text:
HTML5 WebSocket: A Quantum Leap in Scalability for the WebBy Peter Lubbers & Frank Greco, Kaazing Corporation
(This article has also been translated into Bulgarian.)
Lately there has been a lot of buzz around HTML5 Web Sockets, which defines a full-duplex communication channel that operates through a single socket over the Web. HTML5 Web Sockets is not just another incremental enhancement to conventional HTTP communications; it represents a colossal advance, especially for real-time, event-driven web applications.
HTML5 Web Sockets provides such a dramatic improvement from the old, convoluted "hacks" that are used to simulate a full-duplex connection in a browser that it prompted Google's Ian Hickson—the HTML5 specification lead—to say:
"Reducing kilobytes of data to 2 bytes…and reducing latency from 150ms to 50ms is far more than marginal. In fact, these two factors alone are enough to make Web Sockets seriously interesting to Google."
Let's take a look at how HTML5 Web Sockets can offer such an incredibly dramatic reduction of unnecessary network traffic and latency by comparing it to conventional solutions.
Polling, Long-Polling, and Streaming—Headache 2.0
Normally when a browser visits a web page, an HTTP request is sent to the web server that hosts that page. The web server acknowledges this request and sends back the response. In many cases—for example, for stock prices, news reports, ticket sales, traffic patterns, medical device readings, and so on—the response could be stale by the time the browser renders the page. If you want to get the most up-to-date "real-time" information, you can constantly refresh that page manually, but that's obviously not a great solution.
Current attempts to provide real-time web applications largely revolve around polling and other server-side push technologies, the most notable of which is Comet, which delays the completion of an HTTP response to deliver messages to the client. Comet-based push is generally implemented in JavaScript and uses connection strategies such as long-polling or streaming.
With polling, the browser sends HTTP requests at regular intervals and immediately receives a response. This technique was the first attempt for the browser to deliver real-time information. Obviously, this is a good solution if the exact interval of message delivery is known, because you can synchronize the client request to occur only when information is available on the server. However, real-time data is often not that predictable, making unnecessary requests inevitable and as a result, many connections are opened and closed needlessly in low-message-rate situations.
With long-polling, the browser sends a request to the server and the server keeps the request open for a set period. If a notification is received within that period, a response containing the message is sent to the client. If a notification is not received within the set time period, the server sends a response to terminate the open request. It is important to understand, however, that when you have a high message volume, long-polling does not provide any substantial performance improvements over traditional polling. In fact, it could be worse, because the long-polling might spin out of control into an unthrottled, continuous loop of immediate polls.
With streaming, the browser sends a complete request, but the server sends and maintains an open response that is continuously updated and kept open indefinitely (or for a set period of time). The response is then updated whenever a message is ready to be sent, but the server never signals to complete the response, thus keeping the connection open to deliver future messages. However, since streaming is still encapsulated in HTTP, intervening firewalls and proxy servers may choose to buffer the response, increasing the latency of the message delivery. Therefore, many streaming Comet solutions fall back to long-polling in case a buffering proxy server is detected. Alternatively, TLS (SSL) connections can be used to shield the response from being buffered, but in that case the setup and tear down of each connection taxes the available server resources more heavily.
Ultimately, all of these methods for providing real-time data involve HTTP request and response headers, which contain lots of additional, unnecessary header data and introduce latency. On top of that, full-duplex connectivity requires more than just the downstream connection from server to client. In an effort to simulate full-duplex communication over half-duplex HTTP, many of today's solutions use two connections: one for the downstream and one for the upstream. The maintenance and coordination of these two connections introduces significant overhead in terms of resource consumption and adds lots of complexity. Simply put, HTTP wasn't designed for real-time, full-duplex communication as you can see in the following figure, which shows the complexities associated with building a Comet web application that displays real-time data from a back-end data source using a publish/subscribe model over half-duplex HTTP.
It gets even worse when you try to scale out those Comet solutions to the masses. Simulating bi-directional browser communication over HTTP is error-prone and complex and all that complexity does not scale. Even though your end users might be enjoying something that looks like a real-time web application, this "real-time" experience has an outrageously high price tag. It's a price that you will pay in additional latency, unnecessary network traffic and a drag on CPU performance.
HTML5 WebSocket to the Rescue!
Defined in the Communications section of the HTML5 specification, HTML5 Web Sockets represents the next evolution of web communications—a full-duplex, bidirectional communications channel that operates through a single socket over the Web. HTML5 Web Sockets provides a true standard that you can use to build scalable, real-time web applications. In addition, since it provides a socket that is native to the browser, it eliminates many of the problems Comet solutions are prone to. Web Sockets removes the overhead and dramatically reduces complexity.
To establish a WebSocket connection, the client and server upgrade from the HTTP protocol to the WebSocket protocol during their initial handshake, as shown in the following example:
Once established, WebSocket data frames can be sent back and forth between the client and the server in full-duplex mode. Both text and binary frames can be sent full-duplex, in either direction at the same time. The data is minimally framed with just two bytes. In the case of text frames, each frame starts with a 0x00 byte, ends with a 0xFF byte, and contains UTF-8 data in between. WebSocket text frames use a terminator, while binary frames use a length prefix.
Note: Although the Web Sockets protocol is ready to support a diverse set of clients, it cannot deliver raw binary data to JavaScript, because JavaScript does not support a byte type. Therefore, binary data is ignored if the client is JavaScript—but it can be delivered to other clients that support it.
The Showdown: Comet vs. HTML5 WebSocket
So how dramatic is that reduction in unnecessary network traffic and latency? Let's compare a polling application and a WebSocket application side by side.
For the polling example, I created a simple web application in which a web page requests real-time stock data from a RabbitMQ message broker using a traditional publish/subscribe model. It does this by polling a Java Servlet that is hosted on a web server. The RabbitMQ message broker receives data from a fictitious stock price feed with continuously updating prices. The web page connects and subscribes to a specific stock channel (a topic on the message broker) and uses an XMLHttpRequest to poll for updates once per second. When updates are received, some calculations are performed and the stock data is shown in a table as shown in the following image.
Note: The back-end stock feed actually produces a lot of stock price updates per second, so using polling at one-second intervals is actually more prudent than using a Comet long-polling solution, which would result in a series of continuous polls. Polling effectively throttles the incoming updates here.
It all looks great, but a look under the hood reveals there are some serious issues with this application. For example, in Mozilla Firefox with Firebug (a Firefox add-on that allows you to debug web pages and monitor the time it takes to load pages and execute scripts), you can see that GET requests hammer the server at one-second intervals. Turning on Live HTTP Headers (another Firefox add-on that shows live HTTP header traffic) reveals the shocking amount of header overhead that is associated with each request. The following two examples show the HTTP header data for just a single request and response.
Just for fun, I counted all the characters. The total HTTP request and response header information overhead contains 871 bytes and that does not even include any data! Of course, this is just an example and you can have less than 871 bytes of header data, but I have also seen cases where the header data exceeded 2000 bytes. In this example application, the data for a typical stock topic message is only about 20 characters long. As you can see, it is effectively drowned out by the excessive header information, which was not even required in the first place!
So, what happens when you deploy this application to a large number of users? Let's take a look at the network throughput for just the HTTP request and response header data associated with this polling application in three different use cases.
- Use case A: 1,000 clients polling every second: Network throughput is (871 x 1,000) = 871,000 bytes = 6,968,000 bits per second (6.6 Mbps)
- Use case B: 10,000 clients polling every second: Network throughput is (871 x 10,000) = 8,710,000 bytes = 69,680,000 bits per second (66 Mbps)
- Use case C: 100,000 clients polling every 1 second: Network throughput is (871 x 100,000) = 87,100,000 bytes = 696,800,000 bits per second (665 Mbps)
That's an enormous amount of unnecessary network throughput! If only we could just get the essential data over the wire. Well, guess what? You can with HTML5 Web Sockets! I rebuilt the application to use HTML5 Web Sockets, adding an event handler to the web page to asynchronously listen for stock update messages from the message broker (check out the many how-tos and tutorials on tech.kaazing.com/documentation/ for more information on how to build a WebSocket application). Each of these messages is a WebSocket frame that has just two bytes of overhead (instead of 871)! Take a look at how that affects the network throughput overhead in our three use cases.
- Use case A: 1,000 clients receive 1 message per second: Network throughput is (2 x 1,000) = 2,000 bytes = 16,000 bits per second (0.015 Mbps)
- Use case B: 10,000 clients receive 1 message per second: Network throughput is (2 x 10,000) = 20,000 bytes = 160,000 bits per second (0.153 Mbps)
- Use case C: 100,000 clients receive 1 message per second: Network throughput is (2 x 100,000) = 200,000 bytes = 1,600,000 bits per second (1.526 Mbps)
As you can see in the following figure, HTML5 Web Sockets provide a dramatic reduction of unnecessary network traffic compared to the polling solution.
And what about the reduction in latency? Take a look at the following figure. In the top half, you can see the latency of the half-duplex polling solution. If we assume, for this example, that it takes 50 milliseconds for a message to travel from the server to the browser, then the polling application introduces a lot of extra latency, because a new request has to be sent to the server when the response is complete. This new request takes another 50ms and during this time the server cannot send any messages to the browser, resulting in additional server memory consumption.
In the bottom half of the figure, you see the reduction in latency provided by the WebSocket solution. Once the connection is upgraded to WebSocket, messages can flow from the server to the browser the moment they arrive. It still takes 50 ms for messages to travel from the server to the browser, but the WebSocket connection remains open so there is no need to send another request to the server.
HTML5 WebSocket and the Kaazing WebSocket Gateway
Today, only Google's Chrome browser supports HTML5 Web Sockets natively, but other browsers will soon follow. To work around that limitation, however, Kaazing WebSocket Gateway provides complete WebSocket emulation for all the older browsers (I.E. 5.5+, Firefox 1.5+, Safari 3.0+, and Opera 9.5+), so you can start using the HTML5 WebSocket APIs today.
WebSocket is great, but what you can do once you have a full-duplex socket connection available in your browser is even greater. To leverage the full power of HTML5 Web Sockets, Kaazing provides a ByteSocket library for binary communication and higher-level libraries for protocols like Stomp, AMQP, XMPP, IRC and more, built on top of WebSocket.
HTML5 Web Sockets provides an enormous step forward in the scalability of the real-time web. As you have seen in this article, HTML5 Web Sockets can provide a 500:1 or—depending on the size of the HTTP headers—even a 1000:1 reduction in unnecessary HTTP header traffic and 3:1 reduction in latency. That is not just an incremental improvement; that is a revolutionary jump—a quantum leap!
Kaazing WebSocket Gateway makes HTML5 WebSocket code work in all the browsers today, while providing additional protocol libraries that allow you to harness the full power of the full-duplex socket connection that HTML5 Web Sockets provides and communicate directly to back-end services. For more information about Kaazing WebSocket Gateway, visit kaazing.com and the Kaazing technology network at tech.kaazing.com.
- HTML5 Web Sockets Specification: http://dev.w3.org/html5/websockets/
- Kaazing Corporation: http://kaazing.com
- Download the Kaazing WebSocket Gateway: http://kaazing.com/download


text:
I love my iPad for gaming, but only for certain types of games. Usually the ones that don't ask you to move a lot. Anything that requires a virtual d-pad, or joystick, or buttons, gah, no, kill it with fire.
Unless...unless there was a tablet like this one. Archos' GamePad is an upcoming Android tablet that sticks two sliders, a d-pad and some face buttons on the side of a tablet, turning it into an enormous custom gaming handheld. Specs are thin, but consist of "a dual-core processor @ 1.5 GHz combined with a Mali 400mp quad-core GPU".
Which would be awesome for Android games, but think about it, it would be even better for all those old PC games you've got lying around the house.
Because Android's Ice Cream Sandwich OS now supports game controllers, Archos reckons over 1000 Google Play titles support the sticks and buttons. If GTA III is one of them, that would be great.
It'll go on sale in October for "less than £130" (USD$205).

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Exit Drills in the Home
It is important to have a plan to safely exit your home in case of a fire because when disaster strikes, you will not have time to come up with one. Review these Exit Drills in the House from the National Fire Protection Association:
- Design a home escape plan by drawing a map of your residence that shows all exit paths, doorways and windows. Use this form to create your own map.
- Discuss your home escape plan with everyone in your household.
- Practice the plan night and day with everyone in your home twice a year.
- Know at least two ways out of every room, if possible. Make sure all doors and windows leading outside open easily.
- Have a meeting place (something permanent, like a tree, light pole or mailbox) a safe distance from the home where everyone should meet.
- Push the smoke alarm button to start the practice drill.
- Get out fast.
- Practice using different ways out.
- Teach children to escape on their own in case you can't help them.
- Close doors behind you as you leave.
- Go to your outside meeting place. Get out and stay out. Never go back inside for people, pets or valuables.
- Use your second way out in the case of an actual fire if smoke is blocking your door or the first way out.
- Get low and go under the smoke to get out safely if you have to escape through smoke.
- Feel the knob and door before opening a door. If they are hot, use your second way out.
- Consider getting escape ladders listed by a recognized testing laboratory for escaping from second and third floor windows if all other exits are blocked.
- Make sure the ladder fits the window.
- To avoid injury, only use the ladder in a real emergency.


text:
Changing Times
February 5, 1956 – Hoping to keep the Dodgers in Brooklyn, New York City Mayor Robert Wagner and Brooklyn Borough President Frank Cashmore sponsor a bill to create a Brooklyn Sports Center Authority, which proposes building a $30 million downtown sports center. The Dodgers will play 15 regular-season games in 1956 and 1957 during negotiations with city officials. The clock starts ticking when the Dodgers sell their home ballpark, Ebbets Field, to a real estate developer. Los Angeles political officials make contact with the Dodgers after the 1956 World Series and the team eventually moves to the West Coast after the 1957 season.


text:
- Chris Brown has reportedly moved on. His new ladyfriend is actually an ex. She attends University of Mary Washington and they met in Virginia, which is where he's from. His reps deny everything. [Gatecrasher]
- Are Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie trying to adopt another kid, this time from the Philippines? [Daily Mail]
- Is Pamela Anderson getting ready to wed —- for the fourth time? The dude would be her current boyfriend, Jamie Padgett. [The Sun]
- "Someone in the Kardashian family will soon have plastic surgery," says Kim Kardashian. "I can't tell you who, but someone in my family will look totally different and viewers will see it all on the show very soon." Uh, is it Bruce Jenner? [People]
- Suri Cruise is starting her "five day a week Scientology training," which really just means she'll be attending that school started by Will Smith that uses "study technology." But the school does require a "low-carb, low-sodium and low-sugar organic diet." Suri is about to turn 3. [Daily Mail]
- Although Lindsay Lohan is "heartbroken," Lindsay and Sam are still talking,says a friend. Also: Lindsay "barely sleeps, which explains a lot of her behavior. She's exhausted. She can't even sit down for a minute without pacing around the room. It's really sad." [People]
- Lindsay was seen carrying something called Neuro Bliss, which is supposed to "relax neural tissues, to enhance brain activity, focus and provide a sense of well-being." [TMZ]
- This report is titled, "Lindsay Parties The Pain Away." [OK!]
- Madonna is still trying to adopt Mercy James, the child in Malawi. Her lawyer has filed an appeal, and she says "I want to provide Mercy with a home, a loving family environment and the best education and healthcare possible." [Reuters]
- Mercy James is "in hiding" so that her biological father doesn't come and take her; apparently he has only materialized since Madonna showed interest in the child. [Daily Mail]
- News you cannot use: Madonna's son David is a fan of Australian football. [News.com.au]
- Is it mean that Joel Madden posted a picture of a young Nicole Richie on his Twitter and wrote, "This is why I love her folks. Is it not Ron Perlman circa Beauty and the Beast??" [People]
- Hermione's coming to the states: Emma Watson will be attending Brown University. [Daily Express]
- Even though Paris Hilton is with Doug Reinhardt now, she totally talks to her ex, Greek shipping heir Stavros Niarchos, at least three times a week. They probably just discuss the economy and ? [Daily Mail]
- Brace yourself for a Nadya Suleman reality show, which is super close to happening. [MSNBC Scoop]
- Some lady from a rehab center says she had a "secret fling" with Blake Fielder-Civil and is knocked up with his kid. Is it true? Will Amy Winehouse flip her wig? [Daily Mail]
- Amy Winehouse has been working with the Gorillaz instead of working on her own album. [Mirror]
- Amy Winehouse and Duffy are no match for Dusty Springfield, says a friend of Dusty Springfield's. [Telegraph]
- Did Whitney Port leave her job at Diane von Furstenberg, after being beaten out for a promotion by Olivia Palermo? [Page Six]
- Josh Hartnett was seen partying in Miami, so he's clearly recovered from that gastrointestinal problem which sent him to the hospital earlier this month. [UPI]
- Did Jimmy Fallon steal an album cover from the wall of a New York City restaurant and show it off on the Tonight Show? He's claiming it was a prop, but the restaurant has posted a sign, saying: ""Wanted! Jimmy Fallon. A free meal and drink to anyone who can retrieve our record cover back to us safely." [UPI]
- Tim Roth says he was a victim of child abuse. "It happened during my childhood up to my early teens and although I'm not going to say who it was, he's long gone now — and I hasten to add it wasn't my father or mother. Things happen to you in your life, but you don't want to consider yourself to be a victim — you want to be a survivor and the first thing that helps you do that and helps you get through it is speaking and finding your voice." [Daily Mail]
- WTF: New York Post film critic Lou Lumenick wrote: "You know a movie's got problems when the most memorable thing about it is Sienna Miller's moustache. That growth above her lip is clearly visible in two scenes, once in profile." How is that relevant to the movie (The Mysteries Of Pittsburgh) or her acting? [The Sun]
- Sienna Miller has dropped from number 45 to 202 on FHM's Sexiest Women list. [The Sun]
- Trouble in Kate Beckinsale's marriage? [Daily Mail]
- Jared Leto invited children rescued from a life of prostitution to sit in on a recording session with his band, 30 Seconds To Mars. [Daily Mail]
- Long-haired heartthrob Fabio wrecked a Ferrari on Mulholland Drive over the weekend. Did you know dude is 50? [UPI]
- The Hannah Montana movie took the top spot at the weekend box office with a fairly respectable $17.2 million. [The Hollywood Reporter]
- Why the fact that Sylvester Stallone has Russian heritage is breaking news is a mystery. [Daily Mail]
- Sting and his wife have invited a group of friends on an all-expenses-paid luxury trip to Tuscany to discuss "social consciousness." [Daily Mail]
- Here's a profile of Carla Gugino in which she says: "I was so serious when I was young. My mom would come home and say, 'Carla, stop studying." Or, "The dishes are clean enough.' I felt that to be successful I couldn't drink, I couldn't smoke. But acting taught me to have a life that could feed my work.… I had a happy childhood, but I think it also pushed me to try to create my own sense of stability and made me very intense for my age." [NY Times]
- Singer Cassie shaved part of her head, and it looks cute. [NY Daily News]
- Two of Leona Lewis's cousins have been arrested for allegedly beating up and trying to rob some drug dealers. [The Sun]
- Ooh, a retrospective of Ray Liotta's career. He was so hot in Something Wild. [CNN]
- Bjorn Ulvaeus of ABBA says there should not be a sequel to Mamma Mia: "It wouldn't work." [UPI]
- In this piece, Sir Roger Moore talks about all of his ailments — kidney stones, shingles, low heart rate, etc — as well as his hypochondria. [Daily Mail]
- William Hurt will join the cast of the Robin Hood flick which stars Russell Crowe in the lead and Cate Blanchett as Maid Marian. [The Hollywood Reporter]
- Shenae Grimes of 90210 was asked who she'd like to come to the set: "Luke Perry, obviously. I mean, come on! We've all been dying for it. I still am but I may have to give up the dream." [Mirror]
- This sentence means nothing to me, but perhaps others will care: The Veronicas are dating brothers from rock bad Carney. [News.com.au]
- Blind item! "Which troubled starlet is getting over a bad breakup with a member of the same sex? We just hope the latter's current boyfriend doesn't get wind of the girl-on-girl shenanigans!" [Gatecrasher]
- "Trying to do an aggressive sex scene is quite difficult. Especially in a public place with a crowd of screaming extras with their little camera phones going click-click, talking pictures of your pasty white ass. I've had my fair share of bedroom antics in films, but they were a little more private." — Jason Statham. [Page Six]
- "I have made several mistakes and one of them was being overprotective of the girls, which has led to an impression that the school is isolating them from society. The majority of girls are thriving, really fulfilling the dream and vision I had. They really have exceeded any expectations I had for them. In spite of everything that's happened, what keeps me inspired and hopeful is the heart of every girl, because they are wonderful, they are magnificent." — Oprah, who has been defending the record of her school in South Africa. [USA Today]
- "He was in an Easter suit, with the Easter basket and the eggs and everything. Once you've seen Billy in a bunny suit, it's pretty hard to think of Easter in any other way." — Christie Brinkley on ex-husband Billy Joel. [Daily Express]
- "I wish I'd never worn an American flag motif swimsuit to the MTV Awards when I was in the Spice Girls. This was me hating myself and hiding under mountains of make-up." — Geri Halliwell. [Independent]
- "I don't think you ever retire from films - films retire you. Sometimes, if you're unfortunate, after your first film. What happens is you say 'I'm going to retire'. And then someone turns up and gives you this script. So you're not retiring. I don't have my next movie and I'm not looking for one. But someone will give me a script possibly and I'll work again. If someone doesn't give me a script that I want to do, I'll retire. But there won't be a great announcement or fanfare of trumpets. I just won't do anything. I'll stay at home and do what I always do, which is cooking, gardening and writing." — Michael Caine. [Daily Express]
- "I don't care. If I don't get food in my mouth, I'm still happy. If my pants are round my ankles, as long as I don't get arrested for indecent exposure, I'm happy. I'm worried about keeping my hair, not how it's combed. […] I don't know that [my kids have] ever seen Back To The Future all the way through. Just as Parkinson's isn't a big topic of conversation in my house, neither is my career. I go down to my office every day and they say, 'Dad's going to work.'" — Michael J. Fox. [Guardian]
- "Only 1,350 rockers were made, and we sold approximately 70 percent in the first two weeks. The collector's edition photo album has sold more the first week than any book we've sold at Cracker Barrel." — Cracker Barrel's VP of marketing on Dolly Parton's merch, which is flying out of stores. [Reuters]
- "I wish we could have shared a bed/but her life was not her own/That's what happens when you date a girl/from Driftwood Nursing Home." — from Bob Saget's comedy act. [NY Times]
- "What I love about Donna is she's never jaded. Donna can kind of go through anything and she still has that girlish quality about her. I think that's something she'd have at any age. That's Donna to me." — Tori Spelling on her return to 90210. [Yahoo News via AP]
- "It's not like we're not talking, we just haven't talked. I love my mother. I've always loved her [and] no doubt she loves me. There's no feud. We simply never meshed." — Tori Spelling. [People]
- "Chris [Martin] is a huge [Sherlock] Holmes nut. He said to me before filming, 'You've got to be gaunt. You've got to be as skinny as you possibly can to play Holmes.' So every time I'm reaching for a muffin I think about Chris and skip the snack. That's been tough." — Robert Downey Jr. [The Sun]
- "I know what you're saying, but it's not a character like in a book or a movie. He's not a bus driver. He doesn't drive a forklift. He's not a serial killer. It's me who's singing that, plain and simple. We shouldn't confuse singers and performers with actors. Actors will say, 'My character this, and my character that.' Like beating a dead horse. Who cares about the character? Just get up and act. You don't have to explain it to me." — Bob Dylan, in a rare interview. [Telegraph]
- "I knew I wanted to marry her pretty soon [after I met her]. It took a while for me to admit it, because it would be crazy to be like, 'I want to marry you' the first day I met her. But I could have!" — Chris Pratt on fiancée Anna Faris. [People]
- "I found I was really sleepy. I almost fell asleep during a Chris Rock show - live, front and center. I thought, 'I need to have a steak.' You have to do what works for you. Some people need meat." — Rachel McAdams, on why she's not a vegetarian anymore. [NY Daily News]
- "There was a television series that never got made by that woman who wrote that big role for Helen Mirren, Lynda La Plante. They wanted me to play – this is how they think of me – a woman who had been beaten up and degraded. I refused. I'm sure the British would not like to see me in a role like that. No way. [As for the film version of my life,] I hated the script. I thought it would be based on the book and not just made up. I had a long talk with my friend, the actress Carrie Fisher, about it and she said: 'You might think you were degraded enough but believe me, for Hollywood not nearly enough. There has to be prostitution, there has to be murder.' So I took it back." — Marianne Faithfull. [Daily Express]
Filed to:Dirt Bag
Dirt BagChris brown new girlfriendChris BrownAngelina JolieBrad PIttPhilippinesPamela Andersonkim kardashiansuri cruiseLindsay LohanMadonnaMercy jamesdavid bandaParis HiltonDoug ReinhardtEmma Watsonjoel maddenNicole RichieBrown UniversityNadya Sulemanamy winehousewhitney portolivia palermoJosh HartnettJimmy Fallontim rothSienna MillerKate BeckinsaleJared LetoMonica Seles
More from Jezebel
So Sienna Miller has some hairs on her upper lip? This actually makes me like her.
I once sat next to Beyonce and Jennifer Connolly (not at the same time) and they both have moustaches. Real womenz FTW!


text:
This data set contains resampled and smoothed elevation measurements of Arctic and Antarctic sea ice, and Greenland, Antarctic Peninsula, and West Antarctic region land ice surface acquired using the NASA Airborne Topographic Mapper (ATM) instrumentation. The data were collected as part of Operation IceBridge funded aircraft survey campaigns.
IceBridge ATM L2 Icessn Elevation, Slope, and Roughness, Version 2
This is the most recent version of these data.
The Version 2 data are in Comma Separated Value (CSV) ASCII format. A header has been added to the Version 2 data format. In Version 1, the data set consisted of pairs of files for each data segment: one data file and one summary file. The header of the Version 2 data file contains information that had appeared in the summary file, making the summary file redundant.
COMPREHENSIVE Level of Service
Data: Data integrity and usability verified; data customization services available for select data
Documentation: Key metadata and comprehensive user guide available
User Support: Assistance with data access and usage; guidance on use of data in tools and data customization services
Geographic Coverage
Other Access OptionsClose
Once you have logged in, you will be able to click and download files via a Web browser. There are also options for downloading via a command line or client. For more detailed instructions, please see Options Available for Bulk Downloading Data from HTTPS with Earthdata Login.
IceBridge Portal: Tool to visualize, search, and download IceBridge data.
Earthdata Search: This application allows you to search, visualize, and access data across thousands of Earth science data sets. Additional customization services are available for select data sets, including subsetting, reformatting, and reprojection.
As a condition of using these data, you must cite the use of this data set using the following citation. For more information, see our Use and Copyright Web page.Studinger, M. 2014, updated 2020. IceBridge ATM L2 Icessn Elevation, Slope, and Roughness, Version 2. [Indicate subset used]. Boulder, Colorado USA. NASA National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive Center. doi: https://doi.org/10.5067/CPRXXK3F39RV. [Date Accessed].
Detailed Data Description
NOTE: See the Errors and Limitations section for information on narrow-swath ATM data substituted for wide-swath data during the 14 April 2015 campaign.
The data files are in CSV (
.csv) format.
The header of each CSV data file contains information for: Input filename, Number of segments, Nadir block width, Output interval, Smoothing interval, Trajectory file used, International Terrestrial Reference Frame. Also included are headings for each field in the data file: UTC_Seconds_Of_Day, Latitude(deg), Longitude(deg), WGS84_Ellipsoid_Height(m), South-to-North_Slope, West-to-East_Slope, RMS_Fit(cm), Number_Of_ATM_Measurments_Used, Number_Of_ATM_Measurements_Removed, Distance_Of_Block_To_The_Right_Of_Aircraft(m), Track_Identifier
Each data file is paired with an associated XML file, which contains additional metadata.
Example file names:
Files are named according to the following convention, which is described in Table 1:
|Data set ID
|Year, month, and day of survey
|Hours, minutes, and seconds (beginning of file time)
|Alongtrack values smoothed in icessn process
|Nadir block plus 3 off-nadir blocks per time stamp
|Minimum of 50 points needed to output a block
Indicates file type:
Spatial coverage for the IceBridge ATM campaigns includes the Arctic, Greenland, Antarctica, and surrounding ocean areas. In effect, this represents the coverage noted below.
Arctic / Greenland:
Southernmost Latitude 60° N
Northernmost Latitude: 90° N
Westernmost Longitude: 180° W
Easternmost Longitude: 180° E
Southernmost Latitude: 90° S
Northernmost Latitude: 53° S
Westernmost Longitude: 180° W
Easternmost Longitude: 180° E
Spatial Resolution
The ATM surface elevation measurements have been re-sampled at a variable along-track time interval, typically averaging 0.5 seconds worth of data and creating an output record every 0.25 seconds, which at aircraft survey speed is a distance along the flight track of approximately 30 meters. The distance can vary with aircraft speed. Each set of along-track records contains a fixed 80 m across-track nadir platelet as well as three or five additional platelets that together span the entire swath of the ATM scan. This data set contains data from one of two different ATM sensors depending on the year the data were collected. The ATM 15° off-nadir scanner (T2) has an off-nadir scan angle of 15 degrees and these data were smoothed into three across-track platelets. The ATM 23° off-nadir scanner (T3) has an off-nadir scan angle of 23° and is smoothed into five across-track platelets. The across-track widths of these three to five additional platelets can vary with aircraft altitude.
Projection and Grid Description
No projection. Data are georeferenced to WGS-84.
31 March 2009 to 20 November 2019
Temporal Resolution
IceBridge campaigns are conducted on an annually repeating basis. Arctic and Greenland campaigns are typically conducted in March, April, and May; Antarctic campaigns are typically conducted in October and November.
This data set includes glacier, ice sheet, and sea ice elevation measurements, as well as slope measurements, and roughness measurements.
Parameter Description
Data files contain parameters as defined in Table 2.
|Time at which the aircraft passed the mid-point of the block.
|Seconds of the day in UTC
|0 to 86400
|Latitude of the center of the block.
|-90.0 to +90.0
|East longitude of the center of the block.
|0.0 to 360.0
|Height above WGS84 ellipsoid of the center of the block.
|-100.0 to 10000.0
|South to North slope of the block.
|any real value
|West to East slope of the block.
|any real value
|RMS fit of the ATM data to the plane.
|Greater than 0.0
|Number of points used in estimating the plane parameters.
|Greater than 0
|Number of points removed in estimating the plane parameters.
|Greater than or equal to 0
|Distance of the center of the block from the centerline of the aircraft trajectory (starboard = positive, port = negative).
|real valued
|Track identifier (numbered 1...n, starboard to port, and 0 = nadir).
|0, 1, 2, …
Sample Data Record
Below is an excerpt from data file
Software and Tools
NSIDC provides a MATLAB reader that reads ATM icessn data files from the Operation IceBridge Airborne Topographic Mapper instrument. The elevation measurement files and the summary files also may be opened by any text editor or word processing program that reads CSV files.
Data Acquisition and Processing
A laser altimeter measures range from the instrument to a target by measuring the elapsed time between emission of a laser pulse and detection of laser energy reflected by the target surface. Range to the target is calculated as half the elapsed emission/return time multiplied by the speed of light. Target range is converted to geographic position by integration with platform GPS and attitude or Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) information.
The ATM instrument package includes suites of lidar, GPS, and attitude measurement subsystems. The instrument package is installed onboard the aircraft platform and calibrated during ground testing procedures. Installation mounting offsets, the distances between the GPS and attitude sensors and the ATM lidars, are measured using surveying equipment. One or more ground survey targets, usually aircraft parking ramps, are selected and surveyed on the ground using differential GPS techniques. Prior to missions, one or more GPS ground stations are established by acquiring low rate GPS data over long time spans. Approximately one hour prior to missions, both the GPS ground station and aircraft systems begin data acquisition. During the aircraft flight, the ATM instrument suite acquires lidar, GPS, and attitude sensor data over selected targets, including several passes at differing altitudes over the selected ground survey calibration sites. The aircraft and ground systems continue to acquire data for one hour post-mission. Instrument parameters estimated from the surveys of calibration sites are used for post-flight calculation of laser footprint locations. These parameters are later refined using inter-comparison and analysis of ATM data where flight lines cross or overlap.
The ATM surface elevation measurements have been re-sampled into an icessn format which smoothes the data and reduces the data volume. Users desiring unsampled data should use the IceBridge ATM L1B Elevation and Return Strength data.
The fundamental form of ATM topography data is a sequence of laser footprint locations acquired in a swath along the aircraft flight track. The icessn program condenses the ATM surface elevation measurements by fitting a plane to blocks of points selected at regular intervals along track and several across track. The block size and spacing can be specified, but a few typical values are used. The along-track distance smoothed is the distance which the aircraft moves in a fixed interval, 0.5 seconds for P-3 and DC8 aircraft, and 1.0 seconds for DHC-6 Twin-Otter. The data output interval is half of the smoothing interval so that there is 50% overlap between successively smoothed blocks. For each along-track position/time, there are multiple blocks spaced evenly across-track to span the swath width. Typically the number of blocks is five for the T3 scanner and three for the T2 scanner. There is an additional block located at aircraft nadir with a width typically set to 80 m. If a single profile is desired, the nadir profile can be selected from the full data set.
The two slopes estimated are used to estimate surface elevations at points other than the center point through the use of the following algorithm shown in Equation 1 and described in Table 3:
|ht(phi,lambda) = ht(phi0,lambda0)
+ SNslope * (phi - phi0) * 6378137 * pi/180
+ WEslope * (lambda - lambda0) * cos(phi0) * 6378137 * pi/180
|(Equation 1)
|Height in meters at coordinates (phi, lambda)
|Latitude at location of interest (radians)
|Longitude at location of interest (radians)
|Latitude at center of tile (radians)
|WGS84 ellipsoid semi-major axis (meters)
|Longitude at center of tile (radians)
|South/north slope of the tile
|West/east slope of the tile
Note: The multiple across-track planes at a given along-track position will have the same time tag.
Processing Steps
The following processing steps are performed by the data provider.
- Preliminary processing of ATM lidar data through the cvalid program, applying calibration factors to convert time of flight to range, scan pointing angles and interpolated attitude to each lidar measurement.
- Processing of GPS data into aircraft trajectory files using double-differenced dual-frequency carrier phase-tracking.
- Processing of the cvalid program output combined with the GPS trajectory data through the qfit program, resulting in an output file containing a surface elevation (ellipsoid height) and a geographic location in latitude and east longitude with other ancillary parameters.
- Processing of the qfit output through the icessn program which averages the qfit surface elevation data into a small number of blocks or surface planes.
Version History
Beginning with the 2013 Arctic campaign, all new data are provided in Version 2 CSV format. Data from 2012 and earlier campaigns remained in the previously-used Fixed-width, space-delimited ASCII format. On 10 August 2015, Version 1 fixed-width space-delimited ASCII text files for 31 March 2009 to 08 November 2012 were replaced with CSV files and were included with Version 2 data.
A header was added to the Version 2 data format. In Version 1, the data set consisted of file pairs for each data segment: one data file,
ILATM2_YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS_50pt_smooth_nadir3seg, and one summary file,
ILATM2_YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS_50pt_icessn_summary. The new header of the Version 2 data file contains information that had appeared in the summary file, making the summary file redundant.
Uncertainty in slope estimates:
The uncertainty of the WGS84_Ellipsoid_Height, South-to-North_Slope, and West-to-East_Slope can be attributed to both physical topographical features and measurement error. The uncertainty in the WGS84_Ellipsoid_Height can be reasonably approximated with the RMS_Fit value. The uncertainty in the South-to-North_Slope and West-to-East_Slope can both be reasonably approximated with the equation:
|Slope Sigma (m/m) = RMS_Fit / sqrt(500 * Number_Of_ATM_Measurements_Used)
|(Equation 2)
|RMS fit of the ATM data to the plane in meters
|Number of points used in estimating the plane parameters
Note: The RMS_Fit value is in centimeters and must be converted to meters to be used in the equation above.
Attenuated ATM signal 12 and 13 April 2010:
During collection of IceBridge ATM Greenland data on 12 and 13 April 2010, hydraulic oil progressively leaked from the forward landing gear on the DC8 aircraft. The oil was blown back along the bottom of the fuselage and across the nadir window through which the ATM was transmitting and receiving the laser signal. The ATM signal was attenuated, and data in part of the scan is missing as a result. The problem developed during the flight and worsened through time. The ATM still acquired more than half of the shots throughout the scan. The net effect of this problem is to decrease the number of shot returns logged, the same as if the laser power was reduced. To the user this will appear as a reduced point density on the ground. This issue will not affect the accuracy of the data. In the Antarctic 2010 campaign, fuel leakage degraded the signal in a similar fashion.
Skipped glaciers and supplemented data for April 28, 2012:
The flight on 28 April 2012 traversed the notoriously turbulent regions over Greenland's southeast glaciers. During the flight, two planned glaciers were skipped due to concern about expected severe turbulence. The survey data spans roughly 11:15 to 18:20 UTC. On the approach to Ikerssuaq glacier at 16:56:19.5 (GPST=60994.5 secs), both the ATM T3 and T4 instruments quit recording data within 0.1 second of each other. T3 resumed at 16:57:05.3 whereas T4 did not resume for the rest of that day's flight. Following this event, the flight followed the Ikerssuaq flow line, then traversed straight west across the icesheet back to the Kangerlussuaq airport. The data gap spans 46 seconds, from the fjord up to about 500 m elevation on the Ikerssuaq glacier. The T4 data quit during the creation of the file 20120428_165532.ATM4BT4.F1.qi. The Level-1B T4 data were supplemented by the these Level-1B narrow swath files of T3 data from the latter part of the survey:
The above files can be found with the IceBridge ATM L1B Qfit Elevation and Return Strength data in the folder for 28 April 2012. For details on the ATM 4BT3 and 4BT4 instruments, see the Sensor Or Instrument Description section below, and the IceBridge Narrow Swath ATM L1B Qfit Elevation and Return Strength data set documentation.
ATM wide scan instrument failure 14 April 2015 - ATM Narrow Scan instrument fills data gap:
On 14 April 2015, the ATM wide-scan instrument suffered a failure in the scanning mechanism and did not collect data for that mission. However, the ATM narrow-scan instrument was operating normally and has been used to fill in the gap in ILATM2 data for this mission.
The ILATM2 averaged product is derived from the ILATM1B wide-scan elevation point cloud, when possible. The ILATM2 data splits the swath into three segments relative to the direction of flight: port-side, center, and starboard-side. From these strips, the data is further separated into 0.5-second-long tiles. With a nominal Above Ground Level (AGL) of 450 m, a swath width of 240 m, and a groundspeed of 100 m/s; this creates tiles that are 80 m wide and 50 m long. There is also a fourth tile created, called the nadir file, which is positioned directly below the aircraft. This tile is also nominally 80 m wide and 50 m long.
The ATM narrow-scan swath width is only about 40 m wide, so generating tiles equally-sized to the ATM wide-swath is not possible. For best results, it was decided to separate the lidar swath in half: port-side and starboard-side. For consistency, the along-track distance of the tiles is still 0.5 seconds. Therefore, for this delivery, the 14 April 2015 tiles are roughly 20 m wide and 50 m long. The nadir tile is also included, which is still nominally 80 m wide and 50 m long like the wide-swath ATM, and for straight-and-level flight includes the entire swath.
Fall 2015 Campaign:
For the Fall 2015 ATM data, some ATM elevations are adjusted slightly (~10 cm) to compensate for a systematic anomaly related to the ATM scanner azimuth. The overall mean elevation is not changed, but some elevations around the scan are adjusted upward or downward as a function of scanner azimuth. For further details on the adjustment method, see Yi et al. (2015).
Fall 2016 Campaign:
On 07 November 2016, the ATM wide-scan lidar (ATM6aT6) suffered a laser system failure and did not collect any usable ILATM1B data for that flight. Consequently, there are no ILATM2 data for this date.
Fall 2018 and Spring 2019 Campaigns (10/10/2018 to 05/16/2019):
As compared to most other Operation IceBridge ATM laser altimetry data sets, this particular data set has certain limitations in accuracy that result from a recently identified problem related to the application of the solid Earth tide correction in the data processing stage. This error can cause long-wavelength errors in elevations that are less than decimeter in magnitude and which vary in both space and time. The error wavelength is typically hundreds of kilometers, so it should not significantly affect most analyses of this data set, but it can be smaller because it depends on the number and position of base stations used for the trajectory solution and on other factors including moon phase. The error only affects the 2018 DC-8 Antarctic and 2019 P-3 Arctic Spring ATM data sets published at NSIDC DAAC. Resolution of this error is in progress, and a future version of this data set will eliminate it. The user should consider the elevation issue in any scientific interpretation or other use of the data set. Users are requested to report their findings about data quality to NSIDC User Services, to be forwarded to the ATM team, for information and comment before publication or reporting elsewhere.
The ATM is an airborne lidar instrument used by NASA for observing the Earth's topography for several scientific applications, foremost of which is the measurement of changing Arctic and Antarctic icecaps and glaciers. The ATM instrument is a scanning airborne laser that measures surface elevation of the ice by timing laser pulses transmitted from the aircraft, reflected from the ground and returning to the aircraft. This laser pulse time-of-flight information is used to derive surface elevation measurements by combining measurement of the scan pointing angle, precise GPS trajectories and aircraft attitude information. The ATM instrument measures topography as a sequence of points scanned in a swath along the aircraft flight track. The sampling frequency for the ATM is 5 kHz.
The ATM instruments are developed and maintained at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) in Virginia, USA. During Operation IceBridge, the ATM has been installed aboard the NASA P3-B aircraft based at WFF, or the NASA DC8 aircraft based at Dryden Air Force Base in Palmdale, California. During previous campaigns, the ATM has flown aboard other P-3 aircraft, several de Havilland Twin Otters (DHC-6), and a C-130. The ATM has been used for surveys flown in Greenland nearly every year since 1993. Other uses have included measurement of sea ice, verification of satellite radar and laser altimeters, and measurement of sea-surface elevation and ocean wave characteristics. The ATM often flies in conjunction with a variety of other instruments and has been participating in NASA's Operation IceBridge since 2009.
References and Related Publications
Contacts and Acknowledgments
Michael Studinger
Cryospheric Sciences Laboratory
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland USA
The ATM project team would like to acknowledge the dedicated NASA P3 and DC8 flight crews, whose efforts allowed the safe and efficient collection of this data over some of the most isolated and extreme regions on this planet.
Document Information
January 2017
August 2020


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Two days that decide Europe's space future: a citizen's briefing on ESA
This week, the future course of Europe's space sector will be set as ministers of the European Space Agency's 20 Member States come together in Italy. Find out why the issues on the table are vitally important to all Europeans.
Ministers in charge of space activities within the 20 ESA Member States and Canada will meet in Naples on 20–21 November to agree on ESA's future space programmes, aiming to boost Europe's competitiveness and growth along with scientific advances.
The debate will be wide-ranging: the Agency – an intergovernmental organisation of European nations – is one of the few entities in the world active in all areas of space: exploring space and safeguarding the terrestrial environment while boosting our continent's technical knowhow and economic competitiveness.
European cooperation in space can be traced back to the early 1960s when six European countries formed ELDO, the European Launcher Development Organisation.
In 1962, ESRO, the European Space Research Organisation, was signed into being by those same countries and four others.
Less than 20 years earlier the nations of these visionary leaders had been engaged in total war. That bitter experience made them all the more certain that cooperation rather than competition was how best to engage with the vast unknown territory of space.
Much more could be done in space by working together than any one nation could match.
ELDO focused solely on launchers and ESRO on space science, but as the wider economic potential of space became clear a broader organisation was needed: the European Space Agency, coming into being in 1975.
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35 000 skilled professionals – in the front rank of the global telecommunications and launcher markets, while Europe's astronomical, planetary science and Earth science missions are similarly second to none.
The number of space-related jobs in Europe, when including employment in downstream sectors, is ten times that figure.
And all this is done for the average cost of a cinema ticket per European per year. ESA leadership and the continuous support of its Member States' delegations have forged an industry winning contracts on the global open market. Watch this video to find out more:
Inspiring visions of the cosmos acquired by ESA missions have changed the way humankind perceives the Universe – and Earth.
From meteorology satellites to space-based telecommunications, navigation and environmental monitoring, the space systems that ESA has designed and put in place have helped to strengthen Europe's strategic independence and our common prosperity.
To learn about the many and varied impacts ESA has had on Europe and the world read our new book: The ESA Effect
Spending on space has turned out to be a solid investment, boosted by a multiplier effect: every €1 invested in space returns several times its value to the wider economy. Investment in space is an investment in knowledge, innovation and inspiration.
Space contributes to growth, employment and competitiveness across many economic sectors, while also being largely immune from outsourcing. A new animation explains this vital return on investment:
At a time when Europe faces the challenge of a world in continuous transformation, achieving innovation is more valuable than ever.
Finding new ways to do new things, ESA research and development gives rise to new jobs, businesses and entire high-value industries.
These new brochures, produced for the Ministerial Council, give the facts explaining why space is so important for Europe: ESA: Boosting Europe's competitiveness and growth
How best to settle a plan of action for space – a realm of infinite possibilities? Historically, ESA has been organised around a very European compromise, embodied in the ESA Convention.
The only mandatory commitment for ESA Member States is the Agency's science programme, along with its basic research and technology and operational infrastructure funding. Support for the rest of ESA programmes is optional. This has proved a remarkably robust and flexible method of organisation, allowing Member States to favour national priorities while still reaping the benefits of collective action.
Has all this effort had an effect on everyday life? Certainly – find out for yourself in the Agency's new 'Down to Earth' social media application. Join the conversation!


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George Zimmerman delays filing for new bond hearing
ORLANDO, Fla. -- An attorney for the former neighborhood watch volunteer charged with killing Trayvon Martin is delaying his request for a new bond hearing.
George Zimmerman's attorney announced on his legal team's website Tuesday that he would put off filing a new bond motion. He offered no further explanation.
No one immediately returned a phone call to attorney Mark O'Mara's office.
O'Mara says a new bond hearing won't take place for several weeks -- during which time Zimmerman will stay in jail.
Zimmerman returned to jail on Sunday, two days after his $150,000 bond was revoked. Prosecutors say Zimmerman and his wife misled a judge about how much money they had to put up for the bond.
Zimmerman is charged with second-degree murder and has pleaded not guilty.


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TIDAL: The Music Industry's Biggest Lie
Major modern artists all the way from Alicia Keys to Jay Z have come together to release one of the first ever artist owned music platforms… or, so they say. "Jimi Hendrix once said, that music doesn't lie," Alicia Keys spoke at the podium for TIDAL's launch video, and she's right. Music doesn't lie, but these musicians who have come together to be a face for the type of companies they state they are against? That is a lie, perhaps one of the biggest lies we have ever seen in the…Read More


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Create a Ning Network!
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New Cult of the Great Pumpkin "Moon Phases" t-shirt now available at ShopSinister.com – just search "Moon Phases" for a variety of shirts and hoodies with this design!
The post New "Moon Phases" T-shirt Design Now Available! appeared first on Cult of the Great Pumpkin.
New t-shirt design "Jack Attack" now available at ShopSinister.com! I had this idea months ago and finally pulled the trigger on it. With love and respect to the first movie that ever truly terrified me.
The post New Shirt Design "Jack Attack" appeared first on Cult of the Great Pumpkin.
Get 20% OFF orders of $20+ with coupon code HALLONTINE thru midnight on 2/7! Looking for a Hallontine's Day gift for that special spookster in your life? ShopSinister.com has you covered! Artwork, apparel, pins, patches, stickers and more, all ready and waiting to impress your paranormal paramour at https://www.shopsinister.com! 💲 AFTERPAY! ShopSinister.com now features AFTERPAY! Here's how it... Read more »
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Creatures of the night awaken for this years Halloween Monster Marathon hosted by Malvolia: The Queen of Screams. Strap in for more freaky flicks with a new batch of indie directors. Spooky tales such as a Halloween celebration turned deadly in "A Samhain Liturgy", and something unholy in the basement desires a nun in "Sister... Read more »
The post 10/31 Part II Now Available to Order on Blu Ray appeared first on Cult of the Great Pumpkin.
Trick or Treat Studios is now taking pre-orders for their super-cool new Haunted Mask Hangers! From their website: Sculpted by Chris Gallaher Trick or Treat Studios is proud to present The Haunted Mask Hanger. Sculpted to look like a piece from Disney's The Haunted Mansion, this amazing mask hanger is made from a hard resin... Read more »
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Founded by physicians more than 30 years ago, 21st Century Oncology understands the unique needs of physicians and healthcare systems.
Founded by physicians more than 30 years ago, 21st Century Oncology understands the unique needs of physicians and healthcare systems.
As the healthcare landscape changes, 21st Century Oncology offers solutions to healthcare providers and hospital systems to help organizations provide integrated, academic quality cancer care in convenient, low-cost settings. Here are some of the reasons why you might want to join our network:
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We offer clinical solutions to integrate patient care across multiple specialties, including electronic treatment prescription tools, patient registries, clinical protocol development and rapid diffusion of new technologies across our network. We also developed and operate our own proprietary quality monitoring system for dosage verification, and our own electronic data management system that serves as a repository for all clinical and patient data.
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MCM made a major comeback in the past few years with many people seeking their monogrammed bags. It's funny because while majority of people were shunning logos (that's begun to change), MCM found itself being the cool logo bag to carry. I really like the MCM logo and kept wanting to purchase one of their backpacks, that is until I found the Milla Tote and fell in love.
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Revista Peruana de Medicina Experimental y Salud Publica
versión impresa ISSN 1726-4634
OSCANOA, Teodoro J. Access and usability to medications: a proposal for an operational definition. Rev. perú. med. exp. salud publica [online]. 2012, vol.29, n.1, pp.119-126. ISSN 1726-4634.
Research about accessibility to medicines through household surveys is very important in order to verify the reality and effectiveness of interventions done to increase the access of the population to the medications. Unfortunately, such studies, on top of being very few, have methodological problems, which mostly result from a lack of uniformity in the operational definitions of access and the differentiation with the dimensions of accessibility. The aim of this paper is to propose setting a difference between both terms. We propose an operational definition of access to medications as the process of verification of the purchase of a drug by a patient, independently from many factors that can affect this process. The term "usability of drugs" is introduced, defining it operationally as aimed at measuring the dimensions of the accessibility to the medications: physical availability, affordability, geographical accessibility, acceptability (or satisfaction)
Palabras clave : Pharmaceutical trade; Drug utilization; Drug and narcotic control.


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The Oscars will honor movie musicals of the last decade with a celebration that includes Oscar winners Jennifer Hudson, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Russell Crowe and Oscar nominees Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway and others.
"We are pleased to have been able to amass so much talent to create the celebration of musicals of the last decade that we envisioned," Academy Awards producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron said on Wednesday. "We are thrilled that so many talented actors have agreed to bring our vision to life."
Barbra Streisand to perform at Academy Awards
Some of the musical films honored will be 2002 Best Picture winner Chicago; Dreamgirls, for which Hudson won Best Supporting Actress in 2006, and this year's Best Picture nominee Les Miserables.
In addition, Kristin Chenoweth and host Seth MacFarlane will perform a special closing number at the end of the show. Zadan and Meron are calling the duet a "can't-miss moment."


text:
WASHINGTON -- The FDA has tracked about 100 drug shortages this year, down almost half from this time last year, an agency official said.
"Last year, at this exact time we were over 180," Capt. Valerie Jensen, RPh, associate director of the drug shortage program in the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said last week at the American Osteopathic Association Health Policy Forum here.
The FDA tracked 251 shortages all of last year and 181 in 2010, Jensen said.
Many physicians, particularly oncologists, have been forced to alter patients' treatment plans because certain drugs weren't available.
Jensen credited the drop in shortages to drug manufacturers improving quality, reducing the need for FDA action and recalls.
The number of shortages -- mainly from difficult-to-manufacture sterile injectable products -- has become problematic in the past couple of years, when some companies either got in trouble with the FDA or shut plants down entirely to correct quality issues. Furthermore, there are only a relative handful of companies that manufacture such injectable products, making even one production shortfall hard-felt.
"We have fewer new shortages, but I want to caution that ... some of these firms that [were] having problems are still having problems," Jensen said.
The FDA also has increased efforts in recent years to communicate and work with drug companies to prevent or stop shortages, Jensen said. The agency can work with companies to correct their quality issues or solve supply issues.
"We're also working with the other companies making those drugs, and we're asking them to ramp up production," Jensen said. "We can't require them to increase production, but we can ask them to." The FDA's drug center has 11 people staff its drug shortages team.
In rare circumstances in the past year, the FDA has imported non-FDA-approved-manufacturer products to ease shortages.
FDA efforts could be bolstered by its user fee reauthorization, which Congress passed this summer. The new law requires drugmakers notify the FDA within 6 months of possible or known disruptions in supply or manufacturing of products that could cause or exacerbate a shortage. The idea is that the agency can work to address and prevent shortages if it knows more in advance they're coming.
Some on Capitol Hill have pointed the finger at the FDA's strict enforcement policies as the root cause of shortages.
Jensen also said the FDA was working on creating a way for providers to sort through the FDA's mountain of drug shortage information by specialty, so specialists can more easily keep an eye on drugs used in their field. This way non-oncologists wouldn't have to weed through statistics on cancer drugs they never prescribe and oncologists wouldn't have to hear about the latest on the amphetamine/dextroamphetamine (Adderall) shortage.


text:
Set default roles for what group members can do
You can assign roles with the same set of permissions to members of your group and allow certain roles to view, post, or moderate.
The Manager role
People with the Manager role can:
- Manage member responsibilities and message settings.
Add or remove managers.
The Member role
Everyone in a group has the Member role by default. Features of the Member role:
Any permissions set for the Member role are automatically given to all other roles.
Permissions set for the Member role are grayed out in the other roles because they are already applied.
Set permissions for what Managers & Members can do
You can customize what owners, managers, and members can do in your group, like approve messages, view members, or delete posts.
Sign in to Google Groups.
Click My Groups.
Choose a group.
Near the top right, click Manage.
On the left, click Roles Roles.
Choose a role.
Next to "Permissions," click Edit.
Check the boxes next to the permissions you'd like to grant to this role.
Click Done.
View all permissions
View a detailed list of all the permissions that exist, and then assign relevant permissions to a role.
Sign in to Google Groups.
Click My Groups.
Choose a group.
Near the top right, click Manage.
On the left, click Permissions. Choose a category of permissions to view and edit:
- Basic permissions let certain people join and post to the group.
- Posting permissions let members use custom features to post topics.
- Moderation permissions let members monitor other members, posts, and roles.
- Access permissions control who can view the group, members, and member email addresses.
- Make your changes.
- Click Save.
Note: A nested group is a group that is a member of another group. You can only assign permissions to individual members, not to nested groups.
Create a new role
If you want a role that's different from the default roles, you can create a custom role with specific permissions.
Sign in to Google Groups.
Click My Groups.
Choose a group.
Near the top right, click Manage.
On the left, click Roles Roles.
Click Create.
Enter information for the new role. Name the role something that can be shared publicly and is singular (for example, "Contributor," not "Contributors").
Optional: To add someone from your group to the new role, click Add members.
To change what people in this role can view, post, or moderate, next to the description of a permission, click Edit.
Click Save.
Members who can "Modify members sets" can create a role, assign permissions, and delete roles. Certain permissions can only be given to Owners, Managers, and Members, and not to custom roles.
Change roles and settings for individual members
You can make these changes for individual members of your group:
- Add or remove someone from a role
- Ban someone
- Decide when someone receives emails
- Change when someone can post
To change settings for a member:
- On the left, click Members All members.
- Check the box next to the member or members whose settings you want to change.
- Near the top of the screen, click Actions.
- Choose the setting you want to change.
<Source: https://support.google.com/groups/answer/2464975?hl=en&ref_topic=2458761>


text:
Safety and Effectiveness of Two Blood Transfusion Strategies in Surgical Patients With Cardiovascular Disease (FOCUS)
|The safety and scientific validity of this study is the responsibility of the study sponsor and investigators. Listing a study does not mean it has been evaluated by the U.S. Federal Government. Read our disclaimer for details.
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00071032
Recruitment Status : Completed
First Posted : October 13, 2003
Results First Posted : August 28, 2014
Last Update Posted : August 28, 2014
- Study Details
- Tabular View
- Study Results
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
|Condition or disease
|Anemia Hematologic Diseases Cardiovascular Diseases Heart Diseases Myocardial Infarction Thromboembolism Pneumonia Cerebrovascular Accident
|Biological: Liberal (10 g/dL) Transfusion Strategy Biological: Restrictive (Symptomatic) Transfusion Strategy
|Phase 3
Red blood cell transfusions are an extremely common medical intervention in both the United States and worldwide; over 14 million units of blood are transfused in the United States. Between 60 and 70 percent of all blood is transfused in the surgical setting. Despite the common use of red blood cell transfusions, the threshold for transfusion has not been adequately evaluated and is very controversial. A decade ago, the standard of care was to administer a peri-operative transfusion whenever the hemoglobin (Hgb) level fell below 10 g/dl (the "10/30 rule"). Concerns about the safety of blood, especially with respect to HIV and hepatitis, and the absence of data to support a 10 g/dl threshold led to the current standard of care, which is to administer blood transfusions based on the presence of symptoms, and not a specific Hgb/hematocrit level. However, there have not been any randomized clinical trials done with surgical patients that have tested the efficacy and safety of withholding blood until the patient develops symptoms, or the "10/30" approach to transfusion. Patients with underlying cardiovascular disease are at greatest risk of adverse effects from reduced Hgb levels.
This is a multi-center randomized trial to test the effectiveness of a transfusion strategy that maintains postoperative Hgb levels above 10 g/dl (liberal transfusion) in improving patient outcome. This will be compared to the restrictive (symptomatic) transfusion strategy in which blood transfusion is withheld until the patient develops symptoms of anemia or Hgb less than 8 g/dL. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of the two transfusion strategies. The liberal (10 g/dl) threshold strategy will use enough red blood cell units to maintain Hgb levels at or above 10 g/dl through hospital discharge. Restrictive (Symptomatic) transfusion strategy patients will receive red blood cell transfusions for symptoms of anemia, although transfusion is also permitted, but not required, if the Hgb level falls below 8 g/dl. Outcomes will include functional recovery (primary outcome: ability to walk 10 feet across a room without human assistance or death 60 days post-randomization), lower extremity activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living, survival up to 60-days and long-term, disposition (i.e., nursing home placement), and postoperative complications (e.g., myocardial infarction, unstable angina, or death in hospital, pneumonia, wound infection, thromboembolism, stroke).
Ambulation at 60 days is known to be highly predictive of ultimate functional outcome as well as of mortality at one year. Because inability to walk has such important implications for quality of life, and because it is a common problem, it far outweighs the small risk of viral infection or other complications from transfusion in elderly patients.
The trial will also evaluate the effect of transfusion threshold on postoperative risk of acute cardiac ischemia. The strategy will be to enhance surveillance for ischemic events by increasing the number of EKG and serum troponin measurements beyond those already called for in the original FOCUS protocol.
There is an ancillary study to the trial (R01 HL085706) to examine delirium as an outcome in a subsample of 139 patients. We will assess short-term (in hospital) and longer-term (after 30 days) severity of delirium.
|Study Type :
|Interventional (Clinical Trial)
|Actual Enrollment :
|2016 participants
|Intervention Model:
|Parallel Assignment
|Single (Outcomes Assessor)
|Primary Purpose:
|Official Title:
|Functional Outcomes in Cardiovascular Patients Undergoing Surgical Hip Fracture Repair (FOCUS)
|Study Start Date :
|July 2003
|Actual Primary Completion Date :
|May 2009
|Actual Study Completion Date :
|May 2009
Experimental: Liberal (10 g/dL) Transfusion Strategy
Transfusion strategy that maintains postoperative Hgb levels above 10 g/dL.
Biological: Liberal (10 g/dL) Transfusion Strategy
This transfusion strategy will maintains postoperative Hgb levels above 10 g/dL. This threshold strategy will use enough red blood cell units to maintain Hgb levels at or above 10 g/dL through hospital discharge or up to 30 days after randomization.
Active Comparator: 2
Symptomatic transfusion strategy, a more conservative strategy, in which blood transfusion is withheld until the patient develops symptoms of anemia.
Biological: Restrictive (Symptomatic) Transfusion Strategy
Transfusion is withheld until the patient develops symptoms from anemia (i.e., chest pain or ECG changes thought to be ischemic, congestive heart failure, unexplained tachycardia or hypotension unresponsive to fluids) or until the hemoglobin level falls below 8 g/dL. Transfusion is permitted, but is not mandatory, if the hemoglobin level falls below 8 g/dL.
- Inability to Walk 10 Feet or Across a Room Without Human Assistance or Death [ Time Frame: 60 days after randomization ]ascertained via telephone follow-up
- Myocardial Infarction, Unstable Angina, or Death for Any Reason [ Time Frame: In-hospital ]
- Postoperative Complications (e.g., Pneumonia, Wound Infection, Thromboembolism, Stroke) [ Time Frame: In hospital ]
- Survival [ Time Frame: 30-daym, 60- day and long term up to 5 years ]
- Disposition Status (i.e., Nursing Home Placement) [ Time Frame: 60 days ]
- Function (e.g., Lower Extremity Activities of Daily Living, Instrumental Activities of Daily Living, Fatigue/Energy) [ Time Frame: 30 and 60 days ]
- Length of Stay in Hospital [ Time Frame: In-hospital ]
- Myocardial Infarction [ Time Frame: In-hospital ]
- Composite Outcomes (a) Death, Myocardial Infarction, and Pneumonia and b) Death, Myocardial Infarction, Pneumonia, Thromboembolism and Stroke) [ Time Frame: In-hospital ]
Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study. To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contacts provided below. For general information, Learn About Clinical Studies.
|Ages Eligible for Study:
|50 Years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
|Sexes Eligible for Study:
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
Inclusion Criteria:
- Has undergone surgical repair for a hip fracture
- Has a postoperative Hgb level below 10 g/dL within three days of surgery
- Diagnosis of cardiovascular disease (e.g., coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, stroke or transient ischemic attack, or peripheral vascular disease) or cardiovascular risk factors (e.g., diabetes mellitus, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, tobacco use, or creatinine levels greater than 2.0 mg/dL)
Exclusion Criteria:
- Unable to walk prior to hip fracture
- Declines blood transfusions
- Suffered multiple traumas
- Pathologic fracture of the hip due to malignancy
- Clinically recognized acute myocardial infarction within the 30 days prior to study entry
- Previously participated in the trial and fractured the other hip
- Symptoms associated with anemia (e.g., ischemic chest pain) or actively bleeding at the time of randomization
To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contact information provided by the sponsor.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT00071032
|United States, New Jersey
|University Medicine & Dentistry of NJ
|New Brunswick, New Jersey, United States, 08903
|Study Chair:
|Jeffrey L. Carson, MD
|University Medicine & Dentistry of NJ
|Principal Investigator:
|Michael Terrin
|University of Maryland, College Park
Other Publications:
Publications automatically indexed to this study by ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier (NCT Number):
|Responsible Party:
|rwjmsmedicine, Jeffrey L Carson, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
|Other Study ID Numbers:
U01HL073958-06 ( U.S. NIH Grant/Contract )
U01HL073958 ( U.S. NIH Grant/Contract )
U01HL074815 ( U.S. NIH Grant/Contract )
|First Posted:
|October 13, 2003 Key Record Dates
|Results First Posted:
|August 28, 2014
|Last Update Posted:
|August 28, 2014
|Last Verified:
|August 2014
Blood Disease
blood transfusion
Cardiovascular Diseases
Heart Diseases
Myocardial Infarction
Hematologic Diseases
Pathologic Processes
Myocardial Ischemia
Vascular Diseases
Lung Diseases
Respiratory Tract Diseases
Respiratory Tract Infections
Embolism and Thrombosis
Cerebrovascular Disorders
Brain Diseases
Central Nervous System Diseases
Nervous System Diseases


text:
Free ground shipping on any order over $75
This easy-to-clean, synthetic brush is the ideal partner to all concealers. The tapered edge lays down just the right amount of coverage to camouflage imperfections, including dark circles, without settling into lines. Can also be used to apply cream eye shadows. The softer, more graduated tip allows for more even, controlled blending.
How to use:
Dab a small amount of concealer onto the back of the hand, warming it up with your finger. Using only one flat side of the brush, gently apply to needed areas. Turn the brush over and, without adding any additional product, finish the blending process with light, downward, patting/sweeping strokes – focusing on the outer edges for a flawless blending result. Repeat process to build even more coverage.
Backstage Beauty Tip:
Glide along the lip "edge" to perfect the line line after applying deep lip color.
Benefits & Technology
- Easy to clean with brush cleanser or shampoo and warm water
- Softer, more graduated tip allows for more blended application
How to Contour a Lip Edge
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text:
The Sunday Independent reported that Malema's household contents were auctioned in Polokwane in Friday for R54 000, which was about a fifth of the value of his Breitling watch.
The SA Revenue Service (Sars) is trying to recover R16-million which it claims Malema owes in tax, following business dealings it alleges were incompatible with his tax declarations.
According to the newspaper, it reported in January that Malema had spent R291 000 on clothes at an Italian boutique store and more than R31 000 on Louis Vuitton designer clothes, according to an audit by PwC.
It reported that Malema's watch and designer clothes were not seen at the auction. Assets which were auctioned included a piano, fridges, a wall unit and television sets.
The Sunday Sun reported that the piano was bought for R9 300 by Norman Motaung. "I didn't buy it because of the previous owner," he told the newspaper.
A former friend of Malema's, Boy Mamabolo, bought a mirror for R300. He told the newspaper Malema had promised to give him the mirror in 2009 but had changed his mind.
"I'm helping Sars to collect its money. But I'm disappointed that the Pioneer music mixer is going back to Juju [Malema] — because his bodyguard bought it," Mamabolo told the Sunday Sun.
The paper reported that many people were disappointed at the assets that were on sale.
"According to the sheriff, some people were not happy with the state that the items were in," Sars spokesperson Adrian Lackay told the Sunday Independent.
"The sheriff will have written up an inventory of everything. So we are confident that all attempts to get around the administration of justice will be futile," he said. – Sapa


text:
From Openmoko
|Line 37:
|Line 37:
Source Code released:https://garage.maemo.org/scm/?group_id=638
Source Code released:https://garage.maemo.org/scm/?group_id=638
Revision as of 08:42, 13 October 2008
This really cool game is available from opkg install --force-depends http://wwwpub.zih.tu-dresden.de/~mkluge/numptyphysics_0.2_armv4t.ipk opkg complains about libsdl and libsdl-image, but I think the program should actually works on 2007.2, and Debian (?).
On Om 2008 you need to do the following:
opkg install libsdl-1.2-0 libsdl-image-1.2-0 opkg install -force-depends http://wwwpub.zih.tu-dresden.de/~mkluge/numptyphysics_0.2_armv4t.ipk
Use with a keyboard on. Keys:
stylus draw a new stroke space or enter (d-pad centre) pause/unpause physics esc (back arrow) undo last stroke q quit r or up reset level to initial state n or right skip to next level p or left go to previous level e or fullscreen edit mode
Each stroke is like a rigid piece of wire with a mass proportional to its length. A closed stroke is just a wire bent into a shape, it has no substance apart from its perimeter.
The ends of a strokes can (and will) join onto other strokes when drawn near enough to another stroke. These joints are pivots so you can use this to build levers, pendulums and other mechanical wonders.
Jointed strokes don't collide with each other. Join both ends to make a rigid structure
Numpty Physics is a drawing puzzle game.
Source Code released:https://garage.maemo.org/scm/?group_id=638