2002-01-14 Assigned to SUNOCO, INC. (R & M) reassignment SUNOCO, INC. (R & M) ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: KARNAVAS, NICHOLAS Z., DINARDO, VICTOR M.
2010-11-17 Assigned to BRASKEM PP AMERICAS, INC. reassignment BRASKEM PP AMERICAS, INC. CHANGE OF NAME (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: SUNOCO CHEMICALS, INC.
2011-01-10 Assigned to BRASKEM AMERICA, INC. reassignment BRASKEM AMERICA, INC. MERGER (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: BRASKEM PP AMERICAS, INC.
A method of making a polypropylene product for use in making films and preferably biaxially oriented films and more preferably biaxially oriented films wherein a tenter-frame processing line is employed. The method includes the addition of low concentrations of a nucleating system in a mini-random polypropylene that allows for better processability and improved tensile properties. In one embodiment the nucleating system comprises a blend of a monocarboxylic acid nucleating agent and dicarboxylic acid nucleating agent. The nucleating system is combined with the polypropylene material and the resultant hot melt blend is further processed into biaxially oriented film. Alternately, the hot melt blend is formed into a convenient raw material for later use in a biaxial oriented film production facility. The resulting films possess superior processing and material characteristics.
The present invention relates to polypropylene films and biaxially oriented films with improved properties. Polypropylene produces films that have numerous uses including, for example snack food packaging, cigarette overwrap, electronic components wrapping, packaging tape, and shrink film. The polymers normally employed in the preparation of biaxially oriented films are isotactic homopolymers with high stereoregularity, although on some occasions the use of syndiotactic polymers has been proposed. Also suitable are co-polymers of isotactic polypropylenes with a small content of ethylene (mini-random co-polymers).
Isotactic polypropylene is one of a number of crystalline polymers that can be characterized in terms of the stereoregularity of the polymer chain. Various stereo specific structural relationships denominated primarily in terms of syndiotacticity and isotacticity may be involved in the formation of stereoregular polymers of various monomers.
Isotactic polypropylene is conventionally used in the production of relatively thin films in which the polypropylene is heated and then extruded through dies and subject to biaxial orientation by stressing the film in both a longitudinal direction (referred to as the machine direction) and lateral direction sometimes referred to as the tenter direction.
The structure of isotactic polypropylene is characterized in terms of the methyl group attached to the tertiary carbon atoms of the successive propylene monomer units lying on the same side of the main chain of the polymer. That is, the methyl groups are characterized as being all above or below the polymer chain. As is known in the art, any deviation or inversion in the structure of the chain lowers the degree of isotacticity and crystallinity of the polymer.
In contrast to the isotactic structure, syndiotactic propylene polymers are those in which the methyl groups attached to the tertiary carbon atoms of successive monomeric units in the chain lie on alternate sides of the plane of the polymer. Syndiotactic polymers are semi-crystalline and, like the isotactic polymers, are insoluble in xylene. This crystallinity distinguishes both syndiotactic and isotactic polymers from an atactic polymer, which is very low in crystallinity and highly soluble in xylene. An atactic polymer exhibits no regular order of repeating unit configurations in the polymer chain and forms essentially a waxy product.
The isotactic polymers normally employed are typically prepared through the use of conventional Ziegler-Natta catalysts of the type disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,298,718 and 4,544,717, both to Myer et al.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,573,723 to Peiffer discloses a process for producing biaxially oriented polypropylene film based on an isotactic polypropylene homopolymer or propylene ethylene co-polymers.
Catalysts employed in the polymerization of alpha-olefins may be characterized as supported catalysts or unsupported catalysts, sometimes referred to as homogeneous catalysts. Traditional supported catalysts are the so-called "conventional" Ziegler-Natta catalysts, such as titanium tetrachloride supported on an active magnesium dichloride as disclosed, for example, in the aforementioned patents to Myer et al.
Alternative types of catalysts that produce isotactic polyolefins are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,794,096 and 4,975,403. These patents disclose chiral, stereorigid metallocene catalysts that polymerize olefins to form isotactic polymers and are especially useful in the polymerization of highly isotactic polypropylene. As disclosed, for example, in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,794,096, stereorigidity in a metallocene ligand is imparted by means of a structural bridge extending between cyclopentadienyl groups. Specifically disclosed in this patent are stereoregular hafnium metallocenes.
While metallocene catalysts are generally proposed for use as homogeneous catalysts, it is also known in the art to provide supported metallocene catalysts. As disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,701,432 and 4,808,561, both to Welborn, a metallocene catalyst component may be employed in the form of a supported catalyst. As described, the support may be any support such as talc, an inorganic oxide, or a resinous support material such as a polyolefin. A catalyst system embodying both a homogeneous metallocene component and a heterogeneous component, which may be a "conventional" supported Ziegler-Natta catalyst, e.g. a supported titanium tetrachloride, is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,242,876 to Shamsoum et al. Various other catalyst systems involving supported metallocene catalysts are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,308,811 to Suga et al and U.S. Pat. No. 5,444,134 to Matsumoto.
Polypropylene films can be produced by methods known in the art and include biaxially oriented films as well as blown films. The biaxially oriented films are preferably produced in tenter frame processing lines or double bubble processing lines.
Polypropylene compositions which can be oriented at variable process conditions, particularly over a range of machine direction orientation draw ratios and transverse direction orientation oven temperatures, are desirable for a number of reasons. Film manufacturers have the flexibility to vary one or more processing conditions within an acceptable range for a particular film production run. In addition, the possibility of a web break during the orientation process is lessened, resulting in lower processing line start up costs. For example, a standard machine direction orientation draw ratio may be about 5 times the original length of the polyolefin film. A standard transverse direction oven temperature is about 166° C. These processing conditions are considered standard in that the occurrence of web breaks in the film are infrequent.
The ability to orient film compositions under variable conditions, for example a machine direction draw ratio within the range of its standard up to 9 times the original length, and a transverse direction oven temperature within the range of its standard to about 20° C. less than the standard, gives manufacturers greater flexibility. A further processing advantage is the ability to draw the film at higher line speeds thereby decreasing the manufacturing time.
To achieve processabillity at high line speeds metallocene polymers can be blended with the polypropylene in an effort to maintain film properties and gain a wider process window. However, this technique can be a costly means to accomplish both goals.
Biaxially oriented films can have a number of properties to their advantage during and after the machine processing steps. A relatively low coefficient friction is desirable, both during the biaxially orientation procedure and in the use of the ultimately produced biaxially oriented film for end use applications. A relatively high stiffness, as indicated by the tensile modulus in both the machine direction and the transverse direction is usually advantageous. Relatively low permeabilities to gas and water are desirable. In addition, a high shrinkage factor of the processed film, while undesirable in some cases, can be advantageous in others, such as where the film is used in stretch wrapping of food products, electrical components, and the like.
Properties of the resulting film product can be dependent to a certain degree on the particular process conditions under which the polypropylene composition was manufactured. For example, a stiffer film with a higher shrinkage factor and better barrier properties would result from an orientation process incorporating a larger machine direction orientation draw ratio. Likewise, the transverse direction orientation oven temperature would affect the properties of the resulting oriented film product, particularly improving the shrinkage factor.
The physical and optical properties of films are important in the film industry and should fall within certain parameters for different film applications. The optical properties include haze, clarity, and gloss. Haze is a phenomenon of light scattering and arises from local variations in the refractive index. Haze is defined as the relative fraction of scattered intensity from the dispersed particles in all directions, being detected in a range of wide angle, to the incident light intensity. Clarity is a measure of contact clearness or see-through quality and is different from haze due to the direct transmittance of light. For example, some films may indeed be hazy but appear clear as the film is in contact with the contents of a package. Unlike haze, clarity is distance dependent so that the thinner the film, the better the contact clarity. Gloss is defined as the ratio of the reflected light intensity from the film at a specific angle of incidence light to that of a standard with the ideal smooth surface.
Nucleating agents are used to increase the stiffness of processed materials. Nucleating agents may also improve the optical and barrier properties of the resulting materials. Various nucleating agents have been used with polypropylene materials. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,300,549 and 5,319,012 to Ward et al. (the Ward patents) disclose the use of dicarboxylic and monocarboxylic acids for the subsequent manufacture of shaped articles. U.S. Pat. No. 5,856,386 to Sakai et al. uses rosin acid metallic salts as the nucleating system. The above identified patents are incorporated herein by reference.
Most nucleating agents (sodium benzoate, talc etc.) are particulate in nature, and more specifically, are ground to the appropriate particle size to be used in polyolefins as a nucleating agent. They may have a particle size distribution consisting of a mean size of 2 micron with a top size of 10 micron, for example. Although this is not a problem in converting systems such as molding or thick extrusion (sheet or Pipe), this can be a problem in thin gage film. Most particulate nucleants in film cause the film to break during stretching.
It is difficult to disperse particulate nucleating agents and get effective homogeneous nucleation, even at very low levels. Also, the crystallization characteristics of the nucleated film, in most cases, are so rapid that the film tends to break during orientation of the film, due to the narrow stretch window caused by both the nonuniform dispersion of the agent, and the high rate of crystallization.
To solve this problem, non particulate systems that are compatible with the dynamics of film stretching (slower nucleation rates) need to be used. The nucleating systems disclosed in the Ward patents exemplify some of the non-particulate nucleating systems commercially available.
Nucleating agents can be added directly to molten polypropylene, for example, in a "melt blend" or by other methods known in the art.
The above nucleating systems and methods disclose different concentrations of nucleation agents depending upon the agents selected. The carboxylic acid agents of the Ward patents use exemplified concentrations of 2500-5000 ppm. Rosin acid metallic salts of the Sakai patent were exemplified in concentrations of 3000-9000 ppm.
Surprisingly, it has been discovered that improved polypropylene films and biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) films may be formed using non-particulate nucleating systems in low concentrations with mini-random polypropylene.
It is therefore the object of this invention to provide compositions useful for production of polypropylene films and preferably BOPP film of improved tensile strength comprising mini-random polypropylene and low concentrations of the nucleating agents.
A method of making a mini-random polypropylene product for use in making films and preferably biaxially oriented films and more preferably biaxially oriented films wherein a tenter-frame processing line is employed. The method includes the addition of a nucleating system in a mini-random polypropylene that allows for better processability and improved tensile properties. In one embodiment the nucleating system comprises a blend of a monocarboxylic acid nucleating agent and dicarboxylic acid nucleating agent. The nucleating system is combined with the polypropylene material and the resultant hot melt blend is further processed into biaxially oriented film. Alternately, the hot melt blend is formed into a convenient raw material for later use in a biaxial oriented film production facility. The resulting films possess superior processing and material characteristics.
FIG. 3 illustrates a double-bubble process for producing biaxially oriented polypropylene films.
In the present invention, polypropylene polymer suitable for use in biaxially oriented films is produced wherein a nucleating system is combined with a mini-random polypropylene. The resultant composition is particularly well suited for biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) films and has advantages of good stretching, improved tensile strength and low concentrations of nucleating agents (25 to 300 ppm).
The present invention is not limited to any one particular method of processing the composition into BOPP films. However, our preferred method includes first, obtaining extrusion grade mini-random polypropylene in powder or other suitable form. The polypropylene is combined with stabilizers, acid scavengers, antioxidants, acid neutralizers and other additives commonly known and used in the art. The nucleating system is also added. The above are extruded into pellet, or processed into a powder or other suitable form, and the resulting pellets or other physical form are processed into BOPP film as is commonly known in the art. The above composition may also be processed directly into BOPP film by feeding the molten extrudate into the biaxial orientation processing equipment.
As used herein the phrase "convenient raw material" refers to the composition of the present invention, extruded and processed into such solid forms as pellets, powders or other suitable forms that are easily fed into film production facility.
As used herein the term "mini-random polypropylene" refers to isotactic propylene-ethylene copolymers containing less than 2% by weight of ethylene, inserted in a random fashion, and preferably from 0.3% to 1% by weight of ethylene. Typical of the mini-random polypropylene is Sunoco 2.1MF containing approximately 0.5% ethylene and available from Sunoco Chemicals.
As used herein "nucleating system" includes any of those previously described including mono- and dicarboxylic acids and rosin acid metallic salts. As used herein, "non-particulate nucleating system" refers to nucleating systems comprising aliphatic dicarboxylic acids which are used singly or in combination with other dicarboxylic or monocarboxylic acids and that are used in a non-particulate form during nucleation. The non-particulate form can be either due to the nucleating system being in a liquid or solubilized state during the crystallization of the mini-random polypropylene.
As used herein "aliphatic dicarboxylic acids" refers to acyclic organic acids having two carboxylic acid groups and further containing from 4 to 21 carbon atoms and include, by way of example, succinic acid, glutaric acid, adipic acid, pimelic acid, suberic acid, azelaic acid, undecanedioic acid and dodecanedioic acid and mixtures thereof.
As used herein "aliphatic monocarboxylic acids" refers to acyclic organic acids having a single carboxylic acid groups and further containing from containing from 8 to 24 carbon atoms and include, by way of example, oleic acid, stearic acid, behenic acid, myristic acid, pentadecanoic acid, palmitic acid, margaric acid, abietic acid, lauric acid, linoleic acid, ricinoleic acid, dihydroxystearic acid, arachidic acid, eicosenoic acid, erucic acid, tetracosenoic acid, elaidic acid and mixtures thereof. Such acids may be either saturated or partially unsaturated.
Non-particulate nucleating systems are commercially available. For example, the non-particulate nucleating system known as Moldpro™ 931 is available from Witco Chemicals.
The aliphatic acids referenced are commercially available either as relatively pure compounds or as blends. For example, Witco Chemicals makes commercially available a blend of aliphatic monocarboxylic acids known under the trademark Hystrene™ 7018. This blend is reported to comprise a mixture of stearic acid (65%), palmitic acid (29%), myristic acid (3%), margaric acid (2%), pentadecanoic acid (0.5%), and oleic acid (0.5%).
It is important that the resulting film has a relatively even dispersion of nucleating agent, and thus, relatively even nucleation of the polymer film material. This film will also possess good optical properties. Low concentrations and even dispersion of nucleating agents yield polypropylene or a BOPP film having good processing characteristics.
The nucleating system of the present invention will have a concentration of nucleating agent of about 25 to about 300 ppm of the polymer to be processed into film. Preferably, it comprises about 50 to about 200 ppm of the polymer, and most preferably about 100 to about 200 ppm.
In general, film production can be of any suitable technique including the use of tenter frames, blown film processing and double bubble film processing. Of these, the tenter frame and double bubble film processing produce biaxial oriented film while the blown film process results in films of substantially lower orientation.
An example of the use of tenter frames is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,207,093 to Hanyu et al. As described in the Hanyu et al. patent, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, the polymer or polymers used to make the film are melted and then passed through an extruder to a slot die mechanism after which it is passed over a first roller, characterized as a chill roller, which tends to solidify the film. The film is then oriented by stressing it in a longitudinal direction, characterized as the machine direction, and in a transverse direction to arrive at a film which can be characterized in terms of orientation ratios, sometimes also referred to as stretch ratios, in both longitudinal and transverse directions.
The machine direction orientation is accomplished through the use of two sequentially disposed rollers, the second or fast roller operating at a speed in relation to the slower roller corresponding to the desired orientation ratio. This may alternatively be accomplished through a series of rollers with increasing speeds, sometime with additional intermediate rollers for temperature control and other functions. After the film has been stressed in the machine direction, it is again cooled and then pre-heated and passed into a lateral stressing section, for example, a tenter frame mechanism, where it is again stressed, this time in the transverse direction. Orientation in the transverse direction is often followed by an annealing section. Subsequently, the film is then cooled and may be subjected to further treatment, such as a surface treatment (for example corona treatment or flame treatment). The film may also be metallized as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,692,380 to Reid. While corona and flame treatment typically occurs immediately following orientation and prior to the initial roll up, metallizing is typically performed at a separate time and location.
FIG. 1 illustrates the apparatus described in the Hanyu et al. patent that may be employed in producing biaxially-oriented polypropylene film in accordance with the present invention. In FIG. 1, a source of molten polymer is supplied from a heated hopper 10 to an extruder 12 and from there to a slot die 14 which produces a flat, relatively thick film 16 at its output. Film 16 is applied over a chill roller 18, and it is cooled to a suitable temperature. The film is drawn off the chill roller 18 to a stretching section 20 to which the machine direction orientation occurs by means of idler rollers 22 and 23 that lead to preheat rollers 25 and 26.
As the film is drawn off the chill roller 18 and passed over the idler rollers, it is cooled to a temperature of about 30-60° C. In stretching the film in the machine direction, it is heated by preheat rollers 25 and 26 to an incremental temperature increase of about 60-100° C. and is oriented by fast roller 31 operating at a suitable speed greater than that of the preheat rollers in order to orient the film in the machine direction.
As the oriented film is withdrawn from the fast roller 31, it is passed over a roller 33 at room temperature conditions. From here it is passed over rollers to a lateral stretching section 40 where the film is oriented by stretching in the transverse direction. The section 40 includes a preheat section 42 comprising a plurality of tandem heating rollers (not shown) where it is reheated to a temperature within the range of 130-180° C. From the preheat section 42 of the tenter frame, the film is passed to a stretching or draw section 44 where it is progressively stretched by means of tenter clips (not shown) which grasp the opposed sides of the film and progressively stretch it laterally until it reaches its maximum lateral dimension. The concluding portion of the lateral stretching phase includes an annealing section 46, such as an oven housing, where the film is heated at a temperature within the range of 130-170° C. for a suitable period in time. The annealing time helps control certain properties, and increased annealing is often specifically used to reduce shrinkage.
The biaxially oriented film is then withdrawn from the tenter frame and passed over a chill roller 48 where it is reduced to a temperature of less than about 50° C. and then applied to take-up spools on a takeup mechanism 50. Typically, the initial orientation in the machine direction is carried out at a somewhat lower temperature than the orientation in the lateral dimension. For example, the film may be stretched in the machine direction at a temperature of about 120° C. and stretched in the lateral dimension at a temperature of 160° C.
Polypropylene films are also produced in a blown film processing line as depicted in FIG. 2 and further described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,891,383 to Joseph.
In FIG. 2, the blown film extrusion line 11 includes a number of subassemblies that operate together in the production of plastic film. The main subassemblies include blown film tower 13, which provides a rigid structure for mounting and aligning the various subassemblies, extruder subassembly 15, die subassembly 17, blower subassembly 19, stack 21, sizing cage 29, collapsible frame 31, nips 27, control subassembly 28 and rollers 29.
Plastic granules are fed into hopper 10 of extruder subassembly 15. Plastic granules are melted and fed by extruder 12 and pushed into die subassembly 17, and specifically to annular die 37. The molten plastic granules emerge from annular die 37 as a molten plastic tube 39, which expands from the die diameter to a desired final diameter, which may vary typically between two to three times the die diameter.
Blower subassembly 19 includes a variety of components that act together to provide a flow of cooling air to the interior of molten plastic tube 39, and also along the outer periphery of molten plastic tube 39. Blower subassembly includes blower 41 that pulls air into the system at intake 43, and exhausts air from the system at exhaust 45. The flow of air into molten plastic tube 39 is controlled at valve 47. Air is also directed along the exterior of molten plastic tube from external air ring 49, which is concentric to annular die 37. Air is supplied to the interior of molten plastic tube 39 through internal air diffuser 51. Air is pulled from the interior of molten plastic tube 39 by exhaust stack 53.
The streams of external and internal cooling airs serve to harden molten plastic tube 39 a short distance from annular die 37. The line of demarcation between the molten plastic tube 39 and the hardened plastic tube 55 is identified in the trade as the "frost line." Normally, the frost line is substantially at or about the location at which the molten plastic tube 39 is expanded to the desired final diameter.
In some systems, rotating frame 65 is provided for rotating relative to blown film tower 13. It is particularly useful in rotating mechanical feeler arms of the prior art systems around plastic tube 55 to distribute the deformations. Umbilical cord 67 is provided to allow electrical conductors to be routed to rotating frame 65. Rotating frame 65 rotates at bearings 71, 73 relative to stationary frame 69. Control subassembly 28 is provided to monitor and control the extrusion process, and in particular the circumference of plastic tube 55. Control subassembly 28 includes supervisory control unit, and operator control panel 77.
In many ways the blown film processing line is similar to the initial stage of a double-bubble process that produces biaxially oriented film. Best know is the double-bubble process described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,555,604 to Pahlke and incorporated herein by reference.
FIG. 3 illustrates the major components of such a double bubble processing line. The plastic feedstock 10 is fed into extruder 12. A primary bubble 120 forms by inflating the bubble as the melt exits die 122. Primary bubble 120 is cooled and collapsed as it passes through rollers 124. The resulting collapsed tube is then re-inflated to form the second bubble. The second bubble is heated to its draw temperature by means of external heaters 148, 146, 144, and 142. The amount of inflation determines the degree of orientation in the transverse direction. Machine direction orientation is imparted by having speed of the exit rollers 134 greater than the inlet rollers 128.
Features required to properly control the double-bubble process are further described in the Pahlke patent. Such features include special design of extruder die 122, air cooling areas 151 and 154 and guide rollers 132.
For the most part the double-bubble process results in a biaxially oriented film that is simultaneously oriented in both the machine and transverse directions. This is in contrast to the tenter frame processing line where first machine direction orientation is followed by transverse (tenter direction) orientation.
Various properties are used to measure the performance of polypropylene compositions and films made therefrom. Described below are some of the methods used.
Crystallization: In a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), the composition is first melted and then cooled at a constant rate of 10° C./min. The crystallization rate of the composition was determined from the crystallization exothermic peak temperature crystallization temperature (Tc) measured by the DSC. Also determined with the DSC are the melting point (Tm) and crystallization percentage (Cryst %).
Tensile Strength: The tensile strength including stress and elongation at break were measured for samples of produced film by ASTM method D882. Test speed was 2 inch/minute and a jaw separation of 4″. ASTM method D882 was similarly used to measure tangent modulus, peak stress, energy to peak load and % elongation at peak. For the latter measurements a test speed of 0.4 inch/minute and a jaw separation of 4″ were used.
Biaxially oriented film produced of the various compositions was tested for processability as well optical qualities. One of the processability measures is the natural draw ratio, determined at 280° F. (138° C.). Another measure is the area under the yield/stress curve. Lower area values and higher natural draw ratios indicate greater processibility.
Optical properties were determined on samples stretched to an average thickness of 0.6 mils (15 μm). Optical properties include haze, transmittance and gloss. Haze and luminous transmittance were determined in accordance with ASTM D1003. In general, lower haze films will have higher transmittance. Specular gloss was measured generally in accordance with ASTM D2457. ASTM D2457 refers to measurements at 20, 45 and 65 degrees. In addition, specular gloss was measured at an angle of 85 degrees.
A mini-random polypropylene designated Sunoco 2.1MF and available from Sunoco Chemicals was tested with and without a nucleation system. This polypropylene was selected for its high isotacticity and 0.5% ethylene content, typical of mini-random polypropylene. It has a melt flow index of 3.2 which is typical for mini-random polypropylenes used in film production.
The nucleation system consisted of a blend of aliphatic dicarboxylic and monocarboxylic acids (primarily adipic and stearic acids). The ratio of stearic acid to adipic acid in this nucleation system was in accordance with the ratios of U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,300,549 and 5,319,012. This nucleation blend is commercially available from Witco Chemicals of New York and is typical for a dicarboxylic/monocarboxylic nucleation system (designated Witco Moldpro™ 931). Surprisingly it was found that low concentrations of nucleation system increased tensile strength yet with equal or improved processibility.
Sample A is designated as the mini-random polypropylene without any agents added. Sample B consists of Sample A to which 50 ppm nucleation system is added. Similarly, Sample C consists of Sample A with 100 ppm nucleation system. Finally, Sample D consists of Sample A with 150 ppm nucleation system added.
Table 1 indicates the results on crystallization properties of the various samples. It is seen that adding the nucleation system enhances temperature stability with increases in both the melting and crystallization temperatures. Crystallization percent increased to a peak at 100 ppm nucleation system, then decreased thereafter. This implies that additional nucleation system is not expected to enhance stability.
Break Elon- Tangent Peak Energy Elong.
Table 2 indicates the results on tensile strength of the various samples. Breaking strength reaches a peak at 100 ppm while tangent modulus continues to increase with increasing nucleation system. Based upon these results, the preferred amount of nucleation system to be added is in the range of 100-150 ppm.
Table 3 indicates the results on processiblity properties of the various samples. Both improved draw ratio and increased ease of processing is seen for Sample D with 150 ppm of nucleation system added.
The optical properties of the various samples are given in table's 4 a, 4 b and 4 c. The difference between these tables is the temperature at which biaxial orientation to the films is applied. It is noticed that at the lower concentrations of nucleation optical properties are somewhat diminished. However at the 150 ppm nucleation level, optical properties are virtually identical to those of the untreated mini-random polypropylene.
wherein the concentration of nucleating system is from 25 ppm to 300 ppm.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein said product is a biaxially oriented film.
3. The method of claim 2 wherein the concentration of non-particulate nucleating system is from 50 ppm to 200 ppm.
4. The method of claim 2 wherein the concentration of non-particulate nucleating system is from 100 ppm to 200 ppm.
5. The method of 1 wherein the non-particulate nucleating system consists essentially of one or more aliphatic dicarboxylic acids.
6. The method of claim 5 wherein the aliphatic dicarboxylic acids are selected from the group consisting of succinic acid, glutaric acid, adipic acid, pimelic acid, suberic acid, azelaic acid, undecanedioic acid and dodecanedioic acid.
7. The method of claim 1 wherein the non-particulate nucleating system consists essentially of at least one aliphatic dicarboxylic acid containing from 4 to 21 carbon atoms and at least one aliphatic monocarboxylic acid containing from 8 to 24 carbon atoms in a weight ratio between 4:1 and 1:4.
8. The method of claim 7 wherein the aliphatic monocarboxylic acids are selected from the group consisting of oleic acid, stearic acid, behenic acid, myristic acid, pentadecanoic acid, palmitic acid, margaric acid, abietic acid, lauric acid, linoleic acid, ricinoleic acid, dihydroxystearic acid, arachidic acid, eicosenoic acid, erucic acid, tetracosenoic acid, elaidic acid and mixtures thereof.
9. The method of claim 7 wherein the aliphatic monocarboxylic acids consists of a mixture of stearic acid, palmitic acid, myristic acid, margaric acid, pentadecanoic acid and oleic acid.
10. The method of claim 7 wherein the aliphatic dicarboxylic acids are selected from the group consisting of succinic acid, glutaric acid, adipic acid, pimelic acid, suberic acid, azelaic acid, undecanedioic acid and dodecanedioic acid.
11. The method of claim 7 wherein the monocarboxylic acid is stearic acid and the dicarboxylic acid is adipic acid.
12. The method of claim 7 wherein the dicarboxylic acid is adipic acid and the monocarboxylic acid is a mixture of stearic acid, palmitic acid, myristic acid, margaric acid, pentadecanoic acid and oleic acid.
13. The method of claim 1 wherein said product is a plurality of pellets.
14. The method of claim 1 wherein said product is a powder.
15. The method of claim 2 further comprising the step of processing said composition into a biaxially oriented film by stretching said film in the machine direction and separately stretching said film layer in the transverse direction to produce a biaxially-oriented film.
16. The method of claim 2 further comprising the step of processing said composition into a biaxially oriented film by simultaneously stretching said film in the machine direction and in the transverse direction to produce a biaxially-oriented film.
18. The method of claim 17 wherein the concentration of non-particulate nucleating system is from 50 ppm to 200 ppm.
19. The method of claim 17 wherein the concentration of non-particulate nucleating system is from 100 ppm to 200 ppm.
20. The method of claim 17 wherein the non-particulate nucleating system consists essentially of aliphatic dicarboxylic acids.
21. The method of claim 20 wherein the aliphatic dicarboxylic acids are selected from the group consisting of succinic acid, glutaric acid, adipic acid, pimelic acid, suberic acid, azelaic acid, undecanedioic acid and dodecanedioic acid.
22. The method of claim 17 wherein the non-particulate nucleating system consists essentially of at least one aliphatic dicarboxylic acid containing from 4 to 21 carbon atoms and at least one aliphatic monocarboxylic acid containing from 8 to 24 carbon atoms in a weight ratio between 4:1 and 1:4.
23. The method of claim 22 wherein the aliphatic monocarboxylic acid is selected from the group consisting of oleic acid, stearic acid, behenic acid, myristic acid, pentadecanoic acid, palmitic acid, margaric acid, abietic acid, lauric acid, linoleic acid, ricinoleic acid, dihydroxystearic acid, arachidic acid, eicosenoic acid, erucic acid, tetracosenoic acid, elaidic acid and mixtures thereof.
24. The method of claim 22 wherein the aliphatic monocarboxylic acids consists of a mixture of stearic acid, palmitic acid, myristic acid, margaric acid, pentadecanoic acid and oleic acid.
25. The method of claim 22 wherein the dicarboxylic acid is selected from the group consisting of succinic acid, glutaric acid, adipic acid, pimelic acid, suberic acid, azelaic acid, undecanedioic acid and dodecanedioic acid.
26. The method of claim 22 wherein the monocarboxylic acid is stearic acid and the dicarboxylic acid is adipic acid.
27. The method of claim 22 wherein the dicarboxylic acid is adipic acid and the monocarboxylic acid is a mixture of stearic acid, palmitic acid, myristic acid, margaric acid, pentadecanoic acid and oleic acid.
wherein the concentration of non-particulate nucleating system is from 25 ppm to 300 ppm and wherein the nucleating system consists essentially of at least one aliphatic dicarboxylic acid containing from 4 to 21 carbon atoms and at least one aliphatic monocarboxylic acid containing from 8 to 24 carbon atoms in a weight ratio between 4:1 and 1:4.
29. The method of claim 28 wherein the monocarboxylic acid is stearic acid and the dicarboxylic acid is adipic acid.
30. The method of claim 28 wherein the dicarboxylic acid is adipic acid and the monocarboxylic acid is a mixture of stearic acid, palmitic acid, myristic acid, margaric acid, pentadecanoic acid and oleic acid.
31. The method of claim 28 wherein the concentration of nucleating system is from 50 ppm to 200 ppm.
32. The method of claim 28 wherein the concentration of nucleating system is from 100 ppm to 200 ppm.
34. The method of claim 33 wherein the extrusion grade polypropylene and non-particulate nucleation system is further combined with an antioxidant in the amount less than 1% and an acid neutralizer in the amount of less than 1%.


text:
Rule Title: REINSTATEMENT
10.57.208 REINSTATEMENT (REPEALED)
History: Sec. 20-2-121(1), 20-4-102, MCA; IMP, Sec. 20-4-102, 20-4-103, 20-4-106, 20-4-108, MCA; AMD, 1978 MAR p. 1489, Eff. 10/27/78; AMD, 1981 MAR p. 844, Eff. 8/14/81; AMD, 1983 MAR p. 990, Eff. 7/29/83; AMD, 1985 MAR p. 112, Eff. 2/1/85; AMD, 1987 MAR p. 591, Eff. 5/15/87; AMD, 1991 MAR p. 1552, Eff. 3/15/91; REP, 1992 MAR p. 795, Eff. 4/17/92.
4/17/1992 Current History: Sec. 20-2-121(1), 20-4-102, MCA; IMP, Sec. 20-4-102, 20-4-103, 20-4-106, 20-4-108, MCA; AMD, 1978 MAR p. 1489, Eff. 10/27/78; AMD, 1981 MAR p. 844, Eff. 8/14/81; AMD, 1983 MAR p. 990, Eff. 7/29/83; AMD, 1985 MAR p. 112, Eff. 2/1/85; AMD, 1987 MAR p. 591, Eff. 5/15/87; AMD, 1991 MAR p. 1552, Eff. 3/15/91; REP, 1992 MAR p. 795, Eff. 4/17/92.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Someone in our neighborhood left out a few pieces of free wood on their driveway recently, so we scooped them up, and decided to make a small garden bed in the Children's area of the CACG.
Colin pieces together the bed in front of the kid's fort.
Getting ready for a ride across the garden.
Colin showing nice form with the shovel.
"No time to talk, Dad, I have some soil to haul."
Future home of some tasty cucumbers.


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text:
Walking Stick, Don't Fail Me Now!
The Ominous Silence in the Skies on 9/11
Never forget.
I don't think Americans who were aware of atrocities in New York City and Washington, D.C., on that horrible day -- September 11, 2001 -- will ever forget. We all remember where we were when first we learned of the unfolding horror of the terrorists' attack on America.
I was getting on my exercise bicycle in the basement of our home in Northern Virginia when I clicked on CNN and saw the announcers trying to make sense of the first airplane crashing into the World Trade Center. Yes, I was a fitness nut back then, and even was walking Superdawg (then a puppy) daily around a nicely landscaped community.
At the time, I worked for a think tank in Rosslyn, a community in Arlington, Va., just a mile and one Metro stop away from the Pentagon. Because of the nature of my work, I enjoyed flex-time so that I could work at home a good bit or take the HOV lanes into the DC environs after they opened up for solo traffic in the late morning. So rarely was I in my Rossyln office 9 to 5.
Had I been a regular commuter, I might have been a witness to a horrific scene, because my access route off I-95 went right by the Pentagon. Indeed, the fellow who worked in the office next to me was on that road when he saw the hijacked airplane crash into the Pentagon. He got out of his car and tried to help as best he could.
Of course, after the crash the access roads were shut down, and I couldn't get into the office for days. I contacted my office and they told me to not even try.
The most eerie sensation as I walked the neighborhood and tried to make sense of 9/11 on 9/11 was the utter silence in skies usually filled with airplanes going into and out of nearby Dulles. Of course, the government understandably shut down all air traffic that day, as we all wondered if there were still more enemy-operated planes (or even missiles?) about to hit us. We were at war in our homeland -- that was a thought that sent chills down my back.
As many people have observed, the skies were about as clear and sparkling blue on that day of infamy as could be imagined -- even here in Carolina-blue country. Out on a walk today, another pretty day, I was aware for minutes of silence in the skies. Of course we don't have nearly as much air traffic here as in the D.C. area, but we have quite a bit. Ten minutes or so later, I did see a big plane heading to our airport near the old Air Force Base.
It was a morning for quiet reflection on man's inhumanity to man, and what we as Americans can do to protect ourselves and work for a better world. For starters, we must never forget.
© Robert G. Holland
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Blog's Back -- At Least for Now
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Carlos Correa's Walk-Off HR Dedicated to Teen Battling Cancer
How 'Baby Shark' Carried the Washington Nationals to a World Series
John Duffley, October 16, 2019 4:37 pm
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AP Photo/Alex Brandon
The Washington Nationals entered June 19 with a 33-38 record. Just a few weeks before that, many Major League Baseball pundits considered the Nats' 2019 season over, especially considering slugger Bryce Harper now played for one of the club's rivals. Manager Dave Martinez said after his club's fifth-straight loss, "You can't put blame on one thing. You really can't. This is a team thing."
What this team didn't realize, however, is that an undeniably catchy children's song would break that slump and spark a movement that stuck with Washington all the way to the club's first-ever World Series.
Why Do the Washington Nationals Play Baby Shark?
#Postseason Baby Shark is ELECTRIC. #NLCS pic.twitter.com/EHILV1OUb9
— MLB (@MLB) October 16, 2019
When Nationals outfielder Gerardo Parra walked up to the plate on that fateful day in June, the veteran was in an 0-for-23 slump. He needed a change ? a taboo among many superstitious baseball players ? and decided switching up his walk-up song was the answer.
His choice? Baby Shark by Pinkfong.
"My [2-year-old daughter Aaliyah Victoria] loves that song," Parra said. "Before the game, I tried merengue, reggaeton, hip-hop, then I said, 'You know what, I want to put in Baby Shark.'"
If you've been living under a rock, don't have kids or grandkids, or simply never turn on the radio, Baby Shark is the hottest song since Michael Jackson's Thriller. It's been viewed 3.6 billion times ? yes, BILLIONS with a B ? and is the sixth-most watched video in YouTube history.
Naturally, fans enjoyed a mid-game chuckle as kids went crazy when Parra debuted his walk-up music for the first time, but something about the Baby Shark song's magic worked.
Parra doubled in his first at-bat, hit a home run in the eighth inning, and baseball's coolest craze began at Nationals Park.
RELATED: The 26 Best Players of the 2019 MLB Playoffs, Ranked
After Parra and 'Baby Shark' beat Bryce Harper and the Philadelphia Phillies in both games of that June doubleheader, Washington finished the season with a 59-31 record, outlasted the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Wild Card game, knocked off the 106-win Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS, and swept the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLCS.
All the way, Nationals fans dressed in shark costumes and took part in the team's good luck charms: Baby Shark signs.
Drive in one run? "Baby Shark" with your fingers back to the dugout.
Multiple runs? Perform a "Mommy Shark" with your hands.
Home run? You get the full-on, wide open, giant chop like "Daddy Shark."
Here are thousands of grown adults at the Washington Nationals' ballpark in mid-October doing Baby Shark in unison. What a time to be alive.
Washington Nationals' Baby Shark Video
Anything more wild than a ballpark full of adults and children alike singing "Baby Shark?" pic.twitter.com/buK6yJQfKj
— Cut4 (@Cut4) October 16, 2019
"I was like, 'Look, this guy is amazing. He's changing the culture of this team.'" Nationals fan Matt Kucinich told USA TODAY Sports prior to Game 4 of the NLCS. "I've been watching since 2005, the whole time they've been (in DC), and we're doing really, really well. We're so used to defeat. There's something different."
One key thing to note: Matt Kucinich wore a giant shark costume to the National League Championship Series-clinching game.
The Washington Nationals will await the winner of the ALCS between the Houston Astros and New York Yankees. With red-hot arms on the mound like Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, Patrick Corbin and Sean Doolittle, plus the likes of Trea Turner, Anthony Rendon and Juan Soto tucked into the heart of Washington's offense, 2019 could be the year Washington, D.C. gets a major sports title.
If you thought Baby Shark was massive before, just wait until Nats fans are on the MLB postseason's biggest stage when the Fall Classic begins.
READ MORE: Superfan Bets $3.5 Million on Houston Astros Winning World Series


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Stockholm schools in butter ban backlash
After thousands of children, parents, teachers and principals across Stockholm have expressed their outrage against the capital's butter ban in schools, the city administration has decided to bring the spread back.
According to the city councillor for schools, Lotta Edholm, the kids and their parents are right to be upset:
"I have tried to communicate that the schools can serve both butter and low fat spread if they want. The cleverest solution would be to let the students choose. But unfortunately the message I wanted to get across has got lost along the way," said Edholm to daily Dagens Nyheter (DN).
The reason for the initial change was a decision by the Stockholm City local authority in charge of education (Utbildningsnämnden) to make schools adhere to guidelines issued by the National Food Agency (Livsmedelsverket).
Behind the decision are tightened rules in legislation regarding schools serving nutritious food. To make things simpler for the schools, the local authority chose to make the guidelines from the National Food Agency be the guiding rule for all schools in the area.
The majority of Stockholm schools therefore removed the more butter-based spreads and replaced them with low fat alternative Becel, a controversial choice due to some scientists linking it with heart-disease and cancer, or other low fat spreads.
But according to Lotta Edholm the guidelines never meant a ban on butter in schools.
"My interpretation of the guidelines has from the beginning been that schools can serve both butter and marge. The School's Inspectorate's (Skolinspektionen) interpretation is different. And I find it a little strange that the Inspectorate chooses to blindly listen to the National Food Agency," Edholm said.
According to Edholm the kids should have the choice between the butter and the low-fat spread and she repudiated any claim that the butter was removed due to Stockholm children being overweight and needing to diet.
"No, they definitely don't need to diet. If we could just have been able to sort this out ourselves without listening to the School's Inspectorate I don't think anyone, politician or official, would have even thought of removing the butter in favour of marge," said Edholm to the paper.
The Local/rm
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BANBUTTERLIVSMEDELSVERKET
How Switzerland plans to beat its butter shortage
Switzerland is facing a butter shortage "for the first time in years", thanks mainly to a surge in cheese production which left little milk at the table for butter producers.
Published: 21 May 2020 10:30 CEST
(Illustration) A butter producer gets up close and personal with the good stuff in neighbouring France. Photo: GUILLAUME SOUVANT / AFP
To make sure Swiss bread doesn't go unbuttered, the country will (temporarily) change laws to bring butter across the border.
The Swiss Federal Office for Agriculture said midweek that the country's butter stores were running dangerously low, with only 2,300 tonnes in reserve – although this amount is up from a low of 1,500 tonnes earlier in Spring.
In a press release, the Office said "for the first time in years, there is an insufficient supply of Swiss butter for the (local) market."
"A shortage of butter supply, especially at the end of the year, must be prevented."
READ: Here's how Switzerland is planning to avoid coronavirus food shortages
The government was responding to an application from the Swiss milk industry, asking that import quotas be temporarily relaxed to allow more butter across the border.
An additional 1,000 tonnes will now be allowed across the border, around 2.3 percent of the total sold in Switzerland each year.
From coffee to nuclear fuel: What you need to know to understand Switzerland's strategic stockpiles
The exemption will be granted for 2020 only.
A cheesy excuse
Unlike other supply shortages experienced across the country in recent months, the lack of butter isn't due only to the coronavirus – although plenty of lockdown-inspired baking is unlikely to help.
Instead, higher cheese production has meant that less milk fat has been available to produce butter in recent months.
Milk producers make more money from cheese production than from butter, meaning that when butter's turn comes around, the pail is dry (or at least a little too empty).
The Local [email protected] @thelocalswitzer


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Marxism is Not a System: A Critique of the ISO's Conception of Surplus Value
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged critique surplus value on October 22, 2015
Jan Makandal
Marxism is not a self-contained, complete system resting on a philosophical base. Rather, it is a theory that has no absolute beginning and is constantly incomplete in its elaboration, as a whole or in any of its aspects (for example the economic aspect as elaborated in Marx's Capital).
This doesn't mean Marxism is non-scientific or non-systematic. It clearly defines objects of study in order to explain their objective necessities, establishing its systematic characteristic of analyzing the different forms of class struggle, and the connections between these struggles.
Marxism argues that the history of any society is the history of class struggles. This doesn't mean that class struggle is merely the principal phenomenon that we can observe in history; instead Marxism asserts that all historical phenomena are diverse and complex historical forms of class struggle.
When a self-defined revolutionary organization pretends to define the "ABCs of Marxism," it is not only assigning a false beginning to something that is perpetually incomplete, but it is also assigning a false permanency to an interpretation of a reality that is in a constant mode of evolution. Such an approach can only realize dogmatism. It is a reversal, a reduction from an unfinished science to a finished one.
The "ABCs of Marxism," a series of graphics with texts, or memes, by the International Socialist Organization (ISO) display that erroneous approach. Marxism, with its periodization, cannot be learned by rote. It is to be applied, reinforced, and most importantly it is to be in a constant mode of rectification.
In one of the "ABCs" series, headed "Exploitation," the ISO attempts to define surplus value this way: "All workers create more value at work than they receive in wages. The extra 'surplus' value goes in the boss's pocket as profit." [See graphic at end of this piece for reference].
In a paragraph of text added to the graphic in a Facebook post, the Chicago chapter of the ISO developed a technical mechanism to get that money back: "When we say 'tax the rich' we're really just saying 'give workers back what the bosses stole.' And once you start thinking about it like this, it becomes obvious to ask whether it's possible to simply do away with the original theft—the exploitation—itself."
But confining our goal to simply doing away with exploitation opens the door to reformism, to alternatives other than revolution. Under this conception, the creation of a Labor Party would be another possible route, since presumably if elected they could tax the rich and return profit to the worker. Lowering the cost of labor reproduction through increasing relative surplus value (taxing the rich to fund social programs) would be yet another possible route for the ISO. Whether the ISO advocates a revolution or an electoral or a legislative path, this conception will not be able to lead to a radical transformation of the mode of production from capitalism to something totally different. It cannot possibly realize anything more than a "system upgrade" or a reformed capitalism.
The quintessence of the theory of the capitalist mode of production in Capital is the analysis of surplus value. This establishes Marx's rupture from political economy, sociology and bourgeois historiography.
What defines capital in a bourgeois economy is the valorization of a given quantity of value. Not all sums of value are immediately capital; it depends on their utilization. For example, a sum of money in a piggybank is not capital. To be capital, the value must be invested for accumulation. This quantity, by definition, is surplus value.
Surplus value is realizable as soon as it's assigned to capital for accumulation, a never-ending process. This process may appear different based on different modes of investment. However, money is the most advanced and most privileged form of investment. The money form is the equivalent of all merchandise, including the means of production. Because productivity is necessary to the functioning of industrial capital, money represents the value of the material objects it is temporarily attached to. But the movement of capital is not really interested in those objects; money has value independently on its own, in itself. Essentially the movement of capital is for monetary accumulation, a developed form of circulation of money.
Surplus value is a profit, but not all profit is surplus value, even though the labor power that produces the surplus value (the origin of all capital) is transferred and destroyed in all forms of circulation and concentration of capital.
The ISO's "ABCs of Marxism" is nothing but a caricature of Marxism, a merely Marxist-flavored definition with all the nuance of a Powerpoint slide show that reduces surplus value to a description. This caricatured approach can only lead to an eclectic usage of the concept of surplus value, because anyone with that limited understanding will be incapable of developing the concept. Worse, they will substitute the theory of surplus value and its forms with a simple theory of profits, of realization of profit and circulation of capital, such stated by the ISO: "the extra 'surplus' value goes in the boss's pocket as profit."
This is exactly what Marx vehemently critiqued of the intellectual bourgeois circle of his time. Marx denounced the approach of Ricardo, who tried to define surplus value and the processes of capitalization of surplus value in terms of profit.
This is an important point. It is not a matter of semantics. A wrong definition of the theory of surplus value will only contribute to the realization of reformism, opportunism and populism. The correct appropriation of surplus value, on the other hand, is simultaneously the construction of a political line; it is scientific socialism.
The petite bourgeoisie (including those of the ISO) is usually quick to give a reformist definition of socialism: the control of the means of production. For the proletariat, this definition is only partially correct. On its own, it is reformism and revisionism, because the control of the means of production could be achieved by judicial means. This is why the petite bourgeoisie is eager to identify as socialist any populist judicial measures taken by a government (such as Venezuela) or promises made by a candidate (such as Bernie Sanders). These judicial measures could be achieved either by suffrage (if these petit bourgeois elements weren't such vile opportunists and would be willing to face the power), or by revolution.
In any case, for proletarian revolutionaries it is not simply a matter of control of the means of production. That is necessary and included, but it is not enough. The determining factor is the destruction, at the level of the economy, of all forms of concentration of capital and of all forms of circulation of capital.
In the transition period of scientific socialism, the fundamental aspect is a new set of contradictions: between proletarian dictatorship and the dissolution of proletarian dictatorship. That dissolution is the dissolution of classes. Only the proletariat can lead the whole popular camp on the path of its own destruction, by destroying all forms of concentration of capital.
Marx and Engels were correct to affirm the discovery of surplus value as the understanding of scientific socialism. Practice has not yet achieved that level of appropriation. Indeed, we must admit that in the Russian revolution these points were only addressed in theory. In China we can say that we have witnessed some sincere practice of addressing this new set of contradictions, but this was severely repressed by the capitalist roaders.
Marxism is a scientific theory and the most advanced theory, still unfinished, incomplete, even if dogmatists of the left seem to deny that. Even in his epoch, Marx was systematic enough to warn us that his contribution to that science (which we call Marxism and our political current identifies as Proletarian Theory) was a critique of political economy. Now we can see the importance of that subtitle in Capital. For us it firmly emphasizes that this science is not for fixing capitalism. No one can use this science to fix capitalism. The ISO presumes the ability to do so by taxing the rich and returning the profit to workers (whatever their definition of workers might be).
Proletarian theory contains two intimately linked opposite dualities: the appropriation of all forms of concentration of capital on the one hand, and on the other hand proletarian revolution that decimates and destroys all those forms of concentration of capital and its circulation (from which surplus value is the original source). This is what all the variations of Marxist-flavored reformist theories seem to dismiss.
If surplus value is profit but not simply profit, not limited to being profit, then what is it?
To understand surplus value we must consider capital at a social level scale, not as a simple "surplus" that goes into the pocket of the boss, as conceptualized by the ISO, others of the left, and bourgeois intellectuals at the service of capital. Such a declaration really limits our appropriation of capital and concentration of capital, especially at a time characterized by the following:
1) The concentration of capital determines the complex historical movement of capital, including its division into individual capitals, the fusion between industrialists and financiers, and the various functions necessary for its own reproduction: material production, circulation of goods, and circulation of money. In all of these cases, the main aim is to accelerate the rotation of capital to constantly augment the rate of profit and open the possibility of credit (circulation of money).
2) The concentration of capital produces, in turn, fundamental transformations in the forms of capitalist property. Production for individual private capitalists is becoming obsolete, a thing of the past, and is gradually becoming geared toward groups of capitalists. This facilitates capitalists, a class of private owners, in appropriating a portion of the social capital. It also facilitates the constant historical formation of classes, class fusion, class transfer, and class dissolution as aspects of the constant formation of the power bloc that dominates society.
For us, surplus value is the source of all other forms of capital and all forms of concentration of capital. It is what distinguishes capitalism from all other modes of production. Any mode of production is fundamentally characterized by its relations of production, which it presupposed and reproduces, between direct producers (productive labor), non-producers, and means of production. Setting aside the primary communes, historically and dominantly (almost exclusively) all modes of production have been modes of exploitation of social labor. This is the reason that proletarian theory is confirming that the problematic of all historic modes of production is the problematic of historical forms of exploitation. The problematic of all historical forms of exploitation are, as well, historical forms of struggle against exploitation.
Under capitalism, the problematic of historical forms of struggle against exploitation is also the problematic of historical forms of struggle to abolish classes. The problematic of taxing the rich will not lead to the abolition of classes, but simply to legislative measures (still determined by class struggle). What makes it a reformist struggle is its permanency under a bourgeois mode of production.
What is characteristic of the capitalist mode of production is the relations of production that antagonistically oppose the working class/productive labor against capital in the process of the production of surplus value. The existence of surplus value distinguishes the capitalist mode of production from any other mode of production.
Surplus value is not simply an added value that goes into the pockets of the bosses. This is a purely quantitative definition of surplus value. Though all production of surplus value does require an accounting of value and of a mathematical difference of value, this accounting is totally secondary and insufficient in an analysis of surplus value.
Surplus exists in all modes of production, including primary communes and feudalism. But in capitalism, this surplus takes the form of value, and the phenomenon of capitalization of value is systemic to capitalism, only to capitalism. That makes the production of this surplus a social process. This excedent is not produced outside of the labor process (as the design of the ISO graphic indicates) but in the labor process. This is contrary to other modes of production. Another characteristic of the production of capital is that the means of production are capitalized, including the labor power. Thus the production of surplus value introduces class struggle at the economic level.
The caricature by the ISO further confirms the tendency of the petite bourgeoisie to ossify, stagnate and weaken proletarian theory.
For reference, the ISO's graphic.
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Орбаши — название населённых пунктов в России:

 Орбаши — деревня в Аликовском районе Чувашии.
 Орбаши — деревня в Цивильском районе Чувашии.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Should You Invest in an Overwatch Aimbot?
Friday, September 29th, 2017. Author : Alma Miller. 333 views.
There is only one answer that you can get for this question and that is – yes, you should consider opting for an Overwatch aimbot, especially if you are trying to really enjoy every single aspect of the game. The truth is that there are players that want to see what the game is like and try to play it like it is, while others prefer getting through each quest successfully. Well, if you are part of the second category, this particular Overwatch Cheat can really make a difference if you invest in the right type of software.
A critical aspect that you should pay attention to is the fact that having enemies shoot you down all the time can become pretty frustrating. So, before you say that you will never even consider using an Overwatch Cheat, you should know that the best program is going to make this experience a lot more fun than you would ever imagine. Just think about being a hero, but not just any hero, a hero god that has complete control over what happens with his fate and the fate of your enemies.
If you want to make a smart decision regarding the Overwatch Cheat, you need to look for more information about the risks that you might be dealing with when you use a particular program. The good news is that as long as you take your time, you will definitely manage to find a provider that has designed an Overwatch aimbot that does not affect your reputation or credibility. This means that it will offer you the edge you need without posing the risk of getting you banned. How amazing is that?
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The Virtual Reality Art Gallery Experience, or VRAGE, is an exploration of the parallel progression of the worlds of technology and fine art, utilizing virtual reality to add context to the typical gallery experience and to showcase art in creative, immersive ways.
Without the restrictions of real-world environments, VRAGE transcends the idea of what an art gallery is supposed to be. Rather than the gallery existing as a separate entity from the art, VRAGE collectively acts as a piece of art in itself. Through game development and 3D modeling techniques, we have the opportunity to tailor individual galleries to represent the vision of the artists in ways that a traditional gallery room could not accomplish. The optimization of space also plays a key role; VRAGE will contain multiple individual gallery rooms within the confines of an eight foot by eight foot play space.


After a marathon meeting that lasted 28 hours, Victoria's assisted dying bill has passed the Upper House.
This puts Victoria on the verge of becoming the first Australian state to legalise voluntary euthanasia, once the bill returns to the Lower House next week for ratification before becoming law.
It was passed in the upper house with 22 votes for, and 18 votes against. Those who were in support included four Liberals, five Greens and votes from the Reason Party's Fiona Patten and Vote 1 Local Jobs Party MP James Purcell.
The bill personally moved many of the MP's, as some reportedly wept as the gave in their votes.
Premier Daniel Andrews' supported assisted dying following the death of his own father after a long battle with cancer.
"Today's all about emotion, and it's all about compassion," he said.
"It's about providing for those who have for too long been denied a compassionate end the control, the power over the last phase of their journey.
The bill was given to the upper house after a number of amendments were made just a little more than a week ago.
The amendments included changing the timeframe during which a person can apply for the service – terminal patients in severe pain with a life expectancy of six months or less, while the timeframe remains at 12 months for patients with neurodegenerative conditions such as motor neurone disease and multiple sclerosis.
It should be noted that it is because of these of these amendments, that the bill has to be returned to the Lower House.
Though some people fear that this new potential law could manipulate, the legislation includes 68 "safeguards" to protect the vulnerable. This includes new criminal offences to protect people from abuse and coercion and a special board to review all cases.
Once passed in the Lower House again, the laws should come into effect in 2019.
What the legislation will allow for is terminally ill Victorians to be able to obtain a lethal drug within 10 days of a request to die.
The request is a three step process, that involves two independent medical assessments.
Once the person obtains the lethal drug, it is expected that they administer it themselves, and only have a doctor administer it in situations where they cannot physically do it themselves.


Julie Goodnight likes us. Really likes us!
Thank you Julie Goodnight and Redmond Equine for picking our between the ears picture for the fave ride nation contest! We had a great day chasing hot air balloons with Enchantment Equitreks during the Balloon Fiesta Ride in October. Check out our picture and other fellow winners at Facebook.


Do you have a sample kit of your products you can send me?
There is a limit of $500 in total annual discount savings per customer for studio sample orders. For example, an order for studio samples of Gallery Wraps that would originally cost $200 would cost $150 after the 25% studio sample discount is applied, which is a savings of $50. That $50 you saved on the order is deducted from your $500 discount savings limit, so you still have $450 left that can be used for studio sample discounts for the year.
Discounts for studio samples cannot be combined with any other offers, sale prices, or coupons, and do not include shipping costs. To order studio samples, place your order and add an order comment stating that the order should be discounted for studio samples. The price will be adjusted once the order has been received at the lab. Please contact Customer Service for more information.
Is there any limit on the studio sample discount?
Yes, there is a limit of $500 in total annual discount savings per customer for studio sample orders. For example, an order for studio samples of Gallery Wraps that would originally cost $200 would cost $150 after the 25% studio sample discount is applied, which is a savings of $50. That $50 you saved on the order is deducted from your $500 discount savings limit, so you still have $450 left that can be used for studio sample discounts for the year.
Do you print any extra text (i.e. SAMPLE) on my images for studio samples?
We don't add anything to your images for studio samples.
Do you offer green screen dropout?
Yes, we offer extensive services for green screen, including over 300 background options. View our Green Screen page or our Price Guide to learn more.
Do you offer die-cut wallets?
Yes, we offer sheets of 4 or 8 die-cut wallets for Direct and Lab Corrected prints for an additional $0.25 per sheet. View them in our Price Guide, and for information on ordering this service, contact Customer Service.
Yes, we offer a variety of greeting cards. We offer over 600 free designs for our photographic cards, which come in 4×8, 4×6 and 5×7 sizes, all of which include envelopes. We also offer flat or folded press printed cards, which are available only in ROES. Press cards are available in any quantity over 25 on Matte, Art, Linen, and Pearl papers, and come with silver-foil-lined envelopes. View our Greeting Card page or our Price Guide for more information and pricing.
Can you print the return addresses on the envelopes in my card orders?
Unfortunately, we don't currently offer this service, but we may in the future.
We offer black faux-leather, assembled albums in sizes ranging from 2×3 to12x12 with luster or glossy photographic prints, all of which have a 3-day in-lab turnaround time. All albums feature prints mounted 1/16 of an inch from the edge of the page, for the look of a flush-mounted album, with added corner protection. For pricing and more information, view our Price Guide.
How are your fine art giclée prints different from your photographic prints?
Our fine art prints are created using a giclée printing process, available on unstretched canvas or watercolor paper. Our photographic prints are printed on traditional silver halide paper, and are available on luster and glossy surfaces. For pricing and more information, view our Price Guide.
What's the largest fine art giclée print you can produce?
We're able to produce fine art giclée prints up to 41 inches wide by the length of your choice, on watercolor or unstretched canvas paper. For custom-size orders, please contact Customer Service for more information and pricing.
Do you offer stickers or service strips?
We offer 1.25×1.75 stickers and service strips in sheets of 25, available using our designs or with your own. For pricing and turnaround time information, view our Price Guide.
Sublimation products are made by printing your image onto inkjet material and transferring it to the item using heat and pressure. Our production methods for sublimation products provide the highest quality images possible. View all our products in our Price Guide.
Do you offer pre-pay envelopes?
Yes, we can design and/or print pre-pay envelopes. View more information here.
Do you offer image CDs?
Yes, we offer yearbook and administrative CDs for most major school formats. For pricing and turnaround time information, view our Price Guide. For more information and ordering instructions, please contact Customer Service.
You don't offer a product I currently order from another company. Can you?
If you're looking for an item we don't currently offer, please contact Customer Service. We're constantly adding new products and your feedback is important to us!


text:
Eqbal Mohammed Abdu Dauqan
Member of the GYA
Department of Public Health, Sport and Nutrition
Faculty of Health and Sport Science
Postbox 422, 4604 Kristiansand, Norway
In 2012, Eqbal M.A. Dauqan received her Ph.D in Biochemistry from the School of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Malaysia, sponsored by the Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD). Her main research interest is biochemistry, food antioxidants, and nutrition. Her thesis was awarded for being an excellent thesis. She was appointed as a Post-doctoral Fellow at the School of Chemical Sciences and Food Technology, FST, UKM from July 2012 to July 2013. In July 2013 she was appointed as Senior lecturer at Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences- Faculty of Medical Sciences, Al-Saeed University (SU) - Taiz, Yemen, where she became Head of the Medical Laboratory Sciences Department at the same Faculty. In 2014 Eqbal established a new program entitled Therapeutic Nutrition Department in, SU. She was selected as one of five winners of the 2014 Elsevier Foundation Award for Early Career Women Scientists in the developing countries (Chemical Sciences). Eqbal was selected to be a visiting scholar in UKM, Malaysia sponsored by IIE_SRF (USA) from Feb 2016 to Feb 2018. In February 2018, she affiliated with the Global Young Academy as a mentee in the At-Risk Scholar initiative. In September 2018, she had been selected as TWAS Young Affiliate for 2018-2022. Currently, Eqbal was appointed as an associate professor at University of Agder (UIA), Kristiansand-Norway through the Scholar at Risk (SAR) Network, USA.
Incubator – Industry 4.0 & Beyond
Project – At-Risk Scholars Initiative
Trust in (Young) Scientists
Science Advice
GYA Research Leadership Workshop at Wolfson College, Oxford
Welcome GYA New Members 2019!
Second pre-AGM Science Leadership Workshop for new GYA members


text:
Ty R. Silberhorn
Nisheet Gupta
Curtis J. Dobler
Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer
Brent C. Jewell
President, Architectural Framing Systems
Gary R. Johnson
Senior Vice President and Treasurer
Meghan M. Elliott
Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary
Ty was named Apogee's Chief Executive Officer and a member of the company's board of directors in January 2021. Ty joined Apogee following over 20 years at 3M where he built a track record of success, leading change, driving growth, and strengthening the operational performance of several global
Nisheet joined Apogee as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in June 2020. In this role he oversees all aspects of the company's financial functions including accounting, treasury, financial planning and analysis, global tax compliance, investor relations, internal audit, risk
Curtis joined Apogee as Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Office in April, 2019. In this role he is responsible for building and executing an overall Human Resources strategy for the enterprise in collaboration with the senior leadership team. Curtis joined Apogee Enterprises
Brent was named President, Architectural Framing Systems in August 2019. He provides strategic, financial, and overall operational leadership for Apogee's framing systems businesses. Brent joined Apogee in 2018 as Senior Vice President, Business Development and Strategy.
Gary joined Apogee in 1995 as director of taxation. He assumed assistant treasurer responsibility in 1997 and was promoted to vice president and treasurer in 2001. Previously he spent 11 years at Arthur Andersen & Co. as a corporate tax consultant. Gary's primary focus has been on strengthening
Meghan was appointed Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary in June 2020. In this role she has overall responsibility for all legal matters at Apogee, corporate governance, and compliance, as well as providing direct legal support for the company's Viracon business unit.
Bernard P. Aldrich
Retired Chief Executive Officer and President, Rimage Corporation
Christina M. Alvord
President, Central Division of Vulcan Materials Company
Frank G. Heard
Vice Chairman of the Board, Gibraltar Industries, Inc.
Lloyd E. Johnson
Retired Global Managing Director, Finance and Internal Audit, Accenture Corporation
Elizabeth M. Lilly
Chief Investment Officer and Executive Vice President, The Pohlad Companies
Donald A. Nolan
Chairman of the Board, Apogee Enterprises, Inc., and Former President and Chief Executive Officer, Kennametal Inc.
Herbert K. Parker
Retired Executive Vice President of Operation Excellence, Harman International Industries, Inc.
Mark A. Pompa
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, EMCOR Group, Inc.
Chief Executive Officer, Apogee Enterprises, Inc.
Patricia K. Wagner
Retired Group President of U.S. Utilities, Sempra Energy
Retired Chief Executive Officer and President of Rimage Corporation (now Qumu Corporation), a publicly-held designer and manufacturer of on-demand publishing and duplicating systems for CD and DVD – recordable media. Our director since 1999 and member of our Audit and Compensation Committees. Mr.
President, Central Division of Vulcan Materials Company, a producer of construction aggregates and aggregates-based construction materials and member of the S&P 500 Index. Our director since 2020 and a member of our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.
Vice Chairman of the Board for Gibraltar Industries, Inc., a leading manufacturer and distributor of building products and services for the renewable energy, conservation, residential, industrial, and infrastructure markets, since 2019. Our director since 2020 and a member of our Audit Committee
Former Global Managing Director, Finance and Internal Audit, Accenture Corporation, a global management consulting firm, from 2004 to 2015. Our director since 2017. Chair of our Audit Committee. Previously Mr. Johnson was Executive Director, M&A and General Auditor for Delphi Automotive, a global
Chief Investment Officer and Executive Vice President for The Pohlad Companies, a privately-owned business based in Minneapolis that holds a diverse group of businesses and business interests, since 2018. Our director since 2020 and a member of our Compensation Committee and Nominating and
Chairman of the Board, Apogee Enterprises, Inc., and President and Chief Executive Officer of Kennametal Inc., a global industrial technology leader delivering productivity through materials science, tooling and wear-resistant solutions to customers across the aerospace, earthworks, energy, general
Executive Vice President of Operation Excellence, Harman International Industries, Inc., a worldwide leader in the development, manufacture and marketing of high-fidelity audio products, lighting solutions and electronic systems, from 2014 to 2017. Our director since 2018.
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of EMCOR Group, Inc., a Fortune 500 leader in mechanical and electrical construction services, industrial and energy infrastructure and building services, since 2006. Our director since 2018 and a member of our Audit and Compensation Committees.
Group President of U.S. Utilities of Sempra Energy, a Fortune 500 energy services holding company, from 2018 to 2019. Our director since 2016. Chair of our Compensation Committee. From 1995 to 2017, Ms. Wagner served in several leadership positions for the Sempra Energy family of companies,


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Athens has been on my bucket list for ages. When I found out that TBEX was holding its Europeon conference in Athens I signed up immediately. Knowing that my time was limited in Athens, I signed up for a walking tour of central Athens offered by Athens Walking Tours. It was a five hours tour walking around some of the central highlights. Here's a quick overview of some of the classic sites in central Athens that we toured. These are the sites to see in Athens if you have just a few hours if, for example, you are on an Athens shore excursion.
The Arch of Hadrian, most commonly known in Greek as Hadrian's Gate, is a monumental gateway resembling – in some respects – a Roman triumphal arch.
The Temple of Olympian Zeus is known as the largest temple in Greece and perhaps the slowest construction project in all of history. The massive ancient building took nearly seven centuries to complete. The building originally began in 515 BC by order of the Peisistratids, the tyrants that ruled Athens at the time, but work stopped on the temple after their downfall in 510 BC. Work resumed in 175 BC with the patronage of the King Antiochus IV, but was halted 10 years later when he died. Under Emperor Hadrian, in AD 132, the temple was finally completed and dedicated to Olympian Zeus. Today, the temple is a ruin with only 15 of 104 huge columns still standing. The cella and two large statues which were in the center are long gone. The columns are still impressive, each rises 17 meters (57 feet) into the air.
The Theater of Dionysus is the birthplace of theater. It's where all the big plays opened. The theater was mostly used during their early spring festival in honor of Dionysus, god of theater, religious ecstasy, grape harvest, wine, and ritual madness; the plays were considered homage to him. The city leaders would pick a rich person each year and invite him to "sponsor" ie, underwrite the festival each year. Think of this theatre as Broadway, it's where everything opened.
Also called the "Herodeon", the Athens Odeon of Herode Atticus dates back to 161 AD, when it was built by Herodes Atticus to honor his wife Regilla, who had passed away a few years earlier. The structure was used as a theater in ancient Athens for various plays and music concerts, and it could seat up to 5,000 people.
The Parthenon is located on the Acropolis, a hill that overlooks Athens. The temple was built to honor the goddess Athena Parthenos, the patron of Athens, to thank her for protecting the city during the Persian Wars. Originally designed by the architects Iktinos and Kallikrates, the Parthenon originally held all kinds of treasures, but the main attraction was a huge statue of Athena that was made out of gold and elephant ivory, designed by the famous sculptor Pheidias. The Parthenon dates back to 447 BC, and it was actually built over another temple that is often referred to as the Pre-Parthenon.
The Erechtheum, Ionic temple of Athena is a temple on the Acropolis across from the Parthenon. It's most striking feature are the six columns. Each column is a draped female figure. It's made from Pentelic marble. It's construction dates back to c. 421 and 405 when the earlier temple to Athena was destroyed by the Persian invasion. The Erechtheum was once a sanctuary dedicated to Athena Polias, Erechtheus and Poseidon. Visitors could access the shrine to Athena by going through the eastern portico. The northern portico leads to the western cella. Its most striking feature are the six statues of maidens, called the Caryatids, which function as columns, supporting the roof. The temple was constructed between 421 and 404 BC next to its predecessor, which was destroyed by the Persians in 480 BC.
The Acropolis Museum is an archaeological museum focused on the findings of the archaeological site of the Acropolis of Athens. The base hovers over the excavation on more than 100 slender concrete pillars. This level contains the lobby, temporary exhibition spaces, museum store, and support facilities. The museum has an amazing collection. One of the most striking architectural aspects is that it sits above a live archeological site which can be seen through the glass floors on the bottom floor of the museum. You can just look down and see real ruins which they are still working on excavating.
The walking tour of Athens was amazing in that in a few hours, we covered so many great sites. If you only have a few hours, perhaps your cruise ship is in Athens for the day and you are setting up a private tour or excursion. these are the sites to see. Go shop elsewhere, Athens is a city where the sites are the thing.
Disclosure and Thank you. The Athens Walking Tour Company provided the tour free to myself and other travel bloggers. But the opinions expressed above are my own. A special thanks to Athens Walking Tour Company and especially to our tour guide, Aristotle, who is an expert in Athens archeology and who maintains his own blog on Greek History and Archaeology.
What's your favorite site in Athens?
My favourites in Athens were the Anafiotika neighbourhood, Acropolis, the Agora and the National Archaeologial Museum.
I didn't get the chance to visit Agora or the museum but they are going on my list now, thanks!
What is TBEX - Travel Blog Exchange?


Extra-hepatic portal vein obstruction and type 1 diabetes in a child: a co-incidence or causal association?
We report an eight year old boy who had extra hepatic portal vein obstruction (EHPVO) and developed type1 diabetes (type1 DM).
An eight year old boy presented with polyuria and polydipsia for 1 month. On examination, liver was not palpable but spleen was enlarged (6cm). Blood sugar was 460 mg/dl and type1 DM was confirmed. Ultrasonography showed portal vein cavernoma with normal liver and pancreas. Endoscopy revealed grade 2 esophageal varices. Thus diagnosis of EHPVO with portal hypertension was also confirmed. Other investigations including liver functions, hemogram, renal functions, serum amylase, lipid profile, thyroid function, Protein C, S and factor V Laiden estimation were normal. There was no history of abdominal infections like peritonitis, pancreatitis and umbilical sepsis or umbilical artery catheterization in neonatal period. C-peptide level was low (0.111 ng/ml) with weakly positive Islet cell antibodies, positive GAD 65 antibodies (> 2000 IU/ml). Tissue peroxidase and Tissue transglutaminase antibodies were negative. Patient is asymptomatic after endoscopic band ligation of esophageal varices and split-mix insulin regimen.
In the index case sequence of events seems to be portal vein thrombosis at least few years before, leading then to cavernoma formation and narrowing of portal vein leading to development of portal hypertension over the years which remained asymptomatic till child developed diabetes. Similar sequence was seen in two previously reported patients of EHPVO who went on to develop type 1 diabetes on follow up of few years . Only common condition which can cause both EHPVO and type1 diabetes is pancreatitis. However, there is no proof of pancreatitis in the index case. Authors in above report have also suggested that any disease in portal vein may incite inflammatory response in the pancreas . In above mentioned report of three cases, authors have reported 3 cases of Type1 DM in a cohort of 100 cases of EHPVO and in our cohort of around 500 type1 DM patients this is the first case identified to have EHPVO.To conclude, this is only the fourth case reported in literature, to have EHPVO who developed type1 DM. In the index case it looks more of a co-incidence rather than a causal association between the two entities.