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DAWN - Bild des Tages - Oktober 2011
31.10.2011 - Anaglyph image of impact crater and mountain/ central complex in Vesta's south polar region
This anaglyph image shows the topography of the mountain/ central complex in Vesta's south polar region. When viewed correctly this image shows a 3D view of Vesta's surface. This effect was achieved by superimposing two differently colored images with an offset to create depth. To view this image in 3D use red-green, or red-blue, glasses (left eye: red; right eye: green/ blue). The depth effect/ topography differences in this image were calculated from the shape model of Vesta. There is a nice height contrast between the high, roughly circular mountain/ central complex in the center of the image and the deep crater in the top of the image. The grooves and hummocky (eg. wavy/ undulating) terrane of the south polar depression also show up clearly in the top of the image. Another prominent feature is the large scarp (upside-down V shape) on the top of the mountain/ central complex.
30.10.2011 - Topography of the "snowman craters" and surrounding area
These Dawn FC (framing camera) images show the area surrounding the "snowman craters" in Vesta's northern hemisphere. The "snowman craters" and their ejecta blanket are in the left of the images and there are large troughs (linear depressions) running obliquely across the top of both images. The left image is an albedo image, which is taken directly through the clear filter of the FC. Such an image shows the albedo (eg. brightness/ darkness) of the surface. The right image uses the same albedo image as its base but then a color-coded height representation of the topography is overlain onto it. The various colors correspond to the height of the area that they color. For example, the white in the bottom of the right image is the highest area and the blue areas in the top of the right image are the lowest. The topography is calculated from a set of images that were observed from different viewing directions, these are called stereo images.
29.10.2011 - Craters and ejecta in visible and infrared wavelengths
Above are three different composite images of the same region of Vesta's surface. These images were produced by combining images obtained by the Visual and Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (VIR) instrument aboard NASA's Dawn spacecraft. The VIR instrument can image Vesta in many different wavelength regions, called bands, in the near ultraviolet, visible and infrared parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, which corresponds to a wavelength range of 300nm to 5000nm. The top image is a RGB composite simulated true color image where red is set as the 700nm band, green is set as the 550nm band and blue is set as the 440nm band. The wavelength of red light is around 700nm, of green light is around 550nm and of blue light is around 440nm, so this image approximates what the human eye would see looking at Vesta. The middle image is taken in the infrared part of the spectrum and shows the thermal emission of Vesta's surface; the light colors correspond to the hottest temperatures and the dark colors correspond to the coldest temperatures. The bottom image is another RGB composite image in which bands from the visible and infrared were combined to enhance the differences in the composition of Vesta's surface. In the case of this bottom image different colors correspond to characteristics of the composition of the surface. Different compositions can help to identify regions which have undergone different geological processes. For example, in the bottom image the green ejecta blanket of the crater on the right is very distinctive against the blue and red surface of the rest of Vesta. This ejecta blanket is much harder to identify in the other images.
28.10.2011 - Vesta's south polar region in simulated true color
This composite image is a simulated true color image of part of Vesta's south polar region. It was produced by combining images obtained by the Visual and Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (VIR) instrument aboard NASA's Dawn spacecraft. The VIR instrument can image Vesta in many different wavelength regions, called bands, in the near ultraviolet, visible and infrared parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, which corresponds to a wavelength range of 300nm to 5000nm. This is an RGB composite image where red is set as the 700nm band, green is set as the 550nm band and blue is set as the 440nm band. The wavelength of red light is around 700nm, of green light is around 550nm and of blue light is around 440nm, so this image approximates what the human eye would see looking at Vesta. It is an approximation because the human eye can see many more wavelengths than the three used here. There is a lot of spectral diversity (eg. color diversity) in this region of Vesta's surface. There is a concentration of purple-brown in and around a crater in the top right of the image. Surrounding this crater is a distinctly blue area. The rest of the surface visible in this image ranges from a brown to yellow-white color.
27.10.2011 - "Snowman craters" in simulated true color
This composite image is a simulated true color image of part of Vesta's northern region, which contains the "snowman craters". It was produced by combining images obtained by the Visual and Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (VIR) instrument aboard NASA's Dawn spacecraft. The VIR instrument can image Vesta in many different wavelength regions, called bands, in the near ultraviolet, visible and infrared parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, which corresponds to a wavelength range of 300nm to 5000nm. This is an RGB composite image where red is set as the 700nm band, green is set as the 550nm band and blue is set as the 440nm band. The wavelength of red light is around 700nm, of green light is around 550nm and of blue light is around 440nm, so this image approximates what the human eye would see looking at Vesta. It is an approximation because the human eye can see many more wavelengths than the three used here. The "snowman craters" are centered in this image and show different spectral (eg. color) characteristics: the left hand crater is much redder and the right hand crater is much bluer. Such color differences greatly help the process of understanding Vesta's geological history.
26.10.2011 - Vesta's northern and equatorial regions in simulated true color
This composite image is a simulated true color image of Vesta's northern and equatorial regions. It was produced by combining images obtained by the Visual and Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (VIR) instrument aboard NASA's Dawn spacecraft. The VIR instrument can image Vesta in many different wavelength regions, called bands, in the near ultraviolet, visible and infrared parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, which corresponds to a wavelength range of 300nm to 5000nm. This is an RGB composite image where red is set as the 700nm band, green is set as the 550nm band and blue is set as the 440nm band. The wavelength of red light is around 700nm, of green light is around 550nm and of blue light is around 440nm, so this image approximates what the human eye would see looking at Vesta. It is an approximation because the human eye can see many more wavelengths than the three used here. This image shows the diverse colors of Vesta's surface: the left and middle parts of the image are dominated by reddish hues and the right part of the image is more blue in color.
25.10.2011 - Color composite images of Vesta
These Dawn FC (framing camera) composite images show the spectacular spectral diversity of Vesta's surface. The FC has 7 color filters which allow it to image Vesta in a number of different wavelengths of light. Being able to image in many wavelengths enhances features and colors that would otherwise be indistinguishable to the human eye. The left image shows a RGB color composite image of Vesta. RGB stands for red, green and blue and in this case red is the 750nm filter, green is the 920nm filter and blue is the 980nm filter.
24.10.2011 - Rilles/ scars on Vesta's surface
This Dawn FC (framing camera) image shows small scars (known as rilles) on Vesta's surface, which are mostly concentrated in the right half of the image. They are presumably due to impacts throwing out boulders, which then crash across the surface scouring the rilles as they go. Such boulders are visible as tiny black dots, due to their shadows, in the top right of the image. They are just underneath a bright patch, which is the edge of an impact crater. This impact crater could be where these boulders originated. In the top left of the image short rilles cut across partially infilled impact craters.
23.10.2011 - Unusual craters on Vesta IV
This Dawn FC (framing camera) mosaic shows craters with both sharp and smooth rims, a 'ghost' crater and dark and bright material in Vesta's southern hemisphere. The craters with both sharp and smooth rims, shown in yesterday's Image of the Day (# 76), are in the far left of this mosaic. The 'ghost' crater is located in the bottom left corner of the second square in the mosaic. It is visible as a shallow, roughly circular depression which is infilled with material of different albedos (eg. brightness). This infilling material is probably Vesta's regolith, which is a layer of loose material/ debris. This ghost crater must be reasonably old to be so comprehensively filled with regolith. It has also been cratered by many small impacts. There is quite a lot of dark and bright material distributed throughout this mosaic, some of which is associated with the craters and some of which does not appear to be associated with craters visible at this resolution.
22.10.2011 - Unusual craters on Vesta III
These Dawn FC (framing camera) images show craters with both sharp and smooth crater rims in Vesta's southern hemisphere. The left image has a much wider field of view than the right image and displays the craters with both sharp and smooth rims in the bottom right of the image. Most of the other craters in this image either have sharp or smooth rims. The detailed structure of the sharp and smooth rimmed craters is seen in the right image, which has a smaller field of view and a higher resolution than the left image. Landsliding seems to be occurring on the smooth rims, which results in them losing a definite sharp rim. Dark and bright material is also seen slumping into the craters from their rims.
21.10.2011 - Unusual craters on Vesta II
This Dawn FC (framing camera) image shows craters with both sharp and smooth rims. The most obvious is the large crater in the bottom left of the image. The left side of this crater has a very distinct, sharp rim while the right side has a much more degraded, rounded and less clear rim. A pile of material is generally located at the bottom of the craters' degraded sides. This suggests that landslides have taken place on these sides of the craters. Some material is seen slumping towards the center of the craters from the fresh sides but the volume is significantly less than on the degraded sides. Craters such as these are observed reasonably frequently on Vesta. There is also a scattering of both bright and dark material in small patches across this image. A small crater on the left side of the image has a particularly noticeable surrounding of bright material.
20.10.2011 - Unusual craters on Vesta I
This Dawn FC (framing camera) image shows craters of different sizes and shapes in Vesta's southern hemisphere. The freshest craters can be classified as fresh scarp rimmed craters and the less fresh classified as partly degraded subdued rim craters. Some craters, particularly in the lower left of the image, show both sharp and smooth crater rims. This is rather unusual and better resolution images will be necessary to understand the process(es) responsible. Craters that have impacted pre-existing craters are also clear in this image. For example, the crater in roughly the center of the image has at least two other, smaller craters along its rim. Vesta's surface becomes more heavily cratered moving from the southern to northern hemispheres, as can be seen in the larger population of craters in the top right of the image.
19.10.2011 - Ejecta blanket
These Dawn FC (framing camera) images show two different resolution views of the ejecta blanket of Vesta's "snowman craters". The snowman-like pattern of these craters is clearly seen in the center of the left hand image. However, the ejecta blanket surrounding these craters is much less obvious in the lower resolution, left hand image. The ejecta blanket is much clearer in the higher resolution right hand image: it is visible as an area of Vesta's surface which is significantly smoother than the neighboring regions. The ejecta blanket thins towards the top left of this image and consequently Vesta's surface begins to appear rougher. Some older impacts are seen through the ejecta blanket and the clusters of small, fresh craters on the ejecta blanket are likely secondary impacts. These secondary craters probably formed due to large debris being thrown out of the "snowmen craters" during their formation. The smaller debris which were thrown out formed the ejecta blanket.
18.10.2011 - Equatorial troughs and dark material III
These Dawn FC (framing camera) images show a region around the equatorial troughs with two different resolutions. The image on the left has a lower resolution of 260 meters per pixel and the image on the right has a higher resolution of 66 meters per pixel. Many areas of dark material are visible in the lower resolution image, including the dark hill (in box). The higher resolution image displays more detail of this hill, such as its irregular contact with the rest of Vesta's surface. Many more details are also visible in the right hand image when compared to the left hand image, such as small linear grooves running roughly parallel to the troughs and slumping/ landslide features in the bottom right hand corner crater.
17.10.2011 - Equatorial Troughs and dark material II
This Dawn FC (framing camera) image is a close up, nearly 4 times higher resolution view of Vesta's equatorial troughs and dark material than yesterday's Image of the Day. Smaller scale features become visible in this image, for example the grabens (linear depressions) which run parallel to and inside the troughs. These troughs run obliquely across the top of the image. Also visible are craters which are only a few pixels across. This corresponds to a diameter of roughly 100-200km. The shape and structure of the dark hill (offset from center of image) can also be more precisely defined in this image. The dark material surrounding this hill is roughly lobate in shape and the boundary between this material and Vesta's surface is rather irregular. NASA's Dawn spacecraft obtained this image with its framing camera on September 20, 2011. This image was taken through the camera's clear filter. The distance to the surface of Vesta is 673 km and the image resolution is about 66 meters per pixel.
16.10.2011 - Equatorial Troughs and dark material I
This Dawn FC (framing camera) image shows the equatorial troughs of Vesta running obliquely across the image. These troughs occur around most of Vesta's equatorial region and are one of its most striking features. They both overlie and are overlain by impact craters. A large linear structure seems to cut across these troughs in the bottom left side of the image. Also distinctive is the dark material which is associated with the troughs, impact craters (right side of image) and the dark hill (center of image). This dark hill remains dark from many different viewing angles in a selection of images, so its dark appearance is not just due to shadowing effects. Many possible formation mechanisms for this dark hill are currently under investigation. NASA's Dawn spacecraft obtained this image with its framing camera on August 20, 2011. This image was taken through the camera's clear filter. The distance to the surface of Vesta is 2740km and the image resolution is about 260 meters per pixel.
15.10.2011 - Fresh dark ray crater
This Dawn FC (framing camera) image shows a fresh dark rayed crater in the center of the image. This crater is 1.7 km in diameter. Commonly rays from impact craters are brighter than the surrounding surface so further study on this, and other, dark rayed craters will be important. This crater was emplaced onto the ejecta blanket of two large twin craters. The bright, uneven rim of one of the twin craters is seen to the right of the dark rayed crater. This ejecta blanket covers most of the Vestan surface visible in this image and is identified by its smooth texture compared to the rest of Vesta. Some craters which are older than the ejecta blanket can be partially seen below it as shallow, roughly circular depressions. NASA's Dawn spacecraft obtained this image with its framing camera on October 2, 2011. This image was taken through the camera's clear filter. The distance to the surface of Vesta is 659km and the image resolution is about 66 meters per pixel.
14.10.2011 - Dark areas in cratered terrain on Vesta
In this Dawn FC (framing camera) image, a number of small dark areas, mostly clustered in the center and left of the image, are visible in Vesta's cratered landscape. A lot of these dark patches are small impact craters, which may have excavated dark material from a shallow subsurface layer of Vesta. One of these small craters, in the left middle of the image, features dark rays. This is unusual as rays from impact craters are generally of higher albedo (eg. brighter) than the surrounding surface. This landscape is dominated by two large bowl-shaped fresh scarp rimmed craters, which are approximately 10–20 km in diameter. Bright material is seen slumping into these craters, generally from their rims. NASA's Dawn spacecraft obtained this image with its framing camera on October 2nd 2011. This image was taken through the camera's clear filter. The distance to the surface of Vesta is 702km and the image resolution is about 66 meters per pixel.
13.10.2011 - Ejecta blanket on Vesta
This detail of a Dawn FC (framing camera) image shows an ejecta blanket mantling (eg. covering) the surface and obscuring older caters. The bright crater rim, which can be seen in the middle right edge of this image, is one of a group of craters which are the source of this ejecta blanket. Ejecta blankets are identified as generally smooth areas that consist of debris ejected as craters are formed by impacts. Towards the left side of this image the ejecta blanket begins to die out and older craters, which are not as obscured by the ejecta blanket, become visible. Ejecta blankets can be rather challenging to detect in lower resolution images, so this higher resolution image, as well as those currently being obtained from Dawn's High Altitude Mapping Orbit (HAMO), will be very helpful in recognizing ejecta blankets. The cluster of small craters, in roughly the center of the image, is due to secondary impacts which are formed by large blocks ejected during the main ejecta forming impact.
12.10.2011 - Boulders on Vesta
This detail of a Dawn FC (framing camera) image shows a fresh scarp rimmed crater with many boulders on the crater floor. These boulders have diameters of 100-200m, which is roughly the size of many asteroids! Also evident in this image are linear mass movement features, which originate from the rim of the crater (bottom of image) and are due to material slumping towards the center of the crater. There are also many smaller, and presumably younger, impact craters on the walls of this crater.
11.10.2011 - Anaglyph image of the mountain/ central complex in Vesta's south polar region
This anaglyph image shows the topography of the mountain/ central complex in Vesta's south polar region. When viewed correctly this image shows a 3D view of Vesta's surface. This effect was achieved by superimposing two differently colored images with an offset to create depth. To view this image in 3D use red-green, or red-blue, glasses (left eye: red; right eye: green/ blue). The depth effect/ topography differences in this image were calculated from the shape model of Vesta. The south polar mountain/ central complex is slightly offset from the center of the image. The broad morphology of the mountain/ central complex is clear: it is a roughly circular topographic mound, which is approximately 200km in diameter and has approximately 20km of relief from its base. There is a large scarp on the mountain/ central complex, which is well lit in this image. Also shown is the hummocky (eg. wavy/ undulating) texture of the south polar depression, which surrounds the mountain/ central complex.
10.10.2011 - Anaglyph image of a large scarp in Vesta's south polar region
This anaglyph image shows the topography of Vesta's south polar region. When viewed correctly this image shows a 3D view of Vesta's surface. This effect was achieved by superimposing two differently colored images with an offset to create depth. To view this image in 3D use red-green, or red-blue, glasses (left eye: red; right eye: green/ blue). The depth effect/ topography differences in this image were calculated from the shape model of Vesta. The dominant feature in this image is the large scarp on the left hand side. This is a piece of the scarp that partially surrounds the south polar depression on Vesta. There are dark marks, which initially look like dark material, cropping out of this scarp in the bottom of the image. But in images with different illuminations it becomes clear that these dark marks are actually shadows from spur features in the scarp. The material at the base of the scarp (right side) is probably due to landsliding. The edge of the south polar mountain/ central complex can be seen in the right side of the image. The framing camera (FC) instrument aboard NASA's Dawn spacecraft obtained the images used to make this anaglyph on 17th and 20th August 2011. The distance from Dawn to the surface of Vesta was 2740km at this time. The image has a resolution of about 260 meters per pixel.
09.10.2011 - Fresh crater with dark and bright material
This detail of a Dawn FC (framing camera) image shows a fresh scarp rimmed crater with a remarkable distribution of bright and dark material in its interior. Most of this bright and dark material originates from the crater rim but some originates much farther down the inwardly dipping crater walls. Especially curious is the left hand side of the crater where a layer of dark material crops out about half way down the crater wall, below the bright material which crops out from the crater rim. It is possible that under the surface of Vesta there are layers of bright and dark material, which become exposed due to the excavation of impact craters. The high resolution of this image also allows the pitted floor of this crater to become visible. Radial streaks of ejecta surround the crater and are superimposed on the older, densely cratered landscape. This landscape is identified as being older than the scarp rimmed crater because the craters it contains are older with less fresh, more eroded rims. NASA's Dawn spacecraft obtained this image with its framing camera on October 2nd 2011. These images were taken through the camera's clear filter. The distance to the surface is 670km and the image resolution is about 63 meters per pixel.
08.10.2011 - Ray craters in Vesta's south polar region
This detail of a Dawn FC (framing camera) image shows many fresh craters, several with bright ejecta rays, which were formed by impacts into the floor of Vesta's south polar basin. The three most distinctive rayed craters are in the top and middle of the image and each has a clear raised crater rim. Ejecta rays form when material is thrown out of a crater during an impact. These ejecta rays most commonly have a higher albedo (are brighter) than the surrounding surface, as is the case here. Sometimes larger masses of ejecta form small secondary craters near these ejecta rays. Even though this image resolves numerous small craters, only a few hundred meters across, higher resolution imagery is necessary to identify secondary craters in this case. The rayed craters also contain enigmatic low albedo dark material, which is seen across Vesta. The distinctive hummocky (eg. wavy/ undulating) terrane of Vesta's south polar region is evident throughout this image as well. NASA's Dawn spacecraft obtained this image with its framing camera on September 9th 2011. This image was taken through the camera's clear filter. The distance to the surface is 1390km and the image resolution is about 130 meters per pixel.
07.10.2011 - Anaglyph image of the mountain/ central complex in the south polar region
This anaglyph image shows the topography of the mountain/ central complex in Vesta's south polar region. When viewed correctly this image shows a 3D view of Vesta's surface. This effect was achieved by superimposing two differently colored images with an offset to create depth. To view this image in 3D use red-green, or red-blue, glasses (left eye: red; right eye: green/ blue). The depth effect/ topography differences in this image were calculated from the shape model of Vesta. This image is centered on the south polar mountain/ central complex, which is a roughly circular topographic mound that is approximately 200km in diameter and has approximately 20km of relief from its base. Surrounding the mountain/ central complex is the south polar depression; the relationship between these structures, two of the most prominent Vestan features, is key to understanding the evolution of Vesta as a whole. Also well defined in this image is a large scarp roughly in the center of mountain/ central complex. The framing camera (FC) instrument aboard NASA's Dawn spacecraft obtained the images used to make this anaglyph on 17th and 20th August 2011. The distance from Dawn to the surface of Vesta was 2740km at this time. This image has a resolution of about 260 meters per pixel.
06.10.2011 - Anaglyph image of Vesta's southwestern latitudes
This anaglyph image shows the topography of Vesta's southwestern region. When viewed correctly this image shows a 3D view of Vesta's surface. This effect was achieved by superimposing two differently colored images with an offset to create depth. To view this image in 3D use red-green, or red-blue, glasses (left eye: red; right eye: green/ blue). The depth effect/ topography differences in this image were calculated from the shape model of Vesta. The large, heavily degraded subdued rimmed crater in the top right becomes clearer in this anaglyph image. The hummocky (eg. wavy/ undulating) textured terrain of Vesta's southern region is also clear throughout most of this image. Many hypotheses about the formation mechanism of this distinctive terrane are currently under investigation. This image has a resolution of about 300 meters per pixel.
05.10.2011 - Anaglyph image of Vesta's equatorial region (II)
This anaglyph image shows the topography of part of Vesta's equatorial region. When viewed correctly this image shows a 3D view of Vesta's surface. This effect was achieved by superimposing two differently colored images with an offset to create depth. To view this image in 3D use red-green, or red-blue, glasses (left eye: red; right eye: green/ blue). The depth effect/ topography differences in this image were calculated from the shape model of Vesta. The irregular Vestan topography dominates this image: this uneven topography is mostly due to large, ancient, rather degraded ruin eroded craters. Three of these large ruin eroded craters can be reasonably clearly seen in the top right of the image. The bottom left of the image contains a sharp topography feature trending roughly NE-SW. This feature seems to cut across the equatorial troughs, which dominate the bottom half of the image. This image has a resolution of about 300 meters per pixel.
04.10.2011 - Anaglyph image of Vesta's equatorial region (I)
This anaglyph image shows the topography of part of Vesta's equatorial region. When viewed correctly this image shows a 3D view of Vesta's surface. This effect was achieved by superimposing two differently colored images with an offset to create depth. To view this image in 3D use red-green, or red-blue, glasses (left eye: red; right eye: green/ blue). The depth effect/ topography differences in this image were calculated from the shape model of Vesta. Vesta's prominent equatorial troughs are clearly seen running horizontally across this image. The origin of these troughs and the possibility that they are related to the formation of the south polar basin are currently under investigation. Also seen in this 3D image are the remnants of old, large impact craters/ basins. These craters are classed as ruin eroded craters and are most clear in the center of the image, above the troughs. The image has a resolution of about 300 meters per pixel.
03.10.2011 - Anaglyph image of Vesta's southeastern latitudes
This anaglyph image shows the topography of Vesta's southeastern region. When viewed correctly this image shows a 3D view of Vesta's surface. This effect was achieved by superimposing two differently colored images with an offset to create depth. To view this image in 3D use red-green, or red-blue, glasses (left eye: red; right eye: green/ blue). The depth effect/ topography differences in this image were calculated from the shape model of Vesta. Anaglyph images, such as this, are very useful for mapping Vesta's surface as they (literally!) allow another dimension to be added to the analysis. Geological mappers are used to seeing the topography of the region which they are mapping in real-life, so these anaglyph images help to provide the 3D view that is otherwise lacking in images from spacecraft. This image has a resolution of about 300 meters per pixel.
02.10.2011 - Two different resolution images of Vesta's south polar region
These details of Dawn FC (framing camera) images have different resolutions and show hummocky (eg. wavy/ undulating) terrain, grooves and small impacts in Vesta's south polar region. The image on the left has a resolution of about 260 meters per pixel and the image on the right has a resolution of about 70 meters per pixel. The left hand image shows scarps (mostly near the bottom of the image) surrounding the depression and raised mound in the south polar region. The right hand image is a close up, higher resolution view of a large part of the raised mound. This mound appears to be made of slightly darker material, which seems to overlie the slightly brighter material of the depression surrounding it. The higher resolution image (70 meters per pixel) shows clear linear structures and grooves on this mound, which run approximately vertically across the image. Many more small craters are also clear in the 70 meters per pixel image than in the 260 meters per pixel image. The increased detail visible in the 70 meters per pixel image highlights the importance of high resolution images in planetary exploration.
01.10.2011 - Small scale features at Vesta's south pole
This detail of a Dawn FC (framing camera) image shows small scale features around Vesta's south polar region. This image is from the High Altitude Mapping Orbit (HAMO), which contains the highest resolution images of Vesta taken to date (about 70m per pixel). The raised mound dominates this image, which is visible as the darker material in the centre and right of this image. This raised mound material overlies the brighter material that makes up the floor of the south polar depression (see in the left of the image). Many small scale craters are clear in this image which were not visible in earlier, less high resolution images. Also clear is the hummocky (eg. wavy/ undulating) texture of the terrain of the south polar region. The formation mechanism of this hummocky textured terrain is currently being debated.
31.10.2011 (15 Uhr)
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ePac Flexible Packaging, an industry leader in fast time to market, short and medium run length finished pouches and rollstock, has announced plans to expand into Europe. Newly created ePac Holdings Europe will manage this expansion, with the first manufacturing location slated to be operational in the second half of 2019 in the United Kingdom / Midlands. This announcement builds on 15 ePac locations previously announced in the United States.
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ePac UK is currently open for sales, with order fulfillment handled out of ePac's US locations until the plant is operational. All ePac locations are full-service manufacturing plants with prepress, digital printing, laminating, and pouch making performed in-house.
In line with the EU movement toward sustainability, ePac offers recyclable film as an option. Digital printing is far more eco-friendly than conventional printing processes since waste and process steps are eliminated and energy consumption is reduced. Additionally, brands have the ability to order to demand so less flexible packaging is kept in inventory and ultimately discarded.
ePac Holdings Europe will be managed by Johnny Hobeika. Mr. Hobeika has extensive experience in the flexible packaging industry in the UK and other European markets, having developed and managed successful manufacturing, sales, and distribution centers. Mr. Hobeika will report to the Board of ePac Holdings Europe.
According to Jack Knott, CEO of ePac Flexible Packaging: "Our European operations will be based on the same business model we have developed in the United States over the course of the past 3 years, where we have seen tremendous success"
Added Johnny Hobeika: " With the number of countries and languages in Europe, the volume of SKUs a brand must bring to market can be expensive and time-consuming. The advantages ePac will bring to brands will be game-changing. Multi-SKU orders can be rapidly produced in the same print run without printing plates and minimal waste."
Established in 2016 in Madison, Wisconsin; ePac is the first company based entirely on break-through digital printing technology from Hewlett Packard, the Indigo 20000. This technology platform enables the company to provide its customers fast time to market, economical short and medium run length jobs, customization, and the ability to order to demand to avoid costly inventory and obsolescence.
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Energy Council > Meet The Speakers > 2021 APAC Speakers > Paul O'Keefe
Paul O'Keefe
Enterprise Client Leader, Client Managing Director, Aon
Paul is based in Singapore where he leads Aon's Enterprise wide approach to Energy and Petro Chemical companies for the Asia region.
He joined Aon, in 2009, in London, placing insurance risks, particularly for complex energy accounts, before relocating to Asia in 2013 to lead the Energy & Mining business, later taking up his current expanded role to promote Aon United.
As the Enterprise Client Lead, he provides the Aon connection with senior executives and oversight of any corporately led workstreams and be answerable to general progress & delivery of services.
Prior to joining Aon, he was a Global Head of Differentiated Services at Marsh, where he managed a significant staff base to tackle complex claims and provide quality engineering services to clients. This followed 10 years in loss adjusting, as part-owner and board executive director of Steege Kingston.
Paul's last industry role was as project Leader, responsible for ensuring the completion of the construction and commissioning of the Laminaria FPSO. Previous roles included 3 years in an oil & gas engineering house, before joining Schlumberger in 1990, under a prestigious scholarship award by the UK Fellowship of Engineering. During his time there he produced the very first safety case (voluntary) for the UK government. As well as other engineering projects, he spent time in two Singapore shipyards, in charge of converting two drilling rigs.
In 1994, after graduating in law, Paul took an industry break and spent 2 years at the UK P&I Club, managing shipowners defence of claims, providing law advisory and managing solicitor engagements.
Paul first began working in the industry in 1988 [32 years].
Paul will be speaking at the Asia Pacific Energy Assembly 2021, taking place online on 20 – 22 April 2021. Find out more here.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Virtustream is the cloud computing partner of choice for enterprises running SAP in the cloud. SAP itself is an investor in Virtustream, as well as a customer, supplier and partner. No other cloud services provider has the breadth and depth of experience, knowledge and credentials. Softengine's and Virtustream's extensive portfolio of professional services offerings are available to help ensure the successful migration of your SAP instance. The Virtustream Enterprise Class Cloud provides a secure, highly available, Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) to enterprises (small and large) and government customers.
xStream™, Virtustream's cloud management software for private, public, and hybrid clouds, enables customers to move existing mission-critical and production applications to the cloud. Powered by Virtustream µVM™ technology, xStream™ delivers enterprise-grade security and compliance, performance SLAs, multi-tenant efficiency, and consumption-based charging for both legacy and web-scale applications.
Both xStream™ cloud software and the Virtustream Enterprise-Class IAAS Cloud deliver secure, highly efficient cloud solutions, backed by performance SLAs, for mission critical applications (SAP, Microsoft, and thousands more) to run in public, private and hybrid clouds today.
The threats, complexity and cost of security and compliance is growing every year. The compliance audit demanded by regulations is evolving from 'discreet compliance' to 'continuous compliance', with requirements dictated by standards like FISMA, Fed RAMP, HIPAA, PCI, GLBA or Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX).
Virtustream Security Solutions offer software solutions for Enterprise Risk Management, Cyber Situational Awareness and Regulatory Compliance for commercial, public sector and service provider markets. The Continuous Risk and Compliance Monitoring solution provides standards compliant capabilities to assess and mitigate risk within an enterprise/government/service provider on a proactive basis. The ERM solution monitors existing IT, private clouds and public clouds enabling a single integrated solution for the most complex environment.
Virtustream offers complete SAP portfolio coverage, including ERP, CRM, Analytics and Business One in the cloud.
Virtustream's innovative and patented µVM resource management technology allows us to deliver application-level SLAs with sub-second response time.
100+ SAP Large Enterprise clients running production SAP in Virtustream Enterprise Class Cloud.
First production SAP ERP Central Component (ECC) running on HANA in the cloud. Read the press release.
With SAP Business One, ERP solutions are quick to deploy and easy to run and maintain. And, by moving into the cloud, you get even more flexibility, security and cost savings. Virtustream has been selected by SAP to serve as the core infrastructure for Business One on demand in the cloud solution.
Hosting infrastructure with 24x7 technical support provides a high availability cloud environment and disaster recovery without investing in, and maintaining, additional costly infrastructure.
Subscription-based deployment options enable us to offer predictable, monthly, cost-effective pricing.
For more information about SAP Business One in the Cloud, please contact Barry Lederman: 818.704.7000, .


What did she think about the opening of the season? What did she think about how the show put some stuff and people together again after having them fall apart last season? I don't know…but you will after you've listened.
In this episode besides us talking about these three episodes, you get treated to some Cat's Crypt and some feedback. As well as a little bit of Psycho talk at the end. Sorry– Psycho IV is just still so fresh and we are affiliated with Yes Mother in a certain way. Anyway– enjoy! See you next week as we open up Season 4 of Angel!


Today you turn eleven years old. How did that happen? You'll understand why I ask that one day.
Your hair is still strawberry blonde and your eyes green. You worry about your hair sticking up in the mornings. You have a definite opinion about what you will wear and not wear. I never thought a boy would have that much of an opinion.
Right now you talk about cars. A lot. So much it makes my head hurt sometimes.
You still love legos, but you aren't spending quite as much time playing with them as you once did.
You would play video games all the time if I let you and sometimes it is a battle.
You want to be an architect when you grow up, but being the Alabama fan you are you're pretty torn about the nearest college with an architecture school being Auburn. We've told you Georgia Tech would be a good college to go to also. We have plenty of time to figure all that out.
You still love art as much as you always have. You're really into sketching and drawing right now. You say you want to be an architect, but I think you'd also make an amazing artist and graphic designer.
You are beginning your fourth year of piano and your second year of guitar. You have the ability, but like most children I have to make you practice. You will sit for a good while making up your own songs. I love it when you do. You don't understand why you have to practice for your lessons. You're getting better about it though and it's not as much of a battle as it once was. I know you don't understand now why I make you, but you will one day.
You sing all the time unless someone notices and then you get all shy about it. Hearing you sing making up your own songs or making crazy combinations of songs while you are getting a bath at night is one of my favorite parts of the day.
Your aunt Whitney married a great guy named Ben a few months ago. You couldn't wait to call him Uncle Ben. He's overtaken your number one spot from Aunt Whitney now. I think she's okay with that…most of the time anyway.
You still give me hugs. Still tell me you love me out of the blue. You still want your daddy to play with you a lot. Your favorite thing to do with him is jump on the trampoline. You've made up some game you play while jumping. Always using your imagination. Don't ever stop.
Jackson is still your best bud and Jordan is also. Hearing you three when I pick you up from school is never dull. You all always want to play football. It's never ending.
School hasn't been so easy this year. Learning to function as an imaginative, creative person in a not so creative setting is hard. They want to put you in a box. Learn to respect the teachers and follow instructions, but never let them take away your creativity.
Always remember you are amazing. God made you a bright, intelligent, imaginative and creative person. Don't forget that.


Criteria: This product is the Combat Service Identification Badge for the 415th Chemical Brigade. The colors cobalt blue and golden yellow allude to the unit's Chemical designation. The dragon is a traditional heraldic symbol representing fire and chemical destruction. The three barbs on the dragons tail refer to the three areas of the unit's primary mission: chemical, biological and nuclear warfare. This item is made for wear on the Army Dress Blue (ASU) Uniform and is sold individually.


To celebrate Earth Day 2019, we introduce to you one of its kind logo design contest.
As designers, our job is about solving problems through our skills. So how can the design community help suggest solutions and spread a positive message amid a time when our planet is facing the most catastrophic of crises?
We invite designers from all around the world to participate in our 30-day challenge as a tribute to our planet EARTH. With a Contest Calendar in place, we've set up themes for every day to depict problems that Mother Earth is facing. And how are we designers going to solve them.
Continue with all themes for the next 30 days!
Our voting system will pick out thirty nominees, a winner who's got the most votes from each day.
At the end of the 30 days, three winners with the most votes will be selected. Logo Design Guru will then award the three winners with the Gold, Silver and Bronze badges they can flaunt on their online portfolios.
We have amazing prizes lined up for those who get the most votes for their graphic design talents.
This is the perfect chance to display your creative design skills and show the world you care and earn something extra in the process.
All participants who enter this contest will get great exposure to our international clientele and graphic design community, not to mention opportunities for continuous earning via our crowdsourcing platform.
Be a proud designer of the Earth Day 30 Day Logo Challenge and put this badge on your website, portfolio or social media to get maximum votes for your design.
We have announced the details of the first 10 themes in the calendar below.
You will only be able to upload logo design concept(s) on the theme that is open.
We will announce the details of the next 10 themes on Day 7 of the contest.
Click on the contest theme to participate today!


The mark consists of Red, green, purple are claimed as a feature of the mark. The mark consist of a solid red circle with a line through it. The circle has the image of a mite in it. The stylized words "MEDICINAL MITICIDE M2" above the image and circle. The "M" and the "2" at the end of the words are superscript. All words are purple with a gold outline. The back ground has the silhouettes of two pine trees. The sky behind the trees is a darker green than the rest of the foreground.


Being the obsessive coders we are, we tend to plan and start a lot of projects. Some of them get beyond the planning stage, and, like HMQ Audio, occasionally even go commercial. Most of our projects, however, start from the need of a simple program to do a simple task, and never progress beyond a quick hack. More information on some of the bigger projects is available below.
The ultimate digital sound and music system for demos, games and everything else that requires the best possible sound quality with the smallest CPU use.
A project so secret that it doesn't even know it exists yet.
A simple portable network FiLe cOPying program.
A Quick text editor for Windows NT/95.
Reports from some recent demo parties, with pictures.
A port of id Software's DOOM to Win32 systems.
A Python-configurable X and tty -capable IRC client.
Linux-port of this famous demo loader system for Win32.
A port of PuTTY, a free SSH client, to the Nokia 9200 Communicator series. Distributed with full source code.


"All of our yesterday's have brought us here today, making promise's for all our tomorrow's, and in our yesterday's, you, Joe, have been my companion, confidant, comforter, and my comedian." This bride's beautiful wedding vows will bring tears to your eyes. Megan and Joe shared the most touching personal vows during their wedding ceremony and we just can't get enough! This is always one of our favorite parts of a wedding day; the love, the commitment and the promises that are made as they begin their new life together. There is no denying that Meg and Joe are just perfect for each other.


text:
Officers Stop Speeding Car, Deliver Baby (Photos)
Sheena Vasani
After pulling a couple over for speeding on Mother's Day, two California police officers unexpectedly ended up helping the woman in the car deliver her baby.
"Messiah Tindley was born on Mother's Day, inside the vehicle escorted by LAPD officers," a police statement explained, The Associated Press reports.
Officers Maraea Toomalatai and Brian Armendariz pulled the car over for a traffic stop after the male driver, Mohammed Tindley, tried to rush his partner to hospital.
When they realized what was going on, the two police officers alerted medical staff and tried to take the mother, Sasha Murphy, to the hospital.
Although they finally managed to reach the hospital, the two had to deliver the baby boy, Messiah, before they saw a doctor.
They later took photos with the new family.
"On Mother's Day, two LAPD [Los Angeles Police Department] Newton Area officers, with 3 years of service each, made an everlasting impression in our community, they both made a difference," the LAPD later said in a news release, KNBC reports. "The officer's quick thinking, compassion, reasoning, and loving character, reflected positively in our community."
It's not the first time a police officer delivered a baby in May.
North Carolina rookie Officer Kevin Jackson and his partner, Officer Mike Caskey, helped deliver a baby on the side of the road near Charlotte, WCNC reports.
"We see a lady across the road waving at us officers for help, and she said, 'I think my daughter's in labor right now.' I said, 'Alright!'" said Jackson.
"I was excited, anxious, fearful bringing life into this world -- [that's a] big deal, and only having five weeks on, I wasn't sure I was ready," he added.
Caskey said he had hoped an ambulance would arrive before they would have to do anything, but that didn't end up being the case.
Within five minutes of stopping to help the woman, they both helped deliver the baby girl, Aria.
Jackson explains he was happy to do it.
"I actually had an infant death two days prior, so seeing Aria in the hospital and being able to be a part of that really helped out with the coping -- really helped with the stuff we see and do as officers -- helped me see the 360, how everything comes full circle," he said.
Sources: AP via Yahoo News,KNBC, WCNC / Photo credit: LAPD via KTLA, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police via WCNC
officers deliver babytraffic stopsBabiesmothers day
Doctor Delivers And Adopts Deformed Baby (Photos)
Suicidal Pregnant Woman Lights Herself On Fire, Baby Dies (Photos)
Dad Punched Baby, Left Corpse In Car (Photos)
Fireman Adopts Baby He Delivered
Dad Accused Of Shaking Baby To Death
Suspected Shoplifter Runs, Leaves Baby In Cart (Video)
Orphaned Kangaroo Takes Care Of Baby Wombat (Photos)
Dad Charged For Holding Newborn Baby (Photos)


text:
/* eslint-env jest */
/**
 * @fileoverview Enforce label tags have an associated control.
 * @author Jesse Beach
 */

// -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
// Requirements
// -----------------------------------------------------------------------------

import { RuleTester } from 'eslint';
import parserOptionsMapper from '../../__util__/parserOptionsMapper';
import rule from '../../../src/rules/label-has-associated-control';
import ruleOptionsMapperFactory from '../../__util__/ruleOptionsMapperFactory';

// -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
// Tests
// -----------------------------------------------------------------------------

const ruleTester = new RuleTester();

const ruleName = 'label-has-associated-control';

const expectedError = {
  message: 'A form label must be associated with a control.',
  type: 'JSXOpeningElement',
};

const htmlForValid = [
  { code: 'A label', options: [{ depth: 4 }] },
  { code: '' },
  { code: '' },
  // Custom label component.
  { code: '<CustomLabel htmlFor="js_id" aria-label="A label" />', options: [{ labelComponents: ['CustomLabel'] }] },
  { code: '<CustomLabel htmlFor="js_id" label="A label" />', options: [{ labelAttributes: ['label'], labelComponents: ['CustomLabel'] }] },
  // Custom label attributes.
  { code: '', options: [{ labelAttributes: ['label'] }] },
];
const nestingValid = [
  { code: 'A label<input />' },
  { code: 'A label<textarea />' },
  { code: '<input />' },
  { code: '<input />' },
  { code: 'A label<input />' },
  { code: 'A label<input />', options: [{ depth: 3 }] },
  { code: 'A label<input />', options: [{ depth: 4 }] },
  { code: 'A label<input />', options: [{ depth: 5 }] },
  { code: '<input />', options: [{ depth: 5 }] },
  { code: '<input aria-label="A label" />', options: [{ depth: 5 }] },
  // Custom controlComponents.
  { code: 'A label<CustomInput />', options: [{ controlComponents: ['CustomInput'] }] },
  { code: '<CustomLabel>A label<CustomInput /></CustomLabel>', options: [{ controlComponents: ['CustomInput'], labelComponents: ['CustomLabel'] }] },
  { code: '<CustomLabel><CustomInput /></CustomLabel>', options: [{ controlComponents: ['CustomInput'], labelComponents: ['CustomLabel'], labelAttributes: ['label'] }] },
];

const bothValid = [
  { code: 'A label<input />', options: [{ depth: 4 }] },
  { code: '<input />' },
  { code: '<input />' },
  { code: '<textarea />' },
  // Custom label component.
  { code: '<CustomLabel htmlFor="js_id" aria-label="A label"><input /></CustomLabel>', options: [{ labelComponents: ['CustomLabel'] }] },
  { code: '<CustomLabel htmlFor="js_id" label="A label"><input /></CustomLabel>', options: [{ labelAttributes: ['label'], labelComponents: ['CustomLabel'] }] },
  // Custom label attributes.
  { code: '<input />', options: [{ labelAttributes: ['label'] }] },
  { code: 'Some text<select id="selectInput" />' },
];

const alwaysValid = [
  { code: '
' },
  { code: '<CustomElement />' },
];

const htmlForInvalid = [
  { code: 'A label', options: [{ depth: 4 }], errors: [expectedError] },
  { code: '', errors: [expectedError] },
  { code: '', errors: [expectedError] },
  // Custom label component.
  { code: '<CustomLabel htmlFor="js_id" aria-label="A label" />', options: [{ labelComponents: ['CustomLabel'] }], errors: [expectedError] },
  { code: '<CustomLabel htmlFor="js_id" label="A label" />', options: [{ labelAttributes: ['label'], labelComponents: ['CustomLabel'] }], errors: [expectedError] },
  // Custom label attributes.
  { code: '', options: [{ labelAttributes: ['label'] }], errors: [expectedError] },
];
const nestingInvalid = [
  { code: 'A label<input />', errors: [expectedError] },
  { code: 'A label<textarea />', errors: [expectedError] },
  { code: '<input />', errors: [expectedError] },
  { code: '<input />', errors: [expectedError] },
  { code: 'A label<input />', errors: [expectedError] },
  { code: 'A label<input />', options: [{ depth: 3 }], errors: [expectedError] },
  { code: 'A label<input />', options: [{ depth: 4 }], errors: [expectedError] },
  { code: 'A label<input />', options: [{ depth: 5 }], errors: [expectedError] },
  { code: '<input />', options: [{ depth: 5 }], errors: [expectedError] },
  { code: '<input aria-label="A label" />', options: [{ depth: 5 }], errors: [expectedError] },
  // Custom controlComponents.
  { code: 'A label<CustomInput />', options: [{ controlComponents: ['CustomInput'] }], errors: [expectedError] },
  { code: '<CustomLabel>A label<CustomInput /></CustomLabel>', options: [{ controlComponents: ['CustomInput'], labelComponents: ['CustomLabel'] }], errors: [expectedError] },
  { code: '<CustomLabel><CustomInput /></CustomLabel>', options: [{ controlComponents: ['CustomInput'], labelComponents: ['CustomLabel'], labelAttributes: ['label'] }], errors: [expectedError] },
];

const neverValid = [
  { code: '', errors: [expectedError] },
  { code: '<input />', errors: [expectedError] },
  { code: '<textarea />', errors: [expectedError] },
  { code: '', errors: [expectedError] },
  { code: 'A label', errors: [expectedError] },
  { code: '
<input />
', errors: [expectedError] },
  { code: '
A label<input />
', errors: [expectedError] },
  // Custom label component.
  { code: '<CustomLabel aria-label="A label" />', options: [{ labelComponents: ['CustomLabel'] }], errors: [expectedError] },
  { code: '<CustomLabel label="A label" />', options: [{ labelAttributes: ['label'], labelComponents: ['CustomLabel'] }], errors: [expectedError] },
  // Custom label attributes.
  { code: '', options: [{ labelAttributes: ['label'] }], errors: [expectedError] },
  // Custom controlComponents.
  { code: '<CustomInput />', options: [{ controlComponents: ['CustomInput'] }], errors: [expectedError] },
  { code: '<CustomLabel><CustomInput /></CustomLabel>', options: [{ controlComponents: ['CustomInput'], labelComponents: ['CustomLabel'] }], errors: [expectedError] },
  { code: '<CustomLabel><CustomInput /></CustomLabel>', options: [{ controlComponents: ['CustomInput'], labelComponents: ['CustomLabel'], labelAttributes: ['label'] }], errors: [expectedError] },
];
// htmlFor valid
ruleTester.run(ruleName, rule, {
  valid: [
    ...alwaysValid,
    ...htmlForValid,
  ]
    .map(ruleOptionsMapperFactory({
      assert: 'htmlFor',
    }))
    .map(parserOptionsMapper),
  invalid: [
    ...neverValid,
    ...nestingInvalid,
  ]
    .map(ruleOptionsMapperFactory({
      assert: 'htmlFor',
    }))
    .map(parserOptionsMapper),
});

// nesting valid
ruleTester.run(ruleName, rule, {
  valid: [
    ...alwaysValid,
    ...nestingValid,
  ]
    .map(ruleOptionsMapperFactory({
      assert: 'nesting',
    }))
    .map(parserOptionsMapper),
  invalid: [
    ...neverValid,
    ...htmlForInvalid,
  ]
    .map(ruleOptionsMapperFactory({
      assert: 'nesting',
    }))
    .map(parserOptionsMapper),
});

// either valid
ruleTester.run(ruleName, rule, {
  valid: [
    ...alwaysValid,
    ...htmlForValid,
    ...nestingValid,
  ]
    .map(ruleOptionsMapperFactory({
      assert: 'either',
    }))
    .map(parserOptionsMapper),
  invalid: [
    ...neverValid,
  ].map(parserOptionsMapper),
});

// both valid
ruleTester.run(ruleName, rule, {
  valid: [
    ...alwaysValid,
    ...bothValid,
  ]
    .map(ruleOptionsMapperFactory({
      assert: 'both',
    }))
    .map(parserOptionsMapper),
  invalid: [
    ...neverValid,
  ].map(parserOptionsMapper),
});

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


In nearly every genre of music, it's popular to go back to the future. Whether its the early days of Bluegrass, the Slab music of Houston, or the 1970s L.A. music scene, the past is playing an important role in informing the sensibilities of new music. Somewhere in the delta where Pop, Soul, and R&B meet, enter Leon Bridges.
The 26 year-old Fort Worth, Texas native is fast-approaching his debut album Coming Home (June 23). Now signed to a legendary imprint in delivering game-changing artists, Columbia Records, Leon may be next. While the gestalt of genres has seen numerous throwback-minded crooners, whether the recent work of Raphael Saadiq or the post-Rap transformation of Aloe Blacc, the 1960s style of Soul music is coming back. With guitar in hand, Bridges carves his own lane.
Does highly-stylized music like this still ring as authentic to you?


As more and more companies turn to a contingent workforce to fill vacancies and staff short-term projects, HR should consider tracking them in their HRMS if they are not doing so already. This presents many benefits to both HR and the organization, but it can also lead to some challenges.
In many organizations, knowing how many people work for the company is important because employee-related costs can be one of the biggest expenses for an organization. Also, budgets often indicate how many employees are approved for a certain department or division.
However, because the contingent workforce may be acquired independent of HR, it is not always included in the headcount. By including this hidden workforce in the HRMS, you can start to measure its size and get a clearer understanding of the workforce required to run your business.
A segment of the contingent workforce, such as consultants, freelancers and gig workers, is often paid out of a department's operating budget rather than one attributed to employees. Therefore, it is not easy to measure the overall cost of the contingent workforce.
By tracking contingent workers in an HRMS, HR can collaborate with finance to ensure that the contingent workforce and its associated costs are captured in a reportable manner.
If your organization already provides org charts to employees, adding the contingent workforce to your HRMS should follow a similar process. Also, with certain org chart applications, you can configure employees and non-employees differently to distinguish one from the other, such as by coloring the employee box blue and the contingent workforce box orange.
While many in the contingent workforce may be individual contributors, there are times when they are leading a team. Without including contingent workers in the HRMS, you likely won't be able to indicate who the employees report to, and, therefore, the org chart would be incomplete or inaccurate and require manual workarounds.
Your HRMS is designed to track information about people. Whether they are employees or contingent workers, the information is comparable.
Your HRMS may require you to implement new features that capture information specific to the contingent workforce. However, once added, you should be able to use all the existing HRMS functionality, such as reporting, capturing personal information -- i.e., address, contact information -- and tracking emergency contacts.
If you use your HRMS to evaluate employees, you may be able to extend that functionality to include the contingent workforce. For example, you may want to set up a separate and simplified performance review. When the need for a contingent worker arises in the future, you can look at the people who had the best reviews on past projects.
You may also want to capture the name of the agency that referred the contingent worker so it can also be measured based on the quality of the people it supplies. Over time, you will be able to identify your preferred contingent workers and agencies.
Many organizations use their HRMS for additional internal processes, such as notifying IT, finance and security about a new employee requiring setup. With a few modifications, this existing process can also be used for the contingent workforce to ensure a consistent process for anyone working for the organization.
Workforce planning helps a company determine the number of people and skill sets it will need over a given time period. By excluding the contingent workforce, you are ignoring a segment of your workforce that may be costly. Also, when planning workforce needs, it may be possible to avoid the need for some of the contingent workforce by using internal resources.
While there are significant benefits to tracking contingent workers in your HRMS, companies also need to be aware of and develop a strategy to address potential issues. Depending on the company's current use of the contingent workforce, a detailed change management program may be required to ensure users understand and follow the new processes.
A significant concern is having non-employees classified as employees by a tax or legal authority. To avoid this, companies should take steps to ensure there is a clear divide, such as only inviting employees to company events or excluding the contingent workforce from their HRMS.
While this is a legitimate concern, it should be possible to clearly identify who in your HRMS is an employee and who is not while maintaining all the other differentiations.
While your HRMS will be set up to capture employee data and your needs for capturing the contingent workforce may be similar, it is likely that some changes will be required. This may be as simple as adding a field to identify contingent workers or it may require a significant configuration change in your HRMS.
In many organizations, segments of the contingent workforce, such as consultants and freelancers, are not hired or tracked by HR. This provides the operating groups with the freedom to hire as needed. Imposing new regulations that limit their flexibility may incite pushback. For this to be successful, support from senior management will likely be required in most organizations.
Despite changes to the HRMS, it may remain difficult to track everyone in your contingent workforce.
For example, there may be contingent workers who are placed at your organization by a third party. These workers are supplied on an as-needed basis, and you may not always know ahead of time who they are. Examples include cleaners and laborers, but they may also be software developers or consultants from several other disciplines.
Many HRMS vendors charge a monthly fee based on the number of employees in the system. If you begin adding the contingent workforce, especially those who are casual, you will incur additional costs.
Including the contingent workforce in your HRMS has larger implications than simply entering a contingent worker's information as you do for employees. While there may be challenges initially, the additional insight and reporting provided by this change can help organizations manage costs and better plan for headcount needs in the future.
What challenges has your organization had with tracking contingent workers?


We tried a date night subscription box & here's the scoop.
Leave a Comment on We tried a date night subscription box & here's the scoop.
Ah, I'm sad to say, it's been a long time since the hubby and I have had a date night. Well, a date night out and alone without our daughter. In the meantime, we decided to try a date night subscription box. So, what is a date night subscription box? It's everything you need for a date night at home. After some research I decided to try Date Night Box Club. After I ordered, my box took forever to come! Apparently I missed the deadline for that month's box so I had to wait for next month's. Anyway here's what we got….
I was so excited when the box arrived and even though my husband thought a "date night in a box" was kind of silly, he also was curious to see what we would get. Previous boxes that they sent out were cool like paint night and a Hawaiian themed box. But we were not too happy with this box above. It came with cranberry pistachios, 2 games, and questions to ask each other. We tried to muster up the energy to learn these games and give it a go but we never did! The box just sat there!
But, I didn't want to give up. After some more research I found out this same company offers some of their boxes on Amazon. Gasp!! It's cheaper and you get to choose your box. And though I typically love surprises, uh, I wasn't going down that road again. So, for round two, I ordered their spa night box. It was cheaper, arrived faster, and shipping was free!
This box was so worth it! It came with two inflatable foot baths, bubble pods that activate in the water, 2 face masks, 2 lotions sticks, 2 small towels, questions to ask each other and foot massage cards.
It may seem silly to have a date night at home but this wasn't too bad. My husband humored me and gave it a go. It was nice to switch up our typical "Netflix & Chill" routine we had going.
Overall? I wish subscriptions like these were more personalized or had more options. The first box was a no-go for us but the second was actually kind of cute and fun. Now, since I don't want to be "surprised" again like I was with the first box, I ended my subscription. But I definitely have gotten a lot of ideas for more interesting nights in.
Would you try a date night subscription box?
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text:
> Inserm is launching a development programme for a new generation vaccine strategy against the Ebola virus
Inserm is launching a development programme for a new generation vaccine strategy against the Ebola virus
Press release | 16 Jan 2015 - 12h42 | By INSERM PRESS OFFICE
A clinical trial project, coordinated by Inserm, involving the testing of a preventive vaccine against Ebola has been selected by the European Commission. The protocol plans to include participants throughout Europe and Africa to evaluate immune response and tolerance to a vaccine strategy named "prime boost", based on the use of two candidate vaccines developed by Janssen, a pharmaceutical company of Johnson & Johnson.
The development and rapid access to treatment and candidate vaccines are among the WHO's recommendations to stop the transmission of the Ebola virus and prevent the international spread of infection. Since the beginning of the epidemic, the French and international scientific community has been actively working towards these objectives.
Inserm has established an academic partnership with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), as well as an industrial partnership (Crucell Holland BV; one of Janssen's companies), The University of Oxford and the Centre Muraz to develop a vaccination from Phase 1 to Phase 3 that combines two vaccines derived from viral vectors (Ad26.ZEBOV et MVA-BN-Filo[1]). This project has been selected for funding by the European Commission under the second call for IMI2 (Innovative Medicines Initiative) projects. As part of this programme, Inserm will conduct Phase 2 trials in Europe and Africa, coordinated by Prof. Rodolphe Thiébaut.
These Phase 2 trials will evaluate the tolerance and quality of the immune response to the vaccine strategy. These tests will supplement data from Phase 1 trials that are currently in progress in the United States, England and are soon to be conducted in Africa. The data will be available in March 2015 and will be critical to evaluating effectiveness in areas at risk.
"This strategy, unlike conventional immunization protocols that involve one or more administrations of the same vaccine, is based on the concept of a vaccination involving several steps with two different vectors that will expose the organism to the same antigens in several ways. This is a new approach in the development of a vaccine against Ebola" stated Prof. Yves Levy, Inserm CEO.
The Grant Agreement is currently being finalised. Definitive information on the project, including the budget, will be published once the agreement has been signed.
[1] Both viral vectors used are conventional vectors that are already widely used in humans in several vaccines for other infectious diseases.
Press release – Inserm press room Inserm is launching a development programme for a new generation vaccine strategy against the Ebola virus Link : https://presse.inserm.fr/en/inserm-is-launching-a-development-programme-for-a-new-generation-vaccine-strategy-against-the-ebola-virus/17481/
Immunology, inflammation, infectiology and microbiology Voir tout
Direct-acting antivirals: confirmation of their short-term clinical efficacy in "real life"
A study published in The Lanceton 11 february 2019shows that direct-acting antivirals have short-term clinical benefits in the treatment of hepatitisCvirusinfection. These results come from ANRS-funded interdisciplinary research conducted byclinicians,hepatologists, and epidemiologistsof theInserm, ...
The organization of the intestinal microbiota governed by antibodies
In a paper published in the journal Science Translational Medicine , Guy and his team Gorochov research center CIMI (Inserm / Université Sorbonne) and Immunology Department at the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, AP-HP, reveal that our IgA act as conductor of the intestinal microbiota. ...
Priscille RIVIERE


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Danbury's school enrollment could surpass 12,000 students as high school sees 'crowded' hallways
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Julia Perkins | Sep. 10, 2021
DANBURY — Enrollment at the public schools could be the highest ever this year.
As of Wednesday, 11,711 students were enrolled in the district, but that figure is expected to surpass 12,000 students.
"Danbury remains popular amongst families seeking a place to live in Connecticut," Superintendent Kevin Walston said at Wednesday's school board meeting.
The paperwork for 327 students is pending, while administrators anticipate another 100 students to enroll in the next couple weeks, he said.
"Of course, we may continue to receive families," Walston said. "We always continue to get another rush of students in January and February."
Enrollment was 11,660 as of Oct. 1 of last year. That was lower than the previous year, when more than 11,900 students attended the schools. That downturn attributed to COVID-19's effect on immigration trends, in addition to parents keeping their children out of school during the pandemic.
Danbury is adding classrooms to Ellsworth Avenue Elementary School and plans to construct a career academy for middle and high school students due to the influx of children.
Enrollment could reach a peak of about 12,425 students in 2024-25, according to the most recent high-model projections from a demographer. The low-model projections reach a peak in 2023-24 with about 12,260 students.
Rising enrollment has sparked concerns about overcrowding in the schools, especially as COVID-19 has meant students shouldn't be crammed together.
Crowded hallways at Danbury High School were cited at Wednesday's meeting.
"It's very crowded, normally," Principal Dan Donovan said. "But I can tell you, this being my sixth year in this building, it's not more or any less than the start of any school year."
Part of the problem is that new students need to learn the best direction to walk in the hallways.
"Every year when we come in, we have to teach probably about 850 freshmen how to walk in the hallways and where to go," he said.
Some sophomores who were on remote learning last year are new to the building, too, while some juniors were only in the freshman academy wing until March of 2020.
The school has set up one-way hallways and directional changes, with staff in hallways pointing out which ways students should go, Donovan said. Staff are monitoring congestion points through cameras, he said.
If congestion doesn't die down within a week or so, the school may consider dismissing students at different times, he said.
"It is crowded," Donovan said. "We're well aware of it, and we're going to monitor it closely."
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Be the best parent ever by organising your kids birthday at Aerial Adventures! With package deals to suit every age, your little ones and big ones will be forever grateful – well at least until the next day! We can arrange a variety of food, drink and party snacks for you from our cafe and served in your own private party picnic area in the wintergarden. We can also arrange for invitations and goody gift bags, the sky is the limit. Contact us now to build your perfect party and to check availability!
If your objective is team building, competition or just having a lot of fun, Aerial Adventures fits the bill. We offer corporate days which can incorporate team building activities, problem solving, trust games and scavenger hunts, along with learning to climb & facing your fears. We can provide food on site or work together with the various restaurants within The Centre to keep you fed and watered and ready for the next challenge!
Aerial Adventures is also a great way to simply reward a team for hard work or success as it's suitable for everyone. And with bars, restaurants and parking all under one roof, you are only a few steps away from a well-earned drink and relaxing meal. Use the contact form at the bottom of the page to enquire.


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Based on clinical experience, it is widely accepted that traditional systemic therapies are effective in the treatment of moderate to severe psoriasis; however, the paucity of well-designed, comparative clinical trials limits rigorous evidence-based evaluation of their efficacy. There is marked heterogeneity in published clinical trials, with inconsistent study design, patient population and efficacy endpoints, compounded by small sample sizes.[1,11,12] Estimates of treatment effect are therefore imprecise, as evidenced by a range of RD values and wide CIs.
In a systematic review of the literature, NBUVB phototherapy was an effective treatment for psoriasis; however, comparative trials were limited.[11] A more recent review estimated that between 63% and 80% of patients achieve clearance with NBUVB phototherapy.[14] Only tentative conclusions could be drawn regarding the efficacy of PUVA therapy.[11] Other reviewers have estimated that PUVA therapy may be effective in 70-90% of patients, with poor results or failures in the remaining 10-30% of patients.[26] No definitive conclusions could be drawn regarding methotrexate due to the limited evidence available.[11] Two small trials support similar efficacy of methotrexate and ciclosporin in patients with moderate to severe psoriasis, however. Ciclosporin was found to be highly effective in the treatment of psoriasis, although there was wide variation in the estimated treatment effect, limiting accurate assessment of efficacy.[11] Oral retinoids appeared to be somewhat less effective than other systemic therapies for psoriasis, and it has been suggested that acitretin may be best suited to maintenance therapy as part of a sequential treatment regimen.[11,39] Placebo-controlled clinical trials supported the efficacy of FAE therapy, but no comparative trials were available.[11]
Photochemotherapy and each of the widely used traditional systemic treatments for psoriasis are associated with potentially serious toxicities that may limit their long-term use. As discussed earlier, such toxicities contributed to study dropouts during longer-term studies.[48,56] The primary safety concerns for patients with psoriasis include increased risk of malignancy (PUVA and possibly NBUVB), cumulative renal toxicity and hypertension (ciclosporin), haematological and liver toxicity (methotrexate), or hypervitaminosis A-like symptoms and prolonged teratogenicity (oral retinoid therapy). Because psoriasis is a chronic disease often requiring lifelong treatment, the risk of these treatment-related toxicities must be managed throughout a patient's lifetime. It is also important to consider concurrent illnesses or concomitant medications that might be contraindicated with certain systemic therapies. These considerations potentially limit the number of patients eligible for certain systemic therapies. This is illustrated in the study by Heydendael et al. demonstrating that of 111 patients screened, 11 were excluded due to liver abnormalities, two for hypertension, and two for low creatinine clearance.[41] There is currently no standard therapeutic approach for patients with moderate to severe disease, as the benefits and risks of treatment must be weighed for each patient, taking into consideration past treatment history, concomitant illness and current medications.
Strategies such as rotation of systemic therapies, combination therapy, sequential therapy, and treatment regimens incorporating periods off therapy may be used in an attempt to reduce patients' cumulative exposure to each of the traditional systemic agents. Although it is intuitive that reduced cumulative exposure may help to minimize treatment-related toxicity, there are few long-term data to support this hypothesis.[29] Such complicated treatment regimens require skilful management on the part of the physician, particularly when overlapping treatment is required.[39]
A large survey of patient members of the U.S. National Psoriasis Foundation recently reported a high level of dissatisfaction with treatment, particularly among those patients with clinically defined severe disease.[90] It was noted that effective treatments such as PUVA and methotrexate were discussed with patients more often than they were prescribed, perhaps contributing to patients' feelings of frustration and the perception that their treatment was not sufficiently aggressive.[90] Similar results were reported in a survey of patient members of the European Federation of Psoriasis Patient Organizations (EUROPSO), in which only 27% of patients expressed a high level of satisfaction with their prescription treatments for psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis. Notably, satisfaction was higher among the small proportion of patients receiving systemic therapies. Patients with self-reported moderate to severe psoriasis indicated that their treatment was time consuming (50%), ineffective (32%), expensive (30%), caused side-effects (23%) and was unpleasant (3%); side-effects were more common (31%) among patients with self-reported severe psoriasis.[91] It has been suggested that the relatively low usage of systemic therapies reported in the U.S. survey may reflect physicians' reluctance to prescribe potentially toxic agents.[92]
Based on an improved understanding of the immunopathogenesis of psoriasis,[93] new therapeutic agents described as 'biologicals' or 'biological response modifiers' are being developed, some of which are already available in parts of Europe and in the U.S.A. Of particular interest are new agents that inhibit the activity of tumour necrosis factor-α or target T-cell functions in the pathogenesis of psoriasis. To date, the efficacy of these new agents has been evaluated primarily in the context of short-term randomized placebo-controlled clinical trials.[94,95,96,97,98,99,100] The role of these new drugs in the long-term management of psoriasis remains under evaluation. Long-term, pragmatic, comparative clinical trials with clinically relevant endpoints (e.g. duration of remission) represent the best way to define the role of these promising new agents in the clinical management of psoriasis.
In summary, the available clinical data show that traditional therapies are effective in the treatment of moderate to severe psoriasis. Potentially serious toxicities associated with these treatments limit their long-term use for this chronic disease, necessitating complex therapeutic regimens and periods off treatment. Currently, there is no universal standard of care for patients with moderate to severe psoriasis, and the benefits and risks of systemic therapy must be weighed carefully for each patient to ensure optimal management of psoriasis symptoms and minimization of acute and cumulative toxicities.
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This study was funded in part by Serono International SA.
Reprint Address
Correspondence to: Luigi Naldi. E-mail: luigi.naldi@gised.it


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Home » Knight-Swift jumps into hot LTL market with $1.35 billion takeover
Knight-Swift jumps into hot LTL market with $1.35 billion takeover
Truckload giant buys up regional carrier AAA Cooper and its 3,000 tractors and 7,000 trailers.
Ben Ames
Truckload carrier Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. today entered the less than truckload (LTL) space with a splash, becoming an "even more formidable" transportation and logistics provider through a $1.35 billion acquisition of LTL carrier AAA Cooper, the company said.
The company bought a 100% stake of Dothan, Alabama-based AAA Cooper Transportation and its affiliated entity AAA Cooper, a top-15-ranked LTL carrier that also offers dedicated contract carriage and ancillary services.
For the price tag, Phoenix-based Knight-Swift gains access to the extensive AAA Cooper network of approximately 70 facilities (90% owned, with the remainder leased), consisting of a terminal door count of over 3,400, located across the southeastern and midwestern U.S. The firm provides nationwide service through affiliations with other regional and national LTL companies. AAA Cooper's fleet includes nearly 3,000 tractors and 7,000 trailers, operated by a workforce of some 4,800 people.
While that portfolio is large, it is a fraction the size of Knight-Swift, which had already operated the country's largest full truckload fleet, including 19,000 tractors, 58,000 trailers, and 24,000 employees. The company built that huge fleet through its own history of acquisition, dating back to 2017 when truckload carrier Knight Transportation Inc. completed a $6 billion merger with rival truckload carrier Swift Transportation LLC.
The purchase gives it an instant presence in the LTL sector, which has been under strain to provide enough freight capacity for the nation's economic recovery from the pandemic recession. And the company said it plans to stay on the lookout for additional takeovers.
"In seeking our first LTL partner, we had three main requirements – the scale for entry with significant market share, the profitability and management depth to operate independently and provide a platform for compelling growth opportunities, and a world class culture," Knight-Swift CEO Dave Jackson said in a release. "We were excited to have identified AAA Cooper as a partner that meets all three requirements, and I couldn't be happier to finally find the right time for both of us to create a partnership. This transaction firmly positions us as a meaningful player in the LTL space, where we intend to grow both organically and through future acquisitions," Jackson said.
The purchase could also be quite profitable. According to Knight-Swift, AAA Cooper is expected to generate approximately $780 million in revenue and $140 million in EBITDA (net income before interest, income taxes, depreciation, and amortization) for full-year 2021.
Investors say fleets are attracted to the LTL sector because it features consistent price increases, a consolidated nature—the top 20 LTL providers control about 87% of the U.S. market—and growth tailwinds generated by hot e-commerce demand and shifting supply chains, according to a release from Garrett Holland, a Baird senior research analyst.
Holland praised Knight-Swift (known as KNX for its stock symbol) for its move. "Through this opportunistic deal, KNX enters the LTL market, leverages its leading scale, and creates an even more formidable transportation/logistics provider. The addition of the LTL offering should help reduce KNX's cyclicality overall, and management should be able to apply operational expertise to improve profitability/growth," Holland said in the release.
In fact, other trucking carriers have also been positioning themselves to fit the changing market in recent months, such as Werner Enterprises Inc. buying the regional truckload carrier ECM Transport Group last week for $142.4 million and XPO Logistics spinning off its contract warehousing arm to focus on freight brokerage and LTL.
As an immediate impact of Knight-Swift's move, AAA Cooper will continue to operate independently, while its CEO, Reid Dove, will continue in his position and also join the Knight-Swift board of directors. But on a longer-term basis, the company said it had "identified multiple areas of revenue and cost synergies that are expected to lead to growth and margin expansion consistent with Knight-Swift's return on investment targets, while preserving AAA Cooper's brand, locations, people, and culture."
KEYWORDS AAA Cooper Transportation Knight-Swift Transportation
Swift, Knight $6 billion merger gives Kevin Knight the keys to a kingdom
Knight-Swift makes second acquisition of 2021 to further grow its LTL network
Embark to equip Knight-Swift trucks with autonomous software
Ben Ames has spent 20 years as a journalist since starting out as a daily newspaper reporter in Pennsylvania in 1995. From 1999 forward, he has focused on business and technology reporting for a number of trade journals, beginning when he joined Design News and Modern Materials Handling magazines. Ames is author of the trail guide "Hiking Massachusetts" and is a graduate of the Columbia School of Journalism.
Recent Articles by Ben Ames
Jungheinrich buys Indiana warehouse automation vendor for $375 million
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Gert Pönitzsch studies human motivation with experiments and surveys. He seeks to understand human interactions and to find means to improve economic outcomes. He studied Economics in Kiel and at Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, where he became interested in human behavior. He started his research in experimental and behavioral economics at the University of Bonn. His thesis sheds light on aspects of collective action using experiments and theory. He currently is a research fellow at the Kiel Institute for the World Economy where he analyzes new solutions to global problems, such as climate change. His areas of expertise lie in collective action, social preferences, and risk perception.


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Remembering John Hodge
Today we remember John Hodge, NASA's second flight director, and his significant contributions to space exploration. Hodge died on May 19 at his home in Northern Virginia at the age of 92.
Blue Flight Director
Hodge became NASA's second flight director for the final solo flight of the Mercury Program, Mercury-Atlas 9, in which astronaut Gordon Cooper flew his Faith 7 spacecraft for 22 orbits of the Earth, setting the stage for the two-person crews of Gemini and the three-person crews of Apollo.
As "blue flight" director, Hodge also became the first lead flight director other than Christopher C. Kraft, Jr.
Through the 1960s, Hodge continued to serve as a flight director, managing the agency's earliest human spaceflight missions in the Mercury and Gemini Programs, and leading flight control teams in the new Mission Control Center at NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC), then named the Manned Spacecraft Center.
Hodge was on-shift during the Gemini 8 mission of astronauts Neil Armstrong and David Scott when a malfunctioning thruster put the crew into a dangerous spin and brought the mission to a premature conclusion.
"We had, like, about eight minutes over Hawaii to talk to them and tell them what we wanted to do," Hodge said in his JSC oral history. "And feed all their retro information, when they should fire rockets, what angle they should be at, what time, all that kind of stuff. … The question was, would anybody find (Armstrong)? It turned out it was all very accurate, and he landed close, fairly close to the (U.S. Navy destroyer USS Leonard F. Mason), and they picked him up."
Despite the inherit risks of space flight, crew safety was a top priority for Hodge.
"If anybody ever says, 'What did I do in the space program?'" he said in the JSC oral history, "It was make sure that Neil Armstrong was around to fly on Apollo."
His commitment to the astronauts' wellbeing made the Apollo 1 fire all the more tragic for Hodge who was on duty during the pre-launch test that resulted in a fire that killed astronauts Virgil Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee. They would have flown on the Apollo 1 mission.
Other NASA Experiences
Hodge joined NASA as a member of the Space Task Group at Langley Field, Virginia, in 1959, and migrated with the rest of that team to Houston.
He was chief of the Flight Control Branch in 1961, and chief of the Flight Control Division in 1963, retiring as a flight director in 1968.
He became head of JSC's Advanced Program Office where he helped design the last three Apollo lunar landings and follow-on programs.
He left NASA in 1970, and worked on projects in the U.S. and Canada, and spent five years at the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Hodge returned to NASA in 1982 to manage space station design studies, and was named NASA's Associate Administrator for Space Station in 1984, working on the Space Station Program, a precursor to the International Space Station. He left NASA in 1987, and formed J.D. Hodge and Co., an international management and aerospace consulting firm.
Hodge was born in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, in England in 1929. He studied at the Northampton Engineering College at the University of London, graduating in 1949 with a degree in engineering. He worked at several aviation companies before joining the Avro Arrow project in Canada, and later the Space Task Group.


Fresno Heart & Surgical Hospital has received top ratings again for bariatric surgery. HealthGrades, a national health care ratings organization, ranked the hospital third in the state for its patient outcomes and for the second year in a row gave it a 5-star rating, plus a Bariatric Surgery Excellence Award.
Besides a reputation for top clinical quality, Fresno Heart & Surgical has also become known for its expertise in taking on complicated bariatric patients who have other serious diseases or may need a revision of an earlier gastric bypass surgery, Dr. Higa said.
Obesity has become a major health problem worldwide, said Dr. Boone, and especially in America where the number of overweight and morbidly obese Americans has steadily increased, contributing to rising rates of life-threatening diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure. Obesity also increases problems like sleep apnea, respiratory difficulties and joint pain and increases the risk of breast, prostate, colon and endometrial cancers. Along with the increasing obesity rates, the number of bariatric surgeries in the U.S. skyrocketed from 13,386 in 1998 to 220,000 in 2008, HealthGrades' study found.
This latest award builds on Fresno Heart & Surgical's 5-star reputation. The hospital earned "Best in the Region for cardiac services" accolades two years in a row with 5-star ratings from HeatlhGrades in cardiac bypass surgery in 2007 and for treatment of heart attacks in both 2007 and 2008 and then a 5-star rating for carotid surgery in 2009.
The hospital also received HealthGrades' Outstanding Patient Experience Award for the past two years, placing it among the top 5% of hospitals nationally based on patient surveys that ask about cleanliness, noise levels, responsiveness, service and communication from staff.
For this study, HealthGrades analyzed 190,502 bariatric procedures performed in the years 2006, 2007 and 2008. The states included in the study are: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin. The full study and individual hospital ratings for bariatric surgery and other procedures can be found at healthgrades.com.


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Social Impact Bonds (SIBs) are an alternative performance-based public financial instrument, that shifts the policy focus from inputs and outputs to outcomes and value-for-money. SIBs are typically issued by the public sector, whereas the working capital is provided up-front by private investors and paid to the service provider. The public partner commits to paying the outcome payments to the investor if and only if the predefined and measurable social goals are met.
This paper addresses the question whether and when SIBs are suited for financing public services and preferred to traditional funding, like public procurement or public-private partnerships. To this end, it identifies seven preconditions for the feasibility and successful issuance of SIBs, structured into a decision framework: (1) governmental willingness to use innovative funding techniques, (2) clear definitions of the social issue, social impact and target group, (3) sufficient supply of experienced service providers, (4) measurable outcomes and robust datasets, (5) unambiguous baseline, (6) sufficient potential cost savings and (7) removal of administrative and tax barriers. At date, most SIBs are used for the provision of 'soft' public social services.
This paper assesses the feasibility of SIBs for financing 'hard' infrastructural investments, more particularly in road safety. The decision tree shows that there exist no fundamental obstacles for the use of Road Safety Bonds. Their current limited use is mainly due to the managerial complexity, the lack of experience, administrative support and venture capital, and the desire of policy makers to keep control of the policy output.