text:
Update - 01/11/21
State Dept. Releases Instructions on Applying for DV-2016 Program
Entries for the DV-2016 DV program must be submitted electronically by noon EST (GMT-5), Monday, November 3, 2014.
CBP Designates POEs for First-Time Canadian TN, L Applicants Seeking U.S. Entry Under NAFTA
Such applicants may continue to go to any port of entry (POE) along the Canadian border for processing, but the agency is encouraging such applicants to go to one of the designated POEs "where you will receive optimized processing."
China EB-5 Category Unavailable through September; Current in October
The China EB-5 visa category will become "Current" on October 1, 2014.
DOS Changes Fees for Visa and Citizenship Services
DOS is amending the Schedule of Fees for Consular Services for certain nonimmigrant visa application processing fees, certain immigrant visa application processing and special visa services fees, and certain citizenship services fees.
CBP Responds to I-94 Web Portal and ESTA Questions
A recent teleconference focused on issues with the I-94 Web portal and travel history information. Topics included incomplete or inaccurate data on the portal, redress for falsely recorded departures, and automated I-94 corrections.
Government Agency Links
Klasko News
1. State Dept. Releases Instructions on Applying for DV-2016 Program
On September 24, 2014, the Department of State (DOS) released instructions on how to apply for the diversity visa (DV) 2016 program. Entries for the DV-2016 DV program must be submitted electronically at http://www.dvlottery.state.gov by noon EST, Monday, November 3, 2014.
For fiscal year 2016, 50,000 diversity visas will be available. There is no cost to register for the\ DV Program. There are no changes in eligibility this year. For DV-2016, natives of the following countries are not eligible to apply because more than 50,000 natives of these countries immigrated to the United States in the previous five years: Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (mainland-born), Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, South Korea, United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, and Vietnam.
Persons born in Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR, and Taiwan are eligible.
The DOS notice states that based on the allocations of available visas in each region and country, individuals will be randomly selected by computer from among qualified entries. All DV-2016 entrants will be required to go to Entrant Status Check using the unique confirmation number saved from their DV-2016 online entry registration to find out whether their entries have been selected in the DV program. Entrant Status Check will be available at http://www.dvlottery.state.gov starting May 5, 2015, through at least June 30, 2016.
Those whose entries are selected will be directed to a confirmation page that will provide further instructions, including information on fees connected with immigration to the United States. Entrant Status Check will be the only means by which selectees will be notified of their selection for DV-2016. The Department of State will not mail out notification letters or notify selectees by email. U.S. embassies and consulates will not provide a list of selectees. DOS noted, "You are strongly encouraged to access Entrant Status Check yourself and not to rely on someone else to check and inform you."
To receive a DV to immigrate to the United States, those who are selected still must meet all eligibility requirements. "These requirements may significantly increase the level of scrutiny required and time necessary for processing for natives of some countries listed in this notice including, but not limited to, countries identified as state sponsors of terrorism," the DOS notice states.
The Federal Register notice with full details is available at https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2014/09/24/2014-22767/bureau-of-consular-affairsregistration-for-the-diversity-immigrant-dv-2016-visa-program.
2. CBP Designates POEs for First-Time Canadian TN, L Applicants Seeking U.S. Entry Under NAFTA
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is optimizing processing for first-time Canadian TN (Trade NAFTA) and L applicants seeking entry into the United States under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). CBP has designated ports of entry (POEs) that will ensure a more efficient approach to processing the high volume of TN and L applicants. CBP explained that such applicants may continue to go to any POE along the Canadian border for processing, but the agency is encouraging such applicants to go to one of the designated POEs "where you will receive optimized processing."
The designated POEs include locations in Canada, Vermont, New York, Michigan, Washington, and Montana. They are listed athttp://www.cbp.gov/travel/international-visitors/canada-mexicotravel/traveling-tn-or-l-1-visa-canada.
3. China EB-5 Category Unavailable through September; Current in October
The Department of State's Visa Office announced that the China employment-based fifth (EB-5) category became unavailable on August 23, 2014, and will remain unavailable for the remainder of fiscal year 2014. The category will again become current on October 1, 2014.
The Department noted that all China EB-5 applicants who have been scheduled for an interview at an overseas post based on the original establishment of the August and September cut-off dates would have been allotted visa numbers for potential use by their case. Such applicants would not be affected by the unavailability of the China EB-5 category for the remainder of FY 2014. In this context, the Department explained, "unavailable" means that "no additional numbers are available for 'comeback' cases originally scheduled for interview in an earlier month who are now just returning, or for those just requesting an interview at this time." The only exception would be if a post had "otherwise unused" numbers available, the Department noted, because applicants either failed to appear or failed to overcome a refusal during the month (i.e., August or September) of the originally scheduled interview.
The Department said that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) offices may continue to accept and process China EB-5 cases and submit them to the Visa Office in the normal manner, based on the cut-off dates announced in the August and September Visa Bulletins. However, instead of being acted upon immediately, those cases will be held in the Visa Office's "Pending Demand" file and then authorized effective October 1, 2014.
The announcement is available at http://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/Statistics/Immigrant-Statistics/China%20Employment%20Fifth%20Preference.pdf.
4. DOS Changes Fees for Visa and Citizenship Services
Effective September 6, 2014, the Department of State is amending the Schedule of Fees for Consular Services for certain nonimmigrant visa application processing fees, certain immigrant visa application processing and special visa services fees, and certain citizenship services fees. Included are two categories of petition-based nonimmigrant visas and the tiered application processing fees for immigrant visas. The interim final rule also amends the security surcharge for immigrant visa services and the fees for certain immigrant visa services. Lastly, the rule raises the application processing fee for renunciation of U.S. citizenship and lowers the hourly consular officer time charge. The Department of State said it is adjusting the fees in light of the findings of a recent Cost of Service study to ensure that the fees for consular services better align with the costs of providing those services.
Some of the changes include:
The processing fee for E treaty trader and treaty investor visa applications will decrease from $270 to $205.
The processing fee for an employment-based visa application (based on an approved I-140 alien worker or I-526 alien entrepreneur petition) will decrease from $405 to $345.
Other immigrant visa application fees (including for I-360 self-petitioners, special immigrant visa applicants, and all others) will decrease from $220 to $205.
Certain qualifying Iraqi and Afghan special immigrant visa applicants are statutorily exempt from paying any visa-related fees.
The Immigrant Visa Security Surcharge, paid by all applicants except those who are statutorily exempted from paying fees, will increase from $75 to $100.
The fee for processing an application for waiver of the two-year residence requirement for J-1 exchange visitors will decrease from $215 to $120.
The affidavit of support fee will increase from $88 to $120.
The fee for processing renunciation of U.S. citizenship requests will increase from $450 to $2,350.
Comments on the interim final rule, which was published in the Federal Register on August 28, 2014, are due by October 21, 2014. The rule, which includes information on additional fee changes and the rationale for the changes, is available athttps://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2014/08/28/2014-20516/schedule-of-fees-for-consular-services-department-of-state-and-overseas-embassies-and.
5. CBP Responds to I-94 Web Portal and ESTA Questions
The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) held a teleconference with Suzanne Shepherd, Director of the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) at U.S. Customs and Border Protection, on August 6, 2014, on issues with the I-94 Web portal and travel history information. Topics included incomplete or inaccurate data on the portal, redress for falsely recorded departures, and automated I-94 corrections.
According to AILA's teleconference minutes, Ms. Shepherd said that the information on the I-94 website is taken from the I-94 database, not from any other databases related to a traveler's admissions/departures. CBP has plans to create a crossing history for U.S. lawful permanent residents and U.S. citizens. Ms. Shepherd said this will be a difficult task, however. CBP will need to determine how to query and retrieve data, and resolve privacy issues. CBP does not have a launch date or a set plan yet.
Ms. Shepherd noted that CBP has reached out to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) regarding USCIS denials based only on I-94 database information. She said USCIS is training its service center adjudicators not to use I-94 database information alone to make any decisions. Ms. Shepherd asked that examples of USCIS issuing decisions based on I-94 database information alone be sent to CBP through the AILA liaison.
In response to questions about inaccuracies in the system, Ms. Shepherd noted that data entry error can result in a no-match. Matching algorithms should alleviate this problem, she said. For example, if a traveler's name is spelled wrong on one or more occasions, a different travel history may be created under the alternate spelling. She said that if this happens, the ESTA office or a Deferred Inspection office can correct this by combining the two data sets.
Regarding those whose travel histories are unavailable or unlisted in the online system, Ms. Shepherd noted that the online records include only instances in which an actual I-94, whether paper or electronic, was issued. Therefore, Canadians entering at a land border will not have a crossing history, nor will anyone not issued an I-94 before the electronic I-94 system was implemented.
Ms. Shepherd said that if someone needs a complete travel history, including data that is not reported online, a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request is still the way to request a complete report.
In response to a question about whether non-controlled admissions records for Canadians are available in the online system, Ms. Shepherd noted that if a traveler is issued or has surrendered an I-94, the information will be available. If not, it will not be available. She pointed out that this may result in oddities in records. For example, at the land border, if a traveler surrendered an old I-94 at the time of admission rather than upon the previous departure, and was issued a new I-94 on same day, the I-94 website will show the departure and arrival on same day.
Several AILA members have reported instances in which people who had purchased plane tickets to depart the United States but then never used the ticket to depart nevertheless were recorded as having departed. In one of those cases, the person went to Deferred Inspection office, and the officer there, upon viewing the unused plane ticket that corresponded with the incorrectly recorded departure date, was able to correct the I-94 record to delete the erroneous departure.
In the event of a discrepancy between the information in the entry-exit database and either a paper I-94 or an admission stamp (e.g., they show different expiration dates), Ms. Shepherd said that most of the time this will be due to CBP officer error and that Deferred Inspection is an appropriate way to attempt to resolve such an inconsistency.
Ms. Shepherd asked AILA to provide specific examples of any difficulties with correcting erroneous information or with Deferred Inspection.
More information on ESTA is available at https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/.
6. Government Agency Links
Follow these links to access current processing times of the USCIS Service Centers and the Department of Labor, or the Department of State's latest Visa Bulletin with the most recent cut-off dates for visa numbers:
USCIS Service Center processing times online
Department of Labor processing times and information on backlogs
Department of State Visa Bulletin
Visa application wait times for any post
7. Klasko News
On November 5, William A. Stock (Bill) will be speaking to students, administrators and human resources personnel at Stevens Institute of Technology. Bill will discuss visa sponsorship, conduct a training session on the admissions process and compliance, and speak to students about non-immigrant status, H-1B requirements and permanent residency.
Elise A. Fialkowski will be participating at the 2014 NAFSA Region VIII Conference in Williamsburg, VA from November 4-7, 2014. Elise will co-present "Can They Do That? What Is and Is Not Permissible Activity for Those Admitted in B Visa or Visa Waiver Status." This session will clearly identify permissible/impermissible activities and focus on "gray area" activities for those in B and visa waiver status and well as offer best practices.
Feige M. Grundman will be at Carnegie Mellon University on November 11 where she will be speaking to students about H-1Bs, other nonimmigrant visa options and provide an overview of the green card process.
Elise will be speaking at the 14th Annual Advanced Corporate Immigration Conference, a program presented in cooperation with NJSBA Immigration Law Section & AILA-NJ on November 12, 2014 in Newark, NJ. Elise will serve as a panelist on "Ethical Issues in Other NIV Cases," a session that will discuss topics including
B-1 in lieu of H-1; appropriate representations after Infosys.
Is a Process Lead really a Manager?
Can everyone be "specialized knowledge"?
Strategies for managing the presentation of evidence.
When is an amendment required in NIV cases?
For more information on these topics, contact Elise at efialkowski@klaskolaw.com.
On November 19, H. Ronald Klasko (Ron) will provide a webinar course for the MBA for Executives (EMBA) program at the Wharton Business School. For the one hour session, Ron will discuss visa and permanent residence options and will address issues of interest for students who are looking to become entrepreneurs.
Recent Speaking Engagements
Bill and Lisa T. Felix spoke at a program hosted by the Biomedical Postdoctoral Programs of the University of Pennsylvania on Tuesday, October 28, 2014. Bill and Lisa discussed permanent residency, non-immigrant options, immigrant intent, and timing, adjustment of status and maintenance of status, among other topics. Click here for the event page for this event.
Ron attended and spoke at the IIUSA Investment & Economic Development Forum in San Francisco, CA from October 22-24, 2014.
On October 22, Elise was a panelist on "Advanced H-1B Topics" webinar for NAFSA members, a program sponsored by Houston International Insurance Group.
Elise served as discussion leader/moderator for a round table discussion on visa and immigration and emerging market challenges at the Delaware Valley Relocation Council 2014 Fall Summit in Philadelphia on October 21.
Bill spoke at the 2014 AILA Colorado Chapter Rocky Mountain Immigration Law Update in Denver, CO from October 16-17, 2014. Bill served as a panelist on "Prevailing Wage Determinations and Ability to Pay the Wage," a session that addressed current issues in prevailing wage determinations, used in both H-1 B and permanent labor certification cases. The panel summarized recent holdings of the Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals that provide employers with tools to obtain realistic market wages for use during the H-1B and labor certification process. For more information, contact Bill at wstock@klaskolaw.com.
Elise was in New Orleans, LA on October 16-17, 2014 to present at the 2014 AILA Fundamentals of Immigration Law Conference. Elise was discussion leader for the session "The Road to Naturalization and Citizenship" and discussed eligibility criteria, interview and examination preparation, post-denial options, and derivative citizenship, among other topics.
On October 17, Ron spoke at the AILA Central Florida Chapter Annual Conference in Clearwater, Florida.
On October 14, Rohit Kapuria presented "EB-5 for Real Estate Developers" to a Chicago based law firm's transactional practice group. Rohit discussed the potential uses of EB-5 funds for the firm's clients.
Ron visited Yale University on Friday, October 10 and presented three programs: Green Card Strategies for Researchers;Students, Entrepreneurship and Visas: Yale School of Management; and After OPT: Navigating Immigration and Your Career.
Ron was at the Harvard Business School on October 8 and 9 where he spoke with students about employment options, various H-1B visa options, E, L-1, O-1, H-3, and other permanent resident options including EB-5s. Click here for the PowerPoint presentation.
On Tuesday, October 7, Ron discussed H-1B issues including strategies to enhance chances of getting H-1B, travel and status issues for H-1B approvals, H-1B issues for start-up business, and other visa options with students at the Wharton Business School of the University of Pennsylvania. For the PowerPoint presentation and relevant articles, click here.
Daniel B. Lundy (Dan) and Rohit were in Tampa on September 29, 2014 and spoke to attorneys at a Tampa based law firm. Dan and Rohit discussed the intricacies of the EB-5 program and its use as alternative financing for real estate development projects in Florida.
On September 19, Elise spoke on O-1/EB-1 and A&B/NIW at PBI's Immigration Law Forum 2014 in Philadelphia. Elise discussed O-1 criteria as against the EB-1A criteria; how much is "enough" for the O-1/EB-1 & EB-2 criteria; NIW criteria and issues; and premium processing or no premium processing.
Rohit spoke at "The EB-5 Summit for Attorneys and Developers" in Chicago on September 12, 2014, a program sponsored byILW.com. Rohit discussed key considerations for developers for the 526 and 829 when putting together a successful regional center. For more information on this event, click here.
Ron was in China from September 8-17, 2014 as a delegate for the Association to Invest In the USA (IIUSA) 2014 trade mission to CIFIT – the 18th annual China International Fair for Investment & Trade in Xiamen, China. Ron was a keynote speaker at the 2014 Overseas Investment & International Wealth Management Forum in Beijing on September 13 where he discussed visa retrogression, impact for Chinese investors and future of the EB-5 program. He also spoke at other programs relating to investment as well. For more information, write to Ron atrklasko@klaskolaw.com.
Bill's latest article, "Obama's Immigration Executive Order Would Follow Predecessors' Lead" was published in The Legal Intelligencer on October 15, 2014. In the article, Bill addressed news stories that President Obama was planning executive action in the area of immigration, and explained that every president since Dwight Eisenhower – Republican and Democrat – has used executive authority to admit immigrants temporarily in spite of Congressionally-established quotas, and the last five presidents have all provided temporary reprieves from deportation in humanitarian cases while Congress was considering legislation. For more information or to request a copy of this article, email Bill at wstock@klaskolaw.com.
Client Alerts and Blog Entries
2016 Diversity Visa Program Registration Open
October 21, 2014 by Feige M. Grundman
Perspectives on Regional Centers' Annual Reporting Obligations
October 10, 2014 by Walter S. Gindin
Update on the China EB-5 Market
October 8, 2014 by H. Ronald Klasko
Marketing and Compliance: Additional Services for Our EB-5 Clients
September 11, 2014 by H. Ronald Klasko
The Impact of EB-5 Quota Backlogs on Chinese Families
September 8, 2014 by H. Ronald Klasko


Deciding which washing machine to buy can be a big ordeal for some, but at Harvey Norman you'll have specially trained staff on hand to help you find the perfect washing machine for your needs. Choose from a variety of top brands, drum sizes and energy ratings. Whether you want the latest in washing machine technology or a basic entry level model, we have something for you. Shop online or in out stores in Dublin, Cork, Kerry, Kildare, Mayo, Waterford, Louth or Limerick.


Epic's Cliff Bleszinski thinks that Sony missed a trick by not advertising cinematic thriller Heavy Rain to a female audience.
Heavy Rain has sold about 1.5 million copies since its release earlier this year, and while that's pretty good going for brand new IP, Epic Games' design director Cliff Bleszinski thinks that Sony missed out on a big part of the game's potential audience by only going after core gamers.
In an interview with Irrational Games' Ken Levine and Chris Remo, Bleszinski said that because true crime stories were so popular with women, Heavy Rain was the perfect game to get women who might not otherwise be interested in the hobby to give it a try. He thought that Sony would have seen significantly higher sales had it cast its marketing net a little wider and tried to catch the attention of a female audience.
"I'm like, 'dude why isn't this in Entertainment Weekly?'" he said. "'Why aren't you marketing this to the right crowd?' There were scenes were I was almost literally dropping the controller it was paced so well. If you had that and shipped a disc with all those women's magazines you'd maybe have sold twice as much."


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I'm staring at a blank screen and listening to Moby's "Memory Gospel"... I'm sipping water. This space where I'm sitting is the dining room we converted into the office. The window is behind the computer and beyond it, I can see the towering oaks, the magnolias. Patches of blue sky between the linear array of branches. The occasional car passes by on this rural section of Main Street. It's a Monday afternoon, the first of October. It's sunny. It's quiet, and I'm at war.
Perhaps my role as an artist is a liability to my ability as a mother.
Perhaps, just perhaps, there are negative and unhealthy consequences to allowing our children to see us in the active emotion of sadness.
Perhaps, in all my artistic sensitivity and intense self-awareness, my sentimental outlook and backwards glances, I am not emotionally strong and stable enough myself to provide the environment for a potentially- yet perhaps not currently- strong and stable offspring.
In my life, I've allowed such words to wash over me like labels trickling down- "inappropriate" and "negligent" and "reactive" come to mind. Societal stigmas put to self-serving and constructive use, establishing a scenario utilizing diagnosed anxiety, suggestive verbs like "depressed" to describe my writing- laying the groundwork for a theme set forth about my full-blown mental state, a conclusion drawn by someone from scanning through posts on this very blog. My work, my own words, my transparent approach and honest dialogue as to why I create my art, in this situation used to suggest my inability and/or failure in my life's greatest privilege, raising a child.
Skipping the other details, my version of truth, my own concerns towards the person presenting these suggestions, and yes- even some very valid points made by us both- in the end, the aforementioned words stuck and held. Simple and complicated as that.
Today, gazing out at the oaks again and the way their unapologetic presence shatters the pristine blue backdrop of an early autumn sky, I wonder why those words knocked the wind out of me? This conversation, though in itself is enough to warrant anger or any other number of emotions, triggered a multitude of memories surrounding other conversations, other old arguments, other doubts and insecurities that stem both from the actions or words of others, and also from all the negative self talk I (we) so often fall into the habit of speaking. It makes Today heavy when we take all those painful Yesterdays and carry them around instead of putting them to good use. So, today, like lately, I ask the pain to manifest itself as a tool for transformation. I ask it to have a purpose. In response, the pain assures me that I always have a choice: How you handle The Hurt defines the purpose of its pain.
I choose to carry it with grace.
For months I've questioned my own purpose. If the artist in me is a liability to the mother in me, and both artist and mother are my life's passions... how does one wage that war without destroying herself? Why should we wage it at all? How divided we can be within our own beings- especially as women- and I'd eat myself alive from the inside out if I gave in to the labels, to the stigmas, if I began to actually BELIEVE for one moment that those suggestions were right.
Nor are any of my own "suggestions" about myself that I've made over the years. That my goodness and worthiness are entangled in grades, reliant on relationships, on accomplishments, on appearances. My value isn't dependent upon what others may think of me, my parenting, my designs, my income, my weight, my career level, my failures or my mistakes. This is really hard for me, to be honest. I know it's true but it doesn't always feel true.
I choose to be the best mother I possibly can be at every opportunity I'm given. I'll fail at times, of course, because that's what parents and humans do, but I know in my heart that I am a good mom.
Likewise, despite fears and doubts, I choose to keep creating. I choose to keep writing. Despite how little I know about life and technique, I choose to stay honest about the intentions and concepts behind my work, regardless of if it's accepted or understood.
I choose to let the punctured places bleed out so that I may pour more of myself into the lives of others- to use what hurts in a way that increases my compassion, my empathy, my awareness of what others may be going through. I choose to take inventory of my shortcomings and work actively towards bettering myself while simultaneously doing the difficult work of accepting my many flaws. I choose to gather up the past, the present, each genetic legacy, each biological pattern, each mistake, each failure and triumph, each loss, each betrayal, each breach of trust, all of it... all of it.... and hold it close, and accept it as mine. And then, to use it for something more beautiful than it could ever be if buried beneath an unmarked stone. In short, I choose to let this make me a better human.
What is it I want to tell you?
You are not what you're labeled, what is suggested you are, what you fear you are, and you are not what you fear you're not.
I want to cement for you the value of your visions, your ideas, your creations.
I want to reaffirm the calling that tugs at you in the dark, that compels you to move forward even if the stories you tell yourself are terrifying and the voices of others are loud.
I want to encourage you to allow the sharpness of self-doubt and personal defeat to soften and aerate you. Let your dark places become a beacon of light for others because of what you've learned.
I want to show you that your broken pieces can be a beautiful lacework of human nature, nurture, victories, failures and even nonchalance. Your past and present can align in a purposeful pathway that, should you choose so, can further your grand design, not defeat your destiny.
I want to validate all the components that make up the totality of your essence, good and bad, inflicted or invited. They can serve you somehow, if you let them.
I choose to wear my hats, walk my given path, play my dealt hand as if it were the best gift I've been given- the truth of those last words lies only in my choice of how to perceive and use pain, not in the actions or opinions of others.
I am an artist and a mother, not one iota less the latter because of the former. I am built of sentimental spaces and emotional topography- highs and lows. I've become a new person many times over as experience and time changes me. I'll change again. I think that makes me human, not unworthy, not incapable.
Please value your fractal pieces. Please use them to construct new ways of seeing and being, to build bridges, to shatter ceilings, to carve out new niches in a world that needs your experience.
New work up tonight at 8pm EST.
I LOVED this post, it is something that so many of us relate to, I am sure. Having your open and honest nature about your emotions thrown back in your face can be rage-inducing if you are anything like me. I think channeling those strong emotions into creativity sounds like an extremely positive way to deal with things. Working with a lot of teens, I also see that those people who deny or shame the expression of strong emotions are more damaging to children in the long run, so kudos to you for being an example of how to safely deal with them.
I was able to find the original artist of your first painting, http://www.davemerrell.com/personal-work/#/fragments/ , and I share here because I think seeing his piece as part of a series makes your message even more poignant; we are all imperfect, broken, healed, and what we do with those pieces is part of the beauty of this life.
Thank you for sharing some much needed hope with the world and with me.


text:
Extensive evaluation of a seronegative participant in an HIV-1 vaccine trial as a result of false-positive PCR
David H. Schwartz, Oliver B. Laeyendecker, Silvio Arango-Jaramillo, Renan C. Castillo, Mary Jane Reynolds
Background: In the USA, more than 2000 volunteers have received one or more experimental HIV-1 vaccines in phase I and II clinical trials, and there have been breakthrough HIV-1 infections among participants receiving vaccine and placebo. Serological diagnosis of new HIV-1 infections in vaccine-trial participants will become increasingly complicated as more viral components are used in vaccines. Recognition of this problem has led to a reliance on viral-genome measurement to distinguish vaccine-induced immunity from HIV-1 infection. Currently, quantitative RNA measurement is expensive, prone to contamination, and reliable only in laboratories certified by manufacturers or that have quality-control programmes. Methods: A high-risk vaccinee presented after an acute febrile episode and was tested for HIV-1 infection by reverse transcriptase (RT) PCR of viral RNA. Further extensive tests were required to clarify the HIV-1 infection and immune status of the vaccinee, including repeat RT-PCR, nested DNA PCR, western blot, lymphoproliferation assay, cytotoxic-T-cell lysis, CD8-depleted co-culture, and HIV-1 challenge culture. Findings: Initial testing of plasma by RNA RT-PCR was reported as positive. This result was not confirmed by viral cultures, nested DNA PCR, western blot, or EIA. Additional RNA RT-PCR assays gave positive results from earlier occasions in the vaccine trial. Eventually, testing of all previously reactive samples by RNA RT-PCR was repeated in a quality-controlled laboratory, and confirmed the negative HIV-1 status of the individual. Interpretation: This case report exemplifies the difficulties with use of viral-genome measurement as a screening test to diagnose HIV-1 infection, particularly in individuals who have ever participated in HIV-1 vaccine trials. Monitoring of large numbers of phase III vaccinees by RNA RT-PCR will not be feasible. The design of efficacy trials for new vaccines should be in parallel with development of antibody-based diagnostic tests that are capable of differentiating between immunisation and true HIV-1 infection.
Published - Jul 26 1997
Dive into the research topics of 'Extensive evaluation of a seronegative participant in an HIV-1 vaccine trial as a result of false-positive PCR'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
AIDS Vaccines Medicine & Life Sciences 100%
HIV-1 Medicine & Life Sciences 66%
HIV Infections Medicine & Life Sciences 47%
Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction Medicine & Life Sciences 46%
Polymerase Chain Reaction Medicine & Life Sciences 45%
RNA-Directed DNA Polymerase Medicine & Life Sciences 35%
Vaccines Medicine & Life Sciences 34%
Viral Genome Medicine & Life Sciences 17%
Schwartz, D. H., Laeyendecker, O. B., Arango-Jaramillo, S., Castillo, R. C., & Reynolds, M. J. (1997). Extensive evaluation of a seronegative participant in an HIV-1 vaccine trial as a result of false-positive PCR. Lancet, 350(9073), 256-259. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(97)01500-6
Extensive evaluation of a seronegative participant in an HIV-1 vaccine trial as a result of false-positive PCR. / Schwartz, David H.; Laeyendecker, Oliver B.; Arango-Jaramillo, Silvio; Castillo, Renan C.; Reynolds, Mary Jane.
In: Lancet, Vol. 350, No. 9073, 26.07.1997, p. 256-259.
Schwartz, DH, Laeyendecker, OB, Arango-Jaramillo, S, Castillo, RC & Reynolds, MJ 1997, 'Extensive evaluation of a seronegative participant in an HIV-1 vaccine trial as a result of false-positive PCR', Lancet, vol. 350, no. 9073, pp. 256-259. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(97)01500-6
Schwartz DH, Laeyendecker OB, Arango-Jaramillo S, Castillo RC, Reynolds MJ. Extensive evaluation of a seronegative participant in an HIV-1 vaccine trial as a result of false-positive PCR. Lancet. 1997 Jul 26;350(9073):256-259. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(97)01500-6
Schwartz, David H. ; Laeyendecker, Oliver B. ; Arango-Jaramillo, Silvio ; Castillo, Renan C. ; Reynolds, Mary Jane. / Extensive evaluation of a seronegative participant in an HIV-1 vaccine trial as a result of false-positive PCR. In: Lancet. 1997 ; Vol. 350, No. 9073. pp. 256-259.
@article{197c1908176c472c81f3c99c4d44ba7d,
title = "Extensive evaluation of a seronegative participant in an HIV-1 vaccine trial as a result of false-positive PCR",
abstract = "Background: In the USA, more than 2000 volunteers have received one or more experimental HIV-1 vaccines in phase I and II clinical trials, and there have been breakthrough HIV-1 infections among participants receiving vaccine and placebo. Serological diagnosis of new HIV-1 infections in vaccine-trial participants will become increasingly complicated as more viral components are used in vaccines. Recognition of this problem has led to a reliance on viral-genome measurement to distinguish vaccine-induced immunity from HIV-1 infection. Currently, quantitative RNA measurement is expensive, prone to contamination, and reliable only in laboratories certified by manufacturers or that have quality-control programmes. Methods: A high-risk vaccinee presented after an acute febrile episode and was tested for HIV-1 infection by reverse transcriptase (RT) PCR of viral RNA. Further extensive tests were required to clarify the HIV-1 infection and immune status of the vaccinee, including repeat RT-PCR, nested DNA PCR, western blot, lymphoproliferation assay, cytotoxic-T-cell lysis, CD8-depleted co-culture, and HIV-1 challenge culture. Findings: Initial testing of plasma by RNA RT-PCR was reported as positive. This result was not confirmed by viral cultures, nested DNA PCR, western blot, or EIA. Additional RNA RT-PCR assays gave positive results from earlier occasions in the vaccine trial. Eventually, testing of all previously reactive samples by RNA RT-PCR was repeated in a quality-controlled laboratory, and confirmed the negative HIV-1 status of the individual. Interpretation: This case report exemplifies the difficulties with use of viral-genome measurement as a screening test to diagnose HIV-1 infection, particularly in individuals who have ever participated in HIV-1 vaccine trials. Monitoring of large numbers of phase III vaccinees by RNA RT-PCR will not be feasible. The design of efficacy trials for new vaccines should be in parallel with development of antibody-based diagnostic tests that are capable of differentiating between immunisation and true HIV-1 infection.",
author = "Schwartz, {David H.} and Laeyendecker, {Oliver B.} and Silvio Arango-Jaramillo and Castillo, {Renan C.} and Reynolds, {Mary Jane}",
note = "Funding Information: We thank: Mary Lou Clements-Mann, Patricia Fast, and Barney Graham for support and helpful discussion; Robert Siciliano's laboratory for CTL assays; and Yaikah Jeng for valued technical assistance. This work was supported by AVEU contract #NO-1-AI-45207.",
T1 - Extensive evaluation of a seronegative participant in an HIV-1 vaccine trial as a result of false-positive PCR
AU - Schwartz, David H.
AU - Laeyendecker, Oliver B.
AU - Arango-Jaramillo, Silvio
AU - Castillo, Renan C.
AU - Reynolds, Mary Jane
N1 - Funding Information: We thank: Mary Lou Clements-Mann, Patricia Fast, and Barney Graham for support and helpful discussion; Robert Siciliano's laboratory for CTL assays; and Yaikah Jeng for valued technical assistance. This work was supported by AVEU contract #NO-1-AI-45207.
N2 - Background: In the USA, more than 2000 volunteers have received one or more experimental HIV-1 vaccines in phase I and II clinical trials, and there have been breakthrough HIV-1 infections among participants receiving vaccine and placebo. Serological diagnosis of new HIV-1 infections in vaccine-trial participants will become increasingly complicated as more viral components are used in vaccines. Recognition of this problem has led to a reliance on viral-genome measurement to distinguish vaccine-induced immunity from HIV-1 infection. Currently, quantitative RNA measurement is expensive, prone to contamination, and reliable only in laboratories certified by manufacturers or that have quality-control programmes. Methods: A high-risk vaccinee presented after an acute febrile episode and was tested for HIV-1 infection by reverse transcriptase (RT) PCR of viral RNA. Further extensive tests were required to clarify the HIV-1 infection and immune status of the vaccinee, including repeat RT-PCR, nested DNA PCR, western blot, lymphoproliferation assay, cytotoxic-T-cell lysis, CD8-depleted co-culture, and HIV-1 challenge culture. Findings: Initial testing of plasma by RNA RT-PCR was reported as positive. This result was not confirmed by viral cultures, nested DNA PCR, western blot, or EIA. Additional RNA RT-PCR assays gave positive results from earlier occasions in the vaccine trial. Eventually, testing of all previously reactive samples by RNA RT-PCR was repeated in a quality-controlled laboratory, and confirmed the negative HIV-1 status of the individual. Interpretation: This case report exemplifies the difficulties with use of viral-genome measurement as a screening test to diagnose HIV-1 infection, particularly in individuals who have ever participated in HIV-1 vaccine trials. Monitoring of large numbers of phase III vaccinees by RNA RT-PCR will not be feasible. The design of efficacy trials for new vaccines should be in parallel with development of antibody-based diagnostic tests that are capable of differentiating between immunisation and true HIV-1 infection.
AB - Background: In the USA, more than 2000 volunteers have received one or more experimental HIV-1 vaccines in phase I and II clinical trials, and there have been breakthrough HIV-1 infections among participants receiving vaccine and placebo. Serological diagnosis of new HIV-1 infections in vaccine-trial participants will become increasingly complicated as more viral components are used in vaccines. Recognition of this problem has led to a reliance on viral-genome measurement to distinguish vaccine-induced immunity from HIV-1 infection. Currently, quantitative RNA measurement is expensive, prone to contamination, and reliable only in laboratories certified by manufacturers or that have quality-control programmes. Methods: A high-risk vaccinee presented after an acute febrile episode and was tested for HIV-1 infection by reverse transcriptase (RT) PCR of viral RNA. Further extensive tests were required to clarify the HIV-1 infection and immune status of the vaccinee, including repeat RT-PCR, nested DNA PCR, western blot, lymphoproliferation assay, cytotoxic-T-cell lysis, CD8-depleted co-culture, and HIV-1 challenge culture. Findings: Initial testing of plasma by RNA RT-PCR was reported as positive. This result was not confirmed by viral cultures, nested DNA PCR, western blot, or EIA. Additional RNA RT-PCR assays gave positive results from earlier occasions in the vaccine trial. Eventually, testing of all previously reactive samples by RNA RT-PCR was repeated in a quality-controlled laboratory, and confirmed the negative HIV-1 status of the individual. Interpretation: This case report exemplifies the difficulties with use of viral-genome measurement as a screening test to diagnose HIV-1 infection, particularly in individuals who have ever participated in HIV-1 vaccine trials. Monitoring of large numbers of phase III vaccinees by RNA RT-PCR will not be feasible. The design of efficacy trials for new vaccines should be in parallel with development of antibody-based diagnostic tests that are capable of differentiating between immunisation and true HIV-1 infection.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: How to change border colour in dropdown in fluent ui? <Dropdown/> has styles props. which expects IDropdownStyles.But not able to change border outline colour. I tried this,
root: {

    width: 300, color: "red", backgroundColor: "red", borderColor: "red",
    borderTopColor: "red",
    outlineColor: "red",
    borderRightColor: "red",

  },
  dropdown: {
    width: 300, color: "red", backgroundColor: "red", borderColor: "blue",
    borderTopColor: "red"
    , outlineColor: "red",
    borderRightColor: "red",
  },

But the colour is not reflected. Is any other way to achieve this?

A: Use title property inside styles:
<Dropdown
  ...
  styles={{
    title: {
      borderColor: 'red',
    }
  }}
/>

Codepen working example.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


· Daylight Saving Time Ends (Nov. 6) Please note that we "fall back" one hour this coming Sunday as Daylight Saving Time will come to an end.
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text:
Person: RALSTON, William (1848-1911)
Person summary
Biographical summary of this person
William RALSTON
Relevance of this person
artist and author whose work was used for slide sets
Main period of activity
born at
Dumbarton, Dunbartonshire, Scotland
died at
Slide sets linked to this person
creator of source image(s): The demon cat (story: G.W. Wilson, 26 slides, 1889-1891)
creator of source image(s): Kamdene, Barnesburie, and D'Alston's tour in the North (story: G.W. Wilson, 28 slides, 1888-1894)
creator of source image(s): North again: golfing this time (story: G.W. Wilson, 24 slides, 1894)
creator of source image(s): Tippoo: a tale of a tiger (story: G.W. Wilson, 38 slides, 1886-1891)
Texts linked to this person
William Ralston, The ubiquitous and his portable dark tent (Glasgow: Morison Bros., 1891)
C.W. Cole and William Ralston, 'The demon cat' in The demon cat [etc.]
C.W. Cole and William Ralston, The demon cat: a naval melodrama (London: Simpkin, Marshall & Co., 1889)
William Ralston, K. B. and D'A. North again, golfing this time (London: Simpkin, Marshall & Co., 1894)
C.W. Cole and William Ralston, Messrs Kamdene, Barnesburie, and D'Alston's tour in the North (London: Simpkin, Marshall & Co., 1888)
C.W. Cole and William Ralston, Tippoo: a tale of a tiger (London: George Routledge & Sons, 1886)
C.W. Cole and William Ralston, 'Tippoo: a tale of a tiger' in The demon cat [etc.]
Search for another person Print this record


text:
Song Info & Lyrics
EPs and Singles
Soundtracks & Compilations
By Tour
Never Broken
Picking Up the Pieces Tour
Gigography (1421)
Angelfood
Concert 2013-05-02 Houston TX
Concert Info
Arena Theater
Greatest Hits Tour
Near You Always
-monologue: shoplifting / 9-11
Life Uncommon
Stronger Woman
-monologue: barroom singing with Dad
Rosey & Mick
-monologue: June Carter Cash
Goodbye Alice in Wonderland
-monologue: Bob Dylan
Stephenville, TX
-monologue: Kilcher Family
My Father's Daughter
The Shape of You
Standing Still
Foolish Games
You Were Meant for Me
Two Hearts Breaking
Nicotine Love
-monologue: tuition/Dad/Wizard of Oz/Kermit/thank you
Who Will Save Your Soul
Chime Bells
1993 • 1994 • 1995 • 1996 • 1997 • 1998 • 1999 • 2000 • 2001 • 2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008 • 2009 • 2010 • 2011 • 2012 • 2013 • 2014 • 2015 • 2016 • 2017 • 2018 • 2019
Retrieved from "http://www.jewelwiki.com/w/index.php?title=Concert_2013-05-02_Houston_TX&oldid=1068"
Headline act
Gigography (by year)
Gigography (by tour)
Jewel Communities
EveryDay Angels Forum
JewelJK.com
Never Broken Community
© 2015 All Rights Reserved Lee Miller @ Bootstrapskin


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text:
We have changed the game management system at Loddington over the life of the project to record the responses in wild gamebirds, brown hares and songbirds. 1992 was a baseline year in which we recorded what was present, but made no changes. In 1993, we introduced a game management system including habitat creation and management, legal predator control, and winter feeding, in an attempt to increase numbers of wild pheasant and partridges on the farm.
From 2001, we stopped the predator control in order to assess the response of both game and non-game species, and from 2006, we also stopped provision of supplementary food in winter. From 2011, we started a new shoot based on the release of reared pheasants. From 2015, as a result of our research findings, we have carried out control of predators specifically to benefit some songbird species.
Changes in numbers of wild gamebirds, hares and songbirds in response to these changes in management are presented in the graphs below.


text:
Tears of Rangi: Experiments Across Worlds / Anne Salmond
Dame Anne Salmond is one of New Zealand's most respected public anthropologists and historians. No one has so effectively and lucidly crossed over between the two disciplines in New Zealand scholarship.
Dancing with the King: The Rise and Fall of the King Country, 1864-1885 / Michael Belgrave
After the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi/Te Tiriti o Waitangi on 6 February 1840, competing British and Maori sovereignties were established in New Zealand due to the contradictory English and Maori translations of the agreement.
Into the Heart of Tasmania: A Search for Human Antiquity / Rebe Taylor
On the face of it Rebe Taylor's Into the Heart of Tasmania is an intriguing, but essentially straight forward history of one of the many curious connections that define Britain's imperial and post imperial history.
The World, the Flesh and the Devil: the Life and Opinions of Samuel Marsden in England and the Antipodes, 1765-1838 / Andrew Sharp
Samuel Marsden was a Yorkshireman of humble origins (as his detractors liked to point out). After a brief spell at Cambridge, in 1793 he was appointed the second official Anglican chaplain in the recently established convict colony of New South Wales. In 1814, he took the Gospel to New Zealand.
Settler Society in the Australian Colonies: Self-Government and Imperial Culture / Angela Woollacott
Angela Woollacott's new book is a good example of the ways in which Australian historians are being influenced by recent approaches to British imperial history. Just as importantly it shows how the interests of scholars working in these hitherto largely separate fields have converged.
Young People and the Shaping of Public Space in Melbourne, 1870–1914 / Simon Sleight
Posted up on my fridge door is one of those certificates with which any parent of primary school aged children over the past decade or so would be familiar – accessorised with stars and stickers and smiley faces, the award acknowledges one of the kids for their 'Awesome Effort for Remaining Open to Continuous Learning'.
Antarctica: a Biography / David Day
The title of this book, Antarctica: a Biography, might cause some initial confusion but this is rectified by the publisher's puff on the front inside flap of the dust jacket where it is described as 'the first major international history of this forbidding continent'.
New Zealand and Nuclear / Roderic Alley
Controversies over nuclear issues are no strangers to New Zealand. To some this is a surprise. Often regarded in the northern hemisphere as a country both remote and insular (one of 'eternal Sundays' as playwright Alan Bennett has written), it is a locality that at times jolts with a seismic unpredictability.
Health, Medicine, and the Sea: Australian Voyages, c.1815-1860 / Katherine Foxhall
Military men, as histories of the Royal Navy in particular have shown, tend to be interested in controlling sanitary conditions. Among seamen, maintaining health was always essential otherwise ships could not remain at sea. The main theme of Dr. Katherine Foxhall's interesting book is voyages to Australia.
The Lone Protestor: A M Fernando in Australia and Europe / Fiona Paisley
Tracing the path of an Australian Aboriginal political activist through four decades of early 20th–century Europe must surely have been a challenging and often surprising task.
Australasia and Pacific [X] Remove Australasia and Pacific filter
(-) Remove Australasia and Pacific filter Australasia and Pacific


text:
"Education and state -- Virginia" (x) ›
Material opportunities in public education in the Commonwealth of Virginia: a study of public school property differentials between the races (1962-1963) [View Image]
Material opportunities in public education in the Commonwealth of Virginia: a study of public school property differentials between the races (1962-1963)
Perspective of the Prince Edward County school issue [View Image]
Perspective of the Prince Edward County school issue
Prince Edward County, Virginia: a study in infamy [View Image]
Prince Edward County, Virginia: a study in infamy
Picott, J. Rupert; Peeples, Edward H. (Edward Harden), 1935-2019
Prince Edward County, Virginia: showing primary and secondary highways [View Image]
Prince Edward County, Virginia: showing primary and secondary highways
Study of county decision-makers, Prince Edward County, Virginia [View Image]
Study of county decision-makers, Prince Edward County, Virginia
Making heroes of those of lesser sin [View Image]
Making heroes of those of lesser sin
Tragedy of public schools [Part 1 of 3: Special note to the contemporary reader, 2004] : Prince Edward County, Virginia: a report for the Virginia Advisory Committee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights [View Image]
Tragedy of public schools [Part 1 of 3: Special note to the contemporary reader, 2004] : Prince Edward County, Virginia: a report for the Virginia Advisory Committee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights
Prince Edward County: the story without an end; a report prepared for the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, July 1963 [View Image]
Prince Edward County: the story without an end; a report prepared for the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, July 1963
Tragedy of public schools [Part 2 of 3: Report, 1964] : Prince Edward County, Virginia; a report for the Virginia Advisory Committee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights [View Image]
Tragedy of public schools [Part 2 of 3: Report, 1964] : Prince Edward County, Virginia; a report for the Virginia Advisory Committee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights
Morland, J. Kenneth (John Kenneth)
Tragedy of public schools [Part 3 of 3: Postscript by the editor, 2004] : Prince Edward County, Virginia: a report for the Virginia Advisory Committee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights [View Image]
Tragedy of public schools [Part 3 of 3: Postscript by the editor, 2004] : Prince Edward County, Virginia: a report for the Virginia Advisory Committee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights
Document (9) + -
Education and state -- Virginia -- Prince Edward County (9) + -
Public schools -- Virginia -- Prince Edward County (9) + -
Schools -- Virginia -- Prince Edward County (9) + -
Segregation in education -- Virginia -- Prince Edward County (9) + -
Edward H. Peeples Prince Edward County (Va.) Public Schools (10) + -


An attempt to assess recesses on the rake face after milling wood laminated with polyvinyl acetate (PVA) based glue is presented. Several analytical methods were employed to explain tribo chemical corrosion reactions (TCCR) leading to formation of specific form of wear on the rake face. By means of thermal gravimetric analysis it was confirmed that cobalt and tungsten carbide—main components of sintered carbide cutting edge—were subjected to intensive TCCR. Although an increase in thermal stability of the PVA based glue after modification was evidenced, high temperature degradation of the glue to acetic acid was probably the primary source of TCCR. Catastrophic wear of the cemented carbide cutting edge was also evidenced as the final state of continuous deepening of the recess on the rake face near the cutting edge.
Until recently it was thought that the polyvinyl acetate (PVA)—based adhesives used for gluing wood do not accelerate wear of cutting edge during the machining process. This point of view came rather from the fact that PVA based adhesives have widely been used as assembly glue in the past but not for industrial production of laminated wood. Development of PVA—based adhesives made in recent years and aimed at increasing resistance to water encouraged engineers to the widespread use of PVA based adhesives also for the production of laminated wood components for indoor use. One of the reasons for the direction of technology of laminated wood products was the cost and technological parameters of PVA—based adhesives. It would seem that modern, advanced materials for tools allow for choosing material which ensures long lifetime of cutting edge during machining of wood laminated with PVA based glue at an affordable price. An attempt using high speed steel (HSS) resulted in significant shortening of the tool`s lifetime. A use of the HSS cutting tools for solid wood of Scots pine milling brings good effects. In this case, change in the length of the blade rounding up of the cutting edge can be observed. On a flat part of the rake face near the edge, measurable signs of wear were not reported (Grube 1967; Klamecki 1967; Porankiewicz 2003b; Staniszewski and Porankiewicz 1978). The wear of the cutting edge of HSS is similar to the one reported for sintered carbide. The use of cemented carbide might give even better results, however, large accidental chipping greatly reduces the efficiency (Cristóvão et al. 2009, 2011; Grube 1967; Klamecki 1967; Porankiewicz 2003a; Staniszewski and Porankiewicz 1978). The use of cemented carbide for milling of wood laminated with PVA based glue revealed a previously unknown form of blade wear.
The purpose of the present study was to identify the form of wear of the cemented carbide cutting edge during milling of wood glued with PVA based adhesive and to try to understand the wear mechanisms involved in this process.
Material of the blades edge: cemented carbide type KCr08 (according to Ceratizit), with the binder: Co + Ni 4.4 %, other 0.35 %.
Observations of worn cutting edges were performed to determine the topography of wearing zone using a EVO25 scanning electron microscope (SEM) manufactured by Zeiss and an VHX-600 optical digital microscope (DOM) manufactured by Keyence equipped with a digital image acquisition system.
To determine the chemical composition of deposits in the worn zone of the cutting edge semi-quantitative energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS) was applied. Quantitative measurement of worn cutting edge parameters of insert a was carried out using a profilometer ME 10, manufactured by Zeiss.
Wear test for blade a was carried out on Scots pine wood laminated with PVA—based adhesive, having water resistance class D3, at 9 % moisture content.
Machining (Fig. 1) test was performed at a temperature of 20 °C for 24 h after gluing. For blade b, the longitudinal wedge connections of elements of Scots pine wood, repeat at approximately every 1,000 mm, whereby the cutting was subjected to about 6,000 glued connections. For these connections the same PVA—based adhesive was used. For comparison, the blade c worn during cutting of unglued Scots pine has also been subjected to observation.
The TGA analysis was performed using a Shimadzu TGA-50 apparatus in order to check the possibility of the occurrence of TCCR of the tool material during cutting edge wear process under the examined conditions.
Powdered components of the cutting edge material and the cured adhesive were analyzed according to a published method (Porankiewicz 2002; Porankiewicz and Chamot 2005).
In Figs. 3, 4 and 5, the DOM images of the cutting edge wearing zone are presented from the rake face site. Clearly visible in Fig. 3 the recess form of the worn zone, is an unexpected form of wood cutting tool dulling. Excessively large recess on the rake face in some places resulted from chipping, which determined the need to replace the blades.
In the area of intense wear, a very different mosaic of corrosion was observed (Figs. 3, 4 and 5).
In case of blade a, this worn zone has an average width of 177 μm. In the case of blade b the intense wear zone is narrower, on average 125 μm, because the contact feed length with the glue joint was only 2 % of the total feed length for blade a. Apparent lack of a repetition of the corrosion mosaic sequence, consisting of elevation, lighter areas (L, Fig. 3b) and cavities, darker areas (D, Fig. 3b) can be seen in Fig. 3, therefore in some places the elevations are broader than the cavities, as well as in other places the situation is reversed.
The elevation width (Fig. 3b) at the widest point reaches 60 µm. Figure 3a illustrating the wear zone of blade a shows that the corrosion mosaic ends at the polished surface, where grinding scratches are not visible. This observation can be explained by too little pressure of a chip on the rake surface, starting at a certain distance from the cutting edge.
The polished zone, shown in Fig. 3a, has a width of about 200 µm. It should also be noted that in the area of polished surface without visible grinding scratches, intense TCCR needed also to take place that led to the removal of layers of super-hard material of cemented carbide with a thickness greater than the depth of the deepest grinding scratches. So vast and deep polishing of the rake face (Fig. 3a) was not observed after cutting of unglued solid wood with the use of dull cemented carbide cutting edge (Fig. 5) (Grube 1967; Staniszewski and Porankiewicz 1978). Another characteristic zone of wear concerns only the vertices of grinding scratches, which for blade a (Fig. 3a) extends to a width of about 400 µm.
In Fig. 5 grinding scratches can be seen, not worn out from the rake surface, up to a few microns distance to the cutting edge, with a large chipping on the right side. Lack of corrosion mosaic as well as the polished rake surface indicate the absence of TCCR during cutting of Scots pine wood using cemented carbide blade KCr08.
In the case of blade b (Fig. 4), the zone of corrosion mosaic abruptly passes into the polished zone, but the visible features of grinding scratches extend to a width of more than 250 µm. The WC grain sized about 2 µm, can be distinguished in Fig. 6. Due to the fact that the largest size of corrosion mosaic reached 60 µm, it can be concluded that the TCCR attacked not only a binder of the tool material but also the WC grains. This observation points to a completely different mechanism of degradation of the tool material in comparison to the mechanism described in literature for cutting of wood-based materials (Porankiewicz 2011).
Figure 7a shows the EDS spectrum obtained for the darker area (in the cavities). In this area, tungsten (W) and carbon (C) can be seen, which comes from cemented carbide. The presence of oxygen (O), calcium (Ca) and less phosphorus (P), magnesium (Mg) and negligible small amount of sulphur (S), can be associated with the accumulation of organic matter after thermal degradation of the material machined. In lighter areas (Fig. 7b), apparently cleaned from accumulations, the W and C are visible with negligible small content of P.
In Fig. 8, very high peaks of W, C and O as well as negligible small amounts of sodium (Na), chlorine (Cl) and potassium (K), derived from another worn zone of the cutting edge than in Fig. 7 can be seen. In this figure, the presence of cobalt (Co) was observed, which comes from binder of cemented carbide. Other components of the binder in cemented carbide KCr08 were not detected in the probe. The contents of Na, Cl and K are presumed to be residues of thermal degradation of the work material. Because of semi-quantitative EDS analysis the low content of elements must be taken as an approximation.
The results of semi-quantitative analysis of EDS, indicating the presence of Cl, S and P must not constitute grounds for believing in the existence of specific corrosion mechanisms such as halogenation or sulphidation (Porankiewicz 2002, 2003a; Porankiewicz and Chamot 2005) as was done in several published works (Reid et al. 1991; Stewart 1992). In order to explain the mechanism of observed symptoms of TCCR, causing extensive wear on the rake face, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), an advanced surface analytical technique, has to be used.
Figure 9 shows stylus transverse profiles of worn zones of the four edges. From this figure it can be seen that the recesses have different sizes, as illustrated by the results of measurements summarized in Table 1. At the bottom of the recess on the rake face of Fig. 9-2 a protrusion can be seen, suggesting a presumable change in feed speed v f during its life cycle. The recess from the left side of the protrusion can presumably be associated with lower feed speed v f , which corresponds to the lower chip thickness a p , and therefore shorter contact with the rake face. The recess from the right side of the protrusion can presumably be associated with larger feed speed v f, which corresponds to the larger chip thickness a p and therefore longer contact with the rake face.
Cutting edge blade a no.
Profiles Fig. 9-1, 3, 4 exhibit roughness believed to be associated with the corrosion mosaic, indicating that the deepest recess of corrosion mosaics can reach about 2 μm. The mean values of upper and lower width of the recesses for four blades amounted to 168 μm and 29 μm, respectively. The average depth of the recess was 32 μm. The average width of the top and bottom part of the nose for four blades amounted to 14 and 54 μm, respectively. The average height of the nose was 29 μm.
Results of TGA of the hardened and cured PVA—based modified adhesive, shown in Fig. 10a, indicate that the temperature of the thermal degradation of the adhesive tested is higher than the degradation temperature of PVA glue together with cobalt (Fig. 10b) and iron (Fig. 10c).
The application of TGA for the evaluation of TCCR between powdered components of tool material and material machined was proven as useful in the case of milling of wood and secondary wood products (Porankiewicz 2011).
PVA—based adhesive presumably decomposes and reacts to acetic acid at temperatures of 240–265 °C. Maximum degradation temperature is 360 °C. Figures 10b and 10c indicate that the products of thermal degradation of the adhesive tested, presumably acetic acid, generated two corrosion peaks respectively in cobalt—a binder in the sintered carbide, and in iron. The first corrosion peak for cobalt lays in a temperature range from approximately 280–350 °C, with a maximum at 330 °C. The second corrosion peak for cobalt lays in a temperature range from about 550 °C to about 650 °C, with a maximum at 600 °C. In this temperature range a sudden increase in the intensity of corrosion of Co is assumed, resulting in a significant (as high as 12 %) increase in mass. The height and width of the second corrosion peak is much greater than any value previously published in literature (Porankiewicz 2002, 2003a, 2003b, 2006; Porankiewicz et al. 2005). This phase of the TGA analysis indicates the existence of an intensive process of corrosion, with increase in mass as high as 8.7 %, within a time of 1.2 min.
The first corrosion peak for Fe lays in a temperature range of approximately 214–231 °C, with a maximum at 224 °C, the second in a temperature range from about 297 °C to about 357 °C with a maximum at 334 °C.
Due to the low chip pressure on the rake face, it can be presumed that in the case of cobalt binder, the first corrosion peak can be associated with observed intense wear, while in the case of Fe probably both peaks.
The corrosion peak for Fe is about three times shorter than in the case of Co. This explains why it was unsuccessful to use the HSS steel, an iron based tool material, for milling of Scots pine wood glued with PVA—based modified glue.
Figure 11 shows that the presence of WC did not affect the temperature of maximum degradation of the tested adhesive. At a temperature of 630 °C, visible corrosion peak of WC grains confirm the observations of the microscopy methods, suggesting that the TCCR affect the two basic corrosion reactions of the binder in the sintered carbide in contact with the modified PVA—based adhesive thermal degradation products.
In the case of WC grains, second component of sintered carbide, no mass decrease can be seen in Fig. 11, what contradicts the hypothesis on sublimation of the WC grains in examined conditions (Reid et al.1991; Stewart 1992).
It has to be noted that the change of the form of perpendicular cross-section of worn cutting edge zone, together with evidenced acceleration of the cutting edge wearing during milling of wood laminated with PVA—based, modified glue contradicts the hypothesis on similarity of the wearing process when machining wood based materials with blades of cemented carbide tool material (Fischer 1997).
The worn zone of sintered carbide edges, after milling around 6,000 m of the feed path of laminated wood of Scots pine glued with PVA—based, modified adhesive, can be described quantitatively by the following parameters: width of the upper part of the recess, width of lower part of the recess, depth of the recess, width of bottom part of the nose, height of the nose, as large as 168, 29, 32, 54 and 29 μm, respectively.
The mechanism of accelerated wear of the cemented carbide cutting edge is of a different nature than those described previously in literature, when machining wood-based materials.
Intensive TCCR attacked not only a binder of the tool material, but also the WC grains, thus the corrosion mosaic sizes in the edge wear (recess) are repeatedly larger than the sizes of individual WC grains of KCr08 sintered carbide tool material.
Thermal gravimetric analysis of cobalt, binder in the sintered carbide, together with hardened, cured, powdered PVA—based, modified adhesive, indicates the intense TCCR process in temperature ranges: 280–350 °C and 550–650 °C.
The authors would like to thank Dr. E. Chamot for valuable help with the TGA results analysis.


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Publications by Author: Aberbach, David
Aberbach, David. 2014. "Walt Whitman, European National Poetry, and the Revolutions of 1848-49". Abstract
The failure of the 1848-49 European revolutions was crucial in the evolution of Whitman's Leaves of Grass. Whitman shared the revolutionary spirit of 1848-49, portraying an ideal America of unique and growing diversity. How does Whitman as an American national poet with revolutionary sympathies compare with his European contemporaries, such as Mickiewicz of Poland, Petőfi of Hungary, or Shevchenko of Ukraine? Whitman sympathized with liberal European revolution, but not with European xenophobia, which after 1848 was increasingly associated with nationalism and the poetry of nationalism. Whitman is spiritually closest not to European national poets but to poets of the East such as Tagore and Iqbal. His identification with America as heir to xenophobic, dying Europe took added force from his father's death. Whitman, despairing at the reality of American politics in the 1840s and 1850s, sought an idealized freedom of the Self in a universalist mystical vision. The tolerant inclusiveness of Whitman's poetry found a practical outlet in the Civil War, in his saintly, self-sacrificing behaviour as a hospital nurse and the expression in his poetry of the horror, not glory, of war. Through his inner conflicts, in which his sexual identity was central, Whitman spoke for the uncertainties of American national identity after 1848. Whitman's poetry revealed his power, and that of the Nation, to contain and resolve painful contradictions and grow through them; and in this way, too, a multicultural America could emerge.
Download Paper here
Aberbach, David. 2014. "Shakespeare to Wordsworth: The Bible, Capitalism, and the English Poor". Abstract
Nationalism and Poor Law are not usually mentioned in the same breath, and to add Shakespeare and Wordsworth is to invite bafflement. I'd like to begin by suggesting a number of similarities between the ages of Shakespeare and Wordsworth, though their social and political conditions were two hundred years apart, in the 1590s and 1790s. Both poets wrote with unusual empathy about the poor in times when capitalism came into conflict with the traditional Judaeo-Christian view of the poor. Both poets saw the legitimacy of welfare questioned, in opposition to the spirit of Jewish law and Christian love. Both were part of historical debates on state responsibility, Shakespeare at a time when the so-called Old Poor Law evolved and was codified for the first time in secular legislation; Wordsworth, when the Old Poor Law was made obsolete by the Industrial Revolution, ultimately to be replaced by the New Poor Law in 1834.
David Aberbach Presentation
Presented at a WCFIA Special Seminar on March 31, 2014


Mumbai: Tata group company Voltas on Tuesday reported an on-year rise of more than 12 per cent in its consolidated net profit for the second quarter ended September 30.
According to the company, net profit in the September quarter of the current fiscal year ending March rose to Rs 107 crore from Rs 95 crore in the year-ago period.
Income from operations rose 37 per cent to Rs 1,415 crore, against Rs 1,032 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year.


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Q: Automating Excel using ASP.NET Background
We are developing some in-house utilities using ASP.NET 2.0. One of which is extracting some information from databases and building an Excel workbook containing a number of spreadsheets with data based on queries into the database.
Problem
The proof-of-concept prototype (a simple ASP.NET page that queries a single item from the database and opens Excel to add data to a worksheet) is working well when run locally on the development machines, happily creating and displaying an Excel spreadsheet as requested.  However, when run on our server, we get the following error upon trying to instantiate Excel .
Unable to cast COM object of type 'Microsoft.Office.Interop.Excel.ApplicationClass' to interface type 'Microsoft.Office.Interop.Excel._Application'. This operation failed because the QueryInterface call on the COM component for the interface with IID '{000208D5-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}' failed due to the following error: No such interface supported (Exception from HRESULT: 0x80004002 (E_NOINTERFACE)).
Solution?
We are using the PIA for Excel 2003 and we have Excel 2003 and the PIA installed on the server. Can anyone explain why this isn't working or give us some tips on how we might track the problem down?
Thanks for any assistance you can provide.

A: Can the user that the ASP.NET Application Pool runs under have access to the application? Try logging in as that user (or change the Application Pool to run as that user) and opening Excel. If that works try running a WinForms application on the server as that user with the code that is failing.
Not sure but I think the PIA assemblies might need to be registered via regsvr32.
I suspect that if you run as Network Service, you will not be able to start Excel (no interactive login, restricted account, etc). Your ASP.NET code runs inside the application pool. You can change the user the application pool runs as through the IIS manager. If you want to check what your code is currently running as look for the w3wp process in Task Manager.
For testing, change the Application Pool to run as the user you know works with Excel.

A: We use Aspose (commercial). Office on a server is not much fun.

*

*You have to be careful about the licencing.

*Once in a while you need to kill a hanging process.

*Getting the rights right takes some effort.

It is called PI(t)A for a reason...

A: Consider working with XLSX files (new in Office 2007, but there is a plugin for Office 2003), which are just ZIP files containing XML files which you can manipulate without the need for Excel. The (XML-based) SpreadsheetML is well documented and not too complicated to program against (you might even find a LINQ to SpreadsheetML somewhere on the web).
As was pointed out above, Excel is not really a server product and you might run into all kinds of issues when using it on a server.

A: I think the problem is that once you deploy your application to IIS you are suddenly running inside an MTA COM Apartment.  I believe that Excel is an STA component and therefore cannot be created inside the MTA.  You will need to set the aspcompat option in the page you are using
<%@ page aspcompat=true %>

More Info Here

A: From Microsoft, (emphasis in original source):

Microsoft does not currently recommend, and does not support, Automation of Microsoft Office applications from any unattended, non-interactive client application or component (including ASP, ASP.NET, DCOM, and NT Services), because Office may exhibit unstable behavior and/or deadlock when Office is run in this environment.

With a list of reasons why you shouldn't do it:

*

*... Many services run under accounts that have no user profiles (such as the SYSTEM account or the IWAM_[servername] accounts). Therefore, Office may not initialize correctly on startup. In this situation, Office returns an error on the CreateObject function or the CoCreateInstance function. Even if the Office application can be started, other functions may not work correctly if no user profile exists.

*If an unexpected error occurs, or if an unspecified parameter is needed to complete a function, Office is designed to prompt the user with a modal dialog box that asks the user what the user wants to do. A modal dialog box on a non-interactive desktop cannot be dismissed. Therefore, that thread stops responding (hangs) indefinitely. Although certain coding practices can help reduce the likelihood of this issue, these practices cannot prevent the issue entirely. This fact alone makes running Office Applications from a server-side environment risky and unsupported.

*Server-side components need to be highly reentrant, multi-threaded COM components that have minimum overhead and high throughput for multiple clients. Office applications are in almost all respects the exact opposite. Office applications are non-reentrant, STA-based Automation servers that are designed to provide diverse but resource-intensive functionality for a single client.

And your code might throw the following errors:

*

*CoCreateInstance

*

*Run-time error '429': ActiveX component cannot create object

*Run-time error '70': Permission denied

*CO_E_SERVER_EXEC_FAILURE (0x80080005): Server execution failed

*E_ACCESSDENIED (0x80070005): Access denied

*hangs

*returns with no error, but didn't work

And finally:

Because of the limitations to Office's design, changes to Office configuration are not enough to resolve all issues. Microsoft strongly recommends a number of alternatives that do not require Office to be installed server-side, and that can perform most common tasks more efficiently and more quickly than Automation. Before you involve Office as a server-side component in your project, consider alternatives.


I'm divorced. And guess what? I'm a damn good dad. Maybe even one of the best. Does that make me sound crazy-cocky? Ha! I hope not. But still — I know who I am. Hell, I might even be one of the best dads who ever lived in the history of mankind! Who's to say?!
The other day, I was looking at some comments on an article I had just written called You Can't Stay Married for the Kids and was really blown away by something that hadn't really occurred to me before. See, it seems there are people out there who honestly think that parents who divorce are almost always just plain wrong to do that.
And I realized that maybe that's because it's too rare that married and divorced parents openly talk about stuff. We don't ask enough questions. And we don't answer them.
That leads to assumptions. And tension. And finger-pointing.
I can understand on some level. I used to be married, and when I was, divorce seemed like the last thing I ever wanted to think about. It was probably what I considered to be my worst nightmare. I never envisioned I might be facing it some day.
But now that I'm divorced, there are some things I want to share with you. Some things you should keep in mind about us, all of us who are raising kids and happen to be divorced.
1. Being divorced is not easy.
Look, I'll be honest: I wish I wasn't a divorced dad in a lot of ways. It isn't easy, man. Truth be told, it's really freaking hard raising three kids by myself when they're with me. And it's as equally hard always having to watch them pull away from me in their mom's minivan. But it happens and it needs to. So she can love on them for a spell, and raise them on her own for a bit.
2. Our homes are happy.
By Biblical standards or whatever other set of deeply-antiquated family value ideas some people might be huffing on, I guess two houses and two homes might seem quite contrary to the old Norman Rockwell version of how people are supposed to be living. Buy hey, do me a favor. Remember something … those of us who made the difficult decision to get divorced did so to make things better for our kids — happier. And more harmonious. Splitting up wasn't a selfish act. It was the opposite.
3. Our kids are alright.
I came from a divorced home and I'm not all that damaged. I know that my single mom escaped a nightmarish existence when she left my alcoholic father when I was just a kid. I'm still glad she did that for us, and for herself.
4. We love our kids every bit as much as anyone else.
I love my kids so much that I start freaking out when I begin thinking that there are zealots who might consider me a lesser man, or a lesser father, because my children's mom and I ended a marriage mutually, when all else had failed.
It's an unjust judgement, I think. And get this. I know a bunch of divorced parents and guess what? Not one of them is any less of a role model or a saving grace for their children than any married parent I know. Hell, lots of them are even better parents, I figure, because they are forced to be WAY more involved and WAY more on all the time with their kids since there is often no one else to step in and help.
These days, I sleep in the same bed with my older kids most nights. After our long hard day of living winds down, I lay there on my cheap pillows and I look at their dirty angel faces sliding into dreams. My love for them is a galaxy, I reckon. It'll never stop. It cannot be stopped. It just goes on and on forever, even when one of them spills chocolate milk directly on the damn couch, it still just goes on and on.
5. We did everything we could to keep our marriages together.
I would have done anything to stay together with my wife, our little nuclear family living and breathing as one magical organism through all our days and nights. And truth is, I actually did do everything I could to try and make that happen. So did she. But the divorce was our final decision, not in spite of our three beautiful kids, but rather in favor of them, and the years and years of life ahead of them.


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Browse: Home / Italy's Next Generation Rifle: The ARX 160
Italy's Next Generation Rifle: The ARX 160
19 August, 2011 · by admin · in New Products, Reviews, Search By Issue, V1N4, Volume 1
The authors were invited to attend the presentation ceremony of the new Beretta ARX 160 Assault Rifle from the world's oldest firearm manufacturer still in business and test fire the weapon on an Italian Army firing range located in Nettuno, a city facing the Mediterranean Sea, roughly 35 miles south of Rome. This location is well known in America for being, together with Anzio, the beachhead and battle site for the Allied Forces landing of Operation Shingle in World War II.
The ARX 160 is currently delivered in a hard case containing all accessories. A special waterproof and floating soft bag is also available for maritime operations. It is a gas operated, select-fire assault rifle, with a piston action located above the barrel, which fires from a closed bolt.
The weapon's design is streamlined and stylish, with a dark, flat grey colored Polymer body and is totally different from the sharp and edgy lines of the well known AR70/90. It loosely resembles the lines of the FN SCAR, especially in the stock design, but the rifle is lighter, more compact and structurally very different.
We tested the final version of the weapon that was assembled in a small scale production line that will be ramped up for full scale production in a few months. This version was preceded by a long series of prototypes, built patiently pursuing the best results and performance, taking seriously in account vital feedback from military beta testers, including operators in actual combat scenarios.
The ARX 160 has been engineered from the start to be extremely flexible and modular so as to tailor its individual performance for the mission or task at hand. There are two barrel lengths available at this time for the weapon: 16-inch (standard) and 12-inch (defined, by Beretta, "for special operations"). A 20-inch barrel has been tested, and a 16-inch HB with Match grade rifling should be available shortly to fill in a DMR role.
Both the 16-inch and 12-inch barrels have a flash hider/compensator fitted with 5 radial cuts, plus other 4 smaller cuts, indexed so as to aid in controlling muzzle climb when shooting full auto. Barrels are chrome lined and have a 1:7 twist, optimized for the SS109/M855 ball, and L110/M856 tracer ammunition. Barrels are user changeable in the field, and replacing a 16-inch barrel with a 12-inch barrel, reconfiguring the ARX 160 for CQB scenarios, is amazingly simple and fast. Obviously, there will be a POI shift, and the sights have to be re-zeroed, but the POI shift is consistent from change to change and zero settings can be noted down for both barrels.
To remove the barrel, one only need to simultaneously pull down two slide levers located on the sides of the upper receiver in front and above the magazine well. Once freed, the barrel assembly, which includes the gas block, piston system and the barrel extension, can easily be lifted out of the fore-end. The barrel is not free-floated.
The barrel has an integral gas block from which a short telescoping cylinder protrudes. It took a while to fully understand the rather unusual principle of operation: an evolution of the basic gas operated, short stroke piston system.
The engineers at Beretta managed to design a relatively low pressure gas system that is conceptually somewhere in between a long stroke piston system as used in the AK (and the AR 70/90) and the short stroke piston, i.e. of the AR-18 and recent weapons such as the H&K G36 or 416, FN SCAR, Magpul Masada and others. The piston is not limited to fractions of an inch in its travel under the gas pressure drive, imparting a sharp blow to the bolt carrier. Instead, it is free to move for almost two inches, practically following the bolt carrier for most of its rearward travel, and the gas pressure level in the cylinder is relatively low, yielding a gentler and more constant, positive rearward push to the bolt carrier group.
This system allows the barrel to be mechanically free from the bolt carrier group and operating rod, simplifying barrel removal.
The ARX 160's bolt carrier sports an integral and monolithic milled operating rod, which projects in front of the carrier and also allows some of the weight to be moved forward, helping to tame muzzle lift. Other benefits that this system offers include the chance to position the gas block in the most efficient location. The absence of mechanical constraints between the barrel and the gas system itself prevents any vibration and interference affecting the weapon's accuracy, a trait of the majority of long stroke firearms with piston and op rod permanently joined to the bolt carrier, such as the AK. It also solves the problem of carbon build up and hot gases entering the action, so typical of AR weapons employing Stoner's "direct gas impingement" system.
The gas block features a front sling swivel that is free to rotate 180 degrees allowing it to be out of the way when not needed, and a standard M7 bayonet lug, unorthodoxly positioned over, and on top of, the barrel.
The breech end of the barrel features a multi-lugged barrel extension, similar to the one used in the AR-15 family of weapons and of direct descent from Johnson's system as used in his Model 1941 rifle. The barrel extension solves any headspace related problem and, being the only other part other than barrel, bolt and gas system subject to propellant gas pressure, allows the use of light materials such as polymers for the receiver of the weapon.
The bolt uses seven locking lugs, each radially placed at 40 degrees and two extractors are located respectively at 3 and 9 o'clock of the bolt face. Apparently, there is no ejector. Each extractor is spring loaded and has a small actuating rod that rides within, and extends beyond the rear of the bolt. Depending on how we move a steel block, accessed thru a hole in the rear of the receiver with the tip of a cartridge, an ejection side is selected. The receiver has an ejection port open on both sides and very shallow case deflectors are present just behind each ejection port. They work surprisingly well and the spent round is ejected towards the front with a 45 degree angle from the barrel.
When the bolt unlocks, and starts moving toward the back, the spent case rim is captured by both extractors. Approaching the end of the bolt's travel, one of the two actuating rods of the extractor assembly hits the steel block and stops, while the bolt and the other extractor assembly keep moving rearwards. The case is violently pushed by the extractor that suddenly stopped, and that now acts as an ejector. The thrust is exerted not on the base of the cartridge but inside the extractor groove, on the chamfered portion of the groove, to be precise.
The bolt itself is a rather complex block of CNC machined forged steel. The body of the bolt is deeply fluted. The grooves serve as cam guides to rotate the bolt, thru an integral pin within the bolt carrier, to actuate locking and unlocking and also to prevent carbon and other grime build up. The firing pin is spring loaded. The bolt rear presents a milled slot where the firing pin head is located. If the bolt is not fully locked, and this slot is not perfectly vertical and aligned with the hammer, the latter cannot reach the firing pin head and even partial out-of-battery firing is totally prevented.
The bolt carrier is quite interesting as well. It is very long and the flat, strip shaped, front portion acts as an operating rod and receives the impulse from the gas cylinder. The upper portion of the carrier presents a milled channel that contains the recoil spring and guide, while the rear portion interfaces with the bolt. The vertical sides of the bolt carrier are flat and smooth. When the bolt is locked, the carrier seals both ejection ports – meaning a port cover is not needed. Between the bolt and the bolt carrier, right behind the bolt head, we find the hinged, small cocking handle and its flat spring. The cocking handle can be positioned indifferently to the left or to the right side of the weapon, depending on the operator's choice.
The weapon's body is entirely made of an impact resistant Technopolymer plastic charged with composite fibers, and can be divided in two main assemblies. The upper receiver contains the bolt carrier group, barrel and gas system, and includes the integral handguard and ends with a folding, and partially collapsible, stock. The smaller lower receiver houses the trigger pack, the magazine well and pistol grip. The upper and lower receivers very cleverly interlock with each other when assembled together, and there is no need for receiver push-pins.
by Franco Palamaro and Paolo Ortenzi on 19 August, 2011.
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