Copyright © 2017 Lei Wang et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
For meeting the demands of cost and size for micronavigation system, a combined attitude determination approach with sensor fusion algorithm and intelligent Kalman filter (IKF) on low cost Micro-Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS) gyroscope, accelerometer, and magnetometer and single antenna Global Positioning System (GPS) is proposed. The effective calibration method is performed to compensate the effect of errors in low cost MEMS Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU). The different control strategies fusing the MEMS multisensors are designed. The yaw angle fusing gyroscope, accelerometer, and magnetometer algorithm is estimated accurately under GPS failure and unavailable sideslip situations. For resolving robust control and characters of the uncertain noise statistics influence, the high gain scale of IKF is adjusted by fuzzy controller in the transition process and steady state to achieve faster convergence and accurate estimation. The experiments comparing different MEMS sensors and fusion algorithms are implemented to verify the validity of the proposed approach.
Attitude estimation is essential information for control of micronavigation system, such as Micro Autonomous Vehicle, Micro Aerial Vehicle (MAV), and Guided Munition Shell [1–4]. In these specific applications, the size and cost are limited. Low cost and small size MEMS IMU, which consists of MEMS gyroscope and accelerometer, could be used in micronavigation system. Lower price, smaller sized MEMS IMU is less accurate, has large biases, and is more noisy. The errors of MEMS sensors will lead to a great impact on the calculation performance and reduce the estimation accuracy significantly [5, 6]. Thus, the effective calibration and error compensation method is essential to evaluate and improve the performance of MEMS IMU before attitude estimation [7–9].
Nowadays, the different attitude estimation algorithms have been developed, which are employed to Micro IMUs and integrated with magnetic sensors, Global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receiver, and other sensors [1–4, 10–17]. Among them, representative researches like multi-information fusion technique utilize the different MEMS sensor [10–12], different Kalman filtering methods for attitude estimation [3, 13–15], and methodology combining data fusion with filtering strategies [16, 17]. Utilizing barometer and low cost IMU, the data fusion method via the complementary filter is proposed to fuse altitude data for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) system . A quaternion-based complementary filter for estimating the attitude of a smartphone using IMU and magnetic sensor is developed. The optimal tuning correction factors of the algorithm across all the body movements were also identified . An attitude estimation method is proposed using low cost gyroscope, magnetometer, and GPS receiver. The pseudoattitude, magnetic attitude, and gyroscope measurement are fused based on Euler angle. The simulation and flight test verified the proposed method . For small UAVs, an attitude estimation method fusion of gyroscopes and single antenna GPS with quaternion-based EKF is proposed. The results of the simulations and the flight experiment demonstrate the ability of the proposed algorithm . The sideslip angle is estimated in Kalman filter using the velocity signals from GPS and angular signals from magnetometer in case that no longitudinal tire force and no pitch angle exist. Road tests are implemented . According to practical application of quadcopter UAV, the adaptive gain parameter in EKF filter was tuned . The attitude estimation algorithm is developed by incorporating a nonlinear observer in order to fuse measurements from both the gyroscope and accelerometer. The attitude rotation matrix is evaluated with estimated the gyro bias and tilt error . A wireless IMU with the smallest volume and weight is designed. The data fusion is implemented before a Kalman filter combined with the zero velocity update. The methodology for wireless IMU is adopted to track a person in an indoor area . Integrating double-antenna Global Positioning System (DA-GPS) with other low cost in-vehicle sensors, two parallel extended Kalman filters (EKFs) are adopted to estimate the roll angle firstly; then vehicle sideslip and yaw angles are estimated through fusion methodology .
The above works on attitude estimation algorithm lie in following problems. Some attitude estimation methods could provide reliable estimation, but it has to rely on the use of multiple antennas, which incurs a complex structure, large volume, and high cost of the system [1, 17]. It is restricted in such micro navigation system. For traditional extended Kalman filter and other improved Kalman filter methods for attitude estimation, it would cause the inaccurate estimation or even divergence because the statistical properties of process and measurement noise cannot be predicted accurately, especially for low cost MEMS-based sensors [3, 13, 14]. Some complicated nonlinear filter and optimal control methods could obtain optimal estimate. On the other hand, the main drawback lies in introducing a heavy computational burden that leads to difficulty of application in real time navigation system [15, 18].
For meeting the demands of cost and size for micro navigation system, such as spinning shell, Missiles, and aircrafts, the scheme of attitude estimation combining single antenna GPS with low cost MEMS IMU and magnetometer is designed. This paper concentrates on developing a combined fusion methodology with intelligent Kalman filter, which realizes the fusion of Micro IMU, GPS, and magnetometer. It could continue to provide reliable information, particularly in larger sideslip angle, GPS failure situation. Testing experiments using the proposed approach are presented by comparison with different fusion algorithms and filter methods. The novel aspects of this paper can be summarized as follows.
To utilize the strengths of the fusion estimation algorithm and adaptive filter approaches, the combined approach has been proposed. The different control strategies fusing the MEMS multi-inertial sensors are adopted under different driving situations.
The high gain scale in IKF is tuned by fuzzy controller to resolve the problem of robust control and characters of the uncertain noise statistics influence for low micro IMU. GPS-measured yaw angle for Micro IMU/GPS system is afforded as measurement to enhance the observability of IKF. Besides, the fusion information of yaw angle using gyroscope, accelerometer, and magnetometer fusion algorithm is added into IKF observer, which could provide reliable information, particularly under unavailable larger sideslip angle, GPS failure situation. Integrating data fusion algorithm with IFK method, the proposed methodology could significantly improve the estimation performance.
The main diagonal elements are scale factors that account for the sensitivities of the individual sensors by scaling the outputs. The variable represents the nonorthogonality and misalignment of the triaxial gyroscope sensors. The biases, scale factors, nonorthogonality, or misalignment errors are main systematic error or deterministic sources for MEMS inertial sensors. The body angler rates with respect to the navigation frame are given by the difference between the body angler rates, , and the navigation frame rotation, .
Here, is the error quaternion vector, . The operator "" denotes the quaternion multiplication. The vector .
Accelerometers can provide the pitch and roll angles by measuring the gravity vectors if the vehicle is stationary or in low dynamic environment in (10). Triaxis magnetometers are used for calculating the yaw angle in (14) and (15). Its accuracy is heavily affected by local magnetic environments.
It has been verified that GPS could reliably provide the estimation. However, some common limitations are that GPS failure is not considered or larger sideslip angle could not be estimated for single antenna GPS.
For attitude algorithm, gyroscopes can provide angles but suffer from accumulating errors induced by gyroscopes bias drift. High pass filter could eliminate the low-frequency random noise of the Euler angle integrated by gyroscope, while the low pass filter could eliminate the high frequency random noise of calculation by accelerometer.
According to the micro navigation system of low cost Micro IMU, magnetometer, and a single antenna GPS receiver, the aforementioned attitude estimation approaches utilizing different sensors separately are difficult to provide reliable estimation due to sensor errors and dynamic environmental variations. The single fusion algorithm employing complementary filter is also difficult to achieve good robustness for different driving situations and complementary filter parameters. In practice cases, small adjustment in fusion and control strategy may finally affect the estimation performance. In addition, for trying to solve the attitude estimation utilizing conventional EKF or modified EKF methods, the uncertain noise for low micro IMU would not be estimated accurately.
To overcome the drawbacks of above-mentioned methods, it is preferable to develop a reliable approach to estimate attitude angles using affordable sensors in micro navigation system. Utilizing the advantage of the fusion estimation algorithm and adaptive filter approach, the combined approach has been also developed. The proposed method could estimate the yaw angle utilizing affordable sensors under different driving situations. It could accommodate GPS failure or the situation of unavailable sideslip, which could continue to provide reliable information. In IKF module, the adaptive gain scale is adjusted by the fuzzy controller to compensate the uncertainty of measurement and process noise. Furthermore, the control strategies of different measurements considering sensor failure are adopted to solve the lack of observability of yaw angle. The switching criterion is determined according to GPS satellite number, yaw error estimate result, and the vehicle acceleration measurements to make a distinction between normal driving condition, vehicle turning, and GPS outage. One side, besides measurements from accelerometer, GPS-measured heading angle for micronavigation system is afforded as the measurement to enhance the observability in normal driving condition. Additionally, in case of GPS failure or the situation of unavailable sideslip, the fusion information of yaw angle using gyroscope, accelerometer, and magnetometer fusion algorithm is added into IKF observer. The scheme of the proposed methodology is shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1: The scheme of combing fusion algorithm with IKF for low cost Miro IMU and single antenna GPS.
This scheme is actually a combined fusion algorithm and filtering approach architecture. It comprises two parts: the multisensor fusion module and IKF method. The multisensor fusion module consists of Micro IMU, magnetometer, and single antenna GPS. Micro IMU includes three single-axis MEMS gyroscopes and accelerometers. The deterministic errors are compensated by calibration process before fusion algorithm. Different fusion strategies provide efficient solutions to enhance the accuracy of the attitude estimation. To realize further accurate estimation, the IKF is designed.
According to difference equation of the Euler angles in (5), the state vector is chosen of three attitude angles and triaxis gyroscope random bias vector.
The time varying bias component will be modeled as a first-order Gauss-Markov process. is a Gaussian white process. is the time constant. is the constant bias.
With where is the measurement angular rate signal of the gyroscope and is the misalignment and scale factor matrix in (1), the GPS and accelerometer with high accuracy provide measurements. The measurement model is chosen as follows:where is the GPS-measured yaw angle, is the zero Gaussian white noise with variance , is the acceleration signal of the accelerometer, and is the measurement noise of accelerometer.
The yaw angle is calculated in (25); correspondingly, the corrected yaw angle is used as measurement vector in intelligent Kalman filter.where , .
The IKF algorithm from transition process to steady state would adjust the magnitude of matrix by high gain scale, and not only depending on initial value.
The high gain scale is adjusted by fuzzy controller according to the innovation sequence and variation .
The following analysis is given concerning the adjustments of high gain scale . The performance of the extended Kalman filter applied to nonlinear systems is highly dependent on measurement and process noise variance values. In practical application of the Kalman filter a priory information about measurement noise statistics (R matrix) is usually known, because it depends on the quality of measurement sensors used. The information about system noise statistics ( matrix) is quite subjective, because it depends on the model representation created by a developer. Kalman filter error does not depend on the selection of or absolute levels but on their relationship . As a result, the reasonable way to analyze the noise statistics influence on the estimation errors is based on matrix influence interpretation when matrix is fixed. The estimation process of the Kalman filter contains two stages. The first stage is a transition process of the estimation; the second one is a steady state. In practical applications, the true behavior of some state vector components is unknown. In order to select the reasonable magnitude of matrix, the following procedure would be suggested.
During the first stage of Kalman filter, the larger value of variation is obtained. The high gain scale should tend to increase its value until it tends to maximum value . With reference to (27), it is equivalent to increase elements of Q matrix in first stage. Correspondingly, the magnitude of the elements of and increase; it means that the weight of measurements in estimation process has to be high in order to reduce the influence of input noise on current estimates. In this way, the effect of faster convergence could be realized; meanwhile, the Kalman filter is in steady state from transition process.
Furthermore, the Kalman filter provides the estimates with constant accuracy at the steady state, which cannot be improved with time. Corresponding, the variation would be close to small value from transition process to steady process. The high gain scale should tend to reduce and tend to small constant value; the smaller elements of matrix should be chosen. Then the magnitude of the elements of and reduced. Consequently, it is expectable that the gain matrix norm in the Kalman filter has to be close to small value for the effective measurement noise smoothing.
A fuzzy controller with one-dimension is developed to adjust high gain scale . The inputs of the fuzzy controller are the variation and its output is high gain scale . According to above analysis of Kalman filter adjustment in transition process and steady state, a set of fuzzy rules to adjust high gain scale can be produced. The linguistic variables assigned to the variation and high gain scale are and , respectively. The corresponding fuzzy subsets are and . The set comprises , , , , and , which denote negative big, negative small, zero, positive small, and positive big, respectively. The set comprises , , , , and , which denote very small, small, medium, big, and very big, respectively. The fuzzy rules for input and output are shown in Table 1.
Table 1: Fuzzy control rules for the output .
The fuzzy rule table of high gain scale is generated according to fuzzy rules offline. The output of fuzzy controller is got using online enquiry rule table for real time control.
The prototype of navigation system in our lab, which was composed of DSP/FPGA microcontroller, power module, and MEMS IMU, was developed. The MEMS sensors comprise MEMS IMU of three single-axis gyroscopes, accelerometers, and triaxis magnetometer. The design of prototype was shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2: The prototype of navigation system.
Six layers for FPGA/DSP microcontroller and a four-layer PCB for integration of all MEMS sensors are developed in lab. The FPGA controller is responsible for data resolution, processing of a single antenna GPS receiver, and MEMS IMU. The DSP controller is used for processing the calculation of navigation algorithms in real time. The relating algorithms were implemented on both Ti TMS320C6713B and Altera EP2C35F484C6, which were necessary for real time operation. The parallel bus interface is used for data communication between DSP and FPGA controller. The size of embedded navigation system is mm. Micro IMU provides a higher sensor performance after calibration procedure and error compensation.
Due to the limitation of processing technology level, detecting circuit realization, the low cost Micro IMU is restricted to low precision. MEMS gyroscope has larger biases and is less accurate. It is sensitive to environmental effects. The performances of the low cost MEMS IMU are worse than that of the conventional fibre-optic-based or ring laser gyro inertial sensors. It is essential that the calibration and error compensations of Micro IMU are implemented before attitude estimation. The deterministic errors of low cost Micro IMU, which are composed of bias, scale factors, nonorthogonality, or misalignment errors, should be removed. The raw data from Micro IMU could be preprocessed by means of effective calibration method to eliminate the effects of these errors.
Firstly, the Micro IMU device was mounted inside of a metal cylinder. The deterministic error parameters of the gyroscope were determined depending on calibration experiments by mounting the Micro IMU to single rotation table or three-axes rotation table in Figure 3. The different biases in each setting angular speed are calculated by the positive and negative cancellation method. The scale factor and misalignment errors are also estimated through a similar method. After the calibration process offline, the deterministic errors of the raw measurements of gyroscope are compensated online. For the calibration of accelerometer, the sensitive axis of accelerometer was aligned in 18 positions, which comprise 6 orthogonal positions to the ground and the other 12 declined positions. Before calibration, the maximal error of raw measurement for the accelerometer is within . After calibration, the bias has been removed utilizing the method of mean value and the least square method. The compensated norm of three-axis accelerometer using least square method has better than method of mean value. Its norm or calibrated measurements of accelerometer remain close to .
Figure 3: Calibration experiment of MEMS IMU.
The calibration experiment for magnetometer was also implemented . The calibration and compensation procedure for the deterministic errors could be done offline by using rate table before applications. The sensor characteristics of stochastic errors in low MEMS gyro and accelerometer could be identified using Allan variance . The raw sensor data of low cost micro IMU are captured with a sample rate of more than 100 Hz. Utilizing the comparison of the log-log graph of Allan variance, the random walk that appears with a gradient of −0.5 is dominant noise for MEMS gyro and accelerometer. The root mean square random drift errors of Allan variance are calculated, which would be provided to IKF as initial process and measurement noises.
The experimental platform, which comprises the prototype of DSP/FPGA micro-controller, low cost MEMS sensors, a single antenna GPS receiver, and the Xsens Mti-G, is set up. The vehicle experiment is performed to verify the effect of the proposed IKF attitude estimation method. It is shown in Figure 4.
Figure 4: Experimental platform of navigation system.
The Xsens Mti-G device from the Xsens Motion Technologies , which is a commercially available Attitude Heading Reference System (AHRS) composed of MEMS IMU and magnetometer, is used to provide reference attitude calculation results for comparison. The maximum sampling frequency 100 Hz is set to collect raw data from Xsens Mti-G. The GPS receiver works in autonomous mode and measurements are provided at 10 Hz sampling frequency. The experimental devices are mounted in car roof. The experimental data are collected by means of a laptop PC with the USB port from converting the RS232 serial port.
Vehicle tests were performed to verify the performance of the proposed method. The experiment was carried out on the cases that single antenna GPS worked normally, vehicle was in turning with large sideslip angle, and GPS signals were affected and lost by obstruction. The Vehicle test routing was chosen in a district of countryside outskirt of city. The test trajectory is presented in Figure 5.
Figure 5: Test field trajectory with single antenna GPS.
The start point is located at 123.4479°E and 41.6744°N. The results of on-vehicle test are presented from 0 s to100 s. The performances of traveling in straight and turning sections are compared considering that the accuracy of attitude calculation suffered from accelerometer's signals distortion noise disturbance and large sideslip angle. The proposed algorithms are implemented in DSP/FPGA development prototype. The consuming period of calculation in a sampling time is less than 10 ms. The vehicle traveled through two turns during two intervals of 43.3–55.5 s and 68–83 s marked in yellow line in section and section . The GPS signal was blocked subjectively by man-made near 89 s in order to verify the effect of the proposed algorithm in GPS outage. It is marked in red line from 89 to 95 s in section . The attitudes estimated separately by different sensors, which comprise MEMS gyroscope, accelerometer, and GPS receiver, are shown in Figure 6. Data denoted as "Ref," "Gyro-Quaternion," "Acc," "Gyro-Euler," and "GPS," respectively, are derived from referenced Mti-G, gyroscope integration based on quaternion algorithm, accelerometer, gyroscope integration based on Euler algorithm, and the yaw angle measured by GPS-pseudoattitude algorithm.
Figure 6: Attitude estimates from different sensors.
Figure 6 shows that the gyro-based attitudes derived from quaternion and Euler algorithm have short-term accuracy, which suffers from long-term accumulated errors caused by gyroscope bias drift with reference to (5) and (16). The attitude algorithm by accelerometer could provide roll and pitch estimation of long-term accuracy but suffers from sensor errors and vibration noises due to inevitable disturbances and dynamic motions with reference to (10). The pseudoattitude algorithm based on GPS could provide heading angle as measurement yaw angle via GPS-measured velocity with reference to (17); its maximal measured error of yaw even reaches 4.65 degree in turning section. It is seen that the pitch and roll estimate by accelerometer is better than others. The error of yaw estimate based on GPS is smaller than others in straight line (0–43 s). The statistics of attitude angle estimation errors using different sensors are summarized in Table 2.
Table 2: Attitude angle estimation errors using different sensors.
The estimate attitude accuracy only depending on single type sensor is not satisfied. Then, it is very vital to fuse these sensors and design the fusion filtering methods to improve effectively the estimation performance. According to the results estimated, the attitude algorithm from accelerometer could provide pitch and roll angle in low dynamic condition. The attitude algorithm from gyroscope could estimate Euler angles for only short-term accuracy. In addition, the method fusing the yaw angle derived from single antenna GPS and magnetometer has long-term accuracy.
For attitude estimate of adopting fusion algorithms for MEMS INS/GPS system, complementary filter (CF) method based on Wahba's problem is frequently used for attitude fusion solution in order to achieve a trade-off between static and dynamic performances . In most practical cases, the independent fusion information of different sensors is not sufficient for accurate estimation. Therefore, Kalman filter (KF) is proposed in order to take full advantage of attitude differential equation for reliable estimation. To realize better refusion estimation, the combining methodology of "Fusion + KF" is widely adopted in the literature. The representative methods are categorized as follows. For example, the federated Kalman filters are designed to the dynamic condition to realize global fusion estimation . It has obvious advantages over the traditional centralized EKF algorithm, but heavy calculation burden could not satisfy the demands of real time processing. The other most widely researched method is that the attitude estimate using CF fusion algorithm is utilized as the state coefficient  or measurement vector [16, 17, 25] in modified Kalman filter, which could be regarded as one benchmark algorithm in the field of GPS and INS data fusion. Among this category algorithm, the quaternion estimation algorithm (QUEST) [3, 11, 25] is usually used as attitude algorithm for Micro IMU, which could remove the adverse effect by linear acceleration of the navigation system to attain good dynamic performance.
In order to verify the effect of the propose method, the fusion algorithm based complementary filter for gyroscope and accelerometer (Fusion Acc&Gyro) and the conventional EKF method of fix gain are compared in Figure 7. Data denoted as "Ref," "Fusion-Complementary," "EKF-FixGain," and "IKF&Fusion," respectively, are derived from referenced Mti-G, the CF fusion algorithm for fusing gyroscope and accelerometer, the conventional EKF method of fix gain, and the proposed method.
Figure 7: Attitude estimates from different fusion algorithms and filters.
For CF fusion algorithm of gyroscope and accelerometer, it can be seen that the complementary filter is able to provide accurate roll and pitch estimate in low dynamic condition utilizing characters of accelerometers that has long-term accuracy and gyroscope that that has only short-term accuracy. The accuracy of the pitch and roll angle is corrupted by the forward acceleration and lateral acceleration. The STD of the pitch and roll angle is 0.63° and 0.64°, respectively, at all times. Considering yaw angle is unable to be estimated by complementary filter for fusing gyroscope and accelerometer, it is calculated taking advantage of roll and pitch estimates of complementary filter in (24). The estimate yaw angle introduces large error originated from low cost gyro bias drifts and estimate errors of roll and pitch.
Moreover, the conventional EKF method of fix gain is implemented in experiments. The same state and measurement equations are adopted in EKF and IKF. The differences lie in control strategies to deal with vehicle turning and GPS outage. Additionally, the fix gain is adopted in EKF. The process and measurement noise covariance matrices are not tuned in transition process. As observed from yaw estimate error, the yaw estimation error results of the IKF and EKF are similar to the reference system in straight line section (0–43 s), but the EKF has large errors in vehicle turning and GPS outage. The maximal yaw error of vehicle turning in EKF is about 4.5 degree due to the influence of large sideslip angle. The STD of EKF is 0.65°, 0.71°, and 1.49°. The STD of the proposed IKF for sections 1, 2, and 3 is 0.48°, 0.28°, and 0.65°. Table 3 lists the STD of estimate errors in EKF and IKF.
Table 3: The STD in IKF and EKF.
The high gain scale is in fast adjustment in transition process by fuzzy controller in IKF. It is illustrated in Figure 8.
Figure 8: The regulating process of the high gain scale in IKF.
It is shown that the high gain scale is increased from initial value 1 to maximum 9.52 in transition process and it is decreased in steady process. The sampling time in (28) is assigned to 10, which is used to make sure that all the measurement data could be given in fuzzy controller. The high gain scale is adjusted thrice in one innovation. After the transition process is ended, its value is not adjusted and stable at 1.32 in steady process. Thus, the IKF algorithm has the benefits of adaptability which increases the value of according to the innovation and thus improves its convergence capabilities.
Compared with the above two methods, the proposed IKF can take the advantages of different fusion strategies and provide more accurate and reliable estimation whether in normal condition, unavailable sideslip, and GPS failure. On the straight trajectory of driving situation, GPS-measured yaw angle could be reliable to provide accurate measurement for IKF ignoring the effect of sideslip. In turning sections (43.3–55.5 s, 68–83 s), the valid values of GPS-measured vehicle velocity are not convenient to separate from large noises due to the decreasing velocity in turning section. Its value is not accurate. Besides, the larger sideslip angle occurred, which is the difference between the velocity heading and the vehicle heading. It is not calculated for only single antenna GPS. Depending on switching fusion strategy, the yaw estimate by fusing accelerometer, gyroscope, and magnetometer is used for substituting the GPS-measured yaw angle as measurement in IKF. The same strategy is adapted to GPS outage section (89–95 s). The accurate estimation is provided in turning section or GPS outage.
In order to further validate the proposed method, the above-mentioned benchmark algorithm based on QUEST is selected for comparison. The quaternion vector and the bias of gyroscope are chosen as state vector considering the effect of the model error in benchmark algorithm. The state vectors are expressed in . Depending on the concept of basic structure of the refusion attitude information "CF + KF", the attitude estimates based on CF fusion algorithm are utilized as filter measurement to correct the state quaternion vector and the bias of gyroscope in EKF. The fusion attitudes , , which have been calculated by CF method based on gyroscope and accelerometer, would be chosen as the measurement vector of filter. Due to the reliable yaw estimation by the GPS receiver, the GPS-measured yaw angle by the pseudoattitude method is also chosen as measurement vector in filter. Here, the measurement vector . Figure 9 displays the attitude estimation errors.
Figure 9: Attitude estimate errors of the proposed method and benchmark algorithm.
It is inferred from Figure 9, due to the reliable refusion information as the measurements (, ), selected benchmark algorithms based on QUEST and the proposed method have similar low dynamic performance for estimating the roll and pitch angle. The RMS of roll and pitch in IKF is 0.31° and 0.33°, respectively. The RMS of roll and pitch in benchmark algorithm is 0.66° and 0.6°, respectively. The precision of the proposed method is slightly better than benchmark algorithm. For yaw estimation, benchmark algorithm becomes worse in turning sections (43.3–55.5 s, 68–83 s) owing to the effect of gyro drift in quaternion calculation. In the GPS outage section (89–95 s), the estimated value of last sampling time is used for replacing the in the measurement process. The precision of benchmark algorithm is unaffected due to short GPS outage time. RMS of benchmark algorithm is 2° and RMS of independent CF method is 2.97°. Benchmark algorithm attains better performance than only CF method for yaw estimation. Compared with the performance of turning sections and GPS outage section, the proposed IKF gets remarkable improvement due to the tuning of high gain scale in filter. It maintains satisfactory estimation performance in whole section. The STD and RMS for the various methods tested in attitude estimation experiments are summarized in Table 4.
Table 4: Attitude angle estimation errors using fusion and filter.
Compared with different sensors, fusion algorithm of complementary filter, the conventional EKF, and benchmark algorithm, it can provide relatively accurate and reliable attitude estimation. The STD of the yaw estimation errors is almost within 1.15°; roll and pitch estimation errors are almost within 0.33° in whole section.
The combined attitude determination approach with fusion estimation algorithm and intelligent Kalman filter on low cost MEMS IMU and magnetometer and single antenna GPS is proposed. The deterministic errors of low cost MEMS sensors are eliminated effectively before attitude estimation through calibration and error compensation. The different control strategies fusing the MEMS multisensors are implemented in case of normal driving, GPS failure, and unavailable sideslip. An independently development prototype is designed for experimental tests. The proposed method provide reliable yaw estimate as measurement for IKF observer, particularly unavailable larger sideslip angle and GPS failure.
The performance of the proposed methodology has been evaluated and verified through compared experiments for different sensors attitude algorithms and fusion methods. The proposed method is compared with traditional representative methods, which comprises the gyro based on quaternion, the gyro based on Euler, accelerometer, GPS-pseudoattitude algorithm and fusion algorithm based complementary filter, benchmark algorithm based on QUEST, and so on. The experimental results indicate that the proposed method exhibits reliable and satisfactory performance.
This work is supported by Shenyang Science and Technology Plan Project, China. Corresponding experimental tests are carried out at Research Centre of Weaponry Science and Technology in Shenyang Ligong University. The authors would like to thank their colleagues for their support in implementing the experiments.
O. S. Salychec, Applied Inertial Navigation: Problem and Solutions, BMSTU Press, 2004.


The health and nutritional value of raw milk is perhaps most written about and debated. There is no shortage of anecdotal evidence about its beneficial effects. There is also evidence drawn from scientific studies that raw milk has a protective effect on the development of asthma and allergies, but the fact is more research is needed, such as that being undertaken by Massey University in New Zealand, so we understand the benefits and mechanisms at play.
Raw milk has a proven safety record – there have been no reported outbreaks of illness associated with raw drinking milk in the UK since 2002 and in the 10 years before less than 1% of reported outbreaks of foodborne illness were associated with drinking raw milk. This is a tribute to the high standards of production adopted by raw milk producers and their scrupulous implementation. Since 2002, at a very conservative estimate which does not include dairy farmers themselves, well over 10 million litres of raw milk have been consumed without a single cause for concern.
… public health bodies should now update their policies and informational materials to reflect the most high-quality evidence, which characterizes this risk as low.
The consumer demand for raw milk is real. The FSA's own survey showed that while 77% of those surveyed supported the continued sales of raw drinking milk, some 19% wanted to buy raw milk and yet only 3% did so regularly. The potential for a six-fold increase in sales would appear to exist.
The present legal controls over raw milk are fit for purpose and are not, as often claimed, outdated – see Artisan Food Law for details. In short, sales of raw milk must be "at or from the farm premises … to the final consumer". The farmer retains ownership and control of the milk, and remains responsible for milk quality from its source in the production unit until delivered into the hands of the consumer. A food chain comes no shorter or can have greater integrity. It is the FSA's interpretation of the law which needs a more rational and consistent approach.
Vending machines are safe and great way of getting raw milk to the final consumer. The FSA's objections to vending machines are not based on hygiene risks but the erroneous interpretation of the law and the belief that vending machines cannot be placed in a retail space. An agreed voluntary code of practice with producers is the best way to address any concerns.
Raw milk producers can get a fair price for their milk, well above commodity milk prices. The supermarkets, led by Tesco, have driven down the retail price of commodity milk to less than 25p a pint and it is dairy farmers who ultimately lose out.
The sale of raw milk represents a viable future for many small dairy farms. Steve Hook of raw milk producer Hook & Son explained how selling raw milk made him a price-maker, not a price-taker, not only could he command a fair price he could have a relationship with his customers and get feedback.
Finally, who decides what you should or should not be free to consume? The choice should be an informed one, but ultimately your choice. If you prefer not to consume raw milk that should be your decision. The choice must also be a real one and not one dictated by the lack of any opportunity to purchase raw milk, safe routes to market within the existing law should be permitted – online sales over the Internet and raw milk vending machines are particular cases in point.
There were moves to ban the sale of raw drinking milk in 1989 and 1997. The climate today is very different, not least with the resurgence of interest in what we eat, the provenance of our food and its journey to our plate. The FSA, no doubt taking into account the current context and lack of evidence on which to act, has expressed a preliminary view for a future which sees the continued supply of raw drinking milk. Nonetheless the FSA's preliminary view is to be welcomed and it is hard to see how the Board of the FSA could not fail to agree with it when it takes a final decision later this year.
The reasons above concern raw cow's drinking milk, not raw milk from sheep or goats which are not subject to the same level of regulation. There is, however, no evidence of any problem with raw milk from these species, so where is the need for change?


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by Alexander Stilcken
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A year after the first generation of the Tissot Heritage 1973, the brand now launches a second series of its barrel-shaped chronograph. This new timepiece is presented as part of the partnership that unites Tissot and the 'Kessel Classic' vintage…

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Combined, the Harlem & Middletown campus libraries have over 180,000 e-books and e-journals. Countless digital resources. 63 computer workstations. And plenty of room to settle in for a long day of study.
Located on the 3rd floor at 230 West 125th Street, the Sheldon L. Sirota DO Memorial Library will prove an invaluable asset to your medical education. We have over 80,000 e-books and e-journals and are open early and close late, though students can remain in the library after hours to use our 31 computer workstations.
The Touro-Middletown Library is located on the ground floor of the newly renovated, former Horton Hospital at 60 Prospect Avenue in Middletown, New York. We provide over 100,000 e-journals and e-books, numerous research databases, and comfortable study spaces. Our Quiet Study Room is open 24/7 so our students can relax and study at their leisure and features 32 computer stations, study spaces, and print and copy services.
To contact the Sheldon L. Sirota DO Memorial Library, call (646) 981-4532 or send an email to sirota.library@touro.edu.
To contact the TouroCOM-Middletown Library, call (845) 648-1304 or (845) 648-1329 or send an email to midmed.library@touro.edu.
To request an interlibrary loan please send an e-mail request to ill.tourocom@touro.edu.
Click here for Sheldon L. Sirota DO Memorial Library information.
Click here for TouroCOM - Middletown Library information.


This thin, oval pendant pendant has space for your loved one's fingerprint to be engraved.
This crystal heart pendant has space for your loved one's fingerprint to be engraved. It's beautifully decorated with cubic zirconium.
This solid, cross-shaped pendant has space for your loved one's fingerprint to be engraved.
This solid, heart-shaped pendant has space for your loved one's fingerprint to be engraved.
This solid, oval pendant has space for your loved one's fingerprint to be engraved.
This personalized dog tag pendant has space for your loved one's fingerprint to be engraved.


WASHINGTON — If you're using devices like space heaters to avoid high energy bills as we prepare for another wintry mix, there are a few steps you should take to make sure your heating sources aren't a fire hazard.
When it comes to space heaters, Doug Buchanan, chief communications officer with D.C. Fire and EMS said there are dangers to be aware of when using them to stay warm.
"They need to be used on a hard surface, we stress that they should not be used on carpets. They should never be on unless someone is awake and near it," Buchanan said.
Space heaters should also be plugged directly into the wall, Buchanan said, in order to avoid the chance of an electrical fire.
Buchanan said it's crucial to make sure your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors are working.
"We want everyone to stay warm but we need people to provide us with that head start," Buchanan said.
For wood stoves or fireplaces, fire officials suggest making sure they're installed properly and making cure chimneys are inspected and cleaned annually. Don't use flammable liquids to start a fire and keep a glass or metal screen in front of your fireplace to keep debris in.
Never use fuel burning appliances without proper room venting. Burning fuel (coal, kerosene, or propane, for example) can produce deadly fumes.
Use only the fuel recommended by the heater manufacturer. NEVER introduce a fuel into a unit not designed for that type fuel.
Keep kerosene, or other flammable liquids stored in approved metal containers, in well ventilated storage areas, outside of the house.
Refueling should be done outside of the home (or outdoors). Keep children, pets and clothing away from heaters.
Wood stoves should be of good quality–solid construction and design–and should be UL listed.
Have the chimney inspected annually and cleaned if necessary, especially if it has not been used for some time.
Do not use flammable liquids to start or accelerate any fire.
The stove should be burned hot twice a day for 15-30 minutes to reduce the amount of creosote buildup.
Inspect the walls and ceiling near the furnace and along the chimney line. If the wall is hot or discolored, additional pipe insulation or clearance may be required.
Check the flue pipe and pipe seams. Are they well supported and free of holes and cracks? Soot along or around seams may be an indicator of a leak.
All unused flue openings should be sealed with solid masonry.
Keep trash and other combustibles away from the heating system.


Bliain na Gaeilge and Festival Republic are delighted to announce that they will be collaborating on some special feature events at Electric Picnic 2018 in Stradbally, Co. Laois, 31st August – 2nd September.
As part of this collaboration, there will be an official Gaeltacht camping area founded on the festival grounds.
There will be space provided for two hundred people in this designated camping area, in which Irish will be the common language of the residents.
Tickets for Electric Picnic 2018 are sold out, but those who have already purchased tickets will be able to stay in this new designated Irish language camping space.
Because of limited spaces, campers will have to register to stay in 'An Ghaeltacht' beforehand, at electricpicnic.ie. Applications will open for ticketholders at 10am. tomorrow, Tuesday July 24.
Electric Picnic Weather Forecast Latest: It Could Go Either Way You May Like This They'll Be The Ones Playing In Red Did You Get Droned?
Posted in Misc and tagged electric picnic, Irish Language at 10:01 am on July 23, 2018 by Bodger.
Maybe the gaelgeoirs should build concentration camps for non-irish speakers?
What a lovely idea! The usual knob jockeys will be crying into their cans of Carling going on about how it was taught in school and the waste of it all… Bainigí suit as a cháirde leictreach. Ná dearmad do pháipéar leithreas..
Beidh siad go leir ag deanamh 'jiving' (damhsa) as Gaeilge. Conas mar a deirtear cannabis chun meascadh leis an tobac?
An bhfuil aon rizla ag duine ar bith?
Rules out foreigners and the less neurotic . *shudder*. No thanks.
Will there be a special english language section for Béarlóirs?
Watch out for a group of Les Bleus who'll be whooping it up with cans of vin ordinaire Chateauneuf du Plonk. Allez les gars!
They could probably use a section reserved for people complaining about Irish being a waste of time.
The gaelgoiri will then know who to throw their empty beer cans at.
What's the Irish for circle-jerk?
Why is this written in English?
Das wissen wir gar nicht. Wenn man uber die Irische Sprache etwas sagen will, soll man auf Deutsch oder Franzosisch schreiben.


text:
First Response, First Center of Its Kind
Dr. Sarah Abbott leads a Symposium at the University of Limerick, Ireland, with Lester Baker, Framingham Police Chief, and Sean Riley, Deputy Chief.
Center for Crisis Response and Behavioral Health offers pioneer programming
An active robbery and shootout. A missing child. A bat in the basement. A woman who has woken up to find her husband of 60 years has died of a heart attack in the night. Whom do you call?
"For a variety of reasons, police officers are the default responders to people in crisis in the community," says Dr. Sarah Abbott. "They get a 911 call dispatched to them and they have to go. In that moment, they cannot reassign their sworn duties."
Abbott should know; she's worked with law enforcement as a behavioral health partner for decades, reimagining traditional roles in public safety. A pioneer in crisis response, she has built her career on developing innovative co-responder programming and more recently, in training others to do the same.
It's no surprise that William James has partnered with Abbott to create the new William James College Center for Crisis Response and Behavioral Health (CRBH). As director of the CRBH, she also joins the College's faculty as an associate professor of counseling and behavioral health. A landmark center, the CRBH offers graduate certification as well as the first practical interdisciplinary co-response training program housed within an academic institution in the country for police and clinicians—to gain over 150 hours of critical mental health and substance-use-related crisis response training.
"I'm Not a Cop."
"Walk down the streets of Northampton and you'll see people with just about every diagnosis in the DSM 5," says Josh Wallace, an officer and peer support team coordinator with the Northampton Police Department and a member of the inaugural class of the CRBH's graduate certificate program. Wallace is referring to the 5th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, a widely used handbook for diagnosing psychiatric illnesses.
Clinicians and physicians across the U.S. have most likely studied the DSM from front to back to front again, but that isn't a requirement for officers like Wallace. According to the American Psychological Association, roughly 20 percent of police calls in the country involve a mental health or substance use crisis; local law enforcement estimate that, in reality, that number is doubled.
Amid rigorous, intense training at the State Police Academy, Wallace says officers will do one session—maybe two—on mental health. He's gone so far as to become an FBI-certified crisis negotiator, and a few years ago, he added Douglas the Goldendoodle to his family. As a member of the Western Massachusetts Critical Incident Stress Management response team, he brings Douglas, a trained therapy dog, to schools with him. But, still,
he wants to do more.
In a town like Northampton with a prevalence of outpatient facilities, he never knows what he'll come across when a call comes over the radio. Officer Antonia DeAngelo faces similar challenges in Lowell but says having a social worker with her helps immensely.
"We've had clinicians available for the past two years, and whenever they are with us, things just go smoother. There's something about having a mental health professional, someone not in uniform, on the scene to say, 'I'm not a cop.' It releases the tension."
—Officer Antonia DeAngelo, Lowell Police Department
The Framingham Model
In 2003, while working at Advocates, Inc., Abbott began her work on the issue that Wallace, DeAngelo, and countless other officers face. As the Framingham Police Department's first embedded clinician, she helped create the Framingham Jail Diversion Program. The first co-responder model of its kind in Massachusetts, the program paired officers on duty with trained mental health clinicians who could meet psychological or substance-use needs at the scene and give aid not only to the citizen but also to the officer who may experience trauma or need guidance in overcoming the crisis. Prior to the program, clinicians were available for calls but were often unable to rapidly deploy in person to the scene. Now, they are embedded in the department, working side by side with law enforcement to de-escalate, divert from arrest, and fully support the mental health needs of individuals in crisis.
Twenty years ago, the idea was transformational. An award-winning model that gained grant funding and support from the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health and has since been widely implemented in departments across the Commonwealth—and globally.
Abbott was recently called upon to bring the co-response model to An Garda Síochána in Ireland. Instituting a full academic center at William James was an obvious, exciting move, she says.
"William James is the leading forensic-training educational institution with a really strong reputation. It's a collaborative, innovative place where new ideas can get support and strengthen."
Innovation, Side by Side
Certification at the CRBH Center begins in the classroom and continues via MILO Pro Range, a state-of-the-art simulation platform that allows students to enter and practice dynamic scenarios safely.
All 12 participants—six clinicians and six officers—have been hand selected by Abbott from across the state, ensuring a broad depth of diversity and experience. Instead of relying on officers to wear every hat on the scene, students are guided to lean into the roles for which they have the best training and lean on one another's expertise: the officer to enforce the law and enact protocol, the behavioral health professional to attend to the emotional needs of the citizen at the scene and beyond.
The hope, and what's been proven in the past, says Abbott, is that over time the pair will gain more than an abstract working relationship.
"They'll come to trust and rely upon one another and be able to support each other beyond the cases they're handed. They'll absorb what the other is doing: which words, cues, and behaviors are used, how certain procedures are conducted. It's the concrete training but also the intangible that comes from riding with someone for 8 hours a day. That will then improve every call they respond to and their overall community's wellbeing."
—Dr. Sarah Abbott, Director, Center for Crisis Response and Behavioral Health
Abbott has helped launch this program into place many times (over 30 across the Commonwealth), and she felt it deserved an academic credit-bearing program so officers and co-responders could hit the ground running as soon as they're in the field. She proposed the center to William James College President, Dr. Nicholas Covino, in the summer of 2021, and in April 2022, the Department of Mental Health agreed to provide funding support and student scholarships.
"911 is the most popular telephone number in the United States," says President Covino. "These calls are placed because there's a human being with a problem. Commonly, it is our most vulnerable people who are dialing." Thanks to programming like Abbott's, Massachusetts is at the forefront of how to effectively and safely respond. "With the CRBH and the direction of Dr. Abbott making strides," he adds, "William James is uniquely positioned to address a critical need for partnership between mental health and first responders that will make a lasting impact on the Commonwealth."
Center for Crisis Response and Behavioral Health
Meet the CRBH Team
CRBH Graduate Certificate Program
The Teaching Faculty Fellowship
Clinical PsyD Students Lead Symposium Offering Best Practices for Working with Undocumented Populations
Serving the Mental Health Needs of the Underserved
Trustee Profile: Catherine Colinvaux
Select Category In the News Around Campus In the Community Research & Advocacy President's Corner Profile
Select MonthDecember 2022November 2022October 2022September 2022August 2022July 2022June 2022May 2022April 2022March 2022February 2022January 2022
Follow William James College
Katie O'Hare
Senior Director of Marketing
katie_ohare@williamjames.edu


text:
Stream Free
All Star Comedy Jam: Live from Dallas
Because You d All Star Comedy Jam: Live from Dallas
Comedy Rated: 18+ (R)20101h 29mOn: Free Services
Academy Award winner and one of the Original Queens of Comedy, Mo'Nique rules the stage as host of the 3rd installment in Shaquille O'Neal's All Star Comedy Jam concert series. Filmed in front of a live audience during the 2010 NBA All-Star Weekend in Dallas Texas, comedy queen Mo'Nique leads ... her court with some of the industry's most talented and sought after comedians. No topic is off limits on this night at AEG's Nokia Theatre stage. Seasoned comedians, Paul Mooney, Corey Holcomb, George Willborn and Michael Blackson deliver side busting, non-stop laughs in this energetic and memorable night of comedy.All Star Comedy Jam: Live from Dallas featuring Mo'Nique and Michael Blackson is free on Tubi, free on Sony Crackle, available for rent or purchase on iTunes, and 4 others. It's a comedy movie with an average IMDb audience rating of 6.0 (81 votes).
Where to Watch All Star Comedy Jam: Live from Dallas
Michael Blackson
Corey Holcomb
Paul Mooney
George Willborn
Available to watch free online (Tubi & Crackle).
Available to rent or buy from $3.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play, Prime Video & 2 others).
All Star Comedy Jam: Live from Dallas has an average IMDb audience rating of 6.0 (81 votes). The movie is not very popular with Reelgood users lately.
Stream More Movies & Shows Like All Star Comedy Jam: Live from Dallas
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Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021)
Sing (2016)
Tom & Jerry (2021)
Nobody Sleeps in the Woods Tonight 2 (2021)
Home Sweet Home Alone (2021)
Project X (2012)
The Trip (2021)
The Last Mercenary (2021)
Roald Dahl's The Witches (2020)
Ted 2 (2015)
Jolt (2021)
Sex and the City (2008)
Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012)
Extinct (2021)
Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway (2021)
Shazam! (2019)
Deadpool 2 (2018)
Love & Other Drugs (2010)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014)
Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008)
He's All That (2021)
1000 Miles From Christmas (2021)
Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014)
Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017)
Scary Movie (2000)
The Parent Trap (1998)
The Hangover Part II (2011)
More Comedy Movies
Elf (2003)
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
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Virgin Territory (2007)
Home Alone (1990)


text:
package com.jtanks.util;

import com.jtanks.util.Point;
import junit.framework.Assert;

import org.junit.Test;

public class EuclidTest {

    @Test public void getHeadingToPosition() {
        double headingToPosition = Euclid.getHeadingToPosition(new Point(0d, 0d), new Point(1d, 1d));
        Assert.assertEquals(45d, Math.toDegrees(Carmack.toVirtualHeadingFromRadians(headingToPosition)));

        headingToPosition = Euclid.getHeadingToPosition(new Point(0d, 0d), new Point(-1d, 1d));
        Assert.assertEquals(135d, Math.toDegrees(Carmack.toVirtualHeadingFromRadians(headingToPosition)));

        headingToPosition = Euclid.getHeadingToPosition(new Point(0d, 0d), new Point(-1d, -1d));
        Assert.assertEquals(225d, Math.toDegrees(Carmack.toVirtualHeadingFromRadians(headingToPosition)));

        headingToPosition = Euclid.getHeadingToPosition(new Point(0d, 0d), new Point(1d, -1d));
        Assert.assertEquals(315d, Math.toDegrees(Carmack.toVirtualHeadingFromRadians(headingToPosition)));
    }

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Book Short: Internet Fiction, part II
I hate to write a lame post, but here's what I wrote earlier in the year about Eliot Peper's first Internet thriller, Uncommon Stock:
Eliot Pepper's brand new startup thriller, Uncommon Stock, was a breezy and quick read that I enjoyed tremendously. It's got just the right mix of reality and fantasy in it. For anyone in the tech startup world, it's a must read. But it would be equally fun and enjoyable for anyone who likes a good juicy thriller.
Like my memory of Hackoff, the book has all kinds of startup details in it, like co-founder struggles and a great presentation of the angel investor vs. VC dilemma. But it also has a great crime/murder intrigue that is interrupted with the book's untimely ending. I eagerly await the second installment, promised for early 2015.
Having just finished that second installment, called Uncommon Stock: Power Play, basically I want to say "ditto." Power Play was just as good as the first book, and now I can't wait for the third. Where the first installment's startup focus was around funding and founder dynamics, this one's startup focus was around shipping product and customers. The thriller part was just as juicy.
It's also kind of fun reading about the Boulder startup scene, especially from a writer who doesn't and who has never spent a ton of time there. He gets some things remarkably accurate with crisp descriptions. I was kind of hoping for a cameo by Brad, at least in the form of a throw-away comment about the "long haired homeless-looking investor in the corner of Frasca."


German news outlet T-Online is reporting that in the light of Brexit, there's been a big increase of British citizens (living in Germany) requesting German citizenship (at the cost of giving up their British).
Around 500 people requested citizenship last year overall in the city of Munich alone, according to reports another 200 people requested citizenship over the course of the last two months. Other Bavarian cities like Nuremberg, Regensburg, Ingolstadt & Würzburg noticed at least a 50% increase each last year is British people applying for German citizenship.
Like "all Germans wear Lederhosen and eat Weißwurst"
Well of course, they already live in Germany and want to stay there. I'd imagine it's the same thing with Germans living in the UK.


text:
Quick Medical Diagnosis & Treatment
2 Minute Medicine®
Goodman & Gilman's : FDA Approvals
Guidelines — Primary Care
Auscultation Classroom
Diagnostic and Imaging Studies
Harrison's Pathophysiology Animations
Harrison's Podclass
Human Anatomy Modules
Patient Interview
Run the List Podcast
S2D: The Symptom to Diagnosis Podcast
Case Files® - Preview
Critical Concept Mastery Series
Family Medicine Board Review
Fluid/Electrolyte and Acid-Base Cases
G&G Pharm Cases
Harrison's Visual Case Challenge
Internal Medicine Cases
Medical Microbiology Cases
Pathophysiology Cases
Vanderbilt IM/Peds Curriculum
Clerkship Topics
Patient Ed
Hospital Corner
All Sites AccessMedicine Select Site
Home Books The Atlas of Emergency Medicine, 5e
17-19: Anticoagulants
Saralyn R. Williams; R. Jason Thurman
Williams SR, Thurman R. Williams S.R., & Thurman R Williams, Saralyn R., and R. Jason Thurman.Anticoagulants. In: Knoop KJ, Stack LB, Storrow AB, Thurman R. Knoop K.J., & Stack L.B., & Storrow A.B., & Thurman R(Eds.),Eds. Kevin J. Knoop, et al.eds. The Atlas of Emergency Medicine, 5e. McGraw Hill; 2021. Accessed January 19, 2022. https://accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?bookid=2969&sectionid=250462242
Williams SR, Thurman R. Williams S.R., & Thurman R Williams, Saralyn R., and R. Jason Thurman. (2021). Anticoagulants. Knoop KJ, Stack LB, Storrow AB, Thurman R. Knoop K.J., & Stack L.B., & Storrow A.B., & Thurman R(Eds.),Eds. Kevin J. Knoop, et al. The Atlas of Emergency Medicine, 5e. McGraw Hill. https://accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?bookid=2969&sectionid=250462242
Williams SR, Thurman R. Williams S.R., & Thurman R Williams, Saralyn R., and R. Jason Thurman. "Anticoagulants." The Atlas of Emergency Medicine, 5e Knoop KJ, Stack LB, Storrow AB, Thurman R. Knoop K.J., & Stack L.B., & Storrow A.B., & Thurman R(Eds.),Eds. Kevin J. Knoop, et al. McGraw Hill, 2021, https://accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?bookid=2969&sectionid=250462242.
Clinical Summary
Management and Disposition
Since the discovery of the cause of a hemorrhagic disorder in Wisconsin cattle in the early 20th century, warfarin and its analogs have been used as rodenticides and pharmacologic agents. Warfarin is actually named after the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation. Warfarin-like xenobiotics inhibit the activity of vitamin K 2,3-epoxide reductase, thus affecting the production of the vitamin K–dependent factors of II, VII, IX, and X. While the effect on the production of the vitamin K–dependent factors occurs soon after absorption of warfarin, the clinical effect is delayed until the available activated factors are depleted.
Long-acting anticoagulants, known as "superwarfarins," were developed as rodenticides due to the development of warfarin-resistant rodents. Their mechanism of action is the same as warfarin, but they are more potent and exhibit a much longer duration of effect. Poisoned patients may present with any sequelae of an anticoagulated state spanning the spectrum from easy bruising to life-threatening hemorrhage. In 2018, there was an outbreak of poisoning by long-acting anticoagulants that were presumed adulterants in synthetic cannabinoids ("K2/Spice"). Deaths occurred as a result of major bleeding events.
Patients who have a supratherapeutic international normalized ratio without bleeding may require reversal with the administration of vitamin K. Life-threatening hemorrhage may require immediate reversal with administration of 4-factor prothrombin complex concentrate (PCC) or fresh frozen plasma. Guidelines for correction of vitamin K antagonists are published by the American College of Chest Physicians. Patients with intentional poisonings from the long-acting anticoagulants ("superwarfarins") may require high-dose vitamin K therapy for several weeks to months due to the prolonged anticoagulant effects.
Warfarin is a racemic mixture of R and S enantiomers, which are metabolized by different CYP P450 pathways. The S enantiomer is more potent that the R enantiomer. Genetic polymorphisms influence the dose needed to achieve a therapeutic level.
Single unintentional ingestions of the "superwarfarins" by children under 6 years of age rarely result in an ingestion with clinically significant anticoagulant effect. Repetitive ingestions can result in coagulopathy. If a toddler has a vitamin K–dependent coagulopathy and the history indicates the child ate a box of rat poison, one must have an index of suspicion for Munchausen by proxy.
If a patient is on chronic warfarin therapy, be wary of the many xenobiotic interactions that can potentiate or antagonize the anticoagulant effect.
FIGURE 17.65
Rodenticide Package. Brodifacoum is a common long-acting anticoagulant used as a rodenticide for mice. Notice that the percentage of the active ingredient is only 0.005%. Thus, ingestion of a few pellets by a young child is unlikely to cause a coagulation disorder. (Photo contributor: R. Jason Thurman, MD.)
Rodenticide Pellets. These are examples of the bluish-green pellets that are contained in the packaging ...


text:
Is Everybody Single? More Than Half the U.S. Now, Up From 37% in 1976
Single Americans make up more than half of the adult population for the first time since the government began compiling such statistics in 1976.
Some 124.6 million Americans were single in August, 50.2 percent of those who were 16 years or older, according to data used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in its monthly job-market report. That percentage had been hovering just below 50 percent since about the beginning of 2013 before edging above it in July and August. In 1976, it was 37.4 percent and has been trending upward since.
In a report to clients entitled "Selfies," economist Edward Yardeni flagged the increase in the proportion of singles to more than 50 percent, calling it "remarkable." The president of Yardeni Research Inc. in New York said the rise has "implications for our economy, society and politics."
Singles, particularly younger ones, are more likely to rent than to own their dwellings. Never-married young singles are less likely to have children and previously married older ones, many of whom have adult children, are unlikely to have young kids, Yardeni wrote. That will influence how much money they spend and what they buy.
He argued the increase in single-person households also is exaggerating income inequality in the U.S.
"While they have less household earnings than married people, they also have fewer expenses, especially if there are no children in their households," Yardeni wrote.
The percentage of adult Americans who have never married has risen to 30.4 percent from 22.1 percent in 1976, while the proportion that are divorced, separated or widowed increased to 19.8 percent from 15.3 percent, according to the economist.
Yardeni is known in the financial markets for coining the phrase "bond vigilantes" in the 1980s to describe investors who were selling Treasury securities because of fears about big U.S. budget deficits.
Learn more here http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2014/09/11/the-us-is-becoming-more-european-half-of-adult-americans-are-now-single/
Forget the Goggles: Chlorophyll Eye Drops Give Night Vision
Scientists Develop Blood-Cleansing Artificial Spleen


How to Connect Roku Device To Your Smart TV?
Roku streaming device, allows a user to enjoy thousands of entertainment channels, directly on their TVs. A Roku streaming device works over the internet and offers ad-free online content. If you are thinking Roku streaming device is a DVD player, no its not. Roku is a not a solo digital media player, but it comes in various forms. Roku player varies to TV sets to set-top boxes. Roku device comes with integrated Movie streaming services, which you usually access on your Smartphone. Roku devices enhances your Satellite and Cable TV. Roku streaming device requires one-time investment and eliminates needs of monthly subscriptions, like you do with your cable TV. Now the question is, how to use Roku device, how to set it up with your TV? You need to first login to Roku account, by using registered web address roku.com/link. Activate Roku device through Roku login. To know more about Roku setup in details take a look at the below-given steps.
Choose what type of Roku device you have. Generally, Roku comes in two forms, Roku stick & player. To setup both devices, your TV needs at least one HDMI port.
Once you recognize the type of Roku device you have, plug one end of the HDMI cable into the rear of the Roku device. Other ends of the HDMI cable needs to be plugged into the HDMI port of your Smart TV.
Just in case, there is no HDMI port on your TV, you can use the Roku Stick with your TV. You have to invest in an HDMI to Component adapter, only if your TV has yellow, red, white ports.
Now, you can attach the Roku device to a power source. It is important to provide connection to your Roku device, in order to make it work.
Switch On your TV & press the Input, Video and then the Source button of your TV remote.
Make a selection of HDMI slot in which Roku Stick is already inserted. With this, Roku setup screen will get open. Now you can start up Roku setup & Roku login.
How to Setup Roku Device?
Choose your preferred language. Use the Arrow button on the Roku remote, for language selection & press OK.
When you reach to network page, get connected to the Wifi.
Scan networks by selecting the option, Scan again to see all networks & press OK button.
Scroll through the wifi networks, until you find your wifi network.
Click on the highlighted network and press OK.
To know further steps, call us at our toll-free number. You can also get assistance from us, on activation of a Roku device via https://my.roku.com/link. If you face any difficulty during access of the registered web address roku.com/link, ask for troubleshooting tips from our team. We are always there to help you, so feel free to call us at our toll-free number, or chat live with us.


An Andover woman has asked Andover's Member of Parliament for help, after a series of errors from the Home Office means her husband will be deported back to the United States.
British-born Kerry Stewart, who suffers from Severe Fibromyalgia with Chronic Progression, says her American husband Rob Martin now has seven days to leave the country, as the Home Office claim he cannot retain his UK residency despite being her main carer.
The couple from Weyhill Road in Andover have contacted the office of Andover MP Kit Malthouse to see if he can help with their time-limited case.
To date they have spent £10,000 making applications to the Home Office, informing the government department of their case. Love Andover understands that on numerous occasions the Home Office have either sent inaccurate responses, getting the duration of Mr Martin's stay in the UK wrong, or failed to respond at all.
Mr Martin told Andover Radio, "On one occasion they told me to return to the US because I had been here one year, nine months and six days, in reality I had only been in the UK for five months, so we had to apply for an extension again.
Mt Martin says that the response was incorrectly sent and was for another person's application. "We tried again, but got no response.
The Home Office has said that Mr Martin, a former design engineer at NASA, must leave the country by Monday. They claim he would have known that his stay in the UK would be time-limited.
The couple also say that they are in serious trouble as they have spent all their money trying to get an accurate understanding from the Home Office. The couple claim that they do not have enough money to fly Mr Martin back to his home state of Virginia.
"I now have seven days to leave the UK. I cannot appeal from here, I have to appeal from the States, so now I have to leave her. She cannot get up the stairs, we have no bathroom downstairs, I have to wash and toilet her. But we have no money left.
The Home Office have suggested that Mrs Stewart, a former nurse, should be cared for by the NHS. "This will put increased pressure on the health service" says Mrs Stewart, "This is ridiculous as I have a loving husband who is willing to work and look after me. He already has offers of work from UK companies".
The couple are seeking assistance from Mr Malthouse MP or anyone else who may be able to assist with their case.
This entry was posted in Andover, Deportation, Home Office, Kit Malthouse MP and tagged Andover, Deportation, Home Office, Kerry Stewart, Kit Malthouse MP, Rob Martin, Severe Fibromyalgia. Bookmark the permalink.


The Gatekeeper's Museum is a reconstruction of the original Gatekeeper's Cabin, on the same site where the original stood until it was destroyed by arson fire in the early 1980s.
The original Gatekeeper's cabin was built by Robert Montgomery Watson—also the builder of the Watson Cabin—to be the home of the Watermaster who controlled the flow of water out of Lake Tahoe. We still have a Watermaster, but s/he no longer lives in this cabin. Instead, the cabin showcases Tahoe history, from the Washoe people through the logging and mining eras and the establishment of the tourism industry at Lake Tahoe. Exhibits include Native American baskets, resort memorabilia, historical photographs, clothing, oral histories, maps, archival documents, newspapers and artifacts. Our resource library allows researchers on-site access to historical documents. Copies of historic photographs can also be ordered and purchased from the Museum.


than anything else during a problem or crisis, is the fact that God is still on His throne. He didn't get off to take a nap, or go watch sports, or hit the refrigerator. He is there, in total control of all that is going on. That of course begs the question, why does He allow terrible things to happen if He is really on the throne.
Remember, God does not cause evil, or encourage it, but does allow it to happen as He did in the case of Job. It was only with God's permission that the devil was able to do what he did to Job. Why does God allow bad things to happen? Men much wiser than I can argue that one, but I do know one day God will wipe away all sin and evil from this world.
Many of you are facing difficulties in your life today. Unexplained problems.
Circumstances that seem to be out of hand. Pressures that are becoming intolerable. Now is the very time to make your faith real. Look to God and ask Him to strengthen you, to encourage you, to give you peace. He knows how to make the heavy burdens lighter, the crooked path straight. Don't become weak when the difficult times come, be strengthened by them. Let them be times of testing, and honing, and sharpening your faith.
For those of you who are in need of a miracle, don't forget to stop by our Miracle Center on my website at http://www.liveprayer.com . We have had incredible testimonies of healing, restored marriages, financial blessings over the years. I will be praying for you today. Whatever you are facing, never forget this truth. God is on His throne….God is in Control!!!!!
The Bible says that "he had compassion." That gives us a roadmap. The first thing we can do for someone is simply show compassion. It is not so much what we say, but that we let them know we care. Just being there is often the best thing you can do. Of course, praying for them is critical, as is sharing with them that the only source of real comfort comes from God.
serving Him, to allow Him to use us as an instrument of comfort to someone who is hurting. Don't run from these opportunities, but be ready for them and embrace them.
Either God is real, or He is not! One of the things that has greatly troubled me recently, is the number of people who say that they believe in God, say that they are a Christian, yet have no problem supporting choices that are clearly defined in God's Word as sin. My friend, Jesus said it best when He said that "no man can serve two masters." The Christian faith is not a smorgasbord where you can pick and choose what you like. You can't claim to have faith in Christ, yet support the things that the Bible speaks against. To borrow a political term, THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A CHRISTIAN MODERATE . Either God is real, or He is not.
http://www.liveprayer.com/bdy_salvatn.html . God has made it so easy, but it is a choice that only YOU can make.
Once you have gotten to this point, the next step is that you MUST accept the Bible as God's inspired, inerrant Word. ***It is IMPOSSIBLE to be a Christian and not accept the Bible as God's Word. You see, to come to Christ by faith, you have accepted that this is God's plan to give His creation, which is separated from Him because of their sin, a way to come back into a relationship with Him. This is God's ONLY plan!
That is why faith in Buddha will not save you. That is why faith in Muhammad will not save you. That is why faith in a golden statue will not save you. It is ONLY faith in Jesus Christ that saves you because it was Jesus Christ who God sent to die for your sins! He was God's perfect sacrifice to give fallen man a way back into everlasting fellowship with Him. So if you accept THAT, then you have to accept the ENTIRE BIBLE as God's inspired, inerrant Word. It can't be only partially right!!!
A word of encouragement. I have a very simple message for YOU today. No matter what you are facing, no matter what you are battling in your life, no matter what your circumstances may look like….YOU HAVE THE VICTORY IF YOUR FAITH IS IN JESUS CHRIST! I don't care what your issue is today, I want to tell you that YOU ARE VICTORIOUS!!!! You are NOT defeated, you are a winner. You are NOT losing, you have already won!!! ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE WITH JESUS!!!!
Each person who reads these words today is battling something in their life. Some are fighting with finances, others with health problems, others with marital issues, others with problems with your children, still others are dealing with addiction problems. My message for you today is that NO MATTER what your battle is today, God is with you, will not forsake you, and will walk you out of your valley to the mountaintop of victory!!!!!
Too often in our life we focus on the battle, and not the victory. Too often we look only at the circumstances, and not the one who promised us victory over our circumstances. Several of the disciples of Jesus were in a boat one day when a great storm came upon them. As the winds began to blow, the rain began to fall, the sky darkened, ALL they could see was the storm.
They became so consumed with their circumstances that they woke up Jesus who was sleeping in the boat, and in their fear, asked Him to help them. Seeing their fear, Jesus in an act of compassion simply made the storm go away. MY FRIEND, THE SAME JESUS WHO MADE THE STORM GO AWAY FOR HIS DISCIPLES, IS THE SAME JESUS WHO CAN MAKE THE STORM IN YOUR LIFE GO AWAY!!!
I love you and care about you so much. Jesus is saying to you today, exactly what He said to His disciples those many years ago. Why do you fear? You see, when you are with Jesus, you don't have to fear no matter how bad the storm may look. JESUS WILL ALWAYS HAVE THE FINAL WORD!!!
For God so loved the word, HE GAVE. Tomorrow is the day that we celebrate Thanksgiving. We have so much to be thankful for. But we have nothing greater to be thankful for than God's gift to us of His Son. Each day is truly a day of thanksgiving! Because of this gift from God, we can be forgiven of our sins, and reunited with our Creator for eternity. So much of what I deal with each day in this devotional is to help you walk through this short journey here on earth victoriously and productively. But we must never forget that our time here is very short, and there is an eternity waiting for us when this journey called life is over.
You see, the reason it was vital for Jesus to be born of a virgin was so that He was not infested with the same problem you and I were born into this life with, sin. Otherwise, the best He could have done was die for His own sins.
Jesus lived on this earth for some 33 years before it was time to complete His work. That work was finished on a cross on the hill called Calvary where He hung, and then died as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of this world. That is why, whosoever believes in Jesus, shall not perish for eternity, but have everlasting life!
Believing in Jesus is the only way to be saved because it was Jesus who died and was sacrificed for our sins. There are no other ways to be saved, no other roads back to God, there are no other plans of salvation!!! This is God's one and only plan to reconcile His fallen creation back to Himself. This is the only way you can escape eternity apart from the God who created you in His own image. It is through His grace and by your faith in Jesus Christ!
The most important decision that you will make in this life is not who you will marry, or where you will live, or what kind of job you will have. The most important decision you will make in this life is to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. If you have not done that yet, the Bible says that today is the day of salvation. I would invite you to go to http://www.liveprayer.com/bdy_salvatn.html and ask God to open your heart to these words. Read the words, pray the prayer, and accept today God's gift to you, the gift of His son Jesus.
Gluttony, eating to excess. In my years of ministry, I could always get the "Amen corner" into my sermons when I preached against homosexuality, preached against the more visible sins. On those occasions when I preached on the sin of gluttony, it usually got very quiet. I realize this will be a difficult read for many today, but that is one reason I am here…to challenge you. Let me say right up front, gluttony IS a sin. God said so. Anything that you do in excess, to your detriment, to the detriment of your ability to serve God, that is ahead of your daily relationship with God, is a sin.
I know that during this Holiday season many will be sitting down to some incredible feasts. I am not saying you shouldn't, and I am not saying you should not enjoy food. I believe God gave us food to nourish our body, our taste buds to enjoy food, and eating is wonderful part of our life. Gluttony however refers to eating in excess. I know many fine men and women of God that live tremendous lives and do great work for the Lord. However, this is an area that they struggle with and that is why I bring it to you today.
At this point, you have either accepted through the prompting of the Holy Spirit that this is an issue in your life, or you have realized that this is not something that you battle with. If you are in the latter category, then I would encourage you to pray for those who do fight this battle each day. I have no doubt that you know people in your family, school, workplace, church, that are going through this struggle. Pray for them today. Pray that the Lord would open their eyes and show them this is a problem they need to deal with. Pray that they will have the courage, like anyone who is dealing with a specific sin, to admit it and allow the Lord to help them get victory over gluttony.
I love you, care about you, and realize the sensitive nature of this sin. But there is no use in hiding it or candy-coating the problem. It is time to recognize it as a problem, and get busy fighting it and letting God help you to become victorious over this battle in your life. If you are struggling with gluttony today, I will be praying specifically for you. I realize what a difficult struggle this can be. If you will take that first step, God will help you overcome this battle with gluttony!