Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Surat Diamond Cluster

India leads the globe in diamond manufacturing with 60% share in value, 85% in volume and 92% share in the number of pieces produced. In India, rough diamonds have been mined since historic times. But it was only after the year 1962 that processing, cutting and polishing of diamonds developed as an industry. Nearly 80% of the country's natural diamond processing is done in Gujarat, of which Surat and Navsari, account for most of it.

In recent years, diamond-cutting centers have also come up outside the state of Gujarat especially in Mumbai (Maharashtra), Trichur (Kerala) and Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu), but mainly in the artificial diamond industry.

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Explore the new Gold Coast Hinterland Great Walk

Walk, camp, be captivated by the beauty, mystery and history along the 54km Great Walk through the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage Area.One of Queensland’s growing number of Great Walks, it passes through Lamington and Springbrook national parks and the ancient volcanic landscape of the Mount Warning caldera, following the footsteps of the traditional Aboriginal people whose ancestors walked this land for thousands of years.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Bond funds

Bond funds generally have higher risks than money market funds, largely because they typically pursue strategies aimed at producing higher yields. Unlike money market funds, the SEC's rules do not restrict bond funds to high-quality or short-term investments. Because there are many different types of bonds, bond funds can vary dramatically in their risks and rewards. Some of the risks associated with bond funds include:

Credit Risk — the possibility that companies or other issuers whose bonds are owned by the fund may fail to pay their debts (including the debt owed to holders of their bonds). Credit risk is less of a factor for bond funds that invest in insured bonds or U.S. Treasury bonds. By contrast, those that invest in the bonds of companies with poor credit ratings generally will be subject to higher risk.

Interest Rate Risk — the risk that the market value of the bonds will go down when interest rates go up. Because of this, you can lose money in any bond fund, including those that invest only in insured bonds or Treasury bonds. Funds that invest in longer-term bonds tend to have higher interest rate risk.

Prepayment Risk — the chance that a bond will be paid off early. For example, if interest rates fall, a bond issuer may decide to pay off (or "retire") its debt and issue new bonds that pay a lower rate. When this happens, the fund may not be able to reinvest the proceeds in an investment with as high a return or yield.

Monday, December 08, 2008

UK Trade & Investment

UK Trade & Investment is the government organisation that supports companies in the UK doing business internationally and overseas enterprises seeking to set up or expand in the UK.

Our global network of offices work in close partnership with the English regional development agencies and devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

We can provide businesses with:
1 introductions to sector networks – industry leaders, universities, other centres of excellence and collaborative partnerships;
2 bespoke information on key commercial considerations – company formation, financial incentives, labour, real estate, transport, utilities and regulatory issues;
3 thorough regional analysis and informed advice to help choose the right location; and
4 a pipeline into central government to help safeguard business interests.

Friday, December 05, 2008

French and Italian Painting of the 18th century

The taste for rococo—intimate and charming subjects painted in pastel colors—gave way by mid-century to the simpler, more restrained forms of neoclassical art. In Italy, travelers on the Grand Tour patronized painters of ancient and modern landmarks for souvenirs, while in France a sober and restrained look, like that of Roman reliefs, would serve the Revolution.In the eighteenth century, a brisk trade in painted views of Venice and Rome grew up in response to tourists' demands for souvenirs. Canaletto, Bellotto, Guardi, and Pannini were at the forefront of production. Italian painters were also commissioned by foreign princes to decorate their palaces. It is a mark of the times that Tiepolo, perhaps the most celebrated Italian painter of the eighteenth century, died in Spain after completing an ambitious mural program for the royal palace in Madrid.

After the death of Louis XIV in 1715, the center of French society moved from the court at Versailles to Paris. Elegant interiors were decorated with motifs with sinuous curves and arabesques. The S curve of this rococo style was incorporated in paintings such as the fĂȘtes galantes of Antoine Watteau, which showed pleasure-seeking ladies and gentlemen socializing in a pastoral setting. François Boucher, who started his career as an engraver copying Watteau's paintings, indicated the taste of the mid-eighteenth century in his idealized depictions of courtly beauty.

In the closing decades of the century, a surge of interest in archaeology and a rediscovery of the straight lines and regularized proportions of Greek and Roman art supplanted the curvilinear and sensual shapes of the rococo. The French Revolution (1789–1799) profoundly changed the entire political system and subsequently the governmental structure that had supported the arts since the early reign of Louis XIV. Jacques- Louis David created new motifs suited to the political needs of the revolution and also of the Emperor Napoleon, reinterpreting the principles of classicism.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

McGain Ruled Out Of India Tests With Injury

Australia leg spinner Bryce McGain has been ruled out of the four-Test series in India with a shoulder injury and will return home, Cricket Australia (CA) said in a statement on Friday.

The 36-year-old failed to recover from the injury he suffered during last month's Australia A tour of India, dealing a blow to the tourists' inexperienced spin attack.

"A decision on a potential replacement player for McGain would be taken in due course," the statement said.McGain had been included in the absence of seasoned spinners. Off-break bowler Jason Krejza is the other specialist spinner in the squad.

Monday, November 24, 2008

Hen Wallow Falls

The trip to Hen Wallow Falls is a pleasant walk through hemlock and rhododendron forest. A signed side trail leads to the base of the falls by way of steep switchbacks. Hen Wallow Creek, only two feet wide at the top of the falls, fans out to 20 feet at the base. The waterfall is 90 feet high.

The hike to the falls is 4.4 miles roundtrip and considered moderate in difficulty. Hikers continuing on the Gabes Mountain Trail beyond the falls can enjoy an impressive old-growth forest.

Access Trail: Gabes Mountain
Trailhead: Park in the designated hiker parking area at Cosby Picnic Area (near the entrance to Cosby Campground). Then backtrack on foot approximately 100 yards along the road to the signed start of the Gabes Mountain Trail.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Pneumonia

Also called: Bronchopneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammation of the lung, usually caused by an infection. Three common causes are bacteria, viruses and fungi. You can also get pneumonia by accidentally inhaling a liquid or chemical. People most at risk are older than 65 or younger than 2 years of age, or already have health problems.

If you have pneumonia, you may have difficulty breathing and have a cough and a fever. A physical exam and history can help determine if you have pneumonia. Chest x-rays and blood tests can help determine what is wrong. Treatment depends on what made you sick. If bacteria are the cause, antibiotics should help. Viral pneumonia may get better with rest and
drinking liquids.

Preventing pneumonia is always better than treating it. The best preventive measures include washing your hands frequently, not smoking, and wearing a mask when cleaning dusty or moldy areas. There is a vaccine for pneumococcal pneumonia, a bacterial infection which accounts for up to a quarter of all pneumonias.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Seed dissemination

Variations in fruit structures largely depend on the mode of dispersal of the seeds they contain. This dispersal can be achieved by animals, wind, water, or explosive dehiscence.

Some fruits have coats covered with spikes or hooked burrs, either to prevent themselves from being eaten by animals or to stick to the hairs, feathers or legs of animals, using them as dispersal agents. Examples include cocklebur and unicorn plant.

The sweet flesh of many fruits is "deliberately" appealing to animals, so that the seeds held within are eaten and "unwittingly" carried away and deposited at a distance from the parent. Likewise, the nutritious, oily kernels of nuts are appealing to rodents (such as squirrels) who hoard them in the soil in order to avoid starving during the winter, thus giving those seeds that remain uneaten the chance to germinate and grow into a new plant away from their parent.Other fruits are elongated and flattened out naturally and so become thin, like wings or helicopter blades, e.g. maple, tuliptree and elm. This is an evolutionary mechanism to increase dispersal distance away from the parent via wind. Other wind-dispersed fruit have tiny parachutes, e.g. dandelion and salsify.

Coconut fruits can float thousands of miles in the ocean to spread seeds. Some other fruits that can disperse via water are nipa palm and screw pine.Some fruits fling seeds substantial distances (up to 100 m in sandbox tree) via explosive dehiscence or other mechanisms, e.g. impatiens and squirting cucumber.

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Obama's Victory Speech

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voices could be that difference.

It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled - Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.

It's the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.

It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

Aquarium

Marine aquarium
A marine aquarium is an aquarium that keeps marine plants and animals in a contained environment. Marine aquaria are further subdivided by hobbyists into fish only (FO), fish only with live rock (FOWLR), and reef aquaria. Marine fishkeeping is different from its freshwater counterpart because of the fundamental differences in the constitution of saltwater and the resulting differences in the adaptation of its inhabitants. A stable marine aquarium requires more equipment than freshwater systems, and generally requires more stringent water quality monitoring. The inhabitants of a marine aquarium are often difficult to acquire and are usually more expensive than freshwater aquarium inhabitants. However, the inhabitants of saltwater aquariums are usually much more spectacular than freshwater aquarium fish.

Types of marine aquarium

Marine aquarists typically divide saltwater aquariums into those housing fish only, fish with live rock and those primarily designed to house corals and other invertebrates (also known as reef aquariums).

Live rock
Live rock is rock that has been in the ocean, composed of limestone and decomposing coral skeleton, usually around a coral reef such as those around Fiji, and is usually covered with beneficial algae, coralline and tiny invertebrates and bacteria that are desirable in the aquarium. Some examples of the microfauna commonly found on live rock are crabs, snails, feather dusters, brittle stars, starfish, limpets, abalones, and an occasional sea urchin, sea anemone, coral, and sea sponge. Also, if the aquarist is unlucky, a mantis shrimp. Bristleworms are also common, most of which, while unattractive, are not harmful and are useful scavengers; some species can be pests, however. The addition of live rock is one of the best ways to ensure a healthy aquarium, as the rock provides a buffer to maintain high pH (8.0-8.3), alkalinity, and acid-neutralizing capacity. Alkalinity is often known by a rather confusing term, "carbonate hardness", or KH. This is usually measured in "degrees" (dKH) or meq/L.

The microfauna found on live rock are detrivores and herbivores (as they eat algae and fish waste), and provide fish with a natural, attractive shelter. Live rock usually arrives from online dealers as "uncured", and must be quarantined in a separate tank while undergoing the curing process, which involves the inevitable die-off of some of the rock's inhabitants and the subsequent production of undesirable ammonia and nitrite. Live rock that is already cured is available at most pet stores that cater to saltwater. Live sand is similar to live rock and is equally desirable.

Reef aquarium
A reef aquarium or reef tank is an aquarium containing live corals and other animals associated with coral reefs.

These aquarium setups vary from having many fish that vary from chlorinating fish and spawning fish, which attempt to recreate life specific to one region of the world like the Great Barrier Reef, to the more prevalent and often spectacularly colored mixed reef that blend hard and soft corals from around the world.

Unlike the marine aquarium, which are built to house various types of fish, the main attraction in many reef tanks are the varieties coral and other invertebrates.

Friday, October 31, 2008

Indian Transport

With the changing economic scenario, factors such as globalization of markets, international economic integration, removal of barriers to business and trade and increased competition have enhanced the need of transportation. It is one of the most important infrastructure requirement which is essential for the expansion of opportunities and plays an important role in making or breaking the competitive positioning.

The Transport Department is entrusted with the responsibility of providing an efficient public transportation system, control of vehicular pollution, registration of vehicles in Delhi, issuance of Driving licences, issuance of various permits, collection of road taxes. The department also entrusted in policy-making, co-ordination, implementation, monitoring and regulatory functions of all the Transport related aspects of the country.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

ARCTIC: Region’s temperatures climb to record high

Record-high autumn temperatures, warming permafrost, shrinking reindeer herds and the ongoing northern march of shrubs and trees into new habitat are signs that global warming is reshaping the Arctic, federal officials said yesterday.

“There continues to be widespread and, in some cases, dramatic evidence of an overall warming of the Arctic system,” warned authors in a report that draws on scientific data and analyses by nearly 50 scientists in 10 countries.

It is the third annual snapshot of the rapidly changing region, which is warming twice as fast as the global average.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

2008 Atlantic Hurricane Season Remains Active

The Atlantic hurricane season remains active with Hurricane Omar set to lash the eastern Caribbean over the next couple of days, and Tropical Depression Sixteen hugging the coast of Honduras.

Omar strengthened late on Tuesday and became the seventh hurricane of the 2008 Atlantic season, drenching islands in the south-eastern Caribbean. At 0900 GMT on Wednesday, Hurricane Omar was located some 285 miles (455 km) south-southwest of San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Omar is currently a Category 1 hurricane with winds blowing 75mph (120 km/h) and is forecast to move on a north-easterly track. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) has issued hurricane warnings for several of the eastern Caribbean islands, including the US Virgin Islands.

So far, 2008 is in joint 8th place for the most number of Atlantic tropical storms in a season. However, records may be ambiguous as prior to the satellite era there is a chance some storms may have been missed. Another storm may develop over the next 24 hours.

Tropical Depression Sixteen is currently lying just off the coast of Honduras and could intensify into a tropical storm. If so it would become the 16th storm of the season. A tropical storm warning is in effect for whole coast of Honduras, from the Nicaraguan to the Guatemala borders. While winds may not be particularly damaging, Tropical Depression Sixteen could bring as much as 380mm (15 inches) of rain.

Friday, October 03, 2008

Tsunami Survivor Story

On April 1, 1946, Sam remembers that he was with friends on the Waiākea bridge when they saw the water suddenly sucked out to sea. "Then we heard this rumbling from outside, and I'm telling you that was one of the most frightening things I've ever seen. Was these huge waves coming in. All we did was turn around and run... And all you could hear was this crackling sound behind us. You would hear crack, crack, the buildings were piling up in the back of us." Although Shinmachi and Waiākea were heavily damaged, the Bishaw home was undamaged, protected by the rubble of other buildings.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Sales of U.S. Beef Soaring

Just a few months ago, the streets of downtown Seoul were occupied by demonstrators protesting against the import U.S. beef. According to a number of polls, an absolute majority of people said they would not eat U.S. beef because they feel it is unsafe. But just three months after imports resumed on June 26 under new quarantine requirements, U.S. beef jumped to second in terms of market share in imported beef, after Australian product. Sales rose sharply just before the Chuseok or Korean Thanksgiving holiday; between Sept. 1 and 10, it even topped the imported beef market chart with a 48 percent market share.

◆ Chuseok Boost

Over 11,300 tons of U.S. beef have now passed the quarantine control and hit the shelves in Korean stores, 3,688 tons from Sep. 1 to 10. During that period, the market share of U.S. beef was 48.1 percent, jumping from 23.9 percent in July and 24.3 percent in August. From August, not only frozen beef but also refrigerated beef was imported.

◆ Young Skeptics

A considerable share of groundless rumors about mad cow disease is gone, and the website of the People’s Association for Measures Against Mad Cow Disease, which organized the protests, is virtually defunct. One online community on portal site Naver that saw more than 100 posts a day at the height of the furor, there was only one message on Monday. However, U.S. beef is still unpopular among young mothers in their 20s and 30s. A staffer in a butcher’s shop in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, said, “While there are a lot of middle-aged housewives buying U.S. beef, there isn’t much demand from young mothers.

◆ Superstores & Malls Think Again

Superstores and department stores that have not started selling U.S. beef for fear it would spark indignation among customers are now reconsidering. Some are in the process of deciding when to start sales. A staffer with a superstore said, “We get a lot of call enquires asking us when we’re going to start selling U.S. beef from housewives in their forties and fifties. We assume the fears of mad cow disease have gone and are therefore deciding on when to start selling U.S. beef.”

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Enzyme

Enzymes are biomolecules that catalyze (i.e. increase the rates of) chemical reactions. Almost all enzymes are proteins. In enzymatic reactions, the molecules at the beginning of the process are called substrates, and the enzyme converts them into different molecules, the products. Almost all processes in a biological cell need enzymes in order to occur at significant rates. Since enzymes are extremely selective for their substrates and speed up only a few reactions from among many possibilities, the set of enzymes made in a cell determines which metabolic pathways occur in that cell.

Like all catalysts, enzymes work by lowering the activation energy (Ea or ΔG‡) for a reaction, thus dramatically increasing the rate of the reaction. Most enzyme reaction rates are millions of times faster than those of comparable un-catalyzed reactions. As with all catalysts, enzymes are not consumed by the reactions they catalyze, nor do they alter the equilibrium of these reactions. However, enzymes do differ from most other catalysts by being much more specific. Enzymes are known to catalyze about 4,000 biochemical reactions. A few RNA molecules called ribozymes catalyze reactions, with an important example being some parts of the ribosome. Synthetic molecules called artificial enzymes also display enzyme-like catalysis.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Genetic testing

Genetic testing involves the direct examination of the DNA molecule itself. A scientist scans a patient’s DNA sample for mutated sequences.

There are two major types of gene tests. In the first type, a researcher may design short pieces of DNA (“probes”) whose sequences are complementary to the mutated sequences. These probes will seek their complement among the base pairs of an individual’s genome. If the mutated sequence is present in the patient’s genome, the probe will bind to it and flag the mutation. In the second type, a researcher may conduct the gene test by comparing the sequence of DNA bases in a patient’s gene to disease in healthy individuals or their progeny.
Genetic testing is now used for:

* Determining sex
* Carrier screening, or the identification of unaffected individuals who carry one copy of a gene for a disease that requires two copies for the disease to manifest
* Prenatal diagnostic screening
* Newborn screening
* Presymptomatic testing for predicting adult-onset disorders
* Presymptomatic testing for estimating the risk of developing adult-onset cancers
* Confirmational diagnosis of symptomatic individuals
* Forensic/identity testing

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Pharmacogenomics

Pharmacogenomics is the branch of pharmacology which deals with the influence of genetic variation on drug response in patients by correlating gene expression or single-nucleotide polymorphisms with a drug's efficacy or toxicity. By doing so, pharmacogenomics aims to develop rational means to optimise drug therapy, with respect to the patients' genotype, to ensure maximum efficacy with minimal adverse effects. Such approaches promise the advent of "personalized medicine", in which drugs and drug combinations are optimised for each individual's unique genetic makeup.

Pharmacogenomics is the whole genome application of pharmacogenetics, which examines the single gene interactions with drugs.

Friday, August 22, 2008

Benefits of Remote Service Software

Remote service software helps to:

* Increase uptime, improve performance and extend the life of a device
* Control service costs by deploying patches and upgrades remotely, and ensure a first-time fix when an onsite visit is required
* Streamline administration of pay-per-use models, with automated usage monitoring
* Focus highly trained service teams on preventative maintenance, by diagnosing and repairing issues before they cause system failure
* Increase customer satisfaction and loyalty

Manufacturers are using aftermarket service a competitive differentiator. Remote service software provides a platform for manufacturers to offer and meet stringent service level agreements (SLAs) without increasing the size of their service team.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Locative media

Locative Media are media of communication bound to a location. They are digital media applied to real places and thus triggering real social interactions. While mobile technologies such as the Global Positioning System (GPS), laptop computers and mobile phones enable locative media, they are not the goal for the development of projects in this field. Rather:

"Locative media is many things: A new site for old discussions about the relationship of consciousness to place and other people. A framework within which to actively engage with, critique, and shape a rapid set of technological developments. A context within which to explore new and old models of communication, community and exchange. A name for the ambiguous shape of a rapidly deploying surveillance and control infrastructure." (Russell, 2004)

Wednesday, August 06, 2008

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 Ξ x, Ξ y and Ξ 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.

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

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 Ξ x, Ξ y and Ξ 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.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Software transactional memory

In computer science, software transactional memory (STM) is a concurrency control mechanism analogous to database transactions for controlling access to shared memory in concurrent computing. It functions as an alternative to lock-based synchronization, and is typically implemented in a lock-free way. A transaction in this context is a piece of code that executes a series of reads and writes to shared memory. These reads and writes logically occur at a single instant in time; intermediate states are not visible to other (successful) transactions. The idea of providing hardware support for transactions originated in a 1986 paper and patent by Tom Knight. The idea was popularized by Maurice Herlihy and J. Eliot B. Moss. In 1995 Nir Shavit and Dan Touitou extended this idea to software-only transactional memory (STM). STM has recently been the focus of intense research and support for practical implementations is growing.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Online transaction processing

Online transaction processing, or OLTP, refers to a class of systems that facilitate and manage transaction-oriented applications, typically for data entry and retrieval transaction processing. The term is somewhat ambiguous; some understand a "transaction" in the context of computer or database transactions, while others (such as the Transaction Processing Performance Council) define it in terms of business or commercial transactions.OLTP has also been used to refer to processing in which the system responds immediately to user requests. An automatic teller machine (ATM) for a bank is an example of a commercial transaction processing application.

The technology is used in a number of industries, including banking, airlines, mailorder, supermarkets, and manufacturing. Applications include electronic banking, order processing, employee time clock systems, e-commerce, and eTrading.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Relational model

The relational model for database management is a database model based on first-order predicate logic, first formulated and proposed in 1969 by Edgar Codd.

Its core idea is to describe a database as a collection of predicates over a finite set of predicate variables, describing constraints on the possible values and combinations of values. The content of the database at any given time is a finite model (logic) of the database, i.e. a set of relations, one per predicate variable, such that all predicates are satisfied. A request for information from the database (a database query) is also a predicate.

The purpose of the relational model is to provide a declarative method for specifying data and queries: we directly state what information the database contains and what information we want from it, and let the database management system software take care of describing data structures for storing the data and retrieval procedures for getting queries answered.

Wednesday, July 02, 2008

Webmail

In addition to the fat client e-mail clients and small MUAs, there are also Web-based e-mail programs called webmail. Webmail has several advantages which include the ability to send and receive e-mail from anywhere using a single application: a web browser. This eliminates the need to configure an email client. Significant examples of e-mail services which also provide the user a webmail interface are Hotmail, Gmail, AOL and Yahoo. The main drawbacks of webmail are that user interactions are subject to network response and that there is no offline capability. For instance, while webmail generally provides the best experience over broadband, a fat client can provide a satisfactory experience over dialup, and messages can be searched and viewed without an internet connection.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Rogue software

Rogue security software is software that uses malware (malicious software) or malicious tools to advertise or install itself or to force computer users to pay for removal of nonexistent spyware. Rogue software will often install a trojan horse to download a trial version, or it will do other unwanted things. The first and still most comprehensive study of rogue and real antispyware programs was carried out by Eric L. Howes

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Virus removal

One possibility on Windows Me, Windows XP and Windows Vista is a tool known as System Restore, which restores the registry and critical system files to a previous checkpoint. Often a virus will cause a system to hang, and a subsequent hard reboot will render a system restore point from the same day corrupt. Restore points from previous days should work provided the virus is not designed to corrupt the restore files. Some viruses, however, disable system restore and other important tools such as Task Manager and Command Prompt. An example of a virus that does this is CiaDoor.

Administrators have the option to disable such tools from limited users for various reasons. The virus modifies the registry to do the same, except, when the Administrator is controlling the computer, it blocks all users from accessing the tools. When an infected tool activates it gives the message "Task Manager has been disabled by your administrator.", even if the user trying to open the program is the administrator.

Users running a Microsoft operating system can go to Microsoft's website to run a free scan, if they have their 20-digit registration number.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Psycho-Cybernetics

Psycho-Cybernetics is a classic self-help book, written by Maxwell Maltz in 1960 and published by the non-profit Psycho-Cybernetics Foundation. Motivational and self-help experts in personal development, including Zig Ziglar, Tony Robbins, Brian Tracy have based their techniques on Maxwell Maltz. Many of the psychological methods of training elite athletes are based on the concepts in Psycho-Cybernetics as well. The book combines the cognitive behavioral technique of teaching an individual how to regulate self-concept developed by Prescott Lecky with the cybernetics of Norbert Wiener and John von Neumann. The book defines the mind-body connection as the core in succeeding in attaining personal goals.

Maltz found that his plastic surgery patients often had expectations that were not satisfied by the surgery, so he pursued a means of helping them set the goal of a positive outcome through visualization of that positive outcome. Maltz became interested in why setting goals works. He learned that the power of of self-affirmation and mental visualisation techniques used the connection between the mind and the body. He specified techniques to develop a positive inner goal as a means of developing a positive outer goal. This concentration on inner attitudes is essential to his approach, as a person's outer success can never rise above the one visualized internally.

Tuesday, June 03, 2008

Systems psychology

Systems psychology is a branch of applied psychology that studies human behaviour and experience in complex systems. It is inspired by systems theory and systems thinking, and based on the theoretical work of Roger Barker, Gregory Bateson, Humberto Maturana and others. It is an approach in psychology, in which groups and individuals, are considered as systems in homeostasis. Alternative terms here are "systemic psychology", "systems behavior", and "systems-based psychology".

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Ecosystem

The term ecosystem was coined in 1930 by Roy Clapham, to denote the physical and biological components of an environment considered in relation to each other as a unit. British ecologist Arthur Tansley later refined the term, describing it as the interactive system established between biocoenosis (a group of living creatures) and their biotope (the environment in which they live).

Central to the ecosystem concept is the idea that living organisms are continually engaged in a set of relationships with every other element constituting the environment in which they exist. The human ecosystem concept is then grounded in the deconstruction of the human/nature dichotomy, and the emergent premise that all species are ecologically integrated with each other, as well as with the abiotic constituents of their biotope.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Ecological Systems Theory

Ecological Systems Theory, also called "Development in Context" or "Human Ecology" theory, specifies four types of nested environmental systems, with bi-directional influences within and between the systems. The theory was developed by Urie Bronfenbrenner, generally regarded as one of the world's leading scholars in the field of developmental psychology. Later a fifth system was added:

* Microsystem: Immediate environments (family, school, peer group, neighborhood, and childcare environments)
* Mesosystem: A system comprised of connections between immediate environments (i.e., a child’s home and school)
* Exosystem: External environmental settings which only indirectly affect development (such as parent's workplace)
* Macrosystem: The larger cultural context (Eastern vs. Western culture, national economy, political culture, subculture)
* Chronosystem: The patterning of environmental events and transitions over the course of life.

The person's own biology may be considered part of the microsystem; thus the theory has recently sometimes been called "Bio-Ecological Systems Theory." Each system contains roles, norms, and rules that can powerfully shape development.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Evolutionary robotics

Evolutionary Robotics (ER) is a methodology that uses evolutionary computation to develop controllers for autonomous robots. Algorithms in ER frequently operate on populations of candidate controllers, initially selected from some distribution. This population is then repeatedly modified according to a fitness function. In the case of genetic algorithms (or "GAs"), a common method in evolutionary computation, the population of candidate controllers is repeatedly grown according to crossover, mutation and other GA operators and then culled according to the fitness function. The candidate controllers used in ER applications may be drawn from some subset of the set of artificial neural networks, although some applications (including SAMUEL, developed at the Naval Center for Applied Research in Artificial Intelligence) use collections of "IF THEN ELSE" rules as the constituent parts of an individual controller. It is theoretically possible to use any set of symbolic formulations of a control laws (sometimes called a policies in the machine learning community) as the space of possible candidate controllers. It is worth noting that artificial neural networks can also be used for robot learning outside of the context of evolutionary robotics. In particular, other forms of reinforcement learning can be used for learning robot controllers.

Wednesday, May 07, 2008

Containerization

Although having its origins in the late 1780s or earlier, the global standardisation of containers and container handling equipment was one of the important innovations in 20th century logistics.

By the 1830s, railroads on several continents were carrying containers that could be transferred to trucks or ships, but these containers were invariably small by today's standards. Originally used for shipping coal on and off barges, 'loose boxes' were used to containerize coal from the late 1780s, on places like the Bridgewater Canal. By the 1840's, iron boxes were in use as well as wooden ones. The early 1900s saw the adoption of closed container boxes designed for movement between road and rail.

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Marine Cargo Types

There is a wide range of marine cargoes at seaport terminals operated. The primary types are these:

* Containers are the largest and fastest growing cargo category at most ports worldwide. Containerized cargo includes everything from auto parts and machinery components to shoes, toys, and frozen meat and seafood.

* Automobiles are handled at many ports.

* Project cargo and heavy lift cargo may include items such as manufacturing equipment, factory components, power equipment such as generators and wind turbines, military equipment or almost any other oversized or overweight cargo too big or too heavy to fit into a container.

* Break bulk cargo is typically material stacked on wooden pallets and lifted into and out of the hold of a vessel by cranes on the dock or aboard the ship itself. The volume of break bulk cargo has declined dramatically worldwide as containerization has grown.

* Bulk Cargoes, such as salt, oil, tallow, and Scrap metal, are usually defined as commodities that are neither on pallets nor in containers, and which are not handled as individual pieces, the way heavy-lift and project cargoes are. Alumina, grain, gypsum, logs and wood chips, for instance, are bulk cargoes.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Islamic Golden Age

The Islamic Golden Age, also sometimes known as the Islamic Renaissance, is traditionally dated from the 8th century to the 13th century, though some have extended it to the 15th or 16th centuries. During this period, engineers, scholars and traders in the Islamic world contributed to the arts, agriculture, economics, industry, law, literature, navigation, philosophy, sciences, and technology, both by preserving and building upon earlier traditions and by adding inventions and innovations of their own. Howard R. Turner writes: "Muslim artists and scientists, princes and laborers together created a unique culture that has directly and indirectly influenced societies on every continent."

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Object database

In an object oriented database, information is represented in the form of objects as used in object-oriented programming. When database capabilities are combined with object programming language capabilities, the result is an object database management system (ODBMS). An ODBMS makes database objects appear as programming language objects in one or more object programming languages. An ODBMS extends the programming language with transparently persistent data, concurrency control, data recovery, associative queries, and other capabilities.

Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Prototyping

Prototyping is the process of quickly putting together a working model (a prototype) in order to test various aspects of a design, illustrate ideas or features and gather early user feedback. Prototyping is often treated as an integral part of the system design process, where it is believed to reduce project risk and cost. Often one or more prototypes are made in a process of iterative and incremental development where each prototype is influenced by the performance of previous designs, in this way problems or deficiencies in design can be corrected. When the prototype is sufficiently refined and meets the functionality, robustness, manufacturability and other design goals, the product is ready for production.

Friday, April 04, 2008

Database security

Database security is the system, processes, and procedures that protect a database from unintended activity. Unintended activity can be categorized as authenticated misuse, malicious attacks or inadvertent mistakes made by authorized individuals or processes. Database security is also a specialty within the broader discipline of computer security.

Traditionally databases have been protected from external connections by firewalls or routers on the network perimeter with the database environment existing on the internal network opposed to being located within a demilitarized zone. Additional network security devices that detect and alert on malicious database protocol traffic include network intrusion detection systems along with host-based intrusion detection systems.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Transparent and non-transparent proxy server

The term "transparent proxy" is most often used incorrectly to mean "intercepting proxy" (because the client does not need to configure a proxy and cannot directly detect that its requests are being proxied).

However, RFC 2616 (Hypertext Transfer Protocol -- HTTP/1.1) offers different definitions:

"A 'transparent proxy' is a proxy that does not modify the request or response beyond what is required for proxy authentication and identification".
"A 'non-transparent proxy' is a proxy that modifies the request or response in order to provide some added service to the user agent, such as group annotation services, media type transformation, protocol reduction, or anonymity filtering".

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

SQL/XML, or XML-Related Specifications

The SQL/XML, or XML-Related Specifications, extension to the SQL standard is defined by ISO/IEC 9075-14:2003. SQL/XML specifies SQL-based extensions for using XML in conjunction with SQL. The XML data type is introduced, as well as several routines, functions, and XML-to-SQL data type mappings to support manipulation and storage of XML in a SQL database.

The SQL/XML specification includes functions to construct XML data. These functions allow the user to construct new XML elements or attributes with values e.g. from relational tables. Other functions such as XMLCONCAT or XMLAGG can be used to combine small XML fragments into larger ones. The list of available construction functions includes:

* XMLELEMENT
* XMLATTRIBUTES
* XMLFOREST
* XMLCONCAT
* XMLNAMESPACES
* XMLCOMMENT
* XMLPI
* XMLDOCUMENT
* XMLAGG
* etc.

Monday, March 10, 2008

Pharmacognosy

Pharmacognosy is the study of medicines derived from natural sources. The American Society of Pharmacognosy defines pharmacognosy as "the study of the physical, chemical, biochemical and biological properties of drugs, drug substances or potential drugs or drug substances of natural origin as well as the search for new drugs from natural sources."

Wednesday, March 05, 2008

Hybrid electric vehicle

A hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) is a vehicle that uses two or more distinct power sources to propel the vehicle. Common power sources include:

• On-board rechargeable energy storage system (RESS) and a fueled power source (internal combustion engine or fuel cell)
• Air and internal combustion engines
• Human powered bicycle with electric motor or gas engine assist
• Human-powered or sail boat with electric power

The term most commonly refers to Hybrid-electric vehicle (HEV) which include internal combustion engines and electric motors.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Printing Technology

Printers are regularly confidential by the underlying print technology they employ; numerous such technologies have been developed over the years.

The choice of print engine has a extensive effect on what jobs a printer is suitable for, as various technologies are capable of dissimilar levels of image/text quality, print speed, low cost, noise; in addition, some technologies are unsuitable for certain types of physical media (such as carbon paper or transparencies).

Another aspect of printer technology that is regularly forgotten is resistance to modification: liquid ink such as from an inkjet head or fabric ribbon becomes absorbed by the paper fibers, so papers printed with liquid ink are more difficult to alter than documents printed with toner or solid inks, which do not penetrate below the paper surface.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

British One Penny coin

The coin was initially minted from bronze, but since 1992 it has been minted in copper-plated steel. As this is less dense than bronze, post-1992 coins have been to some amount thicker. The British decimal Penny (1p) coin, fashioned by the Royal Mint, was issued on 15 February 1971, the day the British money was decimalised. In practice, it had been existing from banks in bags of £1 for some weeks previously. The coin weighs 3.56 grams and has a diameter of 20.32 millimetres.
The reverse of the coin, intended by Christopher Ironside, is a crowned portcullis with chains (an adaptation of the Badge of Henry VII which is now the brooch of the Palace of Westminster), with the numeral "1" written below the portcullis, and either NEW PENNY (1971–1981) or ONE PENNY (1982–present) above the portcullis.
During the times gone by of the coin, three unlike obverses have been used so far. Between 1971 and 1984 the head of Queen Elizabeth II by Arnold Machin was used, in which the Queen wears the 'Girls of Great Britain and Ireland' Tiara.

Irish pound coin

The Irish pound coin was introduced on June 20, 1990 using the plan of a red deer, by the Irish artist Tom Ryan. The 2000 Millennium was used to issue a monument coin, the design was based on the "Brighter Boat" in the National Museum of Ireland; the coins design was by Alan Ardiff and Garrett Stokes and were issued on November 29, 1999. The coin featured a milled edge - unique in Irish coinage.


The "Brighter Boat" issue for 2000.The Irish pound coin, which was introduced in 1990, residue the largest Irish coin introduced since decimalisation at 3.11 centimetres diameter and was 10 grams weight. The coin was nearly the same in dimensions to the old penny coin that circulated before 1971, and was quite similar in diameter to, but thinner, than the half-crown coin.

During the early movement of the coin, a lot of payphone and transaction machines which had been changed to accept the pound coin also accepted the old penny because of the similar size, the latter coin which was no longer legal gentle and had little value to collectors. As a result losses accrued to vending machine operators due to the replacement of the penny coin and additional costs were associated with updating the machines so they would no longer accept the penny.

Monday, January 07, 2008

Vitmains and Minerals

Vitamins and minerals are substances that are found in foods we eat. Your body needs them to work properly, so you grow and develop just like you should. When it comes to vitamins, each one has a special role to play. For example:
Vitamin D in milk helps your bones.
Vitamin A in carrots helps you see at night.
Vitamin C in oranges helps your body heal if you get a cut.
B vitamins in leafy green vegetables help your body make protein and energy.