$950 One-off Cash Bonus to Support Jobs

The Rudd Government today announced five key $950 one-off payments for low and middle income households and individuals.

The Government is providing these cash payments to immediately support jobs and strengthen the Australian economy during a severe global recession.

These targeted cash bonuses are a key element of the Government’s $42 billion Nation Building and Jobs Plan to support up to 90,000 Australian jobs.

To immediately stimulate the economy in the shortest possible time, five groups of one-off cash bonuses will be paid in March and April 2009.

These five key bonuses include a:

• Tax Bonus for Working Australians of up to $950 paid to every eligible Australian worker earning $100,000 or less. This will support up to 8.7 million individuals.


• $950 Single Income Family Bonus to support 1.5 million families with one main income earner.


• $950 Farmers' Hardship Bonus paid to around 21,500 drought affected farmers and farm dependent small business owners receiving exceptional circumstances related income support.


• $950 per child Back to School Bonus to support 2.8 million children from low- and middle-income families.


• $950 Training and Learning Bonus paid to students and people outside of the workforce returning to study to help with the costs of education and training.

To support jobs in the middle of a severe global recession the Government must stimulate the economy in the most immediate manner possible.

That is why one off cash bonuses to people and families who are doing it toughest are a key part of our Nation Building and Jobs Plan.

These one off cash bonuses reflect the weight of economic authority – including the advice of the International Monetary Fund – that targeted one off payments rather than generalised tax cuts spread over a lengthy period are more likely to be consumed, and thus provide a more effective economic stimulus and provide more support for Australian jobs.

There will be no quick fixes, but the Government is determined to act swiftly and decisively to support Australian households, growth and jobs.

These cash bonuses will stimulate consumption quickly, supporting economic activity and jobs until our nation building initiatives have an impact.

This $12.7 billion package is a major economic initiative to deal with these extraordinary economic times and is in addition to the Economic Security Strategy that the Rudd Government delivered in December 2008.

Payday Loans Equal Very Costly Cash

The ads are on the radio, television, the Internet, even in the mail. They refer to payday loans, cash advance loans, check advance loans, post-dated check loans, or deferred deposit loans. The Federal Trade Commission, the nation’s consumer protection agency, says that regardless of their name, these small, short-term, high-rate loans by check cashers, finance companies and others all come at a very high price.

Here’s how they work: A borrower writes a personal check payable to the lender for the amount the person wants to borrow, plus the fee they must pay for borrowing. The company gives the borrower the amount of the check less the fee, and agrees to hold the check until the loan is due, usually the borrower’s next payday. Or, with the borrower’s permission, the company deposits the amount borrowed — less the fee — into the borrower’s checking account electronically. The loan amount is due to be debited the next payday. The fees on these loans can be a percentage of the face value of the check — or they can be based on increments of money borrowed: say, a fee for every $50 or $100 borrowed. The borrower is charged new fees each time the same loan is extended or “rolled over.”

The federal Truth in Lending Act treats payday loans like other types of credit: the lenders must disclose the cost of the loan. Payday lenders must give you the finance charge (a dollar amount) and the annual percentage rate (APR — the cost of credit on a yearly basis) in writing before you sign for the loan. The APR is based on several things, including the amount you borrow, the interest rate and credit costs you’re being charged, and the length of your loan.

A payday loan — that is, a cash advance secured by a personal check or paid by electronic transfer is very expensive credit. How expensive? Say you need to borrow $100 for two weeks. You write a personal check for $115, with $15 the fee to borrow the money. The check casher or payday lender agrees to hold your check until your next payday. When that day comes around, either the lender deposits the check and you redeem it by paying the $115 in cash, or you roll-over the loan and are charged $15 more to extend the financing for 14 more days. If you agree to electronic payments instead of a check, here’s what would happen on your next payday: the company would debit the full amount of the loan from your checking account electronically, or extend the loan for an additional $15. The cost of the initial $100 loan is a $15 finance charge and an annual percentage rate of 391 percent. If you roll-over the loan three times, the finance charge would climb to $60 to borrow the $100.

More cash for council homes

The Scottish Government today announced an additional £25 million to support the construction of local authority homes.

The money, which is expected to support 3,000 jobs, takes the total government investment in council house building to £50 million, the most spent in 30 years.

Just last week the Scottish Government announced the first 14 councils to benefit from the fund when almost £17 million was allocated. Work is currently underway to allocate the remainder of the cash as quickly as possible.

Announcing the additional investment today, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing Nicola Sturgeon said:

"The Scottish Government is investing record amounts in affordable housing, more than 1.5 billion pounds over three years, despite the tightest settlement from Westminster since devolution.

"These are hard times for businesses and families across Scotland and this government is working hard to meet this challenge, safeguard jobs, support the construction industry and keep the economy moving.

"In the Scottish Government's first year in office, more public sector homes were started than at any time since the early 1990s.

"The announcement of additional funding today will help local authorities to continue to reverse the decades of decline in council house building, providing people and their families with access to good quality homes that they can afford."

The council house building fund is just one part of a wider package supporting affordable housing in the economic downturn. Already the Scottish Government has:

• announced a record £644 million for the affordable housing investment programme this year

• extended the open market shared equity pilot to cover the whole of Scotland, backed by £60 million

• announced its intention to legislate to end the right to buy on all new build social housing

• launched the £35 million Homeowners Support Fund which helps households in financial difficulty

Christmas in Korogocho: How DFID cash helps children in Kenya's slums

Christmas 2008 has now come and gone. In the UK, most children got excited about Christmas, whether they had lots of wishes and expectations, or only one.

Kenyan children have wishes too. Meet Margaret Wamboi, who is 13 years old. Orphaned by AIDS, she lives in the slum of Korogocho in Nairobi. It's not a pretty place. In fact, 'Korogocho' means 'dumping-ground' in Kiswahili. So, what was Margaret's Christmas wish?

"My dream is to find a sponsor who will help me go to secondary school" she says. The evening we spoke to her she'd just finished her last day of primary school. Primary education is free in Kenya but Margaret knows her family doesn't have enough money for secondary school fees. Margaret's big sister Wahu, 16, looks after her and five other children also orphaned by AIDS. Wahu's dream, too, is that her sister Margaret is able to continue her education. "The biggest Christmas present for me that I would love, would be for the children all to go to school." Click on the video (right) to hear Margaret and Wahu's story.

The fact is that most children in Korogocho - a dangerous and unforgiving place inhabited by some 300,000 of the poorest, most desperate people in East Africa - will not get a present this Christmas. But, as journalist Alex Renton reports, DFID, Unicef and the Kenyan government are working together to give these and other orphaned and vulnerable children small amounts of cash that will help realise their wishes for the future.

Steam engine

In simple terms, it is the vapor released when water is heated to the boiling point. Both colorless and odorless, this vapor can provide a powerful source of energy and pressure. During classical times, man began to experiment with harnessing the power of steam. Greek engineer Heron (or Hero) of Alexandria developed a simplified steam device called an aeolipile or "wind ball" in which steam power caused a ball to revolve. Although Heron thought of this rotating device as a novelty or toy, the design principle he used is similar to that of today's jet propulsion. In 1679, French mathematician and physicist Denis Pepin invented a type of pressure cooker called the steam digester - an early forerunner of the autoclave. Serious efforts to harness steam power were made in 17th century Britain when it became necessary to pump floodwaters out of coalmines. In 1698, Thomas Savoy patented a crude steam engine that accomplished this task. In 1712, Thomas Newcomen improved upon his partner's idea with the development of an atmospheric steam engine. Enter James Watt, Glasgow scientist, depicted in the image below in his shop. A Newcomen engine was brought to him for repair, and his experiments and improvements resulted in his 1769 patent that ultimately became the dominant steam engine design of the times. The first effective high pressure steam engine in the United States was designed and built by a little known Delaware inventor, Oliver Evans. His 1801 invention, detailed in the 1893 lithograph above, is largely responsible for America's industrialization in the 19th century. Steam engines were adapted to power early locomotives, steamboats, fire fighting equipment and factory machines; even though more sophisticated power methods have evolved, steam engines are still used for power generation today.

Bair Is Open to Banks Profiting on Problem Loans

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair said Thursday she would be open to letting banks see some of the profits if they dump problem loans that ultimately recover some value.

The comments, made in a conference call with bankers Thursday, address a key industry concern with the government's plan for ridding banks of toxic assets.

While bankers understand unloading troubled loans will help clean up their books, taking bargain-basement prices could cause immediate pain and transfer the prospect of any future recovery to the buyers.

The Treasury Department's Public-Private Investment Program involves setting up investment funds to buy loans from banks. Ms. Bair said banks might be able to take an equity stake in those funds as partial payment for their loans, which would give them a payoff if the loans ultimately rise in value and would provide bankers with more incentive to sell troubled assets.

"We'd be open to comments on that," Ms. Bair said.

Domestic U.S. banks held loans valued at $6.5 trillion on their balance sheet last month, almost 60% of which are tied to consumer and commercial real estate. Those real-estate loans are causing the biggest headache and are likely the ones banks will hope to sell.

The problem is few investors will be willing to pay anything close to face value for such assets. If the price for impaired loans is below the face value of the loans minus the provision banks took to reserve for potential losses on the loans, banks' capital could suffer.

The FDIC's disposal of assets seized from failed banks gives some indication of the wide range of values the market is placing on bad loans. Last year, the FDIC auctioned off $38.6 million of real-estate loans that were originally valued at $58.4 million.

Loans made by banks in hard-hit states like California, Arizona, Michigan and Florida are valued the least, said Kingsley Greenland, chief executive of DebtX, an auctioning firm under contract with the government agency.

Top-tier, income-generating properties sell for as much as 90 cents on the dollar in regular FDIC auctions, Mr. Greenland said.

At the other end of the spectrum, COF Capital Partners LLC of Rocklin, Calif., paid $1.78 million, or only four cents on the dollar, for a portfolio of eight loans with a face value of $44.6 million, according to the FDIC's sale database.

The Treasury program aims to get investors to bid on the high side by letting them buy assets with lots of government-backed borrowed money and little cash down.

But observers said bankers may still hesitate to sell.

Some of the troubled loans still generate cash flow, and bankers might fear losing out on big gains in the loans when the economy improves.
Source http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123811926739754025.html

Not Just a Guy in a White Coat

Few would argue with the premise that some understanding of science is essential to making sense of the world today. Distinguishing between anecdotes and tested ideas means being able to draw on science and the scientific process to understand issues as varied as climate change, evolution and alternative energy.

Yet, many Americans' acquaintance with the scientific process is limited to a list they memorized from a textbook: Ask a question, form a hypothesis, conduct an experiment, collect data and draw a conclusion.

Just in time for the Year of Science 2009, a new Web site funded by the National Science Foundation offers a window to a better understanding about how dynamic and creative the scientific process really is.

With the contributions of "an astonishing set of advisers," Scotchmoor and her colleagues have developed a Web site that draws students into real-life examples--from the structure of DNA to advances in fueling technology to the discovery of insulin--to illustrate what science is and how it works. The site even offers a chance to evaluate pursuits such as astrology and apply a set of criteria to determine whether or not they constitute science.

The audience for the Web site is the general public as well as the educators (from kindergarten to undergraduate level) who are an essential part of young people's introduction to the scientific process and body of knowledge. Links to teacher resources include resources targeted to primary, middle school, high school and undergraduate-level educators. Instead of the five-part list representing a single scientific method in a textbook, there is an interactive chart showing how science works: the many motivations leading to exploration and discovery; the ways that ideas are tested out; the role of community analysis and feedback; and possible benefits and outcomes that result from scientific work.

Feedback from science teachers who have used the site have been very positive.

"Many of the teachers have a greater comfort level with science," said Scotchmoor. "They also noticed that their students were much more creative in how they approached problems, rather than saying, 'just tell me the steps and I'll do it.'"

Satellite data provide new view of smoke from wildfires

Scientists have a new tool for understanding how events in one region, such as wildfires, can affect air quality in areas far away.

Observations from NASA's Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) show that the plumes of dust, smoke and particles from wildfires or volcanoes often rise past the atmospheric boundary layer, the turbulent lowest portion of the atmosphere, and are injected into the less-turbulent and higher free troposphere. The aerosols can remain concentrated there for long periods and also be transported great distances.

The MISR Plume Height Climatology Project, a repository for wildfire plume height data acquired with MISR, became publically available in early 2008 and supports studies of wildfires, climate change and air quality. The MISR INteractive eXplorer (MINX) application tool used to generate the database is also free and was the recipient of a 2008 NASA Space Act Board Award.

One of the project's goals is to generate data based on actual observations of biomass burning emissions from wildfires that can be used in global atmospheric models. The frequency of wildfires has increased over the past few decades, and such fires may be even more common in a future, warmer climate. Predicting the effects of climate change on air quality requires the ability to accurately model smoke injection and long-range transport.

The MISR instrument flies on NASA's Terra satellite.

Blind Area Elimination: Video Cameras on Surface Haulage Equipment

As surface haulage trucks continue to get larger, the corresponding blind areas are also getting larger. Since 1987, there have been 58 fatalities in the mining industry involving haul trucks where restricted visibility was determined to be a contributing factor. In these accidents, the equipment operator did not expect a person or vehicle to be in the immediate area. This is a serious safety concern throughout the mining community. The increased production levels afforded by the ever increasing size of haulage equipment must not be at the expense of miners’ safety. The Mine Safety and Health Administration strongly supports the use of video cameras in large haulage vehicles to help solve this problem.

Microsoft temps take pay hit as staffing firms agree to cut fees

The third-party staffing agencies that provide temporary workers to Microsoft have agreed to a 10 percent reduction in the rate they charge the software giant, and many are passing a similar cut onto their employees.

It's the latest cost-saving move Microsoft has made to adjust to a recession that is clipping both consumer and business spending.

Staffing-industry analysts say the agencies that absorb more of the reduction themselves — rather than pass it all on to the workers — could gain favor with workers who will remember it when the market recovers and labor again becomes tight.

But these firms, which typically have single-digit profit margins, also have to stay in business until then.

For the workers facing smaller checks, the pay cut was an unwelcome, if not altogether unexpected, development.

Contract positions at Microsoft have been quietly eliminated over the past several months. One woman described earlier cuts in pay rates and benefits her husband has seen.

"If cuts are made on top of these prior reductions, that amounts to a significant loss in income and will make a sizable impact on the local economy," she said in an e-mail.

The woman, like several contractors who contacted The Seattle Times, asked for anonymity for fear that speaking out could jeopardize their jobs.

Some of the contract employees said they were glad to keep their jobs, even at lower pay. Washington's unemployment rate in January was 7.8 percent, higher than the estimated national rate of 7.6 percent.

Microsoft, which announced its first companywide layoff of full-time employees last month, said at the time it was also seeking to reduce its spending on vendor and contingent staff up to 15 percent.

The company does not disclose how many contract employees it uses. Estimates range in the tens of thousands for all contract workers, including temporary workers, who are typically paid on an hourly basis; and vendors, often higher-skilled individuals brought on for specific Microsoft projects.

Vendors, referred to as "v-dash" employees, were not affected by the rate reductions.

"We held discussions with some of the impacted agencies and settled on the 10 percent reduction based on the economic climate and the need to achieve greater cost reductions," spokesman Lou Gellos said in an e-mailed statement.

That reduction is for existing contracts. New temporary contracts will see bill rates reduced 15 percent.

Donn Harvey, president of the Staffing Association of Washington, said it appears most staffing firms are passing on the reductions directly to their employees.

Harvey is president of Bellevue-based Protingent Staffing, which provides vendors to Microsoft and is not affected by these rate reductions.

The bill rate Microsoft pays the agencies is substantially higher than the hourly pay the contract workers earn. This margin covers the agencies' cost for taxes, overhead, employee benefits and their own profits.

For example, if a staffing firm billed Microsoft $100 an hour for a worker the firm paid $60 an hour, a 10 percent reduction passed to the worker would reduce his or her pay by $10 an hour, or nearly 17 percent.

And indeed, some contract workers reported facing pay cuts of greater than 10 percent.

Surnish Nirula, director of business development at staffing agency Aditi USA in Bellevue, said his firm is trying to limit the cut borne by employees to 10 percent.

Two of the larger staffing agencies, Volt and Excell Data, did not respond to requests for comment.

"We are working hard ... to absorb costs even before this announcement came along," Nirula said. "Obviously, we have to run a viable business. It's a painful decision for us to take as well."

Eric Gregg, managing partner at the Inavero Institute, a Portland firm that provides research on and for the staffing industry, said agencies that protect their bottom line while insulating employees from the full brunt of the cuts could position themselves better in the long run.

A recent study Inavero did with CareerBuilder.com found that job candidates tend to remember staffing firms that looked out for them.

"These are the times that people remember," Gregg said. "It's not when jobs are prevalent and you have the pick of the litter, it's when a company is forced to make some tough decisions."

He said candidates also need to be realistic. Staffing agencies typically don't have the profit margins to absorb significant cuts from Microsoft, likely one of their biggest clients.

Source seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/PrintStory.pl?document_id=2008791481&zsection_id=2003750725&slug=microsofttemps27&date=20090227

Diversiform-Leaved Poplar Sightseeing District

Located in Ejina Banner of Alxa League, 640 kilometers from Bayanhot, the natural diversiform-leaved poplar forest covering an area of 450,000 mu is one of the only three of its kind existing in the world today and is designated as a State grade natural protection district and forest park. It is believed that poplar trees can live up to a thousand years, would never fall down for a thousand years after death and never get rotten for a thousand years after falling down. Therefore the species is praised as living plant-fossil and designated as the second grade plant for protection. The district is also a main venue for Ejina Banner to hold festival activities and large scale meetings. It is a poplar ecology and culture demonstration base and ideal location for photo amateurs.

Chairman Gordon Highlights Role of Science in Facing Energy Challenges

The solution to the current energy crisis will come from American innovation; however, the current approach to energy research hasn’t resulted in the breakthroughs we need. The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Energy or ARPA-E will revolutionize how our country develops new energy technologies.

Today we need revolutionary breakthroughs, not just incremental change. Currently, potentially revolutionary research may be too risky or multi-disciplinary to fit into a specific program’s mission at the Department of Energy, and the peer review system tends to favor established investigators pursuing well-understood concepts.

ARPA-E will solve those problems. ARPA-E came out of recommendations in the National Academies report, Rising Above the Gathering Storm, and modeled after DARPA, which gave the Department of Defense breakthroughs like stealth technology, body armor, GPS, and the Internet. ARPA-E will leverage many of the same organizational elements that fostered innovation at DARPA. ARPA-E will be a similarly non-bureaucratic agency that brings together the best and brightest from industry, academia, and the public sector to pursue high-risk, high-reward research.

ARPA-E is charged with developing technologies that: reduce dependency on foreign oil; improve the energy efficiency of all economic sectors; reduce greenhouse gas emissions; and maintain U.S. leadership in the development and deployment of energy technologies.

ARPA-E was signed into law last August as part of the America COMPETES act (PL 110-69). The FY09 House appropriations bill provides $15 million for ARPA-E to get organized, and it will fall to the next President to make this new approach to addressing our energy challenges a priority.

Aberystwyth group shows the way for Wales’ sustainable future

Ms Davidson was in the area to promote the Sustainable Development Scheme which will see the Welsh Assembly Government using all its devolved powers to make every part of the public sector sustainable for the benefit of the environment and the people of Wales.

Sustainable Development is defined as improving people’s quality of life and wellbeing whilst using environmental resources sustainably, so that development now does not compromise the quality of life of future generations. The new plan calls for joined up decision making at all levels of government and the public sector to achieve this.

The Minister went to see the work of CRAFT, a successful not-for-profit furniture reuse business that works to reduce environmental impact.

During the visit, Ms Davidson said:

This plan is a new vision for Wales. The Assembly Government will use all its devolved powers – from health, transport to education – to lessen Wales’ environmental impact on the world and help protect our country for future generations.

She added that CRAFT showed sustainability in action:

CRAFT shows us exactly how groups and individuals can make a real difference. By encouraging people to donate unwanted items to be reused by others, it benefits both the local community and the environment.

It is an excellent real-life example of a project that puts sustainable development into practice – helping to reduce the amount of resources we use and a good demonstration of the type of initiative that I would like to see encouraged throughout Wales.

Allison Cann, Manager of CRAFT added:

CRAFT makes it easy for people to do their bit to help build a better, greener future. The generosity of people who give their unwanted belongings or their time lets CRAFT do all sorts of things.

Anyone can come to the shop to buy everything from an affordable three piece suite to a teaspoon, cooker, computer or a paperback. CRAFT employs 13 paid staff, provides training and volunteer opportunities and helps all sorts of people throughout the year.

Voyager Mission Objective

The mission objective of the Voyager Interstellar Mission (VIM) is to extend the NASA exploration of the solar system beyond the neighborhood of the outer planets to the outer limits of the Sun's sphere of influence, and possibly beyond. This extended mission is continuing to characterize the outer solar system environment and search for the heliopause boundary, the outer limits of the Sun's magnetic field and outward flow of the solar wind. Penetration of the heliopause boundary between the solar wind and the interstellar medium will allow measurements to be made of the interstellar fields, particles and waves unaffected by the solar wind.

Team Wales pulls out the stops for former ASW staff

Team Wales has provided a rapid response to the closure of Allied Steel and Wire in Cardiff and immediate first-class support to redundant workers, said Welsh Economic Development Minister Andrew Davies.

The Team Wales partners involved in the response met earlier this week to review their work and the progress being made.

Andrew Davies, said: "Unlike the Corus crisis of last year, there was virtually no warning of the closure of ASW. It is an enormous credit to all the agencies, ELWa, Jobcentre Plus, Careers Wales, the WDA and others, including Steel Partnership Training and Cardiff County Council, that we have made terrific progress in helping former ASW employees improve their interview techniques, find new work and claim their entitlements.

"The other main emphasis of the Welsh Assembly Government is to continue to support the sale of the ASW plant to a new buyer as a going concern.

"After the bitter blow of losing their jobs and facing serious uncertainty about their pension and redundancy entitlements, ex-ASW staff have every right to expect an immediate and first class response from support services. That is exactly what is being provided and we have been co-ordinating this work.

"The Welsh Assembly Government has also campaigned hard to ensure that ex-ASW staff qualify for the one-off ISERBS payment that DTI allows to be paid to redundant steel workers in recognition of the severe restrictions on state aids to the industry. I am delighted that this has been achieved and that all eligible redundant ASW staff, and a number of contractors, are already having their ISERBS claims processed."

Of the 600 ASW staff made redundant on 31 July over 400 have been seen by Job Centre Plus and Careers Wales, mostly at the specially set up multi-agency office at the Railway Club in Tremorfa. It is thought that Around 85% of those made redundant live in the Splott, Tremorfa, Grangetown, Adamsdown and Butetown areas.

ELWa and Steel Partnership Training (SPT) are providing support for a range of advice, guidance and training packages, including courses for HGV licences and fork-lift truck driving certification. The Council is assisting with IT training, CV preparation and improving interview techniques. SPT has seen nearly 700 ex-ASW staff and contractors in the last few weeks alone. Training and support are very much tailored to the needs of the individual with all the various agencies working closely together. For example, ELWa is providing support for one bilingual former steel worker who wants to become a Welsh teacher in Butetown while the WDA is supporting another who wants to set up his own boat building business.

Economic Development Minister Andrew Davies said: "Steel workers are a special breed and highly skilled and combining an independent spirit with a powerful work ethic. Our recent experience with Corus and with previous steel closures going back many years is that they are not out of work for long. The Welsh Assembly Government and our partners will do everything in our power to ensure that this remains the case."

YELLOW-POPLAR - Liriodendron tulipifera, Linn

TULIP POPLAR AND TULIP TREE are other names for yellow-poplar. Tulip-like, greenish-yellow and orange flowers account for these names, and even the leaf looks somewhat like a cross-section drawing of a tulip. Actually, the tree is not a poplar at all but rather a member of the magnolia family. In Missouri it is native only to the counties in the southeast corner of the state. However, it has been widely planted as an ornamental. On good soils in the Appalachian Mountains it attains its best growth. Growing to a maximum height of 200 feet and 6 feet in diameter, it is the tallest of the hardwood trees. Yellow-poplar will not grow in the shade.

The leaf is alternate, borne simply on long, slender stems with four main lobes. The upper two lobes form a notch. This distinctive shape is shared by no other tree. The surface is dark yellow-green and smooth, while the under-surface is pale.The fruit is a cone-like cluster of winged, angled seeds. The flower is very showy and attractive. It is two inches across, greenish-yellow, orange and waxy.

The twigs are dark red or brown, moderately stout and often contain a powdery frost-like bloom. They often are smooth and turn shiny with age. The buds are flattened like a miniature duck's bill and valve-like with two large scales.

On good soil it is a fast growing tree, has excellent form and is disease resistant. The wood of younger trees is light yellow in color. On old trees the heartwood becomes greenish in color. It makes excellent lumber and is easy to work and fasten. It is used for furniture, interior finish, boxes, crates and veneer. It is one of our most valuable trees.

Precautions should be taken to protect the tender young bark of ornamental trees since it is subject to sunscald. Cloth or burlap can be wrapped around the main stem to protect it from the direct rays of the sun for the first few years.

The yellow-poplar scale is an insect which attaches itself in large numbers to tender young twigs, removing sap from a small area, forming small breaks in the bark. This insect can become serious since the infested twigs eventually die.

Copper and You: How Much Is Too Much?

Today's limit for the amount of copper you can safely consume in a day—10 milligrams for adults—might need to be downsized.A study to learn more about how the body handles excess copper showed, for the first time, that long-term intake of 7.8 milligrams of copper a day can result in a potentially unhealthy accumulation of this mineral. That's based on analyses of blood, urine and other samples from nine healthy male volunteers, age 27 to 48, who went on a high-copper regimen for approximately 4½ months of the 5½-month investigation.

The high-copper stint lowered one standard measure of the volunteers' levels of antioxidants—healthful compounds that protect cells, the scientists found (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, volume 81, pages 822-828). The regimen also interfered with some immune system defenses, reducing the volunteers' ability to fight off the Beijing strain of the flu, for instance. And, even though copper excretion increased during the high-copper regimen, the ramped-up excretion rate wasn't sufficient to remove excess copper.The findings are of interest to nutrition researchers worldwide, as well as to the experts who recommend daily intake levels for essential nutrients, and the companies that make vitamin-mineral supplements.

The Government supports the fight against trade in conflict diamonds

The Government is contributing SEK 3 million to the Diamond Development Initiative (DDI). The aim of the DDI is to remedy problems linked to the diamond-producing countries in Africa, problems to do with the poverty and unsafe environment that working in diamond mines may entail.

The DDI is related to the 'Kimberley process' that works to hinder international trade in conflict diamonds. The Kimberley process is holding its annual meeting this year on 5-8 November in Brussels under the chair of the EU. Just over 300 delegates from some 70 countries are expected to attend the meeting, as well as representatives of the diamond industry, stakeholder organisations and international organisations.

"The Kimberley process and the DDI are important initiatives. They affect our trade with Africa and are linked to development aspects within trade, security and the environment, in line with Swedish policy for global development," says Minister for Trade Ewa Björling.

Shuangliou National Forest Recreation Area

Shuangliou National Forest Recreation Area is situated at the confluence of the two major headwaters of the Fonggang River in Pingtung County. Ranging in elevation from 150 to 650 meters above sea level, the area has a tropical climate and is well endowed with natural attractions, such as waterfalls, valleys, and rivers weaving through the dense reforested woods. Shuangliou is home to several species of bird, including the Formosan blue magpie, common kingfisher, and Muller's barbet. The Formosan ash, planted by the Forestry Bureau, blankets the landscape in green as far as the eye can see. A major landmark at the recreation area is the Shuangliou Waterfall. The river current is slow and the water clear, making it suitable for swimming.

Mutual fund

Mutual funds permit investors to acquire a pro-rata share of a diversified portfolio of securities. Part of the popularity of mutual funds is their ability to offer small investors some of the advantages otherwise limited to large investors: diversification of the portfolio and professional portfolio management. An investment in a mutual fund is actually the purchase of shares in a fund. The shares are purchased at a public offering price, which is the net asset value of a share in the fund at the time of purchase, plus, in some cases, a sales charge or commission. It should be noted that a common trust plan is a mutual fund.

Mutual funds and common trusts are usually open-end investment companies because they stand ready to sell the public as large a volume of shares as it wishes to buy. Whatever volume of money is drawn in is invested according to the formula or policy of the particular fund. When investors wish to cash in their shares, the fund sells a part of its portfolio to raise the money. It then pays off the investor on the basis of the value of its assets at the date of liquidation. In effect, you buy $1,000 worth of shares in the fund and, when you sell your interest, you receive your proportionate share of the value of the fund's assets at the time of the sale. Therefore, you may realize a gain or a loss on your original investment.

Foreign Direct Investment In Infrastructure In Developing Countries:

Since the mid-1980s, governments around the world have pursued policies to encourage private sector participation in the financing and delivery of infrastructure services. The natural monopoly characteristics of infrastructure utilities mean, however, that the privatization of these industries risks the creation of private-sector monopolies. Therefore, governments need to develop strong regulatory capabilities to police the revenues and costs of the privatized utility firms, while, at the same time, establishing regulatory credibility among investors. This provides an empirical examination of the relationship between the quality of the regulatory framework and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in infrastructure in middle and lower income developing countries during the period 1990 to 2002.

Macduff Marine Aquarium nets top award

Macduff Marine Aquarium has shown once again that it deserves its reputation as one of the top visitor attractions in the north-east of Scotland, by netting a prestigious national tourism award. Macduff Marine Aquarium has shown once again that it deserves its reputation as one of the top visitor attractions in the north-east of Scotland, by netting a prestigious national tourism award.

The aquarium scooped the Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions' Best Visitor Experience 2008 award at a recent awards ceremony held at Dunblane Hydro in Perthshire.This is the first time the Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions (ASVA) has offered the award, which was sponsored by The Royal Yacht Britannia.Many top attractions, including three based in Edinburgh, were judged on the kind of experience they offer to visitors and how the attraction monitors and improves its service.

The top prize is a free place on the Scottish Enterprise Tourism Executive Seminar at the Schindlerhof Hotel and Conference Centre in Nurnberg, Germany in January 2009. Claire Matthews, Macduff Marine Aquarium's education and marketing officer, collected the award in front of a large crowd of industry specialists.She said: “We are thrilled to have won this best visitor experience award, especially as the other contenders were of such high quality and located in the capital.”Witek Mojsiewicz, aquarium manager, was delighted with the award and praised his hard-working staff for all their efforts.“To have won this award is a real accolade for the aquarium,” he said. “Our staff work extremely hard to ensure that our visitors have a fun but also educational experience at the aquarium and they show great enthusiasm and passion for what they do.”

He added: “This award is a confirmation that we are achieving the standards for which we strive and we are over the moon to have been recognised in this way.”Macduff Marine Aquarium is owned by Aberdeenshire Council and features the marine life of the Moray Firth in a variety of fascinating displays, including a 5m deep circular kelp reef exhibit, which is the only one of its kind in the UK.Richard Stroud, chairman of Aberdeenshire Council’s Education, Learning and Leisure Committee was delighted to hear about the award and congratulated staff at the aquarium on their success.

“This is a fantastic achievement for Macduff Aquarium,” he said. “I would like to congratulate the hard-working and dedicated staff who have helped secure this prestigious accolade.“The award recognises a high standard of customer service and visitor experience which staff at all of Aberdeenshire Council’s facilities provide to our residents.”The aquarium opened a new jellyfish display earlier this year and leads the way in exhibiting Scottish deep-water invertebrates that are not shown in any other aquarium in Britain.The aquarium operates an education programme and is a big hit with schools as well as the general public, attracting around 50,000 visitors per year.

Worst Of Financial Crisis Yet To Come: IMF

The IMF's chief economist has warned that the global financial crisis is set to worsen and that the situation will not improve until 2010.Olivier Blanchard also warned that the institution does not have the funds to solve every economic problem."The worst is yet to come," Blanchard said in an interview with the Finanz und Wirtschaft newspaper yesterday, adding that "a lot of time is needed before the situation becomes normal."

He said economic growth would not kick in until 2010 and it will take another year before the global financial situation became normal again.The International Monetary Fund on Friday promised to help Latvia deal with its economic crisis after it assisted Iceland, Hungary, Ukraine, Serbia and Pakistan.But Blanchard said the IMF was not able to solve all financial issues, in particular problems of liquidity.

Withdrawals of capital leading to problems of liquidity "can be so significant that the IMF alone cannot counter them," he said, adding that massive withdrawals of investments from emerging countries could represent "hundreds of billions of dollars."We do not have this money. We never had it," he said. The IMF had spent a fifth of its 250 billion dollar fund in the last two weeks, Blanchard added.

He also urged central banks around the world to cut interest rates, after the Swiss National Bank made a surprise one percentage point rate cut Thursday.The central banks "should lower interest rates to as close to zero as possible," he said.

Rainbow Falls

A rainbow produced by mist from this 80-foot high waterfall is visible on sunny afternoons. During extended winter cold spells, an impressive ice formation builds around the falls.Between trailhead and falls, Rainbow Falls Trail gains about 1,500' in elevation. The 5.4 mile roundtrip hike is considered moderate in difficulty. The Rainbow Falls Trail continues for approximately 4 miles beyond the falls to the summit of Mt. Le Conte.

Access Trail: Rainbow Falls Trail (Tennessee)
Trailhead: From the parkway in Gatlinburg, turn at traffic light #8 and follow Historic Nature Trail into Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Continue past the Noah “Bud” Ogle homesite to the clearly signed Rainbow Falls parking area.

Peripheral Arterial Disease

Also called: PAD
Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) happens when there is a narrowing of the blood vessels outside of your heart. A substance made up of fat and cholesterol, called plaque, builds up on the walls of the arteries that supply blood to the arms and legs. The plaque causes the arteries to narrow or become blocked. This can reduce or stop blood flow, usually to the legs, causing them to hurt or feel numb. If severe enough, blocked blood flow can cause tissue death. If this condition is left untreated, the foot or leg may need to be amputated.

A person with PAD also has an increased risk of heart attack, stroke and transient ischemic attack. You can often stop or reverse the buildup of plaque in the arteries with dietary changes, exercise, and efforts to lower high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure.

Raspberry

Raspberries are an important commercial fruit crop, widely grown in all temperate regions of the world. Many of the most important modern commercial red raspberry cultivars derive from hybrids between R. idaeus and R. strigosus. Some botanists consider the Eurasian and American red raspberries to all belong to a single, circumboreal species, Rubus idaeus, with the European plants then classified as either R. idaeus subsp. idaeus or R. idaeus var. idaeus, and the native North American red raspberries classified as either R. idaeus subsp. strigosus, or R. idaeus var. strigosus.

The black raspberry, Rubus occidentalis, is also occasionally cultivated in the United States, providing both fresh and frozen fruit as well as jams, preserves, and other products, all with that species' distinctive, richer flavor.

Purple-fruited raspberries have been produced by horticultural hybridization of red and black raspberries, and have also been found in the wild in a few places (for example, in Vermont) where the American red and the black raspberries both grow naturally. The unofficial name Rubus × neglectus has been applied to these native American plants for which commercial production is rare.

Red and black raspberry species have albino-like pale-yellow variants resulting from expression of recessive genes for anthocyanin pigments. Variously called golden raspberries, yellow or (rarely) orange raspberries retain the distinctive flavor of their respective species. In the eastern United States, most commercially sold pale-fruited raspberries are derivatives of red raspberries. Yellow-fruited variants of the black raspberry occur occasionally in the wild or are grown in home gardens.

Hamilton 'feels Senna connection'

Lewis Hamilton believes he is similar to Ayrton Senna and has revealed that he has based his approach to his career on the Brazilian three-time champion.

Hamilton, who can win the title at Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix, says he has admired Senna since childhood."I've always felt I had a connection with him, that we're somehow similar," he told Motor Sport magazine."I do crazy things that others wouldn't do and I feel like I have an edge, too. I feel I share something with him." The 23-year-old, who is seven points clear of Ferrari's Felipe Massa heading into the race at Interlagos, wears a yellow helmet because of his admiration for Senna, who was killed in the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.

But he said he felt his links with Senna - who was born in Sao Paulo, the city that hosts this weekend's race - go far deeper than that."I seem to be able to draw a lot from how he came across, in interviews and so on."He was such a fighter, that was the thing - I don't think he was ever one to drive half-heartedly."He was always looking for perfection and, yeah, he was a warrior - and that was what I loved about him."In the interview, Hamilton talks at length about how closely he has modelled his career on Senna.Hamilton, now 23, was nine when Senna was killed.

"The year before, I'd won the British [karting] championship, and got the chance to meet him. I'll never forget that," he said.

"As a kid, I was drawn to Senna because, for one thing, his driving style seemed to be different from anyone else's."And he seemed to be a daredevil - well, not a daredevil exactly, but he always went out of his way to… make sure he was at the front."Compared with all the others, he appeared never to be afraid - he seemed to me to have that little bit of an edge."Hamilton has recently come in for some criticism for driving over-aggressively - just as Senna did in his career.

But he insists that he does not believe in intimidating his rivals."You do get quite a lot of people who do that, you know - drivers who try to intimidate other drivers," Hamilton said."I could do it, too, but I just don't see the sense in it, personally."When people try and intimidate me, I laugh."The way I look at it, if they're doing that, it means they're worried - they feel they have to do something to distract me, or put me off, or try and knock my confidence.

"Personally I think that's a sign of weakness - weakness in the mind - and if you let it upset you, they're going to get the upper hand on you. I don't do that sort of thing, because I don't feel I have that weakness."The thing is, I think there's a subtle way you can do it. You can do it stupidly, and then there's a 50:50 chance of both of you crashing."But there's a subtler way of doing these things - I mean, when I got here, I wanted to assert myself in certain ways: one, to prove you can overtake in F1, and two, to show that I don't care who you are - whether you're Kimi Raikkonen or whomever - I'll go up the inside of you."It was important to get across that in a situation where most people would back out of it, I won't. And I showed that in my first year."

Despite his reverence for Senna, though, Hamilton recoiled from equating his ability with the Brazilian's."By no means have I ever suggested that I'm better than Ayrton - for me he's the king, and always will be," Hamilton said."If I could ever get to a point of being anywhere near as good as he was, I'd feel great."

Milwaukee

Milwaukee is the largest city in Wisconsin and 22nd largest (by population) in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. As of a revised 2006 U.S. Census estimate, Milwaukee had a population of 602,782. Milwaukee is the main cultural and economic center of the Milwaukee–Racine–Waukesha Metropolitan Area with a population of 1,964,744

The first Europeans to pass through the area were French missionaries and fur traders. In 1818, the French-Canadian explorer Solomon Juneau settled in the area, and in 1846 Juneau's town combined with two neighboring towns to incorporate as the City of Milwaukee. Large numbers of German and other immigrants helped increase the city's population during the 1840s and the following decades.

Once known almost exclusively as a brewing and manufacturing powerhouse, Milwaukee has taken steps in recent years to reshape its image. In the past decade, major new additions to the city have included the Milwaukee Riverwalk, the Midwest Airlines Center, Miller Park, an internationally renowned addition to the Milwaukee Art Museum, and Pier Wisconsin, as well as major renovations to the Milwaukee Auditorium. In addition, many new skyscrapers, condos, lofts, and apartments have been constructed in neighborhoods on and near the lakefront and riverbanks.

Indian Districts of India

India is one of the oldest civilizations with a kaleidoscopic variety and rich heritage. There are 604 Districts in India administered by their respective State/UT Government. Districts of India is an endeavour of NIC to provide a one-stop source for all the information about Districts of India at one place on the web. Visit the portal, which provides all the information regarding the area, population and headquarters about any district.

Here we are providing link to Village level mapping of demography and amenities maps on the GIS based website. This enables dynamic generation of choropleth maps for rural India for more than 160 parameters of Primary Census Abstract 2001 and Amenities Data, provided by Registrar General of India. Moreover, we are linking to the website of Survey of India, which acts as adviser to the Government of India on all survey matters, viz Geodesy, Photogrammetry, Mapping and Map Reproduction. With the help of this link one can access the map of any state and districts of the country.

Crumbling Glacier Quakes As It Breaks

On the west coast of Greenland, a glacier's crumbling edge is producing seismic groans.As the Arctic warms, scientists are keeping a close eye the Jakobshavn glacier. Already one of the world's fastest moving ice streams, over the last decade scientists watched alarmed as it sped up further, sometimes sliding dozens of feet per day toward the Ilulissat Fjord.

The heightened activity is having strange side effects. In 2003, scientists first noticed the glacier producing earthquakes between magnitude 4.6 and 5.1 in strength. The quakes happened slowly, over a period of 30 minutes to several hours, and were undetectable by people even though they registered on seismometers around the globe.Now a new study suggests the huge icebergs breaking off the edge of Jakobshavn are to blame.

Despite recent thinning, the glacier edge is still half a mile thick, and stretches along more than two miles of coastline. When icebergs break off, or calve, they splash into the fjord and grind against its bottom in a small cataclysm; the biggest chunks can stretch along the entire length of the glacier and be 1,500 feet deep.

Bermuda Triangle: Behind The Intrigue

The Bermuda Triangle is an area roughly bounded by Miami, Bermuda, and Puerto Rico. No one keeps statistics, but in the last century, numerous ships and planes have simply vanished without a trace within the imaginary triangle.Unusual features of the area had been noted in the past. Christopher Columbus wrote in his log about bizarre compass bearings in the area. But the region didn't get its name until August 1964, when Vincent Gaddis coined the term Bermuda Triangle in a cover story for Argosy magazine about the disappearance of Flight 19. The article stimulated a virtual cottage industry in myth-making.

Many exotic theories have been propounded to explain what happened to the missing travelers.

The disappearances have been attributed to the machinations of enormous sea monsters, giant squid, or extra-terrestrials. Alien abductions, the existence of a mysterious third dimension created by unknown beings, and ocean flatulence—the ocean suddenly spewing great quantities of trapped methane—have all been suggested as culprits.The reality, say many, is far more prosaic. They argue that a sometimes treacherous Mother Nature, human error, shoddy craftsmanship or design, and just plain bad luck can explain the many disappearances.

"The region is highly traveled and has been a busy crossroads since the early days of European exploration," said John Reilly, a historian with the U.S. Naval Historical Foundation. "To say quite a few ships and airplanes have gone down there is like saying there are an awful lot of car accidents on the New Jersey Turnpike—surprise, surprise."Lieutenant A. L. Russell, in the U.S. Coast Guard's official response to Bermuda Triangle inquiries, writes: "It has been our experience that the combined forces of nature and the unpredictability of mankind outdo science-fiction stories many times each year."

Disappearance of Flight 19

The legend of the Bermuda Triangle will be forever tied to the fateful flight that took place on December 5, 1945.Flight 19 originated at the U. S. Naval Air Station in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Five TBM Avenger Torpedo Bombers carrying 14 men took off at roughly 2:10 in the afternoon that day on a routine navigational training mission.

Led by instructor Lieutenant Charles Taylor, the assignment was to fly a three-legged triangular route with a few bombing practice runs over Hen and Chickens Shoals.

War Of Factions

In S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear Sky, the player assumes the role of Scar, a mercenary s.t.a.l.k.e.r. In a unique mixture of first-person shooter and complex role- playing game, Scar fights for survival within the Zone and its hostile sectors. The new Zone territories are explored by s.t.a.l.k.e.r.s scattered in groups—and these individual factions soon engage in relentless battle. As a mercenary, Scar quickly finds himself in the middle of a war of factions over territory, artifacts, and power. It is up to the player to find out on whose side Scar has the greatest chance of prevailing.

EAC Issues Voter’s Guide to Federal Elections

WASHINGTON- The U.S. Election Assistance Commission has issued a guide for citizens about voter registration and voting in the November presidential election. In addition to the basics of ballot-casting, the guide explains special voting procedures, such as early, absentee, and military and overseas voting.

“This guide is a one-stop resource for all types of voters, from first-time voters to frequent voters. It also includes step-by-step instructions for distinct categories of voters, such as military and overseas voters, who must follow special procedures,” said EAC Chair Rosemary Rodriguez.

“Citizens will also learn of new voting options that more states are offering, such as early voting and absentee voting. Voters need to know about all voting options, and this guide shows them how to take advantage of them.”

Since many voting procedures vary from state-to-state, it’s important that citizens always review their state’s materials. Links to all state voter information Web sites are available at www.eac.gov, along with any voter guides issued by individual states.

Copies of the EAC’s A Voter’s Guide to Federal Elections have been mailed to every jurisdiction in the country. Election officials may request additional copies at no charge by calling Edgardo Cortés or Juliana Milhofer at (202) 566-3100. An electronic version of the guide is also available online at www.eac.gov. The EAC Web site also features a variety of information for voters, including registration deadlines for each state, how to register using the National Mail Voter Registration Form, and how to become a poll worker.

Aerobic biodegradation of pollutants

The burgeoning amount of bacterial genomic data provides unparalleled opportunities for understanding the genetic and molecular bases of the degradation of organic pollutants. Aromatic compounds are among the most recalcitrant of these pollutants and lessons can be learned from the recent genomic studies of Burkholderia xenovorans LB400 and Rhodococcus sp. strain RHA1, two of the largest bacterial genomes completely sequenced to date. These studies have helped expand our understanding of bacterial catabolism, non-catabolic physiological adaptation to organic compounds, and the evolution of large bacterial genomes. First, the metabolic pathways from phylogenetically diverse isolates are very similar with respect to overall organization. Thus, as originally noted in pseudomonads, a large number of "peripheral aromatic" pathways funnel a range of natural and xenobiotic compounds into a restricted number of "central aromatic" pathways. Nevertheless, these pathways are genetically organized in genus-specific fashions, as exemplified by the b-ketoadipate and Paa pathways. Comparative genomic studies further reveal that some pathways are more widespread than initially thought. Thus, the Box and Paa pathways illustrate the prevalence of non-oxygenolytic ring-cleavage strategies in aerobic aromatic degradation processes.

Ping–pong mechanisms

As shown on the right, enzymes with a ping-pong mechanism can exist in two states, E and a chemically modified form of the enzyme E*; this modified enzyme is known as an intermediate. In such mechanisms, substrate A binds, changes the enzyme to E* by, for example, transferring a chemical group to the active site, and is then released. Only after the first substrate is released can substrate B bind and react with the modified enzyme, regenerating the unmodified E form. When a set of v by [S] curves (fixed A, varying B) from an enzyme with a ping–pong mechanism are plotted in a Lineweaver–Burk plot, a set of parallel lines will be produced.

Enzymes with ping–pong mechanisms include some oxidoreductases such as thioredoxin peroxidase, transferases such as acylneuraminate cytydilyltransferase and serine proteases such as trypsin and chymotrypsin. Serine proteases are a very common and diverse family of enzymes, including digestive enzymes (trypsin, chymotrypsin, and elastase), several enzymes of the blood clotting cascade and many others. In these serine proteases, the E* intermediate is an acyl-enzyme species formed by the attack of an active site serine residue on a peptide bond in a protein substrate. A short animation showing the mechanism of chymotrypsin is linked here.[δ]

Piracetam

Piracetam (brand name: Nootropil, Qropi, Myocalm, Dinagen) is a nootropic. It is a dietary supplement which is claimed to enhance cognition and memory, slow down brain aging, increase blood flow and oxygen to the brain, aid stroke recovery, and improve Alzheimer's, Down syndrome, dementia, and dyslexia, among others. Piracetam's chemical name is 2-oxo-1-pyrrolidine acetamide; it shares the same 2-oxo-pyrrolidone base structure with 2-oxo-pyrrolidine carboxylic acid (pyroglutamate). Piracetam is a cyclic derivative of GABA. It is one of the racetams. Piracetam is prescribed by doctors for some conditions, mainly myoclonus,1 but is used off-label for a much wider range of applications. However, some treat it as a food supplement rather than a drug.

Inertial navigation systems in detail

INSs have angular and linear accelerometers (for changes in position); some include a gyroscopic element (for maintaining an absolute angular reference).

Angular accelerometers measure how the vehicle is rotating in space. Generally, there's at least one sensor for each of the three axes: pitch (nose up and down), yaw (nose left and right) and roll (clockwise or counter-clockwise from the cockpit).

Linear accelerometers measure how the vehicle is moving in space. Since it can move in three axes (up & down, left & right, forward & back), there is a linear accelerometer for each axis.

A computer continually calculates the vehicle's current position. First, for each of the six degrees of freedom (x,y,z and θ x, θ y and θ z), it integrates the sensed amount of acceleration over time to figure the current velocity. Then it integrates the velocity to figure the current position.

Inertial guidance is difficult without computers. The desire to use inertial guidance in the Minuteman missile and Project Apollo drove early attempts to miniaturize computers.

Inertial guidance systems are now usually combined with satellite navigation systems through a digital filtering system. The inertial system provides short term data, while the satellite system corrects accumulated errors of the inertial system.

An inertial guidance system that will operate near the surface of the earth must incorporate Schuler tuning so that its platform will continue pointing towards the center of the earth as a vehicle moves from place to place.

Planet (software)

In computing, Planet is a feed aggregator application designed to collect posts from the weblogs of members of an Internet community and display them on a single page. Planet runs on a web server. It creates pages with entries from the original feeds in chronological order, most recent entries first.

Planet is written in Python and maintained by Jeff Waugh and Scott James Remnant. Released under the Python License, Planet is free software.

Google Earth

Google Earth is a virtual globe program that was originally called Earth Viewer, and was created by Keyhole, Inc, a company acquired by Google in 2004. It maps the earth by the superimposition of images obtained from satellite imagery, aerial photography and GIS 3D globe. It is available under three different licenses: Google Earth, a free version with limited functionality; Google Earth Plus ($20 per year), which includes additional features; and Google Earth Pro ($400 per year), which is intended for commercial use.

The product, renamed Google Earth in 2006, is currently available for use on personal computers running Microsoft Windows 2000, XP, or Vista, Mac OS X 10.3.9 and above, Linux (released on June 12, 2006), and FreeBSD. Google Earth is also available as a browser plugin (released on June 02, 2008) for Firefox, IE6, or IE7. In addition to releasing an updated Keyhole based client, Google also added the imagery from the Earth database to their web based mapping software. The release of Google Earth in mid 2006 to the public caused a more than tenfold increase in media coverage on virtual globes between 2006 and 2007, driving public interest in geospatial technologies and applications.

Geography Markup Language

The Geography Markup Language (GML) is the XML grammar defined by the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) to express geographical features. GML serves as a modeling language for geographic systems as well as an open interchange format for geographic transactions on the Internet. Note that the concept of feature in GML is a very general one and includes not only conventional "vector" or discrete objects, but also coverages (see also GMLJP2) and sensor data. The ability to integrate all forms of geographic information is key to the utility of GML.

Navigational database

Navigational databases are characterized by the fact that objects in the database are found primarily by following references from other objects. Traditionally navigational interfaces are procedural, though one could characterize some modern systems like XPath as being simultaneously navigational and declarative.

Navigational access is traditionally associated with the network model and hierarchical model of database interfaces and have evolved into Set-oriented systems . Navigational techniques use "pointers" and "paths" to navigate among data records (also known as "nodes"). This is in contrast to the relational model (implemented in relational databases), which strives to use "declarative" or logic programming techniques in which you ask the system for what you want instead of how to navigate to it.

For example, to give directions to a house, the navigational approach would resemble something like, "Get on highway 25 for 8 miles, turn onto Horse Road, left at the red barn, then stop at the 3rd house down the road".

Database transaction

A database transaction is a unit of work performed against a database management system or similar system that is treated in a coherent and reliable way independent of other transactions. A database transaction, by definition, must be atomic, consistent, isolated and durable. These properties of database transactions are often referred to by the acronym ACID.

Transactions provide an "all-or-nothing" proposition stating that work units performed in a database must be completed in their entirety or take no effect whatever. Further, transactions must be isolated from other transactions, results must conform to existing constraints in the database and transactions that complete successfully must be committed to durable storage.

Data extraction

Data extraction is the act or process of retrieving (binary) data out of (usually unstructured or badly structured) data sources for further data processing or data storage (data migration). The import into the intermediate extracting system is thus usually followed by data transformation and possibly the addition of metadata prior to export to another stage in the data workflow.

Usually, the term data extraction is applied when (experimental) data is first imported into a computer from primary sources, like measuring or recording devices. Today's electronic devices will usually present a electrical connector (e.g. USB) through which 'raw data' can be streamed into a personal computer.

Electronic signature

The term electronic signature has several meanings. In recent US law, influenced by ABA committee white papers and the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL), electronic signature means "an electronic sound, symbol, or process, attached to or logically associated with a record and executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the record." This definition comes from the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act or "UETA" released by NCCUSL in 1999. The U.S. ESign Act of 2000 enacted on a federal level many of the core concepts of UETA. 46 US states, the District of Columbia, and the US Virgin Islands have enacted UETA.

The concept itself is not new. US and other common law contains references to telegraph signatures and faxed signatures, some as far back as the mid-19th century. For that matter, the text of, and comments to, US Federal Rules of Evidence 1001, 1002, and 1003, among others, give good support for the proposition that electronic records and signatures would be admissible in court.

Types of Trojan horse payloads

Trojan horse payloads are almost always designed to do various harmful things, but can also be harmless. They are broken down in classification based on how they breach and damage systems. The six main types of Trojan horse payloads are:

* Remote Access
* Data Destruction
* Downloader
* Server Trojan(Proxy, FTP , IRC, Email, HTTP/HTTPS, etc.)
* Security software disabler
* Denial-of-service attack (DoS)

Some examples of damage are:

* Erasing or overwriting data on a computer
* Encrypting files in a cryptoviral extortion attack
* Corrupting files in a subtle way
* Upload and download files
* Copying fake links, which lead to false websites, chats, or other account based websites, showing any local account name on the computer falsely engaging in untrue context
* Showing fake downloads of software movies, games, porn videos and porn websites, that you did not download nor go on.
* Allowing remote access to the victim's computer. This is called a RAT (remote access trojan)
* Spreading other malware, such as viruses: this type of Trojan horse is called a 'dropper' or 'vector'
* Setting up networks of zombie computers in order to launch DDoS attacks or send spam.
* Spying on the user of a computer and covertly reporting data like browsing habits to other people (see the article on spyware)
* Making screenshots
* Logging keystrokes to steal information such as passwords and credit card numbers
* Phishing for bank or other account details, which can be used for criminal activities
* Installing a backdoor on a computer system
* Opening and closing CD-ROM tray
* Playing sounds, videos or displaying images.
* Calling using the modem to expensive numbers, thus causing massive phone bills.
* Harvesting e-mail addresses and using them for spam
* Restarting the computer whenever the infected program is started
* Deactivating or interfering with anti-virus and firewall programs
* Deactivating or interfering with other competing forms of malware
* Randomly shutting off the computer
* A virus

E-mail spam

E-mail spam, also known as "bulk e-mail" or "junk e-mail," is a subset of spam that involves nearly identical messages sent to numerous recipients by e-mail. A common synonym for spam is unsolicited bulk e-mail (UBE). Definitions of spam usually include the aspects that email is unsolicited and sent in bulk. "UCE" refers specifically to "unsolicited commercial e-mail."

E-mail spam slowly but exponentially grew for several decades to several billion messages a day. Spam has frustrated, confused, and annoyed e-mail users. Laws against spam have been sporadically implemented, with some being opt-out and others requiring opt in e-mail. The total volume of spam (over 100 billion emails per day as of April 2008) has leveled off slightly in recent years, and is no longer growing exponentially. The amount received by most e-mail users has decreased, mostly because of better filtering. About 80% of all spam is sent by fewer than 200 spammers. Botnets, networks of virus-infected computers, are used to send about 80% of spam. The cost of spam is borne mostly by the recipient, so it is a form of postage due advertising.

Roboticist

A roboticist designs, builds, programs, and experiments with robots. Since robotics is a highly interdisciplinary field, roboticists often have backgrounds in a number of disciplines including computer science, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and computer engineering. Roboticists often work for university, industry, and government research labs, but may also work for startup companies and other entrepreneurial firms. Amateur Roboticist is also a growing hobby all over the world.

Cybernetics

Cybernetics is the interdisciplinary study of the structure of complex systems, especially communication processes, control mechanisms and feedback principles. Cybernetics is closely related to control theory and systems theory.

Example of cybernetic thinking. On the one hand a company is approached as a system in an environment. On the other hand cybernetic factory can be modeled as a control system.

Example of cybernetic thinking. On the one hand a company is approached as a system in an environment. On the other hand cybernetic factory can be modeled as a control system.

Contemporary cybernetics began as an interdisciplinary study connecting the fields of control systems, electrical network theory, mechanical engineering, logic modeling, evolutionary biology and neuroscience in the 1940s.

Other fields of study which have influenced or been influenced by cybernetics include game theory, system theory (a mathematical counterpart to cybernetics), psychology (especially neuropsychology, behavioral psychology, cognitive psychology), philosophy, and architecture.

Homeodynamics

"HOMEODYNAMICS - One of the dominating motifs in biological thinking was provided by the physiologist Claude Bernard in Paris in the 1850s. Bernard, who among many other discoveries carried out some of the earliest systematic studies on what were later to become known as enzymes and hormones, saw living systems as explicable neither by vitalism (the belief that there existed some special 'life forces' beyond the reach of chemistry or physics) nor by mechanism. "He regarded stability as a major organising physiological principle, and emphasised the constancy of what he described as the milieu interieur - the 'internal environment' - of multicellular organisms, their tendency to work to regulate this environment in terms of temperature, acidity, ionic composition and so forth.

This capacity he saw as providing a stable context in which the individual cells of the body can function with a minimum of disruptive turmoil. "Seventy years later the American physiologist Walter Cannon generalzed Bernard's concept by introducing the term homeostasis - the tendency of a regulated system to maintain itself close to some fixed point, like the temperature of a room controlled by a central heating system and a thermostat. No modern textbook account of physiological or psychological mechanisms fails to locate itself within this homeostatic metaphor. But the metaphor of homeostasis contrains our view of living systems. "Lifelines are not purely homeostatic: they have a beginning at conception, and an end at death. Organisms, and indeed ecosystems, develop, mature and age.

The set oints of homeostatic theory are not themselves constant during this trajectory but change over time. The organism switches its own thermostat. Organisms are active players in their own fate, not simply the playthings of the gods, nature or the inevitable workings-out of replicator-driven natural selection. To understand lifelines, therefore, we need to replace homeostasis with a richer concept, that of homeodynamics."

Adaptive system

An adaptive system is a system that is able to adapt its behavior according to changes in its environment or in parts of the system itself. A human being, for instance, is certainly an adaptive system; so are organizations and families. Some man-made systems can be made adaptive as well; for instance, control systems utilize feedback loops in order to sense conditions in their environment and adapt accordingly. Robots incorporate many of these control systems. Neural Networks are a common type of algorithmic implementation of adaptive systems.

Diffusion of innovations theory can help to explain the uptake of new ideas, practices and products by individuals and social groups -- human adaptive systems.

Microsoft Reciprocal License (Ms-RL)

This Microsoft license allows for distribution of derived code so long as the modified source files are included and retain the Ms-RL. The Ms-RL allows those files in the distribution that do not contain code originally licensed under Ms-RL to be licensed according to the copyright holder's choosing. This is equivalent to the CDDL or LGPL (GPL with a typical "linking exception"). Initially known as the Microsoft Community License, it was renamed during the OSI approval process.

On December 9, 2005, the Ms-RL license was submitted to the Open Source Initiative for approval by John Cowan. OSI then contacted Microsoft and asked if they wanted OSI to proceed. Microsoft replied that they did not wish to be reactive and that they needed time to review such a decision.

At the O'Reilly Open Source Convention in July 2007, Bill Hilf, director of Microsoft's work with open source projects, announced that Microsoft had formally submitted Ms-PL and Ms-RL to OSI for approval. It was approved on October 12, 2007 along with the Ms-PL. According to the Free Software Foundation, it is a free software license. However, unlike the Microsoft Public License, it is not compatible with the GNU GPL.

Norse colonization of the Americas

Norse sailors, often referred to as Vikings, explored and settled areas of the North Atlantic, including the northeast fringes of North America, beginning in the 10th century. While this settlement process did not have the lasting effects that later settlements and conquests would have, it can be seen as a prelude to wide-scale European settlement in the Americas.

The Viking activities are often erroneously described as the Viking colonization of North America, but there are few findings to support the idea that the Vikings colonized North America, except for Greenland which they occupied for almost 500 years . Outside Greenland, though, the Viking settlements only grew to a small size and never fully developed into permanent colonies, partly because of hostile relations with Native Americans, whom the Norse referred to as Skrælings. In turn, the Viking exploited the natural resources such as furs and lumber. Lumber, in particular, was in short supply in Norse Greenland, due to deforestation.

New Mobility Agenda

The New Mobility Agenda is an international institution which while virtual and an open collaborative was originally set up by an international working group meeting at the Abbey de Royaumont near Paris with the support of the OECD in Paris in 1974 to challenge old ideas and practices in the field of urban transport through a long term collaborative program of information exchange, education and peer support. The Agenda today draws together the experience, expertise and support of more than four thousand individuals and groups world wide in an open collaborative peer network. One of the original proponents of this approach, Professor Mikoto Usui then director of the OECD Development Centre, referred to it in the founding meeting at the “Abbé de Royaumont as an “invisible college”. Drawing together the experience and expertise of more than four thousand individuals and groups world wide, who are networked via a combination of websites, discussion groups and fora, and collaborative projects, the Agenda takes an approach to transportation planning, policy and practice that has gained considerable force over the last two decades -- provides a leading-edge alternative to earlier (20th century) methods of looking at and providing mobility for people and goods in cities. The Agenda has received prestigious awards for its contributions, including the Stockholm Environment Challenge Prize (2000) and the World Technology Environment Award (2002).

Population history of American indigenous peoples

Millions of indigenous people lived in the Americas when the 1492 voyage of Christopher Columbus began a historical period of large-scale European contact with the Americas. European contact with what they called the "New World" led to the European colonization of the Americas, with millions of emigrants (willing and unwilling) from the "Old World" eventually resettling in the Americas. While the population of Old World peoples in the Americas steadily grew in the centuries after Columbus, the population of the American indigenous peoples plummeted. The extent and causes of this population decline have long been the subject of controversy and debate. The 500th anniversary in 1992 of Columbus's famous voyage drew renewed attention to claims that indigenous peoples of the Americas had been the victims of ethnocides (the destruction of a culture).

Integrated development environment

In computing, an integrated development environment (IDE) is a software application that provides comprehensive facilities to computer programmers for software development. An IDE normally consists of a source code editor, a compiler and/or interpreter, build automation tools, and (usually) a debugger. Sometimes a version control system and various tools are integrated to simplify the construction of a GUI. Many modern IDEs also have a class browser, an object inspector, and a class hierarchy diagram, for use with object oriented software development.

Snapshot isolation

In databases, snapshot isolation is a guarantee that all reads made in a transaction will see a consistent snapshot of the database, and the transaction itself will successfully commit only if no updates it has made conflict with any concurrent updates made since that snapshot.

Snapshot isolation (SI) has been adopted by several major database management systems, such as SQL Anywhere, InterBase, Firebird, Oracle, PostgreSQL and Microsoft SQL Server. The main reason for its adoption is that it allows better performance than serializability, yet still avoids the kind of concurrency anomalies that cannot easily be worked around. SI has also been used to critique the ANSI SQL-92 standard's definition of isolation levels, as it exhibits none of the "anomalies" that the SQL standard prohibited, yet is not serializable (the anomaly-free isolation level defined by ANSI).

4th Dimension (Software)

4th Dimension (or 4D, or Silver Surfer, as it was known during early development) is a relational database management system and IDE developed by Laurent Ribardière in 1984. In 1993, 4D Server, the client/server version of 4th Dimension was introduced and since 1995, 4D has supported both the Microsoft Windows and Apple Macintosh operating systems.

The 4D product line has since expanded to an SQL front-end, integrated compiler and several productivity plug-ins and interfaces. Some of the more useful plug-ins include 4D Write (a word processor), 4D Draw (to draw shapes), 4D View (somewhat like a spreadsheet, but with extra functionality) and 4D Internet Commands (which let you add all sorts of Internet related functionality to a database). There are also over 100 third-party plugins, free and commercial.

FTPS

FTP/SSL is a name used to encompass a number of ways in which FTP software can perform secure file transfers. Each way involves the use of a SSL/TLS layer below the standard FTP protocol to encrypt the control and/or data channels. It should not be confused with either SSH file transfer protocol (SFTP), or FTP over SSH (no acronym).

The most common uses of FTP and SSL are:

* AUTH TLS, Explicit FTPS or FTPES, named for the command issued to indicate that TLS security should be used. This is the preferred method according to RFC 4217. The client connects to the server port 21 and starts an unencrypted FTP session as normal, but requests that TLS security be used and performs the appropriate handshake before sending any sensitive data.

* AUTH as defined in RFC 2228.

* Implicit FTPS is an older, but still widely implemented style in which the client connects to a different port (usually 990), and an SSL handshake is performed before any FTP commands are sent.

Spiral model

The spiral model is a software development process combining elements of both design and prototyping-in-stages, in an effort to combine advantages of top-down and bottom-up concepts. Also known as the spiral lifecycle model, it is a systems development method (SDM) used in information technology (IT). This model of development combines the features of the prototyping model and the waterfall model. The spiral model is intended for large, expensive and complicated projects.

NEC Display Solutions

NEC Display Solutions is a manufacturer of computer monitors and large-screen public-information displays, and has sold and marketed products under the NEC brand globally for more than twenty years. The company sells display products to the consumer, business, professional (e.g. financial, graphic design, CAD/CAM), digital signage and medical markets. The company became a wholly owned subsidiary of Japan-based NEC Corporation on March 31, 2005. Prior to that date, the company was known as NEC/Mitsubishi, a 50/50 joint venture between NEC Corporation and Mitsubishi Electric that began in 2000, and sold display products under both the NEC and Mitsubishi brands. The company, which is no longer affiliated with Mitsubishi, currently sells and markets products under the NEC brand only.

Molecular mechanics

In many cases, large molecular systems can be modeled successfully while avoiding quantum mechanical calculations entirely. Molecular mechanics simulations, for example, use a single classical expression for the energy of a compound, for instance the harmonic oscillator. All constants appearing in the equations must be obtained beforehand from experimental data or ab initio calculations.

The database of compounds used for parameterization, i.e., the resulting set of parameters and functions is called the force field, is crucial to the success of molecular mechanics calculations. A force field parameterized against a specific class of molecules, for instance proteins, would be expected to only have any relevance when describing other molecules of the same class.

Jupiter

Jupiter (pronounced /'d?u?p?t?/) is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet within the solar system. It is two and a half times as enormous as all of the other planets in our solar system combined. Jupiter, next to Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, is classified as a gas giant. Together, these four planets are sometimes referred to as the Jovian planets; somewhere Jovian is the adjectival form of Jupiter.

The planet was known by astronomers of ancient times and was connected with the mythology and religious beliefs of many cultures. The Romans named the planet subsequent to the Roman god Jupiter. When view from Earth, Jupiter can arrive at an apparent magnitude of -2.8, creation it the third brightest object in the night sky after the Moon and Venus.

Strawberry

The strawberry (Fragaria) (plural strawberries) is a type of plants in the family Rosaceae and the fruit of these plants. There are more than 20 named types and a lot of hybrids and cultivars. The most frequent strawberries grown commercially are cultivars of the Garden strawberry. Strawberries have a taste that varies by cultivar, and range from quite sweet to slightly tartlet.

History museums

History museums cover the information of history and its meaning to the present and future. Some cover particular aspects of history or a particular locality; others are more general. Such museums contain a broad range of objects, including documents, artifact of all kinds, art, and archaeological substance. Antiquities museums think in more archaeological findings.
A common type of history museum is a major house. A historic house may be a building of special architectural interest, the birthplace or home of a famous person, or a house with an attractive history. Historic sites can also become museums, mostly those that mark public crimes, such as Tuol Sleng or Robben Island.

Another category of history museum is a living museum; a living museum is where people reorganize a time period to the fullest extent, including buildings, clothes and language. It is alike to historical rebuilding.

Climate

The climate is commonly measured to be the weather averaged over a long period of time, naturally 30 years. Somewhat more precisely, the concept of "climate" also includes the statistics of the weather - such as the degree of day-to-day or year-to-year difference expected. IPCC is called as Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Climate in a narrow sense is usually defined as the "average weather", or more meticulously, as the statistical description in terms of the mean and variability of relevant quantities over a period of time range from months to thousands or millions of years. The traditional period is 30 years, as defined by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). These quantities are the majority often surface variables such as temperature, precipitation, and wind. Climate in a wider sense is the state, including a numerical description, of the climate system.

Dye-transfer process

The dye transfer progression is a continuous-tone color photographic printing process, popularized by the Eastman Kodak Company in the 1940s. It is sometimes referred to by such general names as wash-off relief printing and dye imbibition’s transfer printing. The process involves making three matrices for each color, which absorb dye in quantity to the density of the relief. A color print is shaped, by transferring the dyed film matrices in physical contact onto a mordant dye receiver paper. Eastman Kodak Company congested making materials for this process in the mid 1990s. The dyes used in the process are very spectrally pure compare to normal coupler induced photographic dyes, with the immunity of the Kodak cyan. Also the dyes have exceptional light and dark fastness. The dye transfer process possesses the major color gamut and tonal scale than any other process, including inkjet. Another important characteristic of dye move is it allows the practitioner the highest degree of photographic control compare to any other photochemical color print process.

Debenture

In finance, a debenture is a long-term debt instrument used by governments and large companies to get funds. It is similar to a bond apart from the securitization conditions are different. A debenture is frequently unsecured in the sense that there are no liens or pledges on specific assets. It is however, secured by all property not otherwise pledged. In the case of insolvency debenture holders are considered general creditors.
The advantage of debentures to the issuer is they leave specific assets imaginative, and thereby leave them open for subsequent financing. Debentures are generally freely transferable by the debenture holder.

Cricket ball

Cricket balls are made from a core of cork, which is coated with tightly wound string, and covered by a leather case with a slightly raised sewn seam. The covering is constructed of four piece of leather shaped similar to the peel of a quartered orange, but one hemisphere is rotated by 90 degrees with respect to the other. The "equator" of the ball is stitch with string to form the seam, with a total of six rows of stitches. The remaining two join connecting with the leather pieces are left unstitched.For men's cricket, the ball must weigh between 5.5 and 5.75 ounces (155.9 and 163.0 g) and determine between 8 13/16 and 9 in (224 and 229 mm) in circumference. Balls used in women's and youth matches are a little smaller.

Cast iron

Cast iron usually refers to grey cast iron, but can mean any of a group of iron-based alloys containing more than 2% carbon. It is made by remelting pig iron, often along with substantial quantities of scrap iron and scrap steel, and taking various steps to remove undesirable contaminants such as phosphorus and sulfur. Carbon and silicon content are reduced to the desired levels, which may be anywhere from 2% to 3.5% for carbon and 1% to 3% for silicon depending on the application. Other elements are then added to the melt before the final form is produced by casting.Iron is most commonly melted in a small blast furnace known as a cupola. After melting is complete, the molten iron is removed or ladled from the forehearth of the blast furnace. This process is thought to have been devised by the late 18th century ironmaster John Wilkinson, whose innovative ideas revolutionized the field of metallurgy. Previously, iron was melted in an air furnace, which is a type of reverberatory furnace.

Biological synthesis

Natural polymers and biopolymers formed in living cells may be synthesized by enzyme-mediated processes, such as the arrangement of DNA catalyzed by DNA polymerase. The synthesis of proteins involves multiple enzyme-mediated processes to transcribe genetic information from the DNA and subsequently translate that information to synthesize the particular protein. The protein may be personalized further following translation in order to provide appropriate structure and function.