A DEEP VIEW ON NIAGARA

The Niagara Falls is huge waterfalls on the Niagara River, spanning the international border between the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of New York. The falls are 17 miles (i.e. 27 km) north-northwest of Buffalo, New York and 75 miles (i.e. 120 km) south-southeast of Toronto, Ontario, connecting the twin cities of Niagara Falls, Ontario, and Niagara Falls, New York.

Niagara Falls is composed of two major sections divided by Goat Island: Horseshoe Falls, the majority of which lies on the Canadian side of the border, and American Falls on the American side. The smaller Bridal Veil Falls are also located on the American side, separated from the main falls by Luna Island.

More than six million cubic feet (168,000 m³) of waterfalls over the crest line every minute in high flow and almost 4 million cubic feet (110,000 m³) on average. It is the most dominant waterfall in North America. The Niagara Falls is renowned both for it beauty and as a valuable source of hydroelectric power. Managing the stability between recreational, commercial, and industrial uses has been a challenge for the stewards of the falls since the 1800s.

LATEST DIGITAL PAINTING TECHNIQUE

Digital painting is a rising art form which traditional painting techniques such as watercolor, oils paintings and etc. are applied to computer by means of digital tools, a digitizing tablet and stylus, and software.

Digital painting thrives mostly in invention art. This painting is widely used in theoretical design for film, television and video games. Digital painting software like Corel Painter, Adobe Photoshop, Art Rage, GIMP, and open Canvas give artists a similar atmosphere to a physical painter.

There are different types of digital painting, including impressionism, practicality and watercolor. There are both positive and negative points on digital painting.

In general the digital painting user can create their own brush style using a combination of texture and shape. So as the digital painting allows the artist to work in an organized, mess-free environment.

Still some argues that there should be more control for an artist to hold a physical brush. Some artists believe that something is missing in digital painting compared to other paintings.

Gov. Heineman Announces 42 Law Enforcement Camera System Grants

(Lincoln, Neb.) Gov. Dave Heineman today announced more than $330,000 in grants from federal highway safety funds to Nebraska law enforcement agencies. The grants through the Highway Safety Alcohol Incentive Funding permit the Nebraska Office of Highway Safety to provide support to local law enforcement agencies with training and equipment that is used to prevent alcohol-related crashes.

Seventeen police departments and twenty-five Sheriff’s Offices across Nebraska received the grants to install a total of ninety-nine new in-car camera systems. In-car camera systems are used to aide in the apprehension and prosecution of drinking drivers as well as providing a measure of safety for the officers.

“With the holidays approaching, it is a good time to remind everyone to make sure that every driver is a safe and sober one,” said Governor Heineman. “These grants will help our law enforcement officers keep our roads safe.”

According to the Nebraska Office of Highway Safety, in 2007 Nebraska law enforcement officers arrested 13,437 drivers for driving under-the-influence. Early reports suggest that more arrests could be recorded this year.

“Everyone can help law enforcement too. Report every suspected drunk driver immediately to law enforcement by dialing *55 or 911. Remember that you are not only saving others on the road, but the drunk drivers themselves,” said Beverly Neth, Director of the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Bank of America’s Lewis Testifies, Gets Subpoena Over Bonuses

Feb. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Kenneth Lewis, chief executive officer of Bank of America Corp., testified for four hours at New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s offices in a probe of $3.6 billion in bonuses paid at Merrill Lynch & Co. just before it merged with the bank.

“I answered the questions that were asked to the best of my knowledge,” Lewis, 61, said yesterday after the deposition, before being driven away from the attorney general’s office in lower Manhattan in a black Lincoln Navigator. “I hope this brought some clarity.”

Benjamin Lawsky, a special assistant to Cuomo, said after Lewis left that the attorney general’s office served the bank during the deposition with a subpoena to produce a list of the individual bonuses.

“The attorney general is severely disappointed in Bank of America’s decision in not turning over specific information: who got what bonus at Merrill Lynch,” Lawsky said. “The list goes to what individuals got and when they got it.”

Cuomo has been examining whether Merrill broke securities laws when it paid the bonuses. He is cooperating with U.S. Special Inspector General Neil Barofsky in a federal probe of executive pay at banks that received money from the U.S. Treasury’s Troubled Assets Relief Program. Merrill and Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America have received about $45 billion in TARP money. The bank completed its acquisition of Merrill on Jan. 1.

Bank’s Offer

Bank of America has been offering the names of individual bonus recipients to Cuomo for two weeks on the condition that he keep them confidential, said Robert Stickler, a bank spokesman in phone interview yesterday.

“He refused to do that,” Stickler said. “We believe our employees are entitled to privacy in terms of their compensation. We also believe that to make the compensation of individuals public would put us at a competitive disadvantage with people who want to recruit our employees.”

Stickler had no comment on the subpoena.

Asked whether Cuomo’s office got the list of individual bonus recipients from former Merrill Chief Executive Officer John Thain, who testified for Cuomo for the second time this week, Lawsky declined comment.

Thain’s Testimony

Thain, when deposed by Cuomo’s office on Feb. 19, said he couldn’t identify those who got bonuses, citing orders from Bank of America that he keep the information confidential. Cuomo went to court Feb. 23 to compel Thain to disclose the recipients. A judge ruled he was free to disclose the names.

Thain testified again on Feb. 24 for 2 1/2 hours, said his attorney, Andrew Levander.

“He cooperated thoroughly and answered whatever was asked,” Levander said of Thain’s Feb. 24 testimony in an e-mail. Levander declined to comment on whether Thain was asked to identify bonus recipients.

New York State Supreme Court Justice Bernard Fried will decide if Thain’s testimony will become public, according to Levander.

Lawsky said Lewis’s testimony yesterday lasted about four hours and covered “many topics.”

In a Bloomberg Television interview on Feb. 25, Lewis declined to comment on whether he or the bank directed Thain not to disclose the recipients.

Lewis also said the acquisitions of Merrill and Countrywide Financial Corp. have been “stars” so far this year.

Merrill will be “a thing of beauty” over the long term, Lewis said. Merrill, the New York-based securities firm, lost $15.8 billion in the fourth quarter.

Lewis flew on a corporate jet for the deposition by Cuomo’s office “because of the importance of this meeting,” Timothy Gilles, a Bank of America spokesman, said in an interview.

Source www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=ayqn2mJk9zjA&refer=home

St. Martin Island

Forty-eight kilometers from Teknaf, St. Martin's is the country's only coral island and an unspoilt paradise. Named Narikel Jinjira (Coconut Island) by the locals, the dumbbell shaped St.Martin's has an area of only 8 sq. km. which reduces to about 5 sq. km. and in places from 1-4 meters during high tide.

The Cox's Bazar Holiday Complex of Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation on the island is an shore tourist resort having comfortable accommodation, catering, sightseeing and other facilities.

PM aims for world class education

Gordon Brown has pledged to help Britain achieve a "world class" education system where young people from every background can prosper.

In a speech at the University of Greenwich, the PM called for a "culture change" and promised to assist all young people in "seizing the opportunities available to them". Low expectations and acceptance of failure have "held our country back for too long", he said.

The PM said:

"I believe that each young person has talent and potential. Each some gift to develop. Each something to give to the good of the community.

"The Britain I strive for is a Britain with no cap on ambition, no ceiling on hope, no limit to where your potential will take you and how far you can rise: a Britain where the talents of each contribute to the well being and prosperity of all."

Mr Brown outlined a number of Government priorities, including increased parental participation, improved early learning and the recruitment of the best possible teaching staff. The Government plans to introduce more one-to-one and small group tuition and increase the number of young people staying in education beyond 16, he said.

Other measures include annual improvement targets for schools and incentives for the best teachers to go to underperforming schools through schemes such as Teach First and Teach Next. The Government will also create a new "UCAS-style" system for matching apprentices with businesses and provide support for apprentices worth anything from £3,000 up to £15,000 for highly skilled jobs such as engineering.

The PM was accompanied by Ed Balls, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families. Mr Balls will take part in a live webchat in Downing Street on 1 November at 15:00 GMT.

THOUSANDS JOIN QUITNOW CONTEST TO STOP SMOKING

VICTORIA – The Province and the BC Lung Association are congratulating approximately 7,000 British Columbians who are actively working to quit smoking by participating in the BC Lung Association’s QuitNow and Win contest, said Mary Polak, Minister of Healthy Living and Sport, and Scott McDonald, executive director of the BC Lung Association.

“As we kick off National Non-Smoking Week, it’s encouraging to see so many British Columbians make a commitment to improve their health by eliminating tobacco use,” said Polak. “The personal stories shared by QuitNow and Win participants on Quitnow.ca reflect the powerful and negative hold a nicotine addiction has had on many British Columbians and their families. It takes courage to make this commitment and I commend each participant and wish them every success.”

The QuitNow and Win contest launched on Nov. 24, and British Columbians began registering their plan to quit smoking. When registration closed on Jan. 5, 2009, more than 7,000 smokers had registered, and those who live tobacco-free between Jan. 6 and Feb. 2, 2009 are eligible for $20,000 in prizes.

“We are thrilled by the number of people who entered the QuitNow and Win contest,” said McDonald. “They’re already winners in our eyes. Smoking is a terrible addiction, and quitting remains the single most important thing a person can do to ensure a long, healthy life. That’s more valuable than any contest prize could ever be.”

QuitNow and Win is supported by ActNow BC, which is government’s healthy living initiative to encourage British Columbians to lead healthier lives through increased physical activity, healthy eating, eliminating tobacco use and healthy pregnancies.

“I’ve always wanted to quit, but haven’t had the motivation,” said Torrie Cherot, a Victoria resident who is participating in the contest and celebrating her 24th birthday. “QuitNow and Win has provided me with a jumpstart to quit smoking. I feel better about myself and have more energy every day that I don’t smoke.”

Since 1977, National Non-Smoking week has promoted a wide range of support for smokers to quit, while helping prevent non-smokers from becoming smokers and promoting the rights of individuals who do not smoke.

Deeyenda Virus Hoax

The "Deeyenda" virus warnings are a hoax. CIAC has received inqueries regarding the validity of the Deeyenda virus. The warnings are very similar to those for Good Times, stating that the FCC issued a warning about it, and that it is self activating and can destroy the contents of a machine just by being downloaded. Users should note that the FCC does not and will not issue virus or Trojan warnings. It is not their job to do so. As of this date, there are no known viruses with the name Deeyenda in existence. For a virus to spread, it must be executed. Reading a mail message does not execute the mail message. Trojans and viruses have been found as executable attachmentsto mail messages, but they must be extracted and executed to do any harm. CIAC still affirms that reading E-mail, using typical mail agents, can not activatemalicious code delivered in or with the message.

Probing dark energy

Scientists have studied the night sky for thousands of years searching for clues to help them understand the universe. The South Pole Telescope (SPT)team, including Case Western Reserve University professor John Ruhl and graduate student Zachary Staniszewski, achieved a major milestone toward using a new technique to probe the most mysterious component of the universe, dark energy.

Staniszewski is the lead author on the multi-institution collaboration's paper, “Galaxy clusters discovered with a Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect survey” released Oct. 10 in a pre-publication posting on astro-ph, an electronic preprint archive. The paper chronicles the discovery of three galaxy clusters using a new survey technique.

The technique relies on an effect that galaxy clusters have on the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) light that passes through them. The SPT team surveyed a 40-square-degree patch of sky looking for galaxy clusters via this effect, called the Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) effect. The survey found four galaxy clusters, one previously known and three new ones. It is the first time this technique has been used to discover new clusters.

The 10-meter South Pole Telescope’s millimeter-wave camera captures images of the CMB, radiation left over from 270,000 years after the Big Bang Galaxy clusters affect the brightness of the CMB after it has passed through them; this brightness change is the SZ effect, and is independent of distance to the galaxy cluster, unlike the optical or x-ray brightness of the clusters.

These galaxies, Staniszewski says, are likely billions of light years away and about seven billion years old.

Part of the data set was taken by Staniszewski during his winter stay at the South Pole manning the telescope. Bolstering the confidence that the newly discovered clusters are real, the paper includes analysis of data from follow-up optical observations with the Blanco Cosmology Survey instrument, led by University of Illinois astrophysicist and SPT collaborator Joe Mohr.

“The theory of how galaxy clusters imprint a signal on the CMB has been around for nearly 40 years, when two Russian physicists first proposed it in 1969,” Staniszewski said. “The SZ effect has been seen in clusters that were already identified by optical and x-ray observations, but no one had yet used it to discover a brand new galaxy cluster. These are the first galaxy clusters discovered using this method.”

The SPT will produce a larger catalog of new clusters with more data and analysis. “These three new clusters are just the tip of the iceberg," Ruhl said. “The full survey is what will help us achieve our ultimate goal, which is to understand dark energy.”

“The expansion of the universe is accelerating, and because of that we believe that dark energy dominates the energy density of the universe. Dark energy provides a negative pressure, or repulsive force, that accelerates the expansion, rather than slowing it down like the attractive force of gravity does,” Staniszewski said. “We're trying to figure out what dark energy actually is, and it turns out that a survey of galaxy clusters can be used to trace the expansion history of the universe, which can tell you about the dark energy."

Gravity works to pull pockets of galaxies together, into clusters, a process that is more effective at early times when matter is dense. Dark energy speeds up the expansion of the universe and spreads out the matter, which slows down clustering. Counting the number of galaxy clusters as a function of time throughout the history of the universe can therefore be used to understand dark energy.

The SPT science team, led by principal investigator John Carlstrom at the University of Chicago includes more than 40 scientists from Case Western Reserve, University of Chicago, University of California at Berkeley, Cardiff University, University of Colorado, Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, University of Illinois, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, McGill University, and NASA Marshall Spaceflight Center.

BITTERNUT HICKORY - Carya cordiformis, Wang., Koch

THERE ARE SEVEN READILY recognizable hickories in Missouri but bitternut hickory is the only hickory tree which has long, sulphur-yellow colored buds. It is widely distributed over the state.

The nut is nearly globe-shaped and covered by a thin husk which is partially winged along the lines where it splits. The kernel is bitter but the squirrels don't seem to mind it. For them it is an important winter food which they store in hollow trees and bury in the ground. Forgotten buried nuts become new trees. The leaf, ranging from 6 to 10 inches long, is compound with 7 to 9 elliptically shaped leaflets. They are usually broadest above the center with toothed edges. These leaflets are supported from hairy stalks and are dark yellow-green and smooth above, pale and slightly hairy below.

In winter, this tree can be identified by its slender, pale gray twigs which are dotted with corky rises. The bark is nearly smooth and light gray when young, remaining on the trunk for several years. As the tree ages the bark becomes shallowly furrowed with thin interconnecting ridges.

Small bitternut hickory trees will grow in dense shade under the tops of sugar maple, white oak, white ash, and black walnut among others and still survive. It is a moderately fast growing tree, but short lived compared with other hickories.

Bitternut hickory wood is used to some degree in making handles, but is used largely for making charcoal for outdoor barbecuing. This wood smoke gives meat a rich flavor and aroma. Some meats are smoke cured with hickory because of its distinctive taste. It also makes an excellent fuelwood for cook stoves, furnaces or fireplaces.

Preventing Anemia in Pregnant Women

Half of all pregnant women develop iron-deficiency anemia because their volume of blood increases and because the growing fetus needs iron. Anemia during pregnancy can lead to an increased risk of premature delivery and a low-birth-weight baby.

To prevent these problems, pregnant women need twice as much iron as women who are not pregnant. Pregnant women can get more iron from eating more iron-rich foods, from supplements, or from both. Medical care during pregnancy should include screening for anemia.

The doctor giving prenatal care may prescribe iron supplements, which should be taken as directed. Pregnant women should notify their doctors if they have uncomfortable side effects such as constipation. The doctor also may give advice on how to get higher levels of iron through eating iron-rich foods.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 fêtes 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.”

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.

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

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.

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.

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)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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".

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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."

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.

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.

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.

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".

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.

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."

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.

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.

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.

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.

Ozone Layer

"The ozone layer" refers to the ozone within stratosphere, where over 90% of the earth's ozone resides. Ozone is an irritating, corrosive, colorless gas with a smell something like burning electrical wiring. In fact, ozone is easily produced by any high-voltage electrical arc (spark plugs, Van de Graaff generators, Tesla coils, arc welders). Each molecule of ozone has three oxygen atoms and is produced when oxygen molecules (O2) are broken up by energetic electrons or high energy radiation.

Christmas Day

Christmas is a enjoyable religious holiday when Christians rejoice the birth of Jesus Christ. The Christmas chronicle comes from the Bible. An angel appeared to shepherd and told them that a Savior had been born to Mary and Joseph in a stable in Bethlehem. Three Judicious Men from the East (the Magi) followed a amazing star which led them to the baby Jesus to whom they paid homage and presented gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
To people all over the earth, Christmas is a flavor of giving and receiving presents. In some European countries, priest Christmas, or Saint Nicholas, comes into houses in the night and leaves gifts for the children. Saint Nicholas is represented as a kindheartedly man with a red cloak and long white beard. Another nature, the Norse God Odin, ride on a mysterious flying horse across the sky in the winter to prize people with gifts. These different myths passed across the ages to make the present day Santa Claus.
On December 24, Christmas Eve, Santa hitches his eight reindeer to a toboggan and loads it with presents. The reindeer drag him and his sleigh through the sky to deliver presents to children all around the earth, that is, if they had been good all year. Several American towns maintain the strength of Santa Claus.
Santa Claus exists only in our imagination. But he, Saint Nicholas, and father Christmas are feelings of giving. Christmas has been associated with gift giving since the Wise Men brought gifts to welcome the newborn Jesus Christ.In eagerness of Santa's visit, American children pay attention to their parents read "The Night previous to Christmas" before they go to bed on Christmas Eve

Uses of Ginger

There are array of uses suggested for ginger. A tea brewed from the is a folk medicine for colds. Ginger ale and ginger beer have been suggested as "stomach settlers" for generation in countries where the beverages are made and ginger water was commonly used to avoid heat cramps in the US. Ginger has also been historically used to take care of inflammation which some scientific studies support, though one arthritis trial showed ginger to be no better than a placebo or ibuprofen. Research on rats suggests that ginger may be valuable for treating diabetes.

The Banyan Tree

In India the Banyan Tree is consider as National tree. This huge tree overlooks over its neighbors and has the widest reaching roots of all known trees, easily covering several acres. It sends off new shoots from its roots, so that one tree is really a interweave of branches, roots, and trunks. The banyan tree restart and lives for an incredible length of time--thus it is thought of as the everlasting tree.

Its size and leafy shelter are valued in India as a place of relax and mirror image, not to mention defense from the hot sun! It is still the focus and gathering place for local councils and meetings. India has a long history of worship this tree; it figures importantly in many of the oldest stories of the nation.

Abraham Lincoln

The brave man of the familiar People. It had been an extended time coming. Terribly separated by the issue of slavery, thirty-one million American citizens were in 1860
Called upon to vote for 16th President of the United States. The Democratic Party meets at its National Party Convention in Charleston, South Carolina, in order to choose their candidate in favor of the presidency. Split over slavery, each section, Northern Democrats on the one hand and Southern Democrats on the other, presented its own conflicting proposal for the party platform.
In February 1860, Senator Jefferson Davis of Mississippi claimed that neither the Congress of the United States nor the territorial parliaments had the control to handle slavery.

Adam Smith

He was born in 1723 in Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland, fatherless. The accurate date of his birth is unidentified. He was baptized June 5, 1723. At the age of fifteen, he begins his school at Glasgow and Oxford. In 1751, after he finished school, he was obtained a job at Glasgow University where he became the new Professor of judgment. There he lectured on beliefs, expression, jurisprudence and the political economy.

Just eight years after his training career began; he published his work. The Theory of ethical Sentiments. This show that he could write and he recognized himself in the world. In 1776, a query into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations was published. Immediately the book was a success. It had a remarkable effect on how people attention. Although it took him ten years to write, he became a very rich man from it.

A Team Player

The superiority of being a team player is one that everyone should enjoy. A team player is someone with good qualities who makes contributions and has the force to motivate each one around him or her. This individuality can be used in many areas such as games, family life, and in the company. You are more expected to be hired in the production if you have and demonstrate the qualities of a team player. As the business climate gets tougher before it gets improved, it is time to hike the talk if you want to develop.

Managers will require all the cooperation they can get. To land a high paying job with a major business you need to be a team player. Having good qualities is one of the most significant characters you can have. Being a team performer thinks of the team as a whole and is not selfish in their views and decisions.

A Snapshot of Macro-Economics

Economics is the learning of making choices. High school and college students all over required to take economic courses in order to achieve a diploma. Why is economics so important because it provides a guide for students for real-world situations Economics is divided into two types microeconomics and macroeconomics. Microeconomics is the study of economics at a slim level. For example absorbed on how a detailed business functions is microeconomics.
Studying the world economy is classified as Macroeconomics; its center on a much broader level. All students must understand the concept of insufficiency. Scarcity is a condition that occurs because society has unlimited wants and needs however the amount of property is limited. Unlimited wants and needs are what encourage us to create goods and services. We are never satisfied therefore we always have a want or need. On the other hand our income is limited.