Note from Jan Dembowski: This post is from my friend André Quitta. André sometimes shares his stories here.
My son, Aaron, is six years old and just lost his first tooth. It was one of his bottom front teeth, one that had been loose for about a week. He had heard about the Tooth Fairy and was excited about the nighttime exchange that was to come. He had lost the tooth somewhere at sometime during the day and became sad about the missed opportunity. However, his mother had convinced him that a visit from the Tooth Fairy would still be possible. The next morning he was happy to see a quarter under his pillow and planned to ensure that future teeth were safely put aside.
He called me last night to tell me about his monetary gain and I mentioned to him that there may be additional funds possible at our house, because I knew a thing or two about the Tooth Fairy. He was convinced it was the lack of tooth under his pillow that caused the shortfall in expected funds. His solution was that we should build a tooth by making a small white box with the prongs that hold a tooth in place. We could go to Home Depot and get the right supplies. He suggested we get a kind of paint to make the manufactured tooth "super white, whiter than anything, like yellow." He also said we should buy paint of a different color so that when the tooth fairy comes, she'd be splattered and we would know she was there.
I shared with him that paint tends to dry quickly. His solution was to apply multiple coats of paint on the constructed tooth so that it stays wet. I also expressed my concern that the Tooth Fairy may not appreciate getting paint splattered on her and it could impact future financial transactions. Ever quick thinking, Aaron said we would buy clear paint at Home Depot. I had not heard of this before but told him that we could ask the people at Home Depot for guidance. The last detail on the manufactured tooth was that we would need to buy cotton to fill the tooth. He reasoned that because the Tooth Fairy is clever, she would know if the tooth was just a hollow box and thereby feel tricked, thus diminishing any future financial funds. Ultimately, we may go with tissues or paper towels, depending on availability and most importantly authenticity. I'll let you know how the project turns out.


For the first time in several decades, US tourism is returning to Cuba. Culturally and technologically speaking, much of Cuba has been stuck in the 1950s since revolutions and political turmoil led to a series of trade embargos. This means Cuba is still catching up with the rest of the world, but that's part of the experience when cruising to Cuba! Be one of the firsts to explore this unique nation before it loses any of its unique nostalgia. Depending on your itinerary, you might be able to tour cities like Havana, Trinidad and Santiago – each of which features wistful combinations of old and new. Take in the bustling streets full of laughing children, spicy Caribbean rhythms and vintage cars, or head to untouched (and uncrowded!) beaches for a peaceful retreat.
Step back in time with an architectural tour of Havana, a city that appears straight out of the 1950s. Visit the expansive Revolution Square and stroll along cobble-stoned streets lined with vintage cars.
Spend a day at one of Cuba's picturesque white sand beaches. Right away you'll notice that the beaches in Cuba are much less crowded but no less beautiful than those found in the more visited Caribbean islands.
Tour an authentic Cuban cigar factory and learn about the country's fabled cigar history. You'll leave with a huge appreciation for the craft after seeing all the work that goes into one of Cuba's famous hand-rolled cigars.
Visit the National Museum of Fine Arts to view a vast collection of Cuban art spanning multiple styles and time periods. This will help paint a broader picture of Cuba as a whole, and you'll enjoy a break from the Cuban heat!
Walk along the fortified walls of the Morro Castle, a former Spanish military complex that now features museum exhibits and one of the finest views of downtown Havana.
Walk the lively streets of Havana at night for a totally different Cuban experience. Follow the beat towards an impromptu musical performance or step into any number of night clubs for a refreshing drink.
Travel back in time with a cruise to Cuba, now possible thanks to improved relations between the United States and Cuba. Charming villas, warm locals and lively streets welcome tourists seeking a change of pace from your typical Caribbean island experience. Browse our photo gallery of Cuba photos. Keep in mind, this is only a tiny taste of the experiences that could be had on a cruise to Cuba.


text:
The Ban Chieng artifacts are displayed in the second and the third floor of the Chumbhot-Pantip Centre of Arts building. The main objective of the exhibition is to enhance the knowledge and understandings in the cultural heritages of the Ban Chiang communities. These include painted pottery, the cord-marked pottery, bronze axe, bronze spearhead, bronze necklace, precious stone bracelet and glass beads.
Its Significance
The Ban Chieng cultural heritage reveals a 4000-year social development and technological progress of a prehistoric agricultural communities (between 3600 BC to 200 AD) from the Neolithic culture to the Bronze and Iron ages. It can be considered a prehistoric culture with continuity that yields exhaustive information on Southeast Asia.
Human skeletons, ornaments, and utensils found in burial sites reveal stages of complex development custom, belief, and social structure.
Remains of animal bones and plant seeds, especially rice, are indication of the way of life and agricultural advancement.
Pottery and iron tools as well as bronze, iron and glass ornaments denote the technological advancement as well as the existance of , trading networks and cultural exchange with distant communities. The continuity of the Ban Chieng Culture resulted from the inhabitants' ability to adapt to their environment-the wetlands and the forest surrounding them. Utilization and adaptation of the environment made this one of the most ancient sites for rice cultivation. Technology and metallurgy as well as the craft of making bronze and iron metallury here advanced to such a degree that Ban Chiang rivals other archeological sites in the world.
Most importantly the Ban Chieng Cultural Heritage has provided new information on one aspect of human's development in the past-the widespread use of metallurgical technology in prehistoric agricultural communities in the Northeast of Thailand as early as 4000 years ago.
Home | History | 8 Thai Houses | Ban Chieng Artifacts | The Marsi Gallery
The Lacqure Pavilion | Royal Barge named 'Kao Kung Bayam'
What's news | Member | Map | Webboard | GuestBook | E-Card | Thai Version
Copyright © 2001, All Right Reserved by Suan Pakkad Palace.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


IBM and Galvanize working together to help start-ups with the new IBM Blue Mix platform. TRT = 2:23.
Length 3:13 min. Corporate branding/image video for Quanta Computing, Inc. American subsidiary Quanta QCT., 2013.
Length 1:36 min. Branding video for the Cisco Data Center, Clearwater, Florida, 2010.
Length 4:06 min. Corporate branding/image video for Avago Technologies. A rich visual impression of the products offered by Avago Technologies, 2013.
Length 4:02 min. Profile of Recchiutti Confections, San Francisco and Formaggio Kitchens, Cambridge, MA. How to make do with less in tough times. Client: Dell Computers, 2011.
Length 1:52 min. A video profile of Open Mind Music, a San Francisco record store, and how they expanded their business by selling on eBay. Included in the one hour television show "eBay: Selling Basics". Client: eBay, 2010.
Length :52 seconds. Introducing the Cisco Internet Business Roadmap, Cisco CIBR business assessment tool. Client: Cisco, 2007.
Length 1:00 min. Hewlett-Packard tradeshow video. Branding video for HP Network Services. Client: Hewlett-Packard.
Length 1:04 min. Branding video for Avago's renewable energy semiconductors solutions. Renewable energies such as wind, solar, geothermal, hybrids and electrical. Client: Avago Technologies.
Cisco video dramatizing the global demands of business.
Length 1:05 min. Cisco customer story profiling a first class E-commerce company, Corrugated Supplies. Client: Cisco.
Length 1:05 min. Cisco customer story showcasing Cisco internet phone technology at the Bay Creek Virginia resort. Client: Cisco.
Length :30 seconds. Agilent Technologies, animated trade show opening. Client: Agilent Technologies, 2010.


text:
Q: Is "the better" a noun phrase in this sentence? How to parse this sentence? A sentence from this site reads ungrammatical.

On the sweet side, don't pass up the walnut coffee cake, which is served warm, the better to soak up the bourbon-caramel glaze.

Is the better a noun phrase in this sentence? Why is it not better to soak up the bourbon-caramel glaze as an adverbial? Is the sentence grammatical? What grammar function does the phrase the better to soak up the bourbon-caramel glaze serve? Is it a modifier to the main clause?

A: It's the same use as in Little Red Riding Hood, when the wolf says, "The better to eat you with." I'm not entirely certain about the grammar, but I think that the 'the' is being used as an adverb to emphasize 'better'. From Merriam-Webster:

the, adverb
1 : than before : than otherwise —used before a comparative, e.g.
  none the wiser for attending
2a : to what extent, e.g.
  the sooner the better

b : to that extent, e.g.
    the sooner the better

3 : beyond all others, e.g.
  likes this the best

I think that the use in the article is that of the first definition.

A: The phrase "the better" modifies the state of being warm. It is a comparison of utility of two opposites, warmth contrasted against coolness, by linking the state with more or less efficiency of soaking up the glaze.

...which is served warm [as opposed to cool], the better [of the two temperatures] to soak up...

See this definition as "more suitable to".

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Custody for non-married persons is treated the same way as for married couples. If the parties are not married, a determination of paternity must be made before a custody order may be enforced.
It is necessary for the father to claim paternity of the children if he wishes to seek custody or visitation. This is not a difficult procedure and can be done at the same time as the application for custody or visitation. A father can claim paternity of a child through a court order, through providing support to the child, or through filing an acknowledgment of paternity with the local registrar of vital statistics.
If paternity is disputed by the alleged father and the mother will cooperate, a simple blood test will quickly resolve the issue. If the mother refuses to cooperate, then the court must become involved in order to protect a man from false claims of paternity.
Whether you need to file or challenge a paternity claim, you can contact attorneys at The Law Offices of James P. Yudes for help. Call today.


text:
El talco es un mineral de la clase 9 (silicatos), según la clasificación de Strunz, de color blanco a gris azul. En la  Escala de Mohs se toma como patrón de la menor dureza posible, asignándole convencionalmente el valor 1. Es un compuesto inerte no afectado por el ambiente ni degradado blanco.

Etimología
La palabra castellana talco procede del latín medieval talcum. Se cree que la palabra fue acuñada en el año 1546 por Agricola, a partir de la palabra árabe تلك , que proviene del persa تالک tâlaq, que significa puro, probablemente en al alusión al color de su polvo. En la antigüedad el término fue utilizado para nombrar varios minerales relacionados, incluyendo el talco, las micas y la selenita.

Clasificación
Según la clasificación de Nickel-Strunz, el talco pertenece a "09.EC - Filosilicados con llanos de mica, compuestos por redes tetraédricas y octaédricas". Para ver los minerales relacionados, véase: minerales relacionados. Según la clasificación de Dana, el talco forma parte del grupo 71.2 - Filosilicados con llanos de anillos hexagonales y llanos de anillos hexagonales con capas 2ː1.

Identificación
El talco es un mineral relativamente fácil de identificar de visu. Su rasgo más característico es su baja dureza, de 1 en la escala de Mohs, y, por tanto es un mineral que puede ser rayado por la inmensa mayoría de minerales. El talco puede presentar diferentes colores, aunque normalmente es blanco, puede ser también beige, gris, amarillo, marrón, rosa, lila, azul, verde, y raramente incoloro. Cuando se encuentra bien cristalizado forma cristales monoclínicos, aunque es más frecuente encontrarlo formando masas o agregados a menudo foliados. También se puede encontrar formando masas fibrosas, micáceas, radiales o botrioides. En el caso de los cristales, son bastante raros, presentan crecimientos tabulares y suelen ser microscópicos. El talco también se puede encontrar pseudomorfizante algunos minerales asumiendo su forma original. Los minerales más frecuentes que pseudomorfiza suelen ser el cuarzo, la calcita, la dolomita y algunos piroxenos.
El talco suele ser transparente y presenta una gravedad específica de 2,7 a 2,8, una brillo que puede variar entre grasa, cerosa o nacarada y una tenacidad séctil. El talco también se caracteriza por presentar un tacto graso. En algunos casos puede ser ligeramente fluorescente en luz ultravioleta.

Yacimientos
El talco suele aparecer de forma masiva (forma también llamada esteatita o saponita) y pocas veces en cristales bien formados. Se forma por metamorfismo de silicatos de magnesio como olivinos, piroxenos o anfíboles (es una roca ígnea).

Importancia industrial

Se utiliza en diversas aplicaciones. En forma de polvo se utiliza como relleno en la fabricación de papel y cartulina, para lacas y pinturas, en la industria cerámica, como aditivo de gomas y plásticos, así como para prevenir irritaciones de la piel y para hidratar esta. Por su resistencia a elevadas temperaturas se utiliza en la fabricación de materiales termorresistentes. Es la base de muchos polvos en la cosmética  y productos farmacéuticos. Se utiliza en la industria alimentaria como E553b. En sastrería se le conoce como "jaboncillo de sastre".

Seguridad
Se han planteado sospechas de que el uso de talco contribuye a ciertos tipos de enfermedades, principalmente cánceres de ovario y pulmón. Según la IARC, el talco que contiene amianto se clasifica como agente del grupo 1 (carcinógeno para los humanos), el uso de talco en el perineo se clasifica como del grupo 2B (posiblemente carcinogénico para los humanos) y el talco que no contiene amianto se clasifica como del grupo 3 (inclasificable en cuanto a carcinogenicidad en humanos). Las revisiones realizadas por Cancer Research UK y la Sociedad Estadounidense del Cáncer concluyen que algunos estudios han encontrado una relación, pero otros estudios no.

Toxicidad

Exposición al talco
La intoxicación con polvo de talco se puede dar por diversos mecanismos: inhalación, ingestión o vía intravenosa, principalmente.

En intoxicación por ingestión podemos encontrar casos en los que el talco se utiliza para pulir arroz, como aditivo coadyuvante en la obtención de aceite de oliva y de aceite de orujo, y como excipiente en muchos medicamentos, pudiendo dar lugar a úlceras o cáncer de estómago.

Por vía intravenosa se podría producir una obstrucción de los vasos retinianos, debido a que en algunos casos el talco se encuentra como
impureza en la heroína.

En general, el talco se emplea como adulterante en diversas drogas, entre las que cabe destacar la heroína y la cocaína, entre otras.

Sintomatología

En caso de inhalación: por una exposición aguda pueden
aparecer problemas respiratorios e irritación de la tráquea. En el caso de exposición crónica aparece dolor torácico, insuficiencia respiratoria y sibilancias.

En caso de contacto con la piel: el contacto directo puede producir sequedad o una leve irritación de la piel. Pueden aparecer ampollas. Labios, uñas y piel morados.

En caso de contacto con los ojos: el contacto directo produce irritación de los ojos. Si el contacto es prolongado puede producir inflamación.

En el caso de ingestión: diversos estudios en roedores revelan que la ingestión prolongada del talco tiene resultados carcinogénicos.

Produce también toxicidad sobre otros sistemas:
 Vejiga y riñones: disminución del gasto urinario.
 Gastrointestinales: diarrea y vómitos.
 Hematológica y corazón: hipotensión, desmayos y convulsiones.
 Sistema nervioso: somnolencia, fiebre, apatía, fasciculaciones o tics de los músculos faciales o extremidades tanto superiores como inferiores.

Pronóstico
El pronóstico de una persona intoxicada por el talco va a depender de la cantidad de tóxico ingerido o inhalado y la rapidez con la que se haya actuado ante la intoxicación siendo la probabilidad de recuperación mayor cuanto más rápido se reciba el tratamiento.

Recomendaciones ante una intoxicación
 En el caso de que sea inhalado: mover a la persona al aire fresco. En el caso de parada respiratoria realizar la respiración artificial.
 En caso con contacto con la piel: eliminar lavando con jabón y abundante agua.
 En caso de contacto con los ojos lavado con agua abundante durante al menos 15 minutos o solución salina.
 En caso de ingestión: enjuagar la boca con agua y no provocar el vómito.

Véase también
 Escalas de dureza
 Yeso
 Cosmética
 Polvo
 Mineral

Referencias

 Talco, uned.es.
 Talco, mindat.org.
 Talco, webmineral.com.
 Manual de talco, Mineral Data Publishing
 Aditivos alimentarios
 Parasitipedia

Enlaces externos

 Más información sobre el talco y otros minerales industriales. Vea aquí

Filosilicatos
Dieléctricos
Minerales de magnesio
Sistema monoclínico

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Home > Vol 4, No 2 (2019) >	Badrick
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21141/PJP.2019.11
Philippines Diagnostic Pathology Laboratory Benchmarking
Tony Badrick,* Jozica Habijanic,** Sam Yew Mah,*** Elizabeth Arcellana-Nuqui****
*Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia Quality Assurance Programs, St Leonards, Sydney, Australia
**Roche (Philippines) Inc., Manila, Philippines
***Roche Diagnostics Asia Pacific Ltd., Singapore
****Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, The Medical City, Pasig City, Philippines
Printed in the Philippines.
Copyright© 2019 by the PJP.
Received: 6 September 2019.
Accepted: 13 October 2019.
Published online first: 19 October 2019.
Corresponding author: Prof. Tony Badrick, PhD
E-mail: tony.badrick@rcpaqap.com.au
Introduction To ensure continuous quality improvement, laboratories need to obtain data about best practice from peers. Data about analytical EQA is available but far less is available about other important aspects of laboratory performance. There is a Roche Diagnostics Survey of laboratories which provides benchmarking in key areas of laboratory performance.
Methodology The Roche Diagnostics Survey included 1058 laboratories from 14 countries in the Asia Pacific Region with both developing and developed nations. The data were collected in 2017 but the survey has been collecting data each second year since 2011. Data was collected in the areas of quality, speed and cost.
Results The results for the Philippines was compared with other countries in the Asia Pacific Region. Broadly it was found that 42% of all laboratories in the Region were accredited to ISO 15189 or ISO 9001 and that 50% of laboratories were in an External Quality Assurance (EQA) program. Compared to other countries in the survey, the Philippines laboratories had fewer sites with ISO 15189 and with Lean Six Sigma improvement deployment. There are six laboratories in the Philippines that are accredited to ISO 15189. There was a greater emphasis on customer satisfaction related Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) such as turnaround time monitoring, cost reduction and employee productivity.
Conclusion Benchmarking can highlight the differences in the apparent quality of laboratory services compared to their peers and may lead to improvement. The benchmarking comparison has identified opportunities for Philippine laboratories to improve including obtaining ISO 15189 accreditation, implementing laboratory information systems and concentrating on Lean practices to improve productivity. The Roche scheme provides an ongoing (growing) large sample of benchmarks that can be used by participants to improve their performance and the performance of individual countries.
Key words: benchmarking, quality, cost of service, customer satisfaction, turnaround time
Benchmarking is the process of measuring products, services, and practices against leaders in a field, allowing the identification of best practices that will lead to sustained and improved performance. Performance may be compared either in a generic way, in which there is a comparison of a process regardless of the industry, or in a functional way, in which there are comparisons within the same industry. The aim of benchmarking is to identify variation in performance of key indicators so that improvement can be undertaken. In pathology practice we are more used to quality assurance activities where results from samples are sent from an EQA organisation and the performance of laboratories are compared. Omdahl[1] defines benchmarking as a continuous improvement process in which a company:
Measures the most relevant specific attributes of its own products, services, and practices, often including operations, performance, procedures, project, processes, strategies
Compares its own performance against:
Best-in-class company performance
Companies recognized as industry leaders
The company's toughest competitors
Any known process that is significantly superior to that of the company's processes
Determines how those companies achieved their significantly superior performance level
Uses that information to improve its own performance
Ultimately reaches the level of performance achieved by the benchmarked process (or a level above that process)
Continually repeats the process in an iterative fashion
An example of benchmarking system is Q-Probes, which are part of the College of American Pathologists' (CAP) programme of studies in quality assurance.[2] Q-Probes aims to provide short-term, external peer-comparison studies that provide a one-time comprehensive assessment of key processes including pre- and post- analytical activities such as turnaround time (TAT) and customer satisfaction.
Benchmarking can lead to improvement in the quality of patient care, support for administrative accountability, assistance in making judgements about testing quality, facilitation of inter-provider comparisons over time and assessment of improvement effectiveness.[3] Comparing broad organisational activities against peer laboratories, can be used to set priorities for quality improvement interventions. For example, when other similar laboratories have lower frequencies of process defects, e.g., shorter TAT, then the comparison suggests a focus for process improvement for laboratories with longer TATs.
Indicators of the extra-analytical phases of the Total Testing Process (TTP) have been developed in several countries, such as Australia and New Zealand,[4] the United States,[5],[6] Brazil,[7] and Spain/Catalonia,[8] and other surveys and programs have been promoted in the UK,[9],[10] and Croatia.[11] In 2008 the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (IFCC) launched a Working Group named "Laboratory Errors and Patient Safety" (WG: LEPS) to identify QIs and related quality specifications which (i) produce Benchmarks from comparing laboratories, (ii) promote error reduction, and (iii) increase patient safety. The IFCC has developed Model Quality Indicators (MQIs) which laboratories in several countries have evaluated and the WG: LEPS has reported preliminary results.[12],[13]
A benchmarking program has been undertaken by Roche Diagnostics (Roche Diagnostics Asia Pacific) in the Asia Pacific Region with purpose to identify trends in laboratory management, to help laboratories identify areas for improvement and provide access to new ideas and procedures that drive further efficiency gains. It was designed to collect information on three key areas of laboratory practice (quality, speed and cost) with a focus on, but not limited to, Clinical Chemistry and Immunoassay testing.[14]
The data collected is quite granular and provides information in each of the key areas (Table 1).
Table 1. Structure of the questionnaire
The questionnaires were formulated based on the common performance indicators that are used in laboratories.
The survey is delivered online with the survey questionnaires usually completed by laboratory manager or laboratory director.
The survey is carried every alternate year or so and when the country specific report is ready, it is provided to the countries and they will share with the participating laboratories. In this country specific report, the performance of the individual laboratory (myLab) will be compared against the APAC peer group data:
by APAC (based on all survey submission)
by country group (developed/developing, based on IMF advanced economies grouping)
by lab type (government hospital/private hospital/commercial laboratory/others)
by lab size (small <250 / medium 251-1000 / large >1000 samples per day)
The surveys are sent to a wide range of laboratories and is not restricted to Roche customers, who represent 70-80% of respondents.
The survey started in 2011 with 181 laboratories in twelve countries and now includes 1058 participant laboratories in 14 countries (Figure 1). The laboratories are categorised by the following groups:
Developed (18%) and developing (82%) countries based on International Monetary Fund advanced economies
Government hospital laboratories (60%), private hospital laboratories (28%), private commercial laboratories (11%) and clinical research organisations laboratories (1%)
Figure 1. Participating laboratories by country, 2015-2017.
In general, it appeared that there were more (45%) medium laboratories (251-1000 samples per day) in the survey than large (29%) (>1000 samples per day) or small (<250 samples/day).
Overall in the 2017 APAC survey:
42% of laboratories were accredited to ISO 15189 or ISO 9001
50% of laboratories were in an EQA program
76% of laboratories had a TAT less than or equal to 60 minutes for stat chemistry
62% of laboratories had a TAT less than or equal to 60 minutes for stat immunoassay tests
33% of laboratories consolidate chemistry and immunoassay analysers
33% of laboratories utilise automation for pre-/post-analytic processes
There were 106 laboratories from the Philippines comprising the following types: private hospital 62 (58%); private commercial 25 (24%); government hospital 17 (16%); other 2 (2%). We will present the results under the broad headings of Quality, PoCT and TAT.
External Accreditation
The Philippines had fewer laboratories accredited to ISO 15189 (Figure 2) than developed (41%) or developing (27%) countries. There is an intention for more laboratories to pursue this accreditation. Generally, across the APAC countries there were similar numbers of government and commercial laboratories accredited to this standard. Comparing with the number of laboratories with ISO 15189 accreditation in the developing countries of the APAC (27% have accreditation, 35% intend to achieve accreditation) the Philippines (3% and 25% respectively). The private hospital laboratories have the highest awareness of the need to implement ISO 15189.
Figure 2. Philippine laboratories with ISO 15189 accreditation.
In Figure 3 we see that compared to other developing countries in APAC there are few differences between the Quality measures being used in the Philippines except for lean six sigma tools. In Figure 4 we see the deployment of lean six sigma by Philippine laboratory type. It can be seen that Laboratory Information Systems were more common in other developing countries. It also appears, that more Philippine laboratories implement customer satisfaction, TAT, employee satisfaction and training, and cost reduction as key measures compared to laboratories in developing countries.
Figure 3. Laboratory KPIs comparing the Philippine laboratories to all developing countries in the APAC (Asia Pacific).
The data in Figures 4 and 5 show the quality KPIs being used per Philippine laboratory type. It shows that with lean six sigma, the early adopters are the government hospitals with all sites planning to introduce this tool within three years. This is also the case with activity-based accounting. With the other quality KPIs perhaps the only apparent trend is that private commercial laboratories appear to be lagging compared to the other types of laboratory.
Figure 4. Deployment of lean six sigma in Philippine laboratories.
Figure 5. Deployment of activity based costing (ABC) in Philippine laboratories.
Government laboratories have the greatest lean six sigma utilization with private commercial the least, in fact nil at present. Private commercial laboratories have minimal implementation but there is an intention to utilize in the future.
Laboratories were surveyed to determine where PoCT devices were deployed and what the role of the PoCT co-ordinator was. The results are given in Figures 6 and 7.
Figure 6. Deployment of point of care testing devices.
Figure 7. Role of the PoCT co-ordinator.
PoCT usage was high in the Philippine laboratories, higher than in other developing countries of the APAC at 55%. These devices are found throughout hospitals with the greatest numbers in the laboratories themselves. The role of the POCT co-ordinator is broad in the Philippines. In fact, it is broader than in other developing countries of the APAC countries where there is less emphasis on logistic management of these devices.
The definition of TAT is varied so we have defined in Figure 8 the different TATs collected in the survey.
Figure 8. The definition of the various turnaround times.
In Figures 9 and 10, we present the Lab TAT for the stat and routine clinical chemistry and immunoassay samples.
The majority of laboratories have a TAT of 30-60 minutes for Stat specimens and 60-120 for routine specimens. There is a broad range of performance.
Figure 9. Laboratory TAT for stat samples for clinical chemistry samples.
Figure 10. The definition of the various turnaround times.
In Figure 11 is the total TAT for different categories of laboratories.
Figure 11. Laboratory total TAT for stat samples.
There are different ways a laboratory can deal with stat samples.There can be a dedicated stat laboratory (Figure 12), dedicated staff to deal with these samples (Figure 13) and/or have instruments dedicated to these samples(Figure 14).
Figure 12 also reveals that having dedicated stat laboratories is relatively common in private hospitals.
Figure 12. Laboratories with dedicated stat laboratories.
Figure 14. Laboratories with dedicated stat equipment.
These data represent key benchmarks for laboratories to enable improvement. As expected the Survey has revealed varying degrees of compliance with the implementation of best practice, however there are common themes.
It is important to benchmark against the correct peer group to get the best possible comparison and insights for improvement. When comparing within survey laboratories in APAC versus the Philippines, there is a very different population by type and size of laboratory. In Philippine survey majority of laboratories are private hospital laboratories (58%), while in APAC survey, it is government laboratories. In addition, most laboratories in Philippines are small, while medium-sized laboratories predominate in the APAC. Productivity in the larger laboratories will be much higher than in the small laboratories for example. Also, when comparing private and government laboratories it is important to take note, that private laboratories will be measuring customer satisfaction as a priority. That could explain the difference for some data, for example, ISO 15189, which is less prevalent in Philippines due to budget constraints of small laboratories, and these small laboratories are not audited by government. There is a common focus on meeting customer demands, apparent through the monitoring of TAT and customer satisfaction on the one hand, and performance of the laboratory in EQA on the other.
On continuous improvement program, it seems that the Philippines is ahead of Asia. However, we need to keep in mind that this is happening mainly in private hospital laboratories and their driver is to improve efficiency, speed and hence customer satisfaction. One interesting finding is that few laboratories in the Philippines are accredited to ISO 15189, despite the evidence that accreditation leads to improvement.
The benefits of adopting ISO 15189 accreditation for laboratories are the reduction in patient and business risk, the encouragement of sharing of best practices and the stimulation of innovation. For payers and healthcare providers, accreditation is a tool that provides assurance that clinical lab services are safe, reliable and good value for patients. It also provides a mechanism for measuring quality improvements and supporting consistency.[15],[16]
Pursuant to a 2007 Executive Order[17] mandating the institutionalization of Total Quality Management programs in all government agencies, there was an initiative from the Department of Health to implement ISO 15189 in government laboratories.18 Under Executive Order No. 605 the National Unit of Health Laboratories of the Department of Health - Health Facilities Development Bureau (DOH HFDB) targeted 50% of tertiary laboratories be accredited for ISO 15189 in five years. The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is mandated to conduct assessments for ISO 15189 accreditation however they have been constrained due to a to lack of resources. These efforts are difficult to sustain due to a dearth of leadership in government to regulate the laboratory industry and a lack of resources and funds to implement Accreditation.
We note that CAP accreditation is in its initial phases in the country and that laboratories that participate in selective CAP proficiency such as Q-probes and performance improvement for pathologists are the larger commercial laboratories or private hospitals which can afford CAP fees. The perceived purpose of this is to distinguish themselves in the market and set themselves above the rest in terms of quality and standardized service to patients.
Government laboratories seem to be leading the sector with the use of improvement tools including acitivity based accounting, though the application of lean six sigma is low. Lean is not yet widespread, most likely due to space limitations and the fact that this technique has not yet been widely adopted in the market. It is likely that an increased awareness of Lean and attention to this area will lead to more efficient utilization of space. This is an opportunity for improvement for all laboratories.[19][20]
It seems that Philippine laboratories measure employee satisfaction more, and the reason might be the scarcity of medical technologists in the Philippines. Employee satisfaction and the design of new career tracks in molecular pathology, mass spectrometry and genomics, could be some of the retention strategies for private laboratories as there is huge competition for health manpower resources in the Philippines. Due to that challenge, there is also greater need for training and re-training for the employees due to rapid turnover, which is also seen in data.
There is a low income subsidy implementation in the Philippines than in other developing countries in spite of the benefits in accuracy, efficiency and cost. This is probably due to problems with Internet connectivity, IT personnel in hospitals and a lack of funds. It is worth noting that the same Administrative Order[17] that sought implementation of total quality management (TQM) and advocated ISO 15189 accreditation also promoted Laboratory Information Systems (LIS) to strengthen information management.
There is wide variation in the TAT of laboratories with both stat and routine samples. However, in general laboratories in the Philippines have similar TATs to their peers in the APAC Region. Perhaps Philippine laboratories seem to have a higher focus on TAT measurement which may reflect the business reality that customer satisfaction is key to their survival. TAT is a differentiating factor among the private laboratories and can lead to improved profitability.
This also could explain the STAT numbers observed among private Hospitals more focused on STATs. Analysis of the frequency and types of STAT requests may lead to development of guidelines for more rational utilization of laboratory services, influence ordering practices of physicians, and ultimately, reduce the costs of health care. There will be variation due to different capabilities of equipment and less optimized internal processes. However this is an area where laboratories impact directly on patient outcomes and hospital efficiency. This is one of the KPIs to deliver best service to Doctors and patients. Laboratories everywhere need to concentrate on this performance indicator.
Point of care testing in the Philippines is in varying stages of development and implementation. Although some forms of near-patient testing exist (e.g., glucose testing, blood gas, etc.), most hospitals that have this facility do not have a formal structure in place. Since a Department of Health directive[18],[19] tasking the laboratory director/pathologist oversight and supervision over PoCT, regardless of its location in the hospital, the organizational chart of the clinical laboratory has included PoCT and a designated POCT coordinator. Still, there are not a lot of Point of Care Coordinators (PoCC) who are supposed to be overseeing and managing PoCT program in their respective institutions and in general, they are limited only to private and internationally-accredited hospitals in Metro Manila. Since the number of PoCC in the country is very limited, one of the biggest challenges facing them is not having a support group or a network of like-minded individuals with shared interests with whom they could exchange ideas and best practices. This is despite the many responsibilities expected from a PoCC that include instrument selection and validation, device and operator management, logistics management, quality control management, etc. Often, PoCC would rely on web-based resources (i.e., online forums that are based in the US) to keep abreast on the latest developments in the PoCT space. Unlike other allied health professionals such as nurses and medical technologists, among others, that have local organizations that foster continuous professional development and provide a sense of community to its members, PoCC are left to rely on themselves. This may well be the reason why the tasks a PoCC perform is unpopular among laboratory staff and as a result interest level in the role remains low.
Connectivity of PoCT devices in hospitals that use them is another consideration. Often these instruments still operate as standalone units and rarely as integrated solutions that are able to interface with LIS/HIS, mostly due to cost implications. Hence, the value of having a connected hospital PoCT system is not fully utilized and this is certainly true in the case of glucose meters wherein manual operation continues to be the norm. In terms of device operations, lab technicians are by far the typical users of PoCT devices in the Philippines. This practice is really the opposite because in most countries the nurses are the end-users whilst the lab technicians are only tasked to do device quality control management.
There are data in the survey which show that the productivity of laboratories in the Philippines is much lower in all aspects, consolidated, non-consolidated, automated and non-automated, compared to APAC laboratories (Supplementary S6). This additional data also demonstrates that on average, there are only 5 parameters measured by sample, versus Asia laboratories average of 6-7. This is difficult to comment upon. In the Philippines where ordering physicians are keenly aware of budgetary constraints on patients, it is not unusual for chemistry requests to have fewer than six parameters, rather than the full chemistry panel of 20 or more analytes. The more common practice is to order symptom-directed and diagnosis-related or focused tests.
Benchmarking processes suffer from the problem of ensuring participants measuring the same thing. Different units of measure or, if manual processes are used, the accuracy of any measure can impact on the value of the outcome. However, if a benchmarking scheme is used repeatedly then, over time, there seems to be agreement on the measures and the results do become useful. This survey has been in existence for nearly a decade and the results over that time have to be consistent, indicating some reproduciblility and hence internal validity of the results. External validation i.e., extrapolation to other groups is another issue.
Benchmarking can highlight the differences in the apparent quality of laboratory services compared to their peers.
Furthermore, Q-Probe studies have demonstrated that Benchmarking does indeed lead to improvement in laboratory performance over time.[6] When laboratories in the Philippines are compared against their APAC peers one of the major differences is the lack of ISO 15189 accreditation. ISO 15189 has been shown to lead to improvements in laboratory quality and this finding is an opportunity to improve patient outcomes in the Philippines. Other key differences between Philippine laboratories and their peers were the lack of LIS and lean six sigma implementations. Both of these will lead to fewer errors, better patient and business outcomes and better value for the health system.
In summary, as the value of benchmarking becomes better understood by laboratory professionals, its impact will grow. There are also local Benchmarking schemes[20],[21], [22], [23] but few global schemes. The Roche scheme provides an ongoing (growing) large sample of benchmarks that can be used by participants to improve their performance and the performance of individual countries.
STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP
All authors certified fulfillment of ICMJE authorship criteria.
AUTHOR DISCLOSURE
Jozica Habijanic is the Country Manager of Roche Philippines. Sam Yew Mah is the Consulting Team Manager of Lab Workflow Solutions, Roche Asia Pacific. The authors did not receive any honoraria for this work. Roche Diagnostics provided the Survey data. The interpretation of the data and the decision to publish were made by Prof. Tony Badrick and Dr. Elizabeth Arcellana-Nuqui.
FUNDING SOURCE
[1] Omdahl T. Quality dictionary. Terre Haute, IN: Quality Council of Indiana, 1997.
[2] Q-Probes College of American Pathologists. Quality management programs. https://www.cap.org/laboratory-improvement/quality-management-programs. Accessed July 5, 2019.
[3] Mainz J. Defining and classifying clinical indicators for quality improvement. Int J Qual Health Care. 2003;15(6):523-30. PubMed CrossRef
[4] Badrick T, Gay S, Mackay M, Sikaris K. The key incident monitoring and management system – history and role in quality improvement. Clin Chem Lab Med. 2018;56(2):264-72. PubMed CrossRef
[5] 5.	Nakhleh RE, Souers RJ, Bashleben CP, et al. Fifteen years' experience of a College of American Pathologists program for continuous quality improvement. Arch Pathol Lab Med. 2014;138(9):1150-5. PubMed CrossRef
[6] Meier FA, Souers RJ, Howanitz PJ et al. Seven Q-Tracks monitors of laboratory quality drive general performance improvement: experience from the College of American Pathologists Q-Tracks program 1999-2011. Arch Pathol Lab Med. 2015;139(6):762-75. PubMed CrossRef
[7] Shcolnik W, de Oliveira CA, de São José AS, de Oliveira Galoro CA, Plebani M, Burnett D. Brazilian laboratory indicators program. Clin Chem Lab Med. 2012;50(11):1923–34. PubMed CrossRef>/
[8] Kirchner MJ, Funes VA, Adzet CB, et al. Quality indicators and specifications for key processes in clinical laboratories: a preliminary experience. Clin Chem Lab Med. 2007; 45(5):672–7. PubMed CrossRef
[9] Barth JH. Clinical quality indicators in laboratory medicine. Ann Clin Biochem 2012; 49(Pt 1): 9–16. PubMed CrossRef
[10] Barth JH. Selecting clinical quality indicators for laboratory medicine. Ann Clin Biochem 2012;49(Pt 3):257–61. PubMed CrossRef
[11] Simundic AM, Topić E. Quality indicators. Biochem Med 2008;18(3): 311–19. CrossRef
[12] Plebani M, Sciacovelli L, Lippi G. Quality indicators for laboratory diagnostics: consensus is needed. Ann Clin Biochem 2011;48(Pt 5):479. PubMed CrossRef
[13]International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine. Laboratory errors and patient safety (WG-LEPS). http://www.ifcc.org/ifcc-education-division/working-groups-special-projects/laboratory-errors-and-patient-safety-wg-leps/. Accessed July 5, 2019.
[14] Badrick TC, Gutscher A, Sakamoto N, Loong DCM. Diagnostic laboratories in Asia Pacific region: investigation on quality characteristics and time of reporting. Clin Biochem. 2017;50(10-11):625-31. PubMed CrossRef
[15] Zima T. Accreditation of medical laboratories - system, process, benefits for labs. J Med Biochem. 2017;36(3):231–7. PubMed PubMed Central CrossRef
[16] Tzankov A, Tornillo L. Hands-on experience: accreditation of pathology Laboratories according to ISO 15189. Pathobiology. 2017;84(3):121-9. PubMed CrossRef
[17] Republic of the Philippines, Executive Order No. 605 [Gloria M. Arroyo]: Institutionalizing the Structure, Mechanisms, and Standards to Implement the Government Quality Management Program. March 2007.
[18] Republic of the Philippines, Department of Health Administrative Order 2012-0021 [Enrique T. Ona]: National Framework of the National Laboratory Health Network. October 2012.
[19] Republic of the Philippines, Department of Health Administrative Order 2007- 0027 [Francisco T. Duque III]: Revised Rules and Regulations Governing the Licensure and Regulation of Clinical Laboratories in the Philippines. February 2007.
[20] Hamilton L. Lean, lean six sigma and the clinical Lab. MLO 25 January 2018. https://www.mlo-online.com/home/article/13009430/lean-lean-six-sigma-and-the-clinical-laboratory. Accessed 13 July 2019.
[21] Inal TC, Goruroglu Ozturk O, Kibar, F, et al. Lean six sigma methodologies improve clinical laboratory efficiency and reduce turnaround times. J Clin Lab Anal. 2018;32(1). PubMed CrossRef
[22] Galloway M, Nadin L. Benchmarking and the laboratory. J Clin Pathol. 2001;54(8):590-7. PubMed PubMed Central CrossRef
[23] Neil A, Pfeffer S, Burnett L; BiPAC. Benchmarking in pathology: development of a benchmarking complexity unit and associated key performance indicators. Pathology. 2013;45(1):66-70. PubMed CrossRef
Disclaimer: This journal is OPEN ACCESS, providing immediate access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge. As a requirement for submission to the PJP, all authors have accomplished an AUTHOR FORM, which declares that the ICMJE criteria for authorship have been met by each author listed, that the article represents original material, has not been published, accepted for publication in other journals, or concurrently submitted to other journals, and that all funding and conflicts of interest have been declared. Consent forms have been secured for the publication of information about patients or cases; otherwise, authors have declared that all means have been exhausted for securing consent.


For those of you who don't really know me, I am an encyclopedia of useless knowledge. I know all sorts of stuff about all sorts of things that have no relevance to anything any of you will ever do. (Ask my wife about 451 degrees) Here is a fact I never knew or would have guessed.
Aside from special tournaments, you only get one shot at Jeopardy! for your whole life.


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Access Bank Leads Bankers' Committee in Revamping and Restoration Of National Theatre in Lagos
Topmost financial inclusion bank, Access Bank has On Sunday February 14, 2021, thrown its weight behind Revamping and Restoration of the National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos State, Nigeria.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the Revamping and Restoration of the National Theatre was signed between the Federal Government and Central Bank of Nigeria/Bankers Committee. Also signed is the contract awards for the project.
After the signing of the MOU
The signing of the MOU and contract awards was witnessed by the Host Governor, Babajide Sanwoolu of Lagos State, Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, Honourable Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Mr. Sunday Dare, Minister of Sports and Youths Development, CEO of Access Bank, Herbert Wigwe, General Manager/CEO of National Theatre, Prof Sunday Ododo, fsonta, FNAL and the Director of Legal Ministry of Information and Culture, Mr Nnanna Ibom, in a very colour ceremony held at the Entrance 'A' of the National Theatre.
The CBN Governor stated that the Renovation project is expected to take 15 months to complete.
Minister for Information, Lai Mohammed and CBN Gov. Godwin Emefiele.
Speaking before the signing, the Honourable Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed retirated that this renovation will not lead to a single job loss, rather it will lead to the creation of at least Ten Thousand direct jobs.
Aside, the restoration of the iconic edifice, the Lagos Creative and Entertainment Centre (LC&EC) is to be created inside the National Theatre. Complex. The LC&EC is to consist of four Hubs: Films, Music, IT and Fashion.
It will be recalled that this signing is the culmination of a journey that started July 12, 2020 when the National Theatre was officially handed over to the CBN and Bankers Committee for Revamp and Restore.
This signing coming merely days after the Wednesday 10th February, 2021 FEC (Federal Executive Committee) approval shows the seriousness and speed being committed into this Project.
The proposed edifice.
And from the pictorial projections which the Project Managers put on display, the National Theatre is finally going to be the number one event Center in Africa upon completion.
Access Bank Leads Bankers' Committee in Revamping and Restoration Of National Theatre in LagosNewsreel.com.ng
Nigeria's Economic Backbone,Maritime Industry Relegated
Exposed: Buhari Appoints Infamous Corrupt Officer, Bawa, As EFCC Chairman: The Many Fraudulent Allegations Against Him


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text:
Huge NYU Expansion Approved by City Council
New York University's plan to expand its campus by nearly 2 million square feet in Greenwich Village won nearly unanimous approval from the City Council this week. The City Council overwhelmingly approves the school's plan to add nearly 2 million square feet to its Greenwich Village campus. The "Yes" vote comes after numerous compromises, which have scaled back the school's original proposals by nearly 25%.
The expansion, which had been agreed upon by two council committees last week, was about a quarter smaller than the university had originally sought.
As they voted in favor the expansion plan, council members praised it and credited Councilwoman Margaret Chin for helping to reach a compromise. Opponents, some of whom had to be escorted by officers from the council chamber balcony during the session, insisted that the cuts in the size of the school's planned growth did not go deep enough.
"There's not a single community group that worked on this that's satisfied with what's been arrived at," said Andrew Berman, executive director for the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation. Mr. Berman said that his organization would work with the law firm Gibson Dunn & Crutcher to pursue a legal case against NYU.
Construction on the first of the new buildings is slated to begin in late 2013, or early 2014. As passed, the university's application for expansion includes a commitment from NYU to build a community center and preserve public space for the community.
The sole "No" vote came from Councilman Charles Barron of Brooklyn, who voted against the expansion in each of the related land use bills.


It's a well known passage, and there is so much here. But this morning I would like us to look at a single verse in our passage.
Jesus said, 'Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me'.
It is one of those verses that we think we ought to understand, but when we look at it more closely we realise that there is far more to it than we first thought.
I guess that this is the first step of commitment. If we commit ourselves to something then it means giving up other things.
The athlete training to win the gold will deny themselves the beer and the kebabs and the nights out with the lads, in order to keep fit and to get up in the morning to go for the two hour session in the gym.
The soldier preparing to go to war will deny him or her self comfort and ease in order to train so that they stay alive.


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PROBATION PERIOD EXTENDED FOR LAKES FIRE CHIEF
MARJORIE VALBRUN, Staff WriterSUN-SENTINEL
LAUDERDALE LAKES -- Although city officials have extended his probationary period another six months, Terry Stewart said Tuesday he is confident he will remain fire chief after the trial period ends.
"I certainly think so," Stewart said. "I'm confident enough in my abilities to know that I can do the job."
City officials, however, are being a little more guarded.
"We will have confidence in him in the next six months," council member Lou Tenner said, "once he proves he can do the job.
"This new title probably got the best of him," said Tenner, chairman of the council's Administration Committee. "We didn't have this problem with any other past fire chief, because they already had the title and were professional fire chiefs. He was only acting fire chief three times before he became the fire chief. But he's learning. I think he'll turn out all right."
Last week, when Stewart received his six-month evaluation, the Public Safety Committee said they were unhappy with some of his decisions. The City Council will vote on the committee's recommendation at Tuesday's meeting.
When the committee first met to discuss Stewart's fate, they considered demoting him to captain or extending his probation.
Committee members cited two decisions they were most unhappy about.
Last year, Stewart temporarily suspended firefighter James Bryant for getting involved in a fistfight with another firefighter.
Stewart did not inform the council or the committee of Bryant's three-shift suspension, Tenner said.
The second incident occurred in January. Three firefighters, Ken Bennis, Richard Bramos and Willis Carl, responded to a call and were overcome by toxic fumes created when sodium hydroxide accidently was mixed with water at the Canterbury House Apartments.
The firefighters, who were not wearing breathing equipment, were sent to a pulmonary specialist under contract with the city, who diagnosed their condition as not being serious. But a few days after that diagnosis, the firefighters still complained of nausea.
Stewart then sent the firefighters to their family doctors, who disagreed with the specialist and said their conditions were serious.
The firefighters had been out of work and on worker's compensation for the past three months. Two returned to work last week, while the third returned on Monday.
Stewart said he didn't think the committee's decision was a vote of no confidence.
"They would have removed me from the position if they didn't have confidence in me," Stewart said. "Their actions speak for themselves. It would be presumptuous and irresponsible of me to assume why they did what they did."
Tenner would not label the decision.
"You might call that a vote of no confidence but I don't," Tenner said. "I started to reconsider the mistakes he made. He agreed they were mistakes and gave us a rundown of why they were made. I figured that any man is entitled to a second try. You don't hang a man after one mistake."
Stewart's salary as fire chief remains $37,500.
Stewart, 39, worked for the fire department as a volunteer before he was hired in 1970. He had served as acting fire chief three times, most recently in July.
In 1982, he unsuccessfully sued the city for the fire chief position after council members appointed someone else.
In the lawsuit, Stewart claimed that under Civil Service regulations the city should have considered his application before searching elsewhere.


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Q: Performing actions on my desktop causes it to crash Today when I started it up laptop I had the default Kubuntu wallpaper (I had a different wallpaper and it booted to that). I thought it was odd so I right clicked to get to the desktop settings and I clicked on 'Configure Desktop' when I did it seemed like my entire desktop crashed. I did not get any error messages but my entire screen went black and I could not see my panels or my desktop - I am still able to see my open windows. I force booted my laptop again and tried deleting a file off my desktop and the same thing occurred. I decided to try to update to see if I was missing any updates and I noticed that Discover was no longer installed (I did not uninstall it). I believe I accidentally broke some packages when I was trying to install something previously but I don't remember what it was and I don't know what to do to check/fix this. Thank you in advance.
Specs:

*

*OS: Ubuntu 18.04.1 LTS x86_64

*Host: XPS 13 9343

*Kernel: 4.15.0-38-generic

*DE: KDE

*Terminal: konsole

*CPU: Intel i7-5600U (4) @ 3.200GHz

*GPU: Intel HD Graphics 5500

Edit:
This seems to be an issue with the plasmashell crashing, once it had crashed I ran it again via the command line and caused the error again and I got a seg fault from it (I removed some of the repeated stuff):
org.kde.plasmaquick: Applet preload policy set to 1
Connecting to deprecated signal QDBusConnectionInterface::serviceOwnerChanged(QString,QString,QString)
Trying to use rootObject before initialization is completed, whilst using setInitializationDelayed. Forcing completion
KActivities: Database connection:  "kactivities_db_resources_140558459253184_readonly"
    query_only:          QVariant(qlonglong, 1)
    journal_mode:        QVariant(QString, "wal")
    wal_autocheckpoint:  QVariant(qlonglong, 100)
    synchronous:         QVariant(qlonglong, 0)
Entry is not valid "applications:org.kde.discover.desktop" 0x556ab435d1b0
Entry is not valid "applications:org.kde.discover.desktop" 0x556ab435d1b0
Closing SQL connection:  "kactivities_db_resources_140558459253184_readonly"
KActivities: Database connection:  "kactivities_db_resources_140558459253184_readonly"
    query_only:          QVariant(qlonglong, 1)
    journal_mode:        QVariant(QString, "wal")
    wal_autocheckpoint:  QVariant(qlonglong, 100)
    synchronous:         QVariant(qlonglong, 0)
Nothing to load - the client id is empty
Nothing to load - the client id is empty

org.kde.plasma: requesting config for "Panel" without a containment!
QCoreApplication::postEvent: Unexpected null receiver
file:///usr/share/plasma/plasmoids/org.kde.desktopcontainment/contents/ui/FolderItemDelegate.qml:355:34: Unable to assign [undefined] to bool

Segmentation fault (core dumped)

A: This turned out to be an issue with the Active-window plasmoid, once I got rid of that everything else started working normally.


text:
Dall'antifascismo democratico al comunismo
Nipote del deputato socialista massimalista Fabrizio Maffi (entrato poi nel Partito Comunista d'Italia nel 1924 con la corrente "terzina"), iniziò la sua attività politica nel movimento socialista ed entrò nel Comitato Centrale dell'organizzazione antifascista Giustizia e Libertà nel 1930. Nel 1934 fu incaricato della ricostruzione del centro socialista per l'Italia. Suoi articoli comparvero su Politica socialista e Il Nuovo Avanti. Nel 1935 venne arrestato e conobbe in carcere alcuni esponenti della sinistra del Partito Comunista d'Italia. Dal 1936 si allontanò progressivamente dall'antifascismo democratico avvicinandosi a quella che ormai era definita Sinistra Comunista Italiana (1938).

Nel Partito Comunista Internazionale
Nel 1943 fu tra i fondatori del Partito Comunista Internazionalista in collaborazione con Onorato Damen, Rosolino Ferragni, Mario Acquaviva ed altri militanti sostenitori della sinistra comunista. Da subito partecipò al collegamento fra i gruppi del Nord e del Sud nell'Italia ancora divisa dal fronte di guerra. Nell'autunno del 1945 quando i gruppi della Sinistra Comunista furono finalmente riuniti, partecipò alla preparazione del Convegno di Torino, praticamente l'atto costitutivo ufficiale del partito (dicembre). Durante la preparazione del congresso del 1949 (Firenze), si adoperò per una conciliazione fra le due principali correnti che si stavano delineando su vari problemi (questione sindacale, concezione organica o democratica del partito, questione coloniale, ecc.) e che si riferivano a due "capi" storici come Onorato Damen e Amadeo Bordiga. Nel 1951, alla vigilia della scissione fra queste correnti, si schierò decisamente con quella rappresentata da Bordiga. La scissione, avvenuta poi nel 1952, portò alla formazione di un nuovo Partito Comunista Internazionalista (Il programma comunista). Fino agli ultimi anni della sua vita, Maffi ne fu uno dei maggiori esponenti. Durante la faticosa ricomposizione del nuovo partito (che per i suoi militanti era però in continuità con l'originario PCd'I) fu incaricato di rappresentare il "Centro" (organismo informale basato sulla "doppia direzione" fra le componenti del partito). Tale organismo  nelle intenzioni di Bordiga, doveva sostituire i classici strumenti del "centralismo democratico" tipico della Terza Internazionale.

Commissario Unico
Bordiga odiava i formalismi organizzativi adottati senza "necessità vitale" e li considerava "un pericolo sospetto e stupido", perciò l'incarico affidato a Maffi venne definito scherzosamente del "Commissario Unico", dato che, disse, un coordinatore "basta e avanza" per le condizioni oggettive in cui si trovava il partito. Non c'erano ovviamente precedenti storici per l'applicazione del nuovo centralismo:

Comunque non fu possibile evitare crisi successive, fino a quella finale che videro sempre Bruno Maffi in prima fila, protagonista attivo ma anche prodotto di una storia che non aveva potuto esprimere un partito corrispondente alle sue premesse del 1921 e 1952.

Ultimi anni
Dopo l'ultima crisi subìta dal partito per questioni interne a partire dal 1981 e il suo drastico ridimensionamento nel 1982 (a detta di alcuni per cause simili a quelle del 1951), Maffi si adoperò per la sua ricostituzione, raggruppando intorno al giornale alcuni militanti sopravvissuti alla diaspora. Il partito, seppure a ranghi ridotti, esiste tuttora insieme con la testata "Il programma comunista".

Maffi fu anche apprezzato traduttore dal tedesco, inglese e francese, attività che per qualche tempo dopo la guerra svolse in collegamento con Cesare Pavese all'Einaudi. Propose per varie case editrici la traduzione e pubblicazione di molte importanti opere (Marx, Engels, Trockij, Luxemburg, Orwell, Harrington, Isaacs). Sua è per esempio l'edizione filologica del Capitale per l'Utet; notevoli sono anche le sue traduzioni di varie importanti opere storiografiche e di storia dell'economia edite da Laterza. Negli ultimi anni fu presidente della fondazione costituita in seguito al lascito testamentario della vedova di Amadeo Bordiga, Antonietta de Meo. Morì a Milano all'età di quasi 94 anni.

Alcune opere
Maffi scrisse ininterrottamente su Programma comunista dal 1952 al 2001 ed è quindi impossibile fare una cernita che non sia arbitraria fra i vari lavori pubblicati. Ne segnaliamo alcuni che sono usciti in volume.

 Appunti per una politica socialista, senza indicazione di editore, 1934.
 La Sinistra Comunista nel cammino della Rivoluzione - In memoria di Amadeo Bordiga, serie apparsa a puntate su Il programma comunista dal n. 15 del 1970, raccolta da Edizioni Sociali, Roma, 1976.
 Lenin e la parola d'ordine del "controllo operaio", Il programma comunista nn. 11, 12, 13- e 14 del 1975, apparsa in opuscolo del PCInt. lo stesso anno.
 Storia della Frazione Comunista all'estero, ciclostilato del PCInt., 1976.
 L'intervento di Bordiga in una riunione in margine al Congresso di Marsiglia del PCF, ciclostilato del PCInt., 1977.
 Storia della Sinistra comunista, vol. II, ediz. Il programma comunista, 1972.
 Storia della Sinistra comunista, vol. III, ediz. Il programma comunista, 1986.
 Storia della Sinistra comunista, vol. IV, ediz. Il programma comunista, 1997.

Traduttori dal francese all'italiano
Traduttori dall'inglese all'italiano
Traduttori dal tedesco all'italiano


text:
Intergalactic Space Rescue in Tiny BASIC
Friday, 30th August 2019
As I predicted, I've got severely distracted now that the Tiny BASIC interpreter is working. I decided to see if I could port my old game Intergalactic Space Rescue to the language, and managed to do so in a couple of hours.
Intergalactic Space Rescue (henceforth "rescue") is a simple puzzle game set in space. It's in the same genre as Hurkle and Wumpus, where you are wandering around a game environment looking for a particular object, receiving clues about where it is. Like Hurkle, the map is a simple 10x10 grid. Like Mugwump, your clue is the distance between you and your objective. Like Wumpus, you move around one step at a time, and there are obstacles in your way.
The back story of Rescue is that you are a rescue pilot, involved in mission after mission of seeking out starships in distress in order to rescue their passengers. You have a limited amount of fuel. Obstacles are asteroids, which cost extra fuel to navigate around, and hyperspaces, which are wormholes that transport you to a random hyperspace elsewhere on the map. To balance these out are planets, at which you can refuel. The chance of encountering planets is constant throughout the levels, but the hazards increase in number as you progress.
I originally wrote this game in BASIC on a 2KB Sharp pocket computer in the 1980s. Two decades later I rewrote it for Psion pocket computers, adding the idea of multiple levels and a graphic interface. A few years afterwards, I implemented it on the 16K ZX Spectrum in assembly language. The original Sharp version was a text-based game, and I thought that Tiny BASIC might be an ideal target. The only difficulty was the lack of arrays in Tiny BASIC; all previous versions stored the generated map in a 10x10 array. But this is where procedural generation comes in.
On all versions of the game with multiple levels, the maps are procedurally generated from a set seed. This means that the levels need not be stored, and are generated at will. The same can hold true of the map locations themselves. As long as they are always generated in the same sequence, any map square can be queried by resetting the seed, and generating all the map squares in that sequence up to the one you want to examine.
Using this method I can simulate a randomly generated array, and thus implement Rescue in Tiny BASIC. A similar algorithm can be used to create any kind of large adventure world, as long as the state of each location remains constant.
Tiny BASIC: Interpreter Largely Completed
My Tiny BASIC Implementation


The Seymour Centre is the home to the majority of our program with five fabulous spaces to enjoy our incredible lineup. We have renamed all the theatres after legendary Sydney cabaret venues, turning the entire place into a Cabaret Wonderland.
Our largest venue, named after the famous cinema / performance space in Glebe is the home to Cheeky Cabaret, and our Petit Cabaret for the kids. Valhalla was the place audiences first saw the legend that became Reg Livermore when he starred as Frank N' Furter in "The Rocky Horror Show" in the original Australian production.
Chequers will be home to some of our favourite cabaret superstars, transporting you back to the legendary nightclub of the 60s. Chequers on Goulburn st was the hottest nightspot in Sydney for years, with star acts including Shirley Bassey, Liza Minnelli and Sammy Davis Jr!
Tilbury legends Jonathan Biggins and Phil Scott will headline the room named after the legendary Sydney pub in Wooloomooloo. Owned by Geoffrey Williams and Michael Freundt, the Tilbury was the place to go for cabaret for most of the 90s. Here legends like Tony Sheldon, Genevieve Lemon, Jeanne Little and many more trod the boards, especially in the famous Tilbury Pantos.
Named after one of the greatest drag revue bars on Oxford St, Capriccios is our smallest room in which to get properly up close and personal. Capriccio's was owned by Dawn O'Donnell and featured high-end production shows in its upstairs theatre. Here you could see celebrities like Debbie Reynolds mixing with star performer Rose Jackson!


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CUHK Team Develops a Rapid On-Site Method for Detecting Influenza Virus and Wins Gold Award in iGEM Competition
A genetic engineering team of 12 undergraduate students from the Faculty of Business Administration, the Faculty of Engineering, the School of Biomedical Science of the Faculty of Medicine, and the School of Life Sciences of the Faculty of Science at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), has been awarded a Gold medal at the international Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) 2018 Giant Jamboree held in Boston, USA, for developing a novel rapid test for influenza subtypes. This is the seventh time that a CUHK team has won gold in the annual premier synthetic biology competition. The winning project has extensive potential applications and may help doctors and even the general public to detect the threat of an influenza virus.
The winning project designed by the CUHK iGEM team was named "Rapid: RNA aptamer probe influenza detector" (RAPID). Transmissible diseases such as influenza have threatened the lives of people in Hong Kong and worldwide. However, while cold-flu differentiation remains difficult for non-experts, many people fail to receive appropriate treatment in time. Even if the doctor diagnoses the flu, a laboratory test is still required to confirm its type (i.e., type A, B or C) and subtype (such as H1N1, H5N1 and H7N9). It often takes a day or more and may miss the prime time for epidemic control. The RAPID designed by the CUHK team can distinguish the virus's type by detecting its RNA target sequence and it takes only around thirty minutes for the results. The detector is small and light. Patients can use it at home to detect whether they are infected with the flu, and seek medical advice in time, which will improve anti-epidemic efficiency.
This novel tool is based on the switchable light-up RNA aptamer, which undergoes conformational change upon hybridisation with another strand of nucleic acid, leading to an observable fluorescent signal. This tool can be modified to detect theoretically any RNA target sequence, including influenza and other viruses' genome. The CUHK iGEM team designed a mobile phone-based fluorometer to detect the signal of the aptamer, as well as an accompanying software which makes use of the technique of machine learning to analyse the testing result. This tool can make it more convenient for the general public to detect an influenza virus by themselves.
To provide a self-testing tool for the general public to test for influenza when they experience flu-like symptoms, the team distributed questionnaires in local and nearby countries during the preliminary stage of the project. Based on the result, the team realised that there is a real need in the market because the majority of the general public cannot differentiate between the symptoms of flu and cold. Also, people expressed interests in such a device and are willing to pay for it.
The team has also interviewed an epidemiologist, to gain feedback and advice on the project design. As a result, the team has improved the sensitivity of the quick test accordingly, as sensitivity would have the utmost importance for a self-test. Students also interviewed a family doctor to learn more about the existing quick tests for influenza so as to make the tool more competitive than existing tests.
Professor Chan King-ming, one of the instructors of the team and associate professor of the School of Life Sciences at CUHK, remarked, "Students from different majors work together collaboratively, with their own expertise, from designing the hardware to making biobricks and doing experiments as a team. It's been a great experience for them to compete with other teams from top universities in the Jamboree."
About iGEM Competition
There were 365 teams from around the world participating in this year's world giant jamboree and, of them, only 114 teams achieved gold.
iGEM is an annual premier synthetic biology competition worldwide for high school, undergraduate and postgraduate students. It was established by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2004 to foster students' learning in synthetic biology, promote collaboration among students and nurture biology talent. Participating teams are required to specify, design, build and test simple biological systems made from standard, interchangeable biological parts. The accomplishments of these student teams often lead to important advances or provide solutions to tackle problems in medicine, food and nutrition, energy and the environment.
Professor Chan King-ming, associate professor of the School of Life Sciences, CUHK (1st left, back row) and the CUHK iGEM team.
CUHK Team Develops a Rapid On-Site Method for Subtyping Influenza A virus and Wins Gold Award in iGEM competition
CUHK School of Life Sciences Signs Agreement with UC Berkeley on Biosciences Study Abroad Programme
CUHK Genetic Engineering Team Wins Gold Again in iGEM Finals in Boston
CUHK Genetic Engineering Team Won Gold Award in Boston
CUHK Undergraduate Students Win Silver Medal at iGEM Asia
Heading to US Next Month for World Championship
CUHK Students Win Gold Medal at iGEM Asia Again
中大參與「創新科技嘉年華2012」
展示得獎發明「細菌發電裝置」和項目管理軟件
(Chinese version only)
CUHK Undergraduate Students Win Gold Medal at iGEM Asia
CUHK Biochemistry Students Win Gold at MIT Competition
for Proving Bacteria DNA as Device for Information Storage
中大生創30分鐘廉價驗流感 在家採樣照燈 拍照上傳AI分析 (明報)
速測流感類型 新招一驗即知 (文匯報)
中大生研發快速流感測試器 低至90元安坐家中測試 料五年後面世 (HK01)
Breakthrough by Hong Kong students could provide a cheap and easy way for people to tell if they have the flu (SCMP)


Student Accounting Society will have our next meeting Wednesday, Oct. 10th at 5:30 p.m. in SciTech 309. Lawrence Young from the State Bureau of Investigation is coming to speak with us. He was the Special Agent in Charge of the Financial Crimes Unit from 2007 to 2011. It will be a very intriguing meeting that you do not want to miss! We look forward to seeing you all there.


The Dunn Law Firm, LLP has a strong tradition of representing creditors in Central Illinois. We represent clients in various creditor actions including foreclosures and collections.
The Dunn Law Firm, LLP represents commercial and retail clients in a variety of legal matters in Central Illinois.
Construction collections – filing and enforcement of mechanics lien claims, and labor and material payment bond claims.
Litigation – prosecution of debt collection civil actions in state and Federal Court, and before alternative dispute resolution forums (arbitration, mediation).
Credit Policy Review – review and recommend improvements to client's credit applications, sales contract terms and conditions, invoice terms and conditions, personal and corporate guarantees, and security agreements. Consult with clients on implementation of credit policies.
The Dunn Law Firm, LLP represents real estate secured clients in a variety of foreclosure, eviction and real estate-related matters in Central Illinois.
Residential and Commercial Foreclosures – initiating foreclosure actions in court and assisting clients in obtaining and collecting deficiency judgments.
Foreclosure Alternatives – promoting the client's interest, where possible, by arranging for alternatives to foreclosure, such as facilitating reinstatements, forbearance agreements, deeds-in-lieu of foreclosure, consent foreclosures, loan modifications, and settlements.
Forcible Detainer Actions – initiating suits to obtain possession of property for landlords, contract sellers and other owners of real estate.
Title Issues – reviewing title abstracts and policies as well as handling title claim.
If you have a collection matter, including mortgage foreclosure, tenant evictions, commercial collections or consumer collections, contact the Dunn Law Firm, LLP by calling us at (309) 828-6241 to discuss your creditors' rights needs today.


Source: In: Mastro, Victor; Reardon, Richard, comps. Proceedings of the emerald ash borer research and technology development meeting; 2004 October 5-6; Romulus, MI. FHTET 2004-15. Morgantown, WV: U.S. Forest Service, Forest Health Technology Enterprise Team: 41-42.


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NASDAQ:FCAP
First Capital Stock Forecast, Price & News
Adding First Capital, Inc.
Now: $56.77▼
MA: $62.48▼
Volume2,885 shs
Average Volume3,574 shs
Market Capitalization$191.66 million
Beta-0.01
First Capital, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for First Harrison Bank that provides various banking services to individuals and business customers. The company offers a range of deposit instruments, including non-interest bearing checking accounts, negotiable order of withdrawal accounts, money market accounts, regular savings accounts, certificates of deposit, and retirement savings plans. It also provides real estate mortgage loans, such as fixed-rate and adjustable rate mortgage residential loans, construction loans for residential and commercial properties, and commercial real estate loans, as well as commercial business loans. In addition, the company originates mortgage loans for sale in the secondary market and sells non-deposit investment products; and offers various secured or guaranteed consumer loans comprising automobile and truck loans, home equity loans, home improvement loans, boat loans, mobile home loans, and loans secured by savings deposits, as well as unsecured consumer loans. It provides its products and services through 18 locations in Indiana and Kentucky. The company was founded in 1891 and is based in Corydon, Indiana.
Finance Sector
1149th out of 1,939 stocks
Federal Savings Institutions Industry
47th out of 112 stocks
There is not enough analysis data for First Capital.
First Capital has received 143 "outperform" votes. (Add your "outperform" vote.)
First Capital has received 155 "underperform" votes. (Add your "underperform" vote.)
First Capital has received 52.01% "underperform" votes from our community.
MarketBeat's community ratings are surveys of what our community members think about First Capital and other stocks. Vote "Outperform" if you believe FCAP will outperform the S&P 500 over the long term. Vote "Underperform" if you believe FCAP will underperform the S&P 500 over the long term. You may vote once every thirty days.
First Capital pays a meaningful dividend of 1.71%, higher than the bottom 25% of all stocks that pay dividends.
First Capital does not have a long track record of dividend growth.
In the past three months, First Capital insiders have not sold or bought any company stock.
Only 4.50% of the stock of First Capital is held by insiders.
Only 17.58% of the stock of First Capital is held by institutions.
The P/E ratio of First Capital is 19.58, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 23.65.
The P/E ratio of First Capital is 19.58, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the Finance sector average P/E ratio of about 22.01.
First Capital has a P/B Ratio of 1.93. P/B Ratios below 3 indicates that a company is reasonably valued with respect to its assets and liabilities.
Stock Exchange NASDAQ
Industry Federal savings institutions
SectorFinance
Current SymbolNASDAQ:FCAP
CIK1070296
Webwww.firstharrison.com
Annual Sales$38.98 million
Cash Flow$3.89 per share
Net Income$10.32 million
Return on Equity9.31%
Outstanding Shares3,376,000
Market Cap$191.66 million
Next Earnings Date1/28/2021 (Estimated)
Receive FCAP News and Ratings via Email
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First Capital (NASDAQ:FCAP) Frequently Asked Questions
How has First Capital's stock price been impacted by COVID-19?
First Capital's stock was trading at $61.66 on March 11th, 2020 when COVID-19 reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization. Since then, FCAP stock has decreased by 7.9% and is now trading at $56.77.
What stocks does MarketBeat like better than First Capital?
Wall Street analysts have given First Capital a "N/A" rating, but there may be better short-term opportunities in the market. Some of MarketBeat's past winning trading ideas have resulted in 5-15% weekly gains. MarketBeat just released five new trading ideas, but First Capital wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five stocks may be even better buys.
What is Doug Parker's approval rating as First Capital's CEO?
1,428 employees have rated First Capital CEO Doug Parker on Glassdoor.com. Doug Parker has an approval rating of 59% among First Capital's employees. This puts Doug Parker in the bottom 25% of approval ratings compared to other CEOs of publicly-traded companies.
When is First Capital's next earnings date?
First Capital is scheduled to release its next quarterly earnings announcement on Thursday, January 28th 2021.
View our earnings forecast for First Capital.
How were First Capital's earnings last quarter?
First Capital, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCAP) posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October, 23rd. The savings and loans company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The savings and loans company earned $9.49 million during the quarter. First Capital had a return on equity of 9.31% and a net margin of 25.17%.
View First Capital's earnings history.
How often does First Capital pay dividends? What is the dividend yield for First Capital?
First Capital announced a dividend on Thursday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 1st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share on Friday, December 18th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 3rd.
View First Capital's dividend history.
Is First Capital a good dividend stock?
First Capital pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and currently has a dividend yield of 1.71%.
Who are some of First Capital's key competitors?
Some companies that are related to First Capital include Northfield Bancorp, Inc. (Staten Island, NY) (NFBK), Dime Community Bancshares (DCOM), NASB Financial (NASB), Waterstone Financial (WSBF), HomeTrust Bancshares (HTBI), Bluegreen Vacations (BBXTB), Bluegreen Vacations (BVHBB), Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (FMAO), Sterling Bancorp (SBT), Territorial Bancorp (TBNK), Provident Bancorp (PVBC), Northrim BanCorp (NRIM), BCB Bancorp (BCBP), North Dallas Bank & Trust (NODB) and PDL Community Bancorp (PDLB).
View all of FCAP's competitors.
What other stocks do shareholders of First Capital own?
Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some companies that other First Capital investors own include AbbVie (ABBV), Algonquin Power & Utilities (AQN), BCE (BCE), Blackrock Resources & Commodities Strategy Trust (BCX), Franklin Resources (BEN), BlackRock Enhanced International Dividend Trust (BGY), The Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS), BlackRock Enhanced Global Dividend Trust (BOE), British American Tobacco (BTI) and BlackRock Utilities, Infrastructure & Power Opportunities Trust (BUI).
Who are First Capital's key executives?
First Capital's management team includes the following people:
Mr. William W. Harrod, Pres, CEO, COO & Director (Age 64, Pay $316.87k)
Mr. Michael Chris Frederick, Sr. EVP, CFO, Treasurer & Director (Age 52, Pay $196.11k)
Ms. Jill R. Keinsley, Exec. VP, Corp. Sec. & HR Director (Age 52, Pay $155.76k)
Mr. Dennis L. Thomas, Exec. VP & Chief Credit Officer (Age 63, Pay $174k)
Mr. Jeff Thomas, Director of Bus. Devel. & Director of Bus. Devel. of First Harrison Bank
What is First Capital's stock symbol?
First Capital trades on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol "FCAP."
How do I buy shares of First Capital?
Shares of FCAP can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include WeBull, Vanguard Brokerage Services, TD Ameritrade, E*TRADE, Robinhood, Fidelity, and Charles Schwab.
What is First Capital's stock price today?
One share of FCAP stock can currently be purchased for approximately $56.77.
How big of a company is First Capital?
First Capital has a market capitalization of $191.66 million and generates $38.98 million in revenue each year. First Capital employs 182 workers across the globe.
What is First Capital's official website?
The official website for First Capital is www.firstharrison.com.
How can I contact First Capital?
First Capital's mailing address is 220 FEDERAL DRIVE N W, CORYDON IN, 47112. The savings and loans company can be reached via phone at 812-738-2198.


SHELTON, CONNECTICUT and TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - May 20, 2010) - OPEL International Inc. (TSX VENTURE:OPL) ("OPEL" or "the Company"), a leading global supplier of high concentration photovoltaic ("HCPV") solar panels and other solar products, including ground-based and rooftop tracker systems, today announced the filing on SEDAR of its Financial Statements and the Management's Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A") for the quarter ended March 31, 2010 (collectively the "Financials").
OPEL's revenue in the first quarter of 2010 increased over the same quarter of 2009 and the fourth quarter of 2009. During the first quarter, OPEL received two new 1MW HCPV projects, for customers in Europe, one of which is a major renewable energy player in Europe and the Americas. Deliveries on these projects will start in the second half of the year. Also during the first quarter, OPEL signed a collaboration agreement with one of the largest commercial construction companies who has just started construction of utility scale solar power plants. Also, OPEL received an additional $850,000 in SBIR contracts from the U.S. Government for additional research in infrared detection to fund ODIS activities.
In the first quarter of 2010, OPEL was awarded a 1MW HCPV solar utility installation in Portugal with its partner Tecneira, one of the largest renewable energy construction firms in Portugal. This is Portugal's first use of the advanced solar technology that will also have the advantage of a dual axis solar tracking system. The second 1MW HCPV installation, also a first, is through a partnership with the French tracker company Exosun, for installation in the South of France starting mid-year. Both are to be grid connected, selling electricity to each country's utility. Both opportunities were possible due to OPEL's ability to install and demonstrate its HCPV technology last year in Spain.
OPEL has continued during the quarter to focus its time and energy on forging relationships with large Engineering, Procurement and Construction ("EPC") companies and power producers. This continues to pay off with OPEL increasing its quoting activity on large scale, utility grade projects.
"OPEL is definitely on a growth path," said Michael McCoy, OPEL'S Chief Financial Officer. "With our new relationships and increased backlog, we are poised to significantly increase our revenue and shareholder value in 2010."
About OPEL International and OPEL Solar, Inc.
With OPEL Solar, Inc. operations headquartered in Shelton, CT and the headquarters office in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, OPEL designs, manufactures and markets high performance concentrating photovoltaic ("HCPV") panels to transform solar energy into electricity for worldwide application. OPEL's high performance photovoltaic concentrating panels generate up to 40% more kilowatt-hours than conventional flat plate silicon solar panels, resulting in more cost effective electricity generated from the sun. OPEL also markets a complete line of dual and single axis solar trackers to mount solar panels for the optimum power output. OPEL designs infrared sensor type products for military, consumer, industrial and commercial applications.
A leader in gallium arsenide and solar concentrating photovoltaic technology, the Company has been awarded 32 patents and has 18 more patents pending. OPEL's common shares trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "OPL". For more information about OPEL, please visit the Company's website at www.opelinc.com.


text:
Q: Neo4j http API NullPointerException I am using the HTTP API to query the Neo4j server. The exact same queries with slightly different values do not work consistently. Infact the entire system breaks because of the NullPointer exception that is being thrown. Cannot figure out the root of this problem
{
       "query":"START n=node( { current_user_node } ), n1 = node( { contact_node } ) CREATE UNIQUE n-[:has_contact {device: {device_id}, name: {name} }]->(n1)",
      "params":{"current_user_node":2,"contact_node":5941,"device_id":"F1485935-48F8-4624-AF5D-67529AE91227","name":"Samir Coll "}
}

The above query returns
{
    "exception": "NullPointerException",
    "fullname": "java.lang.NullPointerException",
    "stacktrace": []
}

I tried the above query in the neo4j-shell from the command line and the query returned a null.
While
{
    "query":"START n=node( { current_user_node } ), n1 = node( { contact_node } ) CREATE UNIQUE n-[:has_contact {device: {device_id}, name: {name} }]->(n1)",
    "params":{"current_user_node":1,"contact_node":5658,"device_id":"FA2C589A-6AB5-4D78-ADED-7146CA71D0FC","name":"Jayesh New"}
}

The above returns
{ "columns": [], "data": [] }

The data is empty as the relationship already exists.
I am running neo4j 2.0.0 stable. All the nodes mentioned in the above queries are valid. I am very unsure as to how to proceed with this. Would appreciate it if someone can help with the problem.


The attached file items.odp (of unknown origin) was edited in LO 5.2.0.4 to contain a bulleted line, broken with shift-return.
After saving as "Powerpoint 2007-2013 XML" (items.pptx) and opening in Powerpoint of "Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus", the line is broken: It is split into two bullet lines at the line break.
The screenshot comparison.png shows the original file in LO on top and the broken version in Powerpoint below.
My workaround is to use the old ppt format instead.


Jouko Karvinen, chief executive of Philips Medical Systems, said at a recent analyst meeting that they expect profit margins in the Medical Systems division to raise in the second half of the year.
Germany's Siemens AG (SI) and U.S.-based General Electric Co. (GE).
unit as the company's main growth driver in the years to come.
annual sales of about $150 million.