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PEDIATRIC DENTOALVEOLAR SURGERY
Pediatric dentoalveolar surgery certainly does not make up the bulk of procedures performed in the majority of oral and maxillofacial surgery offices, but it does present the clinician with unique challenges both in patient management and the vast array of problems not encountered in adults. Whether the treatment is as simple as the extraction of a deciduous tooth or as complex as treating a sarcoma, these unique challenges and the long-term effects that our treatments have on these children must always be taken into consideration. A clear understanding of the growth and development of the pediatric patient is necessary to correctly identify abnormalities of the dentition.
The tooth bud is a collection of cells that derive from the ectoderm of the first brachial arch and the ectomesenchyme of the neural crest cells. The formation of primary teeth is evident between 6 to 8 weeks in utero, and the permanent teeth begin to form in the 20th week in utero. The initial calcification of the primary teeth ranges from 14 weeks for the incisors to 19 weeks in utero for the second molars. The permanent teeth calcify between 3 and 4 months for the incisors and 7 to 10 years for the third molars. If the dentition does not develop at these times or there is an event that disrupts the formation, then the teeth will not develop at all.
An anomaly in dental growth and development may be indicative of a more ominous problem, and the clinician must be aware of possible systemic causes including malignancy, endocrine, nutritional, and genetic abnormalities. These can be manifested in a combination of oral and extraoral findings, such as those associated with hereditary ectodermal dysplasia and Gardner's syndrome. Thus, a comprehensive evaluation may be warranted in some cases.
The ensuing eruption pattern of both the primary and permanent dentition is also of critical importance when evaluating patients with impacted teeth. Table 10-1 shows the eruption patterns for both the deciduous and permanent dentitions.
TABLE 10-1
The Eruption Patterns for Both the Deciduous and Permanent Dentitions
Deciduous Dentition
Permanent Dentition
Eruption (Mo)
Root Completion) (Yr)
Eruption (Yr)
Root Completion (Yr)
A 7 1½-2 1 7–8 10
B 8 1½-2 2 8–9 11
C 16-20 2½-3 3 11–12 13-15
D 12-16 2-2½ 4 10–11 12-13
E 21-30 3 5 10–12 12-14
6 6–7 9-10
7 12–13 14-16
Mandibular Mandibular
A 6½ 1½-2 1 6–7 9
C 16-20 2½-3 3 9–10 12-14
This table uses the Zsigmondy system of classification.
If a pediatric patient has a tooth or a number of teeth that have failed to erupt in a timely manner, there can be multiple causes. These include but are not limited to tooth malpositioning, retained primary teeth, arch space/length discrepancies, obstruction by a supernumerary tooth or by a cyst (usually seen in teens, such as keratocysts and dentigerous cysts), or tumors (usually seen in childhood, such as compound/complex odontomas and fibro-osseous lesions). The most commonly impacted permanent teeth after third molars are maxillary canines, mandibular second premolars, and maxillary incisors.
Congenitally missing teeth are observed on a fairly regular basis with the most common, of course, being the third molars followed by the lateral incisors and the mandibular second premolars.
Finally, in 2003 greater than 12 of 1000 children were found to be victims of child abuse and neglect. As medical professionals (and conscientious providers), we are obligated to document and report cases of suspected child abuse and neglect in all 50 states to the appropriate law enforcement agency. It is estimated that more than half of the cases of child abuse involve the head, face, and neck. With these high numbers, it is very likely that as oral and maxillofacial surgeons we will encounter such cases. We have the training and expertise to identify potential victims, and we must have the courage to act in the best interest of the victim who is most often helpless.
The management of impacted teeth can pose a significant challenge to both the oral surgeon and orthodontist. An understanding of the cause, treatment options, and outcomes is required when formulating a treatment plan. Open dialogue between the general practitioner, pediatric dentist, oral surgeon, and orthodontist is critical for a successful outcome. This section will review the incidence, causes, diagnosis, and management of impacted teeth other than third molars.
Rates of impacted permanent teeth appear to vary among populations and range from 1% to 5%. Thilander and Myrberg performed a study on more than 6000 Swedish school children and found the prevalence of impacted teeth other than third molars to be 5.4%. Although any tooth can become impacted, most studies agree that the maxillary canine has the highest rate of impaction followed by mandibular second premolars, maxillary second premolars, mandibular second molars, and maxillary incisors. Eruption failure of mandibular incisors is relatively rare and is often associated with pathologic conditions when it does occur.
Rates of maxillary canine impaction approach 2% of the general population. Of these, 8% of them show bilateral involvement. This is greater than five times the rate of mandibular canine impactions (0.35%). Females are twice as likely to have an impacted canine as males. Jacoby found the rate of palatally impacted canines to labially impacted canines to be more than 6 : 1.
Relative to the permanent dentition, primary teeth rarely become impacted. When it occurs, it is most often a mandibular molar. It is important to distinguish between an impacted primary molar and one that appears "submerged" relative to the normal eruption of the adjacent permanent teeth. A congenitally missing succedaneous tooth will allow for prolonged retention of the primary tooth and often result in ankylosis. As the adjacent permanent teeth erupt, the retained primary tooth will take on a "submerged" appearance.
Before treatment the cause of an impacted tooth must be ascertained. In general terms, causes of impacted teeth can be categorized into localized mechanical obstruction or systemic abnormalities. Mechanical obstruction can be attributed to arch length deficiency, premature loss of deciduous teeth, prolonged deciduous tooth retention, supernumerary teeth, odontogenic tumors and cysts ( Figure 10-1 ), abnormal eruption path, and cleft lip and palate.
FIGURE 10-1
Radiograph demonstrating an impacted left maxillary first premolar. The premolar was removed with an associated dentigerous cyst.
Systemic causes include hereditary conditions, such as cleidocranial dysplasia and Down syndrome. Other systemic causes include endocrine dysfunction, febrile diseases, and irradiation. Radiographs of patients with cleidocranial dysplasia show many retained deciduous teeth with unerupted permanent and supernumerary teeth, frequently with distorted crown and root shapes. Extraction of the retained deciduous teeth does not promote eruption of their permanent successors necessitating surgical exposure and orthodontic traction.
After determining the cause of an impacted tooth, the clinician must devise a treatment plan in coordination with the patient's general practitioner and/or orthodontist. Impacted teeth are evaluated by an initial clinical exam followed by a radiographic exam. Clinical signs of abnormal exfoliation and eruption sequences can allow the clinician to act early, circumventing future problems.
The initial radiographic exam should include a panoramic radiograph supplemented with a variety of other modalities that help determine the position of the impacted tooth in three dimensions. Aside from determining horizontal and vertical positions of teeth, panoramic radiographs can aid in determining buccal-lingual positions as well. A tooth that is positioned outside of the radiographic trough will appear out of focus and larger or smaller than the adjacent teeth. If positioned palatal to the adjacent teeth (i.e., further from the x-ray film), a larger image can be expected (see Figure 10-2 ). On the other hand, a smaller image can be expected if the tooth is positioned labial to the focal trough.
Radiograph demonstrating palatally impacted maxillary canines. Note the enlarged image of the canines relative to the adjacent teeth.
When the location of the impacted tooth is not obvious, a series of periapical radiographs are used to determine tooth position. This technique is commonly referred to as the tube-shift technique or Clark's rule.
An initial periapical radiograph is taken in the standard fashion. A second radiograph is then taken after moving the beam source mesially or distally. If the impacted tooth appears to move in the same direction as the beam source, it is located lingual or palatal to the adjacent teeth. If it moves in the opposite direction, the tooth is buccal or labial to the adjacent teeth. The common acronym for this is S.L.O.B. (same-lingual, opposite-buccal) ( Figures 10-3, 10-4, and 10-5 ).
A, Tube-shift technique demonstrating a palatally impacted object. B, Depiction of a buccally impacted object.
Periapical radiograph demonstrating an inverted mesiodens.
Periapical radiograph after shifting the x-ray beam source to the patient's left. Note the impacted mesiodens moves in the same direction as the shift in beam source demonstrating palatal location.
Often impacted teeth can be located in the middle of the alveolus or angulated so that half of the tooth is on the buccal side and half on the palatal. In these circumstances, an occlusal radiograph can be of value in determining tooth angulation.
In 1986 Keur made two improvements on this technique by suggesting the use of the initial panoramic radiograph and a single occlusal radiograph taken at 60° in the vertical plane. Because most panoramic radiographs capture an image at +7° to the occlusal plane, this produces a vertical angulation change of about 53°. This offers two distinct advantages: (1) An occlusal radiograph allows for the capture of the entire impacted tooth while also allowing for a greater change in angulation of the beam source. Thus, the relative change between the impacted tooth and the adjacent teeth is more obvious. (2) Because the panoramic radiograph is usually the initial film obtained, the need for two additional films is decreased to one.
After determining the location and the cause of the impaction, the clinician should consider the treatment options. Decisions on extraction are based on associated pathologic conditions, tooth position, feasibility of orthodontic alignment, and cooperation of the patient. Studies by Stivaros and Mandall evaluated the radiographic appearance of the tooth and the decision to extract or bring the tooth into the arch. As the angulation of the tooth to the midline increased, it was more likely to be extracted. Palatally impacted teeth were more likely to be retained and brought into the arch than labially positioned teeth. Other treatment options include serial extractions and spontaneous eruption, exposure and spontaneous eruption, exposure with orthodontic traction, autotransplantation, extraction with prosthetic replacement, and no treatment.
MAXILLARY CANINES
To understand the cause of maxillary canine impaction, it is important to consider the timing of its development and the surrounding anatomy. In adolescence the maxillary canine bud is positioned high in the maxilla between the nasal cavity and the orbital rim. Posteriorly, this space is limited by the anterior sinus wall. As root formation progresses, the crown of the cuspid comes in contact with the roots of the lateral incisor mesially, the first bicuspid distally, and the resorbing roots of the deciduous canine. Theoretically, these teeth guide the developing cuspid into its proper position within the arch. When anomalies exist in lateral incisor and bicuspid form and position, the cuspid will waver from its expected eruption path.
In cases of tooth size and arch length discrepancy, the late erupting canine is prevented from taking its normal position in the arch. This will occasionally force the canine labially unless adequate space is made with extractions or orthodontic therapy. This situation only accounts for 13% of all canine impactions and probably does not represent a true impaction because these teeth have been shown to spontaneously erupt if given adequate space.
More commonly an impacted canine is positioned palatal to the arch. Jacoby found this to be true 87% of the time, of which only 15% showed arch length discrepancy. To account for the palatal position of the canine, Jacoby theorized that an excessive amount of palatal space was available for the canine to drift into. This is caused by "(1) excessive bone growth in the canine area, (2) the agenesis or hypodevelopment of the lateral incisor, and (3) stimulated eruption of the lateral incisor or the first premolar."
Some foretelling signs of maxillary canine impaction include prolonged retention of the deciduous canine beyond 14 years, presence of a palatal bulge, delayed eruption of the permanent canine with abnormal lateral incisor shape or position, and absence of a normal labial canine bulge beyond age 11. Ericson and Kurol found in a study of 505 children between the ages of 10 and 12 that only 5% had nonpalpable canines at age 11.
In select cases, prevention of canine impaction can be accomplished by extraction of deciduous canines as early as 8 or 9 years of age. These cases are usually limited to dental class 1 patients without crowding. Ericson and Kurol found that the position of the ectopically erupting canine can be normalized in 91% of cases by removal of the deciduous canine before the age of 11 provided that the canine crown is distal to the midline of the lateral incisor. The success rate decreases to 64% when the canine crown is mesial to the midline of the lateral incisor.
After clinically and radiographically determining a labially positioned cuspid, the clinician has several surgical options to choose from. These include excisional uncovering, an apically positioned flap , and closed eruption techniques . Tooth position and the amount of attached gingiva in the area help determine the correct procedure.
Excisional uncovering is usually done after sufficient space is created for eruption of the permanent cuspid. The procedure is most often reserved for the palatally impacted canine; however, it can be performed on a labially positioned tooth if there is sufficient attached gingiva in the area to provide 2 to 3 mm of gingival cuff after eruption. Without an adequate gingival cuff, the erupting cuspid is predisposed to future periodontal complications. This procedure is easily performed when the majority of the crown is above the mucogingival line and there is little alveolar bone to remove. When the impacted tooth is vertically aligned and there is no obstruction, spontaneous eruption will usually occur. Excisional uncovering should not be attempted if the tooth is positioned within the center of the alveolus or apical to the mucogingival line. In this situation, a closed technique or apically positioned flap is indicated ( Figure 10-6 ).
A, Impacted canine located above the mucogingival line (dotted line). B, Excisional uncovering of a maxillary canine.
Excisional uncovering can be accomplished if the crown of the tooth is readily palpable. This is ideally performed in the late mixed dentition period to maximize spontaneous eruption; however, orthodontic traction can be used if accomplished later. Local anesthesia is infiltrated over the crown to aid in hemostasis and hydrodissection. A full-thickness mucoperiosteal window is created directly over the tooth, and the soft tissue is removed. The remaining bone overlying the crown is removed with a curette or rotary instrumentation down to the cementoenamel junction, being careful not to damage the root surface. The dental follicle is then removed, and a surgical dressing can be packed in the window for patient comfort. If spontaneous eruption is not anticipated, an orthodontic bracket may be bonded to the crown and secured to the arch wire with a chain or suture. If adequate bone is removed and the tooth is uncovered early enough (late mixed dentition), the tooth will usually spontaneously erupt to the level of the occlusal plane in 6 to 8 months. Orthodontic bracketing can then be accomplished and the tooth brought into correct occlusion.
Exposure of a labially positioned canine is often accomplished using an apically positioned flap. This procedure is indicated if there is insufficient attached gingiva in the edentulous area to provide a 2- to 3-mm cuff around the erupting tooth and should only be performed if the impacted tooth is near the alveolus. In high impaction cases, the use of an apically positioned flap can result in significant reintrusion of the impacted tooth after orthodontic therapy. Before surgery adequate arch space for eruption is usually obtained by the orthodontist. After local anesthesia, vertical releasing incisions are made on either side of the edentulous space with the base wider than the apex. A horizontal incision is made over the edentulous alveolar ridge, connecting the two vertical incisions and incorporating attached gingiva. A full-thickness mucoperiosteal flap is then reflected apically past the level of the impacted tooth. Bone is removed as necessary from around the crown, and an orthodontic bracket and chain can be attached if spontaneous eruption is not anticipated. The flap is then sutured apically to allow for simultaneous descent with the tooth during orthodontic traction ( Figure 10-7 ).
A, Impacted maxillary canine positioned apical to the mucogingival line (dotted line). B, Apically repositioned flap after exposure of maxillary canine.
The closed eruption technique is used for high palatal or labially impacted teeth in which excisional uncovering or apically positioned flaps would be difficult or result in periodontal compromise. With the closed eruption technique, the impacted tooth is exposed in the manner described previously, and an attachment is fixated to the tooth and connected to a chain, which is sutured to the archwire for later activation. The flap is replaced with the chain exiting near the alveolar ridge space where the tooth is expected to erupt. The orthodontist then uses the chain to apply traction on the impacted tooth after 2 weeks of healing and forces eruption into the arch ( Figure 10-8 ).
A, High impaction of maxillary canine. B, Exposure and attachment of orthodontic bracket and chain. C, Repositioned flap for closed eruption.
In a 30-patient study comparing labially impacted teeth treated with apically positioned flaps against those treated with the closed eruption technique, Vermette, Kokich, and Kennedy found that more periodontal and aesthetic disadvantages can be expected with the apically positioned flap technique. Those treated with apically positioned flaps were shown to have clinically increased crown lengths, gingival scarring, and intrusive relapse when compared with the closed eruption group.
Premolar impactions are more common in the mandible than maxilla and occur more often in the center of the alveolus and lingually than buccally. If the impactions are a result of an arch length discrepancy, extraction should be considered after consultation with the patient's orthodontist ( Figure 10-9 ).
Radiograph demonstrating an impacted maxillary second premolar with associated resorption of the first molar roots.
When adequate space exists to accommodate moving the tooth into the arch, the impacted premolar can be treated with the same techniques as described for the impacted canine.
IMPACTED INCISORS
Impacted maxillary incisors are commonly the result of premature loss of the primary incisors or trauma. The impacted tooth is radiographed, as described previously, to both localize the tooth and determine root development. If root development is not complete, soft and hard tissue removal is often adequate to promote spontaneous eruption. If root formation is complete or the inclination of the tooth is expected to prevent normal eruption, exposure should include bonding of an orthodontic bracket and chain to allow for traction.
IMPACTED MOLARS
Impactions of permanent first and second molars are rare, but can have a devastating effect on the dentition. If left untreated, the resulting periodontal defects, caries, and resorption can leave a patient without a functioning posterior dentition. Intervention before complete root formation is paramount to a successful outcome.
Asymmetric first molar eruption patterns should raise suspicion and warrant radiographic exam before age 7. After the age of 7, spontaneous first molar eruption is considered impossible. Treatment options of unerupted molars include surgical exposure and uprighting, extraction with implant replacement, or a combined surgical and orthodontic correction. Orthodontic correction is often complicated from limited access of the impacted tooth and insufficient anchorage, although with the current advances in orthodontic anchorage, this is becoming less of a problem. Patient compliance is also a concern because of the increased treatment time required to correct a problem that often presents itself in the later phases of orthodontic care.
Surgical uprighting of a mesially inclined second molar provides a quick and predictable answer to these problems if performed at the right time. This procedure is best accomplished when two-thirds of root formation have been completed. Before that, stabilization of the second molar in its new position can be compromised. If performed after root development is completed, a restricted blood supply from the constricted apical foramen can result in pulpal necrosis.
The surgical procedure for uprighting a mandibular second molar is described as follows: An incision is made along the external oblique line of the mandible from the anterior border of the ramus to the distal of the first molar and carried anteriorly as an intrasulcular incision to the mesial extent of the first molar. A full-thickness mucoperiosteal flap is reflected, and the developing third molar is removed in a standard fashion being careful to preserve the mesial bone. The remaining bone overlying the mesially inclined second molar is cautiously removed, and a straight elevator is used to apply judicious uprighting force on the second molar, using the buccal bone as a fulcrum. Special attention is directed at not violating the integrity of the second molar root and periodontal ligament. Uprighting is continued until the mesial marginal ridge of the second molar is level with the distal marginal ridge of the first molar. A wedgelike effect is created between the lingual and buccal cortices, and this is usually sufficient to stabilize the second molar in its new position. If stability is still a concern, an orthodontic bracket and archwire may be used to secure the tooth in the immediate postoperative phase. Occlusion is then verified, the incision is irrigated and closed, and a postoperative panoramic radiograph is taken to evaluate the position of the second molar.
Complications from surgically uprighting molars can include pulpal necrosis, root fracture, dilacerations, internal and external resorption, and periodontal complications. However, in Dessner's retrospective study of 34 patients treated by surgical uprighting of mandibular second molars, 31 showed complete bony fill of the space previously occupied by the crown of the uprighted tooth. Only 12 of the 34 teeth showed pulpal changes, and there was no incidence of a periapical pathologic condition.
AUTOTRANSPLANTATION VERSUS EXTRACTION
Autotransplantation of impacted teeth is an acceptable alternative for patients who will not tolerate extensive orthodontic treatment. The need to minimize orthodontic treatment for patients with periodontally compromised teeth or poor dental hygiene is also a valid reason to perform autotransplantation. Sagne and Thailander were able to successfully transplant 54 of 56 canines. The technique involves ensuring adequate arch space at the recipient site before surgery. Wide exposure of the impacted tooth is accomplished followed by careful luxation from its crypt. Care is directed at not disrupting the periodontal ligament. The alveolar bone at the recipient site is conservatively contoured, and the tooth is moved into position and stabilized with a segmental orthodontic appliance. Endodontic treatment is advocated at 6 to 8 weeks beginning with calcium hydroxide paste. Conventional root canal filling is performed at 1 year following surgery. Complications associated with autotransplanted teeth are devitalization, decreased root length, periodontal compromise, and root resorption.
The decision to surgically remove an impacted tooth is considered when no other treatment is feasible. Many factors should be considered including the age of the patient, associated pathologic conditions, severity of the impaction, and the morbidity associated with a given procedure. Radiographic localization should be accomplished before removal. Anterior teeth are approached from the surface of the maxilla, with which they are most closely associated. Labially impacted teeth can usually be removed with judicious force from a dental elevator. Care is taken to avoid excessive force on developing tooth buds or adjacent roots. A full-thickness flap without release is used to expose impacted teeth on the palate. If wide access is anticipated, a palatal stent can be fabricated before surgery and placed after closure to prevent hematoma formation. Conservative bone removal with crown and root sectioning is accomplished. Longitudinal sectioning of the root can often be helpful to minimize the amount of bone removal.
Extraction of impacted premolars can be challenging because of limited access, adjacent roots, the maxillary sinus, or the mental nerve in the mandible. Extraction of maxillary bicuspids is accomplished in a similar fashion to anterior maxillary teeth. Mandibular bicuspids are usually approached from the buccal surface. When mandibular premolars are located on the buccal aspect, a buccal flap is used to gain access, the mental nerve is identified and protected, and the tooth is sectioned and delivered. When access is limited as a result of a lingually impacted premolar, buccal and lingual flaps are used, and once again the mental nerve is identified and protected. Bone is conservatively removed from the buccal surface of the mandible, and the tooth is sectioned and removed from the lingual aspect. A blunt osteotome or straight elevator can sometimes be used to "push" the premolar out the lingual cortex from the buccal. Care must be taken not to damage adjacent roots or the neurovascular bundle.
ADVANCES IN ORTHODONTIC ANCHORAGE
Orthodontic treatment is a complex process that involves the transmission of constant force to teeth to move them into proper alignment within the alveolus. Anchorage control to counteract these forces is the cornerstone of treatment and is often the limiting factor when deciding to treat a case with orthodontics alone or in combination with surgery. In particular intrusion of posterior teeth to correct an anterior open bite and distal movement of posterior teeth to correct a class 2 or 3 malocclusion presents significant anchorage challenges.
To supplement orthodontic anchorage, various intraoral and extraoral appliances have been used with varying degrees of success. Headgear, lip bumpers, Herbst appliances, magnets, and multiloop edgewise archwires have been used to maximize orthodontic anchorage. Unfortunately, these devices are cumbersome and become ineffective when patient cooperation fades. Surgical correction of skeletal malocclusions is often indicated for these patients, but declined for various social and economic reasons. Advances in skeletal orthodontic anchorage over the past 25 years have revealed other options for these patients.
PEDIATRIC PHARMACOSEDATION AND GENERAL ANESTHESIA
Autogenous tooth transplantation in a severely insufficient alveolar ridge without a bone graft: Two case reports
CRANIOMAXILLOFACIAL SURGERY FOR PATHOLOGY IN THE PEDIATRIC PATIENT
MANAGEMENT OF THE CLEFT MAXILLA
Use of buccal fat pad as a pedicled graft for maxillary reconstruction in a 6-months old with juvenile aggressive ossifying fibroma
Severe complication after autotransplantation of bilateral palatal impacted maxillary canines: a lesson to learn
REVISION SURGERY FOR CLEFT MALFORMATIONS
Tags: Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
Jun 3, 2016 | Posted by drzezo in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery | Comments Off on PEDIATRIC DENTOALVEOLAR SURGERY


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Leaked report paints grim picture of poverty in SVG
Updated: 28 Oct 2020 - 10:14PM
The main opposition New Democratic Party (NDP), on Wednesday, circulated to the media a leaked copy of the 2018 poverty assessment, which shows that between 2008 and 2018, poverty in St. Vincent and the Grenadines had moved from 30.2% to 36.1% of the population.
What's more, the indigence level had moved from 2.9% to 11.3% in the country of 110,000 people.
Further, 45.4% of the population were at risk of sliding into poverty, down from 48.2% a decade earlier, the only category in which there was favourable movement.
The report shows that the nation's rich are getting richer even as the poor decline into further poverty and that the wages that the government pays to some categories of workers, including Youth Empowerment Services (YES) staff, were below the poverty line.
The Poverty Assessment Report is produced every 10 years and the opposition had made several attempts in Parliament, before its Oct. 9 dissolution, to get Minister of Finance Camillo Gonsalves, to release the data.
"It's a troubling report," Opposition Leader Godwin Friday told an NDP press conference on Wednesday, where the figures were released.
Friday, who is making his first attempt to become prime minister, called on the Ralph Gonsalves Unity Labour Party (ULP) government to "do their obligation to the people, to, basically, level with them and tell them what the conditions are, and explain why we are at the point where we are now".
At the same press conference, NDP chairman and incumbent MP for West Kingstown said that the government had ordered the staff preparing the report to halt work on it in early 2019.
And Friday said that the government must tell the people why the report was not completed and published — as had been the case previously — "so that we can know where we are, so that there's validation amongst the people as to what their condition is".
The opposition leader said that the report shows that people are not simply complaining in the absence of hardships, as a ULP supporter had told him while he was campaigning in Clare Valley recently.
"…their (the government's) own assessment proves that the pain that people are feeling, the expressions of hardship that we see around the country are real," Friday said.
"And it is urgent because if you can imagine now that with COVID-19, that the situation has deteriorated dramatically. And when I called on the Parliament to put the money where the pain is, that is no idle request. The pain is real. And it is growing according to the government's statistics."
Friday was responding to his criticism of how the government had allocated funds in a supplementary budget, passed with opposition support, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The report defines the Poverty Line as the minimum expenditure required by an individual/household to meet their basic food and non-food needs.
And, in 2018, the annual poverty line had increased by EC$1,024 over the previous decade, reaching to EC$6,547.
The report further states that the Indigent/food line is based on the minimum amount of money needed to purchase some basic food bundle.
Households or persons unable to meet the cost of obtaining these basic food items are categorised as critically poor, indigent or food poor.
And, to stay above the poverty line, a household had to generate EC$6,547 annually, EC$1,024 more than it did in 2008, to stay above the poverty line.
And in 2018, a household needed to generate EC$696 more annually than it did in 2008, for a total of EC$3,142, to avoid falling into indigence.
The annual non-food line had increased by EC$328 to EC$3,405, the report said.
The data show that in 2008, a household had to generate income of at least EC$204 per adult per month to live above the indigence line, while the figure had risen by EC$58 per month in 2018, reaching EC$262.
And, in order to avoid falling below the poverty vulnerability line, EC$107 more was needed monthly in 2018, for a total of EC$682, compared to EC$575 in 2008, the vulnerability line being 1.25 times the poverty line.
The report says that the 2017 labour force shows that 11.8% of the population was living in households reporting having fewer meals as a result of lack of money or resources.
This figure mirrors that of the 2018 indigent population.
And, when 30 days was used as the reference point, the 2017 labour force shows that 24.2% of the population was living in households which reported having fewer meals as a result of lack of money or resources.
This figure is close to that of 2018, with the reference being 12 months.
Cummings said:
"This information was made available to the government of this country for a long time and their response was to make sure the population never sees it.
"We thank God that there are responsible persons in this country who understand the importance of the public being aware of this information and have made it possible, by an angelic intervention, for us to be able to bring it to you today," Cummings said.
Cummings reiterated that the data point to the situation before the COVID-19 pandemic.
"And this is as at 2018. I keep making the point," he said, noting that the report had put the vulnerability index near 50%.
"I just want to reiterate, this report, this study, was done well in advance of COVID. And everybody knows St. Vincent's economy has nosedived since COVID so you can imagine what the figures would be if this study were done today. It is frightening," Cummings said.
The opposition held the press conference weeks after Cummings threatened to release the information if the government did not, and after he began citing section of the report during the campaign for the Nov. 5 general elections.
Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves, speaking at a campaign event after Cummings first gave specific figures, said that poverty had fallen under his administration but gave no particular numbers to support this, as he had done after the 2008 poverty assessment.
6 replies on "Leaked report paints grim picture of poverty in SVG"
James H says:
29th October 2020 at 4:38 AM
Is anyone in SVG surprised by these dreadful figures? Poverty and Unemployment are surely directly related, therefore, what a tragedy it is for the people of St Vincent and the Grenadines, to have a selfish deluded tyrant and his family in charge of SVG Limited.
This self-styled "papa" we know, mirrors the behaviours of the Communist Kim's in North Korea, former Mao of China, the Castro's of Cuba and the unworkable communist policies of his friends in Venezuela. And surely we see what unemployment and poverty such policies had caused to those countries people too.
Can we not learn from their tragic history? Must Vincentians remain dunce to the tragedy of national unemployment and gross poverty and who is causing such?
None of this is a surprise to me. Many of us have been seeing this coming for over 10 years, some from even before that. There is so much VERY WRONG with our economics in SVG and any warnings to make necessary changes have been ignored.
Some people on this site have said that many of us never bring up solutions: UNTRUE!
The very WORST THING one can do is constantly raise taxes. Remember at the 2008 global economic crisis our government cut concessions: BAD MOVE! All the entities building hotels in the country stopped and left taking the jobs and future prospects with them, to INTELLIGENT COUNTRIES LIKE SINGAPORE that instead LOWERED TAXES!
Our Corporate Income tax should be no higher than 21% (I would have it at 15%). The "public sector" ( I call it the government sector because it has little to do with the "public") Is far too large. Why do we need 5 Vincentians to do the job and accomplish the amount of work that One person does in most efficient countries? The problem is that releasing all these people creates more unemployment so it is necessary to have a place for them to go in the private sector. In order for the private sector to create jobs the government sector has to provide an environment for the private sector to prosper. This is not done by raising taxes and taking the lion's share of all the profits! Government has to (AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE):
CREATE AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE PROSPERITY IS INEVITABLE AND POVERTY IS IMPOSSIBLE!
Instead they have been doing the opposite.
I could go on and on about implementing what I see as needed changes but the reader should already be getting the point. Government may want to try to see how they can get prosperity to the people instead of trying to get prosperity for the government because, as we see…We eventually get neither!
In real society (as opposed to socialist fantasy) prosperity is determined by the size and wealth of the middle-class not by the wealth of the government or the amount of people on poor relief. Here government seems to want a larger lower-class. Just see the manifesto of the ULP. Where does one think all the money comes from to do all these things they WANT to do but are rarely able?….The money comes from more and more taxes, primarily from the middle-class, destroying the ability of businesses and causing a bigger and bigger lower-class. So much in SVG is done the wrong way. Even Pryme Grants does not create opportunity for all. It unfairly gives free money to the "chosen". Better to drastically lower taxes than try to create favoritism in an environment that cannot sustain most new businesses. Most of these businesses will not even be able to export because the world does not want to pay for the higher cost it takes to produce anything in SVG; driven-up by high taxes because overseas markets would rather buy elsewhere.
Some high people in government could benefit from a class in Classical Economics 101 instead of Socialism fantasies 499.
I thank Kenton for this site where we can all educate eachother through comments, and possibly those in government as well, that seem to have gotten an INDOCTRINATION instead of an education. If they care about this country they should realize what they have been doing is not working. If they have not realized that by now…
Lovebird says:
Here we go again .what next people what next you need to hear and know to ,try something different times up people we give them ULP all the time they need to do right by we the people but they ulp make things worst and worst , TIME FOR A CHANGE PEOPLE WAKE UP LISTEN AND THINK FOR YOUR SELF
Quo Vadis says:
Stalin called together his closest comrades-in-arms. "I understand you're wondering how I govern the people so that every last one of them … thinks of me as a living god. Now I'll teach you the right attitude toward the people." And he ordered a chicken brought in. He plucked it live, in front of them all, down to the last feather, down to the red flesh, until only the comb was left on its head. "And now watch," he said, and let the chicken go. It could have gone off where it wished, but it went nowhere. It was too hot in the sun and too cold in the shade. The poor bird could only press itself against Stalin's boots. And then he tossed it a crumb of grain, and the bird followed him wherever he went. Otherwise, it would have fallen over from hunger. "That," he told his pupils, "is how you govern our people."
A King says:
Where is the report??? Who or what company wrote it? ⭐
31st October 2020 at 8:04 PM
Quo vadis, I believe every word, in your comment, I think something is truly wrong with some of us black poor people, something is seriously wrong.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: Run an application and quit it after rendering on PyQt5 I would like to render SVG files with PyQt5.
The simplest way to do that is to use QSvgGenerator applied on a QPainter object.
However, for some reason I have to render text in the output SVG file. To do that, having a QApplication running is compulsory because some components initialized during the execution of QApplication are needed. Otherwise, QPainter.drawText() methods end in a SEGFAULT.
I'm now able to generate text in my SVG file by creating a QSvgWidget object with handles the painting through the paintEvent method.
If I just run the application with the exec_ method, everything works fine. However I'm only interested in generating the SVG, so I don't want to be forced to close the main window with my mouse (I'd like to run my program on a headless server). Here is my base code:
app = QApplication(sys.argv)
drawer = MyDrawerClass()
drawer.show()
app.exec_()

and MyDrawerClass inheritates from QSvgWidget and implements printEvent method which is successfully called when executing the app.
So my question is: Is there a way to run the app a headless way and quit it after everything is rendered? I read a few things on QTimer but I can't find any example which suits my usage.

A: I assume you're referring to the approach used in your previous question.
Some painter capabilities require that a QGuiApplication is constructed before using them, and drawing text is amongst them, since it depends on the system's own GUI management (default fonts, DPI, etc). Usually one would use a standard QApplication, but, as reported in the documentation:

For "non-QWidget based Qt applications, use QGuiApplication instead,
  as it does not depend on the QtWidgets library".

This will make the creation of a QGuiApplication faster and lighter.
Unfortunately, a running display is mandatory for Q[Gui]Applications, so you will not be able to run it on a headless server, unless at least a minimal virtual X server is active. If you can manage to do that, the following example should work fine.
def createImage(width=400, height=400):
    rect = QRect(0, 0, width, height)
    generator = QSvgGenerator()
    generator.setFileName("test.svg")
    generator.setSize(rect.size())
    generator.setViewBox(rect)
    painter = QPainter(generator)
    painter.fillRect(rect, Qt.black)
    textRect = QRect(0, 0, 200, 200)
    textRect.moveCenter(rect.center())
    painter.setPen(Qt.white)
    painter.setBrush(Qt.darkGray)
    painter.drawRect(textRect)
    painter.drawText(textRect, Qt.AlignCenter, 'test')
    painter.end()

if __name__ == "__main__":
    app = QGuiApplication(sys.argv)
    createImage()

Since there's no need for an event loop (because there's no GUI interaction), you don't have to actually exec_(), and the program will automatically exit as soon as the paint function is returned.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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The Mayor of Tamale, Hon Iddrisu Musah Superior has tagged Fancy Gadam's talent as waste and a threat to the people of Tamale.
His comment follows the gory motor accident in Tamale on Friday, June 29 which saw at least the demise of eight (8) persons including his fans and two (2) Zylofon Media staff.
According to the Metropolitan Chief who believes the 'Yaka Chana' singer is the cause of the unfortunate accident added that he won't be allowed to wield innocent souls as objects of sacrifice.
"The talent of this young man is a danger to the people of Tamale. Why do you want to mobilise young [innocent] people on the streets just because you want to make profits. You want to use the blood of the people to make money? We won't tolerate that," Hon Iddrisu said.
"I have banned all musical concerts at the stadium. No more musical concerts till further notice," he added.
He also revealed that he has cautioned Fancy Gadam, real name Mujahid Ahmed Bello and his team but all efforts have proved futile.
"Why would Fancy Gadam do that? Such an irresponsible lawless young man — full of talent is waste and a danger to the people of Tamale," he added.
Fancy Gadam was preparing for his concert with Nigeria's Patoranking in Tamale, precisely the Aliu Mahama Stadium on Saturday, June 30 when the accident occurred.


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text:
Murdered 2012
Cathy has been preparing herself since early morning. She is about to celebrate her daughter Eva's 20th birthday. But on this very day, Cathy's life is turned upside-down with the shocking news that her daughter has been murdered. At first devastated and lost when faced with the workings of the police and the justice system, Cathy becomes determined to fight to know the truth...
Stars: Patricia Kaas, Serge Hazanavicius, Marie Vincent, Jean-Paul Comart, Nicolas Jouhet
Director: Thierry Binisti
Bungo Stray Dogs: Dead Apple (2018)
The Saint (2017)
Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021)
The Point Men (2023)
Yaksha: Ruthless Operations (2022)
Special Delivery (2022)
Stillwater (2021)
Nobody (2021)
The Legacy of the Bones (2019)
S.W.A.T. (2019)
Night in Paradise (2020)
The Courier (2019)
Force of Nature (2020)
The Little Things (2021)
Copyright © 2023 bemovies.club | All rights reserved


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Here's a story about a dad. And a tree.
It's about a battle that went on for two days.
I play disc golf every day. Rain or shine. Mud or drought.
I've canned shots from 45 yards, through a gauntlet of branches. I've missed putts from distances so short I could have peed on the disc catcher. I've ripped up a course one day, flung a disc in the lake the next.
I play to clear my mind. I play to get vitamin D out in the sun. I play to exert myself and problem-solve among the oaks and woodpeckers. And around the stoners and nature-center-play-date moms.
Noise has invaded my game. With noise between your ears, your throws disrupt nests and stream beds. I gritted my teeth through cable-TV-worthy curse words and looked to the heavens for answers on a bad day.
And that's when I saw it – a red disc, wedged high in a tree.
A free disc. Nothing can turn around a bad week of disc golf like adding someone else's disc to your bag.
I took aim with a blue disc, a Valkyrie that Elise uses. I came thisclose.
The Valkyrie stuck in the branches with the red disc.
Now, I had two discs to rescue.
That disc got stuck, too.
Both my discs were up there, with some downtrodden teenager's. Time to go home?
Not for a dad, it's not. Not for this dad, especially.
We dads try and fix a lawnmower by hitting hit, harder.We won't give up on opening that bottle of nail polish for you, even at the expense of a hernia. We're about turf battles and hard-headedness.
That irrational resolve came into play. It's dad drive, or dummy drive.
You can't tell which it is until it's all over.
I rummaged through the trunk. Jumper cables. Dress socks. Soccer balls.
I stomped back toward my arbor nemesis, and chucked the size 3 baby blue ball at the ransomed discs. Branches flew. Mud splattered. The orange disc fell. Yes!
Remember those trees that lunged at and molested Snow White?
This was such a tree.
It wrapped its knobby arms around that undersized football and flexed its muscles at me.
Evil tree 3, Dad 1.
It was time to go. Or was it?
I stewed a little overnight.
Louisville Sluggers? Made of wood. So are my cutting boards. Even those fancy q-tips we once had. No idea where those came from. Definitely not the dollar store.
I told the girls what happened.
"I love that disc!" Elise complained. "I love that soccer ball!" Grace added.
The next day, I stopped at Walmart for my weapon of choice: A baseball. The $1.77 variety. I wanted to prove I could vanquish my rooted rival with the lowest-brow baseball Wal-mart offered.
(And I wanted to leave enough in the checking account for a victory burrito at Taco Bell afterward).
I imagined a stiff breeze had freed my soccer ball overnight. It fell at the feet of an immigrant boy from Bangladesh who would get naturalized and become a savior for USA Soccer. I can live with that.
I took aim and fired. And missed.
To chuck most of his possessions up a tree will do that to a man.
I now appreciate my Colorado Rockies' inability to hit the cutoff man all the time.
I now appreciate David's view against Goliath. And how Tom Cruise looked silly next to Katie Holmes.
Then my eyes narrowed. My resolve galvanized.
And I let 'er rip one more time.
Trees are majestic. They provide shelter for God's wee creatures. Shade for my people during their landscaping lunch breaks. They're whittled and splintered to give us popsicle sticks.
A tree represents Stanford University athletics. Awkwardly, but yes.
But a tree can't stand between a dad and his discs.
Can a dad's resolve change the world? Maybe. Can it help him retrieve what's his, and also things that aren't? Definitely.
The strike I fired to free both discs at once sailed unscathed through all branches. The tree seemed to bow in reverence and graceful defeat as the discs plopped to the mud at my feet.
I tipped my Rockies cap, and gave her a loving pat on the trunk.
This was a story about a dad. And a tree.
And a look at what might seem to be jackassery from cars passing by.
But, mainly it's about a dad.
LOL I had to laugh, but you did it!
If anyone saw me, they'd have laughed, too.
Great story 🙂 Have a beautiful week!!!
Mate, if that's your approach to life as well, then you are doing okay. I would have come back with my chain saw.
Foolish persistence – it's the name of my game. It was a fair fight without the chainsaw, because she could fling a branch down on my head if she wanted to.
Hmm, I didn't think about falling branches.
As I told Laurie, it's often foolish persistence, but where there's a will … there's a good story if you fail, at least. Thanks for sharing it!
She was a worthy opponent, and very proud.
This epic tale has inspired and equipped me to meet the week's obstacles with persistence, ingenuity, and grace. Thank you, Dad. Thank you, Tree.
I'm honored – it was just one dude and one tree, but while I was in it, it definitely felt like something bigger to me. Thank you, Ann.
Thanks Janine! I'm just glad a mockingbird hadn't taken up residence there … or my eyes might have gotten pecked out.
There are dads out there training for triathlons and cooking soup for the homeless, though. I just have a fun story to tell and kids to take pictures of my Star Wars figures and commandeered golf discs!
I knew this was going to have a good ending (minus the soccer ball but….)!!! I have witnessed a similar situation more than once in my own backyard. It is amazing how many items boys/men are willing to risk to prove a point!!!
Thanks for the vote of confidence, Kim! It goes back to the question, why did the man climb the mountain? Because it was there.
I knew you'd do it!
The stormtroopers knew too! And wait, how did you get those photos with them in there?
Thanks Tamara. The stormtroopers thought they were on Endor for those shots! (The girls and I recreated the tree scene for photographic representation).
I love this, I could so see my own dad or husband doing the same thing!! Congratulations!
Thanks Kathy – we just don't like to give up, and situations like this bring out our innovative side.
Sometimes, you have to call time out and make a new plan. Thanks Jenn – I wonder if I'd gotten a not-so-favorite disc stuck, if I'd have done the same.
It was my Mexican heritage that made me think it was a good idea to go after the 'free' disc in the first place!
Dude – seriously, you need to come up here for the Lumber Jack Games and try some Tree Climbing. I promise you, it's a thing. I think the record is somewhere around 13 seconds, but don't quote me.
The lowest branches were still too high for a 5-6 guy like me. Plus, a lumberjack might have just taken the tree down, right? I should have kept track on how many total throws it took to win.
The recipe for persistence calls for a cup and a half of stubbornness, you know.
haha – great story! My husband would have kept at it too. He once looked for our daughter's soccer ball in a field of tall weeds for over an hour. He never did find the darn thing, and he was so mad because it was a brand new ball…I had to convince him to give it up (plus I was getting tired of looking). If he'd been on his own, he would have come back with it 5 hours later.
Thanks Michelle! Maybe it's that male trait that leads us to hot-dog eating contests, arm-wrestling challenges and the desire to have the biggest gas grill on the block.
Of course, the same juice probably powers us to pursue our mates.
Giving up seems so – unmanly. I'd have done the same thing with the soccer ball. It has to be there somewhere. As long as there's daylight .. and well, after that, there's flashlights. Always a plan.
My husband would have done the same thing! 'No tree will defeat me'! I can see it all very, very clearly. A really great story….good job, Dad!
Dude unite! We've been battling nature since we wore woolly mammoth boxer briefs. I'm just proud to follow my cro magnon brethren! Thanks Sandy.
I truly wish there were a video of this story! Maybe you could re-create it and film it.
And maybe the guy who lost the disc is who has your ball. My theory is that he came back while you were gone and that's all he managed to rescue!
It would have needed a censor beeper that probably would have fried out. I forgot to mention all the F-bombs that flew in the forest.
Maybe you're right about the cat who got my ball – and he's probably written a blog about it, too. And to think, I left nothing in the tree for the next bloke.
That's about the same amount of stubbornness that I would have and just as many swear words! Too funny. Well, at least you got what you originally came for. LOL! That little boy from Bangladesh thanks you!
Swear words fuel the soul in those situations, don't they? Those discs were coming down – if it was the last thing I ever did on this earth.
I lost a soccer ball, but gained a disc. That's like a win. Oh, and in 10 years, when the U.S. wins the World Cup with my little Bangladeshi warrior, the cycle will be complete.
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Lynn is a freelance Learning and Development Consultant providing both Leadership training and development coaching to senior leaders in large, international corporations. This has proved to be excellent grounding when working on some of the unusual challenges involved in the production of the interesting and innovative work of The Sound Ideas Theatre Company.
Production credits include NYE: A Night at the Musicals, Attack of the Theatre People, Songs in the Wrong Order (Maddermarket Theatre) the East Anglian premier of the splash-hit musical Urinetown, Into The Woods at Norwich Playhouse and Sweeney Todd, The Warehouse Experience.
Daniel is a freelance graphic designer and joint artistic director of Sound Ideas Theatre Company.
Performance roles include: Ensemble, Sweeney Todd (Norwich Theatre Royal and The Shoe Factory); George, The Wedding Singer; Principle Cast Member, Godspell; Seasons of Love soloist, RENT! (Norwich Playhouse).
Production credits include: Director and Designer, Sweeney Todd (The Shoe Factory); Director and Designer, Into The Woods (Norwich Playhouse); Director and Choreographer, Urinetown (Maddermarket); Director, The MV Xmas Show '15 (Open); Production Designer, Grease (Norwich Playhouse); Director and Designer, I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change (Sewell Barn.
April Nash is a proud co-founder and creative director of Sound Ideas Theatre Company.
Training: Centre Stage School of Dance.
Roles includes: Mrs Lovett, Sweeney Todd (Sound Ideas Theatre Co); Baker's Wife, Into The Woods (Sound Ideas Theatre Co); Little Becky Two-Shoes, Urinetown (Sound Ideas Theatre Co); Kate Monster, Avenue Q (Threshold Theatre Co); various characters, I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change (Mixed Voice); Oolie/ Donna, City of Angels (Threshold Theatre Co); Julia Sullivan, The Wedding Singer (Threshold Theatre Co); Girl #1, Rent (Mixed Voice); Liz, Billy Liar (Westacre Theatre Co); Cabaret and Little Shop of Horrors (Westacre Theatre Co); Jewel, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (Westacre Theatre Co).
Artemis has been a member of Sound Ideas Theatre Company since the very first concert back in 2013 at The Lounge on St Benedicts and has been the company's resident Musical Director for all projects since.
Artemis has a wealth of experience, from directing one of Norfolk's finest big bands, being Musical Director for a strong of musicals and running a highly acclaimed jazz trio.
Alongside this, Artemis has focused on honing and developing his musical composition voice. He has written music for a number of independent films and projects. His music can also be found in jingles for adverts such as DCM 's cinema ad.
Dave Myers has gained experience in recent years as a lighting and sound technician at the Maddermarket Theatre working on 18 in house plays and over 60 external one night productions ranging from tribute bands to stand-up comedy and burlesque. He has also stage managed Allo Allo, What The Butler Saw, Bronte and Beaux Stragegem. He has crewed for Norfolk Youth Music Theatre in 21 full musicals and taken [TITLE OF SHOW] to the Edinburgh Fringe as Stage Manager and Producer.
In addition to his work at the Maddermarket, he has crewed and stage managed for Mixed Voice (I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change, Grease and The Christmas Show), Sound Ideas, The Great Hall Theatre Company as well as Notre Dame, Norwich School and Wymondham College high schools. In his spare time he sleeps!
Matt has worked extensively as a lighting designer and programmer across the UK and internationally in all areas of performance.
Recent projects: Stars of Strictly Come Dancing, Lighting Designer (UK Tour); Cinderella, Lighting Designer (Kings Lynn Corn Exchange); Sleeping Beauty, Lighting Designer (The Crowns Theatre, Hull); Blickling Hall Christmas, Lighting Designer (Blickling Hall); Into The Woods, Lighting Designer; West Side Story, Lighting Designer (Norwich Playhouse).
Other credits include: Grease (Lighting Designer), Godspell (Lighting Designer); I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change (Lighting Designer); RENT (Lighting Designer); Celebrity Cruises & Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines (Programmer); Talking Heads (Lighting Designer); The Rocky Horror Show (Lighting Designer).


text:
Rural school at the top of the leader board in Nantwich
Sound and District Primary School came out on top in an assessment of average point scores in SATS
Rhiannon Hilton
09:22, 1 MAR 2016
Updated 09:30, 1 MAR 2016
Pupil Nyla Roladuro, six, celebrates with her friends (Image: Mark Waugh)
Newly released exam statistics have placed Sound and District Primary School at the top of the leader board in Nantwich for the second year running.
A recent assessment of average point scores in SATS placed the rural school first in Nantwich and among the best in the country. Also, in terms of value added scores, the results placed Sound in the top 2% of primary schools in England for all subjects, in the top 1% for maths and in the top 3% for reading.
The statistics are based on the progress made by Year 6 pupils when measured from Key Stage One to Key Stage Two.
It???s the second year in a row that the Whitchurch Road school has been the best performing primary in Nantwich.
Anthony Shuker, chairman of the school???s board of governors, said: ???I am genuinely honoured to be working with a dedicated, hardworking and enthusiastic team; with teachers, teaching assistants and support staff who inspire our children and allow them to realise their potential, shine for all to see, and grow into extraordinary young people.
???Our school has young people that we can all be proud of. I know I am. Praise must be given to the children, the support of parents and carers and to the leadership team at the school.???
Following its latest inspection, Ofsted inspectors said pupils and parents agreed that the school is a ???safe and exciting place to learn??? and that relationships are excellent, behaviour is good and attendance is high.
Headteacher Jo Grundy said: ???Like Dr Shuker, I am also very proud of our collective achievements and it is wonderful to be able to celebrate such academic success. At Sound we believe that all children should be encouraged to reach their greatest expectations, not only academically but also intellectually, creatively, emotionally and physically.
???We do our utmost to ensure that excellence is strived for in all aspects and that our children make the most of every opportunity. We want them to become confident, articulate, caring members of our community and good citizens of the future.???


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I have a correct credentials (domain administrator) and my server is domain member.
I am never working with HP SIM before. Has anyone encountered this error? Can anyone help me ?
I have a similar problem on StoreEasy with Server 2012, to solve it, just right click and "Run as Administrator"
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text:
Very Extremely Dangerous
Very Extremely Dangerous (2013)
— 85 min - Documentary - 4 May 2013
Jerry McGill slipped from a rock'n'roll career into a life of crime, robbing banks and running from the FBI while touring with legends of country music and appearing in movies. After three jail sentences (under two different names), aged 70 and suffering from terminal cancer, he announced his return to recording. We followed a heavily armed McGill and his fiance Joyce through four states as he stole whatever's not nailed down and charmed his way into and out of trouble. But when you point a camera at a man who will do anything for notoriety, how responsible are you when he goes too far?
Director: Paul Duane
Stars: Jerry McGill
Collections: Screenworks, Paul Duane
Production Companies: Screenworks


text:
Stray Light Analysis
How to build a spectrometer – Stray Light Analysis
Spectroscopy is a non-invasive technique and one of the most powerful tools available to study tissues, plasmas and materials. In this article, stray light occurring in a lens-grating-lens (LGL) spectrometer built of commercially available optical elements is examined. The article covers the conversion of a spectrometer setup from sequential to non-sequential mode, the design of a simple casing and the quantitative analysis of light scattered to the casing and light contaminating the spectrometer's line camera.
Authored By Lorenz Martin
Even when a spectrometer has been optimized in terms of optical conception, its performance can be deteriorated by stray light. Stray light may be scattered away laterally from the optical path leading to a loss of power. Another unwanted effect is stray light contaminating pixels on the spectrometer's line camera other than the one related to a dedicated wavelength.
Conversion of an LGL spectrometer from sequential to non-sequential mode
The spectrometer we analyze in terms of stray light effects has been set up and optimized as described in the Knowledgebase article "How to build a spectrometer – implementation". It is also in this article where the technical details and specifications of the spectrometer are explained. The spectrometer has the following shape:
The spectrometer is of the lens-grating-lens (LGL) type and made of off-the-shelf optical elements. The bandwidth ranges from 855 nm to 905 nm and has been chosen for application in Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT).
In OpticStudio, the stray light analysis is carried out in non-sequential mode. As opposed to sequential mode, OpticStudio launches a large number of rays and traces their way through the spectrometer including ray and power splitting. So, as a first step, we convert the spectrometer from sequential to non-sequential mode. This conversion procedure largely follows the Knowledgebase article "Introduction to stray light analysis – Part 1".
Automatic conversion
Open the file Spectrometer.ZAR (available in the Downloads section of this article) and navigate to File…NSC Group. In the appearing window click OK (we do not need to use the Design Lockdown and the Critical Rayset Generator in our case):
As a result, OpticStudio switches to non-sequential mode and displays the spectrometer in the Non-Sequential Component Editor.
Manual completion of the NSC model
The OpticStudio conversion algorithm is very powerful, but a manual completion is necessary to bring the spectrometer into good shape. Delete the lines marked with red boxes in the Non-Sequential Component Editor (they concern the source and the detector which we implement by hand in the next step):
Then change the lines 2, 7 and 15 as given below:
Object 2 corresponds to a point source emitting a gaussian shaped, diverging beam mimicking the light originating from a single mode fiber.
We use 100 Layout Rays and 100,000 Analysis Rays to ensure a speedy calculation and rendering of the rays.
The choice of 100 W as source power is arbitrary but convenient for the analysis, since all power will show as percentage relative to the source.
Do not forget to also set X- and Y-Divergence to 6.892 degrees and X- and Y-SuperGauss to 1, which are the parameters related to the characteristic of the fiber. These parameters are further to the right in the Non-Sequential Component Editor and not visible in the screenshot above.
Object 15 concerns the detector. We implement it as an absorbing bar of 2000 pixels with 20 µm height and 20 mm width.
Modelling the diffraction grating
The last and most extensive adaptation concerns the diffraction grating (Objects 7 and 8). These settings are related to the manufacturer's specifications. In fact, the grating consists of two consecutive gratings each of them having 0.9 lines per µm (which is equal to one grating having 1.8 lines per µm). The parameters not visible in the screenshot above are for both gratings: Thickness of 1.49 mm, Lines/µm 0.9 and Diff Order -1. The Z position of Object 7 needs to be set to 1.49 mm, and the Z position of Object 8 to 1.51 mm. The Spectrometer-NONSEQ.zar file attached contains the system up until this point.
A single grating is diffracting 87 % of the light into the -1st diffraction order and 13 % into the 0th diffraction order, resulting in an efficiency of 75 % for both gratings combined. This behavior is set in the Coat/Scatter Properties of Objects 7 and 8:
Finally, we apply a coating to the front and back face of the grating. Note that the first grating is turned by 180 degrees, so its front face becomes the back face of the element. According to the manufacturer, the reflection is 0.5 %. This is implemented in OpticStudio with a simple ideal coating having a transmission of 0.995. So, update the Diffraction Properties of Objects 7 and 8 as below:
First results
Now is the moment to have a look at the NSC Shaded Model of our spectrometer (in the settings, Color Rays By is set to Wave #). As you may see, the spectrometer looks the same as in non-sequential mode shown in the first picture at the top of the article (the detector is not visible because of its small height of 20 µm):
We are now also ready to perform the first ray tracing run. Go to the Analyze tab and click on Ray Trace, which will open the Ray Trace Control.
The settings for ray tracing will remain the same throughout this article:
Use Polarization and Split NSC Rays ensure the rays are split and their power is divided when they hit surfaces.
Ignore Errors is to continue ray tracing when a ray cannot be calculated, e.g. when it is hitting the edge of an object.
Once you press the Clear & Trace button, ray tracing starts and finishes after some seconds, with the calculation time depending on the available CPU power. It is always good to have a look at the lost energy values (they may vary in every ray trace run because of the stochastic nature of the calculation). In our case, the loss due to errors is negligible, and approx. 0.5 W (of the initial 100 W of the source) got lost due to thresholds. OpticStudio stops tracing rays falling under a power threshold as specified in the System Explorer where we used the default value of 0.1 %.
So, all values look good and we can open the Detector Viewer (button also in the Analyze tab):
We see three distinct peaks representing the three wavelengths set in the System Explorer (855 nm, 880 nm, 905 nm). This result is in good agreement with the spectrometer simulation performed in sequential mode (see Knowledgebase article "How to build a spectrometer – implementation").
The plot also shows the total power arriving on the detector in the text section of the graph. We get 59.5 W out of the 100 W coming from the source. This result is also reasonable, since 25 % of the power are lost at the diffraction grating. So, roughly 20 % loss must be due to the lenses and due to limited focusing of the beams on the detector. This result is also in agreement with the spectrometer simulation performed in sequential mode.
The next two sections of this article are addressing the question how to examine the stray light related to reflections on lenses and to limited focusing on the detector. For this purpose, we add a simple casing to the spectrometer.
Implementation of a simple casing
The casing we are going to add to the spectrometer has two purposes:
It will block light being scattered laterally.
It will serve as a detector to understand where the light is mostly scattered.
The design of our casing will be very rough, yet appropriate for measuring stray light and not being far from how it could look like in reality. Take the Non-Sequential Component Editor and add six lines at the end as follows, being two cylinders surrounding the lenses (mimicking barrels), two circular surfaces at the end of the barrels and two rectangular surfaces near the diffraction grating:
In addition, we enable coating and scattering on all of the detector's surfaces (Objects 16 to 21). With these settings, 95 % of the incident light is absorbed, 1 % is specular reflection and 4 % is backscattered with a Lambertian distribution. These are typical values for light absorbing black-out materials:
Make Objects 16-21 detectors:
The NSC 3D Layout shows nicely that most of the light is now absorbed by the casing:
Using a Merit Function to calculate power values
The NSC 3D Layout is only a qualitative assessment of the stray light. We would also like to get quantitative values of the intensity distribution. An elegant way to calculate these values is a merit function. Open the Merit Function Editor in the Optimize Tab and key in the following lines or open the file Spectrometer_casing.zar file which has the power_measurement.MF included:
The lines 3 and 5 with the NSDD and NSTR operands are standard lines to initiate a ray trace run in non-sequential mode. The measurement of the incoherent intensity data is performed with line 7 being the spectrometer's detector and with the lines 8 to 13 being the Objects of the casing. Line 14 is the sum of all measurements. As we can see, the value is close to the 100 W fed into the system by the source.
When we have a closer look at the numerical values of the detectors, we can conclude that stray light effects are low before the grating (Objects 16 to 18). But the values are high after the grating at Objects 19 and 20 where the light from the 0th diffraction order of the grating is absorbed. There is another substantial fraction of the light on Object 21 surrounding the spectrometer's detector, which is due to limited focusing of the beams on the detector. So, in the setup of the spectrometer, care must be taken to control the light originating from the 0th order of the diffraction grating, eventually using a light trap instead of only an absorbing surface. The system up until this point is attached in the file entitled Spectrometer_casing.zar.
Analysis of stray light on the detector
We have seen in the previous section that approx. 60 % of the initial intensity is focused on the detector and 10 % is spread over Object 21 surrounding the detector. We will now examine this distribution in more detail and particularly investigate how much light of a single wavelength is contaminating the line camera, i.e. illuminating pixels not related to this wavelength.
To prepare for this analysis, we first disable the wavelength at 855 nm and at 905 nm in the System Explorer so that we only have the central wavelength at 880 nm. Then we delete the Ellipse (Object 21) and the Detector Rectangle (Object 15) in the Non-Sequential Component Editor. We will add new detectors in the next step. Finally, we increase the number of Analysis Rays of the source (Object 2) to 108.
Total power on detector
To get a meaningful picture of the power distribution in the detector plane we set up three detectors as follows (lines 20 to 22):
The first detector corresponds to the single pixel measuring the irradiance at 880 nm.
The second detector corresponds to the array of the remaining pixels of the line camera (note that the number of pixels has been set to 2001 instead of 2000 to respect symmetry).
The third detector covers the rest of the surface around the detector.
With this adaptation in the Non-Sequential Component Editor done, we start again a Ray Trace run, this time with Scatter NSC Rays also enabled. This run may take more than an hour since we have so many analysis rays. The Detector Viewer will show a result similar to this:
The line camera (left panel in the image above) is catching significant irradiance close to the central pixel corresponding to 880 nm wavelength. This behavior is due to limited focusing of the spots on the pixel. However, this finding should be interpreted with care since we used geometric ray tracing without taking diffraction into account. There is only weak irradiance on the more distant pixels (note the logarithmic scale). When we take the whole surface behind the detector as shown in the right panel above, stray light is visible mostly distant to the line camera (black bar).
Optical spectrometer: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optical_spectrometer
Previous Article: How to build a spectrometer – tolerancing
Introduction to stray light analysis - Part 2
Methods for stray light analysis in OpticStudio - webinar


A sea of colours and tradition of the Sikh culture inundated Times Square, the crossroads of the world, as members of the community tied turbans to thousands of New Yorkers and tourists in an annual fixture aimed at spreading awareness about the Sikh identity. Sikh organisation 'The Sikhs of New York' organised the annual Turban Day on Saturday in association with the Consulate General of India in New York. This year's Turban Day also marked the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev and the festival of Baisakhi.
Deputy Consul General of India in New York Shatrughna Sinha said the Consulate is commemorating the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak with Gurubani recital programmes.As part of the commemoration of Guru Nanak's 550th birth anniversary as well as to mark Baisakhi, this year the Consulate associated with The Sikhs of NY on Turban Day, Sinha said."This is a great environment and ambience and the crowd is fantastic," Sinha said, sporting a blue turban as he took part in the commemoration."There is no better way than this to raise awareness about Sikhism as well as propagating the message of universal brotherhood and humanity of Guru Nanak Dev ji," he told PTI.
Turban Day was started in 2013 at Baruch College to promote and educate people about the Sikh religion and identity.Sikhs of New York co-founder Chanpreet Singh said in the seven years that Turban Day has been organised in the city, there has increasingly been awareness about Sikhism, not just through people who are getting turbans tied but by the thousands others on social media following the event.He said more than 38,000 turbans have been tied in the past seven years since the day started being organised in the city.
"Technically, by tying one turban we are educating 200 people who are following it on social media," Singh said, adding that number of volunteers signing up for the event has increased multifold over the years."We have people coming from California, Canada, Europe and some from India, especially planning their trip to the US around Turban Day," he said.This year, the organisation also honoured Sikh personnel serving in the US Army and Navy.Singh said the organisation will continue in its endeavours such as Turban Day till "the day I walk on the streets and people don't give me two looks," noting that there is need to continue to spread awareness about the Sikh culture the organisation plans to take Turban Day to other cities across the US."The celebration was very special and important for us because we not only celebrated Turban Day, like every year, but this year it fell on Baisakhi Day and we are marking it with 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev, our first Guru," he said.Gabriella Vinetti and her friend Eri Banjahi from Argentina clicked selfies, donning their bright green and pink turbans. "We wore the turban in solidarity and in respect of another culture," they said.


I'm pleased to be here today for the launch of the latest version of the Financial Literacy Strategy, with a continuing and vitally important mission to advance the financial literacy of the people of Hong Kong.
That mission was set in motion with the establishment of the Investor Education Centre - now the Investor and Financial Education Council - in late 2012. It took flight three years later, with the release of the Hong Kong Financial Literacy Strategy in 2015, as mentioned by Lester. The new Strategy unveiled today builds on the inaugural version, applying what has been learned in the past three years about financial literacy and focusing on those who need it the most.
It's also why this new version emphasises specific target audiences, including youths, working adults, the elderly, low-income families and those who struggle with low income and less community integration.
Today's financial market is endlessly changing and complex, with technology increasingly driving financial innovation. At the same time, such societal changes as increased longevity have brought about new considerations and needs in financial planning, at both the individual and the community levels.
In short, people today must be equipped with the relevant knowledge to make informed financial choices under rapidly changing socio-economic circumstances. That is certainly no easy task, Lester.
Hong Kong, of course, is one of the world's leading international financial centres. We take pride in offering a wide range of financial services and products. The people of Hong Kong have long participated in the financial market through, for example, the trading of stocks.
That said, there are clearly some concerns regarding Hong Kong's overall financial knowledge, according to a recent survey. For example, while about 80 per cent of the people of Hong Kong have financial goals, less than half have taken the necessary action to achieve those goals.
Although four out of five people lived within their means, some 40 per cent of respondents lacked the emergency funds to respond to unexpected financial needs.
And for those who borrowed money, about 20 per cent admitted to failing to make their debt repayments on time.
To be sure, financial education - like education in general - is a long-term process, if not a life-long pursuit. In its six years of existence, however, the Investor and Financial Education Council has laid a solid foundation in enhancing the financial literacy of our people, including the elderly, working adults, youths and school children.
I'm pleased to note the Council is hardly alone on the financial education front. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority, for example, has launched a Consumer Education Programme. It offers tips on banking and related products and services. That includes the recently launched Faster Payment System, as well as stored-value facilities, Internet banking services, ATMs and credit cards.
And HKMC Annuity, a subsidiary of the Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation, runs a campaign to boost public awareness of the suitability, and, of course, the associated risks, of using your life annuity as a retirement-planning solution.
The Securities and Futures Commission issued guidelines relating to the distribution and trading of virtual assets in last November. The Commission, of course, oversees the new Investor and Financial Education Council.
I am confident that under the able leadership by Lester, the new Council will build on the good work done by its predecessor in advancing financial literacy in Hong Kong.
Certainly, the Investor and Financial Education Council has the full support of the Government. A financially informed public can make a difference for all of us.
My thanks again to all those involved in creating the new Financial Literacy Strategy, from the Council's predecessor, the Investor Education Centre, to the Education Bureau, our four financial regulators, representatives of the Hong Kong financial industry and many stakeholders.
Ladies and gentlemen, I wish you all a new year blessed with health, happiness and financial well-being.


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