text:
This item is available under a Creative Commons License for non-commercial use only
2.1 CIVIL ENGINEERING
Embodied energy analysis can be used as a construction design assessment tool in a sustainable matrix for a building. Its implementation however remains challenging mainly because of data measurement errors. A comparison between the deterministic embodied energy (EE) of a building and the stochastic EE of the same building undertaken using Monte Carlo simulation showed a wide variation in results. It is recommended that the specification of EE intensity of building materials in the construction industry can assist in producing accurate and more credible EE values of building.
Acquaye, A., Duffy, A., Basu, B.: Embodied energy analysis: a sustainable construction design assessment tool. Engineering Sustainability: Innovations that spans boundaries; Conference Proceedings; Pittsburgh, PA-USA, April 19-21, 2009.


text: Peleg Howland was one of Brampton's earliest merchants arriving in Canada in 1829. He and his brother William Pearce opened several businesses throughout Toronto and Chinguacousy townships including Brampton and Stanley Mills. The 1877 Historical Atlas of Peel County states that Peleg took ownership of the store previously occupied by Abijah Lewis and operated a successful business for many years at the corner of Main Street and Queen Street. He held several prominent positions in Peel County through the years including; being elected President of the Agricultural Society of Upper Canada, Manager of the Dominion Bank, and member of the Brampton Council. His brother, also known as Sir William Pearce Howland, was the only Father of Confederation born in the United States. Peleg Howland, son of Jonathan Howland whose ancestor John Howland arrived on the Mayflower from England in 1620, died July 7, 1882 at the age of 74.

source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


noun, Golf.
a lie in which the ball is situated on a slope having a downward incline in the direction that the ball is to be played.
Read Also:
 - Hanging-post
 noun 1. a post from which a door, gate, etc., is hung.
 - Hanging-scroll
 noun 1. See under (def 5). [skrohl] /skroʊl/ noun 1. a roll of parchment, paper, copper, or other material, especially one with writing on it: a scroll containing the entire Old Testament. 2. something, especially an ornament, resembling a partly unrolled sheet of paper or having a spiral or coiled form. 3. a list, roll, […]
 - Hanging-step
 noun 1. a step projecting from a wall with no real or apparent support at its outer end.
 - Hanging-stile
 noun 1. the stile of a door, shutter, etc., by which it is hung. 2. the stile of a window frame from which a casement sash is hung. 3..


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What are the uses of gabion mesh?
You are here: Home » NEWS » NEW & EVENTS » What are the uses of gabion mesh?
What are the uses of gabion mesh?
Views:0 Author:Site Editor Publish Time: 2018-06-27 Origin:Site Inquire
The gabion mesh can be used for slope protection, slope vegetation, filtration of harmful substances in water, protection of landslides, etc. It can also be made into gabion cages, mesh mats, etc. used for riverside protection to prevent soil erosion and cause unnecessary losses. Its flexible structure can adapt to the changes of the slope without being destroyed, and the better structure has safer stability; it has strong anti-erosion ability and can withstand huge flow pressure; it has water permeability and strong filtration of groundwater itself. Sexuality can make harmful substances in water precipitate in the crevices, and it is also conducive to the growth of local vegetation and restore the ecological environment.
The gabion cages made from gabions mesh have the following advantages:
 1. The construction is simple, effective and saves a lot of manpower and material resources, only need to put the stone into the cage and then seal it, no other technical skills, just artificial production, no machinery and other equipment.
 2. The production cost is low and the production of gabion cages will not cost too much.
 3, the overall image is clean and tidy, will not give people the impression of messy, and the protective effect is also better.
 4. The service life of gabion cages is relatively long. Under normal circumstances, the lifespan of Shilong nets can be as long as several decades. Moreover, there is no need for maintenance and there is no technical convenience. Because of this, we have adopted this technology in many riverside areas of our country.
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text:
- What is Business Aviation?
- Flight Department Administration
- Aircraft Operations
- Professional Development
- News & Publications
- Products & Services
A Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) is a restriction on an area of airspace due to the movement of government VIPs, special events, natural disasters, or other unusual events. On any given day, there are typically several TFRs in place across the National Airspace System (NAS). Most non-VIP TFRs are small in scope, in non-critical locations, or allow for some aspect of general aviation to operate within them, albeit with some restrictions.
However, some TFRs do have a significant restrictive impact on general and business aviation. The most common of these are VIP TFRs, which are issued in association with the movements of the President and the Vice President. Not quite as common are special event TFRs, such as those established each year in association with the Super Bowl or the UN General Assembly.
The dimensions, timing, and level of restriction for each TFR vary. For VIP TFR's, these determinations are made by the United States Secret Service (USSS), in coordination with FAA Security. Once finalized, TFR information is typically distributed via Flight Data Center (FDC) Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) in advance of the event.
For additional information about the types of TFR, review the information below:
There are two basic types of VIP TFRs:
- Presidential, reserved for use in association with Presidential movement,
- Vice-Presidential, used for Vice Presidential movement or movement by other lower-ranking government officials.
These TFRs are governed by FAR 91.141 and are generally not made available to the public until two or three days before the event.
VIP TFRs are normally set up as one or more rings of airspace, surrounding the VIP, which become active for a specific amount of time. The normal arrangement is to have one ring covering the VIP's arrival and departure location(s) and another covering the area where the VIP will be between arrival and departure. While these rings are stationary, there are occasions where "rolling" TFRs are created to accommodate a moving event (such as one involving a train or bus).
Presidential VIP TFRs
In the case of Presidential movement, the TFR is usually comprised of an outer ring (usually 30 nautical miles, but sometimes slightly more or less) and one or more inner rings (usually 10 nautical miles, but sometimes 8, 9, or 10 nautical miles). The dimensions and, even the shape, of the rings are sometimes altered to suit specific needs. For example, some TFRs are structured so that the outer ring consists of the lateral limits of a particular airport's Class B airspace, or are created with cut-outs, as noted later in this resource.
The inner ring(s) constitute the most significant challenge to general and business aviation, since they are almost always inaccessible to general aviation aircraft. This is primarily due to the fact that general aviation aircraft are not subject to TSA passenger and aircraft screening.
The result is that GA aircraft cannot fly through these areas below 18,000 feet and any airports within these areas are unavailable to GA aircraft during the specified times. In addition, these "no fly" areas may result in required reroutes being issued to move aircraft away from them.
There are occasional exceptions that will allow certain GA aircraft to penetrate the inner ring(s). In some cases, the USSS will agree to set up "gateway" airports, at which GA aircraft can be screened before proceeding into the TFR. In other cases, GA aircraft are permitted into the inner ring(s) only after obtaining TSA waivers, sometime used in combination with gateway airports. However, these exceptions are relatively rare and are normally made for TFRs that impact multiple airports for several days.
On other occasions, a TFR might be structured with a "cut-out" to allow operations into an airport that lies just inside the inner ring. This happens quite often for Teterboro Airport (TEB) when TFRs are placed over the New York City area. In these cases operators need to be aware that certain approaches and departures may not be available for the airport in the cut-out.
The outer ring(s) are much less problematic for general and business aviation. Between this outer limit and the inner ring(s), GA aircraft are permitted as long as they are on IFR flight plans and in communication with air traffic control. However, aircraft cannot loiter in this airspace and certain other types of activities, such as flight training, practice approaches, and sightseeing flights, are not permitted within this area.
Vice-Presidential VIP TFRs
In the case of Vice Presidential movement, TFRs normally consist of one or more 3 nautical mile rings and no outer ring. These TFRs are less restrictive for GA aircraft, allowing access to aircraft that are on IFR flight plans and in communication with ATC – restrictions very similar to those in the outer rings discussed above.
However, when an airport is contained within a Vice-Presidential TFR, airport operations are typically halted for a short period of time while the VIP is at the airport or is departing or arriving. As a result, operators flying into an airport sitting under a 3 nautical mile ring can expect minor delays during the TFR's active times.
Special Event TFRs
Large-scale and high profile special events, such as the Super Bowl and political conventions, will also often require the use of TFRs. These TFRs are, in many ways, similar to VIP TFRs, but they are governed under a different set of regulations – FAR 99.7. Normally, an inner ring/outer ring arrangement, similar to a Presidential TFR, is utilized to secure an area around the event.
One key difference between these TFRs and VIP TFRs is that special event TFRs are generally released much further in advance – sometimes as much as two weeks ahead of the event.
Other Relevent Information About TFRs
One item that confuses many operators is that, occasionally, more than one NOTAM is issued for the same TFR. The reason for this is that some TFRs lie close to the boundary between two en route centers. When this happens, each center will release an identical NOTAM for the TFR. So, as an example, a TFR in Indianapolis might generate two identical NOTAMs –one issued by Chicago Center (ZAU) and another by Indianapolis Center (ZID).
It is also important to note that airports lying just outside the boundary of an inner ring may still be impacted by the TFR. For example, if traffic needs to depart to the north from a particular airport, and a 10 nautical mile ring sits 2 miles north of that airport, traffic will not be permitted to depart, since it would put them on a direct course into the TFR.
In other instances, a missed approach procedure for an airport just outside an inner ring may place an aircraft into that ring. It should be noted that, while ATC will usually advise the flight crew that this is about to occur, some ATC facilities may not be familiar with the impact that the TFR has on general aviation aircraft. As a result, pilots should always remain vigilant whenever operating in the vicinity of a TFR's inner rings.
With regard to TFR times, flight planners and flight crews should be aware that, while specific times are provided for each TFR, VIP TFRs can either be cancelled early or be extended later, with little or no notice, based on the actual movements of the VIPs. If an operator is planning to arrive at an airport shortly after a TFR there is scheduled to end, they should plan for possible airborne holding, or a diversion, in the event that the TFR is extended.
Where to Find TFR Information
The official sources for TFR information are the FAA's Graphic TFR web page and the FDC NOTAMs. Both will provide information regarding what TFRs are scheduled or are in effect.
However, since TFR NOTAMs can be difficult to decipher, NBAA provides, as a service to its Members, notification of VIP (and certain special event) TFRs, along with associated impact statements.
When a VIP TFR is issued, Air Traffic Management Specialists with NBAA Air Traffic Services compile a synopsis of the TFR's details, highlighting
- The type and dimensions of the TFR
- The times during which the TFR is in effect
- What specific airports (if any) are impacted by the TFR and at what times
- Any additional guidance as needed
The NBAA notifications and impact statements are available using one of two methods:

source: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb-edu


text:
What is a box ¶
A Box is the basic element of the Behaviors.
A Box may contain a simple elementary action ( Say box for example), as well as a very complex application (room exploration for example).
To go further :
Box identity ¶
The table below describes the properties allowing you to identify a Box.
|A||Name||Name of the box.|
|B||Image||A specific image helps to understand the box type or content.|
Displays the description of the box and some tips.
Appears when holding the pointer over the box and also at the bottom of the Box libraries panel.
Box content ¶
The content of a box depend on its type :
- a Python box contains a Python script,
- a Flow diagram box contains a Flow diagram,
- a Timeline box contains a Timeline.
- a Dialog box refers to a Dialog topic
How to display the content of a box ¶
To display the content of a box, double click the box.
A Dialog box acts as a shortcut to the Dialog topic it refers to. If you double-click the box, you will edit the dialog topic. Other boxes referring to that topic will be impacted.
Box connectors and parameters ¶
The table below describes the main connectors of a Box :
|A||Inputs||Receive events in order to start or stop the box.|
|B||Outputs||Send events and/or data during box execution or when the box execution is stopped.|
|C||Parameters||Receive data used by the box.|
How to create a new box ¶
To create a box:
||Right click on the Flow diagram wherever you want to create the box.|
In the contextual menu, under the Create a new box section, choose the type of the box you want to create.
Optional If you choosed to create a Dialog box, you must choose the dialog topic used by the box.
The box name is automatically generated from the chosen topic, unless you modify it by hand.
You can also create a new dialog topic directly from here.
||Define a Name and a Description for your box.|
||Optional : set the picture to recognize it among other boxes.|
Optional : set Parameters, Inputs and Outputs.
For further details about parameters, see: How to add/remove inputs, outputs, parameters in a box.
Click the OK button.
The created box is displayed on the diagram.
Editing a Box ¶
Click on a Box, to display and edit:
Edit Box widget ¶
When you edit or create a Box, the following widget is displayed:
The table below describes the Edit Box widget:
|Part||Name||Allows you to...|
Show some box properties:
Define the Box identity :
Specify an image.
Click the Edit button and select one or several image(s).
You can choose several images to have a complete graphical description of what it does. But you should know that only the first image is displayed beside the box name in a box library.
|D||Connectors and Parameters||
Define the Box connectors and parameters.
Add a Plugin to the box.
It is an advanced feature allowing you to add a control the frontage of the box.


Take the 2-minute tour ×
How do I solve such an eqation? (I know how to solve Mx=n using gaussian elimination but I don't know how to handle 2 variables.
share|improve this question
If $x$ and $y$ are "unknown" vectors, there will almost always be infinitely many solutions. Is it that you want to find one non-trivial solution? – André Nicolas Feb 27 '12 at 14:15
yes, I want to find a non-trivial solution that minimizes the distance between Mx and Ny – user25843 Feb 27 '12 at 14:18
This link provides some ideas: cs.mtu.edu/~shene/COURSES/cs3621/NOTES/INT-APP/… – Emmad Kareem Feb 27 '12 at 15:22
2 Answers 2
up vote 1 down vote accepted
It seems to me like you're trying to solve the least squares problem Mx-Ny=0, in other words find the vectors x,y that minimize the euclidean norm of the vector (Mx-Ny). Let's assume that your matrices are of dimensions M[rowsM][columnsM] and N[rowsN][columnsN],then your vectors would be of dimension x[columnsM] and y[columnsN]. Because the obvious solution to your problem is the trivial solution where y=x=0 you have to give either to x or y vector some constant value in order to compute the best approximation of the other one. This paper contains the basic about least squares approximation: Least squares approximation
Basically all you need is (assuming you initialize vector y): $\vec{x}=(M^{T}M)^{-1}M^{T}(N\vec{y})$ So by finding the inverse of $M^{T}M$ and performing some matrix computations you're done.
share|improve this answer
Thanks for your answer :) but still - I'm not sure that I understand: if you take x and assign it some constant vector, you'll then find the y which minimizes the distance to this specific x. But isn't is possible that there exist some other x and y that result in a smaller distance? – user25843 Feb 27 '12 at 15:29
Think of the simple 3 equations following: a1*x+b1*y=0 a2*x+b2*y=0 a3*x+b3*y=0 where a,b random constants.The only exact solution of this system is the trivial one x=y=0. When you assign y a constant value then, you can "compute" 3 different "solutions" for x by solving one of the 3 equations.Instead of that you compute one x value tha minimizes the sum of the quadratic errors in each equation so you find the best solution for the WHOLE system and not only one of the equations. It's the same principle with multiple variables->vectors.. – chemeng Feb 27 '12 at 15:30
I presume you know either $x$ or $y$. If $M$ and $N$ are large, then you should use the conjugate gradient method. Otherwise you can directly invert (or pseudo-invert) $M$ or $N$ as appropriate.
share|improve this answer
Your Answer


Take Action → On Climate Change → Oppose High Risk Energy
SACE | Southern Alliance for Clean Energy
Oppose High Risk Energy
Advocate for Climate ActionOverview
What's the first step to getting out of a hole? Stop digging. Right now our nation is in a big hole, with an economy based on fossil fuels like coal and other high-risk energy sources like nuclear power. For decades, utilities and leaders in the Southeast have devoted their attention to high-risk energy sources, while keeping energy efficiency and renewables on the back burner.
High risk energy choices are energy options that contribute to global warming pollution, such as coal-fired power plants, or those that pose threats to public health and safety, such as nuclear power plants. These risky energy choices endanger our economy, health, security, water resources, and the environment.
We can overcome our energy challenges by investing in our clean energy opportunities. Increasing energy efficiency and expanding renewable energy throughout the Southeast are the safest, cleanest and most fiscally responsible options we have. But we won't get there by continuing to rely on high-risk energy choices. With limited resources to invest in new energy infrastructure, the Southeast, should maximize potential from energy efficiency and renewable energy first. The stakes are too high to squander limited resources and valuable time.
Current Initiatives


text:
May 24, 2012 Words charged with a positive emotional content are used more frequently, thus enhancing human communication.
Scientists at ETH Zurich have studied the use of language, finding that words with a positive emotional content are more frequently used in written communication. This result supports the theory that social relations are enhanced by a positive bias in human communication. The study by David Garcia and his colleagues from the Chair of Systems Design is published in the first issue of the new SpringerOpen journal EPJ Data Science.
Previous studies focused on word lengths and frequency. They demonstrated that frequency depends on the length of words used, as a result of the principle of least effort influencing the use of shorter words. In contrast, this study focused on how the emotions expressed in words relate to the word frequency and its information content. The authors focused on words used in written emotional expression in the three most popular European languages online: English, German and Spanish.
They exploited a dataset on human behavior on the Internet, which includes texts from blogs, chat rooms and forums, among other sources. After performing a quantitative analysis on this dataset, the authors found that positive words appeared more frequently than words associated with a negative emotion. This suggests that the emotional content affects the words' frequency, even though the overall emotional content of the studied words is neutral on average. These findings support existing theories that there is a positive bias in human expression to facilitate social interaction.
Going one step further, the authors also focused on words within their context and realized that positive words carried less information than negative ones. Therefore, because of the positive bias observed in human communication, positive words are more likely to be used whereas negative expressions could be reserved to transmit information about urgent threats and dangerous events.
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Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
- David Garcia, Antonios Garas, Frank Schweitzer. Positive words carry less information than negative words. EPJ Data Science, 2012; 1 (1) DOI: 10.1140/epjds3
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.


Compost Gin (Card Game)
Compost Gin (Card Game)
This engaging card game is a wonderful way to teach the essentials of decomposition and composting. The set includes 54 colorful cards depicting the different components necessary for decomposition to proceed. To make compost, students collect the right mixture of cards (different values are given to each mixture based on the probability that the mix will make good compost). The first player to get 200 composting points wins. Students can talk trash while having a blast! Recommended for ages 8 to 14.
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This application note describes the benefits of using the new CellKey™ Small Sample 96W microplate for investigating endogenous receptor function in non-adherent cell lines and primary cells. The Small Sample microplate was designed to use significantly fewer cells per well while maintaining the same reliability and robustness as the CellKey™ Standard 96W microplate.
Analyzing endogenous receptors in non-adherent cell lines and primary cells with the CellKey™ Small Sample 96W Microplate
Primary cells provide the most biologically, and disease relevant context to study endogenous receptor function making them an attractive in vitro model system for drug discovery. However, primary cells can be prohibitively expensive for use in early stages of drug discovery. The CellKey™ Small Sample 96W microplate has a well-bottom area 1/20 the area of the CellKey™ Standard 96W microplate and uses a reduced assay volume. This enables pharmacological analysis of endogenous receptors in the context of primary cells at a significantly reduced cell number per well. In the following case study, data obtained using the Small Sample microplate was directly compared to data generated using the Standard microplate. The results demonstrate that the Small Sample microplate is ideal for cell-based secondary screening assays utilizing primary cells.
Company websiteMolecular Devices®


text:
Industrial Maintenance Paint
Definition - What does Industrial Maintenance Paint mean?
Industrial maintenance paint refers to a paint or coating that is used for the protection of industrial structures and components. These paints are primarily chosen considering their protective attributes rather than their aesthetic properties, though they can provide both.
High-performance epoxy coatings, acrylic primers, enamels and finishes can be used to produce industrial maintenance paint.
An industrial maintenance paint may also be referred to as a maintenance paint.
Corrosionpedia explains Industrial Maintenance Paint
Industrial maintenance paints are specially produced paints to protect industrial structures and components. These paints are commonly used to control the corrosion of steel structures of industrial plants; their roofs, platforms and underground pipelines. These coatings are also used as intumescent coatings for the fire resistance of industrial equipment and structures.
The environments of industries are not similar, so different types of coatings with different attributes are needed to meet the specific needs of each environment.
High-performance polymers, acrylic and primers are mainly used to produce industrial paints. Polyurethane, epoxy, moisture-cure urethane and fluoropolymer are commonly used polymers that also produce these paints. The coating produces a polymer film on the coating surface, which acts as a physical barrier between the steel substrate and the industrial corrosive environment. This polymer film protects the industrial structure and components.
As an industrial maintenance coating, high-performance epoxy coatings are ideal for structural steel, piping, tanks and equipment in chemicals, fertilizers, power plants, petroleum refineries, pulp and paper mills, and mining operations. They are also used as a filler for concrete blocks. Various waterborne acrylic coatings are also a good choice for industrial finishes.


This is intended to provide information for people who throw Not An Answer (NAA) flags and who might be surprised to see the canned decline reason "flags should not be used to indicate technical inaccuracies, or an altogether wrong answer", (or some other decline reason) as the response to the flag.
When should answers be flagged as Not An Answer and when should something else be done?
We see quite a lot of Not An Answer flags that shouldn't really have been thrown. The NAA flag should be thrown when the community lacks the tools to fix an issue e.g.
 - The answer is asking for additional information or making a comment on the question - we can convert to a comment.
 - Someone is saying I have this problem too/Did this ever get resolved/Thanks etc.
 - Someone is asking a new question.
You could flag these as not an answer but you could do better
 - The answer is a comment on another answer (please use other and let us know where it should go, use the share link).
 - The answer is additional information that should be an edit to the question. We can convert to edit so using other and letting us know is good, you could edit the information into the question yourself and then flag other and request deletion.
NAA flags shouldn't be thrown when the community has the tools to fix the issue e.g.
 - The answer provided is wrong.
 - The answer provided doesn't answer the question.
 - The answer is phrased as a question e.g. Did you try X or Y? Which is really a hint to the OP to do something.
You have the tools to deal with these: Downvote, leave a comment or both. If you have enough rep and you feel it necessary, you can cast a delete vote.
Additional Information: _URL_ Can we have an unambiguous, official ruling on what the "not an answer" flag is for?
 - 8
 The second bullet point in the part saying that NAAs shouldn't be thrown when the answer doesn't answer the question contradicts the FAQ:s text, where it says that answers may be removed if they are "not even a partial answer to the actual question". It'd be nice if the FAQ and the moderators could be in agreement... – Jenny D Mar 27 '13 at 11:04
 - _USER_: I believe we are, it only says may not will. – user9517 Mar 27 '13 at 14:31
 - 6
 Well, yes, but you seem to be saying "should not", which IMHO is a ways off from "may". At the very least it's a bit confusing for a relative newbie. – Jenny D Mar 27 '13 at 14:36
 - 3
 Nice post - we're working to educate and promote the proper use of not-an-answer flags. meta.apple.stackexchange.com/q/1629/5472 I'm a big proponent for keeping all the wrong answers online, searchable, but properly down-voted and explained as to how and why the post is incorrect. Just as many learn from a correct answer - knowing what the answer is not is equally beneficial to learning. – bmike Mar 27 '13 at 17:48
 - 6
 Great. So don't use NAA if the answer doesn't answer the question (?!) – vonbrand Mar 29 '13 at 0:31
 - 6
 It seems to me the confusion is the difference between "is a wrong answer" (which shouldn't be NAA) and "is not even a wrong answer", which is what I think should be NAA. – Jenny D Mar 31 '13 at 12:08
 - _USER_ I find that when a comment is an answer, many users tend to steal the answer in that comment and post it as their own answer. – AStopher Nov 10 '14 at 9:18
 - _USER_ That's entirely acceptable – user9517 Nov 10 '14 at 9:25
 - 1
 What is recommended when the "answer" does not even try to address the question? I am asking because I flagged NAA an answer telling how to list KBs, because the question was about to uninstall KBs. My flag was "declined - flags should not be used to indicate technical inaccuracies, or an altogether wrong answer". – Law29 Jan 20 '16 at 18:44
 - 2
 _USER_ A downvote. – HopelessN00b Apr 27 '16 at 21:38
 - _USER_ That's just a wrong answer - downvote it. – user9517 Apr 27 '16 at 21:55
 - 1
 OK, so "Not an answer" should not be used to flag posts which are not answers to the question. That's illogical, but no matter. – Law29 Apr 28 '16 at 5:12
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text:
Perceptual form organization
Perceptual organization everything we see, we see for the first time while parts of a scene may correspond to objects we have some previous. Abstract—perceptual organization refers to the ability to impose organization on sensory data some uses of closure and forms of symmetry such as parallelism. Gestalt psychology or gestaltism is a philosophy of mind of the berlin school of experimental the central principle of gestalt psychology is that the mind forms a global whole with self-organizing tendencies indeed, some of their laws of perceptual organisation today sound vague and inadequate what is meant by a. Three major classes of organizational phenomena (space, shape/form, and movement) have been important to perceptual theory theories of organization differ. Thus for the perceptual organization of contours, we must recover not just an ( 2001) used a form of contour tracing in order to distinguish the statistics relating.
Perceptual organization to drastically affect our perception hence, while some angle determined by the connection form of the frame field since. However, negative feedback was always given to the monkeys in the form of aborting an observation period following an incorrect response once the animals. Perceptual organization is the process of giving structure to our the principle of closed form (adapted from wertheimer, 1923/2012): a-b.
Laws of organization in perceptual forms max wertheimer (1923) first published as untersuchungen zur lehre von der gestalt ii, in psycologische forschung,. Systemic fatigue and perceptual organization the fatigued ss displayed a lack of ability to form relationships among various stimuli or to relate. The gestalt laws of perceptual organization describe how we see and perceptual organization, or how smaller objects are grouped to form.
The original principles were listed by max wertheimer in 1923 in his paper laws of organization in perceptual forms: proximity good figure. Good visual perceptual skills are important for many every day skills such as reading, visual memory: the ability to recall visual traits of a form or object organisation: they may have difficulty keeping track of and organising belongings. However, surrounding cues allow us to form 3d representations rather than a flat image perceptual organization is organizing to depth and then form.
Perceptual form organization
Perceptual organization has typically been viewed as a description of the image in compact or convenient form we interpret it as a primitive. About core gestalt phenomena of perceptual organization and how perception of form or shape) and of pure succession (for the perception. Perceptual-motor recalibration of locomotion has been a novel form of locomotion for typically walking individuals, similarly influences subsequent our results are suggestive of a functional organization of perception and. Posts about perceptual organization written by managementinnovations form of money back guarantees, warranties, and pre purchase trial.
Max wertheimer, recognized as the founding gestalt psychologist, published one of his most prominent journals in 1923 — 'laws of. In one of the initial looking-time investigations of perceptual organization in mo to 6 to 7 mo of age in sensitivity to form similarity as an organizational principle. Our experience in perceptual organisation consists in the design and implementation of a fully automatic among line segments in order to form large groups. Experiments reported here indicate that perceptual glue is not needed to explain known form and shape perception spatial organization attention.
This quantum-like form of representational processing relates to connectionist keywords: perceptual organization, simplicity vs likelihood, classical vs modern. 6 major principles of perceptual organisation | perception | psychology closure: gestalt psychologists claimed that when we receive sensations that form an. Abstract—perceptual organization has typically been viewed as a description of the image in compact or convenient form we interpret it as a primitive. The investigations in this subject crystallised into the gestalt laws of perceptual organization some of these laws, which are often cited in the hci or interaction.


text:
Year 4 Roman Villa Visit
As part of our ongoing Roman topic, Year 4 had a fascinating day out exploring the Roman villa at Lulllingstone. We started off our explorations by first of all looking at the ancient site and comparing it with what we see around us in London. We encouraged the children to think about why the Romans might have built a settlement at Lullingstone. We agreed that the nearby river would have helped the Romans with their transport needs.
After lunch in the Roman village, Year 4 then played a game of Roman invaders. Some unlucky Year 4 Celts fell victim to the Michael Faraday Roman Empire!
We have been continuing this work back in the classroom, examining various Roman artefacts and looking at traditional Roman costumes. The children have also been designing their own Roman mosaics.


keskiviikko 27. kesäkuuta 2018
CR Lama's Unholy Style
CR Lama's Unholy Style
James Low talks about his teacher Chimed Rigdzin Rinpoche, also known as CR Lama:
"My main teacher is the late Chimed Rigdzin Lama, also known as CR Lama. He was a married lama who lived with his family and, when I knew him well in India, he taught in a university. He was a great scholar, a very powerful person, and he was not at all holy. He was very ordinary in his way of life. His qualities showed themselves without his making special claims about himself. In the lineages of Tibetan Buddhism there are many different styles of practice. Some lineages display themselves as being very pure and holy; that is to say, they set themselves in the domain of the sacred and create a mood which is separate from ordinary life. When you encounter that kind of setting you have the opportunity to experience something which is not like ordinary existence. Such settings tend to be ritualised and choreographed so that everyone knows their place and what they are, and are not, allowed to do. My teacher was, however, very much in ordinary life. He was very fond of university politics, supporting his friends and attacking his enemies. This is not holy activity. But oh, so very pleasurable! For many years I was his secretary, and I had to write, on the basis of his special English, very insulting letters. In order to enter his world I had to let go many of the assumptions I held about how to live in a proper way. In the end, in order to practise, we each have to find a style which is in harmony with the energy of our potential as it responds to each unique setting in which we find ourselves. Being in the mandala, or environment, that Rinpoche created was very disturbing, and yet it was also liberating. It opened the space to see that our world is indeed a construct of our beliefs and assumptions. Freeing ourselves from relative truth, from truth based on comparing and contrasting, involves a leap of faith. Encouragement to make this leap was Rinpoche's wondrous gift."
lauantai 9. kesäkuuta 2018
What is Emptiness? How to Make Sense of Emptiness?
What is Emptiness? How to Make Sense of Emptiness?
Emptiness in sanskrit is shunyata. Emptiness is also called selflessness, I-lessness or me-lessness (anatman, anatta). Emptiness and selflessness refer to the self-empty nature of mind. This is the basis of buddhist thought and practice. One who has seen his mind to be completely without a self, has mastered the teaching of emptiness, is fully awake, that is, a living buddha.
The main reason why we suffer is the sense of self (skt. atman). We have thoughts, emotions and reactions within our mind and because of the accumulation of the self-thought, I or me, these mind elements make us convinced that we exist independently as separate entities. This is the basis of delusion and suffering (dukkha).
The buddhist path is concerned with interruption and putting an end to cyclic existence (samsara) through proper understanding of the nature of suffering and through proper yogic effort. Particularly insight meditation (vipashyana), also called by different names such as lhaktong or prajna, is what is unique to buddhist meditation. According to the teachings of buddhist masters vipashyana, lit. clear seeing, is the key to removing existential confusion (dukkha).
Buddhist teachings on emptiness such as the Heart Sutra famously states that, "Form is emptiness, emptiness is form". What is the meaning of this? Form refers to any sort of relative phenomena, physical or nonphysical. Relative phenomena occurs in one or two ways: 1. external phenomena reflected on the mind and 2. internal mind phenomena. If all phenomena are experienced empty, there is no cause for confusion to arise. If any phenomena appearing in the mind is not experienced as empty, and hence causes selfing, self-based reaction, this impulse can and should be used as fuel for vipashyana practice.
Emptiness cannot be properly understood by contemplating the existence of external things, such as a chair or a desk. The only way to have a liberating insight is to see that selfing happens in the mind, not somewhere outside.
Emptiness needs to be understood through emptiness. Even though impermanence (anicca) and suffering (dukkha) are the other two pillars of buddha dharma it is the insight into the empty nature of mind that liberates, not the other two.
Understanding emptiness through insight is crucial for all buddhist meditators, and in fact to all who suffer of existential confusion.
Meditation on emptiness is not difficult or lofty, but simple, grounded and easy-to-understand when taught and applied correctly. If the instructions are vague and lack clarity, there will be no result or it will take unnecessarily long time. Without emptiness insight it is impossible to make sense of any buddhist teachings. This is so because all buddha dharma is built on realisation of emptiness (insight, awakening, kensho, semngo tropa). If the foundation of emptiness is not solid, there is nothing to build a stable house on.
In the long run, not having a proper insight leads to twisted dharma that is harmful and misleading. The importance of direct insight has been stressed by numerous buddhist masters throughout the existence of buddhism. Without insight, the noncausal paths such as of zen, dzogchen and mahamudra are impossible to understand.
On societal and cultural levels the lack of experiential understanding of emptiness leads to great numbers of lost practitioners who are unable to have real faith about the buddhist path. For this reason the mahasangha of all beings doesn't reap true benefits through interconnectedness. All practitioners should first and foremost make sure that they understand emptiness through direct experience.
How do I know if my understanding of emptiness is right?
Insight, awakening or kensho means that part of one's deluded self-based mind becomes permanently deconstructed of the sense of self, me or I. Figuratively speaking, an insight makes a lasting hole in the wall through which the sight on the other side of the wall becomes easier to see. Without the hole one is shut behind the wall of self-delusion. An insight has a liberating effect. It makes a notable difference to have even a small hole in the wall, instead of having none, because looking through the hole instead of looking at the wall are two very different experiences.
Consecutive insights (bhumi openings), after the first one, keep making the hole bigger and bigger and in consequence it becomes easier and easier to see what is behind the wall. When insights are combined with regular daily practice, the outcome is that the separating wall becomes entirely deconstructed.
Also "glimpses" into the self-empty nature of mind are needed. The difference between a glimpse and insight is that glimpse is not permanent.
When the hole is there our everyday life becomes a significantly different. A part of our narrow minded selfing has been permanently removed so this cannot not have an effect on our lives. Social relationships, work, creative work and other things in life are met from a more open minded and less opinionated place. Because selfing no longer happens the same way it used to, how the mind used to think, feel and react according to the self-based habits, life becomes more direct, more fresh and more intimate. This is the most profound change we can have.
There is nothing that can replace selfless insight because nothing else will deconstruct the sense of self. A simple indication that one matures in insight meditation is that one feels clear minded, open hearted, fresh and less reactive in everyday life.
Practical advice
In Open Heart vipashyana is practiced in both sutra and tantra forms. Sutra vipashyana refers to the Two-Part Formula for the first awakening and object-vipashyana instructions after that. Tantra vipashyana refers to Open Heart Yoga which because of the unique aspects in the practice has the power to generate a whole series of awakenings, bhumi openings, within a relatively short period of time. These awakenings (bhumi openings) are matured (bhumi perfection) by regular practice over a longer period of time.
A practice hint: When selfing happens, pay attention to tensions in the head space. The area inside the head, preor post-awakening, is the place where the impulse can be effectively seen through.
-Kim Katami
Open Heart Sangha,
perjantai 8. kesäkuuta 2018
Taoist Master Attains Rainbow Body
Taoist Master Attains Rainbow Body
From book "Qi Gong" by Baolin Wu
Du Xinlin, known as the Master of the Purple Luminescence, was an extraordinary modern seer. From his earliest childhood to his mystical passing from this plane, he lived his life as something more than a mere man. Tales of his feats of divination, martial artistry, and healing are recorded within the annals of both the Purple Cloud and White Cloud Monasteries.
At the age of 116, Master Du left the earthly plane. He lived his life as a towering mystic and master of the Taoist arts and had decided to dedicate his passing to a demonstration


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If you open (not save) a Word attachment in Windows Mail, then it will open the document up in Microsoft Word. This is saved somewhere, and you can edit the file and save it (i.e. no "save as" dialog appears). If you then close Word without explicitly saving the file somewhere, how do you then find the edited file? (Assuming that it can be found, and isn't automatically deleted).
Windows Search does not find the file (presumably because it's in the folders that are excluded from search).
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2 Answers 2
It's probably either in the Windows temporary directory, which is by default in "C:\Windows\Temp", or in the user's temporary directory which is in "C:\Documents and Settings\user name\Local Settings\Temp\".
If you're looking for a good file-search engine, and if your disk is formatted as NTFS, see the Everything search engine.
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If it can help someone, it was in temporary internet files. (I wonder why no answer has been picked by the author.) – Etiennebr Dec 15 '11 at 19:02
First, whenever you discover you edited and saved an email attachment, try not to open it from your mail application again. Doing so, might overwrite the edited file with the version from the email message, which will discard your edits. Fortunately, most often a newly opened file will get stored in a different temporary folder, so this might be your lucky day.
Windows Explorer will not show the true contents of the Temporary Internet Files folder. Hence, if you know part of the file name, you need to use the command prompt:
 - Hold down the Windows key and press R (this opens the Run dialog)
 - Type: cmd
 (and hit Return to run it)
 - Type: dir c:\filename*.* /s /a /od
 Above, filename is the start of the file name, followed by an asterisk (wildcard) to find all possible combinations of the name. The dir-command will scan your whole hard disk and might run a long time. When it's done, it lists all files that match that name, with the newest file at the bottom of that list. That's most likely the file you want.
 - To copy the results from the command prompt, you might first need to click the top-left icon of the command prompt window, and select something like "edit » mark". Then, select the output using your mouse, and when the result is selected, press Return to copy it to your clipboard.
 - Paste just the filename you found into Windows Explorer, and if all is well, Office will open it. Now use File, Save As to move it to a better place.
 - If copying and pasting the results did not work, type 'cd' followed by the directory in the command prompt, this will display the items in that particular location. Now type'start' and the file name with extension to run your lost document. For example'start amanda.doc'.
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protected by Diago Dec 22 '10 at 19:52
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8 Ways a Background Remover Can Improve Your Creativity
Good photos are essential to everything you want to do, whether it's showing off what your business can do, branding a client, or simply keeping your family and friends looking their best. Sometimes, however, mistakes happen or clutter in a photo's background can distract from what you really want viewers to see. This is when you need a background remover.
Unlike using a clipping path to remove an image from a background, which uses a vector to highlight and cut an image from its scene, a background remover completely removes the background -map of a highlighted object. For example, an application such as VistaCreate (opens in a new tab) uses an algorithm to analyze a photo and judge the primary and secondary objects in the image, then it will remove the background.
Even when a vector cutout does a good job, it can be tedious and time-consuming, particularly if you have a complex image – we've got a guide on how to cut hair in Photoshop to help, for example, but a good background remover, like VistaCreate, can speed up the process and make it error-free.
Using a bespoke background remover isn't just about cutting an image out of its scene, for example VistaCreate offers an ecosystem of tools to do everything from adding animation and music to offering a suite of branded models. If you want to get started creating your own marketing materials or just improving social media, a top background removal tool can help.
Below, we explore some of the uses of a background remover, and there are some surprising benefits, like helping clicks from your website to new income for freelance photographers.
01. Create better product images
It's obvious, but removing the clutter of a background or completely removing the background puts more emphasis on the product itself. Maybe it's because you've made or spotted mistakes in the background that you want to build a consistent brand around your product. Consistency in this way suggests quality and reliability.
Creating a nice, clean product image can also entice buyers and users to click on your item, which is great for selling on sites like eBay or Etsy as well as your own website or marketing materials. Using a background remover can eliminate blemishes and unnecessary distractions and let the focus of the image shine through.
02. Image setup for edits
Removing the background from an image also sets it up for adding additional visual effects or even using the image in a VFX shot. A person or product on a simple white background, for example, is much easier to reuse than one on a complex background.
Once the background is removed, the product can be edited, such as adding highlights, shadows, or other effects in Photoshop and After Effects. The image can even be transformed into a VFX shot. With all the flaws and details removed, the image is easier to handle.
03. Improve your social media content
If it is nice to see your product or yourself in the background with a context, often breaking through on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram it can be a good idea to offer simple and powerful images. Removing a background to provide a clean image or placing your product on a colored or animated background can be beneficial.
By using a tool like VistaCreate, you can easily modify an image to create something more dynamic and personal. Again, removing a cluttered background and placing an item on a bespoke or colored background can provide a personalized, branded visual. You can even get social media banner templates, perfect for promoting your business on sites like Facebook.
04. Create easy collages
Often you will want to create product graphics that showcase your line of items in a single image. By removing the background and saving your images as PNG files, you can easily make special edits and cuts, and place these images on top of each other to easily create group photos. It's easy to paste multiple images onto a chart this way, and you've done it with a click or two in one piece of software.
05. Improve your marketing materials
If you want to create your own advertisements, posters, or any other type of marketing material that requires a clean, crisp design, with consistent branding, this can be achieved much more easily if the product is removed from the background. It is not always necessary to show the game controller in game if it is better to show the same controller in detail.
Using a background remover also allows you to reuse or make better use of logos. You can have a dated logo on a clunky background that can easily be refreshed by dropping it on a transparent background and laying it on a new pre-designed template. Change the dimensions of the template to suit different uses and you have now created a set of new logos.
06. Create unique personal photos
We've already covered some marketing, branding, and e-commerce uses, but you can also use a background remover to rejuvenate your personal photos. You can easily remove the background in VistaCreate, then resize your photos, cut, edit and add special effects – all more easily on a clean photo. Your new photos are now ideal for creating bespoke cards and calendars – perfect gifts for grandma!
07. Create smaller file sizes
It may seem obvious, but the less image there is – the less "data" there is – the smaller the file size. While this might seem unnecessary since most of the images you use might be small anyway, it does make websites load faster – so it's great for Etsy, for example, or your blog or business site.
A smaller image size means a better SERP (Search Engine Ranking Position) rating, which ultimately ensures that your website will rank higher in Google and you will get more views. All because you removed a background, impressive.
08. Earn money with your photos
As we pointed out above, there are many reasons why you might do good background removal and how a cleaner image can be used. But just like you can use a clean new image, so can other people.
Once you remove a background and have a photo of a product, item, or person on a transparent background, you can earn royalties from other people who want to use your photos in their marketing. You can sell them through your own website or register with a platform such as Depositphotos (opens in a new tab) and start earning.


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|Microsoft Office PowerPoint® 2003
|Microsoft PowerPoint® 2002
Whether you're pitching your ideas at a company meeting or creating a special, presentation-based photo album for the family reunion, using sounds or music can spice up your Microsoft PowerPoint presentation. When you're adding sound and music to a presentation, it's important to understand the difference between embedded and linked objects.
The differences between linked and embedded objects
The term "object" in this article refers to a sound (including a piece of music). An object can be the sound itself, or it can be the file that contains the sound.
The main differences between linked objects and embedded objects are where you store them and how you update them, if need be, after you place them in the destination file (in this case, your presentation).
Linked object A linked object is created and stored in a separate source file, and then it is linked to the destination file. Because the two files are linked, when you make changes to one file, the changes appear in both the source and destination files.
Embedded object An embedded object is created in a separate source file too, but then it is inserted into the destination file, becoming part of that file. If you make a change to the original source file, the change will not show up in the destination file.
An embedded object
A linked object
The source file that contains the linked object
How to choose the best file type
Let's say you've created a presentation to which you've added several music files that act as a soundtrack. You've set up all the transitions and timings and such, and it works like a charm on your computer. Here are a few questions you need to ask yourself before considering this project finished. In fact, you can save yourself a lot of time if you think about these things before you add your sound files.
How big is each sound file?
Use these criteria to choose a file type based on size:
- If each individual sound or music file is 50 megabytes (MB) or less, you can insert it as either a linked or embedded object. (Note that embedded objects larger than 100 KB may slow down the performance of your presentation, however.)
- If your file is more than 50 MB, it should be linked — it won't play in your presentation if you embed it. The default setting in PowerPoint for the allowed maximum size of embedded objects is 100 kilobytes (KB), but you can change it to a maximum of 50,000 KB (50 MB).
How do I change the maximum size allowed?
- On the Tools menu, click Options.
- On the General tab, increase the Link sounds with file size greater than ___ Kb setting to a size just larger than your largest sound file, up to 50,000 KB (50 MB).
- Click OK.
Will you use the same computer to create and show the presentation?
Consider the following:
- If you plan to show your presentation using the computer you created it on, you can insert either embedded or linked files (assuming your linked files are within the size limits described above).
- If you plan to show your presentation on another computer, you must be careful about using linked files. Make sure that the source file that contains your linked sound files, as well as the folder it's in, are saved on the computer you're using to present. Otherwise, the sound files won't play because the presentation won't know where to link to — the source files will be on a different computer.
- If you're saving your presentation on a floppy disk or CD-ROM, one way to ensure that your linked files go with you to the new computer is to use the Package for CD (PowerPoint 2003) or Pack and Go Wizard (PowerPoint 2002) feature.
Use Package for CD
If you want to run your presentation, distribute it on CD, or save it to a folder or network share, you can use the Package for CD command on the File menu. Package for CD copies your presentation along with any supporting files either onto a CD or to a single folder or network share. When you package your presentation, you can make your slide show play automatically. Also, the Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003 Viewer is included by default, which means the computer that plays the CD does not need to have PowerPoint installed. For more information, see the Help topics About packaging and copying a presentation to CD and Package a presentation for CD.
Use the Pack and Go Wizard
Will you need to change the objects after they've been added to the presentation?
If you want to update the objects after adding them to your presentation, think about these points:
- If you plan to make changes to the source file, use linked objects. When you make changes to the source file, the changes will be recognized in the presentation because the files are linked.
- If you don't plan to make any changes to the source file, you can use embedded objects. When a file is embedded, information in the destination file doesn't change if you modify the source file.
You can usually get away with using either linked or embedded sound files if your sound files are 50 MB or less (for embedded sound files) or if you present and create the presentation on the same computer (for linked files). Below are a few guidelines to consider when including music and sound in your presentations.
|Type of file
||When to use it
- Your files are 100 KB or less. This is the recommended maximum size. You may embed files that are up to 50 MB, but it may slow down the performance of the presentation.
- You want all the pieces of your presentation contained within that presentation.
- You don't plan to make any changes to the source files.
- You plan to use the same computer to create and display your presentation.
- Your files are large.
- You plan on making changes to the source files.
Note If the path name of a linked file exceeds 128 characters, Microsoft Office PowerPoint is not able to find and play that linked file. In such a case, you can either rename the linked file, or shorten the path name by copying the linked file into the folder where your presentation is located. Then either update links automatically by using the Package for CD feature, or update them manually by removing the sounds from the presentation and then adding them again.


German Museum Has a Living Copy of Van Gogh's Famous Ear
Diemut Strebe, Sugababe (2014). Photo: courtesy the artist.
Diemut Strebe, Sugababe (2014). A living bioengineered replica of Vincent van Gogh's ear, grown from tissue engineered cartilage cells procured from a direct male descendant, Sugababe contains natural DNA from Vincent and genetic engineered components of historical and synthetic DNA.
Photo: courtesy Ronald Feldman.
Everyone knows that tortured Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh cut off his own ear. As if the actual act was not disturbing enough, another Dutch artist has for some reason fabricated the long-dead artist a new ear from genetic material provided oneby of the artist's relatives, reports the Guardian.
When Van Gogh, in the midst of a psychic breakdown (or, depending on who's telling the story, in a fight with Gauguin) chopped off his ear and presented it as a gift to a horrified prostitute way back in 1888, he had no idea that he was reserving a place in the art history textbooks for his now-missing appendage, which has since become one of the most famous body parts in human history.
Now, artist Diemut Strebe has taken genetic samples from Lieuwe van Gogh, the great-great-grandson of the artist's brother Theo van Gogh, and created a new ear, titled Sugababe, with computer imaging technology ensuring that the ear is a faithful copy of the artist's body part.
The science of growing artificial ears dates back to 1995 and was developed by Robert Langer of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University's Charles Vacanti. Believe it or not, the Van Gogh ear, which is displayed suspended in a clear nutrient solution inside a glass case, is probably less disturbing than Langer and Vacanti's first ear, which was incubated on the back of a mouse.
Before Strebe tracked down Lieuwe van Gogh, she actually tried extracting DNA from a postage stamp the famed Impressionist had allegedly licked. Eventually, she settled for a living relative, who willingly provided saliva and cartilage samples. The two should share the same Y-chromosome, and about one sixteenth of their genes in total.
The admittedly creepy project, a strange hybrid of art and science (the artist calls it a "living art-piece"), is on view at Centre for Art and Media in Karlsruhe, where visitors can use computer software that simulates nerve impulses to talk to the ear (whatever that means).
While the ear is just one of a limited edition, neither Van Lieuwe nor Amsterdam's Van Gogh Museum is interested in owning a copy, according to Dutch News.
Nevertheless, artificially-grown ears are becoming a trend of sorts. An episode of this season of Elementary, the Sherlock Holmes television series starring Johnny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu, featured a pair of replacement ears secretly incubated on a woman's back, that figured in an elaborate murder frame-up job. According to the show, convincing faux ears are very easy to cultivate, and can be grown around a cartilage frame.
Sugababe will be on view at the museum through July 6, 2014, but Strebe may have plans to bring it to New York for her show at Ronald Feldman Fine Arts next spring.
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Dr. Henry Bart and his "Field Studies in Environmental Science" class recently participated in a field trip to Frackville, Centralia, and Mahanoy City, PA to learn about coal, energy, and environmental impact. Photo's shown are of the strip mine (with the large shovel), as well as Centralia which has an underground coal fire that has destroyed the town (note the steam coming out of the surface). This fire has been burning for more than 40 years - there is no way to extinguish it.
They also went to a co-generation plant that produces energy from waste coal mixed with shale rock. It makes steam and electricity, at the same time removing the large piles of waste coal that have been leaching acid runoff into the streams and groundwater.
Click here to view more pictures of this Environmental Science Field trip and others.


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fast little loans
Rome - For centuries, the life of Giotto, considered the father of European painting, has been wrapped in mystery. His exact birth date was not known, his remains were never found.
Now, an Italian anthropology expert claims that he has identified a skeleton unearthed 30 years ago beneath Florence's Duomo cathedral as Giotto's.
A chalk reconstruction based on analyses of the skull shows a strong resemblance to a presumed self-portrait of the master in Giotto's famous cycle of frescoes in Padua's Scrovegni Chapel, Francesco Mallegni told The Associated Press in a telephone interview on Thursday.
Some Italian scholars expressed scepticism. Mallegni said he plans to make DNA tests on the skeleton's teeth to back up his claim.
An anthropology and paleontology professor at the universities of Pisa and Palermo, Mallegni said that he studied the bones for three months.
Results of the analyses portray a short, squarely built man, with a huge head and a hooked nose, Mallegni said. The bones show signs of osteoporosis, corroborating the theory that Giotto died quite old, perhaps at the age of 70, in 1337.
Also found on the skeleton were high levels of aluminum, arsenic, zinc, lead and other chemical elements used in paints in the 14th century materials that Giotto's body probably would have absorbed during his lifetime.
"All the pieces in the jigsaw puzzle fit," Mallegni said.
Bones of the neck show a contraction, suggesting that the man spent a lot of time looking upward, perhaps at frescoes, the professor said. Analyses of the teeth suggest that the man may have held a paintbrush in his mouth, he said.
The research also indicates that he ate a lot of meat, a sign that he was well off.
Considered the father of European painting, Giotto achieved great personal fame in his lifetime. His works point to the innovations of the Renaissance style that developed a century later.
The Scrovegni Chapel's frescoes are considered his masterpiece. Three years before he died, he started working on Florence's bell tower which bears his name.
Mallegni said that the skeleton was not very well preserved. It was found, along with 14th-century coins, in a grave of the Church of Santa Reparata, which was later replaced by the Duomo cathedral. When Giotto died, Santa Reparata was still in use while the cathedral was being built around it.
The skeleton had been studied before, but could not be identified.
Mallegni's theory has been received with some scepticism by other Italian scholars.
Art historian Alessandro Parronchi told the Milan daily Corriere della Sera that the chalk reconstruction used is not realistic. He also pointed out that the Scrovegni Chapel painting used for the comparison may not be Giotto's self-portrait - a long-standing doubt that has divided experts.
Others have said that the skeleton might belong to another painter active in Florence in the 1300s. - Sapa-Ap


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Definitions of pod:
- noun: a detachable container of fuel on an airplane
- noun: a group of aquatic mammals
- noun: a several-seeded dehiscent fruit as e.g. of a leguminous plant
- noun: the vessel that contains the seeds of a plant (not the seeds themselves)
- verb: produce pods, of plants
- verb: take something out of its shell or pod
Example: "Pod peas or beans"
- name: A surname (very rare: popularity rank in the U.S.: #79710)
Search for pod at other dictionaries: OneLook, Answers.com, Merriam-Webster
"Works flawlessly!": RhymeZone apps for iPhone/iPad and Android!
Help, Feedback, Customize, Android app, iPhone/iPad app
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Creativity is a valuable skill in the electronics industry, but is often overlooked in academic curricula and coursework. Academics can use gamification to integrate innovation and design through hands-on, exploratory project development. This paper proposes a method for using game mechanics to teach electronic design automation and other technical engineering concepts.
At Rochester Institute of Technology, the AdvanceRIT (NSF _TAG_) institutional transformation project strives to increase the representation, retention, and advancement of women faculty in STEM, including social and behavioral science (SBS) disciplines. From faculty and staff in the trenches to administrators at all levels, active collaborative engagement in institutional transformation efforts can counter this resistance. This paper outlines critical collaborations that serve as effective tools in promoting positive institutional change.
We will share our experiences in developing and promoting an environment that is safe and conducive to the inclusion of women in technology in academic programs. Our student clubs where students have shown the promise of leadership, also provide participation between males and females and increased inclusion of women in high impact retention activities. The importance of male advocacy and attitude from leadership towards clubs is vital for success.


Wednesday, 3 October 2012
Physics 101 for Mitt Romney
Ahead of the Presidential debate tonight, I thought I'd help Willard Mitt Romney out a little.
He recently said this, after his wife's plane had to make an emergency landing due to smoke in the cabin:
1. Fires need oxygen. So adding more isn't a great idea.
2. Air in a plane is pressurised. Air outside is very thin. So if you open the window, all the air inside will want to go outside to equalise the pressure.
Here's a diagram of what happens if Mitt Romney opens the window of his executive jet: click to enlarge.
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There are oftentimes some source systems in a business intelligence solution that are less than critical for your reporting. It is possible to configure the Jet Data Manager so that the entire execution does not stop because the software cannot reach any of these non-critical systems. Instead, the organization can choose to keep the newest data from the failing data source until fresh data can be retrieved. This ensures that the rest of the solution will continue to be updated if an Excel file used as a data source is moved, for example.
Follow the steps below to allow a data source to fail.
On the Data tab, right-click on the data source to be allowed to fail and select "Data Source Settings"
In the When transfer fails list, click on the option to use if the transfer should fail. The available options are:
- Fail stop execution : Stops execution and reports the execution as failed.
- Continue without data : Continues the execution, pretending that the source contains no data.
- Continue with existing data : Continues execution, retaining the existing data from the source.
If using Replicate Data Sources you need to configure this setting on the additional data source as well as the template data source.


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Balance of tree & grass cover
The Australian beef industry manages half of Australia's landmass. Much of the beef it produces is the result of grazing cattle on land that cannot support other food production.
The industry manages the land by balancing tree and grass cover for grazing and environmental benefits.
Overwhelmingly, activities to improve production also improve environmental outcomes, for example through nutrient cycling. The industry recognises in some areas, production and environment must be managed separately. In Australia, well-managed beef production systems are integrated with biodiverse ecosystems.
It remains important for the Australian beef industry to prove its environmental credentials, including how it manages tree and grass cover.
Australia is tackling difficult environmental challenges. As managers of so much land, producers recognise their responsibility to protect and improve the land. The beef industry is aware of the negative impact of some operations, and many in the industry are effective environmental stewards with little recognition. Beef producers hope to continue productively collaborating with those inside and outside the industry to achieve what's best for the environment, animals and community.
The industry's strategic plan, Red Meat 2030, aspires for Australian red meat to be recognised "globally as world leaders in agricultural and environmental management and stewardship practices".
The Australian beef industry has been working closely with key customers, stakeholders and technical experts in this area, including through the Framework process. This includes convening an Expert Working Group to develop the practical, evidence-based measures for this priority. The Framework reported against these measures for the first time in 2019, and has done so again in the 2020 Annual Update.
Caring for the land is becoming more challenging for farming. The climate is becoming more variable and extreme weather events more frequent. The unprecedented bushfires that devastated parts of Australia over the past summer highlight the complexity and importance of managing vegetation and fuel loads in a changing climate.
The industry believes well-managed landscapes and livestock production are not mutually exclusive when looking at the whole farm system. In many landscapes, cattle can be grazed across the property. Others require a mosaic style of management, where some areas are protected to preserve the ecological value on the farm, while other areas are used for production.
The industry is committed to:
- Responsibly managing vegetation within the landscapes for the dual benefits of food production and ecosystem services.
- Recognising that all federal and state laws to protect and enhance areas of high conservation value are the minimum compared with best practice.
- Managing landscapes in a manner that is regionally appropriate with consideration to farm planning with an appropriate balance of tree and grass for:
- Grazing livestock.
- Conserving and where possible enhancing biodiversity.
- Focussing on maintaining ground cover to prevent soil run-off into waterways.
- Actively managing re-growth to protect existing pastures and grasslands.
- Actively managing vegetation when required for fire breaks, weed and pest control.
What the data is telling us
Data for both the indicators have been collected from the Framework's annual sustainability survey, which is currently the best available data source. Land set aside for conservation or protection has increased to 2.25%, representing 6.4 million hectares of cattle-producing land. This includes reserves, parks, heritage sites and indigenous protected areas.
There has been more actively managed land this year. Note that as the data came through a survey, this change could be due to a shift in respondents. Active management activities that contribute to environmental outcomes were developed in partnership with NRM Regions Australia. These activities include weed, pest and erosion control, applied soil treatments, fencing waterways and features that require protection to prevent livestock access, and destocking pastured, bushland or riparian areas.
The Framework is continuing to investigate a methodology to measure indicator 5.2a(ii), the amount of land managed by beef producers for conservation outcomes through formal arrangements.
View a comprehensive regional breakdown of ground cover levels.
Measuring changes in tree and grass cover
In 2019, we embarked on developing a world-leading capability for measuring and monitoring changes in tree and grass cover. Following extensive consultation, key indicators were developed by an independent Expert Working Group. Measurement of these indicators has been implemented through a partnership with Cibo Labs. The history of this work, alongside how this data is measured and collected, can be found here.
Following advice from this Expert Working Group, data looks at both vegetation loss and gain across regions. The Framework aims to report at a national level, and this may mean that reported data can be very misleading if the regional context is not considered. For this reason, the Framework has outlined vegetation trends across the 56 NRM regions here. The Framework is continuing to investigate appropriate ways to report national tree and grass cover changes that also capture regional context.
The Framework has distinguished two classes of woody vegetation – woodland and forest. This differentiation aims to address persistent movement between vegetation classes. A loss in forest can be due to clearing or a loss in density to woodland.
National changes in woody vegetation classes
The table below shows the loss and gain of woody cover across the woodland and forest classes.
- Woodland is counted as vegetation with 5-20% canopy cover.
- Forest is counted as vegetation with >20% canopy cover.
A national forest cover gain of 1.3% means that from 2017 to 2018, the conversion of non-woody to forest was responsible for a 1.3% gain in forest extent. Conversely the 1.1% loss means that from 2017 to 2018, 1.1% of the forest extent was converted to non-woody. The net change in extent is shown in the third section of this table.
Overall Australia's grazed agricultural lands are increasing in woody vegetation. Over the last decade we are also seeing a general increase in the density of woodland areas through a transition from woodland to forest. Trends in the primary woody vegetation removal have declined by more than 90% from 1990 levels, and since 2009 the national annual removal rate has been less than 0.3%. These losses include fires and commercial forestry on private land, so overestimate annual losses from grazing enterprises.
National changes in ground cover
The trends in seasonal ground cover and rainfall (Figure 2) are difficult to unpack at the national scale, though there are certainly long-term trends which have an impact on land resource condition. The severe impacts of widespread drought through 2017-2019 saw ground cover levels for around 50% of Australian land fall below 50% ground cover.
The decline in ground cover levels has been occurring nationally since 2011. National statistics, however, mask much more severe declines in ground cover at regional and property levels where ground cover has been significantly below regional targets in many areas. Regional and local declines in ground cover due to poor seasonal conditions and prolonged drought means producers will need to invest in managing soils and land condition to minimise negative impacts on the environment.
Snapshot of activity
Industry projects to improve how the Australian beef industry cares for the environment, and demonstrate its environmental credentials, include the following.
Verifying sustainable production
Considerable work is being done to develop a way to verify sustainable production. MLA has secured Smart Farm partnership funding from the Australian Government to pilot and roll out an innovative national online sustainability tool which will offer verifiable sustainability credentials for producers who opt in. Five Sustainability Credentials and supporting modules will enable broad-acre graziers to assess their on-farm performance and management:
- Vegetation retention and enhancement
- Grass cover and soil conservation
- Biodiversity stewardship
- Carbon accounting
- Drought resilience.
Participating graziers can have their practices verified against these standards through remote sensing technology. The platform will enable graziers to demonstrate their sustainability and access markets for sustainable beef.
In parallel, MLA has partnered with McDonald's to pilot a whole-of-value-chain beef sustainability program that could utilise this tool. A pilot of this program is being conducted that will test the online sustainability tool, and test how a whole of value chain program could operate.
NRM Regions Australia
Across Australia there are 49 NRM service providers acting as delivery agents under the National Landcare Program. They focus on:
- Ramsar wetlands
- Threatened species
- World Heritage properties
- Threatened ecological communities
- Conditions of soil, biodiversity, and vegetation
- Agricultural systems adapted to changes in climate and market demands.
Discussions continue to identify opportunities to partner on delivering positive environmental and production outcomes.


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Cyclotactor: Towards a Tactile Platform for Musical Interaction
This paper reports on work in progress on a finger-based tactile I/O device for musical interaction. The improvements made to the device since the previous report are discussed, and its increased capability to support audio-tactile synthesis is illustrated by an example interaction. Central to the device is the ability to set up cyclical relationships between tactile input and output. A direct practical application of this to musical interaction is given, using the idea to multiplex two degrees of freedom on a single tactile loop.
Staas de Jong, The Cyclotactor: Towards a Tactile Platform for Musical Interaction. In: Proceedings 8th International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME 2008), June 2008, Genova (Italy)


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GBRA Youth Education and Plum Creek School Water Quality Project
To promote youth education and involvement in the Partnership, a water quality monitoring program was initiated in the 2006-2007 school year and is being conducted annually. Thousands of students and teachers from Hays ISD, Lockhart ISD, and Luling ISD schools have participated in classroom instruction and hands-on investigation of water quality in Plum Creek since 2006. The GBRA Ag Fair held each year at the Big Red Barn near Seguin, TX, has provided hands-on educational opportunities for thousands of area elementary students throughout the Guadalupe-Blanco River Watershed, including Plum Creek Elementary Schools. Each year, the Plum Creek WC demonstrates runoff potential and erosion effects for a variety of land uses and land cover types using a rainfall simulator.
Texas Watershed Stewards
The Texas Watershed Steward (TWS) program is a statewide one-day educational program designed to improve the quality of Texas' water resources by educating and informing local stakeholders about their watershed, potential impairments, and steps that can be taken to help improve and protect water quality in their watershed. The program is sponsored by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board (TSSWCB) and made possible through a Clean Water Act §319(h) nonpoint source grant from the TSSWCB and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The Lone Star Healthy Streams
The Lone Star Healthy Streams (LSHS) program provides rural landowners with education on reducing the amount of bacteria entering Texas water bodies. The program is providing a coordinated and comprehensive education program designed to increase awareness of the bacteria issues associated with grazing and dairy cattle, poultry, horses and feral hogs; and encourages voluntary implementation of BMPs to reduce bacteria runoff, which will ultimately lead to improved water quality. The development of this program was initiated in 2007 by the Texas AgriLife Extension Service and TWRI with funding through CWA §319(h) grants from TSSWCB and EPA. For more information visit the Lone Star Healthy Streams Program.
Healthy Lawns Healthy Waters Program
The Healthy Lawns and Healthy Waters Program (HLHW) aims to improve and protect surface water quality by enhancing awareness and knowledge of best management practices for residential landscapes. At workshops, attendees will learn about the design and installation of residential rainwater harvesting systems and appropriate turf and landscape species based on local conditions. Participants will also receive a free soil test bag and soil test analysis through the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Soil, Water and Forage Testing Laboratory.


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Date of this Version
This preliminary study examined the cultural and logistical factors underlying the settlement of the historic town of nyoming, Nebraska. Located along the Mormon Trail, this site provides a new window for understanding the dynamics of nineteenth century u.s. emigrant trails. Utilizing a body of primary and secondary documents as well as cartographic source, the preliminary analysis revealed two integrated themes: (1) frontier logistics and expansion and (2) religious values and experiences. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, or Mormons, needed both a prosperous town to equip themselves for their journey to Salt Lake City and a smaller town relatively free from "immoral vices" such as taverns and brothels. This small Nebraska town not only fit both these criteria, but it was also free from Native American unrest and the epidemics that ravaged their former settlement at Winter Quarters near Omaha. Thus the town became the new starting point of the Mormon Trail west of the Missouri River. This study will also form the basis for the site:S nomination to the National Register of Historic Places and aid in the formulation of a data recovery plan for afuture archaeological dig on the site.


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- This article concentrates on the history and development of punts and punting in England, for other usages see Norfolk punt and the general disambiguation pages at punt (disambiguation) and punter (disambiguation).
A punt is a flat-bottomed boat with a square-cut bow, designed for use in small rivers or other shallow water. Punting refers to boating in a punt. The punter generally propels the punt by pushing against the river bed with a pole. A punt should not be confused with a gondola, which is propelled by an oar rather than a pole.
The term "punt" has also been used to indicate a smaller version of a regional type of long shore working boat, for example the Deal Galley Punt. This derives from the wide usage in coastal communities of the name "punt" for any small clinker-built open-stem general purpose boat.
In Canada, the term punt can also refer to any small flat-bottomed boat with a square-cut bow, regardless of purpose, building material, or propulsion source.
In Australia, cable ferries are commonly referred to as punts.
Punt construction
A traditional river punt differs from many other types of wooden boat in that it has no keel, stem, or sternpost. Instead, it is built rather like a ladder with the main structure being two side panels connected by a series of 4 in (10 cm) cross planks, known as "treads", spaced about 1 foot (30 cm) apart.
The first punts are traditionally associated with the River Thames in England and were built as small cargo boats or platforms for fishermen. Pleasure punts – specifically built for recreation – became popular on the Thames between 1860 and 1880. Some other boats have a similar shape to a traditional punt – for example the Optimist training dinghy or the air boats used in the Everglades – but the most similar boat is the European Weidling a type that can be tracked back to Celtic boats built more than 2,000 years ago.
Since a punt has no keel, it draws only a few inches even when fully laden; this makes it very manoeuvrable and suitable for shallow water. A punt can be punted with equal facility in either direction; this is handy in narrow streams where turning round may be difficult. The square-cut bow gives greater carrying capacity for a given length than a boat of the same beam with a narrow or pointed bow; it also makes the boat very stable, and suitable for passengers.
Punts are still made in England to supply the tourist trade in Oxford and Cambridge or for racing purposes. The construction material of choice for most punts is wood. Fibreglass is used for some very light and narrow racing punts. The sides, the ends (known as "huffs"), and the "till" are normally made of hardwood such as mahogany. The treads are often made from teak. The bottom is made of softwood and may be replaced several times during the life of a particular boat.
A traditional punt is about 24 feet (7.3 m) long and 3 feet (0.91 m) wide. The sides are about 18 inches (0.5 m) deep. Both the bow and the stern are cut square, with a long shallow "swim"; this is to say, the underside of the boat slopes very gently at the front and the back.
Both smaller and wider punts are made. Extra large and wide punts known as ferry punts may be seen in Cambridge, where many are used as water-borne tourist vehicles. Single seater Thames punts were normally made only 2 feet (60 cm) wide, and somewhat shorter than a standard punt; very few of these are still afloat. Racing punts, which are still used by a few specialist clubs on the lower Thames, may be built even narrower. Thames punts have occasionally been adapted for other means of propulsion: including sails, tow-ropes, and paddle wheels. With the addition of iron hoops and canvas awnings, punts have also been used for camping.
The bottom of the punt is made with long, narrow planks stretching fore and aft, attached to the flat sides and the treads. In order to allow the wood to swell when it gets wet, the planks are set a small distance apart (traditionally the width of an old penny, about 1–2 mm). The gaps are caulked; this caulking normally needs to be renewed annually. The treads are attached to the sides with small wooden "knees", which may be vertical or set at an angle. The diagram above shows a punt without seats. The seats are usually just a simple board fitting against blocks on the sides, with cushions. The gaps between the treads are normally fitted with gratings to allow the passengers to keep their feet dry.
A punt can be punted with equal facility in either direction, so it is not obvious to the novice which end is the bow and which the stern; however, one end of the boat is strengthened with a short deck, usually called a "counter" or a "till" (terms from cabinet making), that extends some six feet (2 m) from that end.
The Thames punt-building tradition was that the end with the till was the stern, as shown in the diagram. The till provides some extra torsional rigidity, and is normally closed in; occasionally a locker may be built into it. A small minority of punts, such as those made from fibreglass at Magdalen College, Oxford have no single till in the usual sense, instead having very small tills at either end.
The forerunners of pleasure punts, fishing punts, usually had an additional compartment, called a "well," which extended across the width of the punt a little way in front of the till. This compartment was made water-tight, and had holes in the bottom or sides so that it could be flooded with water. It was used for keeping any caught fish.
Punt poles
A traditional punt has no tiller nor any provision for oars, sails, or motor; instead it is propelled and directed with a pole. Poles for pleasure punts are normally made of spruce, or aluminium. A normal pole is about 12–16 feet (4–5 m) long and weighs about 10 lb (5 kg). In both Oxford and Cambridge, long 16 ft (4.9 m) poles tend to be used exclusively. The bottom of the pole is fitted with a metal "shoe", a rounded lump of metal to protect the end – the shoe is sometimes made in the shape of a swallow tail.
Traditional wooden poles are preferred by many experienced punters; they are more sympathetic on the hands and make less noise on contact with the river bottom or the punt compared with an aluminium pole. Aluminium poles are considerably cheaper and stronger, so may be preferred by punt stations offering punts for hire to inexperienced punters; however, it is normally possible to choose either type.
Racing poles are generally a great deal lighter than pleasure punt poles, and aluminium is the preferred material. It is usual to carry one or two spare poles in a race, so that one can keep punting if a pole gets stuck or is dropped.
Punting technique
Punting is not as easy as it looks. As in rowing, you soon learn how to get along and handle the craft, but it takes long practice before you can do this with dignity and without getting the water all up your sleeve.
— Jerome K. Jerome, Three Men in a Boat (1889)
The basic technique of punting is to shove the boat along with a pole by pushing directly on the bed of the river or lake. In the 1870s, when punting for pleasure first became popular, the normal approach was for the passengers to sit at the stern on cushions placed against the till, and for the punter to have the run of the rest of the boat. The punter started at the bow, planted the pole, and then walked towards the stern, shoving the punt forwards. This is known as "running" the punt. It was the normal technique used to move heavy fishing punts. As pleasure punts became lighter, it became more usual for the punter to stand still – normally towards the stern – while shoving. This is called "pricking" the punt. Pricking has the advantages that the punter is less likely to walk off the end of the punt inadvertently, and that more of the punt can be used to carry passengers.
For pleasure punting, the best way to learn is to start out in a boat with a competent punter in order to watch him or her at work. After this there is no substitute for extensive hands-on practice on different stretches of river. For racing punting it is best to join a club, and to work on one's balance. Some punt racers practise by punting in canoes.
The orthodox punting position is to stand in front of the till, towards the back of the boat, and to punt from the side. Left-handers stand on the starboard side with the left leg forward; right-handers stand on the port side with the right leg forward. The leading foot is placed against one of the knees, and should not move as you punt. The back foot moves backwards and forwards as the punter makes each stroke.
Rather different traditions have grown up in Oxford and Cambridge: in Cambridge they stand on the till and punt with the open end forward, while in Oxford they stand inside the boat and punt with the till forward. The Oxford position is closer to the


Hot Book Summer.png
What is Hot Book Summer?
A free reading initiative at The Bottom
centering Black youth in the East Knoxville area!
Who can join?
Though anyone between the ages of 7-18 can join,
Our Focus is on Students of the following schools:
Austin East High
Vine Middle
Green Magnet Academy
Sarah Moore Greene Elementary
Fulton High
Central High
Holston Middle
Emerald Academy
Maynard Elementary
Lonsdale Elementary
How can students get involved?
1. Complete this form to register & receive details
2. Pick up books to read
3. Give a quick review
4. Receive points + prizes!
How can the community get involved?
1. Donate prizes
2. Purchase books to be donated
3. Tell youth you know about this initiative
4. Cheer on students who participate!
What's included?
Through Our partnership with
The University of Tennessee's English Department
+ Center for Children's and Young Adult Literature,
free books will be provided each month.
Prizes will be awarded at the end of the program & will include: Pizza Parties, Merchandise,
Gift Cards, Cash & More!


UC MagazineUniversity of CincinnatiUC Magazine
UC Magazine
Obesity: Does one potato chip really matter?
Does one potato chip really matter?
by Dama Ewbank
The body is a finely tuned machine. So fine-tuned, in fact, that the difference between maintaining body weight and gaining one pound a year could be as little as a single potato chip per day.
Randy Seeley, professor of medicine and director of the Cincinnati Diabetes and Obesity Center, estimates that an adult man would need only 11 extra calories per day to gain a pound each year.
Let's do the math:
A typical adult male consumes 900,000 calories each year.
To gain just one pound each year, he would need to eat about 4,000 calories more than he burns.
4,000 calories divided by 365 days = approximately 11 extra calories per day, or about one potato chip.
"When you look at how obesity has affected our country," says Seeley, "and you realize that the average person — someone who may be considered overweight — is gaining less than one pound per year, it's easy to see how accurate our bodies are at matching our caloric intake to caloric expenditure. Relatively small mismatches over time are all that are necessary to gain weight."
So, yes, Seeley says, one chip really could matter, but he's quick to caution that his calculations don't take into account variability be-tween individuals and environmen-tal and genetic factors that contribute to weight-gain susceptibility.
More from UC's obesity expert


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Definitions for sfumatosfuˈmɑ toʊ
Random House Webster's College Dictionary
gradation of tone used to blur the outlines of a form in painting.
Category: Fine Arts
Origin of sfumato:
1840–50; < It, ptp. of sfumare to gradate tone or color
In painting, the application of subtle layers of translucent paint so that there is no visible transition between colors, tones and often objects.
Origin: sfumato,'shaded, toned down' (1909)
having vague outlines, and colors and shades so mingled as to give a misty appearance; -- said of a painting