Every time something utterly ridiculous happens in our house, I make a mental note of it thinking, "I should add that to Saurus' [non-existent] baby book" or "I need to add that to the next blog post". The problem, however, is that mental notes and being 39 weeks pregnant don't go very well together. Not even a little bit. Like instant WHOOSH and gone. Never to return. So I've been trying for two weeks now to think of what it was I wanted to write about in this post and still….I got nothing. Less than nothing. I start thinking about it and then 5 minutes later I'm looking at light fixtures on amazon with no recollection of how I got there. So there you go. Mama brain is a scary, scary place.
But what isn't scary are these brownies – I can at least promise you that. We had BaconFest at work a few weeks ago (which consists of us basically eating piles of bacon and having a cardiologist on speed dial) so, me being me, I figured I'd find a way to mix the bacon with as much sugar as I possibly could. These things will melt your tastebuds off. But in a good way. A really good way. A really REALLY good way. Super rich brownie (from a mix because it's awesome), layered with bourbon caramel, thick-cut bacon, and pecans. See? A really REALLY good way. Like eat with a spoon and fall into a fantastic food coma kinda way. You can thank me when you come out of it.
And if I happen to think of the story I meant to tell you in this post, then I'll just have to write some more. Saurus did (lovingly) tell me I looked like a fat turtle when I was trying to get out of bed this morning but I'm pretty sure that wasn't it. Although fingers crossed for having a baby this week instead of baking and writing. If I were a betting woman, though, my money would be on more baking and less baby. The odds are not in my favor for having on-time, normal-sized children. It's probably the brownies.
In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup, butter, and cream over med-high heat.
Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Then reduce heat until it's bubbling but not bubbling over (medium-ish).
Stir occasionally until caramel sauce reaches 255F (hard ball stage).
Remove from heat and stir in bourbon, bacon, and pecans until smooth.
Make brownie mix according to package directions and pour half of the batter in a greased 9x9 pan.
Garnish with extra bacon and pecan pieces. And maybe some chocolate chips. And maybe some extra caramel sauce, if you're feeling fancy.
Allow to cool before cutting. Or just go straight for the spoon and warm brownie goo. You won't regret it.


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        <course id="id3" href="http://courses.illinois.edu/cisapp/explorer/schedule/test3">course 3</course>
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Weekly "Whatever"
Looking for a special song or artist?
Pop Culture on Steroids: The Goddess, The Teen Heart Throb and "50 Shades of Grey"
Dec 19, 2016 | 0 comments
Taylor Swift, Goddess of Everything, has teamed up with Zayn Malik, one of the world's biggest pop stars (formerly with legendary boy band One Direction), for a song that is on the soundtrack of "50 Shades Darker" the not-yet-released sequel to "50 Shades of Grey."
It's all arranged: by the time "everyone" sees the movie "everyone" will have heard "I Don't Wanna Live Forever" and it will have been, or soon will be, at, or near, #1.
Mass marketing aside, here are two huge talents making music together, their voices a natural blend. It's pure pop, about the heartache and remorse post-breakup. They alternate lines– both are equally miserable–unlike that lovely, loving and magical 1989 Aaron Neville and Linda Ronstadt duet "Don't Know Much" which was so good it won a Grammy, but it didn't cause a FRENZY, which is what happened with the Swift/Zayn song: Within minutes of its release, radio stations nationwide aired it, to playing it as often as every hour or every other hour.
Swift was also one of the writers, so "I Don't Wanna Live Forever" has those "Taylor Swift" hip, flip and clever lyrics.
Copyright ©2015 Boomer Music Update

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Every once in a while it happens: two movies hit theaters with the same exact title, but neither film is a remake, sequel, reboot or anything to the other. It happens more often when the earlier film was less successful, but it even happened to one of Alfred Hitchcock's better films, which shares a name with a hip-hop biopic, and twice to a classic Jeff Bridges Western.
The Internet has plenty of articles pointing out this phenomenon, but are these name-sharing films really totally different? Even allowing for similarities that the titles require (any film called Employee of the Month is going to be set in a workplace, for instance), we found some unusual ties between them.
To keep our search to the most interesting results, we limited it to theatrical releases that had a Rotten Tomatoes score, with a couple of exceptions for very notable lead actors. Note that the international box-office figures are not adjusted for inflation: even so, the latter film is usually the more financially successful one. Here are 20 Pairs Of Movies With Identical Titles.
1991: Soap-opera showrunner John Candy, in a power struggle with his co-producers, suffers head trauma which makes him hallucinate that he's a part of his own show and realize he's chasing the wrong woman.
2007: A drifter works his way up from homelessness to a career in show business by way of assisting a neurotic photographer (Steve Buscemi).
Strangely, both movies... fool the audience with scenes that seem to be real life but are actually television, and have a hapless lead who tries to win the love of a show-business diva and is nearly shot to death with a handgun.
1991: Irascible blind photographer Hugo Weaving takes pictures and has people describe them to him as a way of coping with his distrust of others and inability to judge the world without them.
2005: Gwyneth Paltrow tries to settle her mathematician father's affairs and worries she's inherited his madness; she may have also inherited a proof with great significance to modern math.
Strangely, both movies... are disability dramas involving a hidden inheritance from a dead parent that, when deciphered with a friend's help, leaves their main characters with valuable insight.
1999: Robert De Niro suffers a stroke and has to rely on the musical knowledge of a drag queen saving up for a gender transition (Philip Seymour Hoffman) to get his mobility and speech back.
2008: In the 1960s, Demi Moore, a diamond executive who's hit the glass ceiling, gets entangled in a janitor's plot to defraud the company (and Demi Moore, the actor, stages an ill-fated comeback).
Strangely, both movies... involve an alliance which ruptures when one of its members proves willing to commit much grander larceny than their friend thought them capable of.
2005: In this black comedy, Matt Dillon loses his job and fiancee in the same day, then gets caught up in a robbery at his old employer, then... then the story starts to feel like an improv comedy sketch that took a left turn somewhere.
2006: In this light office comedy, Dane Cook competes with an office bully for "employee of the month" title and a new hire's (Jessica Simpson, of all people) heart, but risks losing his soul to get what he wants.
Strangely, both movies... feature sudden revelations of criminal activity that are important to the plot but come almost completely out of nowhere.
1995: Cindy Crawford, a divorce lawyer, ends up handling a case that involves property important to former members of the KGB, which jeopardizes her life and leads a hunky cop (William Baldwin) to protect her. Sparks fly, naturally.
2010: A spy drama biopic that covers "Plamegate," the outing of CIA spy Valerie Plame (played by Naomi Watts) and her subsequent marital troubles and struggles with the White House.
Strangely, both movies... feature the machinations of a Cold War-founded intelligence agency and the government behind it, putting an innocent yuppie woman (who's ridiculously hot, because Hollywood) in the crosshairs.
2002: This Werner Herzog film features Zishe Breitbart, a strongman who reveals himself as Jewish in pre-Reich Germany, surviving attempted smears from Nazis and their would-be collaborators.
2006: Mark Wahlberg stars as Vince Papale, a laid-off substitute teacher who begins playing football for the Philadelphia Eagles and changes their fortunes in a brief but notable career.
Strangely, both movies... are true-life tales that fudge important events (the details of Eagles games are muddled, and Breitbart died in 1925, not 1933 as the movie depicts). Both are sports movies about older star athletes who fell into their glory days as a second career.
1995: A friendly defense attorney (Chevy Chase) tries to woo single mom Farrah Fawcett and bond with her son, who stubbornly mistrusts and sabotages him. The poster (seen above) features some questionable cultural appropriation.
2005: A lonely Texas Ranger (Tommy Lee Jones) poses as an assistant cheerleading coach to protect a group of cheerleaders who have witnessed a murder.
Strangely, both movies... despite beginning in very different places, involve connecting with young people and protecting them from organized crime. Both end with a second marriage.
1986: Ralph Macchio (The Karate Kid), a music student at Julliard, befriends an old bluesman, breaking him out of an old folks' home to take him to Mississippi and learn his secrets. They meet up with a runaway who breaks Ralph's heart, which teaches him even more of the blues.
2002: Three teenage girls (including Britney Spears and Zoe Saldana) accompany one hunky male love interest for Britney on a long trip with three different goals, becoming a musical trio along the way.
Strangely, both movies... are musical dramas about discovering your talent and take journeys through the Deep South, funded by performances after the money quickly runs out, while a secondary character in each achieves her dream of getting to Los Angeles.
1946: A government agent (Cary Grant) and the daughter of a Nazi spy (Ingrid Bergman) with a questionable past work together to bring down a Brazilian ring of Nazis in the postwar period, but at great risk to Bergman's life. One of Alfred Hitchcock's early classics, with a famously long, taboo-breaking kiss.
2009: This musical biopic covers the life and early death of Christopher Wallace, AKA the Notorious B.I.G., a life full of drug dealing, musical glory, death threats and jealousy.
Strangely, both movies... despite their drastic differences, include a love triangle that ends with a violent death (albeit implied in Hitchcock's case).
This once we're doing a threefer, since all three of these movies are too notable to overlook.
1973: Jeff Bridges, a pious Ohioan dodging the Civil War draft, falls in with a rough crowd in this unromantic Western.
1995: Two former CIA agents, a femme fatale and a reluctant mole, plot to murder their boss and take over his corporate espionage company, but make the mistake of trusting one another.
2002: In the last film to be shot in the World Trade Center, Chris Rock poses as his own twin brother to foil an Afghan bomb plot (yeah, that was uncomfortable). Anthony Hopkins is his supervisor.
Strangely... the male lead of each film spends most of the movie lying about who he really is. The first two involve main characters turning on and killing each other; the last two involve the CIA (sometimes called the "Company").
1996: A man, his wife, his lover and his guru all pursue a fetish for cars and car crashes, which ultimately reinvigorates his marriage but may prove fatal. The film came out in NC-17 and R-rated versions.
2005: A black police detective, his criminal younger brother, the white DA and his spoiled wife, a hardworking locksmith, a black director and his wife, and a racist white cop and his rookie partner all figure into intersecting Los Angeles stories focusing on, naturally, race. The movie begins and ends with a car crash.
Strangely, both movies... left critics deeply divided but won prestigious awards, with 1996's recognized at Cannes and 2005's winning three Oscars, including Best Picture.
1983: Sean Penn is a roughneck sent to juvie who comes of age as he realizes the cost of the violent road he's headed down.
1995: Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are cops trying to recover some drugs stolen from police custody, which threatens the whole narcotics division with scandal and a resulting shutdown.
Strangely, both movies... are debut films, featuring Penn's first star role, Smith's first action star role (and second star role after Six Degrees of Separation), Ally Sheedy's first role (in the former film) and Michael Bay's first directing job (in the latter).
1980: An innocent man (Michael Caine) and his estranged son fall victim to a lost colony of pirates. While his son flirts with the pirate life, he struggles to free them both, finally becoming as savage as they are to do so.
2005: On an island that's seemingly the last livable place left in a contaminated world, a man struggles with memories not his own, coming to realize that he and everyone around him are clones.
1985: Pilot Christopher Reeve and his spoiled passenger Rosanna Arquette struggle to survive after crashing on an island of roving wolves, and fall for each other along the way.
2004: The life of Howard Hughes (Leonardo DiCaprio), whose brilliance in plane design and film production led him to massive success in business and high-profile celebrity romances, but was slowly eclipsed by his obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Strangely, both movies... begin in the 1910s and feature disastrous crashes the pilot nevertheless walks away from. Both also had real-life inspirations, as Reeve based his performance on Charles Lindbergh.
1952: Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec lives out his days as a deformed but brilliant artist, but is unlucky in love and lets the wrong girl get away.
2001: A writer falls in love with a performer also desired by a nobleman in this musical tale of love versus class.
Strangely, both movies... besides, naturally, being about the Moulin Rouge, the nightclub focus of 1890s Paris, are also tragic love triangles that end with a major character dying of disease. Yet the stories aren't based on each other at all and Toulouse-Lautrec is very different in each: in the first, he's tormented and deeply unhappy; in the second, he's a wise and apparently successful mentor.
1998: A chance meeting on the White Cliffs of Dover leads two people, both already in relationships, to feel they are meant for each other.
2006: Denzel Washington uses a special "time window" to investigate and ultimately prevent a terrorist bombing that killed/would have killed hundreds of armed forces servicepeople and their families.
Strangely, both movies... have lead characters who make leaps of faith against all reason and safety, simply because they feel they have to try.
1987: Burt Reynolds is an ex-mercenary pulling odd jobs suited to his talents (taking a dive in a bar fight, teaching a wimp to be tough), trying to save up enough money to leave Las Vegas for Venice, but cannot unless he overcomes his compulsive gambling.
1995: Career criminal Robert De Niro forms a strange bond with police detective Al Pacino though each is willing to kill the other. Though wily, De Niro is on the run from both Pacino and rival criminals.
Strangely, both movies... include main characters trying to escape the violent lives they've built for themselves and set up elsewhere. Only one of them makes it out, though.
1998: Paul Newman, a detective in his twilight years, has to come to terms with the fact that his old friends have manipulated him away from solving a case from two decades ago.
2008: A teenage girl falls for an immortal vampire, attracting the attention of his family, who approve, and a nomadic vampire, who hunts her for sport. Also, the vampires sparkle for some reason. Don't pretend like you haven't seen this.
Strangely, both movies... had a $37 million budget.
1992: James Marshall is forced to fight in underground boxing to pay off his father's gambling debts, but the brutality of the ring is too much for the friends he makes and almost too much for him.
2000: Russell Crowe is a loyal Roman general reduced to the gladiator's ring by imperial treachery, who wins the people's hearts enough to make a play at revenge.
Strangely, both movies... feature trusted friends to the title character named after famous statesmen, Lincoln and Cicero, who both pay a terrible, permanent price for their loyalty.
1998: Two British spies track down and foil a weather-controlling madman who wants to hold the world for ransom in this tribute to the classic British television series.
2012: Faced with the threat of a mind-controlling god on Earth, Nick Fury assembles a team of superheroes (familiar from Marvel comics and, in most cases, other movies) to take him down and block his master plans.
Strangely, both movies... involve weather control, an elite off-the-books spy organization, and a resourceful redhead in a skintight black catsuit.
What examples have we missed? Do let us know in the comments!


Chemglass repairs and modifies broken glassware in addition to our fabrication capabilities.
Standard turn around for most broken items is two weeks.
Rush service is available for a small additional charge.
Pricing is typically 40% of the cost of a new item, less for simple repairs like star cracks or dings (25%).
We additionally offer Plastic Safety Coating of nearly all standard catalog items below a certain size; 50-liter round bottom flask, or for existing items in your lab that you would like coated for safety to avoid explosion or implosion.
Plastic coating is extremely durable and temperature resistant to 60°C (140°F).
The cost to plastic coat an existing item is 15% of its cost when new for a smaller scale item, and 20% for larger scale items.
We also plastic coat items sent in for repair for an additional charge above the 40% repair rate.
Message us at [email protected].
If a prospective modification gets into highly technical changes to the item in question, the matter will be directed to our Technical Service Department, and a representative will contact you to work out the details of your redesign.
For strictly modification work on a non-broken item, please contact [email protected].
An estimate will be supplied based on the pictures and conversation.
Upon your approval, you will be contacted by our Returns Department ([email protected]) who will issue a return materials authorization (RMA) number and send you a Decontamination Form.
Fill out the form to insure that we will be receiving a "clean" piece of labware.
This helps to insure no one will be exposed to dangerous chemicals or substances upon receipt.
The Returns Department will enter some basic information on the RMA, such as your name, company name and pertinent contact information.
Once the item arrives, we will enter an official quote and send it along to you.
We typically hold off on issuing the official quotation until we have the item in hand, just in case it has damages that are more extensive than those pictured or in the event that it gets further damaged by the shipping company.
If your institution requires an official quotation before sending out items for repair, we can accommodate that request and enter one before you ship it to our location.


text:
"Working Backward From Crazy: Implementing a Vision" An Interview with Susanna Peredo Swap, Founder and CEO of Vanguard Culture
"Working Backward From Crazy: Implementing a Vision"
An Interview with Susanna Peredo Swap Founder and CEO of Vanguard Culture
Susanna Peredo Swap
Last week I sat down to interview Susanna Peredo Swap. My association with Peredo Swap began when she curated an exhibition I had at the San Diego International Airport in 2011. Now, as a writer for Vanguard Culture, I have seen first-hand, the organic and exciting growth of this socially conscious organization and media entity.
Blessed with a large extended family filled with professional musicians, actors, dancers and architects, it is no surprise that Susanna Peredo Swap followed tradition. Having been raised between Tijuana and Mexico City, she also travelled to Europe, having received a scholarship from the Royal National Theater in London and studied Art History and Video Art History at the Sorbonne and Ecole du Louvre in Paris. A professional actor in musicals and community theater, while in her mid-twenties, she created and sang in a jazz band. While Peredo was living in New York City, 9-11 happened – an event which she says "changed everything" for her. Armed with her experience and knowledge in the performing and visual arts, and her BA degree in Humanities from San Diego State University, Peredo-Swap discovered her calling - which she describes as 'finding purpose in giving back and making an impact in the San Diego community'.
For five years Peredo-Swap worked for the Old Globe Theater doing marketing, community education and teaching classes. She went on to work for the city of National City where she worked for four years, creating arts inspired programs and managing their public art program. In a city with financial and social challenges, Peredo-Swap worked hard to convince the community of the importance of the arts in the lives of people. She advocated for an arts center as a way of inspiring young people, getting them off the streets and out of drugs, crime and gangs. Though it took several years, National City has redesigned and renovated the 'old' library and it is now an arts space for dance, music and the arts. Peredo-Swap is very proud that she helped create this active and vital community center. It is now thriving thanks to it being inhabited by A Reason to Survive, an organization using arts to underprivileged youths. Having been on several arts committees and boards, Peredo-Swap moved on to work for the San Diego airport where, during over five years, she curated and coordinated music programs and over eighty exhibitions.
As a result of her over fifteen years experience, Peredo-Swap realized she had amassed several hundred contacts and relationships with the arts community in San Diego. She commented that she would receive over 300 emails per day of happenings all over the region, and realized that there was no one outlet or organization that filtered or shared all of this information. Ready to make the jump to beginning her own project, the seed was planted in Peredo's mind, and with that, Vanguard Culture was born.
What began as an idea, about three years later, is now a newsletter of over 4000 subscribers and over 2000 social media contacts. In developing her vision and strategic planning, Peredo says "Start with 'crazy' and work backward – she asks "How do we get there from here?". All big dreams start someplace and Peredo-Swap began by building upon her relationships in the community. She contacted bloggers and media folks to write about the events they attended which began the online newsletter. This helped shape the mission of Vanguard Culture which is: "an online media entity designed for culturally savvy, socially conscious individuals searching for unique visual and performing arts experiences while making a difference in their community". Vanguard Culture now has six cultural correspondents/writers who report on arts events, four advisory board members and two interns.
Peredo-Swap has developed several 'real life' off-shoots to the online newsletter. One of her goals has been to bring the various facets of the arts and cultural community together for an interchange of ideas and possible collaborations. This is how 'Foodie Soirees' began. For the past three years, evening food events have taken place quarterly, mixing the arts with the local culinary world. These culinary events take place in private homes of artists, art collectors and other arts lovers where food, drinks, entertainment and fun prevail. Another fascinating smaller gathering inspired by Peredo's experience while living in Paris is "An Artist @ the Table series" which is an intimate dinner, pairing a noteable person from the arts community with nine 'strangers' , inviting them to share a four course dinner prepared by a known chef at a lovely private home. These smaller dinner events are geared to raise money to continue building Vanguard Culture. In keeping with bringing awareness to the needs of the community "Cause of the Quarter" began – every three months a different cause is featured in the newsletter, which helps publicize and provides links for donations to fund the organizations selected.
Another recent amazing event which took place for the first time in June was the 'Avant Garde Costume Gala' held at the Mingei Museum in Balboa Park. Peredo commented that this was a huge financial risk but she believed in her 'over the top' vision and it proved successful. Over two hundred people attended an event designed for 'creative and sensory pleasure' – 'guests were asked to wear their wildest, most unique or thought provoking costume or accessories". The event featured food, custom designed drinks, and entertainment from The California Ballet, The Patricia Rincon Dance Collective, Priscilla the Empress of Pop, The Animal Cracker Conspiracy" and an Avant Garde Fashion Show by Shawn Michael. Live body painting, Henna Body Art, stilt walkers, and a photo station were also included. Peredo plans this as an annual event and fundraiser for the organization.
Peredo-Swap, CEO and Founder of Vanguard Culture has built upon a synergy taking place in the San Diego region. The unexpected downturn in the economy beginning in 2008, has required the many moving parts of the arts communities including boards, organizations, businesses and individuals to work together to accomplish their aims. With all that Peredo-Swap and her team have accomplished in only three years, it will be exciting to see what crazy and wonderful projects will emerge and grow while giving back to this diverse and growing region.
Posted by ARTFULLIFE BY CATHY at 12:15 PM
Joe Nalven August 31, 2015 at 8:40 AM
Insightful and reflective -- both Breslaw and Peredo.
"Working Backward From Crazy: Implementing a Visio...
My Generation: Young Chinese Artists - Revealing G...
Pipe Cleaner Sculptures, Drawings and Paintings:Do...


Chase Elliott led three times for 34 laps Sunday afternoon at Phoenix International Raceway on his way to his fourth runner-up finish in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.
Elliott and the No. 24 Hooters team started fourth for Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race at Phoenix International Raceway. It didn't take long for the second-year driver to find the front of the pack as he took the lead on Lap 11 and led 14 laps before ending up third at the conclusion of Stage 1.
Elliott kept the momentum and remained inside the top 10 throughout Stage 2, finishing ninth. After a pit stop for fresh tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment during the stage break, the Hooters team restarted the final stage in ninth.
The Dawsonville, Georgia, native began his charge back to the front early in the final stage, running eighth on Lap 183 and gaining another spot to seventh less than 10 laps later. He continued to run seventh when the caution waved at Lap 228. Thanks to a quick pit stop, Elliott maintained his position for a restart with 77 laps remaining.
Not long after the restart, the No. 24 crept back into the top five and Elliott gained another spot to be scored fourth before a yellow flag with 60 laps to go.
After restarting fourth, Elliott rocketed around the outside to take second before yet another caution. On the ensuing restart, Elliott fell back to fourth, but quickly rallied back, bypassing the No. 11 car for third with a little more than 40 laps remaining.
Following the race's final restart at Lap 282, Elliott passed the No. 78 for second and began to chase down the leader. One lap later, he caught and passed the No. 20 for the lead with 29 laps to go.
Elliott continued to lead until 10 laps to go when he reported his No. 24 car had gotten too tight over the long run. As a result, he slipped back to second where he'd finish the race.
Despite scoring his fourth runner-up finish in nine Playoff races, Elliott will be on the outside looking in at the Championship 4 racing for the NASCAR Cup Series championship next Sunday. The second-year driver ranks fifth in the series points standings entering the season's final race.


The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has upheld the decision of the Employment Tribunal last year that Uber drivers are workers, rather than being self-employed, and thus have the right to be paid the National Minimum Wage or the National Living Wage and to receive holiday pay.
The case was brought by a number of past and present Uber drivers, who argued that they were entitled to protections under the Employment Rights Act 1996, the Working Time Regulations 1998 and the National Minimum Wage Act 1998.
Uber argued that it merely provided, through its smartphone app, a means for drivers to facilitate running their own businesses and that it did not run a transportation business. Uber also emphasised that drivers were free to decide when they worked and were not obliged to be logged on to the app at any given time or to accept any specific driving assignment, maintaining that this freedom was incompatible with the existence of any form of employment.
The ET dismissed these arguments, commenting that 'the notion that Uber in London is a mosaic of 30,000 small businesses linked by a common "platform" is to our minds faintly ridiculous'. The ET found that drivers were under a 'worker' contract for the time they were in the area where they were allowed to work, were using the app and were able and willing to accept assignments. The documentation governing Uber's relationship with its drivers contained 'twisted language' and 'brand new terminology', and went to great efforts to stress that Uber did not provide transportation services.
Uber appealed against the ET's decision, arguing that, like other taxi drivers, its drivers are self-employed and are under no obligation to use its booking app. It contended that the ruling could deprive drivers of the 'personal flexibility they value'. The EAT disagreed, however, and dismissed Uber's appeal.
In the EAT's view, there was nothing inconsistent or perverse about the ET's conclusions. The contractual documents did not reflect the true relationship between the drivers and the London subsidiary. The reality was that the drivers formed a central part of Uber's business in providing transportation services. The level of control to which they were required to submit and the obligations imposed on them pointed away from a conclusion that they worked on their own account and that their direct contractual relationship was with their passengers. It could not be said that the London subsidiary merely acted as the drivers' agent.
Commenting on the case, TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said, "Uber should throw in the towel and accept today's judgment. No company, however big or well-connected, is above the law. Uber must play by the rules and stop denying its drivers basic rights at work."
However, Uber is adamant that its drivers value the freedom self-employment provides and intends to appeal against the EAT's decision.


Ecover Zero Non-Chlorine Liquid Bleach packs all the power without the punch - it's chlorine free, color safe and deodorizes!
I primarily use this to get our karate gis clean and white, and have definitely noticed a difference in how they look since using it.
No nasty smell! Cleans well.
This works really well with keeping whites white. I also use a bit of it to clean the toilets, sink, and shower. They sparkle after. Most of all it doesn't irritate my nose which if why I moved to a chlorine free bleach in the first place. Will continue to purchase this product.
Great way to remove smells and boast your regular detergent. No fragrance, no chlorine, and no chemical scent on my clothes. I'll definitely buy it again.
good product for people with sensitive skin and who are sensitive to artificial smells. Cleans fairly well, milder of course than regular bleach.
Useful and good product. No need for regular bleach in every - stain / dirt case - anymore... It works almost on every type of stains (95%) and gentle on colors / materials (no damage detected on color laundry). No more nasty smell!
Works very good for me and the clothes are white. Love that it is natural, better solution for my family than the traditional bleach.
I love adding this to my laundry, dish water, mop bucket, you name it and no nauseating chlorine smell!
I've only used a couple of times & this seems to work well. I like using natural alternatives to bleach.
This product is lovely. It really helps to get things clean without damaging clothes nor exposing baby to harsh chemicals. My husband likes it so much he uses it with almost every load. Highly recommend.
I have never used a bleach before so I have nothing to compare it to, but I'm quite happy with it. The baby bids weren't smelling as fresh after a wash until I used this product. It completely neutralized the smell, without giving off a harsh chemical odor. I will be buying again.
I had been having difficulty finding a bleach that was safe for colors until I found this one. It's odorless as well!


We are sure that after trying on your hands with VideoProc you will be impressed with its easy UI and features rich options. Look no further, VideoProc is the perfect 4K video processing and editing software for you whether you are a novice user or a Pro-Filmmaker.
With the rise of 4K cameras like GoPro and 4K displays, there is a need for good quality 4K content which is why a professional 4K editing software is necessary. To make it clear, there is a difference between video editors and 4K video editors. Not all of them have 4K support.
In the midst of these, VideoProc stands as one of the best 4K video compressor and editors currently available in the market, developed by Digiarty. The software is in its third iteration and is a must-have tool if you have a 4K camera like GoPro, iPhone. In this article, we will be highlighting the features of VideoProc and a how-to guide on using 4k GoPro footage to make it YouTube-ready. In the process, we will be giving a quick view of its basic editing tools.
VideoProc comes with basic tools like cut, trim, merge, adjust transcode and edit 4K videos with full GPU hardware acceleration. It is especially skilled at handling 4K UHD videos, high-speed videos shot with 120fps/240fps (slow-mo) videos and large sized videos (Footage shot in Protune will be 50% larger than what is shot in the default GoPro setting. Basically higher bitrate means better quality at the cost of storage).
The 4K footage can be from iPhone, GoPro, DJI, YouTube, Blue-ray and can be processed according to websites like YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. You can also backup and rip a DVD in 5 minutes at the fastest speed available in the industry without having to compromise on quality. As an additional benefit, it has a built-in YouTube downloader and can record from the screen, webcam, iPhone simultaneously that can be edited later on.
VideoProc support audio and video files from various sources like GoPro, drones, DSLRs, Blue-ray videos, HDTV/HD-camcorders videos, 4K UHD HEVC/H.264 videos, 1080p multi-track HD videos and more. The 370+ codec library comes with support for nearly every format that is being in the consumer and also in the professional area. They go beyond the normal HD resolution all the way up to UHD, 4K, 5K, and 8K and with its Intel QSV, NVIDIA CUDA/NVENC, and AMD powered level-3 GUP acceleration tech it converts videos 16x times faster than before.
• Supported Video Formats: MP4, AVI, FLV, MKS, MOV, MPEG4, H.264, HEVC, WMV, MTS, M2TS, TS, AVCHD, MOD and more.
• Supported Audio Formats: MP3, AC3, AAC, FLAC and more.
Customers that want an easy, stable and a fast tool to process their video footages shot by action cameras like GoPro, drone, DSLRs, iPhones will find this tool handy. Novice users like who are not professional and can't get around with advanced software like Final Cut X, Adobe Premiere Pro CC Vegas will find VideoProc interface easier. Also, the software mentioned above are hungry on power and storage and your computer may lag/ freeze while using them. Some media player also doesn't support footages from GoPro (HEVC), in which case the VideoProc is the perfect tool to use.
VideoProc is not a direct alternative to GoPro Quik, Studio, and Windows Movie Maker, Adobe Premiere Elements, iMovie but a solid software solution to process and touch up the large 4K footages from GoPro and other 4K cameras. VideoProc is the best tool for anyone interested in video editing and packed with every feature you would expect from a video processing software.
VideoProc is available on both Windows and Mac. If you are unsure about going forward with the purchase take a free trial and take a look at the features. You can also try your hands at the VideoProc video processing and compressing page where you can win GoPro Hero7 and accessories.
Users can download VideoProc by going to the VideoProc download page. Also there you can distinguish yourself as a Mac or Windows user.
From here you can choose the buy option which will lead you to three license options. You will receive the product information with the license code after completing the order.
You can also opt for the Free Download option. The trial version is limited to 5 min media file but is enough to get you familiar with the interface. After downloading the .exe file open it and you will be taken to a download page. Complete the rest of the instructions and you will have VideoProc running in your computer in no time.
In this step-by-step guide, we will be showing you how to prepare and process GoPro footage for uploading in YouTube. GoPro is the market leader in action cameras with their Hero cameras. Their small size, water resistance, and 4K support make it perfect for people that have a passion for adventure and outdoor sports capturing their favorite moments.
Though the GoPro can record 2.7K and 4K videos the file becomes too large and problems arise. The media players struggle to play them and it takes a long time to upload these high-resolution videos to Facebook, YouTube. So the need to compress GoPro 2.7K/4K arises and VideoProc does the work for us. Not only that we can do additional modifications like trimming unwanted segment, crop out parts, changing bit-rates and frame-rates and more.
Prepare the GoPro file ready before moving forward with the tutorial.
Launch VideoProc. You will see the main UI with four options Video, DVD, Downloader, and Recorder.
Since we will be dealing with video go to the Video option. You will able to see the full video interface.
To start with go to "+Video" option to browse the file and select it. You can also directly drag and drop into the interface.
You will see some popular output profiles at the bottom. If your video is encoded with H.264 you can choose the HEVC profile which will reduce your GoPro file 50% without sacrificing quality.
To get more presets, go to the Target Format option below. It will present you with a more precise codec, resolutions, target location etc. For our use, We select The YouTube video option and click on FLV format. The two YouTube output profiles differ a bit by size. An MP4 file will be a bit larger than an FLV file.
For more tweaking, go to the Option icon and you will be able to change the video and audio parameters. You can lower your resolution and change bitrate which is one of the main factors determining the file size. Lowering may reduce the file size but lowering too much will lead to inferior video quality. Actually, the bitrate will be automatically altered when you choose a different resolution. It is advisable to keep the same frame-rate for smoothness.
Now we advance to the cutting procedure by selecting the Cut option. You will be able to see two green knobs that stand for the start and end time. Drag them according to your preferences. Use the orange cut button next to the slider to make multiple clips after which you can change the sequence using up and down arrows.
You can split the video by going to "ToolBox" option and then clicking on "Split" option. By default, the software will split the video into 10 segments every 60 seconds.
You can also merge two videos by going to "+Video", selecting a target output and clicking on "merge".
There is also an option of trimming. It is different from cutting allowing only removing the start/end rather than cutting out any part of the footage. Go to "ToolBox" and then click on the "Trim" button.
You can go more effects and tweaking like rotating, adding subtitle, effect, watermark, stabilize, lens correction and more. When you are done click on the "RUN" button for transcoding and VideoProc will give you the final output file.


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//September 17, 2014
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Similarity and difference in vegetation structure of three desert shrub communities under the same temperate climate but with different microhabitats
Ye Tao1,2,
Yuan-Ming Zhang1 &
Alison Downing3
Community structure and species composition are closely related to plant diversity and ecosystem stability. To explore the similarity in vegetation structure of shrub communities under the same temperate climate but with different microhabitats, 36, 28 and 13 sampling plots in Ephedra distachya, Seriphidium terrae-albae and Artemisia songarica communities were selected respectively, during the course of three seasons (early spring, summer, autumn) in Gurbantunggut Desert, north-western China. The species composition, abundance, biomass and soil nutrients were investigated. Floristic changes were characterized by similarity and ordination methods.
Two communities, E. distachya and S. terrae-albae, were similar in terms of soil nutrients but differed from the A. songarica community. Soil organic matter, nitrogen and biological soil crusts accounted for the differences of microhabitats. In spring and summer, more plant families, genera and species were recorded in E. distachya and S. terrae-albae communities than in the A. songarica community but in each community, the number of families, genera, species, herbs and life forms showed a consistent trend summer > spring > autumn. There were significant differences in absolute biomass among the three communities, but the ratio of dead biomass to total biomass was consistently 1:4, indicating the constant turnover rate of plant biomass for nutrient cycling. In each community shrubs accounted for the most biomass. Herbaceous biomass was negligible but the herbs contributed the most richness and abundance.
The similarity in response of all three communities to seasonal changes in vegetation structure and biomass allocation demonstrate convergence although divergence is demonstrated in soil characteristics or microhabitats.
Deserts are ecosystems which take up approximately one fifth of the earth's land surface (Whitford, 2002). Desert ecosystems characteristically lack the biodiversity, stability and levels of soil nutrients found in forest and grassland ecosystems and thus have lower carrying capacity and productivity (biomass) and are slow to recover from disturbance (Rundel and Gibson, 1996; Whitford, 2002; Ward, 2009). Shrubs are a major component of desert vegetation and a key biological resource in the recovery and reconstruction of degraded desert ecosystems where they are of great importance for animal husbandry, soil improvement and as windbreaks for sand stabilisation (Aich, 1991; Li et al., 2006).
Community structure and species composition are the product of evolutionary and environmental drivers that are closely related to plant diversity and ecosystem stability (Putman, 1994; Li, 2000; Eldridge et al., 2007). Plant biomass is an important carrier of material circulation (e.g. C and N cycling), an important step of energy flow (Steinman et al., 1995; Shanmughavel and Francis, 1996) and a key indicator that can be used to evaluate the structure and function of ecosystems (Li et al., 2006). Species composition, diversity and biomass/productivity vary with plant communities and seasons (Stinson and Brown, 1983; Garcia-Pausas et al., 2011; Bischoff et al., 2005; Neves and Oliveira, 2010), but whether there are similar parallel trends (i.e. convergence) in such vegetation variables described above among communities in different microhabitats remains unclear.
The Gurbantunggut Desert is a temperate desert located in the centre of the Junggar Basin, northwestern China. The desert has a relatively higher species richness (Zhang and Li, 1994) and diversity of plant communities (Zhang and Chen, 2002) than other temperate deserts of China. Shrubs such as Ephedra distachya L. (Ephedraceae), Seriphidium terrae-albae (Krasch.) Poljak. (Asteraceae) and Artemisia songarica Schrenk. (Asteraceae), are widely distributed but discontinuous among the sand dunes (Zhang and Chen, 2002). E. distachya community is mainly distributed on dunes from the base to mid-dune and S. terrae-albae exists at the flat slope; both habitats are commonly covered by biological soil crusts (BSCs). A. songarica generally grows either on bare sand or in disturbed situations where there is minimal growth of BSCs.
In recent years, much interest has focused on the species diversity and biomass in the shrub communities of the Gurbantunggut Desert within a single season (Wang et al., 2005; Yu et al., 2010; Song et al., 2011); however, the similarity in vegetation structure of different communities and the seasonal change remain obscure. The three shrub communities above-mentioned chosen in this study were under the same temperate climatic and phenological conditions but with different microhabitats. The objective of this study was to explore the similarity or difference in vegetation structure (including species composition, biomass and community structure) during the course of three seasons (early spring, early summer, early autumn), and to investigate the relationship between vegetation structure and microhabitats. Our hypothesis was that there would be similarity in seasonal changing pattern for vegetation structure but obvious small-scale fluctuation due to microhabitats.
The Gurbantunggut Desert (44°11′–46°20′ N and 84°31′–90°00′ E) is a typical temperate desert of the world. This is the second largest desert in China with an area of 4.88 × 104 km2. The mean annual precipitation is about 70–150 mm, falling predominantly in spring and summer (Figure 1a). In winter, snow accumulates to 10–30 cm. The mean annual pan evaporation is greater than 2,000 mm (Figure 1b). The mean annual temperature is 5–7°C, with the maximum monthly temperature over 30°C and minimum near -20°C (Figure 1c). The trends of monthly evaporation and temperature in 2010 were similar to that in the period of 1961 to 1999 (Figure 1b and c), while the tendency of monthly precipitation was inconsistent with the historical reports, showing very low values in May and July.
Monthly changes of precipitation (a), evaporation (b), temperature (c) and frequency of sand transport wind (STW) (d) in the period of 1961 to 1999 and in 2010 at the south area (Caijiahu Town) of Gurbantunggut Desert.
The area is covered by massive, dense, semi-fixed sand dunes, from 10 – 50 m in height, running nearly south to north (Qian et al., 2009). Much of the sand surface is covered by BSCs comprising cyanobacteria, lichens and mosses (Zhang et al., 2010b). Winds are predominantly from the WNW, NW and N and wind speeds reach their peak from April to June (Figure 1d), with an annual average of 11.17 m s–1 (Wang et al., 2003; Li et al., 2010; Liu et al., 2011b). Eighteen plant communities and 208 vascular plants have been recorded and the natural vegetation is dominated by two small trees, Haloxylon persicum Bunge ex Boiss. et Buhse and Haloxylon ammodendron (C. A. Mey.) Bunge (Amaranthaceae) (Zhang and Chen, 2002). Additionally, ephemeral and ephemeroid species are both numerous and abundant in desert shrub communities.
Vegetation sampling
The study sites were located predominately in the south-eastern region of the Gurbantunggut Desert (Figure 2). The study was conducted over three seasons in 2010: early spring (early and mid-April), early summer (late May to early June) and early autumn (mid August to early September). Thirty six sites were randomly selected for E. distachya community (EDC), 28 for S. terrae-albae (STC) and 13 for A. songarica (ASC). The number of sampling sites for each community reflects differences in abundance. The four corners of each plot were marked with wooden stakes and the coordinates, elevation and slope of each plot were recorded. Small seedlings were difficult to identify in early spring so these were marked with small sticks and the plants were identified when more mature in early summer.
Study area and collection sites in the Gurbantunggut Desert, north-western China.
Each 20 m × 20 m plot was divided into sixteen 5 m × 5 m sub-plots. In each plot, the shrub species composition and abundance were assessed using the eight 5 m × 5 m sub-plots positioned across the diagonals of the 20 m × 20 m plot. The herbaceous species were surveyed using a 1 m × 1 m area nested within each diagonal 5 m × 5 m sub-plots described above. Following the life form classifications of Zhang and Chen (2002), all recorded species were classified as either: shrub; perennial herbs with long vegetative period (PLV); perennial herbs with short vegetative period (PSV); annuals with long vegetative period (ALV); or annuals with short vegetative period (ASV). However, as PSV and ASV shared the same vegetative period, they were treated as one functional group, that is, as herbs with short vegetative period (HSV). Similarly PLV and ALV were treated together as another functional group, as herbs with long vegetative period (HLV). Nomenclature follows Flora of China (ECCAS, 1974–1999) and Flora Xinjiangensis (CRFX, 1993–2011).
Biomass measurement
Biomass of HLV and shrub was determined in autumn. The aboveground (AGB) and belowground (BGB) biomass of HLV were measured at maturity in the eight 1 m2 herbaceous sub-plots described above. The AGB of HLV was harvested and the BGB excavated. AGB and BGB were kept and after BGB (roots) was carefully washed, each sample of AGB or BGB was placed into a labelled cloth bag. The biomass samples were oven-dried at 70°C for 48 hours and then weighed on an electronic balance accurate to 0.0001 g.
Five shrubs (E. distachya, S. terrae-albae, A. Songarica, C. leucocladum and Eremosparton songoricum (Litv.) Vass. (Fabaceae)) were found in all 77 sampling plots. Other than E. distachya, the AGB of each shrub was estimated using a general nonlinear allometric equation Y = a CVb (Table 1); where Y is AGB, a is a normalization constant, b is allometric scaling exponent and CV is canopy volume. CV was estimated as an elliptical cylinder: CL/2 × CW/2 × π × height (in centimeter), where CL is the crown length (at the widest point, in centimeters) and CW the crown width (at the shortest point, in centimeters) (Búrquez et al., 2010). E. distachya grows in irregularly shaped clumps so the biomass was determined by the following method. Firstly, in each plot the crown cover of E. distachya was measured in eight diagonal 5 m × 5 m sub-plots; secondly, the crown cover of E. distachya was measured in three 0.5 m × 0.5 m quadrats, the plants then harvested and dried to determine AGB; AGB for the 8 diagonal sub-plots was calculated using the ratio of biomass to crown cover using the results determined for the three 0.5 m × 0.5 m quadrats.
Table 1 Mathematical coefficients for AGB ( Y = a CVb) for four shrubs in this study area
The BGB of each shrubs was estimated using root/shoot ratio R/S (n = 5 – 20). The individuals used for R/S were collected near the sampling plots. E. distachya and E. songoricum are typical clonal species and it is not possible to identify independent root systems. Thus, five 1 m × 1 m quadrats for E. distachya and five 2 m × 2 m for E. songoricum (five replicates for each species) were set up and BGB was excavated about 2.0 – 2.5 m deep. R/S was then calculated by unit area (1 m2). All roots of shrubs were washed by running water. All material for biomass determination was oven-dried at 70°C for 72 hours and then weighed using an electronic balance accurate to 0.01 g.
In order to determine dead biomass in autumn, in each plot, eight 0.5 m × 0.5 m quadrats were established in eight diagonal 5 m × 5 m sub-plots to collect dead AGB and BGB. Dead BGB was collected to a soil depth of 50 cm using a corer with an inner diameter of 8 cm. This was gathered using a 0.2 cm sieve in the field and later washed in the laboratory. The live roots were then removed and the dead BGB oven-dried and weighed. Neither dead AGB nor BGB was separated into shrub or herbaceous origins.
Soil sampling and analyses
Soil properties were only determined in summer as there is minimal seasonal change in soil nutrients in deserts (Gao et al., 2007). In early summer, 2010, a soil sample, consisting of a combined sample from five random points 0–10 cm deep, was collected from each vegetation sampling site. Samples were air dried in the shade after surface organic material and fine roots had been carefully removed. Soil organic matter (SOM), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorous (TP), total potassium (TK), available nitrogen (AN), pH and electrical conductivity (EC) were determined in the laboratory. SOM was determined by the dichromate oxidation method; pH was measured using a PHS-3C digital pH meter in a 1: 5 soil–water ratio suspension; EC using a DDS-307A conductivity meter (Precision and Scientific Corp. Shanghai, China) in sequence alongside the pH in same suspension; TN by the CuSO4-Se powder diffusion method (GB7848-87); TP by the NaOH fusion-Mo Te Sc colorimetry method (GB7852-87); TK by NaOH fusion-atomic absorption spectrometry (GB7854-87); AN by the alkali hydrolyzation-diffusion method (Bao, 2000).
BSCs were considered to be an important soil factor as BSCs at different developmental levels were broadly distributed throughout the study area (Zhang et al., 2006; Zhang et al., 2010b). The algal and moss crusts were at early and late developmental stages respectively, intermixed with many intermediate stages. Bare sand was recorded as L i = 0, pure moss crust as L i = 9, with eight other intermediate stages between bare sand and moss crust. The index of developmental levels of BSCs (IBL) was defined as IBL = Log10 (L i + 1) with a value range of IBL [0, 1].
Data were analyzed using univariate and multivariate methods. Species richness values for the total number of species in each shrub community were analyzed for each of the three seasons. The species richness values for HSV were calculated in early summer and for HLV in early autumn. Eight soil parameters, species richness values, plant biomass in autumn were compared using one-way ANOVA. Levene's test was used to test for homogeneity and post-hoc multiple comparisons were performed using Tukey's HSD test. In addition a robust T2 Tamhane's test was used when variances were not homogeneous (Búrquez et al., 2010). The relationships between soil parameters and species richness/biomass were determined using Pearson Correlation Analysis. SPSS 19.0 statistical package (SPSS Inc. Chicago, Illinois, USA) was used for all the above data analysis.
Similarity coefficients of total species and herb species were analyzed by Sørensen index: C = 2c / (a + b), where C is the similarity index value, a, b the numbers of species from communities A and B respectively and c the number of species shared by both communities. The correlations of soil parameters (77 plots × 8 factors) of total species (with the species compositional data) in spring, summer and autumn were done using nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) analysis through PC-ORD version 5 (MjM Software, Oregon). NMDS is a powerful tool for ecological community data, and it appears to provide a better fit to ecological data than may be obtained using other ordination techniques (McCune and Grace, 2002). The Sørenson (Bray–Curtis) distance with a random starting configuration was used for these analyses. Random starting configurations and 30 runs with real data were used to compute the ordination solution with the dimensionality of each data set assessed by requesting a step down from a six-dimensional ordination. A stable two-dimensional solution was finally identified for all ordinations in all three seasons. We also calculated Pearson correlation coefficients to further elucidate correlations between community patterns and soil parameters in NMDS ordinations. Significance of correlations was determined using the critical values for correlation coefficients (Zar, 1998). Graph of sample plots in ordination space with overlays of environmental variables were used to describe the ordination gradients.
Soil characteristics
SOM, TN, AN, EC were comparable in EDC and STC but higher (P < 0.05) than those in ASC (Table 2). There was negligible difference in pH values of the three communities (8.18 – 8.41) although the pH of ASC was the highest. TK and IBL were greatly (P < 0.05) represented in the order EDC > STC > ASC. TP was highest in STC and least in EDC. Most soil parameters had significant (P < 0.05 or 0.01) correlations with the exception of TP. SOM, TN, AN, EC and IBL showed the closest positive relationships; pH was correlated negatively with all other parameters except TP and AN (Table 2).
Table 2 Soil parameters (means ± standard error) and their Pearson correlation coefficients in three communities (EDC, STC and ASC)
A total of 71 species belonging to 64 genera and 24 families was identified in 77 sampling plots during the three seasons; of these, 63, 61 and 40 species, 57, 55 and 37 genera from 23, 23 and 14 families were recorded in EDC, STC and ASC, respectively. The six families with most species, Asteraceae, Amaranthaceae, Brassicaceae, Poaceae, Boraginaceae and Fabaceae, accounted for 61.8% (EDC), 60% (STC) and 69.7% (ASC) of the total number of species in spring and 66.7% (EDC), 63.9% (STC) and 75% (ASC) of the total number in summer respectively (Figure 3). Asteraceae dominated the flora in both spring and in summer, contributing more than 20% of the total number of species. Within each shrub community, the composition of plant families was similar in spring and summer but the number of families, 9 (EDC), 8 (STC) and 7 (ASC), and species, 15, 14 and 16 respectively, declined in autumn.
Family composition of the three communities (EDC, STC and ASC) over three seasons. EDC = E. distachya community, STC = S. terrae-albae community, ASC = A. songarica community.
Results of species similarity indicated that, in spring and summer, the species similarity index values (C = 0.857 in spring and C = 0.887 in summer) between EDC and STC were more than those between EDC and ASC (C = 0.591 and C = 0.583), and between STC and ASC (C = 0.602 and C = 0.554). In autumn, the three community pairs had close to the same similarity index values (C = 0.828 – 0.867). In general, the species composition of EDC was similar to STC, but both were obviously richer and more complex than ASC.
Life-form composition
The three communities had the same life-form composition within the same season but for each community, the plant life-forms were different in each of the three seasons. There was a similar trend of life-form variation in all communities in the course of the seasons (Figure 4): four life-forms in spring → five in summer → three in autumn. The four life-forms in early spring were shrub, PLV, PSV and ASV. ALV was not present in early spring, but began to appear in later in that season. By autumn, only shrub, PLV and ALV were present. More species of HSV were recorded in spring and summer than in autumn; the percentages in EDC, STC and ASC were 78.04%, 78.21% and 52.01% in spring and 61.76%, 56.57% and 38.52% in summer, respectively. HLV species in the three communities were 24.50%, 28.69% and 36.29% in summer, 66.02%, 60.96% and 59.72% in autumn, respectively. In summary, the life-form composition and ratio to total species number in EDC were similar to STC, but quite different from ASC.
Composition and relative contribution of five life-forms of the three communities (EDC, STC and ASC) in three seasons.
There were noticeable seasonal changes in species richness in all three communities. In each community, plant species richness was highest in early summer, followed by spring, with the lowest number of species recorded in autumn (Figure 5). Species richness values for EDC and STC among the three seasons were noticeably different (P < 0.05) but there were no significant differences among the three seasons for ASC. Species richness values among the three communities were also different, chiefly in spring (F = 10.23, P < 0.0001) and summer (F = 10.75, P < 0.0001). In spring and summer, species richness was similar in EDC and STC, but much more than in ASC. In autumn, species richness values (6.4–7.1) in the three communities were not significantly different (F = 1.12, P = 0.332).
Species richness of the three communities (EDC, STC and ASC) in three seasons. Bars represent one standard error. Different letters indicate significant (P < 0.05) differences between richness values for each community and season.
In early summer, species richness of HSV in each community was the largest among different life-forms, followed by HLV and shrub (Table 3). The mean species richness values of HSV in the three communities were 12.06, 9.25 and 5.54 respectively. In HSV, ASV occupied the larger proportion in each community; in HLV, ALV comprised the larger proportion. Species numbers of other life-forms were different among the three communities with the exception of shrub and PSV. Species numbers of ASV and HSV in EDC were highest, followed by STC, and numbers of both were clearly (P < 0.05) higher than those in ASC. Species numbers of ALV and of HLV in STC were evidently higher (P < 0.05) than those of EDC and ASC. ASC had the highest species richness of PLV in spite of the mean value of 1.23.
Table 3 Species richness (means ± standard error) of different life-forms (functional groups) in three communities (EDC, STC and ASC) in summer
Biomass allocation
In autumn, total AGB (including dead AGB) followed in the order: STC (125.02 g m–2) > EDC (114.01 g m–2) > ASC (84.99 g m–2) and total live AGB comprised 74.2%, 66.3% and 71.2% of total AGB, respectively (Table 4). Shrubs, in particular the dominant species, accounted for most of the live AGB, while HLV contributed only 5.4%, 5.5% and 5.7% of live AGB in EDC, STC and ASC, respectively. EDC had the largest total BGB (including dead BGB) (69.28 g m–2), noticeably more than STC (29.25 g m–2) and ASC (23.29 g m–2). The total live BGB in the three communities accounted for most of the total BGB, 93.0%, 83.2% and 96.4%, respectively. Similarly, shrubs had the largest live BGB, whereas HLV had the least. There were evident differences between the three communities in TB (including total dead biomass). The total live biomass were 140.05, 117.05 and 82.97 g m–2 in EDC, STC and ASC, respectively, most of which was derived from shrubs/dominant species. Live biomass of HLV were 4.75, 9.35 and 4.09 g m–2, comprising only 3.4%, 8.0% and 4.9% of total live biomass in EDC, STC and ASC, respectively (Table 4).
Table 4 Above and belowground biomass (means ± standard error) in three communities (EDC, STC and ASC) in autumn
Although total dead biomass (Table 4), and the ratios of dead AGB to total AGB and dead BGB to total BGB in the three communities (Figure 6) differed considerably, all ratios of total dead biomass to TB were close to 1/4, indicating that in the three desert shrub communities there is a constant turnover rate of plant biomass.
Ratios of dead biomass to whole biomass (dead + live) in aboveground (AGB), belowground (BGB) and total biomass (TB) of total species in three communities (EDC, STC and ASC) in early autumn. Bars represent one standard error. Different letters indicate significant (P < 0.05) differences between ratios for communities in AGB, BGB or TB.
Relationships between vegetation and soil parameters
Correlations between species richness values and soil parameters were mostly quite low, whereas biomass was considerably influenced by soil parameters (Table 5). pH was negatively correlated with richness of total species in spring and summer, and TK was significantly positive with richness of total species in spring. Species richness of HSV was positively correlated with TK, AN and EC but negatively correlated with pH. There were no significant relationships between any of the soil variables and richness of ALV, or total species in autumn. More than four soil parameters were significantly correlated with most biomass indices but not with AGB of total species. Total live biomass of HSV and ALV and total dead biomass had similar characteristics, both with significantly positive correlations with SOM, TN, AN, EC and IBL, and negative correlation with pH. SOM, TN, TK, EC and IBL were the main factors influencing plant biomass. Thus, the higher levels of soil nutrients produced higher plant productivity/biomass.
Table 5 Pearson correlation coefficients between soil variables and species richness components and biomass components across three communities: *indicates significant correlation ( P < 0.05); **indicates greatly significant correlation ( P < 0.01); n = 77
To gain further insight into the relation between soil properties and the three communities, an NMDS ordination analysis was conducted. The cumulative percentage variances explained for the first two NMDS ordination axes were 72.5%, 76.6% and 73.1% in spring, summer and autumn, respectively; and the first axis explained the most proportion of total variation of NMDS ordination in each season (Table 6). Except for TP, all soil parameters were significantly correlated with NMDS axis 1, indicating that the species compositions of three communities were obviously influenced by these soil variables. Noticeably, IBL, TN, SOM and EC showed the highest correlation coefficients (> 0.5) with each NMDS axis 1. NMDS ordination showed an apparent trend that ASC plots clustered separately from EDC and STC plots along axis 1 in each season (Figure 7). From the ordinations, the EDC and STC sampling plots were characterized by higher levels of SOM, TN, IBL, TK and AN (Table 2, Figure 7), whereas ASC had higher pH. Thus each of the three desert communities had a different species composition and different soil properties.
Table 6 Pearson correlation coefficients of soil parameters with first two NMDS ordination axes in three seasons
NMDS ordination diagrams of 77 sampling plots × 8 soil parameters for total species in spring, summer and autumn for the three communities. E, S and A indicate the plots in E. distachya community, S. terrae-albae community and A. songarica community respectively.
Similarity and difference in vegetation structure among three desert communities
In this study, species composition and structure differed among three communities, but all had the same trends in seasonal changes. Vegetation is usually closely related to environmental variables and understanding the relationship has been a central issue in plant ecology and synecology (Pausas and Austin, 2001; Jafari et al., 2004; Dias and Melo, 2010). Not only interspecific and intraspecific interactions but also the environmental influence together contribute to the formation and evolution of community structure and function; simultaneously, vegetation effects changes to the environment (Putman, 1994; Li, 2000). In arid areas, water and nutrients are the key factors limiting plant survival (Rundel and Gibson, 1996; Whitford, 2002; Li et al., 2008; Ward, 2009); and in rugged terrain (e.g. hills and sand-dunes), position and aspect have also been shown to be important (Parker, 1988). In the south-western area of the Gurbantunggut Desert which has a stable climate and minor human disturbance (Sun and Yang 2010), heterogeneous microhabitats developed among different communities depending on water content, soil nutrients, soil surface structure and the position on the sand-dune (Qian et al. 2009). Soil water content in layers from 10 cm to 60 cm layers at the bottom of sand-dunes is much higher than soil water content near the top (Wang et al., 2009; Zhang et al., 2010a). EDC and STC mostly grow from the bottom of sand dunes to mid-slope, whereas ASC generally grows in bare sand on the top of sand-dunes. Therefore, we can assume that in the dune system, there is more soil water available to EDC and STC than ASC. It is important also to note that BSCs which are involved in a series of processes which change physical and chemical soil properties, cover the base of dunes but are absent from the top (Zhang et al., 2006; Zhang, 2010b; Zhao et al., 2010). BSCs can improve soil nutrient content (N, P, also K) (Zhang et al., 2006), principally in the 0–5 cm layer. In this study, all eight soil factors are significantly different among the three communities (Table 2). With the exception of pH and TP, the soil parameters for EDC and STC are more than that for ASC. NMDS ordinations and Pearson correlation analysis also reveal that BSC, SOM, TN and EC are most important factors influencing community characteristics and thus the habitat of ASC is very different from those of the other two communities.
We did not investigate the seed banks in this study, but it was obvious from literature that seed banks affected community structure; different habitats also had an effect on seed banks, seed germination and formation of BSCs (Su et al., 2007; Zhao et al., 2010; Liu et al., 2011b). It is difficult for seeds to lodge on the smooth surface of bare sand on dune crests which are also more exposed to wind erosion than the fixed sandy areas at the bottom of dunes or at mid-slope. Seeds are more likely to be blown to the base or mid-slope of sand-dunes, enhancing the resources of the seed bank in those locations (Wang et al., 2003). Wind also reduces the stability of the sandy surface of dune crests making them unsuitable for BSC formation. BSCs can accelerate seed germination, seedling survival, growth and nutrient uptake for most desert species (Long and Li, 2003; Zhang and Nie, 2011), although several studies showed that BSCs inhibited the germination of some species (e.g. Malcolmia africana and Ceratocarpus arenaarius) (Nie et al., 2009). Larger seed banks can reduce the effect of inhibition by BSCs, augmenting species richness in EDC and STC.
Comparable microhabitats in EDC and STC have produced a complex community structure in EDC and STC with an abundance of species, very different from that found in ASC (Figures 3 and 5; Table 3). In all three communities, the number of life-forms change seasonally from spring (four), to summer (five) and to autumn (three) (Figure 4) and the number of species present in spring and summer exceeds the number present in autumn. Therefore, the similarity in response of all three communities to seasonal changes in vegetation structure (species richness and life-forms) implies convergence; evidence of divergence implicit in response to differences in soil nutrient content, moisture content and BSCs.
Biomass allocation pattern and nutrient return
The total live biomass of the three communities in the Gurbantunggut Desert in early autumn were relatively low (82.97 – 140.05 g m–2). Semi-fixed sand-dunes presented the most well developed landforms (dominated by Haloxylon forest) in our study area, with a biomass of 7.53 Mg hm–2 (Wang et al., 2005). Therefore, the TB in EDC, STC and ASC accounts for 17.6%, 15.2% and 11.3% of the TB in Haloxylon forest, respectively. Dead biomass accounted for a quarter of the total biomass in the three communities. Return of nutrients from plants to the soil was an important step in nutrient recycling, providing resources for further plant growth. In the Gurbantunggut Desert, atmospheric deposition accounts for a small quantity of N (Liu et al., 2011a), but most is derived from the decomposition of dead biomass. The Horqin Sandy Land has higher but varying proportions of dead biomass proportions (40.7% – 65.1%) (Li et al., 2005) than the Gurbantunggut Desert (approximately 25%). In contrast, the proportions in subtropical forest (3.31% – 8.6%) (Shen et al., 2011) and temperate deciduous forest (7.4% – 20.3%) (Fang et al., 2007), are significantly less than those of the desert, owing to the rapid nutrient cycling rate in the forests. The consistent proportions of dead biomass in the three desert communities of this study may suggest a convergent adaptation which enhances the stability of nutrient cycling in the different communities.
Studies have reported that although constituting a relatively small portion (less than 1%) of the total biomass in forest in North America, the herbaceous understory, especially for ephemeral plants, has a quantifiable significance at the ecosystem level, mediating carbon dynamics and energy flow and influencing the cycling rates of essential nutrients, including N, P, K, and Mg (Parsons and Moldenke, 1975; Gilliam, 2007). Despite that the dead biomass was not separated into shrub or herbaceous origins in this study, the herbs accounted for relatively larger proportion of the dead biomass. This indicated that herbs played an important role in soil nutrient cycling in deserts.
Consequently, although there were differences in absolute biomass, biomass allocation patterns on a community-scale among the three desert communities were either the same or very similar, presenting obvious evidence of convergence of desert shrub communities in arid environments.
Ecological significance of seasonal changes in structure of herbaceous plants
There are numerous herbaceous species in all three communities, and the seasonal changes of herbs represent similarity. The seasonal variations in life-form and species richness are closely related to the appearance and disappearance of herbaceous species (HSV and HLV), especially HSV. Central Asia is considered to the centre of origin and distribution of HSV following the disappearance of the Tethyan Ocean in the Late Neogene and Early Quaternary Period (Mao and Zhang, 1994). Distribution of HSV extended as far as the Mediterranean, Western Asia and North Africa. In China, the Junggar Basin, which includes the Gurbantunggut Desert, is regarded as the easternmost point of HSV distribution (about 205 species) (Mao and Zhang, 1994). In the Gurbantunggut Desert, HSV benefit from limited snow/rainfall in winter and early spring (Mao and Zhang, 1994; Lan and Zhang, 2008) and being to germinate in March and April in spite of low temperatures. HSV flower and mature in May/June prior to the arrival of hot, dry summer conditions.
During the growing period (April to September), the Gurbantunggut experiences very strong winds, predominantly from April to June, in other words, the growth period of HSV (Wang et al., 2003; Li et al., 2010). HSV and BSCs play an important role in reducing sandstorm frequency (Zhang et al., 2006; Zhang et al., 2010b) although sandstorms are less frequent and not as intense as those experienced in other deserts of China (Wang et al., 2003). In early spring, HSV can form dominant synusia or small communities so that some shrub communities can only thrive after HSV has died off in early summer (Zhang and Chen, 2002). Not only does HSV effectively maintain soil surface stability but also generates change in species composition of desert communities (Table 3), important factors in the preservation of biodiversity and stability of desert ecosystems.
Following the demise of HSV in late summer, HLV grew profusely to occupy the eco-niche left by HSV. However, between the disappearance of HSV and appearance of HLV there appears to be an interval during which there is less competition for resources, allowing the two "similar functional groups" to grow at different times during two seasons (summer and autumn). HLV plays an important role in the desert ecosystem until late autumn. The relationship of HSV to HLV was not germane to community type and was a feature shared by all three desert shrub communities.
The total biomass of herbaceous species was exceptionally low in all three communities (Table 4), and the proportions of total biomass of HLV to TB of total species in autumn never exceeded 8.0%. If the study is expanded to a larger scale to include the small tree Haloxylon, the proportions of total biomass of HLV to TB of total species in autumn drop to 0.6% (EDC), 1.2% (STC) and 0.55% (ASC). Thus the biomass of herbs is easily overlooked in large-scale estimation of biomass but in the Gurbantunggut Desert the ecological significance (e.g. retaining ecosystem stability and species diversity, preventing sand diffusion, animal husbandry, soil nutrient cycling) of herbs, especially HSV, cannot be disregarded.
This study represented the similarity and difference in vegetation structure of three desert shrub communities (EDC, STC and ASC) under the same temperate climate but with different microhabitats in the Gurbantunggut Desert, northwestern China. The microhabitats in EDC and STC have produced a complex community structure in EDC and STC with an abundance of species, very different from that found in ASC, but all communities had the same trends in seasonal changes due to the same temperate climate. There were also differences in absolute biomass, biomass allocation patterns on a community-scale among the three desert communities, but there were consistent proportions of dead biomass in the three communities. Thus, the similarity in response of all three communities to seasonal changes in vegetation structure and biomass allocation demonstrate convergence although divergence is demonstrated in soil characteristics or microhabitats.
Ephedra distachya community
HLV:
Herbs with long vegetative period
STC:
Seriphidium terrae-albae community
R/S:
Root/shoot ratio
ASC:
Artemisia songarica community
AGB:
Aboveground biomass
ASV:
Annuals with short vegetative period
BGB:
Belowground biomass
PSV:
Perennial herbs with short vegetative period
TB:
Total biomass (AGB + BGB)
HSV:
Herbs with short vegetative period
BSC:
Biological soil crust
ALV:
Annuals with long vegetative period
IBL:
Index of the developmental levels of BSCs
PLV:
Perennial herbs with long vegetative period.
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We thank Xiao-Bing ZHOU, Lin WU, Guo-Dong LI from Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Dong QIU, Yang DING, Wei ZHAO, Xing LIU from Xinjiang Agricultural University, for their kindly helps in field work. This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (nos. U1203301, 41201056).
Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Key Laboratory of Biogeography and Bioresource in Arid Land, Chinese Academy of Sciences, South Beijing Road 818, Urumqi, Xinjiang, 830011, P.R. China
Ye Tao & Yuan-Ming Zhang
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yuquan Road 19 (A), Beijing, 100049, P.R. China
Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, 2109, Australia
Alison Downing
Yuan-Ming Zhang
Correspondence to Yuan-Ming Zhang.
YT designed the experiment and carried out the field investigation. YT, YMZ and AD drafted the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Tao, Y., Zhang, YM. & Downing, A. Similarity and difference in vegetation structure of three desert shrub communities under the same temperate climate but with different microhabitats. Bot Stud 54, 59 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1186/1999-3110-54-59
Floristic similarity
Life-form
Nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMDS)
Herbaceous plant
The Gurbantunggut Desert


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func main() {
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	http.ListenAndServe(":9001", nil)
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text:
Category Archives: AUTO STUFF
HYUNDI PRODUCES CAR THAT OUTSMARTS SPEED CAMERAS
PERHAPS SPEED CAMERAS AS WE KNOW THEM COULD BE A THING OF THE PAST
Speed camera fines could become a thing of the past if Hyundai has its way.
The brand is set to sell a luxury sedan in Australia that is capable of outsmarting speed cameras with a combination of GPS and braking technology.
Speaking in Seoul at the launch of the Hyundai Genesis, company spokesman Guido Schenken told journalists that the car could identify speed cameras and slow down if drivers are going too fast.
"It knows there is a speed camera there, it knows where the speed camera is and it will adopt the correct speed," he says.
"It will beep 800 metres before a camera and show the legal speed, and it will beep at you if your speed is over that."
The Genesis, a luxury sedan designed to be a cut price alternative to models sold by BMW and Mercedes-Benz, features a suite of high-tech driver aids that include an active cruise control system that will apply the brakes to maintain a safe distance to the car in front.
It also has automated emergency braking technology that will stop the car to prevent a collision.
By coupling those self-braking systems with camera locations loaded into the car's navigation software, the car will warn drivers ahead of speed traps and slow down if required.
The feature works for fixed speed cameras and average speed cameras, though it will not give drivers an advantage over mobile speed cameras or the highway patrol.
Hyundai will introduce the Genesis locally in October, 2014.
It has not confirmed local pricing or specifications. Unfortunately the technology won't be offered on the Genesis initially.
Update: An earlier version of this story said Genesis models sold locally would likely get this feature but Hyundai has since confirmed it won't be available.
This entry was posted in AUTO STUFF, EQUIPMENT, SPEED, TRANSPORT and tagged cars that foil speed cams, hyundi smart car beat speed cameras, outsmarting speed cameras on June 25, 2014 by Henry.


The cloud cover on this April day produces a halo, which is – in a wider sense, not physically exact – a bit similar to a rainbow. One difference is that a rainbow is created by water drop, whereas small ice crystals are responsible for the halo. The ice crystals do not break the visible light up into the various colours, hence the more uniform colour. You can see the Adventfjord in the distance. There are some huts in lower Foxdalen, where locals sometimes retreat for a calm weekend.