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Hunting for 'Worms From Hell': One Reporter's Journey
If you're on a quest for "worms from Hell," you have to be prepared for some tough going. You have to be an intrepid adventurer and a scientific risk-taker, someone with a high tolerance for discomfort and, of course, heat. Gaetan Borgonie, a nematode specialist from Belgium, is such a person, and as a result the world now knows something new and quite surprising about the world deep below the Earth's surface: It is home not only to single-cell microbes, but also to far more complex creatures such as nematodes, which have thousands of cells.
Borgonie's discovery, reported in the June 2 edition of the journal Nature, was the result of some 25 trips down into the deepest cuts in the world, the gold and platinum mines of South Africa. His journeys into the lairs of some of the world's most extreme extremophiles took him as deep as 2.5 miles into the Earth, and allowed him to bring back some living samples that – once put in a culture and petri dish – began to wiggle and squirm. Borgonie and his colleagues tend to be matter-of-fact about the nature and hardship of their search, but finding the "worms from Hell" took stamina and remarkable drive. I know because for two descents, or "safaris" as they are sometimes called, I joined them in their quest.
I had no idea I would be on a nematode hunt when I flew to South Africa in 2009. My goal was to see firsthand where extremophile pioneer Tullis Onstott of Princeton University did the work that permanently changed our understanding of the deep subterranean world. Working on a hunch (and with no outside funding) Onstott set off to South Africa in search of microbes he believed could be living in the steaming, dark isolation of the rock surrounding the mine tunnels. It took him and his colleagues years to prove it, but now it is widely accepted that microbes can live miles below the surface of the earth and of the ocean bed. Their most famous discovery, a bacterium named candidatus Desulforudis audaxviator (or "bold traveler"), in a nod to Jules Verne's "Journey to the Center of the Earth," has been determined to have lived as long as 3 to 40 million years deep underground without any contact with the surface – using the radioactive decay of nearby rock as its energy source and breaking molecules into bite-sized nourishment. [Strangest Places Where Life Is Found on Earth]
While Onstott couldn't be in South Africa when I visited, I traveled with the South African team that has been instrumental in Onstott's success. Based at the University of the Free State at Bloemfontein, the group led by a dynamic young biochemist named Esta van Heerden and a veteran chemist Derek Litthauer, who now searches for novel genes and proteins in the deep mines. As it turned out, when I showed up the team also had a visiting colleague – Borgonie. Like Onstott before him, he had a hunch: that the life deep underground would not all be microbial. Yes, the pressures and heat would be high and the level of oxygen would be low. But since nematodes, or roundworms, are hardy and widespread, Borgonie saw no compelling reason why they in particular wouldn't be found in the deep mines – despite the generally accepted view that their range was limited to about 20 feet below the surface. When I arrived he already had a few deep mine samples, but not enough to actually write a paper on them.
While nematologist Borgonie was initially most interested in expanding the known range of his worms, he certainly understood the implications for astrobiology that the discovery of complex life deep below the surface would have. The proven presence of bacteria and other microbes at great depth had already led to speculation that a similar kind of subterranean life could live on planets beyond Earth, and most especially Mars. Once much wetter and warmer, Mars may well have had environments conducive to the genesis of life some 4 billion years ago. Conditions deteriorated after that, but perhaps some life survived by going deep underground and adapting. If far more complex nematodes – with their nervous systems, digestive systems and reproductive systems – could survive deep underground on Earth, then perhaps the same would be true on Mars. [7 Theories on the Origin of Life]
Our first descent together was at the Star Diamond Mine, in the bush several hours drive from Bloemfontein. A relatively small operation, we went down less than a mile to collect water samples and (I suspect) test out whether the journalistic guest could handle the subterranean world. Borgonie had also found some interesting nematodes carrying eggs in the stalactite cones that formed on some outcroppings and equipment, and was looking for more but came away empty-handed.
The next descent would be much deeper, and to a far more expansively developed mine. The destination was the Northam Platinum Mine, and it was a day's ride from Bloemfontein, near the Crocodile River in the northeast of the country. The Northam Platinum managers had called van Heerden because they were going to close off two sections of the mine that might be of interest to her and her extremophile team. It took years to develop trust between mine owners and the scientists, but by 2009 it was quite well established.
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As Onstott had previously proven by collecting water from boreholes and finding bacteria in his samples, the rock formations in South Africa were ideal for subterranean life. The microbes need fractures in the rocks and they need water, and both were available. The logic of Onstott's discoveries, and now the nematode discoveries, too, is that similar life is likely to be found deep underground wherever conditions allow, and that may well be under much of the Earth's surface.
The trip down to our destination at Northam Platinum, Level 7, was in a fast-moving elevator. A well-organized operation with modern equipment, you could nonetheless hear rocks falling on the elevator ceiling as we sped down into darkness. A few minutes later, we came to an abrupt halt, the doors opened, and we walked in a large central cavern – complete with a miniature train system to move the mined material around. Each level has such an opening and then a maze of tunnels branching off, and we set off to some of the far reaches of the maze.
Our first destination was the end of a tunnel that hadn't worked out – too much water seeped in despite efforts to staunch it and pump it out. In less than seven years, the equipment brought in had been transformed into what looked like a long-ago shipwreck, with stalactites of calcium carbonate adding to the haunted feel of the place. We all sloshed around in calf-deep water. Borgonie was ecstatic -- both the boreholes and the cones held out the promise of nematodes. He lingered after the others had left, muttering happily to himself.
But our main destination was elsewhere, and after he moved on I marched behind the others in the darkness. It was eerie, unnerving to be so far underground, so completely surrounded by rock. But the tunnel was straight and solidly dug, the ventilation brought in some fresh air and took out the noxious gases, and the periodic sight and sound of miners down branch tunnels kept things from becoming too other-worldly. I came to a junction, made a sharp left to follow the others and, with the suddenness of a fast-passing train, was staggered by a blast of heat. It wasn't the kind of heat that brings you to a quick sweat – I was already there anyway – but the kind that grows inside your body with strenuous, or overly strenuous exertion. It was a body blow, and I reached for the wall to keep standing. Only later did I learn that both Borgonie and Litthauer have on occasion been evacuated from an especially hot or airless tunnel and sent back to the surface. Temperatures normally rise as you descend farther into the Earth, but Onstott told me the gold and diamond belt of South Africa is particularly hot below because some of its rock layers are especially prone to radioactive decay.
I inched my way to the researchers and mine officials gathered ahead at another tunnel dead-end. Already the scientists had attached their equipment to a narrow metal pipe poking out from the rock and were collecting water. It was a borehole, one drilled by miners to see what conditions were like inside the rock. The temperature gauge showed the water was a scalding 120 degrees F at the end of the pipe. It was a barely touchable 130 degrees or more as it left the hard igneous rock, one of the researchers said. Mine geologist Werner Lamprecht, clearly proud of the extremity of it all, said the temperature several feet inside the rock face was probably in the range of 160 degrees. Not surprisingly, steam danced up from the water pooled on the tunnel floor.
Working in this kind of heat is known to bring on hallucinations, and Spanish researcher Antonio Garcia-Moyano and I periodically did see halos of light far broader than anything coming from our miners' lights. The miners say they gradually get more used to the heat – though working in the mines has inevitable long-term consequences -- but we non-miners had to periodically retreat from the pressure cooker to slightly ventilated corners of the tunnel. (Directed to a nearby ceiling pipe spraying tepid water, I drenched myself and my coveralls in a very slightly cooling shower.)
It didn't help that the water coming out of the boreholes is hot and steamy, stinks of rotten eggs, and is full of methane gas. As with the miners digging for gold, platinum and diamonds, many descents by the scientists end with no useful data at all.
I sat on a discarded board beside the tunnel wall and watched. The tunnel had no insects, no spiders, none of the unexpected movement that comes with creatures, yet previous expeditions had proven that we were not alone--that even this place somehow supported life in the tiny, watery cracks in the rock. That the life could even be more complex than a single-celled microbe seemed impossible.
Yet Borgonie's paper in Nature, co-authored with Onstott, van Heerden, Litthauer and others, described four tiny, yet visible to the eye, nematodes found in the three different deep mines (but not the ones we visited.) The living worm captured at greatest depth was more than 1.2 miles down, while a remnant part of a nematode was also found at 2.2 miles. The question of contamination was clearly important – were these creatures brought in to the environment on the shoes of miners or in mining water? Extensive testing – including an additional trip to South Africa to re-test some water required by the journal Nature– established the nematodes were indeed living deep in rock of the mines, feeding on the bacteria, and adapting to a dark, hot world with little oxygen.
While some of the bacteria had been deep underground for millions, or tens of millions of years, the nematodes were determined to have lived at their current depth for at least 5,000 to 10,000 years. To capture the remarkable setting, the team named one previously unknown nematode Halicephalobusmephisto, a reference to Faust and his demon of the underworld.
It took many months for the paper to be finalized and published, but when it appeared news of the "worms from Hell" spread around the world. It also impressed many scientists in the field, as described by Oregon State University's Frederick Colwell. He already knew something of the discovery, but said it surprised many who never conceived of the possibility of finding complex life at such depths. "This is a new finding that is definitely striking to the scientific community," he said.
Colwell is active in the Deep Carbon Observatory project at the Carnegie Institution of Washington, and is organizing a "census" of life underground. The "worms from Hell" are an important addition to their understanding of Earth, he said, and a potentially significant advance for astrobiology too. "People have had to rethink assumptions about possible life on Mars or other planets," he said. "If more complex life can exist at depth on Earth, then the chances that it could elsewhere clearly go up."
For Borgonie, worldwide interest in the "worms from Hell" has been something of a surprise – nematode news seldom gets such attention. Now he wants to sequence the genome of H. mephistoto find more of its secrets. The search for subterranean worms was a high-stakes gamble with many naysayers – including at his own university – but that is often the backdrop to significant discoveries.
"In science, the first time someone proposes something unusual the reaction is almost always negative," he would later say. "Meteorites killed off the dinosaurs; at first they all said 'Ha, ha.' Ten years later they said maybe it was possible. And ten years after that, people say, yeah, well, of course." He was talking about dinosaurs, but obviously thinking of nematodes in the deep.
Now, he hopes, other researchers will join the search for nematodes – and other complex life-forms – deep underground, and continue the process of re-defining the nature and spread of life on Earth and the possibilities for life beyond our planet.
This story was provided by Astrobiology Magazine, a web-based publication sponsored by the NASA astrobiology program.
Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: firstname.lastname@example.com.


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B.C. NDP leader John Horgan distanced himself as best as he could from the federal party's decision to dump moderate leader Thomas Mulcair and spend the next couple of years debating the far-left crackpottery known as the Leap Manifesto.
"It's a document that I don't embrace personally," Horgan told reporters at the legislature. "I believe there are elements in the document that make sense, and there are elements that make no sense in British Columbia.
"So we won't be proceeding under any Leap Manifesto in the next 12 months under my leadership."
Horgan didn't specify what part of the manifesto he likes. Presumably it's not the part about tearing up Canada's free trade agreements, converting food production to local agrarian collectives or unilaterally dismantling our energy industry and replacing it with community-owned windmills and solar panels.
It can't be the demand to stop all pipelines, because while the B.C. NDP doesn't like oil, Horgan is in favour of natural gas exports to Asia. In general, that is. He's now on record with the federal regulator that he's against the Petronas-led Pacific Northwest LNG project with a terminal at Prince Rupert.
The Leap Manifesto is the brainchild of anti-capitalist Toronto author Naomi Klein, with support from Greenpeace and the Sierra Club. Its campus-radical cluelessness is perhaps best summed up by the format, which consists of 15 "demands."
Here's demand number six: "We want high-speed rail powered by just renewables and affordable public transit to unite every community in this country – in place of more cars, pipelines and exploding trains that endanger and divide us."
This demand effectively declares all of rural Canada irrelevant. By even considering it, the NDP risks doing the same.
Here's number 11: "We must expand those sectors that are already low-carbon: caregiving, teaching, social work, the arts and public interest media."
And how will "we" pay all these state-funded ballerinas and bloggers? Financial transaction taxes, increased resource royalties (until resource industries are killed off), a "progressive" carbon tax, and that old standby from the Occupy tent, higher taxes on corporations and the wealthy.
It's hard to tell now, but the NDP was created to give political power to industrial workers. Horgan was asked if the party's effort to win back industrial workers could be hampered by this potential lurch to the urban left.
"The difference between my hardhat and the premier's hardhat is that my hardhat has union labels on it, and hers doesn't," Horgan replied.
As this statement was being made, the B.C. and Yukon Building Trades Council was meeting in Victoria. Its president, Tom Sigurdson, would use that event to host B.C. Liberal cabinet ministers and blast Horgan for opposing Pacific Northwest LNG.
In the 2013 election, then-NDP leader Adrian Dix made a mid-campaign decision to come out against the Trans-Mountain pipeline expansion. Since then the NDP has opposed construction of the Site C dam on the Peace River. Horgan is in favour of hydroelectric power, you understand. Just not this project at this time.
Perhaps the most stunning thing about the federal NDP's fling with the Leap Manifesto was that it was staged in Edmonton. It came as a direct rejection of Alberta Premier Rachel Notley, who faces the grim reality of an oil and gas slump.
Notley has promised a carbon tax and the end of coal-fired power generation, moves that no NDP government has proposed, much less implemented.
Her own pretending-to-be-green party ignored and betrayed her.
Horgan wandering around in a hardhat is looking like a tougher sell every day.
Tom Fletcher is B.C. legislature reporter and columnist for Black Press. Email: firstname.lastname@example.com Twitter: @tomfletcherbc

subset: commoncrawl


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Chris Stapleton Donates $10,000 to Lexington Habitat for Humanity
Chris Stapleton and his wife Morgane are giving back to an organization they believe in. The couple has donated $10,000 to Lexington Habitat for Humanity in the star's native state of Kentucky.
Stapleton grew up in Paintsville, Ky., roughly two hours from Lexington. The Stapletons didn't publicly announce their decision to give to HFH, instead sending a check in the mail — also a surprise to Lexington Habitat For Humanity CEO Rachel Childress. She explains to local news station WKYT that the money will have a powerful impact on the organization's mission to help build and rehabilitate homes for those in need, lending itself to building a new roof or windows on a home and replacing an HVAC system. The money will also assist senior citizens stay in their homes by making them more accessible with a walk-in shower and installing low toilets.
"We were thrilled when the check came in the mail. It was completely unexpected," Childress says. "It is beautiful when people use their resources to help others. Every dollar makes a difference and we know this gift will make a big impact on Lexington families. We are so grateful."
Stapleton made the donation through his charitable fund, Outlaw State of Kind, that benefits a variety of charities he and his wife are passionate about. They've supported several branches of Habitat for Humanity around the country, including Nashville, East Bay/Silicon Valley and Cincinnati. Stapleton has also donated to a range of other organizations, such as BraveHearts Therapeutic Riding Center, Companions for Heroes, Music Health Alliance and more.
The "Millionaire" singer and Morgane welcomed their fifth child, a son, in May 2019. Stapleton halted his touring schedule for May and June and will resume his All-American Road Show Tour on July 9 in Allentown, Pa., continuing through Nov. 2 when the trek wraps in Louisville, Ky.
These Country Stars Go Big for Charity:


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If you happen to've ever worked with a advertising and marketing marketing consultant or done a Google search, you've got most likely had somebody let you know to use Google AdWords. If you accomplice with us to manage your AdWords advertising marketing campaign, you are placing a long time of mixed experience behind your company. It's been almost 20 years since Google AdWords Search was launched in October 23, 2000. In actuality, it is best to learn this in-depth information on key phrase analysis by Backlinko before finalizing a marketing campaign.
Whenever you launch a marketing campaign, Google additionally assigns a top quality score to your adverts. Traditionally, AdWords works finest for ecommerce companies who've a product to promote, or for service industries that may goal local searches. Whenever you advertise with Google Ads, you're making a financial investment in your enterprise.
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The Americas Center Consumer Banking Conference, hosted by the Florida International University School of Business, explored how banking the unbanked and underbanked helps stabilize and strengthen financial industries and economies in the United States and Latin America. The conference also delved into how access to mainstream banking services stabilizes communities and how growth in consumer banking markets can occur safely and soundly through financial education, regulation, and product innovation. Speakers discussed how successful partnerships support the continued progress in banking the unbanked.
For further information about the conference, contact Ana Cruz-Taura at 305-597-6850.
Opening Remarks
Pat Barron, First Vice President, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
Setting the Stage: Emerging Market Profiles
Participants discuss success stories in creating and implementing effective business development models that are reaching unbanked market segments, with an emphasis on why mainstream banking provides a means for financial stability to individuals and economies.
Emmanuel Roussakis, Florida International University
Manuel Orozco, Inter-American Dialogue [Presentation ]
Manuel Alegre, ShoreBank International [Presentation ]
Susan Rico, Wells Fargo Bank [Presentation ]
The Role of Financial Education
Practitioners share their experiences in converting the unbanked and underbanked into "bankable" individuals, utilizing consumer education to create a safer and more transparent marketplace. Discussions will cover a variety of financial education models and include how effective collaborations can be sustained.
Rudy Araujo, Director, Asociación de Supervisores
Bancarios de las Américas (ASBA)
Louisa Quittman, U.S. Department of the Treasury [Presentation ]
Annie Carrillo, Mexican Instituto de los Mexicanos
en el Exterior (IME) [Presentation ]
Maru Cortazar, Appleseed Foundation [Presentation ]
Liliana Grip, BBVA Compass [Presentation ]
Product Innovation: Consumer Protection versus Consumer Empowerment
Regulators discuss how products and services can evolve to meet the changing needs of underbanked and emerging markets, consistent with safe and sound practices. Topics will include how marketing and education can work together to help promote new products and promote long-term financial stability.
Edward Skelton, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
Elena Whisler, Retail Payments Office, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta [Presentation ]
Luke Reynolds, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation [Presentation ]
Scott Graham, FINCA International [Presentation ]
Business Development Models and Products
Bankers discuss how to implement successful outreach initiatives, what models or products work best to reach the underbanked market segments, and how global economic conditions affect business development strategies.
Peter McDougal, consultant
Andrea Pinotti Cordeiro, Itaú Bank [Presentation ]
Enrique Carrillo, Chevy Chase Bank
Pedro Uribe, Banco Davivienda [Presentation ]
Identifying Gaps and How to Address Them
In putting it all together, the final panel of experts discuss what has worked for specific markets in Latin America and various regions of the United States, the effects of policies and regulations on outreach efforts and the development of new products, where emerging market development is running into roadblocks, and how entities can work together better.
Robert Schenk, Senior Vice President, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Tova Maria Solo, World Bank [Presentation ]
Ana Alvarez Boyd, Federal Reserve Board [Presentation ]
Ellen Seidman, New America Foundation [Presentation ]
Closing Remarks
Robert Schenck, Vice President, Supervision and Regulation, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta


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Sharp Achieves the Highest Power Density for Direct Methanol Fuel Cells (DMFC) Elpida Offers First DDR2 SDRAM With x32-bit I/O Configuration Sharp Achieves the Highest Power Density for Direct Methanol Fuel Cells (DMFC) Sharp Corporation achieved the highest power density, 0.3W/cc, for direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC) for mobile equipment. This new technology enables efficient power generation from a small cell volume. Thus, the use of this technology can make it possible to develop fuel cells that have almost the same volume but a longer continuous-use lifespan than lithium-ion batteries, which are the main type currently in use. Because fuel cells use energy produced by the chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen, they have a small impact on the global environment. Also, fuel cells are expected to become the next-generation power generating devices because of their high generating efficiency that comes from converting chemical energy directly into electrical energy. In particular, DMFC have a simple structure in which power is generated through a chemical reaction between methanol supplied directly to the power generation part and oxygen in the air, making them suitable for miniaturization. Therefore, since these fuel cells have great potential for future use in mobile equipment, active research and development on DMFC is intensifying all over the world. However, there are some problems that need to be solved, such as their low power density that increases the size of the power generation part and, as a result, increases the total cell volume. Giving special attention to the power generation part's stack structure, Sharp has developed the three-dimensional highly integrated stack structure through the use of thin cells made by microfabrication. This structure can be created by the alternate lamination of reed-shaped thin cells arranged in parallel at fixed intervals and reed-shaped (porous) spacers, with the cells and spacers running perpendicular to each other like a grid. With this structure, uniform and continuous spaces are secured, making it possible to increase the cell surface area per unit volume and smoothly circulate the air that is one of the sources for power generation. Thus, Sharp has improved power density per unit volume and achieved the world's highest level, 0.3W/cc (about 7 times greater than previous Sharp technology). In the future, through continuing to pursue the development of this elemental technology, cell volume can be further miniaturized, and the creation of cells with the same volume but a longer lifespan than the currently mainstream lithium-ion batteries can be achieved. Source: Sharp Corporation
Elpida Offers First DDR2 SDRAM With x32-bit I/O Configuration Elpida Memory today announced the availability of the industry's first 512-megabit DDR2 SDRAM with x32-bit I/O configuration. Elpida will begin sampling of this product by the end of this month. In the past a DDR2 controller with x32-bit wide interface required two x16-bit I/O DRAMs. Now, Elpida offers a 512-megabit DDR2 SDRAM with x32-bit I/O configuration as a one-chip solution. The advantages of this x32-bit solution over a two 256-megabit DDR2 (with x16-bit configuration) solution are as follows:
Product Features:
Mass production of the new x32-bit DDR2 SDRAM is scheduled to begin in September 2008. Source: Elpida Memory
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The 'Ireland Iris' is part of the ONE collection by Lee-Ann Andersen. Lee Andersen's full name is Lee-Ann Andersen. Only ONE dress will be made with this name and in this exact style. The dress will be made to order and to fit the person ordering it. You may be looking for a spectacular statement dress for a special event such as a charity ball. Alternatively you may wish to wear the total look once and then split up the parts to wear with other 'basics' for multiple events. Different versions can be ordered e.g. a separate skirt, shell and jacket or a separate skirt and top with sleeves, or a skirt, shell or top with sheer sleeves and a wrap. Each version will have its own name and record. There is limited fabric.
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It was a cheerful prospect. I asked Perry what he thought about it; but he only shrugged his shoulders and continued a longwinded prayer he had been at for some time. He was wont to say that the only redeeming feature of our captivity was the ample time it gave him for the improvisation of prayers—it was becoming an obsession with him. The Sagoths had begun to take notice of his habit of declaiming throughout entire marches. One of them asked him what he was saying—to whom he was talking. The question gave me an idea, so I answered quickly before Perry could say anything.
I realized, but if we could make any capital out of Perry's harmless mania I wanted to make it while the making was prime. It worked splendidly. The Sagoths treated us both with marked respect during the balance of the journey, and then passed the word along to their master Mahars.
She explained that they had as much as thirty pounds in gold, besides a five-pound note, and suggested that with that they might get upon a train at St. Albans or New Barnet. My brother thought that was hopeless, seeing the fury of the Londoners to crowd upon the trains, and broached his own idea of striking across Essex towards Harwich and thence escaping from the country altogether.
Mrs. Elphinstone–that was the name of the woman in white–would listen to no reasoning, and kept calling upon "George"; but her sister-in-law was astonishingly quiet and deliberate, and at last agreed to my brother's suggestion.
Two marches after this episode we came to the city of Phutra. The entrance to it was marked by two lofty towers of granite, which guarded a flight of steps leading to the buried city. Sagoths were on guard here as well as at a hundred or more other towers scattered about over a large plain.
As we descended the broad staircase which led to the main avenue of Phutra I caught my first sight of the dominant race of the inner world. Involuntarily I shrank back as one of the creatures approached to inspect us. A more hideous thing it would be impossible to imagine. The all-powerful Mahars of Pellucidar are great reptiles, some six or eight feet in length, with long narrow heads and great round eyes. Their beak-like mouths are lined with sharp, white fangs, and the backs of their huge, lizard bodies are serrated into bony ridges from their necks to the end of their long tails. Their feet are equipped with three webbed toes, while from the fore feet membranous wings, which are attached to their bodies just in front of the hind legs, protrude at an angle of 45 degrees toward the rear, ending in sharp points several feet above their bodies.


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21 July, 2024
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Minimum Duration: 1 Year Maximum Duration: 2 Years Minimum Age: No bar Maximum Age: No bar Eligibility:
The eligibility condition for this programme is graduation in any discipline.
With the passage of time, technology mediated education is becoming the norm rather than an exception. This is true not only for distance teaching and learning but also in situations involving face to face teaching and learning. Today it is necessary for teachers and trainers and those associated with the development of educational soft wares to gear up for educational processes that embed technology. The programme, Post Graduate Diploma in Educational Technology (PGDET) has been developed to provide knowledge and skills related to this area.
Objectives of the Programme
The programme will help the learners to:
Target Population
The target population would comprise the following:
Medium of Instruction
The Medium of Instruction for this programme is English.
Duration of the Programme
The duration of the programme is of minimum 1 year and maximum 2 years. You may appear at the Term End Examination (TEE) after one year of enrolment in this programme. In case one cannot clear all the courses in one go, there is no need to appear for the course(s) already cleared during the previous Term End Examination.
Weightage of the Programme
This programme is of 30 Credits with five courses of six credits each. At IGNOU, one credit is considered to be equivalent to 30 hours of study and other academic activities relevant to the Course. It gives you an idea of the inputs required by a course of study.
Programme Fees
The programme fee is Rs.4,800/- for the entire programme. The total fee has to be paid at the time of admission.
Study Centres
IGNOU has established a number of study centers and programme study centres through out the country. These centres provide counseling facilities on scheduled days at fixed hours on a regular basis, and also function as information centres, resource centers and exam centres. Each student is assigned a study centre/ programme study centre where he/she submits the assignments to the study centre coordinators. In case the student cannot visit his/her study centre/programme study centre in person, the assignments can also be mailed to the coordinator of the centre.
The programme PGDET consists of 5 courses. The details are as follows:
Course Description
Course1 (MES- 031): ET - An Overview
This is the first course of the programme, PGDET. This course provides an overview of the field of Educational Technology. It introduces you to the discipline -Educational Technology, through discussions on the meaning, nature and impact of this area on education. It also explains the pedagogic foundations of technology mediated delivery of instructions. This course includes deliberations on issues such as the concept of educational technology, its place in a systems approach to teaching and learning, policy issues related to educational technology, etc.
Course2 (MES- 032) : Communication and Information Technology
This course deals with the various Information and Communication Technologies useful for providing education and training. Teaching and learning may be within a classroom as well as outside it when the learners learn on their own. Both the cases involve communication. While in the former case, there is direct communication between the teacher and the learners, in the latter case also there is communication. The only difference in the two situations is that in the latter case, communication is through a medium which could be print or electronic media. Within classrooms also, the teacher may use various technologies to communicate with the learners. This course will acquaint you will these aspects.
Course 3 (MES- 033): Computer Technology
This course is designed to develop understanding of the computer as a system and its utility for teaching and learning. It will help the learner to use stand-alone as well as networked machines and information sources for teaching-learning purposes. Today computer is used for carrying out many of the activities necessary for educational software development and also for delivering the software. It is expected that this course will help people involved in activities like text-designing and layout, those engaged in the production of educational softwares as well as those using telecommunication devices for teaching/training to use computer and communication technology for various educational purposes.
Course 4 (MES- 034) : Designing Courseware
The curriculum is the basis of selection of learning experiences for teaching and learning in both face to face situations as well as in distance education. The learning experiences to be provided are abstractions that are concretized in the form of the content to be taught and learnt. The content is thus the courseware which may be taught directly by the teacher or through a technology. The courseware is delivered though the print or audio or video medium or it may be in multimedia form. Again the courseware can be meant for teaching with the help of computer. Online delivery of coursewares over the Internet is also getting popular. There are thus a variety of media through which courseware can be delivered. This course will acquaint you with the process of designing courseware for various media.
Course 5 (MES- 035): Project
The fifth course is the project which has to be carried out by you. Through this course, you will get the opportunity to put into practice the theoretical concepts enunciated in the first four courses. This course thus suggests a mechanism for practising and applying the necessary skills, experiencing ground realities and thus gain first hand knowledge about aspects related to technology mediated teaching – learning scenarios. The project spells out certain activities that you would have to undertake. It has been designed in such a way that all the four theoretical courses are covered.


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Gemalto Launches Protiva Trade Connect to increase Trading Floor Security, Traceability and overall compliance
Cartes & IDentification, Paris, France – Nov 7, 2012 – Gemalto (Euronext NL0000400653 GTO), the world leader in digital security, today launched Protiva Trade Connect, a solution specifically designed for the unique demands of multi-terminal computing environments such as those used by financial traders. Protiva Trade Connect was developed in close relationship with some of the world's largest financial institutions and has been deployed across their trading floors in key financial centers globally.
Protiva Trade Connect is an easy-to-deploy, easy-to-use authentication software solution that delivers convenience, robust security controls, and a strong return on investment through smooth and efficient trading floor operations. This software solution allows traders to logon to multiple terminals with a single identity credential, backed with several security controls to ensure only an authorized user is accessing these systems. In addition, all workstation commands are logged and securely maintained in a centralized server for full audit capabilities.
"Protiva Trade Connect is perfect for hectic trading floor environments where every second counts," said François Lasnier, Senior Vice President, Online Authentication at Gemalto. "With Protiva Trade Connect in place, financial institutions can streamline operations, increase productivity and provide a better work experience for their traders. This is achieved through a secure, yet simplified access process that gives traders the freedom to leave their workstation without fear of unauthorized access. It helps institutions to better ensure traceability and regulatory compliance initiatives governing trading floor monitoring. More time means more trades, equaling more commissions and revenue."
Protiva Trade Connect is fully scalable and designed to fit the needs of any organization. The identity credential on the Protiva IDCore badge can also be customized to work with physical access systems, increasing the value, simplicity and security of trading floor access requirements. Protiva Trade Connect is the only solution on the market today that offers this unique combination of flexibility and security, providing banks and brokers with unrivaled efficiency and tracking of access events.
Protiva Trade Connect is available now, worldwide.
About Gemalto
Gemalto (Euronext NL0000400653 GTO) is the world leader in digital security with 2011 annual revenues of €2 billion and more than 10,000 employees operating out of 74 offices and 14 Research & Development centers, located in 43 countries.
We are at the heart of the rapidly evolving digital society. Billions of people worldwide increasingly want the freedom to communicate, travel, shop, bank, entertain and work–anytime, everywhere–in ways that are enjoyable and safe. Gemalto delivers on their expanding needs for personal mobile services, payment security, authenticated cloud access, identity and privacy protection, eHealthcare and eGovernment efficiency, convenient ticketing and dependable machine-to-machine (M2M) applications.
Gemalto develops secure embedded software and secure products which we design and personalize. Our platforms and services manage these secure products, the confidential data they contain and the trusted end-user services they enable. Our innovations offer more ways for our clients to enhance the convenience and security of people's digital lives.
Gemalto thrives with the growing number of people using its solutions to interact with the digital and wireless world.
For more information visit http://www.gemalto.com, http://www.justaskgemalto.com, blog.gemalto.com, or follow @gemalto on Twitter.
Gemalto Media Contacts:
Nicole Smith
North America
+1 512 758-8921
Yvonne Lim
Asia Pacific
+65 6317 3730
Kristel Teyras
Europe, Middle East & Africa
+33 1 55 01 57 89
Ernesto Haikewitsch
Latin America
+55 11 5105 9220


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Heat Pump Installer
Heat Pumps South Lambeth
Evolve Renewables – Your seasoned installers of Heat Pumps. We specialise in the seamless integration of advanced heating systems for your home. Our commitment goes beyond sales — we offer homeowners tailored advice for their renewable energy systems. At Evolve Renewables, we're dedicated to providing you with the knowledge and solutions that best fit your needs. Explore our heat pump range, and let us guide you toward a greener, more efficient home, including our top-tier Air Source Heat Pump.
Get a Free Quote &
Claim Your £7500 Gov Grant
Air Source Heat Pumps Specialists in South Lambeth
ASHP Installers
Evolve Renewables offers professional Air Source Heat Pump installations in South Lambeth and all across the South East.
Air Source Heat Pump represent the most efficient method for heating your home, serving as a direct substitute for traditional gas boilers. The urgency to phase out gas boilers cannot be overstated, given that they release a higher volume of carbon compounds into the atmosphere compared to the average domestic car. Air Source Heat Pump, on the other hand, present a well-established and effective technology that significantly reduces these emissions.These systems maintain consistent indoor temperatures and provide gentle, periodic adjustments throughout the day. Their impressive efficiency ensures your warmth even when outdoor temperatures plummet well below freezing.
Experience the future of cheaper, more efficient energy with Heat Pumps.
Running Costs of Air Source Heat Pumps
How to benefit from the BUS Air Source Heat Pump Grant
Unlock substantial savings with the UK government's generous grant for Heat Pumps. Homeowners can now receive up to £7500 to support the installation of these cutting-edge and eco-friendly heating systems. This initiative not only empowers households to adopt sustainable energy solutions but also aligns with the government's commitment to promoting renewable technologies. By choosing to install an Air Source Heat Pump, you not only invest in the future of your home's comfort but also benefit from significant financial incentives, courtesy of this forward-thinking grant. Seize the opportunity to make your home more energy-efficient and reduce your carbon footprint while enjoying substantial savings with the UK government's commitment to advancing renewable energy solutions.
If you reside in South Lambeth, you have the opportunity to significantly reduce the cost of installing your air source heat pump through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS), which offers a substantial £7,500 grant. Our dedicated installers will handle the application process on your behalf, streamlining the procedure for your convenience. It's important to note that this scheme covers installations of Heat Pumps completed before the end of March 2028, presenting a valuable incentive for homeowners looking to embrace sustainable and cost-effective heating solutions. Take advantage of this grant to make the transition to Air Source Heat Pump both environmentally friendly and financially advantageous.
Top Rated Renewable Energy Installers in South Lambeth
Delivering Client Satisfaction
Information about Air Source Heat Pumps
Heat Pumps – Heat pumps offer compelling benefits, combining energy efficiency with environmental advantages. Studies indicate that heat pumps can reduce energy consumption for heating by up to 50%, contributing to lower utility bills for homeowners. Additionally, they boast an impressive coefficient of performance (COP), often exceeding 3, meaning they generate more heat energy than the electricity they consume. This translates into a substantial reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, with Heat Pumps significantly lowering a household's carbon footprint. Embracing this technology not only enhances energy efficiency but also aligns with global sustainability goals, making Air Source Heat Pump a smart choice for both economy and ecology.
Air Source Heat Pump installation – At Evolve Renewables, we prioritise informed decisions over sales pitches when it comes to Heat Pumps. We understand that not every home is suitable for this technology, and our commitment is to guide you toward solutions that guarantee a return on investment. Before proposing any installation, we conduct a thorough house survey to assess the feasibility and compatibility of air source heat pumps with your specific needs and property characteristics. Our goal is to ensure that every installation is a strategic investment, aligning seamlessly with your home's requirements and contributing to long-term energy efficiency. Trust Evolve Renewables for a personalised and comprehensive approach to sustainable heating solutions.
Heat Pumps and solar combined – Combining heat pumps with solar energy presents a potent synergy for homeowners in the UK, delivering both economic and environmental benefits. According to UK statistics, homes equipped with this dual system experience a remarkable reduction in energy bills. The solar component contributes to self-generated electricity, diminishing reliance on the grid. Pairing solar with Heat Pumps enhances overall energy efficiency, with potential savings of up to 70% on heating costs. Moreover, this integrated approach substantially decreases carbon emissions, aligning with the UK's commitment to a greener future. Evolve Renewables stands at the forefront of this innovative pairing, ensuring a seamless integration that maximises both sustainability and cost-effectiveness for homeowners across the UK.
Heat Pump Home Surveys
Request a home survey below and one of our skilled heat pump technicians will evaluate your homes eligibility to benefit from an air source heat pump
The Importance of a home survey for Air Source Heat Pump installation in South Lambeth
8 Considerations to Remember
The installation of Heat Pumps becomes more costly as the age of the building increases. Even with a government grant of £7,500, the costs to renovate your home to accommodate an Air Source Heat Pump could outweigh the benefits they produce.
Air Source Heat Pump installations are best suited to full house renovations with the intent of making your home more sustainable. That being said, Heat Pumps could still make a positive difference to your home in South Lambeth, but a survey is still essential.
The viability of an Air Source Heat Pump is directly proportional to your EPC rating. The lower your rating, the more effort is required to make a heat pump a practical choice.
The renewable system's cost-effectiveness lies in its operation at low temperatures, but this feature might render the entire concept prohibitively expensive.
If your home is listed, and altering windows requires planning permissions, this could serve as another potential deterrent.
Given that heat pumps operate at lower temperatures compared to boilers, it necessitates the replacement and upscaling of many, if not all, radiators during installation to ensure optimal performance of the Air Source Heat Pump.
A considerable space is required to accommodate the internal cylinder, which isn't small, and it must be connected no more than ten metres away from the external Heat Pumps.
The heat pump cannot be placed too close to a neighbour's boundary due to fan noise. In the case of residing in a flat, this limitation makes installation nearly impossible.
WE ONLY INSTALL THE BEST Heat Pumps BRANDS in South Lambeth
Heat Pumps are versatile, performing effectively with both radiators and underfloor heating systems. It might be necessary to upsize certain radiators to attain the desired room rating. Explore the variety of Harnitek heat pumps and Samsung Heat pumps brands available through Evolve Renewables for more information.
To figure out how much you can save by switching to a heat pump, we need to look at how well your current heating system works, check your home's Energy Performance Certificate, and understand how much heat your home loses. We'll do a thorough survey of your property to figure out the right kind of heat pump to install and estimate how much money you can save.
Visit out ASHP Showroom in Bromley
Air Source Heat Pump showroom in Bromley
Come in and we'll show you all of our working Heat Pumps and whether it will benefit your eco home goals
Running Costs of Air Source Heat Pumps
Running Costs of an Air Source Heat Pump
The cost of running Heat Pumps can vary a lot depending on the type of home you have and how good it is at using energy, which is measured by something called an Energy Performance Certificate.
How much money you can save with a heat pump also depends on what heating system you currently have. When you switch from a gas boiler to a heat pump, it's not just about the cost of the energy; you also save money by not having to pay a standing charge and reducing the yearly maintenance and repair costs.
Heat pumps are very good at turning energy into heat, and some of them can give you five times more heat than the energy they use. With the recent increase in gas prices, an Air Source Heat Pump have become one of the cheapest options for heating your home. Combined renewable energy systems elevate your homes cost saving potential to new levels. Be sure to ask our experts for a thorough quote.
"How I'm taking advantage of the new £7,500 Air Source Heat Pump grant"
Wayne Perry – TV DIY Expert secured his £7500 Government Grant for an Air Source Heat Pump Installation. He shared his experience with Evolve Renewables via The Times. Be sure to check out his journey to future proofing his home!
Our Heating Services in South Lambeth
Here is some of the work that our certified Heat Pumps specialists can also do for you:
- Air Source Heat Pumps
- Boiler Installation
- Electric Boiler Installation
- Heat Pump Installation
- Heat Pump Repair
- Heat Pump Maintenance
- Ductless Heating Systems
- Energy Efficient Heating Solutions
- Heating System Upgrades
- Heating System Inspections
- Heating System Financing
- Central Heating Installation
- Central Heating Repair
- Central Heating Maintenance
- Underfloor heating installation
- Underfloor heating repair
- Underfloor heating maintenance
- HVAC Design Services
- Commercial Heating Solutions
- Industrial Heating Systems
- Heating System Retrofitting
- Heating System Warranties
- Heating System Estimates
- Heat Loss Surveys
- Energy Efficiency Certificates
Air source heat pumps (ASHPs) offer numerous benefits. Here's a breakdown of the key advantages:
- Energy Efficiency: ASHPs excel in efficiency by transferring heat rather than generating it, resulting in lower energy consumption compared to conventional electric or propane heaters.
- Cost Savings: The high efficiency of ASHPs translates to reduced energy bills, especially when transitioning from a more costly heating system.
- Dual Functionality: ASHPs can both heat and cool your home, eliminating the need for separate heating and air conditioning systems.
- Environmental Friendliness: ASHPs produce fewer greenhouse gas emissions than fossil fuel-based heating systems, making them a greener option for home climate control.
- Safety and Cleanliness: ASHPs eliminate the need for fuel storage or combustion, minimizing the risks associated with gas or oil heating systems, such as carbon monoxide leaks or fires.
- Low Maintenance: With fewer moving parts, ASHPs generally require less maintenance than alternative heating systems like furnaces or boilers.
- Long Lifespan: ASHPs typically have a lifespan of 15-20 years, comparable to or longer than many other heating systems.
- Incentives: Some regions offer government incentives, rebates, or tax credits for ASHP installations, helping offset initial costs.
- Initial Cost: The installation of ASHPs can be expensive, particularly when compared to traditional heating systems. Costs vary based on ASHP type, home size, and installation complexity.
- Outdoor Space Requirement: ASHPs necessitate outdoor space for the installation of the outdoor unit, posing a challenge for those with limited outdoor space or zoning restrictions.
- Noise: While generally not overly loud, ASHPs do produce some operational noise.
- Maintenance: Although ASHPs typically require less maintenance than other systems, regular servicing, including filter cleaning and refrigerant level checks, is still essential.
- Aesthetics: The outdoor unit of an ASHP may be sizable and visually unappealing, potentially impacting the aesthetics of your yard.
It's crucial to carefully consider the pros and cons of ASHPs based on your specific requirements, climate considerations, and budget before determining if they are the optimal choice for your home.
Here's some of areas we work in:
- Shirley Heat Pumps
- Chevening Heat Pumps
- Sevenoaks Weald Heat Pumps
- Orpington Heat Pumps
- Avery Hill Heat Pumps
- Lower Sydenham Heat Pumps
- Forestdale Heat Pumps
- Hadlow Heat Pumps
- Edenbridge Heat Pumps
- Toys Hill, Westerham Heat Pumps
- Merstham Heat Pumps
- Wilmington Heat Pumps
- Borough Heat Pumps
- Harvey Gardens Heat Pumps
- Caterham Heat Pumps
- Bostal Heat Pumps
- Waddon Heat Pumps
- Coleman's Hatch Heat Pumps
- Westcombe Park Heat Pumps
- Petts Wood Heat Pumps
- Speldhurst Heat Pumps
- Snodland Heat Pumps
- Pratts Bottom Heat Pumps
- Tower Hamlets Heat Pumps
- Lewisham Heat Pumps
- Millwall Heat Pumps
- St. Pauls Cray Heat Pumps
- Chelsfield Heat Pumps
- Wrotham Heat Pumps
- Crystal Palace Heat Pumps
Heat Pump FAQs
A heat pump represents an energy-efficient and eco-friendly apparatus that maximises the utilisation of low-quality thermal energy. While heat naturally moves from hot to cold, it doesn't naturally reverse direction. The operation of a heat pump involves a mechanical process that compels heat to move from a lower-temperature source to a higher-temperature destination in a reversed cycle. This mechanism consumes only a minimal amount of energy to achieve a significant heat transfer, effectively harnessing and conserving low-quality heat energy that would otherwise go to waste, thereby promoting energy efficiency.
The heat pump operates without releasing harmful gases, greenhouse emissions, or acid rain pollutants, and it doesn't generate waste heat pollution. Opting for a heat pump equates to embracing a lifestyle that is both environmentally friendly and low in carbon footprint.
The Solar Heat Pump incorporates panels into its system to facilitate heat exchange with the external environment using refrigerant, eliminating the need for components like motor fans and four-way valves. This results in a straightforward design, compact dimensions, cost-effectiveness, and minimal noise levels. The system draws from various heat sources, including solar energy, ambient air energy, wind energy, and rainwater energy, ensuring a continuous supply of hot water around the clock, free from environmental limitations. It maximises the capture of natural energy and can harvest heat from a broader area, achieving an impressive maximum COP of 6.0.
The Air Source Heat Pump harnesses the ambient air as both a heat and cold source for heating and cooling purposes. Thanks to its superior cooling and heating capacity, which surpasses the energy consumption of the heat pump, it stands out as an efficient and energy-efficient product. This system combines heating, cooling, and domestic hot water functions seamlessly. Leveraging DC frequency conversion technology, it achieves an A+++ energy efficiency rating. With the adoption of EVI technology, it can operate efficiently even in extremely cold conditions as low as -30°C. Additionally, it incorporates innovative noise reduction technology, resulting in exceptionally low noise levels. It utilises the environmentally friendly R32 refrigerant, ensuring minimal environmental impact.
The CO₂ Heat Pump employs an environmentally friendly natural refrigerant. It operates by compressing the CO₂ refrigerant into a high-temperature, high-pressure supercritical fluid. This fluid then enters a gas cooler to exchange heat with water. The water absorbs the heat, causing its temperature to increase. Subsequently, the high-pressure fluid passes through an expansion valve, where it undergoes depressurization, absorbing heat from the surrounding air in the evaporator, and transforming into a low-pressure gas. The gas is then drawn back into the compressor for compression, initiating a continuous cycle that results in the production of hot water.
The CO₂ Heat Pump excels in high-temperature heating performance, capable of delivering water at temperatures exceeding 90℃. It also performs admirably at low temperatures, with the ability to produce high-temperature hot water even in extreme conditions as low as -35℃ ambient temperature. Moreover, it boasts high energy efficiency and a broad range of applications, operating effectively within an ambient temperature range of -35°C to 43°C. This versatility makes it suitable for generating domestic or industrial hot water in most geographical areas.
Ask Us Anything
contact us for more details.
020 3772 3233
63 Homesdale Road, Bromley, London, BR2 9LB


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Like most economists, I am strongly inclined toward free trade. I
cringe to see the way free trade is under attack, from both parties,
during this primary season.
The two populist candidates are the worst offenders. Bernie Sanders, whom I support on many other issues [1] [2] [3],
goes off the rails when it comes to trade. Donald Trump, whose policy
views are sometimes too vague to pin down, has made clear-cut opposition
to "horrible trade deals" a centerpiece of his campaign.
Nor is the pushback from the rest of the field as strong as one might hope. Hillary Clinton has changed her position on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which she supported as Secretary of State, and runs away from her previous support for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA),
which she liked well enough when her husband signed it into law. On the
Republican side, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and John Kasich all profess to
favor free trade in principle, but when pushed, as they were during last
week's Republican debate in Miami, they quickly go on defense, hedging their support for trade with numerous "ifs" and "buts".
take a look at some of the candidates' least defensible arguments
against free trade, starting with Trump and moving on to Sanders.
Monday, March 14, 2016
Friday, March 4, 2016
Why the US Needs a Healthcare System More Like Europe
The presidential election of 2016 reopened the healthcare debate in the United States. Republicans were unanimous in urging repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), or "Obamacare," but were vague on a replacement. Senator Bernie Sanders, the most creative of the Democratic candidates, wanted to turn in the other directions. Rather than simply tinker with the ACA, he urged America to abandon it in favor of a healthcare system more like that of other wealthy countries. "The United States is the only major country on earth that doesn't guarantee health care to all people," Sanders said, "And we end up spending far, far more per capita on health care as do the people of any other country: Canada, U.K., France, whatever."
Here is why Sanders was right.
What to call it?
Sanders said he wants a healthcare system like those of other wealthy countries—one that provides better results at a lower cost than the one we have. Unfortunately, there is no generally accepted term for all such systems as a class.
Both critics and supporters often call them as "single-payer systems," but that is not strictly accurate. Other wealthy countries do not all have a single agency would make directly pay healthcare providers with funds from the government budget. Their plans are surprisingly diverse. Some, like those of Germany and France, funnel payments through multiple independent insurance funds. Others, including those of the UK and Canada, are more decentralized than the "single payer" label suggests even when the government budget is the ultimate source of funds. And, as shown in the following chart from an OECD report, private funding plays a substantial roll in all OECD healthcare systems. Government funds account for just 78 percent of total health expenditures on average, more than in the United States, but far short of "single payer."
Conservatives describe the
healthcare systems of Scandinavia, Germany, France and other wealthy countries
as "socialized medicine," but that term doesn't uniformly fit, either.
Socialized medicine suggests something like Veterans Administration healthcare
in the US—a system that not only features a single payer, but one in which
doctors are salaried government employees and hospitals are government owned.
That description, too, fails to capture the diversity of foreign healthcare
systems, where we find a kaleidoscopic mix of salaried and fee-for-service
doctors; for-profit, private not-for-profit, and state-owned clinics and
hospitals; and both unified and decentralized payment mechanisms.
We could stick with "high performing
healthcare systems of other wealthy countries," but that is too long winded.
For this post, I will shorten that to Euro style healthcare, despite the
obvious problem that non-European countries like Canada, Australia, New Zealand
and Japan also fit the pattern.
Turning from terminology to
substance, anyone who favors a Euro-style healthcare for for the United States
faces critics both from the left and from the right. Let's look at what some of
them have to say.
Conservative Argument No. 1: The US
already has the world's best healthcare system
Many conservatives think, or at
least pretend to think, that the United States already has the best healthcare
system in the world, or at least that it did before the advent of Obamacare.
Senate leader Mitch McConnell and former House Speaker John Boehner are both on record
as having said so. A survey from
Harvard University, taken not long before passage of the Affordable Care Act
(ACA), found that 68 percent of Republicans (but only 32 percent of Democrats)
thought the US healthcare system was the world's best. To support that belief,
conservatives often note that world leaders like former Italian Prime Minister
Silvio Berlusconi, Jordan's late King Hussein, and the Shah of Iran have all sought
healthcare in the United States.
Unfortunately, hard data do not
support that optimistic view. One of the most detailed recent comparative
studies of healthcare systems in wealthy countries comes from the Commonwealth Fund.
The following figure shows its ranking of eleven healthcare systems along with
data on expenditures per capita (evaluated at purchasing power parity to avoid
exchange rate distortions):
The United States ranks last in the
fund's overall evaluation of health care, despite having by far the largest per
capita expenditures. The Commonwealth study is not the only one to have reached
that conclusion. This earlier post
discussed other rankings that agree. (We will return to some of the more
detailed findings of the Commonwealth Fund report shortly, but the whole report
is worth reading.)
Conservative Argument No. 2:
European healthcare saves costs only by severely rationing care
The second conservative myth is that
Euro-style healthcare achieves lower costs only by employing a degree of
rationing that would be unacceptable to Americans. Here, for example, is David Brooks,
writing the The New York Times:
would create a centralized and streamlined system. His approach would also, as
in Europe, reduce the rate of medical progress, increase the rationing of care,
increase the wait times for patients, induce many doctors to retire, and
centralize decision-making.
medicine is a disaster. It does not work. If you look at the countries that
have imposed socialized medicine, that have put the government in charge of
providing medicine, what inevitably happens is rationing.
Canada is Exhibit A for many who
make the rationing argument. Consider, for example, this "explainer
video" from Vox, titled "What is
Single-Payer Healthcare?" After noting that such a system could save
administrative costs, the narrator says, "But there's a catch." The catch is
said to be longer waiting times and other limits on services, illustrated by a
graphic showing that waiting times for health services are longer in Canada
than in the United States.
Detailed data from the Commonwealth
Fund report show how unfair the charge of rationing is, especially when based
on a comparison with Canada. Of the eleven countries covered in the survey, the
US ranks last overall, but Canada is next to last. One of the main reasons for
Canada's poor performance is its poor record on measures of rationing, where it
has the lowest ratings of the countries surveyed.
- 48 percent of Canadians reported an emergency room waiting time of over two hours (11th place) compared with 28 percent in the US (7th place) and 14 percent in New Zealand (1st place).
- 38 percent of Canadian doctors reported that patients had difficulty getting specialized tests like MRIs (10th place) compared to 23 percent in the US (7th place) and 3 percent in Switzerland (1st place).
- 18 percent of Canadian doctors reported a wait of four months of more for elective surgery (9th place) compared to 7 percent in the US (6th place) and 1 percent in The Netherlands (1st place).
To compare the US with Canada in
terms of rationing by waiting, then, is to make a sub-par system look better by
comparing it with one that is truly terrible. Most wealthy European countries
do better than either of their North American peers when it comes to rationing
by waiting, and still manage to spend less.
Instead of rationing by waiting, the
American system practices rationing by cost. Relatively few private plans,
whether employer-provided or individual, give free access to a full range of
providers, drugs, and services. Most middle-class insurance plans steer their
members toward hospitals and doctors who are in a preferred provider network
and drugs that are on the company's preferred list. The uninsured often find
themselves rationed out of anything but emergency services by high prices.
The burden of rationing by cost
shows up clearly in the Commonwealth study:
- 37 percent of Americans reported that they did not fill a prescription, skipped a test or treatment, or failed to visit a doctor when ill—the worst of all countries. In Canada, the figure was 13 percent, a respectable 4th
- 28 percent of Americans reported that their insurance company denied payment or paid less than expected for treatments they received, the worst of all countries. In the top ranked countries, Norway and Sweden, the figure was 3 percent.
What is more, the pressure toward
rationing by cost is intensifying. A recent New York Times article describes the situation in these terms:
emblematic of everything wrong with health insurance, the health maintenance
organization is making a grudging, if somewhat successful, comeback. But its
reputation for skimping on care has so tainted the plans that the insurers and
companies resurrecting them have gone through innumerable steps to try to avoid
using the term H.M.O. . . . Despite the stigma and many failed efforts,
insurers say they are eager to push a revamped version that revives many of the
same features that restrict choices as a way of lowering costs
In short, far from achieving their
cost savings through rationing, European systems provide more timely care with
fewer people skipping needed services for economic reasons.
Liberal critics also focus on cost
Unlike their conservative
counterparts, Liberal critics approve of Euro-style healthcare in the United
States, yet many of them seem to have bought into the idea that such a system
would be unaffordable. That attitude was on display during the 2016 campaign
when supporters of Hillary Clinton turned their fire on Sanders own healthcare
plan, which he called Medicare for All.
The most widely publicized critique
came from Kenneth
Thorpe of Emory University. In this critique, he estimates that Sanders'
plan would be almost twice as expensive as the candidate claims. Instead of
leaving most middle class households better off, Thorpe claims the Sanders plan
would make 71 percent of households worse off, when the taxes needed to fund it
fully are set against savings in healthcare costs.
I find Thorpe's analysis
disingenuous. The problem is that he construes Sanders' plan in a naively
literal way that makes it very different from the healthcare systems of Europe
as they actually operate.
The first difference concerns just
who pays for what under high quality, low cost Euro style systems. When many
Americans think of European healthcare, they assume that the government pays
for everything, providing a broad range of services at no charge to the
consumer. That is not strictly true, as the chart given above showed.
Instead, the government share of total
healthcare expenditures ranges from nearly 90 percent in Sweden and the UK to
around 75 percent in Switzerland, compared with a little under 50 percent in
the US.
The reasons for the substantial
private healthcare expenditures vary from one country to another. Most
countries expect copayments for some, if not all, services and medications. In
many, people purchase private insurance to cover services not provided in the
government's basic package, for example, private hospital rooms. Some countries
do not fully cover dental and vision services. However, it is worth noting that
most Euro-style systems have special mechanisms in place to shield low income
families from some of these cost-saving measures.
One of the reasons that critics like
Thorpe come up with such high cost estimates is that they take at face value
the version of the Sanders plan posted on his campaign website. That version
promised to "cover the entire continuum of health care, from inpatient to
outpatient care; preventive to emergency care; primary care to specialty care,
including long-term and palliative care; vision, hearing and oral health care;
mental health and substance abuse services; as well as prescription
medications, medical equipment, supplies, diagnostics and treatments."
I do not think we have to take that
language literally in estimating the cost of translating Sanders' political
aspirations into a specific program for implementation in the real world. The
very fact that Sanders describes his plan as "Medicare for All" suggests that a
final version is likely to include deductibles and co-payments similar to those
in Medicare as it now exists for seniors. Nor would we need all of the features
of the website version of the plan in order to meet Sanders' often-repeated
goal of equaling the quality and cost performance of other countries.
The hard part lies ahead
It is easy to criticize a campaign
slogan and to inflate the cost of ambitious aspirations. Liberal critics, who
ostensibly share Sanders' aspirations, ought to put their energies into the
hard part—filling in the details that would allow the US to equal the cost
performance of the best Euro style healthcare systems without loss of quality.
Including Medicare-style deductibles
and co-payments would go a long way toward closing the gap between Thorpe's
estimates of the costs of Sanders' healthcare plan and the candidate's own
estimates, but it would not entirely close it. There are many other problems to
deal with.
Administrative costs are one. The
Sanders campaign estimated that administrative savings from his plan would
reduce total healthcare spending by 13 percent. Thorpe says it would save 4.7
percent. If we split the difference, the savings would be a little under 9
percent. But reducing per capita healthcare spending to the level of The
Netherlands (the most expensive after the US among the eleven covered in the
Commonwealth study) would require US spending to fall by 33 percent. To get to
the level of the UK (the least expensive of the eleven) would require a 60
percent cut. So, even viewed optimistically, administrative savings are just a
A second major saving claimed by the
Sanders team comes from lowering the price of prescription drugs. The US
currently spends about $300 billion per year, or 10 percent of total healthcare
costs, on prescription drugs. Cutting that in half—a truly heroic
accomplishment—would save another 5 percent of total healthcare costs.
Beyond prescription drugs and
administrative costs, where would the additional 20 to 40 percent saving come
from that would be needed to bring US healthcare costs down to the level of the
best performing Euro style systems? There are only two possible sources: Cuts
in quantity of services or cuts in prices.
Cutting quantities is not as easy as
it sounds. To be sure, there are some areas where the US does seem to provide
excessive services or procedures. For example, the US rate for Caesarian
sections is more than 30 percent, compared to around 7 percent in The
Netherlands and Scandinavia. On the whole, however, as healthcare economists
like Princeton's Uwe Reinhart
note, the quantity of healthcare services provided in the US is actually lower
than in other advanced countries. It does not seem realistically possible to
cut service quantities further while extending healthcare coverage to the 13
percent of Americans who remain uninsured, even under the Affordable Care Act,
and to do so without any loss in quality of care.
Prices, says Reinhart, are the
elephant in the room. US Prices for common medical procedures like
appendectomies or normal deliveries average three or four times the levels in
Europe. What is more, the prices for such services, or for tests like an MRI or
colonoscopy, can vary by a factor of two, three, or more even with in a city.
Worst of all, says Reinhart, "Fees in the private health care sector have been
jealously guarded trade secrets among insurers and providers of health care."
That makes it impossible for consumers to shop around for the best price, as
they would do if they wanted a new set of snow tires.
Liberal critics don't even pretend
to address the problem of healthcare prices. The widely cited Thorpe study
simply assumes that prices under the Sanders' plan would be an average of the
prices now paid by private insurers and the modestly lower prices now paid by
Any serious healthcare reform,
whether it comes from the left or the right, will have to face up to the
problem of prices. Unfortunately, there is no single solution. Instead, the
problem would have to be approached one piece at a time. Coordinated bargaining
for lower prescription drug prices is just a start.
Lowering the prices charged by the
most expensive hospitals to those charged by the most effective ones would
help—and no, they are not necessarily the same hospitals. A single government
payer would have more bargaining power. Greater transparency in pricing would
help, too. So would greater competition among hospitals. The present trend
toward mergers and consolidations
demonstrably pushes up prices.
Another reason for the higher cost
of US healthcare services are higher earnings of physicians. US doctors earn
considerably more than their European counterparts do, even when we adjust fees
for differences in expenses and cost of living. But changing compensation
practices for American doctors would not be easy without reforming other pieces
of the healthcare complex. European doctors typically receive free education,
so they don't begin practice with tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in
student debt. Entry into medical schools is not as tightly restricted in Europe
as in the United States. And less adversarial systems to deal with malpractice
claims free European doctors from a major cost item while giving them less
incentive to practice unproductive defensive medicine.
The bottom line
It is hard not to conclude that
Sanders is right to think that America needs a healthcare system more like
those in Europe. True, the campaign version of his Medicare for All plan was
more aspirational than operational, but what did other candidates offer?
Hillary Clinton proposed building on Obamacare, but there is nothing in the
byzantine complexity of the Affordable Care Act that makes it easier to solve
any of the cost and price problems we have discussed, and many things that make
it harder. Republicans have a field day enumerating the problems of the ACA,
but are still struggling to define what they would offer in its place.
This is a substantially revised version of a post from March
4, 2016. The original version is archived
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Wheel Alignment
Correct alignment is critical for safe handling and long tyre life. You should always have a wheel alignment completed when fitting new tyres and approximately every 10,000km to get the longest life from your tyre investment.
Jandakot Tyrepower provides wheel alignments in Jandakot and the surrounding areas, including Banjup, Atwell, Piara Waters, Success, Cockburn Central, Treeby, Hammond Park, Aubin Grove and surrounding suburbs. Maintaining regular wheel alignments will greatly assist in achieving maximum tyre wear and enhance the overall safety and handling of your vehicle.
Wheel Alignment Basics
Did you know? A wheel alignment service actually involves adjusting the vehicle's suspension – not actually the tyres or wheels. That being said, the direction and angles that the tyres point after the wheel alignment is complete are critically important.
There are five key components to a good wheel alignment service: caster, camber, toe, thrust and ride height. These are covered in detail below:
Caster is the angle of the steering axis (the part of the suspension that supports the wheel and tyre assembly). Viewed from the side of the vehicle, an imaginary line drawn between the centres of the upper and lower ball joints forms an angle with true vertical; this is defined as caster.
The illustration shows whether this angle is referred to as positive or negative. Caster is important to steering feel and high-speed stability.
Viewed from the front of the vehicle, camber describes the inward or outward tilt of the tyre. The illustration shows whether this tilt is referred to as positive or negative.
The camber adjustment maximises the tyre-to-road contact, and takes into account the changes of force when a vehicle is turning. Camber is the one adjustment that can be set according to driving habits.
Generally, if you drive more aggressively when concerning, a more negative camber can be set. If you drive on highways and do very little hard cornering, more positive camber can be set.
Toe describes whether the fronts of the tyres are closer (toe-in) or farther apart (toe-out) than the rears of the tyres. The illustration shows this relationship, viewed from above.
To settings vary between front and rear wheel drive vehicles. In a front wheel drive, the front wheels try to pull toward each other when the vehicle is in motion, which requires a compensating toe-out setting. A rear-wheel drive vehicle works just the opposite, necessitating a toe-in setting.
Stated differently, toe is set to let the tyres roll in parallel (at zero toe) when the vehicle is in motion.
Ride height
Put simply, ride height is the distance between the vehicle's frame and the road. This is the reference point for all alignment measures. Vehicle customising very often will include raising or lowering the vehicle. If you do this, don't forget to have a wheel alignment service afterwards. This also applies if you put a taller or shorter tyre on your vehicle.
Misalignment and Tyre Wear
By now you may have concluded that poor tyre wear and misalignment are closely related. That of course is true, but what can be done to minimise this condition?
Many of the above wheel alignment conditions can be easily determined, if you know what to look out for. To help with this, take a look at the following chart:
Misalignment Condition | Tyre Wear Symptom |
Incorrect camber setting | Premature smooth wear on either inside or outside shoulder |
Incorrect toe setting | Feathered wear across tread; raised tread block edges |
Incorrect caster setting | Excessive shoulder wear; tread blocks show "heel-toe" wear pattern |
Unequal caster setting (either right or left side is out of specification) | Sharp pulling necessitates steering compensation and feather wear |
Unequal toe setting | Sharp pulling necessitates steering compensation and feathered wear |
Combination of two or more settings are out of specification | Irregular tread wear, with feathering and smooth spots |
This chart is not exhaustive, but if you learn to spot these symptoms early, you can get a lot more tread wear from your tyres. Alternatively, you can always pop into your local Tyrepower and speak to a professional who will be able to diagnose your tyres.
Worn parts
It's important to note that tyres take the brunt of a range of problems. Replacing the old ones is not always the solution. For example, in a lot of cases a worn suspension is the cause of a wheel alignment problem. If you simply replaced the tyres, you'd quickly find your new tyres begin to reflect the same problems you had before.
There are many other parts that can wear out and cause wheel alignment issues. On older vehicles, worn springs can lower a vehicle's ride height, altering its geometry and creating a misalignment (as mentioned above, all alignment settings are dependent on ride height). Weak springs can also contribute to uneven or "cupped" tyre wear.
Another common problem is worn ball joints. The symptoms here are erratic handling, slow steering response and irregular tyre wear. Finally, worn tie roads can allow the tyre to wander left to right, effectively changing toe as the vehicle rolls down the road. Irregular feathering will develop on the tyre tread when this is the problem.
Tyre imbalance
If your tyres haven't been fitted properly, this can cause imbalances and lead to your wheels becoming misaligned. That's why it's always recommended you get a professional to complete your tyre fittings.
Again, this isn't an exhaustive list, but if you stay alert to these common problems, it may help you schedule an early visit to your mechanic and save on tyre wear.


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"I wanna go back
And do it all over again
But I can't go back I know
I wanna go back
Cause I'm feeling so much older
But I can't go back I know."
I remember being 15-years old and in tenth grade when Eddie Money released Can't Hold Back, an album that had several breakout hits like "Take Me Home Tonight" and "I Wanna Go Back". The video to the latter was all about a middle age man revisiting his high school, walking through empty halls and remembering his youth. At the time of its release, I was still that high school kid and so while my head got the concept, there was no way that I'd really get it.
Fast forward nearly 30 years and "I Wanna Go Back" can almost feel like an anthem on particularly lousy adult days. It's funny how, as a teen, you really don't understand how your life will change. Some of those turns will be natural and gradual while others feel like detours that lead to nothing but a dead end. But one thing is constant and that is that nothing really stays the same.
Not that change is a bad thing by any means, but it's amazing how those years just fly by and those teenage worries that were like life and death now seem pretty laughable. Check out the video below, what does it remind you guys of?


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So you think you know Paris?
Then get off the beaten track! You won't find the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, or Sacré-Coeur here. You've been there, done that. You're looking for the real Paris that Parisians see every day — maybe even a bit of dirty, dark, down-to-earth Paris — and this is the place to start:


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Tick Spraying In Speonk
Which is Better: DIY Tick Spraying or Hiring a Professional Suffolk County Tick Spray Service
Are you tired of finding ticks crawling up your legs or attached to your pets? If so, contact Jones Tree and Plant Care, Suffolk County's leading tick spray service. As a premier landscape planning and management contractor, we do more than just beautify Speonk, NY yards; we improve their safety with our premium-quality tick spraying services! Our licensed professionals use the safest and most effective pest management techniques and offer the fairest and most affordable prices. In fact, our results are so reliable that we're considered one of the area's leading companies that spray for ticks. When you choose us for your tick spraying needs, you can have confidence knowing that those pesky pests will be kept at bay and the safety of you and your loved ones will be improved.
Suffolk County Tick Spray Service: DIY or Hire a Professional?
As a Speonk, NY resident, you know how alarming finding a black speck crawling up your leg or attached to your furry friend can be. Ticks are a big problem in Suffolk County, and given the fact that the past few winters have been unseasonably warm, the problem just seems to be getting worse every year.
Deer, Lone Star, Dog; ticks can pose serious health risks. In fact, you probably know at least one person who has been diagnosed with Lyme disease. Ticks can also cause a number of other illnesses, such as Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, ehrlichiosis, and babesiosis, and many more. In other words, ticks are more than just pests; they can pose serious risks to your health and the health of your loved ones.
Fortunately, you can reduce the risk of being exposed to ticks and the illnesses that they can cause. How? – By spraying for ticks. But which option should you choose: DIY or professional tick spray? Before you run out and buy a whole selection of insecticides and equipment, here's a look at some of the reasons why hiring a reputable Suffolk County tick spray service is a much better option.
Improved Safety
For your safety, hiring a professional Suffolk County tick control company near you is a much better option than doing the job yourself. A licensed professional will know how to properly use tick control products and will take the necessary precautions to protect themselves, your family, and your property. They'll let you know how to prepare for the service and what, if any, precautions need to be taken after your property has been treated. All of these factors combined mean that hiring a professional will translate to safer results for you and your loved ones.
Better Results
A licensed, reputable, and experienced tick spraying company will understand that every Speonk, NY property requires different pest control techniques. They'll assess your property to determine the best course of action and will devise the most effective plan possible. A professional will also use the most advanced products and the most state-of-the-art techniques and will know exactly how and where to apply the products to your yard. These factors combined mean that hiring a professional will yield much more effective results than you would be able to achieve if you were to take on the task yourself.
Less Expense
A lot of Speonk, NY homeowners are under the assumption that handling tick control themselves is more cost-effective than hiring a professional; however, that's not necessarily the truth. In fact, when you add up the cost of all of the equipment and supplies you'll need, as well as any repairs that you may need to make to your property in the event that you make a mistake, and DIY tick spraying can actually end up being a lot more expensive than hiring professional companies that spray for ticks. Plus, because a professional will yield better results, you won't have to worry about constantly rebuying and reapplying products to continuously spray down your yard.
Peace of Mind
Thanks to the more efficient results that a Suffolk County licensed tick spraying professional will provide, you'll be able to enjoy much more peace of mind. You'll rest easy knowing that your yard will really be free of those pests – and the illnesses that they cause. The reduced cost of hiring a professional will further add to your peace of mind, as well knowing that you won't have to worry about being exposed to chemicals and potentially harming yourself, your loved ones, or the environment if you were to make a mistake while applying them yourself
For the Most Reliable Tick Spraying Service in Suffolk County, Call Jones Tree and Plant Care Today!
When it comes to something as important as tick spraying, hiring a professional is always a better idea than doing the job yourself. If you're looking for reliable tick control near you in Suffolk County, contact Jones Tree and Plant Care! Offering the safest and most efficient results and the fairest and most affordable tick spraying services, it's no wonder why so many homeowners rely on us for their tick control needs. When our licensed professionals are on the job, you'll rest easy knowing that your Speonk, NY yard will be tick-free and a safe place to be.
For more information about our tick spraying services or to schedule a consultation with one of our associates, please call 631-334-2616 or visit https://www.jonesplanthealthcare.com and submit our online contact form. At Jones Tree and Plant Care, we're committed to making your backyard safe again with our premium-quality and reliable tick spray service.


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This post is going to be short, but should entice you to stay tuned. Craig Halloran and I connected recently thanks to an introduction from Brian Rathbone.
Craig generously provided me with copies of his series, The Chronicles of Dragon. I've already finished the first book of seven (books 8-10 coming soon). I'm steadily on pace to finish the rest of the series in the next couple weeks, but I'm a little afraid the beautiful weather has been distracting me from writing. So, this is an advanced thank you to Craig and heads up to anyone who reads this blog: I will be reviewing all seven of Craig's books, doing a give away, and an author interview very soon.
Until then, happy reading.


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Glass for holding antennas
Suppliers of glass windows for the automotive industry nowadays also have to allow for connectivity. Some top-of-the-range vehicles already have dozens of antennas, some of them built into the glass, for radio at different frequencies, mobile telephony, Bluetooth, GPS, remote controls and many other applications. And with the arrival of self-driving vehicles, cars will communicate even more: with each other, with road furniture and with the surroundings in general.
AGC Glass Europe was eager to anticipate these needs and to position itself as a major player in connectivity, not only for the automotive industry but for other sectors as well.
Drawing on the experience of their Japanese colleagues in charge of similar installations, the European teams designed a facility that houses two anechoic chambers. These chambers are completely opaque to radio waves thanks to metal shielding lined with foam cones that cover the inside walls. The roomy interior is specially designed to be completely free of electromagnetic interference. This means the test signal is sufficiently pure to permit very precise measurement of the reception and transmission properties of different antennas.
This 10 million-euro investment was supported financially by the Walloon Region which was keen for the facility to also serve as a platform for other players in the field of connectivity in Wallonia.
The new facility enables AGC Glass Europe to offer a full service for design of antennas, with the key advantages of shorter development times and consequently lower costs. Antenna design starts with development based on expertise in digital simulation. The antenna is then optimised physically and its performance measured in the anechoic chamber, whether for telematics or for broadcasting (radio, television or whatever).
AGC makes its antennas expertise available for other fields than glass, including construction, transport, aerospace, telecoms etc. It offers support to all manufacturers, for measuring/testing and for rapid design and prototyping.
Innovation highlight
With its two anechoic chambers AGC Glass Europe has advanced facilities enabling it to offer all services connected with development of antennas, ranging from antenna design based on digital simulation to physical optimisation and performance measurement in the anechoic chambers. This expertise is available for antennas mounted on glass or on other materials, in fields such as the automotive industry, transport, construction, aerospace, telecoms and many others.
For more information about our expertise in antenna design, measurement services and products, go to www.Pulsaart.com or contact us at email@example.com
For more information on antennas incorporated in car windows go to www.agc-automotive.com
Connectivity highlight
Faced with the growing needs for connectivity, glass is a convenient way of mounting antennas, both in the automotive industry and in the construction industry where windows may be fitted with WiFi, 4G or 5G antennas. Apart from its proven efficacy this solution is discrete and elegant, preserving a clean appearance. AGC Glass Europe develops systems for all types of antennas, whether for broadcasting (0-1 GHz), telematics (1-6 GHz) or 5G millimetre wave (10-100 GHz).
For more information on the subject of connectivity, go to New world of mobility or Cities of tomorrow.


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- Not only is Nicole by OPI a long wearing, fast drying nail polish, but the glass bottle is recyclable. DBP-Free. Toluene-Free. Formaldehyde-free. And best of all - it's from OPI! Made in USA
Makeup > Nails > Nail Polish > Nicole Lqr
Red Texture
Prix régulier
Frais de port calculés à l'étape de paiement.
Key Features
- DBP-Free.
- Toluene-Free.
- Formaldehyde-free
- Bottle is recyclable


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Date(s) - 03/10/2017
5:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Narrabundah Velodrome
Track Racing
The Canberra Cycling Club track racing is held at the Narrabundah Velodrome (the 'Bundadome') off Goyder St, every Tuesday night October through March, and has something to offer cyclists at all levels, both new and experienced.
Tuesday night racing has a fun and relaxed atmosphere where everyone is welcome, regardless of your club affiliation or ability. We would love to see you join the track family!
See the program below for details.
- Track opens: 5pm
- Racing starts: 6pm
- Racing ends: approximately 8pm, or when the light fades.
- Cost: $10 Seniors (u19 and above), $5 Juniors (u9-u17)
You will need a current Cycling Australia Race Licence to race. Also, you must have attended three novice sessions prior to racing, or be able to demonstrate track riding experience before you are permitted to race.
Club bikes are available to borrow on a first come basis. Bring your own pedals if you have them.
Various training options are available:
- Juniors – Sunday 9-11am, Thursday 5-7pm
- Novice – Sunday 2 – 4pm
- Opens – Sunday 4-6pm
For more information contact Nathan Edwardson
The Narrabundah Velodrome is located off Goyder St in Narrabundah. You need to proceed through Narrabundah Oval carpark, past the playing fields at the eastern end. See Google maps
Track Rules
All velodromes have subtly different rules and Narrabundah is no exception.
- Slower riders at the bottom, due to the steepness of the banking.
- ALL riders must enter and exit the velodrome on foot, and start and finish at the bottom on the home straight.
- Look out for other riders, especially when there are riders of different ability around. When passing in training, shout "Stay down". This will let them know you are about to overtake them and that they must 'hold their line'.
- There is no racing or training if it is raining.