his law office online or at _PHONE_ to schedule a consultation and to learn more about how he can help you fight domestic violence charges.


Asphalt Intermediate Course refers to an aggregate, sand, and asphalt cement mixture used as the intermediate, leveling, or scratch course placed in a lift between the asphalt/stone base and the surface course. Intermediate course is most commonly used in a roadway application, but is also used in driveways, parking lots, and sidewalks.
Asphalt intermediate course mixture typically includes smaller aggregate sizes than Base Courses of asphalt, but larger than surface courses. The most common aggregate composition for asphalt surface course meets the following gradations for amount of crushed limestone material passing through different size sieves:
100% passing 3/8″ sieve
90-100% passing 4.75mm sieve
65-100% passing 2.36mm sieve
40-85% passing 1.18mm sieve
20-60% passing 600micrometer sieve
7-40% passing 300micrometer sieve
0-20% passing 150micrometer sieve
0-10% passing 75 micrometer sieve.
Intermediate Course on top of Base Course
The equipment required when placing Asphalt Intermediate Course will be an asphalt paving machine (or road widener paving machine for widening or trench repair) and 1-3 tandem rollers. The crew required will be 6-7 workers composed of the following: 3 operators for paver (one on top and 2 down low), 2 operators for rollers, and 1-2 laborers for hand raking and finish work.
Asphalt Intermediate Course can be done without a paving machine for smaller areas such as drives or small parking lots, but the production will reduce dramatically as the material will require hand or small equipment placement. Hand placement should be minimized (vs paver placement) if possible as it can lead to a rougher surface texture, segregation of the aggregate, and lessened compaction density. For wide open mainline roads with minimal traffic, peak productivity can be achieved. For widened sections, drives, and parking lots with twists, islands, turns, bumpouts, intersections, etc, productivity can be dramatically reduced as these areas require considerable handwork and starting/stopping/slowing of the paver.
A critical part of the road section assembly, asphalt intermediate course serves as the leveling, binding, or 'scratch' course prior to the placement of the surface course lift and requires a level, true longitudinal placement and often has a transverse cross slope from the crown of the road to the shoulder. For these reasons it will require a fair degree of horizontal, vertical, and aesthetic accuracy in preparation for the surface course. Bumps, low spots, and high spots can be somewhat compensated for in the surface course but the fewer imperfections there are in the intermediate, the easier the surface course can be placed with accuracy. Most engineers and localities will permit minimal amount of (commonly 0-35% of dry weight) RAP (Recycled Asphalt Product) in the mixture. RAP is considered not to perform and bind the mixture together as efficiently as new fresh asphalt binder.


Graph Labelings and Continuous Factors of Dynamical Systems
Stephen M. Shea
A labeling of a graph is a function from the vertex set of the graph to some finite set. Certain dynamical systems (such as topological Markov shifts) can be defined by directed graphs. In these instances, a labeling of the graph defines a continuous, shift-commuting factor of the dynamical system. We find sufficient conditions on the labeling to imply classification results for the factor dynamical system. We define the topological entropy of a (directed or undirected) graph and its labelings in a way that is analogous to the definition of topological entropy for a shift space in symbolic dynamics. We show, for example, if $G$ is a perfect graph, all proper $\chi(G)$-colorings of $G$ have the same entropy, where $\chi(G)$ is the chromatic number of $G$.
distinguishing labeling; entropy; finitary isomorphism; graph coloring; graph entropy; topological entropy
Full Text: PDF


Variance in Weapons by Country
The Country Similarity Index attempts to quantify how similar countries are to each other relative to other countries. The index is a statistically-based way to measure this. 20% of the index is based on technology. 10% of a country's technology score (2% of the overall Country Similarity Index score) is allocated for the country's weapons and military infrastructure. The following are the aspects that were included in the calculation:
Firearms per Capita
The United States has by far the most guns per capita of any country, more than twice the amount of the next highest country. After the United States, European countries tend to have the most, however Yemen, Uruguay, and Canada also have high numbers. East Asian countries tend to have the lowest amount of guns per capita.
The Small Arms Survey is the main source of the data:
Countries were grouped into the following categories by firearms per 100 people:
0-7.5, 7.5-15, 15-30, 30-60, 60-120
Origin of battle tanks and standard assault riffles
Many smaller countries import their weapons from other countries, since there may not be a reliable manufacturer in the country. Larger countries tend to manufacture their own weapons. The main suppliers of battle tanks are Russia and the United States. Germany is another major supplier. As for assault weapons, Russian-made weapons, especially the AK-47, are prevalent throughout Africa, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia.
The Reddit and Wikipedia are main sources of the data:
Military Spending per Capita
Many countries in the Middle East tend to spend a lot of money on the military, due to ongoing conflict there. The United States, Australia, Norway, and Singapore also spend a lot. They all spend more than $1,000 per person every year. In general, wealthier countries spend more per capita. Most countries spend less than $100 per person ever year. Some countries like Iceland and Costa Rica do not even have a standing army.
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute is the main source of the data:
Countries were categorized by the amount of money spent on the military per year per capita:
$0-125, $125-250, $250-500, $_PHONE_, $_PHONE_
Military Sophistication
Combat can be fought in the air, on the ground, or at sea. Most countries have battle tanks to aid their army. Having an air force is also quite common. Navies are less common than armies and air forces, since it can be dependent on the country's geography. Very few landlocked countries have navies. Only a select few countries have nuclear weapons as well.
The Wikipedia is the main source of the data:
Countries were categorized by the types of military equipment they possess, including:
Battle Tanks, Fighter Aircraft, Naval Battleships, Nuclear Weapons
Police Officers per Capita
Brunei and Mauritius are two of the countries with the most police per capita. In contrast, many African countries have a low amount of police per capita. The global average is around 400 police officers per 100,000 people.
Wikipedia is the main source of the data:
Countries were categorized by the number of police officers they have per 100,000 people:
0-200, 200-400, 400-600, 600-800, _PHONE_
Obviously there is no one clear way to determine how similar one country is to another. How would you quantify how similar one country is to another?
Please leave any thoughts in the comments section.
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For the month of April, please visit the following East Asian historical archives databases. The Library is considering them through a collaboration with several Vermont colleges:
India Raj and Empire
Original manuscript material ranging from the foundation of the East India Company in 1615 to records of daily life in Agra, Bombay, Lahore, and Madras. Included are diaries, letters, maps, sketches and official and private papers. The collection is particularly strong for the 18th and 19th centuries.
Foreign Office Files for India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, _PHONE_
Three archival collections drawn from the British Foreign Office files on the countries of South Asia from shortly before Indian partition and independence up to 1980. The archival documents are divided into the following sections: (1) Independence, Partition and the Nehru Era, _PHONE_, (2) South Asian Conflicts and Independence for Bangladesh, _PHONE_ (3) Afghanistan and the Cold War, Emergency Rule in India, and the Resumption of Civilian Rule in Pakistan, _PHONE_.
Empire Online is an interactive digital collection exploring colonial history, politics, culture and society. The archive is designed specifically to encourage the use of primary sources in teaching and includes 1000s of images of unique primary material including maps, manuscripts, pamphlets, paintings, drawings and rare books spanning five centuries from a translation of Columbus's 1492 voyage to the 21st century.
Although these three collections are available separately, they can be searched as a group using Archive Explorer.
These trials can also be found on the New & Trial Resources page (go/trials).
Please send comments to Rebekah Irwin (_EMAIL_) or your library liaison.


Bracket Racing Weather: Dial in to Win
Bracket Racing Weather: Dial in to Win
Think the weather conditions at the track are the same as the information you are getting at the trailer? Think again.
Weather affects your performance. Period. If you are not using something to measure the weather conditions, then you are missing a piece of valuable information that can help you win races. Environmental conditions such as relative humidity, density altitude, dew point, and wind speed all influence your car. By monitoring these conditions and analyzing how weather patterns from previous races change your car's performance, you can make more informed dial-in and tuning decisions. Since Kestrel Weather Meters are portable and accurate, it enables you to monitor the weather conditions that concern you right at the track, not at the trailer miles away.
Why is it important to know the weather conditions, and how can the Kestrel 5100 help me win races?
Even slight fluctuations in weather conditions like temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, and density altitude can affect your car's performance. The Kestrel 5100 Racing Weather Meter provides quick, accurate information to help you decide what changes need to be made, before even making a lap around the track or a pass down the drag strip. Portable and easy-to-use, The Kestrel 5100 gives racers and pit crews relevant data to gain that competitive edge at a fraction of the cost of other systems currently on the market.
The Kestrel 5100 features the best portable sensors available, assuring that it's dead-on accurate. Each unit is individually calibrated before it leaves our manufacturing plant and comes with a certificate of conformity. A 1600-point data log also lets you keep track of the conditions for each race day, and the optional computer interface lets you upload all the data to your PC or laptop — making long-term storage and in-depth analysis of previous races a breeze. Rugged and fully waterproof it can handle being tossed into your toolbox.
How can I be sure the Kestrel 5100 is giving me the altitude and barometric pressure readings that I am looking for?
The Kestrel 5100 uses the same barometric pressure sensor used in most common barometers and altimeters. These sensors are influenced by the surrounding environment (the altitude), as well as the weather (barometric pressure). These two readings are inter-dependent, and you need to know one of them to measure them correctly.
The easiest thing to do is to determine the altitude of the track where you are racing. Google Earth is free software that pinpoints the altitude of any address. Simply enter this value into the barometric pressure screen as the "reference altitude". Then take the barometric pressure reading that the Kestrel displays and enter that as the "reference pressure" on the altitude screen. Now you're good to go!
Here's what our customers had to say!
"The Kestrel is the perfect tool for making those last-minute dial-in decisions in the staging lanes. The cell phone-sized meter gives me fast, reliable data just seconds before my pass."
- Bill Barr, Quaker City Raceway, Modified Class
"I use this for drag racing purposes, helps us tune to the outdoor conditions and changes while racing, I found out about it from friends that use it and they all say it works great."
-Joseph Flakes
"The unit itself is one of the most valuable tools in our trailer. It allows us to win races and rounds."
- Tom Martino, Martino Motorsports Youngstown, Ohio
"The Kestrel comes in handy when we go to the staging lanes and are delayed for some time, we can track the weather changes."
- Dan Parker, Parkertech Racing, VIP Sports Dodge Stratus, TAFC 33
"Overall I'd say this is a tricky little piece. All the readings were so close to matching up (with high priced weather station), I could have easily made the right tune-up decisions based on the Kestrel. We wondered why we were paying so much for our weather station (about $3,000)."
- Jim Oberhofer, Crew Chief, Doug Kalitta's NHRA Top Fuel Dragster
"The auto store feature is key because once you get into later rounds, you don't have time to "log" all that data in your book. All I do is hit the auto store button before each round and fill in my logbook whenever time permits."
- Bill Barr, Quaker City Raceway, Modified Class
"It's what I use. I like to take readings but don't need a computer predicting my ETs for me. It's very portable and consistent at a fraction of the cost of the $2,000 plus trailer systems."
- John Rollins, NHRA #2241 (ET, Stock, Super Street)
"I've found my Kestrel to be very helpful in winning 4 class championships and 2 overall track championships at National Trail Raceway since 2004. It was also instrumental in helping me win the NHRA Division 3 Sportsman championship in 2004."
- Ray Block, Block Party Racing
"I finished #1 for my track in the Summit Super Series and can say that my Kestrel was a big part of my consistency. The other racers saw that I was doing well using my Kestrel and asked many questions. The biggest one was what the weather was doing, especially the density altitude. Of course, I had to start limiting the information and encouraged them to invest in their own meter. They started watching to see what I did with my dial-in numbers and then change theirs! Very sneaky, but good fun!"
- George Jorgensen, Alaska Raceway Park (Super ET, Summit SuperSeries Champ)
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Civil War Literature
A list of the best Civil War literature for children and young adults
The Red Badge of Courage
By Stephen CraneHistorical fiction that explores the feelings of soldiers on the field of battle. The Red Badge of Courage is one of the most widely read stories of the Civl War Era.
Across Five Aprils
By Irene HuntHistorical fiction
The story of one boy's life as the Civil War changes him and his family. Well researched, the story is retold by Jethro's grandson based on letters and family documents.
Abraham Lincoln's World
By Genevieve FosterHistory
This acclaimed author captures history with her unique method of recounting important events on the world's stage. In this book, learn about the quickly changing world the Abraham Lincoln lived in.
Lincoln: a Photobiography
A beautiful portrait of one of America's most loved presidents.
Ingri and Edgar D'AulaireBiography
This Caldecott winner thoroughly covers the childhood and background of one of American's most acclaimed heroes. An interesting book for children to read, and enjoyed by adults as well.
Rifles for Watie
By Harold KeithHistorical fiction - Middle School and Above
Adventure, intrigue, friendship and rivalry are woven into the fast moving plot of the soldier who works behind the scenes for both the North and the South. The story covers conflicts in Oklahoma and west of the Mississippi River and characters from the midwest. It also involves the subject of Native Americans and slavery.
By Michael ShaaraHistory portrayed through literature. This well-researched book chronicles the four days of the Battle of Gettysburg and explores the reasons for the conflict. Written primarily for adults, it would be enjoyed by advanced readers in middle and high school
Behind Rebel Lines
The Incredible Story of Emma Edmonds, Civil War Spy
By Seymour ReitBiography - 5th Grade and Above
This particular book is a newer version (1988) of a true book no longer in print (Nurse and Spy in the Union Army - 1860's.) Emma disguised herself as a man in order to serve in the army. Her ability to disguise herself allowed her to cross enemy lines multiple times in various disguises as a spy. But even the people she was working for never knew who she really was until after the war. Emma successfully appealed to the US Congress in 1884 to have her status as a deserter changed. An incredible story that shows the times in an intriguing light.
By Florence W. BirosFictionalized Account of a True Story
Grades 6 - 10
Dog Jack was a real dog that served in the 102nd Pennsylvania Regiment. He was captured by the Confederate army and exchanged in a prisoner release. Using a photo from the the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall and the diary of the company chaplain, the author has recreated the story of the company mascot and the runaway slave who adopted him.
Lincoln and His Boys
By Rosemary WellsHistoric Fiction - True Account with fictionalized dialogue
Grades 4 and above
This book is still new with a 2009 publication date, but based on fact and the written account of one of Lincoln's sons. It is a tender and thoughtful account of life in the Lincoln household which portrays both the fun times and grief in the White House during the Civil War Years. Lincoln fans of all ages will appreciate this well-written story.
The Private History of a Campaign that Failed
By Mark TwainIt would be almost impossible to produce a humorous account of the Civil War (or any war for that matter.) But leave it to Mark Twain to do just that. The Private History of a Campaign that Failed is a short, funny, fictitious account of a group of fifteen soldiers from a Hannibal, Missouri that form their own company. I'll let you guess from the title how successful of an outfit they were. This story is in stark contrast to Red Badge of Courage, yet touches on some of the same themes; albeit in a much more lighthearted manner. The closing paragraph has a valuable conclusion about the soldiers on both sides of the conflict.
One of several short stories in Humorous Stories and Sketches.
Read on-line from Classic Shorts.
A Century of ChangeIn addition to the American Civil War, the years of the 19th century brought many changes to nations, communities and families. Find more 19th Century Literature to see what life was like for your great-great grandparents.
New! CommentsHave a comment? A suggestion of other classical books in this category?
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By Karen Newell Copyright© 2010 - 2013 Classical Children's Books, Learn For Your Life - All Rights Reserved
Camp Hill, Pennsylvania


Eco Code
The Eco-Code is your school's mission statement and commitment towards improving its environmental performance. It is usually presented in a clear and imaginative way and displayed in a prominent place in the school. The Eco-Code is essentially a list of objectives based on the action plan and should reflect the main actions that the school community has agreed to. The active role of the school children in choosing the right wording and th at the children understand the values and responsibility implicit in the document. PSD classes present an ideal setting for students to explore their responsibility in maintaining the school's environmental values.
The presentation of the Eco-Code is completely up to the school. The statement can be composed of a series of phrases or a poem or a song. Eye-catching illustrations are usually included to make the Eco-Code more appealing. The Eco-Code will need to be updated annually as new environmental issues emerge and are addressed by the school community.
Search EkoSkola Website


only natural that Windows admins would want to use Task Scheduler to automate their PowerShell scripts. It turns out that these two tools are a perfect match.
You'll need to set the execution policy to execute PowerShell scripts. To execute a PowerShell command directly, specify the command parameter, and then use the ampersand (&), a pair of curly braces ({}), and the PowerShell command that you want to run:
powershell -NoLogo -executionpolicy RemoteSigned -command &{get-process>>C:\fso\mytestprocesses.txt}
I recommend using the Run command, as Figure 7 shows, to test your command syntax prior to scheduling your task.
Figure 7: Running a PowerShell script
Figure 7: Running a PowerShell script
To execute the script, simply replace the -command flag with -file flag:
powershell.exe -noprofile -executionpolicy RemoteSigned -file %public%\myscript.ps1
Note that you can include environment variables in the paths by delimiting them with percentage characters (%), as with any Cmd.exe command.
How to Schedule a Task Based on an Event
Windows events are perhaps the most complicated of all the task triggers, one reason being that Windows events encompass a whole range of potential triggers. To open the Event Viewer, which is part of the Server 2008 Administrative Tools, click Start, Control Panel, System and Security, Event Viewer.
The Event Viewer, which Figure 8 shows, displays information about hardware, software, and system problems.
Figure 8: Event Viewer
Figure 8: Event Viewer
Events are categorized by type:
 - Error -- a significant problem, such as loss of data or functionality (e.g., logged if a service fails to load during startup)
 - Warning -- not necessarily significant, but might indicate a future problem (e.g., logged when disk space is low)
 - Information -- information about the successful operation of an application, driver, or service (e.g., logged when a network driver loads successfully)
 - Success Audit -- a successful audited security access attempt (e.g., a user's successful attempt to log on to the system)
 - Failure Audit -- a failed audited security access attempt (e.g., a user's failed attempt to access a network drive)
You can bind an event to any of these event types by right-clicking the event in Event Viewer and selecting Attach Task To This Event in the pop-up menu. This action launches the Create Basic Task Wizard, in which you can configure task options.
Fine-Tuning an Event-Triggered Task
Since Windows Vista, Task Scheduler has contained new interfaces for C++ developers, scripting objects for VBScript developers, and a schema for defining tasks in XML. These avenues offer more flexibility than ever before for both task creation and fine-tuning.
Case in point: Suppose you want to run a task when a user is added to a specific domain local group. You'll need to hook into Audit system events, which relate to system security. Each event has a code to help identify it:
 - 4730 -- A security-enabled global group was deleted.
 - 4731 -- A security-enabled local group was created.
 - 4732 -- A member was added to a security-enabled local group.
 - 4733 -- A member was removed from a security-enabled local group.
 - 4734 -- A security-enabled local group was deleted.
 - 4735 -- A security-enabled local group was changed.
 - 4737 -- A security-enabled global group was changed.
Open the Create Basic Task Wizard, and then follow these steps to schedule the task:
1. Select When a specific event is logged on the Task Trigger screen.
2. Code 4732 identifies the addition of a member to a security-enabled local group. Enter that code in the Event ID field on the When a Specific Event Is Logged screen, as Figure 9 shows.
Figure 9: Logged event trigger details
Figure 9: Logged event trigger details
3. To find the Log and Source for an event, open Event Viewer; in the left pane, select Windows Logs, Security and open the Properties dialog box. The General tab contains both the Log Name and Source fields. The latter is liable to be truncated, but when you position the mouse pointer over the name, a tooltip appears with the full text, as Figure 10 shows.
Figure 10: Determining Log and Source
Figure 10: Determining Log and Source
4. On the Action screen, select Display a message.
5. Click Finish to create the new task.
By default, a message will be displayed every time a new local group is added. If you want to target a specific group, you need to edit the XML. To do so, you first need to export the task:
1. Double-click the new task in the Task Scheduler Active Tasks list, as Figure 11 shows.
Figure 11: Local Group Added task
Figure 11: Local Group Added task
2. Click Export in the Selected Item list, as Figure 12 shows, and save the XML file to a location of your choosing.
Figure 12: Exporting XML
Figure 12: Exporting XML
3. Open the XML source in your favorite text editor. You'll see code that looks like Listing 1. Add the TargetUserName code to the EventTrigger section, as callout A shows.
Now the scheduled task will respond to event 4732 only when the TargetUserName (i.e., the Local Security Group Name) is SECURE NETWORKS.
You can also filter on certain users, by using MemberName instead of TargetUserName. You can see more details about how the filter works in the XML view of an event. Simply open the event properties, go to the Details tab, and choose the XML View option, as Figure 13 shows. The full code is shown in Figure 14. You can use the data from this event in the action. To allow the EventData parameter to pass the MemberName to the action, you need to add the code at callout B in Listing 1 to the exported XML file, just before the line.
Figure 13: Local Group Added task in XML view
Figure 13: Local Group Added task in XML view
You can now use the $(MemberName) variable in an action. The following code displays this variable in the message box:
Local Group Added
The $(MemberName) local group has been added.
When you've modified and saved the XML, delete the original task from Task Scheduler. You can then import the modified XML. In the right pane of the Task Scheduler window, under Actions, click Import Task. Your custom task is now ready to go!
More Than Capable
Through the manipulation of triggers, actions, and events, Server 2008 Task Scheduler offers more than ample flexibility to manage the most mundane of tasks to the most intricate. Moreover, most properties are readily available via the Task Scheduler Wizard. You can achieve more fine-grained control through the Scheduled Task API and XML schema.
Listing 1: XML Code to Trigger Event on Specific Security Group Name and to Pass MemberName to Task


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75th Anniversary of Ocean Air Transport
Remembering the China Clipper in the Era of the Flying Boats
San Francisco's role as the aerial gateway to the Pacific began in the mid-1930s with a sequence of incremental firsts in opening scheduled airline service to Asia and mid-ocean destinations along the way.
It was Pan American Airways, operating out of Alameda on San Francisco Bay, that pioneered long-haul ocean air transport with breakthrough survey flights in the spring of 1935. By November of that year, having overcome the commercially un-flyable distance from California to Hawai'i, the company began scheduled airmail service to Manila via Honolulu, Midway, and Wake. Passenger service along the same route was introduced in 1936. Then, 75 years ago, with the Manila to Macao and Hong Kong service added in April of 1937, true intercontinental flights from the United States to China became a reality. For the first time a ticketed passenger could now fly completely around the world, using the German airship service to cross the Atlantic. The age of global air travel had arrived. In 1939, it would again be Pan American that opened the first trans-Atlantic commercial airplane service in their now-famous fleet of flying clipper ships.
In honor of the 75th anniversary of this historic achievement, SFO Museum is presenting a series of special programs retelling the excitement and wonder of this undertaking when commercial aviation came of age. Exhibition highlights, educational programming, and podcast can be found at the following links:
Podcast Part One (50mb please allow a few minutes to download)
Podcast Part Two (119mb please allow a few minutes to download)
China Clipper Exhibition
Current Education Program: China Clipper


Culture x
The Struggle of Creativity in a Test-Based World
If you're an imaginative thinker, sometimes succeeding in an analytical environment means abandoning your greatest strength.
The Business of Thought
By Emma Taubenfeld, Pace University
"If a major hurricane hits an area, what will happen to the price of ice after the storm?"
A) The price of ice will decrease.
B) The price of ice will increase.
C) The price of ice will remain the same.
The answer is: B) The price of ice will increase.
Why? Because of the hurricane, there is a high demand for ice. Power outages cause people to buy ice to keep their food cold, as refrigeration and air-conditioning are both reliant on the electrical grid, which is susceptible to interference in a major storm. As a result, because of the high demand, companies will increase the cost of ice.
This was a question on an exam in an introductory level microeconomics class at business school. While I was taking the exam, I called my professor and asked him how much rainfall there was. He shook his head at me and answered, "It doesn't matter."
His answer made me even confused than before and a little embarrassed. After excessively overthinking the circumstances, I confidently circled A) The price of ice will decrease, only to later discover that my answer was incorrect.
The Struggle of Creativity in a Test-Based World
Student taking a test (Image via US News)
My train of thought held that since hurricanes mean a significant amount of rainfall, and ice is made from water, more water would lead to more ice, thereby reducing its price, right?
I made a lot of people laugh that day, but I wasn't really amused by my answer. I thought logically, recognizing the problem of the hurricane and the issue of mass amounts of water. I contemplated the science of freezing water and how a lot of water would result in a lot of ice. I recognized the economics of surplus and how when there is a large amount of product, the cost of the product diminishes.
In the education system, it's pretty easy to fake your way through subjects that you don't like or that you aren't so great at, because a lot of learning is about being a good test-taker. The students who can perform best under pressure, or the ones who know how to navigate a multiple-choice exam, are the ones who get the highest scores. For the creative over-thinkers like myself, these test-taking strategies don't really work.
As you get older, you are taught to think more analytically, which decreases levels of creativity. Children are proven to be the most creative group of thinkers, though their ingenuity only diminishes with age. In 1968, George Land conducted a study in which he tested the creativity of 1,600 children. He tested them again and again as they got older, and their test scores lowered; their creativity declined as they began to think logically.
Compared to cognition that is required on a daily basis, creative thinking is exercised less often. And, as a creative person, I find it challenging to turn it off when having to think rationally, such as on an economics exam. I spent a lot of time believing that I wasn't as smart as my peers because of this tendency but in reality, creativity is just a different kind of intelligence and can actually enhance analytical thinking.
I've been called crazy, histrionic, an over-thinker, a dreamer, and even a little weird. When I tell people that I'm in business school taking classes that are mostly math-based, they can't believe it, because most people have subscribed to the left-brain/right-brain myth—that a person can either be imaginative or analytical, but not both. I want to emphasize the word myth.
For instance, musicians are extremely creative. Lyrics typically arise from emotion and melodies invoke a feeling, but there are logistics to music. Rhythm, figuring out patterns and the structure of notes are all the result of critical thinking, which is why mathematicians and musicians often share many similarities.
Isaac Newton, one of the most significant figures in the scientific revolution, defied existing logic when he discovered the theory of gravity and wrote the laws of motion that define modern physics. That takes a lot of creative thinking.
Creative thinkers are often very analytical, but their thoughts aren't about observing the status quo or seeking conformity.
The creative thinker's logic makes sense to themselves, their own experiences and the people they relate to. Isaac Newton's ideas weren't always so popular. Just because it's different, doesn't mean it's wrong.
Creativity is an open-ended method to problem solving, unlike analytical though, in which there is always one correct answer. Yes, for the purposes of that economics class my answer was wrong, but maybe in some alternate universe, the heavy rain from the hurricane filled up swimming pools with rainwater, which allowed the people to make endless amounts of ice, so much so that they were making snow cones and ice sculptures that were given away for free.
The left side of the brain is extremely overrated, while the right side is undervalued. People like to call scientists the designers of the future, but really, every single person is shaping the future no matter what they do. Humans were given the gift of having the capability to think both logically and inventively, because both sides work better in cooperation with each other.
Many people naturally gravitate toward a certain end; some work well with numbers, while others are more in tune with their emotions. In a comparison of these two types of people, one is not smarter than the other, nor is one more powerful than the other, nor more educated. It's time to crush the stereotypes and understand that everyone has the ability to think both critically and creatively, and instead of pigeonholing thought into one of two categories, both methods should be praised, and above all, their cooperation should be more highly prized than their independent use.
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FRANCES MOORE LAPPÉ on CHANGING THE WAY WE THINK TO CREATE THE WORLD WE WANT
Frances Moore Lappé is an author, speaker, and activist. She and her daughter, Anna, founded of the Small Planet Institute, committed to helping people find ways to interrupt and reverse the progression of scarcity and powerlessness around the world: "appreciating that we humans take our cues from each other, the Small Planet Institute emphasizes the spread of stories of hope in action." Lappé's 1971 book, Diet for A Small Planet, was a touchstone in the food movement timeline, helping to expose the wasteful and environmentally harmful practices of agribusiness, particularly in meat production.
Lappé is also the author of 17 other books about world hunger, living democracy, and the environment. Some of her works include: Democracy's Edge, Getting a Grip, EcoMind, and World Hunger: 10 Myths. With a focus on the roots of the U.S. democracy crisis, and how Americans are creatively responding to the challenge, her current work includes the online Field Guide to the Democracy Movement, and forthcoming book Daring Democracy: Igniting Power, Meaning, and Connection for the America We Want, coauthored with Adam Eichen. The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., describes Diet for a Small Planet as "one of the most influential political tracts of the times." Frances was also named by Gourmet Magazine as one of 25 people (including Thomas Jefferson, Upton Sinclair, and Julia Child), whose work has changed the way America eats. Her books have been translated into 15 languages and are used widely in university courses.


text: Hardly a day passes when someone doesn't phone asking if we can replace this or that component with a better audiophile counterpart in a vain attempt to improve the sound quality.We try hard to offer friendly advice and offer a positive solution but it is always surprising that some people, interestingly mostly men, (women have superior hearing anyway and seem more interested in enjoying the music), think that changing components for audio quality types will magically transform the sound, It won't. The only time it would make a difference is if the one you are replacing is faulty. What is an audio quality resistor or capacitor? It is well known that a good quality resistor should be low noise, the ohmic value should remain stable over time and over a range of temperatures, the stated value should closely match the actual value and inductive and capacitive parameters should be negligible at audio frequencies. Its prime purpose according to Ohm's law, is to drop voltage, or looked at another way, limit current. It should do this regardless of how fast the current/voltage changes. Modern metal or carbon film resistors do this admirably across the audio range and well beyond. A common garden 1% metal film 1/2 watt resistor of superb performance costs about one pence! A typical 'audio quality' 1% resistor costs several factors of ten more, but offers absolutely nothing audibly or electrically useful!'Audio' capacitors are another strange recent addition to the standard family of capacitors found on component suppliers lists. All good electronic engineers know that certain types of capacitor offer a better performance in certain applications than another. A perfect capacitor should behave such that the instantaneous current through the capacitor (ic) is directly proportional to the rate of change of voltage (dv/dt) across its plates, the value of the capacitor (C) being a constant.In mathematical terms; This should ideally apply at all temperatures and at any rate of change of voltage.Unfortunately other parameters exist on a real capacitor that mars this relationship. Series resistance, leakage resistance, inductance, value stability with temperature and frequency, all play their part in destroying the ideal current/voltage relationship. At radio frequencies the capacitor type used is crucial for the circuit to function at all. In audio circuitry, a poorly chosen capacitor type may effect the performance to a degree. Amplifier design engineers know what types not to use for certain applications. Even if cost is a major consideration, they will not use a wrong type if there is a chance it will mar the sound. For example, instead of using a polyester or polypropylene capacitor for coupling two circuits, cost say 30 pence, a 5 pence tantalum or electrolytic might be used instead. It is well know that the latter types are not so good electrically and can add a tiny amount of distortion. The crucial questions are 1/'how much?' and 2/'is it audible?. In a well designed amplifier where the capacitor types are chosen sensibly, the answers are, 1/'a relatively small amount' and 2/ 'no, its well below the noise floor".


Why do egyptians believe in afterlife?
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Why do egyptians believe in afterlife?
Egyptians are strong believers in afterlife. This belief can be traced back to the myth of the existence of gods and goddesses, who were believed to control the life of humans on Earth. Because Egyptians believed in the rule of divine kingship, the concept a king's death is attributed to the god of the underworld, Osiris and the concept of proclaiming a new king is attributed to Osiris' offspring, Horus. Their belief system of a soul was that each individual possessed two. One soul, known as ka, accompanied the body throughout life. After death, ka departed from the body and entered into the realm of the dead. The ka could not exist without the body and every effort was made to preserve the corpse through mummification.
However, life after death is not guaranteed, considering the beliefs and myths that Egyptians strongly believe in. Gaining immortality after one's death does not simply go by being judged whether one belongs to heaven or hell. In ancient Egypt, immortality entails proving oneself to be worthy of the life immortal in the land of Osiris. If proven otherwise, one is placed in non existence. Afterlife is one belief that Egyptians strongly and divinely believed in because they were given facts of its ancient history how critical it is to live on Earth in order to live a life after death. Since this belief has been handed down from Egypt's ancient beginnings, it still firmly exists until today.
Because of this concept, Egyptians live their life with the ultimate goal of having an excellent afterlife more than how one's life has been lived on Earth. During their life on Earth until the time of their death, Egyptians engage into practices and behaviors that only praise the god of life.
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 1. Tarek Arafa
 April 30, 2012 1:17 pm
 I am an Egyptian, i've lived in Egypt my Whole life and i have never met anyone who believes in the Ancient Afterlife concepts, yes they do believe in afterlife but just like anyone else knows that they'll go to either Heaven or Hell. please correct this because it is very clear that the writer is confused and does not know a thing about Egypt in the 21 first century..
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Klas Robert Elias Fries, 1914
Medium - Maximum
This member of the Passifloraceae
was given this name by Klas Robert Elias Fries in 1914. It is found in Zambia, growing in a well drained soil with
some water and some too lots of sun. The caudex can grow to twelve centimetres in diameter, the
to 60 centimetres in height.
The name Adenia
is derived from aden, meaning gland, and pertains to the glands
found on leaves of most of the species.
The species name means "bearing a


Document Detail
Relationship between Egr-1 gene expression and apoptosis in esophageal carcinoma and precancerous lesions.
MedLine Citation:
PMID: _PHONE_ Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE
AIM: To study the expression of early growth response gene-1 (Egr-1 gene) and Bcl-X/(L) protein and its relationship with the cell apoptosis in human esophageal carcinoma (EC) and precancerous lesions. METHODS: In situ hybridization(ISH), immunohistochemistry (IHC) and TUNEL method were used respectively to detect Egr-1mRNA, Egr-1 protein, apoptosis related-protein Bcl-X/(L) and cell apoptosis in situ from 66 cases of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and their upper cut edge and paracancerous mucosa. RESULTS: Egr-1 gene in situ hybridization, Bcl-X/(L) immunohistochemistry positive products were located in the cytoplasm, while Egr-1 immunohistochemistry and TUNEL positive signal were located in the nuclei. The apoptosis index(AI) and the frequency of apoptosis occurrence were increased gradually from precancerous lesion to cancer (P<0.01) and the expression of Egr-1mRNA and Egr-1 protein in dysplasia was the highest among all specimens (P<0.01). The AI of Egr-1 positive cancer tissues was much higher than that of Egr-1 negative cancer tissues (P<0.01), while the AI of Bcl-X/(L) positive cancer tissues was much lower than that of Bcl-X/(L) negative cancer tissues (P<0.01). The AI and Egr-1 expression were not correlated with invasiveness and lymphatic metastasis in EC. CONCLUSION: Cell apoptosis was present through esophageal carcinogenesis. The expression of Egr-1 mRNA and Egr-1 protein were high in precancerous lesion of esophagus. The AI was increased significantly in Egr-1 positive squamous cell carcinoma. Egr-1 might promote apoptotic effect. Egr-1 expression and cell apoptosis may have an important biological significance in esophageal carcinogenesis.
Ming-Yao Wu; Ying-Rui Liang; Xian-Ying Wu; Chu-Xiang Zhuang
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Publication Detail:
Journal Detail:
Title: World journal of gastroenterology : WJG Volume: 8 ISSN: _PHONE_ ISO Abbreviation: World J. Gastroenterol. Publication Date: 2002 Dec
Date Detail:
Created Date: 2002-11-19 Completed Date: 2003-01-30 Revised Date: 2006-11-15
Medline Journal Info:
Other Details:
Languages: eng Pagination: 971-5 Citation Subset: IM
Department of Pathology, Shantou University Medical College, Guangdong Province, China.
Export Citation:
APA/MLA Format Download EndNote Download BibTex
MeSH Terms
Apoptosis / genetics*
Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / genetics*, metabolism, pathology*
DNA-Binding Proteins / genetics*, metabolism
Early Growth Response Protein 1
Esophageal Neoplasms / genetics*, metabolism, pathology*
Gene Expression
Immediate-Early Proteins*
In Situ Hybridization
In Situ Nick-End Labeling
Precancerous Conditions / genetics*, metabolism, pathology*
Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / metabolism
RNA, Messenger / genetics, metabolism
RNA, Neoplasm / genetics, metabolism
Transcription Factors / genetics*, metabolism
bcl-X Protein
Reg. No./Substance:
0/BCL2L1 protein, human; 0/DNA-Binding Proteins; 0/EGR1 protein, human; 0/Early Growth Response Protein 1; 0/Immediate-Early Proteins; 0/Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; 0/RNA, Messenger; 0/RNA, Neoplasm; 0/Transcription Factors; 0/bcl-X Protein
Previous Document: Down-regulation of gut-enriched Kruppel-like factor expression in esophageal cancer.
Next Document: Progressive transformation of immortalized esophageal epithelial cells.


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What are these? How are they used?
They're bricks, or more accurately, broken bits of bricks. But, knowing what they're called doesn't really help you understand how they're used. Taken out of context, the objects have little meaning.
How about now? How are the bricks used?
When you see the bricks in context, their purpose is easier to understand. The bricks are used as anchors to hold down a net.
If trash day in your country (or in your part of Japan) doesn't look like this, you might still feel a bit puzzled. Context is also cultural.
What if I add a story?
In my neighborhood, we put trash in color coded bags—green for burnable trash, blue for plastics, orange for PET bottles and cans, and brown for bottles. We put all of our bags in a central location on the appropriate day before the designated time.
This week, I'm on trash duty. It's my job to take out a large blue net to cover the trash bags. I have to wake up very early in order to put the net out before anyone brings trash bags. After the trash has been picked up, it's my job to put away the net and clean up the trash drop off area.
The net keeps crows out of the trash. There are a lot of crows in Japan–giant, monster crows. These birds think of trash day is their all-you-can-eat buffet. The bricks keep the crows from lifting the net (and also keeps the trash bags from blowing away).
Since it's my job to clean up after trash day, I never forget to put out the net, or the bricks!
Context provides meaning and helps us remember.
You aren't likely to be teaching "trash net anchors" as a vocabulary item in your classes. But, I wanted to choose an example that was unfamiliar, so you could understand how your students might feel when trying to learn words without context.
Like in a word list.
Teachers of young learners naturally include a lot of context in teaching, since most of their students don't yet read. They teach vocabulary with
- picture cards (teacher made or those that support a course book)
- scenes including the vocabulary items (like classroom objects actually in a classroom)
- stories (related picture books, or teacher-created to go along with picture cards or scenes)
You can play with context.
Context is a tool. Once you understand how it works to support meaning, you can play with it.
Introducing an object without context can grab your students' attention. Were you curious when you saw the bricks alone? Were you hoping I'd add information to complete the picture? You can ask students to predict where they might find a particular object, or imagine how it might be used.
Taking familiar objects out of context creates guessing games. Put a picture card inside an envelope or cover it with a piece of paper and ask students to guess what it is, getting some great Yes/No question and answer practice along the way. Or, put real objects inside a bag and let children touch the bag as they guess.
Use close up pictures of objects to play with context. Ceri Jones has some wonderful teaching ideas involving close up photos on her blog (and other wonderful teaching ideas not involving photos, too!). A good place to find close up photos is on ELT Pics, a great Flickr collection of pictures for teachers taken by other teachers (and shared using the tag _TAG_ on Twitter).
You can take objects that are familiar in one context, and introduce them in a new context. For example, if my original vocabulary item had been bricks, I probably would have shown a picture of bricks being used in a traditional way (on a building or in a walkway). Then, I might have had students brainstorm additional places and uses they've seen for bricks. Perhaps my trash bag anchoring bricks would come up in discussion. If not, I could bring it up. Or, if students have learned the word pen you can expand the context by bringing in pictures of unusual places you could find pens (pens to use underwater or in space).
The more students use words in context (and in different contexts) the more memorable the language becomes, and the closer they get to owning the language (making it a tool for them to use, too).
How about you? How do you use context in your teaching? How do you play with context in class?


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ipbes: Nature's Contributions to People (NCP) - Article by IPBES Experts in Science
ot Just Commodities: World Needs Broader Appreciation of Nature's Contributions to People
Plentiful food, clean water and healthy air are among the most valuable and visible benefits of nature to people. This has reinforced the widespread, and increasingly controversial, belief that nature is mainly a source of services or commodities.
Writing in the prestigious journal Science, thirty global experts associated with the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), and led by Professor Sandra Díaz and Professor Unai Pascual, have presented an innovative new approach: the idea of using all of nature's contributions to people to inform policies and decisions.
"For more than a decade, policies about nature have been dominated by knowledge from the natural sciences and economics," said Sandra Díaz. "The vibrant research developed from this 'ecosystem services' approach – popularized by the landmark 2005 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment – has advanced sustainability, but largely excluded insights and tools from the social sciences, humanities and other key worldviews. The much broader notion of nature's contributions to people emphasizes that culture is central to all of the links between people and nature, and recognizes other knowledge systems, for example those of local communities and indigenous peoples, much more than before."
Sir Robert Watson, IPBES Chair and former co-chair of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, said: "Nature's contributions to people are of critical importance to rich and poor in developed and developing countries alike. Nature underpins every person's wellbeing and ambitions – from health and happiness to prosperity and security. People need to better understand the full value of nature to ensure its protection and sustainable use."
"This new inclusive framework demonstrates that while nature provides a bounty of essential goods and services, such as food, flood protection and many more, it also has rich social, cultural, spiritual and religious significance – which needs to be valued in policymaking as well."
"Food is a great example," said Unai Pascual, "We all receive food from nature and food security is a key aspect that has typically been included in policies and decisions around the world, often measured in the context of calories per day, biological processes and economic value, for example. But we know that food is so much more. It's at the center of cultural identities, art and basic human enjoyment. It is these kinds of non-material contributions from nature that the new approach seeks to represent and include in decisions about the way we relate with nature."
One of the many concrete applications of this new approach is its uptake in large-scale expert assessments and how these are conducted. Professors Díaz and Pascual concur that nature's contributions to people is a scientific advancement embracing, but going beyond the ecosystem services approach, which will increase the effectiveness and legitimacy of policies and decisions about nature. "This inclusiveness and equity among knowledge systems and perspectives will not only make assessment processes more legitimate; it will also lead to better policy results because we will be drawing from a much richer and wider information base".
Four IPBES regional assessments (_URL_ of biodiversity and ecosystem services, expected to be released in March this year, have already included unprecedented efforts to tap indigenous and local knowledge, and nature's contributions to people are already a central feature of the IPBES global assessment, expected in 2019.


20 Deep Questions to Ask Your Boyfriend
It would be difficult to decipher what exactly is running through the mind of your boyfriend or anybody. How is it possible to find out what is the inner layer of current running through his mind? The best way to dig out something from the deep inner thought of a person is asking some intelligent questions. For people who are in a deep relationship and confused to know about the hidden trait, it is better to ask these 20 deep questions.
deep questions to ask your boyfriend
 1. What is the most disturbing thing in your life that you regret always?
The question has an emotional attachment when you ask this question to your boyfriend he will feel secured to open his mind. He may tell you those top guarded secret in his life and share those feeling with you. If he opens his mind and tells you all about his life, it is a good indication to make you understand, why he regrets that incident. You can relate those events with any of the current incidents and plan your relationship with your boyfriend.
 1. How do you define about yourself?
This is an open question allowing him to explain about himself. So people have a good assessment about their positive and negative drawbacks. This will also give you a chance to understand whether he want to hide something deliberately from you.
 1. Have been into a relationship before?
You may feel it is an embarrassing question. It is better to know about his past relationship or relationships. If he had many relationships and you are also one among them, then it will give you a good understanding of the person.
 1. Do you believe in marriage?
There is no ill feeling asking a direct question straight to point if you are thinking of a wedding life with your boyfriend and he is not yet proposed to you. As the common adage say, ladies always first. So take the chance and force him to open his mind.
 1. What is the good thing about me that attract you the most?
This question let you focus on what is the best thing that attracted him to you. It could be your eyes, hair, lips, your skin, your body posture, your talking style, your manners or anything. This will let you more refine in those areas and make him very comfortable.
 1. Tell me what do you think about beauty?
Are you serious in asking this question? You can certainly find out from him what he is thinking about beauty. If he is the person with exceptional qualities, he will let you know the difference between the inner beauty and physical beauty. Beauty is always in the beholders eyes.
 1. What do you do if you lose somebody in a terrible accident?
If you want to know your boyfriend, how deep is he emotionally attached to his close friends and relatives. People with strong emotional attachments are trustworthy guys. It is a good question. Listen to him carefully.
 1. What is your future plan?
When having a relationship for a long time and yet you are unsure about the future plans, it is time for you to ask this question to your boyfriend. This will, or it will force him to open his mind and discuss about his future plans. Who knows, maybe the answer what you are looking for all these days, you can hear from his mouth.
 1. Do you like to be loved or respected?
If you are confused about the character of your boyfriend and you cannot identify whether he want to be respected or loved, you can certainly through this question. People who are very much serious in character would say that want to get respected rather than loved. It is good, let whatever be the answer. You can take the cues to nourish the relationship.
 1. What is your favorite color?
Is there anything special in the color sense? Yes, people who life soft colors will be soft in thoughts than people who opt for violent colors.
 1. What is your best food?
Food habits and food choices are always imperative in any relationship. It is better to have common food habits to have a sustainable long-standing relationship. If your boyfriend is a non-veg and you are a veggie, then it will always be a conflicting situation when you select the menu, whether at a restaurant or be at home.
 1. What is your professional ambition?
Organized people will have professional goals. They have precise calculations about their life. They will have better plans to achieve their career objectives. It is better to maintain a relationship with somebody who is better organized in their life.
 1. Do you like gambling?
This is a simple question to know the gambling tendency of the person. Gambling for fun is good, but gambling for life is very dangerous.
 1. Do you like to hang around?
In the early stages of your courtship, it will be a delightful experience to hang around with your boyfriend. If he is shy in nature, you can take the initiative by asking this question. He will certainly like to hang around with you.
 1. If your house was on fire, what would be your first thoughts?
It is an easy question to know his priorities when engulfed in an emergency situation. If he is only interested save his personal effects, he is indeed a selfish person. Instead if he gives priority to save human life, pet animals then it shows the right side of his personality.
 1. If you win a lottery what you would do with the money?
An easy going person will find ways to spend all the money for luxury. A serious person with good objectives in life will have calculated movements on how to spend the cash. This is a hypothec question but good one to know him clearly.
 1. Do you love doing charity activities?
People with a kind heart will love to do charity services. If you boyfriend is socially committed, he will love this question.
 1. Do you like traveling?
Most of the people like to travel around the world. But there are different type of travel plans. Some with adventure, some are only interested in visiting historically important places and yet others interested in visiting countries with beautiful beaches. It is a good question indeed to know if his interest is matching with yours.
 1. What do you hate something about yourself?
It is a valuable question to evaluate his personality and confirm that he is also aware of his negative elements in his character. He may regret with you his inability to manage the situation. But it is better to know from your boyfriend so that you can vouch for the situation.
 1. In life if you get a second chance, what would be your preference?
Almost everybody at some stages of their life would have sincerely wished to have a second chance in their life, if they failed to take a right decision at a crucial moment that had just slipped away between cup and lips. It can let you understand how well prepared to grab the next opportunity in life.
These 20 questions may seem to be silly, but each of these questions can help you to analyze the person. His personal plus and negative traits can be easily extracted they way how is responding to these questions. However, make sure to ask these questions very carefully without letting him know that you are asking something very deliberately to evaluate his personality. You can take calculated intervals to put these questions over a period of time and consolidate your opinion about your boyfriend. You may also put a conscious effort by putting you also in the same situation and ask these questions to yourself and get an unbiased answer. You don't have to leave everything to the fate. Calculated movements can bring you long lasting healthy friendship. So make a bold effort to find out the best boyfriend with whom you can have a successful long lasting life.
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It is demonstrated that palynomorphs can occur in fired ancient potsherds when the firing temperature was under 350°C. Pollen and phytoliths recovered from incompletely fired and fully fired potsherds (ca. 2700 yrs BP) from the Yanghai Tombs, Turpan, Xinjiang, NW China can be used as potential indicators for reconstructing past vegetation and corresponding climate in the area.
The results show a higher rate of recovery of pollen and phytoliths from incompletely fired potsherds than from fully fired ones. Charred phytoliths recovered from both fully fired and incompletely fired potsherds prove that degree and condition of firing result in a permanent change in phytolith color.
The palynological data, together with previous data of macrobotanical remains from the Yanghai Tombs, suggest that temperate vegetation and arid climatic conditions dominated in the area ca. 2700 yrs BP.


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Q:What's a fetish, and how does someone develop one?
A:A fetish is a condition in which someone is sexually fixated on an inanimate object, such as high heels or lingerie, or a nongenital body part, and has to touch, rub, smell, or see the object in order to become aroused and climax. Though no one is certain what causes a fetish, it's believed to affect mostly men and likely begins when sexual excitement is inadvertently linked to the object.
Of course, lots of men — and women — are turned on by various parts of the body and things like sexy underwear. But, they don't need them to become aroused, which is what separates an attraction from a fetish.
As long as a person with a fetish (called a fetishist) is still interested in having intimate relations, and he has an understanding and willing partner, the object of desire can be incorporated into their sexual repertoire.