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CHIME and Artolution: Transforming the Lives of Refugee and Vulnerable Communities around the World through Public Art Programming
Fostering Empowerment and Social Justice through Self-Expression and Gender Equity.
As part of its three-year partnership with Artolution, Gucci and CHIME FOR CHANGE are collaborating on interactive arts projects to promote reconciliation, healing and inclusion among women, children and families from socially excluded and displaced communities.
At the 2018 Global Citizen Festival in New York City, Gucci, CHIME FOR CHANGE and Artolution joined with Action in Africa and Tools & Tiaras to create a mural with a message of gender equality, featuring contributions from Global Citizen Festival attendees. The mural recently traveled to Uganda where it was used as a basis and inspiration for making a response mural to engage the community in a creative experience to promote healing, resilience and positive social change. Watch Artolution, CHIME FOR CHANGE and Action in Africa collaborate together in Uganda below.
Additionally, to mark World Refugee Day on June 20, 2018, Gucci dedicated its global ArtWalls to Artolution to replicate community art work created around the world, sharing the determination and spirit of the women, children and families helped by its programs.
Learn more about the partnership with Artolution, including the ArtWalls created for World Refugee Day, here.
CHIME in the Arab Region: Convening Intergenerational Activists for Women's Rights
Connecting and mobilizing young women activists to drive progress on human rights in the Middle East and North Africa
Notes from the Field: Artolution & Syrian Refugees
Fostering Empowerment and Social Justice through Self-Expression and Gender Equity
Notes from the Field: Artolution & Rohingya Refugees


Home > Community > Birth Month > September 2018 Babies > Dr didn't listen for heat beat!!
Dr didn't listen for heat beat!!
So I had my first apt at 9 weeks that was last Friday!! My dr went through the check up then took me to another from for the vaginal ultra sound we saw the baby and she measured it and it measured 4 days smaller but she said there was no need to change the due date. She print me pictures and that was it!! At the time I didn't even pay attention that I didn't hear the heart beat I was just happy to see the baby!! Now I have been read about baby's heart stopping and mother not even knowing until their next ultra sound.. so now I am sooo scared and so mad that I didn't think about asking to hear the heart beat.. is this normal anyone else not get to hear their baby's heat on the first visit??
if your Dr did an ultrasound you would have seen the heartbeat. If it wasn't pointed out, that would be unfortunate, but the Dr must have actually seen it or they would have informed you. I saw the heart beat but didn't ask to hear it.
Oh my goodness thank you for sayin that!!! It just reminded me I had recorded it so my husband could see, so I went back and listen to her carefully and she said there's good heart motion!!! I'm such a worry wart!! But thank you for saying that and jogging my memory.. feel so much better!!!
You cant actually hear the heartbeat until 10-12 weeks.
The American pregnancy association no longer recommends the use of Doppler in early ultrasounds. This is my second baby and went to the same doctor, but only looked for heartbeat. I didn't see it but my husband did, when she finished I freaked out and she went back in and showed me. Then told me it's no longer recommended.
I had my scan at 9wk yesterday. The technician only showed me the hb on screen and she told me the hb counts. But she didn't let me hear it. She said its a hospital policy or something. Our baby was measuring 2 days behind but due date will remain the same.
We heard our heart beat at 6 weeks (and again at 8 weeks) which is common.
Call the office and ask to be sent or read the ultrasound report. Tell them the doctor didn't give you the heart rate. They will do that for you.
Also they saw a heartbeat of 164 for me but I asked to hear the heartbeat and she said they didn't do that anymore. So maybe it's just protocol that they wait until a certain week of pregnancy.
My first appointment was just a conversation and taking family history, at 9 weeks. No use of the Doppler because my midwife didn't think we'd be able to detect it just yet.
I had already gone for a dating ultrasound at 8 weeks but my Birth Clinic doesn't have an ultrasound device, it's all scheduled through ultrasound/X-ray clinics and they send the results over. It means I have double the appointments but at least the time seems to pass more quickly! It seems like every 2-4 weeks I'm at an appointment.
At my last ultrasound at 8 weeks, we didn't hear the heart beat either. I had a vaginal ultrasound and she showed me the flickering of the heart and said it was strong. I asked to hear it and she said we would at our 12 week appointment. That was different for me as this is my third but I'm trying to stay calm.
Yes I was going to say this as well. I had an ultrasound at 8 weeks and saw it and the tech pointed it out to me but didn't actually hear it as that was probably a little too early for us to hear it. I wouldn't worry too much because if the doc didn't bring up anything negative about it then I'm sure everything looked fine.
Well thats what my doctor said. I saw the heartbeat at 8 weeks. Didnt hear it.
I'm 13 weeks and have not yet heard the heart beat but have seen it twice in ultrasound. Try not to worry too much mama 😊 congrats on baby!!
Doctors don't usually try with the Doppler yet bc it's hard to find it at that point. They would've said if there were any concerns during the ultrasound. You should get to hear it at the 12w appointment.


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Dynamic changes of wetland resources based on MODIS and Landsat image data fusion
Fawang Ma1,
Qiubing Wang1 &
Maoxin Zhang1
EURASIP Journal on Image and Video Processing volume 2018, Article number: 63 (2018) Cite this article
Given the seasonal dynamics of wetland ecosystem, limited available data, and technological method of wetland investigation, wetland evaluation cannot be accurately accessed. Although the remote sensing technology has been widely employed on wetland investigation and identification, changeable weather conditions especially cloud interference are the main barrier to acquire clear remote sensing image for wetland identification and information extraction. The combination and precision evaluation of remote sensing data with high temporal-spatial resolution ratio from moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Landsat were conducted using the Spatial and Temporal Adaptive Reflectance Fusion Model (STARFM): a comprehensively temporal-spatial reflectance model was built; the high-resolution image in the time series and Modified Normalized Difference Water Index were obtained. The main data obstacles in wetland resources monitoring were invalid. The typical wetland areas in Liaoning province of China were evaluated using combination algorithm and Landsat (Thematic Mapper) images. The results show that the MODIS and Landsat data can be combined well with high correlations in different wave ranges. The maximum Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI) is 0.9678, followed by green wave (0.9630), near-infrared wave (0.9345), and blue wave (0.9018).The wetland seasonal change of Panjin was examined using the data combination method. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI), and vegetation coverage index were extracted from combined images of Panjin from June 2016 to August 2016 and analyzed. Results showed that the NDVI was high in partial water area during the studied period indicating high chlorophyll contents.
Wetlands play irreplaceable roles in climate regulation, water purification, biodiversity conservation, and natural ecology balancing [1]. Wetlands provide habitats for wild animals and plants, and guarantee climate modulation, pollutant deterioration and decomposition, flood detention, water conservation, soil erosion control, oxygen release from solid carbon, and ecological nutrient cycling [2]. Wetlands offer humans abundant animal and plant resources and necessary water sources, and provide turf and other special sources [3]. However, due to natural and artificial interferences, numerous wetlands have been converted to farm lands or urban lands, and such fundamental variation of wetland properties has roused wide attention from researchers [4].
Remote sensing (RS) has been extensively used to investigate and identify wetland resources. RS brings about huge technical support to relevant research owing to its time/cost saving, provision of abundant information, multi-platform operation, and multi-temporal advantage [5]. Though RS largely facilitates wetland research, the changeable meteorological conditions make cloud interference one of the major barriers against the acquisition of clear RS images, identification of wetlands, and information extraction. Especially, the cloudy conditions at the growing season (June to September) certainly complicate the extraction of wetland-related information (in particular, marsh wetlands). Though there are some cloud processing techniques, they are limited by image distortion and information loss [6]. In the field of wetland monitoring, the most used and mature RS source is Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM). Despite its spatial resolution up to 30 m, its visiting period is only 16 days, and the occurrence of cloudy or raining weather would largely reduce the usability of TM data [7]. Especially for wetlands, the variational climates and cloudy or rainy weathers occur more frequently at the high-flow period, when the RS data become less available. Nevertheless, this limitation can be supplemented by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Terra moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor, which provides data anywhere nearly every day and is complementary with Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM). Thus, MODIS data largely improves the possibility of acquiring rain- and cloud-free RS images on the polar-orbiting platform [8]. However, the spatial resolutions of MODIS are very low (only 250–1000 m), which are unsatisfactory for wetland resource monitoring at the medium or high scale [9].
If the high-spatial-resolution data of Landsat TM and the high-temporal-resolution data of MODIS can be effectively fused, we could obtain a time series of Landsat TM images with high space-time resolutions simultaneously, which would largely improve the reasonableness and precision in regional dynamic monitoring of wetland resources. In recent years, the space-time fusing RS techniques and different RS sources have been developed rapidly. Researchers have constantly studied effective RS data fusing techniques, aiming to acquire high-space-time resolution RS data. Gao et al. [10] studied the space-time fusion of Landsat and MODIS data and thereby established a Spatial and Temporal Adaptive Reflectance Fusion Model (STARFM), effectiveness of which was validated by relevant tests. Later, the defects and limitations of STARFM were modified. Zhang et al. [11] established an Enhanced Spatial and Temporal Adaptive Reflectance Fusion Model (STARFM). Wu et al. [12] used a hybrid pixel decomposition method, Spatial and Temporal Data Fusion Model (STDFM), to efficiently fuse MODIS and TM images. Based on STARFM, some scholars built an Enhanced Spatial and Temporal Data Fusion Model (ESTDFM), which was contributive to improving fusion algorithms [13]. Xie et al. [14] used the Combination of Downscaling Mixed Pixel Algorithm and Spatial and Temporal Adaptive Reflectance Fusion Model (CDSTRFMA) into RS data fusion. It was found CDSTARFM outperformed both STARFM and the downscaling mixed pixel algorithm with a 2% higher precision. Walker et al. [15] used STARFM to fuse Landsat and MODIS data and effectively characterized the typical phenology of forest vegetation in arid regions. Jia et al. [16] studied the classification mapping of land covers in Beijing, or namely fused Landsat Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) time series using STARFM.
In all, STARFM has been preliminarily applied and experimentally improved since its emergence. However, the concrete applications of STARFM still require the algorithmic improvement according to the characteristics of the study areas. In this study, the study area was located in the east of Liaoning province, China. We utilized the complementary advantages between MODIS and Landsat images in time and spatial resolutions, and adopted a progressive band algorithm. Through the comparison of fusion precision, the algorithm feasible for data fusion in the study area was screened out and its precision was evaluated. The seasonal changes of NDVI, Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI), and vegetation richness index in wetlands of Panjin city were studied, which theoretically underlie the research on dynamic changes of wetland resources in scientific rational zones.
When RS data were fused using STARFM and geometric calibration and atmospheric correction with low errors were conducted, the MODIS images at period tk in the study area were obtained from the weighted averages of Landsat images at near time points. Meanwhile, the differences between two sources of RS in spectra, temporal resolutions and illumination conditions, upon imaging would result in certain deviation εk in the reflectivity. In this regard, we supposed the ground coverage type at (xi, yi) and the different systematic errors were unchanged with time, or namely εk was constant. The reflectivity on the Landsat images at time tn can be determined from the weighted average of MODIS data at the same time and the Landsat and MODIS images at time tk, based on STARFM as follows:
$$ L\left({x}_i,{y}_i,{t}_n\right)=M\left({x}_i,{y}_j,{t}_n\right)+L\left({x}_i,{y}_j,{t}_k\right)-M\left({x}_i,{y}_j,{t}_k\right) $$
where L and M are the pixels of Landsat and MODIS images, respectively.
To improve the prediction accuracy, we selected adjacent pixels with the same spectral properties as auxiliary information. Meanwhile, the adjacent window centering at the predicted pixel was selected and the inside pixels were convolutionally treated using a weighed function W, which resulted in the predicted value of the central pixel. Finally, the whole image was operated using a slide convolutional window, forming the predicted image as follows:
$$ L\left({x}_{w/2},{y}_{w/2},{t}_n\right)=\sum \limits_{i=1}^w\sum \limits_{j=1}^w{W}_{ijk}\left(M\left({x}_i,{y}_j{t}_n\right)+L\left({x}_i,{y}_j,{t}_k\right)-M\left({x}_i,{y}_j,{t}_k\right)\right) $$
where w is the width of the slide window; L(xw/2, yw/2, tn) is the value of the central pixel at time tn. The weighting function plays a critical role, as it decides the contributions of the pixels inside the sliding window to the fused data. In practice, the weighting function of STARFM can be determined according to three indices of spectral distance, time distance, and space distance.
The spectral distance can be computed as the difference between pixel values of Landsat and MODIS images at time tk and specific position as follows:
$$ {S}_{ij}=\left|L\left({x}_i,{y}_j,{t}_k\right)-\left.M\left({x}_i,{y}_j,{t}_k\right)\right|\right. $$
The time distance can be calculated as the difference between pixel values of MODIS at time tn and MODIS at time tk at a specific position as follows:
$$ {T}_{ij}=\left|M\left({x}_i,{y}_j,{t}_n\right)-M\left({x}_i,{y}_j,{t}_k\right)\right| $$
The space distance can be computed as the Euclidian distance between the central pixel and the adjacent pixel in the window as follows:
$$ {d}_{ij}=\sqrt{{\left({x}_{w/2}-{x}_1\right)}^2+{\left({y}_{w/2}-{y}_j\right)}^2} $$
Data fusion experiments
The MODIS data used here were mainly MODO9A1 synthesized from the 8 days of ground reflectivity and the Landsat5 TM data. During the merging process, the number of ground types in the study area should be as many as possible. In this study, the selected ground covers mainly included vegetation, water, construction land, and wetland. Since the progressive band algorithm used here was very slow, we selected the typical region in east Liaoning in the fusing algorithm and adopted the TM images in this region for precision evaluation.
The fusion between MODIS and Landsat data was mainly based on STARFM or modified STARFM, with the following basic principles. Firstly, the two phases of low-resolution MODIS images at time t0 and tk were downscaled, and then, the medium-resolution Landsat image at time tk was used to forecast the medium-resolution image at time t0. The key for data fusion by STARFM is how to determine weight space information and thereby this weight algorithm can automatically adapt to different regions [17]. By screening out the pixel with a similar spectrum as the central pixel, we could weight-compute the central pixel at the prediction phase by using the spectral differences, time difference of the similar pixel, and its relative distance from the central pixel. The improved STARFM basically inherits STARFM, and the data fusion process is still to calculate the central pixel at the prediction period by weighting the similarity pixels in the window. The similarity pixels of the central pixel in the window can be decided according to the threshold θb at different bands of Landsat at time tk. Specifically, the pixels in the window having the absolute difference from the central pixel smaller than the threshold θb at each wave band are selected as the similarity pixels for image fusion. The fused results are listed in Fig. 1.
The MODIS data fusion and the fusion data after false color composite in sample region. a Original MODIS image in 2016. b Fused false color synthesis in 2016. c Original MODIS image in 2014. d Fused false color synthesis in 2014
Clearly, the predicted images based on STARFM were significantly improved in terms of spatial resolution from the perspective of vision, and the visual effect was more ideal. To better evaluate the high-space-time resolution MODIS images predicted by STARFM, we quantitatively assessed its precision.
Evaluation of fusion precision
Since the TM data were stopped by 2014, we only evaluated the data in 2016. The TM images (merged data) and the STARFM-predicted fused data in 16 August 2016 were regressed at blue, green, red, and near-infrared bands in terms of reflectivity (Fig. 2).
The correlation analysis of fusion forecast reflectance data with TM. a Correlation between real data and predicted data of R band. b Correlation between real data and predicted data of G band. c Correlation between real data and predicted data of B band. d Correlation between real data and predicted data of NIR band
Clearly, as for blue, green, red, and near-infrared bands, the high-space-time resolution data predicted by STARFM are all linearly correlated with the real data. To more correctly describe the validity of the space-time fusing algorithm, we extracted NDVI and NDWI for fitting analysis (Fig. 3).
The correlation analysis of fusion forecast data with NDVI and NDWI. a Correlation between real NDVI and predicted NDVI. b Correlation between real NDWI and predicted NDWI
Clearly, the NDWI and NDVI from the fusing algorithm are both highly correlated with the real data. The predicted data and TM data were superposed on ENVI, and the correlations at all bands were determined using a statistical tool. Finally, the correlations between merged MODIS data and TM data at each wave band and the same date were determined. High correlations were found at all wave bands. In particular, the correlations of NDWI rank as red band (0.9678) > green band (0.9630) > near-infrared (0.9345) > blue band (0.9018), which are all very high.
Clearly, the fusing algorithm effectively solves the defects of MODIS and Landsat images and makes full use of their advantages. This algorithm can be very effective in RS-based land resource inspection and offers a scientific method for studying the severe seasonal changes of wetland resources.
Application of data fusion method in wetland change
Study area
Panjin (E 121°25′–122°31″, N 40°39′–41°27″) is located at southwest of Liaoning province in China, the north bank of Bohai Sea, and the center of Liao River delta and has a coastline of 118 km (Fig. 4). Panjin enjoys an average altitude of 4 m and gentle terrains, and the highest and lowest elevations are 18.2 and 0.3 m, respectively. It has in total 21 big or small rivers. The Shuangtai river mouth wetland nature reserve (E 121°28′10″–122°00′24″, N 40°45′00″–41°08′50″) has a total area of 4084 km2 and has been formed after the Shuangtaizi River flows to seas.
The location of the research area
Data fusion of the study area
Through extraction and superposition, we analyzed the changes of NDVI and NDWI between two time phases in Panjin, as well as the changes of vegetation coverage index. Vegetation coverage measures the proportion of vertical projected areas of leaves, stems, and branches to the total area of the study site. Vegetation coverage well reflects the seasonal changes of vegetation growth, ecological environment, water/soil quality, and water conditions in wetlands and is a favorable indicator of seasonal changes in wetlands [18, 19].
The modified STARFM was used to fuse and predict the RS images at two phases of 2016 in Panjin (Fig. 5).
The false color MODIS image of composite original and merged in Panjin. a Original MODIS images on 18 June 2016. b Original MODIS images on 16 August 2006. c Merged MODIS images on 18 June 2016. d Merged MODIS images on 16 August 2006
Clearly, based on the high-space-time resolution MODIS data determined from the space-time fusing algorithm, the RS data were effectively improved at both spatial and temporal scales. The image quality improvement from the perspective of data source can theoretically and efficiently improve the precision of information extraction.
Changes of NDVI and NDWI
NDVI and NDWI were extracted from the merged images of Panjin in June and August 2016, and the changes of NDVI and NDWI between the two time phases were analyzed through superposition. NDVI as a commonly used vegetation index can effectively reflect the vegetation information [20, 21]. Due to the vast areas and diverse types of water bodies (big and small rivers, reservoirs, ponds, shallow swamps) in the wetlands of Panjin, we introduced NDWI to reflect the distribution of water bodies.
Analysis of experimental results shows the NDVI of a part of pixels exceeds the range (− 1, 1), which is because of errors of atmospheric correction in the FLAASH of TM images as well as the trimmed boundaries. The abnormal data were removed. Specifically, values > 1 were assigned as "1," and the values < 1 were treated as "− 1." The abnormal data were calculated as − 1.0 > b1 < 1.0 by using the Band Math on ENVI (Fig. 6).
a The exponential distribution of NDVI and NDWI in 18 June 2016, b The exponential distribution of NDVI and NDWI in 16 August 2016
Clearly, in June and August, the majority of Panjin was covered by vegetation, and a part of the water bodies were even found with large NDVI, which indicate the large chlorophyll concentrations in the water bodies. Data superposition between two phases (data in August–data in June) can reveal the changes of NDVI and NDWI. Clearly, the NDVI throughout Panjin increases but NDWI decreases from June to August. Meteorological data show heavy rainfall (321 mm) occurred in June 2016 in Panjin, but the rainfall in August was smaller (160 mm). The experimental results are basically consistent with the real data.
Changes of vegetation coverage
Vegetation coverage measures the proportion of vertical projected areas (leaves, stems, branches) to the total area of the study site. Vegetation coverage well reflects the seasonal changes of vegetation growth, ecological environment, water/soil quality, and water conditions in wetlands and is a favorable indicator of seasonal changes in wetlands. The development of RS offers powerful technical support for estimation of large-area regional vegetation coverage. Many methods can be used to detect and calculate vegetation coverage with the help of RS. Here, an improved model based on pixel equinoctial model through experiments was used.
To extract more accurate vegetation coverages, we first used two phases of NDVI (set NDVI > 0.0), firstly extracted the vegetation information with the preset threshold, and then computed vegetation coverage. The vegetation coverages on 18 June and 16 August 2016 in Panjin are showed below. Clearly, the majority of Panjin was covered by vegetation; the overall vegetation coverage in June was smaller than in August, which was mainly because vegetation grew further under sufficient rainfall, and rice, reed, and other crops grew well.
The vegetation coverage rates in Panjin and its districts and counties were summarized on ArcGIS. The average vegetation coverage rate in the whole urban areas of Panjin on 18 June 2016 was 0.71 and rose by 0.02 to 0.73 in 16 August. Statistics by districts and counties showed the vegetation coverage rates in June were all smaller than in August and were smaller in urban areas than in other areas.
To facilitate statistics and analysis, we further divided vegetation coverage into six levels: bare areas (0, 0.1), low coverage [0.1, 0.3), medium to low coverage [0.3, 0.45), medium coverage [0.45, 0.6), and high coverage [0.6, 1). Then, the divisions were segmented by colors and densities to classify the vegetation coverage rates (Fig. 7). Clearly, the whole city in 2016 was dominated by high to medium coverage. The vegetation coverage rate in the wetlands was higher in August than in June. The land covers with high coverage (> 0.6) were reeds and rice lands, and the land covers with low coverages included beaches and sea shores (0.1–0.3). The vegetation coverage of wetland vegetation especially reeds rose rapidly.
The vegetation coverage map of Panjin between 18 June and 16 August 2016
Previous studies and this study suggest wetland resources are largely influenced by climate, and especially, the changeable meteorological conditions in Panjin between June and September with cloudy and rainy climate make the corresponding Landsat images unavailable. The RS space-time fusing technique provides an effective way to solve the seasonal changes of wetlands, to modestly overcome the limitations of traditional investigation methods, and solve the technical problems in applications of wetland resource investigation.
The RS space-time fusing technology makes full use of the advantages of different information sources. The improved STARFM generates high-precision multi-temporal RS data, which provide a new valid RS source for land resource RS-based investigation. It is experimentally validated that MODIS and Landsat images can be well fused and the fused images are highly correlated with the TM images. In particular, the correlations rank by NDWI (0.9678) > green band (0.9630) > near-infrared band (0.9345) > blue band (0.9018). This method can be referred to in traditional RS-based land resource investigations, including wetlands.
Due to influences by climate, terrains, and soils, the wetland resources are complex and changeable. Moreover, the majority of wetlands are geographically remote and traffically inconvenient, so the traditional monitoring methods are limited by the huge material costs, vast investigation extent, destruction to wetlands, long investigation period, and low time effectiveness. In this study, data fusion was used to study the seasonal changes of wetlands in Panjin. The two phases of RS images in June and August 2016 were inverted. It was found that the fused images well reflected the seasonal changes of NDVI, NDWI, and vegetation coverage in the wetlands and modestly solved the limitations in the cloudy and rainy climate.
The RS space-time fusing technology can be used to study the dynamic changes in the distribution, types, and areas of wetlands, to investigate the distribution, trends, and spatial patterns of wetland biological resources and to invert the daily or seasonal changes of near-ground atmospheric CO2 concentrations, vegetation growing trend, hydrological characteristics, surface suspended matter concentrations, and spatial patterns in the wetlands.
In the high-water period (June to September) of wetlands, the presence of cloud and rain leads to massive data loss and useless Landsat images. The traditional RS methods for classifying and extracting regional wetlands would cause severe interferences. Thus, an effective way is to use STARFM to fuse MODIS and Landsat images, solving the problem of data loss, and thereby to extract and monitor the wetland-related information. However, when an RS space-time fusing method is used to extract information of wetlands, both the phenologic changes and space information of wetlands should be taken into account, especially in regions with severe space heterogeneity. Thus, one trend in the future is to converse scale or fuse other RS data and thereby to effectively solve the problem of space heterogeneity.
Influenced by factors such as climate, topography, and soil, wetland resources possess the characteristics of complex and changeable land types, and the geographical location of most wetlands is remote with poor transportation. Only relying on conventional means to monitor wetland situation not only requires a large amount of material cost with small investigation scope, but also causes damage to the wetland, which has a long period of wetland research and insufficient timeliness. The time-space fusion of remote sensing data effectively gives play to the advantages of different information sources of MODIS and Landsat data; the remote sensing information source obtained by modified STARFM model fusion algorithm has the advantages of multidate, high precision, etc., providing an effective remote sensing information source for remote sensing investigation of land resource. Experiment proves that MODIS and Landsat data can be fused in a good manner, the image after fusion has high correlation with TM image, and this method can provide practical reference for the remote sensing investigation of traditional land resources including wetland resource. Research results show that the image after fusion can well reflect the vegetation index, water body index, and vegetation coverage of the wetlands' seasonal variation, which solve the research problem of wetland seasonal characteristics in cloudy and rainy weather to some extent.
CDSTRFMA:
Combination of Downscaling Mixed Pixel Algorithm and Spatial and Temporal Adaptive Reflectance Fusion Model
MODIS:
Moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer
NDVI:
Normalized Difference Vegetation Index
NDWI:
Normalized Difference Water Index
RS:
STARFM:
Spatial and Temporal Adaptive Reflectance Fusion Model
Thematic Mapper
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The corresponding author is professor Wang Qiubing. We thank the USGS and the Remote Sensing Data Sharing Center of China for providing Landsat data.
Completed research programs were supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41771245, No. 40671079, No. 40971124, and No. 41371223).
Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, 110866, Liaoning Province, China
Fawang Ma, Qiubing Wang & Maoxin Zhang
Fawang Ma
Qiubing Wang
Maoxin Zhang
FM and QW conceived of and designed the study and performed the experiments. FM and MZ analyzed and interpreted the data. QW and FM drafted the paper. All authors gave final approval of the version to be published.
Correspondence to Qiubing Wang.
Ma, F., Wang, Q. & Zhang, M. Dynamic changes of wetland resources based on MODIS and Landsat image data fusion. J Image Video Proc. 2018, 63 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13640-018-0305-7
Received: 26 April 2018
Dynamic changes

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Moving from the Airport to your final destination has never been easier! our Airport Service can always get you where you're going safely, efficiently and comfortably. Our drivers will pick you up or drop you off at your doorstep.
Our Airport Service is a simple promise of providing door-to-door airport service that is reliable, efficient, affordable and friendly. We reduce the hassle of getting to and from the airport.
- Myrtle Beach International Airport.
- Charlotte Douglas International Airport.
- Mount Pleasant Regional Airport.


It has been a long-held dream of ours to build a permanent community here at The Garden, where we can live sustainably, in harmony with nature, sharing spiritual practice, food, hard work and special moments – while still maintaining everybody's private, personal space.
Our vision is a small community of families, long-stay and short-stay guests and volunteers, with off-grid eco-houses built using non-conventional building techniques and alternative energy sources, and in line with a philosophy of "voluntary simplicity". Over time, the community will become a demonstration and training centre for eco-building.
A shared central facility will be used for group meals, and we will use The Garden yoga circle and facilities for shared spiritual practice every morning, followed by juice or breakfast together. During the days, people will be free to follow their own pursuits, working an agreed number of hours per week for the community, according to each individual's unique skills. We will produce our own vegetables, and – as a primarily vegetarian community – will keep livestock for eggs and dairy produce. The community will also manage accommodation for yoga/meditation retreats, and hiking trails and picnic spots for guests.
We will welcome weekend visitors in the central guesthouse, and short stays and volunteer placements will also be available. We will celebrate weekend evenings together with bonfires, music, dancing, full-moon labyrinth walks/meditations etc. We will also connect with the nearby local community and provide support with vegetable production and other community projects TBC, including a proposed "Peace Garden".
This might suit you if you ….
Aren't afraid of hard work in the garden and getting your hands dirty!
Interested? We would love to hear from you and discuss further! Please email margaret@thegarden.co.za or call us on 076 931 5600!


There were offensive fireworks in Lubbock, mostly from the burnt orange and white. Charlie Strong's redemption tour continues and the Horns are above .500.
- D'Onta Foreman is a Heisman candidate. We know, everyone's already cast their ballot for Lamar Jackson, but D'Onta Foreman is a legitimate Heisman contender after a 341 yard effort against Tech. Only UTEP's held Foreman below a hundred yards and they only did it because he didn't play. Foreman averaged 10 yards a touch against the Red Raiders. We know that's grading on a curve but it's still impressive.
- Texas' defense kept Tech off balance. Sure they allowed 37 points but UT's defense did a very good job of keeping the Red Raider attack and Patrick Mahomes from getting into any sort of rhythm. Mahomes had 178 yards in the first quarter and only 189 the rest of the way.
- Tech's defense is a plague of awfulness. Texas rushed for 414 yards Saturday and accumulated 658 yards total. Tech didn't even look close to stopping the Longhorn rushing attack. Texas' offense never looked threatened or even concerned with their ability to drive the ball down Tech's throat. If Kliff Kingsbury is going to keep his gig he'll need to find some warm bodies on the defensive side of the ball.
Posted on November 5, 2016 by The Roundup and filed under Southwest Round-Up, Texas, Texas Tech and tagged D'Onta Foreman Texas Longhorns Texas Tech Kliff Kingsbury.


text:
Q: How to do percentage height and width in Android? I'm trying to set a button to 60% height and 60% width of the physical device.
Since the size of the screen is user-dependent, using dips is out of the question.
How can we do percentage height and width in Android? E.g.:
 <Button android:layout_width="60%" android:layout_height="60%"/>

A: You can use the layout_weight attribute. If you've got the parent layout set to 10 weight, then you can set a weight of 6 in your Button.
There's quite a bit on the topic on Stack Overflow:
Linear Layout and weight in Android
... or on the official Android blog:
http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2009/02/android-layout-tricks-1.html

A: Now it's possible with Guidelines positioned with percentage values

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<android.support.constraint.ConstraintLayout
    xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="match_parent">

    <Button
        android:id="@+id/button"
        android:layout_width="0dp"
        android:layout_height="0dp"
        android:text="Button"
        app:layout_constraintBottom_toTopOf="@+id/horizontalGuideline"
        app:layout_constraintEnd_toStartOf="@+id/verticalGuideline"
        app:layout_constraintStart_toStartOf="parent"
        app:layout_constraintTop_toTopOf="parent" />

    <android.support.constraint.Guideline
        android:id="@+id/verticalGuideline"
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:orientation="vertical"
        app:layout_constraintGuide_percent="0.6" />

    <android.support.constraint.Guideline
        android:id="@+id/horizontalGuideline"
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:orientation="horizontal"
        app:layout_constraintGuide_percent="0.6" />

</android.support.constraint.ConstraintLayout>

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Research initiatives to support science-based pharmaceutical manufacturing
Rodolfo J. Romanach
Pharmaceutical Technology Europe
Pharmaceutical Technology Europe, Pharmaceutical Technology Europe-10-01-2007, Volume 19, Issue 10
Recent regulatory initiatives have emphasized the need to improve pharmaceutical manufacturing. PAT marked the beginning of a number of regulatory efforts to encourage innovation and a transition towards science-based manufacturing. This article reviews the progress of the regulatory initiatives and describes two significant research initiatives to develop a future pharmaceutical manufacturing environment based on scientific understanding of pharmaceutical materials and processes.
Pharmaceutical companies have followed quality improvement programmes, implemented planning and scheduling tools, and introduced just-in-time and lean manufacturing approaches, but in spite of these efforts the efficiency or level of utilization in pharmaceutical manufacturing is only 15%, according to a study.1 The success of these programmes is often limited because pharmaceutical materials and processes are not thoroughly understood.
Many pharmaceutical processes are based on empirical knowledge, not on fundamental understanding of the physical and chemical interactions. Quality control (QC) laboratories do not generally provide information on the physical aspects that dominate pharmaceutical processes, such as flow properties or particle size distribution of the materials. These important characteristics are frequently ignored, and lack of process understanding limits the efficiency of pharmaceutical manufacturing.
FDA has indicated that product quality is generally adequate for its intended purposes, but the process by which the quality is achieved is inefficient.2 Low manufacturing efficiency leads to high compliance costs with a significant proportion of FDA resources required to ensure adequate product quality. Recurring quality problems are common at many pharmaceutical sites. FDA also maintains a website that lists drug shortages, the majority of which relate to manufacturing problems.3
FDA has started the critical path initiative (CPI), where the critical path is defined as all those activities that occur once a company decides to develop a drug candidate molecule into a product and seek its approval.4–6 The critical path studies indicate that the number of new molecular entities (NMEs) for both small molecules and biotechnology-derived products submitted to FDA has decreased in recent years. The decrease in new products has been accompanied by a significant increase in the cost of bringing a new product to market, and FDA has diagnosed a 'pipeline problem'. The critical path report also discusses the industrialization stage defined as developing the capacity to reliably manufacture a high-quality product at commercial scale. Industrialization is also seen as a frequent hurdle in the critical path-delaying trials, and limiting and delaying access to new products.
Recognizing the difficulties in pharmaceutical manufacturing is an important first step. This article reviews FDA initiatives to improve pharmaceutical manufacturing, and discusses two significant research efforts to develop a future environment based on scientific understanding of pharmaceutical materials and processes.
FDA started the PAT initiative to increase pharmaceutical process understanding and encourage innovation in pharmaceutical manufacturing.7–10 The efforts to develop this initiative involved several activities to seek industrial feedback. Table 1 lists some of the actions that occurred between the start of discussions on PAT and the guidance issued on September 2004. The table also shows that the PAT initiative served as a first step towards other FDA initiatives.
Table 1 Developments in PAT and GMPs.
PAT has been defined as a "system for designing, analysing and controlling manufacturing through timely measurements (i.e., during processing) of critical quality and performance attributes of raw and in-process materials and processes, with the goal of ensuring final product quality."7 For example, in current pharmaceutical processes fixed blending times are specified. In a PAT system mixing would occur until the system indicates that the blend is homogeneous. A blending period or range would be specified based on the variability that may be expected in the excipients and API. The technology to monitor blending processes is already available and several researchers have shown the feasibility of using near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy to monitor blending processes.11–13 The analytical technology to monitor the process is only one aspect of PAT because its concept also encompasses process design and control.
The PAT guidance describes FDA's regulatory framework to handle PAT proposals from the pharmaceutical industry, and is now part of the broader cGMPs for the 21st Century that FDA has summarized as: "A science and risk-based approach to product quality regulation incorporating an integrated quality systems approach."
PAT contributes to QC by providing a framework for using technology to monitor and control critical quality parameters in processes. Therefore, PAT cannot be implemented without studying and understanding pharmaceutical processes. If a process is not understood, sensors or instruments could be used to monitor all the nonimportant parameters, wasting the effort and investment without any improvements.
Process understanding requires comprehending the fundamental structural properties of excipients and the API, the manner in which these materials interact, and the effect of processing steps on materials. In the majority of formulations, excipients and the API are solids, providing a significant challenge to chemists that have learned chemistry in curricula that focused on liquid and gaseous state reactions. Some of the exciting pharmaceutical process research opportunities are related to the formation of amorphous or crystalline materials,14 or to controlling the crystal form of the API.15 Other efforts are geared to understanding the physics involved in mixing granular materials,16 and the role of nanoparticles to improve material flow.17 Without doubt, research is needed to understand the physical and chemical properties of materials involved in pharmaceutical processes.
The PAT concept emphasizes that product quality should be achieved through the design of effective and efficient manufacturing processes.18 ICH Q8 describes how to include quality by design (QbD) and PAT in a regulatory submission.19 The design space will need to address variations in the chemical and physical properties of excipients and the API, and show that these variations can be managed by the process resulting in a final product that meets the approved specifications. QbD will require additional pharmaceutical process research to understand pharmaceutical materials.
Engineering Research Center
The National Science Foundation (NSF [VA, USA]) recently approved a $15-million (€10.9-million), 5-year grant to implement the Engineering Research Center (ERC) to improve the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals, food and agricultural products. This award was given to more than 30 researchers from Rutgers (NJ, USA), New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJ, USA), Purdue University (IN, USA) and the University of Puerto Rico (Mayagüez, Puerto Rico). The principal objective of this large project is to incorporate materials science and engineering methods in pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Figure 1 shows the engineering approach the ERC is currently following. Once the administration and delivery requirements of an API are known, then engineering is used to obtain an integrated framework with predictive models to systematically design the particles of the API, composites and their manufacturing processes with a reduced number of supporting experiments. The engineering system will be demonstrated in three core technology platforms dedicated to developing specific types of products with predetermined functionalities.
The first development programme, Continuous Manufacturing of Macrocomposites, improves and upgrades two current manufacturing methods: direct compression and roller compaction. The second, Engineered Particle-Based Delivery Systems, focuses on innovative stable suspensions of nano- and microparticles with desired properties. The third, Multilayer Architectures, emphasizes highly innovative product synthesis methods intrinsically suitable for personalized medicine.
Faster, safer, cheaper
The National Institute of Pharmaceutical Technology and Education (NIPTE [www.nipte.org]), was established as a nonprofit multi-university consortium for interdisciplinary research and education in pharmaceutical science and engineering. Its aim is to develop, manufacture and deliver pharmaceutical products faster, safer and at a significantly lower cost to the patient.
The NIPTE's current goal is "to become the pre-eminent interdisciplinary national resource for research and education on science- and engineering-based understanding of pharmaceutical development and manufacturing. Scientists, researchers and engineers from academia, FDA and the industry will collaboratively engage in developing state-of-the-art science and technology to enable the pharmaceutical industry to develop products faster, and at a significantly lower cost with less variability and higher predictability of performance." The executive committee of the NIPTE has estimated that about $25 million (€18 million) is needed annually for the NIPTE to make a significant contribution and meet its goals.
The NIPTE will not be dedicated to the discovery of new pharmacologically active molecules; it will focus on improving pharmaceutical technology, which has been defined as: "Pharmaceutical technology addresses design, development, and manufacturing of all components of drug products, diagnostics, and pharmaceutical devices, including organic molecules, proteins, and other biologics. It also encompasses the physical and engineering sciences of scalable drug delivery platforms."
The NIPTE is developing pharmaceutical manufacturing and education roadmaps, which will pinpoint a number of problems that delay the approval of drug products, increase the cost of their development and lower the efficiency of manufacturing processes. They will also include a vision of the desired state of pharmaceutical development and manufacturing. The path from the current state to the desired state will require overcoming a number of barriers, and advances in various research areas. These research areas are being identified and classified in terms of their importance, with a preliminary estimate of the time and financial resources needed to advance them.
The PAT initiative marked the beginning of a consistent FDA effort to emphasize innovation and science-based pharmaceutical manufacturing. The research initiatives described in this article also support science-based pharmaceutical manufacturing. These regulatory and scientific efforts — and those of many other researchers — are expected to lead to a future science-based pharmaceutical manufacturing environment.
The author thanks Dr Prabir Basu at NIPTE and Dr Manel Alcalá at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez for reviewing the manuscript and providing suggestions.
1. D. Dean and F. Bruttin, "Productivity and the Economics of Regulatory Compliance in Pharmaceutical Production", PricewaterhouseCoopers, Food and Drug Administration Advisory Committee for Pharmaceutical Science (28 November 2001). www.fda.gov
2. A.S. Hussain, "The Subcommittee on Process Analytical Technologies (PAT): Overview and Objectives", FDA's Advisory Committee for Pharmaceutical Science (25 February 2002). www.fda.gov
3. "Drug Shortages", www.fda.gov
4. "Innovation or Stagnation. Challenge and Opportunity on the Critical Path to New Medical Products", US Food and Drug Administration, 2004. www.fda.gov
5. "Innovation or Stagnation. Critical Path Opportunities Report", US Food and Drug Administration, 2006. www.fda.gov
6. "Innovation or Stagnation. Critical Path Opportunities List", US Food and Drug Administration, 2006. www.fda.gov
7. "PAT — A Framework for Innovative Pharmaceutical Manufacturing and Quality Assurance", in Center for Drug Development and Research (US Food and Drug Administration), 2004.
8. R. Parrilla et al., Journal of Process Analytical Technology, 3(4), 25–28 (2006).
9. R.J. Romañach, Journal of Process Analytical Technology, 3(1), 22–25 (2006).
10. R.J. Romañach, Journal of Process Analytical Technology, 1(1), 10–12 (2004).
11. O. Berntsson et al., Powder Technology, 123(2–3), 185–193 (2002).
12. S. Sekulic et al., Anal. Chem., 68(3), 509–513 (1996).
13. R.D. Maesschalck et al., Appl. Spectrosc., 52(5), 725–732 (1998).
14. N. Rodríguez-Hornedo and D. Murphy, J. Pharm. Sci., 88(7), 651– 660 (1999).
15. C.H. Gu, V. Young and D.J.W. Grant, J. Pharm. Sci., 90(11), 1878–1890 (2001).
16. T. Shinbrot and F.J. Muzzio, "Mixing and Segregation in Tumbling Blenders", in J. Swarbrick, J.C. Boylan, Eds., Encyclopedia of Pharmaceutical Technology2nd Edition (Marcel Dekker, New York, NY, USA, 2002) p 1795.
17. J. Yang et al., Powder Technology, 158(1–3), 21–33 (2005).
18. F. Erni, Journal of Process Analytical Technology, 2(2), 23–26 (2005).
19. ICH Q8, Pharmaceutical Development, US Food and Drug Administration, 2006. www.fda.gov
PAT and QbD will help to prevent recurring QC problems.
The ERC has been launched to investigate pharmaceutical manufacturing processes.
The NIPTE has set up a nonprofit multi-university consortium for interdisciplinary research in development and manufacturing.
Rodolfo J. Romañach is professor of chemistry at the University of Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico).
AnalyticsManufacturingQuality SystemsProcess Control, Automation, and PATPharmaceutical Technology Europe-10-01-2007
FDA Rejects Accelerated Approval for Lilly's Alzheimer's Drug


My name is Joanna Bloom, I live in the fasttrack, punkdirty city of Berlin.
Like a lot of people here I am an artist and artivism is my way. I do a lot of stuff, also music and activism, but I am on Patreon with focus on my visual skillz and my book.
I have a lot of experience in painting naturalistic/illusionary wall paintings. I have as freelancer created illustrations, designs, album covers, logos, art work, visual ideas of any kind – mostly for my friends or friends of friends. I sell my art as posters in markets, festivals, and on the street in my little street shop.
Some of my art is a pure expression of how life feels, very emotional work focused on my self basically. Other parts of my art is directed towards political subjects – for example my World Wild Strength Collection that is all about the strength of the children – saying "what would Pippi do?".
Beside that I am working on a graphic novel, that I am desperate to see alive breathing and interacting with others on this planet. I will tell you a bit about my novel, to make you feel the importance of this crazy idea I received from the beyond realms of reality.
A story taking place in outer space and on earth. The main characters are a group of space pirates flying through the universe in a giant Jellyfish-looking spaceship fueled by the vibrations of music. They are part of the rebellion. The P4P (Pirates4peace) leaded by Mama Zyka, fighting for justice and peace. Cause there is troubles in the Intergalaxy. The Empire of Kharra has imperialistically taken over many parts of the universe, making most people planet-less refugees or slaves. But there is one last hope. A tiny shiny light in the darkness. The planet ANARCHIA. Planet Anarchia is a place of hope and new beginnings, here is no kind of governmental structures since the people organize themselves – also it is one of the few moneyfree zones of the intergalaxy – this is a trade-only place. Trade your skills, your work, your things, whatever it might be. Certain laws of kindness apply here. Only through solidarity is this place possible. While here are all types of beings, from all types of places. How can they all learn to live together? Meanwhile the granddaughter of Mamma Zyka is imprisoned far away, and what is this mysterious planet Earth that there is so much speculation about?
This is a taste of the book – I have it all in my mind. I have written the beginning chapters and made a lot of artwork. This is not just any adventure book; I include all themes I can think of that is important. That means LGBTQ people are strongly represented, as well as different skin-colors and cultural backgrounds, classes and level of privilege. This book is made with a feminist approach to everything. Besides that, I am into different forms of therapy and meditation. I have my own spiritual orientation, which means the chakras, mystic Goddesses and psychedelic experiences have influenced the story as well. Interested? If you become my Patron, you will be updated with the artwork from the book and the progress. You even have the possibility to read the first chapter.
I have worked on making my art a bigger part of my income for quite a while. I have a part time job with kids, many with background as refugees or immigrants, in a youth and children center, where I play with them and teach them self-expression through music. It's a wonderful job. Yet it´s not enough, and I am not sure what to do. I would love to make my living through my passions, and I have faith it must be possible - That´s why I am on Patreon, maybe you can help me?
-15 % discount on my prints!


text:
Q: PHP, job queue such as CRON I'd like to have a job queue such as CRON for my application so i could launch automatically a script every day at same time to calculate some data and store them.
I'm actually using zend server free edition for development (localhost only) and i just saw that zend server professional edition have a job queue feature. But i must say it is a bit expansive. I'm still thinking about it but i'm also trying to see other options for implementing a job queue in our development environment.
Our server is actually using Windows server.
I must say i only know about development so i might say some absurdities.
Should i install Linux instead of Windows server and install an Apache server to be able to use CRON.
Or actually with zend server free edition i might be able to set up an environment where i can use CRON (in my windows server environment)?
From what i understood i might need to install SSH2 library.


In 2009, San Francisco Beautiful recognized La Playa Park with a Beautification Award. La Playa at 48th Avenue in the Outer Sunset has transformed a litter-filled median strip into a quiet respite. This project was created and is maintained by neighbors and those at the Java Beach Cafe.


3?4 cup gorgonzola picante (look for a stronger, firmer gorgonzola, instead of the very soft gorgonzola dolce), chopped into medium size hunks.
If you are feeling inspired, and have some great fresh pears around, make the ravioli yourself. If you don't have the time or inclination or skills, use a good quality ricotta ravioli, and double the amount of pear used in the sauce.
Fresh ravioli filling: 200g of sheep ricotta and one very ripe pear. Using a stick blender or food processor, blend the ingredients well. You should have a 'fluffy', soft filling that is suitable for piping onto the ravioli. You don't want it too runny, if your pears are super juicy, increase the amount of ricotta that you use. Store the ravioli in the freeze until you are ready to use them.
Prepare all the sauce ingredients.
While the pasta water is coming to a boil, make a green salad. It's good to have something chewy and crunch after this pasta.
When the water is just about ready, using a saucepan that is big enough to hold the ravioli, melt the butter and add the onion. You want to soften the onions, not brown them, so pay attention here! Using a whisk, slowly add the cream and allow it to heat up.
In another pan, oh, quit worrying about doing the dishes, it's worth it, I promise. As I was saying, in another pan, saut? the pancetta/lardon/bacon. My pancetta is very lean so I need to add a few drops of olive oil to keep the pan from scorching. Use your judgement here. At this point, it's no longer possible to answer the phone, you need to stay focused. When the cream/onion mixture is warm and almost at the boil point, add the gorgonzola and start to gently whisk it around. You want the gorgonzola to melt, but be careful not to let it boil too much.
By now the pancetta is crispy, the gorgonzola is mostly melted, the ravioli are almost done, its time to add the pears to the pancetta and stir them to brown evenly.
Serve it with an assertive white wine, nothing too shy, the wine should be crisp with a only the touch of sweetness. It would also be good with a light bodied red wine. I served it with a 2004 Corvo "Rosa", a rose from Sicily.


Research areas: Visual Applications /Systems in Education, Visualization, Visual Informatics – Cognitive Perception, ICT Virtual Worlds – Virtual Learning.
B.Eng.(University of Sunderland, UK), M.Sc.(Eng.)(University of Portsmouth, UK), Ph.D.(University of Canterbury, New Zealand).
Research areas: Visualisation, Virtual & Augmented Reality, Virtual Learning, Mathematics.
Research areas: Human Computer Interaction, Interaction Design, User Evaluation, Usability.
Research areas: Ontology and knowledge management.
Research areas: Computational linguistic, Intelligent Computing (Machine Learning), Information Systems, Big Data Analytic.
Research areas: Evolutionary Algorithms, Shape Grammars, Bees Algorithm, Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ), Artificial Intelligence.
Research areas: Data Mining, Trend Mining, Social Network Mining, Cluster Analysis, Knowledge Discovery, Big Data Analytics, Text Analytics.
Research areas: Knowledge and Data Management, Information Distribution, Data and Image Compression.
Research areas: Big Data Analytics, Educational Data Mining, Recommender System, Personalization, Information System Effectiveness and Efficiency.
Research areas: Data Mining, Bioinformatics and Next Generation Sequencing.
Research areas: Big Data Analytics, Visualization, Social Media Analytics, Cloud Computing, Environmental Informatics, Innovation Process Modeling, Business Process Management.


Volunteers from Our Lady of Victory make up the lunch staff, and they work with you to provide a lunch for your family and friends at the time of a funeral.
Scalloped Potatoes and Ham. This is served with coleslaw, pickles, roll, cake and coffee. $3.00 per plate.
Ham or Turkey Sandwich. This is served with coleslaw, pickles, cake and coffee. $3.00 per plate.
Cake and Coffee. $0.50 per plate.
**On Fridays during Lent: Tuna Noodle Casserole with coleslaw, pickles, roll, cake and coffee. $3.00 per plate.
Please call with an estimated number of people to be served as soon as possible.
Payment is made through the funeral home.


It's On Us is a national campaign to end sexual misconduct on college campuses. Learn more about the steps the university is taking to prevent, stop, and address sexual misconduct on our campus. Access information about options and resources available to individuals who have experienced sexual misconduct or gender discrimination.


United Doors is Queensland's leading name when it comes to roller shutter doors, garage doors and automatic door openers. Our roller door sales team are sure to have exactly what you need and we have a range of styles and colours to choose from, including colorbond, timber and aluminium doors, as well as manual or automatic garage doors.
We supply and recommend only the leading brands, so you can rest assured that your new door system will be of the highest quality. We guarantee that you'll be thrilled with the benefits of one of our fantastic garage doors.
For nearly 20 years United Doors have built a reputation within the Roller Door industry as one of the leading suppliers and installers of car park entrance solutions and roller shutter doors throughout Queensland.
Our extensive knowledge and expertise of residential, commercial and industrial vehicle entrance solutions means you will receive reliable advice on the specific application to your needs, as well as service and quality workmanship and materials within a manageable time frame.
Call us to Install Roller Doors in Brisbane today.


Paula A. Taylor, 43, of 187 Huntington St., New London, was charged Saturday with violation of a protective order.
Jared P. Palmer, 32, of 27 Oak Drive, North Stonington, was charged Saturday with failure to drive in proper lane, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, driving with a suspended license and driving an unregistered motor vehicle.
Marianne Murno, 56, of 27 Lewiston Court was charged Sunday with second-degree threatening, first-degree reckless endangerment and breach of peace.
Dee C. Cheshire, 76, of 372 Colonel Ledyard Highway, Ledyard, was charged Sunday with third-degree larceny of a motor vehicle.
Ricardo Martinez, 34, of 416 Williams St., New London, was charged Sunday with driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, failure to drive right and driving without a license.
Chris Shepherd, 46, of 534 N. Main St. was charged Sunday with disorderly conduct and second-degree threatening.
Robert Cote, 28, of 347 Central Ave. was charged Sunday with possession of heroin and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Darren Latham, 24, of 79 Roosevelt Ave. was charged Sunday with possession of heroin.
Stephen Smith, 44, of 75 Terrace Ave. was charged Monday with violation of probation.
Ladonna Wade, 42, of 36 Old Mill Road, Quaker Hill, was charged Sunday with driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, driving with a suspended license and reckless driving.


ARCS Foundation Oregon is grateful to the many individuals, corporations and foundations who have sponsored a scholar to positively impact university research and the wider society.
Every member in the Oregon Chapter contributes a minimum of $500 each year to the Scholar Award Fund, and these contributions combine to fund our ARCS Oregon Chapter Scholar Awards.
Each Named Scholar Award of $18,000 funds one graduate student over a three-year period. Named Scholar Awards are created by Oregon members and community members who understand the importance these awards make in recruiting and supporting world-class students at OHSU, Oregon State University or the University of Oregon. Sponsoring a Named Scholar Award gives the donor the unique opportunity to engage with the scholar.
To learn more about Named ARCS Scholar Awards please contact us.
"I really can't begin to describe how much the support of my donor (Alexander's) has meant to me. The generosity of them, their family, and ARCS has enabled me to support myself without having to worry about occasional financial burdens. However, what has made an even greater impact on me is how enthusiastic and curious ARCS members are about graduate level scientific study. It means so much to be able to share my goals, my struggles and my achievements with a group who cares. Your authenticity and kindness I will never forget."


Tell us what you thought about the March 2017 issue!
Very creative, keeps your interest, and just the right length. A chilling idea... it could easily have been a lost episode of The Twilight Zone... with a lesson on showing respect for the unsung heroes of the working class! Mighty strange things can happen to those who think they're "better". Great job.
I agree; very creative; great length. The characterization of Megan is great. Is she crazy? Are there really scales? Her intensity and ego; and her eventual giving in to the curse. By the end, I felt like she didn't mind so much being covered with scales as she minded people pretending they couldn't see it. That's a nice bit of complexity and depth.
Thank you for the lovely feedback, guys!


Short term loans, payday loans, or cash advance loans are those of which a successful borrower could usually pay back in a year or less. Unlike long term loans, it has been a top preference for many people who are temporarily looking for an additional source of finance because of three things; getting a smaller amount of loan while excluding the probability of prepayment penalties right after passing some easy application procedures. These term loans are widely offered by lending institutions in types of refund anticipation loan (RAL), bridge loan, payday loan, title loan and demand loan just to name a few.
Meanwhile, like in any lending agreements, it would always be one's ideal preparation and security to become aware of what cash loans could bring and how to cautiously deal with it to prevent suffering from larger financial problems in return. Known for comprising one of the best terms among others, below are some relevant points to consider about cash advance loans.
Emergency situations are commonly the reasons that lead a borrower to apply for a loan. Favorably, since short term loans do not enclose complex and lengthy procedures, a person's lending application could be approved sooner than with other loans. That way, they could obtain the requested amount of money just exactly when they need it.
It demands no collateral. Choosing cash advance loans would also benefit a borrower by means of not requiring certain collateral such as a real property, a car investment and other valuable things before he or she could bet the said money. Therefore, a borrower doesn't need to put some things at risk just to seal the deal.
Most lending institutions that are offering these loans do not prioritize the factor of one's credit history. In fact, proofs of steady income and that a certain borrower does not have current other loan obligations are enough for their loan application to be granted. It's a good opportunity for those who had failed to qualify in other kinds of loans.
Offers short term commitment. Acquiring cash loans is not all about resolving any financial problem; it's also about paying for the temporary monetary solution. Engaging for only some few years of lending agreement, these loans are ideal to reduce one's burden of thinking about the obligation for several years.
Meanwhile, the only fact that could drag these payday loans down is the high interest rate it includes which overweight what the other available kinds of loan offer. Most often, when a borrower used to transact with other lending options, the tendency is for him or her to become surprised on how the annual percentage rate (APR). Basically, one's total amount of loan would be added to it that would eventually create a higher amount of payment as a result.
Frequently sought for the variety of its terms, short term loans are also commendable for offering flexibility that would surely match one's need and convenience.
This would fall to its payment options and more. However, after completing all essential information including a borrower's name, age, home address, contact number, bank account, loan credit history and other basic facts about him other and after gaining an approval, paying for the total amount of money borrowed from lending institutions should be done correctly. This would be achieved by following the two elements enfolded in the said lending agreement's terms: one is by sending the exact amount to reimburse or repay and the other is accomplishing such within the allotted time duration only.
Whether it's for personal use or for business, any person who is in need of quick and temporary monetary relief may consider payday loans for it still embraces plenty of benefits. Compliance and self-discipline is the key that would save one from all possible debt problems.


The last thing you want after your loved one endures a stressful hospital stay is to be forced to readmit them. Hospital stays are both costly and emotionally taxing for everyone in the family. Sometimes returning to the hospital is unavoidable, but in many cases a trustworthy home care agency can reduce hospital readmissions.
Older patients may have additional needs after a surgical procedure. Post surgical nursing support can relieve much of the worry that goes with returning home from the hospital. Even younger adults can require special assistance.
The goal of home care after surgery is to help speed up recovery, provide assistance with activities of daily living and support any health care needs . Healing after a surgical procedure takes time and can be a slow process. Patients are weak and need help with mobility. A home care agency like C-Care Health Services can provide any needed rehabilitation services.
Patients with chronic illnesses or who need pain management after a hospital stay are best served by a home care agency. Palliative care is an interdisciplinary set of health services aimed at improving the patient's quality of life. These patients need to be comfortable and safe, and they require continuity of care. A home care agency is best equipped to provide all these services.
A patient in pain due to chronic illness is in need of physical, emotional and spiritual support as well as care planning. At C-Care, we understand the importance of relieving the stress of illness and keeping patients comfortable and as pain free as possible. A personal support worker performs valuable services and responsibilities like recording progress, supporting the family through the patient's illness, and cooperating with physicians and other health care providers.
Patients with cancer, heart disease, dementia, ALS and Alzheimers would all benefit from a home care agency. Hospital stays can be frequent and limiting readmissions helps both the patient and worried family members.
If your loved one suffers from chronic pain and illness, reduce hospital readmissions by relying on a professional to care for all their needs at home. Seek out the experienced and compassionate support of C-Care Health Services.


text:
Working as a CSA in São Paolo
Posted in Tubeworker's blog on Wed, 20/02/2019 - 21:35,
JB, a worker-militant working on the railway in São Paolo, Brazil, recently visited London, and spoke to a number of radical workers' organisations including Tubeworker and the Angry Workers of the World. He is involved with the Invisíveis collective.
He wrote a document describing his experiences as a worker, and outlining his perspectives for struggle. They are not perspectives Tubeworker would entirely share, but we republish them here (with the author's permission) in the interests of making links between transport worker-militants internationally. The document was originally published in Portuguese by the Passa Palavra website.
The document is available here as a PDF.
Tubeworker also spoke to JB about his thoughts on the situation for workers' struggle in Brazil following the election of far-right president Jair Bolsonaro. He told us:
"There's no doubt that we're in a very bad moment. There are widespread fears about what Bolsonaro's presidency might lead to, in terms of an increase in violence against workers, the left, and minority groups and so on, and these are fears that I share. There is a growing reactionary movement in society. Bolsonaro has talked semi-explicitly about armed struggle, and he will facilitate people getting guns more easily.
"I don't believe the institutions of the official left, the unions and the Workers' Party (PT), are part of the solution. They have been part of the administration of the state. Bolsonaro's working-class supporters are in part reacting to the institutionalisation of the left, and the fact that the left defends the system. They saw a vote for Bolsonaro as a way of creating a rupture with that system.
"Appeals to an abstract 'anti-fascism' won't help us. We have to get serious about practical organisation against the threat of fascism, including talking seriously about self-defence. We need to build a movement that can address the social grievances the Bolsonaro movement exploits. Not all of his supporters are convinced fascists, and working-class people who voted him could be reached by a genuinely revolutionary working-class movement that presents an independent alternative."
CPTM - trad inglês.pdf(305.32 KB) 305.32 KB
Tubeworker topics
International rail workers
International unions
Clampdown forces Hong Kong union to disband
The Chinese and Hong Kong governments have forced the new Hong Kong civil servants' union...


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Wimbledon – Who are the top 12 Grass Court players in history?
In the lead up to Wimbledon I read this great article (below by Brian Mazique on the bleacherreport.com) about the best Grass Court players in history, men and women. It got me thinking, what makes a great grass court player. If you look at the list of players, you would say they almost all have "traditional" grass court styles. But with the changing of the modern game, the balls and the actual grass surface at Wimbledon, it seems any style of game can win at the All England Tennis Club.
It is very interesting to look at the court surface and where the wear & tear is on the court. The left image is from a recent Federer V Nadal final, and the right is from the early 80's. Which court do you prefer?
Wimbledon 2012: Top 12 Grass Court Players in Tennis History
If Roger Federer and/or Serena Williams captures a Wimbledon title this year, where would that place them amongst the greats of the game on grass? After all, Wimbledon titles are the most meaningful barometer for grass success.
As I was constructing this list, those two are the only current players still alive in the tournament that could affect my rankings.
It would be Federer's seventh title at Wimbledon. That would tie him with Pete Sampras for the most ever in the Open era.
Some may argue that Federer is already the best and whatever else he accomplishes on grass is just icing on the cake. For me, I'm into concrete accomplishments.
If Federer wins his seventh Wimbledon—especially considering his age (30) and the fact that Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal were in the field—it cements his place at the top.
As for Serena, a win would be her fifth at the All England Club. Her age (30) is also a factor that would make the accomplishment bigger. She would tie sister Venus Williams with five titles.
As of now—which is before the 2012 gentleman and ladies champions are crowned—here are the top 10 grass court players in tennis history.
12. John Newcombe
Mark Dadswell/Getty Images
Newcombe captured three Wimbledon titles, and his first came before the Open era. He was the second man to capture a title in both eras.
Newcombe lost only one Wimbledon final in his career. His powerful serve and volley game was perfect for the grass surface.
11. Boris Becker
Pool/Getty Images
Another big-time serve and volley player, Becker was the first player I ever enjoyed watching. He was charismatic and his game had a cool factor. He wasn't just style, there was certainly substance there—especially on grass.
Becker won three of the seven Wimbledon finals he appeared in. His wins came in 1985, 1986 and 1989. Remarkably, he made his final appearance in a Wimbledon final in 1995—a full 10 years after he won his first.
10. Serena Williams
Serena is my current personal favorite, irrespective to gender. She has won four Wimbledon titles, and were it not for injuries, she could have won more.
She won in 2002, 2003, 2009 and 2010, but she battled injuries from 2004-2006, and it probably cost her at least one title at Wimbledon.
Winning this year would bump her up a notch or two in my rankings.
9. John McEnroe
Getty Images/Getty Images
It could be argued that McEnroe should be higher. Were it not for Bjorn Borg, maybe he has more Wimbledon titles. He won three of his five Wimbledon appearances. But why is he ahead of Becker and Serena?
I contend that his competition was stiffer during the late 70s and early 80s, and that deserves some respect.
8. Venus Williams
Paul Gilham/Getty Images
Venus doesn't really best Serena overall, but on grass she is the best woman of her era. She won five Wimbledon titles, and she came up short in the finals three times.
In all three of those finals she fell to Serena. This is just a reminder as to how much the Williams sisters dominated during the 2000s.
7. Rod Laver
Mark Kolbe/Getty Images
Laver was the first man to win Wimbledon before and during the Open era. Laver won back-to-back Wimbledon titles in 1968 and 1969.
This was a truly remarkable feat considering he had won his previous two titles in 1961 and 1962.
6. Billie Jean King
Jason Miller/Getty Images
BJK was one of the most dominant grass players in the 1960s and 1970s. She won six Wimbledon titles and she appeared in nine finals. The case could easily be made that she deserved to be higher.
But I place her here because I believe she dominated at a time where there wasn't a ton of parity in the women's game.
Still, her accomplishments are amazing.
Fed has won six Wimbledon titles and lost only one time that he's advanced as far as the final. In 2008, he lost to Rafael Nadal—and Nadal has routinely be the thorn in his side.
With Rafa out of the picture already, Federer has a good shot at adding number seven this year.
4. Bjorn Borg
Julian Finney/Getty Images
Borg retired early and that robbed him of many singles titles. Some of those undoubtedly would have come on grass. Borg won five-in-a-row from 1976-1980 and he was easily the best player in the world.
Why is he ahead of Federer and BJK?
Because I truly believe that he would have added at least two more titles had he not retired in 1983.
3. Steffi Graf
Hamish Blair/Getty Images
Steffi was so dominant from the late 80s and through the 90s that she was almost unbeatable in a Wimbledon final. She won seven Wimbledon titles and lost in two finals.
They were her first and her last appearances in a Wimbledon final.
Graf was the most dominant female player in the 1990s.
2. Pete Sampras
Gary M. Prior/Getty Images
I almost made him No. 1. Sampras won seven Wimbledon titles—he never lost any time he reached the final match. Sampras at Wimbledon in the 1990s was as automatic as anything in sports can be.
Once he started his run in 1993, the only year in the 1990s Sampras didn't win Wimbledon was in 1996. His run in the 1990s was as dominating a stint as any man has had in the Open era.
1. Martina Navratilova
Matthew Lewis/Getty Images
Navratilova is simply the most dominating player in the history of the sport, and that dominance was on full display on grass.
Martina won nine Wimbledon titles and played in a ridiculous 12 finals.
She was the most intimidating and awesome grass player in history.


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The Plimsoll Gallery, ongoing projects from September 2012 to December 2015
"The Plimsoll Inquiry" (The PI) is an independent 'lab' of predominantly Tasmanian-based practice-led artists, curators, writers and academics. The PI, in partnership with the University of Tasmania, brought key interstate practitioners of national and international standing to Hobart. With their contribution, The PI extended the programing scope of a university gallery to interrogate assumptions about what constitutes an exhibition; to identify new ways to produce works through collaborative, live, and networked public events, and redefine 'The Plimsoll' as a process-driven creative hub rather than static exhibit space.
In an expanded version of the university gallery context, The PI questioned traditional modes of thinking and operating within the arts community, its institutions and pedagogies and enabled a rethinking process about modes of exhibition and dissemination in light of new and expanding practices of art and research.
The project was overseen buy a curatorium of nine artists, curators and academics who saw the series of processes being trialled as specimen cases for future developments within art practice, publishing, research and pedagogy.
Sir James Plimsoll, after whom the Gallery is named, was a Tasmanian Governor. As well as his august official roles, apparently Plimsoll was involved in covert affairs. During WWII he was a member of the Directorate of Research and Civil Affairs (DORCA) It was described as a 'difficult to categorise think tank, possibly an intelligence organisation that has been described as mysterious, odd ball and bohemian'. We are launched our 'think tank' and 'inquiry' in the spirit of DORCA.
Sir James Plimsoll b. 1917 - d 1987
This bronze bust by Stephen Walker has graced the gallery entrance for many years and will preside over The Plimsoll Inquiry
The Plimsoll Inquiry
PI Report
LOGO: TRENCH font by NimaVisual


text:
import fs from 'fs';
import path from 'path';
import test from 'tape';
import load from 'load-json-file';
import write from 'write-json-file';
import { point } from '@turf/helpers';
import distance from '.';

const directories = {
    in: path.join(__dirname, 'test', 'in') + path.sep,
    out: path.join(__dirname, 'test', 'out') + path.sep
};

const fixtures = fs.readdirSync(directories.in).map(filename => {
    return {
        filename,
        name: path.parse(filename).name,
        geojson: load.sync(directories.in + filename)
    };
});

test('distance', t => {
    fixtures.forEach(fixture => {
        const name = fixture.name;
        const geojson = fixture.geojson;
        const pt1 = geojson.features[0];
        const pt2 = geojson.features[1];
        const distances = {
            miles: distance(pt1, pt2, 'miles'),
            nauticalmiles: distance(pt1, pt2, 'nauticalmiles'),
            kilometers: distance(pt1, pt2, 'kilometers'),
            radians: distance(pt1, pt2, 'radians'),
            degrees: distance(pt1, pt2, 'degrees')
        };
        if (process.env.REGEN) write.sync(directories.out + name + '.json', distances);
        t.deepEqual(distances, load.sync(directories.out + name + '.json'), name);
    });
    t.end();
});

// https://github.com/Turfjs/turf/issues/758
test('distance -- Issue #758', t => {
    t.equal(Math.round(distance(point([-180, -90]), point([180, -90]))), 0, 'should be 0');
    t.end();
});

test('distance -- throws', t => {
    t.throws(() => distance(point([0, 0]), point([10, 10]), 'blah'), /units is invalid/);
    t.end();
});

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Regulation Fair Disclosure (Reg FD) requires all publicly traded companies to disclose material information to all investors simultaneously.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a ruling in 2000 requiring publicly traded companies to disclose important information pertaining to the business finances, market, competition, and principals (i.e. material information) to shareholders at the same time. The regulation, known as Reg FD, or Regulation Fair Disclosure, was intended to level the playing field of information between large institutional investors and smaller or individual investors.
During the 1990s, companies instituted conference calls and briefings with market analysts. These calls were intended to offer in-depth information about the company and give people the opportunity to ask questions about particular issues facing the company. Companies would often allow institutional investors to participate in these calls. However, because of logistics and capacity, companies would not allow individual investors on the calls. In the end, the information disclosed on these calls gave unfair advantage to the institutional investors and their clients. By 1999, recognizing the lack of fairness in the available information about specific securities, the SEC ratified Reg FD.
Reg FD brought about greater transparency and more frequent disclosures about company performance and other factors that might affect the value of the company, all of which is important to potential investors and current shareholders.
At the same time, critics of Reg FD argue that the result is less information being shared about company performance and other material changes that are important to investors.


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Derek McInnes
Derek McInnes blasts claims for second red card against Rangers as Aberdeen boss accuses people of 'losing their marbles' over Curtis Main tackle
The striker was booked for a foul on Borna Barisic and was immediately withdrawn by his manager but he reckons it was a yellow card and nothing more.
Scott Burns
(Image: Getty Images)
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McInnes has rubbished Rangers' claims that Curtis Main should have been the second Aberdeen player to see red at Pittodrie.
The Dons lost 2-1 after having Ryan Hedges sent off in the first period, after he gave away a penalty.
The Rangers players were also screaming for Main to be sent off in the opening half for going in high on Borna Barasic, but referee John Beaton produced only a yellow.
McInnes, who took the striker off minutes later, stated it was nothing more than a booking.
He insisted:"It was a yellow card for me.
John Beaton in Ryan Hedges Rangers red explanation as Derek McInnes bemoans Aberdeen 'sod's law'
"Everyone is getting their knickers in a twist about it but it was a yellow card and no more.
"It was a robust challenge but it's a yellow every day of the week, I have seen it again.
"He goes in too aggressively, so it's a booking, but he hasn't hurt the boy, he's fine.
"A lot of people are losing their marbles a bit there, but the right decision was made by the referee there."
McInnes was unhappy with the ordering off of Hedges but accepted referee John Beaton was left with no option after he was given a full explanation.
The Aberdeen boss confirmed: "I did at the time. My feeling at the time was Ryan Hedges did everything he could not to make the challenge. He didn't want to run into the back of Morelos and as a consequence we knew Morelos would get his shot away. You can see it with Hedges' body movement.
"The irony is, if we had actually made an attempt and swiped him down and not won the ball he would have got a yellow card and we could have continued to play with 11 men. It seems a really unfair outcome but John Beaton explained it to me at half-time.
"He said, 'I've nowhere to go with this. I know it was accidental but because it wasn't a genuine attempt it has to be a red card'.
"Once he explained it you have to say it was the right decision based on the laws."
McInnes knew his team were up against it when they went down to 10 men but he praised his players for fighting to the death as Matty Kennedy's late goal made it an uncomfortable game for Rangers to see out.
The Aberdeen manager stated: "Everyone ahead of the back four gave a one and a half performance in terms of their output and they had to do that.
"The goal was a real shot in the arm for us and gave us the belief that we would get another chance in the game.
"We have lost but you can still take so much heart and encouragement from the level of performance from the players.
"They played the game the way it needed to be played in the second half and we just came up short, but it was not through a lack of effort.
"There was plenty of encouragement about the performance."
DailyRecordSport
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Curtis Main
Ryan Hedges
Celtic's quarantined stars pictured returning to Lennoxtown as race to prepare for Livingston clash begins
Celtic FCNeil Lennon, John Kennedy and 13 first-team stars have completed a self-isolation period after Christopher Jullien's positive Covid-19 test wreaked havoc on the Parkhead squad.


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Boosting bilateral trade: Pakistan ready to work on Iran border crossings
Immigration offices to be set up at Mand and Gwadar.
By Zahid Gishkori
Immigration offices to be set up at Mand and Gwadar. PHOTO: FILE.
ISLAMABAD:
Iran has formally requested Pakistan to finalise the construction of crossing points at the border in an effort to promote trade and people-to-people contacts between the two neighbours.
Earlier this year, Islamabad and Tehran had agreed to open their border at four points, two at each side—Gwadar, Pishin, Mand and Gabd— to promote trade and curb trafficking within two years.
A formal request was forwarded through Iran's Ambassador Alireza Haghighan, when he called on Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan last week. Confirming the reports on Sunday, interior ministry spokesperson Omar Hameed Khan said, "Request was made [by Iran] and the interior ministry will work on it".
Pakistan will finalise construction of entry points at Pishin, Gabd (Pakistan) and Iran will finalise Reemdan (Iran) for opening of new crossing points, officials said.
Construction of Mand's entry point (Pakistan) has already been completed on the border, Balochistan Home Secretary Akbar Khan Durrani told The Express Tribune. "We are waiting for Iran's confirmation for its formal inauguration," he added.
At present, Taftan Zero Point in Pakistan and Mirjaveh on the Iranian side are operating which have also generated employment for thousands of people across both sides of the border besides boosting bilateral trade.
Mirjaveh is the main road crossing point between the two countries where the railway line from Pakistan crosses the border en route from Quetta to Zahedan while Taftan is Pakistan's only legal border crossing into Iran.
Officials privy to the development said that Islamabad and Tehran are keen to open international crossing points at Mand and Gwadar this year to promote trade. Immigration offices will also be established at these two points, they added. Officials also revealed that the National Logistics Cell would establish modern cargo terminals at Mand and Gawadar for the smooth flow of export and import.
Iran's envoy has requested Islamabad to take immediate steps to build infrastructure and facilities on the Pishin border so that this opening could be used for the benefit of both countries. The Iranian government has already set up a customs post at Pishin (Iran).
Durrani also told The Express Tribune that the home department will write to the Foreign Office of Pakistan in the first of week of August to convene a meeting of the 17th session of the border commission—the body which keeps a check over human and drug trafficking and smuggling on border.
The Iranian envoy in his meeting with Chaudhry Nisar also pointed out some pending issues particularly meeting of border commission should be held at the earliest. Secondly, he raised the issue of delays in issuing residence visa and extension of visas that Iranian citizens face in Pakistan.
New collaboration will help out security agencies of both the countries to curb illicit trade in weapons, ammunition and explosives, officials said.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 24th, 2013.
More EU pressure on Iran, Israel PM tells Ashton
We need to exert pressure; we're not talking about political spin but about the spinning of centrifuges: Netanyahu
Talking to the Afghan Taliban
The flip-flop policy of the Americans demonstrates how ignorant they are of the region.
Balochistan: Getting it right
Balochistan requires fresh and bold initiatives by the governments in Quetta and Islamabad.
Jul 26, 2013 - 1:05AM
A bold decision by Pakistan to acquire energy from Iran. It might prove beneficial in the long run.
YouTuber Shahmeer Abbas Shah responds to leaked intimate video
Bacha Khan: an epitome of peace
Afghan endgame: Baradar doing more for peace in captivity, say officials


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Exeter Inn (Millbay)
Part of a block built in the middle of the nineteenth century at the entrance to the newly fashioned Great Western Docks at Millbay, the Exeter Inn stood in that section of Millbay Road that ran between the erstwhile Washington Place and Victoria Road – the site is substantially covered today by the roundabout at the entrance to Millbay Docks, off Millbay Road and at the end of Martin Street.
It would appear from the records that its life as a pub was relatively short-lived, even though the premises remained in the hands of one family for many years. The first member of that family to run the Exeter was a man with a wonderfully Dickensian name, Archelaus Toop, and after running it just as a pub, his successor, W Toop, ran it as a beerhouse and dinning rooms, and by the time Andrew Toop had taken it on in the mid 1860s it was operating just as dining rooms – a role it still had when Sydney Hoskins took it on in the mid 1880s.
1852 - Archelaus Toop