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Brian Russ Law, Inc. provides trademark registration services for clients in all 50 states, including Oklahoma.
What is a Trademark and how it helps in Business
A trademark distinguishes a company's goods and has the power to exclude them from competitors. For example, if someone creates "Happy Days" as the name of their school and starts using it in business, the owner of Happy Days toy store cannot stop them from doing so.
Owning a trademark will make advertising exclusive. If a company wants to prevent other companies from using their trademark, they would need to register with the US Patent and Trademark office. This makes it more difficult for others to copy or use your logo, as it establishes them as an active trademark.
What a Federal U.S. trademark is and its benefits
A trademark is like a logo that identifies the products of one a company. It prevents others from using your product by giving you legal ground to file a lawsuit against them.
Having a federal trademark helps you win cases because it has a clause that allows you to sue in federal court. You can get damages and additional remedies by getting what is allowed by the laws given to you by the government.
The other benefit to registering for a trademark is that it grants others constructive knowledge of your trademark. With a registered trademark, those who use the mark are expected to search the Principal Register. People who conduct such a search may find themselves less likely to unintentionally infringe on other copyrights. Both intentional and unintentional copyright infringement is still considered actionable infringement.
Why you need to contract a trademark attorney instead of doing it yourself
It is not enough to just file a trademark, you need a trademark lawyer to make sure it is registered. Making this process simple and straightforward, the lawyer will register your trademark, search for other similar trademarks that might conflict with yours, and file the paperwork on your behalf.
We always recommend that our clients seek legal advise before applying for a trademark. There are many online services that will take you through the process of applying for a trademark and offer no legal advice. These services can cause major problems and result in lots of work for us to patch things up.
We pride ourselves on making sure you apply for a trademark right the first time, rather than having to deal with legal issues down the line. If you do have to reach out to our office, we can advise which position will give your application more of a chance of final approval.
What is the difference between a registered trademark and copyright?
Trademarking is to protect a company's identity and show a product at that it belongs to a particular company. Trademarks are mainly used for advertising purposes.
The copyright is a protection for an author or artist, so that no one can use their work without permission. Without registration, copyrights exist regardless. It's important to know the difference between trademarks and copyrights because not knowing the difference can result in your company's intellectual property rights not being adequately protected.
Examples of Trademark Needs in Tulsa, Oklahoma
A lot of people ask us, "Why do I need a trademark for my business?" And the simple answer to that is your businesses name, logo, and branding are inherently valuable. You want to ensure that you've protected your business as your brand's value grows and continues to appreciate over time. For example, if you're in Jenks, or driving on Route 75, you've probably seen tons of billboards for corporations and mom-and-pop shops alike. And they've all got a certain feel to them, their branding. And that branding is valuable. You want to make sure that if you start a shop in Tulsa, that somebody two states over isn't going to steal your idea and name and do the same business.
A great example I love to use is professional sports teams. Their need to have a protected brand name, logo, slogan, and such is invaluable because so much of their team's value is wrapped up in their identity. There are lots of sports teams, but for fans, there's always "my team". Think about the teams near Tulsa and Bixby, like the Tulsa Oilers and the Tulsa Shock. You can probably picture their logo in your mind, and you know that nobody else is using their names and logos to promote a professional sports team.


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A Central Texas justice of the peace is facing calls for his resignation after allegations he stole money from a youth organization.
Anthony Kendrick filed the small claims petition on Aug. 29.
The petition alleges "theft by deception" against Daryl Peters, who is currently serving as Justice of the Peace for Precinct 4, Place 1.
Kendrick alleges Peters took $2,300 from the K-Town Raptors organization. That money, given to Peters as cash, was supposed to be used by Peters to pay referees during a jamboree game in 2018 and last month.
"Those referees said they've never received any money for any scrimmages and every time they do scrimmages it is free," Kendrick said. "With him taking this money from these kids, whom I help out here, I had to expose him."
One of the referees, who did not want to be identified, talked about the message this accusation is sending.
"It is shocking. It is surprising. I don't want the community or kids to be affected by adults making mistakes. We are teaching our youth to better people when they get older, but we have to lead by example as well," the referee said.

subset: commoncrawl


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Growing up as a Pastors Daughter there was times I felt I was living in a fishbowl and eyes were watching me make all my life choices. My parents did a great job not "advertising" my faults, or my learning opportunities. Thankfully I didn't grow up in the Facebook world. I would be embarrassed to look back and see advertised my faults and mistakes for anyone to see. This is not because I think I should have been perfect and not made mistakes (everyone makes mistakes), or that I didn't learn from my mistakes, (because trust me I LEARNED A LOT growing up because of them). This is because I am always being refined and changing by the grace of God, and I don't want to live in the memories of the old but in the hope of the new.
Please hear me out, I WANT to relive and remember the good memories, the ones that changed my life and make me smile and laugh out loud. SO because of this I want to remember the good, laughable, sweet memories of my kids too. I want to try my best not to advertise their faults, or learning opportunities. I want to record something they wouldn't be embarrassed to reread when they are adults.
So WHY am I writing this? What is the point? I want to assure any reader, family member or friend out there that my family is not without our faults, (we have a lot!) But as I get chances to write and record our process in Raising Rices (our kids), I want to share our success stories, our parenting wins, our processes and values. I want to record a lasting memory of us, our family, our faith and our legacy. Will there be stories of second chances and discipling opportunities, YES and more I am sure!
I want to encourage, inspire, be real, and enjoy the process 🙂
Enjoy the journey!


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I first read Gordon MacDonald's Ordering Your Private World when it was originally released in 1984. He had been our pastor at Grace Chapel in Lexington, Massachusetts, for the prior two years where everyone affectionately called him Pastor Mac. Today, he is the chancellor at Denver Seminary. When the book was released, I was in the midst of frantic, high-pressured seminary training preparing for a life of ministry; which he had inspired me, and many others, to undertake.
I pre-ordered the 2017 release because it was promoted as "newly revised and updated," and that is exactly what it is. Gordon MacDonald expertly weaves 34 more years of successes, failures, and lessons-learned into this version. He also updates or removes dated references and illustrations.
This book is about the need each of us has to bring order to chaotic, busy, external lives because exterior busyness often results in an empty interior soul. The author writes, "There is a temptation to ignore the existence of our private world because it does not shout quite so loudly when neglected. It can be effectively shortchanged for large periods of time before it gives way to a sinkhole-like cave-in," when the neglected private world can no longer hold the weight of our external worlds.
Too many Christians are running on empty. Too many pastors are pumping from a dry soul. And the rest of us are just exhausted and forced to do the next thing that someone demands; whatever that happens to be. Too many lives are out of our control, and too many of us have suffered burnout unnecessarily. Gordon MacDonald was not immune. He experienced his own sinkhole.
Drawing from extensive examples, the author explains how he, through trial and error, learned to bring his public and private worlds into order. He learned which spiritual disciplines deepened and enriched his daily relationship with Christ, and which work strategies carved out time for meaningful relationships with his family. His personality type didn't make this easy for him, but he forced himself to do it anyway.
The author's experiences and timeless insights can help us learn to effectively deepen our relationship with Christ in the midst of demands that constantly pull us in different directions. Ordering Your Private World can help us to live a life that is devoted to Him in action because our hearts are devoted to Him in love.
I wish I had read the first release more slowly because it is only now, with my own 34 more years of experience, that I see how I glossed over some of the more spiritual practices in the last third of the book. Ironically, I glossed over those because I was too busy, too driven, and too proud to slow down and take someone else's advice—even the advice of someone I respected. My daily devotions have always been a critical component of my Christian walk, even in those busy seminary years. Over the past six years, however, I've been on quest to find the deeper spiritual and practical life dynamics that work best for me. In this latest read of Ordering Your Private World, I was a little amused that over the years I've unknowingly incorporated most of the same practices that the author describes, and alludes to.
Gordon MacDonald is one of those few profound writers that come along every now and again. He has made some colossal errors in his life that he has written about elsewhere, but even from those we can learn. I encourage you to read this book slowly and with self-reflection. The key to an ordered private world, as Gordon describes it, is an open and surrendered heart to God.
Like, follow, share.
Dr. Rob Oberto is the award-winning author of "Intimacy With God: Extraordinary miracles that opened a skeptic's heart to God" available from Amazon.
©2017 Rob Oberto, All Rights Reserved.


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A novel approach to reinforce provisional material using silica gel powder
1Department of Fixed Prosthodontics Faculty of Oral and Dental Medicine, Misr International University, Cairo 11371, Egypt.
2Department of Fixed Prosthodontics Faculty of Oral and Dental Medicine, 6th October University, Cairo 12585, Egypt.
3Department of Fixed Prosthodontics Faculty of Oral and Dental Medicine, Azhar University, Cairo 11371, Egypt.
Correspondence Address: Dr. Tamer A. Hamza, Department of Fixed Prosthodontics, Faculty of Oral and Dental Medicine, Misr International University, Cairo 11371, Egypt. E-mail:
Aim: To evaluate a novel approach for reinforcing 2 types of provisional restoration materials [polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) and bis-acryl resin] with different concentrations of silica gel powder (0%, 0.5%, 1%, 1.5%, 3%, 5%, 10% by weight).
Methods: A total of 60 rectangular fracture toughness specimens were prepared in this study according to the ISO 13586 Standard with dimensions of 2 mm × 5 mm × 25 mm. The specimens were divided into 2 groups according to the materials used PMMA or bis-acryl. Each subgroup was divided into 6 subgroups according to the different silica gel concentrations (0%, 0.5%, 1.5%, 3%, 5%, and 10% by weight) added where the 0% subgroup was used as a control group. Fracture toughness for the specimens was determined by loading the specimens in a universal testing machine.
Results: The results showed that addition of 0.5% by weight of the silica gel powder for PMMA recorded the highest mean value (2.69 ± 0.08 MPa•m1/2) and this was statistically significant.
Conclusion: Within the limitation of this study it was concluded the addition of 0.5% by weight silica powder gel could increase the fracture toughness of PMMA.
Provisional restorations are used routinely in the dental office to restore prepared teeth until the final restoration are ready. These restorations must be biologically compatible to restore function, esthetics, and have high mechanical properties to withstand various forces in the oral cavity.[1-4] Many available materials can be used by clinicians for this purpose. In 1937, heat cured resin was introduced to fabricate such restorations.[5] Since 1937, there have been significant modifications and improvements.[6] Bis-acryl was introduced in the 1980s, and further developments are being introduced every day.[7] These restorations should have adequate strength, color stability, are easily fabricated, and have no damaging effect on the pulp and surrounding tissue. Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) and bis-acryl are the most commonly used materials for that purpose.[6-8]
Although provisional restorations are utilized for a short period of time, some situations require long term provisional restorations. These cases are complete mouth rehabilitation, restoration of the vertical dimension of occlusion, and in patients who have para-functional habits. Long-term provisional restorations require materials with enhanced mechanical properties.[9-11] Several attempts have been made to reinforce provisional restoration materials. These included the use of metal wire,[12-14] fibers including plasma treated polyethylene fibers, carbon fibers, and glass fibers.[15-19] Recent studies investigated the addition of polyoctahedral silsesquioxane to the polymer.[20] In general, additives used to reinforce provisional restoration should increase the strength of the material without affecting the color.
Silica gel is a form of silicon dioxide made synthetically from sodium silicate. It has a thin, porous, and granular structure. Silica gel is a tough and hard material with an average pore size of 2.4 nanometers. The crushing of silica gel produces a powder used as a catalyst in different chemical processes.[21]
The structure of silica gel [Figure 1] is characterized by the presence of individual functional moieties, such as siloxane (≡Si–O–Si≡) with the oxygen located on the surface as well as silanol groups (≡Si–OH).[22-24]
To a limited extent, silica gel is used as a reinforcing filler in silicone rubber; however, there is very little information available on the reinforcement properties of silica gels.[25] Balos et al.[26] in 2014 conducted a study reinforcing PMMA by adding small concentrations of nano silica (0.023%, 0.046%, 0.091%, 0.23%, 0.46%, and 0.91%) with the PMMA to improve the mechanical properties. The results of the fracture toughness and micro hardness tests showed that the 0.023% concentration (the lowest concentration) of the nano silica exhibited the highest mechanical properties. The higher concentrations of nano silica demonstrated that the fracture toughness gradually diminished.
Material toughness is the ability to resist crack propagation. The tougher the material, the shorter the crack will propagate within it. The measurement of fracture toughness requires knowledge of the pre-existing crack and the specimen's geometry. Within the material, arresting of crack propagation is a common method to reinforce a material.[27]
The purpose of this study was to evaluate a novel approach for reinforcing two types of provisional restoration materials (PMMA and bis-acryl resin) by adding different concentrations of silica gel powder (0%, 0.5%, 1%, 1.5%, 3%, 5%, and 10% by weight) to the polymer. The hypothesis of this study is that the addition of a silica gel powder at different concentrations will increase the fracture toughness of the provisional restoration material.
This study evaluated the fracture toughness of 2 types of provisional restoration materials (PMMA and bis-acryl resin) after the addition of different concentrations of silica gel powder (0.5%, 1.5%, 3%, 5%, and 10% by weight).
A total of 60 rectangular fracture toughness specimens were prepared in this study. These specimens were divided into 2 groups according to the material used (PMMA or bis-acryl). Each subgroup was divided into 6 subgroups according to the silica gel concentration (0%, 0.5%, 1.5%, 3%, 5%, and 10% by weight). The 0% silica gel concentration was used as the control group.
The dimension of each specimen was 2 mm × 5 mm × 25 mm according to the ISO 13586 Standard.[27] Specimens were fabricated using a stainless steel split-mold which was specifically constructed for this study. PMMA specimens fabrication was as follows: 0.5 g of powder polymer was added to 0.25 mL of the liquid monomer and mixed with a clean stainless steel spatula; when the mixture reached the dough stage, it was packed slowly into the split-mold to avoid trapping of air; a glass slab was then seated over the mold to pack the mix and to help remove the excess material; the specimens were allowed to polymerize for 15 min at room temperature. After the specimen was removed, a razor was used to remove all of the flash material.
The bis-acryl specimens were prepared in a similar manner as the PMMA specimens. The single difference was that the bis-aryl was mixed using an auto-mix gun supplied by the manufacturer. Reinforced specimens were formed in a similar manner by adding the tested concentrations (0.5%, 1%, 1.5%, 3%, 5%, and 10% by weight) of the silica powder gel.
The specimens were examined for voids, and any defective specimens were discarded. The specimens were finished to the desired dimensions with 400 grit and 600 grit abrasive paper. The specimen's dimensions were then verified with a digitalized caliper (CD-60 CS, Mitutoyo, Japan). The specimens were then stored in deionized water at 37 °C for 24 h.
A pre-crack was placed in each test specimen by placing a sharp scalpel at the middle of each specimen and applying hand pressure using a measuring microscope (Nikon Measure scope MM-11, Nikon Corp).[15] The crack length value was recorded.
The specimens were loaded in a LIoyd Universal Testing Machine until fracture to determine the fracture toughness of the material. Each specimen was positioned on the bending fixture, consisting of 2 parallel 2-mm-diameter supports, 20 mm apart. The load was applied at a crosshead speed of 1 mm/min, with a third 2 mm rod placed centrally between the supports [Figure 2]. The peak "force to fracture" in Newtons was derived from the stress-strain curve and recorded. This force was used to calculate the fracture toughness (K1c) in MPa•m1/2.
The following equation was used to determine K1c:[28]
K1c = (pc/bw1/2)*F(a/w);
F(a/w) = [(2 + a/w)*(0.886 + 4.64*a/w - 13.32*a2/w2 + 14.72*a3/w3 - 5.6*a4/w4)]/(1 - a/w)1/2;
pc is the maximum load before the crack advance in kilonewtons (KN); b is the average specimen thickness in centimeters (cm); w is the width of the specimen in centimeters (cm); a is the crack length.
The fracture toughness data of each type of provisional material was tabulated and analyzed with a 2-way analysis of variance, followed by the Tukey standardized range test (α = 0.05) to determine statistical significance.
For the PMMA groups, the results showed that the 0.5% concentration recorded the highest mean value (2.69 ± 0.08 MPa•m1/2) followed by 1.5%, 3%, 5%, control, and then 10% respectively. The difference between the subgroups was statistically insignificant except between the 0.5% group and both the control group and the 10% group and was statistically significant (P < 0.05). In the bis-acryl group, the results showed that the 0.5% concentration recorded the highest mean value (2.522 ± 0.27 MPa•m1/2) followed by 1.5%, 10%, 3%, 5% and then the control group respectively. The difference between the subgroups was statistically insignificant (P > 0.05) [Table 1].
Descriptive statistics of fracture toughness results for both provisional restoration groups as function of modification concentration
|Concentration (%)
|Mean ± SD
|Tukey's rank
|2.013 ± 0.19
|2.690 ± 0.08
|2.504 ± 0.18
|2.336 ± 0.17
|2.083 ± 0.22
|2.006 ± 0.07
|Bis-acryl resin
|1.879 ± 0.19
|2.522 ± 0.27
|2.316 ± 0.48
|2.088 ± 0.26
|1.894 ± 0.17
The hypothesis of this study was selectively accepted dependent on the concentration of silica gel studied. The only concentration that showed a statistically significant increase in the fracture toughness was 0.5% silica gel in PMMA. The remainder of the concentrations tested did not show statistical significance. Although studies have shown that the addition of woven fibers and unidirectional fibers increases the surface toughness of provisional restorations, there is a need to add another form of an easily handled reinforcement material.[3,4,15] Our novel approach was to add silica gel powder to the provisional restoration material. The inherent flaws that occur during fabrication of polymer specimens may have a direct effect on the fracture toughness values obtained during a three-point loading test. Fracture toughness describes the mechanical performance of dental polymers under a load. Fracture toughness provides information on the crack propagation of the material and is described by the critical stress intensity factor (KIC). KIC is an indication of the onset of material failure.[3,15]
All of the specimens were constructed with the same dimensions and under the same conditions. This ensures the same dimensional changes during processing, as well as the same force distribution. Specimens were stored in distilled water at 37 °C for 24 h. It is known that the provisional materials used in this study imbibes the majority of the water during the first 24 h of immersion. The test was performed with a cross-head speed of 1 mm/min. This speed is considered to be within the range used in determining the fracture toughness of dental biomaterials (0.1-6 mm/min).[27]
The results of this study were not uniform; therefore, a correlation between the addition of the silica gel with any concentration and the fracture toughness values could not be established. However by adding 0.5% silica gel to the tested resins demonstrated a statistically significant increase in the fracture toughness values. This would indicate the need for further investigation on the effects of lower concentrations of silica gel. This was not investigated in our study.
Carbon black is one of the materials used for rubber reinforcement. The particle morphology of carbon black is the same as the silica gel. The particle morphology of the silica gel has a poorer affinity for polymers compared to carbon black. This difference in affinity has leaded to the use of silica gel for rubber reinforcement. There has been a limited amount of research on the lack of affinity of silica gel.[25]
The basic purpose of a filler (silica gel) is to reinforce the polymer (PMMA and bis-acryl resin). To obtain this, the mix should be homogenous with good filler/polymer adhesion where the filler starts to improve the mechanical properties of the polymer.[29] Silica gel contains siloxane groups at the surface that are changed into hydroxyl groups. The hydroxyl groups polarize and form hydrogen bonds due to their proximity to each other.[30,31]
Because of the non-crystalline structure of the PMMA, PMMA has a high internal energy. Therefore, molecular diffusion can occur in the PMMA resin due to a lower activation energy. The imbibition process of acrylic resins is partly due to the formation of hydrogen bridges between the polar carboxyl group and water.[32] It has been shown that PMMA adsorbs to the surface of the silica by the formation of hydrogen bonds between the carboxyl group of the PMMA and a silanol group of the silica.[33] Wei et al.[34] illustrated that materials produced from MMA with silica and PMMA with silica[35] where the hybrid homogenous materials formed without covalent bonds but with hydrogen bonds as the main interaction between the organic-inorganic phase.
Fracture toughness values obtained in the laboratory under static loads may not simulate the in vivo oral conditions. The forces in the oral cavity are cyclic, not static, and there are other factors which may affect the overall performance of a provisional restoration, such as temperature and pH. However, the testing of different materials in a laboratory controlled situation may be a useful predictor of clinical performance.
In this study, temporary luting cement was excluded. Luting cement may increase the fracture strength. This subject should be investigated in future studies. The most important suggestion for future studies is to perform research using lower concentrations of silica gel. Other mechanical properties may also be tested. Factors like wear resistance, surface roughness, and polishability may influence color stability. These characteristics should be considered for future research.
In conclusion, within the limitations of this study, it was concluded that the addition of a 0.5% concentration of silica powder gel by weight would increase the fracture toughness of PMMA.
Authors' contributions
Manuscript's preparation: A.H. Sherif
Manuscript's review: T.A. Hamza
Concept design: T.A. Hamza, E.A. Abdalla
Literature search: T.A. Hamza, A.H. Sherif, E.A. Abdalla
We thank a lot Dr. Jon Wagner for his contribution in language editing.
Financial support and sponsorship
Conflicts of interest
There are no conflicts of interests.
Patient consent
Not applicable.
Ethics approval
Not applicable.
1. Kim SH, Watts DC. In vitro study of edge-strength of provisional polymer-based crown and fixed partial denture materials. Dent Mater 2007;23:1570-3.
2. Haselton DR, Diaz-Arnold AM, Vargas MA. Flexural strength of provisional crown and fixed partial denture resins. J Prosthet Dent 2002;87:225-8.
3. Hamza TA, Rosenstiel SF, El-Hosary MM, Ibraheem RM. Fracture resistance of fiber-reinforced PMMA interim fixed partial dentures. J Prosthodont 2006;15:223-8.
4. Pfeiffer P, Grube L. Effect of pontic height on the fracture strength of reinforced interim fixed partial dentures. Dent Mater 2006;22:1093-7.
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8. Doray PG, Wang X, Powers JM, Burgess JO. Accelerated aging affects color stability of provisional restorative materials. J Prosthodont 1997;6:183-8.
9. Hernandez EP, Oshida Y, Platt JA, Andres CJ, Barco MT, Brown DT. Mechanical properties of four methyl methacrylate-based resins for provisional fixed restorations. Biomed Mater Eng 2004;14:107-22.
10. Craig RG. Craigs restorative dental materials. 12th ed. St. Louis: Mosby Elselvier; 2006.
11. Christensen GJ. Provisional restorations for fixed prosthodontics. J Am Dent Assoc 1996;127:249-52.
12. Vallittu PK. The effect of glass fiber reinforcement on the fracture resistance of a provisional fixed partial denture. J Prosthet Dent 1998;79:125-30.
13. Vallittu PK. Comparison of the in vitro fatigue resistance of an acrylic resin removable partial denture reinforced with continuous glass fibers or metal wires. J Prosthodont 1996;5:115-21.
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19. Fahmy NZ, Sharawi A. Effect of two methods of reinforcement on the fracture strength of interim fixed partial dentures. J Prosthodont 2009;18:512-20.
20. Hamza TA, Johnston WM, Schricker SR. Effect of polyhedral silsesquioxane (POSS) on the flexural strength and color of interim materials. J Prosthet Dent 2014;112:228-34.
21. Iler RK. The chemistry of Silica. New York: Wiley; 1979.
22. Ahmad S, Ahmad S, Agnihotry SA. Nanocomposite electrolytes with fumed silica in poly(methyl methacrylate): thermal, rheological and conductivity studies. J Power Sources 2005;140:151-6.
23. Chen F, Ma X, Qu X, Yan H. Structure and properties of an organic rectorite/poly (methyl methacrylate) nanocomposite gel polymer electrolyte by in situ synthesis. J Applied Polymer Sci 2009;114:2632-8.
24. Krejza O, Velická J, Sedlaříková M, Vondrák J. The presence of nanostructured Al2O3 in PMMA-based gel electrolytes. J Power Sources 2008;178:774-8.
25. Rattanasom N, Saowapark T, Deeprasertkul C. Reinforcement of natural rubber with silica/carbon black hybrid filler. Polym Test 2007;26:369-77.
26. Balos S, Pilic B, Markovic D, Pavlicevic J, Luzanin O. Poly(methyl-methacrylate) nanocomposites with low silica addition. J Prosthet Dent 2014;111:327-34.
27. Balkenhol M, Köhler H, Orbach K, Wöstmann B. Fracture toughness of cross-linked and non-cross-linked temporary crown and fixed partial denture materials. Dent Mater 2009;25:917-28.
28. Gegauff AG, Pryor HG. Fracture toughness of provisional resins for fixed prosthodontics. J Prosthet Dent 1987;58:23-9.
30. Hoffman P, Knozinger E. Novel aspects of mid and far IR Fourier spectroscopy applied to surface and adsorption studies on SiO2. Surf Sci 1987;188:181-98.
31. Morrow BA, Cody IA, Lee LSM. Infrared studies of reaction on oxide surfaces. 7. Mechanism of the adsorption of water of dehydroxylated silica. J Phys Chem 1976;80:2761-7.
32. Anusavice KJ. Phillips' Science of Dental Materials. 10th ed. Philadelphia: Saunders; 1996.
33. Kobayashi K, Araki K, Imamura Y. Adsorption of poly(methyl methacrylate) on silica surfaces having various silanol densities. Bull Chem Soc Jpn 1989;62:3421-5.
34. Wei Y, Yang DC, Bakthavatchalam R. Thermal stability and hardness of new polyacrylate-SiO2 hybrid sol-gel materials. Mater Lett 1992;13:261-6.
Cite This Article
OAE Style
Hamza TA, Sherif AH, Abdalla EA. A novel approach to reinforce provisional material using silica gel powder. Stomatological Dis Sci 2017;1:3-7. http://dx.doi.org/10.20517/2573-0002.2016.12
AMA Style
Hamza TA, Sherif AH, Abdalla EA. A novel approach to reinforce provisional material using silica gel powder. Stomatological Disease and Science. 2017; 1: 3-7. http://dx.doi.org/10.20517/2573-0002.2016.12
Chicago/Turabian Style
Hamza, Tamer A., Ahmed H. Sherif, Elsayed A. Abdalla. 2017. "A novel approach to reinforce provisional material using silica gel powder" Stomatological Disease and Science. 1: 3-7. http://dx.doi.org/10.20517/2573-0002.2016.12
ACS Style
Hamza, TA.; Sherif AH.; Abdalla EA. A novel approach to reinforce provisional material using silica gel powder. Stomatological. Dis. Sci. 2017, 1, 3-7. http://dx.doi.org/10.20517/2573-0002.2016.12
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text:
Nigeria Police has said the decision to shut the Ondo State House of Assembly over its leadership crisis was not made by the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris.
A statement yesterday by Force spokesman, CSP Jimoh Moshood explained that the decision to shut the Assembly was made by the Commissioner of Police in the state and was done in continuation of the constitutional role of the police, which is to maintain law and order.
"It is pertinent to state that there was no time that the Inspector General of Police ordered the closure of Ondo State House of Assembly," he said.
"It is suffice to state that on the 30th January, 2017, there was a report of pandemonium, confusion and disorder in the Ondo State House of Assembly as a result of fracas between two (2) factions who are honourable members of the Assembly over purported change of leadership of the Ondo State House of Assembly.
"Police personnel from Ondo State Police Command were promptly deployed by the Commissioner of Police Ondo State to restore normalcy and prevent total breakdown of law and order in the Ondo State House of Assembly and the attendant anarchy and chaos that may occur in Akure town and other parts of the State", he said.
The police said the constitution of Nigeria had spelt out clearly their role when there is a possibility of disruption of peace.
Moshood quoted the constitution as having said: "The Police shall be employed for the prevention and detection of crime, the apprehension of offenders, the preservation of law and order, the protection of life and property…"
He added: "Therefore, the deployment of Police personnel to restore normalcy and prevent further breakdown of law and order in Ondo State House of Assembly was in the discharge of its constitutional responsibilities.
"The Commissioner of Police, Ondo State is in charge of all Operations of the Police in the State and does not need to wait for the order of the Inspector General of Police before taking appropriate action in ensuring law and order and protection of life and property.
"The Police personnel deployed at the House of Assembly complex in Ondo State are to maintain law and order and not to close down the Assembly. They are under instructions to be civil, firm and strict in the discharge of their duties."


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Ava Addams
Posted on April 12, 2019
Ava Addams is sick of her good for nothing husband always getting too drunk to fool around after brunch. She decides enough is enough: she's fucking the baby-sitter. Ava corners the sitter in the kitchen and makes him admit that he wants to see her huge creamy tits. She gives him a long, sloppy blowjob, working out her sexual frustrations while her no-good husband sleeps off his mimosas in the next room. Ava is almost caught, but nothing will stop her from getting deeply dicked down by her horny baby-sitter. (Video duration: 34 min)
Horny Wives want giant Cocks getting squeezed into their eager Pussies!


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Folding / Portable Solar Range
Enerdrive offers a great outdoor solution to keep your battery and 12 volt equipment going and going all year round in the sun. The Enerdrive Portable Power Anywhere Solar kits feature all the goods you require for portable solar power around your caravan, camp site, mooring or any outdoor activity. Available in 80W, 120W and 160W.
Included in the kit is a 10amp Enerdrive Solar controller (20amp for the 160W solar panel), which is completely waterproof for your peace of mind if you do happen to leave the kit outside.
- Quality Mono-Crystalline solar panels with solid 35mm double channel aluminium frames
- Sturdy legs to provide you with the best angle for the panels to the sun
- 5 meters of easy plug and play battery leads
- A quality 10amp solar regulator with adjustable flooded or sealed type battery switch modes
- A strong, durable canvas bag with carry pouch for all accessories
- Locally supported 2 year product warranty with spare parts on demand
|Enerdrive Part Number
|Note: Specifications subject to change without notice.
|Max Power Pm(W)
|Power Tolerance %
|± 3%
|-1% ~ +3%
|Max Power Voltage Vm(V)
|Max Power Current Im(A)
|Open Circuit Voltage Voc(V)
|Short Circuit Current Isc(A)
|Max System Voltage (VDC)
|Dimensions (mm) Folded
|545 x 850 x 85
|780 x 670 x 75
|Dimensions (mm) Open
|1100 x 850 x 40
|780 x 1350 x 35
|Weight (kg)
|On an average day, you can expect approximately the following amperage into your battery:
|Average daily sun hours
|Average daily current to battery
|Approx 35 + amp hours
|Approx 50 + amp hours
|Anticipated run time for a typical 50 Litre portable camp fridge (assuming 50% depth of discharge to your 100 amp hour battery)
|Up to 3 days
|3 days +
|Test Conditions
|1000W/m² , AM1.5 , 25°C
This product requires freight charges. Our broad product range and wide geographic customer base means that we are unable to effectively automate freight pricing on products outside of our battery range. As a result, we will contact you after your order for a freight quote.
On completion of this order you will receive an email acknowledgement. Please immediately check that the product list reflects your requirement. We will contact you (by telephone) to confirm product availability, discuss freight options and organise a payment method. Please contact us if we have not made contact within one business day or if you would like a freight quote prior to your order.


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Article Text
OBJECTIVE To monitor the effect of a novel nicotine delivery device that may produce fewer carcinogens (Eclipse) on cigarette smoking, carbon monoxide and nicotine concentrations, and motivation to give up smoking. The smoker's own brand of cigarette and a nicotine replacement product (Nicotrol inhaler) were used as comparisons.
DESIGN After baseline data were recorded, smokers were randomised to either Eclipse or inhaler for two weeks and then switched to the other product for another two weeks. Thereafter a second baseline was obtained.
SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS Fifty smokers were included and data are reported for the 40 with complete data sets. The smokers were not trying to quit but were interested in trying a new product to reduce their risk. They visited a smoking clinic 10 times during the six week period of the trial.
INTERVENTION No counselling to aid reduction by Eclipse or inhaler was given.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES At each visit smoking status and carbon monoxide concentrations were recorded. In half of the visits withdrawal symptoms, attitudes towards smoking, heart rate, and blood nicotine concentrations were also recorded.
RESULTS Eclipse use decreased the number of cigarettes smoked per day (cpd) from 19.1 cpd at baseline to 2.1 cpd (p < 0.001), but increased carbon monoxide concentrations in parts per million (ppm) from 21.0 ppm to 33.0 ppm (p < 0.001). A similar decrease in cigarettes smoked per day was seen with the Nicotrol inhaler, from 19.1 cpd to 4.8 cpd (p < 0.001), but carbon monoxide decreased from 21.0 ppm to 12.7 ppm (p < 0.001). The blood nicotine concentration remained fairly stable with Eclipse, increasing slightly from 16.8 ng/ml to 18.0 ng/ml, while for the inhaler a significant drop was noted, from 16.8 ng/ml to 12.2 ng/ml (p < 0.002). Craving and withdrawal did not increase with Eclipse. Few significant adverse events occurred with Eclipse.
CONCLUSIONS Eclipse can dramatically decrease cigarette consumption without causing withdrawal symptoms or decreases in nicotine concentrations or motivation to quit altogether. Unlike the inhaler, Eclipse produces an increase in carbon monoxide concentration. Thus Eclipse may not be a safer cigarette.
- tobacco
- nicotine
- harm reduction
- nicotine replacement
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The dangers of tobacco smoking are well known and it has been argued that modification of cigarettes could have a great impact on public health.1 The tobacco industry has recently begun to modify their products. The first development was Premier, a cigarette that did not burn but heated tobacco. Premier was never marketed widely, probably because smokers did not like the taste and low nicotine delivery. Premier also came under fire as being a drug delivery system.2
Eclipse—a novel nicotine delivery device—is a product that appears similar to Premier in many ways. It primarily heats rather than burns tobacco related material. In industry studies, when smokers have switched to using only Eclipse, tar exposure decreased dramatically by 70–90%.3 In both industry and independent tests, nicotine blood concentrations were similar between smoking only Eclipse versus usual brand of cigarettes.3 4 In an independent study, carbon monoxide concentration derived from smoking two Eclipse devices was similar to smoking two regular cigarettes.4 In an industry study, smoking only Eclipse for two weeks increased carboxyhaemoglobin by 18%.5 In a recent study by independent investigators respiratory measures improved in heavy smokers who switched to Eclipse for four weeks.6
The manufacturer's marketing claims originally centred on less and "cleaner" environmental tobacco smoke, but more recently explicit health claims—less cancer and lung disease—have been made.7
Although some studies are available,3 4 very little is known from real life studies how smokers use Eclipse and their resultant toxin exposure. For example, the effect of Eclipse on smoking and on motivation to stop using tobacco altogether; which smokers are interested in Eclipse, and the safety of Eclipse compared to conventional cigarettes are unclear.
The present study focused on comparing Eclipse with conventional cigarettes in regard to several outcomes. In addition a nicotine replacement inhaler was compared because nicotine replacement products are becoming more widely available to smokers. Because nicotine replacement products are much safer than cigarettes,8 some clinicians and scientists have suggested that they should be used in a manner similar to Eclipse—that is, not just as an aid to stop smoking but also as a cigarette substitute.9
The major aim of our study was to monitor the effect of using Eclipse and the nicotine replacement device, Nicotrol inhaler, on reducing the smoking of cigarettes and intake of carbon monoxide and nicotine. Secondary aims were to examine effects on motivation to give up smoking and product preferences. We recruited smokers with little motivation to quit as these are the smokers most likely to use Eclipse.
Fifty smokers from Helsingborg in Sweden were recruited during August and September 1997 following the placement of an advertisement in a local newspaper. The advertisement stated: "NEW PRODUCTS TO REDUCE THE RISK OF SMOKING A new type of cigarette that does not burn but heats tobacco, and a new nicotine replacement product, an inhaler, have recently been marketed. These products emit much less or no passive smoke and they also produce much less or no exposure to many of the harmful substances from smoking. If you don't want to stop smoking within the next months and you can commit yourself to four weeks of intense monitoring, and possible 10 more weeks of less intense monitoring, you are welcome to contact us. Products will be free of charge and you will earn 500 SEK (US$60) for your participation."
Inclusion criteria were: (a) agree to follow the trial procedure, (b) age 20–65 years, (c) in good general health; (d) good ability to read and understand Swedish; (e) smoke at least five cigarettes daily; and (f) agree to sign an informed consent. Exclusion criteria were: (a) severe or symptomatic cardiovascular disease; (b) pregnancy; (c) breastfeeding; (d) regular psychotropic medication use; (e) abuse of alcohol or any other drug; or (f) use of smokeless tobacco or nicotine replacement therapy. At the time of the study, an Eclipse product—Inside—was being test marketed in Sweden.
The first 30 smokers were included in the order they phoned the clinic. The remaining 20 smokers were selected to provide a similar prevalence of sexes and high/low dependence. Sixty seven per cent of all the smokers who were interested in participating in the study were women, and 77% of the smokers were regarded as being highly dependent—that is, they scored > 3 on the Heaviness of Smoking Index.10The baseline averages (SD) for the 50 smokers were: age 49.2 (9.6) years; cigarettes/day (cpd) 20.2 (7.9); nicotine dependence (Fagerström test for nicotine dependence10) 5.4 (1.7); and number of quit attempts 3.4 (3.6).
The study was conducted in two parts. The first part was a crossover study with a baseline determination followed by two weeks of using one product, then two weeks using the other product, and then a two week return to baseline. The second part was an eight week preference and use study. This article reports the results of the first part.
After a baseline visit, the smokers were randomised to a two week use of Eclipse or the inhaler. At the end of the two weeks, the groups crossed over to the other treatment. The randomisation was made in blocks of two. After the first four weeks, all smokers returned to smoking their own cigarette brand for two weeks. At the end of six weeks (four weeks cross over study and two week wash out) they chose one product (own cigarette brand, Eclipse or inhaler) to use exclusively for the second part of the study. Each smoker visited our clinic for the baseline visit and on the fifth and seventh day of each of the four weeks of the crossover period, and at the six week visit.
At the baseline visit subjects recorded demographic data, medical and smoking history, attitudes to smoking, nicotine dependence,10 motivation for quitting, and smoking withdrawal symptoms.11 Also, smoke intake was assessed by measuring carbon monoxide in exhaled air (Bedfont Smokerlyzer Bedfont Scientific Ltd, Upchurch, UK and by plasma carboxyhaemoglobin; nicotine and cotinine concentrations in saliva and blood,12 and heart rate, were also measured and recorded. At all study visits, we recorded the amount of product used, the number of cigarettes smoked per day, carbon monoxide and saliva cotinine concentrations, concomitant medication, and adverse events (via an open ended question). In addition, at visits on days 7, 14, 21, and 28 we recorded withdrawal symptoms on a five point scale (from 0 = "not at all" to 4 = "extremely") and heart rate, plus blood was taken in addition to saliva for determining plasma nicotine and cotinine concentrations.12 Inquiries into intentions about quitting smoking were repeated only at days 14 and 28.
At the baseline visit the smokers were given product (Eclipse or inhaler) in quantities sufficient to last until the next visit, and a diary card to record product and cigarette use daily through all four weeks. The products were given free of charge. In order to increase compliance smokers were offered reimbursement at the last visit. The smokers' visits to the clinic always occurred in the afternoon at approximately the same time of day. Most visits took no more than 5–7 minutes. The smokers were instructed to smoke as few cigarettes of their own brand as possible without discomfort and instead use as much of the treatment product as needed. No counselling was provided. After four weeks smokers were asked to smoke their own cigarettes (not using Eclipse or the inhaler) for two weeks as a return to baseline.
The study was approved by the local ethics committee and performed according to the ethics code of Helsinki.
Eclipse is composed of a heating source in the distal end, and two compartments of tobacco and a filter at the proximal end (fig 1). The heating source has three components: a carbon pellet surrounded by glass fibre insulation material that, in turn, is inside a layer of tobacco paper. The more distal of the two tobacco compartments contains glycerin treated reconstituted tobacco. The more proximal compartment is made up of finer cut tobacco similar to regular cigarette tobacco. When the Eclipse is lit, hot air (600–800°C) aerosolises glycerin from the distant tobacco compartment which absorbs nicotine when passed over the tobacco. The machine smoke yield listed on the pack gives it a low yield character of 3 mg tar, 0.2 mg nicotine, and 8 mg carbon monoxide. In scientific studies the manufacturer states Eclipse contains less particulate matter and carcinogens and specifically less formaldehyde, benzene, toluene, and several nitrosamines than light cigarettes.13 Eclipse Regular, called Inside, was provided by Swedish Match, Stockholm, Sweden. The smokers were instructed to use Eclipse in the same way as they smoked cigarettes.
The Nicotrol inhaler (Pharmacia Corporation) is a licensed nicotine replacement product for smoking cessation. The inhaler comprises a plastic tube containing a plastic pellet that is saturated with 10 mg nicotine and 1 mg menthol. When the inhaler is puffed on it provides air saturated with nicotine. The nicotine concentration of 3–6 mg/l is much lower than that found in the mainstream smoke of a cigarette. The descriptor "inhaler" is somewhat inappropriate since only very tiny amounts of nicotine are absorbed in the lungs14; instead nicotine is absorbed bucally like nicotine gum. Blood concentrations of nicotine resulting from use of the inhaler are typically half of that derived from cigarettes.14 The inhaler does not produce carbon monoxide or carcinogens. Smokers were encouraged to puff much more frequently on the inhaler than their cigarettes and to change to a fresh cartridge as often as they liked, but to use at least four cartridges per day.
Comparisons of baseline and treatment were performed separately for Eclipse and the inhaler using repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA), with sequence as a between subject factor. By including a treatment by sequence interaction term in the model, we tested whether the difference between baseline and treatment differed for the two treatment periods. The Wilcoxon signed rank test was used to compare initial baseline values with the values at the return to baseline period. To compare Eclipse and the inhaler directly, we used ANOVA for a 2 × 2 crossover trial. In order to be able to determine if treatment effect differed depending on baseline value, we included baseline as a covariate.15 Analysis using a traditional 2 × 2 crossover ANOVA ignoring baseline gave similar treatment and sequence findings for all outcomes except the withdrawal symptoms scale, where an interaction with baseline value was detected. Only the results for the model including baseline are presented here. For the binary variable "Do you intend to quit smoking in the next six months", McNemar's test was used to examine changes from baseline for Eclipse and the inhaler, and the Mainland-Gart test was used to test for treatment, sequence, and time period effects when comparing Eclipse and the inhaler.15 A probability value of p < 0.05 was considered to be significant for all analyses.
Four smokers dropped out because of adverse events, two were lost to follow up, and three were lost for other reasons—for example, moving, sickness, could not attend the strict visit times because of work changes, and one did not attend the baseline visit. Of these 10 drop outs, four occurred when using Eclipse and five with the inhaler. Results are reported for 40 subjects that have complete data sets throughout the four weeks.
One subject was omitted from the cigarette per day analysis and one from the carbon monoxide analysis because of extreme values at baseline (values over three standard deviations higher than the mean). For the cigarette per day analysis, the subject consumed 50 cpd while the next highest value was 31 cpd. For the carbon monoxide analysis, the subject had a reading of 46 ppm while the next highest was 34 ppm. For both these measures, inclusion of the outlying subject led to a significant baseline by sequence by treatment interaction that depended only on that one subject. The outlier was omitted because of the questionable generalisability of a three way interaction that is significant solely because of one extreme value. Removal of the outlier did not affect the significance of any other findings for analyses, including main effects for treatment, time period, sequence, or covariates, or any of the two way interactions. One subject was also missing from the carbon monoxide analysis because of missing data at week 4.
Eclipse use decreased the number of cigarettes smoked per day from a mean of 19.1 cpd to 2.1 cpd (p < 0.001) (fig 2), but increased carbon monoxide concentrations from 21.0 ppm to 33.0 ppm (p<.001). Inhaler use decreased cigarette consumption from 19.1 cpd to 4.8 cpd (p < 0.001) and decreased carbon monoxide concentrations from 21.0 ppm to 12.7 ppm (p < 0.001).
There were no significant changes in nicotine and cotinine concentrations with Eclipse, while with the inhaler nicotine decreased from 16.8 ng/ml to 12.2 ng/ml (p < 0.002) and cotinine decreased from 330 ng/ml to 259 ng/ml (p < 0.001). Ratings of missing cigarettes on a five point scale increased with both treatments, from 0.4 to 1.5 for the Eclipse (p < 0.001) and from 0.4 to 2.2 for the inhaler (p < 0.001). Subjects used an average 15.5 Eclipses per day and 7.0 inhaler cartridges per day. Craving decreased with Eclipse from 2.3 to 1.9 (p < 0.04) but was unchanged with the inhaler, from 2.3 to 2.1. For other withdrawal symptoms no differences were seen with either product.
On motivation to quit smoking (visual analog scale of 10 cm) an increase was noted for Eclipse users from 5.4 cm to 6.8 cm (p < 0.005). For the inhaler a non-significant trend from 5.4 cm to 5.9 cm was seen (p < 0.16). On the intention to give up smoking within the next six months an increase was seen for both treatments from 48% of smokers at baseline to 68% (p < 0.01) for Eclipse, and from 48% to 72% (p < 0.002) for the inhaler. No significant effects on heart rate were found.
The number of cigarettes smoked per day and carbon monoxide concentrations regained their initial levels when smokers entered the return to baseline period. Motivation to stop smoking was not measured during the return to baseline.
When Eclipse was used fewer cigarettes were smoked, but carbon monoxide, heart rate, nicotine and cotinine concentrations, and motivation to give up were higher than when the inhaler was used (table1). Intention to give up smoking in the next six months did not differ between products.
There was no difference in craving between the products, but Eclipse produced fewer withdrawal symptoms (p < 0.01) and less missing of cigarettes (p < 0.001). For cigarettes smoked per day, there was a period effect (p < 0.02) owing to fewer cigarettes being smoked per day with both the inhaler and Eclipse in the first treatment period compared to the second. A similar effect was found for missing cigarettes (p < 0.01), with less missing for both treatments in the first treatment period compared with the second. For withdrawal symptoms, there was a baseline by treatment by sequence interaction (p < 0.01). Stratified analysis indicated that for subjects with low initial withdrawal symptoms, symptoms increased with the inhaler but not with Eclipse (p < 0.002), while for subjects with high initial withdrawal symptoms, symptoms decreased with both the inhaler and Eclipse in the second treatment period compared to the first (p < 0.003).
After two weeks, before being crossed over, subjects were asked to compare the inhaler and Eclipse with cigarettes. Eclipse was rated as stronger than the inhaler (1.83 v 1.15 on a four point scale; Wilcoxon signed rank test, p < 0.05). Eclipse was less embarrassing than the inhaler (0.13 v0.55, p < 0.05). Liking of the product compared with cigarettes was similar at 1.40 and 1.35 for Eclipse and inhaler, respectively. The taste compared with cigarettes did not differ between the inhaler and Eclipse (0.95 v 1.30). The flavour rating compared with cigarettes was better for the inhaler than Eclipse (3.30v 2.2, p < 0.01). The draw resistance on a three point scale (0 = too light and 2 = too hard) was similar; 1.4 for the inhaler and 1.5 for Eclipse.
A total of 64 adverse events were reported; 32 for each of the devices. The adverse events were generally the same for both. The most frequent symptoms reported were headache and coughing (six times) and gastritis (five times). The few symptoms that tended to differ were dry mouth (four reports with Eclipse versus one with the inhaler) and gastritis/dyspepsia (two reports with Eclipse versus six with the inhaler). Three subjects on Eclipse and one on the inhaler dropped out because of adverse events. None of the adverse events was serious.
At six weeks the subjects could choose to use Eclipse, the inhaler or their own brand of cigarettes for another eight weeks. All three products would be provided free of charge. For the 39 subjects participating in this part of the study 15 (38%) chose cigarettes, 14 (36%) the inhaler, and 10 (26%) Eclipse.
Our major findings were threefold: (a) Eclipse produced a dramatic decrease in the number of cigarettes in smokers trying to reduce smoking with no increase in craving or withdrawal; (b) despite the dramatic reduction in smoking, Eclipse increased carbon monoxide to a clinically significant degree; and (c) using Eclipse did not change nicotine concentrations and did not appear to undermine motivation to quit.
Eclipse is currently marketed with claims such as less second hand smoke and lower risk of cancer and lung disease.7 However, when labelled a less risky product and given to smokers not interested in quitting and asked to reduce, Eclipse use was associated with a 85% reduction in the number of cigarettes smoked per day. The large magnitude of this effect and its reversibility with the return to baseline strongly suggest Eclipse actively suppressed cigarette use. Several lines of evidence suggest that Eclipse was functioning as an adequate cigarette substitute: (a) the number of Eclipse used per day plus the number of cigarettes smoked per day appeared to remain constant; (b) use of Eclipse and < 5 cpd did not result in increased withdrawal or craving; and (c) the liking for Eclipse was similar to that of cigarettes.
Even though the number of cigarettes per day decreased by 85% with Eclipse, the concentration of carbon monoxide increased by 50%. Importantly carbon monoxide declined upon switching to the inhaler after cessation of Eclipse. This strongly suggests Eclipse was actively increasing carbon monoxide. This is important as carbon monoxide is predictive of increased risk of heart attacks21 and a 12 ppm increase could be clinically significant.
Our finding of a 50% increase in carbon monoxide would not be predicted from data from smoking machines listed on the Eclipse pack. Our increase in carbon monoxide was larger than that seen in the industry study,5 despite the fact that both Eclipse and cigarettes were used by smokers in our study whereas only Eclipse was available in the industry study. The industry study included US smokers who smoked more than 20 cpd and thus had higher baseline carbon monoxide concentrations than the Swedish smokers in our study. Whether our lower carbon monoxide concentrations are caused by differences in US or Swedish cigarettes or by differences in the smoking pattern of US versus Swedish smokers is unknown. It may be that our greater increase in carbon monoxide is because our smokers began with lower concentrations. The industry study reported carbon monoxide in the form of carboxyhaemoglobin. In the present study carboxyhaemoglobin was also analysed but it was decided to report the more commonly used carbon monoxide in expired air since the effects on carboxyhaemoglobin and carbon monoxide were similar.
One concern is that because Eclipse can be seen as a safe way to smoke and can be used to escape the stop smoking message of smoking restriction, its availability may undermine motivation to quit. This concern is magnified by recent findings that smokers who switched to what were previously considered to be "safer cigarettes"—that is, low tar cigarettes—were less likely to go on to stop smoking than those who did not switch.16 In the current study, Eclipse may have actually increased motivation to stop smoking. This increase may have been caused by the large reduction in smoking with Eclipse in the absence of craving and withdrawal increases. On the other hand, because we did not measure motivation during the return to baseline, the increase in motivation may have been simply caused by participating in an experiment in which one focuses on their smoking. At any rate, our data certainly suggest Eclipse does not decrease motivation to quit.
Although we have focused our discussion on Eclipse, we did find some interesting things out about the inhaler. It too dramatically decreased smoking without worsening craving and withdrawal, and it too may have increased motivation to quit. Importantly, unlike Eclipse, the inhaler decreased rather than increased carbon monoxide. On the other hand, the inhaler was less able to maintain nicotine concentrations, was rated as more embarrassing, and did not substitute for missing a cigarette as well as Eclipse.
In the USA, neither Eclipse nor the inhaler are currently promoted for reducing smoking, although Eclipse, since it is unregulated and easily available, could be used to reduce smoking. Whether promoting reduced smoking among smokers not trying to quit will produce a net public health benefit is unclear for several reasons.17 First, although early data are encouraging,18 it is unclear whether smokers can make a large reduction in smoking and maintain this for long periods. Second, whether reductions in cigarettes smoked per day will be accompanied by reductions in other toxins or be negated by compensatory smoking is unclear. Third, whether reduced smoking will increase motivation to quit or will undermine quitting is also unclear. In this and one other study,19 the inhaler appeared to give positive results in all three of these areas. Thus, further studies, especially those on the long term use of Eclipse for smoking reduction, are indicated.
One asset of our study was that it used a within smokers crossover design with a return to baseline, providing a direct comparison of cigarettes, Eclipse, and inhaler. Another asset was that smokers could use both Eclipse and their own cigarettes, thereby replicating the conditions likely to prevail in the real world. A third asset was our choice of clinically relevant measures such as carbon monoxide as a marker for toxin exposure, withdrawal discomfort, motivation to stop smoking, and preference among products.
One limitation of our study was our short test condition. It is possible that with further use of Eclipse, carbon monoxide might have decreased. Another limitation is that we did not measure carcinogen concentrations; thus, we do not know whether Eclipse would have dramatically decreased these concentrations as it did in a study by the manufacturer.3
Eclipse has not sold well either in the USA or in Europe. This is thought to be because of its poor taste, problems in lighting it, etc. In addition, recent studies (published after we completed our study) indicate smoking Eclipse can result in inhalation of glass fibres.20 Thus, whether Eclipse itself will become widely used is unclear. However, given the increasing call for cigarette regulation and some statements by the tobacco industry that traditional cigarettes might be harmful, we believe it highly likely that reduced risk products will be marketed by the tobacco industry in the future. Our results indicate such products must be tested carefully because their net public health effect is unclear. For example, assume a clinician, or a smoker, saw the smoking rate decline from 18 cpd to 1.5 cpd while using a product that claims to have 90% less carcinogens and no increase in nicotine and carbon monoxide concentrations. The clinician might conclude that Eclipse had produced a positive benefit to his or her patient. However, our results indicate the patient would probably have a carbon monoxide concentration that was even higher than that derived from smoking his or her own cigarettes. Given that death from cardiovascular disease appears to be linked to carbon monoxide, the switch to Eclipse may not reduce the smoker's risk for cardiovascular disease and may even increase it.21 Finally, given that Eclipse may have a higher risk for cardiovascular disease and possibly for lung diseases (as a result of ingestion of glass fibres), we believe that, as with nicotine replacement products, further testing should be mandatory before allowing Eclipse to be marketed.
The authors express their gratitude and thanks to Dr Urbain Säwe at Pharmacia & Upjohn for help in planning and analysing this study, and to Bodil Jahnström and Dr Lars Ek at the department of pulmonary medicine at Helsingborg Hospital for excellent management of the study. Pharmacia & Upjohn Consumer Healthcare in Helsingborg, Sweden sponsored this study. Dr Hughes's efforts were sponsored by Research Scientist Development Award 00109 and grant 11935 from NIDA, and by sabbatical support from Pharmacia & Upjohn. Karl Fagerström was an employee of Pharmacia & Upjohn at the time the study was carried out.


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Fuse v. Arizona Board of Regents et al
Filing 67
ORDER granting Defendants' 40 Motion for partial judgment on the pleadings; counts 3, 4, and 5 of plaintiff's complaint are dismissed without prejudice to his right to reassert these claims in state court. Signed by Judge Frederick J Martone on 3/27/09.(REW, )
Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings provides public litigation records from the federal appellate and district courts. These filings and docket sheets should not be considered findings of fact or liability, nor do they necessarily reflect the view of Justia.


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The Instruments
Getting great instrument sounds in a mix is a combination of many factors. Finding space in the mix for each individual instrument is essential. This is often achieved through judicious use of EQ, compression, volume and panning. For example, the skill it takes to get great drum sounds, marry the kick drum to the bass while also giving the electric guitars rooms to breathe and sparkle is developed over time and repetition…a lot of repetition. When this is done properly, the instruments are exciting to listen to. Each has its place and role to play and when they come together, the song takes on a life of its own.
A great mix engineer always makes the treatment and placement of the vocal a priority. Once the instrumental mix is generally where it needs to be, it's time to make certain that the vocalist is running the show. A combination of EQ, compression, tuning (if necessary), effects and volume fader automation should all serve the ultimate goal of making it sound like the singer is in charge. There are several risks associated with improper vocal placement. If the final mix has too much vocal, then the instruments end up sounding small and weak. However, if the vocal is too soft in the mix, it loses its ability to communicate the emotion of the song. Every genre has its preferred vocal level. In general, pop music has the vocal more integrated into the instruments whereas country music (with its emphasis on the lyric) generally puts the vocal higher in the mix. There are, of course, exceptions to every rule but a good mix engineer will know the genre he or she is mixing in and do the right thing for the song.
On a related note, one of the best reasons to bring in an experienced mix engineer even if you've recorded the song yourself is a fresh, objective set of ears. It's been my experience that if the singer mixes their own project, they tend to keep the vocals too low for a couple of reasons. One is that most singers tend to get uncomfortable with their vocals up in a mix. There are precious few singers I've ever worked with who genuinely love the sound of their own voices. By keeping the vocal low in the mix, the vocalist/engineer won't have to their comfort zone but the mix suffers. The second reason has to do with the fact that the singer already knows the words and assumes that they're hearing the words when, in fact, they may be too low for someone who doesn't know the song to understand.
Mastering a Good Mix
Mastering a mixed recording is a separate skill altogether. While this isn't an article about mastering, I'd recommend using a dedicated mastering engineer (not your mix engineer) when it comes time for this step. More to the point, the value of a good mix is that the mastering engineer will spend much less time (their hourly rates are generally higher than mix engineer rates) getting the finished master together. In other words, money you spend on a good mix will end up saving you money on a final mastered recording.
Doing It Yourself
If you're still intent on doing your own mixing, consider hiring an expert to mix a song or two for you and then ask them for the session files back. Assuming you're using the same recording software (i.e. ProTools, Nuendo, Logic), you'll be able to examine every detail of how the mix was done and use the finished mix files as a kind of tutorial so you can ultimately learn to do them yourself.
Cliff Goldmacher is a songwriter, producer, engineer and the owner of recording studios in both Nashville and New York City. Cliff is also a regular contributor to EQ Magazine and Pro Sound News. He can be reached at [email protected].


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Asian airports 2016 traffic: Planning infrastructure growth ahead of the market becomes essential
Northeast Asia dominated the developments of East Asian airport growth in 2016. Beijing Capital, Asia's largest and the world's second biggest, further narrowed the gap with first place Atlanta. Yet with some Beijing Capital traffic due to start moving to the second airport Beijing Daxing in mid 2019, Beijing Capital may not overtake Atlanta in the near future.
Asia's second largest airport, Tokyo Haneda, is undergoing steady growth ahead of a slot increase to support more international visitors for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. Asia's third largest airport, Hong Kong, could soon be overtaken by Shanghai Pudong, which has had a dramatic growth story, especially in the last two years. Seoul Incheon has also grown rapidly and benefits from infrastructure developments.
Bangkok Suvarnabhumi posted record traffic, despite some traffic having moved to Don Mueang a few years ago. That initiative to make room for more growth gave only a few years of breathing room.
Asia's largest airports continue to be defined by pent up demand waiting for a combination of more runways, slots, terminals and air space.
Beijing Daxing to grow Beijing capacity. Beijing Capital may not surpass Atlanta
Adding a second major hub airport to Beijing was favoured over expanding Beijing Capital further. Guangzhou, facing a similar capacity predicament as Beijing, is of the view that (after approximately 100 million passengers) it is better to add a second airport than keep expanding the first facility, which may start losing efficiency even when some replication of services across two sites is factored in.
Beijing Capital has long been congested but has managed to eke out its growth, including frequency expansion and higher passenger throughput due to upgauging. Beijing Capital had passenger traffic of 94.4 million passengers in 2016. This was 4.9% growth, the highest in percentage terms since 2011's 6.4% growth. The net 4.6 million additional passengers in 2016 versus 2015 was the highest increase since 2011's 4.7 million additional passengers.
Beijing Capital had been expected to overtake Atlanta as the world's largest airport. But Beijing's growth slowed from 2012, whereas Atlanta made strong gains in passenger traffic from 2014. Atlanta remains the world's largest airport on passenger throughput, with Beijing Capital second.
In 2015 the gap between them widened for the first time in recent history, but in 2016 the gap has again been narrowed and Beijing Capital is as close to Atlanta as at any time before, with a difference of 9.9 million passengers.
But with 2018 expected to be the last full year of normal sized operations at Beijing Capital before airlines start moving to Beijing Daxing, it seems unlikely that Beijing Capital will overtake Atlanta any time in the foreseeable future, unless Beijing has a late growth streak and Atlanta stops growing. Beijing Capital does, however, could have a chance of surpassing 100 million passengers before some airlines move to Beijing Daxing.
Comparison of annual passengers at Atlanta and Beijing Capital and annual difference in passenger numbers: 2007-2016
In the data to 2016 Beijing Capital has remained Asia's largest hub by far, followed by Tokyo Haneda, which had a decent lead ahead of Hong Kong, which in turn had a lead – but a narrowing one – on Shanghai Pudong.
Beijing Capital remains Asia's largest – but Tokyo Haneda could briefly take the lead
There has been no going back for Beijing Capital since 2009 when it overtook Tokyo Haneda airport as Asia's largest airport. In 2009 Beijing Capital handled an additional 9.7 million passengers compared to 2008.
In 2009 there was a dip in Haneda traffic that was not recovered until 2012, when Haneda set a new record of 68.7 million passengers – but by then Beijing Capital was handling 83.7 million passengers.
Annual passenger throughput (millions) at major Northeast/Southeast Asian airports: 2008-2016
There is a chance that Tokyo Haneda might briefly regain the spot as Asia's largest airport. Beijing will open its second main airport at Daxing in mid 2019. This is the first time a Chinese city will have two major international airports. Beijing already has a second airport, but this is the small Beijing Nanyuan, used only by China United. Shanghai has Pudong, as well as the mostly domestic Hongqiao.
Air China and Star Alliance partners will remain at Beijing Capital while SkyTeam and some other airlines move to Beijing Daxing. Those airlines that are moving account for over a third of slots and capacity at Capital. As CAPA's Feb-2017 analysis about Beijing Daxing highlighted, as these airlines move from Beijing Capital to Beijing Daxing their slots at Beijing Capital will become available to other airlines.
See related report: Beijing's second airport at Daxing: risk of unproductive competition, China Eastern the big winner
It is unclear how quickly the capacity will be backfilled. Airlines will be given a few years to move from Capital to Daxing, and if airlines implement a gradual move their slots may be gradually released as well. But if airlines move in a short time frame it is expected some of their slots will be held and released over a few years, to ensure steady growth.
A scenario that could unfold is that throughput at Beijing Capital decreases as airlines move to Beijing Daxing and their capacity is not immediately backfilled. At the same time, Tokyo Haneda will have modest growth in passenger throughput as additional international slots are created in the lead up to the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
See related report: Beijing Airport splits traffic: Hong Kong, Seoul, Shanghai race to be Asia's 100 million pax airport
Even if Haneda overtakes Beijing Capital during this transition period, Beijing Capital will inevitably regain the title as Asia's largest airport – and if more growth can be squeezed out, Beijing Capital could overtake Atlanta as the world's largest.
Shanghai Pudong closing in on Hong Kong as Asia's third largest airport
After Beijing Capital and Tokyo Haneda, Asia's third largest airport is Hong Kong, but this ranking appears unlikely to last long. Shanghai Pudong is growing fast. In 2008 Shanghai Pudong was one of Asia's smaller hubs, with 28 million passengers. Over the next seven years it overtook Seoul Incheon, Bangkok Suvarnabhumi, Singapore Changi, Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta and Guangzhou.
Pudong's ascent has been a more recent development: Pudong added 19 million passengers in the five years between 2008 and 2013, and then added another 19 million passengers in just the three years between 2013 and 2016. Most of the growth has been since 2015, when a new runway was opened: Pudong added 8 million passengers in 2015 and a further 6.3 million passengers in 2016. This demonstrates the pent up demand in China's key gateways that materialises once new infrastructure is in place.
Since 2004 Hong Kong and Pudong have been separated by about 12 million passengers (in 2010, when Pudong had a GFC rebound, the difference was only 10.3 million). This gap narrowed to 8.8 million in 2015, and then to a dramatically smaller 4.5 million in 2016.
Annual passenger throughput (millions) at Hong Kong and Shanghai Pudong airports: 2004-2016
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If Pudong can repeat the growth of 2015 and 2016 in 2017 it could take Hong Kong over as Asia's third largest airport. Pudong has intentionally been holding slots for gradual release, although it is unclear exactly how much growth will be created in 2017.
Further, Hong Kong underperformed in 2016, as an air traffic control technology switch resulted in decreased movements. That switch should support new slots being generated, but the exact number is also unclear. If Pudong can sustain growth while Hong Kong manages lacklustre slot creation, Pudong could overtake Hong Kong – a thought many would have considered implausible even five years ago, when Guangzhou, Bangkok, Singapore and Jakarta were all larger than Pudong.
Growth at Seoul Incheon and Bangkok Suvarnabhumi also stands out. Southeast Asia pales against Northeast Asia airport growth
Seoul Incheon overtook Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok Suvarnabhumi in 2016 and reported throughput of approximately 58 million passengers – just behind Changi's 59 million and Guangzhou's 60 million.
Incheon's performance is notable, given slot constraints at peak hours that will soon be alleviated with additional capacity. Subdued growth at Singapore and Guangzhou could mean that Incheon overtakes those airports and becomes Asia's fifth largest airport – an accomplishment in short time, since until 2016 Incheon was the smallest of the major airports in Northeast and Southeast Asia.
In Southeast Asia, Bangkok Suvarnabhumi stands out. It peaked with 53 million passengers in 2012 but then in 2013 Bangkok Don Mueang reopened to alleviate congestion and facilitate growth, particularly for low cost airlines. Traffic decreased to 51 million passengers in 2013 and then 46 million in 2014.
However, traffic has grown, and in 2016 Suvarnabhumi posted record passenger throughput of 56 million passengers – more than 2012, when just Suvarnabhumi was in operation.
Seoul Incheon and Kuala Lumpur are exceptions in Asia in that they have capacity available (although not always at all periods) and infrastructure capability. Asia's other largest airports are defined less by market developments than they are by available infrastructure.
As slots, terminals and airspace open up, growth increases, but as congestion becomes more constraining, growth plateaus.
Until more airports plan sufficient infrastructure ahead of demand, it is difficult to evaluate savvy marketing and airline-airport-government partnerships. It is Asia's smaller airports that are excelling on that, and will inspire major airports one day when they no longer have an unending queue of growth.
Yet even with more demand than supply, airports, airlines and governments would be wise to consider smart growth, and asking which growth options from airlines generate the highest value.


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1 Jergens Skin Brightening Lotion 200ml each
Brightens skin and dark spots with Dual UV Protector
Jergens Skin Brightening moisturizer helps you reveal deeply luminous, visibly lighter skin. This unique formula contains a dual UV protector. Protects against the sun and gently penetrates beneath the skin's surface to soften, lighten and maintain fairer skin.
Jergens moisturizers are created to make a beautiful difference for your skin – a difference you can actually see, feel and experience. Restore your skin's deep luminosity to reveal skin that's never looked so beautiful.


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Areas of Focus
Regenerative Medicine Laboratory (RML)
Regenerative Medicine Laboratory
Regenerative medicine focuses on harnessing the power of adult-derived stem cells and the body's own regenerative capabilities to restore the function to damaged cells, tissues, and organs. With the expansion and maturation of the science of veterinary regenerative medicine, new FDA regulations have been implemented to ensure the consistency of stem cell products throughout the country. The UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine is actively working with the FDA to meet these guidelines to continue to provide the highest-quality stem cell products to our clients.
Currently, The UC Davis Veterinary Regenerative Medicine Laboratory has restricted access to investigational stem cell products to those who are involved in UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine sponsored clinical trials. Please contact us for more information


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2. Does the TCP Optimizer really work ?
Tags: tweak, broadband, TCP Optimizer
Yes, the Optimizer does work and very well in 99% of all systems (which might be a better average than MS Windows itself ;) ). It optimizes some networking related buffers for Internet connectivity, and allows for some educated custom tweaking of your Internet connection. It's easy to backup/restore all modified settings as well.
Older Windows OSes will see immediate and very noticeable improvement in speed. Even though recent Windows versions are better tuned to deal with broadband internet speeds out of the box, and the benefits of using the software may not be immediately noticeable, the Optimizer still works and tweaks all related settings to improve broadband, as discussed in our tweaking articles.


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posted by elvis_crabs #
flag as inappropriate
This address was the former location of the high school, also known as Aberdeen High School, that Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic of Nirvana attended. After Cobain dropped out, he worked briefly as a janitor at the high school.
On January 5, 2002, the Weatherwax wing of the high school burnt down. After investigation, it was revealed that a friend of Cobain's started the fire while trying to destroy school records.
A new high school was constructed at 410 N. G Street (two blocks away).


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Chucky HugMe Vibrating 16″ Plush
Hi, I'm Chucky. Wanna play? Don't let the urge to cuddle this perfectly plush HUGME fool you, there's nothing innocent about the little guy. Standing at approximately 16 inches tall, Kidrobot has crafted your favorite childhood nightmare into a Chucky HUGME Vibrating Plush with signature shake action when you hug it tight or clap! Inspired by the infamous killer doll from the horror movie Child's Play, the Chucky 16″ HUGME plush comes to life with bloody knife just in time for Halloween, turning the foul-mouthed and campy horror classic into an irresistibly huggable HUGME ready to terrorize kids and adults alike. But keep a close eye on him… you never know what might happen when you drift to sleep.
Additionally, each HugMe Plush comes with a vibrating unit with removable batteries for a shakeably soft hug when you need one. Get yours today and prove to everyone that Chucky lives…
Shake action when you hug it! Shake action when you clap!
*3 AA batteries come included


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We are proud to offer a wide variety of laboratory tests, both in clinic and at external laboratories for wellness screening and to promptly help assess a sick pet. Our patients cannot speak and tell us what is wrong, so we use your observations and our physical exam findings to make a treatment plan suited for your particular pet. We are able to perform in-house blood testing (complete blood counts, blood chemistries and thyroid hormone assessments), comprehensive urinalyses (evaluating the kidney concentrating ability, urine pH, sediment evaluation), and fecal testing (floats to look for eggs and parasites, smears to evaluate gut flora and giardia testing). Any advanced testing can be sent off 7 days a week to external labs for additional testing.
For pets with eye concerns, we can check for a scratch on the eye with fluorescein stain. We can conduct a Schimer Tear Test to assess tear production and diagnose dry eye. We also have a Tonopen, which is a device used to measure eye pressure, which allows for early treatment of glaucoma (high eye pressure) or uveitis (low eye pressure). We simply administer a drop of freezing to the eye and it does not require sedation to perform.


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H2C Briefing Report Update: Federal Trade Commission vs. Phoebe Putney Health System
posted on April 8, 2015
The Federal Trade Commission has entered into a settlement with Phoebe Putney Health System, Inc., the Hospital Authority of Albany-Dougherty County, and HCA Inc. resolving the Commission's charge that the Hospital Authority's acquisition of Palmyra Park Hospital, Inc. from HCA Inc. – which created an effective hospital monopoly in the Albany, Georgia area – was anticompetitive. This consent agreement follows a significant Supreme Court victory in 2013 that reaffirmed the narrow scope of state action immunity and allowed the Commission to challenge this transaction. Due to the unavailability of structural relief, the consent does not require a divestiture.
"While we continue to have reason to believe that Phoebe Putney's acquisition of Palmyra violated Section 7 of the Clayton Act and Section 5 of the FTC Act, any relief attempting to restore the competition lost as a result of the merger is precluded by Georgia's strict CON [Certificate of Need] requirements," the Commission wrote in a statement. Although a divestiture was available when the Commission filed this case, an Eleventh Circuit decision allowing the parties to consummate the transaction gave rise to the circumstances that the Commission ultimately determined precluded a divestiture here.
Under the consent agreement with the FTC , Phoebe Putney and the Hospital Authority must notify the FTC in advance of acquiring any part of a hospital or a controlling interest in other healthcare providers in the Albany, Georgia area for the next 10 years, and will be prohibited from objecting to regulatory applications made by potential new hospital providers in the same area for up to five years.
The settlement announced today is similar to the one proposed in 2013. Like the earlier settlement, it: requires Phoebe Putney and the Hospital Authority to give the FTC prior notice before acquiring any part of a hospital or a controlling interest in other healthcare providers in the Albany, Georgia area; prohibits the Hospital Authority and Phoebe Putney from opposing a Certificate of Need application for a general acute-care hospital in the Albany area; contains a stipulation that the effect of the transaction may be substantially to lessen competition within the relevant service and geographic markets alleged in the complaint.
The Commission vote to make the consent order final was 3-0-2, with Commissioners Joshua D. Wright and Terrell McSweeny not participating.
Hammond Hanlon Camp LLC ("H2C") is an independent strategic advisory and investment banking firm committed to providing superior advice as a trusted advisor to healthcare organizations throughout the United States. H2C's professionals have a long track record of success in healthcare mergers & acquisitions, capital markets, real estate and restructuring transactions, acting as lead advisors on hundreds of transactions representing billions of dollars in value. Hammond Hanlon Camp LLC offers securities through its wholly-owned subsidiary H2C Securities Inc., member FINRA/SIPC. For more information, go to h2c.com
Dara Litwin
Hammond Hanlon Camp LLC
623 Fifth Avenue
29th Floor
New York, NY 10022
3333 Piedmont Road
Suite 700
Atlanta, GA 30305
11682 El Camino Real
Suite 320
San Diego, CA 92130
311 South Wacker Drive
Suite 5425
Chicago, IL 60606


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Swing tarzan-like over it! Or build a bridge. Or ride in a safe boat (preferably metal) and bat any alligators over the head that attack you.
How would you value Groupon or any other social network?
Glassdoor has 191 interview questions and reports from Intern interviews. Prepare for your interview. Get hired. Love your job.
I did not prepare for this. It is easy to find a job if your major in IT. But I guess this reason is not very good.
How do you fit an elephant into a refrigerator?
template class Q private Stack S1,S2; public Q(); ~Q(); void enQ(item *); item* dQ(); int empty(); void Q::enQ(item * i) if(S1.empty~S2.empty) while(~S2.empty) S1.push(S2.pop()); S1.push(i); return; item Q::dQ() if(S2.empty~S1.empty) while(~S1.empty) S2.push(S1.pop()); return S2.empty?0:S2.pop; int Q::empty() return S1.empty()S2.empty; Q::Q() S1=new Stack; S2=new Stack; Q::~Q() delete S1; delete S2;
Discuss how climate change might affect our business?
I guess theyre expecting to measure how you can manage memory in your code. I would use pointers such that I can free up the memory (by deleting) when Im done. clock_t* start = clock(); program code clock_t* end = clock(); clock_t ExecutionTime = end – start; delete start; delete end;
Valuation impact, increase in cost of capital.
Not prepared again. This is focusing on your responsibility I guess. If you did something wrong, you should be responsible and try your best to fix it.
Please tell me do you have any experience in your life or study, that you did not do it well, or badly, then what happened?
Enqueue : Push elements to stack1. Dequeue : If stack2 is not empty, pop elements from stack2. Otherwise, pop elements from stack1 and push them to stack2 first. Then, pop elements from stack2. For explanation, example and code
Queue should implement FIFO. Lets have a group of task 1 -10 to be performed //declare two stacks Stack S1, S2; //feed stack S1 with the tasks 1 – 10 for(int i=1; i=10;i++) S1.push(i); //Now S1 contains 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 where the top is 10 //Transfer all from S1 to S2 while(!S1.isEmpty()) S2.push(S1.pop()); //Now S2 contains 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 where the top is 1 You can now pop tasks from S2. Task 1 will be the first to pop and so on… Therefore, you just simulated FIFO using two stacks
Calculating the max execution time of a program that had to fit into a certain size of memory on an embedded device.
Declare two stacks called in and out. sert() calls in.push() queue.remove() if (out.notEmpty) out.pop() else while(in.notEmpty) out.push(in.pop) Dont get how this would be two questions.
Intern interview questions shared by candidates
blakdoggs answer is efficient, and has amortized time O(n). The trick here is that when you enqueue an element, you only push into one stack. Only move element when dequeue. Otherwise, running time will be more than O(n). Details are in CLRS amortized analysis.
What do you think about the chance to travel internationally in this industry?
I think it depends on processing speed of a Processor or Controller or it depends on MIPS of the system. Finally, MIPS will be used to measure the time for executing total number of assembly level instructions of the given code.
Build a refrigerator big enough to fit it!
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Please check my videos that explain How to implement a queue from two stacks? Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 3 –
Because that is the simple implementation, pretty much the exact same answer I gave them, there apparently is a more efficient way of modelling it.
They do not offer much chance to travel in Perth technical roles so this was something of a misleading question.
How do you cross a river infested with alligators?
How to implement a queue simply using two stacks and how to implement a highly efficient queue using two stacks.


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Kinect input demo at BMMF
At the Brighton Mini Maker Faire Moving Brands (of chocolate printing fame) worked on an input demo using Kinect. The resulting shapes were then printed out on M&H's RepRap. Spot Me, M & H on the next booth in this video.
Hand Drawn - A Kinect hack from Moving Brands on Vimeo.
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Blinken OSA Archivum - Night of the Museums 2017 Program 16.00- 24.00
Exhibition in Galeria Centralis: Afghanistan, Graveyard of Empires: The Soviet War
The Soviet intervention in Afghanistan unleashed the last major international armed struggle of the Cold War period. Retrospectively, it seems paradoxical since Afghanistan had never been a central area of the Cold War before this conflict broke out. The Soviet leadership was initially reluctant to intervene and it proved to be, indeed, a fatal decision in every way. It brought a bloody war on Afghanistan with an appalling toll of human life and great suffering. Its moral, political, financial and military strain also contributed to a great extent to the collapse of the Soviet empire. In addition, the Soviet intervention pushed the Afghan state into chaos, and the disastrous global consequences of this state failure are still unresolved.
For those visitors to the exhibition who are willing to participate in a quiz, the Fruccola café, which will be open all night, will offer a taste of genuine Afghan food.
17:00/19:00. Guided tour of the exhibition by the curator
16:00-24:00 Tours of the building: Exhibition hall and archive in a museum space. The industrial monument that is the Goldberger building is opened up to public view once a year. The basement of the building holds records of the fieldwork that underpinned Radio Free Europe's broadcasts during the Cold War, as well as the collection of Human Rights documents. The tours are in every two hours.
Music: 21:00 DJ Sztyepp


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22 Jan Streetcar Crowsnest
Crowsnest Case
After 33 years of popping up in one venue or another, Crow's Theatre finally took a permanent space on the street level of a Condo complex in the Leslieville neighbourhood of Toronto. The condo developer, Streetcar Developments, generously provided Crow's with the lead gift in their Capital Campaign giving way to the name of the complex – Streetcar Crowsnest.
The space houses 2 performance areas, a large gathering area and a restaurant. Part of the business model is to also rent out the space in down times for weddings and other events. The signage needed to reflect the Crow's brand, the beautiful new surroundings and architectural details – like the reclaimed wood beams used throughout, pay tribute to the many donors who had made this space possible through their generous gifts and yet maintain an elegant, succinct, clean and upscale look.
New space is indeed a tabula rasa. We saw the immediate opportunity to combine the recognition and wayfinding/area identification signage for a more stream-lined less cluttered look. We needed to decide whether the brand or the interior environment would drive the design. We opted to take inspiration from dark wood accents, the dark metal window mullions, the white walls and the polished concrete floors of the surroundings in order to create a look that was warm yet classic like the environment. Other than the naming of the complex there were two main levels of recognition plus utility and occupancy /emergency signage. We coordinated the colours, design and materials so that there was a visual consistency throughout. Because most of the outer walls are windows, we avoided highly reflective materials that could bleach out in the light. For the Level one recognition/space identification we went with dimensional individual letters made form a dark anodized aluminum that matched in colour to the wood and window mullions and to these we added wood accent strips. For the second level of recognition we created a system of signs that used frosted acrylic, dark brown text and again the wood accent strips which also hid the pins for blind mounting. These signs were also dual purpose indicating space, area, direction or entrance as well as the donor. For example, the "BMO Greenroom and Dressing Rooms". The matte surface and brown/white colour combo was also used for the balance of the utilitarian signs.
Working collaboratively with the client in a relatively compressed timeline we created solutions that worked for them, the donors, the environment and anyone who walked into the space for theatre or an event. We delivered a total recognition, wayfinding and utility sign program that met the client's criteria, a perfect balance of communication, appreciation and artful elegance befitting the space. And we saved time and money as a result.


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Happy Birdsday Birthday Card
Regular price $5.25
This card is a print of our own illustration of a bird and text of "Happy Birdsday". It's a great birthday card for anyone who loves birds or puns.
A2 (4.25 in x 5.5 in) when folded.
Blank inside.
Prints of original watercolor paintings on acid-free and archival quality premium 100% cotton card stock
Matching yellow envelope
Packaged in a resealable cello sleeve for protection
Say Something Cards logo on the back