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Ben Ricci
Rides & Drives: '07 BMW F800ST Low, '07 Porsche Cayman, '06 VW Jetta TDI & '05 BMW R1200ST
Ben Ricci
Rides & Drives: '07 BMW F800ST Low, '07 Porsche Cayman, '06 VW Jetta TDI & '05 BMW R1200ST
Well, I suppose this is the final Photo Assignment for 2007, ending as it did on 12/30. I pulled the theme of "three" out of my, er, hat, and I wondered how it would turn out. Got some imaginative and sometimes humorous interpretations, some abstract and others literal. Let's take a look, shall we?
First up this week are two fine submissions by BMWDean:
When I first looked at this, I thought, well nice, but it's four. Of course, his title indicating three arms clears that up nicely. This is a really nice photo: dramatic, upward perspective, really even exposure, and a dramatic azure sky. I'm sure (but correct me if wrong) that this was accomplished with a polarizing filter, the photographers' best friend. The dramatic impact is heightened in having the subject fill the frame. The angle, with the sunlight more-or-less directly illuminating the subject, greatly reduces distracting shadows. Finally, the numerous horizontal lines add a great deal of visual appeal and interest. Neat shot.
Jeff's second submission is equally impressive, though a much more interesting subject, at least to members of this forum. Three irresistible beauties all in a row. In some respects, this photos is compositionally very similar to the first. Although opposite in orientation, both shots fill the image with the subject. In addition, the foreground bike appears in the image at the same proportion as the two behind, adding a sense of balance and symmetry. Like shooting a beautiful model, it's hard to go wrong, but that isn't to take anything away from the photographer--this could have been shot in hundreds of ways, but this is a particularly effective decision.
Mrs. SNC1923 informs me that it's time to drive the Christmas tree to its final destination. Please observe a moment of silence and I will return shortly with more critique.
Thank you, Tom
Jeff Dean
Tucson, Arizona, and Madison, Wisconsin
Co-founder, 1972, of BMW MOA -- http://bmwdean.com/r1200rtw.htm
PGlaves' three metal amigos is the kind of photo that makes you smile, something that many of his and Voni's pictures do. He shot this looking at the statue's (if that's the right word) backs rather than fronts. This may have been a decision driven by the sun's location or it may have been a conscious decision of perspective. Either way, it works. Looking at them from behind somehow adds a sense of whimsy or maybe just maintains the mystery. One thought does occur to me, though: what if he had crouched down to see these figures at eye level, having them occupy more of the foreground, even making them appear more life-size? It's a steadfast rule for taking pictures of children. If you have a chance to shoot these fellows again, or something/-one like them, give it a try.
Voni's submission, "three more amigos," is an interesting composition as well. It works for me, but just barely. I like that she shot through the blinds, superimposing a massive structure over the image; however, it greatly obscures the subject and fights for the viewer's attention, to say nothing of the vertical metal tower to the left. It is a complex images of horizontal and vertical lines and it may be too much. . . . Still, it is compelling.
CJack's "tres amigos rapidos" (funny title!) is another three bikes shot. It's a good, creative image and I like very much the way it's composed. Great care was undertaken to have each of these nearly identical bikes in exactly the same orientation. Each has a personalized plate, each an identical tank bag. . . . I wonder if his bike, without bags, might have been better in the middle? A small point to be sure. What I notice most in this image is the lighting. It appears to be taken on an overcast day resulting in 0 shadows. People often confuse overcast days with poor picture-taking conditions when exactly the opposite can be true.
Compare CJack's photo to BMWDean's. It's an interesting contrast in lighting and composition. Neither is superior to the other, but each benefits from different decisions.
RM's "Then There Were Three" is a great still-life that certainly tells a story, even to a non-chess playing luddite such as myself. This is a good picture, well exposed and sufficient depth of field. Two alternative compositions occur to me. One is to do what I suggested with Paul's photo: to lower the camera to eye-level looking at the three staggered figures straight-on rather than down slightly like an unseen observer. Make the viewer a chess piece as it were. Another possibility, if the lens would allow, would be to focus more closely eliminating the edges of the this beautiful, decorative board. By having only the playing surface visible would add a sense of both immediacy and drama to the image. As with my comments above, these observations are easy to make in others' images after the fact. It's a good shot.
CJack's second submisson, Vicki's Third, shows, if nothing else, that he's got a sense of humor. Aside from being funny, it's a really nice environmental portrait. Interesting, story-telling background with the subject off-center. It's a nice, complementary image that tells in an instant, a great deal about who he is.
I really like Boney's submission this week. It's a largely colorless subject, and yet a very interesting image. The blue sky stands in stark contrast to the white rails and sandy concrete. This images asks more questions than it answers, which is why it works for me. Where is this? 302 what? Where does it lead? I notice, too, that there are three rails on each side. It's an interesting and stark landscape, made so in large part due to it's involving prespective; Boney did here what I would have had Paul or RM do in each of their images.
It's nice to see sfarson back this week with a nice image. I like this especially knowing that it's not only his driveway but that he's riding a bike in the snow. It's nicely composed, too. But I am going to need help. . . . Three? I don't see it. Yeah, rule of thirds, but I don't know that that is what you were shooting for. Help me out. I'm missing the theme.
I was happy with this interpretation of the theme in this close-up image of my front Tourance tire; however, as my wife pointed out with her question: "I thought your tires were black." Over-exposed? Not appropriately white-balanced? It's an absurdly long exposure (6 seconds) with a hand-held garage light moving around during the exposure in an effort to eliminate shadows. . . . It's an interesting image, IIDSSM, but it's certainly not the right color.
Now Bobs98's contribution this week is successful, at least in that it totally busts Josh as an egregious glutton. I realize that it is just a snapshot (and a slapshot) but I want to see Derek and the other fellow in full, or eliminate them entirely. This is a good study in composition, especially when compared to Josh's response:
To me, this is a more successful, more interesting composition, but it is also an entirely different picture and one that tells a different, less specific story. As an avid fan of food porn, though, I would point out that this may have been even more interesting if the camera were held directly above the plate and the photo was taken from that perspective. Point and shoot cameras with macro zoom lenses and large LCD displays make this a cinch. For all the grief you got, I hope the chops were delicious.
I like Lamble's contribution this week. It certainly fits the theme and is a nicely composed shot. I especially like the way the landscape disappears into the background on the right. The metal (antenna?) on the roof is distracting, but I'd be hard pressed to eliminate it (without Photoshop). Cutting it off (as well as the crown of the roof) would make the image less successful, I think. This is an example again of overcast lighting and how pleasing the colors can be when muted and shadow-free.
I'm left all but speechless by this aptly titled image. Art? I don't know. Provocative to be sure. I would love to see this photographed from a lower angle without all the people in the picture, but that can be awfully tricky in such an obviously public place. "Excuse me, would all of you stand up and move out of my way?"
This is an eerie image, also titled in an interesting, evocative way. Where is the three? The escalator stops and the two sides? This image simply underscores the importance of lighting and how available light images can be so dramatic. It's a really neat shot.
Burnzilla's literal interpretation may well be my favorite image this week. This is a powerful and gripping image. I love the texture and the color. He uses his little camera to great effect, especially with the close-up feature (remember the recent image of the eye?). This image appears to be intentionally underexposed by 1/3 or 2/3. Am I right? Oops, I looked up your exif (thanks for linking). It says 0/3. Does that mean +1/3? I would have guessed minus. It's just that the colors are so rich. I'm also a bit surprised that it's only 400 ISO as the grain is evident in the background. That does nothing to detract from this powerful image, made all the more so by the simplicity of the subject. Nice capture.
Griffin738 is here this week with another dramatic available-light image. I love the composition here. Normally, a shot with the ceiling occupying a good 1/3 to 1/2 of the image is a death-kiss; however, here not only is the ceiling lit, but the foregrounded musician occupies that same space. It looks a bit like album art or an image accompanying an article in Rolling Stone. What I would like to see different is that the above-mentioned musician's face is blurred by motion. Faster ISO and faster shutter speed, perhaps? Or you might have used the flash with the slow shutter speed used here. This would freeze his face but allow the dramatic ambient light to shine through. Coulda, woulda, and shoulda, this is still a pretty cook capture.
Almost exactly the same story with MLS2GO's submission. This is a really unusual perspective and a great shot of a precision riding team. One doesn't normally see an image of bikes like this in motion; however, two things really distract me: the motion blur (it's not bad, but it is evident) and the low contrast caused by backlighting. He appears to be shooting into the sun (compare with BMWDean's shot above, where he's doing the opposite). MLS2GO was likely trapped where he was and had only the choice of taking or not taking the photo, especially given that they were underway. He could, however, have overexposed by 1/3 or 2/3, or--even better--forced the flash to fire. This would have not only solved the backlighting issue, it would have resolved the motion blur as well. If no one learns nothing else from these threads, remember that with these camera you need only activate the flash to achieve spectacular 1:1 fill-flash exposures. Don't underrate this fabulous feature! I might have composed it just a hair tighter as well, but as I said, this appears to be on the fly and I seriously doubt that I could have done any better. As it stands, it's an effective, compelling image.
This image is similar, less dramatic by virtue of the lack of flattening evident in the picture above. By that I mean that the telephoto makes the bikes appear closer than they actually are (not unlike my shot of the undulating whoops on Hwy 58 if you remember that). It's a neat shot, but the giant while baseball hat is simply too distracting. Raise the camera over your head? Push the camera forward, just past his head? Crop it in an editing program? Sometimes your just stuck, as seems to be the case in this situation.
MLS2GO's final submission is filled with threes and vivid colors besides. Parts of this image seem soft to me (AT&T) but others very sharp (Ark vs. MO 0 - 21).
It appears that's all for this week. Thanks everyone for some interesting and funny submissions. I'll have a theme up tonight or first thing tomorrow for next week. Watch for it!
I would be remiss if I were not to say thank you to all the warm wishes and congratulations to Mrs. SNC1923 and I on our wonderful news. We're very excited and I remain committed to continued riding, though this will certainly throw a spanner, albeit a delightful one, in the works.
I shot the Three Metal Amigos several ways. There were actually four of them, side by side. My first several shots were of their fronts (south three and north three) but that then included a messy background of store-fronts across the lot behind the Amigos. I decided the background would be better if I shot from behind. Again south three and north three to see which colors I liked best. Good point about crouching down - that is at least the second time the error of not doing that has been noted.
Shot on auto with a very small Fuji Finepix Z5.
Last edited by PGlaves; 01-04-2008 at 03:24 AM.
Paul Glaves - "Big Bend", Texas U.S.A
"The greatest challenge to any thinker is stating the problem in a way that will allow a solution." - Bertrand Russell
Who'd have thought, Legoe Bay Inn had satellite TV!
If cropping were allowed I'd have gone for a close up...
Tom, my concern with three as a topic is...are we going to get associated themes from now on?
As always, thanks for the critiques! (and also congrats! )
In my defense:
When looking at the dinner menu I saw the smallest steak (aside from the absurdly expensive filet) was 22oz. WAY too much meat, I thought. So, I ordered the grilled pork chops. Decent price, sounded good. I had NO IDEA I was getting more than one pig. No, I didn't eat it all. Also, if you saw the POTS of food everyone else got, my meal almost seems reasonable.


text:
Faculty and Staff: Associated Faculty
Leanne Brecklin
Associate Professor, Criminal Justice
Ph.D. Criminal Justice, University of Illinois at Chicago
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Phone: (217) 206-7784(217) 206-7784
Office: PAC 376
Teaching Interests: Victimization, gender and crime, research methods and statistics, rape prevention.
Barbara Burkhardt
Assistant Professor, English
Ph.D. English, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Phone: (217) 206-6779(217) 206-6779
Read More about Dr. Burkhardt >>
Cecilia Stiles Cornell
Associate Professor, History
Ph.D. History, Vanderbilt University
Email: email@example.com
Phone: (217) 206-7430(217) 206-7430
Office: UHB 3055
Teaching Interests: 20th-century U.S. history, U.S. foreign relations, policy history, the Cold War and the transition on the home front from World War II to the postwar era.
Lan Dong
Assistant Professor, English
Ph.D. Comparative Literature, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Phone: (217) 206-8334(217) 206-8334
Office: UHB 3071
Teaching Concentration: transnational feminism, Asian American women and literature, female heroism in China.
Read more about Dr. Dong
Kathryn Eisenhart
Associate Professor, Legal Studies
J.D., DePaul University College of Law
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Phone: (217) 206-7882(217) 206-7882
Office: PAC 352
Read More about Professor Eisenhart >>
Dyanne Ferk
Associate Professor, Business Administration
Ph.D. Business Administration – Management
SPHR – Senior Professional in Human Resource Management
Email: email@example.com
Phone: (217) 206-7929(217) 206-7929
Fax: (217) 206-7534
Office: UHB 4074
Lynn Fisher
Associate Professor, Sociology/Anthropology
Ph.D. Anthropology, University of Michigan
Faculty Personal Website
Email: email@example.com
Phone: (217) 206-7938(217) 206-7938
Office: UHB 3042
Teaching Interests: Ecological anthropology, European prehistory, archaeology of late hunter-gatherers and early farmers in Central Europe, prehistoric technology, hunting and gathering societies.
Tena Helton
Assistant Professor, English
Director of Graduate Studies
Ph.D. American Literature and Women's & Gender Studies, Louisiana State University
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Phone: (217) 206-7441(217) 206-7441
Office: UHB 3070
Teaching Interests: U.S. literature, U.S. regional literatures and cultures, literary and cultural theory, film.
Read more about Dr. Helton
Dr. Roxanne Marie Kurtz
Assistant Professor of Philosophy
Ph.D. Philosophy – Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Email: email@example.com
Phone: (217) 206-8218(217) 206-8218
Office: UHB 4042
Jennifer Manthei
Assistant Professor, Sociology/Anthropology
Ph.D. University of Arizona
Interests: cultural and medical anthropology; race, class, gender, adolescence, and Brazilian studies
Email: email@example.com
Phone: 217 206-7584217 206-7584
Office: UHB 3032
Karen Moranski
Associate Professor, English
Associate Vice Chancellor, Undergraduate Education
Ph.D. English, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Email: email@example.com
Phone: (217) 206-7440(217) 206-7440
Office: PAC 524
Read More about Dr. Moranski >>
Rosina Neginsky
Associate Professor, Liberal Studies/Individual Option, Women's Studies, English
Ph.D. English, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Phone: (217) 206-7431(217) 206-7431
Office: UHB 3027
Read More about Dr. Neginsky >>
Sheryl Reminger
Assistant Professor, Psychology
Ph.D., University of Arizona
Areas of Specialization: Clinical Neuropsychology, Geropsychology, Pediatric Neuropsychology, Neuroimaging, Neurological Effects of Cancer Treatment, and Cognitive Impact of Chronic Disease.
E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
Phone: (217) 206-8011(217) 206-8011
Office: UHB 3123
Hazel Rozema
Associate Professor, Communication
Ph.D. Communication, University of Kansas
Email: email@example.com
Phone: (217) 206-7297(217) 206-7297
Office: UHB 3022
Teaching Interests: Interpersonal/organizational communication, public relations, family and interracial communication, gender communication, gender equity, race relations, and teaching strategies for courses dealing with racism and sexism.
Nancy Scannell
Associate Professor, Business Administration
Chair, Women's Studies Scholarship Committee
Faculty Personal Website
Email: email@example.com
Phone: (217) 206-7915(217) 206-7915
Fax: (217) 206-7543
Office: UHB 4055
Read More about Dr. Scannell >>

subset: commoncrawl


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Although the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology is ostensibly an American-based enterprise, ASBMB, like the science it represents, is truly an international entity. Whether they are born or trained abroad, undertaking international collaborations or sabbaticals or just traveling to conferences outside the U.S., ASBMB members continually interact with the larger scientific world. Beyond even that, ASBMB counts among its 12,000 members a significant proportion of researchers who carry out first-rate basic research at institutions abroad. In recognition of this global reach, we present profiles of some of these international men and women of ASBMB.
In the movies, destiny always seems to step in at the last possible instant. Such moments are usually not as timely in real life, although Jennifer Martin did have a cinematic experience at a pivotal point in her career.
She recently had completed her masters' degree in pharmacy in Melbourne with Peter Andrews, where she had used computational tools to study opioid analgesics, and was about to board a flight on her way to the United Kingdom to begin her next career phase— although she wasn't exactly sure what that career would be.
"I didn't know whether I wanted to be a pharmacist or a scientist," she says, "so I left it in the hands of fate. I applied for numerous scholarships and decided that if I was awarded a scholarship I would continue as a scientist, studying for a doctorate in structure-based drug design with Peter Goodford at Oxford University. If I missed out on a scholarship, I figured that I wasn't destined to be a scientist, and I would instead work in England as a pharmacist."
Having received only rejections, Martin seemed ready to pursue the latter option as she passed through security, but, right at the gate, the staff flagged her down. They informed Martin that the dean of her pharmacy college had requested she contact him urgently; she called from a public phone with her last twenty-cent piece and was told that she just had won a prestigious scholarship.
"Here I was, at a life-changing moment," says Martin, "and I had no one to share it with because I had to board the plane."
In another twist, the Laboratory for Molecular Biophysics where Goodford was based was almost entirely devoted to protein crystallography. As a result, Martin's doctoral research combined both drug design and protein crystallography— the latter supervised by Louise Johnson— and her research has followed a similar path ever since.
Now an Australian Research Council laureate fellow and professor in structural biology at the University of Queensland's Institute for Molecular Bioscience, where she has been since 1993 (previous stops included an appointment at Australia's Bond University and a postdoc with John Kuriyan at Rockefeller University), Martin continues to focus on the relationship between protein structure and drug action. As someone who always has been interested in puzzles and how things piece together, teasing out this structure-function relationship is a perfect fit.
Much of Martin's work centers on proteins involved in insulin signaling and diabetes, and her recent efforts have focused on understanding the regulation of SNARE proteins, which are involved in the insulin-stimulated trafficking of the GLUT4 glucose transporter. For instance, she discovered that the regulatory protein Munc18c can accelerate SNARE complex formation and vesicle fusion by binding to a short N-terminal peptide on the SNARE protein syntaxin4 and that this interaction is conserved in almost all SNARE systems.
Martin also recently was awarded a program grant from Australia's National Health and Medical Research Council to work alongside cell biologists, metabolic scientists and clinicians to identify novel proteins associated with diabetes and to characterize these proteins at a structural and functional level.
In addition to her own group's work, Martin has been instrumental in nurturing Australia's structural biology presence through work on various scientific committees.
"Protein crystallography has grown tremendously in Australia since I first started my lab in 1993," she says. "There were maybe six or seven groups back then, but today, that number has grown to over 40."
The growth in protein crystallography is a welcome trend, especially considering Australia's history in this field, adds Martin, who is a bit of a history buff. Australia's first ever Nobel laureate was Lawrence Bragg in 1915. He won the award at age 25 alongside his father, William Bragg, for solving the first ever x-ray crystal structure (of sodium chloride).
And, because of the efforts of Martin and her colleagues, today's Australian and New Zealander crystallographers can achieve their own breakthroughs much more easily, thanks to the 2007 opening of the Australian Synchrotron in Victoria. Previously, synchrotron data measurement required time-consuming and expensive trips to the U.S., Japan or Europe, but now, researchers have a much more convenient destination, as well as a centralized area where the burgeoning crystallography community can converge.
Of course, some part of Martin may miss the frequent airline travel; after all, you never know what kind of life-changing experience you might have while waiting to board a plane.
A decade ago, if you asked Andrej Shevchenko his opinion on lipids, his answer would not be too flattering. "I was a 100 percent protein guy," he says, "and, as an analytical protein chemist, lipids were synonyms for trouble. Whenever I saw mass spectra that didn't look right, I suspected that the scientists did not delipidate their samples fully."
However, over the past few years, Shevchenko, a group leader at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, one of the newest of the 80 research institutes set up by the Max Planck Society, has come around. Lipids are no longer just greasy and cloudy contaminants or solvents for hydrophobic proteins; they're integral biological molecules that warrant their own study.
So, while he continues to work on protein analysis, for example, identifying protein interaction networks in yeast or developing programs that can characterize the proteomes of organisms that are related very distantly to organisms with sequenced genomes, Shevchenko has begun to apply his skills to better quantify the lipid composition of various organelles, cells and tissues.
And, at the MPI-CBG, Shevchenko has found an ideal home to pursue these ideas. Surrounded by top-level cell biologists and an environment that encourages exploratory research, Shevchenko continually is moving from one exciting project to the next, adding his analytical mind to various collaborative efforts.
Born and educated in Russia, Shevchenko developed strong interests in both organic chemistry and analytical chemistry in school and gravitated naturally toward mass spectrometry analysis. In 1994, he moved to the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, first, as a visiting scientist with noted proteomicist Matthias Mann, and, later as a staff scientist.
"However, they don't have tenured appointments at the EMBL, so after a few years, I had to move on," he notes. Fortunately, at that time, Max Planck was setting up their new CBG campus in the former East German city of Dresden, and several of Shevchenko's former EMBL colleagues were slated to join. "And, they asked if I would be interested to come with them and set up a bioanalytics lab," he says.
Shevchenko notes one of his big fears was that he would end up doing proteomic analysis of a primarily technical or service nature, which would eventually become boring; however, given this invitation by scientists he knew and respected, his decision was a "no-brainer."
Situated near Germany's border with the Czech Republic and Poland, the MPI-CBG is a highly interactive and dynamic institute that hosts scientists of more than 35 nationalities, and, with that broad diversity and the fact that all institute meetings and seminars are held in English— "or what we believe to be English," Shevchenko says jokingly— one may sometimes forget where they are.
Which would be a shame, Shevchenko adds, because the surrounding city of Dresden is quite energetic and worth visiting.
Of course, there is plenty of energy in the lab as well, as can be expected from a field like proteomics that has been rapidly advancing; technical issues that were bottlenecks just two years ago have been resolved, notes Shevchenko, who can follow advances closely as an editorial board member for the ASBMB journal, Molecular and Cellular Proteomics.
"The "omic" sciences are becoming much more quantitative than descriptive now," he says, "and we are really beginning to understand the molecular aspects of these proteins, complexes or networks that we study. In addition to pure numbers, proteomics also has moved forward by now being able to track measurements in both time and space, which is especially exciting."
Shevchenko is hoping to use these new advances to tackle an ambitious project aimed at marrying lipidomics with developmental biology. As organisms grow and develop from a single cell, newly differentiated tissues require their own unique membrane lipid composition, and Shevchenko hopes to characterize these tailored changes to better understand how inherited defects in lipid metabolism cause disease.
And, to think, a few years ago, lipids was just another dirty word.
Although he often dreamed of pursuing an academic career during his youth in England, Anthony H. Futerman notes that the deal was officially sealed when he got a hold of a certain iconic biochemistry textbook.
"Blame Lehninger," he says. "I was given a copy of that book by my high school teacher, and I found it so fascinating that, right then and there, I decided to become a biochemist, at the age of 16," he says. Futerman enjoyed the book so much, in fact, that he purchased his own copy two years later when he went to the University of Bath for undergraduate studies, a copy he still displays proudly on his office shelf at the Weizmann Institute of Science.
Fittingly, a book also would play a prominent role in leading Futerman to this renowned scientific institution in Rehovot, Israel. He found an article about the Weizmann Institute in the Encyclopedia Britannica when he was young, and, after his university adviser mentioned that Weizmann might be a good destination for graduate school, Futerman decided that was where he wanted to go.
Three decades later, Futerman, now the Joseph Meyerhoff professor of biochemistry, is still going strong at Weizmann— although he did travel abroad for a short postdoctoral fellowship with Richard Pagano at the Carnegie Institute in Baltimore— studying the biochemistry of sphingolipids, an important lipid class with functions in both membrane biology and cell signaling, and their role in lysosomal storage diseases like Gaucher and Tay Sachs.
"It's not too surprising, since historically, education and Jewishness always go together, but there is a wonderful scientific culture here at Weizmann," Futerman notes of this somewhat unusual research university that solely offers graduate and postdoctoral education. "And that was even before we had our first Nobel Prize winner this past year (Ada Yonath). But, I think that helped make us even more visible on the international scientific map."
Add the fact that Futerman, along with about half of Weizmann's 250 international faculty members, gets to live on the picturesque campus and only has a short walk to his lab, and one can understand the appeal.
The only downside is that Futerman is the sole lipid specialist at Weizmann (his colleague and fellow international ASBMB member Mordechai Liscovitch recently passed away), although Futerman has remedied that through numerous external collaborations with labs all over the world, such as Al Merrill's group at Georgia Tech, and frequent travel to meetings.
Futerman's graduate studies centered on GPI-anchored proteins, but after completing his degree, he attended a Federation of the Societies of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (FEBS) summer school and spoke to a number of lipid scientists who stimulated his interests in lipid cell biology. This eventually led to his postdoctoral position with Pagano as well as his first taste of sphingolipid research.
Since returning to Israel in 1990, Futerman's lab has focused on two main areas: understanding the mechanistic basis for lysosomal storage diseases to identify new therapeutic applications and characterizing the biosynthesis of sphingolipids, particularly ceramides. His group has brought forth some important contributions in this arena, such as determining the first crystal structure of the enzyme mutated in Gaucher disease, acid β-glucosidase (together with Weizmann colleagues Joel Sussman and Israel Silman) and discovering that glycosphingolipids can regulate calcium homeostasis in neurons.
Currently, he's looking at how the accumulation of specific sphingolipid species translates to specific diseases and phenotypes, as well as examining how the length and saturation of sphingolipid acyl chains— the molecular tails that range from 14 to 32 carbons long— affect function in signaling activity and membrane fluidity.
Futerman also has been a member of the Journal of Biological Chemistry editorial board since 2000. "Since I started, I've noticed the board has been becoming more international, which I think is very important," he says. "The JBC may be American-published, but in looking at the articles each week, it's clearly an international journal, and it's nice for these authors to know that their international colleagues are involved in the selection process."
More from the current issue


text:
Introducing the 4moms™ high chair, a dramatically better option for parents that uses the magic of magnets to simplify mealtime.
Traditional high chair trays are tricky. You have to use two hands to line up the rails and coordinate the latches to attach them. Once removed, most don't sit flat on a counter.
Enter magnets. The 4moms high chair uses magnets to guide the tray into place. Parents can use one hand to position the tray and the magnets do the rest!
Not only does the tray latch onto the high chair with magnets, the tray top has magnets in it as well. Why? Well, we know that babies like to be very involved in mealtime. So involved that bowls and plates full of food get pushed around the tray and sometimes end up on the floor – especially when they start feeding themselves.
Additional Info


text: Stories in the media are often the first or even the only way that people hear about science and medical news. So we need to get the reporting right. from www.shutterstock.com February 16, 2017 Essays on health: reporting medical news is too important to mess up Patrizia Furlan, University of South Australia Health reporting requires asking the right questions and doing quality research. But specialist skills are also handy, especially when it comes to knowing the language and processes of science.


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Recent rains have greened the autumn landscape
After a very dry summer, rain surprises us. Even though rainy weather is normal for November, my reaction this year is, "Look! It's raining! I'd better take a picture!"
The National Weather Service announced a couple of weeks ago that the drought has ended in the Pennyrile, our region of Kentucky. However, we remain 12 to 16 inches short of rain for the year. We need a rainy winter.
According to the NWS and the National Drought Monitor, only the southern border of Christian and Todd counties, across the Oak Grove and Trenton areas, are still under drought conditions. The drought in those areas has been downgraded to abnormally dry, the least severe categorization.
Source: "Officials declare end of drought" by Blair Dedrick, Kentucky New Era, Nov. 2, 2007
Recent rains have insured good seed germination for the winter wheat. The fresh green color of the newly sprouted wheat is good to see. The grass in some of the pastures is looking better also.
Hay for the winter remains a problem for livestock owners. The late freeze followed by drought reduced the hay harvest by half in many areas. In an effort to help, Kentucky's Department of Agriculture has a hay hotline (1-888-567-9589) where buyers and sellers can list their contact info. Weight and size restrictions have been eased for trucks hauling loads of hay.
Some farmers have baled their drought-damaged soybeans. Others have left the beans standing in the field, saying that the expense of baling is greater than the value of the fodder.
Farmers who are feeding crop residues (corn stalks, etc.) are cautioned to have them tested for nutritional value and nitrate content. High nitrates can kill livestock.
In our neighborhood, it was a good summer for the bulldozer operators. While water levels were low, many farmers took the opportunity to clean out their ponds and dig them a little deeper. New ponds have been constructed as well. Now we need a rainy winter to fill them.


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Last edited by nebular; 11-14-12 at 04:03 AM.
thank you very much, it is always interesting to know how others work gives many ideas
Nice workflow, thanks for the Tutorial!
sadicus | My Gumroad | w10 | nvidia GeForce 680M |
Soft kitty, Warm kitty, Little ball of fur. Happy kitty, Sleepy kitty, Purr Purr Purr
Thanks so much for making and sharing this tutorial. Very helpful.
I believe I have learned so much from this. I can't wait to apply it to what I am working on.
Thank you.
Yes, thank you very much.
thats very, very helpfull to me.
PFC666, sadicus,EZRA52,InkySpot, Jake Rupert,
wow, waht a great response! Thank you for kind words, I'm glad you'll find it usefull
i know this was said alot above but, thank you, it was very helpfull. and your sculpts are awesome too.. anyway thanks again!
Great tute many thanks for posting your findings and method.
......Nobody tries to be lah-di-dah or uppity--There's a cup-o'-tea for all.
Thanks a lot nebular.
It's also a pretty nice way to make sculptris meshes ready for zBrush and other apps
Fast easy and keeps all the detail when reprojected on the original sculptris model.
Not without mistakes but a good example:
Last edited by Knacki; 11-12-12 at 04:11 PM.
Thanks for your tutorial.
Thanks a lot from me as well!
Thanks Jake, Boozy and Adam and welcome!
Patokali, nice result you have there!
Knacki, great idea with Sculptris! Try to close the holes with pinch brush/ mirror and weld combo to avoid having adtional topology in place where holes used to be.
Thank you very much for sharing Nebular. This thread has been very helpful and inspiring.
No one ever expected a pencil to draw for them.
This is great thanks.
Can I ask, if you have an external app (Lightwave, modo, maya etc), I take it you could export your mesh after the qremesher.
Then in the external app, delete one half, make sure all the centre points are actaully on the centre, then mirror and import back into Zbrush.
That would work wouldn't it?


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This year we'd like to recognize and congratulate the 70 Google Anita Borg Memorial scholars and the 79 Google Anita Borg Memorial finalists, all of whom attend universities in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East or Africa. These students will attend the annual Google Scholars Retreat this summer, where they will have the opportunity to attend tech talks on Google products, network with other scholars and participate in social activities. Students from the U.S. and Canada will attend the retreat in Mountain View, Calif., and students from Europe, the Middle East and Africa will attend the retreat in Zurich, Switzerland.
Here's a full list of this year's scholars and finalists along with the institutions they attend. In the coming months, we'll also announce the recipients of the Google Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship in Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
For more information on all our scholarships, visit the Google Scholarships site.
Posted by Jenny McColl, University Programs Specialist


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About Your Visit
Please plan to arrive at our practice fifteen minutes before your appointment time to complete the registration process. If your insurance requires a referral, please bring it to your appointment. Also, please bring your insurance card(s).
To ensure that your physician has the information he or she needs to provide you with the highest quality care, please arrange to have any medical records or test results from other physicians sent over to the practice at least one week before your appointment. Medical records and test results may be faxed to the practice in advance of your appointment.


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Watch NBA-TV this Friday. After the end of the regular season, the NBA has drawings to break ties for the draft, for lottery and non-lottery teams. Basically, they put ping pong balls in a hat--technically a half basketball. I'm not sure if it is synthetic or not and whether there could be a paper cut issue. Say two teams have 50 wins, balls with their logos on it go in the bowl to be picked out to decide who gets the higher pick, for example, 19 or 20. Bulls fans are concerned with the lottery teams all hanging around 32 wins with the Knicks. It's the same system, but with the lottery teams it goes by number of ping pong ball chances. Say two teams have the same record and that position has 151 chances. If two teams are tied with the same record, they divide the number of balls and the team that "wins" the drawing gets the extra ball, meaning if there were 150 balls or chances at that spot, one would get 76 and the other 75. Got any of that? The short answer is for lottery teams with the same record there is almost no difference in their chances in the lottery with 1,001 combinations. Yes, better to just wait for the results in May.
I want to know how the Bulls currently have the second seed if the rankings are based on division winners and then the teams with the best records? --Tania, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
We're all confused, as well. We think it has something to do with the NBA trying to convert to the metric system. The NBA does an awful lot correctly, but the league office can be stubborn and arrogant when it digs in its heels, and David Stern has decided there will be division champions for some reason when no one pays attention to it.
I was in Phoenix the other day and asked Mike D'Antoni about the division championship banners, and he thought for a moment and said he didn't think they had any, but maybe they would get some and hang them up somewhere. It's laughable and produces the inequity of this season of the team with the third best record in the East getting the fifth seed to accommodate the divisions winners.
In the long run, it would have been better for the Pistons to dump games to try to get to No. 2 to get an easier playoff seeding. Because two should play three, and now the one seed plays the third best record in the second round. They changed the seeding last year to make up for the Spurs-Mavs situation with the two top teams meeting in the second round. And there's still the nightmare scenario with a division winner getting a top four seed with the ninth best record.
With so many teams making the playoffs, divisions mean nothing in the NBA like they do in U.S. baseball and football. There should either be two divisions, or no divisions as everyone but the NBA lists standings this time of year by conference since that is how the playoffs work in the NBA.
They also could give teams division banners if they want, which gives the winner something, and seed teams by their record 1-8, which is only fair. But Stern doesn't like to admit mistakes, which is why it took so long to admit the new ball was a mistake. He doesn't want to admit his division concept is a disaster and meaningless, so we're probably stuck with the new, bad math of the NBA.
No matter how much everyone wants to talk about Detroit and Miami, Toronto is the team to beat in the playoffs. Why let them walk through the first round against the Wizards? Toronto is young, athletic and tall. Height is something the Bulls struggle against. I really do not see the Bulls making it past Toronto but it would be a lot easier if the Raptors have to go six or seven games against New Jersey while the Bulls only have to go four games against Washington. So does Skiles have the foresight to lose one when he needs to, or is the magical "50" more important then anything else? --Helen Dean, Gardner, Ill.
I don't see Skiles ever dumping a game, and sometimes you better watch out what you wish for. Yes, there have been occasions teams have benefited from losing, like last season the way the Clippers dumped their way to a better first-round matchup and some years ago when Don Nelson blew games down the stretch to get to the Jazz, whom he did outmatch using small guys on Mark Eaton and pulling a huge upset. I don't see Skiles ever pulling back and doing that, and the No. 2 seed remains the best playoff option for the Bulls, in my opinion. Starting with Washington would benefit everyone and I doubt you'd even need to watch the series. But I'm not as high on Toronto as you are. They don't have Steve Nash, and I think you can attack their guards. Their offense runs much like the Bulls with high screens and the Bulls know it well. Plus, it's an inexperienced playoff team and playoff coach who would be thrilled just to get to the second round. I'd like the Bulls in a relatively short series against them.
Why are the Knicks always complaining about other teams running up the score? Who invented this rule that you're not allowed to blow out the other team when they're playing like crap? Miami didn't whine like this when the Bulls humiliated them on Ring Night. Is it just the Knicks, or do other teams complain about this? --RMT, Gurnee, Ill.
I thought it was was way overplayed, sort of an unwritten rule of journalism -- I wish someone would write these down so we can show people and this won't happen--about not screwing up on a slow news day. It was a blowout game of no consequence, so when Steve Francis said something stupid (yeah, there's news for you) everyone acted like "it was on." Jerome James going after someone in the hallway? The guy couldn't catch Hot Plate Williams after dinner. You play and finish the game and if you don't like what the other team is doing, you play harder. I liked it better when George Karl was running it up against the Knicks earlier this season to get back at him for the Larry Brown mess and the Knicks and Nuggets ended up getting into a fight. Of course, the league didn't like it as much. It's just the product of frustration we see in all sports when a team is losing and can't do anything about it. I'd use that sticks and stones thing, but I don't think that works anymore in our crazed politically correct world.
If the Bulls are going to make a valiant playoff run, they are going to need a big man. So why not pick up Eddie Griffin? I know he is an underachiever but he has never met Scott Skiles. --TJ Alimi, Chicago
I can't recall if Eddie played this season, and if he did he'd be ineligible. I know there's a joke in that not meeting Scott Skiles part, but I can't come up with it. This guy appears to have some kind of serious emotional problems way back to school when he was fighting with teammates. He is the last guy you'd want to see on the Bulls. Maybe next to last. The Bulls did make a run at the trading deadline to try to get Bonzi Wells cheap, which I thought wasn't a bad idea, though if they did it would be the Bulls sending him home last week instead of the Rockets.
What if the Bulls get the No. 2 pick again? And, what if Oden is taken first? Do we draft Durant and try to make him a SG (thus putting BG back into the 6th man, "microwave" spot), or do we trade the pick, either down to pick up a future No. 1, or completely trade out of the draft for a big man? Durant could be extremely special, but would he fit on this team? --Jon Headlee, Richmond, Va.
The Bulls should be so lucky. When you get a good player you take him and figure it out and let him figure it out. The guy will be good, but playing in college these days is like playing in community college 10 years ago. Durant would have to get used to playing defense, which he doesn't do much of, and would have to put on some weight. He'd be a great player to develop, though Gordon would probably kick his butt for the next few years.
Do you think Jermaine O'Neal can opt out or ask for a trade? In that case how would the Bulls convince Bird to trade in the same division? Another option (much cheaper) would be Luis Scola (new All-Time Euroleague best scorer). Spurs still retain his rights, but with a high pick it would be enough. --Guillaume, France
I think O'Neal is gone with the Pacers about out of the playoffs for the first time in more than a decade. They'd likely ask way too much, so it doesn't make sense to break up your team for a guy who really never has taken his team anywhere. I don't know much about Scola other than when a guy stays that long in Europe he usually doesn't have much NBA success.
I probably can't imagine how many emails you get about absurd trades that the Bulls should make. Mine, hopefully, will not fall into that category. According to nbadraft.net, the Bulls are projected to have the 10th pick. Assuming the lottery holds close to form, I am thinking package Noce along with that pick for Phoenix's fourth pick to get either Al Horford or Roy Hibbert. I feel Noce would bring some much needed 'D' to the Suns and would also be able to fit in with their up- tempo style. Horford would bring the skills of P.J. Brown, only 20 years younger and a legitimate post game. --Dave, Bloomington, Ind.
First of all, there's no way to project what pick the Bulls will have. Most of this is moot until the lottery. But if the Suns get four there is no way they give it up because they love several of the players projected there. You also overvalue Nocioni. Plus, the Bulls don't believe in trading a player for spaces in the draft. Plus, rarely if ever in a very good draft, which this is, do teams trade down. This isn't the NFL where you can get good players in later rounds. The NBA is built on stars and high level players from the top of the draft. Yes, I think we're getting into absurd trade territory now. But that never stopped me.
I like how all the writers jumped on the Eddy Curry bandwagon, and then he laid an absolute egg against the Bulls. Speaking of big men, if the Celtics were to get the first pick and take Greg Oden, is there any chance they would part with Al Jefferson? Would they be willing to take the Knicks' pick for him, or would the Bulls have to give up more? I haven't seen him play, so I don't know how good he is but I saw he averaged 16 and 10 this year. --Dan, Grand Rapids, Mich.
If you watch him play you'll see they have no intention of giving him up. And though it is hard to believe, much of the NBA doesn't function as a feeder system for the Bulls. The other thing about Oden is he isn't Bill Russell. He's a bit on the deliberate side, though I think a lot of that is coaching. Also, despite his physical appearance, I'm told he's somewhat immature and I think the adjustment to the NBA will be difficult for him. And he's a center and Jefferson is the kind of scoring four who would complement him. Other than that, it all sounds like a reasonable proposal.
Do you see the Bulls making a deal with the Knicks this off-season so they can get their 2008 lottery pick? --Randy Klecka, Lakemoor, Ill.
No, but I'm told the Bulls can have the Empire State Building, Radio City Music Hall and the Yankees.
Ben Gordon and the ninth pick in this draft (probably about where the Bulls will be), a second round pick in this draft, and the Bulls first-round pick in 2008, for the No. 1 pick, which will be Kevin Durant? --Ron, Waynesboro, Va.
I have found it interesting that I've gotten so many lottery and draft proposals. Perhaps we should wait for one playoff game. My sense is fans feel the team isn't quite complete, though I believe the chance for a better-than-expected playoff run is possible with as dysfunctional Eastern Conference as there ever has been. No one--and I repeat no one--will trade out of the top of this draft. Scouts generally tell me you can build a team around either Oden or Durant, players in the long run who may not need another star but just pieces around them because their potential is so high.
If the Bulls get lucky and get a top-three pick courtesy of the Knicks, do you think that pick alone is valuable enough to trade for an experienced big man or do you think the Bulls well keep the pick? --Thach, San Diego
Once John Paxson got rid of Jerry Krause's guys, he became more conservative with his guys. Paxson has done well in the draft and is good at evaluating and projecting talent. I think he'll keep the pick given it is a good draft and scout around for a sign-and-trade with Nocioni.
I remember seeing Jordan and Pippen at Bulls home playoff games last year. I was just wondering, do the Bulls pay these already wealthy legends to come out and support their old team, or they come out simply because they want to watch the game? Also, what happened with Luc Longley's Bulls memorabilia after his house suffered a devastating fire? Did he manage to save anything, such as his championship rings? --Luis U., DeKalb, Ill.
Luc has another house in a beach area and I heard he had some memorabilia stuff there, though I don't know specifically what. Jordan usually goes to a suite at the Bulls invitation, while Pippen likes to sit behind the basket near the Bulls bench. The Bulls have an open invitation for them to come anytime at the cost to the Bulls.
Isn't it about time for the NBA to contract some teams? The East is just awful. Would anybody really miss pro basketball in Oklahoma, Charlotte or Atlanta? --Ron, DeKalb, Ill.
Atlanta would be a good start. It's amazing what a mess that franchise has become with the ownership battle in court. It's a disservice to the fans and the NBA and something David Stern should pay more attention to: mismanagement. You'd have to look at Memphis with the sale situation as well if they don't get Oden. There'll never be a contraction because of the lost jobs, and Oklahoma City was a good market and Stern virtually promised last week they'd get a team, likely either Seattle or when New Orleans inevitably moves again.
I am a huge fan of the Bulls and have been following the team closely since 1996. If this team loses in the first round of the playoffs this year, do you believe there is any chance that Skiles will be ousted out of Chicago? --Adi, Arlington, Va.
No, and if he were he'd have a job quickly. I know the Pacers have liked him as well as the Bobcats. His stock is sky high around the NBA after the turnaround with the Bulls, though Paxson deserves considerable credit as well. Also, I'd add myself for trying to trade so many players that they continue to try to show me up by playing better. I'm hoping for a playoff share. If the Bulls collapse in the playoffs, I think there'll be player changes first, though I don't expect it.
I'm being simple here. Why don't the Bulls try to make another run at Bonzi Wells for the playoffs? --Nick Russell, Tampa, Fla.
He is ineligible because he played this season and wasn't released before March 1 and the TV rights fees would be too high to watch Skiles and he wrestle on the sidelines during games.
Who's the most Jordanesque player in the league? My vote is for Wade, who can get to the rim like Mike, gets to the line like Mike, is as fierce a competitor, a sometimes 3-point shooter, was playing great defense this year before his injury, and has never missed the playoffs, even before Shaq when he even won a few games in the playoffs on last second shots as a rookie. --Joe, Chicago
I'd say Kobe is closest because of the manic competitive drive and scoring ability, though Wade is a close second. The difference with Wade is size and not being as good a defender as the other two, thus not being able to impact the game on both ends, though Kobe hasn't been very good on defense this season, mostly, I'd say, because he'd had to do so much on offense. Though that's also where he trails Jordan as Jordan did both for a longer time.
Years ago, when Bernie Bickerstaff was coaching the Wizards, a columnist (which could have been you) commented that Bickerstaff was one of the worst coaches in the NBA. Last night I heard Stacey King commenting on how great of a job he has done with the Charlotte franchise. Has there been a turnaround or is this a case of the right fit, for the right team, at the right time? Also, why does the NBA keep recycling coaches that have had moderate or little success to the point that Tim Floyd even got a second chance? --Todd, Homewood, Ill.
It was me. I wish some other guys would get a chance, so you can see guys without experience like Avery Johnson do well. Though I find Bernie to be a likeable and professional person, I thought coaching was not his strength. I think he believes analysis is not my strength. I remember that column well since I was commenting some on the lack of racism in the NBA, though I always wondered if anyone caught it. I noted how Bernie could continue to get jobs without being very good and it wasn't just bad white coaches getting rehired, as many suggested. I felt in my own ironic way of looking at things, that this was another way that showed the NBA being the most color blind place in the U.S. I remain most proud of that. I also have wondered since whether I could even write that anymore with the insane reactions to political correctness in this era, though I'm not sure who would have picketed me. It was sort of tongue in cheek, but I do have to shake my head when commentators build up every coach and never criticize a coach in any way while easily condemning players.
I think the Bobcats have playoff level personnel and have vastly underachieved. I see them finish games badly, blowing leads and often undisciplined. I hate the way Ray Felton dribbles between his legs 10 times before he shoots (he doesn't pass often), and you can see a tension there between Adam Morrison and others that seems to go unchecked. I don't see many adjustments when teams change up on them, and I'm not sure what the system of play is. It's a terrific opportunity for a coach because we'll be saying in a year from now what a magnificent job somebody did in turning that around. I wonder sometimes if the commentators aren't watching, or don't know what is going on or are simply members of some secret society who swore a blood oath not to criticize one another.
They are team employees, officially, so that inhibits some. I think one reason is the commentators rarely if ever talk to any players and rely on the coaches for their information, so they feel they have to be nice. It is the Jeff Van Gundy school of broadcasting: Genius time out! But it certainly is misleading to viewers and you won't see Bernie on any lists to coach other teams. Tim Floyd got a second job! We both remain amazed.
Sam, I think I've uncovered your ruse! All year you've been pretty tough on Big Ben but looking over the stats from last season to this season you can't deny his impact on the court. Team rebounding numbers and points per game are up and opponents points per game (97.2 - 93.6) and rebounds (41.7 - 40.8) are down. Sure we're second in team field goal percentage (43.8 compared to 42.6) but last year teams were killing us on second shot attempts. Face it, you love Big Ben don't you!! East conference finals await. --Bill, Skokie, Ill.
You've got me. I was a secret agent for Skiles and Paxson motivating him and it worked.
The Bulls have a lot of options in the upcoming draft, but I think the scenario where they get the No. 3 pick is the most intriguing given that Oden and Durant will both be off the board. The Bulls have a lot of good young assets with which to explore trade possibilities. Do they take a big like Noah, Hawes, Wright or Hibbert? I don't see them taking Horford with Deng and Thomas on the roster. Do they look at taking a guy like Brewer and maybe trying to package Gordon, Duhon, Deng, Thomas and/or Nocioni to Minnesota for Garnett? Do they trade the pick outright? --Simon, Brisbane, Australia
Three would be interesting because I wouldn't rule out Horford, potentially a power forward who could score. Though Noah doesn't score, he fits their aggressive, smart style. There's really perhaps up to 10 really good players in this draft and teams will be salivating to move up. It could also lead to a deal, though it probably would have to be for a really good player, like Gasol. Though they usually go with their pick, I wouldn't rule anything out depending on how the playoffs go.
Do you think teams like the Minnesota Timberwolves should be penalized for such obvious tanking at the end of the season? KG is 100 percent healthy and hasn't played in a week, and may not play again this year. I am a Wolves fan and I find this sickening, but somehow no one here seems to care. Maybe you could pass this info along to David Stern. --Nathan, Minneapolis
I commented on it in my notes Monday and find it appalling. I agree the league should take some action, but it is most disappointing that the brass in Minnesota and Garnett would treat the game that has done so much for them and means so much with so much disrespect. I believe Garnett has injury issues, that he's not 100 percent. But at least show up and give some effort for the people who bought those season tickets. How can you ask them to do so again? I know Joe Smith never would do such a thing.
I thought I remembered reading that the Bulls would have the second pick in the second round from Boston. According to Nbadraft.net, they get the lesser of Boston's two picks, so they actually will end up with like the 12th pick. Which is correct? --Andrew, St. Louis
I admit I don't keep up on seconds since the Bulls don't need more rookies, especially another second rounder. Of course, you could use one in a deal. This also suggests to me you have way too much time on your hands and should volunteer at a charity. I'm told the Bulls get the lesser of the Boston/Golden State pick, so that's Golden State's. They also get Denver's second, which isn't very high, either. I suspect they'll try to deal both or include them in a deal. I swore off seconds after the Khalid El-Amin, Bryce Drew, Jake Voskuhl bonanza of 2000
I am thinking of the Eddy Curry situation in particular, but why does it seem like columnists completely dog players when they are in town, only to turn and say good things about them when they are gone? Many Chicago columnists, yourself included, really gave it to Eddy when he was here, but now many say positive things about him. I watch a fair number of Knicks games and Eddy looks to be basically the same player he was when he was here. Yet he was criticized for being fat and lazy with the Bulls, while he is now referred to as "The Man." When sports teams acquire new players, fans are naturally excited, anticipating the improvement they believe the new player will bring. By criticizing players on the local teams, doesn't that drive a wedge between the sportswriters and the fans? I think writers should report the truth, but many often go over the line in their criticism. --John, Brookfield, Ill.
Doesn't it show more credibility to challenge someone face to face when they are here? I would think the sin is to write critically when they leave. It's easy to be tough on a guy after he leaves and nice when he's here. I wrote recently how the Knicks view him. I wouldn't view him that way. Players understand more than you think. It's not like reporters are their friends, or should be. You should appreciate the willingness of media to be honest in opinions. I liked Eddy because while I was tough on him in his game, it wasn't personal about family. You can say it's personal in criticizing his job performance, but that's what I should be doing for fans if I see it that way. Because fans aren't around the team, the hope is we can bring them insight. I didn't think Eddy was a good fit for the Bulls and said so. I respected Eddy because he never got upset and understood it was part of the NBA. Eddy is never going to be a great defender or rebounder, but he's improved with the Knicks and done what they want (the Bulls wanted him to play more defense), so he deserves the praise for working at it.
Which team(s) in the lottery would have a spare power forward or center that they would be willing to move and the Bulls would be interested in acquiring if that team had won the No. 1 or 2 pick in the draft and selected Oden or Durant. And who would the Bulls have to give up? --Ron, Waynesboro, Ill.
You could get Jermaine O'Neal, Zach Randolph, probably Pau Gasol and Andrew Bogut if the Bucks get Oden. As the Bulls showed at the trading deadline, they aren't giving up a top player and my guess is they search for someone expendable and whose name came up in trade talks in February, like Drew Gooden, to fill their power forward spot.
Sammy (does anyone call you Sammy?) what do you think the Bulls' draft board looks like? I guess they're focused on the playoffs, and maybe haven't made their wish list yet, but assuming we learn nothing new in the playoffs, what will it look like? I imagine they will rank players that they most want, and then take the highest player still available when they get their pick. Here's my guess: (1) Oden; (2) Durant; (3) Horford; (4) B. Wright; (5) Noah; (6) Yi Jianlian; (7) Hawes; (8) Hibbert; (9) Brewer; (10) Thabeet; (11) J. Wright; (12) Splitter; (13) Green; (14) Young. --Brad, Northbrook, Ill.
Mostly Sosa and Zell now. It's early for that draft ranking, though Brewer could move up and Thabeet definitely down. Green probably is higher than that and I don't see them that high on Yi. Obviously it will give them plenty of flexibility once the Garnett rumors kick into high gear. And I'll hardly be alone this time. It's going to be the Summer of Kevin.


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Upon resolution of the jurisdictional issue raised by Murphy, he also seeks to add Luciano as a party defendant because of his alleged "bona fide purchase" of the Millstone Road premises from the plaintiff after foreclosure. The application is granted and Luciano is added as a party defendant to this action because he is a necessary party in order for the Court to grant the proper and necessary relief in this lawsuit. CPLR §1001 provides that persons "who might be inequitably affected by a judgment" shall be made a party. Clearly, Luciano as the present owner of the Millstone Road premises may be "inequitably affected" by the jurisdiction question to be decided. Further, the events surrounding the dates of contract and sale of this property and the sale price are all issues requiring Court scrutiny as to Luciano's claim to be a "bona fide purchaser" of the property for value.
Here, the closing on the sale of the Millstone Road premises occurred just 3 days prior to Murphy's order to show cause seeking injunctive relief asserting the lack of knowledge of and Court jurisdiction over this foreclosure action. Obviously, any conversations, discussions, settlement negotiations or other communications between the plaintiff, Murphy and possibly Luciano concerning Murphy's prospective actions as to this foreclosure action in which Luciano claims no knowledge as well as possible "bad faith" on the part of plaintiff are all issues which the Court needs to explore to assure the foreclosure process was fair and equitable.
Real Property Law §266 provides an innocent "bona fide purchaser" for value is protected in his/her title to property unless he/she had previous notice of the alleged fraud by the seller. See, Karan v. Hoskins. 22 AD3d 638, 803 NYS2d 666 (2nd Dept. 2005); Barnes v. West, 29 Misc3d 1230(A), WL 4941987 (2010). In the event, the Court finds that jurisdiction was not acquired over Murphy, Murphy's remedy is to be put back into possession of the Millstone Road premises unless it has been purchased by a "bona fide" innocent and good faith purchaser, in which case Murphy's remedy is limited to damages against the plaintiff.
Finally, Murphy cannot be charged with equitable estoppel as his actions through his attorney have all been to avoid the very sale which the plaintiff conducted to Luciano. The Court in Bank of America, NA v 414 Midland Ave. Associates, LLC, AD3d ,911 NYS2d 157 (2nd Dept 2010) noted:
"Where an owner knows of a defect in title and fails to address it,
laches does not apply unless the facts are sufficient to constitute equitable
estoppel (see, Krakerv. Roll, 100 AD2d 424,433,474 NYS2d 527;
Washington Temple Church of God in Christ, Inc. v. Global Props &
Assoc., Inc., 15 Misc3d 1142[A], 2007 N.Y. Slip Op 51114[U], 2007 WL
1558884, aff'd. 55 AD2d 727, 865 NYS2d 641). Equitable estoppel arises when
a property owner stands by without objection while an opposing party asserts an
ownership interest in the property and incurs expense in reliance on that belief
(see, Andrews v. Cohen, 221 NY 148, 153, 116 NE 862). The property owner
must 'inexcusably' delay in asserting a claim to property knowing that 'the
opposing party has changed his position to irreversible detriment' ( Orange &
Rockland Utils v. Philwold Estates, 70 AD2d 338, 343,421 NYS2d 640,
mod. on other grounds 52 NY2d 253, 437 NYS2d 291, 418 NE2d 1310."
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PLEA gratefully acknowledges our primary core funder the Law Foundation of Saskatchewan for their continuing and generous support of our organization.


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DriveControl 54
Control of RollerDrive EC310 in applications without start-stop operation, e.g. in roller curves. Mechanical engineering applications. Applications with PLC, but without fieldbus. Small applications with max. 10 RollerDrive (cabling effort). Applications with anticipated splashing water or sprinkler system. Applications in freezer area.
The DriveControl 54 is a simple control for the RollerDrive EC310. It does not contain any logic (e.g. for zero-pressure accumulation conveying) and requires external signals. The DriveControl 54 has a protection rating of IP54 and, as a result, is suitable for use in wet environments or freezer conditions.
DIP switches can be used to set the direction of rotation, a start and braking ramp and the speed in 15 increments. Digital inputs and outputs serve as interface to a higher-level control. This enables setting the direction of rotation and the speed in 7 increments, e.g. from a PLC. The braking energy of the RollerDrive EC310 is fed back into the 24-V supply system. The voltage fed back from the RollerDrive EC310 is limited at 30 V by means of the integral brake chopper (voltage-dependently switched load resistance).
- Speed setting (DIP switches 15x, digital input 7x)
- Speed setting (DIP switches 15x, digital input 7x)
- Error signal output
- Status display with LEDs
- Voltage limitation via brake chopper


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Jan. 22, 2004
Sacramento, Calif. - The California Storm of the Women's Premier Soccer League is pleased to announce that U.S. National Team defender Brandi Chastain, Brazilian National Team midfielder Sissi and defender/midfielder Keri Sanchez have committed to play for the team for 2004. The signing of Chastain, Sissi and Sanchez bolsters the Storm roster that will begin its season this spring. Chastain, Sissi and Sanchez played professionally for the San Jose CyberRays before the suspension of the Women's United Soccer Association last fall.
Brandi Chastain's penalty kick won the championship for the United States in the 1999 Women's World Cup final against China. She was also a member of the first Women's World Cup Team that won the championship in 1991 and the holds an Olympic gold and silver medal from the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games. Chastain is currently training with her National Team for the 2004 Olympics to be held this Summer in Greece. Chastain returns to the Storm having last played for the team in 1997.
"In attempt to continue my growth as a player, and with the suspension of the WUSA, I felt that it was important to find the best training and playing environment when I was not with the National Team," said Chastain. "The Storm has been a team and environment that helped me find my way back to the National Team before the 1996 Olympic Games, so I will always consider myself a member of the Storm family."
Sissi shared the title of scoring leader in the 1999 Women's World Cup with seven goals. Sissi has played in the 1991, 1995, and 1999 Women's World Cups as well as the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games. Sissi was the San Jose CyberRays all-time assist leader. She was named to the All-WUSA First Team 3 years in a row and played in both WUSA All-Star games. In 2002, Sissi was named the WUSA Humanitarian of the Year.
Keri Sanchez played professional soccer for the WUSA's Boston Breakers in 2001 and 2002, and then returned to her hometown to play for the San Jose CyberRays in 2003. A graduate of the University of North Carolina, Sanchez has earned 13 caps with the U.S. National Team. In addition, Sanchez played for the WPSL Silicon Valley Red Devils where she was named the 1998 MVP.
The California Storm is one of the more than 20 teams in the National Women's Premier Soccer League. Their season runs from February to August. Based in Sacramento for 14 years, the Storm has won three National Championships and was undefeated last year in league play. For more information on the California Storm, visit www.wpsl.info.


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A flight from Washington, D.C. bound for Germany made an emergency landing at Newark Liberty International Airport Friday night after there were reports of a smell of smoke in the cabin, an airline spokesman said.
United flight 932 to Frankfurt, which departed Dulles International Airport at 9:55 p.m., landed at Newark at 11:30 p.m. following reports of a smell of smoke, according to a United spokesman.
The plane, a Boeing 777, landed safely and taxied normally at Newark, the spokesman said.
Some passengers were treated for smoke inhalation, according to a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, but no one was seriously injured.
The passengers, who were put up in hotel rooms for the night, were expected to resume their flight Saturday.


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Campaigners have launched a bid to protect a wartime building for community use.
Seven members of the Mill Hill Residents' Association have launched a public consultation to collect ideas about 80 Daws Lane and what it could be used for once it is vacated by the Sea Cadets this summer.
Speaking to the Times Series, project manager Chris Wong, said: "We have realised there's a great lack of social facilities in Mill Hill, especially since the garden centre in Daws Lane closed.
"The civil defence building is the perfect opportunity to provide a brilliant, new community hub with lots of facilities for all ages.
"Our vision is to create a hub where people can come and socialise. There could be a cafe and an area for local artists to display their work, as well as arts and crafts and rooms for things like yoga and Pilates. These are just some ideas we have come up with but we'd really like to hear from residents to see what they would like."
People can take part in the consultation to offer their ideas for the building, and then the seven-strong team will put together a plan to pitch to Barnet Borough Council.
The two-storey building was built in 1939 as a decontamination centre in case a bomb landed in the area.
Since then the Barnet Borough Council owned property has been used for a variety of purposes including an archive centre, a temporary library and nursery school.
Mill Hill Residents Association has also successfully applied for the building to be listed as a community asset.
Mrs Wong added: "I think it's important we have a place that is non-denominational, with no political agenda in Mill Hill. The building has ticked along for some time with a variety of uses, and now we want to take it and turn it into a fabulous community hub to benefit everyone."
To take part in the consultation visit: www.millhillresidents.org.uk


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Welcome to Dr Ming Wang's Homepage
Dr. Ming Wang is a uniquely qualified corneal refractive surgeon. He holds a Harvard Medical School and MIT degree (magna cum laude, 1991) as well as a doctoral degree in laser physics. He is both an accomplished scientist and a talented artist.
As the founding director of the renowned Wang Vision 3D Cataract and LASIK center in Nashville, TN, he excels in his profession as a compassionate ophthalmologist who cares deeply about his patients and continues to strive to give them the best eye care possible.
As an accomplished research scientist, he has made worthwhile contributions to various areas of molecular biology (see Nature, 360, 606, 1992) and ophthalmology including being a principle investigator of an NIH grant on amniotic contact lenses and the biotech company that he cofounded with Vanderbilt, EyeVU.
As a talented artist, passionate about ballroom dancing and music, he brings to people around him a sense of joy for rhythm and movement, the appreciation for fine art and many romantic and beautiful melodies of life.
This homepage was created to help you capture a glimpse of Dr. Ming Wang.
Dr. Ming Wang, MD, PhD, Director
Wang Vision Institute, Nashville TN 37203
Ph 615.321.8881 | Fax 615.321.8874
email@example.com | www.wangvisioninstitute.com


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Evacuating air from a closed volume develops a pressure differential between the volume and the surrounding atmosphere. If this closed volume is bound by the surface of a vacuum cup and a workpiece, atmospheric pressure will press the two objects together. The amount of holding force depends on the surface area shared by the two objects and the vacuum level. In an industrial vacuum system, a vacuum pump or generator removes air from a system to create a pressure differential.
Because it is virtually impossible to remove all the air molecules from a container, a perfect vacuum cannot be achieved. Of course, as more air is removed, the pressure differential increases, and the potential vacuum force becomes greater.
Figure 1. Atmospheric pressure force determines height of mercury column in simple barometer.
The vacuum level is determined by the pressure differential between the evacuated volume and the surrounding atmosphere. Several units of measure can be used. Most refer to the height of a column of mercury — usually inches of mercury (in.-Hg) or millimeters of mercury (mm-Hg). The common metric unit for vacuum measurement is the millibar, or mbar. Other pressure units sometimes used to express vacuum include the interrelated units of atmospheres, torr, and microns. One standard atmosphere equals 14.7 psi (29.92 in.-Hg). Any fraction of an atmosphere is a partial vacuum and equates with negative gauge pressure. A torr is defined as 1/760 of an atmosphere and can also be thought of as 1 mm-Hg, where 760 mm-Hg equals 29.92 in.-Hg. Even smaller is the micron, defined as 0.001 torr. However, these units are used most often when dealing with near-perfect vacuums, usually under laboratory conditions, and seldom in fluid power applications.
Atmospheric pressure is measured with a barometer. A barometer consists of an evacuated vertical tube with its top end closed and its bottom end resting in a container of mercury that is open to the atmosphere, Figure 1. The pressure exerted by the atmosphere acts on the exposed surface of the liquid to force mercury up into the tube. Sea level atmospheric pressure will support a mercury column generally not more than 29.92-in. high. Thus, the standard for atmospheric pressure at sea level is 29.92 in.-Hg, which translates to an absolute pressure of 14.69 psia.
The two basic reference points in all these measurements are standard atmospheric pressure and a perfect vacuum. At atmospheric pressure, the value 0 in.-Hg is equivalent to 14.7 psia. At the opposite reference point, 0 psia, — a perfect vacuum (if it could be attained) — would have a value equal to the other extreme of its range, 29.92 in.-Hg. However, calculating work forces or changes in volume in vacuum systems requires conversions to negative gauge pressure (psig) or absolute pressure (psia).
Atmospheric pressure is assigned the value of zero on the dials of most pressure gauges. Vacuum measurements must, therefore, be less than zero. Negative gage pressure generally is defined as the difference between a given system vacuum and atmospheric pressure.
Vacuum measurement
Figure 2. U-tube manometer, filled with mercury, measures vacuum as a difference between vacuum source and atmospheric pressure.
Several types of gauges measure vacuum level. A Bourdon tube-type gauge is compact and the most widely used device for monitoring vacuum system operation and performance. Measurement is based on the deformation of a curved elastic Bourdon tube when vacuum is applied to the gauge's port. With the proper linkage, compound Bourdon tube gauges indicate both vacuum and positive pressure.
An electronic counterpart to the vacuum gauge is the transducer. Vacuum or pressure deflects an elastic metal diaphragm. This deflection varies electrical characteristics of interconnected circuitry to produce an electronic signal that represents the vacuum level.
Figure 3. Absolute pressure gauge measures vacuum as the difference in mercury level in its two legs.
A U-tube manometer, Figure 2, indicates the difference between two pressures. In its simplest form, a manometer is a transparent U-tube half-filled with mercury. With both ends of the tube exposed to atmospheric pressure, the mercury level in each leg is the same. Applying a vacuum to one leg causes the mercury to rise in that leg and to fall in the other. The difference in height between the two levels indicates the vacuum level. Manometers can measure vacuum directly to 29.25 in.-Hg.
An absolute pressure gauge shows the pressure above a theoretical perfect vacuum. It has the same U-shape as the manometer, but one leg of the absolute pressure gauge is sealed, Figure 3. Mercury fills this sealed leg when the gauge is at rest. Applying vacuum to the unsealed leg lowers the mercury level in the sealed leg. The vacuum level is measured with a sliding scale placed with its zero point at the mercury level in the unsealed leg. Thus, this gauge compensates for changes in atmospheric pressure.
Industrial vacuum systems
Vacuums fall into three ranges:
- rough (or coarse), up to 28 in.-Hg
- middle (or fine), up to one micron,
- high, greater than one micron.
Almost all industrial vacuum systems are rough. In fact, most lifting and workholding applications operate at vacuum levels of only 12 to 18-in.-Hg. This is because it generally is more economical to increase the lifting or holding force by increasing the contact area between the workpiece and vacuum cup than it is to pull a higher vacuum and use the same contact area.
Middle vacuum is used for process applications such as molecular distillation, freeze drying, degassing, and coating operations. High vacuums are used in laboratory instruments, such as electron microscopes, mass spectrometers, and particle accelerators.
A sampling of the multitude of standard components for assembling a vacuum system: single- and multi-stage vacuum generators, valves, switches, suction cups, etc.
A typical vacuum system consists of a vacuum source, delivery lines, fittings, and various control valves, switches, filters, and protective devices. Leakage prevention is especially important with vacuum systems because even very small leaks can greatly diminish performance and efficiency. If plastic tubing is used — as is often the case — be sure it is designed for vacuum service. Otherwise, the walls of the tubing could collapse under a vacuum and block flow. Also, vacuum lines should be as short and narrow as is practical to limit the volume of air that must be evacuated.
An important design consideration for workholding applications is to use the vacuum pump only to achieve the vacuum level required. Once the workpiece is in contact with the vacuum cup and the required vacuum achieved, de-energizing a normally closed valve will hold the vacuum indefinitely - provided no leakage occurs. Holding a vacuum in this manner consumes no energy and avoids having to operate the vacuum pump continuously.
Companies also offer proprietary devices, such as vacuum cups with integral valves and valves that terminate flow from a cup that exhibits excessive leakage. This valve is designed to avoid false-alarm shutoff when holding porous workpieces (such as cardboard), yet prevent a leak at one vacuum cup from reducing vacuum at an adjacent cup.
Vacuum pump selection
The first major step in selecting the right vacuum pump is to compare application vacuum requirements with the maximum vacuum ratings of commercial pumps. At low levels, there is a wide choice of pumps. But as vacuum level increases, the choice narrows, sometimes to the point where only one type of pump may be available.
To calculate a system's vacuum needs, consider all work devices to be driven. The working vacuum of the devices can be determined by calculations based on handbook formulas, theoretical data, catalog information, performance curves, or tests made with prototype systems. Once you know the vacuum required, you can begin looking for pumps that can accommodate application requirements.
The maximum vacuum rating for a pump is commonly expressed for either continuous or intermittent duty cycles, and can be obtained from pump manufacturers. Because the maximum theoretical vacuum at sea level is 29.92 in.-Hg, actual pump capabilities are based on and compared to this theoretical value. Depending on pump design, the vacuum limit ranges from 28 to 29.5 in.-Hg or about 93% or 98% of the maximum theoretical value. For some pump types, the maximum vacuum rating will be based on this practical upper limit. For others, where heat dissipation is a problem, the maximum vacuum rating might also take into account allowable temperature rise.
Mechanical vacuum pumps
A conventional vacuum pump may be thought of as a compressor that operates with its intake below atmospheric pressure and the discharge at atmospheric pressure. Compressors and vacuum pumps have identical pumping mechanisms. The vacuum pump is simply piped to withdraw air from a closed container and exhaust to atmosphere, which is just the opposite of what a compressor does. Although the machines have many similarities, two significant differences between compression and vacuum pumping actions must be considered in system design. The maximum change in pressure produced by a vacuum pump is limited; it can never be higher than atmospheric pressure. Plus, as vacuum increases, the volume of air passing through the pump drops continuously. Therefore, the pump itself finally must absorb virtually all heat generated.
Mechanical vacuum pumps generally are categorized as either positive displacement or non-positive displacement (dynamic). Positive-displacement pumps draw a relatively constant volume of air despite any variation in the vacuum level and can pull a relatively high vacuum. The principle types of positive-displacement pumps include: reciprocating and rocking piston, rotary vane, diaphragm, lobed rotor, and rotary screw designs.
Non-positive-displacement pumps use kinetic energy changes to move air out of a closed system. They provide very high flow rates, but cannot achieve high vacuum. Major non-positive-displacement pumps are multi-stage centrifugal, axial flow units, and regenerative (or peripheral) blowers. Of these, only the blower is an economical choice for stand-alone or dedicated vacuum systems.
Temperature considerations are very important when selecting a mechanical vacuum pump because high external or internal heat can greatly affect pump performance and service life. Internal pump temperature is important because as vacuum level increases, less air is present to carry away the heat generated, so the pump must absorb more of the heat. Heavy-duty pumps with cooling systems are often required for high vacuum applications. But light-duty pumps can operate at maximum vacuum for short periods of time if there is an adequate cool-off period between cycles. The pump experiences a total temperature rise as a result of all the heat sources acting on it - internally generated heat plus heat from internal leakage, compression, friction, and external ambient temperature.
Venturi-type vacuum pumps
Many machines that require vacuum also use compressed air. And if vacuum is required only intermittently, the compressed air that already is available can be used to generate vacuum through a device called a vacuum generator, also known as a vacuum ejector or vacuum pump. Furthermore, the compressed air also can be used in combination with a vacuum cup by producing a puff of air to hasten release of the workpiece.
Figure 4. Venturi-type vacuum generator produces vacuum from stream of compressed air. Most recent designs pull vacuum to 27 in.-Hg from a source of compressed air of less than 50 psig.
Vacuum generators operate based the venturi principle, Figure 4. Filtered, non-lubricated compressed air enters through inlet A. A diffuser orifice (nozzle), B, causes the air stream to increase in velocity, thereby lowering its pressure, which creates a vacuum in channel C. The air stream exhausts to atmosphere through muffler D.
Vacuum generators offer several advantages. They are compact and lightweight, so they often can be mounted at or near the point of use. They are inexpensive, and because they have no moving parts, do not require the maintenance associated with mechanical vacuum pumps. They do not need an electrical power source because they generate vacuum by tapping into an existing compressed air system. However, if retrofitted into a machine, capacity of the existing pneumatic system may have to be increased. Heat generation, which often is the limiting factor with mechanical vacuum pumps, is of little concern with vacuum generators.
Mechanical pumps most often are specified to provide a machine with vacuum on a continuous basis. But many of these machines actually use vacuum only intermittently at many different locations. In cases like this, vacuum generators can provide a practical alternative by supplying vacuum intermittently at each source rather than continuously for the entire machine.
Vacuum generators are controlled simply by initiating or terminating compressed air flow to the nozzle. Vacuum generators have been used for decades, but relatively recent improvements have led to nozzle designs that provide higher operating efficiencies.
Another development using venturis is the multi-stage vacuum generators. In this configuration, two or more vacuum generators are piped in series to produce greater vacuum flow without using more compressed air. Essentially, the exhaust from the first nozzle (which determines the maximum attainable vacuum level) serves as input for a second stage. Exhaust from the second stage then serves as input for a third stage. This means that a multi-stage generator evacuates a given volume faster than a single-stage generator does, but they both will eventually pull the same vacuum level.
Selecting a vacuum generator depends on the lifting force required and the volume of air that must be evacuated. Lifting force depends on the vacuum level the generator can pull — which, in turn, depends on the air pressure supplied — and the effective area of the vacuum cup. In most applications it is important that a generator be able to pull the required vacuum in as short a time as possible to minimize air consumption.
How long to reach maximum vacuum?
When choosing among several vacuum pumps, an important factor may be how long it takes each pump to reach the needed vacuum.
In general, a small capacity pump and a large capacity pump with equal maximum vacuum capabilities will both produce the same vacuum. The smaller pump simply takes longer. How much longer depends on the capacity of the pump and the size of the system. But simply dividing system volume by open pump capacity won't produce the proper answer.
During pump-down, the higher a vacuum becomes, the fewer air molecules remain in the closed volume. Therefore, fewer molecules can be removed by each pump stroke. As a result, there is a logarithmic relationship when approaching a perfect vacuum. The time required to pump a system down to a certain vacuum level can be approximated using this formula:
t = (V×n) ÷ 4q,
t is time, min
V is system volume, ft3
q is flow capacity, cfm, and
n is a constant for the application.
For exact applications, n can be determined by using a natural logarithm. For most purposes, the following will suffice:
n = 1 for vacuum to 15 in.-Hg
n = 2 for vacuum >15 but ≤ 22.5 in.-Hg., and
n = 3 for vacuum ≥ 22.5 and up to 26 in.-Hg.
One additional complication: pump capacity in the equation is not the open capacity (capacity at atmospheric pressure) usually cataloged by manufacturers. Instead, it represents the average capacity of the pump as system pressure drops to the final vacuum level. This value is not readily available but can be approximated from manufacturers' pump performance curves. These curves plot pump capacity at various vacuum levels.
To mesh these curves with the equation, simply substitute values in the equation using pump capacity readings from the curve at various vacuum levels at 5-in.-Hg increments, up to the desired level. Then total these times.
Finally, note that this pump-down time is based on all system components operating at optimum levels. A 25% additional time allowance is recommended to compensate for system inefficiencies and leakage.
Vacuum at high altitudes
Atmospheric pressure determines the maximum vacuum force that can be achieved. And standard atmospheric pressure at sea level is 29.92 in.-Hg. But what happens at locations a mile above sea level? The maximum vacuum that can be achieved in locations above sea level will be less than 29.92-in.-Hg. The force will be limited by the ambient atmospheric pressure. Vacuum pumps have maximum vacuum ratings based on sea level conditions and must be re-rated for operation at higher elevations.
First, determine the local atmospheric pressure. A rule of thumb is that for every 1000 ft. of altitude above sea level, atmospheric pressure drops by 1 in.-Hg. Using rounded-off figures, for a city at an elevation of 5,000 ft, the atmospheric pressure is about 25 in.-Hg.
To adjust a pump rating, think of that rating as a percentage of atmospheric pressure at sea level. If a pump is rated for 25 in.-Hg, it can achieve 83.4% (25 29.92) of a sea level perfect vacuum. At a 5000-ft elevation, that same pump can achieve 83.4% of 25 in.-Hg - or a vacuum of 20.85 in.-Hg.
|Pressure vs. vacuum
|Inches of
|-1.47 psi
|-0.10 bar
|-2.21 psi
|-0.15 bar
|-2.94 psi
|-0.20 bar
|-3.68 psi
|-0.25 bar
|-4.41 psi
|-0.30 bar
|-5.15 psi
|-0.35 bar
|-5.88 psi
|-0.40 bar
|-6.62 psi
|-0.45 bar
|-7.35 psi
|-0.50 bar
|-8.09 psi
|-0.55 bar
|-8.82 psi
|-0.60 bar
|-9.56 psi
|-0.65 bar
|-10.29 psi
|-0.70 bar
|-11.03 psi
|-0.75 bar
|-11.76 psi
|-0.80 bar
|-12.50 psi
|-0.85 bar
|-13.23 psi
|-0.90 bar
|-13.97 psi
|-0.95 bar
|-14.70 psi
|-1.01 bar
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Over the last few months the Toronto collective Prize Budget for Boys has attracted attention online and off for their project Pac-Mondrian, which transplants the game of Pac-Man into the similarly blippy grid of 1943 hit painting Broadway Boogie Woogie. In their update, Pac-Man's chomping is underscored by the kind of jazzy tune that inspired Mondrian, and each pod consumed triggers a syncopated hi-hat or other percussive flare. Players can put themselves inside the art online, as well as in person through the life-sized arcade cabinet that is currently on the Let's Play Art World Tour. With the conclusion of a recent stop at Toronto's Art Metropole, the artists have kicked off the sale of Pac-Mondrian merch, which appropriately aims to clone and cash in on their creation with such collectors items as authenticated proofs, postcards, and the forthcoming Pac-Mondrian Vacuum Cleaner. - Kevin McGarry
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