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Standard Practice for Damage Resistance Testing of Sandwich ConstructionsPřeložit název
NORMA vydána dne 15.5.2016
Označení normy: ASTM D7766/D7766M-16
Datum vydání normy: 15.5.2016
Kód zboží: NS-640233
Počet stran: 9
Přibližná hmotnost: 27 g (0.06 liber)
Země: Americká technická norma
Kategorie: Technické normy ASTM
core, damage resistance, delamination, dent, disbond, drop-weight impact, facing, impact testing, quasi-static indentation, sandwich, sandwich construction,, ICS Number Code 83.120 (Reinforced plastics)
|Significance and Use
5.1 This practice provides supplemental instructions that allow Test Methods D6264/D6264M (for quasi-static indentation testing) and D7136/D7136M (for drop-weight impact testing) to determine damage resistance properties of sandwich constructions. Susceptibility to damage from concentrated out-of-plane forces is one of the major design concerns of many structures made using sandwich constructions. Knowledge of the damage resistance properties of a sandwich panel is useful for product development and material selection.
5.2 Sandwich damage resistance testing can serve the following purposes:
5.2.1 To establish quantitatively the effects of facing geometry, facing stacking sequence, facing-to-core interface, core geometry (cell size, cell wall thickness, core thickness, etc.), core density, core strength, processing and environmental variables on the damage resistance of a particular sandwich panel to a concentrated quasi-static indentation force, drop-weight impact force, or impact energy.
5.2.2 To compare quantitatively the relative values of the damage resistance parameters for sandwich constructions with different facing, core or adhesive materials. The damage response parameters can include dent depth, damage dimensions and location(s), indentation or impact force magnitudes, impact energy magnitudes, as well as the force versus time curve.
5.2.3 To impart damage in a specimen for subsequent damage tolerance tests.
5.2.4 Quasi-static indentation tests can also be used to identify a specific sequence of damage events (only the final damage state is identifiable after a drop-weight impact test).
5.3 The properties obtained using these practices can provide guidance in regard to the anticipated damage resistance capability of sandwich structures with similar materials, geometry, stacking sequence, and so forth. However, it must be understood that the damage resistance of a sandwich structure is highly dependent upon several factors including geometry, thickness, stiffness, mass, support conditions, and so forth.
5.3.1 Significant differences in the relationships between force/energy and the resultant damage state can result due to differences in these parameters. For example, properties obtained using edge-supported specimens would more likely reflect the damage resistance characteristics of a sandwich panel away from substructure attachments, whereas rigidly-backed specimens would more likely reflect the behavior of a panel local to substructure which resists out-of-plane deformation. Similarly, edge-supported impact test specimen properties would be expected to be similar to those of a sandwich panel with equivalent length and width dimensions, in comparison to those of a panel significantly larger than the test specimen, which tends to divert a greater proportion of the impact energy into elastic deformation.
5.3.2 Procedure A (quasi-static indentation using a rigidly-backed specimen) is considered to be the most suitable procedure for comparison of the damage resistance characteristics of sandwich panels of varying material, geometry, stacking sequence and so forth. This is because the rigid backing plate resists out-of-plane deformation of the specimen, such that the sandwich flexural stiffness and support geometry have less influence on damage initiation and growth behavior than in edge-supported tests. However, it should be noted that damage resistance behavior observed using rigidly-backed specimens may not strictly translate to edge-supported applications. For example, sandwich constructions using cores with high compression stiffness or strength, or both (e.g., balsa wood) may exhibit superior performance in rigidly-backed tests, but that performance may not strictly translate to edge-supported tests in which the core shear stiffness, core shear strength and sandwich panel flexural stiffness have greater influence upon the test results. Consequently, it is imperative to consider the intended assessment and structural application when selecting a test procedure for comparative purposes, and as such the use of Procedures B and C may be more appropriate for some applications.
5.3.3 For some structural applications, the use of a rigidly-backed specimen in drop-weight impact testing may be appropriate. Specific procedures for such testing are not included in this practice, but the general approach detailed for Procedure C may be useful as guidance material when conducting such assessments. Such tests should be performed in consideration of the implications of using rigidly-backed support conditions, such as their effect upon contact forces and sandwich deformation under impact, as well as the potential for damage to the test apparatus.
5.4 The standard indenter and impactor geometries have blunt, hemispherical tips. Historically, these tip geometries have generated a larger amount of internal damage for a given amount of external damage, when compared with that observed for similar indentations or impacts using sharp tips. Alternative indenter and impactor geometries may be appropriate depending upon the damage resistance characteristics being examined. For example, the use of sharp tip geometries may be appropriate for certain facing penetration resistance assessments.
5.5 Some testing organizations may desire to use these practices in conjunction with a subsequent damage tolerance test method to assess the residual strength of specimens containing a specific damage state, such as a defined dent depth, damage geometry, damage location, and so forth. In this case, the testing organization should subject several specimens, or a large panel, to multiple indentations or impacts, or both, at various energy levels using these practices. A relationship between force or energy and the desired damage parameter can then be developed. Subsequent residual strength tests can then be performed using specimens damaged using an interpolated energy or force level that is expected to produce the desired damage state.
|1. Scope
1.1 This practice provides instructions for modifying laminate quasi-static indentation and drop-weight impact test methods to determine damage resistance properties of sandwich constructions. Permissible core material forms include those with continuous bonding surfaces (such as balsa wood and foams) as well as those with discontinuous bonding surfaces (such as honeycomb, truss cores and fiber-reinforced cores).
1.2 This practice supplements Test Methods D6264/D6264M (for quasi-static indentation testing) and D7136/D7136M (for drop-weight impact testing) with provisions for testing sandwich specimens. Several important test specimen parameters (for example, facing thickness, core thickness and core density) are not mandated by this practice; however, repeatable results require that these parameters be specified and reported.
1.3 Three test procedures are provided. Procedures A and B correspond to D6264/D6264M test procedures for rigidlybacked and edge-supported test conditions, respectively. Procedure C corresponds to D7136/D7136M test procedures. All three procedures are suitable for imparting damage to a sandwich specimen in preparation for subsequent damage tolerance testing.
1.4 In general, Procedure A is considered to be the most suitable procedure for comparative damage resistance assessments, due to reduced influence of flexural stiffness and support fixture characteristics upon damage formation. However, the selection of a test procedure and associated support conditions should be done in consideration of the intended structural application, and as such Procedures B and C may be more appropriate for comparative purposes for some applications.
1.5 The values stated in either SI units or inch-pound units are to be regarded separately as standard. The values stated in each system are not exact equivalents; therefore, each system must be used independently of the other. Combining values from the two systems may result in non-conformance with the standard.
1.5.1 Within the text the inch-pound units are shown in brackets.
1.6 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.
|2. Referenced Documents
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In RA, hand surgery improves function, appearance
(HealthDay)—Treating rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients with severe hand deformities with a silicone metacarpophalangeal joint arthroplasty (SMPA) procedure produces significant, long-term improvement in hand function and appearance, according to research published in the September issue of Arthritis Care & Research.
Kevin C. Chung, M.D., of the University of Michigan Health System in Ann Arbor, and colleagues conducted a multicenter prospective cohort study involving 67 surgical and 95 nonsurgical RA patients with poor baseline functioning due to severe hand deformities to evaluate the efficacy and durability of response with the SMPA procedure.
The researchers found that, at baseline, surgical patients had worse Michigan Hand Outcomes Questionnaire (MHQ) function and functional measurements. Compared with the nonsurgical group, patients in the surgical group had significant improvements in their overall scores on the MHQ score and MHQ function, activities of daily living, aesthetics, and satisfaction section scores at three years. Significant improvement was also noted in ulnar deviation, extensor lag, and arc of motion in the metacarpophalangeal and proximal interphalangeal joints of surgical versus nonsurgical patients. Minimal complications were observed, with a fracture rate of 9.5 percent.
"The most important outcome for rheumatoid patients and hand surgeons considering surgery is improved function," the authors write. "Our three-year results have demonstrated that the SMPA procedure will improve function and activities of daily living and restore the appearance of severely deformed rheumatoid hands."
More information:
Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)
Copyright © 2012 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

subset: commoncrawl


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Good morning and Happy Valentine's Day. It's the Freedom New Mexico Monday briefing.
Fast Valentine fact
In the Middle Ages, young men and women drew names from a bowl to see who would be their Valentine.
They would wear this name pinned on their sleeves for one week.
Thus, the expression "wearing your heart on your sleeve."
Websites of the day
Parents of students in Dora and Elida schools can sign up to receive text messages regarding school closures, delays and other information.
To sign up, visit the districts' websites:
• Dora Consolidated Schools: http://www.doraschools.com/
• Elida Municipal Schools: http://www.elidaschools.net/
Clovis trivia
Main Street was bricked from Fourth to Eighth in 1918 at a cost of $32,846.20.
The bricks remain in place today.
Help for college
A reminder that staff at Clovis High School will be assisting students and parents in completing the all important Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
The event is 6 p.m. Thursday at the CHS library computer lab.
You'll need to bring your 2010 federal income tax return, current bank statements and assorted other important documents.
More info: Sylvia Vigil-Raines 505-761-2077
Today in history
On this day around the year 278 A.D., Valentine, a holy priest in Rome in the days of Emperor Claudius II, was executed for defying the emperor's decree and continuing to perform secret marriage ceremonies.
Here's the rest of the story:
Today — Enjoy…highs in the mid 50s to lower 60s. North winds 10 to 15 mph in the morning.
Tonight — Hitting the 70s Tuesday but first: Lows in the upper 20s to lower 30s. South winds 10 to 15 mph shifting to the southwest 10 to 20 mph after midnight.


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ATLANTA and STAMFORD, Conn., Feb. 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE: DAL) and Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT) announced a comprehensive new partnership that offers exclusive new benefits to Delta SkyMiles Medallion members and Starwood Preferred Guest® (SPG®) elite members. The program, called Crossover Rewards, begins March 1 and provides elite members of both loyalty programs reciprocal benefits.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090202/DELTALOGO )
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130207/CL55993LOGO )
Crossover Rewards allows Delta and Starwood elites to share program benefits and earn more miles and Starpoints. SkyMiles Diamond and Platinum Medallion members will have access to added benefits including priority check-in, 4 p.m. late checkout and free in-room internet access when staying at Starwood Hotels and Resorts. All Delta Medallion members also will earn one mile per dollar spent on eligible room rates when staying with Starwood in addition to the Starpoints usually earned for their stay. In turn, SPG Platinum members will receive one free checked bag, priority check-in and priority boarding when flying Delta. SPG elite members will earn one Starpoint per dollar spent on eligible flights in addition to the miles usually earned for their flight.
"Crossover Rewards allows Starwood and Delta to extend loyalty outside of our hotels and beyond the window seat by giving our respective elite members reciprocal benefits and earning power," said Frits van Paasschen, president and CEO of Starwood. "This enriches the experience for our most valuable travelers, and gives both Delta and Starwood an opportunity to target frequent travelers who aren't already part of our programs, enabling us to capture greater share of the global, high-end traveler."
"Crossover Rewards is another example of Delta's commitment to making the travel experience more beneficial and enjoyable for our customers," said Tim Mapes, Delta's senior vice president – Marketing. "For our loyal customers, hotel accommodations are a vital component of the travel experience, which makes this new alliance with an innovative company like Starwood a strategic addition to the SkyMiles program."
The companies' global alignment was key to uniting the two organizations for the creation of Crossover Rewards. With flights to more than 300 destinations and hubs in markets like Tokyo, Paris, New York City and Atlanta, Delta's global reach complements Starwood's worldwide hotel footprint including nine hotel brands in 100 countries around the world.
"SPG continues to invest in one-of-a-kind benefits to truly reward those who reward us with their unwavering loyalty and business," said Mark Vondrasek, senior vice president - Distribution, Loyalty and Partnership for Starwood. "More and more we look to extend our relationship with our guests beyond the four walls of our hotels, which we believe is a way to cultivate 'loyalty beyond reason.' Delta shares with Starwood a spirit of innovation and a truly global reach that aligns with our global footprint, and we are thrilled to welcome their most loyal Medallion members as our own."
Beginning March 1, customers can register for Crossover Rewards by linking their Delta SkyMiles and SPG accounts at delta.com/crossoverrewards or spg.com/crossoverrewards. Benefits will begin once Delta Medallion or SPG elite status is reached. For additional information on Crossover Rewards and to view a complete list of benefits, please visit delta.com/crossoverrewards or spg.com/crossoverrewards.
About Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with 1,134 properties in nearly 100 countries and 154,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. Starwood is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels, resorts and residences with the following internationally renowned brands: St. Regis®, The Luxury Collection®, W®, Westin®, Le Meridien®, Sheraton®, Four Points® by Sheraton, Aloft®, and Elementsm. The Company boasts one of the industry's leading loyalty programs, Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG), allowing members to earn and redeem points for room stays, room upgrades and flights, with no blackout dates. Starwood also owns Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., a premier provider of world-class vacation experiences through villa-style resorts and privileged access to Starwood brands. For more information, please visit www.starwoodhotels.com.
About Starwood Preferred Guest
Starwood Preferred Guest® (SPG®) is an innovative, award-winning frequent traveler program that unites each of Starwood's 9 distinctive hotel brands and includes more luxury hotels in more destinations around the world. SPG reinvented the hospitality loyalty landscape when it launched in 1999 with its breakthrough policy of no blackout dates, and over the years has continued its tradition of innovation with enhancements such as Cash + Points, SPG MomentsSM, and most recently Your24TM and SPG Lifetime™. In addition to Free Night Awards at over 1,100 hotels and resorts and Award Flights on over 350 major airlines without blackout dates, the Starpoints® that members earn through SPG can be redeemed for access like to no other to experiences in music, sports and the arts through SPG Moments. SPG also has an ongoing commitment to digital innovation to meet the needs of today's connected global traveler – from the SPG app for iPhone that utilizes state-aware technology to create a more personalized hotel stay to Starwood's Best Rate Guarantee on SPG.com, to SPG's integration within various social media platforms. Offerings such as these have helped SPG build a passionate member base among the world's most frequent travelers. Learn more at spg.com and spg.com/moments and connect with us on facebook.com/spg, twitter.com/spg, foursquare.com/spg, pinterest.com/spglife, and youtube.com/spg.
About Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines serves more than 160 million customers each year. During the past year, Delta won 33 airline industry awards sweeping the major corporate travel surveys including Business Travel News, Travel Weekly, TravelAge West, Recommend Magazine and The Beat. Delta was also a recipient of the Secretary of Defense Freedom Award for exceptional support of National Guard and Reserve employees. With an industry-leading global network, Delta and the Delta Connection carriers offer service to nearly 319 destinations in 59 countries on six continents. Headquartered in Atlanta, Delta employs 80,000 employees worldwide and operates a mainline fleet of more than 700 aircraft. A founding member of the SkyTeam global alliance, Delta participates in the industry's leading trans-Atlantic joint venture with Air France-KLM and Alitalia. Including its worldwide alliance partners, Delta offers customers more than 13,000 daily flights, with hubs in Amsterdam, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Detroit, Memphis, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York-LaGuardia, New York-JFK, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Salt Lake City and Tokyo-Narita. The airline's service includes the SkyMiles frequent flier program, a world-class airline loyalty program; the award-winning BusinessElite service; and more than 50 Delta Sky Clubs in airports worldwide. Delta is investing more than $3 billion in airport facilities and global products, services and technology to enhance the customer experience in the air and on the ground. Customers can check in for flights, print boarding passes, check bags and review flight status at delta.com.
SOURCE Delta Air Lines


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In my research of Kathryn Roahrig Bradford's family, I came across 8 different spellings which indicated to me that this foreign name included a vowel alien to the English language. On one side journey I inspected a naturalization document which included the applicant's signature. " AHA!" I thought. There is a German vowel: the umlaut O, the O with two dots over it, the O that sounds like perk or burn. THAT vowel. In most cases one would transcribe that letter into English or French with an "o" followed by an "e", but many, many transcribers have not followed that rule. Somewhere along the way, my ancestors' just settled on the spelling R-O-A-H-R-I-G and standardized the family's name. My ancestors then were probably from an area of Europe that spoke German. That U.S. Federal 1850 census lists Frederick Roahrig as from France; the 1870 census states that he was a native of Alsace. THAT is the clue. Alsace is a region of France that borders with Germany, and has been the site of political turmoil for centuries, rocking back and forth between French and German control. At the time Frederick shows up in Ohio it was considered France. His family may have spoken French, German or a combination of the languages.
I am exceedingly happy that fellow family historian, Doug Kreis, has shared his Register Reports with me. THANK YOU AGAIN, DOUG! For included in his massive projects are obituaries, which have some amazing data sets in aggregate.
Frederick Roahrig's parents were Jean George and Eve Gerling Roahrig, born in Buhl, Alsace, France at the turn of the 19th century. They married in Buhl on 31 December 1817 and had six children: Marie Eve, Magdalena, Frederick, George, Salome, and David. All were born in Buhl before 1835. I had found Frederick, husband to Elizabeth and father of John in the 1850 census. Putting this much information together I can conclude that Frederick emigrated from Alsace between 1835 and 1850.
I swept my eyes back over the report again, this time concentrating on obituaries of Frederick, his wife Elizabeth Lapp, and his sister, Magdelena Reiger. From these three obituaries I pull this data set:
Frederick Roahrig was born in 7 January 1827 in Buhl, Alsace, France. He came to America with his parents and in a few years married Elizabeth Lapp Roahrig (born 26 August 1832 in Muskingum County) on 6 April 1849 in Muskingum County, Ohio. Elizabeth died on 4 January 1900 in Muskingum County; Frederick died in Muskingum County on 4 April 1908. They are both buried in the Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church cemetery.
Magdelena Roahrig Reiger was born 22 December 1822 in Buhl, Alsace, France. She was baptized as an infant and joined the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hatten in 1837. She emigrated to America in 1847 and later that year married George Reiger. She died in 31 August 1893 in Muskingum County, Ohio, and was buried in the Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church cemetery.
Looking into the history of Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church, Muskingum County, Ohio adds one more important detail: it was founded in 1839 by sixteen, German speaking, Alsatian immigrant families.
For now, my family story flows something like this: Jean George and Eve Gerling Roahrig, fed up with the political turmoil of their region and lured by the relative calm of America, emigrated in 1847, with their living children to America. They landed at New York and came up the Erie Canal to Buffalo, then continued on westward to the open lands of Ohio. Or they landed in Philadelphia and moved through Lancaster, Pennsylvania before heading out to the German speaking Ohio communities. There, in Muskingum County, Ohio they were welcomed by the Lapps and the Zimmers, the Mosers and the Kreis'. The children married, and had children who prospered. And I am here, six generations later, to tell their story.
Next week: Sing praises for safe travels–in time. Ahnentafels that will lead me to five ancestral immigrants!!


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Book Review: The Magician King by Lev Grossman
May 27, 2012 13 Comments
This book was on the shortlist for the Indie Lit Awards in the Speculative Fiction genre. I read it because I was in the jury for this genre, which was a pleasure to do!
I didn't read the prequel – this is the second book in the series. I got a bit bored after a while, although the story picked up again towards the end.
The Magician King: What it is about
From the publisher's website: "The Magicians was praised as a triumph by readers and critics of both mainstream and fantasy literature. Now Grossman takes us back to Fillory, where the Brakebills graduates have fled the sorrows of the mundane world, only to face terrifying new challenges.
Quentin and his friends are now the kings and queens of Fillory, but the days and nights of royal luxury are starting to pall. After a morning hunt takes a sinister turn, Quentin and his old friend Julia charter a magical sailing ship and set out on an errand to the wild outer reaches of their kingdom. Their pleasure cruise becomes an adventure when the two are unceremoniously dumped back into the last place Quentin ever wants to see: his parent's house in Chesterton, Massachusetts. And only the black, twisted magic that Julia learned on the streets can save them.
The Magician King is a grand voyage into the dark, glittering heart of magic, an epic quest for the Harry Potter generation. It also introduces a powerful new voice, that of Julia, whose angry genius is thrilling. Once again Grossman proves that he is the modern heir to C.S. Lewis, and the cutting edge of literary fantasy."
The Magician King: What I thought
It didn't really seem to matter that I hadn't read the first book in this series, The Magicians. I did look up the story on wikipedia and was able to jump into this new story quite easily.
There wasn't a general plot to the book, at least, it seemed so at first. It went from Fillory – a voyage on a ship for no clear reason, back to Earth, then back to Fillory, via Neitherland. There was a high Narnia factor, but there were more than just the two worlds. A new world was created by finding and using seven keys.
There were some interesting elements – Dragons in a Venice canal, a new world was created, Gods that were magicians (übermagicians) and more. I also liked the secondary story line about Julia. This was a very clever idea. She learned magic from an underground group. But it never became clear to me why Julia was focused on in particular and no one else from her group of friends (other than Quentin).
Definitely a book for adults (that enjoyed Narnia). For me, there wasn't a clear enough story line, the story seemed to move from one thing to the next. Still, an entertaining read.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
I got this book: for review from Viking for the Indie Lit Awards.
I read this in: English, the original language
Number of pages: 400
First published: 2011
Genre: fantasy


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Directory Listing
|Sticky Revision:
minor comment and formatting changes
remove old make based build system
The sparse solver can be called by paso now. the building has been change to reduce some code redundancy: now all scons SCscripts are importing scons/esys_options.py which imports platform specific settings.
turns out Install() targets should also be made Default() targets if you want them to actually reliably work!
now determine hostname via socket.gethostname() as HOSTNAME environment variable is apparently not set on all platforms
now load default options - by default!
allow compile options to be loaded from a config file specified on the command line to scons
if usegcc=1 is set on command line, load compiler options fropm scons/gcc_options.py
pass in correct options to archiver for static libraries
implement switching of debug compiler options based on command line flag 'debug'
pass in cc/cxx settings from config file
import sys
first pass at importing compile options from an external file'
collect all information needed to determine build configuration (ie: debug/nodebug, host, platform etc)
push platform dependent compiler flags and include directories up to library level scons files - these will eventually be brought in from external config files
pass in value for esysroot and use this to determine include file locations
explicitly add -fpic option to all compiler options lists to ensure relocatable code is generated
first draft of scons config/construct files for CppUnitTest library
move all directories from trunk/esys2 into trunk and remove esys2
*** empty log message ***
added dummy file to force CVS to keep directory in repository
Initial revision
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UD researchers discover that JAM-A protein keeps blood clots in check
Cut your toe, and platelets — those disc-shaped cells circulating in your blood — rush to the scene, clumping together to plug the leak.
But when an unwanted clot forms in an artery, and an overaccumulation of platelets blocks blood flow, a heart attack or stroke occurs, too often with fatal results.
Heart disease and stroke rank as humankind's top killers, according to the World Health Organization. Ulhas Naik, director of the Delaware Cardiovascular Research Center at the University of Delaware, hopes to help change that grim statistic for the better.
For the past several years, Naik has been leading a research team in the UD Department of Biological Sciences focused on learning more about a protein in blood called junctional adhesion molecule A (JAM-A), which is found on the surface of platelets. Naik actually purified and cloned this protein 24 years ago when he was a postdoctoral researcher.
Although a number of different proteins in blood have been shown to slow clot formation, JAM-A is a far more powerful clot inhibitor, Naik and his research team have discovered.
This split-screen video shows, at left, a blood clot decreasing in size in the presence of the JAM-A protein; at right, a blood clot growing unchecked in the absence of the JAM-A protein.
He and his colleagues recently reported their findings in Blood, the flagship journal of the American Society of Hematology. The authors included UD research scientist Meghna Naik and the University of Pennsylvania's Timothy Stalker, research assistant professor, and Dr. Lawrence Brass, professor of medicine. The research is featured on the journal's cover and also is highlighted in a commentary by Jonathan M. Gibbins of the University of Reading in England.
"The JAM-A protein is the natural protection against unwanted clot formation," Naik says. "It is not the only protein in blood with this role, but other proteins are not as strong or as good."
A split-screen video, produced with the aid of an intravital microscope, provides compelling evidence of JAM-A's importance. On the left, scientists can see a blood clot rapidly form and then decrease in size when JAM-A is present. On the right, in the absence of JAM-A, a clot forms and continues to grow unchecked.
Previously, scientists thought JAM-A actually stimulated platelets to form clots. Now that UD research has shown the opposite to be true, the next step, Naik says, is to determine what the actual mechanism is.
"Is JAM-A affecting the formation of the clot or is it affecting the stability of the clot, for example?" Naik asks.
Naik keeps in mind a common scenario described by a local cardiologist. Two patients with heart disease will visit the cardiologist with the same symptoms. The two patients will receive the same treatment, yet one patient will live and one will die from a heart attack. Could the patients' level of JAM-A be the critical difference between life and death, Naik wonders.
Plaque lines the arteries of patients with atherosclerosis like a fur coat. Sometimes, when chunks of these soft plaques break off, platelets rush to the scene to form clots.
"The JAM-A protein moderates blood clotting," Naik notes. "If it's not there, a clot keeps on growing. If people have less JAM-A, then that may be an important biomarker for predicting who is at greatest risk of a heart attack or stroke and taking steps to prevent it."
The research was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health through the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and the former National Center for Research Resources.
– Article by Tracey Bryant
*Source: University of Delaware


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text:
Australian mining mogul Clive Palmer wants to establish an island filled with giant, robotic dinosaurs — and that's not an April Fools' joke, the AFP reports. Luckily, though, Palmer appears to have moved on from his original dream of cloning a dinosaur and instead has decided to fill his island with giant robotic ones. Perhaps someone finally showed the billionaire Jurassic Park.
Palmer started his giant dinosaur collection last year, putting two animatronic behemoths — a Tyrannosaurus rex called Jeff and an Omeisaurus named Bones — on his Palmer Coolum Resort on the coast north of Brisbane, Australia. However to make his fantasy of a dinosaur park a reality, Palmer is dreaming even bigger, "If you've seen Jeff and Bones, well you haven't seen anything yet."
(MORE: Titantic II Replica to Recreate Titanic Journey)
"We'll have the world's biggest dinosaur exhibit, with 165 animatronic dinosaurs," Palmer said. The creatures will soar up to 6 m tall and weigh over a ton and will be able to move their tails and blink. The animals will also be displayed around the resort and are expected to arrive in Australia later this month.
Palmer has certainly proved himself capable of visionary uses of extraordinary sums of money. In February he announced plans to build Titantic II, a replica of the Titanic that will recreate the sail across the Atlantic Ocean — complete with period costumes and a ban on television and Internet access.
Why does he take on these projects? Palmer said recently, "I want to spend the money I've got before I die." Palmer has a lot of money to burn through too. Forbes estimates his worth at $795 million, though he calls himself a billionaire.
MORE: Finally, a Petition to Convert a National Park Into 'Jurassic Park'


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CARROLL GARDENS — The Brooklyn Philharmonic has a new home.
After almost a decade of conflict involving community members, politicians, actors, and residents, the renovation of former firehouse Engine Company 204, slated to become the new center for the Brooklyn Philharmonic, will begin this summer.
The Department of Design and Construction confirmed that the building will require new windows and a gut interior renovation and will be completed by the summer of 2014.
Bidding on the construction company will begin in the next month or two, said Timothy Gilles, member of the board of directors for the Brooklyn Philharmonic.
In 2010, Community Board 6 approved the 10-year lease for the Brooklyn Philharmonic at $1 a year.
The decommissioned firehouse at 299 Degraw St. will house the administrative staff of the philharmonic on the second floor, said Gilles. After moving out of the Brooklyn Academy of Music building a few years ago, the staff has had about five different offices in the last six to eight years, he added.
"It's been really disruptive," said Gilles.
In the area where the fire trucks were previously parked, the arts group has planned for a "community-based space." While the area isn't big enough for a 60-piece orchestra rehearsal, said Gilles, it will be appropriate for quartets and smaller groups to rehearse and even perform.
They even hope to encourage community groups to take advantage of the space for music, dance, and other kinds of artistic performances, he said.
It will be "a great way to amplify" the philharmonic's endeavor to build "deep community engagement around the borough," said Gilles.
Despite the philharmonic's best intentions, the old firehouse represents a long-standing battle between the City and the neighborhood.
In 2003, a number of Brooklyn residents, including current City Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, actor and former firefighter Steve Buscemi, and Assemblymember Joan Millman protested, at the time, against the decommissioning of the Degraw Street firehouse, The Brooklyn Paper reported.
"We stood arm-linked before the firehouse," said Millman. The protesters, including Millman, were arrested during the incident, she said.
As an increasing number of young families moved into the Cobble Hill-Carroll Gardens area, community members were concerned by the absence of a nearby firehouse, said Maria Pagano, president of the Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association.
"We were all feeling very secure having the firemen and firehouse," she said.
But supporters of Engine 204 eventually lost their battle. The building was awarded to the music organization over a firefighter advocacy group, Friends of Firefighters, who wanted to use the space for a counseling and therapy center. The neighborhood's closest firehouses are Engine 202 in Red Hook and Engine 205 in Brooklyn Heights.
However, Pagano said she was excited at the Brooklyn Philharmonic's arrival into the community.
"I think it will be a wonderful thing," said Pagano.


text:
5 things to watch in the Stanley Cup finals
Hockey fans who endured another lockout are in for a treat that'll cap a sprint of a season.
Hockey fans who endured another lockout are in for a treat that'll cap a sprint of a season.
The Chicago Blackhawks and Boston Bruins are set to compete for the Stanley Cup for the first time in the NHL's first final featuring Original Six teams since 1979.
There have been seven champions in the salary-cap era, and the team that hoists the Cup this month will become the league's only two-time winner of the new era.
Here's a look at five things to watch when the puck drops Wednesday night in the Windy City for Game 1 of what will likely be a long, high-paced, hard-hitting series with a blend of jaw-dropping talent and wince-inducing grit.
SPEED VS. STRENGTH: Chicago has some of the fastest forwards and defensemen on the planet. Boston, though, is the toughest team in hockey. Something's got to give. Blackhawks superstar Patrick Kane had a hat trick in his last game, the third goal 11:40 into double overtime eliminated the defending champion Los Angeles Kings in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals. But if the cat-quick Kane runs into Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara, he's in trouble. The 6-foot-9, 255-pound Chara is nearly a foot taller and more than 75 pounds heavier than Kane. Chara is also pretty agile as he showed, laying on his stomach and swatting away a shot with his left glove to seal a sweep of Pittsburgh in the Eastern Conference finals.
BETWEEN THE PIPES: No one wins a Stanley Cup without a great goaltender — or at least one who is playing great during the playoffs — and both teams have goalies playing their best hockey at a perfect time for teams that weren't counting on them the last time they won a championship. Chicago's Corey Crawford and Boston's Tuukka Rask are 1-2 and 2-1 in two key categories this postseason. Crawford has an NHL-low 1.74 goals-against average, just ahead of Rask's 1.75 GAA. The Bruins are still playing in large part because Rask leads the league with a .943 save percentage and likewise, Crawford has kept the Blackhawks in it to win it by turning away .935 percent of the shots that make it to him.
SHINING STARS: David Krejci has been simply sensational, leading the league with nine goals and 21 points this postseason. When the Bruins won the Cup in 2011 for the first time since 1972, he led them with 23 points. Krejci is a versatile scorer, who can slap a shot into the net, flick a wrist shot in the blink of an eye or hack at a loose puck in front of the net. Jonathan Toews was tough to stop when Chicago ended its 49-year championship drought in 2010, scoring seven goals and leading the team with 29 points. He has to pick up the pace for the Blackhawks to win it all again. Chicago's captain has only one goal this postseason — ranking 12th on the team — and has tried to make up it with eight assists and leadership.
COACHING COUNTS: Joel Quenneville and Claude Julien won't play a shift, but they decide who plays when, and their choices will make for a game within the game each night. Quenneville will get to make the last change when the NHL's top-seeded Blackhawks are at home for Games 1 and 2 and if necessary, Games 5 and 7. Quenneville can keep Kane and Toews away from Chara and Dennis Seidenberg when they're on the ice for at least the start of shifts. The adjustments both Cup-winning coaches make on special teams will be pivotal. Both teams have scored a relatively modest seven goals on the power play. Chicago has been the best when short-handed, killing 95 percent of its penalties.
X-FACTORS: Chicago's Bryan Bickell and Boston's Nathan Horton have set themselves up to cash in as free agents this summer. Bickell has scored eight times this postseason — tying Patrick Sharp for the team lead — and has produced 13 points after having just nine goals and 23 points in the 48-game regular season. Horton has seven goals and 17 points — five points shy of his total from the shortened season — to trail only Krejci in postseason scoring in the entire league. The under-the-radar player — Bickell or Horton — who can keep it up might help his team hoist the Cup.


text: While it's great that they keep plugging along and improving Ubuntu we didn't see a lot of new in this release. There are plenty of articles about it and it does mean something. Some of the most interesting items are that Ubunutu seems to be moving towards Amazon's EC2 Tech as their main Cloud Partner. Great move for Amazon but I am not sure what the benifit is for Ubuntu. The new release still boots amazingly fast and has replaced FSpot with Shotwell. There are also some enhancements to the Netbook remix and a good set of general updates to the major pacakges like GNOME. It was all released to day at 10:10:10 this morning.


text:
It certainly looked like the real thing. Full of eBay logos and links, the e-mail said their accounts were expiring, and they'd better fill out a form quickly or risk losing their current auctions. So they did — typing in everything from drivers license numbers to credit card PINs. Since then, thieves have attempted to steal their money and their private information has been posted on the Internet for all the world to see. The lapse in judgment was momentary, but the consequences continue to unfold.
What's the easiest way to steal consumers' personal data for identity theft? Just ask them for it.
So-called "phisher" e-mails, which look like authentic notes from real companies like eBay, Citibank or America Online, are a growing problem for Internet users, who continue to fall for the dupe and give away credit card numbers, Social Security numbers, and other critical personal data.
The e-mails are remarkably successful, say Internet scam artists who've discussed their techniques anonymously with MSNBC.com. One claimed as many as 10 percent of recipients fill out the forms, which take advantage of the ease with which genuine Web sites are copied. With imitation artwork and text a fake Web site can look like the real thing to anyone not looking closely.
Anyone can be tricked by the phisher e-mails.
MSNBC TV anchor Contessa Brewer fell for the ploy in September, giving up her Social Security number to a Web page that looked like an authentic one from America Online. The instant she hit submit, she knew she had made a mistake.
"I know better," she said. "But I had just moved, and I was filling out a whole lot of forms at the time, and this just seemed like one more form."
One e-mail, many victims
That's just about what happened to dozens of consumers who answered one such phisher e-mail sent out in July. Eventually, their data reached its way to a chat room devoted to swapping "phish" stories, enabling MSNBC.com to contact the victims and hear their stories.
One victim, when shown the chat room log, responded with astonishment.
"There's my cell number. My PIN. Wow, that's scary," said Nikki Rizzi of New York. "My Social Security Number. Look at that."
The information was posted to the chat room apparently as the result of a dare from one member to the other. Internet fraud artists looking to sell "hot" financial account information often post a slice of the stolen data to boost their credibility.
All of the victims contacted had been hit with some kind of financial fraud but few had made the connection between the fake eBay e-mail and the fraud until contacted by MSNBC.com. Several didn't even remember filling out the form.
Contrary to conventional wisdom, most of the victims were Internet-savvy. Several regularly check their credit cards and bank statements online, for example, and discovered their identities had been stolen just that way. Still, the e-mail was convincing enough to dupe them.
"They sent you e-mail posing as eBay. The page looks so real, you fall for it and give them all your information," said Ed Dwyer, of Thompson Falls, Mont. Like the other victims, Dwyer surrendered virtually all the keys to his financial kingdom: His bank name, account number and routing number. His credit card number, expiration date, and PIN number. Even his Social Security number, driver license number, date of birth and mother's maiden name.
Two weeks later, Dwyer, 34, was watching TV when he heard the Federal Trade Commission was warning people about the phisher scams. The examples the FTC cited were identical to the eBay e-mail Dwyer had received.
"Right then I felt like a sucker," he said.
But he's hardly the only one.
Rizzi, 25, fell for the same scam. Then, during one 15-minute span in September, someone made seven separate $200 cash advance withdrawals from his MBNA credit card. Four other attempts later that night were stopped.
"I was out coming home from gym and went to use my card and it was invalid," Rizzi said. "The next day I checked it out online, and there were seven transactions done but I still had my credit card in my hand. Whoever it was used my credit card number to make a fake credit card and had my PIN."
Rizzi didn't know how the criminal had managed to get the PIN until he was reminded of the eBay look-alike e-mail by MSNBC.com.
"I do remember that one . ... I thought it seemed weird," he said. "But being a young person, you embrace the Internet."
Rizzi has since changed banks, canceled all credit cards and moved, making most of the stolen data which appeared in the public chat room useless. But not all of it.
"I can't change my Social Security number," he said. "What am I supposed to do about that?"
Fraud alerts help
Experts say that best thing for victims to do is check their credit reports — which are available for free to victims of identity theft — and to place a "fraud alert" on their records at each of the three credit reporting bureaus. But none of the victims interviewed for this story had taken that step, or were advised to do so by their financial institutions.
Randall Allen, of Witchita, Kan., thought he was being careful. He uses eBay to buy equipment for his company and set up a special credit union account just for online purchases. Allen maintained only a fractional balance in the account, just in case a criminal ever managed to access it. He even checked the account weekly.
Still, the original eBay look-alike e-mail was enough to fool Allen.
"I remember filling in the form," he said. "Now, I feel like, gosh I just gave them the keys to everything, didn't I?"
He discovered something was wrong when an overdraft notice appeared on the account, after someone moved $100 out of it.
A couple of weeks later, a sales representative at Gateway called him after someone tried to buy a new computer via automatic withdrawal from his credit union. But by then, the account had been blocked.
A lot of lost time
Allen, like all of the other victims interviewed for this piece, hasn't yet lost any money because of the identity theft, thanks to refunds from the financial institutions involved. But he did lose a lot of time — half a day at the credit union office dealing with paperwork, followed by more paperwork later, he said.
"It took me a lot of time to take care of this," Allen said. "Luckily, I watch my money. But I want this kind of stuff to stop. I cannot believe people do this."
David Aasum of Rochester, Minnm. had $800 wired out of his bank account in September, when most of the financial crimes connected to the July eBay look-alike e-mail took place. It's not clear why the successful "phisher" waited so long.
"I monitor my accounts all the time," Aasum, 60, said, adding that after he discovered the withdrawal, "it was immediately taken care of by my bank." By that Aasum means that his bank put $800 back into his checking account. But the bank didn't advise him to take other steps to protect his now stolen identity, such as contacting credit bureaus, he said.
Fraud fighter Dan Clements, who operates a credit card fraud awareness Web site called CardCops.com, spotted the chat room where the data was posted and shared the information with MSNBC.com.
"It's really just a numbers game," Clements said. "(Criminals) send out hundreds of thousands of those, and if they get just a few back they are ahead of the game."
While it's easy to criticize victims for divulging personal information, Clements said so many Internet users are falling for the trick that the financial industry has to do more than simply blame the victims.
"Busy professionals, sophisticated people see an e-mail with the right logos, fill it out, and hit submit. Lots of times, an instant later, they think, 'What have I done,' but it's too late," he said. "We have seen that the banking industry has been slow to respond to some of these issues."
EBay could do a better job warning consumers, too, Aasum suggested.
"When I got it, I did try to contact the real eBay, and they never responded," he said. But he has received other notices from eBay saying the firm would never ask for information such as credit card PIN numbers. "I guess I don't know what eBay could really do," he said.


text:
Biscotti-Gelato Sandwiches and Espresso2018-08-18
- Course: Dessert
- Add to favorites
- Yield : 4 servings
- Prep Time : 10m
- Cook Time : 5m
- Ready In : 15m
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- 1 to 1 1/2 cups vanilla ice cream or gelato
- 1/2 cup chocolate hazelnut spread (recommended: Nutella)
- 8 pieces biscotti
- 4 shots espresso, for serving
Step 1
To make the sandwiches, take the ice cream out of the freezer to soften. Cover 1 side of each piece of biscotti with hazelnut spread. Place the biscotti in the freezer for 5 minutes to firm up. Take out of the freezer and quickly spread 1/4 cup of ice cream on the hazelnut side of 4 of the biscotti and top with another biscotti, spread side against the ice cream. Place the biscotti ice cream sandwiches back in the freezer for 5 minutes.
Step 2
Meanwhile, brew 4 shots of espresso. Pour the espresso and serve with the biscotti-gelato sandwiches alongside.


text:
WASHINGTON -- To make a point about China's interest in supercomputing, David Turek, IBM's vice president of deep computing, put a slide on the screen showing a large construction site for a building that will house one massive computer.
"That's a truck -- that's a big truck, that's a big hole, and that's going to be a big building," said Turek, pointing to the photo of a supercomputing center being built in Shenzhen, China for an audience at a Washington D.C. forum. "And that's only the first building they are going to build there."
[ Keep up on the day's tech news headlines with InfoWorld's Today's Headlines: Wrap Up newsletter. ]
Under construction: China's massive new supercomputing center site in Shenzhen.
It's not just China that is rushing ahead to build a supercomputing facility, but Europe and Japan as well, said Turek and others on Thursday at an IEEE-USA forum.
"You have sovereign nations making material investments of a tremendous magnitude to basically eat our lunch, eat our collective lunch," Turek said.
The intent of the forum was to update the effort to build the next generation of supercomputers, systems 1,000 times more powerful than current petaflop systems. A petaflop is a quadrillion, or 1,000 trillion sustained floating-point operations per second. One exaflop can perform 1 million trillion calculations per second, a quintillion.
The main message was that other nations are beginning to challenge U.S. supercomputing leadership, something that has implications for every aspect of U.S. leadership in science and product development, said experts at this forum.
Turek predicted that "within a year there will be more Top500 systems in China then there are in Europe collectively." The most recent Top500 list, maintained by academic researchers in the U.S. and Europe, notes that China has 24 systems powerful enough to make the list; France, 27; Germany, 24; United Kingdom, 38; and the United States has 282.
"The No. 1 goal is to maintain U.S. leadership in high-performance computing," said Rick Stevens, associate director for computing, environment and life sciences at the Argonne National Lab.
That means having an exascale system by 2020.
The benefits of such a system could be enormous and take science into areas "not possible today without more computing power," such as simulating everything that is going on inside a human cell, Stevens said.
There are about 1,000 scientist involved in the U.S. Exascale Initiative, said Stevens. But Europe and China, in particular, "have accelerated their investment" in deploying high-performance systems, he said.
Europe has "launched their own exascale program to compete with the U.S.," said Stevens, who added that Europeans are now on a faster development slope and may bypass the U.S. "if we don't sustain the investment to stay ahead."
But the approach to building an exascale system will be different than those systems in the past, Stevens said.
A petascale system today may have about 200,000 processing cores; an exascale system may use anywhere from 100 million to as many as one billion cores, he said.
The power demands for such a system, for instance, have the potential of being enormous. A two petaflop system needs about 2 megawatts, and keeping power needs from running out of control on a system many times more powerful requires improvements in power efficiency.
To build an exascale system, Stevens said scientists are working toward a "co-design" where everything needed to make such a system possible -- application software and programming models, improvements in optics and memory, and other attributes -- are being done in tandem with hardware development.
But for now, the race is on. China has the world's second-most-powerful supercomputer on the planet, the Nebulae, a 1.27 petaflop system, found the most recent Top 500 ranking. The top system is Cray's 1.76-petaflop Jaguar supercomputer at the U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Patrick Thibodeau covers SaaS and enterprise applications, outsourcing, government IT policies, data centers and IT workforce issues for Computerworld. Follow Patrick on Twitter at @DCgov or subscribe to Patrick's RSS feed. His email address is firstname.lastname@example.com.
Read more about mainframes and supercomputers in Computerworld's Mainframes and Supercomputers Topic Center.
This story, "IBM warns of challenge to U.S. supercomputing leadership" was originally published by Computerworld.


text:
Health policy cancellations: New blow for admin.
By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR and STEPHEN OHLEMACHER Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Move over, website woes. Lawmakers confronted the Obama administration Tuesday with a difficult new health care problem — a wave of cancellation notices hitting individuals and small business who buy their own insurance.
At the same time, the federal official closest to the website apologized for its dysfunction in new sign-ups and asserted things are getting better by the day.
Medicare chief Marilyn Tavenner said it's not the administration but insurers who are responsible for cancellation letters now reaching many of the estimated 14 million people who buy individual policies. And, officials said, people who get cancellation notices will be able to find better replacement plans, in some cases for less.
The Associated Press, citing the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, reported in May that many carriers would opt to cancel policies this fall and issue new ones. Administratively that was seen as easier than changing existing plans to comply with the new law, which mandates coverage of more services and provides better financial protection against catastrophic illnesses.
While the administration had ample warning of the cancellations, they could become another public relations debacle for President Barack Obama's signature legislation. This problem goes to the credibility of one of the president's earliest promises about the health care overhaul: You can keep your plan if you like it.
In the spring, state insurance commissioners started giving insurers the option of canceling existing individual plans for 2014, because the coverage required under Obama's law is significantly more robust. Some states directed insurers to issue cancellations. Large employer plans that cover most workers and their families are unlikely to be affected.
The cancellation notices are now reaching policyholders, and they've been complaining to their lawmakers — who were grilling Tavenner on Tuesday.
"Based on what little information the administration has disclosed, it turns out that more people have received cancellation notices for their health care plans this month than have enrolled in the (health care website)," said Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp, R-Mich. He cited a news report of 146,000 cancellations in his state alone.
Up and down the dais, lawmakers chimed in with stories of constituents who had received similar notices. Republicans also offered examples of people being asked to pay more.
While New York - which opted for its own online health insurance marketplace - is faring better than healthcare.gov, local House representatives are concerned with website issues.
Rep. Chris Collins, who represents part of Ontario County, addressed a letter Monday, along with other House to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, requesting a delay in the mandate that requires individuals to have health insurance by Jan. 1.
"We hope you will strongly consider this request and that you see inconsistencies in subjecting Americans to a tax for not buying a product from a website that does not work," the letter stated.
Rep. Tom Reed, R-Corning, shared Collins concerns, and said he's looking forward to hearing testimony about early failures in the implementation of the Affordable Care Act.
While Reed is certainly concerned about the technical problems that have made it difficult for many to enroll through the federal website for states without their own exchange sites, he's also looking to draw attention to other problems he perceives.
"We're seeing people losing coverage, even though they were promised by the president they could keep it," he said.
Democrats countered by citing constituents who had been able to find lower-cost coverage for 2014 than they have now, some saving hundreds of dollars a month. Ranking Democrat Sander Levin of Michigan said one of his constituents has been paying $800 a month for a BlueCrossBlueShield plan and managed to find comparable coverage for $77, after tax credits that lower the premiums.
It could take months to sort out the balance of individual winners and losers. There's not a central source of statistics on how many people have gotten cancellations. Even the number of people who buy insurance individually is disputed.
It isn't the administration's fault, said Tavenner. "In fact the issuer has decided to change the plan; (they) didn't have to."
Change is a constant in the individual insurance market, she added, and about half of plans "churn" over in any given year.
Obama's promise dates back to June of 2009, when Congress was starting to grapple with overhauling the health care system to cover uninsured Americans.
"If you like your health care plan, you'll be able to keep your health care plan, period," the president said in remarks to the American Medical Association. "No one will take it away, no matter what."
Some immediately saw the promise as too broad for Obama to deliver on, given that health plans are constantly being changed by the employers that sponsor them or by insurers directly.
Nonetheless, Democrats in Congress devised a complicated scheme called "grandfathering" to try to make good on Obama's pledge. It shields plans from the law's requirements, provided the plans themselves change very little. Insurers say it has proven impractical.


text:
Inside her Pink Pussy!!! - Chapter #04
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Like a pro sports team drafting college prospects, Cisco Systems continues to acquire small companies to strengthen its lineup.
The San Jose, Calif., network equipment giant this morning said it will pay $97 million in cash and options for Sheer Networks. The price tag could jump another $25 million if Sheer meets product milestones after the close.
Sheer's platform helps telecom carriers and large corporations deploy the triple-play services of voice, video and data) It also simplifies monitoring and maintenance of complex networks.
"We are continuously investing in our business to meet our customers' needs, and the Sheer Networks acquisition will strengthen our ability to provide innovative and effective network management solutions," Cliff Meltzer, senior vice president for Cisco's Network Management Technology Group, said in a statement.
When the deal closes in the fall, Sheer's 100 employees in San Jose, Calif., and Petach Tikva, Israel, will be folded into Meltzer's group.
Cisco will likely also gain relationships with systems integrators and resellers that augmented Sheer's own direct sales force.
For Sheer, becoming part of Cisco means "our technology will become available to a far broader audience and new market segments," Klod Ghez, Sheer's CEO, said in a note to customers and employees posted on the company's Web site today.
Cisco has been buying smaller companies than it did during the Internet boom of the late 1990s. Its purchases are aimed at adding technologies, intellectual property and speeding time-to-market for products.
On Friday, the company announced a $61 million cash and stock bid for Denmark-based KiSS Technology. KiSS' platform, which is used in DVD players and recorders, provides access to content on the Internet or other devices in a home network. It will become part of Cisco's Linksys division.
Cisco has also been snapping up storage, security and Voice over IP (define) firms.
Article courtesy of internetnews.com


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Lamb chops with mint a tasty St. Pat's dish
St. Patrick's Day, a.k.a. the Feast of St. Patrick, is devoted not only to "the wearing o' the green," but the eating of the green. Both customs nod to the color of the shamrock, one of the great totems of Ireland, of which Patrick is the patron saint.
Like the shamrock, mint is green, which helps to explain why recipes for lamb with a sweet-and-sour mint sauce abound in Ireland (and throughout the British Isles). My version of the sauce isn't sweet — I'm no fan of sweet in my savory — but it is bright green, deeply flavorful and refreshing, a tangy complement to some thin and crispy lamb chops.
The lamb chops available in our supermarkets usually come from America or New Zealand. American chops tend to be larger and milder in flavor, but either kind would be delicious here. I call for these rib chops to be pounded, which creates more surface area, which means a more delicious crust on the chops once they've been seared in the skillet. The easiest way to pound them (or any thin piece of meat) is to sprinkle the chops liberally with water on both sides, put them into a ziplock bag or between two pieces of plastic wrap, and then pound them with a meat pounder or rolling pin until they're uniformly 1/4-inch thick. (The water keeps them from sticking to the plastic and shredding.)
If you don't want to spring for rib chops — they can be a tad pricey — use shoulder chops instead. Shoulder chops are tasty, but the bone in the center of the chop will prevent you from pounding them. Because they're thicker than the pounded rib chops, they require a little more cooking time.
What to serve with these chops? Irish tradition calls for potatoes. Just slice some Yukon Golds about 1/4-inch thick, toss them with oil, salt and pepper, and roast them in a 400 F oven until golden.
Seared Lamb Chops with Mint Herb Sauce
Start to finish: 40 minutes.
Servings: 4
For the sauce:
1/2 c. finely chopped mint
1/2 c. finely chopped parsley
6 T. extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 T. minced shallot
1 T. fresh lemon juice
2 t. fresh lemon zest
1 t. minced garlic
1/2 t. salt
Eight trimmed, Frenched rib chops (about 2 ounces each)
Black pepper
In a small bowl combine the mint, parsley, 3 tablespoons of the olive oil, shallot, lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic and salt; set aside.
Working with one chop at a time, sprinkle it generously on both sides with water. Place the chop in a large re-sealable bag or between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound the chop using either a meat pounder or a rolling pin until it is 1/4-inch thick. Repeat the procedure with the remaining chops. Pat them all dry.
In a large skillet, heat half the remaining oil over high heat. Season half the chops with salt and pepper on both sides and add them to the pan. Saute until nicely browned, about 1 minute a side. Transfer to a platter and keep covered loosely with foil. Pour off the fat, add 1/4 cup water and simmer to clean the pan. Dump off the water and wipe out the skillet. Repeat the procedure with the remaining chops and the remaining oil. Transfer the chops to the platter and let them rest for 3 minutes before serving. Add any juices from the platter to the herb mixture.
To serve, transfer two chops to each of four plates and top each portion with a heaping spoonful of the mint herb sauce.
Nutrition information per serving: 515 calories; 424 calories from fat; 47 g fat (13 g saturated; 1 g transfats); 71 mg cholesterol; 380 mg sodium; 3 g carbohydrate; 1 g fiber; 20 g protein.
Sara Moulton is host of public television's "Sara's Weeknight Meals." She was executive chef at Gourmet magazine for nearly 25 years and spent a decade hosting several Food Network shows, including "Cooking Live." Her latest cookbook is "Home Cooking 101."


text: Cystoscopy is a procedure that uses a flexible fiber optic scope inserted through the urethra into the urinary bladder. The physician fills the bladder with water and inspects the interior of the bladder. The image seen through the cystoscope may also be viewed on a color monitor and recorded on videotape for later evaluation.


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"The secret we should never let the gamemasters know is that they don't need any rules."
-Quote popularly attributed to Gary Gygax
On March 4, Gary Gygax died at his home in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, after suffering two strokes in 2004 and being diagnosed with an abdominal aortic aneurysm. He was 69. While the man may not be with us any more, the ideas that he popularized though his work on Dungeons and Dragons will guide the game world for a very long time to come. In many ways, Gary Gygax built the bridge (complete with trolls underneath and dragons flying above) that we walk across every time we play a role-playing game, whether it be with a pen and pencil, a computer, or a home console.
Gary Gygax was a man who loved people. A gamer since his early youth, he moved from hobbies such as chess and card games to the more intricate wargames of the time before helping to organize the first meeting of the International Federation of Wargamers in 1966. This twenty-person meeting took place in Gygax's basement, and later became Gen Con, a yearly gaming convention that remains one of the largest meetings of gamers held annually.
War games must have excited the fertile imagination of Gary Gygax, but something was missing for him. What if you could take these massive campaigns and boil them down to a smaller scale? What if you could add in fantasy elements and focus on a small group of adventurers, instead of thousands? The games could be so much more exciting if, instead of looking down on the battlefield like a god, you looked out of the eyes of your character. Why not use these games to tell stories to each other?
From these ideas Gary Gygax and Jeff Perren wrote the rules for a fantasy miniatures game called Chainmail. After Chainmail, Gygax and Dave Arneson wrote the first version of Dungeons and Dragons, and suddenly the world of gaming was changed forever. Each person created one character and, using the rules found in a series of books sold in hobby shops, they acted out stories and campaigns as that character. Instead of simply playing against each other on a board as was the custom with wargames, players worked together, with the rules being laid down and the adventure being created by one person, the Dungeon Master, who ran the game and kept order.
Dungeons and Dragons is a game that focuses on social interaction and imagination, with players breathlessly waiting to see the outcome of a roll of the dice, or listening spellbound as the Dungeon Master describes their world and actions.
"I thought that that all we would get was the hardcore gaming hobbyist and maybe science-fiction fans," Gygax told Gamespy in an interview to celebrate the 30-year anniversary of Dungeons and Dragons. He also dismissed any idea that the game was an overnight success. "It was over about five years. I got the idea after about three years that we had a much larger audience and a more universal appeal than I had assumed," he said.
It's impossible now to think of what gaming was like before the innovations that Dungeons and Dragons introduced. The idea of using many-sided dice to determine the outcome of in-game actions and battles has become standard in both tabletop role-playing games and even video games, where the random numbers are generated behind the scenes. Dungeons and Dragons also introduced the character sheet, a variation of which you see every time you create a character in any number of games. From Mass Effect, to Ultima and Deus Ex, the ideas behind how to "roll your own" character and distribute numerical points to certain skills have shaped how we play games. They have given game developers a blueprint to follow that makes gaming feel personal, while still introducing a hint of randomness that feels... well, real.
Dungeons and Dragons also preceded the video game in another way: it was involved in a series of controversies over the often demonic nature of the characters and play, not to mention the partially nude characters in the rule books. Kids were said to be addicted to this satanic, escapist world, and it was making them violent. Sound familiar?
"In many ways I still resent the wretched yellow journalism that was clearly evident in (the media's) treatment of the game—60 Minutes in particular," Gygax told Gamespy. "I've never watched that show after Ed Bradley's interview with me because they rearranged my answers." The controversy also resulted in a book and TV movie about the reportedly destructive nature of the game, cleverly titled Mazes and Monsters to avoid lawsuits. Amusingly, the TV movie starred a young Tom Hanks in one of his earliest roles.
Gary Gygax left TSR, the company created to sell Dungeons and Dragons, in 1985 and later worked on games such as Dangerous Journeys and Lejendary Adventures. "It really meant a lot to him to hear from people from over the years about how he helped them become a doctor, a lawyer, a policeman, what he gave them," his wife, Gail Gygax, told the Associated Press. "He really enjoyed that."
She also noted that he continued to host weekly Dungeons and Dragons games well into his later years and welcomed gamers who visited their Lake Geneva home. Like many in the professional gaming industry, some of my earliest gaming memories involve late nights around a beat-up table in the garage, listening to a Dungeon Master spin fanciful tales of heroism and terror, the sound of dice echoing off the walls. Dungeons and Dragons, in all its many incarnations, is a modern update on the oral tradition: people to this day are gathering to tell each other stories filled with their dreams and fears, and the best quests are retold and passed down from game to game.
The world is filled with gamers, both young and old, filled with imaginations ready to ignite. Gygax simply dropped a match, and the gaming industry was made richer and fuller for it. Real life is going to be much more boring and tame without our most respected Dungeon Master. Gary Gygax, you will be missed.


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Let's be honest, if there is any place I'd most want to spend St. Patrick's Day, it would be in Boston.
Okay, maybe Ireland would be my first choice, but Boston is definitely a close second despite my aversion to overpacked bars and unnecessary chaos. In fact, compared to some of the St. Paddy's day celebrations I have witnessed in my own state, the ones in Boston are relatively calm. Boston is a fun weekend getaway for those in the Northeast in general, but come St. Patrick's Day weekend, there are even more experiences to be hard.
- See the Dropkick Murphy's live from Boston's House of Blues.
Attending a Dropkick Murphy's concert during St. Patrick's Day weekend has become a staple event when visiting Boston for the holiday. The Dropkick Murphy's are one of those bands that are absolutely fantastic live regardless of where and when you see them, but even the upper-mezzanine seats at Boston's House of Blues give you access to a great view and two bars with drink prices that won't break the bank. The band even brings out a bagpipe player for tracks like "The Spicy McHaggis Jig" and Irish step dancers for their most popular song, "Shipping Off to Boston", making this a pinnacle of Irish festivities in Boston.
2. Grab a post-concert sweet Italian sausage outside of the House of Blues.
If you're like me, you'll probably end up grabbing a pre-concert sausage to inhale while waiting on line to enter the venue as well. During concerts and ballgames at Fenway park, you'll find these sausage stands up, running, and waiting to serve street delicacies like hot dogs, sausages, and beef tips.
In more recent years, some street vendors have noted a slight decrease in visitors as many choose to stop by chain restaurants like Wahlburgers before local events. PSA: If you have yet to ever try Wahlburgers, do not spend your money at Wahlburgers. But if you have the opportunity to grab a $9, almost footlong loaded Italian sausage, spend your money.
3. Skip the hotspots when bar hopping.
If waits in potentially freezing weather, cover charges, and standing chest-to-chest with sweaty strangers who pre-gamed way too hard seems like your cup of
tea Guinness, then by all means head on over to the West End. But if you prefer a good-sized crowd that still allows room to breathe, good energy, a shot at grabbing a table, and four dollar beers, then the Fenway area might be for you. While these areas aren't necessarily known for their strips of bars, you'll a handful that'll offer you a great time. And isn't quality over quantity better anyway? We could've spent hours at spots like Puddingstone Tavern where the drinks are cheap, the crowd is chill, and you'll find every board game to drunkingly challenge your friends to.
We too are guilty of wanting to follow the crowd, however. After a couple of hours of playing Phase 10, we actually headed over to the West End. I can say with no exaggeration, that we lasted approximately a half hour before heading back to our new favorite bar. Up the block from Puddingstone, you'll find Flann O'Brien's, which on St. Paddy's day even hosts a $15, all-you-can eat corned beef and cabbage buffet.
4. Have a bite at America's oldest restaurant.
During your St. Paddy's day weekend getaway, there are really only two reasons to visit the West End – the Freedom Trail and Union Oyster House, which is apparently American's oldest restaurant. The building itself dates back to the post-revolutionary war era and is an official historic landmark, thus the building and booths themselves are quite snug. As a restaurant, this spot has been serving food since 1826 and is most known for their oysters, if that wasn't obvious. While I wouldn't say this place offered the best food I've ever had, my opinion may be a bit skewed since I'm highly allergic to oysters and therefore had to pass on what was apparently some amazing clam chowder. But the atmosphere of dining in a place of history is worth a visit. Plus, the complimentary cornbread is probably some of the best I've ever tasted. And if you have some time post-meal and are interested in some Boston sightseeing, this restaurant sits right in the center of the Boston Freedom Trail.
5. Make sure you have a breakfast spot picked out to ease your St.Paddy's Day hangover.
Nothing cures a hangover better than a good breakfast platter, which is why many breakfast spots will be packed out. Luckily, we stumbled upon Milkweed pretty early and were only given a 30 minute wait, which not only allowed us time to grab a quick drink at the bar across the street, but also proved to be more than worth the time.
The platter below included eggs, bacon, sausage, ham, home fries, and the most amazing french toast! PSA: For an extra $2, you can trade in your simple-yet-delicious french toast for one of Milkweed's signature options, such as Nutella french toast or Lucky Charms french toast. With a coffee, I think I paid roughly $12, making this a bargain and a win in my book.
Whether you come to celebrate St. Patrick, to cheer on the Celtics, or for absolutely no specific reason at all there are so many things to do in Boston.
Already planning your next St. Paddy's Day getaway? Pin this for later!


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Today was the one day of the year in Maranello that was all about the children at Ferrari. Today was their party, the Kids Christmas, a traditional event which takes place every year over the Christmas period. This year it was held in a special area set up in the Fiorano track's steering pad, featuring games, attractions and theatre performances with all sorts of events aimed specifically at the youngest members of the Ferrari family.
Over twelve hundred company employees and their families attended the party, the children receiving gifts from some rather special Father Christmases such as Scuderia Ferrari drivers Fernando Alonso, Felipe Massa, Jules Bianchi, Marc Gene, Andrea Bertolini and Davide Rigon and others from the Corse Clienti, including Gimmi Bruni and Toni Vilander. On stage with them were Ferrari President Luca di Montezemolo and Team Principal Stefano Domenicali and they took the opportunity to make yet another appeal, reminding everyone this is also the weekend of Italy's marathon television charity event, Telethon. The non-profit making organisation's main aim is raising funds for research into curing muscular dystrophy and other genetic illnesses.


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This essay concerns food security, economic counting systems and third world solidarity more than veganism per se.
An article published in today's New York Times reports on efforts in India to enshrine access to food as a constitutionally protected right, a law its proponents expect could enable the food-insecure to make their own market choices to purchase food with food coupons or cash, instead of waiting for monthly 77 pound bags of grain, sugar and kerosene under the current regime. The article also goes on to highlight statistics about how India's poverty is more widespread and intense than Africa's, despite the "Tiger" rebranding and annual economic growth rate. A report compiled in India Current Affairs in July also highlights these poverty rankings, comparing the one Indian state of Madhya Pradesh in the country's center with the entire Democratic Republic of Congo, both of similar population (though the Congo's size is more comparable to India in its entirety), and finding the same levels of deprivation, even with DRC's wars (though Madhya Pradesh is not without Naxalites and other struggles for land and resources between communities and multi-national mining and other interests, not unlike DRC).
On the one hand, the expectation around the world seems to be of Africa as the world's eternal poverty yardstick. This in spite of similar levels of conventionally measured economic growth in a number of Sub-Saharan countries that approach such activity as seen in India in recent years. By comparing favorably to Africa, a government should have license to claim progress in the war on poverty – that's the ridiculous, racist assumption, an assumption of development stasis.
On the other more important hand, these rankings and contests, especially as presented in the links mentioned above, are patently absurd in themselves, ignoring the basic fact that most of the annual GDP growth measures the rise in income of mostly exclusive urban, male, elite high-end sectors which determine and direct mining, cash-crop, real estate (land displacement), and [cheapest] labor configurations which exclude vast rural populations, whether in India, Congo, or Colombia. Human beings are impoverishing other human beings – not continental geographies. And the story is similar in most geographies including those concerned in this essay – Adivasis in rural Chhattisgarh struggle to hold on to their land in the face of "Memoranda of Understanding" signed by illegitimate politicians to mining interests to violently displace the people from their land, similarly to how Niger Delta militants attack oil infrastructure and kidnap oil workers in response to land displacement and ecosystem destruction by a half century of oil exploitation by foreign corporations in happy concert with local state governments and the Federal Government of Nigeria.
Once you understand neo-colonialism and neoliberal market economics, these patterns can be easily understood as to how they determine poverty and struggle around the third world. Malnutrition and poverty propagate fastest and most consistently wherever governments fail to prioritize enabling peripheral population groups to exact their own capacity to cultivate, live and eat of the land. Changes in the environment, and dietary demands which may place undue stress on the ecosystem and reduce its carrying capacity, may further impede nutrition and food security, as predominates in Sahelian countries that currently suffer serious drought. But policy-makers in much of the third world more often than not do not care, since they do not share the same fate as those far beyond the capitals, the urban and privileged spaces where they bury their heads, forgetting what rural populations go through, forgetting they exist.
I think that in itself, that food security should become a constitutional and human right anywhere is excellent. But a shifting in societal priorities would be a more lasting solution, towards actually considering the plights of women, of agriculturalists, and enabling their self-determination while the wealth of the nation focuses first on human and ecological needs rather than profit for exploitative corporations and salaries for ministers and bureaucracies.
Why focus on these poverty contests, with Africa at level zero? These statistics only measure those who, already in positions of control over powerful economic interests, are getting richer as they exploit more underpaid, vulnerable workers, and the land those workers may have been displaced or evicted from. These statistics don't measure women's reproductive work, don't measure broader levels of quality of life that get inflated by those at the very top, even while the masses at the bottom suffer more dispossession and malnutrition year after year.
Human solidarity is to be encouraged instead. The same problems in Nigeria or Congo are found in India, Bangladesh, Indonesia or Peru, the same exact identical types of fierce corruption, the same exact types of high-official sellouts, the same exact identical types of Western aspirationalism and mimicry, the same exact types of ideological and religious extremisms and hysterias which cripple the masses from thinking critically and boldly enough to challenge the regimes that cause their suffering, the same exact multinationals praying on their resources, human and natural, to be exploited to the lowest common denominator. The same exact types of ignorance forced upon the masses with the absence of schools and the tolerance of illiteracy, despite official claims to the contrary. The exact same types of oppression of labor activists and human-rights campaigners and journalists. The exact same types of classisms and casteisms that compel generations to accept their designated desperation. The same exact types of false democracies in which the people do not have choice or voice in the structural economic questions of society, only at best over the latest personality who says the prettiest things or just looks pretty, but in power does little to nothing of the good he or she promised.
Thus I reject poverty contests. Instead, I move towards human collaboration and solidarity in the third world in pursuit of revolution! Towards the African revolution, the South Asian revolution, the Latin American revolution, the world revolution! Towards human-based economics! Towards the end of rapacious capitalism, the end of the rush to privatize water, seeds and land! Towards human and community-level self-governance and self-determination! Towards the humanization of labor such that people are not reduced to pack mules to produce Wal-Mart products at competitively lower and lower wages in ever more dangerous workplaces!
Towards human development work which is interested in human development, not numbers nudging and statistics masturbating.


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paul stanley says "people overestimate Gene Simmons role in KISS."
Yes, Gene Simmons does share vocal duties with Paul Stanley in Kiss, but Paul feels that he may get a little overlooked from time to time due to the presence that is Simmons.
The Anything Kiss blog (via Bang Showbiz) reports that Stanley says that he and Simmons are on equal ground when it comes to the band duties. When asked if he or any of the other members get jealous of the attention paid to Simmons, Stanley explains, "He gets attention for reasons that have nothing to do with what I do. It's not a slight, but I'm busy living life, not creating a life for television."
Referring to Simmons' 'Family Jewels' reality series, Stanley continued, "There is no such thing as reality television. There's reality and there's television. I find it interesting though, when, because of those activities, some people have a sense of Gene's role in the band being far greater than what it actually is. There's a little transference because he somehow gets given a certain cache which is a little distorted. But so be it, my life is full and spectacular."
Though Stanley says that he and Simmons are on equal footing within the band, the singer/guitarist has taken on producing duties for the group's last record and their upcoming 'Monster' disc. The album is expected Oct. 16.