All taught postgraduate courses offered at SEGi University come under the purview of the Graduate School of Business. Through its myriad programmes, you will gain a deep understanding of your subject matters, as you pursue your postgraduate path. With many specialisations in the MBA programme and industry partnerships in the Master in Financial Planning, our students find that their academic needs are well taken care of.
WHY SEGi FOR GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS?
A holistic Doctoral programme that shapes you to be all rounded, well informed and well-prepared to venture into the business world.
A Masters degree which enables students to obtain a broad range of financial planning skills to establish themselves as an expert in the field.
A Post Graduate programme providing an in-depth understanding of core business and management disciplines while enhancing the management skills and knowledge of students.
An MBA programme concentrating on global business to enable students to understand the global scenario and make their mark on the world canvas.
An MBA programme to equip students with relevant financial knowledge to be efficient and effective managers in the field.
An intensive MBA focussed on Marketing to develop a thorough understanding of the field and enable students to establish a strong foothold in the competitive industry.
An MBA programme which prepares students by developing the right skills to manage an organisation's workforce and cope up with a rapidly changing business environment.
The SEGi University Master of Business Administration (MBA) in General Management programme seeks to promote an understanding of core business and management disciplines.
The MBA in Global Business is designed to develop a theoretical understanding and critical awareness of the major strategic challenges facing today's global business.
There are a full collections of reference books on the topic of business and accounting at the library for students to utilise for assignments and examinations.


Hello everyone! I hope all of you are fine. I've been missing in action but I haven't felt well lately and it's hard for me to be active in social media and my blog when I'm sick, it's horrible feeling sick, right? I continued making my Design Teams assignments and today I will share with you some of my recent projects so if you have time check my others blog post.
I made this card using the new beautiful Christmas collection by Maja Design "A Gift For You". I chose the "Made by Me" for my base card paper and I cut out some tags, illustration and cards from "Santa With love paper".
I love this Santa's image from the "From Santa With Love" paper and I added some textures with stencil and molding paste.
I selected the hearts paper side to design my card, love the idea to mix hearts in a Christmas card. I added some tiny hearts and the word circle chippies by 2Crafty Chipboards.
I made both card using the "Send with Love" paper, love the beige, red, brown tones.
Your cards all look truly gorgeous! Just love them!


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Q: Classifying a degenerate point of a function of three variables Classify the critical point (1,$\frac{\pi}{2}$,0) of the function $f(x,y,z) = xsinz-zsiny$
I found the Hessian matrix but it had a zero determinant.
I tried looking at how the function behaves when setting z to different for values for instance:
When $z = y$ I get the function $f(x,y,y) = sin(y)(y-x)$ which I dont think is handy to me.
I have struggled to find many examples involving three variables and feel like I'm getting no where.
If anyone could help set me in the right direction I would really appreciate it.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Chhena (Hindi: छेन) ou em Oriya: ଛେନ) ou Chhana (Bengali: ছানা) é um queijo fresco, não amadurecido, amplamente usado na Índia e Bangladesh. Um queijo úmido e quebradiço, parecido com o paneer, é usado em sobremesas bem como para a rásgula (prato indiano á base de chhena, semolina e xarope de açúcar).

É confeccionado com um processo similar ao paneer, exceto que não é pressionado por muito tempo.

Muito popular em Orissa e Bengala. Feito de leite de búfalo d´água domesticado. As referências mais antigas deste queijo datam de 1400 a.C.

Em Orissa, o processo típico de fabricação é como o da ricota: o leite é fervido e então coalhado com um pouco de soro de leite. e a coagulação resultante é coletada e envolvida em gaze, apertado e esmagado, até ficar com consistência firme. A textura é então amassada, a fim de obter consistência muito macia e suave. Orissa é famosa por sobremesas que levam chhena, como a rásgula, o "rasaballi", o "kheeri" de chhena e o "poda" de chhena. Chhena é consumido por pessoas intolerantes à lactose.

Veja também
Paneer

Queijos da Índia

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Here it is a year and a half later since I wrote this about my dear Alicia as a guest on her blog. I feel I was in many ways still having difficulty with our new life of disability. I was the most difficult then for a few months that I ever was to her. Still, I loved her and thank God for His grace in getting us over the difficult places of life. Every word was true and I am reflecting how I only feel more strongly about her now. I thank God for her and for the Lord's work in both our lives. Alicia, you are still the woman I love, now more than ever.
The task of writing before me is challenging, almost intimidating. It's not that I lack inspiration. Alicia means more than life to me. It's just that I know that most of you who read this already love and appreciate her yourself. Much that I could say would be no revelation to you. As much as anyone I've ever known, she embodies what is called "friend". She collects friends like some of us collect junk. Her friendship is sincere, pleasant, can take perhaps more than most, and will last as long as you want it. But hey, you knew that. See what I mean.
← What If Your Healing Doesn't Come?


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O Castelo de Santiago do Cacém, no Alentejo, localiza-se na freguesia de Santiago do Cacém, Santa Cruz e São Bartolomeu da Serra, na cidade e município de Santiago do Cacém, no distrito de Setúbal, em Portugal.

Em posição dominante sobre uma modesta colina, vizinha à orla atlântica e ao porto de Sines, controlava a planície vizinha. Atualmente integra a Região de Turismo da Costa Azul.

O Castelo de Santiago do Cacém está classificado como Monumento Nacional desde 1910.

História

Antecedentes
A primitiva ocupação humana de seu local remonta a tribos Celtas. À época da romanização da Península Ibérica, a povoação então existente era denominada como Miróbriga, integrando a jurisdição conventual de Pax Júlia (atual Beja).

Ocupada pelos Alanos durante as primeiras décadas do , foi abandonada no século VI, tendo a população se deslocado para a colina vizinha, mais próxima ao mar. A nova povoação foi sucessivamente dominada pelos Visigodos e no começo do segundo decênio do século VIII, pelos Muçulmanos, quando passou a ser denominada como Kassen.

O castelo medieval
À época da Reconquista cristã da Península, Santiago do Cacém foi pela primeira vez tomada em 1158, no contexto da conquista de Alcácer do Sal pelas forças de D. Afonso Henriques (1112-1185). Do mesmo modo, seria recuperada entre 1190 e 1191 pelas forças do califa almóada Iacube Almançor quando retomaram aquela cidade.

Desde 1186 Sancho I de Portugal havia doado à Ordem de Santiago os domínios de Almada, Palmela e Alcácer do Sal. As duas primeiras haviam sido reconquistadas anteriormente a 1194; a última permaneceu em posse muçulmana até 1217. Neste ano, sob o reinado de D. Afonso II (1211-1223),Santiago Do Cacém passa definitivamente para a posse de Portugal, quando os seus domínios foram também doados aos cavaleiros da Ordem, passando esses monges guerreiros a ocupar-se da reconstrução das suas defesas. A partir deste período, a povoação passa a ser conhecida por seu atual topônimo: Santiago do Cacém, datando desta fase o seu primeiro foral.

Sob o reinado de D. Dinis (1279-1325), o castelo esteve na posse de  Vataça Láscaris, aia e amiga da rainha Santa Isabel, no período de 1315 até 1336, quando regressou aos domínios da Ordem de Santiago.

À época da crise de 1383-1385, foi uma das primeiras vilas a declarar partido pelo Mestre de Avis, uma vez que D. Fernando Afonso de Albuquerque, Mestre de Santiago, havia disponibilizado ao seu serviço, todos os recursos de sua Ordem.

Sob o reinado de Manuel I de Portugal recebeu Foral Novo (1512).

À época da Dinastia Filipina, Filipe II de Espanha doou o castelo aos duques de Aveiro (1594).

Da Guerra da Restauração aos nossos dias
A defesa da vila perdeu importância estratégica após a Guerra da Restauração, na segunda do século XVII. O domínio do castelo retornou à posse da Coroa em 1759. A partir de então o antigo castelo foi progressivamente abandonado e entrou em acentuado processo de ruína. As suas dependências foram utilizadas, no século XIX como cemitério da vila.

No século XX, foi classificado como Monumento Nacional por Decreto publicado em 23 de Junho de 1910. Mais recentemente, foram promovidas intervenções de consolidação e restauro a cargo da Direcção-Geral dos Edifícios e Monumentos Nacionais (DGEMN).

Características

O castelo apresenta planta aproximadamente retangular, conservando os seus muros ainda traços da fortificação muçulmana. As muralhas, ameadas, são reforçadas por dez torres de planta quadrangular e cubelos semi-cilíndricos, defendidas externamente por uma barbacã, também reforçada por cubelos. No conjunto destaca-se a torre de menagem.

No troço Sudeste da muralha encontra-se adossada a antiga Igreja Matriz de Santiago, onde se observam traços do primitivo estilo românico, do estilo gótico e de posteriores remodelações. Em seu interior destaca-se um grupo escultórico em relevo, representando "Santiago combatendo os Mouros". No pórtico sul destaca-se a decoração com motivos zoomórficos.

Na cidadela medieval subsistem vestígios da primitiva alcáçova.

As lendas do Castelo

A lenda da fundação
Ao tempo da ocupação muçulmana, era senhor desta região um mouro muito rico que tinha três filhos: dois rapazes e uma rapariga. Muito idoso, sentindo a morte próxima, chamou os filhos e comunicou-lhes o desejo de repartir os seus bens, pedindo-lhes que o fizessem harmoniosamente entre si. Segundo o costume, o rapaz mais velho tomou para si as terras que desejava; o segundo, procedeu do mesmo modo, com a parte restante. Restando ainda vasta extensão de propriedades e riquezas para a jovem, o idoso pai pergunta-lhe se ficara satisfeita com a parte que lhe tocara, ao que ela respondeu:
- Sim, meu pai, mas não desejo propriedades. Penso que é mais necessário termos um castelo para a nossa defesa. Para mim desejo apenas o terreno que se possa cobrir com a pele de um boi.
Diante da admiração do pai e dos irmãos, apresentaram-lhe a pele que pedira, para que pudesse demarcar a parte que reclamara da herança. A jovem fez então cortar a pele em finas tiras, e com elas delimitou o perímetro da área que pretendia. Ao terminar, sucederam-se três dias de forte nevoeiro, ao fim dos quais se dissipou: todos viram então, erguido por artes mágicas, o Castelo de Santiago do Cacém. (Suplemento Litoral Alentejano, Dezembro de 1998, adaptado.)

A lenda da princesa bizantina
Uma outra lenda narra que uma princesa, chamada Vataça Láscaris, fugiu do Mediterrâneo oriental, no comando de uma aguerrida esquadra por ela mesma armada. A princesa desembarcou em Sines e, à frente das suas tropas, marchou para o Sul, vindo a atacar uma povoação islâmica, governada por um senhor de nome Kassen. Dando-lhe combate, a princesa derrotou-o e matou-o, tomando-lhe o castelo no dia de Santiago (25 de Julho). Por essa razão, colocou à vila o nome de Santiago de Kassen. (Júlio Gil. Os Mais Belos Castelos de Portugal, adaptado.)

Galeria

Bibliografia
 Gil, Júlio; Cabrita, Augusto. Os mais belos castelos e fortalezas de Portugal (4ª ed.). Lisboa; São Paulo: Editorial Verbo, 1996. 309p. fotos, mapas. ISBN 972-22-1135-8

Ligações externas

 Inventário do Património Arquitectónico (DGEMN)
 Instituto Português de Arqueologia

Santiago do Cacém (freguesia)
Património edificado em Santiago do Cacém
Santiago Cacem
Monumentos nacionais no distrito de Setúbal
Lendas de Portugal
Castelos no distrito de Setúbal


The voice is a very powerful and personal part of your body as well as being a uniting instrument that all humans have access to. This duality is pretty easy to understand intellectually but much harder to exercise. That's why you have to practice. Below you will see some of the topics we have work with in these sessions.
Perhaps some of these topics resonate with your visions for your team? If so please get in touch and we can have a dialogue about how we could help in your context.


Q&A with founder Fi Douglas.
Fiona, a graduate of the prestigious Glasgow School of Art, set up bluebellgray with a clear vision and style in mind; her love of colour and all things floral combined with a desire to create unique painterly pieces.
WD It's obvious you adore colour, do you have a favourite?
but I love pink too, especially neon pink.
WD Do you have a favourite film and why?
it makes you dream of summer time and lazy warm afternoons.
WD What's your guilty pleasure/s?
FD Buying too many magazines and never quite getting round to reading them all, there's nothing better than 5 minutes peace with a cup of tea and a magazine. I'm also crazy for jackets, I blame living in Scotland, I definitely buy way too many of them.
FD A boat trip round the Turkish Lycian coast in the Mediterranean, it is my all time favourite way to spend a week. Sailing in and out of unspoilt coves, jumping off the boat into the water to swim, catching fish off the boat to have for lunch, stopping off at tiny remote villages and soaking up the setting sun while its still warm. The colours are so beautiful, the water is crystal clear and deep turquoise water and the blues skies seem to stretch on forever, its the ultimate in relaxation for me.
WD Who's your favourite artist/designer and why?
their paintings are just incredible, and the illustrator Quentin Blake is a hero of mine.
together is pure magic, she is truly incredible.
WD What book/s are you reading?
FD I'm in the process of painting and papering my whole house so I'm currently reading 'how to decorate' by Farrow & Ball, its so interesting, full of really good practical advice and has really made me think about every room and where the colour goes. And I'm also reading 'girlboss' by Sophie Amaruso, its a really inspiring read.
WD Did you always want to be a designer?
FD To be honest when I was really young I don't think I quite knew what a designer did, there was no pinterest or instagram in those days and I grew up in a small town in the Highlands so it was more difficult to know what was possible in those days. I loved reading books and poured over the illustrations, I knew I wanted to be an artist or an illustrator, and I felt that really strongly since I was about 6 or 7. I didn't really know I wanted to be a designer until art school.
WD How would you describe your own interior style?
FD Its colourful, modern and a little bit fearless. I really believe in following your heart when it comes to style.
WD Tell us something surprising about yourself?
FD When I was 17 I took myself off to Florence in Italy to learn to draw like the old masters and learn Italian - I had never even been on a plane before and there were no mobile phones! I didn't learn much Italian but it was an amazing experience and learning to draw in those amazing old studios was incredible.
WD As painting is your business what do you like to do to relax?
FD I love spending time with my husband and 2 young boys, they are aged 2 and 3 so its just about having fun with them at the moment. We go to the beach, picnics, walks and generally just hang out, weekends are our favourite. With running the business and my husband working a really busy job too I don't honestly have time for much else these days, but family time is definitely my relaxing time.
WD What's your favourite room in your home?
FD We have a huge open plan, kitchen, living, dining room, its where everything happens, playing, cooking, chatting, I love it.
WD Do you have a design of your own that's a favourite?
FD I've got a real soft spot for my 'abstract' design, it's still our most popular fabric design and its the design that people really started to recognise as 'bluebellgray'.
When I brought it out there was nothing else like it out there so it was really unusual and I was so happy and relieved that people liked it! Its turned into a bit of classic now which is really nice.


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The Role Played By Lobbying and Consulting Firms in Washington,…
Showing Gay Pride
Understanding the Role of Polls in Politics
What Does the Speaker of the House Do?
U.S. Constitution For Dummies Cheat Sheet
The Role Played By Lobbying and Consulting Firms in Washington, D.C.
How Washington Actually Works For Dummies
By Greg Rushford
Some interest groups lobby Washington on their own; they have in-house staffers who trek up to Capitol Hill and federal agencies to interface directly with decision makers and their staff. Other interest groups outsource; they hire outside experts with specific issue expertise or with access to particular congressional committees, members, and staff, or to agencies. In fact, some companies have dozens of firms helping them on any number of issues.
For example, Google has 20 or so firms lobbying on its behalf on issues as varied as Internet regulation, immigration quotas, and patent reform.
These outside lobbyists are often former members of Congress, former congressional staff members, or former political appointees to various agencies. They know how laws and policy are made, and they know the dynamics behind who is making them.
A 2005 report by the advocacy group Public Citizen found that since 1998 more than 43 percent of departing members of Congress have become lobbyists. This figure counts only those who are eligible: All congressmen face a one-year ban on federal lobbying immediately after leaving office.
More than half of departing Republicans (52 percent) became lobbyists, while about a third (33 percent) of departing Democrats did the same. The trend was slightly stronger among departing senators (50 percent) than departing representatives (42 percent).
In sum, there is no shortage of well-connected lobbyists willing to take up the cause for the right price. This situation can lead to awkward moments, especially for former elected officials. But many former legislators have proven that voting one way in Congress has little bearing on the positions they will advocate for when they join the private sector.
Considering the hundreds of millions of dollars that top corporations and trade associations allocate for lobbying over the years, it comes as little surprise that the largest lobbying firms earn tens of millions of dollars annually from their lobbying contracts.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Building Materials: Brick and Mortar, or Building like the Third Little Pig
Chicago is a city of brick. Partly due to the local availability of materials and (more) to the desire for permanence and relatively fire-proof buildings after that thing that happened in 1871. Our downtown may be mostly gleaming glass and steel skyscrapers but Chicago is a city of neighborhoods and those neighborhoods are built of brick – both commercial avenues and residential side streets. In the Courtyard Apartment Buildings, the Bungalows, and even in the sides and back of the Greystone Flats, brick is everywhere.
This building material has pretty much been around since there were building materials. Its most basic form can be created from mud blocks but the fired clay brick was used by the Romans and all through the dark ages. Today it has been standardized into a recognizable unit that has a consistent dimensions … and then bastardized into fake cladding veneers that can be mounted on a 2×4 wall.
How does Brick Work
For the most part, bricks are stacked. They can be used as decoration or as pavers but from a structural point of view bricks work by sitting firmly one on top of another. Unlike concrete, poured into any form the designer chooses, or wood, cut and fit to endless lengths, a brick is rarely used in anything but its basic dimension. That geometry – arranged so that three bricks stacked (with mortar) are equal to one brick set on end has been used in many configurations to create myriad shapes and forms of buildings without ever, changing itself. The modular nature of the brick its its great strength.
Here's some basic brick configuration terminology which you can use to impress your friends (or convince them you're a nerd) the next time you point out a brick building:
Note that each of the configurations above is made of the same brick (note: face bricks have on special finished side but still the same dimensions) so when you see a pattern in a structural brick wall with wide and narrow bricks, the narrow spaces represent bricks oriented back into the wall, not smaller bricks. Using them, many patterns can be created. Below are just a few of the most oft used patterns.
What does the Brick Want to BE?
One of the most famous quotes in architecture is a variation on the below. Architect Lous Kahn asking, "what does the brick want to be," to demonstrate the power of using materials in their most natural forms – using materials for what they are rather than as decorative finishes over hidden, unloved, structures.
"If you think of Brick, you say to Brick, 'What do you want, Brick?' And Brick says to you, 'I like an Arch.' And if you say to Brick, 'Look, arches are expensive, and I can use a concrete lintel over you. What do you think of that, Brick?' Brick says, 'I like an Arch.'
Louis Kahn – via the documentary My Architect
This conversation is at the head of much of modernism – the honesty of materials. We like to use materials as they are rather than misapplying them to conceal what they could be.
Why not build with brick?
Brick construction isn't ideal in areas with seismic activity – its nota good idea in California, for example. It also only works well up to a certain height of building. As cities began to grow up in the centers brick stopped being useful as a structure and started being reduced to just a cladding which makes it much less fun. That didn't prevent brick from being a great go-to building material in lower-lying areas. These days brick as become less common since many other methods are cheaper. Masons are less common – Illinois only has about 3,000 brick masons (and that number is second only to New York state).
Solid Masonry vs Cavity Wall Construction
Nowadays, brick buildings have lost a little of their character and charm due to the mass standardization of their construction. Modern bricks are more machined and less interesting to look at than their earlier counter parts. And very view buildings are constructed solely of brick anymore. It is much more common to use a cavity wall construction method where the structure of the building is supported with Concrete Masonry Unit blocks and only the outermost layer is decorated with brick. Here's a great explanation of the difference. While cavity wall systems have some advantages (they can be insulated, for instance) they have much less character than their solid masonry counterparts.
From our point of view it is less interesting to construct a new building of brick, using a clad or cavity wall system, than it is to remodel and preserve an existing brick building constructed in the old way.
Notable Brick Structures
The Chrysler Building in New York City is the worlds tallest steel-supported brick building but the tallest free standing brick structure isn't a building at all – its a smoke stack from the Anaconda Copper Company smelting operation, affectionately known as "the Stack". Its still standing 585 feet tall (that's the height of the Washington Monument minus its pyramid) with an inside diameter of 75 feet at the base in Montana and part of the state park system there.
So the next time you stroll down a Chicago street (or in particular if you turn down an alley) take note of the brick all around you.
Tags: brick, Building Materials, Construction, History, Structure, rennovation, Chicago Common Brick, Existing Buildings, Repair, masonry, tuck pointing, Maintenence, Brick homes, Cladding, Cavity Wall, exposed brick


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Tag Archives: vitalina varela
Blu-ray Review: Pedro Costa reaches new heights with 'Vitalina Varela,' out now from Second Run
October 1, 2020 Dusty Somers Leave a comment
Pedro Costa's films have always been marked by a deep empathy for the humans they depict — characters does not seem like the right word to describe them — and that's no different in his latest, Vitalina Varela. Among the film's many virtues is its ability to transfer its heart-in-throat compassion for its subject almost instantaneously. Costa's imagery has often been this mesmerizing, but never has he shot faces like this before; every close-up on Varela has a heart-wrenching effect.
Vitalina Varela feels like the apotheosis of Costa's work since he switched to shooting digitally and began creating collaborative truth/fiction hybrids in Lisbon's slums. Costa's ability to coax unexplainable beauty from the defects of MiniDV digital video in In Vanda's Room and Colossal Youth was astounding, but his work ascends to new heights in Vitalina Varela, hauntingly juxtaposing light and shadow in a seemingly unending series of striking tableaux. The tools may be enormously improved, but still, no one can make digital images look like Costa does.
Vitalina Varela expands on a moment from Costa's previous film, Horse Money, in which a Cape Verdean woman tells the story of trying to visit her estranged husband in Portugal, but arriving three days after his funeral. Costa met the mourning Varela while shooting Horse Money and incorporated elements of her real story into the segment. By expanding it here, he gives a larger platform to the most penetrating performance he's ever featured, in a film about grief, isolation and defiance in spite of disillusionment.
In a country that's not her own, in the neighborhood where she knows no one, in the room where the husband who she barely knew after he left her decades ago lived, Varela turns her sadness into a steely determination to make a place for herself. Like all Costa films, there's a tangible sense of space in Vitalina Varela, and the expressionistic lighting and tight camera set-ups communicate an almost suffocating heaviness. Scenes of Varela sitting alone are accompanied by a din of commotion, ambient sounds of conversation and activity teeming around her but not involving her. Interactions with her unfeeling new neighbors aren't any less lonely.
Still, Varela perseveres, and she finds some commiseration with a priest who's lost his congregation. Frequent collaborator and star of Horse Money and Colossal Youth Ventura plays the priest, in a departure from the version of himself he generally plays in Costa's films. The priest is unable to restrain his despair like Varela, lamenting openly about the loss of his own faith.
For her part, Varela keeps her pain close to her chest, but the film externalizes this deeply internal feeling in a way few films ever have. There are two grace notes in Vitalina Varela in which she visualizes a glimpse of Cape Verde, the gleaming sun and natural beauty a stark contrast to every image surrounding them. Whether nostalgia for the past or a dream of a future with a husband that will never come to be, these moments only amplify Vitalina Varela's grief. But maybe, just maybe, they're a glimpse of a reality that could come to be.
Second Run's region-free Blu-ray presents the film in its original 1.33:1 aspect ratio, with a 1080i transfer, which preserves the film's 25fps format. The gulf between my original viewing of the film on streaming versus a re-watch on Blu-ray was wide, with Second Run's impeccable transfer highlighting the hyper-reality of Costa's images. The deep, rich black levels seen on this disc are essential to appreciating the film's visual style, and a continued point in favor of discs over streaming, where black levels go to die a compressed, macroblocked death. Every other aspect of the transfer is just as impressive, from fine detail to clarity to sharpness. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track is dynamic and immersive, creating a great sense of the dense neighborhood the film was shot in. A 2.0 LPCM stereo track is also included.
Extras include a brief introduction by critic Chris Fujiwara, an hour-plus interview with Costa from a March 2020 screening in London, and Companhia, a short film about Costa's museum installation exhibit in Porto. The disc also includes a selection of trailers. Included in the package is a booklet with an essay by Daniel Kasman and another extensive interview with Costa, who never shies away from an opinion.
pedro costaSecond Runventuravitalina varela


A new French labor agreement blocks workers from using their work phones or having to respond to work emails from their boss after 6 p.m., according to a published report.
The move is part of a bid to protect the 35-hour work week that French workers had been enjoying until smartphones made it easier for energetic, ambitious or fidgety bosses to pester their staff members at any time of day or night.
French antipathy toward electronic devices extends to the highest levels.
On Wednesday, French President Francois Hollande imposed a ban on the use of mobile phones during cabinet meetings, the paper reported.


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Who's Your Fullback?
April 13, 2009 smithkovbusiness, fullbacks, Neal, NFL, sportLeave a comment
One of my favorite football players is a guy who's scored exactly 6 touchdowns in his career. He's never rushed for more than 175 yards in a season, nor caught more than 31 passes. By every conventional statistic measuring offensive players, he's a non-factor. And he's been told by 6 different teams that his services are no longer required.
And yet, for nearly his entire career (and in a league where the average player lasts less than 4 years he's lasted 16), an interesting thing happens to every team to joins. They start to win more.
The player is Lorenzo Neal, and he's a fullback.
A fullback basically serves as the bodyguard for a more highly paid, more famous, running back. The fullback is allowed to carry the ball, but very few do. Most often, when a play calls for the running back to run through a certain gap between linemen, the fullback's job is to get there first and knock the stuffing out of the defender in the best position to make a tackle.
When a fullback does his job correctly, the viewer at home will be treated to endless replays of the highly paid running back prancing untouched down the field while the announcers talk about his "breakaway speed." In success a fullback is invisible.
In the case of Lorenzo Neal, for most of his career, each time he'd arrive to a new team, that team's running back would suddenly get much better. The running back would, running untouched through the holes opened up by Mr. Neal, start appearing in Nike commercials, get a big new contract, appear on the cover of Madden. Then Mr. Neal would be released or traded and the running back would suddenly be normal again.
This all occurs to me because, having spent the last number of years as an book editor, for many of us in the background of the culture business, we are fullbacks.
If I did my job well on a given product, the end result would have my fingerprints on it, but not my name.
Each project was an opportunity for me to block for an author, and that could mean fighting to get the right kind of marketing support, convincing them that a particular change to the book's structure might more effectively tell their story, or keeping them on track when it felt like forces were aligning against them.
If I block well and a project is a touchdown, the satisfaction in watching the author get to do a touchdown dance is immense. If the result is a first down, I'm excited to take another shot. And if it's a tackle for a loss, I know I've overextended a metaphor.
Do you have a fullback? Are you one?


In the absence of adequate stores of food in the combs bees need to be fed with sugar syrup to ensure their survival. A feeder is, therefore, included among the essential initial items of equipment. Numerous types and sizes of feeder are available, but one should be chosen that will take at least half a gallon of syrup. The simplest, and in many ways the best type of feeder consists of a container filled with syrup, and closed with a perforated lid, which is then inverted over the feed hole of the hive. Such a feeder can be made from a jam jar honey can.* The plastic bucket feeder now on the market works on the same principle.


text:
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It used to be next to impossible for many adoptees to access information about their birth parents. Thanks to a variety of factors, including a more relaxed attitude toward open adoption and the availability of records on the Internet, it has gotten easier for adoptees to trace their roots. To learn more about how to use the Internet to search for adoption records, read on.
The Definitive Guide to Self-Empowered Adoptee Search covers it all, from how to make the decision to search (this is, after all, a very personal and emotional undertaking) to how to ferret out documents in your state. If you know the names of your birth parents, this site will tell you how to "connect the dots" by combing city directories, old yearbooks, marriage records, and obituaries.
BirthQuest serves as sort of a hub for adoptees and birth parents who are searching for one another. Adoptees (or birth parents) register for $20, and post information about themselves and the circumstances of their adoptions on the site so that they can be found in the event that the other party also is looking. The site is a bit difficult to navigate, but it boasts a lot of success stories, so it may be worth the $20.
The International Soundex Reunion Registry is a free service that works similar to BirthQuest, by matching people who are searching for one another. You can't register on the site, but must instead send a self-addressed stamped envelope.
The American Adoption Congress is an international organization devoted to truth in adoption. At this site, you can find out information not only on how to attend AAC functions, but your legal rights concerning access to your records.
Despite its controversial name, Bastard Nation is an organization "dedicated to the equal treatment and dignity of all adopted citizens." This site also has information on the legal rights of adoptees and birth parents, as well as a mailing list and chats.
The Adoptees Internet Mailing List allows adoptees to share search frustrations and reunion stories. At the mailing list's website, you can also find information on how to conduct a search. Especially useful is the search guides section. The Voices of Adoption Mailing List serves as a forum for those who want to talk about everything from their personal experiences to adoption reform. For more information on the specific topics covered on this mailing list, take a look at some sample topics. Go to the Voices of Adoption home page to read the latest adoption news, perspectives, and stories.
Julie's Adoption Reunion and Search Site is not only home to Julie's fascinating reunion with her birth mother, but she also lists lots of great search resources for fellow adoptees.
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AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS — DECEMBER 5, 2011 — Element Materials Technology has acquired Detroit Testing Laboratory (DTL) headquartered in Warren, Michigan. Given DTL's reputation as a leading product qualification testing provider, the announcement underlines Element's commitment to industry-leading service of the Aerospace & Defense and Transportation sectors.
The acquistion increases Element's blueprint in the United States, adding DTL's two original facilities in Michigan, one facility in Florida completed in 2009, and a 10,000 square-foot high-tech facility in Washington state that opened in 2011.
In 2007, DTL opened the first hybrid and electric vehicle battery testing lab in Detroit, Michigan, once again establishing itself as a pioneer in the automotive sector. Today, they continue to focus on emerging technologies that benefit U.S. industries, businesses and consumers.
Element is a global network of laboratories with experts specializing in materials testing, product qualification testing and failure analysis for the Aerospace & Defense, Oil & Gas, Power Generation, and Transportation sectors. Their team of 1000 scientists, engineers and technicians work in laboratories located throughout the U.S. and Europe. For complete Accreditations & Approvals and more information, please visit www.Element.com.
Element is a company with a global presence; its laboratories are staffed by experts specializing in materials testing, product qualification testing and failure analysis for the Aerospace, Oil & Gas and Transportation and Industrials sectors. Element's team of 1,800 scientists, engineers and technicians work in 51 laboratories located throughout the U.S. and Europe. For a complete list of Accreditations & Approvals and more information, please visit www.element.com.


Q: How does working with a "we buy (state) houses " investor work?
After talking with you I will be able to create a solution that will be a win/win for the both of us. I will make you an immediate cash offer to buy your house fast for cash.
I take into consideration the condition of the home, cost of repairs that need to be made, the current local market conditions here in , as well as the urgency of the situation. My experience gives me the ability to quickly make you an offer you can't refuse!
Q: Hey Brad Tervet, do you charge any fees for your services?


text:
Q: Transform 150,000 computer generated TeX images to LaTeX code The Encyclopedia of Mathematics is based on an encyclopedia that had its formulae written in TeX, which were saved as png images. On its way through the various publishers the original TeX source code was lost. Thus, the encyclopedia now contains a bunch of png images with computer generated TeX formulas. Example:
https://www.encyclopediaofmath.org/legacyimages/a/a130/a130040/a130040761.png.
I thus want to transform all these images (about 150,000 of them) back to TeX code. I have found the Mathpix API, however they are not open source. Do you know of any open source alternatives?


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text:
\section{Introduction}
\emph{Internet of Bio-NanoThings (IoBNT)} describes the vision of connecting the networks of biological-nanoscale functional entities, e.g., bacterial colonies, synthetic and natural cells, artificial implants, with each other and with cyber-networks, e.g., the Internet \cite{Akyildiz2015} \cite{Kuscu2015}. The IoBNT is expected to significantly extend the coverage of Internet of Things (IoT) and enable promising applications such as continuous health monitoring and bacterial sensor-actor networks inside human body.

Biological entities naturally communicate with each other by using molecules to encode, transmit and receive information. This \emph{Molecular Communication (MC)} paradigm has been extensively studied in the literature from a communication theoretical perspective to enable the use of the method also by synthetic cells and nanoscale devices and to develop future nanonetwork applications \cite{Akyildiz2013}. To connect these networks with conventional macroscale networks, thus, to realize IoBNT, requires the implementation of seamless interfaces between the molecular and cyber domain \cite{Akyildiz2015}. This points out the need for micro/nanoscale bio-cyber gateways which can decode the molecular messages, encoded into concentration or type of molecules, process and send the decoded information to a macroscale network node through a wireless link.
\begin{figure}[!t]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=7cm]{molreceiver2}
\caption{(a) Functional units at the molecular front end of an interface, and (b) SiNW FET-based molecular antenna.}
\label{fig:MCreceiver}
\end{figure}

In \cite{Kuscu2015b}, we have comprehensively reviewed the state-of-the-art electrical biosensing approaches in the literature to determine the most promising approaches for designing a molecular communication receiver at nanoscale. Based on that study, in this paper, we take the first step towards realizing the bio-cyber interfaces and propose the use of Silicon Nanowire (SiNW) Field Effect Transistor (FET) based biosensors, i.e., SiNW bioFETs, as molecular antennas which can detect the concentration of received molecules and transduce the molecular signals into electrical form. The transduction of biochemical signals into electrical signals, with a molecular antenna conceptually depicted in Fig. \ref{fig:MCreceiver}(a), would provide the gateway with the capabilities of fast signal processing, and connecting to the cyber-networks through electromagnetic wireless communications, probably operating in the THz-band.

BioFETs are similar to the conventional FETs with the exception of an additional biorecognition layer that is capable of selectively binding the target  molecules \cite{Poghossian2014}. This layer consists of receptor molecules tethered on the surface of the FET channel, and replaces the gate electrode of conventional FETs, as shown in Fig. \ref{fig:MCreceiver}(b). Binding of ligands with intrinsic charges to the surface receptors results in accumulation or depletion of the carriers on the semiconductor channel, and modulates the channel conductance and current. Hence, the output current becomes a function of the ligand density and the amount of ligand charges. Label-free, continuous and in situ sensing of molecules by not requiring any complicated processes, such as the use of macroscale equipments for readout and processing operations, makes BioFETs a natural candidate for the molecular antenna unit of a bio-cyber interface gateway.

Several ligand-receptor pairs, e.g., antibody-antigen, aptamer-natural ligand, natural ligand/receptors, have proven suitable for the operation of bioFETs \cite{Rogers2000}. Various types of semiconductors, such as SiNW, Carbon Nanotube (CNT) and graphene, can be used as the FET channel, i.e., transducer channel \cite{Poghossian2014}. However, the literature is currently dominated by the SiNW bioFETs due to easier and controllable construction of SiNWs, leading us to focus on SiNW bioFETs \cite{Nair2007}.

Although, there is a vast number of experimental works on SiNW bioFETs and a few theoretical studies focusing on the noise sources effective on bioFETs \cite{Deen2006} \cite{Rajan2013}, the literature is lack of a comprehensive model that can enable the theoretical analysis and optimization of these devices from communication perspective. In this study, we develop a deterministic and noise models for the biorecognition and transduction operations of SiNW bioFETs when utilized as molecular antennas exposing to concentration-encoded molecular messages. The model enables us to analytically derive the SNR of the electrical signal at the antenna output, and analyze the effect of various system parameters on the antenna's performance.

The remainder of the paper is organized as follows. In Section II, we present the deterministic and noise models for the antenna. The results of performance evaluation are given in Section III. Finally, Section IV concludes the paper.

\section{SiNW FET-Based Molecular Antenna Model}
\label{Numerical}
In this section, we develop a deterministic model for the signal flow from the capture of molecules by the biorecognition layer to the output current in the transducer channel. We also provide models for the main noise sources to derive the SNR of the antenna's output current. We assume that the molecular messages are represented by different levels of ligand concentration.

\subsection{Deterministic Model}
We begin with the dynamics between the information-carrying ligand molecules and the receptor molecules tethered on the surface of the NW transducer channel. In order to derive analytical expressions, we make the following assumptions:
\begin{itemize}
\item Diffusion of ligands are assumed to be fast enough such that the reception is not mass transport limited. This implies that the ligands are homogenously distributed in the reception space, i.e., in the vicinity of surface receptors, and each of the receptors is exposed to the same concentration of ligands.
\item Ligand concentration is assumed to be much higher than the surface receptor concentration such that the ligand concentration in the reception space remains almost constant despite the ligand-receptor reactions taking place.
\end{itemize}
These assumptions are prevalent in molecular communications studies \cite{Akyildiz2013}, and lead to a pseudo-first order ligand-receptor dynamics, where the first time derivative of the number of bound receptors $dN_B(t)/dt$ can be expressed through the following differential equation:
\begin{equation}
\frac{d N_B (t)}{dt} = k_+ c_L^R(t)(N_R - N_B(t)) - k_- N_B(t), \label{eq:dNb/dt}
\end{equation}
where $k_+$ and $k_-$ are the intrinsic association and dissociation rate constants of the receptor-ligand complex, respectively. $N_R$ is the total number of receptors on the bioFET surface, and $c_L^R(t)$ is the ligand concentration in the reception space.
\begin{figure}[!t]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=6cm]{circuit3}
\caption{Equivalent circuit model for the transducer of the SiNW FET-based MC receiver \cite{Deen2006} \cite{Spathis2015}. \emph{REF} denotes the reference electrode.}
\label{fig:Circuit}
\end{figure}

Since the mass transport effects on the reaction dynamics are neglected, we can assume that a concentration change in the bulk due to successively transmitted messages from the information source is immediately reflected to the concentration in the reception space. Therefore, we can neglect the transient phase between different levels of ligand concentration such that $c_L^R(t) = c_i$ for $t \in [t_i, t_i+1/B)]$, where $c_i$ is the ligand concentration level in the reception space corresponding to the $i$th message, $t_i$ is the transition time from the $(i-1)$th message to the $i$th message in the reception space, and $1/B$ is the symbol duration with $B$ being the symbol transmission rate. In other words, the biorecognition layer is assumed to be exposed to a constant concentration $c_i$ representing the $i$th symbol for $t \in [t_i, t_i+1/B)]$.

Given the initial condition $N_B(t_i-\epsilon) = N_{B,i-1}$ with $\epsilon \rightarrow 0$, the solution of the differential equation \eqref{eq:dNb/dt} can be given as \cite{Berezhkovskii2013}
\begin{multline}
N_B(t) = N_{B,i}^{ss} + \left( N_{B,i-1} - N_{B,i}^{ss} \right) e^{-(k_+ c_i + k_-) (t-t_i)}  \\ \text{for}\ t \in [t_i, t_i+1/B),
\end{multline}
where $N_{B,i}^{ss}$ is the number of receptors at steady-state, i.e., when $dN_B(t)/dt = 0$. We infer from this equation that although the ligand concentration level immediately changes in the reception space, it takes a certain time for the receptors to adapt the concentration level of the new message. The time to reach steady-state is governed by the reaction timescale $\tau_B = (k_+ c_i + k_-)^{-1}$; thus, for higher ligand concentrations, the adaptation time of the recognition layer decreases. The number of occupied receptors at steady-state is given by
\begin{equation}
N_{B,i}^{ss} = \frac{k_+ c_i}{k_+ c_i + k_-} N_R = \frac{c_i}{c_i + K_D} N_R. \label{ss}
\end{equation}

We assume that the gateway samples the receptor states at steady-state; thus, the number of occupied receptors corresponding to the $i$th message can be given as $N_{B,i} = N_{B,i}^{ss}$.

The charged ligands bound to the surface receptors induce opposite charges on the gate of bioFET. The mean amount of charge generated for the $i$th message is given by $Q_i = N_{B,i} \, N_e \, q_{eff}$, where $N_e$ is the number of free electrons per ligand molecule. $q_{eff}$ is the mean effective charge that can be reflected to the gate by a single electron of a ligand molecule in the presence of Debye screening. The mean effective charge of a free ligand electron as observed by the transducer is degraded as the distance between the ligand electron and the transducer increases. The relation is given by $q_{eff} = q \times exp(-r/\lambda_D)$, where $q$ is the elementary charge, and $r$ is the average distance of ligand electrons in the bound state to the transducer's surface \cite{Rajan2013}, which is assumed to be equal to the average length of receptor molecules, i.e., $r = L_R$. $\lambda_D$ is the Debye length which quantizes the ionic strength of the solution according to the following relation
\begin{equation}
\lambda_D = \sqrt{\frac{\epsilon_R k_B T}{2 N_A q^2 c_{ion}}}, \label{eq:debye}
\end{equation}
where $\epsilon_R$ is the dielectric permittivity of the fluidic medium, $k_B$ is the Boltzmann's constant, $T$ is the temperature, and $N_A$ is Avogadro's number, $c_{ion}$ is the ionic concentration of the medium \cite{Rajan2013}.

The induced charges on the gate are translated into the gate voltage through the equivalent circuit of the transducer \cite{Deen2006} \cite{Spathis2015}, which is demonstrated in Fig. \ref{fig:Circuit}. By neglecting the current through $R_{layer}$, i.e., resistance of the layer of bound ligands, which is on the order of tens of $G \Omega$s \cite{Spathis2015} \cite{Bang2008}, the gate voltage resultant from the bound ligands can be written as $V_{G,i} = Q_i/C_{eq,i}$, where the overall capacitance of the equivalent circuit $C_{eq,i}$ is expressed by
\begin{multline}
C_{eq} = \left((C_{ox} W L)^{-1} + (C_{s} W L)^{-1}\right)^{-1}\\ + \left(C_{rec}^{-1} + C_{layer,i}^{-1} + (C_{dl} W L)^{-1}\right)^{-1}.
\end{multline}
Here, $C_{ox}$, $C_{s}$ and $C_{dl}$ are the oxide, the semiconductor, i.e. SiNW, and the double layer capacitances per unit area, respectively; $C_{rec}$ and $C_{layer,i}$ are the capacitances of the receptor layer and the layer of bound ligands when the $i$th message is received, respectively; and $W$ and $L$ are the width and length of the transducer's active region. $C_{ox} = \epsilon_{ox}/t_{ox}$ with $\epsilon_{ox}$ and $t_{ox}$ being the permittivity and the thickness of the oxide layer. $C_{rec} = N_R \times C_{mol,R}$, $C_{layer,i} = N_{B,i} \times C_{mol,L}$ with $C_{mol,R}$ and $C_{mol,L}$ being the capacitance of a single receptor and a single ligand molecule, respectively.

The induced gate voltage is reflected into a variation in the current flowing through the transducer channel $I_{M,i} = I_{S,i} + I_0$, where $I_0$ is the bias current which is assumed to be constant and independent of the gate voltage $V_{G,i}$ \cite{Rajan2013-2}; and $I_{S,i}$ is the current resultant from the bound ligands during the reception of $i$th message. We are interested in $I_{S,i}$ since it is modulated by ligand concentration: $I_{S,i} = V_{G,i}\, g_m$, where $g_m$ is NW channel transconductance, expressed by
\begin{equation}
g_m = (W/L) \mu_{eff} C_{ox} V_{DS}, \label{eq:conductance}
\end{equation}
where $\mu_{eff}$ is the effective carrier mobility in the transducer channel, and $V_{DS}$ is the drain-to-source voltage, which is assumed to be held constant \cite{Rajan2013-2}. The processor unit in the receiver uses the signal $I_{S,i}$, which is plotted in Fig. \ref{fig:response} for the parameters in Table \ref{table:parameters}, to infer the incoming ligand concentration $c_i$; and thus the molecular message $i$, based on a predefined CSK scheme.

\begin{figure}[!t]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=6cm]{response}
\caption{Mean output current $I_S$ of molecular antenna for varying $c_i$, as simulated using the parameters in Table \ref{table:parameters}.}
\label{fig:response}
\end{figure}

\subsection{Noise Model}
We investigate the contributions of three main noise sources, which shows zero-mean additive behavior on the resultant current signal:
\begin{inparaenum}[\itshape i\upshape)]
\item receptor noise which is originating from the stochastic ligand-receptor bindings on the biorecognition layer;
\item thermal noise resulting from the stochastic movement of free electrons on the bound ligands; and
\item $1/f$ noise of the transducer, which is intrinsic to all electronic devices, and caused by the defects and traps on the transducer channel.
\end{inparaenum}

\subsubsection{Receptor Noise}
The number of occupied receptors fluctuates at any time, even at the steady-state, due to the stochastic receptor-ligand binding dynamics. To derive the resultant current noise associated with the binding fluctuations, we need to express the dynamics with a stochastic model. The pseudo-first order stochastic dynamics is well described by the following Markov Chain (MC):
\begin{equation}
\ce{0 <=>[\alpha_0][\beta_1] 1 <=>[\alpha_1][\beta_2] 2\, \, \, \ldots \, \, \,N_R - 1 <=>[\alpha_{N_R-1}][\beta_N] N_R},
\end{equation}
where the states of the MC are denoting the number of occupied receptors. The state-dependent transition rates are given as $\alpha_n = (N_R - n) k_+ c_i$ and $\beta_n = n k_-$. The corresponding forward equations can be written as \cite{Berezhkovskii2013}
\small
\begin{equation}
  \begin{aligned}
  \frac{dP_0(t)}{dt} &= -\alpha_0 P_0(t) + \beta_1 P_1(t),  \\
  \frac{dP_n(t)}{dt} &= -\alpha_{n-1} P_{n-1}(t) - (\alpha_n + \beta_n) P_n(t) + \beta_{n+1} P_{n+1}(t), \\
  \frac{dP_{N_R}(t)}{dt} &= -\alpha_{N_R-1} P_{N_R-1}(t) + \beta_N P_N(t),
  \end{aligned}
\end{equation}
\normalsize
where $P_n(t)$ is the probability of being in state $n$ at time $t$. Since the receiver samples the receptor states at steady-state, we are interested in the steady-state distribution $P_n^{ss}$, which can be calculated by setting all time derivatives to zero:
\begin{equation}
P_n^{ss} = \frac{N_R!}{n!(N_R-n)! } \frac{(k_+ c_i)^n k_-^{N_R - n}}{(k_+ c_i + k_-)^{N_R}}.
\end{equation}
The mean and variance of the number of occupied receptors at steady-state are then given by \cite{Berezhkovskii2013}
\begin{equation}
\overline{N_{B,i}} = \sum_{N_{B,i}=0}^{N_R} N_{B,i} P_{N_{B,i}}^{ss} = \frac{k_+ c_i}{k_+ c + k_-} N_R, \label{eq:mean}
\end{equation}
\begin{equation}
Var(N_{B,i}) = \overline{N_{B,i}^2} - (\overline{N_{B,i}})^2 = \frac{k_- k_+ c_i}{(k_+ c_i + k_-)^2} N_R. \label{eq:variance}
\end{equation}
Equation \eqref{eq:mean} is exactly the same as the steady-state solution \eqref{ss} of the deterministic differential equation \eqref{eq:dNb/dt}. The autocorrelation function for the stationary fluctuations at the steady-state can be approximated with a single exponential \cite{Bialek2005}:
\begin{equation}
R(\tau) = Var(N_{B,i}) e^{-\frac{\tau}{\tau_B}}, \label{eq:acf}
\end{equation}
where the characteristic timescale of ligand-receptor binding $\tau_B = (k_+ c_i + k_-)^{-1}$ is also being the correlation time of binding noise. The Fourier Transform of \eqref{eq:acf} gives the Power Spectral Density (PSD) of the fluctuations:
\begin{equation}
S_{\Delta N_B}(f) = Var(N_{B,i}) \frac{2 \tau_B}{1+(2 \pi f \tau_B)^2}. \label{eq:SNb}
\end{equation}

Given the noise PSD for number of bound receptors, the PSD of fluctuations in voltage $V_g$ can be written as
\begin{equation}
S_{\Delta V_G^B}(f) = S_{\Delta N_B}(f) V_m^2, \label{eq:VGB}
\end{equation}
where $V_m = (N_e q_{eff})/C_{eq,i}$ is the mean deviation in the gate voltage resulting from binding of a single ligand. As can be inferred from Equations \eqref{eq:SNb} and \eqref{eq:VGB}, the gate voltage noise PSD associated with the binding fluctuations is Lorentzian with a critical frequency of $f_B = \tau_B^{-1}$.

\subsubsection{Thermal Noise}
Random diffusion of free electrons results in thermal noise on the resistive layer of bound ligands. Since the extent of the field effect strongly depends on the distance of the stimulating ligand electrons to the NW surface due to the Debye electrolyte screening, the uncertainty in the location of electrons are reflected into fluctuations in the gate voltage of bioFET. Using the thermal noise model derived in \cite{Spathis2015}, the PSD of voltage fluctuations on the layer of bound ligands can be expressed by $S_{\Delta V_{R_{layer,i}}^T} = 4 k T R_{layer,i}$, where $R_{layer,i}$ is the resistance of the layer of bound ligands when the $i$th message is received, $k$ is the Boltzmann constant, $T$ is the temperature. The fluctuations in the voltage across $R_{layer,i}$ is reflected into the gate voltage through the RC network shown in Fig. \ref{fig:Circuit}. Using the transfer function of the RC network, the PSD of the resultant thermal noise contribution on the gate voltage can be written as \cite{Spathis2015}
\begin{equation}
S_{\Delta V_G^T}(f) = \frac{S_{\Delta V_{R_{layer,i}}^T}}{ 1 + \left(2 \pi R_{layer,i} (C_{layer,i}+C_{eq}') f\right)^2 },
\end{equation}
where
\small
\begin{equation}
C_{eq}' = \left((C_{dl}WL)^{-1} + C_{rec}^{-1} + (C_{ox}WL)^{-1} + (C_sWL)^{-1}\right)^{-1}.
\end{equation}
\normalsize

\begin{figure}[!t]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=7cm]{PSDtotal}
\caption{Noise PSD for SiNW FET-based molecular antenna including the contributions of different types of noise sources.}
\label{fig:PSDtotal}
\end{figure}

The thermal noise associated with the ligand electrons, which is the PSD of white noise colored by the RC network transfer function, has also a Lorentzian PSD with critical frequency $f_T = \left(R_{layer,i} (C_{layer,i} + C_{eq'})\right)^{-1}$.

\subsubsection{Flicker Noise}

As in all transistor devices, low-frequency operation of bioFET-based molecular antenna is suffered from $1/f$ noise. Although the origin of flicker noise and its full analytical model are still open issues, there are several models, including the well-known Hooge's model, that approximate the noise power in frequency domain \cite{Rajan2013-2}.

In this paper, we use the number fluctuation model, which provides a more accurate approximation compared to Hooge's model, attributing the source of $1/f$ noise to the random generation and recombination of charge carriers due to the defects and traps in the transducer channel \cite{Rajan2013-2}. Fluctuations due to random generation and recombination of individual charge carriers, which follow Lorentzian spectrum, sum up to construct $1/f$ noise. The model expresses the resultant gate voltage-referred noise PSD as follows,
\begin{equation}
S_{\Delta V_G^F}(f) = \frac{\lambda k T q^2 N_t}{W L C_{ox}^2 f},
\end{equation}
where $\lambda$ is the characteristic tunneling distance, and $N_t$ is the trap density of the NW channel. $1/f$ noise is independent of the received signals, and shows an additive behavior on the overall gate voltage fluctuations \cite{Spathis2015}. Theoretically, $1/f$ noise does not have a low frequency cutoff, and has infinite power at zero frequency. However, in experimental studies with a finite measurement time, a finite variance for $1/f$ noise is observed. The reason is related to the low frequency cutoff set by the observation time $T_{obs}$ \cite{Niemann2013}. Considering that the received molecular signals are at the baseband, to be able to calculate the total noise power, we assume one-year operation time for the antenna such that the low cutoff frequency is $f_L = 1/T_{obs} \approx  3 \times 10^{-8}$Hz. At frequencies lower than $f_L$, the noise is assumed to show a white noise behavior, i.e., $S_{\Delta V_G^F}(f) = S_{\Delta V_G^F}(f_L)$ for $f < f_L$.

\subsubsection{Total Noise Power and SNR}
The receptor noise resultant from slow receptor-ligand dynamics and the thermal noise resultant from the fast electron diffusion can be assumed uncorrelated with each other, because they are largely separated in the frequency domain \cite{Spathis2015}. Therefore, including the additive $1/f$ noise, the overall PSD of the gate voltage referred noise can be expressed as
\begin{equation}
S_{\Delta V_G}(f) = S_{\Delta V_G^B}(f) + S_{\Delta V_G^T}(f) + S_{\Delta V_G^F}(f).
\end{equation}
Gate voltage fluctuations are reflected into channel current noise by $S_{\Delta I_S}(f) = S_{\Delta V_G}(f) g_m^2$, where the transconductance $g_m^2$ is given in \eqref{eq:conductance}. Assuming a resistance of 1$\Omega$ for the channel, SNR for the antenna output can be computed by
\begin{equation}
SNR = \frac{I_S^2}{\int_{-\infty}^{\infty} S_{\Delta I_S}(f) df}. \label{eq:SNRI}
\end{equation}

\begin{figure}[!t]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=6.75cm]{PSD_ci}
\caption{Noise PSD with varying ligand concentration $c_i$.}
\label{fig:PSDci}
\end{figure}

\section{Performance Evaluation}
In this section, we provide the results of the simulations for the deterministic and noise model under different settings. The default values for the main system parameters used in the simulations are listed in Table \ref{table:parameters}, where the sources of the data are also noted. The parameter values are selected assuming that the MC is exposed to the physiological conditions, and the receptor-ligand pairs correspond to antigen-antibody, aptamer-DNA, or aptamer-protein pairs.

\begin{figure*}[!t]
 \centering
   \subfigure[]{
 \includegraphics[width=4.2cm]{SNRci2}
 \label{fig:SNRci}
 }
  \subfigure[]{
 \includegraphics[width=4.2cm]{SNRcion2}
 \label{fig:SNRcion}
 }
    \subfigure[]{
 \includegraphics[width=4.2cm]{SNRLr2}
 \label{fig:SNRLr}
 }
  \subfigure[]{
 \includegraphics[width=4.2cm]{SNRNt2}
 \label{fig:SNRNt}
 }
 \caption{SNR with (a) varying concentration $c_i$ of information-carrying ligands, (b) varying ionic strength $c_{ion}$, (c) varying receptor length $L_R$, and (d) varying trap density $N_t$ in the transducer channel.}
 \label{fig:SNRcicion}
 \end{figure*}

We first evaluate the PSD of resultant current noise given in Fig. \ref{fig:PSDtotal}. As is seen, the frequency domain is virtually divided into three regions in each of which one of the three noise sources is prevailing. At low frequencies $f \ll f_B \sim 2$Hz, $1/f$ noise is dominating over the receptor and thermal noise. As the frequency gets higher, the receptor noise becomes dominant around $f_B$. The critical frequency of the thermal noise $f_T$ will be on the order of $10$kHz for the settings given in Table \ref{table:parameters}. At frequencies higher than $10$Hz, the power of receptor and $1/f$ noise substantially attenuates, and the noise is dominated by the contribution of the thermal noise.
\begin{table}[!b]\scriptsize
\centering
\caption{Simulation Parameters}
\begin{tabular}{ l | l }
   \hline \hline
   Width and length of active region ($W \times L$) & $0.1 \times 5$ ($\mu m \times \mu m$) \cite{Rajan2011a} \\ \hline
   Tunneling distance ($\lambda$) & $0.05$ ($nm$) \cite{Deen2006} \\ \hline
   Temperature ($T$) & $300$ ($K$) \\ \hline
   Relative permittivity of oxide layer ($\epsilon_{ox}/\epsilon_0$) & $3.9$ \cite{Deen2006} \\ \hline
   Thickness of oxide layer ($t_{ox}$) & $17.5$ ($nm$) \cite{Deen2006} \\ \hline
   Trap density ($N_t$) & $2.3 \times 10^{24}$ ($eV^{-1} m^{-3}$) \cite{Rajan2011a} \\ \hline
   Effective mobility ($\mu_{eff}$) & $16 \times 10^{-3}$ ($m^2 V^{-1} s^{-1}$) \cite{Deen2006} \\ \hline
   Drain-source voltage ($V_{DS}$) & $0.1$ ($V$) \cite{Rajan2013-2} \\ \hline
   Relative permittivity of medium ($\epsilon_R/\epsilon_0$) & $78$ \cite{Hediger2012} \\ \hline
   Ionic strength of medium ($c_{ion}$) & $70$ ($mol/m^3$) \cite{Okada1990} \\ \hline
   Average number of electrons in a ligand ($N_e$) & $3$ \cite{Fritz2002} \\ \hline
   Length of receptor ($L_R$) & $4$ ($nm$) \cite{Song2008} \\ \hline
   Binding rate ($k_+$) & $0.2 \times 10^{-18}$ ($m^3 s^{-1}$) \cite{Akyildiz2013} \\ \hline
   Unbinding rate ($k_-$) & $10$ ($s^{-1}$) \cite{Akyildiz2013} \\ \hline
   Ligand concentration in reception space ($c_i$) & $K_D$  \\ \hline
   Concentration of receptors on the surface ($c_R$) & $10^{16}$ ($m^{-2}$) \cite{Rajan2013-2} \\ \hline
   Molecular resistance ($R_{mol,L}, R_{mol,R}$) & $4 \times 10^{14}$ ($\Omega$) \cite{Bang2008} \\ \hline
   Molecular capacitance ($C_{mol,L}, C_{mol,R}$) & $2 \times 10^{-20}$ ($F$) \cite{Shorokhov2011} \\ \hline
   Capacitance of dielectric layer ($C_{dl}$) & $5 \times 10^{-2}$ ($F/m^2$) \cite{Landheer2005} \\ \hline
   Capacitance of silicon ($C_s$) & $2 \times 10^{-3}$ ($F/m^2$) \cite{Landheer2005} \\ \hline
\end{tabular}
\label{table:parameters}
\end{table}

As the bandwidth of the received signal is expected to be at most on the order of Hz \cite{Akyildiz2013}, it would be sufficient for the gateway to sample the receptor states at not more than $10$Hz. In this frequency range, we can expect that only $1/f$ and receptor noise would be effective on the antenna performance.

The noise PSD is also analyzed for varying ligand concentration (normalized to dissociation constant $K_D$) corresponding to different symbols in the CSK scheme. As can be seen from Fig. \ref{fig:PSDci}, the contribution of $1/f$ noise dominating in mHz region does not vary remarkably as the input concentration changes; however, the contribution of receptor noise becomes more prevailing in lower concentrations. This is originating from the fact that the variance of number of occupied receptors at steady-state increases for lower ligand concentrations as can be inferred from \eqref{eq:variance}. The figure also clearly demonstrates that the critical frequency of the receptor noise $f_B$ increases for higher concentrations as expected. Negligible contribution of thermal noise is not evident in this frequency range.

Next, we investigate the effect of different parameters on the SNR of the antenna output, which is defined in \eqref{eq:SNRI}. SNR for varying ligand concentration corresponding to different symbols is plotted in Fig. \ref{fig:SNRci}, which clearly shows that SNR is significantly improved with increasing concentration. However, it begins to saturate at around $25$dB due to the saturation of the surface receptors for high ligand concentrations.

The effect of ionic strength of the fluidic medium on the output SNR is given in Fig. \ref{fig:SNRcion}. When the ionic concentration increases above 100mol/m$^3$, the Debye length decreases below 1nm resulting in substantial screening of ligand charge. Therefore, SNR significantly decreases with increasing ionic strength. Physiological conditions imply ionic concentrations higher than 100mol/m$^3$. To compensate the attenuation of SNR, receptors with lengths comparable to Debye length should be selected. We also investigate the effect of receptor length on the SNR when the ionic strength is 70mol/m$^3$ which makes the Debye length equal to 1.15nm. As seen in Fig. \ref{fig:SNRLr}, SNR in dB decreases linearly as the receptor length increases.

Lastly, we analyze the SNR for varying trap density which is inversely proportional to the purity of the transducer channel. Trap density increases the $1/f$ noise, which is very effective in the frequency range of the antenna's operation. As is shown in Fig. \ref{fig:SNRNt}, the effect of trap density on the $1/f$ noise, and thus, on the SNR, is evident especially for $N_t > 10^{24}$eV$^{-1}$m$^{-3}$. Fortunately, experimentally reported trap densities for SiNW bioFETs are on the order of $10^{22}$eV$^{-1}$m$^{-3}$ \cite{Rajan2011a}.

\section{Conclusion}
In this paper, we proposed the use of SiNW bioFETs as molecular antennas to realize bio-cyber interfaces between molecular and macroscale networks for the ultimate aim of enabling the IoNBT. We developed deterministic and noise models for SiNW FET-based molecular antennas to provide a theoretical optimization framework. The results of the performance evaluation revealed high SNR values at the antenna output for common system settings, and justified our proposal of utilizing SiNW bioFETs as molecular antennas.

\section*{Acknowledgment}
This work was supported in part by the European Research Council (ERC) under grant ERC-2013-CoG $\#616922$.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


(1) Ratio (i=Nin/Nout). (2) Ratio 9 and 81 are only provided for PSIIR nad PAIIR series. (3) Backlash is measured at 2% of Nominal Output Torque T2N (4) Applied to the output shaft center at 100 rpm (5) These values are measured by gearbox with ratio = 10 (1-stage), ratio = 100 (2-stage) at 3,000 rpm without load. (6) For continuous operation, the service life time is less than 10,000 hrs.
(1) Dimensions are relating to motor interface. Please contact Candy Controls for details.


Tell me, what inspired you to write about your latest book?
I originally wrote these stories over 20 years ago to entertain my children on wet holiday afternoons in our caravan. Over the years I occasionally wondered if they might be publishable, and as it turned out they are.
This is my first book. I have not tried to look at these because I didn't know such things were there, but I may well do.
Is there anything you wouldn't write about?
I would only write about things I know about and am comfortable with, so I would not write about (for example) sci-fi or fantasy, because I know nothing about them. These stories are semi-biographical.
How hard do you find it to keep within an age category?
It never occurred to me! I wrote these to match the capabilities of my own children at the time, then aged about 7 and 4. Others I have written since I simply kept to the same style.
I am a pharmacist by profession, and I run my own company as a Quality Assurance Consultant in the pharmaceutical industry. Writing these stories was a holiday activity, becoming a hobby. If it ever takes off and becomes full time – well, we will have to wait and see!
All sorts! I like Jeffery Archer, John Grisham, Frederick Forsyth, Lee Child, Len Deighton, Bill Bryson, Mary Stewart, depending on how the mood takes me.
Towards writing? These were to amuse 2 small children and to have a bit of fun myself in the process. Now it is a bit of escapism / reminiscence really.
One of the cats walking across my keyboard – which they do with amazing regularity!
A lot. The publisher's artist drew several outline ideas and sent me them to select one. They then coloured it in and sent it for approval. I asked if they could amend it a bit, which they did. I had to approve it before it went for printing.
Yes. I cannot remember a time when I could not read words or music. To my mother's delight I read everything I could lay my hands on. I LOVED the Famous Five, the Secret Seven and the Chalet School books. Mother was a librarian, only giving up work when I was born. My father was a clergyman. Our house was full of books and they said I could read anything in the house outside the study (Dad's books were all very theological). I read Robert Neill's "Mist over Pendle" when I was about 12, and met him several times. He was a friend of my grandfather. Mother had signed copies of all his books, which we now have.
Any which has real books! Kindles are all very well but it is not like a real book. My all-time favourite is either Waterstone's on Trafalgar Square or Blackwell's (I think it is) up somewhere around Gower St in London.
I LOVE second hand book stalls or shops! I am looking for the Mary Stewart adventure / romances at the moment, (not the Arthurian series, I don't like those) but I think they are out of print so second hand book shops are my only hope. My mother had all of them but I think they must have got on the wrong heap accidently when we cleared her house out after she died.
No. I don't have specific writing days.
I have just finished Bill Bryson's "Road to Little Dribbling" which was very funny, but I think not as good as "Notes from a Small Island." Not sure what is next – it might be a John Grisham or a Mary Stewart – I found "Airs Above the Ground" in a local market recently.


The new Bedrock UPS.500 is an Ethernet-enabled cyber secure 24 V dc 12 Ah Lithium Ion Polymer technology UPS, providing real-time monitoring and communication capabilities that enable seamless and secure integration into ICS applications that require high availability.
San Jose, Calif. – Bedrock Automation has introduced a cyber secure, standalone Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) for industrial control system applications. The Bedrock® UPS.500 features powerful onboard electronics that enhance the performance advantages of lithium ion (Li-Ion) polymer battery technology, manage Bedrock's patented deep authentication cyber protection and enable secure Ethernet communications. A sealed NEMA4x aluminum housing provides protection from cyber tampering and enables use amidst the most challenging field installations.
"As industrial devices get more intelligent, they also become more vulnerable to disruption. When we set out to redefine the industrial control system for the next generation of industrial operations, it was clear that we needed battery backup far more capable and elegant than anything currently on the market. By drawing on our deep process automation, electronics and cyber security expertise, we built the Bedrock UPS.500 and are pleased to offer it now for use with any control system," said Albert Rooyakkers, CTO and Vice President of Engineering for Bedrock Automation.
The Bedrock UPS.500 provides 24 V DC 12Ah of power for any DCS, PLC, PAC or SCADA RTU application. An onboard secure microcontroller controls the Li-Ion polymer battery cell-by-cell, augmenting the high density, rapid charging, extreme temperature tolerance and extended life that characterizes Li-Ion technology. Compared to traditional systems using lead acid batteries, the Bedrock UPS.500 extracts all of the advantages of lithium energy storage including extreme energy density and significant improvements in size, weight, and useful life. The UPS.500 also recharges 10 times faster than conventional lead acid battery system.
"Brownouts and other power interruptions can result in costly lost production, jeopardize quality and even introduce safety hazards. That is why companies invest so heavily in large backup systems, which can take up valuable floor space and require expensive air conditioning. But we don't see this centralized model as compatible with the IIoT. We see a trend toward distributed units that use less energy, less space and are less susceptible to external forces. This is the need that Bedrock Automation is addressing by making its UPS available for general control applications," said ARC Analyst Mark Sen Gupta.
The onboard electronics enable Bedrock Automation's patented embedded deep trust ICS cyber security, which works transparently and instantly upon startup to manage Bedrock's authentication process. This authentication strategy protects the hardware, firmware, software and communication of the UPS throughout its entire lifecycle. Few other industrial UPSs have onboard electronics, and none have comparable intelligence, memory or cyber security protection.
With the secure onboard microcontroller comes secure 10/100 Mbit Ethernet IPv4 and IPv6 communications and support for Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Embedded Web Server and embedded IEC 62541 – OPC Unified Architecture Server. Bi-directional communications enable control, diagnostics and status reporting. More than 35 diagnostic variables can be easily monitored, trended, alarmed and historicized via SCADA, enterprise and cloud applications securely.
The UPS.500 is also rugged, shock and vibration proof and designed for use in extreme environments. Encased in a sealed aluminum housing, the UPS.500 is compliant with IP67 and NEMA 4X standards for resistance to water, ice, oil and dust. The sealed all aluminum case reduces installation costs by eliminating the need for separate environmental protection enclosures.
The Bedrock UPS will be available for delivery in June of 2016. The suggested US list price is $4000.
Bedrock Automation, based in San Jose, California, is the maker of Bedrock®, the world's most powerful and cyber secure automation platform. This Silicon Valley company has assembled the latest technologies and talents from both the automation and semiconductor industries to build an unprecedented automation solution for industrial control based on three prime directives: simplicity, scalability and security. The result is a system with a revolutionary electromagnetic backplane architecture and deeply embedded ICS cyber security, which delivers the highest levels of system performance, industrial cyber security and reliability at the lowest cost of ownership.


I did dabble in programming the Amiga, as I did with all my computers, mainly in BASIC – for those youngsters amongst you who have never come across this (!), it was once the default language for home computers, the Beginners All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code. Early on, in my CP/M days, I also tried PASCAL and COBOL running on Amstrad computers, and Amstrad BASIC, plus of course BBC BASIC on my BBC Micro Model B.
I didn't write all that much about programming for magazines, but 'Calculating Amiga', published in the March 1989 issue of Amiga User International, was an exception. It had a double interest for me, as it included two simple applications in AmigaBASIC for use in amateur radio – a theme you'll often find elsewhere in my articles, see the Ham Radio menu above for more!


text:
Immunodiagnosis of tuberculosis: new questions, new tools
Gennaro, Maria (PI)
New Jersey Medical School (NJMS), Public Health Research Institute Center
[unreadable] DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): [unreadable] Tuberculosis (TB) is still a major killer in the world today. Accurate and timely diagnosis of TB is widely recognized as a pillar of control programs worldwide because it is the first, necessary step toward timely treatment and decreased transmission. Till recently, century-old, often inaccurate methods have been the mainstay of diagnosis of active disease and latent infection. Recent effort has resulted in new immunologic tests for latent infection. Neither old nor new tests, however, can detect progression from latent infection to active disease, a crucial stage for treatment and infection control. The conference on "Immunodiagnosis of tuberculosis: new questions, new tools" to be held in September 2008 will discuss the most recent findings in the biology of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and of the host immune response that are most relevant to the identification of immune markers specific for each stage of infection (latent infection, progression, and disease). It will also review the status of field studies and clinical trials that can be utilized for identification of immune markers and discuss cutting-edge technologies that can favor development of assay formats amenable to use in diverse settings. Particular attention will be given to pediatric TB, which poses unique diagnostic challenges. With the world-class quality of its diverse speaker roster and its structure of plenary and poster sessions, the meeting will encourage discussion and foster collaboration among scientists in basic research, translational research, field studies and industry. Because of a renewed interest for TB diagnosis expressed by academia industry, and governmental and non- governmental agencies, this meeting can be viewed as a fundamental step towards establishing partnerships and consortia leading to the next generation of TB immunodiagnostics. To ensure a diverse pool of participants, efforts will be made to include minorities and funding will be provided to support the participation of junior investigators. The specific aims of the conference are: (1) To discuss current knowledge and to identify existing gaps and future research directions towards identifying immune markers of latent and progressive M. tuberculosis infection and active disease through a review of the metabolism and physiology of M. tuberculosis in relation to bacterial antigen expression and of stage-specific host immune responses to M. tuberculosis infection; (2) To discuss on-going and future field studies for identification of immune markers and evaluation of diagnostic tests; (3) To discuss the unique aspects of pediatric TB and the challenges of its diagnosis; (4) To identify novel technologies leading to detection of immune markers by assaying formats amenable to use in settings with varied resource levels; and (5) To publish meeting reports and reviews of the research areas discussed, so that the benefits derived from the meeting be disseminated to a wider audience. Tuberculosis (TB) is still a major killer in the world: one person dies from TB every 15 seconds. It is widely recognized that accurate and timely diagnosis of TB is a pillar of control programs worldwide because it is the first, necessary step toward timely treatment and decreased transmission. The conference on "Immunodiagnosis of tuberculosis: new questions, new tools" can be viewed as a fundamental step towards establishing partnerships and consortia leading to the next generation of tuberculosis immunodiagnostics. [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable]
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases: $15,000.00
Immunologic Tests Medicine & Life Sciences 99%
Biomarkers Medicine & Life Sciences 27%
Congresses Medicine & Life Sciences 24%
Mycobacterium tuberculosis Medicine & Life Sciences 16%
Industry Medicine & Life Sciences 15%
Bacterial Antigens Medicine & Life Sciences 11%


The Tomball girls placed 11th in the team standings at the Region 6-5A Swimming and Diving Championships, Feb. 1-2 at Magnolia, and the Tomball boys placed seventh out of 30.
Tomball and Tomball Memorial swimmers and divers competed at their respected regional championships this past weekend, ahead of the state meet in less than two weeks.
At the Region 5-6A Swimming and Diving Championships, Jan. 31-Feb. 2 at the Pridgeon Natatorium, the Tomball Memorial girls placed 12th in the team standings with 105 points and the boys placed 14th with 42. Two divers advanced to state for the boys.
The Taylor girls placed first with 339.5 points, Cinco Ranch second with 202, Cy Creek third with 201, Cy-Fair fourth with 198 and Seven Lakes fifth with 189. The Seven Lakes boys placed first with 358 points, Clements second with 266.5, Cinco Ranch third with 211.5, Taylor fourth with 204.5 and Cy-Fair fifth with 204.
At the Region 6-5A Swimming and Diving Championships, Feb. 1-2 at Magnolia, the Tomball boys placed seventh out of 30 in the team standings and the girls placed 11th.
Magnolia placed first in the girls regional championship and Kingwood Park placed first in the boys regional championship.
The girls 200-yard medley relay of Caitlyn Sligh, Kaley Pham, CiCi Mims and Lauren Evans placed seventh. Resinnae Cosey placed fifth in the girls 1-meter diving and Lauren Wade also placed 13th. Evans also placed 11th in the girls 100-yard freestyle and 11th in the 500-yard freestyle. The 200-yard freestyle relay of Sligh, Pham, Mims and Evans place 10th. Sligh also placed seventh in the 100-yard backstroke, Mims placed seventh in the 100-yard breaststroke, Pham placed ninth in the 100-yard breaststroke and Leonie Gidaszweski placed 13th in the 100-yard breaststroke.
Chase Hindmarsh placed first in the boys 1-meter diving with a score of 422.85 and Ford Morris placed third with a score of 345.8. The 200-yard freestyle relay of Trevor Gilbert, Cody Hartman, Jacob Colunga, and Derek Sztary placed 14th.
Highlights of the regional meet included both the boys and girls teams qualifying all relays to the finals and then placing on the podiums in all but one of them.
The girls relays were led by senior captains Angela Wharton and Melissa Sells and were anchored by junior Shayna Wise. These relays managed to take seventh place in both the 200 and 400-yard freestyle relays in one of the state's toughest regional groups.
The boys were led by junior Carson Connard on all relays and anchored by freshman Jamil Staten. The boys took fourth place in the 200-yard freestyle relay, seventh in the 200-yard medley relay, eight in the 400-yard freestyle relay and Connard also managed to place eighth overall in the 100 breaststroke.
Tomball was represented in diving for the boys by sophomore Jordan Headley who took sixth place.
At the District 21-5A meets nearly two weeks ago, the Magnolia girls finished first in with a total of 184 points, beating Montgomery (181) by just three points. The Magnolia boys also placed first, scoring 141 and beating Montgomery (140) by only one point.
On the girls side, Magnolia West placed second with 50 points, Tomball tied Willis for third with 32, Lake Creek fifth with 23 and Huntsville seventh with two. For the boys, Magnolia West placed second with 86 points, Tomball third with 83, Lake Creek fourth with 43, Willis fifth with 22 and Huntsville sixth with eight.
At the District 17-6A meet, the Cy-Fair boys scored 163 points to place first, finishing ahead of runner-up Bridgeland (125.50) and third-place Cy Ranch (114.50). The Lady Bobcats finished first with 146 points, while Cy Creek placed second with 143 points and Cy Ranch scored 90 points to place third.


Unlock our knowledge about alternative energy and renewable technologies - now!
It is scandalous that much of our collective knowledge about alternative energy and renewable technologies is kept locked behind an Elsevier paywall! This is one area where clearly everyone anywhere on the planet with the inclination to read about the possibilities and push for solutions, whether through developing more basic knowledge or transferring knowledge to the business sector, should have immediate, barrier-free access. This is one area where the need is too great to permit for ANY embargo period.
Science works in step-wise fashion, like a detective mystery. One scientist discovers a clue; another builds on the discovery, until we have a new body of knowledge or real-world implementations, or both. If a useful discovery sequence takes six steps, with about 6 months of research for each step, then with no embargoes, the process takes 3 years. With a one-year embargo at each step, the whole sequence takes 9 years (3 years for research, 6 years for embargoes). Consider the impact of 6 more years of increasing greenhouse gases on climate change, and it is easy to see why the public good of rapid advancement in this area far outweighs an outmoded, print-based business model.
If funders are considering different embargoes for different fields, let's argue for immediate open access in this one - and let's call on the editors and authors of these journals to revolt and move to an open access publisher and model.
Total impact is a set of alternative metrics for scholarship. Total impact looks at a number of factors, including social networking tools such as Facebook and Twitter. As a research tool, Total Impact has a lot of potential, to explore how works are used and what impact they have. As an alternative metric to evaluate the quality of scholarship - an alternative to impact factor - there are a number of potential serious problems to consider.
First, there is the question of whether the current push towards quantitative metrics makes any sense at all. I have talked about the problems of this kind of instrumental rationality is my book chapter, The implications of usage statistics as an economic factor in scholarly communication https://circle.ubc.ca/handle/2429/954 (In brief, usage stats are likely to have significant negative impacts, from discouraging use to discouraging important but not necessarily popular entire fields of research); and the second chapter of my draft thesis http://pages.cmns.sfu.ca/heather-morrison/chapter-two-scholarly-communication-in-crisis/ (search for irrational rationalization).
One example, from an interview study of scholarly monograph publishers I did recently, is the impact of pushing scholars to publish more books to obtain tenure. This pressure is not consistent with the time it takes to write books that are really worth publishing and reading; so in this instance, we have a quantitative metric intended to improve quality and productivity (of our academic staff) which appears to be lowering quality (more mediocre books, more book production when the problem for all of us is not enough reading material, but rather not enough time to read).
Research, both quantitative and qualitative, is my recommendation before putting too much stock in Total Impact or other alternative metrics as a replacement for Impact Factor in evaluating the quality of scholarship. Note that I do not recommend retaining Impact Factor, but rather minimizing or eliminating quantitative approaches to evaluating the quality of scholarship.
In addition, I would suggest that metrics based on social networking tools could easily be manipulated, not only by authors but also by interested others. It doesn't take much to imagine corporate polluters in favor of climate denial upping the impact of their preferred pseudo-science, or for drug companies to drive up the impact of studies making the drugs that they sell look good.
Another area to consider (for all kinds of tools, not just social networking tools), is the impact of funding considerations. If universities are relying more on corporate funders at a time in society such as today when the political will seems to be on the side of the wealthy who wish to cut spending on social justice, it is reasonable to hypothesize that there will be a smaller proportion of funding for social justice issues. What happens to research on poverty issues and its impact if there is less funding for research and academic positions in this area (hence fewer researchers), at the same time that there is less funding for government services and social workers (fewer potential readers and tweeters), and many of those poverty research is meant to help have lost their homes and jobs and may find it difficult to get internet access?
This week British Columbia is mourning the passing of notable citizen and philanthropist Irving K. Barber. This post celebrates a small part of the achievements made possible by his generosity, the Small Business Accelerator program of the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre.
The Small Business Accelerator program is a highly innovative program and partnership of the University of British Columbia with BC's public and other libraries and the BC business community.
Business success depends on obtaining access to reliable information. The Small Business Accelerator is curated by business librarians and is your gateway to freely available business information, education, and assistance that is both current and trustworthy.
It is my hope that this small token of appreciation will encourage others to consider this model of cooperation, which is also a great model to illustrate how libraries and the business community can work together cooperatively, making use of open access resources, to benefit business and local communities (by making business accelerator programs available throughout the province.
[Disclosure: the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre is a key partner of the BC Electronic Library Network where I serve as Coordinator].
This post highlights a few bits of data suggesting the impact of selected funding agencies' open access mandate policies. We're definitely making some progress! By my method of calculation, compliance with the NIH Public Access Policy stands at 73%. On the other hand, there is still room for improvement - for example, how is it possible that more than a quarter of NIH funded authors have yet to comply with a requirement of their research grants? SURF has just posted a report showing that open access provision rates in the Netherlands are stagnating.
This chart suggests that the N.I.H. Public Access policy may be having a transformative effect beyond the works that authors actually are required to make publicly accessible. Since the N.I.H. policy came into effect, the number of journals voluntarily making all of their articles freely available immediately has nearly tripled, from 321 in March 2008 to 897 today. In the first quarter of 2012, the number of journals actively participating in PMC grew by 58; 56 more journals began making their articles freely available immediately; and 44 more journals made all articles open access.
This chart shows the difference in availability of free full-text for PubMed articles within 6 months of publication, by funding support. There is no difference between N.I.H. Extramural researchers and all articles in PubMed; in both cases, 13% of items in PubMed lead to free full-text. CIHR funded researchers are only 1% better, in spite of the CIHR Policy on Access to Research Outputs requiring open access within 6 months of publication. Even N.I.H.'s own intramural researchers have a record of fast free access that is only slightly higher than the overall rate. Only the Wellcome Trust has a noticeably higher track record, with 39% of works connecting with free full text. Since CIHR and Wellcome Trust have policies with the same permitted embargo (6 months), the threefold difference in results likely comes from a source other than the policy per se, such as the assertive implementation of the policy Wellcome Trust is known for.
Noteworthy this quarter: the beginning of 2012 has definitely been dramatic, with the Research Works Act proposed in the U.S. and subsequently dropped, a remarkable turnaround. This came after Elsevier dropped its support for RWA, thanks to the still growing Elsevier boycott, with over 8,900 signatories. This pushback was likely inspired by the highly successful protests against SOPA and PIPA, particularly the January 18, 2012 Internet Blackout. Peter Suber wrote about RWA and the recently re-introduced Federal Research Public Access Act (FRPAA) in the March 2012 SPARC Open Access Newsletter. The Research Councils UK, an early leader in open access policy, is moving to the next level with a consultation underway on their draft new open access policy - my comments can be found here.
DOAJ: 7,607 journals. Up by 235 this quarter, a growth rate of 2.6 titles per day (a lower growth rate than the average for the past year of 4 titles per day).
Electronic Journals Library: 33,984 free journals, an increase of 1,600 this quarter (growth rate 18 titles per day).
DOAJ searchable articles increased by 62,831. Highwire added 17,226 free articles, about 17% of the total of 97,017 articles added by Highwire in total.
OpenDOAR added 22 repositories, for a total of 2,186.
The Registry of Open Access Repositories added 124 repositories, for a total of 2,734.
A Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (BASE) search encompassed close to 7 hundred thousand more documents, for a total of over 34 million documents.
arXiv added 20,000 documents for a total of 745,000.
RePEC has changed their statistics approach this quarter; to obtain numbers, I had to go to the LogEC site, download (messy) and calculate a total of 31,466 downloadable fulltext, for a total of over a million.
The Social Sciences Research Network (SSRN) added over 16,000 papers, for a total of close to 400,000 papers.
The number of Open Journal Systems installations hit 11,500 sometime last December.
The Internet Archive now makes freely available more than 600,000 moving images, 100,000 concerts, 1.2 million audio recordings, and 3.3 million texts.
This post is part of the Dramatic Growth of Open Access series.To download the data see google docs for the current full data version and the current show growth version. The Dramatic Growth of Open Access dataverse is the place to look for archived data versions.
Housekeeping: if anyone would like to use the charts from this post, I recommend getting in touch with me - for technical not permissions reasons.


text:
NGC 4343 ist eine Spiralgalaxie mit aktivem Galaxienkern vom Hubble-Typ Sb im Sternbild Jungfrau auf der Ekliptik.
Sie ist schätzungsweise 42 Millionen Lichtjahre von der Milchstraße entfernt und hat einen Durchmesser von etwa 30.000 Lj. Unter der Katalogbezeichnung VCC 656 wird sie als Mitglied des Virgo-Galaxienhaufens aufgeführt.
Im selben Himmelsareal befinden sich u. a. die Galaxien NGC 4341, NGC 4342, IC 3256, IC 3267.

Das Objekt wurde am 13. April 1784 von dem Astronomen William Herschel mithilfe seines 18,7 Zoll-Spiegelteleskops entdeckt.

Weblinks

 SIMBAD Astronomical Database

Einzelnachweise

Virgo-Galaxienhaufen