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Chromedia Chromatogram Generator Tool
Education Article
- Published: Apr 2, 2009
- Channels: Electrophoresis / Sample Preparation / Laboratory Informatics / Separations Science Digest / Ion Chromatography / Detectors / Gas Chromatography / Proteomics & Genomics / HPLC
Chromatogram Generator Tool
How do you achieve the fastest or most qualitative LC separation with only a limited budget to spend on instruments, ovens and columns?
Jeroen Billen and Gert Desmet of the Vrije Universiteit of Brussels developed with Peter Schoenmakers an optimization tool for chromatographers that can help you to a small extent through the credit crunch. And, in the spirit of co-operation within the chromatography community, they are sharing it with you.
Try it, it is free... and it is fun!
Frank van Geel, Chromedia
Click here to download the Chromatogram Generator Tool [Excel]
Read about the Chromatogram Generator in an interview with Jeroen Billen & Gert Desmet...
Screenshot from the Chromatogram Generator
Interview with Jeroen Billen and Gert Desmet,
Jeroen Billen
Gert Desmet
With this tool, chromatographers can optimize an existing reference separation, only requiring input of several parameters that are readily available to the experimentalist, such as pressure, temperature, column type and length. Jeroen Billen says: "An important feature in the output of the program is that, apart from the parameters that characterize the quality of a separation, such as plate number, retention time, resolution and peak capacity, chromatograms are generated as well. Any chromatographer with the least bit of experience is familiar with this type of output and can directly make a visual verification whether or not the modified chromatographic conditions will suit the needs."
Chromatographers have a wealth of choice if they want to purchase a new instrument or column type. Should one opt for an instrument equipped with a pump that is able to deliver higher pressures or instead invest in a more standard, lower priced HPLC-instrument that is coupled to a high temperature oven? Billen says: "They like to know what the effects are of pressure and temperature on the required analysis time and separation efficiency. The tool shows the effects of these two different instrument upgrades on a given separation."
"We demonstrated a first version in HTC-10 in Bruges and later in London and asked experienced chromatographers in the audience to estimate the best options. Improving a given separation turned out to be a challenging exercise in some cases, even for the most experienced chromatographers amongst the attendees. But they enjoyed playing and saw that making predictions is harder than it looks."
Who should try it?
"It is not necessary to understand the underlying calculations in order to experiment with the tool. The program input is very simple: it allows for a manipulation of the pressure, temperature, column type, particle size and column length. These are all variables that are readily available to every chromatographer. We encourage al chromatographers of all levels to play with the tool. The only pre-requisite to appreciate the tool is that the user is able to analyse a chromatogram and knows how to interpret the characterization parameters such as analysis time, plate number, isocratic peak capacity and resolution."
It is useful for teaching purposes?
"Anybody teaching chromatography can also use it as an illustrative "gizmo" for his or her students to clarify the effects of different parameters on the separation speed and efficiency. Allowing the students to play with the parameters themselves will give them a better insight on the parameters influencing a chromatographic separation. In general, anybody curious to find out what the different effects of different instrument upgrades are on the goodness of a separation are encouraged to use it. However, it will also help practitioners to understand the effects of parameter changes better. "
What was the most surprising result of the program?
"The tool also accounts for extra column band broadening. This means that axial dispersion coming from the injector, connection tubing and detector are incorporated in the calculation of the efficiency. One of the most striking results when testing the tool was the impact of the contribution these extra-column sources of band broadening can have on the total band broadening of the system. This is especially true for high speed separations, where short columns packed with small particles are used. Extra-column band broadening therefore certainly needs to be accounted for."
Do you have any plans for the future with this tool?
" Yes, one future enhancement is the direct calculation of analysis costs over a certain period. This would however require a more rigorous research into the price people have to pay for their instruments and columns. We are also considering providing an easy-to-use version with a restricted number of changeable parameters for educational purposes, and a Pro-version of the tool in which far more parameters are taken into account, and variables such as tubing length and diameter and injector and detector volumes are added. This would give the experimentalist an initial idea if it would be beneficial to invest in the reduction of the extra-column band broadening and if so, how much in terms of efficiency could be gained. For now, we think this basic version is very useful as a start, and depending on the response, we will come up with upgraded versions."
* You will need Adobe Flash Player installed on your computer to view the animations in this tutorial. We recommend you install the latest version of Flash: if you are attempting to view over a network, please contact your network administrator and request the latest version of Macromedia Flash Player. If you are not accessing via a network then you can update your local version of flash player via this link: http://www.adobe.com/go/getflashplayer. Please note that this links to an external website and, although Flash is a very common browser add-on with few known problems, we do not accept responsibility for any problems the download may cause.


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.500 NE Caliber Nickel Rifle Snap Caps from CSMC
Guns International #: 100134649 Seller's Inventory #: E0320
Category: Gun Accessories - Gun Care and Cleaning
Seller's Information
When emailing or calling sellers direct, please mention that you saw their listing on GunsInternational.com
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Seller: FFL Dealer
Return Policy: 3 day inspection and return policy on used guns.
3 days - (USED GUNS ONLY) DOES NOT APPLY TO NEW GUNS
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Connecticut Shotgun Manufacturing Company is proud to offer our .500 NE Caliber Nickel Rifle Snap Caps.
Price: $60.00

subset: commoncrawl


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hi this is my first tutorial and the pictures don't have good quality because i forgot to save them as png so here's the tutorial
DragoArt members upload artwork and drawing tutorials! They are also allowed to leave comments on tutorials, profiles, etc. Many more features, as well; it's way better than just being a boring guest! Register Now!


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A Hill Country haven about an hour from San Antonio and Austin, Fredericksburg's holiday rental cottages, Sunday houses, bungalows, guest rooms, lofts, and ranches are ideal for a romantic shopping and wine-tasting getaway or a money-saving family retreat. Enjoy a drive past streams and limestone hillsides carpeted in spring with bluebonnets and wildflowers. Buy peaches and pecans from roadside stands en route to wineries and picnic lunches. Stroll the Marketplatz and leisurely shop on Main Street. Savor a German sausage snack and brew, or save some money and fix your own food in your holiday rental cottage kitchen. Rock and roll in the evening at the Rockbox Theatre. Or head to nearby Luckenbach for country music and an old-fashioned general store.
World War II Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz grew up in his grandfather's downtown Fredericksburg hotel, which is now the National Museum of the Pacific War. The whole family will enjoy the plaque-lined limestone walls of the Memorial Courtyard and the Japanese Garden of Peace honoring the people and ships from World War II. The Plaza of Presidents honors the 10 U.S. presidents who served their country in World War II. Contribute to the museum with your purchase at the George H. W. Bush Gallery Museum Store. Afterwards, visit the Pioneer Museum complex to see what life was like for the early German settlers.
Drive to 341 Golfers Loop and shoot 18 holes at the 6,432-yard, oak-tree lined Lady Bird Johnson Municipal Golf Course. Bring extra golf balls, as the back nine has five holes sharing three lakes. The Johnson legacy continues in Stonewall, east of Fredericksburg, at the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park. The whole family will enjoy the 90-minute LBJ Ranch bus tours. Further down the road, towards Austin, is Johnson City and another LBJ boyhood home. If you have the stamina, take the family to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Centre.
Hike or rock climb Enchanted Rock State Natural Area's famous pink granite dome. If Austin's Congress Avenue Bridge bats drove you batty, check out the nightly bat viewing (May-Oct.) 11 miles south of Fredericksburg at Old Tunnel Wildlife Management Area. The old railroad tunnel houses an estimated 3 million Brazilian free-tailed bats. If you get there early, take the family bird watching or hiking. You will bring back plenty of good memories from your money-saving Fredericksburg holiday rental.


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The System Monitoring Plug-in Metric Reference Manual for Virtualization Management lists all the plug-ins metrics for database management that Enterprise Manager monitors. This manual shows all the metric help available online, eliminating the need to have the Grid Control Console up and running.
This preface describes:
This manual contains a chapter for the VMWare ESX Server. The metrics in this chapters appears in alphabetical order according to category.
The information for each metric comprises a description and user action if available:
Provides an explanation following the metric name. This text defines the metric and, when available, provides additional information pertinent to the metric.
User Action
Suggests how to solve the problem causing the alert.
The Metric Summary table in Enterprise Manager Grid Control is part of the overall metric information. The following table provides descriptions of columns in the Enterprise Manager Metric Summary table.
|Column Header
|Column Definition
|Target Version
|Version of the target, for example, 9.0.2.x and 10.1.0.x. The x at the end of a version (for example, 9.0.2.x) represents the subsequent patchsets associated with that release.
|Server Evaluation Frequency
|The rate at which the metric is evaluated to determine whether it has crossed its threshold. For server-generated alerts, the evaluation frequency is determined by Oracle Database internals. For example, if the evaluation frequency is 10 minutes, when the Average File Write Time degrades to the point an alert should trigger, it could be almost 10 minutes before Enterprise Manager receives an indication of the alert. This column is present in the Metric Collection Summary table only for Oracle Database 10g metrics.
|Collection Schedule
|The rate at which the Management Agent collects data. The collection frequency for a metric comes from the Enterprise Manager default collection file for that target type.
|Upload Interval
|The rate at which the Management Agent moves data to the Management Repository. For example, upload every nth collection. The upload frequency for a metric comes from the Enterprise Manager default collection file for that target type. This column is present in the Metric Collection Summary table only when the Upload Frequency is different from the Collection Frequency.
|Comparison Operator
|The comparison method Enterprise Manager uses to evaluate the metric value against the threshold values.
|Default Warning Threshold
|Value that indicates whether a warning alert should be initiated. If the evaluation of the warning threshold value returns a result of TRUE for the specified number of consecutive occurrences defined for the metric, an alert triggers at the warning severity level.
|Default Critical Threshold
|Value that indicates whether a critical alert should be initiated. If the evaluation of the critical threshold value returns a result of TRUE for the specified number of consecutive occurrences defined for the metric, an alert triggers at the critical severity level.
|Consecutive Number of Occurrences Preceding Notification
|Consecutive number of times a metric's value reaches either the warning threshold or critical threshold before a notification is sent.
|Alert Text
|Message indicating why the alert was generated. Words that display between percent signs (%) denote variables. For example,
Disk Utilization for %keyValue% is %value%% could translate to
Disk Utilization for d0 is 80%.
To reduce the page count in this document, the following abbreviations and acronyms are used:
|Oracle Management Agent
|Oracle Database
|Oracle Management Service
|Oracle Management Repository
A metric is a unit of measurement used to determine the health of a target. It is through the use of metrics and associated thresholds that Enterprise Manager sends out alerts notifying you of problems with the target.
Thresholds are boundary values against which monitored metric values are compared. For example, for each disk device associated with the Disk Utilization (%) metric, you can define a different warning and critical threshold. Some of the thresholds are predefined by Oracle; others are not.
After a threshold is reached, an alert is generated. An alert is an indicator signifying that a particular condition has been encountered and is triggered when one of the following conditions is true:
A threshold is reached.
An alert has been cleared.
The availability of a monitored service changes. For example, the availability of an application server changes from up to down.
A specific condition occurs. For example, an alert is triggered whenever an error message is written to a database alert log file.
Alerts are detected through a polling-based mechanism by checking for the monitored condition from a separate process at regular, predefined intervals.
See Also:See the Oracle Enterprise Manager Concepts manual and the Enterprise Manager online help for additional information about metrics, thresholds, and alerts
Out of the box, Enterprise Manager comes with thresholds for critical metrics. Warning and critical thresholds are used to generate an alert, letting you know of impending problems so that you can address them in a timely manner.
To better suit the monitoring needs of your organization, you can edit the thresholds provided by Enterprise Manager and define new thresholds. When defining thresholds, the key is to choose acceptable values to avoid unnecessary alerts, while still being notified of issues in a timely manner.
You can establish thresholds that will provide pertinent information in a timely manner by defining metric baselines that reflect how your system runs for a normal period of time.
The metrics listed on the Edit Thresholds page are either default metrics provided by Oracle or metrics whose thresholds you can change.
The Specifying Multiple Thresholds functionality allows you to define various subsets of data that can have different thresholds. By specifying multiple thresholds, you can refine the data used to trigger alerts, which is one of the key benefits of using Enterprise Manager.The key in specifying multiple thresholds is to determine how the comparison relates to the metric threshold as a whole. What benefit will be realized by defining a more stringent or lax threshold for that particular device, mount point, and so on?For example, using the Average Disk I/O Service Time metric, you can define warning and critical thresholds to be applied to all disks (sd0 and sd1), or you can define different warning and critical thresholds for a specific disk (sd0). This allows you to adjust the thresholds for sd0 to be more stringent or lax for that particular disk.
To access metrics in the Grid Control Console, use the All Metrics page associated with a particular target by doing the following:
From the Grid Control Console, choose the target.
On the target's home page, click All Metrics in the Related Links section.
On the All Metrics page, choose the metric of interest and click Help. The help for that metric appears.


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|Version 13 (modified by 13 years ago) (diff),
Data Parallel Haskell
This page documents the integration of nested data parallelism into GHC at the developer level, including notes about where we are and what needs doing. See also the user-level wiki page, which includes examples and tutorial-style instructions.
Most of the material describing our approach is partitioned into a set of subpages:
- Nested data parallelism by example
- Data parallelism on shared-memory machines
- High-level design of adding NDP to GHC
- Details of the implementation of closure conversion
- Requirements of the vectorisation transformation?
- Desugaring of array comprehensions
- Other nested data parallel work
Status and work plan
Detailed information on how to use the current implementation is at the user-level wiki page. Here is information on the implementation status and outstanding work items:
- DPH repositories
- Our work plan
- Some benchmarks
Old material
Pages that have fallen out of use (and contain out dated information):


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- Access Digital Exclusives, Hit Shows, Live MotorSports and more!
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Stay Updated Car news, reviews, and more!
$ 17,523
5,000 lbs.
1,546 lbs.
The 2014 Honda Ridgeline is the last of a dying breed, as the SUV/truck hybrid is the only one standing in a segment that once included the Chevrolet Avalanche, Cadillac Escalade EXT, Hummer H2 SUT, and the Ford Explorer Sport Trac. Rumors have suggested it won't be long before the Ridgeline is discontinued, but Honda's attempt at keeping it fresh with a new trim level suggests the Ridgeline may stick around for a bit longer. The Honda Ridgeline was the Motor Trend 2006 Truck of the Year.
The 2014 Honda Ridgeline unibody five-passenger truck is available in RT, Sport, RTS, and RTL trim levels, with the SE model as a new top-trim model. Standard equipment on the base model includes 17-inch steel wheels, trailer hitch, keyless entry, power accessories, cruise control, and a rearview camera. Don't be fooled by the Sport model, as the designation simply means it gains blacked-out pieces including the wheels, front grille, and headlight and taillight housings. Next in line is the RTS, which still doesn't even come with Bluetooth. For that, you'll have to go for the RTL, which includes other goodies like satellite radio and leather, but above that is the Special Edition model, which is new for 2014. Regardless of trim, the 2014 Ridgeline is equipped with a 250-hp 3.5-liter V-6 paired to an automatic five-speed transmission.
That combination didn't do much for the Ridgeline when we tested the 2012 model. "The engine certainly offers respectable power, but it struggles a bit on grades," we said. At the track, the 2012 Ridgeline Sport reached 60 mph in 8 seconds, which is three-tenths of a second slower than the last time we tested the Ridgeline in 2009. Although its numbers aren't all that impressive, the Ridgeline still offers what Honda buyers like: SUV interior and truck-like bed, in a well-executed package. While it has a good foundation, it could certainly use some tweaking, and that doesn't mean simply adding another "special edition" model.
The SE model stands apart with exclusive black 18-inch wheels, special badging, and blacked out accessories such as a honeycomb grille, and lights. Inside, the SE model comes fully loaded with an all-black leather interior, navigation, satellite radio, and rearview camera. The SE will only be available in three exterior paint colors, including white, black, and silver.
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Federal health officials want more detailed surveillance of restaurant illness outbreaks
Nearly half of all food illness outbreaks begin in restaurants, but government inspectors have not been gathering the right data to get to the bottom of how these outbreaks start, federal health officials said this week.
Outbreak reports, for example, do not typically keep track of whether restaurant workers washed their hands or whether they were taught proper food preparation and handling, according to new research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Researchers found gaps in the education of restaurant workers, as well as in public health surveillance.
In 2014, the CDC and other national and state health authorities will debut the National Voluntary Environmental Assessment Information System, a surveillance system for inspections of restaurants, as well as banquet halls and schools. The system will help inspectors capture data that describes what happened and what most likely lead to a foodborne outbreak, including lack of hand-washing.
"We are taking a key step forward in capturing critical data that will allow us to assemble a big picture view of the environmental causes of foodborne outbreaks," said Carol Selman, head of CDC's Environmental Health Specialists Network team at the National Center for Environmental Health.
"Inspectors have not had a formal system to capture and report the underlying factors that likely contribute to foodborne outbreaks or a way to inform prevention strategies and implement routine corrective measures in restaurants, delis and schools to prevent future outbreaks."
Four articles published this week in the Journal of Food Protection focus on steps to prevent foodborne illness outbreaks at restaurants related to ground beef, chicken and leafy greens.
Each year, about 48 million people are sickened and 3,000 die after eating contaminated food at restaurants and delis in this county, according to the CDC.


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Remembrance Sunday service in Aberystwyth Wales UKAdd to Lightbox
Aberystwyth Wales UK Sunday 08 November 2015
Hundreds of people gathered to pay their respects to the dead of the two world wars and other conflicts at the annual Remembrance Sunday ceremony at the foot of Aberystwyth's iconic war memorial on the headland jutting out into the sea.
Both red and white poppy wreaths were laid during the ceremony, by the representatives of the British Legion, the town council and the local Peace and Justice Network.
After the ceremony all the wreathes were gathered upon for safe keeping ahead of gale force winds which are forecast to hit the west coast later today and tomorrow
photo © Keith Morris / Alamy Live News
- Filename
- AberRemembranceSunday08112015_km3.jpg
- Copyright
- ©keith morris 2015 firstname.lastname@example.com
- Image Size
- 1000x666 / 189.5KB
- Contained in galleries
- Aberystwyth Remembrance Sunday ceremony November 2015


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Zucchini and frozen custard are celebrated today around the country – an odd pairing
When one of your national food days celebrates zucchini, it is probably best to just hold that date for the courgette, to not toss another ingredient in there, don't you think? Zucchini is big enough to stand on its own. But that's not what we do in America, so in addition to Aug. 8 being National Zucchini Day it is National Frozen Custard Day.
We can riff on zucchini, yes? Frozen custard poses challenges.
First, the Frankenstein squash. I want to try a recipe I encountered in this month's Food & Wine magazine, wherein chef Tom Colicchio braises diced zucchini in small amounts of liquid. The technique, he says, creates a dish that captures the essence of zucchini. I'm not sure I need the flavor of zucchini distilled into an essence, but who knows? Maybe that is precisely what I need. Maybe I will find the preparation transformative. I plan to give it a whirl this weekend.
Either way, I do love growing zucchini. You know why? Because it is easy to grow zucchini, and you get such impressive results. It seems pathetic to yank a fistful of radishes from the ground and then swan around with them, saying, "Hey, I grew this." But an 8-pound zucchini that is longer than a king salmon, as fat as a just-weaned piglet? I am bragging.
They are creepy, though. They grow too fast. Zucchini become so enormous so quickly they make you wonder if, while you sleep, they launch their sticky, tentacle-like vines across the garden and snatch moles and mice and cram their squeezed-to-death little bodies into subterranean maws. They are cowards, too, hiding beneath those canopies of broad leaves; one day, no zucchini, two weeks later you wave aside a leaf and there sits a green monstrosity, digesting its moles and mice. You almost want to shriek.
At first I thought the last thing zucchini should be paired with, in terms of national food days, is frozen custard. They have summer in common, and that's about it. But the more I thought about frozen custard the more lurid it became – surely, clowns love frozen custard, and by now we all agree that clowns disturb and unsettle rather than deliver joy and levity. A proper clown would use a zucchini to bonk himself in the head, for hesitant laughs, and in the evenings the clown would recline beneath the zucchini foliage, listening carefully for the crunch of mouse and mole bones while finishing a caramel frozen custard.


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Memorial Day is right around the corner. To celebrate, we're giving all of our customer's FREE shipping on all orders over $75! Starting today (May 24, 2013) and ending Tuesday, May 28, 2013, you will receive FREE shipping on all orders over $75!
You know what that means right? This is a perfect opportunity to stock up on replacement air and water filters and to purchase reusable water bottles for the summer months. We're not done yet. If you are subscribed to our Newsletter, you will receive daily updates on very special deals on select products that we carry. Not signed up? Bummer. Like us on Facebook and stay up-to-date on some of the special opportunities that you can take advantage of.
This is an opportunity for huge savings, so don't wait and take advantage today!


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ME Libraries – for public libraries, for you!
The ME Libraries service allows you to borrow materials in person at any public library in Alberta using your local library card. Sign up at melibraries.ca
ME Account Terms and Conditions
Patrons using ME Libraries accounts to borrow items* from Chinook Arch member libraries agree to the following terms:
- Fees, loan periods, renewals and borrowing limits vary depending on the individual Chinook Arch library's local policies.
- In general, books have a loan period of 3 weeks, A/V materials have a loan period of 1 week. Some materials have extended loan periods including Book Club kits which have a 6 week loan period.
- Overdue fines range from $0.05/day to $0.25/day for books and $0.25/day to $2.00/day for A/V materials. Ask the library you visit about their fine rates.
- Most Chinook Arch libraries do not limit the number of items that can be checked out at a time. Some exceptions do exist for special collections and at some Chinook Arch libraries.
- Holds placed by ME Libraries card users must be picked up by the user at a Chinook Arch library.
- CNIB materials may only be checked out by borrowers with print disabilities.
*ebooks and other electronic content are not available to ME Libraries card users due to licensing restrictions.
TAL Online
Search the collections of libraries across Alberta and request a loan, all on one, easy-to-use website!
The Alberta Library Card – access to academic and special libraries
Request a TAL card at your home library to borrow materials in person from any participating TAL library, including academic and government libraries. You can return borrowed materials at any participating TAL library.
Note that certain special collections may not be available through the TAL program. Loan periods and overdue fines may vary by library – ask the borrowing library for more information about their policies.


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Newest client advisor comes from a national investment firm.
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Arvest Bank is pleased to announce the hiring of Ron Wegrzyn.
Wegrzyn will work as an Arvest Wealth Management client advisor at the bank's branch at 4140 S. Fremont Ave. As a client advisor, he will gather and analyze financial information in order to provide appropriate and individualized customer solutions through brokerage, insurance, trust products and trust services, among other duties.
A former small business owner and pharmaceutical company sales representative, Wegrzyn most recently worked as a financial advisor for a national investment firm. Wegrzyn earned a bachelor's degree in biology from Baylor University.
Wegrzyn is active in numerous local civic organizations, including serving as a board member for the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors. He's also an active member of Solomon Lodge #271 and the Abou Ben Adhem Shriners.
Wegrzyn and his wife, Gina, have three children and live in Springfield. They attend Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Nixa.
Submitted questions will be answered by an Arvest banker and may appear on the Arvest Blog.
All Arvest banks are Equal Housing Lenders and Member FDIC.
Investment products and services are provided by Arvest Investments, Inc., doing business as Arvest Asset Management, member FINRA/SIPC, an SEC registered investment adviser and a subsidiary of Arvest Bank. Trust services are provided by Arvest Bank. Insurance products are made available through Arvest Insurance, Inc., which is registered as an insurance agency. Insurance products are marketed through Arvest Insurance, Inc., but are underwritten by insurance companies.
Securities and Insurance Products: Not Insured by FDIC or any Federal Government Agency, May Lose Value, Not a Deposit of or Guaranteed by a Bank or any Bank Affiliate.


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2015 Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon Order Guide Breaks
Base I-4 has 200 hp, V-6 Has 305 hp, 7,000 Pound Max Towing
Ever since rumors began simmering that General Motors would come back into the midsize truck segment with a new Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon, anticipation has been running high for the new trucks. With information leaking out on the order guide for the midsize trucks, that excitement level is sure to kick up a notch, with information of the trucks' standard equipment, powertrain, and towing information. According to advance-ordering information released by General Motors, the 2015 Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon will have 200 hp standard from the base 2.5L I-4 and 305 hp from the optional 3.6L V-6. Specifications for the 2.8L Duramax I-4 turbodiesel due for the 2016 model year have not yet been released.
The output figures on the base 2.5L I-4 engine are up 7 hp and 7 lb-ft respectively from the tentative figures of 193 hp and 184 lb-ft. The optional 3.6L V-6 gets a final rating of 305 hp and 269 lb-ft, incidentally identical to the output of the Ram 1500's Pentastar V-6. The four-cylinder models get a 4.10 axle ratio, while the V-6 Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon models get a 3.42 ratio. The 2WD I-4 models are available with a six-speed manual in the Base and Work Truck models, with all other models getting a mandatory six-speed automatic. Fuel economy figures were not released with the ordering guide, but towing capacity was. The I-4 models with the automatic get a class-typical 3,500-pound rating, but V-6 models get a class-leading (for now) 7,000-pound rating. This makes the potential of the diesel Colorado and Canyon getting a rating close to that of the global model's 7,700-pound rating a possibility.
Other highlights include standard power windows and rear-view camera on all models, including the Base and Work Truck models, with even the entry-level models getting four-way power driver seats (height and fore-aft). With Nissan downplaying the significance of the global Navara debut in terms of its pertinence to the U.S. market Frontier, GM is fielding a formidable pair of competitors to the midsize segment that look to raise the competitive bar significantly. You can check out the 2015 Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon order guides here and here.
Source: General Motors


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One arrested in June shooting
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – Police have arrested one suspect, and are looking for two more, in a June shooting in the area of Bonanza Avenue and D Street.
During the June 27 incident, South Lake Tahoe police determined there was an exchange of gun fire between a pedestrian and an occupant of a passing vehicle, according to a statement from the city.
No injuries have been reported from the June incident, which is believed to be gang related.
Following the incident, felony arrest warrants were obtained for Jahem Barton, 19, and Cesar Caro, 19, according to the statement. Jamal Darrion Coffer, 21, was also identified as being involved and police also obtained a search warrant for his residence, according to the statement.
In the early morning hours of July 27, police SWAT team members served on Caro's home in the area of Glenwood Way and Fairway Avenue. Caro was found inside and arrested. During the search officers found evidence of gang affiliation, but no guns. Caro was booked into the El Dorado County Jail on suspciion of attempted murder with bail set at $150,000, according to the statement.
Two days prior, police attempted to serve the search warrants at Barton and Coffers' apartments at 1946 B Street, but Barton and Coffer were not at home and appear to have left the area.
A felony arrest warrant has been issued for Barton, who is wanted on suspicion of participating in a criminal street gang and being a gang member carrying a concealed firearm. Coffer is wanted for questioning in this case.
Police ask anyone with information on the whereabouts of Barton and Coffer to contact police at 542-6100 or Secret Witness at 541-6800.


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Roads in Oakland County brochure.
No. New development generates new tax revenue in three ways: New property taxes from the increased property value; new sales tax from increased commerce; and new income tax from new jobs. None of those taxes are used to fund roads in Michigan. The primary sources of road funds in Michigan are the gas tax and vehicle registration fees.
State fuel tax and vehicle registration fee revenues are collected in a single "pot" known as the Michigan Transportation Fund. After money is taken off the top for a number of items including the Bridge Fund and Mass Transit, the remaining money is divided between the Michigan Department of Transportation, county road commissions and cities and villages according to a formula established by the state Legislature.
The formula calls for 39.1% of the money to go to MDOT (which has jurisdiction over 8% of Michigan's roads), 39.1% to go to county road commissions (which have jurisdiction over 75% of Michigan's roads) and 21.8% to go to cities and villages (which have jurisdiction over 17% of Michigan's roads).


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Monthly Archives: February 2012
Nurse, Willetts and National Attitudes to Science Funding – Binocular Vision Blog | Nature Publishing Group
Nurse, Willetts and National Attitudes to Science Funding – Binocular Vision Blog | Nature Publishing Group. The comment from Kieron Flanagan (twitter: @kieronFlanagan) makes a lot of sense to me.
Posted in Accountability, Metrics, STEM Policy Leave a comment
Research Works Act: Elsevier and politicians back down from open-access threat.
Research Works Act: Elsevier and politicians back down from open-access threat.. A brief account in slate Magazine, with links.
Don't Worry, Be Happy
Don't be too worried about the environment – it's bad for your health. Or so goes the sophistical argument presented in this analysis of risk perception: Even today, when media warnings about the latest health or safety risk are commonplace, … Continue reading
A call for the philosopher librarian
Librarian Dave Puplett on the role of the librarian. Academics must be applauded for making a stand by boycotting Elsevier. It's time for librarians to join the conversation on the future of dissemination, but not join the boycott. | Impact … Continue reading
NPR Tries to Get its Pressthink Right » Pressthink
NPR Tries to Get its Pressthink Right » Pressthink. An interesting post on the new ethics handbook issued by NPR.
Open Science Federation – Google+ – Now it's official — The Research Works Act is dead. …
Open Science Federation – Google+ – Now it's official — The Research Works Act is dead. ….
Posted in Accountability, Libraries, Metrics, Open Access Leave a comment
Census Finds Bachelor's Degrees at Record Level
More than 30 percent of American adults hold bachelor's degrees, a first in the nation's history, and women are on the brink of surpassing men in educational attainment, the Census Bureau reported [last] Thursday. The figures reflect an increase in … Continue reading
Taxpayers deserve value for money from research funding | Stephen Curry and Imran Khan | Science | guardian.co.uk
Imran Kahn and Stephen Curry present a case for accountable science here: Taxpayers deserve value for money from research funding | Stephen Curry and Imran Khan | Science | guardian.co.uk. This in response to Ananyo Bhattacharya's piece from last week. … Continue reading
Altmetrics, anyone?
Jason Priem presents altmetrics at Purdue University. Since this is posted on the peerevaluation.org site — one of my favorites — I suspect there's a way to offer feedback on he presentation. I also suspect that Jason Priem has his … Continue reading
Elsevier withdraws support for Research Works Act
Here is the announcement. Of course, the Research Works Act is probably a loser at this point, so it's not really a big thing for Elsevier to withdraw its support. Moreover, Elsevier still says in their announcement that they continue … Continue reading
Scientists have sold their souls to business | Ananyo Bhattacharya | Science | guardian.co.uk
A reactive attitude toward impact: The assumption that the lack of evidence for impact is evidence for lack of impact permeates Whitehall and the Swindon-based research councils charged with funding science. The research councils continue to demand impact statements with … Continue reading
Innovation for the People, by the People – NYTimes.com
Obama's innovation strategy includes giving Federal agencies wide latitude to offer prizes to link innovation with specific national needs. Would be interesting to see how the competitions are judged. Without checking, my bet would be peer review. Innovation for the … Continue reading
First INIT Virtual Seminar on Interdisciplinary and Transdisciplinary Horizons
The International Network for Interdisciplinarity and Transdisciplinarity (INIT: http://www.inidtd.org/) is launching its First Virtual Seminar on Interdisciplinary and Transdisciplinary Horizons on the platform www.interdisciplines.org. The first paper open to discussion is by Wolfgang Krohn (Bielefeld University): Interdisciplinary Cases and Disciplinary … Continue reading
Gleick apology over Heartland leak stirs ethics debate among climate scientists
The outing of the researcher who exposed the Heartland Institute's efforts to discredit climate change has thrown the scientific community into tumult, with fierce debates raging on Tuesday over whether to brand his actions heroic, or misguided… "Heartland has been subverting … Continue reading
Posted in Accountability, Climate Change Leave a comment
Colleges Should Teach Intellectual Virtues – Commentary – The Chronicle of Higher Education
This is an interesting read — as are the comments. Colleges Should Teach Intellectual Virtues – Commentary – The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Obama pushes the question: What are students, taxpayers getting for their college dollars?
During his State of the Union address, Obama put higher education on notice: "If you can't stop tuition from going up, the funding you get from taxpayers will go down," he said. "Higher education can't be a luxury— it's an … Continue reading
Center for Ethics and Politics of Emerging Technologies (EPET) conference 2012
Technology is an important driver of change in today's world, and the desirability of such change is a matter of concern in public debate and policy making. Whereas the influence of morality on technology is well acknowledged, the influence of … Continue reading
Posted in Calls for papers Leave a comment
SNET Conference 2012
S.NET invites contributions to the Fourth Annual meeting of The Society for the Study of Nanoscience and Emerging Technologies (S.NET), to be held at the University of Twente, the Netherlands, on October 22-25, 2012. The four-day conference will assemble scholars, … Continue reading
Posted in Calls for papers Leave a comment
Civilisation faces 'perfect storm of ecological and social problems' | Environment | guardian.co.uk
The perpetual growth myth … promotes the impossible idea that indiscriminate economic growth is the cure for all the world's problems, while it is actually the disease that is at the root cause of our unsustainable global practices. via Civilisation … Continue reading
The Brain Drain in Spain … We Should Feel their Pain
I'll briefly summarize the article from Nature by Amaya Moro-Martin: Spain's ministry of science no longer exists, having been absorbed, along with a substantial cut in funding, by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness. Spain's university system is so backward … Continue reading
Disruptive Innovation and Philosophy
Christensen's The Innovative University applies his theory of disruptive innovation to the contemporary university. Disruptive innovation occurs when a new idea or technology redefines a market. The new approach–say, the Apple personal computer–doesn't approach the competition head-on; it instead starts … Continue reading
What Are Universities For? by Stefan Collini – review | Books | The Observer
Thanks to @ProfSteveFuller (the Twitter handle of CSID Senior Fellow Steve Fuller) for pointing me toward this scathing review: What Are Universities For? by Stefan Collini – review | Books | The Observer. What universities are emphatically not for is … Continue reading
Posted in Accountability, Future of the University 2 Comments
Our research must eventually become irrelevant: this is how to prove we had an impact on policymaking | Impact of Social Sciences
Sounds kinda right to me: Our research must eventually become irrelevant: this is how to prove we had an impact on policymaking | Impact of Social Sciences. It's an interesting spin on Steve Fuller's Schumpeterian reading of teaching: we destroy … Continue reading
A Call to Reform Student Debt Laws
The National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys has issued a report cautioning that the growing social strain of student loan debt could culminate in a financial crisis akin to the bursting of the mortgage debt bubble. Their primary policy recommendation … Continue reading
Tighten fracking regulations, scientists urge US officials
Tighten fracking regulations, scientists urge US officials | Environment | The Guardian.


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Preseason Thoughts
: Uncategorized : Written by Zach Horst : 12-25-2011
Sitting here on Christmas Eve – 24 hours before the Knicks tip off their season – my thoughts fluctuate between excitement, anxiousness, and fear – excited at the chances of a Championship, anxious from the lockout, and fearful of injuries. Here are my final thoughts (and feel-good YouTube clips) before the Knicks dive headfirst into 2011-2012. – STAT has been too passive thus far. Since 'Melo joined the team, Amar'e hasn't been the same. In the first half of last season, he would dominate teams in and out of the paint on the offensive end. Now, the offense moves completely …continue reading


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For details see This Blog Post
The mission of Runestone Interactive is to democratize textbooks for the 21st century. Textbook prices are too high, and paper textbooks are too old fashioned. We are changing that.
To learn more about this project, see this overview. For more information about the whole Runestone Interactive community and project, including how to contribute, please click here!
This project is Open Source, but it does take time and resources. Especially as our popularity has grown we have server costs. We were also able to make great progress during the Summer of 2013 thanks to a generous grant from ACM-SIGCSE that supported one of our undergraduate students. It would be great if we could have a student working on this all the time.
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A teenager told his mum he may as well throw himself in front of a train before he lay on a railway line at Chippenham later that day.
Ryce Hodson, 19, was struck by a train near Bath Road on August 13 last year, an inquest into his death at Salisbury heard yesterday.
He was upset about not managing to contact the mother of his unborn child, which the coroner's court heard was due to be born this month.
Mr Hodson, who moved to Chippenham in May 2012 and lived in Stockwood Road, was also worried about being charged with police assault. He was due in court in October 2013 and also received a police caution the day before he died.
His mum Beverley Hodson, who lives in Grimsby where her son was born, received a phone call from him just after midnight as he walked home from the police station.
She said: "He said to me, I can't cope. He was so frightened by his court appearance. He said I might as well throw myself in front of a train and I said, don't be silly, go home, have a cup of tea, get to bed and get some sleep.
"I said I'll phone you back when I get back from Ireland, but by then it was too late."
Assistant coroner Ian Singleton said: "She didn't take that as a serious comment but an off the cuff remark and I agree with her interpretation."
He said it was clear it was a deliberate act and ruled that Mr Hodson took his own life.
The Swindon to Southampton two carriage passenger train, weighing 75 tonnes, was going at 40mph and there was nothing the driver could have done, said John Wilson, of British Transport Police.
At 7.10pm, two minutes after setting off from Chippenham Station, driver Adam Beynon saw a young man on the track turn to look towards the train.
In a statement read out at the coroner's court, he said: "The person made no attempt to move.
"Had he moved six foot away, my train would have missed him."
Doctors found some cannabis but no alcohol in Mr Hodson's system.
His former girlfriend was a few weeks pregnant and he told a psychiatric nurse on the morning of his death he was looking forward to being a father.
Sara Simms, who assessed Mr Hodson for an hour, told the coroner she did not believe him to have psychosis. He had not been taking his mood stabiliser medication because he found it too sedating.
She said: "He was very concerned that he hadn't been able to contact [his former girlfriend]. He was looking at his phone constantly to see if he had any messages. He was preoccupied about that."
Mr Hodson had told her he had no thoughts of self-harm.
"He was talking about the future, wanting to be a good dad," she said.
"He talked about nearly getting run over by a truck the day before. It seemed to concern him that his life might have ended in that way."
They spoke about counselling for bereavement and anger management and he was planning to write a letter of apology to the police.
Two hours before his death he texted his sister Emma Smith, who lives in Calne, to say he appreciated everything they were all doing for him and he wanted everyone to be happy and get along.


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Free Family Scrapbook Title Download
Families are layered with relationships and textured by different personalities, so layers and textures make great additions to family scrapbook layouts. For example, Shelley Aldrich gives her "Ten Things About Our Family" layout a punch of personality with a detailed, textured title. You can add a textured detail to your own scrapbook page in a snap by downloading and printing out the PDF of Shelley's Our Family title. Or, if you're a digital scrapbooker, download the PSD file to use in Photoshop Elements.
Ten Things About Our Family by Shelley Aldrich, as seen in the May/June 2012 issue of Creating Keepsakes, page 47.
|For more textured scrapbook title options, purchase Shelley's family titles collection from the Creating Keepsakes shop.
Discover more fun ideas for scrapbooking your family. Check out the May/June 2012 issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine.
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The BRAD BLOG has obtained a statement from "Gag Ordered" FBI Whistleblower, Sibel Edmonds, Founder and Director of the National Security Whistleblowers Coaltion, in response to Al Gore's just completed speech earlier today in Washington D.C.
Gore's address, sponsored by a bi-partisan coalition, warned that our "constitution is in grave danger" and called for, amongst many other things (highlights of speech here), the creation of new Whistleblower Protections for members of the Executive Branch and others.
Edmonds, due to a rarely invoked "State Secrets" privilege by the Dept. of Justice, is legally barred from discussing remarkable and troubling findings she made as an FBI translator after 9/11, in regard to a number of explosive matters of national security.
She emailed the following statement to The BRAD BLOG moments ago:
As stated by Mr. Gore, without whistleblowers the public would never know of the many abuses of constitutional rights by the government. Whistleblowers, Truth-Tellers, are responsible for the disclosure that President George W. Bush ordered unconstitutional surveillance of American citizens. These constitutional lifeguards take their patriotic oaths to heart and soul: Rather than complying with classification and secrecy orders designed to protect officials engaging in criminal conduct, whistleblowers choose to risk their livelihoods and the wrath of their agencies to get the truth out.
We applaud the call by Liberty Coalition & Al Gore for congress to enact new legislation that would provide meaningful whistleblower protections, especially for those patriots who report abuses of Executive Branch authority in the sensitive areas of national security. Hundreds of national security whistleblowers, patriotic government employees, have brought to the public's attention cases of agency wrongdoing only to find themselves fired, stripped of their security clearance, and/or deprived of meaningful work, simply because they were courageous and patriotic enough to place the security of our nation above their own career security and interests.
Why should government employees have to choose between their livelihood and career, and fulfilling their highest duty of all: protecting the public's interest?
The answer is very simple, because our legislative branch has failed to provide these patriots with any protection.
Whistleblowers have served as a constant and valuable check on the federal government. Considering the fact that to perform its legislative & oversight functions, congress must depend on information from the executive branch, why is it that the congress refuses to provide a safe & protected channel to those who can provide the congress with information, thus enable it to exercise its oversight responsibility?
In a Guest Blog of her own here at BRAD BLOG in late December, Edmonds called for whistleblowers from within various national security agencies to step forward and reveal illegal activities by the agencies, as a "patriotic duty" to the country.
Several days later, NSA whistleblower, Russell Tice, revealed to ABC News that he was one of the New York Times' sources who had provided the paper with information concerning the alleged illegal, warrantless wire-tapping of U.S. citizens in apparent violation of the Foreign Intelligence Security Act of 1978. Tice is also a member of Edmonds' National Security Whistleblowers Coalition.


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Syrian Arab Republic
- Strategic geographical location
- Energy transit country
- Oil potential
- Civil war since 2011 has caused 400,000 deaths and the destruction of much of the country's infrastructure
- Divided territory, under the sway of different groups
- Oil production has been reduced to zero
Heading towards an end to the war
After eight years of civil war, the Syrian conflict has entered a new phase. Since the fall of Aleppo in 2016, the balance of power has reversed, and the Bashar El Assad regime – which a portion of the Syrian population rebelled against in 2011 – has retaken much of the country. Other participants have joined the confrontation between the regime and the Free Syrian Army. On the one hand, Russia, Iran and Hezbollah are providing the military and logistical support needed to keep the Damascus regime in place, while on the other, an international coalition of Western and Arab countries has formed to curb the expansion of radical Islamist groups (al Nosra and Daesh) in Syria and Iraq. Although the small jihadist groups have been defeated, coalition forces remain present in the Kurdish-held areas east of the Euphrates, and some Islamist militias continue to be active in the desert areas of southern Syria.
Turkey, which shares a land border with Syria, has intervened several times in the conflict to protect its borders and interests in the region. In particular, it wants to make sure that the end of the war does not lead to the creation of a Kurdish state. The regime's recapture of the Idlib region would be the last act of the war in Syria. While a Russian-backed offensive by the regime seemed imminent in September 2018, it was called off after an agreement was reached between Russia and Turkey. Following the request by Ankara, which feared an influx of refugees at its border, the agreement between Russia and Turkey aims to create a demilitarised zone in the region. At the same time, the announcement of the withdrawal of American troops from Syria in December could also reshuffle the cards. While the region was controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), the American presence in and around Manijb helped to contain Turkey's ambitions in this area, which was perceived as a threat by the Turkish authorities. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu announced in December 2018 that Turkish troops were about to cross the Euphrates into Syrian territory. As a result, although the end of the conflict appears to be in sight, it is therefore to foresee a return to stability in the region.
In October 2018, the Istanbul Summit brought together members of the Astana peace process (Russia, Turkey and Iran) and part of the contact group (France and Germany). Although the parties remain deeply divided, particularly about the role of Bashar al-Assad and the future of the Kurdish regions in the north-east, the summit resulted in a joint declaration reiterating the need to initiate joint actions and engage in a political process in Syria. Decided at the peace conference in Sochi in January 2018, the political solution to the Syrian crisis is supposed to result in the establishment of a commission to draft a new constitution under the auspices of the United Nations. However, the constitutional committee responsible for giving Syria a new constitution has been slow to be set up, partly because the regime is dragging its heels.
A difficult and controversial reconstruction process
The return of several provinces to the Bashar Al-Assad regime is expected to trigger a recovery for the Syrian economy, which remains badly weakened by eight years of conflict. Syrian GDP decreased by nearly 60% during the 2010/16 period, according to World Bank estimates. Much of the infrastructure was destroyed during the fighting. Syrian industry has shrivelled up, while economic sanctions make it difficult to access financing. Bashar El Assad's regime has been under US and European sanctions since 2011, but it can count on China's support in addition to that of its main allies. Despite the support of Russia and Iran, the country still has considerable needs. The Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) has estimated the total cost of Syrian reconstruction at USD 388 billion. While some European countries, including Germany, would be willing to participate in the financing, they are making their assistance conditional on the establishment of an inclusive political process. Another limitation to the reconstruction process is the lack of human resources. Eight years of war have taken a severe human toll. The number of deaths directly related to the conflict is estimated at between 400,000 (United Nations, April 2016) and 470,000 (Syrian Centre for Policy Research, February 2016). More than 6.1 million people, including 2.5 million children, have been displaced, and 5.6 million are officially registered as refugees (UNHCR, September 2018). The issue of refugee return remains central to the success of the peace process. While countries hosting large numbers of Syrians would be in favour of facilitating their return, the regime continues to send conflicting signals. Announcements made by the government are intended to be reassuring and support a return of displaced persons. However, since 2012, the government has used a property law, Decree 66, to seize the property of displaced persons. The regime also seems to be using reconstruction as a means to reshape Syria's demographics.
Last update: February 2019


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* Dealer doc fee of $199 not included in the price. Prices may be different outside of each advertised period and do not necessarily reflect cash price at any other time.
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* The estimated selling price that appears after calculating dealer offers is for informational purposes, only. You may not qualify for the offers, incentives, discounts, or financing. Offers, incentives, discounts, or financing are subject to expiration and other restrictions. See dealer for qualifications and complete details.
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SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Qualcomm Inc (QCOM.O) on Wednesday posted its smallest quarterly revenue increase since 2010 as it wrestles with a smartphone market that is losing steam and shifting to China, sending its shares lower.
With expansion in the smartphone industry moving away from wealthy markets such as the United States and toward China and other developing countries, where consumers favor less expensive devices, Qualcomm's once-impressive revenue growth is tapering off and it is focusing on costs to preserve its profitability.
The chipmaker reported fiscal second-quarter revenue of $6.37 billion, up 4 percent from the year-ago period. Analysts on average had expected $6.479 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
That was the smallest year-over-year percentage increase since the June quarter of 2010 when revenue shrank by 2 percent. It was far lower than the quarterly growth rates of over 20 percent that Qualcomm investors until recently have been accustomed to.
Less growth than expected in recent months in China, where China Mobile is preparing to launch a new, faster network with 4G, or LTE, technology, hurt Qualcomm's results in the quarter, Chief Executive Steve Mollenkopf told Reuters.
"We think that what's happening there is that is in anticipation of the launch of LTE," Mollenkopf said.
He said he expects improvements later in fiscal 2014 as China Mobile, the world's largest cellphone carrier, rolls out its new 4G network.
"The hope is the China lift will drive their recovery," said Bernstein analyst Stacy Rasgon. "But anytime you have semiconductor companies looking for a back-half recovery it makes people nervous."
Also on Wednesday, Qualcomm said it received a notice from the SEC advising the company of a preliminary determination recommending enforcement action in connection with a previously disclosed China-related bribery investigation.
The company denied wrongdoing and said it was cooperating with the investigation.
Qualcomm is also being investigated by China's anti-monopoly regulator, which says it suspects the U.S. company of overcharging and abusing its market position, allegations which could lead to fines of more than $1 billion.
China and other developing countries are a major opportunity for the San Diego company as consumers upgrade from feature phones to smartphones and as China Mobile rolls out its 4G network with technology that Qualcomm dominates.
But China also presents challenges for Qualcomm as its competes with local rivals like MediaTek (2454.TW) to sell chips used in smartphones made by Chinese manufacturers like Huawei and Xiaomi, which sell for much less than phones popular in the United States.
While the majority of Qualcomm's revenue comes from selling so-called baseband chips that enable phones to communicate with carrier networks, most of its profit comes from licensing patents for its widespread CDMA cellphone technology.
Average prices for cellphones in the December quarter, used to calculate licensing revenue for Qualcomm in the March quarter, were between $221 and $227, the company said. That was more than the $219 to $225 range that Qualcomm estimated for the September quarter in its previous earnings statement.
Founded in 1985, Qualcomm has become the top chip supplier for smartphones, and its stock value has surpassed that of Intel Corp. (INTC.O) Intel is still the world's largest chipmaker by revenue but it has struggled to move beyond personal computers and gain a foothold in mobile.
Global smartphone shipments are likely to grow 19 percent this year, far less than the 39 percent increase in 2013, according to IDC.
Qualcomm had second-quarter net income of $1.96 billion, up 5 percent. GAAP diluted earnings per share were $1.14. Its non-GAAP earnings per share were $1.31, above its previous forecast of between $1.15 and $1.25. Analysts on average expected $1.22.
Qualcomm said it now expects full-year non-GAAP earnings per share between $5.05 and $5.25. It had previously forecast 2014 EPS between $5.00 and $5.20.
It said revenue in the fiscal third quarter, which ends in June, would be between $6.2 billion and $6.8 billion. Analysts on average expected third-quarter revenue of $6.592 billion.
Qualcomm shares were down 4.98 percent in extended trading after closing up 0.12 percent at $80.71 on Nasdaq.
Editing by Steve Orlofsky and Jonathan Oatis


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Two killed in Syria are reported to be American and French journalists
BEIRUT (AP) -- A Syrian activists said two foreign journalists were killed Wednesday by Syrian government forces shelling the restive central city of Homs. The report could not be immediately confirmed.
Omar Shaker said the two journalists were killed when several rockets hit a garden of a house used by activists and journalists in besieged Homs neighborhood of Baba Amr.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said "there have been reports that an American and French journalists were martyred during the shelling that Baba Amr neighborhood was subjected to this morning." The group, however, could not independently confirm the reports.
Foreign journalists have been sneaking into Syria illegally in the past months with the help of smugglers to cover the 11-month uprising against President Bashar Assad's regime because the government bars almost all foreign journalists and human rights groups.
The government crackdown killed more than 5,400 people last year, the U.N. says.
Homs has been one of the hardest hit cities by the government crackdown and activists say hundreds of people were killed this month in the city.
An amateur video posted online by activist showed what they claimed were bodies of two people in the middle of a heavily damaged house. It said they were of the journalists. One of the dead was wearing what appeared to be a flak jacket.


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Clues to soldier's slaying may be linked to Richmond resident
The Army is offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or people responsible for the death of a 31-year-old staff sergeant who was stabbed in Afghanistan four years ago — and it believes that someone in the Houston metro area can help.
In announcing the reward Thursday, the Army said a person in Richmond might have pertinent information in the death of Anton R. Phillips, a mechanic from California who was killed at Forward Operating Base Mehtar Lam on New Year's Eve 2009.
Army investigators also sent out a similar news release to Colorado media, citing a person in the Colorado Springs area who might know something about Phillips' death. Phillips' unit was stationed at the base along with soldiers from Fort Carson's 4th Brigade Combat Team and the 2-12 Cavalry Regiment from Fort Hood. The base was in an agricultural area east of Kabul and provided artillery support to soldiers in the area.
"We have reason to believe that someone in the Richmond area knows something about the untimely death of this Soldier, and we are not giving up but (are) determined to bring those responsible to justice," Army Criminal Investigation Command spokesman Chris Grey said in a prepared statement. "We strongly encourage anyone with information to contact us immediately."
The release did not provide details about the attack on Phillips - which occurred as he walked between a park on the base and his living quarters - nor did it say why investigators are targeting Texas and Colorado. The Army did not return phone calls or respond to an e-mail from the Chronicle.
Based in Germany
Phillips, who joined the Army in 1998, was from Inglewood, Calilf., and left behind three daughters. Initial announcements of his death did not mention the circumstances around it.
Phillips was assigned to the 5th Maintenance Company, 2nd Battalion, 77th Field Artillery Regiment, at the time of his death. The unit was based in Germany, and Phillips was in his second deployment to Afghanistan and third overall when he died. He had previously served in Iraq.
Contact information
The Army asked that anyone with information regarding this case should contact the Bagram CID Office via DSN: (318) 481-6567/6134 or e-mail the CID Crime Tips at firstname.lastname@example.com or contact the nearest Army CID Office.
Individuals wishing to remain anonymous may do so to the extent permitted under law, the Army said, and information will be held in the strictest confidence allowable.


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Meet the Voice of Women Initiative
Helping women worldwide share their stories and work for change
On the 19th of November 2012 Konda Delphine (Cameroon), Rose Wachuka (Kenya), and WLUML networker Aya Chebbi (Tunisia) started the Voice of Women Initiative (VOW). The main and core essence of VOW was to collect stories from women and about women all around the globe in a bid to inspire and change lives. They then expanded and invested in a website that carried more stories and hosted more contributors.
VOW aims to create an open space, which inspires girls and women to think and make choices that change their lives positively. To realize this mission, the team issued a call for VOW correspondents in June 2013 and received impressive and overwhelmingly moving testimonials out of which 35 exceptional correspondents from Africa, Europe, Asia and Latin America were selected. Beside its main advocacy tool of blogging and campaigning, VOW is also developing a program to empower its correspondents with the skills needed in leadership and communication to voice their views, claim their rights, support their own projects and mentor other women in their communities. VOW is now working to expand its team of volunteers and correspondents.
In August 2013, VOW was nominated for the "Hero Goody Awards", an award that recognizes the exceptional contribution of ordinary people making extra-ordinary changes. VOW is in constant transformation. The initiative has been featured by the North South Centre of the Council of Europe, the Africa-Europe Co-operation Youth Platform and the Moremi Initiative for Africa, as having developed and created an idea that continues to inspire many. At present, VOW is organizing events in Kenya and Tunisia and recently worked with the Regional Delegation of Women Empowerment and the Family to pioneer the 2nd edition of the International Day of the girl child in Limbe, South West Region of Cameroon.
After the founders' inaugurate meeting in Kenya (September, 2013), VOW is planning its first Congress to gather its correspondents, supporters and partners to network and discuss pressing issues affecting girls and women.
To find out more about the VOW initiative, check out their website and facebook page. You can already read the story behind the birth of VOW here.


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Tuesday, 27 September 2011
Be What You Want
I recently did a bunch of illustrations, comic strips and posters for the Be What You Want Campaign, organised by Close The Gap. The campaign is intended to support young people in being what they want to be, and help tackle gender stereotyping and occupational segregation.
It's always nice to have a job where you're drawing fun things and working for a cause you can believe in, so this was a really satisfying project to be involved with. Occupational segregation now joins the ever-growing list of Social Problems I Have Bravely Fought Through The Medium of Comics, along with traffic safety, adult innumeracy and chronic disease in indigenous populations. Oh yeah, and racism. Obviously.
Packs of the posters and comic strips were sent out to every primary and secondary school in Scotland, which is kind of mind-blowingly awesome to think about, too. Anyway, I've put a few sample pieces over on my website, and you can check out and download the full set of resources over on the Be What You Want website.
Labels: illustration, pay gap
2 comments:
- Anonymous27 September 2011 at 13:44
I like this a lot. But one small comment - how about a range of hair lengths next time? Long hair is an easy way to indicate femaleness but it would be good to see variety (speaking as someone who had short spiky hair for all my twenties).ReplyDelete
Hey, I wholeheartedly support people in their pursuit of whatever profession or life they aspire to, regardless of gender or social background...ReplyDelete
But girls with short hair? GIRLS?
...yeah, point taken. In my defense, most of the pics above are of just two characters, from various angles etc, so they need to look vaguely the same for visual continuity. But yeah.
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Brittanie Maxwell
|Laporte, Minn.
|High School:
Sophomore • 2011
Coxed for the fourth varsity eight all season and once with the combination four and varsity four ... Defeated Yale in combinations fours race at the H-Y Regatta.Won at the EARC Sprints ... Finished second behind the Harvard third varsity but edged out Boston University ... Contributed to win against Syracuse and Holy Cross ... Helped the Crimson to victory against Brown.
Freshman • 2011
Coxed the freshman four twice this season, steering the boat to a third-place finish at the EARC Sprints.
Before Harvard
Earned one varsity letter in diving … Valedictorian of Bemidji High School.


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Today, September 12, we celebrate the first Global Female Condom Day. Groups and organizations around the world will engage in various activities to raise awareness about female condoms. The goal is to answer either or both of two questions: "What is the female condom?" and "Why a female condom?" In a time when women's reproductive and sexual health has become a significant part of political and social discussions around the world, the answers to both questions highlight the importance of the day.
Let's first answer What is the female condom? The female condom is a barrier device for the receptive female or male partner (despite the name, the condom is for use by women and men) that offers protection for STIs and HIV and, for women, unintended pregnancy. There are three models on the market: the FC2 in the U.S.; and the Cupid Female Condom and the Woman's Condom internationally. Each offer an alternative to the traditional male condom with a design to allow for ease of use and cost-effectiveness compared to previous designs. Other advantages include that it can be inserted into the vagina or anus ahead of time, is not dependent on the male partner being fully erect, and, for the FC2, the material allows for use of both water- and oil-based lubricants. It is these advantages that enhance the sexual experience.
And that leads to the second question: Why the female condom? Female condoms have the potential to revolutionize safer sex for diverse populations around the world. Despite adding colors, flavors and textures, male condoms have still been viewed mostly as a means of making sex safer but not necessarily more pleasurable. The female condom not only empowers women and men, as outlined above, to be safer, but also sexier.
The female condom allows partners to be more creative in introducing safer sex practices in the relationship and incorporate more intimacy in foreplay activities without dependency on the male partner's "timing" or "sensation." We now can change the discussion from barriers to benefits.
In the United States, there are several cities with dedicated female condom campaigns:
- Chicago -- Put a Ring on It
- Washington, D.C. -- D.C.'s Doin It!
- San Francisco -- When He's Into You
- New York -- NYC Condom
- Houston -- Houston FC2 Campaign
- Atlanta -- FC2 ATL
All these cities are offering trainings, access, and distribution information regarding the FC2 female condom. Each city, along with other HIV/AIDS, reproductive health and justice, women's health, youth, and gay men's health organizations and advocates from around the world, has the aim of increasing the number of women, men, transpeople, and youth who know about, use, and advocate for female condoms on this first-ever Global Female Condom Day. Visit the National Female Condom Coalition website for more information.
Christopher Ervin is the director of development for Aniz, Inc., a community-based organization with branches in Georgia and Louisiana.


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I have done it before with a Post-It note or with a little sticker, nothing fancy. On all occasions my daughter mentioned how much she enjoyed it once she got home from school.. Being the girly girl she is, I am sure today's lunch will be a hit:
Here is the inspirational photo from Savory Sweet Life post:
And, here is what I did on my daughter's obento today:
A simple sprig of mint with a nasturtium from the garden and some ribbon ties for the Nutella sandwich. I hope she likes it!


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Honesty Helps Grow His Business
He is popular in Harlem because he allows customers to purchase goods on credit. He says this is a common West-African custom, although not ordinarily practiced by other fellow African business owners in the U.S. He allows those who buy using credit to repay him in increments.
[Focus On Harlem] Customer service is the key to success in his line of business, says Abdoul-Diallo co-owner of a multi purpose phone card store located at 1951 Seventh Avenue in Harlem.
His business provides job opportunities for Uptown residents and also stocks popular accessories throughout the year.
International callings cards is his main product line but he notes that most of his profit comes from selling T-shirts. As we spoke, African-American and African immigrants walked in and out—assorted languages, French, Wolof and Mandingo are spoken here.
Diallo first opened his store in 2001 but started the business plan as early as 1999. He used to be a merchant in the downtown Manhattan area. "I love living in Harlem and I love the people in Harlem that is why I wanted my business right here,� he says, with obvious pride.
He is popular because he allows customers to purchase goods on credit. He says this is a common West-African custom, although not ordinarily practiced by other fellow African business owners in the U.S. He allows those who buy using credit to repay him in increments. "It is all about pleasing the customer that is why I do it,� he explains.
Sixty percent of his customers come back and pay in full and they become long lasting customers, he says. Others who are almost down and out, he accommodates them too. "Some people need a T-shirt badly but only have a dollar, I still sell it to them,� Diallo says.
He says he understands the economic challenges of some of the people in his neighborhood and makes is a point to make every customer feel at home, even when they ask for a huge discount.
He also allows customers to use his phone with their own calling cards purchased elsewhere—they love the quite environment his store offers. Besides, when these customers need to purchase new calling cards, they remember his good deeds and buy from his store.
Indeed, many customers feel right at home. During our interview, one customer purchased a T-shirt, took off his hoodie, wore the T-shirt and then put the hoodie back on—no need for a dressing room here.
Diallo offers advice to fellow West Africans who want to open a business in the newly booming Harlem: "You have to be nice to the people in the neighborhood and respect others. Above all, be honest.� When people learn to trust you then they will spread the word to others and your business will prosper, he says.
How does he deal with the rising cost of doing business in Harlem? Diallo offers a wide variety of items for sale: from calling cards, to belts, to thermal underwear, to phone chargers—this is only a partial list.
Diallo's store can be reached at (212) 222-5927.
To subscribe to or advertise in New York's leading Pan African weekly investigative newspaper, please call (212) 481-7745 or send a note to firstname.lastname@example.com
"Speaking Truth To Empower.�
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Promoting global fairness through trade, taxation and transparency, says President Barroso ahead of G8 Summit
Ahead of the G8 summit, President Barroso sets out his views on the main items on the G8 agenda in the summit magazine published by the G8 Research Group of the University of Toronto.
Read the article below or under the following link (pages 30-33):
Strengthening the European Union's economic partnership with the world
This G8 summit in Northern Ireland is particularly emotional. The summit places on the global stage the local and national efforts, supported not least by the European Union, that over two decades have returned peace and reconciliation to this most beautiful and hospitable part of Europe. I would like to commend the United Kingdom presidency for this choice.
It also has a personal significance for me: it was under the last UK presidency of the G8 in 2005 that I attended at Gleneagles my first G8 summit as president of the European Commission.
Of course, no UK presidency would forego 'teatime' and this summit has three 'Ts' as priorities: trade and the economy, taxation and transparency. Let me briefly set out our views on these main issues.
First, on trade: free and unimpeded international trade among open economies is a vital engine for growth, jobs and development.
The European Union has always been a staunch supporter and promoter of free trade and of the multilateral system. While working tirelessly to promote progress in key areas of the Doha Development Round, we are also deepening our trade and economic relationships with many countries and regions across the world. The most prominent examples right now are the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership with the United States, on which we want to launch negotiations before the summer, and the free trade agreement that we have started negotiating recently with Japan.
The bilateral trade agreements that we have initiated and concluded are not in contradiction with our multilateral ambitions and certainly do not replace our commitment to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Doha Development Agenda. Indeed, they are a stepping stone towards free and multilateral global trade.
We will continue to try to move forward the multilateral agenda where possible. For example, we are fully engaged with our partners to conclude a WTO trade facilitation agreement, which would have a huge positive impact for developing and least developed countries.
The G8 summit should make the case for such an agreement and then, together with the G20, provide the political impulse needed to close the deal at the WTO ministerial meeting in Bali in December. This G8 should also back and outline actions to further trade in Africa, for example by lowering trade costs, stimulating infrastructure financing and coordinating support better.
The presence in the next G8 of the co-chairs of the United Nations High Level Panel on global development beyond 2015, also gives us an opportunity to reiterate a strong message of our collective commitment to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and to start preparing a post-2015 development framework that has the fight against poverty and sustainable development as its key objectives.
We will, of course, not ignore the broader picture of the world economy at the Lough Erne Summit. If we compare the situation with a year ago, confidence is gradually returning. In Europe, we have averted the existential threat to the euro, but we still have huge challenges to tackle, not least to promote growth and create jobs. We therefore will have to stay the course of growth-friendly fiscal consolidation, structural reforms and targeted investment, while ensuring that our economic and monetary union is built on a rock-solid architecture and continuing to stabilise the financial sector.
Much has already been achieved. We have completely overhauled the way in which we are coordinating our economic policies in order to achieve sustainable growth on the back of sound public finances and increased competitiveness. And we are making good progress on establishing a banking union that will reduce the risk of future banking crises with new supranational supervision and resolution mechanisms, as well as strengthened regulation and capital requirements in line with the G20 commitments.
However, the situation remains fragile and there is no room for complacency. This is true for Europe and for other parts of the world. Sustained efforts are needed in order to ensure the return of financial stability, growth and jobs worldwide. It is therefore very important that G8 leaders take the opportunity to have a very frank exchange of views and update each other on our joint efforts to speed up the return of growth and jobs.
On the second T, taxation, I strongly welcome the new willingness to join forces and cooperate more effectively to fight tax evasion and avoidance, in Europe and worldwide.
Tackling these issues is, above all, a matter of fairness.
In difficult economic times it is particularly urgent to ease the burden on honest tax payers and businesses and hold those accountable who do not respect the rules of the game. Tax evasion and avoidance costs the European Union €1 trillion every year, which is the equivalent to the EU's next seven-year budget. The global bill is much higher. That is money that should be available to spend on education, skills, healthcare and infrastructure investment in both developed and developing countries.
Within the European Union we are taking common action on exchange of information, on tax havens and on aggressive tax planning. There is a new willingness among our members to finally agree a strengthened savings tax and the mandates to negotiate tax agreements with partner countries. This is complemented by new rules for stronger administrative cooperation and greater transparency, which should come into effect as soon as possible. So in Europe, the arsenal for fighting tax evasion is being used and stepped up.
But, as we know, in a globalised world, tax avoiders are taking advantage of gaps and loopholes in the different tax regimes around the globe. So we are convinced that there is a need to improve tax governance everywhere. Let us therefore foster a unity of purpose at the global level. The G8 summit is a great opportunity to inject further momentum. Our work should focus on the compatibility of standards for automatic exchange of information, taking into account the particular features and legal requirements of all countries involved. The European Union would strongly support a joint effort towards a new multilateral standard in the context of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. We believe that our European Union savings tax directive can be an important point of reference here.
Fairness is also the driver behind the work to combat corruption, and this brings me to the third T of the UK presidency, transparency.
The European Union has been a strong advocate of greater transparency in payments made to host governments by extractive industries. With the brand new update of the European Union transparency and accounting directives, we will hold governments and companies involved in the sectors of oil, gas, mining and forestry more to account and protect citizens around the globe from unfair distribution of their national wealth. We hope to see the timely implementation of our new rules in European Union members and encourage more and more countries to join in the global effort to subscribe to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. We are also ready to team up with individual resource-rich countries to help them reap the full benefits of this new transparency. Transparency should also be further enhanced on land tenure. We clearly see a role for the G8 to push further the implementation of the ground-breaking Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests endorsed by the Committee on World Food Security in May 2012.
For us, agriculture and food security remain a priority in development cooperation as we made clear in our Agenda for Change. The European Union provides more than half of global aid, of which around €1 billion per year alone is dedicated to boosting agriculture and food security. The EU is and remains the world's most generous donor of development assistance, also with its multi-annual aid programmes as of next year.
On other issues, the summit is a time for more than T: other topics have their firm place on the G8 agenda, such as international and security issues or climate change. We will discuss the crisis in Syria, the tensions on the Korean Peninsula or the situation in Mali, and we will take stock of the successful work in supporting the transition in the Southern Mediterranean through the G8 Deauville Partnership. Here too, I expect the G8 to provide a clear political signal and reaffirm its leadership.
The European Union, as a full member of the G8, remains committed to play an active role in the G8. I am looking forward to open and candid discussions with fellow leaders in Lough Erne.