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Q: Does Texas Instruments Inc. stock have potential? -- C.M., via the Internet
A: The decision of major customers Nokia Corp. and Ericsson LM to work with additional suppliers has been a disappointment for the world's largest maker of cell phone chips.
With competitors such as STMicroelectronics and Infineon gaining momentum, the company decided to lay off more than 400 manufacturing workers in its headquarters city of Dallas.
Yet the 77-year-old firm does retain the edge in technological savvy in the most profitable segments of the mobile phone market. It is expanding its supplier relationship with Motorola Inc.
Semiconductors make up 95 percent of its sales, and about 40 percent of those chips are destined for cell phones. The calculators bearing the firm's name represent only about 5 percent of overall sales.
It has done a good job of fine-tuning its manufacturing strategy to make profits more consistent by outsourcing some production during peak periods.
Shares of Texas Instruments (TXN) are up 13 percent this year following last year's 10 percent decline. Although net income rose 10 percent in the third quarter, its forecast for fourth-quarter revenue was below the average expectation of Wall Street analysts.
In keeping with its practice of rewarding shareholders, Texas Instruments recently raised its dividend by 25 percent. It also announced plans to buy back an additional $5 billion of its shares, bringing its total buyback authorization since 2004 to $20 billion.
The firm's analog chip business is a high-margin operation exhibiting strength and growth potential. Analog products process voice, sound, pressure, temperature and electricity into digital signals that can be converted back into real-world signals.
Texas Instruments is the revenue leader in the analog field but has just a 13 percent share of the fragmented segment. It possesses numerous analog patents and has had strong research and development.
The consensus Wall Street analyst rating of Texas Instruments shares is "buy," according to Thomson Financial, consisting of 11 "strong buys," 10 "buys," 12 "holds," and one "underperform."
Worldwide microchip sales are expected to grow nearly 8 percent, to $277 billion, in 2008, double the pace of 2007, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association. Looking further ahead, chip sales are projected to surpass $400 billion in 2010, according to the industry group.
Texas Instruments earnings are expected to increase 6 percent this year and 18 percent next year. The five-year annualized growth estimate is 15 percent.
Q:The performance of Fidelity Leveraged Company Stock Fund looks great, but is it too risky? --V.L., via the Internet
A: Its name does have a risky sound to it. The fund buys leveraged stocks, which are shares of distressed companies issuing junk bonds.
Some of those companies may go under. Another risk is that the portfolio is concentrated in a few industries, with energy currently leading the way.
Manager Thomas Soviero, who is also a high-yield-bond manager, works to reduce risk by diversifying the portfolio into 225 stocks. Results most recently benefited from its semiconductor and tanker stocks.
The $8.3 billion Fidelity Leveraged Company Stock Fund (FLVCX) is up 17 percent over the past 12 months through Friday to rank in the top 6 percent of mid-cap growth and value funds. Its three-year annualized return of 19 percent places it in the upper 2 percent of its peers.
"If you look at how this fund fared in the last recession, which was great, there's reason to believe it would weather the next recession fairly well," said Jim Lowell, editor of the independent Fidelity Investor newsletter (www.fidelityinvestor.com), in Potomac, Md. "The reality is that it has not been risky and uses its unique platform to be remarkable at both defense and offense."
The fund was launched in 2000, and Soviero, who manages a couple of other funds as well, became its manager in 2003. Utilizing Fidelity's research team, he looks for attractively priced stock in companies that can improve through management change or new products.
"I think it's an excellent holding, especially for a growth or aggressive growth investor," Lowell said. "But even growth and income investors could own it for perhaps 5 percent of their overall portfolio to add diversification to their mix."
Among major concentrations, energy represents 27 percent, industrial materials 21 percent and business services 17 percent. Largest holdings were recently Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., ON Semiconductor Corp., Service Corporation International Inc., Teekay Corp., Forest Oil Corp., Chesapeake Energy Corp., El Paso Corp., Amkor Technology Inc. and Celanese Corp.
This "no-load" (no sales charge) fund requires a $10,000 minimum initial investment and has a low 0.83 percent annual expense ratio.
Q: What is the difference between pro forma and GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) earnings? It seems confusing. --V.P., via the Internet
A: Pro forma, a Latin term meaning "for the sake of form," when applied to earnings indicates results that may leave out some items that the company does not consider regular operations.
These unaudited numbers could, for example, exclude the restructuring costs after a merger or the amortization of certain assets. Although they can be helpful in giving a clearer picture of a company's performance, especially those in industries with unusual circumstances, some companies take liberties with pro forma to look better than they really are.
To keep the practice under control, the Securities and Exchange Commission enacted Regulation G in 2003, requiring that public companies using pro forma results in earnings releases also include GAAP figures and give a reconciliation of the two. It is always important to know the GAAP net income determined by accountants.
"Pro forma is selective about what's included in order to give a picture of what the company would have earned without these one-time costs and expenses and other items," said Sam Stovall, senior investment strategist with Standard & Poor's Corp. "GAAP, on the other hand, is specifically defined."
Andrew Leckey is a Tribune Media Services columnist. E-mail him at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Hello all, sorry I have been so quite on the blog front, there is so much going on at the moment...we are moving house in two weeks and I have my final wedding cake order tomorrow (Friday 18th October) So after that everything will change and it will be a whole other chapter in our lives.
Anyway I wanted to share with you a lovely cake I made recently for such a gorgeous bride. I just loved her colour scheme. A beautiful understated nude, it was just so pretty and I loved making the cakes and decorations.
She went for 50 mini cupcakes and a lovely 6 inch vanilla sponge top tier. The bride to be came to collect the cakes as she was setting them up the next day so I had the chance to pretty up the box with lace and lavender which I just love doing.

subset: commoncrawl


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Welcome to the WebmasterLingo.
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Sea-Bird Scientific combines the capabilities of Sea-Bird Electronics, WET Labs, and Satlantic to provide best-of-class sensors and systems for oceanographic research and environmental water quality monitoring.
In 2017, Sea-Bird Scientific reorganized to provide more focused support for its expanding customer base. We now provide products and services through a single Commercial Team with three functional units :
The Sales Team, led by Director Calvin Lwin, has been reorganized to provide a regional focus with sales associates at three sites.
The Marketing Team, led by Director Geoff MacIntyre, is focussed on providing key application information tailored to suit the varying needs of our different customer groups.
The Product Management Team, led by Director Nichole Halsey, is focussed on understanding the evolution of customer needs and translating insights into new product features.
Our customers include universities and research institutes; ocean observing programs; national, regional, and local government agencies/departments; energy companies; engineering firms; environmental consulting businesses; and navies throughout the world. Our products are used in numerous critical environmental research and monitoring efforts, ranging from determining the ocean's role in, and the associated impact from, climate changes to the monitoring of environmental impacts of major episodic events such as oil spills and tsunamis.
Our diverse and dynamic leadership team helps Sea-Bird Scientific to continue to shape our business to better serve our customers and the global science community, remaining firmly committed to the core attributes that built our companies. As testament to this, the previous owners of all three businesses that now comprise Sea-Bird Scientific remain deeply engaged with the business. The Sea-Bird Scientific senior leadership includes:
- Casey MoorePresident
- Dr. Tom Mitchell Vice President Commercial Team
- David MurphyDirector of Engineering Development
- Dr. Nordeen (Norge) LarsonChief Science Executive
- Dr. Andrew BarnardChief Technology Officer, WET Labs Site Leader
- David HelwigVice President of Operations
- Mark ThorpeVice President of Finance and CFO
Sea-Bird Scientific's parent company, Danaher, is a global science and technology innovator committed to helping customers solve complex challenges and improving quality of life around the world.
Sign up to receive news, advice, and product updates from Sea-Bird Scientific!


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Introduction to Finding Nonprofit Grants
Learn the ten most important things you need to know about finding grants for your nonprofit, and start looking for funders right away. The City Library will be holding five sessions of this workshop.
One Person can make a difference. And everyone should try.John F. Kennedy
Learn the ten most important things you need to know about finding grants for your nonprofit, and start looking for funders right away. The City Library will be holding five sessions of this workshop.
Sweet Reads Book Club4th Tuesday of Each Month, 7–9pm
Get to know new faces from your neighborhood and expose yourself to books you might not normally read at this monthly book club gathering. Gatherings taking place February and later will focus on a pre-selected title.
Sprague Branch Express Service Available Now
The City Library's Sprague Branch has reopened with limited service. The main level of the building is open with "express services," including holds pick-up, a small collection of materials, a handful of public access computers with shortened time limits, and free public WiFi Internet access.
If Opportunity doesn't knock, build a door.Milton Berle
Join The City Library and Salt Lake SCORE for this monthly workshop series that will help you start up and nurture your small business. You will meet with business mentors to discuss the steps involved in starting a business, and learn the keys to success.
Computer Classesat The City Library
The City Library offers a variety of computer classes every month, from introductory classes and basic skills to advanced classes in the Creative Lab.
The Salt Lake City Library hosts art exibits throughout the year. We also lists citywide exhibits here and in our events calendar. If you are a local artist, click on "Call for Entries" to get involved.
Exhibits are chosen by a staff committee according to the needs and interests of the community, the variety of shows, the artistic quality of the works, and the suitability of format for each library's physical space. Submissions are accepted twice annually: during the two-week periods prior to April 10 and October 10.
Teen artists and art instructors, submit your or your student's portfolio to be featured at The City Library! We are always on the lookout for original art exhibitions for the Main Library's Canteena Space on Level 2, and welcome submissions year-round.


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|System: PS Vita, PS3*
|Dev: Tecmo Koei
|Pub: Namco Bandai
|Release: September 3, 2013
|Players: 1-2
|Screen Resolution: 480p-1080p
|Violence, Blood, Suggestive Themes, Alcohol Reference, Mild Language, Crude Humor, Use of Tobacco
Various RPG-style systems extend the play value of Pirate Warriors 2. Opening red treasure chests during the level nets the player treasure, which can be used to level up characters or purchase music and images for the game's gallery, or collectible coins, which are used for character customization. Coins play double duty in that regard. They can be grouped together in a character's pockets in order to enhance strength, defense, and life. They are also used to fill out various Bingo cards that the player earns along the way, giving the characters special passive skills every time they get a Bingo. Secret coins, which are earned by meeting mysterious objectives on every level, are particularly powerful.
Where Pirate Warriors 2 cuts some corners is in the aesthetic department. Nobody is going to mistake the plastic-looking character models for their anime counterparts, and the environmental textures are often muddy and generic looking. There are, at least, a variety of environments on which to battle, though the battlefield setup is always a series of corridors and rooms, even outdoors. The best part of the graphic design is the special-effects work, which has created fantastically flashy combination attacks for every character. The worst part of the graphic design is the needless sexualization of the female characters. Swimming gear is certainly appropriate for the setting, but the breast-only jiggle physics and the fact that the camera pans over the scantily clad women in a way that it doesn't pan over the Speedo-wearing Frankie just caused me to roll my eyes and sigh.
Whether due to financial constraints or licensing issues, publisher Namco Bandai didn't spring for an English voice cast. All the spoken dialogue is in Japanese and subtitled, which doesn't bother me but will probably annoy some players, especially those who know and love Funimation's One Piece English voice cast. The music and sound effects are as one would expect for a game of this type, not spectacular, but they do their job of punctuating the action. I'm always amused by animated shows in which the characters yell out the names of their attacks, but fortunately, the game doesn't overdo that tendency, saving most call-outs for the occasional special attacks.
One Piece: Pirate Warriors 2 was created with an unusual attention to gameplay quality for a licensed game. It may not be a masterpiece, but it's simple fun that is especially good for short play sessions with a friend. Collecting coins, playing with different characters, and seeking out secrets in the various levels gives it some extra depth and a good deal of replay value. Overall, Tecmo Koei has done a great job of removing tedium from the game's systems and keeping the action at the forefront of the game. If you're looking for a game that isn't too challenging and is fun to play with a friend, this is a good choice, even if you're not a huge Once Piece fan. If you are a fan and don't mind that this isn't a canon story, it's a great way to step into the shoes of your favorite characters.
Becky Cunningham
Contributing Writer
Date: September 6, 2013
Game Features:


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Julie and Ron Volske originally from Pratt, now residing in Wichita, and the late Dr. Wayne Birney proudly announce the engagement of their son, Russell Trent Birney, formerly of Sublette and now residing in Chicago, to Emily Michelle Dvoracek, also of Chicago. She is the daughter of Barbara Shufeldt, Naperville, Ill.
The couple plans to marry Oct. 12 at Meson Sabika in Naperville.
Trent is a 2006 graduate of Sublette High School, Sublette, and studied at Park University in Parkville, Mo and the University of Kansas. He will be returning in the spring to finish his degree in elementary education. He is currently an aquatics supervisor at the McGaw YMCA in Evanston, Ill. He is the grandson of Merle and Lois Kennedy, Pratt.
Emily is a 2009 graduate of Richards High School, and received a bachelor's degree in sociology from Loyola University in Chicago. She will be returning in the fall to work towards her master's degree in physical therapy. She currently works as an assistant manager at Aldo.


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DICE is giving us another Battlefield 4 CTE patch which includes, the revive bug fix, Paracel Storm optimizations, improved netcode, UI sliders to control the cluttering on your screen and more.
Always good to see fixes but still the sound is pretty darn broken on some maps.
that's stupid, removing the quad bikes from zavod and limiting the ladders. plus the conquest changes to goldman. booooooo


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An emotional, soft and soothing piece of music that is designed to reflect its message that is in the title.
There is nothing in this music that draws attention to itself, making it very suitable as the background music for a website or a greeting card such as Valentine's Day, or any presentation that needs to reflect the peaceful and positive message.
The music features lush strings, a serene choir and a piano with some soft percussion in the background.
Thanks for purchasing and listening!
If you liked this, you may also enjoy my Uplifting and Emboldening Music Pack, which you can get to by clicking the following banner:


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First of all, it makes sense to have the tabbar on the bottom because the bottom is usually where you're looking in a terminal. It's more or less arbitrary in a browser, but the menus and such are at the top so the tabs might as well be there too (I'm sure there are a few more reasons to put them at the top). The menus argument is moot for terminals because you only look at the menus when you're using your mouse to select them, which pretty much guarantees you're not using the command prompt.
More importantly, the point of consistency is to make the apps easier to use (or if you prefer, usability is a better goal). If there is a compelling reason to make the app more usable at the cost of making it inconsistent in some way, usability should always win.


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Chris Muscarella studies stock market trading mechanisms and liquidity, intellectual property rights, executive compensation, and venture capital. His research has appeared in a number of academic journals, including the Journal of Finance, the Journal of Corporate Finance, the Journal of Financial Markets, the European Finance Review, and the Journal of Financial Economics. "I have published in a couple of different areas of corporate finance," explains Muscarella. "I often obtain research ideas by reading the Wall Street Journal and finding stories about companies that are taking some corporate action that I don't understand. Hopefully, my papers lead to a better understanding of why companies do some of the things they do."
Muscarella has been president of the Financial Management Association, program chair of the Financial Management Association Annual Meetings, associate editor of the Journal of Financial Research, and northeast regional director of the Financial Management Association. He has served as associate editor for the Survey and Synthesis Series, put out by the Financial Management Association, and as an ad hoc reviewer for numerous journals.
He also has taught at the Darden Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Virginia as well as served as a Senior Financial Economist, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
He was elected to Beta Gama Sigma in 1976 and served as SMU Chapter President of the organization from 1985 to 1990. He is a member of the American Finance Association, and the Financial Management Association.
Muscarella is Professor of Finance and L. W. 'Roy' and Mary Lois Clark Teaching Fellow at Penn State University. He has received the Penn State MBA Teaching Excellence Award 22 times. BusinessWeek has ranked him as a four-star professor in multiple editions of their Guide to the Best Business Schools. "In my teaching I often draw on my experiences at the Securities and Exchange Commission. One of my favorite classroom topics is insider trading and I can use my experiences helping to prosecute such cases at the SEC."
He earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering in 1974, an MBA in finance in 1976 from the University of Notre Dame, and a PhD in finance in 1983 from Purdue University.
Muscarella is an amateur genealogist and a fan of Notre Dame football.
With Conrad Ciccotello, "Control via Contract: A Study of Master Limited Partnership Agreements," Journal of Corporate Finance 7 (2001).
With Michael S. Piwowar, "Market Microstructure and Security Values: Evidence from the Paris Bourse," Journal of Financial Markets 4 (2001).
With Michele LaPlante, "Do Institutions Receive Comparable Execution in the NYSE and Nasdaq Markets? A Transaction Study of Block Trades," Journal of Financial Economics 45 (1997).
With Michael R. Vetsuypens, "Stock Splits: Signaling or Liquidity? The Case of ADR 'Solo-splits'," Journal of Financial Economics 42 (1996).
With C. B. Barry and M. R. Vetsuypens, "Underwriter Warrants, Underwriter Compensation, and the Cost of Going Public," Journal of Financial Economics 29 (1991).
The University of Chicago Booth School of Business |
University of Chicago |
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Acepromazine is used as a sedative and a pre-anesthetic agent. It also possesses the following properties: prevents vomiting, prevents muscle spasms, alleviates itching as a result of skin irritation and decreases temperature.
Acetaminophen is a medication that is used to treat fever and/or pain in humans. Cats have a genetic deficiency in a metabolic pathway in the liver that makes cats vulnerable to acetaminophen toxicity.
This medicine may be prescribed to treat glaucoma – a disease of the eye that increases intraocular pressure and produces defects in the field of vision. Acetazolamide will reduce the amount of pressure in the eye.
Albuterol is a medication that relaxes the muscles of the airways and improves breathing. Albuterol relieves the cough associated with asthma.
Aluminum hydroxide is used to reduce hyperphosphatemia (elevated blood levels of phosphate) in patients with kidney failure. Aluminum salts work by reducing the amount of phosphorus absorbed from the intestine by physically binding to dietary phosphorus.
An aortic thromboembolism results when a blood clot is dislodged and travels through the aorta, becoming lodged in a distant location. This causes severely reduced blood flow to the tissues receiving blood from that particular part of the aorta, leading to decreased oxygen in the tissues. Sudden paralysis and pain, usually in the rear legs, are the most common clinical signs of aortic thromboembolism.
In order to properly treat inflammatory or infectious ear conditions, topical ear medications are often necessary. Instilling ear medications into your cat's ears can be a challenging task, especially if they are uncomfortable. Have patience and contact your veterinarian if you are having difficulties.
The proper administration of eye medication is critical in helping your cat quickly recover from an eye injury or infection. Make sure you have carefully read the drug label and understand the prescription instructions.
Your cat has been diagnosed with feline asthma, and will require long-term medication for this condition, possibly for life. It is important that you follow the appropriate instructions for this treatment. The instructions specific to your cat have been checked off by your veterinary team.
Azodyl is a nutritional supplement that may decrease azotemia, a condition in which there is too much nitrogen—in the form of urea, creatinine, and other waste products—in the blood. Azotemia occurs in both dogs and cats that have chronic kidney disease (CKD). In theory, Azodyl works by adding nitrogen-consuming bacteria into the intestines. Azodyl should be considered an adjunct (secondary) treatment for CKD.


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The Wild West: Upsets have dotted the bracket in NCAA tournament's West Region
The West Region has been wild so far and could have a few more unexpected twists in store.
Ohio State and Arizona play in the opening semifinal game Thursday night at Staples Center in Los Angeles, a matchup that wasn't completely unexpected with the talent on these two teams.
The other semifinal is one few saw coming.
La Salle reached LA by winning three games in five days, giving the Explorers more NCAA tournament wins this year than in the previous 58 years combined.
Wichita State has won 109 games the past four seasons, yet plays under the shadow of Kansas and Kansas State in its own state and Creighton this season in the Missouri Valley Conference.
Teams with the worse seed have won seven of the 12 games in the region so far.


text: I had this problem, too. For some reason, I cannot bring up the slaves with the CD or I see this behavior. For me the fix was to make floppies with BeoSetup and use those to boot the slaves instead of CDs...I never tracked down the difference between the CD boot and the floppy, but there is something! YMMV Jarrod Smith On Fri, 3 Aug 2001, Sean Dilda wrote: > On Thu, 02 Aug 2001, Eric T. Miller wrote: > > > Clustering newbie, but not Linux newbie. Cluster is 6 Celeron500 with > > supported cards, install Scyld no problem on Master node, check IP > > connectivity with another Linux box(non-cluster) to ensure NIC's are up. > > When I boot the first slave node (w/Scyld CD) all goes well up to the RARP > > requests, which continue indefinatley. MAC address of slave shows up in > > BeoSetup, but status is marked as "down". I assume the node must be in "up" > > status before continuing with the next step, partitioning the slave from the > > front end machine. > > You said the MAC address of the slave showed up with a status of 'down', > so I am assuming you dragged it over to the configured nodes list. Did > you also click 'Apply' after dragging it? If you don't click 'Apply', > nothing actually gets changed, so the daemons still won't boot the node. > -- Jarrod A. Smith Research Asst. Professor, Biochemistry Asst. Director, Center for Structural Biology Computation and Molecular Graphics Vanderbilt University jsmith at structbio.vanderbilt.edu


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<—St Andrews, Jamaica Letters Between Lucy and Becky 1901-02—>
The Advertisement in The Gleaner
Mum had been consistent over the years in refusing to tell me anything about my father or allowing me to attempt to make contact with her family back in Kingston, Jamaica. Whenever I asked about either the reply was always the same. In response to the family question she would say "I don't want to see them, they'll only ask questions and, anyway, they're probably all dead by now". And in response to questions about my father she'd say "It's too painful to talk about".
At that stage I had no idea who my father was nor the circumstances surrounding my birth. In the nineteen forties, when I was born, there was a huge stigma attached to being an unmarried mother, coloured or not, and I assumed it was that stigma which was imbedded in my Mums psyche. I was later to find that there was another reason.
Her near death experience made me determined to find out more about my family, so I placed the following advertisement in The Gleaner, Jamaica's national daily newspaper.
A Result!
I suppose, because Mum had been so adamant over the years that all her famiy were dead, I didn't hold out much hope of a reply. But 24 hours after the ad appeared in the paper I had a phone call a woman called Audrey who was married to Anthony Shim. Anthony was Ruby's son and Ruby was an older sister of Mum's and he and his wife lived in London. It was highly emotional phone call for me particuarly when Audrey told me the family in Jamaica believed Mum to be dead. And within hours of that phone call I received a telegram from my Aunt Ruby:
On My Way
The first inhabitants of Jamaica, the Arawaks, gave the island its name Xaymaca – meaning "land of wood and water" and as I looked at it from the air, the name seemed very appropriate. Unfortunately, I wasn't going to see their Jamaica or even the idyllc island Mum had left behind so long ago. Kingston had changed a lot since Jamaica gained its Independence. Now, because of the violence, certain parts were 'no go' areas and visitors were warned to be vigilant to ensure their safety.
Our plane had started its descent into Kingston and I looked out of the small cabin window at the island I had spent much of my childhood daydreaming about. From the air, it looked stunning. Jamaica is a mountainous island with the rugged mountain ranges of the spectacular Blue Mountains to the east of the island. One of the flight attendants announced that we were in a holding pattern over Norman Manley Airport and would have to circle over the island for 10-15 minutes until we could make our final descent into Kingston.
And so the captain gave us a bird's eye view of Jamaica – I could see the smaller John Crow Mountains next to the Blue Mountain range. I thought I could have been flying over the Amazon Jungle as I looked down at a dense tropical forest no doubt completely uninhabited. A blue haze, from which the Mountains get their name from, wafted lazily over the top of them like a long pale blue gray chiffon scarf. Now we were flying over Cockpit Country in the center of the island where direct descendants of the Maroons still lived. The word Maroons comes from the Spanish word "marron" meaning brown.
The Maroons were slaves owned by the Spaniards when Spain ruled Jamaica. After the British conquered the Spaniards and took Jamaica for themselves, many of the slaves escaped into the mountains and forests in the remote Cockpit Country and set up communities there. The British soldiers tried on several occasions to recapture the slaves for themselves but the Maroons were fierce and resourceful fighters who could outsmart the British soldiers. They were led by a woman, the indomitable and formidable Nanny – now one of Jamaica's national treasures! Eventually a truce was called and the Maroons gained a considerable measure of self-government they still enjoy today. And every year on 6th January the Maroons celebrate the fact that they were the first black people in the West Indies to gain their freedom, nearly 100 years before Emancipation.
As we continued to fly over the island I could see through my cabin window rivers that criss-crossed over the island and ran from the mountains all the way down to the coastline. I could even see huge waterfalls on the side of the mountains, We carried on flying westward and there were miles and miles of white sandy beaches surrounded by the clean, clear sapphire-blue water of the Caribbean.
We passed over fertile fields crammed with healthy looking crops and I couldn't help wondering whether we were flying over fields where ganja was growing. Mum had told me how it was smoked quite openly when she was a child in Jamaica, most notably by my Great Aunt Lucy. I took one more look at the Blue Mountains we started our descent into Kingston.
"Welcome Home to Jamaica" Party for Marie
from l. to r. Patsy, Aunt Ruby, Marie and Stuart
<—St Andrews, Jamaica Letters Between Lucy and Becky 1901-02—>
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Ask the market, poll the economists, read the sheep entrails — it looks like we're getting a third round of bond purchases, known as quantitative easing, out of the Federal Reserve Thursday.
Oddsmakers say Ben Bernanke & Co. are also likely to extend the Fed's pledge to keep short-term rates at zero through the end of 2015.
Both actions — bond buying on the long end and jawboning on the short end — should keep the yield curve flat and low. True, ultra-low rates have failed to ignite GDP three years into the worst recovery since the Great Depression, but what's a central banker to do?
The thing is, whether we get QE3 or not, we're almost certainly headed for a return of choppy, volatile trading, strategists say.
Expectations of more QE, the European Central Bank's own bond-buying program (which was green-lighted by the German high court Wednesday), and more stimulus spending from China (on giant infrastructure projects) all look to be priced into the market, and then some.
The S&P 500 is up nearly 13% from its May 31 low. About half of that has come just since late July, when ECB President Mario Draghi pledged to save the euro. The ECB follow-up plan and German court approval have since only added to the market's euphoria.
So much for sell the news.
But plenty of fundamental hurdles, economic anxiety and political uncertainty are still strewn in the bulls' path.
With third-quarter earnings set to go negative, slower global growth, the November election and looming "fiscal cliff," don't be surprised it we hit a volatile, muddle-through, grind-higher trading pattern ahead.
"We still believe there is further upside potential for stocks and other risk assets, but given all of the uncertainty, we expect the rest of the year will see some heightened levels of volatility as investors remain quite nervous about the number of downside risks," Bob Doll, market strategist at BlackRock (NYSE:BLK), says in this week's note to clients.
More worrisome is Jeff Saut's take on upcoming market moves. The Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) investment strategist has a strong track record timing the market's trajectory, and his charts are flashing peak and pullback very soon.
"The election year cycle suggests a 'high' is due this month with a pullback into mid/late-October that sinks the footings for the year-end rally," Saut writes in this week's note to clients. "The catalyst for a decline should surface this week out of either the Fed meeting or the German constitutional court meeting. In any event, a near-term trading top is due."
And, make no mistake, the election is huge, because nothing is getting done on avoiding the fiscal cliff until the race for the White House is settled. As InvestorPlace contributor Jonathan Berr says: "The stakes couldn't be higher. The U.S. has to decide whether it wants to go down the path of austerity that has brought Europe to its knees or find a way to sensibly encourage economic growth while maintaining fiscal discipline."
Perhaps the best take on the relative importance of QE 3 versus the fiscal cliff comes from LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) chief market strategist Jeff Kleintop.
Yes, the Fed is likely to launch QE3, Kleintop opines, but if we go over the fiscal cliff, it'll be "like getting a flu shot before storming the beach at Normandy."
As of this writing, Dan Burrows held no positions in any of the aforementioned securities.


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Don't forget to water your Christmas tree
It can be a matter of life or death
It can be a matter of life or death
It can be a matter of life or death
The holiday season is a lovely time for high-stress traveling, buying people things that they neither particularly want or need, and contentious encounters with your extended family. But perhaps the greatest holiday tradition is the annual installment of an enormous fire hazard in your living room.
Just in case you forgot that keeping your Christmas tree well-watered can be a literal matter of life or death, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has prepared this festive holiday greeting to remind you. It's similar to the video above, and further proves how vital it is to make sure your tree is watered.
May your days be merry and bright, and may all your Christmases be appropriately water-saturated and not actively on fire.


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Find Hotels in Staffanstorp
Staffanstorp Hotel Deals from ZUJI
Looking for cheap accommodation in Staffanstorp, Sweden? ZUJI helps you compare hotels in destinations all over the world for any time of year, whether youre booking early to secure a great rate or trying to snap up a cheap last minute room. Compare TripAdvisor reviews, browse our comprehensive range of Staffanstorp hotels and make your travel booking with ZUJI today!


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The insular dwarfism seen in Pleistocene elephants has come to epitomize the island rule; yet our understanding of this phenomenon is hampered by poor taxonomy. For Mediterranean dwarf elephants, where the most extreme cases of insular dwarfism are observed, a key systematic question remains unresolved: are all taxa phyletic dwarfs of a single mainland species Palaeoloxodon antiquus (straight-tusked elephant), or are some referable to Mammuthus (mammoths)? Ancient DNA and geochronological evidence have been used to support a Mammuthus origin for the Cretan 'Palaeoloxodon' creticus, but these studies have been shown to be flawed. On the basis of existing collections and recent field discoveries, we present new, morphological evidence for the taxonomic status of 'P'. creticus, and show that it is indeed a mammoth, most probably derived from Early Pleistocene Mammuthus meridionalis or possibly Late Pliocene Mammuthus rumanus. We also show that Mammuthus creticus is smaller than other known insular dwarf mammoths, and is similar in size to the smallest dwarf Palaeoloxodon species from Sicily and Malta, making it the smallest mammoth species known to have existed. These findings indicate that extreme insular dwarfism has evolved to a similar degree independently in two elephant lineages.
1. Introduction
Dwarfism is a well-known evolutionary response of large mammals to insular environments, forming part of the 'island rule', whereby large mammals evolve smaller size, and small mammals larger size, on islands [1]. Mediterranean Pleistocene dwarf elephants, such as the Siculo-Maltese species Palaeoloxodon falconeri, represent some of the most extreme examples of insular dwarfism and have come to epitomize this phenomenon. However, poor taxonomy has hampered research into the causes and mechanisms of insular body size change in elephants and, by extension, broader topics such as the island rule.
The generic affinity of Mediterranean dwarf elephants is the subject of ongoing debate (see the electronic supplementary material). With the exception of the Sardinian Mammuthus lamarmorai, Mediterranean island elephants were thought to be phyletic dwarfs of a single mainland taxon, Palaeoloxodon antiquus, the straight-tusked elephant [2]. A study by Poulakakis et al. [3] challenged this consensus, presenting ancient DNA (aDNA) evidence for Mammuthus (mammoth) affinity of a rib bone fragment from Cape Malekas in Crete, the type locality for Palaeoloxodon creticus [4]. On the basis of this aDNA evidence and the purported geological age of this specimen (earlier than 800 ka), Poulakakis et al. recommended that Cretan P. creticus be revised to Mammuthus, and further suggested that Sicilian and Maltese taxa might also be referable to this genus. Their study was immediately challenged [5,6], and its credibility questioned owing to 'serious theoretical and methodological flaws' ([6], p. 56; see the electronic supplementary material). Poulakakis et al. defended their findings, but acknowledged the need for independent corroboration of their work ([7], p. 61); such corroboration is still outstanding.
Thus, the identification of 'P'. creticus as a mammoth currently rests on the assertion that material from Cape Malekas pre-dates the arrival of Palaeoloxodon in Europe, precluding derivation from that taxon [8,9]. Temporal arguments are not sufficient to merit taxonomic revision, but the chronology is in any case open to question. The antiquity of Cape Malekas is far from certain, being based on a hypothesized biostratigraphical relationship with material from the Katharo Plateau (East Crete), which was in turn dated using a discredited amino acid racemization (AAR) methodology [10,11]. Even if the oldest Katharo Plateau AAR date is given credence (738 ka ± 20% [10]), the first appearance of P. antiquus in Europe dates to around the Bruhnes–Matuyama boundary (ca 780 ka) [12]; thus it cannot be ruled out as a potential ancestor, given that insular dwarfing can occur rapidly [13].
The generic attribution of the Cape Malekas elephants therefore remains uncertain. Despite well-preserved type material displaying a number of taxonomically informative characters, there has been no systematic attempt to assess their morphological affinity, although Bate [4] and Mol et al. [8] noted the low-crowned, Mammuthus meridionalis-like nature of the teeth. Here, we use an alpha-taxonomic approach to perform the first such analysis, comparing the Cape Malekas elephant material, including newly discovered in situ specimens, with Late Pliocene to Middle Pleistocene mainland European Palaeoloxodon and Mammuthus. We further compare the Malekas material with other insular dwarf elephants to take account of the allometric effects of insular dwarfism on taxonomically informative characters.
2. Material and methods
(a) Sample
We consider P. antiquus and M. meridionalis (the proposed ancestral taxa of 'P'. creticus), and extend our analyses to two further species: Mammuthus rumanus and Mammuthus trogontherii. These species were present in Europe during the Late Pliocene (M. rumanus), Early Pleistocene (M. meridionalis) or Middle Pleistocene (M. trogontherii and P. antiquus). We limit our Cretan elephant sample to those specimens collected by Dorothea Bate, housed in the Natural History Museum (London), which are clearly labelled and registered with the locality 'Cape Maleka'. This sample lacks cranial and post-cranial material [4], and thus taxonomic assessment must be based on the well-preserved molars (which include the lectotype of 'P'. creticus fixed by Osborn [14], a lower third molar (M3), NHM M9381; figure 1b).
In elephants, the M3 is the final tooth in the dental series. It has a distinctive curved and posteriorly tapering morphology ensuring metric comparisons are made between homologous elements in different-sized taxa. Non-metric occlusal surface characters are applicable to the entire dental ontogenetic series (dP2-M3) [14–16], and thus pre-M3 creticus teeth were scored in addition to M3s (total sample n = 6). Taxonomic or size-informative data (see below) were collected for M3s of the following taxa (locality information; source collection—abbreviations defined in the electronic supplementary material; total sample size):'P'. creticus (Cape Malekas; NHM; n = 3); P. antiquus (various sites, UK and Germany, ca 500−120 ka; NHM, SMNS; n = 26); M. trogontherii (Süssenborn, Germany, ca 600 ka; SMNS, SRSQP; n = 28); M. meridionalis (Upper Valdarno, Italy, ca 2.0−1.8 Ma; NMB, MPM, MGPF; n = 26). Mammuthus rumanus data were collected from the literature [17–19] (various sites, UK and eastern Europe, 3.5−3.0 Ma; n = 4). Data were also collected for M3s of the two smallest Mediterranean dwarf Palaeoloxodon species, Palaeoloxodon falconeri (Luparello and Spinagallo Caves, Sicily; UCat, GM; n = 17) and Palaeoloxodon cypriotes (Imbohary, Cyprus; NHM; n = 4). Data are available from the authors on request (Palaeoloxodon data from V.L.H.; Mammuthus data from A.M.L.). We restricted the P. falconeri sample to Sicilian localities, given ongoing debate over the conspecificity of Maltese and Sicilian elephants [20,21]. In addition, total bone length (TL: from most proximal end of lateral tuberosity to most distal end of lateral condyle) and diaphyseal length (DL: between proximal and distal epiphyseal lines, taken on anterior surface) were collected for adult humeri of P. falconeri from Spinagallo Cave, Sicily (UCat; n = 7), Palaeoloxodon tiliensis, a medium-sized (approx. 810 kg) dwarf Palaeoloxodon from Charkadio Cave, Tilos [22] (UoA; n = 6) and M. lamarmorai from Sardinia (MSNF). 'Adult' is here defined as those bones with fused distal epiphyses. Additional literature data and unpublished M. exilis data collected by Larry Agenbroad were used to supplement our insular mammoth dataset (table 1).
(b) Taxonomically informative characters
An alpha-taxonomic approach akin to that of Higham et al. [26] is justified here because (i) there are only two elephant genera (Mammuthus and Palaeoloxodon) on the European mainland during the Pleistocene, comprising a few very well-known species; (ii) it is biogeographically almost certain that one of these species was the ancestor of the Cretan dwarf species; (iii) the scoreable/measurable traits on the existing Cretan specimens are well-characterized and widely used to discriminate Mammuthus from Palaeoloxodon in mainland material. With these provisos, the absence of Palaeoloxodon apomorphies, and the presence of plesiomorphic character states observed in Mammuthus but not in Palaeoloxodon, can be used as evidence for Mammuthus affinity, and vice versa.
Three non-metric characters of the occlusal surface are accepted for discriminating Palaeoloxodon from Mammuthus [15]: the shape of the enamel loop visible on the occlusal surface; the early-wear pattern of that loop; and the existence and shape of any enamel 'expansions' in the mesial region of the enamel figure ('mesial expansions'). Enamel-loop shape is scored in mid-wear as: 0, parallel-sided enamel figures that sometimes expand to form a sub-circular mesial region (diagnostic for Mammuthus); or 1, lozenge- or cigar-shaped (diagnostic for Palaeoloxodon). Early-wear pattern is scored as: 0, equal-sized enamel rings, or a sub-circular mesial ring between two elongated rings (diagnostic for Mammuthus); or 1, a long central loop between two much shorter loops, the 'short–long–short' pattern (diagnostic for Palaeoloxodon). Mesial expansions are coded as: 0, absent or vestigial (characteristic of derived Mammuthus species and seen in P. antiquus); 1, rounded loops (the plesiomorphic state for the Elephantidae—occurs in early Mammuthus, but not in Palaeoloxodon); or 2, pointed or 'triangular' (common in Palaeoloxodon). Mesial expansion character state 1 is therefore diagnostic for Mammuthus in this context, while state 0 is consistent with Mammuthus but cannot rule out Palaeoloxodon in the absence of other characters.
Metric characters followed standard protocols [15,27], except molar width (W), enamel thickness (ET) and lamellar frequency (LF; see the electronic supplementary material for details). M3 plate count (PC), hypsodonty index (HI: crown height/width × 100), relative length index (RLI: length/width × 100), ET and LF are useful for species-level identification in full-size elephants (see electronic supplementary material, S2) and are thus potentially informative on Cretan to mainland elephant taxon affinity within a genus. The potential impact of allometric change on these characters in dwarf taxa is poorly understood. For example, LF is expected to be of limited taxonomic value in dwarf taxa: full-sized elephants have been shown to exhibit intraspecific size-related trends in M3 teeth [28], and through the molar ontogenetic series (dP2-M3) [29]. Only W, length (L) and crown height (CH) are assumed a priori to be size characters and thus discounted as taxonomically useful (these can be used in size comparisons between the Cape Malekas elephants and other dwarf elephant taxa). The taxonomic value of PC, HI, RLI, ET and LF was assessed with reference to evolutionary patterns in Palaeoloxodon dwarfs (see §3).
Significant difference of creticus mean values from (i) mainland taxa and (ii) other dwarf elephant taxa was tested using ANOVA across species-groups, followed by a Tukey–Kramer honestly significant difference (HSD) test, a post hoc mean-comparison method that corrects for experiment-wide error resulting from multiple pair-wise comparisons [30]. Sample sizes are small (and thus the power of the statistical test to detect differences is relatively low, and prone to type II error), but this equates to a conservative test of morphological dissimilarity. Range data were used to identify morphological similarity, and minimize the type II error rate: if there is no significant difference in mean values, creticus data must also fall within that taxon's range to be considered morphologically similar.
3. Results and discussion
(a) New field data
In 2011, one of us (V.L.H.), with George Iliopoulos, University of Patras, located a fossiliferous deposit on Cape Malekas consistent with the description of the type locality of 'P'. creticus by Bate [4,31]. Coastal cliff retreat on Cape Malekas has exposed fossil specimens in a well-cemented clastic deposit approximately 20–30 m above the present sea level, which appears to have no internal stratigraphy. Sediments are mostly fine-grained sands that fill fissures of a previously active karst system. Multiple disarticulated bone and tooth fragments are found within the matrix, which, in some localities, is capped by horizontal flowstone of up to 10 cm thickness. This deposit is the most fossil-rich of several 2–3 m wide 'tongues' of clastic sediment found in close proximity to one another, at roughly the same altitude, in the Cape Malekas region.
A lower molar fragment (field number, fn: MAL_11_01; figure 1d), a probable M2 (fn: MAL_11_02; visible in longitudinal section, figure 1e) and an adult humerus in longitudinal section (fn: MAL_11_04; figure 1f) were measured in situ (removal was not possible without risking damage to the specimens). The natural mould of the occlusal surface of a molar, probably an upper (fn: MAL_11_03; figure 1c), was also discovered, and can be unequivocally identified as the mould of the molar figured by Van der Geer et al. ([32], p.53), collected in the Malekas region by Paul Sondaar in 1973 (Jon de Vos 2011, personal communication).
MAL_11_02 has a PC of ∞10x; it is worn down almost to the root at the front, but a large root interpreted as the anterior root is visible (figure 1e), suggesting that only the anterior talon has been lost, and giving a reconstructed M2 PC of x10x. Molar widths and heights overlap considerably in M2 and M3 teeth in an elephant species; measurements on both in situ molars (including unworn crown heights) are consistent with Cape Malekas M3s (including type material) collected by D. M. A. Bate, and are thus probably conspecifics (table 1).
(b) Genus attribution
Cape Malekas teeth from the Bate collection, including the creticus type specimen NHM M9381 (figure 1b), were scored as follows (data in the electronic supplementary material): mid-wear enamel-loop shape '0' = 4/4 (i.e. four out of four specimens that could be scored for this character show character state '0'), '1' = 0/4 (note however that M9377 also shows character state '1' in late wear; see the electronic supplementary material); early-wear pattern '0' = 3/3, '1' = 0/3; the shape of mesial expansions '0' = 3/4, '1' = 1/4, '2' = 0/4. Palaeoloxodon falconeri and P. cypriotes M3s, conversely, show an enamel-loop shape typical of P. antiquus (16/16 and 4/4 scored as '1', respectively), and mesial expansions that are either diagnostic for P. antiquus (P. falconeri: 16/16 scored as '2'), or consistent with it (P. cypriotes: 4/4 scored as '0'). All scoreable P. falconeri M3s also show an early-wear pattern diagnostic for P. antiquus (10/10 scored as '1'); no P. cypriotes teeth were at the appropriate wear stage to be scored for this characteristic. The creticus hypodigm thus displays occlusal surface traits that are diagnostic for mainland Mammuthus. Furthermore, the presence of rounded or 'looped' mesial expansion on M9378a suggests affinity with early Mammuthus taxa, M. rumanus or M. meridionalis, rather than the more derived M. trogontherii (see electronic supplementary material, S4). The Cape Malekas elephants are thus identified as mammoths, and are henceforth referred to the genus Mammuthus.
(c) Affinity with mainland species
Differences between Mammuthus creticus and full-sized mammoth species may result from allometric changes associated with dwarfism, as observed in P. falconeri skull shape [33,34], or reflect adaptation to small body size and/or insular feeding niche. Although we cannot tease apart these effects given the paucity of evidence, the Palaeoloxodon dwarfing model provides a useful analogue. We identified traits that (i) do not retain a taxonomic signal within Palaeoloxodon dwarfs and (ii) are shared between Palaeoloxodon dwarfs and M. creticus, and which thus may indicate size-related and/or adaptive convergence.
Palaeoloxodon cypriotes and P. falconeri are both significantly different from P. antiquus for mean M3 PC, LF and ET (HSD test of all three taxa, p < 0.05; see the electronic supplementary material for full statistical tables), but not for RLI or HI. Hence, PC, LF and ET are not robust indicators of taxonomic affinity for Palaeoloxodon dwarf taxa, and thus may not be for Mammuthus. Mammuthus creticus is also similar in PC, RLI and LF to the similarly sized P. falconeri and P. cypriotes (figure 2), further undermining the taxonomic usefulness of PC and LF. The strong size-dependency of LF in full-sized elephants [28,29] predicts this for any dwarf elephant, and significant differences in mean LF also exist between M. creticus and all full-sized mammoth taxa. Size effects on other characters are less well understood, but this approach suggests that PC should be interpreted with care and that HI is the most taxonomically useful character (table 2).
PC in M. creticus matches meridionalis ancestry without character change (mean M3 PC = 12 and 12.9, respectively), but following the Palaeoloxodon model, could have been achieved by reduction from the M. trogontherii state (mean M3 PC = 19). Mammuthus creticus falls above the M. rumanus range for both PC and RLI, but samples are small and the differences are not statistically significant (figure 2). The strongest evidence against M. trogontherii ancestry comes from the low HI, which would require a further character change from this high-crowned taxon not predicted by the Palaeoloxodon model. Mammuthus creticus is instead similar in HI to both M. rumanus and M. meridionalis, indicating an affinity with the low-crowned 'early' mammoths that is consistent with occlusal surface data. Although statistical support for M. meridionalis–M. creticus similarity is statistically more robust, with an implied colonization between 2.5 and 0.8 Ma, we cannot reject creticus affinity with M. rumanus. The latter could imply a Late Pliocene origin for M. creticus (known range of M. rumanus ca 3.5−2.5 Ma [17]), significantly earlier than previously thought.
(d) Comparison with other insular dwarf elephants
Insular mammoths are known from Sardinia (M. lamarmorai [35]) and the Californian Channel Islands (Mammuthus exilis [25,36]), as well as Wrangel Island (northeast Siberia) and St Paul (Pribilof Islands, Alaska; Mammuthus primigenius [23,24]). MAL_11_04 provides us with the first data for M. creticus skeletal dimensions and is particularly valuable, given that teeth can be problematic for body size estimation, especially in insular dwarfs [37,38]. Although measurement protocol cannot be exactly equivalent for in situ and disarticulated museum specimens, inclusion of this specimen extends our exploration of body size differences in dwarf elephants.
Mammuthus creticus falls below the observed ranges for M. exilis and Wrangel Island M. primigenius M3s, and for M. exilis adult humerus shaft lengths (tables 1 and 3). Only one M. larmarmorai M3 and one adult humerus are available for comparison with M. creticus. Body mass estimates based on humerus length indicate that at 310 kg, M. creticus was less than half the size of the approximately 750 kg M. lamarmorai (table 3). Although this degree of difference is observed in sexual size dimorphism of living elephants [42], elephant teeth are similar in absolute size in both sexes [43]. The M. lamarmorai M3 width is almost twice that of the M. creticus mean M3 value, and this is inconsistent with teeth being drawn from two populations of similar-sized, sexually dimorphic elephants (even allowing that, within an individual, M3s are somewhat wider than M3s). Mammuthus creticus is thus smaller than all other known insular mammoths, based on both dental and post-cranial evidence.
Mammuthus creticus molars are wider than, but similar in length and crown height to, those of P. falconeri and P. cypriotes (table 1), resulting in a tooth that is larger overall, though significantly different only from P. falconeri (figure 2a). The M. creticus adult humerus falls within, or just above, the upper range of P. falconeri for TL and DL, respectively, and well below the range of P. tiliensis (the next largest dwarf Palaeoloxodon species after P. falconeri and P. cypriotes [22]) for both DL and TL (table 3). This suggests a body size closer to P. falconeri (shoulder height: approximately 1 m; mass: approximately 240 kg) than P. tiliensis (1.5 m; approximately 810 kg), which is similar in size to M. exilis and M. lamarmorai (table 3). Thus, with an estimated shoulder height of 1.13 m, M. creticus is not only the smallest known mammoth species, but shows a degree of insular dwarfism approaching that of the smallest known elephant, P. falconeri.
Both the smallest (P. falconeri, P. cypriotes, M. creticus) and the largest (Sicilian Palaeoloxodon mnaidriensis, Palaeoloxodon creutzburgi) dwarf elephants occurred on the largest Mediterranan islands, belying a simple link between island area and degree of dwarfism. However, this reflects current, not palaeo-, island area, and while there are significant difficulties in such reconstructions (not least a lack of robust geochronology), palaeogeography is an essential element in determining the environmental drivers of island dwarfism. An early Pleistocene (M. meridionalis) ancestry for M. creticus would imply an island area similar to that of present-day Crete. However, a Late Pliocene origin (from M. rumanus) would suggest that the small-sized M. creticus evolved on a smaller island than previously thought, because the Cretan region is thought to have comprised a series of palaeoislands until 3 Ma [44]. Bonfiglio et al. [45] have similarly suggested that pre-Middle Pleistocene (the estimated age of P. falconeri [46]) Sicily was composed of two smaller palaeoislands within a Calabrian Arc archipelago.
4. Conclusion
This study provides morphological evidence of Mammuthus affinity for M. creticus, independent of the disputed aDNA and geochronological evidence. Early-wear pattern and enamel figure morphology in M. creticus are diagnostic for Mammuthus, while mesial expansion shape, relative crown height and PC suggest taxonomic affinity with either M. rumanus or M. meridionalis. Mammuthus meridionalis was extinct in Europe by 800 ka, or possibly 700 ka [41], placing an upper bound on the arrival of M. creticus's ancestor on Crete. However, as we cannot rule out M. rumanus as a possible progenitor, the lower bound for isolation on Crete could potentially occur as far back as 3.5 Ma, significantly earlier than previously thought. Mammuthus creticus is similar in size to the smallest dwarf elephant species, P. falconeri, and smaller than all other known mammoth species. Our taxonomic reassessment and morphological comparisons show that extreme insular dwarfism occurred in Mammuthus, not just in Palaeoloxodon, and that M. creticus is the smallest mammoth ever to have evolved.
We thank George Iliopolous (University of Patras, Greece), David Richards (University of Bristol, UK) and Adrian Glover (NHM) for fieldwork assistance and manuscript comments/advice. We thank Larry Agenbroad for provision of his revised M. exilis summary data. Collections access: A. Currant (NHM), C. di Patti (GM), F. Sciuto (UCat), G. Theodorou (UAth), M. Patou-Mathis (IPH), R. Zeigler (SMNS), O. Sandrock (HLD), O. Hampe (HumU) and S. Dominici (MSNF). We also thank the two anonymous reviewers to help us improve this manuscript. This work was supported by NERC standard grant NE/F017839/1 and the Systematics Research Fund.
- Received March 23, 2012.
- Accepted April 18, 2012.
- This journal is © 2012 The Royal Society


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HRD TV brings you closer to the industry's
most influential leaders and thinkers. Click on the videos below to watch the interviews:
As the pace of change increases, businesses need to become more agile. Technology can play a key role. HCTV sat down with Foxtel's Simone Shugg, executive director, people & culture, to discuss how her organisation has benefitted from tech innovations in recruitment and L&D.


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U.S. Olympic kayaker Caroline "Bam Bam" Queen '14, Davidson's first Olympic competitor as a current Davidson student, is "training hard and recovering well" from that daily effort in London's Olympic village, according to her latest blog posts (see links below) and emails.
"I'm excited to be here representing the USA at the Olympic level, I'm training hard and taking in the whole experience," Queen emailed on Tuesday afternoon.
Queen's Olympic debut is scheduled the afternoon 2:12 p.m. London time, Monday, July 30. (See NBC link for full schedule.)
Hailing from Darnestown, Md., Queen found her passion at age nine.
"Kayaking was a unique sport with new challenges. Even though the other kids were two or three years older with more experience, the hardest part was being patient with myself. Being impatient helped me, because I was always on the upper end of the learning curve, always pushing myself. I still strive to be as good as the best people."
Kayaking was partly responsible for her coming to Davidson. Her kayaking friend Austin Kieffer '12, who also competed in Olympic trials earlier this year, had chosen Davidson partly because of its proximity to the U.S. National Whitewater Center.
"I thought if Austin can make it work at Davidson, it might be the right place for me, too. When I came to visit, he was just having a ball," she recalled.
From her first semester at Davidson, Queen knew she was in the right place. A psychology major with a minor in education, she put her interest in behavioral economics to work in the Davidson Sports Marketing Association. "It makes me think creatively, and it does some good."
In academics, too, Queen paddles the rapids between patience and pushing through. "The distribution requirements encourage exploration into subjects you might not have pursued," she said. "I appreciate the way Davidson pushes me. I think it makes me better."
For now, paddling is the prism through which she sees the world, even the possibility of Davidson study abroad in an Arab-speaking country. "It's the only region of the world I'll probably never travel to for kayaking purposes!"
Three other former Davidson students have gone on to the Olympics. Rocky Crosswhite '69 started on three Australian basketball teams, two of them as captain in Mexico City in 1976 and in Moscow in 1980. Billy Masse '88 played baseball on the United States team in 1988 in Seoul. International one-yearstudent Robert Eenhoorn played for the Netherlands in Sydney in 2000.
And Head Baseball Coach Dick Cooke has been a Team USA coach twice, on manager Davey Johnson's staff at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China, and as a member of Tommy Lasorda's staff at the 2000 Olympics in Australia.
For more on Carolina Queen in London, visit these links:


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General: RTSP live monitoring sessions fail when using CUBE
From DocWiki
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RTSP live monitoring sessions fail when using CUBE
|Problem Summary
|When using a mixed load in a CUBE deployment, multiple RTSP live monitoring sessions failed (RTSP packets were dropped). Recordings may also sound very choppy on playback.
|Error Message
|Possible Cause
|CUBE may be using a lower Ethernet cable connection (for example, 100 MB connection) instead of the suggested 1 GB Ethernet cable connection. Under a heavy load, this connection may cause multiple IP packets to drop.
|Recommended Action
| If your CUBE deployment is running heavy loads, verify that the Ethernet cable connecting CUBE to the switch is 1 GB.
|Release 8.5(3), Release 8.5(4), Release 9.0(1).
|Associated CDETS #


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Home > News & Events > Wayland Press Release Archives > 2002 News Releases > July 2002 > Wayland's recruiting teams on the road for the 20th year
Wayland's recruiting teams on the road for the 20th year
Miles away from the high plains of Texas, 18 young people have risen early in the morning, pulled on rugged clothing and sturdy shoes for the day ahead. Packed with games, activities and recreation, the day is far from relaxing, and these students won't see their bunks again likely until later into the evening.
It's a summer marked by long days, short nights and travel across Texas, New Mexico and into Colorado, all in the name of reaching students and having fun. Such is the life of the three recruiting teams from Wayland Baptist University: Rec teams and Rejoice.
Those in charge - namely WBU Admissions Director Shawn Thomas, who oversees the groups and sets their schedules each summer - know such a venture can be difficult, expensive and downright grueling. But each summer, Wayland students file in for applications to serve on one of the teams.
This summer marks the 20th year recruiting teams of this nature have served Wayland in the field. The practice first started in 1982, when musical ensemble Rejoice hit the road, performing primarily in churches around the state and region. Two other musical groups - His Brass and Tribute - also started touring that summer, again following the church circuit. A few years later, the groups began visiting church camps, serving as worship leaders and doing some recreation at the camps.
By the late 1980s, only Rejoice was still touring, with the other two groups gone by the wayside. But a new group was now on the road: Rec Team. Designed specifically to provide recreation services at camps, rec teams began visiting state encampments and those in New Mexico as a recruiting arm of the admissions office at Wayland.
"The initial reason for these teams was to be recruitment and ministry teams, and that's the same reason we still do it today," said Thomas. "We continue to do it because of the impact on students we encounter, both spiritually and in relationships that possibly might lead to recruiting contacts."
Whatever the formula, it obviously is working. New students to Wayland site encounters with WBU teams - sometimes many years earlier - as having an impact on their decision to come to the university. Even Thomas recalls having a Rejoice team at camp during his youth days.
Now nearly three-quarters of the way through their summer tour, the teams have seen lots of travel already. Rejoice will spend six of their ten weeks at Highland Lakes, a Baptist camp near Austin, also traveling to Sivells and Inlow camps in New Mexico, Latham Springs in Aquilla and Big Country in Lueders. The two rec teams have also been to Highland Lakes, and will make appearances at Chaparral in Iowa Park, Circle Six in Stanton, Alto Frio in Leakey, Inlow, Big Country, and Plains Baptist Assembly in Floydada. A few Colorado camps are also on the circuit.
A reunion of those who have participated over the years in one of Wayland's recruiting teams is planned for homecoming 2002, set for Nov. 22-23. Details are available by calling alumni director Joe Provence at (806) 291-3600


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I haven't seen the Twilight movies all the way through, but I got in to re-creating some of the costume in Barbie sizes this past month. Of course, I have to have new blood for my Barbie costume obsession… no pun intended.
To start off, I made the notorious Carolina Herrera Wedding Gown that Bella wears in the new "Breaking Dawn" film. I used poly-silk for the dress. I made a sparkle-organza overlay for the open back and hand-stitched fancy beaded lace around the opening. I also hand-stitched 80+ pearl beads down the entire back of the dress. I put venice lace along the bottom of the sleeves, and hand-stitched pearl beads on top. I even stitched satin ribbon to the front of the dress to mimick the seam lines of the real one. For the veil, I used a little off-white tulle and a cut-up piece of a silver metal bead-cap for the "barrette".
Next, I made the "Honeymoon" Dress that she also wears in "Breaking Dawn". That one was much easier to sew, but a little difficult to figure out. I made it out of tan cotton. I did princess seams in the front of the lined bodice, a high waist seam, and a skirt with darts. I made up the top pattern myself, and used a Barbie skirt pattern that I had already. I used black narrow satin ribbon for the leather belt Bella wears with the dress, and stitched it down.
After that, I made the "Prom" ensemble from the first movie, "Twilight". I used a pre-ruffled knit fabric for the skirt, so I wouldn't have to make the ruffles individually. For the top of the dress, I used matching cotton. The dress was relatively easy, except for the fact that the new Simplicity Barbie pattern I used for the top was like two sizes too small, haha. For the "Bolero" sweater/jacket, I used really smooth microsuede in cream. I hand-embroidered the blue & pink flowers on it, and hand-sewed the beads. For the clutch purse, I essentially just "giftwrapped" a rectangle of cardboard in some off-white poly-satin and hotglued it.
Next were the outfits which Bella & Edward wore when playing Chess on their Honeymoon in "Breaking Dawn". I used black and white cotton for her dress, and sewed small crochet cotton lace to the hem. The pattern I used was a Mccalls Barbie/Bratz/Liv pattern, but I ended up using the 12 1/2" Liv size, because the Barbie size was tinyyy and wouldn't even fit on the doll. For Edward's shirt, I used super-stretchy striped knit, which was probably intended for leggings. I used the matte side of tan polished cotton for the pants, and topstitched the "pockets". I also made two striped rust cushions that were on the couch in the honeymoon cottage. I used red striped cotton and overdyed it brown. For the "chessboard" I bought a travel magnetic chess set, and painted the pieces red and white.
Lastly, I made the green dress and black bolero Bella wears on her birthday in "New Moon". The dress is made of green taffeta. I machine crazy-stitched black vines on it and glued black sequins on it too. The bolero is just black broadcloth.
Making all of the outfits was really fun. It's an added challenge having never seen the costumes in the actual movies, and just having photos to go by.


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Actress Heather Graham has penned an open letter to herself as a teenager, promising her "nerdy" younger version she will one day be a bombshell.
The Hangover star wrote the note for Britain's Glamour magazine to dish out the advice she needed to transform from a studious pupil into a Hollywood A-lister.
She writes, "Because you're smart and get good grades, you're made to feel undesirable, but you know that fantasy you have - of being the 'attractive girl'? Soon, you're going to be cast to play pretty girls and you're going to meet a stylist, so you won't be wearing clothes your mom picked up at (bargain clothes retailer) Dress For Less any longer."
The 42-year-old blonde beauty also warns young Heather her future holds a fair share of rocky romances, adding, "You haven't been on many dates yet, but you will, so brace yourself; you're in for some heartbreak."


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$720K American Cancer Society Grant Funds
BC Biologist's Research of Deadly Parasite
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. (December 2012) – The American Cancer Society has awarded a four-year, $720,000 grant to Boston College Associate Professor of Biology Marc-Jan Gubbels for research into potential new drugs that can prevent the onset of toxoplasmosis in cancer patients with weakened immune systems.
The parasite Toxoplasma gondii has infected one out of every five people in the U.S., typically remaining dormant in healthy individuals. But when the immune system is weakened, the parasite attacks, wreaking havoc on the patient's body and often causing death.
Gubbels, who specializes in parasitology, said he's grateful for the opportunity to advance Toxoplasma gondii research as a means of improving the health of individuals at risk for toxoplasmosis.
"The American Cancer Society has given us a unique opportunity to take a new approach toward identifying potential targets to combat a deadly disease," said Gubbels. "This is a novel approach and we're excited to move forward with our work."
Among those most at risk for the stealthy killer toxoplasmosis are cancer patients whose immune systems are compromised during chemotherapy and other treatments that weaken the body's defenses. While there are drugs that can help hold the illness in check, they produce unwanted side effects in some patients and also inhibit the effectiveness of some anti-cancer drugs.
Gubbels, whose work has helped to unlock some of the genetic mysteries of Toxoplasma gondii, is researching new ways to prevent the spread of the parasite by limiting its mobility and effectively trapping it within the cells where it attacks.
The American Cancer Society recently announced the award of a four-year, $720,000 grant to Gubbels to pursue research he hopes will lead to the development of new drugs that can prevent the parasite from attacking its unsuspecting hosts. Patients battling cancer are particularly vulnerable when potent anti-cancer treatments weaken their immune systems.
"We're trying to find out how this parasite gets in or out of a cell," said Gubbels. "Cells in our bodies don't invade other cells, but Toxoplasma gondii cells have dedicated machinery to do that. We have a basic understanding of this, but we don't know how it all fits together or is controlled. If we can understand that process, we can design drugs that can counteract that and hopefully save lives."
Toxoplasma gondii is carried by almost every warm-blooded animal and is spread through ingesting cysts present in undercooked meat or in cat feces. An intra-cellular parasite that lives within the cells of its host, the parasite must first enter a cell and then, after consuming its contents, exit the cell. Gubbels and researchers in his lab are looking for ways to control entry and exit by turning off genes that inform the parasite's mobility.
Invasion and egress share many features, Gubbels added. But they are poorly understood at the molecular level. In addition, current anti-toxoplasmosis drugs do not target either invasion or egress.
The Gubbels research team will take normal strains of the parasite and then create gene mutations within them. After singling out the altered parasites, researchers will determine whether the genes involved play a role in the parasite's entrance to or exit from a host cell. Gubbels said the goal is to find proteins with essential functions in a defining pathogenic process not targeted by current drugs.
"The overarching goal of our work is to increase the number of treatment options for toxoplasmosis, in particular to develop drugs with fewer side effects," Gubbels said. "The best drug targets are found in biological processes that the parasite does not share with the host. The process we are interested in is the process of how the parasite gains access to the cells of the host, and subsequently, how it is able to escape from the host cell upon completion of replication."
Advances in cellular biology and genome sequencing have paved the way for this type of project, Gubbels said. Armed with these tools, researchers can make more focused inquiries into the functions those genes control.
Toxoplasma gondii has steadily grown as a research priority since the 1960s, when it was discovered that cats host the parasite in its reproductive stage. Pregnant women are urged to avoid close contact with cats and cat feces during pregnancy, since toxoplasmosis can cause birth defects. During the onset of the AIDS crisis in the 1980s, toxoplasmosis claimed many victims whose immune systems were compromised by the virus, Gubbels said. The decoding of the parasite's genome within the past decade has further advanced research into a largely unseen killer.
—Ed Hayward is associate director of the Office of News & Public Affairs; firstname.lastname@example.com


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New Car Review
2014 Jaguar F-Type: New Car Review
When folks think of Jaguars, the 2014 Jaguar F-Type probably isn't what comes to mind. Stereotypes die hard, so many of us still associate the Jaguar brand with cosseting luxury cars that have flip-down wooden tray tables in back. But once upon a time, Jaguar was also known for building a beautiful 2-seat sports car: the iconic E-Type of the 1960s and '70s. It's that sporting spirit that the all-new 2014 F-Type roadster is meant to evoke.
And does it ever. From the narrow, slashing taillights in back to the gaping maw up-front, the F-Type's hunger for the open road is apparent before you even get inside. Press the start button, which pulsates red, and one of two magnificent engines roars to life: a supercharged V6 or an astonishingly swift supercharged V8. Toss the baby Jag into a tight corner and it responds with razor-sharp reflexes and control. Oh yeah. It has that sporting spirit, all right.
Quibbles? The prim dashboard layout holds far less visual interest than the car itself, and we see a bit too much Nissan 350Z in the F-Type's headlights. There's also no manual transmission available, whereas rivals such as the Chevrolet Corvette and Porsche's Boxster and 911 continue to offer stick shifts.
But overall, the new F-Type is easily one of the hottest roadsters, and its hand will strengthen further next year with the arrival of the even more seductive F-Type coupe. When folks think of Jaguars 10 or 20 years from now, they just might think of this dashing F-Type first.
What's New for 2014?
The F-Type is an all-new premium roadster. The F-Type coupe has been making the rounds at auto shows, but it won't debut until the 2015 model year.
What We Like
Strong acceleration in any model; optional supercharged V8 is truly epic; highly capable handling; luxurious interior; a real head-turner
What We Don't
No manual or automated-manual transmission; small trunk
How Much?
Fuel Economy
The base F-Type is powered by a supercharged 3.0-liter V6 rated at 340 horsepower and 332 lb-ft of torque. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, it returns 20 miles per gallon city/28 mpg hwy.
The F-Type S gets a tweaked version of the V6 that's good for 380 hp and 339 lb-ft. Fuel economy drops a smidge to 19 mpg city/27 mpg hwy.
The F-Type V8 S upgrades to a supercharged 5.0-liter V8 that pumps out 495 hp and 460 lb-ft. Fuel economy checks in at 16 mpg city/23 mpg hwy.
All F-Type models employ rear-wheel drive and an 8-speed automatic transmission.
Standard Features & Options
The 2014 F-Type is a soft-top roadster offered in three trim levels: base F-Type, F-Type S and F-Type V8 S.
The base F-Type ($69,895) starts with the 340-hp V6, 18-inch alloy wheels, bi-xenon headlights, LED running lights and taillights, an automatically deploying power rear spoiler, steering-wheel-mounted shift paddles, a sport exhaust with center-mounted dual tailpipes, leather/suede cloth upholstery, 6-way adjustable seats, an 8-in touchscreen infotainment system, an integrated navigation system and a 10-speaker, 380-watt Meridian audio system.
The F-Type S ($81,895) steps up to the 380-hp V6, 19-in wheels, orange shift paddles, an adaptive sport suspension, an active sport exhaust, a mechanical limited-slip differential, power-folding heated mirrors with LED turn signals and puddle lamps, keyless entry/ignition and configurable ambient interior lighting.
The F-Type V8 S ($92,895) is treated to the exclusive V8 engine, 20-in wheels, a driver-adjustable sport exhaust with quad tailpipes, upgraded brakes, an electronic active limited-slip differential, auto-dimming mirrors, dual-zone automatic climate control, leather upholstery, 14-way power seats and rear parking sensors.
Most options are bundled into packages, with availability dependent on trim level. The Performance Pack (not offered on base F-Type) adds adjustable drive settings, sport seats and metallic pedals, as well as the bigger brakes and adjustable sport exhaust (standard with the V8) for F-Type S. The Premium Pack adds many of the F-Type V8 S model's standard luxuries along with a universal garage door opener, additional lockable storage between the seats and a wind deflector. The Climate Pack (included with the Premium Pack) contributes heated seats and a heated steering wheel. The Vision Pack throws in adaptive headlights, automatic high beams, front and rear parking sensors, a rearview camera, rear cross-path detection and a blind spot monitoring system.
Other add-ons include extended leather upholstery, carbon fiber trim, various exterior aerodynamic enhancements and a 12-speaker, 770-watt Meridian audio system.
The F-Type's power-folding soft-top takes 12 seconds to go up or down, and it can be operated at speeds up to 30 miles per hour. Trunk space is at a premium, measuring just 7 cu ft.
The 2014 Jaguar F-Type comes with standard stability control, 4-wheel anti-lock disc brakes, rollover hoops behind the headrests and four airbags (front and side). Numerous advanced safety technologies are available via the Vision Pack discussed above.
Crash-test data on the F-Type is not available.
Behind the Wheel
In our interior evaluation, we were struck by the relative plainness of the F-Type's dashboard and controls. Materials quality is very good, and everything seems to be screwed together reasonably well, but there's nothing particularly memorable about the way this cabin looks. If it was our F-Type, we'd opt for the cool-looking sport seats, which help dress up the place -- such as (obscure historical reference alert!) the E36 M3's "Vader" seats did back in the day. The available extended leather trim also adds character, especially when an adventurous color is chosen.
Acceleration is strong in any F-Type, as befits a premium sports car. Speed is in this car's DNA. That said, we can't imagine foregoing the supercharged V8 for any reason other than an inability to pay. This is quite simply one of the best engines in any car, delivering awe-inspiring power with a crackling soundtrack to match. Flooring the throttle at about 60 mph in the F-Type V8 S is an experience you'll not soon forget. The V6-powered versions are authoritative in their own right, but the F-Type feels incomplete without that V8 under the hood.
On winding roads, the F-Type is less involving than Porsche's best, but it's unquestionably a world-class sports car with formidable capabilities. A proper manual transmission, or even a dual-clutch automated manual, would likely close the gap, though Jaguar seems likely to stick with the smooth 8-speed automatic. Structural rigidity is superb -- but for the sun streaming in from above, you might forget it's a convertible -- and high-speed stability is stupendous. A phrase that comes to mind is "the gentleperson's sports car," and we suspect that's more or less what Jaguar had in mind.
Other Cars to Consider
Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Convertible -- The drop-top Corvette is comparable in many respects to the F-Type V8 S, and it costs much less.
Porsche Boxster -- For pure driving enjoyment, it doesn't get any better than the Boxster. However, there's no engine in the Boxster's portfolio that can match the Jag's V8.
Porsche 911 Cabriolet -- The larger 911 Cab competes closely with the F-Type V8 S in both price and performance.
AutoTrader's Advice
Once you drive the V8, there's no going back, so just keep that in mind when you're at the dealership.


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A long-heralded shake-up at Microsoft is expected to unfurl this week, perhaps Thursday, at the urging of CEO Steve Ballmer, AllThingsD is reporting, citing unnamed company sources.
The site described the roll-out's plans as fluid, given "close-to-the-vest planning by Ballmer" and angst among senior executives. Yet one thing appears clear: Microsoft is expected to reorient the company around services—or software—and devices in its consumer and business segments.
According to AllThingsD, the effort is designed to create "functional coherence" at the company, which is suffering something of an identity crisis in the fiercely competitive technology sector. Smartphones and tablets are revolutionizing the marketplace, and Microsoft has struggled to make headway against giants like Google, Apple and other competitors.
Read the full AllThingsD story here.
—By CNBC.com


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TreeHouse: Smart Building. Better Living
- Location: multiple locations
- Specialty: Smart building products based on health, performance and sustainability.
- Price range: $$
- Website: treehouseonline.com
Store History
- Founded: 2011
- Founded by: Greg King
- Headquarters: Austin, Texas
Austin residents now have an alternative to the larger, more well-known hardware stores: TreeHouse. Built on the principles of providing healthy, sustainable, affordable and long-lasting products for the home, residents with all sorts of projects will be able to find what they need here.
Housed in an ample-sized store in South Austin, TreeHouse seems to have it all. Along with building supplies like flooring, countertops, lumber, doors, windows and tools, they also carry an array of healthy options for paints and stains, plenty of plants for your outdoor needs and even healthier cleaning supplies, too. They also carry plenty of choices when it comes to smart technology like programmable thermostats and home automation. And they don't just expect you to know about everything; they offer a central idea center for help with their products as well as education stations around the store.
Images: TreeHouse Facebook page


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Do more of the things you want to in less time and enhance your digital life with the multi-core performance and energy efficiency of AMD Athlon™ II processor-based desktop systems. Combined with superior ATI Radeon™ HD graphics technology, systems based on the AMD Athlon™ II processor deliver a vivid visual experience, superior multi-tasking, and exceptional digital media performance with next-generation energy efficiency.
Get superior performance and enjoyment from your PC experience with next generation processor technology for hassle free, efficient computing
Get Microsoft® Windows® 7 support, optimized to deliver the benefits of Microsoft's latest OS7
Stay connected to your friends, family, and even your online digital media
Manage all your media files and run the software you need to create, share, and enjoy your media, and connect your gadgets.
Enjoy a superior desktop experience. Get the most out of your budget with energy efficiency you'll feel good about for a green, cool, and quiet PC experience
Enjoy your PC and be energy efficient with next-generation AMD power management technologies
AMD PowerNow!™ 3.0 technology can enable dramatic power management improvements, automatically, with virtually no noticeable performance impact with efficient 45nm multi-core design, superior power management, and additional performance states
Cool'n'Quiet™ Technology – Optimized performance states help save energy while minimizing the latency and overhead of power management. The processor can efficiently respond to user demands, maximizing performance to deliver a superior PC user experience
AMD CoolCore™ Technology automatically reduces processor energy consumption by dynamically activating or turning off parts of the processor
AMD Smart Fetch Technology enables processor cores to share data before entering a halting state so active cores don't have to activate to retrieve data
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Multi-Point Thermal Control helps reduce speed and heat when temperature exceeds predefined limits, enabling a cool and quiet PC experience
Take full advantage of amazing energy efficiency that uses less power than the previous generation of AMD Athlon™ processors, and enjoy environmentally friendly, energy-efficient performance. Use your PC with confidence knowing you're using cutting-edge green technologies that use low power and help reduce environmental impact
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Doubles processor bandwidth from 64- to a full 128-Bit Floating-Point math processing pipeline that can double many of the bandwidth paths that help keep it full.
Provides support for SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSE4a, and MMX instructions for digital media applications and security.
The extensive AMD64 architectural optimizations and features enable thorough integration of multiple cores within the same processor, with each core having its own L1 and L2 caches.
Each core has its own dedicated L2 cache, which enables simultaneous independent core access to L2 cache, eliminating the need for cores to arbitrate for cache access. This helps reduce latency on L2 cache accesses.
Silicon feature-set enhancements designed to improve the performance, reliability, and security of both existing and future virtualization environments.
The latest power management technologies that deliver performance on demand when you need it, and power savings when you don't.
AMD64 technology enables a breakthrough approach to 64-bit computing that doubles the number of registers in the processor and allows PC users to use today's 32-bit software applications while enabling them to also use the next generation of 64-bit applications.
Up to eight different performance states help enhance power efficiency. Simplified performance state transitions can reduce latency and the software overhead of performance state changes.
Each processor core, and the integrated memory controller and HyperTransport™ controller, is powered by dedicated voltage planes.
Directly connects the processor to memory for optimum performance, low latency, and high throughput.
The next-generation design features multiple on-die thermal sensors with digital interface. Automatic reduction of p-state when temperature exceeds pre-defined limit. Additional memory thermal management interface.
Coarse and fine transistor control that can automatically reduce processor energy consumption by turning off unused parts of the processor.
Now you can create exactly what you want using a top-of-the-line AMD processor or the innovative AMD Accelerated Processor Unit (APU). Choose from the AMD FX, AMD Phenom™ II, AMD Athlon™ II, AMD Sempron™ Processors or AMD A-Series APUs when building your desktop PC.
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Package AM3: X2 270, 265, 260, 250e 245e, X3 460, 455, 450, 425e, 420e, X4 651, 645, 641, 640, 638, 631, 620e, and 615e
*As part of a comprehensive security program, AMD strongly recommends enabling
Enhanced Virus Protection (EVP) and using up to date third party anti-virus