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Individual differences |
Methods | Statistics | Clinical | Educational | Industrial | Professional items | World psychology |
Richard Freiherr von Krafft-Ebing (August 14 1840 – December 22 1902) was an Austro-German psychiatrist who wrote Psychopathia Sexualis (1886), a famous study of sexual perversity, and remains well-known for his coinage of the term sadism (after the Marquis de Sade). He also coined the term masochism using the name of a contemporary writer, Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, whose partially autobiographical novel Venus in Furs tells of the protagonist's desire to be whipped and enslaved by a beautiful woman.
Krafft-Ebing was born in Mannheim, Baden, Germany, educated in Prague, Austria-Hungary (now in the Czech Republic), and studied medicine at the University of Heidelberg.
After Krafft-Ebing graduated in medicine and finished his specialisation in psychiatry, he worked in several asylums, but he soon felt that the way those institutions worked deceived him and decided to become an educator. He became a professor at Strasbourg, Graz and Vienna, and also a forensic expert at the Austrian capital. He was a popularizer of psychiatry, giving public lectures on the subject as well as theatrical demonstrations of the power of hypnotism.
Krafft-Ebing wrote and published several articles on psychiatry, but his book Psychopathia Sexualis ("Psychopathy of Sex"), became his best-known work. He wrote the book, intended as a forensic reference for doctors and judges, in high academic tone and in the introduction noted that he had "delibrately chosen a scientific term for the name of the book to discourage lay readers". He also wrote "sections of the book in Latin for the same purpose". Despite this, the book was highly popular with lay readers and it went through many printings and translations.
In the first edition of PS in 1886, Krafft-Ebing divided sexual deviance into four categories:
- paradoxia, sexual desire at the wrong time of life, i.e. childhood or old age
- anesthesia, insufficient desire
- hyperesthesia, excessive desire
- paraesthesia, sexual desire for the wrong goal or object. This included homosexuality (or "contrary sexual desire"), sexual fetishism, sadism, masochism, pederasty and so on.
Krafft-Ebing believed that the purpose of sexual desire was procreation, and any form of desire that didn't go towards that ultimate goal was a perversion. Rape, for instance, was an aberrant act, but not a perversion, since pregnancy could result.
Krafft-Ebing saw women as basically sexually passive, and recorded no female sadists or fetishists in his case studies. Behaviour that would be classified as masochism in men was categorized as "sexual bondage" in women, which was not a perversion, again because such behaviour did not interfere with procreation.
After interviewing many homosexuals, both as his private patients and as a forensic expert, and reading some works in favour of gay rights (male homosexuality had become a criminal offence in Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire by that time; unlike lesbianism, but discrimination against lesbians functioned equally), Krafft-Ebing reached the conclusion that both male and female homosexuals did not suffer from mental illness or perversion (as persistent popular belief held), and became interested in the study of the subject.
Krafft-Ebing elaborated an evolutionist theory considering homosexuality as an anomalous process developed during the gestation of the embryo and fetus, evolving into a sexual inversion of the brain. Some years later, in 1901, he corrected himself in an article published in the Jahrbuch für sexuelle Zwischenstufen, changing the term anomaly to differentiation. But his final conclusions remained forgotten for years, partly because Sigmund Freud's theories captivated the attention of those that considered homosexuality a psychological problem (the majority at the time), and partly because Krafft-Ebing had incurred some enmity from the Austrian Catholic church by associating the desire for sanctity and martyrdom with hysteria and masochism (besides denying the perversity of homosexuals).
Some years later Krafft-Ebing's theory led other specialists on mental studies to reach the same conclusion and to the study of transgenderism (or transsexuality) as another differentiation correctable by means of surgery (rather than by psychiatry or psychology).
Note that most contemporary psychiatrists no longer consider homosexual practices as pathological (as Krafft-Ebing did in his first studies): partly due to new conceptions, and partly due to Krafft-Ebing's own self-correction.
Trivia about Psychopathia SexualisEdit
- The book reached 12 editions in his lifetime.
- Parts were written in Latin, in its 2nd printing, due to demand for the book by lay-people for (presumably) less than academic purposes. Some publishers translated those passages back into other languages.
- This was one of the first books to study, in a "painstaking" manner, sexual topics such as the importance of clitoral orgasm and female sexual pleasure, consideration of the mental states of sexual offenders in judging their actions, and the first scientific discussion of homosexuality.
- It was for decades an authority on sexual aberrance, and arguably one of the most influential books on human sexuality prior to Freud.
- The author was praised and condemned for the book - praised for opening up a new area of much-needed psychological study, condemned for immorality and justifying perversion.
- ↑ Note regarding personal names: Freiherr is a title, translated as Baron, not a first or middle name. The female forms are Freifrau and Freiin.
- Psychopathia Sexualis (1886), reprinted by Bloat Books, 1999; ISBN 0-_PHONE_-1-8
- Oosterhuis, Harry. Stepchildren of Nature (2000), University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-63059-5
- Baron von Kraft-Ebbing wrote numerous books, including:
- Die Melancholie: Eine klinische Studie, (1874);
- Grundzüge der Kriminalpsychologie für Juristen, (Second edition) (1882);
- Die progressive allgemeine Paralyse, (1894);
- Nervosität und neurasthenische Zustände. (1895).
- Four of his books appear in English translations by Craddock:
- An Experimental Study in the Domain of Hypnotism, (New York and London, 1889);
- Psychosis Menstrualis, (1902);
- Psychopathia Sexualis, (Twelfth edition, 1903);
- Text Book of Insanity, (1905).
|This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia (view authors).|


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- Should she remain or move on?
- The man is explaining why he made a particular decision. Is he being truthful?
- What does the brunet's body language say?
- The blond should leave. If the brunet would have turned her feet (to point towards you the viewer), the other woman would have been welcomed into the group. She didn't so this is a private matter.
- With his palms exposed and by forcefully gesturing while making his point, he feels he's telling the truth as he knows it.
- She'd rather not be involved in this conversation. Three indicators: her distance from the man, her lean away from him, and her hands protecting her torso. Her smile is simply a "cover" and the least reliable of the cluster of gestures.

source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


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1877 - Charles Glover Barkla was born on 7th of June at Widnes, Lancashire, England.
1884 - He was educated at the Liverpool Institute.
1898 - Barkla graduated with First Class Honours in Physics.
1899 - Charles Glover Barkla obtained his master's degree.
- The Royal Commissioners awarded him a research scholarship.
1900 - Barkla migrated to King's College.
1902 - Charles Glover Barkla returned to Liverpool as Oliver Lodge Fellow.
1902 - He discovered the homogeneous radiations characteristic of the elements a characteristic line spectra in
_PHONE_ - Charles Glover Barkla was successively demonstrator, assistant lecturer in physics and special lecturer in advanced electricity at the University.
1907 - Charles Glover Barkla married Mary Esther.
1909 - Barkla succeeded H. A. Wilson as Wheatstone Professor of Physics in the University of London.
1913 - Charles Glover Barkla accepted the Chair in Natural Philosophy in the University of Edinburgh.
1916 - He was appointed Bakerian Lecturer (Royal Society).
1917 - Barkla was awarded the Hughes Medal in the following year.
- He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics
1944 - Charles Glover Barkla died at his home, Braidwood, Edinburgh, on 23rd of October.
Page last updated: 1:10pm, 28

source: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb-edu


Setting Breakpoints for the DOM
When building a web app, sometimes we need to approach it top-down. Ever encountered a situation where you can see the bug in the UI visually, but virtually have no idea what is the cause?
Luckily for us, modern browser devtools allow us to set breakpoints not only on the JS code, but also on the DOM as well! We can easily pin down the offending lines deep inside the code base, by pausing the execution based on DOM changes.
First, identify the DOM element that we want to monitor, then right click it and go to Break on. We have 3 different options for how this breakpoint shall be triggered.
Setting a DOM Breakpoint
Setting a DOM Breakpoint
Now, whenever the DOM element we are monitoring gets some update (depending on the option we chose), the breakpoint will get hit, and we can inspect what is happening at that point in the source tab.


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Madonna of the Trail Statues - Missouri
In the late 1920's, the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR) commissioned the design, casting and placement of twelve memorials commemorating the spirit of the woman pioneer. These memorials were placed along the route of the National Old Trails highway and extended from Washington, D.C. to Los Angeles, California.
The idea for the Madonna of the Trail Monuments began in 1909 when some Missouri women wanted to mark the Santa Fe Trail. Later, the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR) joined their effort. The groups began working side by side with the National Old Trails Road Association which was headed by then Judge Harry S Truman, of Independence, Missouri. That highway closely approximated the paths of Braddock's and Washington's Road, the National Road, Boone's Lick Road, the Santa Fe Trail, and the Old Trail. The road ran from Washington, D.C. to Los Angeles. When a plan to place 3,095 mile markers failed, the group elected to place monuments in each of the state through which the highway ran.
The monument itself was conceived by Arlene B. Nichols Moss, of St. Louis, Missouri. Moss was inspired by a statue of Sacajawea that stood in Portland, Oregon. On September 7, 1927, the group selected a statue of a pioneer woman clutching two small children and a rifle.
The statue was sculpted by August Leimbach and cast in an amalgam of crushed granite, stone, marble, cement and lead ore. The statue stands ten foot tall and weighs over five tons.
The statue sits on pedestal that measures five foot by five foot by six foot high and weighs twelve tons. On the pedestal are inscriptions dedicated to national and regional history. The front face of each pedestal reads:
N.S.D.A.R. MEMORIAL TO THE PIONEER MOTHERS OF THE COVERED WAGON DAYS.
The back face of each pedestal reads:
THE NATIONAL OLD TRAILS ROAD
The pedestal sits on a foundation that sits three feet underground and two feet above.
Five of these monuments are found along the shoulder of Route 40.
Here links to the Madonna of the Trail statues found along the National Old Trail Highway.
For more information:
Feedback: Do you have corrections or contributions for this page? Want to make a suggestion? Click here to send me an e-mail. I am espcially interested in memories, stories, postcards and photographs. Thanks!
Last updated: 2010-10-22 12:39:38
Route 40 News:


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Over deze norm
1.1 These test methods cover fixed detention hollow metal vision systems of various materials and types of construction. These fixed hollow metal vision systems are used in wall openings in detention and correctional institutions designed to incarcerate inmates.
1.2 Frame assemblies investigated under these test methods include individual components including detention security hollow metal frames, frame anchoring, security glazing, panels, and removable glazing stops.
1.3 These test methods are designed to test the capability of a fixed detention hollow metal vision system to prevent, delay, and frustrate escape; to limit or control access to unauthorized or secured areas; and prevent passage of contraband.
1.4 These test methods apply primarily to detention hollow metal vision systems between secure areas generally found inside a detention/correctional facility such as: day rooms, control rooms, cells, and sally ports. These test methods are applicable to vision systems other than hollow metal, provided testing and reporting procedures are followed.
1.5 The values stated in inch-pound units are to be regarded as the standard. The values given in parentheses are for information only.
1.6 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.
|Nederlandse titel||Standard Test Methods for Detention Hollow Metal Vision Systems|
|Engelse titel||Standard Test Methods for Detention Hollow Metal Vision Systems|


The shiny, colored surface found on many ceramics is called the glaze. The color comes from minerals, while the smooth, glassy texture is actual glass. Glaze is applied as a liquid: the minerals and glass are powdered and suspended in water. The glass melts onto the surface when the ceramic is heated, or fired.
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formatHeader :: String -> String -> ByteStringSource
Formats an e-mail header by encoding any non-ascii characters using UTF-8 and Q-encoding, and folding lines at appropriate points. It doesn't do more than that, so the header name and header value should be well-formatted give or take line length and encoding. So no non-ASCII characters within quoted-string, quoted-pair, or atom; no semantically meaningful signs in names; no non-ASCII characters in the header name; etcetera.


JM Banknotes
JM Banknotes
History on Banknotes: Gregorio Luperon
A Dominican hero, Gregorio Luperon is best known for his fight to restore what is now the Dominican Republic after it was annexed by the Spanish Government. Haiti and the Dominican Republic are connected to each as they on the same island mass in the Caribbean Ocean. As history would tell it Haiti belonged to the French and the Dominican Republic belonged to Spain. Haiti found its independence from the French crown and it caused many in the Dominican Republic to feel as if they too wanted independence.
The Dominican Republic entered a pact with the Spanish Government that offered it protection from the Haitians who may want to unit the entire island into one nation. This is were Gregorio Luperon became a hero for the Dominican Republic. Luperon led the Domincian Military in a fight against the Spaniards to regain the Dominicans independence again.
Dominican Republic 20 Pesos Oro P182
countries130331113012 (1)


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A multi-country research and learning initiative to provide rigorous evidence on the impact of large-scale national cash transfer programmes.
Visit the page
Gender-responsive and age-sensitive social protection
Gender and age play a disproportionately large role in how people experience risks, vulnerabilities, and opportunities. A new four-year research programme to understand the intersections of gender inequalities and norms with ages and stages in the life course mean women and girls are at a heightened risk of poverty.


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Birth certificate registers
In October 1913 Secretary of the Department of External Affairs, Atlee Hunt, sent a circular to the state Customs departments asking if they kept records of Chinese Australians who used their birth certificates as identity papers when travelling overseas.
Queensland already kept such a register, and Hunt felt that:
Such a register is very desirable to enable a check to be kept on persons claiming admission to Australia on birth certificates, as it is an easy matter for a number of copies of the same certificate to be obtained, and the experience of the past shows that in some instances several Chinese have attempted, sometimes successfully, to land on copies of the same certificate. (NAA: A1, 1913/20069)
An example of the early difficulties that both Chinese Australians and government officials had with using birth certificates as identification can be found in the case of Fred Hong See (see NAA: BP342/1, 13021/357/1903). Fred was born in Sydney in 1885 to Chinese parents who, when he was very young, took their son back to China. Fred's father later died and, in 1903, Fred returned to live with other relatives in Sydney. When he arrived, Customs officer J.T.T. Donohoe doubted his identity and would not allow him to land. Donohoe's suspicions were based on the fact that Fred could not speak any English and his feeling that Fred looked older than the age stated on the birth certificate he presented.
Fred was quickly sent on his way back to China, and it was only through the threat of legal action by his well-respected relatives in Sydney and their payment of a deposit of £100 that Fred was permitted to stop at Brisbane for re-examination. With evidence provided by Fred's relatives, the Brisbane Collector of Customs, W.H. Irving, was satisfied that he was, in fact, telling the truth. After Atlee Hunt's approval, Fred was allowed to stay.
This is the copy of Fred Hong See's birth certificate that he presented to officials on his return to Australia in 1903. It can be found with other correspondence about the case in NAA: BP342/1, 13021/357/1903.
In the decade after the introduction of the Immigration Restriction Act, the processes for its administration continued to be refined and tightened, primarily to prevent the fraudulent entry of Chinese into Australia. Hunt's request for the keeping of birth certificate registers came about from a concern that 'as other channels of fraudulent entry are being blocked, the Chinese will make a determined effort to utilize birth certificates to that end.'
His Customs circular of 1913 set out the details that Customs officers should record to enable correct identification on a person's return to Australia:
- number of birth certificate
- date of issue
- date of birth
- where born
- date of departure from Australia
- remarks concerning departure
- date of return
- by whom examined, landed or rejected
- general remarks
The Collectors of Customs responded thus:
- Victoria reported that had been keeping a register from the beginning of the year (1913), but without the level of detail requested.
- New South Wales had not been keeping records, but was now ordering a book for the purpose.
- Western Australia had no special register, but would immediately open one.
- South Australia said they had not had any need for a register, as there had been no cases of Chinese being admitted on birth certificates there.
- Tasmania would begin keeping a record, but had only had four cases to date.
- And the Northern Territory had been keeping record of Chinese arriving on birth certificates since 1911.
It became the practice for birth certificates to be endorsed by Customs officials on a person's departure. This usually included taking a handprint and attaching a photograph, as well as recording the details in a register. Some people also went through the formality of applying for a CEDT.
The two remaining registers
To my knowledge, only two of the birth certificate registers still exist, those for Queensland and New South Wales. The Queensland register is held in the Brisbane office of the National Archives, and a digital copy is available through RecordSearch:
The first volume, of 16 double pages, has suffered flood damage and can be difficult to read in parts. The second volume, which has 23 double pages, is much more legible. A sample page from the second volume is shown below – this is a left-hand page, with the remainder of the details about each person completed on the corresponding right-hand page.
The single register for New South Wales, held in the National Archives' Sydney office, is more substantial than those for Queensland, demonstrating the greater amount of travel that occurred from Sydney. The register contains around 150 double pages and includes an alphabetical index at the front. The entries date from 1904 to 1962; those before 1913 were presumably copied from records elsewhere. It is also fragile and difficult to read in places, but it has recently also been digitised and made available through RecordSearch:
The page reproduced below is a left-hand page, with further details about the travels of each person available on the corresponding right-hand page.
Making use of the registers
These registers are valuable sources of information about Chinese Australian families in Queensland and New South Wales, and can provide missing pieces of information for people who did not apply for CEDTs when they travelled overseas (which many Australian-born Chinese did not).
Having them digitised is great, especially for those of us who can't easily get to the Brisbane or Sydney reading rooms – but what would be even more useful is if the information contained in the registers was in a form that could be searched and sorted. I'm working on a bigger project relating to Chinese families in New South Wales, based around a database of information sourced from marriage and birth records up to 1918. I'm part-way into transcribing relevant details from the published BDM indexes with 1000 entries (out of an estimated 3000–4000) in the database so far!
The information found in the birth certificate registers obviously relates very strongly to this, so I have another crazy plan to also transcribe the information held in the Sydney register. It's not going to be a quick job – and it's one that could easily be shared since the New South Wales register is online. So, if you happen to have some spare time and don't mind deciphering old handwriting, I'd love to hear from you!


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In this paper we investigate the performance of a Fourier based algorithm for fast subpixel shift determination of two mutually shifted images subjected to noise. The algorithm will be used for Shack-Hartmann based adaptive optics correction of images of an extended object subjected to dynamical atmospheric fluctuations. The performance of the algorithm is investigated both analytically and by Monte Carlo simulations. Good agreement is achieved in relation to how the precision of the shift estimate depends on image parameters such as contrast, photon counts and readout noise, as well as the dependence on sampling format, zero-padding and field of view. Compared to the conventional method for extended object wavefront sensing, a reduction of the computational cost is gained at a marginal expense of precision.
© 2005 Optical Society of America
Equations on this page are rendered with MathJax. Learn more.


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Authors: H.-J. Hochecker
I stick metal foil on an a 1 square meter large and 10 kilograms heavy dielectric so that a condenser is build. By putting a tension of 10 kV on the condenser or by short-circuiting it I measure a real reduction of the weight of about 0.1 grams each time. This result confirms my theoretical conclusion which says that the weight of a body is related with the movements of its charges (protons and electrons). Keywords: Gravitation, movement of electrical charges, relativity
Comments: 3 Pages.
[v1] 3 Aug 2010
Unique-IP document downloads: 47 times
Add your own feedback and questions here:


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Publication: Research - peer-review › Report – Annual report year: 2006
This paper focus on how creative thinking, processes and methods can support the strategy development and planning process in organisations. First, several fundamental concepts related to both strategy development and planning are stipulated. In addition, the concept of living organisation will be discussed as well as the interaction between strategy and creativity. Then, methodological ideas to support the strategy making process are presented enhancing the use of creative methods and tools. Finally, a case study related to the development of a strategy for organisational development using creativity tools is discussed.
|Publisher||Informatics and Mathematical Modelling, Technical University of Denmark, DTU|
- methods, Strategy, case study, creativity
No data available


Microsoft's recommendation for troubleshooting SMTP and POP on an Exchange Server is to use protocol logs. However, logging can waste time and disk space as the logs accumulate. If you send a test message, you must go through all your logged email messages to find the message. In addition, opening the message is often time-consuming.
An alternative method I use for monitoring my Exchange server is to open Exchange System Manager (ESM) and navigate to the server that hosts the SMTP virtual server. Then, I highlight Current Sessions and hold down the F5 key. SMTP and POP connections display in the right-hand window.


Archive - Dec 8, 2006 - Story
Evidence of Norsemen in the Roman Legions
"It is a well known fact that people from so called barbaric tribes like the German tribes up north, were recruited into the Roman legions." Now, new finds in Norway demonstrate that the northern lands had closer ties to the Roman Empire than previously believed.
Farewell to Count Sir Sarnac, of Ealdormere
Count Sir Sarnac Kir (Ba'adur), eighth King of Ealdormere, died on December 4 after a brief illness. Friends in Ealdormere, the Midrealm, and elsewhere this week must say farewell to a Knight who will be fondly remembered.


Determining NAS Storage Requirements Using Mobotix Storage Requirements Planner
When designing a video surveillance system, one of the the most important steps is determining the storage device capacity. When deploying a multiple camera system, using a network attached storage (NAS) device is a viable option as it will give you a central video storage location and protection against hardware failure through the use of multiple hard drives in a redundant array of independent disks (RAID) configuration. A critical step in selecting the right NAS device for your application is determining the amount of storage space required.
Mobotix has simplified this calculation process with the use of their Storage Requirements Planner. The Storage Planer will guide you though all of the necessary parameters of each type of camera to determine the storage requirements. Below is an example calculation for twenty D24 cameras to record on events in a high motion rate area with 14 hours of illumination per day.
As shown above the Storage Requirements Planer allows the user to select the model of Mobotix camera, the image complexity, how much motion is expected in the viewing area, as well as how the camera will be configured for resolution and video codec.
Next, the planer goes through various recording parameters such as whether the application requires continuous or event based recording. You will also select how many frames per second you wish to capture and how many events per day you anticipate. Lastly, enter how long you want recorded events to be stored on the NAS. In this example we chose to keep the recordings for 30 days.
The result of this example estimates 57.56GB of disk space is required, per camera, for the parameters shown. Therefore, the twenty camera system will require approximately 1,151.2GB (57.56GB x 20) of storage space. Assuming a RAID 5 storage configuration, the system will require three 750GB hard drives. Three 750GB drives in a RAID 5 configuration will provide approximately 1,400GB ((750GB X 3) X.62) of total usable storage space.
Now that you know the total storage requirements for the system, you can select the NAS that suits your application.
Related Posts
Links of Interest


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Team Ghilotti was selected as the contractor for this project. A contract for Team Ghilotti will be going to the Board of Public Utilities for award on November 5, 2020. Work in the field is anticipated to start in December or January, depending on weather conditions. Notifications will be sent prior to a specific start date. The project will make major improvements to the North Trunk Sewer Main, a pipeline which collects sewer flows from homes and businesses in the area of Chanate Road and Mendocino Avenue.
This project, expected to continue for about two years, involves the North Trunk Sewer Main which is a major pipeline that collects sewer flows from smaller sewer collector mains serving the Chanate/Mendocino area of northeast Santa Rosa. These aging pipelines, many of which are reaching the end of their useable life, are subject to cracks and blockages that can cause overflows and allow stormwater into the system. Replacing these pipelines, as well as several sections of water pipelines, will:
- Reduce the potential for sewer overflows and protect Paulin Creek and its riparian habitat
- Prevent stormwater from entering the sewer system, which unnecessarily escalates flows to the wastewater treatment plant, increasing energy use and costs
- Provide improved and safer access for routine inspection and maintenance of the pipeline system
- Improve water pressure and flows
- Ensure homes and businesses can depend on a safe, reliable sewer system
Generally, this project work will take place on portions of the following streets or intersections: Chanate Road, Mendocino Avenue, Plum Drive, Lomitas Avenue, Lomitas Lane, Strawberry Drive, as well as on certain easements in the area which are not within roadways. Affected neighbors and businesses will be notified of scheduled work which may specifically affect their properties. Traffic control plans take into account the potential for evacuation due to wildfire or other emergency, and potential Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS).


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Question 1: What do you mean by a mall?
Answer: A mall is a type of market found in the urban areas. It is an enclosed space for shopping. It is usually a large building with many floors which have shops, restaurants, cinema theatres etc. These most often sell branded goods.
Question 2: Write briefly about weekly markets.
Answer: Weekly markets are the markets found at a place during one or two days of the week. They are not daily markets. They sell a range of products from fruits and vegetables to clothes to utensils. They have high competition.
Question 3: Describe briefly the concept of 'markets everywhere'.
Answer: These days it is not necessary for the consumers to go to the market like weekly markets or neighbourhood shops etc (which have a specific location and time of functioning) to buy things. They can either order goods on phone or use the internet and buy things online. The medical representatives in clinics are also actually selling their goods. Hence we can say that markets are found everywhere and they have different styles of functioning.
Question 1: Define the term 'chain of markets'.
Answer: Chain of markets refers to the series of markets where products pass from one market to another. These markets are connected like a link in a chain.
Question 2: Define the term retailer.
Answer: The trader who finally sells to the consumer is called the retailer.
Question 3: What do you mean by wholesale?
Answer: This refers to buying and selling in bulk. Products like fruits, vegetables and flowers have wholesale markets.
Question 4: Why are the goods in a weekly market cheap?
Answer: The products in the weekly market are cheap because since these shops are not permanent, they save on expenses such as rent, electricity, and fees to the government. Since these are family-run, they also save the expenses of wages to workers.
Question 1: How are the buyers and sellers of a small shop different from that of a mall?
Answer: The difference in the buyers and sellers of a small shop and a mall is as under:
Question 2: Write a note on markets for indirect goods.
Answer: A market exists also for goods that are not directly used by the consumer. These goods are the raw materials or other inputs used in the process of manufacture. For example the fertilizers used by the farmers are purchased by him from a shop in the city. The shopkeeper in turn buys them from factories. The products used in manufacturing and assembling a car like the engine, axles, petrol tanks etc are also bought and sold in different markets. Hence a chain of markets exists for indirect goods also.
Question 3: Describe the chain of markets.
Answer: Chain of markets refers to the series of exchange of goods that takes place from the moment the goods are produced to the time they reach the end user i.e. the final consumer. Goods are produced in factories, farms and homes. But we do not buy directly from factories or farms. Even the producers will not be willing to sell small quantities like one dress or one kilogram of wheat to the consumers. Hence traders come into picture. Traders are the people in between the producer and the final consumer.
The wholesale trader is the first to buy goods from factories or farms in bulk and stores them in the godown. For example, he may buy 50 to 100 kilograms of rice. He then sells it to other traders. There could be any number of traders involved in the chain. Between these traders, buying and selling takes place. It is because of these traders that goods reach faraway places. The trader who finally sells the product to the consumer is called the retailer. These retailers are the traders in the weekly markets or neighbourhood shops or malls.
Question 4: What are the features of a weekly market?
Answer: Weekly markets have the following features:
Cheaper Rates: Many items are available in the weekly markets at cheaper rates. This is because since these shops are not permanent, they save on expenses such as rent, electricity and fees to the government.
Family run: The shop owners store the items they sell at home. Mostly, they are helped by the family members and hence they do not employ outside people. Hence they save the money spent as wages to workers.
High Competition: Since these markets have a large number of shops selling the same item, there is high competition among them. Hence if a seller charges a higher amount for an item, buyers will buy from another seller who either charges a lower rate or allows the buyer to bargain to some extent.
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19 June 2009
Paper in PLoS Computational Biology
The model they present, is the first probabilistic model of RNA conformation in continuous space, and is believed to be important in both RNA structure prediction and validation. The model is part of the work they did during their master degrees at the Bioinformatics centre in the structural group.
A python implementation of the model can be found here.


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Terms for Talking about Information and Communication
AbstractThis paper offers terms for talking about information and how it relates to both matter-energy and communication, by: (1) Identifying three different levels of signs: Index, based in contiguity, icon, based in similarity, and symbol, based in convention; (2) examining three kinds of coding: Analogic differences, which deal with positive quantities having contiguous and continuous values, and digital distinctions, which include "either/or functions", discrete values, and capacities for negation, decontextualization, and abstract concept-transfer, and finally, iconic coding, which incorporates both analogic differences and digital distinctions; and (3) differentiating between "information theoretic" orientations (which deal with data, what is "given as meaningful" according to selections and combinations within "contexts of choice") and "communication theoretic" ones (which deal with capta, what is "taken as meaningful" according to various "choices of context"). Finally, a brief envoi reflects on how information broadly construed relates to probability and entropy. View Full-Text
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Anton, C. Terms for Talking about Information and Communication. Information 2012, 3, 351-371.
Anton C. Terms for Talking about Information and Communication. Information. 2012; 3(3):_URL_ Style
Anton, Corey. 2012. "Terms for Talking about Information and Communication." Information 3, no. 3: 351-371.


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Deadly Sea Snakes: Alike But Not The Same
December 3, 2012
The lethal beaked sea snake is actually two species which separately evolved to give identical snakes.
AsianScientist (Dec. 3, 2012) – Researchers from Australia and Indonesia have discovered that the lethal beaked sea snake (Enhydrina schistosa) is actually two species with separate evolutions, which resulted in identical snakes.
Senior author Associate Professor Bryan Fry from The University of Queensland said the Australian and Asian beaked sea snakes were originally thought to be from the same species, however, in comparing their DNA, the research team had found these two snakes were unrelated.
Analyses of five independent mitochondrial and nuclear loci for populations spanning Australia, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka indicate that this 'species' actually consists of two distinct lineages in Asia and Australia that are not closest relatives.
The finding, published recently in the journal Molecular Phylogenetics & Evolution, is an example of a situation where two species evolved separately but ended up looking similar – a phenomenon known as convergent phenotypic evolution, says Fry.
Convergence in the characteristic 'beaked' morphology of these species is probably associated with the wide gape required to accommodate their spiny prey, he explained, as both species occupy the same specialized habitat of silt-filled shallows of tropical estuaries throughout the Asian and Australian regions.
The beaked sea snake is also responsible for the large majority of recorded deaths and injuries from sea snake bites.
Fortunately, the only available sea snake anti-venom available – raised against the Malaysian E. schistosa – is also effective against the new Australian species.
"This mixup could have been medically catastrophic, since the CSL sea snake antivenom is made using the venom from the Asian snake based on the assumption that it was the same species," said Fry. "Luckily, the antivenom is not only very effective against the Australian new species but actually against all sea snakes since they all share a very stream-lined fish-specific venom."
The Asian snake will retain the original name Enhydrina shistosa, while its Australian counterpart has been elevated to species status and is provisionally referred to as Enhydrina zweifeli, which identifies the region in New Guinea where it is found.
The new snake will be placed in a separate genus to the true Enhydrina genus in a follow-up publication that will resolve the complex higher order relationships of sea snakes.
Source: University of Queensland.
Disclaimer: This article does not necessarily reflect the views of AsianScientist or its staff.


Selector API
Modifying a widget usually requires having direct access the object. This may not always be the most convenient or efficient way to work with complex UIs. The Tabris.js selector API allows referencing widgets without using an instance, and even manipulating multiple widgets at once.
Selector Strings
A selector string describes an existing widget that we want to work with. There are different formats for these strings, which will look familiar to you if you know CSS.
 - "*" - Matches all widgets.
 - "Type" - Matches all widgets of the given type, e.g. "Button" matches all button widgets.
 - ".class" - Matches all widgets that have the given class in their class list, e.g. ".foo" matches a widget with class set to "foo" or "foo bar".
 - "_TAG_" - Matches all widgets with the given id, e.g. "_TAG_" matches all widgets with the id "foo".
The id of a widget is a property like any other. It's initial value is undefined, so you always have to assign one yourself, usually when creating the widget.
new tabris.TextView({id: "myLabel"});
Id's don't have to be unique, but it is strongly recommended that they are so within a page.
The class property is a string containing a whitespace separated list of "classes". A class is an arbitrary name for a state or category the widget should be identifiable by. It may only contain alphanumeric characters, "_" and "-".
new tabris.TextView({class: "label important"});
Classes may be freely mixed, re-used and changed on any widget at any time.
Working with Selectors
To find a widget anywhere in the current page, simply call page.find(selector). This will return a WidgetCollection with all widgets within the page that match the given selector. You can further narrow the search scope by using page.children(selector), or by calling either of these methods on a container within the page.
It is also possible to search through all widgets in the current widget tree, using tabris.ui.find(selector). However, this is rarely practical. Instead, you may use tabris.ui to find all current pages (tabris.ui.children("Page")), actions (tabris.ui.children("Action")) or the drawer (tabris.ui.children("Drawer")).
A selector may also be given in LayoutData instead of a the widget itself. This even works if the referenced widget is not yet created.
The apply method
How it works
 - apply({*})
The apply method uses selectors to apply different sets of properties to different widgets in one call. It is available on all widgets, but most commonly used on Page.
For example, to make all widgets within a page green you could call:
page.apply({"*": {background: "green"}});
You can also set different properties on different widgets:
 "_TAG_": {text: "OK!", background: "yellow"},
 "_TAG_": {text: "Cancel!", textColor: "red"}
The order in which these properties are applied depends on the selector used. The order is:
 - "*" > "Type" > ".class" > "_TAG_"
For example:
 "_TAG_": {background: "red"},
 "Button": {background: "green"},
 "*": {background: "blue"}
This will make all widgets within the page blue, except for the buttons, which are green, except for "_TAG_", which will be red.
The on-screen order of the properties in the object literal is meaningless. According to the EcmaScript standard the members of a JavaScript object do not have a defined order.
How to use it
While we used object literals in the above examples, the apply method can be very effectively used with modules, allowing most or all property values (except ids) to be extracted from your code.
Imagine, for example, that you want to apply different texts to your widgets depending on your locale. You could do it like this:
var lang = tabris.device.get("language");
try {
 page.apply(module.require("./texts-" + lang));
} catch() {
 // fallback if the desired language file does not exist:
Since JSON files can be used as modules, your language file (e.g. "texts-en.json") could simply look like this:
 "_TAG_": {"text": "OK!"},
 "_TAG_": {"text": "Cancel!"}
An alternative pattern would be to always use the same module…
But use scripting within the module to calculate the actual values:
var texts = {
 en: {
 "_TAG_": {text: "OK!"}
 "_TAG_": {text: "Cancel!"}
module.exports = texts[tabris.device.get("language")] || texts.en;
The same pattern could be applied for e.g. colors based on the OS, font-sizes based on screen width, or layout data depending on device orientation:
page.on("resize", function() {
 var bounds = page.get("bounds");
 page.apply(require("./layout-" + (bounds.width > bounds.height)? "landscape" : "portrait"));
It is better to use the aspect ratio of the page as a basis for selecting a layout than the device orientation. This is because when the device is re-oriented, the page is first re-sized, and then rotated in an animation. Also, in future Tabris.js versions a page may not always have the same aspect ratio as the screen.


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Question: Given the function tan(x) = x, derive two fixed po...
Given the function tan(x) = x, derive two fixed point iteration
formulas. Develop a
Matlab code implementing fixed-point iterations and test both
functions. Which one converges for
an initial guess of xo = 0.5 radians?
No answer yet. Submit this question to the community.


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This technique, for the nighttime, consists of four stages of fifteen minutes. The first two stages are preparation for the spontaneous Latihan of the third stage. if the breathing is done correctly in the first stage, the carbon dioxide in the bloodstream will make you feel as high as Gourishankar (Mt. everest).
1st stage: 15 Minutes
Sit with closed eyes. Inhale deeply through the nose, filling the lungs. Hold the breath for as long as possible; then exhale gently through the mouth, and keep the lungs empty for as long as possible. Continue this breathing cycle throughout this stage.
2nd stage: 15 Minutes
Return to normal breathing and with a gentle gaze look at a candle flame or a flushing blue light. Keep you body still.
3rd stage: 15 Minutes
With closed eyes, stand up and let your body be loose and receptive. Allow your body to move gently in whichever way it wants. Don't do the moving; just allow it to happen gently and gracefully.
4th stage:15 Minutes
Lie down with closed eyes, silent and still.


Commentary :: Gharar: The Origins of the Prohibition
By Katarzyna Sidło
Gharar is arguably one of the least understood concepts in Islamic finance. In linguistic terms, it means jeopardy, risk, danger, or hazard, and is a verbal noun (maṣdar) from the word taghr, which in turn means exposing oneself or one's property to danger. It may refer to ignorance, injustice, or deceit.
As of yet, no single, universally accepted definition of the term has been proposed, and most scholars who have been dealing with the subject opted for providing examples of contracts prohibited due to the presence of gharar rather than coining a comprehensive definition of the term itself.[1]
First attempts at defining gharar can be found in al-Muwattaʾ, in which Mālik b. Anas mentions not only the actual ḥadīth prohibiting gharar (nahā rasūl Allāh ʿan bayʿ al-gharar), but also discusses the concept while writing about some other sales contracts. In general, the early scholars believed that a transaction is contaminated by gharar if there is any uncertainty over i) the existence of the subject-matter of the transaction, ii) one or more characteristics of the object under sale (e.g., species or quantity), or iii) one or more of the characteristics of the contract itself (e.g., timing of the transaction). Moreover, some specific kinds of transactionssuch as bayʿ al-ḥaṣāt (pebble sale), bayʿ al-mulāmasa (touch sale), or bayʿ al-munābadha (toss sale)were prohibited on the grounds of containing gharar as well.
It was not until the 14th/8th century, however, that two prominent Ḥanbalī scholars, Ibn Taymīyya and his student Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawzīyya, argued that it is not the (non)existence of the subject-matter of transaction but rather the (in)ability to deliver it by the seller that matters in determining whether a given transaction is contaminated by gharar—and, as such, is prohibited. At the same time, Ibn Taymīyya was of the opinion that the prohibition of gharar is not unequivocal; should a greater benefit (al-maṣlaḥah al-rājīḥa) be achieved from its abolition, then a contract contaminated by gharar is to be exceptionally permitted (rukhkhiṣa) under those particular circumstances.[2] In other words, if the cost of avoiding gharar is too high and the benefits from its embracement outweigh the harms it might possibly cause, then the prohibition should be temporarily lifted, and a transaction should be deemed valid. This was also the opinion of a Shāfiʿī scholar contemporary to Ibn Taymīyya, Taqī al-Din al-Subkī, who additionally supported the claim that only major (fāḥish) gharar is prohibited, while the minor one (ḥaqīr) does not affect the validity of a transaction.[3] Moreover, most of the scholars agreed that gharar can only affect commutative contacts, with gifts being exempted from its influence.
The origin of the prohibition of gharar can be traced back to the Qurʾān, even as the term is not directly mentioned anywhere in the holy book of Islam. What the Qurʾān does explicitly forbid is maysīr (2:219, 5:90–91), literally a game of arrows that with time came to be understood as an all-encompassing term for all types of gambling. While the Qurʾānic commentaries do not really discuss gharar when exploring āyāts dedicated to maysīr, many scholars (such as the already mentioned Ibn Taymīyya and Ibn al-Qayyim[4]) equated (major) gharar with gambling (qimār or maysīr). This has been done on the account of both devouring property of others in vain (akl al-māl bi-l-bāṭil), again explicitly prohibited by the Qurʾān (2:188, 4:29, 9:34). Indeed, this latter connection is explored in a number of tafāsīr, e.g., Aḥkām al-Qurʾān by Abū Bakr b. ʿArabī and Aḥkām al-Qurʾān by Aḥmad b. ʿAlī al-Rāzī al-Jaṣṣāṣ.
At the same time, the main and most explicit source of the prohibition of gharar derives from the sunna. Numerous aḥādīth deal with gharar; some of them are very general, some mention it in the context of a particular forbidden sale or a contract. The tradition most often adduced by scholars in the context of prohibition of gharar belongs to the first group and can be found in all canonical collections of aḥādīth, apart from al-Bukhārī's, and reads (in various forms; see Table 1):
Nahā rasūl Allāh ( صلى الله عليه وسلم) ʿan bayʿ al-gharar (wa-bayʿ al-ḥaṣāt)
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) prohibited gharar sale (and pebble sale)[5]
Table 1. Gharar matn composite
(Source: author's compilation based on ḥadīth collections, as listed in the reference section).
There are 24 individual traditions with matn to that effect scattered over Sunnī collections of aḥādīth.[6] They can be broadly arranged into four clusters, each centered around one common figure: ʾAbū Hurayra, Ibn ʿAbbās, Ibn al-Mussayyab, and Mujāhid (with the fifth cluster being a "miscellanea" grouping).[7]
Analysis[8] of the matn composite and asānīd of each of those traditions (see Figures 1–3) suggests that that prohibition of gharar was first transmitted by Ibn al-Musayyab via an unknown figure (ḥadīth mursal), as recorded in al-Muwattaʾ by Mālik b. ʾAnas (both in the oldest comprehensive recession available today, i.e., the one by Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan ash-Shaybānī [d. 189/805], and the most popular one, i.e., the one by Yaḥyā b. Yaḥyā al-Laythī [d. 234/848–9 or 236/850–1]). Subsequently, the expanded version of the tradition, containing both prohibitions of gharar and of bayʿ al-ḥaṣāt, was written down by Ibn Ḥanbal (all three belong to ʾAbū Hurayra bundle). Such an addition of a second part to the ḥadīth or combining two or more injunctions into one would not be unheard of, especially in case of short, legal maxims belonging to ḥalāl wa-ḥarām genre—much like the prohibition of gharar.
Figure 1. ʾAbū Hurayra bundle
Figure 2. Ibn ʿAbbās bundle
Figure 3. ʾAbū Hurayra and Ibn al-Musayyab bundles combined
(Sources: author's compilation based on ḥadīth collections, as listed in the reference section).
These types of maxims are generally believed to be opinions of individual scholars that produced them when approached by their co-religionist with specific questions.[9] With time, those ad hoc opinions were to be remolded into aḥādīth and given the authority of a Companion or the Prophet—a process known as rafʿ. Indeed, ʿAbd ar-Razzāq aṣ-Ṣanaʿānī argued that this is precisely what happened with the ḥadīth in question at the hands of Maʿmar [ʿAbd ar-Razzāq 8:14506].
However, one may argue that this was not necessarily the case by taking a closer look at the alleged first transmitter of the tradition, Ibn al-Musayyab (Medina, d. 94/715), who belonged to the second generation of Muslims (Tābaʿīn) and was one of the seven fuqahāʾ of Medina.[10] During his lifetime, he was known to be an expert in legal matters and, much like the rightly guided caliphs, famous for setting his own standards and giving his own rulings, inspired by—but not exactly derived from—the Prophet.[11] Numerous traditions were narrated from him without going back to earlier authorities, although in later collections, when isnād science developed, they might have been supplemented by


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Linux Network namespaces and CNI
Container Network Interface is a great approach that allows to build container networking using different control and forwarding plane implementations available for Linux. In this post lets make quick introduction into Linux network namespaces and Container Network Interface. First of all to get better understanding what is CNI we will look into linux containers network principles.
This diagram represents the way how network namespaces are organised on the typical node which uses containerisation.
Usually there is a bridge interface that called docker0, kbr0, cni0 and etc. For simplicity we named it bridge0. This bridge interface links together interfaces which are named vethXXXXX. I guess you noticed that if you are running couple of docker containers on your linux box there are two vethXXXXX interfaces in your
ip addr or
This interfaces are representing a root namespace leg of the link between root and container namespaces. Lets look at the output below:
We have a docker0 bridge with two interfaces connected to it:
To find out its opposite leg index, we can use
peer_ifindex 7 and 11 are indexes of the eth0 interfaces inside docker containers. Using this indexes you can find out interface name and configuration from
ip link output.
Inside a container, this vethXXXX interfaces will have a container namespace link leg. We can use
ip link tool to print out information:
We can check with ethtool interface index in the root namespace:
Exposing container namespaces
ip tools allow us to execute
ip command family under particular namespace. Docker by default does not expose it into /var/run/netns because directory because it is using own libcontainer. Nevertheless we can do this creating a symlink from process network namespace to
/var/run/netns directory. This directory should be created if does not exists.
Having this information we can connect additional link inside the docker container:
Inside the container we can run
ifconfig to check that we have actually built this link:
Container network interface
Container network interface CNI is the approach that aims standardising of container networking. The main purpose of this project is to make container networking flexible, extensible and easy to use with different control and data plane implementations. Later I will show how easy is to use it.
CNI has several plugin types. The most important of them are
ipam (ip management). Main plugin does manipulations with network namespaces, e.g. create veth pair, linking it inside the container, connecting to a bridge and etc. IPAM plugin manages IP setting allocations.
If we look inside one of the scripts from here _URL_ you will be surprised that it uses very similar principal that was described above.
We are starting docker container without network:
Getting its PID:
And figuring out the path of the namespace:
Then we can execute our CNI plugin that will create an interface, assign IP address, mask and gateway. This all happens by means of golang library which is the part of CNI project github.com/containernetworking/cni/pkg/ip. Library itself uses github.com/vishvananda/netlink, which is golang implementation of
Finally the script connects network namespace of the first container to the new one, where all settings already configured and linked inside Root namespace in the way which is defined by particular CNI plugin:
CNI configuration and binaries
CNI configuration is stored in
/etc/cni/net.d/ and you should name your files with preceding priority (e.g. 10,20) and.conf (e.g. /etc/cni/net.d/10-mynet.conf) extension. Here is the example of the configuration format that I used for BaGPipe CNI plugin:
If you use CNI plugins together with Kubernetes binaries should be stored in
Arguments are passed in the plugins as environment variables:
CNI_COMMAND - add or delete. This commands creates or deletes network interface inside the container with all necessary operations.
CNI_NETNS - namespace path e.g.
CNI_IFNAME - the naming of network interface inside the container (usually
CNI_PATH - path to CNI plugin binaries, for Kubernetes it will be
Plugins code worked pretty well for me with golang compiler 1.6.
Here you can find set of functions that can be used to create veth pair ip/link.go. For example:
This function creates pair of linked interfaces similar as we did above with veth-ns-7863 and eth0-ns-7863.
ns.WithNetNS from this package
allows to execute some code inside container's namespace that was passed as an argument.
Having all this and examples from CNI github repository we can easily implement our own plugin.
First of all we should define
types.netConf will include standard struct parameters and we can define our own. In this particular example we added ImportRT and ExportRT (Import and Export route target for out BGP routes).
Next we can implement methods based on the code from one of the plugins:
In this particular example we wrote function that allows us to execute
net.Interfaces() under the given network namespace. It is analog of the command:
ip netns exec $NS_NAME ip link
Then we can extract Hardware Address (MAC address) and the name of the root namespace leg of newly generated veth pair.


How do you cook bbq ribs
How long does it take to cook ribs on the BBQ?
Is it better to cook ribs in the oven or grill?
While BBQ gives ribs a distinct flavor, baking has other benefits to it. Baking gives you more control over how fast and how much the ribs are cooked. Because ovens have controlled temperature you are less likely to overcook or under cook your ribs.
How do you make BBQ ribs?
The best way to pre-cook sideribs Preheat oven to 325F. Remove membrane off ribs. If using a dry rub, rub spice mixture on both sides of ribs. Arrange ribs, meaty-side up, in a shallow roasting pan. Preheat grill to medium.
What temperature do you cook BBQ ribs?
Why do ribs take so long to cook?
Ribs generally cook for several hours because they store a lot of fat and collagen in the meat. But they also cook at vastly reduced temperatures. Like 200–250 degrees, which give the meat time to break down and redistribute all that delicious fat and flavor.
You might be interested: What is brazilian bbq
How do you know when ribs are done?
Should I wrap ribs in foil when grilling?
It also adds moisture and speeds up cooking time. Wrapping should be done about half way through the cooking process or when internal meat temp is 150-160 degrees. Use two layers of heavy duty foil to wrap the meat. We recommend the following process for wrapping ribs, pork shoulder and brisket.
Do ribs get more tender the longer they cook?
When you grill ribs, they won't fall off the bone. They will, however, come off the bone cleanly when you eat them. The longer you cook them, the more tender they will be.
How long does it take to grill ribs at 350 degrees?
Which ribs are best for BBQ?
Louis Cut Ribs are the meatiest and most flavorful ribs. They are spareribs with the tips removed so they form a nice rectangular rack. I sometimes call the "center cut ribs". You can use Baby Back Ribs for this recipe if you prefer.
Is it better to boil ribs before cooking?
You might be interested: How to grill bbq pork chops
Should I wrap ribs?
How long do you grill ribs at 250?
How long does it take to cook ribs at 275?
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text:
These two words are often confused. Rein is related to horses. Reign is related to kings and queens.
So where does the confusion lie?
In a phrase like reining in – he reined in his activities because he was exhausted – reining in refers to holding the horse back, restricting its movement.
In a phrase like free rein – he was given free rein to organise the office as he wished – free rein refers to slackening off the horse's rein so that it can move more freely.
But confusion can arise when you consider that being given free reign could also refer to being free as the ruler to do what you want.
So consider whether you are talking about rein as in a horse-related metaphor or as in a king-related metaphor. There are places where either would be suitable, but there are definitely places when only the horse one makes sense!


10 reasons your kids need their cousins growing up
Family gatherings are an important part of growing up, especially if your kids have cousins similar in age.
Most of us remember hanging out with our cousins at family barbecues or we may have even been lucky enough to live close by and even go to school, or be in the same class, as a relative.
In fact, cousins play a vital role in a child's development and social interactions.
10 reasons your kids need their cousins growing up
Family gatherings are an important part of growing up. Source: Pixabay
Here are 10 reasons why your kids need their cousins….
1. Cousins are your first best friends
Siblings are too – but cousins are like siblings that don't annoy you as much! Plus, they're more like a friend as you can have sleepovers at your cousin's house!
2. You'll always have someone to hang out with at family gatherings
It's nice to have someone to hang out with at Great Aunt May's annual family tea. Family gathering are so much better and less of a chore if your cousins are there when you're younger.
3. It's basically like having more siblings
This is great if you are an only child. If you only have a brother, you may have a female cousin or vice versa. It's like having lots of siblings that you don't have to share all your toys with all of the time!
4. It's easier to make plans with cousins
If your parents are going to visit their siblings then it's easy to make plans for playdates with your cousins.
5. You can share hand-me-downs
If you have a cousin that lives nearby, chances are you'll have clothes for life!
10 reasons your kids need their cousins growing up
Cousins are basically extra siblings. Source: Pixabay
6. You'll always have someone to confide in
Kids are always going to complain about their parents, let's face it. Having a cousin to vent to is always handy, as they will understand more where you're coming from.
7. You're connected for life
Like siblings, cousins are family. You share grandparents, aunts, uncles and other cousins. That's super special.
8. You have more role models
Whether you're the youngest or the oldest child in your family, chances are there will either be someone older than you or younger than you when you have cousins.
Things, like manners, can be learnt from older cousins. Exposure to more people is always a good thing when it comes to learning social cues.
10 reasons your kids need their cousins growing up
You have friends for life in cousins. Source: Pixabay
9. You get to reminisce with cousins
Not many people get to see their friends on Christmas Day, but chances are, you'll spend it with your cousins. This way, you make so many personal memories that you can look back on later in life.
10. Cousins love each other unconditionally
Friends often come and go as you grow up, but your cousins will be there from birth until adulthood. There may be bickers but they'll resolve quickly because of those family connections.
10 ways aunts play a super special and important part in our children's lives
Kate Middleton talks about Meghan Markle's pregnancy for the first time: 'It's such a special time'
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ieves or Scouts who are scouting ahead, and depending on the lens chosen (if any), they can pick up a lot of out-of-combat utility.
Saturday, October 26, 2013
Magic Economics: How much should spellcasting cost?
GURPS Magic has a section on the economics of creating magic items, which is fairly reasonable: it starts by assuming the monthly wages of wizards capable of enchantment, and works from there to determine how much enchantments would need to cost for them to be able to earn those enchantments. Which is fine, but it's something of a static analysis: if a wizard earns an Average wage (as defined by the GURPS rules), then magic items cost so much. But it doesn't really address what a wizard should earn, assuming that should be a setting detail.
The thing is that a wizard's earnings should be based on the opportunity cost of not paying a wizard to cast some particular spell. If a wizard can produce some service that people would want to buy for less than other providers, then people seeking that service are going to bid up the wizard's payments until the cost matches the other providers. Since many things that a wizard can theoretically provide have no easy to price equivalent service (what's the value of a Teleport Other spell?), this exercise can't necessarily determine how much a wizard should get paid, but it can put a lower bound on a wizard's wages. If a wizard can maintain a Wealthy lifestyle by casting Create Food, there's little reason to think that he's going to work for Average wages by enchanting objects.
The Opportunity Costs of Candles and Continual Light
As mentioned, a lot of spells provide services that don't have an easy to price equivalent. But some spells do. For example, Continual Light provides enough light to eliminate darkness penalties in a 1, 2, or 3 yard radius for an average of 7 days. $7 of tallow candles provides 1 yard of light for 7 days; a $20 lantern and $14 of lantern oil provides 2 yards of light for 7 days. A wizard who can make an acceptable living by casting Continual Light for $7 or less can undercut candlemakers and oil salesman; a wizard who needs more money than that might have a niche market (underwater lighting, for instance) or need to find other spells to earn money.
Continual Light is an interesting spell for this example because it is easy to learn: it requires Magery 0 and a single prerequisite within the same college. Even an IQ11, Magery 0 spellcaster can learn with not much effort: learning two hard skills, one to a professional level, is equivalent to getting a BS with a major and a minor. It has a linear energy cost of 2 per yard of light produced, so 2 energy for a 1 yard light and a 4 energy for a 2 yard light, nicely matching the doubled cost of moving from candles to lantern oil.
Using the standard magic system, a hypothetical IQ11, Magery 0 spellcaster with Light-9 and Continual Light-13 can recover 6 FP per hour, succeeds in casting Continual Light 86% of time, and can expect to produce 20 castings of a 1 yard Continual Light per 8 hour working day. Selling these spells for a mere $6 each and leaving some leeway for disastrous critical failures (roughly twice a year, our wizard forgets how to cast Continual Light for an average of 2 weeks and every other year he summons a demon) gives an income that is high end Comfortable, if not Wealthy, in GURPS terms. A delving or enchanter grade wizard, with IQ15, Magery 3+, and Recover Energy-15 puts out 95 castings a day and is Very Wealthy if not Filthy Rich.
In a Threshold system, a wizard's spellcasting frequency is limited by the lower of his Threshold or his Recovery Rate. Thaumatology suggests a Recovery Rate of 8, which puts the sample minimal spellcaster at a low Average wage, and a delving grade wizard (without an increased Recovery Rate) at Average or possibly Comfortable. My College Ritual Book system suggests that Recovery Rate should be purchased as an advantage. A low end spellworker with Recovery Rate 10 makes at least Average wage, and a delving wizard can earn Comfortable to Wealth wages, depending on his exact Recovery Rate.
So what does this mean?
This is a pretty simple thought experiment, but it strongly suggests that most lighting in a world of magic should either be Continual Light spells, or that wizards should be paid more than the standard GURPS model. The standard model assumes that wizards get paid Average wages and that spells cost about $1/FP to cast. More realistically, wizards should get paid Wealthy to Filthy Rich wages and spells should cost $5/FP to cast (or probably more, since this analysis doesn't begin to factor in the rarity costs of being the only IQ16 wizard in 200 miles who knows how to cast Teleport Other).
Which isn't to say that all PC wizards should be rich and well-employed, casting Continual Light all day. PC wizards tend to have all kinds of issues that make them unsuitable for employment, such as Obsessions with becoming liches or an Elder Thing ancestry. It just means that NPC wizards who lack those issues should be well paid, and willing to charge people a pretty penny for spell-casting services.
Aside: What About Enchantment?
At the start of this discussion, I noted that the GURPS Magic treatment of the enchantment of magic items assumes certain wages and works out the cost of magical items from there. It does have a brief section on changing those assumptions. The cost of Quick and Dirty enchantment goes from $1/point to $25/point (Filthy Rich enchanters with Enchantment-20 could easily have Continual Light-20 and be raking it in on the lighting market, so they don't come cheap) while Slow and Sure enchantment goes from $33/point to $666/point.
Alternately, people can ditch the GURPS Magic enchantment rules, which don't produce very fun or interesting results anyway. In Dungeon Fantasy, PCs can't become enchanters, and the exact details of the enchanting process are unknown. It's entirely possible that Q&D items are still $1/point because it doesn't take a master enchanter and a circle of five enchanter-grade wizards costing $6600/day to produce 4 Q&D items/day. Maybe a single enchanter can pump out 6 of them a day.
Thursday, October 24, 2013
Rationalizing Damage Spells in GURPS
GURPS Magic presents a variety of combat spells that do direct damage: Stone Missile, Fireball, Sunbolt, Deathtouch, Lightning Bolt, Explosive Fireball, and many others. They're scattered across the colleges, and while there's something of a theme of a touch spell, a jet spell, a basic missile spell, an explosive missile spell, a rain spell, and a breath spell, not every college has all of those spells and the damage and side effects of the various spells vary tremendously, even within the same college. A lightning bolt has different side effects than a shocking touch, even though they're both supposed to represent hitting someone with a huge jolt of electricity.
Arguably, magic should be mysterious, organic, and off-beat. Not every college should have every type of spell, and maybe the effects of lightning should differ depending on how it is used. I don't hold to that view. Magic in GURPS is consistent and organized.
This is an attempt to rationalize the spells, so that there is a common list of elemental effects and common list of spell forms. It also makes most direct damage spells a bit cheaper, so as to encourage blaster style casters over utility casters.
Revamping Missile Spells
Currently, missile spells in GURPS have their own set of rules. A missile spell creates some object that can be thrown, with a base damage related to the caster's Magery. If the caster has time, she can concentrate on it more, building up the damage for up to 3 seconds - if she has the energy to do so.
In practice, this model is not particularly satisfactory in play. Spellcasters normally only build up spells in ambush situations, when they know they have time to do so safely and recover the energy before starting the fight. In those circumstances, a caster creates a 9d missile spell, and then potentially does a huge amount of damage to a single target - more than anyone else in the game with a single strike. The rest of the time, the caster only builds the missile spell for a second, and does somewhere between 1d and 6d damage, depending on Magery and available FP. Sometimes a caster will use an explosive spell to damage multiple targets, but the poor damage propagation makes this futile, as even an explosive spell that does 18d to the target at the center of the blast does only 3d to people 2 hexes away, and the more reasonable 6d explosive spell rarely penetrates the armor of targets more than a yard away.
I want a system where wizards can contribute reasonably to fighting a single big monster, without having to burn all their fatigue on a single all-or-nothing attack, and can also do reasonable amounts of damage to clustered targets. So I'm changing the rules for Melee, Missile, and other damaging spells.
Fast progression damaging spells (such as Lightning Bolt or Flame Jet) can do a base damage of Sw


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Abstract 3251: Acute Changes in Bio-reactance Based Non Invasive Cardiac Output Measurements Following Biventricular Pacing Predict Left Ventricular Reverse Remodeling at 3 months: A Novel Tool to Guide CRT?
Introduction Non invasive cardiac output monitoring (NICOM) based on bio-reactance is a reliable, portable method for hemodynamic assessment and offers the potential to aid the assessment and the treatment of patients with heart failure. The purpose of our study was to assess to what extent acute changes in NICOM measurements are related to LV reverse remodeling following cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT).
Methods In forty-two heart failure patients (age 69 +/− 9 yrs, EF 23 +/− 7%, QRS 154 +/− 12ms, NYHA III/IV- 21/3) acute CO recordings were made using NICOM within 7 days of the implantation and echocardiographic optimization of CRT. NICOM measurements were made by placing four electrodes on the skin surface of each patient's chest allowing beat to beat assessment of CO at baseline (CRT OFF) and during optimized biventricular pacing (CRT ON). All patients underwent echocardiography prior to CRT and after 3 months and response was defined as a >15% reduction in left ventricular end systolic volume (LVESV).
Results Response to CRT was seen in 24/42 (57%) patients. There was a significant difference in CO readings within 7 days during CRT ON between responders and non responders (6.23 +/− 1.21 vs 5.19 +/− 0.96 L/min, p<0.01). The mean increase in acute CO between baseline and CRT ON amongst all patients was 36 +/− 33% with significant differences between responders and non responders (54 +/− 35 vs 16 +/− 14%, p<0.01). There was a good correlation between the extent of LVESV reduction at 3 months and the acute change in CO from baseline to CRT ON within 7 days of implant (r=0.47, p<0.001). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis demonstrated that a cut off of 20% improvement in CO acutely (AUC 0.91) could predict LV reverse remodeling at 3 months with a sensitivity of 86% (95% CI: 57–98%) and a specificity of 100% (95% CI: 82–100%).
Conclusion: NICOM is a simple method for assessing CO non-invasively and an acute improvement in NICOM recordings following CRT can accurately predict LV reverse remodeling at 3 months. NICOM is safe, reliable and portable and this validation study suggests potential use in the optimization of CRT devices and in the guidance of lead placement at the time of implant. Both these areas deserve further evaluation with NICOM.


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The Wind Energy Center is involved in advanced methodologies for error-correction of wind data, fixed-echo rejection of remote sensing returns, advanced computational quality assurance algorithms. For wind turbine operations and management, the Wind Energy Center is also involved in development of remote sensing methods for forward detection of turbine inflow, advanced data-logging methods, and development of next-generation condition-monitoring architectures for autonomous operation of wind turbines at sea.
A Fixed-echo Rejection data analysis methodology for ART Sodars has been developed which has proven to enhance wind resource data accuracy at sites with complex topography typical to New England.
AQUA is an innovative open-source process for automation and integration of quality assurance methods.
The Wind Energy Center is also developing a simple, open-source data logger, coded named Minuteman, compatible with AQUA, to provide a seamless collection, correction, and archival environment for wind energy data.
The "Streamlined Site Assessment Methodology" (SSAM) is a superior approach to the traditional site assessment process developed at the Wind Energy Center.


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Leaving a cell blank can have unexpected consequences. For instance, the value 0 and a blank cell might visually suggest the same thing - there's no valid entry - but many Excel functions will evaluate them differently. For example, Excel's AVERAGE() function will return 20 when evaluating three cells with the following values: 10, blank, and 30. If you enter a 0 into the blank cell, AVERAGE() returns 13.3. Excel totally ignores the blank cell, but evaluates the 0. For this reason, it's a good idea to use 0s instead of leaving cells blank (unless you have a specific reason for doing so - you might want Excel to ignore the blank cells) in a numeric data range.
Now, let's suppose a user is working with a sheet similar to the one shown below and he needs to fill all the blank cells with the value 0. (It could be any value, but let's stick with the zero example.) In a small sheet, entering all those 0s would be a quick task, but imagine a sheet with hundreds or thousands of blank cells! Can you help this user enter the value 0 into all those blank cells, without entering them one-by-one?


The Question:
Was Alfred Nobel married and did he have children?
The Answer:
No and no.
Swedish-born chemist and inventor Alfred Bernhard Nobel was what we call nowadays "a workaholic," which left little time for a personal life. He spent a good portion of his life traveling and working. By the time he died in 1896 Nobel had learned several languages and had 355 patents.
According to the Nobel Museum in Stockholm, the closest Nobel ever came to having a wife was when he was 43 years old. He ran the following ad in the newspaper: "Wealthy highly-educated elderly gentleman seeks lady of mature age, versed in languages, as secretary and supervisor of household."
The most qualified candidate was an Austrian woman named Countess Bertha Kinsky. She worked for Nobel for two years beginning in 1876 before returning to Austria to marry Count Arthur von Suttner. Despite this, Nobel and Bertha von Suttner remained good friends and corresponded regularly.
As time went on von Suttner became increasingly critical of the arms race and in 1899 published what would become a classic book in the peace movement, Die Waffen nieder (Lay Down Your Arms).
Unquestionably this relationship influenced Nobel when he wrote his final will which established annual awards, called Nobel Prizes, for work in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, and literature, and toward the promotion of international peace.
Bertha von Suttner was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1905.
—The Fact Monster


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Instead of turning Motion Detection on/off on your Camera devices one by one, you can now integrate Google Assistant with your Android Viewer devices to streamline your Alfred experience. Please note that this feature is currently only available in English.
- What are some requirements to use this integration?
- How do I set up Google Assistant on Alfred?
- How do I use Google Assistant with Alfred?
What are some requirements to use this integration?
- Your Viewer is an Android phone/tablet
- Your device language is English
How do I set up Google Assistant on Alfred?
- Go to the More tab
- Tap Settings > Google Assistant
- Tap the authorization code to copy it
- Launch Google Assistant
- Say "Talk to Alfred Camera"
- Tap on "Yes":
- Click on "START":
- Paste the authorization code (step 4) from the Alfred app:
- Tap on AUTHORIZE
Once you've completed the steps above, you should be able to use Google Assistant with AlfredCamera.
How do I use Google Assistant with Alfred?
You can use Google Assistant to turn on/off Motion Detection for all Camera devices at once.
You can either:
- Say "Talk to Alfred Camera," and
- Choose which action you'd like Google to do on Alfred:
- "Turn on Motion Detection"
- "Disable Motion Detection"
- "Arm Motion Detection"
- Tell Google Assistant what to do in a single sentence by saying:
- "Ask Alfred Camera to disarm Motion Detection", or
- "Ask Alfred Camera to enable Motion Detection."


Situated between the forests of the Rennsteig and the castles alongside the River Saale, the Thuringian Slate Mountains/Upper Saale River Nature Park provides a picture-perfect setting for an unforgettable holiday.
Small towns and villages dotted with blue slate houses and visitor mines are testament to the local mining tradition. Several themed routes and guided hikes allow visitors to explore the nature park with its dense wooded areas and mountains reaching heights of almost 800 metres. Some are even lucky enough to spot a rare dipper and other wildlife along the way. The "Thuringian Sea" boasting huge reservoirs in the Saale Valley is a popular destination for active holidaymakers and day-trippers, whilst the "Land of a Thousand Ponds" provides a resting point for migratory birds and a habitat for many species of aquatic birds, fish and other creatures.
Discover more
Explore the surroundings


Math learning app Photomath raises $23 million as it reaches 220 million downloads – ClearTips
Math learning app Photomath raises $23 million as it reaches 220 million downloads – TechCrunch
Photomath, the popular mobile app that helps you solve equations, has raised a $ 23 million Series B funding round led by Menlo Ventures. The application is a mass consumer success, and chances are you may already know about it if you have a teenager at home.
The application lets you point your phone's camera at a math problem. It identifies what has been written and gives you a step by step explanation to solve the problem. You might think that this is the perfect app for lazy students.
But there are many different use cases for photomaths. For example, you can write an equation in your notebook and use Photomath to draw a graph.
Typing an equation on a keyboard is quite difficult. This is why narrowing the gap between the physical world and your smartphone is the key to the success of Photomath. You can just grab a pen and write something on a piece of paper. Essentially, it is an AR calculator.
There is an interesting story behind the success of the app. Photomath was originally designed as a demo app for another company called MicroBlink. At the time, the team was working on the text recognition technique. It planned to sell its core technology to other companies that might be useful.
In 2014, he pitched MicroBlink at ClearTips Disrupt in London. And things changed drastically overnight as Photomath reached the first position of the iOS App Store.
Photomath has now attracted over 220 million downloads. As of this writing, it is still # 59 in the US App Store, one rank above Tinder. Other companies tried to make it competitive, but it seems they do not manage to crush small European startups.
The application seems even more relevant as many children are spending more time studying at home. They simply cannot raise their hands to call the teacher for some help.
Photomath is free and users can optionally pay for Photomath Plus, a premium version with more features, such as dynamic pictures and animated tutorials.
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Ahtohallan: its origin and meaning
It may have ended just as a fairy tale, but the Frozen universe has evolved in a pretty complex manner as the sequel came out. One of the essential concepts is Ahtohallan, which first appears in Frozen 2 and plays a vital role in the whole story plot. Examining why this place happened to have this name would help us to understand the whole storyline deeply. We cover this issue in this post.
One of the fundamental concepts of understanding the Frozen universe is Ahtohallan. Sometimes it is described as a river of memory or to Northuldra, a mythical place nobody has ever seen. Since all the story plots of Frozen 2 emerge from Ahtohallan, and it depicts the journey of Elsa and Anna reaching there, it is important first to understand what this place is. Then, what does the name 'Ahtohallan' stands for?
The name of many characters and spots in Frozen have their meaning. The name of some characters, such as Anna or Hans, is derived from the author of the original novel 'Snow queen'. Even some characters share the same names in the original novel. Then it would be natural to ask this kind of question. Is the name Ahtohallan originated from some novel or myth?
This is the central place where the magic of Frozen begins. If we can identify what it stands for, we could get closer to the core of the Frozen universe. First, let us retake a look at Ahtohallan.
One can interpret this just as a single word. Still, we can get some inspiration from this word by referring to Norse mythology, especially the Finnish one.
Many theories exist, but it seems most plausible to say that the word Ahtohallan anis originated from Finnish mythology. We can divide this word into some parts, and we can find some relationships between each segment and Finnish mythology. The following three words need our attention.
|Sea god in Finnish mythology
|Frost, below-freezing temperature
We first focus on the word Ahto. A lot of gods appear in Finnish mythology, but what we need to focus on is the god named Ahto. Ahto, sometimes called Ahti in Finnish mythology, is a sea god. His castle, or the territory governed by him and his wife Wellamo, is located under the sea and called Ahtola. Plus, halla means frost or the temperature below water getting frozen in Finnish. Summing up, the word Ahtohallan could be dissembled into three different parts: Ahto + Ahtola + Halla. Considering the meaning of each word, we might interpret the meaning of Ahtohallan as 'the territory of frozen sea god'. Now the question is, what is this combination?
First, let's take a look at the prefix Ahto. This word represents the sea god in Finnish mythology. Surprisingly, we can also find marks of godly being related to water through Iduna's letter on the wrecked ship (the very first symbol). This means that the people in the past of the Frozen universe (or at least Iduna) believed that some divine being related to water existed. The water element has some unique position among the other four spirits in Frozen: people say it has a memory, or the first symbol on the map looks like water.
We don't need to be precisely what the symbols on the map stand for. The thing is, the ancient people (or at least Iduna) believed that there existed some divine being. And that divine being would have some relationship to water, so they would have named it Ahto. All kinds of mythology (especially Animism) share a similar structure. Then its motif would have originated from Finnish mythology.
The past people of the Frozen universe might also have notions that Ahto's power influences some territory or place. The dark sea, located in the far north of Ahtohallan, is described as a violent place protected by the water Nokk. So it would be natural to speculate that the ancient people might have regarded this place as a divine or holy territory governed by a water god, so they would have named it Ahtola as in the Finnish mythology.
Then why the word Halla as suffix? Elsa had already answered this question.
Ahtohallan is frozen.
Obviously, the people in the past would have named this place Ahtola since this place seemed to be related to the water god, Ahto. However, what Elsa had found was glacial in a frozen form. Then we can speculate that the past people might also have observed this place in a frozen form, or heard from someone that it was frozen, so they would have added the suffix halla, which means frozen to this place. From this observation, we can further speculate that this place had appeared in frozen (halla) from in the past. That is, someone like Elsa in the past would have said to the people that this place was frozen, and these rumors would have spread among people, so people named this place halla.
I understand diverse interpretations exist on this subject, but we will discuss this deeper issue later.
But the above argument is just one hypothesis. Can we find any evidence supporting this idea in the movie?
Take a look at Iduna's map again. On the top and left sides, we can find some numbers representing the latitude and longitude. These numbers show the latitude and longitude corresponding to 62.3 and 27.0, respectively. Then what would be this spot on the actual map on earth?
It is Finland. Some of you might have been confused at this stage. The motif of Frozen 1 is known as Norway, so it would be natural to expect the spot GPS pointing to be somewhere in Norway. Why is it Finland? Just a mistake?
We can regard it that way, but I think it is the sign where the concept and name Ahtohallan were motivated. In Frozen 1 and Olaf's Frozen Adventure, we find a Norweign map and Norweign wavy-shaped cookies. These represent the motif of the film. Similarly, suppose the team was to insert some homage to Finland or its mythology. In that case, they might have inserted some sign of that country. From the making film or art book, we can also see that the story of Frozen 2 was motivated by Norse mythology. If it were from Norway, they would have put the GPS coordinates of Norway. This doesn't look like a mistake, and I instead see this as an intended thing. Following this interpretation, the motif of Ahtohallan comes from Finnish mythology, and the directors had inserted its GPS coordinates as homage.
Summing up these arguments, it is plausible to say that the name Ahtohallan comes from Finnish mythology.
The word Ahtohallan in Frozen universe is a compound word that can be decomposed into Ahto + Ahtola + Halla and motivated by Finnish mythology. Each word represents the sea god, its territory, and the frost. We can find its evidence on Iduna's map in the wrecked ship.


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How to Generate Synthetic Data with a Knowledge Graph
May 4, 2020
Companies must be extremely careful about how they deal with customer data due to current international data protection regulation. When creating marketing resources, presenting to stakeholders or demonstrating to prospective clients, they must have data that looks realistic but respects data privacy. However, using data that clearly does not conform with the expected format can mislead audiences and result in unfavourable decisions.
One way to tackle this problem is to anonymize the data samples used. However, implementing a good anonymization algorithm that makes it impossible to trace the data back to its source is not always straightforward. This article presents an alternative approach: instead of going through the tedious process of anonymizing data, we solve this problem by using the PoolParty Semantic Suite to generate synthetic data.
Five Steps to Create Synthetic Data With A Knowledge Graph
Our goal is to create synthetic data that conforms with the expected structure and that has realistic content, such as properly formed sentences with domain content, instead of the lorem ipsum type of sentences. As the data generated is completely synthetic, the risk of it being traceable to source materials is greatly mitigated.
We have applied this principle to create synthetic curricula vitae (CV) by following these steps:
1. Decide on the Structure
Define the structure of the CV by describing what data fields are needed, the expected content and other formatting aspects of the resulting document. This acts as a template to be automatically filled in using domain knowledge. For illustrative purposes we have defined a simplified CV template. In our case, relevant fields are the personal details of the person, their current position and education as well as the hard and soft skills they possess.
2. Analyze and Extract
Use PoolParty to analyze sample documents to extract instances of key elements and frequencies. The PoolParty Extractor was run using the ESCO taxonomy to identify relevant skills in the different source CVs and build a model of the frequency of different types of CVs (e.g. developer, HR, manager,...) contained in the data set. This gives us a good idea of how the target documents should look like with regards to content.
3. Build Your Knowledge Graph
Build a knowledge graph that has concept schemes that contain the domain-specific knowledge matching the template fields that need to be filled in. Knowledge can be reused from existing taxonomies or other sources (for instance, online image databases or random name generators). For our CV generator, we created concept schemes for companies, universities, degrees, hard skills (based on the output of the PoolParty Extractor) and soft skills, among others.
4. Build an Algorithm
Build a generation algorithm that looks at each field in the template and instantiates it with values from the corresponding concept scheme in the knowledge graph. In its simplest version, the instantiation can be done randomly, in more sophisticated versions we can look at relations across concept schemes. For instance, if the person holds a position in software development, then their hard skills should be related to that professional area.
5. Generate the synthetic data
Use the defined structure and the selected values to generate a meaningful CV from the template.
Having a rich knowledge graph is key to be able to generate documents that feel realistic and varied. A good agile approach to the development of such a knowledge graph is to tackle one category at a time and enrich the taxonomy step by step. For instance, building the taxonomy across all concept schemes with knowledge only about the software development discipline.
So far, we have discussed the idea of filling in fields in a template. However, we have not elaborated on what would be the nature of those fields. Often these fields are blocks of coherent text, for instance a summary of the biography of a person. Given that the use cases we have tackled delimit the structure and content of such blocks of text, so far we have opted for a simplified approach based on the knowledge graph instead of using natural language processing (NLP) to generate sentences. We have defined the type of sentences that appear in each relevant section of a CV. We also established how to choose those sentences (e.g. introducing variations in the combination).
Each of those sentences have parameters that can be instantiated using concepts from the knowledge graph. When we combine the different types of sentences, and different values within each of them, we end up with a varied range of outputs. The sheer number of possible outputs obscures the fact that the generation follows a certain generation pattern.
The Benefits Of This Approach
This approach is sufficiently generic that it can be applied to any use case where a relatively standard template for documents can be defined (contracts, for example). It also accommodates variations of such a template. It scales well as we can start with a subset of the knowledge in the taxonomy. In addition, the knowledge graph can be reused for other purposes. Once this infrastructure has been set up the generation of documents is instantaneous.
Feel free to check out our HR Recommender demo, where we used synthetic data generated using this approach.
The Road Ahead
There are complex approaches to generate text using NLP techniques. While we chose to only work with a knowledge graph in the first version of the CV Generator, any number of these NLP techniques could be used to improve the results with regards to the generation of realistic natural language sentences. Our generator was built to easily incorporate such techniques and advanced statistical models into the basic algorithm.
Juliane Piñeiro-Winkler
Juliane Piñeiro-Winkler
Data Engineer
Alexi Lopez-Lorca
Alexi Lopez-Lorca


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Scalable compilation helps reduce compilation time for models that consist of a pattern of repeated components, such as transmission lines or battery packs, by compiling a repeated component once and then reusing these compilation artifacts for other instances of the same component. Scalable compilation improves compilation performance, it does not reduce the simulation time of the model.
- About Scalable Compilation
General workflow and types of models that can benefit from scalable compilation.
- Preparing Your Model for Scalable Compilation
This example shows how to evaluate a model and prepare it for scalable compilation.
- Scalable Compilation Limitations
Limitations for using scalable compilation, such as unsupported patterns, workflows, or simulation modes.
- Determining Optimal Complexity Level for Reusable Components
Guidelines and considerations for determining the optimal model configuration for scalable compilation.
- Reuse Compilation Artifacts of Individual Simscape Blocks
If your model contains multiple instances of the same Simscape™ block, you can use the
simscape.scalable.setBlockConfigfunction to make all or some of these instances reusable.
- Reuse Compilation Artifacts of Textual Components
Scalable compilation also lets you reuse compilation artifacts of repeated textual components.