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I need a way to tag photos in a Delphi desktop application the way Facebook does it.
That includes some way to easily add the tags over the people, and then hovering the mouse over the person in the photo to show the tag.
The two suggestions in the answer given to: "Delphi Components for Face Identification and Tagging" don't solve this.
But I have no idea where to start, and have been unable to find ideas on the web on how to do this. How does Facebook do it? Or maybe there's a component for Delphi that will allow it.
What would be the best way to try to implement Facebook-like tagging?
p.s. This is some of Facebook's API definition for this: _URL_
Here is a Java program that implements the face tagging functionality that I want to do in my Delphi app: fb-photo-uploader
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4 Answers
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The key parameters of the API you cited are the picture ID, the coordinates, and the tag. The tag can be either the user ID of a Facebook user, or it can be free-form text (for the case when the tagged subject is not a Facebook user). Facebook uses just one coordinate because it uses fixed-size regions to denote a tagged area; the idea is that you click on the center of a person's face, and Facebook just stores that point.
If you display a picture in a TImage control (that's the obvious first choice, after all), you can detect mouse clicks with the OnMouseDown and OnMouseUp events. (The OnClick event is simpler, but doesn't tell you the coordinates.) Once you've acquired a point, prompt for a label to accompany that point. You can use predetermined labels, like Facebook's user IDs, or just use ordinary text, or use something of your own devising. The question of what you use to represent a tag value is orthogonal to whatever other questions you've asked so far.
The other half of Facebook's photo tagging is that moving the mouse over the image displays the tag text over the image, and moving the mouse over the labels below highlight the associated regions. Handle OnMouseMove events and write some code to display or hide labels and shapes as appropriate. If you use TLabel and TShape, you might not even have to modify the image, but showing those controls on top of the image might interfere with further OnMouseMove events for the image. It shouldn't take too long to try some experiments and see what works for you.
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lkessler, I just read your reply to Marshall Fryman, so may have a couple options for you:
THotSpotImage - If you already have TMS components...
ImageEn - in case you already have them...
See w2m's answer #3 i think in further i need get all inner pixels of my selections, so how i can save my selections/objects?
Save selection just saves the selection itself. It does not save the image inside of the selection:
procedure SaveSelectionToFile(const FileName:string); SaveSelectionToFile saves the current selection to the specified file. Example ImageEnView1.Select(10,10,100,100); ImageEnView1.SaveSelectionToFile('selection1');.. sel1.Position:=0; ImageEnView1.LoadSelectionFromFile('selection1'); // this is like Select(10,10,100,100)
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Good selection of options. I wish there was a THotSpotImage outside of TMS. I wouldn't want to get it just for that one component. I already use LMD ElPack for my additional components, and that's enough. – lkessler Apr 15 '09 at 0:08
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I'm a bit confused as to your question. Are you trying to interact with Facebook or just copy the functionality?
If you are trying to copy the functionality: You should be able to just display the image, let the user select the rectangle, possibly copy the image to a new copy to notify the other person with, and apply a tag in a DB. Some helpful links: here is a select image example and here is the copy image portion example. I'd actually think you could do the select image in a paintbox but haven't actually played with one of those in forever.
If you are trying to access the API: The.NET interface may work for you. From what I can tell, there is no COM interface so you'd have to write your own connector or use a.NET Delphi app. Note: all of this information is coming from Google so I won't swear up and down that it's really the current state of things. The only other Facebook API request I saw was from 2007.
If you want to do automatic face recognition, OpenCV from the referenced question looks like a decent way to do it (especially if you have access to C++ Builder).
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Thanks for the thoughtful answer and the useful examples which is the sort of thing I'm looking for. No, I don't want to interact with Facebook, but I'm looking for an easy way to imitate its functionality and take a picture, let the user select a region, and store a tag with the pic. – lkessler Apr 1 '09 at 1:47
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In the Graphic32-library, you can have several layers upon each other in a image. One of the layers that is provided out of the box, is a TRubberbandLayer that allows the user to reposition/resize the layer at runtime.
The mousemove event for the TImage32-component, has a parameter that gives the layer currently under the cursor.
type TImgMouseMoveEvent = procedure(Sender: TObject; Shift: TShiftState; X, Y: Integer; Layer: TCustomLayer) of object;
A combination of rubberbandlayers and the mousemove-event should be good solution, I think.
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text:
- By Critical Effect or
- By Toxicity Value
- By Human Carcinogenicity
- By Keyword, Substance, or CASRN
Search by Uncertainty or Modifying Factor
- Search Tips
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The search by Uncertainty or modifying factor allows you to search for composite uncertainty factor values, individual uncertainty factor values, and modifying factor values used to derive RfDs and RfCs. The search will retrieve a list of substances with uncertainty or modifying factors that fall within the specified range.
* Uncertainty factors other than the five standard uncertainty factors listed in the IRIS glossary are not routinely applied in IRIS assessments. Results of a search on other uncertainty factors will reflect only those exceptional circumstances where it was determined that the uncertainty associated with an RfD or RfC could not be adequately categorized by one of the standard UFs.

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Zero-gravity combat training
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Kirk employs null-gravity combat against Tchar
Kirk fights Tchar using his null-gravity combat training
Zero-gravity combat training or null-gravity combat exercises were a part of standard Starfleet Academy training.
James T. Kirk and Spock conducted null-gravity combat exercises together aboard the USS Enterprise a week prior to going on the Vedala expedition.
They later employed some of their null-gravity combat training during the expedition to combat Tchar, after he activated a gravity neutralizer in the Skorr temple, forcing those on the expedition to "fly and fight as a Skorr." (TAS: "The Jihad")
In 2373/2063, when the crew of the USS Enterprise-E found out that that the Borg that had infested the ship were outside on the hull building an interplexing beacon on the ship's deflector dish, Captain Jean-Luc Picard asked Lieutenant Commander Worf if he had remembered his zero-g combat training. Worf revealed it made him sick to his stomach. Despite this, Picard, Worf and Hawk went onto the hull to stop the Borg. (Star Trek: First Contact)
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text:
Nuclear Science and Engineering / Volume 146 / Number 3 / March 2004 / Pages 367-382
Technical Paper / _URL_.13182/NSE03-03
Methodologies to calculate adjoint-based first-order-linear perturbation theory sensitivity coefficients with multigroup Monte Carlo methods are developed, implemented, and tested in this paper. These techniques can quickly produce sensitivity coefficients for all nuclides and reaction types for each region of a system model. Monte Carlo techniques have been developed to calculate the neutron flux moments and/or angular fluxes necessary for the generation of the scattering terms of the sensitivity coefficients.
The Tools for Sensitivity and Uncertainty Analysis Methodology Implementation in three dimensions (TSUNAMI-3D) control module has been written for the Standardized Computer Analyses for Licensing Evaluation (SCALE) code system implementing this methodology. TSUNAMI-3D performs automated multigroup cross-section processing and then generates the forward and adjoint neutron fluxes with an enhanced version of the KENO V.a Monte Carlo code that implements the flux moment and angular flux calculational techniques. Sensitivity coefficients are generated with the newly developed Sensitivity Analysis Module for SCALE (SAMS). Results generated with TSUNAMI-3D compare favorably with results generated with direct perturbation techniques.


text:
Is Tiger Woods Loss Averse? Persistent Bias in the Face of Experience, Competition, and High Stakes
- Pope and Schweitzer
- A version of the paper can be found here.
- Want a summary of academic papers with alpha? Check out our Academic Research Recap Category!
Although experimental studies have documented systematic decision errors, many leading scholars believe that experience, competition, and large stakes will reliably extinguish biases. We test for the presence of a fundamental bias, loss aversion, in a high-stakes context: professional golfers' performance on the PGA Tour. Golf provides a natural setting to test for loss aversion because golfers are rewarded
for the total number of strokes they take during a tournament, yet each individual hole has a salient reference point, par. We analyze over 2.5 million putts using precise laser measurements and find evidence that even the best golfers—including Tiger Woods—show evidence of loss aversion.
Scoring in golf is fairly simple, you add up the number of shots it takes you to get the ball in the hole. That being said, golfing–like investing–is simple, but not easy:
If the goal is to get the lowest score possible, where every shot counts the same, then every shot is important. In a perfectly efficient market, one would expect that PGA tour players would exhibit the same focus and effort on every shot. Turns out they don't!
This study examines over 2,500,000 putts on the PGA tour from 2004 to 2009. The finding should be a warning beacon for anyone who still believes that behavioral bias can't influence important outcomes: given a similar putt, PGA tour professionals perform better if the putt is for par as opposed to a birdie (i.e., loss aversion).
What is the theory behind this "loss aversion" among professional golfers?
This paper describes it very well:
Rather than make consistent decisions over final wealth states, Kahneman and Tversky (1979) postulate that economic agents evaluate decisions in isolation with respect to a salient reference point. In Prospect Theory, Kahneman and Tversky (1979) propose a reference-dependent theory of choice in which economic agents value gains differently than they value losses in two key ways. First, economic agents value losses more than they value commensurate gains (loss aversion); the "value function" is kinked at the reference point with a steeper gradient for losses than for gains. Second, economic agents are risk seeking in losses and risk averse in gains (risk shift); the utility function is convex in the loss domain and concave in the gain domain.
Here is a picture describing this theory for golf:
The picture above shows that "gains" such as a birdies (relative to par) have less utility (value) than the corresponding "loss" such as bogeys (relative to par). Essentially, "losses" hurt more than "gains."
So how could this affect a golfer?
Let's say I have a 5 foot putt.
- Scenario 1: If this putt is for "birdie" I may focus less than if this putt is for "par." Why? Because the utility, or value derived, from making the birdie putt is relatively small.
- Scenario 2: This putt is for "par". I will be more focused in this situation, because the fear of hitting a bogey is so painful.
The rational solution suggests that every put should get equal attention–they all matter. However, according to loss aversion theory, golfers will be more focused on their par puts than their birdie puts, all else equal.
But how does this affect PGA tour professionals, who should know that every putt counts the same, and who are playing for millions of dollars?
Here is the evidence:
The evidence is stunning, but is perfectly described by prospect theory: given a similar putt for birdie or par, PGA tour professionals make more par putts!
Another prediction is that golfers will be more risk averse when putting for birdie relative to par. This could be tested by examining how hard one hits the ball. It is a fact that you need to at least hit the ball to the hole to make the putt. However, many golfers (including myself) tend to lag the ball up to the hole, leaving the putt short, as the fear of hitting the ball "too far" past the hole makes players lag the putt short of the hole. If golfers are more risk averse for birdie putts, we may expect to find that birdie putts tend to come up short of the hole. The paper examines this idea.
Here is the evidence:
In the above picture, a positive (negative) regression coefficient indicates that birdie putts are more (less) likely to come to rest in the box than par putts. Examining the picture, we find many positive coefficients short of the hole, and many negative coefficient pas the hole. This indicates that PGA tour professionals tend to leave birdie putts short compared to par putts. This is again stunning, as leaving the ball short of the hole gives you "zero" probability of making the putt (I will try to remember this next time I go golfing).
What about the skill of the golfer? From 1998 – 2008, Tiger Woods was the best player in the world.
Did this loss aversion affect Tiger?
Here is a plot of the player's world ranking and their corresponding relative accuracy of birdie putts relative to par putts (a negative number means that the golfer is less accurate for birdie putts relative to par putts):
The above chart shows that most PGA golfers (including Tiger) exhibit this loss aversion, and are less accurate on birdie putts relative to par putts (as shown with the negative coefficients). In theory, competition and incentives should make the PGA tour market more efficient, yet this paper documents that PGA tour professionals exhibit loss aversion bias.
How much did this cost these golfers?
The paper estimates this here:
From this table, it appears that PGA players left hundreds of thousands of dollars on the table, due to their own loss aversion.
Besides potentially helping our own golf games, by reminding us to be less risk averse on birdie putts, can this be extended to other fields?
At Alpha Architect we believe that behavioral biases can affect stock prices, and try to build models to exploit investor bias. The trick while simultaneously trying to contain our own bias.
Let us know what you think, can this be extended to stock markets?
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text:
– Top Notes: Bergamot – Grown in Calabria, this citrus is a cross between Seville orange and lime. The zest is cold pressed to produce an essential oil with fresh, energising notes. – Heart Notes: Transparent Musk -Originally sourced from animals, musk is now used in synthetic form. Its powerful presence gives the fragrance an intoxicating yet soothing sensuality. – Base Notes: Mate – The scent gets its vitality from the leaves of this herbaceous plant, which mainly grows wild, in Brazil. There, its essential oil is extracted using volatile solvents, before the codistillation of its leaves.
Olfactory Family: Citrus Aquatic Woody


text:
Creating a brilliant future
for all of us...
Crude Impact uncovers some harsh realities about our world and our relationship to fossil fuels. Yet as discussed in the film, there is cause for hope. Crude Impact is meant to inspire us to take action, because as Dr. William Rees says in the film, "this new knowledge gives us the possibility of creating a brilliant future for all us."
In this section, Make an Impact, you will find organizations that are creating positive change in the world – through working to transform private and public institutions, and creating a new world view through both action and thought.
Here you can learn more about the issues, and groups that are addressing them, under Discover the Issues. In Inspire Change, you will see what communities and individuals are doing to meet the various challenges raised in the film, including new and exciting technologies that address issues around energy consumption. Some of the individual stories you will find there are from people who were inspired by Crude Impact.
In Build Your Library, you will find out about books and other films on the many topics related to energy consumption and its impact.
Tag, you're it!

source: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb-edu


The Man Who Fed the World (Paperback)
The Man Who Fed the World Cover Image
Norman Borlaug was the only person during the twentieth century who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for work in agriculture and food. There is no Nobel Food Prize, so the Nobel Committee chose Dr. Borlaug as the 1970 recipient of the Peace Prize based on his dramatic scientific breakthroughs and wheat production technology that relieved hunger in much of the world. During the previous decade, many people on the planet Earth, most notably in China and the Asian Subcontinent, were facing starvation, even famine. Borlaug's revolutionary achievements relieved widespread human suffering and brought peace.
Dr. Borlaug was hailed as the person who saved the lives of more people--hundreds of millions--from starvation than any person in history. He earned the distinction as one of the 100 most influential individuals of the 20th century. His is an inspiring story; he went from an unpretentious Iowa farm boy to scientist-cum-humanist of world acclaim.
Product Details
ISBN: 9781948460101
ISBN-10: _PHONE_
Publisher: Righter's Mill Press LLC
Publication Date: December 5th, 2019
Pages: 278
Language: English


text:
Loyola Students Can Make Smart Choices
Loyola University Chicago's Social Norms Marketing Campaign on Alcohol
- What are'social norms'?
- Where did the statistics come from?
- Highlights from the National College Health Assessment Survey at Loyola
- Who made the posters?
- Who funded the social norms campaign?
- Contact for more information
Social norms are the perceived standards of acceptable attitudes and behaviors prevalent among the members of a community. There is a large and growing body of research that supports the idea that norms, be they real or false, have a powerful influence on behavior. In other words, what we do is influenced by what we "think" other members of our social group think and do.
Generally, we misperceive, i.e. overestimate, others' negative or harmful behavior, e.g. heavy drinking, and underestimate others' positive behavior, e.g. abstaining or drinking in moderation, or using a designated driver. Widespread misperception of social norms can contribute to an increase in negative behaviors. For example, first year students may drink heavily because they believe that everybody on campus drinks heavily.
Consistently communicating accurate information about the norms and about the prevalence of healthy behaviors can change the perceptions a group has about itself, thereby positively influencing individual behavior. A social norms marketing approach like Loyola's uses media as one means to correct negative misperceptions by letting students know that most students are moderate drinkers who practice protective behaviors to stay safe and avoid causing problems. This empowers the majority of students who already has positive behaviors to continue with their healthy choices and influences the minority who does not.
Reactions to social norms messages are often mixed. We hope that Loyola's social norms campaign will encourage critical thinking and discussion among students, faculty, and staff about real vs. perceived behaviors and attitudes about drinking.
The source for much of the above information is "The Main Frame: Strategies for Generating Social Norms News". This document, along with more information about social norms marketing and evidence of its effectiveness in reducing heavy drinking on college campuses, can be found at The National Social Norms Resource Center at _URL_. Used with permission.
How do we know that most Loyola students have 0 to 4 drinks when they party and that 9 out of 10 who drink make smart decisions about it? The statistics in Loyola's social norms marketing campaign are based upon the findings of its National College Health Assessment (NCHA) web survey. In April 2003, 662 randomly selected full-time undergraduate Loyola students completed the NCHA. The survey was confidential and completely voluntary. The NCHA asks questions about a broad range of health, risk, and protective behaviors, consequences of behavior, and perceptions among students. A current profile of health trends within the Loyola campus community is obtained by way of annual administration of the NCHA by the LUC Wellness Center. Click here for more Loyola highlights from the NCHA.
Alcohol use in the past 30 days
Loyola students thought that only 2% of students had not drank alcohol in the past 30 days. In fact, 17% reported that they had not drunk alcohol in the past 30 days.
Number of drinks when partying
Most Loyola students (59%) had 0 to 4 drinks the last time they partied.
The median number of drinks consumed by women the last time they partied was 3. The median number of drinks consumed by men the last time they partied was 6.
Safety tips for drinkers
97 % of Loyola students who drink reported using one or more of these tips when they party:
- Alternate non-alcoholic with alcoholic beverages
- Determine in advance not to exceed a set number of drinks
- Choose not to drink alcohol
- Avoid drinking games
- Use a designated driver
- Eat before and/or during drinking
- Have a friend let you know when you've had enough
- Pace drinks to 1 or fewer per hour
- Keep track of how many drinks being consumed
- Drink an alcoholic look-alike
What Loyola students didn't do as a result of their drinking last year:
- 84% did not physically injure themselves
- 97% were not physically injured by another person
- 95% were not involved in a fight
- 62% did not do something they later regretted
- 70% did not forget where they were or what they had done
- 98% did not have someone use force or threat of force to have sex with them
- 87% did not have unprotected sex
Loyolans did! Student artists enrolled in a Visual Communications course in the Fine Arts Department created the posters as part of a class assignment. They were given the social norms messages and were asked to design a creative image to help convey those messages.
The School of Business conducted focus groups in which groups of first-year residents gave their reactions to the posters. Posters were selected and modified as a result of the students' feedback.
Loyola University Chicago Wellness Center is a recipient of the 'Evidenced-based Practices for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention on College Campuses' grant.
This grant is administered by the Illinois Higher Education Center for Alcohol, Other Drug and Violence Prevention of the Office of Safety Programs at Eastern Illinois University, and is funded by the Illinois Department of Human Services, Bureau of Substance Abuse Prevention.
For more information about Loyola's Social Norms Marketing Campaign on Alcohol, contact Health Promotion at the Wellness Center, at _PHONE_. More about social norms theory and practice can be found at The National Social Norms Resource Center at _URL_.


text:
Fan Li, Yiming Yang
Learning the structures of large undirected graphs with thousands of nodes from data has been an open challenge. In this paper, we use graphical Gaussian model (GGM) as the underlying model and propose a novel ARD style Wishart prior for the precision matrix of the GGM, which encodes the graph structure we want to learn. With this prior, we can get the MAP estimation of the precision matrix by solving (a modified version of) Lasso regressions and achieve a sparse solution. We use our approach to learn genetic regulatory networks from genome-wide expression microarray data and protein-binding location analysis data. Evaluated on the basis of consistency with the GO annotations, the experiments show that our approach has a much better performance than the clustering-based approaches and BN learning approaches in discovering gene regulatory modules.
Content Area: 12. Machine Learning
Subjects: 12. Machine Learning and Discovery; 15.7 Search
Submitted: May 10, 2005


text:
Query: keyword: "Verspreiding"
|Authors||R. Felix, H. van Kleef|
|Title||Boomkrekels Oecanthus pellucens bij Lobith het land binnen (Orthoptera: Gryllidae)|
|Journal||Nederlandse Faunistische Mededelingen|
|Keywords||Boomkrekel; Nederland; Verspreiding; Herkenning|
|Abstract||Oecanthus pellucens entering the Netherlands at Lobith (Orthoptera: Gryllidae)|
On august 8, 2004 a male Oecanthus pellucens was heard along the river Waal, just east of the
city of Nijmegen (the Netherlands). Additional searches revealed that the species is distributed
from the German border towards Nijmegen and Arnhem along the rivers Waal and Rhine
respectively. These observations confirm that O. pellucens has successfully colonised the
Netherlands in a natural way and has probably been present for several years. Previous records
of O. pellucens in the Netherlands were attributed to transport by traffic from southern Europe.
All specimens were found along the shore of the river, indicating that dispersal is accomplished
by water transport during winter and spring flooding. During this period the eggs of the species
are in diapause inside plants. Since O. pellucens is very thermophilous it remains to be seen if it
can survive the next cold and wet summer.
|Download paper|| _URL_ |


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Is there a specific difference in performance between an OS installed on a Virtual Box and an OS installed locally on a computer?
Is there any formula so that I could know what is lost when you install an OS in a virtual box.
For example, if you assigned 512Mb of memory in a virtual box os. But it is actually 256Mb when compared to its performance when it is installed locally.
Please, I need the information because we're making a comparative analysis on operating systems. And I can't just install Sabayon Linux, it might ruin the 3 other os that I have already installed.
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2 Answers 2
up vote 1 down vote accepted
Given the number of variables involved (everything from caching efficiency to what programs are running your host OS) it is practically impossible to know the exact difference theoretically. However, I would do the following to determine this experimentally without affecting my current install;
 1. Purchase an identical harddrive to what you currently have installed in your computer.
 2. Remove the current harddrive you have so you don't mess up any of your currently installed stuff.
 3. Install the OS's that you are analyzing to that harddrive -- note, they MUST not be installed in different partitions and the drive should be zero'd between changing the operating systems (this more closely simulates how it might look under virtual box -- i.e. a fresh drive).
 4. Perform your benchmarking for each OS
 5. Put your old harddrive back in
 6. Fire up VirtualBox and install each OS, perform your benchmarking for each OS.
 - If you are trying to do a high-quality comparative analysis, you HAVE to do the comparison from each individual OS ON the hardware.
 - Make sure you pick a good set of benchmarking software that doesn't bias toward one thing or another to heavily. And if you do bias toward something heavily (RAM usage perhaps?) make sure you get enough samples that the aggregate data is meaningful.
 - Ensure the software running on your host os is the same AND minimal during your benchmarking process for each OS you sample
 - I would recommend defragging your harddrive between installs of the OS's under virtualbox, this will help ensure the virtual disk will be more contiguous on disk
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There is, actually, a specific difference.
In a virtual machine, the hardware that the OS thinks it's running on is not real.
Whereas in a local, bare-metal OS, the hardware that the OS thinks it's running is, by and large, actually physically present.
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ahh, this is not very accurate. CPU, RAM, hard disk is all very REAL, network controllers, graphics and sound are emulated. – Molly7244 Feb 20 '10 at 3:31
hard disk is definitely not real, actually; while some VMs can present raw disk access to their guest OS, running a guest on a virtual HDD (eg /my/VMs/foo.vdi) is very common. – quack quixote Feb 20 '10 at 3:50
while a container is used, the action certainly happens for real on your HDD and if your disk is noisy enough might be able to hear it actually :P – Molly7244 Feb 20 '10 at 3:59
one could say the same about any emulation -- even though the graphics is emulated, the VM desktop still shows up on my monitor; even though the sound is emulated, the VM media player still plays thru my speakers. doesn't change the fact that my guest OS thinks it has a VBOX HDD and is displaying to an "Innotek...VirtualBox Graphics Adapter". – quack quixote Feb 20 '10 at 4:24
_USER_ - i'm sorry, my comment was not using "emulation" in the technical sense described by those documents, and you're right, by that definition VirtualBox is not an emulator. i was referring to the fact that the guest OS sees virtual hardware instead of real hardware in most places. yes, the CPU runs the guest OS code natively (though even CPU features available to the guest can be restricted, eg number of cores). on my testbed VirtualBox guest, the CPU (and possibly RAM, not sure) is the only real hardware the guest knows about -- everything else is virtual/emulated/fake. – quack quixote Feb 20 '10 at 12:34
Your Answer


text:
Sunday, 5 August 2007
Victoria's Riflebird, Ptiloris victoriae, (named for Queen Victoria) is one of three Riflebirds occurring in Australia. They are so named because it is said the "call", such as it is, sounds like a discharging rifle. To me it sounds more like a loud squawk of the Spotted Catbird. The birds are primarily fruit-eaters and visit the bird feeder often where they eat bananas, raisins and other fruits in season. The decurved beak is used to pry insects from tight places. Adult males are spectacular with their black iridescent plumage that glistens metallic green and blue when they fly. The feathers produce a peculiar sound when they fly reminiscent of the crumpling of cellophane. Their courtship displays are elaborate as are those of their northern cousins and they sometimes display in the vegetation adjacent to the feeder. The birds are not monogamous. The nest is a small bowl and is often decorated with snake skins. Females and subadult males are brown streaked. These photos were taken at our feeder by noted wildlife photographer Gary Wilson.
Everett, M. 1987. Birds of Paradise. Chartwell Books, Secausus, New Jersey (Reprinted). 144 Pp.


text:
It is often very difficult to determine the cause of a whale stranding, however, there are several plausible explanations for at least some of the whale strandings that occur:
- Faulty navigation: many of the whales that are found stranded normally live in the open ocean and are not experienced at navigating in the shallower waters of the coastline. Ocean-dwelling whales often use sonar to navigate but they may receive confusing signals near the coastline, especially if they encounter gently sloping beaches. There is also some evidence that naval sonar may also interfere with whale navigation.
- Disease: many stranded whales have been found to be suffering from severe or terminal disease.
- Pursuit of prey: whales that pursue their prey close to the shoreline may become trapped in shallow waters by receding tides.
- Assisting other animals in the group: many whale species live in complex social groups. It is thought that some mass strandings occur when one member of the group has become stranded and the others have responded to its distress signals.


BCH4160/2011:Notebook/Andrews Lab Notebook
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Project Description/Abstract
50ml centrifuge tubes
1 pH Indicator
1. The spectra of both the acidic and basic forms of methyl red will be examined to determine the optimal volumes of methyl red stock solution and buffer to use in each pH assay. To do this, methyl red stock solution will be added to either phosphate citrate buffer. The spectra of the acidic and basic forms of methyl red (350-600nm) will also be used to determine optimal wavelengths for assessing the amounts of acidic and basic forms of methyl red in solution.
2. A pH meter will be used to determine the pH of the buffer solution after each addition of NaOH. After each pH adjustment, an aliquot of the buffer will be removed from the reservoir and combined with the pre-determined amount of methyl red solution (from step 1) to give samples for spectral analysis.
3. The spectra of solutions at each pH will be measured and recorded using a Vernier spectrophotometer (350nm - 600nm). If necessary, spectral files may be exported as ASCII files for import into Excel for further analysis. Spectra will be used to determine the absorbance of acidic and basic forms of methyl red in each sample, using the optimal wavelengths for each form (determined in step
Data analysis:
Data analysis will involve creating a series of plots to show the effect of changing pH on the visible spectrum of methyl red. From these spectra, the relative amounts of acidic and basic forms of the indicator may be approximated to calculate a pKa (and Ka) for the dye. To help you with your analysis, I am showing some sample data that I obtained in a study of phenol red, another pH-sensitive dye.
1. Plot an overlay of selected spectra as a function of pH. Label the plot clearly so that the effect of changing pH on specific spectral features is clearly seen. Label the spectral peaks used in quantifying relative amounts of acidic and basic forms of the dye. (You may wish to show the spectra of the acidic and basic forms for clarity.)
2. Calculate the approximate fraction of acidic and basic forms of the dye at each pH using spectral data.
3. Plot the fraction of acidic and basic forms as a function of pH.
4. Plot log([A-] / [HA]) vs. pH. This plot should give a line with an x-intercept equal to the pKa of the dye.
Graphs and Figures
Image:Sample_graph.jpg this is sample data given to me by Dr. Cannon
Bomb Calorimetery
Protocol 1.Fill a 2.00 L volumetric flask with DI water and let equilibrate to room temperature
2.Carfully weigh the benzoic acid pellet in the metal sample cup on the analytical balance. Do not touch the pellet with your hands.
3.Take 10.0 cm of the fuse wire and assemble the pellet, cup, and wire. Tip the cup slightly to the side. The wire should go through the holes in the electrode posts, touch the sample, and be secured to each post: it should not have kinks in it away from the electrodes and must touch only the sample, not the metal cup.
4.Pipette 1.00 mL of DI water at room temperature into the bomb. This will be used to pre-saturate the gaseous phase with water to insure that all water produced by combustion will be in the liquid state.
5.Assemble the bomb. Be careful making sure you do not to disrupt the connection between the fuse and the benzoic acid. Also moisten the sealing rubber gasket with distilled water. Close the bomb knurled screw cap. All openings of the Bomb hand-tight only. Make sure the vent valve is closed securely.
6.Attach the hose from the O2 tank to the filling post. Fill the bomb to 20-25 atm with oxygen. After the bomb is filled slowly vent the bomb and repeat filling with O2 two more times (a total of three fills and flush). After the third flush fill once more to 20-25 atm but do not flush.
7.Place the oval reflecting tank in the white calorimeter jacket, fitting it into the stand-offs on the bottom. Gently place the bomb in the oval reflecting tank at the circular detent on the bottom; the removable handle tool may make this easier. There is only one way for the calorimeter system to be assembled. Plug the ignition leads into the two terminal posts at the top of the calorimeter.
8.Top off the 2.00 L volumetric flask and slowly and carefully fill the reflecting tank with the entire volume of water. Allow sufficient time for drainage of the flask. The entire bomb should be completely immersed. Examine for a flow of bubbles from the bomb making sure there are none.
9.Place the cover on the calorimeter jacket. Be careful; the thermometer extends about 6 inches below the calorimeter lid. Place the stirrer on the side of the reflecting tank where there is more space. Attach the stirrer belt and begin stirring.
10.Wait for the system to thermally equilibrates (about 2 minutes). Begin recording the temperature and time at 30 second intervals. Continue until four consecutive reading indicate constant temperature.
11.Ignite the bomb by pressing the button on the ignition unit. Note the time of ignition. The red light should illuminate briefly, and then go out as the fuse wire burns through. Record the temperature and time every 30 seconds. Wait about 5 minutes or until the temperature of the bomb stops rising and begins to fall. If the temperature does not increase at least 1 degree Celsius within the first minute the bomb most likely did not ignite.
12.After all measurements are recorded carefully disassemble the bomb. Look in the metal cup and make sure nothing is left. If unburned material is found the experiment must be restarted.
Below is the graph with of the data obtained from the Calorimetery experiment
Image:Bomb Calorimeter.xls
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Titanic VR: Virtual Reality Exploration
Witness the sinking of RMS Titanic. Explore the shipwreck. Titanic VR @ titanicvr.io is an immersive educational interactive story and and game; with over 6 hours of game-play you will leave with a greater understanding of the historic tragedy that unfolded in 1912. Titanic VR: Virtual Reality Exploration is an Augmented-Reality/Virtual Reality Educational platform ENGAGE created by VR Education Holding PLC. Note: Any educator can teach using an AR/VR environment and its platform ENGAGE is freely available to use by educators to create AR/VR presentations and teach Animation. Another showcase VR Educational Experience created by VR Education Holding PLC is "Apollo 11 VR."


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Find the vertices of a pentagon given the midpoints of its sides.
You are only given the three midpoints of the sides of a triangle.
How can you construct the original triangle?
Prove that, given any three parallel lines, an equilateral triangle
always exists with one vertex on each of the three lines.


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BACKGROUND: Researchers at the University of Arizona have found that the same mathematical formula used to describe the shape of stalactites that form in caves also describes the shape of icicles. This is surprising because the physical processes that form icicles are very different from those that form stalactites. Both have a unique underlying shape, resembling a kind of elongated carrot. This sheds light into the physics of how drips of icy water can swell into long, skinny spikes (icicles).
HOW THEY FORM: Stalactites are formations that hang from the ceilings of caves, formed when water erodes limestone and taking the calcium carbonate. As the water drips inside the cave and evaporates, it leaves behind the calcium, which forms a stalactite. The continued diffusion of carbon dioxide gas fuels the growth of a stalactite. In contrast, heat diffusion and a rising air column are keys to an icicle's growth. Icicles form when melting snow begins dripping down from a surface such as the edge of a roof. There must be a constant layer of water flowing over the icicle in order for it to grow. The growth is caused by the diffusion of heat away fro the icicle by a thin fluid layer of water, and the resulting updraft of air traveling over the surface. That updraft occurs because the icicle is generally warmer than its surrounding environment, and thus convective heating causes the surrounding air to rise. As the rising air removes heat from the liquid layer, some of the water freezes, and the icicle grows thicker and elongates.
PUT TO THE TEST: To compare the predicted shape to real icicles, the researchers compared pictures of actual icicles with their predicted shape. They found that it doesn't matter how big or small the actual icicles were, they could all fit the shape generated by the mathematical equation. The next step is to solve the problem of how ripples are formed on the surfaces of both stalactites and icicles.
ICE, ICE, BABY: Ice is the frozen form of liquid water. The same substance will behave differently at various temperatures and pressures. Water (H2O) is the most familiar example. It can be a solid (ice), a liquid (water), or a gas (steam), but it is still made up of molecules of H2O, so its chemical composition remains unchanged. At sea level, water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0 degrees Celsius) and boils at 212 degrees Fahrenheit (100 degrees Celsius), but this behavior changes at different altitudes because the atmospheric pressure changes. In fact, get the pressure low enough and water will boil at room temperature. The critical temperature/pressure point at which H2O changes from one form to another is called a phase transition.


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Last name origins & meanings:
- English, Scottish, and Irish: regional name for someone who had
migrated from the North (i.e. further north in England, or from
Scotland or Scandinavia), from Old French nor(r)eis
- English, Scottish, and Irish: topographic name for someone who lived in a house on
the north side of a settlement or estate, from Middle English
north 'north' + hous 'house'.
- English, Scottish, and Irish: occupational name for
a wet-nurse or foster mother, from Old French nurice,
norrice (Latin nutrix, genitive nutricis).
Comments for Norris


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only a few percent more than those grown on Earth. As such, although the results did point towards a reduction of lignin in space-grown plants, the difference was deemed statistically insignificant.
The second experiment used the mung beans and oats for chromosomal studies, revealing much fragmentation and breakage and confirming that their root cells had been affected by exposure to microgravity. A third experiment investigated how the organisation of the plants' gravity-sensing tissues, including the root cap, was affected by spaceflight. Within hours of Columbia's landing, the seedlings were removed from the PGU, immersed in fixative, thin-sectioned and stained for light and electron microscopy.
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To fix code p1607, you need to reflash or update the engine control module (ecm) software. Code p1607 refers to an issue with the ecm software.
This code can be fixed by reprogramming or updating the software in the ecm. This process is also known as flashing the ecm. By updating the software, you can resolve any issues or bugs that may be causing the code to appear.
It is recommended to take your vehicle to a qualified technician or dealership to perform the software update. They have the necessary equipment and expertise to ensure the update is done accurately. Taking this step can help solve the code p1607 issue and ensure the optimal performance of your vehicle.
Understanding Code P1607: What It Means And Why It Matters
What Is Code P1607 And Why Does It Appear On Your Car'S Diagnostic System?
When you see code p1607 on your car's diagnostic system, it indicates a problem related to the engine control module (ecm) or powertrain control module (pcm). Here are some key points to understand about this code:
- Code p1607 is a generic obd-ii trouble code that stands for "control module internal circuit malfunction."
- It usually appears when there is an issue with the internal circuitry of the ecm or pcm.
- The ecm/pcm is responsible for controlling various engine functions, such as fuel injection, ignition timing, and emissions control.
- When the internal circuitry malfunctions, it can disrupt the communication between the ecm/pcm and other vehicle systems.
- This code typically surfaces in vehicles with electronic throttle control systems.
The Implications Of Ignoring Code P1607 And Why It'S Important To Address The Issue Promptly.
Ignoring code p1607 can lead to several negative consequences that may affect your car's performance and overall driving experience. Here are a few reasons why it's crucial to address this issue promptly:
- Reduced engine power: When the ecm/pcm is not functioning properly, it may limit the engine's power output, resulting in reduced acceleration and overall performance.
- Increased fuel consumption: A malfunctioning ecm/pcm can disrupt the engine's fuel management system, causing it to use more fuel than necessary. This can lead to decreased fuel efficiency and increased expenses at the gas pump.
- Unreliable engine operation: If the internal circuitry issue worsens over time, your car's engine may start running erratically or even stall unexpectedly. This can be dangerous, especially in certain driving conditions like highway speeds or busy intersections.
Addressing code p1607 promptly is crucial to avoid potential safety hazards and prevent further damage to your vehicle's engine.
The Potential Causes Of Code P1607 And How They Can Affect Your Car'S Performance.
Several factors can contribute to the occurrence of code p1607. Here are some common causes and their potential effects on your car's performance:
- Ecm/pcm failure: The internal circuitry of the ecm/pcm may fail due to age, excessive heat, or electrical problems. This can disrupt the communication between the control module and other components, leading to poor engine performance.
- Wiring or connection issues: Faulty wiring connections or damaged wires can interfere with the proper functioning of the ecm/pcm. These issues may arise from rodents chewing on wires, moisture infiltration, or physical damage. In such cases, code p1607 may appear, affecting your car's performance and reliability.
- Software malfunction: Sometimes, the ecm/pcm's software may become corrupt or outdated, resulting in internal circuitry malfunctions. This can cause communication breakdowns and trigger code p1607, impacting the car's overall performance.
It is important to have a qualified mechanic diagnose and resolve the underlying cause of code p1607 to ensure your car operates smoothly and reliably. Neglecting the issue can lead to further complications and costly repairs down the road.
Step-By-Step Guide To Troubleshooting Code P1607
Identifying The Symptoms Associated With Code P1607
When it comes to troubleshooting code p1607, the first step is to identify the symptoms associated with this particular fault code. Here are some key points to keep in mind:
- Code p1607 is often related to the engine control module (ecm) or powertrain control module (pcm) in vehicles. It is usually triggered by an issue with the throttle position sensor (tps) or the accelerator pedal position sensor (app).
- The symptoms of code p1607 can vary depending on the vehicle make and model, but common indicators include a check engine light illumination and a noticeable decrease in engine performance.
- Other symptoms may include erratic idle speed, hesitation or a lack of response when pressing the accelerator pedal, and even stalling.
Now that you have a general understanding of the symptoms associated with code p1607, let's move on to the next step in troubleshooting.
Checking For Common Issues Before Diving Into Diagnostics
Before diving into complex diagnostics, it's important to check for common issues that might be causing code p1607. Here are some key points to consider:
- Begin by inspecting the throttle body for any signs of dirt, carbon buildup, or obstructions. These can interfere with proper throttle operation and potentially trigger code p1607.
- Another common issue to check for is any loose electrical connections related to the throttle position sensor (tps) or accelerator pedal position sensor (app). Ensure that all connectors are secure and free from corrosion.
- Additionally, check the wiring harnesses for any signs of damage or wear. Damaged wires can cause intermittent connections or short circuits, leading to fault codes like p1607.
By checking for these common issues, you may save yourself time and effort by potentially resolving the problem without the need for extensive diagnostic procedures. However, if no obvious issues are found, it's time to move on to the next step.
Using Obd-Ii Scanners Or Diagnostic Tools To Retrieve And Interpret Fault Codes
When it comes to troubleshooting code p1607, utilizing obd-ii scanners or diagnostic tools is crucial. Here's what you need to know:
- Obd-ii scanners are essential for retrieving fault codes from the vehicle's ecm or pcm. These scanners can provide valuable information about the specific issue triggering code p1607.
- Connect the obd-ii scanner to the vehicle's diagnostic port, which is typically located under the dashboard or near the center console. Follow the manufacturer's instructions for proper connection.
- Once connected, initiate the scanning process and allow the scanner to retrieve fault codes. Code p1607 (and potentially other related codes) will be displayed on the scanner's screen.
- Interpret the fault codes by referring to the scanner's user manual or by searching for code definitions online. Understanding what each code represents will provide insight into the possible underlying issues.
Analyzing Data And Performing Necessary Inspections To Pinpoint The Problem
Now that you have retrieved the fault codes, it's time to analyze the data and perform necessary inspections to pinpoint the problem causing code p1607. Consider the following key points:
- Start by researching the specific fault code and its associated symptoms. This will guide you in determining potential causes and the appropriate inspection procedures.
- Inspect the throttle position sensor (tps) and accelerator pedal position sensor (app) for any signs of malfunction or incorrect readings. These components play a crucial role in throttle control and can trigger code p1607 if they are faulty.
- If necessary, use multimeters or other diagnostic tools to measure voltage, resistance, or other parameters relevant to the tps and app sensors. Compare the readings to specifications provided by the vehicle's manufacturer.
- Inspect related electrical connections, wiring harnesses, and grounds for signs of damage, corrosion, or poor connections. It's important to ensure all components are functioning properly and communicating effectively.
By carefully analyzing data and performing necessary inspections, you can pinpoint the underlying problem causing code p1607 and take appropriate action to fix it. Remember to consult vehicle-specific repair manuals or seek professional assistance if needed.
Common Causes Of Code P1607 And How To Fix Them
Insufficient battery voltage and its impact on electronic control modules:
- Low battery voltage can cause the electronic control modules to malfunction and trigger code p1607.
- This issue may result from a weak or partially discharged battery.
- To fix this problem, check the battery voltage using a multimeter and ensure that it meets the manufacturer's recommended level (usually around 12.6 volts).
- If the battery voltage is low, recharge or replace the battery as necessary.
Faulty or degraded wiring connections and their role in triggering code p1607:
- Poor wiring connections or damaged wires can disrupt the communication between various components and lead to code p1607.
- Inspect the wiring harness and connectors for any signs of wear, corrosion, or loose connections.
- Make sure all connections are secure and free from any debris or dirt.
- If you identify any damaged wires or connectors, repair or replace them accordingly.
Malfunctioning throttle actuator control modules and potential solutions:
- A malfunctioning throttle actuator control module can also trigger code p1607.
- This module is responsible for controlling the throttle position in response to driver input.
- If you experience issues such as a sluggish throttle response or sudden accelerations, the throttle actuator control module may be at fault.
- In this case, it is recommended to have the module inspected and tested by a qualified technician.
- Depending on the diagnosis, the throttle actuator control module may need to be repaired or replaced.
Dealing with software updates and reprogramming to address the issue:
- In some cases, code p1607 may be caused by outdated or corrupted software in the electronic control modules.
- Check with the vehicle manufacturer or authorized dealer for any available software updates or reprogramming procedures.
- Follow the manufacturer


Letter from Africa: Why age is just a number in Ghana
By Lorlornyofm May 14, 2017 14:02
Letter from Africa: Why age is just a number in Ghana
In our series of letters from African journalists, veteran Ghanaian journalist Elizabeth Ohene reflects on why in Ghana a person's age is not etched in stone.
Ghanaians do not particularly love numbers. We tend to be quite lax, especially with figures that have to do with age.
Someone's date of birth or age is not considered important and very rarely features in any story about that person.
I know that in many parts of the world, once you are born and you acquire a date of birth, it stays with you. It is unchangeable and you die with it.
In Ghana, it is common to see notices in newspapers announcing a change in someone's date of birth. This often happens when a working person's date of retirement is approaching.
People then swear an affidavit to change their profiles from the 59-year-olds they are known to be, to the 55-year-olds that they want to be so they can carry on receiving a salary for a few extra years.
According to the constitution, the retirement age for most public officers is 60.
Seven years younger
Some people have been known to swear affidavits to change their date of birth that would put them in Primary Class One before they were born.
The most dramatic Notice of Change of Date of Birth I have seen was one that reduced an official's age by seven years.
An official of the Electoral Commission (EC) helps a voter to do biometric verification before casting his vote for the presidential election at Bole district in northern Ghana, on December 7, 2016.
Image copyright AFP: Image caption Incorrect birth records could undermine elections
I am writing about this subject because of a recent news item that I thought went way beyond the extraordinary, even for Ghana.
The news report said that about 800 teachers had applied to the Ghana Education Service to have their ages changed.
Some wanted their dates of birth changed to make them younger and a few wanted their dates changed to make them older than what was on their documentation.
The news story was greeted with a lot of outrage and I said to myself: This must mean Ghana is finally joining the rest of the world in paying respect to dates of birth.
"How can people want their dates of birth to be changed?" was the incredulous reaction to the story I heard from many young people.
But then the head of one of the teaching unions came out to make a spirited defence of his members.
The teachers wanted their dates of birth changed only because, according to him, mistakes had been made at the time of their employment by the payroll departments in entering the dates.
Why make a fuss about three years?
This phenomenon has been possible because very few births are recorded.
Once upon a time it was illiterate parents that did not bother to get the births of their children recorded and with time the date got lost in the mists of memory.
A birth certificate is supposed to be provided before a child can be enrolled in school but somehow or other, many people are able to get their children into school without birth certificates.
Elizabeth Ohene:
Elizabeth Ohene
Elizabeth Ohene
This total disregard for the sanctity of dates of birth manifests in other ways that sometimes undermines all official records in Ghana.
When in later life you require a birth certificate, you would go before a commissioner of oaths and offer a date that would be said to be based on the best "guessestimate" given you by your parents or family member.
In much later life, when you are approaching the compulsory retirement age of 60 and you desperately want to continue to work a few more years because you can't survive on your pension, you go back to the commissioner of oaths and swear that you have now discovered compelling evidence that the original date of your certificate was wrong.
For example, you were told that you were born in the year the chief of the village was enstooled (inaugurated) and you have discovered he was enstooled in 1968 and not 1965.
There probably does not exist any official record of the date of the enstoolment of this chief anyway, so why make a fuss about a difference of three years?
Ghana school class
Some school children might have voter cards
I have seen school children who cannot be more than 14 years old who have voters registration cards. The law says you have to be 18 to register to vote.
The consequences might follow you through life unless you are prepared to go on paying visits to the commissioner of oaths to acquire new dates of birth.
Police recruitment advertisements have a cut-off date of 25 years.
You are really 21 but have a voters' registration card that says you are 26 because you passed yourself off as 18 when you were 14.
Sometimes it has been football players who try to shave off a number of years from their ages so they can participate in age-restricted competitions.
Nana Akufo-Addo, the new president of Ghana,
Photo: President Nana Akufo-Addo, 73, wants citizens to have ID cards with unchangeable biometric data
These days technology is being deployed to ensure the integrity of such competitions, making it difficult for 20-somethings to participate in under-17 competitions.
A lot of attempts have been made to enforce the registration of births and deaths, and so far all these attempts have failed spectacularly.
There is already in existence a regulation issued by the head of the civil service some years ago which says public officials are not allowed to change their dates of birth during their time in government employment.
In other words, you are stuck with whatever date of birth you enter the service with, and you cannot get younger or older by swearing an affidavit.
It was always going to be difficult to enforce this directive because there are many people here who believe their ages are "confidential" and should not be advertised.
You could ask someone how old they were and get a reply: Is it my official or real age that you want?
One of the firm promises made by the new government is that within its first year in office, a national identification system will be in place.
In other words, all Ghanaians will have identification cards with their unchangeable biometric data and none of us will be able to swear an affidavit to acquire a new date of birth.
Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland plays a forehand in his semifinal match against Roger Federer of Switzerland on day 11 of the 2017 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 26, 2017 in Melbourne, Australia.
Switzerland's tennis star Stan Wawrinka has been described as "a mere 31"
We are all holding our breath.
And whilst I await this dramatic change, I have been wondering if there are any advantages in the current situation where a person's age is a changeable and confidential figure?
My mind went to a sentence I read in an online article in a British newspaper earlier this year.
Those who follow tennis would recognise that this was part of a report during the Australian Open:
"A few hours after Serena Williams, 35, joined her 36-year-old sister, Venus, in the women's final by trouncing the 34-year-old Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, Federer, 35, somehow conjured some more retro magic to beat Stan Wawrinka, a mere 31, for the 19th time in 22 matches," the article in The Guardian said.
I fear that faced with the possibility of such prose in our newspapers, many people in Ghana are going to opt to keep dates of birth a changeable and private event.
By Lorlornyofm May 14, 2017 14:02
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On the Performance of a Dual-Objective Optimization Model for Workflow Applications on Grid Platforms
Issue No. 09 - September (2009 vol. 20)
DOI Bookmark: _URL_
Riky Subrata, The University of Sydney, Sydney
Albert Y. Zomaya, The University of Sydney, Sydney
Young Choon Lee, The University of Sydney, Sydney
In attempts to exploit a diverse set of resources in grids efficiently, numerous assays in resource management, particularly scheduling, have been made. The primary objective of these efforts is the minimization of application completion time; however, they tend to achieve this objective at the expense of redundant resource usage. This paper investigates the problem of scheduling workflow applications on grids and presents a novel scheduling algorithm for the solution of this problem. Our algorithm performs the scheduling by accounting for both completion time and resource usage—dual objectives. Since the performance of grid resources changes dynamically and the accurate estimation of their performance is very difficult, our algorithm incorporates rescheduling to deal with unforeseen performance fluctuations effectively. The paper provides a comparative evaluation study conducted by using an extensive set of experiments. The study demonstrates that the proposed algorithm delivers promising performance in three respects: completion time, resource utilization, and robustness to resource-performance fluctuations.
Performance analysis and design aids, memory structures, hardware, simulation, distributed architectures, parallel architectures, processor architectures, computer systems organization, scheduling and task partitioning, measurement, evaluation, modeling, simulation of multiple-processor systems, performance of systems.
Riky Subrata, Albert Y. Zomaya, Young Choon Lee, "On the Performance of a Dual-Objective Optimization Model for Workflow Applications on Grid Platforms", IEEE Transactions on Parallel & Distributed Systems, vol. 20, no., pp. _PHONE_, September 2009, doi:10.1109/TPDS.2008.225


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In knitting, the word gauge is used both in hand knitting and machine knitting; the latter, technical abbreviation GG, refers to "Knitting Machines" fineness size. In both cases, the term refers to the number of stitches per inch, not the size of the finished garment. In both cases, the gauge is measured by counting the number of stitches (in hand knitting) or the number of needles (on a knitting machine bed) over several inches then dividing by the number of inches in the width of the sample.
Gauge on knitting machines
There are two types of classification of Knitting Gauges or Unit of Measure:
- A – Used for Cotton Fully fashion flat machines (Bentley – Monk, Textima, Sheller etc..) where "Gauge" is measured in 1,5" Inches (2,54 cm x 1,5) and the machine's gauge is expressed by the number of needles needed to achieve that gauge.
- B – Used for hand, mechanical or modern Electronic Flat Machines (Stoll, Shima, Protti etc..), where gauge is measured in 1 inch increments (or 2,5 cm) and the machine's gauge is similarly measured by the number of needles required to achieve that number.
Compared graduation scale Gauge (GG) A versus B system: A 30 GG (A) Cotton Fully fashion flat machine (30 needles in 1,5") is comparable to a 20 GG (B) Electronic Flat machine, a 27 GG (A) is an 18 GG (B), an 18 GG (A) is a 12 GG (B), a 12 GG (A) is an 8 GG (B), a 7,5 GG (A) is a 5 GG (B) and a 4,5 GG (A) is a 3 GG (B).
Factors that affect knitting gauge
The gauge of a knitted fabric depends on the pattern of stitches in the fabric, the kind of yarn, the size of knitting needles, and the tension of the individual knitter (i.e., how much yarn he or she allows between stitches).
- For example, ribbing and cable patterns tend to "pull in," giving more stitches over an identical width than stockinette, garter, or seed stitch. Even the same stitch produced in two different ways may produce a different gauge.
- Thicker yarns with less loft generally produce larger stitches than thinner yarns (reducing the number of stitches per width and length).
- Larger knitting needles also produce larger stitches, giving fewer stitches and rows per inch; changing needle size is the best way to control one's own gauge for a given pattern and yarn.
- Finally, the knitter's tension, or how tightly one knits, can affect the gauge significantly. The gauge can even vary within a single garment, typically with beginning knitters; as knitters become more familiar with a stitch pattern, they become more relaxed and make the stitch differently, producing a different gauge.
Sometimes the gauge is deliberately altered within a garment, usually by changing needle size; for example, smaller stitches are often made at the collar, sleeve cuffs, hemline ribbing or pocket edges.
Uneven knitting is a knitting technique in which two knitting needles of different sizes are used. The method is sometimes used when the knitter has a significantly different gauge on knit and purl stitches. It is also useful for producing elongated stitches and certain specialty patterns.
Knitting gauge in patterns
To produce a knitted garment of given dimensions, whether from one's own design or from a published pattern, the gauge should match as closely as possible; significant differences in gauge will lead to a deformed garment. Patterns for knitting projects almost always include a suggested gauge for the project.
For illustration, suppose that a sweater is designed to measure 40" around the bustline with a gauge of 5 st/inch in the chosen stitch. Therefore, the pattern should call for 200 stitches (5 st/inch x 40") at the bustline. If the knitter follows the pattern with a gauge of 4 st/inch, the sweater will measure 50" around the bustline (200 st / 4st/in) -- too baggy! Conversely, if the knitter follows the pattern with a gauge of 6 st/inch, the sweater will measure ~33" around the bustline (200 st / 6st/inch) -- too tight! Generally, the gauge should match to better than 5%, corresponding to 1" of ease in a 20" width. Similar concerns apply to the number of rows per inch.
Luckily, the gauge can be adjusted by changing needle size, without changing the pattern, stitch, yarn, or habits of the knitter. Larger needles produce a smaller gauge (fewer stitches per inch) and smaller needles produce a larger gauge (more stitches per inch). If necessary, further adjustments can be made by subtly altering the pattern dimensions, e.g., shortening a vertically aligned pattern. Ribbing can also be used to "draw in" the fabric to the proper gauge.
Measuring knitting gauge
To check one's gauge before starting a project, a sample of knitting (a swatch) is made, ideally in the stitch pattern used in the garment. The swatch edges affect the reading of the gauge, so it's best that the swatch be at least 4" square and more safely 6–8" square. Dividing the number of stitches used by the actual size of the sample gives the stitch gauge of that sample. Similarly, the row gauge is calculated by dividing the number of rows knitted by the length of the sample. Making a swatch also helps familiarize the knitter with the stitch pattern and yarn, which will lead to a more uniform gauge in the final garment.
||This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. (July 2010)|
- June Hemmons Hiatt (1988) The Principles of Knitting, Simon and Schuster, pp. 415–432. ISBN 0-671-55233-3
- knitty.com article on gauge
- Measuring Gauge
- Needle Conversion Chart Shows conversion between current and past US and European knitting needle sizes.
- Yarn Weight and Gauge Chart Recommended needle and crochet hook sizes used to achieve gauge with various yarns.


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Dennis Drabelle: "The Great American Railroad War"
The Central Pacific Railroad, America's first Transcontinental Railroad, revolutionized the way Americans traveled, communicated and did business. But it was also a hotbed of corruption and greed. A new book tells the story of two American writers who took on the Central Pacific with the power of the pen. Journalist Ambrose Bierce, nicknamed "Bitter Bierce," exposed the railroad's corruption using satire and wit. And Frank Norris, a novelist, wrote of the warring relationship between California wheat farmers and the railroad trust. Together, they revealed the dark side of this American powerhouse. Diane talks with the author about this nineteenth century monopoly and two writers who challenged it.
author and contributing editor and mysteries editor for The Washington Post Book World.
Read An Excerpt
Excerpt from "The Great American Railroad War" by Dennis Drabelle. Copyright 2012 by Dennis Drabelle. Reprinted here by permission of St. Martin's Press. All rights reserved.


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the null indicator information in the parallel null structure, then upon object flush the object attributes will be set to
NULL in the database.
If you want to set all of the attributes to
NULL during object creation, you can use the
LNOCI_OBJECT_NEW_NOTNULL attribute of the environment handle using the LNOCIAttrSet() function. When set, this attribute creates a non-null object. That is, all the attributes are set to default values provided by Oracle and their null status information in the parallel null indicator structure is set to
NULL. Using this attribute eliminates the additional step of changing the indicator structure. You cannot change the default values provided by Oracle. Instead, you can populate the object with your own default values immediately after object creation.
When LNOCIObjectNew() is used to create a persistent object, the caller must identify the database table into which the newly created object is to be inserted. The caller identifies the table using a table object. Given the schema name and table name, the LNOCIObjectPinTable() function returns a pointer to the table object. Each call to LNOCIObjectPinTable() results in a call to the server to fetch the table object information. The call to the server happens even if the required table object has been previously pinned in the cache. When the application is creating multiple objects to be inserted into the same database table, Oracle Corporation recommends that the table object be pinned once and the pointer to the table object be saved for future use. Doing so improves performance of the application.
Before you can update an object, the object must be pinned in the cache. After pinning the object, the application can update the desired attributes directly. You must make a call to the LNOCIObjectMarkUpdate() function to indicate that the object has been updated. Objects which have been marked as updated are placed in a dirty list and are flushed to the server upon cache flush or when the transaction is committed.
You can delete an object by calling the LNOCIObjectMarkDelete() function or the LNOCIObjectMarkDeleteByRef() function.
You can control the size of the object cache by using the following two OCI environment handle attributes:
LNOCI_ATTR_CACHE_MAX_SIZEcontrols the maximum cache size
LNOCI_ATTR_CACHE_OPT_SIZEcontrols the optimal cache size
You can get or set these OCI attributes using the LNOCIAttrGet() or LNOCIAttrSet() functions. Whenever memory is allocated in the cache, a check is made to determine whether the maximum cache size has been reached. If the maximum cache size has been reached, the cache automatically frees (ages out) the least-recently used objects with a pin count of zero. The cache continues freeing such objects until memory usage in the cache reaches the optimal size, or until it runs out of objects eligible for freeing. The object cache does not limit cache growth to the maximum cache size. The servicing of the memory allocation request could cause the cache to grow beyond the specified maximum cache size. These two parameters allow the application to control the frequency of object aging from the cache.
Pinning is the process of retrieving an object from the server to the client cache, laying it in memory, providing a pointer to it for an application to manipulate, and marking the object as being in use. The LNOCIObjectPin() function de-references the given
REF and pins the corresponding object in the cache. A pointer to the pinned object is returned to the caller and this pointer is valid as long as the object is pinned in the cache. This pointer should not be used after the object is unpinned because the object may have aged out and therefore may no longer be in the object cache.
The following are examples of LNOCIObjectPin() and LNOCIObjectUnpin() calls:
status = OCIObjectPin(envh, errh, empRef,(OCIComplexObject*)0, OCI_PIN_RECENT, OCI_DURATION_TRANSACTION, OCI_LOCK_NONE, (dvoid**)&emp); /* manipulate emp object */ status = OCIObjectUnpin(envh, errh, emp);
empRef parameter passed in the pin call specifies the
REF to the desired employee object. A pointer to the employee object in the cache is returned in the
You can use the LNOCIObjectPinArray() function to pin an array of objects in one call. This function de-references an array of
REFs and pins the corresponding objects in the cache. Objects that are not already cached in the cache are retrieved from the server in one network round-trip. Therefore, calling LNOCIObjectPinArray() to pin an array of objects improves application performance. Also, the array of objects you are pinning can be of different types.
When pinning an object, you can use the pin option argument to specify whether the recent version, latest version, or any version of the object is desired. The valid options are explained in more detail in the following list:
LNOCI_PIN_RECENTpin option instructs the object cache to return the object that is loaded into the cache in the current transaction; in other words, if the object was loaded prior to the current transaction, the object cache needs to refresh it with the latest version from the database. Succeeding pins of the object within the same transaction would return the cached copy and would not result in database access. In most cases, you should use this pin option.
LNOCI_PIN_LATESTpin option instructs the object cache to always get the latest copy of the object. If the object is already in the cache and not-locked, the object copy is refreshed with the latest copy from the database. On the other hand, if the object in the cache is locked, Oracle assumes that it is the latest copy, and the cached copy is returned. You should use this option for applications that must display the most recent copy of the object, such as applications that display stock quotes, current account balance, and so forth.
LNOCI_PIN_ANYpin option instructs the object cache to fetch the object in the most efficient manner; the version of the returned object does not matter. The pin any option is appropriate for objects which do not change often, such as product information, parts information, and so forth. The pin any option also is appropriate for read-only objects.
When pinning an object, you can specify the duration for which the object is pinned in the cache. When the duration expires, the object is unpinned automatically from the cache. The application should not use the object pointer after the object's pin duration has ended. An object can be unpinned prior to the expiration of its duration by explicitly calling the LNOCIObjectUnpin() function. Oracle supports two pre-defined pin durations:
LNOCI_DURATION_SESSION) lifetime is the duration of the database connection. Objects that are required in the cache at all times across transactions should be pinned with session duration.
LNOCI_DURATION_TRANS) lifetime is the duration of the database transaction. That is, the duration ends when the transaction is rolled back or committed.
When pinning an object, the caller can specify whether the object should be locked using lock options. When an object is locked, a server-side lock is acquired, which prevents any other user from modifying the object. The lock is released when the transaction commits or rolls back. The following list describes the available lock options:
LNOCI_LOCK_NONElock option instructs the cache to pin the object without locking.
LNOCI_LOCK_Xlock option instructs the cache to pin the object only after acquiring a lock. If the object is currently locked by another user, the pin call with this option waits until it can acquire the lock before returning to the caller. Using the
LNOCI_LOCK_Xlock option is equivalent to executing a
SELECT FOR UPDATEstatement.
LNOCI_LOCK_X_NOWAITlock option instructs the cache to pin the object only after acquiring a lock. Unlike the
LNOCI_LOCK_Xoption, the pin call with
LNOCI_LOCK_X_NOWAIToption will not wait if the object is currently locked by another user. Using the
LNOCI_LOCK_X_NOWAITlock option is equivalent to executing a
SELECT FOR UPDATE WITH NOWAITstatement.
Depending upon how frequently objects are updated, you can choose which locking options from the previous section to use.
If objects are updated frequently, you can use the pessimistic locking scheme. This scheme presumes that contention for update access is frequent. Objects are locked before the object in the cache is modified, ensuring that no other user can modify the object until the transaction owning the lock performs a commit or rollback. The object can be locked at the time of pin by choosing the appropriate locking options. An object that was not locked at the time of pin also can be locked by the function
LNOCIObjectLock(). The locking function
LNOCIObjectLockNoWait() does not wait to acquire the lock if another user holds a lock on the object.
If objects are updated infrequently, you can use the optimistic locking scheme. This scheme presumes that contention for update access is rare. Objects are fetched and modified in the cache without acquiring a lock. A lock is acquired only when the object is flushed to the server. Optimistic locking allows for a higher degree of concurrent access than pessimistic locking. To use optimistic locking most effectively, the Oracle object cache detects if an object is changed by any other user since it was fetched into the cache. By turning on the object change detection mode, object modifications are made persistent only if the object has not been changed by any other user since it was fetched into the cache. This mode is activated by setting
LNOCI_OBJECT_DETECTCHANGE attribute of the environment handle using the
Changes made to the objects in the object cache are not sent to the database until the object cache is flushed. The
LNOCICacheFlush() function flushes all changes in a single network round-trip between the client and the server. The changes may involve insertion of new objects


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We present a heuristic approach to solve a complex problem in production planning, the multistage lot-sizing problem with capacity constraints. It consists of determining the quantity to be produced in different periods in a planning horizon, such that an initially given demand forecast can be attained. We consider setup costs and setup times. Due the complexity to solve this problem, we developed methods based on evolutionary metaheuristics, more specifically a memetic algorithm. The proposed heuristics are evaluated using randomly generated instances and well-known examples in the literature.
International journal of production economics Vol. 87, Issue 1, p. 67-81


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All FRIENDS contributions are tax-deductible and are used strictly to support education programs and will greatly enhance our Holocaust Museum & Learning Center. Your online contribution is completely secure and confidential.
Your support helps us to:
- Purchase new videos and books for our library, which are frequently used by teachers and students.
- Display thought-provoking and moving exhibitions that provide new insights and perspectives about the Holocaust.
- Feature dynamic scholars and speakers who continue to teach us about this dark and important period of Jewish history.
- Train docents who guide more than 30,000 students through the Museum each year.
- Offer teacher training workshops to advance teacher education.
- Commemorate, on behalf of the Jewish Federation of St. Louis, the Holocaust Remembrance Day through our memorial service.
- Allow schools to borrow education trunks full of Holocaust related teaching material including a teacher's guide and lesson plan, free of charge.
Margi Lenga Kahn (at right), a child of two Holocaust survivors, leads a tour of the museum for friends.
As FRIENDS of the Holocaust Museum and Learning Center, your support will help us to honor those who perished during the Holocaust and provide Holocaust education to thousands of children throughout the Midwest.
In addition, you'll receive the following benefits as FRIENDS:
- Invitations to exhibition openings and special events
- A 10% discount at the HMLC bookstore
- Our FRIENDS newsletter
- Your name listed in the FRIENDS newsletter
If you would like to host a private tour for a group of your own friends, please contact Andrew Goldfeder at _PHONE_.
If you are interested in giving through the Heritage Project please visit the Heritage Project webpage for more information.


Chapel Allerton
Chapel Allerton
A suburb of Leeds, Chapel Allerton has a history dating back to at least the time of the Domesday Book. Though much of Chapel Allerton's buildings are 20th century, there are notable examples of Art Deco and Victorian architecture. The stately home of Harewood House is only 5 miles away.
The first written record of Chapel Allerton comes from the Domesday Book of 1086, where it was called Alreton. The name is a combination of Old English words meaning alder farm. There was an early medieval chapel here, linked to Kirkstall Abbey, situated between the modern byways of Harrogate Road and Church Street.
The first reference to 'Chapel Allerton' as a place name comes from 1427, though for centuries thereafter it was also known as Chapeltown. The chapel itself was torn down in the 18th century.
Initially an area of open countryside and farming, by the 17th century it became a place where the wealthy citizens of Leeds built second homes. It later became a popular place for Irish immigrants to settle.
Historic Buildings
The core of Chapel Allerton is a conservation area, with a wide range of historic buildings, many boasting large gardens. One of the finest buildings is Allerton Hall, a Grade II listed building dating to the 18th century. An early owner was Josiah Oates. One of Josiah's descendants was Captain Laurence Oates, who died in Scott's Polar Expedition of 1912.
Another historic building - though very much a different sort - is the Mustard Pot pub on Stainbeck Lane, which may date to 1653. On the subject of pubs, look for the Nag's Head, a coaching inn built in 1772. In the last decades of the 18th century, the landlord of the Nag's Head was widely rumoured to work with highwaymen.
The parish church of St Matthew is late Victorian, built in 1900 by the prominent 19th-century church architect GF Bodley.


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Origin: ModL: so named (1789) by M. H. Klaproth (see tellurium), its discoverer, after Uranus, recently (1781) discovered planet + -ium
See uranium in American Heritage Dictionary 4
noun Symbol U
Origin: New Latin ūranium
Origin:, after Ūranus, Uranus; see Uranus. Word History: Some chemical elements, such as ytterbium and berkelium, derive their names from the places they were discovered, but the element uranium owes its name to an earlier scientific discovery, that of the planet Uranus. Sir William Herschel, who discovered Uranus in 1781, wanted to name the planet Georgium sidus, "the Georgian planet," in honor of George III; others called it Herschel. Eventually convention prevailed and the planet came to be called Uranus, like Mercury and Pluto the name of a heavenly deity in classical mythology. This god, called Ouranos in Greek (Latinized as Uranus), was chosen because he was the father of Saturn (Greek Kronos), the deity of the planet next in line, who himself was the father of Jupiter (Greek Zeus), the deity of the next planet. The name of this new planet Uranus was then used in the name of a new chemical element discovered eight years later by M.H. Klaproth. Klaproth, a German scientist, gave it the Latin name uranium in honor of the discovery of Uranus. Uranium passed into English shortly thereafter, being first recorded in the third edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica, published in 1797.
Learn more about uranium


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Analysis of conventional core include description of bedding, lithology, sedimentary structures, fossils, and
any other macro-features of the rock. Data used to understand depositional environment, reservoir geometry,
and reservoir quality. Can also be used to calibrate wireline logs. Results are provided in a final report
and core log panel generated by WellCad. The WellCad panel can include well logs, grain size profile,
depositional environment interpretation, and selected petrographic data.
Example Cuttings Panel
Description of macrofractures in an oriented, conventional core. Determines orientation, aperture width, and
total number of fractures. Data is plotted on WellCad panel.
Snap Shot of Fracture Analysis Panel
A robust net-to-gross determined based on a specialized, highly detailed conventional core description. Used in
highly laminated rock, such as distal turbidities or channel levee deposits. Data is plotted on WellCad panel.
Lam Count Analysis


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Bothwell's name was chosen by Governor Arthur after a Scottish town that also spans the River Clyde. He rejected the suggestion of New Lanark, which was the name of another Clyde mill town that had recently been built as an example of social reform.
The local Aboriginal band was called the Big River tribe. This group was known for its ferocity. Following the opening up of the area to settlement in the decade of the 1820s numerous clashes between the group and the 'invaders' are listed for the area. For more details of this subject see N. J. B. Plomley's The Aboriginal settler clash in Van Diemen's Land 1803-183, (Launceston, 1992). The famous colonial painting, 'The Conciliator', by Benjamin Duterreau includes members of this group posed around George Augustus Robinson. Members of the tribe danced their last corroboree in front of Bothwell's Castle Hotel on 5 January 1832.
Before permanent settlement the area was used for grazing stock by the early entrepreneur, Edward Lord. Hunters and bushrangers roamed the district. Mike Howe, a callous bushranger, was captured near the Shannon River in October 1818 and his head was carried back to Hobart Town for the reward. The first two farms on the Upper Clyde were 'Nant' and 'Norwood', which were taken up by the Nicholas family and Rowcroft brothers respectively. They came out on the Grace in 1821. The next big influx came on the Castle Forbes in March 1822. Their leader was Captain Patrick Wood who settled at 'Dennistoun'. Others in the group included the Pattersons at 'Hunterston' and the Reids at 'Ratho'. Tradesmen and servants accompanied them and the little settlement burgeoned. Assigned convicts contributed to the work force. Descendants of all these pioneers – settlers, servants and convicts – continue to live in the town. Surveyor Scott planned a large township in 1823 and this layout continues with an extra street, Elizabeth Street, to the north that was part of an 1832 subdivision by Thomas Burrell of 'Grantham'.
In the first two decades of settlement a church, school, soldiers' barracks and hotels were built from the local sandstone or from hand-made bricks. Building materials continued to be found locally until the end of the nineteenth century. The last major building constructed of local materials was the Council Chambers opened in 1902. Soldiers' barracks were first constructed in Barrack Street, but in 1832 they were re-built in sandstone in Wentworth Street on Mt Adelaide. Later this building housed the police. It is now a private home.
Wentworth Street is named for D'Arcy Wentworth, an early Police Magistrate, who was a son of the famous Dr D'Arcy Wentworth of Sydney. Bothwell once had four substantial churches. The Methodist church was demolished when the railway failed to reach Bothwell (it terminated at Apsley on the Jordan River). The Catholic church was also demolished and re-built on its original site. The earliest church was constructed with government and local help and was used jointly by both Presbyterians and Anglicans for sixty years. It was designed by John Lee Archer. The Anglicans, with financial support from Mrs William Nicholas of 'Nant', built their own church in 1891. This was designed by Alexander North of Launceston.
There were once four substantial Georgian-style hotels. Only one, the Castle Hotel, continues to ply this trade. Many of the surrounding farmhouses have been built from local sandstone. 'Ratho', built by Andrew Bell, the stonemason, is also home to the oldest golf course in Australia and possibly also has the country's oldest fowl house. It is therefore understandable that Bothwell should be classified as one of Australia's historic towns, but not understandable why there is such a lack of local pride in its being an historic town.
Two of Bothwell's most famous inhabitants were the Irish political exiles, John Martin and John Mitchel, who lived locally in the 1850s. Bothwell was also home to other political exiles such as the machine-breakers Robert Blake and William North, and John Frost of the Newport (Wales) Uprising. These have not received as much publicity as Mitchel and Martin. _URL_
Bothwell had many bootmakers and one of the original shops has been retained in High Street. This was owned by the Medhurst family. John McWaide built a tannery in Wentworth Street to supply leather to these bootmakers. Apart from two sawmills, which have now ceased operating, Bothwell has had very little industry apart from farming. The two early watermills, one at 'Thorpe', the other at 'Nant', both bowed to progress.For a more detailed account of our history please read Bothwell Revisited or contact local historian, Mary Ramsay (_EMAIL_)


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Local institutions: resilient in the face of change?
Two decades ago, legal provisions gave local institutions rights to manage natural resources in four dryland African countries: Mali, Niger, Sudan and Ethiopia. This briefing examines how resilient such decentralised institutions have been, under rapidly changing circumstances, and notes common lessons learned. Local management rights remain largely unsupported by government or legal implementation. The state has further complicated land management challenges by allocating large holdings to investors and by taking partisan roles in local politics. Changing politics, insecurity, demography and climate have exacerbated stresses, many of which have distant root causes. Neighbouring conflicts have driven influxes of people and animals. Increasing wealth inequalities and shifting livelihood strategies have eroded farming and herding communities' common interests.