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BEAUTY, Fashion, Fashion & Beauty, icon, Jewelry, resort wear
Runway Heroes at Bloomingdales
December 18, 2014 Fashion Avenue News Magazine	Leave a comment
Childhood cancer fighters and survivors ages three – 13 walked the runway in the Young World department at Bloomingdale's 59th Street. The afternoon's event benefited The Ronan Thompson Foundation and Solving Kids' Cancer.
11-year-old DJ Fulano spun during the event and Solving Kids' Cancer Youth Ambassador Celia Babini acted as emcee. Bloomingdale's provided each child with an outfit of his or her choice for the show that the children were able to take home. Some brands included: 7 for all Mankind, DKNY, Diesel, Lucky, Nicole Miller, Puma and Vince. Additionally, TOMS shoes donated a pair of shoes to each of the children. Hair and make-up artists from Bumble and Bumble and MAC were present to finish off each look.
Dylan's Candy Bar set up a sweets station for families, friends and guests, alongside a Halloween-themed photo booth that captured moments of joy for all. One of the children celebrated her birthday on Saturday and was presented with a cake from Magnolia bakery during the show finale.
10% of all department purchases throughout the weekend will benefit the charities. For high resolution images click HERE. (Photos courtesy of Aydin Arjomand) ABOUT: The Ronan Thompson Foundation is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to finding a cure for neuroblastoma, a form of childhood cancer. It is currently fundraising to create a world- class neuroblastoma research and care center dedicated to funding both traditional and non- traditional treatments to reduce the number of children affected by the disease and increase survival rates. www.theronanthompsonfoundation.org Created by two NYC fathers who lost children to pediatric cancer, Solving Kids' Cancer is committed to significantly improving survivorship of the deadliest childhood cancers. 100% of all donations are used to find, fund, and manage clinical trials and scientific programs to rapidly develop more effective and less toxic treatments. Solving Kids' Cancer is a 501(c)(3) public charity. http://www.solvingkidscancer.org
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Polo Ralph Lauren Taps Darius Williams for Fall/Winter 2014 Men's Campaign
Menswear label Polo Ralph Lauren has chosen model Darius Williams as one of the faces of the brand's Fall/Winter 2014 men's campaign.
Louisiana native Williams caught the eye of one the fashion industry's leading clothing brands this year. The 6'1.5" fitness model was photographed to appear in the print and online ads for the prestigious company by world-renowned lensman Bruce Weber, one of the industry's most celebrated photographers. Weber captured the professional model's good looks both solo and posed with other models for the brand's print and billboard ads featured in department stores nationwide as well as on the company's website Polo.com. The photos spark the viewer's imagination enough to cause a double-take.
Williams was raised in a small town in Louisiana with a population of only 18,000 residents. Before he moved to New York, he obtained his Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts from Northwestern State University of Louisiana where he also honed his skills as a graphic designer. It was during his last semester in college is when he took up an offer by a veteran model scout to attend castings for Mercedes Benz New York Fashion Week. Williams jumped at the chance he felt could be a once in a lifetime opportunity, despite having never visited the Big Apple before.
As Williams' flight landed in a New York airport, he received a phone call stating he had one hour to attend his first meeting at a modeling agency in Manhattan. As fate would have it, he landed a modeling contract with Soul Artist Management.
Since that fateful meeting, Williams has worked with many other talented photographers. He has appeared in ad campaigns for John Bartlett, Nike, Sperry Topsider, and Verizon. The fine art lover has also been photographed by male supermodel David Agbodji (Calvin Klein) for Flaunt magazine. Williams has also walked on the runway for men's underwear brand 2xist as well as various designers for the fashion week seasons.
Williams recently wrapped a shoot to appear in the Hanes advertisements; another one of the nation's leading underwear brands. His career path, however, lies not only in modeling—he is currently studying acting to prepare his next steps into Hollywood. His model profile and portfolio may be viewed at SoulArtistManagement.com. Darius may be found on Social Media's Instagram at: darius_williams11
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BEAUTY, Fashion, Fashion & Beauty, icon, Jewelry
365 Style Fashion Book by Nicky Hilton
December 9, 2014 Fashion Avenue News Magazine	Leave a comment
365 Style by Nicky Hilton
*Released with Harlequin, $21.95
**You can purchase at most major book stores or visit: www.nickyhilton.com
Nicky Hilton's new book, 365 Style, is a go-to fashion guide full of fashion tips and tricks acquired during her many years in the fashion industry – on and off the red carpet. Curated in scrapbook form, 365 Style shares with readers not only how to dress like her, but Nicky's tried and true methods for drawing inspiration from daily life, enabling readers to find their own personal style.
She reveals her 3-6-5 rule formula for creating a signature style:
Consider the 3 main aspects of your lifestyle (i.e. work, nights out, weekends)
Choose 6 staple items of clothing
Identify 5 essential accessories
Nicky Hilton is an American fashion designer and author. A respected expert of style and fashion, Nicky has been a red carpet correspondent at the Oscars and served as a guest judge on Project Runway. Hilton recently penned her first book, 365 Style, which is a go-to fashion guide full of fashion tips and tricks acquired during her many years in the fashion industry – on and off the red carpet.
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The Duchess Takes Harlem
Chirlane McCray and The Duchess of Cambridge
arriving at the Northside Center for Child Development.
Photo By Neilson Barnard/Getty Images
Kate Middleton made the first official stop of her three-day New York visit on Monday morning, touring the Northside Center for Child Development in Harlem with the City's First Lady Chirlane McCray.
The Duchess, who arrived fifteen minutes early then scheduled, was greeted by a waiting McCray. The two chatted for a moment with the Duchesses' back to the press pit, crammed with photographers who'd been camped out for three hours for their shot. "Kate! Kate! Turn around!" they shouted. She ignored them, only turning to wave to her fans across the street before the women walked inside. Fans made much of her footwear, towering black pumps that most five-month-pregnant women would eschew. It's anticipated she'll go for something much more comfortable when she and her husband reunite on Monday night to root on the Brooklyn Nets with America's royal couple: Jay Z and Beyoncé.
Meanwhile, Prince William will be clueing in Washington insiders to his disdain for the illegal wildlife trade as "one of the most insidious forms of corruption in the world." At the World Bank Group's International Corruption Hunters Assistance Conference, the Duke will inform attendees that "some animal endangered species are now worth literally more than their weight in gold," according to the British Embassy. The Duke will cite the trade in elephant tusks, rhino horns and other animal parts — an issue that politicians like Hillary Clinton as well as fashion types like Christie Brinkley are in unison about.
He plans to make the point that in China the average wholesale price of ivory has increased from $5 to $2,100 a kilogram in the past 25 years and poaching has increased as a result. The duke's call to action will culminate with, "Our collective goal must be to reduce the wildlife trade by making it harder; denying traffickers access to transportation; putting up barriers to their illegal activities and holding people accountable for their actions." With former British foreign secretary William Hague expected at his side, the Duke will emphasize how wildlife crime poses a threat to world security as it "exacerbates sources of conflict." Traffickers of animal parts "loot our planet to feed mankind's ignorant cravings for pets, trinkets, cures and ornaments derived from the world's vanishing and irreplaceable" animals.
His D.C. day started with a meeting with President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden. The Duke and Duchess have much to say about goodwill during their East Coast stay. Shortly after checking into the Carlyle Hotel Sunday night they were off to a private dinner with 15 couples to benefit their Royal Foundation.
Courtesy: WWD
Article by: Rosemary Feitelberg
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Madonna appears in Versace's Spring/Summer-2015 campaign
The Italian fashion house Versace has signed on the American singer, songwriter Madonna as the face of its new Spring/Summer-2015 campaign.
Shot by the famous fashion photography duo Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, the advertisement images showcase the 56-year-old diva dressed head-to-toe in the brand's latest designs.
The advertorial features the musician in a shimmering one-shouldered midriff baring piece and a sleeveless dress with cutout detailing from the new range, designed under the guidance of the brand artistic director Donatella Versace.
The campaign will run as a 12-page portfolio in the upcoming issues of Vanity Fair and Vogue as well as other major international fashion publications.
This is the fourth time that Madonna has appeared in Versace's advertising campaigns. The singer, who has replaced the American pop-singer Lady Gaga as the label's face this time, debuted in the Milanese brand's advertorial way back in 1995.
The brand's last year's Spring/Summer-2014 campaign featured the 28-year-old Lady Gaga in an elegant, curve-defining, ruched lavender-hued dress, detailed with knotted bandage accents and gilded silver pins.
Founded in 1978, the Versace Group designs, markets and distributes luxury clothing, accessories, and makeup and home furnishings.
Also an acclaimed actress and businesswoman, the multiple Grammy Award-winning singer Madonna owns a fashion brand titled Material Girl with her daughter Lourdes.
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Fashion Avenue News Magazine December Cover Model Fanta Camara
Fashion Avenue News magazine is proud to have Supermodel Fanta on the cover of our December issue.
We are often asked "How can I be a Cover Model for Fashion Avenue News magazine". It's very easy, submit a great photo, from there we can either use the photo you submit or set up an cover shoot. We are always looking for great Cover & Editorial Models. We have a Fashion Open House once a month for new fashion talent, this includes Make Up Artists, Stylists, Designers, Fashion Reporters, etc.,
If interested in being on the pages of Fashion Avenue News, visit our website for all the info, http://www.FashionAvenueNews.com read our Submission page or Open Hosue page.
Like us on Facebook @FashionAvenueNews
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FIT Museum charts the history of fashion counterfeiting
The Museum at Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York has opened a new exhibit dedicated to the history of authorized and unauthorized copying of designs in the fashion industry.
Titled as 'Faking It: Originals, Copies, and Counterfeits', the event charts the evolution of counterfeiting practices through a comparative study between the original designs and their imitations.
With pieces dated from 1903 to present day, the exhibition also provides insight into how the extreme popularity of designer dresses has encouraged the counterfeiting business in the industry.
Organized by FIT's assistant curator of costume and textiles, Ariele Elia, the exhibit begins with two identical suits from 1966- an original by Coco Chanel and a licensed copy—alongside a video featuring side-by-side comparisons of the suits.
Slated to run till April 25, 2015, the display also features authentic 1903 purple velvet, chenille, chiffon and silk made afternoon dress from Charles Frederick Worth, an unauthorized reproduction of French designer Madeleine Vionnet's Little Horses dress from 1924.
Also the Brian Lichtenberg created red coloured cotton, polyester and rubber made Homiés ensemble (2014), a 2007 silk dress by Yohji Yamamoto and a 1947 silk, wool faille and horsehair crafted Nettie Rosenstein dress have formed a part of the expansive exhibition.
Couturiers such as Madeleine Vionnet implemented various initiatives to stop knock offs of her designs, such as marking her label with her thumbprint in order to authenticate each creation. Likewise, in an effort to battle unauthorized copying during the 1930s, the Fashion Originators' Guild of America started registering fashion designers' work.
The Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture struggled with maintaining the exclusivity of haute couture, while promoting it through press coverage and licensed copies. When the couture industry began to re-stabilize after World War II, the struggle intensified. The high demand for Christian Dior's famed 1947 collection led to many unauthorized copies of his silhouette.
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We updated our reviews of oceanic dive computers in 2019.
The early days of scuba instrumentation requires the use of several instruments in order to determine a specific parameter. For example, you need a dive watch to determine your bottom time, depth gauge to determine your current depth and submersible pressure gauge to determine the amount of air remaining in your tank. However, having multiple individual instruments could be bulky and could take up space. This is the reason why dive computers were invented.
Dive computers were introduced way back in the 1980's and Oceanic played a significant part in its development, especially when Bob Hollis (the founder of Oceanic) promoted it in the entire diving industry. Since then, diving was revolutionized with the use of dive computers which can track, calculate and display important information like dive time, maximum and current depth, ascent rate, air consumption, nitrogen absorption and surface interval to name a few. In fact, due to its effectiveness and compact form, dive computers have recently been considered a mandatory piece of diving equipment where you can direct your underwater adventures in a safe profile.
While there are several brands and models available in the market, Oceanic has its own line of dive computers where every diver around the world find it easy to use. And not just the basic features we traditionally know, Oceanic computers are integrated with the state of the art innovation such as Bluetooth and dual algorithm platforms making sure you can access your profile at the most accurate figure. With regards to classification, there are three types of Oceanic Dive Computers: the wrist type which is worn just like a watch, the console type which needs to be attach to the high pressure hose assembly and the clip it type which acts as a backup dive computer..
The Oceanic Veo 2.0 is one of the most popular diving computer that allows you to choose the decompression algorithm that suits your diving profile. Powered by Oceanic's exclusive dual algorithm, you can select from three different modes, namely: NORM which is selected is you use air or nitrox, GAUGE which is used with run timer and FREE which tracks calculations if you switch between Norm to Free mode and vice versa. This wrist type dive computer has two operating buttons that allows you to do "Step Forward" or "Fast Scroll" interface. The buttons are very important in streamlining your access and configuring it to your personal preference such as nitrox mix of up to 50%.
The Oceanic Veo 2.0 has an audible alarm and a flashing LED light that sets on in case you exceed the safety dive profile. It has a user acknowledgement Deep Stop function with countdown timer making sure you stay within the limits of the entire dive. This safety, however, can be turned on or off, but just in case you turned it on and you are about to reach the maximum limits, a 2 minute countdown timer will commence starting at the half mark of your maximum depth. While the backlight can be manually turned on, it automatically switches on during low light conditions making sure you see the figures in the screen.
Presented in an upgraded look with a stainless steel ring and several color combination, the Oceanic Geo 2.0 Air/Nitrox Computer Watch is one of the popular dive computers in the market. From its previous version, it now has a dual algorithm, a deep stop option, a programmable no-deco and deco dive profile and a reinvented user interface with a "Step Back" function that allows full navigation on its menus and settings. While this dive computer is designed for use in both air and nitrox, it further has a second Nitrox mix that can be program up to 100% nitrox mix. Perhaps, of all the functions that stands out with this dive computer is that you can program the unit and set your own preferred maximum depth and an alarm will automatically beep once you reach that desired depth.
As far as software is concerned, the firmware of the Oceanic Geo 2.0 Air/Nitrox Computer Watch has an auto update function that allows you to download and install software improvements and other features that will be introduced in the near future. This upgraded software feature is made possible courtesy from its PC interface that can be linked through an optional cable.
Designed to deliver quick and highly visible dive information, the Oceanic Pro Plus 3.0 Dive computer has of the largest monitor display in the market. All of the information are displayed in supersized digits making it easy to read. On top of the highly readable figures in the display, many of its users have appreciated the intuitive user interface that has an enhanced support features. A perfect example of this is how the dive computer monitors your actual and accumulated dive profile making current and repetitive dives very safe. When you start descending, this dive computer will automatically turn on once it gets wet or you can do it manually. It will initially display the current depth, cylinder pressure and the time you are allowed to stay at the current depth. Further it calculates and displays, through a loading bar, your oxygen load, nitrogen build up and deep stop.
The Oceanic Pro Plus 3.0 Dive computer is fully programmable where you can set your maximum depth, deep stop, safety stop and a lot more. You can further calibrate it according to the type of dive site, like freshwater or saltwater. It has data retention capabilities where this computer can store up to 24 dive logs even if the battery is low and needs replacement. There are 2 models that you can choose from this particular dive computer: the unit with a compass or the unit a quick download and USB compatibility.
The Oceanic Pro Plus X Dive Computer is classified as a complete dive instrumentation device. Aside from the usual information a dive computer displays like maximum and current depth, bottom time, temperature, tank pressure and surface interval time among others, it has a built in digital compass making this an all in one dive instrument.
One of things taught to us during our classroom lecture for a scuba certification course is equipment redundancy. This is the reason why the Oceanic B.U.D. Back Up Dive Computer is made. It is not a wrist type nor a console type of dive computer, but it is Clip it and Cling on type where it is designed to be easily hooked in your BCD. It is brightly colored yellow allowing you to easily spot and locate this dive computer even if the visibility is not that good.
When it comes to computer function, it has the dual algorithm interface like most Oceanic dive computers have. Menus and setting can be set and adjusted to fit your dive profile and preference. It can even be programmed for Nitrox compatibility of up to 50%. While its battery are long lasting, you can easily replace it when the time comes that it is power drained. The Oceanic B.U.D. Back Up Dive Computer has earned the title as one of the most popular back-up dive computers where you can rely on it especially during instances that you or your buddy's dive computer has failed.
We recently updated our review of the Shearwater Teric wrist dive computer - take a look here to learn more about best wrist dive watches on the market.


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Curtis Graham
Director/ Director of Photography
Raised in a Photographic family, Curtis started taking pictures at age 15. He attended Los Angeles Art Center College of Design, which started a career in Advertising Photography. Curtis has won many accolades for his work in advertising including: N.Y. Art Director Award, Norma Award, National Addys, and Clio Award. His work has appeared in many national publications such as: Town & Country, Esquire, W, Print, and Communication Arts.
His career in Advertising led to doing Commercials for his Clients as a Director/Cameraman. Curtis went on to Attend The American Film Institute. At AFI Curtis received the Mary Pickford Award Scholarship. His Master Thesis film, The Blue Men, starring Estelle Parsons went on to receive an Emmy , Academy Award and Focus Award. It is listed as one of the most award winning shorts of 1990. This started Curtis to pursue Narrative work as Director/Director of Photography.
Curtis Graham's Feature Resume is as varied as his Commercial career. From films such as Oneiric, Father Eddy, Misconceptions, Prime of your Life, The Glass Window, The Investigator to the PBS Documentaries John & Mable Ringling, Silent Majority and 100s of Commercials for advertising clients around the world. Curtis has created a diverse body of work as Director/Cinematographer. OLIOBIRI was filmed in Nigeria and won The African Oscar for Best Picture in 2016. His Documentary as DP Erroll Barrow Freedom Fighter filmed in Barbados, won this year's Pan African Film festival. His new film The Favorite opens in theaters Sept. 2018. Curtis has been an adjunct professor teaching Cinematography and Directing at University of Tampa, Southeastern University Lakeland FL.
Curtis continues to Direct and Shoot Narrative and Commercials projects under his Production Co. GreyHouse Films
Film: Barrow: Freedom Fighter. The inspiring story of Errol Barrow, leader of Barbados' independence from Great Britain and the country's first prime minister. Followed by Q&A with the film's director of photography, Curtis Graham. Introduced by Dorothy Davis
Dorothy Davis
Kate Tiedemann College of Business Classroom 123

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Journal of College Student Development
+ MUSE Alert
Volume 49, Number 1, January/February 2008
Journal of College Student Development (JCSD), the largest and leading source of research about college students and the field of student affairs, publishes scholarly articles and reviews from a wide range of academic fields. Since 1959, scholars in student affairs, higher education, sociology, psychology, social work, nursing, business administration, and health sciences have been finding their voice with JCSD. Journal of College Student Development is the official journal of the American College Personnel Association (ACPA).
viewing issue
View Online Version
University Students' Experiences of Nonmarital Breakups: A Grounded Theory
Sarah Hebert, Natalee Popadiuk
pp. 1-14
DOI: 10.1353/csd.2008.0008
Factors Supporting Cambodian American Students' Successful Adjustment Into the University
Vichet Chhuon, Cynthia Hudley
Parental Attachments and Psychological Distress Among African American College Students
Keisha McGhee Love
Help-Seeking for Stressful Events Among Chinese College Students in Taiwan: Roles of Gender, Prior History of Counseling, and Help-Seeking Attitudes
Hsiaowen Chang
"It Takes a Village to Raise a Child": The Role of Social Capital in Promoting Academic Success for African American Men at a Black College
Robert Palmer, Marybeth Gasman
Educating Lawyers: Preparation for the Profession of Law (review)
Hillary A. Sale
Defending the Community College Equity Agenda (review)
Barbara K. Townsend
Where You Stand is Where You Sit: An Academic Administrator's Handbook (review)
Mark Oromaner
Success in College: From C 's in High School to A 's in College (review)
Edward L. Collins
Volume 48, Number 6, November/December 2007
Volume 49, Number 2, March/April 2008
Copyright © 2008 the American College Personnel Association.


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Q: What are the real-time compute solutions that can take raw semistructured data as input? Are there any technologies that can take raw semi-structured, schema-less big data input (say from HDFS or S3), perform near-real-time computation on it, and generate output that can be queried or plugged in to BI tools?
If not, is anyone at least working on it for release in the next year or two?

A:
There are some solutions with big semistructured input and queried output, but they are usually

*

*unique

*expensive

*secret enough
If you are able to avoid direct computations using neural networks or expert systems, you will be close enough to low latency system. All you need is a team of brilliant mathematicians to make a model of your problem, a team of programmers to realize it in code and some cash to buy servers and get needed input/output channels for them.

A: Have you taken a look at Splunk?  We use it to analyze Windows Event Logs and Splunk does an excellent job indexing this information to allow for fast querying of any string that appears in the data.

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Earlier this year, I tried out the Stouffer's FitKitchen Bourbon Steak Frozen Dinner which was very tasty, healthy, and filling!! This time, I got this Stouffer's FitKitchen Steak Fajita Frozen Dinner and let me tell it was sooo good!! The beef was juicy and tender with very little chewing which is a plus for anyone who loves beef but doesn't want to do all that chewing due to poor quality of the beef! I love the Southwestern seasonings, the black bean and corn rice combo, and the red bell pepper sauce!!
And not only this was healthy but SATISFYING meal that I didn't need to go get more to eat but sit back and relax!! I can't wait to try the next FitKitchen dinners at my local Kroger which was on sale plus I had a digital coupon!!
Great review Hun, I've never really tried frozen dinners but might give one ago.
Awesome review Ursula. I love trying different frozen dinners once in a while but I haven't tried anything from Stouffers yet. I'll definitely be on the lookout for this one because it sounds so tasty.
Thank you, Brigette! I have so far enjoyed several of these FitKitchen meals! The only downside is that they advertise mostly to guys about these meals and all folks have different appetities! I want something that satisfy and all I do is drink a tall water or mint tea afterwards!


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Displaying 1341 - 1350 of 1382. Show 10 | 20 | 50 | 100 results per page.
Project acronym USEMS
Project Uncovering the Secrets of an Earthquake: Multidisciplinary Study of Physico-Chemical Processes During the Seismic Cycle
Researcher (PI) Giulio Di Toro
Host Institution (HI) ISTITUTO NAZIONALE DI GEOFISICA E VULCANOLOGIA
Summary Southern Europe and Turkey lie within the highest seismic risk areas in the world. Understanding the physico-chemical processes controlling earthquake generation is essential in seismic hazard assessment. Destructive earthquakes nucleate at depth (10-15 km), therefore monitoring active faults at the Earth's surface, or interpreting seismic waves, yields only limited information on earthquake mechanics. We propose to investigate earthquake processes by: 1) installing a new world class high velocity rock friction apparatus to perform experiments under deformation conditions typical of earthquakes; 2) studying fossil seismic sources now exhumed at the Earth's surface; 3) analyzing natural and experimental fault rock materials using a novel multidisciplinary approach involving state of the art techniques in microstructural analysis, mineralogy and petrology; 4) producing new theoretical earthquake models calibrated (and tightly constrained) by field observations, mechanical data from rock-friction experiments and analyses of natural and experimental fault rocks. The integration of such an original and complementary data set shall provide an unprecedented insight into the mechanics of seismic faulting. The installation of the new dedicated rock friction apparatus will allow the European Union to become a key world player competing at the top scientific level in the study of earthquake mechanics. The proposed study has additional implications for understanding other friction-controlled processes important in Earth sciences and hazard mitigation (e.g., rock landslides). Friction also has broad applications in the industry, including innovative but poorly understood production processes. Our experimental results will help to improve industrial milling techniques and investigate the mechanical-chemical transformations induced during milling. The latter is the basis of a new technique for the production of hydrocarbons and hydrogen from inorganic and organic materials.
Southern Europe and Turkey lie within the highest seismic risk areas in the world. Understanding the physico-chemical processes controlling earthquake generation is essential in seismic hazard assessment. Destructive earthquakes nucleate at depth (10-15 km), therefore monitoring active faults at the Earth's surface, or interpreting seismic waves, yields only limited information on earthquake mechanics. We propose to investigate earthquake processes by: 1) installing a new world class high velocity rock friction apparatus to perform experiments under deformation conditions typical of earthquakes; 2) studying fossil seismic sources now exhumed at the Earth's surface; 3) analyzing natural and experimental fault rock materials using a novel multidisciplinary approach involving state of the art techniques in microstructural analysis, mineralogy and petrology; 4) producing new theoretical earthquake models calibrated (and tightly constrained) by field observations, mechanical data from rock-friction experiments and analyses of natural and experimental fault rocks. The integration of such an original and complementary data set shall provide an unprecedented insight into the mechanics of seismic faulting. The installation of the new dedicated rock friction apparatus will allow the European Union to become a key world player competing at the top scientific level in the study of earthquake mechanics. The proposed study has additional implications for understanding other friction-controlled processes important in Earth sciences and hazard mitigation (e.g., rock landslides). Friction also has broad applications in the industry, including innovative but poorly understood production processes. Our experimental results will help to improve industrial milling techniques and investigate the mechanical-chemical transformations induced during milling. The latter is the basis of a new technique for the production of hydrocarbons and hydrogen from inorganic and organic materials.
Project acronym USMS
Project Ultra Strong Materials
Researcher (PI) Reinhard Pippan
Host Institution (HI) OESTERREICHISCHE AKADEMIE DER WISSENSCHAFTEN
Summary The theoretical strength of metals and ceramics is about 10% of their Young's modulus. Although whiskers reach strength values close to this limit they cannot be used in the design of load bearing structures. Currently the typical strength of the structural materials in use is only in the range of few % of this theoretical limit. Premature plastic deformation and failure due to flaws are the main reasons for this distinctive lower limit. For engineering applications, adequate fracture toughness is required which permits a ductile behaviour and certain strength even in the presence of flaws or cracks. The strength of the strongest metallic materials is only 10 % of the theoretical limit. Increasing the strength of metallic high strength materials by a few percent is usually associated with an unacceptable decrease in fracture toughness and results in a very flaw sensitive strength similar to that known for ceramics. In pearlitic steel wires it was possible to overcome this 10% limitation significantly. In the last years for the first time a strength of 6.3 GPa was obtained for this material which is about 30% of the theoretical limit or 3 times stronger than other high strength steels. The group of the PI has shown that these wires have an exceptional toughness equivalent to a high damage tolerance. The proposed ERC-grant should permit the analysis of the phenomena for this superior combination of strength and ductility. The knowledge of the essential required architectural features of this nano-composite and the necessary properties of the individual phases as well as their interfaces will be used to design nano-architectures also in other materials to obtain such exceptional properties. The developed skill in the generation of nano-composites from coarse constituents will be used for the production of similar nano-composites, the proof of developed concepts, and the generation of new ultra strong materials.
The theoretical strength of metals and ceramics is about 10% of their Young's modulus. Although whiskers reach strength values close to this limit they cannot be used in the design of load bearing structures. Currently the typical strength of the structural materials in use is only in the range of few % of this theoretical limit. Premature plastic deformation and failure due to flaws are the main reasons for this distinctive lower limit. For engineering applications, adequate fracture toughness is required which permits a ductile behaviour and certain strength even in the presence of flaws or cracks. The strength of the strongest metallic materials is only 10 % of the theoretical limit. Increasing the strength of metallic high strength materials by a few percent is usually associated with an unacceptable decrease in fracture toughness and results in a very flaw sensitive strength similar to that known for ceramics. In pearlitic steel wires it was possible to overcome this 10% limitation significantly. In the last years for the first time a strength of 6.3 GPa was obtained for this material which is about 30% of the theoretical limit or 3 times stronger than other high strength steels. The group of the PI has shown that these wires have an exceptional toughness equivalent to a high damage tolerance. The proposed ERC-grant should permit the analysis of the phenomena for this superior combination of strength and ductility. The knowledge of the essential required architectural features of this nano-composite and the necessary properties of the individual phases as well as their interfaces will be used to design nano-architectures also in other materials to obtain such exceptional properties. The developed skill in the generation of nano-composites from coarse constituents will be used for the production of similar nano-composites, the proof of developed concepts, and the generation of new ultra strong materials.
Project acronym UTOPES
Project Unifying concepts in the topological design of non-crystalline materials
Researcher (PI) Lothar Wondraczek
Host Institution (HI) FRIEDRICH-SCHILLER-UNIVERSITAT JENA
Summary Glasses have traditionally been enabling materials to major societal challenges. Significant breakthroughs on many areas of technological progress have been very closely linked to the exploitation of glassy materials. It is strong consensus that this key role will persist in the emerging solutions to major global challenges in living, energy, health, transport and information processing, provided that the fundamental limitations of the presently available empirical or semi-empirical approaches to glass processing can be overcome. In the coming decade, it is therefore a major task to take the step towards ab initio exploitation of disordered materials through highly-adapted processing strategies. This requires pioneering work and in-depth conceptual developments which combine compositional design, structural evolution and the thermo-kinetics of material deposition into holistic tools. Only those would significantly contribute to solving some of the most urgent materials needs for glass applications in functional devices, be it in the form of thin films, particles or bulk materials. The present project challenges today's engineering concepts towards the conception of such tools. For that, melt deposition, isothermal deposition from liquid phases, and gas-phase deposition of non-crystalline materials will be treated - within the class of inorganic glasses - in a generalist approach, unified by the understanding that glass formation represents the only strict deviation from self-organization, and that, hence, the evolution of structural complexity in glassy materials can be tailored on any length-scale through adequate processing. Providing a topological scheme for the quantification and chemical tailoring of structural complexity, UTOPES will answer to the challenge of finding order in disorder, and will thus break the grounds for the third generation of glasses with properties beyond what is presently thought as the limits of physical engineering.
Glasses have traditionally been enabling materials to major societal challenges. Significant breakthroughs on many areas of technological progress have been very closely linked to the exploitation of glassy materials. It is strong consensus that this key role will persist in the emerging solutions to major global challenges in living, energy, health, transport and information processing, provided that the fundamental limitations of the presently available empirical or semi-empirical approaches to glass processing can be overcome. In the coming decade, it is therefore a major task to take the step towards ab initio exploitation of disordered materials through highly-adapted processing strategies. This requires pioneering work and in-depth conceptual developments which combine compositional design, structural evolution and the thermo-kinetics of material deposition into holistic tools. Only those would significantly contribute to solving some of the most urgent materials needs for glass applications in functional devices, be it in the form of thin films, particles or bulk materials. The present project challenges today's engineering concepts towards the conception of such tools. For that, melt deposition, isothermal deposition from liquid phases, and gas-phase deposition of non-crystalline materials will be treated - within the class of inorganic glasses - in a generalist approach, unified by the understanding that glass formation represents the only strict deviation from self-organization, and that, hence, the evolution of structural complexity in glassy materials can be tailored on any length-scale through adequate processing. Providing a topological scheme for the quantification and chemical tailoring of structural complexity, UTOPES will answer to the challenge of finding order in disorder, and will thus break the grounds for the third generation of glasses with properties beyond what is presently thought as the limits of physical engineering.
Project acronym VADEMECOM
Project VAlidation driven DEvelopment of Modern and Efficient COMbustion technologies
Researcher (PI) Alessandro PARENTE
Summary Combustion science will play a major role in the future quest for sustainable, secure and environmentally friendly energy sources. Two thirds of the world energy supply rely on combustion of fossil and alternative fuels, and all scenarios forecast an increasing absolute energy supply through combustion, with an increasing share of renewables. Thus, combustion will remain the major actor in transportation and power generation as well as in manufacturing processes, like steel and glass. Nevertheless, combustion science will need profound innovation to meet future energy challenges, such as energy efficiency and fuel flexibility, and ensure future generations with affordable and sustainable energy and healthy environment. In this context, MILD combustion represents a very attractive solution for its fuel flexibility and capability to deliver very high combustion efficiency with virtually zero pollutant emissions. Such a combustion regime is the result of a very strong interaction between turbulent mixing and chemical kinetics. The fundamental mechanism of this interaction is not fully understood, thus justifying the need for experimental and numerical investigations. The overall objective of the present research proposal is to drive the development of modern and efficient combustion technologies, by means of experimental, theoretical, and numerical simulation approaches. New-generation simulation tools for MILD combustion will be developed, to reduce the dependence on sub-grid models and increase the fidelity of numerical simulations. High-fidelity experimental data will be collected on quasi-industrial systems, to disclose the nature of the interactions between fluid dynamics, chemistry and pollutant formation processes in MILD combustion. Experiment and numerical simulations will be tied together by Validation and Uncertainty Quantification techniques, to allow the ground-breaking application of the developed approaches and promote innovation in the energy sector.
Combustion science will play a major role in the future quest for sustainable, secure and environmentally friendly energy sources. Two thirds of the world energy supply rely on combustion of fossil and alternative fuels, and all scenarios forecast an increasing absolute energy supply through combustion, with an increasing share of renewables. Thus, combustion will remain the major actor in transportation and power generation as well as in manufacturing processes, like steel and glass. Nevertheless, combustion science will need profound innovation to meet future energy challenges, such as energy efficiency and fuel flexibility, and ensure future generations with affordable and sustainable energy and healthy environment. In this context, MILD combustion represents a very attractive solution for its fuel flexibility and capability to deliver very high combustion efficiency with virtually zero pollutant emissions. Such a combustion regime is the result of a very strong interaction between turbulent mixing and chemical kinetics. The fundamental mechanism of this interaction is not fully understood, thus justifying the need for experimental and numerical investigations. The overall objective of the present research proposal is to drive the development of modern and efficient combustion technologies, by means of experimental, theoretical, and numerical simulation approaches. New-generation simulation tools for MILD combustion will be developed, to reduce the dependence on sub-grid models and increase the fidelity of numerical simulations. High-fidelity experimental data will be collected on quasi-industrial systems, to disclose the nature of the interactions between fluid dynamics, chemistry and pollutant formation processes in MILD combustion. Experiment and numerical simulations will be tied together by Validation and Uncertainty Quantification techniques, to allow the ground-breaking application of the developed approaches and promote innovation in the energy sector.
Project acronym VAPORE
Project Vapor deposition of crystalline porous solids
Researcher (PI) Rob AMELOOT
Summary Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are crystalline solids with highly regular pores in the nanometer range. The possibility to create a tailored nano-environment inside the MOF pores makes these materials high-potential candidates for integration with microelectronics, e.g. as sensor coatings, solid electrolytes, etc. However, current solvent-based methods for MOF film deposition, a key enabling step in device integration, are incompatible with microelectronics fabrication because of contamination and corrosion issues. VAPORE will open up the path to integrate MOFs in microelectronics by developing a solvent-free chemical vapor deposition (CVD) route for MOF films. MOF-CVD will be the first example of vapor-phase deposition of any type of microporous crystalline network solid and marks an important milestone in processing such materials. Development of the MOF-CVD technology platform will start from a proof-of-concept case and will be supported by the following pillars: (1) Insight in the process, (2) expansion of the materials scope and (3) fine-tuning process control. The potential of MOF-CVD coatings will be illustrated in proof-of-concept sensors. In summary, by growing porous crystalline films from the vapor phase for the first time, VAPORE implements molecular self-assembly as a scalable tool to fabricate highly controlled nanopores. In doing so, the project will enable cross-fertilization between the worlds of nanoscale chemistry and microelectronics, two previously incompatible fields.
Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are crystalline solids with highly regular pores in the nanometer range. The possibility to create a tailored nano-environment inside the MOF pores makes these materials high-potential candidates for integration with microelectronics, e.g. as sensor coatings, solid electrolytes, etc. However, current solvent-based methods for MOF film deposition, a key enabling step in device integration, are incompatible with microelectronics fabrication because of contamination and corrosion issues. VAPORE will open up the path to integrate MOFs in microelectronics by developing a solvent-free chemical vapor deposition (CVD) route for MOF films. MOF-CVD will be the first example of vapor-phase deposition of any type of microporous crystalline network solid and marks an important milestone in processing such materials. Development of the MOF-CVD technology platform will start from a proof-of-concept case and will be supported by the following pillars: (1) Insight in the process, (2) expansion of the materials scope and (3) fine-tuning process control. The potential of MOF-CVD coatings will be illustrated in proof-of-concept sensors. In summary, by growing porous crystalline films from the vapor phase for the first time, VAPORE implements molecular self-assembly as a scalable tool to fabricate highly controlled nanopores. In doing so, the project will enable cross-fertilization between the worlds of nanoscale chemistry and microelectronics, two previously incompatible fields.
Project acronym VASCULARGROWTH
Project Bioengineering prediction of three-dimensional vascular growth and remodeling in embryonic great-vessel development
Researcher (PI) Kerem Pekkan
Host Institution (HI) KOC UNIVERSITY
Summary Globally 1 in 100 children are born with significant congenital heart defects (CHD), representing either new genetic mutations or epigenetic insults that alter cardiac morphogenesis in utero. Embryonic CV systems dynamically regulate structure and function over very short time periods throughout morphogenesis and that biomechanical loading conditions within the heart and great-vessels alter morphogenesis and gene expression. This proposal has structured around a common goal of developing a comprehensive and predictive understanding of the biomechanics and regulation of great-vessel development and its plasticity in response to clinically relevant epigenetic changes in loading conditions. Biomechanical regulation of vascular morphogenesis, including potential aortic arch (AA) reversibility or plasticity after epigenetic events relevant to human CHD are investigated using multimodal experiments in the chick embryo that investigate normal AA growth and remodeling, microsurgical instrumentation that alter ventricular and vascular blood flow loading during critical periods in AA morphogenesis. WP 1 establishes our novel optimization framework, incorporates basic input/output in vivo data sets, and validates. In WP 2 and 3 the numerical models for perturbed biomechanical environment and incorporate new objective functions that have in vivo structural data inputs and predict changes in structure and function. WP 4 incorporates candidate genes and pathways during normal and experimentally altered AA morphogenesis. This proposal develops and validates the first in vivo morphomechanics-integrated three-dimensional mathematical models of AA growth and remodeling that can predict normal growth patterns and abnormal vascular adaptations common in CHD. Multidisciplinary application of bioengineering principles to CHD is likely to provide novel insights and paradigms towards our long-term goal of optimizing CHD interventions, outcomes, and the potential for preventive strategies.
Globally 1 in 100 children are born with significant congenital heart defects (CHD), representing either new genetic mutations or epigenetic insults that alter cardiac morphogenesis in utero. Embryonic CV systems dynamically regulate structure and function over very short time periods throughout morphogenesis and that biomechanical loading conditions within the heart and great-vessels alter morphogenesis and gene expression. This proposal has structured around a common goal of developing a comprehensive and predictive understanding of the biomechanics and regulation of great-vessel development and its plasticity in response to clinically relevant epigenetic changes in loading conditions. Biomechanical regulation of vascular morphogenesis, including potential aortic arch (AA) reversibility or plasticity after epigenetic events relevant to human CHD are investigated using multimodal experiments in the chick embryo that investigate normal AA growth and remodeling, microsurgical instrumentation that alter ventricular and vascular blood flow loading during critical periods in AA morphogenesis. WP 1 establishes our novel optimization framework, incorporates basic input/output in vivo data sets, and validates. In WP 2 and 3 the numerical models for perturbed biomechanical environment and incorporate new objective functions that have in vivo structural data inputs and predict changes in structure and function. WP 4 incorporates candidate genes and pathways during normal and experimentally altered AA morphogenesis. This proposal develops and validates the first in vivo morphomechanics-integrated three-dimensional mathematical models of AA growth and remodeling that can predict normal growth patterns and abnormal vascular adaptations common in CHD. Multidisciplinary application of bioengineering principles to CHD is likely to provide novel insights and paradigms towards our long-term goal of optimizing CHD interventions, outcomes, and the potential for preventive strategies.
Project acronym ventralHippocampus
Project Neuronal circuits for emotions in the ventral CA1 hippocampus
Researcher (PI) Stéphane CIOCCHI
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITAET BERN
Summary A fundamental objective in modern neurosciences is to understand the neural mechanisms of learning and memory in both healthy and pathological conditions. The hippocampus is a high-order cortical brain region important for emotions and cognition. The ventral subdivision of the hippocampus (anterior hippocampus in primates) is mostly involved in anxiety and contextual fear conditioning behaviours. Pyramidal cells of the CA1 region of the hippocampus represent a main hippocampal output to numerous brains regions relevant for emotional and cognitive processes. The activity and timing of these CA1 pyramidal cells are controlled by a set of very diverse long-range afferent inputs and by local GABAergic interneurons. However, the function of afferent pathways to- and of local GABAergic interneurons in the ventral CA1 hippocampus during contextual fear conditioning and anxiety behaviours have not been investigated so far. We hypothesise that distinct sub-circuits in the ventral CA1 hippocampus differentially contribute to emotional behaviours by diverse and complementary neuronal and network mechanisms. To test this hypothesis, we will use an innovative cross-level approach combining single-unit recordings of ventral CA1 GABAergic interneurons and of afferent brain regions to the ventral CA1 hippocampus, local field potential recordings, selective optogenetic strategies, cell-type-specific viral tracing, juxtacellular recording and labelling from ventral CA1 GABAergic interneurons, and behavioural paradigms in rodents. The originality of the proposal relies on identifying specific neuronal circuits and mechanisms in the ventral CA1 hippocampus to understand how normal and pathological brain function might arise at the behavioural level. Altogether, my research proposal aims at discovering logics of cortical computations during behaviour which may lead to translational applications for the clinics.
A fundamental objective in modern neurosciences is to understand the neural mechanisms of learning and memory in both healthy and pathological conditions. The hippocampus is a high-order cortical brain region important for emotions and cognition. The ventral subdivision of the hippocampus (anterior hippocampus in primates) is mostly involved in anxiety and contextual fear conditioning behaviours. Pyramidal cells of the CA1 region of the hippocampus represent a main hippocampal output to numerous brains regions relevant for emotional and cognitive processes. The activity and timing of these CA1 pyramidal cells are controlled by a set of very diverse long-range afferent inputs and by local GABAergic interneurons. However, the function of afferent pathways to- and of local GABAergic interneurons in the ventral CA1 hippocampus during contextual fear conditioning and anxiety behaviours have not been investigated so far. We hypothesise that distinct sub-circuits in the ventral CA1 hippocampus differentially contribute to emotional behaviours by diverse and complementary neuronal and network mechanisms. To test this hypothesis, we will use an innovative cross-level approach combining single-unit recordings of ventral CA1 GABAergic interneurons and of afferent brain regions to the ventral CA1 hippocampus, local field potential recordings, selective optogenetic strategies, cell-type-specific viral tracing, juxtacellular recording and labelling from ventral CA1 GABAergic interneurons, and behavioural paradigms in rodents. The originality of the proposal relies on identifying specific neuronal circuits and mechanisms in the ventral CA1 hippocampus to understand how normal and pathological brain function might arise at the behavioural level. Altogether, my research proposal aims at discovering logics of cortical computations during behaviour which may lead to translational applications for the clinics.
Project acronym VERDI
Project polyValent mEsopoRous nanosystem for bone DIseases
Researcher (PI) Maria VALLET-REGI
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSIDAD COMPLUTENSE DE MADRID
Summary Finding simple solutions to complex problems has been a challenge for humankind for decades. VERDI aims at designing a multifunctional nanosystem to heal complex bone diseases. This is an engineering challenge that will be tackled through the use of building blocks designed on the basis of cutting-edge technology. These building blocks will be assembled into a versatile multifunctional nanosystem that can be adapted through slight variations for the treatment of three diseases of clinical relevance: bone infection, bone cancer and osteoporosis. The novelty of this proposal is the design of a nanosystem that may address several diseases using a unique, versatile and scalable strategy. Mesoporous silica nanoparticles are selected as the main component of the nanoplatform because of their biocompatibility, robustness, loading capacity and versatile surface modification. The nanosystem will be modified by rational selection of building blocks, with targeting and/or therapeutic abilities, to tackle either one or a combination of pathologies. These features will enable us to deliver a library of nanomedicines using a toolbox of building blocks, customizing a specific nanosystem depending on the disease to be treated. The risks associated to VERDI are numerous, such as the great complexity of producing completely asymmetrical nanoparticles (NPs), the risk that modifying a drug or therapeutic peptide will affect its therapeutic efficacy, and the difficulty of achieving effective in vivo bone targeted NPs. A contingency plan for each risk has been elaborated. The expertise and capacities of my research group guarantees successful results, which we expect to lead to a revolution in the therapy of bone cancer, bone infection and osteoporosis. Additionally, the application of a single technology for the treatment of three different but frequently associated diseases will favour industrial scale-up process, thereby promoting the transition of nanomedicine from bench to bedside.
Finding simple solutions to complex problems has been a challenge for humankind for decades. VERDI aims at designing a multifunctional nanosystem to heal complex bone diseases. This is an engineering challenge that will be tackled through the use of building blocks designed on the basis of cutting-edge technology. These building blocks will be assembled into a versatile multifunctional nanosystem that can be adapted through slight variations for the treatment of three diseases of clinical relevance: bone infection, bone cancer and osteoporosis. The novelty of this proposal is the design of a nanosystem that may address several diseases using a unique, versatile and scalable strategy. Mesoporous silica nanoparticles are selected as the main component of the nanoplatform because of their biocompatibility, robustness, loading capacity and versatile surface modification. The nanosystem will be modified by rational selection of building blocks, with targeting and/or therapeutic abilities, to tackle either one or a combination of pathologies. These features will enable us to deliver a library of nanomedicines using a toolbox of building blocks, customizing a specific nanosystem depending on the disease to be treated. The risks associated to VERDI are numerous, such as the great complexity of producing completely asymmetrical nanoparticles (NPs), the risk that modifying a drug or therapeutic peptide will affect its therapeutic efficacy, and the difficulty of achieving effective in vivo bone targeted NPs. A contingency plan for each risk has been elaborated. The expertise and capacities of my research group guarantees successful results, which we expect to lead to a revolution in the therapy of bone cancer, bone infection and osteoporosis. Additionally, the application of a single technology for the treatment of three different but frequently associated diseases will favour industrial scale-up process, thereby promoting the transition of nanomedicine from bench to bedside.
Project acronym VERTICAL CITY
Project Versatility of scaffold complexes in vivo to control synaptic plasticity
Researcher (PI) Julie Perroy
Summary Receptors and associated scaffolds, together called receptosome, are relatively stable structures, but exchange of individual adaptor proteins can occur on a short time scale and in a highly regulated manner, which provides fine-tuning, speed, and specificity to the receptor signaling. Therefore, understanding how receptor function is affected by the composition and dynamics of complexes is an essential biological concern that will offer the opportunity to target exclusively the therapeutically relevant signaling pathway of a given receptor. We propose that in the brain, receptosome dynamics is involved in fine-tuning synaptic transmission and plasticity, which might be crucial for cognitive functions. First, we will establish the link between molecular events, neuronal signaling and memory performance. More than correlations, this project proposes live recording of molecular events and cellular signaling during memory encoding. Second, new specific therapeutic targets will be proposed for the treatment of cognitive deficiencies: instead of interfering with the ligand-biding pocket of the receptor, we propose to target specific scaffold interactions. This strategy will only modify a specific altered function of a receptor without modifying other functions (thus, avoiding undesired side effects). Third, within the scope of this proposal, we will develop innovative, powerful techniques that will be of high interest for a broad community of researchers in life sciences. These technologies will enable to monitor the versatility of protein-protein interactions in space and time ranging from in cellulo to in vivo BRET imaging in freely behaving animals. To conclude, we will establish the functional significance of oligomer remodeling in the physiological synaptic plasticity and try to restore it in neurological disorders.
Receptors and associated scaffolds, together called receptosome, are relatively stable structures, but exchange of individual adaptor proteins can occur on a short time scale and in a highly regulated manner, which provides fine-tuning, speed, and specificity to the receptor signaling. Therefore, understanding how receptor function is affected by the composition and dynamics of complexes is an essential biological concern that will offer the opportunity to target exclusively the therapeutically relevant signaling pathway of a given receptor. We propose that in the brain, receptosome dynamics is involved in fine-tuning synaptic transmission and plasticity, which might be crucial for cognitive functions. First, we will establish the link between molecular events, neuronal signaling and memory performance. More than correlations, this project proposes live recording of molecular events and cellular signaling during memory encoding. Second, new specific therapeutic targets will be proposed for the treatment of cognitive deficiencies: instead of interfering with the ligand-biding pocket of the receptor, we propose to target specific scaffold interactions. This strategy will only modify a specific altered function of a receptor without modifying other functions (thus, avoiding undesired side effects). Third, within the scope of this proposal, we will develop innovative, powerful techniques that will be of high interest for a broad community of researchers in life sciences. These technologies will enable to monitor the versatility of protein-protein interactions in space and time ranging from in cellulo to in vivo BRET imaging in freely behaving animals. To conclude, we will establish the functional significance of oligomer remodeling in the physiological synaptic plasticity and try to restore it in neurological disorders.
Project acronym VIBRATE
Project Self-sustaining vibration and mechanical resonance effects in stimuli responsive liquid crystal polymer coatings and membranes (Vibrate)
Researcher (PI) Dirk Jan BROER
Host Institution (HI) TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITEIT EINDHOVEN
Summary The amplification of collective molecular effects to macroscopic deformation is one of the most intriguing challenges in materials science. Individual molecules can be reversibly activated by various means such as light, chemicals and external electrical or magnetic fields. They may respond by changing their orientation, their molecular conformation or by breaking /forming chemical bonds. Bringing these molecules in a matrix of an ordered molecular system, such as a liquid crystal polymer network, introduces molecular cooperativity and directionality. Dimensional changes of the individual molecules add up to large effects such as the formation of deformed surfaces in a coating and the formation of free volume (molecular voids) in membranes. The objective of the present proposal is to bring the molecular action, in conjunction with the macroscopic deformation, out of its equilibrium aiming a self-sustaining oscillation of the macroscopic response to a continuous trigger. An example that will be investigated is a surface that continuously changes it topography when addressed by its trigger. Another example is a membrane that will oscillate its (localized) free volume thus providing an active transport mechanism for species through the membrane. Alternatively we will investigate the response to an oscillating trigger with a frequency matching the molecular action to find sweet spots for mechanical resonance thus enhancing the macroscopic effect. The research is challenging. Only, with a comprehensive and combined effort, we can expect the required progress needed to close the gap between materials science, optics, electronics and mechanics and to deliver routes to new applications. But when achieved it will undoubtfully lead to new applications in coating and film technology with an outlook to soft robotics, self-pumping membranes, mechanical communication at man-machine interfaces and energy harvesting.
The amplification of collective molecular effects to macroscopic deformation is one of the most intriguing challenges in materials science. Individual molecules can be reversibly activated by various means such as light, chemicals and external electrical or magnetic fields. They may respond by changing their orientation, their molecular conformation or by breaking /forming chemical bonds. Bringing these molecules in a matrix of an ordered molecular system, such as a liquid crystal polymer network, introduces molecular cooperativity and directionality. Dimensional changes of the individual molecules add up to large effects such as the formation of deformed surfaces in a coating and the formation of free volume (molecular voids) in membranes. The objective of the present proposal is to bring the molecular action, in conjunction with the macroscopic deformation, out of its equilibrium aiming a self-sustaining oscillation of the macroscopic response to a continuous trigger. An example that will be investigated is a surface that continuously changes it topography when addressed by its trigger. Another example is a membrane that will oscillate its (localized) free volume thus providing an active transport mechanism for species through the membrane. Alternatively we will investigate the response to an oscillating trigger with a frequency matching the molecular action to find sweet spots for mechanical resonance thus enhancing the macroscopic effect. The research is challenging. Only, with a comprehensive and combined effort, we can expect the required progress needed to close the gap between materials science, optics, electronics and mechanics and to deliver routes to new applications. But when achieved it will undoubtfully lead to new applications in coating and film technology with an outlook to soft robotics, self-pumping membranes, mechanical communication at man-machine interfaces and energy harvesting.


text:
Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire Volume 3 Review
Travis Bruno April 8, 2015
Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire Volume 3
Author: Naoki Serizawa
Artist: Naoki Serizawa
Publisher: Viz Media
Price: $12.99 – Available Here
Marhawa Academy has long been seen as the most prestigious school in Asia and under the tutelage of Mother Gracia and her teachers, the remote campus has seemed to thrive. That is until a student turns into a zombie and Gracia calls in Doug Wright to come investigate the case and put an end to it quietly. As things continued to go out of control and the mystery deepened, Doug's nephew Ricky was left facing off against a cloaked abomination at the end of volume 2. Now that Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire Volume 3 has been released where does the story go from here?
Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire Volume 3 picks up immediately where the second volume ended, with Ricky's uncle Doug severely wounded and one of the school's security members nearly dead. Things quickly turn from bad to worse as the deadly tentacle creature resembling the long thought dead Nanan stops her one-sided attack on the three and flees, but not before forcing a type of mist down the wounded security guard's mouth and forcing him to transform into a zombie.
After Ricky finishes off the guard and, with the help of Gracia and the rest of the staff, bring Doug back into the school for medical treatment. With Gracia finally realizing that this is something the school cannot handle on their own, Ricky heads off to find Bindi only for one of the biggest mysteries in the manga series so far to be revealed.
For the most part, Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire has been a fairly evenly paced story that has balanced action with answers slow to come despite the mysteries building up around the cast but in volume 3 things shift a bit as the story slows to a crawl during the first half of the book but also manages to answer numerous questions about what is happening. The key focus in this part is Bindi and how she has had to deal with Mother Gracia's attempts to cover everything up, including the bullying that happened to her friend Nanan and the fateful events that led up to her death.
All of this is told through an overly long flashback that fleshes out Bindi's reasoning while painting a dark picture of the lengths that Gracia would go to in order to keep the academy's image pristine. However at this point readers already know what Gracia is capable of hiding and this leaves the following events a bit rushed as all hell breaks loose in the second half of the volume.
With the cat out of the bag, Bindi's plan goes into motion as a batch of students are instantly transformed into zombies due to Nanan's mist and begin attacking the rest of the students. With Ricky being the only capable person with a firearm, havoc reigns throughout the school as students are slaughtered by people they once knew. Many resort to suicide or betrayal in order to escape but their reprieves are short lived as the body count continues to mount page by page.
This means that there is plenty of action to be found, but it also is one-sided as few students are even trying to fight back and unfortunately the one character that does try and stand out lasts less than a chapter with her death driving Ricky even further into despair. The issue with this not only means that there are very few survivors left and Mother Gracia is never given a chance for redemption or growth as the author makes wipes the cast almost completely clean in order to shine the spotlight on the more familiar faces that appear at the end of the volume.
Those who have been following the manga series so far should know that Naoki Serizawa's art is rather excellent when it comes to showing off the gore and transformations of zombies. In this volume we see a pair of new creatures take the stage featuring detailed looking limbs and muscles that are used to tear through humans. That being said, it does seem that the gore is a bit scaled back this time around as there is far more blood splatter to be seen than anything else as the zombies tear through the academy. This is also thanks to fairly limited resistance of the student body giving readers very few zombie kills though the ending of this volume does allude to that being a major factor in the next volume.
Similar to the last volume, Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire Volume 3 begins with three color pages, two of which are used for a two-page spread of one of the more bloody injuries in the volume. This is then followed by a four page summary describing the events that have occurred in the first two volumes featuring colors mimicking the cover.
Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire Volume 3 stumbles a bit as it shifts the focus from revealing mysteries to unleashing chaos on the unprepared students of the doomed academy. While a key mystery is solved, there is still more to be revealed, especially since Bindi's actual source is still missing all while unfortunately eliminating most of the development that could have come from the already introduced cast. With high quality artwork and plenty of focus on nasty death and violence, Volume 3 is still a worthy read despite the way the cast has been diminished in favor of introducing a long-awaited familiar face to the action.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.


** BUN/Creatinine Ratio011577 24 8-20 redflag!!
Estimated CHD Risk011858 0.5 0.0-1.0 times avg.
The high BUN/Creatinine ratio but normal creatinine level is indicative of mild dehydration. Did you drink much water the morning of the test? The low TSH should be looked into further. It could be an overactive thyroid. I don't see anything else of concern.
The Bun/Creatinine red flag is due to high BUN (20). But high BUN is usually due to not drinking enough fluid before testing. I'd test again in 3 months. If it's over 20, you could be consuming a bit too much protein. Being a ketogenic grass-fed beef lover could do that. I would add some starch like yams and sweet potatoes, and usually BUN goes right down.
Excellent lipids. You're probably VLCing. However, you're not ApoE4. So your lipids are not out of whack.
then I wouldn't be especially concerned. Yet I would ask your doctor for a full thyroid panel which would include testing for free T3, reverse T3 and thyroid antibodies. Or perhaps more prudently, go find an endocrinologist and have him/her check you out.


text:
Q: Pandas join last 2 coma separated items in cell using tldextract I have a pandas dataframe and am using the tldextract library.  I am having problems creating a new column and joining the second and third separated string.
#First 5 rows for testing purposes
df = pd.DataFrame(request['destinationhostname'].iloc[0:5])

    destinationhostname
0   pod51042psh.outlook.com
1   s.mrmserve.com
2   client-office365-tas.msedge.net
3   otf.msn.com
4   log.pinterest.com

#Applying tld extract on destinationhostname column
df['req'] = request.destinationhostname.apply(tldextract.extract)

    destinationhostname              req
0   pod51042psh.outlook.com         (pod51042psh, outlook, com)
1   s.mrmserve.com                  (s, mrmserve, com)
2   client-office365-tas.msedge.net (client-office365-tas, msedge, net)
3   otf.msn.com                     (otf, msn, com)
4   log.pinterest.com               (log, pinterest, com)

I have tried to do this next part lots of ways like the following but keep getting errors.
df['fld'] = df['req'].apply('.'.join[1:3])

TypeError: 'builtin_function_or_method' object has no attribute '__getitem__'

Or
TypeError: sequence item 0: expected string, ExtractResult found

My desired output would be:
    destinationhostname             req                                  fld
0   pod51042psh.outlook.com         (pod51042psh, outlook, com)          outlook.com
1   s.mrmserve.com                  (s, mrmserve, com)                   mrmserve.com
2   client-office365-tas.msedge.net (client-office365-tas, msedge, net)  msedge.net
3   otf.msn.com                     (otf, msn, com)                      msn.com
4   log.pinterest.com               (log, pinterest, com)                pinterest.com

A: Slice the str object then join
df['fld'] = df.req.str[1:].str.join('.')

df

               destinationhostname                                  req            fld
0          pod51042psh.outlook.com          (pod51042psh, outlook, com)    outlook.com
1                   s.mrmserve.com                   (s, mrmserve, com)   mrmserve.com
2  client-office365-tas.msedge.net  (client-office365-tas, msedge, net)     msedge.net
3                      otf.msn.com                      (otf, msn, com)        msn.com
4                log.pinterest.com                (log, pinterest, com)  pinterest.com

Or as @coldspeed has shown, you can slice with an end of array reference.
df['fld'] = df.req.str[-2:].str.join('.')


Much like the game vs Carver E&S, this article will be quick.
Tony Brown led off the game after working a patient Walk and scored two pitches later on Leon Finney's Double in deep Center. That would technically be enough as Lukas Supovitz-Aznar and Kevin Courtney would hold E&S hitless in a 4-inning 15-0 win. The hitless streak for opponents has now reached 13 consecutive innings, and no team has tallied more than 4 hits in a game on the season vs Rocket pitching.
In his 2nd at-bat in the 1st, Brown hit a hard single up the middle to score two and make it 8-0. Triples by Kristian Ramos, Kevin Courtney and a Double by Kenny Carroll would factor into a 12-hits attack that simply overwhelmed E&S pitching.
Courtney, who would take the mound in relief for the first time since recovering from Tommy John surgery, would finish the day 3-3 with 4RBIs and score the 15th run by tagging up on Ben Simon's deep shot to Center.
With the win The Rocket is 8-0 on the season and comfortably in first place. With just 4 league games left before the playoffs start in mid-May, the Rockets are poised to move up to A-Division for the 2016-17 season. Next game is a make up vs Ben Franklin on Thurs, 4/28. Come out and support The Rocket. First pitch, 315pm (29th & Chalmers).


Jeannine comes from a business background. Her goal is to provide quality service while developing a solid, client relationship based on trust, knowledge, and expertise.
Clients can feel at ease in any of the aspects of buying and selling residential properties, including land and new construction with Jeannine. Having a successful escrow requires knowledge and negotiating skills and an agent who appreciates the needs of her client.
Born at Westover AFB, Jeannine's family moved around the US, but most of her childhood was spent in New Jersey.
In 1994, she relocated to Western MA and has resided in Belchertown for over 23 years. Jeannine has raised her three boys, who keep her on her toes every day. Jeannine also has two rescue dogs. When not working, Jeannine enjoys running, spinning and cooking.
When it is time for you to buy or sell a property, Jeannine would appreciate the opportunity to assist you in your real estate transaction. It will then be her task to get you the best deal, at the best price and close in a timely manner.


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Best Medium Tanks for Sniping
Medium tanks make for some of the most versatile snipers in the game.
New Resident Evil 7: Not a Hero trailer shows more of Redfield
No sign of boulder-punching though.
Henry Stenhouse
DOOM Switch to release November 10
Punching demons over the holidays.
The latest trailer for Resident Evil 7's Not a Hero and End of Zoe DLCs has released.
The footage lets us know a bit more of the story behind each piece, with Chris Redfield on the hunt for Lucas Baker, who's hiding out in a disused mine. The second DLC will shed some light on the fate of Zoe, a missing link from the main game's storyline.
Both are scheduled for release December 12.
Henry Stenhouse serves an eternal punishment as the Associate Editor of AllGamers. He spent his younger life studying the laws of physics, even going so far as to complete a PhD in the subject before video game journalism stole his soul. Confess your love of Super Smash Bros. via email at henry.stenhouse@allgamers.com, or catch him on Twitter.


text:
Chapter 11 - A horse is a horse
From the polls, the Monday Thursday requesters win, so that will be our schedule going forward. Not much system devepment this time around, but keep in mind with great hardships come great gains.
Schedule: Current release schedule is Mondays and Thursdays. Chapters average 1500 words (about 5 pages). Sometimes, if we are really ahead, we may do a bonus chapter over the weekend. Favorites and follows always appreciated.
Mistakes: If you find a mistake, please let me know in the comments so I can correct it, thank you for helping make this as solid a work as possible.
Ratings: We welcome ratings and reviews! If you're giving a rating, we'd love to hear feedback on why you gave that rating. While we know we can't make everyone happy, we'd love to know what parts you're enjoying or not liking.
Enjoy the story!
"You're funny! Funny people!" Biscuit laughed at the group in front of him as they all stared at him with confused looks on their faces. The young unicorn bumped his head against Mark. "Apple? Goody? Biscuit likes goodies!"
Mark absently reached into his pocket where he had snuck an apple from the fruit tray inside. He figured he should have something for the horses as he normally brought them treats. He normally would have asked to take the fruit but just figured it would be fine to snag it this once. Going on auto-pilot, he pulled the apple out and handed it over to Biscuit.
"Mark friend best person!" Biscuit whinnied happily, ate the apple in a few chomps, and went to folic around the fenced in pen.
"So" Jason attempted to start talking. "Uh, talking horse."
"UNICORN dad. He's growing a horn." Mark corrected.
"Ok, that's new then. I take it the colt wasn't talking much before then Etta?" Jason continued.
"Nope, can't say that he did." the silence after Etta spoke was only marginally uncomfortable. The thought train had derailed so hard that it was taking awhile before it could be set up on it's tracks again.
"People! Go to School! Rescue George! Be ready for whatever the heck a Mana Storm is!" Mark spurred everyone back to the topics at hand.
"You're right, we came here for a reason." his dad said shaking his head clear as he turned to Bob and Etta and explained the situation. After a few minutes of updates, they nodded. "Of course, you can borrow the horses and carriage, and we'd be more than happy to come with you. As long as Biscuit's willing. I'm betting he's at least part of the reason those monsters out here have been avoiding the place."
"What do you say Biscuit, want to come over to our place?" Mark asked the prancing colt, holding out another apple.
"Yay! New place. Mark place fine!" Biscuit exclaimed happily.
"Well, I suppose that's that." Bob noted.
"Biscuit make house open again. Closed house make Biscuit tired!" a shimmer flickered around the house and suddenly everyone felt exposed.
"I guess that explains the monster situation." Jason said to no one in particular as he started walking over to the carriage house. Everyone moved into action to get things ready now that regular function had returned to their brains, particularly since whatever protections Biscuit had put up apparently were now gone and who knew what would be coming their way.
Mark and Bob helped Jason get the carriage ready while Liz and Etta went back to the house to collect things. Very little conversation was going on, and the only talking was done by the overexcited unicorn. Mark was still trying to accept that. Even though they had a timer counting down in their vision with monsters appearing randomly, none of it hit as hard as a talking horse. Truly, reality as he knew it was done, and he straightened his back as he accepted that fact. As the final harnesses were put in place and the gelding hitched to the wagon, Mark glanced to the countdown.
System Warning
Mana Storm (Class X) Approaching
Suggested Actions
Shelter in place.
00d:08h:11m:14s
"About 40 minutes to get here Dad. Hopefully we can make it back sooner and stay ahead of whatever a Mana Storm is. Also, was there a thingy that said 'Class X' before? That doesn't sound good."
His dad looked up at his own display after securing the horse. "No, no it didn't, and if we're going by space weather reports, that means it's the strongest classification of storm." He pondered the new information a bit longer. "I hope that means humans built this system, too. I'd feel better knowing someone out there had our back and understood us, rather than some random things from god knows where. Regardless, we're not going to get answers sitting here. We're good to go, can you grab the gate with me Mark?" Jason asked, hopping down from the harness as Bob moved into the driver's seat to direct the gelding towards the gate.
"Go now! New place! Then sleep. Tired." Biscuit supplied, finally having slowed down a bit. Mark hoped Biscuit would would be able to do whatever he did before to get some protection. He had been fond of the colt before, and a talking unicorn seemed like an awesome thing to have as an ally.
He wasn't certain if he could convince his parents to let the unicorn inside the house, though. He was pretty sure that this unicorn didn't fart rainbows and poop sherbert, contrary to what popular culture had taught him. He figured it would just be one more thing he could worry about when he got back home.
Just as the carriage started to move Liz and Etta emerged from the house loaded with bags and a cooler. Jason and Mark went over to help stow things up onto the carriage and got everything as secure as they could. The carriage itself was not great at hauling gear and was more for just riding around. A modern suspension and wheels allowed for a slightly smoother ride, but the driver's bench and passenger area didn't offer much in the way of amenities. All told, it could probably fit 8 people, but the poor horse would have a heck of a time getting things started with that much weight. Hopefully he wouldn't have to, and they would find everyone at the school healthy and not in need of emergency transport.
After everything was stowed, Etta and Liz hopped up into the carriage. Etta took shotgun and Liz perched up on the seat and balanced in the back with her bow. The rear seat wasn't really meant to give a good platform and visibility, but Liz managed to get one leg propped up and it afforded her a pretty decent firing position. Jason and Mark mounted up on the other two horses while Biscuit seemed content to follow along.
"Stick close to us Biscuit, and if something comes after us and we split up, go with Bob and Etta, ok?" Mark said. He seemed to be the only person comfortable talking to Biscuit.
"Bob and Etta nice! Biscuit will go with them! Ok!" the unicorn replied happily.
Jason just shook his head slowly as he struggled to deal with new realities and the group was on their way. They had to stick to the roads now, but fortunately everything seemed relatively clear. The few creatures on the streets were scared away by the horses and carriage careening towards them. Having a larger convoy had numerous benefits. They tried to pick up a little speed as they headed towards home. They were approaching the big hill before their house and getting a little momentum would help keep them moving at a clip.
The roads relatively clear as they made their way back, and although they could see more and more signs of creature activity around houses, the monsters themselves were nowhere to be seen. In the eerie silence Mark noted other changes to the environment. Some trees along the street seemed to have grown a couple of feet in the past few hours, and the sidewalks were visibly bucking where new bulging roots were poking through. Pines and Cedars were particularly changed. The greens of the needles had taken on different hues and the Aspens were growing so fast Mark could almost see them get taller. It heightened the sense of surrealness that permeated the day.
Making good time they started climbing the hill. A block into the climb they passed the place where the beak bear had charged them and suddenly Mark knew why there wasn't anything roaming around. A giant roar greeted them as the street came into view and shook them to their core. The beak bear was back, and it brought a friend.
A friend that was more than twice its size and looked royally pissed off.
Monday, 22 May 2017 13:00:00


Shri News channel removed from DD Free Dish (DD Direct Plus).
Shri News channel slot is replaced with TV TEST 210 channel.
Shri News channel is removed from channel no.26.
Shri News channel is removed from 11170, V, 29500.


Description	 I'm just filing this to note down a few things I've seen with Delphi highlighting currently that could be improved by the code parser. They're relatively advanced things, which may slow down parsing a bit and thus later on need to be configurable, but like for Java I think that proving that this stuff can be done will be a good first step.
* Variables: variable names could be highlighted. You can detect at least some by seeing if := has occured and modifying the previous context. Would be complicated if something like "Result" is a variable name because it's also a keyident too.
* Constants: looks to me like delphi has a Const keyword, and after that for a while constants can be defined. I don't think they'd be too hard to detect.
Looks a little wierd as GetModuleName is highlighted differently. You could detect function names inside the code quite easily in fact and highlight them differently.
I'm sure there will be other things. But this is just to get you started :).
Additional Information	 See the java code parser for an example of a complicated series of things being highlighted. That code parser uses references into the stack to "look into the past" and "change the past", which were very helpful.
Also note how various thing highlightings were split out into methods, which would make it easier to turn some of them off later.
Well I don't expect you to do anything now. But you can guarantee that somebody will ask for it later, so it's better that these things are listed.
I can't see how variables will be too hard to detect, BTW. Java variables look like they're similarly declared and we had little trouble with those... it's not hard to find a declaration, store the name of the variable in a list and check future tokens for it.
Still anyway, like I said, you don't need to worry about those things for now.
Regarding speed, I seriously need to look at the GeSHiCodeContext::parseCode speed. I found what looks like a bug or two in it before, and I'm convinced that it can be significantly sped up. But that will be later on.
Looking at this old bug report again I just wondered what you ment by the last point mentioned.


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Sticking to Mediterranean diet is good for the brain
Revamp of the nation's vaccination effort may not be enough
Momentum grows to outsource hospital tech functions in 2021
Wildfires producing more harmful pollution
COVID-19 hastens hospitals' revenue cycle outsourcing moves
Hospitals, drug companies strive to stand out virtually at JPM
By protecting the healthcare safety net, Biden can put us on the path to a stronger country
California Blues plan agrees to postpone rate increases
Rebecca Vesely
Anthem Blue Cross of California will delay any premium rate increases on individual health plans until May 1, pending an independent actuary review.
The insurer, a subsidiary of Indianapolis-based WellPoint, has come under fire from HHS, members of Congress and consumer groups in recent weeks for its decision to raise rates on individual plans by up to 39%.
"I'm pleased by Anthem Blue Cross' decision to delay their rate increases for two months to allow independent actuaries hired by the California Department of Insurance to closely scrutinize their 2010 rates," said California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, in a statement. "We have instructed the actuaries to review the rates with a fine-tooth comb to ensure they comply with state law that requires that 70 cents of every dollar in premiums is spent on medical benefits."
The actuarial firm Axene Health Partners will conduct the rate review, expected to be completed by mid-April, according to Poizner, who asked for the rate increase delay on Feb. 8.
In a letter to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius last week, Anthem Blue Cross of California blamed the rate increase on the recession, an aging population and rising medical costs.
"We welcome the regulatory review and are confident that our rates reflect anticipated medical costs," Brian Sassi, president and CEO of the consumer business unit of WellPoint, said in a statement.
In a statement after the agreement was announced, Sebelius said: "While a two-month delay offers some temporary relief, what California families need is long-term health insurance security, so that they don't face sharply higher prices or fewer benefits. This rate increase underscores the urgency of passing real health insurance reform."
What do you think? Post a comment on this article and share your opinion with other readers. Submit your comments to Modern Healthcare Online at [email protected]. Please be sure to include your hometown and state, along with your organization and title.